The Alex Hawk Time Travel Series A Door Into Time Lost in Kragdon-ah Return from Kragdon-ah Copyright 2020 by Shawn Inmon Original Artwork Copyright 2020 by Jerry Weible All Rights Reserved Table of Contents Title Page Copyright Page A Note to Readers Chapter One | Heartbroken Chapter Two | Spring Chapter Three | Traders Chapter Four | Rinka-ak Chapter Five | Godat-ta Chapter Six | The Plan Chapter Seven | Alex vs. Godat-ta Chapter Eight | Alex vs. the Wasta-ta Chapter Nine | Here But Gone Chapter Ten | Return to Denta-ah Chapter Eleven | The Discovery Chapter Twelve | The Binding Chapter Thirteen | Asleep Chapter Fourteen | Missing Chapter Fifteen | The Hunt Chapter Sixteen | The Battle Chapter Seventeen | Klipta-ak Chapter Eighteen | Harsh Negotiations Chapter Nineteen | From the Skies Chapter Twenty | A Plague Chapter Twenty-One | Zisla-ta Chapter Twenty-Two | Is There No End? Chapter Twenty-Three | Survival Chapter Twenty-Four | Senta-eh Chapter Twenty-Five | A Glimmer of Hope Chapter Twenty-Six | Hidden Chapter Twenty-Seven | The Diary of Zachary Moorcock Chapter Twenty-Eight | Sanda-eh Chapter Twenty-Nine | Three Years Later Chapter Thirty | Danta-ah Chapter Thirty-One | An Invading Army Chapter Thirty-Two | Draka-ak the Younger Chapter Thirty-Three | Return to Prata-ah Chapter Thirty-Four | Signal Boost Chapter Thirty-Five | Godat-ta Redux Chapter Thirty-Six | Good-bye Chapter Thirty-Seven | Arrival Chapter Thirty-Eight | Visitors Chapter Thirty-Nine | A Brief Future History of Earth Chapter Forty | Answers Chapter Forty-One | A Door Home Chapter Forty-Two | The Door Redux Chapter Forty-Three | Oregon Chapter Forty-Four | Seven Years Later Chapter Forty-Five | Return to the Cliffside Epilogue | Winten-ak Warrior of Kragdon-ah Author’s Note Glossary Also by Shawn Inmon: A Note to Readers This book is primarily set many centuries in the future. That means that all spoken languages would be unrecognizable to those of us in the twenty-first century. Names—of both people and places—can be difficult when they are so unfamiliar. To make this easier, I have created a short glossary of people, places, and words that are used repeatedly throughout the book. I have tried to provide context for each of these words, especially when they are first used in this book, but if you are unsure of a word or name, I hope you will find the glossary helpful. It is in the very back of the book, and in the ebook version, is accessible through the Table of Contents. Chapter OneHeartbroken Alex Hawk fell to his knees. After everything he had gone through—six years away from his daughter, fighting a war, rescuing The Chosen One—he had reached the end. Everything he had done since stepping through the door had been for one purpose. To return home to Amy. And now the door was gone. Alex closed his eyes and opened them again to blink through tears of frustration. This is the moment I feared the most. What now? There are no more schemes, no more plans, no more quests that might get me back home. Monda-ak, Alex’s giant dog, whined slightly at his distress and nuzzled under his arm. Alex laid his head against Monda-ak’s mighty chest and listened to his heart thumping. It’s all real. I’m stuck in Kragdon-ah forever. Alex was so focused on processing his shock and grief that he did not hear the footsteps approaching from behind. First one, then another gentle hand was laid upon his shoulders. He looked up to see Senta-eh and Sekun-ak. Their eyes bore into his, concern etched on their faces. “Are you sure this was the spot, Manda-ak?” Sekun-ak said, using Alex’s Winten-ah name. That’s right. Neither of you were with the party that first abducted me and took me away from the door. Alex reached a hand out and Senta-eh lifted him back to his feet. Monda-ak’s tail wagged uncertainly. Alex swallowed hard and pointed to an area thirty paces back from the rolling surf. “It was there. Right there. I stepped through the door and fell unconscious to the ground right in front of it. It was on the morning that we were gathering karak-ta eggs.” Alex stopped for a moment, confused. When he had stepped foot in Kragdon-ah, the warriors he had first met had been the enemy. Now, he was assimilated into the tribe, although not a full member. So, was it ‘we’ that were gathering karak-ta eggs, or was it ‘they’ or ‘you’? Alex shook his head, giving up on the distinction. “There was a hunt for karak-ta eggs,” he started again. “As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw the karak-ta heading right toward me. I ran and hid in a log.” Alex cast his eyes around, wondering if the hollow log he had hidden in long ago could still be there. It was not. “When I crawled out, Banda-ak and Dokken-ak were waiting for me. I ran for the door.” Alex walked to the precise spot where the door stood. He had dreamed of that location for six years. He scuffed at the rocky sand with his foot. “It was right here.” Sekun-ak and Senta-eh looked everywhere around the small cove, as though Alex might just be mistaken. “It is possible,” Sekun-ak said, “that it appears and disappears at regular intervals.” A surge of hope ran through Alex. He turned to Senta-eh. “Are any of the members of the karak-ta hunting party here with us?” Senta- eh did a mental inventory of who she had chosen to accompany them. “Yes.” “Show me,” Alex said, walking briskly back toward the group. “Trinda-ak.” A young warrior stepped forward. “How many karak-ta hunting parties did you go on?” Alex asked. The question caught the young man by surprise, and he had to stop and think. Finally, he said, “Six, I think, but it could be seven.” “Good,” Alex answered. “How often did you come by this area?” “We were always divided into two groups—the distractors and the retrievers. The distractors always ran through this area, hoping to lose the karak-ta. Being a distractor was dangerous, because if they caught up to you, they would shred the flesh off your back.” His chest puffed out slightly. “I always volunteered to be a distractor but was not always chosen. I think I went through this area five times.” Alex nodded, a habit he still hadn’t been able to break, even after six years in Kragdon-ah, though it meant little to nothing to the Winten-ah. “How often did
