[ WP ] Upon touring the infamous Roanoke settlement you come across a journal . You open it and finally , the world learns what caused everyone to vanish from the `` Lost Colony . ''

“ Ok I ’ m in the car now and driving your way. Are you happy? ” 
 
 Professor Kate Westinghouse pulled onto the highway. It was still dark outside. She had planned on taking the day off and getting caught up on grading papers, but her old dig partner, Dr Brent Johnson, had woken her up in the middle of the night. 
 
 “ Listen, Kate, ” Brent ’ s voice said over the phone. “ I know you have a lot going on these days and we haven ’ t always been on the best of terms... ” 
 
 “ Ha, that ’ s the understatement of a lifetime. ” Kate was sipping coffee, while talking on the phone and trying to drive with her knee. She wasn ’ t going to win any awards for safety, but she would get there. 
 
 “ Kate, will you just shut up for a moment. ” 
 
 “ Shut up for a moment? ” Kate barked. “ I don ’ t know who you think you ’ re talking to, but last time I checked, I should be back in bed and not heading toward some two-hundred year dig site for a *friend* who has on more than one occasion screwed me over on research projects. I mean wasn ’ t it… ” 
 
 “ Kate, we found something, ” Brent said and then went silent. 
 
 “ Well, what do you want a cookie? ” Kate put her coffee down. Why was it always too hot when you really need it? “ It ’ s your job to find stuff out there. What is it anyways, more bones or some hand tools? ” 
 
 “ You think I ’ d wake you up at four AM on a Sunday and drag you out of bed to take a look at a two-hundred year garden hoe? ” 
 
 “ People have been given grants for finding less, ” Kate said. 
 
 “ This is bigger than a grant, Kate. Do you remember that basement we were excavating last summer? We had a wall cave in last night. ” 
 
 “ Oh my god. Is everyone ok? ” 
 
 “ What? Yeah. Listen, we found something behind the wall, ” Brent said, excitement in his voice. “ At first we thought it was an undiscovered cave system but then we noticed the walls were made of brick. Brick, Kate! It ’ s a tomb of some kind and something else. ” 
 
 “ They didn ’ t build tombs in Roanoke, Brent. ” 
 
 “ No, Kate. But someone did. I need you here now. There ’ s more but I can ’ t explain it over the phone. ” 
 
 Kate speed up her car and drove into the night. 
 
 The sun was just starting to light up the eastern sky when she pulled into the Roanoke dig site. They were in the final day ’ s of the digging season and only a few die hard student ’ s were left. She saw a few of them milling about a pair of spot lights, which lit up a large, square hole in the ground. 
 
 Kate got out of her car. The early morning air was cool and wet. She could have used another cup of coffee, but she would have had to stop somewhere along the way. She didn ’ t want to waste anymore time than was necessary on the road. 
 
 The “ house ”, which was long gone, was marked off with a thin orange string. All the structures out here had been lost to the passing of time. Lost just like the Roanoke Colony. Nobody knew why the young colony had disappeared. Of course there were different theories floating around. Starvation, sickness, Indian attack, but Kate ’ s favorite theory was alien abduction. Of course, she didn ’ t believe it for a second. But that didn ’ t mean it couldn ’ t be her favorite. 
 
 “ Good, you made it, ” Brent said climbing out of the dig site. “ I don ’ t want to waste anymore time than is necessary talking. This tomb probable hasn ’ t been exposed to outside air, since it was sealed up. I need an extra pair of trained eyes down there. ” 
 
 “ Ok, what have you found so far? ” 
 
 Brent lead Kate down into the dig. The western wall had indeed collapsed. There were rocks scattered about, but also there was an opening that lead down into the earth. It was lit by spot light. The sides of the tunnel were lined with grey brick. 
 
 Brent gave Kate a boyish grin, then handed her a head lamp. She knew that Brent lived for moments like these; hell she lived for moment like these. Standing on the edge of the unknown. it felt like she could find anything down there. Digging was like a drug to Kate, and she had been hook after her first summer. 
 
 Kate started to descend into the opening. After getting past the entrance the cave opened up and she was able to stand upright without touching the ceiling. A passageway lead off into the darkness. 
 
 “ This place is huge, ” Kate said. “ Are you sure this is a tomb, and not some other kind of structure. ” She ran her hand across a wall in was dry and felt solid. The air had an earthy smell to it. 
 
 “ No, you need to see what we found further in. ” Brent took her by the hand and lead her deeper into the cave. The passageway seemed to end in a room with a large wooden table, a few dusty books lay on the table. 
 “ This room is amazing, ” Kate said, looking it over. “ There is so much here that is still in tact. Holy crap, Brent, this place is going to be on the cover of National Geographic. ” 
 
 Kate jumped as her eye came to rest on a metal wall. The wall looked wrong juxtaposed against the grey bricks of the rest of the room. It looked modern and there was a large metal door like you might find on a submarine. Next to the door there was a small keypad a red light blinked ominously over the keypad. 
 
 Kate couldn ’ t believe what she was seeing. It was all wrong. This didn ’ t belong here. 
 
 “ Now you know why I needed you here, Kate. ” Brent said, laying a hand on Kate ’ s shoulder. 
 
 “ This should not be here, ” Kate said. 
 
 “ Wait, it get ’ s better, ” Brent said, moving her towards the door. “ There ’ s a small window on the door and we can see the other side. ” 
 
 Brent was right. There was a small window on the door, perhaps the size of a man ’ s palm. If Kate stood on her toes she could see through to the other side. Kate saw what appears to be a half dozen large rectangular boxes; they were the same steel metal grey as the door. What was even more amazing, however, was that the room was lit up with dull electrical lights. 
 
 Kate spun around and began talking with Brent “ This room is modern. ” Her mind was racing trying to put together so probable explanation. “ Maybe it was some dooms-day planner or perhaps a bomb shelter? ” 
 
 “ No way, ” Brent said, shaking his head. “ We know about every major building project in this whole area. Something like this just doesn ’ t go by unnoticed. Plus that keypad doesn ’ t even look that old. Hell, it looks more modern than anything I ’ ve ever seen. ” 
 
 Kate examined the keypad. “ Have you tried entering any numbers on it? ” 
 
 “ Yeah, go right ahead. nothing seems to work. and don ’ t try opening the door by force. There isn ’ t any handle and it ’ s sealed shut. We have been trying to pry it open all night. ” 
 
 “ Pry it open? How scientific of you, ” Kate smiled and began to walk around the room. The only other thing of interest in the room was the table. Although in all fairness is didn ’ t hold much of a candle to the large, mysteries, spaceshuttle-looking door. 
 
 The desk looked like it could have served as someone ’ s personal writing table. There was an inkwell and a few quills. Kate began to flip through the books on the table. 
 
 “ Do we know anyone who knows how to work a blowtorch, ” Brent asked, typing in random numbers into the keypad. 
 
 “ You can ’ t be serious, ” Kate said flipping through another book. “ These look like simple daily ledgers. Wait a minute look at this? ” 
 
 “ What ’ s up, did you find something? ” 
 
 “ Look at these numbers here. ” Kate pointed to some large blocky numbers in the back of one of the journals. “ These numbers don ’ t look like they were written using a quill at all. ” 
 
 “ How can you tell? ” 
 
 “ Well for one they aren ’ t in cursive, which is a pretty hard trick to pull off with a quill. Second look how big the writing is. People conserved paper, back in the colony. I mean, it ’ s not like you could run down to the store and buy more. 
 
 “ Wait, do you notice anything about these numbers, Kate? ” 
 
 “ Yeah, I just told you two things I noticed about these numbers. Are you even listening to the words that are coming out of my mouth? ” 
 
 Brent looked down at his watch. “ No Kate. These are n't numbers they're a date and it ’ s…It ’ s today. ” 
 
 Kate looked down at the numbers, then back up and Brent. They both however seem to look at the keypad at the same time. 
 
 Brent voice was shaky, when he finally said. “ Do you want me to enter it, or do you want to? ” 
 
 Kate ’ s mouth was dry. Could any of this be real? “ No, you go ahead and do it, ” she finally managed to get out in a whisper. 
 
 Brent moved to the door and entered the numbers. There was a loud thumping noise and the sound of heavy metal parts moving behind the wall. The door hissed and began to swing open. 
 
 Kate moved into the doorway of the room. The metal boxes began to hiss as well. They weren ’ t boxes at all more like coffins. Kate was scared. She grabbed Brent ’ s hand. He had the same school boy grin on his face as earlier. 
 
 The coffins began to swing open like clam shell. An old man, in ancient clothes, sat up in the coffins closest to them, rubbing his eyes as if waking up from a nap. 
 
 “ What strange magic is this? ” The old man said, looking around the room. There were dozens of coffins open now. each person came out dressed like farmer or pilgrims from the Elizabethan period. 
 
 “ I think we just found what happen to our lost colony, ” Brent said. 
 
 “ No. I think we just found the biggest question in the history of the human race. ” 

