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It felt weird, watching Habit bleed out under a tree. In the body of a willowy brunette, seizing in pain, he looked almost human for once. But even in death, he was still grinning—if Evan looked close enough, he could see that the woman he was possessing and a few too many teeth. He wondered if she even knew she was going to die. If she was still in there at all.
“God—fuck!” Habit laughed, spitting black blood that congealed into the dirt. “Man, that thing packs a punch, ey?”
Evan stayed silent, just watching as the god-demon that had been tormenting him for millennia—quite possibly since the beginning of time—bled out.
“What, you just gonna fuckin’ stand there, ya freak?” he spat, before doubling over again. “Agh, shit! Ha, always knew you had a hard-on for murder—fucking hell that thing hurts!”
Habit gripped the gunshot wound from the North Star in his vessel’s stomach, hissing through gritted teeth. “Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Goddamn it! Ya know, I thought I had you guys for a minute there. Guess I’m getting soft, huh? Spent a few too many cycles going easy on you? I shoulda’ killed that fucker when I had the chance.”
He knew he should be happy—he should. The demon who tortured his friends, killed dozens of people for fun, is finally going to die. But he wasn’t. It was almost pitiful, in a way. Evan had gotten so used to the feeling of Habit in his head, a second set of thoughts scrolling absently in his mind.
Truly, he wasn’t sure how much of himself was Habit and how much was Evan. Everything feels empty without him.
Then, a single thought crossed his mind.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Evan isn’t, and never was, the kind of person to stop and think before acting. His impulses were his compass; they kept him alive. But this? This may have been the only thing in his life that he thought twice about.
Knowing exactly what Habit was capable of, Evan wouldn’t put it past him to plant this idea, somehow, in his head to plan for this very moment. After all, Habit had been there since the very beginning, before Evan could string together a sentence, or take a step. He never even knew to think that there might be someone else in his head besides himself, but he always felt the presence.
He hated to admit it, but he’d been almost… lonely these past few months while Habit had been contained to a single mortal vessel. Evan hadn’t even known that the swirl of violet in his head was something he could miss until it disappeared; it felt like part of him had just been ripped out.
Almost before he could think, Evan just blurted it out.
“I wanna make a deal with you.”
Habit was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing, which then turned into a thick, wet retching as he coughed more black blood onto the forest floor.
“Man,” he said. “You’re lucky ol’ Vin isn’t around to hear you joke about that. He’d put that bullet in your chest faster than mine. I know we’ve both got a sick sense of humor but that,” he jabbed a blood-soaked finger in Evan’s direction. “That takes the cake.”
“I’m not joking.”
Habit’s wide, toothy grin slowly faded into something more puzzled, more serious. “Now, Evan. What—and I mean what in the entire fucking world—would make you want to make a deal with me?”
“Protection,” he answered simply. “You protect my friends, you help us get rid of the Tall Man, and in return you get me. But only me. We don’t hurt anyone, and you stop taking time away from me. If you’re in control, I want to know.”
“And why would I want that? Why should I, of all people protect your friends when playing with them is so much fun? There’s not a lot in it for me, Evvy,” he snickered, maneuvering himself to lean his vessel’s body against the tree and visibly biting back a hiss of pain. “What am I getting out of this?”
Evan spread his arms wide. “Me. You said it yourself, I’m the best vessel you’ve ever had.”
“That is true,” Habit grumbled. “But what’s the point in a vessel if I can’t have a little fun? I’ll protect your friends and I’ll shove a knife into that lanky fuck’s eye, if he’s even got one, but I get to have my fun, dealio?”
“Animals only.”
“Animals and people, but you get a veto. Special deal, just for my favorite little vessel, how’s that sound?”
“Fine. But I need to know when you’re in control. No more of that lost time bullshit—if you’re in control, I wanna know what’s going on.”
“Sure thing,” he crooned, a predatory smile stretching across his face. “You’ll see every bit.”
Evan held out his hand for Habit to shake, with the sinking feeling in the back of his mind that he was about to do something unthinkably, horrifically stupid.
But it was too late. As soon as their hands met, something changed. The brunette vessel’s carefully manicured hand went limp in his, the pink-violet fading from her eyes almost instantly as she slumped against the tree, lifeless like a puppet.
Habit rushed into Evan all at once and he gasped, stumbling back and falling to the forest floor as waves of violet pulsed across his vision. Then, it all stopped, and retreated back into corners of his view. The feeling of another being in his mind settled in like a phantom limb made whole again.
Energy he didn’t even know he’d lost thrummed through his veins, and everything became sharper with an extra layer of focus. He could feel every vein of the dead leaves under his hands, and hear his heartbeat through his chest. When Evan stood up, he felt almost weightless, as if he’d shrugged off gravity itself.
Oh, how I’ve missed being in here, my friend, Habit purred from the corners of his mind, content. You know, I think this might be the first cycle where you’ve willingly made a deal with me. Don’t make it boring.
Then, silence.
--
Life continued on for the next few weeks as if nothing had changed. Aside from their deal, Evan felt exactly like he did at the beginning of this cycle, with Habit resting in the background of his thoughts quietly like a shadow. It was unlike him to be this calm, which both reassured Evan and made him paranoid. If Habit was planning something, he wanted to be prepared for it.
What, can’t I just enjoy the silence for a bit? It’s pretty calm in here without you trying to fight me all the time.
Evan ignored him, continuing his stroll down the supermarket aisle. Considering the events of their lives so far, it wasn’t surprising that the crew didn’t like to go out very often, instead preferring to stay inside the house. Ever since Evan had gotten Habit back, he’d made more of an effort to do their “outside chores”, feeling more secure in his safety with a demon (hopefully) on his side.
Awww, said demon crooned. You feel safe with little old me? I’m flattered.
“Shut up,” he murmured under his breath, and headed over to the aisle with the chips and salsa. It was movie night, and Evan’s turn to pick. He chose a horror classic, of course. Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, a 90’s kaiju masterpiece.
I still think you should’ve gone with Cannibal Holocaust, Habit complained.
“And I still think that one’s too intense. Besides, Steph would murder me if she ever found out they killed animals for the effects!” he hissed. A woman walking by with her son gave him a dirty look, and he gave her one in return. Couldn’t a man talk to himself in peace?
Gut the kid. Choke the bitch with his sinew.
“I am not doing that.”
Habit laughed as the woman shot him another look and ushered away her son to the next aisle.
Careful, or people might think you’re craaaaazy, he mocked.
“Like I give a shit.” Evan scooped tortilla chips into his cart. One bag of lime for him and Steph, and one bag of regular for Jeff and Vinny. “Is that your whole evil plan? Make me mildly embarrassed in a grocery store? And here I thought you were some scary, powerful demon.”
Watch it, Habit warned, growling a low, deep rumble that might send another man to his knees. By this point, though, Evan was pretty much used to it. Or I might just take over and do the gutting myself. You want crazy? Try blaming the demon in your head when they put you in the electric chair for a double homicide.
“O-kay, we are checking out now.”
Scared?
“Not for me.”
Good.
Unluckily for Evan, the mother and her son ended up right behind him in line for the cashier. As he stacked his six-pack of beer, his chips, salsa, and the Reese’s that Habit insisted on getting, he inadvertently caught the eye of the kid.
He tried to turn away before Habit could do… something, but it was already too late. As soon as the kid met his eyes, he paled. Evan tried to give him a reassuring smile, but he shrieked and began wailing, running behind his mother’s legs as Habit laughed.
Evan dropped a twenty on the counter for his meager groceries and left the store without another word, pulling down the brim of his hat as he began the short walk home, staring resolutely at the pavement to avoid eye contact with any poor, unsuspecting people. Even so, there was a wide berth of empty space around him that no one seemed to enter. Ever since Habit, he’d become a pariah.
People on the street only ever regarded him with suspicion. Waiters and cashiers never touched him, not even brushed his hands, and he’d been pulled over while driving more times in the last two weeks than most people probably had their entire lives. Even dogs turned tail and hid from him, growling and snapping when he got too close. He never realized how much the little interaction he got outside mattered to him until it was ripped away by Habit.
And there was the small stuff, too. A thousand tiny, inexplicable disasters followed him without fail like a miasma of bad luck. People tripped and fell without warning, flowers died where he’d stepped a day prior. Food burnt and spoiled around him like he was the horseman of pestilence himself.
Habit never said a word about any of it. Maybe it was all in his head. Maybe Habit was right and he actually was just going crazy—Jeff would tell him it was all pure coincidence; something-something confirmation bias, or whatever.
Smartass, ain’t he?
“Don’t talk about him.”
Ooh, someone’s tetchy today.
Evan was starting to reach the limits of his already short patience. “Look, I made a deal with you to protect them, not to listen to you bitch and moan about them. If you wanna blow off some steam, we’ll stop by the woods later and you can kill a deer, or whatever you do.”
Nah, I’ll pass. Saving up for something.
Evan could hear his grin through the words; he was definitely planning something. He hadn’t yet taken any opportunities with Evan’s body, citing the reason that if anyone found out, they’d both be killed on the spot. Vinny still kept the North Star, after all, and neither Evan nor Habit were keen on being shot in the chest and dying.
Lying to his friends was something he hated doing, but it kept them safe. Both from Habit, and from the… everything… that wanted them dead. Growing up, he told Jeff and Vinny just about everything. They weren’t just friends, they were family, and they probably knew him better than he knew himself, so keeping secrets from them felt like betraying his own nature. Evan wasn’t the kind of person to plan and strategize, he liked to face his shit up front and get it over with.
Unfortunately, even he knew that approaching the situation from the wrong angle would probably mean certain death of the incredibly painful North Star variety.
Evan stopped on the sidewalk just before the porch.
“Listen,” he muttered to Habit. “It’s one movie night. So please, just cool it with your bullshit for a few hours, okay? Whatever you’re planning, it can wait two hours.”
Habit didn’t respond, which only frustrated him further.
“Fine. Be like that, asshole,” he said under his breath, heading into the house.
It was one of Corenthal’s from a previous cycle, a nice little family home in the suburbs of Edison, away from the forest. It only had three bedrooms when they’d moved in, and had turned Corenthal’s old, unused office space into another bedroom. At this point, quite understandably, they all felt much more comfortable living together in a group than alone in their own apartments.
“I’m home!” he called down the hallway. “And I brought groceries!”
Vinny was the first to come greet him, peeking his head out of the living room where he worked on his laptop as Evan unpacked the bag onto the counter.
“You got regular chips, right?”
“Yep,” Evan responded, popping the ‘p’ and tossing Vinny the bag. “Got mild salsa, too, for your weak-ass taste buds.”
“Ha-ha,” he responded dryly. “Sorry if the taste of the burning red-hot sun doesn’t really do it for me. Hey, what’s that?” Vinny pointed to the Reese’s.
“Just a lil’ treat for me,” Evan shrugged.
Vinny eyed them with clear suspicion. “Huh. I didn’t know you liked those.”
Before either of them could say anything more, Steph came barreling down the stairs, dragging an exhausted looking Jeff with her.
“Woohoo, movie night!” she cheered. “I went and got the DVD from the library, so we’re all set up now.
Evan looked Jeff up and down. He was pale, with growing bags under his eyes, and honestly looked all-around horrible.
“Are you good, dude?” he asked, holding one of the beers out for him to take. Jeff waved it off, instead opting for a glass of water from the tap.
“Yeah, no I’m good. Just a little tired ‘s all.” His voice was dry and hoarse, which definitely explained why he was chugging the water so fast.
Steph chided him. “Jeff, come on.” She turned to Evan and said bluntly, but not unkindly, “He’s been having the nightmares again. “
“The ones about Habit?” Vinny questioned, and Steph nodded.
“It’s been pretty bad.”
“I’m right here, you know?” Jeff interrupted, clearly annoyed, and snatched the bag of chips off the table. “I can hear you.”
“He’s dead,” Vinny said with finality. “You don’t have to worry about him, right Evan?”
All eyes in the room turned to him.
“Yeah.” Habit barked out a laugh in his mind and Evan winced, but continued. “He can’t hurt you anymore.”
Oh, is little Jeffy scared of the big bad Habit?
Evan barely stopped himself from responding, balling his hand into a fist so tightly he felt his nails sink into his skin.
“If he comes for you again,” he said, laying a comforting hand on Jeff’s shoulder. He didn’t shrug it off. “I’ll kill him myself. I promise.”
Or maybe you’ll betray all your friends, Habit mocked. And keep him leashed right under their noses, lying the whole way. I can see the fear in his eyes. When he looks at you, a part of him still sees me, I made sure of it.
Jeff’s mouth quirked up into a slight smile, the first one Evan had seen on his face in a long time.
He will never forgive you for this.
For once, Evan wasn’t quite sure who the thought had come from.
Habit laughed.