A New Beginning

Chapter 22: Little Hope

Chapter 22: Little Hope

"Row towards the ship!" the lead officer of the boat shouts.

Peter sighs. It's what they've been doing all night. His arms are sore from rowing and his leg is still killing him. He knows the blood has soaked through his bandage and is probably pooling on the deck of the lie boat. The cold may have sealed the wound a bit, but also frozen the blood to his leg.

He still can't believe that he was shot and that the entire ship went down in less than two hours. Every moment he thought of Emma, somewhere on that ship. He prayed that she made it to a lifeboat and was now also going towards the rescue ship. He couldn't bear the thought of Emma being on the stern of the ship as it broke away and went down so quickly. He hoped that Emma wasn't among those who screamed as they froze to death in the water all around them. He couldn't picture it.

He rowed with the other men who were put in charge of the oars through the night. Several of them were firemen who had been working down in the boiler room when the water poured into the ship. How they escaped, Peter didn't know because no one spoke at all on the boat. The shock of what had just happened was hardly sinking in, leaving everyone paralyzed and sad. Several women on the boat were sobbing for their husbands and children clung to their mothers, more afraid than anyone else. Peter had handed Sybil to a nearby woman who tended to her all night. Sybil had slept most of the night, the swaying of the boat seemed to put her under nicely. She did wake up once and began to cry, most likely because she was in the arms of a stranger. Peter took a break from his rowing to cradle and comfort her. He could tell she was cold, hungry, and missed her sister. After what they'd been through that night, he felt like crying too but kept calm for the sake of his wife's sister. Once she was in familiar arms, Sybil settled down enough to go back to sleep. Peter envied her, being able to let all your cares drift out of your mind as you escape to a safer place. He gav0e Sybil back to the woman and began to row.

They rowed for most of the night, in no particular direction, but it was meant to keep people warm. The officer was the only one who ever really spoke, ordering those to go port or starboard or stop. Several of the passengers wanted to go back and look for survivors, but they were ordered to remain quiet by the officer. The fear of being swamped by panicking victims was greater than the need to save more lives. Peter desperately wanted to disagree, but he was in too much pain to protest.

As the sun rose, the boat was surrounded by icebergs and on the odd occasion a corpse floating in the water. Peter wants to avert his eyes, but he had to see if it was Emma. He felt some relief when none of them were her. A ship's horn soon broke the morning air, many of the survivors rejoiced and cheered. However, Peter felt a little relief. The officer ordered them to row and Peter did as much as he could, feeling the energy and hope draining from him.

The last words that Emma has said to him echoed in his mind.

"I need you to go. Someone has to care for Sybil...If you're safe, I'll be safe, please do this for me. I couldn't go on if something happened to you...I will find you again. I will be okay! ...Family vow..."

He did his best not to cry, distracting himself from the pain of possibly losing his wife, whom he had only been married to for a few hours, by rowing, but there was still a heavy stone in his stomach. He felt so helpless. He should've held onto her more tightly, preventing her from leaving his side. She should have been in this boat, not him or maybe both of them, still together and still a family. Now she was most likely gone.

The boat waits for a while for their turn. When the time came, the options are to pull the children up in a cargo net, be pulled up in a swing or climb the ladder. Peter watches as several women are pulled up in the swing.