BRRRS…
Ender fell from the sky, gripping his cap so tightly his knuckles turned white. His heart raced as the wind roared in his ears, and the world blurred into a swirl of green and brown.
The ground rushed up at him at terrifying speed. He barely had time to brace himself before crashing through a canopy of tangled branches, slowing his descent just enough before he hit the ground with a bone-jarring thud.
The earth beneath him was cold and wet, slick with moss and mud. For a moment, he lay there, gasping for breath, his body trembling as adrenaline coursed through him. The sensation of falling lingered, his mind struggling to accept that he was finally on solid ground.
"Disgusting!" A sharp voice jolted him back to reality.
Ender blinked and squinted through the dim light as he propped himself up on his elbows. Britney emerged from the shadows, her usual pristine appearance utterly ruined.
Mud was splattered across her face, her blonde hair clung to her cheeks in wet clumps, and she was frantically wiping at her jeans crop top and trousers, her expression a mixture of anger and disgust.
"This is just perfect," she hissed, flicking mud off her fingers. "Why do these things always happen to me?"
Veena appeared a moment later, picking a leaf out of her disheveled black curly hair, and dusting off her black salopette. "I told you guys not to mess with that stupid Ouija board or whatever it was!" she snapped, her voice edged with frustration.
"But no one ever listens to Veena. And now look where it's gotten us." Her brown eyes flashed with anger as she gestured emphatically.
"Can you not make everything about yourself for once?" Britney retorted sharply. "I'm tired of your constant need for attention, and right now, it's not helping!"
Veena threw her hands up in exasperation. "Oh, look who's talking! Miss Goody Two-Shoes herself. Always so perfect, full of advice. How about you actually listen for a change?"
Britney's eyes narrowed. "I am listening, and it doesn't seem to be working, sweetie."
Sensing the escalating tension, Ender stepped forward, his voice calm but firm. "Not helping, girls."
A deep, resonating roar broke the silence, rumbling through the ground beneath them. The group froze, their bickering forgotten as they turned to see the source. It was Tobias, on his hands and knees in the mud, frantically searching for his glasses.
"Tobias?" Britney's voice was still sharp.
Veena sighed, pulling his glasses from her pocket. "Are you serious right now?" She handed them to him with an exasperated sigh.
Tobias looked up at her with a sheepish, grateful smile as he took the glasses, quickly wiping them on his already muddy shirt before slipping them onto his face. The world snapped back into focus, and his eyes widened as he finally took in their surroundings:
The landscape around them was a rugged expanse of rocky outcrops and dense forest, an environment both awe-inspiring and ominous.
The outcrop they stood on was a wide, flat area of jagged, weathered rock formations, their edges sharp and unforgiving.
The rocks were a mottled gray and brown, streaked with veins of dark minerals that glinted subtly in the waning light.
All around them, the forest stretched out like an endless ocean of green. Tall, ancient trees with thick, gnarled trunks rose from the undergrowth, their tops lost in the dimness of the late afternoon.
The forest floor was a thick carpet of fallen leaves and moss, the rich, earthy smell mingling with the more pungent odor of decay from rotting logs and broken branches.
The dense foliage above created a canopy that filtered the sunlight into soft, dappled patches, casting everything in a muted, almost dreamlike glow.
To the east, the trees began to thin, revealing a sprawling plain that stretched toward the horizon.
This open area was marked by strange, towering rock formations, their shapes jagged and irregular, rising up like ancient, petrified sentinels.
"I can't believe it worked!" Tobias breathed, a mix of excitement and disbelief in his voice. He stumbled to his feet, scanning the unfamiliar landscape with wonder.
Massive creatures soared overhead, their wings slicing through the air with a grace that belied their enormous size.
"Oh, sorry!" Tobias stammered, his hands trembling as he nervously adjusted his glasses. He gave the others a shaky wave, his smile more a grimace. "I didn't mean to bring us here."
Britney let out an exaggerated sigh. "Well, we're obviously not in Kansas anymore," she muttered, looking around with growing concern. "What are we supposed to do now?"
Ender pushed himself to his feet, still shaking from the fall, anger and fear swirling in his mind. "Tobias, we warned you not to play that game. But you never listen, do you?"
Tobias looked down, guilt flushing his cheeks. "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't think it would actually work. I just thought it would be… fun."
"Fun?" Veena snapped, gesturing wildly to the strange landscape. "We don't even know where we are, Tobias! This isn't a joke!"
Britney crossed her arms and shot Tobias a glare. "Well, it did work, and now we're stuck here, wherever this is. And we don't know how to get back."
Tobias, always the intellectual, took a hesitant step forward, his glasses askew. "I still can't believe it actually worked," he whispered, adjusting his glasses with shaking hands. The enormity of their situation began to sink in.
Ender glanced around, then turned to Tobias. "Where are we?"
Tobias didn't respond immediately. Instead, he observed their surroundings, his eyes tracing the contours of the gigantic flora and fauna.
Finally, he turned back to Ender, a faint, knowing smile on his face.
"It's not where," Tobias said, his voice calm. He paused, choosing his words carefully. "It's when."
Ender frowned. "What do you mean, 'when'?"
Tobias took a deep breath, looking up at the towering trees. "I think we might have just landed ourselves in Earth's largest museum, but not the kind with dusty exhibits and glass cases"
"This place—it's like a living museum, a snapshot of a time long before humans ever walked the Earth." He continued, as he examined a stone.
Veena, who had been listening quietly, spoke up, her voice trembling slightly. "Are you saying we've somehow gone back in time?"
Tobias looked up and nodded slowly. "It's possible."
Ender interrupted, confused with a sarcastic voice "Am I the only one who needs a translator...?"
Tobias adjusted his glasses with a nervous grin. "I'm saying we might have just traveled 298 million years into the past—specifically, the Carboniferous period. The time of the largest bugs in prehistory."
For a moment, there was stunned silence. Then Britney let out a sharp, incredulous laugh. "Are you kidding me? I've already dealt with bugs flying into my mouth while I sleep, and now they're giants? Great, just what I needed."
Before Britney could continue, a faint, unsettling sound cut through the tension. It was a low, rhythmic rustling, like the whisper of leaves in the wind, but deliberate, making the hairs on their necks stand on end.
Ender stiffened, his ears straining. "Did anyone hear that?" he asked, his voice low.
"I think everyone did!" Veena snapped, her tone sharp as she scanned their surroundings, her earlier irritation quickly giving way to fear as the rustling grew louder.
The rustling now sounded like footsteps—slow and deliberate, as though something was stalking them. Britney, her bravado gone, nodded quickly. "I swear... If I see one giant roach…flying around me, I'll...."
For a moment, no one moved. The air was thick with tension, every sound amplified in the stillness. Then, without warning, the underbrush parted, revealing a creature the size of a car—a ladybird, but magnified to monstrous proportions.
Its glossy, red shell with black spots gleamed in the dim light, each step it took causing the ground to vibrate slightly beneath their feet.
The enormous insect moved cautiously, its antennae twitching as it seemed to assess the group, its multifaceted eyes reflecting their tiny, shocked faces.
Behind it, a second, slightly smaller ladybird crashed through the foliage, its movements less controlled, sending branches and debris flying as it barreled forward, causing the group to instinctively step back.
Veena's breath caught in her throat as she stared at the enormous insects, her fear momentarily replaced by awe. She had always been fascinated by bugs, but this—this was something else entirely.
Without thinking, she took a slow, deliberate step toward the smallest ladybird, her eyes wide with wonder. The rest of the group watched in stunned silence, too shocked to intervene.
"Veena, what are you doing?" Tobias whispered urgently, his voice barely audible. He reached out as if to grab her, but his hand faltered, afraid to make a sudden move that might startle the creature.
But Veena seemed oblivious to his warning. She moved closer, her heart pounding in her chest. The ladybird's massive eyes, multifaceted and shining like polished gems, watched her approach with an almost curious tilt to its head.
She hesitated only a moment before reaching out with a trembling hand, her fingers brushing gently against the ladybird's face, just above its mandibles. The surface was cool and smooth, like touching a giant, living gemstone.
For a split second, it felt like there was a connection—a moment where time seemed to stand still, and the enormous creature seemed almost gentle, its presence calming despite its size. Veena's breath caught in her throat as she marveled at the sheer beauty of the creature before her.