Page 28 of The Hollowed
“Get to the others now!” she shouted, her eyes still locked on the ceiling. “Go!”
Luci’s heart pounded in her chest as she stumbled to her feet,her book forgotten on the floor. The first gunshot cracked like thunder and the sound ricocheted through the hallway. She didn’t dare look back as the infected thrashed against the air ducts above. She wanted to freeze, to give in to her fear, but she forced herself to move.
She sprinted down the hall, her lungs burning. By the time she made it to the mouth of the classroom, chaos had already erupted within.
The vents had split open and the infected had begun dropping down from the ceiling.
“Move!” Alex barked, thrusting Luci’s backpack into her hands so he could pick up one of the gasoline-filled jugs. He pulled her forward and out of the classroom. She barely had time to catch her breath before Luna hurled herself at one of the infected, her teeth snapping.
“Stairs! To the roof!” Alex ordered.
They bolted as Sable and Paxton fired into the swarm. Together, they all crashed into the stairwell, the sound of their boots clashing with the shrieks of the infected flooding in behind them. Luna barked furiously, snapping at anything that came too close, while Grayson tried to force her up the steps.
“Don’t stop!” Sable shouted, firing blindly down the stairwell. The flashlights attached to their guns lit up the dark, illuminating the grotesque figures of the Hollowed climbing up the stairwell behind them.
Luci clung to the railing, forcing her body upward two agonizing steps at a time while the infected shrieked with hunger from below. No matter how fast they climbed the stairs, it felt like the Hollowed were closing in, clawing their way up with merciless speed.
Panic ripped at her chest as Luci realized this stairwell could turn into a tomb at any second.
And just when she thought they wouldn’t make it, Luci’s gaze caught Alex ahead of her. He glanced back, not at her, but at Grayson, who was only a step behind. For a fleeting second, the two men exchanged a look.
Silent, heavy, and final.
Luci didn’t understand what it meant until Grayson’s rifle swung up with brutal precision. The gun went off, deafening everyone in the narrow stairwell as the bullet tore through Paxton’s knee.
Luci’s scream ripped straight from her chest. Paxton crumpled with a strangled cry, dragging Sable down with him. For one horrible second Luci felt paralyzed until Grayson pushed her between the shoulder blades.
“Keep moving!” he barked.
Behind them, the stairwell became a slaughterhouse. The infected slowed, descending on Paxton and Sable. Paxton swung his rifle, setting shots off wildly while his sister clung to the railing. Their screams cut through the stairwell for a few more agonizing seconds before the horde devoured them whole.
Luci stumbled upward, clutching at her chest as her breath lagged with horror. She had seen death before but never betrayal delivered so coldly and efficiently.
This new world didn’t just force them to survive. It was molding them into something crueler than she could bear to be a part of.
They fought their way up the last few flights of stairs before the rooftop door finally came into sight like salvation at the end of a nightmare. Alex lunged forward, swinging it open just wide enough for Luci, Luna, and Grayson to slip through before slamming it shut behind them.
Fists and limbs began to strike the metal almost instantly. Grayson stomped down on an abandoned pallet until it brokeapart, and then he thrust a jagged plank into Alex’s hands. Together they jammed it through the handle to brace the door. The wood fussed against the frame and the hinges rattled under the relentless assault.
It would hold but not for long. And they all knew it.
“You guys go,” Grayson said raggedly. He braced his rifle against his shoulder and kept his eyes fixed on the rooftop door, the hoard behind it growing louder with every passing second. “I’ll hold them back.”
Alex shook his head violently. Luci hunched over, hands braced on her knees as she fought for air. Her chest burned as if it were collapsing in on itself, and even Luna looked like she’d reached her limit.
“No,” Alex snapped, already moving toward the edge of the rooftop. His voice carried the kind of determination born of desperation. “There’s a ladder to the fire escape. We can all make it down together.”
But Grayson’s jaw was set, his decision was final. “I can’t.”
Alex spun to face him, confusion and fury colliding in his face. “You’re not making any — ” His words broke off as Grayson lifted the hem of his shirt.
Luci’s stomach dropped when she saw the raw, crescent shaped wound gouged into his side, the blackened veins already splintering outward from the bite.
“They got me back in the classroom,” he confessed.
Luci stumbled back, her hand flying to her mouth as if she could stop the scream clawing its way up her throat. The air suddenly felt too thin.
“No,” Alex choked, shaking his head like he could undo what he was seeing. His voice cracked as he spoke again, almost in a plea. “That’s not possible. I can’t—”