The Hollow (Rose of the Dawn Series Book 2)

by Maguire, Ily

  I wonder what’s happened with them in the time I’ve been gone. Possibly nothing. Probably everything. I’m just as glad that she’s not coming with us as I was to see her. I lean down and tie up the boots. They’re big, but better than nothing.

  “The only sign we’ll get will be from Tithonus.” Pike responds.

  “If you two go back there, it’ll be a death sentence. They’ll be waiting for you,” Hara finishes.

  “You can’t go back in. Not now. Not ever,” Delia looks from me to Pike. She puts a hand on her son’s wrist and he looks down at it.

  “You may not have a choice,” Ezekiel points above the tree line into the sky, up at The Hollow. A nearly invisible dome has generated in the distance and it gives off a hazy glow in the darkness surrounding it. Lightning flashes from it to the sky, not the other way around. “You’re not getting in with that up and they’re not chancing anyone else getting out. I can feel it from here. You’d never get through those tunnels, though I suspect they’ve collapsed them by now.”

  I can feel it, too. Negative electricity: an excess of electrons and our protons attracted to them.

  “You need to come with us,” Delia takes his hands.

  “No,” he pulls away. “You continue to the safe house. Rose and I will meet you in a few days. I have another plan. We will meet you there, I promise.” He kisses his mother’s cheek and escorts her to the car. She’s too tired to put up much of a fight and he helps lower her in the front seat. The door’s closed and I see Leland resting with his eyes shut, leaning against Hara. Her eyes burn holes into Pike’s. He looks away.

  “We’ll see you soon.” Ezekiel has one foot in the car. The engine is already running. His hand is on the roof and he puts it up, waving goodbye.

  “You will, Zeke. Just have something to do first.” Pike waves back as Ezekiel closes the door, the car rumbling along the ditch away from us. Away from The Hollow.

  “Pike,” without everyone else and no way to get around, the desperation of our situation sinks in. I want to get as far away from The Hollow as possible, but now we’re stuck here.

  “Listen, Rose, we can’t keep you with the rest of everyone else. You’re too—” Pike searches for the word.

  “Valuable?” I’ve begun to anticipate my worth.

  “No. That’s not exactly what I was thinking. You’re too dangerous.”

  “What do you mean, dangerous?” Now I’m afraid, and insulted.

  “I mean, if they get caught with you, they’ll get killed,” Pike sounds irritated, but I don’t know why. Is it because he would rather be with them than with me?

  “I would get them killed. You’re right.”

  Pike stares up at the sky, but I don’t follow his gaze. It sinks in. Oh no.

  He looks back down, but not at me. “So we have to get as far away from them as we can.”

  “What about you, Pike? You’re in danger then, too.”

  “I can take care of myself.”

  “I know,” I say under my breath. We’re still in the ditch, following the same path the converted car did. As we walk on, the cement becomes the beginning of a small stream.

  “We’re out of sight, so I don’t think we have to worry.” Pike states, a few feet ahead of me.

  “Where’re we going to go?” The stream becomes bigger and the water we splash through is bright green. Up ahead it looks more yellow.

  Pike doesn’t answer and I don’t ask again. I just follow him. I don’t care where we’re going. As we continue on, the discolored water clears up and there are flies buzzing around the surface. The sound of the birds has come back.

  “If I’m correct,” Pike begins. “This is part of the Beadledom watershed. We need to follow this around the city.”

  “And then?” I step into the stream after Pike. I reach down and touch the water. “It’s warm.”

  “Thermal pollution,” Pike responds. “The Hollow must use the water for the experiments and then return it. They have to or the stream would run dry like that ditch. It should cool down as we get farther from The Hollow.”

  “So if we can’t get back in to get Tithonus,” I say. And Jenny. “Then where are we going?”

  “On a little detour. Tithonus is dead.” He states without stopping.

  “Wait, Pike, how do you know that?”

  “That dome didn’t go up to keep you from getting back in or anyone else from getting out. It was so the Imperial Bead can’t get in. If Tithonus isn’t dead, he will be soon. And I have some questions I need answered.”

  “So where do we go?”

  He stomps through the stream and I struggle to keep up.

  “To your house. To see your father.” His voice is cold and detached, but I don’t pay it any attention.

  “To my house?” That means Dory and Evie, and my parents! I’m even ecstatic to see them!

  Pike nods his head and grabs my bionic hand as we wade through the stream, toward my home.

  15

  “I’m sorry, but we’ve been walking for two days,” I whine. Pike stops beside me. “It feels like forever and it doesn’t help that we’ve barely slept this entire time. How far away are we?”

  “The sooner we get to our destination, the better.” Despite his rush, we stop.

  I’m glad for this break. I didn’t get much sleep on the ground when we last stopped and I’ve been going on anxiety and adrenaline.

  “Everyone is away from me and safe. Why are you still worried?” I ask. I want to see my family, but I still don’t know why Pike does.

  “Because, Rose,” Pike puts one foot up on the rock beside me and pulls a small pocket knife out from the inside of his boot. “The Hollow isn’t going to let you get far and while they’ll be after the others soon enough, you’re the one they need. They’ll most likely follow Zeke and the others until they figure out you’re not with them. Then they know you’ve gone home. We just need to get there before they do.”

  “Will they hurt my family?” I am frightened at the realization and truth of what Pike says.

  “I don’t know. Your mother and sisters don’t know much, if anything. The Hollow knows that. They don’t want any unnecessary casualties. No, The Hollow doesn’t want them.”

  “But my father—” What if something has happened to my family?

  “Your father knows a lot about the Imperial Bead.”

  “A lot of what? He works for them. What about it? What does my father know? Does he know about The Hollow then, too? Does he know that people are getting sacrificed for experimentation?”

  Pike doesn’t answer and I’ve got to calm down. “How far until we get there?” I shield my eyes with my fake arm. It’s hot and the skin on my other arm prickles from the heat. My body struggles to maintain balance. I’m unprepared for this rising temperature. I get up from the rock I’ve been sitting upon.

  “Where’d you get that?” Pike points at the tattoo on my arm now that I’m standing in front of him. He only glances at my bionic one.

  “Inside The Hollow,” I look at the ink peeking out from behind my pushed up sleeve.

  “The Hollow,” he accuses. “Are they tracking you?”

  “No. I don’t know. Well, I don’t think so. The tattoo stored all of my records. I don’t think they kept physical track of me with it, though.” Or they would’ve known I was about to escape with the rest of them.

  “What about that?” He nods to my fake arm.

  I shrug. There isn’t anything I can do about it. It doesn’t come off.

  My mind flashes.

  Ezekiel.

  Dr. Flint.

  Patience.

  The Hollow.

  “It’s getting darker,” Pike says.

  I look up and nod in agreement.

  “Not the sky, the tattoo.” Pike is as serious as ever.

  I look down and again, nod in agreement. I haven’t noticed that before. It isn’t this arm that’s been getting my attention. “I really don’t think it can track me o
utside The Hollow, if it’s tracking me at all.”

  “We may need to do something about it,” Pike approaches and I back away.

  “No! No! It’s not tracking me, I know it isn’t. Let’s leave it be.”

  Pike backs up and looks around. “We should rest for the afternoon. We should get there by early evening.”

  I sit back down on the rock.

  “We can stay here?” There isn’t anything around us except for trees and leaves. Some patches of grass. It’s not much different from the last stop we made, but for some reason we seem more open than before.

  Pike surprises me with his preparedness and skill and in twenty minutes, he’s built a makeshift lean-to with branches he bends in and ties with other branches. He pats a bed of pine needles and I sit down. It is infinitely cooler and more comfortable than sitting in the direct sunlight. I wonder why I haven’t sunburned yet. I can feel the heat radiating off of Pike’s body and it’s making me warm. That and the fact that every few seconds he regards my arm with distain or curiosity. I’m not sure which, yet.

  “You hungry?” he asks, pulling something dehydrated from his cargo pants.

  “No. Thanks, though.”

  “Here, try some. You have to be hungry. What did they feed you inside that place?”

  I laugh. “Nothing. They give us appetite suppressants after they fill us with nutrients. I guess it’s supposed to last. I’m never hungry anyway.”

  “Well, here, try this. Even if you’re not hungry.”

  I take what he offers. It’s a small, round reddish-brown ball. I bite into it. It’s tough and I expect it to taste like dried meat, but it disintegrates in my mouth. It tastes like strawberries.

  “It’s germ product.”

  I spit it out.

  “Excuse me?” I ask.

  Pike laughs and it is the first time in a while. It makes me smile. I want to move closer to him. Sit closer to him.

  “Germ as in germination,” he corrects. “It’s everything in a strawberry, just pre-developed. I have peach if you’d prefer.”

  I shake my head and stare at his mouth as he bites and chews.

  “So how have you and Hara been?” I ask. I didn’t need to know when there was no hope of leaving The Hollow, but now that I’m out, I just need to know.

  “Fine.” He doesn’t elaborate and we continue to sit. “What was it like inside The Hollow?” He breaks the silence after almost ten minutes, or has it been ten seconds?

  “Fine.” Two can play at that game. “How long was I gone?”

  Pike turns to me and his face is in front of mine. It startles me enough and I lean back, almost losing my balance. Pike reaches out, catching my artificial arm without flinching. He supports my back with his other hand. He pulls me up and pulls me close.

  Closer.

  The electricity is the most intense I’ve ever felt. It radiates through my entire being. I’ve missed that.

  And then, my balance regained, Pike leans in and kisses me. I breathe him in. He smells like sun and he tastes sweet. Like peaches.

  He pulls away and gets up.

  “There is nothing going on with me and Hara.” He states.

  I don’t have anything to say. I’m sorry if I aggravated him, but not sorry. He kissed me and it was wonderful. My whole body trembles and I want him to move closer. I want to be able to touch him again. And kiss him again. It just wasn’t enough.

  “You stay here and I’ll get us fresh water.” He pulls an empty water pouch from a pants pocket by his calf.

  “No! Wait!” I cry. He stops and turns. My voice is shaky at best. “I-I don’t want you to go. Please don’t leave me.”

  He rushes up to me and grabs my face between his hands, kissing me hard.

  I kiss him back. I’m ready for this. I’m living for this.

  My arms move up and around his back. Both arms. I’m not thinking about anything but Pike. I love him.

  His kiss turns soft and his hands move from my face to the back of my head. He pulls back and his hand smoothes the wisps in front of my eyes. The hair that isn’t pulled back. I close my eyes again and lean into his touch.

  He kisses my lips, my nose, and my forehead.

  “I’m just going to get us some water,” he says. I smile, my eyes still closed.

  “You promise you’ll be back?”

  “You can come with me if you want.”

  “I’ll be okay,” I say and he touches my cheek before walking away. I lay down on the bed of leaves and needles. Not one pricks or scratches me. Even if they did, I wouldn’t mind.

  I bend my arms up and rest them behind my head. I’m getting used to two different arms. I can barely feel any difference. I close my eyes.

  “Rose, come on, get up.” Pike stands above me, creating a shadow over my face and body. His hand moves away from my good shoulder. His touch is gentle, but firm. I open my eyes.

  “Is everything okay?” I sit up, brushing the back of my hair with my hands.

  “Yes, but I think we should get going now.” He extends his hand and I take it, longing for the energy. His energy.

  “Okay.” My hand lingers a moment in his and I’m suddenly self-conscious of my other arm. He hasn’t mentioned it. He looks away as he unties the branches and kicks the ground with his boot. I dust myself off. It still looks like someone was here, but not as obvious. I follow him down to the stream.

  “Did you notice what was different back there?” He asks after about ten minutes of leading us over pebbly ground along the stream bed.

  “I don’t know what you mean. I didn’t notice anything different.” I look behind, but there’s nothing out of the ordinary.

  “It got quiet again.”

  “That’s why we left?” Without him touching me, I’m tired, but I don’t want to tell him. I try to keep up. If I could just hold his hand, it would be easier. I’d be able to move faster.

  “There were all kinds of sounds: the breeze blowing through trees, birds chirping, crickets and insects, the rustling of small animals nearby. And then all at once, nothing.”

  I guess I hadn’t been paying attention. Too busy swooning over our kiss.

  “So what does that mean?” I ask. Were we being followed? My tattoo isn’t as dark as it was before. I try to cover it by pulling down my sleeve.

  “It means we weren’t alone.”

  “The Hollow.” My hands sweat. “I am being tracked.” I clutch my arm.

  “Could be. I just didn’t want us to stick around to find out. It wasn’t a good idea to stay any longer.”

  I have no idea how long we actually stayed. I agree, though, without saying another word. I don’t want whoever it was to catch up, so I pass Pike and walk faster. We keep following the stream and are not bothered by anyone or anything. Our pace is quick and we are silent.

  The stream is beginning to narrow and I start to recognize the terrain as we walk it. The sporadic patches of grass have gone from the green of the stream to a burnt orange color as we get closer to my house.

  “Does this look familiar?” Pike asks.

  “It does.” I recognize the tall, thin blades of red and then green again as we approach the hillside. I used to be able to see this from my bedroom window.

  A retaining wall comes into view on the right, up ahead. The land on the left side is steep, but it has been terraced to decrease the slope.

  “My house is just beyond there–” I point to a place where the water would run down the hillside if it weren’t for the native grasses planted along the edge. The stream is now completely dried up and there is no water running anywhere. From where we stand, I can only see the roofline of my house, if that is my house. All the houses around here look the same, but I don’t think I’m mistaken. Pike runs up the hill ahead of me.

  At the top, he stops. I chase after and when I reach him, I almost lose my balance. He holds me. Tight.

  And I still can’t stop the shaking.

  16

  “That�
�s where I live.” I should have asked, not stated it. We stand on what’s left of a lawn on what’s left of the side of the house. Our neighbors houses, which are close at about forty feet away, are untouched. The day is grey and while it must be midday at least, there’s no evidence of anyone inside any of them.

  The massive home I grew up in has been nearly reduced to rubble. There’s broken furniture on the lawn and the grass is torn up by bulldozer tracks. Windows are broken and drapes sway out into the wind. Shutters are askew on the face of the house and paint chips away like flecks of skin after sun exposure.

  “What happened?” I almost can’t get it out.

  “I don’t know,” Pike lets me go and steps ahead of me. I steady myself. I’m going into shock. I can’t bring myself any closer. My body is numb. The shoulder attached to the bionic arm is throbbing.

  I look around to pick up some clue, some idea of what might have happened in the time since I’ve been gone. Seasons have changed, but how many? I must have been gone almost a year. Or at least a year.

  A wide wooden stake sticks out of the lawn among debris from the house with Sofie Beloved Family Pet written in Dory’s neat, precise handwriting. Evie’s dog.

  “What do we do?” I don’t know how to move forward. I wish we were back along the stream. Under our tree branches.

  Pike holds something small and flat, about the size of a money chip, in the open doorway of my house. “It’s safe to go inside. There’s no radioactivity.”

  “Radioactive?” I hold my head in my hands and rub the creases on my forehead. They have gotten deeper. I’m still stuck on the lawn.

  “No. It’s okay. Anyone inside wouldn’t be harmed.”

  “Anyone inside?” They could be inside! I look at Pike and run up the crumbling marble steps to the door. “Mom! Dad!” I yell.

  There is no answer. “Dory!”

  No sign of life. “Evie!”

  The alarm isn’t armed and neither are the voice activated controls. With them off, anyone can go in.

  “Be careful, Rose.” Pike is up the steps behind me. I run into the foyer.