The Marvelous Misadventures of Walter Guilman: The Witch House

Walter

Walter emerged from the door onto the boat deck, after returning to his mother's cabin to retrieve his book. One might consider this to be an  irrational choice, being he was on a ship that was slowly slipping below the north Atlantic, but the priorities of ten year-olds tend to defy explanation. "Walter!" he heard a voice call,"Hurry!" He turned and saw his mother some distance away. She was standing next to one of the last lifeboats, and it was just about to launch. Walter began moving as quickly as he could toward them, but stopped when he felt something at his feet. Water. There was water lapping at his shoes. He turned and saw that the bridge was already underwater, and the great ship's plunge was getting faster. He tried to run, but the crowd of panicked passengers kept pushing and shoving him, slowing him down. As he neared his mother, he heard the maddening screams of the other passengers get suddenly louder as a the sound of creaking iron and snapping cables filled his ears. He tripped one final time, falling through a gap in the handrail into the freezing water. When he looked up, he saw one of the ships monstrous funnels careening toward the deck. In that moment everything seemed to speed up beyond perception. He saw what was happening, but couldn't cement the events in his mind like you might expect. He thought he saw the funnel falling, and he thought he saw his mother try to scramble out of the way. And he thought he saw her disappear underneath it. Then he felt a hand grip him roughly by the collar of his shirt and pull him from the water. The next thing he knew, he was in a lifeboat with an officer standing above him. "Are you alright?" he said. Walter said nothing. He simply looked down at his hand. He had lost the book.