THESE ARE THE TIMES
Chapter Nine

Captain Jones, the captain of the ship, stared in disbelief at the radar.

"Sir? What is it? What’s wrong?" an officer questioned, standing behind his superior.

"Has anyone checked the weather conditions for the week?" Jones glared at the officer.

"Well…I did, sir, and I tried to get in touch with Mr. Ismay, but he said that the storm would change course and we’d be fine. Didn’t Mr. Ismay discuss this with you?"

"No, he didn’t," Jones growled. "And dammit, that storm isn’t changing course. It’s heading right for us! Get on the radio and send out an SOS now! We have little more than an 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 had tried to ignore her for Jack’s sake, but the cruel barb about her father was too much, and Rose hit back. All the girls were arguing amongst themselves, drawing the 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 began to slide upwards, making her slam into the table and slide over the edge.

"Jack!" Rose screamed as the chair 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.

"Ah!" 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 was unconscious and unaware of what had happened.

It was 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 strewn 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 okay, 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 she 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 okay? 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 strewn 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 hadn’t worked out. Rose herself cared little about the man. He occurred to her as an 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 who 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 okay, Rosie. Everything will be all right. 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 scaring everyone! The Poseidon Adventure was just a movie! You’re perfectly safe down here!"

"Sure, and the Titanic was just a movie, as well! No, thank you. I’m getting out of here!" Fabrizio growled, walking around looking for rope or clothes, 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’d 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 were no other answers. "Very well, then. Good luck to you all."

"All’s ready!" the steward from up above called down.

"Okay. 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 all right, Rosie. Just keep your eyes on the rope and don’t look down, okay?" 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 okay, 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 three thousand dollar suit, I’ll 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’d 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 to his shirt.

"Shh, 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 through 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 to 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 emerged 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 had learned that song. She had only heard it once before, in her dreams, and a voice very much like Jack’s had been singing it to her.

"Up, up a little bit higher," Jack sang.

"Oh, my, the moon is on fire, and it’s up she goes, up she goes." They continued to sing, not surprised when everyone else joined in with them as they made their way down the corridor. They came to a stop where it said crew only.

"We’re almost there." The steward nodded, and they walked through the door and onto 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.

"Shh, 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 caught the jerking of the rope. "Here! Tie the end of the rope to that railing!" Jack grabbed the rope from the coordinator and secured it.

"Come on, Rosie. Just hang onto my hand. We’re going to get through this. Trust me."

"I trust you." Rose nodded, grabbing Jack’s hand. Together, they plunged into the water, the others following.

Three minutes later, they emerged 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 pointed up through a square metal door just as another explosion went off.

"Jack!" Rose screamed in terror.

"It’s all right, Rosie! It’s all right!" Jack grabbed hold of her and held her until the shaking of the ship was finished.

"Come on. Follow me." The steward beckoned.

They emerged onto 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, making Fabrizio fall into the fiery abyss below.

"Fabrizio!" Heather screamed in horror. "Fabrizio!"

"Fabrizio!" Jack stared down at 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 at 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 signal 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 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 blinked in the bright sunlight that streamed into the room as a piece of the hull was removed.

"Are you all the survivors there are?" A man dressed in an officer’s uniform asked as he stared down at them. The group solemnly nodded, their minds on the loss of Fabrizio.

"Okay. Hang on. We’ll get you out of there." The officer nodded.

Soon the group was huddled into a helicopter, heading for the nearest hospital.

Chapter Ten
Stories