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The Gateway By Valragon Chapter 1 "I am the Alpha and the Omega. The first and the last. The beginning and the end. Seek and you shall find. Believe and you will know. Here I am. Can you hear me my child?" her voice echoed deep within my thoughts. "I hear you!" "I am you and you are me. You were lost but you found the way. You are home now. Reach out and be reborn. Together we are one. I am here. Can you feel me my child?" she called to me in my dream. "I feel you!" I yelled silently. "Open your eyes and embrace the truth. Awaken to reality and everything will be known. Wake up. Wake up!" Smack! "HEY! WAKE UP!" a familiar voice shouted in my ear as the side of my head throbbed from the impact. "You... don't have to hit so hard." I muddled in a groggy morning voice while rubbing the injury. "Ah it's not like there's anything important in there anyway." he chuckled. Standing over me, the assailant slowly came into focus. "You're such a dork Gaven." I snapped back, pushing him aside as I got out of bed. The dream suddenly flooded back to me, only bits and pieces but enough to forget the shirt in motion over my face. I remembered having a conversation but with who. It was a girl's voice but no one that I could put a face with. And the things she said seemed random and vague. Who was she? "You okay in there?" Gaven asked as I remembered the shirt still stuck over my face. "Yeah just remembering a strange dream I just had." "Why strange?" "I was talking to this girl who wanted me to find her or was trying to find me, hell I don't know." I explained as I finished getting dressed. "What did she say?" "I don't remember all of it, but the first thing was 'I am the Alpha and the Omega' um... 'The first and the last. The beginning and the end.'" "I've heard that before." he said with a puzzled look. "Where?" "I don't know but it sounds really familiar." "Ah, who cares. It was just a dream." I replied, losing interest in the latest installment of weird dreams that I had. "Yeah." "So what's the weather like out there." I asked while adjusting the collar of my blue over shirt in the mirror. "See for yourself." Gaven motioned to the hatch. A few turns and the hatch popped open, drenching me in sunlight. The late afternoon sun glared off the forest of poles and masts towering above me. It felt like morning even as the sun sank into the western skies. It's orange reflection shimmering across the blue horizon. Gaven was right, experiencing nature on the open ocean was a spectacle that words couldn't describe. It seemed too serene and perfect to be shrouded in mystery. But that's the way I always hoped it would be. It was the place I'd yearned from since I was in grade school. I could still remember sitting in that circle in my first grade classroom and hearing for the first time about the lost continent of Atlantis. Bam! I was hooked for life. That little children's story ignited an undying fire in me that's been burning with passion for twenty five years. When I heard that story for the first time, I knew my life had meaning. I knew what I was put here to do and I devoted my life to it. It was like my drug that helped me through good times and bad. It was always there for me to reassure me that all hope was never lost, just hidden. And damn it I was going to find it. I was obsessed with the lost city. I must of read every book on the subject twice. The aura of mystery and myth behind Atlantis captivated me. And I was determined to figure it out myself. Or along with two others. I was not the only one in that circle to be ensnared by the city that day. Next to me, sat Gaven and Sean, each as enchanted as I. They were my best friends. For years to come, it was the dream that bound us together. In school we were called 'hopelessly inseparable' by our teachers. Our conversations about Atlantis never ended, they believed that we would die, hand in hand, at the bottom of the ocean looking for it. In the end, that's exactly how we wanted it. The three of us graduated from UCLA with majors in marine biology, biochemistry, and mine in geology. We were a pretty well rounded crew out on the ocean. Mixed with our passion for Atlantis, we made for one all-star team of adventures. I was so proud to be out there with them, kind of unreal but satisfying. Thinking back on it all brought a huge smile to my face. We were living out our dream. An epic quest, beautiful location, and most importantly great friends. It was all too good to be true. "You know if you're going to have sudden stops all day, tell me now." Gaven barked from the bottom of the stairs. "Sorry, I was just taking everything in." "Well hurry up, we got work to do." he replied as we walked out on the deck. "Where are we now?" I asked, looking around for signs of the Greek coast. He shrugged, "I don't know. I was asleep too. Ask Sean." Through the wheelhouse window I could see the faint silhouette of Sean behind the wheel. Tap! Tap! I waved Sean through the side window. "What's up Alastor?" he greeted as I poked my head through open window. "Not much. Just wondering were we're off to this time." "Southern shelf." he pointed out the window. "I thought they wanted a northern sample." "I guess they changed their mind." he shrugged. "Typical." "Well they are paying for the whole thing." he replied. "Still..." "Well at least it almost over with." he consoled. "Yeah, I can't wait to get out on our own." "Think they'll let us keep the boat?" Sean said, clearly enjoying being her captain. "UCLA isn't going to just give us their three million dollar ship, but then again they may change their minds." I exclaimed mocking their noncommital nature. Gaven was at the window on the other side. "Hey Gaven! Guess what." I shouted. "What!?" "We're going to the Southern shelf!" I hollered back. "You're fucking kidding!" He yelled through the adjacent window. "Nope." "They are seriously getting on my fuckin' nerves. First they say 'collect from the Northern Slope' then after a four day trip they cancel it and tell us to go south. No! Fuck them!" he barked. "Well we're almost there anyway." Sean announced. "How could we be there already?" I asked. "I don't know but GPS puts us ten miles away." Sean explained. "Damn, we hauled ass." Gaven exclaimed with some relief. "I'll say." I said. "Let's get ready. Gaven load up Rover. Alastor take the wheel. I'll run Rover's system checks." Sean commanded. "Let's go!" he shouted with a clap. I took the shaking wheel and continued on coarse as they disappeared from sight. The boat was called the Airo but we called it home. She was the university's high tech research vessel given to us for our expedition. We had struggled to earn UCLA's trust over the years and recently they gave in. They agreed to sponsor our research and funded everything we needed. We were very gracious for the help but it came at a cost. Once they took us under their wing, we effectively became their slaves. We were given daily instructions and forced to reply with meticulous progress updates. Our main objective was to collect enough samples from different locations in order to triangulate an exact dive site. It looked flawless on paper but in reality it was extremely time consuming and even more frustrating. We had been running around the Aegean Sea for months sending back countless samples to the labs. The worst was over and they promised this location was last one until we were 'free'. I kept my hopes up but they knew as well as we did that they could do whatever they wanted. I tried not to think about. "Can you hear me?" a voice echoed in my head. "What the hell!" I shouted, looking around. "Can you feel me?" the voice whispered. "What! Who are you?" I yelled in every direction. "I'm here." her voice faded. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The GPS device vibrated on the ledge nearly giving me a heart attack. I stopped the engine. The rumble under my feet died as I listened for the voice. "Um Hello..." I called out. "Hi." "AHHAHA!" "Who were you talking to?" Gaven asked from the window. "Holy crap! You scared the shit out of me!" I exclaimed panting as my heart beat out of my chest. "Sorry dude. Heard you talkin' to someone" "Just myself." I said with a deep breath. "This the spot?" I held the device in front of his face. "Yup." I said killing the alarm. "Then let's get this over with" he said anxiously. "The sooner the better." "Okay guys! We got Rover standing by." Sean announced emerging from the hatch, "He's locked, loaded and ready to dive." "How many samples can we get in one dive?" I asked. "It's only got room for two." "Which two?" I replied. "Core and floor." answered Sean. "And there's no way to get the water one too?" Gaven inquired impatiently. "Not unless one of you wants to swim to the bottom." Sean retorted sarcastically. "Two trips again! It's going to take all day." "Dude just be patient. We're almost done with them." I yelped. "I'm just tired of doing everything the university's says." Gaven exclaimed, "Drop sonar, check the water, collect samples from six billion locations. Screw them!" "I know. Me too." I consoled, "and after today, we don't have to deal with them anymore." "Good. Let's just get this over with" "Alright, let's get her down there." Sean shouted. At the back of the boat, our little blue robot dangled out over the water between two giant steel arms. 'Rover' as we called it was our remote control sub. He explored the places we couldn't reach and brought back things we couldn't touch. He was our eyes and hands in the deep ocean. We carefully lowered him into the crystal clear water and detached his leash. Sean and I piloted Rover from a dark room in the bowels of the ship. While Gaven stayed on deck, feeding Rover's lifeline into the water as he disappeared beneath the boat. Sean and I sat in the musty control room, surround by monitors and buttons. With every passing minute, room grew darker. At three hundred feet, light ceased to penetrate the growing depths. "Lights!" Sean ordered. I flipped on Rover's head lights. Thousand of objects floated through the beams, each one racing past the camera. It was like another world down there. A perfect hiding place for anything and everything. I could just imagine all the things we could learn if we could explore every inch of the shadowy world. I was convinced that finding Atlantis would the first step in major ocean exploration. Maybe then they would take it seriously. I just wanted people to be able to feel the way I did about Atlantis. "Almost there." Sean announced gesturing to the deep gauge. 2450 feet. "It's pretty deep here." "Yeah, this is the top of Poseidon's Waterfall." I commented. "Huh?" "It's where the Aegean Sea floor sheers off and drops another three thousand feet into the Mediterranean Sea." I explained. "Oh." "In my opinion, this the ancient fault line that sunk Atlantis." I added. "That would explain the layer of underwater ash we've been finding around here." "Yeah but something doesn't feel right." I said as the depth meter continued to climb. "The Waterfall is only about 2500 down." "And?" "Well, we should be able to see the bottom." I explained, watching Rover's lights penetrate the darkness. 2475 feet. "Are you sure?" Sean asked. "A hundred percent." "So what do you want me to do?" 2490 feet. "Just take it slo....." Suddenly the screen went blank. "Ahhh!" Splash! Screams echoed through the cabin. "Gaven!" we yelled in unison. Sean leaped from his seat and raced outside, I wasn't far behind. "Damn It!" Gaven yelped from the water. I dashed to the railing to find Gaven paddling back to the boat. "What the hell did you do!?" he shouted as we plucked him from the water. "What are you talkin' about, I didn't do anything!" Sean retorted. "Then who jerked me off the boat!" he snapped back. "Jerked! How the hell could you be jerked off the boat!" Sean refuted. "I... I don't know but somethin' yanked the line and threw me in." Gaven uncertainly justified. "Well it wasn't me. Rover doesn't have that kind of power." Sean defended. "Look, it doesn't matter who did it." I interrupted, "Let's just get the sub up here and make sure we didn't break the university's stuff, Okay?" Gaven plopped down in the puddle of seawater trying to catch his breath. "Fine." Sean blurted, storming off below deck. "You gonna be okay?" I asked, sliding down next to Gaven. "Yeah, just a little shaken that's all." he explained. "Even if Sean did it, I'm sure it was on accident." "Maybe." he pouted wringing out his shirt. "Hey, at least you got to cool off." I joked, "it's hotter than seven hells out here." He snickered. "Come on, let's go inside." We hadn't taken more than five steps when Sean shouted from below. "SHIT! Guys, Rover isn't responding." "Crap!" I mumbled as we ran below deck. "What's wrong!?" I spouted huddling around Sean and the controls. "I don't know. Everything seems to be working but the sub won't move an inch." Sean explained, tapping on Rover's status screen. It registered every command he tried but the depth gauge was stuck at 2500 feet. Our only conclusion was that we had crashed, breaking the camera and damaging the propellers. I wasn't too worried, Rover hadn't been traveling fast enough to cause any serious damage. So I had plan. "Okay! We're gonna to have to drag it up by the power cables." I explained. "It's our only option left." Sean reluctantly agreed. We raced back on deck and filled Gaven in on the plan. The thick line was strung tightly across the deck. The three of us slowly began to reel it in. "How much does this thing weigh!?" Gaven grunted as we struggled with the line. We heaved with all our strength until the line weight suddenly lightened. We all fell down. "Did it snap?" Gaven asked. "No, the cords inside the tube haven't moved." Sean answered. "What does that mean?" I replied. "It means the R.O.V. is still attached." Sean assured us. We pulled for what seemed like eternity when finally the robot smacked against the bottom of the boat. "Okay, bring her up slowly!" Sean shouted, standing over the edge of the boat. We cautiously drew the line back until the sub emerged from the water. We maneuvered the robot over the rail and set it down on the deck. "Oh thank God." Sean sighed as he got a closer look. The steel cage was untouched, no sign of a crash. The robot itself was undamaged, not a scratch. "Check this out!" I said pointing to the camera. "The light is on. The video died but the shield hasn't even been cracked. I bet if we go down and look at the monitor, it will be working again." I continued. "Let's see" Sean said as we made our way below deck. "There! It's working!" I exclaimed, being the first one in the room. On the screen was a crystal clear shot of the deck above. "I don't get it. What happened?" Sean mummbled. "No clue." "Hey! Look at that!" Sean screeched, pointing to the instrument next to the depth gauge. "It collected the samples!" he yelped as the 'Samples' light blinked. "What the hell is going on?" I asked rhetorically. Sean ran up on deck and unloaded the sample compartment from the sub. He carried two long pipes over to the table and carefully opened them. "Anything good!" I asked as we met Sean at the table. "Let's see" Sean said as he poured the contents of the sea floor sample into a small plastic container. "It's impossible." he said as pure white sand fell into the tub. "What?" Gaven asked, peering over his shoulder. Sean shook his head in disbelief and said, "Look, It's dry." "How could it be dry!?" Gaven shouted in confusion. "I don't know!" Sean snapped. "Check the core sample" I insisted, trying to stay calm. Sean opened the other pipe and poured it into a larger tub. Chucks of rock hard clay dropped into the container, shattering on impact. "Same thing!" he announced. "Okay let's just calm down. No questions are going to be answered if we're freakin' out" I spouted. "Answers! How can you answer that?" Sean yelped as he grabbed a hand full of sand that disappeared in the breeze. "Maybe there was an air bubble down there" I said, racking my brain for an answer. "No, the sub would have broken the water tension, plus an air bubble couldn't dry out sand." Sean rebuked. "I've got an idea!" Gaven announced. "Why don't we get a big sample and see if we get the same result." he explained. "Yeah, we can use the salvage arm to take the two thousand gallon drum down." Sean added. "Let's do it." I agreed. We rigged the giant four pronged clamp around the tube and through it overboard. The hideous sound of the huge chain spinning off the winch's reel rattled the boat as the tube plummeted the to sea floor. Sean glanced at the tube's control box when the chain finally stopped. "Okay its collecting now." he said as a green light flashed on the box. Suddenly the light turned solid. "Okay, bring it up." he ordered. Gaven reversed the winch. Link by link, the chain was reeled in. Ten grueling minutes passed before a mass of steel and bubbles emerged on the surface. We raised the tube over the tube over the rail and left it dangling over the deck. With a push of a button the tube cracked open. Again dry sand poured into a mound under the hanging tube. "This is unbelievable." Sean said as the pouring sand blew away in the wind. "There has to be some explanation for this." Gaven stated. "You know what we have to do." I said. "Oh no! There is no way I'm getting in that steel ball of death." Sean snapped. "We have to see for ourselves." I explained. "Fine then you go." "I will." I exclaimed. "Hey! What was that?" Gaven shouted. "What was what?" I asked. "Something fell in the sand." He stumbled into the sand. "Little help." The three of us burrowed our way through the mound of sand. "Got it!" I shouted. "No that's my hand!" Gaven retorted. "Oh." "Wait..." Sean said with his cheek to the sand. "Think I got it." "Pull it out." I exclaimed. Finally a white object poked out of the sand. "Ahhh!" Sean screamed as object slid across the deck. "What is it?" Gaven asked. I went to retrieve it. "Whoa! That would be someone's forearm." "Eww..." Gaven exclaimed. At my feet were the bones from a human arm with a thin bracelet still on the wrist. "Looks like someone died down there." Gaven said, bending down for a closer look. "Someone important too." I stated, pointing at the bracelet. The bracelet was in mint condition too like it had been forged that day. It had several thin rods that were intertwined for the shape. Most appealing of all were the different color spheres at random intervals around it. Some were green, some red, a couple orange and one blue. Seven orbs in all. "Ever seen anything like that before?" I asked the two standing over my shoulder. "Not me." Gaven said. "Nope." Sean replied. It was brilliant craftsmanship. An awe-inspiring artifact that shimmered in the setting sun. "Magnificent!" I shouted. I carefully took the bracelet off the hand and held it against the sunlight. "It must be thousands of years old." I proposed. "Looks genuine too." Gaven assured. I slid the bracelet over hand to my wrist. "Hey look it fits too." "Turn this way Al, the glare is right in my eye." Gaven said as he reached out and adjusted my arm. I glanced behind me. "Dude, the sun is behind me." "Uhhh guys, it's not the sun, I think that stone is glowing." Sean said, squinting at the growing intensity of the blue stone. The blue stone illuminated the darkness of my shadow. The light continued to grow around me when it became too painful to watch. I feared going blind and shut my eyes. I felt dizzy and lost equilibrium. I didn't know if I was falling or standing. The overwhelming light engulfed the boat. Everything turned black and I collapsed on the ground. Chapter 2 The lifeless boat was bobbing up and down in the ocean when I woke up. I couldn't open my eyes at first, still stunned by the blinding light. It was like waking up from an eternal sleep. Every bone in my body ached and my muscles cramped from atrophy. It felt like we had been out for days but the sun hadn't moved. I wiped the tears from my squinting eyes when the bracelet grazed the side of my face. The hazy image of the seven stones in front of my face alarmed me. Although it was faint, I could see that the blue stone was barely glowing. Slowly, the haze cleared and my senses came back with shocking news. Across my forehead, I could feel the delicate dance of silky hair fluttering in the wind. Strand after strand of blonde hair floated into sight, waving gently in the air. I lured the golden locks into my hands only to find that they weren't mine. Amidst the hair, snow white fingertips atop plush nails graced the ends of five flawless fingers. Unblemished skin swirled around my hands and engulfed my body. I released the shimmering strand into the breeze as it soared up over my head. Light pricks from my lashes swept under my brow as I watched the strand fly away. My body was tingling from the sensual feelings in my face alone. I didn't know if I was in shock or ecstasy. A cross-eyed glance of my nose exposed the satin mask I was wearing. My tongue saturated every inch of my voluptuous lips, protruding from a narrow jaw. My hands joined the experience, covering my face for a widespread sensation. They slipped down over my neck finding no trace of an Adam's apple. My conclusion was immediate. I tried to speak but only whimpers came out. Yet with every deep breath I took, I could hear my voice resonating inside. My hands slid further down and over two firm protrusions from my chest. Down my T-shirt, I saw two provocative breasts staring back at me like one-eyed softballs. Between the breasts I could see my belly button sitting like a whirlpool in an unwavering sea of feminine flesh. When I stood up my curious hands wondered their way around my curvaceous waist finding a beautifully sculpted posterior. My baggy khaki pants sagged down to the floor revealing the long curvy legs hidden inside. I took a few steps in them, immediately realizing the loss of flesh in my underwear. I took a few more steps, trying to get my equilibrium back when I heard a soft voice. "Who...who are you?" the gentle voice asked. I turned to see a girl in Gaven's clothes waking up next to the one in Sean's. "I... It... It's... me." I uttered in a sensual voice. "Alastor." "You're not...Alastor." she said, squinting like I had. "Why can't... I open my eyes." she asked. "Ummm, I think it's because you've never used them before." I replied, realizing why I was sore and blind. "Ohhhhhh..." moans came from Sean's clothes. "At least you two are alive." I said with a sigh of relief. "You never... told me who you..." Gaven trailed off when he made the same bodily discovery. "What the FUCK!" Gaven yelled, pulling his long brown hair out in front of him. "What the hell happened!?" he screeched while looking and feeling around his new body. "Who... Who are you guys?" Sean mumbled as he too began to wake up. "It's us Sean, just believe me." I explained. "Not any fuckin' more we're not!" Gaven shouted from under his shirt. "Just stay calm." I told them. "Ahhhhhhhhh!" Sean's high pitched screams rang in my head like thunder. The winds picked up and a strong gust knocked me to the ground. "Ahhhhhhh!" he continued to scream as giant swells started to viciously pitch the boat. We were being tossed around like rag dolls in the sudden storm. I fought my way to Sean and cover his mouth. "Calm down! Calm down! It's gonna be okay!" I yelled in his ear as lightning struck around the boat. He was still panicking and screaming under my hand. Smack! I hit him across the face. "You're gonna die if you keep freakin' out!" I yelled as the storm subsided. The dark clouds faded and the sun came back out. I looked around as the swells shrank and the sea was calm again. Sean was pinned against the wheelhouse wall, trembling in fear. "What the fuck was that!" Gaven shouted, looking up at the sky. "Hey, listen you're gonna be..." I started when Sean's eyes rolled back and he collapsed. I caught him before he hit the ground. His lips were trembling, his body was twitching. "Shit! He's going into shock!" Gaven yelled as we laid Sean on his back. "CPR?" I asked as seconds ticked by. "Yeah, you do that! I'll call for help." Gaven hollered, running into the wheelhouse. 'One, two, three. Breathe' I repeated in my head as I gave mouth to mouth. I continued five or six times with no response. "Come on!" I screamed as I put all my effort into saving my friend. I pumped again 'one, two...' when suddenly a light flashed under my folded hands. "Ahhhhh!" Sean roared, gasping for air. Cough! Cough! "You're okay?" A few deep breaths and Sean was back. "You're okay!" I cheered as he sat up. He nodded his head, swinging his blonde hair back and forth. "He's okay Gaven!" I shouted. "Well they're on their way already." he explain, pointing to sky, "they'll be here in like five minutes." "Alright!" "Good work, you saved him". Gaven congratulated. "Thanks, but it was weird cuz' when I was doing it, this light like flashed under my hands." I explained. "Probably a spark." Gaven shrugged. "Maybe." I reluctantly agreed. Sean was sitting on the deck taking deep breaths, trying to stay calm. "I think you are just happy you got to touch a girl's boob." Gaven snickered. "Not now Gaven, this isn't the time for jokes." I snapped. "Could we not talk about female body parts right now, especially mine. God!" Sean barked back. We could hear the thumping helicopter in the distance growing louder. "There they are!" Gaven pointed as a little black dot moved toward us. "Remember, we're girls now, so act like it." Gaven yelled as the helicopter hovered over us A man in a basket came sliding down and landed on deck. "Which one is hurt!" he screamed in my ear. I pointed to Sean. He helped Sean into the basket and hoisted him up. "Anyone else!" he yelled. We shook our heads. "One of you should go with her." he shouted in our ears. We silently agreed that I would go and that Gaven would stay. The rescuer helped me into the basket and sent me up. Gaven and the man exchanged a few words before the man got in the basket and we headed off. Inside the helicopter was too noisy to talk but I could tell that it was hitting Sean pretty hard. He sat rubbing his temples like he had a bad headache. The rescuer sat next to me. "We're heading to St. Catherine's Hospital." He shouted in my ear. "Your friend will meet you there." I nodded. "Could you tell me what happened?" he asked. "Uhh, a freak storm hit us and she lost it." I slyly made up. "They are just going to see if everything's okay with her." he hollered back. I gave a thumbs up. I gave Sean a little nuggie trying to cheer him up. We flew for about six minutes before we finally touched down on the roof of the hospital. I helped Sean out onto the landing pad where we were met by two nurses. "Are you okay?" the nurse asked Sean. He nodded. The questions faded away as they whisked him off for tests. The helicopter took off again flying out over the city. The sun was setting over the ocean illuminating the city with its bright orange glow. We had been taken to the great city of Athens, capitol of Greece. Our expedition had taken us to the Aegean Sea, one of two places the lost civilization of Atlantis could have been. The other was out in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, supposedly below the islands of Azros. According to that theory, Atlantis was the home of the sea god Poseidon. Years of research convinced us that Atlantis was more than likely the destroyed civilization of the Minoans. Nevertheless, it still held great mysteries and had yet to be found. Funded by the university, we were given a research boat to help in the process. A process that somehow went horrible wrong. It boggles my mind to even consider an explanation for what happened to us. There were just too many factors to account for and each one contradicted the one before. The more I thought about it, the worse my growing headache became. "Excuse me miss." a deep voice said, tapping me on my shoulder. "Yes?" "Hi, I'm Dr. Thompson." he announced. "Nicole said I could find you here." "Nicole?" I whispered under my breath. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you know she gonna be just fine." he explained with a comforting smile. "Thank you doctor." "No problem." he said "You know it's odd that someone as healthy as she is, would go into cardiac arrest like that." "Really?" "Yeah, and not only that but the fact that she recovered as fast as she did." he said. "Guess it wasn't as bad as we thought." I replied. "Right... well in any case, you saved her life." he announced. "She lucky to have a friend like you around." "Just lookin' out for my.... girls." I said hesitantly, thinking how awkward it sounded. "She'll be down in room 904 when you're ready." he said as he went back inside. "Nicole?" I repeated to myself, riding the elevator down to the ninth floor. I must have looked like the craziest person in the world walking down that hall. Wearing men's dirty clothes, wild wind blown hair, and talking to myself. 903, 904, 905 I read as I walked by each door. Knock! Knock! "Come in." Sean shouted through the door. "Nicole!?" I exclaimed as I shut the door behind me. "What's wrong with 'Nicole'?" "Nothing it's just that..." "I had to tell them something!" Nicole snapped back. "Why not something like 'Jennifer' or 'Victoria'?" "Well it's too late now." she said holding up her hospital band. "Nicole Minor!" I shouted. "You've got to be kidding me!" "It just came to me." she explained. "What! When you were mining coal as a fourteen year old?" We both busted out laughing. "No... I just said Cole and thought miner. I kinda came out together." We laughed so hard we were wiping tears from our eyes. "Well 'Nicole'," I emphasized "it's nice to meet you." "You're so gay." she said shaking her head. "Which brings up another point we have to consider." I said. "Dude! Lesbian all the way." she exclaimed with a excited look in her eye. "Me too." I said shuttering at the thought of being with men. I sat bedside in my huge clothes thinking how ridiculous I must look to her. At least she had a white dress shirt and slacks on. "We have to get some new clothes too!" I said showing how big my clothes were on me. "Yeah, I got some weird looks on the way in too." We nodded and shared an awkward silence for a moment. "So you gonna be okay with this?" I asked, trying to sound serious after the jokes. "What? The whole 'girl' thing." she replied with quotation fingers. I nodded. "Yeah... it's just a lot to get used to." she explained. I agreed. "But what bothers me is that we have no idea what caused it or how to fix it." she said. A flashback of the bright light echoed in my head as I rubbed the stones of the bracelet. I snapped out of it. "We'll find some answers." We shared another awkward silence. "Where's Kyle?" Nicole asked. "I don't know. They said that he would meet us here." "Oh." My loose blonde curls swept across my face. "I'm going to take a shower, okay." I said, trying to untangle the curls. "Have fun!" Nicole said with a wink. I shook my head, blowing off the comment. I hurried into the bathroom and locked the door behind me. Click! The lights slowly flickered on. The cramped bathroom was minimal at best. Stand up shower, toilet, sink and mirror. I froze with my back against the door realizing I had yet to see what I really looked like. It was an experience no one has ever had with the exception of blind people of course. To see yourself for the first time as an adult was bound to be a unique experience. I closed my eyes, tore off my clothes, took a deep breath and slowly turned to the mirror. I slowly opened my eyes. "HO... LY Shit!" I thought. There I was, butt naked and speechless. I could have been the poster child for beauty itself. I had never seen anything as radiant the girl staring back at me. She had the face of an angel and the body of a god. A halo of loose blonde curls drifted down her back, swaying side to side every time she explored a new part of her body. Her bangs fluttered as she followed every stroke that caressed her skin. A cascade of golden locks toppled over her shoulders as she bent down and ran her hands up her legs, around her hips, over her breasts and through her hair. This narcissistic girl was a breathtaking phenomenon and I could make her do anything I wanted. And I wanted her in the shower. A few quick twists and water rained from the wall. I gasped as the first drops of hot water ran down my body. Nothing could compare to the sexual revelation I had in the shower. Everything that touched my skin sent mind numbing chill up my spine. It was five minutes of pure ecstacy and I wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world. Knock! Knock! Knock! "Hey Tinkerbell!" Kyle's soft voice blurted from outside "when you're done exploring NeverNever land, the lost boys would like to talk to you." I turned the shower off. Drying off and getting dressed wasn't nearly as much fun as taking it off but it was a satisfying experience nonetheless. "You called, mother." I said sarcastically as my hair soaked the collar of my shirt. "Listen guys, we've got bigger issues to worry about other than our physical state." Kyle preached. "Like?" Nicole questioned. "Like where we're gonna stay, what we're gonna do, money, clothes, identities, alibis and the list goes on." he explained. "Well our friend Sean here already has a name, don't ya." I said smirking and pointing to the name band. "Nicole Minor." she said holding up her wrist for Kyle to see. He shook his head. "You're retarded." he said seriously, "Anyway..." I cut him off laughing. "Oh, and I'm sure yours is any better." he snapped. "I haven't thought of one yet." I said. "Well you better come up with one fast before people start asking questions." he demanded. "I'll think of something." "Pick one by the time I come back." he said. "Where are you going?" Nicole asked. "I'm going to sign you out so we can get out of here." he said as he left the room. "What are you thinking?" Nicole asked. "Just running names through my head." I responded. "I'll help." she said, "Ashley, Becky, umm Carmen, Debbie ummm..." "Laura!" I exclaimed. "Eww that's a good one." "Laura... Laura... umm Heartly, Laura Heartly." I said, racking my brain for a last name. "Very nice." she said. "Laura Heartly." I repeated, trying to get used to the sound of it. We sat back and relaxed for a few minutes. "Damn, what a day." I said thinking about the days events. "Yeah, kinda crazy." she replied. "Okay! We're outta here!" Kyle announced as he bust through the door. "But first, names." he said pointing at Nicole. "Nicole Minor." she said. Then pointing to me. "Laura Heartly." I said. "Good one." Kyle said, "Now let's go" "Whoa! What about you?" I asked. "Oh, I'm Sara Abenson, charmed I'm sure." she said with a wink. "Right... led the way little miss prissy." I said gesturing for the door. The three of us left and road down in the elevator. "The boat is down at pier 14." Sara said. "Is that where we are going?" Nicole asked. "No, I brought all our bags with me." Sara replied. "Then where are they?" I asked. "Down in the cab." she said. "You left some cab down there just waiting around for you." I said. "He said he would be 'honored' to wait for me to get back." she explained. "Really!" I said knowing that the guy must have been waiting for like 15 minutes. She shrugged. We left the hospital and went out to the waiting cab. "Welcome back Miss Abenson." the man said. "Where I take you and you gorgeous friend to." he asked in choppy English. "We need to go shopping." Sara told the cab driver. "I take you to Gracia St., you find good shops there." the man said in a thick Greek accent. We took off down the hill and rode to the center of town. We pulled up next to a classy shop and Sara paid the guy. "I thought you said we needed money?" I said. "Well I still have some money on my credit card." Sara said. "Mine are all maxed out." Nicole added. "Then I guess we're okay for a while." I said. We went in the shop while the cab waited outside. We walked aimlessly through the racks and racks of clothes. None of us really knew what we were looking for but end finding some interesting things. "This should be fun." Sara said as we all converged at the fitting rooms. Each one of us had piles of things to try on. "What the hell is this?" Sara said picking up a string off of Nicole's pile. "I think it's underwear." I said tilting my head to the side. "Looks more like floss." Sara said as Nicole snatched it out of her hands. "It's a thong." she said. "Boy does it look comfortable." Sara snickered. "I'll let you know." Nicole said disappearing into a room. We each went into the rooms and tried stuff on. "Now that feels weird." Nicole announced from the other side of the wall. "What the floss?" Sara asked. "Yeah, its riding up my butt." she said. "Lovely mental picture." I said. Thinking about it, it actually was a nice mental picture. Nicole turned out to be a stunning beauty just like Sara and I had. Yet she was still my friend and a guy on the inside. I shook the image out of my head. "Perfect!" Sara exclaimed, "At least this body fits in all the cool clothes." "Yeah I'll say." I said looking in the mirror at me and my new clothes. I had found a tight pair of jeans and a thin white long sleeve sweater that was cut off just below my chest. I looked good and I was sure they did too. "Come out guys, tell me what you think." Nicole said in a very giddy tone. Sara and I walked out about the same time. "Damn!" we said together looking at one another. Sara had on a pair of ridiculously short jean shorts and a white Tommy Hilfier T-shirt, tied in a knot above her stomach. Nicole had picked out a black skirt with a slit that run up her thigh and a blue tube top. "Stunning ladies, absolutely stunning." a guy said leaning against the entry way. "Who are you?" Sara asked. "Ryan Kiosk." he said. "And what can we do for you Mr. Ryan Kiosk." she said. "I work at The Eclipse." he said proudly. "Okay." she said. "Anyway," he said, realizing we'd never heard of it "why don't you stop by later, there's someone I think you should meet." He walked over and slid Sara his card. "We'll do that." she said giving him the eye and a sly wink. "Enjoy the rest of your evening ladies." he said, strutting off out of the store. "Is that going to happen all the time?" Nicole asked. "I sure as hell hope not." I said. "Anyway," Sara said, sliding the card into her khaki pants on the ground, "let's get this stuff and get going." "Why do we always have to be in such a hurry?" Nicole asked as we threw our piles of clothes on the counter. "Because if we stay in one place for too long then people are going to start asking questions." Sara explained. "Sounds like someone is a little paranoid." I said as the saleswoman swiped Kyle's card. "Yeah, scared like a little girl." Nicole added. Sara snatched her finger and Nicole dropped to her knees. "Ow, Ow, Ow!" Nicole pleaded. "I'm not paranoid or scared." Sara said through her teeth, "I'm just careful." "Okay, okay, okay!" Nicole panted. Sara finally let go. "Have a nice day!" the lady said hesitantly, setting a bunch of bags on the counter. "See! That's what I'm talking abou.t" Sara whispered as we left the store. "What?" I asked. "That lady in there was giving us weird looks!" she said, "she knew something wasn't right with us." "So, she's not going to do anything." I replied. "That's not the point," she exclaimed, "look, if we're going to get through this, we have to start acting more like women." "We're open to suggestions." I said. "Just follow my lead." she said as we walked out to the same cab. "You need help with that?" the driver asked, rushing to our aid. "That would be wonderful." she exclaimed in an overly great full tone as the man stared at her chest. He took our bags and put them in the trunk. He waddled over and opened the door for us. "I take you anywhere." he said, pointing to himself and smiling. "The Eclipse." Sara uttered in the super compassionate voice. His smile turned into a sly grin. "Oh yeah. I go there many time." "Thanks so much." she said again in the voice. The man ran around and we drove off. "That was a bit much don't ya think." I said, closing the window so the man wouldn't hear us. "Just trying to emphasize my point." Sara said. "Point well taken." I said, realizing the man constantly glancing at us the rear view mirror. "So why are we going to the Eclipse?" Nicole asked. "Cuz' we need money." Sara said handing her the store's receipt. "Seven hundred bucks!" Nicole shouted. "Holy crap." I added. "Just consider it your Christmas presents for the rest of your lives." she said, grabbing and tearing up the receipt. "So is the Eclipse like a bank or something." Nicole asked. Sara shook her head. "No, its our new job." she said. "Job!?" I exclaimed. She pulled the card the man gave her from the wallet. I examined the very professional looking business card and read: The Eclipse Gentlemen's Entertainment Club "GENTLEMEN'S ENTERTAINMENT CLUB!" I shouted, realizing we were headed to a strip club. "That's right!" Sara announced. "We're going to have to dance?" Nicole uttered. "Yup!" Sara replied. "Why can't we just get a loan from a bank or something?" Nicole argued. "Yeah that would work... 'No I'm sorry Miss Minor but apparently you don't exist.'" Sara sarcastically remarked, gesturing like she was the bank employee. "Good point." I said thinking about our limited job options. "Plus, Mr. Ryan Kiosk basically offered us the job." she added. Nicole sank down in her seat against the window. "This is just what I needed." she pouted. "It's not going to be that bad." I assured. "How do you know? Have stripped before!" she snapped at me. "Come on, it can't be that hard." I said. "Yeah it will only be for like five minutes." Sara added. "I don't care, I'm not doing it." Nicole announced. Just try it. Please." I begged knowing it wouldn't be the same without all of us. "I... I can't." Nicole repeated as she started to cry. "You don't have to cry, it's not like we are forcing you to do it." I explained as the first few drops of rain clanked on the old tin roof. "I know... I'm just not ready." she moaned as tears streamed down her face. "You can sit back and watch us." I said. Nicole nodded. "So you're in." Sara said to me. "Yeah, what the hell!" I exclaimed. "I mean what's the fun in having boobs if you can't show them off." Sara and I laughed as Nicole sat quietly in the corner. We continued to exchange jokes about what we were going to do while dancing. We drove in and out of the wet streets as night quickly fell on the city. We finally pulled up to a building with a neon sign in the shape of a lunar eclipse and the name spelled out in bright blue letters. "We here." the man said through glass. We stood under the canopy as the man unloaded our bags in the dying rain. Sara gave the bills from our change at the store. "I see you again." the man said and drove off. "Well, here goes nothing." Sara said as we lugged everything inside. The place was incredible, not at all what I pictured. It actually looked like a 'gentlemen's' club. All the men crowded around the stage had on suits and ties and looked remotely respectable. Everything glistened in the flashing lights, it was a very clean and tidy place. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a man running toward me. It was the guy from clothing store. "Well if it isn't Mr. Ryan Kiosk." Sara said from behind me. "I'm glad you ladies decided to stop by." "Well it sounded like you really wanted us to come." she said. "Oh I did." he said staring at my chest. I cleared my throat. "Anyway, I wanted to introduce you to a friend." he vaguely explained. "Friend?" I said. "She's a little busy but she'll be down in a minute." "We'll be here." Sara said. "I'm sorry, I never got your names." he said. "Laura" "Sara" "Nikki" we each said. He ran off and disappeared up a small flight of stairs. "Little last minute adjustment huh?" I asked. "Just an easier way to say my name." she said. We dragged our stuff over to one of the tables and sat down. We sat back and watched the girl on stage dance, trying to get ideas for what we should do. This girl was an amazing dancer, not just a stripper. I could feel what she was feeling like we had some connection. I could sense the excitement running through her veins as she let the rhythm course through her body. She captivated everyone's attention throughout the entire performance. She had stripped down but in the end, she left clothed in money. She disappeared behind the curtain and the crowd dispersed. A couple girls came out and took her place but didn't get half the reaction she had. "That was crazy." I said to Sara. "I know." she replied. "I wonder who she is?" I yelled as the loud music started up again. "Kitty!" a voice rumbled from behind us. A large man in an apron was leaning against the bar. "She's the main attraction here." he shouted. "She's good." Sara hollered back. "Tell me about it. People flock here every Thursday night just to see her." He explained. "Why Thursdays?" Sara asked. "It's the only day she dances." he added. "She only dances for one night?" I said. "Yeah, it's the only night she can afford to take off from work." "What does she do?" I asked. "I run this place." a gentle voice whispered in my ear. "Ahhh!" I exclaimed, jumping out of my seat. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." It was Kitty standing right there before us. "Kinda snuck up on me." I said. "I was just enjoying your conversation." she said. "We were just saying how amazing you were up there." I explained. "I heard." she said. "These are the girls Ryan told us about." the man said, whipping his hands on a towel thrown over his shoulder. "Thanks Pete." she said. He nodded and returned to cleaning the counters. "Boy, Ryan was right." she said. "About what?" Sara said. "He said you were stunning but that was an understatement." "Thanks." I said. She continued to look us over. "He did tell you why he wanted you to stop by, didn't he." "We figured it out on our way here actually." Sara explained. "And you're interested?" she said. "Yeah" we said. "Good. By the way my name is Katie." "Laura" "Sara" "Nikki" we introduced ourselves. "Why did he call you Kitty?" Nikki asked. "It's a nickname my employees gave me" she explained. "Your employees?" Sara asked. "Yeah, I own this place" "You run this entire place?" Nikki said in surprise. "Every inch." she said. "Cool." Nikki said. "Why don't we go in the back and talk. You can meet the girls and have a look around." Katie said. We picked up our bags from the dimly light floor. "Are you guys going on a trip or something?" "No, we're kinda stuck in the middle of this one." Sara said, hoisting bag after bag onto her shoulders. "Stuck?" she asked. "Yeah, we... our boyfriends... went out on some expedition and we haven't heard from them since." Sara made up. "That's horrible. Do you think they abandoned you." she asked with concern in her voice. "Don't know, but when the police found their boat, all our stuff had disappeared." Sara continued to lie. "Everything?" she asked, more worried now than ever. "Everything... except a couple of their bags and... my boyfriends wallet." she continued. "What are you going to do?" Katie replied. "The police said that there was nothing they could do and that we should just find a place to stay and wait until something turns up." Sara continued. "Gosh, I feel so bad for you." Katie consoled. "Yeah, so we're stuck." Sara added. "Have you found a place to stay?" Katie asked. "No, after we bought some clothes we found out that all the credit cards were maxed out and we couldn't afford a hotel." Sara explained. "So you came here." Katie said. "Umm, yeah." "Tell ya what, let me go make a quick phone call, I might be able to help you out." Katie said. "That would be wonderful." I said in the compassionate voice Sara had used. "Back in a flash." Katie said. She ran up the stairs at the far end of the club. "How the HELL did you do that?" I exclaimed to Sara. "I told you people would start asking questions." she said. "And you just came up with that whole story on the spot" I asked. "No, I thought about it on my way to the hospital." "Thank God." I said with a sigh of relief. "You think she bought it?" she asked. "Sounded like it." I said. "What did you think Nikki?" Sara asked. "Boyfriends... Yuck!" she replied. "I take it you still don't want to dance," I said. "Not a snowball's chance in hell" she barked. After going through as many odd things that happened that day, I wouldn't have been surprised if that snowball would've made it. "Good news guys." Katie shouted as she ran up to us. "My husband is out of town for a while so if you want to stay at my place, you're more than welcome." she said. "Oh, you are a life saver!" Sara said as she hugged Katie. "Don't mention it. It's the least I can do to help." she added. "Hey Pete!" she shouted. "Yeah?" "Get Ryan to drop their things off at my house." she hollered. "Will do!" "Now lets go talk." Katie said, motioning for the stairs. We left our stuff there with Pete and followed Katie up the stair and down a long cinder block hallway. I found it kind of amusing to hear the four of us clicking our heels on the hard floor as we made our way to the back. We walked by the enormous dressing rooms and costume closets were all the girls were. Katie led us into her office and closed the door. She told about the rules of stripping. Apparently we aren't allowed to touch the people. No problem there. We also weren't allowed to be completely nude, just topless in a thong or G-string. I never realized that stripping had rules. The more rules she told us about, the more I realized that they were there to protect the girls. It didn't seem like such a degrading job anymore. It was just a career that capitalized on human nature and impulses. I sure felt a lot better about it. "So any questions you three have?" Katie asked. "Oh I'm not dancing." Nikki announced. "Why not?" Katie wondered. "I... I just don't want to..." Nikki looked over at Sara, "expose myself to everyone. I'm very self-conscious about my body, that's all." "I understand." Katie replied. "You can sit with me and watch if you want." Katie offered. Nikki nodded. "You're going to be watching us?" I asked. "Of course, think of tonight like an audition." she explained. "Oh, okay." I said. "So why don't the two of you come with me, I'll introduce you to some of the girls." Katie said. Sara and I followed Katie into the costume room while Nicole spilt off and went back out front. "Heather?" Katie said. "Yeah?" the beautiful girl in the skintight silver jumpsuit said. "This is Laura and Sara. They're going to be auditioning tonight." Katie explained. "Oh yeah?" Heather said. "Yeah, so could you help them out, you know dancer to dancer." Katie said. "No problem." Heather replied. "You'll go on after Heather. Good luck." Katie said as she left down the hall until her clicking heels fainted. "So, are you guys nervous?" Heather asked. "A little." Sara said. "Don't worry, we'll get you fixed up." she said. "Thanks." I replied. "Trust me, It'll be the easiest money you've ever made." she said. "I've got to go and put my make-up on. Why don't you guys find something you like." she said, pointing to the racks and racks of costumes. "Okay." Sara said.