The Fool's Freedom

The screaming had been the worst part to wake up to. Even worse than the smell.

Rob had lasted a few whole minutes and he had spent them running around howling in ungodly agony, a blazing human-shaped ball of fire, thwarting the attempts of people to pour water on him or lead him towards the lake. His smoldering remains now stood a little ways away from the camp.

Tim was gritting his teeth and shaking as he gripped his new axe. Ashlyn’s bow was strung and ready to loosen an arrow in the throat of the culprit. Alan highly doubted she was capable of killing another human, and her shaking hands proved that. The steel in her gaze made him doubt it though.

Salla softly cried while Florence watched coldly and indifferently next to her. The men were mostly standing, unsure of what to do. There was a burning seed in Walter’s palm, and Ivan stood next to him. He looked mighty menacing with his black, bladed shovel.

Surprisingly, it was Nadia who spoke first, while everyone else was in shock. She took a few steps forward, past the group and the frozen Eldon, towards the corpse and the man on the other side. There were tears in her eyes but she held her thin sword raised and ready as she asked a single question.

“Why, Matt?”

Alan watched the young man carefully. His eyes were bloodshot and wide open, and there was a manic smile on his face. He stared at the charred corpse and Alan could swear there was a constant wave of little twitches coursing through Matt’s body.

Whatever skill Matt had picked at level 5, it was powerful. An explosion of fire directly under his target. Alan hadn’t noticed if there was any sort of a delay or not before the spell went off as it had been a complete surprise, but it was certainly not an improved [Spark].

There was an obvious difference in the usefulness and power levels of skills people were picking up.

“Why?” Matt spoke. His voice sounded as if he was in pain and repressing laughter at the same time. He finally looked up from his victim, his face going through a multitude of emotions. “I hated him. I hated him so much. He was holding me back. He was holding YOU back. I should ask you why did you fucking let him live so long. He was useless. LIKE HER!” he suddenly screamed, pointing towards Florence. To her credit, she simply raised an eyebrow.

Matt suddenly blanked and then started loudly sobbing.

What the fuck is up with that guy…

“I should burn myself. I am trash. I am- NO. GET OUT! I WILL BURN YOU ALL INSTEAD.”

The skill went off slowly. It didn’t quite reach Eldon as a red circle appeared ways off him, scorching the grass for a second before a ball of fire simply flashed above it. It hadn’t come from the ground as Alan had assumed, it simply materialized where the target was standing. There was thankfully ample time to dodge if one paid attention.

Eldon screamed and threw himself backwards looking at his friend as if he was seeing him for the first time.

Matt turned and ran. No one followed. Ashlyn was hesitant to shoot but gave up when Tim put a hand on her arm and gently lowered it.

“The forest will take care of him,” he simply said.

They had managed to dig a grave this time around as Ivan had made quick work of the ground with his skill-reinforced shovel. Tim and Emerson had tried to move the corpse once it was cool enough, but it had simply started falling apart. Eventually, they opted to wrap it up in a blanket at Ivan’s suggestion.

Alan felt it was a shame to lose a blanket, but they had enough and he was not about to sound that particular thought.

He chose the right moment and approached Florence, who was like usual sitting and staring into on spot. Alan wondered how she hadn’t gone crazy at first, considering she did nothing at all. She didn’t help gather firewood, she didn’t train, she didn’t cook or kill lizards.

“Hey, Florence.”

“Hey, Alan,” she mirrored with a radiant smile, snapping out from wherever her mind was. She was beautiful, really beautiful. Her face was a work of art that needed to be worshipped, and her body… Maybe he could do things for her, maybe she would like him if he did. Yes, he would be special, not like the others. She would see that and she would give herself to him. One day. Alan almost returned the smile but his mind suddenly spasmed as if someone had slapped him awake and he managed to twist it into an ugly grin at the last moment.

Is that skill or am I that weak to her charms? It’s been a few years since my ex…

“What the fuck do you think you are doing?” he barked, spear clutched tight.

The girl’s smile faded and she sighed in apparent resignation, her shoulders dropping down. She suddenly looked tired and vulnerable. Alan felt righteous anger ignite like a bonfire in his chest. Whoever made her sad would pay. Even if it was himself. He would-

You have gained 1 AP in Will

[Mind Jab] went off almost on instinct. He tried to hold back, to feel the flow of mana and reign it in; he didn’t know if he succeeded.

The girl yelped and almost fell, eyes wide and confused.

“Be careful Flo, the ground is uneven,” he said loudly and reached to help her. “Listen here you crazy bitch, try that one more time and see what happens when you get hit by 10 of those,” he whispered with a snarl. Hopefully, she got the message. Fucking with his mind was a no-go and he would be Matt 2.0 rather than let himself be played with like he was some sort of a puppet.

“That hurt. Glad to see someone here has teeth,” Florence said. She had returned to her usual countenance from before the apocalypse. There was a hint of a smile on her face that reached her eyes and made her look harmless and friendly.

“You should be glad I haven’t poked a hole in that neck of yours.” Alan sat down opposite her, laying his spear on his lap. Whatever tricks she had, he was quite confident a barrage of [Mind Jab] would give him the time to stab her a few times. He would deal with the consequences later.

“Calm down, I was just playing. And your will is too high for me to do anything to you. For now.”

“So, it is the skill. Explain.”

“I think we got off on the wrong foot. I don’t want to hurt anyone and you don’t want to kill me and get chased away by the group.” Florence waved her hand and moved to sit with her legs to the side. The system provided clothes, especially the tunic that followed every curve of her body, which did little to take away from her other charms. Alan felt his gaze linger a moment too long and tensed. Was she trying again? He gripped his spear tighter.

“I said stop it.”

“I am not doing anything. You are just a horny man that has seen something he likes. It’s okay. I am used to it.”

Was she telling the truth? Were those some subtle tries to erode his belief in himself? Florence sighed again when she looked at his scrunched-up face.

“Listen. I’ve tried my skill on myself, I know what it feels like. Your Will attribute is probably the highest of the bunch. What I did earlier was the strongest my skill gets and you snapped out of it in mere seconds. I am helpless against you, but just to build some trust try to focus on how you are feeling and I will apply gentle pressure so you can know what it feels like when I try to influence you.”

Alan looked at her with distrust, but what she was saying lined up with what he had felt earlier. It was like a bunch of intrusive thoughts suddenly entered his mind and all it took was a bit of effort on his part to chase them away.

“Fine. Do it.”

Florence smiled and held his gaze. It was not as disorienting and sudden as the previous times. It came as a gradual change in the form of a wave of energy different yet similar to the one he called mana. Alan felt his pulse accelerate, his thoughts moved towards the curves of her lips, the gentle green of her eyes, her caramel skin, and how absolutely smooth it was. He felt the burning desire. Not to take her and ravish her no, but to be accepted and liked and loved by her. There was gentle prodding at the deep parts of his self that were long left in the darkest corners of his subconsciousness. It was all his insecurities, his unfulfilled needs and wants, his sexual desires and fantasies, coming together, reinforced by the foreign wave of energy and twisted and turned until they were molded into what she desired them to be. It was pleasant, and freeing. Alan focused and snapped the wave like a twig.

He quickly opened his eyes. He hadn’t realized he had closed them until now. Thankfully, Florence hadn’t cut his throat.

You have gained 1 AP in Will

The resistance against her skill apparently helped him hone his Will and even increase it. Although it seemed like a dangerous game it could turn out to be useful if it kept working like that. Did he have the balls for it, though?

Florence sat silent, looking at him. He returned her gaze.

“So, you can make someone want to serve you?” he asked.

“Not exactly. That’s what I did just now. I can store emotions and release them upon a target. Then I can expend energy to feed them or just let them find something to feed on since everyone represses something. In the first scenario, I can create overwhelming desires and mood swings like I do now. In the second I can plant seeds and let them fester, nudging them in the direction I want from time to time. If you always feel happy when you are next to someone, wouldn’t you want to spend more time with them?”

“Why are you telling me all of this?”

“Believe it or not, I don’t want you as an enemy. Yes, yes, I know your body is fucked, although you seem to be doing much better. You also seem to have adapted quite well to this… place. I don’t need to be held down by what people think is ‘correct’ or ‘moral’ based on the society we had. This is new. We will have to hurt people or be hurt. You… don’t strike me as a person who will let such things as ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ hold him down.”

Was he really acting like such an asshole that she had seen through him so clearly? Or was it another facet of her skill? As if reading his mind, she answered the unspoken question.

“Yes, I can sense emotions.”

“That’s fucked.” He had always been big on personal space. Especially when it came to his mind.

Florence shrugged. “We all adapt however we can. And in my current situation, I need someone to trust. Salla is too nice and she would hate me if she knew me. So will most others. Ash and Emerson, and probably Davis, will listen to you. They think you are smart and adaptable, despite the fact that all of them are currently stronger than you. I am on the fence about Walter. Ivan, Nadia, and Eldon will side with Tim, probably.”

“And so would have Rob and Matt.” Alan suddenly felt like he was sitting opposite a snake. A snake that was offering him a poisonous handshake.

Florence frowned and looked around. She took a deep breath and Alan noticed that her hand trembled a little.

“Rob was a liability. I am sure you agree. You didn’t try to speak with him like you tried with me. You ignored the boy. You gave up on him.”

I did, didn’t I?

“And…” she continued, “Matt… he was unstable. Even in the office he was brazen and disgusting, but now it was a matter of time until he did something irreparable.”

“You punished him for something he didn’t do? You broke him and made him kill Rob?” Alan wasn’t sure he would be capable of something like this.

“I used my skill to make him stay away when I learned how to control it better. Before that, the first day when you went to search for others… he suggested things. Disgusting things. He followed me around.” She ground her teeth, Alan thought he could almost feel the anger radiating from her. She calmed down just as fast. “The thing with Rob was different. I simply fueled Matt's dislike towards the intern, turning it into hate. He had plenty, trust me. Rob was the object of his anger and resentment.”

“Why not simply kill Matt if you were ready to do that.”

Florence looked thoughtful for a second. “I could have probably managed that with enough time. I cannot make someone instantly want to kill themselves, not that I have tried. Figured someone from the group would do the job after what he did.” She was awfully calm speaking about that.

Is she evil? Am I evil for entertaining the thought of allying myself with her? Her ability is ridiculous. She sacrificed Rob to test her skills and make us get rid of Matt for her. Was he even that bad though? It is only her word against… against nothing. He is gone in the forest and will probably die come night.

“Alan. I need help to survive. I have decided to be perfectly honest with you and tell you everything. We don’t know when we will meet new people or what awaits us, and I know I won’t make it alone. I realize how strong my ability is, but it is unreliable and slow. People are complicated, my skill has limits and I never know how someone will react. I will be useful to you and I will NOT betray you. I promise.”

Huh.

“Have you tried your ability on the lizards at least?”

“I have,” she nodded. “It is much easier to affect them. Fear makes them freeze; anger makes them lash out recklessly. I can help in fights.”

She looked at him with what could only be described as thinly veiled desperation. Alan hadn’t realized how much pull he had around here, but people generally left him alone. He himself didn’t feel like any sort of a leader. He didn’t want to be.

What the hell, her ability is busted. How would I explain it to Ash and Emerson if we decide to go off on our own, though? Davis wouldn’t mind, I’m sure. Fuck it.

“I am level 9.” Florence suddenly blurted out.

“What?! How?” He had to nearly die 4 times for his levels and she was level 9 without lifting a finger. What the fuck System.

“Using my ability and learning what it can and can’t do, leeching and storing emotions, helping with some of the lizards without anyone knowing.”

That works?

“I’ve told you everything there is.”

“I don’t think you have. What is your second skill?”

“Has anyone told you how paranoid you are; I am practically begging here. Ugh, fine,” she ran her fingers through her hair, then looked at her hand. “I desperately need a shower.” She muttered.

Amen to that.

“My first skill was [Manage Emotions], the same one you could have picked. I lied when you asked,” she said.

Motherfuuuu-

“To be honest, I saw the rare tag and went for it blind. I was terrified after fighting the imp. I was a mess. Not that it was hard but I had never killed anything before. The skill provides almost a passive effect when I am overwhelmed and lets me think clearly and take control. Afterward, it only took me minutes to realize I could use it on others too, in very subtle ways. I made people calmer; I nudged here and there making sure no one broke down. I got to level 5 during the fight with the boar. The skill made almost no difference, but I tried to make people take action and calm the dying woman. That’s when I got [Store/Release Emotion]. In combination, they are very powerful. I already explained it to you.”

Calm down, calm down. [Efficient Basic Movement] is a lifesaver. So what if I cannot brainwash people? Fuck. This. I am never skimming skill descriptions again.

Alan took a few deep breaths, looked at the girl, and offered his hand.

“Fine. Friends. Don’t fuck me over, Flo.”

“Friends.” She took his hand and gave him one of her radiant smiles. “You can trust me.”