Do you know Puff Daddy’s song Come With Me? It's from the Godzilla soundtrack. When I first heard the song, I wanted to write a dramatic scene in which the already dirty and exhausted hero reaches out to help his girlfriend out of a chasm and tells her to stay close to him so he can protect her to get out of the jungle. I fantasized about this scene for so long that my muse (who I drove half-crazy with my idea) and I wrote a book that included a kidnapping and escape, a chase through the woods, and a narrow miss by the pursuer who wanted his prey back.
It doesn’t happen very often that a song inspires me to develop an entire plot just to fit the scene and get what I wanted. It took my muse and I about three months to flesh out the story, but in the end we were happy with what we accomplished. I still think it’s one of the best books we’ve written together. And, yes, my muse is still with me, even though she rolled her eyes a lot during the brainstorming process.
Here are excerpts from Ruined Vacation, showing you what I mean. (Listen to the song in the background…)
Imagine Jacklyn and Nicolas trapped in a hole in the ground, covered by an iron plate. Because Nicolas is a tall guy, Jacklyn can kneel on his shoulders to reach for the plate…
“We’re on our own.” Jacklyn ripped the lining and retrieved the knife. With a smile that should convey strength but was obscured by worry, she showed him the small blade. “But not lost.”
Nicolas lifted his hands so that she cut the plastic. “No, my love, we aren’t lost.” He kissed her chastely. “And we won’t get lost.” He freed her, too, and opened another tool in the knife set. “Here we go.”
“A screwdriver. What do you want to do with it?”
“I can’t do it. But when I put you on my shoulders, you can reach the screws.”
“And why not push the bolt?”
“It’s in the center of the iron plate. You can’t reach that far. That’s why you have to unscrew the plate and pull it together with the bolt.”
“You just made this up, right?” Jacklyn shook her head, obviously amused in spite of their situation. “You can’t know that.”
“I looked at the construction when we stopped at the rim. It’s rather simple—but effective if you can’t reach up.”
“I bet he didn’t think of that when he overwhelmed us.” She crouched to open her shoelaces and take off the shoes. “What did he do with you that you were out for so long? I was really worried.”
“He shot me with an arrow. He’s an excellent marksman.” Nicolas bent to lift Jacklyn onto his shoulders. “If this doesn’t work, you have to stand on my shoulders, okay?”
She looked up to the grating. “I don’t see this happening, Nick. Who knows how long these screws have been exposed to the weather?”
“We don’t have another choice. If we can’t get away before he returns—”
“All right. Don’t frighten me. I’m frightened for both of us.”
Nicolas chuckled as he put his hands against the wall to have a better stand. “Can you reach the screws?”
“No.” Jacklyn let the screwdriver slip into her coat pocket to have her hands free. “Remind me that I need to do more workout. I don’t know—” She sighed. “Did I mention that I’m scared of heights? That I’d never climb anywhere higher than a ladder?”
With his support, she knelt on his shoulders. It was a precarious position, but the only one from where she could reach around the iron plate and not hit her head at the grating.
“Catch me if I fall.”
“A music quote in the wilderness. I’m impressed.”
“I’m scared shitless,” she replied breathlessly.
“You’re gonna make it, ma chérie. I know that.”
“How can you be so sure? Oh, wait.” She balanced her weight by inching forward. “Think positive, huh? Never believe in a bad outcome.”
He understood and moved closer to the wall so that she could put her knees against the hard soil. He stabilized her even though he almost hit the wall with his nose. “Exactly. Take it like an adventure.”
“Fantasy Island? I hated that show.” She reached up and put the screwdriver to work. “I never understood why people find it fascinating to run through the wilderness.”
Nicolas tried to breathe evenly though she held tight with her thighs to his head. “For some it’s a dream come true.”
“A dream? My dreams are very different from this here.” She whined. “It doesn’t move. What shall I do?”
“You have to hold the nut on the lower side. Pull your sleeve over your fingers so you don’t scrape your skin.”
She looked down. “Did you do this before?”
“I’m an FBI agent.” He tried for a light tone, and she nodded gravely.
“It’s in the manual for escapes in the wilderness.”
“Some knowledge comes in handy.”
Jacklyn followed his suggestion, but still whined that the screw didn’t move.
“Try one of the others,” Nicolas said.
“Okay.” Jacklyn moved to the left and put the screwdriver into the screw slit.
Nicolas looked up. She was working hard, but it was a combination of skill and strength needed to loosen the screws.
“Try to scrape the sand away around the screw. Maybe that will help.”
“It’s sure a damn fucking trap. Fuck!”
Nicolas heard the knife hit the ground.
“I need to come down again.” Jacklyn sounded close to tears.
“Do it slowly.” He reached up her legs and helped her climb down along his body. “See? Done something you haven’t done before.”
“You’re still trying to cheer me up? Brave lover.” Jacklyn wiped her nose and looked at her reddened fingers. “The screws are tight, and I don’t know whether I can move even one of them.”
“Take a break. Your hands are trembling.”
“What about your shoulders?”
“You’re light as a feather.”
“I’ve gained weight since we met.”
“Oh, those were the days.” Nicolas caressed her face, trying to convey confidence with every fiber. He didn’t want to imagine what the criminal would do with them once he returned. “If I could lend you my strength, I’d do it.”
“I know. I’m not so sure—optimism is a fine thing, but right now, I don’t see us running away.”
*
“Take a break. It’s all right.” He kissed her with deep affection, becoming aware that he was more in love with her than a year ago. “I love your strength,” he whispered and wiped away her tears. “You can do this. Just two more screws—”
“Or we’re screwed? Yes, we are.” She nodded emphatically and fumbled for her handkerchief. “If I can’t turn those screws, this crazy shithead will return with a weapon and force us to—”
“Shh.” Nicolas pressed his lips on hers again and held her when she wept. “Take your time. Recover. I bet he can’t be back soon. We’re far from the main road.”
“Wherever we are.” Jacklyn sniffled. Her gaze went up to the dark gray sky. “You think he did this before, right?”
“Yes.”
“It’s the hideout of a serial killer.”
“We don’t know that. Don’t make assumptions.”
She bit her lower lip. “FBI work rules?”
He nodded once. “Stick to the facts, don’t assume anything. Put together what you’ve got and come up with the correct conclusions. Jason uses a whiteboard to collect his notes and hints. It’s a kind of mind map for everyone to see. We found out many connections just by comparing the details we had.”
Jacklyn kissed his nose. “I love you more every day. You’re the guy I want at my side—you’re trying to make a story out of this gruesome situation. That’s a gift.” She sighed and got back on her feet. “Let’s see whether I can work a miracle and get us out before midnight.”
“Because at midnight the wolves come out?” Nicolas helped her settle on his shoulders once more.
“Because if we can’t get out before nightfall, we’re not only screwed, we’re fucked up.”
*
To Nicolas’s astonishment, the last screw was the easiest. Jacklyn dropped it with a triumphant “Tada!” and stood on Nicolas’s shoulders so that she could push back the plate with the latch. It was a challenge to her strength and balance to lift the heavy lid. Jacklyn cried out when she slipped the first time and the weight crashed down again. For a second, she swayed, and Nicolas feared she’d lose hold and fall down.
“Shit!” She panted loudly. “Any good idea how to push it open?”
“I can try and shove you.” He held tight to her calves. In any other situation, this would be the clue to a sexy remark—something about her long legs and her underwear. Nicolas swallowed hard when he thought of the predicament they were still in. He had the bad feeling that their time was running out. “Ready?”
“Yes.” She put her hands around the grating. “Do it.”
Nicolas got down on his knees a bit and then pushed her up with momentum. Jacklyn thrust the lid with all strength so that it crashed to the other side.
“I did it!” she shouted.
“Yes, you did.” Nicolas’s heart hammered against his ribs, and he thought his shoulder muscles were torn. He clenched his teeth in pain. His legs trembled with strain, but he stood upright until Jacklyn reached the rim and climbed out. Only then did he put his hands on his knees to catch his breath and roll his shoulders.
“Run and get the ladder!” he urged. Standing alone in the deep hole, Nicolas feared that their kidnapper would return and catch Jacklyn. He wouldn’t be of any help to her. Worse—he would stand in a hole in the ground, hear her scream and become witness of her suffering without a chance to change her fate. Until she returned, he prayed under his breath for another ten minutes alone in the woods. He was sick with worry that the one minute they needed would not be granted.
Jacklyn was out of breath when she pushed the heavy ladder into the opening. Nicolas cast up her boots and climbed the steps as fast as he could.
*
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