Aliens: Finding Void

Chapter Four

Daeus' POV

Two days later and my time with the Acolbi tribe was up. I couldn't stay here no matter how much I wanted to. My heart and soul didn't belong here and I would never be able to be at peace knowing that there was someone out there who needed me, someone who cared for me and missed me. If I chose to stay, I'd be making someone out there in the world live with a great loss and I don't know if I could live knowing that. I wasn't a cruel person, I knew that much.

"Are you ready, Daeus?" Vri asked, popping his head into the hut, his silver eyes watching me intently. For the past two days, Vri and I have talked about the future and what would happen if I did find what I was looking for. He tried to make it feel like something good, but all I could feel was fear, doubt, and unrest. I didn't know what to expect come the end of this adventure nor did I know if there would actually be someone waiting for me on the other side.

I sighed and nodded. Everything we were taking had already been loaded onto the ship, which had arrived early this morning. The Vrox who brought it would remain here until Vri and Vrillyn returned with the ship. "As ready as I can be." I told the male, following him out of the hut.

I was nervous, I wasn't going to lie. The thought of leaving a stable living to try to find someone who may not even exist was worrying. I didn't want to waste anyone's time and I didn't want to face rejection. If they did exist, the possibility of me being rejected made my heart tear in two everytime I thought about it. How could I go into this confidently when I couldn't even remember who I used to be?

I followed Vri to the ship and my body felt like it was feeling with dread. The last time I'd been on one - - - I couldn't remember that, it was a part of my past that was obscured, but my body could feel it. My body trembled as if remembering something terrible. I hesitated to board, but there was no logical reason for me to feel so fearful of the ship.

When I entered, it was like I could hear a distant screaming in the back of my mind. It was faint and hardly able to be focused on, but there. My heart felt like it would rip in two. I felt like my body was going to be torn to shreds just knowing that the scream I heard was possibly a memory of something terrible. I felt like I knew someone out there was screaming for me, screaming and wailing and yuring for me to come back.

That's it.

I couldn't stay away from the truth anymore.

Someone out there needed me. Someone out there desired me so bad that even now I felt like I could feel them. Right beside me. I could feel an impression in my heart like something was there. I just couldn't see it.

"Daeus?" Vri asked. "You okay?"

I nodded, mute. How could I be okay? I knew someone needed me and only now did I realize how bad that need was and I . . . . I needed them too.

****

When night fell, I could hardly sleep. I was anxious. The pit in my stomach yawned like the mouth of giant predator just expecting my to waltz into its gaping jaws. We'd left only five hours ago, but it felt like eternity. Eternity away from a life that I could have settled into. A life that would have made me content. I could have forgotten about this feeling. I could have forgotten that there was even a before.

"Dae," 

I jumped, spooked by the sound of Vrillyn's voice.

"You anxious to be going back?" She asked, her baby blue eyes watching me with a mix of emotions I couldn't decipher.

"I . . . I don't know how to feel. I guess I am anxious. But wouldn't you be the same if you knew you were going somewhere you can't even remember?" I asked in return to her question. I needed guidance. I needed someone. I didn't even know if it was reasonable to be looking for this mysterious someone that I felt was my whole life. My whole reason and I couldn't even remember them. "You said I'd been on that moon for a whole year. Not to mention how long I was with the tribe. Is it reasonable to be going back in search of something that might not even be there?"

Vrillyn chuckled, sitting next to me. "Big worries for you aren't they?" She sighed, looking out the window and into space. "No, Daeus. It is reasonable. Despite the time and the distance, whatever you feel is real and I know someone is looking for you. Your heart knows what's right. What is it telling you?"

I gulped, looking at her. "What is it telling me? Well . . . . ." I paused. "I don't know."

"Yes, you do." She responded bluntly. Her shoulders sagged a bit. "Daeus I lost my family in an unjustified war between your people and mine."

"But I was told you're allies?"

She nodded. "Yes, we are. The war was a long time ago. The Ehkad took responsibility so the Vrox forgave them. My mate and daughter were the only casualities." Her voice was soft and light, a contrast to the female I'd gotten to know.

"I'm sorry." I said, unsure of how to respond.

"No, it's alright. It was a long time ago. But it was before I met you. I despised your kind for what they did. I hated you, and then a tiny baby one shows up out of nowhere crying and upset, not understanding why his big sister left him all alone." A faint smile appeared on her face. "You came and I kept you until your family came to get you. But you were the happiest thing to happen to me after they died. You put life back into my life. You gave me something that I'd given up searching for."

"What did I give you?" My voice was quiet.

"Love," Vrillyn said, our eyes meeting. "You turned this grumpy lady into someone who could love again and I found Vri and meaning again." She wiped her eyes, chuckling. "What I'm trying to say is that it is worth it. That feeling you're feeling inside of you. It's not going to go away until you find what you need to find. I may not be a believer in your Taurikie, but something out there definantely saved you. And something out there definantely awaiting your return."

"So I shouldn't ignore it," I interrupted, looking away, one of my hands clutching at my chest. My hearts were beating normally, but I felt like they were about to burst.

She shook her head. "No, Dae. You shouldn't. Because one day you'll be back home and you'll have found whatever it is that's putting this void in your life -"

Void. 

There's that word again.

That name.

My hearts fluttered. A small smiled crossed my face. Something inside me felt whole just hearing it. 

"And you know exactly what your looking for." Vrillyn said, almost a whisper.

Yes. I nodded. What am I looking for? Well, I'm looking for my Void, my heart. 

I looked out to the stars again. 'I'm coming Void. Whoever you are, I promise, I'll find you again. Because I know . . . . I can't live without you.'