Beyond the Hills
I had been going through the same routine day after day; wake up, go to school, go home, sleep, do it all over again the next day. My life was practically pointless. I came from a small, rugged, new town that was still building its way up. It had been around for sixteen years, the same age as myself. Our town was very young, but had many stories about what it was like in the past.
One of them went like this: over a hundred years ago, our town was at peace. Then one day, something large and inexplicable crashed into the center of our city. There were crashes of these objects all around the country, but no one knew exactly what it was, since all of the people who saw the crash died. Many said that the ones who destroyed this town had moved on beyond the hills, although it was unclear.
Even though I had been here since the rebirth of this town, I had found no purpose in it thus far. I met many people, but only had a few valuable friends who became family. They have wonderful lives filled with sports, community service, and they each have some sort of purpose in our newly fallen society.
Me? Nothing.
I wish my life could be like James or Marina’s, two of my three best friends; they had some liberty and excitement in their life besides helping their parents on the farm. While I was obligated to work on the farm most days, Marina could go around the city, roaming for places to display her latest art piece. As for James, he was allowed to go to all social events, which was something that Ace and I felt our parents would never let us do. Everything they did was correct and allowed in everyone's eyes. I honestly don’t understand how Ace and I are friends with them. Their lives are so different from ours.
Ace is another one of my best friends. We met while our families were trading crops. We’re very similar in our lifestyles and hopes, but our personalities could not be any further apart. He had hopes that there would be room for music in people’s lives to make his band a success. As for me, I wanted to be a writer, but we soon became content sticking to our mediocre lives.
⋯
We walked into my home to the smell of bread baking. My mother would always bake on chilly days like these. The fresh out-of-the-oven bread made us feel warm inside. Marina and Ace took a small roll and walked past the kitchen. They stared out the window, looking at the large hill about half a mile north from my house.
“Have you guys ever thought about what’s really past the other side of the mountain?” asked Marina, her eyes fixed on the window.
“Of course I have,” responded Ace. “I’ve always wanted to go, but no one is ever daring enough to go with me.”
“Well, why haven’t you asked us?” asked James.
Ace shrugged. “Well, do you all have plans for the rest of the day?”
The rest of us looked at each other and shook our heads no. We headed outside and announced to my mom that we would be back later. The trip from my house to the mountain was heavily filled with Ace’s constant singing. It was a journey consisting of tired calves and high winds.
We arrived atop the dirt hill where the air was at it’s highest gust. The wind traveled through the air, picking up dust and blowing it into our colored eyes. From the top, we saw three big letters A, X, and L, lying on the cement floor. As we got closer to the letters, we saw signs that had arrows pointing with words like “terminal” and “left wing.” Behind it all, was a large building that said LAX Airport.
We walked inside the airport to find an abandoned hall. Maybe this was place where you would purchase your tickets. It was clear to us that there had been no one inside for a very long time. The teal colored wallpaper was flaking off the wall and the tops of the counters were chipped off at the ends. There were spider webs around every object and the dust was unbearable.
As we walked further and further into the core of the airport, it got darker and darker. We arrived to the food court section, which had a dreadful scent. The rotten meat from a deli and the smell of moldy bread made me want to throw up. We heard rumbling coming from the lower level of the building. We were walking toward the escalator when all of a sudden we heard the sound of a jet taking off. We were all startled, assuming that this airport hasn't been used in many years. We ran towards the next room with a large window showing us where the airplanes used to land. There was nothing there.
Ace was not afraid that there might be someone else here, but the rest of us were. He suggested we go look for them to try to find out the story behind all of this mess. In uncertainty, we all agreed but still took great precaution.
As we migrated toward the bottom of the escalator, we saw a movement at the bottom of the steps, traveling from one side of the room to the other. It passed by once and then disappeared into a single hallway.
When we reached the bottom of the escalator, we noticed a bright light shining through the crease of one room on the left side. We walked into the room and we saw something dreadful. There were steel tables arranged perfectly in a U shape through the room. Laying on the tables, were the corpses of humans. In the center of their chests were empty slots where their hearts should go. The blood drained from their bodies into steel buckets on the floor. In the room next door, we saw live action. Specifically, one person was in the midst of torture. A large silver figure stuck its hand into the middle of the person’s chest. He pulled it out of the body with a gooey, throbbing, pink heart. The victim screamed, cried for help, but no sound came out from their mouth. After a moment of torture, they felt nothing. They were gone.
While we were creeping through the crack of the door, the silver figure looked in our direction. We backed off of the door hoping it would turn back around.
He didn't.
He made a loud screeching noise that made our ears pop. We slowly backed toward the door, but then started running as soon as we got passed it. We ran all the way back to the food court area and then stopped. It looked like he wasn’t after us anymore, but it seemed too good to be true.
In a second, he attacked James from atop the unsteady roof. It was ripping his flesh right in front of our eyes. I felt a part of my childhood evaporate as I watched my best friend being shredded to pieces. In that moment we realized it was not a human. This was something unnatural. It had a human-like stance, but powers that were peculiar. It was something beyond our galaxy. Once he was done feasting on James he grabbed Mar and took her away.
We ran after them, but the creature was too quick. His strides were long and he would continuously stretch them as if he had an elastic super power. When the silver figure and Mar turned into the left hallway, we lost them. They were no longer in our reach. Ace and I believed we had lost Mar forever.
In only a minute, two of my best friends were no longer in our lives, something unimaginable.
Ace and I didn't know if we should go after her or not.
"What if we get taken ourselves?" I asked.
"Listen, Ives, we have to go get Mar. We know for sure that Ace is gone but we don't know if Mar truly is too," he sighed and continued. "If I was the one they took instead of Mar, I'd want my friends to come looking for me."
It was now clear to me that we had to go get her.
We followed the path that we had recently been through in order to get Mar back. We came upon a room that was filled with the silver creatures. Mar was laying on a steel table and tied up with rope. They were ready to indulge in a fine meal, as they were passing around the napkins and cups of blood.
“STOP!” I exclaimed. “Let her go!”
The creature did as I said and turned slowly my way. It tilted its head and calmly trudged my way.
It reached my body and was now standing directly in front of my chest. I could hear Mar crying from anxiety and panic. I tried to speak, but was paralyzed, knowing this alien could shred me to bits. As I was standing still, Ace spoke in my place.
“H-Hello,” he stuttered. “Um, w-we don’t want any trouble. Please just let our friend go and we will leave and never come back.”
I was surprised when he answered us back in English.
“I can’t let her go,” he said this with such precision in his voice. “You’ve discovered us and this place. If we let her escape you have the capability of speaking out. If we keep her, we have something against you.”
“What do you do with all of those hearts?” Ace uttered.
“If we tell you we will have to take you too,” responded the silver creature.
In even more shock than ever, I took a step toward the object. In that instant, I looked my life over. There was no point in my life before, but maybe there can be now. Maybe my purpose is to save Mar. I did and said something I could not believe was coming out of my mouth.
“How can we help you? How can I help you? Take me instead. Let her go, I can be of help.”
I could see Marina in the background shaking her head no. Ace was standing behind me in astonishment. The silver creature looked at me, took my hand, and gently guided me over to where Mar was.
One of them went like this: over a hundred years ago, our town was at peace. Then one day, something large and inexplicable crashed into the center of our city. There were crashes of these objects all around the country, but no one knew exactly what it was, since all of the people who saw the crash died. Many said that the ones who destroyed this town had moved on beyond the hills, although it was unclear.
Even though I had been here since the rebirth of this town, I had found no purpose in it thus far. I met many people, but only had a few valuable friends who became family. They have wonderful lives filled with sports, community service, and they each have some sort of purpose in our newly fallen society.
Me? Nothing.
I wish my life could be like James or Marina’s, two of my three best friends; they had some liberty and excitement in their life besides helping their parents on the farm. While I was obligated to work on the farm most days, Marina could go around the city, roaming for places to display her latest art piece. As for James, he was allowed to go to all social events, which was something that Ace and I felt our parents would never let us do. Everything they did was correct and allowed in everyone's eyes. I honestly don’t understand how Ace and I are friends with them. Their lives are so different from ours.
Ace is another one of my best friends. We met while our families were trading crops. We’re very similar in our lifestyles and hopes, but our personalities could not be any further apart. He had hopes that there would be room for music in people’s lives to make his band a success. As for me, I wanted to be a writer, but we soon became content sticking to our mediocre lives.
⋯
We walked into my home to the smell of bread baking. My mother would always bake on chilly days like these. The fresh out-of-the-oven bread made us feel warm inside. Marina and Ace took a small roll and walked past the kitchen. They stared out the window, looking at the large hill about half a mile north from my house.
“Have you guys ever thought about what’s really past the other side of the mountain?” asked Marina, her eyes fixed on the window.
“Of course I have,” responded Ace. “I’ve always wanted to go, but no one is ever daring enough to go with me.”
“Well, why haven’t you asked us?” asked James.
Ace shrugged. “Well, do you all have plans for the rest of the day?”
The rest of us looked at each other and shook our heads no. We headed outside and announced to my mom that we would be back later. The trip from my house to the mountain was heavily filled with Ace’s constant singing. It was a journey consisting of tired calves and high winds.
We arrived atop the dirt hill where the air was at it’s highest gust. The wind traveled through the air, picking up dust and blowing it into our colored eyes. From the top, we saw three big letters A, X, and L, lying on the cement floor. As we got closer to the letters, we saw signs that had arrows pointing with words like “terminal” and “left wing.” Behind it all, was a large building that said LAX Airport.
We walked inside the airport to find an abandoned hall. Maybe this was place where you would purchase your tickets. It was clear to us that there had been no one inside for a very long time. The teal colored wallpaper was flaking off the wall and the tops of the counters were chipped off at the ends. There were spider webs around every object and the dust was unbearable.
As we walked further and further into the core of the airport, it got darker and darker. We arrived to the food court section, which had a dreadful scent. The rotten meat from a deli and the smell of moldy bread made me want to throw up. We heard rumbling coming from the lower level of the building. We were walking toward the escalator when all of a sudden we heard the sound of a jet taking off. We were all startled, assuming that this airport hasn't been used in many years. We ran towards the next room with a large window showing us where the airplanes used to land. There was nothing there.
Ace was not afraid that there might be someone else here, but the rest of us were. He suggested we go look for them to try to find out the story behind all of this mess. In uncertainty, we all agreed but still took great precaution.
As we migrated toward the bottom of the escalator, we saw a movement at the bottom of the steps, traveling from one side of the room to the other. It passed by once and then disappeared into a single hallway.
When we reached the bottom of the escalator, we noticed a bright light shining through the crease of one room on the left side. We walked into the room and we saw something dreadful. There were steel tables arranged perfectly in a U shape through the room. Laying on the tables, were the corpses of humans. In the center of their chests were empty slots where their hearts should go. The blood drained from their bodies into steel buckets on the floor. In the room next door, we saw live action. Specifically, one person was in the midst of torture. A large silver figure stuck its hand into the middle of the person’s chest. He pulled it out of the body with a gooey, throbbing, pink heart. The victim screamed, cried for help, but no sound came out from their mouth. After a moment of torture, they felt nothing. They were gone.
While we were creeping through the crack of the door, the silver figure looked in our direction. We backed off of the door hoping it would turn back around.
He didn't.
He made a loud screeching noise that made our ears pop. We slowly backed toward the door, but then started running as soon as we got passed it. We ran all the way back to the food court area and then stopped. It looked like he wasn’t after us anymore, but it seemed too good to be true.
In a second, he attacked James from atop the unsteady roof. It was ripping his flesh right in front of our eyes. I felt a part of my childhood evaporate as I watched my best friend being shredded to pieces. In that moment we realized it was not a human. This was something unnatural. It had a human-like stance, but powers that were peculiar. It was something beyond our galaxy. Once he was done feasting on James he grabbed Mar and took her away.
We ran after them, but the creature was too quick. His strides were long and he would continuously stretch them as if he had an elastic super power. When the silver figure and Mar turned into the left hallway, we lost them. They were no longer in our reach. Ace and I believed we had lost Mar forever.
In only a minute, two of my best friends were no longer in our lives, something unimaginable.
Ace and I didn't know if we should go after her or not.
"What if we get taken ourselves?" I asked.
"Listen, Ives, we have to go get Mar. We know for sure that Ace is gone but we don't know if Mar truly is too," he sighed and continued. "If I was the one they took instead of Mar, I'd want my friends to come looking for me."
It was now clear to me that we had to go get her.
We followed the path that we had recently been through in order to get Mar back. We came upon a room that was filled with the silver creatures. Mar was laying on a steel table and tied up with rope. They were ready to indulge in a fine meal, as they were passing around the napkins and cups of blood.
“STOP!” I exclaimed. “Let her go!”
The creature did as I said and turned slowly my way. It tilted its head and calmly trudged my way.
It reached my body and was now standing directly in front of my chest. I could hear Mar crying from anxiety and panic. I tried to speak, but was paralyzed, knowing this alien could shred me to bits. As I was standing still, Ace spoke in my place.
“H-Hello,” he stuttered. “Um, w-we don’t want any trouble. Please just let our friend go and we will leave and never come back.”
I was surprised when he answered us back in English.
“I can’t let her go,” he said this with such precision in his voice. “You’ve discovered us and this place. If we let her escape you have the capability of speaking out. If we keep her, we have something against you.”
“What do you do with all of those hearts?” Ace uttered.
“If we tell you we will have to take you too,” responded the silver creature.
In even more shock than ever, I took a step toward the object. In that instant, I looked my life over. There was no point in my life before, but maybe there can be now. Maybe my purpose is to save Mar. I did and said something I could not believe was coming out of my mouth.
“How can we help you? How can I help you? Take me instead. Let her go, I can be of help.”
I could see Marina in the background shaking her head no. Ace was standing behind me in astonishment. The silver creature looked at me, took my hand, and gently guided me over to where Mar was.