All the Pretty Ghosts (The Never Alone Series Book 1) (7 page)

It had to be a trap.

“Thanks, but I’ll keep looking,” I murmured in reply and turned to leave.

She put out her hand, reaching for me to stop. “No, please. It’s getting late and you need to seek refuge before it’s dark. They won’t find you here. It’s safe, I promise.”

I needed some more answers before I was going to believe anything she said. “How do you know who I am?”

“I was told of you by… others like me.”

“Why do you want to help me?”

If she was fazed by the interrogation, she didn’t let it show on her shadowy face. “Because I don’t want to see you hurt. If those boys find you, they will hurt you again.”

Perhaps I was softening, letting my guard down and being a fool. Maybe I was merely exhausted. But I really did want to believe her. I sighed, hoping I wasn’t signing my own death certificate.

I called Oliver over and we followed the woman inside the building. She led us to the second floor where there was a room with a door that locked. It had a bathroom too, with running water. I could have cried it was such a wonderful thing to find.

“I will keep watch outside and alert you to any intruders,” the woman said. “I will make sure you are safe, just like I promised.”

I managed to stammer out a ‘thank you’ before she disappeared through the wall. Oliver and I were alone. And, it appeared, safe. For now. I wasn’t going to take even a minute of it for granted.

“There appears to be some food here,” Oliver said as he surveyed the room. I hurried over, finding a table with a few containers spread across it. The food was only some stale cookies but it was like finding a gourmet meal.

“I’ll clean up first and then eat.” I made the decision and headed into the bathroom.

Oliver wasn’t kidding when he said I needed to clean up. For the first time I caught a look at what Taz had done to me. My entire body was covered in bruises, my arms and abdomen taking the brunt of the beatings.

On my left temple was a cut so deep it probably needed stitches. The blood had caked into my hair, matting it to my head. Once I started cleaning it up, it would start bleeding again. I knew it was inevitable.

I peeked back into the room again. “Have you seen a rag or anything I can use to clean up with?”

Oliver looked around. As he did, I spotted a piece of material on the food table. I hurried over. “Found something.” The rag was a dishtowel. It probably held a billion kinds of germs but now was not a time to be fussy.

I returned to the bathroom and carefully took my time cleaning all the dirt, grime, and blood away. When I was certain I had attended to the worst of it, I jumped in the shower.

Even the cold water couldn’t get to me. It was like I was numb from head to foot. The sting of the cold was nothing compared to the emotional whirlwind I had endured.

It was better that way.

To be numb.

I turned off the shower and dressed in my filthy clothes. The bloodstains reminded me of everything that had happened, the menacing look on Taz’s face, the feel of every blow he had lashed out against me.

I couldn’t think about it. Now was a time for survival, not wallowing in self pity. I had to forget about it, be stronger than I had ever been before. The alternative was shattering into a million pieces and crumbling to the floor. I wasn’t ready to give up, not yet. And not while I still had Oliver to lean on for support.

Not while Faith was still out there somewhere.

Alone.

Oliver was sitting on the floor when I joined him. “You should eat something.”

“So should you,” I pointed out.

“I ate before I found you. Go ahead, eat. I’ll feel better when you have.”

My stomach grumbled just thinking about food. I reached up to the table and pulled down a few cookies. I forced myself to eat them slowly, savoring every bite. The last thing I wanted was for my stomach to reject the food.

“Thank you for saving me today,” I started. I had no idea how to thank him for doing everything he did. Risking his life to save mine was madness.

And brave.

Unbearably brave.

“No thanks needed,” he replied with a weary smile. “I did it for selfish reasons, really. I would have missed you if you weren’t around.”

I wanted to swat Oliver’s arm or chest for the cheeky comment, but we weren’t exactly the touchy-feely type of friends. Not since we had become teenagers, anyway. The minute puberty hit, it was all hands off in case we stepped over a line somewhere.

I yawned as sleepiness threatened to overtake me. I had an urge to rest my head on Oliver’s shoulder and curl into his arms, but again, I refrained from doing so. Even the Event couldn’t break the boundaries we had set so long ago.

“You’re tired, you should sleep,” Oliver urged. It was a suggestion too good to refuse.

“You need to sleep too,” I pointed out. Because I wasn’t the only one who’d had a big day. He had run just as far as I did.

“I will, but I need to settle down a bit first. You go to sleep and I’ll make sure we’re locked up tight in here.” I held his gaze for a few moments, trying to work out if he was lying to me. It would have been just like him to think he needed to protect me and stay up all night making sure I was safe. I had no intention of letting that happen.

“Do you promise me you’ll sleep?” I asked. I needed to hear the words because a promise should not be broken. And Oliver knew that better than anyone.

He moved his hand so it rested over his heart. “I promise.”

With Oliver here, I knew I was safe.

Satisfied, I made a pillow out of the crook of my arm and lay down on the hard floor. I closed my eyes and was dead to the world before I could even begin to process everything that had happened since I last slept soundly.

My dreams were nightmares, filled with images of the boys – especially Taz – as they beat and tortured me. On more than one occasion I awoke with a start and had to keep telling myself it was just a dream and not really happening to me. It was the only way I could slow my heartbeat.

When I awoke the last time, just as Taz was about to throw a fatal blow, it was daylight. Oliver’s concerned face peered down at me, his brow wrinkled with worry. “Are you okay?”

I sat up, stretching my stiff and sore limbs. “Just a bad dream. Is it morning?” He nodded a yes. “Please tell me you slept.”

“I slept,” he replied, deadpan. I chose to believe him because he did look rested, at least. “There is still some food left. I ate when I woke up but I made sure to leave you enough.”

I peered over the table, my eyes level with it. It looked like Oliver had barely eaten anything judging by the amount still left over. I took a cookie and left the rest, two could play at that game. “Do you think it will be safe to return home today?”

He shrugged. “I was hoping you would decide to stay in the city.”

“Oliver, you know I can’t. We’ve discussed this a hundred times. I can’t do the magic here you seem to think I am capable of.”

“But-”

I held up a hand to stop him. “No. I’m not staying. I’m going home and I’m not returning until I’m absolutely desperate. After what happened, I’m even more determined to live alone for the rest of my life.”

The crestfallen look on his face made my heart leap into my throat and choke me. I felt that look deep in my chest, in the place my heart used to be.

He started nodding slowly, ever so slowly. “If that’s what you really want.”

“They almost killed me, Olly. They almost did a lot of things to me. I don’t want to be in a situation that could allow that to happen again. Being in this city is not safe.”

“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 calls these days.