The Quest for Zerzura

6

Atlantic Ocean, south of Bermuda

Colonel Dietrich Wulf stood on the deck around the conning tower and leaned on the railing, peering intently into the fog that hadn't been there moments before, trying to pick out the speck of land that he thought he'd spotted. Maybe his eyes had been deceiving him. Certainly, something had played tricks with the compass. What had seemed to be an island had lain due south when he'd first seen it. Now the compass showed a heading of north. And the sub was at a dead stop in the water, holding a steady position, until they solved this mystery.

It was no mystery how he came to be here in the first place. Dietrich Wulf knew very well what it was. Destiny.

He reflected on that ordeal, almost three years ago, that had led to this moment. If he hadn't fallen through that tile floor into the vile sewers of Shambhala, he never would have found that room on his climb back up, the one the others had missed. An ancient geography classroom, he'd thought of it, for the walls had been covered with maps of the ancient Shambhalan world. Fortunate too that two floors above he found the backpack left behind by Mary Matsushita, as her journal detailed a wealth of information about the things they had seen in this wonderous land, and even more importantly, had provided blank sheets of paper for him to copy the maps, showing Zerzura, the location of the Shambhala Book of Light, and especially of Atah Lahn, the elusive Atlantis, home of the ultimate weapon of Pandora.

Bringing back such information to the Fatherland had indeed enhanced his career and had put him in a very powerful position.

Getting home to Germany had not come easy, however. Finding that the Americans had stolen his plane during their escape, he was forced to take theirs, but only after spending several weeks making repairs, while the bitter Tibetan winter crept in to take hold of the land. The lake was frozen over almost a half mile out by the time the plane was ready to fly again. At least he didn't have to turn it around. He just took off across the ice.

The fog lifted and there it was again, not more than a mile ahead. Taking a closer look through the binoculars, he frowned. Nothing there but rocks and grasses. Too tiny to be the lost island of his quest. Not much more than a resting stop for seabirds. But, like an iceberg, perhaps there was more below the surface. That is why they were making this exploration by submarine, after all. The thought turned his momentary frown back into a smile as he turned and headed for the hatch. He hated being cooped up down below, hated the thought of little tin can submarines in general, but that was what was needed to bring home the prize.

Closing the hatch behind him, he thought of that compass. It may have gone crazy, but it had led him right here.

**********  Announcement! **********

Great news! I'm pleased to announce that The Quest for Zerzura has been published and is now available on Amazon, in both ebook and paperback formats. It's been a great work-in-progress run here on Wattpad, but the time eventually comes to let your story out into the big world. Thank all of you so much for your support, encouragement, kind words and feedback on The Quest for Zerzura, and on all my works posted here. I couldn't do it without you.