The Institutum

Chapter Thirteen- Rhett: Scuba Diving for a Shipwreck

Rhett

"What on earth was that?" Catalina shouted, looking at the space where the lady had been at just moments before. Rhett shook his head, thinking. He hadn't seen that lady in years. She wasn't inherantly bad, but instead extremely irritating. Someone had once called her a chaotic nuetral, and that she definitely was.

"That was Aqua Domna, the Water Woman." He sighed. "If she's here, no wonder there's lots of Fure activity."

"Is she bad?"

A new voice, Adarjan, popped in. "No, but she sure isn't good. She always has her own motives, and she's super dramatic. No matter whose side she's on, you know she's going to play you. You can't ever trust her completely."

Rhett rolled his eyes. "For once, this idiot is right. Don't give away any information."

Catalina glanced down at the puddle. "So is that her?" She touched the water with the toe of her shoe.

"Partly," Rhett answered. "Most of her is back over there." He gestured towards the ocean. "But now, we need to get going. We have things to find."

"Wait, are we going to swim in her?" Catalina said, clear disgust dripping off her every word.

"Of course not, dearie!"

Everyone in the little group spun around. There stood the lady from before, Aqua Domna. "I'm very flattered that you consider me dramatic," she purred, laying a hand over her chest with a too sweet smile. "I like to think so." The lady smiled as she walked towards Catalina, who watched her with wary eyes as she approached. She leaned in, acting like she was whispering, but speaking loud enough for all to hear. "So who's your guy? The one with the scars? Oh! I bet it is. I like him. He's cute. Good choice."

Catalina's blush was brighter than a tomato as she tried to stutter back a reply but she didn't even get to say anything before the strange lady started talking again.

"Anyway! You're here about the Fures. Guess what? I am too! And for the right reasons, by the way." She shrugged. "Mostly." The lady turned quickly on her heel and walked towards the ocean, raising her head in a confident manner. With every swing of her hip, she seemed like a loose mirage shimmering in the heat.

"The Fures are doing something underwater. In case you haven't noticed, I like water. What I do not like is the Fures doing things in the water. So! You all are going to stop them. And to do that, you'll need to know this: Atlantis is precisesly 9.68 miles southwest from here. There's also a shipwreck, it's pretty important, it's 12.08 miles northwest. I'd go to the shipwreck first."

"Wait-"

"Anyway, goodluck!" The woman shot Rhett a wink, much to his annoyance. "You'll need it."

The lady promptly disappeared.

The three teenagers stood, staring for a bit at the puddle of water on the ground before. Chris sauntered up, hands in his pockets, looking around at their blank faces.

"What'd I miss?"

***

Rhett was never  fond of the ocean. Sure, it was nice to romanticize and look at, but the reality was not something he enjoyed. He knew the facts. The ocean was huge, and tons of people died in it. It was vast. A person could drown. The possibilities were endless. And to make matters worse, rhere were many, many strange creatures who could them in a seconds. The water itself was out to get them. He stared pensively out at the waves as the boat rushed them out to the location of the supposed shipwreck.

He was irritated. He wasn't sure exactly why, but he was. Sometimes, a lot of times, actually, he couldn't figure out his own emotions. Was he irriated because Aqua Domna had shown up? He never really liked her. Or maybe it was because of the Fure, AJ. Or perhaps it was being in the ocean, which he didn't like. Or something else entirely. No matter the cause, he was irritated. And he was irritated that he was irritated. And to some extend, he was irritated that he was irritated about being irritated. Why couldn't he just let himself be irritated in peace?