Chapter One
It was just another boring day in the life of Milo Thatch. Compared to all of the action he went through in Atlantis, going back to being a janitor was not nearly as exciting. Especially since he promised Kida he would never prove to anyone of Atlantis's existence. As he finished mopping the main entry hall of the Smithsonian Institute, Milo looked back on the day he returned to the states. He remembered saying goodbye to Kida and the Atlantians as he helped the crew pack up the narwhal sub to head home. He heard the last words Kida had spoken to him echo through his mind.
"I will never forget you Milo Thatch." she had said. And in truth he could never forget her. She had been the first person in his life to believe he wasn't absolutely crazy. She had been a great friend. The intercom came on, pulling him away from his reminiscing.
"Thatch?"
"Yes?"
"The boiler's acting up again, Thatch. We need you to fix it right away."
"Alright." Milo let out a deep sigh, and walked down the hall to the basement where the boiler was. When he was finished adjusting the levers and valves, he gave it a good hit with his wrench. After a loud roar it was back in working order.
"Better?" asked Milo.
"Yes." And with out even a 'thank you' the man hung up. Milo grumbled something about 'manners' under his breath then glanced up at the clock above the chalkboard. It read 6:00pm.
"Well I guess it's time to go home and feed Fluffy." he said to himself. He packed up his briefcase, changed out of his uniform, and walked up the stairs leading out of his basement office. As he walked out into the hall he heard laughing. "Oh, great..." he muttered under his breath. He peered around the corner and sure enough a group of directors were nearly doubling over with laughter. When they spotted him their snickers grew.
"Speak of the devil, here comes Mr. Atlantis himself!" one pointed.
"Where's your evidence now boy?" another ridiculed. 'Walk it off Thatch. They haven't seen what you have.' he thought to himself. 'Their words should mean nothing to you.' And yet he felt tears welling up in his eyes.
"What's the matter Mr. Fix-it? You gonna go cry to momma? Oh that's right. You don't have one!" That did it. Milo's fist collided with the trash-talker's face, giving him a bloody nose. Another man retaliated by hitting Milo in the knee with his cane. There was a loud crack and Milo's hands automatically clutched his knee as he cried out in pain. A third man took advantage of this and threw a punch to Milo's face causing him to fall backwards and land on the hard, tile floor. Blood dripped from Milo's mouth and he felt a black-eye forming. He tried to get up but, his injured knee gave in and he again found himself on the floor. "Had enough Mr. Atlantis? Now go scrub the facilities." And with that they walked off, laughing all the way. Milo noticed his spectacles were not on his face and began blindly feeling for them with his hands. Someone who appeared a blur to Milo picked them up and took his hand. After flipping his hand over she lay them in his open palm. He took them and carefully adjusted them back on his nose.
"Thanks, Astrid." Milo said bashfully. She helped him up and noticed him cringing as he stood. "What happened to you?" Her royal blue eyes then noticed the blood on his mouth and his black-eye. "Oh Milo," she sighed. She pulled out her handkerchief and gently wiped the blood from his lips. Astrid repeated her question.
"Don't worry about it." he replied. She gave him a look that seemed to say, 'Seriously'. "Well," he began. "I may have gotten into another fight." She stopped him there.
"Again! Milo when will you learn to just ignore them?"
"They brought up my mother, Astrid..." Astrid's expression softened. She knew Milo's dead parents was a sensitive topic. So she changed the subject.
"Did you start up the Atlantis thing again?" she asked.
"No." he replied. Astrid was not a believer in Atlantis either. 'If only she knew' he thought.
"Do you want me to walk you home?" She offered.
"I'll be ok." he said. "Goodbye, Astrid."
"Bye, Milo." she said smiling. Milo could not help but blush as he smiled back. Then he limped away without even looking back.
"Milo, get a hold of yourself! She would never fall for a clumsy nerd like you!" he quietly mumbled to himself. He was so engrossed in talking to himself that he didn't hear Astrid calling his name. She tried to catch up to him but he had already limped out the door and across the street to his apartment.