Object of Obsession

A howling wind blew through the parking lot just then, causing the entire gang to shiver in unison - but not Raine. She crossed her arms and looked down at the shorter girl impassively.

"What about her?"

"Oh come now, don't play coy with me, Raine. Haven't you ever wanted to gush about your crush? Now's your chance. Go ahead, I'm all ears..."

Though Mae took an easy tone with the older girl, there was a hint of malice in her words, as if daring Raine to actually talk about Norma in her presence.

"Yeah, I like her. So what?"

"Yeah, I like her," Mae mocked. "Is that really all you have to say about it? Does that really describe in the slightest the all-consuming need to see her every waking second of every goddamned day!?"

Mae noted a crack in Raine's statuesque facade as her eyes widened in recognition. Ah, so then it really is the same for her...

Mae was struck by an intensely murderous urge right then, one that threatened to take her instantly with its euphoric, whispered promises...

But she had come here for a reason, and now wasn't the time to falter.

"It's completely insane, I know... but this is real. So we need to figure out, as the affected, where we stand in all this. What's the optimal play, exactly what are we going to do from here?" Mae cocked her head just a little too far. "...you understand what I mean, right?"

Raine let out a shaky breath. She looked around herself into the shadowy eyes of her gang, all looking back and forth between the two with equal parts fear and confusion. She knew what they were thinking - Just what the hell is going on here? Even so, they had taken up defensive positions almost imperceptibly while Mae had been talking and were waiting for the slightest signal to act.

Damn it. I've let this obsession build for so long that I completely lost sight of the people I already had at my side. And yet...

I just can't let her go.

"So what are you suggestin'? That we work together to find some way to rid ourselves of her..." What did Norma call it again? "...compulsion?"

Mae smiled, but it didn't reach her smoky eyes in the slightest.

"Obviously. We can't keep taking advantage of her, nor can we let her take advantage of us. It just wouldn't be right."

Raine grit her teeth, sawing them together painfully.

That sure as hell didn't stop you the other day, did it?

"Well thing is, Mae... There is no compulsion, at least not for me. I've liked Norma since I laid eyes on her in freshman year. You might not get this as some cool, above-it-all goth chick, but a sweet, regular girl like Norma is basically a dream come true for a washed-up loser like me. Of course I fell for her. That ain't magic, it's just simple math."

Mae forced herself to stay silent for a few moments, vetoing all the responses she had truly wanted to say. She needed to stick to the plan, and it was time to bring it home.

"I thought Luna, Quin and I were unhinged but shit, you might be the craziest one of us all if you still really believe that. You need to think carefully, Raine. How the hell did we find Norma when Quin kidnapped her? You can go ahead and explain it away as dumb luck but I know you know better than that. There's something occult going on here and we're playing with forces we really don't understand. And if I'm saying that, you must already know it's true. So let's do the right thing, here. Let's promise each other we'll never see her again, okay? It'd only cause her pain."

She took a few steps toward the older girl. "Please, Raine. You and I both know that this is the only way..."

Hell yeah, that was pretty convincing! This was even easier than I-

"Nah. No deal."

Raine had more-or-less agreed with everything Mae had been saying. Logically, even morally, it was entirely sound. But when she went to answer, this had been her immediate response. Any uncertainty she had had before was strangled to death with those words. And honestly, she was getting pretty pissed off with Mae's cocky, superior attitude.

Mae sputtered at this, nearly frothing at the mouth in rage.

"Excuse me, you overgrown bitch!? That shitty narrative was written exclusively for you, was it really too much for you to just go along with it like the moron you're supposed to be?"

A darkness seemed to seep into Mae's words as mania caused her voice to swing between a shrill sing-song and her usual deep huskiness. "And how fucking dare you so much as entertain a single thought about my Normie! I tried to do this the peaceful way, the way Norma would have wanted, I really did... But that was clearly a mistake."

Despite the near-palpable murderous aura surrounding Mae, Raine was entirely unmoved.

"Frankly, Mae, it's about time someone put you in your goddamned place. I was genuinely happy for you when you came out to Norma, even thought you two looked really good together, but I was completely wrong about that. You're terrible for her, and worst of all is that you know it, don't you? But you refuse to get the hell out of her life. So I'm thinkin' you're gonna need to be forced out."

Killer nearly shook with anticipation beside her. Snake looked into Raine's eyes, making sure the boss was certain about this.

She had never looked more certain about anything in her life.

Resignedly, Snake gave the signal. Nearly a dozen gang members charged at Mae, brandishing bottles, chains, and bats.

"AH HA HA HA! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!!!"

Mae's unhinged laughter echoed throughout the parking lot as they came for her. As the first few approached her she shifted the weight of her big black and purple purse as she jumped onto one of the only other cars in the parking lot, presumably owned by the unfortunate night-shift worker. A tall man with a greaser's cut closed the distance to Mae's chosen high-ground with a shattered whiskey bottle, still licking the alcohol off of his lips. Unfortunately, his height made his face an easy target for Mae's full-force kick. Her steel-toed combat boots made contact with a satisfying (or unsettling) crunch, causing him to fly backwards into an approaching girl, temporarily pinning her to the pavement under his unconscious body. Undeterred, a couple of chain-gangers expertly spun their metal weapons as they reached her, their surfaces reflecting the blood-red moon above. Mae narrowed her eyes, waiting for one of them to strike... there! She thrust her purse in front of her - the chain wrapping around it a single time - then grabbed the loose end of the chain and twisted her purse straps such that her assailant lost hold of his weapon, claiming it for her own.

"Finders keepers, loser!" she laughed as she turned the weapon on its previous owner, who cursed loudly under the duress of the stinging pain. "Actually, I'll have to take all that loser talk back, I can see why you guys enlist now. This is fun!"

Mae's attention turned to the second chain wielder as she lashed out with her own strike. Mae answered with one of her own, the chains wrapping around each other as if they were intimate lovers reunited after decades apart. Unlike her attacker who pulled hard to take control of the grapple, however, Mae immediately let go of the chain, causing the assailant to fall backwards. Without missing a beat Mae jumped from her perch and landed right on her rib cage, knocking all the air out of her victim who could only weakly lift her arm before falling into merciful unconsciousness. Before she could step off of the poor soul she was lifted up to a height that even Raine might struggle to match before being thrust headfirst against the car's roof so hard that she saw stars and tasted blood, to say nothing of the alarm it gave off in protest.

The convenience store clerk seemed to finally notice the brawl outside, but when she opened the door and saw the veritable juggernaut of a man pinning Mae against her vehicle in an iron grip, she turned back through the door even faster than she'd appeared.

Even from this position, Mae somehow seemed undeterred. "Oh good, just when I was getting bored," she offered snidely. With inhuman strength she grappled with the massive enforcer, eventually forcing him to let her back to her feet.

"How the fuck is she doing that to Tank!?" Killer shouted in awe, looking to Snake with the vague hope that he had all the answers. Snake simply kept his focus on the unbelievable scene playing out in front of them. As for Raine, she watched on without an expression of any kind.

Angered by this turn of events Tank redoubled his efforts, easily lifting Mae back up. She was ready for this, however, and used the momentum to lift her steel-toed boot into his crotch with as much strength as she could muster. All at once Tank was floored, and so was the rest of the gang, metaphorically speaking. That surprise turned to visceral fear as she smashed through the car window, unlocked it, and dragged Tank's head into the door frame, ramming it into him no less than three times as an insane glee warped her face beyond recognition. Convinced he wouldn't be getting back up any time soon, if at all, she spun around with a big smile.

"So, who's next?" Mae called out as she casually strolled through the parking lot, cracking her neck and looking at each delinquent in turn, begging them to make a move.

"S-She's some kind of demon!" someone screamed, and that was all it took for most of the remaining members to beat a hasty retreat into the night.

Noticing that Raine's gang had lost their backbone, Mae set her sights on the big boss herself.

"It's so hard to find good help these days, isn't it?" Mae drawled. Though the pain didn't show on her face, it was clear Tank had done a number on her as she spoke her words through bloody lips. "I pray for your sake that these bozos are actually worth a damn..."

Snake and Killer stood in front of their leader without a word, ready to fight, but Raine put her hands on their shoulders before stepping past them. Snake didn't bother to ask if she was sure... he could see it in her eyes. She was pissed. And he'd seen that look on her face exactly once before, a very long time ago.

Whoever this crazy chick was... she was about to have the worst night of her life.