Page 40 of Hollow Child

“I don’t feel too bad,” I said with a weak smile. “Where is everyone else?”

“They’re all out getting situated in their new places,” Boden said. “But I just wanted to see how…” He paused, seeming to choke on the words, but he finally managed to get out, “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I am okay for now,” I said.

“Good. Good.” He cleared his throat. “Remy willbe here real soon, and Serg won’t be far behind. He’s just getting the keys to our new place. The mayor says we’ll be right down the road from where Samara and Castor are staying.”

“That will be nice to be so close to friends,” I said, and I meant it. “Max will need all the support he can get.”

Boden’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “I will always do everything I can for you, for Max, and for the baby. And Ripley and Remy will destroy anyone who even tries to hurt them. No child will ever be more loved than yours or safer in this world. I can promise you that.”

“I know, and thank you,” I said. “But I’m not gone yet, so don’t go getting all weepy.”

He blinked back tears and shook his head. “I know. I’m sorry. I should go out and wait for the others. Make sure they can find the place okay.”

He came over and kissed me on the forehead. “I love you, kiddo.” Then he hurried out of the room.

24

Remy

The first time I saw Stella, she had been so small and timid, I had thought she was younger than her seven years. Her auburn hair had been so filthy it appeared brown and was practically matted to her head.

When my brother had found her, I think she had been semi-feral from trauma. But he’d taken care of her and made her feel safe, and she had colored pictures on the walls and made toys out of glass bottles.

And then, after a long arduous journey where we almost lost Stella to an obsessed zombie, we had ended up safe at the lakehouse, and she had truly come out of her shell. She had taken to the quiet, country life immediately, caring for Ripley, foraging and gardening, making a necklace from wildflowers, and learning to sew her own clothes.

Somehow, through it all, Stella was curious, kind, generous, intelligent, hardworking, and determined. And she wasonlyfifteen. Her whole life was still ahead of her, and she had a baby on the way.

It wasn’t right for her to be like this, in a strange room that smelled so strongly of antiseptic. Jovie’s place was clearly intended to be cozy and comforting, but that was just a poor attempt to hide that a clinic was little more than a laboratory. The walls were sterile white because it was easier to clean off blood and shit, and the scent of tree oil and caustic lye wasmeant to mask it all. All of the lights were so bright, like spotlights blinding me and humming with electricity.

I tried not to think about those things, or the way my stomach rolled at the sight of anything medical. The syringes and vials, even the cannister of cotton balls or a roll of sterile gauze made me nauseated.

Then I felt Boden’s hand, splayed across the small of my back. His voice was low and reassuring in my ear, “Stella’s room is this way.”

When we were still on the porch, Boden had warned me that she already had a precautionary chain around her ankle. I still wasn’t prepared for the visceral reaction I’d have when I caught a glimpse of it through the open door to her room. The second I saw it, this blinding rage burned through me, and it was literally all I could do to keep from punching something or throwing up.

“Remy.” Max’s voice pulled me from that, and I blinked to clear my head.

When I saw the heartbreak written all over his face, I had never felt more lost or overwhelmed. Not even when I had to tell him that our parents were dead.

I had no idea what to do, as every single thought inside my head vanished. I couldn’t move or speak or react at all when my brother rushed over and threw his arms around me.

“Max,” Boden said with his voice full of the warmth and empathy I wished I could’ve conveyed, and he wrapped his long arms around me and Max, hugging us both.

“I’m so glad you’re here, Remy,” Max said, his voice muddled from crying. “I don’t know what to do.”

“We’ll figure it out,” I finally managed to say, because I had to say something, and I didn’t want himto know that I had no idea what the fuck to do.

We finally parted, and I went over to Stella. She looked so tiny and frail in the bed, even with her round belly. Her hair was fanned out on the pillow around her, and she smiled weakly at me.

“Hi, Stella,” I said, because I had to start somewhere. “How are you?”

“I’m okay, all things considered,” she replied.

“What can I do to help you?” I asked.

“Just take care of Max and the baby.”

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