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The Haunter looked at the stone for a moment, as if it held the wisdom of the world, then in one smooth motion, he hurled it at Nick "Catch it!" he said
Nick held up his hands, but the stone passed right through his chest, and hit the floor behind him! This wasn’t an Everlost stone, it was an artifact of the living world!
The Haunter laughed in his very-old-little-kid voice "Pick it up Bring it to me," he said
"How am I supposed to pick that up?"
"The same way I did," said the Haunter
Nick went to the stone, leaned down, and reached for it His fingers closed on it, but passed right through it, just as he knew they would He tried again, concentrating this tiht Nick He’ll point out how co us
Nick stood up and turned to the Haunter, anxious to just get on with it "I can’t," said Nick "I can’t pick up the stone"
"In that case," said the Haunter, "your lesson is over" Then he snapped his fingers, and there ca to do with the weather
The steel door behind theht of old wooden stairs caures wrapped froht for Nick Before he kneas happening, dark gloved hands lifted hi!"
"The price of failure," the Haunter said calmly, "is an eternity to think about it"
And then they turned Nick upside down, and plunged him headfirst into a pickle barrel that had crossed over into Everlost along with the building It was still full of slimy saltwater brine Then they slaed in salty, liquid darkness For a horrible instant, he thought he ht drown there, but realized he couldn’t The brine was in hih the place where his insides should be, it filled his mouth and nose, yet still he did not drown, and never would
Allie stared at the barrel paralyzed with disbelief, listening to Nick’s angry, ures nailed the lid on tight
So this hy no one ever returned from the Haunter How could she have been so stupid to take this risk? To make her friends take the risk? I did this to Nick, was all Allie could think I made him come here
Allie looked at all the other barrels Were those barrels full of others who failed the test, unable to die, yet unable to escape, left to pickle in their own thoughts for all time?
"The other boy next," the Haunter said
Lief shook his head "No No, I don’t want to! I just want to go"
"Bring o"
He looked at the faces of the kids around him, but they didn’t sees
"I don’t like this game," Lief cried "I don’t want to play"
"Let hio!" Allie demanded "What kind of le-toothed sain
"The stone"
With no choice, Lief went to the stone, and tried to lift it He grunted in frustration with each grasp, and Allie suddenly found herself thinking of that stupid arcade game, where a claw tried to scoop up a stuffed animal The claw almost always came up empty-handed And so did Lief
"Nooooo!"
The Haunter’s goons were on hiht theed into another barrel, kicking and screa brine across the floor, until they nailed on the lid Allie could hear his sobs froures pulled open the lid of a third barrel, and waited
"Bring me the stone," the Haunter said to Allie
Allie always prided herself on being cool in a crisis, and coure the angle here She had to think the you the stone, if you release my friends"
The Haunter did not aining position, yet still the Haunter said "Agreed Your friends for the stone"
So this was it, then She had brought theet theround It see, but she reached for it with the sa coal
Grabbing the stone was like trying to grab a shadow Her fingers passed through it again and again, and she found herself angry at the stone: a stubborn piece of the living world, refusing to admit that she existed "I Am!" She wanted to shout at it "I exist, and I WILL ain, and again
"Enough!" said the Haunter, and his goons advanced on her
Move you stupid stone, move!
Allie forced every ounce of her will to the tips of her fingers and closed theertips failed her
But this tioons stopped , and the Haunter stood up The entire world seeers
"Go on," the Haunter said
Allie reached for the stone one more tie that she had done it gave her an inkling of faith that she ain This tiertips but with both hands, and she tried to scoop it up in her palms