It's been a privilege to play with you tonight

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If you are sensitive to suicide and death (No violence) then I suggest you don't read this chapter.

Candy comes reeling out of the First class entrance, looking wild-eyed. Waltz music is still playing amongst the ship, somewhere the band is still playing. In Candy's perspective, a little girl, maybe five years old, is crying among the alcove. She looks up at Candy beseechingly. Candy moves on without a second glance, reaching a large crowd clustered around one of the lifeboats.

Durland, at the lifeboat, is no longer in control. The crowd is threatening to rush the boat. They all push and jostle, yelling and shouting at the officers. All the pressure from behind pushes them forward, and one man falls off the edge into the water less than ten feet below.

"Give us a chance to live, you limey bastards!" Grady yells above the crowd.

Durland fires his pistol twice in the air, then points it at the crowd. "I'll shoot anyone who tries to get past me!"

Candy scrunches with fury and steps up to him. "We had a deal, damn you!"

Durland pushes Candy back, pointing the pistol at her. "GET BACK!"

A man next to Grady rushes forward, and Grady is shoved from behind. Durland shoots the first man, and seeing Grady coming over, unexpectedly pulls a bullet to his chest. Grady collapses, and Gideon grabs him, holding him in his arms as his life flows out over the deck.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! HAVEN'T WE LOST ENOUGH!" Gideon screams at Durland as he shakes Gradys lifeless body.

Durland turns to his men and salutes smartly. Then he puts the pistol to his temple and...BLAM! He drops like a puppet with the strings cut and topples over the edge of the boat deck into the water only a few feet below.

Candy stares in horror at Durlands body bobbing in the water. The money floats out of his pocket, the bills spreading across the surface. "Anymore First class or children?" An officer calls above the crowd.

The child crying behind the alcove, Candy rushes to her and scoops her in her arms. Candy starts forcing her way through the crowd yelling at the top of her lungs, "Here's a child! I have a child!"

Once she reaches an officer she says with a tear falling down her cheek, and with a sad an choking tone, "Please...I'm all she has in the world." The officer nods curtly and helps her into the lifeboat.

The officer spins with his gun, brandishing it in the air to keep the other back. Once Candy is in the boat, holding the little girl, she cradles her in her arms, patting her back slightly. "Shhh...there, there."

Meanwhile in the First class smoke room, Fiddleford stands in front of the fireplace, staring at a beautiful painting above the mantle while the fire is still going in the fireplace. The room is empty except for Fiddleford. Behind him the ashtray clatters on the floor.

Behind him, Pacifica and Dipper run into the room, out of breath and soaked. They run through, toward the aft revolving door, but Dipper stops in his tracks, making Pacifica stop too. He looks over and sees that Fiddlefords lifebelt is off, lying on the table.

"Won't you even try for it, Mr. Mcgucket?" Dipper says with sad eyes.

"Fiddleford answers with a tear running down his cheek, "I'm sorry I didn't build you and you're family a stronger ship, young Dipper."

"It's going fast...we've got to keep moving." Pacifica says squeezing his hand and looking at Fiddleford with sympathetic eyes, knowing what he's doing.

Fiddleford turns and grabs his lifebelt, handing it to Dipper. "Good luck to you both." He says with a slight smile.

"...And to you Mr. Mcgucket." Dipper says, returning the slight smile and giving him a quick hug.

Once he pulls away, He looks one last time at his friend, and him and Pazzie bolt out the room, with Fiddleford watching until they both fully disappeared.

The band on the deck finishes the waltz. Wallace Hartley looks at the orchestra members. "Right, thats it then."

They leave him, walking forward along the deck, but Hartley doesn't stop. No matter how scared he is. He puts his violin to his chin and bows the first notes of 'Nearer My God to Thee' (Play song above) One by one the band members turn, hearing the lonely melody. Without a word, they walk back and take their places, joining in with Hartley, filling out the sound so that it reaches all over the ship on this still night.

With the song still over the ship, A seamen pulls off his lifebelt and tries handing it to Captain Blubs, but he seems to stare through him. Without saying anything, he turns and goes onto the bridge. He enters the enclosed wheelhouse and closes the door. He is alone, surrounded by the gleaming brass instruments.

Back in the first class smoke room, Fiddleford, stands like a statue. He slowly pulls out his pocketwatch and checks the time, then opens the face of the mantle clock and adjusts it to the correct time: 2:12 am. Everything must be correct. Once he does that, he places his hands onto the marble fireplace, closing his eyes and looking down. His shot of whiskey collapses on the ground along with the clock. Just when a tear rolls down his cheek, the doors behind him but open with water spilling through...

In Dippers and Candy's Parlour suite, water swirls from the private promenade deck. Dippers paintings are submerged. Picassos, Pacificas favorite, transforms under the waters surface. Degas' colors run and Monet's water lilies come to life...

In a first class bedroom, an elderly couple, fully clothed, lay side by side together, holding hands and holding each other in a warm embrace. Water pours into the room through the doorway but they still hold each other with tears and they look at each other with warm but sad smiles...

In a third class cabin, somewhere in the bowels of the ship, a young Irish mother and father, are tucking their two young children to bed. They pull up the covers, making sure they were both warm and cozy. The parents lie down with them on the bed, speaking soothingly and holding them, while the father has them close their eyes and he silently tells the story of Peter Pan.

On the boat deck, collapsable B is picked up by water. Working frantically, the men try and detach it from the falls so the ship won't drag it under. A officer grabs his pocketknife and saws furiously at the ropes at the water swirls around his legs. The lifeboat, still upside down, is swept off the ship. People start diving in, trying to stay with it.

In Candy's lifeboat, she sits next to the wailing child, whom she has completely forgotten. She watches the water rising around the people as they work, scrambling to get the ropes cut so the ship won't drag the boat under. On the deck, Gideon struggles to get Gradys lifebelt off that had splotches of blood soaking through, and struggles to put it on as water swirls around him.

Captain Blubs, standing near the wheel, watches the black water climbing the windows of the enclosed wheelhouse. He has the stricken expression of a damned soul on Judgement Day. Windows burst suddenly and a wall of water edged with shards of glass slams into him, making him disappear underneath the frozen pool...

Candy's lifeboat is hit by a wave as the bow plunges suddenly. It practically swamps the boat, washing it along the deck. Over a hundred passengers are plunged into the freezing water and the area around the boat becomes a frenzy of splashing, screaming people.

As people are trying to climb into the boat, Candy and a few others grab oars and push them back. "Get away! You'll swamp us!"

Gideon, swimming for his life, gets pulled under a davit. Ropes and pulleys tangle around him as the davit goes under water, and he is dragged down. Underwater, he struggled to free himself. He claws and tries to pull as hard as he can but he couldn't hold his breath any longer. His eyes slowly closed and his hands floated above him...

On the last bit of the deck, Wallace sees the water rolling rapidly toward him and the band. He hold the last note of the hymn in sustain, and then lowers in violin, and says trying not to choke on tears. "Gentlemen, it has been a privilege, playing with you tonight..."

  





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