Jeremy shifted his weight on the thick tree stump he sat upon and adjusted the straps of the heavy knapsack he worn upon his back. Although it was April, the weather was still quite chilly and he had to pull the hood of the heavy parka he wore over his head since it felt as if his ears were beginning to turn blue from the cold wind. He glanced over to the thick grove of trees where his uncle had gone to relieve himself then turned his brown eyes to the darkening sky. The total eclipse of the sun had begun and if his uncle didn't hurry he would miss the entire sight.

From the corner of his eye, Jeremy saw something move to his left and turned to see a swirling mass of colors seem to rise from the ground that reminded him of his drug use days. He blinked then rubbed his eyes but the whirling rainbow remained and grew to the size of picture window. Curiosity finally got the better of him and he made his way closer to the thing in order to investigate it further. He stopped a foot before it and extended a gloved hand to see if he could stop the thing from moving or disrupt the color pattern. As soon as his hand came in contact with the mass, he felt himself being sucked into it and had just enough time to wonder if it was some type of weird tornado like phenomenon before he lost consciousness.

When Jeremy finally came to he found himself lying on his back in complete and total darkness. Wow, what a rush that was, he thought, rising to a sitting position. He made a mental note to ask his science teacher about the swirling mass before he realized that it was much too dark for two o'clock in the afternoon, even if there was a total eclipse taking place. After yelling out for his uncle and receiving nothing but an echo of his own voice in response, Jeremy knew something was terribly wrong. His voice had never echoed in the forest preserves before!

He jumped to his feet, pulled off his gloves and shoved them in one of his many pockets before bringing out a book of matches. The one he struck to life didn't give off enough light so he ignited the entire book and quickly glanced around.....to find himself within a very long earthen walled tunnel. "OUCH!" he cried, dropping the matchbook that had burned the tips of his fingers. The flame went out almost immediately and he frantically searched through his pockets again. A smile came to his face when he found a disposable lighter and a few more matchbooks that he had taken from a restaurant in the area the day before as souvenirs. He removed a handkerchief from the back pocket of his jeans, placed it on the ground and started it on fire, hoping it would provide him with enough light to find the hole he must have fallen through. Although the lightening was sufficient, Jeremy saw no opening in the dirt ceiling, four feet above his six foot frame and he frowned as the hankie burned away, plunging him into darkness once again. How the hell did I get in here if I didn't fall into a hole in the ground? After convincing himself that it would be a better idea to find a way out rather then wonder how he got in, he flicked a flame from the lighter and moved forward, looking for an opening.

Jeremy didn't know how long he had been traveling through the tunnel and had lost count of the side passages he avoided in order to keep a straight course. What he did know was that the matches were all used up and that he was hungry. He still had the lighter and some bags of trail mix as well as candy bars in his pack but he was too determined to find a way out of his prison to stop for a snack. After flicking the lighter to life once again he leaned against the wall to rest for a moment then felt it shift under his weight. His eyes widened in surprise when he realized that the wall was actually a door of stone and the renewed hope of an exit filled his heart. He pocketed the lighter and placed both hands on the door and pushed with all his might. It swung open rather easily and he made his way into the area beyond it before he ignited the lighter once again. The first thing he saw was a strange looking lantern laying on the floor and after finding it half full of oil he lit it and looked around. It appeared he was in a basement or old time cellar judging by the crates and strange out of date furniture he saw stored before him.

"Yes!" he said excitedly, when a staircase came into view and he climbed it eagerly. At the top he found a wooden door that opened readily to a small room filled with food and cooking items. He rushed toward another door at the opposite end of the room, flung it open and hurried forward. His jaw dropped when he saw a skeleton standing by one wall but then he grinned, thinking about all the college pranks he had heard about from his older friends.

A man and a woman, who appeared to be near his own age sat at a table in the room and he cleared his throat as he approached them to gain their attention. Suddenly, he realized that they were wearing medieval style clothing and the guy was holding on to staff with a skull at the top of it. "Hi there," he said. "Are you guys members of the SCA or something?"