Always (a Deryck Whibley Fanfic) RMS Titanic / WWI AU

IX: In Too Deep

Monday 15th April 1912
2.10 AM

We've thankfully made it to the stern which is now like I'd predicted, at a forty-five degree angle and is beginning to slowly descend into the freezing cold watery death trap several feet below us. I watch as a lot of the other passengers struggle to either reach or hold onto the white railings of the stern, the five of us have all sort of huddled together so we don't lose one another, but we're to be separated eventually when the stern goes under water and there will most definitely be a large rippling effect of the waves due to the size of the stern. It is now quarter past two in the morning, the ship is definitely going to sink in the next five minutes due to the bow breaking off of the hull plates down below and now the stern is just going to be bobbing in the water like a cork in the next couple of minutes. As the ship begins it's deathly descend into the ocean, we all brace ourselves for the impact of the freezing cold water and the first effect of cold water shock which we will be facing in a matter of mere minutes, once we hit the water which I'm not particularly looking forward to because I know once you're supposed to kick your way to the surface, but unfortunately I can't swim for the life of me I guess I'll just be either floating in the water, having a go at a doggy paddle, or just get one of the guys to drag me along. Five minutes later, it is now twenty past two in the morning and the Titanic has went down with a lot of passengers still onboard, we're now dealing with the coldness of the freezing water, but I know that you have to keep moving not just stay in the one place when you're in these frigid waters. After spending what's felt like hours and hours waiting for one of the other lifeboats that were launched, the hypothermia is now beginning kick in but we've only been in the water for about fifteen minutes at least.  After waiting for such a long time, just when we thought all hope was lost Fifth-Officer Lowe came to our rescue with Lifeboat 14, he is the only one that I can see that had the courage to go back and check the wreck site for any survivors even though there is a very slim chance of finding any, but luckily enough for the five of us and a couple of others, we've been rescued just half an hour after the ship has went down. It is now three o'clock in the morning, it was reported by Jack Phillips to Captain Smith that the nearest ship to the Titanic was the RMS Carpathia who was four hours away, so she shouldn't be too long now it's just a case of sitting tight for about an hour at least. It is now four in the morning, and I can see Officer Lowe waving a green flare to signal the Carpathia over so she can take onboard us survivors, in the past hour since we've been waiting for rescue, Steve's hypothermia has took a turn for the worse so it's vital that we get him to the ship's doctor once we've all boarded our rescue ship. Myself and the others have - I guess you could say moderate hypothermia, whereas Steve's is more severe. We've thankfully managed to clamber onto the Carpathia, and I've mentioned to an officer that Steve has to see the ship's doctor, he informs us that we all have to go just as a precaution. After a while of waiting on Steve to be brought out after being treated for severe hypothermia, the doctor came out of his clinic and with a solemn look upon his face, he turns to the four of us:

"Friends of Stephen Jocz?" We all turned our heads simultaneously towards him. He then goes on to say:

"I'm sorry to inform you all, but Stephen has succumbed to his injuries of severe hypothermia. I will let you all go in and say your goodbyes if you wish. My sincere condolences to you all". I sit shocked unable to move or even form any words, I think the others must feel the same. We all get up from where we are sitting and make our way into the room where Steve is, I see another doctor in the room filling out what appears to be Steve's death certificate - I'm able to read what it says:

CERTIFICATE OF DEATH

This is to acknowledge the death of

STEPHEN MARTIN JOCZ

On the 15th day of April In The Year 1912

Onboard: RMS Carpathia
Time of Death: 0435.

After saying our goodbyes to Steve, neither one of us have spoken due to the fact that we're still in a state of shock after losing an avid member of our group and of course to the band especially, I really don't know how Deryck, Jay and Dave are going to cope without Steve in the band I guess they could still carry on as a three piece band, but normally you need a drummer in a band - so what now? Unless one of them takes up the role of singer, guitarist/bassist and drummer then I guess they could go on as a trio instead of a quartet as it has been for the past five years. So, with the passing of Steve he is one of the 1500 passengers that died in the Titanic disaster, he may not have died on the ship specifically like many others but he is definitely a victim of a disaster that could've well been avoided if the correct actions and orders were took and not miscalculated or misinterpreted like they had been. The Carpathia will be sailing into New York on Wednesday the 18th, then hopefully we will be back on dry land - distraught by the disaster and the death of our friend but home and dry almost, we will have to board another ship to get back home to Ajax in Toronto, Canada. It is now Wednesday 18th April, we have finally reached New York where we will have to attend an inquiry about the sinking, which I'm not looking forward to because we will have to give evidence of where we were when the Titanic hit the iceberg and what we did after the collision, we will probably be asked about the death of Steve three days ago onboard the Carpathia. I don't want to take part in this inquiry because I would rather go back home than have to stand before a judge and other passengers and many other witnesses and give evidence on what I think what happened and what I think I saw. The inquiry will be held in the Waldorf Astoria hotel tomorrow, so we may as well head there so we can get this over with and then we can go home and try and forget about the horrible memories that the sinking gave us all, but try and remember the times we enjoyed being onboard the greatest ship in the world, and of course remember Steve and all the great times we had with him until his short life of 19 years was brought to an icy end.

The faster we're falling
We're stopping and stalling
We're running in circles again
Just as things were looking up
You said it wasn't good enough
But still we're trying one more time

Maybe we're just trying too hard
When really it's closer than it is too far

Cause I'm in too deep, and I'm trying to keep
Up above in my head, instead of going under
Cause I'm in too deep, and I'm trying to keep
Up above in my head, instead of going under
Instead of going under

Seems like each time
I'm with you I lose my mind
Because I'm bending over backwards to relate
It's one thing to complain
But when you're driving me insane
Well then I think it's time that we took a break

Maybe we're just trying too hard
When really it's closer than it is too far

Cause I'm in too deep, and I'm trying to keep
Up above in my head, instead of going under
Cause I'm in too deep, and I'm trying to keep
Up above in my head, instead of going under
Instead of going under
Instead of going under
Instead of going under

I can't sit back and wonder why
It took so long for this to die
And I hate it when you fake it
You can't hide it you might as well embrace it
So believe me it's not easy
It seems that something's telling me

I'm in too deep, and I'm trying to keep
Up above in my head, instead of going under
Cause I'm in too deep, and I'm trying to keep
Up above in my head, instead of going under
Instead of going under
Instead of going under again
Instead of going under
Instead of going under again
Instead of going under again
Instead of going under again
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All rights go to: Sum 41
Written by: Deryck Whibley