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The Queen of Atlantis

章 1: An Accident at Sea

Eve sat in the hull of her ship looking out a marine window in a semi-daydream. Her delicate fingers playing with the silver pendant at the end of the chain. Inside the intricate silver design rested a beautiful golden pearl. She had held onto it for many years, twenty-three to be exact. It had been a gift from her parents meant to bring her good fortune on the bearing sea.

She played with it absently, almost unaware she was doing so. Her thoughts were not on the pearl, but rather the ocean scenery upon which she gazed. The Ocean life had always been wonderous to her. The fact that they could breath under water, swim freely with no one to govern them, no one to tell them what to do, the fact that they could just be who they wanted to be, or needed to be, had always drawn her to them. All forms of marine life had their own particular characteristics and each member knew their existence in their ecosystem and the affect it would have if they weren't there. As a consequence, they all swam with the same sense of pride and import that humans cannot rival.

Humans were too insecure.

Eve gave a sigh as she climbed to her feet wondering why there was no such thing as mermaids. She really thought it was a shame such a beautiful and free creature did not exist. How magical would her life be if only she could live and breath underwater?

She was climbing the stairs to the deck when suddenly the whole boat shook. The stairs were unceremoniously jerked from beneath her as she toppled back down to the hull, cracking her head on the way down.

If she had been conscious, she would have noticed the gigantic hole that had been torn into the far side of the ship that was now allowing a tidal wave of water to enter the hull, quickly beginning to sink the boat. Instead, she lay motionless as the water level rose and began to soak her clothes.

The crew on the deck above her ran around in a panic.

The ship was sinking! Send out the destress signal! Mayday! Mayday! The ship is sinking! Mayday! Mayday!

The ship is sinking! Get the Life jackets! Get the emergency equipment! Inflate the rafts! The ship is sinking! All crew members must evacuate! Leave anything you don't have on you! Do not re-enter the cabins! The ship is sinking!

As they ran around gathering all essential items and tools they would need to survive until rescue arrived, no one noticed that their star Marine Biologist was not where to be found. In fact, by the time her lack of presence was noticed, they were watching the ship they left behind sink into the ocean from rescue-copters over 2 hours later. The rescuers assumed she was killed on impact as all other members of the crew were able to escape.

Nothing could be done.

The crew stared into the depths of the ocean in a moment of silence for their fallen friend as the helicopters began their return to dry land. Such a beautiful women with a great personality and above average intelligence. Surely the whole world would mourn such a terrible loss to mankind.

... Meanwhile ...

When Eve awoke she was having a hard time breathing. She coughed and something cold and salty bubbled into her mouth from her lungs, she spit the bitter substance from her mouth in disgust and tried to breath but the burning in her lungs choked her. She continued to cough and spit until finally, although the lump remained in the back of her throat forcing her to breath shallowly and fight to catch her breath, she could breath.

What happened?

She suddenly became aware of the cold ocean water surrounding her causing her to float. The ship was sinking! Thank God she had landed on her back when she fell, causing her to float upwards with the water level or she would have surely drowned!

Wait....! The ship was sinking!

"Help!" She tried in a raspy voice, clearing her throat she tried again, "Help! I'm down here!"

She treaded water quietly for a moment. Damn! The crew must have already evacuated! She looked quickly to the door, too late! The water level had already risen to the point it would be impossible to open the heavy metallic door against the water pressure in the hull of the ship. She would have to find another way out. She twisted in the water checking her surroundings. The hole must be under the water level. She took a quick breathe and looked beneath the cold water....

There! She could see a large, murky black spot where the wall of the ship should have been, but it was all the way to the back side of the ship, nearly 2 football fields away! She lifted her head up above the water line worriedly. There was barely enough air left in the hull for her to get half way there, after that she would just have to try her best. In the back of her head she knew that even if she made it out of the hole, she would never have enough air to swim to the surface, but she would not dwell on that now. Taking several quick breaths she filled her lungs and began to swim.

She swam as fast as she could. Kicking her arms and legs with everything she had. She was a great swimmer, even competed when she was in college. Swimming was as easy as breathing to her, not that it would be very easy to breath soon. Her lungs began to scream so she surfaced panting. The water level had raised to the point she could barely keep her mouth and nose above water. This was it! Her last breath!

Again she dove below the water level, swimming as hard as she could. Debrees from the damage to the ship floated around her, getting thicker and thicker as she got closer to her exit. She could feel the wood chips and nails get swooshed around in the water as she moved, dodging 2X4's as she went.

Her lungs began to burn, then scream as she pushed herself further and further. She let out small puffs of air to ease the pain, air bubbles rose around her. To think she had just been day dreaming about breathing underwater! How ironic she should die because she couldn't!

She swam harder as she neared the gaping opening in the hull of her ship, but her arms and legs began to tingle from oxygen deprivation. The needle-like pinpricks zapped the strength from her strokes and kicks as colored spots entered her line of vision. To think she loved the sea so much, and yet it would be the sea that killed her!

She struggled to continue moving her body as she let out more air bubbles to ease the pain in her lungs. She reached toward her goal in defiance as the pendant she wore around her neck began to float into her line of view. She wasn't moving anymore! She tried to move her body with all her strength, but it would not listen to her. No! She could not die here! Not like this!

Suddenly a blurry figure appeared to be moving towards her. Her vision was beginning to go black and she was struggling to recognize the type of creature that would witness her demise. As it came closer it became increasingly humanoid in stature. Long blond hair covered the figures face, but it's piercing golden eyes shine through the hair and murky water. Eve's face contorted into a look of confusion. She was hallucinating. Her oxygen lacking brain had created the image of a savior in her final moments to comfort her as she died so she would not feel as cold and alone as she really was in the end.

Thank you, God. She thought as she felt her brain processes slow. She did not want to be alone. She fixed her eyes again on the figure, such a beautiful man. A shame she could never know him in life. She was glad this was the last image she would see, even if it was a fallacy. She reached towards the figure in acceptance, was this the Angel of Death? If so, she was no longer scared to die.

As the world faded out around Eve, she swore she felt the warmth of a hand grab hers in the cold darkness, and then again a warmth on her lips. she felt as if all the pain from her chest had disappeared. She felt nothing but bliss. This wasn't such a horrible way to die.

She was at peace.