She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Is this morally questionable? Of course it is. But I'm making a big sacrifice for them, don't you see? A bad captain? Me? I'm the best captain they could ask for. I'm willing to do anything for them. Even become a monster.” She walked over to one of her cheerleader guards and preened her a little, straightening her top and picking a piece of lint off it. “I'm willing to go to all these lengths to make us perfect. To make us flawless. To win. And win we shall.”
Chase watched her for a moment, transfixed, then shook her head. “Sir do this to friends to get what Sir want. What do to us?”
Serena gave Chase a calm, perversely reassuring look. “I'm not going to kill you, if that's what you mean. If I wanted to do that, I could have done it by now.” She tossed her a wave, then headed for the door. Her father silently followed, but the other cheerleaders remained standing guard. “I don't have enough patches to bring you girls into my thrall right now. So you four will just have to wait here until we can make more. Bye now.”
Chase struggled again. But Serena did not look back at her, and the cheerleader guards made no move to stop her. She couldn't get free, and Serena knew it.
The two sets of footsteps faded into the creak of a door opening and closing, and the click of a lock being turned.
…...........
It was morning by the time Caitlin, Alicia and Lindsey awoke. Initially very distressed and panicky, Chase calmed them by explaining what had happened and everything Serena had told her. What she said was not as important as the way she said it. By acting calm herself she made them believe that there was reason to be calm, when a simple analysis of her words would reveal that the situation was actually pretty dire.
“I can't believe it,” said Alicia grimly. “It's just so sick. To do something like this to your friends...just to make a better routine...”
“To think I thought she was cool,” said Caitlin.
Alicia glanced at the two cheerleader sentinels, then leaned in close to her friends and lowered her voice to a whisper. “How much time do you think we have to figure a way out of here?”
“We saw her dad come straight home from his lab, pull one patch out of the briefcase and stick it on her mom. If they're already out after just one patch, that means they can make, at best, one patch a day,” reasoned Caitlin.
“So us have at least day,” said Chase. She looked out the high basement window at the morning sun. “Dad at work now?”
“Yeah, probably so,” said Alicia.
“Our parents must be worried sick about us,” said Caitlin. She looked pretty worried sick, herself. “My mom is probably freaking out right now.”
This gave Alicia an idea. “Do you think the cops are looking for us?” she asked eagerly.
“Probably,” said Lindsey. “But the chances of them finding us here are pretty slim. Why would they ever suspect Serena of wrongdoing? What would make them get a warrant to search this place? They might ask some questions and search the surrounding woods, but they won't find us.”
“What if we...what if we shout for help?” asked Caitlin anxiously.
Chase quickly shook her head. “Not shout for help. Small chance help hear, if us in ground.” She looked at the sentinels. “Us make loud shouts, Sir gag mouth. Then us not make plan.”
“Oh...” said Caitlin.
The room's grim mood necessitated a little pep, or at least Alicia thought so. “We'll be just fine, you guys!” she encouraged. “I know we can get out of this! We just have to use our heads, and believe in ourselves!”
Caitlin looked surprised, then smiled, reassured. “Y-yeah, you're right.”
They huddled together as best they could while confined to chairs and discussed plans for escape under their breath. Serena's sentinels did not move from their position or look away, so the Sunnycrest girls had little choice but to openly conspire right in front of them. All they could do was keep their voices low enough that they couldn't be heard.
“I don't know why you're wasting precious time on this pointless scheming,” said Serena through one of the sentinels, making them all jump in surprise.
She used the other one to say, “You might feel imprisoned now, but you are at least free to speak. To think. In a little while, that freedom, too, will be taken from you. If I was in your position, I would be taking this time to express myself. To laugh or sing. To connect with my friends one last time. I would not be doing something so futile.”
They ignored her, though it was a bit difficult. The situation did seem dire. All of them were thoroughly secured to their seats, and their guards' watch was unwavering. It was hard to picture a plan with even a slight chance of success. When they finally found one that seemed close, they reluctantly settled on it, though none of them felt great about it.
They separated, and said nothing for a while. After about an hour had passed, Alicia said, “Uh, Serena?”
“What?” asked one of the sentinels.
“I have to go to the bathroom.”
Serena laughed. “Nice try. You expect me to believe this isn't just some escape plan of yours?”
Alicia squeezed her legs together. “Is it that big of a stretch? I've been here a long time!” Neither of the Paranske Falls cheerleaders moved. Alicia added, “Whether you believe it or not, in a minute or so I'm going either way!”
The two sentienls hung back and watched Alicia, then looked at the other three Sunnycrest girls, as though trying to figure out what their angle was.
“Gah!” said Serena, frustrated. “Alright, fine. Give me a minute.”
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The puppet master used her two drones to double check Chase's, Lindsey's and Caitlin's cuffs to make sure they were secure. Serena paid particular attention to Chase's cuffs. She cinched them a little tighter than they already were, pinching the blonde's skin in the process.
“Didn't like that, huh?” Serena jabbed, picking up the brief flash of pain on Chase's face. She caressed her puppet's hand under Chase's chin and up her cheek. “Sorry, but I'm not taking any chances with you.”
Serena took her drone's hand away, then sent her over to join the other one in freeing Alicia. The two girls undid Alicia's handcuffs, and then, grabbing her firmly by the upper arms, stood her up and walked her to the stairs. One of the drones looked back, and Serena threatened, “None of you try anything. We'll be right back.”
They left, closing the door behind them. Immediately, the three remaining girls sprang into action. Lindsey awkwardly positioned her chair so she and Caitlin were back to back, and Chase hopped her chair over so she was right next to Caitlin.
“H-hurry!” Caitlin encouraged. “It's on the left side. Opposite the ponytail.”
“Will go fast, hold still,” answered Chase. She searched Caitlin's black hair until she spotted what she was looking for: a bobby pin. She leaned her face in close to Caitlin's, took the bobby pin in her teeth, and carefully pulled it out.
Taking extreme care not to drop the tiny piece of bent metal, Chase took a couple hops backward, leaned over the two girls' backs, and dropped the pin into Lindsey's cupped, waiting hand.
“Yes!” Lindsey exulted. She adjusted her grip on the pin, then probed around Caitlin's handcuffs with it until she found a keyhole. She slipped the pin inside.
“Are you sure you know how to do this?” asked Caitlin nervously, as Lindsey began scraping and poking the pin around.
“Oh, sure. My dad showed me how,” said Lindsey. “Don't tell your mom. When she finds out, I want it to be a surprise, if you know what I mean.”
Caitlin sighed. “You genuinely worry me.” The cuff on her right hand popped open, and Lindsey started on the left one next.
“Why didn't you go instead of Alicia, Chase?” asked Lindsey. “You could have beaten up those two girls by yourself.”
Chase shook her head. “Sir not free me with just two cheer. I try go pee, Sir bring more cheer here to guard. Make flee much more tough.”
“It'll probably be tough enough as it is,” worried Caitlin.
The second cuff popped open. Caitlin rubbed her wrists and stood up, glad to be free, but she couldn't stand around long. It was time for the next phase of the plan. She snatched the pin out of Lindsey's palm and crouched down to try to free Lindsey. She picked a handcuff, and jabbed the pin into a keyhole.
“Okay,” she said intently, “walk me through this.”
Meanwhile, the two drones walked Alicia to the bathroom. One opened the bathroom door, and the other tossed her roughly inside.
“Make it quick. Leave the door unlocked,” Serena said, through the drone who held the door open. “And don't be stupid. Behave yourself. You don't have your blonde bodyguard with you.”
Alicia closed the door. It was too late to avoid doing something stupid, but she could at least behave herself. She stood in front of the door and waited.
It was nerve-wracking not being able to see how things were going down in the basement. Suppose something went wrong? Suppose the others couldn't get out of their cuffs? She looked around. There wasn't anything in the bathroom that looked like she could convincingly use it as a weapon. She had no doubt Chase could kill someone with a toothbrush, but Alicia sure couldn't.
Seconds ticked by. How long would it take to pick six locks? No, Chase had them on her legs too. Eight. God, it would take forever! All Alicia could do was stall them as long as she could and hope it was enough. She listened at the door, and silently kept time in her head. Her heart was pounding. Outside, muffled by the closed window, she could hear one of the neighbors mowing their lawn, oblivious to the unreal, terrifying situation playing out right next door.
Then, she heard one of the drones turn around and head back towards the stairs. Her heart leapt into her mouth. Less than a minute had passed. No way was that enough time. Her friends would be caught. Alicia realized it was on her to do something to call the drone back. But what?!
Without thinking, she hopped up on the sink as noisily as she could, intentionally kicking over bottles, a toothbrush holder and other bathroom sink clutter, to ensure her guard would hear.
Just as she threw the bathroom window open, she heard the door's hinges shrieking at her. There were also footsteps running in her direction: the wayward drone had turned back from the basement stairs to retrieve her. Alicia felt not worried, but relieved.
The two cheerleaders grabbed her legs and tried to pull her back into the bathroom. Alicia braced herself against the outside of the house and resisted, buying her friends as much time as she could. When the two drones finally pried her off and wrestled her back inside, about two more minutes had passed.
As one of them got Alicia under control, the other one turned and hurried to the basement. Serena had clearly figured out what Alicia was trying to do.
The Paranske Falls cheerleader threw the door open and ran down the stairs. The scene she descended upon had Caitlin free and working on freeing Lindsey as well. Lindsey had one of her hands completely unshackled, and was waiting on the edge of her seat for the other one to join it.
All three girls looked up at the intruder. For a second, no one moved. Then, Lindsey did the first thing that came to mind. She jumped up to her feet, grabbed hold of the chair she was still halfway locked into, and whanged it against the side of the drone's head. The girl toppled to the floor, unconscious.
“Holy crap!” said Caitlin.
“S-sorry!” Lindsey told the fallen cheerleader. She ran over to Chase. “Caitlin, throw me the pin!”
Caitlin did it. She and Lindsey were both thinking the same thing. Serena knew they were loose. In seconds, the other guard would be back, and in minutes, Serena would have reinforcements converging here. Finishing freeing Lindsey could wait. They needed Chase, and they needed her now.
Lindsey got to work on Chase's ankles first. She had barely gotten one free when the other drone reached the bottom of the stairs, forcefully dragging a resisting, fighting Alicia with her.
“Aaah!” shouted Caitlin. The drone tossed Alicia into her arms to occupy her, then lunged at her, fist drawn back for a punch.
Caitlin had no idea what to do. She'd never been in a fight before. Instinct took over, causing her to look away, close her eyes, and raise her hands in front of her face as a flimsy shield.
Wham. The punch hit her in the cheek. It hurt, but not as much as Caitlin expected. Maybe it was her adrenaline, maybe Serena didn't know how to hit just as much as Caitlin didn't know how to block.
Alicia grabbed the Paranske Falls cheerleader under her arms and tried to wrestle her away from Caitlin, but the girl shoved Alicia off and came at Caitlin again.
Caitlin didn't want to be hit again. The only thing she could think of as a preventative measure was to hit her first. She lowered her head and wrapped her arms the Paranske Falls cheerleader in a tackle. The two girls hit the floor. Serena's drone landed hard on her back, with Caitlin was on top, but Serena's mind was far away. She was not jarred by the impact. She recovered instantly, grabbing Caitlin's wrists and easily rolling her over.
They had switched places. Serena's drone now straddled Caitlin, pinning her back to the floor. She clenched a fist to punch Caitlin again.
At that moment a click signaled, to the room, the freeing of Chase's second ankle. She did not wait for Lindsey to free her arms before entering the fight. Hunched over, her chair still firmly fastened to her at the wrists, she ran over and swung a mighty kick against the drone's head.
The girl was thrown off of Caitlin and onto the cold, unyielding concrete floor. As quickly as she fell, though, she recovered, and, ignoring Chase completely, pounced at the nearest Sunnycrest cheerleader she could reach: Alicia.
“Aaah!” cried Alicia, as the girl wrapped her arms around the redhead's legs, tripping her up. Alicia fell to the floor and the Paranske Falls girl climbed on top of her and started pelting her with balled up fists.
Chase wasn't going to sit back and allow that. She got a running start, planted one leg, then arced the other upward to punt the girl under the chin with a loud WHOCK.
The girl's head snapped back, leaving her staring at the ceiling. She was frozen in that position for a moment. Then, she toppled onto her back, knocked out.