Titanic (Asmodeus X Fizzarolli)

Chapter Twenty-One: Waiting For Rescue

Asmodeus called out for Fizzarolli but he could only hear other people screaming and yelling for help or just in distress. Asmodeus was just concerned about staying afloat and finding Fizzarolli. People scrambled to find anything thrown in the water that could float. Asmodeus just swam around, trying to find Fizzarolli who was still nowhere to be found. When he swam past the priest, he held onto him, pushing him under the water to keep himself afloat.

Asmodeus did everything to keep his head above the water but the priest wouldn't let go. When he got up for air, he called out for Fizzarolli before being pushed down again. Fizzarolli had reached the surface and was looking for Asmodeus when he heard his cries. He swam over to him and told the priest to let him go. But he was in too much distress to listen. So Fizzarolli punched him in the face and brought Asmodeus back up to the surface, telling him to swim.

The two swam away from the crowd and to a piece of wood that had broken off a doorway. He let him get on first before trying to get on himself but the wood almost tipped over. So, Fizzarolli told Asmodeus to give him his lifejacket since he had an idea. Asmodeus took it off with some struggle and handed it to Fizzarolli who put it underneath the wood, making sure the straps were visible. With Asmodeus' help, they tied the lifejacket to the wood and both got on.

This time, it didn't topple over and both could get on. People continued to call out for help while an officer blew a whistle, telling the offers in the boats to return for survivors. Fizzarolli assured Asmodeus that the boats would come back for them, saying that they had to leave because of the suction so they'd come back soon. But one of the officers had no plans to go back, having to argue with Molly about going back.

"You don't understand," The officer said, "If we go back, they'll swamp the boat. They'll pull us down, I'm telling you."

"Knock it off," Molly said standing up, "You're scaring me. Come on, girls! Grab an oar, let's go!"

"Are you out of your mind? We're in the middle of the North Atlantic! Now, do you people want to live or do you want to die?"

No one stood up for Molly or even agreed with the officer. They just stayed quiet.

"I don't understand a one of you," Molly said disappointed a the lack of thought for the survivors, "What's the matter with you? It's your men out there! There's plenty of room for more."

"And there'll be one less on this boat if you don't shut that hole in your face!" The officer threatened Molly.

Knowing that no one was going to help, Molly just sat back down. Meanwhile, Mr. Lowe was making sure all the boats stuck together. One of the collapsible boats wasn't buoyant enough so it was almost ready to sink but it kept everyone inside alive. Hearing the cries of the survivors, Mr. Lowe made the call to go back for them.

He ordered the passengers to get into some of the boats so that there was room for survivors and had a few men come with him to row and help people into the boat. But it would take too long as the crowd of people slowly became quiet. Asmodeus and Fizzarolli were still alive on the wood but shivering badly. They had been in the water too long. The officer blowing the whistle had stopped, the hyperthermia taking his life along with many others.

"It's getting quiet," Asmodeus said

"It's just going to take them a couple of minutes to get the boats organized," Fizzarolli assured him, "I don't know about you but I intend to write a strongly worded letter to the White Star Line about all this."

Asmodeus knew he was just trying to lighten the mood but all he could think about was the cold

"I love you, Fizzy," Asmodeus said, ready to say goodbye

"Don't you do that," Fizzarolli told him, "Don't you say your goodbyes. Not yet. Do you understand me?"

"I'm so cold."

"Listen, Ozzie... you're going to get out of here. You're going to go on and you're going to make or even adopt lots of babies and you're going to watch them grow. You're going to die an old... an old demon warm in his bed. Not here. Not this night. Not like this. Do you understand me?"

"I can't feel my body."

"Winning that ticket, Ozzie, was the best thing that ever happened to me. It brought me to you... and I'm thankful for that, Ozzie. I'm thankful. You must-- You must-- You must do me this honor... You must promise me that you'll survive. That you won't give up no matter what happens. No matter how hopeless. Promise me now, Ozzie and never let go of that promise."

"I promise."

"Never let go."

"I will never let go, Fizzy. I'll never let go."

Fizzarolli kissed the back of her hand, still shivering. When Mr. Lowe and a few men reached the survivors, everyone had gone quiet. They had left the recuse too long. All the bodies were dead and pale and no one was moving. Even so, they checked the bodies just in case. As they moved through the crowd, they moved the bodies out of the way and made sure not to hit them out of respect.

Mr. Lowe called out asking if anyone was alive or if they could hear him. But all was quiet. Mr. Lowe refused to give up until he had found all of the survivors. On the wood, Fizzarolli sang to himself while Asmodeus tried to join in, just to make sure both stayed alive. Neither of them had much energy anymore until they saw the flashlight that Mr. Lowe was pointing into the sea. Both of them tried to call out to Mr. Lowe but their voices were horse from the salt water they had accidentally swallowed that night.

But Fizzarolli had one last idea. Getting into the water, he swam over to the officer with the whistle and swam back before blowing the whistle to get their attention. Mr. Lowe looked over in their direction and made their way over to the couple who were happy that they were going to get out of this alive. As Fizzarolli blew the whistle, Asmodeus in the present opened his eyes to see everyone around him crying.

"1,500 people went into the sea when Titanic sank from under us," Asmodeus continued, "There were 20 boats floating nearby and only one came back. One. seven were saved from the water myself and Fizzy included. Seven... out of 1,500. Afterward, the 700 people in the boats had nothing to do but wait. Wait to die, wait to live... wait for an absolution that would never come."

The survivors waited for another hour and a half for rescue. Asmodeus and Fizzarolli shared a blanket to keep warm. Sarah and many others drank whatever alcohol was available to keep warm. Agrat had heard nothing about Asmodeus and had assumed he died in the freezing cold ocean. The sun had barely started to rise when Mr. Lowe set off a flair when he saw a ship on the horizon. The Carpathia had finally arrived after three and a half hours. When the sun rose, passengers could see their rescue and more icebergs around them.

Everyone was let aboard and both lifeboats and lifejackets were collected from passengers. The crew started to take the names of survivors while others asked if their loved ones had survived too. Sarah just looked for Asmodeus, seeing if she could get the diamond back. But she never found him. And that was the last time the two ever saw her. She married, of course, and inherited her millions but the crash of '29 hit her interests hard and he put a pistol in her mouth that year or so Asmodeus and Fizzarolli read. They arrived in America days later. The rain was pouring as the city was lit up by the lights of the buildings there.

"Can I take your names please?" an officer asked, approaching the couple.

"Fizzarolli."

"Asmodeus," Fizzarolli looked at Asmodeus surprised at the lack of title this time, "Just Asmodeus."

The officer just wrote down the names and left. Fizzarolli didn't argue with the name change, just giving him a side hug and a smile.

"We never found anything on Fizzarolli," Lewis said, "There's no record of him at all."

"No, there wouldn't be, would there?" Asmodeus asked him, "And I've never spoken of him until now. Not since his passing, anyway. A man's heart is a deep ocean of secrets. But now you know there was an imp named Fizzarolli and that he saved me in every way that a person can be saved. I have pictures of him. But what he was like as a person lives only in my memory."