"Because," said Nick, "if you meant to steal it from me, you would have done it already. Besides, you don't strike me as the type. I think you're honorable. I think that's how you got to be in charge here. You probably overthrew some bully, and had everyone's support, because the kids here trusted you."
Isaiah smiled. "I took down a whole lot of bullies, actually." He didn't let the smile linger for long. "Honorable or not, you're trespassing."
"It's not trespassing if we stop the train, and ask for permission to pass." Isaiah was not impressed, so Nick added. "Besides, I have something you need."
"And what might that be?"
"News of the world," Nick told him. "News from the north." "I didn't think there was a north in Everlost," Isaiah said. "And anyway, whatever happens there don't matter to us."
Nick kept silent, waiting for Isaiah's curiosity to kick in. Finally Isaiah said, "What kind of news."
"Have you heard of Mary, the Sky Witch?"
Isaiah shrugged. "Sure I have--but it's just a story, everyone knows it's not true."
"That's where you're wrong." Then Nick told him everything he knew about Mary. How she had kept hundreds of younger kids from finding the light, and leaving Everlost. How Nick had freed them himself, right under her nose ... and how she was now gathering more Afterlights to mother, to pamper, to trap. This time, however, he had reason to believe that Mary was building herself an army.
"Did you give them coins?" Isaiah asked. "Is that how you freed them?"
"You know about the coins?"
Isaiah nodded. "We all had them once, but lost them, or tossed them. Most of the kids here don't know what they're for, but some of us do." He became thoughtful for a moment. "I'd like to think we'll find them again. When we're truly ready to move on."
"Maybe there's a whole bucketful waiting for you." And that's all Nick said about it. Something told him that freeing the kids of Atlanta was best left for another day.
"There may come a time when everyone in Everlost will have to take sides," Nick told Isaiah. "Can I count on you if I need you?"
"If there's a side to choose, I'll choose it when the time comes," Isaiah said, keeping a stern poker face. "But right now, you can count on me to let you pass through Atlanta safely."
Nick nodded respectfully. "Thank you."
Isaiah prepared to rise, thinking their meeting of the minds was over--but Nick wasn't quite done.
"One more thing," Nick said. "Because I've heard rumors ... Maybe you could tell me if they're true."
Isaiah smiled. It was unguarded, uncalculated. It was genuine. "So what would you like to know?"
Nick cleared his throat, and tried to figure the best way to word the question. In the end he decided to just be direct.
"What do you know about 'The Ripper'?"
Isaiah's expression was stony. He took a moment before answering as if he had to control some emotion before allowing himself to speak. "I know what they say about him. Not sure if I believe it all, but I don't want to find out."
"Tell me what they say."
Isaiah gripped the arms of his chair as he spoke. "They call him Zach the Ripper. They say he was a bad seed when he was alive, and even worse afterward. Evil to the core, and dumb as a post. They say he hates the living so much, he reaches into the living world and pulls their hearts right out of their bodies."
"Ecto-ripping!" Nick said, not sure whether he was more amazed or horrified.
"They say he can pull anything out of the living world and into Everlost ... but that kind of ability, it can make a person crazy."
Nick nodded. He had known a spirit called the Haunter. Ecto-ripping was just one of his powers. He might have been insane, or simply corrupted by his power from the inside out. Regardless, he was darkly evil, and had imprisoned Nick in a brine-filled barrel, where he might have stayed until the end of time, had things been different. The thought of facing another Afterlight like the Haunter made him shiver.
"There's more," Isaiah said, but then he hesitated, as if he was afraid to even speak it aloud. "People say the Ripper can also reach right inside an Afterlight, and pull stuff out, too. And when he does, the wound doesn't heal ... and whatever he takes ... it don't grow back."
"That's impossible." Nick knew enough about Everlost to know Afterlight "flesh" wasn't like living flesh at all. Wounds were bloodless, and zipped closed instantly. "You can't hurt an Afterlight."
"Maybe it's just a story," said Isaiah. "But maybe not."