Skyrun

Chapter 29; Beasts of iron and bronze.

The shrill shriek of the metallic wails was enough to sent shivers down Liam's spine, shaking him down to his very soul.

From behind him, sounding as though she was leagues away, captain Valentine swore as the ship was knocked about once more.

"Blast!" she hissed, "Sinclair what in the name of the gods is that?"

Unfortunately, they did not have long to find out, for the moment the question left her lips, the grinding sound grew unbearably loud and a shadow cast itself over the airship, putting them all in darkness.

Shaking the rain from his eyes, Liam stepped back a pace, his heart stopping, his breath catching in his throat as his eyes grazed over the terror that rose up before them.

Roughly twice the size of their own ship, the machine was huge and dragon-like in appearance, with a long, bronze body made of metal plates bolted together. 

Its face, a hideous mesh of wire and clockwork, was mostly mouth; its jaw opening and closing via a large gear near the corner of its maw, revealing rows upon rows of teeth made for tearing and grinding the wood of airships.

Moving with sporadic, jerking motions, the metal creature stared down at Liam with glass eyes practically popping from its skull and with a final roar, it lunged, aiming for the side-sails of the ship.

With a deafening crack, its jaw slammed shut around the cloth sail, tearing it from the airship and sending the entire vessel leaning precariously to the side.

It was all Liam could do not to go toppling overboard, and with shaking hands, he quickly snatched onto the main mast till the ship righted itself. Then, with his heart beating out of his chest he... simply stood, too frightened to move.

All around him were the screams and shouts of the crew as they rallied whatever weapons they had against the creature as it lunged once more, this time ripping off the other sail and sending the ship careening wildly to the right, tipping precariously.

'That's how all those other men went missing,' Liam thought frantically as he clutched onto the mast for dear life, 'The sky serpent threw them all overboard.'

Such a thought, coupled with the fact that he knew he was going to die, made Liam feel as though he was going to be sick. 

That, along with everything else.

The screams of the men around him, echoing in his ears. The cracking of boards and roars of the dragon as it dove under their vessel and came round the other side, slicing its claws along the ship's hull with a horrid scraping noise. The smell of rain mixing with the metal of the beast. The shouts of captain Valentine as she shouted curses at the beast. The thunderous bangs of the cannons as they were fired, making small dents in the serpent as it attacked again and again.

And still, Liam could not move, his feet frozen to the spot as though he had glued them there.

'No...' he thought desperately, closing his eyes, 'I can't do it. I can't fight something like this... not like this.'

This creature-- this thing-- was not like anything he had faced before; it wasn't a mere horde of ghosts coming for his soul or a group of pirates or a fickle storm. No, this was a massive beast of iron. An ancient beast awakened and waiting for blood.

He could not hope to defeat something like that.

And yet... as he heard the screams of the dying about him as their ships was slowly torn to shreds, Liam could not help but feel ashamed, guilt clawing at his gut like a new beast of its own.