Chapter 29

“You turned me,” he said. “That much I know. I was like them and now I’m like you.” Again his lip quivered. “Well, mostly like you. In any case, if you turned me then you can keep me, uh, turned, right?”

I looked at Dara and she looked at me, and we both knew what our answer had to be. Because, if the situation was reversed, we would’ve tried anything to make sure that we didn’t turn back. So, I replied, “Yes, we can keep you like . . . like us.” Give or take.

“We even have extra wigs and gowns and makeup back on the island.”

He coughed. “Um, pass. But I will help. If I can. And you keep me, well, me.”

“But can you help us?” Dara asked. “Do you remember someone else like Creature here, someone who issued commands to you?”

Ricky scrunched his eyes closed, which wasn’t at all easy to do, let me tell you. Clearly, he was trying to remember something, anything that could help us. When he opened his eyes again, he was still frowning, but not nearly as much. “Ugh.”