The basketball court vibrated with the intensity of a high-stakes game, sweat and adrenaline filling the air. Zack's muscles tensed as he got knocked down by a player from the University of Ottawa, the ref refusing to call the foul. His vision blurred and anger bubbled within him, he could feel his powers shifting inside him. Zack shook it off and charged forward, easily tore the ball away from the opposing players and heading back toward their net.
Zack's senses were on high alert, and he could feel someone coming up from behind him. He just made it to the key and lined up his shot, when an Ottawa player grabbed the ball. Without thinking Zack used his enhanced strength to pull the ball free and in his fury, Zack's arm swung wide, catching Kristian in the face and leaving him with a bloody nose.
"Zack!" the coach bellowed, motioning for him to sit on the bench. Zack complied, his chest heaving with labored breaths as he tried to suppress the demon clawing at him. Rob sat down beside him, concern etched across his face.
"Man, what's gotten into you?" Rob asked. "You've never been this aggressive before. You need to get a grip before someone else gets hurt or worse."
"I can do this on my own!" Zack clenched his fists, trying to rein in his demonic side. His heart ached at the memory of his breakup with Deb, and the guilt from kissing Leona when she was dating Boon. The buzzer rang and he searched the crowd for a distraction and noticed Boon talking to Leona. As the quarter ended, Boon pointed to the smudged lipstick on her lips, asking how it happened.
"Oh this," she took out a small compact mirror to check for herself "Must have smudged it on my drink." she motioned to her generic soda cup, Boon seemed to buy this explanation.
Rob, who had been listening in too, shot a suspicious glance at Zack. "You were late to warm up because you were outside with Leona, weren't you? Did you kiss her?"
Zack hesitated before admitting the truth. "Yes, I did." Rob's eyes flashed with anger, accusing Zack of self-sabotage.
"Zack, what the hell are you doing?" Rob scolded "Is this what you call handling it? I get the whole being sad after a breakup, but this is stupid on a whole other level." Rob accused him and Zack just listened, he knew he deserved it.
--
Meanwhile, Deb had decided to skip the game. Instead, she found herself learning self-defense from Abby, the stun gun in her hand feeling like an odd weight. "And you are sure I need this?" Deb hesitated.
"You are a young single woman now," Abby explained as she adjusted Deb's stance, "You need to be able to protect yourself from any predators out there."
Deb considered Abby's words, still unsure if she would be able to actually use the weapon on anyone. " I guess you're right, This is just heavier than what I am used to."
"Well, I didn't think you wanted to end your attacker's life, which would likely happen if you used those knives of yours." Abby's voice sounded joking, but her eyes seemed almost excited by the thought of Deb taking someone out with her knives.
"Oh no, I could never actually use my knives on another person," Deb responded but her mind wandered back to the night she believed Ethel stalked them through the business school and she questioned herself. " I mean I don't think I could."
Abby quickly picked up on Deb's hesitation, "You thinking about what you would have done if you had had your knives on Halloween?" Abby placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"Honestly I don't even fully understand what happened that night," Deb looked straight ahead and lowered the stun gun, "Ethel has always been weird, but a killer? I don't get it. Besides I Have seen Boon, Zack, and Rob hanging around her a few times, so why would she turn on them just out of the blue? I want to believe Zack but..."
"But they are keeping something from you, I get it," Abby pretended to emote "That is why you must train and learn the only person you can rely on is yourself." She positioned Deb back into an offensive stance. "Now come at me!" Deb lunged forward and the two began to spare, Abby now armed with the knowledge that one of Deb's friends could be the second vessel they were looking for.
--
After the game, Rob returned to their dorm room to find Zack pacing in the dark, his eyes glinting with a bloodthirsty look. Fear and concern gripped Rob as he realized the demon side of Zack was winning.
"Zack, I know things have been tough, with Deb and School and everything else going on," Rob warned. "But if you keep going down this path, you are really going to end up hurting yourself and I won't let you do that."
"Ha! You couldn't stop me if you tried! You are just an average everyday human, I have all the power," Zack snarled, his eyes narrowing.
"Actually," Rob said calmly, "I learned something about vessels. If you remain calm, they can't sense what you're really up to." And with that, he swiftly handcuffed Zack to the radiator while he was distracted.
"Let me go!" Zack roared, yanking at the cuffs. But Rob tossed the keys across the room, his expression remorseful.
"Right now, I don't think you're in the right mindset to be free," Rob said coolly. "Until you get your emotions under control, I'm not taking any chances."
"Fine!" Zack snapped, his face twisted in rage. "But if I get free, I'll kill you!"
"Then it's my job to make sure you don't," Rob replied quietly, his heart breaking for his best friend who stood, shackled by his own internal demons.
--
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Deb was perusing the shelves at Walmart, still lost in thought about Halloween, when she spotted Boon a few aisles down. She hesitated for a moment, they hadn't talked much since that night, before deciding to approach him.
"Hey, Boon," Deb greeted him tentatively.
"Deb! What a surprise. I didn't expect to see you here," Boon replied with a warm smile, but she could see the hesitation in his eyes. "You missed quite a game."
"Y-yeah, I just needed some time away from everything," Deb admitted, averting her eyes, the silence that followed felt like it lasted hours. "Want to wait for the bus back to campus together?" She just wanted it to end.
"Sure thing," Boon agreed, and they made their way to the bus stop.
As they waited, Deb could feel the weight of everything that had happened pressing down on her until she couldn't take it. "Everything is just so weird lately. Ever since Abby arrived on campus, I can't help but feel that my whole life is some kind of lie, how is it possible that I know so little about my own family? And Zack and the whole night from hell, I don't know what to believe," she confessed, the words poured out of her like water over Niagra Falls.
Boon glanced around before leaning in closer. "I know what you mean. This city doesn't make any sense. I've seen things – things I can't explain."
"Really? What did you see?" Deb asked, equal parts curious and anxious.
"Back on Halloween, when we were trapped in the business school... I saw this creature. It looked almost human but had glowing orange eyes, razor-sharp claws, and massive fangs." Boon's voice trembled with the memory. "It scurried up a wall and walked on the ceiling towards me. It was the same thing that attacked me in the movie theater, I don't doubt that it wasn't Ethel, and it seems like Zack knows something about it."
Deb shuddered as she imagined the terrifying scene Boon described. They both sat in silence, contemplating the unsettling secrets hidden within Waterloo.
----
Back at the UWP dorm, Rob awoke with a start, realizing he had fallen asleep while watching over Zack. The room was eerily silent, devoid of the threatening sounds that had filled it earlier.
"Zack?" Rob called out cautiously, his heart pounding in his chest.
But Zack was nowhere to be found. The handcuffs lay broken on the floor, a chilling breeze crept its way through the now-open window. A sinking feeling settled in Rob's stomach as he realized the demon was in control and Zack was on the loose in the city.
Zack's eyes narrowed as he watched the bus from the shadows, every muscle in his body tense. Deb and Boon sat together, chatting, and a surge of jealousy washed over him. He couldn't shake the feeling that Deb had moved on and was flirting with Boon, even though rational thought whispered otherwise.
"Get a grip," Zack muttered to himself, attempting to silence the demon inside of him, but it only roared louder in response. His mind was flooded with images of Boon and Deb in a tender embrace.
Fuelled by rage, he stepped forward, intending to attack the bus, when Ethel suddenly appeared from a nearby alley. She snapped her fingers, and time seemed to freeze around them. Snatching hold of Zack's arm, she pulled him back into the alley before releasing time's hold.
"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded, her voice low and furious.
"Ethel!" Zack snarled, the demon's anger surging through him. "You let everyone think you were dead!"
"Because you turned the police and exorcists loose on me," she retorted, unfazed by his outburst. "I've been using my ability to see the future to stay one step ahead."
"Then you should know what will happen to you if you stand in my way!" Zack shot back, his eyes blazing.
"Zack, the person I know wouldn't consider taking a life," Ethel said firmly, her voice softening. "Especially not a friend's."
Her words struck a chord within him, and the rage gave way to sadness. A wave of guilt crashed over Zack as he realized how irrational he'd been and that Deb deserved happiness with or without him.
"Ethel, I –" he began, but the sound of Rob calling his name interrupted him.
"Zack! Where are you?"
"Wait," Ethel urged, as she watched Zack turn towards his friend's call. "I was wrong about Paulina, we need to talk."
With a nod of understanding, Zack and Ethel slipped away from the alley and headed toward the tent city under the overpass.
----
"Zack!" Rob called again, his chest tightening with concern. Stumbling into a parking lot, he came upon a gruesome scene: police officers were loading a body into an ambulance, its white sheet stained with crimson. Fear gripped him as he thought that Zack might be responsible or, even worse, that it was Zack.
"Rob?" The familiar voice made him turn. Relief flooded through him as he saw Lindsey on the other side of the ambulance. "Hey, what are you doing here?" she said softly, reaching out to comfort him.
"I can't find Zack," Rob admitted, his voice shaky.
"Zack is a smart guy, and he'll be fine," Lindsey assured him, pulling him in for a hug.
Little did they know that Jessica and Abby were watching them from the shadows. "Deb told me all three – Rob, Boon, and Zack – had been talking to Ethel at some point," Abby whispered, her eyes scanning the area.
"Interesting," Jessica mused. "You reported a second, smaller vessel, right? That means it could be younger."
"Exactly," Abby agreed, her gaze never leaving the embracing pair. "But which one of them is it?"
"We will just have to test them to find out," Jessica replied cryptically, before melting back into the shadows.
--
The cold wind swept through the makeshift tent city, ruffling the flaps of Ethel's shelter. It was here that she had been hiding ever since Zack had unwittingly turned the police and exorcists onto her trail.
"Is there any way to cure me?" Zack blurted out, his voice desperate. "I can't keep fighting for control of myself like this, I am exhausted. Maybe an exorcism could fix everything."
Ethel shook her head, her dark eyes somber. "When you became a vessel, the demon bonded with your soul. Most vessels die when an exorcism is performed on them. Besides, vessels are just people like everyone else. We all make mistakes."
Zack clenched his fists, his frustration and guilt simmering. "But I can't handle these power flare-ups and lying to my friends. It is ruining my life."
"Well there could be a way," she relented, seeing the torment in his eyes. "It is only theoretical but some exorcist texts suggest killing the sin that made you a vessel will extinguish the curse. But only other sins, Supremes, or archangels can do that."
"But it is possible?" Zack asked, determination etched across his face.
"Zack it isn't that easy, sins don't kill each other usually and there are no Archangels or Supremes in the city. Not to mention we would have to find Gluttony," Ethel replied. "That leads us with only one option, one of us would need to become a supreme."
"How do we do that?" Zack asked, his heart raced at the thought of being normal again.
"We would need to steal some of Gluttony's power. Remember when you shared some of your aura with me?" Ethel reminded him, Zack nodded remembering the sensation of their auras mixing. "It would be like that but in reverse, if we can get close enough, I know I can do it. But I need your help."
"Deal," Zack agreed, his heart heavy with the idea of facing off against Gluttony again.
Unbeknownst to them, Gluttony had been eavesdropping from outside the tent. As they walked away, their grotesque form began to shift and morph until they resembled a normal human being.
--
Back in his room, Boon sat alone, haunted by the recent events: the claw marks in the changeroom showers, his damaged car, the monstrous creature he'd seen twice now... and the strange behavior of Zack and what Deb had told him about Abby. Frustration gnawed at him as he pulled out his laptop from under his bed, determined to find answers.
His fingers flew over the keyboard, searching for any information on powers, glowing eyes, claws, and fangs. After endless scrolling, he stumbled upon a deep web article that caught his eye: "How Do You Know a Sin Has Chosen You?" The drawing on the front was disturbingly close to what he had seen.