She applied a little more concealer under her eye and turned from the hall mirror. “How do I look?” Wendy twirled in front of John, who barely looked up from his video game. His mood had turned sullen as soon as he hit her in the eye, ending their game rather abruptly. He had tossed the Nerf gun onto the couch and stormed off to the family room to lose himself in his game. Was it guilt? Or was something else bothering him? Her parents had let him go, just nodding to one another. Her dad tousled her hair before he went into the kitchen with her mom. Wendy had changed and performed magic with makeup up in her room.

“Can’t even tell my eye is swollen,” Wendy called out and waited for a response. “Well, at least it stopped watering. But you don’t see anything, right?”

“You did a good job hiding your face, Sis,” he grumbled, before munching a chip and wiping away the leftover Dorito crumbs across the front of his shirt.

Wendy frowned at the jab her way. It didn’t matter. She knew she looked good in her blue and white cheer uniform. She grabbed her silver pom-poms, shoving them into her bag by the front door. “John, you can skip any Friday night football game but this one. It’s the biggest game of the season—against the Falcons. It’s social suicide if you don’t go. And change your shirt,” she added, pointing at his Dorito-stained tee.

John repositioned his thick black glasses on the bridge of his nose and groaned. “As soon as we take the enemy base.”

Wendy leaned down to tighten her laces on her white shoes and glanced up at him. “And how many hours does it take to do that?” He’d spend all weekend playing online with his buddies if it wasn’t for her. It was her job to get him out in the world, to connect with real, live people, not voices that spoke through his Bluetooth headphones.

“Ah…go in…Slightly, surround him…on my command. Fire now!”

“John!” Wendy spoke his name a little louder.

“Oh, yeah…um, three hours?” He looked up and ran his hand through his strawberry blond mop of hair.

He’d never make it. She marched over to John, grabbed his headphones, and spoke into the mic, looking at the screen and reading her brother’s handle.

“Sorry, boys. You’re going to have to do this without Lt. J Dog.” Wendy almost laughed out loud. “He’s got a social function to attend tonight.” She watched as the characters across the multi-section screen stopped moving.

“Hey, J Dog! Is that a girl?” a male voice came out, sounding nervous.

One voice had a distinct echo as it spoke. “I bet it’s your mom.”

John looked horrified. He snatched the headset back and spoke into it angrily. “No, Ditto, that’s not my mom. It’s my older sister.”

“Is she hot?” The same echo voice asked.

“Can she play?” a different voice interjected.

“She can be on my team.” One after another of John’s troop rallied and called out for him to get her to play. Just then, the screen went red as the opposing team ambushed them and blew them up. John gave Wendy a disgusted look and shook his head. “Now look what you’ve done. You caused anarchy among the troops, and the enemy killed us.

“Yeah, not really sorry, baby bro! You can’t miss tonight. All of your nerd friends will forgive you.”

“That’s not the point,” he grumbled, putting away his controllers. “I’m the leader. Good leaders lead their armies, not let them get distracted by girls.” He pointed at her. “They couldn’t even see you, and they got distracted.”

Wendy flashed her brother a grin. She looked in the mirror at her own strawberry blonde ponytail and straightened her blue bow. Her green eyes sparkled with mischief, and her light pink lip gloss made her look extra impish. The excitement of tonight’s game and the fact that Jeremy might ask her out made her cheeks extra flushed.

“Here, Loser, the consolation prize, since I wrecked your game.” Wendy tossed her brother the keys to her Prius. “You can drive.”

John caught the keys midair. “Fine, I’ll be sure to put a big scratch in it, Stinkenator.”

“You do and you die, Spongebob Nerdpants,” she tossed out.

Their mom walked into the room. “Both of you nerd herders better get going or you’ll be late.”

John laughed and kissed their mom on the cheek before he grabbed a jacket and headed toward Wendy’s car.

Wendy grabbed her forgotten pom-pom bag and dashed out the front door to meet him. She had the top off the Prius—it was a warm fall evening, so the wind wouldn’t bother either of them.

She climbed in, tossed her bag into the back, and clicked her seatbelt. John gave her a slightly irritated look. He turned the radio up and drove to the football game.

“After the game, meet me by the bleachers. We’ll grab some ice cream with the girls,” she said. Wendy frowned when John didn’t immediately respond to getting ice cream with the cheer team. He should have, that was every boy’s dream.

“What’s your problem, John? You’ve been acting weird lately and only hanging out with your video game friends. I’m concerned. You need a social life outside of the living room.”

He snapped back, “You’re concerned for me? Wendy, you’re the one with the problems.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, her voice gaining an edge.

He gave her a sideways glance before looking back at the road. His shoulders tensed. “Your night terrors have gotten worse.”

“What?”

He shrugged. “It’s fine. I can sleep through almost anything, although it’s upset Mom and Dad. They’re scared you’ll relapse, Wendy. They don’t know what to do. I overheard them talking about another trial clinic.”

Wendy was glad she wasn’t driving, because her body went weak and tears formed at the overwhelming fear. “I’m not going back to that place, John, or any other clinic. Never again.” She touched the back of her neck. All hospitals and clinics had the same effect on her. She’d go into hysterics and start hyperventilating, and—of course—to circumvent these fears, she had to go to more clinics for tests.

A stupid, vicious cycle.

She looked over at John and he nodded. “I didn’t agree with them about sending you there, and I’m glad you’re back. But you gotta know…they know. They’re just trying to do what they think is best for you.” His hands squeezed the wheel of the Prius. “Are you taking your meds to help?”

“No,” she answered, waiting for his reprimand.

“Good. I’m not sure you needed them. I think this is something you have to work out for yourself, not try and suppress.”

Her fingernails dug little nail impressions into the leather of the door handle. She was planning on going to the university next fall and escape everything. She loved her family and hated what she’d put them through. Wendy liked when everything was perfect and planned out, and now it was about to be ripped from her again.

She tried to change the subject, but John still wasn’t in the mood. Something was definitely wrong, and it made her nervous. They pulled up and she hopped out of the car and ran to the field to warm up with the rest of her squad. Her best friend and captain Brittney gave her a cold stare as she walked up.

“Hey,” Wendy said, out of breath.

“Hey.” Brittney turned away.

Wendy’s mood darkened at her best friend’s chilled response. What was wrong with everyone today? Was it her? Had she done something wrong?

One of the newer cheerleaders came over and asked Wendy for help on a few dance moves, so she tried to push her worries aside. Tonight she needed to keep a smile on her face no matter how she felt inside.

The opposing team kicked off, and it began. The Timber Valley High School band played the school anthem and the crowd went wild. The game was intense. The Eagles were down at halftime, 14-7, and it looked like no matter how hard the boys played they would lose to their rival.

The cheerleaders turned toward the fans to get them pumped up when the school song played, but Wendy felt uncomfortable—like she was being watched again. Which was dumb considering she was jumping and screaming in front of hundreds of people. Of course she was being watched.

But that nagging feeling wouldn’t go away.

Wendy scanned the crowd and noticed an older teen leaning on the railing by the stairs, eyeing her. He looked a little old to be a student, with unkempt reddish-brown hair that screamed to have a girl’s hands run through it. He had a pensive look, brows furrowed, his hands clasped over the railing, but he was looking in her direction. He couldn’t have worn more nondescript clothes. There wasn’t a single label or design that could identify him as more than a passerby.

She made herself look somewhere else for a few minutes, but when she turned back, he was still standing there staring at her.

Wendy swallowed and smiled at the crowd, waving her poms in the air as she tried to watch him out of the side of her eye. He hadn’t moved. They turned back to face the field, and Wendy could feel two holes burning into her back.

She glanced back over her shoulder again, and the mysterious watcher had moved. Now he was standing in front of the stairs on the other side of the fence. They locked eyes, his arms crossed over his chest and his face still frozen in a serious expression.

Wendy inhaled when the corner of his mouth crooked up in a smile and he nodded his head in acknowledgement to her. He was definitely watching her.

She didn’t nod back but quickly turned away, ignoring him as she focused on the field. Still, she couldn’t help but sneak a peek to see if he was still there. More importantly, was he still watching her?

“What’s your problem?” Brittney hissed.

“Someone’s staring at me. He’s kind of creeping me out.”

“Who?” Her friend turned to scan the crowd.

Wendy turned over her shoulder and tried to point him out to her friend but the spot he’d been standing in for the last quarter was empty. “He’s not there…” Wendy trailed off and tried to find him among the milling fans.

“Maybe you imagined him.” Brittney said sarcastically and flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. “Like you imagine everything else.”

“No, I’m sure I didn…” Wendy trailed off but stopped in shock. She had shared her darkest struggle with Brittney, and now it was coming back to bite her.

She tried to ignore the sting and blink away the tears, and that’s when she noticed something dark moving under the stands—opaque but ethereal. Her blood ran cold and her hands turned to ice.

No, not now. Wendy considered her options and tried to follow the thing she saw as it moved through the darkness.

She was terrified. Unexplainable shadows that flew through the night always seemed to be watching her, just on the periphery of her vision. Sometimes if she looked a certain way, they’d disappear completely.

Wendy’s neck continued to turn as she watched the shadow move. She no longer cared about the game or its outcome. Something was wrong. This shadow was different. It wasn’t like the ones she had seen before. It was bigger, darker, and it seemed more solid.

She should ignore it, return to focusing on her team and the game and pretend that she couldn’t see the illusion, but something in her told her she needed to follow it.

“Pay attention, Wendy,” Brittney chastised.

Wendy shook her head. “I’m sorry. Something’s come up, I’ve got to go.”

Brittney gave Wendy a panicked look and spoke through a fake smile. “You can’t just leave with minutes left in the game. If you have to go to the restroom, you need to hold it.”

Her attitude set Wendy off. “Oh, get over yourself, Brittney. I don’t need to ask your permission to leave.”

Brittney’s eyes flared. “No, but we’re the captains, and we set an example. How’s it going to look if you take off before the end?”

“It’s going to look like something came up, and I had to deal with it,” Wendy snapped back. Tossing her poms to the side of the bench, she took off running for the field’s exit gate. She didn’t care what people thought; she needed to know once and for all if she was crazy.

She stepped under the bleachers and heard the roar of the fans above her as the other team fumbled. Screams and foot stomping ensued, and popcorn rained down on her. She ignored it and kept moving, stepping around garbage and bypassing numerous couples caught up in swapping gum.

She came to the edge of the bleachers and saw a smaller shadow, which seemed to be waiting for her.

Wendy slowed and crept to the corner of the school. She peeked around and spotted a lone teenage boy sneaking off to smoke a cigarette.

The shadow had a slightly human form. Its arm stretched and pointed toward the boy before disappearing. She rolled her eyes in disgust at what she began to chalk up to another one of her imaginary episodes. She was about to leave when she noticed a terrifying lizard-like monster crawling down from the side of the building. It was the largest creature she’d ever seen, but misshapen, its muscles bunched as if it were about to pounce.

It leapt onto the boy’s back with a screech.

The terrified kid dropped his cigarette and grabbed at the air, choking and trying to scream—but all could hear was the beast’s otherworldly cry. Never had her hallucinations seemed so real. And they’d definitely never had a physical effect on someone else.

“Stop!” Wendy shouted as she ran around the corner. She didn’t know what possessed her to try and attack the beast, but she did. “Leave him alone.”

She grabbed a rock and threw it at the monster’s leathery back.

It turned, its eyes glowing in the night, and she stared at it. The monster’s long snout opened and wailed in fury at her. Giant wings unfurled from its back, and it grabbed the boy by the shoulders and started to haul him up into the air and away from her.

“No, you don’t!” Wendy jumped and caught the boy’s pant leg and tried to pull him down.

“Don’t let go of me!” the kid screamed. He looked up, terrified at the thing holding onto him. “What is it? What’s got me?”

Wendy gritted her teeth and dug her heels into the ground, but it wasn’t enough. Her feet were losing purchase, and they were being lifted as the beast furiously pumped its wings.

“Help,” Wendy cried out. “Someone help.”

Something or someone came crashing down from above. She saw a bright flash of light and heard a loud screech of pain. The boy and Wendy fell and landed on the grass in a tangle of limbs.

“Ouch! Get off me!” she cried as the scared teen flailed and punched at her. He was in flight mode, and she was taking the brunt of his attempt at getting away. She took an elbow to the cheek and saw stars.

“Get off her,” a gruff voice threatened. One second the boy was there, then he went flying backward. She thought for sure it was the beast pulling him away again, but instead it was the guy from earlier. The creepy stalker with the melt-your-heart good-looking auburn hair.

He had the kid by the back of his jacket and shook him violently before tossing him to the ground.

Wendy scooted away from him, but he didn’t notice. His eyes kept scanning the sky. “Who are you?” Wendy asked. “What do you want?”

“Now’s not the best time for introductions,” he laughed wryly. “It shifted back into the shadows. I don’t know where it went.” As he turned in a circle, something glinted in his hand. Was that a knife?

That was it, she wasn’t going to stay and thank the guy. As she spun to bolt out of there, Wendy saw more movement behind her, so she ran in the opposite direction. The smoker-kid decided she had the right idea and took off running behind her.

Wendy heard the sound of someone cussing and feet rushing after them. She turned left and cut between the athletic building and the back of the lunchroom building, running as hard as she could toward the parking lot.

“Stop!” Stalker guy yelled behind her. “It’s a trap.”

Wendy skidded to a halt when an immense shadow emerged from a manhole in front of her. It didn’t look like the smaller ones; this looked like the thing she’d seen under the bleacher. It morphed shapes! One second it was a giant shadow, the next an arachnid with legs flailing.

Wendy screamed.

The kid next to her said, “What?”

She threw up her arms to protect her face. Something grabbed her from behind—the flying dragon monster—and lifted her into the air just as the other monster lunged for her. Two. There were two of the shadow beasts!

The smoker kid gazed up at her, stunned. “Look, she’s flying!”

The spider monster came up behind him and shot webbing at him, wrapping him in a filmy white cocoon. Wendy cringed. He’d just cried out and then nothing. The huge monster disappeared back into the manhole, and the dragon whisked Wendy across the parking lot.

“Nooo!” she twisted to see the beast that was carrying her. Glowing white eyes leaned toward her. Wendy scanned the parking lot and spotted a black Hummer rush toward them and come to a squealing stop. Soldiers in black uniforms with red skull patches on the arms piled out, brandishing rope.

A manhole near the Hummer pushed up from the ground. Rotating, it slid to the side, revealing a dark black hole. The spider beast squeezed its hairy body through, dragging the boy wrapped in the webbing after it.

The soldiers ambushed the shadow monster and it’s prey by shooting the beast with a taser. Wendy heard a loud wail of pain from the beast, and it flopped over, it’s legs contracting. They grabbed the convulsing monster and pried the boy from its grip.

Wendy thought they were helping, until the boy tried to wiggle free and the soldiers injected him in the neck. He went limp and they loaded him in the SUV.

The shadow monster carrying her quickly veered away from the Hummer and the painful cries of its companion. Wendy kicked and reached up in an attempt to scratch her captor.

A bright bolt of light emanating from the ground rushed her way, and Wendy felt the heat of it brush her cheek. And then she was falling thirty feet toward the cement.

Once again, a body broke her fall—the stalker’s. Air rushed out of her lungs, and he fell to his knees under her weight. They rolled across the concrete parking lot, his back taking the brunt of the damage as he slammed into a tire of a pickup truck.

“Hey, you.” His breath brushed across her cheek as he spoke. “Having fun yet?”

“It’s a blast,” she snapped and stared up into his green eyes, as deep as a forest. He saved her life again. Who was he? Her gaze came to rest on his lips. Why was she focused on his mouth?

“Then our next date will be even better…I promise.” He looked down at her lips as well.

Her cheeks suddenly felt hot. “Better be.”

He started to swim before her eyes, and the world became dizzy. She heard his worried intake of breath and heard him dial his phone. “Tink, I need backup. I got Red Skulls cutting me off—and a morphling.”

Wendy heard the sound of bells and chimes, and then the strange boy scooped her up again. Her body hurt all over as her savior started to run, jarring her repeatedly. She forced her eyes open and saw his worried profile, just as the pounding of feet on pavement stopped. Her head fell back over his arm, and she watched the ground become distant.

Wendy hallucinated that she was flying.