Our Unsinkable Love

10

April 15th
Sometime after 12 am (That's right, the end is near...)

They ran back up the stairs together, determined to find out just how bad this was.

Sam just hoped that he had misread just how terrified Balthazar had looked.

"Can everyone please just dress warmly, don your life jackets and make your way towards the life boats in a calm and orderly fashion."

Servants walked along, handing out life jackets while one man was at the end of the corridor, calling out his instructions over and over as he briskly walked along.

"It really is bad, they're evacuating the ship," Sam feels a ball of fear take root in his stomach.

"But-"

The ship chose that moment to jolt violently, hideous creaks of metal giving way came from down below.

Sam automatically reached out to grab Gabe's hand. His heart was thumping loudly in his ears.

The sound that came next went icy chills of fear down his spine.

The sound of water, almost too distant to hear, but still there.

Everyone began to sped up, hastily climbing the stairs. Although some, much to Sam's surprise, went to the lock up where they had been safe keeping everyone's jewels and items of value.

People were pushing past with barely a second glance to be had at their clasped hands
"I can't do this," Gabriel was looking around with wide eyes.

"Do what?"

"Balthy, he will die if we leave him here... I- I can't leave him to die Sammy, that's my brother."

"That's right, women and children first!" The man was now trying to direct everyone up the stairs to the deck. "I said women and children first you daft old man!"

Sam clutched Gabriel's hand tighter, they were being swept along closer and closer to the safety of the lifeboats. And yet... Sam knew he would go back if it was his brother, and they wouldn't be allowed on the lifeboats yet anyway.

He turned to Gabriel, about to suggest that they should indeed go back, when a finale surge in the crowd sent them stumbling and tripping onto the stairs.

"Don't let go of me," Gabriel said.

Unable to turn back, they were forced to march up onto the deck in an 'orderly manner'.

There, it was chaos. Panicking people were heading for the lifeboats, musicians were surprisingly playing through the madness and workers tried and failed to get the crowd to settle. 

Gabriel was fighting against the flow, shouting in a raw voice even as it grew obvious that he would not be going back down the stairs.

"Gabriel! Hey, Gabe, looked at me. Look at me!" Sam pulled Gabe back, shaking him in order to draw his attention back to Sam. "You need to calm down, we'll find another way back down."

"Stand back! The first lifeboat is going down!"

Sam looks over, in time to see a half filled life boat being lowered. "Hey! That's not full!" He yells this in fury, also noting at the same time that so far only the first time passengers had made it up onto the deck. "What in Gods name do you think you're doing! You can fit so many more people onto that! Why aren't you loading the second and third class women and children?"

The worker just looks him over, raising an eyebrow at Sam. "Sir, please calm down and stay back."

Sam opened his mouth to fire back an angered response, then he realized that the hand that he had been holding was now gone. Gabriel was no longer next to him.

"Gabriel!?" Sam looked back over the crowd, but Gabe's golden hair was nowhere to be seen. "GABRIEL?" Sam grew panicked

He started pushing back through the crowds, eyes peeled for the short man but there was no sign of him.

Where on earth had he gone?

The boiler room. Of course, that idiot had gone back alone for his brother. Sam curses Gabriel under his breath, before changing course and pushing through the milling crowds, heading for the servants stairs. 

He shoves the door open, taking the stairs two at a time as he runs down. Several times he has to catch himself on the railing, almost falling head first in his hurry. 

"Gabriel?" Sam soon reaches the bottom, and is faced with rapidly rising water. "Gabriel! Where the hell are you?"

There was no reply, but Sam could hear muffled yelling coming from further along. Taking a deep breath to settle his nerves, Sam starts running in that direction. Water sloshed against his ankles, seeping fast into his shoes and pant legs. He doesn't care, all that matter was finding Gabe.

"Gabe!?"

"Sam?" 

This time Sam heard a faint reply, and immediately sped up in the direction of Gabriel's voice.

"Sammy!?" Gabriel sounded closer now.

The water now reached Sam's calf, slowing him down from an all out sprint to an awkward sloshing jog. 

Sam rounded another tight corner, and to his relief Gabriel was only meters away. 

"Sam!" Gabriel grinned. He was holding up a disheveled looking Balthazar. "Help me!"

Sam splashed forward the last few meters, grabbing Balthazar's other side and helping Gabriel drag him through the freezing water. 

"What the hell happened?"

"I have no clue." Gabriel was puffing slightly. "I found him slumped against the wall, his leg looks broken."

Sam decides not to ask Balthazar what had happened just yet. Instead, he looked over at Gabriel.

"What the hell happened to you Gabe? One minute you were with me, and the next thing I know, I've lost you."

"Yeah, I... I know," Gabriel pauses to breath. "You can reprimand me on that later."

Sam huffs, but now really wasn't the time to argue. The water had now risen to mid-thigh height. Sam shivers glad to see the stairs just ahead. 

However, when they got to the stairs, Sam realized that they must have gone the wrong way.

"Wait, these aren't the servant stairs," Sam could feel the water start to soak into the hem of his jacket. 

"These led to the second class, so hopefully we can find our way from there," Gabriel starts to lead them up the thankfully dry stairs.

Balthazar appeared to be in a great deal of pain. His pant leg was covered in blood and what appeared to be soot.

"Gabe, things aren't too good, are they?"

Gabriel pursed his lips, silent for a moment but his eyes said it all. "I'm sure we'll be fine."

Sam nods, not buying at word of it. 

They make it up to the third class floor and are instantly met with pure chaos. The stairwell that continued up was shut off, caged doors shut across it and an officer standing on the other side, shouting at the screaming crowd.

Sam followed the breathless Gabe in setting Balthazar down against the wall. Then the two of them join the crowd. 

Gabriel silently grabs Sam's hand, what did it matter now anyway? And Sam gave his lover a small smile. If this truly was the end, at least they would be together.