Piper

Unleashed

"Life is a shipwreck but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats."
- Volitaire

As Mary Anne swam across a coral reef, she became intrigued with what she saw.

The colorful ecosystem before her was a combination of blue-green seaweed with a hint of red hues growing next to them. It was also a rich habitat for various fish and other sea animals to swim freely. That beauty made her smile with glee.

Just watching these sea creatures before her made her forget why she was swimming in the ocean in the first place.

And stopping to smell the roses was something her co-worker would never understand, for he was impatient. So, she wondered why she even grew fond of him.

"Mary Anne, dear ... can you come here my love?" Gustavo asked through his scuba gear's microphone. He was a little irritated that she wasn't by his side.

When she did not respond, Gustavo turned around to see what his partner was up to. He was both excited and itching to get this assignment done right away, and was annoyed to see her indulged with marine life, so he waved his arm to get her attention.

"Yo Haskins! We have a job to do down here, remember? We can sightsee all you want on our vacation."

Mary Anne's cheeks blushed as she faced Gustavo. Mary Anne loved it when he called her by her surname since it would catch her attention quickly.

The blue-eyed beauty turned around and laughed, signaling that she would join him as her fins swiftly moved about. But when the words 'our vacation' was mentioned, she wondered what he meant; clearly they didn't have any time for that.

Once she swam towards him, she noticed the brownish wreckage before them.

"Is this, the Callis ship?" She asked as she pointed to it.

Gustavo nodded as he breathed little bubbles through his headgear.

"It definitely looks like it, Mary, wanna take a look? He put his hand on her back and guided the way.

Pulling out her waterproof camera, Mary Anne decided to take some pictures of what was left of the boat. Without letting her partner know about it, she knew that these souvenirs might come in handy.

"Ladies first, my dear!

Like a proper gentleman, he guided his partner through the old compartments and storage rooms of the ship.

Not all of the cabins were easy to get into, as small creatures inhabited them and were shooing away intruders. Several of them contained wrinkled skeletons of the dearly departed, and this caused Mary Ann to shriek. But having Gustavo at her side made her feel comfortable, since a man would help her out in a time of need.

Wouldn't it?

That was what she kept questioning in her mind. Gustavo was a good guy, and she knew that they got along at work, but once he decided to join her on this quest, his mindset seemed to linger off. He looked more toward having money in his pocket than spending time with her.

The two used to dine out or have a cup of coffee during a break, but once their boss, Sanders, told them about an archeological relic that might earn them a raise if they found it; Gustavo tried to beat Mary Anne to it.

The way she saw it was that Gustavo became a Gollum and the relic his 'precious'.

They swam further in, noticing a treasure chest in a corner.

Gold!

Gold was dancing in their minds. But as a skeleton had his hands over it, Mary Anne decided not to touch it. She heard of scary stories where the dead still look over their loot. She had no intention of taking what was rightfully theirs.

Of course, with eyes of greed, Gustavo disagreed.

"It's not ours, Gus. It's theirs. You know that." Pointing to the old bones nearby she continued on saying, "Besides he is hovering over his loot. How are we going to remove that?"

"Yada, Yada." Are you a scaredy cat Mary? That's why you need a man to do the dirty work!"

Suit yourself Gus, but there are consequences.

He swam next to the chest and started to remove one of the bony fragments aside.

But it was to late as Gustavo learned that was a bad idea, for a crackling sound was heard.

The bones shifted causing a rumble in the deck.

Booby trap?

They had to leave before the ship caved in, trapping them inside with the others.

Mary Anne noticed a glass prism nearby and decided to take it with her. Perhaps that is what Sanders wanted them to find. With her quick decision, she would be able to save the day! But right now was not a time to think about that.

Both had to leave as soon as possible!

As the two got out of the wreckage and onto the ocean floor, Mary Anne showed her partner the prism she found.

"Gus, I think I found it! Is this it? It was lying next to the skeleton who wore a hat, as if it had some deep connection to it."

Gustavo nodded in agreement as he knew he could always count on Mary Anne on being meticulous. However, he didn't like her idea of 'the deep connection' as it sounded creepy.

"That's nonsense Mary. I don't think an old artifact has anything to do with a skeleton. Let's bring it up to the ship and have Sanders examine it. This must be the case that crazy man Everett is looking for."

Everett. Where did I hear that before? Mary Anne pondered about that. It was as if that man was someone she knew, but couldn't quite figure out where. It's been a long time since she was in school, if that's where they met.

"We have to hurry up Haskins. Our oxygen supply is running out. Don't be such a slow poke!"

"Hold your horses, Arubella, I'm coming!" She tried to yell through her apparatus, but lost her breath. And she hoped he'd be a proper gentleman, who'd wait for her.

Thinking about that again caused her to question, why she even was with him. She figured that once their mission was over, it's time to move on with her own life.

Don't give up your hopes, dear. But yes, Mary Anne, Gus has a new woman in mind! Me!