We headed out of the facility with one clarity. We had to look for Venom. I already had a vague idea where to find him, and was ready to bet anything that he was gonna be there.
We boarded the metro out to my college. The plan is simple. Drop the teacher off at college and let her colleagues take her to the hospital. Then I and Maya head over to the place and neutralise the void genome in Venom.
"So, here's the scoop about the R.A.I.N genome." Both my teachers and Maya's ears spiked.
"R.A.I.N is an acronym for Rapid Antibody Immuno Neutraliser. It's a 'one of a kind' genome, the first genome to produce an antibody that neutralises and finally, destroys a gene itself. The first genome to produce an antibody against a gene. The R.A.I.N genome is highly volatile. Just opening the vial's lid will cause the liquified genome to start evaporating, so the genome in its original state is a gaseous one. One full vial of the R.A.I.N genome can neutralise 7 whole vials of the Void genome."
With that, I pulled two vials from my pocket.
"Careful, you're gonna break the glass!!" Maya hissed at me violently.
"I'm not an idiot. All the vials I use are made of reinforced glass."
"More importantly, what's the other vial? We didn't see it in the lab!" My teacher asked.
"Oh, this!" Showing them the vial with a red liquid, I continue to explain: "This is a damper serum. It minimises the effect of the void genome. You never know, he could be right here with us, listening to us. So I made sure I brought the damper serum too!"
With that, the three of us took small sips of the serum.
"The effect of this serum will last for a week. So we have a week to find Venom. But I swear......!" I clench my first tightly. "I swear I'll find that bastard by tonight!"
Maya, seeing me getting frustrated, took my hand and laid her head on my shoulder.
"Thanks..." I whispered.
"Idiot!" She whispered back.
"Back to the topic. One vial of R.A.I.N can neutralise 7 vials of Void. In other words, one breath full of the R.A.I.N fumes will neutralise one full vial of Void. All we have to do is tie up Venom and make him inhale one whole breath of the fumes. But beware, Venom is a martial art champ. Taking him down won't be easy..."
At least there was some hope. All I had to do is figure out how to take down that bastard. Before I noticed, Maya fell asleep on my shoulder. My teacher had spaced out and I was glad she was recovering.
We travelled for half an hour more when I had to wake Maya up because our station had arrived.
We made sure our teacher was in safe hands again. Before leaving, I turned back to her and said:
"It's all thanks to you ma'am, I'm able to now set things right!" She gave me a weak nod.
Tagging along with me, Maya made it out to the station again.
"Where are we headed now?"
"To my School!"
"School? But why there??"
"Because Venom believed in ending things where they started."
It took her a while to understand. Our friendship, our rivalry and finally, this enmity, all started in our school. So I knew I'd find him there.
It was one anxious hour of travelling. Finally, we reached.
The school was in full swing. Students everywhere, merrily laughing and playing. Guess it was a PE class since I could only see limited students. I made my way inside. Surely, my PE teacher recognised me and we had a little chat. All during the chat, my eyes kept darting around to look for him. But you know how teachers can be, sometimes so naive, their naivety can help us.
"Oh, Jin! Rohit is waiting for you in the auditorium. He was talking about some kind of a contest. But whatever it is, I know you'll win! You were always the topper and the winner!"
Those words put a smile on me. Even after all those years, my PE teacher remembers me as me. Tears rolled down. Hiding them from him, I made my way to the auditorium. On the way, I greeted all the teachers. Each of them started telling me the memories I made during my schooling. Each teachers words cheered me up. I introduced Maya to them.
Everything was fine, but I knew time was running out. Finally, we bid farewell to the teachers. Just to make sure she was safe, I asked Maya to stay with the teachers.
....
Right in front of the auditorium door. I could hear my own heartbeat.
"Hit it or quit it!" I murmured and opened the door.
It was dark. Suddenly I heard a voice. His voice.
"Welcome! Welcome to Hell! The last place you'll ever see before you die!"
With that, something shiny came at me. I was quick to dodge them.
"Ah! As always, quick on your feet!"
More of them kept coming at me.
"Surgical needles?" He kept throwing really thin surgical needles used for acupuncture.
After dodging them all successfully, I looked around in vain, panting for breath.
Then, he emerged out of the darkness.
"I like the look on your face! The look of despair! The look of defeat! It's been years since I've seen that!"
Just as he finished the sentence, he began hand-to-hand combat.
"Venom, stop this madness!!" We kept on trading blows. It continues. Neither of us backed down... We kept going on until both of us started bleeding.
Finally, he stopped. Both of us ran out of stamina.
"You're tough... But I'm going to kill you!" Venom, even out of breath, attempted another punch. Block.
"It's no use. You can't defeat me. I know all your weaknesses even without the void genome. Plus, you can't read me anymore with that annoying gene."
He was shocked at first, then he smiled.
"I figured something was wrong. The Jin I know has so many weaknesses, I was training myself to enjoy your internal screamings!" And he proceeded to laugh hysterically.
"I see your arrogance hasn't gone down!" I got up back on my feet.
So did Venom.
"Let's do it. No more talking. Come on. One on one. Until only one of us is left standing." I said.
"I like it! It's been a while since we had an all-out brawl." He was excited.
"Idiot. This is out first!"
With that, we moved in for another wave of the hand to hand combat.
"Combat rule no. 1: Never let your enemy get behind you!" With that, I circled to his rear and gave a shot to the pressure point on the first vertebral bone.
"AAARRGGGHHH!" He screamed in pain.
Combat rule no. 2: Never leave an opening!" Again, three jabs to his stomach, one elbow crunch and a kick to his knee. He fell to the ground, crouching in pain.
I was determined to correct the mistake caused due to my irresponsibility. I was totally determined to finish him off too.
Suddenly, he started laughing.
"You think you can finish me off huh?" He said, a disgustingly cold look in his eyes.
"Yeah. I'm damn sure!"
His cold stare intensified.
"Woah Woah there, Venom. That look makes me wanna puke. It kinda feels odd with only you making the stare....."
With that, my hands hardened. Veins bulged. Temples showed and my heart rate increased.
Eyes became red. Hot air left my nostrils. My teeth started fanging.
"You see Venom. I had another nickname. Nobody except our classmates knows it. There's a reason I'm weird, and I'm called by that other nickname. None of our classmates has the courage to say that nickname. You also were terrified of me back then. Weren't you?!"
The cold look disappeared off his face.
"Yeah, that's right! I like the look now!" My voice became denser and deeper.
"The look that shows you're scared. The look on your face before you die!"
"You know what they called me right?"
He kept crawling back as I walked towards him.
"It's time......."
I could hear his heartbeat.
......
......
......
"It's time...... TO UNLEASH THE DEMON!!"
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