World's End Read Online Free PDF

Sphinx.
Success.
The half-open eye was fixed on a spot in the middle of the waves, about twenty-five feet offshore. It looked no different from any other patch of turbulent water, except for one brief moment, in between waves, when Alfonso thought he saw something round and man-made, like a pillar. He stared at the spot for several more minutes as the spray from the waves drenched him.
    He saw it again.
    It looked like a pillar, but it was difficult to be certain.
    Alfonso was not a particularly strong swimmer, and even the strongest of swimmers would not jump into this water. In all likelihood, the waves would drown him before he even reached the pillar.
    Alfonso retreated two steps up the staircase and stopped. His mind suddenly felt cloudy and muddled, and his legs became heavy. Sleep was descending on him. Alfonso could almost feel himself being pulled, against his will, toward the water. "Oh boy," he muttered sleepily. "This could end badly..." But there was no fighting it. His eyes fluttered drowsily and Alfonso entered a sleeping trance.
    "Wait!" cried a voice from up above. It came from the taxi driver. The man looked frantic. But he was too late to stop Alfonso. Alfonso turned back to face the water, waited for an opening between two waves, and then jumped in.
    The fierce pull of the sea gripped him immediately and within a matter of seconds, Alfonso was surrounded by whitecaps. The current pulled him out to sea and toward the mysterious pillar. He woke up, gasped, swallowed a mouthful of salty water, and fought desperately to swim back to shore. The current, however, was too strong. It swept him toward the pillar and he lunged for it. Alfonso's fingers scraped at the surface, searching madly for a crevice or handhold of any kind. They slid along the algae-covered pillar, which was about a foot underwater. A vicious wave crashed over him, and he lost his grasp.
    Alfonso could feel himself weakening as he fought the current. There was no way he'd be able to return to shore. With all the strength in his body, he lunged again for the pillar, but couldn't find any traction. In desperation, he kicked his legs. They scraped against something hard and sharp and Alfonso's left leg erupted in pain. He swallowed salt water and choked. He was already several feet away. If only he could fall back asleep, perhaps everything would be okay. But that wasn't going to happen. Alfonso had never felt so awake in his life. Gritting his teeth, Alfonso blocked out the pain in his leg, took a deep breath, and dove downward with all of his might.
    Underwater, he saw the pillar more clearly. It was perfectly round and about four feet wide. The portion closest to the surface was covered in algae, but below that it was colored a light brown, like limestone. Rusted iron ingots lined the pillar all the way to the ocean floor, which was perhaps thirty feet down. One of those spikes had hit his leg. He swam toward an ingot and grasped hold of it.
    Suddenly, a faint light drew his attention. It came from the sea floor. He let go of the pillar and dove down toward the light. It came from an underwater cave that was nestled into a massive pile of rocks on the ocean floor. The opening was small, no more than a few feet wide, and the water there glowed a rich turquoise blue, in contrast to the dark open water where he was swimming. The pressure in Alfonso's lungs grew painful.
    He swam as fast as he could into the mouth of the cave. It became a tunnel that burrowed downward and then up toward a bright light. Alfonso kicked ferociously. He burst through the surface and greedily sucked in air. When he finally managed to catch his breath, he discovered that he was floating in a remarkable stone cavern that glittered fluorescent blue. Reflected light shone everywhere, as if the walls were made of stained glass, even though they were clearly made of stone.
    Alfonso looked up at the ceiling. It had been shaped into a smooth, round dome. This chamber was