The boat deck was now covered with several passengers, most who were frantically trying to find out what was going on. Nobody, not even the crew of the ship, seemed to have any answers for anyone. But someone had to know.

        Captain Smith had called for a non-emergency safety drill. Everyone was called from their suites to report to the boat deck with their safety belts. It was when they noticed the ship had stopped moving that they knew something was terribly wrong.

        Hannah and Lance had gone back inside to retrieve their safety belts. When they came back out onto the boat deck, Lisa and JC spotted them and began running up to them.

        “Do you know what’s going on?” JC asked.

        It didn’t look at all worried or scared, unlike Lisa. She was clutching Johnny tight in her arms and she was looking for some answers, but no one had been able to give them to her.

        Lance remembered seeing that patch of ice fall onto the deck of the ship. It occurred to him suddenly that the ice had something to do with this. Ice just doesn’t fall out of nowhere, especially when they were in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

        “I‘m sure it‘s nothing,” Hannah said. Keeping her arms around Lance’s waist, her legs began to tremble. None of this was looking too promising. She wondered if anyone else had seen the ice like she and Lance had just moments ago.

        “But they said it was just a safety drill,” Lisa said. “But why did they stop the ship? That’s kind of dumb to do, isn’t it?”

        “Where’s the rest of the guys?” Lance asked JC.

        “Joey and Justin are coming from Justin’s suite. Chris is nowhere to be found,” JC told him. “Joey was the last to see him. I’m sure he heard the announcement and will be here soon.”

        “God, I hope so,” Lance murmured. Just the thought of losing any of his friends was heartbreaking. You’re not going to die, he kept trying to tell himself. He glanced down at Hannah, who was trembling in his arms. She was someone he absolutely refused to lose. There was no way that was going to happen.

        It was barely ten seconds later that Joey and Justin showed up in their safety belts. Both men seemed to be rather calm. Neither one seemed worried. In fact they were joking with each other who would get the most female attention once their first single hit the airwaves.

        “Have you found Chris?” Lance asked.

        Joey stopped teasing Justin long enough to realize that this was a serious situation. Lance was taking on his role of the protective friend. He only did that when he knew something they didn’t.

        “No,” Justin replied. “Me and Joey checked the lounge where we saw him earlier, but he wasn’t there.”

        “Oh, shit,” Lance muttered.

        “What do you know that we don’t?” Joey demanded.

        “Guys!”

        Before Lance could answer, Chris’ voice echoed from a few feet away. Running at top speed, Chris managed to reach them within a few seconds. Out of breath, he took the safety belt Joey offered him and put it on quickly.

        “I just heard the news from Mr. Astor,” Chris said.

        Anticipation seemed to rock through both Joey and Justin. “What, man?” Joey asked. “What is it?”

        “The ship’s sinking.” That truth didn’t surprise Lance and Hannah, but it did the rest of them. Especially Lisa who looked absolutely horrified. “Mr. Astor said that we’ve hit an iceberg,” Chris said.

        Lisa covered Johnny’s ears. “Oh, good lord.”

        “Apparently,” Chris continued, “the ship has been moving at top speed the last six hours. Something about breaking a record to get into New York on Tuesday.”

        “That’s not going to happen now,” JC muttered. “I can’t believe this. Those idiots raised the speed because of some stupid record?”

        “Yeah. Looks that way,” Chris said. He zipped up the safety jacket and tried to remain calm. It was hard to do when you knew that at any moment you could be down in that cold water. He shivered. The wind was definitely picking up now.

        “Attention!” a middle aged man in a blue suit, his sweater reading “CREW” in white bold letters yelled, his voice being able to be heard all over the deck. “Listen up, everyone. This is a safety drill. Please make sure you all have on your safety belt.”

        “What’s up with this?” a man behind Joey yelled. He was far away from the man in blue, but he looked damn pissed and wanted answers, as did everyone else. “Just tell us the truth, man. Is it true that the ship is sinking?”

        Frantic gasps were heard all around. Hannah hit her face against Lance’s shoulder.

        Not answering the question, the crew man held up a gun and shot once. “Just follow my instructions. There is absolutely nothing to worry about.”

        Everyone seemed to be ready to listen to what he had to say. No one moved an inch, and prepared to hear what they had to do.

        “I need the women and children to get into life boats. Just the women and children at this time, please. Women and children this way.” He gestured with his hand towards a pair of lifeboats that were being untangled.

        “This is no joke, is it?” Lisa said, looking for any kind of proof that this wasn’t happening.

        “No.” Lance looked at Hannah. “You’re getting on that boat. And no giving me any buts, do you hear me?”

        He must have known she would refuse, she thought. It was hard to believe how well he knew her. If they weren’t in a serious and deadly situation, she would have been turned on by his sudden protection of her. But she still wasn’t going.

        “No,” Hannah said sternly. “I’m not going. Not without you.”

        Lance sighed. “This is not a time to be stubborn.”
       
        “I’m not going without you, either,” Lisa said to JC.

        JC looked as happy as Lance did. As much as they wanted their women beside them, they weren’t going to stand around and just let them die.

        JC ushered Lisa towards the second boat that was being loaded with women and children. “You’re going, and that’s final.”

        “JC, no.” Lisa gripped his shoulder tight. “I told you, I’m not going anywhere without you.”

        The sentiment was so cute that JC actually smiled. “That’s sweet of you, but baby, you have to go. You have to save yourself. Save Johnny.” He brushed a hair off of Johnny’s head. When he looked at the sleeping baby that could have been his son, he wanted to cry. But he refrained from doing that. Things were hard enough already.

        “But, JC---” she cried.

        JC ignored her and looked up at the officer in charge of the boat. “Make sure these two are taken care of.” He started getting teary eyed again. “Make sure they’re safe. Please.”

        “Yes, sir.” The officer shook JC’s hand once he helped Lisa in the boat. “Good luck to you, young man.”

        Lisa sat down in the boat, but her gaze remained solely on JC. “Don’t you want us to be together?” she asked. They were still loading women and children in the boat, so it hadn’t been lowered yet. “I thought you loved me!”

        “I do love you,” he said. Couldn’t she see that? He was doing this for her. He was saving her. Yeah, so maybe they couldn’t be together. But what good would it do if they were both dead?

        “Please, you have to let him get in the boat.” Lisa tried her best to get the officer to let JC in the boat. With no success, she looked at JC helplessly. “Please, JC. Help me out. Get me out of here!” Though she was aware that she was probably making a scene, she didn’t care. “Damn it JC, I love you!”

        The boat slowly began to lower.

        “I love you too.” Fresh tears stung at JC’s eyes. “Please, just remember that. I’ll always be there. No matter what happens to me.”

        “JC!” she cried when the boat began to go down at a faster speed.   

        As the boat began to move away from the ship, JC held onto the bar of the ship with all his might. He never lost eye contact with Lisa until the boat was out of sight.

        JC found a chair and sat down on it. Crying into his hands, he kept that last image of Lisa in his mind.

        “JC?” Joey said cautiously. “You alright, man?”

        JC wondered when the last time was when he felt this empty, this alone. His friends were here, but in truth he was alone. Lisa was gone and she had taken his heart with her.

        “I can’t believe she’s gone,” he said. “What if I don’t make it? What if I never get to see her face again?”

        “I’m not getting in,” Hannah said stubbornly.

        “Baby, please just listen to me.” Standing by the next boat, Lance was trying to convince Hannah to get on it. “You have to. How will I know if you’re alright? Please, do this for me. Get on the damn boat.”

        He was aware that he was raising his voice, but nothing had gotten through to her. He had to somehow get her on the boat.

        Another gun shot was fired. Another officer had shot it. He was now standing on a box to get everyone’s attention.

        “Just women and children,” he said loudly. Apparently several men had tried to sneak on the boats, and many of the officers had to resort to physical violence to stop it. “Now I know this is hard, but this is a very serious situation. Now please, just women and children at this time. Thank you.”

        Hannah couldn’t keep her eyes away from Lance. She heard the officer’s words, but she couldn’t get on that boat without Lance. She knew she had to go, but her heart was aching at the thought that Lance may die.

        “I don’t want to leave without you,” she whispered. “I know I have to, but I don’t know if I can.”

        “You’re going to be fine.” Lance knew this could be his last chance to let her know just what she meant to him. “I love you, just remember that, okay? No one else has touched me like you have. I’ll always be grateful for that.”

        He was talking like they would never see each other again, and Hannah hated that. It made her want to run into his arms and never let him go. She wanted to live, but without Lance, now life didn’t seem worth living.

        “I love you.” Hannah covered his face with soft kisses. She knew what she had to do, no matter how much it frightened her. “Only you, Lance. Only you.” As she sat down in the boat, she looked up at the only man she would ever love.

        Lance blew several kisses to her before the boat sank down onto the cold water.

        He was very aware that he was crying when the boat was no longer in sight. And when Joey offered him a shoulder to cry on, he let go and let the tears flow.

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