Chapter 43
“There are enough overlapping biological traits between newly discovered creatures (commonly referred to as cryptids) and those already existing within our ecosystems for us to believe most could be genetically linked. However, not all have these overlaps which leaves us to question where they truly originate from.”
Jaws and Maws: A Study of Carnivorous Cryptids by Makenna Petera
They were so completely dead.
They’d wanted to follow Elliot’s search for the Hollow Walker, not stumble blindly into its path.
Opal had warned her not to seek out the Hollow Walker, that no one could possibly survive an encounter with the creature, The finger bone’s predictions of death echoed through Alexys’s mind as she listened to it grow ever closer.
When it stepped into a patch of moonlight, a scream lodged itself in her throat and brought tears to her eyes. Nic clasped a hand over her mouth, pulling her in even tighter.
The Hollow Walker was the most terrifying thing she had ever laid eyes on.
Standing easily as tall as a semi-truck, its body appeared half-decayed and covered in moss.
Flesh-bare feet of glistening bone revealed themselves as it made to move toward them, walking on its hind legs.
The exposed bone of its face reflected the moonlight and glowed with a wicked, jaw-splitting grin.
Antlers, obscured in moss and ivy, sprung up from the top of its skull—the only part of its head with any skin and fur.
The flesh of its torso was peeled back to expose its ribs, no internal organs to be seen—just an empty shell.
Its head turned, and bile rose into her throat.
It had no eyes. Empty black voids looked out at the world, somehow darker than the night itself.
There was no way to explain it. No skin, no blood, no eyes. Just a towering, shambling corpse of a beast that shouldn’t exist.
The wind blew again, and realization dawned on her. The whistling, the sound that was synonymous with the Hollow Walker, was not, in fact, a sound it made with its mouth. It was the sound of the wind blowing through its bones.
Alexys bit down on Nic’s hand to keep from screaming. She felt him tense against her, but he didn’t make a sound. They stood there, completely paralyzed, as the Hollow Walker’s head turned to face them.
She didn’t know if it could see them, or whether the lack of actual eyes rendered it blind. She didn’t breathe as it stepped toward them, tears flooding her cheeks, spilling onto Nic’s hand. Alexys could hear his clipped breathing behind her, feel the frantic beat of his heart against her back.
Her eyes squeezed shut as the beast stood directly in front of them.
This is it, she thought, this is how we die. Her heart nearly stopped, but the Hollow Walker’s steps didn’t.
Alexys opened her eyes again and watched, in utter disbelief, as the creature continued its slow, steady pace, shuffling right past them.
When its hulking form finally disappeared among the trees, she felt Nic’s hand slowly leave her mouth. He pulled away from her, and she immediately reached out for him, pressing her face into his chest. She drew in a deep, shuddering breath and wiped at the tears on her face.
“I’ve never …” Nic whispered, looking in the direction the Hollow Walker had gone. “That was …”
“Fucking terrifying?” Alexys choked out, the sound thick with more tears.
“It’s okay,” he murmured, “you’re okay.” Alexys burrowed into him, reaching out to take his hand. She needed to be grounded by something, anything to keep the hysteria at bay.
Nic stiffened at the touch, surprised, but then he squeezed her fingers tighter. They stood like that for a long time, listening to only each other’s breaths, each silently praying the creature wouldn’t come back.
“I’ll have to update the file when we return,” Nic said at last. Alexys let out a small, rough laugh. She was actually grateful for such a Nic-esque response to distract her from how terrified she felt.
“Always the research with you, huh?” she murmured.
He smiled, she could hear it in his voice. “I am the head of Research and cataloging, Keane. How could it not be about the research?”
“You should probably write it down in your little notebook so you don’t forget.”
He cleared his throat. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget what we just saw.”
Alexys didn’t either. The image of the Hollow Walker was burned into her brain and would haunt her nightmares for years to come.
Nic asked, “Do you think Elliot saw it, too?”
She squeezed his hand and nodded.
If the Hollow Walker haunted that mountain, then there was no doubt that Elliot had run into it, even if it was only from a distance. Their best chance of finding him, as much as she hated to even consider it, was wherever that monster was headed.
“We have to follow it, don’t we?” he asked reluctantly.
Alexys nodded again.
Nic sighed and closed his eyes. What little she could make out of Nic’s face look tired, concerned; the lines of his face appearing deeper in the moonlight.
When he opened his eyes again, determination replaced any trace of exhaustion.
“Let’s go before I consider our odds of survival and remember we’re idiots. ”
She choked on another laugh and shook her head. Idiots or not, they had a job to finish. “At least it leaves behind special moss and giant footprints for us to follow.”
Looking at said footprints in the mud, Nic grimaced. “Lucky us.”
Alexys took a deep breath. “Flashlights off, I’m guessing?”
“We’re not that stupid.” Nic tucked his flashlight back into his backpack then held his hand out to her. “They better give us a raise for this.”
When Nic realized she was hesitating, his smile started to slip.
Alexys rushed to take his hand before he could pull it back. She squeezed it and pursed her lips to keep the responding smile at bay.
And like the pair of idiots that they were, they set off after the most gruesome beast in District 13.