“What’s going on?” he shouted. But again, there was nothing but distant crackle.
He looked up forlornly for something that would give him some clue as to what was happening far up in the airship. There was another flash of lightning and a clap of thunder – so close that the cloud car shook. Jack looked up to the clouds again, and suddenly he saw the nose of the airship breach the underside of the dark cloud like a vast diving whale. It was still flying but it was also dropping at an alarming rate. As the mighty airship emerged from the cloud, Jack saw a massive breach in one side. Towards the aft of the ship, there was a giant hole and the skin was flapping free. He saw the bared tracery of metal work – the airship’s skeleton – and inside the huge cylinders that contained the gas. The aft section was scarcely attached to the front. There had been a structural failure in the airship – perhaps caused by the turbulent winds in the clouds above. The ‘Sky Dragon’, pride of the Imperial air fleet, was going down fast… and Jack was utterly helpless.
There was a forest below and he was rushing towards it at speed. He saw the vast airship way in front of him bellyflop into the trees, breaking into two giant mangled pieces. Seconds later, the cloud car hit the canopy of a large tree and was dragged forward through its branches and into the next tree. Jack dipped his head beneath the lip of the cockpit for protection. He felt like one of those mad daredevils who plunge over Niagara Falls in a barrel. He closed his eyes, and was banged around inside the metal car as it lurched forward. Then the scraping and jolting suddenly stopped and he had the strange sensation of becoming airborne once again. He poked his head out of the cockpit just as the cloud car flew from the last tree canopy and onto a wide brick platform. It landed with an almighty crunch and bounced once. Jack was thrown free and landed on some paving stones just before the cloud car slammed into a wall directly in front of him, then dropped to the ground – a mangled, battered mess.
Incredibly, Jack was still conscious. But he could taste blood in his mouth. He was high up on some sort of elevated stone platform. On either side there were walls with crenellations built at regular intervals. The cloud car had taken out a chunk of masonry from a large stone tower a few metres ahead. The surrounding woodland had saved him. It had absorbed the worst of the impact, but the momentum had thrown him clear and onto this strange structure. Jack pulled himself to his feet. He was bruised and bashed, but as far as he could tell, nothing was broken. The countryside around was hilly and there were areas of thick forest. The wall he was standing on was built on the ridge of a hill and it followed that ridge all the way into the distance, rising and falling with the highest contours and splitting the empty countryside into two parts. At regular intervals along the wall he could see towers. It all looked strangely familiar and, suddenly, Jack realised where he was. He was standing on the Great Wall of China.
*
He limped towards the crenellated tower, passed through it and carried on to the next section of the wall. A few hundred metres beyond, the great airship had flopped down – straddling the wall. It was a mangled mess of textile and metal. Jack’s heart sank. No one could possibly have survived the impact. He started to run towards the airship, but a sharp pain in his leg held him back and he winced. Suddenly, there was an enormous explosion, and the whole airship went up in a massive orange and black fireball. The shockwave from the explosion hit Jack seconds later and floored him. He twisted round and looked up – already a plume of grey smoke was rising high into the sky.
He pulled himself to his feet, emotion welling up inside him. Angus must be dead. Ignoring the pain in his leg, Jack forced himself along the wall towards where the mangled wreckage of the airship lay. The gas had already burned out, though he could still feel the intense heat even at some distance. All that remained was the steaming, smoking carcass of the once mighty airship. Its warped skeleton was heaped over the wall like the remains of a giant dinosaur whose flesh and innards had been picked clean by hungry carrion birds.
Jack limped on towards the scene of the wreckage, more tentatively now, wary of the heat and what he might find amongst the wreckage. Suddenly he saw three figures. They were staggering towards him along the wall, their arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders. Their clothes were burned and their faces blackened. But they were alive and Jack could have jumped for joy.
Refuge
It was evening when they finally staggered into the village. There was great excitement from the half-naked children who trailed them into the centre, chatting and shouting as if it was a royal visit. News of the huge explosion had arrived before them, and they were met by a welcoming party. The local dignitaries were out in force, and they kowtowed to Colonel Lai. His height and bulk alone would be sufficient to command respect, but the village elders knew they were in the presence of a bannerman of the Imperial army and a captain of one of the mighty Imperial airships which held a mythical status in the north.
Lai wasted no time. He issued orders and they were ushered to a stone building in the centre of the village. It was surrounded by a high wall and had an archway which led to a central court. The innkeeper greeted them and they were led upstairs to a room away from the litter-strewn street. It was the finest room in the place – big and airy, with decorative paper screens.
“Sit down,” Lai commanded. “We must see to the wounds first.”
Jack and Angus sat on wooden stools next to a stone bed. Angus had burns on the left side of his face and his clothing was torn down the same side, where he had been thrown from the burning airship. There were cuts and bruises, but no broken bones. Jack was still limping. He was pretty sure he had not broken his ankle, but it was sprained and he had bad cuts across his thigh, which kept oozing blood.
Lai started to strip off his clothes and told Jack and Angus to do the same. Jack was pleased to be rid of his sweaty, grubby and bloodied clothes, which he had not changed since Nanking. Two young women tottered into the room, dressed in traditional Han Chinese robes. One carried a bucket of water and the other a box of bandages. Jack noticed how they walked – with a sort of tottering sway – and he looked down at their feet. They were tiny and wrapped in tight silk slippers.
Jack’s leg wound was washed and dressed and his ankle wrapped in a sturdy bandage. Angus’s face was washed and treated with an ointment. The girls worked busily, chatting happily and occasionally giggling at the white bodies and strange faces of their two young guests. Angus was given some loose-fitting grey trousers which came down to just below his knees and blue gaiters which at first he did not know what to do with. One of the girls showed him how to wrap the gaiters around his shins all the way to his ankles. He was then given a loose-fitting white shirt that fanned out around the elbows. Over this, he wore a short, round-necked waistcoat. The outfit was completed with a pair of silk slippers.
Angus stood up and twirled. “I look even more gorgeous than usual.”
The girls blushed and giggled.
“You look ridiculous,” Jack said.
“Imperial brave… very good.” Lai smiled.
“Right, now we must eat,” Lai announced, and he led them back downstairs to the tea room, where food had been prepared. There was chicken and rice and a mixture of roots and vegetables all washed down with jasmine tea. They were joined at dinner by three local dignitaries and Lai spent most of the meal deep in conversation with them. They spoke in Mandarin, and Jack and Angus were frustrated that they could not understand the conversation.
As they returned to the rooms with Lai and Shu-fei, after the meal, Shu-fei explained, “The village will give us transport… all they have. They will be rewarded.”
“How far is it to Beijing?” Jack asked.
“Perhaps a day. My father has already sent a messenger to Beijing to ask for help.”
“But we must leave at first light,” Shu-fei said. “The villagers are very worried.”
“Because another Zeppelin might drop on their heads?” asked Angus.
“Worse –
the villagers say that the Taiping are building a base west of here. Only a few days away. They say that there is an airfield and fortifications. They say they have a whole garrison there – and that more come every day.”
“The big Taiping triplanes we saw – that must be where they are heading,” said Jack.
“Yes. They will use the base to help make a final attack into Beijing,” said Shu-fei.
“And they will now increase their efforts. They will be desperate to capture the ‘Seeing Engine’,” she added. “They will find out exactly where the airship crashed and send out scouts and war parties to all the nearby villages. We can only afford a few hours’ rest and then we must go.”
Jack and Angus finally settled down to sleep in a room at the top of the house. It had a huge brick platform bed with a hearth underneath, stuffed with grass and dung fuel. The fire had been lit and smouldered away. There was a chimney in the wall next to it.
“Someone’s set the bed on fire,” Angus said, half joking.
“Yeah – that doesn’t look safe. Guess the fire underneath is supposed to keep the stone bed warm when you’re on it. Let’s hope we don’t end up being cooked.”
With Lai and Shu-fei out of the way, Angus took out the time phone. Jack kept a lookout.
“I can’t believe it’s still in one piece.” Angus said.
“But it’s still dead,” Jack observed.
“A signal has got to come eventually. We just have to wait – and to be ready,” Angus replied. “You still haven’t told me what happened up there – on top of the Zeppelin. You know, with Pendelshape’s son…”
Jack sighed. “It all happened very quickly. There was no discussion really. He had just come to find me… and—”
“Kill you?” Angus said, alarmed.
Jack remembered how Fenton had coolly announced that he had murdered his father.
“Dad,” he swallowed hard. “He said he killed Dad, Angus, there was something in the way he said it. He seemed smug, even happy…”
“He really killed Tom?” Angus said.
“Yes. He was out for revenge – and now he wants to kill me.”
“Just what we need,” said Angus.
“I know, it was incredible. I was sure that the guy we saw in the Taurus looked like Pendelshape. Now we know the truth. He’s the spitting image of his father, but younger, it was like seeing a ghost…”
Angus shook his head, “So old Pendelino had a son…”
“But it’s not just that. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I never really thought Pendelshape was bad – you know, evil or anything. I always thought he was at least trying to be good, or doing what he thought was the right thing. True, he did go a bit fanatical. But seeing him in that bunker back in France, dying in that horrible way, well you wouldn’t wish that on anyone…”
“I don’t know, Jack, I mean Pendelshape took terrible, stupid risks, he nearly got us killed, more than once and in the end he was out to get us…”
“Maybe… but this one, this Fenton, his son. Well, he’s different. You look into his eyes and they’re just dark, dead pits. He’s twisted. We’re dealing with something – I don’t know – something evil.” Jack paused for a moment. “But there’s hope, Angus.” Jack reached out and tapped the time phone. “While we’ve got this, we can bring Dad back.”
“Hold on Jack, you’re not saying…”
“It’s exactly what I’m saying. As soon as we get another time signal, we must go back to Shanghai and stop Fenton before he murders Dad.”
Angus could feel Jack’s pain. “It will be very risky…”
“So let’s risk it then,” Jack replied.
The Wall
Lai shook them awake, urgently. “The Taiping are coming. They are already near village, lots of them. We must go now.” In minutes they were downstairs in the courtyard of the inn. The innkeeper was already there, together with a couple of servants and the three elders from the village.
Shu-fei ran into the courtyard, out of breath. “They have big motors. We have only a few minutes’ head start.” She pointed to the far corner of the courtyard and Jack saw something glistening in the lamplight.
“Transport to Beijing.”
Angus stood back in admiration. “Nice…”
The machines in the courtyard looked like motorcycles but were quite unlike any kind of bike Angus had ever seen. They were large and heavy with big knobbly tyres and the engine blocks stuck out a good half metre on either side of the central frames. There were baskets hanging off the front of the bikes and on each side at the back, and they had Imperial dragon flags draped from little masts.
“You can ride a bike?” Lai asked Angus dubiously.
Angus looked at the strange-looking machine. “Not exactly a KTM,” he said, giving Jack a sidelong smile, “but yeah, I can ride it.”
“Good – let’s go then.”
Angus fired the engine. It sounded like a mallet hammering at a piece of metal – he felt the whole machine vibrating beneath them.
“Got to be a twelve hundred in there… but most of the engine parts sound like they’re trying to escape…” Angus said.
“Just ride it…” Jack said.
The bikes burst through the archway and into the main village square, great gouts of black smoke belching from the triple exhausts. They lurched forward along the rutted street. It was cold and dark, but becoming lighter by the minute, and Jack saw the pale crack across the horizon signalling dawn. Shu-fei was ahead, with Lai riding pillion, wielding a great shotgun. Angus had started to get more comfortable with the controls and there was a great roar as they increased speed. Much to Jack’s surprise, the heavy vibration in the frame of the bike, which was travelling up through his spine and into his head, seemed to ease as their speed increased. He snatched a look behind. They were well clear of the village and behind them Jack saw the cluster of roof tops catching the morning light. Then he saw lights following them.
Jack thumped Angus on the back. “They’re right on our tail!”
Angus’s response was instant. The engine wailed and the huge bike surged forward. The machine absorbed the ruts and potholes in the track with ease and soon they were racing through a narrow wooded valley with a river to one side. The light was improving all the time and Jack could clearly discern their pursuers. They also had bikes, but Jack counted a couple of crude-looking four-wheeled vehicles too and, some way behind, a detachment of cavalry. Their helmets glinted and pennants fluttered from the tops of their lances.
Ahead, Jack spotted a steeply raked humpback bridge built over the river. The centre of the bridge had a roof held up by elegant supporting posts. Ahead, Shu-fei did not reduce speed and he watched in amazement as she powered the bike up and over the bridge despite the weight of her father on the back. Angus followed and Jack braced himself. The bike hit the slope and they lurched forward. They shot up and crested the bridge, flew into the air and then landed on the track beyond. On impact, the giant front forks compressed fully and then recoiled violently as the bike bounced. Incredibly, they remained upright.
Angus turned round to Jack, a big grin on his face. “He’s got it… the boy’s still got it…”
“Just keep your eyes on the stupid road.”
Their daring had gained them a few minutes, but already the first contingent of the pursuing Taiping were also over the bridge.
The track now started to zigzag its way up a hill. The big bike pounded upwards eating up each hairpin in turn. In minutes, they were at the top. The sun was well up now – a bright yellow ball hanging on the eastern horizon in a cloudless sky. Ahead, Shu-fei slowed and then stopped her bike and switched off the engine.
“What are you waiting for?” Jack shouted.
Shu-fei and her father peered into the middle distance. Across a range of rolling hills, Jack followed their gaze. It was the wall again, the Great Wall of China – snaking endlessly across the hills. Sometimes it was lost behind a ridge or peak but it wo
uld then reappear in the distance.
“There!” Lai pointed and Shu-fei nodded.
Jack couldn’t see what he was pointing at but suddenly Shu-fei gunned the engine and the bike roared off again. They dropped from the hill into a dip before rising again on another escarpment. The wall loomed up directly in front of them and the track disappeared through an arched gateway below a signal tower. Next to this, a section of the wall had collapsed… or perhaps locals had helped themselves to its precious cladding of bricks and stone. The rubble and mud, which extended all the way from the ground up onto the crenellated walkway four or five metres above, formed a natural ramp. Soon both bikes were powering up through the rubble and bricks until they arrived high on top of the wall and a ready-built road appeared in front of them, stretching into the distance. Jack turned back to look at the neighbouring ridge down which they had just come. A plume of dust wafted over the crest of the ridge signalling the arrival of the pursuing Taiping. They were only minutes behind.
“They’re still coming…” Jack shouted to Angus. “But I don’t think the four wheelers and horses will be able to get up here.”
But Angus seemed to be more interested in watching Shu-fei on the bike ahead. “She’s good… very good,” he was shouting.
“Stop gawping and concentrate!”
Soon they were powering their way along the top of the Great Wall. The crenellations flashed past on either side as they topped sixty miles an hour. The walkway was bumpy and in places overgrown, and there were great cracks and holes, but Shu-fei and Angus, safely navigated them all.
They approached the first signal tower. From a distance it seemed there was no way the bikes would fit through its arched entrance doorway. It was a tight squeeze, but both machines slipped through the gateway, into the signal tower and out the other side. Up ahead, Jack could see that another section of the wall had partially collapsed, blocking the way completely. They would have to drop back onto the ridge, down the hillside through the woodland, and hope to pick up a track at the bottom of the valley. Angus followed Shu-fei, who manoeuvred her bike deftly down the incline, picking her way through the bricks, rubble and mud that had fallen from the wall.
Day of Rebellion Page 11