Page 24 of Hollow Valley
“We’re going after her,” I corrected him, and he shot me a weary look.
“Stella, we’ve already gone over this – ”
“I know, and I told you that we’re not splitting up anymore,” I reminded him firmly.“The outbreak on the boat proves that nowhere is safe, so all that matters is that we’re with each other.Wherever you go, I go, and wherever I go, Fae goes.”
“Just because nowhere iscompletelysafe doesn’t mean that some aren’t safer than others,” Boden argued.
“I keep you safe, too,” I persisted.“The zombies don’t bother you when I’m around.”
He chewed the inside of his cheek and looked away from me.“Zombies aren’t the only dangers out there.”
“Are you sure this isn’t all a moot point?Do you think Remy even wants to be found?”Harlow asked.“Or that it’s not too late?”
“That’s a shit thing to say.”Boden glared over at her.“And I already told you that Remy clearly isn’t thinking straight, so it doesn’t matter what she wants.”
“So are you going to drag her away kicking and screaming?”Harlow asked.
“If I find her, and they’re dissecting her like a preserved frog, then yeah, I will,” he said.“But … I need to find her and make sure she’s okay, and that this truly is what she wants.”
“How will you know if it’s ‘truly’ what she wants?”Harlow asked.
“I don’t know.I just will,” he said finally.“Why are you so against me going after her?Haven’t you known her the longest?”
Harlow bristled a little.“I’m not against you going after her.But I just know what she’s like.She leaves people.It’s what she does.And the only reason she didn’t leave you all for so long was because Max was there, but now he’s not.He’s the only one she never left.”
“Jesus, Harlow, why don’t you tell us how you really feel?”Boden asked bitterly.
“I’m not trying to make you feel bad,” she insisted.“I’m only trying to get you to understand why I think it’s pointless to go after her.Remy is going to do what she wants.”
“And so are we,” I shot back.“We can talk about what Remy would do all day, but it doesn’t change what’s happening right now.She’s out there, and I can’t pretend that doesn’t matter to me.”
Edie, who had been quietly watching the exchange so far, finally spoke up.“If Stella and Fae are going to find Remy, then I want to go, too.This boat doesn’t feel safer to me than anywhere else, and I want to be with the people I care about.”
“Thank you, Edie.”I reached over and squeezed her hand as I smiled at her.Not only had she become someone that both Fae and I relied on, but she had medical training and she was an avid hunter.With her, we’d all be safer.
“Fine,” Boden said, sounding resigned.“Whoever wants to go can go, whoever wants to stay can stay.I won’t be the one to decide what’s safe or what path is right for anyone.”
Harlow hesitated, arms crossed, her gaze flickering from each of us before she finally exhaled.“Well.I wish you luck, I really do.But I’m heading back to New Emberwood.That’s where Kimber and I are making our home.”
He nodded.“We should rest up and gather supplies over the next day or two.If we travel quickly, we should make it to Glacier Valley by August.”
17
Stella
The Barbarabelle didn’t have a true leader or mayor.Anyone strong and smart enough had been taught how to operate the boat, and all major decisions were made as a group.No one would stop us if we just tried to leave – as evidenced when Remy made off in the night – but it would be considerate for us to have a discussion with the community at large before we left.
Over supper in the dining hall, once everyone was gathered at the tables, Boden stood up and explained what our plan was.Of course, he conveniently left out one key fact that he didn’t want everyone to know: Remy was immune to the lyssavirus, as were Fae and me.Something that powerful was safer the fewer people who knew about it.
Instead, he kept it vague, saying that Remy simply wanted to join Cold Shore to help fight the zombies in a different way.
“Can anyone just walk in and get a job at Cold Shore?”Bianka was seemingly asking Boden, but her gaze was pointed on Murphy beside her.
Murphy snorted.“No, of course not.They have a limited number of positions, and the people who hold them have to meet very specific criteria and do this battery of testing called the ARK.I mean, their whole plan for surviving the end of days is by closing themselves off as much as possible in their frozen little bunkers.”
“But Cold Shore isn’t the only thing in Glacier Valley, is it?”Sienna asked.She stood off to the side of the room with her husband Oakley.He was usually still in the kitchen now, but he came out to hear what Boden had to say.
“The Cold Shore outpost ended up there because Glacier Valley was one of the first settlements post-civilization,” Murphy said.“It wasn’t anything as big or as glamorous as it was before, but there’s a decent little town there.The mountains to the west, the glacier to the north, and the canal to the south help keep it isolated from a lot of zombies.”