Free The Atlantis World (The Origin Mystery, Book 3) by A.G. Riddle Page B

the pallets of supplies. At the base of the mountain, at sea level, the crumbling ruin that had been the fortress of Ceuta was sustaining an onslaught beyond imagination.
    The base was almost completely submerged; only a few buildings jutted out, but they were falling fast.
    The jet that would have carried them away lay overturned, several hundred feet from the runway, which was also flooded.
    The rain came in sheets, and David fought to keep it out of his face and his eyes open.
    From his peripheral vision, he saw movement. Milo and Sonja. They ran to him, and the three of them took cover under the trees, just past the clearing. The wind gained steam, forcing each of them to reach for a tree, holding tight, bracing as it picked up speed.
    “I came up to look for you,” Milo shouted.
    “That was smart,” David said. “You did good.”
    Sonja leaned close to his ear. “It would seem we’ve underestimated our enemy.”
    “Badly.”
    Behind them, David heard a sucking noise that seemed to drain all the air and sound away. The rain nearly ceased. Through the darkness, he saw a wall of water rising, bearing down on the mountain. It would wash over it, taking everything—and everyone with it.

    Paul could feel the cool water level rising, moving up his legs, like a countdown to his and Mary’s death.
    He tried to pump his legs faster, but it was like doing water aerobics in the shallow end of a mountain lake.
    Mary was falling behind.
    “I need to stop,” she said, bending over to heave breath after breath.
    Paul tried to estimate the distance to the top of the peak. Two, maybe three hundred yards?
    The rain had almost stopped. Maybe the massive storm was ending. But the water still crept up his legs—it was almost to his knees now. If it leveled out eventually, maybe they could swim to land, pausing to rest by hanging on to the tree tops or floating debris from Ceuta.
    But if the water topped the mountain, their only option would be to find something to make a raft out of and try to make landfall further inland. But where would the new coastline form? Miles, hundreds of miles away?
    A sound, over the ridge—like the Earth was taking a deep breath. Paul could feel the wind rushing past him, flowing out to sea.
    “Come on,” he grabbed Mary’s hand and pulled her toward a ridge, pushing his legs through now knee-deep water. It was all Paul could do not to reel back when he saw the wall of water rushing over the sea.
    He thought Mary was going to release his hand for a moment, but she squeezed harder.
    Paul looked from the mountain to the valley—which was fully submerged. They could run back, try to get under water, hold on to something. Would that be safe? He had absolutely no idea.
    Or they could run to the mountain top. If the wave topped it…
    He made his decision.
    He tugged at Mary’s hand, and she followed as fast as she could, not saying a word.
    He pushed harder, feeling her strength draining as well as his own.
    Finally, she fell in the water, and Paul jerked her up. “Keep going,” he said, wrapping his arm around her, half-carrying her as her legs walked and kicked the water.
    Ahead, the forest stopped and a clearing spread out. It wasn’t the top of the mountain, but…
    Figures, moving, heading toward a rock outcropping.
    “Help!” Paul yelled. He released Mary, and she collapsed into the water on her hands and knees. Paul rushed forward, waving his arms back and forth in the air. “Hey!”
    The figures stopped, then two of them were racing towards him, cutting through the water with breathtaking speed. The man was tall, over six feet and well-built. A soldier. And so was the woman, though she was trim, her skin dark caramel.
    The man put his shoulder into Paul’s stomach and hoisted him up, holding him by his legs while speeding back to the clearing, only slightly slower with Paul’s added weight. Paul saw the woman lift Mary the same way, and then they were close behind them.
    A skinny