Tomb of Atlantis

by Petersen, Christopher David

  Over and over, the waves rolled in. Enduring pain, fear, exhaustion, Jack fought with every measure of his spirit, as each savage wave tested his will to live.

  Far out in front of him, the winds ebbed and flowed, forcing waves to join together and create larger, more violent mountains of water. As the winds slowed one wave’s progress, two more sped up along their path. In a moment, freak in nature, all three waves collided, creating one colossal behemoth.

  Jack felt it immediately. As the large wave rushed forward, he felt a faster, higher rise in elevation.

  Instantly, a bolt of lightning shot across the sky, lighting up the waves around him. For a moment, his world stood still as he stared at the horror that towered in front of him. There, thirty feet above, churned a black wall of violent, raging water. As the crest began to break, he knew he had but moments to live.

  Caught in the titan’s grasp, his fear race out of control. Frantically, he began to kick his fins as he tried to pull his raft sideways across the wave. As he felt the weight of the wall crash down upon him, he gulped a huge breath of air and pulled harder.

  Suddenly, the crushing wall of water and foam engulfed him, pounded him, ripping the raft from his grasp. As it pulled away, his fin entangled in the net and dragged him deeper beneath the water. With his lungs ready to burst, he fought for the surface, but it was not to be. The mammoth wave continued to break, its force and fury refusing to relinquish its hold on Jack.

  Atlantis - Chapter 16

  DAY 5

  OFFICES OF JAVIER ARISTA:

  Javier hung up the phone and stared out his window, saddened by the news. His stomach churned and his hands sweated as he nervously thought about his next choice of words. He stood up slowly from his chair and reluctantly made his way down the hall to his laboratory. Entering the lab, he found Serena characteristically hunched over her work as she examined Jack’s scrolls.

  Javier took a deep breath, then spoke.

  “Well, that’s it,” he said, sadly.

  Serena lifted her head. Her expression instantly changed even before he relayed his message.

  “No, I won’t believe it. This is crazy. He can’t be gone,” she said, unwilling to accept the truth.

  “I’m sorry, honey, but they’ve called off the search. The Coast Guard says there’s no way Jack could have survived that storm last night. They’re listing him as missing and presumed dead,” he said as delicately as he could.

  Serena stared at the ancient scrolls in front of her.

  “What a waste; a couple of stupid scrolls and a beat up old urn? Just doesn’t seem right,” she said, sadly.

  “I know. I’m just sick about the whole thing,” Javier responded. “I can only imagine what his parents are going through right now.”

  “The worst of it is no one can tell us anything. He just vanished without a trace, almost like Amelia Earhart,” she said.

  They both stood quietly for a moment, both acknowledging Serena’s last statement.

  “He sure had an adventurous spirit,” Javier started, choosing to remember Jack in positive light. “He must have been a handful as a child.”

  “Probably a terror,” she smiled.

  “For such a young guy, it sounded like he really lived life to the fullest,” he continued. “And quite accomplished too: climber, pilot, engineer. Interesting resume.”

  “Very interesting,” she replied sadly.

  Javier read Serena’s face. He saw something in it he hadn’t noticed before.

  “I’m sorry, Serena. I didn’t know you liked him in that way,” he said, trying to be delicate once more.

  “I didn’t at first, but he kinda grew on me a little,” she confessed, then added, “But it wasn’t like I wanted to marry him or anything like that. I just sort of liked him. He made me laugh.”

  “Yup, he seemed to be a happy kind of guy. Hard not to like a guy like that,” he replied.

  Javier could see that the new direction in conversation was making Serena uncomfortable. Saving her feelings, he changed the topic once more.

  “Well, at least his efforts weren’t in vain. His memory will live on through the artifacts he found. Finding the link between western and eastern civilizations is quite a distinction that will carry his legacy for many years to come,” he said. “Speaking of which, have you found out anything more about the scrolls?”

  Switching her mind to the new topic, she replied, “Well, come to think of it, I did find something. Check out this symbol. It's another pyramid-type hieroglyphic, but instead of the all-seeing eye hovering over its top, this one has an image of a man. It's really quite interesting."

  "Really? A man? Where is it?"

  "Right here, on the second scroll," Serena said, sliding her finger over the glass as she searched for the symbol in question.

  Near the top of the page, she took a marker and circled the glass where the symbol sat underneath. Reaching for a magnifying glass on the table, Javier bent over and examined the hieroglyphic. Suddenly, he stopped and looked up at Serena. His face had turned white and lost all expression.

  “Dad, what is it? You look like a zombie. Is there something significant about that symbol?” she asked, now intrigued.

  Javier remained silent. Holding the magnifying glass over the scroll, he looked down once more and continued his examination.

  Staring through the glass, he uttered the simple phrase, “Oh my God.”

  “Dad! What is it? You’re beginning to freak me out. What did you find?” she asked, now becoming agitated.

  Javier put down the magnifying glass and glanced up at Serena. Determination spread across his face. In a low, confident voice, he spoke.

  “Get Burt Samuelson on the phone right now.”

  EARLIER THAT DAY:

  The morning darkness had given way to the light of dawn. The skies had cleared and the savage, violent seas had become gentle rolling waves. Floating effortlessly on its surface, tirelessly guided by the sea anchor, Jack's float drifted along with the current. As the morning news broadcast the tragedy of the missing person, Jack's body lay lifeless on the makeshift hammock.

  Off in the distance, a Black Noddy Tern flapped her wings as she searched for fish on the ocean's surface. With hours of flight in the air, the raft was an inviting refuge to the now-tired bird. Circling overhead, she cautiously inspected the float as she weighed the dangers of landing. Moments later, with a quick burst from her wings, she settled onto the twisted strut with pinpoint precision and rested her tired muscles. Balancing on the bent piece of metal, she examined the motionless oddity that spread out before her.

  Protruding out from under his matted and bedraggled hair, Jack's ear lobe created an inviting snack for the hungry Tern. With a quick hop and a flap of her wings, she now stood above Jack's head on the edge of the float. Eying the tasty morsel for a moment, she made one last check for safety, then pecked at the fleshy lobe.

  "Ow! What the hell!"

  Jack's eyes flew open and he lunged for his now swollen ear. Sitting up, he winced in pain as his stiff and battered body protested the sudden move. Still pulling on his sore ear, he watched as the frightened Tern flew off to safety.

  "You bastard. I'm still alive. Go rob a graveyard you freakin' vulture," he yelled, his voice barely audible.

  He sat for a while and watched as the bird became a dot on the horizon, then finally disappeared. With a great yawn, he stretched out his sore muscles and reflected on the previous night's terror.

  “How did I survive that?” he said to himself, the previous evening still a blur.

  Jack's mind froze as he pictured the wall of black, churning water just before the wave crest broke and plunged down upon him. He shuddered for a moment as the fear he felt from the night before replayed in his mind. Like a bad horror movie, he thought about the moment the raft pulled him under and the feeling of hopelessness as it dragged him down deeper into the ocean.

  "Man, I must have been thirty feet under the water," he spe
culated.

  Visualizing that moment and the struggle he had, trying to hold his breath, he involuntarily gasped for air in reflex to the feeling of drowning. He tried to clear his mind, trying to forget the ugly memory of his near death experience but the vision was too powerful, too vivid to push aside. His mind continued to replay the awful event.

  With no hope for survival and his mind resigned to his death, he remembered opening his mouth as he readied to inhale the deadly seawater. Like a great entity, he remembered a rush of water that pulled the float upward as it was caught in the next violent wave. Breaking just behind him, the next giant wall of water pushed past him and forced the float to the surface, dragging him behind it. As his head broke above the water, he gasped for air and lunged for the float that bobbed nearby, his hands finding purchase on the netting. Still fighting for his life, he clung to the hammock as he fought to tread the water. In his weakened state, he had been approaching the point of complete physical exhaustion.

  Jack's heart pounded, but he continued to replay the terrifying ordeal in his mind. He remembered clinging to the netting and beginning to lose his grip. In an act of desperation, he’d kicked his fins hard and propelled himself up and onto the hammock. Clinging to the top, he held on and rested as the next wave carried him higher. Out of the water and lying on the hammock, he had monitored the progress of the storm. As the sky lit up, he counted again: “One second one, one second two, one second three...” Continuing to count, at nearly twenty seconds, Jack remembered hearing the distant sound of thunder and smiling.

  "Phew, what a welcome relief that was," he said to himself, feeling the same relief he had felt the night before.

  Jack reflected briefly on that moment. The worst of the storm had passed by and was many miles away. That was the moment he knew he would survive. The seas were still rough and he still had a fight on his hands, but with conditions improving, he knew he had made it through the worst. He remembered feeling restrained euphoria as he clung to the netting.

  As the storm moved farther away, the seas continued to improve until the waves became nothing more than a minor inconvenience. With time to finally breathe, he had turned over and laid on his back. Staring up into the sky, he admired the stars. As they twinkled brilliantly against the backdrop of blackness, he began to count them. With his eyes hanging heavy, that was the last thing he remembered before falling asleep.

  Floating along with the sea anchor leading the way, Jack slept soundly as he slowly slipped past the distant Island of Caicos to the north. With the currents and wind pushing him northwest, he drifted undetected past the major land mass. In less than two hours, he would pick up the much stronger current on the northern side of the island and drift faster and farther from the Caribbean Sea and into the Atlantic Ocean.

  Atlantis - 17

  DAY 8

  OFFICES OF JAVIER ARISTA:

  Serena stood at the glass door and peered up and down the main street in front of the building. Nervously, she checked the time: eleven-o-eight. Dressed in a formfitting pinstriped, gray business suit, she readjusted her skirt and swept her hands down the front to smooth out any imperfections. Looking through the glass once more, she noticed her reflection. Immediately, she ran her manicured nails through her long brown curls, straightening the hair over her shoulders.

  "Must have gotten caught in traffic. They should have been here ten minutes ago," she said, glancing back at her watch once more.

  Looking back out the glass door, she saw a black Mercedes slow and turn into the parking lot. The two passengers seemed to be engaged in lively conversation as they parked in front of the building. Serena laughed to herself as she watched her father's animated body language.

  "Must be another one of his tall tales again," she said to herself.

  Stepping back from the front door, Serena walked over to one of the desks and pretended to be occupied with the paperwork scattered about. Standing and waiting, she heard the sound of two men laughing as they neared the front entrance.

  "...and this is where all the magic happens," Javier said, as he entered the front office.

  "Quite an improvement from the old days I'd say, Javier," Dr Samuelson replied.

  Serena abruptly turned, pretending to be startled by the two men. With a quick look head to toe, she eyed Dr. Samuelson. Standing just over six feet, two inches tall, slim, with short gray hair, and impeccably dressed in his navy blue suit, he posed a humorous contrast to her father's short, fat and bald, casual persona. With a reserved smile, she walked over and extended her hand in greeting.

  "Hi, Dr. Samuelson, so nice to see you again after all these years," she said, now shaking his hand firmly.

  "And who might this be?" Dr. Samuelson said, now turning to Javier.

  "Surely you remember Serena? It's only been what, ten years or so?" Javier replied back to him.

  "Serena? Oh my God. The last time I saw you, you were about four feet tall with braces and pigtails. Now you're a..." Dr. Samuelson stopped short of finishing, his surprise causing him a loss for words.

  "She’s a full grown woman, Burt," Javier said proudly, finishing the doctor's sentence.

  "I should say she is," he replied with a great smile.

  Serena blushed a moment, then replied, "Well, it has been more than fifteen years. You haven't changed a bit... still tall and handsome."

  "Ah, you're too kind. I'm not the strapping young lad I was the last time you saw me, though. I'm old and gray now," he replied in humorous tone.

  "Unlike me. I haven't changed a bit... still short, fat, and bald," Javier cut in, then added, "and in spite of that, still devilishly handsome."

  As the three laughed at the Javier's humor, Serena noticed a carrying tube under Dr. Samuelson's arm.

  "So, Dr. Samuelson, are those the infamous scrolls we've heard so much about?" Serena asked.

  Pulling them from under his arm, he held them out for her and said, "Well, these aren't the originals I'm afraid, but they are perfect copies. The originals are too delicate and too priceless for travel."

  "Yeah, can you imagine the embarrassment of the airline trying to tell you they lost them somewhere, but not to worry, they'll turn up eventually," Javier added.

  Accepting the tube from Dr. Samuelson, she asked, "Mind if I have a look at these, Dr. Samuelson?"

  "It would be my pleasure. And by the way, please call me Burt," he responded.

  Serena flashed him a cordial smile, then slipped the cap off the container. Pulling out the rolled paper from inside, she opened the scrolls and gave them a quick review.

  "Exquisite," she said as she scanned the first scroll.

  "Yes, they really are," Burt responded proudly. "I must tell you, I'm dying to compare them to the ones you found."

  "We didn't find them. Jack Roberts did," she shot back in reflex.

  "Sorry, I forgot. Yes, Jack Roberts. What a shame. I remember our conversation. He seemed like an intelligent young man. Imagine my surprise to learn of his discovery," he replied, then added in saddened tone, "and of his tragic death... such a shame."

  "We can't believe it either," Javier concurred.

  The three stood for a moment, silently reflecting in their own way. Javier cleared his throat and continued.

  "Well, would you like the grand tour or should we get on with the main event?"

  "I believe my impatience has overcome my sense of propriety. If you don't mind, I'd like to see your scrolls before the tour," he replied.

  "Nothing improper about that. It's just a garden-variety office building anyway. Probably bore you to death," Javier responded. Pointing toward the laboratory, he added, "Follow me."

  The three entered the lab and walked to the back of the room to a large rectangular table holding the four scrolls. Laid out neatly, side by side and under a layer of glass, they were an impressive sight. Burt's face filled with intensity as his eyes scanned from one scroll to the next. Running his hands over the glass, he involuntarily tried to feel the
ir texture only to realize the folly of his action. Pulling a small, well-worn magnifying glass from his jacket pocket, he began to examine the first of the five scrolls.

  "Burt, you didn't have to bring your own magnifying glass. We would have lent you one of ours," Javier teased.

  "Sorry, force of habit I guess. I generally don't go anywhere without this," he replied, now bending over and examining the first line.

  Nodding his head slightly in approval, he reached back into his jacket and pulled out a small note book. Flipping it open, he laid it on the glass while he continued to review the hieroglyphics. Inside the note book, the pages were filled with hieroglyphics and their translated names. Looking back and forth, he cross checked the hieroglyphics from the scroll to those in the note book.

  "Hmm, this is very interesting," he said to no one in particular.

  "What do you think?" Serena asked, now visibly excited.

  Without taking his eyes off his work, Burt replied excitedly, "Extraordinary, just extraordinary. These symbols are very similar to those on my tablets. I think I can translate these."

  "Really? That's unbelievable?" Javier blurted out.

  As the minutes ticked by, Javier and Serena watched anxiously as Burt translated bits and pieces of the scrolls.

  Looking up at Javier, Burt asked, "Could you show me the symbol?"

  "Absolutely," he said, now beaming with pride.

  Pointing to the second scroll, he moved his hand down toward the middle of the page. Even before he stopped, Burt moved his magnifying glass over the symbol. Hovering over it, his eyes were mesmerized. Under his breath, he uttered something neither Javier, nor Serena could hear.

  "What was that, Burt?" Javier asked, now curious about the faint whispering.

  Burt continued to stare at the hieroglyphic, his mind trying to comprehend its implication. Slowly, he moved his focus along the scroll, taking in other symbols. Again, he stopped and stared, uttering whispers under his breath. Continuing on, he examined several more lines of hieroglyphics, coming to a stop over a specific symbol of interest.