TCB Part 37: Sunurday Morning (Cont.)

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A few hours on the river had refreshed Anabelle’s soul. She had spent most of that time watching the water drift past, breathing the clean, fresh air. It was freeing to be able to just sail away without any cares or worries. They didn’t know where they were going, and Anabelle didn’t much care.

Twenty minutes into the trip, they had left the edge of the city. They travelled through mile after mile of farmland. She sat and waved at farmers, never taking a moment’s rest, laboring away in their fields. She watched the forest go by. They passed under a rail bridge. No, THE rail bridge. It brought back the memories of the tense heist only a few days earlier. She thought about how close it had been to all going wrong. But she worried no longer. Now they were free to roam.

                She thought about Phineas, quietly at the helm. She didn’t know if she loved him. She wasn’t sure what love would feel like, or if she would know it when it happened. She knew that she felt differently about him than she had about any other man she’d met. When he kissed her on the rooftop, she felt something. Even if the kiss was a contrivance, designed to enable a crime, it didn’t feel that way to her. She put a hand in the pocket of her coat, feeling the faked engagement ring inside. There was a part of her that wished it had been real. She wished that the romance and the rooftop proposal had been real.

For the first time in her life, she finally felt free to love someone just for the sake of love. Maybe Phineas was that man. A large part of her hoped he was. Here was a man that knew who she was, knew her history and her secrets. And she trusted him, she had to trust him. Yet, somehow she believed that it was more than a hope that she trusted. She felt that it was genuine. She truly believed that in the end, he would love her back.

She looked overhead, white clouds drifted by in a light blue sky. The city’s skyline was still visible behind them, but not for much longer. She could see the telltale streaks of steam that showed the path of airships across the sky. They crisscrossed the city’s airspace, shuttling their occupants from this place to that. All of them blissfully unaware of the true nature of the city. She had been like them for so long. Now she knew about what happened beneath the surface, she had been a part of it. She was glad to be leaving that life behind to start anew.

One of the steam trails seemed to be heading out of the city. It was moving the same direction as they were. She could see the tiny airship at the front of the billowing steam and smoke. In a few minutes, it would pass over their head on its way across the countryside. Something about watching an airship streak across the sky was majestic and awe inspiring.

It seemed to be dropping its altitude as it approached them. That was quite strange. She called out to Phineas in the cabin. He came rushing out to see what she wanted. One look at the approaching airship, and he ran back to the helm and pushed the throttle. The boat accelerated underneath Anabelle and she fell to the ground.

The boat rose in the water, skimming over the surface of the dark river. Choppy waves broke against the bow, spraying over the top of the boat. She recoiled at the mist as it hit her face. She looked up and the airship was still gaining on them. They would never outrun it. It was a fast ship, much faster than their pleasure boat. She wondered if they were coming for her. Maybe Phineas was just over-cautious. There are many reasons an airship may be descending.

Her questions were answered a moment later when she heard gunfire from the airship. It was a warning shot across their bow. The bullets splashed into the water with a satisfying sound. Phineas began to jockey the boat back and forth as the ship fired off a few more rounds. Suddenly, she heard the engine release steam in a massive cloud. She was surrounded by steam as the boat came to a sudden rest against the resistance of the water.

Phineas swung the boat around and engaged the engine again, plowing the boat back upstream toward the airship. Bullets splashed in the water to the starboard side and Anabelle dove out of the way as they ripped into the deck of the boat. Overhead, the airship had released its engines and was gliding to a stop. The boat streaked past the airship as it lumbered itself around to continue the chase.

Heading upstream was rougher than downstream. The boat slammed into waves, each motion jarring Anabelle as she held on for her life. The airship was again in position, and she heard the bullets again, making their way toward the boat. Again, they ripped through the hull of the boat. A stream of water began to shoot from the front of the boat onto the deck.

Again, Phineas disengaged and flipped the boat around to head back downstream. They passed beneath the airship and streaked past. This time, the airship did not attempt to turn. Instead it fired a small cannon at the boat. The cannonball missed, striking the water in a spectacular explosion. Water rained down on the deck, soaking Anabelle. She shivered from the cold and chilling fear. She was going to die. She had never faced that thought before. But here it was; she was going to die.

Another cannon fired from the ship. This one was on the mark. It ripped into the center of the boat, sending splinters and planks flying. The cannonball passed all the way through the boat, striking the boiler on the way. Steam poured out of the hole in the deck as the boat came to a halt in the water. Below deck, water poured through the massive hole in the hull. More steam poured out as the river water boiled rapidly against the heat of the coal fire.

“Phineas!” Anabelle cried out. She was unhurt, but the boat was sinking fast. She clawed her way to the entrance to the cabin. It was filling with water. Phineas was in the cabin, but he wasn’t coming out.

“Phineas, come on, get out of there!” Anabelle shouted, reaching her hand toward the man that she might have loved.

“My foot is stuck. I can’t get free.” Phineas grunted, matter of fact.

“I’ll get you out.” She said in a panic, unsure how she could follow through with that promise.

“No. Just go. Swim to the bank. There’s a forest, you can get in there before the airship arrives.”

“I’m not going to leave you, Phineas.” Anabelle said through tears.

“You fool. You will be caught!” Phineas shouted. “Leave me.”

The boat was sinking. The cabin was filling more and more. The water was up to Phineas’s waist. Anabelle was still on the surface of the boat. She could easily swim away. The boat was drifting downstream slowly with the current. She looked overhead, where the airship was moving down toward them.

“I’ll get help.” Anabelle said urgently. “They will rescue you. They won’t let you die.”

Phineas shook his head. “They’ll Lock us up, Anabelle. You can still have your freedom. Now go!”

“No. You’re wrong, Phineas. I know you think that you would do that. You think you would swim away to freedom. But you’re wrong. You didn’t leave me on the train because you care about me…Because you love me. Well, I love you, Phineas, and I’d rather spend my life in jail than know that I left you to die.”

She waved at the airship and shouted, “Hurry! He’s stuck! Hurry! Help!”

The airship came lower. There was a man hanging from a rope at the bottom of the airship. He reached down to Anabelle and put an arm around her, lifting her off the deck of the boat. She felt herself being raised up into the airship.

“You have to help Phineas! He’s in the boat!” She shouted at the man who held on to her tightly. She screamed as she pounded against his chest.

She looked down toward the boat. A freighter passed alongside the boat, slowly heading upstream. The wake of the massive ship tossed the small pleasure boat. It slammed back down into the water on the other side. The boat cracked in half and the pieces rapidly sunk below the surface. Anabelle let out a wail and continued pounding on the rescuer’s chest.

“Phineas!” Her voice echoed across the countryside. It was a cry full of emotion she never knew she could have. Below, the river was smooth and flat. No sign of the boat could be seen. Anabelle didn’t notice as she was pulled inside the airship. The only thing she could feel was pain. She sobbed loudly as the airship turned back to the city that she never thought she would see again.

Part 38 >