Lost (The Secret World Of Atlantis)

Chapter 2 - The Door To Another World

"Does she know?"

"I think she felt it, but I'm not sure ..."

"Are you telling her?"

"No way! She is better off without this burden ..."

I'm suddenly becoming aware of my surroundings. A soft noise can be heard in the background. It sounds like a car. I can hear the gears shifting.  There's a sour taste in my mouth and I must have been sitting somewhere for a long time, because my body feels stiff. My head is leaning on something. Or rather someone.

My eyes bolt open and I'm blinded by the light of day. I get up convulsively, looking to my left and I recognize Eros's black curls. I scream loudly, then grab the steering wheel making the car swerve dangerously. He hits the brakes hard and in that moment I fly forward like in slow motion. My whole life plays in front of my eyes and I already see myself breaking the windshield, when an arm pushes me back onto the seat. I pant heavily from shock.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Eros hisses angrily. I dare to look upon his face, not realizing what a mistake I'm making. His eyes are flashing furiously at me, but I can't look away, because I'm angry myself.

"Why did you kidnap me?! And where are you taking me?!" I yell at him. His eyes are still boring into mine. "I missed my history exam!" I gasp suddenly and he scoffs.

"I'm taking you home. And don't ever do this again. Did you hear me?" he speaks calmly, but his voice is ice cold. I gulp, not daring to say anything else. He's taking me home? How can he be taking me home? But I don't speak up. As I realize he's still shooting daggers at me, I just nod sheepishly and he drives off.

I look to my right, where a blonde short haired girl is sitting and smiling at me. Her features look extremely familiar and after seeing the icy blue colour of her eyes, I put two and two together. She must be related to him. "Hi, Arya, it's nice to finally speak to you. I'm Elena," she greets me. Oh, so that's Elena. I can't help but breathe out a sigh of relief.

"Hi ... Are you guys related?" I blurt out and she glances at him, still smiling. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be intrusive," I apologize, but she just shakes her head.

"Nonsense, you weren't. And you have a good eye, I'm his sister," she explains to me. I nod, when suddenly I notice another car approaching us from the back. It's odd, because we are alone on a country road in the middle of nowhere and that car is speeding up to us. Elena notices I'm distracted and glances into the side mirror. "How did they find us?" she murmurs, while reaching into the back of the car and unbuckling her seat belt. Who found us? I glance between the brother and sister. They both look worried and I don't like that one bit.

"Into the tires. Don't miss," Eros says and slows down a bit. What is he doing? Whoever is hunting us is going to catch up! Suddenly I notice Elena holding a bow and an arrow. I stare at her in confusion, while she opens the window.

"Sit on my legs," she orders me. I must do what now? As she climbs outside with her back down, I realize what she wants me to do, so I lift myself up and lean on her feet. I turn around, the car is closing in on us! She arches her back, drawing the bow. I can see the focus on her face as she aims and releases.

I can hear the screeching of tires as the arrow hits one of them and I look back just in time to see the car swerving left and right. Elena pulls herself back into the cabin cheerfully and Eros speeds up. I scoot back to my seat and watch the car getting more and more distant, until it completely disappears out of sight.

"See, brother? I never miss," Elena says, clearly content with her shot. "But I'm getting worried. This was the fourth group in one day. We don't usually get that much attention. Are we missing something?" I just stare at her open-mouthed. She already got rid of four cars like this? While I was sleeping at her side? And why does she have a bow? Couldn't she just use a gun or something? This is the modern world after all.

"They know we have her," he answers simply. I look at them, back and forth. Who knows they have me?

"Can you please let me go? This isn't funny anymore. I don't want any psycho chasing me because of you," I retort. They both keep their mouths firmly shut. My blood begins to boil. What the hell is wrong with them? "I will get to the police and when I do, the first thing I'm going to tell them is that you're a minor, driving without a licence," I bark at Eros and lean back, crossing my arms. He bursts into laughter together with his sister. Those two are mental.

"So let me see, if I understood correctly ... You want to report me to the police not because I drugged and kidnapped you, but because I don't have a driver's licence?" He's right, that really doesn't make sense. I decide to keep quiet. I might be stuck in this car with him, but I don't need to speak to him. "Oh, you're giving me a cold shoulder? Did I piss you off, love?"

"Don't. Call. Me. Love," I snap at him and he laughs triumphantly.

"Brother, stop torturing the poor girl," Elena speaks up on my side and I look at her gratefully. She winks at me. I might like her, if she didn't help kidnap me.

"Party breaker. I just complimented her." I roll my eyes at him. So he's one of those goofy guys that thinks the whole world will throw themselves at him as soon as he smiles. Well, I did kind of fall for him instantly. But now that I know what he's capable of, he's officially off my datable list. Not that I would want to date him. As I said, he kidnapped me. Did he also melt my brain, or something? I feel like my thoughts just keep swirling around in the same circle, over and over again.

We keep driving for a while and I still have no idea, where we are. Hell, I don't even know which country we're in. Before I'm able to ask, we pull over on the edge of a forest. Eros turns off the engine and turns to me.

"I don't want any funny business, do you hear me? You're going to hold my hand like a good girl and walk by my side," he says. He stares at me intensely, making my mouth go dry.

"Why do I have to hold your hand?" I grunt unhappily. That's the last thing I want to do right now. But I have to admit he's smart. I have no chance of escaping while he's holding me. He smirks as if reading my mind.

"So you can't run away from me," he says quietly and grabs my hand. I don't even resist, because I know it's useless. He opens the door and steps out, all the while not letting go of me. I climb out after him and he closes the door. Only then Elena steps out and heads over to us.

They give each other a nod, that I can't understand and step a few feet away from the car. When they raise their hands towards it and two bolts of lightning shoot out of them, I gasp in shock. What is this sorcery? The car melts before my eyes and I start to move backwards. A moment of distraction is enough for me to slip my hand out of Eros's and without a second thought I begin running away.

You can imagine my surprise when he appears in front of me and grabs me. I begin fighting back. There's no way I'm going anywhere with him after I saw him melting down a car with his sister!

"Now you're just pissing me off," he grunts into my ear and half-carries me back to Elena. I start trembling in fear.

"A-Are you going to hurt me?" I stutter and the siblings exchange an odd look.

"We are rescuing you, Arya," Elena says, visibly confused. I just stare at her. Rescuing me from what? A history exam? "Now let's go before another group comes after us."

Eros finally lets me out of his embrace and grabs my hand. I feel scared of what they did back there. But I'm even more afraid to ask, how are they capable of melting a whole car down. Is this magic?

My mind suddenly clicks. A memory floods into me and I realize this isn't something new. I did something similar once under pressure. A long time ago I was being stoned by some children in the orphanage. The feeling of anxiety starts to grow in my chest as I remember how I stopped them.

I pant heavily, sweat starting to form on my forehead. I can't let my mind wander to that memory or I'm going to break down in front of Eros and Elena. If they are indeed saving me, I don't want to waste precious time and risk someone coming after us. Again.

The path starts to get steep and full of entangled roots. I try to keep up, but it's difficult. I'm not exactly an athlete, I'm a waitress. I start to get reckless and trip on a root. I already see myself flying forward, but Eros is there to grab me in time and steady me so I don't get hurt.

"Thanks," I mumble, ashamed that this even happened to me. He just smiles in return and squeezes my hand. We move forward and I can feel a blush creeping on my cheeks. Hell, what is going on with me? I've only known him for a few hours. I glance at our hands, still joined together. I don't want to tell him, but I would still follow them if he let me go. Why am I silent? I hate to admit it, but I might like holding his hand.

After a while, we reach an old arch in the middle of a clearing. I wonder why would anyone build it so deep in the forest and I get my answer soon.

Elena slowly approaches it, while Eros stops and we stand a few feet away, watching her. She puts her palms in front of her, directing them at the bottom of the arch. As they start to glow, she slowly raises them up, until she reaches the top. Suddenly a glowing blue whirl appears in the arch and I gasp. Eros squeezes my hand again, trying to reassure me.

"Let's go," he says and moves forward, but I don't. He sighs and turns back to me.

"Are we going through ... that?"  I mumble. His other hand squeezes my shoulder and he nods.

"Nothing is going to happen to you as long as I'm by your side. Always remember that," he says quietly. His words hit me right in the heart. But before I can reply, he already puts me over his shoulder and carries me towards the arch.

"You tricked me!" I scream, hitting him in the back.

"Sorry, love, there's no time." No matter how loud I scream or how hard I hit him, I know it doesn't help me. He puts me down in front of the arch, the light blinding me. "Don't be scared. I'm right here," he whispers into my ear, his breath tingling my neck. Then he pushes me in.

I feel like my insides are stretching, as I travel through the swirl. I don't know if my head is where it's supposed to be, or if it somehow slipped into my stomach. At one moment I'm starting to feel sick, but then as quick as it started, everything ends. I land on the ground, my hands brushing over the red dirt. I stand up, turning around to see Eros and Elena stepping through the arch with such poise, that I feel embarrassed.

Their facial expressions are completely carefree as they stare into something behind me. I turn around, smiling at the sight. Through the branches I spot an enormous ancient city, built on dozens of small islands, filled with streams and small waterfalls. I squeal excitedly, this is so much better than any history class I'd ever had!

Eros and Elena step to my side, smiling at my reaction. We stand there quietly for a few moments, taking in the breathtaking sight. Am I in a fairytale? Is this even real or did I fall asleep in class? I pinch myself, realizing that all this is actually real. As my imagination is running wild, Eros leans down to me.

"Welcome to Atlantis, Princess," he whispers into my ear.