Trapped

By Lance Stewart

“A part of life may be in death. The death of a friend, the death of a relative. The death of a relationship.”
“But there may also be life.”
Love is an unbreakable bond with infinite struggles. It has the power to overcome all things for love also serves all things whether of pure intentions or not. A man may love his wife as a thief may love to steal.
Flashbacks, dreams, and nightmares move the action of my characters. Multiple themes are symbolically related.
An unwed mother of a two year old son BRIDGET PEMBROKE journeys to another part of the state to tell her ex boyfriend JEFF THOMPSON of the news of their son. She hid the news of her pregnancy from by breaking up with him shortly before staying with an aunt in London.
Jeff loses his parents in a train accident a couple of months after his breakup and his sister is murdered soon after this. With no one to turn to Jeff leaves home to reestablish himself in another part of the state where he is unknown and can deal with his recent losses without interference.
Bridget comes back from London and after learning of the death of his family decides to find Jeff. Nearly two years go by before she is able to find him. What she finds is not the man she loves but a lonely man suffering.
In an attempt to make it to his favorite café on time while on a walk with Bridget Jeff breaks off into a dead sprint leaving her behind. Not knowing her surroundings as well Bridget comes to a crime ridden neighborhood in which she is kidnapped by MIKE and his gang.
Jeff looks back for Bridget and also in the direction of his café in which his time to get there is fastly diminishing. Paralyzed in thought of if he should find Bridget or break his set schedule he passes out and is hospitalized.
While in the hospital Jeff is lead to an older man, EMMETT, who helps him overcome his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and severe depression.
Emmett helps Jeff find his love for Bridget once more as he relates the story of how he found the love of his life Bridget attempts to escape and is punished severely. She has been held for ransom and her jailor and his crew plan on killing her once her parent’s money has been safely secured.
With time running out for her life Emmett warns Jeff of her danger and tells of a friend who will guide him to her.
“Soon a friend of mine will guide you. You’ve seen him before. Both of you have.”
“I’m not sure I understand what you’re talking about.”
“You won’t until the time comes. The rain clouds will roll away and you will see.”
“Rain clouds? Forecast said nothing about that.”
The old man smiles. In his smile Jeff finds peace and understanding.
The friend the older man symbolically refers to is an owl that guides Jeff to Bridget once Jeff breaks out of the hospital he’s been in for over a month.
Greed becomes more than her jailors can bear and they attempt to kill one another off. The leader of the crew is murdered by his right hand man. After dumping his boss’s body Devon decides to kill Bridget as well.
Jeff enters Mike’s house just in time to fight with Devon. Eventually with the help of Bridget Devon is overtaken but not before injuring Jeff.
The worn out Bridget and Jeff return to the hospital as Emmett dies. Both recover and their love for one another is renewed.
TRAPPED shows the hardships of a relationship and symbolically proves what each will endure for the other.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lance Stewart
• Release date: Feb 2, 2012
• ISBN: 9781466013414

Lance Stewart

I'm married to the most beautiful girl in the world (she's making me type this while staring over my shoulder with a knife to my head). But she really is : ) Pablo, the vicious chihuahua, keeps me busy constantly. I've published four books which are all available through Kindle, Nook, Ipad, and all the other electronic devices as well. I have a half dozen other projects I've been writing on for some time now and will find time, at some point in my active duty Naval career, to finish them. So go buy one of them or all so I can do that!

Book preview

Trapped

By

Lance Stewart

SMASHWORDS EDITION

* * * * *

PUBLISHED BY:

Lance Stewart on Smashwords

Trapped

Copyright © 2005, 2010, 2012 by Lance Stewart

*****

In Memory of Grandma, Papa, Grandma, and Grandpa Buddy, three people whose lives each became an intricate part of my very being, of my own soul, and one whom I never met but think of constantly as well.

*****

Chapter 1

Most of the time I didn’t have a clue as to what I even thought she was thinking. Jeff smiles at his host. That’s always been my downfall with women.

Start at the beginning, insists the dying man.

Jeff looks to the window and into the stars.

Everything happened so quickly; I looked back and she wasn’t there.

Where was she Jeff?

With me.

And now?

I don’t know. I thought maybe she would have looked for me.

She couldn’t.

Jeff turns to the ailing man in his bed.

Why do you think?

She’s been kidnapped Jeff.

What! Jeff gets up. What do you mean? How do you know?

She’s been kidnapped Jeff and you must find her.

Jeff’s world begins to spin fast and he quickly plops back down in his chair. His body shakes and sweat forms on his brows. His voice is scratchy but he is able to produce sound.

I don’t. He clears his throat. I don’t understand.

You’re connected to this girl right?

Yes. I’ve felt something is wrong though I know not exactly what. I feared for the worst and I’ve been unable to sleep or eat while here.

The boundaries of love are infinite. So has your pain been and so has hers. She waits for you Jeff.

Jeff sits still for a while. Outside nature plays its music of the awakening day. The silent hiss of the grasshoppers is quickly overtaken by the different calls of the different birds. The state’s bird, the mockingbird, hasn’t made his presence known yet. Jeff is glad. A new day opens for Jeff.

Jeff’s friend coughs violently and rises up on his right side and spits in his pan. He falls back down breathing heavily. Jeff comes closer to the older man.

Is there anything I can do for you?

Take this away.

The old man grins as he knows his young friend can’t as Jeff looks sorrowful in knowing the same.

"Tell me about her Jeff. You can’t leave just yet. The timing isn’t good.’

When will I know?

Soon a friend of mine will guide you. You’ve seen him before. Both of you have.

I’m not sure I understand what you’re talking about.

You won’t until the time comes. The rain clouds will roll away and you will see.

Rain clouds? Forecast said nothing about that.

The old man smiles. In his smile Jeff finds peace and understanding.

Tell me about her.

What do you want to know?

Everything.

Are you sure? That’s a lot.

It is one of my last wishes.

With a sigh Jeff sits back. His story unravels naturally.

2

A summer breeze blows by and within it Jeff hears the faint whispers of tomorrow. The whispers are faint for he doesn’t know it will be years before he hears that sweet song again.

Youth is a virtuous time where all reason is thrown away and yet objectivity still remains. The promise of tomorrow is but the hope of yesterday. Secrets dance within the wind. If we could but hear then perhaps we could listen to some of them. Some secrets we never will hear.

Over across the street stands in the fairly distant light a statue of some soldier. Jeff had once looked at the soldier but couldn’t make out his name. It had faded with the restless wear of time. Solitude was his only confinement.

In many ways Jeff had become like the lonely, forgotten soldier. The brilliant ivory of life had waxed down to a gray and dull existence. Breakups are always hard, but now school no longer mattered. Work no longer mattered. Friends no longer mattered. It remained hard for him to visit his family. That will never change.

Bridget and I were close. I mean, I’ve been in a lot of relationships. I’ve never enjoyed parting ways but this one is different somehow.

A moment of silence echoes its infinite song of solitude and then Emmett asks, What do you mean Jeff?

Rubbing his hands together, as if trying to light a spark, Jeff pulls his concentration to the window to his right and he searches his emotions. His feelings he can’t help from rising.

I love her and that’s what’s different. It’s not the desire to have something when it’s gone. I’ve felt that. Jeff looks into his friend’s eyes. I know what that feels like. If I wanted any girl that wouldn’t be hard for me to do. When I’m out at a club or at a bar good looking women always hit on me. If the bartender is a chic then I’ll get half my drinks for free.

With this Emmett smiles. He remembers his battered days in this exciting game we call life.

If I wanted to go out with someone that wouldn’t be hard. She would be very attractive but what would be the point? I’m very selective in who I want to date. I want only the very best of the absolute greatest. I’ve taken my picks from that impossible but select few. I’ve had fun with some and some weren’t as great as I thought. But one was.

The breeze becomes warmer and Jeff looks up into the face of the full moon. His girlfriend Bridget looks into the reflection it casts upon the silent Mississippi Gulf Coast Sound. A pelican breaks the silence as it lifts off from its feeding spot in the water and heads westward. Jeff looks down and together their eyes meet. No words are needed for two young lovers. We say with our eyes what our soul wants. It is to this day Jeff returns to often. Of all the fantastic moments with Bridget that might just well be the best.

But only a few months later things with Bridget would become rather rocky. At some point both began to realize their relationship wasn’t a bed of roses and as each petal began to fall the days left with Bridget were numbered for Jeff.

She began acting strange those last few days. I thought she was seeing someone else but after several months had passed I know she wasn’t.

What was strange about her?

I don’t know. It’s like she was here with me but then she wasn’t. Something important was on her mind that she wanted me to know but wouldn’t tell me.

That she was seeing someone else?

Jeff nods his head as if to say ‘no’ and then looks up.

But that’s not all is it?

Jeff shakes his head. No.

She called me on the phone and said she didn’t think things were gonna work out. I asked her what the problem really was. She yelled some obscenity and hung up.

Did you call her back?

No. I was too mad.

Jeff looks into the twilight of a new day. The unseen moon is hidden away beneath a blanket of clouds. Soon the sun will break through shattering the dark clouds for half the world to see its little brother. Jeff didn’t think it fair for the sun to find its younger sibling and there in that hospital room he remained without his. As dark as the day that had left she was, but Jeff knew the sun shined on her somewhere.

Why does God hate me?

Hate no. Challenge yes.

Thanks Yoda.

A part of life may be in death. The death of a friend, the death of a relative. The death of a relationship.

But there may also be life.

At this the old man smiled. Yes indeed. From the ashes of a relationship life could be started anew.

3

Jet Blue is without a doubt the greatest airline. The entire aircraft is first class. The big leather seats with satellite TVs on the back of each chair makes the ride enjoyable but what makes it comfortable is the ample amount of leg room one has. Headphones are given away and not sold to the traveler as is some cases on other airlines. In fact the stewards beg you to keep the earphones once you de-board the plane and will not hesitate to tell you the reason being they don’t wish to collect your earwax!

Still, Bridget can’t help but feel a little nervous boarding her plane. It’s been nearly two years since she’s seen Jeff. To an older person two years is no time at all, but when two years comprises of one tenth of one’s life the impact is great.

TV moms will sell you the happiest lives. We’re lead to believe man and woman meet magically without any hardships. The only arguments are the lessons solved at the end of the show. Reality sometimes has no solutions.

Jeff never did like school. College was spent hanging out with friends and going out. Should he wake up in time for class chances were he still wouldn’t go.

It’s strange how sometimes the smartest people act the dumbest. Jeff never cared for school. A C or an A meant the same. That part of his life didn’t matter. He was an ageless wanderer spontaneously traveling through the wind. The burden of not going to class had become more than he could bear and he decided to take some time off while doing an internship. After coming back from his internship he decided to take summer classes to make up for the lost time. After four years of college it had become time to be serious.

Eight o’clock classes are a burden to society - a society that uses that time to recover from the previous night. When he signed up for a political science class at eight he had no intention of keeping it. The first day of class Jeff awakened with the familiar feeling of not wanting to get up and go to school. This feeling had followed him since elementary, but something spoke to his heart to go. Reluctantly he went.

Climbing the stairs and turning into room 201 he hesitated slightly and then bolted into the room. The professor was already talking for Jeff arrived at his usual time - several minutes late. Closing the door behind him Jeff’s subconscious took control. To his left in the back sat what appeared to be an unattractive female while to his right sat a beautiful brunette. Instantaneously with the closing of the door Jeff’s legs moved him up the aisle and behind that good looking brunette. When he sat down she turned slightly to look at him. Jeff, now able to actually study his fellow classmate, knew he had made the right decision.

It is impossible to be perfect but in my eyes she is. Jeff searches his lost memories. Everything was great. I mean we were young, in love, and then she just left. Of course I was devastated. She had been in my life for a long portion of my existence. Maybe I would have moved on. Maybe not. I don’t know. Soon, well I say soon, but, yeah, I guess it was- I really don’t like to talk about it. After we broke up my parents were killed. That was hard for me to handle but I still had my sister to hold on to. She handled it in a different way. There was nothing wrong with that. No two people come to the same conclusion exactly the same. Their paths may be similar to one another but no two are exactly the same. It’s like finding Jesus. There are many roads to Christ. An atheist may never have known God but may one day find enlightening through his soul mate and without knowing it found God. For God is light. I’m a strong believer in my faith. As a Christian I know the only way into Heaven is through Christ but there are many avenues I feel that lead to Christ. Christians have a direct way, what we feel is the easiest path, although sometimes I’m not so sure. Others I think may find Christ at the end. For what else is the Great White Throne Judgment for if not for one last chance?

Revelations is a good book. Emmett smiles at his young guest.

I’m sorry. I’m apt to go off on religious tangents now and then.

Never be sorry. This is great and I feel God is among us. For where there are more than one gathered in His name He is also. Even when there is debate about the Son of Man God is also there. Life is a puzzle. In order for all the pieces to fit we must all be different. Perhaps that is His intention.

And perhaps life is a test, Jeff continues. It wasn’t much longer my parents died that my sister was murdered. University of Arkansas. Jealous boyfriend. In the span of just months I had lost everything dear unto me. She could have been there. Bridget could have been there. Bridget could have helped me through even though we had broken up, but when important events that would forever shape my life had occurred, when I needed her most, she wasn’t. Knowing about it wasn’t enough. She could have helped me through. Helped me with the funeral arrangements to get my mind off what I was doing. But there was no help. There was only me.

I’m sorry for your great losses Jeff but you were never alone.

Jeff smiles. "Not in friendships either. My friends were there for me and that was a relief but a friend, no matter how close he is, no matter how long you’ve known him, can never be as connected to you as your family - as a serious girlfriend. I didn’t know what to do. Starkville had become restless for me.

Jeff takes a long pause, studies his hands and then quickly puts them away. So I left.

Outside a loon bird cries.

Death would have been better than what I faced.

Suicide?

No, I don’t have the stomach for it. A spontaneous person had schedules to meet all of a sudden. Weird schedules. And when, or if, one of these schedules became interrupted my life would fall apart.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

That’s what Dr. Bernstein said. Well among other things.

Jeff pauses.

I wasn’t myself and I hid from who I was. Once I was lost and I truly understand that parable now. I was lost and there was no way of bringing me back. It took my passing out on to a hot pavement…

Did you know that from my bed to the door…

I…is eight and a half squares.

Both smile and Emmett adds, Ten and a half where my feet would hit and fourteen from where you are.

Some things will take a little longer for me to get normal. I don’t think OCD is something you can abandon overnight.

I’m afraid not.

But some things are diminishing. Some have since my stay here with you.

You’ve helped me satisfy the last requirement of an old man.

Life is what it is and this it will always remain to be.

But this is not the end for you Jeff. You will see the rising of a brighter day. As the dawn fades in my life another is born.

The end is only the beginning of another end.

And so the end is just another beginning. Go on. Tell me the rest.

I was mad when she came. She had sent me a note, well more like a letter. Bridget never was one for long words when written. When spoken, Jeff smirks, well that was another thing.

Emmett smiles.

As bad as it was for me that she came back it must have been bad for her too.

4

As she entered his complex remembering their last day she wondered what he thought as he drove away. She had a pretty good idea that it wasn’t pleasant, but she never expected Jeff to disappear and never be heard from again. She was very lucky to have found him. A certain unease overcame her as she stood at his door and she almost turned away to leave Jeff as he was. If she knew then what she was to later find out she would have ran from Jeff Thompson’s door.

Jeff!

How are you Bridget? the non moved host answered.

Well, aren’t you going to invite me in?

Oh yeah. Come in.

Jeff took her bags and very casually walked over to a spare bedroom decorated in an old fashioned setting complete with two antique chairs off centered with an old painting of a country windmill motionless in the wind. In between the two chairs is an oak poker table and on the far side of the room, pushed against the corner of a wall, stands an old bed, that, in fact, is in good condition leaving a wooden effect that one couldn’t help but like but also an effect that one couldn’t appreciate.

Jeff never looked to see if she had a ring and as she put her things away he stood as he had two years ago - motionless and empty handed.

The flight over went very smooth.

Smiling, Bridget turned facing Jeff. Pain filled her as she saw the transformation of a human being she once cared for so deeply. In its stead she witnessed the shadowy existence of a man named Jeff. How she ever had the strength to be so insensitive she couldn’t grasp.

Look Jeff, I...umm. How are you?

Good. You?

I’m doing good. I’m doing good. We have to talk.

Perhaps you would like to eat something first.

Oh that would be great. Well, what’s good?

I usually just eat McDonald’s; is that okay?

Yeah, that’s fine Jeff. I’ll just get ready.

Jeff had told a lie and it wouldn’t be the last she would hear.

The time was well past 11:30 and she was interfering with his schedule. Jeff had to get back on track. His state of mind depended on it. For the time Bridget was to stay with him she would have no choice but to freely accept his ritual of life.

Summer Obsession. She stepped out of the bathroom and her scent strongly preceded her. Suddenly Jeff was

Reviews for Trapped

[jrthebutler · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Cannibals on an island torment wayward kids

[leleliasky · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

To me, this was definitely not his best work. I have read others of his and loved the gore and disgust, but the plot in this book just did not flow well and everything felt stilted and forced. I actually could not finish it.

[csweder · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This was a truly horrible book. The writing was bad. The plot was lacking. The characters were flimsy and undeveloped. I knew 30 pages I that it was not a good book, but due to my book challenge I decided to keep reading.

This is a terrible read. Ugh.

I just have to add that toward the end there is a 'twist' that, had the book been properly written might actually have been a good one. Since it wasn't well written, I didn't have that "oh man, how did I miss that?"...Instead it was like, "Sure, why not? Nothing else makes sense in this, so it might as well happen."

[hadenajames-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Once again, Kilborn proves to be a master of creating escape sequences that boggles the mind. The characters are endearing and there was more than one surprise (Subject 33 really blew my mind once I made the connection... recommend reading Afraid immediately before this one or refreshing your memory if you've already read it).

When I first started this book, I didn't expect to connect to characters except Martin and Sara. I was surprised when I found myself connecting with the kids.

For anyone that loves thrillers, this is a must read!

[fredamans · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It pulled me in right from the first word. It was everything I had hoped for and more. It had me thinking of Lord of the Flies, but adults... mixed with a little Texas Chainsaw massacre minus the chainsaw.It was scary. It was graphic and it was cool!I have not read anything like it, and doubt I will again. This author always hooks me with his talent. Definitely on my favorite authors list.This is the kind of book I'd rather not read at night, so it doesn't keep me up.It's that good!!Horror fans will love this one!!

[catownsend_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book was a little more than I expected. Too much torture for my taste.

[senorag163 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What can I say, Kilborn managed to gross me out, scare the crap out of me and make me laugh all in one book. I don't know how he does it but he does it very well.The setting itself, a deserted island that used to house a Civil War Prison is creepy to me. Why would you pick that island to take your "troubled kids" to? Because it would not be as much fun otherwise. A crazy doctor experimenting with peoples brains, the military involvement, a lovable giant who gets his jollies from biting people with his sharpened teeth and so much more. Jack Kilborn goes way over the edge in this book but then again he normally does. Definitely not for the faint hearted or those with a weak stomach. For those how get their thrills from being grossed out, horrified and entertained (like me) grab Trapped.

[atechwreck · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Blood, guts, gore, but somehow I was not frightened by this book. Lack of suspense, maybe?? Quick read, though.

[elvisettey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was drawn to this book for several reasons: I like Kilborn's Jack Daniels (writing as J.A. Konrath) series very much, and I like horror. Sounded like a good combination. I was also intriguied by the idea that the ebook had on it two versions of the same book and was eager to see how they compared.I was disappointed.I agree with the previous reviewer: at first, this novel seems to be essentially a teen slasher flick (and a B-movie one at that, I would add) with no real, cohesive plot. A group of people are on an island; they get drawn apart; barbaric things start happening. Cue blood and gore. Exiciting? Really, more of a yawn. Maybe I'm horribly desensitized, but I just wasn't feeling the edge-of-the-seat terror. The events were all, initially, very predictable. Anyone who's read some medium-to-low grade horror novels or has seen a few slasher films can pretty much fill in the blanks on what direction the action is going to take, and the witty, snappy dialogue I enjoy so much in the Konrath novels was noticably absent here. The characters were fairly one-dimensional, several of them bordering on stereotypes.Things do pick up toward the end of the novel, when a more psychological component enters the storyline. This relives some of the tedium of the repetitious action scenes and introduces several characters who aren't as flat as some of the others we've previously encountered. "Getting into the head" of some of these people is a dark, twisty experience that's perveresly enjoyable. I wish there had been more of that throughout the novel, that thought could have driven the plot more than action. Unfortunately, as the novel nears its end, it falls back on action-driven scenes again, and predictability again becomes a problem. I'm all for plenty of action in a novel, mind you, but there is a point at which it stops creating suspense and instead starts creating an endless cycle of "the A happened then B happened then A happened again, followed by B happening again . . ." until you're just flicking through pages without really processing what's in front of you any longer. Different situation, same formula.And certainly, I expect a certain amount of suspension of disbelief when I read a horror novel. That's granted. If Kilborn wants to throw in some cannibals, that's okay by me. But a baby who never cries and can be tossed around like a football? Really? If, as he suggests he might, he were to write this again, he should leave the baby out entirely. And there's a bit too much of people performing death-defying feats with crippling injuries. And it's a bit odd how sometimes we're hearing characters' thoughts, yet they don't match up to what we know about the characters. With a few cases, I suppose you could go out on a limb and attribute this to them being psychopaths, but that's stretching it to make this narrative device work.My rating for this book applies only to the first version presented, not the original version. I was so worn down by one reading, the sheer repetitiousness of it, that I didn't have it in me to read another version. I'm sure it would be interesting to see the changes, and maybe I will read the original manuscript someday, but I'd had quite enough of the one version. Reading a second would have been, quite frankly, dull.

[dsdmd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I first started reading this book, it seemed like a slasher movie in print and it was actually a little boring. (Half a star off for that) People were wandering around in the night, disappearing, and dying while on a camping trip to a supposedly deserted island in Lake Huron, but there was really not much of a plot to speak of. However, as it got a little further into the story, the plot was there and it became one of those books that is hard to put down. It still had the gore of a slasher movie, but there was plenty of action and twists to make it interesting. This was actually a Kindle book and had two versions of the story. When I completed the first version (which was actually the updated and newer one), I had to read the original in spite of the fact I have plenty of books to read without reading basically the same book twice, back to back. It was good enough that I had to see what was changed and started it immediately. I'm glad I did. For me, the original story was by far the better. It was more credible and some changes in the characters made it better. I also liked the original ending. One reviewer dropped a star because he thought certain thoughts of characters were mis-represented and you shouldn't mis-represent what characters are thing. I agree that characters' thoughts should be what they are really thinking, and I can very well see where the reviewer's impression arises. However, when reading the original version (the second one I read), I put a little more thought into the context of that dialogue because I knew what was going to happen. I think doing so made the thoughts even more consistent with this evil person and his plans and would not change them. If the author by some chance reads these reviews, and since he states he may even rewrite this story again, I would like to make a few other comments for him. 1. Leave the baby out next time. No baby is going to go quietly through what they went through. A crying baby is going to attract attention. The mother is NOT going to be able to flee all those people and protect the baby. He was only fed once (well technically twice but very, very close together and brief feedings). That baby would be attracting big time attention. I would think any cannibal would love a nice tender baby, but that was never a big issue. First version was much more believable. 2. The Spence character was a big plus in the original version. Maybe it was a bit farfetched that he would show back up in Sara's life when he did, but definitely more interesting than Timmy and Taylor and certainly more likely to cause Sara's phobias. 3. Tope in V2 was a bit boring or at least underdeveloped. I liked Kong better.