The field behind the Kent farm was empty. Miles of wheat. Golden in the late sun.
Clark sat on the old tractor tire. Aaron stood nearby. The sky was orange and safe.
"I need to tell you something," Clark said.
Aaron waited.
"Jonathan and Martha. They are not my biological parents."
No reaction from Aaron. Just a nod.
"They found me during the meteor shower. Twelve years ago. I came in a ship. A small ship. From somewhere else."
Clark's voice was steady but his hands were tight on his knees.
"I am different from normal humans. You already know that. But I do not know what I am. Where I came from. Why I can do the things I can do."
He looked up at Aaron.
"Pa says the world will be scared of me if they find out. So I hide. Every day. Every minute."
Aaron sat down on the grass. Cross-legged.
"The source of your power. Does it grow on its own?"
Clark blinked. "What?"
"Your strength. Your speed. Your vision. Does it grow by itself? Without training?"
"I... yes. Every year I get stronger. Faster. New abilities appear. I do not choose them. They just come. Last month I started floating in my sleep."
Clark's voice cracked slightly. "I do not know why. I do not know how to control it. My body just keeps changing."
Aaron thought for a moment. The words coming together.
"Maybe it is your bloodline awakening."
"Bloodline? What is that?"
Aaron leaned back. "Certain individuals have powerful ancestors. Ancestors who reached a level of strength beyond normal limits. That strength can pass down through blood. Dormant. Waiting. When the right time comes, the descendants awaken those abilities."
Clark's eyes widened. "So you are saying... my ancestors were strong? Like me?"
"Yes. Maybe stronger."
"And that is why I have these abilities?"
"It is possible."
Clark sat with the idea. His face shifted. Relief. Confusion. Hope.
"I have never known anything about where I come from. But if my ancestors were strong... maybe that means I am not a freak. Maybe I am just... part of something."
"You are not a freak," Aaron said flatly. "You are bloodline."
Clark almost smiled. Then he looked at Aaron.
"What about you, Aaron? What are you?"
Aaron did not hesitate.
"I was bitten by a vampire. Then I became one."
Clark's mouth fell open.
"What?"
"Two vampires broke into my house. They bit me. My bloodline activated and absorbed them. Now I am part vampire."
Clark stood up. Sat down again. Stared.
"Do you... hunt people? For blood?"
Aaron almost laughed. "No. I am a noble. A noblesse type. Higher than common vampires. I can eat normal food. I can survive in sunlight. It burns but does not kill me."
"Noble vampire?"
"Yes. I may be immortal. My body is still evolving. Growing. Changing. The way science talks about evolution, but faster. Much faster."
"And the blood? You said you need blood."
"I drink from the hospital blood bank. My mother arranged it. Animal blood works for a short time. Human blood is better. I get B negative delivered."
Clark stared at him. His x-ray vision flickered on unconsciously. He saw the slow heartbeat. The coiled serpent shape. The dense core below Aaron's navel.
"You get blood from a hospital."
"Yeah. What did you think? That I extract blood from humans by injecting my teeth?"
Clark's face went red. "I did not know what to think."
"I am not a mosquito, Clark."
A sound escaped Clark. Half laugh. Half shock. "This is insane."
"Yes."
"My best friend is a vampire."
"And mine is an alien with godlike powers who floats in his sleep."
Clark laughed. Real this time. Loud. The tension broke.
The two boys sat in the field. The sun dipped lower. The wheat swayed.
"Does your family know?" Clark asked.
"About me? Yes. About you? No. Your secret is yours."
"Thank you."
They