Time Travel Warriors

By Mark Duffield

"

Although things happen to the Worthington family, Luke and Scott never imagined in a million years that they'd ever create a time-travel machine. But they have, and now their adventure begins.

Hurled back and forth in time, they come face-to-face with ferocious dinosaurs, fight gladiators in ancient Rome, and fly spaceships in the distant future.

Helped in their struggle to return home by Percy and Troy, elite time-guardian warriors - all they have to do is find the mythical Crystal of Time, capture an evil time guardian, and defeat a skeleton army that cannot be killed.

No pressure then.

"

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Nov 3, 2017
• ISBN: 9781490784670

Book preview

TIME TRAVEL WARRIORS

MARK DUFFIELD

©

Copyright 2017 Mark Duffield.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4907-8469-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-8468-7 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4907-8467-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017914094

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Trafford rev.  12/01/2017

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North America & international

toll-free: 1 888 232 4444 (USA & Canada)

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CONTENTS

Chapter 1     A Distant Scream

Chapter 2     An Eventful Christmas

Chapter 3     The Fateful Experiment

Chapter 4     Dinosaur Adventure

Chapter 5     The Crystal Of Time

Chapter 6     A Dangerous Place

Chapter 7     An Audience With Scarabus

Chapter 8     You Just Can’t Get The Staff

Chapter 9     A Fight In The Study

Chapter 10   The Time Warriors

Chapter 11   The Cruel Twist Of Fate

Chapter 12   Into The Arena

Chapter 13   A Fight To The Death

Chapter 14   Training Camp

Chapter 15   Press-Ups, Laser Blasters, And A Tingly Arm

Chapter 16   Scarabus And The Staff Of Time

Chapter 17   Practicing The Assault Course

Chapter 18   Taryn And Max To The Rescue

Chapter 19   The Final Test

Chapter 20   The Scarab Army

Chapter 21   Luke’s Lucky Glasses

Chapter 22   Old Jokes

Chapter 23   War In Space

Chapter 24   An Icy Sight

Chapter 25   Studying In The Study

Chapter 26   ‘What If’ Moments

Chapter 27   Coming Clean

Chapter 28   Percy’s Challenge

Chapter 29   A Light Shining Christmas Pudding

Chapter 30   A Sight To Behold

Chapter 31   The Final Battle

Chapter 32   Bumble Jets

Chapter 33   Brave, Brave Troy

Chapter 34   Birth Of The Brightest Star

Chapter 35   Going Home

Acknowledgements

For

Kath, Luke, and Scott

Temperus_drawing%20Final_pass.jpg

Temperus

CHAPTER 1

A DISTANT SCREAM

At the edge of the farthest galaxy, in the distant reaches of the universe, a lone scream rang out.

It was a futile cry heard only by the tall bald-headed man who howled it, and even though he knew it was pointless, like a pressure cooker blowing steam, he too had to have a release.

The man pulled at the pulsating plasma bars that imprisoned him and let out another pained cry. He’d lost count of the years spent locked away in this cold, black, godforsaken place. It could have been a hundred years or a thousand years. He really couldn’t say because time itself had become warped and blurred into one living hell.

Today, however, he felt something was about to happen. He didn’t know what, how, or why but somehow sensed it.

Something was about to change.

He allowed himself an evil smile as the feeling grew and then sat, peered into the empty darkness, and waited.

CHAPTER 2

AN EVENTFUL CHRISTMAS

It had just snowed, and school had broken up for the Christmas holidays. Everyone was looking forward to a few weeks of fun and games at home, none more so than Luke Worthington.

As he walked home from school, Luke was trying his hardest not to cry. His bloodied nose dripped onto the freshly fallen snow, soaking it up like blotting paper, each crimson drop suddenly becoming ten times bigger and ten times as garish. The bloody trail left behind him made a grisly sight and blemished an otherwise perfect scene.

What had hurt Luke more, his bruised nose or his battered pride, he didn’t know. All he knew was that he hated school. No, that was wrong because he loved school, he loved his friends, and he loved learning; the only thing he didn’t like was Isaac Burns, the school bully.

Why did he have to be at their school? Why couldn’t he go to school somewhere else? Life would be so much easier without him.

He wanted to stand up to him, but he’d be beaten to a pulp. Isaac Burns was twice his size and ten times stronger. He didn’t stand a chance. Why couldn’t I be a baby again? he thought. There were no problems then, only total happiness.

Luke was rather small for his twelve years; in fact, he was the smallest in his class. His hair was the same mousy brown that most boys of twelve seem to have, but his blue eyes were piercing, even though they spent most of their time behind a thick rectangular-style pair of glasses that corrected his short sight.

His younger brother Scott shared the same mousy hair and piercing blue eyes, but that’s where the resemblance ended. Scott didn’t wear glasses, and he certainly wasn’t small.

Scott put his arm around him.

‘Cheer up, Luke. We’ll soon be home, and Mum’s sure to have baked some cakes … I bet they’ll still be hot. Come on, I’ll give you a race.’

Luke managed a smile, reached into his pocket, and pulled out his asthma puffer. He pushed the top down, inhaled a deep breath, and very carefully wiped his nose, making sure there wasn’t any blood on himself or his clothes. He certainly didn’t want to leave any evidence this time.

‘Yeah, let’s race then,’ and off they raced to the safety and comfort of their home and their mum and dad.

Home for Luke and Scott was a picturesque thatched cottage that lay by the side of a twisty-turny country lane, lined with tall hedgerows that were welcome windbreaks in winter and a source of the most beautiful birdsong in summer. It was a picture-postcard setting for a picture-postcard home, which wasn’t taken for granted by any of the Worthington family.

The aroma of home cooking or the smell of a log fire would always greet them long before they could even see the front door, and sure enough, today was no exception. Mrs Worthington had baked a batch of mouthwatering cakes, and it was a lucky thing they arrived when they did because Mr Worthington was making a good job of eating the whole lot.

After a welcome-home kiss, the boys raced over to the last two cakes on the baking tray, quickly finishing them off without a crumb to spare. Still hungry, Scott’s food radar began to tingle, and without saying a word, he jumped on a chair and pulled out a tray of stowed-away cakes from an overhead cupboard.

‘That’s not fair!’ shouted Mr Worthington as he looked at his wife for any idea as to how the boys had found his cake’s secret hiding place.

All she could do was to laugh and wink to the boys.

‘Anyway, was it a good last day at school?’ Mr Worthington asked.

‘Yes, it was really good. We had Christmas dinner and double helpings of Christmas pudding and custard. It was great!’ Scott said.

‘What about you, Luke? Was it okay today?’

‘Yes, it was fine, thanks,’ Luke replied.

‘Just fine? What about thingamabob? Any problems with him?’

‘No. I said it was fine, okay?’ said Luke, racing to his room.

Mrs Worthington looked at her husband and sighed. ‘I thought we weren’t mentioning that anymore until the New Year.’

‘I know, I know. It just slipped out. I’m sorry. I’ll go up and have a word with him.’

The creaking from the rickety stairs, which Luke thought was better than any burglar alarm, warned him that his dad was coming. He knocked gently on Luke’s door, which had a skull and crossbones poster with the words ‘Danger Keep Out’ on it. There was no answer, and so he knocked again.

‘Luke, are you okay?’ he said, pushing the door open and sitting on the bed beside his moping son.

‘I’m sorry, Luke, I didn’t mean to upset you, but you and Scott are the most important things in our lives. We love you and can’t just ignore what’s going on. You’ve got to stand up for yourself and learn not to be pushed around.’

‘You don’t understand, Dad. He’s enormous,’ Luke replied.

‘Oh, yes, I do. I used to be bullied at school until I got the courage to fight back. And do you know what, when I did fight back, the bullying stopped straight away. Bullies actually don’t like fighting because they’re cowards, and if you stood up for yourself, it would all end.’

‘He stole my special edition cards,’ Luke moaned.

‘Luke, if you let him carry on, he’ll steal a lot more than that. He’ll steal your pride and self-respect. Find the courage to sort it out yourself, or else, I’ll have to have a word with your head teacher. Do you want a lesson in self-defence?’

‘No, thanks, you’ve shown me a hundred times. Number 1 rule: don’t get in a fight to begin with. Number 2, try to talk your way out of it or walk away. And if you can’t avoid a situation, block whilst moving away from the attack and use the attackers’ force against them — aikido, jujitsu, and all that,’ Luke said sarcastically without any real emotion, still moping on his bed.

Mr Worthington chose to ignore Luke’s reply and left him alone in his room, feeling totally depressed. If he faced up to Isaac Burns, he’d be beaten to pulp, and if he didn’t, the head teacher would get involved, and he’d become the laughingstock of the school, with everyone saying that ‘Daddy’ had to fight his battles for him.

He was in a no-win position, and it felt horrible.

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However, by the time Christmas Day had arrived, Luke had forgotten about Isaac Burns and was feeling a lot happier.

To make it even better, it had snowed again, and he’d just come in from a family snowball fight to warm up by the roaring fire. He’d forgiven his dad for mentioning ‘thingamabob’ knowing that he was only getting involved because he loved him so much.

It was a comforting thought that warmed him more than the fire ever could.

He looked at his dad and smiled. He was glad that his dad worked from home, giving them more time together, and he especially loved helping with his inventing and book writing, which were just two of the many jobs that Mr Worthington did.

There were also many jobs that he didn’t do, including DIY, tidying up after himself, and ironing, which drove Mrs Worthington to despair. And so it was a good thing she had the patience of a saint, could do the job of three people put together, and could still be good-tempered.

Life was never boring in the Worthington household as they were one of those families that always had things happen to them. Life had its ups and downs, but on the whole, life was good.

Things certainly did happen to the Worthington family, and something was about to happen that would change their lives forever.

CHAPTER 3

THE FATEFUL EXPERIMENT

To add to the excitement of Christmas Day, Luke and Scott’s favourite aunts and uncles, together with their favourite cousins Taryn and Max, were coming over for dinner. And even better, Taryn and Max had just telephoned to say they’d be over on their new bikes earlier than planned.

Strictly speaking, they weren’t true aunts, uncles, and cousins but simply the Worthingtons’ oldest and dearest friends who had been elevated to the honouree title of aunt, uncle, and cousin as they were more family than family.

Auntie Zelda was family though, and unfortunately, she was coming as well. They dreaded her yearly visits, which were more like inspections from the Gestapo, and as though reading their minds, Mrs Worthington let out a sigh.

‘Anyway, this won’t do, will it?’ she said, getting up from her favourite fireside chair. ‘Auntie Zelda’s coming over tonight, and so I’d better get the rest of the washing up done. Come on, you lot, you can all give a hand.’

The boys, who in the eyes of Mrs Worthington included her husband, skulked through to the kitchen, moaning and groaning as they went.

‘Why can’t Auntie Zelda marry someone and spend Christmas with them?’ moaned Luke.

‘Who’d be brave enough?’ replied Mr Worthington in a low cheeky voice that wasn’t quite low enough to be heard by his wife.

‘That’s not fair,’ she said. ‘She just likes things tidy. She’s not all bad.’

‘What part isn’t bad? Her wrinkly old face, her evil stare, her habit of dragging her bony finger along every surface looking for dust, … orrr …,’ said Mr Worthington as he looked up past his chuckling boys to his wife, who clearly didn’t find his comments as funny and was holding a rather dangerous weapon in the form of a soaking wet dishcloth.

‘Orrr …,’ he carried on, ‘the way her bone structure makes her look twenty years younger than she really is, just like my gorgeous wife.’ He smiled to Mrs Worthington, who gave a sarcastic grin back.

Then in a quiet voice, he added, ‘She only looks a hundred, not a hundred and twenty that she really is!’

A wet dishcloth flew across the room and literally wiped the smile off his face, leaving the boys and his wife curled up in laughter.

The smiles on the boys’ faces remained as they dried the dishes and thought of Taryn and Max’s visit, which meant there would be a meeting of their secret gang, the Cottage Warriors. The four-strong gang loved nothing better than to meet in their clubhouse, a semi-derelict, honeysuckle-covered shed at the end of the garden, and design their own Cottage Warrior badges to win and collect much like Cubs and Scouts.

Tonight Luke was due to receive his catapult badge for speed and accuracy, hitting a five-metre target fifteen times in a minute with his trusty weapon.

However, that was a few hours away, and so they decided to play with their Christmas presents, which were as different as their personalities.

Luke was a shy boy who would rather look at the floor than your face when talking to you, and although he loved to play football and cricket like most boys his age, he also loved to tuck himself up with a history book or get to grips with a good science experiment.

He’d suffered from bouts of asthma since birth, and at the first sign of stress of any description, he would start wheezing and reach for his puffer that he carried everywhere.

He’d lost count of the number of times that he’d been in hospital with an attack, but it did have its advantages though; it meant that he didn’t have to do cross-country running and could instead tuck himself away with a good book.

Scott, however, was quite different. Although Scott was just ten years old, he was nearly as big as his older brother, which was partly to do with Luke being very slight and partly to do with Scott eating everything in sight. Apart from eating, Scott’s favourite pastimes included cooking, which involved eating, and exercising so that he could eat even more. Scott wasn’t shy by any stretch of the imagination.

And so when they chose their favourite presents to play with, Luke chose his chemistry set, whilst Scott chose his cake making kit with multicoloured glitter icing. Despite having their own bedrooms, the lounge, and the study to play in, they both decided to set up on the kitchen table, having promised to be out of the way and cleared up within the hour.

Luke started to mix cobalt blue with various other chemicals, trying to produce as much bubbling and frothing as possible, and being the perfect little scientist, he started making notes in his much-worn, dog-eared ‘logbook,’ whilst Scott was busying himself making his cake mixture.

Usually, whenever Scott whisked any mixture, most of it ended up everywhere, except where it was meant to be, and now was no exception. A tiny bit was still in the mixing bowl where it belonged, but most of it had splattered over Luke’s precious logbook.

The last thing that Scott wanted on Christmas Day was another argument about his cake mixing skills or, more accurately, the lack of them. He needed to clean the mess-up quickly.

With the speed of a striking cobra and the clumsiness of a bull in a china shop, he grabbed the logbook but simultaneously knocked the test tube rack with his sleeve. With horror, he saw the whole rack begin to tip over, and in a cruel trick that accidents play on the mind to prolong the agony, it all seemed to be happening in slow motion.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, and to make matters worse, in a bungled attempt to save the test tubes from falling, Scott managed to knock the whole lot clean off the table along with his glitter topping in a cascade of colour like an indoor firework.

‘You idiot, look what you’ve done!’ yelled Luke as he snatched his logbook back, writing, ‘Experiment cancelled due to Scott knocking glitter icing and chemicals onto floor.’

‘It’s lucky these test tubes are toughened or there’d be glass everywhere as well,’ he angrily added. ‘Let’s get it cleared up before Mum and Dad find out.’

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do it,’ replied Scott in a flustered voice.

‘Just help and clear it up, okay?’ Luke said, still annoyed.

‘It seems a shame to throw away all of this glitter mix though. Why don’t we make something with it? Why don’t we mix it with some water and make a bubbling, frothing, glittery snow globe? What do you reckon would happen? I bet you’ve never done that experiment before, have you?’

‘Well, I don’t normally make a habit of adding glitter icing to my experiments, do I?’ Luke curtly replied.

‘Well, maybe that’s why my cakes are more interesting than your boring experiments. Come on, let’s do it,’ Scott said.

He scooped the colourful pile into a test tube, poured in some water, and, after sealing it with a rubber bung, shook it like a professional cocktail maker. Scott smiled as the test tube began to glow, but as the glow became a shine and the shine became a brilliant radiance, he quickly put the test tube in the rack and stood back, not knowing what to expect next.

Although Scott had given the test tube a good hard shake, the swirling around of the chemicals and glitter icing should have stopped by now, but strangely, the swirling was actually getting faster and faster.

Suddenly, sparks began to fly and then came a blinding flash. The boys looked back to see a glowing golden mist, spiralling around the walls of the test tube like a mini hurricane.

Leaning forward tentatively, Luke blew at the mist, but it clung stubbornly to the test tube as though deliberately hiding something. He lent forward again, blowing as hard as he could, this time denting the mist enough to open up a small but fleeting view.

Luke had never seen anything like this experiment in his life. There shouldn’t have been a chemical reaction, and even if there were, it shouldn’t have caused all the sparks and mist. And to add to the mystery, Luke could swear that he had just seen something in the test tube.

The teasing glimpse that he’d just seen through the swirling mist was too quick to say exactly what it was, but there was definitely something in there. He took a pen torch from his pocket, shone its powerful beam into the mist, and peered closer.

He gently tapped the test tube, but nothing happened. He tapped it again, harder this time, and then he felt it … something tapped back, making him recoil so quickly that he nearly got a case of reverse whiplash.

‘What was that!’ he spluttered.

‘It’s just the glitter icing settling … isn’t it?’ replied a scared Scott.

‘It didn’t look like glitter icing to me!’ said Luke in a higher-pitched voice than usual.

Scared but inquisitive, the boys lent forward and shone the torch back into the misty test tube once again. Shining the torch this way and that and tilting their heads that way and this, they tried desperately to see what it was, just getting blurry glimpses of a strange grey object.

‘We should get Mum and Dad,’ said Scott.

‘No. We’ve made a mess, and it’ll only make them cross just before everyone comes around. It’s probably just a chemical reaction. Let’s have another look,’ Luke replied as he edged forward.

Suddenly, the test tube started to rock from side to side, a muffled roar-like sound echoing from within. Luke hesitated, scared to look into the mist for fear of what was in there, but curious to find out what was happening. Curiosity won over fear, and he edged forward again.

‘It’s probably just a chemical reaction with the icing … that shape we saw was just some gas swirling, and the noise was the gas escaping … probably,’ Luke said, trying to calm himself down and give a rational reason for what was happening whilst at the same time frantically scribbling notes in his logbook.

He peered into the swirling mist again, blowing a peephole in it as he moved forward. The cone of light from his torch struggled to pass through the misty clouds, but it was enough to see something moving. He suddenly turned ghostly white, a thin film of sweat appearing on his forehead.

‘Are you okay?’ Scott asked. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘I’m fine,’ replied Luke as he took a deep breath in from his puffer. ‘Something is in there. Now we should get Mum and Dad.’

‘What’s in there? You said it’s only the chemicals and glitter icing,’ Scott said as he took Luke’s torch and peered in.

Before Luke had a chance to warn him, Scott too had turned a funny white colour and froze in fear.

Unable to move, Scott watched the mist settle to reveal what up until now had just been fleeting glimpses of something grey. Staring right back at him from inside the test tube was a real, live, T. rex dinosaur. It blinked, sniffed, and then let out an almighty roar.

Scott’s instincts told him to get as far away as possible, as quickly as possible, and he didn’t argue with them. He managed the quickness side of things