Iceberg

The captain orders the bulkheads closed, which they already have been, and passengers are told to put on their lifebelts. Hazel thinks about all the people trapped below and likely never to escape. The crew seems to understand the danger, but most passengers seem relaxed and laugh at the ice. When the ship’s owner, Mr. Ismay, hears about the damage, his expression reveals that he knows his ship has been defeated. An “SOS” message is sent out for help from nearby ships, and Sylvia and Hazel head down to the lower decks to try to find Miss Gruber and Charlie. Third-class passengers, many of whom don’t know English, scramble around, unsure of where to go. Hazel wants to help but knows that she has little time to find the others. A crewman who has the look of knowing he’s going to die tries to stop Hazel and Sylvia from going any lower, and water begins to flood the floors around them. Hopeful that Miss Gruber made it out already, Hazel and Sylvia focus on finding Charlie, checking every cabin on the E deck.

Hazel keeps searching and finds another porter about Charlie’s age; he knows Charlie but hasn’t seen him. He realizes that, as a crew member, he’ll have no place on the lifeboats and asks Hazel to tell his family that he loves them. Hazel tearfully agrees to do so. Sylvia wonders if there’s any point in saving Charlie given that he likely won’t be allowed on a lifeboat, but Hazel insists that they try. Hazel and Sylvia split up again, and Sylvia closes portholes to slow the flooding while Hazel continues searching for Charlie. She can’t find him, but Sylvia finds Mrs. Abelman, trapped in her cabin with her walking stick jammed in the doorway. The chapter ends with an event log from the nearby ship the Californian, which sent warnings all day and was a few miles ahead of the Titanic. The crew on the Californian could see the Titanic’s lights fading as it sank but believed that it was merely moving in the other direction. The telegraph operator was already in bed and thus never received the Titanic’s messages seeking help. Another nearby ship, the Carpathia, came to rescue survivors from the water long after the Titanic sank.

Mrs. Abelman is trapped in her room, which is flooding. A trunk is lodging the door closed. She tries to empty the trunk so that the girls can open the door, but they aren’t strong enough, and it won’t budge. Miss Gruber appears, ready to help and relieved to have found Sylvia. Together, the three of them wedge the door open using Mrs. Abelman’s cane. They find her inside at her desk, writing as the room fills with water. Mrs. Abelman insists on staying behind and helping other passengers who are still below and don’t understand how to get to safety. Hazel begs her to come with them, but Mrs. Abelman feels that she has found a purpose and wants to fulfill it. She assures Hazel that if she can get everyone else out, she’ll try to make it up to the decks and then demands that Hazel leave with Sylvia and Miss Gruber. Before Hazel leaves, Mrs. Abelman tells her that Charlie is likely in the ship’s hospital locked inside a padded room. She gives Hazel a tin box and tells her that it will keep her notebook safe.

Sylvia and Hazel make it up to the D deck and find the passengers all much calmer than they expected. As the ship starts to tilt, the passengers finally become concerned and start heading toward the lifeboats. Hazel decides that she must stay behind and find Charlie, and Miss Gruber looks at her with respect and sorrow. Mr. Waddington appears and offers to help Hazel, taking her to the hospital wing and to the room where Charlie is being held. Using a screwdriver, Mr. Waddington pries open the latches on the door, freeing Charlie. Charlie is relieved to get out but tells Hazel that he plans to stay on the ship and only wants to help her get to safety.

Charlie takes Hazel out to the lifeboats and insists that he’ll go back to help Mrs. Abelman on his own. He tells Hazel that she must write her story and asks her to pass his love on to his family. They make it to the lifeboats and watch as many are only half full before being lowered into the water. Women and children are being let onto the boats, and men are being told to stay behind. Most of them are aware that they won’t survive the night. Charlie helps Hazel onto a boat and tells her that he’s glad they were friends, and Hazel begins to cry. Just then, Mr. and Mrs. Mollison clamber into the same boat, Mr. Mollison wearing a disguise to appear feminine. Hazel is about to report him when Mrs. Mollison offers to give her some of the stock certificates if she keeps quiet. Hazel says that money doesn’t matter right now, and Mrs. Mollison discovers that the papers are blank anyway.

At the chapter’s end is a picture of one of the half-filled lifeboats after the sinking. The Titanic didn’t carry as many lifeboats as it could have, and many left the docks before they were full. Only one lifeboat returned to look for survivors.

Mrs. Mollison erupts in anger when she discovers the blank stock certificates, and when her husband notices, he instantly reveals his true identity to an officer, who commands him to get off the lifeboat. Other passengers crowd around, waiting for a chance to board, and one man desperately attempts to jump into a lifeboat that is already being lowered. Officer Murdoch shoots him, shocking Hazel and everyone else watching. Hazel leaves the lifeboat to try again to save Mrs. Abelman. She rushes down to D deck, where the water is now at her knees and ice cold. She finds Charlie and Mrs. Abelman in a cabin with a toddler and helps them find the child’s mother. Afterward, Hazel discovers that the gates to go back up are now locked, sealing everyone below inside. Charlie knows of one last way to escape, but he and Hazel must climb and leave Mrs. Abelman behind. Mrs. Abelman is proud to stay and live her last moments helping others. She tells Hazel that she loves her and reminds her about the tin box. Charlie helps Hazel climb up the rails onto the deck above, and she pulls him up after her. Charlie wants to get Hazel back to the lifeboats, but she thinks of her father’s sacrifice and wants to stay behind, giving her seat up for someone who needs it more.

Charlie refuses to let Hazel stay on the ship, urging her back to the few remaining lifeboats, which are nearly full. Mr. Mollison stands with many other men and some of their wives, and when he sees Hazel, he picks her up, tells her that she must tell the Titanic’s story, and drops her down into the nearest lifeboat, where Mr. Ismay catches her. Hazel can’t bear the thought of Charlie and Mrs. Abelman being left behind but watches helplessly as the ship sinks and breaks apart. She occasionally catches glimpses of Charlie, who, with many others, frantically seeks the best way to survive. After the smokestacks break off the ship, a massive explosion occurs, and the ship splits in half. The stern stays in the water for a moment before being pulled under and taking the last of its passengers with it.

Hazel knows that she’ll never forget the sound of the people in the water screaming for help. Sitting in the lifeboat, Hazel demands that they turn around and go back to help more people, but others insist that it would only be a risk for them to do so. Looking out over the water, Hazel is immensely relieved to see Charlie and several other crewmen standing atop an overturned lifeboat.

One of the other passengers on the lifeboat comments on Hazel’s bag and asks why it was so important, so Hazel opens it to show the woman what’s inside. She opens the tin box that Mrs. Abelman gave her and finds Mrs. Abelman’s stock certificates and will inside, all addressed to Hazel. A note from Mrs. Abelman tells Hazel that she reminds her of her daughter, who died saving others, and that she believes that Hazel will go far in life if she keeps asking questions. Hazel cries and feels grateful to have known Mrs. Abelman but sad that she and so many others are gone. Rescue finally arrives as the Carpathia appears, ready to take the survivors on board.

The people in Hazel’s lifeboat wait to be let onto the ship, and once she’s on board, Hazel finds Sylvia. They embrace and look around for other survivors. When they see Mrs. Mollison, Hazel tells her that her husband died saving her, and Mrs. Mollison says that she hopes the girls will forgive her mistakes. The three of them hug, and moments later, Hazel sees Charlie and the other people on his boat arrive on deck. She, Charlie, and Sylvia hug each other for a long time, all glad to be alive.

Fewer than a third of the people on board the Titanic survived, but Hazel knows that “it might have been worse” (330). The remainder of the journey on the Carpathia is slow and foggy, and the crowd waiting to greet the survivors in New York is massive. Donations come from everywhere, and Hazel gets new clothes to wear. Sylvia invites Hazel to stay with them for as long as she wants, and Hazel accepts. When Hazel asks if Sylvia’s father can find work for Charlie, Sylvia suggests that Charlie come live and work at their family home. Hazel realizes that her life is just beginning and that friends who are more like family are by her side.

Hazel begins writing her story about the Titanic, wondering who its focus should be. She believes that each person on the Titanic had a story to tell, both their own story and a shared story of courage and strength. She recalls seeing people of all classes and backgrounds helping one another and remembers those who were lost that night. Hazel vows to live her life fully, knowing that she survived when many others did not.