Valkyria

by Ink Blood

  On top of that, he has a long lasting love of the post-apocalyptic genre and the survivalist mentality shown within that genre.

  As well as writing, Gareth Torrance is also an avid gamer with a passion for roleplaying games (both western and Japanese style), action and horror games.

  *~*~*

  SNEAK PREVIEW

  Read the first chapter of the second book in the War of the Valkyries series, which continues the story of the Valkyria and her crew as they attempt to track down the mysterious Aeon.

  However, a declaration of war between the Inquisition and the Alexandria Empire sends the world into turmoil. Now, as the world descends into Chaos, Aeon puts his master plan into action, with Haze as the center piece to it all.

  *~*~*

  1

  NATE

  “Come on!"

  Nate gripped the line of rope as hard as he could in the torrential rain. Water dripped down his face and into his eyes, but he refused to blink. Crewman Kyle was hanging from the side of the Valkyria, dangling in the open air and holding the rope for his life.

  The foolish young man was the latest recruit on the airship, and had been assigned to Nate as an engineering student, but had wanted to prove he did not need a teacher. The task for the day was a simple one, compared to the other duties about the ship; meld a new sheet of steel over a rusted section of an external girder. However, it was a task for two people, as any fully fledged engineer on the Valkyria knew. Yet Kyle had insisted on doing it himself, and climbed out onto the girder when Nate's attention had been drawn away. Admittedly, he should not have let himself be distracted, but Anastasia had walked by and smiled at him and that was enough to catch his full attention.

  Now the foolish crewman hung in the air, with only a piece of rope and Nate's grip keeping him from falling to the ground below. The rain made the rope slippery and Nate could not keep a strong grip, so he wrapped the rope around his arms.

  "Somebody help," he shouted back through the hatch, into the corridor of the Valkyria. Footsteps came pounding toward him as he pulled on the rope with all his strength. He glanced behind him to see Einar bracing himself against the rain and stepping out on to the external balcony. The wind was battering them both, and Kyle began to sway from left to right with increased speed. Einar grasped the piece of rope behind Nate and began to pull, both of them taking slow steps backward toward the hatch, being careful not to slip on the wet floor.

  Nate’s foot lost its grip and his legs slipped out from under him. He hit the floor hard, his head crashing into the metal and sending sharp pains throughout his body.

  “Hey,” shouted Einar, back into the Valkyria. “We need some more people out here! We have a Green overboard!”

  More footsteps thundered toward the hatch, with various crewmen all grasping hold of the rope. Slowly but surely Nate managed to work his way back to his feet, despite the chill wind tearing at his face.

  “Heave,” said one of the crewmen, and everyone pulled at the same time. “Heave,” he continued. Over and over the group yanked on the rope, pulling Kyle up inch by inch. The next few seconds seemed like a lifetime as they continued to wrench the rope backwards until Kyle finally managed to place his hands on the girder once again.

  “Secure that line,” shouted Nate to the crewmen behind him. They tied it around on the steam pipes in the corridor, making sure there was no slack between the pipe and Kyle. Nate knelt down and grabbed the young man, hoisting his back onto the airship.

  “Now, kid,” he said. “Do you see why you need to listen to what I am saying?”

  Kyle nodded, although Nate could see the anguish in his face. The crewman was only just seventeen, and as such, he obviously wanted to prove his worth as a man. Nate placed a hand on Kyle’s shoulder.

  “Hey kid,” he said, “relax. We all do foolish stuff sometimes. Learn from those mistakes and I am sure you will make a great crewman. Especially the bravery you showed when you climbed out there by yourself!”

  “Or was it stupidity,” said Einar, chuckling as he stepped over to Kyle. “Come on, crewman. Let’s get you inside. I will help Nate with this one. You need to rest.”

  Kyle agreed and walked back through the hatch, into the safety of the Valkyria’s innards, accompanied by a myriad of other crew members.

  “That kid is going to be difficult,” Einar said to Nate.

  “He seems very high strung.”

  “He is,” replied Nate. “But then, so were you and I.”

  “Good point.” Einar tied the robe around his waist before passing it to Nate. “Shall we get this over with?”

  Nate laughed. Einar was wincing at the girder. He had yet to truly become accustomed to the life of an airship crewman, although he always tried to hide it. His fear of tumbling from the ship had been the reason he was assigned to interior engineering only.

  “How is Alexia doing?”

  “Well,” said Einar. “She is a lot calmer these days. She has not tried to attack anyone for at least a month now, so I guess that is progress.”

  “What about her memories?”

  “She still does not remember me,” said Einar, his voice so quiet it was almost lost to the wind. “She remembers some things of her life, but only in fragments.”

  “What about that man? Did she remember anything about him yet?”

  Roughly four months ago Alexia had recalled parts of her time with the Inquisition. She had been in the company of a wrinkled man in a cloak who was apparently a lord within the Inquisition. But she had been unable to remember any other details.

  “Nothing new,” said Einar. “She keeps having nightmares about him though.”

  Nate tied his end of the rope around himself and began to move toward the girder.

  “Well,” he said, “the crew in the infirmary said to give it time. Hopefully she will remember more soon.”

  “I hope so,” said Einar. “But how can someone just destroy your mind like that?”

  Nate shuddered at the thought of someone cleansing him memories. The idea of forgetting people like Charles and the effect those people had on one’s life was terrifying. He could not even begin to imaging how Alexia would be feeling.

  For the first few months she had not even been able to remember her own name. To this day she could not remember her parents, her home town or her brother, even when he stood in front of her. The idea of looking at someone that was telling you they are your brother, and not recognizing their face was an idea of pure horror.

  “I do not know,” said Nate. “For now, all we can do is be there for her as much as possible.”

  Einar nodded and picked up the welder, its gas hose extending into a cavity in the exterior wall that acted as the tools housing. He wound the hose out from the wall and passed the welder and the sheet of metal to Nate before gripping onto the support handles next to the hatch.

  As Einar held their weight onto the Valkyria, Nate slowly stepped out onto the girder and back into the icy wind. The storm had become so strong that the rain drops felt like daggers as he moved along the metal beams. The further he moved away from the ship, the stronger the wind became, so he carefully got down onto his hands and knees, crawling along the girder slowly.

  “Well,” he said. “What a great way to spend a Saturday evening…”