Freeloaders

A week passed since Dewey became the host of the demon Gaap. He figured how to control his newly-obtained power. That did not make him all friendly with the freeloading demon inside his head, though. "Don't talk to me when I'm in public, they'll think I'm out of my mind for talking to myself." Dewey said while fixing his tie.

"No exception?" Gaap asked.

"No exception. Damn it, why am I even talking to you in the first place?" He sighed as complaint flew out of his mouth.

"I assume you have accepted the fact that you might be out of your mind." Gaap craked a huge laughter.

Pissed, Dewey snapped at the demon. "You're just a freeloader, so do as I say." After locking the door, Dewey was off to work. He was absent for few days, and he was about to return, but this time around, he had a demon companion inside his body.

"Ah Dewey, been a while." A coworker greeted him as he stepped to the office.

"Holding a dying person must be traumatizing." Another coworker commented.

Dewey walked to his desk where a person was already sitting on his chair. "Danny, your seat is in the other corner of the room." Dewey pointed a seat near the window.

"Keeping it warm for you." Danny said with a grin on his face. It showed that he was happy that Dewey could come back to see him at their workplace.

"Appreciate the thought, it's so damn hot already, though." Dewey glanced at the fan, it was still broken. "Stingy."

"Now, now, no need to go that far. Anyway, I've got a rumor that there's this lady who walked around the town outskirt at around 6 in the evening everyday, it's been few days now." Danny said.

Dewey seemed interested, especially since the area Danny mentioned was around his apartment. "Potential headline?"

Danny thought for a while. "Not quite. You might be interested in her, though." He put his cellphone on the table, a female figure picture was shown on the screen. "A thin, almost skinny, black haired, fair skinned, small eyed figure. Her hair might be shorter but it's definitely her, isn't it?"

Dewey looked at the picture closer, and just as suggested, he recognized the person in the picture. "I thought she left the town for good." He picked Danny's phone and gave it to the owner.

"Don't be so harsh. Aren't you guys used to see each other?" Danny walked away, leaving Dewey who did not answer his question. "Amelia, eh. I wonder what she might be doing around that area all by herself."

Day went by, Dewey walked around the neighborhood to confirm what Danny said in the office. He was not lying to him, someone was sitting on a bench while drinking coffee, and that person was the same person Danny showed. "Kicked out of your apartment?" Dewey approached her.

"Oh, Dewey! Long time no see." Amelia moved to the side of the bench, giving Dewey a place to sit. "Well, I'd like to talk about stuff but it's rather windy out here."

Reluctant, Dewey brought her over to his place. "It's been ages since I've been here." She sat down on the carpet. "Oh that reminds me." She took something out of her purse. "I got you your favorite brand." She tossed a pack of cigarette to Dewey.

"I stopped smoking this brand two years ago." He put it on the table. "Now I light this one." Dewey shoved an opened pack to Amelia.

"Ah no, thanks. I quitted just recently." She refused. "Well I'm having that one if you are." Her head signaled towards the table.

"Quitted she said." He opened the fresh pack and took two bars, one for each person. "So?"

"Well, it's rather complicated, really. I was living with my boyfriend, rather, ex-boyfriend, but I needed a sum of cash. My brother just got into an accident. So I took this offer, well, it was on me, the offer was quite shady but I needed the money." She asked for a fire from Dewey, he lit her cigarette up. "My ex found out about the deal and kicked me out of the house. He was a typical nice guy, a perfect prey for the likes of me, huh."

"And that brought you all the way here?" Dewey lit his own cigarette.

"Well, that and I heard from Danny that you were absent from works so I figured I'd pay a visit." She said gleefully. "So I came here but I chickened out, so I've been sleeping on the road for the past four days." She added.

"Another freeloader, gimme a break." Dewey sighed.

"Another? I thought you're living alone?" Amelia asked.

"Well, yeah." Dewey made a slip, he was so close to expose himself. He had to sit there awkwardly with Amelia staring at him.

"We dated for a while, I'm more than qualified to notice that you're hiding something." She said. "I can just go back to my parents' so don't mind me if you can't have another freeloader." She added.

"No, you hated your family. It's fine, really." Dewey let the smoke out. "I just misspoke."

"I don't know, it kinda bothers me." She laid her body down, letting the ash from the cigarette fell just under her nose, it was still quite hot.

"Well, you won't believe me, anyway." He stood up.

Amelia yawned. "Just tell me already."

Dewey glanced at her. He thought hard. If Amelia stayed in his place for a long time, she would most likely catch him talking with Gaap, while in the eyes of normal people, he would appear talking to himself. He decided to tell her. "I'm currently being possessed by a demon."

The room went silent, neither of them spoke a word, even the flying smoke stayed quiet. "Actually, I've heard of a similar rumor." Amelia began to talk in a cold tone. "Even in my town, the rumor was heard. Some people having a nightmare about demons, reports of demon possessions, people's crazy talk about demons, sighting of actual demons, and so on, and so forth." She took a long drag. "But all the cases occured around here, not to mention the rumors appear to began at around the same time."

"A month ago..." Dewey said. "Just right after the incident at the gallery."

Amelia looked at Dewey in the eyes. "Could you show me a proof that you're being possessed?" Her tone got heavier.

Just as requested, Dewey walked towards the sink and came back with a glass full of water. He then poured it to the ground. "Watch." As he spread out his palm, the water gathered in one place, forming a ball of liquid. "And then." When he closed his palm, the water ball froze almost instantly.

"Oh my god... Oh my god! It's real! What in the world just I saw? That's some crazy sorcery!" Her mouth failed to notice that her cigarette fell off. "So all the rumors were true then!?"

Dewey put the ice into the glass and set it aside. "I assume most of them are. At least, I can say for certain, that the demons were released to our world."