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IF - Chapter 14
🕑 Added 2024-12-19 23:36:35 +0000 UTC------------------
The line strained against her grip, the reel’s sharp clicks echoing louder than they should over the rhythmic hush of the waves, gently lapping against the rocks. Isla’s breath stayed steady, eyes flicking to the water where the god fish’s opalescent shimmer flickered like a fractured rainbow beneath the surface.
Its movements had been wild just moments ago—violent, erratic thrashes that sent sprays of seawater into the air and nearly pulled her in—but now it barely fought, its sluggish jerks dulled to slow, pitiful twitches.
Yeah… This isn’t good. Her vision shifted sideways, narrowing on Hollow. He’s playing the secret game: he won’t rat on mine if I don’t rat on his. Dammit.
He stood crouched at the water’s edge, his focus on the god fish. They quickly scattered, as if only now realizing a predator was among them. Not a single glance her way, ignoring her previous question. His movements were loose—too casual—like he’d already decided there was nothing more here worth noting.
But Isla knew better.
Her fingers tightened around the pole’s grip, the tension of the line buzzing softly in her palm. Her other hand stayed at her side, half-curled, ready.
What did he do to it? I didn’t feel any pulse or surge of energy… Nothing. But… Her gaze lingered on him for another breath longer, watching the way his head tilted just slightly as he adjusted his stance, throwing his arms up to stretch. He’s not the same guy. Has he been acting this whole time? Being this goofy, dry asshole who seems a little pervy?
She felt Her, too—that subtle presence just beneath her skin, behind her back, wings wrapped around her. It wasn’t words this time, just a steady, knowing warmth against her spine, like fingers pressed softly into her back, guiding her stance. Isla’s lips pressed into a hard line. Yet, before she could ask her question, he beat her to the punch.
“You gonna ask or just stare, Cap?” Hollow’s voice carried over his shoulder, low and dry, his smile audible in his words. His focus was still on the ocean.
Her eyes didn’t budge. “Ask what?” she asked, playing coy to see where he’d take it. “You’re going to have to be specific because there’s…a lot going through my mind. Got somewhere to start?”
“Pfft. You’re lookin’ at me like I’m a bomb that’s about to go off.” He sat back on his heels, hands resting behind his neck, his gaze finally meeting hers. His grin was lopsided, teeth too sharp against the low light. “A man’s gotta feel a little self-conscious after a stare like that from a tough gal like yourself. You going to take that?”
The line tugged softly in her grip—not a fight, just a shift. She glanced down at the fish beneath the surface, its pale glow pulsing like a dying firefly. Yet, he hadn’t pointed at it. She followed his hand to the radio in her other hand.
There was a pause, then the static crackled to life. “Hey, Cap. You there?”
You son of a bitch… She seethed inside, brow furrowing further as Hollow’s chest shook with silent laughter, and she saw the shadow pass over his chest as his hand went to it. Power moves, huh? Trying to rile me up? I’m not scared of you.
“What’s up? You’re still reviewing that equipment data? I got a god fish, by the way.”
“Sure am—wait, really?! That’s awesome. I can’t wait to see it for myself up close. They look like silver streaks in the water from here… Wait, where’d they go?”
Kael spoke up from beside her. “Probably got spooked after the Cap snatched one of them. You wanted the sports drink, right?”
“Yup! Thanks. Uh, wait, what did you say, Captain?” Brigid’s voice carried that edge of smugness she always got when she’d found something interesting—or it could be Kael giving her the attention she’d been craving. “Oh! Right, right. We’ve got a ping from the previous research crew’s transmitter!”
This time, Hollow’s smile faded slightly, causing Isla to pump her fist internally. Yeah, that’s right, bastard. You’re not some all-knowing mutant after all. So quit being so smug. Your shadow doesn’t want to fight Her or else it would have already. I’m not sure if you’re an enemy or not, Hollow… I’m leaning toward the former. But I won’t be bullied.
The surge of danger and power fed through her, a comfort in knowing she had something at her back in this strange place that made its denizens cautious. “Really? How close?”
“Close! Like, real close. It’s showing up on the east end of the beach. Eh—we’re calling the direction to Area-X0 south and from there north, right? So…this would be east. Right, Kael?”
“Seems legit to me,” he said, clearly not caring about the terms. “Chocolate muffin, or strawberry?”
“Strawberry. Cap?”
Snorting and showing a defiant smirk at the thoughtful physicist in front of her, she tightened her grip on the pole and line in her other hand. “Got it. To your right, basically. Go on.”
“Yeah, well, it’s probably buried in the water or sand. Our crane is kind of…all gears and stuff. I’m glad Kael is here to do the grunt work.”
“Glad to be useful!” he chimed as a ding happened in the background. “Man, these low-power microwaves take forever. Umm. By the way, judging by the distance from the last ping we picked up… We’re talking, maybe five minutes to get there and fifteen to get it, tops. You want us to snag it, Boss?”
“You stole my line,” Brigid huffed, offsetting the stare she maintained with Hollow, the man’s mind slowly turning behind his enigmatic eyes.
“I’ll make it up to you!”
Isla’s heart settled as She whispered to her from behind, a shiver that ran up her spine. “We need it for the future.”
Her gaze flicked to Hollow.
He’d gone still. Not in a freeze-frame kind of way—more like a predator’s stillness, the kind that only happens when something knows it’s being watched. His eyes narrowed, lids low, his smile reduced to the faintest tug at the corner of his mouth.
“I wouldn’t,” he stated. “It will give Evelyn details you really don’t want her to have.”
Isla’s voice came calm, firm, absolute while meeting his gaze. “Yeah, snag it, Brigid. But stay on comms as long as you can. Monologue your journey. I don’t want any surprises.”
The line crackled as Brigid’s voice came through, faint static cutting through her words. “Roger that, Cap. Mmm! You have to try these muffins when you get back. Oh, Kael, can you get me the milk instead?”
“Really? You didn’t even touch the sports drink.”
“What? I changed my mind! My throat’s still a little thick from earlier—wait, uh. You—”
Isla’s mouth fell as static came through, and she saw the boat in the distance start to move away. Their voices cut? Maybe when on the move, the signal strength drops?
Hollow’s head tipped back, a breathy, amused exhale slipping past his lips as the static continued to play. “That’s how it’s gonna be, huh?” He didn’t even try to hide the mockery in his tone. His hands moved slowly and deliberately as he packed up his foldable chair, each snap of metal on metal sharper than it should’ve been. “Trustin’ that little whisper of yours over good ol’ logic. Ain’t that the choice of the century. If we had an audience, they’d be screamin’ at you.”
Her eyes never left him. “Yeah, it’s a choice,” she muttered, stepping down from the outcrop toward the fish tank as he walked ahead of her.
She held the weakly flipping fish in the air, knowing it wouldn’t die and needing to keep her full focus on him. “Just like it’s a choice to watch you walk like a man wearing two different-sized shoes.” Her words hit the air sharp, precise, like the point of a scalpel. “What…do you know something that will get Brigid and Kael hurt where they’re going?”
Hollow’s foot paused mid-step. Not long. Barely a heartbeat. But it was enough.
She’d seen it.
He finished his step, his grin broader now while glancing back. “Aw, Cap, you’re too sharp for me,” he said, his voice all casual drawl as he turned to face her. “I figure those sharp eyes of yours and that memory bank of a brain is why the ol’ devil herself chose you,” he turned away, swaying a little in his steps. “That’s what you call her, isn’t it? Doctor Eve? Seems you’ve got quite the history… More than you might think… More than I thought.”
Isla’s breath didn’t change as she maintained her focus, being careful how she walked on the dry, rocky area. “He’s baiting you. Careful how you respond. Not all attacks are physical…or immediate.”
I get it, she returned. He’s trying to make me doubt our purpose and get in my head. Evil shadow entity 101. Boring, really.
Despite her internal laughter, her gut tightened as he admitted her observation.
“You’re right, Cap. Maybe my shoes don’t fit quite right. I’ve been doing a lot of documentation, and the physics of everything is really quite…fascinating here. Funny how things like that happen. Ain’t symmetry such a fragile thing?” He slowed for her to step closer, slowing, his shadow moving in subtle, uncooperative jerks against the sand before rising up his leg.
She matched his pace until they were at the camp, his smile fading as he seemed to grow bored and went to his equipment. Keeping on edge, Isla went to the fish tank and opened the top before peeling her eyes away from the man, several meters away now, setting up a bunch of monitoring equipment.
Wait… What? Holding the god fish up to get a closer look and keeping Hollow’s outline in her peripheral, she examined the hook in its mouth. It’s too small for the hook. Can its mouth open wider when trying to swallow something? Uh…please don’t suddenly swallow me whole.
She held it further away as the nervous jitters passed through her belly, but it remained more or less in a catatonic state. Ever since Hollow touched me—but no, it bit it before that. It…almost looks like…something forced it inside. Weird…
Isla frowned, tugging lightly, but the hook didn’t budge. Her fingers moved with more force than caution as she worked it free, her gaze flicking to Hollow every few seconds. The hook finally snapped loose with a chunk of its flesh being pulled out, only for it to immediately regrow, leaving the chunk on the hook to start to rapidly decay.
Interesting… We’ll have to do more tests when we get back… If we get back, she corrected, eyeing the dull-faced physicist as he studied various devices.
She dropped the fish into the tank with a dull splash. It darted once, hard, then stilled at the bottom, floating there like it was in shock. She wiped her hands on her pants. Hollow had moved back to his chair, folding it open and sinking into it with all the ease of a man without a single concern in the world—it was as if he felt at home here. His lazy eyes drifted to her for a moment.
He’s probing me. Her hand slipped to her side, pulling off the radio from her belt. The boat was still moving further east. Testing how far he can push. That’s all this is.
“Bridget, are you there?” She waited a few seconds. Only static responded. Hollow’s eyebrows lifted, as if saying, “I told you so.” Anxiety starting to rise, she tried to maintain her calm tone. “Bridget?”
Her internal voice whispered comforting words—actually, less words and more of a reassurance that soothed her thumping chest. “Trust Us.”
“...Yes—here, Captain! We—interference. Sorry!”
“It’s fine. Just, keep in touch where you can…” Isla returned, breathing an internal sigh of relief and shifting to her pack to produce her tablet.
Hollow’s eyes shifted to the fish tank from several meters away, watching the fish’s slow, uneven movements. His lips parted, and his voice came quiet, thoughtful. “We’ll see how long that lasts. Things tend to escalate here…quickly.”
“Quit with the mind games,” Isla huffed, rolling her eyes. “You’re embarrassing yourself. I’ll get the answers myself,” she added, wagging her tablet. “I’m pretty sure you didn’t take the pills, but we’ll see if I’m right.”
He gave a lazy stretch in return—as if breaking in new skin—before rubbing his chin. “You ever wonder why you’re here, Cap? Really here? Not just for the mission…but here? Who made the call to put you on this crew? Was it really Mrs. Devil? Who pulled the strings? Is there more to our mysterious puppeteers? What about your adopted parents?”
Her eyes lifted slowly to meet his.
“Oh, is your shadow telling you I was an orphan or was that in the report?”
“Does it matter?” he sighed. “Truth is the Truth.”
“Mhm… And Eve is married? Interesting detail. Makes me pity the poor bastard. As for why I’m here? Because Eve never forgets a face…like me, and I fit all her checkboxes, as did you. I’m a useful idiot who took this suicide mission,” she said without humor. “Same as you.”
“Sure you are, Cap. Sure you are… Just a useful idiot. You can outrun the devil, but you aren’t going to outrun Eve.”
His vision narrowed. “How right you are. I could tell you how to force Evelyn’s hand.”
Isla’s eyes stayed on his grin, sharper now than before—too sharp for a man with nothing to hide. Her lips pressed into a thin line, the grip on her tablet firm but not tight.
I can’t tell if he’s lying to get a rise out of me or if he somehow knows a bit more about me from Eve… It’s not hard to find out I’m adopted, I guess. Eve might have made a comment about it in the report… They are relevant questions, though. How much of it is him twisting random details to appear more in control and knowledgeable than he really is?
The silence stretched, thick as the storm clouds that brewed in the back of her brain. The distant hum of the waves filled the gaps, but even the strange water’s rhythm felt slower than it should have been, as though the world around them waited, breath held.
“No comeback?” Hollow’s grin lingered, his fingers tapping lazily against his knee. “Didn’t think you’d be the quiet type, Cap. You’re usually so quick with those sharp little retorts. Did I finally hit a nerve with your childhood—maybe the mysterious devil that even my shadow is cautious of?”
“You’re talking a lot for someone so committed to being mysterious,” she grunted flatly, thumbing through the footage on her tablet. Her eyes stayed on the screen, scanning the frames with methodical patience, but her attention was on him—the way his shadow flickered at the edges like a candle’s flame struggling against a gust.
Is it getting stronger from this conversation? What is it? Her mind turned inward for a moment, fingers pausing over her tablet as Her feathers ruffled around her. What’s he doing?
She didn’t get a response, and her eyes stopped on a frame. Her heart didn’t skip, her breath didn’t quicken, but she knew. She knew. When she’d carefully retreated in the The Fog, there was another shadow. It wasn’t Her… And it wasn’t Hollow’s either.
The shape crawled along the wall’s edge, subtle but too dark—too distinct—just as she’d run past the corridor. The moment it vanished, Hollow’s silhouette shifted slightly—shivered. It sank into the deck. Her fingers tapped a slow beat on the side of the tablet, quiet but deliberate.
I don’t have the footage before The Fog, but… Isla’s eyes settled on him. I’ll bet he had this since the start. Has he been here before? If he had his shadow from the start… Her gaze returned to the other shade—the darker, more sinister one that had been repelled by Her. Who are you?
“You’re chasing something you’re not ready to catch,” Hollow suddenly interjected, his eyes closing as he leaned his head back, arms hanging loose over the back of his chair. “But you’re brave, I’ll give you that… Braver than me, I bet. Not smart, but brave. That’s gotta count for something. The ruined city with the purple veins that we saw is a trap, by the way.”
“What kind of trap?” Isla mumbled, shifting uncomfortably as the darkness seemed to film around him before retreating. “Who…are you, Hollow?”
Cracking open an eye, he showed a wry smirk before closing it again. “Maybe you’ll be able to join me in The Hollow… At some point. There’s a cave that leads below the island hidden in the mountains. It could be the only chance you get to escape that devil in a business suit.”
Her fingers tightened against her tablet, the corner of her mouth twitching, reflecting on her last conversation with the mysterious gray-eyed woman. The existence of this place and how Eve might have gotten this job did play at the corner of her mind, but it also confirmed something she’d feared when Evelyn parted ways from her.
I cannot imagine her not knowing Hollow’s dirty little shadow secret. Isla could see the brunette’s smile silhouetted by horns and massive wings while looking down on them from above. Nothing catches Eve off-guard. She’s always prepared… I’m the babysitter, huh? Damn her.
“What did I say before about outrunning Eve? You’re not subtle, Hollow. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. If you’re going to try to gaslight me, at least put some effort into it.”
His eyes peeled open, and for the first time, there was no grin—just something old and steady beneath the surface, like a man watching waves erode a shore, patient but certain of the outcome.
“Gaslight? C’mon, Cap. You’re sharper than that. When the monster crawls out of the sea, they’re going to need somebody like us. I was made in the shadows—where the light ain’t allowed to go. When the lines get a little blurry, they need somebody like us. By the end of this, I’m sure you’ll understand.”
“Oh?” Her eyes narrowed. “Careful, Hollow. I’m not as afraid as you think.”
His eyes slid shut again, his head rolling to the side. “And that…is the most terrifying thing, isn’t it? You know I’m right.” A chill ran through Isla’s veins, but he wasn’t done. “I’m not here to make you question reality. I’m here to show you the parts of it you’ve been ignoring, forgotten…or were erased. The parts you’re too afraid to name.”
Erased?
“Be cautious of his poisoned words. Truth is not as liberating as it can seem… Everything should be given in its time, or insanity can set in. He is too hasty.”
“Not afraid?” he snickered. “Yeah, that’s what all the brave ones say before they see the real shape of The Hollow.”
His voice lowered, steady as a metronome, each word clicking into place like the deliberate ticking of a clock. “They always think they’re ready until it’s too late. Truth’s got teeth, Cap. Lies don’t… I bet She’s telling you that. And she’s not wrong. A different approach. A different thing than mine.”
She responded in counter, Her words uplifting her as she heard Her clearly for the first time.
“The sea does not weep for the stone that sinks into its depths, Isla. Stones belong to the depths, and so do they drown themselves. But you are no stone. You are current and tide, driftwood carried by purpose, not aimless descent.”
Faith? She responded, a heat rising in her chest with courage forgotten. I can feel it now.
“You hear him, little bird? He speaks as if he knows the song of the sea, yet all he hears is his own echoes in the endless chasms. His words are Hollow, Hollow, Hollow… But you are filled with Us, are We not? Our breath, Our weight, Our watchful sight. Let him flounder with his echoes…while we flourish!”
His vision cracked open and flicked to her. “That’s why people love lies… They’re soft. Safe. But you…you’ve been plunged into lies since birth. You yearn for the Truth. It’s why you’re here… Why She is with you. A different Truth than mine. Perhaps greater… We’ll see in the end. But we both know it, don’t we?”
Maybe I’m not supposed to be here, she internally reasoned. It lined up. Maybe I’m just another pawn Eve—that devil—sent to play her little games… What if this is a trap?
“Do pawns walk the board as queens, Isla?” She responded, her feathers soft as newly powdered snow, crisp and with purity. “Do they question their place and feel the weight of crowns? We are no pawn. No slave to the hand that moves Us. We walk a path We have chosen, be it with devils or shadows or saints.”
“Know what?” she challenged, sitting slightly straighter and taking strength from her. “Go on. Finish your thought.”
“That is by your own power. Bite back. If there is a hand upon Us, it is our own. You are Me and I am You. We have chosen this. Feel the Wings of Freedom at Our back. Feel the weight of Our agency upon the world. We move because you and I choose to move together. Not because you are chosen. That is the lie the shadows will feed you. The crown does not wait for permission to shine.”
His eyes sparkled. “Know what? That you’re already too deep in it, Cap. You’re a freak—an outcast… A shadow, standing with the lost souls. Like me. Aren’t you? You’re starting to see it. You’re hearing Her. Feeling Her… What is she? Who is She? I bet Eve doesn’t know…but she feels something in you. That’s why you’re here.”
Her fingers stopped tapping. “Be cautious how you talk about Eve, Hollow,” she whispered, her voice cool as the sea breeze. “I see past your facade. You’re acting like you’ve got insight into something you’re still fumbling in the dark to understand. It’s why She doesn’t talk to me except for in critical moments. You are dabbling in something beyond you…and me.”
“…Maybe.” He tilted his head, gaze meeting hers with disarming tranquility. “Sure, sure. I’ll play along. I know more about this island and world than AEGIS will figure out in at least a year of sacrifices to soak this sand. But here’s the thing, Cap. You ever wonder why you’re here?”
I could ask… Would it be bad to let him talk and reveal things he’s sacrificed to get? she reasoned, the thought sliding in like dirty fingernails. Couldn’t I benefit from that?
A counter immediately repelled the claws as Her song filled her. “Do not barter with the beasts at the edge of the wood. Their teeth are not for smiling. The Truth he offers is not the Truth We seek, Isla, but the blurred lines of oblivion. There are hungers that words cannot sate. And We are no meal to be devoured. Leave the poisoned fruit on the vine. Let the shadows devour each other…”
“This again?” she sighed, sinking back into her chair and feeling far more in control now as She wrapped her into a protective bubble—at least, Her wings felt that way. “You don’t mean here on the beach. Yes, yes. I know. You mean here on this team. Why did Eve pick me? I’m not just a highly accomplished Marine Biologist who, frankly, hasn’t done a lot of marine biology so far,” she laughed, giving him a pointed glare. “Maybe because I’ve been a tad distracted.”
He let out a low chuckle, short and sharp. “Sure. You’re competent and quite distracted. Not necessarily by me. Have you thought that maybe She and this place—you both are in conflict with it?”
“And if We are?” she slowly returned. “What are you suggesting? Eve selected all of us due to some connection?”
“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.” Hollow shook his head. “Maybe you should follow Her advice—your own advice—and not ask questions, especially about Eve. Does Eve know exactly what she set in motion? I don’t think so,” he said, a more malevolent smile darkening his thin face and overcasting his frame. “But it’s always where those lines get a little blurry that true malevolence shows Her face… I think you two are more alike than you seem to believe.”
His normal smile returned, slow but razor-thin. “The difference is, I’m not pretending I’m still clean. I was made in the shadows… So where were you made?”
“He’s trying to twist you.” Her presence pulsed like a heartbeat at Isla’s back, that soft warmth wrapping around her. “He’s trying to pull you into his rhythm to help him. Don’t dance to his notes.”
You say that… she internally groaned, heart yearning for answers, yet feeling the truth in Her words. But I want answers. Now that I know about you—about Us—I want to know more.
“…Then trust Us. Not the Whispering Shadows of The Hollow which lead him.”
Meeting his smirk, she fed into the warmth that encircled her with strength. “Assuming you’re not totally insane, and not human in the least, I recognize that there are things I’m starting to question. But I’m nothing like you, Hollow.”
Her voice came quiet but firm—no cracks, no hesitation. “You’re just a man who’s afraid of being wrong… So you push further into the darkness. A man with no faith. That’s why you cling so hard to ‘Truth.’ It’s not about the Truth—it’s about control.”
She slowly stood, looking down at him with a confidence she knew would make him squirm inside. “We are not the same…and you know it. You’re afraid of living in a world where you’re not the one with all the answers. And you stumbled upon something you shouldn’t. I’m confident in myself—I always have been. When I had Truth…or Faith. I still stand. That is why Eve selected me.”
Hollow’s eyes flashed with something raw, something unguarded. His smile faded.
Then, gunfire broke the tension, ripping through the air—distant but sharp—echoing off the rocky cliffs to the west. The rapid tat-tat-tat of a machine gun shredded the stillness, each burst carrying a violent finality.
Isla’s body shifted before her mind registered it, her knees bending, body low, eyes flicking to the west. Her pulse didn’t race, but her fingers curled into fists. She slapped the radio to life.
“James! Maeva! Report!” Her breath stayed even, but her jaw clenched tight.
No response.
Bang!
The sound of explosives made Isla grimace.
“James, Maeva! Brigid! Kael! Anyone!”
Nothing but static.
Hollow stood, slow and smooth, his gaze turned toward the distant treeline and rocky hill where faint plumes of smoke curled into the sky—a fire. He sniffed the air like a wolf catching a scent, lips parting slightly.
“Told you, Cap. Things escalate fast. We’ll see who is right in the end.” He glanced at her, eyes half-lidded, his grin gone. “Better catch up on the crew before you’re the one playing catch-up. I’ll see you in the future…but not how you are. Smaller… Much smaller.”
Isla’s fingers tapped the side of her thigh, feeling Her warmth surge like a rush of adrenaline. “We will not see him again… He has sealed his own fate in the Hollow Pit that takes all and leaves none.”
Noted, she muttered, already on the move toward the tree line. She didn’t glance back, didn’t ask if Hollow was following. She knew he wouldn’t be there when she got back. Coward. Slink back to your shadows and look for your Truth. I hope you find what you’re looking for…or what’s looking for you.
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