"A Thousand Points of Light"
Author: carmen_085
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters from James Cameron's Titanic, not any real people. I do not own Titanic or any characters from the movie. I do own all original characters.
Summary: Fifth Officer Harold Lowe and Titanic's Nurse Clara Barnett lives become intertwined on the ship's maiden voyage when a young drifter is brutally beaten.
Chapter Nine
Harry had every intention of following Jimmy back toward the port side but when Wilde spotted the sixth officer and called him over, Harry decided to go it alone hoping that Clara might be in the crowd of people gathering there. Had he only stayed with Jimmy, he would have ran right into her at Lifeboat 16 with Jack, Rose, and the other third class passengers. Fate was cruel to most everyone aboard that night and Harry was no different.
By this time the ship was well down in the water and mild concern had quickly given way to hysteria. Elbowing his way through a group of passengers, Harry pushed several men out of the way, frustration in his voice. "Get out of the way goddammit !" In every woman's face he searched for Clara. He knew he wouldn't find her like this, pushing her way onto a lifeboat desperate to save herself. He believed she knew how to survive but not in this cowardly way. "Let me through !"
When Harry was finally able to make it to the front of crowd he found Lightoller, eyes wide and face set as he tried to hold the entire crowd back himself. The boat, number 14, was half full as men leaned over the side of the ship trying to find a way on themselves. Any pretense of chivalry had dissipated into hysteria as the primal urge to survive won out.
"Women and children only damn you !" Harry nodded to his senior officer feeling as though they were finally on the same page. Reaching into the crowd he pulled a women forward and heaved her into the boat, men pushed and shoved drawing Harry's ire.
"Cowards !"
He couldn't stop searching for her, coming up empty and nearly ready to lose his mind with his own sort of panic. While every other man on this ship was concerned with saving themself he would gladly stay behind if he knew the woman he cared most about was safe and in a boat. He was busy loading passengers in, his back turned, when he heard a scream and a woman standing next to the davits was pitched over the side by a group of third class men. He heard the screaming and by the time he turned, Lightoller had his pistol out backing the crowd up.
"Get back I say or I'll shoot you all like dogs…" There wasn't much room but the men pushing forward now rocked back on their heels. Scanning the crowd with the barrel of the gun, the panic in Lightoller's voice smoothed out, back to his usual control. "Keep order here. Keep order I say…"
Harry's hand slipped toward the back of his waistband where his own Browning Revolver was tucked. When Lightoller turned to him he pretended not to hear what his senior officer said. "Mr. Lowe get on this boat…" Clicking his own revolver open the second officer loaded it with bullets, apparently having just threatened everyone on the boat deck with an unloaded gun. Harry continued pulling women from the crowd and pushing them toward the boat. "Mr. Lowe !"
He paused, gritting his teeth as he shook his head. "I can't. I have no idea where she is." Lightoller's lips drew into a line as he considered that. Before this evening he would have told Harry it was rubbish and to man this boat. Now he was quiet for a moment as he himself looked forward and aft on the boat deck. After a moment he exhaled shaking his head.
"I'll see to it that she makes it into a boat." Harry paused. Was that good enough ? Could he leave the ship without her, without knowing where she was ? A crowd of people pushed forward as the boat rocked in the davits, everyone aboard screaming. From the promenade deck below, men stood on the rails attempted to grab ahold of the boat from below and haul themselves in over the gunwales. Immediately, Harry produced his gun firing a round off into the night.
"Get off you cowards !" There was but one seaman on the boat and he was having a hell of a time getting the men off the side, the small craft now swinging and tipping precariously. Something needed done before all the people in the boat were dumped into the sea. Stepping over the rail he easily hopped into the lifeboat and immediately grabbed the mast swinging and knocking a few of the men off into the water. Harry felt no remorse knowing he'd sealed their fate. There were still plenty of women and children aboard, men needed to be men and wait their turn.
"Lower Away !" The davits began to creak and the boat jerked downward. Harry pried the last of the men hanging off the side of the lifeboat away as his eyes swept up to the boat deck.
"Bollocks ! Let me out of this boat !" He made to leap from the boat but it was already too late.
Clara pushed through the crowd catching elbows in the face as she went. Any pretense of doing the right thing had completely gone out the window. Men of all classes pushed and shoved women out of the way, the only thing on their mind- saving themselves. Shivering in the cold night air, the adrenaline that had warmed her below decks now evaporated and was replaced with cold fear. Her shirt and pants were still damp as they now clung to her skin.
A gunshot echoed in the night and instead of going in the opposite direction, Clara continued to pushed toward it somehow knowing that's where Harry would be. A strange juxtaposition, the band continued to play as if nothing was wrong when it was more than obvious that time for the ship was slipping away. Had she been born of less mettle she would have probably collapsed somewhere and accepted her fate. Many women and men were doing just that, seeing the lifeboats were a near hopeless situation and disappearing below decks. Even if she'd never met Harry, Clara still would never be able to bring herself to do that. It just wasn't the way she was raised and it wasn't in her nature to lie down and simply give up.
She burst through a hole in the crowd nearly sliding off the edge of the deck and that was when their eyes met. He was in a boat already, being lowered down the side of the side of the ship, and seemingly none too happy about it.
"Stop lowering !" The seamen on the davits paused not sure if something had happened below automatically obeying the order of an Officer.
They were speechless as they stared at one another, the chaos of the ship disappearing into a dull haze. Harry's heart leapt as he finally laid eyes on her; she was dressed in her work pants and shirt, and he felt a strange sort of pride that she must have gotten into something below decks that necessitated the change. He also felt a swell in his chest; warm and fluttering as if his heart might burst. "Clara ! Jump…I'll catch you." The pause in the lowering of the lifeboat had caused the crowd to again press toward Lightoller seeing a renewed opportunity for survival. The boat had pulled level of the A- deck Promenade and just as Harry stepped onto the thwart readying his arms a man lept onto the side striking them off balance. Swinging precariously the people in the boat screamed and begged to be lowered to the water, fearful that an onslaught would finally tip them over. Knocked off balance and onto his ass Harry was no help to the seaman who had to dislodged the desperate soul all on his own. A few cracks of the mast pole across his knuckles did the trick and the man fell to the water with a scream, the lifeboat rocking into the side of the ship jerking the occupants back and forth. Up top the men on the davits decided enough was enough as they let all the slack out and the boat dropped just past A-Deck halfway to the water with a great whoosh and jerk.
When Harry had finally regained himself he quickly realized the opportunity to have Clara with him was lost and there was only one other option. "Get to a boat now ! Hurry…" His eyes met hers as both fear and love radiated from their brown depths. "You mustn't wait !" Taking his peacoat off Harry launched it upward with all his strength.
His arm was strong and the coat popped up just high enough that Clara was able to catch it. Her teeth chattered as she pulled it on relishing, perhaps too much, in his scent on the collar. Staring back at him she smiled, this could be it and if it was she wanted him to know. "Harry…I love…" Her words were cut off as someone grabbed her from behind yanking her hard by the hair. Her face was jerked toward the sky and all she could see was the black night.
"Clara ?! Clara ?!" She was gone and no matter how high up in the lifeboat he pitched himself he couldn't find her. The cold wind ruffled his hair as the boat touched down on the water with a collective sigh from all those aboard. From everyone aside Harry that was, who despite the the steep angle continued desperately to see what had happened to Clara.
Lightoller had every intention of taking Clara to the next boat he intended to launch and put her straight in. Not just because he'd made a promise to do just that but also because in just one evening he'd developed a sort of respect for the woman. Perhaps an affection even; not only because she'd helped him but because he saw the purpose in her, the mettle, and it had been a damn long time since he'd seen another woman even remotely the same. Maybe since he'd met Sylvia on that voyage to Australia- he wasn't sure- women who were not only a wife but an equal partner to their men just didn't exist.
But Clara did exist and she was very real and now that he saw the way that Harry was beside himself in the lifeboat he turned to find her and she was gone. Disappeared when she'd been standing right beside him just a moment ago. He knew she hadn't fallen over, Harry would have dove in to rescue her without a second thought. Craning his neck, Lightoller could barely make out a parting in the crowd and a few strange looks. What in the bloody hell was going on now ? Turning to Moody he nodded to the next boat in line.
"Assist Mr. Wilde with number twelve." The sixth officer nodded his agreement. "I'm going forward. We need to prepare the collapsibles." It was mostly true and after Lightoller found Clara that was indeed what he planned to do, putting her in one of the Englehardts before they were all washed off the boat deck. Below he could still hear Harry yelling her name and while it was certainly not in his nature to cast his duty aside like this he knew he was too involved now to not do something.
Pulled back through the crowd, Clara was more than willing to sacrifice a chunk of her hair in exchange to be set free. Struggling, her arms flailed trying to grip on to anyone or anything in her path. Strange looks were thrown her way but no one made a move to intervene or help, the hysteria of the sinking a more paramount concern than any domestic tiff.
"No one makes a fool of me…" A voice she'd just recently become acquainted with tickled her ears as he pulled her through a doorway and off the boat deck. Hockley; he was back and apparently had witnessed her efforts to see Jack and Rose off in a boat together. Everything inside Clara told her to fight and she did, pulling back against him as she felt the hair rip from her head. "Bitch…"
He ground the word out upset that she wasn't going to go meekly as he readjusted his grip now holding her by the shoulders. Clara saw the distinct carpeting of B Deck pass beneath her as she stumbled dragging her feet. She could only assume he was taking her back to his stateroom, where he would have the privacy to do whatever it was he wanted to do. A steward passed them pausing for a moment before Hockley snapped, "Mind your own business !" Clara opened her mouth to scream but before she could he clamped his bicep around her throat compressing her airway. A soft hiss was all she could muster as her head began to spin and her heart raced.
If no one intervened he might kill her and as that thought settled in her mind she had to admit that she wasn't that upset. She'd done everything she had to do. All the patients were gone from the infirmary, forced to try their luck on the boat deck like everyone else. She'd found Jack and he was with Rose, where he belonged, and she'd made sure they'd gotten off the ship together. Harry was safe an in a lifeboat where he belonged, commandeering passengers to safety. Once the ship was gone, they wold need someone like Harry- an experienced and fearless sailor- to guide them through whatever would come next. Clara wasn't stupid, she knew as a crew member her chances of getting into a boat were slim. The White Star Line had made that clear in their training- in the very unlikely event the ship were to founder, the passengers came first. So if Hockley killed her now, sparing her from certain death in the water, perhaps it was all meant to go like this.
A door opened and she felt herself being pushed into a room hitting the floor hard, air finally whooshing into her lungs. She could feel the noticeable list of the ship and surmised that her own quarters as well as the infirmary were most likely underwater. Before long this too would be much the same. In the flickering light she became aware that he was standing over her. Pushing the hair from her swollen face, she finally looked up at him.
His face bore a delicate sheen of sweat as his slick black hair fell from its normal coif. In the struggle he'd lost a cufflink and his jacket had come unbuttoned. The dim cabin lighting flickered as his shadow loomed over her. He hated not being in control and looking disheveled as if he'd done some actual work. That much was evident as his lips sneered in disgust. A few moments ago Clara had all but resigned herself to this fate but now staring at the glorified pretty boy above her she suddenly wondered why.
Clara had been born on the American frontier; she'd survived scorching summers, frigid winters, and an Indian attack. She could work the land and knew how to survive on the world around her. She'd seen to her brother when both of their parents were gone and she'd learned to adapt to life in New York City eventually living on her own and supporting herself with a living wage. Her entire life had been about surviving and tonight was just another thing that she would need to find a way through because on the other side of this was a man whom she'd fallen in love with like she didn't think possible.
"So now what ? You kick my ass ?" He paused, almost stung at her plain, crass language. Pushing herself up to her feet she refused to look up to this man a minute longer. He was nothing…not even a man for certain… but a decoration that had no purpose other than to look pretty, wearing fucking eyeliner to boot.
He snapped lunging toward her grabbing her around the throat almost instantly as Clara's hands flew forward latching onto the first thing she could reach. Hockley growled slamming her against the wall as a squeaking gasp of pain escaped her lips. Clara pushed forward jamming her fingers into his eyes as he yelled out in pain letting her go for a moment. Gasping for air, she was moving the second her feet hit the ground. Hockley recovered too quickly, though, and deciding that whatever he had planned for her wasn't worth the trouble he latched onto her wrist spinning her around and pushing her backwards. The bathroom Rose and Ruth shared was much larger, as it should be, with his more of a wash room with a basin, toilet, and one door, that could be easily jammed shut.
His plan wasn't entirely evident to Clara until she hit the sink driving the hard edge into her ribs with a yelp of pain. The door was instantly slammed closed with a chair wedged tightly against the knob. Not even her full weight, still throbbing with pain in the chest, could budge the thing an inch as she grunted in frustration. Somewhere beyond the dark mahogany wood she heard footsteps and then the slam of another door. She was alone; locked in some stupid bathroom with no way out and absolutely no one who knew that she was gone. Pounding on the door Clara began to yell as loud as she could.
"Help ! I'm in here…Help !"
Everything inside Lightoller told him this was stupid; that his place was on the boat deck and that he needed to see to the safety of all passengers- not just one. Still, he couldn't make himself turn around and as he descended onto A-Deck he grabbed the first steward he saw. "Have you seen a woman and man ? He'd be dragging her along…" What would normally be a quite distinct situation didn't really ring a bell as the balding man looked back at the officer quizzically. Losing what little patient he had, Lightoller sighed, "The woman is wearing trousers…"
Immediately the steward gasped knowing something was strange about the whole situation. "Yes Sir I did, down on B Deck. She was with Mr. Hockley…" All the stewards knew the richest people on the ship, when they were around, and how to act accordingly. Lightoller, on the other hand, couldn't have given a rat's ass about the rich pricks he'd been tasked to ferry across the Atlantic. Much like Harry, his only concern was to see that the ship ran as it should. He'd heard of Hockley, of course, his hysterical fiancé had nearly caused a disaster two nights out of Southhampton hanging off the back of the stern. Beyond that, however he had no need or interest in the dalliance of the rich aboard.
"B-Deck you said ?" The steward nodded quickly, a nervous glance at the clock he nodded to the second office hoping he would't come rude.
"Yes Sir. If you'll excuse me…" He began to hurry away before Lightoller called after him.
"Do you know where his cabin is ?" He shrugged shaking his head.
"Somewhere round the middle, Sir." He was gone before there would be anything more leaving Lightoller standing there as he exhaled deeply for a moment. The ship creaked and groaned beneath his feet as even this high up a noticeable tilt could be felt. Time was running out.
Much like A-Deck, the B-deck cabins were quite posh with white paneled walls and dark mahogany interiors. He started somewhere around the middle and began throwing doors open not bothering to close anything behind him as he went. Soon, all this would be at the bottom of the ocean. Unmade beds, evening wear and jewelry scattered about, opened emptied safes; each cabin looked much the same all empty with their occupants up top clamoring to get into a boat. It occurred to him that he might have knocked her unconscious and she could be hidden in one of these cabins without the ability to yell. Lightoller knew he didn't have time to search each of them and instead did the only thing he could.
"Clara ! Clara can you hear me ?" Doors opened and slammed as a knot formed in the pit of his stomach.
Slumping against the bathroom door Clara was sweating now, refusing to take Harry's coat off as she threw all her weight against the wood causing it to bow at the hinges but not break forward. This couldn't be how it ended as she was disgusted at herself for thinking of giving up not long ago. No matter what happened she intended to go down fighting and whether it be against this door or the frigid water she wasn't going to give up.
"Help ! Can anyone hear me !" Unfortunately the first class staterooms were designed with thick, heavy wood that masked so much sound. The ultimate in private, luxurious accommodations. Chest heaving she stopped for a moment, her forehead resting against the door. In the hallway she could hear doors opening and one after the other, the click of the lock a quite distinct sound. Someone was here…they were coming.
Lightoller was just about to stop and head in the opposite direction when he heard it. A frantic pounding, a woman's voice yelling. He wasted no time entering the stateroom and going straight to the bathroom door that was wedged closed with a chair.
She nearly tumbled into his arms, sweat soaked and bruised and with a bloody lip. "Oh thank God." It took her a minute to realize who it actually was that held her up and when she did, Clara straightened herself and met his eyes.
"Mr. Lightoller, Sir. How did you know I was here ?" Still holding onto her elbow to steady her he looked at the ground for a moment before his lips twitched just slightly.
"I promised Mr. Lowe I'd get you into a boat." He met her eyes. "When I turned back you were gone. I couldn't leave you behind…" Her face softened as her eyes went to the shoulder she'd set just a few hours ago. Rubbing it tenderly she couldn't help but to pull him into a hug.
Softly whispering into his ear she knew the gravity of what he'd just done for her. "Thank you." He nodded without a saying a word as the two of them stayed like that for a moment before he pulled away.
"There isn't much time left, Clara. We need to go…" Her gaze flicked to his eyes and for the first time that night she saw something that made her stomach tie into a knot.
Fear
The only sound in the lifeboat were the oars gently slapping the water. Harry, sitting at the tiller, bent his head into his hand as he refused to turn back and look at the sinking ship. He waited his entire life to find that one person who made him feel truly alive and now he'd found her at long last. But just as quickly as she'd come she was gone and now he doubted his chances to ever see her again. He should have done more. No one in his entire life made him feel like she did.
And he left her. Put his duty and himself before someone he loved; no better than his father at the end of the day. The notion was enough to make his stomach lurch, and as the tiny craft bobbled in the sea Harry felt absolutely sick. Leaning over the rear he heaved once and then again, hoping to fuck that no one was seeing this right now. He'd been such a fool.
Clear Cameron pulled the oar back following the example of seaman Joseph Scarrott seated across from her. She'd never rowed a boat much less a boat this size in the open ocean, but the sea was calm and they made steady progress pulling away from the ship. Many of the women cried, burying their faces in their expensive furs and coats, their men left back on the boat deck with little or no rope of rescue. She'd taken the oar up because no one was else wanted to do it and being a servant all her life she wasn't afraid of hard work. So she rowed as her eyes roamed the absolutely unbelievable scene in front of her.
The most luxurious, well appointed, safest ship on the planet was now pitched forward, it's bow nearly slipped beneath the waves. People ran about the ship, from this distance looking like ants at a summer picnic. Scurrying this way and that, no real idea where they were headed they ran in circles. Looking away she couldn't help the knot that formed in the pit of her stomach; time was running out.
The Officer sitting at the tiller seemed to be wracked with sickness, guilt or both as his shoulders heaved and his face bent into his hands. Clear, along with everyone else, had seen his impassioned plea for the woman on the boat deck to join him only for her to be yanked backwards and out of sight. Nearly everyone aboard had left someone behind so his predicament wasn't unique, however, the anguish on his face told her this wasn't just any woman. Clear had caught a glimpse of her and she was beautiful with long dark hair and bright gray eyes- American by the flatness in her voice- she wore pants and now the Officer's peacoat. Eyes wandering to him, Clear tried to appear subtle. Heaving over the side of the boat he trembled in the freezing night air; her heart broke for him as she wished that she could do something more than merely sit there. But that was all that there was- for all of them- merely sitting there, a front row seat to the most unbridled terror and sadness she'd ever witness in her entire life.
They sidled up next to another boat, the officer wiping his face in the back of his sleeve and taking a deep breath. "Alright…" His voice was shaky and he took another moment to steady himself. There would be time to mourn what he'd lost once this night was over. "Consider the lot of you under my command. Men tie up these boats.." Clear felt the corners of her lips twitch up. Maybe they would be alright, maybe they would make it to morning after all. "I want to transfer all the women from this boat into that boat as quick as you can…" Clear looked on in confusion, the Officer's handsome albeit tortured face illuminated by an electric torch. "We're going back as soon a possible." A few gasps and then a hush as dark eyes blazed, "Now men !"
It was nearly two am when they burst back onto the boat deck. The angle of the ship was steep, making it hard to walk, and while everyone was running aft they moved forward. Insistence and anxiety had melted into blind panic with those left behind shoving past her. Keeping her eyes trained on the back of Lightoller's head; she reasoned that wherever he was going would be good enough for her. If they made it out of this mess somehow, she also knew that she would owe him her life. Never in a million years did she imagine it would be him coming through that door, nonetheless, she as more than grateful that it was. Now because of him she would have the same chance as everyone else left aboard. Eyes flicking right to left she became aware that the boats were gone, the davits they'd once hung from empty and swaying gently in the cold air.
"The boats are all gone !" Like Harry, Lightoller was in bed when the crash occurred and now bore a state of undress that was uncharacteristic of a ship's officer. Turtleneck sweater untucked and a hat askew his hair poked out from underneath mussed, and slick with sweat form the exertion of rushing below deck. It was a strange thing to notice at a time like this but in some way it made her trust him even more. Like Harry, at the end of the day it was all window dressing; the only thing mattering that when the chips were down he could stay in the fight and get it done. Clara hoped that which ever boat he was out there floating in that he didn't blame himself for her being left behind. Sometimes shit just happened.
"The Collapsibles…" He pointed forward and her gaze followed seeing a few men attempting to rock a boat off the officer's quarters. The bow was now completely submerged with the bridge halfway down with water beginning to rush over the promenade deck. A gunshot echoed in the night, coming from somewhere on the other side of the ship and they both stopped. Clara noticed Lightoller tense, only the Officers were armed, before he gave her a clipped nod. "I need to see that these boats get off the roof and into the water. Stay here !"
In one swift motion he leapt onto the officer's quarters but not before the men there dislodged the boat haphazardly sending it falling over the edge upside down. It was stupid… so stupid with water now rushing over the deck. Clara had been in water more than once already and she knew just how cold it was so as it rushed up to her knees she didn't flinch. Immediately she set to work with the other crew members trying desperately to right the small craft. Clara's heart was pounding as she struggled with the rest of them, many of the men not even realizing she was a woman in the first place. Most of the passengers had scattered, running aft and doing anything they could to stay on the ship.
Lightoller lost sight of Clara as he shimmied down a tension line landing feet first into the frigid sea. The jolt that went through him was immediate, shooting from his feet straight up his spine. Knowing the water was freezing and actually feeling it were two very different things, and for a moment he was paralyzed stiffly holding onto the side of the collapsible just as helplessly as a passenger. Upside down and nearly ready to be washed away, Collapsible B seemed all but lost. Deciding he needed to see what was happening on the other side he launched himself onto the boat hopping from there back on top of the officers quarters. His wet pants clung to his legs, heavy and dragging him down, he saw things were no better on the starboard side. And then it happened.
Clara wasn't paying attention, helping a seaman cut the collapsible loose by holding the lines taut. When the wave hit her she was thrown back against the ship and slammed into the side of the officer's quarters the wind knocked out of her as she inhaled a gulp of sea water. Lungs spasming she was immediately beset with white hot panic. Clawing upward she burst onto the surface of the choppy water coughing and sputtering; her throat on fire, and her chest aching. Had she been on something solid she would have puked, the salty water making her stomach heave, but adrift and bobbing around just barely breathing she couldn't muster the energy. The suction of the ship pulled her back under as the water squeezed her in frigid pain; her arms and legs quickly went numb and all she could was flail.
She pressed her little face against the back of her daddy's worn jacket, the cold wind biting her delicate skin. They were riding out to the lake to ice fish; the army provisions more than a little lean this winter. Clara was just seven years old but she knew she was hungry and she knew Steven cried all night because he was too. It seemed after the first snow all the animals fled into the mountains, leaving the prairie windswept and barren.
Tying the horse to a tree, her daddy slide her off the back as he fiddled with the rudimentary fishing pole he'd made just that morning. Clara, always curious, wandered toward the lake seeing a rabbit hop into the brush. If she could get that rabbit her daddy would be so proud and they would eat good tonight, her stomach growled just thinking about it. One hop, two, and then before she knew it Clara was off solid ground and on the ice. Snow covered it all looked the same.
She hit the water before she even knew what happened. Her daddy's voice yelling somewhere far behind her. The water stole her breath and slapped her across the face; she tried to cry but she had no air in her lungs. The surface was bright and even though Clara's eyes were all but frozen shut she knew that she had to go up. Clawing upward she blindly went toward the light.
Pushing toward the lights of the ship Clara burst onto the surface with gasp. Inhaling sharply she realized the ship was gone from under her. It took everything she had for Clara to push the pain away and focus on the collapsible drifting away in front of her. Still overturned but floating nonetheless it represented her best- and only- chance to survive. Unfortunately she wasn't the only one with that idea and instantly several of those in the water set off toward the boat. An image of Harry's face flashing through her mind as a lump rose in her throat.
When the wave rolled over the bridge and then the officers quarters, Lightoller saw no other option but to jump in. Diving headfirst the water hit him like a thousand knives; he struggled to remember his training, giving in for just a moment to the visceral pain. The crow's nest was nearly level with the water and he wondered if that might be his best play before he was pulled under the water without warning. As the front of the ship submerged the suction of ship pulled everything down around it, Lightoller his body suctioned against a metal grate. Knowing that struggling wouldn't do much he conserved the air in his lungs and hoped that he could free himself before he blacked out. A sudden burst of hot air pushed him away and up and before he could comprehend what happened, he burst back onto the surface. Water churned all around him as hundreds of people fought for their lives. It was then that his eyes settled on Collapsible B floating upside down just a short distance away. It would be his best shot and if he could organize some of the passengers perhaps they could turn it over and save some of those from the water.
The destruction of the ship was moving quickly now and just as one break came something else happened to change the situation entirely. With most of the weight forward the high tension wires holding the funnels in place began to snap. Hitting they severed anything in their path, those haplessly swimming stopped cold and their suffered abruptly ended. Lightoller watched as the funnel collapsed forward hitting the water with such force that a huge wave rolled outward. Many of those swimming were washed under, drowned almost instantly. He himself was pushed toward the collapsible and as he washed into the side a woman's body was pushed in front of him.
Clara rode the wave of the funnel with equal parts terror and confusion and before she could gain control of her direction she found herself washed into the side of the lifeboat. Collapsible B, still upside down and now with many less hanging on she grabbed onto the tiller with not nearly enough strength left in her frozen body to haul herself aboard. Letting out a gasp of frustration she felt tears come to her eyes when from behind she felt a push upward.
"Get on !" In a second she was tossed over the keel hanging on for dear life. It took everything Clara had left to swing her leg over and straggle the bobbling craft. She felt someone crawl on behind her straddling the boat just the same. Without hesitation he put an arm around her chest holding her against him both gently and protectively at the same time. "Boat Ahoy !" She had no idea what that meant but she did recognize Lightoller's voice. He'd saved her again.
Both soaking wet and shivering violently she spotted back against him hoping this would be enough to survive until help arrived. "We're going to make it, Clara….Trust me."
The corners of her lips turned up as she felt herself drift off a bit. Maybe she would see Harry again after all. "I trust you."
TBC….
Yeah I know not much Harry and Clara but after the rescue it will be ALL Harry and Clara. Need to set up some angst for the reunion !
Thanks for reading and I intend to finish this story in about 15 chapters total.
Please review !