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

the punch line and left nothing – only rodents and insects. If someone started a rumor that rats were delicious, we’d probably all eat until we were fat.

The next building was larger than the others had been. It wasn’t in a complex, rather a stand alone. The roof was taller, the building wider. It was massive. More than one airplane could have easily fit inside.

Unlike many of the others, the sign outside still stood, declaring it was once the manufacturing plant of Woolen Wears. That sounded right up our alley.

“This looks promising,” I said, perking up from the previous disappointments.

“We should find blankets or coats here. We have to,” Oliver agreed.

The side door was locked but the window beside it had already been broken. I carefully slid my arm through and managed to unlock the door from the inside. It was an easy reach, no doubt I wasn’t the first one who noticed.

As soon as we were through I wanted to run around the factory and find the items we needed. We would take as many blankets as we could carry and return with volunteers from the shelter for the rest. They could be distributed to the most needy, the youngest of the kids left to fend for themselves.

I could almost feel the thick woolen coat wrapped around me. I could imagine the warmth and comfort of the weight. It would be just like when I was little and dressed up to play in the snow. Maybe we’d even find scarves or mittens. Even a beanie was enough to get me excited.

The only thing that slowed me down was the thought of missing something. Because the factory was so large, Oliver and I stuck together. If either of us got lost in the building, I don’t think we’d ever find each other again.

Immediately inside the entrance was a shop. Everything had already been taken off the racks, leaving only a few stray hangers and empty shelves. It wasn’t a good sign for the rest of the place but I refused to get disheartened yet.

We moved past the store and into the factory floor. There was machinery and debris everywhere. People had made a mess of the place and my money would be it happened after the Event. When adults worked here, it was probably spotless.

Halfway down one side, we hit the jackpot.

One box, barely reaching my hip, was full of winter blankets. At some point the damp had seeped in, making the wool reek with mustiness. But they could be washed, it was only a temporary problem.

“This is a good sign,” I said. If there was one box, there had to be more. The place was big enough to hold thousands. Maybe tens of thousands.

“Leave them and we’ll come back after we’ve checked the place out,” Oliver suggested. I closed the box again, promising to return to it soon.

Finding blankets was like finding gold.

Or diamonds.

Better than both.

We continued on down the dark passageway. The machinery parts were dangerous, at times jutting out and catching my foot. Somehow, I seemed to trip over everything. Oliver, on the other hand, walked as elegantly and easily as he always did. He wasn’t born with the clumsy gene.

When we reached the back, I froze. My ears strained to hear what I had sensed only seconds before. I put out my arm for Oliver to stop. He did, cocking his head as he listened.

Voices.

We weren’t alone.

They were voices belonging to males – both older and younger. I crept forward, Oliver right beside me. Crouching down, I followed the sound like a moth to a flame. If there were other people here, they might be trashing the items. We couldn’t let that happen, not when kids needed them so badly.

A light was glowing through a wall of boxes and machinery. I tiptoed along until I could catch a glimpse of who was on the other side. They weren’t trying to keep their voices low, they obviously felt safe from anyone who might attack.

When I caught my first sight of who the boys were, I was flooded with a wave of nausea.

I knew them.

They knew me.

It was Jet’s gang. Not the mole people, but the far deadlier ones from the streets. The same ones who had tortured me for days on end that felt like months on end.

Oliver noticed too, his fingers going to his lips in a shushing motion. There was no way they could know we were here. I did not want to go a second round with the group. It was bad enough seeing Jet alone.

Taz was standing with the others, his arms crossed as he spoke. He hadn’t lost that sneer. “Hurry up, I want to get the hell out of here. It smells.”

“Jet said we need to check everywhere,” one of the others replied. I never knew his name but I recognized his flat nose and thin lips.

“Well Jet’s not here, is he?” Taz replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Just get whatever you can and let’s go. I’m hungry and it’s cold in here. And there’s rats.”

“There’s no rats.”

“I saw one.”

The boy standing on the outskirts spoke, making everyone turn around to look at him. I got the feeling he never usually said much. “Jet says he needs as many supplies as we can get. We have to do a thorough job or he won’t be happy.”

“Well Jet won’t know any better, will he now?” Taz again, managing to bob his head around like a puppet at the same time. “Are you gonna tell him?”

The boy shook his head, scared he had already said too much. Taz shoved a box in his arms, nearly sending him backwards onto the ground from the impact. He righted himself and placed the box on the cement floor.

Taz