Heavenly Bodies

Heavenly Bodies 10

HB10

"I need to speak with the Admiral."

We had just found out that someone pretended to be me in order to get information to give to Koopa. The Upsetter was using me to sabotage the Pioneer.

"This isn't a good time," the soldier responds to Kane.

"This is important," Kane argues.

"Captain it may be but there seems to be a riot going on and the Admiral is behind the safety lines."

With that the soldier leaves. A riot? It didn't sound right.

"It's a distraction," I let them know, "Koopa is trying to take over the space station."

Captain Kane looks at us, "OK. We need to stop him. The space station has several locked entrances. We all need to split up and find out where he is."

~

I don't know how I end up with Katashi of all people. Either way we are on the space station walking towards one of the locked hatches on board the Pioneer. We pass the mess deck and start making our way through the galleys. We don't make a sound as we past the Engine and boiler rooms.

"The hatch is right this way," I tell Katashi.

He knows where the hatch is. I just needed to break the silence. Things are awkward as hell between us and I'm not sure why. Katashi crosses his arms as he follows me. I can tell that he's a little annoyed about something even though he isn't telling me.

"I know where it's at," he lets me know.

Sure enough it seems like there is a lack of security. Koopa was definitely getting people upset. He was definitely trying to start something in order to keep the attention away from all the locked hatches on the space station.

"You OK man?"

"You think we are doing the right thing helping the Admiral?" he asks me.

I sit there and think about it. I am surprised anyone is really doubting it. As soon as Captain Kane put two and two together on what to do he immediately chose sides. I felt like everyone else pretty much felt the same way. It was our duty to keep law and order. It was our duty to keep the peace. Right?

"You think we should let Captain Koopa take over the Pioneer?" I ask.

Once Captain Koopa got through one of the hatches he'd be able to access the main mission control room. He'd have all the Admiral's logs. He's be able to command this station in any way he pleased.

"I'm not saying that. It's just that the Admiral killed Selah..."

The words pierce through me. Katashi hadn't forgotten about Selah. Neither had I.

I stop walking just for a moment, "Listen. Koopa being in charge is nothing better. Trust me. He hasn't even been going on missions. At least the Admiral wants to find a 2nd Earth."

Katashi sighs.

"You're probably right," Katashi tells me.

"You don't sound convinced."

"When I was back on Earth I was happy," Katashi states, "I had a sexy boyfriend. I had a caring family. I had money. I had a good life. You know? In one minute all that shit was snatched away from me. Everything. The government chose me to survive it all. And sometimes I don't get it. At first I thought I was blessed but now I don't know so much. We are the ones that have to carry the baggage now. Everyone else is in peace."

"Peace?" I ask grunting, "Like you believe in an afterlife."

"Don't you?" he asks.

"I don't know so much."

"Well where do you think Selah is? If you cared about him you'd hope he was somewhere better right?" Katashi asks me.

"The universe is a big place. Maybe in one of these galaxies we will find God. Then I'll ask him what's next. Until then...I only believe what I can see."

"Me too," Katashi states, "And I believe the government chose everyone on this space station for a reason. Back on Earth I was being watched. I'm not sure why. I'm not sure for how long. I was being watched. Because of that I don't trust anyone except the people on the Heavenly."

I nod.

"Maybe you're onto something."

"About being watched back on Earth?"

I shake my head, "No. About trust. Maybe it's smart to find just a small group of people you can trust and depend on. And keep everyone else at arm's length."

We keep walking until we reach the hatch. When we get to the hatch Katashi realizes it's open. He gives me a long stare at that moment. These hatches were always closed and guarded. We keep walking until we hear talking. Up ahead I hear voices. I put my finger to my lip to signal to Katashi that he should stay silent. We sneak into an area that most likely has to be the Admiral's cabin. The Admiral's cabin is a large place. The door is open as well. Someone opened it using the master code that Anne provided. It's Koopa.

Why would Koopa want to come to the Admiral's cabin? Why wouldn't he go straight for the main control room instead?

I hear voices.

"You knew. You knew it was going to happen," Koopa says, "Admit it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," the Admiral's voice says in return.

I'm not sure what is going on until I peer down the hallway. The Admiral has his hands lifted up. Koopa has a gun pointed at him. Koopa has his back turned towards the Admiral. This seems personal.

"You knew the Earth was going to be destroyed," Koopa says.

Koopa sounds unhinged. He sounds almost crazed.

"Captain Koopa. We all knew. We all got the warning," the Admiral states.

"That's not what I meant. You have to die for what you did," Koopa explains to him, "You have to die."

He was going to kill the Admiral!

I look over at Katashi and he knows exactly what he has to do. Both of us run forward. Katashi tackles Captain Koopa from the back as hard as he can. The Captain struggles at that moment as best as he can. There is a struggle the happens but I stop it by delivery a quick kick to Koopa's rib. Koopa releases the gun and I'm able to pick it up at that moment and point it at him.

"Lucky...what the hell are you doing?" Koopa asks me.

"You were going to shoot the Admiral."

"He deserves to die."

The admiral is sweating. He's standing up to the side. I just rescued him but for whatever reason he still has his hands up. It's a strange thing to do. For someone who is innocent you would have thought he would have been grateful. You would have thought that he would put his hands down and maybe thank me for saving him. That isn't the case though. He has his hands up as though still afraid on what is going to happen right now.

Katashi has Koopa pinned to the ground. I have to admit that at that moment when I needed Katashi to do what he did he didn't hesitate. He just did it. It meant something to me. It meant something to completely trust someone the way I just did. I didn't even trust anyone like that back on Earth. For some reason I knew a member of the Heavenly would help me. For some reason I trusted him. That is a strong feeling.

"If I die what happens to this space station? What happens to the mission to find the 2nd Earth and save the human race?" the admiral states.

It's almost like he's pleading a case. His hands are still up. The sweat drips around his uniform.

"Relax, I'm not going to kill you," I state.

"He killed Selah," Captain Koopa argues from the ground.

Katashi and I exchange looks. Koopa reminding us of that right in front of the Admiral was so important. We look over at the Admiral. This is the man who killed our friend. This was the man who shot him. He fucking released him in space.

"Why'd you do it?" I ask the Admiral, "You didn't have to do it."

"The Upsetter could not be released," the Admiral stated, "Someone had to be punished. Selah admitted to releasing the Upsetter."

"He didn't release shit!" I argue.

"Someone did and they did it because of his mistake," the Admiral states, "I know Selah didn't release the Upsetter. But he told someone and he wouldn't help me find who it is. That isn't acceptable. There has to be law. There has to be order. I bring that. Selah understood that."

I point the gun at the Admiral.

"Don't you dare fucking speak about Selah like that," I state.

This motherfucker is trying make it seem like Selah was OK with dying. Selah had told the members of the Heavenly. Back then I didn't understand why but now I do. Seeing how Katashi didn't hesitate to tackle a man with a gun for me I knew. I understood. The Heavenly was special. Just like Trucker stated before. There was a feeling that I couldn't understand before. But I trusted my crew members. I trusted them completely.

"Lucky don't..." Katashi tells me.

I swear if Katashi wasn't there to try to calm me down I would put a bullet right between the Admiral's eyes. This was my chance to avenge Selah. This was my chance to get even.

"Do it Lucky. Shoot the bastard," Captain Koopa states, "They knew about the Upsetter. They were building the Pioneer a long time. This ship was built using alien technology. They knew and they were watching us. We were chosen because we were healthy a long time ago to continue the human race. Nothing is what it seems..."

I look over at Koopa. Katashi and I exchange looks. We just had the same conversation. Did our government somehow know?

"He's crazy. He wants chaos," the Admiral argues, "He doesn't want to find the 2nd Earth. Captain Koopa is still so upset about the one we lost. You can choose me, Lucky. You can choose order and hope or you can choose to be upset. There's chaos if you choose to help Koopa. You know that."

I look down at Koopa. The decision was so hard.

"It was you Koopa. Wasn't it. You released the Upsetter?" I ask.

It just clicks into my mind. The Admiral killed Selah but he had a point. Koopa wanted this. He wanted this chaos. He planned it even having me try to get the codes.

Koopa's face gives him away.

"I lost...everything. My wife. My newborn daughter. These motherfuckers could have chosen to save so many more. They didn't. They let the Earth be destroyed."

"You released the Upsetter, didn't you?"

"I HAD TO! So many people died. How can we just move on? How can we just forget? Where the fuck is the order and hope. There's nothing left," Koopa argues.

Koopa is in tears. It's at that point I realize that this is a man who hasn't let go. The Upsetter had gotten to him completely and made him turn against the human race. When I look at Koopa I can see nothing but pain. He had thought about this plan so much. He knew every detail about what he wanted to accomplish by getting past the doors. But that was it. When pain and hurt guides you, you just keep getting lost. There is no light in pain and hurt. There is only more darkness. I felt so bad for Captain Koopa at that moment.

Katashi looks over at me, "There are soldiers coming."

He was right.

"The Upsetter destroyed the Earth," I tell Koopa, "And you released it. It's over."

It isn't long before the soldiers come. Katashi holds him down. I watch as the soldiers come to take Koopa away. Just when they do Koopa says something to Katashi. He says it to him so low that the rest of us don't hear it.

I'm not sure what Koopa says.

The Admiral looks over at me, "Thank you."

"I don't want to be thanked. I'm not doing this for you," I tell the Admiral.

The Admiral smiles at me, "I know. You saved us. You saved us for the human race. You did the right thing, son."

The way he calls me his son makes a shiver go up my spine. I hated the idea of it. I hated the feeling of him feeling like I helped him out. The Admiral was right though. I did it for all of us. I did it for everyone who had hope left. Even a little bit of it. Because there were people like Captain Koopa who didn't have hope left and being without hope is the most dangerous thing ever.

"What's going to happen to him?" Katashi asks the Admiral.

The Admiral doesn't answer the question but just shakes his head and smiles weakly. He walks away not saying anything else.

I look over at Katashi when the Admiral leaves.

"What did Koopa tell you?"

Katashi hesitates at that moment, "He said it was Cassie who told him about the Upsetter..."

~

Captain Koopa's rebellion is ended that day very swiftly and severely. They start the FTL jump into a new universe and when we arrive there is this new message of hope and unity. The Admiral personally comes on the space station's loud speaker to let us know that the members of Captain Kane had once more saved the day. He also lets us know that Captain Koopa was executed. He was sent out an air latch into space. Koopa's entire crew had been placed in jail until further notice and until the Admiral can decipher how much each member had to do with the rebellion. I think of Leon. I think about Trisha. I wondered if they would be killed too.

The space station doesn't worry about them though. They are more concerned about us for whatever reason. It's almost as though they are trying to make us look like heroes. There is this grand party that is thrown on the space station afterward. We've run out of alcohol so everyone is drinking this disgusting hooch that was fermented. People don't complain though because it's still liquor and there is some good food being brought out. Not the nasty kind we eat every day in the mess hall.

I had to give it to the Admiral. He was trying to turn around morale on the space station and avoid another rebellion. And it was working. All it took was someone to point a gun at his fucking head for him to realize that there were people on this space station.

"I haven't gotten so much pussy in my life," Idris states before turning to me, "We are officially the most popular crew on the Pioneer."

Idris slaps me on my back. I lean down and sigh. The open deck has been turned into a celebration area. We were celebrating the end of Koopa's rebellion. Honestly I am pretty sure the Admiral believes that we need something to lift spirits after that. Idris sure enough is getting attention. We all are, especially Captain Kane.

It's Cassie who brings a few attractive guys into the section. I'm not sure if they are gay or straight. At first I think Royce should be worried about Anne, but then I notice how one of them sits inches away from Katashi. His friend finds his way to squeeze himself between Captain Kane and I.

"This seat taken?" the boy says.

"It's kind of tight," I respond.

"That's not a bad thing right?" The boy asks, "It's nice to meet you guys up close. I know you guys need a new gunner and I was wondering if I can transfer. My name is..."

"Don't care what your name is," I respond, "Move..."

"I was just..."

"Now!" I state.

I didn't want to be around these fucking fans. I honestly just wanted to be around people in the Heavenly for whatever reason. Those were the only people I trusted anymore.

"Damn I thought I had a bad attitude," Idris states.

"We did need someone to take Selah's spot on tactical," Captain Kane says.

"No."

"Lucky, you OK?"

"No one will ever take Selah's spot," I respond, "We don't need anyone else to join this crew."

These people felt like the Heavenly was special. It was their imaginations. There was no TV on the Heavenly. There was no real entertainment. So they let their imaginations run away with them to think that we were special. The Admiral was promoting it. He thought if people had something or someone to believe in that it would stop riots and revolts again. We had become those people.

Captain Kane nods, "Listen. Lucky. I wouldn't approve anyone to transfer unless everyone was in agreement."

The Captain gives me a slight smile. No one else sees his fingers slowly but surely drifting in between my fingers on the couch. It's a slight brush, but it's a brush that lets me know that he is there for me. It's a brush that lets me know that he is on my side. It actually feels good.

Royce shakes his head, "I have to admit. It is getting to be a lot. The Admiral asked Anne and I if we wanted to take a photoshoot."

"Photoshoot?" I ask.

Anne sighs, "My dad think it would be nice if the ship knew about our relationship. He thinks it will help lift people's spirits to know that there is love. I told him we'd think about it."

Cassie smiles, "That's so cute..."

I look over at Royce and Anne. The Admiral was using his own daughter for propaganda.

"It's not cute," I bark at Cassie, "He's parading us around as saviors."

I can't help it. We were sitting in a private area above the other crews. Every so often some girl comes up and tries to have sex with another member of the crew. Even little Trucker got some. It's crazy.

"Is that a bad thing?" Trucker asks, "We will be saviors. We are going to find the 2nd Earth. I know it. I told you that the Heavenly is special."

I roll my eyes. I am a little tipsy off this fucking hooch already. I lean back in my chair. It's pointless to get across what I want to get across because I'm not exactly sure what it is. Maybe it's a good thing we were giving people something to believe in. I was just scared that we were giving them false promises.

What if we weren't special?

What if we never found a 2nd Earth?

Maybe Katashi and I did foil Captain Koopa's plan. Koopa was crazy and out of control. He would have brought chaos to humanity if he had taken over. He was dangerous. But the fact that the Admiral believed Selah posed the same threat as Koopa is ridiculous.

Katashi and I exchange looks. We are the only ones who aren't enjoying ourselves. I never liked the guy. I never really even talked to the guy...but we had shared an experience back there that was hard to get away from.

"Idris here..." Captain Kane says.

Captain Kane leans over and hands Idris a condom. There is this girl that has been all over Idris all night and it was clear how things were going to end. A few of us see it and laugh.

"We have to start repopulating anyway," Idris argues.

"Not until we have to find another Earth," the Captain warns him.

Idris takes the condom and disappears with one of the girls. The music is playing loud. Anne and Royce go out to dance and sure enough a lot of the attention goes with them. Maybe rumor has already started about their little romance. Truth be told it was cute for them. Royce was the boy next door and Anne was the Admiral's daughter. Everyone was so interested in what their relationship was like.

I see Cassie. She is standing off to the side. She isn't alone. Jonathan puts an arm on her and comforts her. She looks completely lost. I can't help but to get up and walk over to her. When I get close I notice that she is staring at Royce and Anne. She won't take her eyes off of them.

"Jonathan can I have a moment?" I state approaching them.

Jonathan nods silently as usual and walks away.

Cassie turns to me, "Are you finally here to tell me I can spend the night with you?"

I don't think she's joking. Cassie so desperately seems to want me to sleep with her. But then I think about the fact that she's a virgin. What would we even do? Did she really want me to take her virginity?

"You want dick?" I ask her.

"I just want you to hold me."

"You're being emotional. You feel some type of way," I state, "About Royce and Anne. You feel jealous that they have that connection and you don't."

She's been staring at them for a while now. Royce and Anne are that dream couple out on the floor. They hold each other close. They dance close. They lose themselves in one another. It's romantic. I never been the type for the sob shit but if I ever was I'd study how Royce is with Anne. They are perfect together.

"Why would you ask me that?" she says turning to me.

I notice tears in Cassie's eyes.

"It wasn't a question," I respond.

Cassie starts back towards the table, "I was just thinking about things. I should probably head back to my room. It's that hooch."

I grab Cassie by the arm.

"You told Koopa what Selah told you. You let him know about the Upsetter," I state.

Cassie looks around. She seems panicked already.

"Are you going to tell them?"

"No. I'm going to ask Katashi not to say anything either," I state, "But why the fuck would you do it? Why the fuck would you betray Selah?"

"You don't get it."

"Try me."

"Do you know what it's like to be alone?" she asks me, "Honestly alone at the end of the world?"

"Of course. I'm alone."

"Bullshit," Cassie responds, "I tried to sneak into your room one night. You weren't there. So I went to Captain Kane's room. I was going to try to spend the night with him. Could you imagine how shocked I was when I heard you and him going at it through the door..."

Just at that moment I panic as well.

"Cassie---"

"Relax. I'm the only one who knows. I didn't tell anyone either," Cassie explains crossing her arms, "I just withdrew, because I knew everyone had someone but me. The only person that ever paid me attention was Captain Koopa. And now he's dead."

I cross my arms at that moment.

"He was using you for information."

"I know. I didn't care. I just didn't want to feel so alone so I slipped up. I told him what Selah shared with me because I felt like it would make our bond stronger. I felt the secret would help get us close. It didn't..."

I don't understand where Cassie is coming from. She acted like a hoe all this time but she was really a virgin.

"I don't get it," I admit, "I don't get you..."

She shrugs, "There are some things in this world that are unexplainable. You can't understand everything. For instance, I knew about the Captain and Selah. I understood that. I don't get you and Captain."

"I don't know what's going on between me and the Captain..."

"How can the two of you find love and I can't. You're opposites..."

"I don't know," I respond, "I guess we just bonded over Selah. The pain about Selah being dead. It just brought us close."

Cassie shakes her head, "Did you ever think about how Selah would feel?"

"Huh?"

"You care about him but you get with the man he was in love with and say it's because of Selah's memory. That's a little fucked up, no?"

She looks at me almost like she is disgusted. Just at that moment I feel so guilty.

"Bitch don't judge me," I warn her, "All of a sudden you are so concerned with what Selah would think. If it weren't for you Selah would be alive and here. Especially since you are the reason that Koopa released that Upsetter. You are the reason Selah is dead..."

Me saying this seems to snap Cassie back into the reality of whose crime here is actually worse than the others. She takes a deep breath.

"I'm not judging you," she states, "I'm just saying that the galaxy is a big place. Upsetters. Aliens. Loyalty. Love. We don't understand any of it and maybe there's a part of it all that the human mind can't honestly understand."

I roll my eyes. She was comparing me being with Captain Kane to her telling Koopa about the Upsetter alien on board the ship. She had single-handedly caused the rebellion. She was the reason that Selah was dead. She was the reason that Koopa was dead. How could she fucking sit here and act like this is some sort of false equivalency.

"If you want to use that excuse to make you feel better about the Upsetter, then that's fine. Maybe that will help you sleep better at night."

"If pretending like what you are doing with the Captain is OK that's fine as well. Hope you sleep well at night."

She was pissing me off. I get in her face.

"I thought when I found the person who ratted out Selah that I would kill them. But I didn't. I didn't kill the Admiral so I'm not going to hurt you. But if I ever find out you turn against a member of the Heavenly crew again I won't be so nice."

My threat is loud and clear and Cassie doesn't say anything else this time. Just at that moment Captain Kane walks over. Maybe he sees the tension between us.

"Everything fine over here?" Kane asks.

I'm tempted to tell him that it was Cassie who spilled what Selah had told the crew of the Heavenly. She had given Koopa the ammunition he needed to start a rebellion. I look at Cassie and I can see all this regret in her expression. Maybe that is why I choose not to say anything. She was going to live with the fact that Selah was dead because of her. That was punishment enough.

"Everything's perfect," I tell Kane.

Cassie doesn't agree with me. She just turns at that moment and walks away. I wonder what she is thinking. I wonder if she feels as guilty as she should.

As soon as she leaves Captain Kane looks over at me, "You sure you OK? You seem to be on edge tonight."

The Admiral, Koopa, Cassie and even memories of Selah were all coming back. Yes. I was on edge tonight.

"I just need to get back to my room. Get some sleep."

Captain Kane licks his lip.

"Maybe I can come join you baby."

He is so handsome. He is so fucking handsome. The way he teases me licking his lips and slyly giving me this affectionate stare when he hopes no one is looking definitely gets to me. He takes a step back. I know he is completely sober too. He didn't touch the hooch. He just called me his baby. The fact that we were on that stage kind of scared me. It was becoming clear. This wasn't just a fuck. This wasn't just a hookup or a comfort.

Captain Kane and I were starting a relationship and there were feelings here. There were real feelings and that scared the fuck out of me.

"I probably just need to sleep alone tonight," I tell the Captain, "Clear my head..."

"Is it something I did?"

"No," I respond.

I walk away without saying another word. It wasn't something that Kane did. It's something we both did. We had both moved on from Selah. And it wasn't until Cassie said what she said today that the real guilt about Selah is starting to get to me. I hadn't thought about how Selah would feel.

All this time I was worried about how guilty Cassie would feel. I hadn't thought about how guilty Iwould feel.

_

I don't sleep that night. At least not fully. It's almost as though Cassie put a fucking hex on me or something. I just can't fucking go to bed. I toss and turn all night. I'm in that middle ground where I'm asleep but not completely. The hooch isn't helping much either.

All I think about is what Cassie said about Selah. How would Selah feel? And I imagine him just coming into my room. I imagine him just looking down on my bed. I imagine him just sitting over me with those knowing eyes.

And I break down.

"I didn't mean to move on with the Captain so soon. It just happened. Forgive me...please..."

"I forgive you. You have my blessing," is his reply.

Tears start rolling down my face at that moment. They are tears of happiness. It's all I needed to know. It's all I needed to hear. Selah is glowing over my bed. It's almost like he's some sort of angel. It's the most beautiful thing that I've seen in my life. He just stares at me with that glowing light and he illuminates the darkness.

He just gave me his blessing.

He just said that he would be happy for Captain Kane and I.

"Thank you."

That's when I feel something. A hand. A hand touching me! Selah's hand. He caresses the side of my face.

"It's OK."

"Selah...is it...is it really you?"

The hand feels so real! I'm not dreaming. I'm not imagining this. Selah leans over and gives me a kiss. It's the softest kiss in the world. His lips press up against mine and all the horrors of the world just disappear. I'm with Selah. Even if this is some sort of angel. Even if it just lasts a second. He's letting me know that he's OK with me and Captain Kane.

He's giving me a peace of mind.

"Come," he tells me.

He looks so peaceful. He seems to almost glide across the floor back towards my door. He leaves out of my door. I get up off the bed. I don't even have a shirt on. I could care less though.

What was Selah trying to show me? Where was he trying to take me?

No one would believe that Selah really came back to me. I walk out of my door. It's the middle of the night. The space station is all asleep. I turn to the right. I see Selah has made it all the way down the corridor. He stares at me waiting for me. He smiles at me. It's such a peaceful happy smile. There is a glow of white light all around him. Tears are running down my eyes. Selah has always made me cry somehow. It's like he had this weird hold on me. Seeing his face again. Feeling his touch. Feeling his lips. I feel so warm inside.

I start walking towards him but then I feel something grab me.

It shakes me. VIOLENTLY!

"Yo what the FUCK!" I state.

I turn. I see Jonathan.

"That is not Selah," Jonathan tells me.

I look at Jonathan. I turn back to Selah. Selah isn't standing there anymore. It's Captain Kane. He just stares back at me. He waves at me as though asking me to follow him from down the long corridor. He just stands there waiting for me.

"What the fuck is going on?" I ask.

"That is the Upsetter. You foiled its plans and it's come for you," Jonathan warns me, "If you go down the corridor, it will devour you whole."

I turn down the corridor. It's not Selah or Captain Kane any longer. It's someone else. It's my father. My father from back home. How does the Upsetter know to change into that?

"What is it?" I ask Jonathan before stopping, "What are you?"

Jonathan being here. Jonathan saving me. Something wasn't right about this. Something was completely off.

"I can tell you or I can take you to the real Selah."

My mouth gets dry.

I almost feel faint. I again think I'm imagining all of this until Jonathan puts his hand on my arm. And there are words that come into my mind with Jonathan not even speaking. There are these words that just appear in my head. A voice.

It tells me: "It's going to be OK."

With that Jonathan offers me his hands and I trust him. I trust him in the same way I trust every other crew member aboard the Heavenly. I don't walk down the corridor towards the changing Upsetter. I follow Jonathan instead.

He leads me down. Down and down.

He leads me into the boiler room. Even though it is dark and I am afraid, I know for some reason that Jonathan won't lead me into danger. I can feel it in my bones almost. We keep walking and with every step I become more uncertain.

And in the darkest area Jonathan turns on a light.

"Behind that door. He sleeps. You should go wake him up," Jonathan states.

There is a door. It's at the back of the boiler room. It's not locked. As I approach the door I realize that the knob is cold. It's an old fashioned door. It's not a hatch like the usual doors. It feels so cold behind that door. I turn back to Jonathan but Jonathan is gone.

Jonathan has completely disappeared.

I turn back towards the door and open it.

That is when I see him.

Selah.

Sleeping.

Alive.