Voyage of Atlantica

Chapter One: Changing Tides

Haven Rivera swung her backpack onto her shoulders and slammed her locker shut.
"Hey! Hey, Haven!" A voice called out from a few lockers down.
"What?" Haven called back. It was her newest friend, Megan. A girl who's entire existence screamed summer. The beach blonde waves and the surfer tan. Megan looked like the stereotypical surfer girl.
"We are going to the beach tonight!" Megan said excitedly.
"Another party?" Haven asked.
"Yes, meet me there at ten, the usual spot by the rocks." Megan smiled and then skipped off. Haven smiled and pushed open the school door. She walked to her car and drove home.
When Haven arrived home she found the house completely deserted. She walked into her room with her backpack and sat down at her desk. She started her homework but completely lost interest and went to the living room and switched the tv on. She started an episode of Supernatural and watched until her mom and sister were home with dinner.
"Hey Haven, how was school?" Her mom asked smiling.
"Probably long and dreary like every other day." Haven's sister, Ava answered for her. Ava was two years younger than Haven and had long wavy blonde hair. The only feature Haven and Ava shared were their ocean colored eyes. While Ava and her mother both had wavy blonde hair, Haven took after her father with her dark brown curly hair.
"Actually it wasn't bad. I got invited to a party tonight, can I go?" Haven questioned.
"Sure, where is it?"
"At the beach, Meg will be there too."
"How late is it?"
"It starts at ten."
"Okay, be back before twelve." Her mom said finally.
"Come on, our pizza's getting cold." Ava ran into the kitchen and set the table. They sat around the table eating their pizza and talking about their day.
"And then Jacob broke up with Gracie. I felt so bad for her but I'm not bad enough to say no when he asked me out." Ava smiled broadly.
"Where did he ask you out to? Why didn't you ask me first?" Her mom panicked.
"Just the movies, mom, Haven gets to go on dates whenever she wants." Ava whined.
"Haven is seventeen. She's old enough to handle herself." Her mom said but after seeing Ava pout she sighed, "fine, but just the movies."
"Thank you! I'll be back by seven." Ava said and ran out of the kitchen. A few minutes later the front door slammed shut.
"Well, I guess she's gone now." Her mom said finishing her pizza.
"Let's go watch a movie." Haven yawned. They walked back to the living room and collapsed on couch to watch the movie.
After watching a second movie Haven's phone started buzzing. Megan was calling her. She glanced at the time and realized it was already past ten.
"I'm on my way." Haven said answering the phone.
"Okay, but be here quickly." Megan said and the line went dead. Haven ran to her room and pulled on a swimsuit and then threw on her favorite sundress over it. She put on her shoes and grabbed her keys then ran out the door. She jumped in the car and drove to the beach.
~♆~
After going through some heavy traffic Haven arrived at the beach. She parked her car and walked to where she could see people gathered.
"Haven!" Megan called and ran towards her, "Come try the water, it's great!" Haven slipped off her sundress and walked to the beach. "Cute swim suit."
"Thanks, yours too." Haven said and waded into the water. She dove in and ran her fingers through the sand on the sea floor. Suddenly screams burst out from above the water. Haven burst through the water to see people running towards their cars.
"HAVEN! Get out there's something in the water!" Megan screamed but the waves became stronger and knocked Haven under the water. Once she was under the water everything was quite. It was serene. In front of her was a beautiful silvery blue seashell. It seemed to glow. Haven's eyes widened. The shell seemed to mesmerize her. Her hand slipped as she tried to pick up the shimmering shell and instead she jabbed her hand on a sharp rock. A jagged cut stretched across her palm. Cursing to herself, Haven reached out and grabbed the shell, not realizing how fragile it was. The shell crushed into dust. Completely disappointed, Haven stared at the crushed dust of the shell. The dust started swirling into a miniature whirlpool and swiveled towards her hand. The dust disappeared into the cut with a stinging sensation. Before her eyes the cut was healing it's self. It left a faint line of silver on her skin exactly where the cut was.
Haven's head broke the surface, but she felt as though she had a pillow pressed to her face. She took deep breaths but it was useless. She felt a strange tug at her legs. It felt like there were ants in her swim suit top. Her legs felt heavier and itchy. Her skin was crawling. She whipped her head around to see a mermaid tail had replaced her legs.