Dragon: Myth of the Bermuda Triangle

Chapter 14: Atlantis

Song: "Sirenix" - Elisa Rosselli

        "Will, you just made your test a whole lot tougher!" Tracey snaps.

I stomp my scaly feet and glare at him. Oh, really? Personally, I think it grew a lot tougher when this dawg gone claxton came between Maddie and me.

Tracey grabs her and pulls her out of the way when the pedestal suddenly spins like a dreidel. Sliding to the edge of the cliff, it reveals a secret entrance to all three of us. That entrance is where the pedestal used to be.

An explosion of water erupts from the hole and smacks into us like a tsunami. It knocks all of us off the cliff. We plummet toward the Ocean, and the sphere falls with us. Tracey pops his merman tail. Together, we crash into the rough Ocean.

I spin toward another forest of seaweed, but I quickly shake out my head. My eyes land on Maddie.

She clutches her neck and kicks her legs.

Oh, right! She can't breathe underwater! As quick as a flash, I hurry to her and scoop her up on my head. I burst out of the Ocean.

On my head, Maddie coughs water out of her lungs. She pulls her hair out of her face. "Will, what have you done?" she shrieks.

Honestly, I have no idea. I just do not like the idea of a claxton bossing me around. I do not need people to look out for me, not after seven full years of living on my own.

Tracey soon appears next to Maddie and I, and he grabs hold of my neck. "Hold on tight!" he yells.

I notice a familiar sight. What Maddie, Tracey, and I are looking at is the whirlpool that tried to kill me before. It surrounds all three of us.

Tracey tightens his grip on me. "The whirlpool will get us to Atlantis."

What? So the attempted murder was actually the Ocean's way of trying to pull me to the lost city?

Tracey sprinkles Maddie with a little bit of his magic. "Maddie," he says, "I'm putting a spell on you that will temporarily allow you to breathe underwater. Will, you need to take care of her."

Are you kidding, dude? Of course, I'll take care of her! Maddie drops from my head, but I catch her in my paws. She and I close our eyes and hug each other when the whirlpool starts to suck us under.

Memories of days on my island flush through my head. For a year after Mom and Dad abandoned me, I would wait at the shoreline for them. There was one day in particular that piqued my interest.

***

I hiked up a hill to the island's highest cliff. A single palm tree rested on it. I placed my small hand on the tree's trunk and stared at the Bermuda Triangle's turquoise water.

A flock of seagulls soared toward the fiery sunset on the horizon.

I waved at them, but then I thought I saw a shadow in the water. A smile stretched across my face. "Mom! Dad!" Excited, I transformed into a dragon and hurried to what caught my attention. "Mom! Dad!" I roared.

The water under my body leaped into the warm atmosphere.

I stopped over the shadow, but sadness replaced my excitement when I realized that it wasn't my parents at all but a sunken ship. I decided that day that they were never going to return. I was alone in the world... literally.

The full moon shimmered on my scales that night as I rested on my front on my island's hook, with my tail curved around my back legs and thighs. Staring at the endless Ocean, I batted a few shells with my front paw. There was nothing left for me. My parents had me, and then they decided to get rid of me.