Phoebe nodded grimly as an answer to Piper's question, and I stood there
unable to comprehend.
"Wait, wait!" I gasped. "That can't be right. The dinosaurs, the-the freaky looking plants and stuff, they are definitely from the past!"
"Yeah, I know Paige. But I also can tell around what time period my premonitions are and, I don't know how, but this one was from the future."
"Ok, look," Piper intervened before another fight could start. "If we are in the future, which apparently we are, then I'm sure there has to be some way to open a portal or something. I mean we've done it before."
As I opened my mouth to respond, a horrible screeching sound filled our ears and the only thing I found myself able to do was grip my hands tightly over my ears. I gazed at my sisters, who were mimicking my actions. Suddenly something over their shoulders caught my eye and I glanced up to view one of the most repulsive, terrifying creatures I had ever seen. Staggering back, I pointed wordlessly at it, and my sisters swiftly spun around to face the creature. Abruptly, I turned and ran, Piper and Phoebe right at my heels.
"Paige! Cave, over there!" I followed Piper's gaze and saw a rather small obscure looking opening in the side of a crumbly cliff. I quickly concluded that this creature was too big to fit in the opening, and ignoring my instincts telling me this wasn't a good idea, I concentrated only on the hungry beast thundering behind us. We flew into the dark dusty cave, and stopped only when we were sure we were far enough from the opening that the animal couldn't reach us.
"What the hell was that?" Phoebe questioned between gasps of breath.
"I dunno," I responded distractedly, as I peered at our surroundings. "Definitely not something I've ever seen in a history book."
"You know Paige is right" Piper stated. "These dinosaurs are not like anything I've seen in movies or museums or anything. They're.different."
"Yeah." Phoebe agreed, eyes squinted in concentration.
While Piper and Phoebe reasoned our situation, I wandered slightly farther down the passage. The ground became rockier, more uneven, and I found myself having to use the damp walls to balance myself as I climbed mini- mountains. My steps became hesitant when the ground became less stable beneath me and eventually I halted my progression. Glancing back quickly to confirm that my sisters we're still in my view, I stooped down to examine the cause of the faulty ground. I was grateful for the dim light that reached this far from the outside of the cave, and with it I observed that there was, in fact, only a thin layer of jagged earth ahead. The earth, however, also looked different. Not like normal dirt we were used too. Through holes in that layer I could see beneath it, it seemed, another sort of cave. How far of a drop it was to the bottom of that lower cavern, I wasn't sure, for the light did not extend down there.
"Paige! Where did you go?!" Piper called suddenly. The unexpected noise intruded my silent exploration, startling me, and I lost my balance, toppling sideways. I screamed as I collapsed through the layer of earth which I had been previously examining, and fell, around 10 feet I gathered, to the bottom of the cave below. My head violently met the rough ground and pain rushed through my entire body. As I was showered with large pieces of debris that had followed in my wake, I faintly heard my sisters scream my name and rush over to the edge of the opening I had formed, and then I reluctantly welcomed the oncoming darkness.
***********
"It's ok Wyatt," Leo soothed as his son continued to wail. "Mommy is alright. For now anyway," he sighed, aiming more at assuring himself than his infant son. Only within the last hour had he been able to establish a faint connection with the girls. He could sense them, but barely. He closed his eyes once again in concentration, desperate to retain the minute link.
Suddenly he sensed something else: a tiny jab of pain. Immediately his whitelighter instincts exploded into action, informing him of what he needed to know. One of them was hurt. Had he possessed a stronger bond, the pain would have been more intense, but as it was, it was a wonder he felt it at all. He carefully set Wyatt in his playpen and focused on identifying which sister was hurt. Wyatt ceased his cries, somehow sensing the urgency of the situation, and watched his father quietly.
Paige, Leo finally decided. She was hurt. He didn't know how and he didn't know where, but he did know that the girls needed his help. Grabbing Wyatt, he orbed up to the attic, appearing precisely in front of the wooden pedestal, which held The Book of Shadows. Throwing open the worn leather cover with the arm not presently holding Wyatt, he frantically searched for the spell he knew was in there, but had hoped they would never be forced to use.
"Screw the elders" he voiced aloud, mostly just to fill the irritating silence created by the tension. "I can't just sit here, relying on Phoebe's premonition as the only thing to help them. Not while Paige is hurt and the others could be hurt at any time. I just won't do it." He sighed in temporary relief as he discovered the spell he had been hunting for. "I really hope this works." Taking one more glance at Wyatt for encouragement, he hastily began the incantation.
"Wait, wait!" I gasped. "That can't be right. The dinosaurs, the-the freaky looking plants and stuff, they are definitely from the past!"
"Yeah, I know Paige. But I also can tell around what time period my premonitions are and, I don't know how, but this one was from the future."
"Ok, look," Piper intervened before another fight could start. "If we are in the future, which apparently we are, then I'm sure there has to be some way to open a portal or something. I mean we've done it before."
As I opened my mouth to respond, a horrible screeching sound filled our ears and the only thing I found myself able to do was grip my hands tightly over my ears. I gazed at my sisters, who were mimicking my actions. Suddenly something over their shoulders caught my eye and I glanced up to view one of the most repulsive, terrifying creatures I had ever seen. Staggering back, I pointed wordlessly at it, and my sisters swiftly spun around to face the creature. Abruptly, I turned and ran, Piper and Phoebe right at my heels.
"Paige! Cave, over there!" I followed Piper's gaze and saw a rather small obscure looking opening in the side of a crumbly cliff. I quickly concluded that this creature was too big to fit in the opening, and ignoring my instincts telling me this wasn't a good idea, I concentrated only on the hungry beast thundering behind us. We flew into the dark dusty cave, and stopped only when we were sure we were far enough from the opening that the animal couldn't reach us.
"What the hell was that?" Phoebe questioned between gasps of breath.
"I dunno," I responded distractedly, as I peered at our surroundings. "Definitely not something I've ever seen in a history book."
"You know Paige is right" Piper stated. "These dinosaurs are not like anything I've seen in movies or museums or anything. They're.different."
"Yeah." Phoebe agreed, eyes squinted in concentration.
While Piper and Phoebe reasoned our situation, I wandered slightly farther down the passage. The ground became rockier, more uneven, and I found myself having to use the damp walls to balance myself as I climbed mini- mountains. My steps became hesitant when the ground became less stable beneath me and eventually I halted my progression. Glancing back quickly to confirm that my sisters we're still in my view, I stooped down to examine the cause of the faulty ground. I was grateful for the dim light that reached this far from the outside of the cave, and with it I observed that there was, in fact, only a thin layer of jagged earth ahead. The earth, however, also looked different. Not like normal dirt we were used too. Through holes in that layer I could see beneath it, it seemed, another sort of cave. How far of a drop it was to the bottom of that lower cavern, I wasn't sure, for the light did not extend down there.
"Paige! Where did you go?!" Piper called suddenly. The unexpected noise intruded my silent exploration, startling me, and I lost my balance, toppling sideways. I screamed as I collapsed through the layer of earth which I had been previously examining, and fell, around 10 feet I gathered, to the bottom of the cave below. My head violently met the rough ground and pain rushed through my entire body. As I was showered with large pieces of debris that had followed in my wake, I faintly heard my sisters scream my name and rush over to the edge of the opening I had formed, and then I reluctantly welcomed the oncoming darkness.
***********
"It's ok Wyatt," Leo soothed as his son continued to wail. "Mommy is alright. For now anyway," he sighed, aiming more at assuring himself than his infant son. Only within the last hour had he been able to establish a faint connection with the girls. He could sense them, but barely. He closed his eyes once again in concentration, desperate to retain the minute link.
Suddenly he sensed something else: a tiny jab of pain. Immediately his whitelighter instincts exploded into action, informing him of what he needed to know. One of them was hurt. Had he possessed a stronger bond, the pain would have been more intense, but as it was, it was a wonder he felt it at all. He carefully set Wyatt in his playpen and focused on identifying which sister was hurt. Wyatt ceased his cries, somehow sensing the urgency of the situation, and watched his father quietly.
Paige, Leo finally decided. She was hurt. He didn't know how and he didn't know where, but he did know that the girls needed his help. Grabbing Wyatt, he orbed up to the attic, appearing precisely in front of the wooden pedestal, which held The Book of Shadows. Throwing open the worn leather cover with the arm not presently holding Wyatt, he frantically searched for the spell he knew was in there, but had hoped they would never be forced to use.
"Screw the elders" he voiced aloud, mostly just to fill the irritating silence created by the tension. "I can't just sit here, relying on Phoebe's premonition as the only thing to help them. Not while Paige is hurt and the others could be hurt at any time. I just won't do it." He sighed in temporary relief as he discovered the spell he had been hunting for. "I really hope this works." Taking one more glance at Wyatt for encouragement, he hastily began the incantation.