McKenna lifted her arm to reveal an odd-looking glove that wrapped around her hand, forearm, and elbow. It had buttons and little glass screens mounted near the wrist that flashed numbers and images. Matilda knew immediately what it was. Gerdie had given her gigantic machine its own makeover.
“Are we far enough away from the camp?” Pammy asked. “That machine sucks all the energy out of everything. If we go back to camp and my curling iron is dead, heads will roll!”
“We’re far enough,” Lilly said. “There’s a strip mall not far from here that will feed the machine.”
McKenna nodded, and pressed a button. A bright electrical display lit her fingertips, and a small milky-white marble, crackling with electricity, appeared in her palm. It grew until it was as big as the whole squad.
“Jackpot, ladies,” McKenna said. “This doohickey says there’s something gold and valuable on the other side.”
“Let’s go, girls! We’ve only got ten minutes,” Jeannie said, and she raced directly into the ball and disappeared.
Duncan had explained Gerdie’s machine and what it did, but to actually see it was almost more than Matilda’s brain could handle. Even with all the tech in the Playground and the millions of tiny robots coursing through her own body, this device still felt like something yanked out of the pages of a comic book.
“Today!” Tiffany barked.
Kylie reached for Matilda’s hand. “C’mon, we’ll go together.”
Matilda and Kylie stepped forward, and then there was a light so bright that Matilda could see it through the hand she raised to protect her eyes. Electricity danced across her skin and an incredible roar flooded her ears. She had once visited Niagara Falls during a mission, and the millions of gallons of water that tumbled over its edge was only half as loud.
And then … it was over.
She lowered her hand and glanced around. She and the other cheerleaders were standing inside a dark room with wooden walls and floor. She couldn’t see much, but the floor was rocking back and forth.
“We’re on a ship,” Pammy said.
“Duh,” Toni said.
“Can we please not argue?” Shauna said. “We’ve got nine minutes and counting to grab and go. Unless of course you aren’t interested in this room full of treasure chests.”
Toni snarled but turned to one of the big wooden chests. She opened the heavy lid and let out a happy shriek.
Matilda stepped forward. Inside the chest, packed to the top, was a collection of gold coins, rubies, sapphires—even a crown. She had never seen anything dazzle so brightly.
“I’m totally posting this!” McKenna said as she reached for her phone. “Hey, there’s no service here!”
“So how did we get on a pirate ship?” Matilda asked.
“This is an alternate Earth,” McKenna said and gestured to the device on her arm. “This thing built a bridge for us to get here.”
Tiffany pushed McKenna aside. “Hello! Eight minutes and counting!”
Matilda watched the squad leap into action like little ferrets stealing seeds. Lilly found a pile of empty canvas sacks and started shoving as much precious material into them as she could. When one was full, she stuffed empty sacks into Matilda’s and Kylie’s hands and dragged them over to another chest.
“Hey, the first time I did it I was completely freaked out, too. But we don’t have a lot of time,” Lilly said. “If you don’t help, Tiffany might just leave you here.”
“The battery is charging at fifty percent, girls,” McKenna shouted. “Less talking. More taking!”
Matilda reached into a chest of diamonds, grabbed a handful, and stuffed them into her sack. She felt terrible. She prided herself on her integrity—a trait her parents had instilled in her. How could she ever look them in the eye again? Still, she had to remind herself that this was a mission. She had to do this to save the world—her world.
“Four minutes, people,” McKenna said.
“We have to come back here,” Shauna said. “There’s enough to fund our entire lives. We’d never have to work again.”
“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 stunned, but Matilda knew if she was anything like her own Pufferfish, she wouldn’t stay that way. Matilda was going to have to fight, and she needed more room.
“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?” McKenna complained.
“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 bandanna around his head.
“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.”
“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 spinning out of control with part of her skirt in its jaws.
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 McKenna’s hand. If Matilda didn’t get back, she would lose her ticket home, and from what Tiffany said, they’d never be able to return to pick her up.
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 stunned faces of the pirates. The surprise was enough for the other girls to escape and leap in after her.
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 McKenna, who stood over her bag of treasure, texting with lightning speed.
“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!” Jeannie shouted. “She shouldn’t have confronted those pirates. If she hadn’t fought them, we could have just waited for the portal to open and then left.”
“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? McKenna had the device, which made her the top suspect, but Lilly had punched the pirate with a haymaker as good as any she could throw herself. Kylie seemed the bravest d
uring the entire event. Any one of them could be the Mathlete.
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.