Story for "untitled sketch"

"Untitled sketch"
It had all started with a shoe. Not just any old shoe though; this was a special shoe. It was kept on a pedestal in the grand whalers chamber and symbolised our hopes and dreams (apparently). This shoe was the last surviving bit of Lord Flynn's armour before he sacrificed himself to save us. To me, however, it was just a rusty, battered old shoe.
I should tell you a bit about myself, I suppose. I am 19. I have short, hazel hair and am about 5"10. My job was to fix the steamsource when it broke. Or, more realistically, keep it working. I lived on the whaler for 19 years before I set foot off of it. Life was.. Interesting, but repetitive. We would circle the same mountain every time and, once a year, dock at a station. We never did anything different. Never changed course and never left the steamwhaler. Why would we? All that was on the surface was ashes and death. Staying in the skies was much safer. "You will never have to leave this ship. Ever." They told us. That was before the.. 'Incident'.
So, back to the shoe. What did I do? Did I break it? Perhaps. Well.. Actually it probably did, but there's no evidence to prove that it did. You see, every year we take the shoe out of it's pedestal. We display it by holding it aloft as we reach the mountain where Lord Flynn (supposedly) sacrificed himself. I had the supreme honour of performing this task. We paraded around the ship, and then as I thrust my arms up to hold it aloft I got caught in the moment and had to watch as the shoe sailed through the air.. Across the deck aaaand.. Over the side... Down .. Down ... Down.. Until we could no longer see it. THAT was the problem.
What punishment was to befall such a could crime!? Execution!? Used as fuel for the steamsource!? Exile!? No. Though they were all suggested as the people who had only yesterday been happy and were like aunts and uncles to me turned on me, like a pack of wolves baying for blood. But no such fate was to befall me. You see the mountain in question used to have a city on it. Parties were occasionally sent to investigate cities (so we were told) and my job was to join one such party and get the shoe back. Easier said then done.
And so as we docked I was given a fare wall, by being forcefully thrown off of the ship. I was pushed down the ramp with a small suitcase filled with enough food and water for a week. Luckily, the port spoke English. I was used to us docking by the same port, with many small steam thrusters and a couple of lamps at night, but I was t prepared for what I saw further in. There were great wheels with people in them, powered by steam thrusters and an ingenious device that was far too complex to take in wig just a few glances. There were foods that I had never seen before and the noises were incredible. But I had a task to do. I searched for a tavern (as I had been advised), and found one closer to the shipyard. The men in there had could breath and I stepped up to the "bar" and a man looked at me and snapped
"wacha want?"
"Well, I'm new here and I was wo-"
"If you want the word on the street go to him" he pointed to a man sipping a brown liquid on his own "if you want a drink talk to me. Other wise you can piss off!"
"Thank you" I stammered, and I sat opposite the man.
"Hello" I said.
"Good day." He replied, with a smooth deep voice that suited him. He had the heir of someone with great wisdom.
"I was wondering if the rumours about ships which go scavenging through cities are true" at that, he chuckled.
"You're from the ancient whaler aren't you?" He asked
"Ancient!?"
"Yes.. As I thought. You have the look of a sophisticated maintainer, but not the tools."
"So, are they true?" Again, receiving a chuckle from the man
"Oh yes, they happen daily. Great riches to be found by scavenging. But it is very dangerous. It also happens to be highly illegal."
"Wait.. Illegal?"
"Very. Unless of course you share the loot if you're caught."
"So.. Not really illegal?"
"No, not really."
"We'll that's good, because there's a city I want to visit"
"Really!? Wow!? I'd never have guessed!?" At this he started laughing and giggling hysterically. A waiter came to top up his brown liquid.
"I want to go to the city on top of the mountain." At that he stopped laughing and stared.
"No. Way."
"Yes."
"Let me tell you about your captain, boy. He was a great whaler, and as such he can freely travel wherever he wants. Here we are in French air. Over there is the British
Airspace. When they say illegal, they mean illegal." He put a lot of emphasis on the final word and stared at him before continuing. "Still want to brave it?"
"Yes." I said it without hesitation.
"Yes? Well then, that table." He pointed so I stood up and left, but he shouted after me: "I HAVE TO SAY LADDIE, YOU'VE CERTAINLY GOT SOME BALLS!"
There were two men. Jack, tall and thin, along with Gordon: bearded and old. Once they knew where we were headed we left. We walked to the docks, and found our ride. It was small and I was assured that we'd pass by undetected. And so we left. Untold ritches and, more importantly, the shoe, lay ahead.
It took three days before we saw the mountain. Three long days of nothing except hear a swig every couple of seconds like a metronome as Gordon downed whatever substance he could get his hands on. He seemed to be dependent on the stuff, whilst in his sleep Jack muttered about debts. I guess we all had some important reason to get across here.
It was midmorning. We were going forward, but the mountain wasn't getting any bigger. It just seemed to be out of reach. As I sat down and looked at where we were I thought that we weren't being particularly stealthily before there was a wail from Gordon. He was pointing. On the horizon was a battleship. On it was a flag. A Red Cross on a white background.
"The English!!!" He wailed.
"Not just any.. An elite intercepter" jack stated. He turned to me and shook my hand.
"Goodbye." He announced. Then he took an ancient pistol, put it to his head and shot himself. I stared as his lifeless body fell to the ground, toppling head over heels. I looked back at the ship and it was upon us. There was the noise like a steamthruster starting up and suddenly a beam of light went though the ship, and it started to split in two and quickly lost altitude. A voice seemed to boom out, loudly stating:
"YOU ARE TRESSPASING IN ENGLISH TERRITORY. THE PENALTY IS DEATH." Then a second beam hit the ship and the steamsource exploded, and I was flying, then I hit the ground.
I couldn't feel my arms, but I managed to stand and look around. There were broken bits of wood and cloth, like the market at the station, only with Skeletons in it. Bones were scattered everywhere. I looked down at my arms to see them covered in blood. Behind me there was a crash and the. The same hum that came from the beam, along with a scream which stopped as suddenly as it started, and I knew that Gordon was dead. That was how it started. And progressed up to now. My arms are broken and I seem to be stuck in this mud, unable to feel my feet. All I can hear in my ears is a sound like a steamthruster starting.. Goodbye.