Venom

Kade

I heard the click back of a gun and before I could even turn around to shield Scarlet my body was pushed to the ground and my hand was ripped from Scarlet’s. I caught a glimpse of her eyes which were wide, showcasing her natural eye color; those light blue orbs were just as mesmerizing as her chemically unbalanced Amber ones but this time they reflected fear and sorrow. I heard her scream as I hit the ground and a heavy weight fell on top of me. I quickly pushed it off to get up and Scarlet was now kneeling on the floor beside Dax. It all registered in my head and the second I realized it, my heart fell heavy with grief. Dax must’ve seen it coming from a guard who we thought was already dead was still alive and in his last breath he pulled his gun as his final attempt. Dax jumped in front of the bullet for me, pushing me down as he blocked it with his body. He was hit right in the chest and by the time I saw him he was already bleeding pretty heavily.

“Dax! It’s ok! You’re going to be ok! We’re going to get you the antidote and you’re going to walk out of here with the rest of us and finally be free!”

Scarlet tried to talk to him to comfort him as she felt his hand and stroked his face. His breathing was already erratic and heavy and he was choking on the fluid build up on his throat.

“D-don’t you w-waste a vial on m-me, Scar!” he mumbled out and I watched as Scarlet broke down crying for the first time as her normal human emotions took over.

“Don’t say that, Dax! You’re going to be ok!” She frantically looked around for anything to soak up the blood and try to stop the bleeding. Dax weakly lifted his arm to bring her face back to his and gently wiped the tears that streamed down her cheek.

“Y-you’re crying t-tears,” he faintly said but his expression was shock mixed with amazement. I watched as he was in awe witnessing the raw human emotions that they have been stripped of for years of their time here.

I would’ve been jealous of his hands on my woman just like I was a few minutes ago but a switch went off in my heart and I understood the bond that Scarlet and Dax shared. They had been through so much together, faced the fear and torture of this place together, lost their human senses and turned into weapons at the same time. The only string of human emotion that they had left was shared with each other physically. An intimate bond of friendship and lovers before I entered into Scarlet’s life. I knew Dax would hold a place in her heart even after he was gone and I was willing to accept that.

Dax briefly looked up at me and I nodded my head and he nodded his. We spoke to each other without having to speak words; a sincere thank you for saving my life and with a nod of acceptance and well wishes for my relationship with Scarlet. It was as if I had taken a vow in that moment; to give my life to protect Scarlet against all odds, which I would do so in a heartbeat. Dax began to gasp and it was to inhale, I could tell his lung had collapsed and he was on his way out.

“Dax!” Scarlet held his hand tighter and the tears streamed down harder. He took all his might to bring his hand to her face again and mumbled out in a whisper,

“I’ve always loved you.”

“I love you too! Stay with me!” she rested her forehead against his but he was gone.

“Dax! No, Dax! Stay with me!”

I crouch down beside Scarlet and rest my hand on her back.

“He’s gone baby. I’m sorry.” She threw herself in my arms and buried her crying head into my chest. I nodded to Mikey who was still keeping watch at the door.

“Go help Ben! The countdown is still on! We’ll find you!”

Mikey disappeared out the door and I stayed cradling Scarlet in my arms and stroking her head.

“I’m sorry, Scarlet. We have to go, we don’t have much time left.” I prompted, not wanting to. She lifted her head from my chest, closed Dax’s eyes and kissed him on the cheek before rising to her feet. Her eyes were piercingly cold and I knew she was channeling all her pain into anger to completing this mission successfully.

I took her hand in mine as we dashed along the corridor. Voices broke our concentration and Scarlet pushed open a door which led to a computer data room. Jenkins stood looking like a madman pointing his finger at us both.

“Kill them Lucy, Kill them all.”

Lucy’s glare was enough to kill and she bared her teeth at us, letting out an animalistic snarl.

“Run and get a syringe! You have vials in your pocket! I can hold her off until we get the antidote in her! GO!” Scarlet shouted in my ear and I knew we had no other option. I booked it out of there and down the hall to the exam room we were in before. I nearly slipped and tripped over Kirkland’s dead body still laying there bleeding out all over the floor. Fumbling through the cabinets until I found a syringe and I ran back as fast as I could while the needle sucked up all the liquid from the vial.

I made it back to the doorway to see Jenkins quickly working on the computer, saving his research and trial results on a hard drive while Scarlet and Lucy were attacking each other.

It was like I was witnessing a cold blooded match in the fighting ring. Each of their voices shrieked and hissed at one another as they fought for the upper hand. I couldn’t fathom the black haired woman with blood red eyes and pale skin was my sister, Lucy. My once innocent LuLu who never wanted to throw a punch even when she used to visit me after school when I had my gym. I wanted to teach her to defend herself if she needed to but she was always too timid. She’d promised me she’d never get herself into anything bad that she would need to fight and would tell me if something did happen, she knew I would always fight for her. The memory almost brought tears to my eyes now seeing that she looked nothing like she used to. Her eyes for fixated on Scarlet like fighters in the ring that I knew had gone down for murder before. It was like a drug to them being in a fight, causing damage to someone for no reason at all besides being able to get their aggression out and win some money for it in the process. Lucy looked like a pro, never letting her guard down, keeping her arms out in a defense stance as they circled around each other. Lucy faked a lunge and Scarlet reacted giving an opportunity for Lucy to lunge again and grab hold of Scarlet’s torso. Lucy rammed her against the wall but Scarlet was powerful enough to fight her off. Bringing her knee up hard into her chest, Scarlet kept kicking until my attention was taken by Jenkins pulling the hard drive out and trying to make a run for it.

“Don’t you fucking move!” I pointed my gun at him. “Shut off the kill switch!” I demanded and he laughed at me like a lunatic.

“I KNOW IT’S IN YOUR POCKET! I SAID TURN IT OFF!” I clicked back the trigger hoping that would scare him but it didn’t.

“Oh with this?” He pulled a small round switch from his lab coat pocket and as I went to take it from him he threw it on the ground and stepped on it. Crushing it with wires spilling out until the button was dismantled.

KADE!” Scarlet shouted and I turned to see her holding Lucy in a headlock and her head perked up at the sound of my name.

I threw Scarlet the syringe, knowing not to take Jenkins out of my sight for too long. Scarlet kept Lucy in a headlock until her body went limp, passing out and Scarlet injected the serum into Lucy’s neck.

“You won’t make it out alive. And there’s no amount of antidote that can revert Lucy back. She’s too far gone I’m afraid,” Jenkins said, gaining back my attention with a wicked grin and an evil laugh that shot goosebumps up my spine.

“Then you’ll die in here too! You’re not going anywhere!” I grabbed his shoulder and shoved him down onto the black leather swivel chair and bound his wrists behind his back attaching them to the chair with cuffs which I pulled off one of the guards lying dead next to me.

Scarlet rushed over to my side baring her teeth at Jenkins in a fury.

“There has to be a way to turn it off! I know you wouldn’t want to kill your creations!” Scarlet spat hovering over his body and gripping his neck tightly.

“What happened to you, Scarlet! You were once so promising. Don’t you remember the state you were in when you were brought in here? You were heartbroken! Left with nothing! Thrown out on the streets by someone you loved who didn’t love you back!” Jenkins tried to get in her head using her last memories against her. I see Scarlet’s grip tighten more around his neck, her nails digging into his skin.

“Look at this world! It’s filled with hatred and ugliness! Your purpose was to rid this city of them! Kill them all! They are not worthy of living!” His eyes widened with madness and rage as he spoke.

“You cannot fight evil with evil. Only love can truly save the world. And that’s the path I choose.” She releases her hold on him and steps back taking a deep breath, choosing to let Jenkins live and not kill him.

I lock my fingers with hers at our side and turn her face to look at mine with a smile. Out of nowhere Lucy comes from behind and whacks Scarlet in the back of the head with something metal. Scarlet falls straight to the ground knocked out cold and I whip my body around to Lucy. It seems as if the antidote didn’t have an effect on her. I found myself walking backward as she kept strutting her mean deadly body towards me. “Lucy, it’s me, Kade!” I call out and it seems to not have any reaction for her.

“Kade! Your brother!” She halts her steps and tilts her head like she’s thinking and maybe remembering.

“Hmmm, Kade?” she questions.

“Yes! Lulu it’s me, your brother, coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs, Kade!” I plead and take a small step towards her trying to see for myself the LuLu that could still be somewhere in there.

“Don’t you remember me?” I mutter to her moving even closer as she studies my face.

“No!” she answered coldly and my whole body froze over like we stepped into hell. I knew I was in trouble being this close to a cold blooded monster and I raised my arm clenching my hand into a fist that swung through the air with the intent to hit her. She grabbed my fist just millimeters from her face and squeezed it so hard, twisting it to the point she was actually hurting me. Not a single muscle or expression moved on her cold pale porcelain face as she twisted my wrist until I was on my knees. I remembered I had my gun stored in my jeans and I whipped it out with my other hand. Her eyes darted as quickly as a robot and she knocked it out of my hand and grabbed my neck. Raising me to my feet she slams me against the wall and opens her mouth wide; the venom dripping from her dagger like fangs as she hissed like a snake before pouncing her mouth onto my neck.