Out of the Hollow
A Halloween Short Story
“Don’t talk to the skeleton, he’ll lead you astray.”
The hiker pointed a wrinkled finger ahead, where the pine straw path disappeared around a curve of jutted-up stone. In the gray fog his skin and beard looked pallid, nearly translucent. Even the fiery orange-reds of dead leaves and mushrooms were muted, the brilliance choked out of them. I extended my hand to the traveller.
“Thank you, you’ve been very kind. To me, and to Kes.”
He placed a rough, crescent-shaped rock in my hand. Flecks of red and shimmering mica dotted its grayness. It was heavy.
“What’s this?”
“Keep this with you. If you find Lon, she will know that I did my job.”
Frigid air slapped against my face. I nodded. The hiker’s pots and pans clanked together on his pack as he turned to face the way we came. So he stood, silent, as I rustled further up the path. All kinds of sounds drew me forwards—creaking wood, distant howls, chattering birds and crickets and toads, human screams—falling silent as I approached.
I saw little of the path before it disappeared over a hill or around another jagged corner. Occasionally I’d step on a pile of bones, but otherwise, every turn started to look the same. This Hollow existed in its own, ever-shifting reality, with its own rules, designed to make any intentional exploration damn near impossible. Lon’s favorite game for us little humans, poor souls plucked from our world into her domain. But I had found my own way back into the Hollow, and with the hiker’s directions, I would find Lon too. As long as I made it before sundown, she was mine. If I failed, I was at her and her monsters’ mercy.
The path’s monotony was hypnotizing. I screamed shrilly when I turned a corner and nearly stepped into the ribcage of a giant, rotting carcass. It stank like a dead fish smothered in feces. I covered my nose and mouth with a bandana, but it hardly helped. My stomach contracted at the sight of gleaming bone and stripped flesh dangling down like streamers. I stepped off the path, hoping to find a way around the dead beast.
Its head was shaped like a trout’s, but nearly as large as a sedan. A patchwork of black fur and moss covered most of the bone. A bolt of adrenaline shot down my spine when I noticed the child sitting in its eye socket. Their body was covered in emerald feathers and a crown of golden leaves sat upon their bald head. A child not much older than Kes.
“Have you come to steal my fish?”
“No, I’m just passing this way.”
“You look like a thief though. You better not steal from me.”
“Do I?”
“Oh yes. You don’t even hide it. You’re very hungry.”
“That may be. But rest assured, I am not here for your fish.”
The child squinted, then threw a pebble at me. She giggled as it hit my padded shoulder and tumbled to the ground. Her laughter followed me up and down the next hill, as did the wood fish’s stench. I knelt in a brook to rinse my hands of it all.
It was hard to tell in the fog, but I couldn’t have much daylight left. My thoughts wandered from the path again, to Kes and Lon. The hiker had witnessed it all and spared me no detail, but certain questions would always hound me.
Had Kes walked this way too? Had my stories of the Hollow driven her to Lon? How close had she gotten before…
A skeleton’s hand grabbed my boot. My cheek scraped against a rock and my left hip hit the dirt hard. I looked to where the bony hand had shot up from the ground, but it was gone. Dusting myself off, wiping the blood and dirt off my cheek, I started to step forward. When the bones shot up again, I kicked them as hard as I could. Metacarpals and phalanges shot off my boot like confetti.
“Hey! What are you making a mess for?”
A skeleton sat on the boulders ahead, swinging its legs, a single arm crossed over its body. I ignored him and the rustling sound of his other arm chasing after its lost fingers. In the distance, I could see the base of the mountain. I needed to hurry.
“Hold on sweetheart, I was just messing with you. Don’t you want to know what you’re marching towards?”
I unsheathed my sword and held it low as I walked.
“That crap won’t do you any good up there. You hear me? Hey hey hey.”
The skeleton leapt down from the boulder, blocking the way. Keeping my head down, I tightened my grip, timing my swing to my gait so I wouldn’t lose pace. I grinned a little at the sound of the blade knocking between his vertebrae. The blow didn’t cut through but swung him hard against the boulder.
He still wouldn’t shut up.
“See? Can’t even get rid of me. Listen, I just want to talk. What did she promise you, eh? Riches? Glory? A ticket back home? Nah, you don’t look desperate. You look mad. It’s revenge, isn’t it? Ho ho ho, that’s rich. You think you’re better than all of us? Stupid. Stupid stupid—”
As the skeleton danced around me, I tore the bandana off my face, ripped it in two and jammed the pieces in my ears. I kept my eyes on my boots until I reached the base of the mountain. Looking up, I saw I’d have to climb. No steps. No clear path. The smoke wisping up from the top would be my only guide.
My arms and legs were trembling by the time the light began to fade. New blood dripped onto the scabs on my palms as I reached for another outcropping and pulled myself up. I could smell the smoke now. And I could hear her song, even through my plugged ears.
Gasping, I dragged myself onto the top ledge. The Lady of the Hollow was waiting for me. She sat on her thorny throne in full black regalia, her features stark in the fire from the lit braziers. Black feathers sprouted from the back of her head and ran down her neck to form a collar over her black, bone-adorned cloak. Her voice carried in its low, gravelly tone.
“Back again?”
“Your child has grown since the last time.”
“She eats well.”
“And you have hired a guide?”
“He requested the honor. You should see what I got out of the deal. Make yourself at home. I’m in no rush.”
Lon watched as I struggled to move my legs underneath me. Clinging to a hollowed out tree, I dragged myself up, leaving a red smear on its trunk. I limped toward her fire.
“That’s close enough.”
I raised my eyes to meet hers. Silver rimmed her enormous pupils, and her lips glittered red like the rock in my pocket. I held my breath for just a moment, burying an old ache in my chest, but she was keen to even the smallest show of weakness.
“It’s nice to see you again, Shea.”
“I would bow, but I’m not sure I would be able to stand again.”
“You beat my challenge. The sun has not yet set. I can send you home. Few people have escaped the Hollow. You’ve done it twice now. I’m almost impressed.”
“Believe me, I don’t plan to linger. But I must ask you something first.”
“Sounds serious.”
“It regards the child.”
Lon’s breath caught, and the corner of her eye flinched ever so slightly.
“Where did you say you saw her again?”
She tried to sound disinterested, but I could hear the thread of mortal panic. That tiny wobble in the voice was very familiar to me. We were both mothers, after all.
“You really shouldn’t let her wander the Hollow all alone, Lon.”
Her feathers bristled.
“Tell me, what would you do to the person that harmed her?”
What remained of Lon’s composure dropped. Flocks of crows erupted from the trees, fanning out in all directions. A taloned hand wrapped around my throat, and glee filled my heart as Lon’s snarling mouth hovered over mine.
“What have you done?”
I laughed. It came out as a distorted gargling sound as I choked. Lon studied me, her eyes widening as they drifted to a green feather I had tucked behind my ear.
“Exactly what you did to my daughter.”
Lon stared at me with silent intensity. Her mouth opened and closed. I could feel the pulse in her hand rising.
“Surely you remember? She looks just like me. Or have you turned so many humans into your playthings that their faces have all drifted together? Here, I’ll give you her name. If you can remember what you did to Kes Rodi, you can find your daughter. If it isn’t too late.”
Lon was hyperventilating. Her hand wound tighter around my throat, and tighter, as she stared blankly into my eyes. The Lady of the Hollow does not remember my daughter. But she will remember me.
Thank you for reading Every Nook Uncanny. If you liked what you read, please share and comment. The audio version of this story will be available this Friday. You can follow Mae on Twitter.