Atlantis

Ten | Dark Waters

Alas, two weeks had gone by. Peri and Renee were ready to go back into the deep blue sea. Austen, frowning, was still mad about them both going back as he watched them get ready. Despite Austen in a bad mood, both girls were excited and now thought that if they indeed made it back to Atlantis, they wouldn't not remember.

 The girls felt this strange feeling— like they absolutely needed to get back in Atlantis. Like if they didn't, something would happen. Something terrible, that would leave them hopeless. They needed to get back into Atlantis, or something would be forever missing from their lives.

"Girls!" Ms Jennifer's voice rang, her smiling face soon appearing as well. "Are you almost ready?!"

"Just about, Ms Jennifer!" Peri yelled, her voice almost lost as she jumped into the submarine with a tool for Renee to use.

"Great! Great!" She said, frowning slightly when her gaze lingered on Austen's pouting self. But all she thought before she walked over to the submarine was, men.

"What the hell is this?" Renee takes the object in Peri's hand and observes it, it was kind of like a screwdriver but on the other end it had a wrench head and in the middle it had a latch that opens to some screws.

Peri gives the tool a once over, looking at it again. "I have no idea, but it looks important... so, there." she says shrugging. Renee tosses the thing into an open bag full of metal tools. 

"You don't have to go." Austen protests, boarding the submarine. "You shouldn't go. You guys aren't trained to be down there, and the last time you went you had lost your memory. Maybe the longer your down there the more of your short term memory disappears."

Renee politely waits until her boyfriend is down talking, "One, I hate to be a smart ass, but how are you more trained to be down there. And how is the risk less for you if you go down?" and after a few beats, "Hm?"

An unreadable look passes Austen face, he doesn't have an answer for that. "The risk is the same, but that's not the point-- the point is that I should be going with you." a look of anger passes his face, "We're" he gestures to himself and the girls in front of him, "A team! We have been since the day that I punched some asshole in the mouth for you!" When they were twelve and in college, some jerk's son was mouthing off on how Renee and Peri were too ugly to be able to go to a school meant for older kids... and Austen punched him. Renee and Peri didn't know all of the details to what happened to Austen, but they knew that as soon as he came out of a room with the kid and his mom, Austen had looked shaken. 

"That's not our fault you did that!" Peri says, coming to Renee's side. "We've been judged before, it was nothing we couldnt handle."

Rage fills Austens eyes and body, "Yes it is!" Renee flinches back as if Austen had slapped her.  Unshed tears fill Renee's eyes. Peri automatically puts her arms over her best friend, Renee just stands there, stunned to silence. Austen never yelled, at the girls at least

Ms Jennifer flinches and she beckons for Austen to come over to her, she whispers something in his ear. Austens eyes soften and he walks back over to the girls. "I'm sorry." he almost whispers, "that wasn't me."

"I know." mutters Renee, willing back the tears. "We uh... we gotta go. And it's fine dont worry." She ends her statement by kissing Austen and hugging him tight, convinced that the Austen that was screaming was some monster shaped like him... This was the real Austen, nice, caring. 

Renee and Peri wave to Ms Jennifer before pushing Austen out of the submarine. He stood there and watched as both Peri and Renee sat down, Peri flipping a bunch of stuff up and pressing a few buttons until the submarine dipped into the cold waters and disappeared from sight.