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The sofa was unnaturally soft, like a trampoline. On the first bounce, Cody caught my arm and Robin latched onto my waist, steadying me as I stepped off of the couch. My heart hammered so loud I wouldn’t be surprised if the ghosts spun around and confronted us then and there. I stepped onto the firm, steady ground, my legs shaking so badly it felt like an earthquake was happening.
    “No,” Robin whispered, sounding panicked.
    It took me a second to realize she wasn’t talking to me.
    Cody and Robin let me go and stared off into the crowd of dancers.
    I looked back to see Phoebe dodging through the twisting dancers, narrowly avoiding contact.
    Cody cursed under his breath as the fluid dance stopped cold.
    For the first time since our arrival, we were noticed. Wispy bodies looked to the solid human-girl running amidst them.
    At first, I didn’t think Phoebe noticed before she slid knees first to Read’s side.
    The music stilled with one last rattling slide against violin strings. As the initial reaction faded, the offended, pinched faces turned vicious. Eyes sparked with a red hue, the only color they held. The color wafted from their eyes like cigarette smoke, circling and fading from red to grey around their heads.
    I glanced at Cody, Robin, and Joel and saw they were as stunned as me. Nobody moved.
    Then, all at once, the ghosts surged inward, crowding around Phoebe.
    “Phoebe! Run!” I shouted, my voice ringing off the walls. “C’mon, we have to get them,” I said to the others. I didn’t bother to wait for them to join me as I burst past the tables and onto the crowded dance floor. It never occurred to me that they wouldn’t follow.
    I narrowly dodged a ghost, and my skin prickled and all the hairs on my arms stood up. I could just see Read’s unseeing, open eyes as Phoebe shook him hard enough to bounce his head off the hardwood floor.
    “We have to go,” I called, skimming past two men who almost stepped right in front of me.
    Phoebe was shouting. “Stand up, you idiot!”
    Hot white pain ripped through my mid-section, stealing my voice and dropping me to my hands and knees. Each shuddering intake of air was painful, as if hands twisted my lungs like a wet cloth, allowing less and less oxygen. Tiny black dots danced in my vision.
    Read staggered to his feet. It took several dizzying seconds to realize Phoebe supported him to the edge of the crowd that were more interested in me than them.
    A woman in an intricately patterned gown focused smoky red eyes on me just before she dove. Struggling to cry out, I anticipated her weight, but instead, she drove herself straight through my chest. The hot stabbing pain renewed as if tearing off a healing scab. Gasping, I felt the same shrieking pain as a man pulled himself through me from behind. His teeth bared in a fierce smile. As he pulled free, the pain eased to an ache. I fell to my side, and the deep scratches on my back distracted me enough from falling into a dizzying confusion. My insides burned and felt as if they were stretching apart, growing bigger as if to burst.
    I have to get out of here , I thought, flopping onto my belly to worm away from their gaze. I wish they’d look away.
    Phoebe had left me. She took Read instead and left me here.
    The woman with the beautiful dress stepped up to my hip and looked down at me. She was a pretty girl, not much younger than me. She reached down as if to pluck a flower. Instead, her hand passed straight through the back of my neck. My voice felt scratchy, making my screams raspy and foreign even to me. My voice was the only sound. None of the ghosts spoke, screamed, or shuffled on the floor.
    I tried to bat her away. My hands slid straight through her wrist as I tried to twist it, to knock her grip away, but it didn’t work. Withering pain spasmed through my muscles. Each stab tightened everything in my shoulders and neck. My head swam in a sudden haze, and I thought I might be passing out. I couldn’t scream;