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13<br />
Beyond the shimmering wall of yellow light, Zack’s outstretched hand came clearly into my view. The<br />
dark chain dangled from his hand like a dead snake.<br />
“It broke off!” he was crying, sounding very alarmed.<br />
I stared through the light at the chain, feeling myself hovering beside Zack, floating, fading.<br />
Somewhere far in the distance, April was screaming. I couldn’t make out her words.<br />
Lefty stood frozen in the center of the room. It seemed strange to see him standing so still. He<br />
was always moving, always bouncing, running, falling. But now he, too, stood staring at the chain.<br />
The light shimmered brighter.<br />
I saw sudden movement.<br />
Someone was crossing the room. I struggled to focus.<br />
It was Erin. She was dragging a large cardboard box across the floor. The scraping sound it<br />
made seemed so far away.<br />
Feeling myself being pulled away, I struggled to watch her. She pulled the box next to the mirror.<br />
Then she climbed up onto it.<br />
I saw her reaching up to the lamp. I saw her staring into the light.<br />
I wanted to ask her what she was doing, but I was too far away. I was floating off. I felt so light,<br />
so feather light.<br />
And as I floated, the yellow light spread over me. It covered me. Pulled me.<br />
And then with startling suddenness, it was gone.<br />
And all was darkness.<br />
“I did it!” Erin proclaimed.<br />
I heard her explaining to the others. “There was a little bit of chain left up there. I pulled it and<br />
turned off the light.” Her eyes darted frantically around the room, searching for me. “Max—are you<br />
okay? Can you hear me?”<br />
“Yeah. I’m okay,” I replied.<br />
I felt better. Stronger. Closer.<br />
I stepped up to the mirror and searched for my reflection.<br />
“That was scary,” Lefty said behind me.<br />
“I can feel myself coming back,” I told them.<br />
“What was his time?” Zack asked April.<br />
April’s features were tight with worry. Sitting against the wall, she looked pale and<br />
uncomfortable. “Five forty-eight,” she told Zack. And then quickly added, “I really think this stupid<br />
competition is a big mistake.”<br />
“You beat my record!” Zack groaned, turning to where he figured I was standing. “I don’t<br />
believe it! Almost six minutes!”<br />
“I’m going for longer than that,” Lefty said, pushing past Zack and stepping up to the mirror.<br />
“We have to fix the chain first,” Erin told him. “It’s too hard to keep climbing up on a box to pull
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