The rain tapped against her apartment, the calm night helped Ashley focus on her latest artwork. The paint splattered in hues of red, black, blue and gold. Pumping out the photo's in her darkroom, sketching simple characters and writing books gave her the energy to continue.
"Alright... I need to go to the government lab tomorrow, take photos for the paper and write emails. I might as well get some sleep now. My piece is almost done now" Mumbling to herself, she laid her equipment down and trudged to her room, falling straight down and sleeping immediately.
-
Her morning started off early and she was on the subway and on her way to the laboratories in half an hour. Pushing past the crowds and getting into a taxi, she finished her coffee and put her flask. Leaving the taxi, she walked into the reception and signed the visitors' form.
"Good morning Miss Barren, the professor is ready for the photo shoot. I'll escort you to the shooting area." The receptionist offered with a kind smile. Ashley nodded, taking up her offer. The woman, whose name was 'May' got up and led Ashley towards the photo shoot space.
"Thank you, Miss... May." She smiled politely, then started preparing her camera and the lights. Minutes later the professor arrived, dressed in his burgundy suit and tie. He walked around the equipment, and shook the artist's hand, with a firm grip. He chuckled and walked in front of the background.
"That looks good professor" She took a few photos before speaking up again. "Try turning to your side Professor Garvin, like that" She gave him a thumbs up when he turned to his side, hand in his hair and holding a file.
An hour passed by, and Ashley was finishing the shoot. "Thank you for the opportunity Sir, you'll see the photos personally before they become printed within three working days" He nodded, he knew that she was reliable from a recommendation made by many other companies. Walking out, she tried to remember how to get back to the reception, only to stumble into a lab room, with... some type of substance moving in a container.
"'The hell is that is that? It's moving... I should take a photo of it" Grabbing her camera and snapping a picture before walking closer, inspecting the creature. It was pitch black, sludgy from first glance and seemed to want out. Looking behind her, Ashley noticed that she was pretty much alone to her surprise.
"Hey, little guy, you all alone?" It pulsed to wherever she touched the glass. Taking matters into her own hands, she grabbed a small hammer from the floor and broke the glass container. It moved around and flew onto her arm.
"Aargh!" Ashley screamed out of shock, she didn't expect it to go to her. To her surprise, her head started to ache, and her body felt heavy. Dragging herself through the building, getting on the subway and making it to her apartment, she looked in the mirror, with someone else looking back at her.
"W-Who are you?!"
"My name is Venom."
