FOREVER
Chapter Two

A Different Promise

Jack walked aft as the ship itself began to shift beneath his feet. He looked around at everyone who was left on board, feeling like he had bonded with them because of that very fact they had been left to die. Everyone began walking aft as the ship began to tilt so Jack followed not sure really what to do. Suddenly Fabrizio came running at him yelling in Italian and crying.

"Whoa, whoa what’s wrong?" Jack asked setting his hands on Fabrizio’s shoulders.

"They…they…Tommy got shot!" Fabrizio stuttered to get his words out with chattering teeth and barely any breath left inside him, it was too cold to breath deeply and running had worn him out.

"What? By who?" Jack asked beginning to panic himself.

Fabrizio didn’t answer him, he just drug Jack to where Tommy was lying on the decks groaning. He was slightly conscious, but Jack could tell if he didn’t receive immediate medical attention that he would soon die. Jack looked around feverishly for anyone who could help them, all he could see were panicked men begging the officers to let them on. Then out of the corner of his eye, down on the starboard side Jack could see Cal, holding a little girl. There was also another lifeboat over there; this was Tommy’s only chance.

"We have a wounded man!" Jack yelled at the top of his voice.

Fabrizio watched Jack then stood up and walked to the officer who was talking with the frantic men begging to get on. "Sir we have a man who is shot! He needs help!" Fabrizio said.

The officer looked at the immigrant who was barely making any sense. "He’s going to die anyway! It’s better that way! He won’t freeze!" the officer yelled panicked.

"Your friend! The man who shot him, he was your friend!" Fabrizio scolded him hoping he would let Tommy onto the lifeboat.

"Yes he was! And you see my friend is dead now too!" the officer yelled. "No one gets on this boat unless it is a woman or a child," the officer yelled over everyone’s voice.

Jack had been watching the entire thing and he walked over. "Excuse me. Look I understand that you are feeling scared right now! We all are…because we all realize the boat you are in charge of is the last chance any of us has for survival. I am not asking for a seat on this boat, but what I am asking is that you consider my friend’s life! He needs a doctor and if he goes into the water half conscious he’ll struggle more than he would if he died in that lifeboat!" Jack said getting closer to the officer.

The officer looked at him. "All right…one of you can come along, I can’t take care of him and man the boat at the same time. I’m sorry but only one though."

Jack nodded and walked over back toward Tommy with Fabrizio trailing behind him. "Come on Fabri help me get him to the boat," Jack said starting to pick Tommy up from the back of his shoulders.

Fabrizio nodded and helped Tommy to the boat. The officer and a couple other men lay Tommy down and started covering him with blankets. The men reluctantly got back off the lifeboat and onto the doomed ship. Fabrizio watched as Jack pulled out a piece of paper from his portfolio. He took one of his charcoal pencils from his pocket and began to write on the back of the paper. When he was done he slid the paper back into the portfolio and walked to Fabrizio who was stepping off the lifeboat and back onto the ship. Jack pushed him back onto the lifeboat and gave him the portfolio. "You go Fab," he said.

"Jack no…you…" Fabrizio began.

"Fabrizio I promised you a long time ago that I would get you to America come hell or high water. Well the high water is coming and it’s your chance to go, but you have to promise me something. When you are rescued you have to give this to Rose," Jack said motioning toward the portfolio in Fabrizio’s shaking hand. "She’s on another lifeboat…you have to give this to her and just tell her I love her and…tell her…I’ll always watch over her," Jack said getting choked up slightly.

Fabrizio looked at his best friend now in tears. "Jack…I know you for three years…I know Tommy three days…" he said.

"That doesn’t matter…you have to take care of him, even if he doesn’t make it. Just promise me you’ll give that to Rose," Jack said firmly.

Fabrizio nodded. "I swear Jack…I will."

Jack smiled at him assuredly. "It will be all right."

Fabrizio nodded again and sat down next to Tommy who moaned slightly. "When I see the Statue of Liberty…I’ll kiss her for you!" Fabrizio called to Jack.

Jack smiled widely. "Tell her I miss her!" he shouted.

Both Fabrizio and Jack were fighting tears; it was so hard for Fabrizio to leave knowing Jack would die. And it was hard for Jack to stay knowing they would live and that he would never see Rose again.

****

The ship looked almost vertical to Rose as she stared at it. It didn’t seem possible that in ten minutes or however long it had been that the ship could be sticking straight up into the air. She thought about Jack and how scared he must be on the ship. She was scared stiff just watching it so being aboard at that very moment had to be down right terrifying.

Jack had made it to the back of the ship, where he had pulled Rose over the side the first night they met. The ship began to tilt more and more so Jack wrapped his arm around the railing tightly. He looked around at the people who were also grasping the railing. He was surprised to see Helga Dahl, the girl that Fabrizio had fallen for. "Helga," he said quietly.

She looked at him with a terrified look on her face. Her hair was down around her shoulders and she looked to be wearing a man’s jacket. It was Fabrizio’s jacket, if Jack remembered correctly Fabrizio had given it to her to remember him by when they were still trapped below the decks. She had left to go with her family, but he had given her his coat still to keep her warm. Helga recognized him then began to look around for Fabrizio.

"He’s on a lifeboat," Jack said then stopped explaining realizing she didn’t speak English.

Helga looked at him sadly. "Fabrizio?" she asked shaking her head.

Jack shook his head, trying to think of a way to tell her he was okay. "Fabrizio is okay," Jack said slowly trying to use hand signals without letting go of the bar. Suddenly all the screams and prayers and voices on board the ship stopped when they all heard a loud, cracking noise. Jack looked below them and saw that the ship was slowly breaking in half. Then suddenly the ship began to fall back level on the water faster and faster until the ship had broken completely. Jack landed on his knees on the deck with a loud THUNK! "We’re saved!" He heard someone yell loudly cheering. Helga seemed more relaxed too, but before any more people could start cheering the half of the ship began to fill with water and it too began to tilt up.

"Oh my God!" an older woman shouted as the people in the lifeboats watched the ship split into two parts.

Rose watched terrified, but then when the half of the ship went back level a small glimmer of hope sparked inside her. Maybe Jack was on that half and maybe it could stay afloat until help came! As soon as Rose had thought that the half of the ship still remaining began to tilt up too. Rose covered her mouth with her freezing hands and felt like screaming. Instead she closed her eyes and started crying so hard her body collapsed and she sunk down into the lifeboat. "Dear God please save the souls on board that ship!" she prayed silently to herself. "Please rescue my Jack…please," she begged.

Jack grabbed Helga’s arm as her fingers began to slip. He pushed her up onto the back of the ship and he followed her up. The ship was exactly vertical, sticking straight up from the water. When he looked down he could see the water and that the ship was slowly going under. He turned to Helga and tried to tell her to hold her breath when they reached the water. He grabbed her hand tightly and pointed to it with his other hand. "Hold on!" he yelled slowly.

"No let go?" Helga asked slowly.

Jack nodded. "Right! Ready..." he started as they neared the water. He could feel the ice cold water spray up toward them as the ship started to go down. He and Helga stood up and she watched him waiting for him to take a breath. When Jack opened his mouth to take in a large breath of air, she followed his motions and before either of them knew it they were surrounded by ice cold water.

Rose watched horrified as the ship disappeared into the ocean. It was loud and most people covered their ears, but Rose was in shock. Then it all went quiet and the only thing anyone could hear were the screaming people in the water. Rose starred out to where the ship had once been. The floating palace was gone forever, taken right out from underneath them so quickly that no one thought it was real. Any minute now Rose would wake up from this nightmare and be back on board the ship with Jack at her side. But she knew it wasn’t a nightmare and that she probably would never see Jack again…her life had been changed forever. And at that moment she regretted not pushing the officer away and jumping back onto the ship, but now nothing could change that.

Chapter Three
Stories