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I backed away, looking at all the faces behind her. A couple of people seemed mildly concerned, but most of them were watching me with curiosity.
“Bye,” I said numbly. Bye forever.
I would just have to take my chances following the line of floats and pray that I found Megan fast enough to save my sister.
I hurried away, trying to ignore the stabbing pains in my temples.
“Hey, wait up.”
It was a freshman girl with long black hair. She glanced back at the Doom Squad, who were glaring at us, and rolled her eyes. “Lydia’s a jerk. That float’s right at the front. It’s like the fourth one.”
I nodded. “Oh. Okay, cool. Thanks…”
“Taylor. Taylor Derry.”
“Thanks, Taylor.” Why was that name familiar? “Sorry, I have to go.”
“But, like, are you sure you’re okay?” she asked, her eyes lingering on my face.
I nodded, and as I looked at her, it hit me—
She was on the list.
“Listen, Taylor,” I said. “Do you know my sister? Kasey Warren?”
She nodded vaguely. “She’s a year behind me, right?”
“Yeah. This sounds crazy, but…go home. Lock the door. If she comes to your house, don’t let her in. Whatever you do.”
Taylor swallowed hard. “That does sound crazy.”
“Yeah, but…“I tried to think what I would have done if someone said those things to me. “Please. I’ll explain later.”
She shrugged. “I mean, I’ll have to miss this awesome parade, but…” She smiled.
“I seriously have to go. Just please…go home. And be careful. And thank you.”
“No problem.” She flashed me a peace sign and walked away.
One less target for Sarah.
I broke off from the parade route and cut through the deserted downtown. All the shops had signs in their windows that said CLOSED FOR PARADE.
As I came around the library building I saw the Surrey High marching band and the drum majorettes leading the procession slowly across an intersection a block away. I broke into a sprint and pushed through the thicker mass of spectators to make my way down the lineup.
I saw the eagle’s nest first, looming high over the miniforest of artificial Christmas trees. Stationed all around the edges of the float, cheering and egging the crowd on, were the cheerleaders themselves. At first I didn’t see Megan, and then as I drew nearer I spotted her at the back. She was pumping her arms in the air and shaking her pom-poms just like the rest of the girls, but you could tell her heart wasn’t in it.
“Megan!” I yelled, but my voice didn’t carry over the raucous sounds of the marching band and the cheers of the parade watchers. I pushed farther toward the street, trying to apologize as the people I passed made a
“Megan!” I called again. The float was only a few feet away. One of the cheerleaders noticed me and elbowed the girl next to her. I pointed at Megan, expecting to be ignored.
But the first girl backed out of her spot and made her way toward the rear of the float.
I stepped out into the street and heard the shrill whistle of a police officer.
Megan had seen me now; I gestured for her to come over, and she handed her pom-poms to the girl next to her.
That’s when I saw it, across the street—
A shock of caramel-colored hair.
Kasey.
Three things happened at once—a few feet away from me the police whistle blew loudly; Megan neatly hopped down to street level—
And with the horrible shriek of metal on metal, the cheerleaders’ float creaked to a sudden stop and lurched violently to one side.
It sounded like everyone within a hundred-foot radius immediately started screaming at the top of their lungs. Megan stood frozen in place, staring in horror as the rest of the squad scrambled to keep their footing. A few girls went tumbling down into the street, dragging other girls with them.
I ran to her side as the float stopped moving and everything seemed to settle.
And suddenly I realized where my sister had been the previous night.
“Oh my God,” I said. “Kasey did this.”
Megan turned to me, pale.
The trees and benches and eagle’s nest at the center of the float were starting to fall toward the girls on the ground, some of whom were crying and holding their arms or wrists or ankles. Pepper had her head in her hands.
“We have to help them!” I started to move forward, but Megan gripped my arm.
“Stay back!” she said. “There are plenty of people helping them.”
She was right: the injured girls were already mobbed by spectators helping them to their feet and shielding them from the decorations sliding off the side of the float.
“Kasey’s here!” I said. “I saw her!”
Megan was staring at the wreckage in disbelief. “All of it. All because of me? And your face,” she said. “Is that my fault too?”
“What?” Oh God, she didn’t even know. “Megan, no! It’s not your mom.”
She looked like she didn’t know whether to believe
me.
“She locked you outside. She saved your life. A hundred years ago, this girl who lived in my house fell out of the tree and died. All the girls from town were chasing her. And now she’s trying to get revenge by killing all of their daughters and granddaughters. It’s so many people, Megan. Pepper and Mimi, that freshman Taylor, the librarian—me. Kasey. Our mom.”
Megan’s eyes were suddenly blazing. It made me think of the moment in the hallway when she stood up for Emily Rosen. “How many people?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “The girls all grew up and got married—so the names are different. But there are dozens, Megan…And she wants to kill them all.
“So—the thing is—I’ll explain later, but I need your necklace.”
She glanced at the girls on the ground, then pulled me away and quickened her pace. “No, explain now, on the way to your house.”
“What? No!” Oh, hell no. Megan was not coming back with me. “She’s still after you.”
“You want my necklace?” Megan asked. “You’re getting me with it.”
I shook my head and sighed. I was having a hard time keeping up with her. “Fine.”
She slowed a little to accommodate me, but after one block I couldn’t even speak. My half-strangled throat begged for mercy, but I kept going.
“Oh, look!” Megan cried, pointing up ahead.
I looked and saw a green Prius parallel parking.
Carter.
Lovely.
“He can give us a ride!” she said, grabbing my hand and sprinting.
“No,” I said. “Wait!”
But she’d already waved him down, and I couldn’t manage to say anything else.
When we got to the car, I had to bend over and put my hands on my knees. I thought I was going to throw up. It was just as well. I didn’t want to have to look at Carter’s face.
“Can you give us a ride?” Megan asked.
“…Aren’t you supposed to be on a float or something?”
“Yes or no? It’s an emergency!” “Yeah, yeah,” he said. “Get in.” Then I felt his hand on my back. “Alexis, is everything okay?”
I looked up at him and he jumped backward. Oh, right. The black eyes. “Who did this to you?” he whispered. “I’m okay,” I said. “Let’s go.”
The urge to throw up had subsided. I climbed into the backseat as Carter went around and got into the driver’s seat.
“You have to go to the police,” Carter said.
“It’s not like that,” Megan replied. “Take us to Alexis’s house.”
“What’s at your house?” Carter demanded.
“Please,” I said. “Let it go for now.”
“It’s a long story,” Megan said, looking out the window.
“Is it safe?”
Does it look safe? I wanted to ask.
“This isn’t high school melodrama b.s.,” he said. “I’m seriously worried about you.”
“You’re right.” I looked at the rearview mirror and saw the concern in his eyes. Little flecks of amber glittered among the blue. “But I can’t explain right now.”
We reached Whitley Street.
“Just stop in front of the driveway,” Megan said.