"You're the weirdest boy I've ever met--and believe me, every single one of them is weird, so that's saying a lot."

Once I realized what I'd just said, I wanted to smack my face into a brick wal . My mouth sure liked to run when it should have been my feet running.

He laughed. "At least you're honest about your feelings."

"They say it's a virtue." I turned around to walk back to my house. It was time to leave. "Do me a favor and leave me alone. I just know you're going to go al Ted Bundy on my ass any second." I looked around me, hoping one of the neighbors would flick their porch lights on and burst out holding a shotgun. I felt pretty sure I wasn't that lucky.

"Are you afraid of me?" Wil asked, jogging to catch up to me.

"Are you passive-aggressively trying to tel me that I should be afraid of you, too? Not just 'nervous'?" I was only four houses away from home now.

"No, but have you ever heard the saying 'The brave may not live forever, but the cautious never live at al '?"

"No, I haven't heard that, but I'l keep it in mind. Thanks for the proverbial insight, my stalker friend."

He threw an arm across my chest to stop me and looked ahead, staring coldly into the dark. His body stiffened, but something in my gut told me that it wasn't because of the chil y air.

I turned my head to fol ow his gaze, but I saw nothing in the street ahead. A breeze scattered a handful of already fal en leaves. I smel ed something strange, like eggs and black smoke. "Do you smel that? What's wrong?"

He stepped around me to put himself between me and wherever he was staring. "You can't see into the Grim yet."

"See what? The grim what?" I peeked over his shoulder. I thought I saw a shadow cross my path, but when I blinked, nothing was there. It was too dark.

His gaze was fixed on something in the blackness. "It's not time! Stand down. I don't care if it's after midnight--she cannot be touched, unless you're prepared for the consequences."

He was clearly not talking to me. I was suddenly very aware that though I knew his name, I had no idea who he was. He could have been some drug addict. I had never seen anyone on anything other than pot or alcohol, not even shrooms, let alone anything worse, so I had no idea what to expect. My body tensed with fear. "What are you on? I've had enough. I'm leaving now."

I started to turn back to my house.

"No, wait," Wil said.

I heard the rumble again, only this time it was louder. That was not a car engine. Was it a growl? Was there a dog--a big dog--out there in the dark? My mind raced with thoughts of a rabid-dog attack. If the dog was close enough for me to hear it, then I should have been able to see it.

Another growl came, and then very heavy footsteps--like T.-rex-shaking-the-water-cup- Jurassic-Park-style heavy

footsteps.

"What is that?" I asked, trembling, my eyes searching the dark. I felt like I'd fal en right into a real-life version of one of my nightmares. My head whirled dizzily, and fear made my stomach churn.

Hot breath, reeking like roadkil , blasted my face from an unseen source, and I spun around, gagging. "Oh my God!" I groaned, covering my mouth.

"Come here," Wil said slowly, reaching back for me without taking a step. The look of worry on his face that I'd noticed earlier had deepened. Now he looked afraid, and that scared me a thousand times more.

"No way!" I cried, reeling away from him.

His fear spun into frustration as I pul ed away. "Don't scream. You'l make him attack."

Panic set in. "Get away!" I shrieked, and tried to run, but Wil grabbed my arm. I twisted and pul ed, but his grip was amazingly strong. It was like trying to drag an eighteenwheeler; I couldn't get him to give even an inch. How could anyone be that strong? I started to pry at his fingers, but they were like solid rock.

"It's time to end this game," he said, sending stabs of ice down my spine. He yanked me to his chest effortlessly and pressed his palm to my forehead.

Bright white light flashed, blinding me. Every inch of my skul felt as if it would explode from the pressure. The ground felt as if it were rocking and rol ing at my feet, and a cruel wind--I didn't even know where it came from--punished me violently, beating at me from al directions. My knees began to sway, unable to hold my weight, but Wil held me up so I wouldn't fal . The light vanished just as abruptly as it had appeared as he took his hand away and released me. I staggered back and fel on my tailbone, my vision blurring--

but through the haze I could have sworn I saw shadowy wings towering over me, spreading wide. I blinked and saw only Wil 's blurry form where I thought wings had just been. Every muscle in my body ached as if I'd just run a mile, but I was energized. There was a rushing sensation through the air, through the ground, and every inch of my body tingled with tiny prickles of electricity, as if I were moving a hundred miles an hour, even though I hadn't moved an inch. The air around me was sticky for a moment, sticky and smoky, and I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again to clear my vision. After a heartbeat, the haziness faded. I stared confusedly at the pavement, rubbing my forehead.

"El ie!"

My eyes suddenly focused and I saw Wil again. My vision was crisp and the world had brightened. I looked past Wil , marveling at how easily I could see through the darkness, distinguishing every leaf on my neighbors' bushes, every groove in every shingle on their roofs.