"Put it on speakers," Rourke said with a sigh.
A low, hollow groan filled the room instantly. Rourke's face quickly shifted from annoyance to concern. He and Helga rushed back to Mrs. Packard's station.
"What is that?" asked Sylvia.
Milo shrugged and walked down the stairs to the front of the sub. He was now directly in front of the panoramic window. With a hand to the glass, he scanned the view of the ocean.
"I don't see anything," he called back to Sylvia and Eleanor.
The sound grew louder before suddenly ceasing. Eleanor sighed with relief and her eyes met Milo's. He smiled nervously, shaking his head at the whole thing.
Rourke walked toward the group once again calling orders.
"Helmsman! Bring us about. Tighten our search pattern and slow us to…"
As he spoke, the sub lurched with a loud crash. Instantly, the alarm bells blared, filling the space as the mysterious sound had moments before.
"Battle stations!" Helga commanded. The whole crew scattered.
Eleanor, not having a battle station, rushed over to the top of the stairs. She saw Milo get thrown against the glass in the crash. He struggled to regain his footing. Behind him, the ocean went black. Eleanor couldn't focus her eyes on what was blocking the window. A large, orange circle appeared in the center of the view and grew slowly.
"Jiminy Christmas!" Milo exclaimed. "It's a machine!"
He scrambled to his feet and rushed to meet Eleanor at the stairs.
"All hands, abandon ship," droned Mrs. Packard over the speaker.
Eleanor looked around frantically for help. She had no idea where to find an escape and Milo didn't look any more confident. Helga peaked her head back into the bridge room at that moment and beckoned with a jerk of her hand
"Move it, people! Sometime today would be nice!"
Milo and Eleanor followed her to a small escape pod. The sat down and buckled in.
"Where to, Mr. Thatch?" Rourke asked as soon as Milo was situated.
"We're looking for a big crevice of some kind…" he said as he scanned the Shepherd's Journal.
"Look!" Eleanor screamed. "There's one!"
As the pod turned toward the crevice, they heard the roar of the machine again. Eleanor squeezed her eyes shut and focused on her breathing. She tried not to pay attention to Rourke's booming voice or the pages of Milo's journal flipping violently. Everything went dark and Eleanor wasn't sure if she was alive or not.