Tubes.
Tubes in Maxine's arms. A tube in her stomach. A tube down her throat.
Chase was horrified to see it. Alicia had cried when they first walked in the room, but she had since managed to compose herself.
The doctors didn't let allow any visitors that night. There was too much work to be done. Alicia and Chase didn't get in to see her until the following morning.
Maxine lay in her hospital bed, eyes closed, bandaged and casted, violated by those plastic tubes. Machines beeped and whirred around her. Between bandages, Chase could see her face was heavily bruised, her eyes blacked.
“Who do this to Max?!” asked Chase, frustrated. “This bad guy?! This kill!?” She was so mad she struggled to properly articulate her thoughts.
“I don't know,” said Alicia. “I don't know.” Her heart was broken. She was astonished by how much pain she felt. She brushed a lock of Maxine's hair back behind her ear. “Oh, Maxine...”
Chase approached Alicia from behind and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Alicia looked at her, then turned and gave her a hug.
“She's a person with so much pain,” said Alicia. “I know it's not my job to help her with it, it's not my place to try to fix her...but I can't help it. I just feel...responsible for her.”
“That make sense,” said Chase. “That what Leash do.”
“I'm sure she'd hate me for saying that. I'm sure she'd tell me nobody is responsible for her. She's responsible for herself.”
Chase shook her head. “Leash is friend who heals and loves,” she said. “I am strong...but need Leash. Need Leash for hurt. Sure Max feels same.”
Caitlin and Flor arrived next, along with Willard and Torey. The scary kids were even more devastated to see her than Alicia. Flor wanted Caitlin to hold her, but had enough wherewithal not to do so in front of everyone, so she had to be content with Torey holding her instead.
“It's horrible,” said Flor weakly. “Why her? Why her? What did she ever do to deserve this?”
“It looks like a miracle she's still alive,” said Willard.
No one would tell them anything about her. How bad her injuries were, when she'd wake up, how she got to the hospital. The doctors ended their visit after about an hour. It wasn't until they ran into Lara in the hallway that they got some answers. Caitlin hugged her, and Lara held her protectively for a moment before letting her go.
“It looks like assault,” she told them. The police had already gathered their evidence in the early morning. “A group of people, most likely. Someone driving downtown saw her lying on the sidewalk and called her in.”
“But her live,” said Chase. “Why bad guys not kill like Court and Hugh and kid? Max fight back? Max flee?”
Lara looked at her. “It doesn't look like this crime was committed by the same people who were responsible for those three murders.”
They let this sink in. “Then why?” asked Alicia. “Why would anyone do this to her? It was just some random crime?”
“They thought she was the satanist, didn't they?” Flor suddenly challenged. “Some asshole thought he'd take justice into his own hands.”
Lara hesitated. There was a water cooler nearby, and she decided to help herself so she wouldn't have to look any of them in the eye when she answered. “I don't want to speculate.” And the way she said it told them all that was most likely what it was.
“Who did it?” asked Torey, suddenly angry. His fists were clenched. “Do you have any suspects?”
“Yes! Who do?!” asked Chase.
Lara sipped her water and turned back to them. “We have three suspects.” Torey opened his mouth, but she cut him off. “They left a mountain of DNA on Maxine and at the crime scene. There's plenty to make a conviction stick. We'll handle this. They will be punished. Please don't do anything stupid.”
The young cop drained her cup, then crumpled its paper body in her hand. “We're overworked enough as it is without having to build a case against you kids for vigilantism. Another body was found last night.”
“What?!” Alicia and Chase gasped.
“Another student at your school. Hugh Hartline.”
“Who-” began Caitlin. Her eyes widened. “Wait, LACROSSE CAPTAIN Hugh?!”
Lara nodded. “He's been strangled. Signs of sexual abuse also.” She looked at the scary kids' shocked faces. “The media hasn't found out yet, but this town's about to explode. I think you all should be very careful. Go home. Stay there. Keep as low a profile as you can until this case is solved.”
…........
On Lara's advisement, the scary kids stayed indoors over the next few days while the police put together all the evidence for Maxine's assault and the serial killings, coming out only to go to school. Torey was a bit more fearless, venturing out every day to visit Maxine. He and Chase went around to the homes of the housebound scary kids, collecting cards and gifts to bring to Maxine.
Chase and Caitlin felt really crushed for their loved ones, that they should have to be so afraid for themselves and be at risk of being attacked. It really highlighted the differences between them, in Caitlin's mind. A cheerleader didn't have to worry about being accused of satanism. A cheerleader didn't have to worry about being shunned and outcast for something beyond her control.
Flowers, cards, and candy piled up on the table by Maxine's window. It wasn't until day three of her hospital stay that she awoke to enjoy them.
“What are YOU doing here?” asked Maxine almost accusingly, as Alicia sat down at her bedside.
Alicia smiled and let the harsh tone pass her by. It looked like Maxine was still her old self. “I heard you woke up and wanted to come see you. We've all been really worried.”
Maxine raised her bed up so she was in a sitting position. Alicia saw the bruising was going down on Maxine's face, although one of her eyes was still dark, and she still had bandages wrapped around her forehead. “Who's we?”
“Oh, you know. Me, Chase-”
“Urgh.”
“Caitlin, Lindsey...”
“Double urgh,” said Maxine. Her eyes met Alicia's, and she looked away, a bit embarrassed. “...But...thanks for coming though. I'm glad to see a f...a face.”
“You're glad to see a face?” asked Alicia.
“Yeah. A face.”
“You were going to say friendly face, weren't you?”
“No way!”
“Aw, that's sweet. I guess that means we're friends. I'm glad to see your friendly face too,” teased Alicia. She remembered something, then took her purse off her shoulder and looked through it. “That reminds me, I got you something...Ah, here we go.”
She pulled out a stuffed animal and handed it to Maxine. Maxine held it in her hands and looked at it. It was a pink bunny holding a bloody butcher knife.
“I saw it at the store and it reminded me of you,” said Alicia.
“Pfff,” snorted Maxine, grinning despite herself. “Thanks.”
“You're welcome,” said Alicia. She glanced up at the hospital TV, mounted high on the wall opposite Maxine's bed. “Wanna find a movie?”
“Huh?” Maxine looked surprised that Alicia wanted to stay and keep her company. “Oh, yeah. Sure.” She picked up her remote, turned the TV on, and started browsing through the guide.
After a moment's search, Alicia said tentatively, “It must have been really scary.”
A memory of that afternoon came back to Maxine, and she tensed involuntarily. She felt an impact again, a boot against her ribs. She rested one of her hands on the spot, and noticed it was still tender. “It was, yeah. I thought I was going to die. Now though, I just feel kind of...ashamed.”
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Ashamed? Why-”
Maxine's face lit up at something on the television screen. “Ah! Here we go!” She selected a movie that was just starting: Kill Clique III: Pretty, Popular, and Put to Death. She set the remote down on the bed between herself and Alicia and prepared to be entertained.
Alicia sighed and picked it up. “Why don't we watch something that we'd BOTH like?”
Maxine looked annoyed as Alicia scrolled through the guide. She switched channels to the CW, and the TV immediately filled with the sight of two impossibly good looking teenagers making out.
“Oh yeah. Now we're talking,” said Alicia.
Maxine winced. “This just reminds me of that idiot Chase and her gross little cheerleader tongue, which is probably in Torey's mouth as we speak. Not that I care, but...you know. Gross. No thanks.”
“You don't care? Really?” teased Alicia. “It doesn't bother you?”
“Bother me? No. Why would it bother me?” bristled Maxine. “Torey's just my friend. He's not my boyfriend, he's Chase's boyfriend. What they do is my business. I mean, none of my business.”
“Naturally.”
“I mean, can you imagine if I dated some sports playing jock?” asked Maxine. “I would fully expect and hope that Torey would be bothered by it. It would be very out of character for me.”
“I mean, you didn't protest too much when Kirk asked you to dance at Harvest,” Alicia replied. “But I get your point, yes.”
“Yeah. I'm just bothered. Worried for my friend.” Maxine took the remote and switched back to the horror movie. “But who am I to complain? That's just what guys like. The ditzy bombshell type. When I'm feeling this way the only thing that can cheer me up is seeing attractive, desirable people getting punished with death.”
Alicia smiled tolerantly. “There you go again.”
“Go again with what?”
“Don't mind me, go ahead, play your little violin,” teased Alicia. “But you know it's bull. You're really attractive and desirable, yourself. You know you're hot and you know you're definitely one of the kinds of girl guys like, Maxine. There's a lot of guys in our school who are really into you. So don't give me that crap.”
Maxine looked at her with surprise, then focused on the movie. If Alicia didn't know better, she'd think Maxine was slightly embarrassed. “Yeah yeah, I know. They voted me the ninth hottest girl in school.”
“You knew about that?”
“Yeah. Everybody knows about it,” replied Maxine. She fidgeted with the remote, sliding the battery cover off and on with her thumb. “But the results speak for themselves. Maybe I'm in the top ten...but there's four cheerleaders there too. It's pretty clear what guys prefer. I guess I can't blame Torey for wanting Chase. She's just statistically more appealing than somebody like me.”
“Oh, come on,” said Alicia.
“Plus, she...if some rednecks attacked her and she had to fight them off, she wouldn't end up here. She's tougher than that. Tougher than me,” she said.
“Yeah, well, you can join the club on that one.”
“Torey's dating a girl who's just all-around amazing. If I was a cheerleader, if I could put on a stupid happy face and be all bright and sunny like you and Chase, maybe Torey would love me instead. Not that I would want that, since we're such good friends and I'd never want to ruin what we have, since what we have is enough for me.”
“If you were a cheerleader, you and Torey probably would have never been friends in the first place,” Alicia replied. Maxine couldn't argue with that. “He likes you for who you are. You don't need to be any different.” She looked thoughtfully at the TV. “But you know...If you ever did want to change your look up a little, I'd help you.”
Maxine scoffed. “You? You're gonna help me?”
“Sure. I love that kind of thing. I put together Chase's wardrobe.”
That was a pretty good resume in and of itself. Chase was consistently well dressed. So was Alicia, now that she thought about it. She looked Alicia up and down. “No offense, but we're on different planets in terms of taste.”
“I'm flexible. I don't want to turn you into a cheerleader. Of course you're gothy and dark, that works great for you and I wouldn't change that...but there's a lot of room to play with that. You can change things up and still be the real Maxine. You'd turn a lot of heads if you gave the fishnets and boots a well-earned vacation. 'Wow, Maxine looks...DIFFERENT today!'”
Maxine looked very conflicted, like a war was waging within her. “Eurgh, I don't...” she said hesitantly. Then, she burst, “S-stop trying to seduce me to follow your girly girl cheersheeple ways! It won't work!”
Alicia smiled and leaned back in her chair. In the horror movie, two teens were making out. The camera had taken on the killer's perspective, watching the couple from the bushes. “Just think about it.”
.........
Maxine had recognized one of the people who attacked her, and could remember his identity. However, her word was not necessary to make the arrest. Unbenownst to them, even as they spoke, Lara was arriving at Courtney's father's door with a warrant for his arrest. With his daughter gone, the desperate, grieving man had crawled into a bottle and came out thirsting for revenge. Hearing the rumors about Sunnycrest's scary kids, he recruited two of his friends...and sought his own brand of justice.
Despite everything that was going on, the cheerleader malt shop was a success. People still felt safe in groups. Maybe that was part of it. It was also likely they were searching for normalcy, a source of comfort. The nostalgic, idyllic interpretation of the fifties and early sixties that the cheerleaders presented in their malt shop was easy on the psyche.
Chase liked working the ice cream scooper. There were all kinds of different ice cream flavors, and when customers told her “Two scoops of rocky road” or “One scoop of spumoni”, it was a fun game to try to remember which color was which flavor.
It took her mind off what was going on. At least partially. She was disturbed that Maxine had been hurt by this whole affair. What if one of her friends was next? Even though the other cheerleaders told her to let the police handle it, she felt that she had to intervene. She had to take a preventative course of action. There was a killer on the loose. There wasn't that much difference between Courtney and her squadmates. If the killer targeted her, he could target Lindsey. Or Caitlin. Or Alicia. There was danger around, and her friends were in the thick of it. It felt inadequate to trust someone else with their lives. It felt inadequate to wait and hope it wouldn't be them.
She had been trying very hard to live normally in this world. To abide by the rules of conduct that were in place. It had been a while since she'd gotten in a fight with somebody. She hadn't been in one since she killed the mysterious girl who attacked her in the maze on Halloween night. The sasquatch didn't count.
But once again she was thinking of violence, of fighting. Yes, it was for the sake of her friends...but she knew, by this point, that it was still unnatural. Still unacceptable. It wasn't something a cheerleader did!
“Thinking deep thoughts?” Alicia asked her with a smile.
Chase looked up from the ice cream she was scooping. “Not too deep,” she said. “Just think of bad guys.”
“Mmhmm.”
Alicia and Chase had talked about them extensively already. Alicia had tried to explain their motivation, but it proved very difficult. The religious aspect of it eluded Chase...which was, admittedly, most of it. Chase understood that Satan was red and he lived underground. As far as she was concerned, he had every right to do that. Beyond that, she wasn't sure what he had to do with any of this, and the more Alicia tried to explain, the more confused she got.
“Just trust Caitlin's mom,” Alicia insisted. “She'll handle this. The cops will handle this.”
“But it hard. Know Cait mom good at catch bad guy, but so am too. Hard to not do when friends might get hurt.”
“Aw, we'll be fine, Chase!” Lindsey chimed in brightly, grabbing her arm and dragging her out from behind the counter. “Now quit moping and let's rock and roll!”
No malt shop was complete without a jukebox stocked with the hottest 45's. The cheerleaders had borrowed one and put it against the wall, with an open space in front of it so people could dance. Even though the malt shop was a hit so far, there weren't many takers, and Lindsey felt that needed to change.
She popped a quarter in the jukebox, selected Little Richard's “The Girl Can't Help It”, and started getting down. Chase had never danced before. She had wanted to do some dancing at Harvest, but she had been sort of preoccupied. But she saw what Lindsey was doing, and from that it was easy enough to figure out.
Of course, two cute blondes dancing by themselves were not going to be dancing by themselves for long, and pretty soon the place was jumping.
That space in front of the jukebox did not empty for the rest of the night, even after Lindsey and Chase got back to work. When “Sixteen Candles” by The Crests came on, the couples took over for a slow dance.
“How's business?” asked Kirk with a grin, walking over and leaning on the counter.
Alicia looked up from the glass she was cleaning and beamed. “Kirk!”
Kirk held out his hand. “May I have this dance?”
In response, Alicia took it and vaulted over the counter to join him.
Chase watched her go, and sighed. “Wish Tor could be here.” She'd told him about it, of course. But in the end he decided it would be a mistake to come, given the current climate of Sunnycrest.
“Aw,” said Melissa C. She patted Chase on the back. “Yeah, I wish he could be too. You guys would have had fun.”
“I know what you mean, Chase,” said Caitlin.
“Feel bad for his wife,” muttered a man sitting at the counter to his friend, while eating a sundae. Chase, Melissa C. and Caitlin couldn't help but overhear.
His friend sipped a milshake and said, “It ain't right what they done to him. Ain't justice. Those freaks KILLED his daughter, and the cops arrest HIM? Just for roughin' one of 'em up a little?”
“If those cops would do their damn jobs they'd go down to that old drive-in and round up all those satanic weirdos,” agreed the first man.
Before Chase knew what she was doing, she stepped forward, fists clenched. “Them not bad!” she shouted. The men looked up in surprise, and Caitlin and Melissa C. held her back. “Tor and friends not kill and not like red guy! You lie!”
“Chase, cool it,” whispered Caitlin in a calming voice, easing her away.
The mountain girl looked from Caitlin to the men. “But...but them say bad things!” she said, frustrated. “Wrong things of Tor and Max!”
“So let them be wrong,” said Caitlin gently. She patted Chase's arm, and Chase's fingers slowly uncurled. “It's fine, Chase. It's fine. We know the truth.”
…........
The malt shop ended up being a big success. So many people came that they decided to stay open an extra hour. By the time they closed and all their customers went home, it was too late to clean up and return the cafeteria to normal. They decided to just lock up and then come back in the morning. Once they were outside, they were faced with the now-routine task of figuring out how they were all going to buddy up to get home.
Lindsey insisted her legs were too tired from dancing to walk, with the purposes of getting a cute guy from school to carry her out on his back to his car to drive her home. Alicia and Chase gave Caitlin a ride again. Victoria drove herself home, and Melissa C.'s mom picked her up.
Cheerleader Rebecca got into a car of make and model witnesses were later unable to identify, due to its dark color and the deepness of the night.
“Whew, thanks,” said Rebecca, closing the door and settling into the shotgun seat. She fastened her seatbelt. She was one of the first to leave, going out to the student parking lot and getting in her ride's vehicle while the crowd of exiting people was thick. “It's a good thing you were here tonight. I wasn't sure how I was getting home.”
The driver glanced at her and smiled. “Don't mention it,” said London the volleyball girl.