Just as Darien and Leonard were talking, a set of footsteps began to be heard and when the four turned around, they see a tall and skinny man with red-brown hair and blue eyes.
His name was Alan.
Alan Kitzens.
"Mr. Kitzens, Sir! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be teaching a lecture on Physics today?" Leonard said, with suspicion.
Usually Professor Kitzens doesn't come into the lab unless he has ideas or to talk to Trevor and today... Well…
"Well, Leonard... I was looking for…" Kitzens began to say as his gaze shifted to the boy and the three girls.
"Who are they?"
"These are my colleagues and Trevor's daughter Sierra." Leonard said as he looked at the four.
Kitzens walked over to where Katherine and Laney were holding Sierra up.
He placed two fingers on the unconscious girl's vein line.
A pulse was beating.
"You! Young boy, what's your name?" Kitzens asked as he looked at Darien.
"Darien. Darien Marcus Lidenbrock." Darien answered immediately.
"I need you to take Sierra to Trevor's classroom. Also, can you tell him that I need to talk to him after the bell rings?" Kitzens said, with that last part being sweet-talking.
Darien then looked at Katherine and Laney.
Katherine smiled and gave him a thumbs up while Laney smiled and nodded her head yes, in affirmation.
He looked back at Kitzens.
"Sure, Mr...um…" Darien began to say, wanting to know the man's name.
"Kitzens." Kitzens said, telling Darien his name.
"Alright, Mr. Kitzens! I will do just that. You can count on me, Sir!" Darien said, getting ecstatic, just like his sixth uncle Otto Lidenbrock.
Kitzens chuckled.
"Okay then, Darien. I expect you to pull through." He said as he was now heading to the other room.
After Kitzens left, Darien looked at Katherine and Laney.
"Alright, girls. Let's head to Professor Anderson's class." He said as the four were now beginning to exit the laboratory and down the hallway to Trevor's classroom.
…..
"And that's how Gigantra and I met." Max said as he was done telling the story.
Gigantra looked at him and smiled.
"Yes. I was chasing him through the volcanic dessert. My two feet couldn't catch up to him. Just as he was about to turn around, a divergent boundary began to open up and when he decided that he was going to jump, there I was just in time. I snatched him with my dinosaur teeth and rescued him from the fire of death." She said as she looked at Max and smiled, showing her sharp teeth.
"Nice. Great to know. Well, Uncle Max... This is where we depart." Sierra said as she rested against the chair.
"I know, Sierra. You are welcome down here anytime you want." Max said as he sat down beside her.
"Yep. But, Your Majesty, just remember…" Gigantra said as Sierra was about to close her eyes.
Sierra blinked them open.
"Yes?" She answered.
"Never lose side of us." Gigantra said as a white light began to appear in the sky and was about to beam down.
"What does that mean?" Sierra sleepily said, confused.
"You'll see sooner or later, my dear." Max said as Sierra's eyes began to flutter shut.
The white light beamed down and surrounded Sierra from all sides.
It went up into the clouds and now, she was beginning to return to the surface.
…
Darien, Katherine and Laney, alongside unconscious Sierra arrived at Trevor Anderson's classroom.
Darien opened the door and they began to go in.
When they got in, they saw students taking notes, yawning and not paying attention, being bored to death by yet another one of Mr. Anderson's continental drift teaching segments.
"Amazing!" Darien said, in a whisper.
Katherine and Laney had to shush him.
Otherwise, Trevor would see what they're up to.
They hid in the back of the classroom where it was so much spacious.
Katherine and Laney gently laid Sierra near a pillar.
When Sierra felt the cool air hitting her and the coolness of the pillar against the back of her head, she began to wake up.
"Mmhm... Where am I? How did I get here?" Sierra said as she was rubbing her eyes, getting rid of the sleep boogers that were on them.
"Sierra!" Katherine, Laney and Darien said, in a low whisper.
"Huh? Oh...Hey, guys. What... What happened?" Sierra said as she was beginning to get up, slowly.
"You passed out on the museum floor and the three of us decided to get you here to your father Professor Anderson." Darien said, remembering every single detail of what he witnessed.
Sierra looked around the classroom.
She saw some students looking at her and whispering to each other…
She even saw her father teaching out front.
"So, Sierra…" Laney began to say, with wonder.
"Yeah?" Sierra answered.
"Why do you pass out every so often?" Laney asked, with curiosity in her voice.
Sierra looked around, nervously and chuckling.
"Passing out? Who's passing out? Me? Please... I've never passed out a single day in my life." She said, in a hesitating and chuckling voice.
"But, Sierra...At the museum, you did…" Katherine said, remembering when they witnessed the young girl falling onto the floor, unconscious.
Sierra scoffed playfully.
"That...Pfft! I was just amazed by how the museum reflected on my scientific discoveries!" She said as she had her hands on her hips.
"Your scientific discoveries?" Laney asked, confused.
"Don't ask." Katherine said as she looked at Sierra, confused.
They were worried for her.
The bell began to ring when Trevor stopped on the word 'Pangaea'.
"Okay, class. I will be handing you back your midterms on Tuesday. You are dismissed." He said as the lights automatically came back on and the students were now packing their stuff and leaving.
Sierra and her friends carefully made their way down the steps.
Trevor looked up from the clutter of midterm papers on his desk and saw Sierra.
He met up with her.
"Hey, sweet pea." Trevor said, in greeting as he began to hug her.
"Hi, Dad. I'm so happy to see you." Sierra said as she was hugging him.
He looked at Katherine, Laney and the new addition to the group.
Darien.
"Me too. So, sweet pea, who is your new friend?" Trevor said, quite curious.
Sierra looked at Darien.
"This is…" She began to say as the young boy interrupted her with holding a hand out to her father.
"Darien. Darien Marcus Lidenbrock. It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor Anderson." Darien said as he was introducing himself and shaking hands with Trevor, vigorously.
Trevor chuckled, quite intrigued by the young boy's eagerness and excitement.
"Please call me Trevor, Darien. It's a pleasure to meet you as well." He said, with gratitude as the two shook hands.
Trevor then looked at Katherine and Laney, who were over by the door, talking.
Sierra gulped nervously.
She began to feel butterflies in her stomach.
"Are you okay, sweet pea? What's wrong?" Trevor asked, concerned.
Just as Sierra was about to speak, she began to feel acid in her throat and, on top of that, she was feeling little tremors.
She looked at her skin and saw something orange-red bubbling out from one of her skin pores.
"Daddy, I... I'm not okay. I... I don't feel good. I feel sick to my stomach. Can I... Can I go to the restroom before we leave, Daddy? Please?" Sierra said as she looked at him, concerned about her health.
Trevor nodded his head yes.
Sierra urgently ran to the door, opened it and ran out.
After she left, Trevor looked at the three.
"Has she been experiencing anything weird today? I did find some rocks in the bathroom this morning. Igneous rocks, to be exact." He asked, wanting to know.
Trevor was very concerned about Sierra and he promised Layla that he would take care of her.
Katherine, Laney and Darien began to think back to this morning, at the museum.
All three of them had witnessed Sierra making a scene, crying and grieving…
Plus, on top of that, she feinted.
"Well…" Katherine began to say as she looked at Laney.
"You see, Sir…" Laney began to say as she looked at Darien.
"Sierra... She was grieving today. About an uncle of hers who was lost in the world of volcanology. Plus, on top of it all, Trevor... She…" Darien said as he now looked at Katherine and Laney.
Katherine and Laney looked at each other, concerned.
"She what? She what?! My daughter did what, Darien?!" Trevor yelled, wanting to know the next part.
He was worried that Sierra had done something horribly wrong.
Just as Darien was about to continue to tell Trevor what he had witnessed (scratch that…)...they had witnessed, the door opened and Trevor saw Leonard.
"Hey, Leonard…" He said, rather sheepishly as Darien was trying to regather his thoughts again.
"Hey, man. You're not going to be happy." Leonard said as he looked at Trevor, who was also keeping an eye on Sierra's friends.
"Why? What's going on, Leonard? Is it something that I need to be worried about besides my daughter?" Trevor said as his heart was beginning to beat rapidly.
Leonard sighed.
"It's Kitzens…" He said as he looked at Darien, who nodded his head yes, in agreement.
Trevor sighed and then looked at the three.
"Come with me to the lab and help me check on Sierra." He said, urgently and calmly.
Katherine, Laney and Darien all nodded their heads yes and were now beginning to follow Trevor and Leonard out of the classroom.
As they were walking down the hallway, Trevor sighed.
He REALLY needed to talk to Sierra about everything.
(So... Sierra is just now beginning to wake up from another vision. As she's waking up, things are beginning to come out of hiding. Trevor knows that now, Sierra needs him more than ever. Stay tuned for chapter eleven.)