"Yes, sire.", Steve radioed back, and went to drive the lead truck to the largest boulder, parking near it, with the others lining up into a wagon drive circle, and after parking, Rourke stood up, "Everyone, I take responsibility for the terrible tragedy, yet I couldn't thank Officer Carter enough for convincing Mr. Thatch to double-check his book, for if we had taken that tunnel, we would have lost more lives than we had...I may be very anxious to get tracks on, considering that I'm the commander and all of this expedition, but I will slightly relax the orders on everybody's shoulders for today, and even if not hungry, I commend you to eat lunch for we would need to get on further today for at least a couple more hours before setting up camp. Ammunition will have to be checked before we drive again. That's all.", with a nod.
Steve looked over to Peggy who took a deep breath before Milo reached her, "Thanks again for that... I really thought it was the left tunnel for a bit there.".
"It's alright, Milo... It was better to be sure, even without hindsight of what had been lying in wait...", Peggy replied with a small nod.
Milo nodded, "Still, that was terrifying...And those men...If I had known that there could be dangers even deep under the surface and the ocean...", with a deep sigh, and Steve squeezed his shoulder, "Hey, it wasn't your fault for not knowing that there would be living creatures. The Levithan was slightly expected, but we never expected the sheer size of it and all, and this...The journal never said anything of that, right?".
"No...The author came through here like centuries ago, so living creatures would have been different back then or had mutated over time around here...", Milo replied, and Peggy replied, "Exactly. So, territories of animals and such would have been happening for centuries before we came here.".
Milo blinked softly, "Point taken...", before Cookie called out, "Grub time, folks!", as Packard exhaled, blowing smoke from her cigarette, "At least they won't have to eat another plate of mystery meat, bless their souls.", as she walked past the group while men and women gathered up to grab some of Cookie's questionable grub, even if they had to admit that it was filling their bellies.
Peggy glanced at Steve, "Ironically, she's right...Please tell me that you are going to sneak whiskey into his cup again to knock him out for dinner tonight.", and Steve gave a small smile, "At least everybody likes my food better, though they are keeping shut from Cookie about it.", knowing that Cookie is dramatic about vegetables and spices, with Steve saving them in time before thrown over the edge in places.
Milo gave a small chuckle, "Don't worry, Steve. Everyone is glad for a change of food even if you have to be sneaky about it.", and Steve nodded, and so they went to grab some of Cookie's grub.
Vinny glanced at Jacques as they ate, "Jack?", and Jacques looked at Vinny, "Yeah, kid?". Vinny exhaled, "I...I know I hadn't said much about my life, but after seeing another monster again...and I don't want to lose you without knowing me...I ain't one to trust easily, you know?".
"I could guess considering how you were sneaking around before...", Jacques said as Vinny gave a light chuckle and nodded, "Yea..".
"But yeah, I'm very curious to know who you really are.", Jacques smiled gently, looking at Vinny curiously.
Vinny bit his lip for a moment before taking a deep breath, and then spoke, "Well, you know that my name is Vincenzo, yet I got used to be called Vinny for short because it was easier for me to remember...I had a good family...The Santorini family...My grandparents migrated from Italy, with my mami and my aunt as young girls...There was this Italian neighborhood...My grandparents had this mom-and-pop restaurant, through it wasn't big or pomp like high class, but the food was delicious...My mami married a florist, and my dad made sure that his flower shop was next door so they can work two jobs part-time...I had a big brother and little sister... There was a Chinese laundry behind us, with a narrow alley...Mami and my little sister usually went there to do our laundry when needed...Then the sickness came...The Chinese got sick first, and then Mami and my little sister got really bad...Dad looked after them, having to close down the flower shop...My grandparents worked harder in the restaurant, hurting, so I and my brother helped out along with my aunt...".
"Influenza...", Jacques whispered as that was more than likely as he had to guess what probably claimed much of the Santorini family if he was right with what Vinny was telling.
Vinny nodded softly, and he then took a deep breath, "Dad came out alive...I knew that something was not right by the look of his face...We buried Mami and my little sister...Then my grandma got sick...Dad was desperately trying to work in his flower shop, opening it again, not wanting to lose anybody else...Then one day, when I was in the flower shop...there were men in black coats...Dad and my brother ordered me to check on my grandparents and aunt...Grandpa was upset when I told him what I saw...Grandpa ordered my aunt to hide me, and for her to stay with Grandma...I heard popping sounds, screams, and then the room got hot...I got out by window...I saw the restaurant catching fire from the burning flower shop...I ran...It's my fault...I should have stayed quiet...", tears falling.
Jacques guessed the men in coats were probably mob enforcers; that Vinny's family must have gotten mixed up with them or that the mob put them under their thumb to begin with some sort of protection racket that they didn't have much of a choice refusing in the first place. "Vinny, I'm so sorry...", Jacques hugged the boy.
Vinny sobbed into Jacques's chest, as he was the first one Vinny had ever talked about this ever, as he didn't trust the runaways on the streets, or the cops as they didn't do anything to save his family, "It was my fault, Jack!", and Jacques shushed him, brushing his hair, "No, it wasn't your fault, kid. You were trying to protect your family, and your grandfather sounded like he knew them, and went to maybe convince them that his son-in-law is really trying to work despite the Great Depression at the prime...Your father could have argued with your grandfather over trying to save your grandma with medicine for her illness, and disobeyed him by being involved with them...I couldn't blame him after losing his wife and young daughter as he didn't want to lose you or your brother...I have witnessed similar things with my people back in France when the Nazi came in and all.", with a deep sigh.
Peering up at Jacques, Vinny sniffled, "You think so?", and Jacques gave a small smile, "I do...I doubt they wouldn't want you to be on the streets, yet you did...How long have you been there?".
"Maybe eight months? I had no Thanksgiving and Christmas last year...", Vinny whispered, and Jacques widened his eyes in horror, his heart skipping a beat, his breath catching, suddenly more than the caretaker and mentor he is, "How...how did you manage the cold?", as he was more than relieved to see Vinny gaining some weight and color for the past few days.
"Stole blankets and sheets that were hanging from clothes hangers... pretty much stealing any sort of fabric to stay warm...", Vinny explained.
Jacques exhaled, knowing that stealing would be the least of the boy's worries when he was trying to survive a winter on his own, and he rubbed his back, "Well, you don't have to worry about that now...You have three meals a day and you got extra clothes, our tent to ourselves, warm blankets...Is that better than seeing monsters, at least?".
Vinny nodded, "I suppose you're right...And I don't blame Mr. Milo for saving us from that scary worm monster...But hearing those screams...I'm sorry I cried in the truck and all, Jack...I'm supposed to be brave...".
Looking surprised for a moment, Jacques thought before whispering softly, "I have a secret to tell you, and I got permission from my father because it's tradition...He once told me that fear is absent from courage, for it is overcoming those fears, and thus becomes courage, and courage is bravery.".
Vinny looks confused for a moment before becoming thoughtful, and exhaled, "So, it's courage in the face of fear?", and Jacques smiled proudly with a nod, "That's right, Vinny.".
He smiles back before realizing what else Jacques said, "Wait, but I ain't your son...Ain't you supposed to do that with your own son?", frowning, and Jacques sighed softly, "Well, being in the French Resistance doesn't leave a lot of time to think about dating women and all...And well, considering that I'm already in my late 20s, the future is murky for me, but...if having a pseudo son as part of my family, I'd not mind having you...I realize I cannot replace your father as you loved him and looked up to him, but wouldn't you mind if I look after you?", with a gentle, small smile.
Vinny shook his head, "No... not at all... as long as you're alright with me being around and all.".
"If you're about to call yourself a burden or anything of the sort, don't.", Jacques quickly said, wanting to have that thought purged from Vinny's head as soon as possible.
Vinny looked surprised, and then gave a watery chuckle, "You actually sound like a father...", realizing that Jacques wants him, and he sees Jacques looking at him with an affectionate, fatherly look, smiling, "Well, I had to start somewhere, don't I?".
Smiling watery, he hugged Jacques fiercely, burying himself into his shirt, and Jacques gently ruffled his hair, hugging him back, smiling warmly, "I'm here, son...I'm right here.", somehow feeling happier than ever before, suddenly realizing that he's a father now...Sure, he made sure that Vinny ate his meals, was able to help him keep up during the expedition and kept him safe and warm in their tent for the past few days, but now...now it just got real.
Thaddeus whispered lowly as he's eating next to Erskine, "Never thought I'd actually see Jacques look like a father for the first time genuinely. Maybe having Vinny would bring him luck in finding love as well.", keeping his gas mask close to his side, yet he's keeping carefully far even if his disguise and fake scars has discouraged most everyone from asking questions and all.
"Perhaps... I think right now though, everyone's got more important things to worry about than love.", Erskine sighed. "We're slowly starting to get picked off one by one at this rate with things...".
"I know...", Thaddeus gave a somber sigh. "Hopefully we're getting close to our destination... I mean, look at where we are to begin with? Surely that's a sign that it's not much further...".
Erskine nodded softly, "Agreed. Milo seems very sure of it.", and Thaddeus gave a small proud smile, "Indeed.".
And so, after taking numbers and notes of the ammunition, and lunch done, the expedition picked up once again, travelling through the rest of the cavernous valley with the ruins of the outer city borders before setting up camp a few hours later, along with having dinner.
This continued on for a few more days, with one day venturing through an incredible cavernous area of jutting walls and huge building-like rocks and waterfalls, the next day through a fantastic subterranean area of stalactites from the ceilings and Atlantean carvings on the walls, and on the third day, venturing through another area of half-wrecked bridges and fallen pieces on the floors, with the trail jutting here and there, unknowing of the secret and shadowed creatures.
It was then on the fourth day when they, after venturing through more cavernous walls and boulders, got halted up by a huge Atlantean towering pillar where Milo was eustatic to see, unknowing of the secret shadowed creatures in the near distance, speaking in whispered Atlantean, with two of them having feminine voices behind strange, slightly frightening, glowing masks.
"Sister, look! Am I dreaming, or are you seeing what I'm seeing?", the older voice spoke, and the younger voice replied, "I am certain we are seeing the same thing, sister, though I cannot seem to leave the sight of that handsome man, with that sweet boy at his side...That man looks like the one from my dreams, yet he looks a tad older...That cannot be possible, could it?", as they watched Milo playing shadows in the digger's lights as he was blabbing about the incredible pillar, while Vinny helped Jacques rig up explosives.
"Now, one thing you have to understand is that explosives depend on how much you use.", Jacques explained. "The slightest change of even a single gram of gunpowder can sometimes turn something from a small blast to a huge explosion.".
"Wait, what?", Milo asked as he turned to look at the two of them, now realizing what they were doing at the base of the pillar. "You... you're going to blast this pillar?".
"Well, do you know of any other way across?", Jacques said. "You said it yourself that we have to go further on from here at this point, but I don't see another way forward... apart from making this a bridge.".
Milo looked aghast, "But, but this was carved like for thousands of years, and it's like a half mile tall!", and Jacques replied, "Milo, we gotta get to Atlantis one way or another, so unless we have ballons or wings in one of the trucks somewhere, we cannot leave everybody here, stuck, and I doubt you want to go back and face the worm monster in the other tunnel.".
Mouth agape for a moment, Milo then sighed deeply, nodding, "You make a good point, Jacques...", and Vinny glanced at Jacques, "Papa Jack, can I push the rig lever, please?", smiling with wide eyes.
Jacques chuckled, "Of course, son, but another thing you have to understand, we need to be a distance away, otherwise it's like a match gone wrong in your face. Is that clear?", serious on the last part.
While the secret watchers observed, the older voice gasped quietly as she saw Milo turn around in the light to look at Jacques, "I think it's possible that our dreams have come to fruition for I am seeing the man from my dreams as well, sister.", speaking Atlantean.
The younger voice gave a soft giggle, "I knew it! They're real...What are they doing?", seeing Jacques carrying a box in his arms, with Vinny walking next to him, dragging Milo's coat as he pouted, yet resignedly joining them, and then Jacques put the box down, nodding at Vinny.
Jacques replied, "I'll count to three, and you push, okay, and you count how long it takes to fall into place?", and Vinny smiled, "Yes, Papa Jack!", poised with his hands on the rig lever.
"Alright then... cover your ears, folks!", Jacques warned. Everyone took cover as Vinny held the lever. "One... two... three!".
A loud blast echoed throughout the caves and tunnels as the pillar was blown clean at the base before it fell forward across the chasm and crashed, practically fitting perfectly as a bridge. "Think it's stable for the equipment?", Steve asked as he moved from cover.
Erskine replied, "As much as we keep to the middle, it should be fine.", with a smile as Vinny cheered with a grin, "I made a bridge! That was 10, almost 11 seconds, Papa Jack!", as Jacques ruffled his hair fondly with a proud smile, "Good job, son.".
Milo had to smile, seeing the enthusiasm on the boy's face, and Rourke called out, "Alright, line up! Let's move, people!", as the group went back to their trucks, waiting for Steve and Milo's lead truck to slowly lead the way carefully.
In the shadows, the younger voice replied, "Oh, my...They're from the surface...That man looks even more handsome when praising his son...".
"And what about what they had just done?", one of the other shadows, this one more masculine in tone, spoke. "Death stalks these surface dwellers, I can feel it.".
The older feminine voice replied, "Not all of them. Yes, I do see grief and death, but I also see hope and love. Do you deny me of saying it?", and the masculine voice replied respectfully, "You speak true, Princess. Forgive me for speaking out of turn.".
"You are forgiven, for you are a respectful and honorable warrior, my friend. And I cannot argue against my own sister for things we are now witnessing as I am curious of the man with the strange glass circles on his face, like how my sister is curious of the man with the boy that has the power to create force. But all the same, we shall follow them, for if they have somehow ventured past our guardian, it must mean that the Great Kings has permitted them to come. Do not tell my father unless we are close to home.", the older feminine voice stated firmly.
