Ghost of a Chance Read Online Free

ravine.
    â€œEverybody ready?” the assistant director yelled. “Let’s go!”
    â€œOkay, let’s film Gus first,” Dustin said. “Then we’ll do Cleo. Wranglers, are you ready? Let’s do this in one shot. Make it good, Gus.”
    As if he understood, Gus rumbled agreeably and gave his head a mighty shake.
    Frank and Joe cleared the location of all cast and crew. It didn’t take much convincing for them to move way back. As an extra guarantee, Frank and Joe unrolled a coil of heavy metal fencing along both sides of the path Gus would run. Later the fence would be “erased” from the film so it wouldn’t show in the final cut.
    Then Joe and Lloyd walked Gus to the far end of the run, where Gus would begin. When they reached the spot Dustin had marked, they stopped. Lloyd removed Gus’s harness and leash.
    â€œWhenever you’re ready,” Dustin called to them.
    â€œOkay, Gus,” Gene yelled from beside Frank. “Let’s go. Come on, boy. Come see me.”
    Even though Frank had seen Gus do this run a half-dozen times by now, he felt a wave of expectation billow in his chest.
    Gus was in rare form—a wild bear determined to defend its territory. Or so it looked to the cast and crew. And so it would seem to the millions of moviegoers who would see Gus on screen.
    Gus’s run was perfect. It was better than it had been at any of the rehearsals. “I know this sounds crazy,” Gene said, “but I swear he knows the difference between rehearsing and filming. When the lights go on, he seems to really understand what’s happening.”
    Gus shook his huge woolly head and shot sprays of drool onto Frank’s shirt. The odor was familiar. Maybe it was a bear that slammed me, Frank thought.
    â€œThat was outstanding,” Dustin called out as the crew applauded. “It’s definitely a keeper.”
    Frank and Joe wound the wire fencing back into a heavy coil and wrestled it onto a dolly. Pushing the dolly, Frank followed Gene, Lloyd, and Gus back to the wranglers’ truck and trailer.
    Next it was Cleo’s turn. She would run the same path Gus had taken before coming to the small ravine for her daring leap. Later Dustin and the film editor would mix the two scenes together. When they were finished, it would look as if Gus were actually chasing Cleo.
    Joe stayed to watch the filming of Cleo’s part of the scene. The young star went to the end of the path Gus had taken during his shoot. Then she made a few practice runs to the edge of the ravine. At last she made the final run.
    Joe admired the way she turned the run into a frightening scene. She looked back in terror, as ifshe actually saw Gus chasing her. Then her expression changed as she realized the ground ahead of her had opened up and she had to make a horrible decision. As she neared the ravine, she took a deep breath and launched herself over the chasm.
    Joe could barely see the “invisible” cord that supported her. But above her, out of camera range, he could see the crane from which the cord was hung. As he watched the crane move slowly out over the ravine, he heard a gasp from behind him, then a growing murmur rumbling through the crowd of onlookers.
    He looked back at Cleo, and his breath caught in his chest. She was no longer “flying” in a graceful leap over the ravine. Her body seemed to sag, then her legs twitched awkwardly. Her arms flailed in the air.
    â€œNo!” Joe called out. His chest felt tight as he raced to the edge of the ravine. It looked as if the cord holding her harness was giving way. Helpless, he watched as Cleo’s body sagged once more and then plunged into the darkness.

3
The Eyes at the Window

    For the second time that evening, a scream rang out through the mountain mist. Cast and crew members raced to the edge of the ravine. It looked as if Cleo were attached to a long bungee cord, but one that wasn’t