Never Ending Life by Rose Cooper (good book recommendations .TXT) 📕

I opened my eyes slowly and concentrated on my breathing. I pulled Layla tighter to me so as to not drop her while we ran. I tightened the straps on my backpack and squeezed Sam's hand reassuringly. Sam smiled at me and looked to her left at Daina. Daina was smarter than I was at her age. If it weren't for what happened, she would be a real prodigy. I smiled at the sleeping Layla and looked at Sam. "You ready?" "Yeah." She whispered. I looked to Daina and she nodded. 

Sighing I pulled back the tarp on our makeshift shelter and made a run for it. I didn't go too fast so the girl could keep up. Anyone knows that you've got to keep moving, and that the only way you can stay in one spot is if you have weapons or are in a large group. We have neither. The plan was to run from the broken shed we made into a shelter, and to head into one of the skyscrapers. Since a month after the apocalypse happened all the power basically went out. A few places still worked, with the occasional flickering of lights and radios. But things like elevators and security cameras were long gone. We were going to hide out in one while we planned where to go next. 

The only thing is, nowhere was safe anymore. We were getting close to the entrance. If we could just make it in there without getting any wandering groups attention we were safe another night. Now safety is considered a luxury no one has. Something I used to take for granted. Unfortunately I spoke too soon, thinking we were gonna make it. Sam tripped, so we had to stop and help her back up. The time that cost us was too great. Someone saw us. 

I swore under my breath and put Sam and Daina behind me protectively while holding Layla tighter. A group of people made their way towards, clearly amused. They were a small group, 3 guys and a girl. They didn't seem to have any weapons either. They were just as unsafe as us, and they were pushing their luck confronting us. There's no way I stand a chance against the four of them especially with the girls. Not to mention that while I'm not lean or scrawny by any means, I don't have enough experience to match my appearance. 

The taller guy started to snicker while the girl eye raped me. The red head was the only one who spoke up, strange. "Well well well. Look what we have here. Let me guess, a protective brother and his sisters, running for their lives to safety. Too bad we were here. Whatever you have handed it over." "No" I knew it was risky to say no, that if we gave them our stuff they would probably have left us alone. But I couldn't do it. I will not be a coward in front of the girls, I'm the closest thing they have to a father, heck, our father died before Laya was born, so she never even met the man.

The ginger nodded to the third guy with blonde hair. The blonde guy started walking towards us, and flicked a pocket knife out of his pocket. Shit. I was about to tell the girls to take Layla and run, when out of nowhere a girl appeared. She was wearing black rollerblades, along with a leather jacket and matching leather pants. Her tight lace tank top was blood red. Here blonde hair was cascading down her shoulders almost blocking my view of her eyes, were they green or blue? I couldn't tell, they looked like everything at once. The thing that really caught my eye was her black metal bat she was holding. It had red on it, like blood. 

The girl swept in and swung at the blonde guy's legs, he fell to the ground with a thud and groaned out, "you bitch!" She smirked and said, "Now that isn't anyway to speak to a lady." The ginger looked at her and laughed. "I'm gonna have fun with you later aren't I? Get her!" The other guy ran at her with lightning speed. The girl quickly crouched low dodging his punch, and hit him in the stomach. After he fell she wacked him once more and looked at the other girl. She ran at her, but the blonde was ready. She ducked and kicked. The girl landed right on her butt. Then using the bat, the girl hit her in the face, the crunching of her nose was audible from where we stood. The ginger looked pissed. He walked up to her calmly and said, "not bad, let's see how you do with a professional boxer, huh? Before this mess, I was the best highschool fighter in the country, and I have to warn you that I've only gotten better. Maybe you've heard of me, I'm the Ripper." 

Her eyes widened and her breathing quickened. "Well I heard you were beaten in your senior year by a junior." "How did you know that? That was an unofficial match, we were the only ones there. How did you know Joshua beat me?" She looked like she might cry when she said "because he was my brother. Something you should know, I've been whipping the floor with him since we were kids." "Well then in that case, this is personal. Come one, take off the blades and bat. Let's see what you're really made of huh?" 

She turned around and looked me right in the eyes. I could tell Daina and Sam were amazed by her, even Layla woke up and watched. I looked into her eyes and couldn't look away. "You mind holding these for me? I don't want any of these guys to wake up and steal me." I just stared at her. Daina nodded and grabbed the bat and skated from her. 

She looked back at the ginger and sighed. "Alright let's go. I don't have all day." At this the ginger got into an offensive position and made his way towards her. She put up her guard and followed him with her eyes and he circled her. He made a few punches at her and she evaded them easily, barely breaking a sweat. The second he stopped punching she struck. She threw punches as he tried to avoid them and failed. His guard was strong, but she broke through it. She said, "I forgot to mention, my brother and I don't train for boxing like you did. We did kickboxing and MMA." This seemed to kick the ginger out of his shock as he lunged back. They began circling each other again, covered in blood and dirt. He went for a jab, but when she dodged it, he threw a hook square in her jaw. That was gonna bruise badly. 

She cursed loudly and spat out blood. She stood back up while the ginger turned around. Daina and I tried to warn her as he pulled something metal out of his pants. But we were too late. She swung at him as he turned around, oblivious of the weapon he held. He swung his arm and hit her in the face hard and fast with the metal chunk. She fell back and he smiled. He turned around and started walking towards us. He was coming closer to us and I protectively pushed the girls back behind me. I was getting ready for him to punch me when he fell back. 

He fell on his back with a thud and scrambled back up to his feat. The girl was back with her face covered in blood. "Well you just won't stop!" "Nah, I don't lose." He glared at her and went to punch her. This time she grabbed his arm and jumped up, wrapping her legs around him. Then did some strange swinging climb thing and was on top of him, literally. She had her legs around his waist and had his head in a tight lock. He groaned then pushed himself back. He felt on top of her, while she was slammed into the ground. He kept leaning forward and slamming her head and back into the ground. He was losing air. I went to go help her, but she saw me and glared. Clearing not wanting any help. With the gingers last few breaths he screamed, "no matter where you go, when I wake up I will find you!" She said back in a scary deadly calm voice, "then you can't wake up." 

His eyes widened and she clenched her jaw. She squeezed his neck, twisted and pulled hard and fast. After a sickening crunch and pop, his body went still. She pushed him off of her and stood up. I just started realizing just how dangerous she really is.

I was minding my own business. I had just managed to fix my rollerblades, and they were dead silent. I had a little blood left on my bat from the people who tried to rob me a few days ago, but I wasn't that worried. In this world, it's kill or be killed, and it seems that lately I've had to kill a lot. Ever since the apocalypse started a year and a half ago, I had become a nomad. Even when I was with my brother, we were always going from one place to another. Never sleeping in the same building twice, I would only stay in one town or city for a week tops before I left. Anytime longer and I was basically asking for a repeat of last time. 

After I lost Joshua I became a deep pit of depression. After that I taught myself how to give myself a "tattoo" by cutting myself with a very hot knife so I would have a scar with a burn over it to help it last my whole life. When I was finally free, I gave myself three, two for my parents and one for Joshua. After I lost Tammy I added one for her to. Each tattoo for them were the same, stars in a line on my collar bone. 

The first time I killed someone was after Joshua's death. In fact I killed multiple people after that. He was always the one who ended it. I would get close, but never finish them off. He did that for me, to keep the guilt and haunting from my mind. But when I finally had to do it. It was so easy, so easy. I never felt any guilt or loss or haunting of them. Not even regret. I became so soaless, I had no more reason to live anyway. So I decided one day to use the tattoo system to keep track. I made a tally mark on my arm for every person I killed. 

Most people would think of it as some sick trophy. For me it was my reason to live. I didn't take all those peoples lives just so I could throw mine away. It