It took Chase two weeks to heal from her injuries. She passed out as the four of them were leaving the school and woke up two days later in a hospital bed. The doctors were amazed at her speedy recovery. Chase attributed it to 'clean live,' and then to 'drink blood of foe.' Caitlin shakily assured them that this was a figure of speech.

The events of the game were described on the news as the work of a lone, rogue sniper who was stopped by local law enforcement. No mention was made of the other cops who died, or of Chase. The girls weren't sure if the SCPD squelched the story, or if they simply cleaned up after themselves before the media could hit the scene.

Chase didn't know what to expect when she returned for her first day of school since the incident, but when she and Alicia walked through the front doors, she was greeted with cheers.

“Whoa!” she said, as every student in the entry hall welcomed her with clapping, pumping fists and chants of her name. “What this?!”

“They're happy to see you!” Alicia explained over the din. “The student body was there when the shooting started. They didn't see much after that, but they saw you stay behind to protect us, and those who didn't heard about it. The news can say whatever it wants, but the truth is out: You're a hero!”

As a group of basketball players hefted Chase up on their shoulders, Kirk walked over to a couple of his teammates. “Hey guys!” he grinned, his usual cheery self. He looked around at the festivities with surprise. “Whoa, what's going on?”

“Bro, that cheerleader who fought that sniper all by herself is back!” said a defensive lineman. “She just got out of the hospital yesterday.”

“I heard she got shot three times,” said a wide receiver. “Now that's hardcore!”

Kirk noticed Chase, who was currently being repeatedly basket tossed in the air to a chorus of 'hip hip hooray's. “Three times? Wow! I didn't hear that!”

The defensive lineman realized something. He punched the receiver in the shoulder to get his attention. “Hey, wait a second! Steller was on the field at half time!”

“Whoa! You're right!” the receiver remarked. They both wheeled on Kirk. “What happened, man? Did you see her fight him?!”

Kirk laughed. “Nah... I just grabbed my helmet and got the heck out of there.” He remembered that night, then added thoughtfully: “I talked to her for a second, though. After the bullets started flying.”

The lineman looked impressed. “Dude, seriously? What did she say?”

“Not a lot, she just told me to get out and leave the sniper to her.”

The receiver looked at the lineman. “What'd I say, man? Hardcore. She's like, European or something, right? Maybe she was in the Spetsnaz!”

Kirk put his hands in the pockets of his letter jacket and turned his eyes to Chase. “Beats me, man!”

As his friends' conversation moved on to the rescheduled game, he watched Chase bounce through the air. Caitlin seemed to be spearheading an effort to get the basketball players to stop, as Chase was beginning to look agitated. With an intrigued smile, he finally turned away.

Eventually, they let Chase down and the crowd began to abate a bit as students moved on to get ready for class. In the lull, Victoria appeared.

“Alicia!” she snapped, putting a fist on her hip and pointing at them with her other hand. “And Caitlin and Lindsey! What on Earth are you three doing near this maniac? What sort of message do you think you three are sending, as upstanding cheerleaders of Sunnycrest High?”

Looking around at her friends helplessly, Alicia said, “I, er, don't know, Victoria. What message are we sending?”

Victoria rolled her eyes. “Um, duh? That we have no problem consorting with girls who maliciously drop their squadmates, with intent to kill? That girl is clearly unstable and has a bloodlust that can't be sated!”

The last sentence was probably true, at least. Chase gave an innocent cough. “No know what you talk.”

“Oh, sure! Play dumb! Play the HERO, even! But I've seen the real you!”

“Victoria, she saved us all,” pacified Alicia. “She saved YOU specifically, when she broke those straps.”

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The little blonde hesitated, then rolled her eyes. “Of course she did! I'd do the same thing if I was suspected of attempted murder! What better way to put myself above suspicion?” She marched over to Chase, and to their surprise, Chase actually recoiled a little bit. The bossiness and bitchiness of an angry Victoria was enough to frighten anyone.

She put two hands on her bony hips this time, and looked simultaneously up and down at Chase in the typical Victoria manner. “You listen to me, freak. I want you off this squad, and I always get what I want. I'll prove you're a killer if it's the last thing I do! Everybody might be all 'three cheers for Chase' now, but once they see your true colors, you're FINISHED at this school!”

The look of concern she gave Alicia was one of twisted parody. “So, I mean, Alicia, if you really want to hang out with her, it's none of my business. But when she goes down, you could end up guilty by association, you know? None of us want that. I'd absolutely hate to see such a dear friend and eminently valuable squadmate go to juvie for aiding and abetting.” She gave her a wicked smile. “Of course, I'd be promoted to captain in your absence... but my goodness, I simply couldn't IMAGINE being able to take your place!”

“You could always sit on somebody's shoulders,” suggested Lindsey.

Victoria pursed her lips and furiously whirled on Lindsey. This was the first part of her withering comeback. Beyond that, however, she didn't really have any specific plans. “Oh, oh yeah, Lindsey? Well, you're just a... you can sit on... um—”

“It fine, Vic. You sit on me!” suggested Chase, patting herself diplomatically on the shoulders. “I no mind! We team!”

“I don't need to sit on your stupid shoulders!” replied Victoria angrily. “Besides, you'd be in juvie too, you idiot!”

Chase didn't understand, possibly because she had no idea what juvie was. She decided this was a prudent time to pass along some of the wisdom she'd gained in her adventure. “It fine, Vic. It fine,” she assured Victoria, taking her hands. Victoria immediately tried to pull away, but Chase held fast. “You see, cheer look out for each cheer. Us team. Chase help Vic, Vic help Chase. Vic kill, Chase no care. Vic eat people flesh, Chase no care.”

She looked deeply into Victoria's eyes and smiled. “Vic no need ma and pa. Chase is Vic's NEW ma and pa!”

This was not particularly helpful advice. It would be a while before Victoria bothered Chase again.

…..

“So, how was practice today?” asked Alicia's mom, setting down plates of dinner on the table in front of the two girls.

Chase and Alicia picked up their forks and knives and began tucking into their meat loaf. “Couldn't be better, mom. We're really close to ironing the last kinks out of our new cheer!”

“Thank for din din, Leash mom. Look much good,” said Chase politely. She was working hard to improve her manners.

Alicia's mom just laughed. “You're welcome.”

“How was your first day back at school, Chase?” asked Alicia's dad.

“Was good. Cait brought school work while in doc house, so all caught up!” she explained.

Alicia's mom laughed again. “Well, be careful from now on, okay, Chase? We don't want you to end up in the doc house again.”

Chase was a little surprised. For the most part, Alicia's parents seemed to just try to silently accept that they had a freeloading teenager under their roof who spoke hardly any English. They weren't mean or neglectful, per se... they simply seemed to think Chase was Alicia's project and were content with keeping it that way.

Mr. and Mrs. Alcott looked at each other, then the Mrs. smiled at her and continued. “I'll be honest, at first, we were a little skeptical about having you here, Chase.”

“The traps didn't help,” the Mr. added.

“But after hearing what you did at the game, we see what a good kid you are. You can stay here as long as you need to.”

Chase was touched. “Th... thank you. Chase try find own den. But till then, thank you.”

The parents returned to their food. Alicia's mom gave Chase one more friendly glance before putting knife to loaf. “Don't mention it.”

Alicia reached for the salt, and accidentally knocked her glass onto the floor. It shattered. “Oh!”

Moving automatically, her mom stood up. “Oh jeez. Stay where you are, sweetheart, there's glass everywhere. I'll clean it up,” she said, going for the broom closet.

“Sorry, mom,” said Alicia, embarrassed, lifting her feet up.

When her mom opened the door, a three week old dead body flopped out on the floor. Maggots and beetles wormed around in its empty eye sockets and made his skin dance as they writhed beneath its greenish, decaying surface. The parents both screamed.

“Oh my god!” exclaimed Alicia. She looked at Chase, and saw she was equally mortified. “We forgot to get rid of it!”

Her mom turned to her, shocked. “A-A-Alicia?! Do you know something about this?!”

Something in Alicia's brain seized up, and she struggled to formulate a response while working around the error. “We, we forgot to get rid of... of..” She looked around frantically, then abruptly picked up her spoon. “...this, uh, creamed corn! It's long expired. Blech.” She noticed the jogger with exaggerated surprise, clapping her hands on her cheeks. “Oh no! A dead body!"

End of Part One