The Atlantean Chronicles: Call of the Sea

Chapter Five

Dr. White sat there, stunned for a moment, looking between Diana and Arielle as if he expected them to sprout gills and mermaid tails. He adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. "Well, let's see, what about it are you interested in understanding?" he asked.

Diana frowned, she wasn't entirely sure. Was it real? If so how? And where? "Do you believe it exists?" she asked bluntly.

Dr. White rose and walked over to a bookshelf. Dozens of old books lined the shelves. He paused on one particularly large one with an old cracked blue leather bindings. Diana held her breath as he placed it on the desk in front of her and she saw a golden symbol etched on the cover.

Dr. White studied her. "Tell me Diana," he said, running a hand over the symbol. "What do you know about Atlantis?" he asked, genuinely curious.

Diana blinked up at him, aware of her sister's gaze boring into her, her jaw gaping. "I read a lot of stories about it as a child. A lost wonder of the world, a myth. I never believed it actually existed, though I always imagined what it would be like if it did," she admitted.

"And what is making you question that now?" Dr. White asked, clasping his hands on the desk once more.

Diana paused, maybe she had just been seeing things, but then her gaze flicked back down to the symbol on the book. "Is that the symbol of Atlantis?" she asked, afraid to give too much away about what had just happened back at the beach house.

Dr. White's gaze followed hers. He ran his large calloused hand over the textured cover, his finger tracing the symbol. "Supposedly, yes," he replied, pulling open the cover. The binding cracked as he gently skimmed through the pages, as if it hadn't been read in centuries.

Diana froze as she saw an image sketched beside the text. The uniform was different from the one the man at the beach house had worn, but the symbol on its belt was identical. A golden metal pyramid shaped symbol, almost like an upside down 'V' acted as a sort of belt buckle on the ancient drawing's armor, just like the man who had attacked Arielle.

Diana heard Arielle take in a sharp breath and knew she had seen the symbol on her attacker as well. Dr. White closed the book, his blue gaze flicking between Diana and her sister. "Has something happened?" he asked, his eyes lingering on the cut on Arielle's cheek.

Arielle ducked her head and subtly brushed her long her over that side of her face. Diana looked at Dr. White. "I'm sorry to have interrupted you on a weekend sir, I'll see you Monday," she said, rising quickly.

Dr. White did the same. "Wait. Diana, did you see something?" he asked, hopeful, curious.

Diana looked away. "I thought I did, but I think I've just had Atlantean lore on my mind since we last spoke," she lied.

Dr. White hesitated, but did not press. She didn't dare to look him in the eye, she was sure he didn't believe her.

"Thank you for your time," Arielle said kindly, getting to her feet.

Dr. White smiled. "Of course, if you ever have anymore questions, you are welcome here anytime," he assured them as they walked out the door.

"What the hell was that back there?" Arielle hissed as they got into the car.

Diana started the car and pulled out of the lot. Arielle crossed her arms. "You saw the symbol on that guy at the beach house too, didn't you?" Arielle pressed.

Diana sighed. "Yes."

"What does it mean, are you telling me that Atlantis is real? That those stories father used to tell us weren't just made up?" Arielle asked, her voice rising.