ATLANTIS AGE OF RAGNAROK

by C M SHORT

  “My tummy agrees with my watch: six p.m.”!

  “That's impossible!” she replied.

  “How can that be?” Jean-Leuc questioned, quickly looking at his watch.

  “I’ve got six, too! This doesn’t make any sense”!

  “If the time is somehow correct-that would explain why you are so hungry, and why my feet hurt so bad”!

  “Well, my girl, since your feet are hurting and he is starved, then perhaps we should spend the night here.”

  “That sounds like a good plan. Perhaps Vittles would like to choose the meal.”

  “Oh yah! I can do that”!

  Happily rummaging through the backpacks, it didn’t take long to come up with a meal.

  “How about beef stew, and bread rolls”?

  In mere minutes, the table was a sight of eager feasting.

  “Nice to have a hot meal!” the green-eyed beauty reflected, while digging for another spoonful of stew.

  “Ah, the magic of Sterno!” her tall one responded.

  As a moth pulled to flame, Vittles reacted to the light green cube shining at the center of the table-his touch-bringing a joyful response from his spotted friend.

  “Nice! A touch lamp! You made it brighter”!

  She couldn’t resist playing with it, and figured out the fun: an upward motion made the light brighter, while rubbing down-softened it.

  “Now that we're eating and I'm not starved anymore, let's see if we can figure things out”!

  “Where do you want to start, buddy”?

  “How about, with Angel coming back a second time, and saying she was going to change”!

  “Which I didn't do, but you guys saw me do it, so-somehow I did”?

  “It seemed like a replay in time, love”!

  “A replay in time?” she questioned.

  “I might have an answer, my curious friends. Remember the newscast in Paris, where we heard that one scientist-who is known for his way out there beliefs-thinks the earth is experiencing pockets of time displacement? What if-that's true! What if-time is changing: moving faster, slower, standing still, and repeating itself! That would explain a whole lot-of what's been going on lately! Also, scientists have been talking about a much greater gravitational pull on the earth, because of the increased activity of our sun. Maybe, the gravity change is affecting time.”

  “That might explain what you boys saw. I know birds use the magnetic fields to navigate, and the gravity increase must be really disrupting the normal flow of the fields, because a great number of birds are falling out of the sky-dead!”

  For a moment, superior knowledge blended with superior strength-bringing the impact of a freight train!

  “I bet the magnetic field changes-are causing time fluctuations”!

  “That’s an awesome theory, bud, and scientists have been saying the magnetic poles will flip-in the near future”!

  Growing concern, splashed into his response.

  “I remember scientists saying-it would cause a sudden tidal wave several miles high”!

  “What a horrid thought!” Spots uttered-her remaining peace of mind devastated-before the doom drenched explanation could continue.

  “The scientists said, if Earth were to abruptly stop and begin turning the other way, the oceans and seas and other bodies of water-would not be able to stop on a dime! They’d have to continue in the same direction-for a time”!

  “That’s logical, and I’ve discovered something in my archeological travels, that perhaps goes along with this! I’ve studied cultures from all time periods, and have found a staggering fact: all cultures of the world share a common legend”!

  “What legend is that?” his buddy asked, with great curiosity.

  “All of them vary a little in the details, but basically are the same: a flood covered the earth, and a man, his family, and some animals, survived the flood by living in a boat”!

  “Oh! The Noah's Ark story!” he replied.

  “That's the one! My digging and research, have pointed to a strong probability that all legends have at least a little bit of truth to them”!

  “I wonder what the truth is-about the Ark story,” the emerald beauty pondered.

  “The evidence that Archeologists have uncovered so far, is proving a worldwide flood! Such an event-could be explained by a sudden stop and reversal: the stresses would’ve broke apart the earth, and allowed enormous volumes of water to surface”!

  “And it’s about to happen again!” she cried.

  “Don't worry, love! We'll find help for Earth before it's too late! It’s been obvious, that a more advanced civilization is protecting us, and guiding us to them”!

  Fears diminished, as memories replayed the events that had guided them so far; their minds started to relax, and like fish to water, the hotel’s pool drew them to dangle their legs in the light green bubbles, for a cooling, skin softening massage. The idea of meeting a superior civilization, stirred up fascinating talk, with a big portion of the night slipping by before realizing the time, and deciding to call it a night.

  “I’ll take that bed, since it’s off by itself.”

  He dimmed the light before walking away and getting comfy on his sleeping bag, and then asked a rather unexpected question.

  “Do you think I should count stars tonight”?

  “You can't count stars!” Spots answered. “We're underground”!

  “Wanna bet? Look up!”

  “I don't believe it! How can there be stars? Muscles?”

  “Somebody must've had a good sense of humor, and painted stars on the ceiling”!

  “That must be it, but I wonder how the stars were made to twinkle-like real ones! Ok, you count stars”!

  “I'll let you know, what number I got up to.”

  Under a painted sky, the beauty was pulled in for a soft kiss, and loving whisper.

  “Welcome, to the underground”!

  The legs brushed lightly, as it crawled on her face; startled, she raised a hand to brush it off and hit something big! In a split second, the journey into the realm of night visions came to an end, and the intruder was revealed: the face of charm!

  “Bad dream, baby”?

  “I thought I had a bug on my face”!

  “I kissed you. Sorry for scaring you!”

  “That's ok. What time is it?”

  “It's eight. If my watch is right-that's what time it is.”

  “I do feel pretty rested, so that probably is the right time. Hey, that's a switch: Vittles is not eating already!”

  That was amusement with a capital roar, to which the object of their laughter woke up and looked sleepily at them-trying to figure out what all the noise was about!

  “Hey, buddy-time to join us! It’s eight.”

  “Eight? I must've been really tired, for both of you to beat me up! By the way-I only got up to 10 last night.”

  “Definitely, tired!” agreed the beauty.

  The morning came alive in a tasty way, with the chef providing room service of hot coffee, croissants, and various dried niblits of fruit. As the grateful empty spots were filled, a question burned bright on the emerald mind.

  “Vittles, do you have any knowledge of Egyptians-having lived underground”?

  “I know the underground was used for burial rites, but I haven't come across anything that shows proof-of actually living underground. All of this-points somewhere other than the Egyptian culture. What do you think, my friend?”

  “I believe this underground was visited by a people-not even from Earth”!

  “I sense the verge of discovering the truth, boys, and in the meantime, we should look for a different way out of here; surely, there is one”!

  “Well, my pretty Spots, an entrance was close to the waterfall, so just maybe-an exit is too. Since we’re done with breakfast now, let’s go look at the other side.”

  Between the water and cave, a promising two-foot gap curved out of sight.

  “I'm going to see if this l
eads anywhere.”

  “Be careful, Muscles”!

  After giving a bit of reassurance, he cautiously felt his way around the corner and between two boulders-for a painful lesson: that caution was not enough! An ominous scraping sound, gave a one second warning of imminent danger and then he was flat on his back, desperately battling a cascade of falling rocks! The final battle score was bruising: rocks-one, human-zero!

  Back in the hotel, the emerald throat was being squeezed by the paralyzing grip of unknown danger, and, almost choked on a yell.

  “You ok”?

  Moments later, soothing relief joined the rush into the strong arms of a hug!

  “Thank God you're ok”!

  “I’m glad you’re ok, too, but I’m not going to hug you”!

  “Aw, buddy! Hey guys, I found another tunnel, and somehow managed to upset a big pile of rocks; they’re widely scattered now, so we’ll have to step lightly”!

  As thrilling as entering a new adventure was-it was equally confusing! Their curiosity mounted as they approached the glowing blue lights, that beckoned from the other side of the tunnel.

  “How curious! A giant clam shell molded into the tunnel, and full of lights and symbols! I bet it’s a control panel, and sweetie-no touching this time! We don’t know what might happen”!

  “A control panel? But for what?” she responded, not expecting a knowing answer.

  “Are these hieroglyphs, bud”?

  “I don’t think so. I agree-this appears to be a control panel; it’s unfortunate, that we don’t know how to use it! We’d better stay alert!”

  That pearl of wisdom served them well for the next two minutes, until blindsided by the unsettling awareness-that things were not right!

  “You boys notice-how slippery the floor is? It's like walking on dirt covered plastic! Perhaps we should dig down, and see what it is!”

  “I’ve got a bad feeling-that I can’t protect either of you in this place! Let's hurry up and get somewhere else”!

  Seconds later, the premonition of danger proved all too real, when a deafening thud smacked them helplessly to the floor.

  “What was that? A giant sledgehammer hit the tunnel?” Spots asked, afraid the answer was going to be more than terrifying!

  Those words had barely escaped her mouth, when another hit, sent her sliding to the right. A moment later, she felt the horrifying truth of why: the floor was giving way like a giant trap door! Survival mode instantly took over, and found the only sliver of possible escape: the floor edge that was quickly rising out of reach! Adrenaline pumped hard, as she desperately lunged for the edge-managing to connect with a death grip-that nothing was going to break!

  “Jean-Leuc”!

  “Hold on! I’ll pull you up”!

  Safely held by strong hands, she relaxed in a bubble of comfort and was able to let her guard down-or so, she thought. Midway into a sigh of relief, the piercing cries of a new nightmare burst the bubble, and consuming fear launched its deadly takeover. Her skin was crawling, as she tried to see what was below the orange mist swirling at her feet, and, like it or not-the truth was realized: she was a worm on a hook, and the dinner bell was ringing! An eruption of splashes, triggered a face to face with dozens of dolphin like creatures-hungrily snapping their razor toothed jaws, and getting close enough to touch!

  There could not have been a better time to be lifted out of danger, and she was overcome by relief; almost to safety, there could not have been a worse time for another hit, which knocked her rescuer onto his side-breaking his grip!

  He could only watch helplessly, as his love plunged into the swirling fog; with a sinking heart, he wondered if she could possibly survive.

  With the odds against her, she only had enough time to yell one word, before hitting water.

  “NO”!

  Dropping like a rock into the murky unknowns, she fought to keep her wits about her, and was ready to punch whatever decided to come by for a taste. She was being sucked into the creature infested depths by the backpack, and once out of that-rapidly stroked for the surface!

  “Help me”!

  “Baby”!

  “Get me out of here”!

  “I'm dropping the rope”!

  The water suddenly boiled in a frenzy of jumping; an attack was imminent, but for some odd reason-nothing happened other than squealing! The sight was a confusing one for frazzled nerves, but then came a better sight: the rope!

  The rescue from the dinner plate, spurred a short run and collapse.

  “You all right, baby”?

  “I’m still in one piece, and I don’t know how I avoided becoming a meal”!

  “Maybe, you were saved by your perfume?” he suggested, trying to lighten the situation.

  “Maybe.”

  Burying her face in protective love, made a bit of humor possible.

  “And here I was glad-that I didn’t have to take a shower to get into the new tunnel”!

  A deep breath of contentment stirred his soul, as he held his precious one tight, and thanked, whatever lucky stars were responsible for bringing her safely back!

  “Is she all right”?

  “Yes, but really shook up”!

  “Understandable”!

  “Are you cold, sweetie”?

  “No, the water is really warm”!

  “That's good! You stay here, and I’ll help Guns over to this side.”

  “I’m not moving”!

  Back at the edge, one more rescue got underway.

  “Ok, now to get you over here; if we can find some good things to tie the rope to, you can shift into monkey gear.”

  “These low wall lights-stick out a bit.”

  “Good thinking”!

  Within a few uneventful minutes, the rescue was complete.

  “I'm here, but we’ve lost the rope.”

  “Who knows, we may need it here again.”

  “Nice to see you-without tooth marks”!

  “Thanks! I’m glad you made it over”!

  “Babe, do you want to rest for a while”?

  “I want to get out of here! This has NOT been a fun tunnel”!

  Those were sentiments deeply shared, and not a bit of time was wasted in setting a hurried pace!

  “I wish I hadn't lost my backpack! It had all my clothes, and the breads, and snacks”!

  “We'll be ok without it, babe.”

  Stunningly beautiful, didn’t begin to describe the bright warmth that surrounded them five minutes later, when the tunnel of horrors gratefully came to an end, and opened into a gigantic cave.

  “Wait a minute”!

  The protector was looking at the end of the tunnel, and explained, what he realized too late!

  “The clam shells, must be for operating that trap door”!

  Putting voice to each person's thoughts, emerald wisdom proved to be good logic.

  “If we see any more tunnels with those-let's avoid them”!

  The experience faded to memory, by the mesmerizing light of countless gems that reflected their beauty, as if, there was a dance floor! Then, the music started: a low hum, that grew louder with every step into the cave.

  “Incredible! This must be-the treasure greater than any other!” the protective one marveled, as he stood in the promising glow of immense wealth.

  Disagreement, took the boys by surprise, but the reasoning made sense.

  “I don’t believe so. Extreme wealth has been found many times, and it sounded like-we’d find wealth of a new kind!”

  “That’s my girl: flawlessly logical”!

  “Thanks. That hum-it’s getting louder!”

  Years of digging and research, provided confidence in a vast store of knowledge.

  “See those giant, dark purple crystals-on each side of the blank wall? I’m positive, the sound is coming from them!”

  Getting puzzled looks for a response, he continued to explain.

  “All crystals and stones, vibrate at specific frequencies. The d
ensity and configuration of the crystal or stone-determine how easily the vibrations travel through it, and in some cases-if the configuration is just right-an audible sound can be heard! A few types of crystals have multiple frequencies, which cause a unique thermal reaction: the closer one gets to them-the more they sing!”

  “That’s fascinating, buddy! How do you happen to know all that?”

  “Being an Archeologist, wisdom told me-to know as much as possible about what I was digging into.”

  “I agree, that is fascinating, and, is it my vivid, writer imagination, or are the wall stones on the other side of the cave-arranged in animal designs? Has archeology, ever uncovered anything like this”?

  “Nothing like this, has ever been dug up! Check it out! The two winged cats facing each other-there’s an arched area of no stones between them: like a doorway of sorts”!

  “That’s got to have special significance, and those fabulous stones-all of them look like emeralds! I wouldn’t mind having another necklace-made from several of those”!

  Like an emerald charm, the beauty was magnified times ten.

  “Baby! Your eyes have the most incredible sparkles”!

  “Ah!” she said, batting her baby greens.

  Their playfulness, was interrupted by the unexpected roar of silence; as a result, it could be heard: rushing water-from somewhere beyond the pillars.

  Curiosity kicked into overload, as the sound led them to the floor at the back wall, where a gaping hole revealed the source. Circling the hole, was a foot-high barrier of round stones-a small buffer against entering the afterlife-which allowed Guns to breathe easier and observe a possibility.

  “Ok, it’s not a fire pit; this could be the one from yesterday.”

  At a depth of about 10 feet, was a spectacular waterfall-whose blanketing mist almost completely shrouded a winding staircase of moss covered steps.

  In a burst of unbridled passion, the brave spirit of adventure escaped from its spotted host.

  “How exciting it would be-to find out where those stairs lead”!

  “It would be, pretty girl, but we’d have a very slippery adventure”!

  All thoughts of exploration immediately vaporized, as a fear inducing chorus of high pitched squeals blasted up through the haze.