Part 1: Denial - Episode 2

"Elias, was it?" Hope's tone of voice was soft and even. Her dense, curly hair was tucked behind her left ear. Elias studied her movements, he often found himself doing this in admiration of his mother, back when he was small. Occasionally Elias wondered how she was, if she missed him. Elias let out a quiet exhale.

"Hey?" Hope was now turned slightly towards him, a puzzled expression displayed on her face. "Huh?" Elias frowned, confused,
         "What's your name? It's Elias, right?" Hope acknowledged,
         "Oh, yeah," Elias replied, to which Hope nodded, a small smile across her face. She was extremely composed, her flawless, russet skin glowed in the gentle light emitted from the warm-light lamp.
          "Wait, Hope," Elias pleaded, "I have a question," Hope looked at him, "What's your question?" She leaned on the table she was next to, listening intently, "What is..." Elias hesitated, wracking his brains for the name, "What is Bad Habits?" Hope had an astonished look on her face, "Thy Bad Habits," Hope's expression dropped, deadly serious, similar to an expression Elias imagined William would make.
         "I mean, I'm not really sure. No one is. It's so out of left field. It's deadly, I'm sure you know that by now."
         "Is it an animal?" Elias queried. Hope shook her head and sighed.
         "That's like asking a stranger your favourite colour. How should we know?" Hope sighed. By now, Elias was half way to the door, holding a little backpack, holding several cans of tinned food and some rice. He took his leave shortly after.

The walk home didn't take too long, but Elias was paranoid out of his mind. Everyone was too calm about Thy Bad Habits. Elias looked up, he whipped around as he heard a low buzzing sound. Thy Bad Habits was close to him. Without any rocks, nor anywhere to throw said rocks Elias had no idea whatsoever of how to deter the beast. And with its distance, it wasn't even visible. Elias caught movement in his peripheral vision, spinning around yet again, but the buzzing seemed further in this direction.
         Elias sucked in a breath, he could run, but the sound would alert Thy Bad Habits, God knows how fast it is. Elias backed up against a tree.

Elias edged around the tree, his heart pounding, the sound echoing to his ears. The buzzing neared, Elias closed his eyes. It had been a minute or two, he opened his eyes as he heard a shuffle behind him. As Elias glanced over his shoulder, he locked eyes with Thy Bad Habits. He was aware it had a mouth, but an eye was in place of the mouth. Without blindness, the creature would be nearly impossible to trick. Elias had no prior training in combat, was it ever needed in the city? No, the city was full of useless commoners. The night was lighter now, nearing morning. Who knows how much sleep Elias had gotten in the last week, likely scratching at no more than four hours.
          Thy Bad Habits launched at Elias, pinning him to the ground, he coughed, the wind knocked out of him. He watched in terror as Thy Bad Habits' eye closed, before morphing and twisting into an all but empty mouth. Empty, except for a set of razor sharp, shining teeth.

Elias' heart was pounding in his throat, tears pricking at his eyes. He kicked at the beast's sternum. He kicked relentlessly at its ribs, baring his teeth, holding in a scream. He dug his nails into the arms of Thy Bad Habits, drawing in a breath and rolling out from under it. Still out of breath, tears streaming down his face, he clutched the bag with iron grip and sprinted.

The path was overgrown and uneven. Still dazed, Elias focused on running. The cabin was in view, he sucked in a breath and continued, dizzy. He shouldered open the door, falling to the ground, out of breath. William stirred as Elias hit the ground. William was weak. His chest ached and his skin stung. Elias' breath still shook as he rose. He murmured something briefly to himself. William watched him with a sharp eye.

. . .

William stood in front of the entryway to the kitchen, tears brimming in his eyes, "Why are you like this?!"
          "It's not my fault nothing I say actually gets through your thick skull, Will! You don't listen to me." At this statement, William paused. A tear fell down his cheek. He took a step closer to Abel, whose crystal blue eyes were a distressed mix of fear and anger. "It was never my responsibility to teach you how to use your goddamn words," William spat. "You're like a child sometimes. I swear to God,"
          "Says you!" Abel snapped, "Grow up, this argument didn't need to happen! You're not taking my perspective into consideration." he turned, kicking the box cutter under the bed and tugging the door open, slamming it behind him.