Venom

Scarlet

They brought Lucy back to the cell still with her hands cuffed in chains, Her feet dragged against the floor and they were holding her up like her body was drugged and too weak to move on its own.

When they threw her down on her mattress I caught a glimpse of her face and to say the least I was absolutely horrified. Her eyes weren’t like mine, a soft shade of amber from the effects of the serum. Instead, they were a dark flaming hue of red, blood red which looked haunting against her jet black hair and pale olive skin. The veins around her eyes had popped like a pressure overtook her and crawled down her face like a spider web.

“What do you think, Dr. Jenkins?” Simpson asked the man as they stood outside Lucy’s cell analyzing her. I knew something had gone wrong in there, something terribly wrong. Dr. Jenkins’s name is only heard a few times from quiet conversations around the scientists during testing. Apparently he was the creator of this experiment; and I can only assume he is a heartless ruthless human being to be the mind behind taking innocent people off the streets and turning them into killers. All the tests I have to endure, all the poking and prodding and drugs they’d given me like I was just a sponge that could easily be replaced if it didn’t clean up well. So many of my generation didn’t make it through the years, and they disposed of their bodies like they were nothing.

“I’d say we proceed as scheduled and carefully monitor her.” I heard him say and got lost studying his expressionless, heartless face. He looked at a Lucy like a science trial and not a living, breathing, thing that felt pain.

“Very well, how are the others doing? Have you noticed anything that I should be aware of?”

“Actually sir, we got some alarming information about one of our oldest subjects,” Simpson answered glancing over to my cell.

“The first generation of the trials?”

“Yes sir. I think it’s something to investigate further.” Conway added, handing Jenkins the tablet in his hands. They all watched briefly before their heads bounced up looking straight at my cell and I sensed the worst.

“Interesting, indeed,” Jenkins mumbled. “I’ll need some information from her. Bring to exam room 1 and get her hooked up to the monitors. I’ll be in in a moment.” Jenkins handed them the tablet and he left them to gather me.

“You heard the boss. Turn around and put your hands behind your head, Nash.” I felt the cold cuffs clasp around my wrist and I looked back at Lucy briefly. Her haunting eyes were on me but hazed over like she was still in a different world.

“Lucy,” I whispered, feeling like all hope was lost. Lucy wasn’t Lucy anymore and Kade was too late. She doesn’t remember him anymore and I don’t know what’s going to happen to me now.

“Do you know why we’ve called you in here?”

Simpson asked as I sat in a dark exam room with my wrists strapped down to the arms of an exam chair and wires hooked up to me to monitor my heart rate.

“No.”

“You told us you completed your mission and took out Kade Sawyer at a strip club. With no witnesses you said the time of kill was marked at 9:45 pm, is that accurate?”

“Yes.”

“So then explain this to us.” Conway took the tablet and projected it on the screen. Showing security footage from that night at the strip club, a fuzzy image of the girls leaving CJ and I alone in the booth. The reel of footage continued catching me straddling him and grinding against him before Conway paused the clip of me going in for the kill.

“Now, that is not Kade Sawyer. And I have two employees that confirmed they knew you and left you with their boss and went back to find him dead.” Simpson and Conway narrowed their eyes at me waiting for my confession but I had none.

“Where is Kade Sawyer?” they demanded.

“I don’t know.”

“BULLSHIT!” Conway slapped me across the face. “I don’t know what has gotten into you, Nash, but you were our best tracker! I know you know where he is!”

“Take it easy, Conway, or you’re going to burst a blood vessel in that sore neck of yours. Then you’ll really have problems in this place,” a calm-sounding Jenkins said coming through the doors, rolling in another piece of equipment as Simpson burst out laughing at Conway’s expense.

“What’s that for?” Conway asked all disgruntled.

“This is how we will get our answers,” Jenkins replied, getting straight to work moving around the room, putting on a pair of latex gloves, and grabbing a syringe.

“Grab an IV bag and stand for me,” Jenkins called out as he found a vein and stuck me, hooking me up to tubes until the clear liquid dripped through the tubes.

“Truth serum, we’ll give it a minute a two to get into her system. Now wheel that monitor over here, please.”

Simpson and Conway looked at the machine like they’ve never seen something like this before.

“What does that do?” Simpson asked.

“This is another one of my creations,” Jenkins said proudly. “A machine that enters into the brain’s memory chamber and displays them on the screen. Fascinating right?” he said with a smirk as he removed the covering from one section. Two long needles on either side of the machine. I saw Conway and Simpson’s faces cringe at the sight and the monitor tracking my heart rate began to beep with the rapid rhythm.

Jenkins turned towards me and stroked my face as he said, “It’s ok dear. It will only hurt for a moment.”

His calm demeanor made me more nervous and enraged at the same time. I didn’t want his hands on me and I bared my teeth at him with a hiss.

“Like you would know the feeling of pain from your experiments!” He leaned back taking his hand off my face, but only shrugged like he knew it was true, but still didn’t care.

“I suppose you’re right. Conway, Simpson, hold her down and secure the head straps.” They did as he asked and with the flip of the machine’s switch my heart was racing and I struggled at the restraints clenching my fist until they were probably white. With the sound of the machine being flipped on, I felt the sharp pressure of the needles slowly piercing through the skin of both sides of my temple. I cried out from the unbearable immense pain feeling the needles stabbing through my skull, followed by electric shock waves that swirled in my brain.

“Dim the exam room lights. The images of her memories will begin to project on the screen soon.”

I tried to suppress the memories in my head, if that was even possible to do. But to no avail, images began to appear on the screen. The first time I saw Kade on the night I killed Levi. Then the night at the club when I was supposed to kill him.

“I knew she found him,” I heard Conway mutter to himself.

Part of the conversation I had with Kade stands out as they watch it playing out on the screen.

“You’re not a very wise man, are you?”

“Actually, I think I am.” Kade had held his gun to my head.

“You killed Levi, didn’t you?”

“Didn’t you!”

“Yes.”

“Who the fuck are you?” I watched them watch the memories play out in my head over the screen and I knew what was coming next.

“I work for the government, a secret department no-one knows of. It was my mission to kill Levi. And you’re their next target. They sent me to kill you.”

“WHAT THE FUCK! She isn’t supposed to tell him!” Conway shouted.

“He’s even more of a threat to the government now that he knows!” Simpson added.

I shrieked out loud trying harder to suppress the memories; trying not to let them in. They couldn’t know where Kade was. They couldn’t know he was going to try to get us out! They couldn’t know about Lucy either; the things they could continue doing to her if they found out!

“No! Stop!” I begged but Jenkins just smirked looking back at the screen for more information to pop up. Next was the last time I saw Kade. Seeing the way he kissed and touched me, remembering the feeling of his tongue gliding along my wet clit had me getting aroused.

“Kade!”

“Shut it down, there’s nothing more to see,” Jenkins said shaking his head.

The monitor was beeping profusely as my heart was pounding against the cage of my ribs and I felt the venom starting to explode in my mouth.

“She’s fucking her targets instead of killing them!” Conway spat angrily.

“No, she’s not!” Jenkins corrected. “She’s fucking just the one!”

“How do you know?”

“Her brain waves changed when she thought of him. It seems she’s developed feelings for him.”

“But they’re not supposed to have feelings!” Simpson added.

“You don’t think I know that!” Jenkins finally let out some aggression.

“The serum appears to not be working for her anymore! Damnit!”

“So what now? I mean she’s defective, we can’t send her out on missions anymore. And for all we know she could turn on us.”

Simpson gave me the idea and I knew I had to find a way out of here. To find a way to get to Kade before they sent someone else after him.

“I may have a suggestion?” Conway speaks up and the attention is focused on him.

“Why don’t we give her a double dose of the serum like Lucy?” Jenkins contemplates the idea for a moment and looks over to me with such sad eyes.

“You were my first masterpiece, Scarlet. Your beauty alone could kill the hearts of so many. I don’t want to part with you just yet.”

Conway entices Jenkins even more.

“We wouldn’t have to let her go to waste? At least let’s try it first before we dispose of her.”

Jenkins rubs the stubble on his chin thinking. “Very well. We’ll have to be extremely careful as we don’t know the effects the dose has on Lucy yet.” He signals for someone to come over, I hadn’t noticed they had been standing in the doorway but I recognized his voice when he started speaking.

“Dr. Jenkins you need to go and check on a subject, I think they are having a bad reaction to the serum.” Agent Moore handed him a tablet so he could have a look at what was on it.

Jenkins takes a look at Moore. “I need some muscles, Moore you stay and help Conway, Simpson you come with me.” He goes to leave the room before turning back to Conway and Moore. “You take her out of the machine and put her back in her cell for now until I have dealt with another possible crash and burn.” Jenkins steps out and I know this is my opportunity to make a run for it with Conway and Moore alone with me.

Conway steps behind me and presses the button for the machine to start retracting the needles from my temples while Moore starts releasing the restraints from my head. I make myself look weak and tired as I moan in pain.

“Moore, please loosen them on my wrists. It hurts so much, please.” I see him take pity on me and he looks behind me to Conway who must’ve given a nod. Just as Moore starts loosening them I use all the strength I have to rip my wrists out, burning the skin on my hands in doing so. Moore’s eyes grow wide with fear as I spring my arms forward reaching for his neck and in the process, the IV cords are ripped from my vein. My blood is squirting out of my protruding vein but I only focus on gripping Moore’s neck tightly sinking my fangs into his racing vein. Conway went to run, but I was fasterand grabbed him.

“Please! Please don’t bite me!” Conway shrieks like a little boy and it nearly makes me laugh.

“Ok, I‘ll leave that for Lucy. Give me your keycard and I won’t touch you.” In a split second, he fumbled for his badge in his suit pocket and gave it to me.

I raced out the door and down the hall, trying to find my bearings in this place as I’ve only been led out by the agents. I pass a door that looks familiar, using Conway’s keycard to open it, I make my way to the stairs. We’re kept underground so I’ll have to go up a flight or two to hopefully reach ground level and run out of here. I hesitate for a second, knowing I’d be leaving Lucy behind but there’s no way she’d listen to me in the state she’s in. For all I know she could try to hurt me or Kade.

“SECURITY! THERE’S A SUBJECT LOOSE! LOCK THE PLACE DOWN!” I heard shouting from the hallway I just came from and I know I don’t have much time. I raced up the stairs and my senses told me I’m close. I smell the fresh air and barrage through the door to the parking lot. There’s a van that has just arrived with a subject getting back from a mission and I run over to the driver. Biting him in the neck before throwing him to the ground, I hop in the van, turn the keys in the ignition and pull the car in reverse. I feel the bumps of the wheels hitting the other agents, probably running them over as they tended to the bitten driver but I don’t care as I pull it into drive and skid the wheels slamming on the gas and driving out of the fenced compound.

I haven’t driven a car in over two years and my mind is racing as I kept looking in the rearview mirror, making sure I wasn’t being followed. I remember Ben led me to the house he and Kade are staying, not far from the strip club; it was only a short walk so all I had to do was make it to the city, dump the car somewhere far from where I was going and use my sense of smell to lead me the rest of the way. It looked to be around early evening as the sun was just beginning to set by the time I made it on foot to the familiar sites that were close to Kade. I was so weak, every part of my body was aching. I lost so much blood from my arm leaking blood where the IV was. Even my temples were dripping blood from the thick needles of Jenkins machine. I hobbled up the steps of the yellow drug house and faintly knocked on the door with the only remaining energy I had left. The person who answered was someone I think Kade called Mikey but I don’t remember my mind went blank and my knees gave out, falling into his arms.

“KADE! IT’S YOUR GIRL! SHE’S HURT!” the guy shouted as my consciousness faded in and out. “Scarlet!” I heard his voice and felt his hands around me, almost tasting his cologne I weakly smiled knowing I felt safe.

“Kade,” I uttered, wanting to touch him, to see his face but I was too weak to open my eyes or move a muscle.

“It’s me, baby. You’re ok, stay with me. Scarlet, stay with me!” He caressed my cheek and spoke to me to hold my consciousness but it was too late as the blackness took me and the echo of his voice was gone.