She shook the pump before pulling it from the car, a trick she’d learned from Zach to keep drips from the paint. She screwed the cap in place, snapped the fuel door shut, and gave a slight squeal as she looked up. A man, youngish with a smudged, two-day stubble, stood over her.

“Sorry. I could’ve helped you with that.” He pointed at a sign above the pumps that read “Full Service Only”.

“Oh, no problem, really.” She fished into her purse and produced a few bills for the attendant’s waiting hand.

“Thanks.” The man lumbered into the building.

She paced the parking lot while waiting for her change, wincing a little with the effort — her belly had begun to tighten on occasion; the baby would come soon. The sky had cleared, and an icy blue-white now rested above the town. Courtney pulled her jacket collar close about her throat. She felt the weight of the small town, all the eyes, pressing against her. Across the street, a playground sat empty, brightly painted swings and slides next to a brick building the color of dried blood. A school?

“Miss?”

Courtney started. “Oh. Sorry.”

“Your change.” The attendant’s pale hand — too pale for a man whose trade involved greasy, oily work, held a few small bills and some coins.

“What is that building, there,” she said while pointing across the street. “It looks like a school.” She fumbled the change, dropped a quarter, and stooped to pick it up.

“The children are in the hollow fields.”

Courtney stood and handed a dollar to the attendant. “What?”

“I said the school is closed. The children are bused into Springdale.” He shoved his tip into a pocket in his blue coveralls and nodded. “Thanks ma’am.”

The hollow field whispered to Courtney as she guided Zach’s car into the driveway. It was a brief thing, like a soft breeze across her face or the brush of someone walking past, but the call sent a braid of terror writhing up her back — a hollow terror, a pervasive emptiness. She glanced at the house to verify Zach wasn’t home yet and walked slowly toward the road and the scabby earth of the hollow field beyond. The handle of a shovel could be seen poking from the mound in the center.