Page 25 of The Hollowed
Alex’s expression softened and a faint smile tugged at his lips. “Yeah, maybe,” he said, like he wanted to believe it too.
A heartbeat later, Sable walked towards them, wearing anexpression far guiltier than Luci was comfortable with. Her blonde ponytail swished through the air as she planted both hands on her hips.
“I’ve got good news and bad news,” she announced, her tone carrying a dangerous kind of amusement. “Bad news, there’s no gas in the tank.” She paused, letting the disappointment hang in the air for a second before her smile lifted. “But the good news is that I know exactly where we can find some.”
Chapter 10
Alejandro
Alex sighed with relief when the elementary came into view.
It wasn’t one of Prometheus’s gleaming academies, but an older, crumbling brick tower. It was one of the few places for children whose parents wanted to keep them far away from the Collective’s elite programs. The irony wasn’t lost on Alex. Despite its appearance, he’d seen firsthand how hard his parents had fought to keep him out of the academy, scraping together every last quarter just to keep him enrolled.
“Is it safe?” Luci whispered so softly he almost missed it.
The word safe meant so little now. Even behind fortified walls, there had never been guarantees.
“Safer than most places,” Alex answered, catching her worried eyes. He couldn’t bring himself to lie. “If we can hole up here for the night and get our hands on that gasoline Sable and Paxton swore must be here, then yeah, we’ll be fine.”
Grayson jogged ahead, dropping his bag with a thud at the entrance as he looked for the keys they’d hidden here years ago. It didn’t take long before the lock clicked open, and the chains slipped loose with ease.
“You guys have been here before?” Luci asked curiously.
Alex nodded. “It was one of the first places we cleared after things went bad.” He motioned her closer as Grayson shoved theheavy door open.
“Is this where you found those mozzarella sticks everyone kept raving about?” Luci asked.
A soft laugh escaped Alex. “You wouldn’t believe how many boxes we hauled out of here, it was like a shrine of processed cheese.” He gave her a faint smile, then added, “Stay close. It should be clear, but be careful just in case.”
Luci slipped behind him with Luna pressed at her side as though the pup could sense Luci’s unease. Alex found his spot at the front next to Myra while Grayson waited for everyone to pass through the mouth of the entrance before stepping inside.
The moment the door creaked shut behind them, the automatic lights flickered to life from motion sensors that had somehow survived years without maintenance. Harsh fluorescent lights lit up the hallway, buzzing from above.
The sight that greeted them was unnerving to say the least. Children’s artwork still clung to the walls. From stick-figure families and suns with wide grins to finger painted handprints in every color of the rainbow. A half torn spelling assignment dangled from a bulletin board. The red ink that spelled outGreat job!felt like a cruel joke.
The air smelled faintly of dust and something sweeter, like fruit that had been left out for too long. Grayson cleared his throat, then deliberately banged the butt of his rifle against a locker. The clang echoed down the hall, bouncing off the tiled floors and faded murals. Everyone tensed as they waited.
For a long, breathless moment, the silence was unbearable. Finally, a small squeak issued from the shadows. Luna barked once, startling all of them as a rat darted across the hall and disappeared under a classroom door.
The group let out a collective exhale.
“Just a rat,” Grayson muttered, though the relief in his voicebetrayed that he’d expected worse.
“Let’s just hope that rat doesn’t decide to take a nibble out of us while we sleep,” Myra teased, her words aimed mostly at Luci.
“Rats are more afraid of us than we are of them,” Luci replied with an even tone that bordered on dismissive. Her matter-of-fact delivery made Alex smirk, and he felt a flush of warmth creep up his skin.
“Yeah, well, they better be,” Myra shot back, lifting her rifle ever so slightly with a smug tilt of her chin. “Because I’ve got one of these, and they don’t.”
Alex chuckled under his breath, shaking his head. “Alright, enough with tormenting the poor rat. We have to focus.” His voice was commanding but the slight curve of his lips displayed an amusement he couldn’t quite hide. “Secure the place, then settle in. The sun should start setting soon.”
The moment lingered just long enough for the tension to ease before they set to work preparing for the long night ahead. In truth, this place wasn’t so different from the hospital. It was just another roof over their heads, another night spent trading off shifts to keep watch and pretending a few hours of rest could make them feel normal again.
Survival had become routine.
Grayson wrapped the heavy chain around the door handles before he snapped the padlock into place and helped the others drag desks and stack chairs into a makeshift barricade. Only once the entrance was sealed did Alex allow himself to exhale.
“Paxton, Sable,” he called. “Go down to the basement. The gasoline reserve should be down there if I remember correctly.