One Minute to Midnight by Steve Lang

remote, and slept under the stars in his leather
chair. He found a small switch on the side of his chair that would
allow him to reverse the polarity of his dome and it appeared metal
again. But for tonight he chose to enjoy the panorama of stars
overhead, and just before he drifted off to sleep, Richard realized
he could see the Leo constellation.
"So strange..." Richard whispered. It should not have been there,
he thought. Then he drifted to sleep.
He woke up the next morning to the sun shining through palm fronds
on his face. He stood up, lowered the ramp and decided to go meet
the people of this new city, and on the way maybe get something to
eat. He was starving. He raised the ramp behind him and began to
walk toward town when the ground rumbled beneath his feet. At first
it felt like a small earthquake, and then he could see the trees
shake around him. He stopped, turned, and heard something very
large approaching through the forest. Trees began to crack like
toothpicks, and then he saw the body of a tyrannosaurus looming
over him. It snorted at the odor of fresh meat, looked left, and
then right, as Richard stood paralyzed with fear. His mind finally
came back into focus and he began to run in the direction of the
city. The beast was charging right behind him, kicking up dirt, and
knocking trees over in his path as Richard ran and screamed,
unconscious of the sounds he was making. Richard cleared the woods
and saw the front gate of the city in front of him as he ran
blindly forward like a sprinter heading for the finish
line.
    He tripped over a rock in his path and
sprawled across the ground just as he reached the wall. His nose
broke with a crunch as stars of pain exploded inside his head; he
struggled to get to his feet again and failed. Richard could only
roll over and watch with terror in slow motion as the beast raised
a foot in the air above him. As it came down a bolt of lightning
struck the tyrannosaur's head and evaporated it in a bloody mist.
It was over. The giant carcass keeled over and Richard cringed as
the foot that had just nearly squished him came to rest an inch
from his face.
    A few moments later, the city gates
opened and soldiers rushed out to make sure the dinosaur was dead.
A small brown boy and a taller dark brown girl stood over Richard
with concern in their eyes.
"My name is Ket." The boy said.
    "I'm Sheba. Are you hurt?" The girl
asked.
Richard sat up and brushed the dirt off his hands, as blood
trickled from his broken nose.
    "No worse for wear, I guess." Richard
replied, holding his nose.
    He felt like a sledge hammer had
pounded him in the face, and he could barely see anything from the
swelling in his eyes, but he managed a wincing smile. He hoped
these people were going to be friendly, but with the ache in his
head Richard was almost beyond care. He could smell the stench of
the dead tyrannosaur and it made his stomach turn. His gut empty,
he leaned over and dry heaved, laying his head on cool grass as Ket
and Sheba looked at each other with worried expressions. Richard
felt a blackout coming until he looked up and saw a pair of boots
that resembled his own. His vision traveled up a white pant leg and
settled into the eyes of a beautiful woman wearing a protective
suit just like his.
"Lt. Colonel Moira Suthers. I'm guessing you're the cavalry?
Welcome to Earth, sir. We're about fifteen thousand years before
Christ." Moira said.
Richard took her hand as she helped him to his feet.
"Earth? How's that possible? I just came from there." Richard
said.
    "The rift took us back in time. I
didn't believe it until I began to research this place, and I
learned all of the history they don't teach you in school. Want to
see Atlantis? It's a three minute flight from here." Moira
said.
    "Once I eat something and get this
damned nose fixed. I feel like I was in a train wreck." Richard
said.
"Let's go to my home. My mother is the leader of this tribe, and
she's also a medicine woman." Sheba said.
"I've