CHAPTER NINE
Captain Jones, captain of the
ship stares in disbelief at the radar.
“Sir? What is it? What’s
wrong?” a officer questioned, standing behind his superior.
“Has anyone checked the wheatear
conditions for the week?” Jones glared at his officer.
“Well…I did sir and I tried to
get in touch with Mr. Ismay, but he said that the Tsunami would change course
and we’d be fine. Didn’t Mr. Ismay
discuss this with you?”
“No he didn’t,” Jones
growled. “And damn it that storm isn’t
changing course. It’s heading right for
us! Get on the radio and send out a
S.O.S now!! We have little more than a
hour! Maybe even not that long!”
“Yes sir!” The officer saluted,
going to work.
Captain Jones just stood in his
spot, knowing what captain Smith of the Titanic must have felt when his ship
hit the iceberg. “Dear God help us
all.”
*
Jack sat in his chair with his
head in his hands. He should have known
that the truce wouldn’t last long. All
night Heather had been baiting Rose and Rose tried to ignore her for Jack’s
sake, but the cruel barb about her father was too much and Rose bit back. All the girls were arguing among themselves,
drawing attention of the other passengers.
“Come on you four, everyone’s
staring,” Tommy tried to step in.
“Mind your own business curly
boy!” Heather snapped.
“How dare you talk to him like
that!” Sam hissed.
“Because she’s a ill bred heathen
that’s why!” Rose snapped.
“That’s it!” Heather got up and
tried to go for Rose when all of a sudden the room begins to slide upwards,
making her slam into the table and slide the edge.
“Jack!” Rose screamed as the
chairs went out from under her. Jack
quickly grabbed the leg of the table and grabbed Rose’s hand as the room kept
moving.
“Hold on!” He shouted.
“Ahhhh!” Cal screamed as he went
falling away from the table.
“Jack!” Rose screamed as she lost
her grip on Jack’s hand and fell.
“Rose!” Jack let go of the table
and fell after her.
Two minutes later it was all
over. Everyone in the dining hall were
unconscious and unaware of what had happened.
It’s five minutes later and Rose
was the first to wake up. Looking above
she gasped in horror. All the tables
were attached to the ceiling now, and everything on the floor was shrewn about
in a mass of wood, metal, glass and bodies.
“Rose?” Jack awakened, rubbing
his head. “What happened?”
“Good God,” Cal stood up, the
next to awaken. “We’re upside down!”
“Rose?! Rose!” Sam cried out in horror as she stirred.
“I’m right here!” Rose called
out.
“It’s ok Sam, I’ve got you,”
Tommy grabbed her hand and helped her up.
Soon everyone was awake, staring up at what used to be the floor.
“This can’t be happening,” Rose
tried not to go into hysterics. She
knew as soon as the stepped on the ship that something bad was going to happen
and it did. The ship had turned over
and now they were trapped down below.
“Well it is happening
Princess. So I suggest you quit the
hysterics and think of a way for us to get out of this room,” Heather snorted.
“You just can’t get along can you
Heather?” Kat glared at the girl.
“Is everyone ok? Is anyone hurt?” A voice called out, Rose
realized it was their cruise coordinator.
Looking about her eyes widened at the dead bodies that were shrewn about
the floor.
“What are we going to do?!” A
voice cried out.
“We’ll stay right here! Help is on the way!”
Rose looked over and recognized
the owner of the ship Alexander Ismay.
Her mother had once dated the man but things didn’t turn out. Rose herself cared little about the
man. He occurred to her as a arrogant,
know it all.
“No!” The cruise coordinator
rejected the idea. “Haven’t you ever
seen that one movie? The Poseidon
Adventure?! You saw what happened to
those people that stayed where they were and by golly the same will happen to
us if we don’t move!”
“Jack,” Rose grabbed his arm.
“It’s ok Rosie. Everything will be alright. We’ll get out of here,” Jack wrapped a
secure arm around her, trying to believe what he had just said himself.
“Well what are we going to
do? How are we going to get out of here
if what she said is true?” Tommy asked.
“Everyone listen to me! Stay calm and look for something! Anything to help us get out of here!” The
coordinator started looking around.
“Stop scareing everyone! The Poseidon Adventure was just a
movie! You’re perfectly safe down
here!”
“Sure and the Titanic is just a
movie as well! No thank you I’m getting
out of here!” Fabrizio growled, walking around looking for rope or clothe,
anything to get them out of the dining area.
“I knew this was a bad idea! I’m cursed!” Cal cried out.
“Oh shut up Caledon and help us
look for something to get us out,” Rose snapped.
“Hello down there!” A voice
called up from above. Everyone glanced
up to see a man in a steward’s uniform staring down at them a coil of rope clenched in his hand. “Do you need any help down there!”
“Oh thank heavens yes!” The
coordinator called back up. “Throw down
the rope and secure it to something!
We’ll climb up!”
“No! I tell ya it’s not safe!
You better stay here!” Ismay called again.
“Listen everyone! You have a choice. You can either follow me or stay down here with him and take your
chances. It’s your choice! But I’m telling you once we’re gone we’re
gone!” The coordinator announced. “Now
who’s with me!”
“I certainly am,” Tommy stepped
up.
“Me too,” Sam took his hand.
“Count us in,” Jack and Rose
stood by their friends.
“I am,” Kat nodded.
“I’m a Hockley and we’re not
fools so I’m in as well,” Caledon grabbed Kat’s hand.
“We’re in too,” Fabrizio and
Heather stepped up.
“Anyone else!” The coordinator
called again and shook her head when there was no other answers. “Very well then. Good luck to you all.”
“All’s ready!” The steward from
up above called down.
“Ok, you kids go first,” The
coordinator stepped aside.
“I-I don’t know if I can do
this,” Rose turned to Jack since it was her turn to go first.
“It’ll be alright Rosie. Just keep your eyes on the rope and don’t
look down ok?” He gently kissed her.
“Now go.”
“I love you,” She whispered.
“I love you too, now go,” He
nodded.
Taking a deep breath, Rose began
to climb, following Jack’s directions and keeping her eyes on the rope. She was relieved when the steward grabbed
her hands and pulled her the rest of the way up. Next it was Jack’s turn.
It didn’t take long for him to make his way up the rope and she helped
the Steward help him into the doorway.
“Jack!” She hugged him tightly.
“It’s ok Rosie. I’m fine,”
Jack hugged her tightly, turning around to watch the rest of their friends make
it up the rope.
“Look at me I’m a mess! This was a 3 thousand dollar suit I have you
know! A Worthington original!” Cal
yelled once he got up the rope.
“You arrogant bastard, you should
be glad to be alive right now, unlike some of our fellow passengers down
there!” Heather yelled.
“Hello down there!” The
coordinator called back down into the
dining area. “Is there anyone else
who’d like to join us?!”
“Go away! We’re staying down here where it’s safe!”
Ismay called back up.
“Yeah! Leave us alone!” A man yelled.
“I should have stayed down there
myself. Then my suit would be in better
condition,” Cal sniffed.
Just then there was a loud
explosion and a deafening crash. Rose
pulled away from Jack and her eyes widened at the sight. Water and fire together came crashing in on
the people down below. Screams for help
and prayers for mercy were heard. A
group of people had managed to grab hold of the rope, but it was all at
once. Unable to sustain so much weight,
the rope snapped and sent the people screaming into the water below.
“Oh my God,” Rose whispered,
knowing that this was a scene she’ll never forget for the rest of her life.
“Come on Rosie. Come away from there,” Jack pulled her back
while the Coordinator closed the door on the ghastly sight.
“All of those people
Jack…they’re…gone,” Rose began to sob, clinging on to his shirt.
“Shhh Rose. It was their choice. We tried to get them to come with us but
they wouldn’t. There was nothing we
could do,” Jack held her tightly, wanting to banish the sight from her mind.
“What are we going to do now?”
Kat asked.
“The engine room! We can make our way to the engine room! That’s what they did in the movie!” Sam
exclaimed. “They went to the engine room
because it was the thinnest part of the hull and they could cut threw it
easily. Of course a rescue team was
there to get them out! It can be the
same way for us!”
“But which way is the engine
room?” Fabrizio asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.
“This way!” the Steward headed
for the left. “We go through this door
here and then there’s a shaft that leads to the area right outside of it. My pa built this ship so I know!”
“Do we have a choice about this?”
Cal asked. “Sliding through a shaft would
be murder on my suit!”
“Oh Cal shut up! One would think your life was more important
than your dumb suit! If you haven’t
noticed this ship is going under and it’s going under fast! We have to keep moving!” Heather
yelled. “Now either you stop whining
and get moving or you can just stay here and drown. It makes little difference to me!”
“You can’t talk to me like
that! I’m…”
“A royal pain in the ass now move
it!” Rose yelled.
“You go Rosie,” Tommy laughed.
“Let’s go Rosie,” Jack urged her
forward.
A half hour later they emerged
from the shaft to stare down into a pool of water, a ladder emerging upwards.
“Now what?” Rose asked.
“Simple. We climb up,” Jack said, taking the lead,
Rose going behind him. Seeing that the
top led to a dead end, Jack made his way into another shaft. “This way Rosie!”
“All this crawling is murder on
my hair,” Cal whined.
“He’s more of a girl than we
are,” Sam laughed.
“Come on! Keep going!
The water’s rising!” The steward demanded. Soon they emerge into a corridor, full of dead bodies.
“Oh God Jack!” Rose cried.
“Step over them Rosie! We don’t have any other choice!” Jack
appeared behind her and held her hand.
“Don’t think about them. Come on
sing, Come Josephine in my flying machine…”
“And it’s up she goes, up she
goes,” Rose sang the calming song. She
wondered where Jack learned that song.
She had only heard it once before in her dreams, and a voice very much
like Jack’s was singing it to her.
“Up up a little higher,” Jack
sang.
“Oh my the sky’s on fire and it’s
up she goes up she goes,” They continue to sing, not surprised when everyone
else joins in with them as they make their way down the corridor. They come to a stop where it says crew only.
“We’re almost there,” The steward
nodded and they walk through the door and on to a platform just to face a room
full of water.
“Now what?” Kat asked.
“Stay here! Mrs. Carrigan, give me that rope!” The
steward yelled. “Don’t come in until I
tug on the rope,” The steward tied the rope around himself and plunged into the
water.
“Oh god we’re all going to die
aren’t we?” Kat began to sob.
“Shhh Pet. At least we’ll die young and pretty,” Cal
tried to comfort his girlfriend.
“At least some of us anyway,”
Rose snorted in Cal’s direction.
“Look he’s tugging!” Jack catches
the jerking of the rope. “Here, tie the
end of the rope to that railing!” Jack grabbed the rope from the coordinator
and secures it.
“Come on Rosie, just hang on to
my hand, we’re going to get through this.
Trust me.”
“I trust you,” Rose nodded,
grabbing Jack’s hand. Together they
plunge into the water, the other’s following.
Three minutes later they emerge
into another area that was filling with water.
“This is it! The engine room! Just follow me up this hatchway and we’ll be there!” The steward
points up through a square metal door just as another explosion goes off.
“Jack!” Rose screamed in terror.
“It’s alright Rosie! It’s alright!” Jack grabbed a hold of her
and held her til the shaking of the boat was finished.
“Come on follow me,” The steward
beckoned.
They emerged on a catwalk that
had no railings.
“Careful everyone! Just move carefully!” The steward
instructed. “Through that door there is
the engine room!”
“Let’s go!” Fabrizio started
ahead just as there was another explosion shaking the ship and making Fabrizio
fall into the fiery abyss below.
“Fabrizio!” Heather screamed in
horror. “Fabrizio!!!”
“Fabrizio!” Jack stared down to
where his friend had fallen, his eyes wide in shock.
“No,” Tommy gasped in horror. “No.”
“Come on…we have to get going!”
The steward waved. “I’m sorry about
your friend, but he would have wanted you to go on! To survive! Come on!”
“Jack…we have to go,” Rose
quietly pulled on his arm.
“Fabrizio…he’s…gone…” Jack simply
stared down to where his friend had disappeared.
“I know Jack I know. But you have to go on. He would want you to. You have to go on for me. For your mother…for Heather. Jack, she’s going to need you after
this. You have to go on for her. Please Jack.”
“Yes Jack. Rose is right. I’m going to need you.
Please…” Heather wiped away her tears, knowing she was going to have to
be strong for her cousin until they got out of this mess.
Jack only nodded and allowed Rose
to pull him through the door the steward was holding open. Once everyone was in they heard something
that was music to their ears…banging…from the outside. The rescue team had arrived.
“You hear that?! We’re saved!” Cal hollered joyously. “We’re saved!”
“Come on find something to single
them with!” Rose looked around and grabbed a couple of wrenches that were lying
loose. “Come on! Hit on the hull!” She slammed the wrench
into the steel ceiling above her. Soon
there was louder banging from outside.
“Help!!! Help us we’re in here!” Rose yelled, joined
in by Kat, Cal, Sam, Tommy, and
Heather. “Help!”
Soon red sparks emerged from a
crack in the hull as the rescue workers cut their way through. They all blink in the bright sunlight that
stream into the room as a piece of the hull is removed.
“Are you all the survivors there
is?” A man dressed in a officer’s uniform asked as he stared down at them. The group solemnly nod, their minds on the
loss of Fabrizio.
“Ok. Hang on, we’ll get you out of there,” The officer nodded.
Soon the group were huddled into
the helicopter heading for the nearest hospital.