James''s expression softened, showing a flicker of worry. "How on earth did my


    dad end up there? Did they manage to uncover what the archaeological team was up to this time?"


    "Nope," Wyatt replied, shaking his head with a hint of frustration. "They''re keeping it under wraps,beled top-secret. The Archaeological Society is tight-lipped about the whole thing."


    Even the Shepherd family was left clueless. James squinted, realizing his dad''s mission was anything but ordinary.


    The Archaeological Society wouldn''t just wander into some regr old forest, especially not for a top-secret mission.


    "I did catch wind of something intriguing from someone at the Society," Curtis chimed in as he strolled out of the cabin. "Apparently, the bigwigs are on the hunt for a gadget that supposedly lets you travel through time."


    Wyatt looked up at Curtis, eyebrows raised. "Time travel? Have those guys at the Archaeological Society been binging on too much sci-fi? That''s just too far- fetched."


    It sounded more like a novel than reality.


    Curtis shot Wyatt a knowing look, his tone light but pointed. "Ever met anyone from the Archaeological Society who was, well, normal?"


    Wyatt scratched his nose, realizing Curtis was taking a jab at James''s father, though he couldn''t help but agree with the sentiment.


    "Anyway, I can''t buy into these wild stories. Just a bunch of scientists with their heads in the clouds," Wyatt scoffed.


    "Maybe," Curtis shrugged, then turned back to James, knowing full well neither of them believed in such fairy tales. Skipping the topic, he added, "But the spot where the archaeology team vanished is definitely odd."


    With today''s satellite tech leagues ahead of what it was decades ago, it was strange that even in a dense forest, there was no signal at all, especially since Trevor was equipped with thetest tracking gear.


    ces off the satellite grid are usually under special control, but this spot clearly wasn''t one of them.


    That''s why Curtis and Wyatt found it so baffling.


    James''s gaze drifted off, and after a moment, he spoke with determination, "No matter how weird it gets, we''ve got to find them."


    Meanwhile, Mirabe headed home after visiting Nick in the hospital.


    She had promised to analyze a virus strain''s cell structure for the virology department and nned to tackle


    that task with whatever tickle


    she


    had left today.


    She''d already been off school for over a week, and herb team, including Jessie Linden, had been asking when she''d be back. Plus, the Institute of Technology was on her case about progress.


    So, she was set on getting back to school the next day.


    After a hectic afternoon, by ten in the evening, Mirabe finally wrapped up the structural analysis chart.


    She shot the chart over to Adler''s email. After hitting send, she stretched her neck, took a breather for a few minutes, and then, remembering something, grabbed herphone.


    She tried messaging Cassandra on Messenger again.


    Same old story-message failed to send.


    Mirabe frowned, set down her phone, and her fingers danced back over theputer keyboard, switching tomand prompt.


    After a bit of digging into the family''swork, she discovered all the satellite info links were down.


    Mirabe''s eyes lingered on the darkenedputer screen, her fingers gently tracing the keyboard, puzzled by the whole situation.