AARON & JACKSON

-1912-

"Death Of Titanic"

People were now running up the steep boat deck, clinging onto the railings, equipment anything that would help them. Officers had given orders to uncover the collapsible lifeboats from a higher deck, they were lowered by planks of wood resting up against the wall of the small building, seamen were above aiding with the lowering of the boats but water was rushing toward them quickly and they had to hurry, attempts to lower the collapsible safely failed the boat fell to the deck causing the crowd of panic stricken passengers and the officers to step back out of its way. The officers held the passengers back until the boat could be uncovered. Water was now over their ankles and was raising quickly, everyone worked as fast as they could and eventually the passengers made a quick move for the empty lifeboat; every man for himself.

The ship was quickly reaching its vertical limit, passengers far off in the lifeboats watched as the stern of the Titanic rose out of the water revealing the three propellers, two twenty three foot long and the slightly smaller central propeller. Water quickly ran from them and from the underside of the ship and like thousands of showers the water fell down back into the ocean and onto the people fighting for their lives.

Aaron and Jackson finally reached the stern after forcing their way through the crowds that were almost at a standstill and enduring a nearby priest holding onto something for dear life while 'followers' stood before him listening to his prayer. Aaron had sighed and rolled his eyes. "What a load of bullshit" he exclaimed much to Jackson's surprise. The boys clung to each other as the ship continued to rise, all around them people held onto railings, other people; it was a horrible sight to see, a sight that should not even be happening. Aaron knew one thing, he'd always remember.

Jackson reached out and placed his hand on Aaron's face, he could see the fear in his eyes. "Hey…" he smiled. "This is where we first met"

Aaron looked around and began to smile, he remembered – Jackson approached him late one night and they got talking and it all went on from there, he never regretted it. Tears filled Aaron's eyes and he moved to kiss him but as he re-positioned himself his foot slipped.

"AARON!" Jackson screamed as he reached out but it was too late, Aaron quickly slid down the ship at an alarming speed.

Aaron stopped when he crashed down into the freezing Atlantic Ocean, his breath was immediately taken from him as the shock to his system was too much, a lot of people were around as he scrambled to his feet, he watched as other passengers were fighting over a lifeboat refusing anyone else entry for fear of being swamped. He looked up at the rising ship and tears ran down his face, an overwhelming cry left him, he struggled and being separated from the man he loved made things worse. Jackson was right at the top, he was at the water level, still probably hundreds of metres away. Aaron jumped at the sound of a very loud whipping noise and the splash of the water in a straight line inches away from him, he looked around. What the hell was that? He thought to himself as the same thing happened again but nowhere near him, then again several metres away, he looked up and his eyes widened in horror at the sight he was witnessing. One of the funnels has broken off and was slowly falling to the water, creaking and grinding metallic sounds filled the area. "Oh shit!" he shouted in a panic, he was directly in its path, her dived out of its way quickly but what came next was somewhat of a rollercoaster. The impact had caused an enormous wave of water and had pushed Aaron into a large metallic piece of equipment used for lowering the boats, the first thing he felt was the stinging, he'd hit his head, just above his eye. He jumped up out of the water gasping for air as he turned to see the large separated funnel sinking underneath the water, Aaron's injuries could have been worse, much worse. The thought of being squashed to death wasn't really compelling. "Okay, okay…got to move" he told himself and he forced himself to move and to walk out of the water, back onto the deck and to climb his way back to the top, whatever was necessary.

Jackson wanted to cry, he'd kept his eye on him for as long as he could but Aaron got lost in the crowds of people. He knew what he was about to do would lose him, both of them there place of safety but he had to make a move, he had to, he loved Aaron with all of his heart, and he would do anything to get to him. So as he let out a deep breath he climbed over the crowd of people around him, holding onto the railing as he made his way to the side railings of the ship to use essentially as a ladder system, sliding down may have been faster but posed more risks.

All he could hear were screams, loud splashes of the water from people jumping off the ship as he climbed up again. Aaron swallowed hard, could falling from such a height kill? He didn't intend to find out. But then again it was probably quicker than freezing to death, he preferred that when he thought about it... why not get it over with now? Get high enough and jump…hit the propeller on the way down…he thought and closed his eyes. Don't be stupid Aaron, Jackson's up there…you love him…he loves you, it'll be fine…his thoughts continued for a few seconds but stopped when he saw Jackson on the other side of the railings. His eyes widened in shock, Jackson was breathless he could see that, but then again so was he. "I-I've never moved so fast…" Jackson told him with a chuckle as he held out his hand for Aaron to take.

Aaron grinned and moved forward and reached out his own. "God I love you, I thought that was it, that I'd-" he stopped mid-sentence as the entire ship fell into darkness. "J-Jackson…what's going on?" he asked in a panic.

"The power's gone Aaron...it lasted longer than expected…come on, grab my-" Jackson too stopped mid-sentence as a deafening crack could be heard and the source of that was between Aaron's legs.

Aaron froze and he looked down at the split deck beneath his feet, spikes of wood pointed outward and both lads and people around them had no idea what to do. Jackson forced himself to do something. All Aaron could think was now he really was done for. "AARON, GRAB MY HAND NOW!" he shouted as he slowly began to climb as the ship began to separate. Aaron jumped onto one side and just looked at Jackson then ran to him, the railing anything just for something to hold onto but he couldn't, an explosion ripped through the separation in the deck and Aaron jumped to avoid it but only just. Jackson watched in horror at Aaron jumping out of the way and down into the water.

He blinked away his tears then an overwhelming sick feeling came over him as the raised stern fell back into the water, his body was jolted and he lost his footing on the railings as the ship impacted but he managed to find his feet and place them firmly onto the railings and climb, he was distraught as he looked down at the many bodies in the water, some motionless and some swimming away.

Aaron swam away from the ship as fast as he could but the cold began to inhibit his movements. He turned to look at the once great ship that was now in its last moments and it began to rise again, only much quicker this time. Within a few seconds the stern of Titanic was standing vertical in the water, bobbing like a cork. He couldn't believe his eyes, the screams but yet the also eerie silence that seemed to drown out those screams was now etched into his memory, along with many things from this fateful night. He swallowed hard, all he could think about was Jackson, he needed to be okay, if he lost him now he didn't see any point in living.

Jackson pressed his forehead against the cold railing. He held tight onto them and listened to the loud creaks as the ship began its final journey. Erupting bursts of air imploded outward from the base of the separated stern as it filled with water as it began to descend into the Atlantic. Jackson opened his eyes, he couldn't stay on board any longer, the suction would pull him down with the ship, he had to get away. He looked all around him at the people clinging on for dear life, he wouldn't be one of them. He blew out a deep breath and propelled himself from the side of the ship, seconds later the coldness of the water covered him but he came up almost instantly and he turned to look at the ship. He hadn't jumped far enough away but at least he had a head start, he turned away and swam as fast as possible.

Aaron had no idea where Jackson was and he bowed his head after he watched the ship sink beneath the water. He closed his eyes tight and his shoulders jerked as the emotion took hold of him and he let it all out. Screams of thousands of people quickly filled the dark expanse of the sinking site, he remained quiet and looked up at the bright stars that filled the night sky, there were millions of them but two stars in particular - the two that were very close together that he had found a few nights ago and used to signify himself and Jackson, he cried silently as he stared up at them; if those were the last things he saw, then he guessed he'd be okay with that.

TBC…