Corky performed a handspring, then moved into a spread-eagle jump.
Pretty good, she thought, breathing hard. This is quite a workout, but I’m really getting into it.
She wiped the perspiration off her forehead with the back of her hand.
“Corky, can I give you a little advice?” Hannah said loudly, stepping up in front of her. It wasn’t a question, Corky realized immediately. “You need to get more lift on your spread-eagle jump,” Hannah instructed. “You’re still a little too low.”
“Huh?” Corky wasn’t sure she was hearing correctly. Was Hannah, a freshman, really giving her advice in front of the entire squad?
“If you bring your feet in closer together, you can control your jump better,” Hannah continued. “Watch. I’ll show you.”
She proceeded to perform a spread eagle, jumping high off the floor, her eyes on Corky the whole time, her long braid flying. She landed gracefully, a pleased smile on her face. “See?”
“Thanks, Hannah,” Corky said without enthusiasm. “I’ll try it.” She turned quickly and walked over to Debra and Heather.
What unbelievable nerve, Corky thought angrily.
I don’t mind taking advice from the other girls. But Hannah really thinks she’s queen of the world!
She’s only a freshman, after all. Bobbi and I were all-state in Missouri. I think I can get along without advice from Hannah.
“Hey—lighten up!” Debra called, seeing Corky’s angry, tight-lipped expression. “People are watching,” she teased. “Ten points off if you lose your smile for a second.”
Corky plastered a big, phony smile on her face for Debra’s benefit.
“That’s better,” Debra said, laughing. She was fingering the crystal she always wore around her neck. She flashed Corky a thumbs-up sign, then returned to working on partner pyramids with Heather.
Corky hadn’t noticed that Kimmy had come up behind her. She jumped, startled, when Kimmy started to talk. “Someone has to take Hannah down a peg or two,” Kimmy said with surprising bitterness.
“Huh?” Corky hadn’t realized that Kimmy had observed her jumping lesson from Hannah.
“She’s the pits,” Kimmy said through gritted teeth. “Sometimes I could just murder her—couldn’t you?”
The way Kimmy said those words gave Corky a cold chill.
Sometimes I could just murder her.
Corky shrugged. “Hannah is Hannah, I guess.”
Kimmy stared at her with no expression.
Whistles blew. The cheerleaders were being called to a meeting to hear about the evening competition. There would be minor competitions each evening. On the fifth and final night a major competition would be held. Each squad would perform its most complicated routine, and awards would be presented to the winners.
After the meeting Corky walked alone back across the quadrangle to the dorm. Her legs ached. She was hot and sweaty. What a workout! she thought.
Well, Debra had warned her that cheerleader camp was mostly hard work.
A cool late-afternoon breeze did refresh her as she made her way across the nearly deserted campus. A few college students circled the quadrangle on bikes.
She pulled open the glass doors to the dorm and stepped inside. Her sneakers squeaked on the marble floor as she crossed to the elevators. The lobby was deserted and quiet, but somewhere far down the hall, country music was playing.
Thinking about taking a long, cool shower, Corky stepped onto the elevator and rode up to the sixth floor. She stepped out and began walking along the dark carpet to her room.
To her surprise, her sneakers stuck to the carpet.
“What’s happening?” she cried out loud, looking down.
The carpet appeared to be moving, undulating like waves.
“Hey!” Corky cried out.
She blinked. Once. Twice. Waited for her eyes to adjust to the dark hallway, to stop playing tricks on her.
She tried to walk, but the floor was sticky and wet. The carpet still moved in waves, thick and black, rolling over her sneakers.
“No!” Corky screamed. Can anyone hear me? she thought. Is anyone up here?
The entire carpet had become a dark, thick sea, rolling and tossing, swaying back and forth.
“I can’t walk!” Corky screamed. “Is anyone here? Can anyone help me?”
Like bubbling tar, the thick liquid rose up and over her sneakers, over her ankles.
It’s pulling me down, Corky realized.
I can’t move.
It’s so sticky.
It’s pulling me down.
“Help!”
Chapter 6
First Cheers, Then Screams
“It’s so sticky!” Corky cried again. “I—I can’t move!”
She looked up to see Debra staring down at her, her normally calm features twisted in alarm.
“Corky—what is it? What are you doing down there?” Debra dropped to the floor and wrapped an arm around Corky’s trembling shoulders.
“It’s so sticky,” Corky repeated, still dazed.
“Huh? What’s sticky? What’s happening?” Debra demanded frantically.
Corky realized she was on her knees. On the dark carpet.
The still carpet.
It was no longer rolling and tossing.
Confused, she rubbed the dry carpet with her palms. “Debra?”
Debra’s eyes were locked on Corky. She kept her arm protectively around Corky’s shoulders. “Why are you down here, Corky? Did you fall?”
Corky raised herself back up on her knees. She shook her head. “No. I didn’t fall. It pulled me down.”
Debra’s mouth dropped open. “Huh?”
“The carpet. It started to roll back and forth, then it turned into a sticky liquid. And tried to pull me down.” Corky stared intently at Debra, trying to read Debra’s expression, trying to see if Debra believed her.
Debra shut her eyes. “The evil spirit,” she said, lowering her voice.
“Yes,” Corky quickly agreed.
“It’s here,” Debra whispered. “I can feel it.” Letting go of Corky, she moved her hand to the crystal that hung around her neck. With her eyes still closed, she twirled the crystal rapidly in one hand, then squeezed it tightly.
She opened her eyes and climbed to her feet, reaching down with both hands to Corky. “Here. Let me help you up,” she said softly. “Let’s get you back to your room.”
“Who’s doing this to me?” Corky asked, unsteadily resting one hand against the wall. “Who is torturing me?”
Debra shook her head, her expression tight-lipped and thoughtful. “I don’t know, Corky,” she replied, guiding Corky to her room. “I really don’t know.”
The Bulldogs won the evening competition easily. They performed an endless rap routine that wowed the judges. Blair O’Connell, with her beautiful red hair floating behind her, appeared to defy the laws of gravity with her jumps and flips.
The other cheerleaders, dozens of them, huddled with their squads, waiting to compete and gaping in obvious admiration as Blair confidently performed her flashy solo part of the routine.
“What a show-off,” Kimmy whispered to Corky as Blair and the Bulldogs ended their rap routine with a series of synchronized flips. “Blair’s not really graceful. She’s just an acrobat.”
Corky laughed. “The judges look impressed. Maybe they like acrobats.”
Kimmy scowled and walked away.
“We can beat them! We’re the best!” Hannah was shouting, clapping excitedly. “Tigers rule!” she cried.
The other girls picked up the rhythm, clapping with Hannah. “Tigers rule! Tigers rule!”
But when it came time for the Shadyside squad to perform, everyone was just a bit off. When both Ronnie and Heather mistimed their final tuck jumps, Corky realized that it wasn’t their night. The Tiger cheerleaders trotted off clapping to join the audience to watch the next squad perform.
“We’ll get ’em tomorrow night!” Hannah s
houted enthusiastically. “We’re psyched now! We’re psyched!”
“Yeah! We’ll get ’em!” Kimmy echoed, but she couldn’t muster up the same enthusiasm as Hannah.
After Blair and the Bulldog squad received their first-place award, the red-and-white-jacketed judge raised her hand for quiet. The roar of excited voices in the enormous gym became a hushed rumble.
“On the final night we will award a spirit stick to each member of the winning squad. The sticks will be painted with your school colors, and can be used to help inspire spirit at pep rallies,” she announced, straining to be heard. “But on every other night we’ll award a red spirit ribbon to the most spirited cheerleader on each squad. There’s so much spirit in this gym tonight, it’s unbelievable!” she cried, holding up the red ribbons in both hands. “I want you all to give yourselves a cheer and a round of applause!”
The gym practically shook from the exploding voices, stomping feet, and clapping hands.
When the cheering stopped, the judge called out the name of the red-ribbon winner on each squad. Blair O’Connell accepted hers casually with a broad smile and wave at her cheering teammates.
The winner on the Tigers was Hannah. She squealed with delight when her name was called, and drew a cry of surprise as she performed a cartwheel on her way to collect her prize.
Corky glanced at Kimmy, who rolled her eyes to the ceiling. Then Corky noticed that Debra was smiling broadly and clapping heartily for Hannah.
When Hannah came bounding back, holding the ribbon triumphantly over her head, Debra rushed forward and gave her a hug. The two girls walked off together, heading toward the exit.
Wow, Corky thought, following them with her eyes as everyone began filing out noisily. Since when is Debra such pals with Hannah?
Corky realized she was feeling a little jealous. Debra was her friend, after all.
“Corky—catch you later!” Corky looked up to see Kimmy calling to her, shouting over the excited voices of the crowd. Kimmy said something else, but the words were completely drowned out.
Corky slowly made her way through the crowd. As she passed Blair O’Connell, she overheard Blair boasting to another Bulldog cheerleader, a tall, pretty girl with a dramatically short hairdo. “Not much competition this year,” Blair said snootily.
“It was better last year,” her companion replied.
“Everyone’s just so tacky,” Blair complained.
She’s deliberately talking loud so people will overhear her, Corky realized, frowning.
“Did you believe that nursery-rhyme routine?” Blair exclaimed, hooting and shaking her head. “What is this? Kindergarten or something?”
“There aren’t even any cool guys around,” the other cheerleader complained.
They drifted out of Corky’s hearing.
They really are snobs, Corky thought. Especially Blair. She’s good, but I’ve never seen anyone so stuck up.
I’d like to beat them one night, Corky told herself, feeling her anger rise. Just once. I’d like to show Blair O’Connell what real cheerleading is like.
Just once. I’d like to wipe that snobby, superior smirk off her perfectly perfect face.
Maybe tomorrow…
Later that night, tossing in her unfamiliar dormroom bed, Corky again dreamed about Bobbi.
Bobbi floated in through the window, her long, nearly transparent nightgown fluttering around her, her blond hair flying out around her face, circling her head in light.
“Bobbi!” Corky exclaimed in the dream.
As before, she reached out to her sister with both hands. And again felt the frustration, the heartbreaking frustration, of not being able to touch her.
“Bobbi, why are you here?”
Her dead sister hovered above Corky’s bed, gazing down at her mournfully.
“Please, Bobbi—can’t you tell me? Can’t you tell me why you’re here?”
Again Bobbi spoke, and again no sound came out of her mouth.
“Bobbi, you look so sad, so troubled. Tell me what’s bringing you here,” Corky pleaded.
Bobbi descended until she was just inches above the bed, staring down at Corky with mournful eyes.
And then, as in the previous dream, she grabbed her hair with both hands and tugged hard.
Her scalp pulled off, taking with it the top of her skull. Holding her scalp to one side, she leaned down so that Corky could see inside her head.
“No!” Corky didn’t want to look. “Bobbi, please— don’t make me—!”
She shut her eyes tightly, but couldn’t keep them shut.
Corky couldn’t help herself. She had to see what was inside.
Peering into Bobbi’s open skull, she saw snakes, brown snakes, slithering over one another, hissing and rattling, snapping their venomous jaws.
Snakes rose up, lifting their slender triangular heads out over Bobbi’s skull. Snakes poured down Bobbi’s ears, slid down the back of her neck.
Hissing louder and louder, the snakes stared down menacingly at Corky with their flat black eyes.
Corky snapped awake in the heavy gray light of morning.
She bolted upright in bed, her heart pounding like a drum.
She heard hideous screams.
It’s me. I’m screaming. Because of my dream, she thought.
I’m screaming and I can’t stop.
Blinking hard to gaze through the dim light at the unfamiliar room, it took Corky several seconds to realize that she wasn’t the one screaming.
The horrifying cries were coming from Hannah.
Chapter 7
A Bad Cut
“Hannah—what is it?”
Hannah’s high-pitched shrieks continued.
Kimmy slid down from her top bunk just before Corky leapt out of her bunk. In the pale morning light washing in around the curtains, Corky could see Hannah sitting on her bed, her head bent forward.
As Corky moved closer, still half in her dream about Bobbi, almost expecting the floor to writhe with snakes, she saw that Hannah had both hands at the nape of her neck.
“Hannah! What’s wrong?”
Hannah screamed again, staring at something on her lap.
“Are you dreaming?” Kimmy demanded.
“My hair!” Hannah screamed.
“Huh?”
“My hair! My hair! My hair!”
Corky reached up and turned on a bedside lamp.
She and Kimmy both cried out when they saw what was in Hannah’s lap.
It was her braid.
“My hair! My hair! My hair!” Hannah shrieked, covering her face with her hands.
“But how—?” Corky started.
Kimmy stared down at the braid in open-mouthed horror. “It—it was cut!” she stammered.
Hannah sobbed loudly into her hands.
“But who did it?” Corky cried, staring at Kimmy. “You and I are the only ones who…” Her voice trailed off. She couldn’t finish her sentence.
Suddenly Hannah grabbed the braid in one hand and thrust it up accusingly at Corky and Kimmy. “One of you did this to me,” the girl said in a low, trembly voice. Tears ran down her cheeks as her entire body convulsed in an angry tremor.
She recovered quickly and jumped to her feet, holding the braid high, forcing Corky and Kimmy to step back. “Who?” she demanded, her horror giving way to fury. “Who? Who? Who?” she repeated, pushing the braid first in Corky’s face, then in Kimmy’s.
“No!” Corky cried. “I didn’t. I wouldn’t!”
“I didn’t!” Kimmy also protested, glancing at Corky.
“Who?” Hannah repeated, sobbing. “Who? Who? It was one of you. It had to be. First the scalding bath. Now this!”
“We didn’t do it,” Corky cried. “You’ve got to believe us, Hannah.” She reached for Hannah’s shoulders, intending to comfort her. But Hannah recoiled violently, her face twisted in anger.
“Why would we do such a horrible thing?” Kimmy asked. “Why?”
“Because y
ou’re jealous of me,” Hannah snapped back. She held up the black braid. It looked like a small dead animal in her hand.
“Hannah—”
“You’re both jealous of me,” Hannah said, lowering her voice. She wiped the tears from her cheeks with her free hand. “You know I’m the best cheerleader at Shadyside. You know you can’t compare.”
“Hey, that’s not fair!” Kimmy snapped. “We’re all good.”
Corky could see Kimmy’s anger building, her muscles tightened, her hands balled into fists at her sides.
“You’re new on the squad, Hannah,” Kimmy said heatedly. Her cheeks were bright red, even in the morning light. Her chest heaved and she was breathing hard. “You don’t know us very well. And I’m sorry to say it because I know you’re really upset, but you don’t know as much as you think you do.”
Hannah’s eyes flared. “I know one thing for sure,” she said through gritted teeth, lowering her voice. “I know one thing. You want me out—you want me off the squad. So you think you can scare me—”
“That’s not true!” Corky insisted shrilly.
“Well, I’m not quitting,” Hannah declared, ignoring Kimmy and Corky. “No way. No way you’re frightening me off the squad.”
She stormed to the dresser and deposited the dark braid carefully on the dresser top. “I’m staying on the squad even if I have to cheer bald!” Furiously, she pulled out the top drawer and began rummaging in it.
“Hannah—wait,” Kimmy pleaded. “I didn’t mean to lose my temper. What are you going to do?”
Hannah tossed a pair of denim cutoffs onto the bed and continued rummaging. “I’m going to get dressed,” she answered, her voice tight. She glanced at her wristwatch, which lay beside the sad-looking braid on the dresser top. “It’s almost breakfast time. I’m going to get dressed. Then I’m going to show Miss Green what you did to me.”
“But, Hannah—” Corky started.
“Shut up!” Hannah screamed. “Both of you—just shut up!” She uttered another loud sob and pulled off the oversize T-shirt she’d been sleeping in.
Corky started to say something, but a sharp glance from Kimmy made her stop. Slowly Corky retreated to her bed and lay down on top of the tangled covers, with a loud sigh.