Venom Shot

Chapter One

"This place is an absolute hellhole... maybe I would've been better off in the city." I mumbled as I walked out of the tunnel.

I didn't mean what I said though, I knew it's better to be out here than in that damn city. I just wish I knew what I was doing. I had no friends, no parents, and my siblings were dead. I was on my own. For the first time in my life I felt a sense of what I think was pain. Not physically but the mental havoc of losing everyone I cared about within a month was all too much to deal with. Now that I wasn't worried about being found out. I continued to walk until the realization of grief and guilt set over me. This was something I couldn't understand since I've never experienced it. Even when I was in the city and lost half of my family, it wasn't truly kicking in since I'd still have to take the pills at least weekly to keep suspicious behavior down. I finally couldn't take it anymore and I found a place to sit down and cry. Something I also wasn't able to do much of. Having my first real cry was a whole new level of feeling. It felt good but it was painful to do, emotionally. Luckily where I decided to sit was shaded so I was out of the sun. I knew I had to find a safe space before nightfall but I couldn't be out here still in Battery City attire. I kept walking for a few miles until I came upon a tiny little shop. There was a sign outside that said, "Batt Rats get first outfit free. Returning killjoys must pay." I shrugged as I walked in. There was this lady at the front counter who smiled at me sympathetically, well- I think that was the word for it.

"You're new I see." The lady said.

"Yeah, so how does this work?" I asked.

The lady came around the corner and I saw she was wearing a really cool outfit. I guess that was the fashion out here. It had so many bright colors, some I've never even seen.

"Excuse me?" The lady replied giggling.

I shook my head, "Oh sorry, it's just- I've never seen some of these colors!"

The lady took my hand in reassurance, "I get it, don't worry. Anyway, you're new so you get to choose a whole outfit for free! Kind of like a shopping spree. Just choose whatever you like best. Doesn't have to match or anything, you're free to express yourself how you want. Doesn't even have to be in color if you don't want it to be. It's truly up to you. Oh and one more thing, don't forget to grab a gun. You can leave it how it is or customize it later."

I smiled, "Oh wow, thank you."

After that she walked away and let me do my thing. I really loved the color I'd see right before a sunset went below the horizon. I think it was called Red, but I knew what it looked like which was helpful. I grabbed some red hair dye, a jacket which was also black and red but with some accents since I knew it would get chilly at night. Then I proceeded to grab a few undergarments. I knew I could only take a few pairs but I stuffed a lot more pairs in the jacket pockets. I wasn't about to let this chance go to waste. Then I picked out jeans with some rips. I also selected a pair of exposed shorts but stuffed them inside the jeans, careful not to make them noticeable. I did this with nearly everything until I felt that it would be noticeable I had more than what I was allowed. I then went to grab a "Ray Gun" which I thought was extremely cool. It was just like the ones in the city, but colorful. Of course I grabbed a black and red one of those as well. Once I gathered my "outfit" I went up to the counter and asked if there were bags. The lady nodded as she handed me one. I then asked about the dye to distract her from any questioning.

"Sorry, but do you have a place where I can fix up my hair?" I asked.

She smiled once again, "Absolutely, this way."

She led me to the back and there was what seemed to be a room where many other people had dyed their hair. So I was about to add to it. I took out the red dye and the mixture to lighten my naturally jet black hair. I sat down as I threw the lightener on my hair. It took forever to lighten and I ended up taking a nap on the floor, as dirty as that floor probably was. Once I awakened I used the little cups of rainwater to rinse my hair out. I then threw the red on the lightened parts. I had to let that sit for another hot minute but I knew the results would be worth the wait, and worth the wait it was! I rinsed again but this time to reveal striking red hair on my head. I left my roots my natural color since I knew maintaining that would be a painful process. So I gathered what was left and walked out to leave for good but the lady stopped me and admired my hair for a good five minutes before letting me leave. She said it suits me very well and hoped she'd get to see me again.