"Hurry up, slowpoke!" Lily called over her shoulder as she scrambled up the crumbling stone steps.
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Ben paused to catch his breath, leaning on his hiking stick. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he gasped. This was their third attempt to reach the ruins of Keshop, an ancient city lost deep in the jungle. Lily was determined to be the first to photograph the legendary Sun Temple, if it really existed.
As Ben finally crested the top of the stairs, Lily let out an excited shout. "There it is!" She pointed across a wide plaza, where a pyramid-like structure rose above the canopy. Ben had to admit it was an impressive sight, even in its ruined state. Strange shapes and symbols decorated the weathered façade.
They picked their way carefully through the plaza, camera and notebook at the ready. Lily began snapping photos as they walked. "This is incredible," she gushed. "Just wait until Dr. Kapur sees these!"
Ben frowned as he studied his map. "Something's not right. According to the journal we found, the temple should be on the east side of the plaza. But this is on the west."
Lily waved her hand dismissively. "It's just orientations got mixed up over time. The temple moved, that's all."
Ben shook his head. "Let's just keep our eyes peeled. I've got a funny feeling about—"
His words were lost in a deafening roar as the ground heaved beneath them. Ben was thrown off his feet as a gaping chasm split the earth. Dust and debris rained down as a whole section of the plaza collapsed into the widening crevice.
When the quaking finally stopped, Ben lay gasping amid the rubble. "Lily!" he shouted. "Where are you?"
A weak voice answered from nearby. "Over here! I'm stuck!"
Ben scrambled over the broken stones to find Lily pinned beneath a massive block. He strained with all his strength to shift it, finally managing to pull her free.
She clutched her leg. "Agh, I think it's broken."
Ben helped her sit up. "Take it easy. We'll get you out of—" A strange hum filled the air, growing steadily louder. The dust around them began swirling violently.
"What's happening?" Lily yelled.
There was a blinding flash of light. Ben shielded his eyes. When he opened them again, he froze in disbelief. The rubble was gone. The plaza stood whole and undamaged. He whirled around to see Lily standing beside him, testing her leg.
"What...how..." Ben stammered.
Lily's eyes were wide. "My leg! It's fine!" She examined their surroundings. "Ben, were we just...transported back in time?"
"We must be caught in some kind of temporal loop," Ben said with growing dread.
Lily grinned. "A time loop! We're caught in a temporal anomaly!" She laughed giddily. "Don't you realize what this means?"
Ben just shook his head, dazed. Lily grabbed his arm, pointing to the pyramid temple. "We've got a second chance! Maybe the ruins have some kind of cosmic significance. Come on!"
She took off running and Ben chased after her. As they crossed the plaza, their surroundings shook again. The ground split and Lily vanished into the fissure with a scream.
"No!" Ben yelled. But it was too late. The dust swirled once more and he found himself back at the plaza's edge, Lily beside him.
She looked around in awe. "It happened again, didn't it?"
Ben gripped her shoulder, his mind racing. "Lily, listen. We need to get away from these ruins now. They've trapped us in a deadly time loop."
Lily bit her lip. "You're saying the ruins are...dangerous somehow?"
"This place is clearly unstable," Ben urged. "We woke something up by coming here. We've got to break the cycle before it's too late."
The now-familiar roar drowned out his words. Lily lost her footing as the ground shook. Ben tried to grab her hand but she slipped from his grasp, disappearing into the crevice.
The flash returned Ben to the start. Lily turned to him expectantly. "So what's the plan?"
Ben's mind reeled. How could he stop this? Suddenly he remembered the old journal's warning: do not disturb the time warder's rest.
He met Lily's gaze. "We woke something up by coming here. I think I know how to break the loop, but you need to trust me."
"Of course," she said. "Just tell me what to do."
Ben led her back down the temple stairs to the thick jungle below. He pushed through the underbrush until he found what he was looking for: a small, mossy mound ringed by stones.
Lily looked puzzled. "A grave?"
"The journal mentioned a 'time warder,'" Ben explained. "This must be his burial site."
He began piling loose rocks over the mound to reinforce it. Lily joined in wordlessly. Once they finished, Ben took her hand. "Now we see if this works."
They waited tensely as the ground rumbled beneath them once more. But this time, no fissure opened. The quaking soon passed. No flash came.
Lily turned to him with amazement. "We did it! The loop is broken." She threw her arms around Ben. "You're a genius!"
He laughed with relief. "What matters is we got out of there alive."
As they hiked cautiously back down the mountain, Ben glanced over his shoulder. Through the dense foliage, he could just make out the weathered façade of the temple. Silent once more, but still standing guard over its ancient secrets. Some mysteries were not meant to be disturbed.
