Page 27 of Hollow Child

Before I could answer, someone knocked at the door. It could be important, so I gave Boden an apologetic look as I went to answer it.

Lillian was at the door, and she smiled at my wet hair and musty robe. “I see you’ve had a chance to enjoy the amenities.”

“Yeah. Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Everything’s great. We’re nearing the waterfall, so we’ll be anchoring for the night. Some of us were thinking about doing supper together in the dining hall. Would you want to join us?” Lillian asked.

“Uh, that’s a real nice thought, but I think I’d justlike to rest for the night.” I glanced back over my shoulder. “Boden, do you want to go down for dinner?”

“Nah, I’m good,” he replied flatly.

Across the hall diagonally from our room, the door opened, and Castor stepped out. When he saw me and Lillian in my doorway, he smiled and waved.

“Are you coming down for a family dinner?” he asked.

“No, I was just telling Lillian that Boden and I are pretty tired, so we’re staying in.”

“Oh, yeah, I get that,” Castor said. “My sister’s staying back because she’s seasick. Samara is already downstairs getting things set up, so it should be a real nice time if you end up changing your mind or feeling better.”

“Thanks,” I said. “Stella’s been dealing with morning sickness and now seasickness, so she has some herbal remedies if Polly is struggling.”

“I’ll let her know,” Castor said.

“Have a good night, and we’ll see you in the morning,” Lillian said, and as they walked away, I closed the door behind them.

I went back over to Boden, standing in front of him, when I finally said, “I’m sorry. I love you, and I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I know,” he admitted quietly.

“But I… I don’t know how else to be.” I gave a helpless shrug. “Everything that came before, it nearly broke me. And now I’m just trying so hard to survive and keep everyone alive, and most of the time, that is literally all I am thinking about.”

“But that’s not all on you, Remy. We keep each other alive.” He sat up and took my hand in his.

At that moment, the boat suddenly lurched to a stop, and I tumbled on top of Boden, both of us falling back onto the bed.

“We must’ve anchored,” I said.

“We must’ve.” He put his hand on my cheek, so I would look at him. “You are still the most beautiful badassI have ever met,” he murmured, and his lips were nearly brushing mine as he spoke. I kissed him deeply and hoped that he would understand how much I truly loved him.

17

Remy

The view from the front of the riverboat was that of a waterfall, and the early morning sunlight in the mist gave it a golden aura. It was almost surreal seeing something so beautiful.

The air was still chilly when I stepped out on the balcony. We had anchored just south of the falls, away from the churning water crashing into the river.

“That is looking pretty steep,” Boden said, giving voice to my own unpleasant observation as we looked out at the trail that ran alongside the falls.

He’d been out here for a while, leaning on the railing. When I woke up this morning, he was already gone, and the bed had felt so cold and empty without him. But I didn’t say any of that.

“Maybe it only looks like it is steep because we are so far away, but when we get up closer, it won’t be so bad.” I tried to be optimistic, but I didn’t sound convincing, even to myself.

Once everyone was awake, we all headed to the land. Since there wasn’t a dock around here, we had to take a life raft across. Ripley forwent the little boat and swam across the relatively placid river.

To get to the top of the waterfall, we had to walk on a trail alongside the river for nearly a kilometer. It was a smooth easy path with only a slight incline, but the falls still loomed ahead of us. On either side of it, the sheer stony cliff face stretched hundreds of metersup into the air.

The closer we got to it, the more others began expressing their concerns about the sheer gradient of it. Most of the griping came from Garrison, but he was in his mid-fifties, older than the rest of us. None of us were exactly out of shape, because we really couldn’t be and survive this long.

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