Val The Vessel

13 / Compromised

Kayla presses a delicate hand over Andrea's forehead. "Yep, she's out cold, but we can't just leave her here. What should we do, Ro?" She asks, tossing Andrea's arm around her neck while she supports her to the busted white van that's parked outside. I follow behind but my wobbly legs skip every other step.

"We'll take them with us. Their home's been compromised," Doron affirms with muscular arms folded over his chest plate. "Val, go sit in the back with yo cousin. Keep an eye on her till she wakes up."

I nod as Kayla lays Andrea in the back seat of the van and buckles her down. I crawl in the space next to her, propping her neck against the head rest as best I can. My shock is finally registering. The sheer terror of losing my life five minutes ago is likely the reason. Hollow had drugged and planned to torture me, but Kayla and Doron came to my rescue just in time. Had they arrived a moment late, the situation might not have worked in my favor.

"Shit!" Kayla shouts, compulsively twisting her key into the van's ignition only to receive the sounds of its dead engine. "I think Hollow screwed with my whip! Damn her!" Kayla turns to face Doron with her mask flipped over her head like a novelty hat.

"Don't worry. I'll handle it," Doron confirms, placing two mighty hands against the dashboard. His legs float up until his body is parallel to the van. With a low-pitched grunt, he pushes the entire vehicle forward with the three of us inside. Kayla guides the steering wheel, swerving us out of the driveway and onto the street. I peer out the window to watch my house pass by and I can't help but gawk at the gaping hole in its front from where Hollow was launched. I still can't believe that I did that. Dad is going to kill me if these villains don't.

"Val," Doron calls, accelerating our car out of the neighborhood with his inhuman strength. "How far is your apartment from here?"

I shrug. "About five miles. Why?"

Kayla chuckles in a mocking manner. "Where else do you think you're gonna stay? Hollow knows where you live. That's not good. If she knows, then others probably know too. Your apartment is probably the next place they're gonna search too, but they won't touch you so long as Doron is around." Kayla shakes her head and shivers. "I thought we were frickin' gonners back there. Any second later and we might'a been dead. Shiiiit, that was intense!"

I want to laugh alongside her, but the jolting pain engraved in my chest prevents me from doing so. So I smile instead. I just smile really hard. Doron accelerates our van to a cruise down a foggy road. I receive deja vu from the night he stole my car. The road was just as foggy then as it is now, if not more so. I pray for a safe trip to my apartment, even if the location is compromised as well. Doron will protect me like he did today. He won't let any harm come to me or my cousin.