Lily carefully parked her car between two others and sighed in relief. She was grateful that her car was small, as the place was unexpectedly packed.
She stepped out of her car and found herself out on the streets leading to the Walker Excavations museum. She quickly noticed the crowd of people chatting amongst themselves. She looked up and saw the outside interior of the museum itself. It was grey with a large black, arched door, which was left open, and from it, grey stairs led to the bottom. Yellow light illuminated the windows at the top, and two banners flanked the museum's front. Both banners displayed the inscription "The Walker Excavations" written sideways, accompanied by a picture of a blue-cloaked man holding an object familiar to Lily.
Taking in the scene, Lily suddenly remembered that she had people waiting for her inside. She briskly made her way to the black door, climbing the stairs and entering the museum's lobby. The strong air conditioning and the hum of the room enveloped her as she stepped inside. The cold air made her feel glad for choosing to wear her sweater, which was plain black.
Observing the lobby, Lily noticed that there weren't many people present, most likely because they were at the exhibitions. This made it easier for her to spot the person she was seeking.
"Ryder!" she called out to a boy. "I'm here!"
Ryder looked up from his pup pad. "Lily!" he greeted, sliding it back into his pocket. "Hey!"
Lily walked over to him. He was with the pups, and each of them greeted Lily delightfully. Lily smiled in reply, then turned to Ryder.
"You all good, Ryder?" she asked him. "I hope I haven't kept you guys waiting for too long."
"It's alright, Lily," replied Ryder. "We only just got here anyway."
Lily sighed in relief, as she was worried they had waited for a long time for her. Why did she always have to be late to things?
"Well, I'll just go buy our tickets now," she said. "We wouldn't want to linger around longer, would we?"
Ryder agreed and she went to the reception area to get the tickets. As she waited for them to be purchased, Lily was able to look around more at the lobby. On either side of the black door, there was a transparent rack with pamphlets about the Excavations. There were more Walker Excavations banners in the lobby, standing near the entrance. On each side of the reception area, there were closed gates leading to stairs, making the entrance to the exhibitions. The reception area itself was a wooden table with a charcoal black top. On the table was a vase of lilies (Lily found this amusing), a black lamp, two computers facing the person behind the counter, and a smaller rack with the same pamphlets. Once Lily got the tickets, she decided to take two pamphlets for her and Ryder.
"Ryder, I've got the tickets," she said to him. "And here's a pamphlet. It's about the Excavations."
"Great. Thanks, Lily," said Ryder. He glanced at the cover of the pamphlet, which was similar to the banners. Ryder opened it and read:
"'Dear visitor, welcome to the Walker Excavations. Contained in this museum is a curated selection of artefacts that has sparked one of the greatest mysteries in modern archaeology. These are objects seemingly out of time - anachronistic in nature - and far more advanced than any civilization known to have thrived at the time of their origin. Quoting #28300, otherwise Lily Cadieux, the young girl who uncovered these artefacts: 'Given their sophistication, if these [items] had not been discovered, no one would possibly believe they could exist at all.' With this exhibition, we invite you, as among the world's first, to explore the Walker Excavations, to revel in the wonder of ancient mystery, and to remind yourself of that great foundation of science: question everything.'"
Ryder smiled as he put the pamphlet into his bag, then swung it back over his shoulders and turned to Lily.
"Well, Lily, shall we go?" he asked.
Lily was about to reply when a cheerful voice interrupted her from behind.
"Lily!" it said, and a brown-haired woman appeared, swinging her arms around Lily. Ryder was taken aback, but Lily didn't seem surprised.
"Oh, Eleanor," she said to the woman. Lily turned to Ryder and the pups, who were still puzzled. "Ah, I must have forgotten to tell you guys. This is my little sister, Eleanor. She works here at the Excavations and will be giving us a special tour of the exhibitions."
Eleanor smiled at them. "Hi!" she said in the same cheerful voice, waving her hand.
Ryder and the pups waved back. As Eleanor let go of Lily, Ryder noticed that she had similar facial features to Lily, though she looked younger, had freckles on her cheeks and what looked like a small cut under her left eye. She was wearing what Ryder assumed was the museum staff's uniform, which was black with red stripes on the sides. She had a round badge that stated 'The Walker Excavations' and a black name tag with the words 'Eleanor C.' written in white.
"Okay!" said Eleanor, rubbing her hands. "Are we ready to go now?"
They all nodded.
"Then follow me!" said Eleanor, and proceeded to go in the opposite direction of the exhibition gates. She found her way, though, and soon they walked up the stairs and into a large, crowded room with many mysterious artefacts on display. More banners were hanging from the clear ceiling, which looked up to the sky.
Eleanor turned to face them. "So, uh... welcome to the Walker Excavations," she said as if reciting words from a textbook. "Here, we have a vast collection of many strange, advanced objects, all connected to an ancient... ugh, you know what," she suddenly said. "Let's just get on with the tour."
"Still unable to memorise it?" asked Lily as Eleanor walked to three wooden tables that were set in a row next to the stairs they had walked up.
"Nah, it's just too boring to say," Eleanor reasoned. She stood next to the second of the three tables. "Okay, so here, we have a complete biography of #28300," she said, putting her hand on the table. "Or as you would rather call Lily Cadieux, or maybe just Lily or Cadieux, I don't -"
"Just Lily," said Skye. "No... Cadieux." She winced as she said the name.
Eleanor shrugged. "Like I said, whatever you'd rather call her. Now come here."
They did as Eleanor instructed. Lily looked at Eleanor with a smug smile.
"'Whatever you'd rather call her,' huh?" she repeated.
"I'm not the boss of you," said Eleanor, raising her hands. "But I'm still calling you Lily, obvs."
Lily rolled her eyes and joined the rest in reading her 'complete biography': The Story of #28300.
"'#28300 is the undercover moniker for the 23-year-old French student who made the revolutionary Walker discoveries, and whose real name was soon revealed to be Lily Cadieux. Her curiosity for archaeology and penchant for code-breaking led her to a deserted field in Goussainvile, France where she unearthed a series of unknown artefacts and objects. Despite their technical complexity, all of the unearthed artefacts are believed to be thousands of years old. The findings have stunned an established field of researchers, and history books are being rewritten to accommodate the advanced technology displayed in the artefacts. Here you can see a selection of #28300's impressive research that brought her to the field in France. #28300 is still looking for more traces of the civilisation, dubbed as the Ancient Walkers.'"
Lily's research involved eight separate photographs: the first was a picture of her wearing her original black hoodie and mask, and the other seven were photos of seven stone monoliths in various locations, such as a desert, a field, and even a swamp. In each of the locations, the monoliths were arranged in a formation that resembled the AW symbol. Lily then explained that these monoliths were among the first things she studied as part of her research on the Ancient Walkers.
"Why does Red Nexus keep calling you '#28300'?" interrupted Ryder.
"I'm not sure," she replied. "Perhaps they think it's important to the Excavations."
"What's this, Eleanor?" asked Chase, pointing to the first table, which had three books, each opened on a specific page.
"Oh, those will take way too long to read," said Eleanor. "But you're welcome to read them anyway."
"Moving on." Eleanor showed them the last table, which held three metal artefacts, shaped in the AW symbol. "These are mysterious metal cast logograms that have been revealed to contain many interlocking structures inside, explaining their surprising weight. Their function is unknown."
The casts were lined up in a row and below each one, there was a golden nameplate with the location and year they were found. The first was from France, the second from Bosnia, and the third from Dubai. They were all found in 2014.
"Of course, there are more casts like these, originating from Iceland, Montenegro, Norway and Vietnam," Eleanor went on. "But they are currently being kept for further research."
"Like they shouldn't be," Lily said under her breath. Skye, who was standing next to her, heard this and accidentally gave her a questioning look. Thankfully, Lily didn't notice.
Meanwhile, Eleanor was searching for something else to show them. Her eyes landed on another wooden table behind them, with a round metal plate on it. She presented it to them. "This is a prophecy disk. As you can see, it has highly detailed and precise engravings on it. We don't exactly know what the cryptograms mean. They could represent cryptic predictions for the future of the Ancient Walkers, which have probably already come to pass."
The AW symbol in the middle is easy to notice, but on closer inspection, Ryder and the pups could see several pictures of drone-like objects, drawings that could represent countries, and what looked like a hand. They stared at this for quite a long time before Marshall interrupted, asking, "Are there any more like this? Like how there are more of those casts."
"Yes," replied Eleanor. "We've got just one more like it. While the one you're looking at is made of metal, this one is made of wood." She pointed to a red and brown plate on the other side of the room. The pictures on this disk were clearer, as it was quite simple and half of them were painted in red. Of course, there was the familiar symbol in the centre, but other than that, there were meteorites at the top, and below that was a picture of them falling to a city below. Three people wearing red robes and masks were on either side of this. On the left side, there was a more highlighted drawing of a man in a mask; below him was what might have been the roof of a house; and just in front of that was another drone-like object, flying over a river. The right side, however, depicted a large mountain, where on top stood a figure, overshadowed by the moon behind him.
"This could be a much more precise telling of how the reign of the Ancient Walkers ended," Eleanor told them. "The meteorites might have fallen on their city, crumbling it into dust. The pictures on the left side could tell us how they lived before that, and the ones on the right might be a further explanation."
"Wow," Lily remarked. "You're giving us a lot of information for someone who can't give an introduction."
Eleanor playfully slapped her. "At least these things are interesting," she said. "What's the use of boring, long introductions when you could just jump into it?"
Lily shook her head.
"Wait," Chase suddenly said. "That kinda looks familiar." He was talking about a painting which stood right next to the wooden disk. Around it were red rope barriers to prevent the painting from harm. The painting was in a golden frame, and Chase was right. It was indeed very familiar. In it, a blue-cloaked man was holding an object just like the drone-like ones in the prophecy disks. Around him were many other people in red robes, stretching their hands out to the blue-cloaked man and the objects.
"Ah," said Eleanor. "This is by far one of my favourite things in this exhibition. 'Heading Home'. This painting was taken from the Fontainebleau Palace, where our very own Lily did her research." At this point, Lily bowed, and the rest clapped in admiration. Eleanor went on. "The painting may be about the events that happened right before the meteors struck the earth. The painter, unknown."
"Oh, I can see why it's so familiar!" Chase gasped. "The person in the blue cloak are on the Excavations banners!"
"Well noticed," said Eleanor. "Yes, this simple oil painting is so amazing that they are used to promote the Excavations. Though that's just my theory. But wait! This isn't the only one!" She walked back to the other side and showed them another painting, which to them appeared indescribable. Like 'Heading Home', this painting was also in a golden frame. It showed what seemed like five stone pillars, set in a specific formation. A tiny figure at the bottom, brandishing what could be a torchlight, told them just how tall the pillars could be. White stuff around the space in the painting could represent a thick fog, obscuring the background.
"This painting's got nothing on it," said Eleanor. "Nothing. No name, no exhibit description, nothing. I don't even know why it's here."
"I think I know why, little sister," said Lily. She pointed to the pillars. "It might be because of how these are shown. The formation they made could have made the AW symbol."
"Oh, like the stone formations you first found, right, Lily?" asked Skye. Lily nodded.
"Wow. You know, at first, I thought that this might be like an ordinary museum, full of stuff nobody quite wants to see," admitted Rubble. "But man, this is amazing!"
"Yeah, it's all so cool!" Zuma added.
"Show us more, Eleanor," said Ryder. Eleanor followed his instructions and they went on to see a metal coffin which once stored all the artefacts shown in the Excavations, black mannequins wearing red cloaks ("Like the ones in the painting!" Chase noted), an 'unidentified' object which suspiciously resembled the drone-like objects from the prophecy disks ("It looks very much like a drone, how does Red Nexus not notice that?" Marshall remarked), and a large monument resembling the AW symbol, which was dug up in Goussainvile, France, the same place Lily first proved the Ancient Walkers existence. Eleanor told them that this was the last exhibition they would visit before they visited the time capsule, which was in an exhibition a floor above.
As the others stood gazing at the monument, Lily quietly pulled Eleanor aside. Unfortunately for her, Skye noticed this action and thought it might be for a talk that Lily didn't want the others to hear, possibly related to what Skye suspected Lily of, or something very personal. Skye thought that she would just stand somewhere near them, close enough to eavesdrop on them, and if it had nothing to do with what she thought it might be, she'd move back to her original spot. So she crept up somewhere next to them and perked up her ears.
"What's up, Lily?" asked Eleanor. "Oh, but if this is about the email you sent me, yes, I received it -"
Skye's eyes widened. They were talking about Red Nexus, as she suspected. But why was Eleanor involved? But of course... she works there, at the Excavations, a place that belonged on behalf of the Corporation.
"Then why didn't you reply to it?" Lily asked her in disbelief. "I was so worried it might have been redirected or something -"
"To whom? Red Nexus? Lily, I'm one of the staff members here. Red Nexus respects the privacy of their staff."
"But they don't respect my privacy. Do you know how many messages I got from one of their professors after I found the time capsule? They always seem to want to know everything, like why didn't I contact them when I wanted to go to Adventure Bay? Like I would tell them."
"Lily, you might want to keep your voice down," said Eleanor. "After all, they're not going to get involved in this, are they?"
Skye could tell who 'they' were, especially when Lily replied, "No, they're not. We need to keep this hidden from them. If Red Nexus ever found out one day, and they're involved, what will we do then? How easy would it be to hide a well-known team of six dogs and a boy from them?"
"We could send them off to a very far place," suggested Eleanor. "Like Australia. Oh wait, you're being serious, right?"
Lily sighed. "At least we're still doing tonight."
"Wait, what? We're still doing it?"
"Of course, we're still doing it. I can't wait any longer. I need to know if our theories are correct. You'll be here first, right?"
"Yes, I will," replied Eleanor. "But what if we -"
"Eleanor, don't worry. We won't get caught. Well, Red Nexus will know about it sooner or later, but they won't know we did it."
"Okay, fine." Eleanor paused, and Skye bravely turned around. She was looking at her wrist. "No watch. But I think it should be time to see the capsule now. Come on."
Skye quickly turned her attention to the monument and pretended to be interested in it as Eleanor told the rest that they were now going to see the 'Adventure Bay Time Capsule', as she called it. She led them to the stairs leading to the next floor, and soon they entered a smaller room with blue walls and lit by aquamarine lights above, making them feel as though they were submerged underwater. The familiar time capsule was clean of moss and encased in a large glass case, looking very grand. There was only one person in the room when they walked in; another Excavations staff, as she wore the same uniform as Eleanor. She had her back turned on them, focused on the capsule. However, Eleanor seemed to recognize her.
"Oh, Lydia!" she exclaimed. "Hey!"