Under the Hill Read online

  Ok, ok I think I’m going to go see her; I’m going to finally meet her, finally speak to someone.

  Part Three: The Plan

  Journal Entry #217

  Adee and I talked all night. We’d talk about anything and everything I could ever think of saying. We sat at that old table and I showed her all the constellations through the broken windows until the sun came up. We decided on something though, Adee is being scheduled to come to Earth every other day. Apparently her species has made a law to put down every last human being. They’re starting by assigning a section of land to two people. Adee and another man named Daedalus are assigned to the place I live. Adee assured me that she’d keep Canna and I a secret. Sure, it’s stupid for me to trust her but I do. I remembered while talking to her of when I was a kid. I sat on the top of the hill all morning while my mum was in labor with Canna and finally after she was born my dad brought me inside. I remember lying next to my mum with my sister in her arms, the glow of the sun bleeding into out cave. In that moment, drawn into Adee’s voice I couldn’t stop staring at her long brown hair, gathered behind her in a small bundle, the sun showing off the blonde and red scattered throughout it. God I sound like a creep describing her but I’m supposed to describe the world around me for future readers… right? You know what, I’ll stop describing her, it’s not like I’m in love with her or anything, this whole conversation wasn’t about the way she looked, it’s about the future. We can’t continue writing back and forth to each other. Adee knows this Daedalus character but doesn’t know what side he’s on. Apparently Adee isn’t the only one who believes that humans shouldn’t be “destroyed”. For some reason, that makes me feel a little safer. This won’t be the last time I’ll ever speak to Adee though. She’s explained to me that we can see each other all the time, in person now. The next time I see her will be in a month; which honestly disappoints me but neither of us have control over this. Until then both of us have two jobs. I have to make sure the hill is secured and that no one could possibly see if any humans live within it. It will keep both Canna and I safe in case Daedalus isn’t on our side. Adee’s job is also to get “closer” to Daedalus. It’s extremely important for everyone’s safety to know what the hell he’s thinking.

  It’s going to be ok now though, everything is going to be ok. I don’t feel alone anymore. I don’t feel like I’m the last person is this world. Most importantly, I feel that if something happens to me, Canna is going to be looked after, which is most important.

  Adee also gave me a present; she wrapped it and everything. I haven’t gotten a wrapped gift since I was five-years-old! It was a new journal; she said she found it on one of her trips here on Earth, her first trip. She was going to use it the day something really important happened in her life, even though she didn’t really explain what that “important” thing was. She told me my life would be more interesting in writing than hers and although I disagree I took the journal. This one is so packed full with stories and drawings; I was worried I’d have to start carving my entries onto stone! The journal she gave me is beautiful though; I’ve never seen anything like it. It looks more like a work of art than a journal! It’s made of black leather with hundreds of little swirls and circles. There’s a stone in the middle of it, Adee said it was her favorite part. I’ve never seen anything like it. It looks like the night sky, blue and black and sparkling. Adee said she found it in a house, whomever lived there was long gone but he left a story in it. I liked it, so I’ll right it down as the final passage in this journal. It reminds me that no matter what Adee and I do, we can put ourselves at risk, but not without reason. Our desires can never outweigh reality, no matter how unfortunate that is.

  The story of Icarus, by Benjamin Peters

  There was once a man named Icarus who was imprisoned by a mighty beast. His father was a craftsman and built him and his son wings of wax and feathers to fly away to freedom. “Now Icarus, remember when you fly, never fall to close to the water and never rise to close the sun.” His father preached, for the wax would melt from the mighty heat of the sun and the feathers would float away into the ocean. Icarus did not listen, however and in his excitement he flew towards the sun to see how high he could fly. Soon the wax of his wings began to melt and he began falling towards the icy waters below. As Icarus drowned in the ocean he cried out, “Father, help me!” but his father could not. In his final moments Icarus learned that his goals could never outweigh reality. But Icarus learned his lesson far to late and so he died with guilt and knowledge of his failed ambition.

 

  Acknowledgements

  I have to admit, publishing is a scary thing and self-publishing? Even scarier! A writer, however is a person with a thousand worlds inside their heads, it’s their job, their duty in life to put those worlds down on paper and share them with the world. That’s my job, to bring happiness to people through my stories no matter what the cost. Sure, publishing can be scary but if it makes myself and others happier in the long run that’s all that matters.

  I hope you enjoy this short story and I plan on making this a whole series, following the “average” life of Rune West. Even though he’s not the typical human we all see ourselves in him. We see our love towards our family, our frustration towards the world and the people within it. People don’t need to be human or just like us for us to relate to them. We all have a need to connect to other people; Rune is not excluded from this. I dedicate this to the people who sneak out to see their friends late at night; who stay up late to talk to someone living across the world. Friendship and love knows no boundaries. Our hearts beg for another beating beside it, our brains beckon for another to think like it. We need others to connect to, it is simply “human” nature.

 

  Next in the series:

  Icarus Rising by Emily Storey.

  Rune and Adee learn what really happened to the human race, but at what cost?

 

  About the Author

  Emily Storey writes to make others happy through her work. She primarily writes in the science fiction genre and her first novel will be released soon. She is currently getting her Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing at Full Sail University. This is her first published short story.