Part 9


Through the chaos of the sinking ship, Justin searched his memory, trying to recall where a prisoner on board Titanic would be taken. He knew he remembered seeing the ships’ brig on the tour, but couldn’t seem to recall where it would be. He stopped numerous crewmembers, trying to inquire of them where a stowaway would be taken, but each man he stopped was reluctant to help. They all were preoccupied with the sinking ship and when, if ever, they would get off. No one had any time for a young man searching for a stowaway, and really, Justin couldn’t blame them too much. He’d just go below decks and start there.

Crossing the Smoking Lounge and heading toward the stairs, Justin spied Mr. Andrews standing next to the fireplace. The grate was cold and dark, all fires either having been already extinguished or never lit due to the emergency. Justin approached Mr. Andrews, tapping him on the shoulder.

“Oh, Justin,” Mr. Andrews said. “Did your fiancée get off the ship?”

Justin nodded. “Yes, she did, but Mr. Andrews…”

“Good, good.” He reached up, fixing the time on the mantle clock. “Please forgive me about all of this. I really thought…I’d believed…”

“Sir, please,” Justin interrupted him. “I need to know where the purser would take a stowaway.”

“The engineering of the ship was immaculate,” Andrews mused. “Not a bolt out of place. Not a beam out of line.”

“Mr. Andrews!” Justin shouted. “Listen to me, please!”

“We should have been arriving into New York in just a few hours,” Andrews continued, checking his pocket watch against the corrected ships clock. “We should have broken all kinds of records. We should have…”

“STOP!” Justin grabbed the older man by the arms and shook him slightly. “Mr. Andrews, please. I need to know where JC is. Where would the purser take a stowaway?”

Andrews smiled slightly. “Was JC a stowaway? I knew there was something about him.”

Justin ground his teeth in frustration. “Please. Help me find him!”

Andrews blinked, as if seeing Justin for the first time. Shaking his head clear, he pulled Justin’s hands off his arms. “E Deck,” Andrews told him. “Down the corridor, to the left, and then the right.” He patted Justin’s hands before releasing them. “I’m sorry, Justin,” he said repeated, his eyes glazing over once more. Justin realized he was gone again, and with a last glance, left him by the cold fire.

Down the stairs he ran, skidding to a stop when he reached E Deck, sprinting down the hall and almost missing his first turn. He thought he’d gotten lost when he came upon the door marked “Brig” and tried the knob. Locked. Panic almost set in, thinking there was no way into the door when he spied the fire locker off to the side of the door. Quickly grabbing the axe, he swung at the door, splintering the lock on the first try.

“JC!” he shouted, coming into the room.

JC couldn’t help but smile. Justin looked like an avenging angel, his hair disheveled, his face flushed, an axe ready in his hands and a determined look in his eyes. “Over here,” he called.

Justin turned, seeing JC behind the bars of the small cell. “Jesus, I don’t believe this ship!” he cried, coming over to JC and grasping his hands. “We’re sinking, and they lock you up?”

JC shrugged. “Guess they figured I wanted on the ship so badly, I might as well stay till the end.”

“That’s not funny,” Justin said, pulling JC up to the bars and kissing him hard. “Where are the keys?”

“Over there,” he said, pointing to the hook on the other side of the room. Justin dropped his axe and rushed over, grabbing the keys off the wall. His hands were trembling so hard he couldn’t get the key into the lock. “Here,” JC said, pulling the keys away from Justin. “Let me do it.” With a turn and click, the door of the cell swung open.

Hard bodies shook as they came together, holding on tight. Justin’s shivering increased as JC’s arms came around him, and JC held him that much tighter. Sobs shook Justin’s shoulders, and JC held tighter still. “Shh,” JC said, rocking them a bit. “It’s okay, we’re okay,” he said soothingly.

“I thought I wouldn’t find you,” Justin hiccupped. “I thought I wouldn’t be with you at the end, and I had to find you, had to be with you.”

“Shh, it’s alright,” JC said, pulling back a bit and kissing Justin’s tear streaked face. “But listen, it’s not the end. We’ll get through this.”

Justin shook his head. “All the lifeboats are gone,” he said, wiping his nose on JC’s jacket. “We’re stuck.”

“Where’s my brave Justin?” JC asked. “I need you to be brave. If we’re going to make it, I need you to be brave and strong and do what I say.” He kissed Justin’s mouth. “Can you do that?”

Justin searched JC’s face, finding strength and hope in his bright blue eyes. Justin was beginning to believe that maybe, with JC, they really might make it. Justin nodded. “What do we do?”

***

The cold air stung their cheeks as they exited the bowels of the ship. The chaos of before had mellowed into a strange calm. The ship was noticeably tilting now, and it was almost hard to move toward the back, but JC said that was the best place to be. They’d met up with Chris on D Deck, grateful for the life vests the other man was holding, and the three of them were making their way toward the stern.

“What the devil?” Chris said. “Are they playin’ music?” he asked, incredulous.

JC nodded. “Sounds like it. Probably to try and keep people calm.”

“You folks are daft,” Chris said to Justin, who just shrugged. Justin didn’t care about the music or the other passengers or anything else. His whole world was JC, and JC’s hand as it grasped his own and led him closer and closer to the stern. Another flare lit the ship, and Justin glanced out at sea. The lifeboats of women and children looked like toys in the calm black ocean. Then the flare went out, and all was black again.

CRASH

A great shudder rocked the ship, and the three men turned and watched the first of the huge smokestacks expel a great cloud of steam and ash. Another shudder could be felt, and soon, the smokestack tilted down and down and down until it slipped its guide wires and fell to the deck with a huge crash. Their footing became more treacherous as the ship listed even further into the water.

“We need to hurry,” JC said, pulling Justin along even faster. Other passengers weren’t so lucky, sliding down the steep deck. One sliding passenger collided with Justin, causing him to let lose of JC’s hand. Arms flailing, his fingers found purchase, grasping onto a cold buoy stand. He looked up at JC and Chris, who seemed so far away.

“Hold on,” JC said, slipping off his coat and slinging it over a lifeboat davit. JC then lowered himself to the deck, extending his long frame down until his feet reached Justin. “Climb up,” he told Justin.

Justin clasped JC’s legs, shimmying up the older man, holding onto the davit while JC pulled himself up by his coat. JC leaned in and kissed Justin hard. “Don’t plan on losing you just yet,” he said, kissing Justin again. Justin responded in kind, holding JC close as their mouths worked against each other.

“Boys.” Chris’ voice interrupted them. “There’s a time and place for everything, but mackin’ on each other on a sinkin’ ship ain’t the time nor the place.”

The lovers parted reluctantly, their breath visibly mingling in the night air. “He’s right,” JC said softly. “Time enough for this later.”

The ship shuddered again, tilting even more than before. Justin wondered how JC could be positive there would be a later, but didn’t say anything to him. Whatever happened, whatever followed didn’t matter. He’d found love on this ship. If it ended, if he died tonight, he didn’t mind.

JC saw the emotions flicker over Justin’s face, and felt even more determined that they’d survive. Most of it was pure bravado, but as long as they breathed, there was a chance. He’d just make sure they’d keep breathing. “Let’s go,” he said, pulling Justin up again and the three of them made their way toward the stern.

Other passengers seemed to have the same idea, as dozens of them were headed the same direction. JC was relentless, tugging Justin along, pushing Chris from behind until finally they hit the rail. The ship was almost vertical now, with more and more passengers losing their grip on stationary objects and careening down. Another great shudder, huge sparks flying in the air, and the stern broke away, heading with great speed back toward the ocean and hitting the water with a thunderous crash.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” Chris murmured, crossing himself as two-thirds of the ship slid into the inky black water.

“Okay, everybody on the other side of the rail,” JC said, slipping over the rail and facing back in the direction of the disappeared part of the ship.

Justin felt the stern start to tilt again, and quickly scrambled over the rail. Chris did the same, anchoring himself with arms and legs. Suddenly, Justin smiled, turning to JC. “JC, look,” he said, nodding at the rail area. “This is where we first met.”

JC blinked, realizing Justin was right. “So it is,” he said, moving over Justin and trapping the younger man with his body. The stern was bobbing in the water now, up and down and up and down. “You were brave then, Justin,” JC whispered in his ear. “And you’re brave now.”

Justin shook his head. “Only because you’re here,” he argued.

“No, it’s not.” JC held Justin tighter as the stern bobbed more violently. “It’s you. And I need you to be extra brave once the ship goes down, can you do that?”

Justin nodded. “Yes…”

“Good. Try and stay with me. Don’t let go of my hand.” He threaded Justin’s fingers through his own, anchoring them onto the rail.

“JC…”

“Remember that. Don’t let go. And also remember I love you.” JC wrapped Justin even tighter as the stern of the ship bobbed up once more before slipping into the cold dark ocean.

***

A thousand knives were stabbing him, icy cold knives that bit into his skin and seemed to be tearing the flesh from his bones. All Justin could think about was the pain on his skin and his hand in JC’s. The suction of the descending ship pulled them down, deep into the ocean, and Justin knew his lungs would burst soon.

But he kept his hand in JC’s.

He opened his eyes, the salt of the water stinging them, and by some miracle, the lights of the sinking stern were still on, illuminating the undersea world in an eerie green glow. He saw JC next to him, struggling with his free hand to pull the both of them up. Justin caught on, and worked his own free arm to lever them to the surface. Finally, they broke the edge of the ocean and gasped for breath.

Immediately, Justin wished he was back under the water, for a thousand people seemed to be screaming and crying at once, the sounds echoing in the black night. JC kept pulling at Justin’s hand, tugging him along in the water, passing women, children, ships officers and others who were struggling in the water. More than once JC had to pull wild-eyed passengers off of him, people trying to stay afloat and thinking JC was solid enough to do so. Justin also was bombarded by other passengers, and disengaged many who tried to stay afloat by climbing on his back. He shrugged them off, never letting go of JC, never letting the other man out of his sight.

Finally, JC stopped in the water, pulling Justin to next to float next to him. A door bobbed in front of him, and Justin felt JC’s hands slip under his legs and push Justin onto the door. “Scoot over,” JC said, heaving himself out of the water and balancing himself on the door. “It’s a tight fit, but I think we’ll make it.” A moment or two of wobbling until finally, the door settled in the calm water.

The screams continued as JC pulled Justin close to him on the door. Once or twice a passenger tried to usurp their treasured lifeboat, but JC managed to kick them off. Justin saw that JC’s face was a mask of determination and no pity. He was in this for them, for himself and Justin, and everyone else just needed to find their own way to survive.

“Keep being brave, Justin,” JC said.

Justin didn’t know how to answer, so he just moved closer, pulling JC’s arms around him. He felt JC move a bit and knew he’d once again prevented a takeover of their raft. A tremble started in JC’s chest, and Justin pulled him closer. Each time their space was defended, JC shivered harder. Over and over and over. Soon JC stopped moving, as did everyone else in or on the dark and cold ocean.

Hours later, the rescue boat came.



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