Chapter 107 Run!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the high school, Gwen, Miles, and Anya were inside the gymnasium, which was shrouded in darkness. All three had hidden behind the bleachers, where they waited motionlessly for Peter to finally find them.But time kept passing, and their friend was still nowhere to be seen, to the point where the wait was seriously beginning to test their patience.

— "Fuck, what's taking Peter so long?"

— "Maybe we should've hidden in different places to make things easier for him. Especially since he's already really tired…"

— "She's got a point."

Suddenly, the gymnasium door burst open with unexpected violence. Before the three teenagers could even understand what was happening, Peter's body was hurled through the doorway and landed heavily in the middle of the room. He collapsed onto the floor, motionless, under their stunned gazes.

Behind him, a gigantic silhouette slowly stepped through the gymnasium entrance. Upon seeing the creature's appearance, Gwen immediately sensed the danger. Without thinking, she abruptly clamped her hands over Miles's and Anya's mouths, preventing them from reacting out loud.

— "Gwen! What are you doing?" Anya asked in a whisper.

— "Shut up! Don't make a sound!"

— "But why? What's going on?"

Gwen didn't answer them. She herself still had no idea what had just happened and had no explanation to give them. Her attention remained entirely focused on the scene unfolding before them, while a terrible feeling of dread grew within her.

— "Well, well? Where's your costume? You're not seriously going to fight without it, are you? That's not very professional. That's not very… Spider-Maaaan…!"

As he spoke those mocking words, the symbiote parted its enormous jaws, revealing several rows of razor-sharp teeth. An impossibly long, slimy tongue emerged from its mouth, slowly writhing through the air with movements as repulsive as they were threatening.

Meanwhile, Peter began struggling to his feet. Yet, despite the brutality of the impact he had just suffered, it wasn't pain that dominated his expression, but profound frustration. He wasn't simply angry at the creature. Above all, he was disappointed in himself, aware that he had made a mistake whose consequences he was only now beginning to fully understand.

— "Yeah… it's my fault. I should've made sure it was destroyed instead of just leaving after separating myself from it. How… how could I have made such a mistake…?!"

His fists clenched and his jaw tightened under the weight of his inner anger. For several seconds, Peter had to fight the urge to let his frustration overwhelm him.

But he eventually regained control of his emotions, raising his eyes toward his opponent with renewed determination. He knew he could no longer afford to make even the slightest mistake.

— "I don't know who your new slave is, but you can count on me to kill you. And for good this time."

— "Oh no… let's make this little game last a bit longer!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than several tentacles erupted from the symbiote's body, their tips taking on sharpened forms before shooting straight toward Peter.

Peter reacted immediately, dodging the first attacks thanks to his exceptional agility. He moved quickly to avoid the successive strikes, but one of the tentacles eventually managed to hit him head-on, violently sending him flying across the gymnasium.

Despite the force of the impact, Peter got back to his feet almost immediately, refusing to give his opponent time to take advantage of the situation. He pushed off with his legs and leaped directly toward the enormous creature, this time engaging it in close combat.

He unleashed several fast, powerful punches toward the monster's face, but his attacks seemed to inflict very little damage. The symbiote then attempted to grab him with its massive arms.

Peter immediately reacted by jumping out of its reach, then avoided a second attempt thanks to his reflexes. Taking advantage of his movement, he placed one hand on his opponent's skull to push himself off and propel himself behind it.

Before his feet even touched the ground, Peter fired two webs that attached themselves to the monster's shoulders. He then pulled with all his strength, using his momentum to throw the creature off balance and violently topple it backward. The symbiote crashed onto its back with a thunderous impact that echoed throughout the entire gymnasium.

Peter was already preparing to continue his offensive without giving it time to get back up. However, the symbiote reacted before he could deliver his next blow. Another tentacle suddenly burst from its body and struck him by surprise, sending him flying into the air.

Despite the violence of the attack, Peter managed to regain control of his trajectory and skillfully caught himself on one of the gymnasium's basketball hoops.

Hanging high above the floor, he briefly observed his opponent, increasingly troubled by a detail that had escaped his attention until now.

— "I don't understand… ever since this started, my spider-sense hasn't warned me about any of its attacks. How is that possible? It's clearly a threat!"

On the floor below, the symbiote slowly straightened up, then raised its eyes toward Peter. Its enormous silhouette contracted slightly, like a predator preparing to pounce on its prey.

Behind the bleachers, Miles, who had been watching the confrontation with growing fascination, could no longer contain his amazement at what he had just witnessed.

— "That's… incredible!"

His exclamation, though relatively quiet, was enough to break the silence surrounding the bleachers. Immediately, Peter and the symbiote turned their heads in that direction, drawn by the sound.

Miles instantly realized his mistake. He clapped his hands over his mouth, his eyes wide, as though he could somehow prevent the sound from having escaped. But it was already too late.

Beside him, Gwen and Anya slowly turned their heads toward him. Their furious glares alone conveyed the full extent of their exasperation. Neither needed to say a single word to make him understand just how much danger he had put them in.

— "We were starting to wonder where your friends were… but it looks like they've been here all along."

An enormous, predatory grin spread across the symbiote's face, revealing even more of its terrifying, razor-sharp teeth. Its attention had shifted away from Peter and was now fixed on the bleachers, and Gwen immediately understood what that meant.

— "Miles, Anya! We have to get out of here!"

But she didn't even have time to lead them away. The symbiote suddenly leaped in their direction, propelling its enormous body across the gymnasium as several tentacles extended around it, ready to strike.

Before it could reach the three students, two webs shot out from behind it and firmly attached themselves to its back. The tension from the strands abruptly interrupted its momentum, stopping it dead in its tracks.

— "You're staying right here!"

However, the symbiote didn't allow itself to be restrained for long. New tentacles erupted from its body, their tips immediately transforming into sharp blades. With a swift movement, it sliced through the two webs holding it back, then launched itself forward once again, leaping directly toward the bleachers.

— "Shit!"

For Gwen, Miles, and Anya, panic immediately took over. The three teenagers attempted to escape by weaving between the different rows of bleachers, hoping to use the structure to put some distance between themselves and the monster. But it caught up with them almost instantly.

With a deafening crash, the enormous creature landed on the bleachers, shattering part of their structure under the force of its impact. The sound of twisting metal echoed throughout the gymnasium as the three friends suddenly found themselves face-to-face with the monstrous figure.

— "Found you." he said with a huge grin.

Gwen, Miles, and Anya immediately froze, paralyzed by terror. At such close range, the symbiote's appearance was even more frightening.

Its enormous build, its mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, and the tentacles writhing around its body left them with no doubt about the danger they were facing. Even Anya, who was usually so fearless, seemed completely helpless in the face of such a creature.

The symbiote was already preparing to attack when Peter suddenly intervened. He charged toward his opponent at full speed and slammed into it head-on, using the full force of his momentum to knock it away from the bleachers and send it flying to the other side of the gymnasium.

Without wasting a moment, he turned toward his three friends to make sure they hadn't been injured.

— "Are you guys okay?!"

— "Peter, what is that thing?!"

— "Later! For now, focus on getting Miles and Anya out of the school! Go home with them, I'll catch up with you as soon as I've-"

— "BEHIND YOU!"

The warning came too late. Without the help of his spider-sense against this creature, Peter hadn't noticed at all that the symbiote had already gotten back up and approached him from behind.

Despite its imposing size, the monster had managed to move with terrifying stealth, without anyone being able to anticipate its return.

Before Peter even had time to turn around, an overwhelming force came crashing down on him. The symbiote brutally grabbed his head and slammed his face against the floor before beginning to strike him with its enormous fists.

The blows came one after another with horrifying violence, striking different parts of his body as he desperately tried to break free.

Groans of pain escaped his throat with every new impact. Peter tried to push himself up, but the sheer power and speed of the attacks gave him no respite. Every attempt was immediately interrupted by another blow that pinned him even harder against the floor.

The symbiote continued like this for several moments, repeatedly smashing Peter's face against the ground without giving him the slightest break.

Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped its assault, leaving the three teenagers to witness the condition their friend was in.

Gwen, Miles, and Anya remained frozen, horrified by the brutality of the scene. Despite his extraordinary powers and his resistance far beyond that of an ordinary human being, Peter now bore the visible marks of this violence. Several large bruises distorted his face, parts of which were lightly covered in blood.

Yet he still hadn't given up. Taking advantage of a brief moment of respite, Peter tried to break free and raised his arm to shoot webbing toward the monster's face, hoping to blind it long enough to escape.

But the symbiote already knew his habits and fighting techniques all too well. Before Peter could carry out his attempt, the creature violently grabbed his left wrist and applied tremendous pressure to it.

A sharp cracking sound rang out as the web-shooter gave way under the force of its grip. The pressure was so intense that it nearly broke Peter's wrist as well, drawing another cry of pain from him.

The symbiote then slowly raised its head toward the three teenagers. Upon seeing their terrified expressions, it stretched its mouth into an enormous grin, once again revealing its long, razor-sharp teeth, visibly satisfied with the effect it was having on them.

— "Don't worry… I'll finish with him, and then it'll be your turn."

— "Gwen… get out of here! Hurry-"

Peter didn't have time to finish his warning. With a brutal movement, the symbiote slammed his head against the floor once again, immediately cutting him off. This final attack overcame his remaining resistance, and the young man lost consciousness, his body going completely limp.

The creature remained above him for a few moments, then slowly raised its head toward Gwen, Miles, and Anya. An unsettling smile once again spread across its enormous mouth as it watched them with almost palpable impatience, as though the rest of the evening promised to bring it a particularly special kind of pleasure.

— "…Run." he said, drool dripping from his mouth.

That single command was enough to trigger an immediate reaction from the three teenagers. The fear that had paralyzed them until then suddenly gave way to their survival instincts.

Without even needing to consult one another or exchange a glance, Gwen, Miles, and Anya simultaneously scrambled to their feet and began running as fast as their legs could carry them.

They hurried away from the bleachers and raced across the gymnasium toward the exit doors, not daring to slow down or look behind them.

The symbiote, meanwhile, made no immediate attempt to pursue them. It remained motionless for a few moments, gazing down at Peter's unconscious body lying on the floor.

It seemed to be deliberately giving the three teenagers a head start, as though it wanted to prolong their escape before truly beginning its hunt.

— "Rest well. Because when you wake up… you're going to be in for a big surprise…"

A sinister laugh escaped its mouth. Then, without waiting any longer, the symbiote launched itself after them with the ferocity of a wild beast. Its enormous silhouette raced across the gymnasium at full speed before violently crashing into the exit door, destroying it as it burst through into the school hallways.

Meanwhile, Gwen, Miles, and Anya were desperately running through the dark corridors of the school. Their phone flashlights cast unsteady beams of light ahead of them, shaking with their frantic movements. They struggled to make out the path ahead while maintaining as much speed as possible.

Still in shock from what they had just witnessed, the three teenagers were overwhelmed by panic. The images of Peter being brutally beaten by that terrifying creature remained etched in their minds, but they had no time to stop and understand what had just happened.

Their breathing grew faster and faster, and their footsteps echoed loudly through the deserted hallways. Yet none of them slowed down. They continued running until they were almost out of breath, driven by a single desperate need: to get as far away as possible from the monster that had just begun pursuing them.

TO BE CONTINUED.