Page 39 of Hollow Valley

“How has she decided in the past, when the people aren’t sick?”I asked.

“Exilation, Execution, Expiation, Exaction, Exbindition,” Alphie recited in a flat voice.“Those are the five punishments.”

“Exilation, that’s like exile, right?So it means we won’t be allowed back here?”Leandro asked.“That seems like the one we should aim for.”

“Nell will decide,” Alphie said again, in the same flat voice.

“Ah sure, if we don’t end up dead, three days’ peace wouldn’t be the worst,” Dougal said, groaning a bit as he readjusted himself on the cot.

While Dougal was definitely faring the worst of us – his stomach bug necessitated frequent breaks, and he’d been struggling to keep down anything more than the weak broth that Edie made of water and dried venison – we all could use a break.

It wasn’t only the long days spent hiking uneven terrain, or the loss of so many people in such a short amount of time.I had hardly been sleeping to keep everyone safe, but here was different.If I summoned the zombies, they wouldn’t be able to get through the bars on the windows.They hadn’t even broken through the glass after all this time.

We were finally somewhere that everyone could be safe from me, and the moment that realization hit me, I almost sobbed in relief.I sat back on the cot behind me, and the vice around my heart loosened enough that I could feel something other than fear and dread.

“Maybe this is a blessing in disguise,” I said.“Like an oasis in a desert.Somewhere we can catch our breath for a minute.”

“Here is only as much a blessing as it is a curse,” Alphie responded cryptically.“But everyone should rest while we can.No matter what Nell decides, you’ll want your strength.”

Since I was sitting down, Fae untangled herself from my arms and walked to the end of the cot.There, standing on her tiptoes, she could peer outside at the zombies.For her, they were dazzling displays of color and decoration, unlike any she had seen before.How enchanting they must look to her!Her only comparisons for something like Fort Lately were in colorful picture books.

“I should rest,” I said, because I wasn’t sure I had the strength to do much else.

The relief had washed over me, but it had also washed away the steely resolve that had masked so much of the pain and exhaustion that had been building up inside me.Suddenly, I could feel the burn in my shoulders from constantly carrying a child on my back.

My feet felt swollen inside my boots, and when I got them off, my socks were stained yellow and pink from blood and popped blisters.The pain in them ballooned after I relieved the confinement of the boots, and a slow burning ache radiated throughout my entire body.

The insatiable hunger inside me – my constant companion – for once was overridden by the general exhaustion and pain of everything else.

I laid back on the cot, and the tiredness hit me so hard, I was dizzy and nauseous.Fae’s feet were right by my head, dancing as she watched out the window.

“Sleep while you can,” Boden said, draping a threadbare blanket over the top of me.“I’ll watch Fae, and we’ll work on a plan for getting out of here.”

24

Stella

It was another two days before we met Nell.During that time, I’m embarrassed to admit that I mostly slept.In a strange twist, I felt more protected held captive than I had out on the open road.

It wasn’t that I believed the Revvers themselves to besafe.The guns and the glamorized zombies were threat enough without the addition of the warnings and Alphie’s general agitation.

But the walls and locked doors assuaged my fear enough that I could finally close my eyes and breathe.

So that’s what I did.Those two days passed in a blur of fitful naps and muted conversations.Fae was largely occupied by the spectacle outside our windows of the zombies in their colorful garb.Sometimes, I awoke from a nap to the sound of her laughter as she danced in the sunlight slanting in through the windows.

Occasionally, Boden and Fergus would quietly strategize in the corner, their voices low but urgent, while Alphie paced anxiously or sat in the corner.

We hadn’t heard from the Revvers since the first day, and we were left on our own in the barracks with enough rations of canned beans, uncooked potatoes, and water to sustain us a few days.

On the afternoon that the Revvers finally returned, I was awake.Fae was on my lap, watching out the window.A few others were napping, while Fergus and Leandro played some kind of game they’d concocted using dried beans.

Boden was up, standing by the windows staring out at the zombies.That was how he spent most of his time here.Silently standing vigilant against a threat he didn’t know how to prepare for.

The metallic rattle of keys drew all of our attention.Fergus shook his brother awake, and Alphie scuttled to the far side of the room, standing with her back pressed against the wall and her brown eyes locked on the door.

Benedict – the taller guard with the sunflower eyepatch – was the first to enter the room, ducking as he did.Behind him, a rather unassuming woman followed.Once she was in, Dusty came in and closed the door behind them.

The woman was short, maybe half-an-inch shorter than me even, and she looked to be in her early forties.Her long hair had the appearance of dry straw bleached nearly white by the weather, and her eyes were the color of old bruises, gray and yellowed at the edges.In a plain way, she was pretty – her features soft, delicate, and symmetrical, but also faded and unremarkable.