Time Travelers

Chapter 2: Trapped in the past

"Ouch." I heard Monica groan. My eyes slowly opened and gradually came into focus. The four of us were sprawled across a patch of wet grass. I groaned and tried to sit up, but every bone in my body ached. It felt like a truck just ran me over.

"Here, let me help you." Said Cassidy. She had managed to get up and was offering me a hand.

"Thanks." I said as she pulled me to my feet. I wavered on my feet but slowly gained my balance. My head was pounding and I was extremely dizzy. A cold breeze hit me and I shivered.

As soon as my ears cleared up, I heard a low rushing sound behind me and turned around to see a road full of cars. But not normal looking cars, they were the kind of cars you would see in a 1900's movie. I swallowed hard and I started to shake. Obviously, we were a long way from Mountain Heights School. We appeared to be standing on someone's back lawn, because there was a brick house in front of us.

"Where ARE we??" Monica asked. The question remained unanswered. I turned towards the three other girls. Janet was looking around solemnly; I could almost see the wheels turning in her head. Cassidy was busy digging in her coach purse, probably looking for her mirror to check on the state of her hair.

Monica, on the other hand, was making her way to the backdoor of the house. My heart jumped. What would these people think of four random girls on her back lawn? Not to mention we looked filthy; our clothes were torn in various places and they were full of grass stains. I hoped Cassidy never found that mirror.

I heard three short taps and realized that Monica was knocking on the door. The door creaked open and a middle aged woman appeared in the doorway. She was wearing a long brown dress that had two creases in the skirt. The top part of the dress looked like a button down coat. Her hair was in a bob and her lips were pulled into a tight line.

Monica quickly said, "Excuse me, Ma'am, but could you tell us where we are? We seem to be a little lost."

'A little?" I wanted to say as I rubbed my bare arms to keep warm.

After sweeping her judgmental gaze over the four of us, the woman scowled and said in an ill temper, "There's no room for you're sort here. Now go back to the jungle where you belong" And with that she slammed the door behind her.

I jumped.

"Our sort?" Cassidy said, coming up to me. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe she just doesn't like children?" Monica suggested, joining us.

"We've got bigger problems than an unpleasant resident." Janet stated gravely. "Has anyone else noticed that the portal transported us to an unknown location and then vanished? The portal IS NOT HERE." She greatly emphasized the last sentence. Her forehead was creased with concern.

My breath started quickening and anxiety grew in my chest. All of the panic-stricken things I wanted to say were trapped inside my throat.

"What are we going to do??" Cassidy said, the color draining from her face. "Who knows how long we could be stuck here..."

"We're going to start looking for that portal." Monica replied. I stared at her. How could she keep her cool in a time like this? I was on the brink of a nervous breakdown here and she almost seemed to be enjoying this. I suppose just a result of her adventurous personality, another reason I felt like she and I couldn't see eye to eye.

The search began. We decided since we had no clue where we were, that it would be best to stay together. We started scouring the front yard and everything in close proximity. The more I saw of this setting, the more uneasy I felt. NONE of the cars were modern looking, and most of the houses were made of either wood or brick. When nothing turned up in the surrounding area of the house, we branched out further.