Page 15 of Hollow Valley

“How are you feeling, Cole?”Bianka asked.“I hope we aren’t disturbing you.”

“No, you’re fine,” he said, but his voice came out dry and brittle.

Bianka set aside the pack she’d been mending, and she went to where Cole was resting.She crouched beside him and gave him his canteen of water and helped him drink it.

“Is that better?”she asked.

“Yes, thank you.”

“Is there anything you need?”she asked.“You haven’t eaten much today.”

“I can’t stomach what’s left of the dried venison or stale biscuits,” he admitted with a grimace.

“I saw some salmonberries when we were coming down here.It wasn’t too far away, and I could forage you up some,” I offered.

“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble,” Cole said.

“No, none at all,” I insisted.“And besides, we could all use some fresh fruit after last night.”

Bianka stayed back with Cole, since he still needed his rest, and I went off with my newly fixed pack, meandering back down the trail we’d taken through the forest yesterday.

It wasn’t too long until I discovered the salmonberries.This time of year, they were a little sweet-tart, and there weren’t enough of them to make a full meal, but it was better than nothing.

As I gathered them, munching on berries as I went along, I nearly tripped on an elk calf, nestled in a nest beneath the brush.Based on the speckled markings and the way it lay perfectly still, I guessed it was only a week or two old.

Even at that age, it was fairly large.Long legs with a fat belly full of nutritious milk from the mother, the calf had to be at least fifty pounds, maybe even sixty.That would be enough meat to feed our group for a few days.

My knife was holstered on my hip, and the calf was frozen still, which would make an easy harvest.It was well over a week until we got back to the steamboat, and this was a certainty that fell right into my path.

I knew what Ishoulddo, but as I stared into the wide frightened eyes of the calf, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Even in this world, some things still felt sacred.Some lines should only be crossed when there was no other choice, and some shouldn’t be crossed even then.

11

Stella

The hunting troop came back with rabbits and squirrels, and while not as substantial as elk, it would be enough protein to feed us for a few days.That meant we’d have to stop again to hunt along the way, but Cole needed frequent breaks for rest anyway.

Consequently, the return trip home took much longer than the journey to the Lakehouse.By the time we reached the halfway point, I’d been away from Fae for nearly a month, and we still had another week to go.

The one upside of the length was that it gave Boden and I more time to get to know the others.Not that they gave up much information.Murphy and Ryder were especially stoic and rarely engaged in small talk, and Cole was often too fatigued or sickly to say much.Bianka and Leandro were more open, but they still mostly talked to their own group.

To be fair, Boden and I weren’t that great of conversationists, either.I suspected that surviving the zombie apocalypse had that effect on people.

That didn’t mean I didn’t try, though.Especially with Ryder.It was hard to explain exactly how I felt about him, but at the very least I couldn’t deny an infatuation.I was curious about his life, the one I’d gotten glimpses of at the Lakehouse, and he had a brooding intensity to him that made my stomach flutter in ways I wanted to ignore.I often caught myself staring at him and sometimes even daydreaming about him, if I let my mind wander too much.

Boden was leading the way, following a trail through the forest, since he knew it the best, but Ryder was always right behind him.Murphy and Bianka tended to hang back with Cole, helping him and making sure he didn’t get left behind.Leandro stuck close to Ryder, and I usually stayed by Boden.

One afternoon, I let myself fall in step beside Ryder.“Did you hike a lot B.Z.?”I asked him.

He glanced over at me, his brow furrowed in confusion.“What are you talking about?”

“I meant before the zombies,” I clarified.“Did you hike around the woods at the Lakehouse?Or in Vancouver?Your family seemed so outdoorsy.”

“My family seemed like a lot of things,” he grumbled.

“I’ve only really been able to guess at what I thought they were like,” I said.“You all looked so happy and nice.”