Running away from his home country of Britain, Nevan is on his way to the Thirteen Colonies to hide from what he’s done. He stole a boat that is carrying food, water, and various other supplies like clothes, building tools, and some weapons. The authorities don’t actually know that he’s responsible for the crimes he’s done so this is just to make double sure that Nevan escapes capital punishment. Nevan makes sure to hit uninhabited land and once he gets there, he breathes a sigh of relief and laughs at the sky. The land he’s hit is close to an island and has hills around it. It’s a very grassy area that fertile enough to bear crops to which Nevan starts planting. He builds his own small house and drinks a few beers to celebrate his freedom. There’s no one and nothing here to tell him what to do and Nevan can live his life this way until he dies.
He falls asleep in the mid-afternoon because of his one-man party and dreams of jailers that look like reapers cloaked in chains. They ride on decayed horses that gallop across the still water with scythes in their hands and cuffs at the ready. Nevan quickly takes the guns he has and uses them all on the approaching reapers, but none of the guns do anything to them. Since they’re approaching at a speed that’s too fast to run from, Nevan stands his ground with a falchion sword. The reapers land on shore and despite Nevan’s sly skills, he gets caught by their chains and dragged back the way he came. He’s skipped along the water, but is never put under. Only when he manages to get free from his chains does he dive into the ocean. A shark comes his way to eat its next meal, but with his falchion sword still in hand, he cuts the shark enough to make it retreat. Nevan surfaces and sees that he’s miles away from shore. He still tries to swim to shore while the icy cold sea slowly saps his energy. As he keeps swimming, he feels something pull at him until something does pull him down into the sea. It’s a mermaid creature that gives him a kiss which makes him drown faster. Nevan quickly cuts the mermaid in half along with the others that come after him. Icy cold and thin hand form in the ocean then pull him down into its deep and dark depths until he faints from lack of oxygen.
Flashes of his memory go through his mind with various voices.
“We should’ve never had that trouble making boy!”
“What have you been doing young man?! Don’t you know how this makes your family look?!”
“That girl is such an ugly runt. You should have higher, richer standards!”
“I should just kill them all. All of my problems would go away if I did.”
“It has to be secret so no one sees it and no one suspects they’re gone.”
“I’ve done it! Their bodies are mush and everyone thinks it was an accident!”
Nevan wakes up on the shore with his falchion all well and good for the most part. He drinks some alcohol and makes a fire to warm himself up. The event that had just taken place is strange to Nevan, but he thinks nothing of it since he can’t explain it.
During the next morning, he sees that the seeds he planted have been eaten by birds. His next option is to go fishing and once he gets a fish, he cuts it open and only finds maggots that eat its insides. This happens with every single fish so he moves to the food that’s on his boat. This food has along been touched and eaten by cat-sized rats that run out of the boat as soon as he opens the food crates. With no food, he checks his water and sees that it looks like puke, it even tastes like it. At least he still has his alcohol, which he drinks until midafternoon.
As the sunsets, he remembers what happens last time and his drunkenness miraculously disappears. Insects crawl out of the earth and move directly towards Nevan. He lights several fires to try to burn them away, but they just charge in while on fire. This has a chain reaction effect and lights all of the bugs on fire which creates a great fire that one would see in Hell. Nevan flees on a rowboat that’s attached to the main one and still, the insects still follow him on the ocean floor while still on fire. They piled on top of each other and set the boat on fire which forces Nevan to jump off. Because of the seemingly infinite legion of insects on fire, the ocean is warmer but still deadly nonetheless. The insects on fire cook the water and cook Nevan’s skin as a result. The more insects that light on fire, the hotter the water gets, and because they’re blocking the shore, there’s nowhere to go, and Nevan blacks out at sea as a result.
Voices of the past ring through his head yet again.
“She wasn’t worth it in the end though everyone will not know how she died and even fewer who know that she was expecting.”
“I haven’t got a job and yet, I’m one of the wealthiest people on the block. A lot of thievery and cut-throat work does that. Oh what a great life it is!”
“By what authority do other people tell me what to do? They’re nothing but other human beings that haven’t found the best way to live like I have!”
“I’ve been hearing whispers that might have to do with me. This place never truly mattered to me so I’ll leave it late at night and I’ll be getting away from all the filth of humanity and any possibility of their judgment. I’m one of the luckiest men alive so this’ll work out perfectly! They’ll tell stories of what they don’t know to be me and I’ll be a legend!”
Nevan wakes up on the shore and a thunderstorm is over him. It pours rain, a heavy wind blows, and lightning lights up the sky so often it might as well be a daytime. Worst of all, Nevan’s alcohol is gone, taken by the wind. Filled with rage, he makes his way to the hills while fighting against the harsh weather.
Once he gets to the top, he screams to the skies, “I AM GOD HERE!”
Directly after, he gets hit by a bolt of lightning right in his eyes. Everything around him becomes completely white. He here’s a muffled voice. The words barely get through to him and he can’t understand why until a gentle pair of hands take his hands away from his ears. Naven looks up to see who it is and only sees a smiling face that shines brighter than the sun.
The man speaks to him, “Do you truly wish to be god of this place?”
“I…I don’t know what I want now,” Nevan responds.
“I can give you a purpose. You only need to take my hand and leave yourself behind. You can have the land, but you have to take care of it.”
“…I…ok…”
The man backs away and holds out his hands for Nevan to take. Nevan, however, finds it hard to move and needs to quite literally break through his out of his own body to take the man’s hands. Once Nevan blinks, he sees that he’s back in The United Kingdom with a deal in his hand to purchase land in the colonies. He has a new ship behind him with a crew of people who appear to be like the man with a shining face. The clothes he’s wearing are different now and is elegant and aristocratic.
A stranger approaches him and asks, “You’re Nevan right?”
“Yes-yes, I am. Who told you?”
“A strange man whose face was awfully bright. Now I see that you have the proper paperwork to colonize the New World’s land so…shall we be off with your crew? I’d like to see the land you’ve acquired.”
“Oh, of course!”
Nevan, his mysterious new and cheerful crew, and the man travel back to where Nevan first landed.
Once they get there and set down on land, the man asks Nevan, “So what are you going to call this place?”
“I…I’m going to call it…Hillside City.”
For the rest of his life, Nevan dedicates his life to building this city. The man with a shining face occasionally gives him advice as what to do and Nevan morally and financially helps tons of people that are like him or in great need. Every now and then, Nevan falls to his old ways and blood gets soaked into the foundation of the city. Nevertheless, he’s successful in creating a great city and helping others despite his previous personality and crimes. It’s a miracle that someone like him changed for the better.
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