MAKING LUCK
Chapter Six

Monday, April 15, 1912
RMS Titanic

"Rose? Rose, come back here, right now! Rose!" Ruth was screaming.

Cal tore after his fiancée, following the flashing red hair that taunted him. He caught up to her quickly and grabbed her arm, wrenching her around. "No, Rose, no!" he bellowed. "You will not do this to me again!"

Her gaping mouth and wide eyes turned quickly into a thin line and narrowed eyes. "You…bastard," she hissed. "This happened before, didn’t it? And you were going to let it happen again! Did Jack die last time, Cal? Tell me!"

Cal could barely contain his contempt for this subject. "You want the truth?" he spat, throwing her wrists at her. She stood planted firmly. "Yes, he died. And so did you! You both died on this damned ship!"

Rose was stunned. She took a step back. Her mother’s cries wafted over the air, juxtaposing sharply with the calm, cheery music. "No," Rose whispered. "No. You…you’ve got to be…no…"

Cal sighed. "I never wanted to tell you this, Rose. You ran off just like this the last time and…somehow you freed him. The next time I saw you both, I got you on a lifeboat, but you jumped out for some ungodly reason. And then I…oh, I don’t want to talk about it." For he really didn’t. He grasped her by the forearms. "Rose, you died. You and that Dawson fellow both. I don’t want that to happen again. I love you, Rose. Now please, please get on a boat."

"But Jack!" Rose protested, flailing against him the slightest bit. "I can’t just leave him! I…Cal, I can’t!"

And suddenly, it hit Cal. Cold, hard, dawning realization hit Cal. He froze, unable to comprehend anything besides the realization he was making at this moment. The world blended and faded to him; it was as if the only thing that existed was that light in his mind’s eye. It was just like the flare, hissing and then bursting within him. Everything he had tried to do up to this point had failed him. Everything he had tried to undo had corrected itself, leaving him in precisely the same position he was in last time. He wasn’t supposed to change that, any of that.

He was supposed to save them both.

He, in all of his infinite wisdom, had not understood this. Not until now. It was just as Ruthie said; he would know when the time came. And it had come. He didn’t know how, but somehow, he was supposed to help them both. Even if it meant…oh, God. Even if it meant risking his own life.

And yet…he wouldn’t entirely mind dying. Oh, he would rather survive, naturally, but it wasn’t as if he hadn’t attempted death before. He had tried to kill himself in 1929 when his money was dwindling and he had just enough to tide over his inordinate family. Now, seventeen years earlier, he had more than enough to support his one ex-wife and their children. As for Violet, well…nothing was in his will, but he had still donated a notable amount to her bank account.

But why was he thinking of this now? There was work to be done. He came back to the present like one who has been underwater and suddenly resurfaces. He became aware again of his surroundings—of the chattering of the crowd, the strings of the band, the cries of Ruth as the boat was lowered, of the brisk chill of the evening, of the fact that he was gripping Rose’s arms and she was fighting against him with fear in her eyes.

"Cal, let go!" she pleaded.

He released her as if by reflex. But she didn’t dart away as she had been planning; instead, she remained rooted to the spot, staring at him oddly. "You…what’s wrong with you?"

Cal slowly comprehended her words. "I…come on. We’ve got to go."

Rose was hot on his heels, hurrying to keep up with him and sputtering as she did so. "I…Cal, what are you doing? A minute ago you told me to get on the boat, and now you’re telling me to follow you? I…stop running! I want answers!"

Cal growled and whirled around. "Rose, I am trying to save your little gutter rat! Unless you’d rather he stay here and die…"

Rose shook her head quickly. "No, of course not."

Cal continued his way inside, brushing away some stewards offering him a lifebelt. Rose was on his tail, determined to keep up with him as best she could. She was also still talking, as well. Cal briefly wondered what had attracted him so much to this woman who was nagging his ear off right now. "But why do you want to help him? You hate him. You had him arrested and, unless I’m very much mistaken, you planted the diamond in his pocket. Didn’t you? Didn’t you?"

Cal sighed. "Yes, I did, all right? I didn’t want you to die again, so I tried to separate you two as best I could. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. So now I have to go save him in order to save you."

Rose caught up to him, jogging to maintain her place beside him. And still she pestered him with questions. "I assume, then, that you know where to find Jack?"

Cal halted. "Well, I…er…no, actually. I was sort of…hoping it would…come to me," he said lamely.

"Well, if there’s anyone who knows his way around this ship, it’s Mr. Andrews," Rose piped up quickly. "We could ask him."

Cal hesitated before nodding. "Yes; very well. But do you know where he is?"

Rose hesitated.

"I can take you to him."

They both whipped around and came face-to-face with a blonde girl Cal hadn’t seen much of for quite some time. "Ruthie!" he exclaimed.

"Who are you?" Rose asked at the same time.

They both glanced at each other.

"You can see her?" Cal asked.

"Everyone can see me, Cal; that’s why I only ever appeared to you when you were alone," Ruthie informed him in a hurried tone. "But I can talk about that later. You’re looking for Andrews right now, although I could just take you to Jack myself."

"You know where he is?" Rose asked, nonplussed.

"She knows many things, Rose." Cal sighed. "This little…ghost, I suppose…has been haunting me over the past few days. We can trust her."

Rose looked as if she understood in a horrified way. "So…this is the one you told me about?"

"Didn’t believe in me, did you?" Ruthie asked in an unsurprised fashion. "Now, you can search everywhere for Andrews or you can let me lead you to Jack. It’s your choice, Rose."

She was not talking to Cal this time. He held his tongue, watching as Rose struggled with herself for a moment. Finally, she nodded. "Oh, all right. But please hurry."

"I’ll try," Ruthie said dryly. She sped away, leaving Cal and Rose to sprint after her. She wove through the crowd, but a few people still cried out that they were suddenly ice-cold. Rose called out unfelt apologies as they pushed through people, fighting to follow Ruthie. She came to the lifts, where an annoyed-looking youth was denying anyone entrance.

"The lifts are closed."

"I do not care what you think, sir…" a haughty-looking woman was saying.

"I’m sorry, but the lifts are closed."

Rose didn’t stop in time and skidded, sailing right through Ruthie and hitting the youth’s chest with a gasp. He sighed irritably. "I’m sorry, miss, but the lifts are closed."

Before anyone could say anything else, Cal reached into his pocket and whipped out the gun he had stowed there. The youth--and Rose--looked stunned. Cal took a step closer. "You will let us on or I will fire this gun. The ship’s going down and I highly doubt you’ll survive anyway."

The youth stepped back and allowed them to scramble into the lift, closing the gates behind them.

"E-Deck," Ruthie instructed the lad firmly. He fumbled with the lever and pushed it down.

"I didn’t know you brought a gun with you," Rose said mildly.

Cal shrugged, returning it to his pocket. "I was prepared. God knows what might happen."

They waited for what felt like much too long. And then, before they had even reached the floor, water gushed into the lift, swirling around their legs. Rose screamed and the youth let out a yell of surprise before clambering on top of the chair in the corner.

"I’m goin’ back up!" he shouted, already reaching for the lever.

"No! No, no!" Rose bellowed, sloshing forward. Cal unlocked the gates and tumbled out of them, Rose right behind him. Ruthie was standing in the water, but it bothered her not a bit. She looked impatient to be going, actually.

"Come back! I’m goin’ back up! I’m goin’ back up!" the youth screamed hysterically. Water spilled out of the lift as it slowly chugged its way upwards.

"You have to follow me. Now," Ruthie instructed, gliding forward. Cal and Rose sloshed after her, fighting the cold and the thick water in order to do so. They went down a crew passage and found pieces of furniture and small items drifting about. Ruthie sailed right through them, but Cal and Rose had difficulty in moving around them. Cal grunted and tossed a chair aside before grabbing Rose’s hand and pulling her along. It was easier for him to move, considering he wasn’t wearing a long dress to weigh him down.

"Damn, this is cold!" he muttered.

"It only gets worse," Ruthie informed him in a bored tone. "Hurry."

"Well, we’re trying!" Rose argued, albeit in a resigned tone. The lights flickered and Cal and Rose froze on the spot for a moment.

"There’s no time! Hurry!" Ruthie shouted, her voice bouncing off the walls and echoing strangely. She was there and wasn’t there at the same time.

Cal picked his way forward, pulling Rose with him. She didn’t protest; in fact, she seemed grateful that he was propelling her. "Jack!" she shouted, as if hoping he would leap out from one of the closed doors.

"He’s in here," Ruthie called, melting through a door with careless ease.

Cal pushed open the door and tumbled into the room, Rose behind him. Ruthie was hovering in the middle of the room, staring at Jack. He, too, was gawking, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Something told Cal not to interrupt. Rose must have had the same feeling, because she was not moving a lick.

"Ruthie?" Jack whispered hoarsely. "You…am I dead?"

"No, Jack," she said in a soft voice. "You’re very much alive. I’m the dead one. I’m only here to help you." She turned, acknowledging Cal and Rose. "To help all of you."

"Rose!" Jack exclaimed, seeming to realize that she was there.

"Oh, Jack!" Rose sloshed forward as quickly as she was able--which was surprisingly fast, given the water--and launched herself in his arms, starting to cry. "I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!" She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him openly.

Cal, oddly enough, wasn’t insulted. Oh, he felt a little sting, naturally, but he wasn’t as upset as he thought he might be. He had pitched a fit when Gemma filed for divorce, but he was putting up much less resistance now. Perhaps…he was ready to let her go. He stood back, waiting for further instruction.

"That guy Lovejoy put it in my pocket!" Jack said the moment they had pulled apart.

"I know, I know, I know, I know!" Rose cried.

Jack took notice of Cal for the first time. "What is he doing down here? I…none of this makes any sense! What are any of you doing down here?"

"But how do you know Ruthie?" Cal asked insistently. "She led us right to you!"

Jack narrowed his eyes. "How do you know her, Cal? She’s not your sister."

"No, of course she—" Realization hit Cal. He whirled to face an actually shame-faced Ruthie. "You! You never told me he was your brother!"

"No; I don’t imagine you’d have listened to me, would you?" Ruthie asked icily.

Cal couldn’t argue against this. "Well…no. But…dear God, why have you been helping me?"

"I had to," Ruthie said in a pleading sort of voice. "I…well, I wanted to save Jack. There was only one way to do that, and that was to get to you. I didn’t want to; I didn’t like you at all. I still don’t like you, come to think of it," she added. "But I had to save Jack. I had to."

"Look, I…I don’t want to sound heartless or anything," Rose interrupted in a small voice, "but…but shouldn’t we be, you know…helping Jack or something?"

"Yes, exactly," Cal agreed. "What do we do?"

"There should be a spare key," Jack suggested.

Ruthie shook her head vehemently. "No; Lovejoy took it. There’s no key. At least, not one you could get and still have time to save Jack. You’ll have to find an axe."

"An…axe?" Cal repeated incredulously. "I…don’t be ridiculous. There’s no axe on a ship!"

"On the contrary," Rose spoke up shakily, "there is. Several, in fact. Remember the tour earlier…was it only today? Mr. Andrews was showing us the emergency axes." She turned to Ruthie. "Can you take us to one?"

Ruthie hesitated. "I…I’m not sure. This isn’t part of the plan; I don’t know. But I can try."

Rose glanced at Jack. "We’ll be back," she promised, kissing him fiercely.

"I’ll just wait here!" Jack called after them as Cal and Rose sloshed after Ruthie. She was already whizzing through the corridor, disappearing from view.

"Come back!" Rose shouted, shivering.

"She’ll find us," Cal assured her, taking her hand again. The water was waist-deep on him and a bit higher on Rose. It was taking all of their strength to slosh through it now. He hoisted himself up to the stairs that led up to D-Deck and literally pulled Rose along after him. Her dress was soaking and sticking to her, revealing the shape of her legs. At any other time, this would have been scandalous; now, neither of them really cared. "Perhaps we’d better split up," Cal suggested. "We might find it quicker. And we have Ruthie."

"Yes, all right," Rose agreed. They parted as the corridor split, each sprinting down their respective hallways. Cal raced down the corridor, his eyes searching desperately for something red. He could make out the sound of Rose’s shoes clacking against the floor some distance away, the noise echoing strangely. The lights flickered and the hull was making unearthly noises, but he kept running. He was starting to get turned around when Ruthie popped out of the wall before him. He let out a yell.

"Rose found one; come on."

Cal had no choice but to tear after the young girl. He stumbled to a stop at the stairway. A moment later, Rose sprinted into view, clutching a red fire-axe. She was panting but looking pleased. "Ready?" she asked.

Cal nodded. "Yes, yes, of course." He was preparing to descend the steps when they heard another person. They paused and looked up to see a steward hurrying down the hall.

"Ah…ladies, sir, you shouldn’t be here!" he called to them, motioning for them to follow him. "Come along; I’ll help you out!"

"Um…no, we’re fine, actually," Cal assured him, descending the stairs.

The man stared. "But…but, sir…"

"We’ve got it from here. Thanks anyway, though," Ruthie said sweetly. The man made to take hold of her arm, but of course his hand fell right through. He let out a yelp and withdrew it, grabbing his hand and bending over in shock. He gave them one look before darting away. Ruthie soared over Cal and Rose’s heads, coming to a rest in the water. It was high, now; very high.

"Damn it," Cal hissed.

"Oh, my God," Rose whispered, clutching the axe.

Cal gripped the bar-like structure at the foot of the stairs and leaned forward, glancing down the hallway. There was still plenty of room for their heads, so they wouldn’t run out of air, but there was no way they could wade through this. Swimming was in order. Could Rose even swim? He wasn’t sure. A light flickered nearby.

"Look, I can understand that this is all very frightening," Ruthie began.

"Yes, I know; we’re coming," Cal said hurriedly, sliding down into the water. He let out a little gasp before turning and motioning for Rose to do the same. She hesitated and then set the axe in the bars. Rose shed her coat, revealing her bare arms. She would be freezing, but the coat was weighing her down. She gripped the axe again and also slid into the water, making a noise that was half a gasp and half a yelp.

"Here; give it here," Cal instructed, taking the axe. He held onto it with one hand and used his other hand to grip the pipes. It took him a moment, but not much longer, to figure it out; he moved along in this manner, propelling himself with his legs and gripping the pipes with one hand. Rose followed behind, moving easier with two free hands as opposed to one. Ruthie was ahead of them, he could tell; damn her ability to move through anything.

The floor rose after some time and the depth of the water went down. Cal held the axe above his head and waded, pushing his legs. Rose had a hand on his back now, most likely to steady herself with. Ruthie flew into the only open door and they followed her. Jack was hunched up on the desk that had floated towards them, pulled down by his handcuffs.

"Jack!" Rose shouted.

"Rose!" he returned, looking gleeful.

"Look, Dawson; I know you don’t trust me and, well, you really shouldn’t. I don’t trust myself. But I am sorry about this mess," Cal blundered. "And…well, you’re going to have to trust me for a moment."

Jack gulped at the sight of the axe but nodded. "Yeah…okay."

Cal sloshed forward and carefully aimed the axe. The two girls were silent, but he could tell that they were fearful. Jack had his hands stretched as far as they would go, exposing the chain of the handcuffs. His face was scrunched up in nervous anticipation. Cal aimed again and sent the axe flying.

BANG

They looked around to see that Jack’s hands were not dismembered, as they had originally feared, but were free. Well, they were still bound by cuffs, but at least the chain was gone and Jack could move freely. He and Rose laughed happily, embracing and kissing feverishly.

"Nice work there, Paul Bunyan," Ruthie said, smiling.

Cal returned the gesture, but there were more pressing matters at hand "Look, I hate to break this up, but we really must be going," he urged.

"Yes, of course," Rose agreed.

Jack jumped down and waded after Rose, yelping. "Oh, shit this is cold! Shit, shit, shit, shit!"

They paused as they turned to head towards D-Deck; water was spilling down it and blocking their only way out. There was no way the three of them--the three live ones, that is--could make it out that way.

"This is the way out!" Rose exclaimed.

"Come on; follow me!" Ruthie instructed, gliding ahead the opposite direction. They followed her without question, putting their lives in her hands. They went down a series of winding, twisting hallways before coming to a door. They heard voices on the other side. "You have to go through this," Ruthie ordered. "Break it down. It goes to Scotland Road."

The widest hallway in the ship, of course. Cal and Jack gave each other a glance and then nodded before running at the door and knocking it down with their shoulders. They tumbled through, Rose coming after them. Jack took her hand and they glanced down the hallway amidst shocked looks from steerage passengers.

"Oy!" a white-clad steward shouted after them. "What d’you think you’re doing? You’ll have to pay for that, you know! That’s White Star Line property!"

"Shut up!" the four of them bellowed in unison.

"This way," Ruthie called, moving ahead.

They followed her, praying for a way out.

Chapter Seven
Stories