The Enterprise let rip with her forward guns, impacting on the side of the first of the giants and leaving a string of rends upon the blue surface that exposed a yellow layer beneath. Thinking on it retrospectively I can only conclude that the blue area upon the first two giants was an outfit of some unknown material and design. At any rate there was a terrible roar that made us all put our hands to our ears as this particular giant released the boats it had caught and swung round fiercely, churning the waters of the estuary with such ferocity that I called out to my compatriots that we must hold onto anything we could that was fixed in place.
The resulting waves rolled our steamer about badly enough, though not as bad as I feared, but I couldn't quite follow what had happened as the thunderous noises produced by these alien creatures rendered us close to deaf as they retaliated against the volley. When I looked back I could see that we had managed to make some reasonable headway in the mean time, but I couldn't see much of anything below what I could best describe as the knees of these giants, for a great quantity of smoke, spray and dust had been stirred up; I couldn't even see the rest of the navy's flotilla. A few dreadful explosions rang out louder than I would've expected from a volley of artillery, accompanied in places with the longer wrenching groan of metal being bent and broken. A major gust of wind pushed us along, maybe even as far as the very mouth of the Thames, and when it had settled I looked back to see no sign of the Enterprise, but a few of her companions were clearly reduced to shipwrecks under the legs of these behemoths. Their faces ranged from proud to annoyed, leaving me to conclude that each of them had slammed their forelegs down hard upon a separate ship, forcing it underwater and then made adjustments to tear it apart. The explosions must've occurred when entire magazines had their stores triggered under the pressure.
I had my theory confirmed when the three giants moved forwards to attack the remnant of the flotilla, who had swiftly opened up their own guns to try and give these beasts a real injury. I saw them perform an extraordinary series of acrobatics that led to most of the shells soaring right past them, though there were more roars of pain from them despite any real indication of injury. Before the crews had a chance to reload they each reared up on their hind legs and slammed down so hard that I was sure I could hear the crash and boom ring out over the waves shortly before the sound of metal being wrenched came along. A subsequent sound of an explosion seemed rather lacklustre compared to before, though I don't know if that's because of the greater distance we'd acquired from the waves and winds that were produced by these giants as they battled against the navy.
Eventually the fierce noises settled down and I saw the three beasts settle into a more relaxed posture before bringing their wings out and seemed to swirl the tips of the primaries in the estuary's waters. Some bizarre mix of whinnies and neighs emanated from their mouths that carried far across the sea before they brought their wings back up, looking closely at each feather before seeming to let the water drip across their backs and heads. At this point they returned their attention to the boats that remained within the estuary, using as many extremities as possible to stop their escape and guide them back to shore, maybe even further. At one point the third of these creatures looked out right towards us and brought one wing up, seeming to point in our direction while turning its head to the others and making some more elaborate horsey noises. I suspect it was considering how to take us at our distance, though if it really wanted to I rather think it could've done since I had seen it flying on their first approach. The exchange that seemed to take place resulted in it bring its wing back to a resting position on its side with the face scrunched up in what I hesitate to call a frown, nevertheless that was the last I saw of these strange creatures that day.
During our journey to Ostend, the resulting monotony left us all with what I would consider to be too much time to let everything that had happened sink in. Miss Stoneywell spent several hours bawling away at all that had been lost, in stark contrast to the rather bold front she'd displayed since I met her and her mother up to that point, though a multitude of other women both the young and the mature had similar reactions. I saw men who I could only describe as ex-army veterans who frequently grabbed onto support struts and trembled so violently that the ship's doctor became overloaded with reports of suspected paralysis agitans. However one good thing had emerged amongst the people on board; the cost of supplies plummeted in response to the true gravity of our situation, though the captain quickly set into action a rationing system so that no one person could horde the ship's supplies on the grounds of their economic means.
It took three days to cross the sea, which I attribute to a combination of the number of people on board exceeding the ship's design and a relatively low supply of fuel forcing a modest rate of stoking. Mrs Stoneywell has allowed me to remain with her and her daughter, claiming that I am a satisfactory guard for them, though I wonder if there might be something else involved; when she'd shed her baggage through her tears Miss Stoneywell started conversing with me on a surprisingly regular basis, considering the company that has become available and the generally open attitudes of these Belgians. I do wonder if there's a chance for me, though I really must tread carefully since I know only too well how Mrs Stoneywell wields her umbrella.
I hope this letter will reach you some day, cousin. You have long been my confidante in the more socially troublesome matters of my life, and I should hate to have to say goodbye without addressing your face.
The resulting waves rolled our steamer about badly enough, though not as bad as I feared, but I couldn't quite follow what had happened as the thunderous noises produced by these alien creatures rendered us close to deaf as they retaliated against the volley. When I looked back I could see that we had managed to make some reasonable headway in the mean time, but I couldn't see much of anything below what I could best describe as the knees of these giants, for a great quantity of smoke, spray and dust had been stirred up; I couldn't even see the rest of the navy's flotilla. A few dreadful explosions rang out louder than I would've expected from a volley of artillery, accompanied in places with the longer wrenching groan of metal being bent and broken. A major gust of wind pushed us along, maybe even as far as the very mouth of the Thames, and when it had settled I looked back to see no sign of the Enterprise, but a few of her companions were clearly reduced to shipwrecks under the legs of these behemoths. Their faces ranged from proud to annoyed, leaving me to conclude that each of them had slammed their forelegs down hard upon a separate ship, forcing it underwater and then made adjustments to tear it apart. The explosions must've occurred when entire magazines had their stores triggered under the pressure.
I had my theory confirmed when the three giants moved forwards to attack the remnant of the flotilla, who had swiftly opened up their own guns to try and give these beasts a real injury. I saw them perform an extraordinary series of acrobatics that led to most of the shells soaring right past them, though there were more roars of pain from them despite any real indication of injury. Before the crews had a chance to reload they each reared up on their hind legs and slammed down so hard that I was sure I could hear the crash and boom ring out over the waves shortly before the sound of metal being wrenched came along. A subsequent sound of an explosion seemed rather lacklustre compared to before, though I don't know if that's because of the greater distance we'd acquired from the waves and winds that were produced by these giants as they battled against the navy.
Eventually the fierce noises settled down and I saw the three beasts settle into a more relaxed posture before bringing their wings out and seemed to swirl the tips of the primaries in the estuary's waters. Some bizarre mix of whinnies and neighs emanated from their mouths that carried far across the sea before they brought their wings back up, looking closely at each feather before seeming to let the water drip across their backs and heads. At this point they returned their attention to the boats that remained within the estuary, using as many extremities as possible to stop their escape and guide them back to shore, maybe even further. At one point the third of these creatures looked out right towards us and brought one wing up, seeming to point in our direction while turning its head to the others and making some more elaborate horsey noises. I suspect it was considering how to take us at our distance, though if it really wanted to I rather think it could've done since I had seen it flying on their first approach. The exchange that seemed to take place resulted in it bring its wing back to a resting position on its side with the face scrunched up in what I hesitate to call a frown, nevertheless that was the last I saw of these strange creatures that day.
During our journey to Ostend, the resulting monotony left us all with what I would consider to be too much time to let everything that had happened sink in. Miss Stoneywell spent several hours bawling away at all that had been lost, in stark contrast to the rather bold front she'd displayed since I met her and her mother up to that point, though a multitude of other women both the young and the mature had similar reactions. I saw men who I could only describe as ex-army veterans who frequently grabbed onto support struts and trembled so violently that the ship's doctor became overloaded with reports of suspected paralysis agitans. However one good thing had emerged amongst the people on board; the cost of supplies plummeted in response to the true gravity of our situation, though the captain quickly set into action a rationing system so that no one person could horde the ship's supplies on the grounds of their economic means.
It took three days to cross the sea, which I attribute to a combination of the number of people on board exceeding the ship's design and a relatively low supply of fuel forcing a modest rate of stoking. Mrs Stoneywell has allowed me to remain with her and her daughter, claiming that I am a satisfactory guard for them, though I wonder if there might be something else involved; when she'd shed her baggage through her tears Miss Stoneywell started conversing with me on a surprisingly regular basis, considering the company that has become available and the generally open attitudes of these Belgians. I do wonder if there's a chance for me, though I really must tread carefully since I know only too well how Mrs Stoneywell wields her umbrella.
I hope this letter will reach you some day, cousin. You have long been my confidante in the more socially troublesome matters of my life, and I should hate to have to say goodbye without addressing your face.
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April 19
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