Third Person POV

Things went wrong immediately.

Alarms blared as a warning and the crew were trying to make sense of the situation. "What the hell just happened?" Helga frowned, rubbing the spot on her waist where she landed.

"It seems to me that we have a little competition," Rourke grunted. The group gathered together, their vigilant gaze glued to the Leviathan that was looming over the ship. "Captain, what do you suggest we do?" The sailor behind the wheel called out. "Keep on track. We're going to find that pathway once we get this varmint out of the way," Rourke replied firmly.

"Look at the size of it!" Madeleine thought aloud. The Leviathan was ten times bigger than the submarine and she wasn't so sure this was going to end well. Under the main deck, the mechanics were dealing with the hit they had just endured.

"Out of the way!" Audrey ran past sailors who were unable to stay balanced on their feet. She observed the submarine beginning to take on water at an unnerving pace. Audrey may have been the second youngest person in the crew but she was the first to take charge of the situation.

"Tell Cookie to melt the butter and break out the bibs. I want this lobster served up on a silver platter," ordered Rourke ordered. "Load the torpedo bays! Sub pod crews, battle stations!" stations!" she demanded before a hit violently threw her aside. "Battle stations!" the ensign called out.

Madeleine watched as dozens of men (Vinny and Mole included raced to their battle stations, quickly preparing to put up a fight. They had been trained for situations similar to this and knew exactly what to do, switching the correct buttons on and gearing up with their headsets.

"Steady boys. Don't panic," Rourke instructed through the intercom.
Another intense impact sent Milo and Madeleine falling backwards into the front window where the eye of the Leviathan glared through the glass.

"Jiminy Christmas! It's a machine!" Milo's hands flew to his head. "A machine? Are you sure?" Madeleine scuttled away and gripped a railing for support. "Maddy, I'm certain. A creature of that size surely would've eaten us by now!" he exclaimed.

The Leviathan had massively sharp claws and red glowing eyes. The body was largely built with blue markings engraved across the exterior and the tail that could smash anything in its path. Milo tried to get a closer look by climbing to the next window but the creature had already moved further into the darkness. "Rourke!" Madeleine waved her hand to catch the commander's attention as she and her brother stood up.

"Yes Ms. Thatch, what is it?"

"A machine- it's- the Leviathan is a machine."

"A machine, you say?" Rourke stopped what he was doing.

"That's right" Milo replied, "I think somebody is trying to thwart us from finding the pathway." "Hm," the commander squinted his eyes, "Real or not, this beast is going down."

Meanwhile below decks, in order prevent the water from coming in, Audrey ran over to a wheel and began rotating it to shut the door. "Wait! Wait!" three sailors called out as they ran for survival. Only two out of the three men made it. (That scene will always haunt me...)

"Launch sub pods!" bellowed Rourke. "Sub pods away!" the ensign called out. All twenty-four of the sub pods were launched into the water in a synchronized manner and headed towards the monster who had the submarine gripped in its pincers.

Each sub-pod was manned by two people, one to helm the vehicle and the other to operate the weaponry.
The main propellor gave each mini-assault vehicle essential mobility in the water at high speed.

Over the radio, Rourke commanded "Fire!" and missiles were shot at the Leviathan which set the ship free from its clutches. "Does the journal say how to defeat the Leviathan?" Madeleine asked. She was holding Milo's hand as the two of them were huddled around a little table and he quickly read through the pages.

"Not from what I can see, Maddy. It only tells us about the creature's existence and nothing more," her brother fretted. "We're free. All ahead full," Rourke commanded.

The Leviathan attacked the sub-pods and they needed backup. "Fire torpedoes!" Rourke instructed. "Fire torpedoes!" the ensign repeated and the torpedoes were launched too. In response, the Leviathan fired a shot of blue electrical volts, damaging the ship by blasting a hole through the vessel.

The impact of the hit knocked everyone around and Madeleine and Milo were separated in the midst of the chaos. The Shepherd's Journal fell out of Milo's grip and slid across the floor, eventually coming to a halt underneath a stack of draws.

"This can't be happening!" Milo edged his way through preoccupied sailors who were running up and down before laying himself flat on the ground. He extended his arm out, his fingertips grazing the old cover.
Come on! Come on, he reached out a little further and was able to grab a hold of it, sighing in relief.

Helga, who regardless of being physically strong, needed help moving crates so that their weaponry wouldn't be destroyed. "You. Yeah, you. Come here and help me move these crates." she beckoned the young girl over who was nearby.

Together, the two began carrying the crates of weapons back and forth between the escape pods and the main chamber. Despite their best efforts to protect their ship, the submarine was beginning to fall apart. Steam hissed through the gaps and screws and bolts became loose.

The tools were sent soaring wildly in all directions prompting Audrey to run for cover through the forming pools of water and scurry up a ladder. A fellow worker grabbed her arm, helping her up. "Get me the bridge!" she commanded.

"Sir, it's engineering on four," Packard said calmly while she amused herself with a magazine.

"Rourke! We took a big hit down here and we're taking on water fast. I don't want to be around when it hits the boilers!" Audrey warned through the intercom. "How much time do we have?" Rourke questioned.

"Twenty minutes if the bulkhead holds" she replied just as the bulkhead broke with a clang, "you better make that five." "You heard the lady. Let's move!" Rourke yelled.

"Move! Where? Move where? Where's my sister?" Milo was ignored and shoved down the stairs towards the escape pods by a sailor.

Upon noticing that she was close by to the sleeping quarters, Madeleine ran inside to grab her bag and Milo's while the crew were evacuating the sinking ship.

In Milo's room, the door slammed shut when the ship was turned on its side and she couldn't get it open. "Help!" she screamed, banging against the metal but over the blaring of sirens, her cries could not be heard.

Adrenaline kicked in and even though her hands were aching red, she did not give up and kept towing with all the strength she had in her tiny body. When there was no difference, she scoured the room for tools. In the back of a broken cupboard, she found a rusty old crowbar.

Please, please, please work. Madeleine, who was panting with exertion, forced the crowbar into the cleft of the door and pulled with all her might but still, it would not open.

Breathing hard, Madeleine had to take a quick break, leaning over and planting her sore hands on her knees. "Why couldn't the door have been wooden?" she heaved. Maybe she might've had a more reasonable chance of fleeing. She did not think this through properly.

"Packard, sound the alarm!" Helga leaned over a railing to get a better view of the radio operator.

"He took his suitcase? Marge honey, I don't think he's coming back," Mrs Packard gossiped with her best friend while she smoked a cigarette.

"Packard!" Helga yelled.

"I have to call you back. No no, I'll call you," Packard doused her cigarette out against the desk with absolutely no urgency and then broadcasted her final announcement.

"All hands, abandon ship."

The ship suddenly turned once more and the door swung open without caution, knocking Madeleine backwards into the wall. The impact winded her deeply and she was certain it was going to leave a bruise.

She pushed herself to her feet and stumbled out of the room at last. Combing through the ship which was like a maze to her, Madeleine searched for anybody who she would be able to follow to safety.

With the submarine tossing and turning at every angle, it was hard to run without bashing into any of the walls. Milo stopped in his tracks. tracks. "I can't leave here without my sister," he protested but Helga took no interest.

"Move it, people! Sometime today would be nice" she scolded so everyone picked up their pace. Milo waited until the last possible second before following Audrey and Sweet running closely behind the two.

"Come on! Everybody grab a seat and buckle in," Helga directed.
Those who made it on time all buckled into their seats and braced themselves. "Wait a minute, where's Mads?" Audrey noticed the empty seat beside Milo.

"I-I don't know but I hope she's safe," Milo gulped. "T'm sure the kid is fine," Sweet reassured. "Lieutenant, get us out of here," Rourke demanded as Helga swung herself into the driver's seat.

The submarine was being engulfed inside and out by the water fast and tensions within the crew were high.
The Leviathan roared deafeningly and shot out yet another set of electrical volts, hitting the ship again.

"Lieutenant!"

"I'm working on it!" she snapped under the pressure.

Helga used her foot to put her weight against the lever. "Hang on," she said as they discharged, racing to escape the danger. The lights inside the submarine flickered and then shut down seconds before the vessel ultimately exploded, killing anybody who wasn't so lucky to flee.

The blast left bits of debris floating in the misty water but the battle did not end there and the Leviathan menacingly gave chase after the escape pods. The bumpy ride had the crew bouncing around in their seats.

"Where to Mr. Thatch?" Rourke asked, craning his neck to look back at the linguist. "We're looking for a big crevice of some kind," Milo answered, flipping through the pages of the Shepard's Journal frantically.

"There, up ahead!" Rourke saw the pathway and pointed. "All craft, make your mark 20 degrees down angle," Helga tugged down a wire and spoke into the intercom to alert the remaining crew.

"Roger! 20 degrees down angle!" One replied.

"Right behind you!" Mole answered.

"We're getting killed out here!" Another panicked.

The Leviathan used its pincers to destroy any pods that it could catch.
Turning a corner, it smashed into rocks and slowed momentarily. The escape pods dipped into the open crevice but the Leviathan fired another shot of electrical volts through the murky water.

It struck one of the escape pods. "Look out!" said a sailor before the vessel crashed into rocks and exploded. The rest of the crew entered the compressed tunnel that Milo and Madeleine had previously spoken about in the meeting.

"It's only a grease trap. It's just like a sink! It's only a grease trap. It's just like a sink!" Milo yelled nervously. Audrey and Sweet glanced at him oddly. The Leviathan continued shooting electrical volts.

Helga was struggling to keep control of the pod and collided with the vehicle in front, cracking the window. She gripped the steering wheel tightly and focused ahead. As fate would have it (or luck), the crew members successfully made their way out of the tunnel and the ships broke through the surface of the water into the eerie caverns.

Rourke, Helga, Vinny and Mole opened the hatches of their ships and climbed through to inspect the cave. A flashlight was flashed upon what appeared to be an Atlantean lair entrance.

Milo's hands were trembling. Did his Madeleine make it? The unanswered question was all he could think about. Reaching land, they began to unload the last of their vehicles and other assets.

Milo frantically searched for Madeleine in the crowd but there was no sign of her anywhere.

I told you so.