Atlantis Academy - The First Element: PROLOGUE

The biting sea wind whipped through the trees, carrying the scent of salt and damp earth. Lyric Hart, late for her waitressing shift at 'The Rock,' paused on the hill overlooking Port Ashford. Below, the town lay spread out, a cluster of tired Victorian houses by the unforgiving Pacific Ocean. The church bell tolled in the distance, a mocking reminder of her tardiness. She shoved her phone into her pocket, a knot of anxiety tightening in her stomach. Fired. That's what she would be. Fired and broke.

Pushing past the edge of the woods, she stumbled onto the road, the ache in her side a testament to her frantic run. The sight of Ashford Rock, symbol of the town's fabricated heroism, loomed in the distance, waves crashing against its base. Just like the town, she was burying her own past, pretending to be something she wasn't. A competent employee. A functioning adult.

She reached the diner, its faded sign a beacon of her impending doom. Peeking through the window, she saw the usual two regulars, Bert and Ernie, nursing their coffees. Keith, her boss, was in his office, the glint of his bald head visible through the half-open door. She tried to slip past, but his voice, sharp as a knife, cut through the air.