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“Are you…female? Or what’s the situation with that?” I can feel something strange shifting around inside my body before the voice answers.

Yes, I prefer to take on a female form…such asyouunderstand it.

I type in ‘female demons’, then scroll through the ‘A’ section again. “Can you see this? Like, through my eyes?”

Yes,comes the grumbling reply.

“Well, you’re not on any of these lists. So, clearly, you’re either a hallucination, or you’re just not that important.”

There’s a long pause before she answers.This is my first human possession. I have labored in the Seventh Tower for centuries awaiting my chance to complete this mission.

“What’s the Seventh Tower? Is that like the Seventh Ring of Hell?”

I will not divulge this information to you,she hisses.Human minds cannot comprehend the horrors that await them in thenext world.

“Well, my brain’s already pretty rotten and useless,” I chuckle, “so maybe some horrors would jump start it or something.”

Why has your mind become rotten? Explain to me why you behave this way.

“Why would I explain myself when you’re just gonna use it to try and take possession of my soul or whatever?”

Your living quarters are disgusting, and you apparently have not contacted family members in some time. Clearly, there is something wrong with you, for I am told that keeping a clean space and spending time with family are both important pursuits for humans.

“Yeah, well…they are important, but…sometimes you just can’t.”

Why not?

“I’m just sad, ok? But like…a really big sadness.”

I feel nothing of sadness in your soul. In fact, I feel nothing at all. No emotions. Only emptiness.

I sit up and push the hair out of my eyes. “What do you mean? Can you…feel my emotions or something?”

In a manner of speaking.

“And there’s…nothing there?”

Nothing that I can use to take control of you, as I was trained to do.

“Well,” I mutter, sinking back onto the couch, “that’s fucking ironic. Depression saves me from becoming a meat puppet for a screeching demon from Hell. Sorry, Avatar, I guess you’re out of luck.”

My name is Annoth’zagoz!she cries, leaving my ears ringing.

“Fine,” I grumble. “How about Annoth? Just please, for the love of God, stop making that sound. It’s awful, and I want to watch these movies.”

I hear what I think might be a derisive snort before she replies,Very well.

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Annoth

I withdraw and considerhow to move forward. This human is clearly either incredibly weak or incredibly obstinate and lazy. It could take months for me to get a foothold in his mind, such that I could truly control him. But I cannot give up. Recall back to the Seventh Tower is only an option for those who have failed so miserably in their mission that they are cast into the flames alongside the souls of sinners. I willnotsuffer that fate. I have only two options: find a way to control Theodore Keating, or…an exorcism.

Exorcism would remove me from his body and send me back to the Seventh Tower, and would not be seen as a failure on my part. I would not be punished, merely retrained and sent back to find a new, more willing host. Yes, this could be my way out, but I must be cautious. Exorcisms are dangerous things, and if done incorrectly, they can kill the host body, which would also kill me. I must keep Theodore Keating alive and I must ensure his cooperation.

There are risks, but I have always been one for efficiency, and I cannot bear this frustration a moment longer. Slowly, so as not to wake Theodore, who is asleep on the couch now, I pull myself from his body and allow my shadows to coalesce into a form that is at least human enough to operate the cellular phone laying beside his head. Thankful that I observed him operating the device before, I use his forefinger to open the screen, then pick it up and tap the various buttons. Once I find the Internet, I am able to quickly search forwhat I need: a priest, trained in exorcisms, who can arrive as quickly as possible and rid me of this troublesome and exhausting man.

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