The girl walked through the quiet, desolate remains of what had once been everything she had ever known. Birds circled overhead, cawing ominously, waiting to swoop down on the bodies that littered the scene. The air reeked of blood and the echo of screams still seemed to hang in the air, a memory of the chaos that had reigned. A crunch sounded under the girl’s foot and she looked down to see that she had stepped on the remains of a human skeleton, burned down to the bones from a fire. Tears welled in her eyes and she bit back a sob as she thought of all the men, women, and children whom she had grown up with, all now reduced to memories by her own hands.

She fell to her knees in sorrow, so tired of fighting the monster that had taken control of her body. It was not you who did this, a voice in the back of her mind said reassuringly. You are not to blame. But she still could not help feeling responsible for the deaths of her family, friends, and neighbors; after all, the demon had done this because she had tried to fight back against its control. Staring at the ground she thought of all the people who had tried to help her despite the risks and found the ash-littered dirt blurry before her.

A breeze blew by her hunched figure, lifting her hair and smelling of rot and death. Ash was lifted into the air in front of her, whisking around and coming together to form a solid shadow wearing a cloak that disguised its true features. The girl looked up as the demon hovered in midair before her. “Come to gloat?” she asked, her voice lifeless and dull. She could not bring herself to care about anything anymore; she had nothing left to lose, except her life, and what was that worth to her anymore anyway?

The demon shook its head and made a condescending noise, sighing as if it had had no choice but to take over her body. “See what happens when you try to resist me, little girl?” it said formidably. “You lose everything you have ever known and loved.”

The girl’s eyes narrowed, and she yelled through her tears: “You will NEVER control me completely! I will never stop fighting, and I won’t let you take more innocent peoples’ lives!” Her voice echoed through the quiet wasteland and scared away the birds who had been flying above.

“And what makes you think you can stop me?” the demon challenged, a hint of a smile creeping into his words. “With each moment you doubt or fear yourself, I gain a little more control over your soul. Soon you will have no power over me and be at my disposal.” It laughed menacingly, towering over her trembling body. “You are nothing compared to my power.”

The girl looked down at her shaking hands with hopelessness. She would never be freed of this monster. Even if she fought back the rest of her life, it would haunt her. The only way to escape was through death. Her mind made up, she faced the demon once more, her chin set in determination. “If you will not leave me…” her voice trembled as she reached out with a hand on the ground, “If you will not leave me, then I would rather die than live under your control.”

Her fingers found a sharp shard of broken glass and she plunged it into her heart, grimacing at the flood of pain that lanced through her like endless flashes of lightning. The demon shouted in anger and swept toward her, but its body went straight through hers like a ghost. “You rotten girl!” it screamed in frustration, writhing in fury. “Now I must find a new host and start the process over again!” The girl looked up in confusion and her eyes widened as she realized that she had not killed the demon, merely destroyed its current host.

“At least your last breaths will be filled with suffering,” the demon growled. It turned, and with a flash of its cloak disappeared in a whirl of smoke, leaving the girl to die alone in the ashes of her home.

She lay gasping for breath, her heart pumping slower and slower, struggling to sustain her body’s simplest needs. I’ll see my family again, she thought weakly, a smile flitting across her face. Rolling onto her back she stared at the sky and took her last breath, shuddering with relief at having freed herself from the terrors of the world.