Chapter 3: Fancy meeting you here

[moonshadows]

Anne…?

The morning passed in relative peace, except for how thirsty Anne was. Whoever stocked the vending machine was certainly making their money off of her today; she must have bought half a dozen bottles of juice out of that thing and she couldn’t stop thinking about the sushi she’d had for breakfast. Eleven couldn’t come fast enough, even with how hard she was working to get her workload under control in the three hours she’d be there today.

As the clock struck eleven, though, she started to feel lightheaded. Dan looked worried as she climbed in, particularly when she cranked the air conditioning and aimed all the vents at herself, but she assured him she was fine. Just overworked.

She didn’t mention the sushi.

Once they got out of the car and its lovely air conditioning, Anne felt like she was going to melt and the short walk into the restaurant felt like crossing a desert. Fortunately, they were ushered to their table right away and she asked for a pitcher of ice water before even looking at the menu. The waiter asked if they’d like to start with an appetizer, and Anne wasn’t aware that she’d ordered the fresh oysters until he was walking away and Dan was looking at her curiously and saying something she didn’t hear.

“What?” she asked, tearing her gaze away from the lobster tank.

“I said, are you feeling alright?” he repeated with concern.

She waved it off. “Yeah, just tired. And hot. And thirsty.”

“And craving raw seafood. That’s not like you, Anne.”

She didn’t have an answer for that. When the waiter returned, she ordered the lobster.

Her oysters, when they arrived, were heavenly – which was odd, because Anne had never even wanted to try them before, but maybe she should have them more often. Between them and the water, she was feeling more solid, and she and Dan chatted about their days and the possibility of renting a movie that weekend. Then the vertigo struck, and she felt like she was burning up. The temptation to pour the pitcher of ice water over her head was making her fingers itch, and she lost the ability to focus on anything Dan was saying. Every little motion caught her attention; every sound was a distraction clanging in her ears.

And then Eddie walked in the door.

If anything, he looked even worse than last night, like he’d slept in his clothes and then run a couple of miles in them, and all she could think as he caught sight of her and made a beeline for their table was…no.

“No,” she declared, like she could change reality on her say-so. “No, no, no, no, no!”

“Annie!” Eddie crouched by their table, startling Dan. “No, I have to tell you something.”

“You can’t be here,” she moaned. “I can’t see you.”

“-broke into the Life Foundation-”

“Nononononononononononono…”

“Your office told me you were here,” he was saying over her incoherent protests. “You’re the only person that I trust. I think I may have been infected. Hey, are you feeling okay?”

Anne was not, in fact, feeling okay. She was feeling like she was a passenger in her own body, and everything was somehow distant and unreal, like a dream. Dan put a hand to her forehead and announced that she was ‘burning up’ which made no sense because there wasn’t any fire, and then the waiter was setting a plate in front of her and saying it was her lobster.

It was bright red.

“This is dead!” she exclaimed, loudly and with every bit of indignation she could muster.

Dan and Eddie exchanged alarmed looks as other patrons turned to see what was going on and the waiter looked greatly offended. He should be offended, Anne thought, serving her a dead lobster.

Unsteadily, she pushed her chair back and stood. “Dead!” she shouted, ignoring protests as she stalked towards the tank full of delectable live crustaceans. Some of the people who worked there tried to stop her, but she pushed them out of the way. “Dead,” she accused them as she climbed in, the cool water quenching her too-hot flesh. Someone was saying something about police. Someone was saying ‘ambulance’. A lobster crawled over her foot, tasty crunchy treat, and she snatched it out of the water to crunch it between her teeth and suck out the sweet, gooey insides.

 

She was in a car. She was wet, and she was in a car. The wet made her cold, but not cold enough to quench the hot tearing at her. Anne frowned and looked over to discover Eddie in the back seat with her.

“Hey,” she said vaguely, feeling like there was a reason this shouldn’t be happening, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember what it was.

“Hey,” he replied cautiously. “How are you feeling, Annie?”

“I’m wet.”

“That’s because you climbed into the lobster tank,” he told her, laughter bubbling in his voice. “Why’d you do that, Annie?”

“The food was dead,” she pouted.

He was so far away. Why was he so far away? She struggled against her own rubbery limbs until she managed to flop over and cuddle up to him, feeling his warmth and smelling the scent of his skin.

Much better.

“So,” Eddie said, one arm curling around her. “The food was dead. Shouldn’t it be dead? I mean, they say you shouldn’t consume raw shellfish…”

“Food should be alive,” she told him sulkily. “Alive and sweet. Like you. You’re sweet.” She peered up at him, feeling her eyes go…weird. “You look familiar.”

For just a second, Eddie looked alarmed. Then he smiled. “I should. We were gonna get married, Annie.”

“Yeah.” The thought filled her with warmth. Not the heat that seared her, but gentle warmth because this was Eddie, and she loved him, and she missed  him.

Shakily, she pushed herself up to press her lips against his, her mouth moving hungrily in ways it hadn’t for so long. Then she melted back down to press her face into his neck and just soak up the warmth of his love, one hand absently rubbing his leg.

“You have good legs,” she murmured. “Very strong. Thank you.”

“You’re scaring me, Annie,” he replied, but his arm tightened around her.

 

Venom

The bonding process was going well.

Venom wasn’t able to do a true merge yet, but that was coming. Xir host, Anne, had managed to find food that actually helped xir regain xir strength before the process started in earnest, which was a huge help in the early stages. When her body started truly reacting to xir presence, she was out with her mate seeking more food, and then the weirdest thing happened.

Eddie walked in.

Somehow, without having access to either of their memories, Venom had managed to find the one human who was possibly the most important person to Eddie, the human who had been instrumental to Venom gaining xir freedom, and chose her as xir host. Seeing Eddie made Anne’s body release a confusing flood of chemicals – she was intensely emotionally attached to him, but at the same time, terrified – and of course, it was then that they reached the stage of her being able to pick up on input from xir.

Between her body’s reaction to the bonding and the things she did to try to treat the symptoms, Anne quickly lost coherency and was bundled into a vehicle for transport to a medical facility, if Venom was following correctly. Xie had no idea if human instruments could detect xir, so this was going to be interesting. More interesting was that Anne felt far stronger emotions for Eddie than she did for the man who was, to judge by everyone’s actions, her mate. There was a story there, and once the bonding had gotten further, xie was absolutely going looking for it.

At the medical facility, Anne was brought into a small room where her mate started up a machine and grabbed an instrument that was attached to it. He told Eddie something that made no sense because Venom didn’t understand the terminology on xir own yet, and then pressed the instrument to Anne’s flesh and PAIN!!

The symbiote flinched, violently, taking Anne’s body along for the ride because that instrument was pumping out very painful frequencies of intense sound. Eddie lunged, holding Anne’s body down as Dan ran the instrument up her torso and Venom fled before it, away from the slicing, shredding sound, surging into xir former unwilling host with unnerving ease.

Xie was going to have to be very careful xie didn’t bond with two hosts. That wouldn’t end well at all.

There was no time for subtlety; Venom took control of Eddie’s body and flexed, attempting speech for the first time.

“Stop that,” xie snarled. “It hurts.”

What was that? Eddie demanded silently. What’s going on?

Sorry, Venom replied directly into his mind. I need a meat puppet. This should only take a minute.

“Stop touching her with that,” xie continued out loud, glaring at Dan. “What are you even trying to accomplish? You’re interrupting the bonding process!”

The instrument fell from Dan’s hands and struck the floor before being pulled back towards the machine by its cord. “I- what? Eddie, what bonding process?”

“Do not use that instrument on her again. I am not going to harm her. She is a very compatible host-”

“HOST?!”

HOST??

“-yes, host! Trust me, I am very invested in her continued well-being. Now, if you can refrain from using that instrument, I will return to her and we can continue our discussion while I resume our bonding.”

Dan looked helpless. “I…guess. I just wanted to make sure she hadn’t suffered any intestinal damage from eating lobster shell…”

“She didn’t eat it. I did.”

Internally, Venom said, You really do have good legs. I apologize for the death of your friend Maria. Anne loves you very much, xie added, because it had seemed highly important to Anne that Eddie know that. Then xie surged back down Eddie’s arms and into Anne again.

Eddie pulled away with a gasp once his body was back under his own control, and Dan looked back and forth between them as Venom flexed control over Anne’s body to sit cautiously up.

“So,” he started, his voice shaking. “Who are…you?”

“In your language, my name translates to ‘Venom’. I am not from your world.”

“You don’t say,” Eddie joked weakly.

Dan took a deep breath. “And you are…bonding with Anne?”

“I am,” Venom confirmed. “She is a very compatible host. My species bonds with others to survive. I, and two others of my kind, have spent the last six months as prisoners of the one you know as Drake.”

“Oh shit,” breathed Eddie. “You’re what was on that rocket of his when it crashed. But I saw- you said two others, but there was only one other…host. The third one…”

“Phage grew desperate,” Venom said dryly. “In attempting to force an escape, the alarm was triggered. Our species is very vulnerable to certain frequencies of sound. Phage was killed by the alarm.” Annoyed at the sudden hole xie realized existed in xir grasp of human language, xie asked, “What are the pronouns you use to describe those who are neither male humans nor female humans?”

Both Eddie and Dan stopped in confusion and looked at each other.

“English doesn’t…really have gender-neutral pronouns,” Dan said awkwardly. “Other languages, German…”

“There’s a lot of people who aren’t comfortable with standard gendered pronouns,” Eddie added with a shrug. “Some use the singular they – they, them, themselves – which can be confusing sometimes because it’s usually a plural, and some just make up their own pronouns, but since there’s no standard, nothing’s really seamless.” He blinked. “Ohhhhh. Of course. You’re aliens, you don’t conform to our standard gender ideas and you don’t know what pronouns to use.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, uh, you can…you know…they, or make up some pronouns of your own, or- I mean, I don’t know how you feel about using gendered pronouns but you can always just pick one…”

What did I wake up to? Am I dreaming about an alien in my body picking pronouns with my ex?

You are not dreaming. I am an alien, in your body, and your language lacks pronouns appropriate to my species.

Anne thought about that, sifting through xir shared memories. Well, if you want my suggestion, I’d go with male.

Interesting. What is your reasoning?

Instead of words, she sent a flood of memories on the disparity of how human females were treated by their own culture compared to human males, and the irony of an agender alien not being taken seriously because it was being forced into an ill-fitting gender role.

I am outraged on your behalf, Venom said silently. But your reasoning is sound.

“I have chosen ‘male’ pronouns,” Venom announced, “and I am disgusted with how your culture demeans females without reason.”

“You and me both,” Eddie muttered. “So, uh…how’s Annie doing? Can we…like…talk to her?”

“No more ultrasound,” Dan promised, both hands raised.

Venom relaxed control and watched from behind Anne’s eyes as she looked around, taking in the medical surroundings and processing her memories.

“I ate a lobster?”

Dan and Eddie both let out relieved chuckles.

“Technically,” Dan said, “Venom ate the lobster. But he did it with your body. How does your mouth feel?”

“Fine. But I’m hungry,” she answered. “Not for lobster. I just want some cookies or something.”

“There’s a vending machine in the staff area,” Dan told Eddie. “I’ll have her moved into an observation room for the moment if you’ll stay with her while I get her something to eat.”

“Yeah, sure,” Eddie agreed.

You love him. Why are you so afraid when you look at him?

Drake got him fired and tried to get me fired, too. If he finds out I’ve talked to him…

I will bite his head off. He imprisoned and starved me; I have no love for him.

I’m not sure if that’s comforting or terrifying.

Anne was moved to a different small room, where she sat on a paper-covered bed next to Eddie and held his hand somewhat desperately while he told her about his morning.

“…so I start banging on the door with a fire extinguisher, right? And the thing finally shatters, and Maria…”

She was dying. I did not wish to die with her.

Anne squeezed his hand. “Venom says she was dying. Drake killed her, Eddie. It wasn’t your fault.”

“She lunged at me – well, I guess that was Venom, right? – anyway, the next thing I know I’m six floors up the side of the courthouse, on the fire escape, and I feel like I’ve been running for hours. I’m starving, I’m dehydrated, I hurt all over, I have no idea how I got there, and Dr. Skirth’s been blowing up my phone with texts panicking about how I disappeared and someone trashed the lab and one of the symbiotes is missing and Drake is pissed and I figure…shit, it’s in me.”

I was. The assumption was not incorrect.

Anne nuzzled his neck. “You weren’t wrong. He was in you.”

Eddie took a breath and continued. “So I make my way home and eat everything in my fridge – and I mean that, I was drinking expired salad dressing from the bottle and chowing down on pickles. And then I threw up because I drank expired salad dressing and ate an entire bag of barely-thawed tater tots, and I brushed my teeth and drank some tap water and crashed out for a few hours.”

“When Dan gets back with those cookies, you need to have some of them,” she told him. “You haven’t been eating.”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “I know.”

The familiarity of the exchange alarmed Venom. Wait. He regularly neglects to make sure he is getting an acceptable amount of sustenance?

Yeah, he’s pretty hopeless when he’s focused on something. Her silent words dripped with tender affection and the desire to curl up with him and feed both herself and Eddie.

Venom started to suspect that when Riot finally found them, things were going to get messy, because xie had no intention of letting xir ‘leader’ hurt either of these humans.

 

Dr. Skirth

“Dr. Skirth, thank you for joining us.”

In the door to her office, Dora froze at the sight of Carlton Drake sitting on the corner of her desk with his head-of-security thug standing behind him. I was wrong, she thought. This is when I die.

“We repaired the security system and reviewed the footage,” Drake said lightly, “and guess what we found?” He slid off the desk to walk towards her with all the menace of a panther. “You, conspiring with the newly-deceased host of our most promising symbiote to bring in that man.”

“I never-”

That’s as far as she got, because Drake lunged at her and came away with her phone in his hands, fingers working over the screen that hadn’t yet locked from the last time she’d texted Eddie.

“Please answer me,” he read accusingly. “Your life is in danger. Now, how would you know that, Dr. Skirth, if you haven’t been conspiring with him to steal my symbiote?”

Instead of waiting for her to answer, he put the phone back in her hands and pulled her over to the desk.

“Call him,” he ordered. “Call him, right now, and get him to tell you where he is, or Treece here is going to blow your brains out.”

Trembling, she pressed the call button.

“Speakerphone,” Drake snapped.

She touched the speakerphone button.

“Dr. Skirth! Hey, uh, look, I’ve been meaning to get back to you…”

“Eddie,” she said, trying to sound not completely terrified. “Did you get my texts?”

“Yeah, I did, but listen – I’m fine, alright? I’m not going into organ failure or anything, I’m just really, really tired and hungry.”

That was to be expected in the first twenty-four hours, but Dora suspected he was already suffering organ damage. Not that she was going to say anything like that in front of Drake, who already looked excited at the prospect of A01 having found a suitable host.

“Eddie, where are you?”

“It’s okay, I’m resting and eating.”

“How do you feel? Aside from tired and hungry.”

“Just tired and hungry, really. Oh, and, well, I kinda ache all over.”

“I want to run some tests,” Dora insisted. “It will just take a few minutes. Where should I meet you?”

“Oh, hold on, I gotta check…”

Muffled sounds; Eddie had covered the phone and was speaking to someone. Treece looked uncomfortably excited.

“Okay, uh, V- …the s- …what was that? Can you write it- okay, never mind. Um. Yeah. You can come over, sure, I’ll meet you at my apartment.”

Drake was gesturing angrily at her.

“Meet you at- are you not at your apartment now?”

“No, I’m…out. Getting food. More food, because, you know, I’m so hungry. Haven’t been eating well. Hard to afford groceries when your asshole boss is leaning on every network and paper in town keeping me from getting another job. I’m actually kinda far from my apartment right now, gonna take me a while to get back there on foot, how ‘bout you meet me there at…six?”

Treece nodded to Drake. Drake nodded to her.

“Yeah,” she said, unable to tear her eyes away from his, like a mouse being stared down by a snake. “Your apartment at six. I’ll see you then.”

Drake reached out and hung up the call.

“I’m disappointed,” he said mildly. “You and me, I thought we were in this together. For the future of humanity. For the children. Walk with me.”

It wasn’t a suggestion, and Dora hurried after him as he left her office.

“Why’d you do it?” Drake asked as he led the way.

She swallowed. “I was…troubled…by…what we’ve been…doing,” she answered gingerly.

“I get it,” he soothed. “I get it. We’ve all been troubled. It’s…the nature of what we do. But I need to know that you’re with me on this, Dr. Skirth. No one understands these beautiful creatures better than you.”

He opened a door and gestured her in, following once she was inside. In the corner, A02 seethed at her from inside its containment module.

“Four days in the host,” Drake said crisply, “and the host dies. Why?”

“Because it wasn’t a proper bond,” she sighed.

“That’s not possible. The host was fine for four days.”

Drake was getting annoyed, but so was she.

“No,” she snapped. “The symbiote was patient for four days, but you’re starving it! They’re not dumb animals, Carlton! They’re aware, they know you’re keeping them prisoner, and you gave them a choice between starving themselves or dying to our atmosphere!”

He rocked back in affront. “I don’t think I like your attitude, Dr. Skirth,” he chided.

At the other end of the room, A02 roiled.

Dora swallowed. “I don’t think they like yours,” she said in a voice that only trembled a little.

Drake’s expression hardened, and he leaned in like he was going to entrust her with a great secret. “Well then,” he said quietly, “you better hope it likes you.” Abruptly, he strode for the door. “Open it,” he commanded as he left the room.

A02 surged out as the lab tech opened the containment module, but then hurried after Drake. Dora waited, one eye on the symbiote and the other on the retreating form of her boss. The instant he was out of sight, she pulled out the sound bomb she’d rigged and set it off. A02, mere centimeters from her skin, recoiled and tried to flee. Dora chased it around the room, away from its canister, until it shivered and convulsed into a half-melted mess of stiff spikes and went still.

The door opened at her security code, and she ran for the garage. Whether A01 could be reasoned with or not, whether they’d bonded or he was just food, Eddie Brock was walking into a trap.

 

Venom

“Dr. Skirth!”

Anne kept eating, but behind her eyes, Venom was paying attention.

Who’s Dr. Skirth? she asked silently.

Shh. I need to listen.

Eddie was assuring Drake’s lieutenant that he was fine. Then he covered the phone and turned back to the table, where the three humans were eating noodles and vegetables. “The lady who let me into the lab wants to run some tests,” he said in a near-whisper.

Venom nudged Anne aside. “Skirth. Yes, I would like to speak with her.”

“Okay, uh, V-”

“She does not know my name.”

“-the s-”

“I have a designation.”

“…what was that?” Eddie asked. “Can you write it-”

“No.”

“-okay, never mind. Um. Yeah. You can come over, sure, I’ll meet you at my apartment.”

He gave them a thumbs-up. Dan returned the gesture. Then Eddie froze. “No, I’m…out. Getting food. More food, because, you know, I’m so hungry. Haven’t been eating well. Hard to afford groceries when your asshole boss is leaning on every network and paper in town keeping me from getting another job. I’m actually kinda far from my apartment right now, gonna take me a while to get back there on foot, how ‘bout you meet me there at…six?”

Now Anne was paying attention, and when Eddie took the phone away from his ear, Venom passed her control.

“I know that look,” she said. “You smell a trap.”

Eddie picked up his fork and poked at his noodles. “Yeah. She was on speakerphone. Whoever was listening in – and it was probably Drake – thinks I’m the host. They’re gonna be at my apartment with guns, and they’re probably not gonna be happy when they find out I’m by myself.”

If Anne had been scared before, she was nearly mindless now. The thought of Eddie coming to harm, for her, brought her to a state of hysterical panic – but what was interesting was that he hadn’t hesitated before offering himself up as bait, and he showed no signs of intending to back out.

“You will not be alone,” Venom growled. “I will come with you.”

He looked up in shock. “But-”

“I owe you my freedom.” Inside, Anne’s panic was turning to relief. “You saved me from Drake. Allow me to return the favor.”

Eddie looked like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but Venom was listening to Anne’s incoherent thanks.

 

“So this is…new,” Eddie muttered as he walked down the street, hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

What is?

“You…being in my head but not being all…large and in charge.”

Although communication was not yet perfect – and Venom made another note to remove xirself from Eddie’s body before it reached that point – xie knew that he meant both the morning’s escape and the brief time in the hospital.

I apologize for using your body without permission, Venom said slowly. There was no time for pleasantries when I escaped Drake’s facility, nor when Dan used the ‘ultrasound’.

Eddie shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess. It’s been a weird day, that’s all.”

Why are you doing this?

“What, leading Drake’s creeps away from Annie?” A glance up the street, then down it, and Eddie jogged across to the other side. “I should think that’s obvious. Doesn’t matter what happens to me, as long as Annie’s safe. You must feel the same way, or you wouldn’t be walking into this trap with me.”

You are afraid they will kill you.

“Yep. I can’t run, I can’t hide, and I’m probably gonna die, but hey – Annie will be fine and that’s all that matters.”

She will not be ‘fine’.

Eddie stumbled in alarm. “What?”

She will not be ‘fine’ if you die. She will be devastated by your death. Therefore, you are not allowed to die.

“Thanks,” he muttered, “but I don’t see where I’ve got much of a choice there.”

Guilt and disbelief churned through his mind.

I will keep you safe, Venom promised.

The terror came back, but Eddie did not give any outward sign of it. “I’m not convinced we’re not still gonna die,” he puffed as he reached the door to his apartment building, “but thanks.”

Just do not fight me when I take control of your body, and you will be fine.

That made him pause. “Uh…if you say so.”

I have done this before. It will be… Xie paused as anticipation shivered delightfully through xir. …fun.

“I get the feeling your type of fun and mine are two different things,” Eddie muttered as he climbed the stairs. “We’ve got…twenty minutes before our guests arrive. You wanna…talk or something?”

What do you want to know?

Eddie flopped down on his couch. “I guess…why Annie? You already had me running you around, why didn’t you just stick with me?”

Venom swirled restlessly. I had been the death of your friend Maria. I used you to gain my freedom. I did not think you would want to be stuck with me after that. I saw a compatible host and I went to her; I did not know you two were…acquainted.

“Yeah, we’re more than just acquainted,” he muttered, the guilt surfacing. “We used to be together. Engaged. Then I fucked up and she ditched me so I didn’t drag her down, too, and I don’t blame her.”

That was something xie was going to have to get Anne’s side of, once their little appointment had been completed.

She worries for you.

“She doesn’t need me. She has Dan.”

She cares for you! Even if I did not owe you my freedom, Venom snarled silently, I would have come to protect you because she cares for you.

“What do you care?” Eddie spat. “She’s just a body for you to use. Why do you care if she’s happy or not?”

Because believe it or not, I do not enjoy making my hosts suffer. When I bond with a compatible host, our minds merge as well. I feel with your skin, taste with your tongue, see with your eyes and hear with your ears. Right now, if you were to suffer, I would suffer with you. Why would I want to endure your misery as if it were my own?

That distracted Eddie. “So wait – if I punched myself in the nuts, you’d be in pain just like if you had nuts and I punched you in them?”

Yes.

“And if I ate something I really hated, you would be forced to feel my disgust?”

Yes.

He thought about that for a minute before asking, “Does that mean you feel my emotions, too? You…you’d be willing to die for Annie because I am? You…love her?”

I am here, with you, because she could not stand the thought of you being hurt and not being able to help. But unlike her, I can help; I can keep you safe. Therefore, I chose to go with you and ensure you do not die.

“She really does have feelings for me still,” Eddie whispered, the words tight as he blinked moisture away from his eyes. His thoughts went to the ride to the hospital, and Anne’s mouth moving against his.

What was that? Venom asked curiously. That memory. Was she attempting to eat your face?

“Huh? Oh, the kiss. Nah, that’s a display of affection.”

Your people pretend to eat faces as a courtship gesture? I like your species.

 

Dr. Skirth

It took Dora far longer than she liked to get off the Life Foundation grounds, stash her car out of sight in a parking garage, and get herself into a public area where there were enough people around to make it too messy to retrieve her.

Tracking Eddie Brock down hadn’t been difficult, but along the way, she’d learned that he’d been engaged to one of the lawyers working the wrongful death suit against the Life Foundation for the pancreatic cancer trials. She’d had Ms. Weying’s number in her phone because it’s never good to not answer when a lawyer is calling, but now she was actually the one initiating the call. Eddie would never trust that she wasn’t being used by Drake, but she had to warn him somehow.

Maybe he’d listen to his ex.

“Anne Weying.”

“Hi, this is Dora Skirth, from the Life Foundation…”

There was a strained pause. “Dr. Skirth, how would you describe symbiote A-zero-one?”

Dora blinked. “Uh. Goopy, black, exhibits considerable self-control and either compassion or self-serving altruism?” Realization sank in, and she gasped. “Oh my god, you’ve been in contact with Eddie. Please, you have to warn him – he’s heading into a trap!”

On the other end, Anne laughed. “Oh, he knows. I’d say whoever Drake’s sending after him are the ones walking into a trap.”

“Good.” Dora was surprised how bitter that word was. “They deserve to be eaten.”

There was muffled conversation on Anne’s side, and then she asked, “Dora, are you safe?”

“Probably not,” she answered, doing her best to keep her voice steady. “Drake tried to feed me to the other symbiote, but I killed it. I don’t think he knows yet that I’m not dead, but…”

“Okay. Where are you now?”

Dora turned to look at the buildings around her and read out an address.

“Good. There’s a pizza place on the corner, do you see it?”

“I do.”

“Go there, place an order for Weying. Carry-out. Two large, one pepperoni and one whatever you want. Wait there. I’ll come in and pick it up, and you’ll leave with me.”

“I’ll do that,” she promised. Then she looked at the time. “It’s after six. When you get here, we need to find Eddie.”

“Agreed,” Anne said emphatically. “Hang tight, I’ll be there in twenty.”