Page 67 of Hollow Valley

I sat on a nearby rock and pulled off the shredded boot, wincing as I saw the deep bite marks and torn flesh.I used a bottle of antiseptic, pouring it generously over the wound, biting back a cry as it burned, then wrapped my foot tightly to slow the bleeding and prevent infection.

Ripley had finished her zombie feasting, and she came over to me, still licking the green blood off her lips.She pressed her forehead against me, the way she often did after something like this, as if she wanted to make sure I was okay.Unfortunately, she did that by butting her head so hard into me I nearly fell off the rock.

“We’ll all be okay, Ripley,” I assured her, running a hand through her thick fur.“We have to keep moving.”

After that, I patched the boot as best I could with duct tape and scraps of leather, making it sturdy enough to keep out the cold and slush until I could find something better.

As the sun lowered below the horizon, so did the temperatures as they boomeranged from highs to lows.The unseasonable warmth plunged before I even had a chance to bed down for the night.

In a fortuitous bit of luck we came across an actual campsite.The wooden sign outside the entrance announced the nameCedar Hollow Campgrounds.Unfortunately, there wasn’t much for remaining structures, at least not that I could see under the ice and snow.

However, there was a pavilion, which meant that we would at least have a roof over our heads.I stretched the canvas tarp over two sides of the pavilion, the fabric snapping as it caught the wind.It wasn’t perfect, but it gave us walls against the gusts.

After I got the fire started, I wrapped Vince’s legs and covered him in a blanket.Then I settled down with Ripley by the fire and tried not to think about the throbbing cold in my toes.

“It’ll be better in the morning,” I promised Ripley and Vince as we huddled around the flames.

But that turned out to be merely wishful thinking.The morning continued with arctic winds, so bone chillingly cold my lashes froze to my face.

The shelter wasn’t nearly enough to protect from it, and Vince had started stomping his feet and pacing, presumably to keep warm, so it was time to move on.

My coat and matching gloves were a gift from Boden, something he’d had Harlow specially make for me from a caribou hide he’d harvested.My balaclava was hand made by Sienna with Romney wool.My boots had been a brand-new military-grade winter tactical pair in exactly my size that I happened to find during a scavenge trip last summer.

I had prepared about as well as I could to withstand this weather, and still, the cold kept seeping in.So deep into my bones I feared I’d never be warm again.

By midday, I couldn’t feel most of my left foot, and I honestly didn’t know how long the mule and the lion could handle these temperatures without some kind of a reprieve.

We couldn’t keep going like this, deliriously stumbling forward through ice and cold sharper than any blade.I had to do something.

Before I had left, I had copied a map from Lazlo, telling me how to get to Glacier Valley.He had very clearly marked a waypoint town called Fort Lately with a big redX.He warned me that the Revvers were there and described them as some weird cult who worshipped the dead.They didn’t sound like they were more than I could handle.

But I didn’t know how much longer the animals could handle the pervasive cold.I’d brought along bees wax to coat the pads of Ripley’s paws to protect them some, but she wouldn’t wear shoes or coverings.And honestly, her claws were large enough that I couldn’t force the issue.At least her fur was exceptionally thick after years living through Canadian winters.

When we reached the river, instead of going west toward Glacier Valley, I headed north to the town of Fort Lately.It wasn’t an ideal option, but it was the only one I felt like I had, if I wanted to keep Vince healthy and give Ripley a break.

41

Remy

The fortress of Fort Lately was impossible to miss, not least of all because it was an imposing structure at the top of a hill.The tall exterior walls were painted in vibrant, psychedelic colors with cheery designs, reminding me of a bizarre children’s show from the 1960s.It was almost an eyesore contrasting with the blanket of white snow surrounding it.

“It seems like a silly place, but that’s where we’re headed anyway,” I said, my voice muffled through my balaclava.And then, louder so Vince could hear me, I commanded, “Let’s go.”

He started onward, nimbly stepping through the snow, with Ripley trotting alongside us.We hadn’t made it very far when a thunderclapbangbroke the silence, and the air smelled vaguely of fireworks.

Vince gave a distressed braying sound and stomped his feet, but I managed to keep him from rearing up entirely.I glanced over him, and he wasn’t hurt, just spooked.Ripley let out an alarmed growl and pressed herself low to the ground, but she seemed otherwise unharmed.

“Wait.Is that cat with you?”someone asked, sounding surprised, but I still couldn’t see him.

I squinted and finally saw movement in front of me.Two men came out from behind a snow berm they’d been using as a hunting blind.They were both dressed in winter ghillie suits, made of white and gray rabbit fur, and that made them almost invisible until they moved.

Most alarmingly, though, they were carrying long rifles pointed at us.

“Yes, and I’d rather you didn’t shoot her or any of us,” I said.

“Well, if you come down and do as we say, that won’t be a problem,” the taller of the two men said.

I carefully climbed down off the mule, and something about that must’ve startled Ripley.She let out another annoyed growling sound, and the taller man fired his rifle.Another loud thunderclap, and she jumped back, narrowly dodging the bullet.