Hollowmen

by Amanda Hocking

  Bishop had gotten off the conveyor belt and was running toward me. I knew I had to come up with a plan, but all I could do was struggle to catch my breath. My stomach screamed at me. When the chain had jerked me, I think I might have ripped out a few stitches.

  With Bishop clamoring up the conveyor belt to get to me, all I could do was wait. I backed up as far from her as I could, so when she got up on the belt and her hands stretched out for me, she couldn’t grab my feet.

  The surface was smooth metal, and it was hard for me to grip. I almost wanted to grab her hand and help her up, just so we could get this going. If I thought she wouldn’t have bit me, I probably would’ve done it.

  Thanks to her impossible new zombie strength, she got up. She stood on the machine across from me, but before she could charge, I pulled the chain back, and then swung it at her as hard as I could.

  The hook sunk into her side, tearing through her flesh. It actually worked out much better than I’d hoped, because it was caught under her ribs. The chain moved away, hanging over the floor with Bishop hanging from it at an angle.

  Blood was dripping out of her side. As she screeched and babbled in her new zombie language, blood started coming out of her mouth. She never stopped flailing, though, and she kept reaching out for me, trying to grab me, even as she spun in a slow circle.

  Then she threw her head back and let out a long howl, summoning other zombies. I’m not sure how close they were, but with a city nearby, there had to be other zombies. And I could not face them.

  I jumped down off the machine and ran back to where Stella was hiding. Bishop was still alive, but there wasn’t anything I could do about that. I couldn’t even reach her where she was hanging, and part of me felt like she deserved it.

  If she’d just gone off when we told her, if she’d actually done what was best for Stella instead of turning into a crazy kidnapping bitch, this wouldn’t have happened. So this is what she gets. Since zombies couldn’t really die, not unless their heads or hearts were damaged, she could be stuck hanging from that hook for a very long time.

  “Stella!” I lay on the ground in front of her and reached my hand under the machine toward her. “Stella, come on. We gotta go.”

  “When Bishop started getting sick, she told me to stay under here and not to come out for anyone,” Stella said.

  So when she’d actually started turning, she’d had Stella hide. That was noble of her, except I don’t know what good that would’ve done. Stella would’ve just died underneath that machine or been ripped to shreds by Bishop if she ever came out.

  “Well …” I glanced back to where Bishop was howling and hanging from the chain. “She changed her mind and says you need to get out of here.”

  “Bishop said – ”

  “Look, Stella, I need you to trust me,” I said. “I’ve never done anything to hurt you, and I never will. But we have to get out of here. Now.”

  She extended her pudgy hand toward me, and I grabbed it. I pulled her out from under the machine, and I picked her up. She tried to look around, but I put my hand on her head and pushed her into my shoulder, so she couldn’t see Bishop.

  I ran out the front door, and I kept running. I really had no idea how long I’d be able to go, especially carrying Stella, but I had to push myself as far as I could. Bishop was still calling zombies, and we couldn’t be anywhere near them when they arrived.

  The snow was coming down hard, covering up the tracks I’d left behind. I could still see some of them, but the farther away we got from the factory, the more they were filled in. Soon, I’d just have to guess the way back to the farmhouse.

  When I couldn’t carry her anymore, I put Stella down. I still hung onto her hand, and she walked as fast as her little legs could carry her. That was about as fast as I could go anyway. I was sweating profusely, and I felt dizzy.

  At first, when I saw the figure waving its arms over its head, I thought I was hallucinating. Then Stella pointed to it and asked who that man was. He was in front of us, off to the right of where we were heading.

  My first instinct was to give him a wider berth, pass by him without interacting with him if at all possible. But I was starting to think that I might not be able to make it back to the farmhouse, and I didn’t want to leave Stella alone out here to freeze to death.

  Besides that, I’d been worried about Serg, and he’d turned out okay. He’d helped us a lot, and maybe this guy would be the same. I had to learn to trust my fellow man, because I really couldn’t do this on my own.

  “Are you zombies?” the man shouted when we got closer.

  “No,” I said. “Are you?”

  “No.” He laughed and started jogging toward us.

  Stella had been walking beside me, but I picked her up. I held her on my hip, and her boot accidentally kicked my incision. I nearly threw up when she did that, but I swallowed it back.

  The man coming over to us appeared to be in his early fifties, with gray hair kept short and neat. He had on an army-green trench coat, with a uniform underneath, the beige suit kind decorated with all sorts of pins and patches. It was in surprisingly good shape, unlike Boden’s and Nolita’s uniforms, which were worn to the nub.

  “I’m so glad to see you.” He grinned broadly at us. “It’s been too long since I’ve seen other people. I got separated from my group after we left the quarantine, and I’ve been wandering alone.”

  “You were at the quarantine?” I asked.

  The snowflakes were sticking to my eyelashes, and everything looked blurry. I tried to blink them back, but my eyesight was still blurry. Then I realized the snowflakes weren’t the problem.

  “Yes, I’m General Clark.” He held his hand out to me, but I didn’t shake it because I was holding Stella. He smiled understandably and put his hand back down. “You were at the quarantine? I don’t remember seeing you there.”

  “Yeah, I’m Remy King,” I said. “I kept to myself a lot.”

  “Who is this pretty little girl you have with you?” Clark asked, bending down to Stella’s level. She shied away from him and buried her head in my shoulder.

  “This is Stella,” I said. “We found her outside of the quarantine.”

  “We?” Clark looked around. “Is there more to your group?”

  “Yeah, they’re back at a house, waiting for us,” I explained. “We’re heading there now.”

  “Do you mind if I join you?” Clark asked. “I don’t want to be any trouble, but I don’t want to stay out in this snowstorm, either.”

  “Yeah, that should be okay.”

  As we walked, going in the direction I hoped the farmhouse was, Clark talked amicably at first. I said hardly anything in response, and Stella said nothing at all, so eventually he stopped. I did think it was a little weird how jovial he seemed. Especially for a soldier, and considering the whole zombie apocalypse.

  But he said he’d been wandering alone for a long time. Maybe he was just relieved and excited to have found people again.

  I didn’t have much strength to be paranoid, either. I still refused to put Stella down, and that was taking enough of my energy. Handing her off to a stranger felt wrong to me.

  The snow kept coming down harder, feeling like icy glass stinging my cheeks. I was still sweating, but it was freezing in my hair.

  The sky was darkening, and I prayed the house was getting close. I’d started stumbling a lot. Clark offered to take Stella or suggested I put her down, but I refused both.

  Then finally, I could see the glow of a fire from inside the house. We were close.

  My legs gave out and I fell to my knees, careful to keep Stella up so she wouldn’t get hurt.

  “Remy, you should let me take her,” Clark said, holding his hands out to me. “Or let her walk. The house is right there.”

  “No,” I insisted. “I’ve got her.”

  But I didn’t really. Clark actually had to help me back to my feet, and even then, I was staggering and swaying as I walked. I was so
dizzy, I felt like I might tip over at any moment, and my skin was on fire.

  I stumbled up to the back door, and I couldn’t even turn the knob. I pounded on the door, with Clark asking me if everything was okay behind me.

  “Remy!” Boden smiled when he opened the door, but his expression immediately changed to one of confusion when he saw Clark with me. “General Clark?”

  “I found him on the way here,” I mumbled out a response and pushed past Boden into the house.

  After being in the snow for so long, the house felt insanely warm. But since I was already so hot, that wasn’t a good thing. It was suffocating.

  “Remy.” Daniels looked relieved as he walked into the kitchen, but that fell when he saw Clark. “Clark? How …”

  “Here.” I shoved Stella at him, since I couldn’t hold her anymore. I probably could’ve put her on the ground, but that didn’t occur to me then.

  “Remy?” Daniels took Stella, but he narrowed his eyes in concern at me. “Are you okay? You don’t look good.”

  “She doesn’t have the virus, does she?” Clark asked, a new edge to his formerly cheerful voice.

  “No, Remy doesn’t…” Boden waved him off, too busy eyeing me over to give Clark a good answer. “What happened?”

  “No, I’m fine. Everything’s fine.” I pushed my damp hair back from my forehead, and put my hand on the counter to steady myself.

  Honestly, I had no idea why I was lying, except that I’d been doing it for so long. I didn’t want anyone to worry about me or waste time and energy on me. But at this point, I couldn’t fake it anymore.

  “You made it!” Max squealed and ran over to me. He threw his arms around my waist, crushing my incision, and I nearly screamed. He jumped back, alarmed. “Remy?”

  “Kid, I’m sorry.” I looked at Daniels, and from the stark expression on his face, I knew that I did not look good. “Something’s wrong.”

  And that was it. The ground gave out underneath me, and everything went black.

  26.

  What I remembered after that was mostly a blur, fragmented images and sounds that didn’t always fit together. I knew that I passed out, but I kept fighting to regain consciousness. Being out cold wasn’t something I was comfortable with.

  “Jesus, Remy.” Daniels’ voice sounded like it was coming from underwater. I blinked my eyes open, and he was sitting over me, his face hazy as it hovered above me.

  He touched my stomach, where the incision was swollen, and pain shot through me like a searing white heat. I screamed, because I couldn’t help myself.

  “How long has this been like this?” Daniels asked, and I mumbled an answer that didn’t make sense. “Remy, why didn’t you tell me about this?”

  “It hurts,” I whispered, and I could feel tears streaming down my cheeks.

  “What’s wrong?” Boden asked, and I could barely see him, standing above Daniels.

  “She has an infection.” Daniels pursed his lips, looking grave. “She might have sepsis. I don’t know why she waited so long.”

  “Is she going to be okay?” Boden asked.

  “Let’s just get her to a bed.”

  Then I was moving, floating away from the ground, and everything went black again. There was pain, intense and sharp, but I couldn’t hear or see anything. Only the pain permeated my sleep.

  “I found half a bottle of vodka,” Boden was saying when I opened my eyes again.

  I was in a different room, not the kitchen. There were no cupboards, and the walls were painted a strange blue color that made me seasick. Daniels was beside me, doing something to my abdomen that I couldn’t see but hurt like hell.

  “That’s better than nothing,” Daniels said and took the bottle from Boden.

  “She’s awake,” Boden said. He stood at the end of the bed, staring down at me, and his face was fraught with worry.

  “Remy, I’m trying to clean out and disinfect your incision,” Daniels said, keeping his voice calm and smooth. “It’s going to hurt, but I have to do it.”

  “No,” I moaned and tried to shake my head. “No. Stop.”

  “Remy, he needs to do this,” Boden said.

  I closed my eyes, and then my abdomen was filled with liquid fire. Everything inside me burned. I arched my back and gritted my teeth, trying not to scream because I didn’t want to frighten Max or Stella.

  The pain became too intense, and I blacked out again. When I woke again, all I heard was voices. I couldn’t open my eyes, and my body felt like it was floating on a cloud of flames.

  “You did this to her!” Boden was shouting angrily. “You’re the one that cut her open! You need to fix this!”

  “I’m trying!” Daniels insisted. “I’m doing everything I can, but there’s not much more I can do if she has sepsis. I don’t have a proper clinic – ”

  Something clattered loudly, and I wasn’t sure what it was, but I thought Boden hit something or knocked something over.

  “What do you even know about clinics?” Boden asked. “I thought you spent your time running a butcher shop back at the quarantine. How could you do that to her? Didn’t you have some kind of oath where you first do no harm?”

  “I didn’t do that to her,” Daniels argued. “My job was to draw blood and take care of her. I was in charge of monitoring her and keeping her alive. So that’s what I did. It was the other doctors that cut her up, and… I never wanted this to happen.”

  “Just fix her, okay?” Boden sounded uncharacteristically desperate. “Don’t let her die.”

  “I promise you, I’m doing everything I can for her,” Daniels assured him.

  Then it was gone again. I was back into the blackness. And at first that was nice because I couldn’t feel anything. A numbness had taken over me.

  But when I opened my eyes, a bright white lamp was shining above me. Four faces hovered above me, all hidden behind surgical masks, so all I could see was their eyes as they dissected me. I tried to move but my arms were pinned down. When I screamed, nothing came out, because my mouth was blocked with a leather gag. I was freezing cold, strapped naked to a table.

  I was back in the quarantine. I was in the operating room. I didn’t know how I got back there. Or maybe I’d never left. Maybe everything had been a dream, and I was still trapped inside, where they would be cutting me up over and over again.

  I struggled against the straps but I couldn’t get free. I wanted to scream at the doctors and beg them to stop, but they just ignored me, the way always did when they operated. They wouldn’t even look me in the eyes. They just talked calmly among themselves, like I wasn’t even there.

  Then I felt the blade slice into my stomach. Even when I knew it was coming, it never made it easier. But they weren’t just cutting my stomach. I could feel their knives all over, as they sliced up my legs, my arms, my chest, anywhere they reach. They were dicing me up.

  “Remy!” Daniels was yelling but I couldn’t see his face. He wasn’t in the operating room with us, but I could hear him. “Remy, stop! Please!”

  “Let me go!” I screamed, and I could actually hear my own words. The gag wasn’t in my mouth anymore.

  “Boden!” Daniels shouted. “Boden, I need your help!”

  “Please,” I was begging with tears streaming down my cheeks. “Please. Don’t hurt me.”

  “Nobody’s gonna hurt you.” That was Boden’s voice, calm and soothing, and I felt his hands, strong and warm on my arms. “But you need to settle down, or you’re going to hurt yourself.”

  I blinked, unable to understand what was happening, and the vision of the operating room cleared. Boden was sitting beside me, pinning down each of my arms. I was freezing, and my teeth began to chatter.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, and my throat felt raw. I wondered how much I’d been screaming.

  “You’re clothes are soaking wet, so Daniels is taking them off,” Boden said. “He’ll put you in dry clothes so you don’t get pneumonia.”

  Boden had loo
sened his grip, and I looked around. Daniels must’ve already changed my shirt, because I was wearing a warm, dry sweater instead of the old dirty one I’d had on before. He was in the process of taking off my pants, and they were around my knees, clinging wet to my skin.

  “Are you okay?” Boden asked.

  “Yeah.” I nodded. “I’m okay.”

  I tried to sit up, but I couldn’t. My body didn’t seem to want to work that way, and pain spread through me.

  “Don’t sit up,” Daniels said. “I’ve got it. You just rest.”

  I lay back, and he started sliding off my pants again. I didn’t feel any real shame at having him undress me, since he’d had to do it before in his capacity as my doctor. He’d actually seen me naked dozens of times before, and nothing inappropriate ever came of it.

  Boden let go of my arms, and for reasons I didn’t fully understand, I grabbed onto his hand, gripping tightly.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “Why are you sorry?” Boden asked with a crooked smile. With his free hand, he brushed back the hair from forehead.

  “I don’t know. I just feel like I should be sorry.”

  “You don’t need to be,” he assured me.

  “How’s Max?” I asked.

  “He’s good,” Boden said. “He’s worried about you, of course, but he’s fine.”

  “And Stella?”

  “She’s good, too.” He smiled. “She said that if you need her teddy bear, you can have it. It always makes her feel better.”

  “I think I’ll be okay,” I said, smiling back. My lips were dry, and it actually hurt to smile.

  “Good. But just get some rest, okay? You need to sleep.”

  I wanted to stay awake and talk more, although I’m not sure what I would’ve said. But Boden was right, and I was out the instant I closed my eyes.

  I woke up on and off after that, but I was never awake for long. Max came in to see me, and I remember promising him I would be fine, but that was about it. I mostly slept and had vivid nightmares, usually about the quarantine, but sometimes about other things, like Blue the zombie. But in my nightmares, Blue always won.