Hollowland
Page 23

It wasn’t until we were on the highway that everyone seemed to relax a bit. Blue didn’t slow down, and nobody said anything, but it got easier to breathe. I leaned back, then realized that I was sitting on Lazlo’s lap and leaning into him, so I straightened back up.
“You saved my life,” Lazlo said. From the corner of my eye, I saw him looking at me admiringly.
“Well, we can call it even.”
I got up off his lap, climbing over the center console into the backseat. Lia, Vega, and Harlow were already sitting back there, but I squished in between Harlow and the car door. They were all very skinny, thanks to the end-of-the civilization starvation, but it was still a tight fit.
“Whenever you get a chance, can we stop, Blue?” I asked, looking out the window at the blank landscape around us. “I need to change back into real clothes.”
“Sure thing,” Blue said. “I just want to get farther away.”
Blue pulled over on the side of the road about an hour later. I changed in the red glow of the taillights, and instantly felt better in a pair of jeans. I pulled my hair back up, and Harlow changed back into her regular clothes without saying anything.
“I’m really sorry we had to leave like that,” I told Harlow as I slid on my tennis shoes. She had her back to me and pulled on her shirt. “I know you really like it there.”
“We all do what we have to do, right?” Harlow replied flatly.
“Right,” I said uncertainly.
I wanted to say more to her, but she walked around the SUV and hopped back in without saying another word. She hadn’t said anything since we left, and I’m not sure how this was all sitting with her.
Blue and Lazlo wandered a little ways away to pee. Lia and Vega wanted to get dressed too, so I gave them some of my clothes. They changed in the back together, and I waited at the side of the SUV, next to the open passenger door for them.
Lia finished changing, my smaller clothes revealing her slender midriff. Her back was to the SUV, and she stared off in the direction of the ranch, not that she could see anything from this distance.
“Do you think they’re alright?” Lia asked.
“They’ll be fine,” Vega answered offhandedly, pulling a shirt over her head.
“With Korech injured…” Lia trailed off. “What if he dies?”
“It’s up to God what happens after he dies,” Vega said. “‘He whosoever believeth in me shall not perish but have everlasting life.’”
“I know, but what about everyone there? How will they survive without him?”
“Lia, be serious.” Vega gave her a hard look. “We’re the ones that did everything. Korech spouted gospel and took advantage.”
“I guess,” Lia said but she sounded unconvinced.
Vega shook her head and rounded the SUV. I stopped her, shutting the door partially so Harlow wouldn’t overhear.
“Hey, what was he like?” I lowered my voice.
“I thought he was the Messiah,” Vega said quietly. “I thought he was going to save the world from the end times. Then after a while, I started thinking he might be the antichrist, but he has no power. Not for good or evil. Not even marked of the Beast.”
“What?” I shook my head, not understanding.
“The Beast. The antichrist. The fourth horseman is upon us,” Vega explained as if anything she said made sense to me. “The antichrist walks among us.”
“But it’s not Korech?” I clarified.
“No. He is just a weak, sinful man.” She looked away from me. “He had sex with all of the girls and called it a cleansing ritual.”
“What?” I was taken aback. I had strong suspicions he might be using the girls as his own personal harem, but Korech had referred to cleansing the boys. “Korech wanted to cleanse Lazlo. He wanted to have sex with him too?”
“I don’t know what takes place in the male cleansing rituals,” Vega admitted. “But the last time Korech ‘cleansed’ a man, it was Shiloh’s brother, and we had to bury him right after.”
“Seriously?” Lazlo came up behind us, and Vega looked over her shoulder at him, with that same eerie calm as Korech. “I narrowly escaped being raped and murdered?”
“I don’t know why that’s so shocking,” I said, trying to lighten the mood, and opened the car door for Vega. “You were almost killed by a zombie two days ago. Rape and murder seems a little mundane after that.”
“He wasn’t evil,” Lia interjected, her arms wrapped tightly around her, as if she were cold. Vega ignored her and got into the SUV, sliding up next to Harlow. “He was just misled. The devil works just as mysteriously as God does.”
“Fascinating,” I said and gestured to the car so she would climb in.
I was not in the mood to get into a religious debate.
When the world started ending, everybody became a convert and wanted nothing more than to spout the virtues of whatever apocalyptic religion they had latched onto.
I wasn’t sure who, if any, of them were right, but my best bet for avoiding hell was avoiding death.
“Hey, Lazlo’s gonna drive.” Blue leaned on the open car door, yawning. “I’m gonna hop in back and catch some sleep, if you wanna sit shot gun.”
“Sure, whatever,” I shrugged.
When I got in front, I moved the passenger seat forward as far as I could, giving Blue legroom to stretch out. I leaned down in the seat, resting my battered shoes on the dashboard so my knees pressed up to my chest.
Blue sprawled out in the back, as much as the space would allow, and almost instantly fell asleep. I grew envious of his ability to sleep and handle stress. He remained unruffled in almost every situation.
Harlow had fallen into an uncharacteristic silence, and I tried futilely to get her out of it. She sat on the far side of the car, staring out the window blankly. Whether I agreed with Korech or not, he had managed to build a world that was entirely separate from our own, and when our world had gone to hell, his became incredibly appealing.
The sky lightened to a grayish-blue, and the rest of the passengers had fallen asleep. For most of the ride, we drove in silence, but Lazlo was starting to fade. Any panic or adrenaline from the night had worn off.
“So… do you have any idea where we’re going?” Lazlo asked, suppressing a yawn.