She crossed the street toward her home, not looking back at Mikey for fear that she might change her mind— but rushing headlong to her front door was not wise either. With the threat of sinking so very real, she needed someone who could carry her home safely.

Someone like the UPS man.

The brown truck turned onto the street, and stopped at a neighbor’s house. The deliveryman pulled a package from the back of the truck, and carried it toward the neighbor’s front door. Allie followed him, preparing to make her move before he rang the neighbor’s bell.

Skinjacking was not a pleasant sensation. It was like diving into water that was too cold, or stepping into a tub that was too hot. Even though Allie had gotten much better at it, the sudden sensation of flesh, and all that went with it, was always a shock. She took a moment to brace herself, then she stepped inside the UPS man—

—Three more hours—I should just quit—I can’t quit but I wish I could—three more hours—can’t quit—wife would be furious—but there’s got to be more work out there—I never should have taken this job—three more hours to go—

The chill of the air, the pumping of a heart, the sudden brightness—solidness—of the living world around her. She was in! The volume of his thoughts was painful—like they were being blasted through a megaphone.

—Three more hours—but wait—wait—I don’t feel right— what’s this? Who—huh—what—?

Allie quickly clamped her spirit down, taking control of his flesh, and at the same instant she forced his unsuspecting consciousness deep down into the limbic system—that primordial part of the human brain where consciousness retreated during the deepest of sleeps. It was easy to put him to sleep; he wasn’t all that conscious to begin with.

She turned back to Mikey, but he was invisible now, as she knew he would be. She was seeing through living eyes now, seeing only the things that living eyes could see. As long as she stayed inside the delivery man, Everlost would be hidden from her.

Once the initial shock of the skinjack had faded, she took a moment to enjoy it, luxuriating in the warmth of the sun on this warm June day. Even the heaviness of the package in her arms was a fine thing; yet another memory of the wonderful limitations of being alive.