Aftermath of War Episode XI
Liz sat and stared at the blank TV screen. If she had thought to remember, she had done the same thing the day of Max’s funeral. She couldn’t think about anything, though. She kept hearing the reports that Valenti had given. Teri had died oddly but there was no evidence to link it to aliens. Poor Teri had overheated somehow, fainted dead away in a parking lot full of people but no one had seen anything at the time.
A shadow fell over her and she looked up to see a very solemn Zan. He gestured to the spot next to her on the pile of mattresses and she simply nodded. She wanted to ask how he was doing but she thought better of it. He might have insisted that he didn’t feel anything for Teri but he had been sleeping with her just the day before she died. Liz had the sneaking suspicion that he didn’t just sleep with anyone. He might talk big but there was a saying about how what a person said could only be measured by what that person acted on. His reluctance to truly discuss Teri told Liz how much he really did care.
She sat back to study him. He held his face in his hands, elbows resting on his knees, shoulders hunched and hair uncombed. It lay flat against his head, in a sort of reflection at how he was feeling that he hadn’t taken the time to stand it on end, as was his fashion. After what seemed like an eternity, Zan straightened slightly to look at her. His hands dangled between his legs and his amber eyes looked right through her. He had to clear his throat a few times before he spoke. She couldn’t remember the last time he had spoken in the last few days. “You’re not workin’ no more.”
“What?” Liz blinked at him.
“You’re not workin’ no more.” Zan repeated slower. He had made the decision all on his own. They couldn’t risk something happening to her if whoever got Teri was stalking waitresses. “I’m not lettin’ you go back to work.”
“Who made you my keeper?” Liz scoffed at him. She couldn’t believe what he was saying.
“You’re not and that’s all there is.” He insisted, his eyes never leaving hers. “If I gotta tie you down… I will.” He pulled a cigarette out of a pack hidden in one of his many pockets and then proceeded to light it. “There ain’t no arguin’ ‘bout it.”
“The hell there isn’t. I have to work to save money for school, to pay the rent on this apartment.” Liz argued back.
“He’s right.” Michael’s voice drifted over to them from where he had just walked into the apartment. “I don’t want you working there anymore.”
“Someone care to tell me when my life was taken out of my hands?” Liz exclaimed.
“September 19, 1999.” Michael responded. “That was the day that all of us lost any chance we had at a normal life. Like it or not… we entered hell that day. It’s been one bad turn after another. That’s what started all of this.”
Liz sat back as if she had been slapped. How could he say that? Tears filled her eyes as the air left her lungs. Sobs filled the room as she struggled to get off the pile of used mattresses following the dead silence after Michael’s words. He shut his eyes and listened to her heels click to the door, making himself wait until the door slammed to open them again. His eyes drifted to Zan.
Zan looked up at Michael in disbelief and shock. “How could you say that to her? You out of your fuckin’ mind?”
Michael couldn’t think of a single rational reason that those words had left his mouth. For 42 seconds he had reverted to the boy he had been back on that day. For 42 seconds the man he had become had disappeared. Every lesson that he had learned over the past three years
had simply flown out of his head. “I didn’t mean it.”
“Then you shouldn’t’a fuckin’ said it.” Zan snapped at him and rose to his feet. “Now, where’d she go?”
--
Liz stumbled down the alleys of Roswell, tears streaming down her face. She just needed to get away from it all. She was putting them all in danger. Being human had caused them so many problems. All that pain and suffering was because of her, confirmed by one of the two
people that really mattered to her.
FBI, killer aliens, Special Unit, Skins, White Rooms, strange orbs, strange cave messages, Nasedo, Tess, Rath, Lannie, Ava. Some good, some bad but they had all been her fault. If she had just died that day, none of this would have ever happened. Max and Isabel would still be alive, successfully hiding in plain sight, totally unaware of the bigger picture that had destroyed any semblance of normal they had had.
Before she realized it, she found herself kneeling at the foot of Max’s grave, totally unaware of the services taking place 200 yards over. Crawling, she reached out and touched the carving in the cool stone. She had no clue how long she sat like that but suddenly a coherent thought echoed in her mind. “Good-bye Max.” Her voice whispered, sounding hoarse and not her own. She wiped the tears from her eyes. “Bye Max. I’m leaving. If not Roswell, then Michael and Zan. I’m gonna leave them alone. I’ll only cause them more trouble. I have to shut the book on all this. I have to start over. I can’t be the Liz Parker that loves you anymore. I can’t be the Liz Parker that you fell in love with. I have to leave and I have to become a new Liz Parker. I can’t hang on to you anymore. I have to go. I have to go.”
She pulled her pocketknife out of her purse and laid it atop the tombstone. “Bye Max.”
--
Michael steered his bike carefully. Zan wasn’t holding on to him and he wasn’t wearing a helmet. Neither cared too much, they were looking for Liz. She wasn’t at the Evans’ so as a last resort, they were headed to the Crashdown. Michael couldn’t imagine her going back there but he couldn’t think of anywhere else.
The bike screeched to a halt in front of the alien themed restaurant. He turned to Zan. “Wait here.”
Michael walked into the Crashdown and was immediately spotted by Mr. Parker. Mr. Parker took one look at the young man’s desperate face and nearly fell. “What happened to her?”
“She’s not here?” Michael asked from across the room.
Mr. Parker could only shake his head. All his thoughts were on the horrible things that might have happened to his little girl if she wasn’t with Michael like he assumed she always was. He might have been angry that they hid from him but he trusted Michael. He knew that Liz would be okay with Michael. He suddenly wished he had never gotten into a fight with her. “What’s happened?” Then the news sprung to mind. “What’s happened?”
“I was stupid. Said something I shouldn’t have. She hasn’t called? Stopped by?” Michael was desperate. If she wasn’t here then he didn’t know where she was. She was an open target for Nicholas or whoever had killed Teri.
“No. Not in a few months.” Jeff brought a hand to his head. His only baby was missing in action.
“I’ll find her. I will.” Michael ran right back out into the street, shaking his head at Zan.
“Let’s hit the cemetery.”
--
“Oh no. I see
A spider web is tangled up with me
I lost my head
I thought of all the stupid things I’ve said”
The song played over the bus station intercom. Liz listened absently as she debated whether or not to approach the desk. A stop at the ATM to her right and she could have the money for a one-way ticket out of Roswell. Maybe she should pick a destination first.
“Oh no. What’s this?
A spider web and I’m caught in the middle
So I turn to run
I thought of all the stupid things I’ve done”
Her eyes scanned over all the various possibilities for escape. El Paso, Las Cruces, Albuquerque, Phoenix, Lubbock, Denver. Anywhere but here, she thought. Anywhere but where her life fell apart.
“I never meant to cause you trouble
And I never meant to do you wrong
And I, well if I ever caused you trouble
Oh, no, I never meant to do you harm”
Liz bit back a wave of tears as she stepped over to the ATM. This town had been nothing but trouble and the only way to stop it was to leave. It was the only way to stop hurting people. Michael, because she had taken all his family away from him. Zan because she had taken Ava and Teri away from him. Her fingers shook as she pulled her ATM card from her purse.
“Oh no. I see
A spider web and it’s me in the middle
So I twist and turn
But here am I in my little bubble”
Fingers poised over the keypad, she couldn’t remember her PIN number. Not her birthday, she had changed it. Max’s birthday?
“Singing I never meant to cause you trouble
I never meant to do you wrong
And I, well if I ever caused you trouble
Oh, no, I never meant to do you harm”
It used to be Max’s birthday, 03-15-83. Then it was 09-19-99 and then she had changed it again. What had she changed it to? Where was she going again? What was her damn PIN number?
“You want to hurry it up, girlie? Some of us have buses to catch.” A voice said behind her.
Hitting cancel, Liz stepped out of the way. She went back to the row of seats to try and remember what she had changed her PIN to. Of all the times in the world to forget it… Where was she going to go? Lubbock? Might be nice. Bigger city, lots of people to get lost in, no one to care if she lived alone, no one to take notice of her. New city in a new state, that’s probably all she needed. She had the grades to get into Tech if she wanted to. She had waitressing skills, she wouldn’t be for lack of money. It shouldn’t be too hard to find some place to live. What was her PIN?
“They spun a web for me
They spun a web for me
They spun a web for me”
Liz looked up at the same time she remembered her PIN. 05-08-82… Michael’s birthday. Before she could move, he and Zan were standing over her. “Where the hell do you think you are going?”
Large tears spilled from her eyes when they met his. They looked angry. “I’m leaving.”
Michael’s heart clenched when he saw the tremble in her jaw. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“I’m leaving. I’ll send you a postcard or something. I won’t bother you anymore.” Liz’s throat closed up, forbidding any further speech.
“You’re not going anywhere except back home.” Michael told her firmly. “Look. I’m sorry about what I said. I didn’t mean it like that but you gotta work with us. You’re a target and I’ll be damned if I let you run off and Nicholas corners you.” He pulled her up from her seat. “Now, we’re going home.”
“Just let me go, Michael.” The hoarse whisper escaped her mouth, tears blurring her vision. “Please.”
“Ain’t gon ‘appen Swee’ pea.” Zan shook his head. “You stuck wit us. We ain’t lettin’ you go.”
“Why?” She cried.
“Hey. It’s not your fault.” Michael forced her to look at him. “I didn’t mean what I said. It’s not your fault. We couldn’t have found all the stuff we did without you. If it wasn’t for you, Nicholas probably would have blind sided us.”
“If it wasn’t for me, they would still be alive and Teri would still be alive.” She sobbed and felt herself being pulled into Michael’s arms.
“No. No. No.” He shook his head. “No one blames you. No one blames you.”
--
Zan watched Michael pace the length of the apartment, Liz was lying in his lap dozing. “Valenti said that there was nothing to link it to us but I just know that Nicholas was behind it.”
“You right. It mean that shrimp been tailin’ me. He knew where to find Teri and he know where to find me. Which mean he know where to find you and Swee’ pea.” Zan nodded, absently stroking Liz’s back. “It ain’t safe here.”
“Where are we going to go?” Michael scratched at his eyebrow and squinted his eyes shut, his headache was growing by the second. “We can’t tell anyone but I know Mr. Parker will come hunting for her if we don’t figure something out.”
“So what are the options, yo?” Zan leaned back against the wall, locking his fingers together behind his head.
“Whatever we decide, we’ll have to tell Valenti… move out of the apartment… get a new place.”
“No.”
“What?” Both men turned their attention to Liz.
“We can’t let Nicholas win. I believe that he is doing this.” Liz muttered, not moving, not looking at anything in the room. “He’s taken our world, our lives away from us. If we get scared and run… he wins. We can run and hide but we’ll do it until he catches us. Our lives will mean nothing if he succeeds in scaring us.”
“What do you s’gest O wise one?” Zan waited patiently for her response.
“We stay here. We make a stand. We fight.”
End Episode XI
Aftermath of War Ep XXIII Mi/L/Z ADULT 4/29/5 COMPLETE W/AN
Moderators: Anniepoo98, Itzstacie, truelovepooh, Erina, Forum Moderators
Episode XII
Episode XII
The training part was absolute hell for the following months. Zan and Liz took a martial arts class in the day while Michael continued to work as if nothing had happened. They had to maintain the appearance of normalcy. Liz stretched her leg up on the counter and felt every strand of tendon and muscle protest at the movement. She leaned forward and the pull burned. It had been months and still she wasn't used to the constant strain her body was under. While she stretched, Zan taught Michael to control his powers. They looked adorable as they huddled over a couple of rocks on the floor.
This was how it was going to be. Zan would help Liz learn to defend herself and he and Michael would take care of everything else. They were busy with their speed, changing the colors of rocks in a random but exact pattern. It looked like an alien game of some kind. Liz couldn't resist. "You boys and your rocks."
"Hey, you think this is easy?" Michael snapped, whipped his head around so fast she thought he might whip his head off. "It's quite difficult."
"Quite?" Liz laughed. "Since when do you say quite?"
"Do ya mind? We workin' here." Zan scoffed at her and turned back to the rocks.
"I'm bored." Liz interrupted them as they were about to beginning working again.
"Go get dinner." Michael muttered, averting his eyes from the way she was stretched out on the counter.
There it was. The tension. Liz grabbed her purse and headed for the door. The tension was always confusing. She only saw two reasons he would keep his eyes off of her. The first being he was repulsed by her. The second being he felt the same about her that she felt about him. With the way he had closed up in the past few weeks, she was never going to find out. He would guard that secret closely.
Zan followed Liz's progress out the door. Her walk was different, like she couldn't remember how to walk anymore. That always happened after the tension filled the room. The second the door shut, he smacked Michael upside the head. "She wants you."
"What?" Michael whipped his head up, the rocks under his hands changing so rapidly that Zan couldn't keep up.
"You heard me. She wants you. Practically beggin' for it the way she struts around but when you stop lookin' she's all lost." Zan moved Michael's hand away from the rocks, after which the color changing stopped. "You got it bad, worse than she does."
---
Zan knew he shouldn't but he couldn't help but take in the view when it was made for him. Even Liz shaving her legs was sexy. Every time she looked up, he would close his eyes and pretend to be dozing. He knew he'd get caught eventually and then there would be hell to pay but he'd get away with it as long as she let him. She startled him awake when he must have really fallen asleep sitting there. "Zan, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were asleep."
"It's cool, what is it?" His sleepy eyes wanted so much to run over her body standing in front of him in only a towel but he dragged them up to her face to stay.
"I'm kinda sore. Can you massage my back?" Liz pointed behind her.
"Sure thang. Park it." Zan spread his legs and sat up a little, hoping whatever erection he still had was no longer visible. Liz sat between his legs, scooting back and then dropping her towel from one side. She held it up in front so it wouldn't fall but so that he could still work at her back. Shivering, she wondered if this was a good idea when she could feel his eyes stroking her back before his hands touched her.
Glancing away for a second, he spotted one of her hair clips and struggled to get the wet mass of dark tresses up and out of his way. He placed his warm hand on the back of her neck and felt all the tense muscles there. Gently, he began kneading her flesh, starting at her neck and moving down her back in widening circles.
Liz had to bite her lip to keep from moaning. And again when he scooted closer behind her and she could feel him throbbing in his jeans against her back. Clutching the towel to her chest with one hand, she placed the other on his thigh to keep herself upright. His hands felt so good and then there was his breath on her neck.
He couldn't believe how easily she came apart in his arms. His caresses grew stronger, bolder and her hand on his thigh gripped tighter. When her back arched, the other hand went to his other thigh, leaving only her breasts to hold up her towel. He couldn't help but press his lips to the back of her neck.
Zan wet her neck with his tongue before moving on to her shoulder, moving his hands down along her waist to caress her stomach. She was the best thing that he had ever tasted. The towel slipped and she gasped when the cool air hit her aching breasts, moaned when he covered them back up with only his large hands, cried out when he teased her erect nipples, pressed back into him and his erection.
The roar of a motorcycle ripped her out of the moment. He only protested a little when she pried herself out of his grasp to quickly get dressed. Before he could stop her, she was racing out the door, yanking on her shoes as she went out into the freezing cold. He sagged against the wall in defeat. It wasn't even Michael's motorcycle that had passed by.
Spearing his hands through his hair, he cursed. He was completely hopeless. Deliberately, he lifted her towel to his nose to smell her sweet scent. He knew he should give it up and let Michael have her but he wanted her too damn much.
--
Liz stirred the stew on the stove as she talked. "Well, then Max held out his hand and this shield appeared. The other aliens tried to break through but then Tess put her hand over Max's and it... strengthened. It didn't stay for long but it held them off until we heard an explosion."
"You kids did stuff like that all the time?" Diane shook her head.
"Yeah." Liz almost laughed to herself. "We did. It became our normal." She shook her head slowly. "For a while there, if my heart wasn't broken on a weekly basis, something was brewing."
"You really put yourself on the line for them."
"Yeah, I did and I still do." She hadn't meant to say that out loud.
"What do you mean?" Diane stood up. "I thought all this was over. Liz, what's going on?"
"It's..." Liz stopped; she didn't even know what she was saying. "It's never over."
"Liz, what's happening?" Diane pleaded with her.
"Nothing at the moment, which is really scary. Zan and I have been training to physically defend ourselves. Michael's been working on his powers... just no sign of Nicholas."
"This isn't a good thing?"
"We didn't hear anything about Nicholas for two years and then bam! Everyone's gone." She slowly took a seat. "I just hate this not knowing. It makes us complacent and gets me thinking too much."
"Thinking about what?" Diane rose from the table to check the temperature on the stew.
"Nothing. I just think too much." Liz sighed and barely noticed the bowl of stew that was slid in front of her. "Michael's such a great guy and I want to be with him but... then there's Zan and... I just wish I could take a step out of myself to figure things out."
"Ah, I see." The older woman nodded and curled her hands around her bowl. She saw the problem too clearly. "Two men with their own remarkable qualities and each one wants you for themselves."
"Pretty much and I'm with one or both nearly all the time. They don't let me be by myself. I know they're just trying to protect me but it can get suffocating too."
Diane cleared her throat and waited until Liz looked up. "You don't have to make a decision today. That's the point, actually. Which one do you see yourself with in twenty years? Which one do you see yourself with when you're old and gray and looking at your grandchildren?" She tilted her head at Liz. "I went to college. I took several courses in psychology. It all boils down to your instinct. Men and women subconsciously seek each other out based on the children they'll have. It's always been true and will continue to be true. Yes, love exists but so do instincts. Don't worry about it. I'm sure your heart and mind will make the decision for you when you're not thinking about it."
--
Liz laughed out loud as Zan danced to the rave music pouring from the speakers of their little stereo. It wasn't so much that he was acting funny as much as she was having a good time watching him try to entice her to dance with him. She turned around to finish cleaning up the kitchen only for him to drag her back into the main room.
His playful teasing was exactly what she needed to forget that two nights before they had been on the brink of something else. The longer she knew Zan the better a person she saw he was. He was in many ways like Max but never again would she ever think he was just a clever substitute. Max would have never started grooving in the middle of cleaning up, and especially not to that music... or shirtless.
She let her body twist and turn with his for a minute before twisting out of his reach to finish cleaning the kitchen. She watched him bend over to stack up the mattresses, his muscles rippling with the minimal effort. Zan had a leanness about him that spoke of the troubled life he had led.
Vaguely she remembered a story about the squirrel family. All came from the same progenitor but somewhere there came a rift. Some squirrels learned to fight for their food becoming lean and mean while the others had plenty and became beautiful and fat. Growing up in two very different worlds had shaped the same flesh into two very different men.
She was still watching Zan and smiling when Michael walked in. His eyes darkened before he stomped over to the refrigerator to find something to eat, pretending that it didn't bother him. Liz offered him a small smile and then went to join Zan for a little more dancing. Narrowing his eyes, Michael had to concede to Zan. If he didn't make his move soon, Liz would be elsewhere. Zan didn't seem to be sweating with the way they were dancing. The guy probably didn't care if Michael still wanted Liz or not. She was fair game at this point. Slamming the refrigerator shut, he hopped up on the counter to face away from them. He couldn't watch anymore but he wasn't going to leave them alone.
--
Liz turned on the hot water to soothe her aching back muscles. The water felt so good and it allowed her mind to drift and not think. Not about evil aliens, not about the two sexy ones she lived with and not about trying to choose between them Truth was every time she trying to picture just one in her future, it was blank. She had to know that they were both going to be there in some capacity.
Cursing, she realized that the shampoo wasn't in the shower. She pulled back the curtain to find her bottle of shampoo, surprised to find Michael standing at the sink washing his hands. Tension, that tension they had been feeling for weeks. They stared at each other for a moment before they were reaching for each other, devouring each other. Kicking off his shoes, Michael stepped into the shower. His hands ran all over her slick flesh, not caring that his clothes were getting soaked.
He pressed Liz up against the wall as they fought to strip him of his wet clothing. In the end, his shirt never cleared the bar and hung dripping onto the curtain. His pants and boxers wound up puddled around his ankles. That didn't matter. All that mattered was where his erection pressed into her folds.
"Michael." She rasped, clawing at his back, trying to pull him inside her body. "Please..."
When he slid home, they both froze to savor the moment. It had been so long for both of them. Shutting his eyes, he thrust slowly, jarring her body up against the wall with the sheer force of each plunge. Gripping his shoulders, Liz shut her own eyes to feel every move of muscle his body made against hers.
The water turned cold as they panted for breath. Their pace quickened and limbs tightened their grasp. She gasped at the quick forceful driving between her thighs and only hoped she could hang on long enough to get them both there. Squeezing him inside her, she let go, trembling around his still plunging body.
Finally, she felt his shudder and then his release inside her. Her legs slipped from his waist to brace weakly beneath her. Michael leaned on the shower wall on either side of her, not sure if he could move just yet. He could feel her heaving chest just centimeters from his. What had he done?
Stepping out of his wet clothes, he bent slightly to pick them up and then turned to leave her alone. Liz sank to the tub once he was gone. That had been fabulous but he hadn't looked at her once they were doing it. How in the hell was she supposed to take that?
--
Liz's mind had been somewhere else all day and they had completely forgotten about class. Zan insisted that she get a workout anyway to keep her muscles loose and limber. She had agreed before she realized that he was going to help her. He was, once again, shirtless and hands on in his helping.
Zan stretched her leg over her head, leaning into her to provide more resistance. Their eyes locked when his hand slipped down the back of her thigh for a better grip. Tension. Then he was swooping down on her mouth, her leg trapped under his arm. The pull of the muscles and tendons flew out of her mind. He eased her leg down and out of their way as he continued to plunder her mouth.
Their hands tangled as they fought to remove their clothes. Liz had him out of his jeans before he realized she was wearing spandex. He hissed at the feel of the slick fabric against his cock. He wretched the front of her tights open, ripping them off her body. His body pressed into her wet core as his mouth wandered the contours of her chest, sucking and biting. Tremors ran through her body at his every touch and rough caress.
He almost hesitated when he reached down to guide himself into her warm center. Inside with one stroke, he was rewarded with his name on her lips. Her arms immediately went around him, her hands clasping at his back as his lean body moved atop her.
Liz clung to him, her fingers turning white, and hoped she wasn't getting rug burn as he slammed into her over and over again. His mouth lapped at the words and gasps that flew from her mouth. Then he whispered her name. Liz. Not Swee' pea. Nails dug into his flesh as she came while he was still pounding into her. She barely heard his hiss when she tightened around him.
It was a long time before either even thought of moving. Their sticky bodies clung to each other even as their holds released. When he finally broke free of her arms and pushed himself up, he just stared at her long and hard from the top of her head down to where their bodies joined. "I ain't dreamin' this time." Slowly she shook her head. He dipped his head as if he were going to kiss her but then pulled away from her, getting to his feet. "I need a smoke."
Flinched for a second but quickly recovered. She never figured he would be one for cuddling. After his first long inhale, she managed to sit up and pull her shirt over her head. He had already pulled his pants on and turned on the stereo. Gingerly, she walked over to the dresser to retrieve a fresh pair of panties and some sweats. Suddenly it was cold.
"This is my December
This is my time of the year
This is my December
This is all so clear"
She wouldn't even bother to tell him to turn it down. Lying down on the mattress, she shut her eyes. Think. She needed to think. First Michael and now Zan. Either way the sex would be amazing but... she couldn't just lead one of them on. Zan was turning out to be a good friend, sometimes even thoughtful. Michael, with the eternal chip on his shoulder, was jealous as hell but who knew what he wanted, especially after the way he took off after the incident in the shower.
"This is my December
This is my snow covered home
This is my December
This is me alone"
Zan lit his second cigarette with the end of the first and took a long drag. So he had done it, finally. There was no doubt that he enjoyed being with Liz but she hadn't called him on his current cold shoulder. Hadn't asked why. Hadn't said a word since it had happened. Sliding his eyes over to her figure, he wanted to kick himself. He could have said something, anything and now she looked like the world was jumping up and down on her shoulders.
"And I (Just wish that I didn't feel that there was something I missed)
And I (Take back all the things I said to make you feel like that)
And I (Just wish that I didn't feel that there was something I missed)
And I (Take back all the things I said to you)"
If only there was some answer to the situation, a solution to the problem. If only there wasn't the Antarian threat. If only she didn't have to choose. If only there was some other way to figure it out. If only everyone was still alive. If only she could be in Santa Fe worrying about midterms instead of if she'd be alive the next week, instead of wondering if her heart would break again, instead of wondering if she would break the hearts of the only two people who really mattered in her life. If only...
"And I'd give it all away
Just to have somewhere to go to
Give it all away
To have someone to come home to"
At long last, Zan disposed of his butts and sat on the edge of the mattress. He didn't mean to put her on the spot. He was sure she was having a hard enough time figuring things out without him complicating matters by being horny. He could live if she said she never wanted him to touch her again. He could live if she wanted him out of the apartment. He could live if Michael beat him to a bloody pulp but if she wanted him gone... he couldn't live.
"This is my December
These are my snow-covered trees
This is me pretending
This is all I need"
"Swee' pea?"
Silence.
Silence was never good. It permeated the entire apartment, soaked into his bones.
"And I (Just wish that I didn't feel that there was something I missed)
And I (Take back all the things I said to make you feel like that)
And I (Just wish that I didn't feel that there was something I missed)
And I (Take back all the things I said to you)
And I'd give it all away
Just to have somewhere to go
Give it all away
To have someone to come home to"
"Swee' pea?" He took a deep breath and reached over to touch her lips. "Swee' pea, I ain't want you hate me."
Liz breathed in and she could taste his fingers. Smoke. Nicotine. She opened her eyes and stared at him leaning over her. His eyes were so lost.
"This is my December
This is my time of the year
This is my December
This is all so clear
And I'd give it all away
Just to have somewhere to go
Give it all away
To have someone to come home to"
"Swee' pea. I'll take it back. Don't make me leave."
"Give it all away
Just to have somewhere to go
Give it all away
To have someone to come home to"
--
Michael walked in and did a double take. Liz and Zan lay on the pile of mattresses, asleep... together. He backed right out the door and shoved his hands into his pockets. The cool wind bit into his face as he walked on. Had she made her decision?
That could only mean that he had screwed up royally with that scene in the bathroom before. No more shy glances or fiery kisses. No more soft touches. No more fucking on the kitchen counter. No more whispered words or shared memories. No more...
Hours later, he found himself back in the apartment staring at their forms. Head resting on his hands, he watched them. Liz had her head turned into Zan's neck, their arms wrapped around each other, legs touching. They looked good together. A lot like but different from the way she used to look with Max.
Stung. It stung. Michael had thought that he and Zan had come to be good friends but obviously the guy just wanted Liz. Laying his head down on the counter, he fell asleep. Dreams ripped him apart, showing him flashes of fire, watching Max burn... watching Zan burn. The flames licked around him but never touched him as he strode purposefully toward the dark figure just through the doors. He tried to get up and follow his king but a hand touched his face. 'Not this time Rath.' Then it all went black but he could hear the screams of the dying royal family as he faded.
Stung. It stung. Michael jerked awake and wildly ran his eyes over the room. Nothing. Nothing that he could see.
"No!" Zan leapt awake and over Liz's body, shield thrown wide. He saw Michael and then let his eyes sweep the room. "Nicholas?"
"That's what I'm thinking." Michael edged his way to the pile of mattresses. "Did you dream about that night too?"
"Felt like dyin' all over again." Zan muttered, his eyes peeling the room for a threat he couldn't see. When Michael came within range, he dropped the shield only to raise it back up around the three of them. Liz barely stirred in her sleep.
"I still love her." Michael managed, relaxing only slightly.
"She still loves you." Zan dropped his eyes, bile rising in her throat. "She axed me not to make her choose right now."
Michael shut his eyes and shook his head. His head hurt. His ears echoed with the blasts of a battle long since over and lost. He fought sleep for as long as he could but before his eyes shut for the night, he saw the green shield blink off, signaling that Zan had also fallen asleep.
End Episode XII
The training part was absolute hell for the following months. Zan and Liz took a martial arts class in the day while Michael continued to work as if nothing had happened. They had to maintain the appearance of normalcy. Liz stretched her leg up on the counter and felt every strand of tendon and muscle protest at the movement. She leaned forward and the pull burned. It had been months and still she wasn't used to the constant strain her body was under. While she stretched, Zan taught Michael to control his powers. They looked adorable as they huddled over a couple of rocks on the floor.
This was how it was going to be. Zan would help Liz learn to defend herself and he and Michael would take care of everything else. They were busy with their speed, changing the colors of rocks in a random but exact pattern. It looked like an alien game of some kind. Liz couldn't resist. "You boys and your rocks."
"Hey, you think this is easy?" Michael snapped, whipped his head around so fast she thought he might whip his head off. "It's quite difficult."
"Quite?" Liz laughed. "Since when do you say quite?"
"Do ya mind? We workin' here." Zan scoffed at her and turned back to the rocks.
"I'm bored." Liz interrupted them as they were about to beginning working again.
"Go get dinner." Michael muttered, averting his eyes from the way she was stretched out on the counter.
There it was. The tension. Liz grabbed her purse and headed for the door. The tension was always confusing. She only saw two reasons he would keep his eyes off of her. The first being he was repulsed by her. The second being he felt the same about her that she felt about him. With the way he had closed up in the past few weeks, she was never going to find out. He would guard that secret closely.
Zan followed Liz's progress out the door. Her walk was different, like she couldn't remember how to walk anymore. That always happened after the tension filled the room. The second the door shut, he smacked Michael upside the head. "She wants you."
"What?" Michael whipped his head up, the rocks under his hands changing so rapidly that Zan couldn't keep up.
"You heard me. She wants you. Practically beggin' for it the way she struts around but when you stop lookin' she's all lost." Zan moved Michael's hand away from the rocks, after which the color changing stopped. "You got it bad, worse than she does."
---
Zan knew he shouldn't but he couldn't help but take in the view when it was made for him. Even Liz shaving her legs was sexy. Every time she looked up, he would close his eyes and pretend to be dozing. He knew he'd get caught eventually and then there would be hell to pay but he'd get away with it as long as she let him. She startled him awake when he must have really fallen asleep sitting there. "Zan, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were asleep."
"It's cool, what is it?" His sleepy eyes wanted so much to run over her body standing in front of him in only a towel but he dragged them up to her face to stay.
"I'm kinda sore. Can you massage my back?" Liz pointed behind her.
"Sure thang. Park it." Zan spread his legs and sat up a little, hoping whatever erection he still had was no longer visible. Liz sat between his legs, scooting back and then dropping her towel from one side. She held it up in front so it wouldn't fall but so that he could still work at her back. Shivering, she wondered if this was a good idea when she could feel his eyes stroking her back before his hands touched her.
Glancing away for a second, he spotted one of her hair clips and struggled to get the wet mass of dark tresses up and out of his way. He placed his warm hand on the back of her neck and felt all the tense muscles there. Gently, he began kneading her flesh, starting at her neck and moving down her back in widening circles.
Liz had to bite her lip to keep from moaning. And again when he scooted closer behind her and she could feel him throbbing in his jeans against her back. Clutching the towel to her chest with one hand, she placed the other on his thigh to keep herself upright. His hands felt so good and then there was his breath on her neck.
He couldn't believe how easily she came apart in his arms. His caresses grew stronger, bolder and her hand on his thigh gripped tighter. When her back arched, the other hand went to his other thigh, leaving only her breasts to hold up her towel. He couldn't help but press his lips to the back of her neck.
Zan wet her neck with his tongue before moving on to her shoulder, moving his hands down along her waist to caress her stomach. She was the best thing that he had ever tasted. The towel slipped and she gasped when the cool air hit her aching breasts, moaned when he covered them back up with only his large hands, cried out when he teased her erect nipples, pressed back into him and his erection.
The roar of a motorcycle ripped her out of the moment. He only protested a little when she pried herself out of his grasp to quickly get dressed. Before he could stop her, she was racing out the door, yanking on her shoes as she went out into the freezing cold. He sagged against the wall in defeat. It wasn't even Michael's motorcycle that had passed by.
Spearing his hands through his hair, he cursed. He was completely hopeless. Deliberately, he lifted her towel to his nose to smell her sweet scent. He knew he should give it up and let Michael have her but he wanted her too damn much.
--
Liz stirred the stew on the stove as she talked. "Well, then Max held out his hand and this shield appeared. The other aliens tried to break through but then Tess put her hand over Max's and it... strengthened. It didn't stay for long but it held them off until we heard an explosion."
"You kids did stuff like that all the time?" Diane shook her head.
"Yeah." Liz almost laughed to herself. "We did. It became our normal." She shook her head slowly. "For a while there, if my heart wasn't broken on a weekly basis, something was brewing."
"You really put yourself on the line for them."
"Yeah, I did and I still do." She hadn't meant to say that out loud.
"What do you mean?" Diane stood up. "I thought all this was over. Liz, what's going on?"
"It's..." Liz stopped; she didn't even know what she was saying. "It's never over."
"Liz, what's happening?" Diane pleaded with her.
"Nothing at the moment, which is really scary. Zan and I have been training to physically defend ourselves. Michael's been working on his powers... just no sign of Nicholas."
"This isn't a good thing?"
"We didn't hear anything about Nicholas for two years and then bam! Everyone's gone." She slowly took a seat. "I just hate this not knowing. It makes us complacent and gets me thinking too much."
"Thinking about what?" Diane rose from the table to check the temperature on the stew.
"Nothing. I just think too much." Liz sighed and barely noticed the bowl of stew that was slid in front of her. "Michael's such a great guy and I want to be with him but... then there's Zan and... I just wish I could take a step out of myself to figure things out."
"Ah, I see." The older woman nodded and curled her hands around her bowl. She saw the problem too clearly. "Two men with their own remarkable qualities and each one wants you for themselves."
"Pretty much and I'm with one or both nearly all the time. They don't let me be by myself. I know they're just trying to protect me but it can get suffocating too."
Diane cleared her throat and waited until Liz looked up. "You don't have to make a decision today. That's the point, actually. Which one do you see yourself with in twenty years? Which one do you see yourself with when you're old and gray and looking at your grandchildren?" She tilted her head at Liz. "I went to college. I took several courses in psychology. It all boils down to your instinct. Men and women subconsciously seek each other out based on the children they'll have. It's always been true and will continue to be true. Yes, love exists but so do instincts. Don't worry about it. I'm sure your heart and mind will make the decision for you when you're not thinking about it."
--
Liz laughed out loud as Zan danced to the rave music pouring from the speakers of their little stereo. It wasn't so much that he was acting funny as much as she was having a good time watching him try to entice her to dance with him. She turned around to finish cleaning up the kitchen only for him to drag her back into the main room.
His playful teasing was exactly what she needed to forget that two nights before they had been on the brink of something else. The longer she knew Zan the better a person she saw he was. He was in many ways like Max but never again would she ever think he was just a clever substitute. Max would have never started grooving in the middle of cleaning up, and especially not to that music... or shirtless.
She let her body twist and turn with his for a minute before twisting out of his reach to finish cleaning the kitchen. She watched him bend over to stack up the mattresses, his muscles rippling with the minimal effort. Zan had a leanness about him that spoke of the troubled life he had led.
Vaguely she remembered a story about the squirrel family. All came from the same progenitor but somewhere there came a rift. Some squirrels learned to fight for their food becoming lean and mean while the others had plenty and became beautiful and fat. Growing up in two very different worlds had shaped the same flesh into two very different men.
She was still watching Zan and smiling when Michael walked in. His eyes darkened before he stomped over to the refrigerator to find something to eat, pretending that it didn't bother him. Liz offered him a small smile and then went to join Zan for a little more dancing. Narrowing his eyes, Michael had to concede to Zan. If he didn't make his move soon, Liz would be elsewhere. Zan didn't seem to be sweating with the way they were dancing. The guy probably didn't care if Michael still wanted Liz or not. She was fair game at this point. Slamming the refrigerator shut, he hopped up on the counter to face away from them. He couldn't watch anymore but he wasn't going to leave them alone.
--
Liz turned on the hot water to soothe her aching back muscles. The water felt so good and it allowed her mind to drift and not think. Not about evil aliens, not about the two sexy ones she lived with and not about trying to choose between them Truth was every time she trying to picture just one in her future, it was blank. She had to know that they were both going to be there in some capacity.
Cursing, she realized that the shampoo wasn't in the shower. She pulled back the curtain to find her bottle of shampoo, surprised to find Michael standing at the sink washing his hands. Tension, that tension they had been feeling for weeks. They stared at each other for a moment before they were reaching for each other, devouring each other. Kicking off his shoes, Michael stepped into the shower. His hands ran all over her slick flesh, not caring that his clothes were getting soaked.
He pressed Liz up against the wall as they fought to strip him of his wet clothing. In the end, his shirt never cleared the bar and hung dripping onto the curtain. His pants and boxers wound up puddled around his ankles. That didn't matter. All that mattered was where his erection pressed into her folds.
"Michael." She rasped, clawing at his back, trying to pull him inside her body. "Please..."
When he slid home, they both froze to savor the moment. It had been so long for both of them. Shutting his eyes, he thrust slowly, jarring her body up against the wall with the sheer force of each plunge. Gripping his shoulders, Liz shut her own eyes to feel every move of muscle his body made against hers.
The water turned cold as they panted for breath. Their pace quickened and limbs tightened their grasp. She gasped at the quick forceful driving between her thighs and only hoped she could hang on long enough to get them both there. Squeezing him inside her, she let go, trembling around his still plunging body.
Finally, she felt his shudder and then his release inside her. Her legs slipped from his waist to brace weakly beneath her. Michael leaned on the shower wall on either side of her, not sure if he could move just yet. He could feel her heaving chest just centimeters from his. What had he done?
Stepping out of his wet clothes, he bent slightly to pick them up and then turned to leave her alone. Liz sank to the tub once he was gone. That had been fabulous but he hadn't looked at her once they were doing it. How in the hell was she supposed to take that?
--
Liz's mind had been somewhere else all day and they had completely forgotten about class. Zan insisted that she get a workout anyway to keep her muscles loose and limber. She had agreed before she realized that he was going to help her. He was, once again, shirtless and hands on in his helping.
Zan stretched her leg over her head, leaning into her to provide more resistance. Their eyes locked when his hand slipped down the back of her thigh for a better grip. Tension. Then he was swooping down on her mouth, her leg trapped under his arm. The pull of the muscles and tendons flew out of her mind. He eased her leg down and out of their way as he continued to plunder her mouth.
Their hands tangled as they fought to remove their clothes. Liz had him out of his jeans before he realized she was wearing spandex. He hissed at the feel of the slick fabric against his cock. He wretched the front of her tights open, ripping them off her body. His body pressed into her wet core as his mouth wandered the contours of her chest, sucking and biting. Tremors ran through her body at his every touch and rough caress.
He almost hesitated when he reached down to guide himself into her warm center. Inside with one stroke, he was rewarded with his name on her lips. Her arms immediately went around him, her hands clasping at his back as his lean body moved atop her.
Liz clung to him, her fingers turning white, and hoped she wasn't getting rug burn as he slammed into her over and over again. His mouth lapped at the words and gasps that flew from her mouth. Then he whispered her name. Liz. Not Swee' pea. Nails dug into his flesh as she came while he was still pounding into her. She barely heard his hiss when she tightened around him.
It was a long time before either even thought of moving. Their sticky bodies clung to each other even as their holds released. When he finally broke free of her arms and pushed himself up, he just stared at her long and hard from the top of her head down to where their bodies joined. "I ain't dreamin' this time." Slowly she shook her head. He dipped his head as if he were going to kiss her but then pulled away from her, getting to his feet. "I need a smoke."
Flinched for a second but quickly recovered. She never figured he would be one for cuddling. After his first long inhale, she managed to sit up and pull her shirt over her head. He had already pulled his pants on and turned on the stereo. Gingerly, she walked over to the dresser to retrieve a fresh pair of panties and some sweats. Suddenly it was cold.
"This is my December
This is my time of the year
This is my December
This is all so clear"
She wouldn't even bother to tell him to turn it down. Lying down on the mattress, she shut her eyes. Think. She needed to think. First Michael and now Zan. Either way the sex would be amazing but... she couldn't just lead one of them on. Zan was turning out to be a good friend, sometimes even thoughtful. Michael, with the eternal chip on his shoulder, was jealous as hell but who knew what he wanted, especially after the way he took off after the incident in the shower.
"This is my December
This is my snow covered home
This is my December
This is me alone"
Zan lit his second cigarette with the end of the first and took a long drag. So he had done it, finally. There was no doubt that he enjoyed being with Liz but she hadn't called him on his current cold shoulder. Hadn't asked why. Hadn't said a word since it had happened. Sliding his eyes over to her figure, he wanted to kick himself. He could have said something, anything and now she looked like the world was jumping up and down on her shoulders.
"And I (Just wish that I didn't feel that there was something I missed)
And I (Take back all the things I said to make you feel like that)
And I (Just wish that I didn't feel that there was something I missed)
And I (Take back all the things I said to you)"
If only there was some answer to the situation, a solution to the problem. If only there wasn't the Antarian threat. If only she didn't have to choose. If only there was some other way to figure it out. If only everyone was still alive. If only she could be in Santa Fe worrying about midterms instead of if she'd be alive the next week, instead of wondering if her heart would break again, instead of wondering if she would break the hearts of the only two people who really mattered in her life. If only...
"And I'd give it all away
Just to have somewhere to go to
Give it all away
To have someone to come home to"
At long last, Zan disposed of his butts and sat on the edge of the mattress. He didn't mean to put her on the spot. He was sure she was having a hard enough time figuring things out without him complicating matters by being horny. He could live if she said she never wanted him to touch her again. He could live if she wanted him out of the apartment. He could live if Michael beat him to a bloody pulp but if she wanted him gone... he couldn't live.
"This is my December
These are my snow-covered trees
This is me pretending
This is all I need"
"Swee' pea?"
Silence.
Silence was never good. It permeated the entire apartment, soaked into his bones.
"And I (Just wish that I didn't feel that there was something I missed)
And I (Take back all the things I said to make you feel like that)
And I (Just wish that I didn't feel that there was something I missed)
And I (Take back all the things I said to you)
And I'd give it all away
Just to have somewhere to go
Give it all away
To have someone to come home to"
"Swee' pea?" He took a deep breath and reached over to touch her lips. "Swee' pea, I ain't want you hate me."
Liz breathed in and she could taste his fingers. Smoke. Nicotine. She opened her eyes and stared at him leaning over her. His eyes were so lost.
"This is my December
This is my time of the year
This is my December
This is all so clear
And I'd give it all away
Just to have somewhere to go
Give it all away
To have someone to come home to"
"Swee' pea. I'll take it back. Don't make me leave."
"Give it all away
Just to have somewhere to go
Give it all away
To have someone to come home to"
--
Michael walked in and did a double take. Liz and Zan lay on the pile of mattresses, asleep... together. He backed right out the door and shoved his hands into his pockets. The cool wind bit into his face as he walked on. Had she made her decision?
That could only mean that he had screwed up royally with that scene in the bathroom before. No more shy glances or fiery kisses. No more soft touches. No more fucking on the kitchen counter. No more whispered words or shared memories. No more...
Hours later, he found himself back in the apartment staring at their forms. Head resting on his hands, he watched them. Liz had her head turned into Zan's neck, their arms wrapped around each other, legs touching. They looked good together. A lot like but different from the way she used to look with Max.
Stung. It stung. Michael had thought that he and Zan had come to be good friends but obviously the guy just wanted Liz. Laying his head down on the counter, he fell asleep. Dreams ripped him apart, showing him flashes of fire, watching Max burn... watching Zan burn. The flames licked around him but never touched him as he strode purposefully toward the dark figure just through the doors. He tried to get up and follow his king but a hand touched his face. 'Not this time Rath.' Then it all went black but he could hear the screams of the dying royal family as he faded.
Stung. It stung. Michael jerked awake and wildly ran his eyes over the room. Nothing. Nothing that he could see.
"No!" Zan leapt awake and over Liz's body, shield thrown wide. He saw Michael and then let his eyes sweep the room. "Nicholas?"
"That's what I'm thinking." Michael edged his way to the pile of mattresses. "Did you dream about that night too?"
"Felt like dyin' all over again." Zan muttered, his eyes peeling the room for a threat he couldn't see. When Michael came within range, he dropped the shield only to raise it back up around the three of them. Liz barely stirred in her sleep.
"I still love her." Michael managed, relaxing only slightly.
"She still loves you." Zan dropped his eyes, bile rising in her throat. "She axed me not to make her choose right now."
Michael shut his eyes and shook his head. His head hurt. His ears echoed with the blasts of a battle long since over and lost. He fought sleep for as long as he could but before his eyes shut for the night, he saw the green shield blink off, signaling that Zan had also fallen asleep.
End Episode XII
Episode XIII
Aftermath of War Episode XIII
Liz woke between two warm male bodies. Zan's large hand rested just under the elastic of her sweatpants, their lower bodies flush against each other, his mild erection cradled against her bottom. Michael's chest lay beneath her chin, her leg rested over his hip, where his morning erection pressed into her thigh. Stretching, she gasped. The movement made her back arch and Zan's hand slide into her panties. He stirred behind her, drawing her flush against his body, flexing his fingers against her abdomen, the tips just touching her coarse curls.
The moan wouldn't be contained. The things that both men could do to her flashed through her mind, followed by the things they could do at the same time. This time the moan was loud enough to rouse them from sleep. When Michael opened his eyes to see her face inches from his, her mind was still taking her places that her body longed to go. Something kept feeding the fantasies and her body kept responding, warmth pooling low in her stomach and spreading downward. Reluctantly, Michael's eyes slid down to look at the hand that clutched at his arm, the leg that rubbed against his hip.
Zan had trouble opening his eyes but he knew where his hand was and that her hips kept rocking into it, sending it lower and lower. At last her hips ground into his hand, soaking his fingers with her arousal and it just turned him on. Blindly, he slipped his hand down for a better angle and more pressure. He buried his face in her hair and couldn't stop his hips from rocking against her, his erection growing with each motion against her firm bottom.
As turned on as the situation made him, Michael could neither get up and leave nor muster the courage to touch her. The hand on his arm traveled up to his neck and pulled him closer. Before he could blink, her mouth had latched onto his and her tongue had invaded his mouth. Giving in, his hand met Zan's on its way to the hem of her shirt. Ignoring the other man's touch, Michael slipped his hand up to the tight nipples hidden beneath it.
Liz squeezed her eyes shut and clutched at her pillow. Strong tongue in her mouth, rough fingers squeezing her nipples, urgent fingers inside her… muscled chests on either side of her. Thrusting her hips, she locked Zan's hand between her mound and Michael's hip. Michael's erection hit her abdomen just as Zan rolled to be closer and his erection hit her high on her ass. Zan's mouth found its way to her neck and that sensitive spot just behind her ear. Finally it was too much and she cried out as her body trembled between them.
Recovered, she slipped from between them and knelt to slip her shirt over her head. Standing her sweats and underwear went next. Her eyes were so dark with desire that both men lay frozen as she stood nude over them. Slowly, she reached down and pulled on Zan's pants. "Off." Then her eyes shot to Michael. "You too."
They dared only one look at each other and did as told when she tilted her head at them. Lust, or whatever, drove them to do as told. Lying there naked, neither man could muster the courage to protest, proceed or look at each other while she surveyed the both of them as if one of them were to be her next meal and she had but to pick one. Slowly, she knelt over Zan and took his erection in her hand, stroking slowly but firmly. His eyes shut and his head flew back against the pillow. His breath came out in pants and just when he would have moaned, he choked on it. She was around him, surrounding him, bouncing on his cock with no mercy until he had no choice but to catch his breath and grunt with her.
Michael could only stare as she threw her head back every time she moaned, as her breasts bounced unchecked and her hands ran through her hair and over her throat. Licked his lips and swallowed thickly when he felt Zan thrusting up into her through the mattress, her body jerked in response to every upward thrust and her cries... each one sent a jolt straight to his straining cock. Unable to help himself, he took his cock in his hand and stroked in time with their thrusts.
"No." Liz shook her head and that's when Michael realized that she wasn't oblivious to his presence. "No, don't do that. Let me." When he didn't move she let out a loud cry. "Get up Michael. Stand up." Her voice was so low and husky, he had to squeeze his cock hard to keep from coming.
When he got to his feet, she reached for him and stroked his throbbing cock hard enough to immediately get him bucking his hips into her hand. All the air left his lungs when the intense heat of her mouth surrounded the swollen head of his cock. One hand kept stroking the base of his cock and the other gripped his hip. That's when she began to suck, hard. Moans vibrated through his aching member as she continued to bounce on Zan. Michael felt her mouth move around his cock and then pull him deeper inside her mouth until he felt her swallow around his cock, taking his cock into her throat inch by inch until he could feel her breath in his pubic hair.
Thrusting ever so slightly, he began to pull out only for her to draw him back in. Her bouncing turned into a torturous grind against Zan, driving him out of his mind. Zan's hands found her hips to hold her as he ground up into her, lifting her up just enough to give him some room to push in and out of her. The view of her deepthroating the other man only served to drive him on. Michael let his eyes drift closed as he fought to keep from forcing himself deeper into her throat and mouth, holding on to her shoulders for dear life.
Suddenly, Michael did what he hadn't wanted to. He gripped her head and thrust rapidly and forcefully as he came down her convulsing throat. Shuddering, he pulled his limp dick from her mouth and sank to his jelly-filled knees. He whispered apologies and kissed her gently but she wouldn't have it. Her tongue filled his mouth, along with the taste of his own seed and her grunts as Zan continued to slam into her. Bracing himself, Michael reached down and threaded his fingers through her coarse curls, purposefully ignoring the feel of the other man's slick cock, to find that tight bundle he knew was aching for just the right…
"Holy shit!" Liz screamed as she rode out her orgasm on Zan's thrusts. The quivering and convulsing around his rock hard cock increased until finally his body could hold out no more, he came. Thrusting and pounding, gritting his teeth and digging his fingers into her hips, arching and straining, he came. Zan released her hips and reached down to rub at his sore thighs where she had slammed into him so many times. His flaccid member felt sore as it slipped from inside her warm pussy.
If he had had any brains cells left, Zan might have taken a moment to wonder what in the world had gotten into the splendor that still straddled his legs. Instead he sat up to claim her mouth for his, wincing only slightly at the salty taste of her mouth. Had to growl when she pulled away to kiss Michael but latched onto the skin of her throat. Large hands covered her breasts, kneading and squeezing. Liz finally found her voice. "God, I still need the two of you."
It was like a mad rush the way their hands shot down to her crotch, their fingers mixing her juices and Zan's seed inside her as they thrust into and stroked around her sex. Sapped cocks beginning to stir once more, the men stopped trying to ignore the other's presence and tried to work together to give her what she wanted. She yelped when her nipples were pinched and teased, cried sharply when her clit was stroked just right and moaned deeply when fingers thrust up inside her.
Suddenly, Michael found himself on his back and Liz climbing onto his stomach before sliding along his cock to sit on his legs. She gripped his sticky cock and stroked it gently, coaxing it into hardness. Behind her, she could hear Zan beating off as he watched them. She clenched her internal muscles and felt a fresh flow of moisture between her thighs. Lifting up, she scooted forward to guide Michael's thick cock into her waiting depth. Taking him all in, she stopped and leaned forward, resting her chest on his while she slid slowly up and down his cock. Michael's hips bucked up into her and she stopped moving to feel his plunging.
Liz looked over her shoulder at Zan. Her smoldering eyes had him ready and kneeling behind her in an instant. Gripping her hips, he rubbing his erection between her cheeks, letting his pre-cum slick her opening before inserting a finger. He alternated with Michael's rhythm, her gasps echoing through the room. He added a second thick finger and sped up his pushing in and out of her anus. He had already guessed what she wanted but he needed to hear her say it. Pushing into her with more force to emphasize what would happen, "Liz, you want me to do this?"
Her mouth opened wide in a gasp, her head nodding up and down. "Yes… god, yes. Please…" Michael paused his movement within her slick passage to allow Zan his chance to enter her from behind. Zan removed his fingers from her cleft and slowly eased his throbbing cock inside her. Liz felt like she was going to die, the sensations were too much.
Zan stayed still to keep from cumming immediately inside her tight channel. When the roar in his ears slowed, he moved slowly inside her and then sped up to keep up with Michael below her. Her cried came thick and throaty, urging the men on even more. Sweat poured off every inch of them, slicking their bodies as they rubbed and thrust and counter-thrust.
The burning and the friction and the sliding had her screaming her orgasm soon enough. Her muscles quivered violently as they continued to pound into her body. Suddenly, she was hyberaware of every inch of her body. The scrapes where Zan's piercings hit her back, how Michael's dick kept slipping out and he finally anchored his hand against her to keep it from coming out again, how Zan's hand slipped between her body and Michael's to get her going again, how her hair fell all over and which strands were stuck to Michael and which were stuck to her own body.
Then they were all cumming, orgasing around each other, with each other and ready to fall into oblivion. Panting and sticky, they slowly pulled away. Zan first to collapse on the far end of the mattress, Liz was next to fall between them and Michael couldn't even find the strength to move.
~
Zan felt back on his elbows, panting for breath, thrusting one last time into Liz's mouth as she swallowed him down. If he wasn't so tired, he might get hard again just looking at her nose so close to the base of his cokc. He could still feel her throat working around his quickly deflating penis and just fell back on the mattress to sleep. Michael had had the right idea to pass out a few minutes before when she was through with him.
When she had milked the last of him, she pulled her mouth off and lay with her head on his stomach. He stroked her hair until he couldn't lift his arm or his eyelids again. Liz shut her eyes and her breath evened out…
20 minutes later she sat bolt upright, her muscles screaming from every inch of her sweat-dried body. Her thighs cried out when she shifted away from Zan's naked body. His. Naked. Body. Her head whipped around and her throat hurt, which made her recognize the salty taste in her mouth. Michael's naked body lay at the other end of the mattress. Another shift brought to mind the intense soreness in her rear end.
Slowly, she grabbed the sheet and wrapped it around her body and very slowly made her way to the bathroom where she immediately lost anything that was in her stomach. Her mind reeled with images of the day. The afternoon light was pouring into the apartment, which meant there had been several hours that she was not completely aware of. The things that she, they, had done.
Shaking, she made her way into the shower stall and snapped on the water. The spray stung her hickey-ridden breasts, bruised hips and quivering thighs. Grabbing the loofah, she scrubbed at her sticky stomach, back and thighs. Shut her eyes against the sight of semen washing down the drain. Her head was about to explode.
Sex. It was just sex. It was just wild, unrestrained sex with two incredible men… at the same time. She had thought about it before but she never would have acted on it… consciously. Hair washed and skin raw, Liz emerged from the shower on sturdier, but not less painful, legs. As quietly as she could, she crept to the closet to pull some clothes on. She had to get out of the apartment before whatever it was took over her body again. With the two of them lying naked on the mattresses, it would be too easy to let it. She needed air and a very slow walk to wrap her mind around the deranged porno fodder that had taken place in that apartment.
The cold air bit at her skin and aided in putting some distance between herself and her actions, conscious or not. Two blocks from home, her hands started shaking. A block after that, it had grown mildly painful. A block from the place that used to be her home the pain grew and spread. Both arms shook and sent a shiver that prompted her legs to quiver. It was then she realized a van was following her. Mustering the last of her strength, Liz rushed down the street and into the Crashdown. Patrons stared as she rushed to the break room where she collapsed on the couch, shaking in pain.
The pain was so acute that she could barely make out her father's voice when he spoke to her. She could only say one thing before she blacked out. "No hospitals, no matter what."
~
Zan was just coming out of the bathroom when Michael came to. His sleepy eyes wandered the room and then he sat up, pulling a pillow over his lap. "Where's Liz?"
"Don't know. Swee' pea was gone before I got up." Zan grab a Coke from the fridge and looked toward the window. "It's getting dark out. She left a sheet in the bathroom. Hot water's good and shower's almost dry, so she's been gone awhile… it, uh… smelled like ralph in there."
"Do you know what that was all about?" Michael grabbed his jeans and yanked them on. "I wasn't complaining but… wow."
"Yeah. Didn't know she had it in her." Zan scratched at his stomach and took a long pull on the bottle. "She usually take off like that?"
"No. Not her. She likes to cuddle but… we've only ever been with each other…" Michael cleared his throat and reached for some clean clothes to take his turn in the shower.
"Yeah, I know. She told me." Zan nodded to his chest. "If she's not back soon… we'll go look for her."
"Yeah." Michael nodded stiffly and entered the bathroom. It was a lot for him to take it. He had just shared Liz with some friend that looked like his first best friend. He hadn't been able to stop himself when it was happening. Anything Liz wanted, she got.
~
Jeff mopped the sweat off his daughter's forehead and turned to his wife. She shifted from foot to foot. "We should take her to a hospital."
"She said not to."
"She was obviously delirious. We should call an ambulance." Nancy reached for the phone, frantic to know what was going on with her only child.
"Sweetie." Jeff took the phone from her. "She hasn't been home in months. She won't visit or call. It must have been really important if she came here to us. She's quite a ways from home, if she could have, I'm sure she would have gone herself but she said 'no hospitals, no matter what.'"
"She looks like she's in so much pain." Mrs. Parker put a hand to her mouth. Her daughter was shaking from head to toe, sweating profusely and whimpering in pain. Suddenly, Liz's body stiffened and she sat bolt upright, gasping for breath. "Lizzie?"
"Lizzie? Sweetie?" Mr. Parker was by her side, brushing her hair out of her face. She sagged against him, barely able to keep her eyes open. "Lizzie?"
"They're here." Liz whispered. "They're here. They're out to get us. They're making this happen. They know who I am, what I was to him and they want me to pay."
"What? What are you talking about?" Jeff looked to his wife but she just shook her head.
"They followed me, they know I’m here. They're doing this to me. I have to keep away from Zan and Michael or else they'll get to them too." Liz swallowed the lump in her throat. "They don't know what I know."
"What are you talking about? Sweetie?" Jeff turned his daughter's face up to look at her but she had passed out again. "Sweetie? Liz? What's going on?" He rocked her trembling body gently as he racked his brain for any explanation that would answer all the questions running through his head.
"I'm calling Michael." Nancy bit her lip and reached for the phone.
~
"'Lo." Zan picked up the phone. "Nah, he's in the shower… Yeah, tha's my name. How'd'ju know? … She there? … We's wonderin' where she was. Why didn't she call herself? … she's what? … Tell me, lady..." He slammed down the phone. "Mikey! We gotta roll!"
"Don’t call me Mikey." Michael muttered and pulled on his shirt as he made his way out of the bathroom. "What's the deal?"
"Liz. She's hurt or somethin'. Her moms was on the phone." Zan grabbed a sweatshirt and was out the door and jogging down the street with Michael on his heels. "Which way?" Zan let Michael take the lead and soon they were scaling a wall and climbing in Liz's bedroom window where her parents were keeping watch.
"What's going on?" Nancy demanded of them. "She's been babbling about someone knowing where she is. That someone is doing something to her and she mentioned you and, I guess, you."
Jeff kissed his daughter's forehead and looked to the two boys, one of which looked suspiciously like a dead man. "What's happening to her?"
"I don't know." Michael swallowed the lump in his throat at the sight of her limp body. "She was fine this morning."
"Are you sure?"
"Sure." Zan and Michael answered at the same time. Michael sat on the edge of the bed. "She left when we were both asleep. We didn't know she was gone until about an hour ago." He looked to Mr. Parker. "What exactly did she say?"
"That 'they' knew who she was. 'They' are out to get 'us.' 'They' followed her and knew she was here. 'They' don't know what she knows." Jeff pleaded that the boy in front of him had some answers. "She said 'they' were doing this to her."
"Nicholas." Zan licked his dry lips. "Let me try."
"Who? What?" Nancy felt the tears slipping down her face. "What is wrong with my little girl?"
"Let's go." Michael motioned for the Parkers to join him in the apartment to leave Zan alone with Liz. The door shut behind them, weak protests and conversations muffled by its sturdy wood.
Zan wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans and laid his hands on Liz. A hand under her neck and the other over her heart, a deep breath and a silent prayer. "Lizzie, swee' pea, you gon hafta come back to us. We neva really got our cuddle time, so you open your eyes for me." Bracing himself, he reached down to pinch her arm. It got her eyes fluttering. "That'sit. Open 'em. Let me in. Let me in."
Placing his hand square on her chest, he tried again but she couldn't keep her eyes open. He shook her a little to get her eyes back to fluttering. She pushed him away a bit and he took full advantage of the motion. It meant she knew where he was in relation to herself. He lifted her head so that his eyes would be the first thing she saw. "Lizzie."
"mmm…" she moaned and her eyes cracked open. Then Zan was in. He was in her mind and body, quickly trying to find the problem. Then it slammed into him, trying to infest him. The internal struggle went on for what seemed like hours. Liz's mind had been fighting it this whole time that it had debilitated her body. All he had to do was get it out without hurting Liz. Images and feelings flew past him and brushed seductively against his mind but he needed to get it away from her.
Finally, it gave up and just… receded from her mind, like the ocean at low tide. Just backed off. Zan carefully extricated himself from her mind to find Liz with her face buried beneath his shirt. Carefully, he pulled his shirt back from her face and looked into her face. "You okay?"
"Yes." She nodded, biting her lip and sitting up. "They were in my head… making me do those things and…"
"Sh." Zan pulled her into his arms and let her sob all over his sweatshirt. He had seen what they tried to do. They were looking for them through her and Zan would be damned if they used her like that. "Sh. S'okay. I ain't gon let 'em git ya."
"Zan… am I horrible?" Liz whispered. "I thought all those things that I did and they used it against me."
"S'okay." Zan lay back with her in his arms. "S'okay to think it, and hey, made my mornin'." Liz reached beside her and pinched his arm. She pulled her arm back and wrapped herself in her arms. Zan held her but she wasn't loosening up. He kinda understood. "Michael don't think you a slut if that what you thinkin'." She didn't answer him. "Me either." Silence. "Your folks probably pacin' a hole in the floor. Let's go let 'em know you s'okay."
"It was Nicholas." Liz whispered at last.
"I know. We'll get 'em." Zan promised her. She had still to relax against him but she wasn't pushing him away. "Get some sleep."
End Episode XIII
Liz woke between two warm male bodies. Zan's large hand rested just under the elastic of her sweatpants, their lower bodies flush against each other, his mild erection cradled against her bottom. Michael's chest lay beneath her chin, her leg rested over his hip, where his morning erection pressed into her thigh. Stretching, she gasped. The movement made her back arch and Zan's hand slide into her panties. He stirred behind her, drawing her flush against his body, flexing his fingers against her abdomen, the tips just touching her coarse curls.
The moan wouldn't be contained. The things that both men could do to her flashed through her mind, followed by the things they could do at the same time. This time the moan was loud enough to rouse them from sleep. When Michael opened his eyes to see her face inches from his, her mind was still taking her places that her body longed to go. Something kept feeding the fantasies and her body kept responding, warmth pooling low in her stomach and spreading downward. Reluctantly, Michael's eyes slid down to look at the hand that clutched at his arm, the leg that rubbed against his hip.
Zan had trouble opening his eyes but he knew where his hand was and that her hips kept rocking into it, sending it lower and lower. At last her hips ground into his hand, soaking his fingers with her arousal and it just turned him on. Blindly, he slipped his hand down for a better angle and more pressure. He buried his face in her hair and couldn't stop his hips from rocking against her, his erection growing with each motion against her firm bottom.
As turned on as the situation made him, Michael could neither get up and leave nor muster the courage to touch her. The hand on his arm traveled up to his neck and pulled him closer. Before he could blink, her mouth had latched onto his and her tongue had invaded his mouth. Giving in, his hand met Zan's on its way to the hem of her shirt. Ignoring the other man's touch, Michael slipped his hand up to the tight nipples hidden beneath it.
Liz squeezed her eyes shut and clutched at her pillow. Strong tongue in her mouth, rough fingers squeezing her nipples, urgent fingers inside her… muscled chests on either side of her. Thrusting her hips, she locked Zan's hand between her mound and Michael's hip. Michael's erection hit her abdomen just as Zan rolled to be closer and his erection hit her high on her ass. Zan's mouth found its way to her neck and that sensitive spot just behind her ear. Finally it was too much and she cried out as her body trembled between them.
Recovered, she slipped from between them and knelt to slip her shirt over her head. Standing her sweats and underwear went next. Her eyes were so dark with desire that both men lay frozen as she stood nude over them. Slowly, she reached down and pulled on Zan's pants. "Off." Then her eyes shot to Michael. "You too."
They dared only one look at each other and did as told when she tilted her head at them. Lust, or whatever, drove them to do as told. Lying there naked, neither man could muster the courage to protest, proceed or look at each other while she surveyed the both of them as if one of them were to be her next meal and she had but to pick one. Slowly, she knelt over Zan and took his erection in her hand, stroking slowly but firmly. His eyes shut and his head flew back against the pillow. His breath came out in pants and just when he would have moaned, he choked on it. She was around him, surrounding him, bouncing on his cock with no mercy until he had no choice but to catch his breath and grunt with her.
Michael could only stare as she threw her head back every time she moaned, as her breasts bounced unchecked and her hands ran through her hair and over her throat. Licked his lips and swallowed thickly when he felt Zan thrusting up into her through the mattress, her body jerked in response to every upward thrust and her cries... each one sent a jolt straight to his straining cock. Unable to help himself, he took his cock in his hand and stroked in time with their thrusts.
"No." Liz shook her head and that's when Michael realized that she wasn't oblivious to his presence. "No, don't do that. Let me." When he didn't move she let out a loud cry. "Get up Michael. Stand up." Her voice was so low and husky, he had to squeeze his cock hard to keep from coming.
When he got to his feet, she reached for him and stroked his throbbing cock hard enough to immediately get him bucking his hips into her hand. All the air left his lungs when the intense heat of her mouth surrounded the swollen head of his cock. One hand kept stroking the base of his cock and the other gripped his hip. That's when she began to suck, hard. Moans vibrated through his aching member as she continued to bounce on Zan. Michael felt her mouth move around his cock and then pull him deeper inside her mouth until he felt her swallow around his cock, taking his cock into her throat inch by inch until he could feel her breath in his pubic hair.
Thrusting ever so slightly, he began to pull out only for her to draw him back in. Her bouncing turned into a torturous grind against Zan, driving him out of his mind. Zan's hands found her hips to hold her as he ground up into her, lifting her up just enough to give him some room to push in and out of her. The view of her deepthroating the other man only served to drive him on. Michael let his eyes drift closed as he fought to keep from forcing himself deeper into her throat and mouth, holding on to her shoulders for dear life.
Suddenly, Michael did what he hadn't wanted to. He gripped her head and thrust rapidly and forcefully as he came down her convulsing throat. Shuddering, he pulled his limp dick from her mouth and sank to his jelly-filled knees. He whispered apologies and kissed her gently but she wouldn't have it. Her tongue filled his mouth, along with the taste of his own seed and her grunts as Zan continued to slam into her. Bracing himself, Michael reached down and threaded his fingers through her coarse curls, purposefully ignoring the feel of the other man's slick cock, to find that tight bundle he knew was aching for just the right…
"Holy shit!" Liz screamed as she rode out her orgasm on Zan's thrusts. The quivering and convulsing around his rock hard cock increased until finally his body could hold out no more, he came. Thrusting and pounding, gritting his teeth and digging his fingers into her hips, arching and straining, he came. Zan released her hips and reached down to rub at his sore thighs where she had slammed into him so many times. His flaccid member felt sore as it slipped from inside her warm pussy.
If he had had any brains cells left, Zan might have taken a moment to wonder what in the world had gotten into the splendor that still straddled his legs. Instead he sat up to claim her mouth for his, wincing only slightly at the salty taste of her mouth. Had to growl when she pulled away to kiss Michael but latched onto the skin of her throat. Large hands covered her breasts, kneading and squeezing. Liz finally found her voice. "God, I still need the two of you."
It was like a mad rush the way their hands shot down to her crotch, their fingers mixing her juices and Zan's seed inside her as they thrust into and stroked around her sex. Sapped cocks beginning to stir once more, the men stopped trying to ignore the other's presence and tried to work together to give her what she wanted. She yelped when her nipples were pinched and teased, cried sharply when her clit was stroked just right and moaned deeply when fingers thrust up inside her.
Suddenly, Michael found himself on his back and Liz climbing onto his stomach before sliding along his cock to sit on his legs. She gripped his sticky cock and stroked it gently, coaxing it into hardness. Behind her, she could hear Zan beating off as he watched them. She clenched her internal muscles and felt a fresh flow of moisture between her thighs. Lifting up, she scooted forward to guide Michael's thick cock into her waiting depth. Taking him all in, she stopped and leaned forward, resting her chest on his while she slid slowly up and down his cock. Michael's hips bucked up into her and she stopped moving to feel his plunging.
Liz looked over her shoulder at Zan. Her smoldering eyes had him ready and kneeling behind her in an instant. Gripping her hips, he rubbing his erection between her cheeks, letting his pre-cum slick her opening before inserting a finger. He alternated with Michael's rhythm, her gasps echoing through the room. He added a second thick finger and sped up his pushing in and out of her anus. He had already guessed what she wanted but he needed to hear her say it. Pushing into her with more force to emphasize what would happen, "Liz, you want me to do this?"
Her mouth opened wide in a gasp, her head nodding up and down. "Yes… god, yes. Please…" Michael paused his movement within her slick passage to allow Zan his chance to enter her from behind. Zan removed his fingers from her cleft and slowly eased his throbbing cock inside her. Liz felt like she was going to die, the sensations were too much.
Zan stayed still to keep from cumming immediately inside her tight channel. When the roar in his ears slowed, he moved slowly inside her and then sped up to keep up with Michael below her. Her cried came thick and throaty, urging the men on even more. Sweat poured off every inch of them, slicking their bodies as they rubbed and thrust and counter-thrust.
The burning and the friction and the sliding had her screaming her orgasm soon enough. Her muscles quivered violently as they continued to pound into her body. Suddenly, she was hyberaware of every inch of her body. The scrapes where Zan's piercings hit her back, how Michael's dick kept slipping out and he finally anchored his hand against her to keep it from coming out again, how Zan's hand slipped between her body and Michael's to get her going again, how her hair fell all over and which strands were stuck to Michael and which were stuck to her own body.
Then they were all cumming, orgasing around each other, with each other and ready to fall into oblivion. Panting and sticky, they slowly pulled away. Zan first to collapse on the far end of the mattress, Liz was next to fall between them and Michael couldn't even find the strength to move.
~
Zan felt back on his elbows, panting for breath, thrusting one last time into Liz's mouth as she swallowed him down. If he wasn't so tired, he might get hard again just looking at her nose so close to the base of his cokc. He could still feel her throat working around his quickly deflating penis and just fell back on the mattress to sleep. Michael had had the right idea to pass out a few minutes before when she was through with him.
When she had milked the last of him, she pulled her mouth off and lay with her head on his stomach. He stroked her hair until he couldn't lift his arm or his eyelids again. Liz shut her eyes and her breath evened out…
20 minutes later she sat bolt upright, her muscles screaming from every inch of her sweat-dried body. Her thighs cried out when she shifted away from Zan's naked body. His. Naked. Body. Her head whipped around and her throat hurt, which made her recognize the salty taste in her mouth. Michael's naked body lay at the other end of the mattress. Another shift brought to mind the intense soreness in her rear end.
Slowly, she grabbed the sheet and wrapped it around her body and very slowly made her way to the bathroom where she immediately lost anything that was in her stomach. Her mind reeled with images of the day. The afternoon light was pouring into the apartment, which meant there had been several hours that she was not completely aware of. The things that she, they, had done.
Shaking, she made her way into the shower stall and snapped on the water. The spray stung her hickey-ridden breasts, bruised hips and quivering thighs. Grabbing the loofah, she scrubbed at her sticky stomach, back and thighs. Shut her eyes against the sight of semen washing down the drain. Her head was about to explode.
Sex. It was just sex. It was just wild, unrestrained sex with two incredible men… at the same time. She had thought about it before but she never would have acted on it… consciously. Hair washed and skin raw, Liz emerged from the shower on sturdier, but not less painful, legs. As quietly as she could, she crept to the closet to pull some clothes on. She had to get out of the apartment before whatever it was took over her body again. With the two of them lying naked on the mattresses, it would be too easy to let it. She needed air and a very slow walk to wrap her mind around the deranged porno fodder that had taken place in that apartment.
The cold air bit at her skin and aided in putting some distance between herself and her actions, conscious or not. Two blocks from home, her hands started shaking. A block after that, it had grown mildly painful. A block from the place that used to be her home the pain grew and spread. Both arms shook and sent a shiver that prompted her legs to quiver. It was then she realized a van was following her. Mustering the last of her strength, Liz rushed down the street and into the Crashdown. Patrons stared as she rushed to the break room where she collapsed on the couch, shaking in pain.
The pain was so acute that she could barely make out her father's voice when he spoke to her. She could only say one thing before she blacked out. "No hospitals, no matter what."
~
Zan was just coming out of the bathroom when Michael came to. His sleepy eyes wandered the room and then he sat up, pulling a pillow over his lap. "Where's Liz?"
"Don't know. Swee' pea was gone before I got up." Zan grab a Coke from the fridge and looked toward the window. "It's getting dark out. She left a sheet in the bathroom. Hot water's good and shower's almost dry, so she's been gone awhile… it, uh… smelled like ralph in there."
"Do you know what that was all about?" Michael grabbed his jeans and yanked them on. "I wasn't complaining but… wow."
"Yeah. Didn't know she had it in her." Zan scratched at his stomach and took a long pull on the bottle. "She usually take off like that?"
"No. Not her. She likes to cuddle but… we've only ever been with each other…" Michael cleared his throat and reached for some clean clothes to take his turn in the shower.
"Yeah, I know. She told me." Zan nodded to his chest. "If she's not back soon… we'll go look for her."
"Yeah." Michael nodded stiffly and entered the bathroom. It was a lot for him to take it. He had just shared Liz with some friend that looked like his first best friend. He hadn't been able to stop himself when it was happening. Anything Liz wanted, she got.
~
Jeff mopped the sweat off his daughter's forehead and turned to his wife. She shifted from foot to foot. "We should take her to a hospital."
"She said not to."
"She was obviously delirious. We should call an ambulance." Nancy reached for the phone, frantic to know what was going on with her only child.
"Sweetie." Jeff took the phone from her. "She hasn't been home in months. She won't visit or call. It must have been really important if she came here to us. She's quite a ways from home, if she could have, I'm sure she would have gone herself but she said 'no hospitals, no matter what.'"
"She looks like she's in so much pain." Mrs. Parker put a hand to her mouth. Her daughter was shaking from head to toe, sweating profusely and whimpering in pain. Suddenly, Liz's body stiffened and she sat bolt upright, gasping for breath. "Lizzie?"
"Lizzie? Sweetie?" Mr. Parker was by her side, brushing her hair out of her face. She sagged against him, barely able to keep her eyes open. "Lizzie?"
"They're here." Liz whispered. "They're here. They're out to get us. They're making this happen. They know who I am, what I was to him and they want me to pay."
"What? What are you talking about?" Jeff looked to his wife but she just shook her head.
"They followed me, they know I’m here. They're doing this to me. I have to keep away from Zan and Michael or else they'll get to them too." Liz swallowed the lump in her throat. "They don't know what I know."
"What are you talking about? Sweetie?" Jeff turned his daughter's face up to look at her but she had passed out again. "Sweetie? Liz? What's going on?" He rocked her trembling body gently as he racked his brain for any explanation that would answer all the questions running through his head.
"I'm calling Michael." Nancy bit her lip and reached for the phone.
~
"'Lo." Zan picked up the phone. "Nah, he's in the shower… Yeah, tha's my name. How'd'ju know? … She there? … We's wonderin' where she was. Why didn't she call herself? … she's what? … Tell me, lady..." He slammed down the phone. "Mikey! We gotta roll!"
"Don’t call me Mikey." Michael muttered and pulled on his shirt as he made his way out of the bathroom. "What's the deal?"
"Liz. She's hurt or somethin'. Her moms was on the phone." Zan grabbed a sweatshirt and was out the door and jogging down the street with Michael on his heels. "Which way?" Zan let Michael take the lead and soon they were scaling a wall and climbing in Liz's bedroom window where her parents were keeping watch.
"What's going on?" Nancy demanded of them. "She's been babbling about someone knowing where she is. That someone is doing something to her and she mentioned you and, I guess, you."
Jeff kissed his daughter's forehead and looked to the two boys, one of which looked suspiciously like a dead man. "What's happening to her?"
"I don't know." Michael swallowed the lump in his throat at the sight of her limp body. "She was fine this morning."
"Are you sure?"
"Sure." Zan and Michael answered at the same time. Michael sat on the edge of the bed. "She left when we were both asleep. We didn't know she was gone until about an hour ago." He looked to Mr. Parker. "What exactly did she say?"
"That 'they' knew who she was. 'They' are out to get 'us.' 'They' followed her and knew she was here. 'They' don't know what she knows." Jeff pleaded that the boy in front of him had some answers. "She said 'they' were doing this to her."
"Nicholas." Zan licked his dry lips. "Let me try."
"Who? What?" Nancy felt the tears slipping down her face. "What is wrong with my little girl?"
"Let's go." Michael motioned for the Parkers to join him in the apartment to leave Zan alone with Liz. The door shut behind them, weak protests and conversations muffled by its sturdy wood.
Zan wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans and laid his hands on Liz. A hand under her neck and the other over her heart, a deep breath and a silent prayer. "Lizzie, swee' pea, you gon hafta come back to us. We neva really got our cuddle time, so you open your eyes for me." Bracing himself, he reached down to pinch her arm. It got her eyes fluttering. "That'sit. Open 'em. Let me in. Let me in."
Placing his hand square on her chest, he tried again but she couldn't keep her eyes open. He shook her a little to get her eyes back to fluttering. She pushed him away a bit and he took full advantage of the motion. It meant she knew where he was in relation to herself. He lifted her head so that his eyes would be the first thing she saw. "Lizzie."
"mmm…" she moaned and her eyes cracked open. Then Zan was in. He was in her mind and body, quickly trying to find the problem. Then it slammed into him, trying to infest him. The internal struggle went on for what seemed like hours. Liz's mind had been fighting it this whole time that it had debilitated her body. All he had to do was get it out without hurting Liz. Images and feelings flew past him and brushed seductively against his mind but he needed to get it away from her.
Finally, it gave up and just… receded from her mind, like the ocean at low tide. Just backed off. Zan carefully extricated himself from her mind to find Liz with her face buried beneath his shirt. Carefully, he pulled his shirt back from her face and looked into her face. "You okay?"
"Yes." She nodded, biting her lip and sitting up. "They were in my head… making me do those things and…"
"Sh." Zan pulled her into his arms and let her sob all over his sweatshirt. He had seen what they tried to do. They were looking for them through her and Zan would be damned if they used her like that. "Sh. S'okay. I ain't gon let 'em git ya."
"Zan… am I horrible?" Liz whispered. "I thought all those things that I did and they used it against me."
"S'okay." Zan lay back with her in his arms. "S'okay to think it, and hey, made my mornin'." Liz reached beside her and pinched his arm. She pulled her arm back and wrapped herself in her arms. Zan held her but she wasn't loosening up. He kinda understood. "Michael don't think you a slut if that what you thinkin'." She didn't answer him. "Me either." Silence. "Your folks probably pacin' a hole in the floor. Let's go let 'em know you s'okay."
"It was Nicholas." Liz whispered at last.
"I know. We'll get 'em." Zan promised her. She had still to relax against him but she wasn't pushing him away. "Get some sleep."
End Episode XIII
Episode XIV
Aftermath of War Episode XIV
Michael stared at the worried couple across the table with his arms crossed. It had taken him forever to get them away from Liz's bedroom so Zan could do his thing. They, of course, wanted an explanation. Having only three people to worry about, it made the decision easier but he hated making it. Thought about what Liz would want. Thought that Zan probably didn't care. He hadn't put up much fuss when Liz had told the Evans, but then that had been after the fact.
"Michael." Jeff ran a hand through his hair. "Do you have any clue what she's talking about?"
"Yeah. I do." Michael spoke honestly. In the end it came down to one thing. He respected Jeff Parker too much to lie to him after all the man had done to keep him on his feet in the past few years. "I would tell you but the truth is… I shouldn't."
"Shouldn't?" Nancy wiped at her eyes with a Kleenex and waited impatiently to get on with it.
"That's right. I shouldn't tell you. The fact is, you knowing makes no impact on resolving the situation. You knowing would only put you in danger and make Liz worry about you more than she already does." Michael leaned forward on the table. "It's a choice you'd have to make really. Would you risk your lives to know what's going on?"
"Is Liz in some kind of trouble? What's wrong with her? And why is Max Evans' doppelganger in that room with my daughter?" Jeff felt the anger rise in his face. Michael was giving him the runaround and he wasn't having it. "I need to know what the hell is going on here."
"And before I can tell you one word, I need you to understand the severity of this situation. I don't know what's wrong with Liz, I don't know if we can fix it. What I do know is that you knowing what I do, will put you in harm's way. It's not something that Liz or I want for you but it's ultimately your decision. You can let us take Liz and pretend that nothing happened here and just be grateful she's alive or…" Michael took a quick breath and looked Mr. Parker in the eyes. "You can sit quietly and calmly and listen to the situation with the solemn promise never to speak of it again… to anyone."
"But she's dying. What if she needs help and I have to explain?" Jeff ran a hand over his eyes.
"You can't. Simple as that. When you know, you know. Nothing comes of it. It will put your lives in mortal danger to know the situation. Once you know, you can't ever speak of it, not even to each other. Like I said, you knowing the truth will have no impact on the help anyone can give her. Nothing you do or say to anyone will make any difference."
"And how do you know that?" Nancy burst in. "What if there's a doctor somewhere?"
"There's not!" Michael snapped. "I can't even begin to explain until I am confident that one or both of you will not run out of this apartment to tell the authorities anything. If you tell anyone at a hospital about Liz… she will be taken away and not even Zan or myself will be able to save her then. Do you understand?" He jumped to his feet. "No one can know. The people out there." He pointed to the window. "They know nothing and it makes their perfect little worlds livable. People in the government who know, would only dissect her to find nothing that would help anyone. Doctors wouldn't know what to look for. Our existence, the three of us, it relies on NO ONE KNOWING."
"Michael, calm down." Jeff swallowed nervously.
"Just keep this in mind before you go telling me to calm down. I lost my best friends just before graduation because of this. Six people I knew died because of this. I live every day of my life knowing that I should have died with them or instead of them. It was my job. I was to protect them. I loved them." Michael's tone dropped considerably. "Are you prepared to lose Liz in the same way? I can't guarantee it won't happen to her, too. I will die trying to stop it but you need to know it can happen and there won't be anything that any of you will be able to do to stop it."
"Tell me." Jeff demanded.
"The truth is, given the chance, I would have laid down my life to see Max Evans continue to walk the earth. That was my job. There are people in this universe who would have his head on a platter and for a few months they had their wish. Then they found out that Zan is alive. Zan is like Max's twin. His existence makes living a very dangerous thing on this planet." His throat started to close up. "For everyone who knows who he really is."
"So, who is he really?" Jeff swallowed nervously, wondering if he had made a mistake in wanting to know.
"He's a king. Honest to god royalty." Michael changed his tack suddenly. "King of a place that's been taken over by this… dictator. The people, they don't like him much and would much rather have had Max but Max is gone and it's Zan who's the runner up. Zan has to survive or else all is lost. We thought it was over but it's never over and we'll always be living in the aftermath if we don't put a stop to it."
"What does this have to do with Liz?"
"You're going to tell me that you honestly thought Max fell out of love with her? They were getting back together the day he died. She saved herself for him and he for her and it was taken away from them. They know about her, what she meant to him and what she means to me and Zan. If they take her, we'll come after her. That is why she moved out. They know about her and they'll use her against us… and now… they'll use you, too."
"Use us?" Nancy whispered softly.
"To get to Liz. I don't think they knew about Zan before but they know about him now. With Liz constantly around him, they'll assume that she's his." Michael felt the words pouring out of him without him having thought them up.
"Is this… like the mafia?" Nancy's eyes went wide.
"Kinda." Michael tried to wrap his mind around a way to explain it to them. "Max's dad, his grandfather." He amended, no need to bring up the cloning. "He died over 50 years ago. Max's dad took over and after he was killed, sent his kids here to be raised. Only, we didn't know anything about that until it was too late. Ever since Max's dad died, they've been looking for him. He's the King and unless they find him, they can't take over with the people's respect. We didn't even know Max had a twin until about two years ago. We thought Zan was dead. It meant that Max was absolutely the King. Then Max died, but the people that killed him knew he was in love with Liz."
"This is really out there, Michael." Jeff shook his head.
"It's true. Zan popped up just after the funerals to pay his respects and he didn't want any of it. It was going to be my job to look after Liz and take Max's place. With Zan alive and well, it's up to him. I'm only here because my father was their father's protector. It's a great honor and duty. I'm not backing down now that I've failed once already." Michael watched them carefully. "We aren't what they make us out to be. We didn't even know what we were for until we met Liz. Now, she's the bond that holds us together. If I can help it, we'll save her." He saw the frustration on their faces. "Just know that there's not a thing that you can do but that I will die before I allow her to."
--
Zan marveled at the beauty in his arms. She fit so well, like she was made to curl up next to him. He just couldn't resist pulling her closer and burying his nose in her hair. Even after whatever hell she had been in for the past day, she hadn't hesitated to allow him to put his arms around her. He had already filled Michael in on what Liz had said when the worried guy had wandered in earlier. Michael hadn't said much, just nodded and said that he had told the Parkers part of the truth. That made him think about how dangerous it was to the people who knew. Lost in his thoughts, he barely registered her hand on his ribs, she pulled herself closer into his body and sighed. "They're not stopping until you die."
"I know, Swee' Pea." He tightened his arms and it only made her relax more.
"They can't have you."
"They won't git me. Promise."
"Zan." She looked up at him. "They can't do this to me again."
"They won't." Zan shut his eyes and took in slow breaths.
Michael eased the door shut and then knocked before he opened it again. "You guys okay in here?"
Zan nodded and Michael shut the door again. He leaned on it and fought to keep his emotions under control. Zan had staked his claim and it was Michael's duty to step back and accept it. It was Liz that had reached for Zan. He had to respect that as well. The day had made him see how things were supposed to be. He was the Second. It was his duty to sacrifice for his king.
"How is she doing?" Jeff cleared his throat at the end of the hall.
"Resting." Michael answered without looking or opening his eyes. "She came to a while earlier. Zan's with her. She's fine now."
"Okay." The older man motioned cleared his throat again and waited for Michael to open his eyes before motioning down the hall. "Are you going to take her away?"
"I don't know yet but when we leave here, we're probably not coming back. It's best to not get you involved." Michael rubbed at his eyebrow. "I know you're going to be worried about Liz after we leave but we'll take care of her. She's… great and more help to us than most people think."
"How so?"
"She's got great intuition. She's loyal. She puts us before herself most of the time." He shrugged helplessly.
"You in love with my daughter, Michael?" The old blue eyes measured the pain etched on the young face and he didn't like what he saw.
"It doesn't matter. She wants Zan." The younger man brushed past the older one to descend the staircase into the restaurant. He just needed a little space to think.
--
Liz picked through her things and packed only what she would need. The rest would go to her parents' place for safekeeping. She had to travel light. They weren't running really, just providing a moving target. Her main priority was to keep busy and keep close to Zan. Michael wouldn't even look at her. Every time he refused to look at her, she felt dirty. As if remembering what she had done wasn't enough, he provided her daily proof that it wasn't all as fine as Zan promised it would be. She missed Michael. Zan still didn't know her as well as Michael did.
--
Zan stuffed an extra shirt and a pair of pants into his backpack. Two CDs and his packing was complete. He had watched Liz walk around in a daze for the past day and it tore at his chest. He knew she was thinking about what she had been puppeted into doing and he tried to comfort her but it wasn't his area of expertise and Michael had been surprisingly silent since leaving the Parkers. He wanted to knock the boy upside his head but he didn't want to cause any more problems in the ranks. Gripping his bag, he went out to wait for the van that Michael was procuring from his biker buddies.
Liz sat on the curb, wrapped up in a blanket. She welcomed Zan's body heat and comforting arm as they waited. Minutes flew by and by the time that Michael had arrived, they were ready to get off the cold cement and less ready to climb into the van with a busted heater. They immediately fixed Liz up for comfort in the back while Michael and Zan rode up front. Silence permeated the van as they took to the road. It wasn't until Liz's even breathing could be heard that Michael spoke up. "How long will they have this control over her?"
"Don't know." Zan shook his head and pulled out a cigarette. "Never had to deal wit this shit before." He took a moment to light it and take a long draw on it. "I'm just wantin' to keep our heads 'bove water for now."
"No plan?"
"Not just yet." A slow shake of the head. "She needs rest and you need to pull your head out your ass."
"What?" Michael's head whipped around.
"Head out for the pod chamber. Sounds good for now."
"What are you talking about? My head up my ass?"
"Yeah. Liz needs you and you ignorin' her. You make her feel like shit-twice run-over." He snorted. "I'm not the sentimental one here and I got stuck with clean-up, you know? I done what I can. She needs you now."
"For what?"
Zan looked at his second for a long moment. "What the fuck is your problem? Your girl needs you to tell her she ain't a slut and you won't even look at her."
"I don't think she's a slut." Michael turned his eyes to the road and kept them there. "She made her choice. I'm just respecting it."
"What fuckin' choice? You think she wanted to do that?"
"That's not what I'm talking about." Michael fumed. "She chose you and I'm stepping away. Congratulations. You won."
"Don't know what the fuck you talkin' bout. She ain't chose nothin'. I's there. You ain't."
"She chose."
"When the fuck did she make this announcement? I sure ain't heard it." Zan brought a hand to his aching head. "Yo, look. I never tried to move in on her. I only been with her twice, Mikey… ever."
"She chose. You win." Michael whispered, resigned to his place in second.
"You're a fuckin' idiot." Zan climbed out of the passenger seat and laid out next to Liz, she curled up to him in her sleep. Then he couldn't sleep. Thoughts ran rampant through his head. Nicholas's threats, Antar, Liz, Michael, protecting family, the meaning of family, the intent of war. They arrived at the pod chamber without him realizing it.
--
Zan stared at the inside of the pod chamber. It made him ache. His family had been dumped in a sewer and left for dead. Michael's family had been warm and cozy inside the cave. If he ever had any doubt, that was stripped away when he realized who had been meant to rule. Gripping the pod that had belong to his dupe, he braced himself against it, wanting to rip it to shreds but knowing it would anger his companions. Sinking to the ground, he ignored Liz's soft question.
"Zan?" Liz called again. He charged up off the floor and shot out the entrance to the cave. Michael slid down along one wall and refused to look at her. It made her want to cry all over again. "Michael?"
"Hm?"
"Do you hate me?" She sank to the ground in a puddle of blankets.
"No."
"Then what is it?"
Michael looked at her for the first time in two days and realized she was on the breaking point. "Figured you needed space."
"I don't. I need to know that I can still count on you." The tears rolled down her cheeks.
"You know you can."
"But I don't. You don't talk to me, look at me or acknowledge my presence and it makes me feel like there's something wrong with me."
"There isn't. I know you want Zan. I can respect your choice."
"What choice? I haven't made any choice, Michael. This isn't even the time to be thinking about that. I need my best friend back. I need to know that we'll stand together and I can't know that if you don't speak to me." She held her head in her hands and couldn't help but start when Michael's arms wrapped around her. "I can't think about life without one of you and so I can't just choose."
"Sh." Michael shut his eyes. "Sh." He finally got Zan's anger in the van. "I'm here. I will be here, no matter what." She relaxed in his arms suddenly. Her breathing became even, as if sleeping but then he felt her stretch in his arms. "Zan! Get in here!"
Liz's body arched against Michael, her face nuzzling his chest. Her hands began sliding into sensitive areas. Michael tried to stop her but she kept finding places that made him want to lie back and take it like a man. When Zan ambled in, he froze at the sight. "You didn't call me in here for this, right?"
"It's not her." Michael gave him a meaningful look. "It's them."
"Right." Zan winced and watched her trying to convince Michael that he wanted to take her. "Ice bath?"
"How are they doing this? Why?" Michael grimaced slightly when she pinched his nipple through his shirt.
"What they git out of it?" Zan squatted and studied the two in front of him. "Otherwise occupied. But we could do this on our own." Zan crept forward and put his hand on her head and shut his eyes. Then he abruptly backed away, eyes wide. "She's transmittin'."
"What?"
"They got her rigged to transmit when she's like this." Zan turned it over in his head. "She gets us in the same room and occupied 'til she wears us out. Give 'em time to sneak up on us, pinpoint our locale." He rose to his feet and ran his hands through his hair. "They gon attack. Soon."
"Who?" Michael stopped trying to fight her off and let her molest him.
"Gotta be more than jus' Nicholas. He could come afta us hisself but he's gotta have back up if he's tryin' to use her to get a fix on us." Zan cradled his weary head.
"We'll have to fight." Michael shut his eyes. "We'll lose if he's got a lot of manpower."
"My shield only holds up for so long."
"A blast from me might take out as many as five people at a time… depending on how close they are. If only we knew what he was up to."
"He's bringing what's left of the Skins." Liz murmured against Michael's neck. "They're gathering outside of Roswell… on the other side."
"What?" Zan crept closer and turned her to face him but she just began molesting him instead. "Liz, how you do know his?"
She kissed her way up his jawline to his ear. "I don't know but he's getting ready. They've got 30 men already. Don't know how many they're waiting for."
Zan jumped when her hand slipped into his pants. "Swee' pea, concentrate." He ground his teeth to remain in control. "What do they want?"
"The Granilith."
"Where is it, Mikey?" Zan turned his attention to the other boy.
"In there." Michael jerked his head to the pod rack. "Behind those. We don't know what it does."
Liz murmured as she worked on pulling Zan's shirt out of the way. "It takes us home."
End Episode XIV
Michael stared at the worried couple across the table with his arms crossed. It had taken him forever to get them away from Liz's bedroom so Zan could do his thing. They, of course, wanted an explanation. Having only three people to worry about, it made the decision easier but he hated making it. Thought about what Liz would want. Thought that Zan probably didn't care. He hadn't put up much fuss when Liz had told the Evans, but then that had been after the fact.
"Michael." Jeff ran a hand through his hair. "Do you have any clue what she's talking about?"
"Yeah. I do." Michael spoke honestly. In the end it came down to one thing. He respected Jeff Parker too much to lie to him after all the man had done to keep him on his feet in the past few years. "I would tell you but the truth is… I shouldn't."
"Shouldn't?" Nancy wiped at her eyes with a Kleenex and waited impatiently to get on with it.
"That's right. I shouldn't tell you. The fact is, you knowing makes no impact on resolving the situation. You knowing would only put you in danger and make Liz worry about you more than she already does." Michael leaned forward on the table. "It's a choice you'd have to make really. Would you risk your lives to know what's going on?"
"Is Liz in some kind of trouble? What's wrong with her? And why is Max Evans' doppelganger in that room with my daughter?" Jeff felt the anger rise in his face. Michael was giving him the runaround and he wasn't having it. "I need to know what the hell is going on here."
"And before I can tell you one word, I need you to understand the severity of this situation. I don't know what's wrong with Liz, I don't know if we can fix it. What I do know is that you knowing what I do, will put you in harm's way. It's not something that Liz or I want for you but it's ultimately your decision. You can let us take Liz and pretend that nothing happened here and just be grateful she's alive or…" Michael took a quick breath and looked Mr. Parker in the eyes. "You can sit quietly and calmly and listen to the situation with the solemn promise never to speak of it again… to anyone."
"But she's dying. What if she needs help and I have to explain?" Jeff ran a hand over his eyes.
"You can't. Simple as that. When you know, you know. Nothing comes of it. It will put your lives in mortal danger to know the situation. Once you know, you can't ever speak of it, not even to each other. Like I said, you knowing the truth will have no impact on the help anyone can give her. Nothing you do or say to anyone will make any difference."
"And how do you know that?" Nancy burst in. "What if there's a doctor somewhere?"
"There's not!" Michael snapped. "I can't even begin to explain until I am confident that one or both of you will not run out of this apartment to tell the authorities anything. If you tell anyone at a hospital about Liz… she will be taken away and not even Zan or myself will be able to save her then. Do you understand?" He jumped to his feet. "No one can know. The people out there." He pointed to the window. "They know nothing and it makes their perfect little worlds livable. People in the government who know, would only dissect her to find nothing that would help anyone. Doctors wouldn't know what to look for. Our existence, the three of us, it relies on NO ONE KNOWING."
"Michael, calm down." Jeff swallowed nervously.
"Just keep this in mind before you go telling me to calm down. I lost my best friends just before graduation because of this. Six people I knew died because of this. I live every day of my life knowing that I should have died with them or instead of them. It was my job. I was to protect them. I loved them." Michael's tone dropped considerably. "Are you prepared to lose Liz in the same way? I can't guarantee it won't happen to her, too. I will die trying to stop it but you need to know it can happen and there won't be anything that any of you will be able to do to stop it."
"Tell me." Jeff demanded.
"The truth is, given the chance, I would have laid down my life to see Max Evans continue to walk the earth. That was my job. There are people in this universe who would have his head on a platter and for a few months they had their wish. Then they found out that Zan is alive. Zan is like Max's twin. His existence makes living a very dangerous thing on this planet." His throat started to close up. "For everyone who knows who he really is."
"So, who is he really?" Jeff swallowed nervously, wondering if he had made a mistake in wanting to know.
"He's a king. Honest to god royalty." Michael changed his tack suddenly. "King of a place that's been taken over by this… dictator. The people, they don't like him much and would much rather have had Max but Max is gone and it's Zan who's the runner up. Zan has to survive or else all is lost. We thought it was over but it's never over and we'll always be living in the aftermath if we don't put a stop to it."
"What does this have to do with Liz?"
"You're going to tell me that you honestly thought Max fell out of love with her? They were getting back together the day he died. She saved herself for him and he for her and it was taken away from them. They know about her, what she meant to him and what she means to me and Zan. If they take her, we'll come after her. That is why she moved out. They know about her and they'll use her against us… and now… they'll use you, too."
"Use us?" Nancy whispered softly.
"To get to Liz. I don't think they knew about Zan before but they know about him now. With Liz constantly around him, they'll assume that she's his." Michael felt the words pouring out of him without him having thought them up.
"Is this… like the mafia?" Nancy's eyes went wide.
"Kinda." Michael tried to wrap his mind around a way to explain it to them. "Max's dad, his grandfather." He amended, no need to bring up the cloning. "He died over 50 years ago. Max's dad took over and after he was killed, sent his kids here to be raised. Only, we didn't know anything about that until it was too late. Ever since Max's dad died, they've been looking for him. He's the King and unless they find him, they can't take over with the people's respect. We didn't even know Max had a twin until about two years ago. We thought Zan was dead. It meant that Max was absolutely the King. Then Max died, but the people that killed him knew he was in love with Liz."
"This is really out there, Michael." Jeff shook his head.
"It's true. Zan popped up just after the funerals to pay his respects and he didn't want any of it. It was going to be my job to look after Liz and take Max's place. With Zan alive and well, it's up to him. I'm only here because my father was their father's protector. It's a great honor and duty. I'm not backing down now that I've failed once already." Michael watched them carefully. "We aren't what they make us out to be. We didn't even know what we were for until we met Liz. Now, she's the bond that holds us together. If I can help it, we'll save her." He saw the frustration on their faces. "Just know that there's not a thing that you can do but that I will die before I allow her to."
--
Zan marveled at the beauty in his arms. She fit so well, like she was made to curl up next to him. He just couldn't resist pulling her closer and burying his nose in her hair. Even after whatever hell she had been in for the past day, she hadn't hesitated to allow him to put his arms around her. He had already filled Michael in on what Liz had said when the worried guy had wandered in earlier. Michael hadn't said much, just nodded and said that he had told the Parkers part of the truth. That made him think about how dangerous it was to the people who knew. Lost in his thoughts, he barely registered her hand on his ribs, she pulled herself closer into his body and sighed. "They're not stopping until you die."
"I know, Swee' Pea." He tightened his arms and it only made her relax more.
"They can't have you."
"They won't git me. Promise."
"Zan." She looked up at him. "They can't do this to me again."
"They won't." Zan shut his eyes and took in slow breaths.
Michael eased the door shut and then knocked before he opened it again. "You guys okay in here?"
Zan nodded and Michael shut the door again. He leaned on it and fought to keep his emotions under control. Zan had staked his claim and it was Michael's duty to step back and accept it. It was Liz that had reached for Zan. He had to respect that as well. The day had made him see how things were supposed to be. He was the Second. It was his duty to sacrifice for his king.
"How is she doing?" Jeff cleared his throat at the end of the hall.
"Resting." Michael answered without looking or opening his eyes. "She came to a while earlier. Zan's with her. She's fine now."
"Okay." The older man motioned cleared his throat again and waited for Michael to open his eyes before motioning down the hall. "Are you going to take her away?"
"I don't know yet but when we leave here, we're probably not coming back. It's best to not get you involved." Michael rubbed at his eyebrow. "I know you're going to be worried about Liz after we leave but we'll take care of her. She's… great and more help to us than most people think."
"How so?"
"She's got great intuition. She's loyal. She puts us before herself most of the time." He shrugged helplessly.
"You in love with my daughter, Michael?" The old blue eyes measured the pain etched on the young face and he didn't like what he saw.
"It doesn't matter. She wants Zan." The younger man brushed past the older one to descend the staircase into the restaurant. He just needed a little space to think.
--
Liz picked through her things and packed only what she would need. The rest would go to her parents' place for safekeeping. She had to travel light. They weren't running really, just providing a moving target. Her main priority was to keep busy and keep close to Zan. Michael wouldn't even look at her. Every time he refused to look at her, she felt dirty. As if remembering what she had done wasn't enough, he provided her daily proof that it wasn't all as fine as Zan promised it would be. She missed Michael. Zan still didn't know her as well as Michael did.
--
Zan stuffed an extra shirt and a pair of pants into his backpack. Two CDs and his packing was complete. He had watched Liz walk around in a daze for the past day and it tore at his chest. He knew she was thinking about what she had been puppeted into doing and he tried to comfort her but it wasn't his area of expertise and Michael had been surprisingly silent since leaving the Parkers. He wanted to knock the boy upside his head but he didn't want to cause any more problems in the ranks. Gripping his bag, he went out to wait for the van that Michael was procuring from his biker buddies.
Liz sat on the curb, wrapped up in a blanket. She welcomed Zan's body heat and comforting arm as they waited. Minutes flew by and by the time that Michael had arrived, they were ready to get off the cold cement and less ready to climb into the van with a busted heater. They immediately fixed Liz up for comfort in the back while Michael and Zan rode up front. Silence permeated the van as they took to the road. It wasn't until Liz's even breathing could be heard that Michael spoke up. "How long will they have this control over her?"
"Don't know." Zan shook his head and pulled out a cigarette. "Never had to deal wit this shit before." He took a moment to light it and take a long draw on it. "I'm just wantin' to keep our heads 'bove water for now."
"No plan?"
"Not just yet." A slow shake of the head. "She needs rest and you need to pull your head out your ass."
"What?" Michael's head whipped around.
"Head out for the pod chamber. Sounds good for now."
"What are you talking about? My head up my ass?"
"Yeah. Liz needs you and you ignorin' her. You make her feel like shit-twice run-over." He snorted. "I'm not the sentimental one here and I got stuck with clean-up, you know? I done what I can. She needs you now."
"For what?"
Zan looked at his second for a long moment. "What the fuck is your problem? Your girl needs you to tell her she ain't a slut and you won't even look at her."
"I don't think she's a slut." Michael turned his eyes to the road and kept them there. "She made her choice. I'm just respecting it."
"What fuckin' choice? You think she wanted to do that?"
"That's not what I'm talking about." Michael fumed. "She chose you and I'm stepping away. Congratulations. You won."
"Don't know what the fuck you talkin' bout. She ain't chose nothin'. I's there. You ain't."
"She chose."
"When the fuck did she make this announcement? I sure ain't heard it." Zan brought a hand to his aching head. "Yo, look. I never tried to move in on her. I only been with her twice, Mikey… ever."
"She chose. You win." Michael whispered, resigned to his place in second.
"You're a fuckin' idiot." Zan climbed out of the passenger seat and laid out next to Liz, she curled up to him in her sleep. Then he couldn't sleep. Thoughts ran rampant through his head. Nicholas's threats, Antar, Liz, Michael, protecting family, the meaning of family, the intent of war. They arrived at the pod chamber without him realizing it.
--
Zan stared at the inside of the pod chamber. It made him ache. His family had been dumped in a sewer and left for dead. Michael's family had been warm and cozy inside the cave. If he ever had any doubt, that was stripped away when he realized who had been meant to rule. Gripping the pod that had belong to his dupe, he braced himself against it, wanting to rip it to shreds but knowing it would anger his companions. Sinking to the ground, he ignored Liz's soft question.
"Zan?" Liz called again. He charged up off the floor and shot out the entrance to the cave. Michael slid down along one wall and refused to look at her. It made her want to cry all over again. "Michael?"
"Hm?"
"Do you hate me?" She sank to the ground in a puddle of blankets.
"No."
"Then what is it?"
Michael looked at her for the first time in two days and realized she was on the breaking point. "Figured you needed space."
"I don't. I need to know that I can still count on you." The tears rolled down her cheeks.
"You know you can."
"But I don't. You don't talk to me, look at me or acknowledge my presence and it makes me feel like there's something wrong with me."
"There isn't. I know you want Zan. I can respect your choice."
"What choice? I haven't made any choice, Michael. This isn't even the time to be thinking about that. I need my best friend back. I need to know that we'll stand together and I can't know that if you don't speak to me." She held her head in her hands and couldn't help but start when Michael's arms wrapped around her. "I can't think about life without one of you and so I can't just choose."
"Sh." Michael shut his eyes. "Sh." He finally got Zan's anger in the van. "I'm here. I will be here, no matter what." She relaxed in his arms suddenly. Her breathing became even, as if sleeping but then he felt her stretch in his arms. "Zan! Get in here!"
Liz's body arched against Michael, her face nuzzling his chest. Her hands began sliding into sensitive areas. Michael tried to stop her but she kept finding places that made him want to lie back and take it like a man. When Zan ambled in, he froze at the sight. "You didn't call me in here for this, right?"
"It's not her." Michael gave him a meaningful look. "It's them."
"Right." Zan winced and watched her trying to convince Michael that he wanted to take her. "Ice bath?"
"How are they doing this? Why?" Michael grimaced slightly when she pinched his nipple through his shirt.
"What they git out of it?" Zan squatted and studied the two in front of him. "Otherwise occupied. But we could do this on our own." Zan crept forward and put his hand on her head and shut his eyes. Then he abruptly backed away, eyes wide. "She's transmittin'."
"What?"
"They got her rigged to transmit when she's like this." Zan turned it over in his head. "She gets us in the same room and occupied 'til she wears us out. Give 'em time to sneak up on us, pinpoint our locale." He rose to his feet and ran his hands through his hair. "They gon attack. Soon."
"Who?" Michael stopped trying to fight her off and let her molest him.
"Gotta be more than jus' Nicholas. He could come afta us hisself but he's gotta have back up if he's tryin' to use her to get a fix on us." Zan cradled his weary head.
"We'll have to fight." Michael shut his eyes. "We'll lose if he's got a lot of manpower."
"My shield only holds up for so long."
"A blast from me might take out as many as five people at a time… depending on how close they are. If only we knew what he was up to."
"He's bringing what's left of the Skins." Liz murmured against Michael's neck. "They're gathering outside of Roswell… on the other side."
"What?" Zan crept closer and turned her to face him but she just began molesting him instead. "Liz, how you do know his?"
She kissed her way up his jawline to his ear. "I don't know but he's getting ready. They've got 30 men already. Don't know how many they're waiting for."
Zan jumped when her hand slipped into his pants. "Swee' pea, concentrate." He ground his teeth to remain in control. "What do they want?"
"The Granilith."
"Where is it, Mikey?" Zan turned his attention to the other boy.
"In there." Michael jerked his head to the pod rack. "Behind those. We don't know what it does."
Liz murmured as she worked on pulling Zan's shirt out of the way. "It takes us home."
End Episode XIV
Episode XV
Aftermath of War Episode XV
Liz woke wrapped so securely in a blanket that she couldn't move. She quickly began to panic. She couldn't see the room, just the wall. "Michael? Zan?"
"She's back." Michael whispered to Zan.
"Make sure before you let her go." Zan whispered back. He was busy examining the Granilith for some useful purpose.
Michael crept out to where they had left her and gently rolled her over. "How are you feeling?"
"Did you do this to me?"
"Yes, I did." Michael nodded. "You want out?" She nodded. "You promise not to molest either of us?"
"It happened again, didn't it?" Liz let her head drop to the floor as he released her from her confines.
"Yeah, but we were able to resist your temptations." Michael helped her to sit up and stretch her limbs. She groaned at his words and the blood rushing to the deprived parts of her. "Zan's trying to come up with a plan. Thing is, we all know the same things about that damn thing. Short of leaving the planet, there's pretty much nothing we can do but stay and face them."
"Why can't we just leave? Surely there's a rebellion up there. Someone who could help." Overwhelming helplessness had begun to take over.
"We can leave but you would have to stay and if you stay… they'll kill you." Michael shook his head and wrapped his arm around her. "We don't do that to you."
"I don't matter in this, Michael." Liz tried to push him away. "You and Zan need to leave."
"What happened to us not running? I thought that was your plan?"
"The plan isn't to get you two get slaughtered by the 30 plus evil aliens on this planet." She scrambled to her feet. "Why would I have to stay anyway?"
"You couldn't breathe up there, swee' pea." Zan spoke up from the entryway to the Granilith.
"How do you know that?"
Zan sat and cross his arms over his chest. "There're different kindsa aliens on our planet. The way Earth's got different colored people wit different cultures, it's like that on Antar… only our differences're more than skin deep. The protectors, they was shapeshifters. Nicholas, we calls 'em Skins because of them husks they wear to protect themselves from the environment here."
"Why can't I go?" Liz whispered.
"Nicholas can't breathe here without his husk and without a space suit, you can't breathe on Antar." Michael told her.
"The Royal family couldn't breathe here either, hence the mixin' wit humans." Zan shrugged. "Me and Mikey would probably survive… you wouldn't." He shut his eyes and ran through everything.
"But the Granilith is more than a way home." Liz protested. "Max used it to come back through time. If it can do that, what else can it do?"
"It did what?" Zan's eyes snapped open.
--
Zan took a breath and touched the keyhole that activated the Granilith. A vision swept through his mind.
[Zan stumbled into the Granilith chamber; weeks of hair growth on his face, hair matted to his head, clothes singed and tear tracks down his dirty face. He kicked the wall before sinking to the ground and looking out into the pod chamber where he could see the bodies of Max and Liz. Four months of working together had gotten them nothing but a few minutes to make a plan based on something that happened in another world.
He pulled the crystal out of his pocket and inserted it. "Ava, here I come."]
"It's no fuckin' use." Zan bit out and dropped his hand.
"What is it?" Liz whispered.
"This thing. It only makes things worse." Zan pulled her to him. "You died before."
"What?"
"You all died. I was the only one left. I went back and I went to Ava, to warn you guys." Zan squeezed her tightly until she wrapped her arms around him to give him comfort.
Michael kicked the wall. "What use is this thing? Max uses it and we keep Tess but everyone dies. Zan uses it to warn us about the massacre and it still happens." Silence held for such a long time, Michael had to sit and think. An idea struck him. "I'll go back. They gathered before they struck. I'll strike first. I'll kill them and the massacre won't happen."
"Michael, how do we activate the Granilith?" Liz asked softly. "That's a key hole but where's the key?"
"Mikey." Zan cleared his throat. "We, me, Max and Liz, we spent four months workin' together. We barely thought of this and time is runnin' out."
Liz released Zan and turned over ideas in her head. "Max came to me to warn me about Tess leaving. In that world, she led the army that destroyed Earth."
"In the vision, I go back to warn Ava to get to you guys before Rath and Lannie do. I think it was just us." Zan shook his head.
"When Rath and Lannie came to Roswell, they said they needed Max for the Summit. Would they have needed him for the Granilith too?" Liz asked Zan, who shrugged. "You're the only one that can use it"
"What?" Michael crossed his arms, this was sounding worse and worse.
"They cornered us here. They knew we would run to the Granilith if we had it." Liz got to her feet and began pacing. "They know about you. They need you to turn it on."
"With what key?"
"They must have one."
--
Zan kicked the wall that he lay perpendicular to. Nothing. They had nothing. Liz sat between Michael's legs, he was leaning against the wall next to Zan. They had just about given up hope. They were cornered. The time-travel thing would only work if they had a key to work with. The details of what key and how it worked were still a mystery but it was all they had to cling to.
"Liz." Zan whispered.
"What?"
"I'm thinkin' out loud. You the common denominata so far." He shook his head. "Did your futcha Max say if you were alive?"
"He didn't say I was dead."
"Interestin'." He kicked the wall again. "Let's say you were alive in that future. He left you behind to warn you."
"Yeah, I guess. Michael had died just hours before, Isabel a few weeks before that. Everyone else probably long before that." She whispered and reached out to take his hand. "Why?"
"You had just died before futcha me went back to find Ava. Just you and Max. Everyone else was dead. Got the impression that maybe we was all protectin' you." Zan shrugged. "There a reason they would want you?"
"Dead maybe." Liz snorted. "I was Max's. I was his wife the first time. We were 29 or something."
"We was 19 this last time. Odds ain't gettin' much better each time but I think we lived longer this time." Zan banged his head against the dirt floor and squeezed her hair. "You doin' okay, swee' pea? You feelin' okay?"
"Yeah. They weren't in any hurry the last time, I don't think." She shrugged.
Michael cleared his throat. "Maybe we should leave. If we do get cornered, this isn't the place we should be."
"Maybe." Zan nodded. "Liz was alive the first time, dead the second, alive now. Max came the first, me the second, unknown now. Michael dead both times, alive now. Max, Liz and Michael were all the last three the first time, me, Max and Liz the second time, and the three of us this last time." He ran his hands through his hair. "Liz three, Max two, Michael two, me two."
"What the hell are you doing?" Michael nudged him.
"Lookin' for a pattern. It might give us some clue what to do or not to do." Zan shut his eyes and thought. "Michael dies, Max and Liz live. Max leaves Liz to die and find young Liz to warn. Max and Liz die, I live. I leave to find Ava to warn. Odds get worse and worse." Clue. "I have to be the one to go."
"You can't warn yourself." Liz advised.
"Okay. So I can't warn myself but who would I warn. Ya'll think I'm dead, right?"
"Yeah." Michael nodded.
"Max might believe me."
"No." Michael and Liz shook their heads at him. They laughed at their synchronicity and their knowledge of the guy. Michael shook his head again. "Max was paranoid."
"You'd have to know something intimate." Liz nodded finally. "Assuming we can do this. You go. You find Max and tell him something that only he would know at that point. We'd have to choose a point to warn him in. You warned Ava too late the last time. You panicked. Max warned me in time but he knew what point it all came together or fell apart. He had 12 years on us. We've only got months."
"Shouldn't we be sure that it can be done before we plan this out?" Michael pointed out.
"Who is Serena? I don't know a Serena and she's the one that figures this out." Liz sat up. "We meet her later."
"We don’t have later." Michael ground out. "You two talk like we have time. Nicholas and his minions are converging. They're using you to get a fix on us. We don't have time to play what if."
"It's all we have, Michael." Liz turned to face him. "We might not survive this and we need a back up plan." Urging Zan to sit up. "Our job right this second is to make sure we can get a key and to keep Zan alive to go back. Both of us have to make sure he can get back here and go back and change this. They can't win, Michael." Holding both of their hands, she pressed them together between hers. "We have to go over everything. It's like Max told me the first time. It has to be surgical, precise, with no room for error."
--
With the van securely hidden, the three of them sat in a dive near Las Cruces. Liz sat between the two of them in their corner booth. On a napkin she had dates and events. When Max had become aware of shapeshifters, when Michael had been forced from his foster home, Tess's arrival, the sighting, the discovery of the Granilith, her own relationship stuff with him.
"Where would you meet this Serena chick?" Michael muttered.
"Don't know. From what I imagine, she was probably an astro-physicist or quantum-physicist. I have no clue if she was our age or older, or younger." Liz threw down her pen. "Hell, maybe I should have gone to college, maybe I would have met her. Serena, damn, that name should mean something. Science."
"Serena Olivas?" The waitress asked as she set down their meal. "You talking about our town's very own genius."
"Excuse me?" Liz shushed Zan and Michael. "Genius?"
"You were talking about Serena Olivas, right?"
"She's a scientist?" Liz pressed.
"Going to be soon." The waitress glanced back toward her boss and held up her order pad. "That girl can't be more than 16 but she's triple-majoring or something. Getting her first degree next spring. Our desert home's claim to fame."
"She goes to school here. I mean, I could find her and talk to her?" Liz needed to finish the conversation soon. She wasn't feeling too well.
"Probably. She was supposed to graduate with my little sister or something but there was some freak accident and all of a sudden six years ago, she's a genius." The waitress shoved her order pad in her pocket. "Her mom's some protective type so she had to stay here instead of going off to one of those real expensive east coast schools. That help?"
"Sure did." Liz nodded. "Thank you. You're getting a big tip."
"Thanks. No prob." The waitress nodded and wandered off.
Zan rubbed his chin. "You think this Olivas is the Serena we need?"
"I think so." Liz bit at her lip as she thought. "If Max and I got married at 19, then we weren't too far from home. Halfway from Vegas would be Phoenix. Las Cruces makes sense. We were close to home but far enough away to be away."
"Eat. Then we go." Zan nodded.
"Actually, we should get this to go. I need to go lay down." Liz swayed where she sat. "He might be trying to check up on us."
"Aight. Mikey, get the check and the food. I'll take care of her." Zan pulled Liz out of the booth. "Close your eyes, swee pea."
"Zan, it's hurting." Liz clung to him, needing him to keep her on her feet.
"Hurtin'?"
"Being… aroused and not…" Licked her lips and reached for the hem of his shirt.
"Just a few more feet." Zan slid the door open and urged her inside, making sure her eyes were closed before he shut the door.
--
Michael balanced the boxes as he stepped over rocks and sticks on the way to the van behind the restaurant. He stopped dead when he saw the movement of the vehicle, heard the slight creaking of the shocks.
--
Zan felt the tension on the ride to the NMSU campus. Liz slept the whole ride and seemed to be just coming to. Groaning, she made her way to the front of the van. "We there yet?"
"Yeah, looking for visitor's parking." Zan pulled into a parking lot. "Where do you need to be to find this Serena girl?"
"The Union probably." She rubbed at her face. "Drop me off here. I'll find someone to help me. Stay in this area. I'll be back."
"You shouldn't go alone." Michael cleared his throat.
"I can handle myself. Besides, if she's the quiet type… you big men folk will scare her off." Liz straightened her clothes and climbed out of the van. "Stay in this parking lot."
Michael watched her go and the second she was out of earshot, he turned on his companion. "You have fun? You get your rocks off?"
"It wudn't like that." Zan sagged in his seat.
"It wasn't like that? She's not in control of herself and you go ahead and take advantage of her?"
Zan turned his head to face his angry friend. "It was not like that."
"Then what the hell was it like?"
"She was hurtin' and we have to keep up this image that we're bein' distracted by her when she like that." Zan crossed his arms. "Don't get all high and mighty on me. If it was you, you'd've done it too."
--
Serena opened her door with a book in hand. When she looked up, the face wasn't familiar. "Do I know you?"
"Serena Olivas?" The short girl nodded. "I'm Liz Parker… I was wondering if I could ask you some questions."
"Um, okay. Do I have you for one of my classes?" Serena stood back to let the girl in.
"No but… I heard you're triple majoring and the first degree is near completion. I have a quantum physics question."
"I love that stuff. It is so cool. When I turn 18 I'm going to transfer to MIT." Serena opened another book from her bed. "This is one of my favorites."
"I was actually going to ask you about the theories surrounding data crystals and time travel."
"Huh?"
--
"Even if it were possible…" Serena ran her hands through her hair. "Okay. They are experimenting with like… data crystals and stuff."
"Why crystals?" Liz pressed.
"Well, in theory you could hold information inside because of the um, dimensions and the surfaces and reflections. If say you could transmit through a flawless crystal, you could store in a slightly flawed one. They have the potential to hold more information than any zip disc you could ever find." The young Hispanic squeezed her head. "Time travel is just a theory. It could be possible but the ramifications are endless."
"I know… but what would you need? A machine powerful enough to carry out instructions… right? Details… point of origin…. Um, point of destination. Time, date, place."
"Well, yeah, if you were actually going to do it… you'd need a… chamber of some sort… very Quantum Leap like. Exact dimensions of space and solid to be transferred, um… the coordinates of destination. It has to be precise or else you could end up with your body in a shelf… like in the X-Files."
"Okay…" Liz turned the information over in her head. She had all the information she needed… kind of. "What if… I mean, how could I find a crystal to code the information into?"
"You couldn't. I meant it when I said they were just experimenting with this stuff. I couldn't even begin to conceive of the computer you'd need for that. There would have to be lasers and mirrors with data streams and some surfaces would have to be blocked and flawed to keep the data inside." Serena stopped. "Actually, I can conceive it. A CD-burner and a cup to hold the crystal."
"What kind of crystal would you need?"
"Diamond would be preferable. They use them in lasers all the time but the facets tend to be too perfect. I think one good facet on the entire crystal will be good." Serena sat up suddenly. "You have a machine don't you? It's been built? Who do you work for? Can I see it? What language are you using to program it?"
--
Zan pushed off the van when he saw Liz coming with a young girl. "Why'd you bring her?"
"She insisted and she can help." Liz nodded to him. "Serena Olivas, these are my associates… Zan and Michael Guerin. Come on guys, we have an appointment to make and a destination to choose."
End Episode XV
Liz woke wrapped so securely in a blanket that she couldn't move. She quickly began to panic. She couldn't see the room, just the wall. "Michael? Zan?"
"She's back." Michael whispered to Zan.
"Make sure before you let her go." Zan whispered back. He was busy examining the Granilith for some useful purpose.
Michael crept out to where they had left her and gently rolled her over. "How are you feeling?"
"Did you do this to me?"
"Yes, I did." Michael nodded. "You want out?" She nodded. "You promise not to molest either of us?"
"It happened again, didn't it?" Liz let her head drop to the floor as he released her from her confines.
"Yeah, but we were able to resist your temptations." Michael helped her to sit up and stretch her limbs. She groaned at his words and the blood rushing to the deprived parts of her. "Zan's trying to come up with a plan. Thing is, we all know the same things about that damn thing. Short of leaving the planet, there's pretty much nothing we can do but stay and face them."
"Why can't we just leave? Surely there's a rebellion up there. Someone who could help." Overwhelming helplessness had begun to take over.
"We can leave but you would have to stay and if you stay… they'll kill you." Michael shook his head and wrapped his arm around her. "We don't do that to you."
"I don't matter in this, Michael." Liz tried to push him away. "You and Zan need to leave."
"What happened to us not running? I thought that was your plan?"
"The plan isn't to get you two get slaughtered by the 30 plus evil aliens on this planet." She scrambled to her feet. "Why would I have to stay anyway?"
"You couldn't breathe up there, swee' pea." Zan spoke up from the entryway to the Granilith.
"How do you know that?"
Zan sat and cross his arms over his chest. "There're different kindsa aliens on our planet. The way Earth's got different colored people wit different cultures, it's like that on Antar… only our differences're more than skin deep. The protectors, they was shapeshifters. Nicholas, we calls 'em Skins because of them husks they wear to protect themselves from the environment here."
"Why can't I go?" Liz whispered.
"Nicholas can't breathe here without his husk and without a space suit, you can't breathe on Antar." Michael told her.
"The Royal family couldn't breathe here either, hence the mixin' wit humans." Zan shrugged. "Me and Mikey would probably survive… you wouldn't." He shut his eyes and ran through everything.
"But the Granilith is more than a way home." Liz protested. "Max used it to come back through time. If it can do that, what else can it do?"
"It did what?" Zan's eyes snapped open.
--
Zan took a breath and touched the keyhole that activated the Granilith. A vision swept through his mind.
[Zan stumbled into the Granilith chamber; weeks of hair growth on his face, hair matted to his head, clothes singed and tear tracks down his dirty face. He kicked the wall before sinking to the ground and looking out into the pod chamber where he could see the bodies of Max and Liz. Four months of working together had gotten them nothing but a few minutes to make a plan based on something that happened in another world.
He pulled the crystal out of his pocket and inserted it. "Ava, here I come."]
"It's no fuckin' use." Zan bit out and dropped his hand.
"What is it?" Liz whispered.
"This thing. It only makes things worse." Zan pulled her to him. "You died before."
"What?"
"You all died. I was the only one left. I went back and I went to Ava, to warn you guys." Zan squeezed her tightly until she wrapped her arms around him to give him comfort.
Michael kicked the wall. "What use is this thing? Max uses it and we keep Tess but everyone dies. Zan uses it to warn us about the massacre and it still happens." Silence held for such a long time, Michael had to sit and think. An idea struck him. "I'll go back. They gathered before they struck. I'll strike first. I'll kill them and the massacre won't happen."
"Michael, how do we activate the Granilith?" Liz asked softly. "That's a key hole but where's the key?"
"Mikey." Zan cleared his throat. "We, me, Max and Liz, we spent four months workin' together. We barely thought of this and time is runnin' out."
Liz released Zan and turned over ideas in her head. "Max came to me to warn me about Tess leaving. In that world, she led the army that destroyed Earth."
"In the vision, I go back to warn Ava to get to you guys before Rath and Lannie do. I think it was just us." Zan shook his head.
"When Rath and Lannie came to Roswell, they said they needed Max for the Summit. Would they have needed him for the Granilith too?" Liz asked Zan, who shrugged. "You're the only one that can use it"
"What?" Michael crossed his arms, this was sounding worse and worse.
"They cornered us here. They knew we would run to the Granilith if we had it." Liz got to her feet and began pacing. "They know about you. They need you to turn it on."
"With what key?"
"They must have one."
--
Zan kicked the wall that he lay perpendicular to. Nothing. They had nothing. Liz sat between Michael's legs, he was leaning against the wall next to Zan. They had just about given up hope. They were cornered. The time-travel thing would only work if they had a key to work with. The details of what key and how it worked were still a mystery but it was all they had to cling to.
"Liz." Zan whispered.
"What?"
"I'm thinkin' out loud. You the common denominata so far." He shook his head. "Did your futcha Max say if you were alive?"
"He didn't say I was dead."
"Interestin'." He kicked the wall again. "Let's say you were alive in that future. He left you behind to warn you."
"Yeah, I guess. Michael had died just hours before, Isabel a few weeks before that. Everyone else probably long before that." She whispered and reached out to take his hand. "Why?"
"You had just died before futcha me went back to find Ava. Just you and Max. Everyone else was dead. Got the impression that maybe we was all protectin' you." Zan shrugged. "There a reason they would want you?"
"Dead maybe." Liz snorted. "I was Max's. I was his wife the first time. We were 29 or something."
"We was 19 this last time. Odds ain't gettin' much better each time but I think we lived longer this time." Zan banged his head against the dirt floor and squeezed her hair. "You doin' okay, swee' pea? You feelin' okay?"
"Yeah. They weren't in any hurry the last time, I don't think." She shrugged.
Michael cleared his throat. "Maybe we should leave. If we do get cornered, this isn't the place we should be."
"Maybe." Zan nodded. "Liz was alive the first time, dead the second, alive now. Max came the first, me the second, unknown now. Michael dead both times, alive now. Max, Liz and Michael were all the last three the first time, me, Max and Liz the second time, and the three of us this last time." He ran his hands through his hair. "Liz three, Max two, Michael two, me two."
"What the hell are you doing?" Michael nudged him.
"Lookin' for a pattern. It might give us some clue what to do or not to do." Zan shut his eyes and thought. "Michael dies, Max and Liz live. Max leaves Liz to die and find young Liz to warn. Max and Liz die, I live. I leave to find Ava to warn. Odds get worse and worse." Clue. "I have to be the one to go."
"You can't warn yourself." Liz advised.
"Okay. So I can't warn myself but who would I warn. Ya'll think I'm dead, right?"
"Yeah." Michael nodded.
"Max might believe me."
"No." Michael and Liz shook their heads at him. They laughed at their synchronicity and their knowledge of the guy. Michael shook his head again. "Max was paranoid."
"You'd have to know something intimate." Liz nodded finally. "Assuming we can do this. You go. You find Max and tell him something that only he would know at that point. We'd have to choose a point to warn him in. You warned Ava too late the last time. You panicked. Max warned me in time but he knew what point it all came together or fell apart. He had 12 years on us. We've only got months."
"Shouldn't we be sure that it can be done before we plan this out?" Michael pointed out.
"Who is Serena? I don't know a Serena and she's the one that figures this out." Liz sat up. "We meet her later."
"We don’t have later." Michael ground out. "You two talk like we have time. Nicholas and his minions are converging. They're using you to get a fix on us. We don't have time to play what if."
"It's all we have, Michael." Liz turned to face him. "We might not survive this and we need a back up plan." Urging Zan to sit up. "Our job right this second is to make sure we can get a key and to keep Zan alive to go back. Both of us have to make sure he can get back here and go back and change this. They can't win, Michael." Holding both of their hands, she pressed them together between hers. "We have to go over everything. It's like Max told me the first time. It has to be surgical, precise, with no room for error."
--
With the van securely hidden, the three of them sat in a dive near Las Cruces. Liz sat between the two of them in their corner booth. On a napkin she had dates and events. When Max had become aware of shapeshifters, when Michael had been forced from his foster home, Tess's arrival, the sighting, the discovery of the Granilith, her own relationship stuff with him.
"Where would you meet this Serena chick?" Michael muttered.
"Don't know. From what I imagine, she was probably an astro-physicist or quantum-physicist. I have no clue if she was our age or older, or younger." Liz threw down her pen. "Hell, maybe I should have gone to college, maybe I would have met her. Serena, damn, that name should mean something. Science."
"Serena Olivas?" The waitress asked as she set down their meal. "You talking about our town's very own genius."
"Excuse me?" Liz shushed Zan and Michael. "Genius?"
"You were talking about Serena Olivas, right?"
"She's a scientist?" Liz pressed.
"Going to be soon." The waitress glanced back toward her boss and held up her order pad. "That girl can't be more than 16 but she's triple-majoring or something. Getting her first degree next spring. Our desert home's claim to fame."
"She goes to school here. I mean, I could find her and talk to her?" Liz needed to finish the conversation soon. She wasn't feeling too well.
"Probably. She was supposed to graduate with my little sister or something but there was some freak accident and all of a sudden six years ago, she's a genius." The waitress shoved her order pad in her pocket. "Her mom's some protective type so she had to stay here instead of going off to one of those real expensive east coast schools. That help?"
"Sure did." Liz nodded. "Thank you. You're getting a big tip."
"Thanks. No prob." The waitress nodded and wandered off.
Zan rubbed his chin. "You think this Olivas is the Serena we need?"
"I think so." Liz bit at her lip as she thought. "If Max and I got married at 19, then we weren't too far from home. Halfway from Vegas would be Phoenix. Las Cruces makes sense. We were close to home but far enough away to be away."
"Eat. Then we go." Zan nodded.
"Actually, we should get this to go. I need to go lay down." Liz swayed where she sat. "He might be trying to check up on us."
"Aight. Mikey, get the check and the food. I'll take care of her." Zan pulled Liz out of the booth. "Close your eyes, swee pea."
"Zan, it's hurting." Liz clung to him, needing him to keep her on her feet.
"Hurtin'?"
"Being… aroused and not…" Licked her lips and reached for the hem of his shirt.
"Just a few more feet." Zan slid the door open and urged her inside, making sure her eyes were closed before he shut the door.
--
Michael balanced the boxes as he stepped over rocks and sticks on the way to the van behind the restaurant. He stopped dead when he saw the movement of the vehicle, heard the slight creaking of the shocks.
--
Zan felt the tension on the ride to the NMSU campus. Liz slept the whole ride and seemed to be just coming to. Groaning, she made her way to the front of the van. "We there yet?"
"Yeah, looking for visitor's parking." Zan pulled into a parking lot. "Where do you need to be to find this Serena girl?"
"The Union probably." She rubbed at her face. "Drop me off here. I'll find someone to help me. Stay in this area. I'll be back."
"You shouldn't go alone." Michael cleared his throat.
"I can handle myself. Besides, if she's the quiet type… you big men folk will scare her off." Liz straightened her clothes and climbed out of the van. "Stay in this parking lot."
Michael watched her go and the second she was out of earshot, he turned on his companion. "You have fun? You get your rocks off?"
"It wudn't like that." Zan sagged in his seat.
"It wasn't like that? She's not in control of herself and you go ahead and take advantage of her?"
Zan turned his head to face his angry friend. "It was not like that."
"Then what the hell was it like?"
"She was hurtin' and we have to keep up this image that we're bein' distracted by her when she like that." Zan crossed his arms. "Don't get all high and mighty on me. If it was you, you'd've done it too."
--
Serena opened her door with a book in hand. When she looked up, the face wasn't familiar. "Do I know you?"
"Serena Olivas?" The short girl nodded. "I'm Liz Parker… I was wondering if I could ask you some questions."
"Um, okay. Do I have you for one of my classes?" Serena stood back to let the girl in.
"No but… I heard you're triple majoring and the first degree is near completion. I have a quantum physics question."
"I love that stuff. It is so cool. When I turn 18 I'm going to transfer to MIT." Serena opened another book from her bed. "This is one of my favorites."
"I was actually going to ask you about the theories surrounding data crystals and time travel."
"Huh?"
--
"Even if it were possible…" Serena ran her hands through her hair. "Okay. They are experimenting with like… data crystals and stuff."
"Why crystals?" Liz pressed.
"Well, in theory you could hold information inside because of the um, dimensions and the surfaces and reflections. If say you could transmit through a flawless crystal, you could store in a slightly flawed one. They have the potential to hold more information than any zip disc you could ever find." The young Hispanic squeezed her head. "Time travel is just a theory. It could be possible but the ramifications are endless."
"I know… but what would you need? A machine powerful enough to carry out instructions… right? Details… point of origin…. Um, point of destination. Time, date, place."
"Well, yeah, if you were actually going to do it… you'd need a… chamber of some sort… very Quantum Leap like. Exact dimensions of space and solid to be transferred, um… the coordinates of destination. It has to be precise or else you could end up with your body in a shelf… like in the X-Files."
"Okay…" Liz turned the information over in her head. She had all the information she needed… kind of. "What if… I mean, how could I find a crystal to code the information into?"
"You couldn't. I meant it when I said they were just experimenting with this stuff. I couldn't even begin to conceive of the computer you'd need for that. There would have to be lasers and mirrors with data streams and some surfaces would have to be blocked and flawed to keep the data inside." Serena stopped. "Actually, I can conceive it. A CD-burner and a cup to hold the crystal."
"What kind of crystal would you need?"
"Diamond would be preferable. They use them in lasers all the time but the facets tend to be too perfect. I think one good facet on the entire crystal will be good." Serena sat up suddenly. "You have a machine don't you? It's been built? Who do you work for? Can I see it? What language are you using to program it?"
--
Zan pushed off the van when he saw Liz coming with a young girl. "Why'd you bring her?"
"She insisted and she can help." Liz nodded to him. "Serena Olivas, these are my associates… Zan and Michael Guerin. Come on guys, we have an appointment to make and a destination to choose."
End Episode XV
Episode XVI
Aftermath of War Episode XVI
"You guys sure don't look like scientists." Serena commented as she shifted on her pillow. She wrinkled her nose at the ripe smell inside the van. "You know. I could get in so much trouble leaving with you guys. My mom would throw a fit."
"We are not actually scientists." Liz winced slightly. "They're aliens."
"Right. Onkay." Selena laughed. "Whatever you say." Then no one said anything and they were already headed out of the city. "You are joking, right? I mean the chances of a binary star system with over ten planets is phenomenal but for one of those planets to have the right conditions to sustain life and for those life forms to evolve to the point of civilizations is astronomical. Not to mention the civilization would have to evolve past us and perfect star travel."
"What can I say? You aren't alone." Michael shrugged.
"So, there are aliens and a time machine?"
"S'not a time machine, Smarts. It's a one-way ticket to our planet and you're the only person that can turn it into a time machine so that people don't die." Zan called back from the driver's seat.
"Me?" A nervous chuckle crept into her voice. "Why me?"
"It's like this. We first knew that it could do it when my boyfriend's future self came back from the future…"
--
Liz kept her eyes shut and her face against the cool metal of the van. After listening to the tale, Serena had found a pencil and some paper and began theorizing. They were minutes away from the chamber and the quiet was getting to them. Serena suddenly sat up. "Okay, what language would this Granilith use? To program, I mean."
"Language?" Michael turned to look at her.
"English, Antarian first off but like in English I would use computer code."
"So?"
"It's probably a little detail but since it is an Antarian machine, we'd need to use some type of coding language. Math is obviously the universal language but the symbols would probably be Antarian."
Zan slowed the van as they approached. "None of us knows Antarian. We've all been Terranized."
"Onkay." Selena nodded to herself. "This is gonna be hard to do but I'll try."
Michael climbed out of the van and opened the door for the girls. He stopped Serena. "We think there's a crystal that will activate the Granilith for travel. If we could get a hold of that…"
"It would really help."
They climbed up to the chamber and Serena watched in amazement as a silver handprint appeared and the rock wall slid aside for their entry. Her eyes took in the empty, dried up pods and bits of recovered ship. Behind the pods stood the entryway to the huge shining Granilith. Her hands reached out to feel the slick unearthy metals and then the greenish glowing center. Liz stepped inside and pulled Serena to the keyhole they had found. "This is the shape we need."
"Wow."
"Serena, this is very important to us. Beyond us, we don't know what else they would destroy. We know in that one reality, they took it all just to get to us. We really need you to do this." Liz rubbed the girl's shoulder.
"I will if I can." Serena sighed and let the figures run through her head, not noticing Liz leaning in. The girl had just registered the lips on her neck seconds before Liz was pulled away and out of the chamber.
"Sorry." Michael winced. "It's not you. It's not her. It's something else."
"Onkay." Selena let out a nervous chuckle and returned her attention to the structure in front of her. "These people are really strange."
Michael led Liz out to the main chamber and sat her down. "Stay. We'll be with you in a minute and please don't try to molest the teenager again." The wheels turning in his head, he pulled Zan aside. "Take care of her, I'm going for the crystal."
"No." Zan shook his head. "We ain't splittin' up."
"Look." Michael lowered his voice. "These… spells are getting closer. If you're with her. They'll assume I am too. I'll get the crystal from them and come here when it's safe." Michael stopped and took a breath. "I'm doing this for Liz. She's hurting and she was about to kiss Serena. Just take care of her and make sure she thinks I'm still here."
Zan relented and nodded Michael out of the cave. After a moment, he strode over to the Granilith chamber and tapped on the inner wall. "Hey Serena."
"Huh?" She scribbled things down as she thought of them.
"Um, it'd be a good idea if you stayed in here and didn't come out for a good long while." Zan cleared his throat and she didn't even look up. She just waved him off and went back to her scribblings. Zan found Liz writhing against the wall Michael had sat her against. As soon as he had knelt in front of her, she was climbing onto his lap and slipping her hands beneath his shirt. "We're going to have to make this quick and without interruption, Swee' pea."
"Just be inside me." Liz whispered in his ear before biting his earlobe. "Need you inside… Now." Her fingers flicked against his nipples, flipping his piercings one way and then another. Liz wanted to scream inside. She couldn't control her body and her mouth was begging him. She could feel that he didn't want to but he knew she hurt and he only wanted to help. She tried to reach out to him but something was blocking her way.
Zan tried to be gentle like the last time but she wouldn't have it. Just like the last time, she set the pace, knocking him onto his back. Her hips ground against his before she braced her hands on his thighs and rocked her way into a fast pace. His body could only take so much and she was beginning to really wear on him.
Liz wanted to shut her eyes at the grimaces on his face and kept trying to reach out to him. When the orgasm swept over her body and his seed filled her, she felt a break and rushed through. Zan convulsed with the dual onslaught of orgasm and mental invasion. There was definitely the feeling of being pulled back and forth between Liz and something beyond Liz. All he could do was ride it all out until it was Liz and just Liz sitting on his lap, tears in her eyes. Sitting up, he wiped the tears from her face and began righting their clothes before he held her in his arms. There was something he was missing in it all. Something pivotal.
--
"Impulses." Serena whispered. "That might take too long but it's energy impulse related." Her fingers trailed over the green surface of the cone.
Zan slipped into the chamber and slid down a wall to sit and watch her. She was busy flipping the few papers she had back and forth, scribbling here and there. "Learn anything?"
"Some." Serena pulled a black sheet of paper from her small stack. "I need a date, time and place to send you. For later."
"We don't know yet."
"But…" Serena sighed and set her things down. "I need this information. You said the first time he went back something like 12 years then maybe a year then maybe just days. Is there a limit?"
"We don't know." Zan shut his eyes against the sting. "All I know is that I have to be the one to go back and that Liz has almost always made it to the moment where me or Max goes back. She's key to this. Nicholas and his men are closing in and Liz is hurting because of it."
"They're using her?"
"She's a receiver. She gets visions from aliens and they've flipped her switch so they can find her and us."
"Why?"
"Huh?"
"What's the plan? There was something to do with another girl right?" Serena struggled to put the pieces into place but there were too many missing.
"Tess… I think Michael said that Nasedo or whatever kept pushing the physical on them."
"Max is the king. Tess is the queen. You want them to have sex, why? You have to see your line live on. Insurance. It's been done since the hierarchies began." Her voice was so soft, Zan almost couldn't hear her. "So, you recreate a leader and his bride. You get them to reproduce and bring them home with a set line of succession. But the king and bride are dead now. King's chickadee and his clone are alive. It's damn close. If the enemies get a hold of an heir… they control the house."
"They're trying to get her pregnant." Zan slammed his fist into the wall and he was rocked with vision. Backwards. His hand lowered from the green cone. He pulled the crystal out and rose and exited. He hovered over the bodies of Max and Liz. He knelt and their bodies breathed. Liz pleaded with him. Max whispered nonsense. They rose into Zan's arms and he stood, backing out of the cave and into chaos.
"Zan?" Serena snapped her fingers and her companion snapped out of it. "Who pregnant?"
"You said whoever controls the heir controls the house, right?"
"Essentially… at least in old world customs."
"They killed her last time. Things were different. They had almost made it. She was pregnant and Max was going to take her home with him… but they died. It's bullshit. She can live on Antar if she's got a baby to smooth the transition." Zan ran his hands over his face. "I was wrong."
"So what are we going to do?"
"Things are different if they want her pregnant. They have the upper hand." Zan muttered. "We'll still have to go back… but to who and when?"
"Not to yourself… you'll unmake us all." Liz whispered from the entryway.
"Right." Serena agreed.
"I'm the one goin'. No one knows about me until after Liz gets visited from the future." Zan thought and thought. "But you guys find out right after… within weeks… and that's after you piss off Nicholas. I…"
"That's it!" Serena slapped her forehead. "I don't have to reprogram anything. It's a trip. It's just traveling. With a machine this sophisticated, the rider would have to know where he's going… and that's basically it. The crystal will have to be blank... I think. I really need to see the crystal."
"I've got it." Liz spoke up. "Max came to me and then Whittaker's buddies find out she's dead. We go and almost get killed." She slid away from the chamber as she thought. "So there is only one night to plan the attack. He vanished one night and two days later we're going to Nicholas."
"But who do I find?"
"Not me because I'm going to be pissed. Not Maria because she doesn't know until a while later. Not Alex because he won't believe you and try to get Max to look like you or something. Kyle would freak. Max is paranoid and would be heartbroken… but if you told him what he saw and what he really saw, he might. Michael's not going to care and kill you on sight and Isabel… It's either Max or Tess."
"But Tess wanted you out of the picture." Serena pointed out.
"But I know she has the potential to change. She did, once." Liz sighed and then glanced around. "Where's Michael?"
--
Michael crept around the warehouse and peered into the windows. It was the eighth one he had checked out and proving to be as fruitless as the others. There were only a couple other places he could check. Only thing that mattered was saving Zan and Liz. If he could do that, he could consider his life well-lived. Hoofing it over a couple of blocks, he hit paydirt. He could see them guarding the warehouse but pretending they weren't doing anything but loitering with a stereo.
"(Let's go)
The day has come to an end
The sun is over my head
My polyamorous friend
Got me in a mess of trouble again
So ..."
Thinking back to his lessons with Zan, Michael levitated a small stone into the air and concentrated. Then it shot across the lot to the lower left hip of the nearest Skin. He was rewarded with the sudden… 'poofing' of the Skin and sudden alarm of his buddies.
"Just when you think that you're alright
I'm calling out from the inside
I never heard anyone
I never listen at all"
The Skins looked around and started to spread out and investigate and that's exactly what Michael needed. Hidden behind a dumpster, he waited until two came his way. Levitating two more stones, he waited until they were within range. One, then two.
"They've come to get me again
The cloud is over my head
My polyamorus friend
Got me in a mess of trouble again
So ... "
When no thundering steps could be heard, Michael made his way to the building. Hiding in the shadows of the falling night and ducking behind abandoned cars. He made his way to a window and peered in. The little runt was in there with a mess of Skins. 15 inside. 20 minus three outside. Not good odds. 33 total. There was no way he'd survive a battle with Nicholas and the alien wouldn't hesitate to remind him of that if caught.
Focusing his energies on a car on the other side, he let loose a burst that lifted the car off the ground and sent it ten feet backward in flames. As hoped, the Skins rushed outside to find out what happened… all but five or so. Michael started looking for a way in. In the back of his mind, he knew Max would berate him for going in without a plan but Michael had confidence that whatever warrior instincts were inside him knew what they were doing. Creeping into a loose panel, he emerged behind his targets.
"Just when you think that you're alright
I'm calling out from the inside
I never heard anyone
I never listen at all"
Four went down before Nicholas slowly turned. The kid's smile was malicious. Michael prayed he never saw a human kid with a smile like that. The runt shook his head with a laugh, pointing that finger at his adversary. "And I thought you and the human were having a little fun."
"That's not funny. You're hurting her." Michael growled.
"You think you can take us all on?" Nicholas barked out a laugh. "I could crush you myself but there's 40 of us."
"I already got seven." Michael began to panic. "Where are the other three?"
"Doesn't matter." Nicholas shook his head. "I think it's interesting that a human has so much control over her own mind."
"Why are you using her?"
"I can. She's going to get me back into Kivar's good graces. Maybe it is a good thing that you've left her with Zan. It'll make it much easier to ensure the kid is royal." Michael lifted his hand before he'd make a conscious thought about it. Nicholas started laughing and deflected everything that Michael threw his way. It did however make the short alien step back and away from the table he'd been leaning on.
"Just stay away from the white light
I'll tell ya what side's your best side
I never heard anyone
I never listen at all"
Michael could feel himself weakening from pushing blasts on Nicholas and throwing Skins against the walls hard enough to break the seal on their husks. Then he saw the crystal on the table. All he had to do was get to it.
"Well, how do you know?
Well, how do you know?
Well, how do you know?
Well, how do you know?"
Forcing himself forward with more blasts, Michael reached the table and Nicholas saw too late that was what Michael was after all along. One more strong blast to Nicholas and the crystal was in his hand. Pushing over a tall stack of crates, Michael raced for his hidden exit behind them. He ducked blasts and raced into the streets, running as fast as his weakened form would allow. From out of nowhere, a police cruiser spun into his path. Prepared to make a break for it, Michael turned but a voice caught his attention.
"Michael! Down!" Sheriff Valenti readied his weapon and fired at the Skins chasing the kid. "I remember this part." The bullets did nothing to slow them down but it gave Michael time to get into the cruiser. As soon as Michael was safely inside, Valenti climbed into the cruiser and sped off. Only to have a car bearing down on them as soon as they turned the corner. Michael rolled down the window and fired blasts at the hood of the car.
"Just when you think that you're alright
I'm calling out from the inside
I never heard anyone
I never listen at all"
People scattered as the chase entered populated areas. Michael slid back into the cruiser and pulled the crystal out of his pocket. He looked at it a good long while before passing it off to Valenti. The older man just stared at it. "What's this?"
"It's important. Just get it to the pod chamber. Zan and Liz are there. I'll get there as soon as I can." Michael prepared himself to jump out of the car.
"Michael. What the hell is going on?"
"It's the end of life as we know it." Michael shrugged with a harsh laugh. "Just lose them before you go out there. They can't know where the chamber is. They need time to figure things out. I'll be there as soon as I'm able… just make sure no one gets out there." Michael leapt from the vehicle and the car bore down on him.
"Just stay away from the white light
I'll tell ya what side's your best side
I never heard anyone
I never listen at all
(Let's go)"
It struck him and he was flying through the air. He landed on the hood with a thump then bounced to roll over the top of the car and smash into the ground on the other side. Tasting blood in his mouth, he struggled to his feet clutching a broken arm to his body. He could hear the footsteps but he kept moving forward and away from the car that had stopped. The occupants climbed out and followed him. Nicholas gave him a little mental push and he fell to the ground. "Now, let's play nice War Commander Rath. We're going to have a little fun."
End Episode XVI
"You guys sure don't look like scientists." Serena commented as she shifted on her pillow. She wrinkled her nose at the ripe smell inside the van. "You know. I could get in so much trouble leaving with you guys. My mom would throw a fit."
"We are not actually scientists." Liz winced slightly. "They're aliens."
"Right. Onkay." Selena laughed. "Whatever you say." Then no one said anything and they were already headed out of the city. "You are joking, right? I mean the chances of a binary star system with over ten planets is phenomenal but for one of those planets to have the right conditions to sustain life and for those life forms to evolve to the point of civilizations is astronomical. Not to mention the civilization would have to evolve past us and perfect star travel."
"What can I say? You aren't alone." Michael shrugged.
"So, there are aliens and a time machine?"
"S'not a time machine, Smarts. It's a one-way ticket to our planet and you're the only person that can turn it into a time machine so that people don't die." Zan called back from the driver's seat.
"Me?" A nervous chuckle crept into her voice. "Why me?"
"It's like this. We first knew that it could do it when my boyfriend's future self came back from the future…"
--
Liz kept her eyes shut and her face against the cool metal of the van. After listening to the tale, Serena had found a pencil and some paper and began theorizing. They were minutes away from the chamber and the quiet was getting to them. Serena suddenly sat up. "Okay, what language would this Granilith use? To program, I mean."
"Language?" Michael turned to look at her.
"English, Antarian first off but like in English I would use computer code."
"So?"
"It's probably a little detail but since it is an Antarian machine, we'd need to use some type of coding language. Math is obviously the universal language but the symbols would probably be Antarian."
Zan slowed the van as they approached. "None of us knows Antarian. We've all been Terranized."
"Onkay." Selena nodded to herself. "This is gonna be hard to do but I'll try."
Michael climbed out of the van and opened the door for the girls. He stopped Serena. "We think there's a crystal that will activate the Granilith for travel. If we could get a hold of that…"
"It would really help."
They climbed up to the chamber and Serena watched in amazement as a silver handprint appeared and the rock wall slid aside for their entry. Her eyes took in the empty, dried up pods and bits of recovered ship. Behind the pods stood the entryway to the huge shining Granilith. Her hands reached out to feel the slick unearthy metals and then the greenish glowing center. Liz stepped inside and pulled Serena to the keyhole they had found. "This is the shape we need."
"Wow."
"Serena, this is very important to us. Beyond us, we don't know what else they would destroy. We know in that one reality, they took it all just to get to us. We really need you to do this." Liz rubbed the girl's shoulder.
"I will if I can." Serena sighed and let the figures run through her head, not noticing Liz leaning in. The girl had just registered the lips on her neck seconds before Liz was pulled away and out of the chamber.
"Sorry." Michael winced. "It's not you. It's not her. It's something else."
"Onkay." Selena let out a nervous chuckle and returned her attention to the structure in front of her. "These people are really strange."
Michael led Liz out to the main chamber and sat her down. "Stay. We'll be with you in a minute and please don't try to molest the teenager again." The wheels turning in his head, he pulled Zan aside. "Take care of her, I'm going for the crystal."
"No." Zan shook his head. "We ain't splittin' up."
"Look." Michael lowered his voice. "These… spells are getting closer. If you're with her. They'll assume I am too. I'll get the crystal from them and come here when it's safe." Michael stopped and took a breath. "I'm doing this for Liz. She's hurting and she was about to kiss Serena. Just take care of her and make sure she thinks I'm still here."
Zan relented and nodded Michael out of the cave. After a moment, he strode over to the Granilith chamber and tapped on the inner wall. "Hey Serena."
"Huh?" She scribbled things down as she thought of them.
"Um, it'd be a good idea if you stayed in here and didn't come out for a good long while." Zan cleared his throat and she didn't even look up. She just waved him off and went back to her scribblings. Zan found Liz writhing against the wall Michael had sat her against. As soon as he had knelt in front of her, she was climbing onto his lap and slipping her hands beneath his shirt. "We're going to have to make this quick and without interruption, Swee' pea."
"Just be inside me." Liz whispered in his ear before biting his earlobe. "Need you inside… Now." Her fingers flicked against his nipples, flipping his piercings one way and then another. Liz wanted to scream inside. She couldn't control her body and her mouth was begging him. She could feel that he didn't want to but he knew she hurt and he only wanted to help. She tried to reach out to him but something was blocking her way.
Zan tried to be gentle like the last time but she wouldn't have it. Just like the last time, she set the pace, knocking him onto his back. Her hips ground against his before she braced her hands on his thighs and rocked her way into a fast pace. His body could only take so much and she was beginning to really wear on him.
Liz wanted to shut her eyes at the grimaces on his face and kept trying to reach out to him. When the orgasm swept over her body and his seed filled her, she felt a break and rushed through. Zan convulsed with the dual onslaught of orgasm and mental invasion. There was definitely the feeling of being pulled back and forth between Liz and something beyond Liz. All he could do was ride it all out until it was Liz and just Liz sitting on his lap, tears in her eyes. Sitting up, he wiped the tears from her face and began righting their clothes before he held her in his arms. There was something he was missing in it all. Something pivotal.
--
"Impulses." Serena whispered. "That might take too long but it's energy impulse related." Her fingers trailed over the green surface of the cone.
Zan slipped into the chamber and slid down a wall to sit and watch her. She was busy flipping the few papers she had back and forth, scribbling here and there. "Learn anything?"
"Some." Serena pulled a black sheet of paper from her small stack. "I need a date, time and place to send you. For later."
"We don't know yet."
"But…" Serena sighed and set her things down. "I need this information. You said the first time he went back something like 12 years then maybe a year then maybe just days. Is there a limit?"
"We don't know." Zan shut his eyes against the sting. "All I know is that I have to be the one to go back and that Liz has almost always made it to the moment where me or Max goes back. She's key to this. Nicholas and his men are closing in and Liz is hurting because of it."
"They're using her?"
"She's a receiver. She gets visions from aliens and they've flipped her switch so they can find her and us."
"Why?"
"Huh?"
"What's the plan? There was something to do with another girl right?" Serena struggled to put the pieces into place but there were too many missing.
"Tess… I think Michael said that Nasedo or whatever kept pushing the physical on them."
"Max is the king. Tess is the queen. You want them to have sex, why? You have to see your line live on. Insurance. It's been done since the hierarchies began." Her voice was so soft, Zan almost couldn't hear her. "So, you recreate a leader and his bride. You get them to reproduce and bring them home with a set line of succession. But the king and bride are dead now. King's chickadee and his clone are alive. It's damn close. If the enemies get a hold of an heir… they control the house."
"They're trying to get her pregnant." Zan slammed his fist into the wall and he was rocked with vision. Backwards. His hand lowered from the green cone. He pulled the crystal out and rose and exited. He hovered over the bodies of Max and Liz. He knelt and their bodies breathed. Liz pleaded with him. Max whispered nonsense. They rose into Zan's arms and he stood, backing out of the cave and into chaos.
"Zan?" Serena snapped her fingers and her companion snapped out of it. "Who pregnant?"
"You said whoever controls the heir controls the house, right?"
"Essentially… at least in old world customs."
"They killed her last time. Things were different. They had almost made it. She was pregnant and Max was going to take her home with him… but they died. It's bullshit. She can live on Antar if she's got a baby to smooth the transition." Zan ran his hands over his face. "I was wrong."
"So what are we going to do?"
"Things are different if they want her pregnant. They have the upper hand." Zan muttered. "We'll still have to go back… but to who and when?"
"Not to yourself… you'll unmake us all." Liz whispered from the entryway.
"Right." Serena agreed.
"I'm the one goin'. No one knows about me until after Liz gets visited from the future." Zan thought and thought. "But you guys find out right after… within weeks… and that's after you piss off Nicholas. I…"
"That's it!" Serena slapped her forehead. "I don't have to reprogram anything. It's a trip. It's just traveling. With a machine this sophisticated, the rider would have to know where he's going… and that's basically it. The crystal will have to be blank... I think. I really need to see the crystal."
"I've got it." Liz spoke up. "Max came to me and then Whittaker's buddies find out she's dead. We go and almost get killed." She slid away from the chamber as she thought. "So there is only one night to plan the attack. He vanished one night and two days later we're going to Nicholas."
"But who do I find?"
"Not me because I'm going to be pissed. Not Maria because she doesn't know until a while later. Not Alex because he won't believe you and try to get Max to look like you or something. Kyle would freak. Max is paranoid and would be heartbroken… but if you told him what he saw and what he really saw, he might. Michael's not going to care and kill you on sight and Isabel… It's either Max or Tess."
"But Tess wanted you out of the picture." Serena pointed out.
"But I know she has the potential to change. She did, once." Liz sighed and then glanced around. "Where's Michael?"
--
Michael crept around the warehouse and peered into the windows. It was the eighth one he had checked out and proving to be as fruitless as the others. There were only a couple other places he could check. Only thing that mattered was saving Zan and Liz. If he could do that, he could consider his life well-lived. Hoofing it over a couple of blocks, he hit paydirt. He could see them guarding the warehouse but pretending they weren't doing anything but loitering with a stereo.
"(Let's go)
The day has come to an end
The sun is over my head
My polyamorous friend
Got me in a mess of trouble again
So ..."
Thinking back to his lessons with Zan, Michael levitated a small stone into the air and concentrated. Then it shot across the lot to the lower left hip of the nearest Skin. He was rewarded with the sudden… 'poofing' of the Skin and sudden alarm of his buddies.
"Just when you think that you're alright
I'm calling out from the inside
I never heard anyone
I never listen at all"
The Skins looked around and started to spread out and investigate and that's exactly what Michael needed. Hidden behind a dumpster, he waited until two came his way. Levitating two more stones, he waited until they were within range. One, then two.
"They've come to get me again
The cloud is over my head
My polyamorus friend
Got me in a mess of trouble again
So ... "
When no thundering steps could be heard, Michael made his way to the building. Hiding in the shadows of the falling night and ducking behind abandoned cars. He made his way to a window and peered in. The little runt was in there with a mess of Skins. 15 inside. 20 minus three outside. Not good odds. 33 total. There was no way he'd survive a battle with Nicholas and the alien wouldn't hesitate to remind him of that if caught.
Focusing his energies on a car on the other side, he let loose a burst that lifted the car off the ground and sent it ten feet backward in flames. As hoped, the Skins rushed outside to find out what happened… all but five or so. Michael started looking for a way in. In the back of his mind, he knew Max would berate him for going in without a plan but Michael had confidence that whatever warrior instincts were inside him knew what they were doing. Creeping into a loose panel, he emerged behind his targets.
"Just when you think that you're alright
I'm calling out from the inside
I never heard anyone
I never listen at all"
Four went down before Nicholas slowly turned. The kid's smile was malicious. Michael prayed he never saw a human kid with a smile like that. The runt shook his head with a laugh, pointing that finger at his adversary. "And I thought you and the human were having a little fun."
"That's not funny. You're hurting her." Michael growled.
"You think you can take us all on?" Nicholas barked out a laugh. "I could crush you myself but there's 40 of us."
"I already got seven." Michael began to panic. "Where are the other three?"
"Doesn't matter." Nicholas shook his head. "I think it's interesting that a human has so much control over her own mind."
"Why are you using her?"
"I can. She's going to get me back into Kivar's good graces. Maybe it is a good thing that you've left her with Zan. It'll make it much easier to ensure the kid is royal." Michael lifted his hand before he'd make a conscious thought about it. Nicholas started laughing and deflected everything that Michael threw his way. It did however make the short alien step back and away from the table he'd been leaning on.
"Just stay away from the white light
I'll tell ya what side's your best side
I never heard anyone
I never listen at all"
Michael could feel himself weakening from pushing blasts on Nicholas and throwing Skins against the walls hard enough to break the seal on their husks. Then he saw the crystal on the table. All he had to do was get to it.
"Well, how do you know?
Well, how do you know?
Well, how do you know?
Well, how do you know?"
Forcing himself forward with more blasts, Michael reached the table and Nicholas saw too late that was what Michael was after all along. One more strong blast to Nicholas and the crystal was in his hand. Pushing over a tall stack of crates, Michael raced for his hidden exit behind them. He ducked blasts and raced into the streets, running as fast as his weakened form would allow. From out of nowhere, a police cruiser spun into his path. Prepared to make a break for it, Michael turned but a voice caught his attention.
"Michael! Down!" Sheriff Valenti readied his weapon and fired at the Skins chasing the kid. "I remember this part." The bullets did nothing to slow them down but it gave Michael time to get into the cruiser. As soon as Michael was safely inside, Valenti climbed into the cruiser and sped off. Only to have a car bearing down on them as soon as they turned the corner. Michael rolled down the window and fired blasts at the hood of the car.
"Just when you think that you're alright
I'm calling out from the inside
I never heard anyone
I never listen at all"
People scattered as the chase entered populated areas. Michael slid back into the cruiser and pulled the crystal out of his pocket. He looked at it a good long while before passing it off to Valenti. The older man just stared at it. "What's this?"
"It's important. Just get it to the pod chamber. Zan and Liz are there. I'll get there as soon as I can." Michael prepared himself to jump out of the car.
"Michael. What the hell is going on?"
"It's the end of life as we know it." Michael shrugged with a harsh laugh. "Just lose them before you go out there. They can't know where the chamber is. They need time to figure things out. I'll be there as soon as I'm able… just make sure no one gets out there." Michael leapt from the vehicle and the car bore down on him.
"Just stay away from the white light
I'll tell ya what side's your best side
I never heard anyone
I never listen at all
(Let's go)"
It struck him and he was flying through the air. He landed on the hood with a thump then bounced to roll over the top of the car and smash into the ground on the other side. Tasting blood in his mouth, he struggled to his feet clutching a broken arm to his body. He could hear the footsteps but he kept moving forward and away from the car that had stopped. The occupants climbed out and followed him. Nicholas gave him a little mental push and he fell to the ground. "Now, let's play nice War Commander Rath. We're going to have a little fun."
End Episode XVI
Episode XVII
Aftermath of War Episode XVII
"Is it any wonder why I'm scared?"
Michael's eye had swelled shut but he could tell through the good one that there was a ceiling lamp swinging over his head. Copper-ish blood filled his taste buds from his split lip. The good arm was taped to his chair and the broken one laid against his chest. His legs had been taped together and to the chair. Every blast threatened to topple him to the cement beneath him.
"If I was a little younger, would I care?"
Valenti watched Liz pull Zan into an antechamber to the main cave. Shutting his tired blue eyes, he wondered for the millionth time what it was that he had gotten himself involved in. His old bones creaked as he sank to the floor with blue eyes skyward praying for the four children he had committed himself to protecting with all his humanly ability.
"Feeling like the walls are growing stronger.
I don’t know if this cage can hold me any longer."
They toppled to the floor of the cave. Zan kept shaking his head 'no' but Liz wasn't taking no for an answer. He let her kiss him and fondle every inch of his body. When he pulled out a condom, she plucked it from his hand and threw it away. When he grabbed for it, she kneed him in the chest. She punched him every time he made a move for the small foil package. Finally, he gave in, taking what little pleasure he could from the act, knowing he could never hurt her more than if he left her alone… he'd never allow himself to lay a rough hand on her without her express permission.
"You never dreamed you'd have to live your life so guarded.
Cause they'll find a way to make you feel discarded."
Serena entered the main chamber with the crystal in her hands and questions in her eyes. When the Sheriff gave his half-assed excuse for Zan and Liz, she stood embarrassed for two beats before the rage took over. She stomped back into the Granilith before she sank onto the cool metal and curled into a ball. Her fingers pushed the crystal away toward her notes while she lay in her self-consciousness and embarrassment. Thoughts of her young lonely life flashed through her mind as a result of her cursed brains.
"I'm not afraid of tomorrow.
I'm only scared of myself."
The chair spun with the force of the blast, toppling Michael onto the concrete. Blood pooled where his face struck the pavement. His broken arm flopped away from his body and back, shooting pain up through the limb. When he coughed, a tooth came loose. He spat it out with some blood from his bitten tongue.
"Feels like my insides are on fire.
And I'm looking through the eyes of someone else."
Tears slipped down her face. Liz brushed her fingers lightly over the developing bruises that marred Zan's face. She murmured many sorries between sobs. Zan gave her what comfort he could. Liz wiped her tears off his face and buried her face in his neck.
"I never thought they'd want me to go even faster.
I never thought I took my foot off the gas."
Serena wiped at her face and studied the crystal and glanced at her watch. Time was ticking and her questions weren't coming with any answers. With no way to test, there was no room for error.
"Everybody loves to be in on the pressure.
But I know they're all waiting for the crash."
Michael screamed with the pain ripping through his head. Nicholas's hand on his head felt like a lead weight but he fought it with everything he was worth. One thought kept him from crashing. Liz and Zan had to succeed. They hadn't so long as he was still feeling pain.
"You never dreamed you have to live your life so guarded."
Cause they'll find a way to make you feel discarded."
Zan kicked the wall of the Granilith. Nothing made any sense and the little girl's explanations made his head hurt. With Liz and the sheriff talking about things Max might have done, or things the guy did, it all compounded and beat into his brain with every throb of his heart.
"Things have changed, you've become a complication.
Can't make it through another day's humiliation."
Liz gasped as sensation swept through her middle. Valenti caught her and guided her to the ground. The sheriff's eyes flicked from Liz to Zan, who had frozen in place. Serena watched with wide eyes as Zan slowly found his spine and approached Liz. His hand glowed over her stomach. Her stomach protruded as a small glowing handprint appeared. Serena dropped her pencil and crawled closer. Zan made contact and was swept away by the small mind inside Liz. The shock and awe fixed on his face and Valenti had to snap him out of it. He could only nod to confirm their suspicions.
"I'm not afraid of tomorrow.
I'm only scared of myself."
His body flew back and smashed the chair against the wall. Nicholas wiped at his mouth and motioned with his head for his men to resume kicking the shit out of the Antarian commander. Fragments of the chair were still stuck to his body but even one free hand couldn't let Michael fight back or escape. His every thought of not failing Liz and Zan. Not giving them away and not dying or falling into unconsciousness.
"Feels like my insides are on fire
And I’m looking through the eyes of someone else.
Someone else…"
Liz held her stomach and faced the wall. It was all happening too fast. Michael was captured. Nicholas had succeeded in getting her pregnant. Serena was lost in calculation. Zan had already pulled away. Valenti kept trying to console her but nothing was helping. Her insides were fluttering and, if what Zan had confessed was right, growing very rapidly.
"Is it any wonder why the answer keeps me petrified?
Is it any wonder why… I'm scared…"
--
"You just do not give up, do you?" Nicholas cracked his knuckles and circled the bloody mess in the warehouse. "The Rath I remember… his mind would have cracked at the first attempt at mind-rape. I do believe I've lost count today."
"Y—you're gett—tt-ting t-t-tired." Michael spat out another tooth after his stuttered words. "I-ff-ff y-you d—dd-don'-t t-take a br-br-break… yy-yy-you're n-not-t g-gon—nn-na l-last."
"You wish, Halfling." Nicholas shook his head and knelt to his captive. "We've tried the nice way. We've tried the hard way. What is it really going to take to make you spill?"
"N-n-noth-thing y-yy-you cc-could e-ver-ver d-do wuh-w-would m-m-ake mme b-b-etr-tray th-them."
"We really need to work on your communication skills." Nicholas stood and pulled a water bottle out of his pocket. He sprayed his face and arms before pulling a lotion bottle out of the other pocket. "We're still looking for the cop that helped you out and took my crystal. Lucky for him there was some sort of emergency and it's hard to tell who's missing and who lost contact and who is right where they are supposed to be."
"W-why d-didnn't N-Nacero t-tell y-you w-where it w-was?"
"That is a good question, Mikey. Our buddy always one for paranoia… and with that damned coded DNA, he just couldn't ever hand the information over. It was a shame to kill him. My darling sister must have taken great pleasure in eradicating that mess." The alien motioned to one of his men and a bucket of water was produced. "You're our only hope until we find it ourselves. Unfortunately for me, Liz isn't fond of looking around while she's fucking Zan's brains out… though… we are running out of caves to search. We'll find them eventually and then, it's lights out for you and a ride home for me."
The bucket was emptied slowly over Michael's face, but he was too tired to even squirm. Even the cold didn't revive him much.
"Let's begin again." Nicholas placed his hand on Michael's forehead. "Did I forget to mention it? You're going to be an uncle."
--
Zan watched Liz. She was dozing and sweating like a pig. Something was off. From what he understood, a month would do it. Child would gestate and make its appearance. That, of course, was with hybrids as both parents. Liz could no longer be considered completely human but she was human enough and even with his more alien than human status, it wouldn't be enough to ensure her safety. For all he knew, she could split open like a watermelon at any moment. If her body was unable to keep up with its changes, she could be in very real danger.
"Worried about becoming a father?" Valenti's voice penetrated his fog.
"Not so much. Afta all this, bein' a daddy oughta be a piece a cake." Zan shrugged.
"Don't be so sure." Valenti fingered the rim of his hat. "Why did you do it?"
"You see my face?" Zan tilted his beaten face into the green glow of the cone. Dark purple splotches covered his face. "Tha's what she did when I trieda use protection. She ain't in control when she like that. And she prolly ain't even pregnant from the last time. It could be the time before that or before that. You know what they say… about doin' it a lot. No deposit, no return."
"Where does it put us, strategy-wise?"
"They prolly know she's pregnant. They're gettin' confident and shit. They got Michael. They's mind-rapin' him and beatin' him… and he ain't give us up so far." He took a deep breath and let it out in a huge sigh. "No, bein' a daddy is the least of my problems… I… she don't love me… not like…"
"Max?"
"Huh." A strained laugh escaped his lips as he turned that over in his mind. "I ain't even thoughta him… but yeah… she don't love me like she love Max… or even like she love Michael. But wouldn't it be amazin' if she could?" A small smile lit his face. "Then I'd have the girl and the kid… but only 'til we go back and fix it all."
"How many were supposed to go back in this thing?" Serena asked aloud. "Four? So two and a half should be no problem."
"You thinkin' I should take her wit me?"
"Why couldn't you? She's got some of that alien mojo." The girl sighed heavily and looked at her notes written over notes, written over notes. "If the baby could make her body able to breathe on another planet… it could make her able to travel. If she can travel… she can make it back in time… theoretically speaking of course."
"Take a break." Valenti ordered the young girl. "You'll burn out that bright mind of yours."
"What does it matter? I'll be vapor soon enough. If I don't get unmade, I'll be killed by evil aliens… wouldn't that have been a story for the grandkids." Though she protested, she put her pencil down and lay out on the floor of the Granilith.
"Not true. You still you in ev'ry reality." Zan told her. "You help us ev'ry time. Liz said. You got some brains in there. It'll come to you."
"It was an accident you know." Serena grinned to herself. "I was ten and there're these radio relay stations in the Guadelupes. We used to climb them. Some of them are campus private stations. You know? To keep things on a wavelength that other people can't get on. It was cloudy that day and we were told to stay off but I couldn't. It was new and I had to climb it." Her smile faded. "Jimmy and Nena were with me, holding on to the base as if by them holding on, I would too. I got to the top and just looked over everything. God, it was beautiful… until it started to rain and the lightning was getting closer and closer. I was halfway down when it struck. By all rights… I should have died with Jimmy and Nena. I was blown clear and nearly broke my back on the mountain. When I came to, it was in an MRI tube. I was stuck because I still held a charge and I shut it down once I was inside."
"When'd they find out you were a genius?" Valenti prodded.
"A few weeks later. I read my chart, memorized everything in it. When I looked up the words, I memorized those. I could have been a doctor but I like applied mathematics and physics. It keeps my mind busy." She laughed suddenly. "But I'm scared as hell of the rain. I'm afraid I'll get struck again and it'll wipe my brain clean if it doesn't kill me."
At the same time, Zan and Serena's eyes settled on the crystal. "You attract 'lectricity?"
"Not in a while but we could wipe it of its destination."
--
Blind, Michael lifted his face to the light. Both his eyes had completely swollen shut and his nose had broken. Breathing through his mouth was his only option and every time he drew a breath in, the air stung his bleeding gums. He could hear the rain outside. It was soothing… too soothing. He could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness. Once he was unconscious, he couldn't protect them. The last thing he saw was Nicholas's shadow before the shadow took him over.
--
Serena mounted the crystal on the dipstick, then stuck that on the end of a deformed hanger that had been wedged into the rock face. She pushed her rain soaked hair out of her face. She heard a voice so she turned. She couldn't make it out over the roar of the wind. Before she knew it, Zan was beside her, fixing the rod and hauling her down over his shoulder. "Hey!"
"Hey, yourself. I keepin' you from fryin' your ass agin." Zan didn't put her down until they were in the safety of the cave. "You cin feel the hum. It's raisin' the hair on my arms."
Liz got up and stumbled to the entryway. "Serena, Zan. Spot me. I'm gonna shower."
"Should you do that?" Valenti spoke up. "You might be seen. Besides, I don't believe cold rain is good for you in your condition."
"Sure thing, Liz." Zan squeezed her arm and gestured Valenti into the main chamber. At Valenti's protest he guided him away so Liz could dress. "She ain't bathed in days. You cain't see two feet in fronta your face out there. She'll be fine. Nobody knows what's good for her right now."
"I'll watch for her." Serena nodded to them and went to stand at the mouth of the cave. She moved Liz's clothes further into the cave to avoid the water. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, I'm fine. I'm pregnant by an alien hybrid. What do you call a child born whose parents are altered human and alien-human hybrid? ... His blood will be the key to identifying him as alien." Liz rinsed off the best she could but it wasn't going to be clean enough to satisfy herself. Face turned into the pouring rain, Liz let it all wash over her. "With any luck… I'll never have to give birth."
"Do you mean that?" Serena pressed.
"Do I mean that I don't want the baby? No. Am I implying that I'm not ready for a child? Yes. Is it because I don't love Zan? No. Do I wish it was someone else? I'm not sure." Liz leaned on the wall. "Do I wish there were different circumstances? Definitely."
"I can't even imagine being able to create life." Serena smiled to herself. "I've never even kissed a boy… and it's pretty much illegal for any of the guys I know."
"If you ask nicely, Zan'll kiss you." Liz winked at her and the girl blushed. "Call Zan. I'm ready to come in."
Serena headed back into the cave only to find Zan crouched over Liz's clothes. "What are you doing?"
"Just cleanin' these up a bit." Zan shrugged. He waved his hand and the fabrics completely changed texture and color. He pulled Liz inside the cave and went to work drying her off and dressing her. "How you feelin'?"
"Better. I think I still have a fever." Teeth chattering, she relayed how she felt. The strange sensations in her stomach. There was an odd silence when it was time for him to zip her jeans. "It's not your fault." His fingers brushed over her lower stomach a moment longer before he finally fastened her jeans. Liz turned his face upward and examined the bruises. "I… hmmpf. Zan, why don't you heal them?"
"Savin' my energy in case I hafta do somethin' for you." He slid his hands into her hair and began drying the long tresses.
"They're hurting him, aren't they?"
"To be perfectly honest? They're kickin' the shit outta him." Zan pulled her against him. "I'm takin' you wit me. I won't let them git to you no matta what."
A loud clap of thunder accompanied by a brilliant light broke into everyone's thoughts. The cave shook. Zan and Liz watched as an electric current swept by them on the wet surface of the rocks outside. Zan motioned for Liz to stay put and raced out to retrieve the crystal. Valenti and Serena leaned into the mouth and waited with bated breath for Zan to return. Another close thunder clap had them worried until Zan reappeared soaking wet with burned hands. The blackened crystal was placed in Serena's hands. Valenti rushed out to the cruiser for his first aid kit.
Liz sat Zan down and examined the burns on his hands. "How did this happen?"
"The rod's still hot." Zan shrugged. "I shoulda cooled it 'fore I grabbed it."
"Maybe." Liz lightly blew on the blisters. "You think this will work?"
"Maybe. It's just jerry-rigging. Might've been better if we had more time to use computers and lasers and junk." He winced when one blister popped. "I don't want to waste any power."
"Heal them." Liz ordered.
"Savin' it." Zan shook his head. "5-O'll spray some stuff on it and wrap it up real good. I'll be fine." He froze when she cupped his face with her hands. Her lips brushed his softly and the she pulled away. "What was that for?"
"I always told you that you were a nice guy." Liz brushed his wet hair back on his head. "I'm glad you guys don't get sick, or else you'd have just signed up for a cold."
Zan shut his eyes and concentrated on the feel of her hands in his hair. It felt so good that he was loathe to lose the feeling when she tended to his burns with the kit from Valenti's car. Liz had no sooner taped the bandages around his hands and begun gathering her trash when she swayed. Zan gripped her and watched her eyes roll around for a moment until they focused on him. "Liz? You okay?"
"I just got dizzy." Liz started to say more but she clutched her stomach when a paralyzing pain shot through her middle. Zan slid his hand between her arms and her stomach to feel for anything wrong. "What's wrong, Zan?"
He looked her in the eyes, fear reflected from one to the other. "Just keep lookin' at me. It's just a spurt."
"A spurt?" Valenti questioned but they weren't paying him any attention.
Zan connected with Liz and encouraged her cells to multiply rapidly, strengthening her uterine walls and allowing them to stretch to accommodate the growing boy within. When the 'spurt' was over with, Zan broke the connection and stared down at his hand. The smooth stomach beneath his large hand hadn't grown any to his naked eye but it felt a good deal firmer than before. "I was afraid that might happen."
"What happened?" Valenti prodded, kneeling to look Liz over. She looked tired and pale. "What exactly just happened?"
"The baby grows in little spurts." Zan tried to explain but he understood little himself. "We was told that alien babies take a month."
"I'm not a doctor but that could kill Liz." Valenti sighed heavily and dropped to the floor.
"Yeah. It could. I… I made her grow inside to keep her from splittin' in two from the inside out." Zan ran a hand over his face and winced when the bandages aggravated his bruises. "I'm not gonna be able to leave her side."
"That's what you meant when you said you were saving it?" Liz felt the tears glide down her face for the hundredth time in just a few days.
"Hey guys. I think I got these equations… straight…" Serena glanced around. "Did I miss something?"
--
Zan waved Valenti goodbye. The man was going to act as a decoy. He would tow the van into town and pray no one knew where he was coming from. Night was falling and he had the distinct impression that time was running out. Liz was looking bad again and Serena wasn't sure enough in her calculations to let them try yet… and he was running low on his healing energy.
Serena looked up when Zan entered. Liz had been curled up in a ball since he had left to talk to Valenti. She was close. So close. "She needs you."
Zan knelt and did what he could to ease her pain. Her belly had extended just a fraction by his point but he could feel that the baby was in no hurry to finish or stop growing. He was weakening. He could feel it. The baby was draining him, drop by precious drop.
The first gun shot caught their attention. The explosion spurred the trio into action. Zan scanned the equations into his head. Serena bit her nails while he wrapped his hands around the crystal and willed the information into the crystal. It was a theory. She could have just ended them all for good. The dates had been updated. A location chosen. It should work, theoretically.
Zan kissed the crystal and then slid it into the keyhole. The Granilith only allowed half the crystal to slide into place before it lit up. Another explosion confirmed that Nicholas was on his way. Liz was crying and Zan only wished he could take Serena with them too. Liz placed her hand on the cone, sobs wracking her body. Zan placed his hand over hers and shut his eyes. When he opened them again, Liz was staring down from inside the cone. A moment later and they were both staring out at Serena who had curled into a ball when the explosions escalated outside. With one last silent prayer, they disappeared within the cone. The Granilith sent them on their way.
End Episode XVII
"Is it any wonder why I'm scared?"
Michael's eye had swelled shut but he could tell through the good one that there was a ceiling lamp swinging over his head. Copper-ish blood filled his taste buds from his split lip. The good arm was taped to his chair and the broken one laid against his chest. His legs had been taped together and to the chair. Every blast threatened to topple him to the cement beneath him.
"If I was a little younger, would I care?"
Valenti watched Liz pull Zan into an antechamber to the main cave. Shutting his tired blue eyes, he wondered for the millionth time what it was that he had gotten himself involved in. His old bones creaked as he sank to the floor with blue eyes skyward praying for the four children he had committed himself to protecting with all his humanly ability.
"Feeling like the walls are growing stronger.
I don’t know if this cage can hold me any longer."
They toppled to the floor of the cave. Zan kept shaking his head 'no' but Liz wasn't taking no for an answer. He let her kiss him and fondle every inch of his body. When he pulled out a condom, she plucked it from his hand and threw it away. When he grabbed for it, she kneed him in the chest. She punched him every time he made a move for the small foil package. Finally, he gave in, taking what little pleasure he could from the act, knowing he could never hurt her more than if he left her alone… he'd never allow himself to lay a rough hand on her without her express permission.
"You never dreamed you'd have to live your life so guarded.
Cause they'll find a way to make you feel discarded."
Serena entered the main chamber with the crystal in her hands and questions in her eyes. When the Sheriff gave his half-assed excuse for Zan and Liz, she stood embarrassed for two beats before the rage took over. She stomped back into the Granilith before she sank onto the cool metal and curled into a ball. Her fingers pushed the crystal away toward her notes while she lay in her self-consciousness and embarrassment. Thoughts of her young lonely life flashed through her mind as a result of her cursed brains.
"I'm not afraid of tomorrow.
I'm only scared of myself."
The chair spun with the force of the blast, toppling Michael onto the concrete. Blood pooled where his face struck the pavement. His broken arm flopped away from his body and back, shooting pain up through the limb. When he coughed, a tooth came loose. He spat it out with some blood from his bitten tongue.
"Feels like my insides are on fire.
And I'm looking through the eyes of someone else."
Tears slipped down her face. Liz brushed her fingers lightly over the developing bruises that marred Zan's face. She murmured many sorries between sobs. Zan gave her what comfort he could. Liz wiped her tears off his face and buried her face in his neck.
"I never thought they'd want me to go even faster.
I never thought I took my foot off the gas."
Serena wiped at her face and studied the crystal and glanced at her watch. Time was ticking and her questions weren't coming with any answers. With no way to test, there was no room for error.
"Everybody loves to be in on the pressure.
But I know they're all waiting for the crash."
Michael screamed with the pain ripping through his head. Nicholas's hand on his head felt like a lead weight but he fought it with everything he was worth. One thought kept him from crashing. Liz and Zan had to succeed. They hadn't so long as he was still feeling pain.
"You never dreamed you have to live your life so guarded."
Cause they'll find a way to make you feel discarded."
Zan kicked the wall of the Granilith. Nothing made any sense and the little girl's explanations made his head hurt. With Liz and the sheriff talking about things Max might have done, or things the guy did, it all compounded and beat into his brain with every throb of his heart.
"Things have changed, you've become a complication.
Can't make it through another day's humiliation."
Liz gasped as sensation swept through her middle. Valenti caught her and guided her to the ground. The sheriff's eyes flicked from Liz to Zan, who had frozen in place. Serena watched with wide eyes as Zan slowly found his spine and approached Liz. His hand glowed over her stomach. Her stomach protruded as a small glowing handprint appeared. Serena dropped her pencil and crawled closer. Zan made contact and was swept away by the small mind inside Liz. The shock and awe fixed on his face and Valenti had to snap him out of it. He could only nod to confirm their suspicions.
"I'm not afraid of tomorrow.
I'm only scared of myself."
His body flew back and smashed the chair against the wall. Nicholas wiped at his mouth and motioned with his head for his men to resume kicking the shit out of the Antarian commander. Fragments of the chair were still stuck to his body but even one free hand couldn't let Michael fight back or escape. His every thought of not failing Liz and Zan. Not giving them away and not dying or falling into unconsciousness.
"Feels like my insides are on fire
And I’m looking through the eyes of someone else.
Someone else…"
Liz held her stomach and faced the wall. It was all happening too fast. Michael was captured. Nicholas had succeeded in getting her pregnant. Serena was lost in calculation. Zan had already pulled away. Valenti kept trying to console her but nothing was helping. Her insides were fluttering and, if what Zan had confessed was right, growing very rapidly.
"Is it any wonder why the answer keeps me petrified?
Is it any wonder why… I'm scared…"
--
"You just do not give up, do you?" Nicholas cracked his knuckles and circled the bloody mess in the warehouse. "The Rath I remember… his mind would have cracked at the first attempt at mind-rape. I do believe I've lost count today."
"Y—you're gett—tt-ting t-t-tired." Michael spat out another tooth after his stuttered words. "I-ff-ff y-you d—dd-don'-t t-take a br-br-break… yy-yy-you're n-not-t g-gon—nn-na l-last."
"You wish, Halfling." Nicholas shook his head and knelt to his captive. "We've tried the nice way. We've tried the hard way. What is it really going to take to make you spill?"
"N-n-noth-thing y-yy-you cc-could e-ver-ver d-do wuh-w-would m-m-ake mme b-b-etr-tray th-them."
"We really need to work on your communication skills." Nicholas stood and pulled a water bottle out of his pocket. He sprayed his face and arms before pulling a lotion bottle out of the other pocket. "We're still looking for the cop that helped you out and took my crystal. Lucky for him there was some sort of emergency and it's hard to tell who's missing and who lost contact and who is right where they are supposed to be."
"W-why d-didnn't N-Nacero t-tell y-you w-where it w-was?"
"That is a good question, Mikey. Our buddy always one for paranoia… and with that damned coded DNA, he just couldn't ever hand the information over. It was a shame to kill him. My darling sister must have taken great pleasure in eradicating that mess." The alien motioned to one of his men and a bucket of water was produced. "You're our only hope until we find it ourselves. Unfortunately for me, Liz isn't fond of looking around while she's fucking Zan's brains out… though… we are running out of caves to search. We'll find them eventually and then, it's lights out for you and a ride home for me."
The bucket was emptied slowly over Michael's face, but he was too tired to even squirm. Even the cold didn't revive him much.
"Let's begin again." Nicholas placed his hand on Michael's forehead. "Did I forget to mention it? You're going to be an uncle."
--
Zan watched Liz. She was dozing and sweating like a pig. Something was off. From what he understood, a month would do it. Child would gestate and make its appearance. That, of course, was with hybrids as both parents. Liz could no longer be considered completely human but she was human enough and even with his more alien than human status, it wouldn't be enough to ensure her safety. For all he knew, she could split open like a watermelon at any moment. If her body was unable to keep up with its changes, she could be in very real danger.
"Worried about becoming a father?" Valenti's voice penetrated his fog.
"Not so much. Afta all this, bein' a daddy oughta be a piece a cake." Zan shrugged.
"Don't be so sure." Valenti fingered the rim of his hat. "Why did you do it?"
"You see my face?" Zan tilted his beaten face into the green glow of the cone. Dark purple splotches covered his face. "Tha's what she did when I trieda use protection. She ain't in control when she like that. And she prolly ain't even pregnant from the last time. It could be the time before that or before that. You know what they say… about doin' it a lot. No deposit, no return."
"Where does it put us, strategy-wise?"
"They prolly know she's pregnant. They're gettin' confident and shit. They got Michael. They's mind-rapin' him and beatin' him… and he ain't give us up so far." He took a deep breath and let it out in a huge sigh. "No, bein' a daddy is the least of my problems… I… she don't love me… not like…"
"Max?"
"Huh." A strained laugh escaped his lips as he turned that over in his mind. "I ain't even thoughta him… but yeah… she don't love me like she love Max… or even like she love Michael. But wouldn't it be amazin' if she could?" A small smile lit his face. "Then I'd have the girl and the kid… but only 'til we go back and fix it all."
"How many were supposed to go back in this thing?" Serena asked aloud. "Four? So two and a half should be no problem."
"You thinkin' I should take her wit me?"
"Why couldn't you? She's got some of that alien mojo." The girl sighed heavily and looked at her notes written over notes, written over notes. "If the baby could make her body able to breathe on another planet… it could make her able to travel. If she can travel… she can make it back in time… theoretically speaking of course."
"Take a break." Valenti ordered the young girl. "You'll burn out that bright mind of yours."
"What does it matter? I'll be vapor soon enough. If I don't get unmade, I'll be killed by evil aliens… wouldn't that have been a story for the grandkids." Though she protested, she put her pencil down and lay out on the floor of the Granilith.
"Not true. You still you in ev'ry reality." Zan told her. "You help us ev'ry time. Liz said. You got some brains in there. It'll come to you."
"It was an accident you know." Serena grinned to herself. "I was ten and there're these radio relay stations in the Guadelupes. We used to climb them. Some of them are campus private stations. You know? To keep things on a wavelength that other people can't get on. It was cloudy that day and we were told to stay off but I couldn't. It was new and I had to climb it." Her smile faded. "Jimmy and Nena were with me, holding on to the base as if by them holding on, I would too. I got to the top and just looked over everything. God, it was beautiful… until it started to rain and the lightning was getting closer and closer. I was halfway down when it struck. By all rights… I should have died with Jimmy and Nena. I was blown clear and nearly broke my back on the mountain. When I came to, it was in an MRI tube. I was stuck because I still held a charge and I shut it down once I was inside."
"When'd they find out you were a genius?" Valenti prodded.
"A few weeks later. I read my chart, memorized everything in it. When I looked up the words, I memorized those. I could have been a doctor but I like applied mathematics and physics. It keeps my mind busy." She laughed suddenly. "But I'm scared as hell of the rain. I'm afraid I'll get struck again and it'll wipe my brain clean if it doesn't kill me."
At the same time, Zan and Serena's eyes settled on the crystal. "You attract 'lectricity?"
"Not in a while but we could wipe it of its destination."
--
Blind, Michael lifted his face to the light. Both his eyes had completely swollen shut and his nose had broken. Breathing through his mouth was his only option and every time he drew a breath in, the air stung his bleeding gums. He could hear the rain outside. It was soothing… too soothing. He could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness. Once he was unconscious, he couldn't protect them. The last thing he saw was Nicholas's shadow before the shadow took him over.
--
Serena mounted the crystal on the dipstick, then stuck that on the end of a deformed hanger that had been wedged into the rock face. She pushed her rain soaked hair out of her face. She heard a voice so she turned. She couldn't make it out over the roar of the wind. Before she knew it, Zan was beside her, fixing the rod and hauling her down over his shoulder. "Hey!"
"Hey, yourself. I keepin' you from fryin' your ass agin." Zan didn't put her down until they were in the safety of the cave. "You cin feel the hum. It's raisin' the hair on my arms."
Liz got up and stumbled to the entryway. "Serena, Zan. Spot me. I'm gonna shower."
"Should you do that?" Valenti spoke up. "You might be seen. Besides, I don't believe cold rain is good for you in your condition."
"Sure thing, Liz." Zan squeezed her arm and gestured Valenti into the main chamber. At Valenti's protest he guided him away so Liz could dress. "She ain't bathed in days. You cain't see two feet in fronta your face out there. She'll be fine. Nobody knows what's good for her right now."
"I'll watch for her." Serena nodded to them and went to stand at the mouth of the cave. She moved Liz's clothes further into the cave to avoid the water. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, I'm fine. I'm pregnant by an alien hybrid. What do you call a child born whose parents are altered human and alien-human hybrid? ... His blood will be the key to identifying him as alien." Liz rinsed off the best she could but it wasn't going to be clean enough to satisfy herself. Face turned into the pouring rain, Liz let it all wash over her. "With any luck… I'll never have to give birth."
"Do you mean that?" Serena pressed.
"Do I mean that I don't want the baby? No. Am I implying that I'm not ready for a child? Yes. Is it because I don't love Zan? No. Do I wish it was someone else? I'm not sure." Liz leaned on the wall. "Do I wish there were different circumstances? Definitely."
"I can't even imagine being able to create life." Serena smiled to herself. "I've never even kissed a boy… and it's pretty much illegal for any of the guys I know."
"If you ask nicely, Zan'll kiss you." Liz winked at her and the girl blushed. "Call Zan. I'm ready to come in."
Serena headed back into the cave only to find Zan crouched over Liz's clothes. "What are you doing?"
"Just cleanin' these up a bit." Zan shrugged. He waved his hand and the fabrics completely changed texture and color. He pulled Liz inside the cave and went to work drying her off and dressing her. "How you feelin'?"
"Better. I think I still have a fever." Teeth chattering, she relayed how she felt. The strange sensations in her stomach. There was an odd silence when it was time for him to zip her jeans. "It's not your fault." His fingers brushed over her lower stomach a moment longer before he finally fastened her jeans. Liz turned his face upward and examined the bruises. "I… hmmpf. Zan, why don't you heal them?"
"Savin' my energy in case I hafta do somethin' for you." He slid his hands into her hair and began drying the long tresses.
"They're hurting him, aren't they?"
"To be perfectly honest? They're kickin' the shit outta him." Zan pulled her against him. "I'm takin' you wit me. I won't let them git to you no matta what."
A loud clap of thunder accompanied by a brilliant light broke into everyone's thoughts. The cave shook. Zan and Liz watched as an electric current swept by them on the wet surface of the rocks outside. Zan motioned for Liz to stay put and raced out to retrieve the crystal. Valenti and Serena leaned into the mouth and waited with bated breath for Zan to return. Another close thunder clap had them worried until Zan reappeared soaking wet with burned hands. The blackened crystal was placed in Serena's hands. Valenti rushed out to the cruiser for his first aid kit.
Liz sat Zan down and examined the burns on his hands. "How did this happen?"
"The rod's still hot." Zan shrugged. "I shoulda cooled it 'fore I grabbed it."
"Maybe." Liz lightly blew on the blisters. "You think this will work?"
"Maybe. It's just jerry-rigging. Might've been better if we had more time to use computers and lasers and junk." He winced when one blister popped. "I don't want to waste any power."
"Heal them." Liz ordered.
"Savin' it." Zan shook his head. "5-O'll spray some stuff on it and wrap it up real good. I'll be fine." He froze when she cupped his face with her hands. Her lips brushed his softly and the she pulled away. "What was that for?"
"I always told you that you were a nice guy." Liz brushed his wet hair back on his head. "I'm glad you guys don't get sick, or else you'd have just signed up for a cold."
Zan shut his eyes and concentrated on the feel of her hands in his hair. It felt so good that he was loathe to lose the feeling when she tended to his burns with the kit from Valenti's car. Liz had no sooner taped the bandages around his hands and begun gathering her trash when she swayed. Zan gripped her and watched her eyes roll around for a moment until they focused on him. "Liz? You okay?"
"I just got dizzy." Liz started to say more but she clutched her stomach when a paralyzing pain shot through her middle. Zan slid his hand between her arms and her stomach to feel for anything wrong. "What's wrong, Zan?"
He looked her in the eyes, fear reflected from one to the other. "Just keep lookin' at me. It's just a spurt."
"A spurt?" Valenti questioned but they weren't paying him any attention.
Zan connected with Liz and encouraged her cells to multiply rapidly, strengthening her uterine walls and allowing them to stretch to accommodate the growing boy within. When the 'spurt' was over with, Zan broke the connection and stared down at his hand. The smooth stomach beneath his large hand hadn't grown any to his naked eye but it felt a good deal firmer than before. "I was afraid that might happen."
"What happened?" Valenti prodded, kneeling to look Liz over. She looked tired and pale. "What exactly just happened?"
"The baby grows in little spurts." Zan tried to explain but he understood little himself. "We was told that alien babies take a month."
"I'm not a doctor but that could kill Liz." Valenti sighed heavily and dropped to the floor.
"Yeah. It could. I… I made her grow inside to keep her from splittin' in two from the inside out." Zan ran a hand over his face and winced when the bandages aggravated his bruises. "I'm not gonna be able to leave her side."
"That's what you meant when you said you were saving it?" Liz felt the tears glide down her face for the hundredth time in just a few days.
"Hey guys. I think I got these equations… straight…" Serena glanced around. "Did I miss something?"
--
Zan waved Valenti goodbye. The man was going to act as a decoy. He would tow the van into town and pray no one knew where he was coming from. Night was falling and he had the distinct impression that time was running out. Liz was looking bad again and Serena wasn't sure enough in her calculations to let them try yet… and he was running low on his healing energy.
Serena looked up when Zan entered. Liz had been curled up in a ball since he had left to talk to Valenti. She was close. So close. "She needs you."
Zan knelt and did what he could to ease her pain. Her belly had extended just a fraction by his point but he could feel that the baby was in no hurry to finish or stop growing. He was weakening. He could feel it. The baby was draining him, drop by precious drop.
The first gun shot caught their attention. The explosion spurred the trio into action. Zan scanned the equations into his head. Serena bit her nails while he wrapped his hands around the crystal and willed the information into the crystal. It was a theory. She could have just ended them all for good. The dates had been updated. A location chosen. It should work, theoretically.
Zan kissed the crystal and then slid it into the keyhole. The Granilith only allowed half the crystal to slide into place before it lit up. Another explosion confirmed that Nicholas was on his way. Liz was crying and Zan only wished he could take Serena with them too. Liz placed her hand on the cone, sobs wracking her body. Zan placed his hand over hers and shut his eyes. When he opened them again, Liz was staring down from inside the cone. A moment later and they were both staring out at Serena who had curled into a ball when the explosions escalated outside. With one last silent prayer, they disappeared within the cone. The Granilith sent them on their way.
End Episode XVII
Episode XVIII
Aftermath of War Episode XVIII
"Do you want me to leave?" Tess waited for his quiet 'no' before taking a seat next to him. She hadn't been in on the latest of Liz's plans to turn Max away but apparently this one had worked. Max looked like someone had died. She rubbed his shoulder and for once, he didn't pull away… but he did flinch just a little. "She tried to tell you."
"I guess I didn't want to get the hint." Max's face crumpled and he had to fight to keep the tears from falling. It Tess hadn't stopped by, he might have sat there until morning feeling sorry for himself. "You're right. She did." He took a breath. "She told me 'no.' I didn't want to see it. Why else would she be trying to get rid of me unless she was gonna get back together with Kyle? How long have they been seeing each other? He told you, right?"
Tess was at a loss. What had happened? "No. They're just friends… Why?"
"I had some tickets to a concert. I went over there to see if she had changed her mind and there they were…" His faced hardened. He was about to say it out loud. He had left for fear he might have said something to Liz that he would regret. "She slept with him."
"Liz and Kyle slept together?" Tess started to say more but a bright flash of lightning burst through the clouds blinding them both, followed by an anguished voice that sounded all too familiar for either of them to ignore. Instinct spurred them to their feet and moving in a half-crouch toward the feminine sound. Max kept Tess behind him as he listened for the cry that could only be Liz. "Max… is that…?"
"I don't know. I hope not." There was a group of trees ahead of them that concealed the pained cries. Max peered around the nearest tree and took in the sight. A tattooed man knelt with glowing hand over a girl that could have been Liz. Everything in his mind told him that it was her. Red flashed before his eyes and the next thing he knew, he was standing hands, chest and nose to a green translucent energy shield, something he believed unique to himself since discovering the ability over the summer. The face that looked up at him could have been his own. The man's eyes seemed to plead for some understanding. Max took a step back and the shield dropped. The guy returned his gaze to Liz and his hand to her abdomen. The hand glowed with alien energy until her cries diminished. He studied this Liz. Her hair was longer, her eyes older and her clothes were styles and colors he knew weren't from her closet. "Who are you?"
"We got no time, Maxie boy." He helped his Liz to her feet. "First, you gotta take us someplace she can be comfortable while we here."
"Who are you?" Max repeated.
"We're from the future and if you don't listen to us, you all gonna die in the next two years."
--
Tess helped Zan lift Liz up to Max to get her through the window. Liz had begun biting her lip sometime during the trip up to the window. It was obvious that she was in a lot of discomfort. When Zan had finally gotten through the window himself, he rushed to Liz's side and started checking her over. He looked her in the eyes. "Liz? You okay?"
"It's my back." She whispered. "I'm just… sore. It's the sudden weight on my spine from the walk from the car." She took a strained breath and looked up at him. "And don't call me Liz. You'll make me think something's wrong."
"Ok, Swee' Pea. You tell me when." Zan kissed her forehead after she nodded.
"Um, how do we really know that you are who you say you are?" Tess prodded, hands on her hips, she paced the room. "How do we know this isn't a trap?"
"Because that's Liz." Max interjected before anyone could speak. They all looked at him in surprise but he had no way to explain himself. "I don't know how but that's really her."
"It can't be her. Liz is at her house boinking Kyle." Tess reminded him, then shrank back at the look on his face. That might have been a touch over the line.
"If you are from the future… Prove it." Max demanded.
"You die a virgin." Zan's eyes rolled to the corners, watching Max. "So does Blondie. Four days before your graduation." Seeing that he had their complete attention, he continued. "Nicholas and…"
"Wait. Who are you?" Max interrupted.
"Michael." Liz whispered and tried to adjust her position on the bed. "Michael talked to Captain Carver just a while back…" She went on to tell about Michael's gleanings from the old Captain. Zan explained who he was, who Nicholas was and briefly touched on how everyone died in the last reality. He tried not to tell too much but he felt it necessary to go into some of the details surrounding that battle in the desert. He was rewarded by the ashen expression on Max's face. The boy-king was taking it all very seriously and that was exactly what needed to happen. Liz explained, vaguely, why she was pregnant and that Michael had in all likelihood died sometime before they had gone into the Granilith.
Max sat and pondered it all over. He looked to Tess, who shook her head 'no,' but something inside him wouldn't let it go. That pull he had always felt toward Liz was there, despite her recent betrayal so fresh in his mind… he knew he was never going to let it go. "What do we do?"
"That's what we need you to figure out. We don't know." Liz whispered. "We would have done it if we knew but there was no time. There IS no time."
"Why?"
"Why what?" Zan could feel his hands beginning to shake. No cigarettes in days. Stress. Knowledge of near non-existence. It was all beginning to be too much.
"Why come to me?" Max whispered. "Why do I have to do it? Why do any of us have to do it? We don't know anything."
"I know." Liz nodded solemnly. "Nobody knows anything but that doesn't matter. Nicholas wants you to get someone pregnant and he wants that child to pave his way back to Antar." Eyes focused on Tess, Liz got the answers she needed in the panicked blue eyes. "Right, Tess?"
Max's head whipped around to look at the blonde but it was too late to hide the expression on her face. "Tess?"
The blonde wavered a moment, blue eyes brightened with tears and chin quivered. Max could almost see the gears in her head frozen in panic. By the time she got her mouth to work again, he knew what she was going to say. "It's true." She backed up against the desk. "Believe me, I don't want to do it the way they did it to her but I do have my orders." When no one spoke, tears slipped down her face. "I didn't want to force it."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Max breathed out. Too much in too little time, he was just an inch away from snapping.
"Right. Let you all know you were all right about me?"
"They were wrong." Liz butt in. "Whatever it was you were ordered to do… you were my friend towards the end, Tess. There is room to change. That's why we're here. It doesn't have to happen like that." Liz let the tears slip out as she formed her next words. "I'm the one that ends up pregnant and I have no clue why. The two of you have to come up with a plan so that we… so that you can live your lives without worrying that tomorrow is the last day."
"What do we do?" Max pressed.
"Figure somethin' out, duke." Zan ran a weary hand over his face. "Your chance to two steps ahead is now but in a few days… it's the beginnin' of the end." He looked to his dupe. "I say kill 'em. Kill 'em all."
--
Max sat in the classroom with Tess, Michael, Isabel and Maria. The news flashed on the screen and he didn't know how to feel about it. Tess kept looking at him, waiting for him to speak up because, just like their visitors promised, there was news of a car accident with Congresswoman Whitaker a casualty.
"Maxwell." Michael called over. "Wake up. What are we going to do?"
"Nothing." Max shook his head and then turned to Tess. She made a face at him then got up to look out the window. "We play it cool. They're trying to draw us out. Nobody does anything out of the ordinary. Our usual covers always work best." He looked around the room, avoiding eye contact with anyone. "Maria, talk to Liz. Tell her go through Whitaker's mail. There's a letter I'm interested in. It's postmarked Copper Summit from the Universal Friendship League. Can you do that?"
"Um… sure…" Maria nodded at the strange request but held her tongue. Liz had been acting funny that morning also.
Of course, everyone else thought what he said was odd, too. Isabel stared at her brother. "How do you know that, Max?"
"Let's just say that last night…" Max chanced a glance at Tess before continuing. "I learned some things vital to our existence. Especially our prolonged existence on this planet. I'm still thinking things over." Tess snorted but never turned to the group.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Isabel hissed at him.
"If we investigate this Whitaker situation--" Max looked to Tess, who seemed to be relenting. "This is a discussion to be had someplace else. Anyone could walk in. A student, a teacher and none of us will be able to cover on the spot for all of us."
--
Zan could feel his energy depleting with every healing. He was no longer able to build his energy enough between to compensate for what he used up. She was sleeping beside him… peacefully. It made him cry. That baby, HIS baby. He wouldn't get to live and that was supposed to be a good thing. If they weren't there, the baby couldn't be born and that was a good sign. It meant they were successful in this mission they had undertaken. The tears were still flowing when Max got home. Zan had been sitting up on the bed for hours. Max motioned to Liz. "What's really wrong with her?"
"The baby…" Zan took a breath and explained it all. It didn't make any sense to him either. He remembered what he had seen in his vision from the Granilith. That Liz hadn't been dying like this. "Maybe cuz she don't love me, maybe cuz it needs to be you, maybe cuz she just can't. I don't know." After a moment, Zan wiped his face of tears and nodded to Max. "So, what's the what, Boss? What's the crew up for?"
"I think they're listening to me. We're not going to Copper Summit." Max nodded stiffly. He sat in his chair and moved it to the foot of the bed. "How hard is this for you?"
"Hardest thing ever, Boss. Swee' pea, she… she strong, not for herself, for everyone else. I… I don't wanna die." Zan took a breath and the tears stopped. "The thought that I won't be here… that's straight up scary shit. I've gotta poof out of existence so that the bunch of yous go on. My baby ain't ever gonna be born. I'll never know if Swee' pea coulda loved me the way she did Michael… or you." He ran a hand over his face and took a good look at the boy in front of him. "I'll tell you what. We were supposed to do this precise and surgical-like but I can't. You're a baby now. The Max I saw trying to protect his friends on that hill... he was the man. He was ready. You ain't ready for shit."
"I know." Max bowed his head.
"Do me a favor." Zan grabbed the pad and pencil by the phone. "Call this number some night soon. You ask for me. Say that you seen my path and that Lannie's gonna take the reigns if I don't wake the hell up."
"Why?"
"If we give you a heads up, I need one too." Zan explained. "I don't know what you have to do to change the future but I know why it all goes to shit. Your girl. She's special. She real special and she ain't deserve a shit like me. Don't give up on her, Boss."
"I… I can't trust her." Max shook his head. "Not anymore. Not after…"
"Then don't trust with your heart but Swee' pea… She got good instincts." Zan shook his head.
"So, you don't know what I'm supposed to do but you know what I don't do." Max shut his eyes tight and brought his knees to his chest. "You're sure it's something we do soon?"
"When I'm not here… you won. You changed the future… Good or bad."
--
Max waited for Liz outside the Congresswoman's headquarters. Liz was startled when she opened the door to find him leaning on the glass. He looked like he had been standing there a while. "Oh. Hi. Um, Maria told me what you asked…" She held out the letter. "It was there. How did you know?"
It was a non-descript envelope. Probably easily missed unless you were looking for it. Taking it in his hand, he took a breath. "I can't talk about it with you."
"Max…" Liz sighed heavily and turned away from him.
"We don't have time to get into that. What I need right now is your head." Max swallowed back stinging tears at the memory of her in bed with Kyle. He wasn't ready to with what he had seen. "Take for granted that what I say is true."
"Ok." Liz motioned for him to start walking and talking.
"Copper Summit is full of Skins. It's their base of operations. There's a… basement that hold their means to kill us. I know where it is and I know how to destroy them all. I know how to kill the Skins." Max stopped her when she tried to speak. "Thing is… there's a lot of them and killing them one by one isn't an option because their leader here on Earth is hard to kill."
"So… what do you want to do?"
"I don't know, Liz. If we go and we don't kill this leader… they'll come after us… and they won't ever stop. I'm not willing to make sacrifices in the form of one or more of our lives." Max ran a hand over his face. "How do you make a decision when you already have an outcome you don't want?"
Liz stared at him and had to draw on her own recent experience. She didn't understand where all this was coming from but he sounded stressed about it. "You do what you think is right and hope no one gets hurt."
"What's right? It's them or us. It's war and I'm not ready to make war." Max stopped walking and turned to her. "Do you trust Tess?"
"It doesn't matter what I think." She shook her head and backed away with something akin to fear in her eyes.
"I need to know if you trust her. I trust your instincts." He seemed to invade her space without moving a muscle. "Do you think she knows more than she says? Do you think she would turn on us?"
"I think she knows things." Liz admitted, her voice small. "But I don't know her well enough to know if she'd turn against you, unless you made her angry."
"Me?"
"I get the feeling that if you shut her out deliberately, she might get angry and do something. She… she's attached to you already." Liz picked her words carefully. Things were still so fragile and everything could go to hell if she didn't stick to her guns. "I think you need her though. Do I trust her? I don't know. With my life? No. With yours? Yes."
"Okay. We'll ask her to tell us, then." His voice sounded a little fake, like he didn't mean to ask her at all, and he started walking again but stopped short and turned around. "Would you die for us, Liz?" Quickly he saved himself because she had already told him that she wouldn't die for him… that she didn't want to die for him and he couldn't bear to hear that from her again. "For your friends?"
"yes." The whisper was so soft he almost didn't hear it.
"Would you sacrifice yourself because it would be worth it? Worth it to see your friends live long lives and find happiness?" Max stared at her closely, that fear was back in her eyes.
"Yes."
There. A tear in her eye. Conviction in her voice. Max took her hand and kissed the back. He dropped it and began walking backwards. "I won't ever ask you to do anything like that." Liz panicked when he turned and ran off. Had she screwed up somehow? Did he know? Was that why he was acting funny? Was that why he just asked all those uncanny questions?
--
Max was ready. His bag was packed and waiting in the Jeep. He had a few moments while Tess waited for his cue. Slowly, he picked up the phone and dialed quickly. "Is a guy named Zan there? … Zan … Tall guy, black spiky hair… yeah, with tats." Max sat and waited for the guy to get on the phone.
"'lo?"
"I've got a warning for you…" Max hung up the phone when he was done and turned to leave. He took one last look around. It could be the last he ever saw it. Max grabbed his bag and pushed through the door. He stopped in the kitchen on his way out. "She needs you, Zan."
Zan brushed past him without a word. Tess nodded to Max and shut her eyes to warp. Max slipped out the front door. His Jeep was on the road before anyone knew anything was wrong. Tess entered the room to find Zan pacing frantically. She shrugged when he asked her what was going on.
--
Isabel looked up when the door opened. Tess entered and sat. When no one else entered, she stomped her foot. "Tess, where the hell is Max?"
Tess shrugged and puffed out her cheeks a little. "Said he would meet me here."
"No he didn't." Liz shook her head and looked to Tess. "When did he leave?"
"Leave?"
"Tess." Liz took a breath and forced the words out. "He's going to do something stupid, isn't he?"
All Tess could do was nod. Isabel sank into a chair. "What's he done?"
"Don't know yet." Tess whispered. "I'm just supposed to let you know that he's gone… after he's had enough time to get gone"
"What aren't you telling us, Tess?" Liz asked softly. "If Max has gone and done what I think he's done… He's not going to be able to fulfill his destiny anyway."
"Cut it. Both of you." Michael slammed his fist on the counter. "What the hell is going on? Unless the two of you suddenly mind-linked or something stupid, I want to know what you know."
--
Liz lay on her side and pressed her cheek against the top of his head. They hadn't moved since Tess had returned and instructed them not to move or make noise. They could stay until they weren't in existence any longer. She would keep the Evans from entering the room. It had been hours and there had been no pain. Zan had fallen asleep after a bit of purposefully depriving himself.
Dawn filtered through the curtains and she knew that Max had to be there by now but who knew what he was going to do when he got there. A shadow entered the room and a light weight settled on the bed. Liz rolled over just enough to look at Tess. Tess had tears in her eyes. "Were you and I really friends?" Liz nodded. "Why?"
"You let us be friends." Liz offered her a smile. "We were all friends."
"Do you love him?" Tess nodded to the unconscious body on the bed.
"I think I do or that I could." Liz sat up against the head board. "It's been a very confusing time. It's very strange to have feelings for two guys. I guess it's what Max must have been feeling around now. He was drawn to you but he kept after me and… nothing much ever came of it for him. Too much has come of it for me." Liz rested her head on the wall. "Promise me that you'll look after them all. If Max is gone, they'll fall apart."
"I know but what can I do?"
"Be honest. You never told us what you knew and then it was too late. Tell them… because if Max really does something monumentally stupid, somebody has to lead until things get straightened out." She let her hands softly rake through his hair. "If it were safe… I'd want my child to grow up with a man like Zan around."
"That's the key isn't it. If it were safe." Tess bowed her head.
"I wasn't supposed to come actually. It was just going to be Zan."
"That wouldn't have worked. Max… he listened to Zan because you told him to."
"I guess Serena was right." Liz shrugged helplessly.
"What do I do?"
"Pray that Max survives whatever it is he's going to do in Copper Summit. If he doesn't, make them see they have to stay together. They have to work together. They can be young. They can have fun… but they have responsibilities they can't ignore."
--
Max leaned his head against the cool metal of the van he sat in. He had abandoned the Jeep outside of town and hoofed it four miles before a band picked him up and let him ride with them. They were passing through the junction that would take him to Copper Summit. He couldn't sleep and he couldn't not think and so his time was occupied well. The guys didn't ask him many questions. It was probably clear that the weight of the world sat on his shoulders, maybe even that the fate of many people depended on his actions in the next day or so. Then again, they seemed to be writing a song and didn't pay him much mind.
"(When this began) I had nothing to say
and I'd get lost in the nothingness inside of me.
"(I was confused) And I let it all out to find
that I'm not the only person with these things in mind."
Too many things to do, too many people depending on him. Earth. Home planet… Antar. Liz. Tess. Liz and Michael. That was a strange thought. Dead by graduation had a rather unappealing ring to it. Pregnant Liz. Nice ring to that. Way too early for it and by this point impossible for him to father the child. Kyle and Liz. He never did like the sound of that.
Ever since he had learned about the possibility of having to return to Antar with a pregnant girlfriend, thoughts had invaded his mind. Liz would have been the ideal, but she was with Kyle. Tess… the idea of fulfilling their destiny scared him to death. The kind of scary that kept him up nights if dreaming of Liz didn't tempt him to sleep. Currently, he didn't have either choice. He couldn’t trust Tess. Any trust that had built for her over the summer was gone. He couldn't trust Liz. That image of the two of them in bed had been instantly seared into his mind.
"(Inside of me) But all the vacancy the words
revealed is the only real thing that I've got left to feel.
(Nothing to lose) Just stuck, hollow and alone,
and the fault is my own… and the fault is my own."
And Isabel. There had been so much animosity between them lately. Having her second guess him was a repeated punch in the gut. All his life she had been there. Sure they fought, they were siblings, but it had changed lately. Subtly. He wondered if she had picked up on it as well. Her second-guessing had less to do with the validity of his plans so much as his authority in ordering them. Michael had been growing up slowly and steadily and that was comforting to an extent. He was still brash and demanding but it had become tolerable of late.
"I wanna heal, I wanna feel, what I thought was never real.
I wanna let go of the pain I held so long (Erase all the pain 'til it's gone)
I wanna heal, I wanna feel, like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I wanted all along, somewhere I belong."
Assuming he had to go back someday, how would he do it? Why? What reason could he possibly have to go someplace else? Earth was home. Earth was everything that he knew. If he couldn't imagine going alone, then why would he take the others and why in the world would he take a baby? What would he name the kid? That thought just leapt out at him.
"And I've got nothing to say
and I can't believe I didn't fall right down on my face.
(I was confused) Looking everywhere only to find
that it's not the way I had imagined it all in my mind.”
The bleach blonde scribbling in a notebook across from him nudged his foot. "I had that same expression on my face last month."
"What expression?" Max cleared his throat.
"My girl told me she's pregnant."
Max started to say 'no' but then there was a pregnant Liz on his bed the last time he'd been home and technically, the child's DNA would match his. He gave the guy a slow nod. "Bit of a surprise."
"I'll bet."
"It's just… Now I look around and it isn't the same world. It was good enough for me but not for a child."
"I know what you mean."
"(So what am I) What do I have but negativity,
cause I can't justify the way everyone is looking at me.
(Nothing to lose) Nothing to gain, hollow and alone,
and the fault is my own, and the fault is my own."
"There are wars that are being fought on foreign soils." Max tilted his head back against the van. "We don't feel them because they are a world away. When we finally do, we won't know what to do. Do we fight? Do we stand our ground? Do we runaway? Does it really have anything to do with us? Why is there fighting at all? Who starts it? Why?"
He had gathered an audience by that time. Two or three of them scribbled idly on notepads but they were listening to him think aloud. "Given the choice, what would I do? I don't want to fight. I hate wars… but I couldn't ever sit back and do nothing… not when my family is at stake. I always hear people say 'do what you gotta' but I don't know if I could. Why is leadership a burden? Why is it so hard to take care of the people you care about? Why do you pay so much out of your soul for it?"
"I wanna heal, I wanna feel, what I thought was never real
I wanna let go of the pain I held so long (Erase all the pain 'til it's gone)
I wanna heal, I wanna feel, like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I wanted all along, somewhere I belong."
Max felt silent as he thought of the ramifications of having a child and the child being more important. Strategically, if you had the child of a king, the child would be next in line. The loyalists would accept the heir as king… even in name only. Perfect if Kivar wanted the people's favor. If the king returned with an heir… it would give the loyalists hope of a continuing reign. "Children should be allowed to be children."
"You know, all kids gotta grow up sometime. A lot of them, grow up before they should because they have to. No one to show them the way, they have to make their own way."
The words rang too true and Max fell into silence. He was too confused for anything to make much sense. If he went home now, would Zan and Liz still be there. Had they already disappeared. Was the future changed enough? Was he just going to screw it up?"
"I will never know myself until I do this on my own.
And I will never feel anything else until my wounds are healed
I will never be anything 'til I break away from me.
I will break away, I'll find myself today."
"I want better for my children." Max whispered at last. "I want better for my family."
"Where did you say you were headed?"
"Copper Summit?"
"Is that where your family is?"
Max looked at the guy for a moment. "No. It's actually the last place in the world I want to be."
"I wanna heal, I wanna feel, what I thought was never real.
I wanna let go of the pain I held so long (Erase all the pain 'til it's gone)
I wanna heal, I wanna feel, like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I wanted all along, somewhere I belong."
"You're not afraid your family will miss you?"
"I'm sure they will… but it's something I have to do." Max sat up and turned his eyes toward the windshield, nothing but endless road ahead. "It's not like I belong to either place."
"I wanna heal, I wanna feel, like I'm (Somewhere I belong)"
"Everybody belongs with their family… but I think the real question is how you define family. Is it the people who gave you life? Or maybe the people who raised you? Or maybe the people who would really be there for you when you need them? To help you through your own personal wars?"
Max pondered that for a long time. It sounded simple enough. People had said similar things so many times. His family existed in peculiar subsets. Michael and Isabel in the inner-ring. Liz on a parallel one to theirs. Tess on the next level. Alex, Maria and Kyle on the next one. Valenti and his parents on the next parallel rings.
It felt like hours before Max found his voice to use once more. "Can I ask a favor?"
"I wanna heal, I wanna feel, like I'm (Somewhere I belong)"
The road was dark and dusty but Max pressed forward, the taillights of the van having long since vanished from his view. He had somewhere to be.
"Somewhere I belong."
End Episode XVIII
"Do you want me to leave?" Tess waited for his quiet 'no' before taking a seat next to him. She hadn't been in on the latest of Liz's plans to turn Max away but apparently this one had worked. Max looked like someone had died. She rubbed his shoulder and for once, he didn't pull away… but he did flinch just a little. "She tried to tell you."
"I guess I didn't want to get the hint." Max's face crumpled and he had to fight to keep the tears from falling. It Tess hadn't stopped by, he might have sat there until morning feeling sorry for himself. "You're right. She did." He took a breath. "She told me 'no.' I didn't want to see it. Why else would she be trying to get rid of me unless she was gonna get back together with Kyle? How long have they been seeing each other? He told you, right?"
Tess was at a loss. What had happened? "No. They're just friends… Why?"
"I had some tickets to a concert. I went over there to see if she had changed her mind and there they were…" His faced hardened. He was about to say it out loud. He had left for fear he might have said something to Liz that he would regret. "She slept with him."
"Liz and Kyle slept together?" Tess started to say more but a bright flash of lightning burst through the clouds blinding them both, followed by an anguished voice that sounded all too familiar for either of them to ignore. Instinct spurred them to their feet and moving in a half-crouch toward the feminine sound. Max kept Tess behind him as he listened for the cry that could only be Liz. "Max… is that…?"
"I don't know. I hope not." There was a group of trees ahead of them that concealed the pained cries. Max peered around the nearest tree and took in the sight. A tattooed man knelt with glowing hand over a girl that could have been Liz. Everything in his mind told him that it was her. Red flashed before his eyes and the next thing he knew, he was standing hands, chest and nose to a green translucent energy shield, something he believed unique to himself since discovering the ability over the summer. The face that looked up at him could have been his own. The man's eyes seemed to plead for some understanding. Max took a step back and the shield dropped. The guy returned his gaze to Liz and his hand to her abdomen. The hand glowed with alien energy until her cries diminished. He studied this Liz. Her hair was longer, her eyes older and her clothes were styles and colors he knew weren't from her closet. "Who are you?"
"We got no time, Maxie boy." He helped his Liz to her feet. "First, you gotta take us someplace she can be comfortable while we here."
"Who are you?" Max repeated.
"We're from the future and if you don't listen to us, you all gonna die in the next two years."
--
Tess helped Zan lift Liz up to Max to get her through the window. Liz had begun biting her lip sometime during the trip up to the window. It was obvious that she was in a lot of discomfort. When Zan had finally gotten through the window himself, he rushed to Liz's side and started checking her over. He looked her in the eyes. "Liz? You okay?"
"It's my back." She whispered. "I'm just… sore. It's the sudden weight on my spine from the walk from the car." She took a strained breath and looked up at him. "And don't call me Liz. You'll make me think something's wrong."
"Ok, Swee' Pea. You tell me when." Zan kissed her forehead after she nodded.
"Um, how do we really know that you are who you say you are?" Tess prodded, hands on her hips, she paced the room. "How do we know this isn't a trap?"
"Because that's Liz." Max interjected before anyone could speak. They all looked at him in surprise but he had no way to explain himself. "I don't know how but that's really her."
"It can't be her. Liz is at her house boinking Kyle." Tess reminded him, then shrank back at the look on his face. That might have been a touch over the line.
"If you are from the future… Prove it." Max demanded.
"You die a virgin." Zan's eyes rolled to the corners, watching Max. "So does Blondie. Four days before your graduation." Seeing that he had their complete attention, he continued. "Nicholas and…"
"Wait. Who are you?" Max interrupted.
"Michael." Liz whispered and tried to adjust her position on the bed. "Michael talked to Captain Carver just a while back…" She went on to tell about Michael's gleanings from the old Captain. Zan explained who he was, who Nicholas was and briefly touched on how everyone died in the last reality. He tried not to tell too much but he felt it necessary to go into some of the details surrounding that battle in the desert. He was rewarded by the ashen expression on Max's face. The boy-king was taking it all very seriously and that was exactly what needed to happen. Liz explained, vaguely, why she was pregnant and that Michael had in all likelihood died sometime before they had gone into the Granilith.
Max sat and pondered it all over. He looked to Tess, who shook her head 'no,' but something inside him wouldn't let it go. That pull he had always felt toward Liz was there, despite her recent betrayal so fresh in his mind… he knew he was never going to let it go. "What do we do?"
"That's what we need you to figure out. We don't know." Liz whispered. "We would have done it if we knew but there was no time. There IS no time."
"Why?"
"Why what?" Zan could feel his hands beginning to shake. No cigarettes in days. Stress. Knowledge of near non-existence. It was all beginning to be too much.
"Why come to me?" Max whispered. "Why do I have to do it? Why do any of us have to do it? We don't know anything."
"I know." Liz nodded solemnly. "Nobody knows anything but that doesn't matter. Nicholas wants you to get someone pregnant and he wants that child to pave his way back to Antar." Eyes focused on Tess, Liz got the answers she needed in the panicked blue eyes. "Right, Tess?"
Max's head whipped around to look at the blonde but it was too late to hide the expression on her face. "Tess?"
The blonde wavered a moment, blue eyes brightened with tears and chin quivered. Max could almost see the gears in her head frozen in panic. By the time she got her mouth to work again, he knew what she was going to say. "It's true." She backed up against the desk. "Believe me, I don't want to do it the way they did it to her but I do have my orders." When no one spoke, tears slipped down her face. "I didn't want to force it."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Max breathed out. Too much in too little time, he was just an inch away from snapping.
"Right. Let you all know you were all right about me?"
"They were wrong." Liz butt in. "Whatever it was you were ordered to do… you were my friend towards the end, Tess. There is room to change. That's why we're here. It doesn't have to happen like that." Liz let the tears slip out as she formed her next words. "I'm the one that ends up pregnant and I have no clue why. The two of you have to come up with a plan so that we… so that you can live your lives without worrying that tomorrow is the last day."
"What do we do?" Max pressed.
"Figure somethin' out, duke." Zan ran a weary hand over his face. "Your chance to two steps ahead is now but in a few days… it's the beginnin' of the end." He looked to his dupe. "I say kill 'em. Kill 'em all."
--
Max sat in the classroom with Tess, Michael, Isabel and Maria. The news flashed on the screen and he didn't know how to feel about it. Tess kept looking at him, waiting for him to speak up because, just like their visitors promised, there was news of a car accident with Congresswoman Whitaker a casualty.
"Maxwell." Michael called over. "Wake up. What are we going to do?"
"Nothing." Max shook his head and then turned to Tess. She made a face at him then got up to look out the window. "We play it cool. They're trying to draw us out. Nobody does anything out of the ordinary. Our usual covers always work best." He looked around the room, avoiding eye contact with anyone. "Maria, talk to Liz. Tell her go through Whitaker's mail. There's a letter I'm interested in. It's postmarked Copper Summit from the Universal Friendship League. Can you do that?"
"Um… sure…" Maria nodded at the strange request but held her tongue. Liz had been acting funny that morning also.
Of course, everyone else thought what he said was odd, too. Isabel stared at her brother. "How do you know that, Max?"
"Let's just say that last night…" Max chanced a glance at Tess before continuing. "I learned some things vital to our existence. Especially our prolonged existence on this planet. I'm still thinking things over." Tess snorted but never turned to the group.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Isabel hissed at him.
"If we investigate this Whitaker situation--" Max looked to Tess, who seemed to be relenting. "This is a discussion to be had someplace else. Anyone could walk in. A student, a teacher and none of us will be able to cover on the spot for all of us."
--
Zan could feel his energy depleting with every healing. He was no longer able to build his energy enough between to compensate for what he used up. She was sleeping beside him… peacefully. It made him cry. That baby, HIS baby. He wouldn't get to live and that was supposed to be a good thing. If they weren't there, the baby couldn't be born and that was a good sign. It meant they were successful in this mission they had undertaken. The tears were still flowing when Max got home. Zan had been sitting up on the bed for hours. Max motioned to Liz. "What's really wrong with her?"
"The baby…" Zan took a breath and explained it all. It didn't make any sense to him either. He remembered what he had seen in his vision from the Granilith. That Liz hadn't been dying like this. "Maybe cuz she don't love me, maybe cuz it needs to be you, maybe cuz she just can't. I don't know." After a moment, Zan wiped his face of tears and nodded to Max. "So, what's the what, Boss? What's the crew up for?"
"I think they're listening to me. We're not going to Copper Summit." Max nodded stiffly. He sat in his chair and moved it to the foot of the bed. "How hard is this for you?"
"Hardest thing ever, Boss. Swee' pea, she… she strong, not for herself, for everyone else. I… I don't wanna die." Zan took a breath and the tears stopped. "The thought that I won't be here… that's straight up scary shit. I've gotta poof out of existence so that the bunch of yous go on. My baby ain't ever gonna be born. I'll never know if Swee' pea coulda loved me the way she did Michael… or you." He ran a hand over his face and took a good look at the boy in front of him. "I'll tell you what. We were supposed to do this precise and surgical-like but I can't. You're a baby now. The Max I saw trying to protect his friends on that hill... he was the man. He was ready. You ain't ready for shit."
"I know." Max bowed his head.
"Do me a favor." Zan grabbed the pad and pencil by the phone. "Call this number some night soon. You ask for me. Say that you seen my path and that Lannie's gonna take the reigns if I don't wake the hell up."
"Why?"
"If we give you a heads up, I need one too." Zan explained. "I don't know what you have to do to change the future but I know why it all goes to shit. Your girl. She's special. She real special and she ain't deserve a shit like me. Don't give up on her, Boss."
"I… I can't trust her." Max shook his head. "Not anymore. Not after…"
"Then don't trust with your heart but Swee' pea… She got good instincts." Zan shook his head.
"So, you don't know what I'm supposed to do but you know what I don't do." Max shut his eyes tight and brought his knees to his chest. "You're sure it's something we do soon?"
"When I'm not here… you won. You changed the future… Good or bad."
--
Max waited for Liz outside the Congresswoman's headquarters. Liz was startled when she opened the door to find him leaning on the glass. He looked like he had been standing there a while. "Oh. Hi. Um, Maria told me what you asked…" She held out the letter. "It was there. How did you know?"
It was a non-descript envelope. Probably easily missed unless you were looking for it. Taking it in his hand, he took a breath. "I can't talk about it with you."
"Max…" Liz sighed heavily and turned away from him.
"We don't have time to get into that. What I need right now is your head." Max swallowed back stinging tears at the memory of her in bed with Kyle. He wasn't ready to with what he had seen. "Take for granted that what I say is true."
"Ok." Liz motioned for him to start walking and talking.
"Copper Summit is full of Skins. It's their base of operations. There's a… basement that hold their means to kill us. I know where it is and I know how to destroy them all. I know how to kill the Skins." Max stopped her when she tried to speak. "Thing is… there's a lot of them and killing them one by one isn't an option because their leader here on Earth is hard to kill."
"So… what do you want to do?"
"I don't know, Liz. If we go and we don't kill this leader… they'll come after us… and they won't ever stop. I'm not willing to make sacrifices in the form of one or more of our lives." Max ran a hand over his face. "How do you make a decision when you already have an outcome you don't want?"
Liz stared at him and had to draw on her own recent experience. She didn't understand where all this was coming from but he sounded stressed about it. "You do what you think is right and hope no one gets hurt."
"What's right? It's them or us. It's war and I'm not ready to make war." Max stopped walking and turned to her. "Do you trust Tess?"
"It doesn't matter what I think." She shook her head and backed away with something akin to fear in her eyes.
"I need to know if you trust her. I trust your instincts." He seemed to invade her space without moving a muscle. "Do you think she knows more than she says? Do you think she would turn on us?"
"I think she knows things." Liz admitted, her voice small. "But I don't know her well enough to know if she'd turn against you, unless you made her angry."
"Me?"
"I get the feeling that if you shut her out deliberately, she might get angry and do something. She… she's attached to you already." Liz picked her words carefully. Things were still so fragile and everything could go to hell if she didn't stick to her guns. "I think you need her though. Do I trust her? I don't know. With my life? No. With yours? Yes."
"Okay. We'll ask her to tell us, then." His voice sounded a little fake, like he didn't mean to ask her at all, and he started walking again but stopped short and turned around. "Would you die for us, Liz?" Quickly he saved himself because she had already told him that she wouldn't die for him… that she didn't want to die for him and he couldn't bear to hear that from her again. "For your friends?"
"yes." The whisper was so soft he almost didn't hear it.
"Would you sacrifice yourself because it would be worth it? Worth it to see your friends live long lives and find happiness?" Max stared at her closely, that fear was back in her eyes.
"Yes."
There. A tear in her eye. Conviction in her voice. Max took her hand and kissed the back. He dropped it and began walking backwards. "I won't ever ask you to do anything like that." Liz panicked when he turned and ran off. Had she screwed up somehow? Did he know? Was that why he was acting funny? Was that why he just asked all those uncanny questions?
--
Max was ready. His bag was packed and waiting in the Jeep. He had a few moments while Tess waited for his cue. Slowly, he picked up the phone and dialed quickly. "Is a guy named Zan there? … Zan … Tall guy, black spiky hair… yeah, with tats." Max sat and waited for the guy to get on the phone.
"'lo?"
"I've got a warning for you…" Max hung up the phone when he was done and turned to leave. He took one last look around. It could be the last he ever saw it. Max grabbed his bag and pushed through the door. He stopped in the kitchen on his way out. "She needs you, Zan."
Zan brushed past him without a word. Tess nodded to Max and shut her eyes to warp. Max slipped out the front door. His Jeep was on the road before anyone knew anything was wrong. Tess entered the room to find Zan pacing frantically. She shrugged when he asked her what was going on.
--
Isabel looked up when the door opened. Tess entered and sat. When no one else entered, she stomped her foot. "Tess, where the hell is Max?"
Tess shrugged and puffed out her cheeks a little. "Said he would meet me here."
"No he didn't." Liz shook her head and looked to Tess. "When did he leave?"
"Leave?"
"Tess." Liz took a breath and forced the words out. "He's going to do something stupid, isn't he?"
All Tess could do was nod. Isabel sank into a chair. "What's he done?"
"Don't know yet." Tess whispered. "I'm just supposed to let you know that he's gone… after he's had enough time to get gone"
"What aren't you telling us, Tess?" Liz asked softly. "If Max has gone and done what I think he's done… He's not going to be able to fulfill his destiny anyway."
"Cut it. Both of you." Michael slammed his fist on the counter. "What the hell is going on? Unless the two of you suddenly mind-linked or something stupid, I want to know what you know."
--
Liz lay on her side and pressed her cheek against the top of his head. They hadn't moved since Tess had returned and instructed them not to move or make noise. They could stay until they weren't in existence any longer. She would keep the Evans from entering the room. It had been hours and there had been no pain. Zan had fallen asleep after a bit of purposefully depriving himself.
Dawn filtered through the curtains and she knew that Max had to be there by now but who knew what he was going to do when he got there. A shadow entered the room and a light weight settled on the bed. Liz rolled over just enough to look at Tess. Tess had tears in her eyes. "Were you and I really friends?" Liz nodded. "Why?"
"You let us be friends." Liz offered her a smile. "We were all friends."
"Do you love him?" Tess nodded to the unconscious body on the bed.
"I think I do or that I could." Liz sat up against the head board. "It's been a very confusing time. It's very strange to have feelings for two guys. I guess it's what Max must have been feeling around now. He was drawn to you but he kept after me and… nothing much ever came of it for him. Too much has come of it for me." Liz rested her head on the wall. "Promise me that you'll look after them all. If Max is gone, they'll fall apart."
"I know but what can I do?"
"Be honest. You never told us what you knew and then it was too late. Tell them… because if Max really does something monumentally stupid, somebody has to lead until things get straightened out." She let her hands softly rake through his hair. "If it were safe… I'd want my child to grow up with a man like Zan around."
"That's the key isn't it. If it were safe." Tess bowed her head.
"I wasn't supposed to come actually. It was just going to be Zan."
"That wouldn't have worked. Max… he listened to Zan because you told him to."
"I guess Serena was right." Liz shrugged helplessly.
"What do I do?"
"Pray that Max survives whatever it is he's going to do in Copper Summit. If he doesn't, make them see they have to stay together. They have to work together. They can be young. They can have fun… but they have responsibilities they can't ignore."
--
Max leaned his head against the cool metal of the van he sat in. He had abandoned the Jeep outside of town and hoofed it four miles before a band picked him up and let him ride with them. They were passing through the junction that would take him to Copper Summit. He couldn't sleep and he couldn't not think and so his time was occupied well. The guys didn't ask him many questions. It was probably clear that the weight of the world sat on his shoulders, maybe even that the fate of many people depended on his actions in the next day or so. Then again, they seemed to be writing a song and didn't pay him much mind.
"(When this began) I had nothing to say
and I'd get lost in the nothingness inside of me.
"(I was confused) And I let it all out to find
that I'm not the only person with these things in mind."
Too many things to do, too many people depending on him. Earth. Home planet… Antar. Liz. Tess. Liz and Michael. That was a strange thought. Dead by graduation had a rather unappealing ring to it. Pregnant Liz. Nice ring to that. Way too early for it and by this point impossible for him to father the child. Kyle and Liz. He never did like the sound of that.
Ever since he had learned about the possibility of having to return to Antar with a pregnant girlfriend, thoughts had invaded his mind. Liz would have been the ideal, but she was with Kyle. Tess… the idea of fulfilling their destiny scared him to death. The kind of scary that kept him up nights if dreaming of Liz didn't tempt him to sleep. Currently, he didn't have either choice. He couldn’t trust Tess. Any trust that had built for her over the summer was gone. He couldn't trust Liz. That image of the two of them in bed had been instantly seared into his mind.
"(Inside of me) But all the vacancy the words
revealed is the only real thing that I've got left to feel.
(Nothing to lose) Just stuck, hollow and alone,
and the fault is my own… and the fault is my own."
And Isabel. There had been so much animosity between them lately. Having her second guess him was a repeated punch in the gut. All his life she had been there. Sure they fought, they were siblings, but it had changed lately. Subtly. He wondered if she had picked up on it as well. Her second-guessing had less to do with the validity of his plans so much as his authority in ordering them. Michael had been growing up slowly and steadily and that was comforting to an extent. He was still brash and demanding but it had become tolerable of late.
"I wanna heal, I wanna feel, what I thought was never real.
I wanna let go of the pain I held so long (Erase all the pain 'til it's gone)
I wanna heal, I wanna feel, like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I wanted all along, somewhere I belong."
Assuming he had to go back someday, how would he do it? Why? What reason could he possibly have to go someplace else? Earth was home. Earth was everything that he knew. If he couldn't imagine going alone, then why would he take the others and why in the world would he take a baby? What would he name the kid? That thought just leapt out at him.
"And I've got nothing to say
and I can't believe I didn't fall right down on my face.
(I was confused) Looking everywhere only to find
that it's not the way I had imagined it all in my mind.”
The bleach blonde scribbling in a notebook across from him nudged his foot. "I had that same expression on my face last month."
"What expression?" Max cleared his throat.
"My girl told me she's pregnant."
Max started to say 'no' but then there was a pregnant Liz on his bed the last time he'd been home and technically, the child's DNA would match his. He gave the guy a slow nod. "Bit of a surprise."
"I'll bet."
"It's just… Now I look around and it isn't the same world. It was good enough for me but not for a child."
"I know what you mean."
"(So what am I) What do I have but negativity,
cause I can't justify the way everyone is looking at me.
(Nothing to lose) Nothing to gain, hollow and alone,
and the fault is my own, and the fault is my own."
"There are wars that are being fought on foreign soils." Max tilted his head back against the van. "We don't feel them because they are a world away. When we finally do, we won't know what to do. Do we fight? Do we stand our ground? Do we runaway? Does it really have anything to do with us? Why is there fighting at all? Who starts it? Why?"
He had gathered an audience by that time. Two or three of them scribbled idly on notepads but they were listening to him think aloud. "Given the choice, what would I do? I don't want to fight. I hate wars… but I couldn't ever sit back and do nothing… not when my family is at stake. I always hear people say 'do what you gotta' but I don't know if I could. Why is leadership a burden? Why is it so hard to take care of the people you care about? Why do you pay so much out of your soul for it?"
"I wanna heal, I wanna feel, what I thought was never real
I wanna let go of the pain I held so long (Erase all the pain 'til it's gone)
I wanna heal, I wanna feel, like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I wanted all along, somewhere I belong."
Max felt silent as he thought of the ramifications of having a child and the child being more important. Strategically, if you had the child of a king, the child would be next in line. The loyalists would accept the heir as king… even in name only. Perfect if Kivar wanted the people's favor. If the king returned with an heir… it would give the loyalists hope of a continuing reign. "Children should be allowed to be children."
"You know, all kids gotta grow up sometime. A lot of them, grow up before they should because they have to. No one to show them the way, they have to make their own way."
The words rang too true and Max fell into silence. He was too confused for anything to make much sense. If he went home now, would Zan and Liz still be there. Had they already disappeared. Was the future changed enough? Was he just going to screw it up?"
"I will never know myself until I do this on my own.
And I will never feel anything else until my wounds are healed
I will never be anything 'til I break away from me.
I will break away, I'll find myself today."
"I want better for my children." Max whispered at last. "I want better for my family."
"Where did you say you were headed?"
"Copper Summit?"
"Is that where your family is?"
Max looked at the guy for a moment. "No. It's actually the last place in the world I want to be."
"I wanna heal, I wanna feel, what I thought was never real.
I wanna let go of the pain I held so long (Erase all the pain 'til it's gone)
I wanna heal, I wanna feel, like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I wanted all along, somewhere I belong."
"You're not afraid your family will miss you?"
"I'm sure they will… but it's something I have to do." Max sat up and turned his eyes toward the windshield, nothing but endless road ahead. "It's not like I belong to either place."
"I wanna heal, I wanna feel, like I'm (Somewhere I belong)"
"Everybody belongs with their family… but I think the real question is how you define family. Is it the people who gave you life? Or maybe the people who raised you? Or maybe the people who would really be there for you when you need them? To help you through your own personal wars?"
Max pondered that for a long time. It sounded simple enough. People had said similar things so many times. His family existed in peculiar subsets. Michael and Isabel in the inner-ring. Liz on a parallel one to theirs. Tess on the next level. Alex, Maria and Kyle on the next one. Valenti and his parents on the next parallel rings.
It felt like hours before Max found his voice to use once more. "Can I ask a favor?"
"I wanna heal, I wanna feel, like I'm (Somewhere I belong)"
The road was dark and dusty but Max pressed forward, the taillights of the van having long since vanished from his view. He had somewhere to be.
"Somewhere I belong."
End Episode XVIII
Episode XIX
Aftermath of War Episode XIX
Tess wiped the sleep out of her eyes in the pre-dawn morning. Zan was shaking her awake. He just stared at her for the longest time. "You okay sleepin' on the floor?"
She could only nod. It was too early for talking and she had needed every ounce of sleep. Keeping quiet was harder than it seemed. None of the Evans knew about their guests and they (Mr. and Mrs. Evans) didn't know that Max was gone yet. "It's fine."
"You rested? Able?"
"I guess." She furrowed her brow and made to curl up in a ball again but he stopped her movements.
"I need you to help me."
"With what?"
"It's Liz and I got some power but…"
"You need a boost? Sure." Tess got to her feet and made it over to the bed. She gave Zan her hand and would have fallen asleep on his shoulder if not for the feeling of her power being sapped. Surrendering the power willfully proved more than she ever thought possible. Three-way connections were unheard of (to her) but then, she had never assisted in a healing before. Her mind was filled with details that even Max didn't know.
--
Dusty and worn, Max crawled into his window at dawn. As tired as he was, he couldn't sleep. There was too much to think about. Zan and Liz from the future were still occupying the house and it seemed as if Liz were finally showing a little, from what he could see around Zan's protective hand. The two slept together very much like they had done it often. And that confused him. ['I may love you, but I… I don't want to die for you.'] The words rang in his head constantly and the expression on her face that he didn't want to see. The pain. She shouldn't have to feel that because of him. She had wanted to be normal. Future Liz had confirmed that's the way it had happened in her world, too. Was that why she had gone to Kyle? The last time they had been in the position to embark on that physical journey, she hadn't been ready. She had been scared and he had respected it. She wanted time and a lot of it. Admittedly, it had been several months but… with Kyle? And so soon? Were they really even dating?
His head ached. The Skins were still there in Copper Summit. There would be a news broadcast of the service for Whitaker but there was no way it could be her. How would they do it? Closed casket? Cremation? Public memorial service and private funeral? What were they planning? How much did she tell them? What kind of danger were they in?
--
Liz opened the Crashdown door and let Tess in. "What are you doing here, Tess? It's like 6:30."
"I… couldn't sleep and I don't have anywhere else to go… I didn't want to wake… the Sheriff." Tess nodded to a barstool, hoping her cool lie was enough. "Mind if I hang out here a while?"
"I've gotta open anyway. My punishment for Max's serenade the other night. I… I couldn't sleep, either." Liz shrugged and set to work righting the chairs on the floor. "Do you think he's okay?"
"I don’t know." Tess hung her head. "Why didn't he ask you to go with him?" She rolled her eyes at Liz's look. Right, she wasn't supposed to know yet. "Kyle told me the truth. He wants me to make sure you're telling people only the very best about his performance." The brunette nodded. "Why did you do it?"
"It had to be done." Liz took a breath and looked to her nemesis. "Tess, you can't leave."
"Leave?" The blonde blinked at the waitress. "I promised Max I would stay. He insisted that without him… I'd be the only left with the 'burden of the family' as he put it. I don't have the courage to refuse his orders at this point. If you had seen his face when he found out the truth…"
"So… there is a truth to know." Liz sank into a chair that put her about eye-level with Tess's knees.
"Max didn't tell you?" She took a deep breath. She had managed to make it out of Michael's without telling much more than suspicions of Nacero's deception. She was able to glean what this Liz knew from what Future Liz knew.
"When did Max find out?"
"Night before last… before we found about Whitaker…"
"Max made me to believe he hadn't asked you… that he wouldn't…" Liz trailed off, arms crossed. Whether it was anger or an onset of chills, she couldn't tell.
"He was furious… what I said about Nacero…I was in on it. Max… Maybe the look on his face after he saw you and Kyle was as bad the one he had when he heard… He let me know that I wasn't to be trusted much. I have one mission now. Protect the group. His orders. I… I was ready to give up on him just a few days ago but since… he's been growing up in leaps and bounds and I can't. Nobody will let me. Maybe I should just…" She wiped a stray tear from her face. "I should just go. None of you want me here. Kyle is the closest I have to a friend and he's spent all week trying to get into my pants."
Liz burst out laughing, she couldn't help it. Instantly, she saw that Tess had taken offense. "No." She flagged her arms to make Tess stay and to rid herself of laughter. "Kyle spent much of our alone time trying to get into my pants when we were dating. He finally had the chance to get me into bed and we never did anything. We didn't even kiss."
"Who knows, maybe one day he'll get some." Tess nodded and then couldn't help laughing herself. "You went to Kyle to fake sex and I… was going to let him be the first just because I was tired of saving it…" An awkward silence filled the dining room. Finally, Tess looked to Liz. "I know I have no right to ask anything of you but… I don't want to be alone."
"I already said you could stick around." Liz tilted her head at the girl.
"I mean… I… need someone." It almost hurt to admit it. That future seemed so far away, the one where she and Liz had an easy friendship. "A friend."
"We could definitely work towards that." Hugging her knees to her chest, Liz let her slight smile fall from her face. "Promise me you won't leave, though… even if you and I don't become best friends. I… might have my issues but no one else can claim the same thing. Isabel and Michael are just… scared. I can see it. Michael really wants to trust you." A glance up said that Tess was listening. "Any animosity from Maria and Alex is purely out of defense for me. They aren't really willing to let the Max and me thing drop either."
"I guess I understand. Max is yours."
"No." Her voice caught Tess's attention, so the blonde waited. "Max isn't mine. No matter what Max says or does… he's the one in control. Nobody tells Max what to do. He might hide behind me and say he does things because it's what I would want but it's just an excuse to do what he was going to all along."
Tess had to smile. "He does, doesn't he? He's a great big chicken." She laughed suddenly and made herself a little more comfortable by switching to a seat next to Liz at the table. "I have memories of my… our former life and he would do the same thing. 'It's for the people. It's what the people want.'" She shook her head sadly. "He only wanted to do good things. I guess that hasn't changed at all." It took a moment to phrase her next words but she had to get them out. "He wasn't ready then, Liz. Not for any of it. He's still not ready."
"No." Liz agreed, the darkness pulled at her mind, making her wondering if Max had survived the night and what he planned to do. "Is it wrong of us not to go after him?"
"I don't know."
--
Michael shook his head. Isabel wasn't helping. She kept defending Max through shining eyes. Then she's curse him for making them worry and yet forbidding anyone to move. "This is stupid." He kicked a locker. "We should be backing him up."
"He knows something."
"No. Shit." Michael glared at her. "Max knows something. Tess knows something. Liz knows something. They all know something but no one is saying anything. I told them they had to tell us everything and they didn't. I know it. If it hadn't been for Valenti demanding his children go home, they would have told us."
"No, they wouldn't have." Isabel groaned and pushed off the locker she was leaning on. Something caught her attention and her head whipped around. "Was that Max?"
"Where?" Michael spun around but there were too many people.
"I could have sworn I just saw him go into his science class… but he wasn't home this morning."
"You sure?"
"Almost positive… it was hell telling Mom that Max was running late and that he was at school early all at the same time." Despite her need to know if it was him, she held Michael back when he went to check. "No, if he can't tell us he's back, we don't have time for him."
--
"What's with the whole scene this morning?" Maria hissed from her seat.
"What whole scene?" Liz murmured as she tried to concentrate on her essay.
"'Oh yeah, Maria, can we give Tess a ride to school?' Since when are you and the Queen of Hearts on carpooling terms?"
"Since we're both worried about Max."
"Did she, like, do something to you?"
"'Do something?'" Liz finally looked up from her paper at her friend. "Like what? Mindwarp me into being her friend?"
"Well… maybe. I don't know how her twisted mind works."
"Did it ever occur to you that Tess is stuck here like the rest of them? She doesn't have a choice and that's hard. Do you know what it's like to not have a choice?" Before Maria could say anything, Liz cut her off. "You don't. You always have the option of leaving it. So do I. Tess never will."
"Did she brainwash you?"
"No. I'm just trying not to be selfish, okay? She came to me for support and I'm trying, Maria." Liz whipped her head around just as the teacher spoke up.
"Ms. Parker, Ms. DeLuca, I hope that's ethics you're talking about." Mr. Sommers crossed his arms and waited as they nodded. "Enlighten us."
"It was a hypothetical." Liz jumped in. "If the fate of the entire world rested in your alliance with an enemy, would you do it? If the only way to save every last person was to become friends with the last person on Earth that you would ever trust with your person, would it be worth it?"
"Well, Ms. Parker, what's your answer?"
"If the lives of 32 billion-plus people depended on me burying the hatchet with the person I detest most in the world… I would swallow my pride and do it."
Mr. Sommers nodded and addressed the class. "And that, my fine younglings, is the point. Ethics is about the set of rules by which we live our lives, compromise and sacrifice for the good of ourselves and the people around us. Our system of morality depends on its members, us, having to know where to draw the lines. Knowing the difference between good and bad and knowing what must be done to preserve the difference. I have to ask you, class, because Ms. Parker brought it up. If the lives of 32 billion-plus people depended on you sacrificing the most important thing to you, would you do that? Think about it."
Liz looked at Maria and Maria backed down.
--
Zan gathered as much food as he could carry and hurried back to the room. It seemed that Liz had grown as weak as he had. Whatever that had become special in her had been draining all this time. Liz was leaning on the desk with one hand and rubbing her back with the other. The swell of flesh had caused her to unbutton her jeans to accommodate her new girth. "He's making his presence known."
"Huh?" Zan blinked at her and set down his armload.
"He's connecting with my mind."
--
"Max?" Tess spun around. There he was. Walking down the hall to his next class. She had to run to catch him. "What are you doing here? I thought you left." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Liz and grabbed her by the elbow as she struggled to keep up with Max's brisk pace. "What happened?"
"Nothing. I never even made it to Copper Summit. I have a lot to think about." He kept on walking, oblivious of the two short girls nearly running along side him.
"Max, you left and we worried all night." Liz kept reaching for his arm but he was just too fast. "When did you get back?"
When he spun around on them, Tess and Liz jumped. They clung together without realizing it. "Yes, I'm back. No, I don't know what I'm going to do. No, nothing happened. I'm just trying to get through the day without my head exploding. Spread the word, leave me alone today."
The two girls stared after him as he disappeared out of the double doors and around the corner. He had been doing his best all day. Notes, lectures, homework, assignments, answers, questions, understanding, thinking, trying, thinking… always thinking. Thought about instincts. What did his instincts bid him do? What did they want? Destroy the enemy, without a doubt. They had to be stopped but not at the expense of lives. Nobody on his side was going to die. Two futures lay ahead of him. One where he succeeded and he could live. One where everyone died and suffered because he failed. One where he could trust the people around him. One where he could trust no one. Give and take, do and don't do. Sacrifice and suffer. Strife. Only if it was worth it.
--
Zan touched the swell of flesh again and the small inner light followed his touch. It touched him deep inside. They had been playing for half an hour already and he still couldn't get over it. Every time his fingers brushed across the skin just below Liz's belly button, she giggled. Gently, he pressed his lips to her skin. His heart was bursting. "I can't believe he knows me."
It tickled, inside and out. Liz could feel her baby's excitement and joy at the playing. They were very simple emotions. He wasn't consciously playing. The light felt good and he followed it. The happier Zan was, the better it felt to the baby. The flutter in her stomach wasn't only from their play. Every time Zan kissed her skin, he sent a shiver down her spine.
It was a brief respite from the chaos and stress but it felt good to smile. Zan left his hand on her stomach and, without thinking, sat up and laid a kiss on Liz's lips. Both caught off guard, they froze and then slowly separated. Max was a welcome distraction when he entered the room and shut the door behind him. "Yeah, yeah. I didn't go. I'm back. Sh."
Zan sat back and pulled the bandages off his hands. "While you're here and since I'm still here, wanna do me a favor?"
--
Tess started to move from her seat on the break room couch when Max wandered in but he motioned her to stay where she was. He sank onto the other end of the couch and rubbed at his temples. "Valenti said you might be here."
"Liz let me stay in here. I… feel alone everywhere I go… 'cept for here." Then she nodded to the kitchen. "And I think it makes Michael feel better if I'm where he can see me. He's pissed." After a long silent moment, she leaned over to whisper. "Do you think we ought to tell them?"
"No." There was no way. It was dangerous as it was with them still around. There was no need to get everyone else all riled up for nothing. "I've been thinking. Why would they make two sets?"
"Decoy." Tess answered too fast. When Max gave her a look, she had to explain how she helped with a healing. "Zan thinks Nicholas tipped off Lannie and Rath."
"Okay, so why tip them off? We start it, he gives up and goes to them. Zan says no, they try to kill Zan. He plays dead…"
"They come for you." Tess finished. It was a good plan… but only so long as Max played along. "What if they know beforehand what the deal is?"
"Zan knows already. It's up to him if he tells them."
"Okay… what if the eight of us go to Copper Summit?" She whispered when the door opened to admit an angry Maria into the kitchen to tell at Michael. Tess's voice dropped lower. "What if Zan and them come down here and we all go kick some Skin ass?"
"Twelve."
"Max, what can they do? Liz hasn't even come into any—" She stopped there because Max's eyes grew round. They had a wordless argument before she had to cave. "She's gonna have side affects because of what you did."
--
Max sipped his coffee and waited. Michael and Isabel could only ignore him for so long. Tess had gone to his house once to check on the parents-to-be and returned sapped. The humans seemed to be avoiding him altogether… and he preferred it that way. He was still thinking.
["So, s'like that, yo?" Zan's deep accented voice carried over the line. "Knew that bitch was up to no good."
"Do me a favor?"
"Sup?"
"I gotta go do something."
"You got peeps need lookin' afta? I got it. Let me deal wit my shit and then I'll see to your shit." After a good bit of silence on the line, Zan cleared his throat. "What she look like?"
"I just want to make sure nothing happens to her."
"I got it."]
When the Crashdown closed, they all sat around the booth. Tess and Liz across from him. Alex and Maria in the next booth, Kyle and Michael in chairs and Isabel pacing behind his booth in the wait-station. He told them what didn't happen. He told them what he and Tess had discussed and then looked each human in the eye, one by one. "If you want out, speak up. We could die. I don't want you going at all but I'm told that it's not up to me. We're going to slaughter a whole town. I need to know that everyone understand exactly what we're doing."
Michael was the one to speak up. "How did you contact the other set?" Max held up his cellphone. He had called that number again and left a message for Zan to bring the crew. "With a phone."
"Yeah. With a phone." Max set it down on the table. "Phone number fell into my lap."
"Right."
Isabel spun around. "Shut up, Max. You sound like The Godfather."
"It's this simple. Either we do it or we don't but something has to be done… soon." Max waited and no one said a word. The pressure was on and absolutely no one could afford to take it lightly. "I need to know that I can trust every single one of you. I need to know that if there is a horrible job to be done, that you'll do it. If you can't do it, tell me."
"Can't do what?" Maria pressed.
"In your wildest imagination, the last thing you think I could or would ever ask of you. If you can't do it… I need to know, now. This is your chance to get out." He pinned Liz with a look. She never wavered, just stared back just as hard. "If you can't taken an order without question, I need to know. Who in this room can I trust?"
"Me." Michael answered right away.
"Me." Isabel sank into the booth next to her brother.
"Me." Tess nodded.
"Me." Alex chimed in.
"You got me." Kyle winced at Max's stare. "If you'll have me."
"Me." Maria laid her head down on the top of the booth.
One left. Liz waited until Max looked at her to give her answer. "Me. You can trust me."
"Okay. I'll give them a few days to get in touch and then we move. Until I say, we live our lives. Don't give your parents grief, don't get into trouble at school. Do not call attention. Absolutely no unexpected drop-ins at my house. You wanna talk, you call my cell and we'll talk. You might think I not stressing but I am. I need as much quiet as I can get. I'm thinking strategy and what's going to happen if we don't succeed."
--
Zan was still awake when Max came home and made his bed on the floor. He saw the weariness but remained silent for a long time. Max was the one to break the silence. "I love her. She says I can trust her."
"Then trust her."
"I see her with Kyle in my head when I close my eyes but I believe her when she says I can trust her."
"Trust that. I mean it. Trust it."
Max nodded into his pillow and proceeded to fill Zan in on the day. "I’m trying to keep everyone away."
"That's cool and ev'rythin' but uh… we gonna to need someplace else to go. Liz pees like… every hour or somethin'. Watchin' out for your moms was crazy since she been home."
"I'll come up with something. How is she doing?"
"Not so good and I'm… I'm dyin' just the same. Your girl, Tess, she helps. Tell I's sorry for borrowin' a little extra to heal myself up a little."
"She's really trying, isn't she?"
"Yeah. She wants to be good… for you. To get you trust back and all."
"Yeah." Max shut his eyes but sleep eluded him. ["Everybody belongs with their family… but I think the real question is how you define family. Is it the people who gave you life? Or maybe the people who raised you? Or maybe the people who would really be there for you when you need them? To help you through your own personal wars?"]
End Episode XIX
Tess wiped the sleep out of her eyes in the pre-dawn morning. Zan was shaking her awake. He just stared at her for the longest time. "You okay sleepin' on the floor?"
She could only nod. It was too early for talking and she had needed every ounce of sleep. Keeping quiet was harder than it seemed. None of the Evans knew about their guests and they (Mr. and Mrs. Evans) didn't know that Max was gone yet. "It's fine."
"You rested? Able?"
"I guess." She furrowed her brow and made to curl up in a ball again but he stopped her movements.
"I need you to help me."
"With what?"
"It's Liz and I got some power but…"
"You need a boost? Sure." Tess got to her feet and made it over to the bed. She gave Zan her hand and would have fallen asleep on his shoulder if not for the feeling of her power being sapped. Surrendering the power willfully proved more than she ever thought possible. Three-way connections were unheard of (to her) but then, she had never assisted in a healing before. Her mind was filled with details that even Max didn't know.
--
Dusty and worn, Max crawled into his window at dawn. As tired as he was, he couldn't sleep. There was too much to think about. Zan and Liz from the future were still occupying the house and it seemed as if Liz were finally showing a little, from what he could see around Zan's protective hand. The two slept together very much like they had done it often. And that confused him. ['I may love you, but I… I don't want to die for you.'] The words rang in his head constantly and the expression on her face that he didn't want to see. The pain. She shouldn't have to feel that because of him. She had wanted to be normal. Future Liz had confirmed that's the way it had happened in her world, too. Was that why she had gone to Kyle? The last time they had been in the position to embark on that physical journey, she hadn't been ready. She had been scared and he had respected it. She wanted time and a lot of it. Admittedly, it had been several months but… with Kyle? And so soon? Were they really even dating?
His head ached. The Skins were still there in Copper Summit. There would be a news broadcast of the service for Whitaker but there was no way it could be her. How would they do it? Closed casket? Cremation? Public memorial service and private funeral? What were they planning? How much did she tell them? What kind of danger were they in?
--
Liz opened the Crashdown door and let Tess in. "What are you doing here, Tess? It's like 6:30."
"I… couldn't sleep and I don't have anywhere else to go… I didn't want to wake… the Sheriff." Tess nodded to a barstool, hoping her cool lie was enough. "Mind if I hang out here a while?"
"I've gotta open anyway. My punishment for Max's serenade the other night. I… I couldn't sleep, either." Liz shrugged and set to work righting the chairs on the floor. "Do you think he's okay?"
"I don’t know." Tess hung her head. "Why didn't he ask you to go with him?" She rolled her eyes at Liz's look. Right, she wasn't supposed to know yet. "Kyle told me the truth. He wants me to make sure you're telling people only the very best about his performance." The brunette nodded. "Why did you do it?"
"It had to be done." Liz took a breath and looked to her nemesis. "Tess, you can't leave."
"Leave?" The blonde blinked at the waitress. "I promised Max I would stay. He insisted that without him… I'd be the only left with the 'burden of the family' as he put it. I don't have the courage to refuse his orders at this point. If you had seen his face when he found out the truth…"
"So… there is a truth to know." Liz sank into a chair that put her about eye-level with Tess's knees.
"Max didn't tell you?" She took a deep breath. She had managed to make it out of Michael's without telling much more than suspicions of Nacero's deception. She was able to glean what this Liz knew from what Future Liz knew.
"When did Max find out?"
"Night before last… before we found about Whitaker…"
"Max made me to believe he hadn't asked you… that he wouldn't…" Liz trailed off, arms crossed. Whether it was anger or an onset of chills, she couldn't tell.
"He was furious… what I said about Nacero…I was in on it. Max… Maybe the look on his face after he saw you and Kyle was as bad the one he had when he heard… He let me know that I wasn't to be trusted much. I have one mission now. Protect the group. His orders. I… I was ready to give up on him just a few days ago but since… he's been growing up in leaps and bounds and I can't. Nobody will let me. Maybe I should just…" She wiped a stray tear from her face. "I should just go. None of you want me here. Kyle is the closest I have to a friend and he's spent all week trying to get into my pants."
Liz burst out laughing, she couldn't help it. Instantly, she saw that Tess had taken offense. "No." She flagged her arms to make Tess stay and to rid herself of laughter. "Kyle spent much of our alone time trying to get into my pants when we were dating. He finally had the chance to get me into bed and we never did anything. We didn't even kiss."
"Who knows, maybe one day he'll get some." Tess nodded and then couldn't help laughing herself. "You went to Kyle to fake sex and I… was going to let him be the first just because I was tired of saving it…" An awkward silence filled the dining room. Finally, Tess looked to Liz. "I know I have no right to ask anything of you but… I don't want to be alone."
"I already said you could stick around." Liz tilted her head at the girl.
"I mean… I… need someone." It almost hurt to admit it. That future seemed so far away, the one where she and Liz had an easy friendship. "A friend."
"We could definitely work towards that." Hugging her knees to her chest, Liz let her slight smile fall from her face. "Promise me you won't leave, though… even if you and I don't become best friends. I… might have my issues but no one else can claim the same thing. Isabel and Michael are just… scared. I can see it. Michael really wants to trust you." A glance up said that Tess was listening. "Any animosity from Maria and Alex is purely out of defense for me. They aren't really willing to let the Max and me thing drop either."
"I guess I understand. Max is yours."
"No." Her voice caught Tess's attention, so the blonde waited. "Max isn't mine. No matter what Max says or does… he's the one in control. Nobody tells Max what to do. He might hide behind me and say he does things because it's what I would want but it's just an excuse to do what he was going to all along."
Tess had to smile. "He does, doesn't he? He's a great big chicken." She laughed suddenly and made herself a little more comfortable by switching to a seat next to Liz at the table. "I have memories of my… our former life and he would do the same thing. 'It's for the people. It's what the people want.'" She shook her head sadly. "He only wanted to do good things. I guess that hasn't changed at all." It took a moment to phrase her next words but she had to get them out. "He wasn't ready then, Liz. Not for any of it. He's still not ready."
"No." Liz agreed, the darkness pulled at her mind, making her wondering if Max had survived the night and what he planned to do. "Is it wrong of us not to go after him?"
"I don't know."
--
Michael shook his head. Isabel wasn't helping. She kept defending Max through shining eyes. Then she's curse him for making them worry and yet forbidding anyone to move. "This is stupid." He kicked a locker. "We should be backing him up."
"He knows something."
"No. Shit." Michael glared at her. "Max knows something. Tess knows something. Liz knows something. They all know something but no one is saying anything. I told them they had to tell us everything and they didn't. I know it. If it hadn't been for Valenti demanding his children go home, they would have told us."
"No, they wouldn't have." Isabel groaned and pushed off the locker she was leaning on. Something caught her attention and her head whipped around. "Was that Max?"
"Where?" Michael spun around but there were too many people.
"I could have sworn I just saw him go into his science class… but he wasn't home this morning."
"You sure?"
"Almost positive… it was hell telling Mom that Max was running late and that he was at school early all at the same time." Despite her need to know if it was him, she held Michael back when he went to check. "No, if he can't tell us he's back, we don't have time for him."
--
"What's with the whole scene this morning?" Maria hissed from her seat.
"What whole scene?" Liz murmured as she tried to concentrate on her essay.
"'Oh yeah, Maria, can we give Tess a ride to school?' Since when are you and the Queen of Hearts on carpooling terms?"
"Since we're both worried about Max."
"Did she, like, do something to you?"
"'Do something?'" Liz finally looked up from her paper at her friend. "Like what? Mindwarp me into being her friend?"
"Well… maybe. I don't know how her twisted mind works."
"Did it ever occur to you that Tess is stuck here like the rest of them? She doesn't have a choice and that's hard. Do you know what it's like to not have a choice?" Before Maria could say anything, Liz cut her off. "You don't. You always have the option of leaving it. So do I. Tess never will."
"Did she brainwash you?"
"No. I'm just trying not to be selfish, okay? She came to me for support and I'm trying, Maria." Liz whipped her head around just as the teacher spoke up.
"Ms. Parker, Ms. DeLuca, I hope that's ethics you're talking about." Mr. Sommers crossed his arms and waited as they nodded. "Enlighten us."
"It was a hypothetical." Liz jumped in. "If the fate of the entire world rested in your alliance with an enemy, would you do it? If the only way to save every last person was to become friends with the last person on Earth that you would ever trust with your person, would it be worth it?"
"Well, Ms. Parker, what's your answer?"
"If the lives of 32 billion-plus people depended on me burying the hatchet with the person I detest most in the world… I would swallow my pride and do it."
Mr. Sommers nodded and addressed the class. "And that, my fine younglings, is the point. Ethics is about the set of rules by which we live our lives, compromise and sacrifice for the good of ourselves and the people around us. Our system of morality depends on its members, us, having to know where to draw the lines. Knowing the difference between good and bad and knowing what must be done to preserve the difference. I have to ask you, class, because Ms. Parker brought it up. If the lives of 32 billion-plus people depended on you sacrificing the most important thing to you, would you do that? Think about it."
Liz looked at Maria and Maria backed down.
--
Zan gathered as much food as he could carry and hurried back to the room. It seemed that Liz had grown as weak as he had. Whatever that had become special in her had been draining all this time. Liz was leaning on the desk with one hand and rubbing her back with the other. The swell of flesh had caused her to unbutton her jeans to accommodate her new girth. "He's making his presence known."
"Huh?" Zan blinked at her and set down his armload.
"He's connecting with my mind."
--
"Max?" Tess spun around. There he was. Walking down the hall to his next class. She had to run to catch him. "What are you doing here? I thought you left." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Liz and grabbed her by the elbow as she struggled to keep up with Max's brisk pace. "What happened?"
"Nothing. I never even made it to Copper Summit. I have a lot to think about." He kept on walking, oblivious of the two short girls nearly running along side him.
"Max, you left and we worried all night." Liz kept reaching for his arm but he was just too fast. "When did you get back?"
When he spun around on them, Tess and Liz jumped. They clung together without realizing it. "Yes, I'm back. No, I don't know what I'm going to do. No, nothing happened. I'm just trying to get through the day without my head exploding. Spread the word, leave me alone today."
The two girls stared after him as he disappeared out of the double doors and around the corner. He had been doing his best all day. Notes, lectures, homework, assignments, answers, questions, understanding, thinking, trying, thinking… always thinking. Thought about instincts. What did his instincts bid him do? What did they want? Destroy the enemy, without a doubt. They had to be stopped but not at the expense of lives. Nobody on his side was going to die. Two futures lay ahead of him. One where he succeeded and he could live. One where everyone died and suffered because he failed. One where he could trust the people around him. One where he could trust no one. Give and take, do and don't do. Sacrifice and suffer. Strife. Only if it was worth it.
--
Zan touched the swell of flesh again and the small inner light followed his touch. It touched him deep inside. They had been playing for half an hour already and he still couldn't get over it. Every time his fingers brushed across the skin just below Liz's belly button, she giggled. Gently, he pressed his lips to her skin. His heart was bursting. "I can't believe he knows me."
It tickled, inside and out. Liz could feel her baby's excitement and joy at the playing. They were very simple emotions. He wasn't consciously playing. The light felt good and he followed it. The happier Zan was, the better it felt to the baby. The flutter in her stomach wasn't only from their play. Every time Zan kissed her skin, he sent a shiver down her spine.
It was a brief respite from the chaos and stress but it felt good to smile. Zan left his hand on her stomach and, without thinking, sat up and laid a kiss on Liz's lips. Both caught off guard, they froze and then slowly separated. Max was a welcome distraction when he entered the room and shut the door behind him. "Yeah, yeah. I didn't go. I'm back. Sh."
Zan sat back and pulled the bandages off his hands. "While you're here and since I'm still here, wanna do me a favor?"
--
Tess started to move from her seat on the break room couch when Max wandered in but he motioned her to stay where she was. He sank onto the other end of the couch and rubbed at his temples. "Valenti said you might be here."
"Liz let me stay in here. I… feel alone everywhere I go… 'cept for here." Then she nodded to the kitchen. "And I think it makes Michael feel better if I'm where he can see me. He's pissed." After a long silent moment, she leaned over to whisper. "Do you think we ought to tell them?"
"No." There was no way. It was dangerous as it was with them still around. There was no need to get everyone else all riled up for nothing. "I've been thinking. Why would they make two sets?"
"Decoy." Tess answered too fast. When Max gave her a look, she had to explain how she helped with a healing. "Zan thinks Nicholas tipped off Lannie and Rath."
"Okay, so why tip them off? We start it, he gives up and goes to them. Zan says no, they try to kill Zan. He plays dead…"
"They come for you." Tess finished. It was a good plan… but only so long as Max played along. "What if they know beforehand what the deal is?"
"Zan knows already. It's up to him if he tells them."
"Okay… what if the eight of us go to Copper Summit?" She whispered when the door opened to admit an angry Maria into the kitchen to tell at Michael. Tess's voice dropped lower. "What if Zan and them come down here and we all go kick some Skin ass?"
"Twelve."
"Max, what can they do? Liz hasn't even come into any—" She stopped there because Max's eyes grew round. They had a wordless argument before she had to cave. "She's gonna have side affects because of what you did."
--
Max sipped his coffee and waited. Michael and Isabel could only ignore him for so long. Tess had gone to his house once to check on the parents-to-be and returned sapped. The humans seemed to be avoiding him altogether… and he preferred it that way. He was still thinking.
["So, s'like that, yo?" Zan's deep accented voice carried over the line. "Knew that bitch was up to no good."
"Do me a favor?"
"Sup?"
"I gotta go do something."
"You got peeps need lookin' afta? I got it. Let me deal wit my shit and then I'll see to your shit." After a good bit of silence on the line, Zan cleared his throat. "What she look like?"
"I just want to make sure nothing happens to her."
"I got it."]
When the Crashdown closed, they all sat around the booth. Tess and Liz across from him. Alex and Maria in the next booth, Kyle and Michael in chairs and Isabel pacing behind his booth in the wait-station. He told them what didn't happen. He told them what he and Tess had discussed and then looked each human in the eye, one by one. "If you want out, speak up. We could die. I don't want you going at all but I'm told that it's not up to me. We're going to slaughter a whole town. I need to know that everyone understand exactly what we're doing."
Michael was the one to speak up. "How did you contact the other set?" Max held up his cellphone. He had called that number again and left a message for Zan to bring the crew. "With a phone."
"Yeah. With a phone." Max set it down on the table. "Phone number fell into my lap."
"Right."
Isabel spun around. "Shut up, Max. You sound like The Godfather."
"It's this simple. Either we do it or we don't but something has to be done… soon." Max waited and no one said a word. The pressure was on and absolutely no one could afford to take it lightly. "I need to know that I can trust every single one of you. I need to know that if there is a horrible job to be done, that you'll do it. If you can't do it, tell me."
"Can't do what?" Maria pressed.
"In your wildest imagination, the last thing you think I could or would ever ask of you. If you can't do it… I need to know, now. This is your chance to get out." He pinned Liz with a look. She never wavered, just stared back just as hard. "If you can't taken an order without question, I need to know. Who in this room can I trust?"
"Me." Michael answered right away.
"Me." Isabel sank into the booth next to her brother.
"Me." Tess nodded.
"Me." Alex chimed in.
"You got me." Kyle winced at Max's stare. "If you'll have me."
"Me." Maria laid her head down on the top of the booth.
One left. Liz waited until Max looked at her to give her answer. "Me. You can trust me."
"Okay. I'll give them a few days to get in touch and then we move. Until I say, we live our lives. Don't give your parents grief, don't get into trouble at school. Do not call attention. Absolutely no unexpected drop-ins at my house. You wanna talk, you call my cell and we'll talk. You might think I not stressing but I am. I need as much quiet as I can get. I'm thinking strategy and what's going to happen if we don't succeed."
--
Zan was still awake when Max came home and made his bed on the floor. He saw the weariness but remained silent for a long time. Max was the one to break the silence. "I love her. She says I can trust her."
"Then trust her."
"I see her with Kyle in my head when I close my eyes but I believe her when she says I can trust her."
"Trust that. I mean it. Trust it."
Max nodded into his pillow and proceeded to fill Zan in on the day. "I’m trying to keep everyone away."
"That's cool and ev'rythin' but uh… we gonna to need someplace else to go. Liz pees like… every hour or somethin'. Watchin' out for your moms was crazy since she been home."
"I'll come up with something. How is she doing?"
"Not so good and I'm… I'm dyin' just the same. Your girl, Tess, she helps. Tell I's sorry for borrowin' a little extra to heal myself up a little."
"She's really trying, isn't she?"
"Yeah. She wants to be good… for you. To get you trust back and all."
"Yeah." Max shut his eyes but sleep eluded him. ["Everybody belongs with their family… but I think the real question is how you define family. Is it the people who gave you life? Or maybe the people who raised you? Or maybe the people who would really be there for you when you need them? To help you through your own personal wars?"]
End Episode XIX
Episode XX
Aftermath of War Episode XX
"I need to borrow your bedroom." Max blurted out as soon as Michael opened the door.
"What?" Michael wiped his eyes and looked at his friend again. Was the sun even out yet? "Why? You're not getting freaky in my bed if I'm not getting any."
"I have… people in my room." The leader fidgeted a bit.
"People." The teen repeated and made a reluctant move to find his pants.
"From the future."
"People from the future." Michael rubbed at his face hard. Max had finally lost it. This was it, the last straw on the camel's back. Liz finally made her position on the whole messed up relationship glaringly clear and Max went over the deep end. "Where do you take an alien king when he starts seeing people from the future in his room and his shrink obviously isn't working?"
"I'm serious, Michael." Max took a breath and looked around as if there might be someone hiding and listening. "The thing is, Liz can't know they're here and she can't see them."
"Okay."
"Can they stay here?"
"Will I be able to see these future people when they're here? Are they here now?"
Max ground the heels of his palms into his eyes. "Come with me. My parents are gone and I need to get them out of the house before Isabel sees them. It'll seriously freak you both out."
Pulling his shirt over his head, Michael decided to humor his obviously delirious friend. He climbed into the jeep and waited patiently while Max put the cover on the Jeep. He wasn't the one losing the battle with sanity, he wasn't going to help to cover the jeep on what was promising to be a very hot day, starting with an already very hot morning. The ride gave him time to probe in any case. "So, Liz."
"What about her?" Max climbed inside and started the engine.
"She made the break."
"So." Max shrugged but didn't put the jeep in gear. "Yeah. Who told you?"
"Someone at school said something and I saw them… talking at lunch." Michael sighed and waited.
"I don't understand it, Michael. I know what she said but it didn't ring true. She was lying to me. I felt it… and then I saw them."
"Whoa. You saw them… together." Michael sat up, wide awake. "Together, together?"
"After." Max nodded and rested his head on the steering wheel. "My heart is breaking everyday. I see it when I close my eyes and when she looks at me, I can see she feels so sorry for me. It's infuriating... but I've made a decision to trust her… and it's ripping me apart everyday."
"Let her go, Max." Michael couldn't stand to see Max this way. It went against everything he had ever felt he knew about his lifelong friend.
"I did. I don't have to like it but I can't make her decisions for her. I know I shouldn't, but I still trust her intuition."
"You've got problems, Maxwell."
"She told me that she wanted a normal life and I can understand that."
"So why don't you let her and Kyle go off into the sunset?"
"She hasn't left yet." Max threw the jeep into gear and tried to think of a way to warn Michael about Zan and Liz. Michael couldn't do a thing but wait until Max decided to speak again. That was always what frustrated him about Max. The guy never said a word unless it was necessary and all the rest of it was biding time. A part of him knew it was a trait of leadership but not being a leader himself, it sucked. He almost questioned Max when they parked around the corner from the Evans but was silenced with a hand. Ten minutes later, Isabel jogged past them at an easy pace, after another two, Max eased the car around the corner and into the driveway and left it running. "Let's go."
"Is there a reason we're avoiding Isabel? Shouldn't she know that you've lost your marbles?"
Max stopped at the door and turned to his friend. "Trust me. You're going to want to kill something when we get in the house. Don't. They're here to help."
"Who?" Michael demanded but Max walked into the house and moved into the kitchen where somebody was rummaging through the refrigerator. Michael was prepared to shoot at the guy until he spoke. "Duke? That you? You got anymore Tabasco sauce?"
"Zan." Max cleared his throat. "We're moving you and Liz to Michael's. It's getting too risky to keep you around here."
"Yeah, I know. Went to take a piss and nearly bumped into your sis comin' out." Zan straightened with a jug of milk and eyed Michael. "Yo."
"Um… Max?" Michael looked at him then his dupe and back again. "Who's he?"
"'N'a minute. Swee' pea's thirsty."
--
"Are we the Secret Keeper Club or what?" Kyle snorted as he dug into his pancakes. "I mean, first we got this secret, you know… about you guys." He pointed his fork at Tess while he chewed. "Then there's this secret that the three of us got… and then there's the secret that she's got." He pointed to Liz where she was filling sugars behind the counter. "Nobody knows what she knows. This is insanity. Keeping secrets is not good for my karma."
"Deal with it, Buddha boy." Tess pulled the little stopper out of the Tabasco bottle and bathed her pancakes in the mess.
"Hey, Tess." Liz called over without looking up. "Mind remembering to put the stopper back. Now that I know it was you, I can tell my dad and he can get off my back about it. He swears I would waste my time doing that."
"Does that taste good?" Kyle eyed the runny red mess.
"Yes." Tess took a big bite.
"Seriously?" Kyle opened his mouth to ask for a bite when Liz reached over and stopped him. "What?"
Staying his hand, Liz leaned over to whisper to him. "No offense to our other-worldly friends but you shouldn't. If you're going to try, start with small doses. Take it from someone who used to make-out with an alien on a regular basis. Maria will back me up on this. If you don't build up your immunity, you will get burned. Literally."
"Well, thank you for your warning. I'm glad you care about the condition of my tongue."
Liz blew him a kiss and straightened up. She froze when she saw Max and Michael standing not far away. Max just pointed to a booth and sat, reaching back to yank a dazed Michael across from him. "You see. She wants Kyle."
"That's not what I saw." Michael shook his head. He was still in a little bit of shock. He had about two hours before he had to go to work and he was going to get as much done as possible before then. It was only right that they not bother him where it jeopardized his way of living.
"She blew him a kiss."
"She didn't kiss him and she was two inches from his face." He pointed out. "She does the same thing to me all the time. When I'm in a bad mood and she's in a good one, she cracks jokes and she blows kisses just like that one."
"I know."
"Did you not notice the huge lie she told you?" Michael raised an eyebrow. "If she wanted out, why is she pregnant with your dupe's baby in two years? Chew on that."
"Hey." Liz nodded to them when she finally made her way over. "I guess everyone's having trouble sleeping these days."
"Yeah." Max nodded to her and then to Tess and Kyle at the counter. "Them?"
"Tess showed up the other morning. Kyle this morning. The… tension is getting to them. It makes me feel a little better to have people hanging out here, you know?"
Michael kicked Max under the table and jerked his head toward Liz. "Yeah, I'll be on soon. Jose is here?"
"Yeah, and thanks for covering for him. He really needs to see a doctor about that foot."
"No problem. Just make sure my omelet is jumbo-sized. It's the least he can do." Michael cleared his throat.
Liz sighed heavily but wrote it down. "Max?"
"Coffee." He shook his head slowly.
"Max." She cocked her hip. "Have you eaten at all these last few days? I'll bet you haven't." She wrote something down on her pad and turned to go.
"No, Liz. I'm not hungry."
"No, Max." She turned back into him. "You're getting ready to wage war and I'm betting you can't do it without a good hearty breakfast. Jose is going to make you some pancakes and you're going to eat them."
Michael had to snicker as she rushed away to put the order through. "That one, she doesn't want a normal life."
"What?"
"Open your eyes, Maxwell. You told me yourself that you felt she's been lying to you and now I’m inclined to agree." Michael leaned forward. "That Liz. The one at my place. She embraced this life. She's having an alien kid. She's that girl, right there." He pointed to where she and Tess were laughing at Kyle. "Look at that. She's getting along with Tess. Does that look like a girl wanting out? She just gave an alien leader a lecture on a healthy hearty breakfast… you're right. She's lying."
"But--"
"Shut up. Eat your pancakes. Make nice. Think about your strategy." Michael leaned back and turned his mind to his own thoughts. "When do you think we'll know about our respective others?"
"If not by nightfall… we make a plan to do it on our own."
--
The five of them picked at their Crashdown take-out boxes. Michael had held his silence long enough but the question had been nagging at him since it was explained to him. "Liz, seriously, why in the world would you want to hook up with me? Even if your boy toy was dead, did you take a blow to the head? Did I?"
"Michael." Max warned.
Michael took a bite of his burger and waved a fry at his friend. "It's a valid question. I can understand falling for king of the streets there, but me? Someone was a little nutty."
"Try grief-stricken." Liz answered finally.
"Oh, right." He nodded and picked at his fries for a bit. Then he froze and looked at the couple sitting close together. "What are the chances that's my kid?"
Zan cleared his throat. "Anybody got a cigarette?"
"Dude, this is way weird. It's like, beyond bizarre." Michael shuddered. "No offense, Liz. I wouldn't do you if I had other options."
Liz just smirked and nodded. "I still maintain that you kissed me first."
"Now, you know that's a lie, swee' pea." Zan kissed her head. "Se'usly. Nobody's got a smoke?"
"Sorry." Tess whispered and shrugged.
"Here's my real question. If she's in love with me, how the hell is that your baby?" Michael pointed to each person in turn. Zan looked to Liz. Max looked to his food and Tess raised her eyebrows and waited to see how much they were going to tell him.
--
Liz shook her head at Maria as she danced around cleaning off the tables. They were just half an hour from close and there was no one around. "I'm telling you, Liz. Let it all go while you can. Let loose because we could all die tomorrow."
"No. I'm not in the mood to dance."
"Come on. Dance with me."
"I'll dance witcha." A deep rumbling voice came from the doors. "I got her, you want the brunette, Duke?"
"We ain't here for that." After smacking his friend in the chest, tall, dark, and broody stepped forward, scanning both girls up and down for some sort of sign. The intent expression made it very clear he was aware of their every move, looking or not.
"Liz." Maria backed away from the door. The café suddenly seemed too small to enclose their newcomers.
"They're not here, right now." Liz told him, pulling Maria behind her as if it would protect her friend. If these guys wanted to, they could probably turn them to dust before they could scream. "Give me a minute and I'll get them on the phone."
"Duke's still alive?" Zan kept advancing on Liz.
"Max? Yeah. Hold on, I'll call his cell." Liz reached around for the phone but Zan barely gave her room to breathe. "I promise. I'm not like… going to call the cops or anything."
"Okay." Zan took a single step back and waited while she called.
"Max, your… others are here… yeah, at the Crashdown… Max… Max… what am I supposed to do with them? If my dad comes down here, he's going to think they're you guys." She turned and kicked the wall. "Max… fine… okay."
Zan was waiting when she hung up. "He comin' or what?"
"He'll be here soon." Liz turned slowly. "He wants you guys to stay here but my parents will freak."
"Yo, Daisy May, Laura Ingalls. What're the chances of grubbin'?" The Isabel-look-alike tipped her head to the girls and rubbed her exposed stomach.
"Um, well, the grill is still on." Liz cleared her throat. "I'll throw something on before we close." She gestured to the outside seating. "If you could go out there and wait… that'd be great."
Zan shrugged and jerked his head toward the door. They sat at a table where they could see the street and where they could watch the two waitresses. Maria gripped Liz's arm. "Are you crazy?"
"I'm trying not to cause problems." Liz wrote a quick order and tacked it to the turn-style. It was greeted by a groan and several Spanish curses. "Last one. I promise."
"Liz, they're freaks." The blonde hissed at her.
"No… they're… just not from around here."
"To say the least." Maria kept glancing out at the quartet, unwilling to let them out of her sight. "I don't know anymore. I can't do this."
"Maria." Liz gripped her shoulders. "Do not flake. You gave Max your word. You will stick with it or I will kick your ass."
"Now, I love a gal that steps up." Zan leaned on the counter. "You spoken for, Sweetlin'?" When she didn't answer, he made himself comfortable. "I don't believe a sweet little thang like you ain't got nobody."
Liz let out a startled laugh and gestured for Maria to look at him. "Is he hitting on me?"
"My god! This never ends!" Maria stomped her foot and disappeared into the break room. She helped Thomas finish up the orders for their guests and was never more glad when Max snuck in the back door. "You people are unbelievable."
"What? Did something happen?"
--
"Gimme, your name, Sweetlin'." Zan followed her around the restaurant as she straightened up to close. "My crew calls me Zan."
She sighed and turned to face him. "Liz." She was more than ready when Thomas rang the bell. She grabbed the boxes and held them out. "Bon appétit."
"You Max's girl?" Zan took the boxes but waited for her answer.
"I'm not anyone's girl." She shook her head and turned to run smack into Max. "Um, they're here."
Max held Zan's eyes for a long moment before his dropped to the food boxes. "How much I owe you for those?"
"On the house." Liz shook her head but Max shoved a twenty into her hand anyway. "Max."
"Mind if we talk outside?" Max looked down at her.
"Go ahead. Just put the chairs up when you're done." Liz pulled out her order pad and tucked the twenty into it. When Max didn't move, she sighed. "What?"
"Stick around?"
"I only live here." She teased him.
"I meant… when I talk to them." Max tried not to look nervous. "Please?"
"Max." Liz sighed but nodded. "Give me a minute to warn Maria."
"We'll be out in a sec." Max nodded to Zan.
"Whateva." Zan turned to exit the restaurant.
Once the dupe king was outside, Max looked Liz over. "Did he do anything to you? Maria said—"
"Maria is a drama queen, Max." Liz shook her head. "I'm fine. He was flirting. It was harmless. Let me tell her and I'll be right out."
Max nodded and went out to the other set where they were eating like there was no tomorrow. "I'm Max."
"Duke, what we even doin' here?" Max couldn't even understand him around that mouthful of burger. "Summit. That's our deal."
"What you gon do 'fI say no? Kill me?" Zan glared at him and then his sister. He gave Max the introductions to his family. "Where're your people?"
"Around." They weren't really but no one had to know that. Who knew where Isabel was, Tess was back at Michael's protecting their guests but Michael actually was in the immediate area.
"Three'a ya be quiet and eat your food. Enjoy it, it wudn't free." Zan turned to Max and lowered his voice a little. "Wha's the deal?"
"Skins are going to kill us. Either one at a time or all at once." Max lowered his voice as well. He supposed that Zan was still suspicious of his family. "I've got an order on this but everything we do different changes everything."
"You get a sneak at the future?" He slid a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it with a snap of his fingers. His food was getting cold but there were more important things at the moment.
"Yeah." Max nodded. "Something like that." The lights behind them went dark. "You went first."
"You a'ready told me that." Zan leapt to his feet when a noise sounded in the alley. Rath was on his feet in seconds.
"It's okay." Max motioned him to sit down. The Jetta peeled out of the alleyway seconds before Liz came around the corner in jeans and a jacket, and Michael not three seconds behind her. "See. Just Liz and Michael." Before Max could say another word, his phone rang. "What? … What? … You're sure? … She what? … Okay." He hung up the phone.
"Max? What happened?" Liz pulled a chair up.
All he could do was shake his head. Zan and Liz were fading. Tess saw them disappear right before her eyes, her hand had gone right through Liz. Something had changed significantly… but what? Zan, this Zan, in Roswell so early… with his family instead of against them.
"Chief. Wake up." Zan snapped his fingers. "What's up wit you?"
"Max." Michael pulled up a chair and sat, examining his dupe with more than a little disgust. He had been called a pig before but there sat a true member of the species.
"I've got a layout. I've got a plan… but for it to work… you all have to help." Max pulled out a sheet of paper. "Let me run through it. If you like it, we do it. You have suggestions, we'll go over them. You don't want to help… We figure out a way to do it without you."
"Shoot." Zan leaned forward with his hamburger in hand, his cigarette dangling between his fingers. So they went over it. Max pointing things out, marking them with his finger when no one had a pen on them. Questions were asked and answered quickly. Whenever Lannie or Rath were about to ask a question, Zan silenced them with an ashy cigarette in their direction. They sat by the streetlight long after the signs of Main St. had gone out. Lannie was sent for more cigarettes much against her expletive protests. Things had almost gotten out of hand when Rath's hand had found its way to Liz's butt when she returned from making sure her parents still thought she was in her room. Zan had lifted a hand in what was normally perceived as a passive manner but Rath's swift retreat spoke otherwise. "When d'we do this?"
"As soon as possible." Max cleared his throat. "We need to rest tonight but… They'll know that you're missing soon."
"How?" Lannie managed to get in without being silenced by her brother.
"They gon crash the summit." Zan groaned and disintegrated the butt in his hand. It wasn't hard to put together. If his sister was going to kill him over the Summit, there was a reason… like Nicholas crashing the summit. "Fuckin' A."
"That is the word." Max nodded. "They're going to send Nicholas but not just because he was supposed to be the only one left. He's important."
"Important." Zan snorted. "Kivar's butt-monkey s'more like it." After a long drag on his new cigarette, he eyed his sister and Rath. "So… Nicholas." Lannie's face didn't betray a thing but Rath developed a shifty quality to his eyes. The dull-eyed punk never had developed a real poker face. "You gon step up and help me out or you gon step out and stab me in the back." Neither said a word. Ava sat behind Zan in a silent word to her loyalty. The New York leader leaned on the table and stared them both down in turn. He pointed to Max. "I ain't know him three hours and I a'ready trust 'im wit my life. I'd trade any one of they crew for the both of you. Tell me now. Crunch time… you wit me? Or do I gotta find a patch of desert to set you both blazin'?"
--
Zan didn't even look up when Max entered the bedroom. Liz was in a state of near constant flux and he was more than a little afraid to try to touch her. "Whateva you doin' it's changin' it all. We ain't gon be here when you get back. That's fo'sure."
"You remember things about our past life?" Max stared at Liz though his question was directed at his dupe's future counterpart.
"Yeah." He nodded, confirming present Zan's reaction to who Nicholas was. "You work things out wit you girl?"
"She stayed with me while we made plans." Max shrugged slightly. "I think she wanted to take off. She was probably bored." Not to mention her downright antsiness after the whole incident with Rath.
"Probably not." Liz shook her head when she solidified again. She smiled softly. "I probably listened to everything you said and wondered how you knew… and I probably never took my eyes off you."
"How are you feeling?" Max reached over to hesitantly take her hand. "The baby?"
"Still in there."
"He's strong." Zan beamed proudly for a while before his face fell. "You goin' soon?"
"Tomorrow. We all need rest."
"Yeah. Watch out for Lannie, tomorrow. Even if she say she won't, she might."
--
At mid-day, they were all gathered in the high school parking lot. With so many people out on a weekend, it wasn't an unusual occurrence to find people catching up with each other there. Max stood in the center of it all. Before Max could say one word, Lannie had one more comment to make. "Duke, you gon let Jethro take over? Just like that? He rings us up and you come runnin' like a bitch? You take his word ova mine?"
The ever present cigarette was lifted to his lips sideways, lips puckered slightly without actually making the shushing noise, and he shook his head. Then he nodded for Max to begin. "We all know what we're doing. We're going to Copper Summit. We'll only have a little bit of time to make sure that the map we've been using is accurate. I don't want anyone alone but we'll improvise when we get there. Michael and Rath are going to take out the Skin crops. If nothing else, we do that."
"Why?" Isabel pressed. Admittedly, she hadn't been around but that was a choice she had made amidst all this craziness. Staying near her brother while he was lying to them all wasn't an option for her.
"They wearin' human suits, Sis." Ava explained quietly. "They growin' new ones cuz the ones they got is dyin'. They last 50 years, give or take. Witout them suits, they ain't gon last long. If we cain't kill 'em in a fight… they can least die by theyselves."
"Right." Max nodded. "So, we're going to sneak into town. Get the layout. Taking out the crop is priority but I get the feeling Nicholas is always ready. We have to take him down. We know their weakness is the seal on their Skins. Remember that it's high on the hip. I wouldn't make any bets on which side."
Zan hopped off the back of the Jeep. "Priority one. Stop this harvest shit from goin' down. Priority two. Kill Nicholas. Just cuz he's gon look like a little boy don't mean jack. Anyone else's bonus. Just rememba one otha thin'. Don't git killed."
--
The caravan moved steadily through the night and across the state. Kyle, Tess, Alex and Maria rode in the Mustang. The three humans griped for a long time before anyone realized Tess had fallen asleep. Maria had to comment. "She knows everything."
"How do you figure?" Alex glanced up at Tess snoozing in the passenger seat.
"Because she's quiet. When have you ever heard her shut up when she knows Liz and Max are sharing the same air?" Maria hissed. "Kyle, did she tell you anything?"
"No." He lied. His eyes were on the road at the taillights in front of him. "Leave her alone. We've all been through a lot these past few days."
"Okay then, what is up with this rumor I heard? It's new. Just a few people talking about it last I heard. Liz didn't start it and if you did, so help me God, I will squash you." She leaned forward to look at Kyle.
"Talk to Liz about it."
"So you know what I'm talking about then." She gasped and looked to Alex, who had no clue what either was talking about. "I'd expect this kind of thing from Courtney, the ho, but not Liz. Tell me."
"Talk to Liz." Kyle shook his head. "Get some rest. If we do any sort of running tomorrow, you'll need it."
"Come on, Maria." Alex motioned for her to do as told. "Tess has the right idea. I'll wake you up when we get close."
Isabel, Michael, Rath and Lannie rode in the Jetta with tensions soaring high. Michael wasn't comfortable with the two of them sitting behind him but he'd rather it this way than any other travel combination. They knew each other's strengths and weaknesses. If he had picked anything up from the night before it was that neither Max or Zan trusted these two.
"Where'd you grow up?" Isabel asked out of nowhere.
"New York, creampuff." Lannie winked at her.
"Sewer City." Rath called up.
"Sewer City?" Isabel turned slightly.
"Unda the streets, sweetheart." Lannie laughed at Isabel's stricken expression. She leaned forward, well aware of her chest pressing against Michael's arm. "Brotha dearest know your secrets?"
"What?" Isabel's gaze snapped forward to Max's taillights and his silhouette inside the Jeep. Michael's eyes wanted to wander that way but there was too much strange flesh pressed against the back of his arm. He didn't dare move.
"You two don't screw?" Lannie watched Michael's stony gaze and Isabel's flushed face at the implication. "That's what we made for."
Isabel panicked when the heavy hand slid onto her shoulder from behind and gave Rath a good shock. Without even thinking, Michael reached back, knocking Lannie backward and pressed his hand over Rath's forehead. "You do that again and I'll kill you. Don't touch even a hair on her head."
"Oh, that's so sweet." Isabel turned to watch Lannie utter the words. While her cool exterior remained in place and her tone unchanged, Isabel could feel that playtime had ended. "Maybe there's hope yet for the two of you."
Max, Liz, Ava and Zan kept an easy atmosphere in the Jeep. Liz kept her eyes on the back of Max's head only because Ava kept staring at her. At one point, Zan and Max had been talking and there was some general gesturing in her direction. Zan had let out a low whistle, received a glare from Max and the two had been quiet ever since. Finally, Ava broke the silence. "You girl… Tessie or whateva, she ain't gon bitch cuz you up here wit her man?"
Before Liz could answer, Max cleared his throat. "Tess and I aren't together… never were."
"Then I don't git it. Why you here?" She held up her hands to show she meant no malice. "I'm sure you great an all but… what's the deal?"
"You ask too many questions, girl." Zan called back. "She's da Chief's second. You know, Picard, Riker and Troy. That's Max, Mikey and Liz. How you doin' ova there, sweets? Hangin' in?"
"I have a name." Liz pointed out. "L-I-Z. Liz. It's not hard."
"I know your name, sweets." Zan turned to wink at her. "You ever make it wit a hybrid?"
"Hey." Max shot a deadly look at his dupe. "Leave her alone." Then he had to calm the atmosphere. "You know your Sci-Fi."
"Go to a couple conventions, listen to the kooks. Laugh at the ones way off base. Sometimes I mix it up. Start talkin' bout abduction. They eat it up ev'ry time."
Ava leaned over. "You his girl?"
"No." Liz shook her head. The guys were talking over the most used theories at the conventions. "At least, not anymore."
"He love you?" Ava nodded at Liz's nod. "Tess don't like it, huh." A head shake. "You love him?" She smiled at the look on Liz's face. That what-do-you-think look. "Where your boy get his info?"
"Don't know. Said some things came to his attention."
"That's what Zan said, too. Somebody got a play book they ain't sharin'. I don’t like it." The pink-haired girl shook her head
"We'll get through this. We have to."
"Yeah. Bad guys won't know what hit 'em."
--
Early morning had the three cars parked behind some buildings. They had passed the news vans during the night, so nothing could stop the destruction of the town. Liz and Zan were set to protect or drive. Liz was content to let the butterflies fill her stomach crouched beside the uncovered Jeep, it and the Mustang made for the more appropriate getaway cars in that they were open to allow for last minute jumps, outward blasts and high speeds but also made for easy targets.
"Chief trust you." Zan blurted out, his fingers itching for a cigarette but knowing he couldn't have one. Liz blinked at him as he sank into a crouch beside her. "You stepped out and ev'rythin'. Not sure I'd trust you."
"I guess that's what makes Max special." Liz lowered her eyes to the ground. Max had told Zan.
"You trust me?"
"I don't know. Max wants to trust you."
"He trusts me. I know that. Do you?"
"Why?"
"I got my orders, Sweetness." Zan turned her face to look at him. "Ain't all of us goin' home today. Need to you to know that I got your back."
Ava wasn't far off playing look out for everyone on the side of a building. She had turned her skirt into pants and shimmied up the wall like no one's business. She watched them all. Zan talking to Liz, Max leading Lannie down the alley, Isabel watching out and the humans getting ready for their bit.
Isabel stayed in the shadow of the open door of the barn they believed held the Skin harvest. Michael and Rath were inside trying to figure out the best way to do it. Combined, they could take out the whole place but the question was what kind of explosion would it cause.
Tess, Kyle, Maria and Alex were set to drag themselves down the main street to draw off more than a few Skins with the ploy of a stalled car down the road. Max tried to keep Lannie near to him at all times but if need be, he'd have her follow the Skins to keep things an even fight. Everyone was keeping an eye out for Nicholas.
If they were right, the Skins probably already knew that people were in town but they all had their assignments. Everyone was on high guard and hardly anyone spoke but the longer it took for the townspeople to make their presence known, the antsier they all got. Max peered out over the street from the shadow of a narrow alley.
"Maxieboy." Lannie whispered. "So, uh, how'd you know where we were?"
"Bird told me." He motioned for her to be quiet.
"Max." Ava motioned from where she sat on a railing mostly behind them. "You crew is stuck. They had to hide. A little boy is coming. Probably Nicholas."
"Nicholas." Max breathed.
"How the hell did you know 'bout him?" Lannie stood, threatening to expose them all.
"I could ask you the same question." Max rose to meet her height. "If I find out you tipped him off, not even your brother will save you." Her eyes never wavered. "You were going to kill him and now he knows. Right?" A flicker and then nothing. "Who do you think told him? You fight for the good guys and we'll talk later." Too late, Max turned his head. The short spiky-haired kid froze for all of a second before sending Max flying into a wall. "Unh!"
"Lannie, my sweet. You're not supposed to be here." He clucked his tongue and shook his head slowly at her. Ava motioned to Isabel, who nodded and disappeared into the barn. It was all too early but it would have to do. Within seconds the trio emerged pulling each other away from the barn down the street. Nicholas looked up and knocked her off her perch with a small blast. She landed further down the alley and that much closer to the cars and Zan. "Down girl." He hadn't even broken a sweat yet. "Max Evans." The boy knelt with an extended hand. "How nice to finally meet you."
"Nicholas." Max groaned. Lannie appeared to be struggling with something. He could see it in her eyes. This was her chance to either get what she wanted or stick with her family.
"How sweet. You remember me." Nicholas's hand descended. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me where that Granilith is."
"Not a chance."
"The fuck?" Lannie spat out in shock. "You know where it is?"
Nicholas laughed to himself. "Real bright, isn't she, Max? Hold on tight to something… because this is really going to hurt."
End Episode XX
"I need to borrow your bedroom." Max blurted out as soon as Michael opened the door.
"What?" Michael wiped his eyes and looked at his friend again. Was the sun even out yet? "Why? You're not getting freaky in my bed if I'm not getting any."
"I have… people in my room." The leader fidgeted a bit.
"People." The teen repeated and made a reluctant move to find his pants.
"From the future."
"People from the future." Michael rubbed at his face hard. Max had finally lost it. This was it, the last straw on the camel's back. Liz finally made her position on the whole messed up relationship glaringly clear and Max went over the deep end. "Where do you take an alien king when he starts seeing people from the future in his room and his shrink obviously isn't working?"
"I'm serious, Michael." Max took a breath and looked around as if there might be someone hiding and listening. "The thing is, Liz can't know they're here and she can't see them."
"Okay."
"Can they stay here?"
"Will I be able to see these future people when they're here? Are they here now?"
Max ground the heels of his palms into his eyes. "Come with me. My parents are gone and I need to get them out of the house before Isabel sees them. It'll seriously freak you both out."
Pulling his shirt over his head, Michael decided to humor his obviously delirious friend. He climbed into the jeep and waited patiently while Max put the cover on the Jeep. He wasn't the one losing the battle with sanity, he wasn't going to help to cover the jeep on what was promising to be a very hot day, starting with an already very hot morning. The ride gave him time to probe in any case. "So, Liz."
"What about her?" Max climbed inside and started the engine.
"She made the break."
"So." Max shrugged but didn't put the jeep in gear. "Yeah. Who told you?"
"Someone at school said something and I saw them… talking at lunch." Michael sighed and waited.
"I don't understand it, Michael. I know what she said but it didn't ring true. She was lying to me. I felt it… and then I saw them."
"Whoa. You saw them… together." Michael sat up, wide awake. "Together, together?"
"After." Max nodded and rested his head on the steering wheel. "My heart is breaking everyday. I see it when I close my eyes and when she looks at me, I can see she feels so sorry for me. It's infuriating... but I've made a decision to trust her… and it's ripping me apart everyday."
"Let her go, Max." Michael couldn't stand to see Max this way. It went against everything he had ever felt he knew about his lifelong friend.
"I did. I don't have to like it but I can't make her decisions for her. I know I shouldn't, but I still trust her intuition."
"You've got problems, Maxwell."
"She told me that she wanted a normal life and I can understand that."
"So why don't you let her and Kyle go off into the sunset?"
"She hasn't left yet." Max threw the jeep into gear and tried to think of a way to warn Michael about Zan and Liz. Michael couldn't do a thing but wait until Max decided to speak again. That was always what frustrated him about Max. The guy never said a word unless it was necessary and all the rest of it was biding time. A part of him knew it was a trait of leadership but not being a leader himself, it sucked. He almost questioned Max when they parked around the corner from the Evans but was silenced with a hand. Ten minutes later, Isabel jogged past them at an easy pace, after another two, Max eased the car around the corner and into the driveway and left it running. "Let's go."
"Is there a reason we're avoiding Isabel? Shouldn't she know that you've lost your marbles?"
Max stopped at the door and turned to his friend. "Trust me. You're going to want to kill something when we get in the house. Don't. They're here to help."
"Who?" Michael demanded but Max walked into the house and moved into the kitchen where somebody was rummaging through the refrigerator. Michael was prepared to shoot at the guy until he spoke. "Duke? That you? You got anymore Tabasco sauce?"
"Zan." Max cleared his throat. "We're moving you and Liz to Michael's. It's getting too risky to keep you around here."
"Yeah, I know. Went to take a piss and nearly bumped into your sis comin' out." Zan straightened with a jug of milk and eyed Michael. "Yo."
"Um… Max?" Michael looked at him then his dupe and back again. "Who's he?"
"'N'a minute. Swee' pea's thirsty."
--
"Are we the Secret Keeper Club or what?" Kyle snorted as he dug into his pancakes. "I mean, first we got this secret, you know… about you guys." He pointed his fork at Tess while he chewed. "Then there's this secret that the three of us got… and then there's the secret that she's got." He pointed to Liz where she was filling sugars behind the counter. "Nobody knows what she knows. This is insanity. Keeping secrets is not good for my karma."
"Deal with it, Buddha boy." Tess pulled the little stopper out of the Tabasco bottle and bathed her pancakes in the mess.
"Hey, Tess." Liz called over without looking up. "Mind remembering to put the stopper back. Now that I know it was you, I can tell my dad and he can get off my back about it. He swears I would waste my time doing that."
"Does that taste good?" Kyle eyed the runny red mess.
"Yes." Tess took a big bite.
"Seriously?" Kyle opened his mouth to ask for a bite when Liz reached over and stopped him. "What?"
Staying his hand, Liz leaned over to whisper to him. "No offense to our other-worldly friends but you shouldn't. If you're going to try, start with small doses. Take it from someone who used to make-out with an alien on a regular basis. Maria will back me up on this. If you don't build up your immunity, you will get burned. Literally."
"Well, thank you for your warning. I'm glad you care about the condition of my tongue."
Liz blew him a kiss and straightened up. She froze when she saw Max and Michael standing not far away. Max just pointed to a booth and sat, reaching back to yank a dazed Michael across from him. "You see. She wants Kyle."
"That's not what I saw." Michael shook his head. He was still in a little bit of shock. He had about two hours before he had to go to work and he was going to get as much done as possible before then. It was only right that they not bother him where it jeopardized his way of living.
"She blew him a kiss."
"She didn't kiss him and she was two inches from his face." He pointed out. "She does the same thing to me all the time. When I'm in a bad mood and she's in a good one, she cracks jokes and she blows kisses just like that one."
"I know."
"Did you not notice the huge lie she told you?" Michael raised an eyebrow. "If she wanted out, why is she pregnant with your dupe's baby in two years? Chew on that."
"Hey." Liz nodded to them when she finally made her way over. "I guess everyone's having trouble sleeping these days."
"Yeah." Max nodded to her and then to Tess and Kyle at the counter. "Them?"
"Tess showed up the other morning. Kyle this morning. The… tension is getting to them. It makes me feel a little better to have people hanging out here, you know?"
Michael kicked Max under the table and jerked his head toward Liz. "Yeah, I'll be on soon. Jose is here?"
"Yeah, and thanks for covering for him. He really needs to see a doctor about that foot."
"No problem. Just make sure my omelet is jumbo-sized. It's the least he can do." Michael cleared his throat.
Liz sighed heavily but wrote it down. "Max?"
"Coffee." He shook his head slowly.
"Max." She cocked her hip. "Have you eaten at all these last few days? I'll bet you haven't." She wrote something down on her pad and turned to go.
"No, Liz. I'm not hungry."
"No, Max." She turned back into him. "You're getting ready to wage war and I'm betting you can't do it without a good hearty breakfast. Jose is going to make you some pancakes and you're going to eat them."
Michael had to snicker as she rushed away to put the order through. "That one, she doesn't want a normal life."
"What?"
"Open your eyes, Maxwell. You told me yourself that you felt she's been lying to you and now I’m inclined to agree." Michael leaned forward. "That Liz. The one at my place. She embraced this life. She's having an alien kid. She's that girl, right there." He pointed to where she and Tess were laughing at Kyle. "Look at that. She's getting along with Tess. Does that look like a girl wanting out? She just gave an alien leader a lecture on a healthy hearty breakfast… you're right. She's lying."
"But--"
"Shut up. Eat your pancakes. Make nice. Think about your strategy." Michael leaned back and turned his mind to his own thoughts. "When do you think we'll know about our respective others?"
"If not by nightfall… we make a plan to do it on our own."
--
The five of them picked at their Crashdown take-out boxes. Michael had held his silence long enough but the question had been nagging at him since it was explained to him. "Liz, seriously, why in the world would you want to hook up with me? Even if your boy toy was dead, did you take a blow to the head? Did I?"
"Michael." Max warned.
Michael took a bite of his burger and waved a fry at his friend. "It's a valid question. I can understand falling for king of the streets there, but me? Someone was a little nutty."
"Try grief-stricken." Liz answered finally.
"Oh, right." He nodded and picked at his fries for a bit. Then he froze and looked at the couple sitting close together. "What are the chances that's my kid?"
Zan cleared his throat. "Anybody got a cigarette?"
"Dude, this is way weird. It's like, beyond bizarre." Michael shuddered. "No offense, Liz. I wouldn't do you if I had other options."
Liz just smirked and nodded. "I still maintain that you kissed me first."
"Now, you know that's a lie, swee' pea." Zan kissed her head. "Se'usly. Nobody's got a smoke?"
"Sorry." Tess whispered and shrugged.
"Here's my real question. If she's in love with me, how the hell is that your baby?" Michael pointed to each person in turn. Zan looked to Liz. Max looked to his food and Tess raised her eyebrows and waited to see how much they were going to tell him.
--
Liz shook her head at Maria as she danced around cleaning off the tables. They were just half an hour from close and there was no one around. "I'm telling you, Liz. Let it all go while you can. Let loose because we could all die tomorrow."
"No. I'm not in the mood to dance."
"Come on. Dance with me."
"I'll dance witcha." A deep rumbling voice came from the doors. "I got her, you want the brunette, Duke?"
"We ain't here for that." After smacking his friend in the chest, tall, dark, and broody stepped forward, scanning both girls up and down for some sort of sign. The intent expression made it very clear he was aware of their every move, looking or not.
"Liz." Maria backed away from the door. The café suddenly seemed too small to enclose their newcomers.
"They're not here, right now." Liz told him, pulling Maria behind her as if it would protect her friend. If these guys wanted to, they could probably turn them to dust before they could scream. "Give me a minute and I'll get them on the phone."
"Duke's still alive?" Zan kept advancing on Liz.
"Max? Yeah. Hold on, I'll call his cell." Liz reached around for the phone but Zan barely gave her room to breathe. "I promise. I'm not like… going to call the cops or anything."
"Okay." Zan took a single step back and waited while she called.
"Max, your… others are here… yeah, at the Crashdown… Max… Max… what am I supposed to do with them? If my dad comes down here, he's going to think they're you guys." She turned and kicked the wall. "Max… fine… okay."
Zan was waiting when she hung up. "He comin' or what?"
"He'll be here soon." Liz turned slowly. "He wants you guys to stay here but my parents will freak."
"Yo, Daisy May, Laura Ingalls. What're the chances of grubbin'?" The Isabel-look-alike tipped her head to the girls and rubbed her exposed stomach.
"Um, well, the grill is still on." Liz cleared her throat. "I'll throw something on before we close." She gestured to the outside seating. "If you could go out there and wait… that'd be great."
Zan shrugged and jerked his head toward the door. They sat at a table where they could see the street and where they could watch the two waitresses. Maria gripped Liz's arm. "Are you crazy?"
"I'm trying not to cause problems." Liz wrote a quick order and tacked it to the turn-style. It was greeted by a groan and several Spanish curses. "Last one. I promise."
"Liz, they're freaks." The blonde hissed at her.
"No… they're… just not from around here."
"To say the least." Maria kept glancing out at the quartet, unwilling to let them out of her sight. "I don't know anymore. I can't do this."
"Maria." Liz gripped her shoulders. "Do not flake. You gave Max your word. You will stick with it or I will kick your ass."
"Now, I love a gal that steps up." Zan leaned on the counter. "You spoken for, Sweetlin'?" When she didn't answer, he made himself comfortable. "I don't believe a sweet little thang like you ain't got nobody."
Liz let out a startled laugh and gestured for Maria to look at him. "Is he hitting on me?"
"My god! This never ends!" Maria stomped her foot and disappeared into the break room. She helped Thomas finish up the orders for their guests and was never more glad when Max snuck in the back door. "You people are unbelievable."
"What? Did something happen?"
--
"Gimme, your name, Sweetlin'." Zan followed her around the restaurant as she straightened up to close. "My crew calls me Zan."
She sighed and turned to face him. "Liz." She was more than ready when Thomas rang the bell. She grabbed the boxes and held them out. "Bon appétit."
"You Max's girl?" Zan took the boxes but waited for her answer.
"I'm not anyone's girl." She shook her head and turned to run smack into Max. "Um, they're here."
Max held Zan's eyes for a long moment before his dropped to the food boxes. "How much I owe you for those?"
"On the house." Liz shook her head but Max shoved a twenty into her hand anyway. "Max."
"Mind if we talk outside?" Max looked down at her.
"Go ahead. Just put the chairs up when you're done." Liz pulled out her order pad and tucked the twenty into it. When Max didn't move, she sighed. "What?"
"Stick around?"
"I only live here." She teased him.
"I meant… when I talk to them." Max tried not to look nervous. "Please?"
"Max." Liz sighed but nodded. "Give me a minute to warn Maria."
"We'll be out in a sec." Max nodded to Zan.
"Whateva." Zan turned to exit the restaurant.
Once the dupe king was outside, Max looked Liz over. "Did he do anything to you? Maria said—"
"Maria is a drama queen, Max." Liz shook her head. "I'm fine. He was flirting. It was harmless. Let me tell her and I'll be right out."
Max nodded and went out to the other set where they were eating like there was no tomorrow. "I'm Max."
"Duke, what we even doin' here?" Max couldn't even understand him around that mouthful of burger. "Summit. That's our deal."
"What you gon do 'fI say no? Kill me?" Zan glared at him and then his sister. He gave Max the introductions to his family. "Where're your people?"
"Around." They weren't really but no one had to know that. Who knew where Isabel was, Tess was back at Michael's protecting their guests but Michael actually was in the immediate area.
"Three'a ya be quiet and eat your food. Enjoy it, it wudn't free." Zan turned to Max and lowered his voice a little. "Wha's the deal?"
"Skins are going to kill us. Either one at a time or all at once." Max lowered his voice as well. He supposed that Zan was still suspicious of his family. "I've got an order on this but everything we do different changes everything."
"You get a sneak at the future?" He slid a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it with a snap of his fingers. His food was getting cold but there were more important things at the moment.
"Yeah." Max nodded. "Something like that." The lights behind them went dark. "You went first."
"You a'ready told me that." Zan leapt to his feet when a noise sounded in the alley. Rath was on his feet in seconds.
"It's okay." Max motioned him to sit down. The Jetta peeled out of the alleyway seconds before Liz came around the corner in jeans and a jacket, and Michael not three seconds behind her. "See. Just Liz and Michael." Before Max could say another word, his phone rang. "What? … What? … You're sure? … She what? … Okay." He hung up the phone.
"Max? What happened?" Liz pulled a chair up.
All he could do was shake his head. Zan and Liz were fading. Tess saw them disappear right before her eyes, her hand had gone right through Liz. Something had changed significantly… but what? Zan, this Zan, in Roswell so early… with his family instead of against them.
"Chief. Wake up." Zan snapped his fingers. "What's up wit you?"
"Max." Michael pulled up a chair and sat, examining his dupe with more than a little disgust. He had been called a pig before but there sat a true member of the species.
"I've got a layout. I've got a plan… but for it to work… you all have to help." Max pulled out a sheet of paper. "Let me run through it. If you like it, we do it. You have suggestions, we'll go over them. You don't want to help… We figure out a way to do it without you."
"Shoot." Zan leaned forward with his hamburger in hand, his cigarette dangling between his fingers. So they went over it. Max pointing things out, marking them with his finger when no one had a pen on them. Questions were asked and answered quickly. Whenever Lannie or Rath were about to ask a question, Zan silenced them with an ashy cigarette in their direction. They sat by the streetlight long after the signs of Main St. had gone out. Lannie was sent for more cigarettes much against her expletive protests. Things had almost gotten out of hand when Rath's hand had found its way to Liz's butt when she returned from making sure her parents still thought she was in her room. Zan had lifted a hand in what was normally perceived as a passive manner but Rath's swift retreat spoke otherwise. "When d'we do this?"
"As soon as possible." Max cleared his throat. "We need to rest tonight but… They'll know that you're missing soon."
"How?" Lannie managed to get in without being silenced by her brother.
"They gon crash the summit." Zan groaned and disintegrated the butt in his hand. It wasn't hard to put together. If his sister was going to kill him over the Summit, there was a reason… like Nicholas crashing the summit. "Fuckin' A."
"That is the word." Max nodded. "They're going to send Nicholas but not just because he was supposed to be the only one left. He's important."
"Important." Zan snorted. "Kivar's butt-monkey s'more like it." After a long drag on his new cigarette, he eyed his sister and Rath. "So… Nicholas." Lannie's face didn't betray a thing but Rath developed a shifty quality to his eyes. The dull-eyed punk never had developed a real poker face. "You gon step up and help me out or you gon step out and stab me in the back." Neither said a word. Ava sat behind Zan in a silent word to her loyalty. The New York leader leaned on the table and stared them both down in turn. He pointed to Max. "I ain't know him three hours and I a'ready trust 'im wit my life. I'd trade any one of they crew for the both of you. Tell me now. Crunch time… you wit me? Or do I gotta find a patch of desert to set you both blazin'?"
--
Zan didn't even look up when Max entered the bedroom. Liz was in a state of near constant flux and he was more than a little afraid to try to touch her. "Whateva you doin' it's changin' it all. We ain't gon be here when you get back. That's fo'sure."
"You remember things about our past life?" Max stared at Liz though his question was directed at his dupe's future counterpart.
"Yeah." He nodded, confirming present Zan's reaction to who Nicholas was. "You work things out wit you girl?"
"She stayed with me while we made plans." Max shrugged slightly. "I think she wanted to take off. She was probably bored." Not to mention her downright antsiness after the whole incident with Rath.
"Probably not." Liz shook her head when she solidified again. She smiled softly. "I probably listened to everything you said and wondered how you knew… and I probably never took my eyes off you."
"How are you feeling?" Max reached over to hesitantly take her hand. "The baby?"
"Still in there."
"He's strong." Zan beamed proudly for a while before his face fell. "You goin' soon?"
"Tomorrow. We all need rest."
"Yeah. Watch out for Lannie, tomorrow. Even if she say she won't, she might."
--
At mid-day, they were all gathered in the high school parking lot. With so many people out on a weekend, it wasn't an unusual occurrence to find people catching up with each other there. Max stood in the center of it all. Before Max could say one word, Lannie had one more comment to make. "Duke, you gon let Jethro take over? Just like that? He rings us up and you come runnin' like a bitch? You take his word ova mine?"
The ever present cigarette was lifted to his lips sideways, lips puckered slightly without actually making the shushing noise, and he shook his head. Then he nodded for Max to begin. "We all know what we're doing. We're going to Copper Summit. We'll only have a little bit of time to make sure that the map we've been using is accurate. I don't want anyone alone but we'll improvise when we get there. Michael and Rath are going to take out the Skin crops. If nothing else, we do that."
"Why?" Isabel pressed. Admittedly, she hadn't been around but that was a choice she had made amidst all this craziness. Staying near her brother while he was lying to them all wasn't an option for her.
"They wearin' human suits, Sis." Ava explained quietly. "They growin' new ones cuz the ones they got is dyin'. They last 50 years, give or take. Witout them suits, they ain't gon last long. If we cain't kill 'em in a fight… they can least die by theyselves."
"Right." Max nodded. "So, we're going to sneak into town. Get the layout. Taking out the crop is priority but I get the feeling Nicholas is always ready. We have to take him down. We know their weakness is the seal on their Skins. Remember that it's high on the hip. I wouldn't make any bets on which side."
Zan hopped off the back of the Jeep. "Priority one. Stop this harvest shit from goin' down. Priority two. Kill Nicholas. Just cuz he's gon look like a little boy don't mean jack. Anyone else's bonus. Just rememba one otha thin'. Don't git killed."
--
The caravan moved steadily through the night and across the state. Kyle, Tess, Alex and Maria rode in the Mustang. The three humans griped for a long time before anyone realized Tess had fallen asleep. Maria had to comment. "She knows everything."
"How do you figure?" Alex glanced up at Tess snoozing in the passenger seat.
"Because she's quiet. When have you ever heard her shut up when she knows Liz and Max are sharing the same air?" Maria hissed. "Kyle, did she tell you anything?"
"No." He lied. His eyes were on the road at the taillights in front of him. "Leave her alone. We've all been through a lot these past few days."
"Okay then, what is up with this rumor I heard? It's new. Just a few people talking about it last I heard. Liz didn't start it and if you did, so help me God, I will squash you." She leaned forward to look at Kyle.
"Talk to Liz about it."
"So you know what I'm talking about then." She gasped and looked to Alex, who had no clue what either was talking about. "I'd expect this kind of thing from Courtney, the ho, but not Liz. Tell me."
"Talk to Liz." Kyle shook his head. "Get some rest. If we do any sort of running tomorrow, you'll need it."
"Come on, Maria." Alex motioned for her to do as told. "Tess has the right idea. I'll wake you up when we get close."
Isabel, Michael, Rath and Lannie rode in the Jetta with tensions soaring high. Michael wasn't comfortable with the two of them sitting behind him but he'd rather it this way than any other travel combination. They knew each other's strengths and weaknesses. If he had picked anything up from the night before it was that neither Max or Zan trusted these two.
"Where'd you grow up?" Isabel asked out of nowhere.
"New York, creampuff." Lannie winked at her.
"Sewer City." Rath called up.
"Sewer City?" Isabel turned slightly.
"Unda the streets, sweetheart." Lannie laughed at Isabel's stricken expression. She leaned forward, well aware of her chest pressing against Michael's arm. "Brotha dearest know your secrets?"
"What?" Isabel's gaze snapped forward to Max's taillights and his silhouette inside the Jeep. Michael's eyes wanted to wander that way but there was too much strange flesh pressed against the back of his arm. He didn't dare move.
"You two don't screw?" Lannie watched Michael's stony gaze and Isabel's flushed face at the implication. "That's what we made for."
Isabel panicked when the heavy hand slid onto her shoulder from behind and gave Rath a good shock. Without even thinking, Michael reached back, knocking Lannie backward and pressed his hand over Rath's forehead. "You do that again and I'll kill you. Don't touch even a hair on her head."
"Oh, that's so sweet." Isabel turned to watch Lannie utter the words. While her cool exterior remained in place and her tone unchanged, Isabel could feel that playtime had ended. "Maybe there's hope yet for the two of you."
Max, Liz, Ava and Zan kept an easy atmosphere in the Jeep. Liz kept her eyes on the back of Max's head only because Ava kept staring at her. At one point, Zan and Max had been talking and there was some general gesturing in her direction. Zan had let out a low whistle, received a glare from Max and the two had been quiet ever since. Finally, Ava broke the silence. "You girl… Tessie or whateva, she ain't gon bitch cuz you up here wit her man?"
Before Liz could answer, Max cleared his throat. "Tess and I aren't together… never were."
"Then I don't git it. Why you here?" She held up her hands to show she meant no malice. "I'm sure you great an all but… what's the deal?"
"You ask too many questions, girl." Zan called back. "She's da Chief's second. You know, Picard, Riker and Troy. That's Max, Mikey and Liz. How you doin' ova there, sweets? Hangin' in?"
"I have a name." Liz pointed out. "L-I-Z. Liz. It's not hard."
"I know your name, sweets." Zan turned to wink at her. "You ever make it wit a hybrid?"
"Hey." Max shot a deadly look at his dupe. "Leave her alone." Then he had to calm the atmosphere. "You know your Sci-Fi."
"Go to a couple conventions, listen to the kooks. Laugh at the ones way off base. Sometimes I mix it up. Start talkin' bout abduction. They eat it up ev'ry time."
Ava leaned over. "You his girl?"
"No." Liz shook her head. The guys were talking over the most used theories at the conventions. "At least, not anymore."
"He love you?" Ava nodded at Liz's nod. "Tess don't like it, huh." A head shake. "You love him?" She smiled at the look on Liz's face. That what-do-you-think look. "Where your boy get his info?"
"Don't know. Said some things came to his attention."
"That's what Zan said, too. Somebody got a play book they ain't sharin'. I don’t like it." The pink-haired girl shook her head
"We'll get through this. We have to."
"Yeah. Bad guys won't know what hit 'em."
--
Early morning had the three cars parked behind some buildings. They had passed the news vans during the night, so nothing could stop the destruction of the town. Liz and Zan were set to protect or drive. Liz was content to let the butterflies fill her stomach crouched beside the uncovered Jeep, it and the Mustang made for the more appropriate getaway cars in that they were open to allow for last minute jumps, outward blasts and high speeds but also made for easy targets.
"Chief trust you." Zan blurted out, his fingers itching for a cigarette but knowing he couldn't have one. Liz blinked at him as he sank into a crouch beside her. "You stepped out and ev'rythin'. Not sure I'd trust you."
"I guess that's what makes Max special." Liz lowered her eyes to the ground. Max had told Zan.
"You trust me?"
"I don't know. Max wants to trust you."
"He trusts me. I know that. Do you?"
"Why?"
"I got my orders, Sweetness." Zan turned her face to look at him. "Ain't all of us goin' home today. Need to you to know that I got your back."
Ava wasn't far off playing look out for everyone on the side of a building. She had turned her skirt into pants and shimmied up the wall like no one's business. She watched them all. Zan talking to Liz, Max leading Lannie down the alley, Isabel watching out and the humans getting ready for their bit.
Isabel stayed in the shadow of the open door of the barn they believed held the Skin harvest. Michael and Rath were inside trying to figure out the best way to do it. Combined, they could take out the whole place but the question was what kind of explosion would it cause.
Tess, Kyle, Maria and Alex were set to drag themselves down the main street to draw off more than a few Skins with the ploy of a stalled car down the road. Max tried to keep Lannie near to him at all times but if need be, he'd have her follow the Skins to keep things an even fight. Everyone was keeping an eye out for Nicholas.
If they were right, the Skins probably already knew that people were in town but they all had their assignments. Everyone was on high guard and hardly anyone spoke but the longer it took for the townspeople to make their presence known, the antsier they all got. Max peered out over the street from the shadow of a narrow alley.
"Maxieboy." Lannie whispered. "So, uh, how'd you know where we were?"
"Bird told me." He motioned for her to be quiet.
"Max." Ava motioned from where she sat on a railing mostly behind them. "You crew is stuck. They had to hide. A little boy is coming. Probably Nicholas."
"Nicholas." Max breathed.
"How the hell did you know 'bout him?" Lannie stood, threatening to expose them all.
"I could ask you the same question." Max rose to meet her height. "If I find out you tipped him off, not even your brother will save you." Her eyes never wavered. "You were going to kill him and now he knows. Right?" A flicker and then nothing. "Who do you think told him? You fight for the good guys and we'll talk later." Too late, Max turned his head. The short spiky-haired kid froze for all of a second before sending Max flying into a wall. "Unh!"
"Lannie, my sweet. You're not supposed to be here." He clucked his tongue and shook his head slowly at her. Ava motioned to Isabel, who nodded and disappeared into the barn. It was all too early but it would have to do. Within seconds the trio emerged pulling each other away from the barn down the street. Nicholas looked up and knocked her off her perch with a small blast. She landed further down the alley and that much closer to the cars and Zan. "Down girl." He hadn't even broken a sweat yet. "Max Evans." The boy knelt with an extended hand. "How nice to finally meet you."
"Nicholas." Max groaned. Lannie appeared to be struggling with something. He could see it in her eyes. This was her chance to either get what she wanted or stick with her family.
"How sweet. You remember me." Nicholas's hand descended. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me where that Granilith is."
"Not a chance."
"The fuck?" Lannie spat out in shock. "You know where it is?"
Nicholas laughed to himself. "Real bright, isn't she, Max? Hold on tight to something… because this is really going to hurt."
End Episode XX