Page 97 of Hollow Child

He wrapped me in the fluffy robe, and he laid me down on the bed. He dressed in dry clothes that he’d left behind, and he went down to help the others, even though he had to be so exhausted himself.

I wanted to help him. I wanted to be useful and productive. But I couldn’t. I had no energy, no strength left. My mind kept blanking out, and I couldn’t fight it anymore.

Later, I awoke, and it was dark. Boden was sleeping beside me. I rolled into him, pressing my body against the warmth of his back.

When I opened my eyes again, he was gone, and the bed was cold, even with the sunlight through the windows. I rolled over and pulled the blanket more tightly around myself.

“You have to eat something,” Boden said when he woke me up later that day, and he practically force fed me bland fish soup.

“How’s the baby?” I asked.

“Good. Do you want to see her?” Boden asked. “I can bring her to the room. Harlow, Eden, and I have been caring for her, but I haven’t brought her here, because I wanted you to rest.”

“Stella isn’t back yet?” I asked.

He shook his head. “No. No sign of her yet.”

“Who else is on the boat?” I asked.

“I think there’s maybe fifty of us total. I don’t know most of them,” he said. “There’s Eden, Harlow, Kimber, Nova, Lazlo, Castor. I think that’s about it for the people that I know. A few have been quarantined because they might be infected. Eden’s boyfriend Alek is one.

“Some people are heading back to Emberwood for supplies and other survivors,” he went on. “Some others are talking about moving back to town and rebuilding what’s left.”

“And what do you want to do?” I asked.

“I want to stay here until Stella gets back, because this is where I told her that we would be,” he said. “And I think you could use the time to recuperate.”

“Thank you,” I mumbled, because I didn’t know what else to say, or maybe I just didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

When I opened my eyes again, Boden was gone, and it was dark. I was still numb and hollow and tired.

For a while, that’s how my days bled into each other. Long periods of blissful blank sleep punctuated by moments of Boden trying to keep me alive and then these sharp agonizing times when I remembered that Max was ripped apart and that Serg had died.

Every day, Boden would make me eat and drink, and I would ask about Stella, and he’d tell me that she hadn’t been seen yet. None of the survivors had made it out of quarantine, including Eden’s boyfriend Alek. They were all dispatched and buried on the shore, along with Serg and some of the others who had succumbed to their injuries.

The routine continued until one day, when he brought me fish and potatoes, and Boden said, “I think it’s time for you to get out of bed and see yourniece.”

“How long has it been?” I asked.

“Seven days,” he said, and all I heard was worry and weariness and grief. “It has been seven days since you held Fae or left this room or had a meaningful conversation with me.”

“And Stella’s still not back?” I asked. “Where is she? Is she coming back? She wouldn’t leave her daughter, would she?”

“I honestly don’t know,” he admitted. “But I need you to get out of bed and rejoin the land of the living so we can figure everything out together.”

I got dressed, and Boden took me down the hall to the room they’d set up as a nursery for the baby. Minnie the goat was tied out on the balcony, and Harlow was holding Fae and feeding her with a bottle.

“Good afternoon, Remy.” Harlow smiled at me as I came in. “Do you want to hold her?”

“Uh, sure,” I said, when I wanted to say no. I suddenly felt nervous about it, like I had never held a baby before.

Harlow got up and handed me the tiny little girl. When Fae opened her eyes and looked up at me, all I could see was Max.

I held her with trembling arms, and like I had done when her father was just a baby, I sang my mother’s lullaby. Inside, I still felt hollow, but in that moment, I knew that I would learn how to fight and get out of bed every day. For her.

57

Stella

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