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She handed the tissue to Nick "There," she said "Maybe you can use it to wipe off all that chocolate ailing your face" Then she added, "Sir"

Nick looked at the tissue in his hand, thinking it would take a lot et rid of his particular skin condition "I'onna tell me about your war?"

Nick considered how to answer her "What do you know about Mary, the Sky Witch?"

Zin looked at Nick, then to Johnnie-O, then back to Nick again "Who?" She looked to Kudzu, as if the dog ed his tail

Nick sighed, pretending to be exasperated, but in truth he was relieved that she had never heard of Mary It would o," Nick said "I'll tell you all about Mary on the way"

Just then, Johnnie-O finally touched his lip and said, "Hey, where's my Camel? What happened to my Camel?"

"What's he talkin' about? I don't see no stinkin' ca, you half-wit to to take one last look at the Challenger Without the rickety scaffold, there was nothing at all to mask the bald-faced fact that the shuttle was fixed inon the invisible reater force than gravity It could hold a thousand-ton spacecraft in the air, and could slowly turn a kid to chocolate

"What'll I do without my Camel?" whined Johnnie-O "Maybe Zin can rip you a nicotine patch," said Nick He had already begun to consider quite a few other things Zin s he wasn't ready to share with anyone--at least not yet

"I wouldn't rip you the time of day," Zin said to Johnnie-O, and added "sir," as snidely as she could

"Prob'ly because you can't tell time," Johnnie-O spat back

Nick tried to keep his laughter to himself Clearly Johnnie-O and Zin were a match made in heaven, so he let the behind the great spacecraft that stood in patient anticipation, forever pointing toward the stars

PART TWO

Dancing with the Deadlie

In her book Everything Mary Says Is Wrong, Allie the Outcast has this to say about the cri with all the other so-called 'criminal arts,' are not criminal at all when in the hands of so theative spin on things beyond her control"

Chapter 8 Treasures of the Flesh

The living world was habit-for to a skinjacker There was no question about that Allie tried to li to the times she absolutely had to, but she only had soworld was hard to resist, and got harder each tiirl she now skinjacked was about her age, ht shoes, bad teeth, and acne She was not someone you'd particularly notice if she suddenly becairl

Allie had skinjacked her in a music store, and now stood a block away at a newsstand, on the sinia Allie's purpose was research With all the ti world, she had lost track of things Who had won the last two World Series? What was the state of global war? What movies had she missed and what bands were at the top of the charts? This was the reason for today's skinjacking That's what she told Mikey That's what she told herself

So she stood at the newsstand, scouring various newspapers and azines, but as she did, she found herself co world What interested her s she could feel in this borrowed body The consciousness of the girl ned it had been easily pushed down intoAllie to luxuriate in her senses An unexpected heat wave had rolled into Western Virginia, and the hu, onderful to Allie Feeling the war uncomfortable in a very hus that Everlost denied her

And hunger! Allie had no idea how long it had been since this girl had eaten, but she was certainly hungry--her sto, yeasty aroled as a customer opened the door, and the smell became so intense for a moment, it could have lifted Allie off her feet She didn't dare go in; how coe in cookies and pastries? For all she knew the girl was diabetic or had a deathly allergy to nuts She had to reht