Winners Collection - Anthology

OMG! It's Atlantis - @SomeoneElsesSleep

I swayed on the ship, my hands clutched tight around the railing of the left starboard side. The sailors laughed at my seasickness and wobbliness, stating "you'll get over it in a few days, trust me." I felt, however, that this sickness would never go away, so here I was, trying not to upchuck out into the choppy blue waves.

"Try not to hit the side of the ship, would you, Michael?" one of the crew said as I raised my head from yet another bout of bile exiting my mouth (there was nothing left but that at this point).

"I'm trying!" I muttered, annoyed at how amused the sailor seemed. "Don't you have anything better to do than watch me puke my guts out?"

"Nope!" The sailor grinned, showing all of his yellowed teeth. "Seriously, you really have to keep all that in if you're supposed to be an exploring scientist."

"Yeah, whatever," I grumbled as a particularly large swell caused me to clench my hands even tighter around the railing.

Suddenly, everyone was pitched forward as we reached a very abrupt stop. My already wobbly knees couldn't take it anymore, and I fell and landed on my face.

Looking around as I stood up, I was surprised to not see any land whatsoever. We were stopped in the middle of the ocean as if an invisible force had weighed anchor on our sailing vessel.

"Lookee, down there!" I heard someone say, leaning so far over the edge of the right starboard side that I was afraid he would fall in. A chorus of more voiced exclaimed excitedly after him.

"Oh wow!"

"Is that gold?"

"It's probably just a mirage!"

"Mirages don't do that, idiot!"

I hobbled over to where everyone was standing, cautiously peering over the edge into the water. What I saw took my breath away.

Looking up from above water, the sparkling spires seemed to shimmer and shift, but it still stood out clearly. A city, reflecting brightly, underwater.

"Atlantis."

I hadn't realized I said the word aloud until multiple heads turned my way.

"No such thing as Atlantis, science boy. Just a bedside tale, like Jack and the Beanstalk."

I cleared my throat. "Well, I, of course, mean that it isn't Atlantis, it just... seems that.. way..."

The ship pitched violently to the side, causing the few hanging over the railing to fall in. In turn, I was quite glad my hands were held so tight to the railing, as I might have been one of the few trying to stay afloat as well.

An eerie voice seemed to float from the depths of the water, sounding as if someone was talking through the other end of a long metal pipe.

"YOU WILL ALL DIE!"

A cacophony of noise issued out, everyone panicking as they didn't want to die.

"I have the perfect solution for this!" I shouted over the din. I narrowed my eyes. "Let's nuke 'em." 

the end

Congratulations, and thank you for a great read SomeoneElsesSleep