The sunken ship was truly a sight to behold, it stood five stories tall, not including the towering mast and as was as long as thirty cars placed end to end. Perfectly preserved by the still surrounding waters, the only sign of aging was the once-great sails, tattered and torn after decades of being chewed on by curious fish. Symbolising the fallen Spanish Empire at the peak of its glory, rows of rusty cannons welcomed the divers to the ruins of the St Mary. They advanced cautiously as although it looked magnificent, they had been forewarned by the knowledgeable Mr. Daniels, that the most of the wood , though still seemingly stable and sound, was weak and rotting, having spent decades in these waters.
Indeed, as they came up close to the ship, they noticed that what had seemed strong and sturdy from afar was actually dilapidated and much of the ship had been eaten away by the surrounding waters. They spent a while playing around on the top deck, tentatively touching the frayed ropes linking the tattered sails to the deck rails. The deck was surprisingly empty, cleared by the museums years ago, killing dreams of seeing swords, treasure chests, or skeletons clad in the royal red of the Spanish navy, and soon enough, the various pairs of students began on their assignments, collecting samples of plants and micro-organisms to examine back on the ship, well, with an exception of one pair..
Cody Martin, led by an insatiable desire to know the truth behind this mystery, was bent on exploring the entire ship for a clue as to how the unfortunate men met their deaths, which obviously clashed with his twin's plans, for Zack had no intention of spending this time exploring a boring wreck, and was more interested in having some fun underwater, playing a few pranks, maybe hitting on some girls.
Cody swam furiously, flippers slicing through the water, propelling himself towards the bottom deck of the ship, a space primarily designed for storing cargo, eyes quickly sweeping the surroundings for anything the museum's divers might have missed. One such object, which he had found earlier on the second level of the ship, or more specifically, the galley, was a small golden spoon which had little relevance to the problem in any way, aside from placating his increasingly annoyed brother. Zack had demanded the spoon, snatching it away from his brother, hoping that the profit he could gain from selling it would make up for this wasted trip.
However, even that small consolation had worn out after a while and he pointed at his watch, signalling that they were running out of time, and had not even started on their assignment.
Cody signalled back, holding up one hand, asking for just five more minutes.
Zack furiously shook his head and gestured at their collection bottles, still devoid of samples of every sort.
Cody did not even pause to appreciate the irony, that Zack was telling him to finish up his work, instead of the other way around, but instead shrugged off his brother's gestures, and swam off, ascending the hatchways till he reached the top of the ship.
Zack by now had lost all patience and had resorted to poking Cody repeatedly with the spoon, which his brother all but ignored, as he swam upwards towards the crows nest, the only place that they had not looked on the ship. It was, like everywhere else they had searched, barren but from that height, Cody caught a glimpse of something shiny about a little way north of the wreck, glinting in the light filtering in from above.
Immediately, he started swimming, ignoring his quadriceps' protests as he arrowed towards that very spot, an irate brother following close behind. As he approached the object, his heart tightened and a feeling of anticipation and suspense built up within him.
He arrived, floating just above the spot, and brushed away the surrounding sand, holding his breath in excitement, but as he uncovered the objects, his breath, along with his hopes and dreams of finally solving the mystery whooshed out.
It was an aluminium drink can.
He floated there for what seemed like an eternity, hopes fading away as he stared blankly at the can. He had been so sure, so sure that he would be able to uncover the answers to the mystery. Lost in his thoughts, he just drifted, but was brought back by an enormous prod from his spoon-wielding brother. As he felt all his frustrations and hopelessness turn into anger, he lashed out fiercely, sending the golden spoon spiralling out of his shocked brother's arm and down into the ocean bed, embedding itself in a section of coral. Zack chased it feverently, what was supposedly his only payment for having to spend one and a half hours underwater with a seemingly insane Cody. To Cody's horror, his hands scrabbled over the swaying corals and as he wrenched the spoon free, shaking it vigorously to dislodge any loose clumps of coral, he broke apart a section of coral. He stopped short, staring at the coral with an expression Cody could not identify.
Shocked at the mutilation of a wonder of nature, Cody swam down with the intention of hitting his brother but instead stopped as he saw what Zack had been staring at. In between two pink masses of corals, tentacles swaying in the current, lay a human skull. Cody recoiled in disgust, not able to believe his eyes for a second, but his well drilled intellect took over soon after, attempting to re-enact the scene and what must have happened in his head. "The sailor must have fallen overboard when the boat was attacked, or if it was attacked and his remains must have been overgrown by the coral reef. Who knows what other important clues may be lying around!" He thought, gazing at the reef in astonishment.
Zack's curiosity, however, had already been aroused by the find and he was already searching around, apparently having come to the same conclusion- that there might be more artefacts lying around, most of which was probably worth a lot of money. He searched, eyes scanning the surroundings as he looked for any sign of metal. Eventually, his eyes fell on what looked like the corner of a box, not too far away. He propelled himself quickly towards it and ignoring a wince from his brother, broke aside the coral surrounding it, throwing it down to the sea bed, and extracted a small metal box about the size of a schoolbook. The box was made of tarnished brass and seemed to be emblazoned with the Spanish flag in solid gold and encrusted with diamonds.
The resulting expressions were the same, as both their faces lit up, Cody of the scientific importance of this find, and Zack thinking of the amount of money they, and by that he meant he, would make from this find.
Cody signalled again, suggesting they bring it up onto the boat to open it and see what was inside, but Zack, without thinking as usual, opened it there and then, not considering the damage water might do to the contents. They both gasped as it beheld a thick book, bound with fine leather and adorned with multicoloured jewels and shining gold. Its pages made of a special material that even Cody had not encountered before, as it remained unaffected by the waters surrounding it, remaining as firm and hard as it did on dry land. They both held their breaths yet again as they turned it over to reveal the title, which, neatly embossed on the cover, read, "The journal of Captain Francois Pienaar"