Hey everyone!

It's been a while since I posted a new chapter, but I was struck with inspiration and decided to write this chapter, which is all about Eddie and Venom's first meeting. Note that it doesn't follow anything in any of the comics or movies, but something I came up with on my own. Enjoy!

Also, if it's your first day of school or if you're going back soon or have been back, just a PSA to be safe, don't do stupid stuff like go to parties with crowds of people, and keep a level head!

Note: includes mentions of blood and animal death

First Encounters of the Venom Kind

"Stupid bugs," Eddie Brock muttered, trudging through the woods on his way back to the river where the rest of the youth group was currently camped near.

It was a weekend camping trip, and the young teen was starting to regret ever signing up to go. While the woods of California were beautiful, they were full of poison oak, hidden logs that tripped you up, and enough mosquitoes to last someone a lifetime. Eddie was currently walking back from a bush, trying to remember the right way back to camp. The sun was setting, and the last thing he needed was to be lost in the woods at night.

As he made his way through the woods, he saw something dash in front of him, making him jump and yelp with surprise. Further investigation showed that it appeared to be a rabbit, and he was about to continue when another rabbit appeared, this one slowly approaching the first rabbit. The second one seemed to move in a way that seemed… unnatural; it moved in jerky, sporadic motions, and its eyes seemed almost glazed over. Eddie found this strange, but stood still, figuring it would be something to brag to the other kids about. For a few seconds, it was a beautiful scene; the two rabbits facing one another, a breeze rustling the leaves of the trees.

Then the second rabbit jumped forward, biting the first rabbit's neck.

It moved so fast and unexpectedly, Eddie gasped, tripping over a log and landing on his back. He quickly turned back to the rabbit, seeing that the first rabbit was now nothing more than bones, the second rabbit's face now covered in blood. It had... it was too disgusting to think about. The teen, not sure of what was going on, tried to quietly slip away, figuring he wouldn't want it to notice him.

And then the rabbit turned to him, slowly walking towards him.

The teen screamed, getting to his feet and running through the woods, tearing through bushes with no clear plan or care. Behind him, he heard the rabbit running after him, and he wondered if humans could outrun rabbits. He didn't look back, not wanting to slow down, but then he took a wrong step, falling to the ground and hitting his head against a tree, making him cry in pain. Dazed, he was about to sit up when the rabbit hopped onto his chest, face inches from his.

"AAAH," Eddie screamed, trying to figure out how to get it away from him without loosing a limb. The rabbit regarded him with pure white eyes, nose twitching as it opened its mouth, revealing bloodstained teeth.

This is it, the teen thought, unable to look away as he prayed for a miracle. Then, just when he thought it was all over, the rabbit did something strange.

It shivered, not because of the cold, but because of something on the inside. It closed its eyes, mouth opening and closing a few times. Then, to Eddie's horror, a black, sticky tar-like substance came pouring from the animal's mouth, landing on his chest. He shuddered at its touch, and gasped when the goo vanished, feeling a strange movement in his chest. The rabbit stopped spewing the black stuff, opening its eyes, which were now black, and it quickly hopped away, vanishing into the woods.

"What… the heck," Eddie muttered, still laying on the ground, shuddering as he felt something move through his body. It was like someone had poured freezing water down his back, making him shiver. His head, which had been sore from hitting it against the tree, suddenly stopped hurting. "What… was that all about?"

HELLO, EDDIE.

The teen screamed, sitting up and looking around, trying to find the source of the voice. It sounded like something out of a horror movie; dark and mean and not something he wanted to hear. The woods seemed empty around him, and he wondered if this was somehow all a prank. Maybe the other campers were playing a joke on him. Yeah… that was it.

NO IT ISN'T, the voice said again, and this time, Eddie heard it come from inside his head, as if he were thinking to himself. But he wasn't thinking to himself...

"What… Who's there," he whispered, hands shaking as he tried to control his nerves.

YOU'RE SCARED OF US, the voice said again, and he felt something in his head, as if the blood was moving around. YOU SHOULDN'T BE. WE MEAN YOU NO HARM.

"What's going on," the teen said aloud, putting his hands on either side of his head. "Who's talking?! Get out of my head!"

Eddie's hands suddenly pulled away from his head, held out in front of him. He didn't recall wanting to move them, and tried to move them back. However, to his shock, he couldn't move them; he could feel his arms, but they were refusing to obey him. Then, as if things couldn't get any scarier, the black tar-like substance suddenly pooled into his hands, moving around and shaping itself into a face. The teen tried to scream, but found that his voice couldn't work.

It was the face of a monsters. It had wide, pure white eyes that seemed to look through him, empty and devoid of warmth. However, it was the mouth of sharp teeth set in a smile that scared Eddie the most. A pink tongue lolled from one side of the mouth as it leered at him.

"W-W-W-W-" Eddie stammered, unable to form any coherent words.

"CONGRATULATIONS," the monster said, its voice now outside of his head. "YOU'RE OUR NEW HOST."

"H-H-Host," the teen managed to say, flinching as the monster's face came closer to him.

"YES," it said, its grinning face seeming to laugh at him. "WE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT A LIVING HOST TO SUSTAIN US, AND YOUR FORM WILL SUIT US NICELY."

"What… are you? Some kinda alien?"

"WE ARE VENOM," it said, tongue slithering back into its mouth like a snake. "AND CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY; IF YOU WERE ANY DUMBER OR WEAKER, YOU WOULD HAVE BECOME THAT RABBIT BACK THERE."

Eddie shivered, blinking back tears as he tried not to panic. Obviously, this was some sort of nightmare he was having. A black monster thing was not using him as its host. Most likely, he was knocked out from that hit to the head and this was some scary dream.

"WE FIXED YOUR HEAD," Venom said, interrupting his thoughts.

"What- How did you know what I was," the teen started to ask.

"WE KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU," it said. "WE ARE NOW A PART OF YOU. WE KNOW YOUR PAST, YOUR STRENGTHS, YOUR WEAKNESSES…"

"Hey, stop reading my mind," he said bravely, trying to stand up to the alien. "I don't want some parasite -"

Eddie's body suddenly moved on its own, slamming to the ground and twisting so that he faced the sky above. Pain raced through every fiber of his being, but he couldn't get his mouth to work. The creature now leered over him, the anger clear in its eyes.

"DON'T CALL US THAT," it yelled, spraying saliva in the teen's face. "WE ARE NOT A PARASITE! NEVER CALL US THAT AGAIN!"

Eddie tried to nod, to say that he understood, but he couldn't move. The thing seemed to sense his agreement, however, and his body suddenly relaxed, no longer in pain and he could move his limbs again. It was now clear to him that this was not a game, and some monster had attached itself to him like glue.

"I… so what now," he asked, still looking up at the sky. "You gonna take over the world or something?"

"NO," the alien said, sounding much calmer and kinder than he had seconds ago. "WE JUST NEEDED A NEW HOME AND HAPPENED TO LAND ON THIS ONE."

"Okay." Eddie hesitated, not wanting to ask the question that was on his mind.

"YES, WE CAN EAT HUMANS," it said, and the teen froze, remembering it could read his mind. "BUT WE WILL NOT DO THAT, SINCE THAT KIND OF BEHAVIOR IS UNACCEPTABLE TO YOUR SPECIES AND DECREASE OUR CHANCES OF FINDING ANOTHER SUITABLE HOST AFTER YOU DIE."

"Y-Yeah," the teen said, starting to feel less freaked out and more creeped out, like he has stumbled into a Goosebumps book. "And I don't wanna eat anyone."

"THEN WE WILL NEED OTHER SUSTENANCE." Venom sank back into his skin, and he felt the alien move around his head. CAN WE CATCH ANOTHER RABBIT?

"That's disgusting," Eddie said. "And if I don't get back to camp soon, someone's gonna get suspicious."

WHAT IS THIS… CAMP, the alien asked curiously.

"It's when we go outside and try to survive like our ancestors did centuries ago," he explained. "We're leaving tomorrow to go back to San Francisco."

SAN FRANCISCO... INTERESTING, Venom said. THERE IS SOMETHING IN YOUR POCKET.

The teen felt his pocket, taking out a half eaten candy bar. "Oh, this is chocolate," he explained. "It's a sweet food that -" He didn't even finish his sentence before the alien's head shot out of his chest, surrounded his hand and the chocolate, then retreated back into his body, taking the candy with it. Eddie was too shocked to move, and flinched when the black sludge shot out the empty wrapper seconds later.

THAT WAS DELICIOUS, the alien said, sounding happy in the teen's mind. WE MUST HAVE MORE OF THIS!

"Well… I can get us some tomorrow," the teen offered.

YES! NOW COME ON! The teen felt himself lift off the ground. WE MUST GO BACK TO THIS CAMP BEFORE ANYONE GETS SUSPICIOUS.

"Yeah," Eddie agreed, slowly walking back towards the campsite. He wasn't sure what to think about the alien, and still wondered if this was some crazy dream he was having. However, besides the 'parasite' comment, the creature didn't seem that mean; it mainly seemed curious about the world he had landed on, seeing that he kept asking the teen questions about what trees and air and grass was as he walked back to camp. While it might take some getting used to, Eddie had a feeling that they might become best friends.

I hope you liked this chapter. I figured I would have to write a story about Eddie and Venom's first meeting, and inspiration just came to me, so I quickly wrote this. I figured it was a good way to show the start of their friendship/brotherhood.

Feel free to follow or favorite this story to be updated on new chapters, and feel free to leave a review on this chapter or others if you want. And, as usual, have a safe and happy week/weekend!

Quick PSA: PLEASE BE CAREFUL AND SAFE WHEN YOU GO OUTSIDE! Seriously, you guys are awesome, and while being stuck at home gives you more time to read fanfiction, it's not good for you or your loved ones. Keep yourselves and everyone else outside safe. Thank you.

-aggiefrogger

Note: I do NOT own Goosebumps or R.L. Stine at all