him mad, or he'll turn you into chocolate chips or something.'
Nick cleared his throat twice. He was nervous, and whenever he was nervous his throat clogged with chocolate.
'Afterlights of Atlanta,' Nick began. 'I come in friendship… and to prove it, I would like to present to you Zinnia the Ripper!'
'Zinnia?' said some kid in the crowd. 'Like the flower?'
'Shut yer trap!' said Zin.
Nick pushed on. 'I know you've all heard bad things about the ripper-just like you've heard bad things about me. Well, I'm here to set you straight. The ripper's not going to rip anyone's guts out-'
'I could if I wanted to,' said Zin, and Kudzu seconded it with a bark and growl.
'Right,' Nick said, throwing her a secret scowl. 'But the ripper uses her powers for good.' Nick took a moment to let that sink in, then he continued. 'We all know that there aren't many things that cross into Everlost-and when things do cross, they get picked up by finders, who charge an arm and a leg for everything. Well, forget about finders- because if there's something you want, the ripper can get it for you!'
Nick knew he was sounding like an infomercial, but at least he had their undivided attention. He glanced to Isaiah, whose arms were folded, not yet impressed by the show.
'I need a volunteer!' Nick said.
No one came forward at first, then a young girl was pushed out in front by her friends. She looked terrified. Johnnie-O escorted her the rest of the way, and she stared bug-eyed at his huge hand which was gripping her elbow.
'Don't worry,' Nick said to the girl quietly, 'this is a good thing.' Then he spoke loudly enough for the crowd to hear. 'Tell me something you're longing for. Something you truly feel you deserve, that you've never had here in Everlost.'
The girl looked up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. 'A hot fudge sundae?'
Zin laughed. 'Y'already got one! He's standing right in front a' ya!'
Only Charlie and Johnnie-O laughed. Everyone else was waiting for Nick to turn Zin into a pile of chocolate chips. Nick turned to Isaiah. 'Where in living Atlanta could we find a hot fudge sundae?'
'I know just the place.'
Isaiah led them to the World of Coca-Cola, one of Atlanta's biggest tourist attractions-a veritable cathedral of carbonated caffeination. Inside was a restaurant that featured all things Coca-Cola-such as ice-cream floats made with Coke instead of root beer, and Coke syrup sundaes.
The crowd of Afterlights followed Isaiah, Nick, and Zin right through the outer wall, and into the cafe. The place was packed with the living-there was a field trip of students all in neon yellow shirts laying siege to the counter, and ice cream was being dished up by four soda jerks who couldn't move fast enough.
'The ripper will now ecto-rip a sundae right before your very eyes!' said Nick, sounding like a carnival barker, and enjoying it.
The crowd of Afterlights all craned their necks to see, and shifted their feet to keep from sinking. The effect was a weird bobbing of several hundred heads.
Nick zeroed in on a silver bowl that had just been filled with three scoops of strawberry ice cream. The soda- jerk was about to douse it in Coke syrup, proving that some combinations really ought to be illegal.
'Quick,' he said to Zin, 'rip it before it's too late.'
Zin shoved her ripping-hand forward into the living world, and the crowd of Afterlights buzzed with excitement. In one smooth move, Zin grabbed the ice-cream bowl, and tugged it out of the living world into Everlost. The soda jerk never saw it happen-and when he emptied his syrup ladle, Coke syrup spilled all over the marble counter. He looked at the counter for a moment in dumb confusion, then he glanced at the other soda jerks and said, 'Okay, who's the joker?'
'It just disappeared!' said a living redheaded kid sitting at the counter in front of him. 'It disappeared right into thin air! A hand reached out of nowhere and took it!'
'Shut up, Ralphy,' said the kid next to him, and that was that. The soda jerk sighed, and made another sundae, not caring enough about the mystery to unravel it.
Zin, with the ripped bowl of ice cream in her hands, held it out to the girl, who was already licking her lips.
'No,' said Nick. 'Not yet.'
Then he held his hand over the ice cream, squeezed his hand into a fist, and dribbled a hefty amount of chocolate over the ice cream.
'Ew!' shouted several voices in the crowd, sounding both delighted and disgusted at the same time.
'There,' Nick said. 'A hot fudge sundae.'
The girl and her friends didn't wait for spoons to be ripped-they devoured it with their hands.
'So,' said Isaiah, 'the Chocolate Ogre isn't a monster… he's a thief.'
Nick didn't deny it. He had thought long and hard about what it meant to rip things from the living world, but he ultimately decided that the needs of Everlost outweighed the needs of the living. 'Ever hear of Robin Hood?' he said to the crowd, as much as to Isaiah.
'Sure-he robbed from the rich and gave to the poor.'
'Well,' said Nick, 'the living are rich, whether they know it or not. The way I see it, we deserve a small share of the world that was stolen from us.'
Isaiah didn't say he agreed, but he didn't disagree, either.
'Okay,' said Nick. 'Who's next?'
Almost every hand went up, with shouts of 'Me! Me! Me!'
Nick turned to Isaiah. 'Get me a list of ten reasonable requests, and we'll see what we can do.'***
Nick counted on Isaiah to weed out the needy from the greedy, and Nick wasn't disappointed.
'About half of them wanted you to rip them a pet,' Isaiah said, when he brought the list of requests to the parlor car. He glanced at Kudzu, who had busied himself licking the chocolate off everything in sight-poison for a living dog, but not a problem for an Afterlight canine.
'I was worried that might happen,' Nick said. 'What did you tell them?'
'I told them that ripping dogs and cats right out of their lives wouldn't be right.'
'I only done it once,' Zin told him, glancing at Nick a little sheepishly. 'Kudzu here was bein' beaten by his owner. Had to save him from that, and rippin' him was the only way.'
Hearing his name, the dog came over, and rolled onto his back, waiting for a belly rub. Isaiah obliged. 'Beatin' a dog! You shoulda ripped his owner's heart clear out while you were at it.'
'I did!' said Zin. Then she waffled. 'Well, I almost did. I mean, I woulda done it, but the dog was watchin'. Couldn't let him see that, could I?'
Kudzu purred like a kitten as Isaiah rubbed his belly. 'Sure is one funny-lookin' pooch.' Then he stood up and handed Nick the list. 'Here you go-ten reasonable requests. Let's see what the girl can do.'
The requests that Isaiah passed along were all well-chosen, and although it took some time, they were doable. A saxophone and a guitar for two kids who hadn't played since the day they each crossed over. The sixth Harry Potter book, which, for some reason, was the only one that never crossed into Everlost. A Bible-which often did cross-but the request was for one in Portugese. Zin ripped an art set for a girl who had brushes, but no paint, a big sixty-four box of Crayolas for the younger kids, and a pair of glasses for a kid whose eyesight was as bad in Everlost as it was in life. The remaining requests were for desperately needed sports equipment. Nick was surprised that Isaiah didn't pass along any more food orders, but as it turned out, Isaiah had his reasons.
Once all ten requests had been fulfilled, Isaiah called Nick in for a private meeting. Isaiah's quarters were comfortable but modest, behind an unassuming storefront in Underground Atlanta. He lived no better than any of the kids in his care, although he did have a bit more room. There was a bed that was probably just for show, since most Afterlights-especially leaders-didn't sleep. There was a Formica table from the 1950s, an orange leather sofa probably from the seventies, and several fragile-looking round-backed chairs that looked like something Nick's grandmother might have owned. Nick made a mental note to have Zin rip Isaiah a respectable furniture set.
Nick sat on the sofa, figuring it would be the least likely to be left with permanent chocolate stains, and Isaiah sat across from him in one of the grandma chairs.
'I've let you have your fun,' Isaiah said. 'Now I want to know what you want from us.'
