Titanic

Chapter Eighteen

As she rushed through the crowd, she searched every face looking for the familiar one of her husband. He was nowhere to be seen.

"There is no time to waste! Lower away! Lower away! Lower away!" The familiar voice of Bruce called out making Elizabeth whip her head around.

She dodged a few more passengers, about to ask the man if he had seen Thomas. Officer Lowe got there before her.

"Get out of the way, you fool!" Lowe yelled pulling Bruce back from the boat. He indicated for his men to stop while he spoke to Bruce.

"Do you know who I am?" Bruce asked. Astounded that a lower man would even dare speak to him like that.

Elizabeth watched on eagerly. She never was a big fan of Bruce and now knowing he was the one who ordered more speed, she thought less of him.

"You're a passenger. And I'm a ship's bloody officer. Now do what you're told!" Lowe yelled squaring up to the man.

There was no time for ranking class right now. They had to save as many people as possible. They had no time.

Elizabeth thought of how she and Thomas would laugh if they had seen this under normal circumstances. But this was far from normal. Blinking back to reality, she got back to the task at hand.

"Officer Lowe! Have you seen Mr. Andrews?!" She asked rushing up to the man not much older than herself.

He turned to face her, his face softening when he saw who it was. She had been nothing but kind to the crew every time she met them. She had taken an interest in their home lives rather than what was their motivation aboard Titanic.

"No Mrs. Andrews, I'm sorry," he said looking down slightly at her. He knew it couldn't be good if she was searching the boat decks of a sinking ship for her husband.

"Good luck to you," she said squeezing his hand before turning and rushing off inside again. Deciding the foyer would be the best place to check.

A few boats down, Thomas was watching the boats being launched with plenty more space for others. His heart was aching. Glancing right he could see the boat his wife was on being lowered. He couldn't believe this was happening. He'd never see them again. Shaking his head, he got back to the task at hand.

"Why are the boats being launched half full?!" He demanded stepping up to officer Lightoller who stepped past him, helping another clear a snarled fall.

"Not now, Mr. Andrews," he said dismissively as he went back to the task. Trying his best to ignore the Irishman who wasn't going away.

"There, look... twenty or so in a boat built for sixty five. And I saw one boat with only twelve. Twelve!" Thomas exclaimed. That wasn't nearly enough. They could save more people if they filled the boats.

"Well... we weren't sure of the weight-" Lightoller stuttered not sure of what to say. He felt stupid. Mr. Andrews built this boat. He knows exactly how many they can hold.

"Rubbish! They were tested in Belfast with the weight of 70 men. Now fill these boats, Mr. Lightoller. For God's sake, man!" Thomas yelled before turning and heading back inside the boat.

Elizabeth sighed leaning against the railing of the staircase. She didn't know where to check next and fighting against the crowds was getting tiring.

"Liz!" The familiar voice of Rose called making her turn around. A little relief came over her as she reached forward and hugged her friend.

Jack stood to the side watching on. He wanted to urge her on but he couldn't. He didn't know who would be alive by morning.

"When I got to the boat Heather was there but Molly, she-" Rose breathed out clutching to her friends coat as she looked at her.

Elizabeth shook her head. She'd start crying if she thought too long about her daughter. She didn't know what the next few hours held for any of them.

"I can't leave him. I couldn't do it. Get to safety. Both of you," Elizabeth said hugging both Jack and Rose before she turned to look down the staircase again spotting a familiar face.

She rushed passed her friend before gripping to the railings running down. She pushed passed everyone, not caring who they were.

He was getting further away by the second and she couldn't lose sight of him once more. The sound of the crowd would've drowned out her voice so she just kept running.