Chapter 35 - Grounded
The Albatross
(Continued)

Skinner hurried to search the ship to make sure Nemo and Ishmael were not on board. He searched every room, every hallway, every space on that ghoulish flying vessel, he even found their rooms, but they weren't there. His tasks weren't over yet. He had a ship to sink.

The engine room itself was huge, although not as big as the Nautilus'. The giant machines emitted a never ending "brr" sound which echoed through the air. It was much louder now he was up close. The thief could feel himself sweating due to the heat coming from the machines.

Cracking his knuckles he approached one of the engines and began to undo nuts and bolts. It was a very slow process- and painful due to the heat emitting from the metal. Skinner's eyes fell upon a crate. One of the planks from the lid was loose and so he used that to hit any exposed wires and pipes.

"Hmm, that's attached to that, so if that goes…" He broke another pipe and that fed into the engines. The Albatross began to lose altitude and his stomach lurched. Skinner staggered and had to steady himself. "That'll do," he remarked.

"I should have known it was you!" a voice shouted. Skinner looked up to see Zenith running towards him.
"Oops," he muttered. Skinner dropped the wood he had collected and ran. Skinner hid behind one of the machines. He looked down only to see he was filthy- there went his stealth. He looked around to see if he could clean up somehow. No ideas sprang to mind. It didn't matter, Zenith was onto him now. He approached him with a wrench in hand.

"Are you trying to get us all killed?!" Zenith exclaimed.
"You lot started it," Skinner remarked, ducking as Zenith swung for him.
Skinner moved so that he was ready for his next swing. Skinner ducked again and this time Zenith hit one of the engines, putting a nice dent into the metal. The ship seemed to fall even faster.
"You're doing a good job yourself by the looks of it," Skinner jibed.

Skinner managed to push him hard, which sent Zenith staggering back with a grunt. Without a second's delay, Skinner retreated back upstairs, grabbing his wooden plank. He needed to find Mina. It was time for them to leave. His work was done.

When he made it to the top, Skinner closed the door. He wedged the plank into the handle, keeping him inside for the time being. When he turned he could see a man at the helm. It had to be Robur struggling to control his falling ship. Skinner looked for Mina but for a moment could see no sign. Whilst he looked around he felt a sudden blow on his shoulder blade. With a yelp, he turned around sharply. He found it was a man with beady pig eyes and a scrunched up face. He held a knife.

Skinner's hand went straight to his shoulder and he couldn't help but swear at the pain. He could feel the blood oozing down his back. It wasn't heavy, but he didn't want to try his luck again. They had to go.

The man swung for him again and Skinner jumped back. He shouted for Mina, knowing fine well that unarmed as he was, he didn't stand much of a chance. He could see her now, fighting one of the men but she finished him with her sharp and powerful teeth. With a violent burst of energy, she launched herself into the air safe from any others.

Skinner struggled to avoid the man who was trying to slash at him again with the knife. Skinner used anything he could get his hands on as a weapon but he was running out of things to throw at him and use to block the knife. Skinner's arms were marked several times throughout the brief encounter and shouted 'ow' every time he was marked. He called for her again.

Mina's darting eyes fell upon whom she searched for. She could only see the floating oil that covered his body but even from here the scent of his blood was overpowering to her heightened senses. She saw him struggle to avoid the man who was so intent on killing him.

Without a nervous movement, without so much as a noise she swooped down towards the man attacking Skinner. Skinner jumped back out the way as Mina landed on her new opponent with bared teeth. She tore into his throat and drank some of its contents. With his last struggling few moments of life, the man managed to actually stab her in the chest. She threw the man away in repulsion, bringing her hands to her breast.

"Mina!" Skinner exclaimed. The man was dead but Mina also stumbled backwards gasping for air in shock. She tripped over and landed on the ground before Skinner could get to her. Skinner crouched down beside her, trying to see if he could help. He held her in his arms, desperately trying to find some life in her body.

He was too late. She was gone.

"No! No, no, no, Mina! Get up, get up! You can't be..." he cried. He stared at her pale face, her half closed eyes and slightly parted bloodied lips. As he held her he moved a stray hair away from her face. He stared as hard as he could, trying to see movement, some sort of sign she was alive.
"Mina?" he gulped. Nothing... He kept calling for her, getting louder, feeling more and more helpless as grief and shock began to chew at his heart.

Dead?... Dead?!

He kept repeating the same word to himself. It was his fault, he was too busy protecting himself to think about her vulnerability. The vulnerability that she kept so well hidden which had cost her her life. Mina was dead. How was he meant to explain this to the rest of the League? They'd be heartbroken. Skinner had only just managed to help pull Sawyer back together. This would destroy him.

Skinner was so smothered in his own thoughts that he forgot the danger he was in. The only thing that brought him out of his trance-like shock was when the Albatross plunged to the ground with an almighty crash. Skinner held on to Mina as they were thrown to the side at the impact. He ended up biting his tongue, making him taste blood. It was this that made him snap to a decision.

Glancing up, the infuriated thief saw Robur staring at him from the helm. There was a small cut above his eyebrow from the collision. He knew he'd been spotted. He made to leave the ship.

"Hey!" Skinner shouted. He lay Mina's body down gently. "Get back here!" He went after him, but a man came towards him. He looked like another henchman- like those he faced in Belgium. Skinner had to keep his distance. The man swung a punch at Skinner at once, forcing him to step back, letting Robur slip away unchallenged. Skinner retreated.

As the man drew closer, Skinner kept backing up. There was something about this man he didn't like. Instinct told him this man didn't need a weapon to be dangerous. Skinner made it back to Mina's lifeless body, and then past it. The man looked at her, or as Skinner soon realised, the knife in her chest. He reached down to take it.

"Get off her!" Skinner shouted, pushing him away from her, but he already had the knife in hand, dripping with blood. Skinner felt sick at the sight of it. Mina's blood.

He couldn't think of her as the man came at him, looking comfortable with the situation. Skinner's body hissed in pain at the gashes he already had. He couldn't take many more of those and stay on his feet. The sickness a lack of blood brought was beginning to creep upon him. He kept backing up, throwing glances to the side for a weapon.

The man lunged at him with the knife, Skinner jumped back but tripped over the body of the man that had killed Mina. He fell on his back and the gap was closed quickly, the man's blade raised high above him, ready to bring it down.

Suddenly, the man found himself being dragged backwards by the arm which carried the bloodied weapon. It was Mina! She bit him, being sure to hold on tight to his arm. Satisfied, she threw him off the side of the ship. Skinner felt his jaw drop and he forgot how to use his lungs. She offered her hand to him to help him up from the floor. The other hand wiped away the blood from her face.

He didn't take up her offer. He was too busy staring. "Mina. You're - You're alive!" he managed. He couldn't stop himself shaking - he hoped Mina couldn't see it. Skinner was glad he was invisible, otherwise, Mina would have also seen his watery grin and his immense relief. She was alive! He hadn't lost her.

She crouched down beside him, understanding his shock. "I am not so easily killed," she said with a softness in her voice. "Skinner, we must regroup with the others. You need to go back to the automobile. Hyde needs our help. You're hurt and badly at that," she explained, resting her hand on his arm. She helped him up with great care, being careful not to catch his wounds.

Skinner closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm. She was alright, he didn't need to worry. He had to pull himself together and he reminded himself that Nemo and Ishmael were their priorities. "Right, let's get out of here," he said with the steadiest voice he could find. It was enough for Mina not to suspect anything at least.

Mina transformed with a snarl. She wrapped her arms around Skinner's chest before taking off. She didn't want to further hurt him. The new scent of his blood was almost too much for her to resist. She forced herself to completely ignore the thief. The need for blood seemed to boil in her throat, begging her to go in for the kill. She forced herself not to- she had to. Instead, she found that there were traces of blood on her lips and contented herself with that.

Skinner was dropped off at Pavan's automobile, where the acting captain took to bandaging the biggest of his wounds. This time when Skinner had been in the air he didn't voice his fear. He was in too much shock to acknowledge it. He couldn't believe what had happened on the Albatross. Skinner desperately tried to forget about it. He grumbled and voiced his pain as Pavan worked but kept his eye out for Nemo and the others. He wanted to help, but now there was little he could do. He had played his part, now it was up to the rest of the League.

(*Meanwhile*)

Robur's forces assembled fast. Hyde could barely keep up with them. They were trying to shoot him and so he had to hide for the most part until Mina finally came to help. He could see the blood and the little hole in her clothes, which indicated she had been stabbed though it had healed. That annoyed him enough to fight and not care about bullets. The two worked in unison. They kept the gunmen well away from the automobile and formed an excellent distraction whilst Sawyer and Quatermain got to work on the other side of the fortress. So far, the unexpected explosion was working to their advantage.

Hyde had spotted Robur leaving the Albatross and was keen to follow him. He was eager to make him pay.
Remember our plan, Edward. Robur belongs to Nemo, not us, Jekyll reminded him
Nemo isn't here, Hyde retorted, having made up his mind. Against Jekyll's best efforts of dissuasion, Hyde went in pursuit of Robur before he could disappear into the fortress. Hyde had sworn revenge and fully intended to carry it out.

A stinging pain caught his attention. He turned to see Zenith launching rocks at him to gain his attention. With a roar of frustration, Hyde went after him instead. Jekyll had a point. Robur belonged to Nemo, not him. Zenith on the other hand… Zenith's eyes seemed to pop out of his head as he saw the massive creature running towards him with tremendous energy. The thief took off at a sprint and headed into the fortress.

Hyde wanted blood, and he didn't care who it belonged to.