Imagines and One-Shots (Book Three)

Down with the Ship (Michael Clifford) - Part 2

this one's pretty long so sorry if thats not ur thing i guess

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Your POV

You were rushing down the hallways, doing your best to make sure that no one else was still in their cabins and that all passengers made it to the lifeboat deck. You were opening all the doors to check the rooms, your heart dropping when you opened one and a stuffed elephant came rolling out due to the tilt of the ship.

You walked to where it hit the wall across the hallway, picking it up. You knew the likelihood of finding the owner of the animal before they abandoned ship wasn't great, but you were determined to find them nonetheless.

You continued opening doors along your way to the lifeboat deck though, still checking every room you could. Once you reached the end of the hall and found nothing and no one else, you started making your way to the lifeboats. You had just reached the stairs going down to the next deck when a voice to the side stopped you.

"Captain!" you looked over to find one of the crew members you'd sent down to assess the damage hurrying down the adjacent hallway.

"Elena!" you chirped, "What's going on?"

"It's bad, Captain," she smiled nervously, "Two of the compartments on the lower decks have already taken on water and the engine room has started flooding now as well. We tried to come up with a way to fix it, but the gash is too big – we're already sinking."

"What side is the damage on?"

"Port," she answered.

"Okay," you breathed, going downstairs while she followed you, "We'll start evacuations on that side first. It'll be easier to get them out before the tilt is too bad to do it safely."

"Of course," Elena nodded, "What do you want me to do?"

"Go update everyone on the port side and get them ready for evacuation," you ordered, "I want them as calm as possible to avoid any pushing to be the first onto a boat."

"Yes, ma'am," she nodded again, and both of you went your separate ways.

Upon arriving to the starboard side of deck 4, you carefully made your way through the crowd of people in order to get to the door they were all waiting to exit from. A few members of the crew helped clear a path so you could step up in front of the door and address everyone. People were – understandably – still panicking, so you stuck your thumb and index finger in your mouth, a piercing whistle echoing throughout the ship deck. Once the passengers' attention was on you, you started speaking.

"I know that this is a scary situation to be in," you acknowledged, "But in order to get everyone off the ship safely, we all need to remain as calm as possible. There are crew members here to help you get into lifeboats quickly, so we ask that you don't push and shove as the evacuation procedure starts. As long as everyone remains on the same page, we'll all make it off the boat."

As soon as you stepped down to the floor, evacuation began. You helped a few people get into a lifeboat before you had to move on, still determined to find the owner of the animal in your hand. At first, you didn't notice anyone seeming to be missing it, but as you made your way down the hallway on your way to the other side of deck 4 to address those passengers, you finally heard it. 

"I want Alfie!" a toddler cried, making you look over.

"We'll get a new one when we get home, okay?" his mom tried consoling him, but it only seemed to make it worse.

"I want my Alfie!" he screeched. You timidly approached the mother and son, holding the stuffed animal tightly at your side.

"Hi," you smiled at the woman. She looked at you wearily as she rubbed the boy's back, still smiling politely. "I couldn't help but overhear you lost something..." you told her, "Alfie wouldn't happen to be an elephant, would he?" You held up the animal, and you figured you must have been right because the woman immediately breathed out a shaky sigh of relief.