You were walking home from school, earbuds in, completely lost in your playlist, when the world around you shifted. One second you were on the familiar streets of your town, the next, everything looked… different. The air smelled older, the buildings were stranger, and the cars—if you could even call them that—were like something out of a history book

“Whoa!” you gasped, stumbling as a figure appeared in front of you. A girl, wearing what looked like a leather jacket mixed with medieval armor, had a bow slung across her back. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and her eyes were sharp—focused

“You’re… not supposed to be here,” she said, studying you with a mixture of alarm and curiosity

“I—I don’t know what happened! I was just walking, and then…” You gestured around helplessly, your heart pounding

“I’m Allison” she said firmly, lowering her bow but keeping a cautious stance “And I travel through time. Looks like you got pulled into the past with me.”

Your mind spun. Time travel? This had to be a dream “Past? What do you mean? What year is this?”

She shook her head, exasperated but not unkindly“It doesn’t matter right now. What matters is keeping you safe. There are people here—people who shouldn’t see you. If they catch you, you could change history… or worse.”

Before you could respond, Allison grabbed your hand. Her touch was warm but urgent, and suddenly, the two of you were running through narrow streets, dodging a group of shadowy figures that seemed too aware of your presence

As you ran, she glanced at you “I can protect you, but you need to trust me. Can you do that?”

“I… I guess?” you stammered, barely keeping up

“Good. Because if you want to get back home, there’s no other way.”she said