Everwild

The steel pier was far away now ... however, the dock that extended into the lake looked very much like a pier. The sight of it filled the horse's spirit. True, there was no highdive platform. True, there was no tank to land in--but there certainly was water! Although Shiloh's time with Allie and Mikey had been somewhat entertaining, when the chance to perform one final leap presented itself, how could any self-respecting high-diving horse resist?

And so, by the time Mikey had gotten his hand back down to the usual number of fingers, the horse was already barreling at full gallop down the dock.

Mikey ran after it the moment he saw it, but it was no use. By the time he reached the dock, the horse was already nearing the end, and showed no signs of slowing down. Still, Mikey raced after it, hoping that the creature would come to its senses before hurling itself into oblivion.

The horse, however, was of a single mind. It reached the end of the dock, released a whi

Deep down in its equine mind, the horse knew that there was no return, but that was all right, for it also knew that this was the greatest high dive of all!

Far above, Mikey McGill finally reached the end of the dock, stomping and cursing like a child having a tantrum, nearly sinking through the wood of the pier. The horse was gone without leaving as much as a ripple in the living-world water to mark its passage.

"Mikey!"

And of course this would be the moment Allie would choose to return! Mikey knew she had seen the whole thing--it was there in the panicked look on her face.

"I'll go after it!" Mikey told her. "I'll dive down after it and bring it back!" But even as he said it, he knew it wouldn't work. Yes, he had ridden the horse out of the earth once before, but such a feat required a certain passion he no longer had. The monster within him had been tamed, but domestication came with a cost. Surely he still had the power to pull himself out of the depths, but he doubted he could do it on horseback.

Mikey had no way of knowing that Allie's troubled look had little to do with the horse. She had run from the gas station so quickly, she actually felt out of breath--a sensation that was technically impossible for an Afterlight, and yet still she felt it. When she saw the horse go off the dock, her heart sank. First for the loss of Shiloh, and second, because with him went their only chance for a quick escape.

She tried to get Mikey's attention, but he still blustered like the storm clouds above. "Stupid horse!"

"Forget about that! We've got a bigger problem." She grabbed him and forced him to look at her. "Skinjackers."

"Huh?"

"Two of them! They've been following us--we've got to get out of here!" But as she turned, she realized it was too late. The two skinjackers were at the foot of the dock, stalking toward them. Allie had not seen them in their true form--she had only seen the hosts they had inhabited. In a way it was easier to face them in the living world, where everything was limited by the simple rules of flesh and bone.

Even though she had never actually seen their faces, she knew which was which. The skinjacker to the right was tall and thin, with a puffy, rodentlike face. He had knobby knees and elbows--too knobby, actually--exaggerated like his skewed grin, which practically stretched all the way to his right ear.

"Well, well," he said. "Jackin' Jill has a friend!"

The other skinjacker was in a blue and white football uniform, and his face was little more than a pair of unpleasant eyes in a football helmet. He was big--the kind of kid who was destined to be a linebacker whether he was good at the sport or not. Now, after what must have been a very bad game for him, he was stuck as a permanent linebacker in Everlost. When he spoke, his words came out slurred and slobbery, due to the fact that he also had a mouth guard stuck perpetually between his teeth.

"Wait a shecond," he said. "That'sh not Jackin' Jill!"

"It is! It is!" said the ski

"She can't do shumthing like that, can she?"

Allie leaned over to Mikey and whispered in his ear. "We'll run on the count of three."

To which Mikey responded, "I don't run. And neither do you."

He was right about that. But seeing other skinjackers-- it had shaken her even more than she realized. "Okay," she said. "We'll fight them." Then she thought about how she had been pushed against the gas pump. "But the football player's mine."

Both Allie and Mikey prepared themselves for the battle, but before it could begin, someone else showed up on the scene. A fleshie came ru

"What do you think you are doing!" he demanded. He had an accent that Allie couldn't quite place at first.

"It's Jackin' Jill!" said the gangly one, weakly.

"Does she look like Jackin' Jill to you?" the third skinjacker said. The accent was definitely Eastern European. If Allie had to guess, she would say it was Russian.

The football player wasn't sure whether to shake his head or to nod, so he did a little bit of both. It made him look like a bobblehead doll. "When we shaw her jack the fat girl back in Virginia, we weren't closhe enough to shee her faish."

"Yeah, Yeah," said the other one, "and when she peeled out we had to hang way back, so we still didn't see her face then, either."

The Russian kid heaved a heavy, resigned sigh, then he turned to Allie and Mikey, apologetically. "This is my fault," he said. "When they told me they found a skinjacker, I told them to keep their eyes on you. Now I realize I should have done it myself." He let go of the other two, and took a step forward. "I am Milos--and you have already met Moose and Squirrel."

He threw an angry look at his cohorts, and Moose pushed Squirrel, nearly launching him off the side of the dock. "It was hish fault!" Squirrel pushed him back, but it wasn't nearly as effective.

"You have some nerve spying on us at all!" Mikey said.

"Please, forgive me," Milos said calmly, "but we have had some ... bad experiences, and they thought you were someone else."

"They attacked me," Allie said. "I had to hurt a couple of fleshies because of them." Mikey looked at them, furious, and clenched his fists. "They attacked you?"

"I assure you this will not happen again." The third skinjacker turned to Moose and Squirrel. "Your behavior was unacceptable. Apologize!"

The two looked down like kids in the principal's office.

"Sorry," said Squirrel.

"Yeah, shorry," said Moose.

Allie shook her head. "Sometimes sorry's not enough."

"Then," said Milos with a slight bow, "allow me to make it up to you." He held his hand out in an open-palmed gesture, as if he expected Allie to place her hand in his. She didn't.