“Let go! This weapon is loaded with rockets!” Giles growled.
The sky pirate argued, “That’s exactly why I want it!”
During their struggle, the thug accidentally pressed the trigger and fired a rocket into his own body. The explosion blasted Giles backward and splattered the sky pirate into a bloody mess. Giles backflipped through the air until he finally regained control.
He felt frustrated by the result. “That was a disaster! I lost my bazooka too! Those sky pirates will kill me if I can’t get my hands on a weapon! Anyway, I’ll figure out something!”
Giles flew toward the battleship and tried to figure out a solution to his problem.
Chapter 19
Reb pushed Aiden away and then she struck his back with her baton. He wailed in pain and collapsed to his knees. The attorney promptly kicked the sword out of Aiden’s hand.
She lifted his chin with her baton. “Tell your boss to leave the zeppelin alone! This is not a request!”
Aiden was out of breath. “I can’t tell him anything. Dante is stubborn and closed-minded like you. It would be a mercy killing if you smash in my skull. The captain will do something much worse to me.”
Both of them glanced up and saw Dante hovered above the pirate ship. He landed on the deck and walked away from the hang glider.
The captain unsheathed his sword and pointed it directly at Reb then he marched forward. “You ruined my plans! I knew someone from your family would cause a problem! There isn’t anyone from my crew left in the sky! You took down my biplanes and hang gliders! At this point, it’s not about a $100,000 reward! This is about revenge!”
Reb picked up her sword and prepared for another duel. “Bring it on! I can sword fight all day long! More importantly, I’m worth a lot more than $100,000! That’s an insult!”
*****
Meanwhile, Priscilla and Beauregard found the rest of their group at the harpoon station.
Savannah hugged Priscilla and said, “I’m glad you guys are safe. Where’s Gable and Reb?”
“Gable took a biplane to rescue Oliver and Maggie. The sky pirates kidnapped them. I’m not sure about Reb. We haven’t seen her since this morning,” Priscilla explained.
“Oliver and Maggie were kidnapped? That’s a terrible situation! We can’t let anything happen to them!” Percy insisted.
Beauregard responded, “I think Gable and Giles have it covered. They were battling those sky pirates for quite a while. Look through the window. The biplanes and hang gliders are gone. Their plan must be working.”
Malcolm joined the conversation. “I have a feeling Reb is fighting in the fray too. There isn’t much left we can accomplish.”
Savannah looked through the window. “I suppose we can pray and hope everyone returns in one piece.”
On the battleship, Reb and Dante furiously brawled against each other. Reb held her sword up while Dante swiped downward. His sword clashed against her blade while she tried to maintain her balance. Dante used his upper body strength to shove Reb to the side. She rolled across the deck as the captain tried to stab her. Reb stood up and attacked him again.
“You’re a sick and twisted sadist! I am repulsed by people who kidnap children, murder civilians, and hijack Steampunk vehicles!” Reb yelled, as she swung her blade.
Dante yelled back, “I need that zeppelin! It will make my crew the most powerful band of sky pirates in the nation! Sacrifices were necessary!”
Reb climbed up on a pile of crates and tried to evade the captain. He followed Reb and swiped at her as she limped ahead. But he nearly lost his balance and was forced to jump off the unsteady containers. She also leaped off the crates and attacked him once more. Dante was surprised when he struggled to defend her assault. He walked backward while Reb continued to strike his blade.
“You look tired! Are you ready to give up?” Reb taunted.
“I’ll never give up! You’ll have to kill me!” Dante countered.
Their swords clanked together as the two enemies tried to overpower each other. Reb used all her strength to fling Dante’s sword through the air. His sword flew over the vessel’s side and disappeared.
Reb held up her sword again. “Now that you’re unarmed, I suggest giving up.”
*****
Gable landed on the deck in his biplane. He jumped out of the plane and hurried to the kids.
“Dad, you found us!” Oliver declared excitedly.
Gable hugged his children. “I would never let them take you! We need to leave! I have a plane that can take us back to the zeppelin! Let’s go!”
Maggie tugged on his coat. “What about Aunt Reb? She’s fighting the captain!”
Gable looked toward the other end of the deck, and saw that Reb had cornered Dante. “I think she’s going to be okay.”
Aiden interrupted them and shouted to the other sky pirates. “Don’t let them escape! Kill all of the Steampunks, including those kids!”
“Run!” Gable shouted, as the sky pirates aimed their electrical guns at them.
The casino owner took their hands and fled across the deck. They ran away while green electricity flared in their direction. While the family hurried out of reach of the deadly blasts, some of the electrical bolts struck the cargo. One of the electrical bolts destroyed the water supply, flooding part of the deck.
“How are we going to escape?” Maggie asked in a frightened tone.
Gable hoisted them on top of some boxes. “First, we need to climb on top of this cargo! Electricity and water is a deadly combination!”
He climbed on top of the boxes too and tried to shield the kids from electrical fire.
One of the green bolts struck the deck and electrocuted four of the sky pirates.
Aiden held up his hands. “Cease fire! There’s a ton of water on the deck! We don’t want to kill ourselves!”
Gable felt stranded on the cargo, but he didn’t want the kids to worry. “It’s going to be all right. We still have time to escape.”
He held Oliver and Maggie while the pirate ship continued to soar through the sky.
Chapter 20
On the other side of the deck, Reb kept Dante cornered.
“I have no intention of surrendering. This would be a good time for me to get out of here,” the captain mentioned.
He sprinted to an available biplane and climbed inside. Reb hobbled after him as he started the engine.
“Coward! There’s nothing tough or menacing about you!” Reb hollered.
She climbed on top of the biplane and it began to move across the deck. The biplane flew away from the battleship while Dante cursed his pursuer.
“You just won’t stop! Get off my biplane! You’ve already reclaimed the airship! Just let me go!” Dante complained.
She grabbed him and they both wrestled on the biplane. The vehicle swerved and flew wildly through the sky.
“Everything is about winning for people like you! I only care about justice!” Reb countered.
Dante turned the wheel around, causing the biplane to make a full circle toward the pirate ship’s rear. Reb lost her balance from the turbulence and almost fell off the biplane. She grabbed the edge and pulled herself higher up on the vessel again. Dante grabbed the front of her coat and pinned her against part of the biplane.
He punched her face a few times. “Die already! You’re dragging out my escape!”
The captain wrapped his hands around Reb’s neck and tried to strangle her. Reb’s eyes flew open in terror as he squeezed. But she kept hr wits about her and as looked back, she noticed a problem.
Using all her might, Reb kicked her enemy in the stomach to distract him. “Forget this! I’ll take my chances down below!”
She rolled off the biplane and fell through the sky.
Dante looked over the edge in disbelief. “Did she just take a swan dive?”
He looked up and saw one of the battleship’s turbines that rotated in a series of circles. Dante screamed as his biplane zipped towa
rd the engine. The biplane flew inside the turbine and created a massive explosion that rocked the pirate ship.
Gable and the kids fell off the cargo boxes and the trio ran across the deck.
“That didn’t sound good! We need to find a source of transportation!” Gable yelled.
The sky pirates were also jostled from the explosion. Most of crew members panicked and scurried across the deck.
Aiden was confused and frightened. “What’s going on? I don’t understand how that explosion happened!”
The battleship didn’t have enough power to stay afloat and it spiraled toward the ground. Onboard the zeppelin, the remaining Nelsons, Malcolm, and Beauregard watched the battleship as it plummeted through the air.
“I sure hope Gable and the kids escaped. That pirate ship is going to crash!” Percy exclaimed.
Priscilla bit her lower lip. “We have to keep our hope alive. It’s the only way I’m going to survive this ordeal.”
They continued to watch the enemy vessel as it slowly descended through the sky.
Chapter 21
Reb helplessly fell through the air, ranting, “I would take a dose of radiation, but it would probably turn me into something useless like an octopus!”
The attorney covered her eyes and waited for death. Someone grabbed Reb and took her up through the clouds. She looked to the side and saw Giles. He was wearing a jetpack.
“Surprise!” Giles said as they soared toward the zeppelin.
Reb was dumbfounded. “A jetpack?”
“That airship is full of treats. I can’t let you splat on the ground. You’re much too pretty for that,” Giles commented.
Reb laughed. “I suddenly have an appreciation for knights who swoop into dangerous situations to rescue damsels in distress.”
“Even heroes need a helping hand sometimes. Hold on tight. We’re almost there,” Giles said, as they flew to safer territory.
The battleship remained in serious peril as the second engine overheated and exploded, incinerating some of the sky pirates. Without any engines, the pirate ship started to fall much faster and with greater turbulence. It spiraled in circles, tossing around the cargo and crew. Several crates tumbled across the deck and smashed a few of the terrorists. One of the biplanes slid across the deck and landed against a wall.
“That’s our chance! Get inside the plane so we can escape!” Gable instructed.
The casino mogul helped Oliver and Maggie climb inside the biplane, then he followed them. Gable tried to start the engine, but the turbulence flipped the biplane out of the battleship. Both of the kids screamed as they fell through the sky. However, Gable started the engine and the biplane successfully flew toward the zeppelin.
Oliver tried not to faint. “That was a close one! I can’t handle these adventures!”
Maggie teased her brother. “You’re such a wimp. I thought it was pretty cool.”
“You’re already fighting with each other? I thought a near death experience would bring you guys closer together,” Gable pondered out loud.
“That’s not happening,” Oliver grumbled.
Gable lectured them. “By the way, don’t tell your mother about everything. Not yet. She’ll probably have a heart attack.”
“Fine with me,” Maggie replied.
“Ditto,” Oliver agreed.
Aiden and the other sky pirates were stranded on the battleship. It fell closer to the ground but all they could do is scream. The altitude and turbulence caused several of the sky pirates to tumble out of the vessel. They helplessly flailed through the air and cried for help. A biplane slid across the deck and crushed one of the thugs, squirting his blood onto the wall. Aiden clung onto a railing as the battleship spiraled and continued its decent.
The first mate knew their days were numbered. “No, it can’t end like this!” he shouted.
Finally, the pirate ship dove toward the Rocky Mountains, crashed, and exploded into a fiery catastrophe. A massive amount of smoke and fire emitted from the crash site, destroying the sky pirates and their reign of terror.
Chapter 22
After the sky pirates met their demise, the U.S. Air Force soon intercepted the zeppelin and took it back to Chicago. The airship docked at its station and the survivors were released. For the Steampunks, their journey through the sky was another tale of terrorism and survival. The Nelsons and their friends reunited and gladly exited the zeppelin.
Reb clung onto Giles and Percy as she hobbled across the gravel.
“You seem loopy,” Percy commented.
Reb struggled to walk. “I was too distracted to feel motion sickness, but now it’s catching up with me.”
She puked on the ground, then the two men dragged her along the path.
Giles looked away from the mess and said, “Somebody was spending hours whirling around in the sky. No wonder you’re sick.”
Savannah tried to straighten her frazzled hair. “I would say we had the worst trip ever, but history always repeats itself. Every time I say that, we have an experience that’s even worse.”
Gable was walking with his family and said, “I would still like to visit Washington D.C. someday.”
“Let’s not talk about traveling right now,” Priscilla grumbled.
“I’ll stick with video games,” Oliver commented.
“Trips are okay if they don’t involve kidnapping,” Maggie remarked.
Beauregard rubbed his sore neck. “At least this trip gave me some ideas for new paintings. That’s a perk.”
“I just want to catch some sleep. Thanks for having my back. I’m really glad you guys are okay, but it’s time for me to grab a cab. Take care of yourselves,” Malcolm stated.
Gable waved at Malcolm. “Get plenty of rest. Your life will return back to normal really soon. Don’t let this trip bring down your spirits.”
Malcolm waved at Beauregard and the Nelsons, then he entered the taxi line. The sports commentator sighed and quietly waited, but his moment of peace was cut short when Brigette found him. She hurried over to Malcolm and hugged him.
“I saw everything on the news! It looked so awful! I’m just glad you’re okay!” Brigette declared.
Malcolm wiggled away from her grasp. “Brigette, what are you doing here?”
“Believe it or not, I actually care about you. When I saw those sky pirates hijacking the airship, I felt really scared. I think we should give our relationship another chance. You survived and maybe it’s a sign.”
Malcolm looked down and shook his head. “No, I can’t be in a relationship with you. I deserve a woman who treats me with respect. My wife should be a woman of virtue and loyalty, who loves me unconditionally. Marriage is about partnership and trust. I deserve better than you.”
Brigette felt rejected and insulted. “Is that what you really think? Perhaps you can’t stop dreaming about Reb Nelson. Men always want unavailable women. I don’t think any woman will be good enough as long as you have a crush on her.”
“I guess Reb does have a lot of great characteristics. She’s brilliant, courageous, elegant, hardworking, and devout. I know you can’t identify with any of those traits. It’s time for me to move forward. Good-bye, Brigette. I hope you’ll have enough heart to love somebody one of these days,” Malcolm discussed.
His soon to be ex-wife turned around and stormed away.
Savannah approached Malcolm and placed her hand on his shoulder. “You made the right decision.”
“Yeah, but I don’t feel so optimistic about the future,” Malcolm grumbled.
“Why? I don’t think you’re in love with Reb. You’re in love with the concept of an independent and professional woman, who remains faithful to her man and stands up for justice. It’s perfectly understandable,” Savannah explained.
Malcolm felt somewhat better. “You’re good at reassuring people.”
“Unlike Reb and Giles, I’m a romantic. I can tell that you’re ready for love. It’s the key to a successful relationship. Give it tim
e and the right woman will come to you,” Savannah assured him before she left.
Malcolm climbed inside a taxi where he contemplated their discussion.
In the end, life returned to normal for the Nelsons and their companions. Percy finally mass-produced a successful line of humanoid robots that were appropriate for construction, military forces, and other tasks. Savannah designed a line of aviation-style clothing and added an internship to her company.
Gable and Priscilla returned to Las Vegas and focused on their careers. Gable expanded his casino franchise, while Priscilla found creative new ways to advertise her products. Oliver made a smooth transition from middle school to high school. He also moved up the ranks in competitive video game matches. Maggie continued to speak with Parker online and they formed a solid friendship. They wanted to meet in person in the future, but in the meantime, the youngsters continued their digital conversations.
Malcolm continued his busy career as a sports commentator and waited for the right woman to enter his life. Beauregard also stayed busy creating new artwork and helping other artists sell their paintings. He also published his first book about visual arts.
Reb and Giles spent their time running their agency and they added some new clients. Due to their thriving business, they hired more lawyers to help with the clientele. Life was a routine for Reb and Giles. They worked, spent time on their ranch, dealt with family drama, and stayed in touch with Parker. The couple hoped their future years would be more peaceful, and without terrorist encounters, but they knew it wasn’t a realistic ideal.
A couple weeks after the sky ship incident, Reb and Giles were enjoying a picnic on their private property. The pair sat on a blanket as they relaxed under the warm sunshine.
“Things seem to be simmering down again. It won’t last, but we can still appreciate the momentary peace,” Giles discussed.
Reb took a swallow of lemonade. “That’s how it works in dystopia.”
Giles munched on cheese and crackers while he reflected on several memories. “At least the rural environment here is still tranquil. It hasn’t changed much since the Apocalypse happened.”
The Post-Apocalyptic Society: A Nelson and Hyde Vendetta Page 22