The Twister Sisters by D. J. Goodman

Author:D. J. Goodman [Goodman, D. J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-06-22T05:00:00+00:00

8

Jessie’s first clue that the Twister was close to their destination was the change in pitch from the engines. She was asleep in her room at the time. The constant drone was usually a strangely relaxing sound that lulled her to sleep at night, something like a mother’s heartbeat might be for a child in the womb. The ever-present noise changed to something higher, though, and it brought her awake instantly. Moments later she felt a distinct lurch in her stomach and the entire airship shuddered and dropped a few feet. The Twister was beginning to descend.

Jessie dressed and rushed to the deck. The bazaar was wrapping up early, and while many of the more seasoned women on the ship went about their business as usual quite of few of the newer or younger ones edged closer to the sides to watch the descent. A few guards had been posted along the edge to make sure none of the spectators got too close, but their presence appeared superfluous. Most of the women in the crowd kept a respectful distance.

Several women stepped aside to allow Jessie a better view, and Jessie came as close to the edge as she dared. She’d only been on board the Twister for a week and a half but she had already grown used to seeing solid land as something distant and otherworldly. Seeing it now so much closer was a shock to her system, like she’d been having a dream and was now waking up. She was a little surprised at herself, however. She didn’t really want to wake up.

The land below them was mountainous, and the peaks were so much closer now than anything Jessie had seen so far. She guessed that they were only half the distance up that they had been before, and they were still falling. She could make out distinct features on the highest mountains, now- dark crags and outcroppings, forests, and the occasional road. It was this last thing that interested Jessie the most. The roads were rough dirt paths cut into the mountainsides, and in many places they looked overgrown with weeds. Others looked like they had been used recently, so there had to be something like civilization nearby.

A murmur went through the crowd and several women pointed to the southwest. Jessie looked in that direction and her breath caught in her throat. A large valley between the mountains had been cleared and smoothed to create something of a port. All around the edge of the valley were rough-hewn buildings and scaffoldings and even cranes. Jessie had never seen a crane before, and she had to get one of the women next to her to explain what they were used for. Even from this distance she could see hundreds of people running around through it all, preparing for the Twister’s arrival.

But none of that was what had surprised Jessie. What had caught her off guard, sitting right next to a large open space for the Twister to land, was another airship.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.