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

windows that will
show you what you are missing being in here. In order to get outside, well,
that’s a different story all together.” He walks over to the sink and runs the
water. “Amazing,” I hear him say under his breath.
    He splashes
water on his face.
    “Cold as
everything else in this place.” He dries his face on a small hand-towel. “Perfect!
You’ve got waterless shampoo if you need it. Better to conserve the water.
Sometimes they turn it off or a main breaks. Hang onto this.” He tosses a
small, sealed cardboard box up in the air and then places it back down near the
sink.
    I notice he
isn’t wearing the hospital gown anymore, but jeans and a t-shirt. His feet are
still bare. He still looks green.
    “I’m just a few
cells down. You’re locked in. We all are.”
    “Then how—”
    “There are
tunnels all over this place. And I heard you crying. That’s how I knew you were
here. I just followed the hopeless sounds of despair.”
    “I was that loud?”
I touch my face. There are no tears. No streaks of water or salt residue. It
burns, raw.
    “Nah. When I
went back up to see you, you had already been moved. I shoulda gone back sooner
to prepare you, but I couldn’t get down there without being noticed.”
    “How long have I
been here? In this room?”
    “Not long. A
day.”
    “Why did they
move me at all?” I ask.
    “Once the
Imperial Bead pronounces you dead—”
    “That was the
Imperial Bead?” I am reminded of being stared at in the morgue by two men and a
doctor.
    “That first day
when they pulled you from the freezer. The suits. That was the Imperial Bead
and most likely Dr. Flint. She oversees the regenerative program.”
    “Was I dead?”
    “Probably. Possibly.
If you weren’t, The Hollow may try to regenerate life with you. If it’s gonna
work with anyone, it’s gonna work with you.”
    “Is that how it
happened to you?” I ask, wanting not to feel alone. Needing not to feel alone.
    Leland shakes his
head.
    “Another time,
another story. The Hollow has no need keeping the front of a regular hospital.
Its investors never audit. The Imperial Bead doesn’t care. Here you’ll be
monitored and kept alive –”
    “For how long?
Until what?”
    “Until they
don’t need you.”
    I panic. What
does that mean? JJ said something about mismanagement of my traits. Is
this what he meant?
    My head spins. My
hands start trembling.
    “Anyone who
knows you thinks you’re dead.” Leland states, a little too nonchalant.
    “Dead?” But
I’m alive! “My parents? Dory? Evie?”
    Pike.
    “Everyone and
anyone,” Leland answers. “It might even have been made public with a memorial
or ceremony. Depending on who you are. Who are you, Roz?”
    My head still
spins. Or is it the room?
    Leland is still talking,
though I don’t know what he’s saying.
    “It’s really a
homey little cell you have here, though I’m almost certain your home wasn’t
anything like this,” he spreads his arms out and moves them around.
    I may throw up.
My hands shake now and they hold my head, keeping it from exploding.
    “See, I have a
feeling they know, but they just don’t care since it doesn’t really bother
them. Some of us think it’s just a matter of time before they put an end to it
all.”
    “They know what?
Put an end to what?” I can’t focus. What is he talking about?
    Leland laughs
and takes my hand. There is no charge. No current. No electricity like with
Pike. This isn’t Pike. Pike thinks I’m dead. I’m never going to see him again.
    “You want to
know what kind of hospital this is?” Leland asks, stretching out his hand.
    I nod. I’m
helpless.
    “Come on, come
with me. I’ll show you.”

5
    “You want me to follow you down there?” The
tile moved out of place, I point to the bottomless pit that Leland has lowered
himself into. I’m still wearing a hospital gown and nothing else, but luckily
it is one that has been pulled over my head, like a long T-shirt. It isn’t