The Cheerleaders of Doom

“Nice,” Matilda groaned. Her squad mates would not be mounting a rescue.

As she swam toward a rope that dangled from the deck into the water, she saw a shimmer and was dragged down again. The shark had caught her cheerleading skirt in its jagged teeth, narrowly missing her legs. Their eyes met and she could see the shark’s stubborn hunger. There would be no mercy from this fish.

Matilda had fought plenty of full-grown men and one very angry kindergartner, but she didn’t have any experience fighting sea life. So she did what came naturally—she punched the shark in the snout. She expected it to cry out—most people did when they were on the receiving end of her uppercuts—but instead it opened its jaws to take a bigger bite. She kicked at it violently, fueled by adrenalin and fear and the desperate desire to not become the shark’s breakfast, and managed to knock a few of its many teeth loose. Perhaps somewhere deep in her mind her subconscious took over, because without thinking she reached for her utility belt and snatched whatever inhaler she could. She pushed the plunger, and a blast of concentrated air knocked the shark for a loop. It went spi

There was no time to celebrate; her lungs were on fire. Once again, she swam to the shimmering surface and broke through into the air. From there she could see on deck, where the tiny ball of electricity had begun to form in McKe

Gripping her inhalers, she was just about to squeeze when the shark snatched her skirt again. It pulled her down deeper and deeper until she wasn’t sure which way was up. This time she knew she only had one chance. As soon as it opened its mouth to take a bite of her, she pushed the plunger on the inhalers and flew.

The shark chased after her, matching her pace. Matilda’s heart soared when she saw the streaming sunlight above, and when she broke the surface she gasped in all the air she could. Without stopping, she used the inhalers to sail skyward in a perfect arc up over the railing of the ship and into the milky skin of the glowing portal. A glance back revealed the stu

When she came out on the other side, she tumbled onto the forest floor and felt the cool night air rushing through her wet, torn clothing. Her lungs were tight and she wheezed in and out violently until she could use her medicinal inhaler. Shivering, she climbed to her feet. Most of the girls looked as if they were in shock. A few were fighting back sobs. And then there was McKe

“OMG! I totally missed like a hundred texts. I’ll never catch up!”

“Is everyone OK?” Matillda asked.

“Nice job, Maddie,” Tiffany said. “You’ve got moves.”

Matilda was red with anger. She wanted to grab the girl and shake the stupidity out of her. These cheerleaders—no, these children—were playing with something that they didn’t understand. Still, Matilda couldn’t blow her cover.

“Yeah. Thanks,” she said through clenched teeth. “So, is this something you do a lot?”

Lilly nodded. “We could use someone like you, Matilda.”

“No way!” Jea

“If it wasn’t for Matilda, we’d all be shark food,” Kylie argued.

Tiffany threw her hand up to command their silence. “We need to get back to the cabins. We have practice tomorrow.”

Tiffany turned and led the girls back, leaving Matilda behind.

“I’ll catch up,” she shouted after them.

When she was alone, Matilda considered each of the girls. Which one was Gerdie Baker? McKe

When the girls were out of earshot, Matilda tapped her nose to activate the comlink. “I need a medic out here.”

A few minutes later the School Bus hovered over the forest. A rope ladder fell and Agent Brand climbed down with a first aid kit under his arm. He met Matilda by a fallen tree and took a close look at her wound.

“I’m afraid this is going to leave a scar, Wheezer,” he said as he removed a needle and thread from the first-aid kit. After stringing the needle, he took a tiny bottle and a syringe from inside the kit. He filled the syringe with liquid and tapped the needle. “I’m not going to lie to you. This might hurt.”

Then he jabbed the syringe into her shoulder. She winced and nearly punched him in his handsome face. A second later he was stitching her wound. The injection had killed all the feeling in her arm from her shoulder down.

“I’ve been to the other side. I had to fight off a bunch of pirates.”

“Pirates, huh?”

She nodded. “You were there, you scurvy dog.”

“I’ve seen a lot of odd things, but that’s truly strange,” he said. “Wonder what I’d do if I came face-to-face with myself. Did you see yourself?”

“Nope,” Matilda said. “They’d already pushed the other me overboard.”

“This is a nasty cut. I wonder if you are in over your head, Wheezer.”

Matilda shook her head. “I’m fine.”

“Seven stitches seem to say otherwise,” he said as he squeezed some yellow salve onto her wound and dressed it with white bandages. “Not a bad job, if I do say so myself. I don’t get to use my field medic skills all that much.”

“You were a doctor?”

“A field medic—a military doctor … I had a couple years of medical school, but it didn’t take. I enlisted, and Uncle Sam puts you in the jobs you are best suited for—so I did it for a few years. I wanted to be a pilot like my brother …”He trailed off into his own memories, then came back just as suddenly. “I have no idea what you’re going to tell your folks.”

“They probably won’t notice. They’re too busy fighting,” Matilda said.

Agent Brand shifted uncomfortably. “Families are hard to keep together. Your mother is OK?”

“She’s a statue. It’s hard to tell,” Matilda said. “My brothers seem fine. It’s hard to tell if they’re acting out more now than they were before.”

“It can help when you have a sibling,” Brand said.

There was a long silence between them, as if Mr. Brand were somewhere else, a place where memories were filled with sharp edges.

Matilda knew she should change the subject.

“Well, I have another concrete suspect,” Matilda said.

“Who?”

“McKe

McKe