Page 33 of Hollow Valley
Ryder and Dougal collapsed on their makeshift beds, while I curled up in a quiet corner.This was our first attempt at my adjusted sleep schedule, so I napped until sundown, and then I traded off, sitting up awake until sunrise, when Boden would wake so I could sleep for another hour or two before starting the day.
Thankfully, the eerie state of the barn made it easy to stay alert.Shadows flickered over the rafters as pigeons rustled overhead and the scurry of tiny feet betrayed the presence of mice.I did my best to keep myself occupied, working on my scrapbook by dim lantern light.
Most everyone else slept without problem, but that made sense given our collective exhaustion.The lone exceptions were Dougal and Ryder, restless silhouettes in the night gloom, waking again and again, slipping outside to the far end of the barn with a quiet urgency.
When the faintest hint of morning seeped through the warped boards, I nudged Boden awake and slipped gratefully back into the cocoon of sleep.He woke me up for the day an hour later, and while I was tired deep down into my bones, at least I hadn’t summoned any zombies.
21
Stella
The following days blurred together in a haze of fatigue and quiet misery.Dougal’s bathroom breaks hadn’t slowed, and while Ryder had recovered from that already, he still seemed off.His usual silence felt sharpened into something brittle.
At least the weather had been pleasant with warm sunny days and cool dry nights.The wildlife had been giving us a wide berth, too, which was mostly positive because we didn’t need to quarrel with anything dangerous.But it also meant that there wasn’t much hunting.
That wasn’t so bad for our group, especially Dougal and Ryder who had soured on fresh meat for a while.But I was craving it something fierce, and I was hardly sleeping because I was afraid of what I might accidentally summon.
So even with all our silver linings, it was hard to stay upbeat with the dark cloud hanging over me.For Fae’s sake, and for my own, I kept my mind busy by pointing out anything interesting we saw.Mostly that ended up being birds, bugs, and flowers, but it was important for Fae to know the world around us.
When a bird flew overhead, Fae happily babbled, and I started to reply with, “That’s right, Fae, it’s – ”
“I swear to God, if you say ‘barn swallow,Hirundo rustica’” – Ryder used air quotes, his voice going high-pitched to mock mine as he said the name – “one more time, I am going to lose my goddamn mind.”
He was trailing a few steps behind me and Edie in the middle, with Boden and Alphie leading the way through a wide trail winding through the forest in the foothills of the mountains.Dougal and Fergus were bringing up the rear behind Leandro and Ryder.
My cheeks burned with shame, and I suddenly felt like crying, but I managed to blink it back.
“Hey!”Boden shouted back over his shoulder.
“Oh, come on,” Ryder insisted, sounding annoyed.“Like you all weren’t thinking it.”
“She’s only teaching her daughter stuff,” Leandro said.“It’s nothing to be all bothered about.”
“I wouldn’t be if she didn’t say the same thing ten thousand times!”Ryder shouted in exasperation.“Is the barn swallow the only bird in this whole damn forest?”
“Ah, now, that’s not quite true,” Fergus corrected him.“There were two robins and a waxbird only fifteen minutes back.”
“A cedar waxwing,” I amended quietly.Then I cleared my throat and more loudly said, “It’s fine.If it’s annoying, I’ll just stop.”
“Everyone is tired, and probably hungry,” Edie said, playing mediator.“Why don’t we stop and have a break?”
“There’s an old campground not far ahead,” Alphie said.“It’d be a better place to have a rest.”
There were murmurs of agreement, so we went onward, but no one really said anything.Even Fae fell silent, as if she sensed the tension.
Eventually, the trees thinned a bit, and I spotted a faded lodge sign partially swallowed by moss.The first word was a little hard to read through the vegetation, but the big letters forCedar Hollow Campgroundhad been carved deep into the wood.
Over the top of the wordHollow, a unique design had been spray painted on it.Fairly recently too, if the vibrancy of the bright green was any indication.It was something like a lopsided maple leaf with a crooked smile in the center.
More ominously, below that, someone had scratched a warning into the wood with jagged letters:Beware of the Revvers’ punishments.
“Does that grinning leaf mean anything?”Boden asked Alphie.“Is it a mark for the Revvers?”
Alphie shook her head, glancing at the sign with visible distaste.“No, that has nothing to do with them.It’s something that stupid people do to let other stupid people know they’re around.”
“What about the punishment warning?”Ryder asked.“Is it something we should be worried about?”
“Not as long as we stay away from the Revvers, and that’s our plan.”She kept walking ahead, effectively shutting down the conversation.