Chapter 3

"Where are the stars?"

"Are you serious, Will?" Oliver rolled his eyes at his sister. "We just got chased by a one-eyed dinosaur, and you're worried about the stars?"

"Kids! Stop fighting! We need to figure out where we are."

"Isn't it obvious, mom?" Willow said, pointing at her shirt. "We've traveled through time!"

"Whatever happened," Oliver said, "We're probably not going to figure it out tonight."

"We need to find some shelter," his mom said. "And if we really are back in time, or whatever, we're going to have to save on gas. Good thing I filled up at that last station. If we're lucky we might be able to squeeze 200 miles."

"Mom, there's some bluffs up there. I think I see a cave. At least that way, we can stop Scarface eye over there from giving us any grief." As if the one-eyed tyrannosaur knew he was being talked about, they heard him bellow from behind.

"Good thinking, Ollie."

At his mother's behest, Oliver started the car and maneuvered them over to the rocky outcropping. In luck, there was a cave just large enough for the car. The car managed to act as a plug for the cave mouth - there was barely enough room for a single person to squeeze through.

"Okay, kids, let's get some of this stuff out of the car. It'll be safer if we slept in the car, at least until we figure out what's going on."

As they unloaded the car, they noticed that the cave had some natural illumination - from crystals embedded in the walls. They glowed red, blue, green and yellow. It was like having a nightlight.

"I think someone was here before us," Willow said, pointing to a blackened area on the ground.

"Looks like a fire pit," Oliver said, kneeling down to look at it. "Hasn't been used in a while, though. Whoever they were, maybe they found a way out of this place."

"Or maybe they were eaten by a dinosaur."

"Cheerful thought, Willow," her mother said. "Now grab your sleeping bags and get back in the car. We'll need our rest before we can figure out where we are."