Read Online May Bird and the Ever After by Jodi Lynn Anderson - Free Book Online Page A

of these, please hand them over to the nearest greeter.”
    A series of pictures flashed on the screen, showing horseshoes, bags of salt, brooms, then a giant picture of all sorts of animals standing in a group, surrounded by a red circle with a slash across the middle.
    â€œPlease note that all animals are strictly prohibited. If you and your pet died together, please have that pet out for confiscation when you leave the theater.”
    â€œYou’ll notice there are four exits from the theater.” The man in the butler’s suit moved his hands to indicate where they were. His voice was like crushed ice. “At the front and on either side. Allevildoers—rogues; scoundrels; nasty pieces of work; baddies; and menaces, including masked ones—please exit through the front so that you can be moved to the proper area. All others please exit through the side doors where you will be aided by one of our greeters. They will help you choose from a wide array of regions.” The man smiled. “Also, please don’t forget to take one of the brochures provided for you at the gates.” The camera panned back to take in the man’s full body, revealing a knife handle sticking out of his shirt. He bowed.
    The movie ended with a great flapping sound as the film in the projector ran out. The screen went black, but the glow remained. The whole room stayed full of soft blue light. And it seemed to be coming from the audience members. As they stood up and began moving toward the exits, May noticed that they all drifted a few inches above the ground. She bit her lip. Tears snuck out to the corners of her eyeballs. What was this place? Was she? . . . May didn’t dare to finish the thought.
    â€œOooooh, come on,” Pumpkin groaned, continuing on down the hall to a door marked ALLEY . Beside it, a bony hand stuck out of the wall, holding a fistful of scrolled-up papers. Above the hand a sign read TAKE ONE ! May did. The hand readjusted itself, tightening around the remaining papers.
    Pumpkin opened the door a crack, peered outside, and then waved May forward. She followed him, and they emerged onto a tiny brick alleyway.
    â€œOh, I knew I should have stayed in bed this morning. I’m not cut out for this. We’ve got to get onto a boat,” Pumpkin said, floating ahead. He stopped just where the alleyway ended, and waited for May to catch up. When she did, and looked at whatlay ahead of them, her stomach lurched, and her hands flew up to her mouth.
    Before them was a wide beach, its sandy fingers reaching into a vast and oozing river that glowed bright green. Up above, the dusky sky was filled with zooming points of light, like millions of shooting stars. And all over the beach, gathered into lines and milling around, were ghosts, like the ones May had seen at her house. Like the one standing beside her.
    There were thousands of them—their feet hovering just slightly above the ground, their bodies transparent so that you could look at one and see three more behind him, all giving off a soft blue glow. Some were missing limbs. Others were thin and gaunt, their eyes sunken in their heads. A woman floating up ahead paused, seemed to remember something, and then turned back to pick up her foot, which had stopped in the sand a few feet behind her. They were all gathering into groups and lines up near the water, where several large, bright blinking signs lined the shore: SOUTHERN TERRITORIES, NOTHING PLATTE AND THE FAR WEST, DEATH KNELLS, NEW EGYPT, PIT OF DESPAIR AMUSEMENT PARK. Beyond the signs, boats drifted around on the water. Some were empty, docked just before the signs, and some were full of passengers and floating away.
    May started backing up. She didn’t care. She’d take her chances with whatever was back at the lake. She turned to run.
    â€œMeay?”
    Somber Kitty crouched at the base of the door in the woods, staring straight up at the top of it. Stubbornly he had