Chapter 9:An Amazing Escape

As the airship lifted further and further into the sky, Jimmy and Emma saw the tent below them get smaller and smaller. It felt like the ship was going to touch the sun, when suddenly, it paused in the air and began moving forward through the clouds, heading straight for London.

“We have to stop the bomber!” Emma stated. “We have to save London!”

“Don’t worry about London,” Jimmy said, pointing to the steam engine. “I reversed some of the wires, just give it a second and-”

BANG! Huge sparks shot out of the side of the steam engine. It sputtered and stopped working. Jimmy and Emma ran back to the closet as they heard the mad bomber approaching. Before closing the door, Emma gave Jimmy a thumbs up for destroying the engine.

“What is this?!” The mad bomber screamed as he looked at the engine. “It’s ruined! I’ll never be able to fix this now! But who could have…”

The mad bomber reached for the handle of the closet, and with a quick turn and a yank, he flung the door open, discovering Jimmy and Emma.

“So, brave fools are you?” he said, and he laughed at the twins. “You really think you’ve stopped me? You really think I can’t build another airship and attack London again?”

“You’re not going to build anything unless you land this airship!” Jimmy said sternly.

“Get the airship on the ground before it’s too late for all of us,” Emma added.

The mad bomber let out an evil cackle of laughter. “It might be too late for you, but not for me!” he sneered at Jimmy and Emma. The mad bomber pointed to the pack he wore on his back. “This is my escape route. Too bad there’s only one.”

The bomber ran over to the main door, threw it open, and dived out into the sky. Emma couldn’t believe the man had jumped off the airship! The twins both watched the mad bomber fall faster and faster to the Earth. Then, suddenly, his backpack opened, and what looked like a large blanket emerged.

“It’s a parachute!” Jimmy said. “I’ve heard of them, but I’ve never seen one in person. I’d love to see one up close.”

“There won’t be a chance to see one at all if we don’t get off this thing,” Emma snapped. “We have to get this airship on the ground, without crashing it.”

“Any ideas?” Jimmy asked.

“I have one,” Emma said. “If we tear some holes in the airship barrel, we can release a small amount of hydrogen. As long as it doesn’t leak too fast, we should be able to get this ship safely back on the ground.”

“Great idea!”Jimmy smiled. He found a knife among some of the tools in the back of the closet. This will work perfectly, he thought to himself and then ran to the airship door. “I’ll have to climb out there,” he explained, pointing to the top of the gondola. “Wish me luck!”

“Be careful,” Emma said, “Make sure you hold on tight to the ladder rungs on the side of the ship. If we hit a gust of wind…”

“I know. I know,” Jimmy nodded grimly. “I’ll try to be as fast as possible.”

Jimmy put the blade of the knife between his teeth, grabbed a ladder rung, and climbed out onto the airship. He tried not to look down, but at one point, he couldn’t help it. He was miles above the ground. If he fell….he shuddered at the thought.

The boy climbed the final rung and could now feel the smooth, rigid, barrel body of the ship above him. Jimmy carefully removed the blade from between his teeth, clenched the knife in his hand, and slashed the fabric with all his might. FWISH! Came the sound of the hydrogen seeping out of the airship sack. Jimmy cut several more holes and could feel the hydrogen flowing out of the barrel.

Suddenly, the airship gave a lurch as a gust of wind smashed into it. “Whoa!” Jimmy called, and the knife fell out of his hand, smacked against the side of the gondola, then plummeted down through the clouds. Jimmy clung onto the rail as he slipped and lost his footing. He held on with all his might, his feet dangling in the air. Jimmy kicked his feet out, searching for a rail, feeling his grip slipping away. If he didn’t get a foothold soon, he would fall and then..Finally, his feet found a rung, and Jimmy was able to hold himself up. He gave a loud sigh of relief and began moving back toward the door. He had to get back inside the airship, quickly. If another blast of wind hit, he might be a goner.

Taking the last few, final, ladder steps, Jimmy got back to the doorway. Emma grabbed his hand, and she pulled him back into the safety of the airship cabin.

“Are you okay?” Emma asked. “When that wind hit, I wasn’t sure if you’d make it.”

“Neither was I, but I’m back inside, in one piece,” Jimmy gave a slight smile. “What more could I ask for? Now, we just have to wait for the hydrogen to leak out.”

While the airship began its slow descent, the twins explored the airship cabin. Jimmy took notes on how the two steering wheels were used to control the ship. Emma opened all the compartments and doors, finding hidden supplies of food and water. She even found a hidden bay underneath the floor. There, Emma pulled out a strange, large, triangular shaped device.

“Emma, we have a problem!” Jimmy yelled to his sister. Emma ran over to Jimmy and saw the big problem. Directly in front of the airship was a large windmill. If they crashed into it, the airship would surely explode!

Jimmy clutched the steering wheels, trying to turn them, but he couldn’t change course fast enough. “I can’t stop it, Emma!”

“Don’t worry, Jimmy, I found another escape route.” She pointed to the folded triangular object.

“It’s a glider,” Jimmy grinned. “Emma, you just saved our lives!”

Within seconds, the twins were in front of the gondola doorway, strapped into the giant wing. The airship was moving closer and closer to the windmill, faster and faster it approached.

“It’s now or never,” Emma called. “1..2..3!” With that, the twins jumped off the ship and soared into the air.

They just made it. With a violent BOOM! The airship crashed into the windmill. Flames erupted into the sky.

“Uh-Oh!” Jimmy shouted to Emma. Some sparks had landed on the glider. Fire burst out on the left side of the wing.

“Hang on!” Emma called. She swung the glider straight at a forest of trees as the fire began to engulf the hang glider.