The War Apiary

Chapter 19

Flames had sprouted up throughout the ground city where molten pools of metal had pooled from the top tier. The three had to go carefully and watch for falling debris from above, that included those who were desperate enough to jump from the top tier to meet their ends of the cobbled streets below. Fumes from the burning plastic based streets filled the air, making it hard to breath and strange the eyes. Years later, survivors of the great Paris Fire agreed that the event was truly an apocalyptic event and many people including themselves suffered health concicrances into the old age.

Jack and Nelly followed Vernon as he led them from the city towards the gigantic sheds that lay out of the city's boundaries. Once out and a distance from the city, the thee took time to rest and collect their wits. Paris loomed like a burning beacon of light in the dark night. The Moon Erebus could be seen through the smoke filled skies as a reminder of doom. People from all background slowly passed them, all heading in the same direction, towards the land barge sheds.

"Is everyone alright?" Vernon asked breathlessly.

"Yes," Nelly muttered.

Jack said nothing, his thoughts bleeding into the darkness around him as the glow of the fires danced in the distance. A cool wind blew across the planes, sweeping away smoke and stoking the fires.

Is Arkin dead? He asked himself. Did Lodovico get caught up in the flames of Paris? Did he get the chance to get out of Prata? What was he going to do now without his Uncle Arkin In his 17 years on the earth, Jack felt for the first time helpless with the situation, empty, hopeless, and cold.

Nelly placed a hand on his shoulder. "Arkin was a good man." She said quietly. "And the Queens Council will be less without him."

A shadow, with the light of Paris behind it, the shadow of a man appeared from the dark, it was limping and slowly came to a stop. "I know your voices," the man said.

Jack quickly pulled himself from his thoughts and turned his attention to that of who had spoken.

"I need to get to the capital."

"Do we know you?" Vernon asked as he stepped in front of Nelly and Jack.

"The two kids have met my acquaintance, but I do not recognise who you are." The man said and slowly staggered closer. Some thing exploded behind them in the direction of the Transportation Warehouses, throwing light onto the mans appearance. Vernon quickly turned around to face the explosion. "Erebus's Body!" He swore. "We need to go, before our ship gets turned to carbon." He turned back to the man. "If you are of no danger, then by all means, come with us."

Jack recognized the man to be the same man has that who had asked to hear all of what happened to Prata. His female companion was not with him, and he could only guess what fate she suffered.

The small group of now four started to move. A fire now blazed on top of one of the roofs of a warehouse. They soon arrived at one of the unguarded doors of a warehouse and Vernon led them into the dark enclosure of the giant space. From the light that spilled thought the huge door, Jack could see land barges of all sizes parked in row after row. The sight would have been breathtaking if it hadn't been seen in such a dire light.

"How do you remember what ones yours?" Nelly asked as they walked to the nearest barge and Vernon began to climb up the side of it.

"I don't." He said as he pulled himself up onto the deck. "We are commandeering one." The shadows hid him from Jacks line of sight, but he could make out the jingling of metal pins as Vernon picked the lock to the main hatch. A few moments later Vernon reappeared with a rope ladder that he let down the side of the ship. "Come on aboard." He said, "it seems like this was a family's holiday batch." He gave a hand to Nelly as she neared the deck and pulled her up.

Jack offered the ladder to the old man and Vernon helped him up. The old man groaned as one of his legs seemed to be in a lot of pain. "Are you ok?" Vernon asked.

"Yes, I must have fractured my left leg on landing." The man replied.

Once up and Nelly had led the old man down into the inside of the land barge, Jack climbed the ladder on to the deck. Light spilled from with in the main hatch as lights were lit. Vernon pulled up the ladder and turned the engines on. "We need to fill the tanks up before leaving." He said over the din of the engines. "I noticed that they have two 10 gallon reserve tanks, so should do us fine."

Jack nodded, wondering where they would find the fuel. Vernon accelerated, throwing Jack off balance and he caught himself on the rigging before he could hit the deck.

"Sorry about that!" Vernon called. The light of Paris spilled over his smiling face as the Ship turned towards the doors.

To Jacks surprise, the smell of food cooking wafted up from the open main hatch for the insides of the ship and suddenly became aware how hunger he was. He followed his nose and went down into the gully. It was modestly furnished. A small kitchen on the left hand side on entry and sitting quarters on the right. Forward from the kitchen on the left was a bookshelves covered in all sorts of books which the old man was inspecting. On the opposite side of the ship was a table and a seat that was attached to the two walls of the ship that span two sides of the table. The floor was carpeted in dark velvet and the ceilings a white wash and dark stained wooden beams. Between the wall with the books and the right side of the ship was a door leading to what Jack guessed was a bedroom. The sound of the engines were quite noticeably dampened then they had been while on deck, making Jack suspect that the Engines were some where in the very back of the ship. Nelly was in the kitchen with a frying pan over the small wood stove. She turned to face Jack when he entered. "This ship is stocked with fresh meats and vegetables." She said slowly. Jack could see that she had a slice of meat in the pan along side of tomatoes. "That would suggest that this isn't a holiday ship." She said.

The ship jolted and pulled to a stop. "I need someone to give me a hand filling the tanks." Vernon called down the hatch.

Jack left Nelly to her thoughts and cooking food and went up into deck. Once up, he could see a huge tank next to the ship and a small room that had shutters.

"This refueling station should be maned." Vernon said over the engines. "But I suppose they had better places to be." He took the long hose that led from the tank and handed it to Jack. "Put the end of it into one of the tanks while I turn the tape on. Don't let it over flow and tell me when to stop."

Jack placed the end of the hose into the small opening of one of the tanks. He had no way of telling when it would be full and only could judge by the sound of the liquid hitting the top of the level that was in the tank. After a few moments, he asked Vernon to stop the flow of fuel and pulled the hose out and tried to feel the top of the fuel level with his fingers. Before feeling satisfied, he moved onto the next tank to find it was already full, and before long, they where on the road heading east. The city lay behind them, and the unknown lay in front.