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

“You could help make it safe.”

“I can’t. I’m just a kid like everyone else here. There is nothing I can do to help anyone.”

“I disagree.” His eyes drilled into mine as we held the gaze for longer than necessary, neither willing to be the first one to look away. He burned with intensity, flames threatening to ignite in those eyes. I had rarely seen him so passionate about something.

About someone.

Me.

I shook my head to get rid of the thought. It was useless and meaningless. I was going home and Oliver would remain in the city. Those were the facts, there was nothing else to entertain.

“You know that kind of thing, the thing that happened to you, it happens all the time here now,” Oliver said.

“I didn’t know that, no.”

“It’s not just them, there are plenty of… predators around. Nobody is protecting those that need it most.”

“Well I can hardly change that, can I?” I asked sarcastically. Oliver was delusional if he thought anything I could do would be enough to change the conditions in the city. It had all been destroyed along with our lives. Nothing could bring back the kind of life we had before the Event.

Nothing.

Especially not me.

“You can help,” Oliver replied quietly. He knew he was losing the argument. He also knew how stubborn I could be. It was not my place to save the world, and I certainly was not equipped to.

I gave up trying to convince him, we were only wasting time and energy – something neither of us had much of anymore. “I’m going home. You don’t have to follow me if you don’t want to.”

I left the safe house, almost running into the spirit who had helped us find the place the previous day. A cold shiver ran down my spine. I thanked her for watching out for us before stomping down the road.

It didn’t take long for Oliver’s soft footsteps to come up behind me and fall into sync at my side.

“I thought you weren’t coming,” I mumbled.

Except I didn’t mean it.

Oliver would always follow me.

Friends did that for one another. I knew I wasn’t a good friend for my refusal to do the same for him. I had stopped following Oliver without question shortly after the Event. Before then was another matter.

“I can’t let you get kidnapped again,” Oliver replied. When my gaze flicked to him, I saw the cheeky grin on his face. It was a rare sight nowadays. I could at least return it.

After we had walked all morning, I recognized the area we were approaching. It was our old neighborhood, we were close to our old schools.

Finally.

Food. I still needed food considering mine had been donated to the boys who took me. It was probably long gone now and there was no way I was going to go back and check.

“We need to go past the school hall so I can get supplies again,” I pointed out. Oliver nodded silently at my side. We altered our course to veer toward the hall. I had no desire to return to all the chaos and pain but I didn’t have much choice. I needed to eat.

The noise from the hall assaulted my ears before it did my eyes. We rounded a corner and disease and tears spilled from every pore and crevice of the building. My instincts were to run in the opposite direction but I managed to coax my legs forward.

“The kitchen is through here,” Oliver said, pointing toward a closed door.

I swung it open and we entered. The kind volunteers running the kitchen were too busy with their duties to notice us. We barely made it into the fold of the chaos before I found some supplies. I swept up some packets of rice and soup, enough to sustain me for a few weeks if I rationed it carefully.

Placing the items in a discarded bag, I slung it over my shoulder. I wasn’t going to lose them this time. I would take the food back to my house on the hill and I wouldn’t emerge again until I absolutely had to.

As I made my way through the twisting streets away from the hall, I looked at every face I passed. At first I didn’t realize what I was doing. Then it hit me.

I was looking for Lilia.

The little girl that reminded me so much of my sister was nowhere to be seen. I worried about her. If what had happened to me was happening to other kids, it could happen to her, too. The delicate, sweet little girl that was so proud of being able to look after herself.

She wouldn’t have been able to protect herself from those monsters. If I couldn’t, neither could she. I had a sudden, overwhelming need to know she was alright. Once I saw her face, I would be able to forget about her, reassure myself there was nothing I could do for her.

“We need to make another detour,” I stated. Oliver gave me a curious look but didn’t argue.

I centered myself with the hall to remember where the little girl was living. She had turned left and then right, and then two lefts again. It was a grey building two blocks away, one that was significantly damaged but apparently still livable.

“Do I want to know where we’re going?” Oliver asked.

“There’s a girl I need to check on.”

“Someone you knew before?”

I shook my head. There was no-one I wanted to see that I knew before the Event. I probably wouldn’t recognize my friends. They certainly wouldn’t be my friends anymore.

I found the door and knocked, not sure what I was expecting. Lilia wouldn’t answer the door, she would be too frightened. People didn’t make house