The Titan Drowns: Time Travel Romance by Nhys Glover (highly recommended books .txt) 📕

we will be in a magical cave with lots of nice people who will take us to the party.’

Once Pia was assured her children were settled and ready, she went to look for Marco. She couldn’t see him anywhere in the shadowed room. Surely, with his height, she would have been able to identify him in the crowd if he were there. But, though she could see Julio helping Jane and Karl with the ladies from second, she could not see Marco or the first class passengers.

 

 

Max

 

Max walked around the deck as the time for extraction approached. He saw the ice drifts floating innocently by and felt the chill in the air. It seemed perfect conditions for larger icebergs, but though he strained his eyes out across the tranquil ocean, he could see nothing big enough to cause concern. But there would be, he knew. In less than an hour, an iceberg would suddenly appear in front of the ship and they would be unable to avoid the collision.

Too depressed and anxious to stay outside any longer, he made his way back inside, catching up with Finn and the Lunridges as he came in through the companionway on A Deck. With them, he finished the journey down to the reception area outside the restaurant, which was where they were to wait for Marco.

When Carter, Hugo and Jean Pierre joined them shortly after their arrival, Max checked his pocket watch. Just eleven o’clock. They waited patiently as the last of those from the smoking room on the deck above wandered down the aft Grand Staircase heading for their staterooms, chatting as if they didn’t have a care in the world. And for the moment, they didn’t. However, in a very short time that situation would change.

As time crawled on, his patience came to an end. He noticed his hands were beginning to shake as he looked at the time once more. It was ten past eleven. Marco was late. What if the waiter decided not to come? How long should they wait for him?

After exchanging a troubled look with Carter, he was just about to suggest they move on when the door to the restaurant opened and Marco hurried toward them. He was still in his uniform and looked harried.

‘I am sorry to delay you. The last patrons were slow to leave tonight.’ With a silent nod and smile, the group turned and began to make their way along the wide, carpeted B Deck passageways toward the fore Grand Staircase. They kept Marco in the centre so he would not draw attention, and they chatted quietly as they passed any of the remaining passengers or crew who were still about.

At the fore Grand Staircase, Max noted the time on ‘Honour and Glory,’ the ornate angelic clock that rang out the hours, half hours and quarters religiously, day and night. Glancing up, he saw the glittering white dome overhead. It shone brighter than the sun and he was in awe of it every time he took these stairs. Soon it would shatter under the pressure of tons of water pressing in on it, flooding the staircase they now walked down. It did not bear thinking about!

There were a few people still moving around in the reception area outside the Dining Saloon, but the Saloon itself seemed to be in darkness beyond the ornate wood and glass doorway. As they approached, the door opened for them and Max stepped through it to see Hughes standing there in the darkness, a smile beneath his moustache on his otherwise tense face. As the last of their number entered, Hughes relocked the door behind them.

‘Did you have any trouble getting the keys?’ he asked Hughes quietly as they made their way between the tables toward the distant kitchen galley. They would be walking almost half the ship to get to the second class Dining Saloon that lay on the other side of the combined first and second class kitchens.

‘No sir, the keys are kept on their own marked hooks and it was only a matter of selecting the correct one. I was not questioned.’

Max gave the man a congratulatory pat on the arm and followed as Carter led the way. He noticed that Marco was beginning to lag behind and he wondered if he should drop back and reassure the man. The waiter would be troubled by what they were doing; probably far more than the rest of them who had been given time to come to terms with this endeavour.

When they reached the doors into the serving room and first class pantry, he looked up and saw jugs hanging in long rows overhead. He had never been in this part of the ship before and he doubted few passengers had.

He took a moment to admire the orderliness of it all. Every space above and below was utilised, storing items that would be used during meal times. The only exceptions were the serving dressers and work benches that stood shining clean and empty in the dimly lit enclosure.

What must this area be like when a busy crew hastened about their duties in perfect synchrony? All the while, the rich passengers sat at their luxurious tables in serene ignorance of the frantic work being carried out for their benefit so nearby.

Letting the others pass, he waited for Marco and then fell in beside him. ‘You handling it, old man?’

Marco looked at him with tense, dark eyes. ‘Sí, Signor, I am handling it. The ship has not stopped yet.’

The way he said it told Max that Marco didn’t believe it ever would. So he still had to have it proven to him, did he? Well, seeing the Portal open as Max had seen it opened that day in Claridges would be enough to convince Marco.

Max patted the man on the back and said no more as they followed the others between the counters, through a series of doors and along a passageway until they reached the second class pantry. At that point, they could hear the sound of soft talking. A boy’s voice was the loudest, but he was still not speaking above a stage whisper. They hurried to join the hushed voices ahead.

The amount of people in the Dining Saloon was, at first, rather overwhelming, even when he was expecting it. He looked around for Eilish and, catching sight of her, left Marco’s side to go to her. Hurrying through the adults and some children who were milling in excited impatience, he reached his woman and wrapped her in his arms for a few precious seconds.

‘There you are. You were a bit late. I was getting worried,’ Eilish said against his chest. He ran his hand through her silky curls and allowed himself to enjoy the sensation before he spoke.

‘Marco couldn’t get away. Is everyone here?’

‘Yes. You are the last. It went remarkably well. I keep expecting something to go wrong at any moment.’

‘You planned this as completely as any military mission, there was no reason it should go wrong. Oh…’

They all felt it then, a slight jerk and shudder that went right through the ship. Then there was a subtle sound, like fabric being torn, which seemed to go on and on. When it finally stopped, so did the engines.

Part of him was shocked to the core. Even though he knew it would happen, believed Eilish and her team implicitly, the reality was still stupefying. From the hushed and fearful comments around him, he realised he wasn't the only one who was surprised by what had happened and its implications.

He heard Bart speaking louder now. ‘Ready? The door is going to open now. Don’t be scared. Here it comes.’ He repeated the words several times in different languages. The boy was a wonder!

Suddenly, a brilliant light filled the saloon and Max could see quite clearly all the people around him for the first time. Their shocked expressions mirrored his own.

Eilish looked up at him and smiled ecstatically. ‘At last!’

Bart and the other adults were getting the children to their feet. Not one child was crying or seemed scared, unlike the adults, who seemed quite stunned and terrified. He heard a woman’s voice call, ‘Marco!’ and turned just in time to see the young waiter dashing back through the swinging doors into the kitchen area. A fair-haired girl raced after him.

‘Damn!’ Eilish said under her breath, ‘I knew something would go wrong. I will need to go to Pia. Are you all right?’

‘Of course, I will wait for you.’

He watched Eilish hurry away after the tall, fair girl. Then he turned to watch the spectacle in front of him. Children were moving toward the light, two-by-two, holding hands and following a tall, blonde woman into the Portal. As they disappeared, more children moved up and prepared to move into the light.

The woman next to him, with a very young child clutched to her breast, whimpered, ‘I can’t go wi'out me 'usband,’ in a broad, West Country accent.

‘Yes you can,’ he found himself saying. ‘Your children need you more than he does. He will have a better chance on his own. You know he will.’

The woman’s big, terrified eyes looked up at him, searching his face for certainty. He gave it to her with his best barrister demeanour. After a moment, she nodded and moved forward with her group. She took hold of another child’s hand and stepped up for her turn, displaying more courage than he knew she felt at that moment. Then she was gone, and so were her children. And the next group approached the Portal, ready to go through.

By the time Eilish came back to his side just about all the children were gone. He didn’t know how much time had passed but it felt like forever. And, yet, in the same instance it felt no more than moments ago that they had entered the extraction area.

‘How is she?’ Max asked Eilish as she came back to wrap her arms around his waist.

‘Inconsolable. I had to stop her from running after him. She is waiting now in case he comes back. I have to see Jac. I will be right back.’

Eilish left his side again and moved to where a Nordic giant stood at the entrance to the Portal. He saw her talking to him intently with a lot of nods and glances in Pia’s direction. Then Max himself moved forward toward the Portal with Carter, Hugo and the others from first class.

He let everyone else go before him while he waited for Eilish to reach his side. There was no way he was going into the light without her.

‘He’s going to wait until everyone has gone and then if she wants to stay he’ll give her my PA. She can open the Portal herself when Marco comes back or for herself if he doesn’t. He’s gone for his assistant, Pia says. Damn stubborn man! Why are men willing to throw away love for duty every time?’

He pulled her in close and shook his head. ‘Just the way we’re made. Will we go now?’

She nodded reluctantly, still looking back to where Pia stood. He noticed that a beautiful red head had gone back to the fair-haired girl now and was holding her while she cried.

‘Let’s do it,’ Eilish said finally and led him forward into the light.

 

 

Chapter Twenty-Seven

 

Max

 

Spring 2337 New Atlantis, GAIAN CONFEDERACY

 

Even though Eilish had explained to him what to expect, the shock of the blinding light and the buzzing noise, which was so loud it threatened to burst his eardrums, was more than he could handle. He couldn’t see anything, and only feeling Eilish’s warm body pressed to his side made it bearable. The endless seconds passed and, finally, his foot came down on sandstone; the light was gone and he could see clearly the darkened cavern in which they now stood.

Eilish hustled him forward