"Hey Bone, pass me a Coke will ya?"
"Here you go Kev." AJ passes him the coke.
"Thanks man. Now, this is the life," says Kevin as he sighs deeply.
"I know, bro. Being here, watching tv, pigging out, yep this is so relaxing compared to what we have to go through every day," responds Howie.
AJ and Kevin nod their heads in agreement.
"Yeah, but it's not so bad. All those people look up to us. It's a great feeling to know that you're loved by millions of fans," says Kevin.
"Yeah, let's make a toast. To the fans," says Howie, bringing his cup up. "To the fans." They clink their glasses together and raise it up to their lips. As they are drinking, a news bulletin on TV comes up. "We interrupt this program for a special news bulletin. It seems that something has gone wrong with the newly made ship, Titanic."
All the boys spit out their drinks in their mouth and cry out, "What?! AJ, turn it up!" AJ, quickly turns up the volume to hear the rest of the news.
"From what we know, the ship has hit an iceberg and is rapidly sinking. It has already sent out an SOS to all the ships nearby. So far, the Carpathia is the nearest one so it is now sailing as fast as it can towards Titanic. However, it will be another 2 hours or so by the time it finally reaches it, and by then it may be too late."
The ship...sinking...too late... They are all very shocked at what they have just heard. "...Nick and Brian are in trouble..."
Howie utters softly. "Shit!!" AJ shouts, standing up rapidly. "Come on, we have to do something!"
"AJ, calm down....." Kevin says reassuringly.
"How can we just be calm when our best friends might be dying out there?!" AJ cries out, his mouth trembling, trying desperately not to cry.
Howie, who's holding back tears himself, gets up and places his hand on AJ's shoulder. "Look man, we're all scared for them, but screaming about it is gonna get us nowhere. Why don't we go over to New York were they are supposed to dock and meet them there. I'm sure they'll get through this." I wish I were half as confident as I sound.
"Yeah, man, let's go meet them over there," Kevin pipes in with a wavering voice.
AJ slowly nods. As he follows them out the door, a tear escapes from his eye. Please, let them be ok. Please Lord, help them survive....
Oh my God, that can't be the beautiful ship that we had been sailing on just an hour ago... thinks Arlene as she sees the Titanic's left side almost completely underwater. It is so tilted that the people have to hold on to the railing to keep from falling back. In the lifeboat, most of the people are crying softly to themselves, thinking of their husbands or boyfriends that they had left there. Arlene, on the other hand, feels that she has no more tears left to cry. She looks down at Brian, who's face had turned a very sickling ashen color. "Oh Brian, why did you have to go and do that," she whispers softly. "You should have just let me take the bullet. At least you wouldn't be like this. What would Nick sa..." Suddenly, she has a horrible thought. "...what if Prisci and Nick are still in that death ship..." She starts to tremble all over.
"...Prisci...Nick...no..." she manages to say before she starts sobbing uncontrollably, fresh tears streaming down her face...
After some time, Nick and Priscilla, both red-eyed from all the crying, finally pull apart and stand off to one side, thinking.
"Nick, what are we going to do? There are no more lifeboats here......." Priscilla mentions worriedly.
"Don't worry, baby. We'll think of something."
".....I'm so sorry that I didn't stay on the last one.....but I couldn't bare to leave you..." she says, her lips starting to tremble.
"Shh, it's ok. Come on, let's start walking towards the other end of the ship. It's too late to jump and swim for it. As the ship sinks the current will pull us too. We have to stay on this ship as long as possible." He holds out his hand, smiling reassuringly at her. "Ok...."
She takes it gratefully and they start walking rapidly towards the other side. With every step they take, they feel that Titanic is tilting more and more to one side. They push and dodge their way through the herd of panicking people. A priest off to one side is saying a prayer to some people who are kneeling down next to him, holding his hand. They also pass by a band playing soft cheerful music to keep their spirits up. After a while, they finally reach the edge of the ship.
"We'll stay here for now, next to the railing."
"Ok, Nick."
They grab on and just stand their in silence. Priscilla suddenly gasps sharply, which startles Nick.
"What, what is it?" he asks concernly.
"Shit, I forgot all about Arlene and Brian! What if they're still here, or they're in trouble, or....." Nick gently places a finger on her lips to quiet her and gives her a hug.
"Don't worry, I'm sure they're probably safe, wherever they may be.
They're probably in a much better situation than us," he replies with a chuckle.
"Yeah, you're probably right..." She happily sighs and hugs him back.
Inside though, Nick is deeply concerned. What if she's right? What if they're hurt out there? Brian.....my best friend..... Tears start to well up in his eyes. God, please take care of them, wherever they are.... Just then, the boat starts tilting faster to the side. "Whoa!" they both cry.
"Priscilla, hold on to the railing!" Nick shouts. She grabs it and holds on tight. The right side is completely under water and the whole ship is slowly following. The other side is tilting further and further up. It's taking a lot of effort for Nick and Priscilla to hold on. Other people can't take it anymore and start letting go, falling to an icy death.
"Nick....I don't think I can hold on much longer...." she says with a groan.
"....Just a little bit longer, hold on..." he responds.
Then he suddenly has an idea. He gathers up all his strength and pulls himself over the railing.
"Wha...."Priscilla cries out.
"Quick, give me your hand so I can pull you over," he says, holding out his hand towards her. She grabs it and with his help, manages to pull herself up. Just a few minutes later, the ship is floating vertically, Nick and Priscilla being at the very top. Then the ship starts slowing sinking.
"Oh, my God...." Priscilla utters in awe as she looks down and sees the water rushing upwards fast.
"Prisci, listen to me, when I say so we are going to take a deep breath and go into the water. As soon as we're under, start kicking you legs as fast as you can. Also, don't let go of my hand, ok?" She nods slowly. Nick gives her a kiss and smiles. "Don't worry, we'll be alright."
"I hope so."
"We will, I'm positive." She smiles at him warmly, then she looks down again at the rushing water. Let's just hope you're right, Nick.
"Alright, this is it! Priscilla, when I say now, take a deep breath, as deep as you can ok? And don't let go of my hand. You got it?" shouts Nick.
"Yeah! ........Nick?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
"I love you too. Don't worry, we'll be alright," he responds softly.
She smiles lovingly at him. The water is rushing faster and faster. Soon, they are the only ones left on the boat.
5.......4........3........2.......1 Nick takes Priscilla's hand, and shouts, "Now!!!" They both take a deep breath and plunge into the icy water. As soon as their in, they start kicking as fast and as hard as they can. They struggle desperately against the strong current, not knowing whether they were facing up or down. The water is all around them, and it seems hopeless that they will be able to fight the current. Their lungs start to burn from lack of oxygen. Suddenly, a piece of the ship comes between them forcing them apart. Nick reaches out his hand to her. She tries to grab it, but the current quickly carries him away. Just like in my dream.... Priscilla realizes in horror. "Nick!"
"Priscilla!" he soundlessly shouts in the ocean. He feels the current pulling him away from the surface. His lungs feel as if they are on fire. He keeps kicking and flailing his arms, hoping to get to the surface soon. Then he starts to slow down. I feel so tired. NO, I can't give up. I have to keep trying for Prisci. With the last bit of energy he has, he kicks and kicks with all his might. I'm not gonna make it. So tired...I'm so sorry Priscilla, I love you... Then everything turns black.
Priscilla feels as if her lungs are about to burst. I need air now!!! She quickly starts swimming towards the top. With every second, she feels that part of her life is draining away. Must.......get...........air........ Suddenly, she sees she's almost at the top. She gathers up all her strength and swims furiously. She finally breaks out of the water and takes a huge gulp of air. Gulp, after gulp, after gulp, until the pain in her lungs finally go away. Then she frantically looks around. People everywhere are struggling to keep afloat. She spots the remains of a door, swims towards it, and climbs on. She looks around again, this time, searching for her boyfriend. "Nick!" she cries out. "Nick, where are you!? Nick!" There's no response. She starts to cry softly. "Nick! Answer me! Nick!" she cries out anguishly before finally collapsing. "Nick......no........" she utters, sobbing loudly.
Hours pass by slowly as the bitter cold people await to be rescued. It's deathly quiet now. Arlene strokes Brian's head absently as she sees another lifeboat a few feet away rowing towards the people still in the water. I guess they're out to search for survivors. She softly chuckles bitterly. A little too late for anyone to still be alive though. She sees them looking over each person until they finally pull someone out of the water. Well, I guess there are some people still alive. Poor them, it's freezing out here, let alone what those people must have gone through in the ice-cold water. She then hears a soft moan. Brian? she thinks as she looks down. He still has the ashen color on his face with the exception of his blue lips, breathing slowly and heavily. "Brian?" she whispers. She hears another soft moan, but not from Brian's lips. She looks to her left and sees a young woman about her age crying softly to herself, every once in a while letting out a soft, agonizing moan. Arlene gazes sympathetically at her then looks back at Brian with tears in her eyes. "I know exactly how you feel....."
"...I'm so cold..." thinks Priscilla as she trys to keep warm by rubbing her arms and legs furiously. I hope Arlene and Brian are ok. And why haven't the stupid lifeboats come for us?! Sigh, if only Nick were here, he'd be holding me in his arms trying to keep me warm. At least things wouldn't look so.......so hopeless as they do now...... She could feel the warm tears threatening to spill over her cheeks. I can't believe that he is gone. I just can't believe it. I won't believe it. Not until I see it with my own eyes. But if he isn't, then what happened? "Oh Nick..., she says in a wavering voice. "What happened to you? Where are you? Why aren't you here with me....."
Part Five
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