The Expedition
Title
The Expedition
Creator
Marcus Hernandez
Date
04/19/2023
Text
Growing up, I always thought my dad was the best person ever. I always looked up to him and everyone says he was the best Expeditionist ever! It’s too bad I lost him before I got to know him when I was a man myself. Everyone always has awesome stories to say about him, and he’d always bring me some sick stuff he would find beyond the Sunken Cities. I still wear the necklace he made using one of those old bullets they would use like a hundred years ago before they outlawed guns in the States. Still, it’s kinda weird how Mom never really talks about him much, and she’s always giving me this sad look when I mention how I’m gonna surpass him as the best Expeditionist.
Dad was one of the first Expeditionists. I still remember some of the stories he would tell me about how they formed. Apparently, we used to fish for food but all the people here in the Gutters were getting sick after the fish started lookin’ all funny because of the Sunken Cities pollution. So, the Expeditionists formed to go out into the flooded areas to find food and medication. Mom says that a bunch of rich people lived here too before they all went North to avoid the flooding, but that was before her and Dad were still kids.
Man, I can’t wait to go on my first expedition! Uncle King promised to take me and Naomi on our first expedition once we both turned 17. Naomi turned 17 a month ago and I turn 17 today! Our families were pretty close, and we were born basically at the same time, so we grew up together. She had long black hair and dark eyes to match. Naomi was always stubborn and hard as nails, but I try to get along with her. Uncle King isn’t actually Dad’s brother, but he was an Expeditionist around the same time Dad was. They grew really close, and he basically became family. He also helped take care of me and Mom when Dad passed.
A few weeks later, Naomi and I went to tell Uncle King that we were finally old enough to go on our first expedition. He told us that we were going on the next one he was commanding. I told Mom about the expedition, and she flipped out. It scared me because she would never say anything about me going on expeditions. I guess this is how she felt the whole time. She was all like, “No, you can’t go, Ben. Please, I can’t lose you too!” I told her that nothing was gonna happen, but she wouldn’t budge. Eventually, it turned into a screaming match, so I just walked away. I guess I kinda feel a little bad, but she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She’s always been stuck up and strict with me, so hearing her plead like that made me feel like I was betraying her or something. Whatever, it sucks that we ended it off on a fight before I left, but I’ll just make things right with her when I come back.
Today was the day, Naomi and I linked up before heading over to the Expedition camp. “How do you feel?” I asked. “It’s gonna be cake, but we shouldn’t waste any time. Let’s get there as soon as we can.” Yup, sounds like Naomi. She was always confident and stuck to the rules. But something seems off about her. I’m real excited to get going but she seems a bit different. Almost like she’s desperate to get out there. I guess it’s probably because her mom is still sick. She fell ill a few months ago. Every time I ask her how she’s doing, Naomi tells me she’s fine, or doing better. Honestly, I don’t believe her. Naomi hasn’t really been the same since her mom’s health got bad. She was always a party pooper but she barely even cracks jokes anymore. I can tell her smile is less genuine now too. I kinda miss it.
Within less than a minute of us walking into the camp, we both hear a deep raspy voice yell “Ben!” in the distance. We immediately recognized that it was Uncle King. He wasn’t exactly the most difficult person to spot. He was around 6’4 with a big muscle-bound build. Every time he talked, it sounded like a giant friendly bear was roaring, and his laugh was guttural and deep, you could probably hear it from miles away. He had long blond hair and wore a red bandana around his forehead. He also always carried an axe he called “Monique” on his hip. He was so large he made it seem like a knife. Everyone would call him “Ragnarök” for his Viking-like appearance and hulking strength.
From the second we stepped into the camp, it already felt like home. Everyone was friendly and there were campfires lit around. It was Winter so the campfires felt great. There wasn’t a moment of silence. Laughter and banter could be heard from all around. We walked up to King, and he patted us on the back, knocking the wind out of us. He laughed and said “You guys made it! I’m surprised you didn’t whimper out!” “Right, like we’d miss this chance.” I scoffed. “Come, meet the group, you all should get acquainted before we head out on the expedition.” One by one, he introduced us to the group. First up was Scrat, a skinny redhead that kinda reminded me of a wild boar. He seems like the type to not make very rational decisions. He probably has a few screws loose, but I guess that isn’t so bad for this line of work.
Next was Rebacca and Allen. They were twins and wore matching bracelets. Both of them seemed like good people. I felt welcomed in their presence. We all sat around a campfire and ate canned beans before we departed the next morning. I noticed that Naomi was quiet for most of the night. I asked her what was wrong, but she said that it was nothing. I pushed but she wouldn’t tell me. Everyone else was dancing around the campfire with drinks in their hands and smiles on their faces.
As the sun rose, a bell rang in the camp. In almost an instant, everyone was up doing chores and filling their responsibilities. It was a huge contrast from last night. Uncle King walked over to Naomi and me and picked us up by the back of our shirts and stood us up on our feet. “It’s time to go! Are you babies ready? “Mhmmm,” Naomi and I nodded in sync. Everyone else was ready. We washed our faces and joined up with the rest of the group. And just like that, we set out on our first expedition! It was my first time walking past the safety borders that had been set up to warn against the flooded areas. Once past it, I could feel the breeze hit me. Chills were constantly going down my spine. I looked over the horizon and the sunrise was illuminating the water towards us. The remains of some buildings could be seen peaking above the sea level.
We kept walking deeper into the Sunken Cities. As the water got deeper, we could see the different types of fish swimming in the water. They were all kinds of colors and would wander in and out of old cars, crabs were crawling through gutters looking for food, and some alligators were even swimming around or resting their heads above the water. The buildings were covered with moss and overgrown plants, and their bases were discolored because of the water. Once we reached about 4 feet of depth, we climbed onto the buildings and traversed through and over them. Planks of wood and makeshift bridges were used to connect the rooftops for safer travel. Once we reached a certain point. We entered a building that was towering over all the others through an open window and walked up the stairs all the way to the roof.
Once on the roof, Naomi and I saw that multiple ziplines had been set up to descend onto different sectors of the Sunken Cities that had been previously explored by the older Expeditionists. King decided that we were going to travel to the west sector since it was Naomi and I’s first expedition. The Western Sector was mostly explored and had lots of checkpoints put up to make travel a lot safer. Every rest point was marked with old, rusty stop signs, placed at the top of tall wooden poles. We reached a rest point and King said we were gonna camp here for the night. We brought wood all the way from the Gutters and lit up a campfire. We all sat down around the campfire and roasted marshmallows, and I listened to them tell stories. It was real nice being around so many people with the same goals and dreams as me, they already felt like family.
As the sun began to rise, we woke up and prepared to head out again. It seemed like Uncle King’s objective was to show us around and have Naomi and me learn the ropes. Scrat and the twins seemed really comfortable around these parts and hopped around the cities like it was muscle memory. We were walking across a bridge and Naomi says, “Hey guys, what’s that down there?” A small red light beamed from the bottom of the floor beneath the water. Next to it seemed to be a large metal door that was torn open. A hefty iron loch laid on the floor next to it. “Damn Naomi! You’ve got some eyes there!” Allen exclaimed as Rebecca nodded in agreement. “Looks like an old bunker,” said King.
“Let’s go down!” Scrat yelled in a restless way. Almost like he was itching for an adventure. “Fine, but we’re being careful. Naomi, Ben, you two will shadow us.” King ordered. “Yes sir!” Naomi and I exclaimed with our chins raised. Wow! I didn’t think we’d be doing something like this on our first expedition. And by the looks of it, it seems like no one’s explored this thing yet. Everyone started pulling their scuba gear out of their bags and Naomi and I followed. One by one, everyone started jumping feet first into the water. I was the last one in. We swam closer to the door and we found an alligator tooth next to it, and a big one at that. King went ahead of the group and ordered us to creep in slowly behind him with some hand signs we went over earlier.
Scrat swam past us and made a mad dash straight into the bunker. Everyone looked alarmed and followed him in. This was just the kind of wild thing I would’ve expected from this guy. Everyone was thrown off. The bunker spread into multiple corridors, but it was hard to make out which was which. The water was murkier than usual, so our visibility is scrapped. We could hear Scrat cackling from excitement even through the water. Then out of nowhere, A huge alligator shot towards Scrat from the corner. The water was murky, but I was still close enough to him to see the gators teeth sink into his neck. The gator spun in circles with Scrat’s head still in its jaws, ripping his head clean off.
What just happened? Is this real? So many thoughts ran through my head before I could even process what was happening. Everything felt muffled now, my vision, my hearing, everything felt distant. Beside my ear I heard “Nooooo,” King yelled as his axe swung right past my head. The head plunged into the gators side and it scurried off. Blood pooled around Scrat’s corpse as his body sunk to the floor. His blood made the visibility even worse. As I came back into my senses, I looked around for Naomi. She was already pulling my arm towards the exit, basically dragging me. I looked to my left and saw Rebecca’s mask covered in vomit. More gators started to swarm down from the ceiling. King, Allen, and Rebecca seemed to be outnumbered, but I turned my head away because I couldn't take any more bloodshed.
Naomi pulled me up the surface and we both broke down into tears and began gasping for air. How could I have been so stupid? Mom warned me about joining but I didn’t listen. She was right the whole time. I gotta make it back to her and tell her I’ll never leave her again. I’m sorry everyone, but I can’t do anything, I’m not strong enough. I have to focus on bringing Naomi home with me too.
Dad was one of the first Expeditionists. I still remember some of the stories he would tell me about how they formed. Apparently, we used to fish for food but all the people here in the Gutters were getting sick after the fish started lookin’ all funny because of the Sunken Cities pollution. So, the Expeditionists formed to go out into the flooded areas to find food and medication. Mom says that a bunch of rich people lived here too before they all went North to avoid the flooding, but that was before her and Dad were still kids.
Man, I can’t wait to go on my first expedition! Uncle King promised to take me and Naomi on our first expedition once we both turned 17. Naomi turned 17 a month ago and I turn 17 today! Our families were pretty close, and we were born basically at the same time, so we grew up together. She had long black hair and dark eyes to match. Naomi was always stubborn and hard as nails, but I try to get along with her. Uncle King isn’t actually Dad’s brother, but he was an Expeditionist around the same time Dad was. They grew really close, and he basically became family. He also helped take care of me and Mom when Dad passed.
A few weeks later, Naomi and I went to tell Uncle King that we were finally old enough to go on our first expedition. He told us that we were going on the next one he was commanding. I told Mom about the expedition, and she flipped out. It scared me because she would never say anything about me going on expeditions. I guess this is how she felt the whole time. She was all like, “No, you can’t go, Ben. Please, I can’t lose you too!” I told her that nothing was gonna happen, but she wouldn’t budge. Eventually, it turned into a screaming match, so I just walked away. I guess I kinda feel a little bad, but she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She’s always been stuck up and strict with me, so hearing her plead like that made me feel like I was betraying her or something. Whatever, it sucks that we ended it off on a fight before I left, but I’ll just make things right with her when I come back.
Today was the day, Naomi and I linked up before heading over to the Expedition camp. “How do you feel?” I asked. “It’s gonna be cake, but we shouldn’t waste any time. Let’s get there as soon as we can.” Yup, sounds like Naomi. She was always confident and stuck to the rules. But something seems off about her. I’m real excited to get going but she seems a bit different. Almost like she’s desperate to get out there. I guess it’s probably because her mom is still sick. She fell ill a few months ago. Every time I ask her how she’s doing, Naomi tells me she’s fine, or doing better. Honestly, I don’t believe her. Naomi hasn’t really been the same since her mom’s health got bad. She was always a party pooper but she barely even cracks jokes anymore. I can tell her smile is less genuine now too. I kinda miss it.
Within less than a minute of us walking into the camp, we both hear a deep raspy voice yell “Ben!” in the distance. We immediately recognized that it was Uncle King. He wasn’t exactly the most difficult person to spot. He was around 6’4 with a big muscle-bound build. Every time he talked, it sounded like a giant friendly bear was roaring, and his laugh was guttural and deep, you could probably hear it from miles away. He had long blond hair and wore a red bandana around his forehead. He also always carried an axe he called “Monique” on his hip. He was so large he made it seem like a knife. Everyone would call him “Ragnarök” for his Viking-like appearance and hulking strength.
From the second we stepped into the camp, it already felt like home. Everyone was friendly and there were campfires lit around. It was Winter so the campfires felt great. There wasn’t a moment of silence. Laughter and banter could be heard from all around. We walked up to King, and he patted us on the back, knocking the wind out of us. He laughed and said “You guys made it! I’m surprised you didn’t whimper out!” “Right, like we’d miss this chance.” I scoffed. “Come, meet the group, you all should get acquainted before we head out on the expedition.” One by one, he introduced us to the group. First up was Scrat, a skinny redhead that kinda reminded me of a wild boar. He seems like the type to not make very rational decisions. He probably has a few screws loose, but I guess that isn’t so bad for this line of work.
Next was Rebacca and Allen. They were twins and wore matching bracelets. Both of them seemed like good people. I felt welcomed in their presence. We all sat around a campfire and ate canned beans before we departed the next morning. I noticed that Naomi was quiet for most of the night. I asked her what was wrong, but she said that it was nothing. I pushed but she wouldn’t tell me. Everyone else was dancing around the campfire with drinks in their hands and smiles on their faces.
As the sun rose, a bell rang in the camp. In almost an instant, everyone was up doing chores and filling their responsibilities. It was a huge contrast from last night. Uncle King walked over to Naomi and me and picked us up by the back of our shirts and stood us up on our feet. “It’s time to go! Are you babies ready? “Mhmmm,” Naomi and I nodded in sync. Everyone else was ready. We washed our faces and joined up with the rest of the group. And just like that, we set out on our first expedition! It was my first time walking past the safety borders that had been set up to warn against the flooded areas. Once past it, I could feel the breeze hit me. Chills were constantly going down my spine. I looked over the horizon and the sunrise was illuminating the water towards us. The remains of some buildings could be seen peaking above the sea level.
We kept walking deeper into the Sunken Cities. As the water got deeper, we could see the different types of fish swimming in the water. They were all kinds of colors and would wander in and out of old cars, crabs were crawling through gutters looking for food, and some alligators were even swimming around or resting their heads above the water. The buildings were covered with moss and overgrown plants, and their bases were discolored because of the water. Once we reached about 4 feet of depth, we climbed onto the buildings and traversed through and over them. Planks of wood and makeshift bridges were used to connect the rooftops for safer travel. Once we reached a certain point. We entered a building that was towering over all the others through an open window and walked up the stairs all the way to the roof.
Once on the roof, Naomi and I saw that multiple ziplines had been set up to descend onto different sectors of the Sunken Cities that had been previously explored by the older Expeditionists. King decided that we were going to travel to the west sector since it was Naomi and I’s first expedition. The Western Sector was mostly explored and had lots of checkpoints put up to make travel a lot safer. Every rest point was marked with old, rusty stop signs, placed at the top of tall wooden poles. We reached a rest point and King said we were gonna camp here for the night. We brought wood all the way from the Gutters and lit up a campfire. We all sat down around the campfire and roasted marshmallows, and I listened to them tell stories. It was real nice being around so many people with the same goals and dreams as me, they already felt like family.
As the sun began to rise, we woke up and prepared to head out again. It seemed like Uncle King’s objective was to show us around and have Naomi and me learn the ropes. Scrat and the twins seemed really comfortable around these parts and hopped around the cities like it was muscle memory. We were walking across a bridge and Naomi says, “Hey guys, what’s that down there?” A small red light beamed from the bottom of the floor beneath the water. Next to it seemed to be a large metal door that was torn open. A hefty iron loch laid on the floor next to it. “Damn Naomi! You’ve got some eyes there!” Allen exclaimed as Rebecca nodded in agreement. “Looks like an old bunker,” said King.
“Let’s go down!” Scrat yelled in a restless way. Almost like he was itching for an adventure. “Fine, but we’re being careful. Naomi, Ben, you two will shadow us.” King ordered. “Yes sir!” Naomi and I exclaimed with our chins raised. Wow! I didn’t think we’d be doing something like this on our first expedition. And by the looks of it, it seems like no one’s explored this thing yet. Everyone started pulling their scuba gear out of their bags and Naomi and I followed. One by one, everyone started jumping feet first into the water. I was the last one in. We swam closer to the door and we found an alligator tooth next to it, and a big one at that. King went ahead of the group and ordered us to creep in slowly behind him with some hand signs we went over earlier.
Scrat swam past us and made a mad dash straight into the bunker. Everyone looked alarmed and followed him in. This was just the kind of wild thing I would’ve expected from this guy. Everyone was thrown off. The bunker spread into multiple corridors, but it was hard to make out which was which. The water was murkier than usual, so our visibility is scrapped. We could hear Scrat cackling from excitement even through the water. Then out of nowhere, A huge alligator shot towards Scrat from the corner. The water was murky, but I was still close enough to him to see the gators teeth sink into his neck. The gator spun in circles with Scrat’s head still in its jaws, ripping his head clean off.
What just happened? Is this real? So many thoughts ran through my head before I could even process what was happening. Everything felt muffled now, my vision, my hearing, everything felt distant. Beside my ear I heard “Nooooo,” King yelled as his axe swung right past my head. The head plunged into the gators side and it scurried off. Blood pooled around Scrat’s corpse as his body sunk to the floor. His blood made the visibility even worse. As I came back into my senses, I looked around for Naomi. She was already pulling my arm towards the exit, basically dragging me. I looked to my left and saw Rebecca’s mask covered in vomit. More gators started to swarm down from the ceiling. King, Allen, and Rebecca seemed to be outnumbered, but I turned my head away because I couldn't take any more bloodshed.
Naomi pulled me up the surface and we both broke down into tears and began gasping for air. How could I have been so stupid? Mom warned me about joining but I didn’t listen. She was right the whole time. I gotta make it back to her and tell her I’ll never leave her again. I’m sorry everyone, but I can’t do anything, I’m not strong enough. I have to focus on bringing Naomi home with me too.
Collection
Citation
Marcus Hernandez, “The Expedition,” Everything Speaks To Me , accessed September 18, 2026, https://everythingspeakstome.com/items/show/279.