Laura is transported back in time to help an ancient race of people.

Chapter One



Laura broke the surface of the water seconds behind her diving partner. She quickly pulled her mouthpiece out and removed her mask. ıAre you all right?" she called, swimming over to the girl.

"I seem to be now," Angie replied.

"I didn't know what to think when I saw the distress signal, and you started for the surface. What happened?"

"I'm not sure. I suddenly got dizzy and thought I was going to pass out, and came up before it got any worse."

Laura helped her over to the side of the boat and grabbed a rung of the ladder. She lifted her friend on to the deck of the Bimini Queen, a twenty five foot boat they had hired for the day. "Yo, John," she called to the vessel's owner. "Give me a hand. Angie isn't feeling well. I don't think she should dive anymore today."

John clutched Angie under her arm for support and led her to a cushioned bench.

"I'm going back to retrieve our camera and strobe light," Laura said.

"Do you think it's wise to go down alone without a diving partner?" John asked helping Angie remove her gear.
Angie looked up at the portly captain. "Would you please go with her? You can use my equipment."

"Me go? Not on your life. I'm a person who would rather stay on top of the water. Never made a dive in my life and don't intend to now, thank you very much."

Laura adjusted her mask. "No problem. By the time you suit up, I could be down and back again."
Angie grabbed Laura's wrist. ıPlease be careful. Louis would have a fit if he knew you were doing this. He expects us to be lying on a beach somewhere getting a tan."

"Louis will never have to know." Laura said. She slid the mouthpiece between her teeth. With a thumbs up, she tumbled into the water. The blue green swells of the Caribbean closed over her as she descended to ten feet, then fifteen. On the way down, she observed fish pass in every direction like pedestrians on a busy downtown corner. Glancing upward, she gazed at the rays of sunlight penetrating down through the water. They were being absorbed into the darkness below.

Stopping to get used to the pressure, she looked down at the ring on her finger, and her thoughts went to Louis. He was the reason she had to get away from her everyday life for a while. He had asked her to marry him, and she had said "yes." But since their engagement, things had changed between them. Everything she did, it seemed, he criticized. When she put some blond streaks in her golden brown hair to give it some highlights, he told her she looked like a whore. It hurt her deeply, and there were other things that disturbed her. The way he dictated what she was to wear or how she should act. It was smothering her. She thought she loved him, but did she really? Wouldn't a woman want to change for the man she loved? His family had a lot of money and power and always treated her as though she weren't good enough for their son. Louis had accepted her for who she was, until they got engaged. Now he was treating her the same way as his parents. When she decided to get away for a while, Louis insisted that she bring his cousin Angie with her. The girl was nice enough, but it made her feel like a prisoner.

With a kick of her fins, she continued her descent. Everything looked blue or green at this depth, but it got darker the lower she went. This was the reason they needed the strobe light to take their pictures. Today was supposed to be a practice dive, because neither she nor Angie had experience in underwater photography. Tomorrow they planned to dive forty feet to take pictures of odd shaped rock formations further north. There were people who thought the long rectangular formations were from a vanished city, or the lost continent of Atlantis. Archaeologist estimated the formations to be some 5,000 years old. The story fascinated her, and she wanted to see for herself. Taking pictures of these undersea ruins would be exciting.

At the bottom she turned slowly searching for the spot where they had left the camera and strobe. Darkness became a problem, but she continued to make her way through the silt she was stirring up. Peering through her mask, she saw no sign of the equipment. She searched the area for a few minutes, then looked at her gauge and saw that she was getting low on air. With a strong push off the bottom, she shot toward the surface. Stopping to depressurize, she looked up to determine the position of the boat. A phosphorous green glow obscured her vision. Slowly she floated to the surface. The boat was gone. Treading water, she made a three hundred sixty degree turn, looking for it. The green, glowing mist enclosed her in a world that ended a few feet in front of her. Panic rose in her; she cried for help. The sound of her voice broke the eerie silence and lingered over the glassy smooth water. Where was the boat? Which direction was Bimini? If she knew that much, she would be able to start swimming.

"O.K., Laura, get a grip." she muttered under her breath. "If you panic, you won't be able to think straight." She took a deep breath and exhaled. "One step at a time. First I must shed some of this weight." With shaking fingers she fumbled with her buckles and finally loosened her cylinder. Shrugging out of it she watched it, and the attached mouthpiece, sink out of sight. Next, she pulled the mask down around her neck and discarded her fins. Now to inflate her life vest. Pulling the firing lever, nothing happened. She quickly pulled the lever right, then left. Still no air. Think. What had they told her in SCUBA diving classes? She searched her memory trying to recall the information she knew was there. Taking several deep breaths, her mind cleared. The inflator hose. She could blow the vest up manually. Such a simple solution, but her brain didn't seem to want to co operate right now. It took all the energy she could muster, to inflate it.

The life vest held her head above water and she floated in the silent green mist. It seemed as though she was always going from one mess to another. This one topped the charts. Thoughts of Louis entered her mind once more. She should have broken off with him on the spot when his anger went out of control and he almost hit her. The only thing she had done was to go riding with Marty, one of her girlfriends. When her horse picked up a stone and went lame, she walked it back to the stable and treated the stone bruise on its hoof. This made her late for her dinner date with Louis at the country club.
When she finally arrived, Louis accused her of being with another man. Glaring at her, his fist came up as if to strike her. At that moment a couple came by. Not bothering to explain herself, she turned around, and walked out. If she hadn't, she wasn't sure what would have happened.
He called the next morning to apologize. Angie had explained to him that Marty that was a girl, and he sounded sincere when he promised it would never happen again. Her mind was confused. What was she to do about their relationship? She decided to back off and think. Now that she was away from him, she knew it wouldn't work, and planned to give him back his ring when she returned.
If she returned.

A loud whistle followed by a splash snapped her back to reality. Her eyes scanned the mist. There it was, a dolphin circling around her as though it was checking her out. With clicking and chirping sounds, it leapt into the air and circled before disappearing out of sight. Suddenly she felt it brush up against her legs. It resurfaced to loll on his back on top of the water. They gazed at one another; there was no fear on either side. The dolphin rolled upright and Laura carefully reached out to rest her hand on his dorsal fin. He swam forward, slowly pulling her. Together they glided through the glassy water leaving a green trail behind them.

As they swam, the mist dissolved, exposing a brilliant blue sky. They were heading toward a shore that had no resemblance to Bimini. Shear cliffs jutted out of the sea to one side and a forest marched along the rim of the sandy beach. The dolphin came to a stop several yards off shore.

"Is this as far as you go?" she asked, as her hand slid from his fin. He bobbed up and down chirping and squealing. "Thank you," she said rubbing his head. "I hope we are able to meet again some day." Turning from her, he leaped high into the air, then disappeared below the surface with a loud splash.

It was a relief to feel the soft sand between her toes. Her legs were shaky under her. Exhausted, she pulled herself ashore. The sand made a warm bed under her body as she sank down. Heavy lids drooped over her eyes. "I'm safe." she murmured. Numbed by weariness, she fell into a deep sleep.