Page 48 of Hollow Child

“Does that mean you have some suspicions?” Serg asked.

Jovie nodded. “I do. There is a phenomenon called microchimerism that sometimes occurs in pregnancy. Fetal cells will cross the placenta, entering into the mother’s body. When they do this, they bolster the mother’s immune system, helping to repair damaged tissue and even fighting infections.”

“You’re saying that the baby fought off the virus?” Max asked.

“Not quite that literally, but sorta,” Jovie said.

Max looked to his older sister. “It’s because of our blood, isn’t it?”

Remy’s brow furrowed. She didn’t like him talking about their immunity in front of strangers, but Jovie wasn’t really a stranger anymore.

“A doctor that experimented on our blood once explained to me that our blood attacks the virus and basically causes it to freeze,” Remy said.

“The virus is frozen?” I asked, alarmed. “Will it unthaw when the baby is born? Why aren’t they dead?”

“Viruses can’t die because they don’t truly live,” Jovie clarified. “They can’t survive without a host, but they can be damaged enough to become inactive and essentially harmless.”

“And that’s what you think happened?” Maxasked.

She nodded. “That is my best guess.”

“So you think that I will be okay?” I asked.

“I don’t think the lyssavirus will be an issue for you or your baby going forward,” Jovie confirmed. “But need to eat to keep your strength up, and you’re dehydrated. The recent stress hasn’t been good for you, so you still need to rest and try to get your blood pressure down.”

“I think I can do that,” I said with a confident smile. Honestly, everything sounded so easy and possible after the turn around I had made.

The relief made me feel so light and untouchable, like I could handle anything. Nothing could ever hurt me again. Euphoric invincibility was the only way to describe it.

“Yeah, of course you can,” Max agreed and squeezed my hand as he smiled at me with happy tears in his own eyes. “Together, we can do anything.”

29

Remy

It was surreal how quickly everything could change. I’d gotten used to abrupt changes being terrible, traumatic things, but this one had been an absolute rollercoaster. Two weeks ago, we’d all been at the lakehouse, one week ago Stella had been bitten by a zombie, and today, she was doing so well, I’m helping Boden and Serg settle into our new house while Max stays back with Stella at the clinic.

We weren’t out of the woods yet, but I felt like I could breathe for the first time in so long. We were together, we were alive, and we had a home. On top of all that, Lazlo and Harlow were here, and I would be able to spend more time with them again.

Was this what optimism felt like?

“It’s the one up ahead,” Boden said as he led me through the narrow dirt roads between little houses.

Our street was marked with a wooden signed labelled Eliot Lane. Most of the trees had been cleared, presumably for building the houses and the city fence. The surrounding homes were all of similar design and build. They were squat with sharply pitched roofs, and the walls were made of a mixture of logs and something called “cob” that was apparently similar to dark brown plaster.

The one that Boden pointed to was a bit taller than most, and it had a roof made of oxidized sheet metal. The windows were mismatched, like they had beenrepurposed from multiple different builds. The front door was made of reclaimed wood and stained a dark crimson color, and an awning was over it, creating a little porch with a gravel floor. In the side yard was a small garden shed.

“It is not as nice as the lakehouse,” Boden prepared me, since he had been there already. “But it’s cozy, and we have running water.”

“Running water?” I asked, growing excited. “What about electricity?”

“No electricity, so the water only gets lukewarm,” he said.

“Well, running water is an upgrade at least.”

Boden opened the door and motioned for me to go inside. Cozy was definitely a way to describe it. The floors were made of stones and gravel, and the curtains were a patchwork of rags sewn together.

From the front door, we stepped right into a mid-sized room that served as the living room and kitchen, based on the battered old leather sofa at one end and the sink built into a simple row of cabinets at the other. Right next to the sink was a contraption made of bricks with a cooking grate on top, and Boden explained it was essentially a homemade woodburning stove.

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