Chapter 1

Wiley O'Mara woke with a start. At first he wasn't sure where he was. He had the distinct impression that he had experienced an incredible dream. Then the memories came rushing in. He and the six children from the city at the bottom of the ocean had made it to land and fallen asleep in Wiley's tree house.

He rubbed his eyes, blinked and looked around. They were all there. Keegan, the son of an ancient King, whose name meant "little and fiery." Keegan was fast asleep on the wooden floor, his head resting on his right arm, breathing rhythmically in and out, slowly and peacefully. His long, golden hair fell across his arm and spilled onto the floor. It sparkled with bits of sunshine that danced into the tree house through the narrow openings in each set of shutters.

Three other boys were asleep at the wooden table, their heads resting on their folded arms. The oldest was Arthur Bragon. He was twelve years old, tall, muscular and strong. He had dark black hair down to his shoulders, intense blue eyes and thick, dark eyebrows. He was intelligent, a serious thinker, and athletic. His parents had had big dreams and aspirations for him. They had thought that perhaps he would one day grow up to be a Senator.

The next oldest boy was Calder Torannen. He was eleven years old and Arthur's best friend. He had red hair, pale skin splashed generously with freckles, and a mercurial disposition. His great passion in life was to one day become an actor in the city theater.

The youngest boy at the table was Nevin Quigley. He was ten years old, an acquaintance who sometimes spent time with Arthur and Calder. He was thin and short for his age. He had light brown hair, green eyes, and a winning personality. His primary talents involved making people laugh and pulling practical jokes. Arthur and Calder enjoyed the humor that Nevin added to their free time.

Another boy had fallen asleep on the wooden chest that Wiley's father had built. Wiley thought he looked very uncomfortable, resting on the hard surface. This was Neil Quigley, the youngest of all the boys. He was Nevin's younger brother, six years old. He was gentle and easygoing in nature, sensitive, affectionate and quick to laugh. He had soft, golden curls for hair, hazel eyes, a small nose and delicate lips. Like his brother, Nevin, he was thin and short for his age.

During the night, Neil had pulled his knees up against his chest and wrapped his arms around them for warmth and comfort. He slept so deeply, Wiley could barely tell that he was breathing. A nearly imperceptible rise and fall in the upper part of his back let Wiley know that Neil was still with them.

The last boy in the group was Kingston Ivers. He was twelve years old, an acquaintance of Keegan who happened to be in the library at the time when the meteor hit the ancient city. He was tall and muscular with a strong, outspoken personality. He had dark brown hair, deep brown eyes and ruddy cheeks. If you disagreed with him on things that mattered to him, he could be difficult.

Kingston was asleep on the floor, wrapped in a blanket he had found in the tree house.

Wiley had also slept on the floor, wrapped in a dark gray, woolen blanket from deep inside the wooden chest. He sat up and wrapped the cover more tightly about him. It was early morning. The air still held a chill, although the sun's rays had started entering the tree house through the openings between the window shutters.

Wiley let the warmth from the blanket seep into his bones. As he looked around the room at each individual sleeping boy, he wondered how he would introduce the boys to his island or to his century. His island, their island, was no longer the same as when the boys had lived their lives here. No one would be familiar to them. Everyone they had known, except for each other, had died a long time ago. Their city was under the ocean. The island was now impoverished, and the boys had known great wealth. Keegan was the son of a King.

Wiley remembered his journey through the forest to find a priest to bury his mother. He had thought that he could not make that journey either. But, once he had decided to put one foot in front of the other and keep on going, the universe had opened up to him, and he had succeeded.

And incredible things had happened after that. Elden, the dolphin, had led him to Keegan and five other boys in a lost city under the ocean. He had fought the Fire Beast and rescued the boys!

Now Wiley wondered what to do. Probably I should just put one foot in front of the other, do what needs to be done one thing at a time, and the universe will reveal the future step-by-step.

The first thing to do, Wiley realized, was to find out if his father was at home. It was not yet time for his father to meet the boys. The boys should probably be introduced to someone else first, maybe Mrs. Bannon.

Wiley pondered whether to leave the boys now while they were sleeping and go investigate his house, or wait for them to wake up. He was afraid to have the boys wake up without him. He wasn't sure what they would do, or if they would leave the tree house and go out into the village alone. He worried about what they might tell the villagers. You couldn't exactly say you were from a city that sank to the bottom of the ocean thousands of years ago. You couldn't exactly say you were rescued by Wiley on the back of a dolphin. The villagers did not respond well to foreigners or to people who were different. They would label the boys insane, and that did not bode well for their stay on the island. Or for Wiley's future.

Wiley decided that he would make a quick run to his house to see if his father was there and if there was food in the cupboards. As he opened the tree house door, the sunlight poured in like a flood. It washed over Neil Quigley as he slept on the wooden chest and seeped behind his closed eyelids. Neil awoke with a start and let out a wail. As he screamed and cried, Wiley became increasingly concerned that someone would hear him, and that he would not be able to control the young boy.

Neil's screams woke the other boys. Nevin, his older brother, let out a scream before he knew what had awakened him. The other boys rubbed their eyes and looked around the tree house. Nevin composed himself, walked over to Neil, sat on the wooden chest, and wrapped his arms around his younger brother.

"Shhh, Neil. Shhh. You can't scream like that, Neil. You're going to get us in a lot of trouble. Do you want to get locked up in jail or something?"

Nevin looked at Wiley, as if to ask, "Could that actually happen?" Wiley looked at Nevin and shrugged his shoulders.

Neil continued to cry and scream. Wiley looked at Nevin. "He's hysterical. We're going to get caught!"

Nevin stood in front of Neil and grabbed him by the shoulders. He bent down, looked him in the face, and said with great desperation, "Neil, stop it! You're going to get us all caught, and we're not going to be treated well! I mean it! Stop it!"

Copyright © 2004 Marilyn Peake