Search for the Red Dragon (Steempunk fiction)

This is for the @neoxian’s daring and intrepid Steampunk writing contest. Link to contest.

Professor Tim Betman, paleontology teacher introduces Sheila, his daughter to Jack a daring explorer and gambler. He’s now the love of her life. Jack’s seeking fame and fortune. He becomes a student of Professor Betman in hopes of finding the Red Dragon.

Jack has a holdover Sheila and she wants to marry him. Now the adventure begins, she finds herself in danger with Jack at the helm of a steamship.

Jack, “Quick the ship may crash, Hold on!”

Sheila grips a bar with both hands for dear life, “I’m trying, what is it?”

Jack pulls back a long chrome lever.
“Don’t worry, it’s under control.”

Sheila’s skin turns pale; all the blood drains from her face.
She never thought a steamship handles like this.

Jack is at the shipyard making a last-minute deal.
He’s good at knowing who needs what and taking advantage of them in some way. This steamship will get them to Glock City an isolated steam-powered city located in Red Desert, Wyoming. The steam comes naturally up through underground vents. A lot of fossils have been found in the area.

Jack, “This guy will take whatever I offer. You get the money from your father the professor and we get engaged. There’ll be plenty left over for a ring after I buy the steamship.”

Sheila, “Today? Why so fast?”

Jack, “We need to set sail right away.”

Jack, “Remember, don’t let your father know we are looking for proof of the red dragon.”

Jack whispering into the phone, “Suzette, I’ll quit calling you to promise not to tell the professor about the fun we had or the red dragon. I plan to make it out there.”

Sheila approaches and hands Jack the money as he is hanging up the phone.

Quick as a wink they get the engagement ring. It’s all happening the way he planned.

Jack steers the ship back into the airstream smoothly and it glides through the air. He’s thinking, I know I can make it to the rendezvous point and then just figure out some excuse for getting with Suzette. I’ll show her I can get my own ship and then she’ll want to be with me.

“Whoosh”, steam releases from the ship, a jolt, and finally the ship is at rest.
Jack looks around and Sheila is nowhere in sight, she’s gone below.

Sheila slides out his personal bag from under the bed and finds the eyepiece that attaches to his monocle. Her fingers wrap around the cold brass body and as she moves it toward the top of the bag it bangs against something inside of a zippered compartment.

Out of curiosity she unzips the compartment and catches the shimmer of the gold writing on a small book. Carefully she edges to book toward her.

Jack, “Honey where are you?”

Jumping up she checks the door before shuffling through pages. He writes about another woman and their time together. Scanning desperately she finds a name, Suzette, her father’s student. Tears well up, she slides his bag back under the bed.
Once upstairs standing behind Jack she wipes away her tears.

Jack, “Where were you?

“Here,” she hands him the eyepiece that connects to his monocle.
“Find out the distance to Glock City. “

Jack’s eyepiece is one of a kind capable of scanning for miles. This heirloom is always passing down to royal navigators. That is until he won it in a poker game. Jack figures even if he did cheat with a pair of deuces everything is his for the taking.

He admires the eyepiece and wipes the lens on his shirt. Then he checks his multi-geared watch.

Jack, “Sheila, this eyepiece sets me apart, nothing in the distance can escape me. What a poker game that was.”

He’s peering through the window with his eyepiece pretending to look for the city for Sheila’s sake.

Actually he is scanning for the point Suzette told him about. Now he will have her and any excavation of dragon bones. Satisfaction fills his face after finding the location.

“Sheila, there is a newer Steamship within one click. I’m going to find out any information they may have. You stay here I’ll be right back.”

The vacuum door opens and Jack enters into the other steamship. Removing his top hat and goggles he greets Suzette, “It is wonderful to see you.”

The man next to her is holding her hand.
Suzette, “It is you Jack did the professor have you meet us?”

Jack, “Something like that.”

“I want you to meet my fiancé, Charles.”

Jack feels furious with no way to do anything except shake his hand. So this is why she couldn’t invite me.

On Jack’s return Marsha is packing.
Jack, “So what is this Marsha? You’re leaving me?”

Marsha straightens her metal corset pulls the ties and says, “I found your writings about Suzette. Jack, how could you?”

Jack, ‘She means nothing to me.”

Sheila, “You mean for you. Give me one of the steam guns.”
There is no way of knowing who is in that mining town. The road is near here with a shuttle track, I checked.”

Jack, “Let’s at least have a drink together before you go.”

Sheila, “If that is what it takes, okay let’s do.”

Jack pulls out two drinking glasses and pours some magic steam mash.

Hands Sheila her glass, “Here to us, we can make this work.”
Sheila, “Jack we need time apart.”

Sheila pauses slightly after tasting the bitterness of the hallucinogenic, downs the rest.

Before getting up she tightens her leather bootstraps, begins to feel slightly strange, like a buzzing in the room and colors rushing up to greet her.

“Jack do you hear anything?”
Jack, “Of course not, it’s quiet this morning the steam engine is off.”

To exit the heavy brass handle is rotated, opening the door to a panoramic view of the Red Desert. After turning a few gears Sheila secures the steam gun in the holster attached to her thigh.

While approaching the tracks there’s movement near a sage bush, turning around reveals a small dragon following not far behind.

This is the very thing they have come for proof of, the existence of a dragon and she has no way to capture it. Is this real? Dragons are extinct. Sheila follows the baby dragon back to the large sage bush and it vanishes.

Bending down she sees a bone sticking out of the sand. Moving the sand back and forth uncovers some baby dragon bones. Carefully she drops them in a leather bag and heads to the nearby shuttle track, making note of this location.

Through the dust she sees a steam shuttle train approaching, hears the hiss of the whistle, the brakes screech as the train slows down to a stop.

A window opens slightly and someone yells, “Hey Ma'am' you need a ride to town?”

Sheila nods yes to the stranger and takes one final look in Jack’s direction. The wind picks up stirring some red sand around her.

There’s a whoosh of steam as the train door opens. Two steps up land her in between rolls of empty seats.

She points to the back of the train, after pulling off a leather glove one finger at a time the usher hands her a ticket and says, “Ma'am', pay at the station”.

Sheila slides back onto a leather bench seat, secures the bag of dragon bones. Looks out the window smiling, while reaching into her purse and touching Jack’s eyepiece.

The End

Thank you @neoxian for allowing me the opportunity to explore this genre.

Images are courtesy of Pixabay and Unsplash
The image of Red Desert, Wyoming is from Wikipedia

Photograph of the Dragon bones below is mine.
Here is my post about the bones. Link

Thanks for reading.
I hope you enjoyed the story.

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