TRAPPED!
Chapter Two

"Can you see any moving?" asked the officer as they neared the endless sea of dead bodies floating silently in the cold night.

"No, sir," answered the man. "None moving, sir."

The officer took a deep breath as he watched the body of a young man go floating past--frozen solid. "Well, keep checking them. Keep looking!" he yelled angrily as the rest of the men in the boat checked the bodies.

"These are dead, sir," replied one of his crew in disgusted tones as he pushed the body of a woman away from him.

He stared in horror as the boat slowly passed the frozen body of a dead woman clinging to a young infant. "We’ve waited too long..." he whispered. He gazed out as far as he could see--everywhere there where bodies, stretching out towards the horizon and beyond. "Is there anyone alive out there?" he called desperately. "Can anyone hear me? Is there anyone alive out there?"

Suddenly, he heard a noise. Quickly, he motioned for the crew to be quiet. Then he heard it again, a very weak, "I’m over here! I’m over here!"

He shone his torch in the direction of the voice, and it landed on a young man. He looked about twenty, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was laying on top of some debris. As quickly as he could, he reached him and pulled him into the boat. He thought he had been cold, but when he touched the man it sent shivers of pain down his hands and arms from the sheer cold of it. He was almost dead. He must have been through hell and back...as carefully as they could, they wrapped him in blankets and lay him down, where he fell into a restless sleep--he wondered if he would live through the night.

*****

"Over here, Rose!" said Cal, gripping her tightly by the arm as she tried to escape. "This way, darling. First class is over here." Rose continued to struggle, but it was hopeless.

"Rose, dear," said her mother, putting a hand on her face. "Rose, calm down." She grabbed her by the other arm, calling for one of the crew.

The captain of the Carpathia came towards them. "Yes, ma’am?" he inquired politely.

"My fiancée is very upset," interrupted Cal. "Now, really, we need a room where she can rest."

"This way, sir," said the captain, leading them towards a vacant stateroom--oblivious to the fact that Rose was trying to escape.

As Rose was rushed inside, Molly Brown came walking over to them. "Hello, Ruth, dear," she said. "Are you feeling any better?"

Rose looked at her with pleading eyes, begging her to understand. She knew Molly would--she had liked Jack. Ruth pursed her lips. Rose knew her mother didn’t approve of Molly simply because she had once been poor, but she could not deny the fact that she had helped her and been so kind to her all of last night.

"Yes. Much better," she replied, putting on a fake smile. "Rose is just a bit upset. We’re trying to calm her down."

Molly glanced at the frightened girl, sitting in a chair, numb and in shock--clearly wanting to be far away from her mother and Cal and with the young man--Jack--but she didn’t know where he was. She opened her mouth to speak and say something, but the piercing stare Ruth gave her told her she had better keep it shut.

"Well," she said, "just checking on you."

"Well, thank you very much," said Ruth, and she turned around without another word, closing the door behind her.

Inside the room, Molly could hear Rose beginning to cry.

*****

"Hey! Hey, wait!" Jack ran over to the officer who was carrying around a list and marking off passenger names. "Do you have Rose DeWitt Bukater on there?"

The man glanced down at the list. "No, sorry..."

"What?" Jack looked at him in horror. "I put her on a boat--she has to be on there!"

The officer frowned. "What class was she in, sir?"

Jack could have kicked himself. Of course! Rose would have registered herself as first class! "First class."

The officer stared at him, puzzled that he would know someone of that importance. "You’ll have to check over there," he said, pointing with his pencil to the upper deck.

Jack ran towards it. He just had to find Rose. He had to! Bumping into a person, he didn’t even stop to say sorry. Climbing up the steps, he looked around for the officer.

"Son! Hey, sonny--Jack!" Jack swung around and saw Molly Brown calling to him.

"You’re all right, son?" she asked, glancing at his still damp clothes and pale skin.

Jack ignored her. "Rose," he gasped. "Rose! Have you seen Rose?"

Molly looked at him sadly. "She’s in a room over there," she said, nodding her head in the direction. "With them."

Jack looked at her in horror before collapsing onto a bench. "I have to see her," he said, turning to look at Molly, who was staring back at him, quite concerned.

Molly nodded, but said nothing as Jack got to his feet and hurriedly made his way towards where Rose was being kept. He’d never felt so frightened or nervous as when he walked down that hall. What if they stopped him? What if he could never see Rose again? He couldn’t let that happen to her. He couldn’t let that fire he loved about her burn out. As he neared the room, he heard yelling.

"Well? Answer me!"

He recognized Cal’s voice. Jack felt anger well up inside him and he pushed the door open with a bang. Rose was sitting on the bed, holding her cheek. It looked as if she’d been hit.

When the door opened, she looked up and cried out in a mixture of amazement and happiness. "Jack!"

Cal turned around. "You!" he yelled in a rage, but Jack didn’t care. Gathering all the strength he could, he punched Cal hard in the face, knocking him to the ground.

"Jack!" cried Rose, throwing herself into his arms.

"Rose," Jack said soothingly. "Oh, Rose, I love you." He hugged her tightly, never wanting to let go. "I told you I’d be all right. It’s all right, Rose." He stroked her hair, trying to calm her as she sobbed in his arms.

"What’s going on here?"

Jack swung around. An officer was standing in the doorway, along with Cal and Ruth. Rose looked at them in horror and clung to Jack tighter. Jack just stared, at a loss for words.

*****

Molly watched nervously to see what would happen. Ten minutes later, she saw Jack being dragged by two stewards away from Rose. Quickly, she hurried over to them. "What do you think you’re doing?" she asked.

One of the stewards turned towards her. "This man was being a nuisance to some passengers," he said, panting with the effort of holding Jack back.

"He’s with me," she told them.

"Pardon?" asked the steward in surprise.

"He’s with me," repeated Molly loudly. "C’mon, son." She held out an arm for Jack.

The stewards eyed each other, then Molly, and reluctantly let Jack go.

"C’mon, Jack," said quietly, pulling him away and over to an empty corner.

"You don’t understand!" gasped Jack. "She can’t be with them--they’ve got her trapped and she’s going to die if she doesn’t break free! I have to--"

"Shh, sonny." Molly put an arm around him. "There’s nothing you can do, Jack, at least not here."

"Then what can I do?" yelled Jack angrily.

Molly sighed. "I-I don’t think there is anything you can do," she said quietly.

*****

Rose sat on the bed, awaiting another outburst from Cal, but none came. Instead, he stood in the middle of the room, a pack of ice held against one eye, which was going black. He was probably too mad to speak, too furious. She knew she would have to pay for it later, but she didn’t care. Jack was alive! The love of her life, who she’d thought for a few agonizing hours was dead, was in fact still breathing, still here, and for a few wonderful moments, she had hugged him, taken in every little detail of him, the way he felt, the way he held her, the way he smelled...Rose closed her eyes. Jack was alive...but they were still apart. Cal had her trapped. She took a deep breath and tried to stop herself from crying, but she couldn’t. Cal had her trapped again. She was now his--to be treated like an object he owned and to conform to the standards he wanted. She remembered how she had felt with Jack. Never trapped, never unhappy--he’d freed her, and she had been happy, happy for the first time in her life.

Cal glared at her. "Will you stop crying?" he shouted.

At that moment, Ruth came hurrying into the room. "Come. Rose," she said softly. "Let’s get you out of those clothes."

Numbly, Rose staggered to her feet and followed her mother into another smaller room, where a dress lay ready for her--she didn’t know how or where her mother got it from, and she didn’t care.

"Now, now Rose," her mother said, closing the door with a click behind her. "It’s all right, dear." She wrapped her daughter in a hug, but Rose felt no comfort from it. "There, there," she said, stroking Rose’s damp and tangled hair. "It’s all right, Rose. Now, let’s get you into some dry clothes, or you shall catch a cold." Numbly, Rose stood and allowed herself to be dressed, ignoring her mother’s mindless chatter. "Rose. Rose?" Her mother turned her around to look at her. "Are you listening to me? I said you will never behave like that again, ever. Do you have any idea how I felt when you ran away like that? How Cal felt?" Rose shivered at the sound of his name. "I was so worried." She kissed her, and continued, "It’s lucky Cal managed to get you in a boat, or heaven knows what would have happened!"

Rose glared at her mother. She couldn’t stand it. Is that what Cal had told her? "Cal didn’t convince me to go in the boat," she hissed. "Jack did!"

Ruth gave her a venomous stare. "I never want to hear that name again, Rose! Do you understand what you almost did? You could have landed us on the streets, had everything sold off, and left us with nothing. Cal and you are a fine match. Everyone else can see it. Why can’t you?"

"I’m not everyone else!" said Rose quietly. "And I don’t want to be. I don’t love him, and I’m not going to marry him--"

At that moment, Ruth snapped and slapped Rose hard, sending further pain down her already tender cheek. Rose staggered backwards, staring at her mother in shock. "Don’t you dare say that!" sobbed Ruth, falling down into an old wooden chair. "Can’t you see, Rose? This is the only way for us to survive. I’m doing it for you." She dabbed her tears away with a handkerchief and got back onto her feet. "I’m sorry, Rose," she whispered, taking her daughter’s hand and holding it tightly, "but arranged marriages are a part of society--you must learn to love Cal--as I learned to love your father."

Rose didn’t answer. She felt bad about leaving her mother on the ship and making her worry, and she knew her mother was horribly afraid of what the future might hold if she did not marry Cal. Everything pointed to her marrying him, forcing her to conform to the standards. Rose felt like a trapped animal. All she wanted was Jack.

Chapter Three
Stories