EVERYTHING’S NOT LOST
Chapter Twenty

"WHY, YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Ismay shouted down the hallway at me. I can’t stop—I have to keep running. I quickly looked over my shoulder and now, his running steps are as apparent as ever. I have to run faster! How can I possibly run any faster with these shoes on and this corset? Damn these corsets—men should be forced to wear them, too! "GET BACK HERE THIS INSTANT!"

I turned down another corridor to my right, unsure of where I was going. I’m sure Ismay has no idea of where he’s going, either. My breathing seems to be uncontrollable and although the hallway in front of me seems to be a tad fuzzy, as if I’m not getting enough oxygen, I can’t stop. Who knows what Ismay will do if he catches up with me. If being the keyword in that sentence.

"ANTOINETTE ANDREWS!" His voice seemed to echo and ring through my ears, burning my senses, my memory, my sanity—but I kept my feet going. Before I knew it, I had reached the first-class corridor and I pushed past a younger man in a tuxedo and an older woman, who felt the need to gasp.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. I didn’t look back, I can’t apologize. I could hear Ismay now apologizing to her, having practically knocking her to the floor. I passed that familiar elevator operator, who I had met on the first night of the voyage.

"Need a ride?" he asked hopefully, attempting to stand.

"No thanks!" I replied, turning left down the oak stairs, towards the second-class area, the lower deck. I quickly skidded down the first set of stairs, then the second, and the third before I heard Ismay’s shoes tapping against the hardwood behind me.

I thought he was allergic to people who were poor—I didn’t think he would actually follow me down to the lower decks. Presidents of shipping companies don’t go down into the lower corridors with the rats! Or do they? They do when their name happens to be Bruce Ismay. He’s too angry at me, he’ll follow me to the end of the Earth at this rate. There must be blood all over the ground by now. He looks like someone who would bleed…a lot. I hope he’s in pain. Am I going to go to Hell for thinking that? Oh, I can’t think about that now!

I took another random right down a hallway after stopping at the foot of the last staircase that led to the first-class. I have to catch my breath and Ismay doesn’t seem to be anywhere in sight. Good. I sighed, almost a breath of relief, until I heard the familiar footsteps. Grabbing my dress with my hands, I began to run down the hallway faster than before. His footsteps seem to be dying away, or are they? I’m at the end of the hallway and I now realize it’s a dead end. I knew I should’ve went left!

I tried to open the door to my right, but it was locked. Damn it! Ismay’s footsteps, if they are Ismay’s, which they must likely are, seem to be getting closer. Damn it! I went for the door on my left and it opened. Thank God!

I quickly ran into the room, shutting the door behind me. Damn it, there’s no lock! I can’t even think about locks right now…Oh! The sound! There seems to be engines in here! Or something that is so loud, my head is automatically beginning to pound! What is that!? It’s a small room and looking around, I saw a small square cut out on the floor. Orange smoke and heat seemed to be radiating from it. What is that? The sound seems to be almost coming from down there.

"GET OUT HERE AND FACE ME LIKE A MAN!" Ismay’s voice seemed to fume with anger and he began to bang on the door. He would get it open and who knows what will happen if he manages to get me. He’d probably chain me a pipe for breaking his nose. At this point, if that square entrance leads to the depths of Hell, it has to be better than dealing with Bruce Ismay. I got closer to the hole and realized there was a hanging ladder. Okay, well, I can climb. I think. I brought myself down into the hole and grasping the white ladder as well as I could, I began to climb down.

"I’LL GET YOU! NOBODY GETS AWAY WITH DOING THIS TO BRUCE ISMAY!" Oh, shut up! I realized, three-fourths of the way down this ladder to Hell, that it doesn’t reach the floor. I heard the door open above me and I realize I have nothing to lose at this point. I braced myself, and jumped.

Thankfully, I managed to land on both of my feet and before I had the chance to think, I quickly moved out of the view of the entryway to Hell, so Ismay wouldn’t be able to see me. I found myself in the middle of a long corridor, surrounding by steam and men shoveling coal. I must in the boiler room—Titanic’s Hell.

"GET BACK HERE!" Ismay shouted. I looked up at the hole, making sure he couldn’t see me. He’s not going to come all the way down here to get me, is he? He has no idea where he’s going and I don’t, either—Then again, he’s out of his mind and hasn’t had a good breath in minutes. He may just be out of his mind enough to follow me down here.

"What are you doing down here?" asked a heavy Irish accent angrily. I whirled around and there stood an older man, who looked as if he had been badly sunburned. "Passengers aren’t allowed down here, it’s dangerous—"

"ANDREWS!" Ismay shouted from above. I’ve got to make a run for it! He’s going to come down here! Even if he is the President of the White Star Line, he’s coming for me! Just like Satan himself. I pushed past the man and began to run down the corridor, making my way around the workers who stopped to see what the ruckus was about, leaning on their shovels.

"GET BACK TO WORK!" The Irish voice shouted. He must be the big man down here. Ismay can’t be following me, can he? It’s too dangerous to look over my shoulder to see, I could run into something. I’ve never been down here, but my father talked of it on that tour of the ship days ago. It eventually leads onto the deck, he had said. Is that what he said? I can’t even remember!

I made it down the corridor and actually slammed myself into a white door, with a circular knob. Run much, Antoinette? I sighed. Okay, now, that door looks ship-like and unlike everything else down here that’s black metal, this looks white—like the rest of Titanic. I turned the knob with a few turns, struggling all the while and the door creaked open. I looked into what seemed to be a tunnel. What have I got to lose? Picking up my dress, I walked through the tunnel, shutting the door behind me.

It’s the storage area! I was worried about a storage area? Who would’ve thought the storage area would be all the way here, having gone through all of those rooms, through the boiler room also known as Hell? There has to be an easier way to get in here, but for now…I’m safe. I’ll at least hear Ismay when he comes knocking.

Of course, there’s absolutely nowhere to sit. I attempted to lift a crate to move it out of the way so I could take a five-minute break to catch my breath, but it was too heavy for me. I leaned against a stack of crates along the wall with the entryway, where I had just walked through.

I can’t even catch my breath! Everything seems to be spinning. Antoinette, stop yourself, calm yourself. This only seems as bad as it is. No, no! It is bad! I broke Bruce Ismay’s nose—Well, I can’t be so sure if I broke it, but…I think I caused some serious damage. This will definitely beat out the china incident in my book—But, it won’t be talked about. Ismay will be the laughing stock of that first-class smoking room, having had his nose broken by a woman—the Master Shipbuilder’s daughter, no less!

The crates seem to be trembling. I felt them and they’re shaking. Well, it must be me—because I can still barely catch my breath myself and seem to be shaking. That’s when I heard it. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard and the sounds were coming from my right. I turned to face the wall, stepping away from the crates. I now notice that the walls and the bolts holding them together seem to be quivering. What the—The walls were buckling in! No, they’re not buckling—my mind seems to be fading. Lack of oxygen, that’s all…I blinked a few times and the third time I blinked, the walls caved in.

Water began gushing into the storage area at such a high, intense pace, it threw me against the crates I had once been near and towards the rear of the room. It’s so cold! Oh my God, my mind is even more numb than it had been before! It kept pulling me under, as if the salt water had a mind of its’ own. I attempted to scream for help when I reached the surface, but what’s the point? There was no one around, who could possibly help me?

I then slammed into a very expensive-looking car furnished with shining oak that had been hitched to the ground by some sturdy rope. Ow, that really hurt! I took in a sharp breath, before my mouth filled with salt water. I coughed it back out, almost swallowing it. That was close. That car is not going to look all that great after the water gets out of here! As the water began to rise, quicker than I expected, I know I have to get out of here. But, how?

The door! Where I had come out! I pushed myself off and away from the car, pushing against the water’s current to reach the door. Salt hit my eyes and mouth and sure, it was stinging so much that I was ready to scream, but I’m too cold to care. I have to reach the door out of here. I pulled myself, using the walls of the tunnel, to get towards the door. It’s not opening!

"Damn it!" I screamed. "OPEN!" I pounded on the door as I tried in vain to open it. The water slowly, but surely, continued to rise. Not that much, but enough so for me to notice. It hit my body in little waves and I’m so cold, I can’t even think straight. "COME ON!" I shouted at the door. "OPEN FOR ME!" I pulled with all of my might once more and the door pushed open, with the help of the water.

I was led quite quickly out of the storage area and into the boiler room, where red lights seemed to be flashing everywhere and men were shouting to one another. Sounds of large beeping echoed through the boiler room, invading my ears. What’s going on?

I pushed my way through the water—Remind me never to buy dresses this heavy when wet—and almost got knocked down by a group of men running towards a door that seemed to be quickly shutting.

"Hurry up! They’re closing the doors!" I gasped. The water-tight doors! How am I going to get out of here now? Those doors, I knew they existed and they could shut, but why are they shutting? There are people down here! I can’t panic. Don’t panic, Antoinette, don’t panic…How did you get yourself down here? The ladder. The ladder. The way I came in, it’s the way I can get myself out of here.

I made my way down the long hallway as the water continued to rise. It wasn’t as high here as it was in the storage area—Strange. Oh, stop making observations, Antoinette! The ladder, I need the ladder…where is it? This boiler room is so large, with so many hallways—it’s almost just as complex as the damn ship itself! How can anyone manage to navigate this!?

There! There it is! I can see it clearly now, as if there was a bright light shining above it from the level above. I pushed my way through the water, the harshness of the water making my teeth chatter uncontrollably—but, with shaking hands, I reached the ladder. Oh, no! How can I possibly make it up?

Quickly looking around, I know the ladder’s attached to something. I reached as high as I could on the ground to one of the ladder’s bars and pushing myself against a wall, or is it a boiler, in front of me that was holding the ladder in place. I attempted to reach the next bar. I can do this—I know I can. I didn’t climb trees as a child for nothing! This has to…work. I pushed on the wall once more and there! I’m up! Thank God! I pushed myself up with my arms before my feet hit the last bar of the ladder and I quickly began to climb.

Skidding to the surface of the level of the loud noises, I pulled myself out of the hole of Hell and managed to stand up. I leaned against the door that lead to the corridor, pushing my wet hair out of my face. Well, at least I’m wearing a coat—Like Hell, how’s that going to help me now? It’s just as wet as I am. Taking a deep breath, I turned and swung the door open. I began to run.

Down the corridors and up the necessary sets of stairs to the next level and then the next, I went. I need to get up to the first class! What’s going on—Why is there water down there!? Where is everyone? The halls are completely empty! I can’t be the only one who heard that screeching sound! I’m still shivering to death and although I feel numb from head to toe from the water, I can’t stop now. There’s something wrong, something’s not right. I’m just not sure what.

I used the stairwell’s handrails to pull me up when I saw the first-class area coming into view. My dress and coat, which I know I should just throw the coat to the side and forget about, are weighing me down and these heels are not helping matters now. As I hit the final step to the first-class corridor, I can see some people just coming out of their rooms, looking to and fro from the hallways. Then, they just shut their doors, as if whatever it was, it didn’t matter. It matters! No matter how out of breath I am, I need to get to my father. He’ll know what to do—He always knows what to do.

I took a right towards the first-class area where the elevator operator still stood. Damn it, I could’ve taken the elevator! Running, in my mind, seemed like a great idea at the time—I can’t think when I’m cold. That’s understood.

I began to check the room’s numbers and as I reached the thirties, I realized I was okay. I’m okay! I made it out of that Hell hole down there. I’m not okay, though—I’m petrified. There, there. My room. I need to get to my room. I can’t think about the feeling in the pit of my stomach that I have—I can’t think about this feeling of dread that seems to loom over me. I banged on the room door frantically instead. Please let my father be here!

"Daddy!" I shouted through the door, banging on it even harder than before. "Dad! It’s Ann!" No reply. I hope he hasn’t gone looking for me—What if he was down there? What if he wasn’t able to get out? No, no! Think positively, he’s okay. He’s fine. He’s always fine.

I stuck my hands into my coat pockets for my room key and finding it, I searched through the key ring—which just had to have multiple keys on it, mind you. Which key is the room key? Why can’t I remember this? Shaking, I searched through key after key. There, that’s it. The room number’s on this gold one! It has to be it. Damn it, I can’t seem to warm up now—I’m shaking too much to even attempt to put the key in the door to unlock it. I tried however, but with no success. Alright, so that’s not the right key…?

"Antoinette!" My father’s voice boomed down the hallway and I whirled around to see him running towards me. "Ann, Ann, where were you? Are you alright? Why are you soaking wet—" I shook my head at him.

"Daddy," I said softly, "I think something’s wrong with the ship."

Chapter Twenty-One
Stories