Blaine has passed a few boats already when he notices it the first time. It is just slightly, but the ship is definitely sloping. He tries to get to the next boat, hoping to get a place, when he sees a very familiar face.

“Father!” His father turns around, his anxiety melting away a little bit at the sight of Blaine. “Blaine! Have you seen your mother? And Maria?” They make their way to the boat together while Blaine nods. “Yes, I helped them to get a boat. Do they let men in this one?” “Yes, luckily. Let’s try to get a seat.” At that moment one of the stewards turns towards them, a hectic look on his face. “Gentlemen, we have only one seat left. You have to decide who is going.” They look at each other for a long time. Finally, Blaine’s father speaks up. “You go Blaine. I’ll get another boat.” Blain can’t believe this words coming from his father. His father, who never showed any interest in Blaine’s well-being, or in Blaine as a person in general. He wants to hate this man, to take the seat and just leave him there.

But he can’t. He never could.

Because after all, he is his father. A part of his family. So Blaine slowly shakes his head and takes a few steps backwards. “No.”

His father seems not to understand the whispered words. “Come on Blaine, get in that boat! Hurry up, or someone else will get the place.” Blaine just stares at his father. “No.”

He pushes him softly but surely towards the boat. The steward grabs his arm and drags him inside. Blaine slowly turns around to walk away.

“No Blaine! Blaine! Don’t do that to me!” His back towards his father, he wipes away the tear that escaped his eyes. He walks faster, feeling unable to listen to his fathers pleads.

He’s safe. That’s all I want.

The next two boats are gone already. Just as he arrives at another boat, there is a shot echoing from the other side of the ship. Blaine shudders, seeing panic in the other people’s eyes. By now it’s getting difficult to walk straight on the floor – Blaine feels like climbing a small mountain. There are a few people at the boat he is walking towards, but some places seem to be free. Just as he attempts to enter the boat, a hand is grabbing his arm.

“Blaine! Thank god!” Blaine recognizes the voice immediately and a lump is forming in his throat as he turns around to see Burt Hummel staring insistently at him. “M-Mr. Hummel. I’m s-so sorry.” Burt’s look changes to confusion. “Why? Have you seen Kurt? Is he alright?” All Blaine can do is repeating his words. “I’m sorry. So sorry.” He feels that his eyes are getting wet again. “No seriously, do you know where he is? He is injured, I need to find him!” Blaine can’t believe it. His next words are barely a whisper. “You don’t know?” Burt’s expression changes to panic. “Know what?” Blaine swallows hardly, having trouble to breathe again.

He has no idea. Oh god, I have to tell him.

He doesn’t want to say the words, admitting them to himself, make them true and breaking Burt’s heart at the same time. “Mr. Hummel, I’m so sorry. Your wife told me – She told me Kurt was in the part of the ship that was closed to keep the water away.“ He has to take a deep breath to continue. “She said h-he had no chance to escape.” Burt shakes his head in disbelief. “No. That’s not true.” Blaine has to fight the tears that want to fall down his cheeks because of the certainty in Burt’s voice. “I know it’s hard to accept. I’m so sorry. I wish you wouldn’t have to hear it from me.” But Burt just keeps shaking his head. “No, you don’t understand. He was in that part of the ship, but he managed to come back just in time. His head got injured and his forehead is bleeding, but he is okay. I was with him half an hour ago, we wanted to find a boat together, but we got separated and now I can’t find him.”

Blaine feels like he will break down the third time this evening in every moment.

He is alive.

It seems like the world has found the right angle again, the sinking ship no longer important, as long as Kurt is alright. This time, Blaine has to fight back tears of relief. His lungs seem to be in a sudden need of more oxygen than usual and it takes a while until his breathing is regular again. His whispered “Thank god” is barely audible, and he is pretty sure that Burt hasn’t heard it. In that moment, a steward is raising his voice behind them. “The water is coming closer! Everyone who wants to enter this boat should hurry up!” Blaine looks at Burt, who is searching the crowd for a familiar face again. “Mr. Hummel, did you hear him? You have to take your seat!” Burt stares at him with a serious expression. “No. I won’t leave this ship without Kurt. I won’t leave him alone.” They look at each other for a moment. Finally, Blaine speaks up. ”I’ll find him. I will search him and I won’t enter a boat without him. I promise.” Burt shoots him a questioning look. “Why should I rely on you? Why should I trust you with my son’s life?” Blaine swallows thickly.

This is it.

“Because Kurt means a lot to me. Just as much as he means to you.” Burt doesn’t let show any emotion, he simply holds Blaine’s gaze. “I believe you. But I’ll come with you. I can’t leave without him.” Blaine tries to stay calm, although he is almost freaking out inside. “I know you want to make sure he is alright. But it won’t help if we both stay. And I know it would kill Kurt to lose his second parent too. The loss of his mother was hard enough for him.” Burt still looks at him, now a little surprised. After a few moments more, Burt enters the boat and sits down. He gives Blaine another piercing glance which is even more intense than the last one. “Bring my boy back to me.” Blaine nods and attempts to turn around, when Burt looks up to him and speaks again. “Oh and Blaine? It’s impossible.” Now it’s Blaine’s turn to give Burt a questioning look. “It’s impossible to love him as much as I do.”

Finally, Blaine arrives at the last row of boats. He had checked every single boat on this side of the ship except this row, but Kurt was not there and no one had seen him. Blaine’s heart is still racing, on one hand because of the relief that Kurt is alive, on the other hand because of the fear that something happened to him in the meantime. The scenery that surrounds him, the scenery of running people, shouting stewards and warning lights exploding at the sky, feels so unreal. A vague sound of crying coming from his side catches Blaine’s attention. In the dark, away from the hectic rush, there is a woman with bright hair that seems to glow in the dark. In her arms she is holding her baby, six month old at the most, rocking it in order to calm it so the crying would stop. The baby is tightly wrapped up in a blanket and the woman is holding it closely, as if she could protect it from the nearing water like that. Blaine slowly comes closer, until he is standing right in front of her. Not till then, she looks up to him with a desperate expression on her face. “Is everything alright Ma’am? Can I help you somehow?” She looks at him thankful. “I don’t know where to go. I asked the captain, but he couldn’t tell me either.” Blaine hears her thick accent and feels sorry for her, being on a sinking ship without knowing where to go and what to do and not being able to communicate properly. She is shivering in the cold, so he takes off his jacket and puts it around her shoulders. “Come with me.” He helps her to stand up and leads her to the next boat. “Excuse me sir? Sir! This woman needs a place in a boat!” The steward Blaine tries to talk to turns around and eyes her contemptuous. “I’m sorry, but she is not a first class passenger. She has to find another boat.” Blaine feels hot anger dripping down his spine. “What, just because she doesn’t has money her life is less worthy than mine? Or the life of her child? I’m so sick of it!” The steward seems to feel a little bit guilty at Blaine’s words, as if he hadn’t thought about it that way before. “I’m sorry sir, but I have to follow the instructions-” But Blaine cuts him off. “Screw them! You can save lives! And if necessary, she can have my seat. Because two lives are more valuable than one, no matter what class they belong to.” The steward caves in under Blaine’s glare and takes a step aside to let the woman enter the boat. When she realizes what it means, that she is allowed to enter, she turns to Blaine, her eyes full of unshed tears. “Thank you.” Blaine simply smiles at her. Her baby pressed at her chest securely, she enters the boat, Blaine supporting her arm. The steward looks at him. “We have some space left. Why don’t you take a seat?” Blaine swallows, but shakes his head and takes a few steps backwards.

“First I have to find someone.”

Blaine can see that there is no boat left on this side of the ship, so he tries to find the way on the other side. After walking along the guardrail for a while, he remembers the way he searches being in the frontal part of the ship, and that means already under water. He either has to walk to the heck to get to the other side – or go inside. After hesitating for a moment he takes a deep breath and pushes open a door leading deep inside the ship.

I can do it, I will find a way. I have to.

The corridor is small and there aren’t too many branches that would have made him choose his way, so he just follows the main corridor. He tries to remember the way in order to orientate himself, but after a few corners he can’t follow anymore. All he knows is that he is getting lower every time a stair is crossing his way, because somehow they all seem to lead down only. After a while he gets a little bit nervous.

I should be on the other side by now…

He almost laughs out loud in relief when he finally finds a stair leading up instead of down. But his relief turns to horror quickly when he notices water coming down the stairs, although it is not more than a trickle of water.

I have to go up there nonetheless. When I don’t go there, the water that is coming down here will kill me even quicker.

So he climbs the stairs, slowly feeling panic rising in his chest. After a few steps his shoes and socks are soaked with water. He is shivering from the freezing cold almost immediately. He is slowly making his way through the corridor, only stopping when the light flickers and goes out, letting him alone in the darkness. The only thing he can sense is the cold water creeping up his legs and his quickening breath echoing from the walls. Luckily, the darkness last only a few minutes. After calming down a little, Blaine can continue his way. A few more minutes later he finally finds another stair leading up and out of the water. When he hears loud voices, he can’t believe having such luck. They seem to come from the left, so he follows them into a side corridor. After walking around another corner, he sees about twenty people, standing in front of a lattice that is blocking their way. They are screaming at each other and Blaine doesn’t understand a word. He asks a small quiet man standing next to him what they are doing. “We are waiting until the first class entered the safety boats and we are allowed to enter too. But no one is coming to unlock the doors.” Blaine swallows hardly. He knows the first class gets preferred, but he never could have imagined that the others were locked up, held in cages like animals. “I hope they will get here soon.” But the other man isn’t listening to him anymore. His eyes are widened in shock as he looks at the hem of Blaine’s trousers that are clearly wet. “The water is coming! We have to go!” Suddenly panic is spread. Everyone is screaming and trying to be the first one getting away from the lattice. Before Blaine is able to react to the words, he gets pushed aside by bodies. The last thing he feels is a part of a body knocking him from his feet and something hard colliding with the back of his head.

Then everything is getting dark and silent around him.