A DEEP OCEAN OF SECRETS
Chapter Eighteen

Rose was away from Cal. She ran through the corridors, not knowing where to start. She just had to find Jack. Suddenly she saw Thomas Andrews, searching to see if anyone was in their cabins. Breathless, she ran up to him.

"Mr. Andrews, thank God," she breathed. "Where would the Master-at-Arms taken someone under arrest?"

Mr. Andrews looked shocked. "What—Rose, you have to get to a boat right away—"

"No!" Rose protested. "I’m doing this with or without your help, but without will take longer."

Andrews sighed, and said quietly, "Take the elevator down to the very bottom. Go left, down the crewman’s passage. You’ll come to a long corridor. Turn right, then turn right again at the stairs." Rose nodded and fled before Andrews could say anything else. She ran into the A-Deck foyer, across the marble floor, and to the elevators.

"Sorry, miss, but the lifts are closed!" the operator said. Rose suddenly became furious.

"I’m through with being polite, Goddammit!" she cried, and pushed the operator into the lift. "Now, take me down!" Scared, the operator turned on the elevator. "E-Deck," she instructed as she closed the heavy iron gates of the elevator.

*****

Elisabeth ran into the A-Deck foyer, exhausted. She had run into many people, and had been knocked down many times. It was hard for her to breathe and she was crying openly. She pushed past an elderly woman, who turned around and gave her a disapproving look. Elisabeth ran straight to a pillar and clung to it for dear life. Her cheek was pressed against the cold, white-painted wood, her tears wetting the surface. Her shoulders heaved with every sob, and many people had stopped to look at her for a moment, or mumble something as they passed.

"Maybe she cannot find her family," one man suggested.

"Maybe someone she loves is in a lifeboat without her," another woman suggested. They didn’t try to talk to her or ask her what was troubling her, and Elisabeth was thankful for it.

In the elevator, Rose was breathing hard, nervous. She and the operator hadn’t spoken since A-Deck. Suddenly, as the elevator reached E-Deck, water swirling into it. Rose screamed. The water was freezing, like the night air in water’s form. It made the hems of her dress float up to her knees.

"I’m going back up!" the operator screamed, reaching for the handle.

"No!" Rose protested, and opened the elevator gates. She trudged into the hallway, the water swirling at her shins.

"I’m going back up," the operator screamed again. "I’m going back up!" Rose watched in horror as the elevator began to rise, water pouring out from the bottom. She watched it until it was no longer in view. She looked around, the sound of water rushing in her ears. The water was freezing, that was for sure, and she didn’t know which way to go.

Suddenly, she remembered Thomas Andrews’ directions. Go left, down the crewman’s passage. Turn left. You’ll come to a long corridor. Turn right, then turn right again at the stairs. Trying to ignore the cold, she marched ahead, her dress soaked up to her waist by the splashes. She couldn’t even describe how cold the water was. It was like Jack described it—a thousand knives.

"Jack!" she called out desperately. She looked above her at the hallway she was about to enter and read the brass-plated sign--Crew Passage. "Crew passage," she mumbled to herself, and trudged through the water. She was trying to run, but it was so hard. Her heels were giving her trouble as well, but she refused to take them off.

Rose was becoming afraid. The corridor was deserted, and she was all alone. But with the thought of Jack fresh in her mind, she pushed herself to continue forward. She couldn’t let him die! She came to the first turn to her left and flung her head to look in the direction of the hallway. It was the long corridor Mr. Andrews had instructed her to go down. Sighing, Rose pulled herself along, trying to run as fast as she could. The water was now up to her knees, and it was becoming more difficult to walk.

"Jack!" Rose yelled. "Jack!" She looked around. Nothing. The tinted water cast an eerie glow on her pale face. Her red hair hung around her shoulders, the curls deflated by the sweat and splashes of water. She racked her brain for the next step of Mr. Andrews’ instructions…turn right, then right again at the stairs.

She ran to the right and splashed down the corridor until she came to the stairs. "Jack! Jack!" She turned right at the stairs. This was the hallway Jack was supposed to be locked up in. "Jack!" She ran down the corridor, opening doors.

Suddenly, a faint cry filled her ears. "Rose!" it called. "Rose, I’m in here!" Jack!

"Jack," Rose whispered. She followed the clanging noise he was making to a closed door. She pushed it open, and there, near the corner, handcuffed to a pipe, was Jack. He looked like he was about to cry when he saw the fiery redhead. His blonde hair flopped in his face, and his boots were wet from the water. The icy water wasn’t as high as it was farther down the corridor, but Rose knew it would rise fast.

"Jack!" Rose cried, and tried to run over to him. She fell into him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!" She kissed him, and he welcomed it. He tried to hug her back to the best of his ability, since he was handcuffed to a pipe. "Jack…"

"The guy Lovejoy put it in my pocket!" Jack cried softly, tears in his eyes. He wanted Rose to believe him so desperately!

"I know! I know!" she replied, and hugged and kissed him again. "I’m so sorry!"

Jack was anxious to be free. "Rose, I need you to find a spare key, all right?" Rose nodded, tears brimming. One trickled down her cheek. She made her way over to the key cabinet and threw open the doors. "It’s a little silver one, Rose!"

Rose was frantic. As her fingers brushed over the keys, they fell down into the rising water. "These are all brass ones!" she cried frantically.

Jack pointed his foot at the desk. "Check in there, Rose!" Rose nodded and turned to the desk. She pulled out the drawers and looked around for the silver key. Jack watched her with loving eyes. "Rose…" She looked up at him. "How did you find out I didn’t do it?"

"I didn’t," Rose said, not moving, "I just realized that I already knew." They stared into one another’s eyes until Jack broke the silence.

"Keep looking!" Rose shuffled through the drawers, then dropped them all into the water in exasperation.

"There’s no key," she breathed, her voice defeated.

Jack looked around. The water was rising fast. "Listen, Rose, you have to go find some help."

Rose nodded, dumbfounded, and trudged over to him. She hugged and kissed him, hoping that this wasn’t the last time she could be in his arms. "I’ll be right back," she breathed reassuringly. Jack nodded, and watched her flee from the room.

Chapter Nineteen
Stories