A flash-fiction story, answering the Bad-Demon prompt. Safe is the narrative of a demon with something to prove, and his hunt for a viable target for posession.

  The subway station was crowded for a Monday evening.  It seemed that there were bodies crammed into every inch of the crumbling structure, slithering over and under and around each other as they rushed on en route to their respective destinations.

   Malfius leaned against a concrete pillar covered in obscene graffiti, in the darkest corner of the station. His hood pulled low over his forehead, a thick crop of black facial hair obscuring the view of the lower half of his face, he peered at the travelers scurrying past like insects.  Scanning the pulsating throng for a face that stood out, his glance fell on a tall, leggy blonde whose golden strands floated loosely around her face. Her fluttery silk robe made her appear to him like a beautiful moth amid a colony of ants. He watched as she stepped up to the tracks, waiting for the next train which would come barreling into the station at any moment.

  She would do nicely, he decided, reassuring himself that this time would be different. Tonight he would finally prove to himself and to the others that he was as capable as any of them to ruin this girl’s life. This was his chance to show exactly how much misery he could inflict, how much chaos he could spawn in the world.

  Malfius moved quietly, stepping away from the wall, towards the tracks and the moth-girl.  The closer he got, the easier it was for him to sense what she was thinking.

“It would be so easy. I could step onto the tracks in front of this train. Everything over in an instant.”

  Shit! He couldn’t let her jump into the path of the train that was now hurtling into the station. He needed her alive, at least long enough for him to torment and save his reputation.  Seeing no other choice, Malfius stepped up to the blonde, pushing past her to the front of the platform as the breaks squealed and the train rolled to a stop.  Gaping at him open-mouthed for a moment, looking a little dizzy, she ambled through the doors, which had slid open to allow the crowd to funnel into the car.  Malfius stayed close behind her, not letting her out of his sight for a second, he couldn’t afford to lose her in the crowd.

   The blonde stared at her feet, twisting a long golden strand between her fingers.  If he had the capacity to be attracted to a human, Malfius thought, it would be this one. If he had a heart it might be a little faster as he watched her.

 They were pulling up to the next stop, and she was planning to get off the train. His instinct was to follow her, to make her second chance at life a nightmare that would earn him honor.  Instead, he watched as the beautiful blonde creature exited the car. She, and his hopes for glory floating gracefully out into the night on a cool breeze.