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

  pulled the suit from the closet. Dragging the clinking

  and clanking armor along the floor, he managed

  to prop it up so that the-suit leaned against

  the entrance. It was not his intention to keep the

  villains from entering, only to frighten them. The

  clanging armor and the unfamiliar dark surroundings

  should be enough to frighten anyone. If frightened,

  they would be more cautious of other surprises

  the children might have for them. This in turn

  would give the children extra time to escape. The

  children would escape from the rear while the villains

  cautiously searched every room of the castle.

  At least that was their plan.

  Marci plucked her last spider and placed him

  on the wall over the entrance. The trap was set.

  "We don't have much time," she said in a hushed

  yet raspy voice, "We gotta find another way out of

  here."

  Marci and Craig hurried to a door on the far

  side of the room. It opened with a creaking moan.

  A gust of damp stale air charged the room. Behind

  the door deep darkness filled the void. It was like

  looking into a bottomless shaft. The children fearful

  of the unknown stood frozen at the entrance.

  They stared into the blackness searching for the

  slightest glimmer of light, but there was none. Behind

  them could be heard a voice calling from outside,

  "Come on! Come on! We don't have any time

  to waste. Let's go get 'em!"

  The time for action had arrived. They could

  wait no longer. Craig pulled Marci by the arm.

  "We gotta go"

  Marci's eyes flashed with excitement, "If it's

  scary for us, it'll be scary for them!" she whispered.

  The two stepped into the blackness and vanished

  like phantoms into the night. Craig, mindful

  of making any unnecessary noise, carefully closed

  the door behind them. The children hesitantly and

  slowly groped their way down the dark corridor.

  Suddenly behind them they heard a loud clunking

  sound, like the crash of metal pots hitting against

  one another. The armor! Next there came a slight

  pause and then hoots and howls of horror. It was

  as if the villains had seen a ghost.

  "Good going, Rat!" whispered Craig in the

  darkness.

  Marci, feeling both happy and excited,

  smiled.

  "Who would have thought grown men

  would be so scared of little spiders,” she whispered

  in reply.

  Although the children's expectations were

  lacking, their plan had worked wonderfully. Hidden

  from view of the children the ceiling of the

  banquet hall hosted more than a few spiders. preferring

  to come down only at night hundreds of

  spiders nevertheless had descended at once,

  startled by the clanging armor. The spiders poured

  from the ceiling like rain. Covered with spiders, the

  villains cried out in fear and ran from the room.

  Outside, they frantically jumped about shaking the

  spiders from their clothes and hair.

  "W ... Wh ... What was that?” stuttered the

  assistant.

  The chief regained composure and in a chilly

  voice responded , " spiders!"

  "Do ya think they were poisonous?”

  "Nah, if they were, you'd know it by now.

  We'll have to be more careful. quick, let’s get back

  inside," grumbled the chief'

  The two men slowly pushed the door open a

  little farther. The floor was alive with movement.

  Hundreds of spiders quickly ran and darted for

  cover at the first hint of light. The villains waited

  for the floor to clear and then they began searching

  for the children. Rob, a skilled hunter, followed the

  children's footprints in the dirt. It led to a door on

  the far side of the room. He turned the handle and

  swung the door open.

  "They're in here!" said Rob staring into the

  blackness. His associate approached and looked at

  the entrance with fear.

  "So what do Ya wanna do?" he asked nervously,

  Hoping that Rob would call the whole thing

  off. For the master criminal it was never even an

  option, he had too much to lose'

  "Let's go get 'em," said Rob'

  The chief swung his green knapsack over his

  shoulder, then stepped into the darkness. Fearfully his partner in crime followed.

  Chapter 7

  The Spider

  With great care Marci and Craig felt their way

  into the darkness. A little way behind was the familiar

  gruff voice of Rob.

  "Stop holding onto my shirt! Get your hand

  off me!"

  "But I can't see," said the other.

  "And you think I can?" Bellowed Rob.

  "Don’t you still have those matches we used to light

  the cigars?"

  "No, I didn't think to bring them. I left them

  on board the train," came the unwanted response.

  Rob sighed loudly, then shook his head.

  "I know I should have brought the matches

  Rob, but I didn't know it would be so dark in here."

  "Yeah, I know," replied the boss.

  "Maybe, they're not even here. Maybe this is

  the wrong place." The assistant added.

  "Don't you worry about that. That's my department"

  Rob insisted.

  "I know they're in here."

  Walking silently through the obscure blackness,

  Craig tapped Marci on the shoulder, and

  spoke what by now was obvious.

  "They're behind us," he whispered.

  Wanting to speak, but fearful of giving their

  position away, Marci put her hand over her mouth

  and remained silent. Behind them could be heard

  the rhythmic tapping of leather shoes on the stone

  floor as the villains drew near. The absence of light,

  she realized, was a great equalizer. The blindness

  was the only thing that stood between the kids and

  the approaching evil. Silently the children felt their

  way through the gloomy unknown. The walls,

  which were all the children had to guide them, felt

  wet and slippery as if covered with mold or slime.

  Further inside, the air became even more stale and

  musty. The little girl's nose tingled with each breath.

  All she could do at that moment was remember

  those dreaded words spoken by her doctor, an old

  and dear friend of the family with white hair and

  shaky hands. He said to her about two years ago,

  "Well, Marci ... it looks like you have an intense

  allergy to mold and dust. Do yourself a favor and

  try not to explore any more caves, and be sure to

  keep your room clean." No longer able to resist,

  Marci let out a loud sneeze. The sound pierced the

  darkness and echoed from wall to wall.

  Almost immediately came a clamor of noise

  as the pursuers, encouraged by the sneeze, quickened

  their pace.

  "See! I told you they were in here," grumbled

  a distant, unfriendly voice. After a slight pause, the

  voice spoke again, this time in a more friendly tone.
r />   "Come on kids. We don't want to hurt ya. We just

  want to talk to ya. Come on! Stop running so we

  can all get back to the traint."

  Again and again the voice cried out pleading

  with Marci and Craig. It was met only with silence.

  Further down, the tunnel narrowed and gently

  curved to the right. It was now only wide

  enough for one person to pass through at a time.

  Marci, being the more adventurous, led the way.

  Though she was unwilling to admit it, at least not

  to her brother, Marci was frightened. With each progression

  forward, her apprehension increased. She

  had usually been intrigued by the dark, but this

  was different. This was complete darkness without

  a shadow or hint of light. Except for the smell,

  it was the same feeling she had last year when she

  and Inga were trapped in an elevator at the local

  mall for one and a half hours. The children had been

  playing on the elevator, pushing and pulling buttons

  and levers, when suddenly it came to a quick

  stop between floors and the lights went out. It was

  just as black as the cramped, unfamiliar tunnel.

  Continuing on she passed through a veil of

  cobwebs. Wispy strands of silk tickled her nose and

  cheeks. With the tingling of her nose, Marci became

  more and more nervous. Her imagination began

  to run wild. For the first time in her life she was

  frightened of spiders. Was it the web of a deadly

  black widow? Was the spider on her? If so, would

  it bite her? Feeling another tickle she frantically

  rubbed her face again and again.

  "Come on, Marci, calm down,” she thought

  to herself . "It's just a hall without lights. There’s no

  poisonous spiders in here.,,

  Trying to ignore her fears of the unknown,

  Marci closed her eyes and cautiously felt her way

  along the wall. Craig, holding onto Marci’s shirt,

  followed from behind. Further ahead, the tunnel

  sloped and twisted sharply into a spiral staircase.

  Marci whispered a raspy warning to her brother.

  "Stairs, Mophead!”

  The two descended the narrow stony stairs

  with little trouble. At the bottom, Craig noticed a

  slight change in the view. Somewhere ahead, Iight

  was coming in from a window. Marci, unaware of

  the change, continued walking in silence. Though

  unspoken, Craig knew his sister must have led the

  way with her eyes closed. She always closed her

  eyes when she was frightened.

  "Rat! Open your eyes! There’s light down

  here!" he whispered.

  In moments, Marci’s eyes adjusted to the new

  surroundings.

  The stairs ran to a long rectangular shaped

  room. In the far corner, about twelve feet overhead,

  was a window. Small and partially boarded, the

  window filtered thin rays of light into the basement.

  Unknown to the children they had entered the

  wine cellar. In years past, the Castle Cat had boasted

  one of the greatest wine cellars in all of Germany.

  But now the festivities had ceased. The cellar was

  empty. Craig searched for a door that might lead

  to the outside, but there was none.

  "It looks like that’s the only way out,” he said

  pointing to the window high overhead.

  Marci stared at the tiny opening in disbelief.

  Recognizing that the window would be a tight fit

  even for her, she spoke.

  "You're too fat. You’d never make it.”

  "Sure I can" he said, not wanting to concern

  his sister. "I've squeezed through tighter places than

  that," he added to convince her.

  His little sister remained silent. Realizing

  Marci didn't believe him, he changed the subject.

  "I'll lift you up to the window and once

  you're through I'll climb up after you."

  "You will? Whose shoulders will you stand

  on?," she asked in disbelief.

  "I’m big. I can climb up by myself," said

  Craig.

  "O.K., let’s see you do it,” challenged Marci.

  The pressure was on, with a running jump,

  Craig leaped at the window but could not reach it.

  Like a dog trying to climb a tree he had nothing to

  hold on to. Unwilling to admit defeat he tried again

  and again but the results were the same, a scraping

  of his finger nails against the coarse stony wall and

  a rapid descent back to earth.

  "You're too short," interrupted Marci. "Let's

  find another way out."

  "This is it! There is no other way,” said Craig

  solemnly.

  "Then let’s hide in one of those," said Marci,

  pointing to one of the twelve storage funnels lining the room.

  “If they come down here and can’t find us, maybe they’ll think

  they made a wrong turn in the funnel."

  From the forceful tone of her voice, Craig knew that Marci had

  shifted into her combat stage. It would be all or nothing. When he realized

  she would not leave without him, he reluctantly agreed.

  Each storage tunnel was about four feet high,

  four feet wide, and twenty feet deep. In the past, they had served as

  a cool dark place to store the barrels of wine while they aged.

  “Let’s hide in here,” said Marci pointing to the storage funnel

  closest to the window.

  It was the most fearful of the twelve. A huge spider web covered

  nearly the entire entrance.

  Empty shells of dead insects dangled from the web like chandeliers from a ceiling.

  "Who would ever guess we’d hide in there?”

  said Marci with a sly grin.

  Craig turned and stared at the web. Amongst

  the numerous shells of victims, he noticed a large

  centipede with its legs still twitching, signifying its

  recent capture. It hung from the spider’s web by a

  single strand of silk. He watched with dread as the

  ghoulish insect slowly revolved around and

  around.

  "No one!" he responded. "Not even us.”

  It was a tight fit. The web hung only about

  nine inches above the floor. Craig lay on his stomach

  and crawled under. Marci watched in anticipation

  as her brother slowly faded into the darkness.

  It was now her turn. Unlike her brother who

  crawled through on his stomach Marci wanted to

  see the web close-up. She lay upon her back and

  pushed with her feet. Slowly passing under, Marci

  stopped midway to stare and marvel. The web

  looked like thin strands of glass, diverging, interlocking,

  and dissecting. It was the largest and most

  majestic web the little girl had ever seen. Intricate

  and beautiful it looked like a net made from delicate

  strains of crystal. Intrigued, Marci searched the

  lavish strings of silk, looking for the spider.

  In the corner, a murky shadow with eight

  bristly legs slowly moved into view. To Marci’s surprise,

  an enormous spider stepped from the shadows.

  The spider slowly creeped to the edge of its

  web. Though it stopped just inches from Marci’s

 
face, she was not frightened. Its mouth was in a

  constant state of movement, while its eyes darted

  to and fro as if searching for its next meal. Marci

  stared into the spider’s face. Somehow the spider

  seemed strangely familiar, like her spider at home,

  only larger.

  "What are you doing here, Wolfee?” she whispered.

  Her brother, already in the shadows of the

  storage tunnel, nervously watched from a distance.

  Then at the mention of Wolfee’s name, he grabbed

  Marci by the arms and pulled her through, fearing

  the spider would inevitably drop on her face.

  "What are you, nuts?” he asked. “That’s not

  Wolfee. It's too big!”

  "It's not an it," she rebuked. “It’s a she!”

  still not convinced that this arachnid was not

  Wolfee, Marci watched the spider as it climbed back

  to its hiding place.

  The children then waited silently hiding in

  the shadows. Marci nervously brushed her short

  black hair behind her ears and listened. Except for

  a constant hiss, like the sound of a sea shell next to

  your ear, the cellar was quiet. It was almost too

  quiet.

  Chapter 8

  Escape from the Castle

  Craig, feeling responsible for Marci's safety,

  prepared for battle. In the dark, he located a small

  stone about the size of a golf ball. It wasn't much,

  but if needed, he would use it as a weapon. He

  wanted to build up a stock of ammunition but there

  was no time for searching and making noise. It was

  time to be quiet.

  In the darkest recesses of the cave the children

  sat motionless. All preparations were complete,

  there was nothing left to do but wait. While

  waiting, Marci noticed the large dark spider as it

  slowly crept down from its hiding place. She

  watched as the spider spun new webbing and repaired

  breaches. Once the repairs were complete,

  the spider stopped in its tracks, turned and faced

  Marci. Seizing the opportunity, Marci moved closer

  to get a better look. For a moment the two stared

  eye to eye. Like the feeling of excitement when an

  old friend returns after a long journey, or like a child

  receiving her first puppy a wondrous feeling of exhilaration

  electrified the air.

  "Wolfee! What are you doing here?” Marci

  thought to herself, not wanting her brother to overhear.

  As she watched, to her amazement, the little

  girl noticed that the spider's mouth began to slowly