<strong>Name:</strong>Jeffrey (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=151638.msg6934430#msg6934430)<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Swimming to shore<br/><strong>With:</strong><br/><hr/><br/>Jeffrey was still awake at the late hour, he'd napped during the day and just gotten back from one of the buffets. As an entertainer he was allowed and in fact encouraged to socialize with the passengers. It was part of the experience, and in exchange he got to see more of the deck than a number of the staff were allowed. The other advantage was that like an officer, he had his own bunkroom, albeit a tiny one. He was prepping a set list for the next night's "casual evening" in one of the bars aboard when he was slammed sideways, his head striking the wall and throwing him to the ground. Alarm klaxons blared, and his vision had gone blurry.<em>Holy shit.</em>He thought,<em>we're actually abandoning ship? What is this, the Titanic?</em>And then he thought further. What did he know about the titanic? A lot of people there froze to death. That wouldn't likely be an issue, but all the same he tore the blankets off the two bunks in his room, using one of the heavy woolen blankets they gave in case of cold temps as a sort of tarp to wrap everything up in. He then went and grabbed shoes, the first few shirts he could find, and some pants, and tossed them onto the pile as well, even going so far as to grab his toiletries. He'd be damned if he would lose the pearl-handled straight razor his father had given him, boat sinking or no. Tying the bundle, as the ship swayed and tried to throw him around like a ragdoll again, he headed for the door grabbing his life vest and tossing it on, then grabbing the last thing he would want to take with him no matter what: his guitar.<br/><br/>Jeff went to his designated evacuation point but almost no one was there, so he went to where his lifeboat was supposed to be, and was horrified at the sight he saw. One of the people on his boat crew were crushed against the arms that should have lowered the boat, having been caught between the boat and it when a particularly strong lurch sent the two crashing together. The boats were gone, all of them. Had he wasted that much time gathering his things? He'd only taken what he could fit in his lap though now he considered the fact that he didn't bring any food and didn't have any. He thought he saw the outline of some land, perhaps a mountain or something, it broke the endless dark that he was seeing, illuminated only by the distant stars and the moon hanging overhead. He pushed carefully to the part of the ship that would be closest to land, waited for his moment and leapt overboard. The blanket was wrapped around him like a precious bundle, holding within it all but one of his Earthly possessions at this point. He held onto the guitar case until his feet felt water, and when he got back up from beneath the waves he clung to that floating case with all his power, kicking feebly with his legs toward shore. The whirlpools nearby pulled at him but he fought and he fought, his eyes straining against the sea spray to keep his eye on the land. It didn't seem to get any closer. For a personal eternity the land just stayed stationary in the distance, and his legs started burning. He pulled himself atop the guitar case, straddling the neck now and using both his arms and legs for movement. Slowly the land came closer, and waves actually began lifting him towards the land rather than drawing him into the depths of the sea. As he finally crashed to land, he dragged himself and his belongings up above the high-water mark, looking every bit the drowned rat, and there he lay, body aching more than it had ever done before, heart beating almost out of his chest, lungs gasping for every breath into his pained chest. He toppled onto his back, and stared up at the stars.<em>I'm alive.</em>