Liam shifted back and forth under the covers.

The sun might have dipped, and the windows were sealed shut, but nothing could quite keep out the chaos of Pandemonium for long. Multicolored light bled through the cracks in his blackout curtain shield, and the distant shouts or gunshots were never far from his ear. How the bloody hell are we supposed to keep this up?

With a sigh, Liam left his bed and stretched. Sleep wouldn’t be returning to him anytime soon.

He considered going to his wife and daughter, but Evelyn was on baby duty and would no doubt scold him if she knew he’d broken their agreed sleeping schedule. Though the sudden danger had done well to shift their priorities away from marital melodrama, they could only be trapped in this place for so long before the turmoil would flare back up.

At least we have space to breathe. True to form, the lavish expanse of their top-floor suite in the Lodge could have easily accommodated the needs of twenty people in its pre-Hollowing days. Not only did he have a bedroom to himself when required, but there was another buffer room between the bedroom and the kitchen, along with more unused suites to the sides.

It was within these nestled quarters where Liam found himself before long, wandering a derelict entertainment center that had known better days. Dust clung thick to the furniture and floor, reminding him how little this room still bore use.

Just like the home they’d fled.

If only there was something he could use for a change. Within a few hours’ time, Liam would be back to keeping Leah busy while Evelyn slept, using mere facial expressions and waves of his hand as a worthwhile substitute for proper toys. All the ones back home had been abandoned in their escape since they were nonessential. Though his daughter had done well to follow without complaint, this never quite sat well with him. Life was more than survival. Of this, he knew well.

Leah deserved something new. Something authentic of its own.

Liam scanned the room full of unused furniture, bedding, and miscellaneous knick-knacks, his mind considering the possibilities. Could this be made to work?

Without thinking too deeply, Liam doubled back a room to fiddle through the drawers and pulled together some tools. It had been quite some time before he’d embarked on a quest such as this.

Liam first went to an old oaken stool and broke down the legs into blocks of varying size and shape. The wood was hard and could work as the bones of his imagined creation, but time had weathered its form to remain soft enough for use, especially if the edges were sanded down. Liam spent the better part of an hour on this front before stringing them together into jointed bones with tiny hinges taken from broken drawers. The result was less than satisfactory, but he supposed no better alternatives presented themselves.

The guts would have to come next, though that was straightforward enough. Liam drew his knife and hacked into a sofa, shifting through the padding until he had more than necessary to suit his needs. A pile of cotton fiber lay ready for later use.

Guts and bones were nothing without the skin that held them in place. Liam spent more time here, digging through the pillows and blankets before uncovering a brown sherpa throw that contained just the perfect texture once the dust was wiped away.

This next phase of genesis thus became the most crucial. Cutting and sewing had never been Liam’s forte, but with the stakes that had now been set, there was no going back. He worked slowly and systematically, measuring each strip twice before committing to any final moves. The sherpa wrapped against itself where needed, and a spool of thread locked it all in place. At each tug of a limb, he shuffled more cotton padding into place.

Even in the dimmed light of this empty room, Liam could see that the canvas had been completed. Now, only the portrait remained.

According to Leah, this derelict suite had been converted into one of her extra storage units before their arrival, and if he knew her, there would be no shortage of materials to use for this final stretch.

Ahah! Just as Liam surmised, one of the closets practically overflowed with attire, with sheepskin jackets hanging from the wall in varying conditions. Leah could afford to have one or two marred for the purpose of her namesake.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

With a couple more buttons at the ready and a blank patch on hand, Liam stitched the last bits and pieces in place. Two large plastic buttons for the eyes, another oversized one for a nose, and a dozen extras to form a smile.

And just like that, a stuffed bear had been born, with a body wrapped in sherpa wool and a face composed of buttons. A perfect companion for his baby daughter.

Well, not quite. Liam took the empty patch and sewed it into place. It only took a few mere clean scrapes with his knife to complete this closing step.

“Life is good,” the letters read, proudly displayed on this new friend’s chest for all to see. His old canteen, Thirsty, had carried this very message. It had gotten him through so many lonely years in isolation, and it would be used to prop her daughter’s spirit up now. She deserved that same kindness as him, for no one in this world should ever be alone.

But what name could be assigned to this new companion? Liam shrugged. If Thirsty had been his canteen, then his daughter would have a foil of her own. The pronounced gut on the stuffed bear’s chest made for a quirky touch. He looked like quite the eater.

And with this revelation, Hungry was complete.

Liam checked his watch. Looks like I finished just in time. His shift to watch Leah was about to begin.

With a yawn, Liam made the hike back over to the main living room, where Evelyn would no doubt be ready to take her break. His eyes were now heavy, but that was a small price to pay for the present he would deliver. He calmly shifted Hungry behind his back as he entered the room.

Only to see Evelyn grinning on the sofa, with a book in her hand and Leah on her lap. When was the last time she’d smiled like that?

“Oh, is it that time already?” she asked with a blink.

Liam squinted. “Are you reading the Bible to her again? You know she can’t understand a word of that, don’t you?”

“I know. It just helps to pass the time.” She grimaced. “You said you were fine with it. That’s still true, right?”

“Well, yes, of course. I’m just surprised how much you’ve been reading it lately.”

“I’ll be honest, it’s been strange to get this back in my life, especially knowing what I know now.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s all sorts of evidence of the Hollowing in here. I can’t believe that nobody saw it coming.”

Liam stared at her sideways.

Evelyn cringed. “I know how it sounds, but you can’t go a page without finding something. Come here. I’ll show you.” She shifted to the side to make room, with Leah goggling back and forth. Liam casually moved the stuffed bear out of sight, equal parts perplexed and gladdened to see his wife in such a good mood. He supposed that his present could wait for another time.

“Here!” Evelyn said, pointing to a line. “This is in the story of David and Goliath: ‘Choose a man for you – that’s Goliath speaking – and let him come down to me. If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then you shall be our servants, and we shall consume his flesh.’ Pretty strange, right?”

“That’s just regular cannibalism, isn’t it?” Liam suggested.

“Okay, bad example.” She shifted down the page. “Here: ‘And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance without any rot.’ Why would Goliath despise David for not rotting unless he was himself?

“And also this: ‘David, Come to me, and I will feast upon thy flesh like a beast of the field.’ Okay, more cannibalism, I get that, but it’s a recurring theme. Let’s not forget that David killed Goliath by scoring a headshot though. Swords and spears couldn’t harm his body, just like a rezzer.” She paused. “Please don’t look at me like I’m crazy.”

Liam buried his skepticism. “It’s not that. I didn’t know this was how the story of David and Goliath went.”

“Me too, but I guess that’s what happens when you don’t read a book for decades. There is something here, though. Every new passage I read, there’s more and more evidence of the Hollowing scattered throughout. It’s all subtle and implied, but it’s definitely there.” She let the book rest with a wince. “I’m not being weird about this, am I? It’s all still good?”

To some extent, it wasn’t. Liam had been raised in a strictly atheist household after moving to the States, and Nelly treated organized religion with similar disdain. Exposing his daughter to that kind of trash was far from the top of his to-do list, and he did not like having it pushed as though it contained some absolute truth.

But Evelyn once again stood as his opposite on this front, and after happening upon a Bible a few days back, she’d been glued to its pages ever since. As much as he disliked the idea, there was no denying how much happier she’d become by immersing herself within. Coupling that with Leah’s age, it wasn’t as if any of these beliefs were being unfairly imposed onto her. She couldn’t form a word of her own, let alone comprehend ancient texts.

“It’s fine,” Liam said. “As long as you’re happy, my love, that is all that matters.” He could reevaluate this decision some other time.

Evelyn smiled, warm and sweet. “Thank you.”

He planted a kiss on her lips, once again gladdened to have peace and stability in their world. Hungry continued to sit behind his back, waiting for his own chance to join the fun. He would have to give him his own time to shine. Once Evelyn grew bored with this trip to the past.

Besides, Liam reminded himself. It’s just a stupid book.

It could bring no harm to them.