Chasing the Falconers by Gordon Korman

Author:Gordon Korman [Korman, Gordon]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2013-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Trapped in a boxcar.

Something frantic rattled around in Aiden’s head. He should know about this! This was familiar.

That’s crazy! You’ve never been on a train that wasn’t a commuter. What do you know about escaping from a freight car?

Then he remembered. Mac Mulvey, Dad’s recurring detective hero, had once broken out of a locked freezer car via —

He looked up and there it was. The shaft of light from the open slider shone on an emergency hatch in the ceiling. He rushed over to the wooden crate and began positioning it in the center of the car.

“What are you going to do, Eagledink?” scoffed Miguel. “Mail yourself out of here?”

Aiden pointed straight up. Instantly, he had two helpers. When the crate was in place, he scrambled up the wooden side and balanced on the narrow rim. The trapdoor was held in place by a small latch. He popped the hatch, reached up, and took hold of the roof of the car.

Here goes, he thought. If the police were watching the top of the train, this would be his last act as a free person. One … two … — a silent prayer — three!

He heaved himself up through the opening and flopped flat onto the metal surface. He could see tall buildings in the distance — a skyline. They were outside a big city. But their immediate surroundings were lower and leafier. This was a suburban station. To his left, about a dozen cops patrolled the platform, searching the train. And they were only two cars away!

“Hurry!” he hissed, reaching down to help Meg and then Miguel to the roof of the boxcar.

He looked around desperately. To his right was an empty track. There weren’t any officers on that side. But it was a twelve-foot drop to the ground.

A broken ankle — not a good idea for a fugitive.

“Follow me,” he whispered.

Keeping low, he slithered forward on the metal roof, scrambling over the four-foot gap to the next car. Over his shoulder, he could see Miguel and Meg following him. The three snaked silently ahead, barely daring to breathe. Soon Aiden found himself on a different kind of surface — a thick lattice cage.

The powerful farm odor reached him almost immediately. A livestock carrier. Animals lowing wafted up from below.

He peered down through the bars. Didn’t it figure?

Cows.

He slunk to the edge of the car and eased over the side. Using the steel struts as ladder rungs, he began to climb down. The cows mooed at him; one even pressed its snout right up to the opening and licked him. But he was able to clamber low enough to jump to the ground.

Miguel landed beside him a few seconds later. Meg came last. As her sneakers made contact with the gravel, she lost her footing and lurched toward the open track. Miguel grabbed her arm and propped her back into balance.

He gestured meaningfully at the spot where she had almost fallen. This was a commuter line. It had an electrified third rail.

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