“I guess one more swim won’t kill me,” Maddy said.
“Not if I can help it,” Hunt returned. Then he cautioned Maddy and Jayden, “Let’s stay out of the ferry line, and try to swim up away from all the people so we don’t get too many questions. Then we’ll try to blend in and figure out where we are.”
The weary trio of explorers ventured into the sea once more, this time not even knowing for certain what sea it was. The water was still warm, Hunt noticed, perhaps a touch cooler than it had been in Cuba. They waded in until they were waist deep and then began to swim toward the other island. Fortunately, the ocean was calm and currents were mild, enabling them to make relatively good time. At one point, Hunt felt a sharp stinging sensation on his calf. He lifted it out of the water to get a look at it and saw that it was covered in red, striped welts.
“Jellyfish!” he warned the others, but it was too late — they had wandered into a swarm of them. Treading water, Hunt looked around and saw hundreds of the clear, gelatinous forms drifting around. He knew there was nothing they could do but to keep swimming and hope that they would emerge from the swarm. Jayden sustained a sting also, but then they were in clear waters once more.
And closer to the island, too, Hunt noticed, hearing the ferry’s loudspeaker announcing that it was now time to board for the return trip to Key West.
Key West, Florida! Suddenly Hunt knew where they were. The brown brick building on the island — he could see now that it was built as a polygonal ring that bordered the entire island — was an old Civil War era fort, Fort Jefferson, which was located in islands about seventy miles south of Key West known as the Dry Tortugas.
“Welcome to the Dry Tortugas, guys! Let’s get to shore.”
“Sweet, we’re going to Key West! Duval Street pub crawl, here I come!” Jayden started to swim for the island with renewed vigor. Hunt and Maddy moved along after him, and once again, they settled into a rhythm.
The sound of the ferry’s loudspeaker with a crewmember announcing last boarding call reached Hunt’s ears as he, Jayden and Maddy trotted up onto the white sandy beach. They rejoiced in the feel of the hot sand beneath their feet. Dry land again!
“What do you say we try to get on that ferry,” Hunt suggested, but Jayden and Maddy were already walking up the beach toward the ferry dock. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” Hunt said, jogging across the sand to catch up with them. They walked on the beach until it ended at a grassy field where many tourists were enjoying a picnic lunch. The ferry began blasting its horn, a signal that it was leaving.
“Come on!” Hunt jogged across the grass until he reached the boarding pier, a wooden affair that jutted out into deep enough water to support the huge ferries that transported thousands of people per year to the national park in the Dry Tortugas.
“I forgot my wallet, so I hope they don’t ask us to buy a ticket,” Jayden said, slowing back to a walk as they got further onto the crowded pier.
“I’m thinking you buy your ticket in Key West and it’s round trip only,” Hunt said. “With any luck, they won’t even check for tickets since there’s only one way to get here.”
“But we know there’s more than one way to get here,” Maddy said with a sly smile.
The trio mingled in with the other stragglers who were also boarding the ferry at the last minute. Jayden held up a finger as if he had come up with a great idea. “If they ask, we’ll just tell them we came from Atlantis. They’ll think we’re a taco short of a combination plate and transport us to the mainland immediately for evaluation. Then we can break out of the loony bin…”
“This way, let’s go, right this way…” An employee was standing at the entrance to the gangway ramp that led onto the ferry, his hand on the clip of a rope barrier that he was about to barricade across a set of poles. “You three — you together?” he asked Hunt, Jayden and Maddy, who were all equally soaked, although this wasn’t out of place since it was a beach destination.
Hunt nodded, but froze, mind already spinning with what he would say. But the man waved them through. “You’re the last ones.” Hunt, Jayden and Maddy hurried through onto the gangway, and the employee clipped the rope off behind them. Then he signaled the ferry captain that all passengers were on board. The horn blasted again, the dock lines were cast off, and the triple decker boat rumbled away from the pier, packed with tourists.
“Looks like we have a beautiful ninety minute ride back,” the captain intoned over the PA system, so feel free to move about the ship and enjoy some food and cocktails. Next stop, Key West.”
“Either of you have any money?” Jayden asked Hunt and Maddy. “Wallet went down with the seaplane, I’m afraid.”
“Mine too,” lamented Maddy. “But believe me, I’m not complaining, considering how everything could have turned out.”
Jayden raised an eyebrow and then fished around in the pocket of his wet shorts. Then he held something up to Hunt, something that glinted silver in the sunlight.
“Maybe this silver ingot will buy us some food and drinks.” He smiled mischievously. Hunt shot him a questioning glance. “You know that’s not really ours, right?”
Jayden nodded slowly. “I know it, but I also feel like the people of Atlantis owe us a debt of gratitude for re-discovering their lost city and culture, and for the work we’re about to do of making sure it gets into the right hands to be enjoyed by everyone and not only rich private collectors. Are we on the same page now, Carter?”
Hunt was taken aback by the degree to which Jayden had read him. He could only nod and add, “If it was a coin, I’d be against it, because they’re too identifiable, but that’s just a hunk of silver, so if you can open a tab with it, more power to you. If not, I’ll have to make some calls when we get to Key West in order to get some funds my way.”
“We’ll be on the upper deck, enjoying the view,” Maddy said, taking Hunt by the hand and leading him up a short flight of stairs. But Jayden had already vanished through a door into the boat’s salon where the bar service was doing a brisk business.
A few minutes later, as Maddy and Hunt stood at the rail of the upper deck, watching the Dry Tortugas fade into the distance behind the ferry’s churning wake, Jayden walked up with a tray of drinks and food.
“How does a margarita along with a cheeseburger in paradise sound?”
Maddy’s smile was one of overwhelming thanks as she took both the food and the drink, along with a cup of ice water, while Hunt shook his head. “Given what you paid for it, it sounds like the most expensive meal I’ve ever had. Not that I’m complaining at this point, mind you. But leave it to you to trade a priceless artifact for some burgers.”
Jayden handed Hunt the tray while removing a burger and drink for himself. “Oh, I think we all know it has a price, all right. And we already paid it.”
Hunt looked out across the ocean toward the little island with the hidden Atlantean tunnel entrance, and raised his drink. They clinked glasses while the ferry chugged on toward Florida.
“To Atlantis.”
Epilogue
“And with that, ladies and gentlemen, please — enjoy our museum’s most spectacular exhibit to date — Atlantis Found!” The proud museum curator stepped down from a podium as a sea of flashbulbs exploded from a gaggle of media cameras. Behind him, an entire large hall beckoned with an astounding display of treasures, artifacts and antiquities that were meticulously arranged in various tamper-proof display cases. Interpretive signage and interactive modules informed visitors as to what they were looking at. Actual video of the sites Hunt, Jayden and Maddy had discovered played on massive plasma screens around the room.