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CHAPTER 29 Teed for Two
Little Da
"Get out of me!"
--I can't!--
"Get out of me!"
--Just calm down!--
"Mom! Make her get out of me!"
--Will you stop saying things like that out loud! They already think you've gone crazy!--
Da
"Da
Allie fought against the boy, and regained control of his body long enough to say, "Nothing's wrong with me. Everything's fine," but Da
It was all Allie's fault. If she hadn't fallen asleep in his body, and skinjacked him for seven whole hours, none of this would have happened.
She should have tried to peel out of him the second she woke up that morning in her parents' house, but no, instead she asked her parents to feed her, and over a bowl of Apple Jacks they told her that she was still alive.
Alive!
The news was such a sudden shock that it not only echoed in her own mind, it also woke Da
At the time, Allie was still reeling from her own revelation. She was alive. Did that mean she could live again? Could she--dare she even think it--could she skinjack herself? Oblivious to what was going on, Da
But the worst was yet to come.
It was the element of surprise that gave a skinjacker the advantage. A person didn't know how to defend themselves against a skinjacking, or how to fight to retain control of his or her own body--especially against a seasoned skinjacker like Allie. But fleshies learn quickly. Each time Da
"I'm fine!" Allie insisted, in control of Da
His mother began to wail, his father grabbed him and restrained him, and Allie withdrew, trying to figure out a new approach to this unhappy situation. She pulled way back, allowing Da
"It's all right, Da
Da
--Da
No! he thought back to her. No, no, no! But at least now he wasn't shouting it out loud.
--Bad things will happen if you don't listen to me--
He didn't answer her right away. Then he thought, What kind of bad things?
--They'll take you away from your parents and put you in a hospital--
No! My parents won't let anyone do that!
--What do you think they mean when they said they'll get you help?--
Da
--I didn't mean to get stuck in here, Da
I don't want to be your friend! You're a girl! I don't want a girl in my head!
Great, thought Allie, that's what I get for skinjacking a seven-year-old.
I heard that! And now not even her thoughts were private. This was going to take a lot of getting used to.
--Think of me as your guardian angel, Da
You're an angel?
--Yes, I am-- she told him, seizing onto the one idea that might make this whole thing work,--and if you want things to be okay, you have to pretend like it already is okay. You have to pretend like I'm not here--And then she made a decision.-- I promise not to take over your body without your permission ... if you promise to calm down and act normal--
Okay, thought Da
"Da
Da
His mother hugged him. Allie was impressed that he pulled it off.-- Very good-- thought Allie.-- They'll probably still take you to see doctors, but if you act normal, everything will be okay--
Will they give me shots?
--I don't think so--
Good, thought Da
Sure, thought Allie. Why not. She tried to tell herself that she'd be okay with this--being a backseat driver to a second-grader, but the reality of it filled her with despair. Everlost was gone--she couldn't see it anymore, couldn't feel it. It was invisible to her, just as it was to Da
Don't be sad, Allie.
And so, for Da
CHAPTER 30 A Place on the Mantel
Five hundred miles northeast of Memphis, another skinjacker paced in the Hindenburg's Starboard Promenade.
"Patience, Milos," Mary said. "Patience is what we need right now."
"But why must I spend my days ru