A New Beginning

Chapter 21: Never Let Go

Chapter 21: Never Let Go...

The water is now eerily still as the star-crossed lovers lay adrift, one in the water and one on a door. The two clung to each other, doing their best to stay alive amongst the dead and the dying. The only sounds were the sounds of lapping water and a song...

"Come, Josephine in my flying machine..." she says, the cold making her once lively voice a barely audible whisper, her green eyes gaze at the stars, the very same stars that she wanted Jack to take her to just earlier that night. It certainly didn't feel like last night, it felt like a million years ago. So much has happened since then. Everything they knew is now at the bottom of the ocean.

"And it's up she goes...up she goes..."

"Is there anyone alive out there!" A voice shouts into the graveyard of floating corpses. Rose's heart jumps into her throat. A light is scanning the array of floating frozen people. "Can anyone hear me?"

"Jack, there's a boat!" she says. She pulls herself up, the sound of her frozen hair tearing off of the wood is horrible to hear.

She shakes his hand again.

"Jack wake up there's a boat...!" she says again.

"Jack...?" she whispers. "Jack please!"

Her heart begins to break, and tears flood her eyes. He can't be dead. He promised they would go to Santa Monica and do all those things together. He was a survivor and they had only just begun their journey together. It couldn't end like this.

She whispers his name again. She reaches over and puts her hand near his neck. She pushes hard and could barely feel a pulse. She sighs in relief and could just hear his faint breathing. She knew she had to get them both to safety, knowing Jack only had minutes to live, perhaps seconds.

The light from the boat begins to go past them, fading into the distance.

"Come back!" Rose tries to yell, but her voice is so soft and weak that they would never hear her. More tears stream down her face. "Please come back!"

Her heart begins to sink again. She couldn't just give up like that, she has to try.

She looks around anxiously, she and Jack's chance of survival is slowly slipping away. Suddenly she sees a dead officer nearby with a whistle around his neck. She begins to move towards it, but it is not fast enough. She's dragging Jack along as their hands are frozen together. For a single second, she considers letting Jack go, but she promised she wouldn't, not for any reason.

"I'll never let go, I promise" She promises and squeezes his hand and kisses it.

She musters all the strength within her and holding onto Jack's hand, Rose lowers herself into the water. She ignores how cold it is and swims as fast as her legs can carry her. She swims towards the dead officer and reaches out and grabbing his whistle from around his neck, she inhales as much air as she possibly can and blows. The sound is weak but loud enough to cut through the icy silence around them. She continues to blow, holding onto Jack, pulling his arm up over her to keep him afloat with her.

"There's someone out there!" the officer in the boat shouts. "Row back! That way! Pull!"

"Come about!" another person in the boat shouts.

Rose feels tears of relief. She continues to blow and hold onto Jack for both their lives depended on it.

The boat makes its way towards the sound, pushing through a crowd of corpses to get to the nearly frozen couple.

"Take him first," Rose says weakly, the whistle now out of her mouth. The officers pull him in. Rose feels as if a part of her is being torn away as she lets go of Jack's limp hand.

"Is he dead?" one of the officers asks, looking at the pale lifeless face of the blond man. A shaky hand goes against his neck.

"There's barely a pulse. Wrap him up quickly and say a prayer."

An officer pulls Rose out of the frigid water and removes her lifejacket, leaving Rose feeling vulnerable and unbearably cold.

"Put them together so they can share body heat," The lead officer, Lowe shouts. Rose has a blanket thrown around her and she's laid down on the deck with Jack. He too is piled in blankets. Rose reaches over and pulls him to her. His body is so cold and heavy. Rose can feel tears coming back to her eyes. She pulls him close to her, much like he did to her on the stern as it went down. She puts her body as close as she can to him to give him her heat. She can still feel his breath, as faint as it is, it's there and that means there is hope.

The boat begins to move again, and Rose looks up at the sky, the stars are now fading slightly in the morning light. The voices of the officers simply become drones and indecisive, almost lulling her. She can feel her strength fading again and her eyes become heavy. She felt slightly better and could relax a bit more, knowing that both she and Jack were safe as they could be for now. She squeezes Jack again to make sure he's there and then shuts her eyes.

All she had to do now is rest.