Waves crashed onto the steel platforms. Water breached through the iron barricades. The sea foam drained back into the ocean.
People in loose-fitting chitons and peplos ran in every direction. Screams of terror echoed throughout the complex. Children were left unattended as the metal island lurched. One girl hid between two mismatched metal houses, tears streaming down her face.
Two men checked their black wristbands while standing still among the chaos. The thick wristbands covered their entire wrist. The center of these wristbands held a black screen which lit up. A voice spoke from each device.
"Good day, Valens." Valens's device addressed him accordingly.
"Good day, Barbaros." Barbaros marveled at it. "This is a wonder of the ages."
Valens reached up to muss his taller comrade's hair. "Eyes on the prize, we need to head to the central station."
Barbaros took his finger, flicking through the contents of the device. "So, this thing gives us an adrenaline boost?"
Valens snorted while repeating Barbaros's actions. "Did you not listen to Gabriella? Look under 'body monitoring.'"
Barbaros did as Valens suggested and a hologram of a human body popped up on the screen.
"Flick upward and then click 'bodily functions.' 'Agility boost' should be under 'strength boost.'" Valens gave directions while his eyes remained glued to his screen.
"Right, so click this and this." Barbaros's tongue flicked out to the corner of his mouth.
Once they were both finished, their wristbands popped open from the side. A thin metal wire with a needle at the end slowly extended. The needle bent down and jabbed into their skin. Electric shock waves went from the device into them.
For a few seconds, they gritted their teeth while clenching their hands.
Their devices spoke, synchronized. "You are now increased. You have ten minutes."
Valens bolted, weaving around the people. Everything looked blurry to him. The screams of terrified people morphed into sharply acute whistles of wind.
Barbaros took off after him, experiencing the same rush. "Th-th-this is amazing!" His voice changed, sounding like he had a high falsetto.
They tore through the streets, avoiding waves, boxes, and people. They jumped, dodged, and rolled. Their minds were buzzing, dictating their actions. Sounds became little pinging noises. Their bodies shook with exhaustion. Sweat poured from them.
They turned down an alleyway, then jumped up a set of stairs.
Valens huffed, pushing his body to the tin roof. Once up there, he placed his hands on his knees, heaving for breath. "How much longer, Barbaros?"
Barbaros faired better with only a slight redness in the face. He released short puffs of air. "Three minutes if we travel by roof, ten minutes by the street." He glanced down at his beeping wristband that was flashing red. Barbaros pursed his lips together, stretching them out. "We have about five—no, make that four minutes."
"Rooftop it is!" Valens raised his top half, then darted away, running swiftly. Unfortunately, he tripped, landing flat on his face.
Valens frowned, hitting the tin roof with his hand. "Garther!" he snarled. He flipped around holding his knees, bloody from the hasty fall.
Barbaros went pale as his jaw dropped. "You cursed! You better not kiss your wife tonight. If you do shame on you, a thousand curses." Barbaros pointed and wagged his finger at Valens with a raised eyebrow.
"Help me up!" Valens held out his hand to Barbaros.
"Nay, I say to the dirty Naysayer." Barbaros promptly turned his back to Valens.
Valens flipped back around. "Fine, you Jonther!" He tried to pull himself up, but his legs gave way. He laid there panting for a minute. He let loose a scream of agony as he managed to pull up his over-exerted body. Finally standing, his wristband beeped, announcing, "Two minutes until the program ends."
Valens ran again, this time breathing heavily as his vision blurred. Sweat droplets clouded his vision more.
Barbaros ran up beside him frowning. In a whiny voice, he spoke. "I am not a Jonther!"
Valens reached the edge of the copper tin roof, nearly falling off. "Whoa!" he yelled as he backed up.
Barbaros peered over the ledge. "Yeah, we are not going to make it."
Valens turned around, darting a few feet back. He spun around and then ran forward as fast as he could. He vaulted over the space between this roof and the next. Valens landed with a roll. He winced, squeezing his eyes shut as he stood up. He reached a hand over to try to feel his shoulder.
Barbaros shrugged and repeated Valens's action, fortunately landing with more grace. They took off again, jumping from roof to roof until a giant silver building came into view. Valens looked down the side of the current building they were on and spotted a stairwell.
A few feet down and before the stairs, a window ledge jutted out from the building. Without hesitating, Valens jumped down, grabbing onto the window ledge. He grunted, kicking his feet out. He released the ledge and landed in the stairwell.
Barbaros looked down. His mouth formed a circle and his eyes were wide. He then shrugged. "Oh well, here goes nothing." Barbaros jumped, landing perfectly on the stairwell.
Valens's wristband flashed red as he headed down the stairs.
Barbaros's screen flashed, as well. The voices synchronized from their wristbands, speaking out. "Program has ended." The little needle retreated. The wristbands spoke out again. "Sanitizing now." Red lines appeared on the screen and they heard beeping. The beeping stopped. "Sanitizing complete." The wristband then went into rest mode, turning the screen black.
Valens's legs gave out when he reached the bottom. His knees hit the metal grates. Ocean water bubbled up underneath, crashing up and soaking his legs.
Barbaros could not stop once he started down the stairs. He crashed into the back of Valens, toppling over. His head hit the grate. Barbaros hissed as his hands went to his head and his legs flew up in the air. "No, no!" Barbaros's eyes went wide as his legs came crashing down. His feet hit Valens in the face.
Valens turned his head to the right after being whacked by those feet. Barbaros's sandals scraped the corner of Valens's eye. A light splatter of blood trickled down. Valens hit the metal landing after that fiasco.
Barbaros flipped up, whining. He felt the back of his head. "That hurt!" He realized Valens was still down, face-first into the stairs. Barbaros rushed over to Valens and checked his pulse.
He immediately smacked himself in the forehead. "Stupid, always check the wristband first!" he yelled at himself. Then he checked Valens's wristband. "That is funny, it says his pulse is just a bit slower. Okay then, time to wake him up!" Barbaros slapped Valens's face. He got no response, so he tried again.
Valens felt a sharp sting going across his face. He blinked once; his vision was foggy. He blinked again and again until the sight in front of him cleared. He saw Barbaros getting ready to strike again. Valens roughly pushed Barbaros away. "Enough!" He stood up and got into a stance to jog.
Barbaros stood up and shouted at him, "It is right there, walk! And don't you dare say every second counts! We are here. Let us be gentlemen upon our entry."
Valens's eyes rolled. "Fine, fine! Let us enter like prim kings."
Barbaros lifted up lightly on his chiton, then released it. "Now that's what I am saying." He pushed passed Valens.
"You do realize this could be the end of Atlantis." Valens made a fist and placed it under his chin. "Just saying, Atlantis could fall."
Barbaros whipped around, stomping toward Valens. He pointed toward the metal platform. "I hope for your sake, for your child's sake, that this is fixable! Otherwise, we are going to be at the bottom of the ocean!"
Valens slapped Barbaros on his back. "This is Atlantis, everything is fixable." He walked quickly toward the silver control center.
Upon entering the building, cold air wafted against him. Valens shivered, trying to adjust to the low temperature. His sandals squeaked against the polished bronze flooring.
A girl stood a few feet away, behind a desk. She sorted white cards, placing them in different files.
Valens cautiously approached the desk. "I need to go down to the fourth-floor tri-center."
The girl glanced reproachfully at him with her lips pursed. She sucked in a breath. "Why?"
Valens threw his hands up and smacked his head. "So I can do my job and possibly save Atlantis!" he yelled.
Barbaros stuck his finger up in the air. "Hold up." He pulled Valens aside. "Be nice to the desk lady. It will get you far in life, my friend."
Valens narrowed his eyes. "I am not going to be nice to her!" He turned away, heading back to the desk.
Barbaros grabbed him by the shoulder. "Wait, hear me out!"
Valens's lips twitched. "If you do not let me go, I am going to hurt you!"
Barbaros released him, placing both hands up. "I am not looking for a fight, just a bit of advice here. Tensions are high. I get it. But she is still a woman and deserves respect."
Valens gritted his teeth. "Fine!" He stomped over to the desk. "Ma'am, may I please go to the fourth-floor tri-center?"
She sighed, glaring at him. Her lips trembled. "No, go home and spend it with your family." The ends of her eyebrows went up. The middle of her forehead creased.
Valens growled, storming over to her. He went around the desk.
The woman backed up. Her heart pounded as her breathing accelerated.
Valens's face turned a bright red with widened eyes. "I have a wife and daughter! This place is not sinking! I will not allow it to sink!"
The woman covered her mouth, sobbing. "I am sorry." Her body shook.