The Hollows Of Hiraeth (✔️) | 'Hollows' Book I

Chapter Sixty

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T h e H o l l o w s   O f
H I R A E    T    H
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The doctor wasn't kidding when she told me it'd be better to stay in the room. The corridors were crawling with people running, shouting, some even crying. I pushed past them, suddenly realising that their inconvenience was more helpful than I thought it would be. With the crowds swarming around me, I instantly disappeared into the herd of people.

I tried my best to ignore the pain in my foot, but I soon found myself slowing down and leaning against the wall, heaving in and out. I looked back to where I had first emerged from, hoping that Jameson was stumbling behind, having defeated the intruder.

However, when I looked back, not only could I not make anything out past the millions of body's in my way, but I knew, logically, that the chances of my hope would be slim. No matter how much of a God Jameson was, I feared that this was going to be a hard battle for him.

After making that assumption, I regretfully pushed myself off the wall and continued to sprint. I rounded a corner, and was astonished to find it empty. I was relieved, though, to find it empty, but was also on edge at the eery feel to the corridor. I grimaced as the echoes of my feet against the floor made a racket, which, of course, would probably get me caught.

Not wanting to be alone or in the sinister silence any longer, I headed for the door that would take me to the main reception, where there was bound to be chaos. I pulled open the door and ignored the way that it smashed against the wall, focusing just on running back into civilisation.

The corridor lights flickered but I didn't mind as I saw the distribution ahead. I breathed out a sigh of relief as I practically ran into the swarm, pushing and shoving my way through. I nearly came to a dead stop when I saw who was stumbling towards me from the other direction—Jameson.

I'm pretty sure my face lit up as I sped up to him, he looked relieved too. And then, his face fell. He was frowning at something coming from my left side and I frowned back in response. Then as Jameson's eyes widened, I knew my fate. As he pushed his legs to go faster, only managing to trip over his ankles in the process, I turned to look left.

The person in all black outstretched their arms and that's when I saw it—the gun. My heart stopped as I tried to think of a way out, but I couldn't think fast enough.

"Sky!" Two people were screaming my name, but I only saw as one of them jumped in front of me. I caught the body as they jerked back from the impact. All oxygen left my body as I gasped in shock. I fell back with them in my arms, just as I had with Jameson, their blonde hair splaying over my face.

I entwined my fingers with theirs, squeezing their hand reassuringly. I looked at the blood seeping out of the wound that the bullet had cut, then quickly turned away, not daring to take another glance.

"Angela?" I shook her, my voice coming out hoarse. The girl in question smiled weakly at me as her eyes fluttered open, her eyes watering.

"I'm sorry," Soft sobs racked my body as I finally let the reality of the situation hit me. "I'm so sorry." I continued to ramble, my hands and voice shaking as I brushed my fingers through her hair.

"I may not have become a guardian–" Angela broke off before grunting weakly, a frown forming between her blue eyes. "But I know that you vulnerable people always come first." She laughed, or attempted to. Her voice was strained as she lifted a finger to point at me.

"We–" I swallowed the guilt in my mouth, "We need to bandage you." I rushed through my words, some of the syllables not even sounding right. Angela seemed to smile even bigger and I wondered how she was dealing so calmly with this situation.