Free Hollowgirl by Sean Williams

back to her.
    â€œIt’s a long story,” she said. “I’ll tell you later.”
    â€œYeah, that’d be good. I’m pretty sure the hollowmen tracked me. I’m not as good at doing this as Ray.”
    Ray was a member of WHOLE who had briefly held her captive. He had been with Clair and Jesse in New York, the first time. That must be how he had ended up in the Yard.
    â€œAs good at doing what?” she asked.
    He shook his head, hair falling across his face.
    â€œGet on,” he called to the others, indicating the twoempty bikes. “I don’t have helmets—there wasn’t time—but at least there’s room for everyone. Doesn’t matter if you can’t drive—”
    â€œI can,” said Zep.
    â€œGreat. The bikes will default to following mine anyway. Just hang on tight. And, uh, you might want to close your eyes.”
    â€œYes, sir,” said Libby with a mock salute. “Hello, by the way.”
    A cry to stop came from behind them. Clair twisted to look, even as she got on the seat behind Jesse. People were stepping from doorways and through windows into the empty street as though they had been hiding in the empty houses. People dressed in black, holding guns.
    â€œThey’re here. I knew it,” Jesse breathed, tugging his helmet quickly into place. “Are we all on?”
    Kari, the last one, clambered into the sidecar accompanying Tash and Ronnie. Zep and Libby rode the third bike, with Clair One the passenger. The engines whirred loudly. Tires screeching, all three bikes pulled away at the same time.
    Clair glanced over her shoulder. The people in black—men and women, all shapes and sizes—were running after them. One of them had a shock of blond hair. He shouted, but the wind snatched his words away.
    She had seen a picture of that youthful face in the muster.
    Cameron Lee.
    Nobody, she thought. Reset.
    A bump appeared in her infield as she roared up the road away from him.
    Steeling herself, she selected the bump and read what Nobody had to say.
    â€œThere’re two of you now,” he said. “I’ve seen you. You’re the ones who got away.”
    He had called her that on the seastead, when he had offered her his gift of death.
    â€œSo you remember,” she bumped back.
    â€œAll of it. Every version of me who came back to the Yard added their memories to mine, the master version. We call it Renovating. I’m as up-to-date as you are.”
    â€œYou know you tricked me, then,” she said. “This is all your fault.”
    â€œYes. But I’m still here. I wasn’t expecting that.”
    â€œSo put yourself out of our misery.”
    â€œNot yet. I have a plan.”
    Clair was about to tell him what he could do with his plan when Jesse’s voice brought her out of the conversation.
    â€œHold on tight. It’s going to get hairy through here.”
    She put her arms around him. It was too easy to do. He smelled like him, felt like him, sounded like him, was him—but how much did he remember of them ? Had his pattern been taken the first time he had gone through d-mat, or later? How much of their time had been lost forever?
    â€œJesse—”
    â€œHang on. Here we go.”
    They were racing hard for the end of the road and the fields beyond. The gate leading to the fields was closed. He couldn’t possibly be planning to go right through it, could he?
    Putting his head down, he accelerated harder.
    â€œUh, Jesse?” If he didn’t stop, they were going to crash.
    â€œIt’s okay. Trust me.”
    Clair did. It wasn’t as though there was time to do anything else short of tipping the bike over. She closed her eyes and gripped him tightly, hoping he knew what he was doing.
    There was a lurch as the bike left the road and hit dirt, followed by a sound like the air itself tearing. They were wrenched violently from side to side, and Clair felt all the