All The Pretty Ghosts (The Never Series Book 1) Jamie Campbell (best life changing books .TXT) 📖

hard enough, I wouldn’t see them anymore. I could pretend they weren’t here and just leave.

But I couldn’t.

No matter how much I tried.

I crouched down on the ground, muttering under my breath for them to leave me alone. They were loud, getting louder by the minute as they each tried to get my attention. Each one thought their message or words or mission was more important than everyone else. As they fought to be heard, my ears pounded with pain. My hands weren’t shutting them out, nor were my eyelids.

“Please, please, leave me alone,” I whimpered, certain they weren’t listening to me.

“You have to find Sophie, she doesn’t have anybody.”

“Bradley and Toby, I left them behind. They are so scared.”

“You have to listen to me, this is important.”

“She cries every night.”

“It hurts so much.”

“I don’t know where she is, she’s just a baby. I need to know she’s okay.”

“Please help me.”

“Help us all. It’s too much.”

I started sobbing. Their pain was seeping into my bloodstream, making me ache inside. It was too much to take in as my brain started shutting down. I wanted to scream and run away from them but they would only follow me.

“No, no, no.” If I begged, perhaps I could get through to them. Perhaps I could convince them to listen to me. But it was useless. Nothing ever worked.

Suddenly, two strong hands gripped my arms. The ghosts couldn’t do that, not even if they tried. My hopes lifted, it had to be Oliver. He must have followed me so he would know I got home safely. That was something he would do.

Without opening my eyes, I let myself be pulled through the throng of ghosts. Of course, nobody else would be able to see them except me, but they would feel them. They would be able to feel the sudden drop in temperature, the inexplicable chill in the air for no apparent reason. They wouldn’t give it two thoughts, but for a moment they would wonder what had caused it.

I tripped over, unable to see where I was going. Oliver’s grip never wavered as he kept me from falling over. My eyes sprung open, hopeful the spirits were no longer following me.

But it wasn’t Oliver who had me.

It was much, much worse.

The hands belonged to two people, two boys around the same age as me – one either side. They were covered in dirt, their hair was matted against their faces, and they were just as thin as the rest of us. They weren’t rescuing me from the ghosts, they were dragging me somewhere I was certain I didn’t want to go. I started struggling against them.

“Let me go,” I cried out. Their grip tightened around my arms. They wouldn’t look at me, not either one of them. That wasn’t a good sign. “Where are you taking me?”

“Shut up,” the one to my right ordered. His breath reeked of death and decay. I doubt he had eaten a decent meal in many weeks.

I flailed my arms, trying to remove myself from their grip. If I could twist the right way, perhaps it would be just the amount of leverage I needed to escape. I tried and tried, but their hold never faltered.

“Please let me go. I promise I won’t come back.”

Without any warning, one of the guys slapped the back of my head so hard I saw stars. They swam in front of my vision, teasing me to pass out from the impact. I cried out from the sudden pain, more from the shock of it than anything else.

“Shut your hole,” he growled at me. “There’s plenty more of that where it came from.”

I couldn’t let them take me. Wherever they were going, I was certain it was not a pleasant place I wanted to linger. I tried kicking at them, going for the knees to knock them to the ground. I only needed one moment to be able to get away, just one moment where they were distracted.

That moment never came.

I was dragged into a hole in the brick wall. The room inside was pitch black. I couldn’t see a thing but they obviously knew the place well. We passed through a room that echoed our steps before a light started to flicker in the distance. We headed straight toward it.

As the light grew brighter, it revealed more details of the place. They were taking me to a room, small compared to the dark one we had gone through. And we weren’t alone.

The room was filled with about a half dozen boys, ranging in age from eight to eighteen. They were each as filthy as the boys who had my arms. I didn’t think it was a Tupperware party they were going to.

“We found this one out in the alley,” boy to my left declared as every face in the place turned to us. My throat was already sore from yelling at them, I figured now was probably a good time to shut up. The chances of them letting me go because I begged and pleaded was zero to none.

Probably even less.

“Is she anyone?” The oldest boy spoke with a commanding tone, the leader I guessed. Every group needed someone to make the decisions and my bet would be on him. His dark brown hair was in need of a good wash, as was the rest of him. But he seemed to take more care of his appearance than most of the others. He had found a bar of soap somewhere along the line.

“I am no-one,” I replied. “Just let me go and I won’t come back.”

The guy walked closer to me, inspecting every inch of my body from head to toe. I felt completely naked under his gaze, vulnerable beyond comprehension.

Now he was closer, I