Monday April 15

Atlantic Ocean

1 am

Narrator's POV

The five joined the steerage stragglers going aft. In places, the corridor was almost completely blocked by large families carrying all their luggage. Each of the five tried a number of doors and iron gates along the way, finding them all locked.

On the boat deck, the action has moved to the aft group of boats, numbers 9, 11, 13 and 15 on the starboard side, and 10, 12, 14 and 16 on the port side. The pace of work was more frantic. The crew and officers running now to work the davits, their faces could tell that their pride has gone.

Ivan and Serenity were standing together on the deck, waiting to be called. But they seems to be very terrified of seeing the environment going on. Ivan looked at her and held her hand.

"I hope we can make it through together." Ivan hoped.

"I hope so too. It's going to be real hard if we have to let go from each other." Serenity admitted.

"Young couple over there!" The sixth officer called, indicating them to come in the boats.

Ivan and Serenity looked at each other, held hands and approached to the deck's edge to get in the boats. Ivan helps Serenity to step in the boats first, then himself steps in. Their only hope was that their friends could make it through too. They looked at each other for a moment; then they leaned towards each other and shared a sweet passionate kiss.

The fourth officer fires rocketed numerous times as a sign for help from another ship.

In the steerage corridor and stairwell, it had gone up into chaos. People were desperate to get out from the ship. Colten had his hands on the bars of the steel gate which blocks the head of the stairwell.

"You can't keep us locked in here like animals. The ship's bloody sinking!" Colten protested at the crew and staff.

"Bring forward the women!" The steward called the crew.

The crew opened the gate a foot or so and a few women squeezed through.

"Women only. No men. No men!!"

But some terrified men, not understanding English, tried to rush through the gap, forcing the gate open. That created that chaos even worse. The crewmen and stewards pushed them back, shoving and punching them. They struggled to get the gate closed again, while the second steward shook a small revolver. Another held a fire axe. They locked the gate, and a cry goes up among the crowd, who surged forward, pounding against the steel and shouting in several languages.

Xavier squeezed through the crowd and stood next to Colten behind bars.

"For God's sake, man, there are women and children down here. Let us up so we can have a chance!" He angrily protested the crew.

The crewmen are scared now. They have let the situation get out of hand, and now they have a mob.

While the chaos were worsening, the five pushed through the crowd but couldn't reach up the head of the stairwell. 

"Jackie!" She heard Kristen calling her.

Jacqueline turned around as she spotted Kristen behind her, and stepped down from the stairs.

"Kristen! Hey, where's Kenny?" Jacqueline said and Kristen pointed where he's at.

"Jackie!" Xavier called as he and Colten pushed their way down the stairs to rejoin the group.

"Colten! Xavier! Can we get out?"

"It's hopeless that way!" Colten exclaimed as he pointed up to the stairwell.

"Whatever we do, we gotta do it fast." Jacqueline demanded.

"Guys!" They heard Kenny calling them.

Alex turned around and saw Kenny pushing through the crowd.

"Kenny!" Alex smiled; he and Jesse hugged Kenny like they're best friends.

"Hey, the boats are all going." Kenny fretted.

"This whole place is flooded. We gotta get out of here." Alex said.

"There's no way out here." Kenny shook his head.

Jacqueline looked to the others side and it seemed that it's less crowded than this one here.

"Let's go this way, come on." She decided, about to lead them.

But Kenny stopped them, telling them to wait. He then turned to Kristen, hoping that she can join along. She looked uncertain and scared.

"Kristen, you can't stay here alone. The boats are about to be gone. Just come with me. I'm lucky, it's my destiny to go to America. Please...will you go with me?" He expressed to her and placed his hand on her face.

Kristen has her chance to join along. Even it though it might be dangerous, she felt the urge to go with him. She can't let the boy go who she fallen for. Without hesitation, she cupped his face and kissed him on the lips. Then, they broke apart and she held his hand.

"I'll go with you." Kristen determined.

They smiled at each other; the others were glad that Kristen will join them along. Jacqueline leads them the way out from the crowd.

Jacqueline's POV

Us nine were close together by holding each other's arms. We got lost, however, in the middle of the steerage aft. We pushed past confused, terrified and distraught passengers. We then came upon a narrow corridor and they went up two decks before they were stopped by a small group pressed up against a steel gate. The steerage men were yelling at a scared steward.

We pushed through the small crowd and I went up the head of the corridor; the iron gates were blocking me and the steward was trying to tell people to go another way.

"Open the gate." I demanded.

"Go back to the main stairwell." The steward refused to do it.

It makes me mad but I tried to keep myself from bursting my uncontrollable anger. Instead, I raised my voice.

"Open the gate right now, I said!" I insisted.

"Go back to the main stairwell like I told you so." The steward still refused to.

I had enough with this. He just wanted to waste time. My mind was screaming loud indistinctly. I took a look back into this situation. I deeply sighed out as if I'm going to lose it. I'm not going to even care.

"If you want to keep your stupid job...with the White Star Line, you better listen what we insisted." I snarled at him.

"I'M THROUGH BEING POLITE, DAMN IT, I MAY NEVER BE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!" I yelled at him as I violently shook the iron gate.

I know I scare some people. I may appear to be an innocent shy girl but I can be feisty and fierce like now.

I turned back, and strutted to look for something. I spotted a bench and grabbed one end of it bolted to the floor on the landing; I started pulling it.

"Guys, give me a hand here!" I called.

Alex, Colten and Kenny came to help me out.

"Come on, pull! Pull! Pull!" I shouted as we kept pulling the bench, until the bolts shear and it breaks free.

"Move aside. Move aside!" I heard April, Jesse and others telling everyone to spread out a path for us.

"Put that down!" The steward nagged us but we didn't care.

"One! Two!" I shouted of counting to three.

"Stop it!" The steward shouted but it's not going to stop us.

"Three!" I shouted.

We screamed as we ran towards with the bench and rammed the gate with all of the strength. It didn't flew open but we know it's going to break open.

"Again! Come on!" I shouted.

We screamed again as we rammed it again; it finally ripped loose from its track and falls outward, narrowly missing the steward.

We did it. 

Narrator's POV

Jacqueline led the crowd to surge through the open gate. The stewards could not believe it at all, despite of scolding the people of not listening his nagging.

"You can't go up there. You can't do this--" He gets interrupted by an angry Kenny giving him a punch on the face.

"Serves you right!" Kenny exclaimed.

In the boat deck, panic settled in around the remaining boats aft. The crowd here was now a mix of all three classes. Officers repeatedly warned men back from the boats. The crowd pressed in closer. A seamen wielded the tiller of boat 14 to discourage a close press of men who looked ready to rush the boat. Several men broke ranks and rush forward. The second officer pulls out his Webley revolver and aims it at them.

"Get back as I say or I'll shoot you like dogs!" The second officer threatened as the men backed down.

"Keep order here! Keep order here, I say." He demanded.

The fifth officer was standing in the boat, yelling to the crew.

"Lower away left and right!"

The second officer turned away from the crowd and out of their sight, broke his pistol open. Letting out a long breath, he started loading it.

In the starboard aft, Richard and Valerie arrived in time to the second captain lowering his last boat.

"We're too late." Richard seemed to be disappointed.

"There are still some boats forward. Stay with this one. I'll try to see if there's another one." Valerie determined as she try to reach to look afar.

But the people was too crowded so they might not know if the boats are coming or not. Richard looked to the side to see if other boats are coming.

In the water below, there was another panic. Boat 13, already in the water but still attached to its falls, was pushed aft by the discharge water being pumped out of the ship. It winded up directly under boat 15, which was coming down the right on top of it. The passengers shouted in panic to the crew above to stop lowering. They are ignored. Some men put their hands up, trying unsuccessfully to keep the 5 tons of boat 15 from crushing them.

The stoker took out his knife and leaps to the after falls, climbing rudely over people. He cut the aft falls while another crewman cut the forward lines. Boat 13 drifted out from beneath boat 15 just seconds before it touched the water with a slap.

The fifth officer in Boat 14 was aiming his gun as a warning to a bunch of men, threatening to jump into the boat, as it passes the open promenade on the first class deck.

"Stay back you lot! Stay back!" He shouted and started firing guns on air.

Valerie and Richard kept looking down the rail until they heard gunshots echoing from over there. They were terrified and worried inside. This is just the beginning of the chaos.

"It's starting to fall apart. We don't have much time." Valerie fretted a bit.

She and Richard held hands and pushed through crowds on the deck.

April's POV

We as nine ran out onto the boat deck from the crew stairs just aft of the third funnel. We saw the empty davits; oh no, please don't tell me the boats are already gone!

"Oh no." Jacqueline mumbled.

We saw Mr. and Mrs. Arnold walking forward the deck, escorting the two first class ladies.

"Arnolds! Are they any boats left?" Jacqueline asked him.

"Yes Jacqueline, there are still a couple of boats all the way forward. This way, we'll lead you!" Mr. Arnold spoke.

"Come on!" Jacqueline led me, Jesse, Alex and Jenna, scurrying past the Arnolds with the other four close behind.

As we ran by, we saw the band playing the string instruments in my right side. I felt like it was miracle to see them playing the songs in the middle of the dark moments.

"Music to drown by, now I know I'm in first class." I heard Kenny joking and it made some of us smile and laugh a bit.