EVERYTHING’S NOT LOST
Chapter Twenty-Eight
All I could hear was screaming.
Petrified screams. Even far from Titanic, and getting farther as the officers
on board continued to row, the screams just seem to echo back to us, and to
everyone else in this lifeboat—not to mention, the lifeboats around us.
"An hour, two at the most." My father’s voice echoed in my head and I
kept my eyes locked on the ship, as it continued to submerge into the water. I
could still hear the band playing, after all of this time—They just won’t give
up. Everyone on board was running, scrambling for a lifeboat that wasn’t
underwater. Smoke rose into the air above Titanic as the water continued to
come, bringing people under with it, as others knocked them down to get to
higher ground. Then, the band just stopped. The music that had filled the air
all night withered away, and the sounds of death surrounded me. I suppose they
stopped because it was the very end. That’s what they always do.
I should’ve helped more—I
shouldn’t have been so selfish, and gotten on a boat, when there were so many
other people who deserved to live more than me.
"Antoinette." Harry
moved from his place on the ledge and sat down beside me, wrapping an arm
around me. I burrowed my head into his shoulder, closing my eyes. I won’t cry.
There’s always time to cry later. This all has to be over soon. But, I can’t
watch my father’s dream just submerge the way it is. Nobody’s even talking, and
if they are, they’re gasping at the sight. I’ll never forget this, I know—It
may haunt me for the rest of my life.
"It’s almost over," he
tried to reassure me into my ear. Will it ever truly be over? He looked down at
his watch, but didn’t say a word to me. It doesn’t matter what time it is. I
may end up staying awake for the rest of my life. We sleep when we die and at
this moment, I don’t want to die.
"Look at that!" one
woman behind me hissed to another. I looked up from Harry’s shoulder and saw
one of the funnels of Titanic lean to its’ side as the ropes holding it
together snapped in the water. Everyone stopped what they were doing—from
fighting for a lifeboat to getting to higher ground and watched as the funnel
snapped three-fourths of the way down, falling into the water, above passengers!
A unanimous scream went out and the funnel slammed into the water, creating a
wave effect. Lifeboats near the ship almost tipped over and everyone clung for
dear life. Even the wave that hit us was hard and rocky, and I merely clung to
Harry tighter than before.
The lights then flickered.
Everyone screamed, yet again, but the lights remained on…tried and true. Even
submerged in water, at least there was light for them. Those poor,
unfortunate…I blinked back my own tears as what looked to be a group of ants, I
know they’re people, begin to flock for the stern of the ship, that was now
exceeding into the air higher and higher than the last proceeding second.
"What time is it…?" I
whispered to Harry. It only seems appropriate to whisper. No one else has the
gall to speak.
"Two-ten." I then saw
the lights on the Titanic flicker off. There was one unanimous scream from
everyone aboard. I think this time for good, they’re not going to turn back on.
I gulped, trying to pry my eyes away from what will ultimately be a horrible
memory. The stern was rising swiftly now and the stars above us were the only
light that could allow anyone to see what was going on. Those poor people—stuck
on the ship…that dark ship. Most of them would ultimately perish, even though I
don’t want it to be so.
The propellers hung in the air as
another officer on a lifeboat below them yelled to row faster. People were now
jumping off the back of the stern and falling as little pebbles into the water,
before trying to swim to a nearby lifeboat. Some were just sliding down
Titanic’s deck, unable to find anything to hold onto, before slipping into the
sea. Others were now in the water, splashing about, attempting to get away from
the ship, but there was only so far you could swim before your muscles would
freeze on you. Even from my little experience with the water, my muscles
stopped functioning for a while and I thought perhaps I wasn’t going to make it
out of there. I did, though—but nobody on that ship…right now…knows if they’re
going to make it or not. I just don’t understand why they would try to jump,
except for the possible-lifeboat factor!
More and more people continued to
jump, from both the stern and the side of the ship hanging in mid-air. I
burrowed my head into Harry’s neck, unable to watch any longer. What are we
doing here? This just cannot be happening—I must be dreaming. I have to be.
Nothing this violent and intense could really happen to anyone in the real
world.
"Antoinette, Ann…"
Harry’s gentle voice tried to calm me down, but I am not looking at that ship.
Not now. My father’s gone and now, who knows how many people have already
passed away. The numbers will only grow. "It’s alright, it’s going to be
okay…" He doesn’t know that. Nobody really does. Eventually, this ordeal
has to end. I’m just not sure when.
The screaming and wailing
continued and there was no activity on the lifeboat I’m in or any of the
lifeboats floating nearby. Nobody spoke—and I sincerely mean nobody. Nobody
could, even if they wanted to—What was happening around us was too shocking.
"…Hail Mary, Full of Grace,
the Lord is with thee," began one female passenger near the rear of the
lifeboat, softly and sounding as if she was holding back her tears,
"…blessed art thou among women…" Others gradually began to recite the
prayer with her. I looked up from Harry’s neck and everyone had their heads
bowed down, eyes closed, their minds and thoughts on the others. "…and
blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus…"
"Holy Mary," I began to
recite along with them, "Mother of God…"
"Pray for us sinners,"
Harry chimed in, "Now, and at the hour of death." When the last work
was spoken, a large cracking sound made me look up from Harry’s neck. Titanic
was splitting…into two pieces! The wires and lights sparked in the center of
the split, like the fiery pits of Hell. She couldn’t take the weight any
longer, just like the rest of us. The bow broke away completely from the rest
of Titanic and sunk into the depths of the North Atlantic, as the stern fell
back into the water, making a gigantic splash and wave, as the people still on
the ship screamed bloody murder. Sea spray went everywhere! We waited for the
wave from the stern to come towards our boat and it did—rocking us just a
little harder than the wave from the funnel. As for the people who were now
underneath Titanic? I have no idea. "Amen."