“Can’t you just take it easy?” Allie yelled to her, in her mind. “It’s not like I’m going to hurt you. I just need to borrow you a little.”

—Steal me, you mean.—

“Stealing,” said Allie, “means that I’m not giving it back.”

—No, stealing is taking something that doesn’t belong to you without permission, and you don’t have my permission!—

Their body limped and jerked along the Atlantic City boardwalk as the two willful spirits fought for dominance. Allie really didn’t have the time or patience for this.

“We could do this the easy way,” said Allie, “or we could do this the hard way.” But, like Allie, this girl was a fighter. “All right then, you asked for it!”

Allie forced her eyes closed, and concentrated all her will on the task of usurping … possessing … controlling. Allie imagined her spirit like a hammer pounding, pounding, pounding until the jogger girl was no more than a tremor in the tips of her fingers.

When she opened her eyes, her body was no longer jerking around. It was Allie’s to use as she pleased—and although she didn’t particularly like the idea of being a skin-jacker, it was a means to an end. Allie had to admit that being in this girl’s body was tempting. She was attractive, and in good shape, even if she was a few years older. It would be easy to stay here, and make this body home. Were Allie a different kind of person, she might have done it, but Allie’s strength of will also gave her plenty of resistence to temptation. This girl was merely a vessel to transport her home, nothing more. The jogger girl was wrong—Allie was not stealing her body, she wasn’t even borrowing it—she was renting it—because the girl would get paid for her trouble. Her payment would be the absolute knowledge that there was more to the universe than living eyes could see.

Allie found a set of keys in her pocket, and the key chain said “Porsche.”

“Where’s your car?” Allie asked the girl, but she was still being uncooperative, responding in a whole slew of foul thoughts. “Fine,” said Allie. “I’ll find it myself.” Allie began searching one hotel parking structure after another, hitting the alarm button every few seconds. It took a while, but finally she heard the car alarm going off.

The biggest problem now was that Allie did not know how to drive.

Had she lived, she most certainly would have had her learner’s permit by now, but things being what they were, when she started the Porsche, it was the first time she had ever turned a key in a car ignition. It was also a stick shift, and although Allie knew something about gears and the working of a clutch, she had no practical experience. Just pulling out of the parking lot became a nerve-racking experience of sudden starts, stops, and loudly grinding gears.

—My car! My car!—cried the jogger girl from deep inside.—What are you doing to my car?—