Everlost chapters 21-25

Nick and Lief are still being held in the Chiming Chamber of the McGill on it's ship. However, Nick gets an idea. If all of the kids get themselves tangled up, then they will be farthur from the ground and be able to escape through the hatch in the roof. So, Nick starts to spread the plan and soon all of the kids in the chamber are really tangled up and are close to the hatch in the roof. Nick escapes from the chamber. Meanwhile, the McGill learns of the new situation in the chamber, but decides to let them be. Nick decides to hide in the McGill's treasure chamber and tries to figure out what to do. However, things take a surprising turn as Allie, exploring for a means to forward her plan, and the McGill enter the treasure chamber as well and talk. Nick manages to hide himself in a closet without being seen by the McGill, but Allie knows he's there. Allie and the McGill talk for a while and then the McGill leaves, and Nick and Allie have a heated arguement. Allie thinks that Nicks escape will be discovered and that her plan will be blown while Nick says that he can't sit around and wait for ages when he can do something useful. Finally, they work out a plan for Nick to secretly escape the ship back to the mainland by stowing away on a lifeboat of one of the McGill's raiding parties. Nick hides until he can escape and Allie makes her plan. She plants a false fourtune in one of the fortune cookies that states that if the McGill returns to where he was defeated before in Atlantic City, then this time he will win. Allie is hoping that they afterlights in Atlantic City will be able to defeat the McGill again. The next day, Nick gets away to the mainland and makes his way to the only source of help: Mary. Meanwhile, the McGill has caught on to the fact the Allie was lying to him about being able to teach him how to skinjack, so he chimes her. Now, the McGill had a thousand souls and since he had found a fourtune that said "a thousand cowardly souls is worth a brave man's life", he thought that he could get his life back if he exchanged the 1000 kids. However, he also finds Allies fake fortune and heads to Atlantic City to make the exchange for his life. Nick meanwhile convinces Mary to come with him to help free the McGill's prisonners. Now when the McGill arrives in Atlantic City he finds that it is deserted and that the tough afterlights are gone.

If I were and afterlight in Everlost in Allie's position, I'd be very nervous about how this whole thing was playing out. I also think that Allie is being sort of a hero, trying to get Nick not to do anything while she gets everyone out. I would have supported what Nick had in mind, not argue with him. In fact, I might have tried to stage a revolt or mutiny of prisonners against the McGill and the crew of his ship. I think that then we'd have been able to get rid of the McGill, gain control of a ship and get back to the mainland and go free. I think what Allie did was less effective. It could have taken forever for the McGill to find the fake fortune and he may not have listened to it. I think that Allie's plans are getting more risky and less thought out. I think Nick will get to be the real hero of the situation by the end of the day.