Demons [Eddie Brock] Venom

29. Ultimatum

Rory was given water, tea and coffee, and something to eat. She ate because she wanted to keep her wits about her, her head on straight, and her energy. It was Carlton who brought them to her each time, and she wanted nothing more than to throw the hot water at him, to scald him and injure him, but she knew it wasn't feasible, and when she sipped the tea she found it luke-warm, suggesting that he suspected her savagery. 

A few hours went by, though she was unsure how long she had been unconscious. Her head still throbbed, but she knew the concussion was fading, and wondered if Carlton put some Advil into her drink. Scowling at the fact he was trying to be kind to her, and the fact she was accepting what he gave her, she resorted to pacing to keep her head above the water. 

Suddenly the doors, not hers but the ones beyond, opened, and Treece along with two others were carrying someone. She rushed to the glass walls and tried to see who it was; immediately she recognised him as Eddie and she slammed her fists against the glass. It was soundproof, though, and no one even turned their head. 

A few moments later, Rory hadn't calmed down yet, Carlton came in. 

"We found him, I just wanted to let you know that," he said as he stepped towards her. His hand touched her shoulder.

Rory jerked away, knocking over a tray of blunt medical equipment; he made sure there was nothing sharp or heavy enough to cause injury before he locked her in there. 

"You know, when I saw you in the video feed, I thought perhaps my mind was playing tricks on me. I thought, what were the chances that the two things I wanted were in the same place? You were much easier to apprehend, of course, and yet somehow you are the bigger prize right now. When you first arrived here, to the Life Foundation, I was going to see if you would achieve symbiosis as well. Unfortunately, as we lacked suitable hosts, we lost two of them. Eddie had the third, the one we thought was the last." He walked towards Rory, cornering her. "But then a miracle happened, and Aurora, I'm a scientist and I do not believe in miracles. One found me; it had been seeking me out since the ship went down."

Rory's mind began processing what Carlton was telling her, what exactly it meant. She knew whatever was inside Eddie was parasitic, alien, but she hadn't seen much of what it was capable of. When Eddie showed up at her apartment after breaking in to the Life Foundation, he looked wretched. Whatever it was, she didn't like it. And knowing Carlton had one, and that he was happy about it, it chilled her to her core. 

But Rory refused to be meek, like he wanted. She knew it wouldn't save Eddie, she knew she had no power here to do anything. Except... 

She nearly choked as she realised there was an ultimatum, neither of them put it on the table, but it was there. "If I... you know... If I come back," she spat out the last word because there was no other way to get herself to say it, "will you let him go?"

Something dangerous flickered in his eyes. "No, Aurora. Do you want to know why?"

She shook her head, she really didn't want to know his reason. She knew it would be ugly and twisted. 

"Because you and him were together. Had that not happened -and I know it did, Aurora, no one would give their free will up for someone they weren't sleeping with- I would have considered your offer. I always liked parading you around, you were usually so good. But," he placed his hand on her cheek, "you've been dirtied by him."

She smacked him, hard, with the back of her hand, and that's when it came out. His face and body transformed and a great monster took his place, knocking Rory backwards in retaliation. She slammed against the gurney and fell hard against the ground, scrambling to get away from whatever it was. 

"That's enough," Carlton said, and suddenly he was back. "I'm going to speak with Brock, and I think he will give me what I need when I show him what I have, both Riot here, and you, Aurora. Then I will have you both shot. I'll give you one choice, though."

She glared at him, too scared to get to her feet. 

"Would you rather him see you killed first? Or do you want him to go first?" Carlton asked, an impossible ultimatum.

He left without waiting for her answer, and only when he was gone did she get back to her feet and wait. Wait to be taken out and shot. At least, she decided to find a silver lining, she would see Eddie once more at the very least. Only a few minutes later did someone come back for her. The guard grabbed her by the arm and dragged her through the halls and towards where Eddie was. 

Carlton was wiping his hands as though he completed a complicated task, walking towards her in the opposite direction. "I'll give you two a few minutes."

She was zip-tied again, then thrown into the room. She slammed to her knees and used her core to keep herself from falling forwards. The last thing she needed was a worse head injury while still healing from the current one. 

"Rory, oh god Rory I'm so sorry, I am so, so sorry," Eddie began. 

She looked up at him and cracked a smile. It was a dark time in her life, but she was getting used to it by now. "It's not all bad, I got one good smack in, and let me tell you, it felt good."

"You're... You're honestly joking in a time like this?"

"Might as well, right? You know what happens next, don't you?"

He nodded grimly. 

"You don't still have that stuff in you?"

"No... Starting to regret that a little bit."

"Well, you look better," she quipped, then rose to her feet. Eddie was tied to a chair, and there was nothing she could do, but Rory stepped towards him and pressed her forehead against his. Gentle tears slid down her face, but they were for him, not for herself. "Eddie, what do we do? What happens now?"

"Nothing good, I suspect," he replied. "Rory, whatever happens, I'm going to get you out of here. If you get a chance to run, you run."

"I-I thought... I thought if I offered him m-myself he would... He would let you go."

"Oh, Ror," he replied softly, shaking his head. "I'm not worth that to anyone."

"You are to me."

The doors opened, Treece and a few other armed guards entered. "Times up."

-----

Just so you guys know, I wrote this yesterday afternoon. So that I could post before 7 and not have complaints that I didn't update.

I was also up a mountain. And a storm hit and knocked out the wifi from 8pm to when we left today at 2pm. It's probably still out.

But I got 11000 words written for my NaNo book!