Good job! No writer's block evident here. Perhaps it was your struggle that was reflected in the tension that drove the story. The characters struggle against something that seems indomitable. The end is really good. It's not a dream, it's a kind of nightmare that may not end. Perhaps the sinkhole is a wormhole.
Nicely created arc. You definitely have action :) Thank you for sharing this story, with us. We appreciate that you engage with other writers.
Honestly, I'm not satisfied earlier since I want to add more actions by introducing more problems to them like venomous snake hiding in the rocks and rope getting cut. But this comments and compliment made me happy with decisions. This made me proud with this work.
For me, it was indeed wormhole and getting stuck in that time sequence. But it can be also interpreted as a new multiverse.Or the guardian of the forest save them and turned back time. It's up to the readers.
Thank you very much!!