Freedom Forged

by Alan Austin

  It looked like a path had been ripped through the center of the city and fires were burning out of its entire length. Airships were already dropping water, but they looked to be having very little effect.

  “That should keep them busy for at least a day,” Sam said, as he reached his good arm out to take his little girl for the first time.

  She cried at first, not knowing him at all and likely not loving the sight of his dirty, beat up face, but he held her all the same and loved every second of it. Ronald just stared back at the city as they drifted further away before finally closing the door when there was nothing left to see.

  “The stories don’t do you justice,” he said, looking at Sam. “I will write this one myself. How Sam Rosecrans took down all of London by himself to save the little girl he’d never even met. It will be the greatest story of all time!”

  Sam just laughed, but his laugh quickly turned to coughing at the pain rattling through his body. It seemed to be radiating out from his shoulder.

  “Want me to try fixing that for you?” Ronald asked.

  Sam couldn’t speak and just nodded as the woman took Lizzy out of his arm again. Sam sat next to a table and put his arm on the surface with his armpit wedged into the side to brace his body. Ronald grabbed ahold and pulled hard without any warning. Sam screamed in pain, causing both the young girls to start crying, but he felt the joint pop back into its socket, and despite the residual pain, it felt better almost immediately.

  “Thank you,” he said. He looked over to Lizzy, who had tears and snot on her face from crying and said, “It’s alright. Daddy’s okay now.”

  Hearing the words leave his mouth was strange, but that was his new identity. He wasn’t just Sam Rosecrans anymore. He was this girl’s father. As crazy as everything he’d just done to get her back had been, he knew that he needed to do everything in his power now to keep her safe. His life was forever changed.

  With his daughter back in his arms, Sam headed up to the cockpit with Ronald and they found a good place to set down. It was right next to a large forest and out away from any homes. It was the best place to kill time while they waited. Sam wanted to wait out until late the next day to avoid drawing attention to the area before his people were in place.

  The other couple didn’t seem thrilled with the plan. Not having understood the wait, they’d brought food and supplies for only one night. They would now have to forgo meals for themselves in order to feed the girls into the next day.

  The next day was tense as the occasional airship passed overhead, every second or third one being military, but none stopped to investigate their presence. They were all moving at top speed toward the city. Sam played out in the warm sun with Lizzy, who was slowly warming up to him. His body was still tired, but he insisted on staying awake to play with his newfound daughter.

  Late that first evening, as the sun was setting, he looked up and saw Rosalyn crouched down behind Lizzy in the grass. He knew she wasn’t really there and Lizzy couldn’t see her, but it was a sweet sight that brought more tears to his eyes. Sam had cried more in the past few days than he had his entire life.

  Lizzy looked up at him and smiled, getting to her feet and toddling over for the first time. He took her in his arms and felt like he was still holding a piece of Rosalyn, who was now standing in front of him and smiling.

  “I love you,” she said before fading away with the last glimmers of light as the sun fully set.

  “I love you too,” Sam whispered.

  He stood up and carried the girl back to the ship, content that they could not be seen until morning. He laid down with her in one of the beds, carefully placing her on the inside but afraid that he might still somehow let her fall out. He had no idea how to care for a child, and even the past several hours would have been much harder had Evelyn not been there to help. Evelyn and Ronald had likely saved Sam and Lizzy’s life, and he owed them a debt he could never repay.

  Sleep found him easily, and when he woke the next morning, Lizzy was already awake and sitting up in bed. The sun was up and Ronald was checking over some of the ship’s systems to make sure it was ready for their afternoon flight.

  The day passed slowly, as time always does when one wants it to move quickly, but the morning gave way to the descending afternoon sun without any incident and Sam decided that it was time to try. They closed up the ship and restarted the steam engine, lifting off slowly after cutting the gas the night before to make sure they had enough. These ships usually had weeks’ worth, but without knowing for sure, Sam insisted that they cut it to be safe. Had they needed to leave in a hurry, they would have been stuck, but Sam bet that was a very slight risk.

  Once airborne, they pointed the ship south and headed for the island just off the coast, where they hoped to find friends waiting for them. Sam spotted the Resistance airship right away, hovering right where it was supposed to be, and he scared Lizzy with a loud yell of joy. They were there!

  The other ship started to turn and Sam realized that they had no idea it was him. He’d planned on making contact from the ground. He asked Ronald to descend quickly and watched as DaVinci turned back. Seeing that they were not moving to intercept had gotten the message across. They knew it was Sam.

  Both ships lowered to the island below and Sam watched as his friends jumped from the other ship before it was even down to meet him. Ben was the first to reach him and gave him a big enough hug to squeeze the air right from his battered body.

  “Not so hard, man!” Sam coughed.

  “Sorry,” Ben offered, “I just can’t believe you did it. Is this Lizzy?” he asked looking at the little girl.

  “Yup,” Sam answered. “That’s your niece.”

  The others arrived shortly after and took turns hugging Sam and Lizzy and introducing themselves to Ronald, Evelyn, and their daughter, Victoria. It was a beautiful moment, but Sam was still aware of where they were and the potential danger if anyone were to spot the other airship.

  DaVinci checked the gas supply on the cargo ship and found that there wasn’t enough to make the trip home. They needed to take the smaller vessel back. After loading the few things and their new passengers on board, DaVinci lifted off again, leaving the cargo ship all alone on the island. Sam wondered if they would ever find it. Would his story one day lead someone out to that small island? Perhaps.

  The ship rose high above the clouds and pushed hard back to the west. Sam lay back in one of the beds, still exhausted, with Lizzy right next to him.

  “What is her middle name?” he asked Evelyn.

  “Don’t know. We were only ever given her first name,” she answered.

  “I guess you get to give her a middle name then,” Ben said. “What’s it going to be?”

  “He doesn’t have to decide now!” Grease said, slapping Ben on the shoulder.

  “I already know,” Sam replied.

  “What?” Grease and Ben both asked together, before looking at each other and laughing.

  “This is Elizabeth Rosalyn Parker Rosecrans.”

  No one said a word and the silence that filled the cabin was palpable. Even Ronald and Evelyn appreciated the significance, having met Rosalyn before. For everyone else, it was doubly as impactful. There was no better way that Sam could think of to honor his greatest love and his best friend at the same time. Both Rosalyn and Ticks’ memories would live on through Lizzy for Sam.

  “What are you going to do when we get back?” Mac asked.

  “Tell the Resistance what I’ve done for them and see what I can do to help without having to fight on the front lines anymore,” Sam replied. “I would hope that I’ve earned a break to raise my little girl in peace.”

  “What about us!?” Grease shouted. “You just going to bail on us now?”

  “You’ve got each other,” Sam answered. “Besides, I’ll still be around. I just think my days of diving out of airships and robbing trains might be done for a while. Perhaps the Army will need a strategist who can stay
behind friendly lines as we win this war.”

  “The war?” Grease asked. “I didn’t think you cared that much about the war.”

  “I didn’t,” Sam agreed, “but that was before they kidnapped my daughter and killed her mother. They are afraid of us guys. They all know who we are, and they are afraid. Adams was right. We can help win this war, and after what they’ve done, I am all in.”

  “He’s right,” Ronald added. “I know you all don’t know me from Adam, but I can assure you that they are afraid of the Rosecrans gang. After what he did today, knowing that you are even more committed to the fight is going to shake the British people’s confidence to the core.”

  “Alright then,” Ben chimed back in. “I guess we’re all soldiers now then. You plan the missions and we’ll bring those bastards to their knees!”

  Sam nodded. There was still a long road in front of them, but he knew now that he needed to see this through. Gone were the days of caring only about the glory and the score. His life had a meaning and a purpose now, and taking his revenge was near the top of that list. He would not endanger Lizzy, but he would find a way to make them pay. One day, they’d look back and realize that taking his girl and killing Rosalyn were the two biggest mistakes they had ever made.

  The war was not over, but Sam had turned the tide in a way he never intended when he went to London, and he was just getting started. He had fought for the freedom of his daughter, and now he saw the potential to forge a freedom for his country.

  The empire would pay!

  Thank you for reading Freedom Forged.

  Don’t forget to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads and to follow Alan’s work at:

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  If you enjoy this book, be sure to check out Dynami Siblings series which is also available in a full series novel format at over 130K words on Kindle Unlimited and Amazon.

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XVR77QZ

  You can also check out Alan’s most recent series, Call of the Vikings which now has all ten volumes from season one under one novel.

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0828JH6DN