Chapter 43 – A Not-So-Pleasant Discovery
The group finally emerged from the dense jungle into the sprawling ruins of an ancient city, overgrown with vines and bathed in golden sunlight filtering through massive stone arches. Crumbling temples and toppled statues lined what must have once been grand avenues.
Razan paused at the edge, scanning the horizon warily.
"Well, I just hope there aren't any more giant cannibal animals lurking around here."
Gabato, still a bit pale from the lizard chase, swallowed hard.
"Are there any dangerous animals here like that lizard?"
Alexander turned back with a reassuring wave.
"You can relax. This place is totally safe."
He strode confidently to the center of the city, stopping before a massive pedestal. Looking at Sean, he asked:
"What city is this?"
Sean hurried forward, eyes wide.
"That statue is Poseidon."
He noticed a heavy stone slab blocking part of the pedestal, glanced at Hank, and said:
"Can you help me remove this?"
Hank nodded.
"All right."
Together they heaved the stone aside. Ancient letters carved into the base came into view.
Kailani read them aloud:
"Atlantis."
Sean's voice cracked with disbelief.
"I can't believe it. So we're standing in the legendary lost city of Atlantis."
Alexander's eyes gleamed with decades of longing fulfilled.
"The same Atlantis that Verne described with so much detail."
Razan blinked.
"You're telling me this is Atlantis?"
Sean beamed.
"Yes! It's exciting, right?"
Razan scratched his head, looking around at the crumbling grandeur.
"No, it's super disappointing. After all, I wanted to see some busty mermaids in bikinis trying to enchant me and me resisting with all my strength until I couldn't take it anymore and fall into my fate being attacked by several of them."
Loona, hearing this, just punched Razan in the arm hard enough to make him yelp.
"Don't ruin a magical scene for everyone with your perverted wishes!"
Charlie tilted her head curiously at Razan.
"So I really don't get what men find so funny about breasts."
Razan looked at Charlie and said:
"Poor girl. Looking at your mom and then look at you who looks like a surfboard. What a cruel joke the God of genetics played on you."
Charlie's face turned red with fury. She jumped on Razan and started pulling his cheeks.
"Who's a surfboard, you nerd pervert dragon?!"
Razan, not giving up:
"It's you, you plank!"
Loona watched the chaos, sighed deeply, and secretly glanced down to check if she was growing.
Hank looked at them and shook his head, amused. He then turned to Alexander.
"But shouldn't Atlantis be underwater?"
Alexander explained:
"When Verne wrote about it, it was. But it has a 140-year cycle and spends half of that time above the sea."
Kailani asked:
"And the other half?"
Sean answered proudly:
"It's called tectonic recurrence. The ocean floor folds due to volcanic activity on the plate, pushing the land to the surface."
Razan lifted his head with difficulty from Charlie's claws and said to Sean:
"Good job, my boy. You impressed her."
Loona, seeing this, just sighed and muttered:
"Idiot."
Alexander continued:
"Then the entire island sinks back into the ocean."
Sean added:
"The phenomenon has never been seen on such a large scale."
Kailani whispered:
"It's wonderful."
Razan mused:
"Wonderful would be me falling on this island alone and finding a tribe full of women who urgently need a man. Though that wouldn't be wonderful… it would be paradise."
Charlie, hearing this:
"Ah, so you want to go to that paradise?"
Loona smirked.
"Why don't we help him wash his sins to be accepted in paradise?"
Loona added:
"Well, I'll definitely help him."
Razan, seeing the danger:
"Hold on, you two! I was just joking!"
Everyone ignored his cries for help.
Alexander's voice grew solemn.
"I've been searching for this piece of paradise for thirty years. I promised his father we'd find it together, but he's not here anymore. So that's why I sent that message: because I wanted his son to be here. There are men who put their names on plants, stars, animals. We're going to put ours on this magnificent island."
Razan got up from the ground with Charlie still in his arms after their play-fight. Smiling at Charlie and Loona, he said:
"I really don't get the point of putting your name on these things."
Charlie said:
"I think it's cool. It's like confirmation that his adventure was a success."
Loona said:
"Well, I think it's more him wanting something to prove he walked the earth even after he's dead."
Razan said:
"Well, that's the only reason. Since humans don't live very long, he wants to conquer something so that on his deathbed he remembers what he conquered and feels he wasn't a failure. But the point: what defines that for him? If he dies alone, with no one by his side, will his name on an island fill the emptiness in his chest before he goes? I just hope he values his family too. After all, Sean risked his life to get here just because his grandpa called."
Loona and Charlie nodded in agreement with what Razan said.
At that moment Hank looked at everyone in the place and said:
"We have a problem."
Alexander asked:
"What problem is that?"
Hank pointed:
"Are you seeing saltwater? The only way saltwater like this gets in is through the middle of the island, through the subsurface."
Kailani said:
"And what's the problem?"
Razan, with his head resting on Charlie, said:
"The problem is we need to evolve into fish as fast as possible if we don't want to die."
Hank, looking at Kailani:
"The problem is this island is ready to sink."
Alexander scoffed:
"There's only saltwater in your brain. I analyzed samples and did all the calculations. The island sinks in 14 years."
Hank said:
"You got the calculations wrong, Alexander."
Alexander:
"And how do you know that?"
Hank said:
"I've seen this when building in flood areas. It's called soil liquefaction. Look, you can see it from the fissures in the pools forming here, further over there and there."
Alexander conceded:
"Okay, you might be right."
Razan said, surprised:
"The old man admitted Hank is right? That's incredible!"
Sean looked at Razan and said:
"What's the big deal? My grandpa isn't that hard."
Razan said:
"Well, I think he's cool, but from my position, if I were in Hank's place, I'd find him a pain."
Gabato then asked:
"So how much time do we have?"
Hank said, estimating:
"Based on all this water, at most three days."
Kailani asked:
"And after that?"
Razan said:
"Well, either you evolve and become a mermaid or you just become fish food."
Sean said:
"No! We have to get out of here."
Charlie said:
"If we make a boat…"
Hank said:
"It won't work. The storm around the island will turn it to dust."
Sean then said:
"I have an idea: let's go by submarine!"
Loona said And where are we going to get a submarine in this place?"
Sean said:
"There's a submarine from Captain Nemo made in 1870."
Razan said:
"So the plan is to go after a submarine from a book character we don't even know exists, to get a submarine that's been sitting for decades, that we don't know if it even works anymore or if it's still intact?"
Sean said:
"Well, yeah."
Razan said:
"What a dangerous and suicidal plan. I like it too. Let's go. You've already convinced me."
Hank said:
"If we can find that submarine, we can pass under the storm."
Alexander said:
"In the book, Verne said it was on the island."
Loona said, "The plan sounds cool, but where is it the submarine?
Alexander said:
"There's only one man who can tell us that: Captain Nemo himself.