Transcript of this chapter:

crystal: ....And so everyone is meeting tomorrow to vote on whether to get the gondola working.
annabelle: Do zombies get a vote?
crystal: Yeah, I checked with Rebecca. Zombies get to vote, but paper mammals don't... which is good, because I'm sure Turnip would vote however Barlow tells him.
annabelle: So, I take it we're voting AGAINST restoring the gondola service?
crystal: It's a really bad idea, don't you think?
annabelle: No, I don't think. I'm a zombie.
annabelle: But... I am a bit curious... Exactly WHY don't you want Barlow to leave Spider Cliff?
crystal: This puts OUR situation in jeopardy. Think about it... we have a demon-hunter who's too lazy to kill demons and zombies. What happens when he leaves and they need a replacement?
annabelle: You worry too much. Who could they get to replace him?
crystal: Alex! He'd happily take the job, and he'd murder us as his first official act.
annabelle: He might do that... as he is now...
crystal: Oh, I get it. We have to finish that love potion. If he's in love with you, our position would be a lot more secure.
crystal: I guess if we can't get Barlow to stay, we have a back-up plan.
annabelle: We can't keep Barlow here forever...
crystal: This just isn't in his character. Barlow isn't supposed to take action, he's supposed to be the weak one, always dreaming and reading his old books.
annabelle: Are you afraid that your roles are getting reversed? The poor demon is stuck in a rut and forced to watch the boy and his personal growth?
crystal: Don't forget the zombie who gets chopped into a million pieces.
annabelle: You just have to face the fact that Barlow is becoming more mature. Maybe it's time for him to leave.
crystal: This is NOT about Barlow!
annabelle: Sure...
crystal: This is about everyone putting themselves in danger with a vehicle that's inherently doomed to kill people! Why doesn't everyone see how foolish this whole enterprise is?! It should be OBVIOUS!
annabelle: Ha! Is it any worse than the old rope bridge you used when you arrived?
annabelle: Why don't you just admit that you want everyone to stay right here, including Barlow?
crystal: But he's NOT mature! He's Barlow!
annabelle: You really think you're the wiser between you?
crystal: I know it. There's nothing that Barlow has that I don't. And I certainly seem to have the wisdom to know that the gondola isn't going to work. It's too dangerous.
annabelle: Well, I don't know. Maybe this gondola situation shows what Barlow has that you don't...
annabelle: The gondola goes right into those dangerous and misty woods. It's a trip into nothingness with the hope of finding your goal on the other side. Maybe it's faith that Barlow has over you, faith in the gondola to take him where he wants to be.
crystal: Aw, Barlow's too rational for that.
crystal: He's being so reckless.
annabelle: And when does Barlow ever do anything wisely?
crystal: Okay, good point.
crystal: He's just trying to run away from his life. He doesn't even care what he's moving towards, as long as he gets away from Spider Cliff and everything here.
annabelle: And does that mean he's also running away from everyONE here?... Including you?
crystal: That's... I don't care about that! I'm.. I'm just concerned that he's running away too quickly to realize what he's running into.
annabelle: Barlow obviously feels that he's ready to move on, and now with the gondola he finally has another chance.
annabelle: I guess the big question, the important one for you now, is to ask yourself what you're going to do about it. Do you know how you want to handle things?
crystal: I guess I should try to help him, if that is what he really wants.
crystal: Of course, I think this whole gondola plan is way too dangerous, so I'm still going to vote against it. I have to let my opinion be heard.
crystal: But if we do go ahead with it, I guess I'll have to pitch in to make sure things don't go horribly wrong. This is going to be dangerous enough as it is.
crystal: I need to stop him. He can't leave now.
annabelle: Oh, so he has to wait until it's convenient for you.
crystal: That's not it! It's just... the gondola is too dangerous!
annabelle: And you think it's dangerous now?...
crystal: I'm going to stand back and let him succeed or fail on his own. Then we'll really see if he's got what it takes to move out of here.
annabelle: You're not going to take sides either way?
crystal: I think using the gondola is a terrible idea, but it's his life. I'm not going to stop him if he does something dangerous. He can take care of himself.
annabelle: I think the stakes have just been raised... Take a look at this photograph...
annabelle: Rebecca asked me to take this photograph of the remote gondola station. I used my longest zoom lens, and I still had to blow up the negative a lot to see it.
crystal: That looks like a skeleton!
annabelle: Indeed it does, and that thing at the bottom of the picture might be another skull. It looks like there's more corpses up at that station.
crystal: Maybe this will scare Barlow off his present heading.
annabelle: Don't count on it. There was already one corpse INSIDE the gondola, and that didn't stop him.
crystal: True, and I'm willing to bet that these new skeletons will get others interested in getting out there. Rebecca will want to recover the remains and find out what happened.
crystal: I think this situation just got a lot more complicated.
crystal: This is starting to look like another crime.
annabelle: My thoughts exactly. I was wondering if these people died the same way that Elkwood Sprawling died.
crystal: But Elkwood died in a falling gondola. These people didn't fall to their death.
annabelle: Yeah, and neither did Elkwood. I know corpses. I happen to be one. I don't know how Elkwood died, but it wasn't from the fall. I'm sure of that.
crystal: What are we getting into?
annabelle: You would think this gondola is a transport into the Underworld.
crystal: Naw, I grew up in the Underworld. He mass transit there is mostly over water... and not nearly as scary as this is.