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couldn’t make it all the way to the living world, but it made it to here. That’s why we have to stay in the forest. It doesn’t know about the forest. We’re safe here.”
    Nick could tell that Allie wasn’t convinced. He wasn’t convinced himself, but in light of their current predicament, suddenly anything seemed possible.
    â€œHow do you know all this?” Allie asked.
    â€œThe other kids who come through the forest. They tell stories.”
    â€œDid these kids actually
see
the McGill?” Allie asked.
    â€œNo one who’s ever seen it has escaped.”
    â€œHow convenient.”
    Nick released his breath, having held it for ten minutes with no ill effects. “Technically speaking,” Nick said, “there have always been monsters, or at least they were called that until people knew something better to call them. The giant squid. The megamouth shark. The anaconda.”
    â€œSee!” said Lief.
    Allie threw Nick a withering look. “Thank you Mr. Google. The next time I need some crucial information, I’ll type in some choice keywords.”
    â€œYeah,” said Nick. “I’m sure your keywords will all have four letters.”
    Allie turned back to Lief. “So, is this McGill a giant squid?”
    â€œI don’t know,” said Lief, “but whatever it is, it’s terrible.”
    â€œIt’s made-up,” insisted Allie.
    â€œYou don’t know everything!”
    â€œNo,” said Allie, “but now I’ve got all the time in the world, so I eventually will.”
    Nick had to admit that both Lief and Allie had their points. Lief’s stories reeked of exaggeration, but every story had some basis in truth. On the other hand, Allie had a practical view of things.
    â€œLief,” Nick asked, “has anyone who’s passed through here ever come back?”
    â€œNo,” Lief said. “They were all eaten by the McGill.”
    â€œOr they found a better place to be,” suggested Nick.
    â€œEither we stay here, or we get eaten by the McGill,” said Lief. “That’s why I’m staying here.”
    â€œWhat if there’s another choice?” said Nick. “If we’re not alive, but we’re not quite dead, then maybe …” Hepulled a coin out of his pocket—one of the few things that had come with him, along with those overly formal clothes he wore. “Maybe we’re like coins standing on their edge?”
    Allie considered this. “Meaning?”
    â€œMeaning, we might be able to shake things up a little, and find a way to come up heads.”
    â€œOr tails,” suggested Allie.
    â€œWhat are you
talking
about?” said Lief.
    â€œLife and death.” Nick flipped the coin, and slapped it down on the back of his palm, keeping it covered with his other hand, so none of them could see how it had landed. “Maybe—just maybe—we can find a way out of here. A way into the light at the end of the tunnel … or maybe even a path back to life.”
    It seemed the trees themselves held the thought, sifting it through their boughs, giving it resonance.
    â€œCould that be possible?” Allie asked, and looked to Lief.
    â€œI don’t know,” he told them.
    â€œSo the question is,” said Nick, “where do we go to find out?”
    â€œThere’s only one place I want to go,” said Allie. “Home.”
    Nick instinctively sensed that going home wouldn’t be a good idea—but just like Allie, he wanted to go home. He had to find out if his family had survived, or if they “got where they were going.” They were in Upstate New York, though; it was far from home.
    â€œI’m from Baltimore,” Nick said. “How about you?”
    â€œNew Jersey,” Allie said. “The southern tip.”
    â€œOkay. Then we head south from here, and keep an eyeout for others who can help us. Someone