Evan Lark, an ordinary technician at a renowned space exploration company, never imagined his life would change so drastically. Every day, he worked tirelessly in the laboratory, surrounded by advanced equipment and shelves full of components only understood by a handful of people in the world. His job? Ensuring smooth operations for interplanetary shipments. This was all part of the company's ambitious efforts to make space travel a routine affair. However, the job felt more like a monotonous routine with no drama and no excitement.
It was just another typical day. Evan sat in front of the control desk, entering data for a routine shipment from Earth to Mars. As usual, the computer system displayed a long list of instructions, delivery dates, and other mundane details. However, there was one item that stood out this time—an unregistered package with a strange alphanumeric code.
"Damn, the system's acting up again," muttered Evan under his breath, deciding to handle the minor issue himself. He didn't want to involve anyone else for something so trivial. Without a second thought, he proceeded to authorize the shipment. As a technician, he knew how to fix these small glitches.
But what he didn't realize was that, when he pressed the final key, he inadvertently activated something far beyond his understanding. A hidden device within the system—one that shouldn't have been triggered—came to life, glowing with an eerie blue light.
"What the hell is this?" Evan whispered in confusion as he watched the screen flicker violently before the system appeared to reset itself.
But then, something strange happened. The control room started to shake. The walls reverberated with a sound resembling distant explosions. Evan felt a sudden force pull him backward into his seat, and the monitors around him started flashing with images that made no sense. Everything happened so quickly that it felt like time itself was being distorted.
His breath quickened, and his anxiety spiked. Evan tried to steady himself, but the shaking was too intense. Before he could process what was going on, a loud warning flashed across the screen:
"TIME WARP DETECTED. SYSTEM OUT OF SYNC."
Evan frowned. "Time warp? That's... that's impossible…"
But before he could say more, he felt an overwhelming force—like gravity itself was trying to pull him down. The floor trembled violently, and the windows around him looked as though they were about to shatter. He tried to scream, but no sound came out as the room spun around him.
Then, just as suddenly as it started, everything went silent. The chaos faded, and when Evan opened his eyes again, the view outside the window was no longer the familiar sight of Earth. Instead, he saw an alien landscape, something far more primal than anything he had ever imagined. The sky was a deep red, with an ominous orange hue that filled the air, casting an eerie glow on the unfamiliar terrain below.
"Wait... Mars?" Evan muttered, unsure if he was still on the same planet. But this didn't look like the Mars he was accustomed to. Everything appeared more primitive, wilder—more dangerous.
Cautiously, he stepped out of the spacecraft and found himself staring at a scene so bizarre that his mind could barely process it. In the distance, large shadows moved with incredible speed, causing the ground to shake with each step. It wasn't human. It was bigger than that. Evan felt as though he had fallen into some kind of nightmare.
Dinosaurs. Huge, monstrous creatures roaming the land, while smaller ones darted between them. Evan stood frozen in place, unable to comprehend what his eyes were showing him.
"This can't be real," he whispered, his body trembling with a mix of fear and disbelief. "How is this possible? This... this isn't my world."
Evan realized, with chilling clarity, that somehow, he had been sent back to the past—far back. But just how far? How long had he been transported?
"I... I've really traveled back in time," he muttered, his voice strained with both fear and awe. "But... how long? How long have I been here?"
And as a deep rumbling echoed in the distance, Evan knew one thing for sure: This was only the beginning, and getting back home wouldn't be as simple as he thought.
To be continued...