The Society of the Ethereal Medallion

The Hall of Records

As I descended the cement stairs, there were paintings. I could hear their histories cry out for me to read them to see their stories. Painted blood red was a massive city, much like the picture William had shown me when we first met.

"Atlantis," William commented beside me.

I pulled out my journal and flipped to the next set of clues to solve. A grey orb stood alone next to a written description of what it was rumored to be and what it meant to Atlantis.

"What is it?"

"I have no idea," I walked down the stairs taking an in-depth look into the mysterious globe. "It says that it's one of many keys that were scattered to keep Atlantis safe. The keys were sent away just before Atlantis was destroyed.

"You know the closer and closer we get to Atlantis, the more and more I win the bet."

"A bet? What bet? Don't tell me you're thinking about gambling at a time like this?"

"I can't help it." His flashlight went back and forth from the wall to our left to the one on our right. "People have called me crazy for so long. Bets are confidences that you get when you know you're right and want to prove the others who said you were crazy wrong. It's nice to see that I proved all of them wrong. I wish my dad were here to see this; he was a bigger Atlantis buff than me. They called him crazy too." The air around him darkened, his tone changed, darkened.

"May I ask how he..."

"He died, that's it. There's nothing more to it."

I didn't bother to pry. "I'm sorry."

"Part of me wasn't sad; he was never there, to begin with. He was always so caught up in his work; he wasn't much of a father to me."

"You had to pick up his slack," I concluded.

"With house chores, sure. My mother worked about three jobs to keep food on the table. She told me if I quit school, she'd switch me. I vowed to go to school, go to college and get a good-paying job. So I worked at a diner during high school, saved up enough money to attend Harvard-"

"You're a collegiate?"

Who could have known that William Johnson went to a collegiate school?

"You sound surprised?"

"I am. I'm guessing if you were good enough for Harvard, then you got a full-ride academic scholarship."

"Oh yeah, Harvard wasn't the only school that wanted me, but I went because my dad went there. Everyone thought I was going to be a doctor or something bigger than a journalist. I fell from grace when I picked up my father's work where he left off."

These bloody stairs are never-ending; William could give me his whole life story.

"What made you pick it up?"

"I'm not sure exactly; it was a weird scenario. I got a letter from an anonymous source when I first started my internship at the Metro Journal."

"How long ago?"

"Why?"

"How long has it been?"

"Three years."

"How was it signed? What did the letter say?"

"Whoever it was said that if I found Atlantis, they would tell me how to find my father."

"What?"

"They said he was alive."

"But you said-"

"That's what I thought, but...I...I don't know. He signed it as a friend, and I..."

A friend. Why would he want to find Atlantis? Would he use its power for good or evil?