"Good lord Ben! Did you even know half of this was up here?"
"Not really. I think a lot of it is my grandfather's old stuff. I had no where else to put it when we were moving."
Abigail shook her head at the amount of crap in boxes they had been sorting through the past two hours, wiping sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. It had been a long morning. She sat in the corner, surrounded by stacks of old moth eaten clothes and books ranging from biographies of historical figures to fictional romance novels. Although surrounded, she had just enough room to see over the top of the stacks around her to look at Ben in the same room of the attic, sitting in the middle of stacks similar to her own. Between them lay a field of empty boxes.
"Remind me why we put this off?"
"Treasure hunting." Came Ben's muffled reply as he looked up to meet Abigail's amused gaze. "Think we should hire someone to take care of all this for us while we're gone?"
"Well if we can get it done, we won't need to hire someone."
"I thought the point was to clean it up so we could put more crap up here?"
"Yes, but its going to be organized crap so we shouldn't have to worry about it. Throw me those old pants."
Abigail caught them as Ben tossed them, refolding them and adding them to her piles of clothing on the left. She sighed heavily, blowing bangs from her face before pulling one of the last boxes toward her. It appeared to be more books and old documents. Careful with the bindings, she began to flip through them absentmindedly. These were journals, apparently, by Ben's grandmother and other ancestors. They looked extremely old, so Abigail set them gently aside on their own.
"What time is Riley supposed to be here again?" Ben asked faintly - he had moved again, and was working his way across the battlefield of boxes.
"Around 5. Same time as your parents." She replied. At least once a week they tried to have dinner together with their dysfunctional family. They were still rather tight-knit, as both Ben and Abigail were together, and Emily and Patrick. The elder couple wasn't married, but they were instead living together, afraid if they did remarry that it would be a waste, in case they got a divorce again. Neither wanted the hassle. Ben and Abigail were practically engaged, but technically not officially because Ben had yet to ask her.
Riley came over often anymore - he had his own room within the many bedrooms of Ben and Abigail's home. He had been gone the past few weeks though, off along the northeast to different bookstores, promoting the sequel to his first book which seemed immensely more popular than the first.
Abigail's hand touched the last book in the bottom of the cardboard box - this one was different, with a thick black cover. She frowned slightly and unwrapped a string from around it. When she opened it, some of the writing was smeared, the pages faded and slightly waterlogged. This one was definitely different than the others. The first entry's date was smeared, unable to be read, but Abigail could manage to make out the paragraphs below.
Today we touched down on new land. I had never been off Lemuria or Atlantis before, except to Thule in the north for a few years for research. Volcanoes don't frequent here, but I feel lost - the people that are scattered about this place are in primitive tribes that don't have any sort of technology. It bothers me, but I find solace in the fact that I'm not the only one who managed to make it out of the city alive before it sank. I was glad to be rid of it - they deserved what they got. They became too greedy and it's their fault their pristine city ended up at the bottom of the ocean.
What follows in this journal is an exact retelling as I remember it of how we made it to Atlantis in the first place. Of course, it won't take anyone there now, but hopefully much more intelligent beings in the future will somehow find this journal and find that damn city - and learn not to make the same mistakes they did. Understand that these people were once great, and had brilliant technology, but they were just like anyone else, and it destroyed them.
As we prepare for the long trek to the north east of this continent, I'll finish this book with the path that leads to Atlantis. I'll require the help of my companions, as they were some of the few to escape with me - they probably know it better than I.
I hope someone in this planet's future will find this and understand this language.
Abigail frowned, trying to put together what she had just read. She flipped to the next page to find a crudely drawn map of the world, continents labeled in the same scrawl from the journal entry on the first page. She looked through the rest of the battered book - it was a mix of journal entries, maps, and explanations that intrigued her, especially because of the name mentioned on the first page - Atlantis.
But, that particular treasure was impossible, considering the fact it was a myth. There was no city under the waves, having sank beneath the ocean. This was probably some sort of joke, probably concocted by one of the weird relatives of Ben's.
She moved to toss it aside, but something fell out of the pages, clattering across the ground. She frowned again, and reached for it, wincing when whatever it was sliced open her finger. Curling her hand into a fist, she used her other to gently grab the offending object and held it up to examine it.
It appeared to be a shard of some sort of gem. Diamond, maybe, with the way it shone so clearly. She shifted and a beam of light from the window hit it, sending reflecting sparkles across the floor. It grew warm in her hand.
"What is that?" Ben asked, sound a lot closer than before. Abigail looked up from the shining shard in her hand to see Ben striding toward her, making his way through the boxes with a bit of difficultly as he tried to figure out what was in her hand.
"Whatever fell out of that book." She nodded to the book lying beside her and he grabbed it, flipping through the pages like she had been doing. "It was in this box with your grandfather's stuff. I think it's some sort of joke treasure hunt thing. Your family did stuff like that, didn't they?"
"Sometimes, but I've never seen them do something like this." Ben murmured, moving to sit on the floor beside her, continuing to go through the book. "This is interesting. It's basically a map straight to Atlantis. Or what's left of it, rather."
"Not possible. That's a legend."
"So was Cibola. And the Templar treasure. You believed me then."
He met Abigail's even gaze.
"Not without persuasion and some sort of proof." She narrowed her eyes slightly, but slid over to sit beside him, leaning over his shoulder, the shard still clutched between her fingers carefully, lest she slice herself open again. She'd have to grab a band-aid downstairs before some of the dust of the attic got into it.
"Let me see that." Ben said after a moment, holding his hand out for the shard. She carefully passed it to him and he held it up in the light as well, examining it. "They say people of Atlantis used crystals for several things, including healing."
"Ben, get real." Abigail said flatly as she got to her feet. "Put that away and let's get the attic done. You can read stories later."
"Come on, Abby. You can read it with me."
"You forget we have to get this done and I have to start dinner for your parents."
"If we look at this now, I promise we can finish the attic tomorrow."
"I have to work."
"I'll do it myself."
Abigail sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She was getting soft, apparently - Ben was easily able to persuade her to do anything anymore, when she had once been the type of person who would have to be forcibly made to do things she really didn't want to do.
"Fine. But let's go to the kitchen so I can at least start dinner."
Ben smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist as he got to his feet, pressing a kiss to her temple. "You're the best."
"Yeah, I know. Suck-up." She muttered, shaking her head at him as they picked their way back over to the stairs. "But by the time I get home this attic better be organized and clean."
"Yes, ma'am."
Ben stopped and grabbed several books from his office as they headed to the kitchen, spreading everything across the island in the center of the kitchen. Abigail placed the shard in a shallow glass so it wouldn't be accidentally knocked off the granite counter-top.
"So you think this is real?" Abigail asked as she began to root through the refrigerator, after she had checked the roast she had started earlier that morning. "That's crazy, Ben."
"Last time I checked we make our living off crazy."
"Atlantis is a fairytale."
"Not really. In history, there's mentions of several continents that sank because of natural disasters - the island in the middle of the pacific were once large mountains on the continents. Atlantis was one of them, as were the other two mentioned in this entry. Thule was in the north, probably under the north pole now, and Lemuria was in the middle of the Pacific - Easter Island is supposed to be part of a mountain where the people built great statues to protect them. The heads on the island are all that's visible anymore." Ben explained without looking up, flipping through the old book again. "It's mentioned in here too."
Abigail set her things on the counter and turned toward him, hands on her hips.
"Listen to what you're saying. Atlantis isn't true."
Ben looked at her as she leaned against the island. He reached for her hands, wrapping his fingers around hers. "Abigail, if you don't want to believe it, that's fine. But I do. Just remember that usually you never believe me, and I turn out to be true."
"You're not helping yourself."
"I thought you liked treasure hunting."
"I usually do, until the guns are involved. I had a knife to my throat last time Ben, and I don't want to come close to that again."
"Nobody even knows about this, so they'd have no reason to come after us. It'll be just you, me, and Riley. Maybe mom and dad if they wanted to come." Ben said. "You have to admit you're curious." He added in a slightly sing-song tone.
It was true. It had sparked her curiosity. She knew that finding Atlantis would be huge, too. It was a pure, unused, clean, power source, a treasure itself. She'd always been interested in the legend, but that had faded a long time ago, and now she found herself hardly to believe it to be true. But Ben was being Ben - believing in his legends and probably already planning a treasure hunt to Atlantis.
"How do you expect to get down there? Divers can only go to about 1,000 feet before their oxygen turns poisonous and the pressure kills them."
"Yes, I know, I'm certified to dive." Ben stated. "And you use a submarine."
Abigail slid into one of the barstools at the island across from him, her fingers still linked with his. "Talk with Riley, and see what he thinks. If you both want to, I'll use my vacation days and we'll do what we can with this journal. If we come to a dead end, we come straight home, all right?"
Ben's entire face lit up and he leaned across the counter to kiss her. "You're the best, Abigail. Have I told you how much I love you?"
"Yeah, yeah." Abigail rolled her eyes, but was smiling as she continued dinner. Ben, still grinning, returned to his work.
As she began to put together dinner, she hardly noticed Riley sneaking in. She only knew he was there because she had turned around once, and suddenly he was there, pouring over the journal and other books with Ben, his laptop out on the table. She had just shaken her head and returned to dinner.
So maybe she was a bit harsh. She really didn't want to go on another treasure hunt, mostly because it always involved them getting hurt or attacked or something else. Last time had been way too close for her tastes. She knew Ben did her best to protect her, but there were times when he couldn't. But he had been right - only she, Ben, and now Riley knew about the journal and probably the only way to find Atlantis, even if everyone else knew of the sunken city. She still was apprehensive, but if it made Ben happier, she wouldn't be the one to ruin it all for him.
They were talking in low tones, so she couldn't hear what they were saying between them, even if she tried hard to be quiet and not clang dishes together on accident while she was cooking. Normally she wouldn't be so nosy, but she wanted to know what Riley was saying on the matter - his opinion was just as important. If Ben was the heart of their team, then Riley was the brain. Abigail wasn't really sure what that made her, but it was Ben and Riley that had been there from the start, even before she'd been dragged in.
The doorbell rang not long after Riley had shown up - her back was still to them, but she heard the scraping of the barstools against the tile as they pushed away from the counter. Light footfalls told her Riley had gone to answer the door, and the rustling of the papers and books told her Ben was clearing his work - at least they had the decency to continue their work after dinner.
"Hello Emily, Patrick. How are you guys?" Abigail greeted as she began to set the table, where the others had retreated to, sitting in various places.
"Good to see you Abigail. Need any help?" Emily offered instantly.
"No, don't worry about it. I think Ben has something he wants to share with you two anyway." She gave hr boyfriend a slight smirk, who returned it with a nod. "I'm almost done. Dinner will be ready in a bit."
By the time she returned with food, silence had settled across the table. For a moment there was only the clatter of silverware as everyone got their food, before Ben broke the silence.
"Well, it's settled."
"You all came to a decision then?"
"We want to try and go after it. But it's just going to be us three." Ben said, nodding to Riley and Abigail.
"I don't want involved in another one of those blasted hunts." Emily shivered slightly as if she utterly despised the idea. "I wish good luck to you though. I'm surprised you want to do it again, Abigail."
The blonde woman shrugged, taking a drink of her iced tea. "I really don't, but I can put up with one more. At least there's not some lunatic chasing after us or trying to kill us for it all."
"Yet." Riley added and she threw him a sharp glare. "Sorry. Just saying. Some freak usually comes out of nowhere and tries to kill us."
"Well, if they do, we'll fight them off." Ben muttered and Abigail rolled her eyes.
"Because that went so fantastically last time."
"At least we made it out alive." Patrick pointed out. "I'm not thrilled any of you are doing it again but because it was in your grandfather's stuff I'll make an exception."
"Dad." Ben sighed. "It's what we do. It's always been what we've done. It's probably what we're going to do the rest of our lives."
Riley nodded and Abigail only looked down - she really hadn't planned on treasure hunting the rest of her life. She and Ben had talked about starting a family, staying put for a while. But she had one more treasure hunt left in her - if she had to put up with one more after this one though, she'd put her foot down and stop the madness from happening anymore. They had enough money already to buy out NASA and still have enough left over to buy the Empire State Building and throw a party on every single floor.
Patrick and Emily left after dinner, and as soon as Abigail had finished the dishes, she joined Riley and Ben in the living room with three mugs of coffee in her hands.
"So did your dad say where your grandfather got that thing?" Riley was asking as Ben sat in the living room floor in front of the coffee table, pouring over it and the papers again. Riley sat across from him, cross-legged, his laptop in his lap.
"He mentioned it probably came from when he went overseas somewhere. He apparently brought back a bunch of historical books that my grandmother threw in the attic." Ben muttered.
"When am I going to have to request my vacation days?" Abigail asked, sitting down in the armchair, draping her legs over one armrest, her back against the other one, her mug of coffee on her chest.
"Later this week. We're leaving as soon as possible."
"To where?"
"Where the journal tells us." Ben replied. "Let me read it." He flipped to the front, to one of the other diary entries that Abigail had seen when she had looked through. "To gain entry to the lost city, one must first find a full crystal that still survives above the city, for their technology only let crystal wearers in. Now that their city is at the bottom of the ocean I'm not sure if their technology is still in effect, but it is wise to have them - perhaps they will allow you to travel to the depths and walk the city yourself."
"So where are these crystals, if hardly any survived the sinking of the city?"
"I'm getting there." Ben murmured. "There was once a cave that ran deep underground where Atlantians sometimes imported their all powerful crystals when they ran short on supply in their own city. It lies underwater, built into the peninsula that extends from the country to the east of where Atlantis used to reside."
"Which means Mexico, on the Yucatan peninsula. I've been researching, and there is an area off the coast of a small town there where a series of underwater caves are a popular tourist attraction. They go deep under the country, apparently, and people are afraid to go too deep inside." Riley explained to Abigail, who sighed.
"Looks like we're going diving then." She said, taking a drink of coffee. Ben was engrossed in the journal again.
"So once we get these crystal things, where do we go."
"From what I can figure out - some of it's smeared and everything, so it's hard to read - we go to Easter Island next. Apparently in the largest head of one of the statues there, there is literally a map that leads straight to Atlantis. After that, I suppose we just follow what it says."
"And you're sure no one is going to try and kill us this time?"
"Of course not. Would I lie to you, sweetheart?"
"No, not at all Mr. Brown."
Ben narrowed his eyes slightly as Riley snorted. "That was one time. Under extreme circumstances."
"'Oh I was just getting some of my old things'!"
" . . . Again, extreme circumstances."
Abigail only smirked at him as she sat up straight, setting her coffee mug aside. "I'm going to go grab a shower and I suppose pack." She announced as she got to her feet. On her way by them, she paused to rest a hand on Ben's shoulder.
"Don't think this gets you out of finishing the attic."