John tugged the riggings, his hands sweating wildly. He choked back a scream as the Haniver lurched closer to the mountain. Suddenly, the skyship was tugged upwards, dodging the cliff by millimetres. He reached for Max, but he wasn’t there. Instead, he was staring confidently at the sky in front of him. The Haniver creaked and groaned like an 100-year-old bridge.

Without warning, 3 monstrous shadows flew past the ship, spewing fire from their mouths. The ship started to lean to one side, and smouldering wood toppled of the starboard. Max tugged out his telescope but saw nothing but endless storm clouds. The captain flung the wheel left and yelled, ”Hold onto your hats!”

The engines cut. The sails retracted. The air hissed out of the dragon- skin balloon and the Haniver toppled out of the sky. Horrible screams echoed from behind but no one dared to look back. They were too busy clinging onto the railings for dear life. John’s fingers ached like they were going to explode.

Abruptly, the wailing stopped. Had the evil dragons lost them? John had other things to worry about. Out of the blue, everything started up again and the skyship came to a halt. It was hovering 10ft above the ground with 2 shivering crewmates and a crazy captain.