Refuse her offer

Through the haze of temptation, all the insidious comforts and selfish pleasures that assaulted my mind, came a purer vision. Grace’s smile, the real Grace. The shy way she would talk to me, the blooming happiness that had begun to take root in her, maybe for the first time in her life since the bullying had stopped.

And this… this monster wants me to take it all away from her! Turn that sweet girl into nothing more than my costume, something to wear like a cheap suit.

Newfound determination burned inside me, as I turned to the Skinwalker and moved to push her off me. She was startled by my strength and speed, the resolute way I pushed her back.

“Don’t think I’m just some pawn who’ll give in to your little manipulations. There’s no way I’d do that to Grace. She deserves more than just becoming my vessel. She deserves a real life of her own!”

Jessica’s face contorted in surprise, perhaps a begrudging respect, but one very quickly subsumed by frustrated disgust.

“Is that so? You really want to play the hero?”

She seemed to think for a moment, digesting the unexpected strength of character that had allowed me to resist, before I interrupted her thoughts.

“There’s no world where I give into your ugly little machinations.”

Her eyes glinted, as a certain sickening half-moon grin arrested her features.

“Hmm? Oh, don’t be so sure. I have a feeling there’s dozens of worlds where you more than accept my offer. You might even grow to surpass me. But, well. Unfortunately for me, this doesn’t seem to be one of them. Fine…”

She drew her final word out, savoring the syllable, contempt turning into sadism in the tone of her voice.

“… I offered you the carrot, a life of happiness and pleasure. Most people like you would jump at the chance to be a pretty young woman dating a hottie like me.”

She gestured at Jessica’s body, the skinsuit she was puppeting effortlessly, as though it had always been her natural body, or her rightful property.

“Well then Alex, it seems you want the stick instead. Let’s play a different kind of game. I think I’ll stay here. This flat is awfully nice after all, and it’s not like there isn’t an amazing selection of bodies here to enjoy. Jessica, the hot queen bitch. That pretty blonde, Alicia. Hmm, she’s like a ray of sunshine, isn’t she? Her boyfriend Frank, ohh, what a hunk. I love wearing men like him, such a feeling of power. And of course, shy little Gracie. It’s so delicious wearing such an innocent face like that, knowing what’s really inside.”

“Don’t you dare!”

“Oh, you want me to stop? Nuh uh, that’s not how this works. You see Alex, sometimes the worst way you can spoil a child is to just give them exactly what they want. You know? I want you to grow up big and strong for Mommy, okay? A skinwalker I can be proud of.”

Her grin was so malicious as she twirled Jessica’s hair between her fingers, clearly relishing the roleplay and the feeling of power she commanded.

“You’re not my Mom, you can’t tell me what to do!”

“My, my! Now wasn’t that exactly the sort of petulant thing a rebellious child would say! Oh Alex, until you really start to appreciate the gift I’ve given you, I’m afraid I’m going to have to do wilder and wilder things until you do. It really is for your own good.

And actually, you are my child. You were sired from my line, it’s my strain of skinwalker that warps you from within, the trappings of my clan that inform the peculiarities of your transformation. You should be grateful, really. There are not many lines of skinwalker more vaunted than the one you’ve been inducted into, and believe me when I say there’s far, far worse ones.”

My head was swimming with everything she was telling me, the casual way she addressed me while saying the most horrible things.

“Stay away from Grace. I’m warning you.”

There was a powerlessness to my words that wasn’t lost on either of us, but the monster seemed to humor me anyway.

“Hmm, okay! Maybe I will. Or maybe I won’t. You see, that will be the cruel center of all of this. If I just stole her body, it would be bad, but I wouldn’t have THAT much leverage over you in the grand scheme of things. It’s the threat that’s more powerful than the act, after all. No, I think I’ll stay close.

Have you ever heard of a Panopticon? It’s a design of prison from the 18th century, devilishly ingenious really. A single guard stands in a tower surrounded by cells, yet the prisoners cannot see him. It’s impossible for him to watch them all, but it’s equally impossible for them to know when they’re being watched.

It’s the fear that causes them to self-regulate. The fear that makes them shackle their own bodies, control their behavior. Fear as a method of control, fear as a punishment too. The torments of your own imagination will always be greater than any practical ones even I could conjure.

So that’s what I’ll do. Trading between your flatmates and the people close to Grace, always near, always within striking distance. Maybe I’ll even slip into her on the odd occasion, just for a night. Her body is so attractive after all… I’m jealous you’ve already gotten inside her.”

I sputtered, taken aback after listening to the creature’s awful monologue. The sadistic cunning it exhibited was chilling. My emotions churned like a bitter sea swept with storms, a queasy sickness swelling in my gut. I stumbled up off the bed, my shoes still on despite everything that had happened. I’d been so caught up in everything that had happened I hadn’t even realized I’d been wearing them in bed.

I stumbled to the door, opening it in a daze, walking into the corridor only to hear Jessica’s mocking voice follow me.

“Don’t go too far sweetie! I know I won’t be~”

My heartbeats felt irregular in the chest as I stumbled out of the apartment, into the cold of the night. Streets passed by in a blur. I couldn’t tell which way was up, as the Skinwalker's awful words swirled in my head.