Personality Split 2021

by Marc C

This story is set 5 years after the finale of Land of the Lost, and 5 years before the events of Exodus, another LOTL fan fic. In this story, we learn a little more about the parallel universe Marshalls from the episode Split Personality, and their over the top nemesis, the Black Sleestak. NOTE: In 2021, I rewrote the story, changing the beginning, & solving another LOTL mystery.

1. Chapter 1

PERSONALITY SPLIT 2021

By Marc C.

Chapter 1

Holly Marshall was dead. Her brother could not believe what had just happened. Quickly joined by their father, who heard the scream, the Marshall men stood in utter shock as they processed a horror that no family should ever see. The Land of the Lost was dangerous, filled with dinosaurs and hostile lizard-like creatures known as Sleestak, but what had just happened was so sudden and so unexplainable—even for a place where almost everything was a mystery. As they stared at the 12-year-old girl's body, the only comfort they had was that Holly was with them, safe and sound, her face buried in her father's chest, crying over what the family had just witnessed.

As he ushered Holly and his 17-year-old son Bill away from the gruesome scene, Rich Marshall thought back to the earlier events of the day. That morning, the moons in the Land of the Lost were lined up in a rare formation that according to Ta, the alpha paku, occurred only once every few years, lasting just three days. Today was the third day. The moons' alignment caused the pylon to open. The pakuni referred to the structure as the Moongiver Pylon. The night before, their friend Enik told them that if they entered the pylon on the infrequent occasion that it was open, it was possible that they could find a time doorway back to their world.

The Marshalls were overjoyed at the news. Rich would have done just about anything to get the kids home to their mother, who they missed terribly and who must have been worried sick back on Earth. His children were so excited that they ran ahead as Rich looked on smiling. But as the younger Marshalls arrived at the pylon and the door opened, they saw Holly, accompanied by a strange, box-like creature, step out of the pylon. Seconds later, both she and the creature exploded right in front of them. The trauma of what they had just seen was so great that they did not even care that the pylon's door closed and that they remained trapped in the Land of the Lost.

"Daddy, what happened? Is that me, later?" the girl asked through her tears when they got clear from the pylon.

Rich took a moment to gather his thoughts so he could respond to her. Yet he had no clue what to say. In truth, he was not sure at all. Anything could happen in this place, but he had to come up with an answer that would satisfy her because the girl who died looked to be the exact same age as his daughter, so if this was a future version of Holly, whatever was going to happen, was going to happen soon. He couldn't bear that thought.

He quickly came up with a hypothesis. "I don't think so, honey," he said. "I don't know what happened, but I don't think this was actually a future version of you."

"How can you be sure, Dad?" asked Bill.

"Did you see her shirt? It was that red checkered shirt from our other clothing bag," Rich answered, making note of the yellow shirt his daughter was wearing. He continued, "We haven't even opened that other bag since we got here." Given their circumstances, Rich felt that their spare clothing bag was valuable. He didn't want the family touching that bag unless irreparable damage happened to the clothes that they were currently wearing.

Holly wasn't buying Rich's answer. "But maybe for some reason, I did change my shirt. Couldn't that still be me?"

Rich knew his reasoning was flimsy, but the time spent on that explanation gave him the chance to think more logically. "All she did was step out of the pylon, honey. Nothing else. It wouldn't make any sense that at some point in the future, by yourself, you would change your shirt, find a way to get into the pylon with no key, go back in time, and somehow, this place would become so toxic, that you would explode for no reason. Whatever she is, I don't think she's a future version of you."

As upset as Holly was seeing what appeared to be her own death, her father's words helped, and she was able to compose herself. "If she's not me, then who is she?"

"Well, I'm not 100 percent sure, but I think she might be some sort of alternate version of you, maybe even from another reality, one where the inhabitants can't survive here."

Bill spoke. "Maybe Enik would know," referring to the lone intelligent Sleestak, a member of the Altrusian race, who had proven to be one of the Marshalls' few allies in this awful place.

Rich agreed. "That's a good idea, son. Let's go to the Lost City and see him."