Ausgang Zero: Sean

An unedited chapter from my forthcoming book, Ausgang Zero

“See that doon there?” My da asked me once, pointing down to the Yoker dry docks from the balcony of our 18th-floor flat, “That’s the FGS Himmler. They didnae trust the Krauts the build it, so we got it instead. They named it in his honour.”

“Is it a fast ship?” I remember asking, moving my head side to side so I could see it all through the railings.

“Aye, son, the fastest in the fleet they reckon it’ll be.”

It was huge, the bottom half sleek, smooth, and dark grey, the top half angles and menacing spikes—at least from what I could see through its green netting blanket. It looked like a giant present wrapped in mesh. It was impossible to see through, but slowly, it took shape, rising out of the dry dock below us. In the breeze, I caught scents of burning and grinding, of middle-distance industry, and the acrid toil of many hands.