Page 65 of The Hollowed
Los sobrevivientes son bienvenidos.
A few minutes later, another followed.
Bienvenidos a la comunidad de Nueva Esperanza.
Luci squinted at the words, reading them slowly and carefully. “Bien-ve-nidos…”
Alex leaned forward, between the two front seats. “What do the signs say?”
Cipher responded before anyone else could. “The first one says survivors are welcome, and the second one says, ‘Welcome to the community of Nueva Esperanza.’”
“Esperanza,” Luci echoed softly, testing her pronunciation. “That means hope, right?”
“Yeah,” Cipher said, nodding. “Exactly.”
Luci smiled faintly. “I only know a little bit of Spanish. Not enough to hold a conversation or anything, just bits and piecesfrom when I was a kid.”
It was true. She mostly remembered phrases she’d overheard, lullabies, and her mother’s voice floating through the kitchen with stories she’d only halfway understood at the time.
“Well,” Myra said from the driver’s seat. “That’s more than me.”
“And me,” Alex added.
Between the little Luci knew and Cipher’s fluency, it would have to be enough.
“Just follow the signs,” Cipher said. “I think we’re close.”
Luci nodded and made a right turn at the next painted arrow, then another and another, each new sign leading them deeper into the city. The landscape changed, and soon they saw hand painted murals on crumbling walls and solar panels beaming beneath the sun.
At last, they found it.
The community of Nueva Esperanza was a compound that looked like an old university campus redesigned for survival. The tall buildings were enclosed by a tall, fortified metal gate and the perimeter was reinforced with sandbags, fencing, and makeshift watchtowers. Guards stood at the entrance, already waving them down.
Alex shifted forward, wincing slightly from his bruised ribs. “Alright, this is it,” he said. “Let’s stay vigilant but respectful. If anything feels off, don’t ignore it. Say something.”
Luci and the others nodded in agreement, but the truth was that she wasn’t sure whether this place was a sanctuary or something else entirely.
Luci pulled the car up to the gate before easing to a stop. Her fingers trembled around the wheel before she finally turned off the engine. The silence that followed felt fragile.
One by one, they stepped out of the vehicle.
Alex moved first, letting his hand instinctively rest near his waistband even though his weapon was tucked away. Cipher followed, then Myra, and finally Jace, who shielded his eyes from the early afternoon glare. Luci climbed out last, scanning the guards as Luna padded around the car and took her place at Alex’s side.
The guards didn’t raise their weapons. No one barked orders or shoved them down.
Instead, one of them stepped forward with a small flashlight and gestured at their eyes.
Luci didn’t flinch, she simply tipped her chin up and let the beam flicker across her pupils. They moved on to Alex next, then the others. One by one checking for discolored veins, dilation, or signs of infection. It was methodical but not cruel.
The second guard who looked younger and wore a bandana around his neck, crouched slightly as Luna sniffed his boots. “Esta preciosa, toda una reyna,” he said with a smile, scratching behind her ears as Luna wagged her tail in approval.
“What did he say?” Alex turned to Luci.
Luci smiled at the guard before responding. “I think he said she’s precious and a queen?”
The lead guard set his attention on Cipher. “De dónde vienen?” he asked.
Luci knew enough to know he was asking where they’d come from.