[Author Note]: Hi (;__;) I can't believe I'm doing this.
It was a bright, cold morning. The beginning of fall. The crunch of freshly fallen leaves and the subtle bump from the sidewalk's crevices made Atlas's bike-ride almost pleasant. Soon enough, he arrived outside of school. As he was crudely locking his bike in the nearest hoop, he failed to notice his friend's sneak attack.
"Jesus Christ. It's too early in the morning for this shit." Atlas jumped, dropping his bike's lock, and gave his friend a dirty look.
"Aaa~ but it gets you every time," Elis patted Atlas's back, "you should really learn to be a better sport."
"Yea, yea, yea," he said, picking up the dropped lock. After his second attempt, it became apparent that the lock was, in fact, broken. "Crap, see what you've done now? You totally ruined it."
"Yeah, that seems pretty broken to me," Brooke popped up from behind.
"Where did you come from?" Elis gasped. She laughed in reply.
"Taste of your own medicine." Atlas snickered, giving up on the bike and turning away. "It'll be fine. What're the odds it gets stolen if I leave it unlocked this *one* time?"
…*RING RING*
"Shit." Atlas said as they were exiting BigRock High's big double doors.
"Damn. Your bike got stolen?" Matthew said, gathering around the empty space that was Atlas's slot.
"Yeah. All because of this damn idiot," Altas shot Elis a glare.
Elis shrugged. "Sorry, man. Looks like your gonna have to walk home" He said, hopping on a bike of his own.
"Sorry, Atlas!" Brooke called, walking off with Matthew. Stopping, she said "I'd say you should join us on the bus, but you don't have any cash on you, right?"
"I'll be fine," Atlas huffed.
Behind the trees, at the base of the cascade of rocks, the ocean was beautiful. The soft crashing of waves, far below, against the shore were almost meditative. Atlas looked up, a darker sky partially hidden by even darker trees, casted a peaceful shadow on the pavement underneath.
*Walking back home wouldn't be so bad if Dad's house wasn't so damn far* Atlas thought, burring his hands deeper inside his jacket pockets. He hadn't had noticed it before, but it was definitely colder than usual. *Ugh. He's probably worried I'm not home yet. So not ready to tell him my bike got stolen.*
A half an hour later he decided to take a break, stopping by the rock's edge.
"Almost home" Altas sighed, taking a seat on the grass.
His new home he had here in MarksWood felt strangely hollow with mom gone. Even though the stoney house had never known Mrs. Caddel's presence, the softness of Atlas's bed and the quiet murmurs of the old house at night mimicked her warmth. Which only reminded him of the lack-there-of.
As the sun was setting, he gazed into the sea below. And wondered, not for time, what falling into the vast, dark abyss would mean for him.
"It really is fall," Atlas shivered, cold from sitting still too long. Growing tired of his own angst and the growing winds, he sat up and begun to head home.
But a gleam of light caught his eye. Pausing and turning head, he caught it again. At the base of the steep hill, where the rocks met the sea, there was definitely something shiny.
Curiosity getting the better of him, coupled with wanting to postpone facing Dad's wraith, Atlas decided to check it out.
Slowly hoping from rock to rock, cautious as not to slip, the blue gleam come into view.
"Careful.." Atlas murmured, picking up the ring, "How did I see this thing from all the way up there?" Placing it on his finger, "Huh. Nice find." He said, continuing to inspect it.
Without warning, a giant wave slammed into the cliff.
"WOA-" Atlas was cut off, now submerged underwater, slamming him down onto the sharp edges of the rocks.
With his last bit of conciseness, Atlas could make out the growing glow of the ring's blue stone until he was completely bathed in blue light, white light, then nothing at all.
...….
Hours later, he woke up—face down in the sand.
*Sand?* he thought, immediately hit with a massive headache and a sting from the seawater, he recoiled from his attempt at sitting up. *How long have I been out?* he wondered, still groggy and half-remembering what'd happened.
Flipping over so that his face wasn't smothered by sand, he took a deep breath. Something felt off. He looked down.
"What the actual f***," He stated.
Half submerged by the incoming tide, his 'legs' had been replaced by a blue, scaly fish tail. Atlas responded by lifting his should-have-been legs slightly. He was even more shocked as the tail lifted in correspondence.
"This cannot be happening," he muttered, now poking at his scales, trying to peel one off, "*OUCH*".
Not sure where he was and obviously now unable to stand, he found himself clawing his way toward deeper water, dragging his stiff, foreign lower half behind him.
The moon was fully overhead now, and this sole source of light only slightly accented the dark silhouette of the forest. Teary and panicking, Atlas shook his head and submerged it underwater to calm himself. Instead of popping back up, he realized he could breathe underwater.
*What on earth* Atlas blinked as the once, dark abyssal depths had transformed into a stunning reef, bustling with a multitude of fish and other marine-life.
Still confused, in shock, and likely suffering from a concussion, he slowly drifted down to the ocean's floor. The cacophony of crashing wave crests from before had stilled into a muffled murmur, and the corals' vibrant colors and the sand's softness felt as inviting as any bed, so he rested his head, and was out like a light.
[CHAPTER 1: END]