Gem of the Deep

Chapter 6

The Sinking

DISCLAIMER: Mummies Alive! is the property and trademark of Dic Inc. and the producers of that show. This page is intended for entertainment purposes only, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Disclaimer: TITANIC is a Paramount, 20th Century Fox, and Lightstorm Production. Basically, anything that's in the movie isn't mine, and a copyright infringement is not intended.

Thanx again to Mia, who's allowing me to use her character, Lyris in this story, and to Sekhmet, who's allowing me to use her character Joari.

  • Oh, they loaded up the boats so very far from shore
  • but the rich refused to associate with the poor.
  • So they put the poor below,
  • where they were the first to go.
  • It was sad when the great ship went down.
  • - Folksong

    • " No Way!!" He shouted back.
    " Young prince, try and listen to reason!" Ja-kal exclaimed loudly, sitting up from his seat in the comfy arm chair, and walking over to the boy.
    " I agree with Rapses! We're not going to leave you here to die!" Nefer-tina struck back, putting both her hands on Presley's shoulders. " We're a team, we're his guardians! And as a team, we all go, or none of us go at all!" The leader was about ready to say something else, but he held it back and returned to his chair to think of a rebuttle for the statement.
    The iceberg had hit, there was no time for argueing, they all knew this. As the guardian looked around the room, he noticed how it had changed the group, all for the worst. They were all showing the beguinnings of the five stages of death. Over in the corner, Armon was sitting by himself. Not the cheery person that he once was, he had retreated into himself, the same was he himself had been earlier, trying to block out the world. Over on the couch, closest to the large promenade windows, sat Lyris. She was fiddling around with her small gold ankh necklace, entwining the chain in her fingers silently. He wasn't sure what she was feeling, but he was certain that she was still in the stage of denile, heading into a wave of depression. At the other end of the couch, sitting close to the door, Rath incoherently clicked a standing oil lamp on and off, pulling on the small bobble that fell down from the light. He, like Ja-kal himself, were upon the stage of acceptance, that there was nothing more to be done.
    In front of him, Presley stood securely, Nefer-tina directly behind him, her hands on his shoulders. The two were borderlining denile and anger, but showing more anger than anything else. That's what was getting on his nerves the most.
    " Yes, we are a team." He tried to tell them once again. " And I am your leader, and as your leader, I have a responsibility to you that I will not and cannot afford to fail!" He stood up again, now standing directly in the center of the room. " If there is a chance to save our prince, then we should take it..."
    " Not if it means that you guys are going to die instead!" Presley stated, crossing his arms ignorantly across his chest. " I'm not going to leave without all of you."
    " Diddo for me." The charioteer announced as well, loosening her grip on the boy's shoulders.
    " Why don't we all go out anyway?" Lyris finally asked, sitting up in her seat and dropping the pendant around her neck once again. " I read in a book that at the very beguinning, before everyone knew the Titanic was in trouble, they were loading boats half full, with men in them also. There would be plenty of room for us all to safely leave the ship and save the prince at the same time."
    " It's too risky." The leader told her. He looked down at the floor, then quickly raised his head to eye level. This was far too difficult for him to continue saying over and over again. " I know that you all know that this isn't right, but we all have to face the facts. The ship is sinking, and there aren't enough lifeboats for half of the passengers. They'll be loading women and children in a matter of minutes."
    " But you all can come too!" The muse stood up from her seat, looking at Ja-kal angrily. " I told you, on the starboard side, they were loading men into the boats as well!..."
    " We cannot take the seats of those that were meant to survive." Rath told her, somewhat calmly from his position a short ways away. " We're taking a chance with the three of you, we can't risk any more."
    Presley was beguinning to get more and more furious with each passing remark. " So that's it?! We don't have a say in this? I'm the Pharaoh here, and I say that either all of us go, or none of us go!" He exclaimed with as much authority as he could muster at the time.
    Ja-kal glanced at him sadly. " My prince," He began, thinking through what he was about to say. He had never over ruled a superior's command before. " Looking at the circumstances, I think that that order can and will be forgotten." The boy glared at him, both shocked and angry. " For the one time in my profession, I am afraid that your commands have no authority here."
    The muse clenched her fists as hard as she could, trying not to explode. " I can't believe that you would all just give up on this." She said through clenched teeth. " There has to be another way..."
    " But there is no other way!" Rath exclaimed, standing up as well. " How many times do we have to tell you that?! The Titanic's sinking, the Jewel of the Nile's lost. Suck up whatever feelings you have left and get in one of those lifeboats!" Directly after saying the statement, he regretted it.
    Presley looked down at the floor, finally realizing that he had been defeated. Nefer-tina, still standing behind him, looked at the scribe severly agitated, but refused to start another pointless conversasion. Her grip on the boy merely tightened slightly, all of her frustration being contained inside of her. Lyris didn't even look up. Before anyone could stop her, she reached up towards her neck, and grasped the ankh pendant with two of her fingers. With one savage tug, she broke apart the chain securing it to her neck, pulling it away from her, and throwing it on the dark plush carpet. Then, without another word, she walked around everyone, opened the door, and left the room, leaving everyone with their other thoughts.
    Ja-kal sighted the gold chain and pendant, still fastened to it. The outline of it didn't fit well with the dark carpet underneath it. It had been more than he had expected from her, maybe some more yelling, possibly even slight struggling, but never an outburst like this, when time was of the essence and they had other details to work out. He glanced at Rath, for only a moment, with a concerned frown. It was the unwelcomed truth, a truth that they would have to had been eased into. It was too much for the brutal reality to come crashing down on their heads, and it had been too much for the muse to bear.
    The scribe caught his leader's eye on him, and looked in his direction. Ja-kal was wearing an unhappy face, brought probably by the situation. His outburst hadn't had helped any either, and it had sent a member of their party running out of the room. They couldn't possibly continue the meeting unless they were all there. The gaze continued, until finally, he snapped. " Oh, alright!"
    Ja-kal nodded slightly, watching as another one of his guardians was leaving the room, muttering something like, " We're standing on a sinking ship, what a time to go running off, when we have matters to discuss..." The door slammed behind him, leaving the room cut off to the outside world once again.
    The leader turned back to the two whom were still stationed in front of him. At least he could try to persuade them into listening to what he had to say.
    Unfortunately for him, the odds were against his favor. For, just as he was about to open his mouth, Nefer-tina held a hand up in a strict manner. The leader stopped short of saying any more, and looked into the charioteer's blazing eyes. She had that look again, the one that told him that no matter what was about to happen, she wouldn't budge.
    " No." She told him sharply, for the final time.

    ***

    With another bout of anger, she slammed the white iron door back to it's orignal position, closing the inside of the ship from the biting cold that was flowing around her now. If it were ever possible, she was sure that it had gotten colder, but as she looked around her, she realized what it was. Huge mounds of ice were sitting quietly on the deck, bringing a deep, icy cold with them. Her small jacket wasn't about to protect her from it, but the way she was feeling now, she didn't care.
    Sighing, Lyris began to walk down the deck, up towards the bow. It was best, to come out here, the biting cold air would cool down her hot head, and make her mind slow down to a mile a minute. She walked by a group of passengers that were watching deckhands and crew down by the front of the ship, where the iceberg had hit it. Still, most of them had no idea what was going on, or why stewards and servants were running to their rooms, telling them to get up and head for the boat deck.
    " What's all the fuss about?" An older gentleman asked out loud. " In all my days of voyaging by sea, never have I been so rudely interrupted. And at this time of night no less!"
    " I've heard that the crew of the Titanic have never had a lifeboat drill. Maybe they're having a lifeboat drill." A young woman exclaimed cheerfully, trying to make the best of a bad situation. And trying to stay warm when it was so bitterly cold out, she wrapped herself in her arms and swayed slowly back and forth.
    " At this hour, don't be rediculous Josephine." The man told her sharply, crossing his arms in front of him, and turning away from the girl, standing there in a measly housecoat and slippers.
    The muse looked away from them, and finally, found a spot that was suitable to her emotions at the time. There was no ice lining the deck, no other people chatting away. It was almost quiet, except for the yells of the crew, working away below.
    She walked over to it, and as she did, her dress swayed in the sudden movement. From the pocket, a deep red rose fell from it, and patted softly on the wooden promenade. She was inclined to pick it up, but decided against it. It held happy memories, memories that she didn't want to remember right now. Ones that she was certain she would never see the likes of again.
    She crossed her arms over the railing, and gazed out at the blackness beyond her. The iceberg, the one that had caused all of the trouble in the first place, was long gone, disappeared back into the dark depths of hell where it had come. Even with the engines of the Titanic off, they had still drifted too far away from it to have been visible. Above, the stars shimmered brightly, casting a faint light on them all. It was beautiful, but she never bothered to think about that. With another sad sigh, she put her chin on her arms and stood there, just trying to forget...
    With frustration, Rath threw open the door to the promenade deck, stopping only for an instant as the cold began to fly into the cozy atmosphere of the hallway. He had been looking around for her everywhere, but to no avvail. Wherever she was, he had to get her back to the Millionaire's Suite soon, Ja-kal was probably growing impatient with all the waiting.
    Attempting to get out of the door and onto the deck as quickly as possible, he walked out quickly, but forgot to duck as he did so, banging his forehead hard against the iron trimming around it.
    Rubbing the sore part of his head, the scribe ducked down and came out onto the freezing wooden deck. This wasn't going well at all. She probably wasn't even out there, and he was wasting his time, getting battered and bruised in the process. Looking around the deck, there were more poeple out now, as they were all being awakened to head for the boat deck. It wasn't going to be too long before the first lifeboat was going to be launched, and the survivors cast out into the bitter sea.
    He began to head for the bow. If she was out here, then that's where she would go. Back to where it all happened, back to where the berg had hit. She wouldn't have left that place unattended and go to the stern, it wasn't her style. Funny, how in situations like this you remembered the most unusual things...
    After a few minutes of walking, the cold was beguinning to get to him more than ever. Along with the large slabs of ice everywhere, the thermometer was plummeting far below zero, turning the air into that found inside a walk-in freezer. Everyone's breath was causing a misty cloud in front of their faces, causing all that walked around to look like train engines gracing the deck.
    Finally, much to his surprise, a slim figure in the distance could be seen leaning heavily on the white iron railing. Her head was resting quietly on her arms, and if it hadn't been so cold, it would have almost looked like the muse had fallen asleep. But the cold made sure that all around were wide awake and anxious.
    He walked up to her, almost ready to go up and explode, telling her that it was childish to go running off, and that she was holding everybody else up by being out here. Saying that going to the boats was the right and only thing that they could do, and that their prince had to survive, otherwise they would have failed again, and it was all because that the three of them couldn't grasp reality...
    He was, until about a meter away from her, when his shoe connected with something on the deck. Looking down, he brought his foot up, and below, there was a closed rose, almost half of it's stem broken from where he'd stepped on it. But otherwise, it was in practically perfect condition, and he bent down and picked it up from the freezing ground. It must have been from the night previous, there was no other time that roses were available to the passengers on the ship, unless otherwise asked. She'd kept it all this time, it was merely meant to be a peacemaker...
    At this point, Rath didn't have the heart to do what he had come out to accomplish. First her, standing quietly and gloomily by the railing, and then the rose left carelessly on the ground. He sighed, defeated.
    Lyris looked out over the water's surface, like she had so many times in those mere minutes. If there was a moon, then she would have been able to decyfer waves or ripples, but with the dim light from the stars, there were none to be found. Only the water washing against the ship looked anything other than a thick black sheet.
    Someone stood beside her, but she didn't look in their direction. There was no point, they probably didn't want to talk, and she certainly didn't feel like it. Besides, she would never see them again anyway, why start up a conversasion.
    Suddenly, her line of vision was blocked by something. Something small, something sweet. The light that shone down from a nearby porch light brought a feel to it. It was her rose, the one that she had never bothered to pick up, and left on the wooden deck behind her. It had completely escaped her mind.
    " Flowers are very hard to come by on a ship you know." Came a familiar voice. She became a little astonished, and looked up.
    " Oh." Lyris said quietly, gently taking the rose from him, and grasping it tightly in her hand. " I didn't think you... I didn't think that anyone would come out here." She said truthfully. It was the reason that she was out on deck actually. She had wanted to escape everybody, and she had felt that going out in the freezing air would keep her alone.
    Rath sighed, a cloud of mist escaping as he did so. " No one should be out here." He exclaimed, looking down at the muse. She was turned away, but not enough to show how cold she was getting. Her nose was starting to get a smidge of red, her terra cotta cheeks going rosy red, along with her ears. Her fingers were covered by the white gloves, but they were probably beguinning to go a different shade as well. She must have been out here for quite some time. In a gesture more for his well-being than hers, he began to take his coat off, first pulling his left arm out of it's sleeve, then the other. It was colder out now, but not by much, not enough to make a different. Before giving it a second thought and dropping the idea entirely, he reached out, and put the shoulders of the jacket over hers, letting it fall around her in an extremely baggy manner. " Come on, we should be getting inside." He told her quietly.
    She looked up at him, but only for a second. If it were any other time, she would have been flattered. But this was another one of his little "things" that he did to get you to go his way. It worked in the ballroom, it wasn't going to work here. She was still much too frustrated right now.
    Instead of saying thank you, or even thanks, she left her position from the railing, and began to walk slowly towards the front of the ship, moving closer and closer to where they had all witnessed the huge iceberg connect with the ship's hull. Rath leaned against the cold rail and glanced up at the sky annoyingly. He said something mean, she walked away, he did something nice, she walked away. Maybe if he tied her down so that she couldn't move... Instinctively, he began to follow her, at a much quicker pace.
    She knew that he was following her, and finally, she couldn't contain it anymore. " I can't believe what you're asking us to do." She began, pulling the new chestnut coat around her a little more. It was far warmer than her light blue jacket, and it was definitly more roomy. If she had larger clothes like this to wear during the journey, then perhaps she would have been more comfortable.
    The scribe swerved to the side, trying to avoid a large rock of ice laying sternly on the wooden promenade. " I don't believe that you wouldn't agree to it." He explained honestly.
    " Excuse me?!" She snapped, turning around to face him. " Why in the world would I agree to something like this?!"
    " Oh, I don't know, maybe because it's the right thing to do." He told her in a sarcastic tone, moving closer and closer with each passing step. Lyris had now stopped by the ledge of the deck, where directly above, Murdoch had been waiting to see where the berg was headed only a few many minutes ago. It was an empty area, and it was covered over, the stars couldn't be seen.
    She looked at him with an unbelievable expression. " Leaving the three of you here to die?! That's the right thing to do?!" She was trying to gesture with her hands, but the feeling that she had now was far beyond that. She felt like karate-chopping something. " I don't believe this..."
    " You've said so yourself that Ja-kal is a good leader." He tried a different approach with her. " Would he ever steer us in the wrong direction?"
    " I don't care!" She yelled, startling her companion, even startling herself. " I will not just get into some lifeboat and watch as the ship goes down with all of you..."
    " Lyris, it's..."
    " We are all a team. We are all guardians, just like Nefer-tina said!" She continued, never even bothering to get in a word from him. " We rise and we fall together, and this time is no exception from the rule! There must be a way for us all to get away, there has to be..." She was yelling loudly now, she couldn't help it. All of the emotions that had been bottled up the entire time she had been sitting on that couch came flooding out.
    " Aren't you...?"
    " Do you think it's any easier on us knowing that we're leaving you on this doomed ship?!"
    " Lyris..."
    " To just forget about our oath to protect each other if the time arrouse and let you sacrifice yourselves while we run and hide like dogs?!"
    " It's not like..."
    " That the screams we hear in the distance might be one of you?!!"
    " Muse, will you shut up and listen to me for one moment?!!" He yelled back, finally able to get a word in the conversasion. Quickly, he grabbed the tops of her arms, holding her in one place. This time, she wouldn't walk away, she had to be made to see the truth of the situation. " Do not forget why we are here!"
    Lyris was stunned, for a moment. She was breathing heavily, rolls of white mist were escaping her nose and mouth, and tears were beguinning to softly roll down her pink cheeks. All of the frustration and the furiosity that had once been with her was gone now, she had let it all out and there was no more. She suddenly felt quite empty, empty and alone. Even though Presley and Nefer-tina were in the same situation, she still felt utterly alone.
    Rath turned away for a moment and sighed greatly. He glanced back at her, his face a little softer and the anger lost in his voice. " Tell me Lyris, why are we here?" He asked. It sounded almost like a retorical question, but she knew she had to answer.
    " To find the Jewel of the Nile." She began. " But, it's lost now, you said so yourself. There's no reason for us to stay here anymore..."
    " No." He interrupted, loosening the grip on her arms. " I mean, why are we here, now, in the present, and not rotting away somewhere in some tomb?"
    She looked at him oddly. She knew why, there was no need to undermind her intelligence. " We were summoned to protect..." Finally, it came to her, and the muse could almost feel her heart breaking as she finally realized what he had been trying to tell her the entire time. " To protect Rapses."
    " Yes." He replied, finally content that she was beguinning to grip the idea. " Not because we were given a second chance at life, not to avenge his death, not even to capture Scarab. We were brought back to protect the reborn prince. That and only that." He paused for a moment, while she looked down at the cold wooden deck, grief forming on her face. " This is what we were to do, it is our destiny, our duty..."
    "Must our duty always fall above what we know in our hearts?" She asked simply, looking away from him. The scribe wasn't sure exactly what her words meant. Moreover, he couldn't allow himself to understand what she had told him, or he'd never be able to keep going with this plan to try and bring her over to his point of view. " I can't leave you. I can't leave you to..."
    " To die?" He whispered softly. She nodded slightly, tears still streaming down her face, never being bothered to be wiped away. " Please Lyris, please don't fight me on this one....You have to go on living...." She couldn't die, he wouldn't allow it. Gently he brushed a thumb against her cheek, trying to get one of those small tears.
    Ironically, they had learned more about each other in the past few days than they ever had in San Francisco. It reminded him of their walks in Egypt when they'd discuss everything and nothing for hours in the Pharoah's gardens. And yet, there was still something about her and HIMSELf that he was missing.... His heart cried out in frustration. He had promised himself, never again. Never feel this way again... "Although I wish the situation were otherwise, I will happily die in the knowledge that you will be safe. It doesn't matter what our hearts may wish in this case....our first duty is still to the Prince."
    She closed her eyes, another tear sliding down her cheek, and resting at the very foot of her chin, as if to linger in the intense suffering that she was going through. Although she didn't want to admit it, and she would have gone on fighting forever against it if she had the strength to, she knew that he was right. The five of them could have forever been lost, hidden away from the world. They were brought back for one reason only.
    Rath watched her hopefully, She was looking worse and worse all the time, but to him, it was actually considered a good thing. She had finally grasped onto what he was saying, and, though pressured, has surrendered to it. There was no need to continue on with the conversasion, everything that had been said was enough for them both.
    " Believe it or not, you are doing the right thing." He told her quietly, trying to conceil their situation from a young couple who were walking by them at the time, heading up to the boat deck no doubt. " We will all die happy knowing that you are all safe."
    Without another gesture, or enough time for words, he finally let her go, the cold air beguinning to nip at her arms once again. He didn't look at her again, he just let out another one of his sighs, and then began to walk away slowly, returning back to the iron door from where he had come.
    The muse didn't bother looking at him again either. It was too difficult leaving them all already. Carefully, she pulled the rose up to eye level, and examined it. It was cold and dark, so the petals were drawn into itself, trying to push the outside world away from it. The bottom was broken, but the flower still held it's composition. It reminded her of herself.
    "Do you still not understand?" She asked, a small whip of wind pulling at her tousseled auburn curls, pulling them around her face, and clouding her vision. "Those boats can't save me now.....I'm already dead." And with clouded eyes of turqoiuse, the muse tossed the rose over the railing, sending it gliding over the edge and through the cold Arctic air, down the long black hull, and then finally into the dark waves below.
    The rose stood there for a moment, suspended by the water's upward gravity, but it wasn't to last. Slowly, the front of the rose began to tip under, the red of it vanishing in the deep green sea, as the back end rose up, higher and higher in the water. The pedals disappeared under the waves, and the stem followed, as if mimiking the path of the mighty ship itself, still afloat only feet away.

    ***

    The boat deck was utter chaos. Everywhere that you looked, there were people scrambling helplessly to get into lifeboats, husbands comforting wives as they were lowered down into the blackened sea, and children's cries could be heard over the entire ship. There was no order, no authority, there were just simply people and officers, mixing as if in a melting pot, becoming one.
    The lifeboats were being lowered fast. Already, nearly half of them were gone. The first few had been lowered hesitantly, as women and girls objected to leaving the safety of the great ship to be cast off into the murky waters of the Atlantic. Many people didn't even realize that the Titanic was in trouble- they all knew that there was something wrong, but they all thought that this was simply a precaution and that the problem would soon be fixed. After all, it was unsinkable.
    " Lower it down!" Came a voice from beside a lifeboat launch. First Officer Murdoch held his hand up high, and them brought it down, signaling for his crew to start sending the boat on it's way. The lifeboat itself, gleaming white in the lights of the boat deck, was only a little more than half full, extravagant hats and fur coats filling in the extra room. These women seemed to be more concerned with their possessions and clothes then their lives. One women even had the nerve to ask the Officer if she had time to go inside and get one of her necklaces before the boat was lowered.
    Away from the boats, beside a large metal crank, they waited, silently and solemnly. They were all watching the boats being brought down to the water, and waiting patiently for when it would have been their turns to leave as well. It was the only way, they had been told. There was nothing more that they could do here. They all showed it by what they wore- all three of them were wearing bright white life preservers, found in their rooms.
    " I can't believe we're doing this. " Nefer-tina finally broke the silence, not being able to bottle up her troubles anymore. She was severly agitiated, mad about Ja-kal finally getting the better of her and Presley, and sending them to the deck, where they had met Lyris. There, the three of them had walked up to the boat deck, waiting for what seemed an eternity for what felt to be their turns to enter the boats.
    " Ja-kal said that it was the only way." Presley told her, the same way he had over and over again. The boy wasn't the type to take things standing down. As a matter of fact, he probably would have been the last person that would have stepped down to his guardian's orders. But after seeing all of the people, running around, trying to get their spots in the lifeboats, he realized that this was it. Half of the people on board were going to be sent to their deaths, his guardians only wanted him to be safe, the same way they had for the last year and a half. How could he have disappointed them.
    Beside the prince, Lyris stood, still silent, just listening to the sounds of the night. Officers were yelling orders, children were screaming into the night. Mothers were comforting and trembling all at once, and all the men could do was stand by while the people in their lives were taken away from them. It was gruesome, and it only made her feel worse by doing so.
    The charioteer raised her head high, and looked in the direction of one of the lifeboats. It was just being uncovered, and there was no one around to get in it yet. She gulped. This was it. They were going to leave the luxuries and elagance of the Titanic and be put in a boat, only to watch as the great ship sank into the depths of the ocean, claiming 1500 passengers, as well as their teammates.
    " Maybe we, we should get that one." She told the others stationed by her. Presley tried to see which one she was talking about, but all he could see were dozens of first class men and women walking across the decks. Most of them were headed to the gymnasium. It was warm and it was comfortable, plus it was directly inbetween the two lines of boats on the deck, and everything was accessible.
    " Come on." Nefer-tina told them softly, grabbing Presley's hand to guide him through the crowd. The boy hesitated slightly, but decided against it, and let his guardian pull him along. Lyris watched as her friend moved through the groups of passengers, stringing the prince behind her. It was almost as if this was a dream, that she wasn't really doing this. But the cold, the cold was much more real. Incoherently, she pulled the collar of the chestnut jacket, which was practically down to her knees around her, and slowly followed them, remaining silent all the time.
    What the three didn't know, was that they were being watched. Only a deck above from where they had just been standing, three others watched, also just as silent and inanimated as they had once been. They watched as their friends walked around the groups and bunches standing around and walking on the deck, steadily moving over towards a new lifeboat, one that was just being opened up.
    " At least they're getting a move on now." Armon told them all, putting both of his hands on the railing and leaning over slightly to get a better look. " Now they'll be safe."
    " Yes." Ja-kal heaved a sigh of relief. " Just as long as they can learn to adapt to this new world. Nefer-tina and Lyris have had to come to grips with so much new technologie in such a short time."
    " But they have been in the 1990's and gotten along fine, why wouldn't they do even better now?" The warrior asked, confused at the idea his leader had brought forth. Behind them, a long line of finely dressed couples passed by, jabbering on about business deals and dressing gowns.
    " Because they're confused. Because they're angry." He began counting out the possibilities. He huffed loudly, a puff of white mist coming from his mouth as he did. " Because they'll never forgive us for making them leave."
    The guardian turned to his left, where the last member of their party was standing, being unusually quiet actually. Rath had his right hand on the railing, and was looking out over the crowd. After leaving Lyris out on the deck, he had gone back to his room one last time, just to get another coat, a thick black wool one, for standing out on the decks with.
    He turned to Ja-kal as the leader glanced in his direction. The only thing he could do was to force a weak smile at him, but it quickly faded. He let his hand go from the railing, and began to walk in the direction of the other side of the ship. The same thing was happening over there, but it seemed to be more quiet, and they wouldn't have to watch as their teammates walked out of their lives forever. Ja-kal soon followed, and Armon, after taking one last look at the two ladies and his prince, followed them through a hurd of people and out onto the portside of the sinking ship

    ***

    " Nefer-tina!"
    She turned around to see who was calling her name. They were not even halfway to the lifeboat when the voice had passed across the air, like so many right then. She looked one way, and then the other, but didn't see anyone that she knew, so kept going, attempting to get to the boat before they were overrun with other passengers.
    " Nefer-tina!" The voice came again. The charioteer stopped again, slightly annoyed. If the person wanted her to call back so bad, why didn't they make themselves known? She looked around some more, turning in a complete 360 degree circle, searching. Presley groaned as he was pulled around with her, the guardian still holding his hand firmly. He felt like he was on a Merry go 'Round.
    A hand waved above a man's head, and a moment later, a young woman pushed past him, walking swiftly to get to her friend's side. Behind her, two women watched her antics, one looking cheery, the other looking grumpy and bleak.
    " Nefer-tina!" she exclaimed loudly, tapping her friend on the shoulder. The charioteer turned around, pulling her prince around yet again. She stopped at the girls, and smiled widely.
    " Joari? What are you doing here? Well, I mean, I know what you're doing here, but I... well..." She attempted to form a sentance, but couldn't. She didn't know why, but she just couldn't. The girl was standing in front of her, no mension of slumber on her face. She had her hair down, for practically the first time on this voyage, and she was wearing another white life lacket over top of an expensive-looking fur coat.
    Joscerine smiled at her friend's antics. " Well, I would be in my room right now, but then this maid came in and told me to put on a life preserver and head for the boat deck." The young lady chuckled at the though. " Mother insisted on getting fully dressed to go out in "public", but I just threw on this thing." She gestured at the long brown fur. " Which is actually a good thing, because it's freezing out here! Why are you only wearing that?!" She exclaimed loudly, pointing at the charioteer's spring dress and pullover.
    " Cold air doesn't bother me very much." She lied. In actuality, she was trying desperately not to start shivering uncontrollably in the cold air. Behind her, she could feel Presley beguinning to shake slightly, the new camel-colored coat not seeming to keep out the arctic wind.
    Joscerine watched her curiously, but decided to drop the subject. She looked over the charioteer's shoulder, where a lone figure was standing quietly. " Hi Lyris!" She exclaimed, trying to get the other girl's attension from her position a few feet away. The muse didn't seem to hear her over all of the commotion of the decks, and even if she did, then she didn't respond.
    Joari shrugged her shoulders. Maybe she was also annoyed about being woken up so early. She turned back to Nefer-tina. " So, I guess you've seen everybody getting into the lifeboats, huh? It really is a big waste of time actually, just for a little leak." The prince's heart dropped as he heard the words coming out of her mouth.
    " Joscerine!" A shrill voice echoed over the crowd. The young lady turned around to see who it was. An older woman, wearing an elaborate pink and black suit was waving her hand to her urgently, a purple flowered hat sitting nicely on her head. Joari's face lightened up a little, and she veered around to her friend's again.
    " Why don't you guys come with us?" She asked excitedly. " At least that way, we'd all have some company until the boat gets fixed." Nefer-tina looked down at the floor with a sad expression, Presley just simply turned away. Lyris was still standing there solemnly, just listening to the ruccus and conversasion's going on.
    " I guess." Nefer-tina finally remarked flatly. " But we were planning to go over to that one..." She motioned towards the next set of four lifeboats, where the first one's sheet was now completely off, and passengers were beguinning to form a small group around it. " Um, well, maybe not."
    Joscerine smiled happily, and clapped her hands together. The woman yelled out her name once again, and she rolled her eyes. " Alright! But we'd better get a move on, otherwise my mother's going to pop her buttons." She giggled, and grabbed Nefer-tina's free hand, the one not attatched to the prince. Then, she began to pull the two of them through a large group of people waiting around the last lifeboat in the first line on the starboard side. Lyris reluctantly followed, still keeping to herself and drawing the jacket collar ever closer around her to shield her from the cold.
    The four walked around watchers and passer-by's, until finally, they got to the lifeboat. It was just over half full, and many of the free seats were being taken up by spare coats, shawls and blankets. Looking around the inside of it, Nefer-tina realized that these were all first-class women, ones that weren't used to hanging around with them. But, she still wondered when they were planning to get the second and third class women out here to the boats.
    " It's about time Joscerine." Came the shrill voice once again. To the right of them, Elizabeth was standing there ready to get into the boat with her hands on her hips, showing agitation. " I have been waiting here for god knows how long waiting for you to stop acting like a child, and..."
    " Mother." Joari interveened, pulling the rest of her friends closer. " Look who I found! Nefer-tina, Lyris and Prince Rapses are going to be joining us in the lifeboat!" Her daughter told her cheerily, a large smile on her face.
    Elizabeth glared at her with a thoughtless expression. " Oh really. Well, I think that this boat is full. There's no more room. Perhaps if they had come sooner..."
    " Oh nonsense!" Came another voice, this time, from actually inside the lifeboat. Presley looked down into the boat, where a pleasant face was smiling up at them, even through the chaos and confusion of the deck beyond. " There's plenty of room, especially for our good friends in the Rapses Party."
    " Thanks Margaret." Joscerine exclaimed, grinning and nodding at her mother's friend. She circled around to her friends. " Well guys, whenever you're ready." She told them, pointing into the boat, at a small space in the seating. " If we don't get in now, then we won't have a chance to get in at all."

    ***

    " Heave!" One man shouted through the night.
    " Ho!" Several voices yelled back as seven men pulled heavily on the taunt rope. They had been doing this for mere seconds now, attempting to try and get a good grip on the situation. They were all standing on top of the steering room ceiling, beside the number one funnel, still puffing out clouds of thick black smoke into the starry sky.
    " Come on!" An Officer shouted at them. " Put your backs into it! We must get these boats off the roof and into the landings before it's too late!" He clicked his watch and chain open to survey the time. Almost quarter to one in the morning, and hour after the berg had hit.
    " Ho!" The group shouted again, straining to lift the spare lifeboat, or Collapsible B up high enough to slide it carefully down the makeshift wooden ramp. The men were tired and agitated, this wasn't a joke anymore. With one extra large tug, the team shifted back, but suddenly, the rope snapped in the center, small bits of it flying every which way, and the pulling group fell backwards, sprawling on the cold iron deck. The lifeboat dropped only a few centimeters to reach the deck, and remained there, the immovable object in their game.
    The Officer grunted with disapproval, clenching his hands into fists and looking at the boat helplessly. It was the Captain's orders to get the two collapsibles off of the roof, but it was easier said than done. No rope was strong enough to hold it.
    Ja-kal walked down the small flight of stairs towards the main lifeboat deck, his hand grasping the railing securely as he did so. Already, the floor was starting to show signs of an incline. An hour after the iceberg had hit, the bow was hanging low in the water, the ocean ripples making their ways up towards the thin gold line which surrounded the top of the ship. Crewmen and deckhands were starting to evacuate the area, knowing full well that in a matter of minutes, their work area would soon be under water. The bow was deserted.
    Behind him, Armon was busy watching more of what was going on on the deck, rather than the front of the vessel. Three of the lifeboats on this side were already gone, and another was being filled up as they walked down the stairs. Large hourds of people were trying to cram in, as well as men and boys. Second Officer Lightoller was busy trying to push them all back, as he continued shouting " Women and Children first!!"
    " This place is going to the dogs!" He exclaimed loudly as his leader finally reached the floor of the boat deck.
    " Maybe that's because in another hour and a half, this will all be under water." Rath told him sarcastically from his position on the stairs.
    " These people don't seem the type to order such impressive passengers around." Ja-kal told them both as the two got down from the last step of the staircase. " It looks more like the first-class passengers are ordering the Officers around." In the distance, away from any crowds and such, a short, bulky man was yelling something to fifth Officer Lowe, standing only a foot away. The young man was yelling back at him, with unhappy features.
    Out of nowhere, a huge blast errupted from the front of the ship. It caught everyone's attension as a large ball of flaming white flew into the air, errupting as it reached altitude. It burst into many smaller orbs of light, drenching them all in white luminescence, brightening the decks and people's spirits all at once. The three watched intently as it exploded, and then slowly died away, falling back down to the decks from whence it had come. The loud conversing of the groups and couples on the ship had stopped, and for that one moment, silence covered the Titanic like a blanket.
    After the flare had fizzled, and it's remains fallen to the ground, passengers once again began to stand up and make themselves known. It was a distress flare, anyone who had been on a ship before knew that. The Titanic carried eight of them, just in case an emergency arrouse. But, why were they sending them off now? There wasn't anything wrong with the ship, it was unsinkable...
    Another noise, like the sound of a pistol being shot off sounded in their ears. They all looked over towards the bridge deck, where a group of men had just fallen over, grasping a rope in their hands. A lifeboat dropped from it's position and back onto it's riggings, determined not to move for anyone.
    " At least they have more boats then the ones over there." Armon exclaimed, turning slightly to his left and pointing back towards the crowd trying desperately to fit into the lifeboats.
    " Not if they don't get it off of the roof they don't." The scribe reminded him, watching as an Officer sternly began to walk away from it, only to return seconds later in a fit or rage. " It doesn't look like they're having a very good time."
    Ja-kal watched intently, glancing at each of the crewmen as they threw the rope down on the bleached white floor, and walking around the ceiling, trying to think of some way to maybe get the large boat off of the ceiling and down to the decks. " Perhaps we should go over there and see if they need any help."
    " What's the point? We're all going to be at the bottom of the ocean in a matter of minutes anyway. Besides, what was meant to be was meant to be." Rath stubbornly flicked his head to the side as a large man passed by them, carrying large boards of wood under his arms.
    " And if our actions can save others lives, I feel that we should help." The leader shot back, ignoring his friend's statement. " Now, come on." He began to head over towards the steering room's entrance, where the large man was beguinning to prop up more wooden boards against the white wall underneath the lifeboat.
    The three hardly had time to get close enough to the boat, when a scared yell was hear, " She's giving, she's giving way!!" it shouted over the commotion. Above their heads, the boat was teetering dangerously on the edge of the deck, ropes beguinning to snap off as it headed down the ramp. " Secure the ramp! Get more ropes up there!" The Officer shouted pointing to the men standing on the ceiling. " We can't let it fall!"
    Instinctively, Armon hurried over towards the shifting boat, standing just beside the wooden slide that the crewmen had created with the few boards. The boat was beguinning to fall over the side now, there was more yelling going on, and more and more deckhands were running around wildly trying to find more rope to secure the collapsible.
    But the boat fell over all the same. The bottom of it screeched against the wooden ramp as it began to tumble down. Lucky thing that it didn't get very far, for just as it was off of the ceiling, the warrior reached up as high as he could, and grabbed the bottom of the boat, pushing upwards with all of his might, keeping the lifeboat from falling over the side, breaking the boards, and smashing against the boat deck.
    Ja-kal ran over to him quickly, with Rath following at not such a quick pace. The leader, following Armon's example, reached up and began to push on the bottom of the boat as well, trying to at least keep it from fumbling. The scribe, knowing that although he really didn't feel like it right now had to do something, walked around to the other side of the warrior, and reached up as well, pushing on the bottom of the wooden collapsible and holding it in place.
    Cheers errupted from the crewmen above them as they shouted praise to the only others who were bothering to help out. Seconds later, they were joined by other deckhands who were strong enough to help with the lifting. There were a total of six in all, who were pushing hard on the white wood above them. On the ceiling, others were rushing around to find more rope, for they knew that their companions couldn't last long like that...

    ***

    " Careful my prince. "Nefer-tina told him as he reached out for Margaret's outstretched hand in front of him. He stumbled slightly, but regained his composition, and grabbed onto her black glove with a secure grip.
    " Got him." She announced happily, pulling Presley the remained of the the way into the large lifeboat. He took a seat across from her, where a nice, warm fur shawl was sitting invitingly on the cold wooden seat of the lifeboat, and Joari was sitting on the other side.
    The charioteer turned around to see Lyris, watching as the boy was headed into the boat. " Do you want to go next, or should I?" Nefer-tina asked softly, knowing how her friend was taking the news of being torn away from the others.
    The muse looked right, then she looked left, attempting to get one last glimpes of the other three guardians before entering the lifeboat. Unfortunately, they were nowhere to be seen, and even if they were, then they were too hard to spot. Several tall men and women were clouding her vision of the ends of the deck. Her heart sunk. The last memory that she had of all of them together was in the sitting room, with all that yelling and confrontation. She hadn't wanted to have remembered them that way.
    " Lyris?"
    She looked up at Nefer-tina, who had deep concern on her face. It was now or never, either way they both got into the boat, they got into the boat. " I guess I'll get in." She told her companion quietly, reaching out to the lifeboat rigging, and grabbing it with her left hand.
    " Here, I'll help you in." Joscerine offered, standing up from her seat next to get her friend into the boat. She reached her gloved hand out, and Lyris shook her hand slightly, to keep the long sleeve of the chestnut jacket from falling over her fingers.
    Just as they were about to meet halfway, a loud sound errupted from the front of the ship. Above their heads, a long line of grey smoke flew into the air, only to explode with a mass of light and brilliance. Everyone around them silenced themselves, and watched as the firy orbs flew higher into the air, and slowly down to the decks once again.
    Lyris looked up at Nefer-tina, who was still watching the remainder of the smoke to clear from the sky. She was extremely unhappy, though she tried not to let on. The light of the flare had alerted her senses again, and was slowly bringing her back to reality. Her features were slumped, her mouth was curled down into a frown, and her eyes were beguinning to get the gleam of tears.
    The muse pulled back from her companion, much to Joscerine's dismay, and stood up beside the charioteer. The two looked ahead of them, where the bow of the ship was beguinning to get pulled even lower in the water. There was shouting and screaming, anger and pain as well as many other emotions mixed into the freezing air.
    Beside them, a little ways off to the side, they heard the voice of a man trying to persuade his wife into the new lifeboat that the three had planned to take in the first place. He had great authority in his voice, but she was stubborn, and wouldn't leave.
    " Please, please get into a boat," He told her, gripping her hands in his. " It is the only way, please do as I say!"
    The woman, as if not listening to her husband's pleads, looked into his eyes. " Why must I leave you now? After all we have been through together, just let me be, let me be with you as I have for years. In life or in death, I will not leave you!"
    The words struck them both in a place that had been torn apart in them too much that night. Just about to enter the lifeboats, and leave the others to their deaths. When they were running away from the danger, the other guardians were facing it. And although they only wanted their prince and friends to be safe, they hadn't thought about what life would have been like for them after they were gone.
    Lyris felt tears beguinning to well in her eyes once again. A husband and wife had a bond that would never be broken, but what about them? They had all sworn to protect the prince and each other, and never let each other go or head in the face of adversity alone. Was it not the same pact that the married couple had? That, even though she knew that they would never live to see the light of day again, she would rather spend it with her husband then remain forever alone.
    " Lyris?" Joscerine asked, concern in her voice and slight fear in all of her features. The muse turned back to her new friend, who was still holding a hand out towards her. " Come one, what are you waiting for? Hurry up, we have to leave!"

    ***

    The fourth boat in the line was about to be lowered. Second Officer Lightoller had given the order, and slowly, the cranks and tow lines were beguinning to be lowered down. The women inside were looking around the boat with scared expressions, some of them regretting that they had gotten on in the first place. They didn't want to leave the safety of the great liner for the cold ocean below. Amazingly enough, most of them didn't even realize that the Titanic was sinking.
    " Wait!" Came a voice from afar. The Officer haulted the lowering, and told the crew to await his orders. Whomever was putting his foot in the way of progress was going to get an earful from him.
    He turned around sharply, only to be faced by the one and only Thomas Andrews. " Yes?" Lightoller asked, annoyed that he had stopped the lifeboat from being lowered down.
    Andrews was in no mood to take critisism right then and there. " What are you doing?!" He asked sharply in an unhappy tone. " All of these boats are not being filled to their full capacity! Ones that can hold seventy people are being loaded with forty, fifty passengers! I saw one with only twelve!"
    " We weren't sure how much to fill them." The Officer told him smugly, crossing his arms against the biting cold and the man's alligations. " We were only trying to be safe..."
    " For the love of God!" The shipbuilder exclaimed loudly. " This isn't a joke, it is not a game anymore, the ship is sinking! Save as many passengers as you can!" He gave Lightoller an unwelcoming stare of anger.
    The Officer tried to stand up to him the best that he could, but finally, he just couldn't see past the man's deadly stare. Defeated, he turned back to the group of people standing beside the lifeboat, and moved his hand back and forth. " Come on, we can get more women and children in here..." Instantly, more welcomed passengers were being pulled into the boat, only a foot away from where it had once been.
    Satisfied for the time being, Andrews looked around the ship deck. There was chaos reigning them all now. Fights were beguinning to break out, people were actually starting to jump out over the edge and into the freezing waters. He felt completely hopeless. It was his ship that they were all trying to flee from, and if it wasn't for anything that he may have overlooked or passed-by, then perhaps this wouldn't have been happening.
    Slowly, he began to head towards the outer entrance to the Smoking Room, where he would by chance be able to get some peace and quiet, and sit alone with his thoughts. He moved around the many persons lining the deck, through conversasions and squalls, gently making his way over to the great iron door, and the warm inside of the room.
    Meanwhile, the six pushed hard against the cold outside of the collapsible's hull. It was beguinning to fall down, but only because it's carriers were beguinning to get tired. At the top, two crewmen worked like bees trying to get a rope fastened to it's side, so that it may be worked from both ways and gotten back up to it's landing. The two men heaved hard against the odds, while the remainder of them pushed up. In a sick twist of fate, the rope went taut, then separated, one side flying over the top of the lifeboat, and the other still in the men's hands as the went flying backwards onto the white floor once again.
    " This is pointless!" Rath exclaimed ignorantly as the weight of the boat was once more brought down upon them, and the force behid it made them push to the limits. " There is no way that they'll be able to get this back up there!"
    " We have to keep trying!" Ja-kal insisted leaning back so that he could look around Armon. " If we don't help out, then the entire thing will be lost anyway!" They all shifted under the collapsible, it's mighty weight beguinning to get the better of them. More crews were coming to help them, but that still wasn't enough, they needed to get it fastened down so that it wouldn't topple over.
    The scribe huffed inpatiently, glancing up at the huge funnel only yards away from them. It's immense size was enough to give someone claustraphobia, as if they were dwarfed and so unimportant in the world. 1500 others would feel the same after this night has passed.
    Out of the corner of his eye, he spied someone that he knew. Although the three had seen the Astors, and even Count Andalusscia that night, they were merely associates at best, and found no real intrest in one another. Rath looked over his shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of who it might be. Sure enough, there was someone there that he knew of, and someone that he had wanted to talk to before then. It was too late now, but the least he could do was to go and say farewell.
    " I'll be right back!" He yelled at Ja-kal, letting go of the boat hull suddenly. The other men stationed there grunted under the amount of extra force applied, but they were good at their jobs and continued to lift the lifeboat up as high as they could. The minute after he had let go, two other sailors took his place, after they had just been alerted to the mishappenings by the Officer on duty.
    " What? What are you... Where?!" Ja-kal shouted, attempting to raise the hull and yell at his companion at the same time. " Where are you going?!"
    " I've got to go and talk to someone!"He shouted back over his shoulder, not bothering to turn around and answer him.
    Through the mess of the decks, he was able to walk around the many passengers awaiting deployment into the darkness, and through a small "corridor" where there seemed no one about, he swerved around the rest of the way. It was if there were fewer people on this side of the ship, mostly because they were all hiding away in the gymnasium away from the cold. But still, it was quite trying moving around the deck all the same.
    Finally, the scribe saw an opened iron door on the outside of a raised structure. It may have been a reception area, or a Smoking Room. All the same, it was warm and he had to talk to him, so without hesitation, he opened the door up, ready to enter.
    Suddenly, from behind him, three loud shots rang out among those around the lifeboats. Rath turned around to see what was going on, and a rush of passengers began to run by, away from the commotion. Off in the distance, an Officer was standing straight, holding a firearm in his outstretched hand. He was yelling at the crowd, but it was easy enough to see that no one has been hurt. The gun was later put away once the group had calmed down, and a mature order was beguinning to develope.
    Making sure that everything was alright before he entered, the scribe took one last look around the deck. Then, quickly, he moved into the door. Or, close enough to it. Not looking where he was going, he forgot to duck one again, and for the second time that night, banged his forehead against the top of the iron doorframe.
    " I'm no good at this following stuff." He groaned in agitation, wondering why they had to make the doors so short anyway. A moment later, he ducked down into the doorway, and came into the inside of the ship once again, quickly closing the door behind him, the knob clicking silently in the commotion behind it.

    ***

    " Come on, we have to get going!" Joscerine repeated herself, still holding her hand out to her hoping that she would take it.
    A sailor watched the three, annoyed. " Look," He began, talking to the two Egyptian ladies. " Either you get in, or you don't, we don't have time to lollygag about!"
    Nefer-tina and Lyris exchanged worried looks. If they stayed, then they would be letting their teammates and their prince down, and they would be forced to die in the frozen waters of the Atlantic. If they went, then they would be letting themselves down, forced to live lives of guilt and loneliness. There were so many decisions that they had to make, and so little time to do them in.
    Carefully, the muse reached her hand out towards Joari's, her fingers trembling as she did so. The girl didn't seem to notice however, as the large jacket was covering practically all of her hand by now, only the tips of her fingers could be seen. Her hand drew closer, ready to change her life forever, reaching out towards a new one, and turning the old one away. Joscerine was grinning at her, welcoming her into it, and although her friendship was warming to her, she couldn't see herself like that.
    " I can't!" Lyris shouted out all of a sudden, startling the girl and many others in the boat. She quickly drew away her hand, as if it had suddenly touched fire. The muse stood up and crossed her arms across her chest, turning away from the lifeboat and into the face of the crowd.
    " Lyris, what are you doing?!" Nefer-tina exclaimed, trying to get her to turn around. " We have to get in now, or we may never get in at all!"
    " That's the idea." She said to her companion quietly, looking down at the cluttered wooden deck. The charioteer gave her an odd look and a concerned look all in one, wondering what her friend was talking about. Lyris glanced at her with hurt features. " We have an obligation to the prince, true. But have you actually considered what life would be like for him and us if we get in that boat? Everyday we would be forced with the guilt that we let our teammates freeze to death for us." She looked into her friend's eyes, tears beguinning to well in hers. " Would you really be able to live with yourself?"
    Nefer-tina looked into the boat and watched all of the faces. Many of them were silent and quiet, but others, like Joscerine, had on cheery faces, because they thought that this was merely a drill, and that they would be back on Titanic by sunlight. Below them, Margaret was trying to get a thick wool blanket over Presley's legs, insisting that it would keep him warmer. The prince was pulling it up around himself, with neither a sad nor gleeful expression, but seemed content just to keep warm.
    " We have to get him to safety." She told her companion, knowing where she was going with this. " If he isn't safe, then we would have failed the Pharaoh, as well as the others."
    " If we do, then we will be failing ourselves." The muse told her sadly, slowly turning around to face the lifeboat. She closed her eyes for a moment, wondering if the tears beguinning to well there would fall or not. They didn't. " Nefer-tina, you should take the prince away, but I'm staying here."
    " Huh?! No way!" She exclaimed in rebuttle, her expression changing from one of concern to one of anger. " There is no way that I'm leaving you on this sinking ship! Not when we're so close to salvation!!"
    Presley's ears perked up at his guardian's sudden outburst. What were they talking about? Leaving someone? Weren't they going to get into the lifeboat. " Hey, what's going on?" He asked sternly, standing up in his seat, and letting the wool blanket fall swiftly to the ground.
    Lyris looked at the boy dead on, trying to find the words that would describe it. " My prince," She began solemnly. " I'm going to stay here. But Nefer-tina and you are going to be taken away..."
    " Uh uh!!" Presley immediately interrupted, leaving his position in the boat and rummaging over to where his guardian's were still standing on the deck. " We weren't going to leave anyone else behind! If you're not going, then I'm not going!"
    Nefer-tina looked at them both. " Well, if you're not going and you're not going, then there's no reason for me to go either."
    Lyris put a cold hand on her cheek, and shook her head in disapproaval. " No, you two have to get in the boat. We have to save the prince, and one of us has to go along with him."
    " Look," Presley told her in authority. " Ja-kal isn't here, which means you guys have to follow MY orders. And I'm saying that..." He trailed off, gripping onto the side of the boat with both of his hands. With one small jump, he brought his foot up onto the edge of the deck. Grabbing a tow line from the lifeboat, he secured himself, and pulled the other foot out of the boat. " We all stay here together."
    Nefer-tina smiled at him. Of all the young people on the vessel, he was probably the only one that didn't want to be saved. " Well, I guess we do have to follow orders." She announced.
    Lyris was still shaking her head at the idea. "Are you sure my prince?"
    " More sure than I've ever been in my entire life." He replied back to her, standing all the way up on the boat deck and walking over beside his guardians. " Leaving the others was a bad idea in the first place."
    The Officer leading the lifeboats looked at the three in agitation. " Excuse me, but are you going to get in the boat or aren't you?! We have a scedule to keep and we are already behind it."
    Nefer-tina looked at Lyris, then at Presley. Though they all knew that they were staying on the doomed ship, and that they would soon be lost forever in the dark Arctic waters, the two had surprisingly pleasant expressions on their faces. It was almost as if leaving the others had been the problem in the first place, and not the sinking of Titanic.
    She crossed her arms in an attempt to keep warm, and mentally beat herself for not putting on a warmer outfit that night. The charioteer turned around to face the Officer with determination, and a reaction of disbelief. " No, we aren't getting in."
    Much to her surprise, the man merely shrugged her statement to the side, and returned to his other duties, mainly getting the remainder of the lifeboats into the water and the women and children out to sea. He walked back towards the cranking mechanism, one of two that were on either sides of the boat. With one fell swoop, he gave the order to lower down the boat, now that he was certain that the three were not going to be joining the others.
    Joscerine gazed around her, a helpless look on her face. " What? What are you doing?!" She asked those who were operating the cranks. She shot a look at the Rapses Party, still standing over her. " Guys? Aren't you going to be getting in?"
    The charioteer slowly shook her head at her. " Sorry Joari, but we think that it's best if we stay right where we are."
    " Then promise me that you'll get into another boat!" The girl exclaimed, the first glimpse of fear suddenly appearing in her voice. Her eyes were wide and her eyebrows were turned in a worried way. It was now that she was beguinning to get the picture of what was happening around her, and what was about to come. The lifeboat began to head down the ship's side, it's edge reaching below the boat deck.
    Nefer-tina looked down at her friend sadly. The only thing that she had wanted was to have someone to talk to and have fun with. But now, after only a few days of their friendship, Joari had become a whole different person, one that wasn't hidden from the world, and shown her true colors to everyone. As she sank down into the lifeboat, it was hard to imagine what her life would be like after this.
    " Good-bye Joari." The charioteer called down to her, waving a hand in an act of forgiveness. Presley looked down as well, and copied his guardian's actions, waving in great range at the girl that he had hardly met and didn't know. Lyris watched her from above, a fist up to her chest as she watched her friend go down. ' Don't let them push you around girl', she thought to herself.
    Joscerine's expression was getting worse and worse all the time. If it wasn't for Margaret pulling her back down to a sitting position, the three may not have been able to leave without feeling guilty for deserting her.
    " I hope she does alright." Nefer-tina sighed after the boat had been lost in the black hull's shadows and was away from their views.
    " Me too." The muse acknowledged, looking around where they were to try and get the best way away from the lifeboats. She pointed out towards the bridge of the Titanic, where there was a wide open area which was practically deserted. " Maybe we could try over there for them. And if they aren't there, then at least we'll have a good view of the deck."
    " Good idea, let's get a move on." Presley told them both, squirming from inbetween them and quickly walking around the farewell group of those in the lifeboats.
    They hadn't even gotten past the first tall funnel when a loud explosion errupted from behind them. Instinctively, the two ladies covered their prince fron the direction the sound had come from, and turned away sharply as two other shots sounded. People began to run in their direction, scared and confused at the inslaught beyond. Many were shouting such things as " Run for your lives, he's gone mad!"
    " Oh my god! Are they shooting people?!" Nefer-tina shouted loudly after the sounds were all over. The two others were already shaken up, and never bothered to answer her.
    " We'd better find the others quick!" Lyris announced quickly, grabbing onto Presley's lower arm, and pulling him even quicker towards the bridge. " Before things get too out of hand for us to handle!"

    ***

    The fireplace was lit, amazingly enough. As well, the fresh cigars that were sitting in ashtrays and holders were shooting off the aroma of tobacco into the air, as men and some ladies had quickly evacuated the area and rushed out to the boats. Now, there wasn't another soul there, and he could be finally alone with his thoughts and anguish.
    Mr. Andrews incoherently placed his hand on the oak mantle, where an elaborate gold antique clock sat, slowly ticking away the minutes and finally hours of the great ocean liner. Never had he thought that he'd see the day when the Titanic would be cast into the briney deep like so many other ships before her. The thought of losing her the very first voyage made his chest hurt.
    In the distance, the iron door leading down the attatched hallway to the Smoking Room slammed shut, and the remaining sounds of the busisome decks was locked out of the area. He sighed, hoping that someone from the outside had closed the door behind him, and no one else had allowed themselves entry to the room. He just wasn't in the mood for talking.
    He walked down the small flight of stairs from the iron doorway, a long, dark hallway meeting him almost halfway. On either side of it, there were open entrances to different rooms, either of which could have held the person that he had come here to talk to. There was a thick smell of cigars in the air, and it made the back of his throat hurt to breathe in the strong fumes from them.
    At the first doorway that he got to, Rath peered inside of it to see if he was in there. The smoke in there was getting even thicker, and although it was warmer, the air just didn't seem right for anyone to breathe in. All the way at the back, at the far end of the room next to the fireplace, a lone figure stood by the mantle, just staring out into dead space. There was very few people that it could have been.
    The scribe coughed, only because of the smell from the cigarettes, but it also served as shock value, to ensure that the other man knew that he was in the room. The shipbuilder turned around from his place slowly, as if in some sort of trance. His face was tired, and it wasn't in the mood for chit-chat, it seemed.
    " How do you breathe in here?" He asked with slight annoyance, turning away from the man's gaze and coughing once again.
    Andrews didn't even make a gesture towards the statement, his face was still emotionless and dull. It seemed like this conversasion, if there was going to be a conversasion at all, wasn't going to go very well.
    Rath huffed in agitation, and entered the room. It was best to get it over with as quick and painlessly as possible. " Alright, it's easy to see that you're not in the mood for conversing," He began, reaching out with his right hand at a large plush armchair in the corner of the room.
    " That's why I came here." Andrews told him flatly, turning back towards the burning embers in the hearth of the fireplace.
    " Look, I have one thing to ask you, forbid it being too repeditive." The scribe sat forewards in his seat, his hands on the edges of the arms of the furniture. " And this time, I would please enjoy a straight answer. No ducking out of answering or going onto another subject, because this is of the utmost importance." He breathed in greatly, much to his dismay of the cigar smoke still lingering in the air. " Was there ever such a crystal as the Jewel of the Nile ever on the Titanic?"
    The shipbuilder turned around again, dropping his hand from the mantle. " What is so important to you about this Jewel of the Nile?"
    " You're changing the subject."
    Andrews shrugged, circling full away from the hearth, and moving over to the wall beside it, slowly leaning against it for support once he got there. He put a hand on his forehead, a showing expression that he was thinking about the question. After the four days of them out at sea, he may have been able to answer the question finally. Lot of good it would do them now, though.
    Finally, he lifted his head up to an eye level. " There were many crystals brought so that assorted figures could be put together. Chandeliers, lamps, light bobbles, crystal window hangings..." He sighed loudly. " Many of which could have been that gem that you're looking for."
    Rath leaned back in his seat again, another large door shutting right in front of him. Everytime they got close enough to an answer, they were faced with another question. Every step foreward took two steps back. It wasn't a surprise that they couldn't have found it that day. After all of the walks and meetings, they just weren't meant to win that time.
    " I'm sorry about all of this." Andrews told him glimfully. He glanced down at the soft plush carpet on the floor, as if to avoid gazes or blame.
    " Well, you're the builder of the Titanic, there wasn't any way that you could have been able to remember a detail as small as the Jewel of the Nile..."
    " No, not about that." He interrupted, leaving his place from the dark red wallpaper, and over towards a short table in front of a long black leather couch. On the table there was a small centerpiece, where a tiny flag holding the White Starline's emblem stood on top of a finely decorated ash tray, only partly filled with black ashes. " About.. this." He raised his hands up and moved them around in a circular motion, signifying the entire vessel.
    " Oh that." He clued in, taking his arms off of the armchair and crossing them in front of him.
    Andrews reached down and picked up the centerpiece, holding the bottom it in the palm of his hand. The ashtray hadn't been directly in the center of the table, as it had been when he had come in. It was slowly starting to slide down the top, along with two others on the surface. The floor was beguinning to tilt ever so slightly towards the bow, sending objects in that direction all throughout the ship.
    Suddenly, he turned around with an expression of concern on his face. " Prince Rapses? Aren't you suppose to be with him?"
    " He's getting into a lifeboat with Nefer-tina and Lyris." He explained, unusually calm for such a time. " They should be off of the ship by now."
    The shipbuilder nodded slowly, looking back on the small white Starline ashtray he held in his hand. He had more regrets now then any man could have handled sanely, but he tried to keep them silent as best he could. " If only I had done something different," He announced in the room, not really talking to anyone. " Made the rivets stronger, a thicker hull, it would have made this a stronger ship."
    " You're not the one that ran it into the iceberg." Rath intergected. " There was nothing wrong with the design, it just... happened. There were several circumstances that were overlooked and that's what brought us here, not just one..."
    " But the fact of the matter still stands!" Andrews suddenly shouted out of the blue. He dropped the tray back down on the table, where the circular metal touched the wood, and it rolled noisily off of the desk. " And that fact is that no matter how you change it, and no matter what anybody says, the Titanic's going down and half of the people on the ship are going to die tonight!"
    The scribe breathed in slowly, neverminding the thick tobacco air in the room at the time. It had been the first occasion that night that anyone besides those in the Rapses Party had announced that the vessel would eventually sink. Those who were running to the boats, even those operating the boats continued to keep faith with them, hoping that it wouldn't happen. No one had said such a thing as " It's hopeless, the ship's going to sink". All seemed reassured that the title "unsinkable" would still apply to her. He had been the first one to actually come out and say that to him in the past few hours.
    The shipbuilder seemed almost tired now, as if the sudden outburts had drained the energy from him, and all that was left was a shell. " From the boilers to the chandeliers, the Titanic's going down." Were his final words. Andrews didn't even bother to say anything more after that. The man had had too much of a night to talk anymore, so he turned around quickly, and began to head for another door to the Smoking Room, one on the starboard side of the ship. He soon disappeared from view, and the only signalization that he was gone was the sound of another great iron door closing on it's hinges, and blocking the conversing crowd from inside yet again.
    Deciding that there was no longer a point to staying there anymore, Rath stood up from the seat, and incoherently brushed down the black wool coat to get any wrinkles out of it. That had to have been one of the most awkward conversions that he had ever had that journey. And it never solved anything nor answered his question.
    He was just about to leave, when a sound, like a deep gurgling rang out over the front of the ship, and a tremendous action occured. Only a second after the sound, the floor of the smoking room began to slant tremendously, causing the scribe to grab onto the side of the armchair for support of the greater incline. The carpeted floor continued to rise up from in front of him, until almost half a minute later, when it stopped, and the movement seased to exist.
    He took his hand up from the armchair slowly, making sure that that was it and there was no more inclination. The floor was headed down in the direction away from the fireplace, towards the hallway behind him. The two small ashtrays that were beside the centerpiece had slid down to practically the end of the table, and were now sitting on the edge, ready to fall when the time arrouse.
    The scribe turned around, and was about to leave the room also, when a single thought stuck out in his mind. " From the boilers to the chandeliers, we're going down." It was a common enough phrase, the boilers being the lowest part of a ship, and the chandeliers signifying the ceilings. It was foolish to remember a moment like that, but for some strange reason, he just couldn't shake it.
    The floor shifted once again, but not as bad as it had once been, but enough to nearly knock him off balance. The entire room shook a little, flatware jiggling around the tops of tables, picture frames hitting against the dark walls, and three small chandeliers wavered back in forth like leaves in the wind. The one closest to hit finally stopped, but just sort of swayed back and forth, showing off it's brilliance to all. That chandelier was shut off, but the other two still gleamed brightly in a white luminescence that covered the dark room.
    Rath watched the shut off chandelier for only a moment, before he began to go back to the deck once again. It was the same design as most of the others on the Titanic, large at the top, and short at the end, giving off a top-like effect. Nothing great to see there. Without the light on, the small crystal shards on it looked almost purple, a reflection from the dark reds in the room.
    He stopped short of himself as if a brick wall had suddenly gotten in the way, and just stood there. That was it. After seeing all the sights and walking around the ship, it was right under their noses all along, all they had had to do was remember the rhyme in the book, and everything would have fallen into place easily and quickly. It hadn't been where Lyris had thought she'd seen it, and it wasn't where Ja-kal had been searching.
    He knew where the Jewel of the Nile was.
    The ashtrays swayed slowly against the edge of the table, the sudden incline nearly sending them over the edge and onto the dark carpet below. From afar, the sound of rushing footsteps could be heard drawing farther and farther away from them, and a loud slam of the great iron door showed that everyone that had been in the room just previous had left.
    The floor began to rise again, slowly making it's way up higher angles and bringing a small portion of the room above all the rest. Without hesitation, the trays slid off of the smooth cherry surface, and onto the dark deco floor, sitting peacefully upside down on it. It would be another twenty minutes before they moved again.

    ***

    " We've almost got it fastened down!" Someone shouted from the roof of the steering room. Two ropes were fastened down to the side of the lifeboat, and three men were busy tieing them to a long pipe leaving the ceiling. With any luck, it would hold. It had to, it was the only thing there to support the boat.
    With another great push, Armon was able to raise the collapsible another inch or so, but the inch fell away as quickly as it had been started. They had been doing this for nearly ten minutes now, and they were all getting tired. Unfortunately for them, the boat couldn't be lowered without their assistance.
    Ja-kal strained to keep the wooden hull from falling on them, his tired muscles ringing out in disapproaval. The more he pushed, the more tired he got, and for the situations soon to develope, he couldn't afford to be exausted.
    A large murrmur from the crowd around brought him back to the task at hand. Only feet away, over the bridge of the ship, a loud gushing, gurgling noise could be heard. Suddenly, his feet began to slide down on the wooden deck, and everyone who was pushing upwards on the collapsible began to head down in the direction of the bow.
    Screams and frightened hollors could be heard from behind them, as more and more people felt the inclination of what was happening. Passengers were slipping, some were losing their balance and falling down, others dropped to the ground unpressured, but felt it glad to be close to the deck when this was happening.
    Ja-kal looked to his left to try and figure out what was going on over there. He had had a clear view of the front of the ship through a large window of the steering room, one that he had continued to look out throughout the entire ordeal. He again gazed out through the window, to try and figure out what was going on. And the answer was staring him right in the face. Where a small crane had been, and the front of the ship was sticking out of the water, lay... nothing. No outline of the bow, no storage hatches. The front of the Titanic had just sunk under the ocean.
    More and more men were shouting orders and encouragements now. Only a few minutes after the bow sank under, they knew that the bridge would be sucked underneath the Atlantic waters, and them along with it. They didn't have much time left to finish the job they had started, the water was creeping up very close...
    " Alright!" The Officer shouted, only loud enough for his crew to hear. " On the count of three, everyone below the keel will push, and everyone above will pull!" He held his hand out in front of him, and with one large gesture, brought it up and then, threw it down again. " One!"
    All of the men braced themselves, rounding up every thread of strength inside of them to push the great boat up high enough to get it back up on the white ceiling. They were arching their backs and bending their knees, shifting their hands and breathing heavily.
    Ja-kal was about ready to do the same, when someone tapped him quickly on the shoulder, and a familiar voice simply said. " Ja-kal, come with me!"
    He turned around with a disbelieving expression, bracing himself as a small amount of force was applied to him. Standing behind him, Rath was waiting impatiently, looking for a trace of his leader's reply.
    " What?!" He asked. " I can't just yet. We're about ready to raise the lifeboat back up onto the roof of the bridge. They need all the help they can..."
    " I know where the Jewel of the Nile is!" The scribe exclaimed quietly, throwing a curveball into the leader's path. " If it's not too late, we have to go and get it back!"
    " Two!" The Officer shouted, bringing his hand down again for the second time.
    Ja-kal turned back around, amazement in all of his features. This must have been some type of joke, perhaps another case of mispoken identity. The gem that he was refering to may have been another forgery, like the one in the ballroom, or it couldn't have been close, such as the crystals in the reception area.
    " Are you sure?!" He asked hurriedly.
    " We don't have time to argue right now!" He exclaimed, louder than before. " If we don't go now, than we may never find it, and this entire trip would have been for nothing!" He gave the other guardian an extreme, yet pleading expression. " This is the only way to save our prince as well as ourselves!"
    Ja-kal closed his eyes for a brief moment. Would he be able to withstand another disappointment, such as the case of the plastic crystal in the ballroom? He knew that by now, the other three were gone, and after that, there may have been no chance at all to get it to them, even if it was real. But, through it all, the leader knew that he couldn't pass up a chance like this, to suceed where they thought they'd failed.
    Alright." He told him. Without warning, he dropped his hands from the white wooden hull, releasing his force, as well as the weight of the boat. The other men groaned as it hit them, and they began to buckle under the weight of it, realizing that there was no way that they'd be able to get it back up now.
    Fortunately, as soon as Ja-kal was out of the way of the collapsible, two other crew hands rushed over to their comrade's sides, and pushed hard with all of their might to keep it steady. The boat rocked from side to side, ready to give way at any moment, but slowly, it began to slow down, and regain it's composition once again.
    " Where is it?!" He asked, quickly walking behind his friend, who was quite a few steps ahead of him.
    " This way!" The scribe shouted, looking over his shoulder to see where the other was at that time. He reached his arm up, and motioned towards a short iron door on the side of a white wall. Beyond that, through the long hallway was where they had to go to retrieve it. He stopped at the door, and never bothered to wait for Ja-kal to hurry up. He threw the door open, and this time, being very careful not to slam his head into the doorframe, he ducked low, and entered. Seconds later, the leader found his way over to it, and he too rushed inside the doorway. After entering, Ja-kal grabbed the door's knob and quickly shut it, blocking anyone else from going the same way they were.
    Armon looked to his left, just in time to see Ja-kal suddenly let go of the boat's large hull, and leave his side. The amount of force that was redistributed to them all wasn't enough to make him buckle underneath, but he was extremely curious and concerned on why the leader had left so quickly.
    " Ja-kal!" He called to him, after the boat began to steady itself out. He turned to his right this time, where Ja-kal, along with Rath leading the way, were hurrying over towards the stern of the ship, passing by other passengers with a great speed in their steps. " Where are you going?!" He shouted over his shoulder, but it was already too noisy on the deck, and he couldn't hear the warrior's crys behind him.
    He was inclined to let go and follow his companions to wherever they were headed right then and there. He began to pull his hands away from the white hull, but the instant he did, the other members underneath the collapsible begun to groan loudly, the force starting to crush them underneath it. Armon then knew that as long as the lifeboat was on top of them, he couldn't let go. He was easily as strong as three or four men, and if he went, then the boat would as well.
    The only thing he could do was to watch the other two disappear in the crowd, and get ready to push as hard as he could with all of his might.
    " Three!" The Officer yelled out, signaling that it was time.

    ***

    Presley gazed over the entire crowd around the bridge. Beyond him, he could see faces, many faces. But still, after minutes of trying, he still couldn't see any figure such as the three of his other guardians.
    " Can you see them my prince?" Lyris asked from below him.
    He attemped to search one last time, but it was pointless. " No," He answered her, his voice down in cheerfulness. " They're not on this side." He let go of the white ceiling of the bridge, and felt himself waver ever so slightly. Moments after, he jumped off of his pedestal, and back down to the wooden deck area.
    " They couldn't have gotten that far, we've only been away for..." Nefer-tina trailed off, realizing she didn't know the time that it was then. With her right hand, she rubbed her left shoulder, still tired under the force that had just been exerted on it, from when Presley had been standing on her shoulders to survey the area.
    " We've been away for too long." Lyris stated. " They must think that we've already gotten into a lifeboat and are off of the Titanic." She gripped the white rail that much harder. After peering over the edge of the bridge, and seeing the entire front portion of the ship sink under the water, the entire vessel was starting to shift upwards, creating a small, yet none the less disturbing angle on deck.
    Presley stood there, silent for a moment, his mind deep in thought. Where would he go if he knew that the ship was sinking and there was no hope of salvation? The dining room? The staircase?... " Maybe they're still in the Suite." He announced in an unsure voice. " It's quiet there, and it's warm..."
    The muse put a hand on her chin and thought about that idea as well. Somehow, it just didn't sound right to her, but it was worth a shot all the same. " I don't think so, it doesn't sound like them. Still, maybe we should go down there and check."
    Nefer-tina nodded in approaval, but a small thought lingered. " And if they aren't there?"
    " Then we'll just have to keep looking up here."
    The group set off on their small journey, from the front of the bridge, to the end of the first funnel, where there was a small iron door waiting for them. Inside of it there was a long hallway, one way led towards the Smoking room, and another passed by the reception area and the elevators. They'd have to get to the elevators if they wanted to reach the Millionaire's Suite before the water level got any higher.
    Through the large crowd, screaming kids and tearful women, the three finally reached the iron door. It was getting more and more difficult to pass along the deck, as the remainder of the passengers from below were being brought out to the top decks, and into the freezing air. Nefer-tina, by now, was beguinning to turn blue, her fingers and ears almost frozen. She was thankful that they were going inside the ship, to warm up as well as search for their companions.
    Presley reached out for the door's knob. When he touched it, he drew away in astonishment. It was like gripping onto an ice cube, the metal frozen in the cold air. Again, he tried it, but was aware of the temperature, and the door easily flew open, bringing warm, yet smoky air onto them.
    The boy was just about to go down, when a familiar face appeared to him. He was dressed in the same outfit that he had seen him wearing last- namely grey pants and a black vest, but he also had on a long black coat and a hat. The man had been their bellhop on two separate occasions, he had led them to their room, and he had informed him of Ja-kal's absence. He now stood in the doorway, realizing that the ladies and the boy wanted to get by him.
    " Sorry everybody," He began, stepping up onto the last step, and forcing Presley away from the door at the same time. " Captain's orders, everybody else up on deck."
    " But we want to go downstairs." Nefer-tina stated, ignoring the man's statement.
    " Sorry love," He apologized, showing off a thick british accent. " But the rules are the rules, and my orders are clear. All of the outer doors from here to the end of the funnel line are to be shut and locked. To keep the water from rushing in more quickly." He looked around them all. " I trust you know that this ship's in trouble."
    " We know." The charioteer said again, crossing her arms across her chest.
    " God luck to you." He told them. He turned around and closed the door in front of him, it slamming shut in front of his face. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a large brass key, one that seemed too big to be placed into the doors small keyhole. But, it did fit, and with one small turn, the door mechanism clicked and locked. There was no way that anyone was getting in or out through that doorway. " Now you'd better get yourselves over to the lifeboats. You too lad." He told Presley, turning to them one last time before leaving them and disappearing into the crowd of frightened passengers and staff.
    Nefer-tina sighed greatly as she leaned against the white wall next to the doorframe. " Great! Now they might be in there and we wouldn't even be able to get to them!"
    " I don't think they would be in there." " Lyris repeated herself, putting her hands on her hips. It was difficult to do, since the large white lifejacket covered her up. " They'd be out here for the last moments on the ship, and wouldn't be sitting around with nothing to do."
    " It'd be easier if they were looking for us as well." The prince exclaimed in slight annoyance, watching the door even though it was closed and locked.
    The muse nodded in agreement. She glanced to her left, where the rest of the huge funnels sat silently on top of the boat deck, and hundreds of people cluttered along the wooden floor, only minutes away from either sweet salvation in the lifeboats, or gruesome death by the freezing black waters. Things were beguinning to get out of hand once again, with more shouting and pushing starting here and there. They even saw one man jump over the edge of the ship, hoping to perhaps miss the suction of the Titanic as she went down.
    " We'd better look on the other side of the ship then." She announced to all, reaching out and taking Presley's cold hand in hers. This was to ensure that they weren't suddenly separated by the rushing crowd. " Maybe they're on the port side of the ship."
    Nefer-tina chuckled at her optimism. This was the girl that only minutes ago was stuck in a neverending spiral of silence and depression. Now, she was the only one of them that was keeping hope high on her list.
    The muse led the way around a couple of distraught second-class teenagers, and through the never-ending passengers cluttered on the decks. Conversasions and statements passed them by as they turned the corner of the bridge wall, and around behind the first steaming funnel. Underneath them, the deck slowly began to slant down towards the disappeared bow, the angle getting higher and higher with every passing minute.
    Behind them, the locked iron door sat secured in it's place, an immovable object for anyone who was trying to get into the lower decks of the Titanic.
    Or for those who would try to get out.

    To be continued in Chapter 7: Death of Titanic

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