Not So Alone
The next morning, Eddie woke up slowly, in a daze. He couldn't stop himself from feeling around for the phantom sensation of Venom's tendrils wrapping around his body, as had become an ingrained habit every single day since they'd first bonded. But the symbiote who had been with him for over a year was no longer there. It was almost like Venom, not to mention his ambitions to become the Lethal Protector, had never existed.
"Hey, buddy?" Eddie asked tentatively, still half asleep. When no reply came, he looked around his hotel room as if that would be enough to change the circumstances of his current situation. Eventually, Eddie allowed a defeated sigh to escape. Why should he have expected anything to be different today, out of every day since he'd started this new ritual? "Nah. You're still not here; I know."
Every morning was the same. He never received a reply, no matter how badly he wanted it to happen. And yet Eddie still kept up his new cathartic routine.
"I came to New York, like you wanted. Saw the Statue of Liberty. She's gorgeous, by the way."
Eventually, Eddie knew he would have to get up and face the day. He had completely lost track of how long it had been since death had parted him from Venom. Each day blended together until everything became a blur. It was no good to stay in this perpetually depressed, defeated mindset; even Eddie knew it deep down.
He had come all the way to New York just to fulfill the symbiote's most eagerly expressed wish. He wouldn't say dying wish; no, not at all. If Venom really was dead, Eddie would know it; feel it in his heart.
There were still some nights when Eddie found himself dreaming of the brash symbiote. And in the aftermath of those particular nights, he found himself lingering in bed a little longer, just to recall the smallest scrap of his time with Venom, even if it was all in his head. One instance in particular stood out to him, clear as day in retrospect. They had been on a beach, watching the sunset together. It had been one of the rare happy moments they'd shared in the early days of being on the run.
"That's the face of a man who's in love," Venom had declared boldly.
"With who?" Eddie had responded. But as soon as the question had been asked, the implied answer had been made obvious to him; plain as day, without Venom even needing to say another word. Begrudgingly, Eddie had admitted, "Maybe a little."
It had started off as a joke; the usual banter between them that Eddie had grown used to. But it wasn't until he'd arrived in New York that he realized the truth of his words.
"Oh fuck," Eddie said softly, though no one was around to hear him. "I'm such an idiot."
For the next few hours, Eddie sat at his laptop. He had several different ideas for articles that all vied for his attention at once. Ever since he'd become a freelance journalist, he'd felt more creatively fulfilled than ever. Besides, if he played his cards right, he could potentially sell an article to large publications like the New York Times.
Eddie was encouraged by the thought. After the incident at Area 51, he had been promised a significant reward. Everything that had happened to him in New York in the distant past would be erased, like it never happened... with one glaring condition. Eddie would be exonerated as long as he never spoke a word about Venom or the other symbiotes. He had dismissed the past for so long, never dreaming that one day he'd be back in Manhattan.
Even after rereading the rough drafts of the articles he had already started to compile, Eddie found little inspiration to continue with any of them. He wrote a sentence, looked it over, then deleted it. Without Venom's voice constantly in his head, it should have been peaceful and quiet; the perfect environment for him to work in. And yet...Eddie still wasn't used to the perpetual silence. There was something about his life now that left him feeling completely empty.
Without warning, his mind drifted back over to the whirlwind of events from the night before. He had listened to Jake's insanely intense story with all the finesse of the investigative journalist he had once been. It had been fascinating; a tale rife with Egyptian gods and adventure. After hearing him out, Jake had dropped Eddie off at his hotel. Eddie had enough funds to cover the next few days of his stay in New York, but soon enough, he would need to face the inevitable and search for an apartment.
He opened up his most recent document and went back over the notes he had frantically typed up in a half-asleep state the night before. The more he read, the more inspiration seemed to strike at last. Here was the material Eddie had been looking for all along; a profile on New York's mysterious hero Mr. Knight and the Midnight Mission that he ran so efficiently.
One question remained on his mind. What would Jake say about this impromptu idea? And, what was more, what would Marc and Steven think? There was only one way for Eddie to find out for sure.
It was almost too late to turn back now. The seed of an idea had been planted in his mind, and once that happened, it would take root and refuse to let go.
With his mind made up, Eddie pulled his phone out of his pocket. No new notifications had appeared since he'd sat down to write. Acting on a whim, he scrolled through his contacts until he came to the section where Jake's name was now listed. They had exchanged numbers the night before, agreeing to keep in touch regularly. Who knew it would come in handy so soon?
"Hiya," a cheerful voice with a British accent answered when Eddie dialed Jake's number. In a way, this person sounded familiar; though Eddie couldn't say why he thought so, he knew that whoever had answered the phone, it wasn't Jake Lockley.
"Oh, uh, hi," Eddie responded. Though he wouldn't admit it out loud, he was a bit taken aback. "Is this Jake?"
"Nope. Jake is sleeping right now."
"Then who...?"
"Pleased to meet you properly, mate. I'm Steven...with a V."
Eddie nodded, even though he knew that this Steven person on the other end couldn't see him. "Oh yeah. Hey, Steven. Nice to meet you." He paused, briefly considering whether or not to add to the small talk. "Jake told me all about you."
"He did?" Excitement was evident in the other man's tone, even through the phone's tiny speakers. "All good things, I hope."
"Yeah," Eddie agreed. "Yeah." For the first time in a long time, he felt the urge to smile...though he resisted it. "So, hey; about joining the Mission...?"
"Yeah. About that..." Steven began cryptically. "We want to talk to you. In person, I mean. Come back to the Mission in a few, yeah?"
In all his anticipation, Eddie nodded, once again forgetting that Steven couldn't see him. "Yeah! I...I will be there."
"Laters, gators!"
After Eddie hung up, he finally gave in and smiled to himself. Maybe coming to Manhattan had been a good decision after all. He'd arrived with the expectation of being completely alone, with no one to talk to...not even Mrs. Chen, who he had left behind in Vegas. But the more Eddie thought about it, the more he realized that maybe he wasn't as alone as his mind had led him to believe.