Val The Vessel

23 / They're Up 'There'

I look up from my lap only to see the source of my frustration. Doron is leaned against the bedroom door with crossed arms. His sweaty brown curls hang low over the front of his greasy face. "Why so glum?" He asks in a childlike voice. I tune him out. I'm not having it today. "Somethin' wrong, lil' girl?"

I groan in my subconscious. "Doron, where have you been?"

The gentle giant shrugs and bloats his cheeks before speaking. "I dunno, maybe you should come over here and gimme' a kiss and then I might tell ya." He grows silent, awaiting my response but I won't give him one.

"Doron, I'm serious."

He bursts with laughter and flies towards me, pinning my body down on the bed and laying a passionate smooch against my lips. He sits up with a loving smile, his calloused hands still fixed firmly around my wrists. "You been in this room too long. Let's dip outta here."

I rock my head to one side with a concerned look. "Doron, I wanna talk."

"We'll talk outside!" Doron cheers abruptly, carrying me out of the room like I'm a grown baby. He uses his powers to ascend us out of the open window, receiving my trembling grip during the whole ride. The cold outdoor air hits my cheeks like a frozen slap as Doron lowers us to the grassy hillside below. The only warmth comes from the horizon's setting sun.

"So you gonna tell me where you and Kayla been all day?" I quiz over the whipping wind.

Doron sets me over the bed of grass and crouches beside me like a smiling ball of sunshine. "We found them!"

His irresistible smirk combined with his glistening eyes makes me melt and I can't resist my own smile. "Found what? What did y'all find?"

"My siblings, Val! We found Mason and Rayleen!"

No way. That's impossible. "What are you talking about? I thought your siblings were... dead? Didn't you say so yourself?"

Doron lowers his hazel eyes in shame. "That's what I thought, but Kayla and I think we found their bodies. They're being kept—" He points to the sky over our heads. "Right up there."

I don't follow him, but I don't wish to kill his mood with further questions. He makes a hopeful look. "Kayla and Nicole been helpin' me do research for years. We think we know what happened to all the heroes." Doron extends each of his fingers towards the sky above. "They're floatin' up in space. Lots of 'em are asleep. Been asleep all these years."

A burning tear runs down the corner of my eye. I feel sorry for him. He must be in denial. "Doron, you know that I'm always here for you. Right?"

"Girl don't talk to me like I'm crazy," he snaps. "They're up there, for real. I'll prove it next week."

"Next week? What's happening next week?"

"We're goin' up in space, that's what. The rest of the world might be fooled, but not me. The Vessels didn't all get 'scooped up by God'. That's all bull crap. It was a planned attack to eradicate the supers. The strongest ones, the ones who couldn't be killed, were launched into space to remain frozen forever."

My mind is boggled. His theory sounds too surreal to be true, but I'm curious nonetheless. "How do you know this? And who could have done something like that? No one is powerful enough to take on every Vessel in the world."

"That's what I thought," he adds, "But I could. Somebody with my powers could." He runs his fingers over my ear and playfully blows into it to annoy me. "Nikky thinks I can breathe in space. She's been sayin' it for years too. She says my blood doesn't require this Earth's oxygen either."

I don't think Doron understands how revolutionary his statements are to me, yet he discusses the topic with such tranquillity. He has a way of making even the most bizzare ideas sound easy. "What ever happened to that 'story' you promised to tell me?"

Doron churns his lips. "Oh, right. Well buckle up because this story's wild."