The Hill

by

Harry Rowen Bash
 
 

This short story, the fourth in a series of stories based on my work, was inspired by my painting Car Series, Hill. Unlike many of Rowen’s stories which are introspective, this one is a suspense thriller. Submitted 2/7/02.
—Warren
IT IS overcast. Clouds move swiftly across the sky. It is the evening. The sun will be setting soon. The ground is moist. It is cold. Gabe is numb to the cold dampness of the ground. One arm rests on his chest. The other lay to his left side. He clutches the spade given to him by Cornelius. Except for his eyes, a jacket is wrapped around his head. He has slept most of the day. He wears gardening gloves.

Dirt covers his body. He had dug the hole to lie in the night before. It is shoulder width and the length of his body. It is about two feet deep. He used the dirt he dug from the ground to cover his body. His head, forearms and hands remain exposed. They are covered with dark clothing. He first entered the hole before the break of dawn. He stayed in the hole all day.

The sun is setting. Gabe waits for the light to completely disappear from behind the clouds. He watches the clouds quietly make their way across the sky. He is satisfied. He waited for this time of day to arrive. The ground was not comfortable. It was worth the wait. He was not seen.

The sky is dark. The sun has set. The lookouts on the hill will not be able to see him. He raises both his arms out of the loose dirt. He brushes the dirt off his chest. He pushes his body up from the hole and stands up. The air is thick with mist. He puts on the lightweight jacket. He takes a few steps away from the hole and hears a small animal scurry nearby. Gabe quickly turns and sees nothing. Gabe is wary of his pursuers.

With the spade, Gabe digs near the place of his hole. He finds his water jug. He drinks heartily. He finishes drinking the water. He buries the empty jug. He isn’t sure when he will drink again. Hopefully it will be soon. He places the spade in his pocket. He is ready to continue his journey.

He estimates that he ran fifteen miles away from the hill last night. The hill itself was about a mile from top to bottom. He had made good progress on the street. He cannot run on the street tonight. They will be looking for him there. Unlike last night, they know he is in the flatlands. He will run parallel to the road at a distance of about twenty feet. He is only about five miles from the intersection. Then he will only be about five miles from the gas station. According to Cornelius, he will be able to call for help at the gas station.

Gabe runs for a few steps and stops. The ground is uneven. He can hardly make out the terrain beneath his feet. He looks up and sees the moon before it is again covered by clouds. It is dark. Running across the natural ground will be difficult. Gabe starts running again. He feels a slight cramp in his right leg. The sole of his shoe on his right foot had bunched up underneath his foot. This happened last night during his long run on the street.

Gabe ate nothing during his day in the ground. He is lightheaded. Moisture collects on his skin. He begins to sweat as well. Water has seeped into his shoes and clothing. They have become heavier. Gabe continues to run. He steps awkwardly across the varied terrain. Thoughts rush into his mind. He thinks of his family in the outside world. He has not seen them in years. He thinks of Cornelius. Cornelius helped make Gabe’s escape possible.

Escape wasn’t a possibility for Cornelius. He remains in the Society of the Hill. Cornelius is about seventy years old. He walked with a limp. He would not be able to make the approximate twenty-six mile journey from the hill to the gas station. He had tried many years ago and failed. This was Gabe’s first attempt to escape from the hill.

The Society is situated separately atop two enormous hills. The hills are surrounded with miles of flat land that progress with the curvature of the earth. By daylight, any escapee can easily be seen from the hill. Those who are caught trying to escape are detained until they are properly reformed. This reform can last decades.

“I’m not going back to that place,” says Gabe.

Gabe paces himself. He continues for several hours. His right leg is completely stiff with cramps. He barely lifts his feet off the ground. He knows he should be approaching the first intersection soon. It is the intersection of the only road leading from the hill to a road that takes an immense loop around both hills. Gabe stops. He notices the road that lay ten feet in front of him. He walks to the street. He looks to the left and sees the intersection in the distance. He has made it to the first intersection.

Gabe places one foot on the road and stops. He can see the elongated shadow of his leg and foot. He turns to his right and sees two headlights. The lights send terror throughout his being. He turns and sprints back the direction he came. Then he dives to the ground. He lays flat on the ground. He hears the car approaching.

The Society has two guards. One is on each hill. They normally only guard the hill. When someone escapes, they ride around the loop. This may be a guard patrolling the loop. When an escapee is caught, the guard will take him to the reformation chamber.

Gabe lays flat on the ground. He hears the car pass by. Gabe lays on the ground until he can no longer hear or see the car. Gabe isn’t sure if that was a guard or not.

The darkness of the night is close to Gabe. He must hurry to make it to the gas station before daybreak. If not, he will have to bury himself again. Gabe stands up and follows the new road in the direction of the gas station. His plans are based on Cornelius’s advice. Gabe has no alternative. Cornelius’s plan has worked perfectly so far. He has no reason not to believe Cornelius.

Gabe continues along the side of the road that leads around the hills. The wind makes a whirring noise. Several times Gabe turns to look behind him for an approaching vehicle. He never sees one. He comes to another intersection. It forms the letter T. This intersection includes a road leading away from the loop. On this road is the gas station. Gabe stops. He sees the black outline of the gas station on that road. Gabe walks in the direction of the gas station. He crosses the road that circles the hills.

He walks toward the road the gas station is on. This road lies between Gabe and the gas station. Gabe peers at the gas station. It is as Cornelius had described. It is small and remote. Like the hill, it is surrounded by miles of flat land. Gabe is exhausted. Dawn is quickly approaching. At this distance, he can still be seen by the guards in daylight. Gabe has tasted freedom. He will trust his friend’s advice.

Gabe crosses the road in front of the gas station. The gas station includes a garage. Its interior cannot be seen. Gabe stops and surveys the front of the gas station. He cannot see a telephone booth. The station looks abandoned. There is no sign of a business. Only the dark shell of the building exists before Gabe.

Gabe is uncertain. Why bother with this gas station? Maybe he can run down the road leading away from the loop and find help. The gas station is suspicious. Gabe decides to circle it. Dawn is about an hour away. He doesn’t have much time. He circles the gas station and sees no sign of a guard. Again he stands before the building. Gabe’s heart pounds.

“Cornelius wouldn’t let me down,” says Gabe.

Gabe takes a few steps forward. He is suddenly struck from behind and pushed to the ground. His arm is forcibly pressed to his back. Gabe lies with the side of his face in the dirt. A man’s knee presses against his back. Gabe cannot move. He is too weak to resist.

“Where is he!” yells the guard, “Where is he!”

“What?” Gabe says.

“Cornelius! Where is he!” yells the guard.

Gabe cannot believe his fate. A guard has found him. How can his fate be so unkind? He cannot escape this situation.

“I don’t know,” says Gabe.

“We found your note. Where’s your friend? You both disappeared last night,” yells the guard. Gabe was confused by the guard’s accusations and questions. Gabe had not written any note. How could Cornelius have escaped? Gabe didn’t know either.

“If we don’t find him, you’ll never leave the reformation chamber!” yells the guard. Then Gabe hears the distinct sound of smashing flesh. The guard releases Gabe’s arm and falls off him. Gabe hears several more sounds of flesh being beaten. Weary, Gabe turns and sees the small figure of Cornelius standing over the body of the guard.

“Come on!” says Cornelius.

Cornelius throws aside the small shovel he had used as a weapon and approaches Gabe. He helps Gabe to his feet.

“The guard’s car is in the garage with the keys. Let’s get out of here,” says Cornelius.

The two men make their way to the garage. Cornelius helps Gabe into the passenger seat. Cornelius then enters the driver seat. Cornelius starts the engine. He drives the vehicle out of the garage and down the road leading away from the loop. It is still dark.

“It’s good to see you friend,” says Cornelius.

Gabe is exhausted. He cannot manage but the simplest of thoughts and emotions. His energy is reserved for the most needed actions.

“I want to know what just happened,” says Gabe.

Cornelius is a gardener on the hill. He had provided Gabe with the spade and brown gardening gloves. Gabe had stolen the water jug from the Society’s kitchen. Cornelius had provided Gabe with instructions to get to the garage without being noticed.

“Let me explain,” says Cornelius.

Cornelius wanted desperately to escape the Society of the Hill as well. He had been caught in a previous escape and his leg was injured during his twenty-year reformation. He couldn’t escape on foot. There was another way off the hill. It was in the trunk of the guard’s vehicle. He needed to know when the guard would be leaving. It was certain that the guard would be leaving when they noticed Gabe had escaped. Cornelius told Gabe to go to the gas station to call for help. Cornelius had made it that far during his previous escape attempt.

He placed a written note in Gabe’s apartment to be found by the guards when they checked the rooms in the morning. The note said to meet Cornelius at the gas station. It didn’t say how or when. Cornelius broke the lock of the guard’s vehicle the night of Gabe’s escape. He stayed there as the guard drove from the hill the next morning. The guard parked the car in the garage. Cornelius stayed in the trunk all day. He left the trunk that night and waited for Gabe’s encounter with the guard. Then they could leave together.

On the horizon, the sky began to turn a lighter shade of blue. Gabe sat silently in the passenger seat of the vehicle. The ground that was so difficult to cross on foot was now passing quickly by him. He didn’t understand how that situation at the gas station had occurred. He had followed Cornelius’s word from the beginning. Now he will learn how he will finish his escape from the Society of the Hill.

“You see Gabe, I wanted to escape as well,” started Cornelius.
 
 
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© 2002 Harry Rowen Bash