be a life threatening dive.
The water was crystal clear now, visibility of one hundred yards, which was as good as it could get and the polar opposite of just hours before.
Diving deeper, sinking closer to their destination, their surroundings began to darken. Again, coming into visual range, sprawling valleys, monstrous peaks and ominously dark caves painted an underwater canvas that none of the divers could believe they were seeing.
"It really is something down here, isn't it." Ghost said, seeing it for the first time.
Looking at the expanse with her archaeological eye, Jordan was certain that what she was looking at below was land that used to be above the water. The rock face of the major peaks appeared to show signs of wear from thousands of years of running water. Just as a river winds through mountain ranges, cutting its way through the rock with a million pounds of water pressure over time, there were distinct marks in the rock Jordan could see, even amongst the coral formations.
"You guys think that this could have been another island of some kind and something caused it to fall below the waterline?" Jordan asked.
Ice turned to her: "Why, what do you see?"
"I see a land mass here. I see hills and valleys, rock formations that just aren't possible to form under the ocean. Just try to image this without the water. Doesn't it look like any other island in this area?" Jordan asked, not knowing the area herself.
"Looks a little like parts of Tahiti." Roo agreed
"This is all new to us, too. According to the G.P.S, we're still three quarters of a mile from where we saw the structures this morning. And a hundred and fifty feet higher...” Ice added.
Every direction the team looked gave them a different perspective, a different landscape. To the east they saw a flat, moonscape surface where the ocean floor appeared to rise. To the west, a much more mountainous view stretched for as far as they could see.
In certain areas the sea bed seemed to fall away into dark holes of nothingness. Jordan didn't want to know how deep those holes went, she certainly wasn't interested in exploring them. What lurked within their limits could well be the very creatures from the deep that had taken Art Montoya and Shooter.
Descending further, at a slightly steeper angle now the team came across the side of an enormous crater that fell into darkness on the left hand side. Jordan knew immediately what it was. She had studied volcanoes at school enough to recognize the remnants of one when she saw it.
"What the..." Ghost gasped into his radio.
There was a collective silence as the group gazed in awe.
"Guys. I know what this is. It's the rim of a volcano. Or at least what's left of it." Jordan said.
"I hope for our sakes it's dormant." Ghost added.
"I'm not much of an expert on these but I did study them in school. Just by it's size I would guess that it suffered a large eruption, which tore the cone from the top and what we're looking at is a volcano that no longer has it's peak."
"You mean it exploded?" Asked Roo.
"Yeah, many many years ago. Thousands, maybe millions."
"We have to adjust our direction." Ice interjected, "We need to head away from the craters edge. If we track it's down slope we should come up to what we saw this morning. Once we get there the show is yours Jordan. Whatever you want to look into we look into. Ghost, you bring up the rear, watch our backs. Roo, you flank us, keep an eye up front."
"And you?" Jordan asked Ice.
"I'll be six feet away." Ice answered.
That little comment comforted Jordan. It also fueled the embers in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't help but continue to become more and more attracted too Ice. She hadn't expected it, certainly didn't want it, and yet couldn't resist it. Her only advantage had been how easy it was to keep check of her feelings in the potentially hostile environment they found themselves in.
This is not the place for puppy love, Jordan. She kept telling herself.
The water was crystal clear now, visibility of one hundred yards, which was as good as it could get and the polar opposite of just hours before.
Diving deeper, sinking closer to their destination, their surroundings began to darken. Again, coming into visual range, sprawling valleys, monstrous peaks and ominously dark caves painted an underwater canvas that none of the divers could believe they were seeing.
"It really is something down here, isn't it." Ghost said, seeing it for the first time.
Looking at the expanse with her archaeological eye, Jordan was certain that what she was looking at below was land that used to be above the water. The rock face of the major peaks appeared to show signs of wear from thousands of years of running water. Just as a river winds through mountain ranges, cutting its way through the rock with a million pounds of water pressure over time, there were distinct marks in the rock Jordan could see, even amongst the coral formations.
"You guys think that this could have been another island of some kind and something caused it to fall below the waterline?" Jordan asked.
Ice turned to her: "Why, what do you see?"
"I see a land mass here. I see hills and valleys, rock formations that just aren't possible to form under the ocean. Just try to image this without the water. Doesn't it look like any other island in this area?" Jordan asked, not knowing the area herself.
"Looks a little like parts of Tahiti." Roo agreed
"This is all new to us, too. According to the G.P.S, we're still three quarters of a mile from where we saw the structures this morning. And a hundred and fifty feet higher...” Ice added.
Every direction the team looked gave them a different perspective, a different landscape. To the east they saw a flat, moonscape surface where the ocean floor appeared to rise. To the west, a much more mountainous view stretched for as far as they could see.
In certain areas the sea bed seemed to fall away into dark holes of nothingness. Jordan didn't want to know how deep those holes went, she certainly wasn't interested in exploring them. What lurked within their limits could well be the very creatures from the deep that had taken Art Montoya and Shooter.
Descending further, at a slightly steeper angle now the team came across the side of an enormous crater that fell into darkness on the left hand side. Jordan knew immediately what it was. She had studied volcanoes at school enough to recognize the remnants of one when she saw it.
"What the..." Ghost gasped into his radio.
There was a collective silence as the group gazed in awe.
"Guys. I know what this is. It's the rim of a volcano. Or at least what's left of it." Jordan said.
"I hope for our sakes it's dormant." Ghost added.
"I'm not much of an expert on these but I did study them in school. Just by it's size I would guess that it suffered a large eruption, which tore the cone from the top and what we're looking at is a volcano that no longer has it's peak."
"You mean it exploded?" Asked Roo.
"Yeah, many many years ago. Thousands, maybe millions."
"We have to adjust our direction." Ice interjected, "We need to head away from the craters edge. If we track it's down slope we should come up to what we saw this morning. Once we get there the show is yours Jordan. Whatever you want to look into we look into. Ghost, you bring up the rear, watch our backs. Roo, you flank us, keep an eye up front."
"And you?" Jordan asked Ice.
"I'll be six feet away." Ice answered.
That little comment comforted Jordan. It also fueled the embers in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't help but continue to become more and more attracted too Ice. She hadn't expected it, certainly didn't want it, and yet couldn't resist it. Her only advantage had been how easy it was to keep check of her feelings in the potentially hostile environment they found themselves in.
This is not the place for puppy love, Jordan. She kept telling herself.
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