Danté's Treasure

This is somewhat connected to my short story, My Locket. Set in modern times, Danté's looking for a treasure of the Pirate Ship, Cold Fire.

                The water surrounding Danté was pitch black. He had a small flashlight that illuminated a small beam of blackness in front of him. The only sight for him in the pillar of light were small specks, though nothing else, as the light only extended a few yards in front of him. He took a few deep breaths from the air tank, as he continued to make his descent to the ocean floor, wishing he’d brought a more powerful light. Kiera would be following him with her own, but he didn’t like the idea of moving blind in Australian waters, even for a small moment.

                He looked up to see if there was anything, and could only make out the bubbles which rose from behind his mask. The water was very cold around him, though thanks to his dive suit he was mostly protected. He’d never been this deep before.

                Danté felt the water continue to get tighter and colder around him, but the treasure they were bound to find here would be worth it. They were looking for a legendary gold storage of the dread pirate ship Cold Fire, and the sources they had indicated that the ship had sunk around this place. Danté was growing anxious as he thought about the tiger sharks and the box jellyfish that he’d heard swarm around Australia’s seas, but powered himself through the fear. He tried to reassure himself that the sea creatures must’ve been more afraid of him than he was of them.

                He felt his feet touch the sand on the ocean floor, and he didn’t move himself from that spot. He shined his light around to see if there was anything interesting, but only found that it was the same as before, only that the beam of light would touch the occasional lump of coral or jagged rocks. He was only praying to God that the records of the old British Navy captain were true, and that they had sunk the Cold Fire at this place.

                Danté waited for at least ten minutes until he could see a bright light above him. Kiera was finally on her way to his location, and they apparently had outstanding aim. She landed in front of him, and the light in her hands was almost blinding, as it illuminated the landscape around them. Danté half expected that he’d see sharks completely surrounding the pair, but was relieved to see that they were not. There were coral reefs and plenty of rock formations, and not a single speck of life anywhere around. The light reached at least a twenty-yard radius around them, so they could swim pretty freely without worrying about bumping into anything.

                Danté had a small telecommunicator in his mask to talk to Kiera, though that was all the range it had. “I think we need to head that way, near the coral reef,” said Danté.

                “Sure, I’ll follow you!” said Kiera in her innocent voice, through the slight static. She really didn’t seem the type of girl to do this sort of thing, but she insisted. It was her great-great-grandfather’s journal that had led them all the way there in the first place.

                Danté started to swim towards the reef, confident that the ship couldn’t have been more than just a few hundred feet away. As they swam, the light illuminated a few more bits of decaying wood, indicating that they were very close to the old galleon. Danté’s heartrate began to increase as the wood chunks grew bigger and closer together. He saw a small cliff just ahead of them, and knew, just like in the movies, what he’d see at the bottom of the cliff.

                Danté and Kiera reached the cliff, though it wasn’t as Danté expected. He’d thought he’d behold some grand sight of a sunken ship, but forgot about the darkness. There was nothing but a dark chasm, and he knew they’d have to go further to the depths. His reinforced suit could only manage a few hundred more feet. He knew that he and Kiera had to be careful.

                “So, we’re going down there, huh?” asked Kiera as if they didn’t have another choice. “Just keep swimming!”

                “Please stop quoting that movie already,” said Danté. “I know we’re in the Australian seas right now, but I’d really rather not run into a football fish down here.” He believed in karma, in that what you ask for, you get. The only scene in Finding Nemo in the dark seas was not exactly a pleasant one.

                “Lighten up,” said Kiera, as she swam past him down into the black void. She had the light, so Danté quickly followed after her.

                As they swam, Danté continued to feel the water pressure increase and the temperature drop. The light began to illuminate more against the side of the craggy wall they were swimming against, with small bits of what looked like gold shining in them. This was definitely the right place.

                At the edge of Kiera’s light, Danté saw a large wooden pole, which had to be the mast of the old ship. He was way more excited than he had been at this discovery, and his swimming speed increased to reach the ship below. “There it is,” he heard Kiera say.

                The old ship had definitely seen better days. Danté could see where the gunpowder had exploded upon being ignited by cannon fire. It must’ve been a lucky shot, as these pirates were never known to fail against a Navy ship. Judging on the sheer size of the ship, Danté could see why.

                “Remember, my great-great-grandpa never recovered the treasure,” said Kiera, “but he did write that it was in the Captain’s quarters.” They reached the old deck of the ship, which was broken in several places. There were a few skeletons of old pirates, some of which were riddled with gold rings and bracelets beneath the deck.

                Danté swam straight for what had to be the Captain’s quarters. It had a large, elegant door, the locks on which were completely rusted over. He and Kiera grabbed the door and tugged it away. The room itself was decayed and covered in algae, but the gold was piled high. There were gold idols and coins littering the place around the old captain’s desk. The captain’s own skeleton was still sitting behind the desk. His clothing was torn in places, and one of his teeth was replaced with a bright gold one. Around his neck was a locket.

                “Woah…” said Kiera, placing the light on the desk. She swam to what looked like an Aztec idol, which looked as if it was a god, plated in gold.

                The gold wasn’t Danté’s main objective, however. He was there to see the captain, the infamous Captain Scarbrow. Historical records showed that he was once a simple cabin boy on a ship that was overtaken by pirates, then he was shanghaied onto the very crew which controlled the Cold Fire. His real name was Michael Gale, but he took on the name Scarbrow on account of a large scar he obtained across his eyebrow on a certain quest.

                Danté swam to the remains of the captain. There was a locket around his neck with a large “G” emblemized on it. “Danté Gale, you can color me impressed,” said Kiera as she swam to his side. “Looks like we’re gonna be totally rich.” They were looking at the remains of Danté’s great-great-grandfather.

Author's Note

This is the first draft. I thought it would be nice to have two connecting stories. I kind of like this more than My Locket. Comment on grammar issues and plot points you think could be improved on.