DISCLAIMER: I do not own Outlander or anything related. I only own the characters I create.

CHAPTER 1

"Come on class, up this way," Mr. Morrison called out to the group of teenagers, not happy to be awake so early.

"Mr. Morrison, it's only 2:00 a.m. back home. And jetlag sucks," one boy called out.

"We have a lot to see during the one week we have here in Scotland," he replied. "Which involves getting up before noon." The entire class groaned.

Mr. Morrison was the history teacher at Springfield High School, and he had taken a group of Sophomores to Inverness, Scotland during their spring break, since they were currently studying Scottish history. The night before, the group had gone to a tavern to hear traditional Scottish music. One man there named Duncan Graham, known for his knowledge of Scottish lore, had told them all about the stone circles that littered the Scottish Highlands. One in particular he talked about was Craigh na Dun. He told them it was said that people were able to time travel through the stones, but only a chosen few. That's where they were right now.

"Here it is lads and lasses, Craigh na Dun," Mr. Morrison announced. "Feel free to explore on your own but be careful. We don't wanna have to tell any parents we lost their kids due to time traveling." The class split off and wandered amongst the stones. Skylar Kelley and her best friend Alana Brown walked off as a pair.

"What could these have possibly been used for?" Skylar thought out loud.

"That guy Duncan last night said it's a mystery. But like, they're also used for religious ceremonies and rituals."

"Okay then smarty," she teased, rolling her blue eyes. They kept wandering, but silently. After a few minutes, Skylar said, "Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?"

"That buzzing."

"You need to get your ears checked, girl. There is no buzzing."

"It sounds like it's coming from the middle circle." The two girls walked towards the middle where the tallest of the stones stood. "You really don't hear that?"

Alana shook her head. "Maybe it's the stones talking to you. Maybe you're one of the chosen few." They laughed at that idea.

Skylar ran her fingers through her dark blonde waves. "I think the exhaustion is getting to me," she said, though not truly believing it. She stood and stared at the stone, feeling like she was falling into a trance. All of a sudden, she found herself right in front of it, reaching out to it. She was about to touch it when she heard, "Sky!" She snapped out of it and looked. Alana was a good ways away. "C'mon, we're leaving."

"Coming!" She glanced at the stone one more time, then walked away.

As she laid in her bed that night, she couldn't sleep. She couldn't get the stone circle out of her head all day, especially that buzzing.

Why couldn't Alana hear it? Did I just imagine it? she thought. She sighed and looked at her phone for the time. It was 6:07 a.m. and the sun was just starting to rise.

"This is insane," she said to herself, and then sat up. As quiet as she could, she put on a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, and sneakers and went to open her door. She looked down the hall to make sure everyone else was still sleeping. Silently, she walked out the door and towards the circle.

After about 15 minutes, it came into sight. She could hear the buzzing again, but it was very low. She held her necklace charm in her hand. It was a heart with her birthstone in it, which her mother had given her for her birthday before she died. She took a breath and kept walking.

As she got closer and finally inside the circle, the buzzing got louder and louder until it was almost overwhelming. She stood, staring at the middle circle. It was calling her over to it, and without even realizing it, she slowly started walking towards it. She reached out to it, like she wasn't in control of her body anymore. And then she touched it.

What happened to her felt like it lasted half a second but a hundred years at the same time. There was a flash of blinding white light, and she felt like she was being pulled in a million directions. Then, there was darkness. She thought for a moment that she had died. But when she was finally able to open her eyes, she found herself on her back, lying in front of the stone. She sat up and looked around. Everything seemed normal. But when she stood up, she saw there was nothing. Literally nothing. Not even a road. There was grass and hills and forest surrounding her.

"What the hell?" she said quietly to herself. As she walked down the hill, not knowing what else to do, she tried to rationalize what was happening.

I must've passed out, she thought. Yeah, yeah, I fainted and now I'm dreaming. That must be it. I just need to wake up. She pinched herself; she was still there. She pinched herself harder; she whimpered a little from pain, but nothing changed. She had no idea what to do or where she was. Well, she knew she was in Scotland, but had she –

"No no no no no, she said out loud, stopping her thoughts. "There is no possible way." She tried to think of any other solution to what had happened. But she couldn't think of any. She suddenly couldn't breathe, and she felt like she was going to throw up. She grasped at her chest and, hyperventilating, sat on the ground. She tried to focus on a single object in front of her to stop everything from spinning, but it wasn't working. She finally was able to catch her breath after many excruciating minutes. She felt something run down her face. She touched her cheek and saw that she had started crying without realizing it. Unsure of what to do, she just sat there with her legs against her chest.

She didn't know how long she had sat there when she heard someone say, "Are you alright miss?" She looked up and saw a young man with shoulder length curly black hair on a horse looking down at her. He was wearing what looked like Revolutionary War-era clothes

"I…I don't…um…" she tried to speak, but she couldn't put together a full sentence.

"Is your family nearby? Do you need help?" She couldn't quite figure out what his accent was. There was definitely French, but it was like it was mixed with Scottish.

"I don't…my-my family…they aren't here." She just looked straight ahead, not even blinking. She looked over though when she felt someone sit next to her.

"Where is your family?" he asked.

"America." Which was 100% true.

"You're from America?" Skylar nodded. "How did you get here?" She didn't know how to answer. She just looked back at the stones. The young man followed her gaze, then looked back at her confused.

"Do you know anyone here?" She shook her head. He thought for a minute, then said, "Why don't you come with me?"
"What?"

"Come with me. I am traveling back to Edinburgh, back to Milord. He will know what to do." He offered her his hand. She looked at it, then looked back at him, tightening her grasp on her legs. "Trust me, it is not safe for a young lady to be out here by herself. I will protect you."

Still not completely sure of what was happening, she took his hand and stood up. He helped her onto his horse and she held tight around him.

"What is your name by the way," he asked after they had started riding.

"Skylar."

"It's nice to meet you, Skylar. My name is Fergus."