Chapter 11

Garth placed the note for Sarah on top of the kitchen table and smirked, realizing what a strange direction his life had taken. With his street clothes on and the note placed where it would be clearly visible, he headed out to his car. Half an hour later, he pulled into a parking lot at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and headed toward the building where Richard Bailey stood in the entrance awaiting his arrival.

"I want to hear more about what happened this morning," Richard said as they entered the building.

Richard escorted him back to the lab. They had already spoken on the phone about the events of that morning under the sea.

"I barely made it out of there," Garth said, as the older man took a seat beside him on one of the lab stools. "All of the men and women who've been transformed are very strong and their Leader is incredible. She's just like I described, a sort of fifty foot bald mermaid. She's not particularly fast, but she's incredibly strong.

"This may sound strange, but listening to her and to Jenkins, I can almost buy into what she's planning to do. She thinks that by bringing the human race undersea to live a simplified life, she can save the planet, make people happy and presumably get something out of it for herself. Maybe through the symbiotic nature of these so-called Companions."

"What do you know about that?" Richard asked.

"Just what Dr. Jenkins told me. He said that the bite of the worm-thing started a bunch of cells growing in various parts of his body and it's the presence of these cells that allows the human body to be converted into this underwater form. Jenkins said it feels like he's sharing his body with another being and apparently it's pleasant or fulfilling in some way.

"The strange thing is, I think that some people in the world could benefit from what this Leader is offering," Garth continued. "Don't get me wrong, we can't let them force the entire human race to join them underwater. But if they were willing to back off and let people make the choice for themselves, I don't think it would be such a bad thing."

Richard shook his head slightly.

"You don't agree?" Garth said.

"It doesn't sit well with me," Richard said. "But I suppose it's not my busincess how others choose to live their lives. I just think there will be a problem someday. You can't have two different groups of beings trying to share the planet. It's almost certainly going to lead to violence. I think it's human nature. If the underwater beings are stronger and have some miraculous healing ability, I don't think the land dwellers would do well against them."

Garth shrugged and said, "I guess the point is moot anyway. They are going to force everyone to join them. They were going to literally tear me apart if I didn't cooperate and become one of them. I barely got out of there in one piece."

Garth shook his head slightly and continued, "I don't really know how I can fight them, they're too strong and their Leader can coordinate their attack. I'd need some kind of weapon. And we have to get rid of her quickly. She said more of her kind are coming here soon. "

"Maybe it's time to call in the military," Richard suggested.

"I guess, but I don't think Jenkins and the others are going to fare well in that scenario. Navy divers won't be able to fight them hand to hand and I don't think there are too many non-lethal weapons for undersea combat. The military would probably blow the whole thing sky high. And I don't really know what kind of technology this Leader has access to. I never found out exactly where she came from or how she got here. It could get messy."

Richard looked at Garth for a while, then said, "You haven't mentioned your ghost friend in a while. Can she help with all of this? You told me that she can see the future or something like that."

"Sarah?" Garth said. "I don't know. She stayed behind to see what she could learn. I'll talk to her tonight."

"Her name's Sarah?" Richard asked.

"Yes, Sarah Shannon," Garth said.

A slight frown appeared on Richard's face.

"Why don't we go for a little walk," he said.

He rose from the stool and led the way to the door. Garth followed him out of the building and into a nearby building, an older brick structure that looked like it belonged on a college campus.

Richard stopped in the hallway just past the main entrance and in front of several large black and white photographs that were hung on the walls.

"Have you seen the sailboat on our logo?" Richard said pointing toward a plaque that showed the outline of a sailing vessel surrounded by the name of the institute.

Garth nodded.

"It was our first research vessel," Richard said. "This picture here was taken when it was christened in 1930."

He pointed to a large framed photograph of the two-masted sailing ship. It was on some sort of enormous wheeled cart halfway down a ramp with its stern in the water. Standing on a small wooden platform by the bow of the boat, was a woman holding a wine or champagne bottle.

Garth frowned at the picture for a moment, then said, "Is that..."

"Sarah Shannon," Richard said. "She chose the name of the boat - The Atlantis"

"Atlantis?"

Richard nodded.

"Are you sure this picture was taken in 1930?" Garth asked.

Richard nodded again.

"She told me that she thought died of the Spanish Flu in 1918."

"She survived. This institute was founded in 1930, by a couple of Biology professors, but according to some stories, an enigmatic young Irish widow played a very important role. They say she was psychic. Supposedly, it was Sarah who convinced the Rockefeller foundation to donate the money that helped start the institute. According to the legend, she had visited one of the trustees of the foundation in July of 1929. Shortly after her visit, they moved a lot of their money around, took money out of the stock market and put it into real estate among other things. By the end of 1929, she had secured a grant from the foundation."

Garth stared silently at the photo on the wall.

"There was a book about Sarah, written in the 70's. I'm not sure it's in print anymore," Richard continued. "She was an activist for the oceans, opposed dumping industrial waste into the seas, fought to end whaling. She was ahead of her time in many ways."

Garth nodded slightly, considering what Richard said.

Richard smiled, "I guess if you are going to be haunted by the ghost of a woman around here, it's not terribly surprising that it's Sarah Shannon."

Movement caught Garth's attention and he spun around to see Sarah standing behind him and staring at the photograph.

"When did you get here?" Garth said aloud.

"She's here?" Richard asked.

Garth nodded.

"I just arrived," she said.

"Did you hear our conversation?" Garth said.

"Not much," she said. "And I do want to find out about this picture, but before we get into that, I need to talk to you about something I learned down in that underwater circle."

"What did you find out?" Garth said.

She opened her mouth, then seemed to reconsider for a moment before saying, "Well, first, why don't you tell me a little about the color purple."