Page 32 of Hollow Valley

Unlike the rest of us, Fae spent most of her day being carried around on my back.The trek through the woods gave her plenty to see and hear to keep her mind busy, but her body was left without much to do.I let her walk as much as I could, but we simply couldn’t let our pace be dictated by the capabilities of a 22-month-old child toddling through the forest.

So on our breaks, when I set her free, she would run around and dance and wiggle as much as she could.Fae had apparently grown bored of climbing Fergus, and she darted over to Boden, handing him a flower she’d picked.

Dougal came out of the woods, walking slowly with a grimace on his face.“Sweet suffering, I’m weak at the knees after that.”

“Feeling it now, are you?”Fergus asked with a teasing smirk.“Is that raccoon you scarfed last night now chewing its way back out?”

Dougal scowled and laid down on the grass.“You don’t have to gloat over your poor brother’s misery.”

“Sure, that’s what family’s for,” Fergus countered with a wry laugh.“I’d be failing in my duties if I didn’t say I told you so.”

“Aye, but you’re also the same lad that decided to eat mud,” Dougal argued.

“What?Back when I was only five, and you egged me on?”Fergus asked dubiously.

“What about you, Stella girl?”Dougal asked, squinting over at me in the bright sun.“Is that raccoon sitting well with you at all?”

I shook my head.I felt terrible about what had happened with the zombies this morning, but physically, my stomach seemed indestructible since my pregnancy and the zombie bite.No matter what I ate, or how undercooked or rotten it might be, I never fell ill.Everyone around me still did, including Remy when she’d been here, and sometimes even Fae, so it must be because I was infected with the lyssavirus and started to turn, not because of the immunity.

“You’d land on your feet in a bog, you would,” Dougal said, warmly teasing.

“We’re all lucky if we’re still here, aren’t we?”Edie asked.

Fae gave chase to a clouded sulphur moth, darting toward the forest around us.

“Fae!”I called for her, but she only picked up her pace, hurrying as fast as her little legs could carry her.I got up and jogged after her, and this time, I used her full name so she’d know she was in trouble: “Rafaella Avalyn King!”

She froze for a split second, her arms outstretched toward the flitting pale yellow blur.I reached her before she could disappear beneath the low branches of the ponderosa pines, and I grabbed her and scooped her up in my arms.

“Rafaella,” I said again, firmer this time, and she stared up at me with her wide eyes.“You have to listen to me when I say your name.It’s a dangerous world out here.”

“Mama,” Fae replied before her words were lost in happy babbling, and she flapped her hands, as if mimicking the butterflies.

“We’ll find more that you can chase,” I promised her as I carried her back to where the others were resting.

“What did you call her?”Ryder asked.

“What?”I asked, confused.

“What did you call your daughter when you were chasing her?”he clarified, more forceful this time.

My cheeks burned when I realized what he was getting at.“Her full name is Rafaella Avalyn King.”

“Avalyn,” he repeated, like he hated the taste of the word.

“I named her after your sister,” I admitted.“I thought it was a pretty name, and I wanted to do something to honor her.”

“Why would you do that?”Ryder asked.“You didn’t even know her.”

“I-I-I- ” I floundered and lowered my eyes.

“Lay off, would ya?”Fergus said.“It’s a lovely name, and she meant well.”

“Still seems strange to me,” Ryder muttered, and he got to his feet.“That’s probably enough rest for now, if you all are ready to get moving again.”

It didn’t take long for us to gather up our things and set off.The somber determination lingered like a bruise, but our pace rapidly declined because Dougal needed frequent breaks.

Eventually, as dusk crept across the sky, we found shelter in the skeletal remains of an old barn.The second story loft had a retractable ladder, making it near impossible for a zombie to reach.The musty loft was filled with straw and an abundance of animal droppings littered on the floor, but after the day’s relentless marching, even that felt like a luxury.