I woke with a start, with a loud crash being heard through the music in my headphones. I sat up as quickly as I could, looking in the dark to try and find what made the noise. The desk across the room from the bed was how I left it, and my books on the shelf were orderly. It was something in my closet as things were being shaken, like something was tangled in another. I pulled my ear buds out lazily. There was growling and another higher pitched snarl, followed by a bit of pounding. Like it was two animals fighting in my room!

I checked the window, which was only open very slightly. "What in the world?"

Another, louder pound took my attention away. I jerked back to the closet and watched a small and dark creature fly out which looked like a noodle.

I recoiled, getting up from my bed, "Oh my god, a snake!"

I got its attention. It jumped towards my face so fast I almost didn't see it move. I raised my arms, clenched my eyes shut and prepared for the pain. Only it didn't come. Instead, I heard something else, something liquid-like in front of me.

"Eh?"

I opened my eyes and saw the snake, which now looking at it up close was clearly not a snake, being suspended in front of me. Holding it up was something barely visible in the dark, though it was still somewhat large compared to the other creature. It was on the floor in front of me, peering at me with what looked like white lenses for eyes.

It jerked the smaller creature towards the wall, smashing it with a hard squish. Its lenses never moved except to narrow them. It stood on the floor for a couple seconds and I was frozen still. It was clear, this thing was thinking but didn't know what. I stood in place, fearful that any sudden movement would prompt it to strike.

Seconds passed.

The seconds seemed like lifetimes.

It just stood, its gooey body cycling through itself.

It finally began to crawl forward. It rose, taking a larger form and grew what looked like appendages. The goo that was trailing emerged into legs that lifted and landed. Arms that swayed as a human's would. It emerged like this until it was my height, until it mimicked my own body. The whole body shape was exactly like mine once it came face to face with me, still maintaining some room between us.

It narrowed its lenses further, until they were all but slits of white. Then they opened full, taking up a good chunk of its face above where the mouth would be.

I stepped back with one foot, wrinkling my face, "W… What do you want?"

It stood still, narrowing its eyes once more, "Home."

It lunged forward, opening up where its mouth would be so wide that it could fit my whole head into it. I tried to scream but it launched tendrils on my mouth as its human form dispersed into a frenzy of black goo! It was soon covering my entire body and made it difficult to breathe. I attempted to claw at it, but it let my fingers slip through it like it really was made of liquid!

I began to pound on my wall harder than both creatures had when they were fighting. The final attempt to get help. I could finally hear my parents coming up when the creature began to loosen its grip around my face until my whole face was visible.

The light flashed on, blinding me as my eyes adjusted to the now lit room.

A deep voice boomed, "Shinichi! What's gotten into you up here?"

My eyes finally adjusted, I immediately looked downwards but found no black goo. Just the shirt and underwear I had worn to bed. I looked back to my father.

"There were these two animals in my room! One of them had almost killed me!" I pleaded.

My father immediately noticed the blood on the wall. "My God, it looks like you killed one of them at least."

Mom walked into the room, taking notice of the blood too, "That must have been some animal. I really hope that doesn't stain."

Dad looked back to me, "Where's the other one then?"

I looked back down at my clothes, turning so they could examine my back, "I don't know but it was on me a second ago, it was huge and black. I tried hitting it but it felt like it was made out of liquid!" I ducked underneath my bed, making sure it wasn't hiding. It wasn't. I sat back up, sweat dripping down my neck.

Mom shook her head, "Well, whatever it was it seems to have gone away." She waved towards the window, "Maybe it ran away before we came in." She said, hopefully.

I turned and closed the window, "I hope so."

I turned back and mom had already begun to go to the bathroom.

Dad shook his head, "Looks like we're gonna have to call an exterminator. Maybe even animal control, they'll know how to take care of it."

I nodded, sighing a bit of relief. Mom came in with a bucket of water, soap and a rag. I took them and got started cleaning up the blood on the wall.

When I woke up again, I could hear the birds chirping and sun shining through the window. I sighed, cautiously looking around for any signs of the intruder from last night. Nothing for two minutes. It must be gone by now. I reassured myself.

I stood up, feeling very refreshed, more than I would have on any normal day let alone with last night's event. I opened my closet, which I had set everything back how it usually is. Neatly hung up and everything pressed flat.

I went to reach for the school uniform, to get ready for yet another school day.

Don't bother. I heard when I touched it. I recognized it right away, except I couldn't tell where it was coming from.

I immediately looked behind me, up, ducking to look under my bed again, the walls, in the closet. Nothing.

What's going on? I was on the brink of panic.

We are getting ready for school. I looked around me again.

"Where are you?"

We are here.

What?

Before I could open my mouth, my shirt began to morph and change color from a light blue to black and from cloth to goo. Those white lenses peered back at me.

"We. Are. Here."

I almost screamed again before he returned back to cloth. Then it clicked, and I resisted the urge that was bellowing inside me. So it's using the clothes as a disguise?

We are.

So many questions coursed through my mind, but before I could ask any, it started.

All we want it so live. To feed.

I jerked straight, "S-so, does that mean… Y-you're-"

We are not eating you, we have already fed.

I looked to the wall and the slight stain of blood that remained. Somehow, I understood I was correct. "You ate that thing. That's why the body wasn't there at all."

No response.

"So why are you still here? Why are you posing as my clothes?" I began tugging on the disguised creature, lightly.

When you fight, you get excited. We like that. We feed off that too.

I began to try an pull my shirt off, "Yeah, well I don't like fighting."

They kill.

I stopped, chills going down my back. "You mean the other animal? Are there more of them?"

Yes, they feed by killing. The parasites take over their host and kill others. There are more out there, a lot more.

I looked out my window, wondering. "How do you know this?"

Memories that I knew were not mine began to flood into my brain. I saw myself laying in bed and felt what I had to do. I had to kill me. I had to take over myself. Kill others. I saw a black goo launch from the window before I could make a plan. I was thrown into a dark space and things began to hurt. The memories stopped.

When they did, I took a deep breath, sweat dripping from my neck again.

See?

I nodded, propping myself on my desk. "They… are evil."

They are.

My father called me down, "You're going to be late!"

I went back to my closet to quickly change into my outfit, but the goo stopped me again.

Don't bother.

My clothes began to morph again, moving like worms covering my entire body with the exception of my head and hands, going from my underwear and T-shirt to my uniform. Light grey pants with a navy blue blazer and a white dress shirt. A red tie and yellow vest underneath the blazer. It usually would be pretty heavy clothes but it almost felt like I wasn't wearing a thing, which I was almost thankful for with the heat of Spring.

"Not gonna lie, that's actually really cool. Still kind of freaks me out though." I closed the closet door.

I got my things and headed downstairs, continuing our conversation in my head.

I grabbed a piece of toast and began to walk towards the door. So, why do you need me? You seem like you could take on those parasites by yourself pretty easily.

As I stepped onto the entrance of our home, the goo around my feet turned into my day-to-day shoes, except they were basically brand new.

We need you because without you we cannot sustain ourselves.

I said my goodbyes to my parents and began to walk out towards school. What, so you use my body as some sort of storage?

Yes.

I made a turn into the convenient store for something to drink after a couple minutes of walking after I had already eaten my toast. How are you any different than those parasites then?

I grabbed a cold coffee from the freezer, then began to walk towards the register.

We are different because we have other goals than to keep us alive.

I got in the line with three people ahead of me. What kinds of goals?

Right now?

I felt a strange sensation in the back of my head. It almost felt like a headache as time slowed to a crawl.

Hurt him.

I saw what the goo saw from behind my head, a man with a handgun swinging it at me. I ducked so fast he hadn't even been close to making contact with me. I shuffled behind him as he had just realized the boy he almost struck was now gone. I grabbed his right arm with mine, then the back of his jacket, tossing him across the way. I also saw the goo from my right hand discreetly take his gun just as I let go of him with my right hand. The gun's barrel found itself within the palm of my hand and the man was on the ground a couple feet away from me.

"What did I-?" I didn't know how I just did that.

He stumbled up, confused as to what he just was a part of. "What kind of martial arts you into kid?" He pulled out a switchblade.

I looked at the gun and grabbed its handle, pointing it at him, "I've got the gun now! Keep back."

He smiled, walking forward even further, "I'll be honest, kid, that's got no bullets." He bolted forward.

I threw the gun away and began to panic. But there was something calm in the back of my mind, another mind that know what was happening.

Trust in us.

Something pushed me down, so I followed, and I launched myself forward. I grabbed his jacket again, rotating myself above him in a curl. In one more motion, I pulled him against my back and threw him once more into a lottery machine, which dented slightly and knocked him unconscious. I stayed on the floor, crouched and speechless.

"What did we just do?"

We won.

I had finally gotten to school after the people in the store congratulated me and the police arrived to do the same. The clerk let me keep the coffee for free and even gave me two more coffee cans. Apparently, one of the people in the store was actually a person from the school, so word did get around that I had stopped a robber in his tracks. No one believed the official story, though, because the real story is as outrageous as any rumor would be.

I had gotten to class late because of it too, but was excused because a police officer explained the situation to the school.

In class, the teacher was going over review of the previous lesson. I had already gotten done with the review paper, however.

So, you actually do want to help people, genuinely?

That was not the point, but yes. We want to help people.

Why do you keep saying 'We' when referring to yourself?

We are one.

No, you are acting as the clothes on top of me.

We are not that simple. We are both symbiote and human, we help each other as one unit. We are one.

So, does the symbiote have a name?

Yes.

"So, what is your name?"

We are...

"Venom?"