Allie looked up to the center aisle between the highest seats. The soft focus and muted colors of the living world made it difficult to see, but she did pick out an usher guiding people to their seats up there. “So he’s our target?”

“Yes. The first one to surf all the way up there, tap the usher on the shoulder, and come back to the stage, wins.”

“And no cheating!” said Allie.

“How could I cheat?”

“You’re not allowed to jump from the orchestra up to the mezzanine—we both have to go out the back of the theater, into the lobby, and surf our way up the stairs.”

“Fair enough,” said Milos. “Are you ready?”

“Are you?”

“Ready, set, GO!”

Allie took off, making a calculated move, by jumping into a security guard that was a little closer to Milos than to her, figuring that Milos would start with him. Sure enough, Allie felt Milos trying to push his way into the guard, but couldn’t because Allie was already there. It put Allie in an early lead.

She went from the guard, to a tall old man, to a short woman with big hair, to a baby, to some guy who Allie could sense didn’t want to be there.

She was already out in the lobby, and lingered in the aggravated man just long enough to locate the stairs, before bounding out to the next person. Up the staircase to the mezzanine, person to person, body to body until she reached the balcony. She had no idea where Milos was, and she didn’t even know who her host was now—all she could sense was that this person needed to use the bathroom.

She had to get her bearings before she hopped to the next person—she had to spot the usher. Now that she was back in the theater, she was right in front of the steep aisle leading all the way up to the seats that nearly touched the roof. The usher was halfway up that aisle, leading a man to his seat. Allie launched herself out of the full-bladdered fleshie, and surfed through two more people, and right to the man the usher was escorting—

—But she couldn’t get in because Milos was already there! He had used her own trick against her! Allie bounced off the man like rubber, and by the time she had skinjacked the next closest person, Milos’s fleshie had already tapped the usher on the shoulder.

“Beat you!”

“Not yet!” said Allie, tapping the usher as well.