Final Flight

Final Flight

He had become so used to the hum of the engines that they went unnoticed, until today. They were scheduled to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey, at 12:00 p.m. Ellis checked his watch. It was after 3:00 and they were just coming over Manhattan, well behind schedule.

Ellis felt his stomach lurch. I’ve been fine this whole trip. What’s going on with me? crossed his mind as he hurried to the bathroom down a flight stairs to the “B” deck. Finished, he stood, looking at the man in the mirror. Slightly balding but with a strong chin, he looked like the successful businessman he was. He ran water and splashed it on his face.

As he exited, the cabin boy, Werner, asked “Are you all right, Herr Bauman? Is there anything I can get you?”

“No, Werner. Thank you.” After a pause, he asked, “Have you heard why we’re running so late?”

“Jawohl! Yes, sir. There are some thunderstorms reported moving into the landing area. The Captain thought it best if we slow down and wait for them to pass. We are now scheduled to land around 7:00 p.m.”

With a sigh, Ellis began to move toward the stairs to the lounge area but turned back.. “Werner. Could you bring me a pot of tea with lemon? My stomach has been acting up.”

“Yes, sir. Right away.”

The lounge was spacious with modern furnishings. The inside wall was covered with a stylized world map while the outside wall offered a spectacular view through full length slanted windows. He stared as New York passed below.

“Isn’t that view something?” a voice said, causing him to jump a bit.

He turned and saw Jack? standing next to him. “Jack, is it?”

“Yes. You’re Ellis, correct? I believe we met on the first day.” He indicated a small table with two chairs. “Care to join me?”

They sat in silence enjoying the view until the tea arrived.

“So what do you think? Have the German’s come up with a winner with this Zeppelin idea?” queried Jack.

“It certainly beats traveling by boat. This saved me a week of travel and, until today, I’ve felt like I was on the ground. No ups and downs.”

“They've been using it in Germany for the past several years and its maiden crossing to Rio de Janeiro last year went smoothly,” Jack supplied.

“It is comfortable and you can’t fault the service either. The crew and wait staff are almost military in their precision and attention to detail.”

“I think it’s the influence of their new Chancellor, Adolf Hitler. I’m not sure what he is trying to do. It’s disturbing to see how he politicizes everything,” commented Ellis.

“Yes. I was just there on business and I heard that his German Reich had entered and occupied the Rhineland.”

Just then, a tall uniformed man strode down the deck.

“Excuse me, Captain Pruss,” Jack said. “Will we be landing soon?”

“Yes. We've received final approach clearance. The storms are passed. If you look out the starboard side, you can see the mooring-mast and watch the entire process.”

Ellis felt his stomach rumble in warning. Not now!

“Are you feeling all right?” asked Jack with concern.

“I’m just feeling very nervous.” Ellis reached into his jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “Maybe this will calm me down.”

Jack nodded, understandingly. He reached into his own pocket and pulled out some matches. “Need a light?”

This is Henry Morrison with WLS, Chicago. The great German Zeppelin, Hindenburg, is making its debut here in Lakehurst, New Jersey. It's practically standing still now. They've dropped ropes out of the nose of the ship, and they've been taken a hold of down on the field by a number of men. It's starting to rain again; it's—the rain has slacked up a little bit. The back motors of the ship are just holding it just, just enough to keep it from — It burst into flames! Get this, Charlie! Get this, Charlie! It's fire—and it's crashing! It's crashing terrible! Oh, my, get out of the way, please! It's burning and bursting into flames, and the—and it's falling on the mooring-mast and all the folks agree that this is terrible, this is one of the worst catastrophes in the world. Crashing, oh! Four- or five-hundred feet into the sky and it... it's a terrific crash, ladies and gentlemen. It's smoke, and it's in flames now; and the frame is crashing to the ground, not quite to the mooring mast. Oh, the humanity!

The cause of the Hindenburg disaster is unknown to this day.


Day 7 Entry for "The Writer's Baker's Dozen Contest" 
Word Limit: 1,000 Word Count: 765
Prompt: History - This Day in History: Insert your fictional character into a well-known historic event as an "extra" who may have hand a hand in making the event historical. While your character is to be fictional, the historical event should be one that is well known and actually happened somewhere in the world.