The World Of Steam

30

We had made it outside of The Council Of Gold's organisation, still in one piece. I glanced back at the building quickly, seeing The Black Mark's brutal handiwork. The walls were broken, beaten up and looked like they were about to collapse at any second, bringing down the entire building with them. The double metal doors laid on the ground, torn off from their hinges, their surfaces bent inwards by the explosion. Soot spread outwards all along the walls. A pair of dead guards laid on the ground, each with a single bullet hole in his chest. Black smoke poured upwards from the roof continuously, no doubt something being on fire. That was all I needed to see to be able to assess the situation. We were winning. The council's base was crumbling and their numbers were being picked off one by one, leaving us with the higher advantage. This war would soon end in our favour. Victory was so close that I could practically taste it. I was almost glad with the entire situation. But it was still a meaningless war, which I did not approve of in the slightest. The countless deaths of the civilians was not necessary. They had no right to be fighting in a war of this scale, of any scale for that matter. They did not know the first thing about warfare, and as a result, many had been killed instantly, not being given a chance to survive a single day. All of a sudden, something caught my eye and my heart was quickly torn out of my chest, that hope of victory disappearing as soon as it had materialised. I looked up and stared, frozen in place with my hands hanging down by my sides. The rest, seeing my reaction, also looked up at the murky sky after a couple of seconds, wondering what it was that had caught my attention and why I was standing there like a zombie. A mammoth of a Zeppelin suddenly emerged through the clouds like a ghost ship, casting an even darker shadow onto the city. There were tens of mechanical weapons attached to it, prepared to sign the death warrants of anyone that was within their range. Giant machine guns were aimed at the city, accompanied by what looked like small cannons. No doubt that this was The Council Of Gold's doing. One of the members of The Black Mark twisted round and waved his hands at us frantically.

"Go!" He shouted. "Get out of here!"

We took the order without question and began to swiftly make our way through the streets, trying to get as far away as we could from the conflict. That small chance, that small hope of winning, was quickly torn away from us as the council had sent out their secret weapon. Suddenly, the Zeppelin let its weapons loose and bullets rained down upon us. The Black Mark aimed and began to pelt it with everything that they could, not caring that they were wasting their resources of bullets. Me and my companion kept running, trying our best to dodge the whizzing ammunition. The Black Mark let grenades and rockets fly towards the Zeppelin, firing them from their launchers. The bombs exploded as they collided with the seven hundred foot long balloon. Some dropped dead as the Zeppelin swiftly took care of them. Some of the soldiers retreated and hid away wherever they could, trying to make themselves invisible to the bullets. We made our way through the streets, and waiting for us, was an armoured truck that had a large triangular plough stuck to the front of it. The truck was scratched, dented and long since needed a service, but it still stood strong. A member of The Black Mark stuck his head out of the side window and slapped his hand onto the door, beckoning us inside.

"Get in!" He shouted. We opened the back door and stepped inside without question, sitting down at the seats. The driver slammed his foot down onto the accelerator and sped his way through London, casually bashing cars and obstacles out of the way, clearing a path. An enemy aimed his machine gun at us and glued his finger to the trigger. The bullets proceeded to pelt us, but they all ricocheted against the armour uselessly, not managing to hit the thin slit that was the windshield. The driver ran him over without a hesitation and some blood splattered against the windscreen. The truck jumped slightly as the wheels crushed the man's head, spraying blood and brains onto the ground. Jennix looked down at the floor and put her head in her hands as the driver escorted us out of the kill zone, further and further away from the conflict. The fight against the Zeppelin still raged on, turning into the beginning of a long battle. Dexton sat in a comfortable chair, staring out of the giant window of the Zeppelin, having a front row seat of the war. Despite the single digit temperature, he was still dressed in his ruined shirt, only caring about the destruction of the city.

"Steady as she goes!" He commanded, showing no discomfort whatsoever from the freezing air surrounding him. "I want this city to be a giant pile of rubble when we're done!"

The airmen, all clad in thick and woollen aviator jackets, made their way through the Zeppelin across gangways that showed the burning city beneath them. The wind howled throughout the entire shell of the airship, but they simply shook the cold off and got down to the work at hand. They all instantly manned their posts and obeyed the order without one hesitation. One airman pulled down a lever, releasing a whizzing flurry of bombs that blew up the city, decorating the war with red clouds. Buildings exploded and shattered, spraying themselves all over the place. Roads became dug down with craters. Army formations scattered about as the bombs hit them head on, decimating their numbers. Some airmen sat at colossal machine guns that roared like thunder, spitting fire with every shot. Spent bullets littered their posts, looking more like mortar shells. The people below flailed about as their limbs were torn off, the giant bullets cleaving through their bones easily. Buildings shattered as the bullets hit them randomly, spraying small bits of concrete everywhere, destroying the years worth of masterful masonry work. Workers shovelled coal into a small row of large furnaces, powering the giant steam generator that kept the Zeppelin afloat. They were all clad in old and dirty t-shirts that were covered in coal dust. Sweat poured down their blackened and dirty faces, but they still kept on with their work. Large pipes leading from the furnaces were connected to the walls, filling the Zeppelin with scalding steam. Dexton stood up from his seat and made his way into a room that constantly crackled electricity like a giant Tesla coil. A giant round device was stuck to the wall, moulded out of metal and glass. A blue light pulsed lightly from the middle of it, fuelled by the lightning that crackled around it brightly. Dexton walked over to the engineer that was fiddling about with a fuse box. He was dressed in a long cotton coat that went down to his ankles. Thick woollen work gloves covered his hands, protecting him from the current and dark goggles covered his eyes. His long hair stood up on end and waved about like seaweed on the ocean floor. He closed the fuse box up and turned around to the chief.

"Is it in prime working order?" Dexton asked him, keeping his distance. He knew better than to stand near him. The static charge might not have been enough to kill him, but he did not want to take that chance.

"Yes it is." The engineer replied, seeming incredibly calm despite the high risk of electric shock. Dexton merely nodded to him and left, still bombarding the city without pause. The Black Mark began to pelt the Zeppelin with everything that they could. Bullets, grenades, rocket launchers. The Zeppelin's fabric shimmered slightly with every single hit that it took. It did not even tear. A force field. The Black Mark fought on, but as the machine guns cut them down, they quickly had no choice but to retreat.