Chapter Five
The steward was dragging her to the captain, she knew, and she didn't know what he'd do to her. All she knew is that she'd never been so afraid in her entire life.
They were approaching the captain's cabin now. Kiana trembled. What if he asked too many questions? What could she say? He might watch her for the rest of the voyage, and find out where she was going in America!
Oh, God, please, please let me be all right. Please let me be safe, she prayed silently.
And suddenly, as if in answer to her prayers, Reilly bumped into the steward. He glanced at Kiana, and his eyes widening for a second, but then he straightened his face.
"Sir, would you mind moving, please?" the steward asked politely. "I'm taking this trouble-maker up to the captain, caught her sneaking around the Grand Staircase, and I need to get my own work done."
"Um, yes sir, I know you do. So why don't I take her off your hands? I'll make sure the captain hears about this."
The steward hesitated. "Sir, it is my job, butÖ" the steward trailed off. "Yes, I suppose," the man handed Kiana over to him, making sure Reilly had hold of her arm tightly. "She likes to run. You should have seen the commotion she made while we were walking up here!" With that, the man turned on his heel and stalked away.
As soon as she was gone, Kiana burst into tears and tried to run away. Reilly held her arm fast, and Kiana collapsed onto the wood floor. They were hidden by the shadows of a building, and the moonlight barely reached them.
Kiana shook with tears, and Reilly just sat next to her, not saying anything, waiting in silence for her to stop.
When she finally calmed down, Kiana leaned against the building and looked at the star-studded sky. She took a shaking breath, and let it out. Feeling better, Kiana began to stand up to walk to her room to talk with Valerie.
"Wait, where are you going?" Reilly asked, pulling her back down. "You could have been in serious trouble! Why would you even think about exploring first-class rooms?"
Suddenly, Kiana was angry. "You mean the ones full of stuck-up people like you? Well, I'll tell you one thing, having a ship that you have to pay so much money for, there's no reason that you shouldn't be able to see the whole thing!"
For the second time that day, Reilly pulled back, his eyes wide, but this time they blazed with anger. But Kiana didn't care about her temper, or his, right now. She didn't care about anything. Why was she here? Why in the world was she here? She had no place to go to, no one to care about her. Again, she collapsed into tears.
This time, Reilly pulled her up by her shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. "Kiana, there's something you're not telling me. What is it? Why are you so upset?"
Kiana noticed he'd spoken in Gailic this time, a language that only a few Irish people knew, and one that was not often spoken. The native words soothed her, and convinced her to tell him.
"I lied to you," she said through her tears. "I don't have an aunt and uncle in America. I don't have anyone in America. My parent are dead, Reilly. I don't have anyone in the world anymore." Kiana buried her head in her knees, feeling Reilly's comforting arm around her trembling shoulders.
For a while, he was quiet, and then he whispered, "Why didn't you tell me before? Didn't you know you could trust me?"
Kiana shook her head, looking up into his hurt eyes. Just then she knew she should have known she could trust him with her secret. "I couldn't trust anyone. If someone said anything about me, the police would find me and put me in an orphanage. I couldn't live with that."
Reilly nodded. "Don't worry. Sure, and I'm an honest person. But I won't tell anyone, I promise," he assured her, his voice full of caring and sympathy.
Kiana felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from her heart. She'd told someone the truth about her family, and the best part was, she wasn't going to get in trouble. She was going to make it to America, even if she had to start a new life all by herself.
"Thank you, Reilly. I'm really glad I've finally been able to tell someone my secret. I was just so scared!"
Again, he nodded. "I understand. I would be too, if I had been you. It's not easy to hold secrets from everyone, though."
Kiana was surprised. She'd thought that all the first-class people were stubborn and selfish. But Reilly was just like her! Just a normal person, going to America to start a new life. Only he had someone to go to.
"I just don't know what I'm going to do!" she cried. "No one's expecting me, I don't have anyone to stay with! What if I end up in the streets?" The thought terrified her.
"Listen to me!" Reilly said gently but sternly. "You're not going to end up in the streets. I promise! You could stay with me and my family, if you wanted to."
"Your family?" Suddenly it dawned on Kiana. She had never talked to Reilly about his family. "What's your family like?"
"Well, I would have introduced them to you sooner, but my mother and sisters have not been feeling good since they got on the ship," Reilly told her.
Kiana knew by the way he said it that they were seasick. "And your father?"
"He's already in New York, waiting for us," he replied. "He came over on an earlier voyage to get us started in America."
"I see. You'll live in New York, then?" she asked him.
"Yes, my father has a job with a big company there, and he was transferred from Ireland." Reilly looked at the watch in his pocket. "It's late. You should probably be getting to bed, it's eleven already!"
"I'm not very tired," Kiana admitted. "I slept in this morning, and took another nap earlier this afternoon. Do you want to go for a walk?"
"Sure, and I'd love to! It's a chilly night, but some fresh air would do me good, I think."
They both stood up and began walking along the boat deck. The night sky was beautiful, but the air was crisp and cold. Kiana shivered and pulled her coat tighter around her.
As she looked over the side of the boat, she saw shapes that were white in the black water.
"What is that?" she asked, alarmed.
"Icebergs. These ones are small, but some of them are very large."
Kiana started to worry, and it must have shown on her face, because Reilly quickly assured her, saying, "There are watchmen on the lookout for any icebergs that might be damaging."
Turning to look out at the vast ocean, Reilly leaned against the railing. "I love the ocean. I used to daydream I was a pirate, out sailing the sea and capturing ships to take their riches. I was a mighty captain, and I had a grand ship, much like this one." Reilly danced around, waving an imaginary sword with a grin.
"I loved to daydream. My da would always tell me to get my work done. I was always happy that he made me, or I would have amounted to nothing. Now look at me. On the grandest ocean-liner in the world."
Kiana smiled. "I love this ship. I wish I could stay on here forever, and not have to worry about going to America with no one there waiting for me."
"I told you that you don't have to worry about that. You can stay with us! My family would be happy to have you." Reilly squeezed her hand.
Kiana sighed. "Good. I was hoping you would say that."
"I don't know what it feels like not to know where you're going to go next, but I do know that God is always with you. He'll never let you down."
It feels good to know someone understands, Kiana thought.
"I used to imagine myself as a teacher." Kiana admitted. "But now I don't know what I want to do. I'd rather live a quiet life on a farm, with my own cattle and horses. But I don't know anything for sure anymore. My life is a jumble of hopes and dreams now. I don't know if any of them are going to come true!"
Suddenly, she spotted something in front of her, out on the expanse of water. An enormous dark shape loomed in front of them.
"What is that?" she asked in a whisper.
Reilly squinted. "Oh," he breathed, "Oh no."
Chapter Six
A shout came from above them. "ICEBERG! Right ahead!" a man screamed, ringing a bell. The engines on the Titanic reversed, trying to back away from the huge block of ice. But it was too late. A sickening grinding sound rang in Kiana's ears as the ship's side scraped into the iceberg. Chunks of ice shot in all directions, and one came straight towards Kiana and Reilly, hitting Kiana on her forehead. She cried out in pain and collapsed. The ship jolted beneath her.
"Kiana! Come on!" Reilly shouted. Kiana had fallen to the floor and lay there, holding her head. Reilly grabbed her arm and tried to drag her away.
Weakly, Kiana stood up and stumbled after Reilly. Everything was so quiet. Had no one noticed that they'd hit the iceberg?
Her head spinning with pain, Kiana tried to get her thoughts in order. What had happened? Was the Titanic going to survive the blow? Were she and Reilly in danger? Had she just imagined it?
With a moan, Kiana fell to the floor again and lay still. When she opened her eyes, Reilly's face was directly above her.
"Kiana, you have to get up! You need to get your life jacket on. You need to get it on now," he told her. There was a fear in his eyes that she could see, even in the dark. A shiver went down her spine as he helped her up, drawing her arm across his shoulder to help her walk.
I'm so dizzy. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears and pain shot throughout her whole body from the jolt.
Her forehead was bleeding now, from the cut the ice had made right above her left eye. Blood was dripping down the side of her face, but she didn't care. She was so frightened that all she wanted to do was get her life jacket on so she could know she was safe.
Reilly led her to try and find a steward, but no one seemed to know what was going on! Some hadn't even noticed the bump, and Kiana began to think that maybe it hadn't been real. Maybe nothing was wrong at all.
Not knowing what else to do, they both sat on the floor and waited. Waited for something, anything, to happen. Then it did.
The ship began to tilt slightly, at first so little that she hardly noticed. Then, an extremely noticeable lurch made her gasp. Reilly was up again, and this time leading her to her room.
They got down below and Kiana saw with shock that her room had started to flood already. Valerie and her mother weren't in there. She and Reilly waded quickly through it, and Kiana shivered violently from the cold of the water.
When they got to her bed, Reilly pulled out a life jacket and put it on her. Then he took her hand, and led her swiftly back up the stairs.
They climbed more and more stairs till they had reached Reilly's stateroom. He burst through the door and rushed into the room. His mother and two sisters had been sleeping and were quickly sitting up in bed, pulling the covers around them.
"Reilly Brendan O'Neal!" Reilly's mother exclaimed, squinting at the sudden light from a lantern her son had lit. "What is going on?" she exclaimed.
"The boat's been hit by an iceberg, Ma!" Reilly told her quickly. "Get your life jacket on and follow me," he instructed.
Without arguing, the three woman stood up, hurriedly slipped into their dresses, then put their life jackets on. The two girls, who looked to be twins, had started to cry.
"Are we going to die, Ma?" one of them asked. Her blue eyes that matched Reilly's were flooded with tears. "I don't want to die."
"No, no, darling, we will be fine," the mother told her daughter, stroking the little girl's wet cheek.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Reilly grabbed Kiana's hand again and rushed all four women out the door. "We need to get you into lifeboats." He started up the stairs with Kiana and his family in front of him.
Soon, they were back on the boat deck. Reilly began to lead them to the stern of the ship, away from the bow.
Kiana noticed the lifeboats were uncovered, and the thought made her tremble from more than just the cold. Her feet were freezing and clammy, and she longed for her spare stockings and boots. But they had been left behind in her room.
A man stepped in front of them. "We can fit three more women on this lifeboat. Come on, step lively, lad!" he shouted.
Suddenly, Kiana's heart rose to her throat. Her room. Left behind. She'd forgotten her locket! "Let them go, Reilly! I'll be fine!" she told him. I must get my locket! I must!
Mrs. O'Neal hesitated, but the man would not be put off. He was in a hurry, so he grabbed her hand, and gathered the two smaller girls with his other arm, loaded them into the lifeboat, then lowered it into the ocean before Reilly could even say goodbye.
Reilly stepped over to the railing, waving goodbye to his family with tears in his blue eyes. "Goodbye, Ma!" he shouted down to her. Even with the roar of the panicked people around her, Kiana could still hear him whisper, "I love you."
Kiana's eyes filled with tears.
Jerking her hand away from Reilly's, Kiana ran as fast as she could back to the steps.
"Kiana! Kiana!" she heard Reilly's panicked yells behind her. But she didn't care. She had to get her locket. This was her only opportunity.
Racing down the steps, Kiana tripped and almost fell. She burst into her room where the water was already chest-high. It had been getting deeper as she climbed down the stairs. Taking a breath, she sloshed through the water to her dresser. The freezing water quickly took her breath away and seemed to squeeze on her chest. To her relief, the locket hadn't fallen to the floor. She picked it up and hurriedly tried to put it around her neck. Her numb fingers fumbled with the clasp.
"Kiana! What are you doing?" Reilly spoke from the door. Water was sloshing around him. "Come on, we have to get out of here! The ship is going to sink!" he yelled.
His words made Kiana freeze in her spot, the locket dangling from her neck. Then it really was true. The Titanic was sinking.
Screaming people were rushing up the steps behind Reilly, trying to get away from their flooding staterooms.
Reilly ran and took hold of her arm, pulling her up the stairs. His jerky steps told Kiana that he was as terrified as she was. The water around them was rising quickly.
When they reached the boat deck, Kiana realized that the ship was tilting even more than before. The bow had taken on so much water, that it was sinking lower and lower. Fast.
Once again, Reilly dragged Kiana to the stern of the ship. Sobbing women were getting into the last of the boats.
"Stay here. I'll be right back," Reilly promised. Kiana sat down and took out her soaking handkerchief to wipe the blood from her eyes. Reilly ran up some more steps to another deck where they were loading passenger into lifeboats. All of a sudden, Kiana saw a man in a uniform walk up to a gate about ten feet away from her. With a sympathetic look at all the people around Kiana, he closed the gate and locked it.
"As soon as the first- and second-class passengers are loaded on to the lifeboats, we'll let you on too." With that, he walked away.
Realizing what had just happened, Kiana jumped up, screaming. He'd locked her and hundreds of other third-class passengers behind a gate. She ran up to the gate and pounded on the metal until her hands hurt.
"No! Let us out of here! Please! Please let us out!" she screamed, frantic tears streaming down her cheeks. Some other people came forward to join her desperate cries, but it was no use. Most of the steerage passengers sat quietly, as if trusting that they would be able to escape.
Everyone was loading into lifeboats and they were going to leave the third-class behind. How could they do this? Just because they were third-class, they were treated as though they weren't even humans! She'd seen some of the lifeboats, there weren't enough. Some of them didn't have enough. But the uniformed men were too panicked to count how many each boat could fit. The thought horrified her.
"Kiana!"
Hearing Reilly's voice, Kiana felt relieved. He would get her and the rest of these poor people out of here. But Reilly's face was streaming with tears instead.
"Reilly, get me out of here!" she screamed. He ran up to the gate right in front of her. He pulled on the lock, trying to break it, but it was no use.
"I can't, Kiana! The lock's too strong!" he cried, reaching his hand through the bars to grab hers.
Kiana burst into tears. "I'm going to die! We're all going to die! Oh, Jesus, please, no!"
"Kiana, Kiana, calm down. Listen to me. It does no good to panic!" Reilly told her, his own face a mass of fear.
"What can I do? How can I get out of here?" she sobbed.
Reilly jerked the tie from around his neck and stretched it out so it was like a rope. He put it through the gate, and Kiana grabbed hold of it. But it was too short to do anything. Kiana untied her apron and added to it. A lady close to her gave Kiana her apron too.
Finally, they had a rope long enough to throw over the gate for Reilly to grab on to. He held it as Kiana began to slowly climb up the slippery metal. When she reached the top, she looked down and gulped. How could she get down without hurting herself?
All of a sudden, the ship lurched, and Kiana fell. She landed hard on the floor on the other side, and moaned in pain. Pain shot into her ankle.
Reilly tied the rope to a sturdy object so other people could climb over too. Then he picked Kiana up off the floor and carried her carefully up the stairs and to the place where they were loading people onto lifeboats. Kiana's leg hurt, and so did her forehead. This had to be a nightmare. It couldn't be true!
Chapter Seven
The band was stilling playing to try to calm the frightened passengers, but it wasn't working for most of them. Reilly brought her forward to one of the lifeboats, but it was lowered before he could get Kiana on.
"Wait!" he screamed after them. They didn't even have half the people on that could be held. "Please, come back!"
Instead, the boat paddled away from the Titanic. It was the last one of the twenty. They were too late.
"What are we going to do?" Kiana asked desperately. "The Titanic's going down, and there aren't nearly enough boats. Look at all the people still on!" Kiana glanced around. There must be at least a thousand of them, all standing in wide-eyed fear of the cold, deadly ocean.
The ship lurched again, this time, Kiana heard a loud crack and snap.
"She's breaking in two!" a man screamed, and Reilly's arms tightened on her.
"Reilly," Kiana breathed, "my ankle. I can't swim!" A terror like one she'd never known swept over her. "I'm going to die!"
"No! No you're not!" Reilly shouted. He ran up to the rail of the stern and grabbed hold. Kiana took hold also. The stern rose high in the air, and there was a dreadful silence, and then, it stood straight up vertically. Kiana hung on with all her strength. Reilly helped her climb up on top of the railing where she would be sitting on what was supposed to be the side of it. They looked down at the hundreds of people falling.
Screams rose around them, as people tumbled into the icy water.
"Oh, Lord, have mercy!" Reilly pleaded to his Savior. "Have mercy on us!"
Then, with one swift movement, the ship sank below the ocean with sickening gracefulness.
The shock of the freezing water was enough to make Kiana's head spin. Never had she been so cold. The suction of the ship sinking pulled her farther under the ocean. She still held onto Reilly's arm, as he tried to pull her up. Her ankle numb with cold and pain, Kiana could hardly move.
She was losing her breath. God, oh precious Jesus, please save us!
Finally, she broke the surface, her life jacket buoying her out of the water. Reilly had his arm around her waist, trying to pull her away from the whirlpool of water. She coughed, trying to get the water out of her throat. She still heard desperate screams around her, and saw some people floundering in the water, trying to get to the lifeboats.
"We can't take any more on! You'll sink us!" a man said from the lifeboat.
"Please, sir, you're not even holding half your capacity. There are women and children in this water!" a man shouted from the ocean. The man in the boat nodded reluctantly, helping a lady and her two little boys on board.
Kiana looked around for another boat. She saw one about twenty feet away from them, and she pointed to it.
"Reilly, lets try to get over there," she gasped, pointing. Reilly nodded, than swam, pulling her next to him. Kiana's knees had locked from the cold, and she could no longer feel anything but the pain in her ankle and forehead and the searing cold of the water.
"Do you have room for two?" Reilly asked in a raspy voice. The water was so cold that he was too weak to go any further.
The man in the lifeboat looked unhappy. "You're going to swamp us."
"Please, we don't weigh much together. This girl is only sixteen!" Reilly begged.
The man hesitated, but then a woman from the boat spoke up. "Let them on, sir, they're only children! Spare their lives, for heaven's sake!"
Nodding, the man pulled first Kiana, then Reilly on board. A woman had brought a blanket, which she quickly gave up to let them wrap it around themselves. Kiana had never been so happy to feel the warmth.
Her teeth chattering, she said a halting thank you, then pulled it tightly around her and Reilly.
Hours went by in that tiny boat, the longest in Kiana's life. Then, someone cried out, "It's a ship! We're saved!"
She looked up, her eyelids almost frozen shut. Sure enough, a light approached, and rockets shot up to announce its entrance.
"Hallelujah. Thank you Jesus," Reilly whispered next to her. He slowly stood up and waved, along with other people in the lifeboat.
"Over here!" they shouted, waving their hands to get the ship's attention. The ship came closer, and shined a flashlight out at them. Kiana heard them talking, then, they came up right next to the lifeboat. She saw the letters on the side of the ship.
"Carpathia," she said out loud. She'd never heard of it, but right now, it didn't matter. She just wanted to get warm.
A rope ladder was thrown down, and people from the lifeboat began to make their way up it. Kiana couldn't move, even if she tried. Her ankle was swollen, and it throbbed.
"She can't climb!" Reilly shouted up to the crew on the Carpathia.
They waved and threw down a net to put her in. Reilly and one of the crewman on the lifeboat lifted Kiana into the net, and she was pulled on board. Reilly quickly climbed the rope ladder after her.
By now, the deck of the Carpathia was covered with survivors from the Titanic. All were shivering from wet and cold. A few women passengers from the Carpathia had taken charge, leading the freezing people to warm rooms where they would be served hot coffee and soup. Both sounded like Heaven to Kiana.
A crewman carried her to a room where many people were seated, or laying, on floors, couches, or seats. Some were sleeping, some were eating, all had blank faces, stunned, wondering how something like this could have happened.
Kiana was gently laid on a couch and covered with a blanket. Never had she felt so comfortable, and she almost started to cry. How had she survived? All those people on the deck, had any of them made it? Were she and Reilly the only ones? Then she remembered Mister and Mistress Lawson and Liberty. Had they survived? Would Kiana ever see them again? What about Valerie and her mother?
When she woke up, Kiana found that her ankle had been bandaged, along with the cut above her eye. Although both still hurt, it was nothing compared to the pain she'd had last night. She looked around. Many people were still sleeping.
"How are you doing, lass?" Reilly asked, coming up and sitting on the couch next to her. "Would you like some soup and coffee?"
Without a word, Kiana nodded. It seemed that her voice was gone.
After a few minutes, Reilly came back with a bowl of soup and a mug of steaming hot coffee. He helped her sit up so she could eat.
Kiana took a big drink of coffee, burning her throat. She coughed and sputtered, but she didn't care. It felt so good to drink something hot. She ate her soup slowly, and Reilly had to help her some. Her arms were still shaking, and she was so weak.
She had worked up enough strength to ask Reilly about his mother and sisters. "Are they all right?"
"Right as rain," Reilly smiled. "I'm so glad my da was not here. Most of the men did not get on lifeboats. He probably would not have made it."
Kiana felt a deep sadness at the thought of all those brave men dying in the cold waves. Why did it have to end like that for them?
As soon as she was done eating, Kiana fell back asleep. She was still so tired. Visions of the cold black water danced in front of her eyes. She saw herself, struggling in the waves, trying to get to a lifeboat that kept rowing farther and farther away. Reilly was in the boat, safe and wrapped in a blanket, reaching out, trying to grab her hands to bring her on board. But it was always too far.
Her ankle was still throbbing, and she could hardly swim, but she kept trying to get to the lifeboat, although it was always just out of her reach. With a scream, she gave up, and sank beneath the surface.
She woke with a start, willing herself not to cry. It was just a dream. Ignore it.
"More coffee, miss?" A gentle, familiar voice asked. There stood Mistress Lawson with Liberty at her side.
"Mistress Lawson!" Kiana exclaimed, forgetting her nightmare. "You made it!"
"Yes, I did, praise God. Liberty and I were fortunate enough to be one of the first on the lifeboats." Though Mistress Lawson seemed happy, Kiana saw her eyes cloud at the mention of the lifeboats. Kiana didn't have to ask what had happened to Mister Lawson. She knew.
"Well, here is your coffee. I'd better keep going to make sure everyone gets enough. Have a good day, Kiana." She started to walk away.
"Mistress Lawson?" Kiana stopped her.
"Yes?"
"I'm glad you made it."
Mistress Lawson considered this. Then she nodded. "I'm glad I did too. And I'm glad you did also."
And then she was gone. Kiana knew she'd probably never see her again, but somehow it didn't matter. Just knowing that Mrs. Lawson and Liberty were safe made her happy inside. And she and Reilly were all right. And best of all, she had a home to go to.
When they got to New York, they were greeted by a crowd of thousands of people. Some had heard that all on the Titanic had been lost, others had heard that everyone had made it. All the people in the crowd had a different story to tell, but all wanted to know the truth.
Kiana stepped off the boat with Reilly, she was surrounded by people asking questions. Questions she could not answer. Frustrated, and still tired from her ordeal, she and Reilly quickly tried to find his father in the crowd. And then, there he stood.
It was obvious when Kiana saw him. He looked like a larger form of Reilly, dark hair, deep blue eyes, strong build, and a friendly personality.
"Sure, and we'd be happy to have you. If not permanently, at least until you find your friend," Mr. O'Neal told her merrily. His wife and daughters had gotten off the ship before Reilly and Kiana, and they stood happily together, united once again.
Kiana smiled up at Reilly, for the first time, happy. She went home with him and his lovely family, home forever.
Chapter 6 >>>

Submitted by Copyright © 2003 Amy S. 'Soccer Chick' (), USA

Got a good story writer inside you? Submit your best Story ( Fiction or Non-Fiction ) to FUKKAD, and if we love, we might make you famous - or at least put your name, email, address & country on the site. Send it to us