Back to the schools

-Tina, what happened?- Nadira repeats, shifting her incredulous gaze between you and Cassidy. You start to waver, frantically searching for a way out of this situation, but you know that in just a few moments the classroom doors will swing open and the students will pour out, leaving you with no way to do anything. The moment you were trying to avoid couldn't be more impellent.

-No, I was... Cassidy, ehm, we bumped and...- You look at her, who is currently your best chance. She just has to confirm your version, perhaps also pretend to physically **** you, and hopefully your friend will fall for it; and Cassidy knows this as much as you do since, well, since she's you by now.

But instead, much to your dismay, she gets up with the face of someone who has just seen a ghost, and without uttering a word she hastily speeds towards the school entrance, careless to the fact that there is still an hour left until the end of classes.

"W-What?" You have no time to ask yourself why the hell she has just run away, as the doors all open and the familiar buzzing of the students begins to fill the hall.

-What the eff was that?- Nadira asks, bewildered: -Tina, can you explain to me?-.

-We just, we collided...- You're sweating now, adrenaline pumping your instinct in and telling you to strike until you can, to finally do what you were supposed to since the beginning. But after all that happened with Heather, you know that you can't do that; you simply can't, that's the truth you couldn't spell out. Not to Nadira too, no matter what.

-Sweetie, you slammed her against the lockers. And you've been acting weird all morning! It's like you're afraid to talk to me!- Nadira insists. So she saw that, you think, but she didn't see the goop thing. Yet, she won't let go that easily, you know her enough to be sure of that: no, she will continue to ask, to dig, and she'll put herself in danger because she's the kind of person that does that for a friend, and there's nothing you can do to...

No. There is, you realize. You squint your eyes in sorrow, and you let those words slip out of your tongue.

-Well, maybe I simply don't want to talk with you anymore.-.

Meanwhile, your peers are pouring into the hallway, weaving around you to make their way to their classrooms, forming a barrier around the two of you that would make it difficult for both to leave without being halted by the other.

Nadira is first taken aback by your roughness, but then she scoffs: -Yeah sure, like hell! Come on, don't be mysterious Tina! You know I've got you, right?-.

Your lips twitch, and then: -All I know is that I'm tired of having you around, you filthy...- then you add that word, and you can swear that anyone around you has fallen silent. Nadira hears, then realizes, then widens her eyes, and her mouth dangles slightly. She remains petrified, almost waiting for some denial.

But you can't give it to her. And you can't walk away, looking like a panicking girl that doesn't think about the things she has said. Thus, you stay still, until she is the one that walks back and disappears into the crowd.

You just saved her life, you know it. Nonetheless, you feel like the lowest piece of shit on earth.

'Maria' passes you by without showing any sign of having noticed your presence. You're boiling inside with the desire to grab her from behind and confront her head-on, and you had to swallow your pride to let her pass; ultimately, however, you realized that such a move would have been foolish and reckless, and you can't afford to commit such trivial mistakes, not when they would have consequences for all the other people who are relying on you. Besides, it may be smarter to let her move 'freely' to understand what her goal is here.

"Keep an eye on her." You mentally instruct a pair of random girls who nods and discretely follow her. As you turn around, your attention is drawn to two other girls who are coming from where the fake Maria arrived; one is a blonde-haired young woman with curvaceous hips, and the other is a cute-looking Asian, like Chinese or something similar. They hesitate upon seeing the supposed Maria disappear down the hallway, then the first takes a step forward with an apprehensive looking, but the second puts a hand on her shoulder and shakes her head in dejection.

You think to know who they are. The blonde must be Megan, and the other Sonja: Cindy has told you about them, Maria's two besties. Perhaps, you reason, they could prove to be useful: if Charity has absorbed any of Maria's patterns, or if they have witnessed something, they could be a reliable source of information.

Therefore, you quickly catch up to them: -Hey, you.- you call them, uncertain if they've recognized you.

Their initial surprise is immediately replaced by a manifest annoyance, a flagrancy that reveals all their agitation.

-Kimberly. What do you want?- Snaps Megan. Yes, they've recognized you, not a surprise actually. Your sister is not used to being called by her full name, if not with pretty hostile interlocutors. This seems to be the case, and the old Kim would have reacted by undermining their self-esteem via serious offenses. But not you. Not now, not anymore.

-Let me guess, your friend has been acting strangely all morning.- You tell them straightforwardly.

-How...- Sonja mutters, but Megan interrupts aggressively: -It all began when your friend started hovering around Maria! What have you done to her?-.

Her anger is comprehensible, not to say fair, but you have no time to deal with this too. You take advantage of her having leaned toward you to attack-kiss her, an action she was not ready for and that therefore she passively endures, while a piece of goo immediately detaches from your mouth invading hers. You step back, waiting for the invasion to be completed, and ready to go for Sonja as much.

Only that, after coughing a couple of times, Megan spits the red goo on her hand, clearing her throat and composing herself immediately. You're astonished by this turn of the event, but you soon realize its meaning, and a chill of dread runs down your spine.

-That was quite reckless of you, Kimberly.-.

Everyone around stops what they were doing.

-Charity.- Your face contorts in a grimace of disgust. What a fool you've been. You were so getting used to spreading into others without difficulty that you eventually dropped all caution with the most suspicious ones. 'Reckless' is undoubtedly the most appropriate term. They both look at you with impassible eyes, the agitation of a moment ago has been frozen into a cold, emotionless mask.

-Could you draw back your bitches?- Megan politely asks: -They're quite... annoying.-.

-Besides, I had the impression that you wanted to talk to me.- Sonja prosecutes. In the meantime, your folks are moving to surround them. They caught you off guard, yes, but you're still in a position of advantage.

Your eyes linger on the goo on Megan's hand. You can feel its fear - you suspect that your clones don't like to stay out of a body, and even less on the hands of a psycho. Probably it could shapeshift to get free, but it doesn't know, and neither you do, what other tricks they have up their sleeves.

-You know what? You're right, that's even better like this. Look around you cunts:- You say, spreading your arms: -we control the entire hall. You have been reckless to come here today, Chars: we outnumber you 100 to 1. So I give you this only chance: retreat from all the bodies you've taken, especially our friends' ones, and maybe you can walk out of here with your own legs.-.

Neither Megan nor Sonja seems impressed by your threats; instead, the former uses her index finger to trace circles on the jelly, a procedure that looks actually painful to undergo. This makes you even more pissed off. They should be scared, right?

-You're right, you're far more than me. But, look at that, I have far more hostages than you; and for reasons I don't understand, you appear to be sentimentally attached to your copies, Kim. Thus, I believe I'll walk out with my own legs, whether you like it or not. And you'd better not put yourself against me; this is my offer to you.-.

You're boiling. Your opinion of her was but positive, but now that you see her in person, you definitely don't like this crazy bitch. Neither her acumen nor her calmness.

Yet, you know it would be a grave mistake to show yourself intimidated right now: -You really think you can win a war against us? Against me?-.

-Why not. It didn't take that much to outsmart you a minute ago.- Sonja remarks: -Although you could prove quite bothersome, there's no point to hide it. Perhaps a truce could be... desirable for both of us.-.

You manage to conceal your confusion. A truce? What is she suggesting? Moreover, what should you do? Show an interest? No, that would be a demonstration of weakness. But would stubbornness be better, with everyone looking at you?

"Damn it, I need to take control of the situation again!".

-Charity...- You growl.

-But not now.- Megan cuts it short: -We have plenty of time to think about it. And please, don't address me with that name again.-.

Your tongue traces the entire arch of your teeth.

-...And how should I call you instead?-.

-'Maria' will do just fine.- A voice comes from behind you. You don't need to turn around to check who is coming; her steps are interrupted for some seconds, but then you distinguish people getting aside to let her proceed.

-Now, I have a lecture planned. I sincerely hope that the quality of the lesson won't be affected by our discussion.- Maria herself says, reaching her other two bodies. If before they were just unnerving, now the three of them are quite creepy, a blank expression on their visages and a total lack of any sentiment in their voices.

As if reading your thoughts to a certain degree, she adds: -Oh, don't worry about them. I'm done with these two nullities.-. Megan lifts her hands to her lips, swallowing your spawn; from her ear, instead, a greenish goo drips out and pours on Maria's shoulder, disappearing under her clothes. She and Sonja turn around, and with a gesture of your head you command the others to let them go.

When they're almost out, however, you decide you can't allow them to take the final shoot.

-I'm taking them back, you know? In one way or in another!-.

They don't reply, and they enter a classroom. Immediately, everyone is on you.

-What the fuck, what was that??-.

-I'll definitely kick their asses, those fucking...!!!-.

-Kim, why have we let them go for fuck's sake???-.

Because you acted without a real plan, because you found yourself playing their game, and because you were really losing it, they walked into the fucking lion's den and couldn't care less!

That's what you want to say, and obviously, you absolutely can't. You just lower your contracted face, trying at least to sort out what you've deducted by this disastrous interaction. But the demanding voices outside and the burning bile inside are making it anything but simple.

-Easy, easy now!- Someone makes their way to you. Great, it's again the last person you wanted to see today.

-The big boss here is already mulling the next move, don't you see? So let her take some breath and ask yourselves who among us would have handled the situation better! Don't you all have something to do now?-. Her speech seems to work, as the girls gradually move away, still mumbling yet. The boys, of course, silently leave too.

-Thanks for your help, Maylene.- You say, partially serious but overall sarcastic. The way she seemed to defend and humiliate you at the same time is fully in her style, and she surely has shown much support sneaking away before.

-Oh, no need Kim! I'm at your complete disposal, trust me! When I saw Maria coming, I thought that we should have had to make sure that our... ahem, Tom's friends were safe as well, so I missed the whole thing; but I'm sure you've done your best, haven't you?-.

You glare at her so much that she drops her grin mocking a slight unease. This is what she's always done when her digs crossed the line. And she could be possessed by the Saint Spirit itself, but you doubt that Maylene Crawford will ever care about the safeness of Elizabeth Patton or Bella Sutherland.

-Speaking of this, Tom was absent, but I found Will. Maybe we should call Caroline later...-.

-Yes, I'll take care of it.- You cut off roughly. A movement to your side gets your attention; Megan is straightening up, holding her temple with her hand.

-How are you?- You ask: -What do you remember?-.

-She... I remember Maria thrusting something in my mouth while we were trying to talk to her, and then...- She groans.

-Urgh... I think she deleted everything...-.

-Are you absolutely sure?- You insist, even if you know that it's pointless: -If there is anything left, anything, you have to tell me. Or I can search for you if you prefer.-.

Megan's glare shifts into a rusty snout: -Well, right now I'm pondering whether to beat you or not. My two best friends are in the hands of a totally delusional, all because of you!-.

You flinch, your lip ticking nervously. Kim's pride instinctively urges you to reply. No, she has all the reasons to feel that way.

-...That's right. I'm sorry, I didn't want to push you. If it matters, I think she will release Sonja soon.-.

-It doesn't!- Comes her furious reply: -Wanna know why we wanted to talk to her? It's because we found out that her mother had to be hospitalized suddenly! She seemed not to care, and Megan, I thought that she was simply in shock... but now I know it was her! So no, it doesn't matter what you think, because thank to you now she has all the time to fuck with their heads, and I can do nothing to stop her!!!-.

That said, she slams a fist on the locker behind and walks away briskly. Maylene is pretending to pretend to feel sorry for you, while you feel all the shit of that outburst raining on your face. What you naively thought would have been your declaration of power has turned out to be a scorning defeat, you even suspect that she released Megan only to lower your morale; but the rational, high-skilled part of your mind, trained by years of Kim's plotting and manipulating, is already working. Charity may be an alexithymic, sociopathic woman, but every human being gives some clues with their behavior.

You just need to find a secluded spot to use your laptop. But then, you think, there's all the matter with the rest of your family who is currently missing. Now you're really starting to feel the pressure of being a leader, and you know that the hard times have just begun.