All The Pretty Ghosts (The Never Series Book 1) by Jamie Campbell (my miracle luna book free read .TXT) 📕

Still, I struggled.

I would not go down without a fight.

I lashed out, squirming as best as I could to get out of their hold. All I managed to do was make it a little more difficult for them to carry me. My impact was minimal.

When they took me down into the storm water drain, that’s when the panic really started to set in.

Daylight disappeared, replaced by the stench of the dirt and stagnant water. Like everywhere in the city, death was mixed into the fray. My nose was assaulted with the smell, making breathing even more difficult.

“Please, let me go,” I begged. All my protests and pleading fell on deaf ears.

There wasn’t a part of my body not in constant pain. With each step they took, a new ache erupted somewhere I didn’t know could hurt so much.

The worst was my arm. It felt like it had been wrenched right out of its socket. The hand gripping underneath my shoulder was digging in, causing new bolts of pain to shoot out with each inadvertent jolt. I wished I could pass out now. At least then I would have a momentary reprieve.

The tunnel had a gradual decline. The further they walked, the further underground we went. I lost track of the bends and turns we took. The darkness was almost absolute, interspersed only occasionally with a ray of light from a tunnel pointing directly upwards.

We were in a maze of tunnels that lay underneath the city. Probably the subway maintenance system if my nose was anything to go by. I could barely see anything, yet my captors walked without any lights.

They strode with confidence, making each turn deliberately and assuredly. They obviously knew the tunnels intimately, had stalked them for some time. I wondered how long it would take to make them familiar. A month? A year? Two?

They suddenly stopped walking. The hands that held me turned me upright to stand on my own feet. They had largely lost feeling, I fought to stay upright.

It was complete darkness surrounding me. I wasn’t entirely sure if my eyes were open or closed. It took several seconds of blinking for me to believe they were indeed open.

Those that had held me shuffled aside. I felt like I was alone, except an eerie feeling told me there were many eyes on me. They would not have left me alone after going to all the trouble of kidnapping me. They wouldn’t waste the energy.

I thought about running. But where would I go? I wasn’t even sure what direction I had entered and I certainly couldn’t see where I was going now.

The darkness hid many things, I knew that with certainty. I just wasn’t sure what it was now hiding from me.

A burst of light suddenly blinded me. I held my better arm up to shield my eyes.

I was right.

I wasn’t alone.

We were in a cavern, a torch of fire making shadows on the low roof and walls. There had to be at least fifty people creating a circle around me. No matter which way I turned, they were there. All wore the same hollow look as the others I had fought above ground.

“What do you want? What are going to do to me?” I asked, like the scared little girl I was.

I continued to turn in a circle, seeing nothing but distain and hatred facing me. There was no exit. I would not be leaving without their permission. Somehow, I didn’t think they would grant me that leave.

Pain still shot through my arm. I held onto it with my better hand, cradling it against my body. It was twisted at an odd angle, my shoulder out of its socket. A strange numb tingling sensation flushed through my fingers.

“Please, let me go.”

I wished they would say something. Their eyes spoke volumes, that I was their prey, that they would delight in killing me, that perhaps I was food for their next feast. I heard it all loud and clear. But I needed them to say it with their voices.

“I will vouch for her.”

I spun around, trying to see who had spoken. They all wore tight lips. It had been a male, I was certain of that. None of them gave anything away.

“You can all relax. I know this girl.” He spoke again, holding authority in the voice that I couldn’t quite place. He was familiar, but so distant at the same time.

The woman who had popped my shoulder spoke next, barely two feet away from me in the circle. “We found her fair and square. She was intruding on our property.”

The bodies started to part, letting the owner of the voice through. He reached my circle. If I wasn’t seeing him with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it.

Nor was I certain his presence was a good thing. In fact, it was probably worse.

The boy was Jet.

“I have already claimed her. She’s mine,” he argued. He stood directly in front of the girl, challenging her silently with his unwavering gaze. “I will take her now.”

“She is ours.”

“She is mine. Her name is Everly and she belongs to me.”

The girl turned her head in my direction, her eyes about to set me alight, given the chance. “What is your name?”

“Everly,” I croaked out. My mouth was so dry it was difficult forming any words.

“Do you know this man?”

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to admit it. The last time I had seen Jet was when I was tied up in his warehouse. He was planning on killing me then, along with the rest of his group.

There was no saying he would feel differently now.

In fact, now he would have a reason to