The search and rescue operation has only been underway for about thirty minutes when the sea suddenly erupts.
Water sprays upward in a violent burst.
"Watch out!" one officer shouts, grabbing another by the arm and yanking him back.
The speed boats veer sharply, engines roaring as they scramble to create distance. Waves rock the vessels violently.
Beneath the surface, something pulses.
A deep glow flickers under the water, rising steadily toward them.
Captain Chambers braces himself, feet planted wide as the swell lifts his boat. He grips the railing and stares.
The surface breaks.
Stone emerges.
"A gate?" he mutters blankly. "From the ocean?"
"Captain, wouldn't that be the gate the ocean dragged away last night?" an officer calls from the adjacent boat.
Captain Chambers snaps without looking at him. "How would I know? It might be. It might not be!"
Before anyone can respond, the stone arch pulses.
"Captain! It's activating!" another officer shouts.
