THE FÜHRER'S DAUGHTER

THE FÜHRER'S DAUGHTER (Episode 3 of 5) Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

GRACE’S EYES BURNED as sweat trickled down her forehead and blurred her vision. She blinked hard to keep the perspiration out. Struggling to keep her breathing steady, she ignored the burning in her legs and the constricting of her chest, while keeping pace with Jack and Miles. A mild irritation at the moment, but nothing compared to the terror stalking them. 

Shots from the SS guards pierced the pre-dawn air, jolting her to a momentary stop. But the baying of search dogs urged her feet to continue.

They descended into a ravine where the earthy essence of moss and decomposing leaves overwhelmed her. She looked back to see Miles taking up the rear. Up ahead, Jack continued to blaze a trail through thick vegetation.

“Keep moving!” Jack said. “We’ll lose them up ahead.”

Grace continued battling the brambles as she stumbled forward. “How well do you know this place?”

“You could call it a haunt of sorts,” Jack said.

“Why would you ever come here?”

“Long story, but I can assure you it wasn’t always willingly. Now, quit jabbering and keep running.”

Jack led Grace and Miles up and over a rise—and straight into a swamp. After all the running, sloshing through the mire was painfully slow. The farther she stepped into the water, the higher it rose. It finally stopped once it reached her waist.

“There must be a better route,” Grace said.

“There would be, if it wasn’t for the dogs. We’ve got to make them lose our scent.” Jack looked down at his watch. “We’re behind schedule.”

For the next ten minutes, the barking and occasional gunshots faded as they trudged through the swamp. Jack motioned for Grace and Miles to stay in the water, while he walked out of the swamp and up a short incline. He then walked backward, retracing his steps.

Following Jack’s lead, they clambered over a small hill, then descended a short slope that leveled out by a set of train tracks.

Jack stopped.

“We’re out in the open,” Grace said, concerned about aerial surveillance.

Jack put up his hand to quiet her. He then put his ear on one of the rails and listened. Without explanation, he straightened up. “This is going to be close. Grace, you have to do exactly as you see me and Miles do.”

“Right.”

The dogs bayed in the distance while Jack ran over to where the tracks bent around the hill. Within seconds, he came running back, and led them to hide behind the trees at the tracks’ edge.

Crouching, Grace regarded Jack with curiosity. For someone barely older than her, he seemed to know his way around trouble—a bit too well. “You’re pretty well-versed in subterfuge.”

Jack kept his eye on the bend in the tracks. “I spent hours in these woods as a kid. It’s like my back yard.”

“How did that happen?”

“After escaping the Nazi’s, a rebel paramilitary colony took me in. All we did was train—no fun or games, but I didn’t care, I was motivated.”

“What exactly did you learn?” Grace asked.

“Sniper training, hand-to-hand…I can hold my breath underwater for four minutes…”

She didn’t want to appear impressed, but in fact, she was. Best not to let it show, or his already inflated head might just explode. “Is that all?”