"Arghh…" sigh
Another school field trip. Cradle of Humankind.
John dragged his feet behind the class, hands shoved deep into his pockets. Another pointless trip. Another day pretending to care.
"This is so boring," he muttered.
"I knew I shouldn't have come."
A classmate brushed past him. "Maybe if you stopped daydreaming, you'd actually keep up," they snickered.
John rolled his eyes but said nothing.
Teacher: "Hey, John! Keep up with the rest of us before you get lost."
"Okay…" sigh
He sped up slightly, but the moment he stepped deeper into the cave system, a strange tingling crawled across his skin like the air itself shifted. He frowned, but everyone else walked on without reacting.
As the tour continued, a whisper drifted through the air. Soft. Cold. Like it was meant only for him.
John froze.
"Huh? What the hell was that?"
No one else stopped. The teacher kept talking. The students kept walking.
But the whisper came again, clearer this time pulling him forward, wrapping around him like invisible hands.
Then
A blink.
A jolt.
Darkness.
John shot upright, gasping.
"Where… where am I?" panting
He was no longer with his class. Instead, he stood in a cramped cavern, the walls rough and ancient, illuminated by the faint glow of a mysterious glistening puddle in the center.
His heart hammered. "This… this can't be real."
He dropped to his hands and knees and crawled toward the puddle.
Every inch closer sent violent shivers up his spine.
His head throbbed, pulsing like it might split open.
Finally, he reached the shimmering water and stared into it.
He saw the image of a baby boy lying on a soft blanket—calm, glowing, unreal.
For a heartbeat, the baby's eyes flickered open… and they were the exact same shade as John's.
"What…? No… that can't—"
The whisper slid behind him again, almost gentle this time:
"You've returned."
His vision blurred.
His body collapsed.
Everything went black.