Hollowland Read online

  The crow flapped its wings again, and I looked over at it. I heard a clicking, sounding oddly loud thanks to the buildings, and some part of me knew what it was but couldn’t place it.

  Suddenly, the crow exploded in a burst of black feathers. I never heard the gun go off, but the sniper had thought to use a silencer.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw the light glinting off the top of the building on the corner. Harlow jumped back, startled by the bird, but she didn’t move. Then I heard the clicking sound again.

  “Run!” I shouted and sprang into action.

  I ran towards Harlow as fast as I could, the adrenaline reviving my legs. She stared at me in blank terror, too confused by the exploding crow to understand what happened.

  I threw an arm around her waist, dragging her around the corner. I dove around the side of the building, slamming her down onto the sidewalk, with me on top of her to shield her.

  We were out of the range of fire, hidden beside the building. I sat up and looked behind me to where Lia stood in the intersection.

  “Something happened…” Lia was saying, her voice barely audible, and she turned to look at me. She had her hand on her stomach, but I could already see the blood seeping around it.

  “Lia!” Harlow yelled.

  I kept my arms around Harlow to stop her from rushing out into the street. Lia stood in the middle of it, completely exposed to another shot, but they weren’t shooting her again.

  I had a feeling that was their plan. When I ran, Lia stayed frozen, so they took the easy shot. They left her wounded, like bait to lure us back out into the open.

  Lia held out her hand, staring at the blood in total confusion. It was as if she couldn’t understand what it was or how it got there. Then she looked up at me, her eyes swimming with frightened tears.

  “Lia, come here.” I held my hand out to her, but I couldn’t walk out to her. I had to stay where I was, holding Harlow back.

  “I’m sorry.” Lia just stared at me.

  She tried to step forward, but her knees buckled, and she fell back on the road. Her open eyes stared blankly up at the sky above her. Harlow sobbed, bucking at my arms, but I refused to let go.

  “Remy!” Lazlo shouted. “Harlow!”

  He peered around the corner of the building behind us. It was behind the barbecue restaurant that Harlow and Lia had come from, so I suspected that he’d snuck out the backdoor into the alley.

  Harlow stopped fighting and cried limply against me. I put my hands on her shoulders, holding her away from me so I could look her in the eye.

  “Go. Hurry,” I said, and thankfully, she nodded once and ran back to Lazlo.

  Lia lay dead only a few feet in front of me, but I couldn’t get her. I didn’t want to leave her there like that, just a discarded body amongst so many other bodies, but I didn’t want to risk my life to move her.

  I stood alone in the middle of the empty street, and I couldn’t move. I just couldn’t think of a single reason to keep going.

  All I ever did was think about surviving. Getting from one moment to the next without letting myself dwell on anything that came before it. But suddenly, I couldn’t see the point in surviving.

  This is what it was like to survive. To kill people, to kill infected humans, to watch innocent people die for no reason. This is the world I was fighting to stay in.

  “Remy!” Lazlo hissed and grabbed my arm roughly.

  I didn’t want to move. I didn’t want to leave Lia alone, and I didn’t see any reason to go. But he was pulling me, literally dragging me away, and somewhere along the way, my feet started moving again too.

  When we rounded the corner, Harlow stood there crying, and Blue had his arm around her. Vega looked completely unruffled, standing next to another guy. He wore a dirty flannel shirt, his hair was cropped close, and he was armed to the teeth. He wasn’t wearing camouflage, so I assumed we considered him an ally.

  “Where’s Lia?” Vega asked. Apparently, they hadn’t seen what happened.

  “She’s not coming with,” Lazlo replied, brushing past it. He had to have seen her body when he grabbed me, and we didn’t have time for more meltdowns. Everyone was quiet for a moment, letting it sink in.

  “What’s going on?” I asked. My mouth felt dry and stiff, and I had to force it to speak. I felt completely disconnected from my body, as if my movements were something I did from remote.

  “I’m Sam, and I can help you,” the new guy informed me tersely. His eyes darted around, and he looked scruffy and dirty in a way that Lazlo somehow managed to avoid. “We have a compound nearby.”

  “A compound?” I tensed up and took a step back. Compound made it sound like something military, like those gunmen in their faux uniforms.

  “No. We’re not with them,” Sam motioned to where Lia had been shot. “We’re fighting them. Come with me.”

  It wasn’t a question, and he turned without waiting for a response.

  Sam jogged down the alley, and Vega and Blue followed right behind, although Blue had the courtesy to look back to see if we were coming. Harlow moved slowly, but Lazlo took her hand and pulled her along, and that got her going.

  As we darted around the trashcans and garbage that filled the alley, I kept running and jumping and dodging. If I just kept moving, I could keep the numbness back. The faster I ran, the more the adrenaline surged through my body, and that somehow kept me here.

  Sam ran at a dizzying pace, and we almost lost him a few times as we maneuvered around the obstacles. I’m sure this was done on purpose, so we would elude anyone who might be watching us, and I wouldn’t have minded so much if I’d been up to my usual standards.

  Since I was behind them, I could see the zombie jump out from behind a garage, but I couldn’t do anything except yell at Vega to watch out. She turned her head just as the zombie rushed at her, knocking her to the ground.

  Sam went to pull his gun out, but it caught on his ammunition clip. I bolted forward and slammed into the zombie on top of Vega, tackling it before it bit into her. It tried to roll over to face me, clawing desperately at the gravel in the alley.

  I grabbed an old car battery that happened to be sitting by us and lifted it over my head, preparing to use it crush the zombie’s head. Before I did, a gun went off, and the zombie’s head exploded on me.

  “That’s better,” Sam said, his gun still pointed at the zombie. “Sorry it took me so long to get it out.”

  “Thanks, but I could’ve gotten that myself.” I set the battery down and got up off the zombie corpse. “You didn’t need to waste a bullet.”

  “We have plenty of bullets.” Sam turned, already walking away. “We should hurry. The zombies travel in packs now.”

  “Are you okay?” I asked Vega as I wiped zombie brains off my shirt.

  “Yeah, I’m great,” Vega replied in a clipped tone.

  “It didn’t bite you?” I asked.

  “No, it just knocked the wind out of me,” Vega shook her head.

  “We don’t have time for this.” Sam glanced around, looking for hidden marauders. “We’ll check for bites at the compound.”

  Since Sam wouldn’t slow down, I sped up and followed her, keeping my pace to match Lazlo and Harlow in case another zombie jumped out at us.

  We rounded a large white building with pillars in front. It reminded me of the White House, but on a much smaller scale. Sam ran around the back, pushing away some carefully placed shrubbery, to reveal a set of heavy wooden cellar doors. He flipped them open, then gestured down the darkened hole with his gun.

  “You want us to go down there?” Harlow asked peered down at the pitch black cement stairs.

  “Yes. Hurry,” Sam said shortly.

  Vega plummeted into the dark without batting an eye. Blue took a breath and followed her. I didn’t see that we had much of a choice, so I went too. When I started walking down, I felt Harlow’s hand squeeze mine, her slender fingers latching onto me.

  When we finally reac
hed the bottom, I realized it wasn’t completely dark. A dim yellow light glowed ahead of us, and then Sam slammed the cellar doors shut when he came down, submerging us

  “This way.” Sam pushed past us.

  He led us down a narrow hall, lit by a single kerosene lantern. At the end was a massive steel door, and he pounded on it. I tried to pull my hand from Harlow’s, but she refused to let go.

  “Who is it?” a voice said from the other side of the door.

  “Sam. Open up!” Sam shouted.

  A moment of silence, followed by bolts clicking unlocked. The door opened, bathing the hall in bright light. Sam walked in, and we all followed.

  It reminded me of any other basement. The walls and floor were brick and cement, and they had that cold, damp look to them. Kerosene lamps were placed all over the room, so it was actually well lit.

  One wall was lined with old, moldy looking books on a metal shelves. A huge wooden table sat in the middle of the room, covered in papers and maps. In the corner, another table was covered with weapons; guns, knives, ammunition, pipes.

  A doorway was off to the side, but I couldn’t see past it.

  Sam went over to the weapons table to discard his own guns, without introducing us to the man and woman standing in the middle of the room.

  The man looked to be about thirty with a confident, handsome face. He was dressed similar to Sam, his clothes dirty and worn. The woman had short blonde hair and a warm smile.

  “I found them out in the streets,” Sam said absently as he unloaded his ammunition.

  “Hello,” the man extended his hand, first to Blue, then to me, shaking our hands. “I’m London, and this is Hope.”

  “Hello,” the woman smiled at us but didn’t move forward.

  “This is our compound.” London gestured to the room around him. “You all look very worn. How long have you been travelling?”

  “Awhile,” I answered vaguely, unsure of the exact amount of time that’d passed.

  “They had a run-in with the marauders,” Sam said. He leaned up against the weapons table, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “The marauders?” Lazlo asked.

  “The men with guns in black camouflage,” London clarified. “They raided an army base, and they’ve been trying to rule the town with nihilistic brutality. We’ve been maintaining a stronghold against them.”

  “Remy shot some of them,” Lazlo said, almost proudly. “How many did you kill?” He looked to me for confirmation, but I shook my head.

  I swallowed hard and clenched the fist that didn’t have Harlow’s hand. I wasn’t about to brag about anything I had done when Lia had died. I had failed, and four uninfected people died today. Anger flared in me like I hadn’t felt in a long time.

  I’d been forced to kill healthy humans, and even if it had been in self-defense, I didn’t like it. We had so few people left in this world, and it was such a horrific waste.

  “We lost… someone.” Harlow sniffled next to me.

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” London said earnestly.

  “Why don’t you get cleaned up and get some rest?” Hope suggested. “You all look so exhausted.”

  “We have plenty of room for you all,” London said when we hesitated. “We try to look after the people who are left.”

  “Would you like something to eat?” Hope asked, and she held her hand out for Harlow.

  Harlow looked up at me, checking to see if it was all right, and I nodded. Somewhat reluctantly, she let go of my hand and let Hope take her. Hope took her into the next room, with Vega.

  “Are you coming, Remy?” Blue paused before following Hope and the others into the other room. I shook my head, and he nodded understanding. “Don’t take too long.”

  Blue left with Harlow. Since I didn’t go, Lazlo stayed behind. I thought about telling him to go, but I didn’t want to tell anybody to do anything anymore. Sam eyed us up, and I couldn’t tell if he trusted us or not.

  “You’re the leader?” I asked London.

  “You could say that.” London leaned against the table behind him and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “Do you know anything about government quarantines?” I asked.

  “Not much,” London shook his head. “I haven’t been to one.”

  “Do you know if there’s one nearby?”

  “There’s supposed to be one in Idaho.” He turned to the map on the table behind him. “I haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard there was one near the Wyoming border.”

  I walked over to him to inspect the map myself. It was covered in circles, some black, some red, some green.

  “There might be one there.” London tapped the map. The one he pointed to in Idaho was red.

  “What do the colors mean?” Lazlo asked, peering over my shoulder.

  “Red are quarantines, green are safe zones, and black are … lost causes,” London said. That explained why the map was almost entirely covered in black circles.

  “Thank you.” I took a step back. “I have to go.”

  “Right now?” Lazlo looked up sharply.

  “You are welcome to stay as long as you want,” London reiterated.

  “I know, and I thank you, but I can’t.” I shook my head. “My brother was taken to a quarantine, and I have to find him.”

  “We should at least get some rest,” Lazlo said. “You always say we shouldn’t travel after dark, anyway.”

  I hesitated, hating the truth in his words. I didn’t want to stay here. I didn’t want to wait anymore. I just needed to get to Max and know he was all right. Then… I don’t know. But after what happened today, I didn’t want to slow down anymore.

  “Who took your brother to a quarantine?” London interrupted my internal debate.

  “Soldiers,” I said. “We were at another quarantine that was infiltrated by zombies. They organized some kind of attack and destroyed the base.”

  “Yes, we’ve been hearing about that,” London said sadly.

  “Hearing about what?” My heart sped up.

  “Zombies working together. They’re still raving monsters, but they seem to have a more cohesive system,” London elaborated. “The virus has been evolving and adapting, and they’re able to communicate somehow. Perhaps using pheromones like ants. They group together and find the hidden pockets of human life.”

  “Well, that’s pleasant,” Lazlo muttered.

  “When your quarantine was attacked, why did they take your brother and not you?” London asked, returning to the topic.

  “He was in medical care, and I wasn’t. They evacuated him, and I escaped later, but I haven’t been able to catch up to him,” I said hurriedly.

  “He’s sick, and they evacuated him first?” London questioned.

  “Yeah. He’s eight. He’s just a little kid.”

  “Hmm,” London said, but then nothing more. There wasn’t anything judgmental in his eyes, but I could tell he’d figured out there was more to the story than I was telling.

  – 12 –

  London didn’t know any more about the quarantines, and he didn’t have any other insight into the evolution of the zombies. He did explain a little more about the compound. They were made up mostly of people from the town. Since it was so isolated, they had been one of the last to get hit with the virus and had a chance to prepare.

  Unfortunately, the town split into two camps; London and his people trying to live quietly, and the marauders who wanted to live out some kind of Mad Max fantasy where they robbed and murdered at will.

  The people in the compound survived on canned goods and hunting. A water filtration system in the basement kept the virus out of their drinking water. Kerosene lamps and wood burning stoves allowed them to have heat and cook food.

  Over fifty survivors were able to live here comfortably, and London insisted they would be happy to take on a few more.

  The facility itself was divided up into many rooms, with hallways connecting them like a labyrinth. It was designed t
o keep both zombies and marauders from being able to infiltrate.

  I wasn’t given a full tour, but I didn’t really want or need one. London showed Lazlo and me to the dining hall, where Blue and Harlow were already. Vega never ate before sundown, so she’d gone back to a room to rest. The food seemed to be of the canned vegetable and whatever they could shoot variety.

  A few other people were eating down there, looking as mangy as Sam, and they introduced themselves. Other than polite salutations, I didn’t talk to them. I was not staying here long enough to get to know people.

  Lazlo, on the other hand, was chatting with anyone who would let him. From what I could gather, the people seemed friendly and as sane as the situation would allow.

  “You guys won’t believe this,” Sam said. He came into the dining room after checking the perimeter, and he looked about as shocked as his blank expressions could manage. “There’s a lion outside.”

  “A real lion?” a woman asked in a hushed tone.

  “Oh, yeah, she’s Remy’s,” Lazlo said, and I lowered my head.

  “You have a pet lion?” Sam asked skeptically, and everyone’s eyes turned to me.

  “She’s not a pet,” I said. “Not like a cat. But… yeah, she’s with us. So… don’t shoot her.”

  “You’re lucky I didn’t. She took off when I saw her, but she’s hanging around here.” Sam had already lost interest in the lion and moved onto fixing himself a plate, which consisted of some kind of bitter meat and canned wax beans.

  After we finished eating, Hope took us to where we would be sleeping, giving us one of the empty rooms. It held ten army style metal bunk beds, but nobody was in it.

  Vega set up in the far corner of the room, away from everyone else, and immediately began praying. Blue left with Hope to check out the medical care, and the rest of us settled in.

  Harlow had seemed better over dinner, but when she lay down in the bottom bunk, everything that happened today must’ve hit her. She slipped off her boots without complaining of the damage to her feet, and lay on the covers, twisting her gold cross around her neck and staring up at the bunk above her.