The Land Behind the Mirror | ONC 2022

Chapter 2

The creature that stepped into view was one she could not mistake for anything else. Its large head filled with countless jagged teeth swirled around as if looking for her. Knowing what she knew about it, there was no doubt in her mind about its intentions.

What else could a T-Rex possibly want but food? Whom else was there to chomp down on but her?

The funny thing was that she didn't know much about dinosaurs in general. However, this one she was familiar with. After all, she often made jokes about its tiny arms and how useless they were.

However, this time she had no laugh left in her. Who needed arms when it had such sharp teeth which seemed to glisten in the sunlight menacingly, ready to slice anything that came their way?

Even as paralyzing fear rooted her to the spot, the strangest thoughts swirled through her mind like a tornado carrying her to the land of Oz where no regular rules applied.

"I guess Jessica was wrong. The mirror doesn't take you to an alternate realm but to the distant past," Alba thought randomly as the beast's scaly body came into full view.

Looking at the size and power of every part of its body made it even harder for Alba to breathe.

Her heart was drumming in her chest as if every beat was saying one thing and one thing only.

Run. Run. Run.

Nevertheless, that was the last thing she could ask of her body. There were too many shocks too close together for it to do anything but quiver, awaiting the final blow.

Then the dinosaur opened its enormous jaws and let out the most fearsome sound Alba had ever heard. It was unlike any other sound that predators in her own world could even begin to produce. The raw power and dominance it asserted should have frozen any being. However, the foul breath which came out of the monster's maw served a different purpose.

The stench washed over Alba, calling her to her senses and not a moment too soon as the beast bit down on the place where she stood mere moments ago. However, there was nothing there but plants, which the T-Rex spat out quickly as if in disgust.

She had managed to jump to the side just in time, thus saving her own life. Still, she knew that safety still eluded her. Hence, she started sprinting through the uneven terrain, paying close attention to go towards crawling plants, which she could jump over. Hoping that would be difficult for the massive, less agile dinosaur.

Her breathing was getting labored, and she wasn't sure how much of the running through what felt like syrup-thick air she could endure. However, she was more willing to die of exhaustion than to be anyone's meal.

Suddenly she could smell something different than the overwhelming scent of flowers and plants, something familiar that hadn't changed that much. Water.

A sudden inspiration struck, and it was either a stroke of genius or a horrible idea. Either way, she was aware that no one could outrun a T-rex. Not even her clever tactic could slow him down that much. She could sense its rumbling footsteps gaining on her. Thus, she was ready to try anything.

Finally, the river came into view.

Without giving herself a chance to change her mind or consider all the dangers lurking from inside the water, Alba jumped in, immediately diving under the crystal-clear water surface.

"Please work. Please work," Alba chanted in her mind.

Alba had seen in quite a few documentaries that some animals who hunted by smell often lost their prey's scent once it entered the water. Now whether that was the case with one of the most dangerous predators, Alba wasn't sure. Nonetheless, it was better than just running with the knowledge that sooner or later, you'll get eaten.

The water hugged Alba's body like a protective layer between her and the outside world. Yet, she couldn't stay there forever. She was running out of breath much sooner than she anticipated, her lungs begging for relief. She was stuck between two dangers, and she was sure drowning would have been a better option. Yet, her body had a mind of its own.

It resurfaced, gasping for air in the hot, humid atmosphere as if it was the most refreshing breeze of her home. Alba couldn't remember ever being so grateful for something as she was for the oxygen filling her lungs.

Even though she was enjoying the precious gas, her eyes rushed left and right quickly, scanning the horizon for the beast.

"It's...gone..." she croaked out between greedy breaths of air.

Somehow talking to herself made her feel less alone. It caused her to feel a little bit braver in the world that terrified her to the very core of her being.

Nothing that Alba had ever experienced before the moment she stepped through the mirror had ever caused her to feel such terror. It was impossible to comprehend, let alone deal with. Yet, she managed to find some small amount of solace in the sound of her own voice, one familiar thing in a world that was anything but.

"I guess...it was...a good idea...after all," she said, grinning and on the verge of hysterical laughter.

Suddenly, something moved further down the river making tiny waves. Therefore, Alba's mental breakdown was put on hold as she swam with all her strength to the relative safety of the shore.

"This place is something else," Alba thought, looking around at the lush shoreline on which she collapsed moments after seeing the signs of another being in the river.

Some of the trees and plants that dotted the riverbank were familiar to her, such as cycads, some types of conifers that she couldn't clearly identify, and of course, palm trees. However, others didn't resemble any trees or plants she was familiar with, and they were in varying shapes and sizes.

"How am I ever going to survive in this place when I know next to nothing about it?" Alba asked herself out loud.

Not only was she unaware of all the dangers it could be hiding, but she also had no clue how she would find food and shelter. How she would survive. All those survivalists she had seen never did mention how to stay alive in the time of the dinosaurs.

Before Alba had the chance to even consider all the things she would need and whether she should just go back to the place where the mirror spat her out, T-Rex or not, she heard the rustling of the leaves to her right. She twisted her head so fast that she felt dizzy as she tried to see beyond the thick leaves and plants that dotted the riverbank.

"Please don't be T-Rex, please don't be T-Rex," she thought feverishly as her whole body shook in fear.

Alba didn't have the energy to do anything but wish hard that it was anything but the hunger-driven monster she barely escaped the first time.

The long smooth necks that emerged from the shrubbery made her sigh in relief as she would have recognized those creatures anywhere. Brontosaurs.

"Hi, there, you beautiful creatures," she mumbled, gently extending her hand to pat the magnificent herbivore.

The creature didn't scurry away from Alba as she thought it would, and she couldn't help but grin in satisfaction as she continued stroking its smooth skin. The feeling was both unusual and fascinating.

As more colossal creatures moved towards the water, Alba realized it must be where all animals, harmless and dangerous ones alike, came to satiate their thirst. For that reason, she gathered all her strength, highly invigorated by the encounter with the brontosaurs, and hurried on, choosing a random direction.

Hello, human.

There seemed to be a whisper in the wind, but Alba wrote it off as her overactive imagination. Who else heard voices in the wind?