Earth 5

By Hustin Lindenhall

What would you do if you were sixteen and you came across someone in the woods that changed your perspective of life completely? Someone that made you realize what you thought was real wasn't actually reality. What I did was write about it, and it's all here in this book.

I put all the original sketches in here too - over seventy illustrations by me, Tonya and Astol.

Earth 5 is awesome. I hope you like it too.

Thanks

- Hustin

• Language: English
• Publisher: Florendia
• Release date: Apr 17, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310419218

Book preview

Chapters

The Indian

My Cabin

Tonya

Los Angeles

Spaced Out

Oliver

Bacon and Biscuits

Astol

Thumbs Up

Off the Chain

Lunch

The Facebook

Nail Polish

Bacteria

Shortcut Portal

Phobia

Branches

Illegal

Gray’s Anatomy

Night Sky

Slumber Party

Kids

Spiderman

Footprints

Sushi

Zantylah

Seeds

Shotgun

Leptomates

Beautiful

Commando

Tibal

The Sunglasses Club

Jaywalkers

Babysitting

Am I Free to Go?

Ghost Story

Dreams

Upside Down

Dog Tags

Haircut

Mission

Naked

Animals

The Nap

Floating

Talking Business

Sixth Finger Shadow

Art

Rich and Famous

Skills

Gay

A Distraction

Not Sleeping

Call Tonya

Goodbye

Just in Case

First Day of School

Birthday Dinner

Mandaraga

A Note from Hustin

Copyright

Chapter Title Image for The Indian

Last year Russell and I were in the same English class. Mrs. Fischmann couldn’t stand me. I got in an argument with her over whether periods should go inside quotation marks or outside. I told her if it was my writing I could put them wherever I wanted. But she just said there are rules, and if there are rules then you have to follow the rules.

Russell would always try to sit next to me in class. So Mrs. Fischmann couldn’t stand him either. Russell was the most normal kid I knew, but for some reason adults never liked him. Even his own mom was always mad at him.

Once, Mrs. Fischmann gave us this assignment to write a short story. I wrote this thing about a sailor who gets shipwrecked on an island and makes friends with all the natives there. Then they all work together for a whole year to help him build a new boat. One day, the boat’s all finished and everybody on the island goes to the beach to say goodbye to the sailor. But right when he’s about to push off he decides he doesn’t want to go back to civilization after all. So he stays there and marries one of the island girls. They turn the boat into a house and live the rest of their life drinking out of coconuts under palm trees.

Mrs. Fischmann hated that story. When I got my paper back she had written too fanciful on the top and everything was covered with red ink. I thought it was pretty good though. I might even turn it into a novel someday.

Russell’s story was about these two kids that get lost on a camping trip in Texas. The leader sends them out to get firewood. So the kids start looking around near camp, but it’s all dry and rocky and they can’t find anything. So they walk a little further and keep hunting for wood until they finally look up and realize they’re lost.

They see this big hill a little ways off, so they decide to climb it and see if they can spot their camp from the top. The sun keeps getting higher and it starts getting really hot. But both of the kids left their canteens back at camp. So they keep hiking up this hill, and it’s getting hotter and hotter and all they can think about is water. One of the kids finds this weird-looking cactus and he eats some of it, but it’s too bitter so he spits out the rest.

They finally make it pretty much to the top of the hill, but they still can’t see their camp. Then they both start feeling depressed and scared. One of the kids starts trying to climb up a higher rock. The other kid picks up a stick and throws it high up at the sky. The wind picks up a little bit and when the stick lands there’s suddenly an Indian standing there on top of the hill with them. Not a modern day Native American in a Redskins cap and cowboy boots, but one of those Indians you would see in a movie. He’s got feathers in his hair and smells like tobacco. He’s standing there in the sun, just staring at the kids.

Then the Indian raises his arm and points next to the kid on the rock. The kid looks over the side and sees a big snake lying there all coiled up. Then the Indian moves his arm up and points straight at the sun. He slowly moves his hand across the sky and the sun moves too. All the shadows on the ground start getting longer, and the Indian moves the sun all the way back to where it was a few hours earlier. Then he points in the other direction and makes a little walking motion with his fingers. The kid on the rock looks off in that direction and finally spots the camp just about half a mile away. When he looks back the Indian’s gone.

When the kids get back to camp they just go straight to their canteens and drink until they’re empty. Then the leader comes over and asks them why they haven’t left to go get firewood yet.

Mrs. Fischmann hated that story too. When Russell got his paper back she had written I don’t think so on it and crossed a bunch of stuff out. Russell’s older brother liked it though. He said it sounded like the kid ate an hallucinogenic cactus and the Indian was some kind of spirit vision. Of course I liked Russell’s story. I was the kid that threw that stick up in the air.

Chapter Title Image for My Cabin

I live in a cabin on the hill behind my grandparents’ house in Colorado. Russell and I built it last summer. His older brother helped a lot too – he showed us how to make the foundation by digging deep holes in the ground for your piers and then pouring concrete in. He said once you have a good foundation you can build whatever you want on top.

We built pretty much the whole cabin out of scrap lumber. At first we started storing all the wood we found over at Russell’s house, but his mom got mad and told us we couldn’t build a cabin there. Then she grounded him. After Russell was ungrounded we decided to build it on the hill behind my grandparents’ house. And now that cabin is where I live.

It’s about 140 square feet and has two windows and a front door. There’s a little front porch where I keep firewood, and inside I’ve got an old wood burning stove that I found in my grandparents’ garage. Russell and I somehow hauled that stove all the way up the hill ourselves. It keeps the cabin so toasty in the winter you’ll sweat in your sleep.

I made a little bed out of wood left over from the cabin, and a nice desk too. Russell’s brother showed me how you can use gelatin for wood glue. Gelatin’s just powdered cow cartilage. You add a little bit of water then heat it up on the stove and you’ve got glue. So I used it to fix up this old wooden chair I found on the side of the road. And now I’ve got a place to sit for my desk.

My favorite part about the cabin is the little loft above the front door. There’s a futon mattress and a bunch of pillows up there. I hung a ladder on the wall so you can climb up and down. Russell likes to sleep up there when he’s not grounded.

One day we were all over at Russell’s brother’s house and he showed us a documentary about this poison they add to the water supply called fluoride. Everybody says it prevents cavities but it really just makes you dumb and submissive to authority. So Russell’s brother showed us how to make a rainwater collector for the cabin. We put a big barrel with a filter outside and attached it to a spigot on the inside. So now I have natural running water that I can drink any time I want.

A while back I was at this garage sale that this lady was having down the street. There was a bunch of great old stuff there, like this hand-cranked record player. It didn’t even need electricity. But the lady wanted thirty bucks for it. There was also this really old painting of this guy with a sword and a feather in his hat. But it had a big hole in the bottom of it, like someone had punched right through it. The lady wanted forty bucks for that painting. So I just left and went back home.

But for some reason I kept thinking about that old painting all day long. So later that afternoon I went back to the garage sale. Most of the stuff was gone by then, but that record player and painting were still there. So I made the lady an offer and ended up getting both of them for twenty bucks.

That painting was too big to hang in my cabin so I gave it to my grandmother. She likes art. And she’ll never tell you, but she’s an amazing artist. I found an old box of her sketches down in the basement one day. Then behind that there was this painting of hers that she never finished. It was just the beginning of a tree trunk with no branches or anything. But it’s amazing. Every once in a while I’ll go down there and just look at it for fun. But if I ever say anything to my grandmother about it she’ll just laugh and say, Oh, that ole thing? That was such a long time ago!

That old record player works pretty good though. I’ve got it sitting up on my desk and a box of my grandfather’s old records on the floor next to it. Now I know everybody thinks you have to have electricity to have fun, but some nights I’ll just sit up in my cabin with my lantern on and draw and listen to old records and have a great time.

Chapter Title Image for Tonya

Tonya was the most beautiful girl in school. I would always see her once a day in the hall outside the cafeteria after lunch. She was always alone. I never saw her talk to anyone so I never knew who her friends were. If she had been popular maybe I would have had the courage to talk to her. But she would walk down that hall like none of that even mattered – as if she was focused on some goal somewhere beyond all of that, where school and popularity didn’t even exist. I would glance over and watch her walk right by me. Of course she never looked at me. She never looked at anybody. And then for the rest of the day I would just think about her and wonder who she hung out with after school.

Her dad was some kind of an artist, and her mom was Greek or Italian or something. And somehow my parents knew her parents when we were little kids.

Once, when I was about seven we went over to her house for dinner. The adults stayed up late talking. Tonya went to bed in her room and my mom put me to sleep in her parents’ room next door. Their room was scary to me. It was really dark, and all the cars driving by outside made lights on the wall like an old movie projector. Every time I would start to fall asleep I swear I would feel the bed shake. Then I would wake up too scared to move.

After a while I finally dozed off and started having this dream where I was standing in Tonya's room watching this big bug crawling on her wall. I kept trying to yell Tonya! but I couldn't speak. I was afraid the bug was going to hurt her but nothing would come out of my mouth. The dream got so scary I finally made myself wake up. Then I just lay there waiting for the bed to shake. I was too scared to even breathe.

Then the bedroom door opened and Tonya was standing there in the doorway.

Are you OK? she asked. I just nodded and we looked at each other for a while. She looked like an angel standing there with the hallway all lit up behind her. I wasn’t scared any more. I just wanted to lie there with her watching me all night. She finally closed the door and left. I didn’t go to sleep after that. I just lay there thinking about Tonya. The bed didn’t shake any more. And after a while my parents came and got me and we went home.

After that night I didn't see Tonya again until high school. I always wondered if she remembered me and that time I came over and slept in her mom and dad’s room when we were little kids. But I never had the courage to talk to her.

Chapter Title Image for Los Angeles

When I was about twelve my parents got a job offer in Los Angeles. They started talking about moving and making more money and how amazing the ocean is. I couldn't stand it. I told them I wasn't going. They didn’t take me seriously until one day we were talking about it and I got really mad. I didn’t show it though. I just got all quiet and for some reason I said, I'm going to divorce you. After that everything changed. My parents quit talking about it and started treating me like an adult.

Now, I didn't know it at the time but you can actually divorce your parents. I heard about a kid later that did it. His parents wanted to move somewhere far away, but the kid wouldn't have anything to do with it. So he legally divorced his parents and went to go live on some farm with this guy and his wife. I heard that the kid grew up, became a really successful farmer, got married and has kids of his own now.

My parents finally decided that I could stay in Colorado and finish seventh grade and live with my grandparents while they went to Los Angeles just to try it. When they came back at Christmas they started talking about money and moving again. I just told them I wanted to finish eighth grade. They made a big deal out of it but after a while they pretty much left me alone. Of course it never would have worked without my grandparents. They never said much to me about it, but I know they were the ones that convinced my parents to let me stay in Colorado. And I know you aren't supposed to say this, but I never was that close to my parents anyway. And even though my grandparents are kind of old-fashioned we get along pretty well.

My parents come back on weekends every now and then to visit. They always try to get me to like Los Angeles by telling me about the beach and how you see movie stars all the time. Of course I don’t care about that stuff. I would rather be hiking in the woods or drawing. But my parents always try that beach and movie star stuff to try to reunite the family.

They’ll come back to Colorado to visit, and we’ll all be sitting around the dinner table at my grandparents’ house. And my mom will say, Hustin, you’re almost eighteen. You’ll be able to make your own decisions soon.

I’m sixteen and I’m already making my own decisions, I’ll tell her.

Then she’ll say, Your father and I just want you to be happy.

That’s great, Mom. I’m happy living here with Annie and Chris.

But we miss you, Hustin!

I miss you guys too, I’ll tell her. Even though, honestly, it’s not really the truth. But I would feel bad not telling her that. I know other kids miss their parents like crazy, but I never do. My mom’s a nice person, and I don’t have anything against my parents. I just can’t live in Los Angeles with them.

Later on that evening I’ll be sitting outside on a chair, and my dad will walk over to me and sit down too. He’ll act like he’s thinking about something for a while, then he’ll start it again from his angle.

Hustin, you know your mother and I are really proud of you.

I know, Dad.

We just want you to know that we love you.

I know, Dad.

And we want you to be a part of our life.

I know, Dad.

Then he’ll do a long exhale, like he’s been holding his breath forever. What do you say you come try out LA with your mom and me? We’ve got great weather, no snow…

I like the snow, Dad, I’ll tell him.

Then he’ll get all excited and sit up in his chair. Oh c’mon, Hustin, it’s freezing here. Plus, where your mom and I live, we’re just half an hour from the beach.

Where I live I’m just half a minute from the mountains, I’ll tell him. And after a while he’ll quit trying and just sit back in his chair again and look around at the yard and act thoughtful. Then he’ll do another long exhale and pat my knee and stand up.

Why don’t you think about it, OK?

I never answer that question. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve already thought about it. Then he’ll tell me, I’ll talk to your mom some more about it. And he’ll go back inside and I’ll have the outdoors back to myself again. My parents will try this a few more times until they finally fly back to California.

That’s all been going on for about five years now, and I guess it will keep going on until I’m 18. So I’ve got another year or so of it. But it’s really not bad. I have a great life living here in Colorado with my grandparents. And I hope my parents are enjoying their life too.

Chapter Title Image for Spaced Out

Whenever I go hiking I take my grandfather’s old canteen with me. People will probably tell you that drinking out of an old aluminum canteen from Korea is going to give you cancer, but I think those people just like talking about cancer.

Then there are the people that talk about recycling and go out and buy a new plastic bottle every time they want a drink of water. But that’s not recycling. That’s why I drink out of this old canteen. No need to make me a new one. This one works just fine.

I woke up suddenly one morning last summer. It was still dark, but I was wide awake. I had this urge to get outside and hike up the mountain a little ways to watch the sunrise. I love running up the trail and then turning around and watching that big orange disk appear out of the ground miles away from you. It makes you feel like you’re the only person on Earth.

So I threw my canteen and a few apples in my pack and put on my jeans and moccasins. I like wearing my moccasins when I hike. I watched some videos on how to make your own out of leather. My first pair was too big but my second pair fit me great. I can’t stand it when I’m on a beautiful trail in the mountains and I come across some piece of a plastic running shoe. Of course I always pick it up. I always pick up the trash I find in Nature. But I try to wear leather shoes because I don’t like the idea of leaving behind pieces of artificial stuff that are going to take thousands of years to decompose.

When I stepped outside on