Luck was not on our side. When we arrived at the escape route, the door was actually locked. A pretty girl hurried over and tried to open it. When she realized it was not going to budge, she immediately broke down and started banging at the door. “I don’t want to die! I’m only eighteen! There’s so much I haven’t done. Please!” She started crying.
“Step aside!” Christopher shoved the girl aside and took a look at the lock. Once he realized that there was no way to unlock it, he backed away and started kicking the door. It took a few kicks, but the door eventually budged and looked like it was about to fall.
A man behind picked up a chair from the floor and shouted, “Let me do it!” He smashed the chair onto the door as soon as he finished.
The metal door finally collapsed and the crowd flocked through. As soon as that happened, I was squeezed to the side and got separated from Christopher. I called out to him repeatedly and reached my hand out, but I could no longer see him. At that moment, I wanted to cry.
But then, I saw Lyle and Crystal rushing out from the crowd on the other side. They were headed to the deck as well, and when they saw me, Lyle told me to go with him to the lifeboats.
“I need to wait for Christopher! You guys go without me!” I flung Lyle’s hand away and took a step back, searching for Christopher’s silhouette in the crowd.
“You idiot! Die with him then!” Lyle took off with Crystal while I stayed there shouting Christopher’s name as I moved towards the direction of the lifeboats.
When I reached the deck, I saw that Christopher was looking everywhere for me, so I finally calmed down. “I’m here!” I shouted at him.
“Eve!” Christopher pushed his way through the crowd and pulled me into his arms, his palm covered in sweat. There were a lot of people on the deck. Everyone was moving around, even though the crew and sailors were trying their best to maintain order. They told everyone that the lifeboats were enough for everyone and that we should not panic.
Nonetheless, no one listened. Everyone kept shoving forward in hopes that they could get on the lifeboats first. Some even dragged the women and kids off the lifeboats. Morals meant nothing to them in the face of death.
Meanwhile, I could feel that the ship was slowly sinking because the sea level was getting really close. I figured I might be able to sink the ship with just a powerful stomp as I waited in line with Christopher’s hand tightly in mine.
Christopher took out his phone and fiddled with it for a bit. It looked like he was trying to send a message even though it was impossible for any phone on board to get a signal at sea. That said, after a while, Christopher wiped away his sweat and spoke, “Everything’s going to be fine. I’ve sent out a message via satellite transmission. Rescues will be on their way soon enough.”
“There aren’t many people on this ship since it’s not the holiday season. So, I got confirmation that the lifeboats are enough for everyone here.”
“As long as you’re with me, I’m not worried.” I tried my best to smile more nonchalantly and relaxed because I noticed how nervous Christopher was. He was sweating profusely even though it was near the end of autumn.
I figure he was worried about me since he usually would not even bat an eye even if he shot someone.
It was a long wait as we watched the lifeboats leave one by one with passengers on them. The slant of the ship was getting extremely serious as the left side was almost completely pointing downwards. It was said that the area we were in was used as a location for military practices, so there were mines that were yet to be disarmed. It was marked as a restricted area, but that cruise company somehow did not get the news.
At that moment, I could see Crystal at the front of the line. She pulled her collar and suddenly bumped into the man at the very front. “Mister. Is it okay for me to stand beside you? I’m a little scared. I have no idea how long do I need to wait.”
