Gavin Harris woke up the next morning to the bright light shining inside the abandoned building. He sat up and stretched, then looked over at the woman still asleep next to him. He rolled over and gently nudged his daughter sleeping next to him.
"Iz," he whispered. Izzy sat up and smiled sleepily.
"Hey," she said softly.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"I'm good," she said softly. "When are we leaving to look for those people?"
"When she wakes up," Gavin said softly.
"Dad, who is she?"
"She said her name is Beatrice Fitzpatrick, and that the people who went through the sinkhole are her people," Gavin whispered back.
"And she got you the microchip to do this?" Izzy asked. Gavin nodded and climbed out of the place. He stretched, then helped Izzy get out.
"Iz, don't forget how dangerous this place is," he said softly.
"Dad, I know. I knew the risks of coming, but I want to talk to Leyla."
"Izzy, I don't have a problem with you doing long-distance, but 2024 and 10,000 BC is a little much," Gavin said. Izzy chuckled.
"I know. I just want to talk. I think she deserves that much. So what's our first move?"
"We head to the fort and see if Paara knows anything. If not, we see what Ms. Fitzpatrick knows about her people, and work from there."
Soon, the woman known as Beatrice Fitzpatrick was awake. The trio shared a quick breakfast and started to figure out their plan.
"I know a couple here, Ty and Paara. Ty came here in 2021, and he married her. Paara has guards walking around, if they see someone dressed as a sky person, they'll bring them to her fort. She's kind, though, Ms. Fitzpatrick, she won't harm your people. She gave us shelter and food when we were here last time; I'm sure that she'll do the same for your people," Gavin reassured her.
"Then we head there first. If she hasn't seen them, we find a water source and follow it. Agents Namazi and Rountree are extremely skilled and intelligent, I have no doubts in their ability to survive down here."
"Good. Hey, I mean, if Judah survived down here, Dad, two federal agents will be fine," Izzy said, giggling. Gavin chuckled and nodded.
"Alright, let's go. Paara's fort is about an hour walk from here," Gavin said. They collected their belongings and got rid of their trash, then made their way out of the air base. Forty five minutes later, Gavin saw Joseph among the trees. "Joseph!" he called out.
"Gavin. Good to see you. Izzy," Joseph said, shaking Gavin's hand, then Izzy's.
"This is Ms. Fitzpatrick. Two of her people fell through a sinkhole, we were hoping you might have come across them.
"Their names were Fatima Namazi and Devin Rountree. Ah, Miss Namazi wears a hijab, and they both should be wearing NCIS vests."