“...and after that Braxton just had me jump off of the AC unit to practice landing and somersaulting for two hours straight.” I concluded my account of how my morning had gone to my mother, who was sitting across from me on the other side of a circular table. The heat of the day had rolled around and we were both eating lunch in the lounge on the top story of the convention center, which seemed to be the Red Crest’s primary social hub. The meals around here mostly consisted of vegetables. The peppers and tubers and various assorted lettuces were covered in some substance that served as a poor man’s imitation of salad dressing. What it might be made from I had no idea, and though it certainly added its own mystery flavor to the meal, I wasn’t sure if the ensemble would have been any worse off without it. On the side there was a small helping of some kind of poultry that was probably chicken. As a ten year old, I naturally wasn’t thrilled about a diet that consisted of very little meat and no dessert to speak of, but I had to admit that I was so hungry after the morning’s adventures that I was willing to eat just about anything.

“It sounds like you’ve had quite an interesting time.” my mother said, “Mr. Evanson has been taking me around and showing me how things work around here. I’ve been really impressed by how these people are able to survive all the way out in this desert.”

“I wish he’d just given me a tour instead of making me wrestle bots.” I grumbled.

“I’m actually kind of sad I missed that,” she laughed, “it sounds sort of fun to me.”

“It got a little better after the first three or four.” I admitted.

“That reminds me,” my mother said, her tone changing to something I recognized as her “serious conversation” voice. “Aston, I know we haven’t had a lot of time to get a feel for things yet, but so far what are your thoughts on staying here? I was thinking that we were only going to live with the Red Crest temporarily until we figured out a way to get back to civilization, but I’ve been wondering if maybe we should try putting down roots here.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I like the people here I guess. We haven’t really seen any of the other groups though.”

“I’m not sure rolling the dice on another squatter group is a good idea.” My mother cautioned, “after what happened with the Black Talon, I’m happy to just stick with a group that seems to be made up of decent people. I wouldn’t want to risk walking into the lion’s den again, would you?”

“I guess not,” I agreed, “I’ll think about it. I do like it here I think but… I don’t know. This place is weird.”

“It’s a simpler life than we’re used to.” my mother said.

“I mean, yeah, but it’s more than that. I had a really weird dream the night we arrived here. I know it was just a dream but… I don’t even know how to describe it. It felt like something was horribly wrong. And then today I saw…” I paused, already feeling like I was sounding silly, but decided I couldn’t talk to anybody if I couldn’t talk to my own mother. “...I was sure I saw a woman running off in the distance, the way they do around here, you know? Except she made this jump that was completely impossible for a human to make. I’m not even sure if I really saw it but…” My mother was looking at me blankly and I trailed off. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. Now that I put them to words, all of my fears about this city sounded ridiculous. A dream and a woman who I wasn’t even sure I had really seen? It wasn’t exactly a strong case I was making.

“It’s only normal to feel anxious about being in a new place,” my mother reassured me, “and sometimes anxiety manifests itself in strange ways. Still, if you want to leave we’ll leave, just as soon as we have the chance.”

“I don’t know if I want to leave either. Like I said, I’ll think about it.”

“Well, there’s no rush. We won’t have to really make a decision for a while. Anyway, I’m going to go get seconds. I’ll be back in a moment.”

My mother got up and walked away from the table. I was getting close to done with my own plate as well, and I finally allowed myself to dig into the chicken, which I had been saving for last. As I chewed on the meat, trying to savor it as best I could, I heard footsteps approaching from behind me.

“Hey, I couldn’t help but overhear. Did you really see the Hind of Keryneia?” a voice asked.

I turned to see who was talking. To my surprise it was Kyler, the big quiet kid. For the first time since I had met him, I thought I saw a glimmer of genuine excitement in his eyes, hiding underneath his cold exterior.

“The Hind of… what now?” I asked confused.

“You saw a woman doing some impossible skylining, right? Did she have antlers on her head?”

I thought back. “It was too far away for me to see clearly. It looked like she did have something sticking up off of her head though. I guess it could have been antlers.”

“Come with me.”

Kyler grabbed me by the shoulder and all but dragged me from my chair. I barely managed to grab my last piece of chicken and stuff it into my mouth before I found myself crouching behind a mahogany bar in the far corner of the room. If this top floor lounge had ever been put to its intended use this would have been where members of whatever premium club the convention center might offered had would have grabbed cocktails with their friends. The shelves that might have held the liquors to make those drinks were empty, and the bar found itself unused. I wondered what it was about the woman I had seen that might warrant this kind of confidentiality.

“Where did you see her? I need to know.” Kyler demanded, jumping immediately to the point.

“I don’t know how to describe where. I’m not familiar with the city’s layout. Somewhere in that general direction?” I pointed vaguely towards one of the walls, “What’s the deal anyway? Who is the Hind of Ke… Kery…”

“The Hind of Keryneia.” Kyler finished, “Most people think she’s just a myth, but if you saw her without even knowing the legends then I’d say that’s a good reason to believe she’s real after all.”

“What legends?”

“Rumors have been circulating since the very first squatters settled here that there’s this girl runner who races around the city that no man can catch. Some say that she was even the one who inspired the early arrivals to try travelling the city by running around on top of buildings.”

“So why the weird name? Hind? It sounds like you’re talking about her butt.”

“My granddad told me that a hind is a female deer.”

“A doe is a female deer.” I corrected him.

“Yeah, but apparently back in old times ‘hind’ was another way to say it. Actually, my granddad told me that the reason for the name is because of an even older legend. Thousands of years ago there was a story of a deer who was female but had full antlers. Then some guy chased her nonstop for a year and finally caught her. The deer was known as the Hind of Keryneia, and so because the legendary runner is a female with antlers who’s impossible to catch she was given that name.”

“Hold on, I think I might actually have heard of this.” I said “That was one of the tasks of Hercules, right? I’d completely forgotten the name, but I’m pretty sure that’s what you’re talking about.”

Kyler shrugged. “I don’t know very much about that old myth. All I know is that according to Hollow City legend, anyone who can catch this girl will have their greatest wish granted.”

I was starting to understand why we were crouching behind this bar. “So you want me to tell you where you saw her so that you know more about how to find and catch her. And I’m guessing you don’t want anyone else to find out?”

“Of course not.” Kyler said, “I won’t have any chance of catching her until I’m older. What if somebody uses this information and gets to her before I even get the opportunity?”

“But then, why should I give it to you? Why not just try to catch her myself when I’m grown up?”

Kyler looked at me, then stood up and motioned with his hand. “Follow me.” he instructed.

I followed him out from behind the bar and away from the lounge. I saw my mother back at the table eating, and gave her a quick wave just so that she would know I was leaving. She gave me a quick smile and returned to eating her salad. Kyler led me down a hallway and off to the right, then down another hallway, then to the left, then down some stairs, then down another hallway. Whatever he was trying to show me, it was well off the beaten path. Finally after a few more twists and turns he came to a stop in front of a door, pausing for a moment and taking a deep breath before pushing it open and motioning me to come inside. I found myself in a small, dark room. The curtains were pulled shut, but from what little sunlight leaked its way through I was able to make out the frame of a large wooden bed. Kyler walked up to these curtains and threw them open. Light coursed through the uncovered pane and illuminated what was on the bed. As soon as I saw it, I instinctively stepped backwards and put a hand over my mouth.

Lying there on the bed was a woman. She was still as a stone, not moving save for the steady rise and fall of her chest, which was the only indication that she was even alive. Still though she was, her eyes were wide open. They stared in front of her, unseeing and unblinking. She was gaunt, her muscles withered by atrophy. She clearly had been in this bed for a long time. As if all of this wasn’t unsettling enough, her pale face had a striking familiarity to it. I looked between her and Kyler, and before he even opened his mouth to speak I knew exactly who this woman was.

“This is my mother.” Kyler, confirming what I had already deduced.

I stared at her, trying to find something to say, but I couldn’t. She was young, about the age of my own mother. There were no visible injuries, no discolorations beyond the obvious paleness, nothing to indicate what might be the cause of this pitiful state she was in.

“What’s... wrong with her?” I finally managed to clumsily get the words out.

“It’s called hollow sickness.” Kyler’s voice was mostly flat and emotionless, but I heard it crack slightly right at the end of the sentence. He managed to continue on, however, as though nothing had happened. “Nobody’s quite sure what causes it, or what the cure might be. It’s just that occasionally, maybe once or twice every twenty years or so, somebody will go to sleep and then, when they wake up, they don’t actually ‘wake up’. They just stare like that. They’ll sleep at night, wake up in the daytime, even eat food if you put it up to their mouths, but they won’t react to anything else.”

“I’ve never heard of any disease like that before in my life.”

“It only happens here in the Hollow City as far as I know. That’s why we call it hollow sickness.” Kyler told me. “Come on, let’s head back out into the hall.” Kyler closed the curtains and walked back out of the door.

I was glad for the excuse to leave. I exited the room behind Kyler and shut the door behind me, releasing a breath that I hadn’t been aware I was holding.

“I think that does it for me,” I said. “I’m not going to stay in a city where something like that can randomly happen to a person. I’m telling my mom I want to leave as soon as we’re able.”

Kyler nodded. “Maybe that’s for the best. But you can see why I want to catch the Hind now, right? If it’s true she can grant wishes, then she’s the only hope I’ve got to save my mother. If you’re leaving anyway it couldn’t hurt to tell me where you saw her, right?”

I nodded. “Of course. I’ll point it out to you at tomorrow’s skylining class.”

“Good. I’ll show you the way back to the lounge.” Kyler began to walk away.

As I walked along behind Kyler, the image of what I had seen haunted me. When I thought back on that young woman lying there motionless like that I couldn’t help but see the face of my own mother in that bed. There was no doubt now. This city was bad news. I would tell my mother that we needed to get out of here as soon as possible, by any means necessary. If the Red Crest could give us supplies maybe it would be possible to traverse the desert without a car. The sooner we got out of here the better. We could go back to the real world and leave this strange place forever behind us.

If only things had been that simple.