… Humans are no the only creatures aloft. Unknown to the travelers of the sky, monsters of lore reside in the clouds, whether friendly or not is yet to be seen…
Chapter 8: Monster
Martin reclined in the hammock that was strung between the two girders. Today was his day off, and this is how he liked to spend it. The engines hummed gently two decks below. The sound created a lullaby, soothing to the ears, calming to the mind. He fell asleep in the calm air's embrace.
Martin was thrown from the hammock and down six feet onto the ground below. He tried to stand up, but the deck shifted violently under his feet and pitched him across the waxed floor. He crawled to the nearest ladder and tried to climb down, but the deck shifted again and he was thrown from the ladder onto the catwalk below. He could hear the agonized groaning of the steel and crashing of glass below in the dining room. He looked along the catwalk and blood trickled into his eyes, clouding his vision. He could make out the line of the door to the control room and he crawled toward it.
He made it to the door with minimal trouble but the door was flung open and hit him squarely in the face. He fell over in pain and found arms supporting him. They dragged him inside and laid him on the balcony of the control room.
A cloth wiped at his forehead and someone was caring for a cut on his arm as well. He could hear shouts and cries in the room, as if more people were injured. Another shockwave stopped the care as the caregivers were forced to grab the nearest rail and hold on.
"Sir, it is tearing a gash in the port tanks, buoyancy away list, ten degrees!"
"Port prop malfunctioning, engine car damaged!"
"Port stabilizer off, fifteen percent! We could stall!"
Martin looked up and asked the nearest crewman what in the world was going on. The crewman pointed to the window and Martin almost fainted with horror. An enormous orange eye, fire blazing within, glared wrathfully in at all of them. One crewman pulled a pistol from his boot and shot at the eye. The bullet only made the creature madder as it pulled back a transparent lid from the eyeball and screamed, a high piercing scream that made all the men fall over and clench at their ears.
The eye vanished and the sky could be seen. Then with a horrible scream of metal, a hole was torn into the control room. Teeth, more that four feet long protruded through what was left. Martin found himself trapped, one leg between the floor and a metal beam. He could feel the airship being pushed to the left by the creature as it tried to free itself. The airship would be destroyed! The creature would kill them all.
Suddenly, four roars were heard, exploding through the air. The creature withdrew and as it did, Martin saw the four dragons in formation diving at its back. He smiled with relief, and fainted.