Chapter 2: where drums never sleeps
763 Words
Darkness.
It felt endless.
Daniel couldn't tell if his eyes were open or closed.
His body felt weightless, as though he were falling through the sky without ever reaching the ground.
Then...
A sharp pain shot through his head.
He gasped.
Birds.
Not the sound of traffic.
Not school bells.
Birds.
His eyes flew open.
Above him stretched a sky so blue it almost didn't look real.
He sat up too quickly and winced.
"Grace?"
No answer.
"Ethan?"
Only the rustling of leaves.
"Sophia!"
His voice echoed through a forest unlike anything he had ever seen.
Towering trees blocked out most of the sunlight. Thick vines hung from their branches, and somewhere in the distance, a talking drum beat slowly.
Boom...
Boom...
Boom...
Daniel swallowed.
"This... this isn't the museum."
A groan came from nearby.
Grace pushed herself up from the ground, rubbing her arm.
"My head..."
Then Ethan stumbled out from behind a tree.
" Sophia! Sophia! I never want to go on another school trip again."
For the first time since they had met, Daniel didn't laugh.
His eyes remained fixed on something ahead.
Sophia stood completely still.
She wasn't looking at them.
She was staring through the trees.
"What is it?" Grace whispered.
Sophia slowly raised one trembling finger.
"There..."
The others turned.
Beyond the forest stood a vast city unlike anything they had ever imagined.
Smoke curled into the sky.
Mud walls surrounded the settlement.
People dressed in woven cloth moved through the streets.
The sound of blacksmiths echoed in the distance.
A great palace rose above everything else.
Daniel felt the blood drain from his face.
"No..."
Sophia barely breathed the words.
"We're... not in our time anymore."
"What do you mean by that" Daniel said panic creeping into his voice
"She's right..... I think we time traveled" Grace said almost crying
"Stop! just stop, all of you! What do you mean we time traveled. Does that make any sense to you. Grace, we all know you love fantasy novels, but this isn't one of them. Sophia you are suppose to be bright what happened to your light??" Daniel said
"Then what is the explanation to any of this if it isn't time travel?" Gace asked crossing her hands underneath her breasts
"Maybe we passed out because of the light. Maybe the school found us and brought us to another historical site." He spoke quickly, as though convincing himself rather than the others.
"I always know you are dumb but I never expect it to be on a whole new level .Let's just find a way out of here first. Who knows the danger lurking around" Ethan who had been quiet all along said
"You! This is all your fault " Daniel said facing Ethan
"What??" Ethan replied looking really confused.
"If you haven't touched the staff we would have been in the museum right now " Daniel said while Ethan hissed. He ignored Daniel and went to meet Sophia and Grace who had walked away from them. Upon getting closer to his mates Ethan noticed the confused look on Sophia's face.
"What's wrong??" He asked
"According to my phone we had only spent 2 seconds here, and the school posted us standing with the same staff that brought us here. Apparently Grace called a member and she added the label on it. The name of the staff is. Staff of time. AND IT BLOOMS ONLY WHEN THE TIME BREAKS" Sophia said with her eyes widened
"Wait what???" Grace said
"So someone is out there pretending to be us" Daniel said angrily
"If us traveling to this place isn't a bad news to you Sophia then someone taking over our place should be" Grace said but Sophia remained silent.
" I searched for staff of time online and what came up is this. The staff of time is the staff founded by our ancestors it is used to travel back and forth in time however the body stays doing perfectly fine. While the spirit wanders through time" Ethan said as he gulped down his saliva
"How do we go back " Grace quickly asked Sophia who had snatched Ethan's phone
"We can't go back on our own. We'll just wake up one day and we are back. How come I haven't heard of this??" Sophia said
"Oh my God we are doomed " Daniel said
" Let's stay calm and ask for help" Grace said
"From who??" Daniel asked
"From him" Ethan said pointing to a young guy about the same age as them playing a talking drum
- Writer
