Catt Dahman - Titanic 1912 - A Lovecraft Mythos Novel

Grimes, in a fury, took the broken oar and leaned out, “Come get me you son of a bitch. Fecker. Come on.”

The shark swam by. With a mighty leap, Grimes jumped at the shark, almost landing upon its back, but his position was strangely perfect. With hesitation, Grimes angrily shoved the broken end right into the shark’s eye, and the membrane broke, spilling his eye into the water.

The meg opened her mouth, and everyone could have sworn she roared with pain and anger. It disoriented the beast for a second, and Peter Cavendar, holding another broken oar, stabbed the shark in the other eye. Both oars went deep into the creature’s head. It was an impossible, feat but they did it.

“It is way too big,” Jenny complained.

“Grimes, get back here,” Cavendar yelled.

Grimes ignored that, and as the shark floundered a bit, confused, he used all his weight to shove the broken wood deeper and into the beast’s brain. Slowly, it slipped in, but Grimes was flung all around. He returned to press the oar deeper and was tossed again; then, the shark turned, caught Grimes with his tail, and slapped the man through the air.

Grimes’ neck broke, and he was dead before he hit the water again.

“I am next,” Cavendar said. “We have to take the chance. Mr. Morton, I beg you to care for my daughter, and if you and she should grow closer, you have my blessings.”

“Father, no.”

Peter Cavendar did not get a chance to leap out of the boat. As it was, the shark began to thrash and twitch horrifically, splashing everyone. Disoriented, the megaladon stopped swimming and froze in place. When a shark stops swimming, he sinks.

Everyone on the boat watched the shark sink below the surface.

A cheer went up.

“We did it, Howard,” John said.

Howard raised his face. Tears had dropped from his eyes onto Lilia’s face, but her eyes were closed, and she was still. “She did not make it,” he said.

The next officer Rowe took over and had them dig in with the oars and get as far away from the island, frozen bodies, and bloodied water as they could. One of the women sang a song in what may have been a Hungarian dialect; it was a sad, but hopeful song, and while no one understood the words, they felt the sentiment.

In a little while, Rowe suggested they let Lilia go, as they were crowded. Howard wrapped her in a blanket, tied the bundle with a bit of rope, and let her sink.

“A shame. Must have been when the funnel fell, yes? Terrible shame,” Peter Cavendar said.

Howard looked up, “Pardon?”

“Her injuries, she must have been hit by the funnel when it fell. I do not think she said, did she? Never awoke?”

“I wonder who she was?” Jenny asked.

“Lilia,” Howard said.

Jenny nodded, “A pretty name. You knew her then? Good.”

Howard turned to the women who had first told the stories about Stead and Daniels and asked what happened and how they were saved.

She shrugged and pantomimed that the men had unlocked gates, rushed them up the decks, and she said many had perished in the sea. She did not mention fish attacking or deadly worms.

“And sharks?”

“No, Sir. Sharks are never in this area,” Rowe said.

Howard looked back for the yellowish island, but there was no glow and no land in sight. No one remembered anything now since they had rowed far away. Only he remembered.

Because he was the Seeker.

And the landmass and the other world were gone because HE , whoever he was, had stopped dreaming of them and was dreaming of some other place.

It was over.

Howard wept.

The ship, Carpathia , dodged icebergs and forced her speed to her limits, finally arriving to take in the survivors. She then faced ice fields, fog banks, and severe thunderstorms before arriving in New York. The finest ladies of Carpathia and Titanic cared for women of second and third class like sisters, and the crew worked around the clock to make the survivors more comfortable.

The White Star Line sent four ships to recover the bodies of those who perished. Over 1,500 were lost, but they could only find three hundred thirty bodies. The lost bodies were a mystery that no one could explain. Where had the bodies gone? How could more than 1,200 bodies simply vanish? No one but Howard knew.

Maggie Brown, always a human rights’ activist, was rescued from Lifeboat Six by the ship the Carpathia ; she later gave medals to every member of the ships’ crew for valiant actions in their rescue and treatment.

On the Carpathia , she set up and led a benefit for the poor survivors of the disaster and shrugged off every mention of being called a heroine.

“I am high and dry,” is all she would say, her smile beaming. She kept in touch with Howard, the Behrs, the Cavendars, and all she had worked with to help save people aboard Titanic .

Maddy Astor had no clear memories from the time she boarded boat four until she was aboard the Carpathia . For reasons unknown, five months pregnant, she lost all memory of those hours.

She gave birth to John Jacob Astor VI and raised him within the Astor mansion until four years later when she married a childhood friend and gave up her multi-million dollar trust and the family home. Maddy Astor and her new husband, William Dick, had two more sons.

Her second marriage ended in divorce in 1933 and four months later, Maddy married an Italian boxer and divorced him five years later. While she sometimes wrote to Maggie Brown, she never spoke to the others again. It was said she never lost the sad look in her eyes.

Helen Monypenny and Karl Behr married less than a year later and had four children together. Howard, the Cavendars, and John Morton attended the wedding, and to her delight, Jenny Cavendar caught the bouquet of lilies of the valley and orchids.

John and Jenny were already engaged, and a few months later, they wed as well. Peter Cavendar and John Morton combined ranching and land and built their ‘ MC ’ or ‘ Mac Ranching’ into the largest cattle business in Texas.

Howard served as best man at the wedding.

The Mortons had six children, never took another cruise, and Peter Cavendar was most happy as a grandfather.

Charles Lightoller was hailed a hero and was the last survivor to leave the lifeboats and be taken aboard the Carpathia . During inquiries, he defended the shipping line, Captain Smith, his fellow officers, and crewmen and never placed blame on anyone; he blamed the sea.

He did push for ships to carry more lifeboats, to practice drills, and to better train officers in lifeboat loading. His recommendations were taken and were enacted.

He commanded ships in World War I and was several times over awarded the Distinguished Service Cross . He retired as a full commander. After retiring, he bought a yacht and was recognized again for his bravery in using his own ship to rescue seaman during the Dunkirk Evacuation in the 1940s.

Many of the men whom he saved that night the Titanic sank kept in touch until his death.

Howard had an eventful life. After an unsuccessful marriage and divorce, Howard moved to Providence to live with his aunts, and after all the years of replaying the disaster at sea and what he had learned, he began to understand what he was meant to do.

Using his images of the past, he wrote short stories, novellas, and letters that totaled in the tens of thousands. He revealed everything he learned from Droom: forbidden knowledge is dangerous, and humans are often products of fate and cannot alter their journeys. He explained alien races and discouraged learning about places and times beyond earth itself, warning that at any time, chaos could rule the world.