Masters of the Sky

Chapter 10 Aftermath

The impact was as hard as if the ship hit the ground, not the sea. The air filled with people screaming, sounds of wood breaking and splashes of water. Celia lost her grip on Zed and got thrown away. Her body flew for a moment to be harshly pulled by the rope still fastened to her belt, and she hit the deck hard, her head banging on wet wood, and everything got dark for a moment.

More shouts and commotion brought her quickly back, and she slowly opened her eyes, blinking and trying to focus. She could see broken masts and just one balloon floating, barely higher than the main deck. Suddenly the ship skewed to starboard, and Celia slid toward the broken railing. She gasped and grabbed the rope, still securing her to the chimney to stop her descent. She saw the second balloon under the surface of raging waters, utterly devoid of hydrogen. Its heavy metal reinforcement was slowly sinking, pulling Percy with it.

"Cut off the balloon!" Celia shouted, but her voice was so hoarse that it could hardly be heard over the rest of the crew's fearful screams and painful groans. She coughed and yelled again with all her might. "Cut that damned balloon, or it will drag us to the bottom of the sea!"

Not waiting for a response, she grabbed a dagger from her boot and cut the rope keeping her secure. Immediately she started to slide towards the edge of the ship, so she positioned her body the way she hit the remaining railing with her feet. She cried out as her left ankle erupted with a burst of pain, and she almost toppled over the edge. Celia gritted her teeth and regained her balance. She dashed towards the stern, where the balloon was latched to Percy's side.

In the corner of her eye, she spotted some of the crew already in the water, struggling against high waves to keep themselves afloat and crying for help, but now she had to focus on securing Percy. If they ignored the ballon pulling them down, the ship would sink, and even if she saved those people for a moment, they would all drown in the next couple of hours. So, she steeled her breaking heart and ran faster, ignoring the pain in her ankle.

When Celia reached the latching point where the steel rope was securely fastened to the ship, she took out her revolver. A brass enclosure hid the hook to ensure it wouldn't unlatch by accident and could be opened only with a specific set of tools. Celia did not have time to fetch the engineer, so she fired two shots at the thing. It was enough to dislodge the casing and blow off the hook, releasing one side of the ballon. Suddenly relieved of a heavy weight, the stern shot back upwards, forcing Celia to grab the railing to keep herself on the deck.

When the ship found its new balance – now tilted towards the bow where the last latch was connecting the balloon to the starboard, Celia turned to run towards it, but to her relief, she noticed Rhody already worked on it, her many dark braids lashing on the wind like whips. When the last rope was released, Celia was already holding tightly to the railing so she didn't fall when the bow rapidly tilted back upwards. Percy stood tall again, with only slight skew toward the portside where the remaining balloon hung sadly above the waves.

"We have people overboard!" Celia yelled. "Whoever can, grab the ropes and lower down the rowing boat to get them back here!"

The remaining crew was already arranging help for those in the water, and Celia sighed in relief. She was still in awe that they had survived this crash. Most of the crew were beaten and bloodied, but she didn't see any bodies or body parts lying around. Hopefully, most of them made it by some miracle.

She turned her gaze at the ruins of the helm. Sadly, Percy was busted. Even if they averted the catastrophe in the sky, she had no idea they would get anywhere now. They could hope to find an alternative way to steer her, but she assumed the helm, balloons, and the main mast were not the only broken things. And in this very vulnerable state, they would be easy prey for Chief's dogs following their trail.