Dreamland

Prehistoric Cave

I'm with a small group of people who have decided to escape into the past. We've discovered this cave up in the desert mountains that's a direct link into prehistory. If you walk far enough into the cave, time starts to shift and change, and you end up walking out of an identical cave about fifty thousand years in the past.

We've assembled at the mouth of the cave, working out a plan on how we are going to blend in with the natives once we get there. "You can't talk in full sentences, it doesn't sound natural," says Dave (He's been there before). "Just single-syllable words and grunts. And we stick together, we're our own clan."

"Ok, at least until we get a feel for the Time. Some of us may want to join other clans once we know what we're doing," Carlos says. "You know,to look for mates or something... All I'm saying is there aren't too many women in our clan... We need some genetic diversity, right?"

We all laugh, teasing him for his comments. It is true we have six men and only four women. But Carlos is our resident womanizer. Even if the numbers were reversed it wouldn't be good enough for him. Still, I guess it takes all kinds to make a tribe...

"We have to make our clothes look primitive," Melanie says, as he rips the sleeves off of her blouse and tears at the hem of her denim skirt.

We all take her queue and start cutting and tearing at our clothes. I'm wearing an old white cotton shirt and faded jeans. I pull out a pocket knife and cut the legs off my jeans and the sleeves off my shirt. I rub dirt on my clothes and leave my shirt unbuttoned. In this dream-land my hair is long and dark, tied back in a neat ponytail. (Unlike in real-life where it's short (where still existing) and grey.) I untie my hair and rub dirt in it until it is a tangled mess. I should look primitive enough now...

I hear the sound of trucks in the distance. "I'll go see who's coming", I volunteer.

I run out and crouch down at the side of the dirt road that goes past the front of the cave. I peer through binoculars, looking at a switchback in the road about half a mile away. I see a convoy of Army vehicles. I see an officer standing on the back of a jeep, scanning the area through his binoculars. He stops scanning as he looks right at me. I realize immediately that we've been followed. "Everybody run! Into the Past! Now!" I yell ahead to the group. "I'll catch up!"

I run ito the mouth of the cave. My clan has run ahead, and they've left all modern artifacts behind. Knives, keys, wallets, watches, phones strewn across the floor of the cave. I quickly empty my pockets of all articles of civilization.

I'm not sure I'll arrive in the same time-phase as the rest of my tribe now. I need to have something to use as a primitive weapon, in case I need it. I pick up an old two by four and break it in half, a suitable length for a club.

I hear the Army trucks pulling up in front of the cave. I run towards the back of the cave swinging my club and practicing grunting defensively, trying to sound like a cave man: "RRRRAAAH! ARRRRAAAGH!"

I feel the time-phase shift near the back of the cave, a wobbly feeling in my arms and legs, a queasiness in my stomach. A blurred vision of a bright opening materializes ahead of me.

I continue forward, heading towards the light. I hope my clan is waiting for me on the other side...