The Hollowing (COYWOLF Series Book 2)

by Abby Tyson

  The prospect of the end of their journey brought up another concern: what was she going to do when they got back? She -- and eventually her mom -- couldn't live with Marley and his dad forever. What was she going to do about Pearl and the ona?

  One problem at a time, Savi thought, letting the water pound her back. First I need to get through the night.

  Even though she hated herself for it, she wished she had a bottle of something. If she knocked herself out with alcohol, she probably wouldn't dream, right? But not only was it three in the morning, she couldn't legally buy anything.

  As she stepped out of the shower, resigned to another horror show dream session, a memory broke through, giving her a glimpse of hope. She got dressed and tied her hair back, then stepped out of the steamy bathroom, careful to turn the light off quickly so as not to wake Nissa. She felt around for her purse, pulling out her phone to use as a flashlight to find her sneakers.

  Glenn whined, and she shone the light on him. "I need to get something out of the van," she said. "Girl stuff," she added, when he started to get up. He lay back down. "I'll be right back."

  Stepping into the cool night, she shivered, her shirt damp from her wet hair. Leaving the door resting on the frame so she didn't have to go back in for the key, she jogged over to the end of the long motel where the van was parked.

  Her mouth became more parched with every step, and by the time she'd reached the van, her hands were trembling so much she dropped the keys twice trying to unlock the back hatch. She half hoped she was wrong, but when she pulled back the cover of the spare tire compartment, there it was: a velvet bag with six mini liquor bottles inside.

  Baxter had given them to her as a high school graduation present. She'd been driving her mom's van that day because her car was in the shop. When she got home, she sat in the garage on the back ledge of the van and was about to try one of them, when Dave and her mom returned home early. Savi barely had time to hide them in the tire compartment. It had taken so long for there to be an opportunity to get them out, and she'd had other, larger bottles around, that she forgot all about them.

  A strong gust of wind made her baggy pj pants billow. She rubbed her arms and started to pull out two of the bottles, when the headlights of a car parked behind her suddenly flashed on. Her first thought was that it was the police, and she immediately hid the pouch back under the floor insert.

  She heard the car doors open, and turned to see two people getting out, although she was blinded by the headlights and couldn't see much more than shadows. A woman's silhouette interrupted the bright beams and walked toward her. Savi peered into the light, trying to place the shape's owner. She definitely wasn't wearing a police uniform. Only when it was too late did she recognize the curvy figure, swaying her hips with each step.

  "Hey, Savi," she said, drawing out her name as she had done the first time they met at the Beanie Beanie.

  It was Amber.

  Chapter Ten

  Savi darted away from the van only to be blocked by Pearl's tall, ghostly frame. Savi spun around, but Amber was already inches from her, sneering.

  "The silver wolf is dead," said Savi, looking behind Amber for Pink, her perpetually shirtless boyfriend. She'd never seen one without the other.

  "That's what you told Pearl," said Amber, bringing a knife up to Savi's cheek. Savi recoiled, but all that accomplished was bumping into Pearl behind her.

  "Imagine our surprise -- driving all the way down here just to ask you where the torra is -- and here you are checking in with what the clerk said looked like..." Amber traced the side of Savi's face with the flat part of the blade. She was so close that Savi could taste Amber's ever present champagne perfume more than she could smell it. "...a wolf."

  They think Glenn is the origin?

  "That wolf's not silver, and not torra. I'm telling you --"

  "Shh," Amber hissed, tilting the blade so its edge pinched her cheek. Amber kept her eyes on Savi, but when she spoke, her voice was hard, commanding, and clearly meant for Pearl. "Get the wolf."

  Once again, Savi surveyed the parking lot, searching for Pink. There was no sign of him. Now that she thought of it, Pink hadn't been part of the ambush at her house either. Did they break up? Not that Savi cared about Amber's romantic life, but getting away from two people was easier than trying to run from three. Theoretically, anyway.

  Pearl's footsteps were soft as she walked down the sidewalk to Savi's room. Savi cursed herself for leaving the door unlocked. If something happened to Glenn or Nissa, it was her fault. With a knife at her throat, she could do nothing but watch as Pearl, illuminated by the parking lot lights, entered their room.

  Although it was nearly the entire length of the parking lot away, Savi expected to hear Glenn's bark or Nissa's scream, but there was nothing. Pearl was in the room for several minutes, even turning the lights on, until finally she emerged alone. She jogged back and started to speak, keeping her head bowed, but Amber cut her off with a slap across the face.

  "Where are they?" Amber demanded.

  Pearl took the blow, not even bringing her hand up to her cheek. "I couldn't find it, goddess."

  Goddess?

  "Idiot." Amber shoved Savi at Pearl. "It has to be in there."

  A shadow burst from behind the closest parked car and leapt at Amber. Glenn landed on her back and Amber's legs buckled from the weight, falling against Savi and Pearl. Savi tried to scramble out of the pile as she heard Glenn's snarling and gnashing teeth, but a hand closed around her ankle.

  As Savi turned to see who held her, Amber cried out in pain, Glenn's claws ripping at her back.

  "Goddess!" Pearl cried, pinned under Amber and Glenn. She let go of Savi and put all her efforts into freeing herself and Amber.

  Savi scrambled away and started running out of the parking lot. "Glenn, Run!" she shouted over her shoulder. "They're after you!"

  By the parking lot lamps, Savi saw Glenn's silhouette race away into the blackness behind the motel.

  "Get her!" screamed Amber. Pearl's figure rose and started chasing Savi.

  The motel was on a main strip, but of course all of the stores were closed at this hour. Savi ran as fast as she could, only daring once to peer over her shoulder. Pearl was far behind, but she was bound to catch up soon -- her stride was longer than Savi's, and she was in better shape.

  Savi ran off the road into the first patch of woods, hoping to find a place to hide, but the patch turned out to be merely a thin strip of trees lining someone's back yard. Running past the house, she emerged in a residential neighborhood similar to her own back in Egremont. She was contemplating banging on the closest door when she saw someone getting out of a utility van that was all black except its white front doors. An older woman with short, spiky white hair was heading to the rear of the van.

  "Excuse me," Savi panted, speaking low and watching for Pearl. "I know this is really weird, but someone's chasing me. I'm not a bad person. Can I hide in your van for a few minutes?"

  The woman had opened the back doors as Savi spoke, but closed one of them at her request. "Hide?" the woman asked in shock. "We have sensitive medical and scientific equipment in this vehicle."

  Savi glanced over her shoulder one more time, then took a quick survey of the van. The floor was strewn with a couple backpacks, medical kits, and a few laptops. Two metal dividers a couple feet apart separated the cab and the back of the van, and Savi could see a man watching them from the passenger's seat.

  "I'll be careful, I swear. My best friend's a microbiologist." Without waiting for the woman's consent, Savi jumped into the back of the van.

  "Hey!" the woman protested.

  "Please," Savi begged, cautiously stepping over equipment and tucking herself into a spot next to the dividers. "If a tall girl with white hair comes, please tell her you saw me run down the road. Please?"

  Savi must have appeared honest -- or desperate -- enough, because the woman sighed and closed the van doors. The back of the van was w
indowless, leaving Savi in the dark. When the woman opened the front door, however, lights in both the cab and the back switched on, enabling Savi to see that what she had thought were two metal dividers was actually a cage built into the van. Inside that cage, on the floor, lay an unconscious wolf.

  Savi's stifled cry was hidden by the sound of Pearl calling out to the woman.

  "Excuse me!" Pearl's voice was much more haggard than Savi expected. She was barely able to get the words out between her heavy breathing. "Have you... seen a girl... run... past here?"

  The woman held the door open, leaving the light on. If Pearl peeked into the van, she would easily see Savi on the other side.

  Who are these people who have a wolf trapped in their van? Are they Alters?

  She wondered if she should have taken her chances running. Pearl was obviously not in as good shape as she had been last time they were together. Was she in more danger with these people?

  "A girl?" asked the woman. "Yes. What are you two doing? Playing manhunt in the middle of the night or something?" The woman's voice was hard, disapproving. Did she think Savi was lying? Would she give her away?

  "Something like that," Pearl wheezed.

  Savi waited for the woman to answer, certain her pounding heart would give her away.

  "She ran down the road a bit," said the woman.

  Pearl didn't reply, but Savi couldn't tell if she was just catching her breath, or appraising the woman's terse response.

  "Thank you," she finally said, and ran in the direction the woman had indicated.

  The woman got in and put her key in the ignition, but didn't turn the van on. Savi started to thank her, but the woman cut her off.

  "What's this about?" she demanded.

  "I witnessed a crime," Savi said, hoping the cover story she'd come up with during the last few minutes rang true. "I need to call the police before they get away. Do you have a phone?"

  "What kind of a crime?"

  "She and another girl robbed someone at the motel I'm staying at. They saw me, and I ran away."

  The woman eyed her in the rearview mirror for a moment, then exchanged a glance with the man in the passenger's seat. "There's one back there, in the blue bag," she said, switching on the interior light. "But don't touch anything else."

  Trying not to stare at the unconscious animal on the floor, Savi reached for a blue gym bag and found the phone. After calling the police and informing them of the crime that occurred and the physical descriptions of the assailants, Savi hung up and rested her head against the wall.

  "All set?" the woman asked.

  "Oh, yes. Umm, the motel's around the corner..."

  The two in the front seat exchanged a wordless look, and the woman started the van.

  "So you guys are zoologists? Doing some sort of wildlife study?" Although neither of them had done anything to invite questions, Savi figured not asking would be more suspicious than not.

  "We're studying the adaptation of hybrids into urban environments," said the woman.

  "Hybrids?" Savi asked, a knot forming in her stomach.

  "Wolf-coyote. Officially they're known as Eastern coyotes, but are commonly referred to as coywolves."

  Coywolf! Savi looked back down at the animal beside her. She'd only seen the brothers in their animal form once, for maybe a minute in the weak light of dusk, but she knew they were tan, like this one. Could this be Marley or Ren?

  "Should I be going back to route 13?" asked the woman.

  "What? Oh, yes. Left onto it."

  When the woman didn't continue talking about her work, Savi prompted her. "Why are you interested in coywolves?"

  The woman waited until she was turning onto the main strip to reply. "We're driving down the East Coast studying their different habits and strategies."

  "It's this motel, here," Savi said. "What do you mean, strategies?"

  Glancing at her in the rearview mirror, the woman said, "Most teenagers aren't interested in this kind of thing."

  Savi smiled, wiping her sweaty hands on her pajama shorts. "Like I said, my best friend's a scientist -- or studying to become one, anyway. I'm still trying to decide what I want to do."

  They pulled into the parking lot, and she was afraid the woman wasn't going to answer her question. As the van came to a stop, she said, "Traveling between towns via old railroad tracks, for instance, or living in places mid-sized predators would never have been expected. We've tracked coywolves living in areas as densely populated by humans as Central Park."

  The woman got out and unlocked the back. Savi knew she should get out, but she was afraid Amber or Pearl was waiting for her at the motel room. She didn't see their car behind hers anymore, but she hadn't gotten a good look at it; they could have parked elsewhere in the lot. She was also very curious what these scientists knew about coywolves.

  "And this is is a coywolf?" she asked.

  "Correct."

  "You caught it in this neighborhood?"

  "A little farther out. We were circling the area to see if we could find anymore."

  Trying to keep the tremor out of her voice, she asked the only question that really mattered. "What do you do after you catch them?"

  A police car pulled into the parking lot. Savi waited for the woman to answer.

  "I think that's your cue," the woman said, watching the cruiser park.

  "Oh, right. What do you do with the coywolves, though? Measure them?"

  The man muttered something that Savi couldn't understand, then laughed. The woman glared in his direction and said, "We tag them, monitor their movements."

  Savi's heart sank, but she tried not to let her anxiety show. "That makes sense. Thanks for the ride, and the hide." She laughed nervously at her lame rhyme, and started to stand.

  "Watch the equipment!" the woman ordered.

  With one last glance at the coywolf, Savi carefully climbed over the bags and computers and got out of the van. Trying to keep her voice casual, she hopped down onto the pavement and asked, "So where do you tag them? Doesn't it hurt the coywolf?"

  The woman's small eyes studied Savi. Was that suspicion?

  "Between the shoulder blades," she said, closing the van doors. "There's loose skin there. They don't feel it."

  "I see. Okay, well, good luck with your work."

  "Mm-hmm," the woman said, climbing back into the van and driving away.

  Savi ran toward her room, then changed course when she realized that Amber or Pearl could easily be waiting for her there. Putting on her best damsel in distress expression, she burst into the main office where the police officers were and cried, "I saw someone go into my room! Someone snuck into my room!"

  One of the officers went with Savi, while the other remained, asking the clerk about a possible robbery and two women suspects. Savi was glad to hear the clerk confirm that the two women had been there, backing up Savi's false robbery claim.

  The officer knocked on the locked door. Nissa, the only one inside, answered. Savi apologized and thanked the officer profusely, then went inside.

  "We've got to get out of here now. Where's Glenn?" Savi asked as she heaved her suitcase out of the closet and onto the bed.

  "I haven't seen him." Nissa sat on the bed beside her bag, which was already packed.

  Savi opened her suitcase and went into the bathroom to assemble her toiletries. When she came back, she was surprised to find Nissa actually chuckling quietly to herself.

  "What's so funny?"

  "He said you wouldn't notice," said Nissa.

  "Notice what?"

  "Your clothes."

  Savi surveyed the contents of her suitcase. Everything was as she'd left it, her clothes crumpled and piled together, nothing folded. She hated packing, and since they'd only be sitting in a car, she didn't think wrinkles were anything she needed to worry about.

  "What do you mean?" Savi asked.

  "He heard the ona and told me. Of course I was already awake, what with your crashing around in th
e bathroom."

  At Savi's glare, Nissa said, "He had the idea of me hiding in your suitcase. I threw all your clothes on the floor of the closet and covered them with a blanket, and then I zipped myself in. He said you wouldn't notice your clothes being all messy."

  Inspecting the closet floor for any remaining clothes, Savi asked, "Where did he hide?"

  "He slipped out the door when she first came in."

  Savi packed the sock she'd found and zipped up the suitcase. "Well, we've got to get out of here before the cops leave. They're our only protection right now. Amber and Pearl could be waiting for us. Hopefully Glenn is too."

  They left the room. Nissa started to the left, toward the van, but Savi walked toward the police officers, who were almost back in their car.

  "Excuse me," Savi said. The same officer who had walked her to her room came over. "I'm still feeling a little anxious. I know it's silly, but could you please walk me and my sister to our car?"

  The officer graciously agreed, even offering to carry Savi's suitcase. Once in the driver's seat, she thanked him again, and started the van.

  "Keep an eye out for Glenn as we turn around," she directed Nissa.

  As she pulled out of the parking spot, Savi asked, "Nissa, can you do me a big favor?"

  "No."

  "It's not that big a deal, really," Savi continued, ignoring Nissa's reply. "Marley's already really overprotective. If he found out about this, I'm pretty sure he'd handcuff us together or something insane like that. So I'd rather he and Ren not know about this."

  "How did they find us?"

  "I don't know. They didn't say. I honestly hadn't even thought of that."

  There was no sign of Glenn as she pulled onto the main road. No sign of Amber or Pearl either.

  "So can you keep this whole thing quiet, please?"

  "You think lying is a good idea?"

  "Nissa!" Savi snapped, giving up on delicacy. "Can you just please do this one thing for me?"

  Nissa closed her eyes. "Fine."

  Savi was so surprised at Nissa's agreement that she forgot to thank her.

  "Aren't you worried about your wolf?" asked Nissa.