TRAPPED!
Chapter One
"Get in the boat,
Rose!"
"No, Jack!"
"Get in the boat!"
"Yes, get in the boat,
Rose!"
Both Rose and Jack spun around,
and to her horror, Rose saw Cal.
"My God. Look at you. You
look a fright," he said, his tone soothing. "Here. Put this on."
He ripped off the blanket Jack had wrapped around her and chucked it away,
putting his jacket on her instead.
Frantically, Rose pushed herself
away from him, and Jack moved in front of him. "Rose, get in the
boat," he begged.
"No. Not without you,"
said Rose. She was almost sobbing. She couldn’t bear to leave Jack on the
doomed liner.
"Go on. I’ll get the next
one!" persisted Jack.
"No! Not without you,"
repeated Rose.
"Look, I’ll be fine!"
persuaded Jack. "I’m a survivor, all right? Don’t worry about me. Now, go
on. Get in."
Suddenly, Cal came between them.
"I have an arrangement with an officer on the other side of the ship. Jack
and I can get off safely..." He paused. "Both of us."
Jack looked at him in amazement,
then turned to Rose. "See? I got my own boat to catch."
"Hurry," said Cal,
trying to smile. "It’s almost full."
Rose stared at Cal hard, trying
to figure out if what he was saying was true, when an officer grabbed her.
"Step aboard, miss," he
said, tugging her away from Jack. "This way. Step aboard!"
Numbly, Rose allowed herself to
step into the crowded lifeboat. Quickly, she turned around to say good-bye to
Jack, reaching for his hand and grasping it as tightly as she could before an
officer pushed them apart.
"Lower away!" yelled
the officer directing the lifeboat, signaling with his arms. The lifeboat
lowered quickly, and around her there were shouts of surprise, but Rose didn’t
care. She continued to stare at Jack...would this be the last time she ever saw
him?
Up on deck, Jack watched
painfully as Rose was lowered away to safety. "You’re a good liar,
Jack," Cal teased quietly, hardly taking his eyes away from Rose.
Jack retaliated, "Almost as
good as you...there’s no…uh…there’s no arrangement, is there?"
"Oh, there is," said
Cal quietly, and for a fleeting moment Jack’s heart rose. Maybe, just maybe, he
could get off this ship and be with Rose. Then Cal spoke again. "Not that
you’ll benefit much from it." He smirked at Jack as he turned to look at
him. "I always win, Jack, one way or another."
And Jack knew what he meant by
win. The prize was Rose. Cal would get off the ship and once again claim her as
his own. His Rose was going to Cal.
Meanwhile, Rose watched as she
was slowly lowered away from Jack. She tried to get up and jump back onto the
ship, but the passengers were too quick and held her back.
"It’s all right, Rose!"
Jack shouted down at her. "I’ll be all right!"
Rose prayed to God that he would
be, as she watched him until he became a speck in the distance.
*****
Rose scanned the lifeboats
desperately for Jack as they all came together. But she couldn’t see him. She
caught sight of her mother, half-asleep, and Cal, searching for her, and turned
away quickly, hoping neither would see her. As she did, she caught Molly
Brown’s eye, but Molly said nothing--she had guessed that Rose wanted to remain
undiscovered. One of the officers in charge of the lifeboats glanced behind
him, listening to the screams and cries of everyone who had fallen into the
sea.
Please, thought Rose desperately, let Jack not
be one of them. Let him be in a lifeboat somewhere. Please let him be all
right...
"Right! Listen to me, men!
We have to go back!" yelled the young officer, unable to bear the screams
and pleas for help. "I want to transfer all the women and children…"
He pointed to the boat Rose was in. "…into that boat, as quick as you can,
please..."
Rose stumbled to her feet when
her turn came. The boat wobbled dangerously for a moment. Then she was helped
into the other lifeboat--and came face to face with Cal. "Rose!" he
said in surprise, dragging her towards him. "Look at you. You must be
freezing." He wrapped an arm around her.
"Where’s Jack?"
demanded Rose, trying hard to push herself away from him. "Where is he?
You said there was an arrangement!"
Cal looked at her with his cold,
gray eyes that held none of the love Jack’s did when he looked at her.
"How would I know, Rose, dear?" he asked calmly. "You needed to
get on the boat--you’re my fiancée and I was concerned for you." He tried
to hug her closer, but Rose refused angrily.
"You bastard!" she
whispered fiercely. Then her voice broke into sobs. "You promised..."
Cal glared at her. "Rose,
you’re making a scene!" he said angrily. "Besides, you’re my
fiancée..."
Rose wasn’t listening. Hate like
she’d never felt before was rushing through her. Cal had lied to her...he’d let
Jack die...he’d killed him...suddenly, she pulled herself to her feet.
All around her, there were cries
of surprise, and Cal hissed, "Rose!" angrily from under his breath,
but she didn’t care. If she stayed here she would be trapped, forced to be with
Cal and live the life she’d always dreaded. She couldn’t go back to
that...she’d die.
For a fleeting moment, the image
of Jack came back to her--the first time she’d met him...
"You jump, I jump..."
The words seemed to echo inside
her brain until she couldn’t bear it. If she couldn’t live with Jack, she
wouldn’t live at all.
"You jump, I jump."
I’m jumping now, Jack, she thought as she struggled towards the
edge of the boat. She was determined to be with Jack--even if the only way to
do that was to die.
"Somebody grab her!"
she heard Cal yell. Strong hands pulled her back.
"No!" she screamed.
"No! Jack!"
But she was overwhelmed by the
many people pulling her back towards Cal. As she was forced into her seat, she
caught a glimpse of her mother’s shocked face in the next lifeboat.
"What do you think you’re
doing?" cried Cal, shaking her hard. "What were you doing? Answer me,
Rose!" He looked shocked. "Well?" he demanded.
Rose tried to pull away, but
there were more cries and yells from officers and people pulling and shoving
her back into place. She distinctly heard someone yell, "Get that woman
down! She’ll capsize the boat!"
"Rose!" Cal was still
glaring at her, hands holding onto her tightly with a vise-like grip.
"I’d rather be dead with him
than spend my time with you," she said angrily.
Cal became furious. His face went
a pale white and he dug his fingers into her arms hard. "Are you
crazy?" he whispered dangerously.
Rose struggled, but there was no
way out. She was trapped.