Worm | |
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Interlude 19.z | |
Date posted | 19 March 2013 |
Link | Interlude 19.z |
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19.z (Interlude; Emma) is the third interlude, and tenth chapter of Scourge. Emma nearly got mutilated in an gang initiation, gets rescued after fighting back by Shadow Stalker. The seeds that will lead to Taylor getting bullied get planted, and Emma starts lying to herself that she okay.
Plot[]
In the summer break of 2008, Emma Barnes and her father, Alan Barnes, get ambushed and attacked by a group of asian gangsters looking to initiate one of their own into a fully fledged member. They nearly succeed, until a desperate attempt from Emma to fight back gets noticed by an observing Shadow Stalker, who then rescued both father and daughter.
Shaken by this event, and troubled by her perceived weakness when faced with life-altering scenarios, especially in comparison to her best friend, Taylor Hebert, Emma seeks out and becomes friends with Sophia Hess, Shadow Stalker's civilian identity. She offers her a frame of reference in which Emma can reconceptualize her trauma. Instead, Emma decides to re-invent herself into a person who got over it, creating a facade to cover her insecurities.[1] Taylor wouldn't have a place in her new world, and she would prove that she's stronger than Taylor by systematically bullying her.
Emma becomes more involved in Shadow Stalker's life, at one point coming to her aid, together with her dad, in the middle of night to treat a wound Shadow Stalker had gotten during a fight. They even went on patrols together until one of them ended fatally. The court case concluded with Shadow Stalker, represented by Alan Barnes, on probation with the Wards.
The bullying campaign begins and grows worse. Like drugs, Emma is addicted to it, but doesn't experience a high from it.[2] Sophia steals Taylor's flute, and Taylor confronts Emma about it. Emma thinks about giving it back, but is afraid that giving in would be a return to her old, weak self and decides not to.[3]
In the present, Emma visits Sophia in juvenile detention and dangles her own philosophy in front of her, stating how things have turned around for Sophia now that she is in prison, and how she is going into a new Brockton Bay at the very top of the social ladder. Sophia gives her a cryptic warning that she's missing crucial details.
Later, when her family's car passes the Hebert's house on her request, she is surprised to see a confident and hardened Taylor, and is quietly unsettled at the fact that Taylor might be stronger than her in spite of her best efforts to prove the contrary.
Major Events[]
- Emma almost gets mutilated and meets Shadow Stalker.
- Taylor gets a cold reception coming back from summer camp.
- Taylor's flute, A reminder of her mother, was stolen out of her locker and destroyed.
- Shadow Stalker was judged and sentenced into probationary Ward membership.
Characters[]
Heroes | Villains | Others |
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References[]
- ↑ For a moment, she regretted the choice she’d made.
Then she had her head in order again, the little things she was faking contorted with reality until she couldn’t tell the difference anymore.
People could convince themselves of anything, and there were worse things than convincing oneself that they were strong, capable, one of the ones on top, rather than one of the ones on the bottom. - Excerpt from Interlude 19.z - ↑ She didn’t enjoy it. Didn’t revel in it. But it was… reassuring? The world made sense. Predators and prey. Attackers and victims. It was like a drug, only she’d never experienced the high, the pure joy of it. There was only the withdrawal, the need for a hit just to get centered again. - Excerpt from Interlude 19.z
- ↑ Emma paused for long seconds. To give the flute back, surreptitiously, it would go a ways towards breaking the rhythm, the cycle.
Taylor’s words nettled her. To back down now, it would be a step towards the old Emma, the victim. - Excerpt from Interlude 19.z
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Chapters | 19.1 • 19.2 • 19.3 • 19.x • 19.4 • 19.5 • 19.6 • 19.7 • 19.y • 19.z |
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Battles and Events | The Echidna Event • Skirmish in Boston |