Atlantis: The King's Return

Atlantis: The King's Return | 3

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The first thing she came aware of was the sound of lapping waves. They came slowly yet forcefully, bringing cool air with their arrival. She winced, sluggishly opening her eyes and sniffing.

Cool, salty air.

She sat up slowly, rubbing a hand over her face... and coming away with pebbles. What the hell...? Mari wiped her hands off sluggishly, awareness settling in. Around her, the air was damp and thick, misty. Something she'd never seen before.

Her feet were submerged in water, but the rest of her was on land. Cold, rocky land. Dark rocky land. The dimness in the cave was unsettling yet ethereal. Sand and large boulders surrounded her in the area that she lay on. Above her head, the cieling of the cave swooped in a jagged dome, pointed formations hanging down so low that she could touch them. She reached up slowly, dazed.

Mari touched the shimmering cone with fascination. The substance that came away with her hand was waxy , covering her fingers with a silky sheen. A drop from the build-up hit the floor and joined the growing pile beside her. That small fall had her eyes actually adjusting to where she was, reality kicking in.

Where the hell was she?

Mari looked around, stunned.

There wasn't any light source, yet somehow the cave was bright, washed with an aqua glow. Wonder filled her, then confusion. It was so beautiful, like her own closed off escape, but...how had she gotten here?

Her eyes widened.

She was dead – she had to be.

But how –

The ship. The ship had sunk.

Her hand flew to her mouth with a gasp, eyes stinging painfully. She really was dead. The people on that boat...the blonde... everyone. Gone.

Her chest tightened, emotion clogging her throat. The blonde, her boytoy, the men who had worked to hard to save them...there was no way anyone could have survived that.

Mari had never been on a boat, let alone a cruise. Her first time on board, and it had sunk. God must really hate her, she thought. This wasn't even heaven! While it was magical and surreal in the underwater cave, there weren't any clouds or men dressed in white robes coming to greet her.

Was this the actual hell?

Mari sat there in silence, thoughts running around her head like the gray matter was on steroids.

All she felt was remorse over what had happened, confusion for where she was. Was she going to be stuck in this dank cave for the rest of eternity, or was it like the waiting room of heaven? She squinted around, standing up. Grains of sand fell off her body and tumbled to the ground, the only sound besides the lapping waves.

She looked at the glowing pool of ocean again. There wasn't any way to leave unless she swam under the water and eventually found an exit. But, judging by how dark the water got deeper she looked, she'd have to hold her breath for a lot longer than she could.

I'm dead, she thought. I can hold my breath and fly and sprout wings. Escaping a cave shouldn't be a problem. After all, what could kill her if she were already dead?

Mari barely realized how strange it was that she felt perfectly fine for having died. The sound of tumbling water pulled her attention to the beach again.

Greedy little fingers formed within the waves, clutching onto the sand and then receding back with reluctance. It was such a soothing sight that all of her doubts fled. Calm washed over her like a misty breeze, and she smiled.