Page 26 of The Hollowed

“On it!” The twins responded in unison, heading down the hallway to a side door Alex vaguely remembered leading to the stairwell.

The building stretched upward ten or so floors, eachone crammed with classrooms. Its present emptiness only emphasized how many students and teachers had once filled every corner.

“Grayson, keep Myra out of trouble while Luci and I track down some gym mats to sleep on,” Alex said, his tone light but commanding. Grayson chuckled while Myra rolled her eyes. Alex barely glanced at Luci before she gave him a small nod and fell into step beside him as they headed down the hall.

For a while, they walked in relative silence aside from Luna’s paws pattering against the floor until finally, Luci’s voice broke through the quiet. “I used to go here before my parents died.” Her gaze fluttered around at the hall, everything familiar now warped by neglect. “It looks so different now, but I guess that makes sense, considering how long it’s been.”

Alex glanced at her with a furrowed brow. “Really? No kidding,” he said, surprised. “I went here too, though I would’ve been a year or two ahead of you.” The thought struck him with a pang of irony. They had crossed paths more than once, never knowing their lives would one day be so tightly entwined.

As they rounded the corner, he spotted the gym doors just a few paces ahead. He quickly closed the distance, his hand hovering near the handle as his shoulders tensed. Taking a deep breath, he pushed forward.

The hinges squeaked as they stepped inside. Dust swirled in the air, illuminated by the sudden brightness, but to Alex, the gym didn’t look all that different from when he’d last set foot in it. The painted lines on the floor were faded but familiar, the basketball hoops still clung to the walls and the faint smell of floor wax lingered. It was as if time had held its breath here.

Luna bolted across the court. Her claws clicked against the wood as she ran and touched the far wall before barreling toward them again joyfully.

“Do you remember whose class you were in?” Luci asked, her voice carrying a strange mix of nostalgia and disbelief as she twirled slowly, taking it all in.

Alex watched her for a moment. They had both been forced to grow up too fast. Grief and survival had carved them into something older than their true age. Yet here, in the forgotten gym, he realized there might still be comfort in remembering that they had just been kids once. The kind who would have groaned about dodgeball or celebrated a Friday gym day like it was freedom itself. For a heartbeat, Alex almost believed that version of life might still exist.

“You know what? I’ve always been terrible with names,” Alex admitted with a quiet chuckle as he plucked a basketball from one of the carts and tossed it across the court for Luna to chase. “It was this older lady though. She had this crazy looking bob that was totally uneven, and she used to stick me in this tiny desk facing the wall anytime I talked too much. She was mean as hell.”

“Mrs. Davis,” Luci said with a knowing groan. “She was awful to me too. She couldn’t pronounce my name, so she just started calling me Luci and it stuck.” Her voice softened into amusement.

For all her faults, Mrs. Davis had given them both names that never left.

“Well, it’s not like our names were impossible to say. She just didn’t like them.” Alex grinned. “And for the record, I think Lucilla is beautiful. It has this vintage charm, you know?”

Luci’s smile lit her features as she stepped in and closed the distance between them. Her arms slipped around his neck as his hands settled at the curve of her waist. For a moment, Alex wished he’d known her back then when life was simpler. When they might have met without blood and ruin hanging overthem. But he knew better. And besides if they had crossed paths sooner, she would have seen only the broken boy he once was, not the man standing before her now.

“Am I allowed to kiss you whenever I want now?” she asked, her question laced with innocent curiosity. But there was nothing innocent about the way her smile curved, so radiant and devastating. Denying her anything would be impossible for him. She could have asked him to steal the stars from the sky, and he would have spent his last breath trying.

Alex’s lips tugged into an amused grin. His voice dropped low, rough just for her. “You never needed permission.” His words vibrated between them as he leaned in. Their noses brushed and their breaths tangled until their lips ghosted across each other in a tormenting near-kiss that promised far more than it gave. “Consider me yours to command.”

Luci’s smile bloomed brighter at his words. “Is that so?” she teased, her voice full of a dangerous sweetness. “Careful, Alex. I’ve been holding back for a very long time.”

Before he could reply, she closed the space between them, pressing her mouth to his in a kiss that began soft before she found a rhythm that pulled him under. Every brush of her lips was a tether, every inhale a demand. Alex’s control frayed with each second. He wanted nothing more than to pin her to the wall and peel away her jeans until there was nothing left between them but heat and skin.

But she was leading, and he let her. Even as hunger clawed through him, he surrendered to her pace and her restraint. It was intoxicating, and yet he couldn’t help but revel in being undone by her, on her terms.

For a split second, Alex thought she might let it go farther than this until Luna barked insistantly, wanting him to throw the basketball again. Despite being disappointed, they bothmanaged to laugh it off. Though Alex did pull her in for one more kiss before he bent down to grasp the basketball at his feet.

After some searching they found a stack of worn gym mats buried deep in the supply closet, along with a few foam blocks they decided could double as makeshift pillows. It wasn’t perfect, but it beat sleeping on the hard floor or spending the night in a crammed car.

With a bit of effort, Alex and Luci managed to drag the mats out of the gym and into the hallway only to find Sable and Paxton lugging two five-gallon jugs filled with a yellowish liquid toward the classroom.

“You found it?” Alex asked, letting the mats fall to the ground with a loud thud.

“Yup.” Sable grinned, raking her fingers through her blonde hair. “This will get us moving, at least for now. We’ll have to scavenge for more along the way.”

“The energy stations through the plains should have some gasoline left,” Paxton added. “It won’t be easy, but we’ll manage.”

Alex glanced at Luci. When he’d first agreed to this mission, he truly hadn’t believed they’d make it this far. Yet here they were. Still standing and still moving forward. Against all odds, the road ahead felt just a little less impossible with every passing second.

“Alright,” Alex said at last. “Let’s eat, then lights out. We’ll find our way back to the car in the morning.”

For the first time since they left, the words didn’t feel like a promise he couldn’t keep.

They felt like hope.