Page 18 of Hollow Child

“That’s fine. I wanna get out of here soon anyway,” Polly said. “That low rumbling sound is giving me a headache, and it smells awful around here.”

“Take as long as you want. No need to rush,” I said as she went off to find her brother.

“Why did you do that?” Boden asked once she was gone, and we started making our way back to the gate.

“Because I want Stella to have as much time as possible to rest,” I explained.

“No, not that,” he said, annoyed. “Why did you correct Polly when she called you my wife?”

“Because I’m not,” I replied with a shrug.

“I know that. But we’ve shared our life and our bed together for years,” he contended. “Is it so bad if someone considers us married?”

“No, it’s not bad. It’s just not true,” I said, growing frustrated. “Are you actually upset about this? I don’t understand.”

“I don’t know what I am,” he admitted and stopped walking, so I had to stop and look back at him. “What would you say if I told you that I wanted to be married?”

“I’d say that now is not the time,” I told him, because I honestly couldn’t think about it then. “We’re still weeks away from getting Stella through a zombie infested wilderness.” I took a step closer to him and put my hand on his arm. “You know what you mean to me, Boden. But right now, all I canreally think about is ensuring that everyone in our family lives long enough to see that baby be born healthy and safe.”

“Yeah. Yes. Of course.” He nodded like he understood, but he wouldn’t quite meet my eyes. “We can talk more once we’re in Emberwood.”

I stood on my tiptoes, kissing him on the mouth. He kissed me back, but he broke away first.

“We should get back,” he said, and we fell in step beside one another.

I lowered my voice, since I didn’t know if Polly or any of her group were lurking around, and I asked, “What do you think of the others?”

“We’ve been travelling with them for a few days now, and they haven’t tried to murder, assault, or rob us, so they’re better than most people we’ve met since society fell,” he reasoned.

“I guess that is true,” I agreed reluctantly.

“You don’t like them.” He stated it as fact.

“Like and dislike are too strong of words,” I argued. “They’re fine as long as they pull their own weight and don’t put us in any danger.”

13

Stella

It had been five days since we left the lakehouse when we ran into our first real town. Other than the mines yesterday, we'd only found an isolated house here or there, nothing too notable.

I still had my walking stick, and for the most part, I had been handling it well enough with that. I stumbled a few times when I felt weak or my vision blurred, but I stayed on my feet.

Until yesterday afternoon, when a seizure had taken me down while I was walking, and I sustained a bump on my head. I was fine, just tired and upset to be cutting our day short without arriving anywhere interesting. Since then, Max had taken to holding my free hand, but I didn’t really mind because I liked holding his hand.

I had been looking forward to seeing a town from B.Z., because I didn’t really remember them anymore. The only vague images I had in my mind were of people everywhere and cars that zoomed by and buildings so tall they touched the sky.

Cities and towns used to be alive, and it had been so long since I had even seen their skeletons. I practically cried out in delight when I saw the sign proclaiming Priest’s Mill – “A Place Where History Lives.” It was a big billboard, painted like a postcard with an old mill, steamboats, and a historic fur trading post.

“Finally, a town to explore,” I said and squeezed Max’s hand.

“Or at least a place to rest for the night,” Remy said with her eyes on the sun lowering in the sky.

“Or maybe a little of both,” Max suggested when he saw my disappointment.

Remy insisted I sit and rest every moment I had the chance. Sometimes it was necessary. Sometimes I was so exhausted, I was about to pass out on my feet. But this was my first time out in the world since I was a little kid, and if I could handle exploring, I was going out to explore, no matter what Remy thought.

“Looks like there might be steamboats here.” Garrison motioned to the river that ran alongside us. “I would like to have a peek out at the docks if you all don’t mind.”

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