Page 62 of The Hollowed
“Wait — ” Alex rasped, his hand tightening on her arm as he leaned forward. “Is that?”
The grey mini-van pulled alongside them, flashing its headlights. Luci’s wide eyes met Myra’s in the driver’s seat.
It couldn’t be.
Cipher shouted through the open window, “Stop the car! Stop the fucking car!”
Chapter 27
Alejandro
Alex jolted forward with a groan as Luci slammed her foot on the brake. His body slammed against the seatbelt before he caught himself. His ribs screamed, but the pain was nothing compared to the sight in front of him.
The grey minivan skidded to a stop just ahead of them, then reversed with far more grace than Luci’s desperate halt.
For a moment, Alex was certain his mind had finally broken. It had to be a cruel hallucination stitched together by exhaustion. Myra was sitting behind the wheel like she hadn’t died back at the school. Like she hadn’t been swallowed whole by all the infected and gunfire.
It felt impossible and yet there she was, alive and with Cipher of all people.
“What the hell…” Alex whispered under his breath as his head spun.
“What are you guys waiting for?” Myra leaned across Cipher’s lap, her words cutting through his disbelief. “Get in!”
Luci’s wide eyes darted to him, waiting for reassurance that it was okay. Alex swallowed hard and forced himself to nod. “It’s fine,” he said quietly. “It’s Myra, we can trust her.”
Luci’s shoulders loosened slightly before she pushed the door open, letting the cool night air flow inside. “Cipher, help me gethim into the van.”
He slipped out of the passenger seat and hurried to the passenger side door. Alex grit his teeth as Cipher moved to help him up, bracing himself for the sting of bruised ribs. Luci hurried ahead to the van parked just beside them and yanked the side door open while Cipher helped Alex walk.
The sight that greeted them made both of them freeze.
A boy sat there, staring back at them with wide eyes.
Jace.
For a second, Alex forgot how to breathe.
“Hurry!” Myra ordered, pulling them back into the moment. “Cipher still needs to disable your trackers.”
Alex didn’t waste a second, he turned to Luci, caught her stunned expression and urged her forward. She nodded and scrambled inside. Alex followed, gripping the door frame hard as
Cipher shifted past him to reclaim the passenger seat.
It all happened in a blur. Luna climbed in after them, and then Alex reached to close the door. The instant they were all inside, Myra floored it away from AZ-7 and into the unknown.
From behind the wheel, she glanced at them in the rearview mirror. “Wild night, eh?”
Luci leaned forward in her seat, her eyes locked on the woman who shouldn’t have been alive. “Myra, I thought you were dead.”
“I’m not that easy to kill,” Myra responded with that slight sense of confidence she always carried.
Luci didn’t press any further before her gaze shifted to the boy next to them. “Jace, are you okay?” she asked, turning back to Myra before he could respond. “Did you take him from the hospital? He can’t be out here. He’s sick Myra, this isn’t some game.”
Alex stayed quiet, taking in every word because he neededanswers too.
“You think I don’t know that?” Myra snapped back.
Cipher leaned toward her. “Myra, breathe.”