Everwild

"I do, but I've waited this long--a couple of days won't make a difference."

She could have told him then about how she'd be stuck in Everlost for a long, long time, so there was no hurry to do anything--but she knew Mikey would ask her a million questions she had no answers to. Like what it meant to be consigned to Everlost for her "natural life," as if the universe knew when she would have died if she hadn't been in the accident. How can a date be assigned to something that will never happen?

An exploration of Nashville had turned up a sizeable vapor of Afterlights in an old burned-out factory that had crossed over. They were friendly but guarded, not trusting of outsiders--least of all a foreigner like Milos. The Nashville Afterlights made room for them in their sizeable deadspot though, and were happy to listen to all their stories of faraway places--and to them, every place was far away.

"So you've all been into the Everwild?" their leader asked--a kid who had blue hair for no reason anyone could fathom.

"Where I come from, this is the Everwild," Allie told him, and that made the other kids laugh, thinking she was making a joke.

One kid didn't laugh, though. A bone-thin, sad-eyed kid who was so hunched the other kids just called him Igor. "It's all wild," he said. "No one knows anything about anywhere--'cept of course for the Sky Witch."

Both Allie and Mikey shifted uncomfortably at Mary's mention, but neither of them said anything. Neither of them felt like sharing tales of Mary Hightower.

"But the real wild places are to the west," said Igor, and the other kids murmured their agreement. Then he whispered, "Have you felt the wind?"

"What wind?" asked Mikey.

"We don't feel wind in Everlost," Allie pointed out.

"You'll feel this wind," said Igor. "If you're goin' to Memphis you'll feel it sure enough."

Allie looked to Milos, but he just shrugged. "This is as far west as I've ever been."

"Great," grumbled Mikey. "Another problem."

"It's not a problem," said Allie. "It's just wind."

But the looks on the Nashville kids' faces said otherwise.

* * * While Moose and Squirrel bargained with the Nashville Afterlights, hoping to provide various skinjacking services, Milos invited Allie for another lesson.

"Enough talk of winds and worries," Milos said. "Tonight we have fun."

"If it's an evening of fun, then we should invite Mikey," she said, more of a reprimand than a suggestion--a little jab to remind him that their lessons were serious business.

Milos shrugged. "Of course, of course," he said, sounding a little like Squirrel, "but even if Mikey could skinjack, somehow I do not think he is one to appreciate country music."

Allie studied him, trying to read the mildly mischievous look on Milos's face. "What does country music have to do with skinjacking?"

But Milos only smiled.

Allie went to look for Mikey among the Nashville Afterlights, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Lasht time I shaw him," Moose said, "he wuz leaving the factory by himshelf."

Lately Mikey had been spending more and more time alone. It troubled Allie, but only slightly. Mikey was very good at taking care of himself.

That night, Milos took Allie to Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, where Travis Dix was in concert. There was some country music that Allie loved, and some that she hated--but whether you were a fan of country music or not, everybody loved Travis Dix. Allie's only problem with it was that this felt like a date, and that made her uncomfortable. Alive, she had always been too busy with sports, student government, and the yearbook to date. Besides, the boys she liked were always out of reach, and the ones who did give her attention always lacked a certain something--such as common sense, or deodorant.

She always assumed there would come a time for her to make boys a priority ... but death had put a damper on that. Well, she hadn't dated in life, and she wasn't about to start now. She had Mikey as an afterlife companion, and that was enough for her.

"So why are we here?" Allie asked Milos as they passed through the front entrance and into the crowded lobby of the ornate theater. "I hope it's not just to see a concert."

"This way," said Milos. "Come."

She followed him from the lobby into the theater, where, in a few minutes, the show would be starting. Then he led her right up onto the stage. Even though Allie knew that no one could see her, she still felt uncomfortable on a stage, facing an audience of thousands.

"You have practiced soul-surfing, and have gotten better at it," said Milos, "but now, with so many people packed into one place, you can really use it!"

Milos turned to face the audience, and looked up to the highest seats way up in the back of the balcony. The nosebleed seats, Allie always called them.

"Tell me," said Milos, "how fast can you surf from here to the balcony and back?"

Allie smiled. "Faster than you!" Although she knew it probably wasn't true.

"Then you can try to beat me." Milos squinted up at the balcony, then pointed. "Do you see the usher at very back?"

Allie looked up to the center aisle between the highest seats. The soft focus and muted colors of the living world made it difficult to see, but she did pick out an usher guiding people to their seats up there. "So he's our target?"

"Yes. The first one to surf all the way up there, tap the usher on the shoulder, and come back to the stage, wins."

"And no cheating!" said Allie.

"How could I cheat?"

"You're not allowed to jump from the orchestra up to the mezzanine--we both have to go out the back of the theater, into the lobby, and surf our way up the stairs."

"Fair enough," said Milos. "Are you ready?"

"Are you?"

"Ready, set, GO!"

Allie took off, making a calculated move, by jumping into a security guard that was a little closer to Milos than to her, figuring that Milos would start with him. Sure enough, Allie felt Milos trying to push his way into the guard, but couldn't because Allie was already there. It put Allie in an early lead.

She went from the guard, to a tall old man, to a short woman with big hair, to a baby, to some guy who Allie could sense didn't want to be there.

She was already out in the lobby, and lingered in the aggravated man just long enough to locate the stairs, before bounding out to the next person. Up the staircase to the mezzanine, person to person, body to body until she reached the balcony. She had no idea where Milos was, and she didn't even know who her host was now--all she could sense was that this person needed to use the bathroom.

She had to get her bearings before she hopped to the next person--she had to spot the usher. Now that she was back in the theater, she was right in front of the steep aisle leading all the way up to the seats that nearly touched the roof. The usher was halfway up that aisle, leading a man to his seat. Allie launched herself out of the full-bladdered fleshie, and surfed through two more people, and right to the man the usher was escorting--

--But she couldn't get in because Milos was already there! He had used her own trick against her! Allie bounced off the man like rubber, and by the time she had skinjacked the next closest person, Milos's fleshie had already tapped the usher on the shoulder.

"Beat you!"