The cops arrived shortly thereafter and began questioning them in regards to Agent Stevens' death. They had quite a story for him.
“So, let me get this straight,” said Officer Ball, scratching his forehead with his pencil's eraser while he looked down at his notepad. “Agent Stevens was some kind of creepy nut who imprisoned Melissa and made an evil robot clone of her. He sent said robot after this one here,” he pointed at Chase, “but she destroyed it in a display of selfless courage, saving the drive-in and everyone in it. And then Stevens was killed in a freak stampede.” He looked very skeptical. “Now, are you girls sure you're telling me the truth?”
“And then some, sir!” replied Alicia.
“Why does she have a welding torch sticking out of her head?”
Melissa C. looked confused. “Come to think of it, why DO I have a welding torch sticking out of my head?”
“It's, uh, cosmetic.” said Lindsey. “Extreme body modification. I guess you don't remember but you were really into that.”
“Well jeez, apparently so,” Melissa C. replied, tugging on the torch in disbelief.
With Lara around to serve as a reliable witness, the story stuck, and it quickly made the rounds throughout Sunnycrest, both the town and the high school of the same name. It was quite a feat, even more exciting than Chase's last one, although when people asked her about it, she was quick to mention her friends' contributions. These friends were equally quick to say “Oh, we didn't do much. It was all her, honestly,” because they were those sorts of people, but Chase didn't want to feel like it was all her. She didn't want sole credit for this. She wasn't sure she'd done the right thing.
Sure, Melissa C. said all she wanted was to forget what happened. But those were just words. Did she really mean that literally? Chase had promised to help her. What she had done was boil her brain while it was still in her skull.
Melissa C. was reintroduced to her parents and was slowly falling back into the routine of her ordinary life. She got the torch removed and resumed her classes, cheer practices, and general daily life as best as she could, but it couldn't have been easy. Did Chase really solve any of her problems, or did she just create new ones? Did she just hurt this poor girl again?
She was sort of afraid to face her. At school Chase tried to keep her distance. It wasn't until a week later, in the locker room before a last period pep rally, that they finally spoke.
Chase was attempting to lace her shoes with her arm in a sling, when Melissa C. sat down on the bench next to her. Chase jumped. “Oh, sorry,” said the brunette. “I didn't mean to surprise you.”
“No, that fine.”
Girls chatted around them while they changed into their uniforms, giggling and psyching each other up. They were all excited to show the school what they'd been working on. Ordinarily, Chase would have been excited with them. But she hadn't been excited about anything since the dance. All she'd been doing was dreading this conversation.
“Chase, right? I just wanted to tell you good luck,” smiled Melissa C.
Chase felt a pang of guilt. “Oh. Th-thank much, Mel C. Good luck at you as well.”
Despite Chase's hope that their chat would end there, Melissa C. persistently did not leave. “You know, this past week has been kind of crazy for me. It's been a lot of work trying to get accustomed to this new life, but I feel like I've really gotten to know everybody on the squad. All except you, that is.” She did not lose her smile. “We should hang out sometime. You're close with Alicia, Lindsey and Caitlin, right? They've been so helpful, really holding my hand through this whole thing. Let's all do something after school.”
The cannibal tried to think of an excuse not to, but she took a little too long. “I'm not going to take no for an answer,” Melissa C. playfully added, giving Chase a teasing nudge, shoulder to shoulder.
That left only yes, so that's what Chase reluctantly told her. Melissa C. looked up at Alicia, whose back was to them as she looked for something in the duffel bag containing her street clothes. “How about it, Alicia? Let's go to the mall after this, all five of us!”
Alicia turned around and checked Chase's expression. It looked about as eager as Alicia expected. She hesitated, knowing the awkwardness that lay in store if she agreed to this. But she couldn't say no to Melissa C., not after all she went through and had been going through over the past week.
She gave a smile that was pulled in two directions, intended to both assure Melissa C. and soothe Chase, and succeeding at neither. “Sure! Sounds fun! I'll tell Cait and Lindsey.”
The rally began, and the girls took to the gym. They had a new routine specially prepared for this occasion, and they gave it a rousing run-through. It still felt a bit odd to have Melissa C. back, but not as a flier. While she didn't remember she was a cyborg, that didn't make her magically stop being one, so she was still far too heavy to be anything but a base (they had to dredge up that 'rare density abnormality' line again to explain it to everyone, and to her). She didn't feel like she was missing anything though, and while Lindsey still had a ways to go to before she could really fill her shoes, she was stepping up to the challenge boldly.
Everyone in the bleachers seemed to be chanting even louder than usual. So much weirdness had been going on with the squad lately that everyone was happy to see they weren't going to let any of it change them or dampen their spirit. Caitlin noticed something unusual in the audience, and when the routine was over and the cheerleaders had to clear out to make way for the school band, she brought it to the others' attention.
“Hey, you guys, check that out,” she said, nodding up at the bleachers as they trotted off to the sidelines.
Stolen story; please report.
They looked. What they saw made their collective jaws drop. Torey and Maxine and the rest were sitting near the back. “The scary kids! They came to a... to a pep rally!” shouted Brittany.
“Pinch me! Somebody pinch me!” gasped Lauren.
They had never seen Alicia look this happy. Her eyes glimmered with tears of joy. “I knew it! I knew that somewhere, deep down inside, they had school spirit! Oh, you guys! I don't know how we did it, but we reached them! We really reached them!”
“Th-they probably have guns!” concluded Heather.
“We should tell the principal! This is about to turn into a bloodbath!” agreed Tiffers.
But Alicia reassured them that everything was okay, and after the rally was over, the scary kids caught up with them before they entered the locker room.
“Hey!” called Torey. “Chase!”
Alicia, Caitlin, Lindsey and Chase stopped, while the rest of the girls moved on. “Oh, hi!” said Alicia.
“You guys were really good!” enthused Flor. “I didn't know cheerleading had so many flips and stuff. I thought it was all just chanting and yelling.”
Alicia grinned. “Well, we were excited to see you guys here! We never thought we'd see the day that a scary kid came to a pep rally! It really made us want to give the best performance we could!”
Maxine crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “Wh-whatever! It's not like we wanted to come or anything! If we'd known how long it was gonna be, we wouldn't have! We just wanted to thank you, that's all!”
“Thank?” asked Chase, surprised.
Torey nodded. “After your bloody slaying of that agent was plastered all over the news, the Sandman has been flooded with free publicity! We've been getting gorehounds and horror fans showing up from all over the state! My brother says the place hasn't done this kind of business since the seventies!”
“We really can't thank you enough. It's been awesome,” said Flor.
Willard stepped forward, and handed Chase a stone gargoyle. “I made this for you. Just a small token of our appreciation.”
“Wow,” she said, taking it. “Uh, thanks!”
“They all have names,” he added. “Turn it over.”
Chase turned it upside down. Carved into the base was the name 'Douglas'. “Not know what to say.”
Torey pulled her aside, and everyone else took this as their cue to give them some alone time. “So, uh, the dance was kind of a disaster. What do you think, want to go on another date to make up for it?”
Chase was overjoyed. “Yes! Go see more films!” she shouted, clenching her fists with excitement. There were still plenty of entries in the Cannibal Cruise Liner nonology she hadn't seen yet, and she hadn't even touched the spinoffs, the remake, or the 2011 remake.
“Oh,” said Torey, “Well, actually I was thinking something more intimate...maybe dinner?”
“No! More films!” she responded eagerly. And that was that.
In the locker room, the girls showered, changed, and, allowing for the usual chatting and after-school-plan-making, went home.
As she had ever since she broke her arm, Chase brought up the rear. The locker room was totally empty while she was still pulling on her top.
After nearly two whole minutes of trying to get her cast into her sleeve, a voice said. “Oh, Chase! Let me help.”
Melissa C. re-entered the locker room and quickly crossed it to her. With a few quick adjustments, she had Chase's top neatly in place. “There you go.”
Chase began looking in her duffel bag for a reason not to make eye contact. “Thought all cheer gone,” she said, uncomfortably.
“Yeah, but you were taking a while, so I came back,” said Melissa C. in a friendly way. “Can't leave my squadmate in peril, can I?”
Chase was silent. Finally, Melissa C. sighed and put a hand to her forehead. “Alright, what's the deal with you?” she asked. “Does it have something to do with before my memory loss? Did we not get along? I didn't know we knew each other. I thought you didn't join the squad until after I disappeared.”
Chase knew she shouldn't have said anything. Telling Melissa C. what happened could make everything they did pointless. But her guilt wouldn't let her stay completely silent any longer. “Us knew...not in squad. Did thing much bad to Mel C. Not want go to mall with me if knew what bad thing was. Feel you wrong to be so nice to me.”
This didn't seem to come as a surprise to Melissa C. “So you feel guilty,” she decoded, sitting down on the bench next to Chase.
“Yes. Much guilt,” said Chase.
Melissa C. considered this. “Would it help if we talked about it?”
“Would make things worse,” answered Chase.
“Then let's not,” said Melissa C. “I have a clean slate here. Let's start over.”
Chase was tempted to take the offer, but she couldn't. Her sense of honor wouldn't let her.
Why did she feel so guilty? She had never felt this way about one of her victims before. She had never felt “bad” about hunting or hurting someone. Was it just because she found out Melissa C. was a cheerleader? Or was Chase herself changing?
“Can't, Mel C. Want be friends, but need do right by you first,” said Chase.
Melissa C. frowned. “Do right by me? What do you mean?” she asked. “I don't remember anything of my time in the woods or with Agent Stevens, and trying to piece together what people have told me has left a lot of details missing...but you SAVED me from that situation, didn't you? Somehow, you gave me this new beginning, this chance to continue living my life?”
Chase was silent, so Melissa C. went on. “I don't care what you did, Chase. You gave me a fresh start. And as long as you can resist dredging up the past, I'll get to keep it.”
She put a tender hand on Chase's arm. “I have a future now, and I want you, and all the other girls on the squad, to join me in it. Promise me you will?”
Chase wavered. Her lip trembled. Finally, she relented. “Will do,” she said.
Melissa C. smiled. “Thank you, Chase.” She stood up, then held out her hand. Chase took it, and Melissa C. pulled her up to her feet. For the first time, they saw each other eye to eye, both literally and figuratively. Chase could see their path to friendship. It was clear and unobstructed. All she had to do was follow it.
Then, Melissa C. turned and pulled her towards the door. “Now, enough talk! The mall awaits!”