The Last Girls on Earth by Hayley Anderton

Author:Hayley Anderton [Anderton, Hayley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

RAVEN

"Don't kill him," are the only words I can think of to say. I stand and push Jonah behind me, squaring up to the bearer of the torch. But when my eyes adjust, I realize I'm taller than the person in front of me. Much taller, actually. I blink to see if my eyes are deceiving me. But no. The boy in front of me is practically a kid.

"Why would I want to kill a young boy?" the kid reasons. But I don't let my guard down. I hold my knife up and try not to look afraid.

"I don't know you. You could be anyone. You could be working for the government."

"Do I look like I work for the government?"

He doesn't. He barely looks old enough to be out on his own. He's round faced with messily trimmed black hair. His trousers are too long and too wide for his slim hips. But his white t-shirt is splattered with blood. I refuse to stand down, waving the knife and hoping the boy will be scared off. He isn't. He barely even blinks at the gesture.

"You should come with us," he says.

I narrow my eyes at him. "Why?"

"There's a bunch of us holed up at the school uptown. It's well guarded. We plan to make our stand there."

I snort. "A stand against the entire government? Good one."

"Have you got somewhere better to be?"

He has a point. If what he says is true, at least we won't be on our own. Maybe someone will have a clue of how to get to Pink Light City. I still fully intend to get there somehow, and maybe this might be an opportunity to find out more. Maybe I’ll even see some familiar faces there. Wren’s smiling face comes to mind and my heart aches. This might be my best chance of finding my only friend.

But I don't trust this kid. There's something about him – he seems older than his age. It's disconcerting. He raises a tired eyebrow at me, possessing all the cockiness of a boy on the brink of becoming a teenager.

"I don't have time to wait around for you. Come or don't. But consider this – if I was working for the government, I wouldn't be giving you a choice."

He turns on his heel and begins to walk back to the bus, taking the light with him. "You have a minute to decide before we drive off," he calls over his shoulder.

I have to make a snap decision. I glance back at Jonah. He's desperate. He just wants to be off the streets, somewhere safe. Safety is a feeling we’re unfamiliar with, but with everything going on, I can’t keep wandering the streets and hoping for a miracle. We have to have more time to make a plan. I gently pick Jonah up, cradling him like a baby.

"I'll keep you safe. It’s okay.”

I head for the coach and climb the steps with difficulty, shifting Jonah on my hip. Frightened faces peer at us from the other seats.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.