by Tim Wellman
"Y'all will need to undo the two tethers in back," Kato said.
"Got it!" Stevenson said. "Do we do it together?" He looked at Carlisle and pointed.
"On three?" she said.
He nodded. "One. Two. Three!" They both lost their balance and fell toward the front of the cockpit.
"Oh, should have warned you about that," Kato said. "We'll be ass up until we clear the doors."
"I'm ass-up, now!" Carlisle said.
"You flirting with me?" Stevenson said. He was on his feet and held his hand out to help her up.
"Keep it in your pants until we're sure we're not going to die!"
"It's gonna be bumpy getting out of here, so sit down," Kato said.
"So, it's down to this, isn't it?" he said, as he sat down beside the professor on a bench seat. "Our great escape."
Everyone got quiet. No matter how they tried to cover the situation with jokes, it was starting to feel like they had reached a critical moment in the trip. Carlisle looked out the glass as the balloon noisily cleared the roof and they were free-floating. The sky was filled with the flying creatures, darting toward them and circling around them. There were hundreds of them, but it was instantly evident something weird was going on.
"You see it, right?" Kato said, as she pushed the throttle down and the airship began moving forward. She could pilot the ship... like an expert, calmly and confidently, steering, pulling levers to release ballast, pushing pedals with her barely-reaching feet. "They're avoiding the ship. It's just like the demon creatures wouldn't get close to the statues in the cave."
"But why?" Carlisle said. "It's some sort of magic?"
"Some sort," Kato said. "Takes some very powerful magic to enchant objects, living things, not so hard, but inanimate objects... damned near impossible." She turned the ship slowly portside and pointed. "Down there, see it? That must be the tunnel continuing on out of the city and down to..."
"The devil himself? There's an open door," Stevenson said. "That's why they're out."
"I'm looking down on the entire city," Carlisle said, as she took a picture. "There's no sign of destruction, no skeletons, no signs of struggle or fighting." She looked at Stevenson. "Where are the people? Where the hell did they go?"
He shrugged. "Died underground, maybe?" he said. "Or just escaped. Though I don't think they'd leave their clothes and belongings. Demons on one side, aliens on the other; they picked a hell of a place to built a new world."
"Just a thought," Kato said. "Could the aliens have come back and taken them?" She banked the ship sharply and continued in an upward spiral. "I remember reading the old stories from before the invasion, about abductions, people just disappearing."
"Back before I believed in aliens... yesterday," Carlisle said, "I would have laughed at you. But now... it seems a real possibility, doesn't it."
"But they were able to fight the aliens, right?" Stevenson said. "The dead ones we saw in the tunnel..."
Carlisle nodded. "I guess they thought it was over and let their guard down. Couldn't fight the second wave."
"Wouldn't it be cool to travel the world, trying to find the answers?" Kato said. "Alien hunters. Carrying on the city's fight."
Carlisle smiled. The thought had already occurred to her.
"Something to think about when we get through this," Stevenson said. "I wouldn't mind traveling a bit after a long and messy honeymoon."
"I'm the brains, wolfgirl is the soul, and you're the muscle, huh?" the professor said.
"Hold tight, a sharp turn coming up!" Kato said. "Look down!"
The other two looked out a window and didn't notice at first, but then it became obvious. The lizards weren't following them any higher. They were all below the airship. "Are they afraid of the caves, too?" Carlisle said.
"I think so," Kato said. "We're getting close, now, so it looks like the top of the balloon rests up there on that outcrop." She pointed out the window at rocks that were overhanging the cave opening.
"Can you get it in there?" Stevenson said, and paused. "Why does that sound dirty?"
"Because you have a dirty mind," Carlisle said.
"Hold on," Kato said. She gave the ship more throttle so she could steer it better, and pointed the nose right at the outcrop. "Gonna be bumpy!" And it was. The ship hit the rocks and nearly jarred all three of them out of their seats. And it continued as the top of the ship scraped against the rocks.
"Shit!" Carlisle said.
"Almost there!" Kato yelled.
And the ship came to a sudden stop.
"Okay, we should be lined up so the walkway plank will crank right out into the cave," the witch said. She hopped up and smacked her hands together. "Time to see if we've wasted our time and risked our lives for anything at all." She pointed to the hand crank on the floor. "Now, we need a big, strong man to crank the bugger out."
Carlisle looked at Stevenson. "You're the muscle, shop teacher. Get to it!"
-20-
Welcome To Power
"Okay, that's it," Stevenson said. "The walkway is well into the cave."
"Uh, not to make too big of a point of it, but that's twenty feet long, and just about a foot wide, and a hell of a long way down," Carlisle said.
"Don't worry; you can stay here," Stevenson said.
"You both need to stay here," Kato said. "I have to go in there alone."
"But you don't have a clue what you'll find in there," Stevenson said. "There could be anything in there... really dangerous stuff."
"I'll be okay," she said. "I have my sword." She smiled and then narrowed her eyes. "I am a little scared."
She put her arms around her new friends' necks and squeezed them tightly.
"I can go," Stevenson said.
"No, it has to be a witch," she said, pulling herself away while receiving kisses. She pointed at Carlisle's camera. "Give me that, I'll get you a picture of the cave." Carlisle handed it to her and she put the strap around her neck. The professor handed her the derringer, too, and Kato stuffed it into a cape pocket. "If it's the magical object I think it is, you couldn't find it; probably couldn't even see it. I'm the only one who can find it." She pulled open the door and put one foot on the plank, and then stepped out quickly and practically ran across the length and disappeared into the cave.
"What do you think," he said, as he stared into the cave.
"About what?" Carlisle said. "She can take care of herself."
"Not that," he said. "About magic." He looked at her with a concerned expression. "Do you think she will become something different if she finds this thing?"
"Like an old hag with a pointy hat?" she said with a chuckle.
They were silent for a few seconds, both watching the mouth of the cave. The lizards were still staying away. They were both sweating, from nerves and the fact that the outside temperature was slowly seeping into the carriage.
"Is she taking too long?" he said.
"You're not her dad," Carlisle said. "She's an adult; she knows what she's doing."
"We didn't even know her yesterday morning," he said. "Now, seems like I've known her all my life."
"She should be out by now, shouldn't she?" the professor said.
"You're not her mom," Stevenson said with a smile. "I can at least cross the plank and look inside the cave in case she needs help." He suddenly got a confused look on his face. "What just happened?"
"I don't know," Carlisle said. "Did it get darker?"
"The torches!" he said. He pointed down at the town where all the torch flames had lowered. "That's not all," he said.
They both watched as all of the flying lizards began flying off toward the far tunnel.
"She's found the stone!" Carlisle said. "She's got the power to control the city, now."
All of the monsters disappeared through the tunnel, even though the massive door remained open. They both smiled and continued to stare out the front window. "Hopefully we'll have time to get to our tunnel before they come back," he
said.
"Then we'd better get moving, huh?" Kato said. She was standing behind them in the cockpit.
Hey!" They both hugged her. "You're safe!" Carlisle held her out at arm's length and stared. "You found what you wanted?"
"The stone?" she said. She opened her hand and showed it to them. "It will take me years to learn to use it properly, but thanks to you two, yes, I found what I wanted."
"What was it like in there?" she said.
Kato handed her the camera. "You'll see when those are developed."
"All right, Captain," Stevenson said. "Steer us out of here!"
She sat down in her pilot's chair and flipped the reverse switch on the prop transmission and hit the starter button and revved the engine. The balloon started to shake and wobble as it pulled itself from under the rocky overhang and became free again. "I think I can back all the way over to the tunnel," she said.
"You can control the torches and the lizards, now," Stevenson said. "Did you get any other powers?"
"I can hear colors, now," she said casually, as she looked over her shoulder and through the back of the cockpit, trying to keep the ship online with the tunnel. "Just kidding."
"Any new sexual powers?" Carlisle said. "Longer tongue?"
"Nope, sorry," she said. "I'm going to have to just stuff this thing onto the ledge, so sit down and prepare for a crash landing."
"The girl gets all the power in the universe and suddenly she becomes all bitchy goddess!" she said, as she and Stevenson sat down.
Kato smiled. "Sorry. Please, have a seat. Otherwise you will be killed."
"That's better," the professor said.
"Fifty feet," the witch said. "Forty..."
"We're going pretty fast!" Stevenson said.
"Needed, to make sure we stay put when we land," she said. "Ten feet... hold on to something!"
There was a loud scraping sound, then a jolt, then another, then a sudden, violent stop which jarred all three of them from their seats and onto the floor. But, they had landed on the ledge by the tunnel and were safe.
"Shit!" Carlisle said.
"Come on," Kato said. "We need to get out fast before the ship shifts and falls. The balloon is damaged. I can hear it hissing!"
They could all hear the gas escaping from several large gashes in the material. Stevenson grabbed the flamethrower and they all hurried out the side door and jumped onto the ledge. The ship wobbled and started to slip off, and then became airborne again and started to fall as more and more gas escaped. They watched as it gained speed and as it hit the ground, it smashed into hundreds of pieces. Everyone took a deep breath and huddled together.
"Wasn't sure we were going to get out of town alive," Carlisle whispered. "But... HELL YEAH! We're safe, my darlings!"
They walked back into the tunnel and Stevenson grabbed the handlebars of the bike and began rocking it back and forth to get it turned around and facing home.
"Are we really a team?" Kato said. "Going to drop everything and hunt for aliens?"
"Well, after we get this place documented properly," Carlisle said. "But, by summer we'll be ready go." She climbed into the sidecar and patted her lap. "Of course, the marriage will take place immediately."
"Okay, just wondered," she said, as she climbed in and sat down on the professor's lap. She took a long puff on her pipe and filled the air with her now-familiar scent. "Hate to think I've wasted my time training you two."
Carlisle wrapped her arms around her as Stevenson straddled the seat and kicked it along until it took off on its own power. "When we get to the Mission, we'll stop for a meal and a good wash," he said. "Don't want to go back into town looking and smelling like this."
"I've seen you looking worse," Carlisle said. "After some of your all-nighters."
"True," he said. "I just thought you'd want to wash my semen out of your hair." He chuckled.
"Ooh!" she said. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"You didn't ask," he said.
"Did I need to ask?" she said.
"Let go of my tits!" Kato yelled.
"Really?"
"Naw, just kidding," the little witch chuckled. "Play away!"
"I can think of another reason to stop soon," Stevenson said.
Everyone nodded.
About The Author
Tim Wellman studied Creative Writing at Marshall University and was the editor of a college literary journal. He has several books published. He lives in West Virginia and spends his time writing, creating art, and playing video games.
Be sure to look for his long steampunk novel, Appalachian Trail, his long magical realism novel called The Zaconi Sisters' Incredibly Terrible Plan To Escape Their Rotten Lot In Life, and his several steampunk mystery novellas and collection of horror short stories.
