Uncharted Waters

Chapter Ten

// Sorry for being MIA for a few weeks, but I am back! Enjoy this chapter as they get closer to Atlantis :D //

My eyes were heavy. The lines on the map were starting to blur, but I wasn't about to succumb to sleep. I had the captains notes beside his map and I had mine that I had written on the other side. 

I was trying to figure out the exact location of Atlantis, since we had all of the ingredients now. One of them including me. I wasn't too fond of that part. 

"Lee," Lars said, walking into the small cabin. 

I jumped at the sound of his voice. 

"You need to sleep, you've been up for hours," He grumbled, obviously tired himself. 

"I almost got it, just a few more minutes," I mumbled, not looking at him. 

I felt the captains presence behind me looming over my shoulder, "That doesn't make sense," Lars said. 

"I know, that's what I'm trying to figure out."

The coordinates from the notes were proper coordinates, they just didn't make sense on this map. When I tried to find the location, it was way off. 

"Wait," I said, "It's backwards!"

I wrote down the coordinates in reverse order and found the location, "We got it." 

Lars bent down to get a better look, "That's it, that's Atlantis. Good job, Lee." 

I smiled. Finally, we were so close. 

"We set sail tomorrow morning," Lars said. 

"Tomorrow morning? We need to go now!" 

The captains eyebrows creased, "Are you the captain?" 

"I get your point. I'm not allowed to have any say in anything, even though without my help we wouldn't of found the location of Atlantis," I said and started to walk out of the room.  

"Your right. You have proven yourself multiple times."

"Wait, what?" I said, turning on my heel, "Did you just agree with me?" 

"I'm just stating the obvious," Lars said.

"Well, thank you. I guess." 

"Were still not leaving tonight. The crew needs rest. We do too," Lars said. 

I nodded and left the room. As much as I wanted to find Atlantis at this very moment, my eyes were starting to droop again. Time for sleep. 

***

Slam. My body hit the wooden floor. I opened my eyes to see the crew hustling to get up to the deck. I heard a crash of thunder - we were in a storm. 

"Lee! Stay down here, it's too dangerous up there!" Michael said, grabbing my arm. 

"What's happening?" I asked. 

"The captain has new coordinates, but the path he is taking us seems like a suicide mission! He won't turn back," Michael grimaced. 

I pushed past Michael towards the stairs, "Lee!" He yelled. I didn't listen. 

"Lee!" Gabe said as he ran into me. I was running up the stairs, he was running down. Even in the stairwell the rain was beginning to soak through my clothes, "Get back down there!"

"Will everyone please stop telling me what to do!" I snapped, "I can help. There's got to be another way that won't get us killed." 

"Another way to Atlantis, right?" Gabe said.

I nodded.

"Lee," Gabe said and grabbed my arm tight, "No ship has ever sailed these waters, theres rocks and strong currents that can obliterate this boat in seconds. You guys need to give it up." 

My eyes flickered to his. He thought we were crazy for doing this. Maybe... we were. Did I really want to be responsible for killing us all? Was it worth it? 

I shook my head, not sure of anything at this point. Instead of attempting to gather my thoughts, I pushed past him and ran up to the deck. The moment I stepped foot on the deck I fell over from the boat hitting another wave. The rain was a thick sheet and the waves were huge. The lightning lit up the sky as the thunder continued to threaten us. 

I looked up to the wheel - there was Lars. His knuckles were white and he was soaked to the bone, but the look of determination was nothing like I'd ever seen before. 

"Lars," I yelled over the volume of the storm, "This is crazy!" 

I knew he heard me, but he chose to not acknowledge me.

"Lars!" I grabbed his shoulders, "Look at me!" 

He was startled by my aggressive touch but finally looked at me, "You don't think I know?" He yelled, removing my hands from him, "I know this is suicide, but we can't turn back. I can't turn back. I know it is selfish, but I rather die than be under my Father's control any longer." He blinked, as if realizing what he had admitted. 

I looked out to the sea again. My stomach twisted at the weather, "Where are we?" I yelled. 

"Were just past the halfway point. We are too far to turn around even if we wanted too. There should be some sort of cove or land where we can anchor."

I looked at the map, he was right. 

"If we are going to do this, we might as well go the fastest way. We need to take this route," I yelled and pointed to the map, tracing a route with my finger.

"Are you crazy?" Lars yelled. 

The route I had traced would get us there in half the time, but that meant going through rocky terrain.

"Were not going to last another day in this kind of storm! We'll be capsized soon and you know it!" I yelled.

His eyes held mine for a few moments. He knew I was right, I could see it. But he also had a tinge of regret in his eyes, as if he were regretting this whole journey. He was worried about his ship, his crew. I understood what he was feeling. I grabbed his arm, even though he naturally flinched away, "We can do this." 

He nodded, "You guide, I steer."