Kidnapped
Author: Maria Hammarblad
Blurb:
It's
a late winter night when Patricia Risden heads home in her car, on a
road she's driven many times before. She doesn't have a care in the
world, that is, until a man appears from nowhere, right in front of her.
The next thing she knows is being a prisoner of the
unscrupulous Alliance Commander Travis 152; an intimidating man who
demands information and complete cooperation. Travis soon realizes his
mistake; Tricia doesn't know anything, and she is incapable of even
getting a glass of water from the ship's computer.
Infamous
for being a ruthless executioner, conditioned since childhood to feel
nothing besides fear and pain, he still deems her harmless, and finds
enough pity for the lost young woman to let her out of the cell; a
decision that will change both their lives forever.
Brief "about the book" from author Lynette Endicott:
Kidnapped
is a well-written Science Fiction story of a woman kidnapped from earth
and taken on a whirlwind tour of the universe with a captor whose heart
is thawed by her innocence. This does not please his commander, who
pursues, captures and loses both characters. In the process there is
fun, adventure, sizzle, and an introduction to different worlds and
their impact, one day, on our own. Be sure to pick up Kidnapped by Maria
Hammarblad available from Desert Breeze Publishing.
Time passed and she lost track of it. She tried to call out, "Hello,"
but no one seemed to care, and there was nothing to do but wait.
The
erratic movements of the room still made her feel miserable, but it
eventually settled down, and an unknown amount of time later, a portion
of a wall seemed to just dissolve, showing the dark silhouette of the
man. From her position, sitting on the floor, he seemed impossibly tall,
and his clothes impossibly black. Even his boots appeared just to
absorb any light that might come their way.
He hunched down in front of her, and watched her pale face thoughtfully. "You're space sick."
Patricia
knew agreeing would be the safest thing to do, but she couldn't stop
herself. She shouted, "No! I can't be space sick because I'm not in
space, because that's crazy! I rolled with my car and I'm just
unconscious. Leave me alone."
The man ignored her and reached
out with his ungloved hand, plunging her into a fit of panic. She
scrambled to get backwards away from him, but there was nowhere to go.
"Sit still. If I wanted to hurt you, you'd be dead now."
His
words didn't really soothe her; she was still convinced he wanted to
kill her, that he'd just snap her neck, and she so wanted to live a
little longer. Earlier in her life she had wasted time recklessly, and
now every minute seemed precious.
Her expression must have
amused him because a shadow of a smile tugged at his lips. It didn't
quite reach his eyes, but it was the first emotion she'd seen on his
face, and it made her feel marginally better. Maybe he was human after
all. She stopped fighting when he pressed a finger against her skin,
explaining to her frightened glance, "Pressure point. This should make
you feel better."
To her surprise he didn't hurt her, and she did
feel better. Once the queasiness receded she even dared ask for a glass
of water. Her voice sounded small and pathetic, reminding her of a
cornered mouse, but it got steadier after a couple of words, and she had
to settle for thinking this was a good thing.
Her warder
shrugged and went over to a portion of the wall, pressing his hand
against it, making a console fold out of what seemed to be solid metal.
He punched a couple of buttons and returned with a cup made from a soft,
plastic-like material. Patricia clutched it, trying to force herself to
sip, but water had never tasted so good.
The silence in the
cell seemed almost tangible and she swallowed hard. She didn't have much
hope that pleading to the cold eyes staring at her could be successful,
but she still tried her best, "Please don't rape me."
It was her biggest fear after being murdered, and she wasn't at all prepared for his response; he started laughing.
She
had the impression he didn't laugh often, and it changed his entire
appearance. The handsome side became boyish and even better looking, and
the nightmarish part of his face somehow softened. "Rape you? Now why
would I want to do that to a skinny little thing like you?"
The response made her feel both relieved and offended. Someone looking like he didn't
even have a thought of having sex with her?
He surprised her
again, by sitting down on the floor next to her, mercifully turning the
ruined side of his face away. "I'm Travis 152 of the Alliance space
control."
The phrase wasn't exactly "space control," but it was
the closest thing her brain could interpret it to. And, "Travis?" What
kind of name was that for someone like him?
"You're my prisoner, and this is a holding cell. You're charged for interacting with the rebel leader William Reynolds."
He
paused, as if checking if his words made any sense to her. Patricia did
understand, she understood just fine, and she burst out, "I am an
American citizen. Whoever you are, you can't just take me like this."
He
answered dryly, "Yes, actually, I can. I did. And it's not like your
little planet, what did you call it, America, will be able to do
anything about it. I can assure you everything will be much easier if
you just cooperate and tell me what you know. Do you have a name?"
Patricia
managed to sound cheekier than she felt when she replied, "I'm Patricia
Risden. The name of the planet is Earth, America is a country. It's a
democracy and we have a constitution, and people will come looking for
me!"
He didn't smile, but he lifted an eyebrow, and removed a
gadget from his belt. To Patricia, it looked a little like an iPod. It
wasn't, of course, unless Apple had developed interstellar connections.
"I'm sure they will, but look here."
She recognized the solar
system, it was the only thing it could be, and on the little screen it
looked like they were making good time on Pluto. Glancing over at him,
she wondered if he was lying, but it didn't feel like it.
About the Author:
Born in Sweden in the
early 1970's, Maria showed a large interest for books at an early age.
Even before she was able to read or write, she made her mom staple
papers together into booklets she filled with drawings of suns and
planets. She proudly declared them, "The Sun Book." They were all about
the sun. She also claimed, to her mother's horror, that her being on
Earth was a big mistake and that her alien family would come and bring
her home at any moment. This never happened, but both the interest in
space and the passion for bookmaking stayed with her.
As
an adult Maria's creativity got an outlet through playing bass in a
number of rock bands, and through writing technical manuals and making
web pages for various companies and organizations. She did write drafts
for a few novels, but the storytelling muse was mostly satisfied through
role playing online on Myspace.
It was here, while
writing stories together with people from around the globe, she stumbled
onto Mike. They started talking out of character, and she moved over to
Florida to him late 2008. Today the two are married and live in the
Tampa Bay area with three rescue dogs.
Besides writing and playing bass, Maria enjoys driving off-road, archery, and Tameshigiri.
Connect with Maria:
ooh i like this
ReplyDelete