Halifax by Leigh Dunlap

reflection in her blackening eyes even as his own vision began to falter. Shana’s body began to tremble and waves of light ran across her skin. She was preparing her tentacles.
    Farrell tried to pry Shana’s hands off of him. He pulled at them but he couldn’t get even a finger to budge. His feet, though, were free and dangling above the floor. He finally summoned enough strength to kick the cheerleader’s legs out from under her with tough blows the creature was unable to withstand. In this human body it was not immune to the natural failings of human anatomy. In this case, to having weak kneecaps.
    Shana and Farrell collapsed to the floor, Farrell falling on top of the girl and finally having the upper hand. “I’m going to give you a chance to leave this planet peacefully,” Farrell told her. His voice was gaining strength again along with his body.
    “Or what?” Shana asked. She was limp now. Not trying to escape. Making no effort at all.
    “Or I’ll have to kill you,” Farrell declared.
    Shana just smiled. She was smiling because she could see what Farrell could not. She could see the long metal lacrosse stick headed for the side of Farrell’s head. It slammed into his skull and sent him rolling off of Shana. Blood began dripping from a gash in his scalp.
    Nora Evans stood over Farrell, the lacrosse stick resting on her shoulder. She looked invincible but was breathing heavily. Farrell looked up at her. The girl he liked was one of them. Or was she? He looked at her eyes. The other cheerleaders in the room had eyes like Shana’s. Dark ovals. Emptiness. But Nora’s eyes were still blue, blue but frantic, and widened by a rush of adrenalin.
    “Thanks,” Shana told Nora as she got up. “What would I have done without you?”
    Nora turned and looked at Shana for the first time. Saw her eyes for the first time. She quickly looked and saw the other cheerleaders with the same eyes, then turned again to see more cheerleaders coming into the locker room, one after another, all with the same eyes, like zombies gathering for a pep rally.
    “Oh my God,” Nora said. “What are…?”
    “What am I?” Shana asked. “I’m here to save you. Save you from this boring planet. Go team!”
    With that, every cheerleader smiled the same creepy smile. Nora suddenly looked far less invincible. She looked rather terrified. She moved the lacrosse stick from her shoulder to a defensive position. She held it in front of her, ready to ward off evil cheerleaders, like a medieval villager wielding a torch to ward off vampires. She slowly backed away towards the door, all black eyes on her—then ran!
    No one moved.
    The head cheerleader stepped towards Farrell then pulled her sneaker-clad foot back and kicked him hard in the ribs. Farrell curled up in pain and gasped for breath. “Despite everything that’s gone on between us,” she said with a smile. “I hope I can still count on your vote for Homecoming Queen.”
    Shana looked at the other cheerleaders. They all turned at once and faced her. “Finish this!” she commanded. She then ran out the door, leaving her passel of cheerleaders behind, leaderless but still menacing.
    Farrell scrambled off the floor, holding his side, catching his breath, and made his way around the cheerleaders towards Izzy. He helped her sit up and she shook off the pounding ache that was building in her head.
    “You got this, right?” Farrell asked her. Just as he did all the cheerleaders suddenly turned at once to stare at them.
    “Oh, sure,” Izzy said. “No problem.” She really wasn’t sure. They both knew that, but they also both knew it didn’t really matter how either of them felt or what the dangers were. There was work to do.
    “Hey, look, I’m going to get away,” Izzy said with little urgency, feigning a move to escape. All the cheerleaders made a collective step towards her, giving Farrell a chance to move around the lockers behind them and take off after Shana Rowen. They