“Baa, baa” The goat bleated at me, tugging me while I stirred in my sleep. Whoever let their goat run wild into my room needs a proper scolding.

Wait a minute! Goat? I have never seen one in real life, how is there a goat on my bed. Bed? How is my bed suddenly rock hard?

With sheer intense I open my eyes, and I am not prepared for the sight around me. There is a goat bleating my right, I am not on my bed, in my house and most importantly I am not in this century!

“Ahhh help me, somebody help me.” I cry. I am in utter shock. I am not wearing modern cloths; I am covered in leather. Only one thing makes sense here, I have time traveled to the stone age. I take a good look at my surrounding and I am in a cave, there is a fire burning in the distance, scribblings on the wall that could be likened to Egyptian hieroglyphics.

“I have to get back, I need to get back,” I mutter, walking out of the cave. This is a whole sight to behold, and I don’t know exactly what is happening here.

Heading towards the fire, I see people walking around, gathering plants, a farmland ahead that stretches for miles, a little child playing with the skull of an already decomposed animal.

The atmosphere has changed. Everyone has a pensive look on their faces, could it be me they are wary of or is there a new threat to their existence? I hear screams and a loud thud follows. Few feet away, I see this huge animal, this is definitely part of the dinosaur family, I think to myself.

Shell shocked, I stand and stare till I am pulled by a lady in thin veil, encouraging me to run. I run as far as I can while hearing the sound of bodies breaking. I keep running, surprisingly amazed by my athletic prowess. I follow the thin veiled lady, and we pass through the field, venturing further into the darkness.

Crouching low under the corn fields, I can hear the screams and snarls from this animal, and I am in immense fear. One second, I was sitting in my balcony and suddenly I am transported to the ancient times.

After what seems like ten years, the noises stop and I can no longer hear the snarls, only wails of people and the trail of destruction it has left behind.

“Oh my god! What just happened? What is happening? Is this a wicked dream?” I cannot fathom how real this looks right now. Smoke billows in various spots, the thin-veiled woman is staring at me, an expression I cannot decipher.

“This is not a dream; it is your reality. Our reality.” She speaks calmly while crouched still on the ground.

I stare at her, confused at how she speaks English, Neolithic humans are not supposed to understand modern English but this one does.

“Hi, my name is Shanice, I know you have a lot of question to ask with that look on your face. I assume you are just like me, hearing you speak English. That was the Thomas, I call him that. He is the dinosaur that has been attacking the village for a long time and trust me, he does not give up.” She reiterates, wipes the dust from her jagged trouser made out of wool.

“My name is Lara, I just found myself here and I am confused. How are you here? I have a million questions.” She stretches her hand to lift me up.

“Well, I have been here for a really long time. I stopped counting after I marked 100 days. Whatever put me here would take me back when it is time and if not, I would live as I am meant to. Hurry, let’s go, I have a place to myself. It is not to our taste but we can lay our heads there.”

She leads the way, ensuring not to step on remains of those who were in the land of the living few hours ago.

We pass by the gnashing of teeth and sorrow infused air and head towards the abode Shanice calls home. It is a perfectly dug out hole, hidden in between bushes and a rock. I see the marks symbolizing the number of days she has spent here, the despair etching on the latter markings as each day passes with no hope in sight.

Sitting on the ground, she brings me milk from her gourd as well as some dried fruits.

“Here,” She gestures to me. “This is what I have for now. We can manage this till the attacks stop.”

“Thank you,” I receive the meal from her. “How long does this occur? Has anyone attempted to eliminate this animal attacking?”

“Well, there have been attempts but you know exactly how it ends. We cannot go against a creature of that size with no advancement in weapons Look round Lara, they are gatherers Not exactly the right century for us to find ourselves in. Thank goodness these creatures go extinct in the future.”

“How do you communicate with the others here? What do they speak?”

“It was difficult at first, on both sides. They did not know where I came from and apparently everybody knows everybody, but I learnt their gestures, imitated them and I can communicate with them on surface level. However, I am not part of their tribe, so I maintain a healthy distance. I go out hunt for food, I receive milk from the women, and I go on my day.

“Wow that sounds like a lot. I wish we knew the reason this happened to us. Thank you for tonight, Shanice, I would never forget this.” I stare into her big brown eyes. I see her features clearly through the dancing fire lit by her. Her olive skin, greasy curly hair, she is indisputably beautiful, and I get self-conscious for a fleeting moment.

“I love your hair; it is very creative. I used to dye my roommate’s hair every time she needed it” She gestures towards my multicolored locs.

“Thank you, I just wanted something different, you know in Lagos, there is nothing like ‘too creative’. Well now it is going to draw unwanted attention.” I chuckle.

“Oh right, it's pretty thought. In case you escape from this hell, my name is Shanice Durden, let my family know where I am.” She tells me, as well as the names of her family and social media handle. I do the same for her, we never know when the power that places us here takes us back.

"We need to sleep, sustain our energy for tomorrow. I would show you the ropes on how to live a well productive life here.” The fire flickers and dims gradually as she puts it out.

“Goodnight Shanice.”

“Goodnight Lara” She replies.

“Wake up Lara, Wake up!” I feel a harsh shove agaisnt me, and I abruptly sit up, wide eyed.

“What is going on Shanice?”

“We do not have much time Lara, the attacks have begun, we must hurry. NOW!” She roars.

We run outside and the sight ahead is that of terror, fear shivers down my spine as we make a run for it. I pray to the heavenly being to save Shanice and I.

This time the dinosaur had called for reinforcement it seems, three gigantic dinosaurs ravage the village, raining death and destruction upon anyone, anything that lay in their path.

I run as fast as my feet can take me, Shanice is ahead plowing through whatever lays in her path. I can hear my heartbeat rising faster with each step I take. It is somewhat rhythmic, death teasing in the corner and I either die by heart failure or lay in the mouth of this ferocious animal.

One second, I am on my feet and the next I am swayed in the air by this ravenous animal. I can hear the distant wail from Shanice screaming my name. I close my eyes and accept my fate. With arms flailing hopelessly around I feel my head spinning, my heart beating faster and feeling like it is about to combust. I am dropped to the ground from a high speed, a loud thud can be heard, and my world turns to black.

The beeping sound draws me from my sounding slumber, and I hear my name being called faintly.

“Shanice is that you? Shanice?” I try to open my eyes, but I am blinded by the white lights on the ceiling. I finally adjust to the light and find myself in a hospital, present day.

I look around and recognize my family. Everyone staring at me, a flicker of hope passes through their eyes in the hopes of being remembered.

“Mum? Dad?” What happened?”

They rush to hug me, seemingly reassured after hearing my voice.

The doctor comes in, checks my heart rate, eyes, asks few questions which I answer. I tell them where I was, and they tell me I have been in coma for two weeks. According to investigations, I fell from the balcony in my apartment which is on the fourth floor. Surviving the fall is a miracle according to the doctor. I am overly happy that I do not have to live in the past but my heart beats for Shanice, if I was in coma, here is every certainty she is too.

I remember the information she shared with me, ask for a phone and set to work. My parents are with the doctor, presumably asking what is going on with me and how they should watch over me.

I find her on Instagram, she is real. That was not a dream, she exists. I reach out to her sister as well, explaining everything that went down and praying Shanice wakes up. I send a message as well to Shanice, in hopes of her recovering and waking up.

I turn off the phone, take a look around and sigh. There are no monsters to run from, no caves to crawl into.

Two weeks later, I am still in the hospital, having breakfast when I see an Instagram notification, from Shanice. I stare at it in disbelief. She is back. Shanice is back. We survived.