All Below Was Sky

All below was sky. No, that isn’t right. You are upside down. The seatbelt keeps you suspended a foot above ground. Blood swells and pounds in your temples, or was it the whiskey? Frank was on the street.

Ejected. He had been thrown fifty feet.

Dead and dusky.

His seersucker shirt plunged a deep v on a chest of ringlets. Oxford buttons pin a lapel dyed crimson. You count the spots on a ladybug as it skitters across. Stripes and six spots. A gnarled oak casts shade on the misshapen corners of a green license plate.

A wailing siren approaches.From Guest Contributor Kyle J. Ames

Kyle is a student of English at Pikes Peak Community College

Houghton

The dark forest overlooking Houghton was well known to be the home of sprites. Thomas Buchanan, of Oxford, had made the journey to confirm the rumors of their presence were true. He came with all the normal accoutrement, including a traveling dresser, a coterie of servants, and a pack of beagles.

The sprites are nearly impossible to find when they want to stay hidden but Buchanan was prepared. Through a mixture of alchemy and freshly-baked pudding, he attracted a number of the young fairies. The hunt had begun.

No one ever heard from Buchanan, or the villagers of Houghton, again.

The Boilermaker Cooperative

Chief Pilot and Brass Wainwright Extraordinaire Gordon Diggory, Esq., eased the Air Titan into position. Vapor hissed loudly as it was released from the hydraulic valves.

They had only thirty minutes to reach Oxford before the Boilermaker Cooperative's planned detonation of the entire district.

"Enemy steampods, starboard side."

Diggory stared out the window in shock, realizing the trap. “They aren’t interested in Oxford at all. It’s the Queen they want.”

He violently rotated the wheel in the opposite direction. They must reach Buckingham Palace, no matter the cost. If Queen Victoria were assassinated, Diggory would not receive his Christmas bonus.

Genre: Steampunk