The thing wearing my face smiled at me.
I hated it immediately.
Not because it looked wrong.
That would have been easier.
It looked exactly right.
Same short auburn hair. Same brown eyes. Same dark jacket. Even the tiny scar near my eyebrow was there.
If I hadn't known I was standing beside Axel, I might have believed it.
That was the terrifying part.
The Hollow had never needed to look monstrous.
It just needed to look like someone I trusted.
"Don't look at it," Axel whispered.
I almost laughed.
"That's a little difficult."
"I mean it."
The thing tilted its head.
"She's right."
Its voice was mine.
Every syllable.
Every little change in pitch.
I felt something cold crawl down my spine.
Axel stepped in front of me.
The Hollow smiled.
"Still protecting her."
Axel's shoulders tensed.
"You're not her."
"No."
The thing looked at me.
"But I know her."
I clenched my fists.
"Then you should know I'm not scared of you."
Axel glanced back at me.
"That's not true."
"Okay."
I swallowed.
"I'm extremely scared of you."
The Hollow laughed.
"Honest."
Then it disappeared.
Not ran.
Not moved.
Disappeared.
One second it was standing between the trees.
The next, there was nothing.
Axel immediately grabbed my hand.
"Run."
We ran.
Branches whipped against my face.
I stumbled over a root and Axel caught me before I hit the ground.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
We kept moving.
"Where are we going?"
"Anywhere away from here."
"Great plan."
"I didn't say it was a good plan."
We broke through the trees and reached the road.
A car passed.
For one brief second, everything felt normal.
Then I heard a voice behind me.
My voice.
"Axel!"
They stopped.
I did too.
Slowly, Axel turned.
There was nobody there.
But something had changed.
The necklace around my neck had gone cold.
Not cool.
Cold.
Like ice pressed directly against my skin.
I grabbed it.
The Hollow symbol seemed darker than before.
Three jagged lines.
The circle split down the middle.
I stared at it.
Then I understood.
"Axel."
"What?"
"The necklace."
They looked down.
"What about it?"
"It isn't protecting me."
Their expression changed.
"What?"
I pulled it off.
The moment the chain left my skin, the air changed.
The pressure disappeared.
The woods went completely silent.
Axel stared at me.
"Put it back on."
"Why?"
"Because I don't know what happens if you don't."
I looked at the necklace in my palm.
Then at them.
"You've been wearing one too, haven't you?"
Axel didn't answer.
"Axel."
They slowly reached beneath their shirt.
A second necklace hung around their neck.
Same symbol.
Same silver.
Same darkness.
I stared at it.
"You never told me."
"I was trying to protect you."
"You keep saying that."
"I know."
"Maybe I don't need protecting."
Axel looked at me.
"You don't understand what this is."
"Then explain it."
They opened their mouth.
Nothing came out.
I stepped closer.
"You said you were a vampire."
"I am."
"You said the Hollow wants me."
"Yes."
"You said loving me is dangerous."
Their eyes dropped.
"Yes."
I took another step.
"Then tell me what you're afraid will happen."
Axel looked at me for a long moment.
Then they whispered,
"That one day you'll look at me and realize I'm not worth saving."
My heart broke a little.
I reached for their hand.
"That's not going to happen."
They looked at me.
"You can't promise that."
"Maybe not."
I squeezed their fingers.
"But I can choose it."
Axel's eyes softened.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then something whispered from the woods.
Not my voice.
Not Axel's.
A voice neither of us recognized.
"Then choose."
The necklace in my hand snapped.
The silver chain fell into the dirt.
And somewhere in the darkness, something laughed.