The Amazing Story of Billy Jim Hill

By Aston Var

William James Hill was an unknown and average small town boy from the country side, until one day his life was turned upside down while hiking with his friends.

The journey that lead him to discover the most intimate details and secrets of the Universe has been carefully documented in this volume. A person fascinated with seeking the same secrets may find themselves unable to put the volume down.

• Language: English
• Publisher: El Chupacabra Independent
• Release date: Dec 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301515110

Aston Var

Aston Var has written five novels. Enjoying family and spending time with his wonderful wife and sons, he’s always on the lookout for their next adventure. Author of The Amazing Story of Billy Jim Hill, Ancient Youth, Found in London, The Emblem Rock, and Total Ascendance. Find paperback editions and discover more of Aston Var's adventures at www.astonvar.com.

Book preview

The Amazing Story of Billy Jim Hill

Aston Var

© 2012-2016 ECI

eBook Edition

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Table of Contents

About the Author

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

About the Author

Aston Var has written three novels and is published in eight languages. Enjoying family and spending time with his wonderful wife and son, he’s always on the lookout for their next adventure. His other works include Ancient Youth and Found in London. Find paperback editions and discover more of Aston Var's adventures at www.astonvar.com.

Thanks for reading.

-For Isaac-

Chapter 1

Adjusting to the light that was blinding him, William James Hill rubbed his eyes in vain, attempting to catch a glimpse of something that would give him any idea of what had happened. Smooth and comforting voices mixed with something much darker than his field of vision, which remained an obnoxiously bright field of white. Throughout his body, spasms of involuntary movement caused his chest and abdomen to lurch forward beyond his arms which were tightly fastened to the table beneath him. What the heck? was his first thought until the events of the day, the day before, weeks, months and everything before that began to take over his mind uncontrollably in flashes of camcorder like video still memory. As the thoughts bombarded his mind, taking over his mental faculties, he became aware of the shape taking form in his vision, emerging from the light.

Contemplating life from his earliest memories until that of the day’s events, he began to reconstruct the details of the day as the figure before him continued to take shape. Nothing particularly unusual happened that morning, the day beginning with breakfast at six along with Debby Sue, Granny, and Pa.

Butter was prepared after pulling it freshly churned along with the milk from the farm’s prize winning sow, Brooner, named Brooner due to the unique shape of the udders which in Pa’s words were, like the darn thing’s always a brooning. William, whom Pa just called Billy, never quite understood what Pa meant when he said that, or the meaning of brooning. Old time Aussies had a way with words.

Despite all the subtleties and quirks of the eldery man’s mind, Pa was properly intelligent by most standards of the small town. As a modest man, Pa was content to own and maintain their humble abode, which included three bedrooms, a kitchen, sitting room and a lounge. Around back, a barn complete with storage silo stood in front of a relatively large chicken coop.

Built way back before the Great War by the former residents, also Hills, the house was still in fair condition and other than some modern plumbing and electric wiring jobs, there weren’t any changes. A fresh coat of white paint every other year helped to reflect the sun’s heat.

There was no question in Billy’s mind that the greatest improvement to the place was the internet connection installed a few years earlier. Thinking of the times before the Internet, he imagined himself back in the city schools gnawing on number-two pencils and sweating over dusty old textbooks.

Considering his current predicament, he wondered if there were anything taught in schools that would have prepared him for the situation he found himself in. Probably not, he supposed as he continued to recall what Pa had said that morning - reminding him to try and get along better in school. Otherwise not getting along raised a threat that included having his hide, that is to say, whipping his sorry behind. What Pa was actually referring to were private lessons with a paid tutor from the much larger city of Perth. Billy had long since stopped attending formal classes, due to his interest in not wanting to attend. Despite his lack of interest in schooling, he wasn’t necessarily a stupid one, and as Granny would say, He ain’t as stupid as he looks.

Not that looks meant much in that part of the world where most men and women got along just fine without a hint of consideration of what they looked like and for that matter, smelled like. Hygiene generally came in second or third place when compared to the other more important things like hog tying and chicken plucking. The Hill family kept a relatively kempt farm and clean household, other than the lounge which often showed signs of Debby’s leftover takeout. Showers were much more a concern for their family than other folks in the small town, which mostly consisted of farmers and natives. Of course, showering was the last thing on his mind as he struggled to comprehend what was happening to him.

During the early breakfast, Billy remembered gazing off into the morning sky waiting for the sun to come up eventually relinquishing him of the day’s chores. Once the sun had been up for more than an hour, work would all but cease until sundown as the scorchingly vengeful fingers of the giant gaseous beast would keep this part of the world inhospitable to anyone unaccustomed to the dry heat. Work on a farm was impossible during the day and as such, the Sun was understandably a kind of god to the natives that inhabited the sparse areas around the town and adjacent country side. Billy often wondered how Pa and Granny survived without air conditioning so many years ago.

Eventually the morning sky and stars vanished as the sunrise continued its endless routine. The faint darkish purples and blues of another dawn began melding together with the reddish orange and yellow immortal furnace as Billy and Debby Sue finished the last bit of corned beef hash left over from the previous day’s family reunion.

Managing to attract more than a hundred of their immediate and extended family from areas as far as Sydney and Melbourne in the most unfortunate of the hottest summer months, the reunion was considered a fifty-two percent success, with a two percent margin of error.

The Hills weren’t the largest family around those parts. Most people with a common surname belonged to the Smiths, which lived about three miles down the stretch of dirt road that connected what most people called a township. Second in command of numbers, the Hills were well known and even respected by the other families in the area. Their peculiar habit of middle name usage was discussed at times, the family acknowledging their ubiquity.

Combining the numbers of the people in town gave the place a population hovering just above eight hundred. Of course, plenty of their own family and many others had moved on to bigger and more modern venues to the east and south. There were only enough people out there that most everyone knew everyone else and if anyone had any business with anyone almost everyone knew about it. This would eventually work to Billy’s advantage when he was discovered by the Intergalactic Federation.

Of course, there was no way that he, or anyone, knew anything about the Federation. Billy reckoned himself smart enough to have considered the possibility of alien life in the vastness of the Universe and he knew from all the science lessons with his tutor Kip that the possibilities were limitless. He also knew that that the Sun wasn’t a god. Considering his intelligence was much greater than the natives, he knew the Sun was nothing but a big ball of flaming gasses that science had already proven more than two or three times, maybe more. Though he lacked a formal high school education, Billy was always thought of as kind of a science geek by his peers.

Those that weren’t as keen in the realms of science, like Debby, would pick on and tease him frequently in light of his scientific mind. Lots of times he’d get called egghead and pencil neck or something like that. Billy didn’t mind though as he forgave them of their ignorance. Only interested in solving the complex problems of the universe that had interested so many famous scientists that came before him, Billy had little time for less trivial things like English and geography.

Of the great physicists, Isaac Newton was his favorite and his likeness was enshrined on the wall above his computer, in the form of a poster printed out from Granny’s Lexmark. He would often stare at it, wondering if somehow Mr. Newton was staring back at him. Fond of the most famous figures of scientific history, he’d already printed off a dozen other black and white posters that were carefully taped to the walls of his room. Newton and the other great minds were just one of the thousands of things he was thinking about as he remembered watching the stars through the window give way to the morning as the family finished their breakfast that fateful day.

Get off it already. Debby said with the thick accent that defined most people of the area. Quit your day dreaming and help me with the eggs already Billy Jim. She was already outside on the balcony moving baskets of eggs as the sun came up.

Just a wait a minute Deb. Altering his voice to sound sophisticated, Billy stay seated at the table, speaking through the screen door while inspecting the baskets of eggs as he contemplated physics. He wasn’t actually contemplating the subject or science of physics, he was just sort of thinking about the word itself.

Debby did you ever a wonder how them eggs there got here in the first place? His eyebrows raised enough to appear condescending.

Hell’s bells Billy, have you been a whiffing glue again? Debby Sue lowered the basket and looked at him through the doorway.

I am not a kidding here Deb. Listen to me closely. Billy’s eyes focused on Debby, which always had the effect of making her real uncomfortable.

You reckon them eggs was here first before them chickens or just them chickens was first before them eggs? He said releasing her from his gaze while returning to his corned beef hash. That’s the kind of important questions science is a always asking Deb. He looked out the window pondering the sunrise. Those are the kind of questions you’d be a thinking of too if you had a mind for science Deb. It wasn’t the first time he’d said that.

Billy, will you please just shut up and give me a hand with these eggs before I get real loud and Pa comes down here to fix you? She knew if she threatened, he’d help. Just as soon as Debby Sue had finished her sentence Billy was out of the door with his hand on the next basket ready to help hoist it to the edge of the balcony.

Granny was neither interested nor impressed with Billy’s line of questioning. A woman of considerable years, she was content to watch the younger members of the family as they went about the morning chores. Soon enough Pa would be on his way to Perth to sell the same eggs and whatever other produce the family had left from the reunion.

Chapter 2

Perth was nearly three hours of driving from the farm and other than Pa, the rest of the family rarely traveled so far. Knowing that most of the people there had comfortable lives with fast internet, fancy flat-screen LCD TVs and all sorts of games and hobbies, Billy imagined he could live quite well with such amenities. There were plenty of times when he’d talk about attending university in Perth, while knowing it was nothing but a dream. Universities were only for people with the gumption and ability to finish their high-schooling and he was almost ninety-nine percent certain that he wouldn’t be able to finish with a diploma, which is why Kip came around tutoring. The hope wasn’t completely lost, but more often than not, Billy thought Kip was just teasing him with far out and imaginary dreams of going to university in the city.

Even still, he reckoned there were other ways an intellectual could get accepted into university. Billy had more than given up on finishing his high-schooling when he dropped out a year earlier at seventeen. Despite that, he knew if he could write a paper that was amazing and scientifically discovered the secrets of the Universe like Isaac Newton did once or twice, he’d have no problem getting in. He’d probably have all sorts of lectures and things to give and his family would be so pleased to see him using his gifts to advance humanity along. There was even the possibility, he supposed, of getting that Nobel Prize the other scientists and doctors were always after. He reckoned his chances were just as good as any of them.

With all that in his mind, he knew he’d do his best to get out of doing all sorts of Debby’s chores all the time and as the morning went on, he did just that. Thinking of Perth and the universities was the only way he could tolerate another morning of mind numbing labor.

That’s not the last one Deb. Billy lifted the last basket of eggs, which was curiously the eleventh basket. Billy hated that number and he would often look for ways it was connected to other things, like the time of morning, which was then about ten after seven. That’s eleven baskets Deb. You stupid moron.

While picking up the next basket, she laughed and inquired, You think that there eleventh basket come before the twelfth basket or that this here twelfth basked came after the eleventh basket?

Billy paused. If it weren’t for the dimness of the morning, Granny may have said she was sure his pupils dilated just a bit, or at least one of them pupils did dilate - probably the left one again. That’s what always seemed to happen when Debby broke his brain, according to Granny. Granny and Debby both knew those kinds of questions threw Billy a wild curve ball that he’d think about hard before swinging.

You’re a moron Deb. The basket here IS the twelfth basket. That’s just it. It’s the twelfth basket of eggs. He said knowingly. "Now quit a messing around, we got to get this into the truck before seven twenty. The enunciation of the fore in before" let everyone - Debby and Granny - know how serious he was.

Debby went up the stairs and followed Billy to the other side of the balcony where Pa had pulled up the freezer truck. Pretty new compared to some of the other vehicles around the farm, the freezer truck was the vehicle that Pa would routinely take into the city. He made the trip twice a week to

Reviews for The Amazing Story of Billy Jim Hill

[Sophia Penguin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Incredible and so unique! This book should be more well known. The story is one of those fun ones that is fun to read and will remember. Can't wait to read again