Never Meant To Be? - AU M/L TEEN Pts 1-22 [COMPLETE]

[LilyFrancesca]

Part 21


"Slow down," Isabel demanded, now interested in why the sheriff would be going to a place where her and her brothers met when they need some privacy from prying eyes. It could only be a coincidence, right? "He’s right up there."

Alex pulled the car close to the quarry wall and turned off the ignition. Putting the binoculars to his eyes, he said, "He’s standing next to the truck. It looks like he’s calling to somebody."

 

"Okay, I’m here," Jim yelled. Driving in, he had seen no sign of his son or anyone else and only just realized his phone was not in it’s holder. He must have left it at the yard.

"Throw away your gun," said a voice off to his left, from behind some scrub.

He cursed himself for not noticing before, but did as he was told. He still had the ankle holster holding his .22. "There, gone," he said tossing his side arm away. "Where’s Kyle?"

Tess smile at the concern she heard for his son, in his voice. Maybe if she had grown up with a caring father, her life would have turned out better. ‘God, I’m pitiful,’ she thought in disgust. ‘What do I care for love? All that matters is not getting caught and my revenge on Liz Parker.’

The two sides of her genetic makeup had been at war within her ever since Isabel had peered into her mind, and showed her human half, what it was like to have feelings. In her mind she knew humans were worth nothing, but her soul craved the closeness she had witnessed between the others, like a drunk craves a drink.

Even know, knowing what she was doing could possible save her very existence, she felt guilty for her misuse of the love between parent and child.

"Snap out of it," she whispered malevolently. ‘It’s either you or them."

Stepping out from behind the scrub, Tess pulled an indifferent Kyle along with her. "As you can see, he’s fine."

The Sheriff took in his blank stare and growled, "What have you done to my son?"

 

"Alex, what’s going on?" Isabel asked impatiently, reaching for the glasses. "Let me see."

Taking a look, she saw Valenti talking to someone on the other side of his truck and out of line of sight. "Who’s he talking to?" she asked mostly to herself.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Alex replied. "If we try to get any closer, they’ll see us."

"Wait, I see.......Oh My God Alex! It’s Tess and she’s got Kyle!" she cried.

"Kyle? What would she want with Kyle?"

"I don’t know, but it would explain his reaction. What are we going to do?"

 

"He’s fine, it’s only temporary," Tess explained, pulling Kyle closer to his dad. ‘It will only last long enough for me to kill you,’ she thought, the alien side forging to the front.

"Why did you take him? What do you want?" Valenti asked, looking to see if there was any one else hiding.

"I needed you to stop what you were doing and this was the quickest way to make that happen," she said wondering why she would tell a mere human her reasons.

"Fine, I’m here. Let my son go."

###

Max walked in to the Crashdown and gave Liz, Maria and Michael a big smile. Patting the pocket of his jacket, he indicated that the mission was a success.

The three let out a collective sigh of relief and went back to eating. The dinner rush was finally over and Mr. Parker had whipped up their favorites for a job well done.

Taking a seat next to his friend, Max grabbed a Tobasco covered fry from his plate. "Any trouble?" Michael asked.

"Some, I’ll tell you later," he replied softly, not wanting to alarm the girls. Louder, he asked, "Any word from Iz and Alex?"

"No. Where did they go, anyway?" Liz asked looking at the time.

"They said something happened with the Sheriff and Alex had one of his bad feelings about it, so they followed him," Max said shrugging his shoulders. "I’m sure it’s nothing."

###

"Not so fast, Sheriff," Tess replied to his plea. ‘Did he really think he would be leaving here?’ the alien side asked. ‘He’s more stupid that I thought.’

‘NO!’ cried the human side. ‘We’ll tie them up and by the time they get free, we’ll be long gone. There’s no reason to kill them.’

"Shut up!" Tess screamed. Letting go of Kyle’s arm, she put her hands on her head and tried to squeeze the voices into silence. Their whisperings had always been a part of her life, but since Isabel invaded her mind, the volume had increased. She was tired of having them take control of her when she least expected it. This was her mind and she would be damned, before she let them take control.

The Sheriff used her momentary outburst to grab his son and pull him toward the truck. "Kyle?" he whispered looking into eyes that were devoid of life. "Kyle can you hear me?"

Tess came back to herself and saw that the Sheriff was trying to get his son into the truck. "He won’t get in unless I tell him too," she informed Jim. "And I’m not ready for you leave yet."

Deciding this girl was not a threat, he charged her and grabbing her by the arms, he picked her up and began shaking her violently. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SON?" he screamed.



Smiling, she closed her eyes and gave Kyle a command. A second later, she was falling to the ground, as Kyle tackled his father to the ground. Scooting back on her butt, Tess watched in fascination as the two Valenti men wrestled in the sand.

###

"That’s it," Isabel said, getting out of the car. "I will not let her hurt another person."

She had possession of the binoculars for the last few minutes and realized Tess has some kind of control over Kyle. When she started screaming, she had hoped the Sheriff would grab his son and get out of there, but Tess had said something to set the Sheriff off and he grabbed her. Kyle’s reaction had been unexpected and the final straw for Isabel.

"Isabel, wait!" Alex called running to catch up with her. "What do you plan to do?"

"Something we should have done a long time ago."

"And that would be?"

"Get rid of Tess."

Tess was still laughing when she saw the two figures approaching. When she realized who it was, she was undecided as to what to do. Here was the person that had awaken the disgusting and soft human side of her being, and the alien side went berserk. Holding out her hand, she sent a burst of energy flying .

Isabel was surprised, but had been expecting something of the sort and deflected the blast with a shield of green energy. Unbeknownst to Max and Michael, she had been practicing her defensive abilities. The scare they faced when Liz was missing and the scenes she saw in Tess mind made her realize, that with all her powers she was helpless. She hated felling helpless, so set about to remedy the situation. She only hoped she was ready.

Clapping her hands, Tess replied, "Very good. I see you’ve been practicing."

Coming to a stop a few feet away, Isabel shook back her hair and her Ice Queen persona fell into place. "You would be surprise at what I can do."

"Your nothing but a hybrid freak, who doesn’t even realize how little it knows," replied the alien.

"Your as much a human as I am," she shot back.

"I will never be human! All humans are good for is manual labor and sport. Did you know, the only human DNA our ‘creators’ could get were from the dredges of that race? The rejects that had been throw into asylums because they couldn’t assimilate to their lot in life. So I wouldn’t act all high and mighty if I were you, Princess," she sneered.

"That goes a long way to explain many things," Isabel replied, not rising to the bait. "If what you say is true, our ancestors weren’t ones to sit back and endure slavery at the hands of a race that were no better, if not worse than their own."

"Ha! These humans are only a step above monkeys and you have the audacity to compare them to a people that have existed for 10 millennium. But I guess I’ll have to excuse your ignorance, seeing you were raised by these primates."

While Tess and Isabel were spitting at each other like two cats, Alex had gone over to the men rolling around on the ground and had helped the Sheriff restrain Kyle. After catching his breath, Jim asked in a horse whisper, "What the hell is going on?"

Giving him a ‘you don’t want to know look,’ Alex wrapped his legs around Kyle’s and replied, "It’s a long story."

Glancing back at the girls, the sheriff tried to wipe the dirt off his face while keeping a firm grip on his son’s upper body. "Yeah, I bet."

 

The insult to her parents hit Isabel dead in the heart. Her eyes narrowed and she raised her hand. Her offensive powers were as reliable as Michael’s, but with her anger behind it, she sent a bolt of blood red energy at Tess’ smug face.

Tess waved her hand and a mustard colored aura surrounded her, which deflected the shot around her body and absorbed the blow.

The Sheriff was astonished to see the proof his father had been looking for and almost ruined his family over, staring him in the face. There could only be one explanation for the forces at work in front of him and he felt ashamed for not believing. "This wasn’t what I thought," he said to Alex.

"Yeah, I bet," he echoed. He wanted to leave Kyle to his father and help Isabel, but realized this was her fight and he would only get in the way. He didn’t think he could ever love her more, than at this moment.

 

 

 

"Nice, but primitive. Must be the monkey DNA coming thru. See what you make of this," Tess stated and clapping her hands together, Isabel felt as if her head was in a vice.

Gritting her teeth, Isabel imagined that she was surrounded by a wall of glass, and it was spinning like a top. The pressure Tess was exerting on her ceased and Isabel could see it trying to get a grip on her, but the spinning shield made that impossible.

Keeping it spinning with one part of her mind, she thought that a physical attack might get thru where an energy bolt would fail, and levitated a large rock behind Tess and hurled it at her head.

Her aim was something she would need to improve, but she got the results she wanted and Tess staggered. Spinning, she thought one of the humans had thrown something at her. Before she could retaliate against them, Isabel sent another rock at her head.

Ducking, Tess screamed, "You Bitch! Leave it to a freak to use primitive weapons. Now you’ll die!

The Sheriff saw his gun lying a few feet away and with his free hand, tried to reach for it, but Kyle, feeling his hold slip, swung and hit Alex on the side of the head. Cursing, Jim hoped his son would forgive him and gave him a shot to the jaw, that knocked him out cold.

Snatching his gun, he called out, "Okay, hold it right there!"

Tess’ hand had just dropped and Isabel was knocked off her feet with the impact, when the Sheriff’s voice rang thru the night air. Turning, Tess smiled and shook her head in distaste. ‘Would these humans never learn?’ she thought and a ball of power appeared in the palm of her hand.

Seeing what she intended, Isabel cried, "NO! Alex!" Getting up, she rushed toward the insane girl. Alex was her life and if he died, there would be no reason for her to live. Tess will not take him from her!

Jim saw the determination on Isabel’s face, but couldn’t let her go thru what she planned. Sighting down the barrel of his .45, he squeezed the trigger and Tess slumped to the ground as Isabel came to a skidding stop a foot away.

Looking down at the dying girl, she felt a pang of regret that things couldn’t have worked out better, but she knew in Tess’ mind, it was all or nothing. The light faded from her eyes, and Isabel let out a sigh of relief that it was finally over.

Isabel picked her way around Tess’ lifeless body and made he way over to Alex as he was getting to his feet. He almost fell back to the ground when she threw her arms around his neck and asked anxiously, "Are you okay? Please tell me your okay."

Pulling out of the half nelson she had him in, he gave her his patented lopsided smile and said, "Of course, M’lady. With you as my champion, I have nothing to fear."

Slapping his arm, she pulled him back into her arms and nuzzled his neck in relief.

Sheriff Valenti walked over to check Tess for a pulse, and finding none, removed his jacket and laid it over her face. Taking a deep breath, he turned and walked back to where his son lay, unconscious on the ground.

Isabel saw him out of the corner of her eye and released Alex. Swallowing hard she began, "Sheriff, about what you saw ...."

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. "Don’t," he said brushing back the hair from Kyle’s eyes. "I all I want to hear from you is that you can help my son."

"I....I’m not sure...."

"Well get sure," he snapped standing abruptly. "She did something to him and I want you to fix it. He tried to kill me for god’s sake!"

"Sheriff, it’s not that easy," Alex said, stepping in front of Isabel protectively.

"Don’t you get it? I don’t care what you have to do, but you will fix my son. Understand?"

Alex looked at Isabel and mouthed the word ‘Max?’. She shook her head, not wanting the sheriff to know about the others. Having him know about her and Tess was going to be hard enough, with out adding Michael and Max to the mix. ‘Then what?’ he asked silently.

Squaring her shoulders, Iz came out from behind Alex and bent down next to Kyle’s prone figure. Laying her hand on his head, she cleared her mind and tried the same tactic she saw Max use when he healed Liz all those weeks ago. She pictured his aura as being a calming blue, and tried to ‘see’ it surrounding him like Liz’s amber, but she couldn’t do it. She wasn’t equipped with healing and watching done was not the same as being able to do it yourself.



Closing her eyes, she tried to dreamwalk him, but all she saw was an empty cavern that used to be his mind. Pulling back, she suppressed a shutter and looked up at Alex. "I can’t," she whispered.

Placing a hand on the Sheriff’s shoulder, Alex stopped his outburst and said, "We can bring him to someone who might be able to help him, but we need your assurances that this will go no further."

Jim was ready to blast into them again, when he saw the fear reflected on the faces of two kids before him. If everything his father had told him about the government and it’s task force to hunt and destroy aliens were true, these people had the right to be afraid for their lives. Knowing that they were the only chance his son had to regain his mind, he nodded and replied. "Fine, but when this is over, we have some talking to do."

"And her?" Alex indicated the body a few feet away.

"I’ll tell them she was crazed and that she kidnapped my son because she believed I could get what ever she wanted because of my job. She threatened his life and I had to kill her to save him." he said and went to his truck and pulled out a knife from behind the seat. Wiping it clean of his prints, he placed in Tess’ outstretched hand and closed her fingers around the hilt.

Isabel and Alex were astonished at the Sheriff’s tactics, but they knew too many questions would be asked if the real reason ever came to light. He was putting his job and his very life on the line to keep their secret. They had no choice but to trust him.

"Take Kyle where ever you need to, and I’ll call the office," he told them. "Call me as soon as you know."

"Won’t they want to know where he is?" Isabel asked, while Alex ran back to get his car.

"I said I’ll take care of it," he replied wearily. "You just take care of my son."

She nodded and when Alex drove up, she opened the back door so they could lay Kyle in. "how should we contact you?" she asked when they were done.

Seeing Alex’s cell hanging from his belt. Jim detached it and said, "Call me."

Getting in the car, Isabel watched as Valenti and his gruesome companion faded into the distance. "What if Max can’t help him?" she asked.

"Let’s hope that won’t happen," he replied and caught once last glance of the man silhouetted by the dwindling sun, in the rear view mirror.

[LilyFrancesca]

Part 22

"Max, your ringing," Liz said, leaning back from his embrace.

Fishing out his cell, he flipped it open, "Isabel?"

"Max, we need your help," she said watching the boy in the back set.

"Were are you?" he asked.

"Is that Isabel?" Michael asked coming over to the booth where the couple was sitting.

Max held up his hand and said, "Say that again."

"I said, Alex and I are on our way to Valenti’s house with Kyle. Tess is dead and she did something to him and we need your help."

"Tess is dead," he hissed in astonishment.

"What!" exclaimed Liz.

"Listen, I’ll explain everything when you get to the house. Bring the others, we may need them." Alex said something in the background that Max couldn’t hear, then she said, "We’re here. Get over her now."

The phone went dead, and Max went into action. "Get your stuff," he told the others. "Iz needs our help."

Seeing the panic on his face, the others did as they were told. Liz ran into the back to grab he coat and told her father that they were going to take a ride to relax. he kissed her cheek and told her not to be too late. Giving him a weak smile, she thought that they were already.

 

###

Alex and Isabel had to practically drag Kyle into the house, he was dead weight. Laying him on the couch, Isabel went around and turned on the lights. Getting a blanket, she draped it over Kyle’s unmoving body. Sooner than she expected, there came a hesitant knock on the front door.

Rushing to answer it, she was relieved to see her brother and the others waiting on the steps. "Come in. He’s in the living room."

"What the hell is going on?" Michael demanded. "Max said Tess is dead?"

"Yeah, she is," Alex said. "Valenti killed her, before she had a chance to take out Isabel."

"Listen, we’ll tell you the whole story, but we made a deal with the sheriff to get his son back and that should be our first priority," Isabel injected. She knelt next to Kyle and took his hand in hers. "I tried to dreamwalk him, and I have never felt emptiness like this before. It’s terrifying."

Liz went and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort an unusually sullen Isabel. "We’ll do what we can."

The others nodded and gathered around the couch. Max knelt next to his sister and placed his hand on Kyle’s head. "Tell me what you think she did to him," he instructed his sister.

"She mind warped him. It looks like she wiped out his mind, but I can’t be sure. Take a look and tell me what you think."

Max took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Since coming out of the pod, he had had the ability to see the auras that surrounded people. Everyone had one, but the color and texture was varied with each person. Kyle’s was the color of the sky reflected on water, bright with ripples running thru it. Focusing on that, Max was able to slip into the essence that was Kyle and immerse himself in the ebb and flow of his being.

His sister was right, where Kyle’s mind should be, was empty and dark. The rest of his body was fine and functioning, but there was no spark of animation. It was as if he was a living doll. Pulling back, he prepared to jump back into his own body, when he thought he heard his name being call from a long distance away.

Concentrating, he turned a metaphysical ear to where he thought the voice had come from and listened intently. Not hearing anything, he chalked it up to wishful thinking.

Opening his eyes, he looked at his sister and his expression confirmed her suspicions. Kyle was beyond help. "What are we going to do," she cried and threw her arms around Alex.

While Isabel wept into his shoulder, Alex told them about what had happened since leaving the impound yard hot on the heels of the Sheriff. When he was done, they stared at him in shocked silence.

"So if we don’t heal his son, the Sheriff is going to turn us in?" Michael asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, basically. He was going to take care of Tess and we were to fix Kyle." Isabel said, inelegantly wiping her nose on the sleeve of her shirt.

"I say, we leave him here and take off," Michael said. He always knew there was a chance of this happening, and he had been right.

"No, you can’t," Maria said tearfully.

Michael looked at her and felt his heart contract. His feelings for her ran deep and the thought of leaving her, pained him, but he knew it would be for her own good if he didn’t include her in his screwed up life. "I won’t risk your life," he said softly before turning away.

"Max?" Liz asked.

Not looking up, he said, "We can’t leave."

"Why the hell not?" demanded Michael. "If we stay, were dead. If we leave, we have a fighting chance."

"We can’t leave him like this," he indicated Kyle. "It was one of us who did this to him, and for what? No, we have to try, Michael or we’ll be no better than Tess."

"Here we go," he said sarcastically, throwing up his hands. "I swear Maxwell, ever since you heard about the whole King business, you think your way is the only way."

Standing up, Max for the first time got in Michael’s face and lost his cool. "And I’m sick and tired of cleaning up your messes. Granted, I make mistakes, but your whole life had been nothing but one mistake after another. Take Maria for instance."

"What about her?"

"Don’t you see what your doing to her? God, open your eyes, man. She loves you and you can’t except it. Oh no, you have to be strong, and be able to drop anyone and anything at a moments notice. That’s no way to got thru life, Michael. You keep yourself isolated from her, to protect her, but all your doing is hiding behind your insecurities. Are you going to start pushing Isabel and me away too? Then you’ll really be alone."

"You don’t know what your talking about!" he shouted. "You have always had it good. Parents who love you and care about what happens to you. I haven’t had that luxury. You can’t imagine what I’ve gone thru."

Lowering his voice, his anger spent, Max said, "Your right, we don’t know. You never let us know or help you."

Sitting on the coffee table, Max put his head in his hands, drained. Liz came and sat next to him, putting her arm around his shoulders. "There must be something we can do."

Taking a deep breath, he sat up and replied, "While I was in there, I thought I heard his voice. I don’t think he’s really gone. If Tess did that, she would have killed him."

"Like she did to Alex in my dream," she said, nodding her head slowly. "So there’s a chance?"

"I hope so," he answered looking at Michael. Michael gave him a blank stare and Max let his eyes fall. He could never know what it was to be Michael and they both knew it.

"What do you need us to do?" Maria asked, willing to do anything if it meant Michael would stay.

"This what I think.........."

 

###

The sheriff gave the door of the coroner’s van a punch and it drove off. Deputy Hanson was waiting for him near his truck and he walked over, ready to face the numerous question he could see the deputy was itching to ask.

"Well?" Jim said in a tired voice.

"So let me get this straight," Hanson replied, rubbing the side of his nose. "This girl kidnapped your son because she was the one who took the Parker girl and it was her car we found out on 252?"

"Yeah, she said she wanted me to help her get away or she would kill Kyle." Jim had made up the story, not realizing how accurate it was. He was still trying to come to terms with what he saw this evening and he wanted to get back to Kyle and see if he was going to recover.

"Listen Hanson," he said, "I want to go make sure Kyle is all right. I’ll file my report in the morning. The coroner should be done by then."

"Sure, Sheriff, what ever you say," Hanson said, typically following Valenti’s lead. "I’ll see you in the morning. I hope Kyle is okay."

Getting into his truck, Valenti said, "Me too, Deputy. Me too."

 

###

Kyle lay on the dining room table. Around the perimeter of the room, Liz, Alex, Isabel, Michael and Maria were taking deep breaths and trying to clear their minds as Max had directed. Michael looked across Kyle’s body and quirked an eyebrow at Alex. Alex gave him a one shoulder shrug and a half smile in response.

Michael had reiterated his position about leaving after hearing Max’s plan, but had been out voted, yet again. ‘Since when has this been a democracy?’, he had scoffed, but with five pairs of eyes silently telling him to shut up, he went along reluctantly with the others.

"Are you ready?" Max asked taking a step closer to the table.

Isabel was the first to step up and gave her brother a small smile. A lot of what was going to happen depended on her and she wasn’t sure she was up to the task. Her fight with Tess had made her more aware of how truly different she was from the humans in her life and for the first time, she actually felt scared of her alien side.

Maria was next and holding out her hand to Michael, she made him feel ashamed at his dissension with the group. Grabbing her hand, he in turned reached out and took a hold of Isabel’s She gave him a squeeze, but stopped her self from looking at him. She knew he would not want to see the warmth reflected in her eyes.

Alex took up Isabel’s other hand and looking over his shoulder, he waited for Liz to complete the circle. She was staring intently at Kyle and he could see the fear in her eyes. She had confided to him while in the kitchen earlier, that none of this would have been happening if she didn’t press so hard to find out about Max and the others. If she had let her dream go as what it was, a dream, they would have had nothing to do with aliens and Kyle wouldn’t be like he was.

Liz’s back had been to the door and when Alex looked thru it, he had seen Max leaning against the jam in the dining room, with a defeated expression on his face. Liz’s word had cut him to the quick and Alex could just imagine what he was thinking. No doubt he blamed himself for Kyle’s predicament because he healed Liz in the first place.

Alex placed his hands on Liz’s shoulders and in a voice loud enough for Max to hear, he said, "You have nothing to be sorry for. If ever two people were meant to be together it is you and Max. In your dream, you save by him in the cafe and here it was in the hospital, so don’t you think he need to save you? I think that if you were in a car wreck or if something else terrible had happened, he would have been there to save you too.

At least we have a chance to bring Kyle back and make things right this time. I know Max tried to save me in your dream, but it had been too late and I died. Let’s not let that happen to Kyle, okay?"

She nodded her head and as he hugged her, Alex looked at Max and saw his thanks in his expression.

"Liz" he said holding out his hand to her.

Max turned to look at her and the smile she gave the two of them, seemed to make the task they face a little less impossible. Grabbing their hands, the circle was complete and all eyes turned to Isabel.

###

Taking a deep breath, Isabel closed her eyes and dropped herself into her dreamwalking state, easily. She no longer need to be asleep herself to get there and now she hoped she would be able to pull the others in along with her. Forcing her eyes to reopen, she looked first to Maria and sent out a tendril of thought to the blonde.

*Isabel?*, Maria asked, shocked.

*Who else would it be?* she asked saucily. *Can you follow me?*

Blown away by the whole process, she replied, *Lead the way.*

Isabel drew her to what Maria envisioned as a long hallway with a bench up against the wall. *Does this place always look like this?* she asked.

*It is what ever you believe it is,* Isabel explained. *I wanted a place for everyone to meet, and this is it.*

*You could have imagined something a little more comfortable,* grumbled Maria as she took a seat on the bench.

*You won’t be here long,* she stated. *Just stay here until the rest of us get back.*

Maria nodded her head and realized that she really didn’t have a head here. *Make it quick. This place gives me the creeps.*

Isabel suppressed a laugh at the expression on her face and set her gaze on Michael. He was easier to make contact with and she quickly had him sitting on the bench with Maria. Alex was next and because of their relationship, he came into the meld effortlessly.

Liz was still staring at Kyle, so Iz gave her a mental tap on the shoulder to get her attention. Almost jumping out of her skin, her gaze shot to Isabel and grimaced. *Am I that repulsive to you?* Isabel asked, self consciously.

*No. How could you ever think that? I’m in love with your brother.*

*True, but he never almost killed someone.*

*You were only trying to defend yourself and Alex. I would have done the same.*

*Would you?*

*Of course.*

Isabel looked into her eyes and had no choice but to believe her. The gleam she saw there convinced her that Liz would do anything to save everyone of them if given the choice, without any thought for her own safety. Yet again, she proved that she was more than worthy to be with her brother. *This way, sis.* she said and gave Liz a mental pull.

When Liz was settled with the others, Isabel smoothly pulled her brother into the plane and together they faced the waiting four. *You understand,* Max began, *what I need you to do?*

*Yeah,* replied Michael. *We’re your power source. We feed you enough energy to go in and brig Kyle back.*

*Right. Ready?* With their agreement, he took a hold of his sister’s hand and said *let’s go.*

###

Sheriff Valenti pulled up in front of his house and was surprised to see the cars in his driveway. Cutting the engine, he got out of the truck and went into the house. What he saw in his dining room, made him stop in his tracks. Around the table were six very familiar teenagers and they were glowing.

Pulling out a chair, he sat, knowing that if he disturbed them, he might never get his son back. Kyle lay unmoving on the table and Jim was fearful that he was already dead, when a thin line of energy radiated out from Max Evans and entered his son’s body. As he watched, he could see that Max was siphoning off power from the others, to supplement his own. What ever that girl did to Kyle, it would take everything these kids had to set it right. Jim hoped it would be enough.

###

*Kyle!* called Max into the emptiness that was Kyle’s mind. *Kyle can you hear me?*

Max listened and tried to hear anything besides the echoing of his own voice. Drawing more power from the others, he dared to go where he hadn’t tried to look on his own and was rewarded by what he thought was his name being called. *Kyle, where are you?*

*Here!* came the weak sounding voice off to his left. *I’m over here.*

Max trudged his way to where he thought Kyle was, but abruptly hit a wall. Raising his hands, he tried pushing against the blackness, but it wouldn’t budge. *Kyle, are you behind there?*

*Yeah! Can you get me out of here?*

*I’m gonna try.*

###

Jim sat transfixed at what was happening in his dining room. One by one, Maria, Michael, and Alex had stopped sending energy and had slumped to the floor. After being surprised when Maria fell over backward, Jim had stood behind the next in line and caught them before they fell to the floor. He was standing behind Liz now, because he had noticed that Max’s sister seemed to be collecting the power and was sending it to her brother, so he assumed Liz would be the next to drain.

He was right, and when Liz did stop glowing, he was there to lay her on the carpet next to the others. His eyes moved back and forth between Isabel, Max and Kyle. He could tell that Max was exerting himself to the breaking point and it seemed to be getting a reaction from Kyle, who had tensed up a few minutes before. "Go on Max, you can do it," he whispered. "Bring him back to me."

###

*That’s it Max,* came Isabel’s voice from the blackness. *All we have left is you and me. Will that be enough?*

Max grunted a response and gathering up the last of their reserves, sent a outpouring of force at the wall and was rewarded with a resounding shudder as the wall disintegrated in a shower of sparks. Behind it, on his hand and knees, was a ragged looking but smiling Kyle. Max went over to him and grabbing him under the arms, stood him up and said, *Your going to be okay.*

*If you say so-* he replied, then his eyes rolled up into his head and he started shaking.

*Iz, pull us out now!* Max shouted and everything went black.

 

Max was lain next to the others on the living room floor. He had been the last to collapse and Jim placed him next to his sister. Walking over to the table, he put his hand on Kyle’s head and willed him to open his eyes.

Kyle let out a moan, and Jim released the breath he had been holding. Giving his shoulder a shake, he said, "Kyle, wake up son."

Kyle’s head rolled back and forth for a few minutes then his eyes snapped open.

"Dad?" he asked in a husky voice.

"Yeah, son. It’s me. Are you okay?"

Pulling himself to a sitting position, he rubbed his head and replied, "I think so. I had the strangest dream that Max Evans pulled out of a dark cave."

Glancing into their living room he exclaimed, "Holy shit! What happened to them?"

"They saved your life," Jim replied, helping Kyle off the table and over to the couch.

"Are they going to be okay?"

"I hope so."

###

Max was the first to recover. He opened his eyes and blinked as the light from the nearby end table shinned into his face. Putting a hand up to block it, he sat up and took a moment to remember where he was. It all came flooding back and he quickly gazed into the dining room at an empty table.

"I’m over here," Kyle said from the sofa.

Spinning, Max saw a smiling Kyle reclining against a bunch of pillows. His father was sitting on the arm next to his son, with a warm smile on his face. "Glad to see back, Max," he said.

"What happened?"

"You saved my son’s life."

"Max?"

"Liz!" Max cried and crawled over to her. She sat up and rubbed her forehead. "Who hit me?" she asked bewildered.

"No one, love. It is an after effect of the meld, I guess," he said taking her in his arms. Around him the others were coming to and all were rubbing their heads in pain.

Alex was on the far side of the room and not seeing Kyle, asked, "Did it work? Is he back?"

"Yeah, I’m back," Kyle replied. "Thanks to all of you."

"You’ll be getting a bill," Michael said, helping Maria to her feet. "A large one."

"What about Tess?" Isabel asked the sheriff warily.

"Everything is taken care of, Miss Evans. You don’t have to worry," he reassured her.

"That’s not entirely true," Kyle said, looking at his Dad.

"What do you mean?" Liz asked, now sitting next to him on the sofa.

"She’s still alive."

"No son," Jim said, placing his hand on his shoulder. "she’s not. She should be at the morgue by now."

"Trust me Dad, she’s alive and," turning to look at Liz, "Planing on killing you, again"

"Kyle," began the sheriff, when the phone rang. Going over to where it hung on the wall, he picked up the receiver and said, "Valenti."

As the others watched, his face became grave and he asked, "Are you sure?"

The person on the other end must have reaffirmed their answer and Jim replied, "Okay, I’ll be right there," and hung up the phone.

"What?" Maria demanded.

"That was Deputy Hanson. He said the coroner’s van never made it to the morgue.

They found it on fire a mile from town . The only body they could fined was the driver’s. Tess is gone."

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" Michael asked.

"I mean, she’s not there."

"She’s running," Kyle said from the couch. "She is going to recover and then she’s going to come back and kill us all."

"How the hell would you know?" Michael inquired sarcastically.

"I can hear her," he replied. "If I listen really hard, I can hear what she’s thinking. But it’s getting harder every second. I think she moving away from Roswell."

"Great! Now what are we going to do?" Alex asked the silent room.

Hope she never comes back," Kyle said ominously. "cuz when she does, we’re all dead."

 

The End