Wanderlust ✧ (Milo Thatch)

four

The ship spiralled out of control. 

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 who was looming over the ship.

"Captain, what do you suggest we do?" Helmsman, 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!" Challis 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 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 to Helga. "Load the torpedo bays! Sub pod crews, battle stations!" she demanded before a hit violently threw her aside. "Battle stations!" the ensign called out.

Challis 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 Challis 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?" she scuttled away and gripped a railing for support. "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!" Milo waved his hand to catch the commander's attention as he stood up.

"Yes Mr 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" nodded Milo, "I assume somebody is trying to thwart us from finding the pathway."

"Hm," the commander squinted his eyes, "Real or not, this beast is going down."

To 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. "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 book say how to defeat the Leviathan?" Challis asked. She and Milo huddled around a little table and he quickly read through the pages. "Not from what I can see. It only tells us about the creature's existence and nothing more," he fretted.