An Alex Hawk Time Travel Adventure (Book 1): A Door Into Time

by Inmon, Shawn

  The stars were dimmer in the sky and the first pale light of day lit the east—the direction they had been walking the day before.

  Alex had many questions, none of which could be answered at that moment. Or at all, at least until he learned to speak the language.

  Doken-ak stood and stretched his arms above his head then touched his toes. He smiled at Alex as if to say, ‘I am old, but not dead.’ He gestured at Alex and led him away from the camp.

  Alex followed, making sure he didn’t bump into any of the trees. He didn’t want to repeat his meeting with the giant cockroach again.

  After just a few hundred yards, the melodic tinkling of a small creek reached his ears. A moment later they found it. It was a runoff stream that meandered down from the top of the hill. Doken-ak pointed at Alex, then at the water.

  He happily dropped on his belly and put his head underwater.

  “Whoo!” Alex said, popping up from the icy-cold water. “That’s better than any shower first thing in the morning.” He cupped his hands and drank deeply from the clear water.

  Doken-ak did the same, then they walked a few yards away from the water, turned their backs to each other and peed.

  This dude is probably thirty years older than me, but why do I have the feeling that if I ran for it, he could still catch me. Or whip that club off his belt and hit me behind the knees again. I hate that we are walking directly away from the ocean—and the door—but what can I do? Try to remember the landmarks as best I can, so when I find a way to break free, I can find my way back.

  Doken-ak led Alex back to the campsite, which was already broken down. Men stood in casual groups talking quietly. Doken-ak grabbed his own bag and reached inside. He pulled a dark blob out of the pack, tore it down the middle and gave half to Alex.

  He sniffed it and watched Doken-ak bite into his portion with his strong teeth. Alex did the same.

  It was delicious.

  Like pemmican. Lots of protein, easy to make, easy to carry.

  Alex nodded his thanks at Doken-ak, who didn’t acknowledge him.

  The group formed into the marching formation they had used the day before and wound their way down the hill. At the bottom, they once again faced the broad, open plain.

  The man with the scar and clouded eye pointed to various men and seemed to give them their assignments. Four of the men, who each carried a long, heavy spear, went to the four points of the group and moved twenty yards away. The others formed up in the same formation they had used the day before, walking along the valley floor.

  Alex thought they had set a good pace the day before, but he saw that was slow compared to the way they took off today. All the men had longer legs than Alex and were able to keep it to a fast walk, but in order to keep up, Alex found he needed to lightly jog at least part of the time.

  In just a few minutes, the valley and the hills that rose above it grew smaller and the fast-moving group was in a sea of open space with nothing to protect them. They walked through long fields of golden hay that reached above their hips.

  Well tall enough, Alex calculated, to hide any number of nefarious creatures. Alex kept his head on a swivel, looking forward, left, right, and skyward, but didn’t see anything but more miles of waving grain on all sides of them.

  By the time the sun loomed high in the sky, Alex estimated that they had traveled ten or twelve miles. The scarred man showed no inclination to stop or rest, though. Men pulled bags of water from their bags and drank as they walked. Alex did the same from his canteen he had filled that morning.

  Alex had been trained to stay alert for extended times on marches, so he didn’t lapse into daydreaming. Still, the suddenness of the change in his circumstance, combined with walking mile after mile over an unchanging terrain did relax his vigilance.

  He was brought back to sharp focus by a piercing whistle ahead and to his right. He squinted through the bright sunlight and saw one of the men who was walking farthest away from the group sending hand signals back.

  Alex stood on his tiptoes as he walked, straining to see if there was danger afoot.

  Slowly, the man who had whistled angled his path so that he drew nearer to the main body of the group.

  When he was only about ten yards away from the right-hand column of the group, Alex saw what had caused the excitement.

  He couldn’t get a perfect view of what was out in the grass, but he could see a slightly arched gray and silver back cutting through the golden grass like a shark’s fin in water.

  Wolf. That moves like a wolf.

  Alex’s mind did some unwanted math, wondering that if a cockroach was a foot and a half long, how big might a wolf be?

  The creature stopped and lifted a mighty head, sniffing the wind. It was a hundred yards away from the men and let out a series of short yowls, which, disconcertingly, were echoed back from half a dozen other locations around the men.

  We’re surrounded.

  Alex surveyed the whole circumference around the group. The other scouts had moved closer to the group, closing ranks. Everyone was alert, but there was no panic in them. The other wolves which were hunting them were not visible, obviously hunched down in the tall grass until they were ready to reveal themselves.

  The men moved on at the same steady double time pace.

  Doken-ak gestured for Alex to look in front of them. A few hundred yards ahead was a tree line—tall pines and firs, dotted with larger oak trees.

  Don’t know what good that does us. Wolves won’t be turned away from the trees like the vultures were. They can just separate us and tear us to shreds. If I had my rifle, we would at least have a chance.

  Without stopping, Doken-ak fell in behind Alex, pulled his knife and cut the rope attached to his ankles.

  At least I’ll be able to sprint before one of those damned things makes lunch out of me.

  The men who carried the long, thick spears moved to the outside of the group and raised their spears into an easy throwing position.

  The wolf who had shown itself lifted its nose to the sky and howled, which sent a primal shiver up and down Alex’s spine. As one, the other wolves stood at their full height, revealing themselves. They didn’t sprint toward the group at once, but instead, slowly closed ranks on them.

  With a clear view, Alex realized that although these animals were larger than any wolf he had ever seen, they weren’t as supersized as the vultures and cockroach. The leader of the pack turned its mighty head toward them, and Alex realized there was an unsettling intelligence in its eyes.

  THE SCARRED MAN, WHO had moved to the front of the men, whistled twice—two short, sharp retorts. The men picked up their pace. Not yet a run for them, but a fast jog. For Alex, he was glad he was untethered and could stretch out his legs to keep up.

  Beside him, Doken-ak loped easily along until his foot stepped in a small hole and he tumbled forward.

  The men in front of him moved on, unaware that one of them had fallen.

  Alex and the others who were trailing behind stopped and hurried to Doken-ak.

  As a group, they might have a chance to survive, but one man alone would be lost.

  Doken-ak picked himself up and motioned the others to go on. He took two steps and stumbled, nearly falling again. Alex scanned the surrounding grass. No wolves to be seen anywhere, which was worse than seeing them approach.

  Two of the young and strong men put Doken-ak’s arms around their shoulders and they ran for the trees.

  Alex saw that the cudgel that Doken-ak had used so effectively the day before had dropped, jarred loose when he had fallen. Alex retrieved it and took up a position at the back of the now-smaller pack of men.

  The leading group noticed that some of them had fallen behind and slowed.

  Now all the group was at risk.

  Slowly, the two groups merged together. Two of the spear-carriers joined Alex at the back of the pack just as one of the wolves showed itself.

  One man cast his spear at that wol
f, but it buried itself in the dirt in front of it.

  From the left, another wolf leaped at them, fangs bared and a guttural growl coming from its throat.

  There was not time to throw the second spear, but the man did manage to raise it up and deflect the jumping attack, ripping fur and flesh from its throat.

  At the same moment, the first wolf charged the man who had thrown the spear. The wolf attacked headfirst, slamming its head into the man’s groin, tumbling him to the ground. Its sharp claws tore at his legs while its fangs sought his throat for a killing blow.

  Alex ran forward, silent except for the pad of his boots against the grass. Before he reached the wolf, he raised the heavy club above his head. His momentum carried him into the animal, but not before he slammed the cudgel down on its hindquarters.

  The sound of splintering bones mixed with the cries of the man trying to scramble away from the teeth of the wolf.

  Alex tumbled over both of them, rolled on his back and jumped to his feet, ready to attack again.

  There was no need. The rest of the men had fallen on the wolf with knives, clubs, and spears. Its heart was still beating, and blood spurted from its wounds, but it was mortally wounded.

  Many hands reached for the wounded man and as a group, they turned and ran for the trees.

  Losing one of their number slowed the wolves and added caution to their attack, but they did not retreat completely. As the men ran, long silver-gray backs broke the surface of the group alongside them.

  When they were fifty yards from the trees, the scarred man yelled, “Monto!”

  As if by magic, arrows flew through the air from high up in the trees. One hit a wolf in its front shoulder, and it disappeared beneath the tops of the grass. Other arrows zipped over the heads of the oncoming men and pierced the earth in front of the running wolves.

  Whoever was firing from the trees could see the wolves clearly in the grass and had the best angle possible to fire on them.

  The largest of the wolves stopped and howled in frustration.

  The group of men made it to the trees, half carrying Doken-ak and the other wounded man.

  Alex saw crude ladders attached to the tall trees and small platforms high up.

  I guess if the wolves attack in the open plain, they stand and fight. But if they’re close enough, they run for the tree stands, knowing they have archers here who can take out whatever predator is after them.

  Four men came swinging and jumping down from the trees. They didn’t seem to notice Alex but conferred with the scarred man while the man who had dressed Alex’s wounds the day before examined the man who had been mauled by the wolf.

  Alex approached Doken-ak and knelt to look at his ankle. He had obviously twisted it when he had fallen, and it was swollen. But there was no blood and it appeared that he could put some weight on it, albeit with a substantial limp.

  The scarred man said, “Mena tu, kan,” and everyone once again fell into formation, with two of the archers partially holding up the injured man.

  There was a path that wound through the trees that was wide enough for four men to walk on side-by-side. It curved this way and that through the forest for several miles before it opened out onto another smaller flat area.

  This plain was surrounded by rock walls that rose several hundred feet in the air.

  More paths led up the lower reaches of the walls. Halfway up, the paths ended and long ladders were extended from one ledge to another. Three-quarters of the way up the wall, deep ledges were indented, forming long overhangs and caves.

  There were men, women, and children in the space of the overhangs, as well as scattered around the open area. On the far right, a small waterfall flowed into a pool in the rock below.

  The traveling group emerged into the clearing and a horn sounded from above. Women ran to them and relieved the young men of the bags that held the eggs. More men hurried to help Doken-ak and the injured man.

  Alex felt almost forgotten, but escape didn’t seem likely.

  How can I make it across that open plain alone? Maybe if I had my rifle and pistol, I could make it, but alone, there’s no chance.

  A strange looking man broke from the others and approached Alex. He was strange looking, but only compared to everyone else here. He was the first man Alex had seen since he’d come through the door who was shorter than he was.

  He was older, too, with crazy white hair sticking out at all angles and a long white beard. Alex hadn’t thought of it before, but none of the other men had any hair on their faces.

  The white-haired man gawked at Alex like he was a museum piece, even reaching out to touch his chin and turn his face from side to side. He looked deeply into Alex’s blue eyes, then stood straight and raised his right hand in a dramatic greeting.

  Alex expected a barrage of the language he did not recognize.

  Instead, the man grinned and said, “What’s up, man?”

  Chapter Seven

  Winten-ah

  Alex blinked. Stared. Blinked again. His brain appeared to be stuck in neutral.

  “I have seen some passing strange things in the last twenty-four hours. An entire world where the corner of my basement should be. Giant cockroaches that fall from trees if you piss on them. Death from above in the form of dinosaur vultures.”

  The bearded man just listened, nodding. A slight smile played on his face.

  “But seeing you here, and hearing English again, when I thought I might never hear it again? Well, I think my mind is blown.”

  The smile slowly disappeared from the man’s face.

  “Wait,” he said. “Did you say, ‘an entire world where the corner of your basement should be?’ Is that what I heard?”

  Alex nodded, still marveling at someone speaking his own language in this strange new world.

  The bearded man looked at the ground, lost in thought, then said, “Shit.”

  “What?” Alex asked.

  “That means you got here through the same door I did. And that probably means my dad is dead.”

  “Is Benjamin Hadaller your father?”

  The man’s eyes lit up. “Yes! Yes! Do you know my father? Is he still alive?”

  “I never met your father. I just bought the house from him. He was still alive the last time I heard.”

  “Whoa,” the man said in a decent imitation of Keanu Reeves. After a long moment of silence, he stuck his hand out and said, “Dan. Dan Hadaller.”

  Alex shook his hand as if in a dream, and said, “Alex Hawk.”

  “They call me ‘Vanda-ak,’ here, though.”

  “You speak their language, then?”

  “I have to, or I never would have survived. There are dozens of languages here. Each group of people has their own language and there’s one simpler universal language that everyone can speak. It’s like the Tower of Babel around here!”

  “Can you help me learn?”

  “That will be my job from day one. Ganku-eh doesn’t like the idea of having someone around that can’t communicate. She will have questions for you and some of them, she will want to be able to ask directly.”

  “Ganku-eh?”

  “She runs things around here. Chief of all this,” Dan said, circling his arm to include the rock wall and open area. “No need for women’s lib around here. Our last three chiefs have all been female.”

  “Is she the one I can talk to about getting home?”

  Dan looked at the ground. “Yes, sure, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up. They’re not going to want to let you go. They’ll think you might be the answer to an old prophecy. They thought the same about me, until I disappointed them.” He looked skyward, as though settling something in his mind. “I’ll bet dad wouldn’t have wanted to sell the house too quickly after I disappeared. He’d have wanted to wait to see if I came back like I promised. What year was it when you stepped through the door?”

  “2019.”

  Dan took a step back and whistled. “Holeee shit. Forty years
. I have been here forty years. I thought so, but I was hoping I was wrong. What’s it like there? The war in Vietnam was over when I stepped through. Hopefully, we’ve been at peace since then.” He smiled and flashed a hopeful peace sign.

  Alex laughed bitterly. “We’ve been at war as long as I can remember. Iraq, Kuwait, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan...”

  Dan shook his head. “I thought we might have learned something by getting our butts kicked in Southeast Asia.”

  Alex shrugged. “I spent years deployed In the Middle East. Same shit, different war. Technology is different, but for the boots on the ground, it’s mostly the same. Did you fight in Vietnam?”

  Dan nodded. “I had no choice. My grades weren’t good enough to get me into college and my dad wasn’t rich enough to buy my way out. He and I talked about Canada, but we couldn’t see doing that. So, I went. I was lucky. I came home with all my fingers and toes.” He tapped his head, “Maybe not so much up here, though. That’s probably why I stepped through that door when I found it. It felt like everything back home had gone to shit and I just wanted to get away.”

  “I’m sorry you’ve spent so long here, but I’ve got to get home. I’ve got a four-year-old daughter waiting for me. Yesterday was her birthday. I can’t have her thinking that I abandoned her. I’ve got to get back.”

  Dan’s expression was sorrowful, but he didn’t say anything more. He wasn’t one to stomp on a man’s dreams.

  Alex had a hundred other questions lined up for Dan, but he was cut off by a young woman who sprinted up to them. She rattled off a long spew of words, all the while pointing at Alex.

  Dan listened, a smile slowly spreading across his face again. While the woman was still speaking, he turned to Alex and said, “Looks like you made a good first impression. Did you rescue someone from one of the wolves?”

  “No, I don’t think so.”

  The woman continued excitedly, still pointing at Alex.

  “She sure thinks you did. Says a wolf was attacking her husband and you rushed it with just a club and got it off him.”

  “Oh, no, I think she’s confused. A wolf attacked us, but it was everybody who saved him. I just hit him with a club. Other men rushed it and killed it.”