Page 7 of The Hollowed
The coffee she’d downed earlier lurched in her stomach, threatening to come back up. For a moment, she couldn’t breathe, it was as if she’d been punched square in her chest.
She’d known this day would come. Extensions could only lastso long, and sooner or later, denial was inevitable. It didn’t matter that she was close to a breakthrough that might change everything. They didn’t care about the vaccine. They didn’t care about her work or her. They only cared about her biology and the clock they insisted was ticking.
“Doc, there has to be something we can do, right?” Luci’s words tumbled out, nearly breathless. “Surely I can appeal, or — or something. I mean, they can’t really force me…can they?”
The reproduction program had always felt barbaric. Before, it had been nothing more than a rumor. A whispered new policy meant to ensure the next generation would be the brightest yet. But after the world’s population was gutted by the Hollowed, the whispers became commands.
Prometheus claimed they needed a way to ensure humankind would continue, but in reality they were picking who could conceive and when they could do so. The reproduction program was eugenics wrapped in the language of survival, and now, with so few people left, no one could afford to say no.
“I’m sorry, Luci,” Doc said quietly, reaching for her hand. “I tried everything to delay this, but the decision’s been made. You’ll be paired within a few weeks.”
Luci blinked hard, jaw trembling as she willed the sting of tears to stay put. A few weeks. That wasn’t enough time to prepare herself for this, for the reality that she would be forced to carry a child in a world that was barely holding itself together.
“If there’s anyone you’d like to request, I’ll make sure the council takes it under consideration,” Doc added gently. “I know how disappointing this is for you, so I’ve cleared your responsibilities for the week. If you need to talk, I’m here.”
It was meant to be kind, but the words landed flat.
Luci rose without a word, pulling her hand from his and brushing at the wetness in her eyes before the tears could fall.Leaving without a goodbye was rude, she knew that. But right now, she couldn’t imagine what could possibly be worse than this.
Chapter 2
Alejandro
Alow groan slipped from Alex as he braced one arm against the tiled wall, letting the hot water fall down over his broad shoulders. For a few blissful seconds, he just stood there, letting the spray soak his skin and rinse away the first layer of filth from the world outside. There was grime and sweat of course but also the clinging, sewer stench that always seemed to follow them back from the ruins outside. The showers were the only way to walk through the hospital halls without carrying the apocalypse in with him.
He finally straightened, rolling his stiff shoulders as the sharp smack of a towel echoed nearby. His team was celebrating, as usual. They always did after a successful run, and he couldn’t blame them. Every time they stepped outside, the city reminded them of what the world had become. The buildings remained intact for the most part, save for the broken windows where vines grew and curled through the broken glass. And the air carried an acidic smell that always reminded them that death was only a heartbeat away.
It wasn’t like that was easy to forget when every name of a friend lost was buried deep in Alex’s mind. It was why Alex always prayed before leaving, even if he was unsure anyone was actually listening.
So, yeah. Making it back in one piece and together was worth a little noise.
“Settle down,” Alex called, glancing over his shoulder at the others. His tone was more weary than stern.
In the early days, he’d been just like them, roughhousing to burn off adrenaline the only way they knew how, but the thrill of it all had faded. Now, after hours spent shooting down the infected that hid in the shadows of the city until they found the perfect moment to strike in packs, all he wanted was quiet and maybe a few minutes to remember what life used to be like before the outbreak.
“C’mon, loosen up, Alex. We’re just trying to have a little fun,” Grayson teased as he stepped into the shower next to him. Water splashed against the tiles and steamed curled through the air.
“I bet you’ll be a lot happier after you go see that doctor of yours,” Grayson added with a smirk as he leaned over the short partition between stalls, his voice dropping to a whisper.
If it had been anyone else talking about Lucilla, Alex would have snapped but after twelve years of friendship with Grayson, he let it slide. Instead, he flung a handful of water in his friend’s direction and shook his head with a rare and honest smile.
“Shut up and wash,” he said, chuckling softly with amusement.
Grayson laughed, shaking the water from his hair and letting it patter against the wall between them. The sound of the other men joking and shoving each other filled the air, but it all felt distant to Alex. The heat from the water seeped into his muscles, loosening the tension from hours of running and shooting but it couldn’t quiet the part of his mind that always wandered back to her.
Lucilla Castillo.
Even now as he stood beneath the scalding water, he could picture her in her lab, bent over a microscope with that stubbornlittle crease between her brows. She had no idea how often he thought of her, how every run outside these walls felt just a little more dangerous because of the chance he might not make it back to see her again.
He’d never say it out loud, not to the guys and not to her but surviving for himself stopped mattering a long time ago. Now, he survived for her.
Grayson whistled low, breaking Alex’s thoughts. “You’re thinking about her, aren’t you?”
Alex didn’t answer. He just smirked to himself and let the water drown out everything else.
After showering, Alex hauled his bag over his shoulder and headed back to the small room he shared with Grayson. As expected, Luna had burrowed herself beneath the thin sheets of his cot, becoming a warm lump of fur in his absence. Her ears perked up at the creak of the door, and Alex slowed long enough to kneel and scratch behind them. Her water bowl was full so Luci must have stopped by. He’d need to thank her, though he doubted she saw it as anything but habit.
He’d never met anyone like Luci, so selfless, so determined to take care of everyone but herself. It was admirable, but it carried a cost. People like Luci gave everything they had and never noticed how empty they were running until it was too late. He saw it in her constantly, from the late nights, skipped meals to the way she pushed herself to exhaustion chasing a cure no one else seemed to believe in.