Everlost by Neal Shusterman Read Free Book Online Page B

just have to kill us,” Allie said snidely, and added, “Oh, sorry, guess you can’t.”
    â€œTurn their pockets,” Johnnie-O ordered, and his goons reached into Nick and Allie’s pants pockets and turned them inside out. Mostly they got lint, but Nick had a couple of things he had forgotten were in there. There was that old coin, which must have been a nickel, although the face had worn off. The tough kids weren’t interested in it, and flicked it back at him. He caught it and returned it to his pocket.
    It was the other object in Nick’s pocket that got their attention.
    â€œLook at this,” said a funny-looking kid with dark purple lips, like he had died while sucking on a grape jawbreaker. He held up a hard little object that had fallen out of Nick’s pocket, which Nick quickly recognized as a piece of what is commonly referred to as “ABC” gum, wrapped up in its original wrapper. His mother always complained that he left his chewed gum in his pockets and it got all over the clothes in the wash.
    The purple-mouthed kid held the hard, cold wad of gum and looked over at Johnnie-O, hesitating.
    â€œHand it over,” said Johnnie-O. His voice was commanding for a boy of his size. He opened up his huge, beefy hand.
    Still Purple-puss hesitated. “We can cut it into pieces,” he suggested.
    â€œI said hand it over.” Johnnie-O held his upturned palm right before the boy. You didn’t say no to a palm that big. Purple-puss gingerly put the small, round wad into Johnnie-O’s hand.
    â€œNext time I have to ask you twice,” Johnnie-O said, “you’re going down.”
    Purple-puss’s Adam’s apple bobbed nervously, like a walnut in his throat. Or a jawbreaker.
    Then Allie and Nick watched in utter disbelief as Johnnie-O peeled the paper from the sticky piece of gum and popped it in his mouth.
    â€œOh, gross,” said Nick.
    In response, Raggedy Andy punched him in the stomach. Nick doubled over out of reflex, only realizing a second later that it didn’t hurt.
How annoying it must be for bullies,
he thought,
to not be able to inflict pain.
This place must be a bully’s version of hell.
    Johnnie-O worked the gum until it was soft again. He closed his eyes for a moment as he chewed. “A lot of flavor still left in this one,” he said. “Cinnamon.” Then he looked at Nick. “You always waste your gum like that?” he said. “I mean, when you were living?”
    Nick only shrugged. “I chew until I can’t taste it anymore.”
    Johnnie-O just kept on chewing. “You ain’t got no tastebuds.”
    â€œCan I have it next?” said Purple-puss.
    â€œDon’t be gross,” Johnnie-O said.
    Allie laughed at that, and Johnnie-O threw her a sharpgaze, followed by a second gaze that was more calculated.
    â€œYou’re not the prettiest thing, are you?” he said.
    Her lips pulled tightly together in anger, and she knew that made her less attractive, which only made her angrier. “I’m pretty enough,” she said. “I’m pretty in my own way.” Which was true. No one had ever called Allie a ravishing beauty, but she knew very well that she wasn’t unattractive, either. What made her madder still was that she had to justify herself and the way she looked to this big-handed creep, who chewed other people’s used gum. “On a scale of one to ten,” Allie said, “I suppose I’m a seven. But you, on the other hand, I estimate you to be about a three.” She could tell that it stung, mainly because it was true.
    â€œSeven’s not worth lookin’ at,” he said. “And the way I see it, we’re not going to have to look at each other much longer, are we?”
    â€œWhat’s that supposed to mean?” said Nick, who did not like the sound of it any more than Allie did.
    Johnnie-O crossed his arms, making his