"No!" Maria gasped at the sound of the shot.
The family had made it inside the train station and was running up the last set of stairs to Platform 4 when the deafening sound erupted. The children froze and turned to face their mother, terror evident on every face.
"Liesl, Friedrich, take everyone upstairs to meet Herr Detweiler and get on your train. He'll be waiting for you and will help you board," Maria instructed. Her body trembled and she felt her heart racing as she spoke, but she forced herself to remain calm. Before waiting for their acknowledgement, Maria turned and bolted down the steps to find Georg.
As she descended the stairwell, she heard a series of muffled sobs, and her heart ached to hear the little ones so frightened. Maria hesitated for a slight moment, considering returning to the children, out of fear that they couldn't cope without her.
"Come on! Let's go!" echoed Friedrich's voice over the sound of the youngsters' cries.
"Liesl, you stay in the back. I'll lead," he ordered.
Maria let out a sigh of relief; the children were more mature than she realized and would help each other. She resumed her descent and her thoughts returned to Georg.
"Please Lord, let him be all right," she whispered as she reached the first floor of the station and stood facing the entrance through which she and the children had come only moments earlier.
Her prayers were interrupted by the sound of the door being opened. Without any planned escape route, Maria hurriedly pressed herself to the wall behind the door, placing her body out of view. She held her breath as the door opened with haste, yet when the intruder quickly slammed it shut, she was again in full view.
Her heart raced and her cheeks flushed with anxiety, but upon realization, her eyes widened with happiness and relief.
"Georg!" Maria gasped upon seeing her husband standing before her.
Georg stared briefly at her with disbelief.
"What are you doing here, Maria?" he demanded at the sight of his wife.
"I heard the gunshot and had to find you," she told him, her obstinate eyes boring into his angry ones.
"Maria!"
"Yes?" she answered with a raise of her brow at the sharp tone of voice Georg had used.
Georg sighed with exasperation and shook his head angrily. "Go! Get on that train upstairs immediately!" he commanded while pointing to the flight of stairs before them.
"Georg!" Maria protested, "I will not leave you alone here to die!"
"And I will not have you stay here and risk your life! Now go upstairs this instant!" he said with growing impatience.
"I will not! As long as you stay here, I will be—"
"Shh," he interrupted, placing a hand to her lips. For a second neither of them said anything.
"I hear something. Come!" he whispered while grabbing her wrist and leading both of them under the stairs to a cargo storage room entrance.
Inside the room, Georg dragged a stack of empty pallets in front of the door as a barricade and locked the door. Pulling Maria into the deserted storage area, he pressed her back against the wall between two tall rows of full pallets, and protectively leaned himself against her body. Maria stood pressed against the cold wall and tightened her hands around the Captain's waist out of fear.
They glanced at each other and Georg placed a finger to his lips, nervous that any motion or noise could reveal them to the Nazis if their temporary refuge was discovered.
Maria nodded softly with understanding and held her breath for a brief moment. She exhaled slowly in an attempt to calm her nerves and felt Georg pull her slightly closer to him in comfort. For a few minutes, the couple remained immobile; the heaving of their chests was the only movement being made.
Suddenly a muffled door slam echoed through the room and Georg felt Maria stiffen in his arms. Instinctively he pressed her head closer to his chest. Georg glanced backwards, wary of any possible intrusion.
"I don't think anyone came in here. It sounded like them leaving the station through the door on the landing," he barely whispered after surveying the scene briefly.
Maria nodded in agreement. "I don't hear anything anymore," she said very quietly, loosening her grasp on Georg absently. She glanced upwards at her husband and noted that his stoic façade and calculating demeanor had returned.
"Stay here. I'll be back in a minute," he whispered to Maria while holding his hand upright to deter her from moving. Maria obeyed unquestioningly and without hesitation Georg turned and walked down the row.
He disappeared around the stack of pallets and furtively moved through the room until both the main and rear entrances were in view. He noted that the stack of pallets he had placed in front of the main entrance had not been moved and that the dead bolt lock was still intact on both doors.
He returned to Maria and once again urged her toward him so that he could whisper directly into her ear. "I don't think there's anyone here but us. But we should stay here for a few more minutes in case they are still outside one of the doors."
Maria nodded her head against Georg's lips, which still rested by her ear. She released a slow breath and moved her head away from him so that she could look up into his eyes. "That was close," she said with relief.
"Yes it was," Georg concurred with a raise of his eyebrow.
The couple remained silent for a long moment, each pondering where to go next, for they knew they had missed their trains. Maria decided to break the silence and spoke with a low voice and a slight hesitation. "What now?" she posed.
"I haven't figured that out yet," Georg said with a tight smile. He glanced down at Maria and shook his head with displeasure.
"I should be here by myself. This wasn't in the plan," he grumbled.
Maria cast her gaze upwards and met her husband's stare. "I know, but I had to see if you needed my help. I couldn't leave after I heard the shot, not knowing…" she trailed.
Noting her husband's unfaltering glare, she raised her eyebrows at him and proceeded to speak. "Please don't be angry with me for disobeying, Georg. Would you have acted differently if it were me in danger?" she posed, gaze softening.
Georg stared at her pensively for a brief moment and his scowl slowly faded. He opened his mouth to protest, but shut it again and continued to ponder his wife's inquiry.
"I'd do whatever it took to help you. There's no doubt," he said in a serious tone. Suddenly he smiled lowly. "Do you know that stubborn streak of yours is growing on me? It's opened my eyes to so much."
Maria smiled shyly at his compliment.
Georg raised his hand to stroke her cheek. "If I haven't told you enough times already, thank you," he said earnestly. He took Maria's hand and placed it to his lips, leaving a soft kiss on her palm.
"We're partners now, Georg. In everything,"
Maria's blue eyes met Georg's gaze and she could not mistake the gleam that she saw there.
"Well, we've already proven that," he said with a soft, knowing smile.
Maria felt her cheeks redden slightly under her husband's penetrating stare, fully aware of his innuendo. She smiled coyly. "Yes, that too."
She held Georg's intense gaze for an extended moment and finally continued speaking. "But what I meant was that we must act as a team. Always."
Georg laughed. "Are you trying to demote this Sea Captain, Fräulein?" he teased, a twinkle in his eyes.
"Well not necessarily 'demote.' Just…" Maria knitted her brow for a moment and hesitated, "…influence him."
She smiled briefly, but still unsure of her words, again hesitated. "Or maybe 'soften him' would be a better choice of words," she added in reassurance.
Georg reached forward and moved a strand of hair off of Maria's face. He placed a light kiss upon her forehead and smiled softly. "You're really going to hurt my ego, Maria."
"Oh?"
"Yes," the Captain whispered, face softening. "But you make perfect sense. I'm sorry that I doubted you."
Maria smiled with acceptance and moved her hand gently across Georg's lower back. She opened her eyes wide. " And I'm sorry that I upset you, Georg, but I am not sorry to be here with you."
Georg smiled softly. "That was some apology, Fräulein. What was it I said about you being stubborn?" he joked.
Maria raised her eyebrow and gave her husband a sidelong glance. "You know what I mean," she said with a slight roll of her eyes and a soft smile.
Georg returned her smile and stared at his wife, happy that her presence at least lightened their mood, if only for a brief moment. He would, however, have to face reality, and continued to speak as his smile faded. "You're putting yourself in a lot of danger, Maria," he stated in a firm voice, his eyes boring deep into hers.
Maria nodded her head. "I know," she admitted, rubbing the small of Georg's back with her thumb.
"But you don't know what went through my mind when I heard that gunshot. I was so frightened," she confessed with a slight tremble in her voice.
Maria placed her hand to Georg's cheek and gently stroked him as she gazed up into his eyes and continued to speak. "Are you hurt?" she whispered.
Georg shook his head slightly and sighed deeply, expelling some of the lines of worry that had formed on his brow. "I missed him by a margin. That's what you heard."
Georg gazed into Maria's eyes and after a moment of silence, he moved his face closer to her and brushed her ear with his lips.
"I couldn't do this without you, Maria," he whispered to her. Gently, he rubbed her forearm with his hand, as he moved his head back to once again meet her gaze.
"We're in this together, Georg," she said. Maria pressed her head to his shoulder and for a moment the couple stood in each other's arms.
"Come," the Captain said in a low voice while drawing her away from his chest so that he could look into her eyes, "I think Zeller must have gone upstairs to the platforms. I don't hear anything."
Taking hold of her hand, he gave her a final kiss on the lips and led Maria from their hiding spot.
"Come on, Marta!" Kurt called to his younger sister, "Run faster! We have to hurry!"
"Kurt, Marta is running as fast as she can!" Brigitta countered.
"Well, run faster than you can, Marta!" he said impatiently with a roll of his eyes.
Louisa shot a glare in her younger brother's direction and silenced any argument that might have erupted between her siblings. The seven Von Trapps continued to sprint up the stairwell in silence.
Friedrich reached the landing to Platform 4 first and immediately saw Emil Detweiler waiting for them under the clock in front of Track 2.
Emil stood beside the conductor, who was occupied with assisting passengers onto the train. Nervously, he cast his gaze upwards to the clock and his anxiety grew when he noticed how much time had passed; the train would depart at any moment.
The scheduled departure of six trains within the next fifteen minutes had caused the station to swarm with activity. However, Emil could not help but notice the few Nazi soldiers who were prowling the platform in pursuit of something. Or someone. He feared that the worst had happened to his friend and his helplessness in the situation made him more unsettled.
"There he is!" Friedrich shouted to his siblings over the loud bustle of the station.
"It looks like the train is about to leave. Run quickly!" he called over his shoulder, while scooping Gretl up into his arms.
"Take my hand, Marta!" Louisa ordered while grabbing the young girl's hand and dragging her toward the departing train.
The children ran with Friedrich carrying Gretl in the lead and Liesl in the rear. As Liesl ran after her siblings, the heel of her shoe caught on one of the stairs and she fell to the ground in a sudden movement. She winced in pain as she removed her shoe to disengage it from the wrought iron stair; her ankle was obviously twisted.
"Friedrich!" Liesl yelled after her brother as she sat on the stairwell, out of view of the platform.
"Wait!" she cried to no avail, due to the commotion and loudness of the station. It would have been nearly impossible for anyone on the platform to hear any noise coming from the lowly populated rear stairwell on which Liesl sat.
Exhaling a deep breath and trembling from nerves and pain, she hoisted herself to a standing position. Liesl grasped the banister and attempted to hobble up the stairs after her siblings. The pain in her ankle kept her from moving quickly, although her mind was urging her to persevere for fear of missing the train.
"Good Lord," she sighed in desperation, "I can't do this alone."
"Well, what do we have here? With those eyes, there's no mistaking that you're a Von Trapp," suddenly echoed a dry voice from the landing below.
Liesl halted and veered her head to behold Herr Zeller and another Nazi soldier ascending the stairwell in her direction.
"The last time we met I believe you were singing about champagne. Remember, Fräulein Von Trapp?" Zeller jeered.
Liesl grasped the banister for support and felt her whole body trembling. She glanced at the floor for a moment to hide her initial fear.
"Look at me!" Zeller demanded. Liesl took a deep breath and obeyed. Urging herself to be strong, her own inner strength settled her shaking body.
"Is there something I could do for you, Sir?" Liesl questioned with contrived politeness.
Zeller's mouth formed into a tight smile. "Very good, young lady. It seems you could teach your father a thing or two about respect," he said with sarcasm.
"Now, where is he?" he continued with feigned courtesy.
"I don't know, Sir," she replied with an honest shake of her head.
Gruff laughter filled the air and Liesl began to quiver once more when Zeller grabbed her wrist. "I see you didn't understand my question, Fräulein Von Trapp. Let's try this another way," he said condescendingly.
"Tell me where your father is!" Zeller tightened his grip on Liesl's wrist and pushed her into the stairway railing.
"I told you, Sir, I don't know where he is. He separated from us when we were outside," Liesl explained. As she spoke, she winced in pain from shifting her stance and unintentionally placing pressure on her ankle.
"I see," Zeller spat.
"And just where is your father planning to go tonight?" he barked, tightening his grip on Liesl's upper arm.
"Tell me!" he ordered while bringing his face closer to hers and gripping her chin roughly in his hand.
Liesl took a deep breath and met Zeller's unrelenting stare. "Switzerland, Sir," she lied.
Zeller and Liesl held eye contact for several minutes as he tried to determine whether she was telling the truth.
"Hmmm," he said through clenched teeth, "If he has escaped to Switzerland already, Captain con Trapp will be back, I can assure you that," he hissed at Liesl.
"Ludwig, take Fräulein Von Trapp to the car," he suddenly ordered. The anger in his eyes was apparent.
Liesl inhaled a deep breath upon hearing the order, and turned to try to move up the stairs. However, a rough tug at her hair ceased her movements. She was veered around and again Herr Zeller slammed her against the stair railing.
Tears began to well in Liesl's eyes out of pain and fright and Ludwig approached her, grasping her from behind to hold her immobile.
"Let me go!" Liesl shouted, as she writhed in the Nazi's grip.
"Get away from me!" she screamed while kicking Ludwig's shins with all her might. The young Nazi increased his strength around Liesl's arms, while Zeller watched the scene from a few meters away. Kneading his fingers together in contemplation, he approached the duo.
The Gauleiter stood in front of Liesl and glared rigidly at her face. "Perhaps I stand corrected. You're just as disrespectful and difficult as your father," he retorted.
"Let me go!" Liesl ordered as she and Zeller held eye contact.
Zeller released a smug laugh and his eyes squinted with fury. "Just like your father, Fräulein Von Trapp," Zeller spat, "You both should learn that you are no match for the Third Reich!"
Zeller seized Liesl's hands and bound her wrists together with a cloth, while she continued to glare at him through the tears that had welled in her eyes. "Get away from me!" she screamed. "Somebody help me! Please!"
She had tears streaming down her face and was shaking with fear.
"Keep yelling and you'll get one of those around your mouth!" As he spoke, Zeller pointed to the cloth that bound her wrists together. Liesl glowered in his direction, but ceased her screams, realizing her attempts had been unsuccessful and that it would be almost impossible to hear her cries through the bustle on the platform.
Directing his attention back to Ludwig, Zeller barked in the soldier's face. "If we can't have Captain Von Trapp, we'll take something I know he'll come back for. Take her outside!"
Ludwig nodded, yet as he urged Liesl forward, the girl began to falter due to her twisted ankle. Absently, she glanced downward toward her injury and noticed that her golden locket had fallen off during her struggle and now lay glittering on the corner of the stairs.
She stared at the object, so far out of her grasp, and a lump began to form in Liesl's throat as she stared at her lost treasure now carelessly strewn on the stairs. She felt tears well in her eyes at the sudden realization of the seriousness of her situation. Being under the control of these two men, Liesl felt hopeless that she would be able to outsmart the Nazis on her own and feared what was yet to come.
"Pick her up, Ludwig. She's no good on that ankle," Zeller instructed.
"Yes, Sir," Ludwig responded while scooping Liesl into his arms and beginning to descend the stairs once again.
"And Ludwig?" Zeller called after his subordinate, "Don't do anything to hurt Fräulein Von Trapp or you will have to pay for it. The Captain must know that she is well and will continue to stay this way as long as he complies with the Naval Forces of the Third Reich! A few threats will go a long way, I suspect."
"Yes, Sir!" Ludwig replied and proceeded down the stairs toward the brisk, autumn night.