An Unsinkable Love - By Terri Benson Page 0,27

farther down the ship. Women screamed and passengers dropped to the deck or ducked. Malcolm felt the boy beside him quiver with fear.

"Do you see any of your family?" he asked.

The boy stood on tiptoe and looked around. "No sir."

Malcolm led him over to a metal staircase climbing to the roof of the bridge and urged him up a few steps. "Try again."

The boy stared out over the sea of heads. He raised his arm and pointed at a nearly full lifeboat. "There! My mam and Lucy. In the boat!"

Malcolm hustled him down to the deck and shoved his way toward the lifeboat. Rough hands tried to grab him and curses rang through the air. He felt a blow to his back that almost brought him to his knees, but he caught his balance and struggled forward. They burst through the crowd and were brought up short by a row of white-clad crewmen.

"Here, now, whot'cha think you're doin'?" one asked.

"The boy—his mother and sister are on that boat." He pointed to the woman who stood and screamed, "Oliver!"

Others in the boat tried to push her back to her seat as the boat swung wildly.

"Oi, Jack, help the bloke in." Another crewman stepped forward and started to hand Oliver into the boat.

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An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

Malcolm felt a surge behind him. He half turned and saw a gang of men make a rush for the boat. Not only did they outnumber the crew but they were armed with broken pieces of furniture they wielded like clubs. Quickly sizing up the situation, Malcolm waded in and downed an attacker with a strong right hook, relieving him of his club. He swung the ornate chair leg fiercely, felling aggressors indiscriminately.

The crewmen followed his lead. The mob's enthusiasm faded in the face of a determined counterattack and they backed off. The bloodied crewmen closed ranks and, duty-bound, steadfastly continued to load the boat. As it lowered, a man broke from the crowd and ran to the rail. He leaped, landing on top of several women. There was a sickening thunk as his head struck the far side, and Malcolm knew from the angle of his neck he was dead. As soon as the boat hit the water, the two crewmen sorted him out from the frightened but uninjured women and pitched his body overboard.

With the boat gone, the crowd moved forward down the deck, searching for the next boat with room for more passengers. Malcolm stood at the now empty rail and gazed down. The smell of salt drifted in the air, mingling with oil and sweat and blood. The moon reflected off the stygian water, broken by several bobbing boats and, in the distance, glittering black mountains of ice. He frowned as he realized several vessels held far less than their capacity, and one contained only a dozen crewmen, a male passenger and a heavy-set woman. As he observed the listing deck, he saw people jump from the rails en masse, like lemmings. They tumbled on top of each other, hitting the water from great 91

An Unsinkable Love

by Terri Benson

distances. He flinched at the loud splats as they struck. Most floated back to the surface face down. The few who survived attempted to swim for the boats, but either the boats moved away or the swimmers became too exhausted in the frigid water and slipped down into the black void.

He felt a presence at his shoulder and turned to see John Astor, a whirl of aromatic smoke from his cigar wreathing his head. The older man mopped his brow with a silk handkerchief, a slight tremor in his hand the only outward sign of emotion. "My God, what a mess. When you're ready, Malcolm my boy, we're in the smoking lounge. No use standing out here in the cold. We've a bottle or two and some cards." As Mr. Astor turned away, Malcolm asked, "Have you seen Eldon, sir?"

"Why, no. Not since early this evening." Mr. Astor continued on his way as if he were out for an evening stroll.

Malcolm wandered down the deck toward the stern, shaking his head at the number of people who still milled around, hoping to get into a boat. Clearly there were not enough seats. He paused next to an older crewman who stood watching, tears welling in his eyes.

"Why don't you send these people over to the boats on the other side? There isn't enough room on these for even half of them."

"The other boats are