by E J Pay
After 15 minutes of silent swimming, Celia and I arrive at a large, open area. The field is surrounded by tents. In the center are rows of fenced-off squares. Two squares on the end are filled with equipment – fighting equipment. So, this must be the training area. I see several teams of people battling in the practice arena, armor and all. My stomach sinks about three feet into the ground. I am not a fighter. I haven’t wrestled with brothers or even been picked on by bullies. The most fighting I’ve done was in second grade ballet when little Courtney Lynn took my ribbon wand during free dance. I tackled her and took my wand back. Then we both had to sit on the bench for the rest of the class. I never tackled anyone again: it wasn’t worth losing the free dance. War prep is going to be a big learning curve for me.
Celia leads me to a practice area where Jack is standing and giving verbal coaching to the fighters. “Captain Jack, Lady Pescara sent me to escort Ms. Evelyn Marin to you. She is one of your new recruits.” Jack turns to face us and I swear I see Celia blush. He is wearing a shorts-wetsuit with the top half folded down, exposing his tanned chest and muscular arms. I am too much a mess in my stomach to have room for butterflies. Then he smiles at me and the butterflies find some space to flutter around. Celia gives me a glare. I guess we both have a thing for Captain Jack.
“Well there, princess. How are you feeling?” he asks, “Are you ready to learn how to fight like a man or would you rather watch today?”
Before I can answer Jack’s cheerful teasing, Celia is ready to shine. “Lady Pescara suggested Evelyn and I rest before heading into training sessions for today, but I’m ready to go to work now. I won’t speak for Evelyn.” Celia looks down her nose at me, taunting me to join the practice when she knows I’m a complete novice.
“No,” I respond to Jack, “I’d rather watch today.”
“All right, then,” says Jack. Then turning to Celia, “Celia, suit up and meet us in training area four.”
“Yes, sir,” Celia answers as she turns on her heels, swimming straight to the training equipment. She may be a jerk, but I have to admit that Celia is a very beautiful person. I am self-conscious and a little jealous of her muscles while she swims away.
Meanwhile, Jack is facing me again. “We’ve got a lot of work to do to get you ready. I’ll let you watch today, but tomorrow you’ve got to be ready to work.”
I am used to working for Jack. I can do that here too. “I’ll be ready,” I say.
“Good,” he says, “Celia’s very good at what she does. You’ll learn a lot by watching her.” He turns from me and tells the other recruits they can call it quits for the day. Then he returns his attention to me.
“Okay, why don’t you come with me and we’ll watch Celia in action. I can explain a bit about how things are run here.” We swim toward training area 4. I am surprised by how far I can actually go with simple strokes and kicks. It is like there is a little propulsion pack on my back. There is some equipment on the field from the last training session. It looks archaic: two very large, round shields, a sword, a mace, and a pile of armor.
Jack stops by the fence and leans across the framework. I swim up beside him and rest there as well. “I guess I should start by telling you I’m glad you’re here, and I am sorry that I couldn’t tell you about us earlier,” he says. “We are at war and I can’t risk letting anything out, not even to you. I have to know who is on our side, Evelyn, before I can say anything. It’s just the rules of wartime. But I still hope you’ll forgive me for not telling you earlier. I wanted to.” He rests his hand on my shoulder, and I feel myself relax. It is the first sincere thing I’ve heard from someone I trust for some time. I am glad to hear it and glad that it came from Jack.
“Thanks,” I say, “I appreciate your apology. I get that wartime etiquette doesn’t always allow for open communication, I still appreciate the apology though. So, thanks.” I give him a half smile, his hand still resting on my shoulder. I feel nerves growing inside me again, so I hurry on, turning toward the training ground to keep myself focused. “I’m here now, so teach me everything I need to know. I guess we’ll figure out the rest when this thing is over.” I feel suddenly awkward, like I’ve just told Jack we’d have a relationship when the war ends. The blush runs up my neck and onto my face, burning my ears and heating the water around me.
“Well,” Jack says, “we have a fairly large army for underwater battles at this post. There are hundreds of posts along this coast for both American continents. Atlantis is really headquarters for everyone. We get updates from the other posts every few days. It’s not like working on land. Can’t really use cell phones underwater, it’s too deep. A lot of our land-based tech doesn’t work with our fish companions. So things are still old-school here. We wait for information and do our best to keep up. Lady Pescara heads the new recruit division, but I think she wants to prove herself here so she can move up in the ranks. She’s a good leader. I wouldn’t be surprised if she did move up the ranks when the war’s done.” Jack has moved both of his hands to the top rail of the fence as he continues.
“The new recruits are divided into groups of 50. I am captain of the Delphin 50. I get the recruits who show early signs of the ability to communicate with the sea-life,” he gives me a smiling nod, “that would be you. Within each group of 50, there are 5 sub-leaders, each over a group of 10. Celia is one of those and she will be your group leader. She is responsible for making sure recruits are learning their skills well and for aiding me in training. She can be a bit harsh, but she knows her stuff. Just stick with her and you’ll do well.”
Oh great, I get to spend more time with Celia. Maybe I should have mentioned on my resume that I’m not such a fan. Oh wait, that’s right, I didn’t have a resume.
Celia swims into the training area. She is wearing her sea armor, made of some kind of metal and fashioned into scales like a fish. The main torso piece is fashioned like a tank top and she wears it over her long wetsuit. Her legs are covered with the same material as the top. Her sleeves, though, are made of chain mail armor and she wears a metal helmet that looks Greek.
“Armor is our first line of defense in battle,” says Jack, “but it is heavy and slows us down. You may have noticed that you are able to swim faster than you thought possible, and that helps us in battle, but we are still weighed down by the armor. I have all my recruits practice in battle armor so they can build the necessary strength to perform with greater speed.” Jack turns to Celia, “Well, why don’t we show Evelyn what a real fight looks like?” He climbs up and over the fence and into the ring. Jack pulls up his wetsuit, much to Celia’s dismay I am sure, and grabs the helmet and armor lying on the ground. It doesn’t take more than two minutes for the experienced soldier to put on his armor and while he dresses, Celia grabs one of the shields and the mace.
“Battle ready, soldier?” asks Jack.
“Battle ready, Captain,” is Celia’s reply and the battle begins. Jack is giving me tips from the field.
“You have to be ready to use any weapon on hand, Evelyn,” he says. “You won’t know what your opponent will use so you have to be prepared for that too.” Celia and Jack swim in slow circles around each other, Jack with his sword in his right hand, up and ready to move, his shield in the left hand. Celia also has her shield in her left hand, but her right arm is overhead, swinging the mace in circles above her. Then in a flash, Celia comes down with her mace aiming right for the top of Jack’s head. He ducks and covers his head with his shield and swings his sword at Celia’s ankles. But she maneuvers out of the way and gets herself settled in a crouch position on the ocean floor, still swinging her mace.
Jack’s movement has propelled him upward in the water. He is hovering over Celia now with his shield under his body, slowly settling down to where Celia is crouched. As he gets closer to her, he twists onto his right side, jabbing the sword straight under Celia’s shield. But Celia is ready with her mace. She jerks out of the way and comes crashing down with it on Jack’s sword
. The short chain tangles around the sword as the metal-clad end wraps, swinging around it. She jerks as hard as she can to free the sword from Jack’s hand, but he is too strong for her.
Jack jerks back and Celia loses the grip of her mace. Jack now has both weapons and Celia is unarmed. Jack pulls the mace from his sword and tucks it into the back of his armor. “The battle isn’t won yet, Evelyn, Celia now has to fight without her weapon. It takes quick thinking and a lot of practice, both of which Celia has, so watch closely.”
Celia takes a new confidence and lunges toward Jack. Neither one has their feet on the ocean floor. It is strange to see a floating battle taking place. There are a million angles to use to your advantage as you strike at your opponent. Celia’s shield rams against Jack’s as she struggles to strike him while keeping out of reach of his sword. Now facing Celia, Jack swings his sword at her back and I hear clanging as his sword hits her armor. The blow looks like it hits full force, and it shows on Celia’s body. She arches her back in reaction to his swing and swims backward a few feet. I assume Jack will stop the session, but instead, he crouches down behind his shield with his sword ready, prepared for another attack from Celia. And that attack comes.
Celia’s face registers pure anger as she backs away from Jack. She catapults herself into the water overhead, never letting her eyes stray from her target. “Watch how her eyes never leave me,” Jack tells me, “she knows exactly where I am, but she must also know her surroundings.” Celia’s nostrils flare and her face reddens. “Smelling the ocean is a difficult skill to learn. Nobody has it naturally, but if you can master it, it will help you in battle.” Smelling the ocean? This must be one of the water skills Lady Pescara told me about. Just as Jack finishes his sentence, Celia plunges down into the water with all the speed she can muster, but she isn’t aiming for Jack. Just as she is parallel to him, she hits a large, armored fish, similar to Pisces.
I am shocked to see Celia hit the fish so hard, but even more shocked when I see a second armored fish swim up behind Celia, toward the first fish and it, too, collides. I realize both soldiers have a counterpart lurking in the darker water. Jack swings his sword at Celia’s back but gets rammed instead by her fish. Now that the battle has moved closer to the ocean floor, the silt is being kicked up into a blurry cloud of brown. I can’t see as much as I want, not that I would be able to take it all in anyway.
The tight group whirls and turns until I see Celia pull herself free from the mayhem. Immediately, she swims behind Jack and grabs her mace from his armor. She lowers her shield to get closer to him and just as she has the mace firmly in hand, she raises it, swinging, overhead. Her movement alerts Jack to her whereabouts and he responds by whipping around. With her shield down Celia is vulnerable and Jack takes advantage by pointing his sword firmly into her abdomen. At first, I am afraid he cut her, then I realize that there is no blood. Still, all four fighters are frozen as if playing a game of freeze tag.
“Do you concede?” Jack asks.
With a look of frustration, Celia lowers her mace and nods. “I concede.” All at once, all four participants relax. “What do you think of that Evelyn?” Jack shouts from where he stands. His face is red, but he still wears a look of satisfaction. He had fun.
“I can see I have a lot to learn,” is my response.
“And you’ll learn most of it from Celia,” Jack says. “She’s one of our best.” Celia straightens and Jack turns to her, “Excellent battle today Ms. Salvesen, I knew you wouldn’t let me down.”
“Thank you, Captain. I hope to not lose again,” she says with a small smile.
“And what could you have done differently in this battle to not have lost, Ms. Salvesen?”
“Keep my shield up,” is Celia’s short reply as her smile fades.
“Excellent,” says Jack, “Go over it tonight and record what could have been done differently in your battle journal. You ladies are dismissed.”
I understand that I am to follow Celia, so I swim slowly by her side back to the equipment stalls. She is silent. She is still furious and embarrassed by her loss, despite Jack’s praise of her performance. I wait while she removes her armor and places her shield and mace in the proper stalls. When she emerges, she has something to say.
“I will be your group leader from now on. Jack is my superior and I am yours. He is right to say that you have a lot to learn from me: you do. I’ve tried helping you with your studies at the apartment, but you weren’t very receptive nor were you a quick study. Understand that here, you will be expected to work hard and do as I say.” I bite back a sarcastic reply.
“I will do my best Celia,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Good,” she says, “now let’s get some food and I’ll show you where your bunk is. Tomorrow will be a very long day for you. You’ll need the nourishment and rest.”
I swim just behind Celia to the outskirts of the training field. I turn to see Jack closing up the training areas. His wetsuit is back down and his fish swims beside him. Celia’s fish disappeared after the battle and I wonder if it is a training fish used by all new recruits. Either way, I am looking forward to having an ally in battle.
I follow Celia until we reached the tent area. She points out a tent like all the others; dingy grey with a small light inside. “You’ll be bunking there with three other two-worlders whom you’ll meet after dinner. Dinner is always served in the main part of the city by the temple. Most of the permanent two-worlders, of course, live and cook for themselves in their own homes. The war has brought a large influx of recruits who don’t know how to feed themselves down here yet, so they join with the regular enlisted soldiers in the dining hall.”
I have a hard time keeping up with Celia. There is enough on my mind already. All I know is where I am supposed to eat and where I am supposed to sleep. The rest will have to wait for another day.
Chapter 13
The next several days and nights are a blur in my mind. Training battles, trying to figure out how to wear armor and use archaic weaponry, being forced to follow orders from Celia. It is killer stressful. Most of my time is spent with Celia and her group of 10 – I actually make it a group of 11. I catch glimpses of Jack when he gives orders to the group of 50. I begin to recognize faces that I pass by every day. I am sore all over. I’m not used to swimming everywhere I go. Thankfully, nothing in this early training requires that I get bruises to learn the techniques of combat, but I am sure that will come.
We do more than physical training. We have classes in the art of war and battle strategy. We learn about our enemy – Ceto – and her efforts against Atlantis for over a decade. She has been wreaking havoc with storms above the ocean and tidal waves and current changes. Atlantis has fought diligently to bring the natural course of the earth back into play. We learn a few basic survival skills as well: how to cook seaweed and how to use coral to heal wounds. We even have classes to make up for what we are missing onshore. FIU’s Aquarius program extends to classes underwater. Teachers from the land join us regularly to help us catch up on our studies.
Near the end of my first two weeks, I learn that we will be given leave for the weekend. Everyone is excited and I am jolted back to reality. Leave? I didn’t realize that once I signed up for a soldier position I would be treated like any other army. There are days and times we are expected to be there. I have been too wrapped up in all I have been learning to think about it. I am now very much aware of all I have left behind. Classes have been covered under water and I have even done some work for Oleta River State Park in keeping underwater areas clean, but I have thought nothing of my mom.
My mom. What on earth am I going to tell her? “Hi mom! I live underwater now. Good news: I don’t have to pay rent because I’m a soldier!” Will she believe that I have sea skills? Will she be furious that I did these things without her knowledge? Will she demand that I come home to Arizona?
No. That I know I can’t do. Too much waits for me here. I can’t turn around and go
back. I know I am on the right path, I just don’t know how I am going to break the news to my mom.
The Friday when everyone heads home resembles Phoenix freeways on the Friday of a three-day weekend. The streets of Atlantis are packed with people. Some are carrying backpacks while they swim, others, like me, are lightly loaded and just ready to head home. I haven’t made a home in Atlantis even though I’ve been sleeping here for almost two weeks. I was given bedding rations and food and the supplies I need, but I haven’t made the space my own in any way. I am heading back to land in my same blue one-piece and wetsuit. I am going to have to do some shopping.
Protocols for mass exodus from the sea are that we leave the ocean either when the beach is packed or completely empty. With a packed beach and ocean full of swimmers, it is harder to notice more swimmers coming from the ocean. On the other hand, we can’t come swimming out when there are only a few people on the beach because they will notice the influx of swimmers coming from nowhere.
On this Friday, we are leaving before sunrise. Many of the sea dwellers here are big time surfers and know when other surfers will or will not spot them, so we rely on them to give us the go ahead. At the base of the continental shelf a mass of sea dwellers waits for their turn to be given a ride to the top. Some of the stronger swimmers are just swimming up, probably in an effort to show off their strength…or impatience. Either way, I am willing to wait.
I am amazed by the large numbers of people that are actually down here. I have been seeing everything and everyone in blurs, but now that I have a free moment, I can think about and see this new world more clearly. I know that this is not the only take off point for going back to land, but it is the main port to serve the University. Most of the people around me are near my age. There are easily 200 or more waiting for the large fish transports. I spot one or two new recruits by the look of sheer exhaustion on their faces. I am sure my face looks the same. At one point, I think I see James in the crowds. He was trying to tell me about Atlantis, about this new world I am a part of. But his intentions don’t matter to me anymore. I make sure to turn away so I won’t be easily seen.
