The rain had ceased its incessant thrashing and had instilled a foreboding silence. It reminded Edward that he was alone, possessed with a demon-like parasite and the hissing voice that shivered down his spine. Edward inflicted the symbiote with every curse he could muster before entering a frantic state of inarticulacy. It had not spoken to him since; instead it left him in tears until he could cry no more.
He sat upright in the comfort of his bed, clinging desperately to his blanket. His back was supported by the cold steel bars of his bed-frame.
‘Toxin,’ he sighed, his voice was nasal and resonated through his nose. ‘We can’t keep doing this.’
Edward rarely spoke vocally to the symbiote, but tonight he felt the need to. As far as he knew, his mother was at work so the house was empty. He jerked slightly as his spine tingled with shivers.
‘Doing what?’
‘Us,’ he stressed. ‘It’s not working.’
‘It can work if you allow me—’
‘No,’ he said and waited for a response that took longer than usual.
‘Why?’
‘Look at what happened. We killed someone—we actually killed someone. I can’t believe I’m saying these words.’
‘That was not your fault.’
‘Then tell me,’ he said. ‘Whose fault was it?’
‘It was the criminal’s fault, the consequence of his villainy.’
‘You cannot be serious.’
‘I am serious.’
‘We—you have no right to kill.’
‘The shop-keepers blood was on his head. It is fitting that you recompense his son. Now he can sleep knowing his father’s murderer has been brought to justice.’
‘What the hell are you?’
‘We are Toxin – Revenger of the Innocent. Angel of Justice.’
‘I—I cannot be that person,’ he said hesitating then sighed. ‘You have to go.’
Edward waited diligently for the symbiote to reply, he grunted when it didn’t. He rested his head on the pillow, determined not to lose sleep over Toxin. It came a lot a sooner than he expected.
That night he dreamt he was performing acts of heroism as Toxin. A building blazed with fire and was collapsing every minute. He could see the smoke from a distance. The symbiote encased his body and he was swinging through the air, twisting and spinning with cat-like agility. The crowd below looked like insects. They cheered as they saw him coming. With one swing, he leapt through a window into the building. He wasted no time and ran through the fire. He heard a girl scream.
‘I’m coming!’ he shouted. She continued to scream but he comforted her with words of his arrival.
As he drew closer, he found the noise coming from a closet. He ripped the doors open and there was a little girl curled against the wall in a blanket. He held her in his arms like a child, her hands wrapped around his neck, but she continued crying.
‘It’s okay, I got you.’
The girl seemed to ignore his voice and continued to cry. Toxin shook her and she screeched. Her jaw grew and sprouted long canine teeth.
‘Oh sh**,’ he said, dropping her through the floor. ‘No!’
He looked up and was no longer in a burning building. The place was strange. The floor was covered with mist and there was darkness around him. Then he became conscious of his dream.
He writhed and convulsed as the symbiote detached itself from his body. It splattered as it leapt to the floor, becoming nothing but a gooey puddle.
‘Toxin?’
The puddle swirled and grew until the symbiote assumed its real form. It was thin and crawled on unsymmetrical feet. Edward towered over the creature; he remembered it was an alien and not a child.
‘Do you see?’ it shrieked.
‘See what?’
‘The fire. The people.’
‘That was you?’
‘It was you. It’s always you…’ The room shifted and the two were out in the open. They stood in a park; people walked past but were oblivious to them. ‘This is the only freedom you give me.’
‘I—I don’t know—I don’t know how to handle you. Every day with you is a struggle.’
‘All you give me are these superhero daydreams. Isn’t this what you wanted from me?’
Edward fell silent at the creature’s words. He considered the possibility that Toxin’s behaviour was merely a reaction to his. Or the creature was simply blaming him for its nature.
‘I don’t believe a word of that to be true,’ he said. ‘What happened the first time then?’
‘The first time?’
‘The first time we met—you know, after you put my dad in a coma. You came limping to me like some pitiful, sick dog. And now my mum has to work twice as hard because of you!’
‘If it is affection you desire,’ it said transporting Edward to school. His long-time friend Lisa stood before him. ‘You can find it elsewhere. I know those fantasies too. I might even show Patrick when he wakes up.’
‘Shut up!’ he shouted. He had no idea the symbiote could do such a thing. Anything relating to his dad, it had kept a secret. ‘By the time he wakes up. I want you gone.’
‘Patrick deserves me,’ it cried. ‘You do not. I want Patrick.’
‘I want him too.’
As Edward slept, the symbiote unravelled and slivered over him. It lifted his lifeless body and carried him to the window. The room was dark but his form was illuminated by the moonlight. The surface of his skin began to jump and prickle. In seconds the symbiote began to change colour and morph into a replica of Spiderman. It pushed the window doors open and leapt out. Freedom.
Toxin swung through the city before hearing a scream. Five men were chasing a woman. He perched on the edge of building, still like a gargoyle carving.
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The next day Edward awoke with a moan. His muscles were aching and he was still tired. He slivered from his bed and jumped when he saw the time.
‘Four o clock? Oh god I overslept.’
He tiptoed down the stairs and saw the radio was on in the kitchen. It was the news. He seemingly ignored it and sifted through the fridge. When the reporter mentioned news about a murder in New York, he listened in case it was about him. It was not his murder. He turned up the volume barely catching what was being said.
‘…witness claimed to have seen Spiderman brutally murder and mutilate five men—’
‘My god.’
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