Page 42 of The Hollowed
Alex’s chest tightened at the sound of her voice. He scanned her face, searching for the signs he’d seen too many times before. There were no dark veins or changes in the coloring of her brown eyes. It was just Luci, alive, breathing, and human.
“You would have turned by now,” he said with the certainty they both needed to survive this. “Trust me.”
Her eyes locked onto his, wide with anxiety. He saw it all, the fear of death, the horror of what she could become.
“But what if — ” she started.
“Trust me,” Alex cut in more convincingly this time. He needed her to believe it as much as he did. Silence pressed between them again until Luci gave a small nod. Her body trembled from the effort.
“We’ve got to clean that wound and get you into the RV,” Alex continued, forcing himself to sound calm and strong as he reached for her hand and held it tightly. “I’ll take care of you. I promise.”
She nodded again, and Alex rose, slipping his arm around her waist to help her stand. She leaned against him while his other hand stayed on his gun, ready for whatever else this day might throw at them.
The sun outside was still high, casting its light like a shield across the concrete. Alex guided her carefully to the RV, opened the door, and helped her into the tiny bedroom inside. He would keep her alive, no matter what it took.
“I need to take this off to get it clean,” Alex said quietly, gesturing to her shirt. He waited until she nodded, and then he carefully lifted her arms and slipped the black long sleeve from her body.
He focused on nothing but the wound. Everything else, the ache in his bones and the exhaustion pulling at him, didn’t matter. He gave her a small dose of morphine from his kit, flushed the gash with saline, and swiped alcohol around the bite. Once it was clean he dressed the wound as best he could with gauze, keeping the wrapping loose but secure enough to hold until he could do better. Finally, he pressed a couple of pills to temper her fever into her palm and offered her a drink from his water bottle, whispering reassurances he wasn’t sure he believed himself.
It wasn’t enough or what she really deserved, he knew that. But for now, it was all he could give her.
“Thank you,” Luci whispered faintly as he helped her lie back against the bed.
Gratitude was the last thing he deserved. If he hadn’t left her by herself, this wouldn’t have happened. That guilt tore at him, but he didn’t let it show. Instead, he bent low and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head.
“Get some sleep,” he whispered. “We’ll figure out the rest when you wake up.”
Alex left the door open, ordering Luna to curl up beside her as another layer of protection. He settled into the lounge area of the RV, but every so often he rose to peek into the room and make sure she was still breathing. The sun eventually set, and Alex did what he could to secure the RV, though he knew it wasn’t much. Truly, he hated being idle, hated sitting while she suffered. But he couldn’t risk driving, not with Luci in this condition.
After a while, boredom finally drove him to move. He walked through the narrow aisle, opening cabinets and taking inventory of what had been left behind. The fridge reeked of rot, but in the drawers and cupboards he found a roll of heavy duty tape and a few rusty tools. It wasn’t much but it was something. He almost didn’t bother with the tiny closet by the bathroom, but when he pulled the door open he found a shotgun and above it were a few stacked boxes of shells.
Jackpot, he thought to himself, letting out a slow, quiet laugh that carried more relief than humor.
The bathroom was barely wide enough for Alex to turn around in, but when he twisted the handle, water splattered and then spilled from the nozzle in a steady stream. Relief rushed through him, if the reserve tank was still full, then at least they had one small luxury left in a world that had taken nearly everything else.
With Luci still asleep, Alex stripped out his clothes and stepped beneath the water, scrubbing harder than he had in months. Itwasn’t about comfort, it was about rinsing away the blood and
the lingering memory of her scream in the showers hours before. He was quick, saving as much water as he could for her, and by the time he was tugging on his clean clothes, he heard movement in the next room.
When he returned to the doorway, he found Luci stirring awake.
“How do you feel?” Alex asked as he leaned against the doorframe.
“Better,” she responded, pushing herself up a little straighter. “The pain’s less now. I think sleeping helped.”
Relief bloomed in his chest. “Good. You should eat something. I think we’ll stay here tonight.” He hesitated before adding, “The shower’s working, if you’re up for it, but it can always wait until tomorrow.”
Luci gave a small but tired laugh. “I feel disgusting, and I should probably change this gauze before it sticks.”
“Then let’s get you cleaned up.”
He crossed the room in two steps, slipping his arm around her shoulders to help her stand before guiding her toward the bathroom. Alex turned on the water for her, leaving it running so it would get warm again before he set her bag on the floor and stepped backwards.
“I’ll be right here,” he promised. If there was even the slightest sign of distress, he’d be through that door in an instant.
He sat on the edge of his seat with his ears tuned into every sound. The steady rush of the water was oddly comforting until it was cut short by a sharp cry that sent him upright. His heart started to pound, but a beat later Luci’s voice called out. The water had gone cold.
A few minutes later, the bathroom door creaked open,releasing a cloud of steam that curled into the RV’s narrow hall like smoke from a fire.