The Hathaways and the Disappearing Translators: Brave New Encounters

By Kass Harker

The Hathaways and the Disappearing Translators—Brave New Encounters is the second part of the tale where Edward, his sister, and a myriad of new friends continue the search for the final missing Translators. In the interworld of Zule, they are reunited with their friend Cliff after overcoming an almost fatal accident. But when they continue their search in yet another interworld, Marchen, Gemma, and Edward get separated. They continue their adventures without each other and encounter new people, new challenges, and new and dangerous experiences.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris NZ
• Release date: Aug 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781514467145

Kass Harker

Kass loves to write for children. In her home studio in Nelson she loves nothing more than to let her imagination run wild. ‘Children are great critics. They have no hesitation in telling you something stinks so it is especially rewarding when they tell you they love your book.’ With the support of her partner of 30 years she has travelled around New Zealand and talked to kids about her writing. Sunny Nelson has been home for more than 30 years now and she loves to stroll the many beach and river walks with her sidekick Pippy (6 year old fox terrier). Kass also works fulltime as a public servant and enjoys the interaction she has with fellow staff and customers. Her hobbies include biking, hiking, digital games and reading.

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Copyright © 2019 by Kass Harker.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 07/19/2019

Xlibris

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Contents

Chapter 1 – Home for Now

Chapter 2 – A Kikamar Welcome

Chapter 3 – A Tour of Kikamar

Chapter 4 – Finally, It Starts

Chapter 5 – The First Interworld

Chapter 6 – Danger near Needle Mountain

Chapter 7 – Will to the Rescue

Chapter 8 – Found

Chapter 9 – Making a Sound Plan

Chapter 10 – Where Is Cliff?

Chapter 11 – Earthbound

Chapter 12 – Planning for Marchen

Chapter 13 – Marchen Adventure

Chapter 14 – At the Manor

Chapter 15 – Skull Rock or the Manor

Chapter 16 – Bushwhacked

Chapter 17 – The Rescue Plan

Chapter 18 – Joining the Search

Chapter 19 – Faeries and Fierce Boys

Chapter 20 – Snooping in the Manor

Chapter 21 – Battle for Skull Rock

Chapter 22 – Underground

Chapter 23 – Triple Moonwash

Chapter 24 – The Surprise

Chapter 25 – Home by Mistake

Chapter 26 – Almost the End

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From the Author

To all the people who read my first book Into Another Dimension and took the time to send me their feedback. Without this, I would not have had the inclination to finish my writing.

This story is because of you.

I want to thank the following for their ongoing support:

My partner Nola who has unquestioningly supported me throughout my midlife crisis. And even though I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, she encourages my attempts at everything I try in life.

My mother Judy who has proudly shown my first books to anyone who crosses her path.

My good friends (who happen to also be relations) Rana and Von. Without your creativity as an example, I may never had walked the road of a writer.

My brother Tony and his lovely family, for your encouragement always.

And a special mention needs to be made of my good friend Glenys Langdon who has traipsed all around the countryside, helping me promote my first book.

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Chapter 1 – Home for Now

T he old train station was quiet and dark. Edward, Gemma, and Will had arrived back in the Earth dimension around midnight, and although Gemma was still woozy from their encounter in the Rumble, she was able to help Edward who was still pretty much out of it.

She drew the vial of brown liquid Miklemair had given them from her pocket and pulled the small stopper out. She put the vial to Edward’s lips and said, ‘Drink this, Earth boy.’

Without really knowing what he was doing, Edward’s lips parted, and a small quantity of the liquid slid down his throat. Gemma took a small swig and replaced the stopper. Then the group slowly made their way home.

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Edward didn’t really remember leaving the Rumble or his journey home. But home he was, and as much as the trip into Dogarea had been an adventure, he was quite happy to be in his own bed.

He looked out of his window.

It must be quite late in the day, he thought, because the sun’s low. I wonder if Mum and Dad are home yet?’

He went to get out of bed, but he was still dizzy and fell back onto his pillow. He lay there a bit longer. While he was looking at the ceiling, he remembered the massive hoard of Rumble bees that had chased them. He shuddered. That was something he didn’t want to see again in a hurry. He also remembered the agony of the sting.

He felt his face. It felt normal. There was no pain either.

‘That’s good. Swelling’s gone by the feel. That was one mean stinger.’

And he grimaced at the thought. He was thinking about a way to protect themselves from anything like that in the future when he heard his door open. He looked over just in time to see a head peek in.

‘Oh, good you’re awake,’ said Gemma, and she sprang into Edward’s room.

‘You over your hangover yet?’ she asked with a smirk on her face. ‘That’ll teach you to be a guts. Be a while before you drink Rumble bee honey mead again, eh, Earth boy?’

‘Hey! I’d forgotten all about that. Is that why I still feel dizzy? I thought it was the bee sting still. That stuff was kinda delicious though. Did you try some?’

‘Yup. It was okay, but I wouldn’t rave about it. All a matter of taste, me thinks.’

‘Well, I never tasted anything so good in all of my life!’ said Edward, quite convinced his sister really couldn’t have had any because if she had, she would have wanted to gulp down as much as she could too.

‘Yes, well, that obviously goes without saying. You couldn’t stop drinking it. That’s why you’re still a fuzzy-head.’

Ignoring his sister’s dig, he asked, ‘What time is it? Are Mum and Dad home yet?’

‘Man! You don’t remember anything, do you? They got frozen in time by Will. Remember? He froze them while they were still at work. He only took the freeze off about two hours ago. You know you’ve been out to it for more than twenty-four hours, eh? That’s why Will bought us some extra time.’

As Gemma headed for the door, she spoke over her shoulder. ‘You better get up and have a shower though. We need to go out.’

‘Go out? Where?’

‘Just out, doofus. We can’t be here when Mum and Dad come home now, can we? They think we’ve been out all day with friends. They’re not expecting us back until teatime.’

‘Chur. I’ll get in the shower then.’ And he swayed a little as he got up and headed to the bathroom.

A clean and shining Edward turned up in the kitchen about twenty minutes later, dressed and ready for action.

‘So do I have time to have some food?’ he asked, opening the fridge and peering in.

‘You should just select something you can eat on the run,’ said Will.

So Edward grabbed a carton of flavoured milk and two cold sausages. Then they headed out the back door.

‘Right! Where to?’

‘We should go around to Dash’s and see if he’s back,’ suggested Gemma.

‘He definitely won’t be back yet,’ Will said with authority. ‘It’s only a little more than a day since they went into Bridges. It will take them several days, maybe even weeks, to search there.’

‘All right. So where should we go till it’s time to go home? We can’t go to any of our friends’ houses. If we turn up now, it might get back to Mum or Dad. Then how would we explain that?’

Will ignored the question and asked, ‘How much money have you two got?’

Edward turned out his pockets. He had $25 and a few coins. He held the money in his palm and said, ‘This, and I think I’ve got about $60 on my credit app. How ’bout you, Gem?’

Gemma had a look in her backpack and found just over $30. ‘I have over a hundred on my credit app as well. Why do you need money, Will?’

‘I was thinking that you should get headlights.’

‘Why do we need those? We’ve got a light on our vaporisers.’

‘Yes, but look what happened when you used your other functions. It drained most of your power,’ replied Will.

‘Then maybe a portable power pack or one of those solar jobbies would be better.’

‘That’s a splendid idea, Edward,’ said Will. ‘How much do they cost?’

‘Let’s catch a shuttle to the hub,’ Gemma said, heading towards the shuttle stop. ‘We can price-scan them on the way.’

So the trio hopped on the next shuttle and headed to the shopping hub.

The trip to the hub had worked out well. They got a solar charger that was guaranteed to quickly charge their devices, even in low daylight. It had also taken up just the right amount of time. So as they walked in the back door, their mother was starting to dish up their tea.

‘Hello, you two. I’m sure you both have bionic noses, especially you, Edward. You’d smell food from ten thousand paces,’ Cally said with a laugh. ‘How was your day?’

Gemma and Edward glanced at each other, and Gemma said, ‘Yeah. Okay, I suppose.’

‘Well, go and wash your hands. Tea is just a couple of minutes away.’

Mealtime was the usual affair, and when the pudding was dished up, Cally asked John if he had to work again tomorrow. She was thinking they could all go to the science fair in the city if he wasn’t.

‘Sorry, love. I know it’s Sunday and all, but we really need to get this report done and dusted. They expect me in again tomorrow. I should be able to take some time off after we get this out of the way though. Maybe we should plan a small family holiday.’

Normally, both Gemma and Edward would jump at this. But they wanted to go back to join their friends in Bridges and help with the search for the missing ones.

‘That’s a great idea, John!’ said Cally. ‘We don’t need to do it right away, do we? We can wait for the next school holidays and take a bit longer.’

Gemma visibly sagged down in her chair with concern.

Not the school holidays! We’ll probably still be searching for the Translators, she was thinking.

But neither of her parents knew this or saw her disappointment, so they continued chatting excitedly about a holiday.

Later when Edward and Gemma were in Edward’s room, Gemma told Edward that they needed to think of some way to put the kibosh on the holiday plans.

‘Why?’ asked Edward.

‘Don’t you want to help with the search?’

‘’Course, I do! But it’ll all be over by the next school hols.’

Gemma stared at him.

‘What?’

‘Well, Edward, you heard Will. He said it could take weeks. By the way, where is he?’

Just as she asked that, the door opened, and Will hovered in with a humming sound.

‘Right, my young friends. I have the plan of the century,’ Will announced.

He then spent the next twenty minutes or so telling them about his plan.

‘That’s a seriously good plan, Will,’ said Edward. ‘So when do we crank it up?’

‘Tomorrow,’ said Will.

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Chapter 2 – A Kikamar Welcome

E dward was first up. He was in the kitchen, filling his pack with as much food as he could fit in. He wasn’t going to be caught with low supplies again, not like in the Rumble. He was rummaging through the cake tins in the back of the pantry when a stern voice said, ‘What do you think you’re up to?’

He got such a fright, he jumped and hit his head on the shelf above him with a bang. Rubbing the top of his head, he turned to see Will and then Gemma with a huge grin on her face.

‘Oh, very funny.’

‘We thought so,’ Will said with his usual android laugh.

Gemma was looking in his pack.

‘You expecting a famine?’ she asked, amazed at the amount of food Edward had crammed in.

‘I’m not taking any chances. And remember, if you don’t carry it, you don’t eat it. So don’t be expecting to eat any of my supplies if you don’t take enough.’

‘Oh, little brother, I am so disappointed in you,’ Gemma said, tweaking Edward’s cheek. ‘I thought you’d carry enough for the both of us.’

‘Not likely. But I will get your breakfast while you pack your goodies. Best I can offer.’

‘Deal!’ Gemma said from inside the fridge.

Gemma ferreted around in the fridge, then the pantry, and finally, the top cupboard where her mother had a not-so-secret supply of sweets.

‘Right. I’m done. So what’s for breakfast, Earth boy?’

Edward smiled a cheeky smile and tossed his sister a small carton.

‘Weeties on the go. Gee, Edward, you shouldn’t have gone to all that trouble,’ she said sarcastically. And they all headed out the back door.

At the gate, Gemma turned and ran back inside. She caught up with them halfway down the street.

‘What did you forget?’ asked Edward.

‘I left a note for Mum. Just said we’re off to the Push Park and won’t be home until teatime. Said to call if she needs to talk to us.’

‘That’s a bit dumb, isn’t it?’ said Edward. ‘We won’t get a reception in another dimension.’

‘She won’t call. But knowing she can, means she won’t worry,’ Gemma said, tapping the side of her nostrils with her finger.

‘Smarter than the average bear,’ Edward said, quoting a rerun cartoon he’d watched with his father.

It was a quick and quiet trip to the railway subway at Ava. And soon they were walking down the tunnel into Dogarea. When they arrived at the green door in the main corridor, Will stopped.

‘Why are we stopping here?’ asked Edward.

‘This is the Dogarean access to the Neutra-Regis,’ Will informed them. He opened the door, and they went through.

Gemma and Edward had both been too unwell to take any notice of how wonderful the Neutra-Regis had been when they were there last. Apart from the fact that Edward’s eyes were swollen shut, he was probably unconscious, and Gemma was in too much pain to enjoy the scenery.

But now they were both in fine shape, so they looked goggle-eyed at the strange and colourful place. They were in a small clearing surrounded by trees of all shapes, sizes, and colours. Some of