Tidal Vortex-Book One

Chapter Eleven

Teal:

The sight that stands before us once Connor leads me through the crevasse in the cave is breath-taking. I can hardly believe my eyes. Before me sits a massive city built of white stone and some material that gleams like gold on the rooftops. For all I know, it might be gold. Thousands of blue lights illuminate the city. I let go of Connor's hand and swim forward in a hurry to see more. Hurrying, I swim through a pathway guarded on either side by six huge grey stone statues of siren guards holding their tridents up to form an arch far above our heads. Each stone statue has a siren tail and is decked out for war, wearing a breastplate and helmet. Up close they seem a little daunting since they stand roughly twelve feet tall. Lowering my body to the path, I realize it is made of smooth white and blue pebbles that feel almost like smooth glass under my bare feet. I absently wonder why they need a path when most sirens probably just swam. Colorful fish and other sea life swim all over the place amongst the white stone city buildings. Pushing off the ground, I lunge myself forward in the water. Swimming past the stone siren guards, I get my first unobstructed view of Atlantis. The city itself is set into the seabed floor amongst high white walls set in a spiral formation. White stone towers and buildings hug the inner walls all the way around the inner sanctuary of the spiral that rises higher as it gets closer to the middle.

Off to the side of the big spiral structure, there are two big, massively tall towers on either side. Blue light filters out of all the glass windows in the buildings. High at the top is a massive palace with glass windows emitting blue light. Enclosed glass bridges connect to other buildings here or there, giving the city a more modernized look. It almost resembles an old stone castle city, all connected at certain points. Seaweed dots the landscape sporadically here and there around the city. I watch in awe as underwater ships of different sizes and makes move with grace all over the city. Dolphins swim above, squeaking their delight as they swim around the city. In the background, large flat walls of stone close off the massively large space. Leaving the impression that the city is absconded within a gigantic, spacious cave. Only one large hole looks like it might open towards the deeper sea. As we get closer, I notice other sirens swimming here and there. My eyes wide with excitement, wander over the city as my mouth drops open in awe.

Connor smiles at me as he takes in my reaction. "It's great, isn't it?"

I close my open mouth as a school of little silver fish swim by. Stuck in the habit of thinking much like a human, I react in fear that a fish could swim right into my open mouth. Oddly enough, upon further thought, I realize the fish actually smell good and the idea of eating a fish doesn't disturb me. My mouth waters as I start looking at them as if they're turkey dinner or something. In fact, I find myself having to fight the instinct to chase after a big red fish as it swims past me. Instinct begs me to hunt it down, kill it, and swallow it.

"Yes, it's amazing, there are no words good enough to describe this. By the way, do we eat fish? They smell really good."

I struggle with voicing my feelings about this amazing city. I'm tongue tied about the city itself. Out of the blue, a dolphin swims towards us. It playfully chatters and clicks as it swims around us in circles. Like most of the sea life, I expect it to keep its distance, but the dolphin surprises me by nudging my hand before swimming off. I feel stunned as I watch it leave.

"Looks like you have made a friend," Connor jokes.

"Is that normal? Do dolphins normally just swim up to people?" The whole experience has left me in awe that such a beautiful animal would honor me with their presence.

"No, dolphins normally keep their distance. As for your other question, yes, we hunt much like sharks or other predators do. We eat what we catch raw or cooked depending on one's preference. Some sirens prefer to eat like humans, cooking their food. Others are fine with both raw and cooked food. We can survive on both a fish diet or a human diet."