=Venom=

Venom 3

  Brie finished up the cover art for a book she was asked to do and headed out to grab some snacks for her and Eddie to have during the game. When she got back to her apartment all the bags fell to the floor when she saw who was waiting inside.
  “Danny…” She gulped.
  A man with light brown hair, cut close on the sides, unshaven, wearing a white tshirt and jeans sat back in a chair at her kitchen table. He stood up and approached her. She turned to open the door again, but he was behind her in just a few steps. He pushed the door closed and with it went Brie’s hope.
  “I’ve missed you baby.” He whispered while pulling her hair back away from her face. She stood facing the door with her eyes closed trembling at his touch.

  Eddie was a little upset when he got the text from Brie saying they would have to cancel the game. She said she had a stomach bug and hadn’t been able to keep much down.
  “Looks like it’s you and me then tonight.” Said Eddie cracking open a beer.
  “Why don’t we go make her feel better?” Suggested Venom.
  “That’s not too bad of an idea. A little chicken noodle soup, maybe?”
  Eddie took a ride and picked up some fresh soup for Brie. Her surprise overshadowed her fear when she cracked opened the door.
  “Eddie…I…I sent you a message…”
  “I got it. I just thought with you being sick you might want some soup.”
  It was thoughtful and Brie appreciated it, but she was scared of Danny seeing Eddie. “You didn’t have to do that.” She heard Danny walking out of the bathroom in the bedroom. “I really need to go. Thanks.” She said before abruptly closing the door. Eddie stood there for a minute confused.
  “You’re…welcome.” He said to the door.
  “That was strange.” Said Venom. “I think there is someone inside…with her…a…man.” Hissed Venom.
  “I think your being paranoid.” Said Eddie as he headed towards the elevator.

  “Who was that?” Asked Danny.
  “No one. Just a neighbor, bringing some soup by.”
  “A neighbor, huh?”
  Eddie heard a loud commotion coming from down the hall after entering the elevator. He held the door open and heard yelling. He stepped out and slowly made his way back down the hall until he was sure the noise was coming from Brie’s apartment. He knocked aggressively on the door and was surprised to see a man quickly swing it open.
  “What?” He asked.
  “Where’s Brie?” Asked Eddie.
  “Who the fuck are you?”
  Eddie tilted his head slightly and saw Brie standing by the kitchen island with her hand covering her face.
  “I’d like to speak to her please.” Eddie tried not to sound angry but his body language was rigid and assertive.
  “Fuck outta here.” Said Danny, slamming the door in his face.
  “I want to eat this one, slowly!” Hissed Venom. “Pleeeaasse Eddie.”
  “I just might let you, my friend.” He knocked one more time and heard a loud smack followed by a whimper.
  “What?” Yelled Danny opening the door again.
  “Either you let me in right now or things are gonna get ugly, and I mean out of this world ugly.”
  Danny tried to slam the door again and Eddie put his foot in the doorway. When Danny threw open the door to take a swing at Eddie, he and Venom struck him hard in the chest sending him back three steps and then entering the apartment.
  Brie was across the living room unsure of what to do. She knew Danny was crazy and she didn’t want Eddie to get hurt.
  “Did I hear you hit her?” Asked Eddie.
  Danny charged him slamming him into the countertop and punching him in his ribs. Eddie kneed him in his chest as the two men fell to the floor.
  “Damn it, Danny! Stop!” Yelled Brie as she watched Danny repeatedly hit Eddie in the face. Eddie elbowed Danny who leaned back and pulled a switch blade from his pocket.
  “Danny!” Yelled Brie again as she watched him stab Eddie in his shoulder. She covered her mouth to keep from screaming at the thought of him killing Eddie in her kitchen. Soon her fear became confusion.
  “What the fuck?” Said Danny as a tar-like substance oozed out of the stab wound, around the blade and onto his hand. “What the fuck is this? What the fuck are you?”
  Eddie rose to his feet as Venom’s form engulfed him.
  “We told you things would get ugly.” Said Venom as he licked the side of Danny’s face just before eating him. He turned towards Brie who was standing behind a floor light gripping the stem out of fear. He transformed back into Eddie where he stood in the kitchen unsure of what to say.
  “That…that…thing…in your book. The Symbiote…”
  “That was one...a good one…” Eddie avoided any eye contact.
  “He just ate someone…in my kitchen…”
  “Uh…yea…he does that from time to time…”
  “Only the bad ones.” Says Venom out loud.
  “And…he…talks…”
  “A lot.” Says Eddie. “Look, Brie…I’m…I’m really sorry about…umm…well, obviously I’m sorry you had to watch that, although he was really hoping to make that meal last longer.”
  Brie let out a maniacal laugh. “Meal?”
  She took a seat on the sofa trying to process what she just witnessed. Eddie slowly made his way to her hoping she wouldn’t kick him out and tell him to stay away from her.
  “I was gonna tell you at some point.”
Brie rubbed the side of her face and closed her eyes. “Does it make me a bad person to be happy you ate him?”
  “Well…I…I just want you to know ‘I’ didn’t eat him…that was all him.” Stutters Eddie, wanting to clarify.
  “I didn’t move here from Bakersfield for work, although, I was lucky enough to find a really good job. Danny, was my ex-boyfriend. I moved here to get away from him.”
  “I told you she was lying.” Boasted Venom.
  “I put restraining orders on him, moved around, even lived in my car for awhile because I was too scared to settle in anywhere. He always seemed to find me.”
  “You don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
  Brie pulled her hand away from her face and the bruising was starting to settle in.
  “You got any frozen peas or something?” Asked Eddie walking into the kitchen and opening up the freezer.
  “Bottom left.” She informed.
  Eddie brought over a small bag of frozen veggies and placed it on her cheek.
  “Thanks. I was really looking forward to watching that game with you. He was here when I got back from the store. I don’t even know how he got in.”
  “Let’s see,” Eddie looks at his watch. “If we’re lucky, we might be able to catch the last inning.”
  Brie managed to pull off a smile and turns on the tv. After the game, the The Shinning comes on and Eddie hangs around to watch it with her. Eddie didn’t know when it happened, but Brie had dozed off next to him. She looked so peaceful considering she was laying against a man who harnessed an alien life form that ate her ex-boyfriend in her kitchen a few hours prior. He pulled away cautious not to wake her and eased her down onto the couch. Venom reached over onto a chair and handed Eddie a blanket to pull over her before quietly letting himself out. Venom slid an arm under the door and locked it behind them, in case she had another ex-boyfriend show up.
  Eddie awoke the next day and went out for coffee. On his way back he grabbed a paper. The headline read “Archer Aeronautics, Seeking Heights Drake Could Not”.
  Frank Archer was an aeronautical genius. He and Carlton Drake were both competing to find life on other planets. As far as he knew, from reading Eddie’s book, Drake had somewhat succeeded in finding life, but proved to be a failure in capturing and studying it. All anyone knew of the Symbiote lifeforms was they were parasitic and would die shortly after leaving their hosts. Archer, however, had a team sent in to Drake’s labs to gather as much information as they could on the lifeforms before the servers were wiped clean. He knew the coordinates to the planetary system Drake was studying and was anxious to find out more about the lifeforms that lived there.

  When Brie woke, she looked around for Eddie and found he had left. She paused before walking into her kitchen, remembering what had happened the night before. She opened the fridge and pulled out some orange juice.
  “Last night…didn’t happen…” She said as she took a sip of juice. When she walked into the bathroom to shower she saw the bruised side of her face in the mirror. “Last night…did…happen…”

  “You're nervous, Eddie.”
  “You must be psychic.” Said Eddie sarcastically.
  “Is it about last night?”
  “I'm starting to think eating her ex in her kitchen wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe we could have eased into telling her a little…smoother.”
  “Hmmm…”
  “What am I supposed to say the next time we run into each other? I mean, if we happen to be in the elevator, alone…what do I say?”
  “I see your point…”

  There’s a knock on the door and Eddie goes to answer.
  “Brie…”
  “Hi…Eddie…”
  “We we’re just talking about you.” Says Venom loudly.
  “Shut up.” Says Eddie.
Brie looks at him. “Can we talk?”
  “Yea, come on in.”
  “I woke up this morning from what I though was a really, fucked up dream, until I saw the bruises on my face and realized it was real. And I came to the conclusion that we really need to talk because if we’re going to keep seeing each other there are some questions I need answered.”
  “You…you…want to keep seeing each…other…me…you still want to see me.”
  “Stop stuttering Eddie and let her finish.” Said Venom extending his head and peaking from behind Eddie.
  Brie's eyes stared for a moment before returning to what she was saying. “Yes, I still want to see you.” She walked over and took a closer look at Venom. “Does it…hurt?”
  “No.”
  “Can I…touch…it…?” She held up her hand and Venom tilted his head like a dog begging for a rub behind the ears.
  “We are Venom.” He says with a toothy smile.
  “You’re not going to eat me…are you?”
  “No.” Inserted Eddie.
  “No.” Emphasized Venom. “Although I am sure you would be delicious.”
  Brie slowly retracted her hand.
  “He’s joking…it’s…a compliment. He's not allowed to eat anyone unless he asks first.”
  “Does anyone else know?”
  “Dan and Ana are the only other two, and Ms. C, down at the corner store. He ate someone holding her up. Dan does routine checks to make sure there aren’t any negative effects having him bond to me.”
  “So, he’s like a…”
  “Don’t say it!” Yelled Venom.
  “He doesn’t like being called the 'P’ word.”
  Brie looked at Eddie and smiled. “It’s definitely an adjustment.”
  “But a step up from old Danny boy.” Hissed Venom.