Chapter One.
My wife sat up suddenly and gasped. Her hands scrabbled at thin air, and I recognised the signs of Aurora having a vision immediately. Still half asleep, I reached over and grabbed a pad—that was something I’d learned the value of keeping close. I also hit play on my phone.
“Fire falling from the sky. Huge swathes of it. It’s not a plane. I can’t make it out, but hundreds will die. Lots of people.”
“Where?” I asked.
“South Dakota, the town looks… I see Harleys, cuts, bikers rushing.” Aurora’s voice faded as she frowned and stared sightlessly at an image only she could visualise. That was new information. Aurora had received this vision for a couple of years, and it had been constant—until now.
“Focus on the surroundings, babe,” I ordered.
“It’s old, the bikes are parked outside… a saloon?” Aurora sounded puzzled, but the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
“Like a Wild West saloon?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Baby, is this Merritt?” I demanded.
“Don’t know. We’ve never been there. But it’s an old town, with Harleys. The sky fire happens above it, and the crash is very close by. Burning flames streak through the night; bodies fall from the sky. It’s imminent,” she gasped, her gaze widening in horror.
“Like the next few weeks?” I asked.
“Within the hour,” Aurora cried. Her eyelids closed and opened, and I saw that her eyes were normal. The vision had ended. I checked to see if she was okay as I grabbed my cell and placed a call.
I’d no idea what my wife had seen. Planes, missiles, and meteorites had all been ruled out. But Aurora insisted the sky could catch fire and people would die.
Vortex
Annoyed, I glowered as Inglorious’s phone kept ringing.
It was fuckin’ two a.m. Whoever was calling was going to receive a mouthful.
Inglorious had tackled Nanci earlier and carted her off for a loud and creative sex session, judging by the noises from their room.
The damn asshole had left his cell behind, and as VP, I’d grabbed it in case of a crisis.
This had better be an emergency.
“What?” I snapped.
There was a pause, and then a voice I vaguely recognised spoke. “Inglorious?”
“Vortex. Inglorious is busy. Who the fuck is this, and what do you want?”
“Klutz. Aurora had another vision. It’s imminent,” he stated. Klutz sounded as if he was rushing around.
Right. Klutz from Rage. His wife was meant to have visions of the future. I wasn’t sure I totally believed, but Inglorious did. Inglorious claimed she’d been proved true too many times to doubt.
“Which one?” I asked, finally realising Klutz was waiting for a reply.
“The fire in the sky one. It’s going to happen above Merritt and within the hour. Aurora-Victoria saw multiple deaths. She’s adamant it’s not a plane crash,” Klutz said.
“What am I meant to do? Man the engines or anything?” I questioned sarcastically, and Klutz paused.
“Take this fuckin’ seriously!” he snapped. “Aurora is the real deal, a disaster is about to hit Merritt. My next step after speaking to you is to call Drake and let him know. Rage will be riding to you. Something major is about to happen, and you’re going to need our help.”
“You’re calling Drake?” I demanded, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. If Klutz were doing that, I’d better get up.
“Yeah, asshole, that’s how much we believe in Aurora’s vision. Drake will probably contact Inglorious, too,” Klutz said. “Go and check your skies.”
“Fine, Klutz, if this is a sick joke…”
“Vortex, respect to your position, but get your ass out there and watch the skies!” With that, Klutz cut the call.
“Check the fuckin’ sky,” I complained as I shrugged into clothing. Pissed off, I stamped my feet into boots and headed downstairs.
I walked out onto Main Street and looked around. Wide awake and unhappy, I began checking for any signs of disaster.
“What’s the problem?” Drew Lemon, the town sheriff, asked from the shadows.
“Think I’m on a wild goose chase.” I yawned and explained the call.
Drew stiffened beside me, and I instantly became alert. Shit, he knew something.
“Not a plane, but fire in the sky? I’m out here because that new-style zeppelin is due to pass overhead tonight on its way across the country,” Drew replied.
“What?”
“It was on the news. A new design of airship is flying from north to south and crossing South Dakota as it does. The sister ship is going from east to west. Each can carry two hundred and fifty passengers and is heavily promoted as a luxurious travel option. Lots of rich people on board both flights.”
“And one is passing over South Dakota?”
“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 is never wrong. 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 and hit 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 the Titanic 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, the airship 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.