Nail - A Short Story (5 page)

“
Who figured it out? A
hero?”

“
It was a lot of people. A
boy our age, his wife, her dad, and the elder’s wife.”

Bas hums. “Was
that
elder an
overlord?”

“
In part, yes— but what’s
important is that it’s only together that we can do away with an
overlord’s delusions. Alone we’re just outcasts, humiliated
publicly for questioning the overlord’s decrees; but together, we
become more than just the insane and deluded people the overlords
will pass us off as. Overlords feed on ignorance, misery, and
deferred potential; if you let them, they’ll take everything from
you and leave you feeling like you
owe them
everything. Now then…” Ralic pulls down at the tarp, with the help
of Bas— revealing a large, titanium-plated wonder of unknown
origin.

“…
What
is this?
” Bas asks.

Ralic notices a steel staircase at the
base of the machine leading up to its center. “Let’s find
out.”

The two step around and up the stairs
of the alien machine. There’s a hatch that they enter, and inside
is four seats and a strange black rectangle— at the side opposite
to the hatch. The two spare a quick glance as the rectangle emits a
calm, blue glow. It displays symbols amidst the strange mechanical
whirs of computation and silicone-like devices that neither of them
have heard until now. As they listen to a computer fan for the
first time, they read what’s on the screen. There’s a disbelieving
silence as they realize that not only are there words and letters
of the exact same language that Qetaine uses, but the mathematical
symbols and measurements of the underground town as
well.

'-Insert target depth: _
meters-'
reads the display, among three or
four other factors even harder to comprehend.

“
Wh-what does it mean?” Bas
asks.

Ralic squints in perception.
“How else could the digging for such a massive opening underground
be done?… this is a
digging
machine!”

“
Of course… but this light
that shows words and letters— what does it mean? What are we
supposed to do?”

Ralic looks about the strange, compact
room as they sit in opposite chairs. “Hmm… here!” Ralic points out
a strange set of keys, holding every letter in Qetaine’s alphabet
and the separated symbols of the underground town- along with many,
many more symbols neither of them are familiar with.

The two look between each other and the
glowing square with symbols, and at once they decide not to ask any
more questions. The implications of a machine this advanced, having
the symbols unique to both their towns, is beyond mind boggling; it
is as unbelievable to Ralic as the Sun was to Bas’Tun.

“
So… how many meters would
you say it is to the town?” Ralic says.

Bas looks at Ralic with confusion for a
moment, and then his eyes widen in realization.

Chapter 6

From above, there is a great
shaking that, in the overlord’s final words, are described as 'the
spirit realm’s last attempt at misleading humanity'. As a giant,
spinning, metallic
something
smashes out from the wooden rafters, which are
piled up with decades upon decades of dirt, the overlord scoffs,
and leaves to the deep caverns to live out its last minute of life
with some semblance of peace.

There’s a great crash of the machine as
it falls some twenty meters to the cavern floor—casting the eyes on
the town square, precisely below the original town square from so
long ago. The hatch opens, and out steps Bas’Tun, the new hero, and
Ralic, who just so happens to be human after-all.

“
Everyone, look!” Bas’Tun
calls out. At once the people from the forges, the ones from the
sick house, and those doing whatever they had been, stop and look
upon the two. “This man has shown me the light. There
is
a great light—and
everyone,
everyone
,
even the sick must come up to see it at once!” Bas’Tun announces,
pointing up to the great, growing hole above as more aged debris
falls to reveal ever more of the sunlight beyond. At once, everyone
believed the two— and at the same time, the townspeople hears a
sharp, pain-stricken scream from down the tunnel that their elder
had traveled into. There’s a blazing, furnace-like light from the
elder’s direction, and then it goes dark. It will lie to them no
more.

There’s a commotion of moving and
helping the weak up through the ladder in the next thirty minutes.
Finally, the pale and sick feel the warm embrace of the great light
for the first time— as if energy is feeding into them simply
through the act of being touched by the Sun’s radiance.

In both celebration for their freedom,
and woe for the ones that had been lost in the process, the town is
founded again— this time by human hands. Elula is the chosen name,
selected by Ralic. He would be seen for many years after as the one
who, with the help of Bas’Tun and Zell’Ahn, saved the town from an
everlasting misery and disease.

And that’s how our town was
founded, dear child. The Ralic boy went back to his town and told
everyone there about it. The people of Qetaine met with the people
of Elula, and both shared what they had learned freely. The digging
machine’s still there down below; it doesn’t work— though you’ll be
seeing that for yourself soon enough. Now that the story’s done, I
suppose you should go off to sleep. Tomorrow’s your first day down
in the forges, after all, and I’m going to teach you
all
the ropes— so be
ready.

-Fin-

(Author Note ahead, please
read!)

Hi,

It’s Kell here. I wanted to take a
moment to thank you for reading the second story in this series. I
have many more planned as the people of Qetaine and the other towns
discover one another and compile their knowledges, so expect much
more thrills, chills and thoughtfulness in the episodes to come.
That said, aside from the thanks I wanted to offer you, I also have
a favor to ask.

If it would please you, I’d
absolutely
love
an
honest review on the site you got this story from. Reviews, be they
positive or negative are import aspects in helping other readers
make decisions for their next story. So if you liked this, let
people know so more can enjoy; if you didn’t, let them know that as
well so you can spare their poor souls from wasting a full thirty
minutes of their life reading something they might not
enjoy-
oh no!
That
said, if you leave a review, you can consider yourself
extra-thanked.

Please have a lovely day, I hope you
create and enjoy many fantastic things.

All the best,

Kell Inkston

About the Author

Kell Inkston has been writing with
vigor since 2009 and has a deep love for nature, people, drinking
copious amounts of tea, and the beach. It’s worth saying that Kell
is, indeed, a writer. Kell believes in writing things so good, that
those who don’t read will, and those that do read shall do so
ever-more.

Kell is uncompromising in the pursuit
of things like world peace and the aggressive acquisition of
caffeine— but as a realist, Kell thinks that writing stories to
inspire, entertain and empower are good first
priorities.

Kell loves cooking for his spouse who
is also named Kell, going on nature walks, sad movies, birds, and
video games.

If you’d like more of Kell,
send an email over to
[email protected]
, or check
out the website,
http://kellinkston.com/
. Thank
you.