The Lost Treasure of Atlantis

Kiara had always dreamed of finding the lost city of Atlantis. She was a marine archaeologist who had spent years studying the ancient civilization and its mysterious disappearance. She had followed every clue, every legend, every myth, until she finally found a map that seemed to point to the location of Atlantis.

She had convinced her best friend and colleague, Jake, to join her on this expedition. They had rented a boat and a submarine, and set off to the coordinates on the map. They were both excited and nervous, hoping to make the discovery of a lifetime.

When they both reached the spot where the map indicated Atlantis should be, Kiara took a look around. Then both her and her best friend, boarded the submarine and descended into the depths of the ocean. They turned on the sonar equipment and scanned the area for any signs of life or structures.

“Anything yet?” Kiara asked Jake, who was operating the sonar.

“Nothing as of yet,” Jake casually responded. “Maybe we’re in the wrong place.” He stated, as he left out a hefty sigh. He loved his best friend, but she was definitely obsessed with this Atlantis idea.

“Or maybe it’s hidden,” Kiara suggested. “It has been said that Atlantis is supposed to have advanced technology. Maybe they built some kind of cloaking device or shield. That way they can protect themselves from invaders and unexpected company.”

“Or maybe it’s just a myth,” Jake replied with skepticism in his voice. “Like come on Kiara, it was a cartoon, and then a legend or myth, whatever people call it, was born.”

Shaking her head, Kiara looked at Jake with the most serious expression ever on her face. “No way, I know it’s real. We just need to keep searching.”

As the hours passed both of their hopes started to dwindle. Their search came up with nothing more then sand and rocks. Checking the fuel gauge Jake looked over at Kiara. “Hey, I think we need to wrap it up for the day. We’re almost out of fuel.”

“Okay, lets start to go back up to the surface then.” Kiara couldn’t help but feel defeated at her loss of finding Atlantis. This would have changed her whole life. Finding Atlantis would of made all these years dedicated to the search, worth it all. But alas, it wasn’t meant to be apparently.

They were about to ascend when they saw something appear on the sonar.

“Jake! What’s that?” Kiara asked, excitedly pointing to a blip on the screen.

“Um, I don’t know honestly.” Jake replied, taken aback at the sudden appearance of the blip. “It looks like a…a…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, because at that moment, a tremendous force rocked the entire submarine. The noise was loud, and deafening. The lights flickered and the sonar screen went blank.

“What hell was that?” Kiara questioned, panic filling her voice.

“I don’t know,” Jake replied. “It could of been anything. A shark, a whale, a giant squid…”

“Or even an Atlantean guard!” Kiara exclaimed, the excitement growing in her voice.

They looked at each other, a mixture of fear and excitement of the unknown shown on their faces. All the sudden it dawned on Jake that the submarine might have taken some damage. They checked the damage report and saw that their hull was breached. Water was steadily leaking into the submarine.

“Kiara, we have to get out of here, like right now.” Jake’s tone was panic filled, and shaky.

“How do you suggest we do that? We can’t go up nor down. We are literally trapped,” Kiara snapped, feeling both frustrated and a little scared.

They looked around and saw a hatch that led to an emergency escape pod. It was small and cramped, but it could fit two people, with enough air for an hour.

“Come on, let’s go.” Jake spoke to Kiara as he motioned for her to go thru the hatch, into the pod first.

Both of them grabbed their diving suits and helmets, as they rushed to the hatch. Once the hatch was opened, Kiara climbed into the pod first, with Jake right behind her. They sealed the hatch and then proceeded to activate the launch sequence.

Both Jake and Kiara felt the pod detach from the submarine, with an intense jolt. Then the pod shot out in the vast Ocean. Both of them had hoped that the pod would take them to the surface, as they had no control over the pod.

“Why would someone build an escape pod without any navigational gear?” Kiara was flabbergasted as she asked her best friend this. But her question fell on deaf ears, as Jake was gawking out the pod window. “Jake, hello?”

“Kiara, look here…” Jake’s voice trailed away as he blindly reached his hand out to pull her attention over to the pod window he was staring out of. Kiara wasn’t prepared for what she saw, both of their jaws had dropped from the sight before them.

Before their eyes lay a city. A city made of gold and silver and crystals. A city with towers and domes and bridges. Adorned with statues and fountains and gardens thru out this beautiful and memorizing city. Not to mention that the city glowed with a strange light, but neither of them could see where the light came from.

“Jake! I think-”

“Yeah Kiara, I think we found Atlantis…” Jake trailed off just as memorized by the sight in front of them.

Both of them vigorously rubbed their eyes, as it was hard to believe. Even though they were looking right at it. They had found it. They had found the lost city of Atlantis, after all these years of searching.

Unknown to them both though, they had also found trouble.

Suddenly a fleet of submarines and what looked like ski jets, had them completely surrounded. But they weren’t your average type of submarines and ski jets. These submarines were fancy, and sleek, and there were three different shapes within the fleet. As well as being fully decked out in armor and stocked with weapons. Jake and Kiara noted that several appeared to be modeled after dolphins, while others after sharks and fish. It was clear right away to them both, the submarines before them belonged to none other than the Atlanteans.

It dawned on them that they had been detected by the Atlanteans sonar system. It must of set off an alarm, causing them to get attacked by the Atlanteans defense system.

Suddenly, a voice sounded over the speaker in their pod.

“Attention, intruders,” a firm, strong voice spoke to them in English. “You have trespassed into our domain. You have violated our sovereignty. Your actions have provoked our wrath.”

“Who are you guys?” Jake asked trying to sound brave. But fear coated every word as he spoke.

“We are the Atlanteans,” a proud voice resounded. “We are the descendants of the god of the sea, Poseidon. We are the protectors of this world.”

“What do you want from us?” Kiara cautiously questioned the Atlanteans before them.

“It’s simple, we want you to surrender,” the voice replied sternly. “We demand that you give us everything. Your pod, your submarine, your map, all the equipment, your knowledge, and all your secrets.”

“Then what happens?” Jake asked fearfully

“Then afterwards we shall decided your fate,” the voice said ominously. “You may be spared or executed, enslaved or experimented on, depending on our mood.”

“Please don’t hurt us,” Kiara pleaded. “We mean you no harm. We’re just explorers, not invaders.”

“We don’t care what or who you are,” the voice responded coldly. “You have seen too much, and you know too much. You have officially endangered our existence.”

The voice paused, and then continued on:

“You have one minute in which to comply, or we shall destroy you.”

Kiara and Jake looked at each other in horror. They knew they had no choice. They knew they didn’t stand a chance. All hope had left at that moment. They hugged each other, waiting for the end. But today had been full of unexpected happenings, and the upcoming moments ahead were no different. Suddenly they heard another voice coming from their speaker. But this voice was different then the other voices. This voice was friendly and familiar spoke to them.

“Hey, guys. You got this!” Both of them recognized the voice instantly. It was their friend and colleague, Sam. Sam, who had hacked into the Atlantean communication system. He had come to their rescue, just in the nick of time.

“Sam?” Kiara asked, surprised.

“Sam!” Jake exclaimed, as relief swept over him.

“Sam, is that you?” Kiara asked, incredulous.

“Yep, it’s me,” Sam said cheerful. “Sorry for the delay. I had some trouble breaking their code. But I’m here now, and I’ve got a plan.”

“What plan?” Jake asked, curious.

“A plan to get you out of there,” Sam replied with confidence. “A plan to save your lives, and to escape from Atlantis.”

“How?” Kiara questioned, eager to escape this mess.

“Just follow my instructions,” replied a calm Sam. “And you’ve got to trust me completely.” Sam paused for a moment, and then said to them both: “You got this.” Sam guided them both thru the Atlantean communication system, telling them what to do and say. He pretended to be their leader, while using his hacking skills and knowledge of ancient languages to bluff and bargain with the Atlanteans. He told them they were not intruders, but emissaries from a distant land. Sam told the Atlantean guards, they had come to Atlantis with a message of peace, and friendship. As well as the fact they had a gift for the Atlantean King. A gift so rare and precious, that only the King could appreciate it.

The gift in question was a map that Kiara had found, the map that led them to Atlantis. Sam knew though, that the map was actually a trap, used as bait to lure unsuspecting explorers into Atlantean domain. For the map was the key to unlocking all secrets that were hidden in Atlantis. Sam crossed his fingers and hoped that the Atlanteans would be curious enough to accept the gift, and let them met their King. Sam was banking on the King to be greedy enough to use the map, and activate the trap. Sam was also banking on the hope though that the trap would be powerful enough to distract the Atlanteans, creating an opportunity for his friends to escape. He could only hope and pray that this worked or they all were in trouble.

“Follow us,” a gruff voice sounded thru the speaker that wasn’t Sam. The Atlanteans were so intrigued by Sam’s words, they agreed to escort Kiara and Jake to their city. They took their pod and their submarine, and towed them along with their own vessels. They entered Atlantis through a hidden gate, marveling at the beauty and splendor that lay before their eyes. Time seemed to slow down as they traveled, escorted through the city by the Atlantean guards.

“Wow…” Kiara gasped under her breath. The beauty of this city was more then she could have ever imagined or dreamed of. They had just reached the palace and had entered through the palace gates to met the King. The King came into the room, with an air of importance and authority about him. He was a tall, handsome man, with luscious long blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore a crown of gold, adorned with pearls, and a robe made of silk decked out with jewels. Needless to say, this man looked like a god, and had an air of authority of a god as well.

“Welcome, both of you. Thank you for the gift, please follow me this way.” His smile shown teeth that were immaculate and whiter then any pearls in existence. They all chatted casually as they followed the King. He asked them about their land, people, and culture. He seemed genuinely interested in all that they had to say, as well as interested in their message of peace and friendship. He asked them both if they wouldn’t mind following them to his throne room, as he had something amazing to show them. Something that only he could control. As he led them to a large hall, where a huge pedestal stood dead center. Sitting on top, in the middle of the pedestal was a crystal sphere. Inside the sphere, was a swirling mass of light and energy.

“Alas, I present to you…the heart of Atlantis.” The King continued on telling them that this heart was the source of all their power and glory. It was a gift from, Poseidon himself, he was their ancestor and patron. The heart of Atlantis was the reason why they had survived thousands of years, hidden from the rest of the world. The heart of Atlantis was a gift to them, but also a curse. Years of hiding from the world had made them paranoid, and isolated. Thus creating their fear of the rest of the world above them, it had turned the Atlanteans hostile and aggressive over time. The King turned and looked at them both with a grim expression upon his face.

“I have tried to tame the heart of Atlantis many times before. I hoped I could one day understand it. It has protected our city for thousands of years. But it also has destroyed many of our cities, and has caused many natural disasters to the rest of the world.” Sighing he continued on, telling them that he had poured all his wisdom, magic, and power into trying to understand the heart and all its secrets that it holds. “Sadly though, I have been unsuccessful.” The King looked at them again, this time with pleading eyes. This time when he spoke, both Kiara and Jake were shocked to find that he was asking for their help.

“Wait, so you need our help or want or help that is in taming the power of the heart?” Jake asked the King with uncertainty in his voice.

“But I thought only the descendants of Poseidon himself could control the heart?” Kiara interjected quickly.

“Yes and no. If an outsider has a descendant of Poseidon with them, then they can help to control the heart of Atlantis. I’m begging you two, please help to save Atlantis from itself. For we shall eventually be our own downfall. I don’t know what it is but I trust you two emissaries.” Unknown to both Jake and Kiara, the King’s words weren’t in the slightest, true at all.

Pulling out the map they had presented to him as a gift, he layed it on top of the sphere. he told them that he recognized the map as it had came from his ancient ancestors. He said he knew how to use it and that it wasn’t actually a map. It was a bomb disguised as a map. The King waved his staff over the map and sphere. Suddenly the map started to radiate a bright light.

“Ha, ha, ha!” The King laughed like a crazed maniac as he looked at them and spoke. “You didn’t fool me, but I fooled you all! You’re not emissaries from a distant land! You have come here to steal our secrets, treasure, and power! You have come to destroy us!”

He raised his arm, aiming a shaky finger at them: “You have brought me this bomb as a gift! You have tried to kill me, to kill us all!” He turned to his guards, and said: “Seize them! Kill them. Kill them now!”

A swarm of guards rushed towards them both, they were stunned and terrified. They had no idea what the King was talking about, and no idea of what to do at this point.

But Sam did. Sam had been listening to everything through their helmets. He had also been watching everything through their cameras. He had been waiting for the right moment to act. Sam proceeded to hack into the Atlantean defense system, and triggered an alarm. He then hacked into the Atlantean communication system and sent out a message to the Atlantean people. Afterwards, Sam proceeded to hack their power system as well, and caused a blackout. Within mere minutes, Sam caused a tsunami of chaos.

Sam then spoke to Kiara and Jake: “Guys this is it, your chance to run for it. I’ll help guide you to the exit, and get you both out.” He paused for a moment, then said to them both: “You got this.”

Both of them ran past the slue of guards, who were distracted and confused by the chaos. They ran past the King who was furious and frustrated by the blackout. They ran past the sphere that was now unstable and explosive. They ran for their lives, following Sam’s voice and directions. Kiara and Jake hastily clambered into their pod and launched off into the vast ocean away from Atlantis. As they watched Atlantis go up in flames, a sudden shock wave rippled like a tsunami across the Ocean. Lost in deep thought, Sam’s voice startled them back to reality.

“Hey, guys. You made it.” His voice was a reassurance that this wasn’t some crazy dream, and they were still breathing.

“Sam!” Both Kiara and Jake exclaimed with relief in their voice.

“I’ve hacked the systems in your pod, are you guys ready to come home?”

“Oh my gosh, yes we are.” Kiara exclaimed, sounding exasperated. As soon their pod hit the surface, Jake opened the hatch for him and Kiara to get out. Sam leaned over and grabbed their hands to pull them up onto the boat.

“Let’s go back home guys, you’ve got a lot of people waiting after seeing the footage I sent our boss.” With that the three of them took off towards the shore to head back.