An Unsinkable Love

chapter 11


Bree gasped as pain seared her shoulder. Briny water trickled down her throat and her starved lungs burned. As she choked and sputtered, she felt herself pulled back to the surface. Through bleary eyes, she looked up into the face of a boy, no more than twelve or thirteen, who leaned far over the lifeboat's gunwale to grasp her wrist. Behind him, Elizabeth and two other women held on to his belt to keep him from tumbling into the water. When she was within reach, another woman grabbed her arm. The boy let go long enough to reach into his pocket and pull out a small penknife.

Her nearly frozen brain barely functioning, Bree watched dazedly as the boy cut the ties of the life vest. He tugged and it slowly drifted away. With it gone, the heavy fur coat slipped off until it hung by one arm.

"Reach up," the boy called. "Give me your other hand." He repeated the demand three times before her muddled brain managed to command her numb arm to move. As soon as he had a firm grip, the woman let go of her other hand and the waterlogged fur coat dropped like a stone into the black abyss.

Bree was dragged painfully over the gunwale by her rescuers. As her hips cleared the side, the sudden lack of resistance sent them tumbling into a heap in the bottom of the boat. Other passengers came to their assistance and in a few moments she sat shivering and nearly unconscious on her seat next to Elizabeth.

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An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

Elizabeth removed her fur coat and forced Bree's body into it, wrestling Bree around until the coat was buttoned tightly under her chin. Two women at the rear of the boat stripped off coats worn over layers of heavy clothing and passed them forward.

Elizabeth called out a grateful "Thank you!" donned one of the coats and wrapped Bree's legs with the other. Bree gasped at the sensation of a million needles stabbing her as Elizabeth roughly rubbed her hands and face. She shivered so hard she feared she would fall off the bench. Her teeth clacked together, making it impossible to talk, even if her brain had been capable of forming words. Exhausted, she clung to Elizabeth, who crooned soothingly in her ear.

Bree gradually warmed, although bouts of violent shivers still racked her body. She looked around at the other women, smiled wanly and mouthed her thanks. They nodded in return. The two crewmen watched impassively, their expressions threatening anyone else who stepped out of line with a similar punishment.

Silently they drifted farther from the groaning liner, heads nodding as they rode over the broad swells. The sounds of people thrashing in the water became faint, and soon Bree heard nothing but the gentle wash of rollers lapping the wooden hull and murmurs of the women comforting their children.

A sudden loud moan and high-pitched hiss erupted from the ship as it upended, disappearing so quickly Bree blinked in shock. Lights glowed from portholes even as they slipped under the water. Great explosions of water geysered into the 98

An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

air and a rumble like thunder boomed across the water. All those people! Had they gotten off? Bree squinted through the dark in an attempt to see how many other boats dotted the water, but it was too dark, and she couldn't see through the gauzy fog of tears freezing on her eyes.



* * * *

Bree jerked awake, shocked to have fallen asleep in such uncomfortable conditions. But many others in the boat were sleeping too, including Elizabeth, who leaned heavily against her. It seemed like hours must have passed as they floated in the bitter cold, but the night was still pitch black. A blanket of glittering stars floated across the midnight fabric above. They shimmered so brightly it brought tears to her eyes. The moon rose, a huge orange orb, sending a rippling ribbon of gold to meet them.

Bree stared out over the sluggish, rolling water, her mind blank until she noticed the moonlight highlighted oddly shaped flotsam in the water. Something bumped the side of the boat. She leaned over the gunwale and peered down. A retch seized her throat as she gazed into the blind, staring eyes of Mr. Thorpe. He wore a life vest over cotton striped pajamas, his skin a pale, pasty gray, rimmed with frost. She turned away, choking back sobs. When she could bring herself to look again, he was gone.

As she peered around, Bree realized among the odd shapes were many more lifeless passengers, as well as deck chairs, empty life vests and other items that must have 99

An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

floated off the boat as it went under. She tried to count the bodies, but at one hundred couldn't bring herself to continue.

She turned her focus back to the passengers in her lifeboat. The man at the oars sat bent over, sleeping with his arms propped on the long wooden handles, his face nearly on his knees. The rudder man sat still, one hand on the tiller, the other clutching his coat collar close about his neck. Bree thought he might be frozen stiff, but he caught her staring and glared at her with a frightening malevolence. Feeling a coward, she quickly turned away.

She didn't know how long she sat there, oblivious to her surroundings, before she heard cheers out of the dark off to the right. As Elizabeth stirred beside her, she raised her head and turned toward the sound. A large ship steamed toward them, a thick cream of water racing at the bow. The women and children murmured as one by one they saw the ship moving toward them.

Shouts of "Hurrah!" and "We're rescued!" rang out as the weary, half-frozen survivors smiled and hugged each other.

Bree, afraid to join in the cheers, wondered if she were awake, or still sleeping. Could it be true, or was she dreaming?

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100

An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson