Euphoria

Chapter Fifteen: Overflow

Sean's head jerked to the side, his chair teetering and nearly sending him to the floor. He groaned, the side of his face swollen and hot as he leaned over, blood dripping from his bottom lip. "Could you just..." He swallowed, the metallic tang enough to make him gag. "Tell me what you want from me?"

The man grinned, pushing his blondish-brown hair out of his face. "I suppose that would make it easier, huh? Sorry, I still have some residual anger from the last one."

"The last one?" Sean said, his jaw cracking, a flash of pain forcing a gasp from him.

"Your brother. The deceased one? Anti."

Sean's body tensed, and his fingers curled around the arms of the chair he was tied to. His stomach twisted at the mention of his brother. "How do you know about him? What gives you the right--"

"What gives me the right? Gee, I don't know." The man threw his hands in the air. "Maybe the fact that he promised me something he couldn't get?"

"He promised you something, or you forced him to get it?"

"Oh, bravo. Blackmail, actually."

"What kind of blackmail?"

The man laughed. "The kind that I don't tell you. Do you think I'm stupid? No matter how small your chance of escape is, there's still that tiny possibility that you could get free, and run off to tell all your little brothers about my 'foolproof' plan. Newsflash," He leaned in close to Sean, a look of malice replacing his playful stare. "This isn't one of those movies."

-

Dark stared into the sea of gray waves that were his host's eyes. Chase, the man he possessed, wasn't his first choice, nor his last. He noticed the bags under them and his pale complexion that wasn't entirely from his Nationality. One of the problems that came with taking over someone's entire being was their traits, habits, and thoughts.

He could already sense the feelings of worthlessness, and depression, oozing into his mind and circulating like wildfire, but they were nothing to him. Although, eventually, he would have to leave Chase's body and find someone new or something worse would happen.

Dark could hear Chase's distressed thoughts meshing with his own. It would've been enough to drive someone insane, someone, who wasn't him. He grabbed the 9mm out of the glovebox, checking the magazine to see if it was loaded. Once he was sure, he slipped it back in, listening to the satisfying hiss of metal on metal and sliding the hammer back until the click.

"Look at it this way, Chase Brody. Once all this is over with, you'll have your body back." Dark said, stepping out of the car and breathing in the crisp, night air. "Baby, it's cold outside."

He pocketed the gun, walking up the front steps of the house and knocking on the door, putting on a smile. "Hello?"

A soft click could be heard, and the door creaked open halfway, a frazzled woman lingering in the threshold. She looked confused, her eyebrows knitted together as she stood shivering in her nightgown. "Chase? What are you doing here? It's late—" She gave him a once over. "—and are you wearing a suit?"

Dark took a step forward, wasting no time. "Stacy, Darling. I was hoping I could take you and the kids out? I haven't seen them in a long, long time."

"Have you lost your mind? You heard the judge. Your visitation rights were taken when you showed up drunk on the court date!" She said, struggling to keep her voice level as it wavered. "Please, don't make me call the cops on you again. It's bad enough that you violated the restraining order..."

"Oh, please. You and I both know that you weren't in any danger, Stacy!"

"Do we?"

Dark growled, fighting down his host's influence and biting back more words that he never intended to say. "Step aside if you know what's good for you, Darling. I would like to see my little angels."

"You're not going anywhere near them!"

"Aren't I?" He pushed past her, flinging the door open carelessly. "Where are they?"

"Get out of my house, Chase!" Stacy pulled at his sleeve desperately, shaking from something more than the cold now. "Please! They don't want to see you."

"Don't lie to me!" Dark pulled out the gun he kept hidden inside the waistband of his slacks, pointing it at her. "Tell me where his children are, you bitch!"

"Dad? What are you doing to mom?" Chase's oldest stood next to the stairs, carrying his terrified little sister. "Why do you... why do you have a gun?"

"Trey, call the cops!"

"Shut up!" Dark grabbed Stacy by the arm, the lights flickering and popping before going out. "We're all going to get in the car and have a nice little ride back to my place, understand? Don't make me tell you twice." He twitched, both of his eyes gleaming with a deadly sanguine hue.

"Y-Your eyes..."

"That's right, Darling." Dark said, glancing back at the two children. "Follow me or your mother gets one right between her eyes, understand?"

Both of them nodded, following him out the front door and piling into the car, Trey sitting in the back with his sister on his lap, his arms protectively around her as Dark started the ignition, looking in the rear-view mirror at them, a weight on his chest, pounding in his ears.

Chase's screaming had finally stopped, but his emotions hadn't. Dark could feel the anger boiling inside of him, the guilt, and the sadness. All the pain he was unable to keep behind the metaphorical door, he'd kept closed with tape in hopes that it wouldn't overflow, leak or splinter.

It took a while, but Dark finally managed to pull himself together enough to leave the family's home, calmly driving down the back road he'd previously come from.

The smirk stretched across his face again, and the glow faded from his eyes. This would be interesting, and it was something Anti definitely couldn't ignore.

And when he won... oh, how the euphoria would flow through him.