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Under Us is story of interaction between dead people and some still living. |
"Vincent! Come and get me!", screamed Hillary, as she ran deep into the golden field of barley, jumping over logs and running through sprinkler wheels. "Cou'ntchya keep up lazy knees?" "Hey Hillary, it's not like I didn't just barely get back to running ya know," rebuttled Vincent. Vincent had been in the hospital since he was born and now at ten years old, he was out for the first time. His knees had not developed fully as an infant, and so he had to undergo several surgeries in order to even begin using his legs. But now he was empowered, and felt like he could do almost anything. His best friend, Hillary was just as excited that he could finally do some real playing, but she was still careful not to overexert her best friend in the whole world. "Oh I know, I just wanted to have a little fun. Are your knees okay from all of that running and jumping?" Vincent fell backwards in the soft field, "I'm all good." Hillary fell next to him. "What'chya doing silly boid?" Just then Vincent leaped out of the tall plants and bursted through a pile of brownish leaves on the ground near an apple orchard, causing the leaves to fly everywhere. "Hey get back here!" Hillary giggled as she ran toward the orchard. "Vincent?" She looked around for a second, then she cupped her hand around her mouth to focus her voice, "Vincent? Hey where'djya go Vincent?" Hillary's voice sounded concerned. "Why does he always do this, " Hillary asked herself. She was puzzled and worried. She was supposed to be better at hiding than her little friend Vincent. Vincent rustled a small tree branch next to where he was hiding and peered out from behind an old curly apple tree to see if Hillary heard it, but she didn't seem to as she kept walking toward a ladder that one of the workers had left behind. "Oh Vincent, you know you shouldn't be climbing trees just yet, and not ladders for that matter," Hillary said to herself as if Vincent was right next to her. Hillary began to climb the ladder, but the rungs were very far apart from each other. She tried to reach the next one with her right foot as she stood on the tip of her toes with her left foot, but it was no use. Suddenly she heard a rustling from the tree above her. "I knew it, you are hiding up there," she said as she grinned. Hillary reached up as high as she could on the sides of the ladder and held on as tight as she could, she put her left foot on halfway up to the next rung on the left side of the ladder to brace herself, leaned back and gave the hardest push she could with her feet and pulled as hard as she could with her arms, and jumped successfully up to the next rung. After that it looked easy, "I guess they just lost a piece of the ladder." Vincent, still concealing himself behind the old apple tree, decided he wanted to continue playing with Hillary sneaked out and around a couple of trees toward Hilllary. "Now I'll get her," he thought, "she'll be so surprised!" Vincent was almost to the ladder, then Hillary saw him from the second to the top rung. "Oh there you are Vincent," she said to Vincent piercingly. Vincent froze in his step. "Okay, you got me. You win," Vincent said as he threw his arms up in the air, "you're always better at this stuff." "Hey don't talk like that. Vincent, I was only-" A bird suddenly flew out of the tree that Hillary was standing in front of on top of the ladder and she put her arms in front of her face to keep it from hitting her with its flapping wings. As she did that, Hillary's foot slipped off from the step she was standing on and she fell sideways into the ladder. As she came falling down, a silver chain she was wearing around her neck caught onto a splinter of wood on the side of the ladder causing her to hang. "Oh no, Hillary!" Vincent screamed with terror. He ran over and broke the chain and Hillary fell to the ground. Vincent looked at her closely, patting her head. Her nose was bleeding and she was conscious, though her eyes were closed. "Don't be such a worry-wart little boid," said Hillary as she opened her eyes and smiled at him" She tried to lunge at him, but her neck hurt, and her attempt to do so cause a sharp deep pain to go down her back and into her legs. "Vincent?" she moaned as she closed her eyes, breathing heavily. "Are you okay Hillary? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Vincent was frantic. Tears formed in his eyes. "Help, help!" he screamed as loud as he could. It was so loud that it was deafening to his own ears. Hillary tried with all her strength to push a word out, "Vincent?" She reached for Vincent's pant leg and grabbed it, and then her eyes closed and her hand fell limp next to Vincent's foot. |