Alex sat with some of the victims' relatives in a small room into which a curtained cubicle jutted out. She had taken a seat at the back and she also noticed that there was a chair next to her that was empty. Many of them cried, but she had resolved not to shed a single tear. Not for him.

When the curtains opened, he emerged on a stretcher. Beside him was a guard and a second man who was standing by a desk that was apparently used to administer the injection.

He had already been given an intravenous line, with a small canal leading to this very desk. The man gave a short speech, saying something about "hereafter" and "finding peace," but Alex didn't listen, distracted when she realized his eyes were on her.

»Enjoy the show.« Those were his last words.

The man looked at the clock on the wall and it struck 12. He finally pushed a button and the first of three injections containing an anesthetic was administered to him. He fell asleep almost immediately, so the second, filled with a muscle relaxant, was administered. There was just one more thing to do and it would be over, but when she had that thought, his body began to tremble.

He woke up suddenly and something strange happened. Long, red veins formed beneath his skin. Everyone panicked as he released one hand from the buckle that held him to the stretcher, attacking the guard in the process. He immediately drew his gun, but it was too late. Cletus Kasady had freed himself and was throwing him to the ground. Then he took on the others. The windows shattered and the man was thrown outside. It was like a bomb going off, the blast was so powerful. Everyone sitting in the room was thrown away. Alex got some splinters and was pushed against the wall. She saw him for a split second, but then she hit her head on the wall and landed unconscious on the floor.

Somewhere in the distance she heard only an alarm.

So she didn't see how the monster broke through the back wall and then devoured one guard after the other. The alarm didn't bother him much because it wasn't very high frequency. It went on and ended up in a wing with many cells. And their prisoners. The creature laughed and with its many tentacles grabbed some of them, who screamed and tried to escape. He bit some heads off. Again, he tore off the arms and legs before it swallowed them too. It was a true bloodbath. The monster was already getting bored when guards entered the wing and tried to shoot it with bullets. How primitive. Bullets were useless and just bounced off. He gave them a little time trying to run away and didn't bother tormenting them too much. He grabbed one and threw it against the wall. He took another and stabbed at it with his claws, making a pathetic shriek, which the creature seemed to enjoy, then lost interest and slowly bled him to death. There was nothing left to play with here, so it broke through the wall and disappeared from this place.

When she woke up again, it was dark. The neon tubes had fallen to the floor, only one flickered on the ceiling. There were splinters all over the floor, the chairs were scattered around the room and the other people were still on the floor. She sat up slowly, dazed, and heard footsteps coming from afar. Several people rushed into the room and stopped in amazement. As she then realized, they were guards. Pointing their guns at every corner of the room, followed by paramedics tending to the injured.

Eddie and Venom had just arrived home. He was still mad, but more at himself for suggesting they visit Cletus himself. It should have been clear to him that nothing was going to happen. He had just sat down on the couch and turned on the TV when he jumped up at the sight.

»Breaking News: Well-known serial killer Cletus Kasady has escaped from prison. His execution was supposed to take place this afternoon, but he managed to escape in a manner that is still unclear. Some relatives of the victims who are already being cared for were present.

Cletus is classified as Extremely Dangerous so please be vigilant and stay home if possible. All available forces are already looking for him.«

They showed pictures of what was happening: everything was cordoned off, ambulances were everywhere and a few police officers pushed the reporters back.

»Shit!«

»But we can be glad that we weren't there.«

»Yeah«, Eddie muttered under his breath as he checked his cell phone, which started ringing. Detective Mulligan called him. He answered.

»Did you hear the news?« he blurted out, skipping the greeting.

»Yes, I have. That all sounds pretty bad.«

»Great understatement, but yes. Come to the police station. Now.« His tone said he wouldn't take any arguments.

»I'm on my way.«

At the station, Alex was in an interrogation room for the second time in her life. She was already being questioned by Detective Mulligan and was really just waiting to be allowed to go. Since she was to be given personal protection for security reasons, she had to wait until she could be escorted to her hotel.

She stared at the ceiling and thought back to the outbreak. It was this short moment, a fraction of a second, that didn't let go of her. The more she focused on the image in her mind, the more uncertain she was that it was Cletus Kasady she'd seen there.

She jumped when the door suddenly opened. A police officer came in and told her that she could now be escorted to the hotel. She got up and asked if she could go to the toilet first.

As she stood in front of the mirror, she eyed her face with great suspicion. She got almost nothing. Only a few splinters had grazed her face, many of the others were now in the hospital from their injuries. She was really lucky then. She was about to rip one of the band-aids off her face when suddenly the door opened.

Eddie had barely gotten to the station when Detective Mulligan approached him.

»Say it out. What do you know?« He was obviously furious, after all a serial killer had just escaped him.

»What do you think?« Eddie replied more than calmly.

»Cletus Kasady miraculously escaped from prison. You've been the only one to visit him from the outside world for months. You're not trying to tell me he didn't tell you anything.« His eyes showed that he was upset and desperate, although he didn't want to show it.

»He didn't, but ask the girl what was with him this morning.« He narrowed his eyes and looked at him expectantly.

»I already have, but she doesn't know either.«

He thought, looked at Eddie and went on talking.

»You know, Eddie, secrets are hard to keep.« He paused, waiting for a reaction.

»If you think of anything else, give me a call.«

With that he turned and left. Eddie was looking after him when he suddenly saw Venom's head overhead, darting towards Mulligan. Eddie reached up by reflex, grabbed the tentacles and pulled him close. Venom fought back like a madman. Since no one was allowed to see him, Eddie took a step backwards and went through the first available door.

Eddie and Venom weren't quite in the room when they realized they weren't alone. They had apparently ended up in the women's toilet, because Alex was standing in front of you with wide-open eyes, which he recognized immediately.

She stared from Venom, who was wide-eyed at her, to Eddie, who was frozen in place, and she slowly walked backwards. When Eddie wanted to take a step towards her, she turned around in a flash and ran to one of the cubicles and locked herself. He ran after her, but it was too late.

»What the hell is that?!« Her voice shook.

»Well... It's kind of hard to explain, but broadly speaking, he's totally harmless. Most of the time, anyway.« He tried to make it sound as convincing as possible, but couldn't quite manage it.

He checked the rest of the door locks to make sure no one else was there. Luckily she was the only one here. He ordered Venom to leave, but Venom replied in a low whisper that it was too late for that.

»That doesn't answer my question!«, she replied. Eddie noticed that he couldn't get out of it, but not without realizing that she was taking it all a lot better than Anne did back then. Or Mrs Chen.

»Well,... he is a... very special being«, he drawled after a moment's hesitation.

He looked at Venom, not knowing how to describe him without offending him and scaring her even more. That's why he quickly steered the topic in a different direction.

»Didn't you visit Cletus Kasady today?«

She hesitated for a moment because she wasn't really satisfied with the answer, but this surprising change of subject threw her off track so much that she forgot her worries.

»Maybe«, she answered daringly.

»So you know him?«

»Knowing would be saying too much. I met him for the first time today.« She even laughed, but it didn't sound cheerful.

»But you're the journalist who's been visiting him for the last few months, aren't you?«

»Yeah, but he didn't tell me anything either.« Eddie stared at the door and chose his next words very wisely.

»Why did the FBI want you to visit him?«

A moment of silence ensued.

»I mean, I was the only one who had visited him in months. And just before his execution, he suddenly gets a visit from someone who has never seen him before. You didn't look like you'd been with him voluntarily either. That begs the question of what connection you have to him.«

Still no answer came from her.

The lock finally turned and it clicked. The door opened and she appeared. She looked sad and looked at him.

»I am his daughter.«

There was hardly any fear in her eyes, but she looked deeply unhappy. But Eddie was all the more shocked. He even forgot for a moment that Venom was still there and the real problem still not solved.

»What?« he asked incredulously.

He expected her to say something about it in a moment. That it was all just a joke, but she didn't. She just stood there, looking at him and waiting to see what his reaction would be.

»Wow. Well... I wasn't expecting THAT. Why doesn't anyone know?« She looked down, dejected.

»Because it was kept secret«, she said quietly.

»Because everyone else would think you're like him.« Venom spoke up, which Eddie found highly inappropriate, so he glared at him. But he was right.

»Exactly. That's why only the FBI knows about it. They organized all this to use the last chance to find out something about the murders after all.«

She was still looking at Venom suspiciously, but he somehow seemed smaller now and not as menacing as he had been at first.

»The ace up his sleeve«, he whispered softly to himself.

»Excuse me?« she asked him, puzzled.

»Nothing. What's your name?« He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet.

»Alex Snow.«

»If you need help, Alex.«

Eddie handed her a card with his phone number and the logo of the newspaper she'd bought the night before. He wasn't sure why he was doing it either, but he thought it would reassure her that she really had nothing to fear. Also, there was another serial killer out there somewhere, and he thought it would help her.

»Thanks.« She took the card and slipped it into her purse.

»You didn't see anything.« Eddie pointed his index finger at her and smiled gently. He headed for the door, Venom did the same and disappeared before the two were through it.

»Sure«, she murmured to herself.

She looked after them and was left alone.

So. Much. Power. It felt to him like he was dreaming. He stood on the roof of a house and looked towards the city.

The day was drawing towards evening and twilight was setting in. He felt a great lust for murder. He had been imprisoned for a long time and could not give free rein to his lusts.

But now he felt this new power in himself. He didn't quite understand it yet, but it felt good.

A voice spoke up in his head.

»Let's kill.«