Page 24 of Hollow Child

He glanced down at himself, his t-shirt splattered with zombie blood. He pulled it off and tossed it aside before rummaging through his knapsack for something clean.

Max was lean but muscular, and his abdomen was marked with faded scars. Most of them came from his time as an experiment in a government quarantine, but some came from surviving since then.

After he pulled on another shirt, he grabbed our water canteens, and our lunchbox containing smoked caribou (Rangifer tarandus), pine nuts (Pinus pinea L.), and fresh berries (Gaultheria procumbens), and then he climbed in beside me.

“Are you ready for your vacation feast?” he asked.

“I am both famished and queasy,” I told him honestly. “So, yes, I am.” I quickly devoured a handful of berries and took a long drink of water. “Have you ever been on vacation before?”

“We went to France once, before I started school,” he explained. “My mom wanted to show us where she was from, but I don’t remember much. I know that we were happy, and we had fun.”

“That sounds nice,” I said. “What was yourmother’s name again?”

“Rafaella.”

“Rafaella,” I repeated, liking the way it sounded on my tongue. I leaned back, resting my head on the pillow and munching on pine nuts. “What do you think of Rafael for a boy?”

“I like it,” he said. “But I thought you wanted to wait until we me the baby to decide on a name.”

“That’s still true, but I want to have a few ideas so I don’t just latch onto something without meaning,” I said. “I can’t remember my parents’ names or anything about them. But we could still honor yours, since you do.”

“We could go the ‘junior’ route. Maxime Junior for a boy, or a Stella Junior for a girl,” he suggested with a smile, and when I wrinkled my nose, he laughed.

“How about –” I began, but there was suddenly a loud rumbling that shook the whole boat. That was immediately followed by a loud whistling, and then everything went quiet. Ripley had been on the balcony, but she ran back into the room.

“What was that?” Should we be worried?” I asked.

“I don’t know what it was, but don’t worry just yet,” Max said as he got up. He went to the door and pressed his ear against it, and when nothing terrible happened, he tentatively opened it and peered out in the hall.

“Anything out there?” I asked.

“No, I don’t see or hear anything.” He closed the door and started back toward me, but then he stopped. “Do you feel that?”

“What?” I asked, because I didn’t feel anything but anxious, queasy, and tired.

“I think we’re moving.” He hurried out onto the balcony, sidestepping Ripley. “Yeah, we’re moving!”

“So we’re really getting our vacation?” I askedgleefully.

He ran back in and jumped onto the bed next to me and kissed me on the mouth. “Our vacation dreams are coming true!” Max kissed me again, more deeply, and his hand went to my waist, pulling me to him.

Someone knocked at our door, so Max pulled away and said, “Come in!”

“Hey,” Boden said, closing the door behind him. His hands were black and dirty, and he grinned down at us. “I just wanted to let you know that we got the boat going, so we’re heading up the river toward Grizzly Falls and Emberwood. And I wanted to see how you were doing.”

“We’re excellent,” I said, ignoring the body aches and exhaustion. “We’re ready to have fun at sea.”

“Are you gonna be okay hanging out in here?” Boden asked.

“After all the walking of the past week, I’ll relish it,” I said. “We were just discussing potential baby names.”

Boden’s smile deepened, turning sentimental. “Oh yeah? Can I ask what they are?”

“We aren’t deciding anything until the baby is actually here, but I was thinking of incorporating Rafael or Charles for a boy, after Max’s parents,” I said. “I also really like the names Alden and Henry.”

Boden’s brow furrowed, and he looked to Max. “What were your parents’ names?”

“Rafaella and Charles King,” Max answered.

---