Gears of Wonderland by Jason Anderson

Author:Jason Anderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jason Anderson
Published: 2014-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Torre’s ship was well hidden. James could have walked within five yards of it and not seen it. It sat in a gully on the edge of a small cliff, the perfect naturally hidden docking bay. Torre had pulled a number of saplings, branches, and other vegetation across the end of the gully to hide the entrance from view, while the thick undergrowth in the area hid the rest of the ship.

It only took them a few minutes to clear away the camouflage materials. Unlike the flier they had flown—and the ones they’d been chased by—Torre’s vessel was totally enclosed by an outer shell shaped much like the bullet shape he was used to seeing on blimps. It was around twenty yards long and five yards wide, with a large corkscrew propeller at the back for propulsion. It was mostly gray, but had a large red symbol on the side that he assumed marked it as belonging to the Red Kingdom.

“Let’s go.” Torre opened a hatch in the side and climbed in. Kara followed, with James getting in last.

The inside of the ship was sparse. It definitely looked like a military vessel, with no thought of comfort or decoration. A few benches ran along either side in the main cabin, but nothing else. An open doorway led to the cockpit, while a closed door was located toward the rear of the ship.

Torre turned to Kara. “You said you’re good with machinery, right?”

“Yeah. Why?”

He pointed to the closed door. “The engine’s that way. It needs lighting and stoking. Let me know when it’s ready.”

Kara rolled her eyes but said nothing as she stepped through the door to the right. A faint smile played across Torre’s face as he watched her leave, then he moved through an open doorway to the left.

Sticking his head through the door, James saw that it had the appearance of a basic cockpit like on a plane, but without the huge array of dials, lights, and switches. “Anything I can do to help?”

Torre didn’t bother to turn. “Sit down and don’t touch anything. Kara has the engine under control, and the last thing I need up here is someone getting in the way.”

James sat on one of the benches as he had been told. After a minute, he got up and looked into the engine room to see if he could help Kara. Seeing that the room was barely large enough for one person, he sat back down and waited, feeling useless.

After about ten minutes, Kara exited the engine room, a look of annoyance on her face. “You’re set to go. Although if we don’t all get blown up, it will be a miracle. When was the last time you serviced the engine?”

“Do I look like an engineer? Besides, it’s Red technology. We built everything to last. Hang on. This isn’t the most comfortable of rides.”

The ship shuddered, then lurched as it moved out of its hiding place. The uncomfortably loud noise was nothing like that of the Nighthawk or the flier, both of which had been relatively quiet.

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