This threat settled in around them like a dense fog before the cloud of dust from her liftoff accompanied it. Melissa C. flew up through the hole in the roof and was gone.

Caitlin sank to the floor, her strength suddenly gone, panic rising to fill its place. “Sh-sh-she'll kill us? Melissa C.? That's not her, she wouldn't do that...Oh, Melissa C., what happened to you...?”

Alicia knelt next to her and put a hand on her back to comfort her. “Shh...shh shh shh... It's okay, Cait. She's not going to hurt us. She'd never, ever do that. She's going to be fine. We're going to find a way to bring her back. Make her see that Chase isn't so bad, and—”

“No,” Chase interrupted. She had fought her way up to her feet after Melissa C. left, and was slowly walking over.

“What do you mean, 'no?'” asked Lindsey.

Gingerly cradling her broken arm with her good one, Chase explained. “Mel C. not see me not so bad. She fight till kill. I hurt her bad, kill and eat friends. I do bad thing to Mel C. She not want me for friend. She SHOULD not want.”

“We...we can reason with her,” hoped Alicia.

Chase remembered the gleefully sadistic way Melissa C. had treated her, that unnatural smile and laugh. “No. She think just of kill. Think just of blood and Chase death, just thrill of be strong and thrill of hurt.”

Sucking in a calming breath, Caitlin stood up, Alicia right with her. “But that's impossible. We know Melissa C. We've known her a lot longer than you have. She wouldn't think like that. She's a very nice, good-natured person. She wouldn't hurt a fly.”

Chase looked like she was in deep pain. It wasn't until after she replied that they realized this was an expression of guilt. “Mel C. been through lot since then. Bad, dark times for Mel C. Lose loved ones, starve in hole, get new parts. When things that bad and dark come to you, get sick. Brain turns black.”

“You're saying she's gone nuts,” said Lindsey quietly.

They stood in somber silence for a moment. “Then...what can we do?” asked Caitlin. “Will you two really have to fight to the death?”

Chase picked up a fragment of the wagon wheel and turned it over in her hand. Then she shook her head. “No fight. No want kill Mel C. Mel C. is cheer. Cheer not kill cheer, no way.”

She dropped the fragment, then looked thoughtfully at her empty palm, as though imagining the handle of a pom pom there. “You guys taught me, cheer help cheer. Cheer stick with cheer, and that's that. Mel C. good cheer, much more jump and much more spin than Chase. Must come back to squad. Must cheer with friends. Owe her for hurt I give her. If it bring Mel C. back to squad, if it help her for not think of pain...then must let her do what Mel C. must do.”

They were shocked. Alicia put a trembling hand to her mouth. “You mean...”

Chase gave them a heavy look. “Mel C. must kill Chase.”

Lindsey was the first to speak. “Chase, don't you DARE start thinking like that. That isn't going to solve anything, for you or for us or for Melissa C.” Her tone was hard, denying Chase her wish with no room for persuasion.

“It not?”

“Killing you isn't going to resurrect her friends or stop her, uh, brain from being black,” said Caitlin. “She's still going to have the same problems.”

“Then I run. Go back to woods. She can come back to squad and all things go back to old life.”

Alicia was moved by the lengths her friend was willing to go to. “That wouldn't help either, Chase. I know you feel like you owe her something. And well, let's be honest, you definitely do. But the best thing you can give her is to be a caring squadmate to her. To help her rediscover her old self, to help her let go. We can't do it. You're the person she's obsessed with, only you can. And that's impossible if you're dead or hiding in the woods. You're both part of the squad now, and you're both going to get along and work together to make Sunnycrest great! As captain that's the only outcome I'll accept!”

Chase thought about these words, then smiled. “You right. Leash, you so smart for things.” She looked up at the hole in the ceiling her adversary had vanished through and pursed her lips. A fist clenched in determination. “No turn back or quit. I broke her. Now must fix her.”

.....

The police were taking vague, frequently contradictory statements from the girls when an ambulance showed up and took Chase away. Her arm was broken, but not seriously enough to require surgery. After an overnight stay in the hospital, she returned to school with a brand new cast and sling.

The whole school was in a state of chaos. Rumors and hearsay were flying about the destruction of the gymnasium, some saying it was a terrorist attack, others insisting it was blown up by a student. On top of this, the student council kids, cheerleaders, and anyone else who seemed like they would know were pelted with questions about Harvest. What about Harvest? Where are we having Harvest now? Are we still having Harvest?

With the gym destroyed, it looked like the dance would have to be canceled. There was nowhere else in the school big enough to hold that many people. If they had more time, they might have been able to book an outside venue for it, but Harvest was only a day away.

The kids who seemed like they would know answered these concerns on positive notes, saying the dance was definitely still on, they were just figuring out where to have it, and so on. In truth, though, even they weren't sure how it could be done.

Cheerleading practice seemed abnormally morose that day. Low, cold clouds smothered Sunnycrest like a wet blanket, obscuring the peaks of the surrounding mountains. The football field was covered in frigid dew and worried cheerleaders. Ordinarily, were the gym in useable condition, they would not have held outdoor practice on such a cold day.

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Alicia was just as worried as any of them. Her date with Kirk, which she had dreamed about since the first time they met, was now in jeopardy. But it was her nature to see such inner turmoil as an enemy one could only fight with heaps of outward cheerfulness and her responsibility to lead her squad without showing weakness. So, her smile was irrepressible as she single-handedly fought to raise her friends' dour mood and tidy up the routine they were working on.

“C'mon, you guys!” she rallied, giving a high kick. “Let's see some energy! Get those legs up there! Show that Cacti spirit!”

They kicked. Some of the kicks were better than others, but they all seemed like they could use more heart. “Sorry, Alicia. That's the best I can do,” said Erin sadly. “You know, given the circumstances.”

“I've been looking forward to the dance forever. That's what, like, the past couple months of my life have been leading up to,” said Danielle. “Now that it's gone, I feel...lost.”

Alicia gave them a friendly smile. “Aw, perk up! I know how you feel, but dwelling on it won't solve anything! Remember, the most fundamental law of cheerleading is that any adversity can be overcome with the power of a positive attitude! How many point deficits have we rallied the football team to recover from by keeping that credo in our hearts? As long as we believe, and as long as the student council knows they have Sunnycrest's full support and absolute faith, they will definitely find another venue!”

“I agree,” Lindsey added. “Look at it this way. Whether the dance happens or not, it's just one night. And after that night is over, we'll still have our duties as cheerleaders. The football team still has a really tough schedule this year, and they're going to need every ounce of spirit we can scrape together! Even though the dance is on all of our minds, it's crucial that we stay focused and on task during practice!”

Caitlin breathed into her hands to warm them up. “The only reason you're not worried is because you didn't have a date anyway.”

Now, Caitlin was not the sort of girl who took pleasure in gossip. Had Lindsey's eligible status been a secret, she wouldn't have mentioned it. But since Lindsey had not really made any attempt to hide her last-minute scrambling and running around, the whole school knew about it, and thus, Caitlin had no qualms about busting her chops.

Victoria, on the other hand, loved gossip, both spreading it and hearing it. This particular piece of info was nothing new to her, but she found it easier to act condescending towards Lindsey if she pretended her life was not interesting enough for her to pay attention to, so she put a scandalous hand to her mouth in poorly disguised shock.

“Oh, my. You don't have a date yet, Lindsey? Seriously?” the girl needled, with a smug smile. “Wow, that is SO sad.”

“I had one, his plans just fell through,” Lindsey bristled. “Don't you worry, I'll find somebody. You wouldn't have any experience with this, but it takes a bit longer to find a date who isn't your imaginary friend.”

That got her. “He, he isn't imaginary!” Victoria floundered. “I really am going with a college guy!”

“Exactly. You're really going with an imaginary college guy,” affirmed Lindsey.

“No! A real one!” Victoria argued. Her furor having no effect on Lindsey, she decided to turn it on someone more susceptible. “YOU believe me, right Alicia?”

Alicia considered her words very carefully. “I...WANT to believe you,” she said kindly.

This was, of course, the nicest way possible to say Victoria was a dirty liar, and Victoria was about to take umbrage with it when she spotted something over Alicia's shoulder. Somebody was sitting up in the stands. She pointed at him. “Hey, who's that guy?”

Everyone turned and looked. Sitting in the second row was a strange, somewhat intimidating-looking boy in dark clothing. Chase, Alicia, Caitlin and Lindsey recognized him as Torey, but everyone else recognized him as...

“Ew, it's one of those weird scary kids,” said Rebecca.

“What's HE doing here?” asked Nicole with a shiver.

“Is he checking us out? Ugh, so creepy,” said Melissa J.

Chase had sat out most of the practice due to her arm, but had stepped onto the field for the kicking bits. When she saw Torey, she smiled. “No, not creep,” Chase happily explained. “That Tor, he—”

Victoria wasn't listening. “Who does he think he is? I'm gonna go tell that creep to leave!” She decisively announced, before stalking off.

The other cheerleaders followed her, and Torey was somewhat alarmed to see this procession coming for him. He hadn't really wanted anyone to know he had come to a football stadium of his own free will and considered turning to leave before he could be identified. But when he saw Chase trying to explain his presence to her comrades, he stood his ground.

Victoria stopped in front of him and put her hands sternly on her hips, craning her neck up at him. “Hey, you! What do you think YOU'RE doing here? We're trying to practice!”

“Didja get a nice, big eyeful? Good, now leave us alone,” agreed Brittany, disgusted.

Torey looked defensive. “N-no! That's not why I'm here. I was just—”

“I'm sorry, you must be lost. The football field is where COOL people hang out,” explained Victoria, always kind enough to help a fellow student. “You're looking for the cemetery, or possibly the morgue. I can draw you a map if you want.”

“Him not lost or fill eyes on us,” interjected Chase. All of her peers turned to look at her, their quizzical expressions searching for explanation. If she felt any nerves or pressure she did not let them show. She firmly stated, “Him Tor, he good lad.”

Victoria looked repulsed. “Chase? You...know this freak?”

In the interest of protecting her from the judgment of her squadmates, Torey was prepared to lie and say he was her cousin. But Chase spoke up before him. “Yeah. Go to Harv with him.”

The girls all assumed they must have heard her wrong. When they realized they did not, they replied with a collective gasp.

“Y-you?! You're going to Harvest...with this scary kid?!” demanded Victoria, rigid with disbelief.

“She talks about cheer a lot but I don't really know anything about it, so I thought I'd come watch her practice,” he offered.

Victoria barely heard him over the inner roar of shock boiling into anger. Exploding, she stormed over to Chase and jabbed a finger into her chest. “You will NOT take this freak to the dance! I forbid it!”

“Victoria!” gasped Danielle.

“You can't just decide who she takes to the dance, Victoria,” reasoned Alicia.

Her voice was even and calming, but Victoria was having none of it. “Of course, I can!” she challenged, facing the redhead. “As assistant captain, is it not part of my job to make sure all members are conducting themselves in a manner that positively reflects on the squad? Is that not also part of YOUR job? Where the hell were you when this was happening? How did you let this get past you?”