Zeppelin Down
“How many crates did they give us?” First Lieutenant Luke Breider called up from the bilge of the large Zeppelin airship christened Erzbet. This would be her maiden voyage from the Americas into Europe.
“Seventy-five, a rather large shipment by my standards; especially for her first time truly flying.” Captain Colette St. Claire responded, marking each crate off on her parchment list as it was loaded into the belly of the ship.
Luke hauled another large wooden crate down the rickety staircase into the bilge. When he got to the bottom of the stairs he rapped harshly on the side of the container.
“What do you suppose are in these crates?” He queried, peering into a crack in the boarding in hopes that he would catch a glimpse of their cargo.
“Not quite sure. I was told that knowledge of our cargo was on a need-to-know basis and we didn’t need to know.” Colette checked off her 74th box from the list.
“That seems a bit odd to me, but who am I to question the government. It’s my duty to serve.” Luke rolled his eyes and came up the stairs for the last cargo crate.
He paused in front of Colette for a moment, and slyly leaned in for a kiss.
“My dear Lieutenant, how very unprofessional of you. You know that we are on a mission of the utmost importance and do not have time for frivolous gestures such as this.” Colette responded with a sarcastic grin and wrapped her arms around her love, returning the gentle kiss.
Only a few months before, right after Colette’s promotion to Captain in the A.A.D, the American Aeronautics Division of the United States Military, Luke Breider had proposed in one of the sweetest fashions. He had rented a hot air balloon for the day and obtained a rather skilled violinist to take them above the San Francisco Bay. There, he proposed to her over the glistening crystalline waters to a gentle tune that he had written and Colette had happily accepted.
Before Colette’s streak of good luck she had been the headstrong daughter of General Aston St. Claire of the United States Army and Eleanor St. Claire, a former Parisian socialite. She grew up with a close-knit family full of travel, excitement, good education, and a smattering of military lingo in her everyday life.
Colette had originally planned to get a good college education, something her family was well qualified to give her, but when she saw the pride and excitement that being in the army gave her father; she decided to pursue a similar career. She had always been interested in the skies: how birds flew, the formation of the clouds, the almighty power of the shifting weather, and the advancements that had been made in steam powered flying ships.
After much deliberation and several discussions that resembled arguments more than anything, her parents gave into her plights about entering the military. She had decided that she wanted to be the first airship Captain in the newly formed military branch with the innovative title of the American Aeronautics Division. She climbed the ranks quickly and skillfully at the fresh age of nineteen, catching on rather quickly despite the dubious nature of the infant military branch.
By the time she had turned twenty-five, she had finally made it to Captain and was given her first Zeppelin to command solely on her own. She had been on many other voyages on several airships in their early stages of development but never had she flown solo until the development and completion of the Zeppelin ship, Erzbet.
“That’s all of them.” Luke heaved the last crate down into the underbelly of the ship, brushed his hands off, and climbed back up to the ship’s deck.
“Good, right on schedule.” Colette checked her brass pocket watch, a gift from her father when she entered the aeronautical division.
“Make sure every crew member is on board, in position, and ready for flight. I’m going to go set the gauges for our destination and ready the captain’s quarters for our flight.” Colette took her captain duties seriously, even in conversation with her now fiancé.
“Aye, aye Captain!” Luke saluted her and went off to complete his own duties.
Colette lingered for a moment, watching her love walk briskly away to perform his tasks. How she loved him; he made her feel like no other person did. His words were always sweet, his actions kind and gentle; but when it came down to it, he would fight any man tooth and nail to defend her honor.
She snapped out of her amorous fog, straightened her captain’s jacket with its exaggeratedly long tails, and headed for the captain’s quarters.
“Jacob, Daniel, and Charles are down in the bilge manning the stokehold and making sure the cargo stays in place, John is at the stern, and Joshua is up in the crow’s nest. We are officially ready to set sail.” Luke saluted Colette again as he entered the captain’s quarters.
“Or take flight.” Colette smiled broadly, more than excited for her first voyage.
The two sat in the Captain’s quarters; Colette making sure every knob, button, and gear were in place while Luke set their coordinates on the built-in compass.
“Ready for flight, Captain St. Claire.” Luke saluted in a rather silly manner, not able to help himself.
Colette laughed, shaking her head, and leaned forward to speak right into a horn that would carry her voice all over the ship.
“All Air-Sailors in their place, the Zeppelin is ready for flight. All Air-Sailors to their designated faculties.” Her voice boomed over the intricate tube system to each area on the ship.
“Aye aye, Captain.” She heard from various positions, and when the last one had complied with the order, Colette turned a knob, shooting hot steam into the billowing balloon that rose high above the ship.
The lift off was rocky, shaking Colette and Luke in their seats, but once they were safely in flight, Colette could tell that things would sail smoothly from then on out. Or so she thought.
“This airship flying is simpler than I thought.” Luke mused, kicking his feet up on the desk he sat at covered in old paper maps, various directional devices, and a small kerosene lamp for when the sun went down. They had been over the ocean for some time, and soon would be hitting the island that was the United Kingdom.
“Easy for you to say, love. You aren’t the Captain.” Colette smirked as she stood at the helm, steering ever so slightly to the right as the Zeppelin caught a warm air pocket, trying to jerk the ship off course.
“Touché.” He retorted, rising from his reclined position to come and stand near his fiancé.
“When we get to Germany, I say we go have a romantic dinner somewhere and check into the most expensive hotel we can on the military’s dime.” Luke ran his finger down Colette’s arm, sending shivers through her tense body.
“Hmm, sounds good to me.” She smiled, letting go of the wheel to wrap her arms around her beloved’s neck.
She leaned in and kissed him gently, melting into his arms as he returned the gesture; deeper and more passionate.
As if to signal them back to their duties, the Zeppelin jerked violently and slowly started to descend.
Colette pulled herself from her fiancé’s arms and went to check the steam gauges. Pressure had dropped slightly and she wondered what would have caused it. There was a possibility that her air shipmates were slacking on the job. Keeping the coals going and the steam coming steadily was a tedious job, and she wasn’t surprised at the possibility that the men tending it had gotten bored and decided to take a break.
“Luke, darling, could you go check on Jacob and the others in the stokehold? I have a feeling that they got a tad tired of tending the coals. The pressure has dropped and it seems that we are still losing air.” She checked the gauges again and noted that their elevation had dropped several thousand meters.
“Yes, ma’am.” He saluted her again and left the Captain’s quarters to check on the rest of the crew.
“How’s the cargo holding up?” A burly man spoke in a thick Scottish accent as he shoveled coals into the furnace.
“They seem to be fine, Daniel.” Jacob spoke, making sure that the crates were still stacked neatly.
None of the crew knew what was inside their cargo, the only knowledge that they had was that it was very precious to their military and even more so to the parties that were to receive them.
“Anyone else curious as to what’s inside these boxes?” Charles questioned as he pulled down a lever that would slowly release water onto the coals, creating a billowing cloud of hot steam that rose up to power the zeppelin.
“I’ve considered taking a peek, but the Captain was very strict on no one interfering with the cargo. The Aeronautics Division was very specific on our orders.” Daniel boomed, leaning up against the inner wall of the belly of the ship.
“Yeah, I know, but it could be something amazing! Like jewels or secret government documents!” Jacob’s eyes were wide with intense curiosity as he gestured grandly towards the crates.
“Or it could be something that could kill us the minute we pop the lids on those crates.” Charles rolled his eyes and relaxed a bit.
“Or it could be that.” Jacob huffed and sat atop one of the many boxes that sat stacked in the brig. As he got comfortable, Jacob could have sworn he felt the crate beneath him shake a bit, vibrating faintly beneath him.
He knit his brow and slowly rose from his seated position, looking down at the specific crate he had been occupying.
“What is it?” Charles questioned, noting Jacob’s confused expression.
“I could have sworn that something just moved inside this crate.” Jacob nervously jabbed his finger at the specific piece of cargo.
“You’re probably just imagining things. We are hundreds of thousands of meters in the air. Pressure change and flight are bound to cause some vibrations.” Daniel spoke matter-of-factly, stoking the coals as he did.
“Yeah, but…” Jacob began to protest when the three air sailors clearly witnessed the shaking of the crate.
“Seeeeee!” Jacob jumped, wildly flailing his hand at the crate.
“Okay, now that I did see and that is just too much movement for pressure change and the like.” Charles admitted, standing from his sitting position.
“What if there are wild animals in there or something!” Jacob spoke, hysteria beginning to rise in his voice.
“There are no air holes in the boxes and I doubt there is any sedative known to man to keep seventy-five animals, at the least, sedated for the duration of our flight.” Daniel tried to be positive, but he too was a bit concerned.
“I’m taking a look,” Charles informed them, coming over to the crate that Jacob had been occupying.
“No, you said we can’t. It’s regulation, remember? If Colette catches us it could be considered mutiny or something!” Jacob hollered, though he didn’t stop Charles from examining the box.
“Now, you’re just being ridiculous. It’s for our own safety at the moment. No one briefed us on live cargo, so if it is alive for some reason, we need to know.” Charles grabbed a crowbar from his corner and hooked it under the lid.
He applied steady pressure and after a few moments the nails in the lid gave way and the lid itself popped up. Charles dropped the crowbar and lifted the lid, peeking cautiously inside.
What met his eyes was not a live animal, but a large metal box with the word хрупкий (khrupkiy), Russian for FRAGILE, printed on top.
“What is it?” Jacob asked feverishly.
Charles withdrew the box from the crate and set it atop another box, running his hands over the warmed metal.
“I have no idea.” He found the two large brass buckles on the front of the box and paused, his fingers ready to snap them back and open the cargo.
Daniel left his position at the coals and came to get a better look at what lay inside the crate.
Swiftly, Charles popped the clasps and opened the box. Nestled inside were two copper tubes, about a foot and a half in length and at least six inches around.
“What in the hell are those?” Daniel pointed to the copper tubes, an expression of concern on his face.
“I don’t know any more than you do.” Charles replied, turning one of the tubes over in his hand till he found an inscription on one side.
There, etched into the copper, was one word: VIVIFICATION.
“Vivification?” Jacob questioned, reaching out to run his hand over the smooth metal tube. He gestured to Charles to let him get a better look.
“Life-giving.” Charles murmured, as Jacob wandered away from the crate to the furnace so he could get a better look at the cargo in the light of the fire.
As he leaned in closer to the furnace, turning the tube over in his hands to see if there were any other inscriptions, the tube began to heat up quickly and before Jacob could cast it aside, it exploded in his hands.
The explosion was magnificent but almost inaudible as if all sound had been withdrawn from the bilge.
The impact, however, was not as forgiving. The three crewmen were lifted off their feet by the blast and sent flying into the remaining cargo boxes, crushing at least a dozen with the impact of their now lifeless bodies. The mangled tube lay near the smoldering coals, a lavender colored gas seeping from the eaves of the container. It crept slowly like fog throughout the bilge, covering the dead crewmen, the cargo, and anything else that lay in the belly of the ship with a thick blanket of smoky gas. After several minutes, the fog had filled the entire bilge and acted as a catalyst to the burning coals, taking them from smoldering orange heat to leaping flames.
The heat that built up inside the brig had now started a chain reaction. All around, inside every cargo crate, muffled bursts sounded as the other tubes with their gaseous contents exploded; gas seeping through the wood as it spread itself throughout the belly of the ship. After several minutes of the coals being left unattended and the fire now raging through the bilge; more smoke than steam had built up, causing the zeppelin to drop in its elevation.
Being the good captain that Colette was, she sent her true love to investigate the predicament that had caused the drop.
“Still losing air.” Colette mumbled to herself, trying to over-correct the fact that the airship was now plummeting even lower in the atmosphere. Any more of a severe drop and they would surely crash into the ocean and capsize instantly.
“What could be taking Luke so long?” She began to worry, jerking the wheel as the zeppelin was heaved sharply to one side. “I hope everything is alright.”
Luke struggled to keep his balance as he made his way across the ship’s deck and to the staircase that would take him down to the bilge.
As he neared closer to the entrance he could hear a dull roaring and a soft crackling sound. He knew that sound: fire.
He propelled himself down the stairs and jerked harshly on the heavy wooden door. It flew open to reveal a ton of smoke mixed with the noxious vapor.
His eyes stung as he called out to the crew, “Jacob? Daniel! Charles?”
What met his ears was no more than the sound of licking flames, crackling wood and popping metal. Luke could now smell burning flesh. He knew that that was a bad sign, but he had to trudge through the smoke and see if any of their crew was still alive. The smoke was almost blinding as Luke shuffled forward, arms outstretched to feel for any debris that might get in his way.
His foot caught something solid and he stumbled, falling to one knee. He felt around until his hand found what had tripped him: the sensation of charred flesh made his skin prickle, and he lowered his goggles that sat atop his head, hoping that he could get a better look as to who he had stumbled upon.
It was Charles. The charred flesh that he had run his hand over was what was left of his face. The skin had melted away over his right eye socket and part of his jaw, revealing blackened bone and jagged teeth. Clearly, he was deceased.
“Oh, Charles. What the hell happened to you, man?” He asked the corpse, studying the rest of his body for any indication as to what had caused all of this.
As if in response to his rhetorical question, Charles sat straight up, his skull cracking cruelly against Luke’s own.
Luke lost his balance and fell backward. In shock he waved his hands in front of him, flailing to get up as he heard the corpse of his former shipmate creep closer to him.
“Ch-Charles, don’t move. You have massive injuries and I need to get you out of here.” Luke hollered as he tried to straighten himself up into a sitting position.
There was no response from Charles; just a dragging sound as he neared Luke.
“Charles, stop moving about. You’re hurt and you are only going to make it worse.” Luke had finally pulled himself to his feet and reached out to feel for Charles in the smoky room.
But Charles found him first.
The vapor that had now fully filled the underbelly of the ship had somehow resuscitated the deceased crew members, leaving them mindless and out of control. Charles did not understand the words that flowed from Luke’s mouth. The only urge that surged through his body was to kill, and Luke was the perfect opportunity to stifle that urge.
The Charles-like thing lunged at Luke; a gritty gurgling sound escaped his melted lips as he closed his gnarled hands around Luke’s throat.
Luke choked at his friend, “S-sstop! Wha-what has gotten into—.” Luke struggled for air as he tried helplessly to pry the fingers of his crew-mate from around his neck.
Charles, however, didn’t understand. He held fast to Luke, digging his nails into the soft flesh as he began to back him into a corner of the bilge.
As much as Luke didn’t want to harm a fellow shipmate, his life was much more important. He lifted his right leg and kicked the creature that used to be his friend square in the stomach.
It let out a cry of mixed anguish and anger, stumbling back as it clutched its midriff.
Luke took this opportunity to attempt to flee back up the stairs and warn the remaining crew and his beloved Colette, but before he could make it to the door Daniel had now awoken.
Luke stood no chance as the burly man restrained his arms, pulling him back into the smoke and charred debris, while Charles was finally able to get what he desired.
The altitude of the Erzbet dropped drastically as Colette gripped the wheel firmly, trying to take back total control of her ship. She cast a hasty glance at the gauges that jutted up from the floorboards, noting that their needles were wagging wildly; the fires that powered the ship were not being kept.
“Something is seriously wrong.” Colette muttered, reaching out to wind a dial as she pulled the wheel hard to the left, locking it in place. Staying where she was and trying to fly a ship that was clearly out of control would do no one any good, and as the captain, she made the decision to go see what her crew and fiancé were doing besides slacking on the job.
Colette stumbled through the door to the Captain’s quarters and out onto the deck. She could see no sign of her crew anywhere; no one in the crow’s nest nor on the deck. It was then that she smelled smoke and looked to the staircase that led to the bilge. Thick grey clouds were pouring up from the belly of the ship as flames swirled and licked the banister that lined the stairs.
“Luke!” She screamed, running full tilt towards the entrance to the bilge.
