'What a strange dream!' Meg commented to herself, as she started to wake.
She sensed the presence of another being near-by. Of course she wasn't alone! Zebra would be in the next room. When she finally mustered enough energy, her eyes fluttered open, blurry at first, to behold another set of eyes, staring deeply with interest into hers. Not being able to recognize the familiar hue of Zebra's golden-brown eyes, she started to panic. The eyes before her now, were of a brilliant blue, very moist and cool, as an ever clear pool.
Meg gasped and bolted upright with a jerk. Curious. She seemed to have frightened away......a girl? But this seemed to be no ordinary girl, her long sky colored hair, billowed and flowed like a fast moving stream. Her skin appeared to be not skin at all, but scales, like that of a fish. She leaped away, graceful as a fawn, towards a near-by river. She giggled playfully, bubbles popping from her coral lips, and dove head first, into the river.
Meg stared in dismay at the spot where the girl had vanished for a long time. Something wasn't right here. Trying to make sense of it, she shook her head and blinked her eyes rapidly, expecting things to return to normal. Hoping to see the familial sightings of her bedroom; her double bed, her small desk with a metal chair. No such luck. Things were just as confusing, if not more, as they had been moments ago.
Then, she remembered....Zebra! Where was she?! She looked around in a panic. No, she couldn't loose her, as she was loosing her mind. Then she found her laying beside her, still knocked cold. Meg pulled Zebra up by the shoulders, so that she was sitting up. Her head lolled off to the side.
"Zebra", she called, trying to rouse her.
No response. When that didn't work, she gently slapped her cheeks. "C'mon Zebra, snap out of it!"
Zebra let out a low moan. "Wha....? Ow, my head", she complained, reaching back to massage her swelling lump. Her eyes squinted as they slowly came into focus. "Meg?"
She continued to support her back. "Of course, who else would it be?"
Zebra managed a small smile, then glanced around. "What happened? Where are we?"
Meg looked about as well, not wanting to believe this was reality. "I was hoping you could tell me", she admitted.
As the realization of what had happened, started to sink-in, a new sense of adventure began forming within Zebra's psyche. "Wow! We actually did it. We've achieved the impossible; We traveled through time!" She stood up quickly and spread out her arms, showing triumph. Oops, bad idea. She was still a bit woozy from her blow to the head.
Meg came to her side, to keep her steady as she swayed on her feet. Still in denial, Meg expressed her annoyance. "Zebra, stop it! This is just a dream, there can be no other explanation."
"Then how do you 'explain' the time portal we were sucked through?" Zebra challenged.
Meg clutched her skull, trying to maintain some sanity. "I don't know......" She took several deep breaths to keep her blood pressure in check. "OK. Say that we did travel through.....time", she found the word difficult to pronounce, now that it had come with such a heavy weight. "Do you, by chance, have the slightest clue as to how we could return?....."
Zebra lifted a finger, for added effect to her answer; she opened her mouth to speak, but no sound escaped her throat, she had nothing. "No", she quietly confessed.
Meg stepped away and threw up her arms toward the heavens, defeated. "Great! Now were stuck here, and we don't even know where 'here' is! And to top it off, not even when!" Her sarcasm rang true. "What do you suggest we do now", Meg turned about to face her friend again. Zebra shrugged, as if the answer should be obvious. "What we set out to do from the beginning; go and search out my grandfather. He's got to have some idea of how to reverse the process."
Meg couldn't see how Zebra could be so confident and at ease, when she was about to have a nervous breakdown. They had, absolutely, no resources to sustain them. "How? We aren't even sure he's......here."
Zebra smiled gently. "Oh, he's here......I know he is"

After some massive persuasion, Meg followed after Zebra, to find any sign of....intelligent life. The scorching sun beat heavily upon their brows. Meg had long shed her Nittany Lions sweatshirt. Finding no other practical use for it, she tore it in half, so her and Zebra could use it for protection against the sun. They wrapped the scraps tightly around their heads, like a turban.
It seemed like they had been walking forever, when Meg finally couldn't take the silence any longer. "So, any idea where or when, we are?" Zebra found a shady spot beneath an Olive Tree, sank down the trunk, and plopped herself onto the cool grass. Meg soon followed suit.
"I've been pondering this for some time. The landscape seems almost identical to the description Dr. Shaw gave in his lecture about Ancient Greece. But we can't be sure until we find someone to confirm this." She admitted quickly after seeing the shock on Meg's face. Apparently the idea of traveling so far hadn't occured to her.
"Of all places, why would he travel here, what practical purpose could there be?"
Zebra could only shrug in response, feeling a might flustered, not having any real answer to give. "That, is another mystery I hope will reveal itself, when we actually find the man. He's the only one who would know the path back."
Meg massaged her temples, trying to stave off a headache that early in the morning. At least, she assumed it was morning. Back home, it would have probably been close to 5 a.m. And if they were, where Zebra presumed them to be, there would have been about a six hour time difference. But....they couldn't have established time zones yet. If they were, in fact, in ancient times. Oh, how Meg had become to despise that word; TIME, in the last couple of weeks. Eager to find civilization, she grasped her knees and lifted herself to her feet. "C'mon", Meg urged, offering a hand to Zebra. "The sooner we find your grandfather, the sooner we can return home. And the sooner I can find a good psychiatrist."
Zebra let Meg help her up, and they continued their trek.

They soon came across a path, which upon closer investigation, appeared to be a road. Zebra knelt down to study the engraved tracks left behind in the dirt.
"Horse-shoe imprints, and wheel ruts. That's proof that we're not the only intelligent creatures in this land."
Meg lifted her eyes to gaze down the road. Thanks to the sun, hazy waves filtered her view. Then, she spotted movement, and what she saw made her stomach coil. By the time she had passed the information on to Zebra, it was too late to hide, they had been spotted. Three, burly looking men were coming down the path, each with a walking staff in hand, to aid them in their step. Meg knew that if they fled now, it would make the anticipated situation much worse. She kept her appearance firm and taught. Zebra, on the other hand, couldn't move. Her eyes were wide, not with fear, but total awe! These guys were.....HUGE! And the closer they approached, the larger they seemed to get. Their muscles were taught and rippling, beneath their......skirts? Meg couldn't say what they were wearing.
They would have been quite nice looking, except.....they were all frightening UGLY! The first man, was almost completely covered with greasy, black hair, which was pretty repulsive to look at; Place a picture of an ape next to the guy, and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. The second, who seemed to be the leader, had numerous deep scars covering his face. The last, and shortest of the gang (5'12") was as bald as a bowling ball, his skin was the color of tanned leather, probably due to sun exposure.
Zebra, at least had the mind to stand up as they approached.
Upon seeing the two, lone females, their eyes and throats began to burn.
"Greetings!" Hailed the leader, in mock politeness. "My my, it certainly is a pleasure to see some fellow travelers."
"And attractive ones at that", grunted the hairy man.
The scarred leader, elbowed his companion in the gut, as if he'd said too much. "Barabus!" He scolded. "Where are your manners?!"
Barabus caressed his now sore belly.
The leader turned his conversation back to the girls. "You'll have to forgive my friend here. We are but lowly travelers, and don't see many women on the trail, especially not ones who are dressed so strangely." He noted their apparel, longer than necessary. His greedy eyes traveling up and down their figurative forms.
Feeling self-conscience, Zebra looked over her outfit; blue cotton sweats and tennis shoes. This obviously wasn't a common trend around those parts.
"Soooooo, where are you ladies headed?"
Meg shook her head vigorously at Zebra, but she didn't see the harm in answering his question, perhaps they could could get some answers to their own questions. "We're actually looking for my grandfather, Julius Sanders. You haven't heard of him by chance, have you?"
The scarred leader scratched his grizzled chin. "No. Can't say that I have." His associates seemed oddly fidgety. "Perhaps we should travel with you", he suggested casually. "You really shouldn't be out here alone in these parts, there are some.....unscrupulous characters about." His buddies snickered.
"No, thank-you", Zebra replied nervously.
"Come now, we can protect you." He said, stepping forward to brush a stray hair from Zebra's face.
Zebra thought she was about to be torn apart by his rough, calloused hands, and braced herself for the inevitable.
Meg quickly stepped between them. "Don't....you.....touch her!" She warned, pushing Zebra behind her. Her blood boiled with furry.
Just like a couple of playground bullies, the men gave a mocking, "Ooooohhhhh!" Surprised at Meg's boldness.
"Now now. Don't be like that", the leader soothingly replied.
Now where had Meg heard THAT line before? It appeared that, even ancient men, could be just as arrogant as those in the future.
"A scowl really doesn't become your lovely face, young lady."
The short man disagreed with his leader. "Nonsense Urius. I believe she looks rather cute when she's angry." He stretched out a hand to playfully pat her cheek.
"Hardly", Meg snapped as she rejected the gesture, batting his dirt encrusted hand roughly away. Then, a sly smile climbed her cheeks. "In fact, you'll find that things get quite UGLY when I'm mad." She noisily cracked her knuckles. "Observe....."
Before he could comprehend what was coming, Meg drew back a fist and laid the brute out flat. His companions looked on in complete shock! "Get that wench!" Commanded Urius.
Meg jumped back, dodging their attacks. Her goal was to wear them out. It would be rather difficult punching-out two fully grown men, with murder in their eyes. When she found an opening, she took it. She swept her leg to trip them where they stood. As they tumbled to the ground, Meg snapped her wrists below their temples, turning out the lights. Looking over the vanquished, Meg bent her frame, and panted.
The short, bald man, named Chius, was coming out of his unconscious state. He shook his head at time or two, then set his vengeful eyes upon Meg.