Time And Time Again
By Dimples
Disclaimers:
The many characters in this story are all mine, though the main ones may resemble the X:WP characters, which are not mine....unfortunately. The song in the story is all mine as well.
Love/Sex/Language:
Yes to all of the above. This story depicts an explicit loving relationship between adult women. There is a scene that might seem like voyeurism but it's not....exactly...There is also a scene of self-gratification. The language gets a little rough from time to time but so does the sex...so if you're ok with that.... So if you're under-aged or live in a place that this isn't allowed or this isn't your cup of tea, I suggest you move along and look for something else to occupy your free time.
Violence:
There are some scenes that contain pretty graphic violence but I don't consider them to be much. But if you're of the fainter heart, I'd suggest you don't read 'em. They're really not bad though...Not worse than any regular Xena episode..
Thanks:
To my beta-readers Erin Jennifer and Cindy AKA "ForevaXena" for everything. Starting with beta reading my stories and finishing with posting my stories and giving them a chance in the first place.
To all the readers that took the time to write to me and telling me what they thought, you encouraged me to keep on writing.
And to all the great bards around and their amazing stories that I loved reading and gave me the inspiration to start writing my own.
Author's comments and Feedback: This is the first story I've written of this length. I hope you'll like it. Everything in this story is meant purely for fun and I hope you find it funny (in places it was meant to be funny), dramatic (the same) and so on. I would really appreciate knowing what you think of my stories. Tell me if I'm doin' alright or if I royally suck. Some plot ideas would be very much appreciated also. Actually, come to think of it, any comment would be very much appreciated :) mailto:Dimples_2000_fr@yahoo.com
© Dimples 2001
Part Five
Ch. 13
Audry, after the initial shock, started looking around the ship. She walked closer to the rail and looked over. She could see people bustling with activity on the dock and on the ship behind her. On the side of the ship, she could see its name printed in large black letters "The Titanic" and it definitely fit its name. With nothing else to do, she started looking around the ship. She already knew how this story would end, she just hoped that in this dream state she's in, she couldn't drown.
Hearing the loud conversations from down below, she looked again over the rail. Standing at the boat entrance was a beautiful young woman, dressed in very classy clothes that looked a little dirty and ragged. Long black hair, flowing over her back, framed a sweet looking face. She couldn't see the color of her eyes, though, because of the distance . Recognizing the feelings that accompanied her in other lifetimes, she knew she found the person to follow...for now.
Walking over to where the girl boarded, Audry could now see her features well. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of blue, almost green. The girl was looking for her cabin. Audry followed her down the stairs. Her room was two decks down. Audry didn't understand why a woman that looked the way she did was staying in the lower decks. Shrugging it off, Audry followed her into her cabin.
The cabin was small and dark. Except for a small lightbulb in the middle of the ceiling, it was pitch dark. The room held a small bathroom that you could barely use while standing up and a small bed, situated next to the wall, facing the bathroom...And that was it.
"It isn't much but..." Said the girl to herself while looking around the room.
She put her small suitcase next to the far (actually really close) wall and sat down on the bed. She was glad to be here, on this ship away from her home, her family. Taking in the fact she was really here, she felt most of all relieved. She got up from the bed and picked up her suitcase. She put it on the bed and opened it. Flipping through her things, she found another dress, more comfortable to walk in, and put it on. After closing her suitcase, she picked up her key and walked out of the room. As she was about to lock her door someone touched her shoulder. She yelped in surprise and swiftly turned around.
"My god, you scared me..." Said the girl to the man standing in front of her. She was still clutching her chest, her breathing just starting to regulate.
"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you..." Said the man mockingly. "Are you sure you're on the right deck?"
"Yes, why do you ask?" She didn't understand what he was getting at.
"Well...You don't exactly look like one of us..." Said the man as he picked at the material of her dress.
The girl was shocked, she didn't know what to make of it. She knew she didn't exactly look like she was poor but from the moment she left home, she was. So what if she took a few dresses that looked a little more high-classed with her, it didn't mean a thing about her.
She wanted to move away from him but he was blocking her path.
"So tell me...Maybe you're looking for someone to have a little fun with..." Said the man suggestively while leering at her body. He put both hands on the wall behind her, entrapping her between his arms.
She tried pushing at him but he wouldn't budge. "Leave me alone!"
"Yeah! Leave her alone!" said a voice from behind the man.
He turned around to look and was met with a hard fist that connected with his nose. He stumbled backwards from the punch and held his hand to his now bloody nose. He looked unbelievingly at the person who punched him. It was a woman! He opened his mouth to say something but when he saw the look on the woman's face, he closed his mouth and backed away slowly until he disappeared from sight. All the while mumbling something about getting her back.
"Hi, my name is Joanna but all my friends call me Jo." Said the smiling Jo.
"Hi, It's nice to meet you Jo, I'm Anne."
They shook hands and stood looking at each other.
"Um...Thank you for what you did...That was really sweet of you."
Shrugging as if it was nothing out of the ordinary, she answered "Your welcome."
"You might want to lock your door." Said Jo, pointing at the door.
"Oh!" Said Anne, chuckling a little embarrassed.
Turning back and locking her door, Anne didn't know why she felt so embarrassed around this woman. Jo was very nice-looking. She was tall and blonde, with warm brown eyes and hair that fell across her shoulders.
"Would you like to..Umm..Walk up on deck for a while?" asked Jo, feeling uncharacteristically shy.
"Umm...Sure."
Moving away from the door to Anne's cabin, they walked together up two flights of stairs and reached the main deck.
The skies were already starting to darken; it was late in the afternoon and the ship seemed to be quite full. The ship left England's port an hour ago and was heading to its destination...America.
People, mostly of the higher classes, were crowding the deck. The ones who stayed below this deck were hanging around themselves, in the lower decks. In her dress, Anne seemed to fit in perfectly with the crowd. However, Jo...was another issue. She was dressed in a white tank top and a pair of black slacks. No one was used to seeing a woman dressed like a "man" in those times. But neither Anne nor Jo seemed to care, they kept walking and talking to each other, getting to know each other better.
"So...Do you always go around saving damsels in distress?" asked Anne, teasingly.
Blushing slightly, Jo answered "Well no, not usually...Only when they look like you..." Hurrying to cover her slip-up she added "I mean...Uhh...That look like they needed saving.." Slapping her forehead for such a stupid correction, she kept shoving her foot deeper into her mouth. Anne was finding this hilarious, she reached the conclusion that she liked seeing this woman all flustered. Trying to remain passive and hold her grin inside, she looked at Jo, waiting for her to continue. "I mean...Oh man...I just wanted to say...oh, forget it! I'm sorry."
This time Anne couldn't hold it in any longer and a grin broke out on her face. She started giggling and every time she looked at Jo's face, her giggles started anew.
Jo folded her arms across her chest and stood there looking at the laughing girl, tapping her foot on the floor, waiting for her to compose herself. When the giggles ceased, she asked "Are you quite through yet?"
"Yes, yes I am...Thank you." Answered the still-smiling Anne.
"Well I'm glad you find me so hilarious..." Jo looked a little hurt and the beginning of a pout formed on her face.
"I'm sorry...I wasn't laughing at you, I just thought it was really cute." Said Anne, smiling gently.
"Oh...Ok." Said Jo in a sweet childish voice.
A bigger smile formed on Anne's lips at this and she patted Jo's crossed arms.
"So...Tell me a little about yourself.." Asked Jo.
"Well...There's not much to tell. I was born and raised here in England, in London to be precise. My mother is a Duchess and my father, as you could probably guess, a Duke. Their the Ashton's. A fairly known family in London. Nothing special...You know, rich, spoiled high-classed asses." Anne barked out a small humorless laugh. " I was never like them. My mum always said I was different, I never liked rubbing my money in anyone else's face and I never liked the people that belonged in this class. I always preferred going out to play with the maid's kids and rolling around in dirt, climbing trees and all that stuff. I guess I just wanted to be normal, like everyone else. Anyhow, once I reached the age of marriage, I was told I was to be engaged to a Duke's son from Spain. I'm sure you can imagine what I thought and felt about that...I didn't want to marry this man I didn't even know....I didn't want to marry, period. But of course, they made me do it and I still refused. My wedding was supposed to be tonight so I gathered a few of my things, shoved them in the smallest suitcase I could find and escaped out of the window. They would have never thought I'd do such a thing so, I guess, that's the reason they didn't catch me. They're probably just now noticing that I'm missing."
"How about you? I've told you my life story, now it's your turn."
Taking a deep breath, Jo responded "Alright. Hmmm...Let's see...Well, I don't come from a rich family and I'm definitely not aristocracy. I was born and raised in a small town near Manchester. My parents gave me up and I grew up in foster homes and on the street for a few years. I did all kinds of jobs and about anything and everything just to survive. My stay in the foster homes wasn't very long either. Usually they would throw me out...Though a couple of times I left on my own. That's basically it...Like I said, nothing much or anything interesting."
"I'm sorry you had such a rough life..."
Smiling slightly, Jo turned to face Anne and said "It's alright, I managed...I'm here aren't I?" Making Anne smile as well.
They kept walking side by side, exchanging glances from time to time. They covered almost the entire deck. Stopping next to the rail, both leaned on it, looking at the sea.
"What kind of jobs did you do?" Asked Anne.
"Well...You know...All kinds..."
"Like what?"
Turning her gaze towards Anne, she asked her "You sure you wanna know?"
"Yes...I'm sure."
"Alright."
As they were walking, on Jo's right side a man passed. Jo intentionally bumped into him and almost threw him flat on the floor. She excused herself and tried to help him straighten but the man slapped her hands away, grunted at her and walked away. Jo smirked and continued walking, pulling Anne along. Jo was now holding in her hands a brown leather wallet. "From the way he was dressed and from the way he looked, he wouldn't miss it." Anne looked at her stunned, she couldn't believe she did that. She pickpocketed him in such a crowded place. "And I sang too, on streets and in bars, sometimes."
"How could you do that here?" said the stunned Anne.
"You wanted to know, didn't you?"
"Yes! But you didn't have to demonstrate..."
"Oh...You should say these things in advance, you know..."
Rolling her eyes, Anne let her off the hook because it was pretty funny, seeing that man's face. Actually it would be even funnier to see his face when he found out that his wallet was gone. Chuckling, she asked "You say you sing?"
Jo chuckled at the quick change of subject. "Yeah, I sing."
"I'd love to hear you sometime..."
"I'd like that..."
They grinned at each other and both turned to watch the ocean again. The moment of silence was broken by Anne's rumbling stomach. Anne looked sheepishly at Jo and said "I'm sorry, I haven't eaten since this morning.."
"Oh well, we can't let you starve, now can we?" said Jo. "C'mon, I have a few sandwiches in my cabin. I doubt that they'd let us in their fancy dining room."
"I don't know...I could tell them who I am...."
"I don't think that would work...Do you have any way to prove your identity?"
"No..Not really..."
"Think they'd just take your word for it?" asked Jo, teasingly.
Anne blushed and shook her head. Chuckling deep in her throat, Jo took her arm and led her down to her cabin.
Unlocking her cabin, she let Anne walk in first. The room was about the same size as Anne's was. "Have a seat. " Said Jo as she motioned Anne to the bed.
Taking a seat, Anne watched Jo as she took a few sandwiches out of her small bag that was leaning on the wall next to the bed. "What do you like better? Cheese or...Ummm....Cheese..Sorry , it seems that's all I have. So much for verity, huh?" said Jo, blushing slightly.
Smiling, Anne said "It's alright. I like cheese." She took her sandwich from Jo's hand and took a bite out of it. Jo sat down next to her and ate her sandwich as well. "This is good, thank you."
"Your welcome." Said Jo.
They ate in silence as Anne scanned the room out of curiosity. She wanted to get to know this woman better and there was no time like the present. She saw a guitar leaning on the wall, in the corner. "So...What are you going to do in America?"
"Well, I'd like to be a singer there. I guess I'll do the same as I did here. Maybe my luck will run better there. You know what they say, change place, change luck. Who knows..."
"How about you Anne?"
"Hmm...I don't know...I guess, start on a new life. I really haven't thought that far." Anne was looking at her feet, she looked almost sad.
"Hey, you can come with me....If you want, that is."
Raising her head to look in Jo's eyes, she saw nothing but sincerity there. Smiling she said "I'd love that...Thank you...Again."
Giving her a lopsided grin, Jo just shrugged it off.
Both had finished their sandwiches and were now sitting quietly next to each other.
"Would you sing something for me?"
"You really wanna hear?"
"Of course!"
With a moment's pause she relented, "Alright."
Jo got up from the bed and picked up her guitar. She sat back down and put the guitar on her lap. "This is one of my songs..."
As she said that she started playing. The softly played chords were like a balm to Anne's soul.
Then her voice...
There was a time
I thought everything was right
but that was
before you came into my life.
Now that you're here
I know true love
I've realized
what everyone was talking of.
Her voice, amazingly soft and beautiful, reached deep into Anne's soul, grabbed it and promised never to let it go.
Love is the greatest gift
life has to offer
don't treat it lightly
cause then you'll surely suffer,
enjoy it for all it's worth
take it and embrace it
and when it's true, oh when it's true, you'll know
I know it in my heart
though these feelings are so new,
that we've loved once before
and we'll always, always do.
You've made me see
just how wonderful life could be
you gave me everything I could ever ask for,
you gave me your heart, you gave me your soul.
Repeating the chorus once again, the song ended. Anne was shocked mute, she never believed that Jo possessed such talent. She was happy Jo agreed to share it with her.
"That was beautiful. You have such...such an amazing voice and that song..." Anne was almost tearing up. When Jo sang it, she could feel the emotions behind the lyrics.
"Did you write it for someone special?"
"Not really...I usually write when I feel down and...umm...I guess, I always wanted to feel that kind of love so that's why I wrote it."
"Oh...It's very beautiful."
"Thank you." Jo never blushed so much in her entire life as she had since she met Anne.
Putting the guitar down they just sat there, both quiet and neither able to look in the other's eyes. The first one to break the silence was, surprisingly enough, Jo.
"Ummm...."
The fact that she broke the silence didn't mean she actually said anything...
The next time the silence was broken, they both spoke at the same time, making each other chuckle.
"You first..." said Jo.
"Ok...I just wanted to say that...I never felt that way towards anyone either..."
Jo perked up immediately "Really?! Uhh...I mean really?" She said more calmly.
Smiling, Anne said "Yes, really."
"Hmm...."
"Yeah hmmm..."
Jo was getting a little tired of all this and decided to go out on a limb and say "I don't know if I should tell you this....I don't want to scare you off but I felt something when I first saw you...I don't know how to explain it but..."
"I felt something too..."
"You did? Nothing bad I hope..."
Giggling, Anne said "No, nothing bad."
Now feeling more confident with herself, Jo raised her hand to caress Anne's cheek. Seeing that she didn't flinch or looked scared, she traced her brows with her fingertips, moving slowly down her nose then circling her mouth and finally tracing her lips. They were soft and full...so inviting. Anne's lips parted involuntarily and Jo's finger traced their insides, making Anne gasp. Feeling bolder herself, Anne kissed the finger lightly. She nibbled on its tip and then put her tongue into play. She licked the tip at first and then pulled the finger slowly, bit by bit into her mouth. She started a slow suction on it while her tongue licked it all around. They were both breathing hard by now and Anne released her finger. When she did, her lips were captured in a tender kiss. Jo's body melted when her lips met the softness of Anne's mouth, she nibbled on her lips slightly. Her tongue licked at Anne's lips and requested entrance. Anne opened her lips for a deeper invasion, the kiss was probing and deep, leaving the two breathless and dizzy with arousal.
Jo sat back, propping herself on the wall. She pulled Anne next to her and put her arm around her, holding her tight against her. "Wow...That was..."
"Yeah..." Jo was smiling from ear to ear at this new development.
"Are you sure you're ok with this, Anne?"
"Yes...I want this...I want you..."
"Well, your wish is my command.." said Jo as she pulled Anne's face towards hers again. She kissed her lips, then moved to her cheeks, then licked at her earlobe, all of which brought a small whimper from Anne. Then she traced along her jaw, kissing and nibbling her way down to her neck. Finding her pulse point, she pulled the flesh into her mouth and sucked on it, leaving a small red mark.
"I want you to know...That...uhhh...I've never done such a thing before...ooohhhh...I'm not that kind of girl...Ugh!" Her words were lost amidst the moans and sighs, interrupting her sentence.
"I know you're not...I'm not like this either...I just can't keep my hands off you..." said Jo between kisses.
Pushing Anne down on her bed, she undressed both of them in a hurry until they were both breathing hard and lying naked, side by side. Soft moans and groans vibrated through the room as two sleek bodies rocked against each other seeking release in the other.
The rocking motion between Jo and Anne became more frantic as they felt their climaxes approaching. Jo, now lying between Anne's widely spread legs, was grinding down harder into her new lover. Right before they reached their climax, Anne pulled Jo into a deep hungry kiss. The kiss continued long after the shudders stopped. Anne's body arched high off the bed when her first wave hit her, taking Jo's body with it, almost knocking her off in the process. Her body became as tight as a bow as the shudders began. As she reached her peak, Anne scratched her nails down Jo's back and released a loud scream that was muffled in their kiss. Feeling, seeing and hearing all the different things around her, brought Jo to a fast and hard climax as well, releasing a loud groan into Anne's mouth.
Pulling away from the kiss, both were panting and still trembling from the aftershocks. The rocking motion slowed to a stop and Jo burrowed her head into Anne's neck. "Are you alright?" Asked Jo. Taking a deep breath and trying to calm her racing heart, Anne answered breathlessly "Yes...I-I've never felt better..You?"
Jo smiled and said "Me neither."
They smiled at each other and Jo moved to lie next to Anne, opening her arms, beckoning Anne into them. Anne turned on her side with her back to Jo and scooted backwards until she was situated as close as possible to Jo. Jo, facing Anne's back pulled her even closer and wrapped her in her arms. "Sleep now, Anne."
"Mmmmm" was the only thing that came from Anne's mouth as she was already half asleep.
Jo stayed awake a little while longer, just watching the sleeping form of the beautiful brunette in her arms. She never in a million years thought she could feel this way. She was glad she came on this ship. It was the best choice she'd ever made. It brought into her life the best thing she could have ever hoped for. After reaching those conclusions she fell asleep with a smile on her face and a warm body curled in her arms.
Audry couldn't believe it happened to her again. These dreams would be the death of her, if not physically or mentally, sexually. She wasn't sure if you could die of sexual frustration though...Shaking her head to clear her mind, she took her fingers out of her ears and opened her eyes. She closed her eyes the moment she saw them kiss knowing what would probably come next. Her soul was probably feeling deprived in its current lifetime, in her body because as she witnessed for herself, it was pretty active in its past lifetimes...How sad for her.
Sitting herself in a corner because there were no chairs in the room, she waited to see what would happen.
Ch. 14
Around midnight, the ship shook. Audry awoke from her light sleep and looked around for a moment. Realizing what had happened she got up and waited for the other occupants of the room to awaken as well. Seconds later Jo stirred and awoke, looking groggily around the room.
"Anne...Anne, wake up, honey...Anne!" said Jo, shaking Anne's shoulder.
"What? What's wrong? Jo..?"
"I don't know...C'mon, let's get dressed and go see..."
"Alright.." said Anne, still half asleep.
Jumping out of bed, Jo grabbed her shirt and pants and put them on. She picked up Anne's dress from the floor, as well, and threw it to her. Jo got out of the cabin ahead of Anne, who was still getting dressed. She looked around the hall and noticed a man walking towards the stairs. "Hey! Hey, sir! Do you know what's wrong?"
"I don't know, going to find out myself..."
"Jo, what's wrong?"
"I don't know, let's go up on deck and see if we can find out something."
Pulling Anne after her they climbed the stairs. Reaching the main deck, they stepped out. It was so crowded they could barely see anything. Pushing through the crowd they found an officer of the ship, "Excuse me, sir?"
"Yes?"
"What happened?"
"We hit an iceberg, we have to evacuate the ship, stay calm and follow the orders given by the officers and everything will be alright." With that he turned around and left.
"Oh my god, Jo! What are we gonna do?!"
"It'll be alright...Don't worry, ok? I'll make sure everything's going to be alright.." soothed Jo, holding Anne in a strong hug, caressing her back gently.
"I'm scared, Jo..."
"Don't be, baby. Everything's going to be alright. I'll always be there for you...Always..." She said as she looked into her brimming eyes and kissed her lips lightly, tightening her hold on her.
Anne burrowed her head deeper into Jo's chest, relishing the contact and drawing strength from the strong woman's embrace.
"You stay here, near the life boats and I'll go back to the cabin and bring our stuff up, ok?"
"No! I'm going with you...Don't leave me!" cried Anne.
"I'm not leaving....Shhhh....I'll be right back, Just stay here and don't move. If you get the chance to get on a life boat, do it, don't wait for me, I'll catch another one, alright? promise me."
"I won't leave without you!"
"Look, I'm sure you won't have to...I'll be right back..."
"Alright..."
"Promise me!"
"No! I won't promise such a thing!"
Taking a deep breath, Jo relented "Alright, stay here!"
She turned around, heading for the cabin. In seconds she was at the cabin. She opened the door, walked in and hurriedly gathered her things. Locking her suitcase, she picked up her guitar and turned to the door. At the door stood a man, that she knew she recognized from somewhere but wasn't sure from where. Her face showed that fact and the man said "What? Don't remember me? Hmmm...How about if I show you my broken nose, will that help?"
Recognition swept through Jo, "What do you want?"
"Hmmm....Well, I would like to get you back, I told you I would, didn't I?"
"Look! I don't have time to stick around here and play with you, if you hadn't heard this ship is sinking!"
"Yes, and...?"
"And?! Let me pass!"
Seeing that the man wasn't going to budge, she dropped her things on the floor and stormed him, knocking him off balance. He quickly got up and threw himself at her with all his weight and might, throwing both of them on the floor, half inside the room and half outside. Jo was struggling to get him off her as she heard a gasp, just outside her cabin. Looking up, she saw Anne standing there, horrified. "Help! Please, somebody!" Anne was trying to bring someone to help Jo but the people who were close enough to hear her, ignored her and continued on their way to the upper deck. They could see water coming from below up to their deck. When Anne saw this, she screamed to Jo. Jo, hearing the frantic scream of her lover, brought her arm back and connected with the man's face as hard as she could, again. The man screamed with pain and brought his hands to cover his profusely bleeding nose. Jo pushed him again and rolled him off of her. Leaving her things behind, she grabbed Anne's hand and ran for the stairs.
"I thought I told you to stay there!"
"You were gone for too long, I thought something happened to you, which actually did!"
Dropping the conversation, they reached the upper deck, one floor beneath the main deck, where all the life boats were. As they reached the top of the stairs, they couldn't believe their eyes, it was packed with people, trying to get out of the lower deck but not succeeding because an officer of the ship closed the opening with an iron grate.
"Hey! What is going on?" screamed Jo at the officer on the other side of the grate.
"I'm sorry, these are my orders. You're to stay calm and wait for the upper decks to evacuate, only then will I open this grate and allow you to go on deck. This will ensure the safety of all passengers. Now, please get back."
"How dare you?! If we wait for them to evacuate they'll be no life boats left for us! Let us through!"
The officer ignored her.
Thinking quickly, she pulled Anne in front of her and told the officer "Hey! This woman is from the upper decks, let her through!"
Looking at the dress Anne wore, he said "Alright, but only you. What were you doing here anyhow?"
"What?! No! I won't go without you!" screamed Anne at Jo.
"Yes you will and you'll get yourself on a life boat, you hear me?! I'll come soon enough and I'll get on another life boat. Now go!" said Jo, pushing her through the now slightly ajar grate. As she was about to pass , she held onto Jo's hand tightly, not letting her go as she got out. "Ma'am, you'll have to leave now."
"No! Not without her!"
"I'm sorry, ma'am. I can't do that."
"Anne! Go!"
"No!!"
"Fine, ma'am. As you wish." Said the officer as he pushed her back behind the grate and locked it once again.
"Damn it, Anne! Why didn't you go?!" sobbed Jo.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't leave you behind."
The water was little by little filling up the deck, it was already reaching their knees. The ship was going down, fast.
Everyone in front of the grate was getting frantic. Some screamed, some pleaded, some cried for the officer to let them through, to let them have a small chance at saving themselves from this horrid nightmare.
As the water reached past their waists, the officer hurried to get himself to safety. Not caring anymore about his orders, he dropped his keys into the water and ran up the stairs. Jo saw it the second it happened. She dropped Anne's hand from her own, took a deep breath and held it as she dove into the water, after the keys. Looking around, she saw something glinting near the grate, as she looked closer she saw the keys behind the grate, almost out of reach. She moved her hand through the grate and picked up the keys before she surfaced. Taking large deep breaths, hurriedly, she tried one key at a time in the lock. After five tries, she found the right key and opened the grate. She quickly grabbed onto Anne's hand and pulled her with her. They were almost trampled by the people behind them. Holding her stance, Jo with Anne on her heels ran up the stairs. Finally, on the deck, Jo looked around to see if there were any life boats left. Seeing one of the last ones being lowered, she ran to it. "STOP! Stop the boat!"
An officer that was helping women down into the boat, heard Jo and motioned for the boat to be stopped. The officer looked at both of them and said "I'm sorry, I can let only one of you on this boat."
"We'll wait for the next one..."
"Anne! Listen to me! Get on this boat!"
"But...but...No..."
"No buts! I'll get on the next one. Here, see? The next one is just starting to fill up. Go on." said Jo motioning the other boat with her hand.
"Alright, but you'll be on that one right?"
"Yes, yes, now go."
Anne was helped into the boat, it began lowering to the ocean's surface immediately after. Jo moved to stand in line to get on the next boat, as she promised Anne and looked down at where Anne was. All the while holding eye contact with her, Jo mouthed "I love you" to Anne and looked to see tears forming in her eyes as she mouthed the same. The boat was a few feet from the water, when Jo was grabbed from behind. Anne looked in horror as she saw the same man that toppled Jo in her cabin a few hours ago. His face was bloody and swollen, he grabbed Jo, turned her around and punched her. Anne screamed for help, she wanted to get off the boat but the other women wouldn't let her. She was risking all of their lives, too much shaking could tip their boat over. After much squirming and screaming, the hold on her slipped and she jumped from the boat onto the lower deck, where they came from. Hurrying to the other side of the deck, she quickly found the stairs and climbed to the upper deck. When she reached the top of the stairs, she saw Jo duck and then punch him in the stomach. She rushed to her side as fast as she could, still screaming for help. A second before she reached Jo's side, she heard a shot ring out in the air. She looked around and saw the man Jo was fighting with hold onto her. When Anne reached Jo, the man slid from Jo's hold to the floor, a huge blood stain pooling on his shirt front, a gun held tightly in his lifeless hand. As Jo straightened herself from her bent over position, another shot rang out.
An officer of the ship, looked around shocked. He was holding a gun in his hand.
Jo looked wide eyed around and then at her shirt front. It was painted in blood much the same as the man lying on the floor. She groaned as she fell to her knees. Anne didn't know what happened, didn't want to believe what she saw. She blocked all the voices around them as she held Jo's limp body in her arms on the floor. Jo blinked a few times, taking short even gasps. She hurt, inside and outside. She looked into Anne's tearing eyes and mouthed for the last time, at least in this lifetime, "I love you" and her body went still.
Anne released a primal scream, screaming for her pain and for her loss for the night to hear.
The deck was almost clear, not even half of the people that boarded the ship got into the life boats, most people jumped from the ship, tried their best to save themselves. It was almost over, just a little longer and the greatest ship, the unsinkable ship, "The Titanic" would sink, taking with it lives, dreams and hopes to rest at the bottom of the ocean.
Audry woke up, feeling a sharp pain in her chest. It wasn't the same pain she felt the other times. It was...Different. She told the story to Madam Lia and waited to hear what her conclusions would be. Finally, she'd get some answers.