Venom, Blood & Ink

Desperate Measures

"It's not working." A grizzly man's voice echoed into Desi's slowly returning consciousness. Despite her attempts to respond, she stayed still and silent.

"Keep trying." A second male voice commanded, gruffly.

"I am, Odin, but the toxins in her system from that God awful thing's bite is making it impossible for the venom serum to do what it's supposed to do." The first voice replied.

"Do whatever you have to do, Doc." The man referred to as Odin spoke in an angry, worried tone.

Doc sighed and paused, carefully choosing his words before speaking again. "There's only one other thing I can think of that might work...you know what that is. Are you prepared for that again?"

"I'm not gonna let her die, Doc. I can't let her die. I'll accept the consequences if it goes bad again. Just do it." Odin bellowed

"Fair enough. If you're sure, I'll get it ready."

A wave of sudden, intense pain washed over Desi as she eavesdropped on the men's conversation. She let out a muffled groan and started to stir as she lay on a cold metal table in the shreds of her once fine gown. A blurry image appeared from her left side as her sight recovered.

The room she was in was very dimly lit, with soaring domed, rocky ceilings. To the left was a long, large wall of shiny glass, her view partially blocked by a man dressed entirely in black with stark white hair and large, grey, clawed hands. Desi immediately recognized him as the man that stood between her and the Eyeless creature that wanted to have her for dinner. A movement caught her attention to her right. There, stood the bearer of the other voice. A man in a dingy white lab coat, round, wire frame glasses one size too small for his head and greying, receding hair pulled back into a ponytail stood, looking down at her in concern.

"Ah shit, she's waking up. I had hoped she wouldn't, just yet." Odin, the man on her left, cursed.

As her blurry sight adjusted more, Desi saw another movement, just behind the man in black. A huge, hulking, blue figure, as blue as a deep, azure sea, stood in the corner, silently surveying the room. All the image of a typical story book monster or demon, he stood at least ten feet tall with large black horns protruding from atop his massive head. Bright, golden eyes seemed to glow above the mouthful of sharp teeth with two long tusk like teeth standing in a graceful curve up to his cheeks from his bottom jaw. Desi figured this...thing must have been the blue blur that picked her up in the hotel stairwell as the white shirt he wore over ripped black pants was smeared and speckled, with what she could only imagine, was her own blood.

"Ok, my name is Odin..." The man in black began, speaking soft and calm. "...you're in bad shape but you're safe."

"My name is...is..." She tried to reply, her voice raspy and quiet, barely a whisper.

"Shhhhh...I know your name, Desi." Odin stated. "This is Doc. He's going to help you."

"What?" She questioned, unsure of what was happening.

Suddenly, Odin's demeanor changed. "Cyan, I need you to hold her down. Doc, go ahead, do it now." He ordered.

"Wait. What?" Desi asked as the big blue hulk moved from the corner and approached her. She became increasingly nervous and tried to get up or block him from touching her but as she raised her left arm, she saw the stub that remained connected to her after the Eyeless attack. When panic gripped her, flooding her with adrenaline, her full condition prickled itself to her senses. She could feel the swollen, empty hollow where her right eye used to be, gouged out by the creature's long, crushing claw. Memories of the scene crashed over her, filling her with scattered emotions, fear, disgust, pain adding to her hysteria.