Cletus Kasadys leg lazily hung over the top bunk and dangled down, swinging gently back and forth. Though he didn't have a window in his room he knew it was night by the way Eddie Brock was snoring beneath him.
'Damn man is vibrating the whole room.' He thought, annoyed.
His hands were resting behind his head, propping it up slightly so he could stare at the wall. He rarely ever slept anymore. He found the whole idea tedious. In fact he found a lot of this tedious.
Such as having conversations with Eddie Brock.
The man was just too boring and whiny for Cletus. Brock was either crying about his terrible life or staring off into dead space. The older man preferred more lively company.
'Screaming crying company.' He thought deviously.
The snoring stopped as Eddie shifted his weight. Causing the towered beds to squeak in protest.
Cletus thought back to their earlier conversation about how the suit had become one with Eddie, essentially taking over him.
A Symbiote he had called it. Some kind of an alien or something, no one was really sure, but it definitely wasn't of this world.
Cletus scratched his stubble chin with one hand and wondered what it would be like to be another being entirely. A mass murdering machine.
He could have the whole city in the palm of his hands. A toothy smile grew over his face at the thought. He just somehow needed to convince Eddie to tell him where the thing was hiding. If he could even escape for that matter.
Kasady was sure it wouldn't be too hard once they came for Brock in another night. Maybe he could take out a guard and get his gun while they were distracted? It wasn't much of a plan but it was all Kasady had for now. It's not as if Eddie was going to bust him out of there any time soon.
'Speak of the devil.' The lean figure thought to himself as he heard soft groans beneath him. 'Someone must be having a nightmare...'
The groans turned into a panicked screaming and ferocious thrashing which caused Cletus to be rocked off the top bunk, scraping his arm on a jagged piece of the metal bed.
"Kasady! Help me!" Eddie was tearing something desperately away from himself. All Cletus saw were shadows.
"Dude what the fuck, not cool." He rose, looking at Brock's panicking form. The light from the door was all to see by, the yellow beam illuminating a struggling form.
"It's here! Get it off me! Please!" The blonde man begged, falling on the floor, a hand stretched out to Kasady. He reached for it, some of his blood trailing down his finger tips.
Now in the light Cletus could see there was a black mass swirling around Eddie. It clung to his feet and legs and was slowing crawling up his midsection. Cletus quickly retracted his hand but not before his blood dropped onto a small section of the black ooze with a sizzle.
This section began to bubble and turn red, slowing tearing itself away from the mass, seemingly hunting every drop of Cletuss' spilled blood.
Eddie let out a loud howl as the tar quickly engulfed his neck and head. Kasady could hear the guards outside shouting in unison, something about standing back, or getting down, he wasn't really paying attention.
He was too busy watching the red gunk grow in size and crawl closer to him, almost touching his shoe.
This had to be a dream.
He was never this lucky.
Stealing a glance at Brock who was now huddled in the corner nearest the door, he then shifted his gaze to the door itself, which was now opening and shielded guards with guns gathered behind it.
"Don't move or we will open...fire..." The first guard started out tough and confident but as Eddie rose from his crouched position he fully understood the magnitude of the situation. They scrambled like mice. Shoving each other so that they could get out of the hallway and to safety from the dark horror that stood before them.
It didn't take much for Eddie to reach out and grab a man. Kasady listed to the whimpering, all the while feeling a wet sliding sensation of his leg. He looked down and the red piece of Symbiote was now encasing him too.
He grinned wickedly. This was much better than his original plan.
A wet gurgling sound filled his ears as Brock ripped the man he was holding in half, throwing the pieces down the hallway, tripping 3 more guards.
"Hey Eddie!" Cletus shouted after the hulking figure who was now lumbering down the hallway. "See ya on the flip side!"
Brock stopped and turned to face back down the corridor. The light was shining behind him in such a way that Cletus couldn't make out his face, only his huge shadow.
"There is no Eddie Brock." The voice sounded loud and quiet all at once. As if Eddie was inside the suit screaming but the suit itself was whispering.
"We are Venom." The twin voices rumbled out, then bashed through the last door in the hallway. Cletus heard the sudden sounds of screaming and gunshots and then, silence.
Kasady noticed a harsh burning sensation in the areas completely consumed by the red stringy tendrils. It was nearly up to his neck now. Its was constricting him to the point where he didn't think was was going to be able to breathe anymore. Once it fully enveloped his face he felt himself drop to his knees in pain. The red liquid seemed to be digging itself under his skin. His blood was boiling.
A voice resounded in his head.
Hate, chaos, destruction. This is what fuels you. You hate the world. This is what fuels you. Kill Kill Kill
You cant wait to kill. I will help you kill. I will fuel your blood-lust. Feed me.
The voice was purring almost seductively, momentarily distracting Clestus from the pain.
Wait.
Who was Cletus Kasady?
The man on his hands and knees did not know of any Cletus Kasady.
He was now a wholey different being.
A god.
/
Evie woke up earlier than usual that morning, hastily showering and putting herself together. She rushed herself to the coffee shop down the block with the hard to confuse logo and ordered herself a tall dark roast with cream and a tall black double shot.
Weaving back and through traffic she headed straight for the subway then slipped a ticket of her pocket, still juggling the coffees. With a soft beep of the machine, she scanned it quickly and the small metal gate opened, letting her pass onto the other side. She just barely made it on the 7 o'clock subway train before the doors clicked softly behind her.
Taking a seat on the opposite side from where she entered, Evie checked her phone curiously.
A hitch in her breath.
On the cover of today's paper did not show the image she had so diligently slaved over, no, In its stead was a blurry Venom holding a prison guard by the neck, in what seemed to be a security camera photo.
The headline read: "Venom and many other escape Rykers!"
There was a slight buzz on the train, people cautiously looking around or whispering quietly to one another.
"You know what this means?" Evie heard one woman whisper to her girlfriend. "There will be another spike in criminal activity. Spiderman and the police can only focus on one bad guy at a time. So all the other criminals get to have the times of their lives!"
She was right. It happened the last couple of times there was a serious threat of a "super villain". The police were too busy dealing with tracking down either Doc Oc or Green Goblin or now Venom to worry about the muggers and rapists. Evie knew better than anyone just how bad it got.
Evie snapped out of her melancholy thoughts as she heard the train door slide open. She raced out of the subway and up onto the street, speedily racing into The Daily Bugle.
When she stepped foot into the building she already heard the buzz.
The buzz of fear and chaos.
The slender woman swiftly entered the elevator and hit the button for her floor. She was dreading stepping out into the mess she knew was awaiting her when the lift staggered to a halt.
The doors dinged open and all she could see were people racing back and forth, even worse than yesterday.
She stepped out of the elevator and tried to navigate her way through the ever winding maze of frantic people.
"Scott! I need more information from this security guard at the prison! Go do some recon! And while your there get some pictures of them mopping up the blood or something! They need something dramatic for the 12 o'clock news!" Evie heard her boss shouting at some poor new guy, turning quickly to shout directions again at some other unlucky soul.
'This was a bad day to bring the boss coffee.' Her mind hinted. She quietly sat the cup down on someone else's desk and walked to her own, taking a seat.
"And where the hell is Peter Parker?" She heard him roar, pushing a stack of paper off his desk. "He better be bringing me pictures of Venom eating a city bus whole to cover his ass this time!"
Evie suppressed a smile at the image in her mind. Venom unhinging his jaw like a snake. She didn't doubt if he could actually do it or not.
"Evie! I know you worked late last night but I'm gonna need you too again. we have got tons of new shots of Venom and the prison break that we need you to edit. The security camera footage was the worst quality so we need you to work your magic!" A hard slap of threatening encouragement hit her back and she looked up into the eyes of the boss.
"I.. can do that if you need me too. How many photos will i be working on?" She pushed her glasses higher onto her nose.
"Well, we're selling some to the local tabloids for some extra cash since there's so many, but about 150."
She stared blankly.
"That would take me all day and night though..." Her voice trailed off. He patted her on the back roughly again.
"Well you better get crackin' seeing as how there's some serial killers on the loose. I know I wouldn't want to get caught outside after dark." He whooped with laughter.
Evie just knew this was going to be her death sentence.
/
An elongated shadow was cast across the rooftops of the downtown area. The creature casting it stood and stretched with exaggerated motions. He was scoping out the area for tell tale signs of life. A raging building fire burned in the distance. Police sirens screamed in the wind.
It was pure chaos.
He relished in the moment of self discovery. This is who he was meant to be after all. A pure being. A full fledged devil.
Even Satan himself would shudder if he even so much as glanced upon his perfect form.
Cletus observed himself now, not really getting a chance before. The excitement, the power, it all got to him and he had a glorious rampage.
He held and arm out and rotated it about, taking the new texture and color. His flesh was now the same color as raw meat, a writhing mass of crimson tendrils. It almost seemed to shift as if it were alive.
Gunshots sounded in his ears and he whipped his head around to view Venom running from the cops. A snarl parted his lips at the sight of the large black mass weaving in and out of alleys, seemingly looking for something.
Kasady crouched, readying himself to pounce on the retreating figure.
Kill him. Feast on his flesh. Show to city who now rules it. Make them fear you.
The hiss of demonic voices seemed to swirl around in his head. Almost as if a swarm of wasps was invading his brain, not that it was unpleasant.
The demons muscles sprang into action as he leaped from the rooftop to the alley below, landing with a hard thud, and sprinted down the dark back street towards the smell of gunpowder.
When he rounded the first corner he saw a mess of blood and other grotesques bits and pieces strewn about in the wake of the black behemoths spree.
Venom was charging through the busy streets, hurling cars and people out of his path. Several phone lines were down around him, wildly sparking on the ground like headless snakes.
"Spiderman!" Kasady heard the brute holler at the top of his distorted lungs. It seemed Venom was seeking a rematch with the hero after he had been defeated.
'This is the perfect scenario to kill them both.' Cletus inwardly mused, a deep feeling of delight and anticipation overcame him. He darted his white eyes up towards the sky, in hopes he would see the red-suited spider come down the water spout and join the party.
But no signs appeared. Only loud sirens wailing in the distance, growing ever closer by the minutes.
The red devil stood taller, suddenly bored with the spectacle going on in front of him. Venom wasn't even killing anyone on the streets, more just throwing a huge tantrum and making a scene.
"Hey, meat-head!" Kasady barked at the the late Eddie Brock. His shoulders stiffened and he turned toward the lankier figure slowly, settling his terrifying masked eyes on Cletus with a hate-filled glare.
"We have no quarrel with you, skinny man. Get out of here before you regret your loud mouth." Venom's voice was like a rumbling pre-quake, it edged with the danger to come.
"Awe come on, lots of people like my loud mouth. Makes things interesting. Not like you, who don't ever seem to have fun with anything. You gotta enjoy life and its freedoms!" As Kasady spoke a swarm of police officers pulled up behind him, halfway blocked by the destroyed street.
His acute ears heard the vehicle doors open and multiple guns cock.
"Put your hands behind your head and get on your knees!" A voice cut through the street on a mega phone. "We have you surrounded!" Cletus could sense the fear in the mans voice.
He put his hands up in the air and brought them slowly behind his head then slowly dropped to his knees. Venom stood as he was, watching in silence.
There was quiet behind Kasady as the officers tried to figure out what to do, not exception the reaction they got.
"What? No cuffs? No gun to the neck? Are you guys sure you're NYPD?" The crimson devil wondered aloud, then shrugging, he lowered his arms and flipped around to face the fearful crowd of humans.
The sound of gunfire rang out everywhere and a barrage of bullets flew toward him, striking him multiple times. His blood spilled out onto the pavement and pooled around him, but surprisingly he felt perfectly fine.
"My turn." Was all Kasady said before sending a wave of his own bloody projectiles towards the anxious group. He was ecstatic to see numerous officers fell from view as blood was painted over their white and black cars.
He turned now to face Venom, his raging blood-lust not yet satisfied. But Venom was retreating down the subway stairs, out of view of the chopped that were shining their spotlights on the gruesome creatures in the street.
With a tisk Cletus pursued his object of interest.