The Hollow (Rose of the Dawn Series Book 2) Read Online Free Page A

takes me forever.
    I finally get to
the window and catch my breath. Only about fifteen feet from the bed to the
window and I’m exhausted. If I can walk, I can get out of here. I can get
outside. I don’t have to be stuck in here.
    I steady myself
on the ledge and lift my arm, grabbing the drawstring for the blinds. These
pull up whereas the others slid open. I don’t have much strength, but I’m able
to hang on the cord to pull them open.
    I squint,
anticipating brightness. Anticipating sunlight.
    Nothing. The
color in the room doesn’t change. It remains gray.
    The windows are bricked
up from the outside
    I’m not getting
out.
    I look up at the
window again. I press my hand to the red brick and mortar. It’s gritty and rough,
but warm. I bang my fist against it and severe pain sends shockwaves up my arm
and through my shoulders.
    I ball my hand
up again and hit it a second time. Another sharp vibration shudders through my
fist and up my arm. I rub my hand while leaning against the wall. In a way it
feels good to feel, even though it hurts so much.
    I laugh. I want
to hit the wall again, just to feel something. I want to feel the hurt that
comes with knowing I’m still here. That I’m still alive.
    Pike! Come find
me! Wherever I am!
    Instead of
hitting the window, I turn away, my back to the wall. I sink to the ground. My
feet slide out from beneath me. I hold my head in my hands.
    How will I get
out of here? How is anyone going to find me?
    Is anyone even
looking?
    Tears burst from
my eyes and I can’t see across the room. A slice of light from under the door
streaks across my blurred vision.
    The door has no
knob, no handle. No keyhole either. The outline of the door separates it from
the rest of the wall, but the door is still flush. I cry even more. I want my
mother. I want Dory.
    “Where are you?
Why haven’t you found me?”
    I’m being left
here to die. I’m going to die in here.
    I sob louder and
louder, my voice echoes in my ears.
    Dory. Jenny. The
conservatory at home. Sick. Pain. My liver. My father and Dr. Rush. Pike and
Ezekiel and Aegis. Hara. JJ and Patience. Puncture marks and running away. All
leading to one horrible bang.
    My body
convulses with tears and I don’t notice the floor start to vibrate, like a tiny
tremor. I stop crying. I have nothing left. No tears. No pain. No energy. No
hope. Just memories.
    The floor
shakes. An entire square tile a few feet away from me lifts up and moves out of
the way.
    I try to get up
too quickly and my legs cramp. I’m brought back to the ground. Leland pulls
himself up through the tile space and helps me to my feet. His grasp is gentle,
but strong.
    “You thought I
wouldn’t find you,” he laughs and dusts off.
    “How did you
know - where to find me?” I point to the mortared-up window though I can’t get
anything more out and Leland doesn’t follow my gesture. His wrist lights up. A
flashpoint. A flashlight is embedded in his wrist. He swings it around the
room, which is now awash with his illumination. Even when he takes his hand
away, the light lingers in that spot.
    “Your room isn’t
too bad. A little too gray and kinda dingy, don’t you think? I’m feeling more
blue for you, or even pink. Light pink. Rose pink.” He laughs.
    I grimace. I
hate pink.
    Leland smiles at
his own joke.
    “It’s not too
bad, though, really. We all have rooms like this. Some a little bigger, some a
little smaller. You’ve got a sink. You’ve got a privy. And look at that view!”
He stares at the bricked-up window.
    “Where am I?”
    “You’ve been
moved from intake on the ground floor to a few floors up. It’s all bricked up
so you can’t get out.”
    “What about
outside?”
    “What about
outside? You wanna see outside? You wanna go outside? What?”
    “Both?” I ask,
though I know the only way I am going to get outside is if I escape. “How can I
get outside?”
    “You’ll see
outside when they take you for tests. You’ll invariably pass