by S. S. Engle
Kassidy had the women raid the abandoned Seaside Hotel at the northern end of the airfield for supplies. It’d been bombed pretty bad already, but the ruins were not in bad enough shape to not be able to recognize where the kitchen and storehouse was located. Kassidy sent some women inside while she had a team of other women standing outside to keep watch. Kassidy was on edge by the fact that they had been under such heavy and constant fire upon landing, and now there wasn’t a Ringer in sight not headed for the O’Brien mansion. And there was a terrible smell. The women pushed it aside as a consequence of the hotel being reduced to rubble, but it was different than construction dust and concrete. Kassidy smelled the pungent aroma of alcohol. The other women began smelling it too the longer they were outside and the wind blew. The fact that the alcohol was overpowering the smoke got them anxious. And the concrete behind them did have splashes that were wetter than others. Maybe more so than what would have naturally been there form broken pipes. Kassidy and one other woman began to investigate the source of the smell, walking out towards the cliff to try and get a better whole picture perspective. But they didn’t like what they saw.
No sooner did Kassidy turn around did she witness flames flying through the sky. They were coming in from the city, from the other side of the Steele River. But when the flames hit their target, they exploded. The women were not harmed, until the fire began to spread. The team Kassidy had left outside to stand watch had dropped their weapons now and were running into the hotel for cover and to get their friends and family out of the rubble. The blood curdling screams were harsh for Kassidy to hear as she too began running for the rubble to try and rescue anybody she could. The unmistakable smell of human flesh burning had hot tears leaving tracks across Kassidy’s face. It was all in her mind, but she absent mindedly began clutching her forearm, where she had been burned in such a similar situation seventeen years prior. There were women coming out now, being dragged behind as nothing more than melted and charred remains. The screams wouldn’t stop. As the discoveries were made, as the women died. The flames had just stopped flying, and Kassidy had targeted the last Ringer. In a non-stop run, she passed the collection of guns the women had abandoned on the ground, took one up in each hand, and began running for the bridge that connected the airfield to the city. She was going to catch that last Ringer and make him pay for what he and his fellow gang members had just done. Kassidy was going off alone for this, and didn’t care to look behind her once to see if she was being followed or not. She just had to do this, and was screaming cowardice obscenities as the Ringer ahead of her kept dodging her flying bullets. He was leading her right back to the mansion, but she wasn’t slowing down.
On the southern end of the city the fight was much less dramatic. The women had landed on an abandoned shore. The harbor was empty, evacuated of any and all people. The submersibles were docked nicely, tied off and ready to go if need be. Only two shots had been fired, one was by mistake caused by jitters, and another as a warning to try and draw out any Ringers that may have been stalking the area. From the palace, Harlan heard the shots, and made his way down into the train depot since the palace had been left completely untouched in the attack. After running inventory on the women
he found in the harbor he learned that Kassidy had taken her half of the force to the other side of the city. That’s what Luca meant. She took the most difficult assignment for herself. Harlan was pushing hard for the women to stay where they were and hold the harbor down, but before he could finish convincing the women, one of their own came running in from the city, gasping for breath, soaking wet and covered in sand from her knees down. It wasn’t clear if it was water or blood that had soaked her, but it was clear she had had a much more difficult morning than the women in the other half seeing her now. Harlan rushed over to the runner at once, and she half collapsed into his side to the point he had to wrap his arm around her waist and pull her arm around his neck to support her weight.
“What’s going on?! Who sent you?”
“Kassidy sent me. We hit a terrible current, that forced us to surface early. The Ringers were waiting for us. We probably lost half the women just trying to take the beach, but Kassidy got us into the airfield. She took the tower! She wants us to push into the mansion. She’s taking the front, and we’re supposed to come up the back alley.”
“I thought the plan was to hold the beaches?”
“That’s just what Kassidy told me.”
“I can’t believe she sent you all alone!”
“She didn’t. Gisele came with me, but when we crossed the river we had to take the bridge. She got shot in the arm on the beach and couldn’t swim across. The Ringers got her. There was nothing I could do. They shot her in the back as we were running.”
She was gasping so hard now her throat was dry, and when she coughed she curled up into a ball at Harlan’s side. He let her slide down to the ground to try and catch her breath as more of the women rushed over to try and help her back up onto her feet. Seeing one of their own so torn back, it was hard to try and convince them to follow orders and push back into harm’s way when their morning had bene so uneventful in the harbor. Eventually though Harlan used his public speaking skills and rallied the women around supporting his old friend. After just five minutes’ prior he’d been begging them to stay, they now rallied around him and pushed into the train depot and out into the city streets. Harlan was going to lead them down into the alleys and up to the back of his mansion, hoping to reunite with Kassidy as soon as he could. But he hit an obstacle upon entering the alleys. They were not entirely left abandoned. Silas slid out of the shadows, in his all black and smoky clothes. A tattered top hat still sat crookedly on his head. But he was unarmed. The women didn’t know what to do. They stood back with guns poised as Harlan warned them to give him a second. Both men stepped close to each other’s faces and turned to the side as if to pretend they weren’t speaking to each other. Harlan knew the women were watching his every move, and spoke through clenched teeth and a smile. Silas played into the gag, and smiled as well as they whispered.
“What are you doing here Fox? A dog usually doesn’t stray that far from his master.”
“Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you.”
“I’m no dog! You forget who you’re speaking to!”
“I know exactly who I’m speaking to. A scared little boy. That’s all you’ve ever been, and that’s all you’ll ever be. That’s why she wants nothing to do with you. She needs a man who can handle the woman she is. Asa will handle her right.”
“Where is she?!”
“Don’t worry. We don’t have our hands on her…yet.”
“I swear to god Silas…if you do anything to hurt her…”
“You’ll what? Cry about it like you usually do? You can’t help her Harlan. You never could. Even if you tried, you’d never make it in time.”
“Where is she?!”
“Last I saw her she was running to the mansion. She might even be there already!”
Harlan lost it now but Silas kicked his knees out from under him and he fell to the ground awkwardly. Harlan couldn’t take such a jolt as he was still healing, and winced deeply in pain trying to suppress his screams for the women’s morale. They got their arms around him and picked him up and began firing at Silas running away but it was no use. He scampered back off into the shadows and disappeared. The wind was beginning to change direction now, and the black smoke hanging over the city began to push its way off shore. It was favorable for the Dreadcranks, as it would aid in their final strike and escape. Luca already had the Lydia wheeled around from where it had flown off to in the northern end of the city. It was much more maneuverable having dropped a majority of its load. He wanted to fly down the coast and see it secured to encourage the men their women were well taken care of, but that’s not what he saw at all. Jasper spotted it first, the greenish tint in the smoke above the Seaside Hotel.
The women’s shrieks of pain were quick
ly picked up in the wind. Men began rushing for the edges of the ship, hanging off the rigging trying to identify loved ones. There were charred bodies, blackened and unidentifiable laying out like a graveyard on the airfield platform. The beaches looked as though they’d thrown up an underwater war and spat the debris out onto the sand helter-skelter. It was truly horrific. Luca slapped his white gloved hand over his face and knew all the victories they thought they had up to this point had all been erased by the women’s losses. Luca stopped short of his final push on the mansion and landed the Lydia down in the airfield to try and pick up the pieces of what was left. He was desperately trying to find where Kassidy was, hoping she’d be in charge somewhere. He looked for her in the tower as he descended but saw nothing but bodies. His heart was racing and he became sick to his stomach understanding the reality of why he couldn’t find her. But as the Lydia touched down a man from Rusten Island ran over to the side of the airship and began searching the road across the river and pointing to something. Luca came up to the slowly gathering crowd and wanted to know what it was that was holding their attention. The men were smiling, and Luca thought it an off expression given the circumstances.
“What’s so interesting boys?”
“There’s a woman in a firefight over in the city. She’s going absolutely mad. When we first flew over I thought I saw someone running down the street. I thought it was a Ringer, but she was chasing him. She’s almost got him now! She does have him! As if it wasn’t enough she shot him to hell now she’s stabbed him! Oh! That’s got to hurt!”
“I don’t think he’s able to feel much anymore.”
“Hey Lucky, isn’t that…isn’t that the Pyrette Queen?”
“That’s Kassidy alright.”
“Your girlfriend is a badass!”
6
Kassidy was in the middle of the street, straddling the body of the last Ringer to shoot the flaming arrows at the Seaside Hotel. It was a young man she had never seen before, probably a newer recruit. While he wasn’t solely responsible for the brutal attack that killed her women, he was the only man Kassidy could manage to get a hold of in time. Everyone else had run out of range or took shelter in the alleys to get back to the mansion. This particular unfortunate Ringer now had thirteen bullet holes in his torso. That alone was enough to kill him, but that didn’t mean that’s what he died of. As he collapsed onto the cobblestones Kassidy put her boot in his chest and shoved him all the way down to the ground. He attempted to crawl backwards on his hands but he just didn’t have the strength. When she went down on her knees to pin him to the ground she had every intention of slitting his throat. Her face being the last thing he’d ever see. But even in the heat of the moment, as angry as she was, she felt a shred of pity for the young man. Rather than using her knife to slit is throat, and hear him gurgle and choke on his own blood, which he was already beginning to do, she stuck him through the heart. He died instantly. The knife handle with the engraved A just sticking up out of his chest.
To her backside, Kassidy heard a group of footsteps rapidly approaching. Knowing some sort of retaliation force was probably coming after her she quickly plucked her knife out of the young Ringer’s chest, collected her guns off of the ground, and took shelter in a nearby shop whose wall had been blown apart by the bombing raid. As the footsteps got closer they were slowing down, and it gave her time to exchange her empty clips for full ones stuffed into her corset. By the time a brave man decided to follow her into the building Kassidy was ready for him, gun loaded and cocked back into position. Her knife that she had wiped clean on her skirt was clenched tightly between her teeth. She took her stance, sucked in a deep breath, and held her ground. But she didn’t need to. As the man revealed himself he stuck his mechanical arm around the corner of the rubble first, then cheekily peeked his hand around and gripped the concrete’s jagged edge. Kassidy was so startled and confused that it was Luca who had found her now she dropped the knife out of her mouth and it clanged on the ground as Luca rushed in to sweep her off her feet in another one of his huge bear hugs. As he set her down he saw her biting her bottom lip, and slowly slid his hands down to her waist to pull her into him.
“Did you miss me Luca?”
“We flew over the hotel. When I didn’t see you I assumed the worst.”
“You should know better than to do that. What brought you over here so fast? I thought you weren’t supposed to land unless something went wrong.”
“Something did go wrong. We saw the beach. What happened?”
“It hasn’t been my smoothest morning. The rough water forced us to come up earlier than I wanted to. Then the Ringers just pounded us. They were relentless.”
“I saw the tower.”
“They held high ground, but I took them out. I secured the airfields, then I sent a runner to go get the other half of the women from the harbor. I have no idea what they had to put up with.”
“I haven’t flown over, but from what I know it’s been quiet in the southern end of the city all morning.”
“Good. Then our numbers aren’t completely decimated.”
“What happened at the hotel?”
“That unlucky young man out there could tell you, if he were still alive.”
“Don’t feel guilty. He knew what he signed up for.”
“I don’t feel guilt. It’s just a shame. I told the women to go raid the hotel for supplies. I stayed outside with my own team to keep watch. We smelled something funny so I went to go check it out. But once I walked away the Ringers came out from the road on this side of the river and began pelting the rubble with flamethrowers. It just went up faster than any of us expected. He was the only one I could get my hands on.”
“The Ringers soaked the rubble of the hotel with absinthe. That’s what the smell was.”
“That would explain why it went up so fast.”
“And why the smoke looked green when I came in.”
“I always knew Asa had a flair for the dramatic, but even that seems a bit much.”
“We had to expect he would stoop so low. He’s been made an utter fool of. No amount of pretty talk is going to be able to get him out of this one. From one end of the city to the other we’ve made our mark.”
“So, you guys didn’t hit any snags?”
“It went off without a hitch this morning.”
“I’m the only downfall then. Fantastic. Not the first black mark on my record.”
“You’re not a downfall.”
“Luca, between the beaches and the hotel, anybody that followed my lead this morning looks and feels like hell.”
“No sacrifice, no reward.”
“I’ve done plenty of sacrificing. When is it my turn to get the reward?”
“It’s coming. I’m just glad to see you weren’t among those that died today.”
“I don’t know how I made it.”
“Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answers to.”
“Is the whole morning sidelined now? Have you busted everyone’s schedule to come and check up on me?”
“Not at all. I’ve got the word out for the Dreadcranks and our supporters to rendezvous back here. Once they land we’ll push into the city on foot. We’ll go street by street, try to pick up some more numbers on our way. The Ringers can only last in the mansion for so long before they go stir crazy. We can wait them out.”
“And what happens when they do lose it? Will we be fighting it out in the streets?”
“We’ll do whatever we have to do to kill Asa. Once the head of the snake gets chopped off, the snake is no longer a threat.”
“You said you were sending word out to the guys, does that mean your radios still work?”