Free Hollows 02 - Hollowmen by Amanda Hocking Page A

to free myself, and the sign groaned loudly above me. My pants were starting to slip off my waist. When a zombie tried to bite my foot, I managed to kick in the roof of its mouth, but things weren’t going well.
    Then the sign finally began to fall. The metal screeched as it snapped, and the M began to swing forward, taking me and several zombies with it. The M moved like a pendulum as it came free, so by the time the S finally came loose, we had started to swing up higher in the air.
    I let go, falling to the sidewalk. I scraped up my arms when I landed, and I rolled out of the way, pressing myself to the brick of the building. A zombie was still hanging onto me, but most of the zombies were hanging onto each other, in one mass.
    The sign crashed to the ground, smashing the zombies beneath them. Even though the zombie still hung onto my leg, his body had been crushed under the metal. That didn’t stop his head from moving though, and he tried to sink his teeth into my calf.
    I rolled onto my back and kicked him in the face with my shoed foot. He kept gnashing at me, so I kept kicking him until he finally stopped moving.
    While the sign had managed to take out most of the zombies, one of them was still lurching toward me. I was scrambling to my feet when Boden shot it, and it fell to the ground.
    Boden and Bishop had come out of hiding, and they walked across the street toward me. Boden still had his gun raised, in case another zombie came out of the woodwork.
    “Is that all of them?” Boden asked.
    “I think so.” I picked up my shoe that a zombie had pulled off and slipped it back on.
    He lowered his gun when he reached me. “That was really stupid, you know. If that sign hadn’t fallen, they would’ve ripped you to shreds.”
    “But they didn’t.” I shrugged.
    I headed in to the store, which was now thankfully zombie free. Max poked his head down through the hole in ceiling. When I came in Stella had been beside him, but as soon as she saw me, she disappeared.
    “Max, lower down the ladder,” I said.
    “Did you get rid of all the zombies?” Max asked.
    “I wouldn’t have you lower it if I hadn’t.”
    “Who are they?” Max asked as he dropped the rope ladder down.
    “That’s Boden,” I pointed to him, and then pointed to Bishop. “That’s Bishop. They came with to help me.”
    “Hello.” Bishop smiled at him and waved.
    “Hi,” Max said, but he didn’t smile.
    I climbed up the ladder, and Bishop followed me. Boden stayed down on the ground, presumably keeping an eye out for zombies.
    “Get your stuff together,” I told Max. “We’re getting out of here.”
    “And going where?” Max asked.
    “North,” I said simply. I grabbed one of their sheets and went over to the corner where they’d stored all their food and supplies. “It’s safer up there. Less zombies.”
    Max did as he was told, first shoving his things into a backpack, while I put their provisions in a makeshift sack I’d made from the sheet. I grabbed the lighter stuff first, avoiding most of the canned goods. They would get impossible to carry if we had too many.
    “I thought you said there was a girl,” Bishop said.
    “There is.” I turned back to look around and saw Stella buried in the blankets, trying to hide. “She’s right there.”
    “It’s okay, sweetie.” Bishop crouched down in front of her and smiled. “We won’t hurt you. We’re here to keep you safe.”
    Stella only buried herself deeper, so I got up and walked over to her, trading places with Bishop. Max had finished packing one backpack and moved onto putting Stella’s things in a smaller pink one.
    “Stella, honey, it’s okay.” I knelt down. “Come out of there, please.”
    She poked her head out farther, her matted hair all but hiding her eyes. “Why?”
    “I need you to come talk to me for a second.” I held my hand out to her. “I won’t hurt you. I promise.”
    She seemed hesitant, so Max chimed in, “She’s nice, Stella. You