Breathless: The Adventures of A Gymnast (Marci Book 1) Read online

  hundreds of times before. Marci hit the ground running

  and continued through the car. Her pursuers

  not as nimble, came to an abrupt halt' Then by twisting

  and turning they maneuvered themselves

  around the human barricade. By the time this was

  accomplished, the little girl was well out of sight.

  Marci continued running at full speed. The

  villains were nowhere in sight. Her plan was

  simple: Get to her brother as far in advance of the

  approaching danger as possible. She'd wake him

  if he was still asleep, and together they would plan

  their next move. The little girl ran through car after

  car like a blur, slowing only to open a door or maneuver

  past obstacles that couldn’t be hurdled.

  She finally arrived in car twenty eight' To her

  surprise, her brother was awake. The two men who

  played chess were absent leaving behind their luggage

  and a chess game in progress. Her brother was

  thumbing through a magazine as she opened the

  door. Her heavy breathing and fearful expression

  caught his attention.

  "Where have you been?" he asked. "And

  what's wrong?"

  Marci, unaccustomed to seeing an expression

  of concern on her brother's face, hurried over to sit

  beside him.

  "We have a little problem," she said, panting.

  Then she explained how she had discovered

  that the two wicked men he had warned her to stay

  away from were thieves, and how they had chased

  her throughout the train. She concluded by saying,

  "I think we have about three to five minutes before

  they arrive. Since they don't know which car I

  stopped in, they are probably checking each car

  very carefully."

  As the children sat and debated possible options,

  the train came to a slow halt. The conductor

  announced over the loudspeaker, in German,

  French, and English, an unexpected delay of two

  hours in the city of Wellmich. Since this was not a

  regularly scheduled stop, all passengers were advised

  to stay onboard the train. Apparently an avalanche

  of rocks was the cause of the delay.

  "This is our chance," said Marci, jumping out

  of her seat. "Let's get out of the train run up the

  tracks to the engine, and tell the conductor what

  happened."

  It was a tough decision to make. At least on

  board they were under the watchful eyes of hundreds

  of passengers who would in all likelihood

  come to the children's aid if the occasion called for

  it. But once outside there would be no one, they

  would be on their own and anything could happen.

  With little concern for the seriousness of the

  Situation, Craig nodded his head in agreement.

  "Sounds good to me," he said confidently.

  "Let's get a move on."

  Chapter 5

  The Castle Cat

  The train had stopped just outside the town

  of Wellmich. A small town by German standards,

  it had a resident population of 32,000. Its principal

  claim to fame was its two large and ancient castles

  overlooking the Rhine. The Burg Thurnberg and

  the Burg Katz were each built during the 1400,s.

  Legend has it that the castles were owned by two

  rich and powerful families who rarely agreed on

  anything. As a result of their constant bickering and

  fighting, the castles were given derogatory nicknames

  by the townspeople - the castle Cat (Katz)

  and the castle Mouse (Thurnberg).

  The two children pushed open the side door.

  Outside, the air was cool and damp and the sky

  dark and cloudy. Craig surveyed the surroundings.

  To the right, high up on the steep embankment

  loomed the ancient and gothic castle "Cat.” Once

  renowned for its imperial architecture the old castle

  now stood in disrepair.

  Holding hands, the children began a brisk

  walk up the rails in search of the conductor. Around

  the bend and far in the distance, Marci noticed a

  figure dressed in overalls hunched beside the engine.

  A leather belt hung around his waist. And in

  his hand he held a large black flash light, which he

  used to illuminate various crevices of the undercarriage.

  It appeared he was inspecting the motor

  for damage. When Marci saw him she became excited.

  "There he is! There's the conductor!” she

  shouted to her brother while pointing at the tiny

  figure. Then she turned and yelled to the man far

  in the distance. Though she shouted as loud as she

  could, he could not hear her. The rumble of the

  engine, as it idled, was too loud.

  "Wait!" said her brother fearing the worst.

  "We have to get closer!" But it was too late. On

  board, the screaming attracted the attention of Rob

  and his associate. From car twenty, they peered

  through the window.

  "They're outside,” said, the chief villain,

  "heading towards us about two cars back,”

  The men hurried to the nearest side door and

  pushed it open. With a squeak, the partially rusted

  metal door slid open and clanked to a stop. Like

  tigers hiding in a field of tall grass they crouched

  and waited for the children in ambush.

  Outside, Marci and Craig heard the scraping

  and clanging of the metal door and stopped in their

  tracks. Was someone leaving? If so, why? The conductor

  had made it very clear that all passengers

  were to stay on board the train. Who would leave?

  Where would they go? Those questions along with

  many others raced through the children’s minds in

  a matter of moments. With senses heightened, they

  watched and waited for other possible signs of danger.

  Yet there was nothing. Unlike the rest of the

  train, the car with the open door maintained an

  uneasy silence. Many of its passengers appeared

  to be timid and remained seated.

  Like clay animation the unnatural stiffness

  of the passengers was reminiscent of the silence and

  fear the little gymnast had seen on board car ten.

  Having good reason for concern Marci carefully

  reached out her hand and grabbed hold of Craig’s

  sweatshirt.

  "I think they’re in there,” she whispered

  while pointing in the direction of the open door.

  Simultaneously, Marci began pulling her brother

  by the shirt as they slowly backed away from the

  car. They stopped six car lengths away. A little

  frightened, Craig ran his fingers through his hair,

  and then spoke, “Hey Rat, if those dudes are in

  there ... I hate to say it, but were in big trouble.”

  “What do you mean? We’re not in big

  trouble,” Marci replied, feeling responsible.

  "We’re not?” echoed her brother in disbelief.

  "what are we going to do? The train door is locked

  so we can’t get back inside. The evil guy is between

  us and the conductor, and, ...”

  Marci cut him off right there and interrupted.


  "Yeah ... you're right. This is a terrible situation and

  I don't know how we’ll ever survive it. Those guys

  are just too strong and much smarter than we are.,,

  she said sarcastically throwing her hands into the

  air as if under arrest.

  "We should just give up now and who knows,

  maybe they won't kill us.,, She added coyly for dramatic

  effect. Incisive, the little girl's words pierced

  the heart of the matter like an arrow slashing into a

  bull's eye. As she spoke, her brother realized the

  full extent of the matter. There could be no room

  for failure or doubt. After a brief pause Craig spoke,

  "O.K., Rat, I get your point.,,

  Marci, suppressing her desire to gloat smiled

  slightly. It wasn't often that her brother admitted

  that his younger sister was right about anything,

  so when it happened it was always enjoyable.

  Howeve4, there was no time to waste. With a sense

  of urgency, Craig interrupted Marci’s moment of

  joy.

  "Let's see if we can get someone to open another

  door for us further down the train.,,

  "You mean you want to go back on the train

  with those two guys?" questioned Marci, her eyes

  widening to twice their normal size.

  "Well yeah, we don't have many choices,

  maybe we might find someone who can help us

  down there," urged Craig, since he was getting too

  nervous to let any more time pass by.

  "But if they find out that we got back on we’ll

  be trapped," countered Marci.

  "l don't know what we should do, but I do know we have

  to do something and we have to do it fast, before they get suspicious,”

  Craig retorted. On the bank to the right stood the castle “Cat.”

  Marci observed the fortress from below. The Cat

  was a large, cube-shaped structure with what appeared

  to be turrets on the four corners. Its windows, tall and narrow

  were recessed about eight inches into the stone. At the main

  entrance, two large double doors were guarded from above

  by a stone gargoyle with a hellish expression.

  “Hey! Why don’t we go hide in there?” She

  suggested while pointing to the castle. We can sneak

  back down to the train when it's safer.”

  Having no better idea Craig agreed. Then as

  quickly and quietly as they could, the children

  scampered ,up the hill.

  Moments later, while still on the train the

  villains became impatient. Rob, unwilling to wait

  any longer, stuck his head outside. He looked first

  to the right and then to the left. To his surprise, the

  kids were nowhere in sight. It was as if the children

  had vanished.

  "They' re gone!" he grumbled.

  "What do you mean? They can’t be gone,”

  said the assistant, also sticking his head out. “you’re

  right" he said in amazement, and after a slight

  pause he added, "they are gone! I betcha they’re

  hidin' somewhere."

  "Do ya really think so?" Rob responded with

  a sarcastic laugh "I thought they got taken up in a

  flying saucer."

  The two men chuckled as they stepped outside

  into the cool June breeze Rob scanned the embankment

  for signs of movement while his partner

  checked underneath the train. After a few minutes

  of searching, the boss spoke.

  "I've found them," he whispered while pointing

  to a section of the embankment overgrown with

  weeds.

  The assistant watched the weeds rustle from

  side to side, then looked at the steep incline.

  "Good," he said. "It looks like they're headed

  for the castle. We'lI be gone before they know it.

  Let's get back inside. We don't have to worry about

  them anymore."

  Rob sighed heavily and glared at his associate

  in disbelief.

  "We don't have to worry, huh?" he snarled.

  Becoming visibly angry, his large red nose began

  to flair out like a trumpet. "Of course we have to

  worry about them! Those are the weasels I sat by

  on the plane. And now the girl knows me by name."

  he barked. "Further, she knows I'm from the States.

  All she has to do is tell her parents and I'm sunk. I

  have you to thank for that. And if I go down, I'm

  not going down alone. The decision is yours. Either

  you follow me up that hill or go back to the

  train and wait for the police to come get ya.”

  There was a long pause as the assistant made

  up his mind.

  "O.K ... don't get so mad,” he said fearfully.

  "I'm with you, let's go get em.”

  The two villains, not as youthful or nimble

  as the children started their laborious ascent up

  the incline. Halfway to the castle, the shorter fellow

  began to sweat profusely. Large beads of sweat

  rolled from his forehead, passed through his facial

  stubble and hung from his chin. He began breathing

  heavily and his pace slowed.

  "Keep up with me,” demanded the master

  villain. "If you would give up your degree in laziness,

  this wouldn't be so hard for you,” he mocked.

  "Don't worry about me," huffed the assistant as he

  waddled in pursuit. "I’ll make it!”

  Unbeknownst to the villains, the children

  were also tired. While resting at the foot of the

  castle, they overheard their pursuers getting closer

  to them.

  "Quick, let's get inside. We can lock the doors

  and they'll never get in," said Marci.

  Chapter 6

  The Haunted Castle

  The children ran to the front entrance of the

  castle. They pushed and leaned heavily against its

  massive double doors, but they, would not open.

  Becoming concerned, they searched for another

  way in. Though the kids pushed and pulled at

  many doors, only one entrance was found. It was a

  small metal doo{, originally used by the servants.

  Covered in leafy green vines the door remained.

  partially ajar. With a great deal of effort the children

  were able to push the door open a little further

  and then wiggle through the narrow gap. Once

  inside Craig tried to shut the door behind them,

  but could not. Dilapidated and buckling with age

  the door could no longer close completely.

  The door opened to a large banquet hall measuring

  some 40 by 80 feet. From lack of use, the

  dining room was covered with dense layers of dirt,

  dust, and cobwebs. There was no electricity so the

  only source of light came from two large windows

  high overhead. The interior walls were brick, and

  the floor was a type of cobblestone. Before going

  forward they waited for their eyes to adjust to the

  surroundings. Slowly, as things came into view,

  from the corner of her eye, Marci saw what appeared

  to be shadows moving on the walls and

  floor. Quickly turning her head, she glimpsed a

  huge centipede as it ran for cover. Marci began to

  chuckle. She always thought of a good scare as a

 
welcome challenge. The old and creepy castle reminded

  Marci of a haunted house she once visited

  called "the Skull." Located at the state fai4, the Skull

  was a large and rundown old house built during

  the 1920's. Abandoned by its owners years ago, it

  was later converted into the scariest and most realistic

  haunted house in town. Even some adults were

  frightened to enter its ghoulish lair. But for Marci,

  the scarier the better.

  Anxiously moving on, she saw a large hairy

  spider hanging from one of the brass chandeliers.

  Marci watched as the spider rappelled itself to the

  floor and scurried to a wide crack in the wall. she

  grabbed her brother’s arm and held it tightly.

  "This is great,” she whispered,

  “I love haunted places!"

  Craig scanned the surroundings and thought

  for a moment. As a haunted house, it was nearly

  perfect. The walls were dark and the light was dim.

  Streams of cobwebs could be seen on almost everything,

  from ceiling to floor, and spiders ascended

  and descended at their leisure. The only thing that

  was needed to complete the frightful picture was a

  skeleton, which he hoped never to find.

  "Yeah! It does look like it’s haunted, doesn’t

  it?" he asked.

  "Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” he

  then added with a facetious grin.

  Albeit unspoken Marci knew exactly what

  he meant.

  "Yeah!" she whispered excitedly,” let’s make

  it into a haunted house." Then she blurted out,” I’ll

  get the spiders and you get everything else.,,

  There was little time. With the realization that

  Rob and his partner would arrive in a matter of

  minutes, the children suppressed their inhibitions

  and worked as fast as they could. Marci began collecting

  as many large hairy spiders as she could

  find, carefully taking them off their webs with some

  paper she had in her pocket. She set the spiders in

  the center of the room and directed their frantic

  escape toward the entrance.

  "I hope they don't get stepped on,” she said

  to herself as she watched the spiders running at a frantic pace to the door.

  Meanwhile, Craig cautiously opened one of

  the storage rooms in the back. Unable to see inside

  for lack of light, he squeamishly felt around the dark

  cavity until he located something of use - a metal

  suit of armor, rusting and covered with dust. He