Reborn

Chapter 4 - My Zing Part I

A/N: Brief mature content near end of chapter

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Atlantis was no longer the abandoned city that was thought to be lost in history. Instead, it was a jostling place that arose from the sea as a rocking casino. The enormous Kraken that inhabited the reef around it had risen out of the water and sang a smooth tune for the visiting monsters. They cheered happily and took to the games and activities that the place had to offer.

Nobody, or at least she thought nobody noticed, as Ericka crept behind the curtain that held a construction area. A curious man in black followed behind her, and he was followed by his daughter.

Ericka made her way through the abandoned cavern with ease. She had studied her great-grandfather's mapping, and knew just which ways to go. She crawled through a stone passageway, dove in through a deep pool, and emerged to a set of abandoned stairs where, at the top, stood the large hand of a stone statue that held the instrument of destruction pinched between the fingers. In her eagerness to grab the item, she didn't think twice about stepping onto the platform. An ugly surprise came to her when an ax flung its way out of the side wall toward her, making her realize the mistake too late. She cringed and closed her eyes as she prepared to feel it collide, but the sensation did not come. Ericka opened one eye, and then the other, to find that the weapon had been flung away by Count Dracula.

"You... you saved my life," she breathed, still a little shaken.

He shrugged. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, um... I just can't believe that you would do that for a human," she admitted.

"Humans, monsters, what's the difference?" he prompted.

Ericka looked down, a little ashamed. "Yeah... right." Then she thought of something else. "Wait... what are you doing here?"

Dracula got nervous. "Oh, well... um... vampires can predict the future! Yes, um, I knew that you would need my help!"

She easily saw the lie, but she allowed the explanation, if only to see how easily flustered he was around her. "Huh. I never heard that one before."

"Oh, yes, yes. It's a well-known fact." Then he changed the subject. "What are you doing here."

Ericka was now the one getting nervous. "Me? Oh, I um, I'm here to get that," she said, pointing to the stony device atop the statue. "It's a family heirloom that was lost at sea, and my great-grandfather is - was - really hoping to get it back. So... anywho..." she began to walk away from Dracula. "Thanks for saving my life, but I think I've got it from here - "

The words were scarcely out of her mouth before she had found out that she stepped wrong again, and another ax flew toward her. Dracula stopped this one just as easily. Ericka chuckled in embarrassment. "I have to be a little more careful," she admitted. "How many times can you save my life?"

Dracula shrugged, and playfully replied. "I don't know... every time?"

Ericka smirked. "Oh really? How about you prove it!"

She leaped out onto the stairway and began to make her way up, pressing down the fear of being burned alive, axed in the head, speared to death, or crushed to a pulp by boulders. As Drac had said, he came through every time, gracefully helping her dodge the obstacles, pressing her near his body like a security blanket and making every fiber of her being tingle with adrenaline. It was exhilarating, and terrifyingly thrilling at the same time. They soared up the last of stairs together, Ericka landing a ballet-like leap directly in front of the hand statue. She breathed heavily and turned back around to face him. "That was incredible!"