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“We’re not here for our retirement. This is for cheerleading only!” Tiffany said. “Besides, the machine doesn’t take you back to a world once you’ve visited it, so you better take what you can.”
Just then there was a loud bang. A door slammed opened behind Matilda and she heard a heavy footstep followed by a metallic clink.
Boot-clink. Boot-clink. Boot-clink.
When Matilda turned, she saw a rough-looking man holding the biggest, sharpest sword she had ever seen. His mustache was long and bushy and hung down to his Adam’s apple. He was dressed in a black coat embroidered with silver flowers and had a red silken scarf tied around his neck. One of his legs was a stump with nothing more than a crude metal spike for him to balance on. But nothing about his appearance was as shocking as his face. He could have been Agent Brand’s twin brother.
“Well, well, what do we have here?” he said.
Matilda shuddered. His voice was identical to her boss’s, too.
Another set of feet stomped into the room, this one belonging to a blonde woman. She was tall and lean with braided hair. She had a black patch over her left eye and what looked like the scar of a hangman’s noose around her slender neck. Only those two characteristics kept her from being an exact copy of Ms. Holiday. In fact, standing side by side, the pirates looked as if they were Brand and Holiday on their way to a costume party.
“What do we have here, Alex, my lad?” she said, removing a dagger from within her vest.
“Looters, my love,” he said. “No-good thieving scoundrels.”
“Isn’t that what we are, dearest?”
The pirates laughed.
“Indeed. But there has to be some respect for finder’s keepers, my darling. This treasure was stolen by us and therefore rightfully belongs to us. It’s unbecoming of a scoundrel to steal from other scoundrels.”
“I suppose we should alert the captain,” the female pirate said.
“Captain?” Matilda asked.
“Someone called?” a voice rang out, and another person entered the room. Matilda’s heart almost stopped. The captain was no rogue of the seven seas but eleven-year-old Ruby Peet, dressed in a huge black hat and leather boots, complete with a parrot standing on her shoulder.
“Brand and Holiday! Tell me my eyes don’t deceive me! Is it true we have some rats below decks? Filthy, thieving vermin. I’m allergic to the hairy little buggers.”
“It’s true, Captain Peet,” Brand said. “Permission to hoist them up by their tails and toss them overboard?”
“No, Brand, this is a pleasure I seize for my own,” the pirate Ruby said as she unsheathed a broadsword from her hip. She flashed a rotten smile nearly as deadly as her blade, then charged at Shauna, swinging murderously. The pretty cheerleader screamed and cowered in the corner.
Before Pirate Ruby could slash her throat, Matilda leaped across the tiny room and kicked the sword out of Captain Peet’s hand. It clanked to the floor. While Ruby bent to retrieve her weapon, Matilda sucker-punched Brand in the belly. The pirate tumbled over just in time to catch a knee to his front teeth.
“Stay back!” Matilda shouted to the other cheerleaders, though by the looks on their faces they weren’t about to attack—or even defend themselves.
“Ye look familiar to me, little one,” Pirate Holiday said. “Don’t you think so, Captain?”
Peet eyeballed Matilda, rubbing her sword on her shirt. Something flashed in her expression.
“I do,” said the captain. “Remember that first mate we had out of Boston? The one with the breathing malady?”
Brand finally regained his breath. “Why, you’re right, Captain. She’s the spitting image. If I hadn’t seen you feed her to the sharks, I’d think it was the same girl.”
“Perhaps she’s a ghost,” the captain said as the two women circled Matilda.
“Take a step closer and I’ll show you who’s a ghost.”
Peet laughed. “Just as chatty as the other one, too. Run her through, Holiday.”
Holiday tossed her dagger from hand to hand then charged at Matilda. In such a small space, Matilda couldn’t use her inhalers to fly. So instead she turned her stealth inhalers on the woman’s face. One squeeze sent the woman flying against the ship’s wall, where she crumpled to the floor. Matilda hoped it looked to the other girls as if she just had a great right hook.
Captain Peet seemed momentarily stu
“Everyone on deck!” Matilda commanded, and the cheerleaders didn’t hesitate. They all flew through the door. Kylie and Matilda brought up the rear, tumbling out into the sunshine with the salty air tearing at their eyes and noses.
There they found a dozen more pirates, each filthier than the last. Lilly threw a punch at one Matilda recognized as a member of NERDS’ scientific team. Other pirates were alternate versions of teachers from the school, albeit very tough versions. They surrounded the group of girls.
“Whose idea was it to come outside?” McKe
“Stop complaining and keep an eye on that battery. When it’s charged, activate the machine, no matter what is happening!” Matilda said.
“We’re at seventy-seven percent right now. I’d say three more minutes. Maybe two.”
“Looks like we’ve flushed us out some worms,” a new voice said. Matilda turned and spotted this world’s Duncan. He was dressed in striped pants and a huge belt, and he had a red banda
“Awfully pretty worms,” Jackson said as he and a pirate version of Flinch joined Duncan. Each of the alternate NERDS wore swords nearly as big as themselves.
“Pretty as gumdrops,” Flinch said.
“Keep your eyes in your head,” Pirate Peet said as she stomped up on deck. She aimed her sword at the girls. “These ones are fish food. I aim to push them all overboard.”
Pammy began to whimper.
Captain Peet cackled. “Any volunteers?”
The pirates laughed.
“What about you?” Peet said, placing her hand on Matilda’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, girl, the sharks won’t come for you right away. They can’t smell you unless you’re bleeding.”
Then with the most murderous face Matilda had ever seen, the pirate ran her sword across Matilda’s shoulder. It was just a knick, but it stung enough to make her cry out. A red stain appeared on her shoulder.
“Oops,” Captain Peet said, and then she shoved Matilda over the side.
Matilda fell awkwardly and hit the water hard. It was cold and the shock made her gasp. Though it was hard to think, somewhere in her murky mind she remembered that all she had was three minutes until the gate home opened. If she was going back to her world, she needed to time this exactly.
But she’d never see three minutes if she didn’t get some air. She fumbled with her utility belt, searching for the right inhalers. She knew the oxygen inhalers were painted blue, but the gray water leeched all color from the plastic. She was struggling to find the right one when something banged into her—something big. She lost her grip on one of the inhalers and watched it tumble into the blackness.
That’s when she saw the fins gliding against the bottom of her feet. It was big and gray and fast, and when she saw the flecks of blood floating off her arm she knew exactly what it was: a great white shark.
At the moment, the shark was the least of Matilda’s worries. She couldn’t breathe. Her lungs were weak to begin with, and her asthma had prevented her from learning to hold her breath for long. Kicking her feet, she rose to the surface. Her head broke through and she gasped for breath. The pirates stood above her on the ship, jeering and laughing.
“How long?” Matilda cried.
“One minute forty seconds,” Tiffany shouted back. “And we can’t wait for you.”