by Lily Thomas
“Your nightmare had you screaming like a banshee, so it must be something worth discussing. You definitely have my interest piqued.” Emma gave up on squatting next to Andrea’s chair and plopped her butt down on the ground, before crisscrossing her legs and turned her blue eyes up at Andrea like a three-year-old ready for a story.
“In my nightmare, I woke up naked.” Andrea started since she had no idea what Emma wanted from this conversation.
Emma nodded her head. “And…?”
“Which was weird, but I guess that’s a dream for you.” Andrea shrugged her shoulders. “They don’t have to make sense, and then I walked around until a loud crunch behind me had me sprinting through the forest.”
Emma nodded her head.
“Then a sabertooth jumped me, and right as he was about to rip out my throat, I woke up here.” Andrea waved a hand at the dig site.
Emma’s nose scrunched as she continued to nod her head. “I can see why you’d scream like a maniac. Nightmares can seem so real until you wake up, and being chased by a sabertooth?” Her friend shuddered. “I’d be screaming myself awake as well.”
“Am I paying both of you to sit on the job?” Clyde walked past them to grab a water bottle for himself.
“I needed a little break from the sun and to check up on Andrea.” Emma bounded to her feet in a fluid motion that would rival any gymnast. The woman was fit, tan, blue-eyed, and blonde.
Andrea wasn’t one to be jealous, but she did envy Emma a bit for her perfect figure. Her own auburn curls were pretty, but if she ever went out to a club or bar with Emma, she knew who would get more attention from men.
“How are you doing?” Clyde snapped the seal on the bottle as he walked over to them.
“Much better.” Andrea stood. “And ready to get back to work.”
“Love the eagerness.” Clyde took a swig of water, a bit trickling out as he guzzled it. “Now, get back out there, you two.” Then he swiped his wrist over his mouth to wipe away the water.
“We’re moving, we’re moving.” Andrea grumped as she left the shade of the tent behind and walked over to her dig site. Her work boots kicked up a bit of dust, just proving how brutal the sun was. There wasn’t an ounce of water in this soil.
Gripping the sides of the ladder, Andrea slid all the way down until her feet hit solid ground. As she knelt by her digging supplies, she heard Emma’s boots clattered down the rungs of the metal ladder.
“Want to hit up that Chinese restaurant near our hotel tonight?” Emma asked from her side of the dig site. “I don’t usually eat out. I like to stick to a strict diet, but it’s been calling my name ever since we started this dig, and I need something spicy and slathered in sauce.”
“Not tonight.” Andrea glanced up from her supplies and sent Emma a smile. “How about we go there tomorrow?”
“Sounds like a plan!”
It might be nothing, but Andrea wanted some time alone in her hotel room to study this wooden bracelet she’d found. That dream or nightmare, whatever it had been, spun in her mind, and she needed to know more about it.
Chapter 2
The moment her workday was done, Andrea leaped into her rented SUV, and with a quick wave to Emma, she pulled out onto the dirt road and drove the thirty minutes back into town.
Eager to relax in her room, she’d barely thrown her car into park in the parking lot before leaping out, and racing up to her hotel room. Slipping the key card into the top of the hotel mechanism, she opened her door the moment a green light blinked on the device, and then closed it behind her.
Once Andrea had the security lock flipped into place, she kicked off her shoes and reached a hand into a pocket on her cargo pants. Her fingers caressed the wooden bracelet as she moved to the kitchenette in the hotel room. It had a microwave, a small fridge, a hot plate, and plenty of counter space. Super basic and just enough to keep her comfortable.
She grabbed one of the bottles of red wine off the counter and a glass. Walking back into the combined living room and bedroom, she flopped onto the queen-sized bed. She uncorked the half-full bottle and poured the crimson liquid into a glass.
Then Andrea grabbed the remote and threw something on in the background as she took a couple of sips of wine and pulled the wooden bracelet out of her cargo pants pocket.
“I could so get fired for this,” Andrea said as she studied the faded red paint in the designs of the bracelet. Removing an artifact from a dig site was a big no no. If Clyde found out, he would have no choice but to fire her, and then good luck finding another job in this field.
Even as she thought about how much trouble she’d be in if someone found out, she leaned in closer to study the bracelet. As much as she told herself she hadn’t traveled back in time, she still couldn’t convince herself it had only been a dream.
Those colors of the trees and grass, the sight of the grass wiggling between her toes, and the smell of the sabertooths breath had been so distinct. Every time she thought back on them, they felt more like a memory rather than a hazy dream.
Reaching over to her bedside table, Andrea grabbed her wine glass and sipped from it while staring at the wooden bracelet. If it hadn’t been a dream, then she was sure this bracelet had something to do with it.
As the night waned, and Andrea polished off the rest of the red wine, and as her head hit her lumpy hotel pillow, she slipped the bracelet onto her wrist and closed her eyelids.
Andrea cracked her eyes open to find herself once more in another world. She could feel the damp grass under her bare back, and the cool air rushed over her naked body. Whether or not this was a dream or time travel, she’d prefer to be dressed. Clothing was a twenty-first century weapon, and she felt stronger with it covering her body.
She took a moment to watch the lazy puffy white clouds drift over the blue sky before she slowly sat up. Placing her hands behind her back, she pushed until she was on her butt. Tall green grass surrounded her. It waved lightly as a soft breeze blew through the area. When she pushed herself up on her feet, she could see over the grass that came up to her waist. Lifting a hand, she skimmed her palm over the tops of the grass as she walked through it.
As far as Andrea could see, there weren’t any sabertooths nearby.
Then again, in this tall grass, she would never know if there was a sabertooth lurking nearby… watching and stalking her. Nervously, she eyed the waving grass around her as her heart thundered in her chest. The last time she’d been tackled by a sabertooth had been plenty for her.
Andrea continued to walk through the grass as she marveled at the clarity of her dream. Green leafed trees spotted the landscape, and blueish grey pine trees stood in stark contrast to the rest of the scenery.
Within minutes, she heard the trickling of water. Her curiosity piqued, she followed the sound until she wandered across a small stream. The water was crystal clear, allowing her to see straight down to the reddish brown and tan rocks that had been worn smooth by years of constant running water.
Taking a deep breath, Andrea stuck a bare foot into the gurgling water, and let out a small squeak of a gasp as the cold water sucked the warmth right out of her foot. She plunged her other foot into the water and hopped to the other side of the stream, causing droplets of water to splash through the air wildly.
As the water droplets on her skin dried, a chill spread across her lower legs and feet. Walking into the grass on the other side of the stream, she bent over in the grass, grabbed handfuls, and used the thick stemmed grass as a towel.
Once done, she surveyed the area, saw a forest of towering trees ahead, and began to make her way towards them.
Andrea paused as the ground began to shake under her feet.
“What the hell?” She cursed as she ducked low in the grass. She wasn’t sure what to do, and the ground was still trembling under her feet. Her first thought was an earthquake, but it didn’t feel quite right, and she’d lived in California for a few years.
A loud trumpeting no
ise echoed through the air.
Andrea’s head whipped up, nearly giving her whiplash, as her eyes searched the area for the source of the shaking ground and loud trumpeting noises.
A small herd of mammoths walked along the outline of the forest. Her jaw dropped as she observed the large beasts. Their shaggy coats swayed around their massive bodies as they walked across the landscape. Their long trunks waved in front of their faces as they searched the ground for any fresh shoots. Her eyes then went to the massive curved ivory tusks.
They were stunning.
Andrea had seen plenty of mammoth bones, and like most people who visited museums, had seen a couple of skulls or re-created mammoth bones, but she’d never seen one like this. It was awe-inspiring and caused her to tremble in excitement.
What she needed was a camera!
Of course, a camera would do her no good. If she did bring back a photo to her time, people would assume it was either art or photoshopped. No one would believe her if she said she went back in time and photographed these wonderful beasts. They would call her crazy and send her to a psychiatric hospital.
As the herd of giant beasts entered the other side of the forest, she saw the cutest thing ever. A baby woolly mammoth trailing after its mother. The goofy little creature had a bounce to its step as it frolicked through the tall grass.
Another blur of movement caught Andrea’s eye, and when she glanced to her other side, her breath caught in her chest.
A sabertooth.
The intimidating creature trailed after the herd of mammoths. Her eyes sought out the baby mammoth, but it was too close to the adults for the sabertooth to be a threat… at least for now. She hoped the sabertooth wouldn’t get the opportunity to kill that adorable little baby.
Ducking down in the tall grass, Andrea slowly slid back towards the stream. As much as she would like to keep watching the beasts, she didn’t need the sabertooth spotting her and attacking. One sabertooth attack was enough for her.
As she slid back into the water, she barely noticed the cold, her focus on making as little sound as possible. Crouched like she was, she ended up soaking more than just her legs, but she didn’t care. It didn’t matter if this was a dream. She still didn’t want to imagine being attacked by a sabertooth. When she’d crossed to the other side of the stream, she continued to crawl through the grass.
Her main concern was the sabertooth prowling around on the other side of the stream. She’d worry about drying off later.
After a couple of minutes of scuttling around in the tall grass, she popped her head up and glanced around. There were no sabertooths or mammoths around that she could see, so she assumed she was safely away from them.
Good.
Standing to her full height, Andrea walked around aimlessly. The flora and fauna fascinated her archeologist’s mind. Some of these animals and plants didn’t exist in her time, and it was hard for her to pass up the chance to study them.
When she spotted a herd of horses in the distance, she paused to take in the sight. The animals were a bit smaller than the ones she was used to, more like an Icelandic pony than a thoroughbred.
Not wanting to disturb the horses, Andrea moved on until she found some plants. The leaves were something she’d only found preserved in stone, so she picked some leaves, clutching them in her hand in the hopes that she could bring them back to her time if this truly was time travel.
Andrea glanced around, wondering how she could carry the leaves. If only she had her cargo pants, then she would be able to stuff the pockets full of these leaves.
Twitching her nose in annoyance, she huffed and puffed and eventually let the leaves fall from her grasp. They fluttered in the air, waving back and forth until finally landing on the ground.
It was wishful thinking. So far, she hadn’t been able to take anything between this world and hers.
It seemed she would have to settle for the leaf imprints they found in the dig sites. Andrea glared at the bracelet on her wrist. It appeared that the only thing that could come with her was the bracelet.
Too bad.
Walking away from her pile of discarded leaves, Andrea proceeded to explore the immediate area. Small birds flew away in a flutter of frantic wings as they shot out of the tall grass at her rude interruption.
Then as Andrea neared a pocket of trees, she heard something that had her ears perking up. It almost sounded like talking. It was guttural, and she couldn’t understand it, but it did sound like people speaking to each other.
Crouching low to the ground, Andrea crept across the ground, barely making a sound. As she peered over a medium sized green leafed bush, she saw where the talking was coming from.
Neanderthals.
As an archeologist, she’d studied the difference between Neanderthals and homo sapiens. The Neanderthals were stockier in their build, looking like beefed up shorter men. Their foreheads were more prominent, and these were definitely Neanderthals. She studied the group with growing interest. They all appeared to be men, and all of them had long black or brown hair that was tied back with a rawhide band.
The group of Neanderthals stood in a tight group, seeming to discuss something.
Andrea’s eyes wandered across the weapons they held or had tied to their bodies. One had what appeared to be a stone ax tied to his waist, and each of them also carried a spear in one hand. The wood shaft had a sharply carved stone tip that had been tied to the top with animal sinew. Maybe this was a Neanderthal hunting party, and if she was quiet enough, perhaps she could follow and watch them hunt.
There were many people in her time who were under the false impression that Neanderthals were primitive compared to their homo sapien counterparts, but there was a lot of evidence to the contrary.
As much as she wanted to think this was a dream, she was beginning to think it was real. Glancing down at her bracelet, she shook her head in wonderment. She wasn’t sure if she was sane, but this was her archeologist wet dream right here.
Looking back at the group of Neanderthals, she found them walking away from her. Whatever they’d been discussing, there’d been a decision made. Stepping lightly to her side so she could follow them, her foot landed on a stick, and before she could jerk her weight back…
Snap!
The sound seemed to echo in the air around her, and Andrea cringed as her eyes shot up to see if the Neanderthals had heard the noise.
They had!
All of their heads shot up, and their eyes began searching the area. She still held hope they would continue with their day, and she wouldn’t be spotted. Keeping one hundred percent frozen behind her bush, she prayed they wouldn’t come over to where she hid.
No such luck.
The lead man began to steer his men over to where she was hiding.
Andrea kept firmly in place behind her bush, but when the men were about to stride right into her, she leaped to her feet, spun around, and sprinted in the other direction.
A guttural cry went up behind her as they caught sight of her, and her heart flew into her throat as her bare feet pounded across the hard ground.
Risking a glance behind her, she saw the Neanderthals hot on her tail. There was a glimmer of eagerness in their dark eyes. Facing back to the direction she was running, she pumped her arms at her side. They were probably eager because she was butt ass naked, and they were primitive men. They most likely were thinking about conking her over the head with a wooden club and dragging her back to their cave for wicked deeds.
Like hell that would be happening.
Dream or no dream, she wasn’t about to let an orgy happen with her. She was a one man kind of gal.
Andrea raced through the tall grass area, and when she reached the stream, she leaped into the air and cleared it easily, before landing on the other side and continuing towards the forest.
Small rocks and branches pinched and prodded at the soft skin of her feet, but she ignored the nuisances.
What she needed to do was lose
these men in the woods. Then again, they were primitive hunters, and she was beginning to wonder if she’d ever be able to lose them. Glancing over her shoulder, she found the men still hot on her trail.
Dammit all to hell!
Her lungs burned like someone had shoved kindling into them and lit them on fire.
Facing forwards, Andrea leaped over a tree root that did its best to trip her, but her adrenaline helped her zero in her focus on survival.
A whirring sound from behind her, had her mind racing with thoughts as it tried to figure out what that might be. She didn’t have time to look back and see though. With how fast she was moving through the woods, she had to keep her gaze facing forward. Then something wrapped around her ankles, and she found the ground rushing up towards her face.
“Shit!” Andrea screamed as she raised her hands in front of her face to protect it as she sailed towards the ground.
Someone’s hands wrapped around her ankles, and with a ferocious scream, she rolled onto her back, rose up, balled her fist, and decked the closest Neanderthal in the face. He let out a grunt of pain but didn’t release his hold on her. Right as she was about to deck him again, another Neanderthal caught up, grabbed her hands, and with a yank held them behind her back. She felt him wrap something around her wrists, and when he was done, she found her arms completely useless to her.
Leaning forward, she screamed in the Neanderthal’s face, “Let me go! Now!”
The Neanderthal’s lips simply curved up in a smile, revealing his yellowing teeth. He growled something at her, but all she could do was shake her head in confusion. She couldn’t understand him, which didn’t surprise her. She was thousands of years in the past. There was no way she would be able to communicate with him.
Andrea glared at him. Unless she wanted to head butt him or bite him, she was out of options.
The rest of the men caught up, and she counted five of them. If this was a dream, it could end now… but it didn’t. It kept going.