The energy within began to spread faster, and faster. Matt could feel his control slowly slipping away, giving way to the creature. Matt would be no more if he didn’t fight it.
“Yes, give in. Let it take over your mind and your soul,” the creature said wickedly. Matt fell from his bed and dropped to his knees, the energy was so intense he could hardly even stay on all fours. Much less, his own two feet.
“You’re not...taking...my body,” Matt said as he struggled. He began sweating profusely, the energy being intensely hot, like the hottest summer day. Soon his arms couldn’t take it anymore, and his face hit the carpet floor of his room. Rolling over, he grabbed at his chest, feeling something there. Maybe he could pull it out of him, get it away. But alas, he was grabbing at nothing but air.
It couldn’t be though, he felt something there. Looking down at his torso, he saw the black and white, swirling energy that the creature was made of, leaking out of him. It was there, but he couldn’t actually touch it.
"What the hell?" Matt exclaimed, getting increasingly panicked as each second ticked on. “You can’t win, Matthew. Give. Up,” the creature spat. The aura cloaked Matt’s body completely, he felt all of his thoughts melting away. He was giving in to the malevolent being within him, and he stood no chance.
His hair spiked a little, his face twisting into a malicious smirk, then a smile. He felt everything slipping away as he closed his eyes. Hate, anger, rage, jealousy, it was all he could feel. Deceit, lies, it was all influencing him, clouding his mind thicker than any fog.
Matt could see nor hear nothing. It was all gone, wiped away. Upon opening his eyes, he was in his room again. But he felt no pain, or struggle. Am I in my mind again? He wondered.
The closet behind him let out a thud. Then once more, twice, three times. It was growing faster and harder with every passing moment. Taking a few cautious steps towards the door, the thudding suddenly stopped and so did Matt. Deciding not to let the suspense drag on, he lunged for the closet door and nearly ripped the door from its hinges.
Out came the creature, as Matt had suspected. Jumping onto him and snarling at his face, snapping its jaws. It seemed to take the form of a wolf, but as it got off Matt, it was a shapeless orb of energy with glowing white eyes.
“All right, enough,” Matt scowled, frustrated beyond belief. “What the hell are you and how did you get inside me? Give me answers, now.”
“What did I say about giving me orders, child?” the creature asked rhetorically. It floated there, not doing anything. Yet it still seemed so evil, like it’d go on a rampage any second.
“Tell me Matthew, do you know my name?” it asked. Matt couldn’t see a mouth, but he could tell that it was grinning at him. He simply shook his head, not knowing, or remembering, any name.
I wonder if that woman knew his name, he pondered.
“Oh I’m sure she did,” the creature answered. “You can call me Malice,” he said, the name sounding like a sharp blade that could easily slice through flesh.
“Malice? That’s not very original,” Matt responded.
“It’s not my real name, only those close to me know my name, and those who were once close to me,” Malice said with a short chuckle.
It only took Matt a moment to realize what he meant by those who were once close to him. He figured they must have betrayed him or something, only to be killed by Malice, or one of his vessels. But Matt was his first vessel in over two centuries, he was safe. Right?
“Wrong,” Malice responded. “No one is safe from me. If I deem you useless, get an inkling of a thought that you’ll turn your back on me, or try to get rid of me, I’ll kill you,” he spat. “Well, maybe not your physical body, but I can kill your mind and soul. Your body will be mine to use until I can find a better puppet to control.”
“What happens if my mind and soul are gone, and you leave?” Matt asked, afraid but also curious about what would happen. “Your body would be dead and hollow with nothing inside controlling it. It would rot.”
Matt shuddered at the thought of that. All he could do was work with Malice, he had no choice. But would it be possible to control any outbursts he might cause? Especially in school? What if his dad saw what was happening? Would his dad turn him in or something?
“Stop getting so paranoid, boy. If you don’t want me trying to take you over all the time, you just have to ask.”
“Wait, really?” Matt asked, amazed and taken aback by his answer. Why didn’t I think of that? It’s so simple.
Malice laughed for a few seconds, then took in a breath, “You really are another level of naive aren’t you?” he said, letting out another evil chuckle. “Of course I’m not going to drop everything I was made to do for the sake of you keeping your normal life. You see, Matthew, my normal life is, essentially, made up of trying to ruin yours.”
Dread dropped in Matt’s stomach like a hundred pound rock. What was he supposed to do now? There was nothing to do but follow Malice’s every word, otherwise there could be dire consequences. He would have to live as a slave to Malice, unable to be free to do what he wanted. Matt felt his life was now over, and belonged to the evil inside him now.
“What are you?” Matt asked quietly, trying to hold in his trembling. Despite being powerless to Malice, he was still curious. It was a strange feeling to him.
“I am what is known as a Daedra. I was born in the depths of something along the lines of what you mortals consider Hell. Though it isn’t the exact same,” he explained.
“If you don’t mind, since you’re going to sulk and mope, I’m going to nap in the closet,” Malice said as he retreated behind the door.
“Are you still aware of my actions when you’re asleep?” Matt asked almost inaudibly.
Malice’s formless, black and white shape turned to Matt, his glowing eyes fixed carefully on him. “No, and it’s not such a bad thing, considering I can kill you if you decide to plot against me. Not to mention, I don’t have to feel your constant loneliness and anxiety. It’s pathetic,” he finished as the closet door slammed shut.
Matt just stood there, feeling scared and hurt. Those were the only two words that could remotely explain how he felt right now. There was also a lurking anger in the back, but he had to suppress it. For if he didn’t, there was a chance that Malice would only be fueled by it. It was like he fed off of such powerful, negative emotions.

~~~

Matt opened his eyes to find he was lying on his bed. Looking over at his alarm clock across the room, he saw that only a few minutes have passed. It was almost like that time in his head had never even happened.
What now? he wondered. There wasn’t much he could really do about Malice, not unless he wanted to die. But Matt had no death wish; if anything, he was afraid of pain. Physical or mental, it didn’t matter. He was frightened to be hurt. In fact, he was surprised he could even talk to Malice without stuttering, or talk at all.
Matt didn’t want to talk now, he just wanted to forget everything. He wished Malice would leave and never returned. It was only the start and Matt already wanted the endeavor to be over. The pure amount of stress and anxiety the situation was beginning to cause had finally started to sink in, and he could do nothing about it. Not to mention, there were also people supposedly going to come for him.
Matt curled up and clenched his fists, a pain in his head and chest making everything worse. He was even shaking, trembling with fear and anxiety. Then he felt a wash of anger, pure hate at what was inside him. He let out a short, powerful scream and got up from his bed.
“So, so stupid!” he yelled. Matt didn’t want any part of this, he wished it all just a bad dream that he’d wake up from any minute now. But there was no hope in that, this wasn’t a dream. He was powerless, he couldn’t do anything to change his situation. And that only made him angry.
Matt grabbed his hoodie and headed outside. He wanted to go to a secluded place to try and get rid of Malice. He didn’t know how he’d do it, but no one was going to stop him from trying. He walked along the cracked and worn sidewalk, a slight stomp in each step he took. Little did he know, he made tiny cracks within the sidewalk.
Crossing a road here and there, a few turns, and swearing at some annoying drivers later, Matt arrived at the outskirts of town. Just a little more, he thought, eager but still angry. He wasn’t sure where this drive came from, but he really didn’t care at the moment. There were more pressing matters.
There was a gravel road not far from the main road that led to an interstate a few miles out of town. Taking to the gravel, he continued to walk as he had before. The ground shaking ever so slightly, though Matt didn’t care to notice. After walking a mile or so, he reached his destination. An old, abandoned farm house. Perfectly remote and far enough away from people to do what he needs to without being caught or hurting anyone.
“Come on out, Malice. It’s just me and you, and I want you out,” Matt gritted through his teeth.
He closed his eyes, clenching his fists in frustration. Come out, dammit!
Before he could tell what was happening, Matt had passed out. When he awoke, he was once again in his untidy bedroom. His room started shifting, blurring. As if a watercolor painting was being smeared all over a canvas. It became dark, almost black as pitch. Then it became a very dungeon-like room. Cold, dark, concrete, the works. Matt still fueled by enough anger to stand his ground.
“So, it seems you’ve leeched some of my power. Impressive, I dare say. That hardly ever happens,” Malice spoke, a bit of amusement in his voice.
“Where are you?” Matt asked, scanning the area in his haze of frustration.
“I’m right here,” Malice said right next to Matt. Malice’s breath feeling like an icy cold spike in his ear.
With a minuscule amount of effort, Malice formed a hand and shoved Matt away as if he were nothing but an annoying insect. He was sent into a wall, leaving a crater where his shoulder impacted. It hurt, but Matt wasn’t terribly injured.
Strange, he thought. That should’ve broken something.
“Like I said, you’ve manage to leech some of my power for yourself. Hence why you haven’t been hurt as badly as you should have.”
Instinctively, Matt charged at Malice, then swinging an untrained fist at him. Malice went into a humanoid form, and caught Matt’s punch. He slammed his foot into Matt’s chest, sending him back once more.
“Come now Matthew, you really think you can win?” Malice said pompously. “At least I can stretch a little, but that’s all you’re offering me.”
Matt’s face grew into a scowl of pure anger, and Malice’s own energy began flowing from him. A light cloak of the black and white energy swarming his whole body, Matt stood up and charged once more.
“Oh? This is a surprise,” Malice said before shooting a quick ball of energy at him.
It struck Matt square in the jaw, but he recovered with relative ease. Malice smirked in amusement, This might actually be entertaining.
It made his fingers itch with anticipation, nothing was better than an easy little scrap. Especially when the opponent mustered a new amount of power to fight back, even if it was pathetic. It pleasing to watch his enemies struggle with all their might in vain.
Matt charged, screaming at Malice in a fit of rage, the black and white cloak becoming thick, almost covering him entirely. To Malice’s surprise, Matt had jumped over his head and landed a kick right on his forehead.
“Where in the Aech, did you learn to do that?” Malice asked, extremely puzzled as he rubbed off Matt’s minor attack.
“Not talking, huh? Guess I’ll have to force you to!” Malice shot a larger blast at Matt, but he was just barely able to evade it. Matt then copied Malice’s attack, though Malice was able to dodge it with far more ease.
“Copycat I see...copy this!” Malice roared as he lunged forward, tackling and rolling with Matt before using his legs to kick Matt into the air, and shooting him down with five repeated blast attacks. Before Matt could hit the ground, Malice leaped towards him, and spun a fierce kick into Matt’s side, sending him to a wall.
Matt coughed, but stood up once more, staring defiantly as if into the face of death itself. It was clear to Malice that he would have to knock out Matt completely, which should be a cake walk.
Malice began walking forward, but as he stepped closer, Matt took the liberty of lunging in this time, but Malice lazily swiped away Matt’s attempted punch. One kick to his knee, bringing Matt down. One knee to the chin, dazing Matt momentarily. Finally, one solid punch to Matt’s temple, and he was out cold, concluding the riposte.
“Most impressive, Matthew. I look forward to doing this more often,” Malice chuckled as he retreated to the darkness in Matt’s mind.
Very interesting indeed, he can use my power, and use said power to learn my skills. It seems he can also copy my abilities as well. This boy is quite gifted indeed. Yet he wasted this talent in a bedroom with no life, playing video games and going to school? Truly pathetic.

~~~

Matt woke from his mind again, his entire body was ebbing with pain. Especially his head. He sat up slowly, struggling to remember what had just happened. It came back gradually, in bits and pieces. He remembered being angry, everything else was one white blur. Taking out his phone, he checked the time. He had been there for a while, a few hours in fact. Even the sky had turned black with the coming of night. Then he saw them, missed calls and texts from his dad.
“Oh no…” Matt groaned, he knew he would be in for it when he got home. Texting back to his dad, Dan Mayer. He wrote, “Sorry I didn’t tell you where I was. Omw (on my way) back home.”
Walking back, he felt his phone buzz a couple times, probably his dad replying with immense anger and disappointment. All Matt could feel was guilt, dread, and anxiety. He knew he’d be in for it, he absolutely hated getting in trouble. It always made him feel like he was the worst person in the world.
Upon arriving at his house, he saw his father standing by the door waiting for him. His dad had a stern look of disappointment on his face, he simply waved him over. Matt walked inside, feeling massive amounts of shame and heated embarrassment weigh down on him. Taking a seat at the dining room table, Matt waited for his dad to start.
His dad took in a slow, deep breath. “Do you have any idea how long you were out?” he asked calmly. “Matt, I know you’re a good kid, I know you are. But as a parent, it's my job to suspect suspicious behavior from you, and help you keep your head on straight.” Matt kept his head low as his father asked, “So where were you? What were you doing?”
Matt was silent, he couldn’t possibly tell his dad because he’d never believe him. He could tell him he went out, but he has no friends. There’s no real reason, nor excuse, to cover him. He thought quickly, thinking of anything that could be believable. But alas, he could think of nothing.
“Matt, just be honest,” he knelt down next to him, “were you doing anything you shouldn’t be?” he asked with a calm intensity that only he could produce.
Matt looked up at him and shook his head, “No, I wasn’t.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, his eyes piercing right through Matt. That look had the ability to bring out the truth in anyone, the ability to see past any bull crap anyone might say.
Matt looked straight into his father’s intimidating eyes, forcing himself not to look away. “I’m sure.”
His dad held his gaze a second or so longer, “All right then, I believe you.” Matt’s father stood up and walked to his room, “Come back by curfew next time, and answer your texts and calls,” he stopped. “Something could have happened to you and I wouldn’t have known,” with that he closed his bedroom door.
Matt still sat there, and despite his father’s few words, they stuck. They were powerful, and it was as if his knew how it would affect him. No...they weren’t powerful. Matt was just weak and insecure. Even though it was over now, he still felt the guilt and shame. It burned.