Baptism 1.8

Almost reflexively, I looked at her stats.

Emma Barnes: [2 attack, 1 defense, 1 max health, 3 resistance, 0 speed]

Experience Level: Regular(LV2) 41/60 to Veteran(LV3)

Abilities: [Doublethinker] [BUD-DISPERSION]

Faith is very high. Potential Champion candidate.

Energy rating is low. Ineligible for Investiture. Increase level to raise energy rating.

—Doublethinker: Can hold two or more contradictory opinions or beliefs without mental degradation.

—BUD-DISPERSION: BUD CONNECTION::DISPERSION_WARRIOR. STATUS-IDLE.

I shoved the shock down as I saw her stat panel. I reminded myself to take a look at dad's stats as soon as he got home. I'd forgotten to try that, and I really needed to know what the baselines were for normal people.

How were her stats and experience level so high? Compared to me without and Madison's unbuffed stats, she would trounce us. She could actually fight. Plus, her resistance was unnaturally high for her level. I wasn't sure what exactly resistance did, but it made little sense for the two levels to Regular to boost resistance to 3 when the average Elite was also 3 according to the information on [Heroism].

This [Doublethinker] didn't sound like a cape power. I'd read 1984, and knew what it meant, even without my power explaining it to me. How in the world did Emma get this ability? Had she been indoctrinated somehow? Or worse, Mastered? But then again…Madison didn't have any Abilities, but seemed to think both Sophia and Emma were capes, so maybe it was a weird Thinker power, and she could do more that my power didn't tell me.

Then there was the [BUD-DISPERSION]. That description was the single most unhelpful line my power had provided since the [****]. Were these malfunctions in my power? Why was it in all caps and weirdly formatted?

The words bud and connection were giving me bad vibes. It kind sounded like she was infected with an unnatural growth inside of her that had a connection to something or someone called Dispersion Warrior that was dispersing spores everywhere. The only comfort was that it was apparently idle, for now.

Emma frowned with a concerned expression. "Are you alright, Taylor?" She came up and waved her hand in front of my face. I had taken too long reading her stats.

"I'm fine. Emma…" I started but trailed off. This Emma was so different from what I had gotten used to that I really didn't know what to say.

"Sophia told me you were strong enough to pass her test, but you left without a word after. You must have gotten the wrong impression," she said.

"Then what impression was I supposed to get?"

"You're a survivor now, just like us. So we can be friends again," she gave me a dazzling smile.

I flinched. The memories of my cheerful best friend superimposed on this evil monster was giving me goosebumps.

"What's wrong with you? You can't just do horrible things to me for a year and suddenly say that you want to be friends again. You betrayed me!"

Her smile cracked. "Sorry, Taylor, but I had to. If you'd just fought back sooner I wouldn't have had to keep it up for so long. But it's all over now, right? You're strong now."

"So it's my fault for not fighting back? You don't think there's anything wrong with your logic?" I gave her the most incredulous expression I could muster.

"But what else was I supposed to do? That's how predators wake up. By surviving and fighting back. And after Annette died, you were in such a funk. You were acting like a weak victim and I had to help you become strong again."

"By destroying mom's flute, my last memento of her? It isn't weak to mourn someone you love. It's human nature. It takes real strength to face the truth and admit your deepest feelings. You didn't help me become strong, Emma. You took away everything good in my life," I said, my voice rising with anger. She was still acting like she did the right thing. The more I heard, the harder it was to blame anyone or anything but her. Indoctrinated, Mastered, or just plain crazy, what did it matter? It wouldn't change the fact that she'd made me miserable. If she could blame me for not fighting back sooner, why couldn't I blame her for not fighting off whatever influenced her? I at least came through with my principles in tact.

We were making a scene out in the hall as people gathered nearby to point and whisper.

She made big puppy eyes at me. "But I was doing it for you! Come on Taylor, don't you want to be friends again?"

I couldn't take it anymore. Even if her faith was somehow very high and she might be my best follower yet, just thinking about vindicating her delusions was making me feel sick.

"No. My best friend turned into a monster and doesn't even know it. You're insane. Delusional. And—"

I saw out of the corner of my eyes Sophia yawning her boredom in the background, while Madison was shooing people away. "Just because you woke up as a predator doesn't mean you're strong. You're weak, and constantly running from the truth, trapped in your delusions."

"You don't get to call me weak!" Emma's face abruptly morphed into rage, and her palm came flying towards my face. I grabbed her wrist and held it tightly before her slap hit me.

"Why not? Afraid of the truth?"

"I was a survivor long before you. I fought back right away. I was never a victim, while you just took it for a year. Have you forgotten how you were begging for it to stop?" She glared at me without regard for her hand in my iron grip. I let her go with a slight push backwards.

"I didn't fight back because you were my best friend. A sister to me. I thought you would get over whatever the hell happened that summer and come to your senses, but you never did. You fought back right away, you said? Is that how you met Sophia? I always wondered about that. Did she torture you until you broke and got Stockholm's syndrome?"

Sophia perked up and gave me an annoyed glare. "Don't make up random shit. It wasn't me. It was ABB."

Emma froze.

"ABB? You were actually tortured by ABB?" I said with surprise.

"No, they didn't get me. Sophia helped me fight them off."

Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, they were calm and disdainful.

"I guess I was wrong. You're not a survivor. You just became more brutish and stupid, and you still don't understand how the world works. I tried to help you, but you just don't get it. Without me, you'd still be the loser that cried herself to sleep for a week. I made you strong, and now you think you're better than me? You're the one that's delusional. You really thought I was your best friend? That I wanted to be friends again? Didn't I tell you before? I was just pitying you. But you're too pathetic to even accept my pity."

My hands clenched into fists and I almost slugged her then and there. It was only my discipline that kept me back, knowing that if I did anything, the teachers would take her side as usual.

The [Friendly Unit] icon disappeared from her.

So this was [Doublethinker] in action. The definition of Doublethinker that Administrative Intellectus provided was wrong. No mental degradation? Emma was clearly fucked in the head.

Before I had time to think about how my power was coming up with this information, a group of guys shoved their way through the crowd and surrounded us. Most of them were East Asian and a couple looked Arabic.

Sophia looked at them warily and uncrossed her arms. "What do you want, Jun? Can't you see we're busy?"

Jun was a tall Asian with hair dyed white. He was the muscular but slim type, though you couldn't tell with the winter jacket he was wearing. I had seen him around before, and Madison had mentioned his name earlier…oh crap.

He was one of the rumored gang members.

"I was just getting ready to go home when a little birdie told me some bitches were dissing the ABB in the middle of the fucking hallway," he said while moving his head sideways as if stretching his neck.

"You heard wrong. This has nothing to do with you," Sophia said.

"Oh yeah? Is that right? These girls weren't talking about the ABB just now?" He made a show of asking around the crowd that was watching.

"They said they fought off the ABB!" Some dumbass shouted, probably hoping to see a fight. I couldn't see who it was in the crowd.

"So the Azn Bad Boyz are a joke that a few schoolgirls can fight off now? Is that what I'm hearing?" Jun walked around us in a circle.

"Who are you trying to impress, Jun? Back off and this won't have to end with you and friends in the hospital. You're not even in the ABB you wannabe." Sophia stepped towards Jun in aggressively.

One of his friends, a tall burly guy, probably a senior, got in her way.

"Shows what you know, Sophia," Jun reached into a pocket and pulled out a red and green scarf.

"The fuck is that supposed to be, Jun? You think buying a scarf with the right colours means you're part of them now?" Sophia gave him a sneer.

"Whatever makes you feel better at night, Sophia. I'm not the one that started getting all buddy-buddy with her so-called prey," he looked at me disdainfully as he said that. "Word's gotten around. Your little toy started barking louder and you got scared off like a popping hot air balloon."

"What's going on here?" The voice of Mr. Gladly reached me. We all turned to see the diminutive teacher coming from behind the crowd.

"Mind your own damn business, midget! There's nothing to see here!" Another one of Jun's friends got right in his face.

I saw Mr. Gladly flinch. "Y-you can't call me that, I'm a teacher here! Who are you?"

The guy reached into a pocket and flipped out a switchblade. "I said, mind your own fucking business, midget!"

There were gasps as the crowd moved away.

Mr. Gladly stepped back as well nervously. "H-hey, l-let's not be hasty!" Another aggressive swagger from the guy—was he even a student here?—and Mr. Gladly folded. "Alright, I'm gone, I'm gone!" He backed around the corner quickly and the crowd near him scattered equally fast.

Wonderful. I knew he was unreliable but…

Sophia snorted. "So you're seriously looking to get fucked up? You want to start something right here in the school?"

Jun shrugged. "Up to you girls. You can admit you were lying and get on your knees, or we're gonna have to teach you a lesson."

"Fuck you, Jun! The ABB are trash, and we'll beat you into the dirt!" Emma shouted.

"You, a bunch of weak little girls are gonna beat us into the dirt? You're only good for looking pretty, miss stick thin model!" He said with a laugh, and his friends guffawed with him.

"Enough trash talking you pretentious wanker, if you're gonna do it, then fucking come at me!" Sophia screamed over their loud laughter.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" What was left of the crowd was cheering us on. Assholes.

Where the hell were the rest of the teachers? This was more than loud enough to get their attention, why wasn't anyone else coming to stop the fight? Heck, somebody just threatened a teacher with a knife, couldn't they call police or something?

Emma was shaking with rage. She cussed them out a few more times, then she looked at me and spoke in a low voice.

"Can you fight? If you can't, then stay behind me and try to get Madison away with you if you see a chance."

Did Sophia not tell her how she tested me? I was the one that should be worried about her, not the other way around. With [Heroism] on, I had the higher stats.

I took another glance around the guys who were cracking knuckles. That one guy with the switchblade had put it away and pulled out a metal baseball bat from inside his oversized coat.

God damn it! They obviously thought we were in the same group already and weren't just going to let me leave.

I wasn't too concerned about myself, but we were outnumbered ten to four, and Madison couldn't really fight. I mean, she had [Endure] and could take a beating, but she still had 0 attack and defense. These odds didn't look good, especially if they started using knives. Somebody was going to get hurt.

Then Sophia smashed her fist into her palm, and as if that was a signal, a couple of big black guys and one guy of what seemed to be Mediterranean descent came up slowly from the crowd behind Jun's group where they didn't notice.