They left the lift and walked into a large room filled with people. Most of them looked like refugees, the rest looked like soldiers.
"My name's Hendricks, by the way," the young man said. "Matt Hendricks."
Charlie smiled and nodded. When he looked around at all the people, though, his smile faded away.
"Come with me," White said to Charlie, guiding him down a narrow hallway. Hendricks moved off in a different direction.
He directed Charlie into a small room filled with a half dozen people. They all looked much older than the people he saw earlier. When they entered the room, the people turned and looked at Charlie.
A woman stood up and looked at Charlie more closely. "Is he what I think he is?" she asked White.
"That's right."
The woman looked back at Charlie. "What year?"
"2008."
She nodded. "Where?"
"Los Angeles."
"Uh huh."
"Listen, I'm grateful that you've all chosen to keep me safe from those aliens and everything, but ..."
"You want to know what's going on," she finished his sentence for him.
"That's right."
"Well, then. Where should I begin?"
