Page 35 of Hollow Child

“Yeah, I got it,” he snapped.

They sent us down a narrow pathway between the exterior stone and wood fence and an interior chain link fence, and Max hung onto my hand for as long as he could. Ahead were a row of small sheds, and it wasn’t until we stopped at the first one that the separation they’d warned of began. They directed me to go through the door into one, and Max squeezed my hand and promised he’d see me soon.

The little shacks were made of sheet metal, and they had no windows. They did, however, have electricity, and they were lit by a bright white light. A folding chair sat in the center, and in one corner, there was a basin with clean water and a mirror above it. In the other corner, there was a bucket of sawdust for waste.

“Sit down and someone will be with you soon,” the people in the spacesuits said, and they closed the door behind them.

I stripped down to the bandeau bra and boxer shorts I’d made from the clothes I had outgrown at the lakehouse. The fabric had clouds and rainbows of thelittle girl who had loved them before me.

The door opened without a knock, and someone in a space suit came in carrying a tacklebox. They shut the door behind them, and with their gloved hand, they pulled out a thermometer.

“You can sit if you want. I need a few vitals,” they said.

“I can’t. It hurts to sit or straighten up,” I said. All I could comfortably do was lean against my walking stick.

They quickly took my temperature, my blood pressure, and checked my pupils, along with a few other tests that I didn’t understand. Then, much to my surprise, they pulled off their helmet, and revealed a woman with a round, kind face. Her dark hair was graying at the temples, and her tentative smile was comforting.

“You have a fever, but no other signs of infection,” she said. “What’s your name?”

“Stella.”

“How old are you, Stella?”

“I turned fifteen in June.”

“Do you know how far along you are in your pregnancy?”

“A little over seven months, I think,” I said.

“Stella, you are sick, but I think you know that,” she said gently. “My name is Jovie Galaway, and I’m a midwife. I want to help you.”

Tears formed in my eyes. “Really?”

“Yes.” She smiled. “I’ll leave you to get dressed, and then we’ll get you out of here. Okay?”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

She left, and I dressed as hurriedly as I could. The ache underneath my belly made it difficult. I ran my hand along my bare skin, and I felt a wound. My fingertips were red with blood.

My heart dropped, and I looked to the mirror. Icouldn’t see under my belly, so I stood on my tip toes, lifting it up and tilting back until I could see it in the reflection. The waistband of my boxers were red with blood straight beneath my belly button, and I could see the shape of teeth, small but clear.

A zombie had bitten me.

21

Remy

I could hear Ripley grumbling through the shed walls as I hurried to get dressed after my exam. When I tried the door, I half-expected it to be locked even though they had told me that I was free to go. Just being in a cramped box like this with too bright of lights reminded me of my time in my last quarantine zone, but I never let myself think about that anymore.

The door opened, and the person in the HAZMAT suit that had cleared me was waiting to tell me how to enter the town. I didn’t ask how anyone else was doing, mostly because I didn’t think they would tell me, so I just got out of the shed and raced to find my family.

Max was the first, waiting in an area with benches surrounded by a chain link fence. Boden and Serg were calming Ripley, who was tolerating her leash okay, but she always got restless when she was caged. The others were milled about – Lillian, Samara, and Castor – but Stella wasn’t there.

“Max!” I ran and hugged my brother, but he didn’t really hug me back.

“I don’t know where Stella is,” he said before I even released him.

“She’ll be here soon,” I said. “Everyone else is.”

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