The Explorer's Apprentice

82:Last Goodbyes

I own no one but the bit of Rose that is Marley.

Marley Faulkner

They run through the dining hall, tilting up like a rocket ship about to take off. Plates and tables crash to the floor and the sound beats on Marley’s ears like little hammers. So much destruction in a place once so full of beauty and sophistication—it’s breathtaking.

Jack’s in the lead with her hand in his own and he tries to run against the increasing hill. But as they finally reach the great, beckoning doors, Marley feels inclined to stop.

A face, one who has saved her in his own little way time and time again, and one she has come to love for no good reason at all apart from his gentle spirit and kind words, shines in her peripheral vision.

“Wait, wait!” Marley tugs on Jack’s antsy arm. “Mr. Andrews!”

The kind man looks up, slowly, as if he hadn’t expected any other form of human life in the room ever again. “Oh, Rose.”

Marley lets go of Jack’s hand and walks toward her friend, her brows furrowed together in utter confusion. Why is he still here? The sounds of distant screams can be heard just beyond the large, crashing room. Chaos stings the very air. “W—“ she shakes her head in disbelief. Surely he’s here for a good reason. Surely as soon as she utters the question of his why he’s still here, he’ll answer back with a laugh and a perfectly understandable, agreeable explanation.

But somehow, the glazed look in his eyes makes Marley doubt.

“Won’t you even make a try for it?” Her voice seems broken at the edges. 

He takes in a deep breath. “I’m sorry…that I didn’t build you a stronger ship, young Rose.” A single tear rolls down Marley’s pale cheek. She can feel Jack knit his fingers in her own again. Titanic, as if releasing its final cry, lets out a long, loud moan of distress.

“It’s going down fast,” Jack says. “We all have to move.”

“Wait!” Mr. Andrews strides towards her, only stopping to pick his estranged life vest from the table. He hands it to her and for a moment, he’s the same old Mr. Andrews again. His eyes are bright and full of life, and the grin on his lips makes her feel like a daughter. Marley shakes her head, but he’s persistent.

“Good luck to you both,” he says.

Marley can hardly see through her tearstained eyes, but she knows that her friend’s smile has only gotten brighter. She wraps her arms around him like she’s known him for years. “And to you,” she whispers gently, holding onto his scent, his smile, his voice, this last moment.