Happenstance ~M/L C/C~ Pt. 11 added 8/22
Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2003 7:48 pm
Part 11
As the limo barrels down a stretch of highway, Michael looks out the window at the passing landscape. He never felt that Roswell was home to him but the feeling he’s getting is almost like he’s returned home. The truth is, he’s a little lost without Isabel and Max. They’ve been together their whole lives and being with these…strangers…is foreign to him. He feels lost.
“You done well for yourself, Cal.” Zan looks around the limo and at the expensive suit Cal is wearing.
Maria sees a look cross Cal’s face that looks like a mixture of annoyance and…regret? She still doesn’t know what’s going on, but she’ll give them a few minutes to fill her in before she blows a gasket.
“Yah.” Is all Cal says to Zan. He picks up his cell phone and is soon talking to someone on the other end about securing a location and accommodations for six. When he hangs up, he pushes a button on his seat and says, “Stephanie, call and have my things sent. After I get settled here, I need you back at the office.”
Michael is startled by the sound of “Yes, sir.” coming from a speaker in the ceiling.
Cal sits back in the seat and starts absently playing with the ring on his pinky finger as he stares at some unseen point in front of him. Finally, he turns to Ava and says, “I’m assuming there’s a good reason for you to tote humans with you?”
Maria looks offended and opens her mouth but Alex elbows her and gives her a look telling her to be quiet.
“They insisted and I didn’t have time to argue. They know…they’re friends of the girl…the new queen.” Ava tells him before continuing. “This all went down quick. They was gonna go to the cops.”
“So what’s the sitch?” Cal asks.
“We was hangin’ low until early this morning the shifter told me about the awakening. He got her quick…shifted into the king to get her back to our place. But he found out that even though the king claimed her, they didn’t do the deed. No heir. That was pretty funny, actually. He was pissed.” Ava grins at the memory before continuing. “Didn’t take long for the king and his crew to show up…they got Isabel and the king and I bounced.”
“And she’s completely human.” Cal says this…more of a confirmation than a question. “Interesting.”
“Yah, turns out he didn’t even know he did it.” Ava adds.
“Who is she…this human girl?” Cal asks, but then holds up his hand. “Wait, now I remember. I knew she looked familiar. Liz Parker…right?”
Ava nods and says, “The one he…”
“The one he healed back when you were kids.” Cal nods, finishing her sentence. “I see.”
Alex speaks up then. “How do you know that?”
Cal looks at Alex and studies him for a moment. “Alex Whitman, I presume.” When Alex nods in confusion, Cal says, “Well Alex, it’s my job to know everything about my charges. That includes everyone they know or come in contact with.”
“Ok, this is too much.” Maria throws her hands up…finished with the whole waiting thing. “Who…or what are you? You’re their protector…and a producer? I mean, the last time I saw you was at the Vanity Fair Oscar party. You can’t be an…alien. I just…I don’t believe it.”
“Maria.” Alex warns, afraid she’s going to piss someone off. And that’s the last thing he wants to do considering they’re in a car full of aliens who could probably zap them or something.
“Believe it.” Cal says to her seriously, before a smile overtakes his face. “But that was some bash, wasn’t it? Can you believe that dress Donatella designed for Nicole?”
“Oh man…that was hideous. I felt kind of bad for her.” Maria sits back, remembering the party before getting back to the subject. “But…I don’t understand. If you’re supposed to be their protector, why don’t you…oh, I don’t know…protect them?”
“Good question she has there, Cal.” Zan says with a sneer. “I’m dyin’ to hear your answer.”
“Hm, interesting choice of words, Zan.” Cal turns to Maria and says, “Let’s save this conversation for later, shall we? I think we have more important things to worry about right now.” He looks at Ava and says, “So, I saw ten skins plus Nicholas, is that about right?”
Ava nods and says, “But they need the heir, right? And they definitely don’t have that. Liz isn’t pregnant.”
“The heir isn’t as important as they think.” Cal says. “But that’s beside the point, I saw her…she’s pregnant.”
“What?!” Maria and Alex exclaim at once. “No she’s not…she’s definitely not. I would know…she wasn’t pregnant this morning!” Maria continues.
Cal looks at his watch and says, “Well, from what I hear it only takes a few minutes. Looks like the king got lucky today.”
Maria looks at him in horror and says, “Oh my God…I’m gonna be sick. He raped her…he had to!” She says this to Michael accusingly.
“Don’t yell at me, I didn’t do it.” He holds his hands up.
Ava searches for an explanation. Liz was not pregnant when she was there. She’s positive. “He must have made them do it on the plane…probably threatened to kill them, or Isabel.”
Alex puts his arm around Maria as she clamps her hand over her mouth, nauseous. “Oh God, poor Liz. Kidnapped and raped by aliens. She must be so scared…what a nightmare…Alex, that bastard raped her and who even knows how aliens have sex? What if it was like, excruciatingly painful…Liz can’t handle pain…”
“Would you shut up?” Michael demands, unable to listen to her lunatic ravings anymore. “We have sex like normal people. And Max would never do anything to hurt Liz…he’s been in love with her since we were kids. He’d kill himself before he touched a hair on her head.” Michael turns to Cal and says, “It’s just not possible. I know Max. He wouldn’t do it.”
“You’d be surprised at what people can do with the right motivation, kid.” Cal says. “The fact is, she’s carrying the heir…that means we’re on a tight clock.”
~~~~~~~~~~
The silence was deafening and Liz’s panic is turning into a giant knot in her stomach. Plus she can feel cramps coming on. Well, there goes that. Hopefully the shape shifter won’t notice right away. She can see the desert through the windows in the back doors and feels a pang of homesickness. Her parents are so close…will she ever see them again?
When the van stops, Liz is surprised to see they’re in the middle of nowhere. Someone opens the doors and they all spill out, stretching their legs. Looking around, she sees nothing but sand and rocks. “What is this place?” She asks, wondering if Isabel or Max know.
“I don’t know.” Max says as he, too, looks at their surroundings. Suddenly the scene changes and he sees himself, standing up on the large outcropping in front of him. He’s holding Liz and standing around them are Isabel, Michael, Maria, and someone he doesn’t recognize. But everything looks different, broken…like the rock was blown apart from the inside and they’re all covered in dust. As quickly as it was there, it’s gone and Max shakes his head.
“Max? Are you ok?” Isabel asks, seeing that he looks disoriented.
He glances down at her, then back at the rock. “Yah…I’m fine.”
A handful of skins and the shape shifter start walking toward the large rock outcropping in front of them. He turns to them and says with a grin, “I trust you won’t go anywhere.”
Max narrows his eyes at him and turns his back toward him. He starts pacing, kicking rocks as he walks. Noticing the other skins sitting on the ground, he assumes they’ll be here for a while.
Liz and Isabel watch him pace back and forth for a few minutes before Liz sits on a nearby rock grimacing in pain.
Isabel rushes over to her and says, “What is it?”
Max walks over and looks down at Liz sadly, meeting Isabel’s questioning gaze.
“It’s ok…I’ll be fine. Just cramps.” Liz says, taking a deep breath.
“Cramps? But…” Isabel says, confused. She looks up again at Max and says, “Do something, Max.”
Max frowns and says, “She’s not pregnant, Isabel. We just altered a few things to make it seem that way.” He turns to Liz and says, “I can help with the pain…if you want.”
Liz shakes her head and says, “No…that’s ok. I can do it.” They watch as she glances over at the skins to make sure they’re not watching and she places her hand on her abdomen, trying to get rid of the pain.
“So…you didn’t…” Isabel asks.
Max shakes his head and says, “No.”
“But, Nicholas saw it…he said that you did.” Isabel doesn’t understand.
“We connected…made a shared memory. A fake memory for Nicholas to see.” Max said, sliding down to the ground next to the rock. “It’s all we could think of…we had to do something. They were gonna kill you if we didn’t.”
Isabel sags in relief and says, “Wow. That’s…amazing. I can’t believe you thought of that…and that you could actually do it. How did you know it would work?”
“We didn’t.” Max says simply and Isabel swallows, understanding now the stress and anxiousness she saw on their faces when they came out of that cabin on the plane. She looks at Liz for a moment and says, “Thank you.”
Liz nods and looks over to the outcropping to see the shape shifter and skins climbing up the side. “What do you think is in there?”
Max follows her line of sight and says, “I have no idea. But we need to think of something…quick. Before he realizes that you’re not really pregnant.”
“Well, there’s only five of them over there.” Liz says, looking at the group sitting about 50 feet away. “Maybe we could take them and take the van while the others are up there.” She glances up to the rock face where the shape shifter is still climbing.
Isabel snorts. “Right…we’ll just hide behind you and you can blast them.” She softens at the look on Liz’s face and says, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…I just don’t think we can overpower five aliens who all probably have more advanced powers than us. Plus, you’re the only one with any fire power.”
Liz sighs and thinks about it more. “I wish we knew what their capabilities were.”
“Maybe we could find out.” Max says, looking toward the group.
Isabel furrows her brow and says, “What are you talking about? They’re not going to tell us.”
“No, but maybe we can make them use their powers.” He stands up and dusts off his pants. “We can’t just sit here and wait for the others to come back. This is our only opportunity.”
“What are you thinking, Max?” Isabel is getting nervous at the sound of his voice. She’s hoping he’s not planning anything stupid.
“Maybe I can draw them away…give you two a chance to get in the van and leave.”
“No!” Isabel exclaims. “I’m not leaving you here.” She looks at Liz and says, “Tell him it’s a stupid plan.”
Instead, Liz asks, “And how are you gonna get away?”
Isabel glares at Liz and turns to Max. “Max, stop it. I’m not leaving you here…we’ll think of something else.”
“They won’t kill me. They need me, Isabel. You’re the one that’s expendable…you need to get out of here, both of you.” He sees Isabel about to argue again and he says, “They can’t take off without me and my child so they can’t kill me. I’ll find a way to get away later, but for now you two can make it.”
“No.” Isabel whispers. “There has to be a better way…something else we haven’t thought of.” She looks pleadingly at Liz but Liz is just staring into the distance…silent.
Liz looks at Max’s profile, sees how serious he is about this. But Isabel is right, there’s something they haven’t thought of. Her. She stands up and sees Max and Isabel turn to look at her. “Isabel, can you get that van started without keys?”
“Yes, but…” Isabel says, starting to protest.
“You and Max are leaving. Get whatever firepower you can get and come back for me…you’ll be able to find me no matter where they take me. They won’t kill me, either. The need me, too.” She says this last part to Max who has already stood up in front of her. “Isabel’s right. I’m the only one with any firepower, and I’m the only one that can draw them away from you.”
“No. You’re not staying.” He says forcefully. There’s no way in hell he’s leaving her here.
Ignoring him, she says, “I’m gonna get them as far from the van as I can and when I say so, get out of here…as fast as you can.”
“You can’t seriously think I’m gonna let you do this.” Max says, blocking her way.
She maneuvers around him and starts walking toward the van, Max and Isabel running after her. “Liz, wait. What are you doing?” Isabel calls after her.
When she feels Max reaching for her arm, she turns and sends a small pulse of energy toward him to push him away and he flies back…stumbling to the ground.
This gets the other’s attention as she continues to walk toward them. Scared, but determined, she watches them stand up and she walks right by them, continuing on into the desert.
“Hey…where do you think you’re going?” One of them calls out after her as he jogs to catch up with her. The others turn to face her and slowly take a few steps in the direction she’s walking. Throwing her hand back, she blasts the guy following her and he flies back into the others. When she sees them all scrambling to get up and give chase, she starts running and smiles as she gives them the finger.
Max gets up quickly and starts to shout but Isabel clamps a hand over his mouth. “Shut up! Look…it’s working. They’re all following her. Isabel drags Max with her toward the back of the van as Max watches helplessly. Liz has blasted two more of them…the ones closest to he and Isabel.
“No.” He wrenches his arm away from Isabel but she moves in front of him.
“Max…come on. You can’t help her if you’re here with her. She can take care of herself.” Isabel grabs his arm again as she fumbles with the door latch.
From the distance, he hears her yell, “Go!” All heads turn to look at Max and Isabel then as they realize what’s going on. They stop and point toward him. He hears someone shout, “Get them!” But Isabel is dragging him into the van and shutting the door. He flies to the front to see out of the windshield and sees everyone running toward the van as Isabel gets the engine started.
In the distance, he sees Liz stop when she realizes no one is chasing her anymore. She puts her hand above her eyes, shielding them from the sun and watches the van come to life. One of the skins gets pretty close to the van and Liz raises her hand, blasting him so hard the guy disintegrates into dust. Gape jawed, Max shouts at Isabel, “We can get her. Drive over there and we’ll pick her up.”
He flies to the door and starts to open it when he feels a jolt and the van skids…rocking back and forth. “What happened?”
“One of them hit us. We have to get out of here, Max. They’re getting closer and Liz can’t hold them back much longer.” Isabel turns the wheel, desperate to get turned in the other direction.
Max looks back out the windshield and sees Liz bent over, hands on her knees in exhaustion. She looks up at him again and he sees her mouth form the word ‘go’. One guy and Isabel’s double fall back and make their way back to Liz, grabbing her arms and dragging her closer to the rock outcropping. Two guys and the blonde girl continue to chase them down and when he sees the blonde stop and close her eyes. Suddenly everyone disappears but Liz. She’s just standing there, waving at him to come back.
Isabel has the van turned around and they’re quickly getting further and further away. “Stop! We have to get Liz…everyone’s gone.” He’s climbed into the back and is looking out the back door windows. Turning around toward Isabel he shouts, “Did you hear me?! They just…disappeared. We have to go back for her while we still can.”
Looking in the rear view mirror, Isabel says, “I heard you. But she’s not alone Max. They’re making you see that.” As she drives, she can see the reflection in the mirror of the two guys chasing them, the blonde behind them standing still with her eyes shut tight, and further back…Liz being dragged by her double and another. “It’s not real Max.”
When he turns back around to look out the window, he sees the truth. Liz isn’t there. In the dust from the tires he can still see them chasing the van. His shoulders sag and he tries to make out Liz in all the dust and debris but can’t see her anymore. What was she thinking? He falls against the door, his forehead against the glass and feels more helpless now than he did when they were all together.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Would you stop that noise?!” Michael bellows, shoving his chair back and walking away from the table. Maria’s been tapping her fingers on the table for at least twenty minutes now and it’s driving him crazy.
Maria lifts her hand from the table and says, “Sooooory.” When she sees the look of irritation on his face, she shrugs and continues her tapping. “Oh second thought, I’m not sorry.”
Michael makes a frustrated noise and stalks off. That woman is enough to drive anyone insane. He looks around the empty building they’re holed up in and walks over to Ava, who’s talking with Zan and Cal. “So what’s the plan?”
They stop talking and look up when he speaks. Cal takes off his glasses and just stares at Michael, assessing him. According to his reports, Michael doesn’t have any control over his powers, if he can even use them at all. “You can’t help.”
Michael looks at him, anger boiling.
Cal shakes his head and puts his hand on Michael’s shoulder. “Nothing personal. But unless you have some firepower in those hands, we can’t use you.” He grabs his hat and says, “Come on you two…we have work to do.” Heading toward the door, he counts on Ava and Zan following him.
“Wait!” Maria pops up from the table. “We’re going wherever you’re going.”
“I don’t think so. You stay here…” He sweeps his hand around. “with Michael. It’s probably been a while since you’ve been back home…go see the sights.”
Maria walks in front of him and puts her hands on her hips. “Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but you don’t give me orders. I’m going.” She walks over and grabs her bag. “I mean, this is Liz we’re talking about. And she’s in trouble…there’s no way in hell you’re leaving me here. With him.” Stepping back up to Cal, she looks at him, her chit jutting up with determination.
He grins and turns to the others. “Now her…I like.” Opening the door, he says, “Alright sweetcheeks, you win.” Turning to Michael and Alex he says, “Well, come on.”
Maria sends a look of triumph at Alex and he claps Michael on the back. “You gotta love her.”
They split up in two cars…the limo being too conspicuous. Michael and Ava ride in one car with Alex and Cal, Maria and Zan ride in the front car. As they turn west, Maria asks, “So you can sense Liz…like where she is?”
Cal nods and says, “Zan here will probably feel her the most, but yah. We can all feel her.”
“Wow.” She doesn’t know what to say…it just seems too weird for her. “So our plan is…” She prompts him.
“Our plan is to find them and extricate the king and the heir.” Cal says.
Maria shakes her head…the heir…whatever. At least this so called ‘heir’ is inside of Liz, so that means she’s a priority to them, too. “What about Isabel?”
“She’s expendable.” He says simply.
She slumps back into her seat. “How can you be so…”
“Inhuman?” He finishes for her, turning around to look at her. “Because I am. Not human, that is. Not even part human like these guys. I have only one mission to carry out and that’s what we’re doing here.”
“Your mission? But we have to save all three of them, right?”
“Look Maria, I’m not the good guy here…I’m not the rescuer come to save the damsel in distress. I’m an unlucky schmuck who got stranded on this planet. It’s a nice planet…I like it here. Unfortunately, I have this fucking programming built into me to protect the royal four…above all, the king and any of his offspring. I don’t like it, I don’t wanna be here. But there you go. So if we can’t get Isabel without jeopardizing the king, then she’s on her own.”
Maria looks out the window and shakes her head. They’re screwed.
“So that guy’s our protector?” Michael asks Ava in the next car.
“He’s our protector. Me, Zan, Lonnie & Rath. You had your own protector.”
“The one we’re after. Seems like they did a shitty job of filling the position of protector on our planet.” Michael watches the scenery…memories of driving along this very road a hundred times in Max’s old jeep resurfacing. He sees himself riding next to their car, on a motorcycle. He’s turning around and smiling at…Maria…who’s riding behind him with her arms wrapped around him. What the hell? He leans his forehead against the glass, convinced he’s hallucinating. It looks like Maria, but she has long hair…and she’s smiling back at him. He watches as she lays her head down on his back and scoots forward to hold him closer and the vision before him disappears.
He turns to Alex and says, “Did you see that?”
“See what?” Alex follows Michael’s line of sight out the window and looks back at him. “I didn’t see anything.”
Michael frowns and as they pull up to a four way stop, he thinks he’s seeing things again. In the fading light, the chick driving that van almost looks like Isabel. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, he tries to get a closer look.
“Holy shit!” He exclaims as the van passes them. “Turn around…that was Isabel!”
“What?!” Both Ava and Alex say at once, turning around to look at the speeding white van. Ava slips the car into reverse and pulls a u-turn in the middle of the road. “Call the other car…tell them what we’re doing.” She yells at Alex.
He fumbles for his phone as Michael shouts at Ava to hurry up. Barely able to make his finger work, he finally hits the speed dial for Maria’s phone.
“What are you guys doing?!” She yells into the phone. He can see her through the windshield turning around in the backseat of the other car. He can vaguely see Cal and Zan craning their necks to look at them.
“Michael just saw Isabel driving that white van that just passed us. We’re following.” Alex tells her. As his car turns around, he hears Maria repeating to Cal and Zan what he just said. A moment later she says, “Ok, but they still feel Liz is this way. We’re going…you stay with Isabel. Call me when you know for sure.”
“Ok…be careful.” He tells her before ending the call. “She said that Liz was still west…they’re going that way.”
“Yah, I don’t think she was with Isabel…I didn’t feel her.” Michael agrees. They finally catch up to the van just as it’s pulling into a convenience store parking lot. Michael jumps out of the car before it’s even at a complete stop and runs up to the van.
Isabel screams when she turns her head and sees someone standing outside of her window. When she realizes it’s Michael, she throws the door open. “Michael! Oh my God!” She pulls him to her in a hug and asks, “What are you doing here?”
Michael hugs her back and looks over her shoulder and breathes a sigh of relief when he sees Max. “I came to rescue your asses, but it looks like I’m too late. Hey Maxamillion, it’s good to see you.”
Max just nods and gets out of the van on his side. As he walks around, he sees the girl from New York getting out of the car behind them…and Alex Whitman?”
Alex walks up to the van and looks inside, disappointed not to see Liz in there too. “Where’s Liz?” He asks Max.
Isabel lets go of Michael and says, “They still have her.”
Incedulously, Alex says, “So you just took off…leaving her there? Unbelievable.”
“It wasn’t like that. Alex…she…she made us go. She helped us get away so we could go back for her.” Isabel sees his face turn red with anger.
“And how do you know they just won’t kill her?” He demands.
“They need her alive…they think she’s pregnant.” Isabel tells him.
Alex clenches his jaw and says, “So it’s true.” He turns on Max and punches him in the face. “You bastard!”
Max looks in surprise at Alex as he turns into a bloody, mangled mess. Max falls to the ground, not believing his eyes. What’s happening to him? Alex is still standing in front of him, but he’s covered in blood…so much blood.
“Alex!” Isabel cries as she drops to the ground next to Max. She sees blood gushing from his nose and looks up at Alex. “He didn’t do anything. I said they think she’s pregnant, you jackass.”
Alex massages is fist and looks down at Max. “So…you didn’t…”
Max shakes his head…the vision disappearing…and says, “No.”
“Oh.” Alex says apologetically, reaching down to help Max up. “Sorry man. Cal said she was pregnant and we all just assumed…”
Max waves him off and says, “It’s alright. Who’s Cal?” He slowly makes it back to his feet, covering his nose with his hand…healing the broken cartilage. “And what are you doing here…with her?” He’s looking at Ava suspiciously. The last time he saw her, she was with his captors.
“She’s helping us. Look, a lot of shit’s happened…maybe we should call the others and tell them and get somewhere less open.” Michael says.
Max nods and says, “We’ll talk in the car. We have to go back for Liz.”
As everyone gets in the car, Alex calls Maria and tells her they have Max and Isabel. “What about Liz? Have they said anything about her?”
“Just that they still have her. Maria, she’s not pregnant. Max didn’t rape her…they just did something to make it seem like she was. I don’t know…I’ll call you when I know more.” He ends the call and Ava starts driving.
Maria closes her phone and looks forward. Thinking back to what Cal said earlier, she says, “Max and Isabel escaped. They still have Liz.” Cal nods and Zan keeps driving. She deliberately left out the fact that Liz wasn’t carrying the heir…knowing Cal’s priorities, he’d probably call it a day and just go home. She’ll do whatever she has to to get Liz back safe and sound.
~TBC~
As the limo barrels down a stretch of highway, Michael looks out the window at the passing landscape. He never felt that Roswell was home to him but the feeling he’s getting is almost like he’s returned home. The truth is, he’s a little lost without Isabel and Max. They’ve been together their whole lives and being with these…strangers…is foreign to him. He feels lost.
“You done well for yourself, Cal.” Zan looks around the limo and at the expensive suit Cal is wearing.
Maria sees a look cross Cal’s face that looks like a mixture of annoyance and…regret? She still doesn’t know what’s going on, but she’ll give them a few minutes to fill her in before she blows a gasket.
“Yah.” Is all Cal says to Zan. He picks up his cell phone and is soon talking to someone on the other end about securing a location and accommodations for six. When he hangs up, he pushes a button on his seat and says, “Stephanie, call and have my things sent. After I get settled here, I need you back at the office.”
Michael is startled by the sound of “Yes, sir.” coming from a speaker in the ceiling.
Cal sits back in the seat and starts absently playing with the ring on his pinky finger as he stares at some unseen point in front of him. Finally, he turns to Ava and says, “I’m assuming there’s a good reason for you to tote humans with you?”
Maria looks offended and opens her mouth but Alex elbows her and gives her a look telling her to be quiet.
“They insisted and I didn’t have time to argue. They know…they’re friends of the girl…the new queen.” Ava tells him before continuing. “This all went down quick. They was gonna go to the cops.”
“So what’s the sitch?” Cal asks.
“We was hangin’ low until early this morning the shifter told me about the awakening. He got her quick…shifted into the king to get her back to our place. But he found out that even though the king claimed her, they didn’t do the deed. No heir. That was pretty funny, actually. He was pissed.” Ava grins at the memory before continuing. “Didn’t take long for the king and his crew to show up…they got Isabel and the king and I bounced.”
“And she’s completely human.” Cal says this…more of a confirmation than a question. “Interesting.”
“Yah, turns out he didn’t even know he did it.” Ava adds.
“Who is she…this human girl?” Cal asks, but then holds up his hand. “Wait, now I remember. I knew she looked familiar. Liz Parker…right?”
Ava nods and says, “The one he…”
“The one he healed back when you were kids.” Cal nods, finishing her sentence. “I see.”
Alex speaks up then. “How do you know that?”
Cal looks at Alex and studies him for a moment. “Alex Whitman, I presume.” When Alex nods in confusion, Cal says, “Well Alex, it’s my job to know everything about my charges. That includes everyone they know or come in contact with.”
“Ok, this is too much.” Maria throws her hands up…finished with the whole waiting thing. “Who…or what are you? You’re their protector…and a producer? I mean, the last time I saw you was at the Vanity Fair Oscar party. You can’t be an…alien. I just…I don’t believe it.”
“Maria.” Alex warns, afraid she’s going to piss someone off. And that’s the last thing he wants to do considering they’re in a car full of aliens who could probably zap them or something.
“Believe it.” Cal says to her seriously, before a smile overtakes his face. “But that was some bash, wasn’t it? Can you believe that dress Donatella designed for Nicole?”
“Oh man…that was hideous. I felt kind of bad for her.” Maria sits back, remembering the party before getting back to the subject. “But…I don’t understand. If you’re supposed to be their protector, why don’t you…oh, I don’t know…protect them?”
“Good question she has there, Cal.” Zan says with a sneer. “I’m dyin’ to hear your answer.”
“Hm, interesting choice of words, Zan.” Cal turns to Maria and says, “Let’s save this conversation for later, shall we? I think we have more important things to worry about right now.” He looks at Ava and says, “So, I saw ten skins plus Nicholas, is that about right?”
Ava nods and says, “But they need the heir, right? And they definitely don’t have that. Liz isn’t pregnant.”
“The heir isn’t as important as they think.” Cal says. “But that’s beside the point, I saw her…she’s pregnant.”
“What?!” Maria and Alex exclaim at once. “No she’s not…she’s definitely not. I would know…she wasn’t pregnant this morning!” Maria continues.
Cal looks at his watch and says, “Well, from what I hear it only takes a few minutes. Looks like the king got lucky today.”
Maria looks at him in horror and says, “Oh my God…I’m gonna be sick. He raped her…he had to!” She says this to Michael accusingly.
“Don’t yell at me, I didn’t do it.” He holds his hands up.
Ava searches for an explanation. Liz was not pregnant when she was there. She’s positive. “He must have made them do it on the plane…probably threatened to kill them, or Isabel.”
Alex puts his arm around Maria as she clamps her hand over her mouth, nauseous. “Oh God, poor Liz. Kidnapped and raped by aliens. She must be so scared…what a nightmare…Alex, that bastard raped her and who even knows how aliens have sex? What if it was like, excruciatingly painful…Liz can’t handle pain…”
“Would you shut up?” Michael demands, unable to listen to her lunatic ravings anymore. “We have sex like normal people. And Max would never do anything to hurt Liz…he’s been in love with her since we were kids. He’d kill himself before he touched a hair on her head.” Michael turns to Cal and says, “It’s just not possible. I know Max. He wouldn’t do it.”
“You’d be surprised at what people can do with the right motivation, kid.” Cal says. “The fact is, she’s carrying the heir…that means we’re on a tight clock.”
~~~~~~~~~~
The silence was deafening and Liz’s panic is turning into a giant knot in her stomach. Plus she can feel cramps coming on. Well, there goes that. Hopefully the shape shifter won’t notice right away. She can see the desert through the windows in the back doors and feels a pang of homesickness. Her parents are so close…will she ever see them again?
When the van stops, Liz is surprised to see they’re in the middle of nowhere. Someone opens the doors and they all spill out, stretching their legs. Looking around, she sees nothing but sand and rocks. “What is this place?” She asks, wondering if Isabel or Max know.
“I don’t know.” Max says as he, too, looks at their surroundings. Suddenly the scene changes and he sees himself, standing up on the large outcropping in front of him. He’s holding Liz and standing around them are Isabel, Michael, Maria, and someone he doesn’t recognize. But everything looks different, broken…like the rock was blown apart from the inside and they’re all covered in dust. As quickly as it was there, it’s gone and Max shakes his head.
“Max? Are you ok?” Isabel asks, seeing that he looks disoriented.
He glances down at her, then back at the rock. “Yah…I’m fine.”
A handful of skins and the shape shifter start walking toward the large rock outcropping in front of them. He turns to them and says with a grin, “I trust you won’t go anywhere.”
Max narrows his eyes at him and turns his back toward him. He starts pacing, kicking rocks as he walks. Noticing the other skins sitting on the ground, he assumes they’ll be here for a while.
Liz and Isabel watch him pace back and forth for a few minutes before Liz sits on a nearby rock grimacing in pain.
Isabel rushes over to her and says, “What is it?”
Max walks over and looks down at Liz sadly, meeting Isabel’s questioning gaze.
“It’s ok…I’ll be fine. Just cramps.” Liz says, taking a deep breath.
“Cramps? But…” Isabel says, confused. She looks up again at Max and says, “Do something, Max.”
Max frowns and says, “She’s not pregnant, Isabel. We just altered a few things to make it seem that way.” He turns to Liz and says, “I can help with the pain…if you want.”
Liz shakes her head and says, “No…that’s ok. I can do it.” They watch as she glances over at the skins to make sure they’re not watching and she places her hand on her abdomen, trying to get rid of the pain.
“So…you didn’t…” Isabel asks.
Max shakes his head and says, “No.”
“But, Nicholas saw it…he said that you did.” Isabel doesn’t understand.
“We connected…made a shared memory. A fake memory for Nicholas to see.” Max said, sliding down to the ground next to the rock. “It’s all we could think of…we had to do something. They were gonna kill you if we didn’t.”
Isabel sags in relief and says, “Wow. That’s…amazing. I can’t believe you thought of that…and that you could actually do it. How did you know it would work?”
“We didn’t.” Max says simply and Isabel swallows, understanding now the stress and anxiousness she saw on their faces when they came out of that cabin on the plane. She looks at Liz for a moment and says, “Thank you.”
Liz nods and looks over to the outcropping to see the shape shifter and skins climbing up the side. “What do you think is in there?”
Max follows her line of sight and says, “I have no idea. But we need to think of something…quick. Before he realizes that you’re not really pregnant.”
“Well, there’s only five of them over there.” Liz says, looking at the group sitting about 50 feet away. “Maybe we could take them and take the van while the others are up there.” She glances up to the rock face where the shape shifter is still climbing.
Isabel snorts. “Right…we’ll just hide behind you and you can blast them.” She softens at the look on Liz’s face and says, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…I just don’t think we can overpower five aliens who all probably have more advanced powers than us. Plus, you’re the only one with any fire power.”
Liz sighs and thinks about it more. “I wish we knew what their capabilities were.”
“Maybe we could find out.” Max says, looking toward the group.
Isabel furrows her brow and says, “What are you talking about? They’re not going to tell us.”
“No, but maybe we can make them use their powers.” He stands up and dusts off his pants. “We can’t just sit here and wait for the others to come back. This is our only opportunity.”
“What are you thinking, Max?” Isabel is getting nervous at the sound of his voice. She’s hoping he’s not planning anything stupid.
“Maybe I can draw them away…give you two a chance to get in the van and leave.”
“No!” Isabel exclaims. “I’m not leaving you here.” She looks at Liz and says, “Tell him it’s a stupid plan.”
Instead, Liz asks, “And how are you gonna get away?”
Isabel glares at Liz and turns to Max. “Max, stop it. I’m not leaving you here…we’ll think of something else.”
“They won’t kill me. They need me, Isabel. You’re the one that’s expendable…you need to get out of here, both of you.” He sees Isabel about to argue again and he says, “They can’t take off without me and my child so they can’t kill me. I’ll find a way to get away later, but for now you two can make it.”
“No.” Isabel whispers. “There has to be a better way…something else we haven’t thought of.” She looks pleadingly at Liz but Liz is just staring into the distance…silent.
Liz looks at Max’s profile, sees how serious he is about this. But Isabel is right, there’s something they haven’t thought of. Her. She stands up and sees Max and Isabel turn to look at her. “Isabel, can you get that van started without keys?”
“Yes, but…” Isabel says, starting to protest.
“You and Max are leaving. Get whatever firepower you can get and come back for me…you’ll be able to find me no matter where they take me. They won’t kill me, either. The need me, too.” She says this last part to Max who has already stood up in front of her. “Isabel’s right. I’m the only one with any firepower, and I’m the only one that can draw them away from you.”
“No. You’re not staying.” He says forcefully. There’s no way in hell he’s leaving her here.
Ignoring him, she says, “I’m gonna get them as far from the van as I can and when I say so, get out of here…as fast as you can.”
“You can’t seriously think I’m gonna let you do this.” Max says, blocking her way.
She maneuvers around him and starts walking toward the van, Max and Isabel running after her. “Liz, wait. What are you doing?” Isabel calls after her.
When she feels Max reaching for her arm, she turns and sends a small pulse of energy toward him to push him away and he flies back…stumbling to the ground.
This gets the other’s attention as she continues to walk toward them. Scared, but determined, she watches them stand up and she walks right by them, continuing on into the desert.
“Hey…where do you think you’re going?” One of them calls out after her as he jogs to catch up with her. The others turn to face her and slowly take a few steps in the direction she’s walking. Throwing her hand back, she blasts the guy following her and he flies back into the others. When she sees them all scrambling to get up and give chase, she starts running and smiles as she gives them the finger.
Max gets up quickly and starts to shout but Isabel clamps a hand over his mouth. “Shut up! Look…it’s working. They’re all following her. Isabel drags Max with her toward the back of the van as Max watches helplessly. Liz has blasted two more of them…the ones closest to he and Isabel.
“No.” He wrenches his arm away from Isabel but she moves in front of him.
“Max…come on. You can’t help her if you’re here with her. She can take care of herself.” Isabel grabs his arm again as she fumbles with the door latch.
From the distance, he hears her yell, “Go!” All heads turn to look at Max and Isabel then as they realize what’s going on. They stop and point toward him. He hears someone shout, “Get them!” But Isabel is dragging him into the van and shutting the door. He flies to the front to see out of the windshield and sees everyone running toward the van as Isabel gets the engine started.
In the distance, he sees Liz stop when she realizes no one is chasing her anymore. She puts her hand above her eyes, shielding them from the sun and watches the van come to life. One of the skins gets pretty close to the van and Liz raises her hand, blasting him so hard the guy disintegrates into dust. Gape jawed, Max shouts at Isabel, “We can get her. Drive over there and we’ll pick her up.”
He flies to the door and starts to open it when he feels a jolt and the van skids…rocking back and forth. “What happened?”
“One of them hit us. We have to get out of here, Max. They’re getting closer and Liz can’t hold them back much longer.” Isabel turns the wheel, desperate to get turned in the other direction.
Max looks back out the windshield and sees Liz bent over, hands on her knees in exhaustion. She looks up at him again and he sees her mouth form the word ‘go’. One guy and Isabel’s double fall back and make their way back to Liz, grabbing her arms and dragging her closer to the rock outcropping. Two guys and the blonde girl continue to chase them down and when he sees the blonde stop and close her eyes. Suddenly everyone disappears but Liz. She’s just standing there, waving at him to come back.
Isabel has the van turned around and they’re quickly getting further and further away. “Stop! We have to get Liz…everyone’s gone.” He’s climbed into the back and is looking out the back door windows. Turning around toward Isabel he shouts, “Did you hear me?! They just…disappeared. We have to go back for her while we still can.”
Looking in the rear view mirror, Isabel says, “I heard you. But she’s not alone Max. They’re making you see that.” As she drives, she can see the reflection in the mirror of the two guys chasing them, the blonde behind them standing still with her eyes shut tight, and further back…Liz being dragged by her double and another. “It’s not real Max.”
When he turns back around to look out the window, he sees the truth. Liz isn’t there. In the dust from the tires he can still see them chasing the van. His shoulders sag and he tries to make out Liz in all the dust and debris but can’t see her anymore. What was she thinking? He falls against the door, his forehead against the glass and feels more helpless now than he did when they were all together.
~~~~~~~~~~
“Would you stop that noise?!” Michael bellows, shoving his chair back and walking away from the table. Maria’s been tapping her fingers on the table for at least twenty minutes now and it’s driving him crazy.
Maria lifts her hand from the table and says, “Sooooory.” When she sees the look of irritation on his face, she shrugs and continues her tapping. “Oh second thought, I’m not sorry.”
Michael makes a frustrated noise and stalks off. That woman is enough to drive anyone insane. He looks around the empty building they’re holed up in and walks over to Ava, who’s talking with Zan and Cal. “So what’s the plan?”
They stop talking and look up when he speaks. Cal takes off his glasses and just stares at Michael, assessing him. According to his reports, Michael doesn’t have any control over his powers, if he can even use them at all. “You can’t help.”
Michael looks at him, anger boiling.
Cal shakes his head and puts his hand on Michael’s shoulder. “Nothing personal. But unless you have some firepower in those hands, we can’t use you.” He grabs his hat and says, “Come on you two…we have work to do.” Heading toward the door, he counts on Ava and Zan following him.
“Wait!” Maria pops up from the table. “We’re going wherever you’re going.”
“I don’t think so. You stay here…” He sweeps his hand around. “with Michael. It’s probably been a while since you’ve been back home…go see the sights.”
Maria walks in front of him and puts her hands on her hips. “Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but you don’t give me orders. I’m going.” She walks over and grabs her bag. “I mean, this is Liz we’re talking about. And she’s in trouble…there’s no way in hell you’re leaving me here. With him.” Stepping back up to Cal, she looks at him, her chit jutting up with determination.
He grins and turns to the others. “Now her…I like.” Opening the door, he says, “Alright sweetcheeks, you win.” Turning to Michael and Alex he says, “Well, come on.”
Maria sends a look of triumph at Alex and he claps Michael on the back. “You gotta love her.”
They split up in two cars…the limo being too conspicuous. Michael and Ava ride in one car with Alex and Cal, Maria and Zan ride in the front car. As they turn west, Maria asks, “So you can sense Liz…like where she is?”
Cal nods and says, “Zan here will probably feel her the most, but yah. We can all feel her.”
“Wow.” She doesn’t know what to say…it just seems too weird for her. “So our plan is…” She prompts him.
“Our plan is to find them and extricate the king and the heir.” Cal says.
Maria shakes her head…the heir…whatever. At least this so called ‘heir’ is inside of Liz, so that means she’s a priority to them, too. “What about Isabel?”
“She’s expendable.” He says simply.
She slumps back into her seat. “How can you be so…”
“Inhuman?” He finishes for her, turning around to look at her. “Because I am. Not human, that is. Not even part human like these guys. I have only one mission to carry out and that’s what we’re doing here.”
“Your mission? But we have to save all three of them, right?”
“Look Maria, I’m not the good guy here…I’m not the rescuer come to save the damsel in distress. I’m an unlucky schmuck who got stranded on this planet. It’s a nice planet…I like it here. Unfortunately, I have this fucking programming built into me to protect the royal four…above all, the king and any of his offspring. I don’t like it, I don’t wanna be here. But there you go. So if we can’t get Isabel without jeopardizing the king, then she’s on her own.”
Maria looks out the window and shakes her head. They’re screwed.
“So that guy’s our protector?” Michael asks Ava in the next car.
“He’s our protector. Me, Zan, Lonnie & Rath. You had your own protector.”
“The one we’re after. Seems like they did a shitty job of filling the position of protector on our planet.” Michael watches the scenery…memories of driving along this very road a hundred times in Max’s old jeep resurfacing. He sees himself riding next to their car, on a motorcycle. He’s turning around and smiling at…Maria…who’s riding behind him with her arms wrapped around him. What the hell? He leans his forehead against the glass, convinced he’s hallucinating. It looks like Maria, but she has long hair…and she’s smiling back at him. He watches as she lays her head down on his back and scoots forward to hold him closer and the vision before him disappears.
He turns to Alex and says, “Did you see that?”
“See what?” Alex follows Michael’s line of sight out the window and looks back at him. “I didn’t see anything.”
Michael frowns and as they pull up to a four way stop, he thinks he’s seeing things again. In the fading light, the chick driving that van almost looks like Isabel. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, he tries to get a closer look.
“Holy shit!” He exclaims as the van passes them. “Turn around…that was Isabel!”
“What?!” Both Ava and Alex say at once, turning around to look at the speeding white van. Ava slips the car into reverse and pulls a u-turn in the middle of the road. “Call the other car…tell them what we’re doing.” She yells at Alex.
He fumbles for his phone as Michael shouts at Ava to hurry up. Barely able to make his finger work, he finally hits the speed dial for Maria’s phone.
“What are you guys doing?!” She yells into the phone. He can see her through the windshield turning around in the backseat of the other car. He can vaguely see Cal and Zan craning their necks to look at them.
“Michael just saw Isabel driving that white van that just passed us. We’re following.” Alex tells her. As his car turns around, he hears Maria repeating to Cal and Zan what he just said. A moment later she says, “Ok, but they still feel Liz is this way. We’re going…you stay with Isabel. Call me when you know for sure.”
“Ok…be careful.” He tells her before ending the call. “She said that Liz was still west…they’re going that way.”
“Yah, I don’t think she was with Isabel…I didn’t feel her.” Michael agrees. They finally catch up to the van just as it’s pulling into a convenience store parking lot. Michael jumps out of the car before it’s even at a complete stop and runs up to the van.
Isabel screams when she turns her head and sees someone standing outside of her window. When she realizes it’s Michael, she throws the door open. “Michael! Oh my God!” She pulls him to her in a hug and asks, “What are you doing here?”
Michael hugs her back and looks over her shoulder and breathes a sigh of relief when he sees Max. “I came to rescue your asses, but it looks like I’m too late. Hey Maxamillion, it’s good to see you.”
Max just nods and gets out of the van on his side. As he walks around, he sees the girl from New York getting out of the car behind them…and Alex Whitman?”
Alex walks up to the van and looks inside, disappointed not to see Liz in there too. “Where’s Liz?” He asks Max.
Isabel lets go of Michael and says, “They still have her.”
Incedulously, Alex says, “So you just took off…leaving her there? Unbelievable.”
“It wasn’t like that. Alex…she…she made us go. She helped us get away so we could go back for her.” Isabel sees his face turn red with anger.
“And how do you know they just won’t kill her?” He demands.
“They need her alive…they think she’s pregnant.” Isabel tells him.
Alex clenches his jaw and says, “So it’s true.” He turns on Max and punches him in the face. “You bastard!”
Max looks in surprise at Alex as he turns into a bloody, mangled mess. Max falls to the ground, not believing his eyes. What’s happening to him? Alex is still standing in front of him, but he’s covered in blood…so much blood.
“Alex!” Isabel cries as she drops to the ground next to Max. She sees blood gushing from his nose and looks up at Alex. “He didn’t do anything. I said they think she’s pregnant, you jackass.”
Alex massages is fist and looks down at Max. “So…you didn’t…”
Max shakes his head…the vision disappearing…and says, “No.”
“Oh.” Alex says apologetically, reaching down to help Max up. “Sorry man. Cal said she was pregnant and we all just assumed…”
Max waves him off and says, “It’s alright. Who’s Cal?” He slowly makes it back to his feet, covering his nose with his hand…healing the broken cartilage. “And what are you doing here…with her?” He’s looking at Ava suspiciously. The last time he saw her, she was with his captors.
“She’s helping us. Look, a lot of shit’s happened…maybe we should call the others and tell them and get somewhere less open.” Michael says.
Max nods and says, “We’ll talk in the car. We have to go back for Liz.”
As everyone gets in the car, Alex calls Maria and tells her they have Max and Isabel. “What about Liz? Have they said anything about her?”
“Just that they still have her. Maria, she’s not pregnant. Max didn’t rape her…they just did something to make it seem like she was. I don’t know…I’ll call you when I know more.” He ends the call and Ava starts driving.
Maria closes her phone and looks forward. Thinking back to what Cal said earlier, she says, “Max and Isabel escaped. They still have Liz.” Cal nods and Zan keeps driving. She deliberately left out the fact that Liz wasn’t carrying the heir…knowing Cal’s priorities, he’d probably call it a day and just go home. She’ll do whatever she has to to get Liz back safe and sound.
~TBC~