SECRETS OF THE OCEAN
Chapter One
Jack sat motionless in the lifeboat. It had
been forty-five minutes since Titanic had disappeared beneath the waves. After
he had made Rose get into a lifeboat, he had run around to the other side of
the ship. Officer Murdoch had been in charge of those boats. There had been
room for one more. Nobody else was anywhere near. Murdoch asked if he knew how
to row a boat and Jack had told him of his work on the tramp steamers. Jack's
experience had granted him his life, his escape from the dying leviathan, and a
lucky escape it had been. Gratified that Rose was safe in another boat his
thoughts flew to his friends, Fabrizio and Tommy. He wondered if they had been
so fortunate, yet his heart told him otherwise. He had heard the screams and
the cries for help, not only to those in the boats, but also to God. Some
God, he found himself thinking. Then he chastised himself. This God had
sent him his very own angel, had kept her safe, had kept him safe. Jack's
thoughts leapt to Rose's whereabouts. He wondered where she was, where on this
almighty ocean could she be. Little did he know she hadn't been in a boat at
all.
*****
The water lapped gently about the board that
had been Rose's refuge from the icy waters. Thoughts of Jack were the only
thing that kept her conscious. Where was he? Had he made it to a boat? Was he
somewhere here, amongst the sea of bodies that surrounded her? She hadn't seen
him leave the deck above the lifeboat. All she could think about was being with
him, and she was looking around for means of escape. After diving back onto the
second class promenade she had searched high and low for Jack, but had been
unable to find him. Now she was here, in this predicament. Well, what else
could she call it? Almost laughing aloud at how ridiculous this all was--her
father dying, her mother's overbearing nature, Cal, and now this. God really
does have a strange sense of humor, she thought to herself. It was then
that Jack's song popped into her head. Hoarsely, she began to sing.
"Come, Josephine, in my flying
machine, and it's up she goes, up she goes. In the air she goes, where, there
she goes."
*****
Elsewhere, Officer Lowe had pulled several
lifeboats together in an attempt to clear as much space as possible. From here
he would make an attempt to save as many as possible from the icy waters. As
one of the few men around, Jack was transferred into Lowe's rescue boat to
help. He was more than willing to help. Sitting, doing nothing, made Jack feel
outright evil, and that was a feeling he hated. He could not bear to sit by and
watch people suffer.
As the boat came close to where the cries had
been coming from, floating debris came into view. Not that much at first, but
then the water was thick with broken wood, suitcases, and the like. It was then
that Jack saw them, what looked like a thousand people sleeping, just lying
there, in the water, none moving, none breathing. Taking a deep breath, he
plowed forward with his oar, checking each body as they passed, just as the
officer ordered.
Suddenly, a feeling of fear crept into Jack,
some deep-set feeling of dread. He was not sure why. He could not put his finger
on it, but he sensed something terrible had happened to Rose. Desperately
putting his thoughts back to the task at hand, he continued his dismal search.
As the mass of bodies began to thin out, Officer Lowe continued to call out.
"Can anyone hear me? Is there anyone
alive out there?"
Falling back into silence, they continued to
row. Something made Jack spin about, a noise in the water, splashing. It could
not be. It wasn't possible. He bowed his head and continued to pull at his oar.
It was then that they heard it--a whistle, its noisy scream slapping across the
water. Elsewhere on the ocean, Molly Brown heard that lonely whistle's cry and
her heart leapt with joy, and broke in two at the same time, only one...
"COME ABOUT!"
Desperately turning the boat in the direction
of the whistling, joy and hope leapt into the hearts of all aboard. Someone
here was alive, could hear them, and would be saved. To help even one person
made Jack's heart leap with joy. Looking about, straining to see the person in
the dim light of the officer's torch, Jack rowed with all his might. In front
of the boat lay an officer, and Officer Lowe's head dropped slightly. He knew
this man, had worked with him.
Then he cried out, "I see her! Easy
ahead! I see her!"
Jack's head snapped up. A woman. It was then
that he saw her, the wet hair, whistle still blowing. It did not sink in at
first, and then it hit him. Rose. Reeling slightly, he leapt forward, reaching
into the water to pull her away from its icy clutches.
"Rose! Oh, Rose. How did you get here,
Rose?"
Looking up into the eyes of the man whose
hands were pulling her out of the water, Rose recognized her name, the voice
saying it, and the hair falling about the face. God had spared Jack. He had
been sent to save her. Still blowing the whistle as she landed on the floor of
the boat, she could not believe that he was here. She thought he had been lost.
Officer Lowe gently took the whistle from her as the crew rushed to cover her
with blankets.
Turning to Jack, who was cradling her in his
arms, he said quietly, "You know her?"
"I don't understand. I put her on a
boat. How did she get here? Yes, I know her; I'm going to marry her. I love
her."
Floating in and out of consciousness, Jack's
words were the last Rose heard as she drifted off into a dark sleep. Jack was
panic-stricken. How had Rose ended up in the water? What had possibly happened
that Rose had not been in the boat? She was so cold. Would she even survive?
Thoughts ripped at his heart that he did not even want to consider crept into
his mind. Cradling Rose in his arms, trying to heat her frozen body, he puzzled
and worried to distraction.
Rose felt herself drifting in and out of
consciousness. Vaguely recalling that Jack was here, Jack loved her, he had
said it himself, told a complete stranger that he would marry her, Rose found
herself compelled to open her eyes, yet it was so hard. Pushing herself, she
managed to force her eyelids open, slowly focusing on her surroundings. She
could see the black hull of a large vessel looming above the tiny lifeboat.
Closer in, she could see an officer signaling frantically with a flare, and
then she saw him, worried blue eyes tinged with sadness and relief, hair
falling madly about his face, a gentle smile intended solely for her.
"Jack?" she whispered hoarsely.
"Is that really you?"
Pushing Rose's hair carefully away from her
face, Jack answered softly, "Yes, of course. Just you rest now. We'll talk
later."
Gently rocking her in his arms, Jack silently
thanked the Lord for letting him keep Rose with him.