Hollowland
Page 33

“I’m not gonna let you follow me around and get yourself killed.” Frustrated tears stung my eyes, and I hated it. “I got her killed today, and I won’t do that to you.”
“I liked Lia,” Lazlo said gently. “She was a really nice girl, and I am sad that she’s gone. But you can’t blame yourself for her death just because it hurts.”
“I blame myself because it’s my fault!” I insisted. “I never should’ve let her leave the ranch. And when she was dying, I didn’t even go out to her. I let her die alone.”
A tear rolled down my cheek, and I wiped it away as quickly as I could.
“Hey.” Lazlo reached out to touch my shoulder, and I pulled away, so he let his hand fall. “None of that is your fault. You risked your life to stay back and cover us so we could get away. And when she was dying, you were saving Harlow’s life.
“You saved Harlow’s life today, and mine, and Blue’s and Vega’s. You can’t forget that. But you can’t save everybody all the time.”
“I know that,” I nodded, swallowing hard. “That’s why I don’t want you to go with me.”
“Is everything okay?” Blue asked. I hadn’t noticed him walking over to us, and I rubbed my hands on my cheeks to dry them.
“Yeah, it’s great,” I replied quickly.
“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Blue looked between Lazlo and I, both of us just in our pajamas.
“No, of course not,” I shook my head.
“I checked things out, and they have a doctor, a vet, and three nurses here,” Blue said. “So they’re pretty well staffed in that regard. I want to keep going with you to the quarantine. I know they have larger medical facilities, but they have a larger population too. I think I could really be of help there.”
“Yeah, okay.” I nodded. “I wanna leave tomorrow.”
“All right,” Blue gestured to his bed by Harlow’s. “I’m gonna go get some sleep. And I’ll leave you two… to it.” He offered a smile, then walked back over to his bed, with Lazlo staring after him.
“What was that?” Lazlo turned back to me.
“What?” I asked, confused by his shift in emotion.
“He asks to come with you, and you say ‘sure?’” Lazlo raised an eyebrow.
“He has a good reason,” I said. “And I don’t have to spend all my time worrying about him.”
“So…” Lazlo grinned, and I knew that I had said something wrong. “You worry about me?”
“Yeah, because you’re an idiot and you’re gonna get yourself killed.” I tried to put him back in his place, but his smile only faded a little. “Why do you even wanna come with me, anyway? This place has everything you need.”
“I don’t know,” he shrugged. For a moment, he lowered his gaze, looking thoughtful. “I guess it just never occurred to me that I wouldn’t go with you.”
“That is not a good enough reason. It’s not even a reason at all.”
“You need me,” Lazlo said finally, his dark eyes meeting mine. “Yeah, I know you’ve saved my life and gotten my back before, but I’ve saved you, too. You can’t do this alone. And I’m going with you.”
“Lazlo…” I tried to think of an argument against that, and he leaned in closer to me. I wanted to back up and move away, but I was against the wall.
“You wanna get your kid brother? You’re gonna need back up. The way I see it, you don’t have a choice.” He looked at me so intently that it made me short of breath.
“We should get to bed,” I managed eventually, my voice sounding weaker than I liked. “If we’re gonna leave in the morning.”
“Right on,” Lazlo grinned broadly, as if he’d won something worth winning.
As I slid past him to walk back to bed, I glanced over to where Vega knelt next to her bed, praying. Her chant-like prayers didn’t sound so much like words as grunts. Her back was to me, but she appeared to be shaking. Lia’s death must’ve gotten to her more than I thought.
“Vega?” I asked, stepping closer to her. “How are you holding up-”
I froze when I realized she wasn’t shaking because she was crying. She was eating her pillow, tearing into it like a rabid dog.
“Shit,” I whispered, taking a step back. “Lazlo, run.”
“What?” Lazlo asked. He’d been standing behind me, and he didn’t move, even though I told him to. “What’s wrong with Vega?”
At the sound of her name, Vega turned towards us. Her eyes had already yellowed, and drool and stuffing were stuck to her mouth. She was a zombie, and brand new, so she was strong as hell.
“Run!” I shouted, and Vega jumped up.
We were in a bedroom without weapons, and I had to think fast. I pushed her bunk forward, knocking it down on her, but she could get it off her if she really tried. Her bones and muscles were too strong, and I couldn’t fight her with my bare hands.
Thankfully, Lazlo ran away, but I stayed where I was, watching Vega.
“I have something!” Lazlo shouted, running up behind me.
“What?” I glanced back at him, afraid to take my eyes off Vega.
“A weapon.” Lazlo held up a silver meat cleaver. “I took it when we were at Korech’s and hid it under my bed in case he tried to kill me.”
Just as Vega started pushing the bunk off, I ran and jumped on it, holding it down. The top bunk pressed against her chest, pinning her down, and her feet were tangled up with the bed and blankets from the bottom bunk.
“Lazlo, use the cleaver!” I shouted. Vega bucked against the bed, and I wasn’t sure how long I could hold her down.
“On what?” Lazlo asked, staring down at Vega and me with confused dismay.
“Take off her head!” I commanded.
Vega snarled and spit, making that familiar death groan. Lazlo stood by her head, and she freed one arm so she could reach out for his legs. He looked uncertain for a second, but when her fingers latched onto his ankle, he swung in surprise.
The cleaver sliced into her neck, making blood splatter out. He didn’t go through her spine though, and Vega was still alive, snarling and convulsing. Lazlo raised the cleaver again, and this time, he brought it down with enough force to take off her head.