Madeleine's POV

"This is it. It's gotta be," Milo checked the Shepard's Journal and compared it to the cavern.

"Alright, we'll make camp here," Rourke declared. On the ceiling hung a glowing green lantern of some sort. "Why is it glowing?" asked Audrey.

"Pah, it is a natural phosphorescence," Mole informed which prompted Vinny to say "That thing is going to keep me up all night, I know it," with a frown.

We set up camp and once everyone was settled, dinner was served. Or, you could call it dinner because Cookie's cooking is... how do you say it in a nice way? Oh god, the nuns are gonna kill me when I say this. Cookie's cooking is nothing more than slop.

"Come and get it," Cookie jangled his triangle before proceeding to dump the food on each person's tray.
"For the appetizer, Caesar salad, escargot and your oriental spring rolls," he grinned.

"Yuck." Audrey spat.

"I wanted the escargot." Mole whined.

"Knock yourself out," Audrey shoved her tray into the geologist's hands and he cheekily stuck his tongue out.

Poor Milo was served the biggest pile of slop. "There you go Milo, put some meat on them bones. You're so skinny, if you turned sideways and stuck out your tongue, you'd look like a zipper," Cookie commented before  he went on his merry way, hauling his pot away.

I took one bite and pulled a face. "Bleurgh, it's greasier than usual," I commented before taking a big gulp of water but not even the drink could save me from the revolting taste.

"I miss my favourite meal at the diner," Milo moved his tray aside.

"Yes me too. I'm starting to wonder if Cookie is even a certified chef," I replied. Milo picked up the Shepard's Journal, squinting his eyes. "What's wrong?" I peered over his shoulder.

"This doesn't make any sense, Maddy. See, in this passage here, the Shepard seems to be leading up to
something," Milo tapped his spoon against the page, "He calls it the heart of Atlantis, it could be the power source the legends refer to but then it just cuts off. It's almost like there's a missing page."

"Maybe the page was already missing before the book landed in Iceland? I mean, it is old. Centuries-old. Anything could've happened to it." I mused. "But I suppose it's part of the mystery."

"That's what this is all about right?
Discovery, teamwork, adventure.
Unless.." Milo looked left and right before lowering his voice, saying
"They're just in it for the money."

Third Person POV

At the campfire, Dr. Sweet was having a change of heart. "You know, we've been pretty tough on the kid. What do you say we cut him some slack?"

"'Yeah, you're right" Audrey turned to look at Milo and Madeleine, "Hey! Why don't you come sit with us?" she called out to us. "Really? You don't mind?" Milo's face lit up.

"Nah. Park it here."

Milo and Madeleine headed over to the campfire.

"Gee, this is great. I mean, you know, it's an honour to be included in your " as he sat down, Mole placed a hot water bottle from behind which created a farting noise. Mole couldn't contain his laughter and fell over to the ground, clutching his wheezing stomach.

"Mole!" Sweet, Vinny, Madeleine and Audrey scolded in unison whilst Mrs Packard rolled her eyes.

"Ah forgive me. I could not resist," said the geologist with a smile. Audrey noticed Milo scanning through the Shepherd's Journal.
"Hey Milo, don't you ever close that book?" she asked. "Yeah, you must've read it a dozen times by now," Sweet replied.

"Yeah, I know, but it just isn't making any sense," he said. Milo grabbed a spoon and pointed it at a page, moving the book so they could all see what he was pointing at. "You see, the Shepard seems to be leading up to something. He calls it the Heart of Atlantis. It could be the power source the legend refers to, but then it - it cuts off."

He flipped a page, as if the group would be able to see for them selves, but none if them could tell what either page was about. "Its almost like a page has been ripped out."

"Hey, kid," Vinny spoke up, "Relax.
We don't get paid overtime."

"I know, I know, sometimes I get a little carried away," he said, closing the book and putting it by his feet where they could all see it, just in case. "But, hey, that's what this is all about, right? Discovery, teamwork, adventure!"

"Unless, you're in it for the money?" Madeleine asked.

"Money." Audrey replied.

"Money." Mole admitted.

"Money." Mrs. Packard said dryly.

"Money." Sweet stated.

"I'm gonna say...money." Vinny admitted.

"Guess I set myself up for that one," he said, referring to them all saying money. He rubbed the back of his neck and Sweet instantly perked up as he moved behind Milo, examining his actions.

"What? Theres something wrong with your neck?" He asked. Milo nodded, moving his head around in an attempt to get the crick out of it. "Oh, yeah, yeah. I must've hurt it back-"

He was cut off as Sweet grabbed his head and moved it, he gave him a straight back before moving his head again, receiving several cracks before he let go. "Better?" He went back to his seat.

"Yeah - how'd you learn how to do that?"

"An Arapaho medicine man."

"Get out of here."

"Born and raised with 'em," Sweet smiled. "My father was an army medic." He brought out a photo from his pocket to show to Milo. "He settled down in Kansas territory after he met my mother." He put the photo back.

"No kidding," Milo said, completely invested in the story.

"Nope," Sweet said, putting his hand down his shirt before pulling out an odd necklace. "I gotta sheepskin fron Howard U and a bear skin from "I gotta sheepskin fron Howard U and a bear skin from Ol' Iron Cloud. Halfway through high school I was drafted. Went from one day studying gross anatomy in the classroom to the next, sowing up rough ridders up
San Juan Hill."

"Main course," Cookie chimed in.
He was met with a unison of objections.

"I couldn't eat another bite," said
Vinny.

"Thanks anyway but I'm watching my weight," Audrey said.

"No no no. Don't make me. Don't ask." Sweet protested.

"Ha ha ha. Don't you worry, it'll keep and keep and keep," Cookie wheeled his pot away, not even offended in the slightest about the rejection of his food.

"Thank God I lost my sense of taste years ago," Mrs. Packard grumbled, taking a drag of her cigarette before putting it out into her untouched meal.

They all shared a look before throwing the leftovers into the fire.
Except from Mole, who only waved an empty tray over the fire. The fire disappeared in a mini atomic bomb explosion.

After the long day (or whatever time it was) the crew began setting up their tents. "Aren't you going to pitch up your tent?" asked Vinny when he noticed Milo's failed attempt. "Uh, I did," Milo said as he tied a rope around the stick. Vinny tossed his sleeping bag into Milo's arms and set up the tent for the linguist and his sister.

"I guess I'm still a little rusty at this.
I haven't gone camping since. well since the last time my grandpa took me," Milo expressed.

"I never got to meet your grandfather. What was he like?" Audrey replied curiously as Milo and Madeleine settled into their tent and laid down flat on their thin mattress with their heads sticking out of the flap.

"Where do you start? He was like a father to me really. My parents died when I was a little kid and he took me in," Milo recalled and laughed at a sweet memory that flashed in his mind. (Gosh his laugh is so cute🥺.)

"What?" Madeleine asked softly.

"Well, I was just thinking. One time, when I was eight, we were hiking along this stream and I saw something shining in the water. It was a genuine arrowhead. Well, you'd think
I'd found a lost civilization the way Grandpa carried on about it. It wasn't until I was older that I realized that the arrowhead was just some compressed shale mixed with zinc pyrite that had fractured into an isosceletic triangulate."

"That is so cute!" Mole giggled then trotted away. He was cuddling his dreary mole toy in his arms and wearing his red, white and blue stripy pajamas. (I almost typed in royal blue🤣.)

"Say, Audrey, no...no offense." Milo waved his hand, "but how does a teenager become the chief mechanic on a multi-million dollar expedition?" Madeleine finished for him.

"Well, I took this job when my dad retired," Audrey pulled her boots and socks off before laying her thin mattress down in her tent "but the funny thing was, he always wanted sons, right? One to run his machine shop and the other to be middleweight boxing champion.
But, he got my sister and me instead."

"So what. what happened to your sister?" Madeleine asked.

"She's 24 and oh, with a shot at the title next month. Anyway, I'm saving up so my papi and I can open another shop."

"Forget your jammies, Mrs Packard?" Milo asked when the radio operator walked past in her brown coat and pink fluffy slippers with a cigarette hanging loosely from her lips. Her face was smothered with a green face mask and her hair was twisted in pink rollers. Under her arms, she carried a pillow and a magazine. "I sleep in the nude," she answered without missing a beat.

Madeleine's brown eyes widened.

"You're gonna want a pair of these, she sleepwalks," Sweet tossed Milo and Madeleine a black eye mask each.
Milo was visibly startled and he glanced at his sister with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, as far as me goes," Vinny plucked a matchstick from his mouth and tucked it behind his ear whilst laying down, "I just like to blow things up."

"Come on Vinny, tell the kid the truth, " Sweet pulled at Vinny's eye mask before letting go which flicked him in the face. "My family owned a flower shop." Vinny tugged his mask down, "we would sell roses, carnations, baby's breath, you name it. One day, I'm making about three dozen corsages for this prom. You know, the one they put on their wrist and everybody, they come. 'Where is it? When is it? Does it match my dress?' It's a nightmare," Vinny face palmed.

"Anyway, I guess there was this leak next door of gas or what- BOOM! No more Chinese laundry. Blew me right through the front window. It was like a sign from God, " Vinny lit a matchstick, "I found myself that boom."

The crew looked over to see Mole digging himself into the ground. He switched off his helmet light with a laugh that might haunt Madeleine's nightmares.

"What's Mole's story?" Milo wondered.

"Trust me on this one. You don't wanna know. Audrey," Sweet pointed to the teenager, "Don't tell him. You shouldn't have told me, but you did and now I'm telling you," he turned back to Milo, "you don't wanna know." HE WAS RAISED BY NAKED MOLE RATS PEEPS!

"So, Mads, I've always wondered why you always wear that heart necklace." Audrey asked the girl. "Well, my Grandmother and my Grandfather were aristocrats, so that makes me a baroness's daughter. My Mama and my Papa were sweethearts and they had me before they knew better and Papa left before I turned one. At the time, Mama was looking for work and the Tsarina of Russia hired her, and she often took me to work sometimes. That's where I met and befriended The Grand Duchesses Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia Nicholevna, as well as the Tsarviech Alexei. My necklace was a gift from Anastasia. I lived like that til Mama died of typhoid fever when I was five. I wasn't yet of age to inherit my mother's fortune so I was sent to an orphanage til Milo's grandfather adopted me. Just before he died, he sent me to live with Milo.
Me and the children are still in touch though."

They told some more stories until Sweet blew the candlelight out for the night.

Everyone went to sleep, except for Madeleine. She was certain she could hear rustling and it was making her uneasy. Was it people? Wild animals? She couldn't tell. Milo sensed that she was still awake when she adjusted her position a dozen times.

"What's the matter?" he whispered. "I can't sleep. I think I'm not used to being away from the comfort of home," she whispered back.

It was tricky for Milo to see her face in the dark but nonetheless, he wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her close. (My Babies 🥺💕)

When her breathing steadily slowed down, Milo kept an eye out just a little longer to confirm she had fallen asleep.

~~~

In the still of the night, the masked figures who had been following the expedition lurked about, rummaging through the crew's belongings. One combed through Milo's bag, tossing away a metal compass and an explorer's hat before coming across a photograph of the young linguist and his grandfather.

The figure traced the framed photo until Milo emerged from his tent with a yawn, accompanied by a flashlight, shovel and a roll of toilet paper. This startled the figures and they ran off into the distance without being caught.

Milo carefully tiptoed his way towards the edge of the camp, ensuring not to disturb the others who were sleeping.

Tiredly, Milo was in the process of unbuckling his pants while holding a flashlight underneath his chin.
Unbeknownst to him, he shone the light on a cavern lamp which turned out to be a hive where fireflies were residing.

Buzzing fireflies flew out one by one and surrounded Milo. He tried swatting the bugs away and accidentally dropped his flashlight.
In reaction, he screamed and squished a bug with the roll of toilet paper which set it on fire. "Holy-whoa!" he dropped it aside. The rest of the fireflies flew out. "Fire," Milo watched as the bugs swarmed in and attacked the camp, setting ablaze the tents.

"Fire! Fire! FIRE!" Milo ran through the middle of the camp, alerting the others whilst desperately pulling his pants back up. Rourke, who was the first to wake up, sighed heavily and checked the time with a weary glare.
It was 2 am. "I'm gonna kill him," he muttered and exited his tent,
"Thatch, go back to bed," the leader's eyes widened when he saw thousands of fireflies causing destruction.

One by one, the crew members began to wake up, emerging from their tents to discover another danger had bestowed upon them. Madeleine would have remained asleep, had it not been for Audrey reaching in and shaking her leg vigorously.

With a yawn, she crawled out of the tent sluggishly, not entirely realizing the extent of the situation. "What the-" she rubbed her eyes and no she wasn't mistaken, the campsite really was set on fire.

"What happened?!" Madeleine asked her friend.

"It looks like we're unwanted." Audrey replied.

The heat from the fire left everyone with beads of sweat trickling down their faces. The majority of the tents had been completely burned to a crisp and the crew hurriedly seized what equipment they could salvage, throwing the items into the back of the vehicles.

It was getting harder to see through the thick black smoke that engulfed the campsite, or what was left of it.

Vinny was the only person who seemed to be unfazed by the fire.
"Vinny, hey! Get those dynamite sticks away from the flames!" Helga shouted at him. "I wasn't doing anything but uh.. counting," insisted Vinny but he still did what he was told to do.

"This crew will be the death of me." Helga groaned.

"Lieutenant! Do something about this mess!" Rourke yelled as he tossed his belongings into his truck.

"Get some water on that fire," Helga yelled at the crew that was running around. "No time, get us into those caves! Move it! Move it! Move it!" Rourke pointed to the bridge.

"This way!" Audrey called out to Madeleine. The teenager grabbed
the girl's hand and pulled her along to the parked cars. Unable to extinguish the immeasurable fire, the group hopped into their trucks and attempted to flee across the bridge to safety in a disorderly manner.

"Yah-ha, Gertie, pull!" Cookie whipped the motor that hauled his wagon.

Audrey and Madeleine were nestled in the back of a vehicle and she spotted the linguist running for his life. "Milo jump! Right now!" Madeleine extended her arm as Milo jumped to her and Audrey mere seconds before the car behind them exploded. The fireflies seemed to be endless, as they swarmed out of their hive to pursue the human intruders.

The crew member who was driving the water tank truck screamed in horror as the vehicle was set on fire and the engine exploded, killing him in an instant.

As a result of this incident, a chain of explosions occurred, causing the cars to veer recklessly in different directions. The explosions were so loud that the crew were struggling to hear properly.

Dislodged by all the eruptions, the fireflies hive on the ceiling fell and smashed down into the bridge below, descending the entire expedition deeper into the pits as the bridge slowly plunged. "No no no no no no no!" Mole frantically tried to stop his digger from slipping. Sparks ignited from the wheels and his tank slammed into the cars behind.

Tires squealing, all the drivers lost total control of the cars which were speeding backwards at a hazardously rapid pace in the dark. The crew's screams could be heard over the tremendous crash.