Hollow Child (The Hollows Book 4) by Amanda Hocking

Author:Amanda Hocking [Hocking, Amanda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HockingBooks.com
Published: 2024-10-22T00:00:00+00:00

30

Stella

The grass between my toes felt warm from the summer sun, and my ankle felt so much lighter without the chains. It was such a relief that they trusted me again so I could be up walking around and getting some fresh air.

Although I honestly hadn’t really wanted to walk much lately. I have been so exhausted, from the illness and the pregnancy itself. It made sense that I didn’t have energy.

But today I felt good enough to go for a walk. I had been wanting to explore Emberwood, because I hadn’t seen much of anything outside my room at Jovie’s.

As I looked around, I realized that I had somehow gotten outside of Emberwood. The tall fence was behind me, and all around me, trees had been cut down, leaving short stumps in a grassy field. No one else was nearby. Not even Max or Ripley, and I hadn’t thought to bring my walking stick.

The sky overhead began to darken, and the air began to cool. Wind blew through a bush close by that was adorned with vibrant berries, and I noticed that something was crouching behind it.

“Hello?” I called out as I walked closer. “Is someone there?”

They didn’t respond so I went around to get a better look and found a little boy. He looked to be about seven, with shaggy dirty blond hair. His eyes were bright emerald, and his nose was broad and running slightly. The most remarkable thing about him, though, was that his skin was the ashy green color of a zombie.

He was crouched down facing me, holding a human foot and calf in his hands, munching on it like it was corn on the cob. His mouth was covered in blood, and hunks of flesh were stuck between a gap in his front teeth.

He held the leg out to me, offering to share, and my stomach suddenly rumbled. I couldn’t even remember the last time I had eaten, and at that moment, I felt like I would literally starve to death and die if I didn’t eat something right then.

I knelt down in front of him, and I bit into the meaty flesh of the leg and took a bite. It was hard to chew, but the flavor was so delicious, better than anything I had ever had before. It was sweet and invigorating. It tasted exactly like being alive was meant to feel.

I grabbed onto the leg with both hands, chowing on one side while the little green boy chewed on the other. Together, we were ravenous animals, and I couldn’t have slowed down, even if I wanted to.

Then suddenly, there was this horrible pain inside me, and I doubled over. Everything felt like it was clenching, and the baby thrashed against my stomach.

I woke up screaming in my bed. The room was dark, except for the twinkling string lights, and I could see Max rushing to my side from the floor, grabbing my hand.

“Stella you’re okay,” he told me soothingly. “It was only a nightmare.

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