Flecks of dust travelled down as the morning light shone in through the rusted window that was slightly cracked open in the bedroom in the studio apartment. On the messy bed, Eddie flinched a bit at the soft sunlight that dimly lit the dark room and landed on his face, whispering to his best friend as he was stirred from his slumber with his eyes still closed shut.
“Hey buddy, I just had a crazy dream.”
“Buddy?”
A wave of slight panic overcame him when the symbiote didn’t answer him right away as usually the alien never knew how to shut up for once. But that anxiety quickly dissipated when he saw the usual form of black goop on his shoulder, forming a face, one with milky white eyes and an uncanny smile with shark-like teeth that Eddie had grown to love.
Venom emerged from his shoulder, opening his eyes and facing his host who was still dazed from the night before.
“Yes Eddie? What did you dream about?”
“I had a dream that we were being chased. By those things. Xenophages or something like that because of some codex. And we ended up in Area 51 where you sacrificed yourself to kill them and keep me and the other people safe. I’m glad it was just a dream though. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Venom stayed silent during Eddie’s explanation of his dream, nodding along while glancing down every few seconds.
“Can we go eat now?”
“Ah fuck. You and your gluttony. Fine, what do you want to eat? Tater tots, chocolate? Just not
someone’s brain at nine in the fucking morning.”
The symbiote thought for a few moments before coming to a decision.
“I guess tater tots will do for now. But you have to let me out tonight. We are the lethal protector afterall.”
Eddie rubs his forehead with his fingers, sighing but deciding to agree to the compromise. He knew how moody and grumpy his symbiote could be when he was hungry. Heck, they were separated last time and almost died because of Venom’s cravings. But he knew even with the symbiote’s hankering for food, they would never be separated no matter what. It was like a silent agreement, promise even, that they would always be together even if not physically.
“Alright, but no more traumatizing poor bystanders when you eat the bad guys. We have got to keep a low profile since what happened with Carnage. The FBI might already be after us and I don’t want to spend the rest of my life fleeing from country to country.”
Eddie gets out of bed, not bothering to make the bed. He peered at the messy apartment, the usual look the rooms had since the Venom had bonded with him.
“What are you thinking about?”
The alien inquired, peeping up from behind. Venom gently bumped Eddie with his head on his shoulder to keep from zoning out further.
“Nothing. Nothing at all.”
Eddie walked to the kitchen taking the frozen potato shaped into small cylinders as he wondered what was up with the symbiote’s strange cravings for this certain food. He put the tater tots in the small microwave oven and took some chocolate bars from a cabinet and sat down on the couch, turning on the television to see if there was anything on him and his best friend from the night before with their fight with Venom’s offspring Carnage and the convicted serial killer that was deemed deranged by the public, Cletus Kasady.
Before he could do so, a ding shook him from his thoughts and took the tray of tater tots out of the oven, which were surprisingly not burnt, and fed them to the gleeful symbiote that hovered off his shoulder.
“What will we do now, Eddie? We saved the world again from its demise.”
“Well, buddy I guess we will see where life takes us.”
The two finished their breakfast, satisfied, and Venom spoke up again with his wishes to see the Statue of Liberty he was never able to due to all the conflicts he and Eddie faced recently.
“Can we go see her? Lady Liberty?”
Eddie turned his head to face the symbiote, giving him a look of confusion until he remembers back when Venom had first expressed his desire to see the statue.
“Sure buddy, we can go tomorrow. But today let’s keep things simple. You decide what we do today V, and whatever cravings you have.”
Venom thought for a moment as he laid on Eddie’s chest purring contentedly, almost resembling a pet animal.
“Can we go to one of those chocolate liquid that comes out of a fountain thingy? And I want to go get Sonny and Cher back.”
Eddie looked at the alien with a surprised expression, not knowing the parasite had such a strong attachment to chickens of all creatures. Then again, Venom had thrown quite the outrage when he found out that the chickens were sent back to the farm.
“Sure, but I didn’t know you wanted the chickens back. Anything else you want to do?”
“I want to see Mrs Chen and go to the beach. To feel the wind in my hair and the sand between my toes.”
“Is that everything you want to do today?”
“Yes.”
Making a mental checklist of things the alien wanted to do today, Eddie grabbed some essentials and planned to start the day off with finding the chickens again.
The two ended up back at the chicken farm with Venom assuming his true symbiote form so he could use his senses to find the two chickens faster.
There were multiple different chickens all clumped up together in one confinement. The two hoped that the chickens hadn't been slaughtered yet.
“Oh for fucks sake come on Vee, you’ve got to find them faster. You aren’t exactly the best at hiding in plain sight.”
“Quiet. I’m focusing right now.”
The symbiote scanned the enclosure with his milky white eyes until he saw the two chickens, dashing forward and snagging the two before a worker entered the area. Venom carried the chickens by their scruffs and brought them back through the window of the apartment.
“Okay chickens, check.”
Eddie said, checking the imaginary list in his mind as he glanced at the clock on the wall, 12:30am.
“I guess we can go get that chocolate fondue you want to try. I’ll just buy the machine so we can use it at home and we won’t get any weird stares from bystanders.”
Closing the door with a click, Eddie grabbed his wallet and stopped by a store selling all different types of appliances, scanning the devices until the machine for chocolate fondue came into his point of view. He grabbed the box and went to the cash register to pay.
“Is that all for today?”
The cashier said, giving him one of those customer service smiles while she scanned the item and imputed the price.
“Yes, thank you.”
“Have a nice day, come again!”
“You too.”
Eddie said, smiling back and swiped his credit card on the machine. He took the plastic handle attached to the box and headed to the next destination, Mrs Chen’s convenience store to buy some chocolate to melt down for the fondue machine and some frozen fruit to dip the chocolate in, but he highly doubted the symbiote would eat the fruit. Sometimes Eddie thought of Venom as some sort of child with the behaviour he inhibited, or a cat for when he would lay on his chest and purr contentedly after eating. Soon enough, they arrived at the store and it was already 3:00pm. Time really flies when you’re spending time with the people, well in this case the symbiote, you love.
“Good afternoon Mrs Chen, you look amazing as ever. Any chocolate in store? Venom’s hungry again and I decided to treat him to a fondue machine, via his recommendation.”
“Eddie, you look like shit. Do you always look like this? Maybe you should invest in showering instead of fighting crime with Venom. You couldn’t be busy all the time to not be able to have a proper shower schedule.”
Mrs Chen commented, scrunching her nose a bit and pushing her glasses up a bit at the sight of the sweaty look he usually had when he entered the store, or whenever she saw him.
“Haha, very funny.”
Eddie remarked back sarcastically. It's not like he wasn’t used to Mrs Chen’s remarks about his looks. He had been very sweaty recently since he bonded with the parasite.
“Well I just restocked the chocolate so you can pick out which ones you like.”
The store clerk mentioned nonchalantly, picking up the phone to presumably answer for an online order from her shop. Eddie checked the aisle containing the chocolates, Venom’s tendril pointing to which ones he would like to try. Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate. He took three of each kind of chocolate and brought them to the cash register as Mrs Chen scanned the items while bagging them, the price reaching to $15. Eddie paid for them using some cash he discovered in the pocket of his jacket. Once the two reached back to the apartment, Eddie unboxed the fondue machine and assembled the parts while he microwaved the chocolates in different bowls. Once he was finished, he wiped the imaginary sweat off his forehead and took out skewers with the fruits he bought earlier.
“What are these?”
Venom asked with curiosity, appearing from Eddie’s shoulder, peeking out from behind.
“Fruits. Strawberries, blueberries, and bananas. Please don’t throw them aside if you don’t like them. I’ve cleaned the apartment so many times when you’ve made a mess already.”
“Fine. But they better be good.”
Eddie turned on the machine and put the skewers of fruit underneath the liquid chocolate, feeding them to his symbiote while alternating between different types of chocolate he had bought. After the alien finished his feast, it was time for the last activity of the day and it was already 6:00pm. Going to the beach, something Venom had never experienced before until today he will. Eddie went to where his new motorcycle was parked, after the symbiote had destroyed the last one due to his outburst of not being let out to eat criminals as Eddie had promised. Putting his helmet on for safety, but not necessary now that Venom could heal any injuries he would sustain, he sped off to the nearest beach that he knew would not be full of people on vacation or tourists. Once they arrived, Eddie parked the motorcycle to the side and sat down on the sand, feeling his symbiote once again manifesting on his shoulder and his feet, as the two watched the sunset. It was beautiful, the hues of orange, red and yellow bouncing off the calming waves that splashed on the sand ever so often. He could get used to this life, Eddie thought. Spending every day contentedly with his alien.
“Thank you for bringing me here.”
Venom said, expressing his gratitude for being able to have all of his wishes fulfilled for the day.
“You’re welcome buddy. It’s beautiful, huh?”
Venom nods in agreement, making a small grunting sound alongside it.
“I’m sorry we can’t do anything about the old wind in the hair situation.”
Eddie regarded, with some remorse for not being able to satisfy all of Venom’s desires.
“Osho says, when you love someone, you accept the whole person with all of their defects.”
“Defects, huh?”
Eddie repeated, a little weirded out that the symbiote said something he usually wouldn’t.
“Nobody is perfect.”
“Just go back, go back a minute. You’re telling me you just said that you love me. You did.”
The alien hesitates for a moment, realising the weight of what he confessed, deciding not to further complicate the matter and change the subject.
“Where will we go?”
“I don’t know. Anywhere that needs a lethal protector I suppose.”
“Oh! You really meant it! We will need a cape and a mask!”
Venom exclaimed with excitement.
“No, I think you got that covered buddy. We’re good.”
The two enjoyed the rest of the sunset, the water sloshing upwards, the symbiote slowly leaning his head onto Eddie’s shoulder, making a low humming sound, until Eddie turned around, examining the tree that started to look a bit weird, almost distorted in a way. The bark on the tree was displaced, glitching, and started becoming discolored in an uneasy way. Until everything disappeared around him. The trees, the sand, the ocean, the sun, and most importantly Venom.
Eddie finds himself in an infirmary with everything hurting, which was weird because normally his symbiote would heal all the pain for him when he was injured or tired.
“Hey buddy? Are you there?”
“I’m sorry but he’s not coming back.”
Another voice proclaimed, the military sergeant looking down at him with slight remorse in his eyes.
“But I need him back. I need him in my life. I need him to keep living!”
Eddie’s heart beats quickened, tears springing to his eyes, as his breaths quickened feeling an anxiety attack welling up inside of him as his hands clenched and unclenched as a desperate attempt to soothe the angst and sadness that welled up inside him. The usual feel of the symbiote in his body was so comforting that he didn’t even realise he missed until now, when he needed him the most. Venom was his everything. And he was gone now.
“He wasn't meant for this place. Especially not with you.”
“You couldn't have kept him. And he couldn't have kept you.”
I need to keep him. Because when he was there, my worst days were a little brighter. Eddie thought, staying silent to the harsh truth that faced him, only making the pain of being alone worse.
“For your bravery, you both have the heartfelt thanks of a grateful nation.”
“Eddie, you're free to start your life again.”
“Everything that happened in San Francisco and in the last few days, you'll be considered expunged. Just so you're clear, of course, you have a breath of word of this to any living soul, you will spend the rest of that life in the coldest, darkest hole imaginable. Good luck, Eddie. In this cruel, unforgiving world.”
The sergeant left the room, allowing Eddie to fully break down in sobs. He started reminiscing about all that time they spent together over the course of just a short year. Their petty arguments, Venom’s poor attempts at comforting him after a break up, their time spent on the beach when the symbiote confessed his love for him, when they were the lethal protector fighting against other symbiotes, and when he protected him for the very last time. He wasn’t afraid of dying or being injured. He was afraid of being alone. Of dying alone in solitude without his best buddy by his side.
Without him.