“Yup, right over Merritt, that’s why I’m out here to see it. It’s the maiden voyage,” Drew replied.
Inglorious’s phone rang, and I glanced down. This time, it was Drake Michealson, Rage MC President. “You’ve got Vortex.”
“We’re riding. Aurora-Victoria is coming out of her skin. Whatever this is, it is happening now,” Drake said without preamble.
“The sheriff and I think it’s the new zeppelin,” I replied.
There was silence, and then Drake barked at someone. There was a muffled reply, and Drake spoke again. “The airship fits Aurora-Victoria’s visions. Get your search and rescue ready. We’re riding, as is Tiger and Onyx. Scythe and Jailbait, too.”
Fuck. Drake was serious about this. No way would he have woken up allied MCs if he didn’t believe in Aurora-Victoria’s vision.
“What if she’s wrong?”
“Aurora-Victoria isneverwrong. Wake your club up and get ready. You’re about to have a disaster on your hands,” Drake ordered and cut the line.
“We’d better wake everyone,” Drew said, and I nodded. There weren’t many of us. Twelve in total, including me, but we’d have to manage until support arrived. I entered the clubhouse andhit the alarm button. I’d thought it a crazy idea of Nanci’s when she’d installed it.
Nanci had forced Inglorious to instal it to save time in an emergency. As everyone congregated in less than two minutes after I hit the alarm, dressed and ready to roll out, I acknowledged Nanci’s planning.
Nanci and Daisy-Duke appeared and moved towards the supply room.
“What’s happening?” Inglorious demanded. I quickly explained the calls from Klutz and then Drake, a small part of me waiting for someone to yell, ‘Surprise, asshole, you’re on Candid Camera.’
“Everyone, grab a search and rescue pack and hit your Hogs. As soon as we see what direction the fire is in, we ride out,” Inglorious ordered.
“We’ll start on the food and drinks,” Nanci called, and he nodded at her. The club reacted, and within minutes, despite the hour, we were on our bikes waiting apart from Doc. Doc was in his RRV, Rapid Response Vehicle.
“There!” Drew called from his SUV. Despite the darkness of the night, the zeppelin was lit up, and we could see it clearly in the cloudless sky.
“Looks fine to me,” Lasher muttered as he stared up.
“Yeah,” I agreed, wondering if I should have let everybody sleep. If this were a wild goose chase or a prank, somebody would pay in pain.
The airship came closer to Merritt, and we watched like hawks. The scale of it was massive and took everyone by surprise. At least one and a half times the size of a normal passenger one, it was a sight to be seen. The balloon eclipsed the gondola it carried, which was huge itself and partially attached to the balloon. From what I remembered reading, it had four restaurants.
The frame itself held a hundred and fifty cabins spread over three levels—one hundred double rooms and fifty single. That alone explained the sheer size of the behemoth above us.
From reports, no expense had been spared, and it had been alarmingly named theTitanic of the Skies. Perhaps the name was an omen. I didn’t dare imagine the headlines if this thing blew as Aurora-Victoria claimed.
We watched as it came closer, and I was shocked by how fast it moved. I knew a new mix was being trialled, which apparently made it faster. An uneasy feeling crawled up my spine. Two hundred and fifty passengers were on this maiden voyage, not including the staff. Suddenly, I felt something bad was going to happen deep in my bones.
It wasn’t a massive explosion. A bright light flared towards the rear of the zeppelin, followed by several smaller ones, and then flames started racing along the fabric shell. Gasps rose from those of us watching as we watched miniature explosions take place. I could only imagine the terror of those high above us right now.
Like a hawk diving for prey, the nose of the airship began pointing downwards. Fire continued to race along the outer shell, and the blaze had taken full hold. Even though I imagined there were fire suppression systems, they were no match for the inferno.
“Ride,” Inglorious ordered, and we headed out. The burning airship flew over Merritt, and I breathed a sigh of relief. It would miss town, which seemed rather selfish, but I couldn’t help it.
As it passed overhead, the screaming started, but nothing could help those on board.
Faint screams echoed in the wind, and my heart hammered in fear for those who were still alive inside. A piece of the gondola broke off and crashed to the ground. Moments later, theairship smashed into a field behind Merritt in full view of us. The resulting explosion must have been visible miles away.
We tore along the road and parked our Hogs at the entrance to the field. We couldn’t get close to the wreck as the fire blazed out of control and engulfed it. Instead, I searched for the section of the gondola that had broken off.
“There!” I cried, seeing it lit by the roaring, bright flames on the far side of the field. Between us and it was a minefield of potential injuries and wreckage.
We slowly began heading over, not knowing what we’d find. Debris was scattered everywhere, and it was like an assault course as we kept out of range of the inferno. A person staggered in front of me and gazed at me from blackened skin and wide, terrified eyes.
“Yo! I’ve got a survivor!” I yelled.
