George Calder

George Calder is the first protagonist of the I Survived series and debuts in I Survived The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912. He is a 10 year old kid that boards with his sister Phoebe and aunt Daisy in 1912 but when disaster strikes after the Titanic hit an iceberg and began sinking, George has to fight hard to survive the sinking of what they call the Unsinkable Ship.
==Biography==
George was 10 years old when he boarded the Titanic with his sister Phoebe and aunt Daisy in April 1912. Their 2 month vacation in London was over and they boarded the ship to head back home to upper New York. George got up to look at the ocean admiring the view. Phoebe went to tell him good morning and asked what he was looking for. George smiled, he thought she was the smartest little sister in the world. George jokingly thought he seen a giant squid coming towards them pretending to be one. George's aunt Daisy then walked in. George and his sister thought aunt Daisy was the prettiest woman on the ship and he couldn't believe that she was 22 years old. She tells them that they could not have fun without her and laughed when Phoebe told her that George thought he saw a giant squid, she laughed and stated that even sea monsters would want to take a look at the Titanic which George almost believed. George loved being on the Titanic so much but sometimes, his love for the huge ship would get him in trouble with his aunt. As George thought about himself asking Henry for different things, aunt Daisy did not approve of it. She also reminded him of the time he slid down the banister of the Grand Staircase of the 1st class floor and startling all the people in there. She warned him that the next time he caused trouble on the ship, she would tell his father about it and have him sent to military school. That warning would always set George straight. George never meant to cause trouble but being on the Titanic was such an opportunity he had so much he wanted to do on it, like when he climbed up the crow's nest and exploring the entire ship despite being warned on getting lost but no matter the warning, George always knew his way back. While exploring the ship, George met Enzo, a little Italian boy playing marbles. He also met his dad Marco who was reading a magazine and deemed George their first American friend. When his aunt Daisy found him, she yelled telling him that she thought he fell overboard but she wasn't too mad. George did not mind being yelled at though. After all that had happened, George vowed he would not get himself into anymore trouble.
After finishing breakfast, Phoebe told George she would not let him out her sight for the rest of the trip and offered him a lemon drop. George did not like them. George wanted to see Marco and Enzo and hear more on Italy and wanted to ride up and down the elevators and lastly to greet Mr. Andrews, the ship's architect designer. When he did greet them, George thought he was a millionaire that would kiss his aunt's hand but realized he was a different kind of person and knew he was talking to Mr. Andrews. George asked him if he was the only one who built the ship but Mr. Andrews says no and tells him it took thousands of men to help with the designs and structures. He took George and Phoebe to the first-class writing room and unrolled the blueprints of the Titanic's architecture. Mr. Andrews went through the details and structure of the ship. Phoebe tells him that their aunt believes with how tough the Titanic looks, nothing can sink it and Mr. Andrews concedes with this statement. George asks Mr. Andrews if there were any passageways. Mr. Andrews answers that there were boiler rooms and escape ladders that go up the starboard side of the ship whilst they also lead to the Stoker's quarters and into the dining halls. George was so fascinated on these facts he wanted to stay in that room. George would ask a lot a questions and Mr. Andrews would answer them all. Mr. Andrews compared his younger self to George and predicted George would build a ship of his own when he would grow older. George was sure that wouldn't happen but appreciated the advice that was given. After hearing that a mummy was on the ship, George waited until everyone went to sleep and snuck to the cargohold to find out if the rumor was true and took his pocket knife to pry open the tomb and made sure Henry wasn't there.
Sometime ago, he did the same at home to sneak into the woods. One night in the woods, George was heading home after exploring and heard some kind of scream and turned around to see what it was but noticed a set of glowing eyes but as they got closer towards him, they turned yellow and it had glowing yellow fangs and found out that the story someone told him was true; there was a black panther living in the woods. George stood still because he knew he could not outrun the animal but ended up being too scared to be there and quickly ran with the panther going after him. George slipped a few times but still managed to get up. To distract the panther, George picked up a tree branch and waved it around to catch its attention and it worked. While gnawing on the branch, George went high up a tree as fast as he could with the panther trying to come up it having George compare the panther to a shadow with glowing eyes. George got out his pocket knife and chopped it until it broke off and fell on the panther. After a long moment, the panther slowly trembled away. 
After going down five flights of stairs and other walkways, George made it to the cargohold area and got to seeing the mummy. George felt happy when he found the coffin and took out his pocket knife to pry it open carefully but after a few seconds, George heard a noise and felt the same when he was being chased by the panther. George looked directly at all the luggages he heard the sound from and at a quick rate, George was tackled by a man who he thought was a robber. The robber took his knife and asked him what he was down in the cargohold for and George answered that he wasn't there for anything as the man pointed at his boots and asked a worried George where he got them. George accidently answered London to which the robber jokingly acted like someone greeting a king and asked for a key to the 1st class cabins. In order for the man to not do anything to his family, George revealed to him the mummy that was worth millions and told him that he thought he would sell it for his dad's business. The robber bought the story and went over to open up the coffin. When it was screwed open and before the two could see what was inside, there was a loud rumble that shook the entire ship. George immediately escaped the cargo area when a luggage fell on the man and headed straight back for his room. 
A stewardess greeted George while walking by with a set of towels with George wondering why he felt a different way and realized the sounds stopped completely. George went on the upper deck to check if the Titanic crashed into something walking into a small crowd of men which most were still wearing their tuxedos and smoking their cigars. George also seen and heard people laughing and went past the two men to see what the laughter was all about. When he looked over the deck, George seen the damages of the lower area of the ship comparing it to something a severe winter storm could do. George also seen men playing with ice that was on the railing and using it for a snowball fight. George asked a man what happened and the man said the ship collided into an iceberg but did not sound worried. The man yelled out to one of the kids below playing with the ice to toss him some but the kid missed. Luckily, George caught it and is applauded. For George to have it in his hand was heavy and stunk of sardines as more iceballs are thrown from below. George felt better and powerful because now that he was on the upper deck, nothing bad could happen to him. George left from the deck after feeling cold and crept through the quiet halls of the ship. When he got back to his suite, he stepped on something yellow that caught his attention by making a crunch noise then realized it was one of Phoebe's lemondrops. George silently entered the suite and quickly put on his nightwear and headed to bed. 
Just then, there was a knock at the door. George got up and opened it revealing it to be Henry. Henry said to George that he needed to speak with his aunt. Aunt Daisy then turned up. Henry apologized for barging in and told her about an incident. Aunt Daisy glared at George suspecting he caused trouble again and apologized for it but that wasn't the reason Henry was there. Henry explained that the incident involved the ship and that the captain wanted everyone on deck but aunt Daisy thought it was a joke but Henry politely told her the captain would want everyone wearing a life jacket just in case if something happens to the ship. Aunt Daisy looked at the jackets like they were clown costumes and thought it was a drill but Henry assured her that it was no drill and told them to get ready and left. Aunt Daisy said to George that they'll be having another adventure to talk about and to get dressed while she goes to get Phoebe ready but when she gets to her room, Phoebe is gone. George felt uneasy knowing that when he left to see the mummy, Phoebe could have also left to find him so now she could be somewhere on the ship searching for him. George owned up to his mistake and told Aunt Daisy why Phoebe was gone. George expected his aunt to be furious but it was different. George soon had an idea; Phoebe may have known George would've wanted to see the mummy in the cargohold so he went a few ways across the halls until he found another lemon drop. Aunt Daisy showed up and George explained that Phoebe left lemon drops on the floor and mentioned Hansel and Gretel to make his aunt understand what that means. Later, George and his aunt returned to their suite quickly getting dressed and heading back out to find Phoebe. George also thought that after the ship collided into the iceberg, Phoebe probably believed George set out to see what was happening after being awoken by the commotion of the other passengers. However, when they arrived to the main staircase, the lemon drops went down instead of up. Like before, George figured Phoebe was in the cargohold area probably knowing George would be there. George again felt uneasy after thinking about the man that was lurking in there. George went even faster down the stairs with his aunt calling for him but he did not slow down. When George got to G-deck, there was a gate stretched across the doorway. George said it wasn't there when he first got there. He tried to heave it open but it was locked shut. On the other side, there was a mob of passengers standing there. Aunt Daisy said to one of the people in there to open the gate but the man replied that all 1st class passengers should be on deck and that she got it the wrong way. Aunt Daisy then replied mentioning Phoebe, but the steward said that she wouldn't have went all the way in there but aunt Daisy made it clear she was down there and to open the gate but the man still says it can't happen because of regulations. Aunt Daisy then yelled to open the gate. The man soon obliged and opened the gate with a key. After having to see the passengers dart towards the open gate and the same man take a gun out of his pocket, George and his aunt went through the crowd but there were so many things down there, there could be no way they could follow the lemon drops anymore. George then met Enzo and Marco. Marco tried to get his son off of George but he would not let go. Marco apologized and introduced themselves to George's aunt. Enzo then took George to an open door with George making out the kid to say "see". George soon saw what Enzo was talking about. Green bubbly like water was floating from up the stairs. George soon known what "see" meant; the sea. George whispered the word "unsinkable" many times. The more George thought about Mr. Andrews and the more he looked at that water, the more certain he became of the ship. Marco said they needed to go up but aunt Daisy refused to leave without finding Phoebe. Enzo then started calling out Phoebe's name and there she was. They finally found her. 
Moments laters, there was a deep boom noise which George thought that the engines started again but it wasn't that. What the ship did was shoot forward sending the people falling over and George falling onto a wall as there have been screams that echoed through the room. Soon, everyone knew that the Titanic was starting to sink. Marco said to everyone that in order to get to the deck, they were gonna need to go up. Since he known every way around the ship, George needed to guide them. George was worried because it was possible to him that he could've made a mistake of getting everyone lost but Phoebe encouraged him so George started figuring out which way to go. George thought about the blueprints Mr. Andrews had shown him and then lead everyone to the room that would take them to the Stoker's quarters but however, the door was locked. Marco handed Enzo to George and with his shoulder, he broke the lock to the door. George ran inside and headed to a wall that had a ladder to it like Mr. Andrews said. They all cheered for George as they climbed up the ladder. They made it to a small dining room and George let everyone past to a corridor that led over to the Grand Staircase and onto the boatdeck. An officer quickly went over to aunt Daisy and told her about the lifeboats. George, Phoebe, aunt Daisy, and Enzo were all to board the boats but Marco was told to stay on deck because at the moment, only women and children were allowed to board. Because there weren't enough boats up there, the lives of the men on the ship were in possible danger and people were still stuck on g-deck. George felt even more uneasy than he was before. Marco kneeled down to Enzo and quietly spoke to him. Enzo understood and went to George's aunt. Marco said to aunt Daisy that he told Enzo he was gonna go on a special boat ride and would not leave him. Aunt Daisy promised she would as they looked at each other not saying anything but had some sort of conversation with their eyes. The officer brought them to the side of the boat where a lifeboat could be found full of passengers that were women and children. Everyone was helped over, except for George because there wasn't anymore room. Phoebe started getting scared after the lifeboat started to move nearly toppling over. She tried to climb up to George but she soon found herself hanging onto the ropes over the sea. The sailor then threw her back into the boat as it lowered down into the sea. Her and aunt Daisy yelled for George as they are stowed away. George watched in disbelief as the boat disappeared into the darkness. George closed his eyes trying to imagine everything that went down was just a nightmare. He held onto the railing holding on as tight as he could as it rocked back and forth. He eventually slipped and bumped his head on the deck and in his eyes, everything went dark. George opened his eyes and felt himself being carried away. He thought it was his father and heard whispering in his ear; Marco. George found out it wasn't a nightmare because the ship was actually sinking with the bow being completely underwater. He saw chairs floating in the sea and people falling overboard. Marco's plan was to jump because the lifeboats, their only way of leaving, were all gone. George soon jumped into the freezing cold water and passed out. Marco picked him up and took him away from the ship. He helped George onto a floating door while Marco used a crate for himself. As they swam, they watched the Titanic sink; the entire front was underwater and the back was risen upward and until then, the entire ship was gone. Marco tied a rope around himself and told George he would soon rest and lied down on the crate. George was scared to know what "soon" met but later on, he saw people and a lifeboat across from them and tried to tell Marco about it but he didn't move or open his eyes. He soon realized that Marco had used all his strength to help George. It was all up to George now. He tied the ropes under himself and swept over to the lifeboat. When he did get there, one of the passengers knocked George away thinking he was gonna topple them all into the water. George said to the passenger that they needed help and tried climbing in again but again had his hand knocked away. George tried to do it another time but no matter how many times he done it, nobody would allow them onto the boat. However, nobody pushed his hand back at that moment and they allowed them to climb over. George wrapped his arms around Marco and climbed over but he was still stuck to the crate. He tried to cut it open with his fingers but the knot-tied rope was like rusty metal and couldn't be cut. A man told him to let him go but George did not give up. He kept tearing at the knot and yelled for one of the people to help them. A woman got out a pocket knife and managed to cut the knot. George thanked her and helped Marco into the boat. Turns out the actual person who helped them was actually the man in the cargohold who disguised himself as a woman. While on the boat, George stayed close to Marco making sure he was warm; he could barely move. 
The men on the ship the ship sang while some made prayers. Hours later, one of the men yelled to everyone that a ship was closeby. Another man said it was just lightning but the light was soon getting bigger and brighter until the outline showed that it was another ship; the RMS Carpathia. George whispered it to Marco but he barely moved. George looked closer and saw that the Carpathia wasn't like any other ship, it was a passenger ship just like the Titanic. On the deck was a bunch of saved passengers and Enzo, aunt Daisy and Phoebe. George was relieved to see them again. For George being on the Carpathia for two days was a blur to him. He slept on the blankets and pillows on the floor of the 1st class lounge. He also sensed that his sister and aunt did not leave his side. He listened to Enzo sing Italian songs. He heard his aunt and sister talking about Marco, whose feet was badly frozen, heard them talking about the Carpathia's passengers, and then heard them talking about the hundreds of people on the Titanic that couldn't make it out. On their last day at sea, George and Phoebe sat on a bench wrapped in blankets and drank mugs of warm milk that a stewardess had given them. Phoebe tells to George that she had seen a shooting star when she was on a lifeboat and wanted George to guess what she wished for. George had already known. Phoebe then asks George that if the mummy brought a curse to the Titanic; George felt confused but after everything that went down, it got to him. George answers that they'll never know. The next evening, it is their last day on the sea. George and Phoebe had heard a claim from a man speaking to a police officer. He said that he was travelling in Thebes, Egypt and observed a tomb from a royal family. Phoebe went up to the man and asked him if he was a person named Mr. Burrows. He answered "yes" making Phoebe surprised. She asked him if he had a mummy on the Titanic to which the guy was confused and when he remembered, he felt sad but managed to smile and said he did. This made Phoebe surprised and asked if their was actually a mummy and the man answwered that there wasn't and to not take one out of their tomb because you could get really bad luck. He actually meant his pet cat who passed away when he was heading to visit Egypt and had her wrapped to bring her with him. 3 hours after 9 am, the Carpathia docked to New York City in a thunderstorm. The first person George had seen in the thousands of people on the pier was his father. He ran up to him and Phoebe and hugged them. Others cried tears of relief but others cried in sadness with their tears mixing in the rain. The two siblings introduced their father to Marco and Enzo but there wasn't enough time to because their train heading to Millerstown was almost about to depart. An ambulance was there to take Marco to the hospital. George didn't need to say goodbye to the two because his aunt would be there to watch over Enzo until Marco's feet was unfrozen. As they rode to the train station, newsboys were everywhere reporting the situation. George covered his ears wanting to forget all about the sinking of the Titanic. 
Back on his farm surrounded by his friends and neighbors, George felt like he was drifting on a dark ocean. Days and days later he felt like he was drifting further away. When heading to bed, he'd see the scared faces of the people on G-deck, seen the ship disappear into the sea, and remembered the screams of the hundreds of people in the freezing cold water. He wouldn't try to fall asleep as he would wait for his sister and father to be in their rooms and go out exploring into the woods. One night, he was heading home after exploring until he heard sounds in the bushes; he sensed something. He thought it was the panther so he took out his pocket knife this time being ready instead of running. He looked out between the branches and was shocked to see his father was there sitting on a big rock. George asked him why he was out there and he answered that he goes out there when he can't sleep. His father got up and went to take George up to his room but George told him he didn't want to go back in and reveals he goes out in the woods too. His father seemed to have already known. George and father looked at each other, it was the first time they've done it since George's mother passed away. George then began to cry. He cried thinking about the people who struggled in the water and how he managed to get out and cried because he couldn't forget the incident of th Titanic. His father grabbed his hand and led him to the boulder where he sat at. As the sun rose, George told his father about Mr. Andrews telling him that in the future he could build a boat of his own. George's father says to him that they could build one together for their pond. George thought it'd be a great idea. His father says that they could start today as he led George back to the house. George and his father looked on into the woods hearing a song that goes awake, awake, it's now daybreak. 
 
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File:GUEST dcef0ffa-cbdb-4511-b921-108882c0cee9.jpg|George as he appears in the graphic novel
 
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