The Steam War (The Steam War #1)

Chapter 20: Falling Apart

Cog and Sail quickly ran to their dorm, hand-in-hand. In order to keep pace, Cog had to take her heels off.

"Okay, so there are a couple of things I need to do," she said, still shaking from her traumatic experience. She opened the light switch in the bathroom and pulled out her purple switchblade. It was cold and heavy, but it fit snugly in her hand. "Hopefully, I won't need this, but we've got it just in case. Help me get the money from that drawer."

The money was somehow bulkier in their pockets than the blade was, but they both figured it was a good idea, just in case. Worst-case scenario, they wouldn't need it. "Do you have anything you think we could use, Sail?"

"Other than the ratchet wrench Bolt handed to me, not really," she answered, tossing it between her hands. "I also have tons of candy. Gummy bears, taffy, caramels. Want some?"

Cog picked a couple of saltwater taffies out of Sail's hand. "Well, hopefully the boys have weapons stashed somewhere, just in case they decide to board the ship for some reason."

The boys had run as fast as possible to the teachers' lounge, where Bolt claimed weapons were stored. Nobody was going to question why there was a secret hatch filled with thirty-year-old rifles and pistols, but it didn't seem very legal. Either way, they were lucky to have it.

"Have either of y'all ever fired a gun?" Bolt asked, opening the secret hatch in the floor.

"If I wasn't designing an airship, I was using my dad's semi-auto," Sprocket attested.

"Never even looked at a gun before today," Gogs answered.

"Now's a great time to learn, then," Bolt said, placing one of the ancient rifles in Gogs' hands. "I just hope these are all at least moderately functioning. Just in case, I'm grabbing a few extra pistols."

Sprocket was a little pickier with his choices, however. "Should I go for quick, clean, and efficient, or something that's a little more fun to use?" He weighed the two options with more hesitation than Bolt would have liked.

"Quick, clean, and efficient," Bolt answered. "This ain't a game. We aren't gonna let these thugs take over our ship."

He then turned over to Gogs, who was still trying to figure out how to load his new gun. "So, whatcha think about Sail?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, partially nervous. He didn't know Bolt all that well, and the last thing he wanted to deal with was an overprotective brother. Especially because said older brother had a rifle of his own.

"Like, do you like her?"

"Do you mean as in, 'like-like' or just 'like?' The terminology is confusing me."

"Wow, you really are a nerd. Either-or."

"Well, I do like her, and—"

"So, you 'like-like' her."

"I never said that, but I do—"

"Love her?! Wow. Just yanking your chain. I could tell you were in love. Both of you."

"Wait, how?"

"They say your pupils dilate fifty percent when you stare at something you love," he explained, done loading his automatic rifle. "Also, both Sail and Sprocket told me."

"Figures."

"Alright, locked and loaded," Sprocket voiced, holding two SMGs.

Gogs grabbed his deck of cards one last time and rubbed it. "Better get as much luck as we can. Nazis are killing machines."

"Maybe they are, maybe they're not," Sprocket commented. "They've been out of practice for thirty years now."

"If you really believe that," Bolt said, "I've got some great conspiracy theories for you that'll probably change your mind."