Page 133 of Us Defiant Few

Bos taurus.

Ovis aries.

Equus feruscaballus.

Panthera pardus orientalis.

Gorilla beringei beringei.

“Are these plants too?”

“No.” Derek shook his head. “I’ve never heard of these.”

“Wait.” Serene pointed at one of the names. “Gorilla. That sounds familiar. Wasn’t that one of the animals that went extinct during the Great Collapse?” She turned to her brother, who held up his hands, dumbfounded.

“I don’t know. I never paid attention in animal history class.”

“No, I think she’s right,” Khalani said, scanning the tables, noticing even more extensive lengths of paper piled high beside the computers. “But why are they listed here?”

No one had an answer.

Her pulse quickened, and she abandoned the papers to stand by Takeshi. He was staring intently at the holograph projection of Earth. When Khalani peered closer, she noticed tiny dots on the map.

His frown grew more pronounced.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

A shadowed flicker appeared in his gaze, but it was gone before she could decipher it.

“Nothing.” He shook his head. “We should keep looking.”

Khalani gave him a weird look, but she didn’t have time to decipher his moods. They needed to find the lab.

“I think there are more rooms down here.” Brock opened a door at the far end, showing a brightly lit hall.

But Winnie slammed her hands on one of the desks.

“Khalani, come quick!”

She ran over as Winnie held up a tiny frame in her shaking hands. The photo showed an older man in his forties with ashy brown hair speckled with gray and a little girl perched on his shoulders who could’ve been his daughter.

“That’s Timothy Talbot! Winnie’s family had a picture of him. It’s him, she’s sure of it. This must’ve been his desk!”

Winnie jumped up and down with excitement as Khalani looked around the desk for something else that might give them a clue to what they were working on.

But nothing was amiss. There were no sheets of paper on his desk or even a computer.

The only thing that caught her eye was a narrow, metallic slit, barely wider than her fingertip, set into the desk like some type of keyhole.

Khalani placed Elise’s ring into the hole, twisting and working it in, hoping that it would reveal answers or unlock another hidden door.

But it didn’t work.

“Maybe we should look at the other rooms,” she said.

“Hold on.” Winnie’s voice changed. She pulled her necklace over her head—the family heirloom she’d told Khalani about. The silver pendant gleamed under the bright lights as she held it delicately.

“Winnie was told to keep this safe by her parents, but Winnie was careless and dropped it in the Archives. She cried when it split apart, but when she picked it up, something fell out.”