There was a gunshot, and then the colonel was there. He held an ancient pistol in one hand; the other was stretched out in front of him, feeling his way along. He had to move slowly because he couldn't see. He couldn't see because he had no head. He had no head because it was…

Danny shouted, tripped, and fell face-first into the dirt, then scrambled to his feet and looked around frantically. He was outside…there was no colonel…it had been a dream.

He willed his heart to stop racing and looked around. Had he actually fallen asleep and kept walking? He had the vaguest memory of putting one foot in front of the other, but everything else was kind of blurry. It was a good thing he had awakened, he saw. He was walking along a cliff, and he didn't really want to find out if he would survive a fall.

There was a guardhouse ahead, and a chain link gate; to the left was a wide chasm, and beyond that, he could just make out the prison wall. The gate was tall and topped with barbed wire. As Danny got closer, it started to spark, and Horace appeared.

"You're doing good, kid," he said. "You're only the third person to make it this far."

Danny brightened considerably at that. "Thanks! How much farther is it?"

"Assuming you can make it through Abbott, you've still got to reach the asylum." He paced a bit, as though he found it difficult to stand still. "Listen, kid. Don't listen to Haight. You ain't no killer, and I should know."

Implying that he had killed before, for which people were often executed. "How did you die?" the boy asked, wanting to verify his hunch.

Horace scoffed and shook his head. "I ain't dead. Nothing's dead here. This place sucks you in and keeps you alive long past when your body's rotting in the ground." Electricity crackled, and the gate snapped open. "If you make it, I'll get that other gate open for you."

"Thanks for your help," Danny called as Horace vanished the same way he arrived. He felt a little better, having someone on his side. With all the horrible things Haight and Silver kept trying to convince him of, it was nice to have someone who contradicted them.

A quiet wheeze heralded the arrival of said lethal toxin. "…Aw, he didn't answer your question…Now, wasn't that rude?" Danny focused his attention on the mainliners that popped up and tried not to listen. "Shall I tell you how he died? …It was me…I'll admit the results were interesting to watch, but the job itself…well…I think someone sabotaged my equipment."

"I don't care, Haight," Danny informed him. He pulled a syringe out of his shoulder and another out of his leg and resumed walking.

"Oh…but you should…Gauge killed his wife on a conjugal. You do know what a conjugal is, right?" He laughed at the lack of a response, but didn't elaborate. "He got a sharpened spoon and cut her all over her body…let her bleed to death…He was sentenced to the chair for that. But his death was botched. I refuse to take credit for it…not that I didn't enjoy being able to throw the switch on him three times."

Now, Danny stopped. "Wait. He got the electric chair, and you had to electrocute him three times?"

Haight grinned. "…Nice, wasn't it? This isn't in the official report, you understand…but he was still moaning and begging for someone to kill him when they pronounced him dead. That kind of pissed me off…they didn't even let me finish the job…"

The image of the colonel flashed across Danny's mind again; he turned quickly. That fact that Horace was a murderer had been overpowered by the story of how he died. He gritted his teeth and stopped again; he had to know, now. "How did you die?"

Haight smiled in fond reminiscence. "I always favored the gas chamber. There's such a purity to it…So one day, I turned it on and walked in. But I didn't die…I…evolved…" He seemed to sigh, although it was kind of hard to tell since he always sounded like that. "…It's a pity, really. They welded it closed after that…" He faded away, and Danny didn't try to call him back.

A realization had formed in his mind. He couldn't vouch for Killjoy yet, but every other death he knew about…to call them horrible would have been an understatement. This place was evil, and it brought out the worst kinds of depraved behavior.

Or was that just an excuse?

Lethal injection was my favorite, Silver whispered. Danny stopped and looked around. He originally thought she was just reading his mind, but now he thought she might actually be following him. He decided to try to keep her talking.

"Is that a fact?" he asked, not really interested, as he scanned the foliage.

You should have Doc give you his lecture next time you see him. It's really most educational and entertaining. Especially when he has a live subject. Perhaps I could provide him with one…

A brief vision of his mother strapped to a table with a needle stuck into her arm flashed across his mind. "Don't you touch her!" Danny yelled.

Of course, not, she all but purred. She is part of your prize, after all. I wouldn't dream of defacing her until you lose.

"I'm not going to lose!"

Then perhaps you should resume your journey, pequeño hombre. I won't wait forever, you know.

Danny waited a few minutes more, but she seemed to have gone. He headed onward, and had to climb over a fallen tree. The thing was so rotted that it had become soft, and chunks of it broke off as he touched it. Halfway over, he must have put his hand down just right because it split in half and dropped him into a wiggling nest of baby termites. At least, he thought they were termites. He hoped they were termites. Gagging in revulsion, he extricated himself and brushed away the squirming white creatures. It didn't help much; his skin crawled as thought they were still all over him.

With a disgusted snort, he rubbed his arms and continued walking. There was no sign of any bridge ahead. It occurred to him to wonder if he could ask. He was loath to actually call Haight, but he needed to know if he should keep walking or find another way across. The last thing he wanted to do was walk all the way to the edge of the island and wind up having to walk all the way back. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered. "Haight! Are you here?"

There was a long wheeze, then, "You're the most interesting thing to watch for miles…of course, I'm here…"

Danny looked around for any sign of the telltale green gas. "How much farther is the bridge?"

Haight continued to not show himself as he replied, "I'll tell you if you answer a question for me." The boy narrowed his eyes and tentatively agreed. "How does it feel…when you end those creatures' lives?"

"What kind of a question is that? They're trying to kill me."

"…So you would say it's…satisfying?"

"Um…no, it…it doesn't feel like anything." He wasn't sure he liked where this was going. Suddenly, the air became toxic, and he backed out of Haight with an irate glare.

"The bridge is just past that hill…You can't miss it, though you may find you'd like to…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Danny asked, bemused, but Haight merely faded away. He grumbled, then called out, "You know, you could make this easier on me!" No response; he wasn't surprised.

My, it's getting very cold out…

"So you are still there?" He continued to stare straight ahead and didn't stop this time.

Do you feel the cold, niño? she asked. The boy gritted his teeth. Unfortunately, she remained undeterred by his silence. Even I feel the cold; it's a very human thing. But then, you're not human, are you?

"I am, too!"

Oh? Tell me, then, niño. You don't feel the cold. You don't feel when you kill. So what do you feel, fantasma muchacho? What do you feel, ghost boy?

Danny started to grind his teeth. He could feel! So, temperatures didn't affect him when he was ghost mode, so what? And, maybe his sense of touch was a little dulled, but his emotions were perfectly intact.

But there was that one time…Sam had been teasing him about acting differently when he was in ghost mode. She hadn't meant anything by it, and at the time he had laughed right along with her. But sometimes, late at night, when his brain wouldn't shut up and let him sleep…sometimes he came back to that. He did feel different. He felt stronger, more sure of himself, and slightly more inclined to solve problems with his powers no matter how irresponsible it might be.

He was changing, but that much was obvious. What worried him, late at night, was what he was changing into. "Shut up," he muttered wearily. "I'm sick of this game."

Hm? What was that, niño?

"I said give me back my family and let us go, you freak!" he yelled.

I think you've mistaken me for you, Silver replied smugly. You're the one who's half ghost; I'm still wholly human.

Danny clenched his eyes shut and tried to drown out the sound of laughter. He couldn't even tell if it was in his ears or his head. It was probably both, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that, no matter how much he wanted her to be wrong, she was right. He was only half human, and it was starting to get harder to believe that didn't make him less of a person.

No wonder Silver never lost this game. Her opponents probably committed suicide before they even reached the lighthouse.