Primitive Man

Mia stood on a ridge overlooking the ruined landscape. The air was thick with the scent of scorched earth and the distant rumble of falling meteors. She turned to Commander Oswald, who stood beside her, his expression as grim as the land before them which was ruined because of the disaster.

"Commander, this land will go through a new evolution," Mia said, her voice steady. "The meteor's impact will trigger changes that will eventually give birth to a new generation and new creatures. But until we harness the full power of the meteor, I can't tell if this is Earth or a parallel world."

"Are you talking about the existence of humans alongside the dinosaurs?" Oswald asked in a clam tone, as he had to keep his composure if he wanted to appear confident and after some contemplation he nodded thoughtfully. "But you won't get to see that. The government will monitor everything once we return."

Mia smiled, but Oswald detected a slight crack in her voice. "Of course," she replied, her eyes avoiding his.

They climbed into a jeep, and the vehicle roared to life, its tyres kicking up clouds of dust as they sped towards the source of the thickest smoke on the horizon. The journey was silent, each of them lost in their thoughts. The landscape around them was a testament to the meteor's destruction, with charred trees and deep craters created on the once lush land.

Unlike before it was easy for them to navigate, but all of them had to wear the oxygen mask since the air quality of the land was deteriorated so bad, that simple act of breathing felt hard for each and every one of them.

As they neared their destination, the smoke cleared slightly, revealing an awe-inspiring sight. In the centre of a massive crater lay a glistening red stone, surrounded by smaller red fragments. The stone pulsed with an otherworldly light, exuding a sacred aura that made both Mia and Oswald hesitate for a moment.

The air around it felt intense, almost as if it was rejecting everything that is not the universe itself. They have experienced the same force before, but unlike before this time it was lot stronger and cruel.

"This... this is not something humans should be playing with," Oswald muttered, his voice filled with reverence and fear. It was the primal fear of human seeing something that doesn't belong to the earth.

Mia's eyes shone with determination and struggle. "We have no choice. We need its power. Everyone quickly start your work! Sooner you finish this, we can start to go back to our comfort zone."

The soldiers quickly set up their equipment and began mining the stone, carefully extracting the precious fragments. Time seemed to blur as they worked, their focus unbroken despite the chaos around them. Mia lost track of the hours and days, her mind consumed by the task at hand.

With enough material collected, they returned to their makeshift camp where the extraction machine was set up. Mia carefully placed a sizable piece of the meteor into the machine. The device hummed to life, drawing the energy from the stone and converting it into a usable form.

As the energy-filled cell was ejected, Mia inserted it into the core of their machine. It whirred and glowed, indicating it was ready for use. Looking at all of this, she had to thank Eva for leading this project to create this amazing equipment to accomplish these sacred tasks.

Oswald stepped forward, his voice firm. "Prepare to return to our motherland. Load all the extra meteor pieces into the kersone tanks and we will leave,"

But in midst of all this, Mia's response was immediate and unexpected. "No."

All eyes turned to her, shock and confusion evident on their faces. Oswald's hand instinctively went to his gun. "What did you say?"

Mia raised her hand, and a barrier of energy shimmered into existence around her. "You're all so foolish. You don't understand what we're dealing with here."

It didn't take a philosopher for Oswald to understand what going on here. He was going through another betrayal, but this time, he felt less sad instead anger.

"Mia, don't betray our nation!" Oswald shouted, fury and betrayal in his eyes. "Don't be like Eva!"

Mia's smile was cold. "Eva was right about one thing: using the power of the meteor for herself. But unlike her, I have succeeded in harnessing its full power. With this energy, I am practically a goddess now. One that your worship, something that cannot be explained by science."

Oswald aimed his gun at her. "Don't do this."

He didn't even try to shoot at her, because there were already hundred of semi-machine gun bullets were colliding with the barrier and falling on the ground, as if they were children toys.

Mia shook her head. "I will rewrite everything in my life, including my regrets. Goodbye, Commander."

With a wave of her hand, a portal began to form behind her. She took a step towards it, but suddenly the machine began to sputter and spark. A voice echoed in her mind, a mental message from beyond. The message was not a language rather it felt more like a signal entering her brain directly.

"The energy is not purified. The machine malfunctioned. This is Garnt and Eva's doing." Even if it was flawed, the energy was enough for her to understand the knowledge of the universe. Yet, the same knowledge started to eat her body from inside rotting it into the atmposhere.

Mia's eyes widened in realization and fury. "Curse you, Garnt! Curse you, Eva! I will come for you! I will make you regret this."

As the portal destabilized, she was pulled into it, her body contorting and flickering. The last thing Oswald saw was Mia's enraged face before she disappeared into the collapsing portal.

The silence that followed was deafening. The soldiers stood frozen, processing the sudden turn of events. Oswald holstered his gun, his mind racing.

"She's gone," he said finally. "But the mission isn't over. We still have the meteor's power. We will continue. Get all the scientist! I don't know what just happened, but we will punish that traitor.

He turned to his men, his voice strong and resolute. "We will honor our mission and our fallen. Let's gather what we can and return to our motherland."

As the soldiers resumed their work, Oswald couldn't shake the feeling that this was only the beginning of something far greater and more dangerous than they had ever anticipated. The power of the meteor had shown its true potential, and now, it was up to them to decide how to use it—or if they should use it at all.

***

Garnt suddenly opened his eyes, gasping for breath. He was lying on the ground outside a cave, the sun high in the sky. The sounds of his village bustling around him quickly brought him back to reality. People were busy constructing temporary shelters, children were playing, and the atmosphere was filled with a mix of fear and determination.

Unami and Rona hurried over to him, their faces etched with worry. "Garnt, thank goodness you're awake," Unami said, kneeling beside him. "We have a serious problem."

Rona nodded, her expression tense. "There's a dinosaur heading our way. A big one. We need to know what to do."

Garnt sat up, his head spinning slightly. Everything felt strangely familiar, as if he had experienced this before. He shook off the feeling and focused on the immediate danger. "A dinosaur? How far is it?"

"Not far," Unami replied. "Maybe an hour or so. We spotted it from the lookout point."

Garnt stood up, dusting himself off. "Gather everyone. We need to prepare. It won't get close to our people."

Suddenly he heard Telvi's voice as she kept calling her son's name. "Toga! Toga! Where are you? Answer me, where are you?" She kept shouting without getting any answer, so Garnt quickly decided to talk with her, as he had a slight idea what kind of a danger his son might be in, even if Toga didn't accept him as a father.

Garnt approached Telvi, his heart pounding. "Telvi, what's going on? Where's Toga?"

Telvi turned, her eyes wide with panic. "He's missing, Garnt! He was here just a moment ago, and now I can't find him!"

Garnt's mind raced. "I think I know where he might be. Stay here, I'll find him."

Unami grabbed his arm. "Garnt, we need you here to help with the dinosaur."

But before that Garnt quickly found Gundo and Ayra, who were already busy organizing the villagers. Gundo, his strong and beautiful mother with a commanding presence, turned as Garnt approached. "Garnt, what's the plan?"

"I need you and Ayra to take charge while I'm gone. There's a dinosaur heading our way. Prepare the people, set up a perimeter, and make sure everyone stays safe."

Ayra, a tall and agile woman known for her quick thinking, stepped forward. "What about you? Where are you going?"

"I need to stop this creature from approaching here and help a stubborn kid. He's missing, and I have a feeling he might be in the forest," Garnt replied, his voice resolute.

Gundo and Ayra exchanged a brief glance, then nodded in agreement. "We'll handle things here," Gundo assured him. "Just make sure you come back safe, and with Toga."