Mystery At 4,000 Fathoms

Chapter 3: A Gilded Cage

"Welcome to Atlantis."

I want to scream, but no sound leaves my throat. All I feel is burning pain as my body twists and ripples.

Changing. Morphing.

"You are in no danger, and your every need shall be met. Every need but one. We've injected you with a compound that is already altering your biological structure. It is a necessary safety measure to ensure you never leave."

My cells feel like they're ripping apart, my body burning. It makes every corner of my mind scream in panic, desperate to make it stop, make it stop, make it stop!

"For the rest of your lives, you will make Atlantis... your home."

I gasp as I sit up, my eyes flying open, my chest heaving as I frantically look around. I'm in a bedroom, with lights decorating the walls and ceiling, giving the room a soft, bluish hue. The room has the same brassy and pearl aesthetic of the Bellerophon. Soft sheets rub against my legs as I shift on the bed, and I see I'm no longer wearing my stoker uniform, but have been changed into a nightgown. It's plain, white, but it has the same sheen to it that the surfaces do, as if the fabric is to mimic the pearl that I see with every glance.

I run a hand through my hair, noticing it's soft, no longer rough from saltwater. I don't smell like salt either. I can only guess I was washed and dressed while I was unconscious.

Unconscious from whatever they injected me with.

I look down at my arm, and there's a small bandage covering the injection site. It doesn't hurt, and the pain that spread through my body is long gone, nothing but a dull ache that pulses through me to remind me of what happened. My hand reaches up to grasp my necklace, and for the second time today, I panic when I feel it isn't there. Scrambling out of bed, I look around the bedside table, the dresser, every piece of furniture in efforts to find it.

"Oh, no, no, no," I whisper, tears prickling my eyes. Out of everything that's happened today, this is the worst. I need that necklace! It's all I have left of Wesley! I can't be without it! Without it I'm alone.

My eyes fly to the metal door. It's an odd gray color, one I've never seen before, but I don't take time to study it. If my locket isn't in here, that must mean whoever put me in here took it. It could be the man that injected me with that compound. He was the last one near me when I slipped unconscious. He must have it.

I'll get out of this room, find my locket, and leave. Whatever was given to me may wear off or something. I'll figure it out later. Right now, all I care about is getting my locket back.

I grab at the door. It's a sliding one, but it doesn't budge as I grit my teeth and dig my bare feet into the cold, hard floor. My arms strain, and I let out a scream through clenched teeth as I pull with all my might. It doesn't budge a single inch.

"Come on!" I shout, my face growing hot as I heave. "Move already!"

It doesn't, and eventually I let go of the door, panting from the strain. With a cry of rage, I slam my hand against the door. "No!"

I grab at my head, panicked and frustrated and confused. I'm trapped in this room, I don't know where Jenny is, my locket is gone, and I don't know what the compound will do to me in the long run.

"Let me out!" I shout, hitting the door again and again. "I want out!"

This place wasn't even supposed to be real. Atlantis was supposed to be a myth, nothing to take seriously, and here I am, a prisoner, expected to never see the light of day again.

"Let me-"

The door slides open, and I shout when I see the man I saw earlier, with his black hair and glasses.