Cheerleaders: The New Evil (4 page)

Of course. It was only a dream.

Wasn't
it?

She had the same nightmare at least once a month. Ever since the evil had inhabited her body, had used her for its plots.

In her sleep she had felt the anger return, felt the anger flame until it burst out of her in a howl of rage.

Just a dream. Of course, just a dream.

So why did it seem different this time?

Why did it seem so much more real?

♦ ♦ ♦

Alex slammed the table with both hands. “It was all my fault!” he cried angrily. “I blew it! I totally blew it!”

“Hey, superstar—” Jay reached across the table and playfully punched Alex's jaw. “No one is blaming you.”

“Why not?” Alex demanded. “I let the guy shoot. I let the ball go in. I lost the game for us—didn't I?”

“Nice weather we're having,” Corky commented dryly. She wondered if she should just get up and leave. She could see that Alex and Jay were going to replay the basketball game for the rest of Friday night.

How dreary.

Corky felt the same combination of excitement and
exhaustion she felt after every game. Her throat was scratchy from cheering. Her leg muscles ached. But her heart was still racing. And she wanted to cheer more or dance until she dropped.

They were squeezed into a booth in the back of Pete's Pizza at the mall. Corky sat beside Jay. Alex slumped across the table from them.

A large pepperoni pizza sat in the middle of the white Formica table. So far, Corky was the only one who had taken a slice.

“I jumped too soon, that's all,” Alex said glumly, resting his chin in his hands. “Otherwise, I would've blocked the shot.”

“Give me a break, Alex. He faked you out of your Nikes!” Jay shot back, letting out his high-pitched giggle. He had a Mighty Ducks cap pulled down over his short, spiky hair and looked goofier than ever.

“Are you trying to cheer me up or what?” Alex asked, scowling.

Jay pulled two round pieces of pepperoni off the pizza and covered his eyes with them. “Hey—do you think I need glasses?”

Corky laughed. At least Jay was trying to get over his disappointment. Alex continued to scowl and shake his head.

“So we lost in the last second,” Jay continued, removing the pepperonis from his eyes and popping them into his mouth. “Think of it this way, Alex, we won the first forty-seven minutes and fifty-nine seconds of the game!”

Corky laughed. Jay can always make me laugh, she thought. Alex picked up a slice of pizza, then set it down again.

“The game doesn't even count!” Jay insisted. “We're still going to the tournament, man! The tournament is what counts. That's the top ten teams in the state! That's the real season!”

“Guess you're right,” Alex replied. He shrugged. Then all at once Corky saw a smile cross his face. Alex's blue eyes lit up for the first time since they'd arrived.

He's finally cheering up! Corky told herself.

But then she realized that Alex wasn't smiling at her. His eyes were focused over her shoulder.

She turned—and immediately saw two girls she knew from Shadyside High in the next booth. Jade Smith and Deena Martinson. Deena was tossing back her blond hair and flashing Alex a smile.

“What's going on here?” Corky blurted out angrily, turning back to Alex.

His smile quickly faded. “Huh? What do you mean?” Bright red circles formed on his cheeks. “Oh. I was just saying hi to those girls. You know. Deena and Jade.”

Corky eyed him suspiciously. Alex laughed. “What's your problem, Corky?”

She continued to glare at him and didn't reply.

“Let's talk about the game,” Jay broke in, trying to cut the tension. “Didn't I look awesome tonight? Did you see me jump three feet for that slam dunk?”

“Too bad you didn't have the ball!” Alex replied, grinning.

“Too bad you hit your head on the backboard!” Corky added.

She joined in the laughter. But didn't feel like laughing. Alex had stopped smiling at Deena, but now he avoided Corky too.

Is something going on between them? Corky wondered.

Why do I suddenly have such a bad feeling about Alex?

About the tournament?

About everything?

♦ ♦ ♦

She tried to call Kimmy on Sunday afternoon. She had to talk to
someone
about Alex. They had made plans to go to the movies on Saturday. But Alex called at the last minute with a lame excuse about how he had to stay home and watch his little sister.

His voice sounded so strange, Corky thought. Alex is such a bad liar. She pictured him hanging up the phone and running out to meet Deena. Feeling miserable, she spent Saturday night playing with her brother, Sean. He forced her to play game after game of Mortal Kombat. He beat her every game.

The phone rang three times at Kimmy's house. “Come on, Kimmy—be home!” Corky urged out loud. I haven't even had a chance to tell her about what I saw at the river, Corky thought, pressing the receiver to her ear. About the hole in the ice and the weird vapor rising out of it.

After the fifth ring, Mrs. Bass answered breathlessly. She told Corky that Kimmy had gone over to Debra's house.

Corky borrowed her mother's car and drove to Debra's house on Canyon Road. The heavy gray clouds had finally drifted away, revealing a shimmering blue sky. Bright sunlight made the snowy lawns sparkle like silver.

The light glared off Gorky's windshield. But the sun brought no warmth. The temperature stayed at twenty. The streets remained icy and slick.

She recognized the car parked at the curb in front of Debra's house—the blue Corolla Kimmy must have borrowed from her father. Kimmy's car was still in the garage having its front end repaired and the shattered windshield replaced.

Corky pulled her car up Debra's driveway and peered out at the sprawling white-shingled house. The walk and front stoop had been shoveled, but drifts of snow rose up to the front windows. The windows were all frosted over.

Her Doc Martens sliding on the slick walk, Corky made her way to the front door and rang the bell. Kimmy and Debra are probably doing homework together, she realized. I should have brought my backpack.

No reply. She tried the bell again, but she couldn't hear it ring inside the house. It was probably broken.

So she knocked. “Hey, Debra—it's me!” she called. “Open up!”

Still no reply.

They must be in the back, she decided. She tried the door—and it opened.

“Where
are
you?” Corky called, stepping into the front hallway. “Hey—Debra? Kimmy? It's me!”

The entire house appeared dark.

And silent.

Corky peeked into the living room. “Hey—guys?” she called meekly.

The drapes were drawn over the windows, shutting out all sunlight. No lamps were lit. Corky stared into the darkness. “Debra?”

A flicker of pale light caught her eye across the large living room. It's in the den, Corky realized. She took a few hesitant steps toward the dim light.

Candlelight?

“Hey—Debra? Are you in there?”

No reply.

The flickering circle of light grew brighter as Corky approached the den. She stopped in the open doorway—and gasped.

“What's going on?” Corky cried in a shocked whisper.

C
orky watched the light flicker across her friends' faces from the candles. Their eyes were staring unblinking into the flames. The room was dark, the drapes drawn.

Debra and Kimmy knelt on the den floor, candles arranged in a circle between them.

Debra held a long red candle in one hand and was slowly passing it over the circle of candles. A large book lay open on the floor in front of her.

Both girls' lips moved silently. As Corky cried out, they continued to stare into the flames, concentrating so hard, they didn't hear her.

Corky remained in the doorway, unwilling to step into the room. She didn't like Debra's strange chants.

Finally Kimmy raised her eyes. Her expression changed to surprise. “Corky—what are you doing here? How did you get in?”

Debra groaned and straightened up, raising her candle from the others. “You ruined it,” she complained.

“What on earth are you doing?” Corky asked, taking a reluctant step closer.

Debra climbed to her feet. She stretched her arms above her head. “Did you ring? The doorbell is broken. It froze, I think.”

“The door was open,” Corky explained, staring down into the candlelight. “Kimmy's mom said she was here, so—”

Debra pushed past Corky. “Oh. There's the phone. Be right back. Then you can help us.” She hurried out of the room.

“Help you do
what?”
Corky asked Kimmy.

Kimmy lowered herself to a sitting position. She wore an oversize wool sweater and black leggings. “Debra found an old chant we're trying,” she explained casually.

She leaned back on her hands. The orange light danced over her face and black hair. Her eyes glowed as they studied Corky. “Did you go out with Alex last night?”

Corky lowered herself to her knees beside Kimmy. “No. He called and said he couldn't make it.” She sighed. “He gave a really lame-o excuse.”

Kimmy
tsk-tsked.

“Wish I didn't like him so much,” Corky confessed.
She bent to pull off her shoes. They were still cold from being outside.

“Okay. Let's try again,” Debra said, returning to the den. “This is great. With three of us chanting, the power will be much stronger.”

Corky reluctantly got down on the floor beside Kimmy. “But what are you chanting about?” she demanded. “What are you trying to do?”

“We're trying to make Alex appear in the den!” Kimmy joked. “With no clothes on.”

Debra's cold blue eyes narrowed at Kimmy. “Come on. No jokes. The spirits won't take us seriously.”

Debra lowered herself to her knees on the other side of the ring of candles. Then she leaned over the big book on the floor and studied it.

“It's a chant to summon a spirit,” Kimmy explained, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Debra found it in a book we bought in a used-book shop.”

Debra continued to study the old book.

“What spirit?” Corky asked, whispering. “The evil spirit?”

“No—of course not!” Kimmy replied, her eyes on Debra. “We want to call up a different spirit—a spirit to protect us.”

“You mean—” Corky started.

Debra raised a hand to silence them. Her eyes caught the firelight as she gazed at Corky. “We're going to call up a spirit to protect us from the evil. In case the evil really has returned. We—”

“That's what I wanted to tell you,” Corky interrupted.
“I went to the river, where I drowned the evil. The river is frozen over.”

“I know that,” Debra replied sharply. “I've gone skating on it. Lots of kids have been skating there. It's been frozen for a few weeks.”

“Well, I saw a hole in the ice,” Corky reported breathlessly.

“Huh?” Kimmy cried out in surprise.

“A pretty big hole, perfectly round,” Corky reported. “And there was smoke pouring up from it. Like thick, evil fog. Pouring up from under the ice.”

“Probably just steam,” Debra murmured thoughtfully.

“You really think the evil has escaped?” Kimmy asked. “Do you think Hannah's accident . . .” Her voice trailed off as her eyes grew wide with fear.

“You
put the idea in my head,” Corky told Kimmy. “When your brakes gave out and we crashed. Was it just an accident? Or was the evil back, looking for revenge?”

Corky sighed. “I've been obsessing about it ever since. I even dream about it.”

“The evil can come back only if it inhabits someone living,” Debra said softly. “And there were only the three of you in the car.”

Corky shuddered. “It's not in me,” she reported. “I—I feel pretty normal.”

“Me too,” Kimmy replied quickly.

A loud sound made all three of them jump. It took Corky a few seconds to realize it was just the crash of a metal garbage can, toppled by the wind.

“Let's summon a spirit,” Debra urged, picking up a long red candle from beside her on the floor, holding it over a flame to light it. “If the evil is back, we will need a spirit on
our
side to fight it.”

“How do you know this will work?” Corky demanded.

“It's a very old book,” Debra replied. “The store owner didn't want to sell it to me. He said it might be dangerous.”

“Probably just trying to raise the price of the book,” Corky suggested.

“Maybe he was telling the truth,” Debra replied solemnly. She motioned impatiently to Corky to move closer to the candles.

I really hate this, Corky thought. It frightens me too much.

But, following Kimmy's lead, she knelt and leaned over the ring of candles, so close she could feel the warmth. She listened to Debra's soft chant.