Sink or Swim

29

If y'all want to know what I watched to reference some of the timings in the sinking...I have the link above.

Also, I'm going to be switching POVs a lot in this chapter. 

Jane's POV

April 15th, 1912 - 2:17am

The ship was about halfway submerged in the water. At this rate, I couldn't tell whether or not Harry was till on board as I was so far away, but I sat here, in this lifeboat while Millicent was also beside me. We held on to each other as we watched the once beautiful ship now slowly and eerily begin its journey to the bottom of the ocean.

"We have to go back for them," I mumbled, feeling my teeth chatter from the cold air, "we have to go back."

"We will," Millicent said, "we have to. Maybe once the boat is gone, then we can go."

I shook my head, "we need to go back for them now. I have to save him." 

I whimpered as I leaned into Millicent, not even bothering to realize that she too was grieving for Fred. I sighed, realizing that I needed to put more faith into Harry and trust him that he'd get both him and Fred to us safely.

"They're going to be okay," I whispered, "they have to be."

Harry's POV

I breathed in and out carefully as we kept paddling away from the ship. Looking back, I noticed that we were now at a safe distance and could rest for a bit before we began to paddle again. I stopped paddling and waved my hand at Fred, who understood my wordless gesture and stopped as well. We lay there, breathless and numb from the cold frosty air as we looked around us.

The screams were faint. But distant enough that it didn't make me want to blow my own brains out. 

I looked towards the lifeboats and sighed when I estimated about another twenty or so feet between them and us. 

"I don't think I can go any further," I panted, looking at him helplessly, "my arms are frozen, my legs are numb, and I'm so tired."

Fred nodded, and was about to open his mouth when our heads darted towards the ship.

The boat's stern was fully up in the air now, a full forty five degree angle from the ocean, as the smoke slowly began to billow out from the tall pipes on the deck. Then all of a sudden, the ship let out a loud creak and I heard more screams sounding from and around the ship. I gasped when the smoke stopped blowing and suddenly all of the lights in the stern side went out. 

The ship began to moan loudly, as though protesting to what was happening to it, and slowly began to rip itself apart. Planks and pieces of the ship began to tear open near the middle and the ship collapsed back onto the ocean while the other part of it sunk down into the water. I breathed, watching the ripples of the water cascade towards us as Fred and I sat on our chairs. 

I looked to him, "we need to move."

We began paddling in a frenzy, trying to escape the waves but it was no use. The speed and momentum of the waves toppled us over as soon as they reached us and we were under water again. 

Jane's POV

2:20am

No...please, let Harry be safe.

The ship had broken into two halves and I could faintly hear the screams from the many women and children that were still trapped on that boat. I watched as the two chimney pipes crashed over the ship and fell into the water. One of them stayed attached onto the boat, but its weight dragged the ship up into the air so it was completely perpendicular to the water. Slowly, the creaking and groaning of the ship intensified as it began to sink into the water.