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Furthermoore-- The Legend of the Tinkerman
A Young Adult Fantasy Adventure Saga
Through the portal, nothing can be trusted.
Seventeen-year old Johanna Glassman survived the hardships of the Depression and WWII. She planned to change the world with science. But when her curiosity lures her into the bizarre land of Furthermoore, she discovers that everything she’d learned from her science textbooks was wrong! East is West, kids don’t age and plants are voracious carnivores. Johanna is determined to find a way home for herself and the other imprisoned kids. But Furthermoore, with its many secrets and traps, won’t let them go without a fight to the death!
Seventeen-year old Johanna Glassman survived the hardships of the Depression and WWII. She planned to change the world with science. But when her curiosity lures her into the bizarre land of Furthermoore, she discovers that everything she’d learned from her science textbooks was wrong! East is West, kids don’t age and plants are voracious carnivores. Johanna is determined to find a way home for herself and the other imprisoned kids. But Furthermoore, with its many secrets and traps, won’t let them go without a fight to the death!
Excerpt
It didn’t take long before they were back in the thick of the forest. The setting crescent sun had turned the sky from glowing orange to an ominous inky blue. With the close heat of the swamp, the sky seemed to drip and cling to everything it touched.
Under Ginny’s reprimanding glare, Johanna gave a sheepish laugh hoping to ease the tensions. “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my?” she said with hopefully raised eyebrows.
Ginny’s expression didn’t flinch. “Shut-up. I hate you. Where’s this ‘grand city’ you predicted?”
“Well, I don’t know,” Johanna said, flinging her arms in the air. “I’ve never been here before.”
“What was that?” Ginny lashed out an arm to stop her friend. “Did you hear that?”
Johanna sighed. “No, I didn’t hear anything. I was too busy trying to lighten the mood. What did—?”
“Shhh! There it is again. It’s like a hissing. Don’t you hear it?”
The sound resonated from the left, then the right. It was above them, behind them and all around them. One solid hiss like air escaping a tire, with a trailing rattle at the end.
They looked around at their feet. “It sounds like a snake. Where is it?” Ginny shouted.
“I don’t see anything. It’s too dark!”
Like a jungle cat, a great black beast dropped from the treetops in front of them, dangling from the branches. It let out a long roar, displaying a thousand gleaming sharp teeth. The girls shrieked and hugged each other for dear life. Falling backwards, they pressed themselves into the claw-like roots of a tree.
Slinking down from the branches, the black beast’s body kept coming. Long like a snake, and covered in perfectly aligned rows of tiny white horns, it trailed down from above in a never-ending torrent of terror. As its length grew, it curled higher and higher perched on the ground by two taloned paws, looming over its victims. Its diamond yellow eyes focused on the two girls screaming and huddling below it.
Clutching Ginny’s head to her chest, Johanna could do nothing but close her eyes and wait to die. Ginny sobbed—or was it her own cries she heard? When the beast roared again, shrill and reeling with power, Johanna felt her insides melt in helplessness. She had no weapons, and even if she did, how could she begin to defend herself against something so strong and large? Wherever they were, whatever this land was, they weren’t going to make it out alive.
Pulling Virginia closer to her, she squeezed her eyes shut and tried unsuccessfully to resign herself to death. The creature snorted a hot, rancid breath that seemed to singe her skin. Johanna heard something whiz past her ear, but she didn’t dare look up. All she could imagine was the snarling beast giving her a sniff before it sunk its teeth in. She could only pray their deaths would be quick and painless.
But there was no bite and no pain.
The leaves shuffled around them, like something was being dragged around the forest floor. Still, Johanna held on to her friend, unable to move.
With each roar and screech of the creature, Virginia tightened her grip. The ruckus continued, yet they were still alive and unharmed. Over and over, its great tail thumped the ground like an angry gorilla. Johanna heard the scuffle of what sounded like an army of footsteps stomping and shuffling all around them. From the left. No, the right. A human man’s grunt, then another. How many men were protecting them? The roars and ghastly grunts continued, interspersed with a warrior’s battle cries. At last, the beast released a rattling groan, and all fell silent again.
Slowly the girls looked up, quaking in each other’s arms. Not five feet in front of them, the giant black monster lay in a coiled heap. They watched as a single young man in Tarzan garb stood over the monster’s lifeless body, breathless and panting. One man. Not the army Johanna had pictured.
As she opened her mouth to speak, the jungle man straddled the monster’s neck like a cowboy roping a calf. He grabbed one of its many horns, lifted the limp head and sliced the beast’s throat from side to side in a single, vicious swipe.
“Oh my!” was all Johanna could say.
At the sight of the spurting blood, Ginny slapped a hand to her mouth. “Oh God. I’m gonna’ be sick.”
Replacing his knife to his waistband, the young man dropped the creature’s head and advanced on the girls huddled at the base of a tree. “What year is it?” he asked, his eyes maniacally searching them.
Ginny screamed and held a hand out to stop him, “What do want? Don’t hurt us!”
The man turned his attention to Johanna. “What year is it?” he asked.
Calm and oddly intrigued, Johanna pushed Ginny off of her. “It’s 1946. Who are you?”
He paced the forest muttering the year, “1946. 1946. That’s nearly twenty years. Twenty years.”
Johanna stared at the strange man who had saved their lives. He wore only a tattered loincloth and carried a bow and quiver across his toned back. He was tanned, dirty and incredibly handsome.
Beside her, Virginia began scooting away, backing over tree roots like a panicked crab. She was going to make a run for it. Johanna gave her a slap on her arm and mouthed the words, “it’s okay.”
The boy abruptly stopped his pacing and advanced on them again. Again, Ginny jumped.
“Are you two alright?” he asked, winded from his battle.
In unison, the girls turned their eyes to the beast on the forest floor.
“Don’t worry. It’s dead. It won’t be hurting you,” he waved a dismissing hand at the lifeless creature.
To this, Virginia let out a near-hysteric laugh, but Johanna was dumbfounded. Never before had she seen such an act of heroism. So many muscles, she thought pressing a hand to her heart.
He couldn’t have been more than eighteen or nineteen years old. He was solid and tall—much taller than she—with mussed up sandy blond hair in desperate need of a trim. It didn’t detract from his determined blue eyes or the way his lips quirked as he considered the situation.
Caught in a daydream, she was shaken when he reached a hand down to her.
“You’re safe now. Let me help you up.”
Slipping her hand into his, she found it rough and calloused. He was a laborer, a strong, working man. She liked that. “Thank you. You saved our lives,” Johanna whispered as he lifted her to her feet.
The young man chuckled. “You’re lucky I heard you arrive. You girls managed to find the second worst creature imaginable.”
Before Johanna could respond, Ginny leapt up and threw her arms around the man. “Oh thank you! Thank you! You’re so brave and strong.”
Shocked by Ginny’s action, the man stood rigid as the overzealous bobby-soxer rubbed up against him.
Ginny grabbed his cheeks and kissed him loudly on the lips. “What can I ever do to repay you?” she purred.
“You can get off of me,” the boy said flatly.
Dejected, Ginny stepped away and was met with a solid slap on the arm from Johanna. “Sorry about her,” Johanna said, glaring at her friend. “If I may ask, what’s your name?”
The jungle boy gave an apologetic laugh and wiped his grimy hand on his loincloth before holding it out in greeting. “I’m sorry. My name is James. James Westergaard. It’s a pleasure.”
He shook Johanna’s hand. She was tempted to hold on, but that wouldn’t be very lady-like. “I’m Johanna and this is my…enthusiastic friend, Virginia,” she looked around the swamp again, stopping briefly at the thing which had almost killed them. “Where are we?”
James shrugged. “Furthermoore.”
Johanna waited for him to continue. When he didn’t, she said, “’Furthermore’ what?”
“No, not furthermore.Furthermoore.”
“That’s the name of your town?” Virginia asked.
The dirty young man shook his head. “No, not the town, the entire planet. We’re not on Earth anymore, that’s for sure.”
“Yes, I gathered that.” Johanna contemplated as she watched James scoop up several arrows he must have dropped in the battle. “Why do you call it Furthermoore?”
Arrows in hand, James slid them into the quiver on his back with precision. “Well, if you think about it, the three of us are moored here like a ship on a reef,” he tried to brush the mud from his hands, “and we couldn’t be further from earth, so put those two together and you get Furthermoore.”
“Clever.” Johanna said, trying to smile. The grin on her host’s face certainly spelled satisfaction. She didn’t have the heart to tell him proper English would be to call it “Farthermoore,” since they were farther from Earth, not further. Besides, Johanna didn’t care where she was or what it was called. She just wanted to go home.
James returned to the dead beast and began carving slabs of flesh from its body, slicing and dicing like an expert butcher, putting the meat into a sack.
“What’s he doing? Is he…Is he…?” at the sight of the bloody carnage, Virginia began to swoon.
“Ginny, don’t you dare!” Johanna reacted, bracing her friend.
James turned just in time to see Ginny’s eyes roll back into her head. She fell into her friend’s arms. “What happened? Is she alright?”
Embarrassed, Johanna snorted, “She’s fine. She just fainted. She does it all the time.”
She faltered under Ginny’s weight. James slung the sack of bloody meat over his back and scooped Ginny’s limp body into his arms. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m so used to hunting, I didn’t consider how gruesome it would be to new arrivals.”
Following behind him, Johanna felt her cheeks flush with heat. “I thought you were amazing.”
“It’s nothing really,” James chuckled. “It’s dead, after all. It won’t feel a thing, and it’s good eatin’. Should feed the tribe for days.”
“The tribe?” Johanna asked.
“Yeah,” he said, hoisting Ginny’s body closer. “The Bogboys. C’mon, we’ll get you two cleaned up. I’m sure you’re tired. You can rest up at camp.”
That sounded wonderful to Johanna. Seeing the incredible jungle man navigating the swamp in front of her, she would follow James Westergaard anywhere.
Under Ginny’s reprimanding glare, Johanna gave a sheepish laugh hoping to ease the tensions. “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my?” she said with hopefully raised eyebrows.
Ginny’s expression didn’t flinch. “Shut-up. I hate you. Where’s this ‘grand city’ you predicted?”
“Well, I don’t know,” Johanna said, flinging her arms in the air. “I’ve never been here before.”
“What was that?” Ginny lashed out an arm to stop her friend. “Did you hear that?”
Johanna sighed. “No, I didn’t hear anything. I was too busy trying to lighten the mood. What did—?”
“Shhh! There it is again. It’s like a hissing. Don’t you hear it?”
The sound resonated from the left, then the right. It was above them, behind them and all around them. One solid hiss like air escaping a tire, with a trailing rattle at the end.
They looked around at their feet. “It sounds like a snake. Where is it?” Ginny shouted.
“I don’t see anything. It’s too dark!”
Like a jungle cat, a great black beast dropped from the treetops in front of them, dangling from the branches. It let out a long roar, displaying a thousand gleaming sharp teeth. The girls shrieked and hugged each other for dear life. Falling backwards, they pressed themselves into the claw-like roots of a tree.
Slinking down from the branches, the black beast’s body kept coming. Long like a snake, and covered in perfectly aligned rows of tiny white horns, it trailed down from above in a never-ending torrent of terror. As its length grew, it curled higher and higher perched on the ground by two taloned paws, looming over its victims. Its diamond yellow eyes focused on the two girls screaming and huddling below it.
Clutching Ginny’s head to her chest, Johanna could do nothing but close her eyes and wait to die. Ginny sobbed—or was it her own cries she heard? When the beast roared again, shrill and reeling with power, Johanna felt her insides melt in helplessness. She had no weapons, and even if she did, how could she begin to defend herself against something so strong and large? Wherever they were, whatever this land was, they weren’t going to make it out alive.
Pulling Virginia closer to her, she squeezed her eyes shut and tried unsuccessfully to resign herself to death. The creature snorted a hot, rancid breath that seemed to singe her skin. Johanna heard something whiz past her ear, but she didn’t dare look up. All she could imagine was the snarling beast giving her a sniff before it sunk its teeth in. She could only pray their deaths would be quick and painless.
But there was no bite and no pain.
The leaves shuffled around them, like something was being dragged around the forest floor. Still, Johanna held on to her friend, unable to move.
With each roar and screech of the creature, Virginia tightened her grip. The ruckus continued, yet they were still alive and unharmed. Over and over, its great tail thumped the ground like an angry gorilla. Johanna heard the scuffle of what sounded like an army of footsteps stomping and shuffling all around them. From the left. No, the right. A human man’s grunt, then another. How many men were protecting them? The roars and ghastly grunts continued, interspersed with a warrior’s battle cries. At last, the beast released a rattling groan, and all fell silent again.
Slowly the girls looked up, quaking in each other’s arms. Not five feet in front of them, the giant black monster lay in a coiled heap. They watched as a single young man in Tarzan garb stood over the monster’s lifeless body, breathless and panting. One man. Not the army Johanna had pictured.
As she opened her mouth to speak, the jungle man straddled the monster’s neck like a cowboy roping a calf. He grabbed one of its many horns, lifted the limp head and sliced the beast’s throat from side to side in a single, vicious swipe.
“Oh my!” was all Johanna could say.
At the sight of the spurting blood, Ginny slapped a hand to her mouth. “Oh God. I’m gonna’ be sick.”
Replacing his knife to his waistband, the young man dropped the creature’s head and advanced on the girls huddled at the base of a tree. “What year is it?” he asked, his eyes maniacally searching them.
Ginny screamed and held a hand out to stop him, “What do want? Don’t hurt us!”
The man turned his attention to Johanna. “What year is it?” he asked.
Calm and oddly intrigued, Johanna pushed Ginny off of her. “It’s 1946. Who are you?”
He paced the forest muttering the year, “1946. 1946. That’s nearly twenty years. Twenty years.”
Johanna stared at the strange man who had saved their lives. He wore only a tattered loincloth and carried a bow and quiver across his toned back. He was tanned, dirty and incredibly handsome.
Beside her, Virginia began scooting away, backing over tree roots like a panicked crab. She was going to make a run for it. Johanna gave her a slap on her arm and mouthed the words, “it’s okay.”
The boy abruptly stopped his pacing and advanced on them again. Again, Ginny jumped.
“Are you two alright?” he asked, winded from his battle.
In unison, the girls turned their eyes to the beast on the forest floor.
“Don’t worry. It’s dead. It won’t be hurting you,” he waved a dismissing hand at the lifeless creature.
To this, Virginia let out a near-hysteric laugh, but Johanna was dumbfounded. Never before had she seen such an act of heroism. So many muscles, she thought pressing a hand to her heart.
He couldn’t have been more than eighteen or nineteen years old. He was solid and tall—much taller than she—with mussed up sandy blond hair in desperate need of a trim. It didn’t detract from his determined blue eyes or the way his lips quirked as he considered the situation.
Caught in a daydream, she was shaken when he reached a hand down to her.
“You’re safe now. Let me help you up.”
Slipping her hand into his, she found it rough and calloused. He was a laborer, a strong, working man. She liked that. “Thank you. You saved our lives,” Johanna whispered as he lifted her to her feet.
The young man chuckled. “You’re lucky I heard you arrive. You girls managed to find the second worst creature imaginable.”
Before Johanna could respond, Ginny leapt up and threw her arms around the man. “Oh thank you! Thank you! You’re so brave and strong.”
Shocked by Ginny’s action, the man stood rigid as the overzealous bobby-soxer rubbed up against him.
Ginny grabbed his cheeks and kissed him loudly on the lips. “What can I ever do to repay you?” she purred.
“You can get off of me,” the boy said flatly.
Dejected, Ginny stepped away and was met with a solid slap on the arm from Johanna. “Sorry about her,” Johanna said, glaring at her friend. “If I may ask, what’s your name?”
The jungle boy gave an apologetic laugh and wiped his grimy hand on his loincloth before holding it out in greeting. “I’m sorry. My name is James. James Westergaard. It’s a pleasure.”
He shook Johanna’s hand. She was tempted to hold on, but that wouldn’t be very lady-like. “I’m Johanna and this is my…enthusiastic friend, Virginia,” she looked around the swamp again, stopping briefly at the thing which had almost killed them. “Where are we?”
James shrugged. “Furthermoore.”
Johanna waited for him to continue. When he didn’t, she said, “’Furthermore’ what?”
“No, not furthermore.Furthermoore.”
“That’s the name of your town?” Virginia asked.
The dirty young man shook his head. “No, not the town, the entire planet. We’re not on Earth anymore, that’s for sure.”
“Yes, I gathered that.” Johanna contemplated as she watched James scoop up several arrows he must have dropped in the battle. “Why do you call it Furthermoore?”
Arrows in hand, James slid them into the quiver on his back with precision. “Well, if you think about it, the three of us are moored here like a ship on a reef,” he tried to brush the mud from his hands, “and we couldn’t be further from earth, so put those two together and you get Furthermoore.”
“Clever.” Johanna said, trying to smile. The grin on her host’s face certainly spelled satisfaction. She didn’t have the heart to tell him proper English would be to call it “Farthermoore,” since they were farther from Earth, not further. Besides, Johanna didn’t care where she was or what it was called. She just wanted to go home.
James returned to the dead beast and began carving slabs of flesh from its body, slicing and dicing like an expert butcher, putting the meat into a sack.
“What’s he doing? Is he…Is he…?” at the sight of the bloody carnage, Virginia began to swoon.
“Ginny, don’t you dare!” Johanna reacted, bracing her friend.
James turned just in time to see Ginny’s eyes roll back into her head. She fell into her friend’s arms. “What happened? Is she alright?”
Embarrassed, Johanna snorted, “She’s fine. She just fainted. She does it all the time.”
She faltered under Ginny’s weight. James slung the sack of bloody meat over his back and scooped Ginny’s limp body into his arms. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I’m so used to hunting, I didn’t consider how gruesome it would be to new arrivals.”
Following behind him, Johanna felt her cheeks flush with heat. “I thought you were amazing.”
“It’s nothing really,” James chuckled. “It’s dead, after all. It won’t feel a thing, and it’s good eatin’. Should feed the tribe for days.”
“The tribe?” Johanna asked.
“Yeah,” he said, hoisting Ginny’s body closer. “The Bogboys. C’mon, we’ll get you two cleaned up. I’m sure you’re tired. You can rest up at camp.”
That sounded wonderful to Johanna. Seeing the incredible jungle man navigating the swamp in front of her, she would follow James Westergaard anywhere.
Content copyright (c) Jennifer B. Fields 2010-2017