What the heck is happening to me?!

I read a few Spider-Man comics with Venom in it decades ago. Never liked the character.

Then the movie happened.

Which I haven't watched… only a ton of Eddie and Venom scenes floating around YouTube

And I'm not sure why, but it triggered this fic. Probably because I love symbiote fics. And definitely because Venom is kinda a likeable asshole… Damn!

I'm such a hopeless case.

XnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXNXnXN

The high-pitched screech echoed through the room, permeating his every cell down to a molecular level. It ate at his mind, tore apart his soul, and it shattered every cohesive thought into nothing but a pile of sludge.

Maybe he was screaming.

Maybe he didn't even have the energy to scream anymore as his tortured mind and soul gave in to the relentless bombardment of sound.

He had lost track of time and where he was a long time ago. He couldn't even tell if he was sitting, standing, or writhing on the ground. Given his luck, he was probably strapped down somewhere.

...

...

There was darkness.

...

...

Sensation returned gradually, creeping into his thoughts that weren't thoughts.

They came and went.

Just like the sensation of having a body and then again not.

XnXnXn

When he finally caught his first clear thought it consisted of curses and pain. The pain wasn't just a thought, it was a sensation that was getting stronger and stronger.

He groaned.

Something sharp spiked through him and the groan turned into a sharp gasp.

His fingers twitched.

Everything hurt.

So very, very much.

What happened?

He didn't know if he actually asked that question out loud, didn't even expect an answer, but it was something that bounced around his brain.

What had happened?

His memories were fuzzy, right down to his name.

Edward.

Eddie.

Right.

His name was Eddie.

He probably had a last name, but that was currently beyond his grasp. But he was Eddie, which was good. Then again, not so much.

Something had happened. Something was terribly wrong.

That sensation was almost overpowering, spreading through his hurting body, and he felt a wave of panic. It crashed against his mind, enveloped his soul, and he almost forgot to breathe.

Eddie. My name is Eddie. Eddie.

Something's wrong. Missing. Terribly absent.

He managed to blink his eyes open, the light around him making them water, and Eddie squeezed them shut.

His next attempt was a little more successful, but it took a while for his eyes to adjust. His head started to pound, the ache worse than the one in his knee, but not as bad as his right shoulder.

When he moved, all those aches and pains flared and he made a coughing sound. His throat was a sore mess, probably from screaming.

Why was he in pain?

What the fuck had happened to him?

Them…

Them!

He wheezed, breath rattling, unable to form the word, but his mind screamed for the other half of him.

There was no answer.

And he remembered the screeching sound, the sonic waves, and something inside of him twisted in sick horror and realization.

Venom…

There was nothing where he could always feel the symbiote. Nothing at all.

Eddie moved, but the sharp pain in his shoulder had him almost black out. He managed a weak whimper.

From somewhere there was a noise and Eddie tried to twist himself in a way that wouldn't make him black out.

It took ages, but he got himself on the side, on his good shoulder, and he managed to finally get a bearing of where he was. Well, mostly.

A sterile room, no furniture, not even a sink or a hole in the ground. Worse than any prison. With blank walls, except for the one glass wall that gave him a view to the outside.

It was a sickening reminder of the Life Foundation.

A rumble passed through the ground he lay on, felt down to his very bones, like an earthquake. Or an explosion.

Huh.

As if his thoughts were the trigger, lights flashed on the outside. Alarms. Followed by distant klaxons.

So… explosion. Right. But why?

The next explosion seemed to shake the very foundations of the building and there was a soft hiss from somewhere, like hydraulics releasing, and Eddie saw the door to his prison cell crack open.

Like all doors in his sight cracked open.

For a long moment he just lay there, almost in a stupor, not really comprehending what was happening, then the lights went out, plunging him into darkness.

The darkness lasted just a few seconds, then the lights flashed back on, green and eerie, and he was reminded of one of those old, cheap horror flicks he and Venom loved to watch at night.

Venom.

Right.

His symbiote.

Where the heck was he?

Eddie managed to get to his feet, flares of pain arching through his abused body, his knee refusing to take the full weight, and one arm was next to useless.

He stagger-stumbled to the door, wondering why no one was checking on the cells, but maybe everyone was busy handling whatever had caused the explosions. Better for him anyway. He was in no shape to fight even a fluffy bunny at the moment.

Clenching his teeth, Eddie limped out of the cell and tried to get his bearings in the weird light. His instincts said to go right and he usually followed them, especially when they ordered him around in a gravelly, sinister voice.

Right now there was only silence.

Well, trust yourself, he thought. Go right.

XnXnXnXn

He found his missing other half four doors down.

It was a lab section, eerily like the Life Foundation labs, and Eddie swallowed down bile at the memories of his one and only visit into the belly of the sick beast.

Venom was… Eddie blinked. Venom was just… there. Unmoving. Not even a pulse. Usually the symbiotic lifeform was full of life, always moving, never keeping a definite shape when outside a host, but this… this was just… darkness. A lump or dull, tar-like substance that Eddie still immediately identified as his missing symbiote.

He limped into the room, each step accompanied by a pulse of pain. His knee was barely able to support him by now and his shoulder was a mess of fire. Not to mention his head. He was about to throw up.

"Hey," he rasped.

No reaction.

Venom was trapped inside a clear case within a metal cage, hooked up to some kind of machinery with monitors, but the screen was dark. The case was locked, though.

"You look as bad as I feel, buddy," he muttered. "Which is saying something because you're always an ugly motherfucker."

Eddie examined the case, looking for a way to open it. His hands were shaking and the fingers of his right hand refused to cooperate. His shoulder screamed, his knee was simply one big ache, and his head was about to kill him any minute now.

There were more explosions rattling the building, with cracks forming in the concrete. Something suspiciously like thunder and lightning sounded not too far away.

Great. Fucking great!

Eddie hit a few buttons with his better hand, feeling his anger and anxiety mix.

He had to get out of here.

They had to get out of here!

There was a hiss and the cage opened. Finally!

As if that had been his cue, Venom sudden moved, making a growl-hiss sound. He flung himself out of the container, sharp tentacles lashing out at Eddie while other parts reached for any kind of purchase.

The blades struck his skin and drew blood.

Eddie felt the sting, but he didn't move back, then Venom was splattering onto the floor in a rather graceless fall. Tendrils of himself splayed out, almost limp. He pulsed weakly, trying to move away. It looked like had trouble coordinating, barely able to get a few inches until he collapsed into a black, pitiful pile.

Eddie limped closer, droplets of blood clinging to his fingers.

"Geez, parasite. You had more graceful days. You're a mess," he coughed. "So am I. Probably more than you. You got no bones to break. We gotta get out of here, so hop on the bus. Your ride's here."

There was no reaction.

Until the moment Eddie took the next step.

This time the lashing tentacles cut into his jeans.

"Damnit, Venom!" he groaned. "Cut it out! It's me!"

There was a quiver going through the symbiote. He was drawing himself tighter together, little shivers twitching over the skin that looked even duller.

What had they done to him? Probably not fed him, Eddie thought angrily. Depending on how long they had been in this place… fuck!

A roaring screech was coming from somewhere, then Eddie felt himself pushed forward by a shockwave of sound and air. He landed hard, his abused body screaming, and he screamed, too. For a long moment there was nothing but the crackle of something breaking, the rush of blood in his ears, accompanied by a loud ringing, and the agony everywhere in every cell.

He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the soreness, the headache, the general feeling of being completely broken.

There was no time for that right now. None at all.

They had to get out of here.

Fast.

Whatever was going on, and he really didn't want to know or get involved, it would probably be bad for them to get caught in it.

Venom was extremely vulnerable in his current state. He was outside his host and since he was barely reacting to anything, had most likely been tortured in some way.

His eyes found his symbiote, curled up in a tight ball of darkness, and Eddie made a stupid and rush choice.

He grabbed the ball in his good hand, fingers sinking into the malleable-not-slimy-strangely-warmhardsoftweird mass.

Venom's reaction was probably completely instinctive and not governed by any kind of rational thought as he lashed out again, this time drawing a lot of blood as dagger-like teeth-spikes sank into Eddie's hand, wrist and skin.

And Eddie screamed.

He curled around his Venom-encased hand, crying his symbiote's name, riding out a pain so sharp, it overrode everything else.

There was one clear thought not his own: fire-sound-pain-survive-fear-alone-terror-fight, then just the dull pulse of everything that was Eddie's own stressed-to-the-max mind.

"You're not alone," he groaned. "Chewing off my hand won't help either." He almost laughed, a weak cough in the cacophony around him. "Right now, we gotta get out of here before the real party starts! And I need your help for that, buddy. I can't make it on my own!"

The darkness sank into him, sharp and alien, not the smoothness Eddie was used to, and he whimpered in discomfort as it slithered along every nerve, every cell, leaving a trail of wrongness he wasn't used to. This was too much like the first time, when he had been consciously aware of Venom, when they had started out their partnership on such rocky ground, that Eddie hadn't been sure he would survive the end of the day.

Whatever they had done to him and Venom, to them, it had left its marks on both host and symbiote. Venom was uncoordinated, strangely rough, almost stumbling through Eddie's system as if he didn't really know what he was doing.

And maybe he wasn't right now.

He pushed himself up, knee still screaming, but the pain was suddenly dulled as Venom worked his magic. At least he remembered some of his symbiote duties, to keep the host functional, even if the results were rather sloppy.

Eddie ignored all the other injuries still not taken care of, glad he was mostly mobile for now, and started to move.

He started walking; well, staggering. Keeping one hand to the wall, he shuffled forward, eyes straining, his head aching. A pounding headache had settled just behind his eyes and he was unable to catch much of a coherent thought.

Damnit, Venom! Get a grip! Not funny! he thought furiously.

There was no reaction. Whatever had happened to his other half, it had really made a mess of him.

Getting his bearing inside the green-lit darkness that was still rocked by the sound of fighting somewhere was difficult. Eddie passed by more cells like his own, some of them empty, others broken open and whatever had been inside probably roaming the halls with them.

More and more often he had to stop, trying to maintain his balance.

Venom was silent inside him, still feeling too strange, not like himself, making no sound at all.

Also, he wasn't helping. Eddie was weak as a kitten, not inhumanly strong. He was injured and Venom wasn't healing him either. Not to mention the unasked for opinions usually only audible to him.

Shit, he missed that gravelly, growly, snarky voice telling him what to do, taking over the wheel when Eddie wasn't catching up fast enough, driving his body. Right now he could use a second opinion, even from a murderous, man-eating ass like his alien parasite.

XnXnXnXn

How they made it, how he made it, was a mystery, but he was tumbling out the door of wherever he had been locked in. It was probably sheer stubbornness on his part that had Eddie move despite the growing discomfort, despite Venom's inability to dampen any of the pain signals or get on with healing his injuries. His little parasite was a lump of silence.

The sound of explosions tore through the night, orange balls of fire blooming into the sky. Windows blew out and rained shards everywhere.

The noise was almost deafening. Shots fired sounded. There were howls and screams, some not even close to human. Half the building seemed to be burning, most likely another source of terror for the symbiote, keeping him so tightly wrapped up in himself. Now and then something crumbled into itself, the whoosh of rising flames only drowned when another explosion went off too close by.

Eddie just scrambled away from the building, heading into the darkness that was lit up by the flames, running through bushes small trees, branches slapping at his face and tearing at his clothes.

He finally collapsed onto the ground, out of breath, trembling so hard from exertion and pain, he could hardly focus. He curled into a tight ball, eyes screwed shut, just… existing for a while.

There was nothing but the gray of dawn, the dampness of his clothes, the rough ground, and in the distance the sound of helicopters and heavy machinery.

Cavalry?

Too late, he thought dimly.

The whole lab was gone, and whoever had abducted him and Venom with it. Hopefully anyway. He really didn't want to have another encounter.

Memories of their capture washed back and forth in his mind, bouncing around his cranium, making him sick with the recollection of the sonic blasts. Relentless. Again and again. Pure torture on a molecular level. They weren't his memories.

Venom hadn't separated easily. Two years of living with the same, perfectly matched host had made it hard for anyone to force the separation through a simple blast or noise. Prolonged exposure, though…

He grit his teeth so hard, Eddie was sure they would crack soon.

Venom had suffered immensely under the separation process, had been close to catatonic when he had finally been forced out of his human host, and whatever else they had done with him after that, Eddie was sure it hadn't been pretty either.

Hence his attack on the one human who knew him better than anyone.

Now here they were, somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Alone.

And Venom was… there but not present. He was a mass inside his host, uncommunicative, barely holding Eddie together as it was, and Eddie himself knew he was fast reaching the end of his human endurance. Well, he probably had already.

And then there was only the darkness again.

XnXnXnXnXn

He woke once more to a world of pain, to a pounding headache behind his eyes, to the sensation of broken bones and torn muscles. He couldn't remember a time he had ever felt this bad and with every breath he took, with every fiery pulse that ran down his spine, it grew worse. He heard a soft groan that had to be his own.

Then there were voices.

Plural. Not just one, in his head, invasive and persistent, strangely sinister and rough. Someone was asking a question, but Eddie was hard pressed to make out the words, let alone the language.

English, part of him finally decided. English words. Native speaker, not foreign.

Someone carefully touched him and he was too exhausted to react. Venom didn't so much as twitch. He was a catatonic presence inside Eddie's chest.

Fuck!

"Sir?"

Then again, he didn't really want to explain black tendrils shooting out of him, attacking people.

"Sir? Can you hear me?"

Yeah, yeah, I can.

At least he tried to say the words, but there was only a harsh exhalation leaving his lips.

He weakly twitched as a light shone into his eyes.

"Sir? Can you hear me?" the voice repeated the question. "My name is Robert Hartfort. I'm with the Emergency Response Team. We'll get you out of here."

Eddie tried to open his mouth, but it seemed too hard, too much of an effort.

Someone was calling out something, then he was suddenly moved onto a stretcher and carried off.

It all happened in abrupt intervals, time breaking apart between takes and reforming only to leave Eddie guessing what had happened in between. He was sure he was missing a lot of things.

When had he been loaded onto a helicopter? When had they pushed needles into him?

Then there was nothingness.

tbc...