Wuftoom by Mary G. Thompson Page A

dodged the waves of students, knocking into several, and burst through the front doors.
    Jordan fought hard. There were no words, but there was anger. It boiled through Jordan’s body, and Evan barely maintained control.
    He ran into the street, as fast as Jordan’s strong, athletic legs would take him. Rain pelted his body, but he ignored it. The houses got thinner and the yards got bigger, until the yards turned into fields.
    He was soaked through, but he didn’t stop until he reached a tall chain-link fence with a faded yellow sign that said PRIVATE KEEP OUT.
    Evan stared through the fence and across the field. He was breathing heavily from running, and from the fight that was going on inside.
    He wasn’t sure exactly where the goo was, and the field was bigger than he remembered. The rain had changed everything. Pools of mud and water filled every dip. Had he walked straight into the middle, or had he veered off to the side? The grass was tall, and anything in it was hidden from view. But he didn’t have time to waste. He had to just go look for it. He grabbed on to the fence and started to pull himself up.
    But Jordan’s body was different from Evan’s. He was too big, not skilled enough at climbing. The water didn’t help him. His feet slipped from the wires and he fell back to the ground, nearly twisting his ankle and covering himself in mud.
    Evan thought back to when he had climbed the fence as himself. He tried to remember how it had felt. How his hands had moved and where his feet had planted. He tried to expand inside Jordan. He had been controlling Jordan’s movements, but his primary focus had been on Jordan’s mind. Now he moved down, into the rest of Jordan. He pushed his focus into Jordan’s muscle and bone, replacing Jordan’s feelings with his own.
    He jumped onto the fence again. This time he was able to hang on. He wasn’t as good as when he’d been Evan, but he clambered up and dropped heavily over the top into the mud.
    Suddenly, Jordan turned back to the fence. He grabbed on to it with both hands and began pulling himself up again, then slipped and dropped back to the ground.
    Evan pushed back into Jordan’s head, willing to take control again. But Jordan fought him more than ever. Their minds thrashed around each other. Without real muscles, there was only will. And Jordan’s fear rose to Evan’s desperation.
    I’m going to be eaten!
Evan thought.
I’m going to die!
    Something came back from Jordan, but there were no words. It was a scream in Evan’s mind that vibrated through him into their shared skull.
    Jordan’s body turned toward the field, back toward the fence, then back again. He stopped with one hand on the fence and the other reaching away from it, like two giants were pulling on his tiny arms. His face was tightened in a grimace.
    I am not going to die!
Evan thought. He threw himself, whatever he was, against his rival. They knocked around inside the body, mixing with each other in a vapor of steaming souls.
    Jordan fought hard, but Evan had more experience. Just as Evan would have no chance in a basketball game, Jordan was no match for an experienced body stealer. Evan turned and tore and thrust Jordan away.
    He let go of the fence and ran the body through the grass, faster than he had ever run. In the middle of the field, he turned and looked wildly around him. Where was it? He ran to the left, then to the right. Where was the puddle deeper? Where was the mud pink?
    Jordan was still pushing. Evan couldn’t hold on for much longer. Then he saw it. A faint pink glimmer to the left and back, toward where the field met the forest. He ran to it and nearly pitched over the edge but pulled back from it just in time, staring down into the pit.
    How could he
do
this? No one deserved this!
But they’ll eat me!
he thought.
They’ll eat me alive!
    Jordan pushed, thrusting Evan down into the body. Jordan