So far gone, p.1
So Far Gone, page 1
part #1 of The Jaxon Grey Chronicles Series
A Dedication to…
I dedicate So Far Gone in loving memory of my friend Ray Henderson, my uncle, John Wright, and my grandma, Barbara Wright. May they rest in peace, and be forever loved and remembered in our hearts and soul.
Acknowledgments
First, I would like to thank my parents, Janet and Michael Wright, and all of my brothers and sisters, Ben, Zach, Jenn, Amanda & Ken, and Chris & Sam, who have always supported me in everything I've done. Without their help and guidance, I wouldn't be the person I am now. I would also like to thank the rest of my family and friends that have helped and supported me along the way, donated money to my cause, and who have shown continued interest in my book. The story and world I have envisioned wouldn't have become a reality without all of you. I would list everyone, but I would have to write another book to fit everyone in.
Next, I would like to give a special thanks to my wonderful wife, Kaleigh Hackett, who has worked so hard as my resident editor and personal agent, pro bono I should add. I would be lying if I tried to take all of the credit for my fictional world. She has contributed a lot to my work, though I didn't use too many of her ideas. She is probably sick and tired of me being off on Tatora by now, but she still sits down and listens to me talk about it endlessly. Thank you so much sweetheart :)
I would also like to give a special thanks to Mr. Styles and the students in his Graphic Designs class at Sussex County Technical School, who were kind enough to create my book cover, which looks better than I ever could have imagined.
My next thank you goes out to my illustrator, Morgan Stephenson, for his excellent sketch illustrations. I wanted to incorporate pictures in the book to facilitate and enhance the reading experience, and his talents with the pencil have done that perfectly.
Lastly, I would like to thank you, the reader, for whom this story has been written. I hope you enjoy So Far Gone and all the books and short stories to follow in the series. I also hope it inspires you to chase after your dreams and never let anything hold you back, no matter what the odds.
About the Author
Jonathon Wright began writing The Jaxon Grey Chronicles in 2012, and the series now includes two books, two short stories, and a third book that is on the way. "So Far Gone" is the first book in this expanding series, and was self-published in May of 2015.
Jonathon was born in New Jersey and raised in the rural town of Montague. He graduated from Sussex County Technical School in 2010, and then went on to receive a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice from Johnson & Wales University in 2013.
Currently, Mr. Wright resides just outside of Rhode Island's capital, where he lives with his wife/co-author, Kaleigh, and their two cats, Stevie Wonder and Dolly Parton. On the weekends he can be found at Crossroads RI working to end homelessness, and during the week he works for The Providence Center managing a residential program that assists individuals with mental health and substance use issues.
About the Illustrator
Morgan Stephenson studied at Rutgers University, where he received a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts. So Far Gone is his first book illustration.
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One - I Awaken
Chapter Two - I Begin To Remember
Chapter Three - I Arrive; I Arrive Again
Chapter Four - I Make A Friend
Chapter Five - I Learn My Fate, And More
Chapter Six – The Goddess
Chapter Seven - Reporting For Duty
Chapter Eight - Jotus And Jotan; Trouble Brews
Chapter Nine - Into The Depths
Chapter Ten - One Down, Four To Go
Chapter Eleven - Words With Amentus; Training; A Buzzing Feast
Chapter Twelve - An Unexpected Visitor
Chapter Thirteen - Animals Of Tatora
Chapter Fourteen - In My Free Time
Chapter Fifteen - A Fight Against Time
Chapter Sixteen - In The Heat Of The Moment
Chapter Seventeen - As Fate Would Have It
Chapter Eighteen - On The Road To Thora
Chapter Nineteen - Gathering Storm Clouds
Chapter Twenty - A Rapid Approach
Chapter Twenty-One - On The Horizon
Chapter Twenty-Two - A Not So Warm Welcome
Chapter Twenty-Three - A Promise Made
Chapter Twenty-Four - The People’s Fair
Chapter Twenty-Five - The Pit Of The Gyx
Chapter Twenty-Six - And Then There Were Two
Chapter Twenty-Seven - To The Victor Go The Spoils
Chapter Twenty-Eight - A Secret Rendezvous
Chapter Twenty-Nine - Wicked Dreams; Thieves In The Night
Chapter Thirty - The Ra-hoon Valley
Chapter Thirty-One - Noises In The Dark
Chapter Thirty-Two - The Enemy Of My Enemy
Chapter Thirty-Three - Thoughts From Afar
Chapter Thirty-Four - Tying Up A Loose End
Chapter Thirty-Five - Covert Operations
Chapter Thirty-Six - A Promise To Uphold
Chapter Thirty-Seven - A Change In Plans
Chapter Thirty-Eight - Closer To Justice
Chapter Thirty-Nine - To The Jungle Floor
Chapter Forty - Hanging On By A Limb
Chapter Forty-One - New Prospects
Epilogue
Pronunciations
Map of Tatora
Prologue
Ryane sat on the couch in a dark cabin, lit only by the dim, flickering flames coming from the fireplace; waiting for Jaxon to finally get the lights working again. He had just gone downstairs into the basement to try and restart the generator...
She felt slightly nervous and uncomfortable sitting in the relative dark, all alone in an unfamiliar place. She had never been to this cabin before. It had been Jaxon's idea to bring her here, his uncle’s cabin, to celebrate her birthday. She liked Jaxon, but she had never told him so.
The lights suddenly flickered on and she sat back with relief. In a moment Jaxon would be back upstairs and they would continue their night. She thought about what that might entail, if Jax would only build up the courage. Or maybe I'll make the first move? she thought.
Her mind drifted to the bottle of wine on the kitchen counter. She made her way into the kitchen and grabbed two glasses from in an upper cabinet, and then fished in the drawer for a bottle opener. She quickly spotted the device and uncorked the bottle, pouring Jaxon and herself each a large glass.
Ryane then sat back on the couch in front of the fire, placing Jaxon's glass on the side table with the bottle. She sipped her wine as she wondered why he hadn't returned yet. She figured she should go down and see what the hold-up was. Something didn't feel right, so she picked up a nearby fire iron and clutched it tightly, just in case.
She crept toward the basement door, yelling aloud, "Jax, what's taking you so long?" There was no reply. She said his name again, this time louder, but still nothing.
Now she was really getting worried.
She started down the stairs, saying aloud, "If you're playing some kind of a joke on me, it’s not funny. Seriously!"
Still there was no reply.
She made it to the bottom of the stairs, and, turning, spotted the dimly lit lantern Jaxon had used to find his way down the steps, but he was nowhere in sight. She walked over to the lantern with the fire iron still raised in her hands.
Where the hell is he? she wondered, then shook her head and pursed her lips as she noticed a gaping hole in the wall. Of course. It would be just like Jax to go exploring at a time like this.
Reluctantly, and somewhat annoyed, she entered the opening, lantern in one hand and fire iron in the other. She followed the only path down a lengthy tunnel, calling Jaxon's name every few yards. Then, all of a sudden, a rush of magnificent bluish-green light filled the tunnel. As abruptly as it came, it vanished, and she continued in the direction it seemed to have originated from, figuring that she would find Jaxon there. She soon entered a large, domed chamber with mica-encrusted walls, and there was a small circular opening in the ceiling that led to the sky. The chamber was empty, but on the floor in the center of the room was a small leather-bound book. She picked up the book and scanned the room once more, feeling the hairs rise on the back of her neck. Still, there was no one. She then opened the book to its first page and began to read.
Thinking back, I don't even know if I can recall all that has occurred since that fateful day on Earth, now so long ago. In my dreams it was just yesterday. Me in my apartment, head in your lap, with your hands running through my hair. I can even smell your comforting scent; a smell so sensational and real. In my dreams I reach for a kiss, but then I fall and am roughly jerked back into reality.
I don't even know why I'm writing this. There's no hope it will ever reach you. Maybe I'm writing it to help myself grasp the strange phenomena that are now my everyday reality, and in the back of my mind I can't escape the fact that it’s you that has kept me alive this long. The hope of one day returning to you is all that keeps me going; all that keeps me rational and sane.
I know it can be done for I am here now, so far gone from the cabin I left you in; trapped on an alien world with no way to return home. But I'm here, and if there's a way to get here, then there must be a way to get back.
At times I look up into this moonless sky and wonder if you are doing the same; gazing at the stars, hoping one day for my return.
I don't know what writing this will bring. I don't even know how much longer I m
Chapter One
I Awaken
I’m not sure exactly when I came to, but I think it was the warmth of the sun on my face that stirred me to consciousness. I was lying on my back, and could hear several strange voices talking above me. Awake, but with my eyes still closed, I tried to listen to the conversation between the men, or whom I supposed to be men. I didn’t know where I was or how I came to be there; only that my head was pounding and felt as if someone had driven an ice pick through the side of it.
I felt the ground beneath me. A bed of long grass, warm from the sunlight; so different from the hard-wood floor in my uncle's cabin where I should have been. I wished I could have remembered whatever had happened, but all my recent memories were escaping me.
The voices of the men around me were deep, hard, and guttural. I couldn’t place the language. I thought maybe I had a concussion, but after focusing hard I knew this was no language spoken by any humans. I smiled, thinking jokingly that I had been abducted by aliens.
At that moment, the three figures stopped speaking, and I knew my smile, however brief, had betrayed me. I opened my eyes to greet whoever, or whatever, surrounded me, but before I had time to fully adjust to the light, the blur of a dark object came swinging toward my head. In a coursing jolt of pain, I was again rendered unconscious.
The next time I awoke, I found myself bound belly-down over the saddle of some sort of draft animal. It must have been the size of a Sherman tank, and was covered in large, thick scales, which created a permanent shield for the massive beast. I doubted anything short of .50 caliber rounds could penetrate the scaly hide.
As I was bound, and bound well, I couldn't move my head around much, so I was unable to see most of the surrounding area, or even which direction we were headed. Not that I thought it would do much good. I couldn’t explain it at the time, but I knew the impossible had happened. Somehow, I had been taken captive on an alien planet. The strange animal that carried me substantiated my thoughts further, as did the air! The air was almost intoxicating, so fresh and uncontaminated, making each breath on Earth seem stale and tainted. This air, however, was energizing and exhilarating! What was more surprising to me, though, was that I wasn't particularly frightened by this prospect; only worried for what had happened to you. I could only hope that you were still in my uncle's cabin, safe and out of harm's way.
I tried as I could to look around, but all I could see was a nauseating view of the ground. The scaly animal continued on its way, making grunts here and there, as did other animals of the same sort. I noticed the animals were traveling in a line, and I realized we must have been part of a larger group.
The massive draft animals continued across the grass for a long time, until I was finally positive that we were heading into a forest, most likely to find a place to camp.
From directly in front of me, which was the left side of our path, there was some sort of a loud commotion. Without warning, I suddenly heard thousands of projectiles whistling through the air. A moment later, the missiles struck the draft animals’ hard exteriors, making loud pings and bouncing harmlessly to the ground. I could hear cries of pain and then the sound of bodies as they struck the ground. More frightening, I heard ferocious growling and snarling, followed by dozens, if not hundreds, of deafening roars. All hell seemed to have broken loose.
My captors must have regrouped. I heard shouting and screaming in the strange language, what must have been the relaying of commands. The beast that carried me stopped, and, turning slightly, fell into formation with the other beasts. Once in position, they dropped to the ground, closing off any possible space beneath or between them.
Though I couldn't see much, I was still able to understand what was being done. The draft animals, with their completely scaled bodies, were forming a wall for my captors to take cover behind. I thought about how well trained and disciplined these creatures had to be. Then I thought how their owners must be equivalent in such matters. Unfortunately for me, as I was securely bound, I had no way to protect myself. I was left to lie in wait for the outcome of the battle, if I were to even survive it.
As the minutes ticked by and shots from the antagonists showered upon the make-shift wall, I somehow miraculously remained unscathed. On the ground before me, I could see piles of stunted arrows, less than a foot long, bristled with feathers on their tail ends. These were the projectiles that tormented our group in the beginning of the attack. In the tips of the arrows, I could see inch long needles, which I fearfully assumed carried lethal poison.
From behind me, and behind the beast-wall, return fire erupted out of nowhere. Simultaneously, I heard shouts, commands, being issued. The draft beasts turned ninety-degrees to the right, leaving their rear-ends facing the enemy with only a shoulder's width of space between them.
In another instant, four-toed footprints and fur-covered feet were all I could see, as my captors swept between their defensive lines to confront their antagonists head-on. Within minutes I could hear them returning, exhausted but triumphant in forcing their attackers to retreat.
All was calm then, except for the hasty increase in our walking pace.
On the ground below me, I suddenly saw the shadow of someone approaching, coming up on the back-right side of the beast I was bound to. With a sharp, shocking pain, I felt a needle enter just under my left buttock, and almost instantaneously my body became heavy and drowsy, with each attempt to stay awake becoming a greater challenge.
The last image that came into focus just before I fell asleep, the deepest sleep I think I have ever known, was the hand of the creature who had forcibly administered the injection. The hand was covered in short fur and could easily have encompassed the full circumference of a basketball. The most peculiar thing about it, though, was the number of appendages. There were four in total, not five as with the human race, and each came to a sharp point. In combat, I had no doubt that these four-fingered claws would deliver many menacing and deadly blows.
Then, all went silent.
Then, all went black.
Chapter Two
I Begin To Remember
I abruptly jumped from my sleep as my dream, so real and vivid, came to its curt end. My body was covered in sweat and my heart pounded so hard and so fast that I wasn’t sure if my chest could contain it. I was lying in a dark cell on a rough dirt floor.
During my sleep, I had found the memory I had been searching for; the one knocked so far from my mind that only this drug-induced deep sleep could give me the time to find. I knew it was somewhere in my subconscious, and now I had retrieved it as if I were living it all over again.
We were driving north in my old 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee, with the good ole classic “Johnny Be Good” playing on the radio.
"So, who else did you say was going to be there?" you asked curiously.
"Everyone," I replied, shrugging my shoulders.
"Care to elaborate?" you asked, with a smile creeping onto your beautifully freckled face.
"I invited everyone I thought you’d want there, but I don’t exactly remember which ones are definitely coming."
"Oh Jax, this is so sweet of you,” you replied, squeezing my hand. “You didn't have to do any of this. I would have been fine just getting dinner in town."
You looked so beautiful and radiant. How could a guy like me be so lucky to know you?
"I know," I said, with a wide grin of satisfaction growing on my face, "but I wanted to do something special for your birthday this year."
The plan was to bring you to the cabin where I said our friends would be meeting us. What I didn't tell you was that no one would be arriving until the afternoon of the following day, on your birthday. This night, I wanted you all to myself.
