"Are you stupid or something?"
Eleanor's eyes widened at Audrey's question, but Milo smiled like she hadn't said anything.
"Audrey," Milo began calmly. "Atlantian is very hard to read. It's a mistake anyone could have made."
Audrey sneered back at him. She looked like she had more to say, but recognized that now was not the time.
"I didn't sign up for this expedition to get killed," she exclaimed as she stormed off. Milo's shoulders dropped as soon as she was out of earshot.
"I am stupid."
Eleanor looked at him and wrinkled her brow.
"I am stupid," Milo repeated. "I can't believe I read the book upside-down. That's an…an idiot mistake!"
Eleanor said nothing. What could she say? Milo had set himself up to be the expert on Atlantian and here he'd messed up. Big time. What if they hadn't been able to get away from the creature in time? Eleanor didn't want to think about it.
"We should have never come on this expedition," Milo muttered. Eleanor sat up straight and glared at him.
"Excuse me?" she demanded. "Now, after all that's happened…now you think we shouldn't have come on this expedition?"
Milo looked surprised. She continued, filled with fire.
"A lot of people died, Milo. They died because you told them that this was important and they believed you! You want to give up now because you made a mistake?"
"They didn't come because they believed me," Milo countered. "They came because your grandfather paid them."
"Because he believed you!"
"Because he believed my grandfather."
Eleanor shook her head at him in disbelief.
"Yes! Your grandfather. Isn't that what you're here for? Because you believed your grandfather?"
Milo looked at her sadly. It seemed that the thought of Atlantis simply being a myth crossed Milo's mind for the first time in his life. In all the time that Eleanor had known Milo, he'd been positive that Atlantis was real and could be found. He'd talked about it with an energy that had swept Eleanor up in the excitement until she too was convinced of the mythical place.
Milo's gaze dropped to the Shepherd's Journal. He ran his hand over the symbol on the cover and nodded slowly.
"You're right. This is for grandpa. We're finding Atlantis!"
And with that, the energy was back. Eleanor couldn't help but smile as Milo cracked open the journal and studied the pages intently. This was the Milo the team needed. He just had to find his confidence.