Everwild

"Her real name is Megan," said Mikey, feeling further and further out of the loop. "Mary's just her middle name." But the others ignored him.

"Don't believe everything you read in those books," Allie said. "She lies and makes stuff up when it suits her."

"She does not have nice things to say about skinjackers," Milos said. "Still, I would like to meet her one day. She seems very ... intriguing."

"That's not the word I would use," Allie said. "She lures souls in, and traps them in an endless rut, doing the same thing day after day, forever."

"And," added Mikey, "she's my sister."

The others looked at him for a moment, and broke out laughing.

"Yeah, yeah," Squirrel scoffed, "and the McGill is my cousin." Now Allie burst out laughing, which just made Mikey more a

"If the McGill was your cousin," Mikey said, "I can guarantee he'd disown you."

Allie reached over and secretly squeezed Mikey's hand, leaving him to wonder what the squeeze meant. Was it a show of affection, or was she trying to tell him he was revealing too much information?

"Now it's your turn," said Allie, changing the subject. "Tell us about Jackin' Jill."

Clearly this was a sore spot with the other skinjackers, because they all looked away. Finally Milos spoke up.

"She and I were very close," he said.

"How close?" Mikey asked, realizing Milos had a nice wound worthy of being prodded and poked.

"Close," was the only answer he gave. "We traveled together, doing jobs for other Afterlights, in exchange for crossed objects."

"Jobs?" asked Allie. "What kinds of jobs?"

"Jobs that could only be accomplished by skinjackers," Milos said. "We would tell family members that their loved one in Everlost was all right. We would pass on some information that they otherwise would have taken to the grave. We would finish their unfinished business in the living world."

"Yeah, yeah," said Squirrel. "There was one kid who was obsessed with finishing his model airplane. So Moose and I skinjacked a couple of neighbor kids and finished it for him."

"And don't forget the time we got hired by that kid in Philly to beat up the fleshie that got him killed." Milos sighed. "Some tasks were more appropriate for Moose and Squirrel than others."

"Impressive," said Mikey, in spite of himself. The idea of using skinjacking as a profitable skill tickled Mikey where he lived.

"Yeah, yeah--we were very impressive--and we were rich, too," said Squirrel.

Milos nodded. "By Everlost standards. We had quite a collection of crossed objects--and these were not just ordinary items. We had gold and diamonds--our customers would trade us their prized possessions in return for what we could offer. We even had a Porsche."

"No way!" said Allie.

"It's true, it's true," said Squirrel, "but it was a pain in the neck, 'cause it could only drive on roads that don't exist no more."

"Jill would be the one to pass on messages to the living. She was best at convincing the living that the message was real." Milos looked off, caught in the memory. "Then, one day we woke up, and Jill was gone, along with the car and all of our finest things--and she even stole things from the vapor of Afterlights that had taken us in. There were many, and they were all furious."

"Yeah, yeah--they thought we had done it. We had to skinjack our way to safety. Lucky there were some fleshies around."

"Jackin' Jill took everything worth taking," said Moose. "Everything! But we're go

"I'm sorry," Allie said to Milos, with a level of compassion that made Mikey sick. "Serves them right!" Mikey said. "It's what you get for being greedy."

Allie threw him a disapproving glare. "You of all people shouldn't talk about greed!"

When she turned her eyes back to Milos they were all sympathetic again, and Mikey just couldn't stand it. He stood up and strode away.

"Where are you going?" Allie asked.

"I don't know," he said. "Maybe I'll catch up with Jackin' Jill."

Allie started after Mikey, but snared herself on a barbed wire fence that, for reasons unknown, had crossed into Everlost. A sharp steel barb tore a deep gash on her arm that felt momentarily weird before it zipped itself closed. By the time she looked up, Mikey was gone.

"Let him go," said Milos, coming up behind her. "Clearly he has ... what is that expression?'Skeletons in his closet.' "

"Yeah, and bats in his belfry," Allie said.

Milos looked at her, puzzled. "This expression I do not know."

"Never mind," she said, not wanting to get into it. Mikey's temper tantrums had gotten fewer and further between, but they never went away completely. His moodiness always surfaced in the company of other Afterlights. Social skills were never his strong point. As for "skeletons in his closet," that implied he had secrets Allie didn't know-- but she knew all his secrets, didn't she?

"Whatever bee he's got in his bo

Allie turned to return to their campsite on the highway, but then Milos said something that stopped her.

"You know ... I could teach you things."

She slowly turned back to him. "What do you mean?"

Milos sauntered closer to her, hands in his pockets. "If you came skinjacking with us, there are many things I could teach you. Skinjacking is more than just climbing inside fleshies and putting them to sleep."

"If you're talking about your little business of delivering messages to the living, no thank you. I don't want to be a part of ... of DeadEx."

"This is not what I mean," said Milos, his voice brimming with hushed excitement. "I am talking about the joy of it!"

Allie immediately thought to the time she had gone out into the rain. She understood the joy he was talking about, but it was always overshadowed by the guilt she felt stealing moments that weren't hers.

"Have you never dreamed of being someone else?" Milos asked. "Someone rich, or beautiful, or powerful. Have you never longed, if only for a few minutes, to live someone else's life?"

"Of course I have... ."

"And yet you do not do it? Why is this?"

"Because it's wrong!"

"Who told you it was wrong? Was it Mikey?"

"No!" said Allie. "I don't need him to tell me the difference between right and wrong."

Milos took a long look at Allie. "Skinjackers are not like other Afterlights, Allie, and we all must learn to accept this. Because not only are we given this power, but also a powerful hunger to use it."

"A hunger that we should resist!" insisted Allie.

"Resist our nature? Do you not think that would be wrong?"

Allie found that Milos was standing just a bit too close, and she took a step back. He was making far too much sense, and it troubled her. She had wanted another skinjacker to talk to--someone who could understand the things she felt. She thought it would be a case of misery-loves-company. She never expected to find a skinjacker who reveled in possessing the living, turning it into an art form. A way of life. What if he was right, and resisting that powerful pull to flesh was the wrong thing for her to do?