Keep up the good work!Lost In America (M&M/all Mature/Adult) 02/20 Ch 39{WIP}
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jbangelo
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Good parts. I hope that Liz and Maria will be able to patch things up, because I hate to see them fighting. Liz needs to heed Michael's advice and start thinking about the good of the group, even though I know she's hurting. I don't really think she meant everything she said to Maria, she was just looking for an outlet for her hurt and anger, and Maria and Michael were the closest target, so for that, she owes an apology to both of them. I love the comraderie we're starting to see between Isabel and Kyle. The In Crowder in me wants to see something develop between them. Keep up the good work!
Keep up the good work!“You know you’re right for someone when they force you to be the best version of yourself.”
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candylovespell
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Chapter 12
Liz had regretted her outburst the moment the sting of the slap brought her back to her senses and she knew her friendship with Maria was badly damaged, maybe beyond repair.
She stared at the mark of Maria’s hand still burning on her cheek. The mirror in the restroom of the coffeeshop reflected her anguished guilt but there was still anger and pain, too. The bitter words had shocked her even as she heard herself saying them, but she couldn’t make herself stop.
Liz told herself it wasn’t all her fault. Michael had provoked her by calling her selfish when she had just been protecting herself from the pain of another betrayal by Max. It wasn’t selfish, it was just self-preservation. Michael was the one she had really wanted to scream at, to punish for usurping the king. She had hated him for suddenly being all that Max should be, but was not. Maria had just been the soft target, easy to hurt where Michael was impervious to her barbs.
She was horrified by her own behaviour, but didn’t know what to do to put it right. Maria had the softest heart, but she wouldn’t forgive Liz anytime soon, if ever.
So Liz lingered in the restroom as long as she could. She didn’t know how to go back and face the others, but eventually time ran out and she had no choice.
In the parking lot, Michael released Maria from a final hug and turned his attention to the others who had lost interest in the drama when the kissing began. He opened the door and waited for Maria to climb in the back of the bus before following her. Isobel was gathering up the debris from Kyle's breakfast and Kyle was marking the city map with the stores they still needed to visit for the camping stuff.
“Maria and I will go with Max in the Chevy for a while. It’ll be safer for Liz if she travels with you, but only because I promised Maria that I wouldn’t lose my temper with the little…”
Isobel interrupted him.
“What happened, Maria?”
“Liz has been a total bitch, Isobel, and I won’t speak to her until she apologises.”
Michael snorted with contempt.
“Parker can hold out until Hell freezes over, for all I care. Let’s have a look at the map and the list, Valenti. What stuff do we still need to get?”
“Ok, we’ve got the tents and the bags and some of the smaller items. Now we need to get the hardware. Axes, spades, saws, knives - all that stuff. A full set for each vehicle, in case we have to separate and fend for ourselves. We still need tarps, ropes, food bags and water containers, compasses and maps, and, well, everything else.”
“ We’ll need to get dried food supplies, too, rice, pasta, beans and stuff; enough for a few weeks at least. It’s all on the list I made from the survival manual. We can buy fresh food at the park for the rest of the week, but we’ll have to stock up on as much of the dried stuff as we can from somewhere else after we leave.”
“God, and we still need to get outdoor clothes. That will take us all day and tomorrow, even doubling up the schedule where we can, so that the girls can get the food and the smaller items at the same time as you buy the heavier stuff. We need the specialist outdoor shops as well as supermarkets and we need to spread ourselves around those as much as we can.”
“It’s gonna cost big, but we don’t have a choice. We will be living in the mountains and we’ll have to survive in extreme temperatures for months. We must make sure we’ve got everything we need.”
Michael sighed. It would take them the whole day and maybe the next to buy what they needed without drawing attention to themselves, and they’d have to use alien money to do it. He hoped Isobel’s talent for making the stuff was as good as she’d claimed, so it would never be traced to them.
After some discussion, it was agreed that they would meet at a city central parking lot to change their disguises, then Michael would go on to shop alone or with one of the girls for the rest of the equipment and food supplies as Kyle had to remain with the bus. There would be a variety of disguises as an extra precaution.
Michael nodded at Kyle and Isobel before grabbing Maria’s hand to pull her out of the bus and over to the Chevy.
“ You take off. We’ll swing by the coffeeshop to pick up Liz and meet up at the first stop. See you guys in a while.”
“Ok, Isobel. We’ll take good care of Max for you, don’t worry.”
Moments later, Liz emerged from the coffeeshop to find no sign of the Chevy or the bus where she’d left them. Her heart stopped, thinking they had abandoned her to her fate. Then the bus pulled up alongside her and she sighed with relief.
Isobel lowered the window and told her, in a not unfriendly manner, that Maria and Michael had taken the Chevy, so she would be riding with them now and shopping was the plan for the day.
Liz hurriedly scrambled aboard, Kyle nodded at her from the front seats and the bus headed into the city. Although nobody spoke as she retreated to the back seat and stared out of the window in silence, the atmosphere was relaxed. She was surprised and relieved that the others hadn’t automatically sided with Maria and Michael against her. Maybe she still had some friends left after all.
Over in the Chevy, Maria was torn between joy at being reunited with Michael, residual anger with Liz and a sudden attack of conscience at forgetting all about Max at breakfast. Her conscience won. Whatever the ex-king had or had not done wrong, he didn’t deserve to starve to death in his sleep before she had a chance to dispense justice. She might be angry with Liz, but she still had issues with Max, too, for hurting her former best friend again, intentionally or not.
She raided the Chevy’s supplies once more and poured milk, sugar and Tabasco into a cup.
“Heat this up for me, please, Michael. I forgot all about Max at breakfast, so I’ll try to get him to drink some milk again when we stop in a few.”
“Maria, we can't do anything until he wakes up, we can't risk anyone touching him and getting hurt by his forcefield. He'll wake up when he's ready."
"Yeah, I guess so. I hope he's ok, though and I really wish he'd wake up soon."
"At least we're back together now, princess. I hated it without you."
She rested her hand on his thigh and rubbed gently until his large hand covered hers and held it still.
*** If you keep on doing that, Maria, we're gonna crash right now...***
*** Sorry, Spaceboy. It's tough on both of us. When are we going to get some alone time? ***
*** Hope it's gonna be tonight, babe. We have to stop somewhere to rest, driving all night again is too dangerous. Got some things I need to talk to you about, anyway.***
*** Are we going to camp yet or stay at another motel?***
*** I think it’s gotta be a motel again, after all. As we’ll still be shopping tomorrow, we can’t go far from the city tonight ***
*** Ok. We meet up between every store to change the disguises and make sure there are no problems, but we keep going to get as much done as we can today. If we’re lucky, we set off for the park sometime tomorrow and, again if we’re lucky, might even have time to pitch the tents before it gets dark***
*** That’s the plan, princess***
Maria had been navigating while they “talked” and now directed her boyfriend towards the first meeting point.
“Michael, here’s the turnoff for the first stop.”
They had agreed to meet at a mall in the city’s central shopping area, which had a cluster of the stores they had identified earlier. They decided that, despite the risks, it would be quicker to pick up what they needed within a relatively short time, rather than drive all over the city. They were still on the tourist route so counterfeit currency wouldn’t necessarily be associated with them and, anyway, it would certainly be some time before was discovered.
A few minutes later, Michael stashed the Chevy in the usual remote corner of a parking lot and reached for the cup of milk Maria had prepared for Max. He heated it up and drank it quickly, enjoying the first zap of Tabasco since the muffin earlier that morning. He slid his arm round Maria and pulled her towards him, intending to enjoy a few stolen kisses while they were waiting for the others. Catching sight of his own unfamiliar reflection in her eyes just before their lips met, he suddenly had an idea.
He kissed Maria hungrily, but forced himself to break away from her while he still retained some self-control. He could feel her surprise and regret at the loss of his lips, so he sent her a reassuringly appreciative thought and a quick explanation of what he wanted to try.
*** I just gotta distract myself, Maria. If I let myself get too hot for you now, princess, we’ll be arrested for sure…***
*** It’s ok, Michael, I understand. I feel the same way, really. Each time we touch, it just gets harder to stop… Go ahead and do your party trick for me***
He adjusted the rearview mirror so he could see himself in it. The bus would be several minutes away yet, so he thought he would try changing his own physical appearance instead of waiting for Isobel to do it for him. Ever since Nacedo had forced him to change his fingerprints when they rescued Max from the White Room, he had been practicing on himself until he was confident in his own abilities. It still took quite a lot of effort, but he was improving all the time. He planned to expand his range of powers even further once they got into the mountains and he would expect the others, including Kyle and Liz, to do the same.
His hair, currently long and blond, became short and black, while his skin paled to a milky shade and his eyes faded to blue. Maria watched with fascination and when he had finished, leaned over and kissed him.
“ You still feel and taste the same, Spaceboy, thank God. Kissing you when you’re in disguise feels a little weird, even though I know it’s you inside.”
“Just have to get used to it, princess. None of us are goin’ to look like our real selves for a long time to come.”
“Can you change me, now, Michael? I think a spiky redhead look would be a nice contrast, don’t you think?”
“Have to get Iz to do it for you, babe. I’m fine doin’ it to myself, but I’m not gonna risk it with you until I’ve had more practice.”
“You’ll be fine, Spaceboy. I know you can do it and it’ll really impress Isobel. She doesn’t know you’ve been practising your powers.”
“Don’t care if I impress Iz or not, I’ve just never tried it on anyone else. Don’t know if I’m ready yet, Maria…”
“Well, I do. I trust you and I know you won’t hurt me, so go ahead and turn me red. Just do it, Michael.”
He moved a little further away and gazed at her, blocking his feelings and trying to avoid looking into her eyes when he had to concentrate on her surface colors. Her current disguise was not so very much different to her normal blonde self and it was unexpectedly hard to deliberately change the looks he loved.
“Ok, then. Hold still and let me concentrate.”
A few moments later, Michael smiled in relief and Maria found an flame haired, dark-eyed version of herself in the vanity mirror behind the sun visor. She squealed happily, but quietly so as not to disturb Max, and hugged her boyfriend in congratulation.
As they broke apart they both noticed a faint green glow behind them in the back seat as Max’s forcefield appeared again. It barely showed up in the bright morning sunlight, which was an advantage as they would be moving in busy areas among crowds for the longest period so far since they left Roswell.
“I wish we knew how much longer this green thing is going to last. We could really use his help about now. Isobel and the others should be here any moment, then we can get started. Who’s going to do what?”
“I’ll do the hardware items. One set from this first store and a few of the other things from the list, maybe some clothes, too. I should be about an hour each time. You and Liz can go to the supermarket and start on the food supplies. Don’t forget the Tabasco.”
“I don’t trust myself near Liz at the moment, Michael, so I’ll take a list and shop alone and she can do the same.”
“Don’t give me a hard time about this, Maria, you know I wouldn’t say it if there was any other way, but I really think it’s safer if you shop together. You still need to keep a lookout for each other, even if you’re not speaking.”
“But don’t you think we’ll draw less attention separately than shopping together. We can still buy in bulk and we’ll be twice as fast, too?”
“We-ell, ok, maybe that’s right, but it’s hard for me to let you go anywhere alone, because if anything happened to you –.”
“You and I will still be in contact, Michael, so we’ll both know what’s going on. We are taking risks all the time. Like you say, the sooner this part of the plan is done and we can move on, the safer we’ll all be.”
Michael sighed and gave in. He didn’t like it, but he knew she had a point. Privately, he was starting to feel fairly confident that they hadn’t been followed and, at the back of his mind, he was becoming more convinced that his theory was correct. The time wasn’t yet right to test it out, but he knew he couldn’t leave it very much longer before he had to act.
“ Iz will have to look out for both Max and Kyle while the rest of us are away from the bus. I still don’t want Kyle and Max together until we are settled somewhere with time to devote to the problem. ”
“Well, as you say, Isobel can look out for them and, anyway, none of us will be away from the bus for more than about twenty minutes at a time, except you. It’ll take some time for you to buy all that stuff on your list. Liz and I don't have to be away at the same time, if you're worried about it. We can do shifts while you’re gone.”
“Leave it up to Iz, then, if she needs back-up she'll say so. Here are the others now. Stay here while I go talk to them.”
“…’k. One more kiss, then you’re free to go, Spaceboy.”
He willingly obeyed, knowing that they should stay apart but craving just a taste of the fiery sweetness only she possessed. Her lips were soft and generous under his, parting to allow him access to her warm, sweet mouth where their tongues touched and teased and tormented until they forgot everything outside their own private world. Then something rapped sharply on the window beside Michael and they broke apart, startled and annoyed, to find Isobel waiting impatiently for their attention.
“Is Max ok? Though why I’m asking you two… Anyway, if you’re interested, Kyle went green again on the way over here, but this time he called me Tess and told me he missed me, just like Max told Liz. He’s awake again, but doesn’t remember anything. Liz got really upset again, though.”
“Max went green a few minutes ago, too, Isobel, but it hardly showed up in the sunlight. He didn’t wake up or say anything about Tess, just glowed for a while.”
Michael groaned and thrust his fingers through his now short hair.
"Tess just won't f*uckin’ go away, damn her. First Max, now Kyle - where's it gonna end?"
"You'd better hope it ends with them, Spaceboy. If you start missing her too, I'm warning you, the universe won't be big enough to hide from me..."
"If I start missing her, Blondie, just hunt me down and kill me. I'll be grateful."
"Look, don't joke about it, you two. Something crazy is definitely going on with the guys. Why do they both miss Tess?"
"Right now, I really don't care, Iz. As long as that's all they're doing, they can wait until we get to the park and we'll think about it then. How many times do I have to say it? Max and Kyle are currently harmless. Unless that changes, We. Can. Do. NOTHING. What we SHOULD be doing is SHOPPING! Why the hell are we all still here yappin'?"
His voice rose as his frustration grew.
"Calm down, Michael… -.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down, Isobel. You’re the one doin’ the worryin’. As long as nothing more dangerous than glowing and pissing off Liz happens to them, I’m not goin’ to think about it yet. It’s time to hit the stores. Iz, I should be about an hour this time. You divide the list of food supplies and Maria and Liz can split up and shop for the stuff, unless you want them to take shifts.”
“No, I'll be ok. What do I do while you’re all out having fun and I’m babysitting?”
“ While you’re waiting, double check the list of clothes we’ll need – it’s all in the manual – then get Kyle to tell you what size he takes and make a note for Max, as well. Both of you can sort out an itinerary for buying them tomorrow. Remember, the bus and Chevy will be filling up with gear, you’ll need to pack carefully so we can fit as much in as possible.”
Isobel brightened up at having something to organise at last and Michael made a mental note to continue that thought at a later date.
Wasting no more time, he sent them all off on their appointed tasks and the rest of the day went by in a blur of tense, but productive, activity until they were all together again on the way out of the city to find another cheap motel for the night.
TBC…
Liz had regretted her outburst the moment the sting of the slap brought her back to her senses and she knew her friendship with Maria was badly damaged, maybe beyond repair.
She stared at the mark of Maria’s hand still burning on her cheek. The mirror in the restroom of the coffeeshop reflected her anguished guilt but there was still anger and pain, too. The bitter words had shocked her even as she heard herself saying them, but she couldn’t make herself stop.
Liz told herself it wasn’t all her fault. Michael had provoked her by calling her selfish when she had just been protecting herself from the pain of another betrayal by Max. It wasn’t selfish, it was just self-preservation. Michael was the one she had really wanted to scream at, to punish for usurping the king. She had hated him for suddenly being all that Max should be, but was not. Maria had just been the soft target, easy to hurt where Michael was impervious to her barbs.
She was horrified by her own behaviour, but didn’t know what to do to put it right. Maria had the softest heart, but she wouldn’t forgive Liz anytime soon, if ever.
So Liz lingered in the restroom as long as she could. She didn’t know how to go back and face the others, but eventually time ran out and she had no choice.
In the parking lot, Michael released Maria from a final hug and turned his attention to the others who had lost interest in the drama when the kissing began. He opened the door and waited for Maria to climb in the back of the bus before following her. Isobel was gathering up the debris from Kyle's breakfast and Kyle was marking the city map with the stores they still needed to visit for the camping stuff.
“Maria and I will go with Max in the Chevy for a while. It’ll be safer for Liz if she travels with you, but only because I promised Maria that I wouldn’t lose my temper with the little…”
Isobel interrupted him.
“What happened, Maria?”
“Liz has been a total bitch, Isobel, and I won’t speak to her until she apologises.”
Michael snorted with contempt.
“Parker can hold out until Hell freezes over, for all I care. Let’s have a look at the map and the list, Valenti. What stuff do we still need to get?”
“Ok, we’ve got the tents and the bags and some of the smaller items. Now we need to get the hardware. Axes, spades, saws, knives - all that stuff. A full set for each vehicle, in case we have to separate and fend for ourselves. We still need tarps, ropes, food bags and water containers, compasses and maps, and, well, everything else.”
“ We’ll need to get dried food supplies, too, rice, pasta, beans and stuff; enough for a few weeks at least. It’s all on the list I made from the survival manual. We can buy fresh food at the park for the rest of the week, but we’ll have to stock up on as much of the dried stuff as we can from somewhere else after we leave.”
“God, and we still need to get outdoor clothes. That will take us all day and tomorrow, even doubling up the schedule where we can, so that the girls can get the food and the smaller items at the same time as you buy the heavier stuff. We need the specialist outdoor shops as well as supermarkets and we need to spread ourselves around those as much as we can.”
“It’s gonna cost big, but we don’t have a choice. We will be living in the mountains and we’ll have to survive in extreme temperatures for months. We must make sure we’ve got everything we need.”
Michael sighed. It would take them the whole day and maybe the next to buy what they needed without drawing attention to themselves, and they’d have to use alien money to do it. He hoped Isobel’s talent for making the stuff was as good as she’d claimed, so it would never be traced to them.
After some discussion, it was agreed that they would meet at a city central parking lot to change their disguises, then Michael would go on to shop alone or with one of the girls for the rest of the equipment and food supplies as Kyle had to remain with the bus. There would be a variety of disguises as an extra precaution.
Michael nodded at Kyle and Isobel before grabbing Maria’s hand to pull her out of the bus and over to the Chevy.
“ You take off. We’ll swing by the coffeeshop to pick up Liz and meet up at the first stop. See you guys in a while.”
“Ok, Isobel. We’ll take good care of Max for you, don’t worry.”
Moments later, Liz emerged from the coffeeshop to find no sign of the Chevy or the bus where she’d left them. Her heart stopped, thinking they had abandoned her to her fate. Then the bus pulled up alongside her and she sighed with relief.
Isobel lowered the window and told her, in a not unfriendly manner, that Maria and Michael had taken the Chevy, so she would be riding with them now and shopping was the plan for the day.
Liz hurriedly scrambled aboard, Kyle nodded at her from the front seats and the bus headed into the city. Although nobody spoke as she retreated to the back seat and stared out of the window in silence, the atmosphere was relaxed. She was surprised and relieved that the others hadn’t automatically sided with Maria and Michael against her. Maybe she still had some friends left after all.
Over in the Chevy, Maria was torn between joy at being reunited with Michael, residual anger with Liz and a sudden attack of conscience at forgetting all about Max at breakfast. Her conscience won. Whatever the ex-king had or had not done wrong, he didn’t deserve to starve to death in his sleep before she had a chance to dispense justice. She might be angry with Liz, but she still had issues with Max, too, for hurting her former best friend again, intentionally or not.
She raided the Chevy’s supplies once more and poured milk, sugar and Tabasco into a cup.
“Heat this up for me, please, Michael. I forgot all about Max at breakfast, so I’ll try to get him to drink some milk again when we stop in a few.”
“Maria, we can't do anything until he wakes up, we can't risk anyone touching him and getting hurt by his forcefield. He'll wake up when he's ready."
"Yeah, I guess so. I hope he's ok, though and I really wish he'd wake up soon."
"At least we're back together now, princess. I hated it without you."
She rested her hand on his thigh and rubbed gently until his large hand covered hers and held it still.
*** If you keep on doing that, Maria, we're gonna crash right now...***
*** Sorry, Spaceboy. It's tough on both of us. When are we going to get some alone time? ***
*** Hope it's gonna be tonight, babe. We have to stop somewhere to rest, driving all night again is too dangerous. Got some things I need to talk to you about, anyway.***
*** Are we going to camp yet or stay at another motel?***
*** I think it’s gotta be a motel again, after all. As we’ll still be shopping tomorrow, we can’t go far from the city tonight ***
*** Ok. We meet up between every store to change the disguises and make sure there are no problems, but we keep going to get as much done as we can today. If we’re lucky, we set off for the park sometime tomorrow and, again if we’re lucky, might even have time to pitch the tents before it gets dark***
*** That’s the plan, princess***
Maria had been navigating while they “talked” and now directed her boyfriend towards the first meeting point.
“Michael, here’s the turnoff for the first stop.”
They had agreed to meet at a mall in the city’s central shopping area, which had a cluster of the stores they had identified earlier. They decided that, despite the risks, it would be quicker to pick up what they needed within a relatively short time, rather than drive all over the city. They were still on the tourist route so counterfeit currency wouldn’t necessarily be associated with them and, anyway, it would certainly be some time before was discovered.
A few minutes later, Michael stashed the Chevy in the usual remote corner of a parking lot and reached for the cup of milk Maria had prepared for Max. He heated it up and drank it quickly, enjoying the first zap of Tabasco since the muffin earlier that morning. He slid his arm round Maria and pulled her towards him, intending to enjoy a few stolen kisses while they were waiting for the others. Catching sight of his own unfamiliar reflection in her eyes just before their lips met, he suddenly had an idea.
He kissed Maria hungrily, but forced himself to break away from her while he still retained some self-control. He could feel her surprise and regret at the loss of his lips, so he sent her a reassuringly appreciative thought and a quick explanation of what he wanted to try.
*** I just gotta distract myself, Maria. If I let myself get too hot for you now, princess, we’ll be arrested for sure…***
*** It’s ok, Michael, I understand. I feel the same way, really. Each time we touch, it just gets harder to stop… Go ahead and do your party trick for me***
He adjusted the rearview mirror so he could see himself in it. The bus would be several minutes away yet, so he thought he would try changing his own physical appearance instead of waiting for Isobel to do it for him. Ever since Nacedo had forced him to change his fingerprints when they rescued Max from the White Room, he had been practicing on himself until he was confident in his own abilities. It still took quite a lot of effort, but he was improving all the time. He planned to expand his range of powers even further once they got into the mountains and he would expect the others, including Kyle and Liz, to do the same.
His hair, currently long and blond, became short and black, while his skin paled to a milky shade and his eyes faded to blue. Maria watched with fascination and when he had finished, leaned over and kissed him.
“ You still feel and taste the same, Spaceboy, thank God. Kissing you when you’re in disguise feels a little weird, even though I know it’s you inside.”
“Just have to get used to it, princess. None of us are goin’ to look like our real selves for a long time to come.”
“Can you change me, now, Michael? I think a spiky redhead look would be a nice contrast, don’t you think?”
“Have to get Iz to do it for you, babe. I’m fine doin’ it to myself, but I’m not gonna risk it with you until I’ve had more practice.”
“You’ll be fine, Spaceboy. I know you can do it and it’ll really impress Isobel. She doesn’t know you’ve been practising your powers.”
“Don’t care if I impress Iz or not, I’ve just never tried it on anyone else. Don’t know if I’m ready yet, Maria…”
“Well, I do. I trust you and I know you won’t hurt me, so go ahead and turn me red. Just do it, Michael.”
He moved a little further away and gazed at her, blocking his feelings and trying to avoid looking into her eyes when he had to concentrate on her surface colors. Her current disguise was not so very much different to her normal blonde self and it was unexpectedly hard to deliberately change the looks he loved.
“Ok, then. Hold still and let me concentrate.”
A few moments later, Michael smiled in relief and Maria found an flame haired, dark-eyed version of herself in the vanity mirror behind the sun visor. She squealed happily, but quietly so as not to disturb Max, and hugged her boyfriend in congratulation.
As they broke apart they both noticed a faint green glow behind them in the back seat as Max’s forcefield appeared again. It barely showed up in the bright morning sunlight, which was an advantage as they would be moving in busy areas among crowds for the longest period so far since they left Roswell.
“I wish we knew how much longer this green thing is going to last. We could really use his help about now. Isobel and the others should be here any moment, then we can get started. Who’s going to do what?”
“I’ll do the hardware items. One set from this first store and a few of the other things from the list, maybe some clothes, too. I should be about an hour each time. You and Liz can go to the supermarket and start on the food supplies. Don’t forget the Tabasco.”
“I don’t trust myself near Liz at the moment, Michael, so I’ll take a list and shop alone and she can do the same.”
“Don’t give me a hard time about this, Maria, you know I wouldn’t say it if there was any other way, but I really think it’s safer if you shop together. You still need to keep a lookout for each other, even if you’re not speaking.”
“But don’t you think we’ll draw less attention separately than shopping together. We can still buy in bulk and we’ll be twice as fast, too?”
“We-ell, ok, maybe that’s right, but it’s hard for me to let you go anywhere alone, because if anything happened to you –.”
“You and I will still be in contact, Michael, so we’ll both know what’s going on. We are taking risks all the time. Like you say, the sooner this part of the plan is done and we can move on, the safer we’ll all be.”
Michael sighed and gave in. He didn’t like it, but he knew she had a point. Privately, he was starting to feel fairly confident that they hadn’t been followed and, at the back of his mind, he was becoming more convinced that his theory was correct. The time wasn’t yet right to test it out, but he knew he couldn’t leave it very much longer before he had to act.
“ Iz will have to look out for both Max and Kyle while the rest of us are away from the bus. I still don’t want Kyle and Max together until we are settled somewhere with time to devote to the problem. ”
“Well, as you say, Isobel can look out for them and, anyway, none of us will be away from the bus for more than about twenty minutes at a time, except you. It’ll take some time for you to buy all that stuff on your list. Liz and I don't have to be away at the same time, if you're worried about it. We can do shifts while you’re gone.”
“Leave it up to Iz, then, if she needs back-up she'll say so. Here are the others now. Stay here while I go talk to them.”
“…’k. One more kiss, then you’re free to go, Spaceboy.”
He willingly obeyed, knowing that they should stay apart but craving just a taste of the fiery sweetness only she possessed. Her lips were soft and generous under his, parting to allow him access to her warm, sweet mouth where their tongues touched and teased and tormented until they forgot everything outside their own private world. Then something rapped sharply on the window beside Michael and they broke apart, startled and annoyed, to find Isobel waiting impatiently for their attention.
“Is Max ok? Though why I’m asking you two… Anyway, if you’re interested, Kyle went green again on the way over here, but this time he called me Tess and told me he missed me, just like Max told Liz. He’s awake again, but doesn’t remember anything. Liz got really upset again, though.”
“Max went green a few minutes ago, too, Isobel, but it hardly showed up in the sunlight. He didn’t wake up or say anything about Tess, just glowed for a while.”
Michael groaned and thrust his fingers through his now short hair.
"Tess just won't f*uckin’ go away, damn her. First Max, now Kyle - where's it gonna end?"
"You'd better hope it ends with them, Spaceboy. If you start missing her too, I'm warning you, the universe won't be big enough to hide from me..."
"If I start missing her, Blondie, just hunt me down and kill me. I'll be grateful."
"Look, don't joke about it, you two. Something crazy is definitely going on with the guys. Why do they both miss Tess?"
"Right now, I really don't care, Iz. As long as that's all they're doing, they can wait until we get to the park and we'll think about it then. How many times do I have to say it? Max and Kyle are currently harmless. Unless that changes, We. Can. Do. NOTHING. What we SHOULD be doing is SHOPPING! Why the hell are we all still here yappin'?"
His voice rose as his frustration grew.
"Calm down, Michael… -.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down, Isobel. You’re the one doin’ the worryin’. As long as nothing more dangerous than glowing and pissing off Liz happens to them, I’m not goin’ to think about it yet. It’s time to hit the stores. Iz, I should be about an hour this time. You divide the list of food supplies and Maria and Liz can split up and shop for the stuff, unless you want them to take shifts.”
“No, I'll be ok. What do I do while you’re all out having fun and I’m babysitting?”
“ While you’re waiting, double check the list of clothes we’ll need – it’s all in the manual – then get Kyle to tell you what size he takes and make a note for Max, as well. Both of you can sort out an itinerary for buying them tomorrow. Remember, the bus and Chevy will be filling up with gear, you’ll need to pack carefully so we can fit as much in as possible.”
Isobel brightened up at having something to organise at last and Michael made a mental note to continue that thought at a later date.
Wasting no more time, he sent them all off on their appointed tasks and the rest of the day went by in a blur of tense, but productive, activity until they were all together again on the way out of the city to find another cheap motel for the night.
TBC…
-
candylovespell
- Enthusiastic Roswellian
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2005 4:50 pm
Chapter 13
They chose a large, fairly cheap, nondescript motel, one of a national chain, just off the highway out of the city. It was early evening and, as yet, there were few other customers so they were able to book three rooms in a quiet area without any problems.
The discord prevailing among the group meant that, as Liz adamantly refused to stay with Max, and Michael insisted they keep him apart from Kyle, Isobel had to room with her brother and Kyle was forced to share with Liz.
Michael and Isobel, with great difficulty and bad-tempered recriminations, half-carried, half-dragged Max out of the bus. They left him on one of the beds in the room on the right of their three, where he curled up comfortably and seemed to relax more in his sleep.
Liz made no attempt to speak to anybody, too miserable to care about anything other than herself.
Maria, though still angry, was beginning to feel uncomfortable as she carried food supplies from the bus to her room and kept herself busy by preparing their communal evening meal. Part of her wanted to comfort Liz, who she knew was suffering through no real fault of her own, but the insult to Michael and herself was still too fresh and raw in her mind and so she tried to harden her heart. She concentrated instead on the excitement building inside her in anticipation of the night ahead, all alone with a naked, rampant Michael…
Isobel was getting a little impatient with Liz, considering her state of abject misery to be an overly dramatic reaction to the remarks about Tess from a clearly unstable Max and Kyle. However, she was concerned enough to lead the other girl gently to the room, where Liz lay down on the bed and curled up into a ball of despair.
Unable to leave her in that state, Isobel slipped out to find Kyle and warn him to stay away for a while to give her a chance to talk to Liz. She wished Maria would relent and help her out. Isobel was not accustomed to comforting humans and found the prospect of sharing feelings with Liz Parker daunting. Still, she couldn’t leave her to Kyle – this was a girl thing. She sighed to herself. They were practically sisters, so she’d better get used to the fact.
Kyle had been sitting on the steps up to the wooden walkway with his back against a wooden pillar, talking with Michael who was leaning against the bus parked beside the Chevy in front of their rooms.
“ The girls and I will have to take the watch tonight. I can’t risk you out alone until we’re sure you’re stable. Can’t guess how long that will be, though. Let’s give it 24 hours without the lightshow and then maybe we can assume you’ve morphed into - God, I still can’t believe this, Valenti - into ‘one of us’… then the real fun starts.”
Michael actually grinned at him and, although it was sardonic, there was a fleeting glimpse of sympathy in there, too. It encouraged Kyle to brave a question.
“Can I ask you something serious, Guerin?”
“Yeah, I guess…”
“ What does it really feel like to have powers? How do they work?”
Michael stared at the ground for a while and Kyle waited for an answer to the question that had haunted him since he first discovered he would be irrevocably and unimaginably changed through his unwilling encounter with the aliens.
He thought back to his conversation with Alex in the cave of the blue crystals when they both thought they were about to die. The musician had said something to the effect that he wouldn’t regret dying at that moment, knowing that they were among the very few of the teeming millions of people on the planet who really could prove aliens existed. He’d agreed at the time and meant it, but now that he faced a very different life, he wasn’t so sure.
On the one hand, he had left a relatively safe, but unexciting, future in a small, tourist town and was developing exotic alien powers he had never dreamed he could possess. On the other, he was on the run for his life with a group of people he would never have chosen as friends and with whom he was now forced to live in stiflingly close contact for the foreseeable future. To his surprise, his only real regret was that nothing could compensate for the loss of the father to whom he had finally grown close, through those very aliens he had hated and jealously resented for so long. The irony was not lost on him.
He had no real recollection of the green, glowing sleep thing, but he could feel, at some deep level of consciousness within himself, that his mind and body were changing physically at an increasingly faster rate. As he thought about this, his heartbeat began to race and send blood streaming through his veins like whitewater currents over rocky river beds; raw power surged unchecked, flooding his flesh with electric heat burning to burst the boundaries of his skin.
Panicked, he knew that he had to resist the overwhelming need to release the wave of pure energy churning inside him. He fought desperately to contain the power, tame the wild rapids crashing through his bloodstream, slow his heartbeat and return to some level of inner calm. It took every atom of control he possessed.
As sight and hearing returned, his vision cleared and he saw Michael, lips moving silently, staring at him with interest and slight alarm. Michael’s voice suddenly became audible.
“Valenti, you ok? Kyle, can you hear me? How many fingers am I holding up?”
Slowly recovering from the incredible high of the powersurge, Kyle looked back at Michael in a half-dazed, distracted way. Disconnected thoughts spun drunkenly through his mind, as he tried to concentrate. He blinked several times and finally snapped back into awareness of his surroundings.
“Wow. Just – wow. Incredible. I just – it’s so… wow.”
Michael’s amusement grew as the incoherent stammering continued. He joined his friend on the step and waited until lucidity returned. There was a long pause before Kyle remembered the questions he had asked moments before, only for the response to come, shockingly, from within his own body.
“Is that what you feel like when you use your powers, Guerin? How come you aren’t dead?”
“I don’t know - what did it feel like to you? You turned green for a split second and looked like you were about to explode. Then you got dazed, confused and speechless.”
“That’s just what it felt like – explosive: like I suddenly had nuclear capability, man, but I… I nearly lost it.”
“Damn lucky for all of us you didn’t, is all I can say. Yeah, I guess I do feel something like that. I’m much better at control now, though. Practised a lot over the last couple years; Tess helped me learn to focus.”
Michael recognised in Kyle the overriding fear that he himself had secretly lived with throughout his childhood – that he would lose control and be destroyed by the vast energies generated within him. Then his fear had turned into paralysing terror when he killed Pierce and knew that he could harm Maria if he wasn’t strong enough to control the power. He suddenly wanted to reassure the guy who had unexpectedly grown to be his friend and was now one of his family.
“Don’t worry, Kyle, you did good, controlled it just fine. It gets easier with practise and I’ll help you learn to focus. Isobel will, too.”
“Isobel will what? What are you guys talking about?”
The alien girl looked down at the two of them sprawled over the walkway steps and could tell something had happened. They were more awake and alert, actually excited, than when she had left them ten minutes ago; then they had been clearly tired and subdued from the various strains of the previous 24 hours.
Kyle stood up and grinned at her goofily.
“The mojo’s kicked in, Isobel. I’ve got the power…”
She smiled at the happy, no-longer-quite-human, guy in front of her. He was an unexpected addition to her family, but she had grown fond of him and he had been there for her at times when she needed a friend. When Max had been at his most autocratic, and then Jesse – she corrected herself hurriedly - when she had sometimes been lonely, he had tried to comfort her and he always found some way to make her laugh. Isobel wasn’t sure whether to be glad or sorry he had powers, because for her they were more of a burden then a pleasure. She desperately hoped they would compensate him for the loss of the normal life he would have had, if that hadn’t been destroyed by his involvement with their alien troubles.
She found she enjoyed teasing Kyle – another almost-brother to look out for and protect, just as she knew he would do for her. She was warmed and comforted by the thought.
“As long as you don’t turn super-hero on me, Kyle, we’ll get along fine.”
“ Yeah, just remember to keep your underwear inside your pants, Valenti. We don’t want any fake Superman stuff around here. The real thing’s more than enough to deal with.”
They all laughed as Maria joined them, coming to stand beside Isobel at the top of the steps.
“What’s with all the ugly talk about Kyle’s underwear, guys? Have you all gone mad from starvation? Dinner’s ready, if you’re hungry. Unless you want to wait ‘til later…”
As Maria spoke, she looked at Michael with half-closed eyes, slowly licking her lips and arching her back against the wooden pillar in a teasingly provocative manner. His eyes narrowed and all his brooding attention focused on her. She curled her hands into fists, nails digging into her palms, as a burst of involuntary lust flared in the pit of her stomach. Wet heat soaked her panties instantly and she held her breath as he started to rise slowly and deliberately from the steps towards her, eyes locked on hers and a feral smile on his lips.
Kyle and Isobel watched in irritated disbelief as they were forgotten, along with the hot topic of only a moment before. Sharing a brief look of mutual understanding, they moved as one to intercept their passionate friends before it was too late.
Kyle waved his hand in front of Michael’s face to break the stare burning between the alien and his spitfire human girlfriend. He was shocked at the ferocity of the look that Michael shot him before he continued his advance upon Maria.
Isobel was having her own problem distracting Maria from her absorption with Michael. The smaller girl was oblivious to the tug on her arm as Isobel tried to physically drag her away.
Then shouts from the room shared by Liz and Isobel froze all four in their tracks.
Maria was the first to react, rushing over to the door before Michael could restrain her. However, she remembered caution and stopped just outside to try to see through the curtained window. Unsuccessful, she flattened herself against the wall, pushing the door open and peering round the corner into the room. Michael was close beside her, however, and to her intense annoyance she was picked up and put firmly behind him out of immediate danger.
Michael found Liz and a newly recovered Max confronting each other across the beds.
Neither reacted to his presence.
It was Maria, shoving Michael out of her way with a glare that promised fireworks later, who commanded the attention of the soulmates by angrily demanding to know what the hell all the shouting was about. Didn’t they know that the entire motel could hear them and the cops were probably on their way right then?
“Shi*t for brains, or you just don’t care about the rest of us peasants, your Royal Highnesses?”
Frustrated desire fuelled her rage and Michael privately anticipated a memorable night ahead of them if he could persuade her to forgive him anytime soon.
Both Max and Liz had stepped back from Maria’s low-voiced tirade, but neither showed any guilt or even interest in what she said. They simply returned to staring at each other again when she ran out of breath.
Michael knew that this indifference would push his girlfriend over the edge and, sure enough, the fire glowed in her eyes but fury made her quiet voice ice-cold and deadly.
“Why did it take me so long to see that neither of you actually give a shi*t about anyone else, do you? The rest of us are really only here because your romantic, dreamy, eternal love is so special we’re all required to risk our lives to protect you…”
Maria spun on her heel and walked out, before the tears blinding her fell and revealed her pain to the others.
Isobel and Kyle stood aside to let her pass through the doorway, but they didn’t leave. They heard Michael’s cold comment before he followed his girlfriend.
“I think Maria’s right, but what she didn’t say was that the serpent is still in paradise, isn’t she, Liz? Tess is gone but she’s still screwing things up for you. Max just can’t seem to get over her, so the soulmate thing isn’t so certain after all, is it? When you continue your… conversation, remember to keep the noise down.”
He, too, left the room abruptly without looking back.
Kyle was interested to find that Max had apparently returned to full consciousness at the same time as he had felt his own powers awaken. He recalled the others telling him that he had mistaken Isobel for Tess when he had been out of it, and he wanted to ask the ex-king if he remembered sharing any memories during their mysterious link. However, he could sense that this was not the right time…
Isobel was distressed by Liz and Max’s fight, Maria’s angry outburst, Michael’s cold assessment of the situation and her brother’s apparent indifference to all of it. He and Liz were still transfixed by each other and simply waiting to be alone so they could continue with their argument. Isobel hoped they would at least understand the need for discretion. She repeated Michael’s last remark, to reinforce the warning about which they seemed completely unconcerned.
“Max. Liz. Remember to keep the noise down, ok? Kyle and I will be next door if you need us.” She couldn’t resist an anxious plea to them both.
“Please don’t do anything stupid, either of you. You know it’s all because of this alien healing thing. Max wasn’t himself, so nothing he said was meant to hurt you, Liz. It’s most likely over, now that Kyle’s power has developed, so why don’t you just forget it happened and go back to being happy together.”
Liz shifted uncomfortably, but neither she nor Max responded and after a moment, Kyle took Isobel’s hand and led her outside, reaching back and closing the door gently behind them.
Inside the room, Liz glared at Max and took up the conversation at the point where they had been interrupted.
“You thought about Tess while you were making love to me, Max. You thought I was her and you told her you missed her 'so much'. I don’t care what excuse you come up with, nothing changes the fact that you said you loved me but you still thought about her. Michael was right, she is still screwing up my life even though she’s dead.”
Max sat down on the nearest bed and buried his head in his hands. He had woken a short time ago feeling almost like his normal self again, though haunted by dreams he couldn’t quite remember. He had immediately gone in search of Liz and found her curled up on a bed in the next room, but when he leaned over to kiss her awake she had turned a furious, tear stained face up to his and pushed him violently away. Taken aback, he was at first bewildered as she accused him of betraying her and wanting Tess instead.
His automatic response was denial and he defended himself furiously, but somewhere during this exchange, he knew with sudden blinding clarity that he wasn’t entirely innocent of the charge.
Confused by the vivid dreams and memories of Tess now recalled from when he was asleep, he was grateful when the others came in to find out what all the shouting was about. It had given him a little time to think.
His thoughts horrified him.
He barely noticed when the others left the room, but Liz’s hurt voice pierced his distraction and he sat down because his strength had deserted him.
Liz’s bitter accusations made him ashamed because he knew he had nearly destroyed her again. He loved her deeply - she was his soulmate - but he had long ago admitted to himself and her that he had grown to love Tess, too.
When she killed Alex and nearly led them back to certain death on Antar, he had hated her just as passionately as he loved Liz. When she returned with their son, however, he found that hate hadn’t, after all, obliterated his love; his feelings for Tess were still there. He buried them deep enough to ignore and immersed himself blissfully in the joy of finally being with his soulmate.
When he’d finally made love to Liz, it was just as gentle, tender and romantic as they’d both anticipated for so long. Their next time together, though, was very different.
The memory came back to him in a rush of horrified shame. He’d half-woken up from a dream of Tess to find a small, soft body sleeping next to him and he’d wanted to repeat the most erotic, demanding and intense sexual encounter he had ever experienced in his life.
He remembered the countless times the tiny, blonde alien had teased and tempted him, flaunting her perfect, voluptuous body for him, ignoring his cold rejection of her, knowing that somewhere inside him he wasn’t as indifferent as he tried to pretend.
When Liz had – so he’d thought – finally convinced him to give up on them being together, his relationship with Tess had proceeded on a totally different basis.
Whereas Liz had wanted romantic, pure, candlelit lovemaking, Tess had been (ironically, given her alien origins) earthy, passionate, and sexually demanding.
Although they hadn’t gone all the way together until that fateful night in the Roswell observatory, in the event the final act was merely a formality after all that had gone on between them in the short weeks between Alex’s death and the alien pregnancy which brought him back to reality.
Sitting on the motel bed under Liz’s angry gaze, he re-lived intense memories of the times Tess had aroused him as she persistently and - this somehow gave him an erotic charge like nothing else - secretly brushed against him, flashed her breasts, put her hand on his thigh or touched him in intimate places in public where anyone might see. However embarrassed he had been by her blatant attentions, she never lost an opportunity to wriggle and squirm her way into his lustful thoughts and he became more and more addicted to their increasingly uninhibited sexual exploits.
Once, she had even ambushed him when they had been sitting side-by-side in a booth at the Crashdown and Liz had been their waitress. At the time, he had had been furiously angry and betrayed by Liz's investigation into Alex's death. He had known it was cruel and he would have died if she had noticed, but he was so turned on by Tess’s whispered demand for him to make her cum right there and then, that when she unzipped her skirt, he slipped his hand discreetly down inside her panties, forced his middle finger into her already dripping cun*t to thrust roughly and repeatedly, rubbing her clit until she shuddered against his arm, breathing heavily and biting her lip to keep from screaming aloud. Liz returned with their order moments later, but by then Tess had made him lick his fingers clean and had refastened her skirt to sit demurely beside him, smiling at her rival in the friendliest manner.
Still half-dreaming of her when he woke in the Green Apple motel room, finding Tess in his bed was not an unfamiliar experience, so he had instinctively started to make out with her as he often had before. She had made it clear that she preferred to be touched roughly, almost brutally, which always drove her wild, and she had laughed at his initial delicate and tender approaches. He very soon came to share her enjoyment.
He dimly recalled a brief memory of Liz beneath him, but it had been lost in his need for the full, uninhibited, ecstatic, mind-blowing alien sex he had shared with Tess on the night they had conceived the child.
As all this flashed through his reeling mind, he looked up at Liz and recognised the underlying knowledge that he just couldn’t bring himself to believe.
Somewhere inside him he could feel a faint connection with Tess and he sensed her out there, somewhere…alive.
And she needed him.
He stood up and walked round the beds to Liz, ignoring her angry protests. Grasping her by one shoulder, he raised her chin with his other hand and looked deep into her eyes. She stared back at him defiantly with all the hurt and betrayal there for him to see.
“Liz, I love you, you’re my soulmate. I always will love you and I would never willingly hurt you. It destroys me to do this, but I have to sort this out before we can be truly happy together.”
“What do you have to ‘sort out’ now, Max? It’s Tess again, isn’t it? You really can’t forget her.” Her eyes filled with tears and she started to sob brokenly.
“I think it’s her that can’t forget me, Liz. I can’t believe it, but since I woke up earlier I can feel her in my mind. There’s a faint pull, a cry for help, which I must answer or I’ll go mad. Liz, I have to find her. I don’t want her, I don’t want anyone but you. Liz, please believe me. Please.”
His eyes held all the love and trust that she wanted and needed, but she was past surrendering to this appealing charm and she moved away from him over towards the door.
“I can’t, Max, I can’t do it any more. Whatever dream we had, it’s over. Tess killed it the same way she killed Alex. You think she’s still around somehow even after I know she died. You’ll never be free of her and I’ll never be able to trust that it’s only me you love.”
Liz opened the door and walked out into the sunny evening and a bleak future without him.
TBC...
They chose a large, fairly cheap, nondescript motel, one of a national chain, just off the highway out of the city. It was early evening and, as yet, there were few other customers so they were able to book three rooms in a quiet area without any problems.
The discord prevailing among the group meant that, as Liz adamantly refused to stay with Max, and Michael insisted they keep him apart from Kyle, Isobel had to room with her brother and Kyle was forced to share with Liz.
Michael and Isobel, with great difficulty and bad-tempered recriminations, half-carried, half-dragged Max out of the bus. They left him on one of the beds in the room on the right of their three, where he curled up comfortably and seemed to relax more in his sleep.
Liz made no attempt to speak to anybody, too miserable to care about anything other than herself.
Maria, though still angry, was beginning to feel uncomfortable as she carried food supplies from the bus to her room and kept herself busy by preparing their communal evening meal. Part of her wanted to comfort Liz, who she knew was suffering through no real fault of her own, but the insult to Michael and herself was still too fresh and raw in her mind and so she tried to harden her heart. She concentrated instead on the excitement building inside her in anticipation of the night ahead, all alone with a naked, rampant Michael…
Isobel was getting a little impatient with Liz, considering her state of abject misery to be an overly dramatic reaction to the remarks about Tess from a clearly unstable Max and Kyle. However, she was concerned enough to lead the other girl gently to the room, where Liz lay down on the bed and curled up into a ball of despair.
Unable to leave her in that state, Isobel slipped out to find Kyle and warn him to stay away for a while to give her a chance to talk to Liz. She wished Maria would relent and help her out. Isobel was not accustomed to comforting humans and found the prospect of sharing feelings with Liz Parker daunting. Still, she couldn’t leave her to Kyle – this was a girl thing. She sighed to herself. They were practically sisters, so she’d better get used to the fact.
Kyle had been sitting on the steps up to the wooden walkway with his back against a wooden pillar, talking with Michael who was leaning against the bus parked beside the Chevy in front of their rooms.
“ The girls and I will have to take the watch tonight. I can’t risk you out alone until we’re sure you’re stable. Can’t guess how long that will be, though. Let’s give it 24 hours without the lightshow and then maybe we can assume you’ve morphed into - God, I still can’t believe this, Valenti - into ‘one of us’… then the real fun starts.”
Michael actually grinned at him and, although it was sardonic, there was a fleeting glimpse of sympathy in there, too. It encouraged Kyle to brave a question.
“Can I ask you something serious, Guerin?”
“Yeah, I guess…”
“ What does it really feel like to have powers? How do they work?”
Michael stared at the ground for a while and Kyle waited for an answer to the question that had haunted him since he first discovered he would be irrevocably and unimaginably changed through his unwilling encounter with the aliens.
He thought back to his conversation with Alex in the cave of the blue crystals when they both thought they were about to die. The musician had said something to the effect that he wouldn’t regret dying at that moment, knowing that they were among the very few of the teeming millions of people on the planet who really could prove aliens existed. He’d agreed at the time and meant it, but now that he faced a very different life, he wasn’t so sure.
On the one hand, he had left a relatively safe, but unexciting, future in a small, tourist town and was developing exotic alien powers he had never dreamed he could possess. On the other, he was on the run for his life with a group of people he would never have chosen as friends and with whom he was now forced to live in stiflingly close contact for the foreseeable future. To his surprise, his only real regret was that nothing could compensate for the loss of the father to whom he had finally grown close, through those very aliens he had hated and jealously resented for so long. The irony was not lost on him.
He had no real recollection of the green, glowing sleep thing, but he could feel, at some deep level of consciousness within himself, that his mind and body were changing physically at an increasingly faster rate. As he thought about this, his heartbeat began to race and send blood streaming through his veins like whitewater currents over rocky river beds; raw power surged unchecked, flooding his flesh with electric heat burning to burst the boundaries of his skin.
Panicked, he knew that he had to resist the overwhelming need to release the wave of pure energy churning inside him. He fought desperately to contain the power, tame the wild rapids crashing through his bloodstream, slow his heartbeat and return to some level of inner calm. It took every atom of control he possessed.
As sight and hearing returned, his vision cleared and he saw Michael, lips moving silently, staring at him with interest and slight alarm. Michael’s voice suddenly became audible.
“Valenti, you ok? Kyle, can you hear me? How many fingers am I holding up?”
Slowly recovering from the incredible high of the powersurge, Kyle looked back at Michael in a half-dazed, distracted way. Disconnected thoughts spun drunkenly through his mind, as he tried to concentrate. He blinked several times and finally snapped back into awareness of his surroundings.
“Wow. Just – wow. Incredible. I just – it’s so… wow.”
Michael’s amusement grew as the incoherent stammering continued. He joined his friend on the step and waited until lucidity returned. There was a long pause before Kyle remembered the questions he had asked moments before, only for the response to come, shockingly, from within his own body.
“Is that what you feel like when you use your powers, Guerin? How come you aren’t dead?”
“I don’t know - what did it feel like to you? You turned green for a split second and looked like you were about to explode. Then you got dazed, confused and speechless.”
“That’s just what it felt like – explosive: like I suddenly had nuclear capability, man, but I… I nearly lost it.”
“Damn lucky for all of us you didn’t, is all I can say. Yeah, I guess I do feel something like that. I’m much better at control now, though. Practised a lot over the last couple years; Tess helped me learn to focus.”
Michael recognised in Kyle the overriding fear that he himself had secretly lived with throughout his childhood – that he would lose control and be destroyed by the vast energies generated within him. Then his fear had turned into paralysing terror when he killed Pierce and knew that he could harm Maria if he wasn’t strong enough to control the power. He suddenly wanted to reassure the guy who had unexpectedly grown to be his friend and was now one of his family.
“Don’t worry, Kyle, you did good, controlled it just fine. It gets easier with practise and I’ll help you learn to focus. Isobel will, too.”
“Isobel will what? What are you guys talking about?”
The alien girl looked down at the two of them sprawled over the walkway steps and could tell something had happened. They were more awake and alert, actually excited, than when she had left them ten minutes ago; then they had been clearly tired and subdued from the various strains of the previous 24 hours.
Kyle stood up and grinned at her goofily.
“The mojo’s kicked in, Isobel. I’ve got the power…”
She smiled at the happy, no-longer-quite-human, guy in front of her. He was an unexpected addition to her family, but she had grown fond of him and he had been there for her at times when she needed a friend. When Max had been at his most autocratic, and then Jesse – she corrected herself hurriedly - when she had sometimes been lonely, he had tried to comfort her and he always found some way to make her laugh. Isobel wasn’t sure whether to be glad or sorry he had powers, because for her they were more of a burden then a pleasure. She desperately hoped they would compensate him for the loss of the normal life he would have had, if that hadn’t been destroyed by his involvement with their alien troubles.
She found she enjoyed teasing Kyle – another almost-brother to look out for and protect, just as she knew he would do for her. She was warmed and comforted by the thought.
“As long as you don’t turn super-hero on me, Kyle, we’ll get along fine.”
“ Yeah, just remember to keep your underwear inside your pants, Valenti. We don’t want any fake Superman stuff around here. The real thing’s more than enough to deal with.”
They all laughed as Maria joined them, coming to stand beside Isobel at the top of the steps.
“What’s with all the ugly talk about Kyle’s underwear, guys? Have you all gone mad from starvation? Dinner’s ready, if you’re hungry. Unless you want to wait ‘til later…”
As Maria spoke, she looked at Michael with half-closed eyes, slowly licking her lips and arching her back against the wooden pillar in a teasingly provocative manner. His eyes narrowed and all his brooding attention focused on her. She curled her hands into fists, nails digging into her palms, as a burst of involuntary lust flared in the pit of her stomach. Wet heat soaked her panties instantly and she held her breath as he started to rise slowly and deliberately from the steps towards her, eyes locked on hers and a feral smile on his lips.
Kyle and Isobel watched in irritated disbelief as they were forgotten, along with the hot topic of only a moment before. Sharing a brief look of mutual understanding, they moved as one to intercept their passionate friends before it was too late.
Kyle waved his hand in front of Michael’s face to break the stare burning between the alien and his spitfire human girlfriend. He was shocked at the ferocity of the look that Michael shot him before he continued his advance upon Maria.
Isobel was having her own problem distracting Maria from her absorption with Michael. The smaller girl was oblivious to the tug on her arm as Isobel tried to physically drag her away.
Then shouts from the room shared by Liz and Isobel froze all four in their tracks.
Maria was the first to react, rushing over to the door before Michael could restrain her. However, she remembered caution and stopped just outside to try to see through the curtained window. Unsuccessful, she flattened herself against the wall, pushing the door open and peering round the corner into the room. Michael was close beside her, however, and to her intense annoyance she was picked up and put firmly behind him out of immediate danger.
Michael found Liz and a newly recovered Max confronting each other across the beds.
Neither reacted to his presence.
It was Maria, shoving Michael out of her way with a glare that promised fireworks later, who commanded the attention of the soulmates by angrily demanding to know what the hell all the shouting was about. Didn’t they know that the entire motel could hear them and the cops were probably on their way right then?
“Shi*t for brains, or you just don’t care about the rest of us peasants, your Royal Highnesses?”
Frustrated desire fuelled her rage and Michael privately anticipated a memorable night ahead of them if he could persuade her to forgive him anytime soon.
Both Max and Liz had stepped back from Maria’s low-voiced tirade, but neither showed any guilt or even interest in what she said. They simply returned to staring at each other again when she ran out of breath.
Michael knew that this indifference would push his girlfriend over the edge and, sure enough, the fire glowed in her eyes but fury made her quiet voice ice-cold and deadly.
“Why did it take me so long to see that neither of you actually give a shi*t about anyone else, do you? The rest of us are really only here because your romantic, dreamy, eternal love is so special we’re all required to risk our lives to protect you…”
Maria spun on her heel and walked out, before the tears blinding her fell and revealed her pain to the others.
Isobel and Kyle stood aside to let her pass through the doorway, but they didn’t leave. They heard Michael’s cold comment before he followed his girlfriend.
“I think Maria’s right, but what she didn’t say was that the serpent is still in paradise, isn’t she, Liz? Tess is gone but she’s still screwing things up for you. Max just can’t seem to get over her, so the soulmate thing isn’t so certain after all, is it? When you continue your… conversation, remember to keep the noise down.”
He, too, left the room abruptly without looking back.
Kyle was interested to find that Max had apparently returned to full consciousness at the same time as he had felt his own powers awaken. He recalled the others telling him that he had mistaken Isobel for Tess when he had been out of it, and he wanted to ask the ex-king if he remembered sharing any memories during their mysterious link. However, he could sense that this was not the right time…
Isobel was distressed by Liz and Max’s fight, Maria’s angry outburst, Michael’s cold assessment of the situation and her brother’s apparent indifference to all of it. He and Liz were still transfixed by each other and simply waiting to be alone so they could continue with their argument. Isobel hoped they would at least understand the need for discretion. She repeated Michael’s last remark, to reinforce the warning about which they seemed completely unconcerned.
“Max. Liz. Remember to keep the noise down, ok? Kyle and I will be next door if you need us.” She couldn’t resist an anxious plea to them both.
“Please don’t do anything stupid, either of you. You know it’s all because of this alien healing thing. Max wasn’t himself, so nothing he said was meant to hurt you, Liz. It’s most likely over, now that Kyle’s power has developed, so why don’t you just forget it happened and go back to being happy together.”
Liz shifted uncomfortably, but neither she nor Max responded and after a moment, Kyle took Isobel’s hand and led her outside, reaching back and closing the door gently behind them.
Inside the room, Liz glared at Max and took up the conversation at the point where they had been interrupted.
“You thought about Tess while you were making love to me, Max. You thought I was her and you told her you missed her 'so much'. I don’t care what excuse you come up with, nothing changes the fact that you said you loved me but you still thought about her. Michael was right, she is still screwing up my life even though she’s dead.”
Max sat down on the nearest bed and buried his head in his hands. He had woken a short time ago feeling almost like his normal self again, though haunted by dreams he couldn’t quite remember. He had immediately gone in search of Liz and found her curled up on a bed in the next room, but when he leaned over to kiss her awake she had turned a furious, tear stained face up to his and pushed him violently away. Taken aback, he was at first bewildered as she accused him of betraying her and wanting Tess instead.
His automatic response was denial and he defended himself furiously, but somewhere during this exchange, he knew with sudden blinding clarity that he wasn’t entirely innocent of the charge.
Confused by the vivid dreams and memories of Tess now recalled from when he was asleep, he was grateful when the others came in to find out what all the shouting was about. It had given him a little time to think.
His thoughts horrified him.
He barely noticed when the others left the room, but Liz’s hurt voice pierced his distraction and he sat down because his strength had deserted him.
Liz’s bitter accusations made him ashamed because he knew he had nearly destroyed her again. He loved her deeply - she was his soulmate - but he had long ago admitted to himself and her that he had grown to love Tess, too.
When she killed Alex and nearly led them back to certain death on Antar, he had hated her just as passionately as he loved Liz. When she returned with their son, however, he found that hate hadn’t, after all, obliterated his love; his feelings for Tess were still there. He buried them deep enough to ignore and immersed himself blissfully in the joy of finally being with his soulmate.
When he’d finally made love to Liz, it was just as gentle, tender and romantic as they’d both anticipated for so long. Their next time together, though, was very different.
The memory came back to him in a rush of horrified shame. He’d half-woken up from a dream of Tess to find a small, soft body sleeping next to him and he’d wanted to repeat the most erotic, demanding and intense sexual encounter he had ever experienced in his life.
He remembered the countless times the tiny, blonde alien had teased and tempted him, flaunting her perfect, voluptuous body for him, ignoring his cold rejection of her, knowing that somewhere inside him he wasn’t as indifferent as he tried to pretend.
When Liz had – so he’d thought – finally convinced him to give up on them being together, his relationship with Tess had proceeded on a totally different basis.
Whereas Liz had wanted romantic, pure, candlelit lovemaking, Tess had been (ironically, given her alien origins) earthy, passionate, and sexually demanding.
Although they hadn’t gone all the way together until that fateful night in the Roswell observatory, in the event the final act was merely a formality after all that had gone on between them in the short weeks between Alex’s death and the alien pregnancy which brought him back to reality.
Sitting on the motel bed under Liz’s angry gaze, he re-lived intense memories of the times Tess had aroused him as she persistently and - this somehow gave him an erotic charge like nothing else - secretly brushed against him, flashed her breasts, put her hand on his thigh or touched him in intimate places in public where anyone might see. However embarrassed he had been by her blatant attentions, she never lost an opportunity to wriggle and squirm her way into his lustful thoughts and he became more and more addicted to their increasingly uninhibited sexual exploits.
Once, she had even ambushed him when they had been sitting side-by-side in a booth at the Crashdown and Liz had been their waitress. At the time, he had had been furiously angry and betrayed by Liz's investigation into Alex's death. He had known it was cruel and he would have died if she had noticed, but he was so turned on by Tess’s whispered demand for him to make her cum right there and then, that when she unzipped her skirt, he slipped his hand discreetly down inside her panties, forced his middle finger into her already dripping cun*t to thrust roughly and repeatedly, rubbing her clit until she shuddered against his arm, breathing heavily and biting her lip to keep from screaming aloud. Liz returned with their order moments later, but by then Tess had made him lick his fingers clean and had refastened her skirt to sit demurely beside him, smiling at her rival in the friendliest manner.
Still half-dreaming of her when he woke in the Green Apple motel room, finding Tess in his bed was not an unfamiliar experience, so he had instinctively started to make out with her as he often had before. She had made it clear that she preferred to be touched roughly, almost brutally, which always drove her wild, and she had laughed at his initial delicate and tender approaches. He very soon came to share her enjoyment.
He dimly recalled a brief memory of Liz beneath him, but it had been lost in his need for the full, uninhibited, ecstatic, mind-blowing alien sex he had shared with Tess on the night they had conceived the child.
As all this flashed through his reeling mind, he looked up at Liz and recognised the underlying knowledge that he just couldn’t bring himself to believe.
Somewhere inside him he could feel a faint connection with Tess and he sensed her out there, somewhere…alive.
And she needed him.
He stood up and walked round the beds to Liz, ignoring her angry protests. Grasping her by one shoulder, he raised her chin with his other hand and looked deep into her eyes. She stared back at him defiantly with all the hurt and betrayal there for him to see.
“Liz, I love you, you’re my soulmate. I always will love you and I would never willingly hurt you. It destroys me to do this, but I have to sort this out before we can be truly happy together.”
“What do you have to ‘sort out’ now, Max? It’s Tess again, isn’t it? You really can’t forget her.” Her eyes filled with tears and she started to sob brokenly.
“I think it’s her that can’t forget me, Liz. I can’t believe it, but since I woke up earlier I can feel her in my mind. There’s a faint pull, a cry for help, which I must answer or I’ll go mad. Liz, I have to find her. I don’t want her, I don’t want anyone but you. Liz, please believe me. Please.”
His eyes held all the love and trust that she wanted and needed, but she was past surrendering to this appealing charm and she moved away from him over towards the door.
“I can’t, Max, I can’t do it any more. Whatever dream we had, it’s over. Tess killed it the same way she killed Alex. You think she’s still around somehow even after I know she died. You’ll never be free of her and I’ll never be able to trust that it’s only me you love.”
Liz opened the door and walked out into the sunny evening and a bleak future without him.
TBC...
-
candylovespell
- Enthusiastic Roswellian
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2005 4:50 pm
Chapter 14
The evening was advancing and the motel was slowly filling up with other travellers, though there were, as yet, no occupants in the nearby rooms.
Isobel and Kyle were each leaning against a wooden pillar and Maria’s head was on Michael’s shoulder as they sat close together at the top of the steps. Nobody spoke but the atmosphere was tense with heightened emotions.
They all heard the door behind them open, but none of them looked to see who emerged.
It was only when she heard Liz sob that Maria moved at last, turning to see her estranged best friend swaying on the verge of collapse. Her soft heart melted and she tore herself way from Michael’s arms to catch Liz before she fell to the ground.
“Lizzie, don’t. Oh, Lizzie, I’m so sorry…”
Liz released her friend from the painfully tight hug they were in and put her finger against Maria’s lips.
“Shhh, Maria, you have nothing to be sorry for. I’m the one who should be sorry. I’m the one who tried to hurt you because I couldn’t bear to see anyone else happy when I was in so much pain.”
Her tears had dried on her face and her red swollen eyes were ashamed as, for the first time in many months, she really focused on her best friend.
“I’m so sorry, Maria. I’ve been such a fool, so blind to everything but M-M-Max. I had no time for you or anyone else. It’s over, now, though. R-really over, I mean it this time. Tess c-can h-have him.”
Her face screwed up in pain at the thought, though, and Maria hugged her tight again.
*** Michael, she’s in such pain. I must take care of her otherwise I don’t know what she’ll do. I’ll stay with her tonight and you’ll have to room with Kyle or Max. Sorry, Spaceboy. It’s a bitch we still can’t get together, but I love you anyway***
She heard his mental sigh.
*** Yeah, it’s a bitch alright, but since your soft heart is one of the things I love you for, I guess I can’t complain too much, princess. I’ll be here if you need me***
Gently stepping out of the hug, Maria wrapped her arm round Liz’s waist and guided her towards the door of the room she had prepared for Michael and herself earlier.
As she passed Isobel, she reached out and snagged the startled alien girl’s hand to bring her along with them. This was going to be girls' night with a vengeance.
Watching his girlfriend disappear into their room for the night without him, Michael cursed to himself. Foiled again!
Left to themselves, Michael and Kyle looked at each other and shrugged. Then they turned to look at the middle room where Max still hiding.
“It’s your call, Guerin. His ex-Majesty can go fuc*k himself. He gets no sympathy from me.”
“I’ll have to go talk to him. Find out what the hell’s been happening. You ok to stay on watch?”
“Yeah, but I’m real hungry. All the food is in with Maria and the girls, I don’t think we’re gonna get any tonight.”
“You said it, Valenti.” Michael pulled a face, but then grinned. If he had to suffer, then Kyle could, too.
“Why don’t you go ask the girls to pack us a picnic while I go see Max? Survivor wins.”
Kyle rolled his eyes and considered the suggestion. Hunger won out over fear.
“Ok, deal.”
“Make sure that they pack enough for three and you don’t eat everything before I get back, Valenti. A deal’s a deal and I can always make you room with Max if you piss me off.”
“Whoa, who rattled your chain, buddy? What’s with the threats, we’re in this together. Hey, no, wait, I see it. No lovin’ for you tonight, right, so you’re pissed with the world…Well, that I can relate to, man.” He grinned at the brooding alien.
Michael glared, then laughed and clapped him on the back as he moved past the shorter guy towards his meeting with Max.
Kyle did the rounds to check for suspicious activity, and finding nothing, gathered his courage and approached Maria’s room. Knocking on the door, he waited until it opened a crack and Isobel’s wary face appeared.
“Kyle, not a good time for a social call. Is it urgent?”
“Worse than urgent, Isobel. All us guys are out here starving for food – and, in Michael’s case, for Maria, too – so I’m in mortal danger of death from starvation and one pissed off alien.”
Her eyes narrowed, but a reluctant twinkle lurked somewhere in them.
“Make that two pissed off aliens, Kyle.”
“Now, Isobel, is that the proper way to welcome the newest member of the club? Be nice and I’ll try to keep Michael from breaking down the door to get to Maria…”
She stuck her tongue out at him in a gesture she’d surely learned from Maria and told him to stay where he was.
“Isobel!” he hissed urgently as the door closed. It re-opened at once.
“What?”
“Be generous, ok? Remember we’re gonna need a lot of food to keep us going. This being on the run thing is heavy on the calorie expenditure…”
Her face changed and she closed the door without further comment. He mentally kicked himself for reminding her of why they were all in this situation.
After a few minutes, the door opened again and a hand came out to thrust several bags at him. He grabbed them with fervent thanks and retired to the only empty room left, where he dumped the bags on the dresser and explored Isobel’s charitable donation to the food drive. He was pleased to find she hadn’t let him down.
Choosing a generous selection of cold pies, bread, cheese, fruit and candy bars - plus the ubiquitous cherry coke - he grabbed the TV remote and sprawled across one of the beds to surf the cable channels and pig out. He kicked off his shoes and sighed with pleasure. Alone at last.
However, after a few bites of this and that, he found himself disappointed with his choice of food. It all tasted too bland. It needed something to lift the flavors. Then he had it. Tabasco, that’s what it needed. He giggled to himself as he rose and went over to fish around in the bags for the bottle that Isobel had included for the other guys. He really was a fully paid up member of the gang now.
Michael had found Max sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. He closed the door and leaned back against it with his arms folded. He had a feeling he wouldn’t like what he was about to hear.
“Max. Care to tell me what the hell’s goin’ on?”
Max raised an anguished face to his former second-in-command and his voice was hoarse with pain.
“It’s Tess: she’s alive.”
“Yeah, right, Max, if you say so. You’ve only been asleep for the last 48 hours. When did you pick up your mail?”
“It’s true, Michael. Ever since I woke up I can feel a faint connection with her in my mind.”
“She’s dead, Max. D.E.A.D. She blew her spaceship to bits along with herself and a bunch of FBI goons and now we’re on the run for our lives. Does any of this ring a faint bell with you, Maxwell? Amnesia can be a bitch.”
“I swear to you I’m serious, Michael. I know she’s out there somewhere and she needs help.”
“Even if that’s true – and I’m not convinced - what the fuc*k does it matter to us?”
“We must help her, Michael, I know she’s in trouble. I’ll never be able to rest while I can feel her calling me…”
“Excuse me? I don’t think I heard you correctly. Did you really say ‘we must help her’…?”
Max stood and began to pace up and down next to the bed where he had been sitting. Michael stayed where he was and watched him.
“We must, Michael. Whatever terrible things she did, she was sorry and tried to make amends.” He looked across at his friend and brother with desperate hope in his eyes. “If we can find her, I can make her get out of my head and then I can convince Liz that she really is the only one I want and that Tess means nothing to me now.”
“So for that, you’re prepared to risk the lives of everyone else in the group in order for you to feel better…”
“That’s not it at all, Michael…”
“Max, we’re on our way to the mountains to hide from the people who tried to kill us a couple nights ago and probably still want us dead…”
“Then we change the plan and head east instead. That’s the direction I get from the tug in my mind.”
“No, Max. The plan stays the same. The safety of the group is paramount. We agreed as a group to go into the mountains and that’s what we will stick to.”
Max walked over to stand in directly front of the impassive Michael. His voice was sullen and he made no attempt to disguise his annoyance.
“I never agreed to it. You just took advantage of my sickness to try to take over as leader. It’s a stupid plan and bound to fail. None of us knows anything about extreme survival conditions and we’ll just be uncomfortable for a week or two, then give up and head out to one of the coasts and lose ourselves in a big city, like we should have done from the start.”
His voice rose to a near-shout as he spoke and there was a sudden fusillade of banging on one of the partition walls as Kyle warned them to keep the noise down.
Max spoke more softly, but no less emphatically, through gritted teeth.
“We go east tomorrow. No arguments. You’ve always resented me, Michael, but I’m not going to let you stand in the way of keeping what’s mine. I have been through too much pain and trouble to lose Liz Parker now, just because of your jealous attempts to take over the leadership while I was out of it.”
Michael raised a sceptical eyebrow and spoke coolly enough, though inside his temper was near boiling point.
“Oh, is that so? Here's me thinking it was because you screamed for Tess when you were fuc*king Liz…”
Max went white and raised his fist to hit Michael, who parried the blow before it struck and putting his other hand on Max’s chest, pushed him gently away.
“Lay one finger on me, Max, and I’ll knock you into the next room…”
He surveyed his former leader in cool appraisal and there was stand-off for a few moments, during which Michael prepared to carry out his threat if Max didn’t back off.
Then Max relaxed and stepped back with a weak attempt at a smile. The fight had gone out of him.
“How did you know that, Michael? Oh, yes, of course, Liz told Maria and Maria told you, didn’t she? I suppose she told the others, too.”
“Actually, Max, you and Liz told the whole motel when you had that shouting match earlier.”
Max ran his hands through his hair and returned to sit on the foot of the bed, looking up at Michael. He smiled ruefully, his charm appearing suddenly in contrast to the sullen, arrogant side he'd displayed a few moments ago. Michael was unaffected.
“I’m incredibly hungry. Is there anything to eat around here?”
“Kyle went to ask the girls to pack a picnic for us, as they’ve taken over one of the rooms for the night. We can go find what they’ve left us, if you want, then you can take second watch. We're doin' half an hour each until midnight, then it's two hour shifts.”
“Lead me to it, Michael.”
The significance of the words was clear to both of them.
Michael was the leader now.
Kyle acknowledged them both with a nod towards the dresser as the two aliens walked in on his first pleasurable Tabasco-flavoured feast as a newly minted half-human.
“Help yourselves, guys. Isobel packed plenty for all of us. I've just come off first watch. It's quiet out there.”
Max and Michael poked around among the bags and each piled up a plateful of food. Max added Tobasco to a cherry coke and, while Michael fixed himself a much-needed coffee, spoke rather sheepishly.
“Would you guys mind if I take this with me and go on watch? I need some alone time to think about everything that’s happened while I’ve been out of it.”
The other two shrugged and Michael went to sprawl on the empty bed, prepared to have a friendly squabble with Kyle over the remote. He knew he had more chance of winning this contest than he had when he fought Maria for it. Though fighting with Maria was infinitely more fun. He quickly suppressed the thought and concentrated on the TV instead.
“First we check the news channels in case we’re featured anywhere, then there must be a hockey game on somewhere, Valenti. Keep lookin’.”
“I already checked the news, Guerin. Lots about the horrific inferno at the Government compound caused by a gas explosion, but no mention of any teenagers on the run from mysterious assassins obsessed with high school graduation ceremonies.”
“Let’s hope no news is good news, then. On second thoughts, I’m going to the bathroom and then I’m gonna have a nap before I go on watch, ok?”
“Sure, enjoy. I’ll give his majesty time to eat and ponder, then I’ll go see if he remembers anything from our mysterious brain-sharing ordeal.”
“See ya later.”
Michael was kissing his way along the soft, silken skin on the inside of Maria’s left thigh, well on his way towards his ultimate target, but happy to linger and take in the scenery, when the world was shaken by an earthquake and Kyle’s voice boomed in his ear.
“Guerin, wake up, will you. Wake up, man.”
Momentarily torn between fury at being denied Maria even in his dreams and fear that their enemies had found them, he nevertheless shook off Kyle’s grip on his shoulder and jumped off the bed where he’d slept still fully clothed ready for his turn on watch.
Reaching for his shoes, fully awake now, he looked at Kyle questioningly and noted that there was no particular worry or panic on the guy’s face and so stepped down from red alert.
“Never wake me suddenly like that again, Valenti, unless you want to be papered all over the walls, ok? Just a friendly warning, man, which, by the way, you should note yourself now that you have - what did you call it? Oh, yeah, nuclear capability.”
“Well, I’m sure not gonna wake you with a kiss, Guerin, you aren't my type. Guess I’ll have to take my chances since you were sleepin’ like the dead. Had a smile on your face, though. Sweet dreams?”
“Maybe. What’s so urgent anyway?”
“Found these letters in the next room, addressed to you, Liz and Isobel. Looks like Max has gone…”
TBC...
The evening was advancing and the motel was slowly filling up with other travellers, though there were, as yet, no occupants in the nearby rooms.
Isobel and Kyle were each leaning against a wooden pillar and Maria’s head was on Michael’s shoulder as they sat close together at the top of the steps. Nobody spoke but the atmosphere was tense with heightened emotions.
They all heard the door behind them open, but none of them looked to see who emerged.
It was only when she heard Liz sob that Maria moved at last, turning to see her estranged best friend swaying on the verge of collapse. Her soft heart melted and she tore herself way from Michael’s arms to catch Liz before she fell to the ground.
“Lizzie, don’t. Oh, Lizzie, I’m so sorry…”
Liz released her friend from the painfully tight hug they were in and put her finger against Maria’s lips.
“Shhh, Maria, you have nothing to be sorry for. I’m the one who should be sorry. I’m the one who tried to hurt you because I couldn’t bear to see anyone else happy when I was in so much pain.”
Her tears had dried on her face and her red swollen eyes were ashamed as, for the first time in many months, she really focused on her best friend.
“I’m so sorry, Maria. I’ve been such a fool, so blind to everything but M-M-Max. I had no time for you or anyone else. It’s over, now, though. R-really over, I mean it this time. Tess c-can h-have him.”
Her face screwed up in pain at the thought, though, and Maria hugged her tight again.
*** Michael, she’s in such pain. I must take care of her otherwise I don’t know what she’ll do. I’ll stay with her tonight and you’ll have to room with Kyle or Max. Sorry, Spaceboy. It’s a bitch we still can’t get together, but I love you anyway***
She heard his mental sigh.
*** Yeah, it’s a bitch alright, but since your soft heart is one of the things I love you for, I guess I can’t complain too much, princess. I’ll be here if you need me***
Gently stepping out of the hug, Maria wrapped her arm round Liz’s waist and guided her towards the door of the room she had prepared for Michael and herself earlier.
As she passed Isobel, she reached out and snagged the startled alien girl’s hand to bring her along with them. This was going to be girls' night with a vengeance.
Watching his girlfriend disappear into their room for the night without him, Michael cursed to himself. Foiled again!
Left to themselves, Michael and Kyle looked at each other and shrugged. Then they turned to look at the middle room where Max still hiding.
“It’s your call, Guerin. His ex-Majesty can go fuc*k himself. He gets no sympathy from me.”
“I’ll have to go talk to him. Find out what the hell’s been happening. You ok to stay on watch?”
“Yeah, but I’m real hungry. All the food is in with Maria and the girls, I don’t think we’re gonna get any tonight.”
“You said it, Valenti.” Michael pulled a face, but then grinned. If he had to suffer, then Kyle could, too.
“Why don’t you go ask the girls to pack us a picnic while I go see Max? Survivor wins.”
Kyle rolled his eyes and considered the suggestion. Hunger won out over fear.
“Ok, deal.”
“Make sure that they pack enough for three and you don’t eat everything before I get back, Valenti. A deal’s a deal and I can always make you room with Max if you piss me off.”
“Whoa, who rattled your chain, buddy? What’s with the threats, we’re in this together. Hey, no, wait, I see it. No lovin’ for you tonight, right, so you’re pissed with the world…Well, that I can relate to, man.” He grinned at the brooding alien.
Michael glared, then laughed and clapped him on the back as he moved past the shorter guy towards his meeting with Max.
Kyle did the rounds to check for suspicious activity, and finding nothing, gathered his courage and approached Maria’s room. Knocking on the door, he waited until it opened a crack and Isobel’s wary face appeared.
“Kyle, not a good time for a social call. Is it urgent?”
“Worse than urgent, Isobel. All us guys are out here starving for food – and, in Michael’s case, for Maria, too – so I’m in mortal danger of death from starvation and one pissed off alien.”
Her eyes narrowed, but a reluctant twinkle lurked somewhere in them.
“Make that two pissed off aliens, Kyle.”
“Now, Isobel, is that the proper way to welcome the newest member of the club? Be nice and I’ll try to keep Michael from breaking down the door to get to Maria…”
She stuck her tongue out at him in a gesture she’d surely learned from Maria and told him to stay where he was.
“Isobel!” he hissed urgently as the door closed. It re-opened at once.
“What?”
“Be generous, ok? Remember we’re gonna need a lot of food to keep us going. This being on the run thing is heavy on the calorie expenditure…”
Her face changed and she closed the door without further comment. He mentally kicked himself for reminding her of why they were all in this situation.
After a few minutes, the door opened again and a hand came out to thrust several bags at him. He grabbed them with fervent thanks and retired to the only empty room left, where he dumped the bags on the dresser and explored Isobel’s charitable donation to the food drive. He was pleased to find she hadn’t let him down.
Choosing a generous selection of cold pies, bread, cheese, fruit and candy bars - plus the ubiquitous cherry coke - he grabbed the TV remote and sprawled across one of the beds to surf the cable channels and pig out. He kicked off his shoes and sighed with pleasure. Alone at last.
However, after a few bites of this and that, he found himself disappointed with his choice of food. It all tasted too bland. It needed something to lift the flavors. Then he had it. Tabasco, that’s what it needed. He giggled to himself as he rose and went over to fish around in the bags for the bottle that Isobel had included for the other guys. He really was a fully paid up member of the gang now.
Michael had found Max sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. He closed the door and leaned back against it with his arms folded. He had a feeling he wouldn’t like what he was about to hear.
“Max. Care to tell me what the hell’s goin’ on?”
Max raised an anguished face to his former second-in-command and his voice was hoarse with pain.
“It’s Tess: she’s alive.”
“Yeah, right, Max, if you say so. You’ve only been asleep for the last 48 hours. When did you pick up your mail?”
“It’s true, Michael. Ever since I woke up I can feel a faint connection with her in my mind.”
“She’s dead, Max. D.E.A.D. She blew her spaceship to bits along with herself and a bunch of FBI goons and now we’re on the run for our lives. Does any of this ring a faint bell with you, Maxwell? Amnesia can be a bitch.”
“I swear to you I’m serious, Michael. I know she’s out there somewhere and she needs help.”
“Even if that’s true – and I’m not convinced - what the fuc*k does it matter to us?”
“We must help her, Michael, I know she’s in trouble. I’ll never be able to rest while I can feel her calling me…”
“Excuse me? I don’t think I heard you correctly. Did you really say ‘we must help her’…?”
Max stood and began to pace up and down next to the bed where he had been sitting. Michael stayed where he was and watched him.
“We must, Michael. Whatever terrible things she did, she was sorry and tried to make amends.” He looked across at his friend and brother with desperate hope in his eyes. “If we can find her, I can make her get out of my head and then I can convince Liz that she really is the only one I want and that Tess means nothing to me now.”
“So for that, you’re prepared to risk the lives of everyone else in the group in order for you to feel better…”
“That’s not it at all, Michael…”
“Max, we’re on our way to the mountains to hide from the people who tried to kill us a couple nights ago and probably still want us dead…”
“Then we change the plan and head east instead. That’s the direction I get from the tug in my mind.”
“No, Max. The plan stays the same. The safety of the group is paramount. We agreed as a group to go into the mountains and that’s what we will stick to.”
Max walked over to stand in directly front of the impassive Michael. His voice was sullen and he made no attempt to disguise his annoyance.
“I never agreed to it. You just took advantage of my sickness to try to take over as leader. It’s a stupid plan and bound to fail. None of us knows anything about extreme survival conditions and we’ll just be uncomfortable for a week or two, then give up and head out to one of the coasts and lose ourselves in a big city, like we should have done from the start.”
His voice rose to a near-shout as he spoke and there was a sudden fusillade of banging on one of the partition walls as Kyle warned them to keep the noise down.
Max spoke more softly, but no less emphatically, through gritted teeth.
“We go east tomorrow. No arguments. You’ve always resented me, Michael, but I’m not going to let you stand in the way of keeping what’s mine. I have been through too much pain and trouble to lose Liz Parker now, just because of your jealous attempts to take over the leadership while I was out of it.”
Michael raised a sceptical eyebrow and spoke coolly enough, though inside his temper was near boiling point.
“Oh, is that so? Here's me thinking it was because you screamed for Tess when you were fuc*king Liz…”
Max went white and raised his fist to hit Michael, who parried the blow before it struck and putting his other hand on Max’s chest, pushed him gently away.
“Lay one finger on me, Max, and I’ll knock you into the next room…”
He surveyed his former leader in cool appraisal and there was stand-off for a few moments, during which Michael prepared to carry out his threat if Max didn’t back off.
Then Max relaxed and stepped back with a weak attempt at a smile. The fight had gone out of him.
“How did you know that, Michael? Oh, yes, of course, Liz told Maria and Maria told you, didn’t she? I suppose she told the others, too.”
“Actually, Max, you and Liz told the whole motel when you had that shouting match earlier.”
Max ran his hands through his hair and returned to sit on the foot of the bed, looking up at Michael. He smiled ruefully, his charm appearing suddenly in contrast to the sullen, arrogant side he'd displayed a few moments ago. Michael was unaffected.
“I’m incredibly hungry. Is there anything to eat around here?”
“Kyle went to ask the girls to pack a picnic for us, as they’ve taken over one of the rooms for the night. We can go find what they’ve left us, if you want, then you can take second watch. We're doin' half an hour each until midnight, then it's two hour shifts.”
“Lead me to it, Michael.”
The significance of the words was clear to both of them.
Michael was the leader now.
Kyle acknowledged them both with a nod towards the dresser as the two aliens walked in on his first pleasurable Tabasco-flavoured feast as a newly minted half-human.
“Help yourselves, guys. Isobel packed plenty for all of us. I've just come off first watch. It's quiet out there.”
Max and Michael poked around among the bags and each piled up a plateful of food. Max added Tobasco to a cherry coke and, while Michael fixed himself a much-needed coffee, spoke rather sheepishly.
“Would you guys mind if I take this with me and go on watch? I need some alone time to think about everything that’s happened while I’ve been out of it.”
The other two shrugged and Michael went to sprawl on the empty bed, prepared to have a friendly squabble with Kyle over the remote. He knew he had more chance of winning this contest than he had when he fought Maria for it. Though fighting with Maria was infinitely more fun. He quickly suppressed the thought and concentrated on the TV instead.
“First we check the news channels in case we’re featured anywhere, then there must be a hockey game on somewhere, Valenti. Keep lookin’.”
“I already checked the news, Guerin. Lots about the horrific inferno at the Government compound caused by a gas explosion, but no mention of any teenagers on the run from mysterious assassins obsessed with high school graduation ceremonies.”
“Let’s hope no news is good news, then. On second thoughts, I’m going to the bathroom and then I’m gonna have a nap before I go on watch, ok?”
“Sure, enjoy. I’ll give his majesty time to eat and ponder, then I’ll go see if he remembers anything from our mysterious brain-sharing ordeal.”
“See ya later.”
Michael was kissing his way along the soft, silken skin on the inside of Maria’s left thigh, well on his way towards his ultimate target, but happy to linger and take in the scenery, when the world was shaken by an earthquake and Kyle’s voice boomed in his ear.
“Guerin, wake up, will you. Wake up, man.”
Momentarily torn between fury at being denied Maria even in his dreams and fear that their enemies had found them, he nevertheless shook off Kyle’s grip on his shoulder and jumped off the bed where he’d slept still fully clothed ready for his turn on watch.
Reaching for his shoes, fully awake now, he looked at Kyle questioningly and noted that there was no particular worry or panic on the guy’s face and so stepped down from red alert.
“Never wake me suddenly like that again, Valenti, unless you want to be papered all over the walls, ok? Just a friendly warning, man, which, by the way, you should note yourself now that you have - what did you call it? Oh, yeah, nuclear capability.”
“Well, I’m sure not gonna wake you with a kiss, Guerin, you aren't my type. Guess I’ll have to take my chances since you were sleepin’ like the dead. Had a smile on your face, though. Sweet dreams?”
“Maybe. What’s so urgent anyway?”
“Found these letters in the next room, addressed to you, Liz and Isobel. Looks like Max has gone…”
TBC...
-
candylovespell
- Enthusiastic Roswellian
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2005 4:50 pm
Chapter 15
An hour or so earlier, Maria had led her friends into the room, closed the door firmly behind her and disappeared into the bathroom for a few moments. When she returned, Isobel and Liz were still standing awkwardly where she had left them, both looking lost and embarrassed, avoiding the other’s eyes.
She handed Liz a wad of tissues to dry her wet, swollen face and gently pushed her friend onto the nearest bed, fluffing the pillows and pressing her to lie back against them.
Isobel still stood helplessly by the door until Maria took pity on her.
“Since this is our first girls’ night as outlaws, why don’t we start a few traditions right now? First of all, of course, we need ice cream, but since we don’t have any, anything to eat and drink would be good. Isobel, I vote you organise that department for tonight. Is that ok with you, chica?”
At Isobel’s nod, she turned to Liz.
“What would you like to drink, Lizzie? We have milk, coffee, and cherry coke as well as water.”
“Milk, please, Isobel.” Liz blew her reddened nose unexpectedly loudly, making the other two jump. They all giggled and the atmosphere eased a little.
Isobel went over to the dresser where Maria had earlier set out the food for the communal evening meal. She noted Maria’s use of the endearment she usually kept for Liz and felt a curl of warmth inside at being included in the smaller girl’s affections.
She looked over at the other girl on the bed and felt a sharp pang of real sympathy. Maybe Liz had made the right decision. Her brother really was an ass. If he didn’t pull himself together soon, she would have to take a hand in the matter. In the meantime, maybe she could make a little contribution to their girls’ night…
“Maria, we can have ice cream, if you want. What flavour would you like?” She picked up a carton of milk and raised her eyebrows at the other two. Their reaction was all she’d hoped. Liz’s face lit up and Maria bounced over to the alien girl and gave her a fierce hug. Isobel blushed with pleasure.
“Isobel, forget the Ice Queen, we should call you the Ice Cream Queen…”
“Don’t push it, Maria…” Isobel grinned, not at all offended at her friend’s teasing.
In the few days she had spent in the close company of Kyle and the small blonde, she had become used to their affectionate teasing and was surprised to find she enjoyed it. No one before Alex had ever managed to find the sense of humor hidden under the serious attitude she maintained back in Roswell. Even with Jesse, she had smiled rather than laughed. She couldn’t understand why she was starting to find this new life so amusing when she should be terrified.
“OK, three spoons and – what flavour shall we go for? Liz, if you say vanilla, I will smother you with that pillow, I’m warning you.”
Liz sat up and, settling herself back against the pillows, looked from Maria to Isobel, a mulish look in her eyes.
“Why the hell should I be boring little Liz Parker any more? I’m going to start over. Starting now, tonight, everything changes. Yes, make it…um…bitter chocolate mint, please, Isobel.”
Isobel exchanged an amused glance with Maria, then slowly passed her hand over the carton of milk, leaving a thick film of frost behind. Maria laughed and handed out the spoons, before joining Liz on the wide bed and beckoning Isobel to stretch out on her other side. The three dug into the delicious dessert and closed their eyes in collective bliss. For a while there was a comfortable silence. Then Maria sighed.
“Everything already has changed, Liz.” She belatedly responded to the declaration Liz had left hanging in the air earlier. “I mean, you look different anyway, we all do, but inside we’ve all changed, too, in just a few days. It’s like I’m a whole new person to the one I left in Roswell. I don’t even know who am right now...it’s exciting in a scary kind of way…”
Liz laughed bitterly.
“I know who I am, Maria. I’m the fool who trusted Max Evans and got burned again. Why was I so stupid?”
The mood, from being almost light-hearted, changed to sadness. Isobel hesitantly reached across Maria and took Liz’s hand.
“Max really does love you, Liz. This Tess thing is too weird. I’m sorry my brother’s behaving like an idiot, Liz. I hate to say it, but it’s true.”
Maria nodded her agreement. She dug another spoonful of ice cream out of the carton before she spoke thoughtfully.
“Ever since we left Roswell, he’s been acting differently. Not just the whole Kyle thing; I can’t understand why he’s suddenly got so fixated with Tess. He was never that keen on her when she was around, except maybe for that time when you were fighting after Alex died, Liz.”
Isobel was puzzled, too.
“That was really only because she was sharing her memories of their past lives back on Antar and trying to convince him to act like the king.”
“He certainly acted like a jerk, anyway, ordering everyone around and trying to control things.”
Liz couldn’t help a masochistic need to talk about Max and Tess, even though she felt physically sick at the thought.
“He – he told me he loved her, the night we said goodbye before he was going to leave for Antar.”
“ Then why was he was always so embarrassed when he was with her? The way she was all over him was sickening and he always acted like he was trying to avoid her.”
Isobel remembered the devastating time when she lost Alex so cruelly so soon after she had finally admitted her true feelings. The “alien king” aspect of Max’s DNA programming had taken over for a while, encouraged by the devious Tess, and he had displayed a complete personality change until Liz had shown them the truth. Recalling the time when the group had split into aliens against humans made Isobel feel guilty all over again.
“She was always in his room, any chance she got, after the Prom. She practically lived with us for a couple of weeks. Mom wasn’t too happy about it. Looking back, I think maybe Max grew fond of Tess because the rest of us were angry with him and she loved him when he needed to be loved, besides all the destiny thing…”
Intrigued by their speculation about Max’s history with his alien bride, the other two had momentarily forgotten Liz and when she suddenly buried her head in Maria’s shoulder and cried again, they both guiltily reached to console her, stroking and patting her anxiously.
Isobel suddenly found tears contagious and before she quite realised what was happening, she was sobbing on Maria’s other shoulder. All the agony of parting from Jesse and her parents hit her like a physical blow and the floodgates opened. After exerting iron control of her emotions for so long, the uncontrollable force of their release shook her to the core.
Buried beneath her heartbroken friends, Maria hugged and petted and soothed for as long as she could, before she capitulated and cried, too.
All three gave in to the feelings suppressed since they had been attacked and driven far from their families into an unknown, terrifying future, and two of them wept in anguish, too, for their lost loves. All three clung desperately to each other, deeply thankful that they were not alone. After a time, the weeping gradually subsided and they lay cuddled up together, too exhausted from fatigue and sorrow to move.
A knock on the door startled them and, flustered, they all hurriedly sat up and began to search for around for tissues to dry their eyes.
Isobel recovered first, standing up and passing a hand across her face to erase the signs of tears. Liz hissed at her not to let anyone in and Isobel turned to give her a reassuring smile before opening the door a few inches and peering warily out.
Having to respond to Kyle’s teasing helped her regain her normal composure and after she had packed some food for the guys, she closed the door on him and turned back to the others.
Liz was in the bathroom, splashing cold water on her ravaged face. Maria had cut a slice of pie for herself and was back on the bed, eating it slowly and thoughtfully, her mind obviously elsewhere. Isobel discovered she felt hungry, too, and went over to the dresser to forage for herself. A similar slice of pie and some potato salad together with a cherry coke – all spiced up with Tabasco – claimed her attention until Liz rejoined them.
Wandering over to the other bed, Liz flung herself down and lay staring numbly up at the ceiling. Maria woke from her trance, reaching over to switch on a bedside lamp before getting up from the bed and moving restlessly around the room.
“Lizzie, you must eat something and then get some rest. You, too, Isobel. God knows we all need to get some sleep, so we must take the chance when we can. I’m just going to find out when we should be on watch tonight. You two take the early morning shifts, I’m still too wide awake to sleep just yet.”
Isobel thought that Maria was being tactful because she wanted to avoid reminding Liz about her rift with Max. She understood and didn’t mind babysitting for a while. If her friend needed the comfort of a little time with the guy she loved, then Isobel was happy to give her that chance. Once the door closed, she set about persuading Liz to take Maria’s advice.
When Maria smiled at both her friends and quietly slipped outside, intent on finding her boyfriend, she was responding to the strong feelings of anger, betrayal and guilt that she had begun picking up from Michael a few moments before.
Outside, night had fallen and she realised that more time had passed than she knew while she had been sharing her sorrows with the other two girls. Light spilled from all three of their rooms and she approached the furthest door, apprehensive because Michael’s attention was focused on Max and he was inarticulate with rage.
Suddenly Michael and Kyle, both looking grim, came out of the room and headed towards her. Michael wrapped an arm round her shoulders, gave her a quick hug and turned her round to take her back with him to the room she had just left. His only response to her mental question was an urgent comment that he needed to talk to her and Kyle in private as soon as possible. He repeated this aloud for Kyle’s benefit before he knocked perfunctorily and they all walked into join a startled Liz and Isobel.
Closing the door behind him, Kyle moved over to lean against the far wall facing the door, folding his arms and looking serious for once. Isobel sat up from where she had been lying on the bed and Liz stood by the dresser with a plastic knife in her hand, about to butter some bread. Michael stood in front of the door, still holding Maria close to his side.
All the girls looked anxiously at Michael who made no attempt to hide the anger he could obviously barely control. He gave them the unvarnished truth.
“Max has gone - and he’s taken the bus with him.”
There was a blank silence.
“Taken the bus? How – how could he do that to us? No, I don’t believe it. He must have just – borrowed it, gone for a ride or something…”
“Isobel, he left notes…here, one for you and another for Liz.”
Kyle leaned over and handed them each a sealed envelope. Max had written his hurried farewells on the cheap stationery supplied by the motel.
Liz and Isobel both stared at their envelopes, but neither moved to open them. Michael released Maria and moved to toss his own message into an ashtray on the nearest nightstand, where a flame flickered briefly from the tip of his thumb and the paper was reduced to ash within a few seconds.
He returned to gather his girlfriend close to him again, needing the comfort of her physical and mental touch to block the pain of his almost-brother’s betrayal of them all.
*** What did he say in your note, Michael?***
*** Just basically goodbye and good luck. Sorry about the bus, his need was greater, but he knows I’ll deal… all that fuc*kin’ crap… Oh, and he’ll be back as soon as he’s sorted the Tess thing out. Yeah, right***
*** Oh, Michael, how could he be so heartless? Something strange is going on, I know it. Look, Liz and Isobel can’t believe it either***
Michael saw that the two girls were still as statues, chalk white underneath their tans and clearly devastated. Maria left the shelter of his arm ready to comfort her friends, but Liz suddenly turned and rushed past Kyle into the bathroom, where they heard the lock click and the sounds of sobbing.
Isobel stood up, then sat down again suddenly as her legs gave way beneath her. She allowed Maria to hug her briefly, but then gently pushed her away and curled up, dry-eyed, on the bed, the envelope clutched tightly in her hand.
Catching Kyle’s eye and tugging Michael towards the door, Maria knew that her friends needed privacy to try to deal with this latest shattering loss, so she left them alone together, desperately hoping that maybe they could help each other through the pain this time.
In the room next door, the three prepared to talk at last.
Kyle sprawled on a bed, while Maria sat in the chair by the dresser and Michael leaned against the door, unconsciously adopting the same position as when he had faced down Max earlier.
“Ok, Guerin, spill.” Kyle spoke calmly, mindful of the Buddhist teachings he had relied on since he came to accept the incredible truth. “I know you’ve been wanting to talk to Maria and me long before this Max thing blew up, so now we’re finally here. What’s goin’ on?”
Michael also spoke calmly, but that was because he had himself under rigid control, with all his mental shields fully in position. Only Maria knew just how much strength it took him not to blast a hole through the wall.
“Well, Max has taken the bus and half the camping gear we spent all yesterday buying, so I’m pretty pissed about that. Still, at least he didn’t take the Chevy, that’s more useful to us, bein' a 4WD, than the bus. We would have had to ditch the bus before too long anyway. It was a liability, no use in the mountain terrain we’ll be livin' in.”
Kyle nodded agreement as Michael continued.
“We’ll have to acquire another 4WD from somewhere. I’ve been thinking and looking around at the local vehicle types. What we need is a double cab, hard-top pick-up truck but we’ll worry about how to get one when we get to the park. While we’re in there we’ll have to manage with what we’ve got, more or less, we'll just have to replace some of the smaller emergency stuff that went with Max until we can organise another ride. I could kill the idiot, if I didn’t think that there’s something odd goin’ on. It’s more than just your power-sharing thing, Valenti, but I haven’t got a clue about it or the time to worry right now. Here’s what I think is the real problem and the theory I’ve been working on since we left Roswell…”
He paused and looked first at Maria, who already knew what he was about to say from her unique insight into his thoughts. She had followed the development of his theory almost since it’s conception and, though horrified, had admitted that it was tenable.
He looked over at Kyle, who appeared relaxed enough on the bed, but was in reality nervous as a cat.
“I think the reason the FBI haven’t followed us is because they already know where we are and can pick us up whenever they choose.”
“Go on, Michael.” Maria’s voice was tense. Hearing the words aloud somehow made it more real.
“I think the bus has a tracking device and that can only mean –.”
Kyle interrupted him.
“ – Jesse is FBI…”
TBC…
An hour or so earlier, Maria had led her friends into the room, closed the door firmly behind her and disappeared into the bathroom for a few moments. When she returned, Isobel and Liz were still standing awkwardly where she had left them, both looking lost and embarrassed, avoiding the other’s eyes.
She handed Liz a wad of tissues to dry her wet, swollen face and gently pushed her friend onto the nearest bed, fluffing the pillows and pressing her to lie back against them.
Isobel still stood helplessly by the door until Maria took pity on her.
“Since this is our first girls’ night as outlaws, why don’t we start a few traditions right now? First of all, of course, we need ice cream, but since we don’t have any, anything to eat and drink would be good. Isobel, I vote you organise that department for tonight. Is that ok with you, chica?”
At Isobel’s nod, she turned to Liz.
“What would you like to drink, Lizzie? We have milk, coffee, and cherry coke as well as water.”
“Milk, please, Isobel.” Liz blew her reddened nose unexpectedly loudly, making the other two jump. They all giggled and the atmosphere eased a little.
Isobel went over to the dresser where Maria had earlier set out the food for the communal evening meal. She noted Maria’s use of the endearment she usually kept for Liz and felt a curl of warmth inside at being included in the smaller girl’s affections.
She looked over at the other girl on the bed and felt a sharp pang of real sympathy. Maybe Liz had made the right decision. Her brother really was an ass. If he didn’t pull himself together soon, she would have to take a hand in the matter. In the meantime, maybe she could make a little contribution to their girls’ night…
“Maria, we can have ice cream, if you want. What flavour would you like?” She picked up a carton of milk and raised her eyebrows at the other two. Their reaction was all she’d hoped. Liz’s face lit up and Maria bounced over to the alien girl and gave her a fierce hug. Isobel blushed with pleasure.
“Isobel, forget the Ice Queen, we should call you the Ice Cream Queen…”
“Don’t push it, Maria…” Isobel grinned, not at all offended at her friend’s teasing.
In the few days she had spent in the close company of Kyle and the small blonde, she had become used to their affectionate teasing and was surprised to find she enjoyed it. No one before Alex had ever managed to find the sense of humor hidden under the serious attitude she maintained back in Roswell. Even with Jesse, she had smiled rather than laughed. She couldn’t understand why she was starting to find this new life so amusing when she should be terrified.
“OK, three spoons and – what flavour shall we go for? Liz, if you say vanilla, I will smother you with that pillow, I’m warning you.”
Liz sat up and, settling herself back against the pillows, looked from Maria to Isobel, a mulish look in her eyes.
“Why the hell should I be boring little Liz Parker any more? I’m going to start over. Starting now, tonight, everything changes. Yes, make it…um…bitter chocolate mint, please, Isobel.”
Isobel exchanged an amused glance with Maria, then slowly passed her hand over the carton of milk, leaving a thick film of frost behind. Maria laughed and handed out the spoons, before joining Liz on the wide bed and beckoning Isobel to stretch out on her other side. The three dug into the delicious dessert and closed their eyes in collective bliss. For a while there was a comfortable silence. Then Maria sighed.
“Everything already has changed, Liz.” She belatedly responded to the declaration Liz had left hanging in the air earlier. “I mean, you look different anyway, we all do, but inside we’ve all changed, too, in just a few days. It’s like I’m a whole new person to the one I left in Roswell. I don’t even know who am right now...it’s exciting in a scary kind of way…”
Liz laughed bitterly.
“I know who I am, Maria. I’m the fool who trusted Max Evans and got burned again. Why was I so stupid?”
The mood, from being almost light-hearted, changed to sadness. Isobel hesitantly reached across Maria and took Liz’s hand.
“Max really does love you, Liz. This Tess thing is too weird. I’m sorry my brother’s behaving like an idiot, Liz. I hate to say it, but it’s true.”
Maria nodded her agreement. She dug another spoonful of ice cream out of the carton before she spoke thoughtfully.
“Ever since we left Roswell, he’s been acting differently. Not just the whole Kyle thing; I can’t understand why he’s suddenly got so fixated with Tess. He was never that keen on her when she was around, except maybe for that time when you were fighting after Alex died, Liz.”
Isobel was puzzled, too.
“That was really only because she was sharing her memories of their past lives back on Antar and trying to convince him to act like the king.”
“He certainly acted like a jerk, anyway, ordering everyone around and trying to control things.”
Liz couldn’t help a masochistic need to talk about Max and Tess, even though she felt physically sick at the thought.
“He – he told me he loved her, the night we said goodbye before he was going to leave for Antar.”
“ Then why was he was always so embarrassed when he was with her? The way she was all over him was sickening and he always acted like he was trying to avoid her.”
Isobel remembered the devastating time when she lost Alex so cruelly so soon after she had finally admitted her true feelings. The “alien king” aspect of Max’s DNA programming had taken over for a while, encouraged by the devious Tess, and he had displayed a complete personality change until Liz had shown them the truth. Recalling the time when the group had split into aliens against humans made Isobel feel guilty all over again.
“She was always in his room, any chance she got, after the Prom. She practically lived with us for a couple of weeks. Mom wasn’t too happy about it. Looking back, I think maybe Max grew fond of Tess because the rest of us were angry with him and she loved him when he needed to be loved, besides all the destiny thing…”
Intrigued by their speculation about Max’s history with his alien bride, the other two had momentarily forgotten Liz and when she suddenly buried her head in Maria’s shoulder and cried again, they both guiltily reached to console her, stroking and patting her anxiously.
Isobel suddenly found tears contagious and before she quite realised what was happening, she was sobbing on Maria’s other shoulder. All the agony of parting from Jesse and her parents hit her like a physical blow and the floodgates opened. After exerting iron control of her emotions for so long, the uncontrollable force of their release shook her to the core.
Buried beneath her heartbroken friends, Maria hugged and petted and soothed for as long as she could, before she capitulated and cried, too.
All three gave in to the feelings suppressed since they had been attacked and driven far from their families into an unknown, terrifying future, and two of them wept in anguish, too, for their lost loves. All three clung desperately to each other, deeply thankful that they were not alone. After a time, the weeping gradually subsided and they lay cuddled up together, too exhausted from fatigue and sorrow to move.
A knock on the door startled them and, flustered, they all hurriedly sat up and began to search for around for tissues to dry their eyes.
Isobel recovered first, standing up and passing a hand across her face to erase the signs of tears. Liz hissed at her not to let anyone in and Isobel turned to give her a reassuring smile before opening the door a few inches and peering warily out.
Having to respond to Kyle’s teasing helped her regain her normal composure and after she had packed some food for the guys, she closed the door on him and turned back to the others.
Liz was in the bathroom, splashing cold water on her ravaged face. Maria had cut a slice of pie for herself and was back on the bed, eating it slowly and thoughtfully, her mind obviously elsewhere. Isobel discovered she felt hungry, too, and went over to the dresser to forage for herself. A similar slice of pie and some potato salad together with a cherry coke – all spiced up with Tabasco – claimed her attention until Liz rejoined them.
Wandering over to the other bed, Liz flung herself down and lay staring numbly up at the ceiling. Maria woke from her trance, reaching over to switch on a bedside lamp before getting up from the bed and moving restlessly around the room.
“Lizzie, you must eat something and then get some rest. You, too, Isobel. God knows we all need to get some sleep, so we must take the chance when we can. I’m just going to find out when we should be on watch tonight. You two take the early morning shifts, I’m still too wide awake to sleep just yet.”
Isobel thought that Maria was being tactful because she wanted to avoid reminding Liz about her rift with Max. She understood and didn’t mind babysitting for a while. If her friend needed the comfort of a little time with the guy she loved, then Isobel was happy to give her that chance. Once the door closed, she set about persuading Liz to take Maria’s advice.
When Maria smiled at both her friends and quietly slipped outside, intent on finding her boyfriend, she was responding to the strong feelings of anger, betrayal and guilt that she had begun picking up from Michael a few moments before.
Outside, night had fallen and she realised that more time had passed than she knew while she had been sharing her sorrows with the other two girls. Light spilled from all three of their rooms and she approached the furthest door, apprehensive because Michael’s attention was focused on Max and he was inarticulate with rage.
Suddenly Michael and Kyle, both looking grim, came out of the room and headed towards her. Michael wrapped an arm round her shoulders, gave her a quick hug and turned her round to take her back with him to the room she had just left. His only response to her mental question was an urgent comment that he needed to talk to her and Kyle in private as soon as possible. He repeated this aloud for Kyle’s benefit before he knocked perfunctorily and they all walked into join a startled Liz and Isobel.
Closing the door behind him, Kyle moved over to lean against the far wall facing the door, folding his arms and looking serious for once. Isobel sat up from where she had been lying on the bed and Liz stood by the dresser with a plastic knife in her hand, about to butter some bread. Michael stood in front of the door, still holding Maria close to his side.
All the girls looked anxiously at Michael who made no attempt to hide the anger he could obviously barely control. He gave them the unvarnished truth.
“Max has gone - and he’s taken the bus with him.”
There was a blank silence.
“Taken the bus? How – how could he do that to us? No, I don’t believe it. He must have just – borrowed it, gone for a ride or something…”
“Isobel, he left notes…here, one for you and another for Liz.”
Kyle leaned over and handed them each a sealed envelope. Max had written his hurried farewells on the cheap stationery supplied by the motel.
Liz and Isobel both stared at their envelopes, but neither moved to open them. Michael released Maria and moved to toss his own message into an ashtray on the nearest nightstand, where a flame flickered briefly from the tip of his thumb and the paper was reduced to ash within a few seconds.
He returned to gather his girlfriend close to him again, needing the comfort of her physical and mental touch to block the pain of his almost-brother’s betrayal of them all.
*** What did he say in your note, Michael?***
*** Just basically goodbye and good luck. Sorry about the bus, his need was greater, but he knows I’ll deal… all that fuc*kin’ crap… Oh, and he’ll be back as soon as he’s sorted the Tess thing out. Yeah, right***
*** Oh, Michael, how could he be so heartless? Something strange is going on, I know it. Look, Liz and Isobel can’t believe it either***
Michael saw that the two girls were still as statues, chalk white underneath their tans and clearly devastated. Maria left the shelter of his arm ready to comfort her friends, but Liz suddenly turned and rushed past Kyle into the bathroom, where they heard the lock click and the sounds of sobbing.
Isobel stood up, then sat down again suddenly as her legs gave way beneath her. She allowed Maria to hug her briefly, but then gently pushed her away and curled up, dry-eyed, on the bed, the envelope clutched tightly in her hand.
Catching Kyle’s eye and tugging Michael towards the door, Maria knew that her friends needed privacy to try to deal with this latest shattering loss, so she left them alone together, desperately hoping that maybe they could help each other through the pain this time.
In the room next door, the three prepared to talk at last.
Kyle sprawled on a bed, while Maria sat in the chair by the dresser and Michael leaned against the door, unconsciously adopting the same position as when he had faced down Max earlier.
“Ok, Guerin, spill.” Kyle spoke calmly, mindful of the Buddhist teachings he had relied on since he came to accept the incredible truth. “I know you’ve been wanting to talk to Maria and me long before this Max thing blew up, so now we’re finally here. What’s goin’ on?”
Michael also spoke calmly, but that was because he had himself under rigid control, with all his mental shields fully in position. Only Maria knew just how much strength it took him not to blast a hole through the wall.
“Well, Max has taken the bus and half the camping gear we spent all yesterday buying, so I’m pretty pissed about that. Still, at least he didn’t take the Chevy, that’s more useful to us, bein' a 4WD, than the bus. We would have had to ditch the bus before too long anyway. It was a liability, no use in the mountain terrain we’ll be livin' in.”
Kyle nodded agreement as Michael continued.
“We’ll have to acquire another 4WD from somewhere. I’ve been thinking and looking around at the local vehicle types. What we need is a double cab, hard-top pick-up truck but we’ll worry about how to get one when we get to the park. While we’re in there we’ll have to manage with what we’ve got, more or less, we'll just have to replace some of the smaller emergency stuff that went with Max until we can organise another ride. I could kill the idiot, if I didn’t think that there’s something odd goin’ on. It’s more than just your power-sharing thing, Valenti, but I haven’t got a clue about it or the time to worry right now. Here’s what I think is the real problem and the theory I’ve been working on since we left Roswell…”
He paused and looked first at Maria, who already knew what he was about to say from her unique insight into his thoughts. She had followed the development of his theory almost since it’s conception and, though horrified, had admitted that it was tenable.
He looked over at Kyle, who appeared relaxed enough on the bed, but was in reality nervous as a cat.
“I think the reason the FBI haven’t followed us is because they already know where we are and can pick us up whenever they choose.”
“Go on, Michael.” Maria’s voice was tense. Hearing the words aloud somehow made it more real.
“I think the bus has a tracking device and that can only mean –.”
Kyle interrupted him.
“ – Jesse is FBI…”
TBC…
-
candylovespell
- Enthusiastic Roswellian
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2005 4:50 pm
Chapter 17
In the room that Liz and Isobel now shared by default, the alien girl had been relieved when Maria and the guys left. Their sympathy wasn’t going to help her at this point. She was still stunned by the news that her brother had run out on them all, without even saying goodbye. The letter he left might hold his excuses, but she knew it would not provide an explanation.
The biggest mystery for her was the fact that Max could be so blind to Liz’s feelings when she had been his obsession for so long. She knew Tess just never held that kind of fascination for him, no matter what she had done to try to convince him of their destiny together.
Forcing herself to move, she sat up and swung her legs to the floor, sitting on the edge of the bed to stare at the letter in her hand. Taking a deep breath, she slowly and carefully peeled back the flap, delaying the inevitable moment when she must face the fact that Max really had gone, selfishly thinking only of himself and apparently indifferent to their fate.
Her bottom lip quivered and she bit painfully down on it to try to stop the tears prickling behind her eyes. How could he leave now, when they were still so vulnerable to their enemies? In a sudden violent movement, she ripped the letter out of the flimsy envelope, and quickly scanned the few, hastily scrawled, words. Her brother’s quiet, controlled voice echoed in her mind as she read…
“Dear Isobel,
I know we’ll meet in dreams. Make it soon.
I’m sorry.
Your loving brother,
M.”
As soon as the words sank in, Isobel was hit by a bolt of relief. Of course she wasn’t alone - Max wasn’t lost to her. All she had to do was wait until he was asleep so they could talk to each other and find out what was happening. She had no doubt that their sibling bond would transcend distance and he would tell her just what the hell was going on. Whatever he was going through, she was determined to help him and helping him right now meant helping Liz to get through the pain Max had caused once again.
She stood up, went over to the bathroom and, knocking on the door, walked in without waiting for a response from Liz.
“Come on out, Liz, the others have gone and the bed is much softer than the cold, hard floor in here…” Isobel’s voice was kind and sympathetic, much different from her usual reserved manner with Liz, and the huddled figure stirred in response. Isobel held out her hand to help her stand up and Liz accepted it gratefully. Her tears had stopped and she had a stiff, weary expression on her face.
She allowed Isobel to lead her over to the bed and obediently climbed onto it, legs tucked under her and back straight as she watched the tall girl go over to the dresser to pour two cups of milk, warming them through with her powers so that they smelt comfortingly of sugar and cinnamon. She carried one over to Liz, who gave her a watery smile and sipped at it appreciatively. Returning to collect her own cup, she automatically added a dash of Tabasco and took it with her to her own bed, where she adopted a similar position to Liz.
Silence continued as they both sipped at their milky drinks, more at ease with each other than either could remember. The sound of rain outside made the warm lamp-lit room seem like a haven from the world and, in some way, from all the dangers that threatened them. It was Liz who finally spoke.
“What did he say in your note?”
“Only that he wants me to dreamwalk soon… What about yours?”
“Here, read it yourself – I don’t mind. I meant it when I said it’s over between us. I have to move on.”
She fished in the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper that she handed to Isobel.
“My darling Liz,
I really, really don’t want to do this, but I have no choice.
Someone or something inside is calling me to help Tess, wherever she is. I can’t ignore it; it’s been there since she died, faint at first but now it’s getting stronger. I feel the pull all the time now, awake or asleep. I don’t know what else to do, except try to find her and stop it. That’s why I have to go.
I’ll be back for you and Isobel, you both mean everything to me. Look after each other.
I love you with all my heart, you are my one true soulmate, please try to understand.
Always,
Max.”
Isobel looked up at Liz, who was now leaning against her pillows, staring into space.
“Something strange is going on. That unnatural sleep and calling you Tess – can’t you see it’s not the real Max? You’re the one he loves, Liz. He doesn’t want to hurt you… why give up on him now, when you’ve finally got what you’ve always wanted?”
Liz no longer cared if Isobel knew her most painful, intimate secret. She wanted the other girl to know just exactly what anguish her brother had inflicted.
“He - he called me Tess before the sleep thing started. He c-called her name when w-we made l-l-love, Isobel. I can’t just let that pass.” She saw Isobel’s sympathetic expression change to shock and was encouraged to go on pouring out her feelings.
“I-I was pleased when Tess died. I know it was wrong, but I really thought that with her gone, everything would be fine between us – and it was. He made a diamond out of a piece of charcoal and then asked me to marry him. It was so romantic. I thought we were really happy at last, even though we had to leave Roswell in such a hurry.” Her voice had trembled earlier, but as she talked it became stronger and harder, reliving the memories.
“Then, after we left Roswell, I started to think maybe Max was only with me because he felt guilty about all the pain he’d put me through with the destiny thing, sleeping with Tess, making her pregnant, forcing me to go on the run from the FBI -.”
Isobel couldn’t let that pass without some defence of her brother.
“It wasn’t all his fault, Liz. There were times when you hurt him badly, too. You were the one, remember, who insisted he follow his destiny when he wanted to choose you. You were the one who pushed him into Tess’s arms; he didn’t want her, he wanted you. You were the one who ended the relationship every time. I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just saying don’t make him take all the blame, Liz. You hurt him sometimes, too…”
Liz bridled. She was the victim here and it was unfair of Isobel to criticise her behaviour.
“Hurting each other isn’t only confined to Max and me. Look at Michael screwing with Maria’s feelings for so long and then having her turn the tables on him; both were just as hard on each other but you’re not accusing them. Then you, Isobel – you married poor Jesse without telling him the secret and never gave him the choice – none of us are blameless in all this, even you.”
To her surprise, Isobel didn’t appear hurt at the jibe. Liz didn’t realize that the mention of Jesse and the pain she’d caused him barely registered as Isobel had buried her feelings deep and built her defences strong. Instead, the alien girl ignored the attack and calmly went back to the point she had been intending to make.
“That doesn’t mean Max was with you out of guilt, Liz. What had he done to make you think that?”
Liz thought about it. Reluctantly, she had to admit that there had been nothing in Max’s behaviour to justify her feelings and maybe she had been wrong in letting her insecurities overcome reality. She sighed wearily.
“Maybe you do have a point, Isobel. Maybe running from Roswell just brought out some insecurities I didn’t know I had…still, that doesn’t mean I’m going to forgive him for calling me Tess and running out on us to go after her.”
“Whatever Max has done, Liz, it seems a pity to throw it all away before we find out just what’s going on with him, don’t you think?”
Isobel wanted to keep a way open for the two to work things out if they could. She thought that they really were made for each other, both being essentially self-involved and surprisingly ruthless when they chose to be.
It struck her that, in the few days since they’d left Roswell, several things had become clear to her that were previously obscured in the world she had lived in. This belated insight into the characters of her brother and Liz was just the latest example. It must be true after all, she thought wryly to herself, that travel broadens the mind.
Liz sat up and swung her legs to the floor, reaching for their empty cups and standing to move over to the dresser.
“Do you think you could help me learn to control my power enough to heat up some more of that cinnamon milk, before we try to get some sleep?”
Isobel was content to let Liz change the subject. At least she hadn’t dismissed the suggestion out of hand. Dreamwalking Max might help to provide some answers to the problem. Meanwhile, lessons in power control might be a good place to start work on their new friendship. Once again, she missed Maria and wished she were there to lighten the atmosphere.
“Ok, we’ll try it this way at first. Pour a little milk into your cup, not too much, and then concentrate on the memory of what warm, sugary, cinnamon milk tastes like in your mouth…”
Liz tried to follow Isobel’s surprisingly patient instructions and both became absorbed in the lesson as the night advanced.
Around 5am, dawn was a pale hint in the eastern sky when Kyle knocked softly on the door.
A pale, puffy-eyed Liz opened it cautiously and, when she saw who it was, she stepped back to let him inside. He found Isobel, still fully dressed, sitting on the end of one the beds while Liz returned to a seat in the corner. They both looked at him in silence. He cleared his throat nervously.
“So…er…how…how are you feeling…?” he could have kicked himself. That was so not what he meant to say. They might start to cry again and he knew he would just turn tail and run for Maria.
To his surprise they shared a glance, then both gave him weak, but knowing, grins.
“Don’t worry, Kyle, you’re safe. We’re all cried out, so you won’t have to panic and run for help.” Isobel was faintly waspish.
“Oh, well…er…that’s good, I guess. I came to say that…um, Michael said to tell you that we’re all meeting in my room at 7am to talk about our plans. So, if you want to go on watch, now would be a good time, but it’s cold out there and if you don’t feel up to it right now, then I can carry on. I don’t feel sleepy at all. It’s just that Maria said earlier that she thought you might be up for it…” he heard himself babbling and trailed off uncertainly.
Liz took pity on him and stood up to walk to the door, where she turned to look at him.
“It’s ok, Kyle, it’s time I did my share of guard duty. What do I do?”
He suddenly realised that she had not, so far, taken any share of the night watch since they had left Roswell, so he decided he’d better stay to show her the ropes. He looked over at Isobel to include her in the conversation.
“It’s beginning to get light now and so it’s too risky go sit outside to watch. We’ll only draw attention to ourselves, which we don’t want. The best thing we can do at this time of the morning is keep watch through the window, being careful not to let anyone see us looking. I suppose one of us could sit in back of the Chevy, the tinted windows would help hide the fact that someone is there, but it’s not really necessary and it may be a little late for that, if people are starting to move about.”
The girls nodded their understanding.
“How would you like to play it? There’s still time for a quick trip to the vending machines to check the front of the building, if you like, but we can’t all go…”
“Liz and I will go together. I’m sick of this room, aren’t you, Liz? I need action; I need to do something to clear my head.” She smoothed her hands over her hair, currently in longish, loose chestnut curls, tied back in a high ponytail. Kyle liked the look.
“When you come back, you can both stay here and keep an eye on the other guests leaving, ok? It’ll start to get busier soon, as most people make an early start.”
The girls’ spare clothes were in another room, since they had not expected to spend the night in this one, but the prospect of a chilly few minutes outside didn’t deter them from going out into the faint grey light to pause and lean on the rail, staring at the dozen or so cars and pick-ups parked in front of the other rooms on three sides of the square.
Kyle’s low voice came from the doorway behind them.
“It’s not anywhere near full up, so that makes it easier for us to make a note of the vehicles for future reference. Try to make a mental note of them all, because it’s not just the ones that are still here when we leave which might be suspect, but also the ones that leave before us. They could be going ahead to wait somewhere for us to pass them, before they follow us.”
The two girls concentrated hard on scanning the parking lot, trying to memorise colors, models and plates. Kyle knew they would eventually come to realise that it was impossible to remember everything about every car, but he saw no harm in making them aware of just how careful they needed to be when they were on watch.
Moments later, Liz and Isobel hurried along the walkway and through the arch that led to the front of the building and the reception office. Their destination was the area where the vending machines were located and they stood around, ostensibly discussing their selections, while in reality examining the area for cars or people who might possibly be the enemy.
They each bought a snack from the machines and wandered back to the now darkened room. Kyle had drawn a chair into position by the window and was surveying as much of the parking lot as he could, concentrating mainly on the exit through the archway.
Liz and Isobel came in and Liz waved him out of the chair, taking his place and unwrapping the pecan muffin she had just bought. Isobel went over to the dresser and started to make coffee for them all, which perked Kyle up considerably. He’d only had some disgusting stuff from the vending machines during his long watches in the night.
“We may have an advantage today, as we’re retracing our steps back into the city. That might fool anyone who expects us to head on out to continue on our way.” He didn’t mention the absence of the bus, figuring silence was the best way to deal with that difficulty. However, Liz again surprised him by bringing up the subject herself.
“Max taking the bus may actually have helped us. If they follow it, they might not be able to keep track of us as well, depending on their resources.” Her voice was neutral and no flicker of emotion crossed her face she spoke.
Isobel nodded in agreement, apparently equally unemotional about her missing brother. Kyle was impressed. Maybe Maria had been right when she said that they were strong and would deal. Still, women were unpredictable, so he privately remained cautious. It was early days yet.
The morning sun rose higher in the sky and a few other guests began to stir. Some headed to the vending machines and returned to their rooms with a breakfast snack and some simply climbed into their cars and headed out towards the highway.
At 5.30 Kyle finished his second cup of sweet, Tabasco-laced coffee and went back to his room for a short nap and a shower before the others joined him at 7am. On the way, he stopped by the Chevy to calculate how much room they had to spare for the extra supplies and, on peering through the tinted window, he saw a large package on the back seat.
Opening the door, he saw it was the other tent from the bus, together with several items assumed to have gone with Max. He whistled quietly to himself and went on into his room. The news could wait until the others arrived for breakfast.
In the middle room, Michael and Maria were still fast asleep, naked bodies curled close together in the warm bed, dreaming minds linked in the boundless love they’d both surrendered to at last.
Floating reluctantly towards consciousness from the depths of a delightful dream, Maria’s eyelids fluttered open first. She could feel Michael’s mind still drifting blissfully in the newfound, shared security of their love. She could also feel his rock-hard c*ock pressing insistently against her ass. Her happiness threatened to overwhelm her and she needed to express it physically, so she slid carefully around in his arms until they were face to face. Michael’s Tabasco-toxic morning breath had often made open-mouth kisses uncomfortable for her until he returned from his bathroom routine, but this time she never even noticed, she was so hot for him. If she didn’t have him right then, she feared she would explode.
Sliding one arm around his neck, she fastened her lips to his shoulder and bit delicately, before nibbling and kissing her way towards his neck. Trailing her other hand across his chest and down towards the hugely impressive erection she craved inside her, she first encountered the slick tip of his engorged co*ck and ran a finger lightly over the sensitive rim before her hand wrapped round the thick shaft. She slid it down to cup and squeeze his balls gently before returning to the silk-sheathed steel, intending to guide it into her fiery, liquid center as quickly as she could. Suddenly, his big hands tangled painfully in her hair and her face was dragged up to his, where he took her lips in a ravenous kiss, invading her mouth with his tongue and drowning all rational thought beneath the fierce tide of his passion. She released his co*ck for a moment in order to wrap both her arms around his neck and pull him closer…
His hands left her hair and moved lightning-fast to grasp her wrists and he used one to pin them above her head as he held her beneath him. His other hand slid slowly over her ass, his fingers digging into her flesh, pulling her thigh up over his hip, bringing her tight and open against him so that his co*ck slid between her legs and entered in one swift, smooth movement. As soon as he was fully inside her, Michael stopped moving and stared challengingly into her eyes.
Maria was instantly incensed. She could feel his thoughts, ferocious and tender, knew that he was teasing her, withholding the pleasure she craved just to make her angry, to see her writhing beneath him, feel her frustrated need for his friction against her clit, the one tiny point in her burning body that now eclipsed every other sense she possessed.
She tried to buck against him but he held her still with one hand on her hip as he slowly, slowly, started to withdraw from her, inch by tormenting inch, until he was poised once more at her brink, then he slid his c*ock infinitely slowly back until he filled her again. He repeated this remorselessly, building a relentless rhythm, using all his willpower to keep her on the dark, sweet edge of cumming, dragging out their mutual torture until finally, with the sound of his name on her lips echoing through his mind, his control snapped.
He heard her sobbing with fury and then laughing in wild relief as he suddenly plunged his co*ck hard and fast into her hot, tight core, thrusting harder, faster, deeper, again and again until they were both panting and pounding against each other and the sweat ran to mingle on their salty skin as their bodies fused in passionate ecstasy unknowing, uncaring, if their names were screams voiced aloud or silent whispers in their star-strewn minds.
Some time later, they lay cosily together against pillows piled high, Maria’s head resting against Michael’s shoulder and his fingers idly playing with her hair. Occasionally they kissed softly, thoughts gentle and caressing, unwilling to think further ahead than the moment and break the mood.
Both were still in the intense aftershock of making love and the beep of his watch was a cruel intrusion into their private world. Michael, intent on keeping her all to himself for as long as he could, drew Maria into his arms, his kiss meltingly slow, deep and loving. Her wholehearted response in both mind and body assured him, if he needed it, that she was his forever and the fervor of his own pledge in return equalled hers.
TBC...
In the room that Liz and Isobel now shared by default, the alien girl had been relieved when Maria and the guys left. Their sympathy wasn’t going to help her at this point. She was still stunned by the news that her brother had run out on them all, without even saying goodbye. The letter he left might hold his excuses, but she knew it would not provide an explanation.
The biggest mystery for her was the fact that Max could be so blind to Liz’s feelings when she had been his obsession for so long. She knew Tess just never held that kind of fascination for him, no matter what she had done to try to convince him of their destiny together.
Forcing herself to move, she sat up and swung her legs to the floor, sitting on the edge of the bed to stare at the letter in her hand. Taking a deep breath, she slowly and carefully peeled back the flap, delaying the inevitable moment when she must face the fact that Max really had gone, selfishly thinking only of himself and apparently indifferent to their fate.
Her bottom lip quivered and she bit painfully down on it to try to stop the tears prickling behind her eyes. How could he leave now, when they were still so vulnerable to their enemies? In a sudden violent movement, she ripped the letter out of the flimsy envelope, and quickly scanned the few, hastily scrawled, words. Her brother’s quiet, controlled voice echoed in her mind as she read…
“Dear Isobel,
I know we’ll meet in dreams. Make it soon.
I’m sorry.
Your loving brother,
M.”
As soon as the words sank in, Isobel was hit by a bolt of relief. Of course she wasn’t alone - Max wasn’t lost to her. All she had to do was wait until he was asleep so they could talk to each other and find out what was happening. She had no doubt that their sibling bond would transcend distance and he would tell her just what the hell was going on. Whatever he was going through, she was determined to help him and helping him right now meant helping Liz to get through the pain Max had caused once again.
She stood up, went over to the bathroom and, knocking on the door, walked in without waiting for a response from Liz.
“Come on out, Liz, the others have gone and the bed is much softer than the cold, hard floor in here…” Isobel’s voice was kind and sympathetic, much different from her usual reserved manner with Liz, and the huddled figure stirred in response. Isobel held out her hand to help her stand up and Liz accepted it gratefully. Her tears had stopped and she had a stiff, weary expression on her face.
She allowed Isobel to lead her over to the bed and obediently climbed onto it, legs tucked under her and back straight as she watched the tall girl go over to the dresser to pour two cups of milk, warming them through with her powers so that they smelt comfortingly of sugar and cinnamon. She carried one over to Liz, who gave her a watery smile and sipped at it appreciatively. Returning to collect her own cup, she automatically added a dash of Tabasco and took it with her to her own bed, where she adopted a similar position to Liz.
Silence continued as they both sipped at their milky drinks, more at ease with each other than either could remember. The sound of rain outside made the warm lamp-lit room seem like a haven from the world and, in some way, from all the dangers that threatened them. It was Liz who finally spoke.
“What did he say in your note?”
“Only that he wants me to dreamwalk soon… What about yours?”
“Here, read it yourself – I don’t mind. I meant it when I said it’s over between us. I have to move on.”
She fished in the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper that she handed to Isobel.
“My darling Liz,
I really, really don’t want to do this, but I have no choice.
Someone or something inside is calling me to help Tess, wherever she is. I can’t ignore it; it’s been there since she died, faint at first but now it’s getting stronger. I feel the pull all the time now, awake or asleep. I don’t know what else to do, except try to find her and stop it. That’s why I have to go.
I’ll be back for you and Isobel, you both mean everything to me. Look after each other.
I love you with all my heart, you are my one true soulmate, please try to understand.
Always,
Max.”
Isobel looked up at Liz, who was now leaning against her pillows, staring into space.
“Something strange is going on. That unnatural sleep and calling you Tess – can’t you see it’s not the real Max? You’re the one he loves, Liz. He doesn’t want to hurt you… why give up on him now, when you’ve finally got what you’ve always wanted?”
Liz no longer cared if Isobel knew her most painful, intimate secret. She wanted the other girl to know just exactly what anguish her brother had inflicted.
“He - he called me Tess before the sleep thing started. He c-called her name when w-we made l-l-love, Isobel. I can’t just let that pass.” She saw Isobel’s sympathetic expression change to shock and was encouraged to go on pouring out her feelings.
“I-I was pleased when Tess died. I know it was wrong, but I really thought that with her gone, everything would be fine between us – and it was. He made a diamond out of a piece of charcoal and then asked me to marry him. It was so romantic. I thought we were really happy at last, even though we had to leave Roswell in such a hurry.” Her voice had trembled earlier, but as she talked it became stronger and harder, reliving the memories.
“Then, after we left Roswell, I started to think maybe Max was only with me because he felt guilty about all the pain he’d put me through with the destiny thing, sleeping with Tess, making her pregnant, forcing me to go on the run from the FBI -.”
Isobel couldn’t let that pass without some defence of her brother.
“It wasn’t all his fault, Liz. There were times when you hurt him badly, too. You were the one, remember, who insisted he follow his destiny when he wanted to choose you. You were the one who pushed him into Tess’s arms; he didn’t want her, he wanted you. You were the one who ended the relationship every time. I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just saying don’t make him take all the blame, Liz. You hurt him sometimes, too…”
Liz bridled. She was the victim here and it was unfair of Isobel to criticise her behaviour.
“Hurting each other isn’t only confined to Max and me. Look at Michael screwing with Maria’s feelings for so long and then having her turn the tables on him; both were just as hard on each other but you’re not accusing them. Then you, Isobel – you married poor Jesse without telling him the secret and never gave him the choice – none of us are blameless in all this, even you.”
To her surprise, Isobel didn’t appear hurt at the jibe. Liz didn’t realize that the mention of Jesse and the pain she’d caused him barely registered as Isobel had buried her feelings deep and built her defences strong. Instead, the alien girl ignored the attack and calmly went back to the point she had been intending to make.
“That doesn’t mean Max was with you out of guilt, Liz. What had he done to make you think that?”
Liz thought about it. Reluctantly, she had to admit that there had been nothing in Max’s behaviour to justify her feelings and maybe she had been wrong in letting her insecurities overcome reality. She sighed wearily.
“Maybe you do have a point, Isobel. Maybe running from Roswell just brought out some insecurities I didn’t know I had…still, that doesn’t mean I’m going to forgive him for calling me Tess and running out on us to go after her.”
“Whatever Max has done, Liz, it seems a pity to throw it all away before we find out just what’s going on with him, don’t you think?”
Isobel wanted to keep a way open for the two to work things out if they could. She thought that they really were made for each other, both being essentially self-involved and surprisingly ruthless when they chose to be.
It struck her that, in the few days since they’d left Roswell, several things had become clear to her that were previously obscured in the world she had lived in. This belated insight into the characters of her brother and Liz was just the latest example. It must be true after all, she thought wryly to herself, that travel broadens the mind.
Liz sat up and swung her legs to the floor, reaching for their empty cups and standing to move over to the dresser.
“Do you think you could help me learn to control my power enough to heat up some more of that cinnamon milk, before we try to get some sleep?”
Isobel was content to let Liz change the subject. At least she hadn’t dismissed the suggestion out of hand. Dreamwalking Max might help to provide some answers to the problem. Meanwhile, lessons in power control might be a good place to start work on their new friendship. Once again, she missed Maria and wished she were there to lighten the atmosphere.
“Ok, we’ll try it this way at first. Pour a little milk into your cup, not too much, and then concentrate on the memory of what warm, sugary, cinnamon milk tastes like in your mouth…”
Liz tried to follow Isobel’s surprisingly patient instructions and both became absorbed in the lesson as the night advanced.
Around 5am, dawn was a pale hint in the eastern sky when Kyle knocked softly on the door.
A pale, puffy-eyed Liz opened it cautiously and, when she saw who it was, she stepped back to let him inside. He found Isobel, still fully dressed, sitting on the end of one the beds while Liz returned to a seat in the corner. They both looked at him in silence. He cleared his throat nervously.
“So…er…how…how are you feeling…?” he could have kicked himself. That was so not what he meant to say. They might start to cry again and he knew he would just turn tail and run for Maria.
To his surprise they shared a glance, then both gave him weak, but knowing, grins.
“Don’t worry, Kyle, you’re safe. We’re all cried out, so you won’t have to panic and run for help.” Isobel was faintly waspish.
“Oh, well…er…that’s good, I guess. I came to say that…um, Michael said to tell you that we’re all meeting in my room at 7am to talk about our plans. So, if you want to go on watch, now would be a good time, but it’s cold out there and if you don’t feel up to it right now, then I can carry on. I don’t feel sleepy at all. It’s just that Maria said earlier that she thought you might be up for it…” he heard himself babbling and trailed off uncertainly.
Liz took pity on him and stood up to walk to the door, where she turned to look at him.
“It’s ok, Kyle, it’s time I did my share of guard duty. What do I do?”
He suddenly realised that she had not, so far, taken any share of the night watch since they had left Roswell, so he decided he’d better stay to show her the ropes. He looked over at Isobel to include her in the conversation.
“It’s beginning to get light now and so it’s too risky go sit outside to watch. We’ll only draw attention to ourselves, which we don’t want. The best thing we can do at this time of the morning is keep watch through the window, being careful not to let anyone see us looking. I suppose one of us could sit in back of the Chevy, the tinted windows would help hide the fact that someone is there, but it’s not really necessary and it may be a little late for that, if people are starting to move about.”
The girls nodded their understanding.
“How would you like to play it? There’s still time for a quick trip to the vending machines to check the front of the building, if you like, but we can’t all go…”
“Liz and I will go together. I’m sick of this room, aren’t you, Liz? I need action; I need to do something to clear my head.” She smoothed her hands over her hair, currently in longish, loose chestnut curls, tied back in a high ponytail. Kyle liked the look.
“When you come back, you can both stay here and keep an eye on the other guests leaving, ok? It’ll start to get busier soon, as most people make an early start.”
The girls’ spare clothes were in another room, since they had not expected to spend the night in this one, but the prospect of a chilly few minutes outside didn’t deter them from going out into the faint grey light to pause and lean on the rail, staring at the dozen or so cars and pick-ups parked in front of the other rooms on three sides of the square.
Kyle’s low voice came from the doorway behind them.
“It’s not anywhere near full up, so that makes it easier for us to make a note of the vehicles for future reference. Try to make a mental note of them all, because it’s not just the ones that are still here when we leave which might be suspect, but also the ones that leave before us. They could be going ahead to wait somewhere for us to pass them, before they follow us.”
The two girls concentrated hard on scanning the parking lot, trying to memorise colors, models and plates. Kyle knew they would eventually come to realise that it was impossible to remember everything about every car, but he saw no harm in making them aware of just how careful they needed to be when they were on watch.
Moments later, Liz and Isobel hurried along the walkway and through the arch that led to the front of the building and the reception office. Their destination was the area where the vending machines were located and they stood around, ostensibly discussing their selections, while in reality examining the area for cars or people who might possibly be the enemy.
They each bought a snack from the machines and wandered back to the now darkened room. Kyle had drawn a chair into position by the window and was surveying as much of the parking lot as he could, concentrating mainly on the exit through the archway.
Liz and Isobel came in and Liz waved him out of the chair, taking his place and unwrapping the pecan muffin she had just bought. Isobel went over to the dresser and started to make coffee for them all, which perked Kyle up considerably. He’d only had some disgusting stuff from the vending machines during his long watches in the night.
“We may have an advantage today, as we’re retracing our steps back into the city. That might fool anyone who expects us to head on out to continue on our way.” He didn’t mention the absence of the bus, figuring silence was the best way to deal with that difficulty. However, Liz again surprised him by bringing up the subject herself.
“Max taking the bus may actually have helped us. If they follow it, they might not be able to keep track of us as well, depending on their resources.” Her voice was neutral and no flicker of emotion crossed her face she spoke.
Isobel nodded in agreement, apparently equally unemotional about her missing brother. Kyle was impressed. Maybe Maria had been right when she said that they were strong and would deal. Still, women were unpredictable, so he privately remained cautious. It was early days yet.
The morning sun rose higher in the sky and a few other guests began to stir. Some headed to the vending machines and returned to their rooms with a breakfast snack and some simply climbed into their cars and headed out towards the highway.
At 5.30 Kyle finished his second cup of sweet, Tabasco-laced coffee and went back to his room for a short nap and a shower before the others joined him at 7am. On the way, he stopped by the Chevy to calculate how much room they had to spare for the extra supplies and, on peering through the tinted window, he saw a large package on the back seat.
Opening the door, he saw it was the other tent from the bus, together with several items assumed to have gone with Max. He whistled quietly to himself and went on into his room. The news could wait until the others arrived for breakfast.
In the middle room, Michael and Maria were still fast asleep, naked bodies curled close together in the warm bed, dreaming minds linked in the boundless love they’d both surrendered to at last.
Floating reluctantly towards consciousness from the depths of a delightful dream, Maria’s eyelids fluttered open first. She could feel Michael’s mind still drifting blissfully in the newfound, shared security of their love. She could also feel his rock-hard c*ock pressing insistently against her ass. Her happiness threatened to overwhelm her and she needed to express it physically, so she slid carefully around in his arms until they were face to face. Michael’s Tabasco-toxic morning breath had often made open-mouth kisses uncomfortable for her until he returned from his bathroom routine, but this time she never even noticed, she was so hot for him. If she didn’t have him right then, she feared she would explode.
Sliding one arm around his neck, she fastened her lips to his shoulder and bit delicately, before nibbling and kissing her way towards his neck. Trailing her other hand across his chest and down towards the hugely impressive erection she craved inside her, she first encountered the slick tip of his engorged co*ck and ran a finger lightly over the sensitive rim before her hand wrapped round the thick shaft. She slid it down to cup and squeeze his balls gently before returning to the silk-sheathed steel, intending to guide it into her fiery, liquid center as quickly as she could. Suddenly, his big hands tangled painfully in her hair and her face was dragged up to his, where he took her lips in a ravenous kiss, invading her mouth with his tongue and drowning all rational thought beneath the fierce tide of his passion. She released his co*ck for a moment in order to wrap both her arms around his neck and pull him closer…
His hands left her hair and moved lightning-fast to grasp her wrists and he used one to pin them above her head as he held her beneath him. His other hand slid slowly over her ass, his fingers digging into her flesh, pulling her thigh up over his hip, bringing her tight and open against him so that his co*ck slid between her legs and entered in one swift, smooth movement. As soon as he was fully inside her, Michael stopped moving and stared challengingly into her eyes.
Maria was instantly incensed. She could feel his thoughts, ferocious and tender, knew that he was teasing her, withholding the pleasure she craved just to make her angry, to see her writhing beneath him, feel her frustrated need for his friction against her clit, the one tiny point in her burning body that now eclipsed every other sense she possessed.
She tried to buck against him but he held her still with one hand on her hip as he slowly, slowly, started to withdraw from her, inch by tormenting inch, until he was poised once more at her brink, then he slid his c*ock infinitely slowly back until he filled her again. He repeated this remorselessly, building a relentless rhythm, using all his willpower to keep her on the dark, sweet edge of cumming, dragging out their mutual torture until finally, with the sound of his name on her lips echoing through his mind, his control snapped.
He heard her sobbing with fury and then laughing in wild relief as he suddenly plunged his co*ck hard and fast into her hot, tight core, thrusting harder, faster, deeper, again and again until they were both panting and pounding against each other and the sweat ran to mingle on their salty skin as their bodies fused in passionate ecstasy unknowing, uncaring, if their names were screams voiced aloud or silent whispers in their star-strewn minds.
Some time later, they lay cosily together against pillows piled high, Maria’s head resting against Michael’s shoulder and his fingers idly playing with her hair. Occasionally they kissed softly, thoughts gentle and caressing, unwilling to think further ahead than the moment and break the mood.
Both were still in the intense aftershock of making love and the beep of his watch was a cruel intrusion into their private world. Michael, intent on keeping her all to himself for as long as he could, drew Maria into his arms, his kiss meltingly slow, deep and loving. Her wholehearted response in both mind and body assured him, if he needed it, that she was his forever and the fervor of his own pledge in return equalled hers.
TBC...
-
candylovespell
- Enthusiastic Roswellian
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2005 4:50 pm
Chapters 18-19
Chapter 18
At 7am Michael and Maria found the others already gathered in Kyle’s room, waiting for them. Isobel smiled at Maria, pleased to see her friend happy; Kyle gave Michael a wicked grin and then winked at Maria, making her blush. Liz kept her thoughts to herself.
Maria headed straight to the dresser. Coffee for Spaceboy and herself was the first priority. Their reluctance to leave the bed meant that they had been forced to take a very fast shower together at the last minute.
Michael, frustrated at being denied time to play with a wet and soapy Maria, and annoyed at having to endure another day of shopping, was in a grumpy mood by the time he sat down on the chair by the dresser in Kyle’s room. Anger at Max’s desertion returned to him as he remembered the earlier part of the night and his formidable scowl was in evidence as he surveyed his companions scattered about the room.
Maria started to prepare the coffee, but Liz suddenly joined her and, with the first genuine smile her best friend had seen since they left Roswell, gave her a warm hug.
“Go sit down, Maria – I’ll make the coffee for you and Michael this morning. Isobel’s been giving me lessons. Watch!”
She carefully prepared the cups, held her hand over them and concentrated. Soon steam rose from them both and the others commented approvingly. She took a mock-modest bow, and handed them to the suitably grateful recipients. Michael relaxed for a few moments as the hot, sweet liquid revived his spirits slightly. Then he got down to business.
“First of all, we’ve got to get to a park as soon as we can, but one that’s far enough away to put some distance between us and the bus. It means driving all night with all of us packed into the Chevy. Not gonna be a pleasure trip. Before that, we’ve gotta replace as many of the supplies as we can carry, now that Max has taken off with half our stuff.” He frowned in an effort to keep his temper in check.
When Michael recalled all the time and worry he and Kyle had put in over planning and buying their supplies, only for Max to betray their trust without a second thought for his friends, he could feel rage build inside. The only thing that stopped him exploding was the knowledge that the others depended on him. They needed a leader and he had to be strong for them all. The luxury of losing his temper was no longer an option.
Kyle spoke from his comfortable position on the rumpled bed.
“Got some good news on the shopping front. His ex-Majesty has left us some farewell gifts in the Chevy. Guess he had a conscience after all.”
The others all looked surprised, and in Isobel’s case, relieved, too. Max hadn’t been entirely thoughtless, despite everything.
“What did he leave us?”
“Looked like the other tent and the sleeping bags, I didn’t look closely. It’ll be a tight fit to get it all packed in the Chevy with the five of us as well, though.”
Michael looked thoughtful.
“As I said last night, we’ll soon need to get a pick-up truck from somewhere and that should give us plenty of room. It’ll be much better than the bus, anyhow and another 4WD, too. There are plenty round here to choose from, every other vehicle is a pick-up, and we won’t be as conspicuous in the mountains. Still, I think we should wait until we leave the park before we grab one. Less hassle and we can take our time planning it.”
He looked round at them all, noting that they all seemed wide awake and alert this morning, despite all the drama of the long night. Surprisingly, Liz and Isobel looked almost cheerful. It had been a good idea of Maria’s to suggest the state park. Michael wanted them to get well rested and prepare themselves for a summer surviving in the backwoods. He would tell them his plans for that when they had settled into the routine but he wanted to discuss it with Maria first chance he got, because it was time that she, above all, knew his secret. He hadn’t meant to keep it from any of them at first, but then he’d been distracted by other things until now.
*** So you’ve got secrets from me, have you, Spaceboy?***
Reflecting that while their unexpected new connection allowed them the privacy of independent thought and, having highly individual personalities, they were both profoundly grateful for that, there would be times when it might be a tad inconvenient… Like now, when he’d forgotten to shield his thoughts and she must’ve picked up on his slightly nervous anticipation. So his reply was a defensive growl…
*** I knew it would only be a matter of time before you tried to suck my brains out. Secrets don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell with you, do they, Blondie? Still, this one’s not gonna give up so easy…***
*** You think? Hmm, so young and so deluded. Oh, I do love a challenge, Spaceboy. As for sucking your brains out, Michael – well, that’ll just have to wait until we’re alone…***
The vivid image flashed through both their minds and their eyes met across the room. Michael looked away hurriedly, before he lost control and ravished her there and then. He heard her slow giggle in his mind and forced himself to concentrate on the public topic of conversation.
“…still got to get the right clothes, and make sure we’ve got enough food for the next week, anyway.” That was Kyle, revising their schedule. “I’ll go see what we’ll need to replace and what we can do about fitting the extra tent and stuff into the Chevy.”
“Isobel, why don’t you help Kyle? You did a great job when we split the stuff the first time.” If Isobel was surprised by a compliment from Michael, she was diplomatic enough not to show it. She merely nodded.
Michael thought back to what he’d learned from the survival manual. It seemed years since he had been peacefully reading it in the back of the bus, with only Maria and Kyle for company.
“Gonna be freezing in the mountains as well as hot, so we’ll need to layer up on clothes. It means more stuff to pack in the Chevy – maybe too much. I think we’ll just have to get a roof rack, even if it does make us a bit more conspicuous for a while.”
Kyle brought out his list from a pocket and smoothed it out.
“Good boots are a basic and Michael’s right - we need to plan for both extremes, so good gear is a necessity. This is what the book recommends as the minimum requirements.”
He read aloud from the list and Michael shook his head gloomily. They’d already spent far more “alien” money than he was comfortable with and they’d need to spend a lot more before they left the city. They were gathering some “real” money in exchange, which was some consolation, but the sooner they moved on, the happier he would be.
“Liz. When you and Iz were doing the research on the parks, what did you come up with?"
“There are a couple of possibilities within reach, if we drive all night and aim to get there tomorrow afternoon.”
“Then you, Maria and I will plan our route, while you two –” He nodded at Kyle and Isobel. “ –go sort out the Chevy.”
Isobel remembered to ask if they’d all packed their personal belongings yet, as they would need to find room in the Chevy for those, too. There was a general shuffle between the rooms as they all retrieved their stuff and set it beside the remaining vehicle. Despite being merely the bare necessities, it was still a significant pile to find room for.
Michael and Maria ate some of the food left over from the night before and drank more of Liz’s coffee as they leaned over the map spread out on one of the beds. Liz brought out the flyers for the parks and they discussed the options.
Ten minutes later the door opened and the other two came back inside, looking worried. Kyle broke the news.
“Max left more stuff than I first thought. Too much, in fact – there’s no room inside for all of it and all of us, too. We’re gonna need that roof rack or we’ll have to dump some of it.”
Michael stood up, yawned and stretched all over, flexing his muscles so that the already tight black sweatshirt he was wearing clung to his body like a second skin and his jeans slipped down lower on his hips, revealing his belly button.
Maria’s wide eyes drank in the sight and she licked her lips, unconsciously sending him a flash of lust, which made him grin smugly to himself. Liz noticed the display, too, and involuntarily recalled the sight of his naked, impressively endowed body from when she had interrupted him with Maria at the last motel. She flushed in horrified embarrassment, hoping nobody had seen her reaction.
Looking at his watch, which showed that it was nearly 7.30, Michael bowed to the inevitable. There would have to be a special trip for a roof rack, before they could leave the motel. There was no point in going as a group; someone would have to stay to guard the extra stuff. The others agreed, and 15 minutes later, much of the equipment had been unloaded into the room and the two guys had driven off towards the city to shop for the rack. After that, they intended to buy their personal all-weather gear but first of all, as Kyle convincingly argued, a real guy-type breakfast was a necessity.
Stopping at a roadside diner, they devoured the best breakfast they had eaten since forever. Ham, eggs, beans and sausage links preceded waffles with bacon and molasses, all doused with Tabasco and washed down with juice and coffee. Leaving their motherly waitress a generous tip, they set off for the shopping trip in a more up-beat mood than when they’d left the motel.
Maria kept watch from the window to see if they were followed, and was relieved when there was no sign of anyone else leaving soon enough afterwards to be suspicious. The three girls sat around in silence for a few minutes, then Isobel looked over at the map, still spread out on one of the beds.
“Did you three decide on which park we go to? How far did you get with planning the route?”
“The best one for us seems to be River Falls Lake. It’s a large park about a 24 hour drive towards the north west, and the flyer says it’s got secluded tenting areas in pine woods and alpine meadows as well as a big lake.”
“Sounds cool, like a vacation. Be good to stop somewhere for a while.” Isobel had long ago tired of the constant travelling. Maybe camping wasn’t her favourite activity, but she needed some time out from the suffocating presence of the others, to breathe and come to terms with her new life.
“It’s gonna be hard to spend more time on the road. When we get to the park, I think I’ll just sleep for the week…”
Maria echoed Isobel’s thoughts and Liz smiled briefly in agreement. She pointed to a spot on the map.
“We’re here and we need to leave this city by early afternoon, to get to the place tomorrow in time to set up camp before dark. The guys should be back by 10.30, so we can hit the stores for ourselves.”
“We can pack up the Chevy before we leave this place, shop for our clothes, then head out after lunch. Meanwhile, I could do with a nap now, how about you?”
Isobel looked at the other two. Maria shook her head.
“You two take a room each and I’ll stay on watch. We have to make sure we do our share, otherwise it’s not fair on the guys. We're all tired, but we have no choice - we have to hold out until we get to the park. It’s hard to sleep when we’re on the road. That’s why I like to drive if I can. It calms my nerves, and stops me thinking too much, I guess.” For a moment, she looked stricken as she thought of her mom, but she straightened her shoulders and went over to the dresser to gather up the bags. “We’ll have to dump this trash somewhere else, so we don’t leave any obvious traces, though I guess we can’t help fingerprints and stuff. I suppose if they look hard enough they can find us, anyway.”
Isobel grinned savagely and flexed her fingers.
“I can make it harder for them.”
She passed her hand over the nightstand, leaving a freshly gleaming patina behind. Wandering around the room, she polished all the areas most likely to have retained their fingerprints.
“There, this room’s cleaner than it’s ever been. I’ll go over all three rooms thoroughly, right before we check out.”
She went over to the door.
“Will you be ok here on your own, Maria? Just call if you need us, we can hear you through the walls…” With a sly wink at Maria, she left.
Liz stayed where she was, sitting on the edge of the bed by the map. Maria sat on the chair by the window and peered out for a moment.
“You don’t have to stay with me, Lizzie, I’ll be fine. You get some rest, chica, we’ve got a long way to go and I bet you didn’t get any sleep last night, did you?”
Liz sighed and folded the map back into its waterproof cover. She lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
“Are you and Michael finally sure about each other now, Maria? No more clairvoyance needed from me or Madame Vivien?”
She teased, but she really wanted to know. The sounds coming through the thin partition wall as the sun rose that morning had made her feel jealous and angry again, so she tried to be extra nice to Maria, to make up for her resentful thoughts.
Maria’s relationship with Michael had always been a mystery to her. They were so volatile and touchy, so wary and insecure about each others feelings that it was hard to believe that their relationship had effectively lasted nearly three years, whether they had been together or not. Although she had gone too far when she’d railed at Maria in the coffeeshop, and her apology had been real, she still privately thought that the relationship was doomed. Liz knew that the love she and Max had – used to have, she corrected herself quickly – was special, infinitely deeper than Michael and Maria’s edgy, uncertain relationship.
It was hard to ignore the fact that Michael was revealing a very different side of himself now that they were on the run, and she was more impressed by that than she would admit to herself, but she could not accept that he had so easily replaced Max, who had been born for the role of leader. Wherever he was, and whatever was causing his current erratic behaviour, Max should return and claim his rightful place in their group. Things could never be the same between them now, she had made the decision to move on, but that would not stop her being relieved when he came back and the natural order was resumed.
Maria’s eyes were shining as she looked over at her best friend and her smile was pure happiness as she replied to Liz’s curious questions.
“Things are solid between Michael and me, Lizzie. Leaving Roswell seems to suit us, we both know our future’s together now, whatever happens.”
She saw Liz’s smile tremble and quickly changed the subject. There was no need to talk too much about her own happiness and add to Liz’s pain. The private knowledge between Michael (whose current emotions - strongly focused interest and satisfaction, which surprised her as she knew he hated shopping - she could faintly feel somewhere deep in her mind) and herself was enough.
“It’s great that Isobel is helping you with your own powers, chica. How long did it take you to learn to control them enough to heat the coffee?”
Liz embarked on a pleasurable recap of her lesson in power control from the previous night, with scientific theories expounded and a demonstration of her skill once again when she chilled some water and made it taste like cherry coke. She explained that it didn’t look like the real thing yet, but Isobel had promised that would be their next lesson. Both girls giggled and their discussion turned to the clothes they would soon be buying for their new life in the mountains.
That was as far as they dared go when speculating, because neither could bring themselves to admit the trepidation they felt at taking another step away from their old life in Roswell. All the time they had been travelling, it didn’t truly feel as if they had cut all their ties. Now that the time had come to begin to live that new life, practical reality began to bite.
Maria persuaded Liz to rest properly in the next room until the guys came back, then she carried on watching out of the window, revelling in the happiness of being together with Michael again and idly daydreaming about their next encounter, until the Chevy pulled into the parking lot and stopped in front of their rooms once more.
The new roof rack had been fitted, and two large, hard-shell containers were already strapped to the top.
Michael climbed out of the vehicle and headed straight to the room that Maria was in. Kyle followed slowly behind, waiting for Isobel, who had emerged from the furthest room to join them.
Reluctantly confining themselves to a brief, chaste kiss in front of their friends, Michael and Maria shared a warmer, wordless, private greeting, each surprised by the depth of joy the other felt in being back together after even a few hours apart.
Kyle immediately started to sort the equipment into piles ready to load up the two containers. Michael and the two girls joined in and re-packing the Chevy was done in a very short time. One tent fitted into each container, along with the lanterns, two small outdoor cookstoves and fuel canisters, tarps, ropes, insulation pads, sleeping bags and various other items.
It left a generous space in back for the smaller stuff like the medical kit, personal packs, dried food provisions and other supplies.
Maria went to fetch Liz, who was fast asleep in the middle room, and brought her back, still half dazed, to join them. Isobel and Michael carried out a final “forensic clean-up” of all three rooms before the guys drank cups of spicy coffee to recover from the ordeal of shopping.
Michael picked up the map from the bed and looked over at the girls.
“Kyle and I have been talking over our plans and we think it may be best to start out right away instead of returning to the city. It’s 10.15 now. We can stop in Salida this afternoon and buy gear for you girls before we head north on a stretch of 285. It means we can leave this city behind quicker than we thought and maybe get to River Falls Lake earlier than we expected. Ok?”
Twenty minutes later the Chevy joined highway 50, heading west with a full load on board.
Maria was in the back seat between Michael and Isobel, while Kyle drove with Liz beside him. The Chevy was much more comfortable compared to the bus and Maria’s head soon fell on to Michael’s shoulder, while his cheek rested against her hair. Sleep claimed them both and Isobel smiled at them affectionately before settling back and gazing at the scenery, which was becoming more spectacular as they travelled further into the mountains.
They made good time and just after 12.30, Liz pulled into the crowded parking lot of a shopping mall in the city of Salida. The girls went to use the facilities and start their shopping expedition while Kyle quickly did his usual routine of checking for the suppliers they needed and marking the locations on a local tourist map. Michael stayed with the Chevy until Kyle returned before making his own expedition.
They were deep in the mountains now and everywhere they looked, snow-capped peaks towered into the blue sky and although the sun shone, the air was cold. Kyle had been asleep for the last hour and woke with a start, momentarily disorientated. Noticing where they were he thought, with a stab of pain, how far they had come from his desert home in a few days. The icy grey crags looked more threatening than he expected and he felt insignificant and lonely beside them, in spite of his new powers. He shook the gloomy thoughts off and concentrated on the more user-friendly aspects of mountain life.
“Hey, I just had an idea, Guerin.” His voice startled Michael, who was deep in survival manuals again.
“What now, Valenti?”
“Fishing tackle – that’s what we need. This lake place is bound to have fish and it’ll give us a source of fresh food.”
Michael caught his enthusiasm.
“Yeah, and we have to teach the girls to fish, too, for when we go deeper into the wilderness. It’s necessary for our survival that we all learn as much as we can and that includes them.” He grinned as he tried to picture Maria gutting fish for the campfire barbeque. It so wouldn’t happen.
*** Don’t kid yourself, Spaceboy. I’m not that helpless. I can do it if I have to ***
*** I won’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes, Blondie***
*** You just wait, Michael. Not only am I going to gut it, but you’re going to eat it…***
*** No way, babe. I love you, but I don’t need food poisoning…***
*** Damn it, Michael, I’ll show you that the DeLuca women can do anything we want to do. I will learn to cook and you will learn to love it if it kills us both***
He heard her mental growl, before her thoughts subsided into low mutterings that he was thankful he couldn’t quite make out. She had sounded really cross, although he hadn’t meant to ruffle her feathers this time. Life was about to get even more dangerous if Maria followed up her threat. He said so, just to provoke her some more.
*** Threat? Oooh, Spaceboy, that was low…***
She sounded amused again, but he knew that it was not always a good sign and mentally prepared himself for future battles. Life was looking up. Fighting with Maria was one of his favorite pastimes, next to making out afterwards.
Michael looked up to see Kyle watching him expectantly. He yawned to deflect any suspicion that his inattention had anything other than fatigue behind it.
“What did you say? I was out of it for a minute there, sorry.”
Kyle was unsympathetic.
“Shoulda got more sleep last night, instead of keeping the rest of us awake.”
Michael grinned, but said nothing. Kyle repeated his question.
“I said we’ll need to buy some rods and stuff this afternoon. I saw a sports store advertised on our way into the mall. Shall I go there now, or do you want me to wait until the girls come back?”
“Go now, sooner the better. How much cash do you think you’ll need? We’re running low again so Iz will have to cook some more, soon as she gets back. Pity we’re in a different city to spend it. Another trail marker left behind us. Same game plan, though. Spread the purchases.”
Kyle took the whole roll of “alien” notes and left, leaving Michael to look round at their fellow shoppers. It was very busy, being – he calculated - a Saturday and nobody appeared to take any notice of him or Kyle.
Half an hour later, the girls re-appeared in the distance, carrying several bags each. Maria also had a cardboard cupholder with two large coffee containers balanced precariously against her chest. He sent her a kiss for her kindness.
They all slid back into the Chevy, laughing and relaxed after the normal girlie pleasures of shopping and comparing their purchases over lunch in a coffee shop. The whole exercise had taken only an hour and a half, a personal best for all three.
Maria handed over the coffee to Michael, meanwhile asking where Kyle had gone and digging around amongst her shopping to pull out a bag of donuts. His eyes lit up as he reached for his personal Tabasco supply. Donuts were his favorite food and he never got bored with them, even though he had eaten them at every opportunity since they had been on the road. Maria indulged him as she suspected they were a food that might be hard to find in the mountains.
“Kyle’s gone to buy fishing rods. The lake should be a useful source of fresh protein.” He didn’t mention his plans for them all – Maria already knew and Liz and Isobel, both on record as preferring motel life to camping, would whine and complain at the prospect. He would wait for the right moment to break it to them.
The girls compared their lists and crossed off the stuff they had bought in the mall. Kyle’s tourist map showed the other stores were located nearby, but there was no sign of him until another 15 minutes had passed and Michael had finished off all the donuts, loudly sucking his sugary fingers and ignoring Liz’s disapproving comments about manners and sharing with Kyle.
Kyle was already mildly pissed off when he finally arrived back at the Chevy and loaded the stuff in back with the rest. The store clerk had been an enthusiast and insisted on taking a personal interest in the young man’s choices. While grateful for the advice, Kyle eventually had to plead a non-existent appointment in order to get away. So much for being an anonymous customer, he moaned to the others as he settled into his seat. Then he spotted the empty donut bag and became annoyed with Michael for eating them all.
Isobel reached over from the back seat and stopped him in mid-rant by holding a bag of Danish pastries in front of his face. She exchanged an I-told-you-so look with Maria and they both giggled with Liz when Michael turned round and scowled at her for her earlier attempt to make him feel guilty.
There was another sticky moment when Michael held his Tabasco bottle out of Kyle’s reach in retaliation for the earlier rude comments about his appetite, but he was distracted by Maria wrapping her arms around his neck from behind and kissing his ear so Kyle was able to make a successful snatch.
Peace was restored while Kyle ate both pastries and drank the rapidly cooling coffee without further complaint. Then they headed on to the next store.
They made one more stop before they left the city late in the afternoon. At a Borders store Michael surprised them by issuing each of them 50 real dollars to spend on books and CDs for personal entertainment in the wilderness.
They allowed themselves 45 minutes to browse before they all met up to set off again on their journey. Michael, Maria and Liz stayed on watch as the other two headed into the store.
Michael had wanted this time alone with Maria to talk seriously about his plans, but Liz had insisted on staying, too, joking uneasily that they needed a chaperone or risk being arrested for disturbing the peace. Maria was momentarily puzzled by this, but then dismissed it, assuming maybe Liz still didn’t feel quite comfortable alone with Isobel and Kyle yet. Michael just thought Liz was being her usual pain in the ass self.
He sent a regretful thought to Maria for having to delay their discussion once more, and returned to his survival manuals while Liz and Maria discussed their choices in literature and music.
When Kyle and Isobel returned, the other three immediately set out in their place.
As they approached the store Maria commented that these choices were going to be all the more important because they would be isolated for a long time and no doubt boredom would be a factor. Variety would therefore be vital. She quickly kissed Michael, gave Liz a small wave and disappeared among the bookshelves aiming, although her friends didn’t yet know it, for the cookbooks. Michael and Liz stared after her in surprise. Then they quickly headed in opposite directions, Michael towards the shelves of classic fiction and Liz towards the poetry section.
Meeting back at the Chevy, they all settled into the comfort to which they had quickly become accustomed. Maria would be driving with Isobel on look-out. Liz was sitting between Kyle and Michael in the back, silently cursing Max for stealing the bus and leaving her suddenly feeling like the outsider instead of the center of the group, as she normally was and still should be. She brooded quietly to herself on the unfairness of life.
After filling up on gas as they left Salida, they made their way to a three-way intersection of major highways where they took to the last stretch of the legendary 285, which held special memories for Michael and Maria, before they turned off onto a scenic route via Aspen and eventually through Glenwood Springs, although many of it’s views were lost as darkness fell.
In the small hours after midnight they stopped beside a long, empty stretch of highway and changed the Chevy’s disguise for the last time before it disappeared into the the park.
They chose their own disguises, which would also have to be retained for a week, before they finally set off towards the next stage of their strange, new alien life together.
TBC…
Chapter 19
The early evening sun burned down on the big, dark green Chevy truck as it swung into the eastern entrance of the River Falls Lake State Park. Michael left it outside the visitor center and went to buy permits and check in for the next week. When he returned 10 minutes later, a young employee in the park service uniform accompanied him. The guy spoke to Michael and lifted his hand in a friendly gesture towards the shadowy occupants of the Chevy as he passed it on his way to a nearby jeep.
Michael lifted the tailgate and tossed a couple of firewood bundles and briquette packs in back before he slid back behind the wheel and started the engine.
“Who’s he, Spaceboy?”
Maria voiced the wariness felt by them all, nervous at the unexpected attention of strangers after 5 days on the road.
“Says he’s a trainee park ranger – offered to lead us to the campsite as he was going that way himself. No point in refusing, would have seemed strange.” Michael’s voice was tight with tension. ‘Trust no one’ was still rule number one for him.
He followed the jeep out of the parking lot and on to a road winding gently downhill through trees. The sunlight filtered through the leaf canopy as they drove deeper into the park, catching occasional glimpses of the lake. After some time, the road levelled out and the trees abruptly gave way to a breathtaking view of the mountains and sky reflected in the mirror of water before them. The jeep led them along the edge of the lake for another mile or so before stopping at a camping area among the trees.
The trainee ranger got out and waited for them to pull up nearby, before walking over to the Chevy. He was a tall, suntanned blond, not much older than them, with friendly blue eyes that widened with appreciation as the girls emerged into the bright sunlight.
Isobel favoured shoulder length dark hair and mirror shades to elegant effect. She leaned unselfconsciously against the hood and smiled up into the blue sky, relieved to have reached a relatively safe haven at last, if only for a short time.
Liz had chosen a bleach-haired, pale look for the week, the short, spiky cut making her dark, tragic eyes seem too large for her face. She was reluctant to leave the protection of the Chevy and stood shyly behind the open door.
Maria, blonde again, honey-skinned, had reverted to a mid-length, sharply cut style from a couple of seasons ago that she knew Michael had liked. It reminded Liz of the time Tess had first arrived to disrupt their lives.
Their guide smiled at all three girls, but Michael wrapped a possessive arm around Maria, and Kyle moved casually in front of the other two in an unmistakable ‘keep off’ warning.
The young ranger pointed out the tent pads – smoothed out, grassy areas well-spaced among the trees and bushes along the lake shore.
“This is one of the designated fishing areas around the lake. There are eight tent pads in this campsite – but it’s early season and you have it all to yourselves for the moment, so you’re lucky to get the best shady spots. There are a few camp rules, all in the literature, so please make reading it your first priority. The toilet block and water hydrant are over there - ” he gestured to a rustic style building set some distance away from the lake “ – each pad has it’s own picnic table and fireplace or grill. We at River Falls Lake work to promote environmental education and guests are asked to respect our beautiful natural heritage. Now, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me or the other staff at the visitor center.”
It was a well-rehearsed speech, recited with genuine feeling. The guy clearly loved his job. He smiled at them all, waited for a moment and, when Isobel reassured him they were fine and thanked him for his help, he wished them a great vacation then climbed into his jeep. He leaned out and called to them as he manoeuvred it slowly back towards the road.
“There’s a shower headed this way, so I’d hold off from unpacking your gear until it passes over…” He pointed to the sky, waved and was gone.
The sun was still bright, but when they looked out over the lake, ominous dark clouds were rapidly piling up on the jagged rim of mountain peaks.
Three minutes later, they were all back in the Chevy as the rain drummed loudly on the roof and flooded down the windows. It seemed more claustrophobic than ever, trapped by the weather before they’d even had a chance to choose their site. Michael wanted nothing more than a hot, sweet, spicy coffee after the long spell of driving he had put in that morning but, instead, he handed out the literature he’d collected from the visitor center. It was vital for them all to know the rules so they wouldn’t inadvertently do anything to attract attention to themselves.
A few minutes later Isobel, in the back seat, suddenly sat up and exclaimed in surprise, making him jump.
“Bears! Oh my god, it says there are bears in the forest and to keep food out of reach – I don’t want to stay here if there are bears roaming around, Michael…it’s far too dangerous.”
The other two girls joined in her protest, until Michael had to raise his voice to make himself heard.
“Will you shut up!” They went silent, shocked at the loudness of his voice in the confined space. “God, they can hear you shrieking back at the park entrance...”
He took a deep breath to calm himself. Losing it now, when they finally had a chance to settle quietly for a few days and allow themselves time to think, was waste of energy. He continued in a normal tone.
“This is the wilderness, what did you expect? They can’t be too big a danger or there wouldn’t be a tourist campsite around here. There are no bear cages, either. What’s to be scared of, anyway? We’re much more dangerous than they are…especially DeLuca, here, she’ll just talk ‘em to death.”
He glanced sideways at Maria, who poked her tongue out at him, not yet entirely convinced it was safe.
“Yeah, nothing to get panicked about, ladies.” Kyle had, in fact, shared their panic at first, but hid it and quickly acknowledged Michael’s rational argument. It was true, he thought happily, the most dangerous beast roaming the forest was… himself…
The rainstorm passed and hot sunlight returned, steam rising from the ground as the water evaporated. They couldn’t wait to get out and explore their surroundings.
The lakeshore was rocky at this point and they were able to look out over the wide stretch of water towards the wooded slopes across from their campsite. Maria knelt and dipped her hand into the clear water, withdrawing it quickly when she discovered how cold it was.
“It’s freezing, guys. Too bad, I was really looking forward to a swim before dinner.”
“It’s too early in the year, the guidebook says it warms up later in the summer. Too late for us. We can fish from these rocks, though. I bought us a permit. The water looks deep around here and there’s no limit to the size of the catch.” Michael had already memorised the literature and was determined to make the most of their stay. He looked back at the Chevy.
“Time we unpacked and put the tents up.”
They moved the Chevy between two adjacent sites, about 50 feet apart among the trees and bushes. Chosen for shade and privacy, they were near the shore and some distance away from the facilities and the other pads. One had a grill and the other a fireplace, one for cooking and the other for sitting around, as Maria remarked.
The first tent took the combined efforts of them all, but the second was erected without too much of a struggle and presently they stood around the tailgate of the Chevy drinking coffee or cherry coke before they started to distribute the rest of the gear. They began to feel like they were on vacation and a light-hearted mood infected them all.
“So, which tent would you like, DeLuca – the one with the grill or the fireplace?” Michael hadn’t forgotten Maria’s vow to learn to cook and meant to get some amusement out of watching her efforts. Maria raised her chin in the air and spoke with airy confidence.
“The grill, Spaceboy. I’ll be using it all the time to create those delicious dishes you are so going to l-o-o-o-v-e.”
This earned her a frankly disbelieving look from Liz, who knew her friend’s life-long aversion to cooking.
“Did I hear you right? You, Maria ‘I don’t miss the cooking gene’ DeLuca, are planning to actually cook? Don’t you remember the last time when you tried to make dinner to surprise your mom? You melted the base of a pan and we had to spend all weekend re-painting the kitchen to cover the smoke-damage? Are you sure about this?”
Suddenly becoming the focus of interest for all her friends, Maria glared round at them, noting their broad grins. It only hardened her resolve.
“You’ll see. It can’t be that hard to learn and I have all of you to test my recipes out on…”
There was a collective groan, but only Michael and Liz looked genuinely apprehensive. They both knew she was serious.
“Still, you can all relax for the moment. Let’s make a meal from our supplies because I think we’re all too tired to do anything except catch up on our sleep tonight. I know I am.”
***You sure about that, princess…?***
***I guess maybe not 100%, Spaceboy… what did you have in mind…?***
***We gotta talk, Maria***
***Oh. Right. Talk, yeah. Its that secret you’re keeping from me, isn’t it?***
She heard his mental sigh.
***It’s not exactly a secret, but I do need to tell you about it soon, yeah***
He switched to the group conversation.
“Let’s get the stuff into the tents and then we can eat. I guess Isobel and Liz will be sharing the other tent, and Kyle can share with Maria and me. Everyone ok with that?”
Kyle shook his head.
“I’d sooner sleep in the Chevy. At least I’ll get some sleep, instead of having to listen to you two all night.”
“Kyle, you don’t have to do that, we won’t disturb you. The Chevy can’t be nearly as comfortable as the tent.” Maria was embarrassed and distressed. Had their love making back at the motel early that morning really been so loud?
***I guess we didn’t think of the neighbors, princess, but there’s no way I’m gonna be able to just sleep with you all night without lovin’ you, so Valenti can go sleep in the Chevy if that’s what he wants…***
Nothing and nobody was going to keep Michael away from Maria.
***We can’t let him be uncomfortable, Spaceboy, it’s not fair to Kyle. We’ll just have to make sure that we make the most of the times when he’s out on watch… and try to keep quiet…***
***Ok, Maria, I guess that might work…though how to keep you quiet is gonna be an interesting challenge…***
Maria was indignant.
***You make just as much noise as me, Michael. It will be a challenge for the both of us***
Aloud, Michael insisted that Kyle sleep in the tent, but that guard duties should be arranged to give them all as much privacy as possible. Kyle agreed to the idea, but with reservations. If it didn’t work out, there was probably enough room for his sleeping bag in the empty cargo space with the seats folded down. It was probably better than the tent, now he came to think about it… In fact, it might even be more comfortable than the couch at home. The big Chevy truck had heating, air-conditioning and a CD player/radio and there was bound to be a country music station for the long night watches. He decided to try out the tent for one token night, before he claimed the truck.
It took them well over an hour to unload the Chevy and arrange their possessions in and around the tents to the satisfaction of the girls. The guys had long since lost interest and gone to hang out on the rocks at the shoreline by the time the camp was ready.
Each of the family size tents now had a thick insulation pad topped by an inflated air mattress and sleeping bag (doubled for Michael and Maria) in its two ‘rooms’, along with pillows and extra blankets. A lantern was placed in the vestibule of each and some were hung around the canopy they had erected over the grill and others in the trees near the fireplace, ready for dusk.
The bulk of their food supplies were kept in one of the hard-shell containers roped and hung 15 feet up in a tree. A supply for immediate use was kept with the water containers in back of the Chevy, so the smell didn’t attract bears. Kyle and Michael had made several trips to fill the containers from the public hydrant, but Michael took the extra precaution of purifying it with his powers before they used it for drinking, cooking or washing. The public hydrant was ok, but he’d read that wilderness water was no longer safe to drink direct from source, even in the most remote places, as surface water everywhere was now contaminated.
Maria had unpacked some pots and pans and was sorting through the packages of dried meals for dinner. With the aliens around no fuel would be needed for cooking that night. Over at the other tent, Isobel was arranging the kindling for the campfire and Liz had set out the three remaining camp chairs around it together with some folded blankets.
Michael and Kyle came back from the water’s edge to find the girls relaxing in the chairs drinking cherry coke-flavored fizzy water (Liz was now fine on the taste aspect, but had not yet mastered color-change) and waiting to go shower over at the toilet block. As soon as they arrived, the guys were appointed to guard duty and abandoned. They took over camp chairs in their turn and surveyed their new base. It looked good.
The sun slowly set behind the nearby mountains and the lanterns around their shady campsite were lit as dusk fell. The girls came back freshened up from their showers and the guys headed off in their turn.
Thirty minutes later, Maria stirred the pot of re-hydrated stew, scraped the burnt crust off the bottom, fluffed up the pan of only slightly over-cooked rice and called the others over to help themselves. Then everyone moved across to sit round the table near the campfire and eat.
“Mmmm, chilli beef stew with extra burnt bits to add crunch. Nice touch, DeLuca.” Michael teased his girlfriend from a prudent distance just beyond her reach, but he was hungry and his heart wasn’t in it. He could wait until she took up her cooking challenge in earnest, then the sparks would really fly.
“Just ignore him, Maria. This is good, even if it is from a pouch. Funny how food eaten outside always tastes better than anything else.”
Isobel was hungry, too, and grateful that she hadn’t had to lift a finger to produce it. Liz had boiled the water, and kept the pans hot, keen on seizing any chance to use her powers. Kyle had watched with interest, remembering a puddle of water, over among the rocks, which had recently boiled as a result of his own efforts. Michael had been as good as his word and wasted no time in taking on a student.
They ate pistachio flavored ice-cream - hand made by Michael - and the last of the fresh fruit for dessert.
Afterwards, Isobel unconsciously twisted her wedding ring, a newly acquired nervous habit, and cleared her throat. She made her announcement with an air of defiance, unsure how Michael and the others would take it.
“I’m going to try to dreamwalk Max tonight.”
Michael shrugged his shoulders in pretended indifference. He was determined that Max would act as decoy for at least another night. He figured that if their enemies hadn’t jumped them by now, they would most likely continue to track the bugged van and wait until they thought the group had settled in some hideout and dropped their guard before attacking again. Max should be safe enough if he kept moving and stuck to the interstate highways. However, he didn’t trust Isobel not to warn Max as soon as she heard about the electronic bug theory and he didn’t trust Max at all. The group’s safety had to come first and so he ignored his guilty feelings and stared at Isobel in stony silence.
The others, too, said nothing and the atmosphere round the table became distinctly uncomfortable.
Then Liz leaned over and touched Isobel’s arm lightly, startling the alien girl.
“Would you like me to stay with you when you dreamwalk Max?” Liz was torn between wanting to offer support to Isobel and a strong reluctance to make any kind of contact with Max so soon after her resolve to move on. She felt guilty relief when Isobel shook her head.
“No, Liz. I’ll do this on my own, if you don’t mind. I’ll fall asleep more quickly if I’m alone this time. Thanks, anyway.” She smiled at Liz in gratitude, though.
The group around the table was quiet for a while, thinking about the dangers Max faced and, despite his actions, worried for his safety, too.
Isobel needed to do something to break out of her troubled thoughts, so she carried the dishes over to the other site to clean and store them back in the truck, while Kyle trekked to the far side of the camp to dump the trash and Michael made coffee for everyone.
Settled around the lantern-lit campfire wrapped in blankets against the cold evening air, the girls in the low chairs and the guys cross-legged on the grass, they all watched the flames and listened to the noises of night in the forest. For the first time since the horrors of Graduation, they had reached a place to rest for a while and before long, everyone’s thoughts were back in Roswell.
Michael’s mind was still on the mystery of who was behind the attack. He was puzzled by all the anomalies, not least by the lack of interest in the adult Evans’s and Parkers. The former Sheriff, too, must have been a prime witness for anyone who knew enough to identify the three aliens as targets. The FBI should have had enough resources to enable them to haul in the families for questioning. Cover stories should be no problem for a Government agency. However, all the parents had been left alone since their houses had been searched by the military for Tess and the baby. Why? He considered the suspects.
The Special Unit had been disbanded and he knew from Nasedo that there had been less than a dozen core agents involved. Considering that the military had found Tess’s spaceship, at least some of those agents might have been recalled to the investigation, although inter-service rivalry might have delayed that. Still, it was possible that at least some, if not all, died in the explosion. However, it didn’t mean that there were not enough or all of them left to organise a swift revenge attack and if that failed, to have a discreet back-up plan. That was where Jesse came in. The question was - how long had he been working for the FBI? They must have got a lot of information from him, if he was theirs from the beginning. Or had it been the revelation that his wife was an alien that sent Jesse to the authorities?
The Skins were another possibility, if Tess’s fireball really had been a mindwarp, but he thought it was remote as the nearly-ripe ‘husks’ needed to survive on Earth had undoubtedly been destroyed. There had been no future for them.
Khivar was a distinct threat. He had apparently retreated back to Antar after failing with Isobel, but had allowed Tess to return to Earth with the human baby. Michael couldn’t believe that Tess would have been allowed such easy access to a valuable spaceship in which to escape, mindwarping talent or not. Khivar could simply have had them both killed or imprisoned. He suspected that Khivar’s obsession with the Royal Four wasn’t over.
Michael gazed into the fire and let his thoughts wander back over that last night in Roswell and all that happened after Max first saved Liz and revealed their existence to others.
Kyle’s thoughts were with his dad and how he was doing back in Roswell. He wondered if any powers were showing up in him yet – and worried about the dangers of being helpless and alone when they did. He desperately hoped his dad didn’t have the same problems with being somehow linked to Max that he himself had experienced. Glowing green and sleeping a lot would attract attention, especially in a high-profile local man like the ex-Sheriff. He thought about various ways of leaving a warning message, but knew it would be too dangerous if there were phone-taps or mail checks on their families. Only one answer came to him and he reluctantly looked over at Isobel, to find the firelight sparkling on a tear rolling slowly down her cheek. He ached to comfort her, but knew there was nothing he could do except let her be.
With the added fear over Max, Isobel no longer knew how to how to deal with the pain she had locked away since the night she had told Jesse not to come with them and lose his chance of a normal life. She stared at her wedding ring glinting in the firelight and let herself remember Jesse’s smile as she came into the room, the feel of his arms around her and at last, reluctantly, his offer to come with her to share their fate. At first, she had been overjoyed when he said he loved her and wanted to go with her. In her heart, she had dared to hope he would brush aside her concerns and say that he wanted to be with her no matter what the future held. When he gave in to her protest without a fight, hope died and she knew that, after all, his love for her had not been strong enough to survive the consequences of what she was. The pain in her heart was now such a constant part of her, like breathing, that she could ignore it for hours at a stretch, but it was always there. Jesse was the dream lover she thought she would never find and part of her regretted keeping the secret from him, but another part knew that she would not give up one moment of the short time when she had felt like a normal, human girl, happy with the man she loved. To lose all her hopes and dreams without warning, once again, brought her close to breaking point. She felt the sting of tears behind her eyelids and panicked that she might be about to lose control. Then a warm hand reached for hers and she knew it was Maria, offering comfort, and understanding that her friend had feelings she wasn’t ready to share with anybody. Isobel clung as to a lifeline, forcing herself to open her eyes and pretend that she was strong enough to go on with her life without the man she loved.
Like Kyle, Maria had seen Isobel’s sorrow and she couldn’t stop herself from reaching over and taking Isobel’s hand in hers. The only response was a painfully tight grip, but she didn’t let go and they continued to sit in the fire-lit darkness, somehow comforted a little by that friendly link.
Maria herself had been thinking of her mom, but she knew that Amy would be sustained by the knowledge that she was with Michael, among friends. Her mom, despite her ditzy manner, was a strong woman, so the disappearance of her daughter, though painful and bewildering, wouldn’t destroy the passion for life her only child had inherited. Maria hoped that her mom and the Sheriff could find their way back to the promising relationship that had foundered soon after the Sheriff lost his job, his pride and his self-confidence. She knew that they could be close again and thought about asking Isobel if it were possible to dreamwalk them both some night soon. Other than missing her mom, Maria had no regrets at all about leaving Roswell behind.
Liz, curled inside her blanket, mesmerised by the flames, regretted everything – leaving her family, lashing out at Maria, losing Max. In the quiet peace of the night, she looked back over the last few days and all her actions seemed to belong to some part of her whose existence she had never before suspected. As in some in nightmarish fairytale, she looked into a dark mirror and all her worst character faults had been revealed.
She regretted hurting Maria, knowing her friend hadn’t deserved punishment for the crime of being happy while Liz suffered. Max, too, aside from her feelings about him which were still too complex to define, deserved a chance to try to sort out the trouble that had tormented him enough to run out on his only friends. She couldn’t even think about the pain her parents must be going through. She took a deep breath of the clean, cold night air, resolved to pull herself together and try to think only of the future: move on and make a real contribution to the group; learn to use her new powers for the general good and help make a worthwhile life for herself and the others. Feeling a little better about things than she had for days, she looked around at the group and re-discovered an affection for them all (except maybe Michael with whom she had never felt comfortable) that she hadn’t truly felt for … she was surprised to discover…more than a year past.
The fire was dying when finally Michael groaned and stretched, suddenly ready to head into his sleeping bag no matter where it was that night. First, though, there was the watch to arrange.
“So who wants when? It’s two-hour shifts between the five of us, if breakfast’s at eight. We can use the Chevy, rather than sit outside in the cold. Still need to take the occasional stroll towards the road to listen out, but as long as we keep all the lights off, we can see in the dark. You girls ok to be alone? It’s probably best if you take first watch until midnight, Maria, then me until 2am followed by Kyle, then Liz and finally Isobel at 6. Anyone have any problem with that?”
Nobody did and they all stood, wearily wishing each other goodnight, folding their blankets and chairs before heading towards the tents, except for Maria, who left her stuff to Michael and walked off in into the darkness.
A few minutes later, Michael emerged from their tent and went quietly over to the Chevy.
By then, Kyle was already asleep.
Meanwhile, in the other tent, Liz pulled her sleeping bag up around her ears, the first glimmer of optimism she had felt for days allowing her exhausted mind and body to rest at last.
Isobel, a few feet away, made herself comfortable and prepared to dreamwalk her brother to find out just what was going on with him…
TBC…
At 7am Michael and Maria found the others already gathered in Kyle’s room, waiting for them. Isobel smiled at Maria, pleased to see her friend happy; Kyle gave Michael a wicked grin and then winked at Maria, making her blush. Liz kept her thoughts to herself.
Maria headed straight to the dresser. Coffee for Spaceboy and herself was the first priority. Their reluctance to leave the bed meant that they had been forced to take a very fast shower together at the last minute.
Michael, frustrated at being denied time to play with a wet and soapy Maria, and annoyed at having to endure another day of shopping, was in a grumpy mood by the time he sat down on the chair by the dresser in Kyle’s room. Anger at Max’s desertion returned to him as he remembered the earlier part of the night and his formidable scowl was in evidence as he surveyed his companions scattered about the room.
Maria started to prepare the coffee, but Liz suddenly joined her and, with the first genuine smile her best friend had seen since they left Roswell, gave her a warm hug.
“Go sit down, Maria – I’ll make the coffee for you and Michael this morning. Isobel’s been giving me lessons. Watch!”
She carefully prepared the cups, held her hand over them and concentrated. Soon steam rose from them both and the others commented approvingly. She took a mock-modest bow, and handed them to the suitably grateful recipients. Michael relaxed for a few moments as the hot, sweet liquid revived his spirits slightly. Then he got down to business.
“First of all, we’ve got to get to a park as soon as we can, but one that’s far enough away to put some distance between us and the bus. It means driving all night with all of us packed into the Chevy. Not gonna be a pleasure trip. Before that, we’ve gotta replace as many of the supplies as we can carry, now that Max has taken off with half our stuff.” He frowned in an effort to keep his temper in check.
When Michael recalled all the time and worry he and Kyle had put in over planning and buying their supplies, only for Max to betray their trust without a second thought for his friends, he could feel rage build inside. The only thing that stopped him exploding was the knowledge that the others depended on him. They needed a leader and he had to be strong for them all. The luxury of losing his temper was no longer an option.
Kyle spoke from his comfortable position on the rumpled bed.
“Got some good news on the shopping front. His ex-Majesty has left us some farewell gifts in the Chevy. Guess he had a conscience after all.”
The others all looked surprised, and in Isobel’s case, relieved, too. Max hadn’t been entirely thoughtless, despite everything.
“What did he leave us?”
“Looked like the other tent and the sleeping bags, I didn’t look closely. It’ll be a tight fit to get it all packed in the Chevy with the five of us as well, though.”
Michael looked thoughtful.
“As I said last night, we’ll soon need to get a pick-up truck from somewhere and that should give us plenty of room. It’ll be much better than the bus, anyhow and another 4WD, too. There are plenty round here to choose from, every other vehicle is a pick-up, and we won’t be as conspicuous in the mountains. Still, I think we should wait until we leave the park before we grab one. Less hassle and we can take our time planning it.”
He looked round at them all, noting that they all seemed wide awake and alert this morning, despite all the drama of the long night. Surprisingly, Liz and Isobel looked almost cheerful. It had been a good idea of Maria’s to suggest the state park. Michael wanted them to get well rested and prepare themselves for a summer surviving in the backwoods. He would tell them his plans for that when they had settled into the routine but he wanted to discuss it with Maria first chance he got, because it was time that she, above all, knew his secret. He hadn’t meant to keep it from any of them at first, but then he’d been distracted by other things until now.
*** So you’ve got secrets from me, have you, Spaceboy?***
Reflecting that while their unexpected new connection allowed them the privacy of independent thought and, having highly individual personalities, they were both profoundly grateful for that, there would be times when it might be a tad inconvenient… Like now, when he’d forgotten to shield his thoughts and she must’ve picked up on his slightly nervous anticipation. So his reply was a defensive growl…
*** I knew it would only be a matter of time before you tried to suck my brains out. Secrets don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell with you, do they, Blondie? Still, this one’s not gonna give up so easy…***
*** You think? Hmm, so young and so deluded. Oh, I do love a challenge, Spaceboy. As for sucking your brains out, Michael – well, that’ll just have to wait until we’re alone…***
The vivid image flashed through both their minds and their eyes met across the room. Michael looked away hurriedly, before he lost control and ravished her there and then. He heard her slow giggle in his mind and forced himself to concentrate on the public topic of conversation.
“…still got to get the right clothes, and make sure we’ve got enough food for the next week, anyway.” That was Kyle, revising their schedule. “I’ll go see what we’ll need to replace and what we can do about fitting the extra tent and stuff into the Chevy.”
“Isobel, why don’t you help Kyle? You did a great job when we split the stuff the first time.” If Isobel was surprised by a compliment from Michael, she was diplomatic enough not to show it. She merely nodded.
Michael thought back to what he’d learned from the survival manual. It seemed years since he had been peacefully reading it in the back of the bus, with only Maria and Kyle for company.
“Gonna be freezing in the mountains as well as hot, so we’ll need to layer up on clothes. It means more stuff to pack in the Chevy – maybe too much. I think we’ll just have to get a roof rack, even if it does make us a bit more conspicuous for a while.”
Kyle brought out his list from a pocket and smoothed it out.
“Good boots are a basic and Michael’s right - we need to plan for both extremes, so good gear is a necessity. This is what the book recommends as the minimum requirements.”
He read aloud from the list and Michael shook his head gloomily. They’d already spent far more “alien” money than he was comfortable with and they’d need to spend a lot more before they left the city. They were gathering some “real” money in exchange, which was some consolation, but the sooner they moved on, the happier he would be.
“Liz. When you and Iz were doing the research on the parks, what did you come up with?"
“There are a couple of possibilities within reach, if we drive all night and aim to get there tomorrow afternoon.”
“Then you, Maria and I will plan our route, while you two –” He nodded at Kyle and Isobel. “ –go sort out the Chevy.”
Isobel remembered to ask if they’d all packed their personal belongings yet, as they would need to find room in the Chevy for those, too. There was a general shuffle between the rooms as they all retrieved their stuff and set it beside the remaining vehicle. Despite being merely the bare necessities, it was still a significant pile to find room for.
Michael and Maria ate some of the food left over from the night before and drank more of Liz’s coffee as they leaned over the map spread out on one of the beds. Liz brought out the flyers for the parks and they discussed the options.
Ten minutes later the door opened and the other two came back inside, looking worried. Kyle broke the news.
“Max left more stuff than I first thought. Too much, in fact – there’s no room inside for all of it and all of us, too. We’re gonna need that roof rack or we’ll have to dump some of it.”
Michael stood up, yawned and stretched all over, flexing his muscles so that the already tight black sweatshirt he was wearing clung to his body like a second skin and his jeans slipped down lower on his hips, revealing his belly button.
Maria’s wide eyes drank in the sight and she licked her lips, unconsciously sending him a flash of lust, which made him grin smugly to himself. Liz noticed the display, too, and involuntarily recalled the sight of his naked, impressively endowed body from when she had interrupted him with Maria at the last motel. She flushed in horrified embarrassment, hoping nobody had seen her reaction.
Looking at his watch, which showed that it was nearly 7.30, Michael bowed to the inevitable. There would have to be a special trip for a roof rack, before they could leave the motel. There was no point in going as a group; someone would have to stay to guard the extra stuff. The others agreed, and 15 minutes later, much of the equipment had been unloaded into the room and the two guys had driven off towards the city to shop for the rack. After that, they intended to buy their personal all-weather gear but first of all, as Kyle convincingly argued, a real guy-type breakfast was a necessity.
Stopping at a roadside diner, they devoured the best breakfast they had eaten since forever. Ham, eggs, beans and sausage links preceded waffles with bacon and molasses, all doused with Tabasco and washed down with juice and coffee. Leaving their motherly waitress a generous tip, they set off for the shopping trip in a more up-beat mood than when they’d left the motel.
Maria kept watch from the window to see if they were followed, and was relieved when there was no sign of anyone else leaving soon enough afterwards to be suspicious. The three girls sat around in silence for a few minutes, then Isobel looked over at the map, still spread out on one of the beds.
“Did you three decide on which park we go to? How far did you get with planning the route?”
“The best one for us seems to be River Falls Lake. It’s a large park about a 24 hour drive towards the north west, and the flyer says it’s got secluded tenting areas in pine woods and alpine meadows as well as a big lake.”
“Sounds cool, like a vacation. Be good to stop somewhere for a while.” Isobel had long ago tired of the constant travelling. Maybe camping wasn’t her favourite activity, but she needed some time out from the suffocating presence of the others, to breathe and come to terms with her new life.
“It’s gonna be hard to spend more time on the road. When we get to the park, I think I’ll just sleep for the week…”
Maria echoed Isobel’s thoughts and Liz smiled briefly in agreement. She pointed to a spot on the map.
“We’re here and we need to leave this city by early afternoon, to get to the place tomorrow in time to set up camp before dark. The guys should be back by 10.30, so we can hit the stores for ourselves.”
“We can pack up the Chevy before we leave this place, shop for our clothes, then head out after lunch. Meanwhile, I could do with a nap now, how about you?”
Isobel looked at the other two. Maria shook her head.
“You two take a room each and I’ll stay on watch. We have to make sure we do our share, otherwise it’s not fair on the guys. We're all tired, but we have no choice - we have to hold out until we get to the park. It’s hard to sleep when we’re on the road. That’s why I like to drive if I can. It calms my nerves, and stops me thinking too much, I guess.” For a moment, she looked stricken as she thought of her mom, but she straightened her shoulders and went over to the dresser to gather up the bags. “We’ll have to dump this trash somewhere else, so we don’t leave any obvious traces, though I guess we can’t help fingerprints and stuff. I suppose if they look hard enough they can find us, anyway.”
Isobel grinned savagely and flexed her fingers.
“I can make it harder for them.”
She passed her hand over the nightstand, leaving a freshly gleaming patina behind. Wandering around the room, she polished all the areas most likely to have retained their fingerprints.
“There, this room’s cleaner than it’s ever been. I’ll go over all three rooms thoroughly, right before we check out.”
She went over to the door.
“Will you be ok here on your own, Maria? Just call if you need us, we can hear you through the walls…” With a sly wink at Maria, she left.
Liz stayed where she was, sitting on the edge of the bed by the map. Maria sat on the chair by the window and peered out for a moment.
“You don’t have to stay with me, Lizzie, I’ll be fine. You get some rest, chica, we’ve got a long way to go and I bet you didn’t get any sleep last night, did you?”
Liz sighed and folded the map back into its waterproof cover. She lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
“Are you and Michael finally sure about each other now, Maria? No more clairvoyance needed from me or Madame Vivien?”
She teased, but she really wanted to know. The sounds coming through the thin partition wall as the sun rose that morning had made her feel jealous and angry again, so she tried to be extra nice to Maria, to make up for her resentful thoughts.
Maria’s relationship with Michael had always been a mystery to her. They were so volatile and touchy, so wary and insecure about each others feelings that it was hard to believe that their relationship had effectively lasted nearly three years, whether they had been together or not. Although she had gone too far when she’d railed at Maria in the coffeeshop, and her apology had been real, she still privately thought that the relationship was doomed. Liz knew that the love she and Max had – used to have, she corrected herself quickly – was special, infinitely deeper than Michael and Maria’s edgy, uncertain relationship.
It was hard to ignore the fact that Michael was revealing a very different side of himself now that they were on the run, and she was more impressed by that than she would admit to herself, but she could not accept that he had so easily replaced Max, who had been born for the role of leader. Wherever he was, and whatever was causing his current erratic behaviour, Max should return and claim his rightful place in their group. Things could never be the same between them now, she had made the decision to move on, but that would not stop her being relieved when he came back and the natural order was resumed.
Maria’s eyes were shining as she looked over at her best friend and her smile was pure happiness as she replied to Liz’s curious questions.
“Things are solid between Michael and me, Lizzie. Leaving Roswell seems to suit us, we both know our future’s together now, whatever happens.”
She saw Liz’s smile tremble and quickly changed the subject. There was no need to talk too much about her own happiness and add to Liz’s pain. The private knowledge between Michael (whose current emotions - strongly focused interest and satisfaction, which surprised her as she knew he hated shopping - she could faintly feel somewhere deep in her mind) and herself was enough.
“It’s great that Isobel is helping you with your own powers, chica. How long did it take you to learn to control them enough to heat the coffee?”
Liz embarked on a pleasurable recap of her lesson in power control from the previous night, with scientific theories expounded and a demonstration of her skill once again when she chilled some water and made it taste like cherry coke. She explained that it didn’t look like the real thing yet, but Isobel had promised that would be their next lesson. Both girls giggled and their discussion turned to the clothes they would soon be buying for their new life in the mountains.
That was as far as they dared go when speculating, because neither could bring themselves to admit the trepidation they felt at taking another step away from their old life in Roswell. All the time they had been travelling, it didn’t truly feel as if they had cut all their ties. Now that the time had come to begin to live that new life, practical reality began to bite.
Maria persuaded Liz to rest properly in the next room until the guys came back, then she carried on watching out of the window, revelling in the happiness of being together with Michael again and idly daydreaming about their next encounter, until the Chevy pulled into the parking lot and stopped in front of their rooms once more.
The new roof rack had been fitted, and two large, hard-shell containers were already strapped to the top.
Michael climbed out of the vehicle and headed straight to the room that Maria was in. Kyle followed slowly behind, waiting for Isobel, who had emerged from the furthest room to join them.
Reluctantly confining themselves to a brief, chaste kiss in front of their friends, Michael and Maria shared a warmer, wordless, private greeting, each surprised by the depth of joy the other felt in being back together after even a few hours apart.
Kyle immediately started to sort the equipment into piles ready to load up the two containers. Michael and the two girls joined in and re-packing the Chevy was done in a very short time. One tent fitted into each container, along with the lanterns, two small outdoor cookstoves and fuel canisters, tarps, ropes, insulation pads, sleeping bags and various other items.
It left a generous space in back for the smaller stuff like the medical kit, personal packs, dried food provisions and other supplies.
Maria went to fetch Liz, who was fast asleep in the middle room, and brought her back, still half dazed, to join them. Isobel and Michael carried out a final “forensic clean-up” of all three rooms before the guys drank cups of spicy coffee to recover from the ordeal of shopping.
Michael picked up the map from the bed and looked over at the girls.
“Kyle and I have been talking over our plans and we think it may be best to start out right away instead of returning to the city. It’s 10.15 now. We can stop in Salida this afternoon and buy gear for you girls before we head north on a stretch of 285. It means we can leave this city behind quicker than we thought and maybe get to River Falls Lake earlier than we expected. Ok?”
Twenty minutes later the Chevy joined highway 50, heading west with a full load on board.
Maria was in the back seat between Michael and Isobel, while Kyle drove with Liz beside him. The Chevy was much more comfortable compared to the bus and Maria’s head soon fell on to Michael’s shoulder, while his cheek rested against her hair. Sleep claimed them both and Isobel smiled at them affectionately before settling back and gazing at the scenery, which was becoming more spectacular as they travelled further into the mountains.
They made good time and just after 12.30, Liz pulled into the crowded parking lot of a shopping mall in the city of Salida. The girls went to use the facilities and start their shopping expedition while Kyle quickly did his usual routine of checking for the suppliers they needed and marking the locations on a local tourist map. Michael stayed with the Chevy until Kyle returned before making his own expedition.
They were deep in the mountains now and everywhere they looked, snow-capped peaks towered into the blue sky and although the sun shone, the air was cold. Kyle had been asleep for the last hour and woke with a start, momentarily disorientated. Noticing where they were he thought, with a stab of pain, how far they had come from his desert home in a few days. The icy grey crags looked more threatening than he expected and he felt insignificant and lonely beside them, in spite of his new powers. He shook the gloomy thoughts off and concentrated on the more user-friendly aspects of mountain life.
“Hey, I just had an idea, Guerin.” His voice startled Michael, who was deep in survival manuals again.
“What now, Valenti?”
“Fishing tackle – that’s what we need. This lake place is bound to have fish and it’ll give us a source of fresh food.”
Michael caught his enthusiasm.
“Yeah, and we have to teach the girls to fish, too, for when we go deeper into the wilderness. It’s necessary for our survival that we all learn as much as we can and that includes them.” He grinned as he tried to picture Maria gutting fish for the campfire barbeque. It so wouldn’t happen.
*** Don’t kid yourself, Spaceboy. I’m not that helpless. I can do it if I have to ***
*** I won’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes, Blondie***
*** You just wait, Michael. Not only am I going to gut it, but you’re going to eat it…***
*** No way, babe. I love you, but I don’t need food poisoning…***
*** Damn it, Michael, I’ll show you that the DeLuca women can do anything we want to do. I will learn to cook and you will learn to love it if it kills us both***
He heard her mental growl, before her thoughts subsided into low mutterings that he was thankful he couldn’t quite make out. She had sounded really cross, although he hadn’t meant to ruffle her feathers this time. Life was about to get even more dangerous if Maria followed up her threat. He said so, just to provoke her some more.
*** Threat? Oooh, Spaceboy, that was low…***
She sounded amused again, but he knew that it was not always a good sign and mentally prepared himself for future battles. Life was looking up. Fighting with Maria was one of his favorite pastimes, next to making out afterwards.
Michael looked up to see Kyle watching him expectantly. He yawned to deflect any suspicion that his inattention had anything other than fatigue behind it.
“What did you say? I was out of it for a minute there, sorry.”
Kyle was unsympathetic.
“Shoulda got more sleep last night, instead of keeping the rest of us awake.”
Michael grinned, but said nothing. Kyle repeated his question.
“I said we’ll need to buy some rods and stuff this afternoon. I saw a sports store advertised on our way into the mall. Shall I go there now, or do you want me to wait until the girls come back?”
“Go now, sooner the better. How much cash do you think you’ll need? We’re running low again so Iz will have to cook some more, soon as she gets back. Pity we’re in a different city to spend it. Another trail marker left behind us. Same game plan, though. Spread the purchases.”
Kyle took the whole roll of “alien” notes and left, leaving Michael to look round at their fellow shoppers. It was very busy, being – he calculated - a Saturday and nobody appeared to take any notice of him or Kyle.
Half an hour later, the girls re-appeared in the distance, carrying several bags each. Maria also had a cardboard cupholder with two large coffee containers balanced precariously against her chest. He sent her a kiss for her kindness.
They all slid back into the Chevy, laughing and relaxed after the normal girlie pleasures of shopping and comparing their purchases over lunch in a coffee shop. The whole exercise had taken only an hour and a half, a personal best for all three.
Maria handed over the coffee to Michael, meanwhile asking where Kyle had gone and digging around amongst her shopping to pull out a bag of donuts. His eyes lit up as he reached for his personal Tabasco supply. Donuts were his favorite food and he never got bored with them, even though he had eaten them at every opportunity since they had been on the road. Maria indulged him as she suspected they were a food that might be hard to find in the mountains.
“Kyle’s gone to buy fishing rods. The lake should be a useful source of fresh protein.” He didn’t mention his plans for them all – Maria already knew and Liz and Isobel, both on record as preferring motel life to camping, would whine and complain at the prospect. He would wait for the right moment to break it to them.
The girls compared their lists and crossed off the stuff they had bought in the mall. Kyle’s tourist map showed the other stores were located nearby, but there was no sign of him until another 15 minutes had passed and Michael had finished off all the donuts, loudly sucking his sugary fingers and ignoring Liz’s disapproving comments about manners and sharing with Kyle.
Kyle was already mildly pissed off when he finally arrived back at the Chevy and loaded the stuff in back with the rest. The store clerk had been an enthusiast and insisted on taking a personal interest in the young man’s choices. While grateful for the advice, Kyle eventually had to plead a non-existent appointment in order to get away. So much for being an anonymous customer, he moaned to the others as he settled into his seat. Then he spotted the empty donut bag and became annoyed with Michael for eating them all.
Isobel reached over from the back seat and stopped him in mid-rant by holding a bag of Danish pastries in front of his face. She exchanged an I-told-you-so look with Maria and they both giggled with Liz when Michael turned round and scowled at her for her earlier attempt to make him feel guilty.
There was another sticky moment when Michael held his Tabasco bottle out of Kyle’s reach in retaliation for the earlier rude comments about his appetite, but he was distracted by Maria wrapping her arms around his neck from behind and kissing his ear so Kyle was able to make a successful snatch.
Peace was restored while Kyle ate both pastries and drank the rapidly cooling coffee without further complaint. Then they headed on to the next store.
They made one more stop before they left the city late in the afternoon. At a Borders store Michael surprised them by issuing each of them 50 real dollars to spend on books and CDs for personal entertainment in the wilderness.
They allowed themselves 45 minutes to browse before they all met up to set off again on their journey. Michael, Maria and Liz stayed on watch as the other two headed into the store.
Michael had wanted this time alone with Maria to talk seriously about his plans, but Liz had insisted on staying, too, joking uneasily that they needed a chaperone or risk being arrested for disturbing the peace. Maria was momentarily puzzled by this, but then dismissed it, assuming maybe Liz still didn’t feel quite comfortable alone with Isobel and Kyle yet. Michael just thought Liz was being her usual pain in the ass self.
He sent a regretful thought to Maria for having to delay their discussion once more, and returned to his survival manuals while Liz and Maria discussed their choices in literature and music.
When Kyle and Isobel returned, the other three immediately set out in their place.
As they approached the store Maria commented that these choices were going to be all the more important because they would be isolated for a long time and no doubt boredom would be a factor. Variety would therefore be vital. She quickly kissed Michael, gave Liz a small wave and disappeared among the bookshelves aiming, although her friends didn’t yet know it, for the cookbooks. Michael and Liz stared after her in surprise. Then they quickly headed in opposite directions, Michael towards the shelves of classic fiction and Liz towards the poetry section.
Meeting back at the Chevy, they all settled into the comfort to which they had quickly become accustomed. Maria would be driving with Isobel on look-out. Liz was sitting between Kyle and Michael in the back, silently cursing Max for stealing the bus and leaving her suddenly feeling like the outsider instead of the center of the group, as she normally was and still should be. She brooded quietly to herself on the unfairness of life.
After filling up on gas as they left Salida, they made their way to a three-way intersection of major highways where they took to the last stretch of the legendary 285, which held special memories for Michael and Maria, before they turned off onto a scenic route via Aspen and eventually through Glenwood Springs, although many of it’s views were lost as darkness fell.
In the small hours after midnight they stopped beside a long, empty stretch of highway and changed the Chevy’s disguise for the last time before it disappeared into the the park.
They chose their own disguises, which would also have to be retained for a week, before they finally set off towards the next stage of their strange, new alien life together.
TBC…
Chapter 19
The early evening sun burned down on the big, dark green Chevy truck as it swung into the eastern entrance of the River Falls Lake State Park. Michael left it outside the visitor center and went to buy permits and check in for the next week. When he returned 10 minutes later, a young employee in the park service uniform accompanied him. The guy spoke to Michael and lifted his hand in a friendly gesture towards the shadowy occupants of the Chevy as he passed it on his way to a nearby jeep.
Michael lifted the tailgate and tossed a couple of firewood bundles and briquette packs in back before he slid back behind the wheel and started the engine.
“Who’s he, Spaceboy?”
Maria voiced the wariness felt by them all, nervous at the unexpected attention of strangers after 5 days on the road.
“Says he’s a trainee park ranger – offered to lead us to the campsite as he was going that way himself. No point in refusing, would have seemed strange.” Michael’s voice was tight with tension. ‘Trust no one’ was still rule number one for him.
He followed the jeep out of the parking lot and on to a road winding gently downhill through trees. The sunlight filtered through the leaf canopy as they drove deeper into the park, catching occasional glimpses of the lake. After some time, the road levelled out and the trees abruptly gave way to a breathtaking view of the mountains and sky reflected in the mirror of water before them. The jeep led them along the edge of the lake for another mile or so before stopping at a camping area among the trees.
The trainee ranger got out and waited for them to pull up nearby, before walking over to the Chevy. He was a tall, suntanned blond, not much older than them, with friendly blue eyes that widened with appreciation as the girls emerged into the bright sunlight.
Isobel favoured shoulder length dark hair and mirror shades to elegant effect. She leaned unselfconsciously against the hood and smiled up into the blue sky, relieved to have reached a relatively safe haven at last, if only for a short time.
Liz had chosen a bleach-haired, pale look for the week, the short, spiky cut making her dark, tragic eyes seem too large for her face. She was reluctant to leave the protection of the Chevy and stood shyly behind the open door.
Maria, blonde again, honey-skinned, had reverted to a mid-length, sharply cut style from a couple of seasons ago that she knew Michael had liked. It reminded Liz of the time Tess had first arrived to disrupt their lives.
Their guide smiled at all three girls, but Michael wrapped a possessive arm around Maria, and Kyle moved casually in front of the other two in an unmistakable ‘keep off’ warning.
The young ranger pointed out the tent pads – smoothed out, grassy areas well-spaced among the trees and bushes along the lake shore.
“This is one of the designated fishing areas around the lake. There are eight tent pads in this campsite – but it’s early season and you have it all to yourselves for the moment, so you’re lucky to get the best shady spots. There are a few camp rules, all in the literature, so please make reading it your first priority. The toilet block and water hydrant are over there - ” he gestured to a rustic style building set some distance away from the lake “ – each pad has it’s own picnic table and fireplace or grill. We at River Falls Lake work to promote environmental education and guests are asked to respect our beautiful natural heritage. Now, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me or the other staff at the visitor center.”
It was a well-rehearsed speech, recited with genuine feeling. The guy clearly loved his job. He smiled at them all, waited for a moment and, when Isobel reassured him they were fine and thanked him for his help, he wished them a great vacation then climbed into his jeep. He leaned out and called to them as he manoeuvred it slowly back towards the road.
“There’s a shower headed this way, so I’d hold off from unpacking your gear until it passes over…” He pointed to the sky, waved and was gone.
The sun was still bright, but when they looked out over the lake, ominous dark clouds were rapidly piling up on the jagged rim of mountain peaks.
Three minutes later, they were all back in the Chevy as the rain drummed loudly on the roof and flooded down the windows. It seemed more claustrophobic than ever, trapped by the weather before they’d even had a chance to choose their site. Michael wanted nothing more than a hot, sweet, spicy coffee after the long spell of driving he had put in that morning but, instead, he handed out the literature he’d collected from the visitor center. It was vital for them all to know the rules so they wouldn’t inadvertently do anything to attract attention to themselves.
A few minutes later Isobel, in the back seat, suddenly sat up and exclaimed in surprise, making him jump.
“Bears! Oh my god, it says there are bears in the forest and to keep food out of reach – I don’t want to stay here if there are bears roaming around, Michael…it’s far too dangerous.”
The other two girls joined in her protest, until Michael had to raise his voice to make himself heard.
“Will you shut up!” They went silent, shocked at the loudness of his voice in the confined space. “God, they can hear you shrieking back at the park entrance...”
He took a deep breath to calm himself. Losing it now, when they finally had a chance to settle quietly for a few days and allow themselves time to think, was waste of energy. He continued in a normal tone.
“This is the wilderness, what did you expect? They can’t be too big a danger or there wouldn’t be a tourist campsite around here. There are no bear cages, either. What’s to be scared of, anyway? We’re much more dangerous than they are…especially DeLuca, here, she’ll just talk ‘em to death.”
He glanced sideways at Maria, who poked her tongue out at him, not yet entirely convinced it was safe.
“Yeah, nothing to get panicked about, ladies.” Kyle had, in fact, shared their panic at first, but hid it and quickly acknowledged Michael’s rational argument. It was true, he thought happily, the most dangerous beast roaming the forest was… himself…
The rainstorm passed and hot sunlight returned, steam rising from the ground as the water evaporated. They couldn’t wait to get out and explore their surroundings.
The lakeshore was rocky at this point and they were able to look out over the wide stretch of water towards the wooded slopes across from their campsite. Maria knelt and dipped her hand into the clear water, withdrawing it quickly when she discovered how cold it was.
“It’s freezing, guys. Too bad, I was really looking forward to a swim before dinner.”
“It’s too early in the year, the guidebook says it warms up later in the summer. Too late for us. We can fish from these rocks, though. I bought us a permit. The water looks deep around here and there’s no limit to the size of the catch.” Michael had already memorised the literature and was determined to make the most of their stay. He looked back at the Chevy.
“Time we unpacked and put the tents up.”
They moved the Chevy between two adjacent sites, about 50 feet apart among the trees and bushes. Chosen for shade and privacy, they were near the shore and some distance away from the facilities and the other pads. One had a grill and the other a fireplace, one for cooking and the other for sitting around, as Maria remarked.
The first tent took the combined efforts of them all, but the second was erected without too much of a struggle and presently they stood around the tailgate of the Chevy drinking coffee or cherry coke before they started to distribute the rest of the gear. They began to feel like they were on vacation and a light-hearted mood infected them all.
“So, which tent would you like, DeLuca – the one with the grill or the fireplace?” Michael hadn’t forgotten Maria’s vow to learn to cook and meant to get some amusement out of watching her efforts. Maria raised her chin in the air and spoke with airy confidence.
“The grill, Spaceboy. I’ll be using it all the time to create those delicious dishes you are so going to l-o-o-o-v-e.”
This earned her a frankly disbelieving look from Liz, who knew her friend’s life-long aversion to cooking.
“Did I hear you right? You, Maria ‘I don’t miss the cooking gene’ DeLuca, are planning to actually cook? Don’t you remember the last time when you tried to make dinner to surprise your mom? You melted the base of a pan and we had to spend all weekend re-painting the kitchen to cover the smoke-damage? Are you sure about this?”
Suddenly becoming the focus of interest for all her friends, Maria glared round at them, noting their broad grins. It only hardened her resolve.
“You’ll see. It can’t be that hard to learn and I have all of you to test my recipes out on…”
There was a collective groan, but only Michael and Liz looked genuinely apprehensive. They both knew she was serious.
“Still, you can all relax for the moment. Let’s make a meal from our supplies because I think we’re all too tired to do anything except catch up on our sleep tonight. I know I am.”
***You sure about that, princess…?***
***I guess maybe not 100%, Spaceboy… what did you have in mind…?***
***We gotta talk, Maria***
***Oh. Right. Talk, yeah. Its that secret you’re keeping from me, isn’t it?***
She heard his mental sigh.
***It’s not exactly a secret, but I do need to tell you about it soon, yeah***
He switched to the group conversation.
“Let’s get the stuff into the tents and then we can eat. I guess Isobel and Liz will be sharing the other tent, and Kyle can share with Maria and me. Everyone ok with that?”
Kyle shook his head.
“I’d sooner sleep in the Chevy. At least I’ll get some sleep, instead of having to listen to you two all night.”
“Kyle, you don’t have to do that, we won’t disturb you. The Chevy can’t be nearly as comfortable as the tent.” Maria was embarrassed and distressed. Had their love making back at the motel early that morning really been so loud?
***I guess we didn’t think of the neighbors, princess, but there’s no way I’m gonna be able to just sleep with you all night without lovin’ you, so Valenti can go sleep in the Chevy if that’s what he wants…***
Nothing and nobody was going to keep Michael away from Maria.
***We can’t let him be uncomfortable, Spaceboy, it’s not fair to Kyle. We’ll just have to make sure that we make the most of the times when he’s out on watch… and try to keep quiet…***
***Ok, Maria, I guess that might work…though how to keep you quiet is gonna be an interesting challenge…***
Maria was indignant.
***You make just as much noise as me, Michael. It will be a challenge for the both of us***
Aloud, Michael insisted that Kyle sleep in the tent, but that guard duties should be arranged to give them all as much privacy as possible. Kyle agreed to the idea, but with reservations. If it didn’t work out, there was probably enough room for his sleeping bag in the empty cargo space with the seats folded down. It was probably better than the tent, now he came to think about it… In fact, it might even be more comfortable than the couch at home. The big Chevy truck had heating, air-conditioning and a CD player/radio and there was bound to be a country music station for the long night watches. He decided to try out the tent for one token night, before he claimed the truck.
It took them well over an hour to unload the Chevy and arrange their possessions in and around the tents to the satisfaction of the girls. The guys had long since lost interest and gone to hang out on the rocks at the shoreline by the time the camp was ready.
Each of the family size tents now had a thick insulation pad topped by an inflated air mattress and sleeping bag (doubled for Michael and Maria) in its two ‘rooms’, along with pillows and extra blankets. A lantern was placed in the vestibule of each and some were hung around the canopy they had erected over the grill and others in the trees near the fireplace, ready for dusk.
The bulk of their food supplies were kept in one of the hard-shell containers roped and hung 15 feet up in a tree. A supply for immediate use was kept with the water containers in back of the Chevy, so the smell didn’t attract bears. Kyle and Michael had made several trips to fill the containers from the public hydrant, but Michael took the extra precaution of purifying it with his powers before they used it for drinking, cooking or washing. The public hydrant was ok, but he’d read that wilderness water was no longer safe to drink direct from source, even in the most remote places, as surface water everywhere was now contaminated.
Maria had unpacked some pots and pans and was sorting through the packages of dried meals for dinner. With the aliens around no fuel would be needed for cooking that night. Over at the other tent, Isobel was arranging the kindling for the campfire and Liz had set out the three remaining camp chairs around it together with some folded blankets.
Michael and Kyle came back from the water’s edge to find the girls relaxing in the chairs drinking cherry coke-flavored fizzy water (Liz was now fine on the taste aspect, but had not yet mastered color-change) and waiting to go shower over at the toilet block. As soon as they arrived, the guys were appointed to guard duty and abandoned. They took over camp chairs in their turn and surveyed their new base. It looked good.
The sun slowly set behind the nearby mountains and the lanterns around their shady campsite were lit as dusk fell. The girls came back freshened up from their showers and the guys headed off in their turn.
Thirty minutes later, Maria stirred the pot of re-hydrated stew, scraped the burnt crust off the bottom, fluffed up the pan of only slightly over-cooked rice and called the others over to help themselves. Then everyone moved across to sit round the table near the campfire and eat.
“Mmmm, chilli beef stew with extra burnt bits to add crunch. Nice touch, DeLuca.” Michael teased his girlfriend from a prudent distance just beyond her reach, but he was hungry and his heart wasn’t in it. He could wait until she took up her cooking challenge in earnest, then the sparks would really fly.
“Just ignore him, Maria. This is good, even if it is from a pouch. Funny how food eaten outside always tastes better than anything else.”
Isobel was hungry, too, and grateful that she hadn’t had to lift a finger to produce it. Liz had boiled the water, and kept the pans hot, keen on seizing any chance to use her powers. Kyle had watched with interest, remembering a puddle of water, over among the rocks, which had recently boiled as a result of his own efforts. Michael had been as good as his word and wasted no time in taking on a student.
They ate pistachio flavored ice-cream - hand made by Michael - and the last of the fresh fruit for dessert.
Afterwards, Isobel unconsciously twisted her wedding ring, a newly acquired nervous habit, and cleared her throat. She made her announcement with an air of defiance, unsure how Michael and the others would take it.
“I’m going to try to dreamwalk Max tonight.”
Michael shrugged his shoulders in pretended indifference. He was determined that Max would act as decoy for at least another night. He figured that if their enemies hadn’t jumped them by now, they would most likely continue to track the bugged van and wait until they thought the group had settled in some hideout and dropped their guard before attacking again. Max should be safe enough if he kept moving and stuck to the interstate highways. However, he didn’t trust Isobel not to warn Max as soon as she heard about the electronic bug theory and he didn’t trust Max at all. The group’s safety had to come first and so he ignored his guilty feelings and stared at Isobel in stony silence.
The others, too, said nothing and the atmosphere round the table became distinctly uncomfortable.
Then Liz leaned over and touched Isobel’s arm lightly, startling the alien girl.
“Would you like me to stay with you when you dreamwalk Max?” Liz was torn between wanting to offer support to Isobel and a strong reluctance to make any kind of contact with Max so soon after her resolve to move on. She felt guilty relief when Isobel shook her head.
“No, Liz. I’ll do this on my own, if you don’t mind. I’ll fall asleep more quickly if I’m alone this time. Thanks, anyway.” She smiled at Liz in gratitude, though.
The group around the table was quiet for a while, thinking about the dangers Max faced and, despite his actions, worried for his safety, too.
Isobel needed to do something to break out of her troubled thoughts, so she carried the dishes over to the other site to clean and store them back in the truck, while Kyle trekked to the far side of the camp to dump the trash and Michael made coffee for everyone.
Settled around the lantern-lit campfire wrapped in blankets against the cold evening air, the girls in the low chairs and the guys cross-legged on the grass, they all watched the flames and listened to the noises of night in the forest. For the first time since the horrors of Graduation, they had reached a place to rest for a while and before long, everyone’s thoughts were back in Roswell.
Michael’s mind was still on the mystery of who was behind the attack. He was puzzled by all the anomalies, not least by the lack of interest in the adult Evans’s and Parkers. The former Sheriff, too, must have been a prime witness for anyone who knew enough to identify the three aliens as targets. The FBI should have had enough resources to enable them to haul in the families for questioning. Cover stories should be no problem for a Government agency. However, all the parents had been left alone since their houses had been searched by the military for Tess and the baby. Why? He considered the suspects.
The Special Unit had been disbanded and he knew from Nasedo that there had been less than a dozen core agents involved. Considering that the military had found Tess’s spaceship, at least some of those agents might have been recalled to the investigation, although inter-service rivalry might have delayed that. Still, it was possible that at least some, if not all, died in the explosion. However, it didn’t mean that there were not enough or all of them left to organise a swift revenge attack and if that failed, to have a discreet back-up plan. That was where Jesse came in. The question was - how long had he been working for the FBI? They must have got a lot of information from him, if he was theirs from the beginning. Or had it been the revelation that his wife was an alien that sent Jesse to the authorities?
The Skins were another possibility, if Tess’s fireball really had been a mindwarp, but he thought it was remote as the nearly-ripe ‘husks’ needed to survive on Earth had undoubtedly been destroyed. There had been no future for them.
Khivar was a distinct threat. He had apparently retreated back to Antar after failing with Isobel, but had allowed Tess to return to Earth with the human baby. Michael couldn’t believe that Tess would have been allowed such easy access to a valuable spaceship in which to escape, mindwarping talent or not. Khivar could simply have had them both killed or imprisoned. He suspected that Khivar’s obsession with the Royal Four wasn’t over.
Michael gazed into the fire and let his thoughts wander back over that last night in Roswell and all that happened after Max first saved Liz and revealed their existence to others.
Kyle’s thoughts were with his dad and how he was doing back in Roswell. He wondered if any powers were showing up in him yet – and worried about the dangers of being helpless and alone when they did. He desperately hoped his dad didn’t have the same problems with being somehow linked to Max that he himself had experienced. Glowing green and sleeping a lot would attract attention, especially in a high-profile local man like the ex-Sheriff. He thought about various ways of leaving a warning message, but knew it would be too dangerous if there were phone-taps or mail checks on their families. Only one answer came to him and he reluctantly looked over at Isobel, to find the firelight sparkling on a tear rolling slowly down her cheek. He ached to comfort her, but knew there was nothing he could do except let her be.
With the added fear over Max, Isobel no longer knew how to how to deal with the pain she had locked away since the night she had told Jesse not to come with them and lose his chance of a normal life. She stared at her wedding ring glinting in the firelight and let herself remember Jesse’s smile as she came into the room, the feel of his arms around her and at last, reluctantly, his offer to come with her to share their fate. At first, she had been overjoyed when he said he loved her and wanted to go with her. In her heart, she had dared to hope he would brush aside her concerns and say that he wanted to be with her no matter what the future held. When he gave in to her protest without a fight, hope died and she knew that, after all, his love for her had not been strong enough to survive the consequences of what she was. The pain in her heart was now such a constant part of her, like breathing, that she could ignore it for hours at a stretch, but it was always there. Jesse was the dream lover she thought she would never find and part of her regretted keeping the secret from him, but another part knew that she would not give up one moment of the short time when she had felt like a normal, human girl, happy with the man she loved. To lose all her hopes and dreams without warning, once again, brought her close to breaking point. She felt the sting of tears behind her eyelids and panicked that she might be about to lose control. Then a warm hand reached for hers and she knew it was Maria, offering comfort, and understanding that her friend had feelings she wasn’t ready to share with anybody. Isobel clung as to a lifeline, forcing herself to open her eyes and pretend that she was strong enough to go on with her life without the man she loved.
Like Kyle, Maria had seen Isobel’s sorrow and she couldn’t stop herself from reaching over and taking Isobel’s hand in hers. The only response was a painfully tight grip, but she didn’t let go and they continued to sit in the fire-lit darkness, somehow comforted a little by that friendly link.
Maria herself had been thinking of her mom, but she knew that Amy would be sustained by the knowledge that she was with Michael, among friends. Her mom, despite her ditzy manner, was a strong woman, so the disappearance of her daughter, though painful and bewildering, wouldn’t destroy the passion for life her only child had inherited. Maria hoped that her mom and the Sheriff could find their way back to the promising relationship that had foundered soon after the Sheriff lost his job, his pride and his self-confidence. She knew that they could be close again and thought about asking Isobel if it were possible to dreamwalk them both some night soon. Other than missing her mom, Maria had no regrets at all about leaving Roswell behind.
Liz, curled inside her blanket, mesmerised by the flames, regretted everything – leaving her family, lashing out at Maria, losing Max. In the quiet peace of the night, she looked back over the last few days and all her actions seemed to belong to some part of her whose existence she had never before suspected. As in some in nightmarish fairytale, she looked into a dark mirror and all her worst character faults had been revealed.
She regretted hurting Maria, knowing her friend hadn’t deserved punishment for the crime of being happy while Liz suffered. Max, too, aside from her feelings about him which were still too complex to define, deserved a chance to try to sort out the trouble that had tormented him enough to run out on his only friends. She couldn’t even think about the pain her parents must be going through. She took a deep breath of the clean, cold night air, resolved to pull herself together and try to think only of the future: move on and make a real contribution to the group; learn to use her new powers for the general good and help make a worthwhile life for herself and the others. Feeling a little better about things than she had for days, she looked around at the group and re-discovered an affection for them all (except maybe Michael with whom she had never felt comfortable) that she hadn’t truly felt for … she was surprised to discover…more than a year past.
The fire was dying when finally Michael groaned and stretched, suddenly ready to head into his sleeping bag no matter where it was that night. First, though, there was the watch to arrange.
“So who wants when? It’s two-hour shifts between the five of us, if breakfast’s at eight. We can use the Chevy, rather than sit outside in the cold. Still need to take the occasional stroll towards the road to listen out, but as long as we keep all the lights off, we can see in the dark. You girls ok to be alone? It’s probably best if you take first watch until midnight, Maria, then me until 2am followed by Kyle, then Liz and finally Isobel at 6. Anyone have any problem with that?”
Nobody did and they all stood, wearily wishing each other goodnight, folding their blankets and chairs before heading towards the tents, except for Maria, who left her stuff to Michael and walked off in into the darkness.
A few minutes later, Michael emerged from their tent and went quietly over to the Chevy.
By then, Kyle was already asleep.
Meanwhile, in the other tent, Liz pulled her sleeping bag up around her ears, the first glimmer of optimism she had felt for days allowing her exhausted mind and body to rest at last.
Isobel, a few feet away, made herself comfortable and prepared to dreamwalk her brother to find out just what was going on with him…
TBC…
-
candylovespell
- Enthusiastic Roswellian
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2005 4:50 pm
Chapters 18-19
Chapter 18
At 7am Michael and Maria found the others already gathered in Kyle’s room, waiting for them. Isobel smiled at Maria, pleased to see her friend happy; Kyle gave Michael a wicked grin and then winked at Maria, making her blush. Liz kept her thoughts to herself.
Maria headed straight to the dresser. Coffee for Spaceboy and herself was the first priority. Their reluctance to leave the bed meant that they had been forced to take a very fast shower together at the last minute.
Michael, frustrated at being denied time to play with a wet and soapy Maria, and annoyed at having to endure another day of shopping, was in a grumpy mood by the time he sat down on the chair by the dresser in Kyle’s room. Anger at Max’s desertion returned to him as he remembered the earlier part of the night and his formidable scowl was in evidence as he surveyed his companions scattered about the room.
Maria started to prepare the coffee, but Liz suddenly joined her and, with the first genuine smile her best friend had seen since they left Roswell, gave her a warm hug.
“Go sit down, Maria – I’ll make the coffee for you and Michael this morning. Isobel’s been giving me lessons. Watch!”
She carefully prepared the cups, held her hand over them and concentrated. Soon steam rose from them both and the others commented approvingly. She took a mock-modest bow, and handed them to the suitably grateful recipients. Michael relaxed for a few moments as the hot, sweet liquid revived his spirits slightly. Then he got down to business.
“First of all, we’ve got to get to a park as soon as we can, but one that’s far enough away to put some distance between us and the bus. It means driving all night with all of us packed into the Chevy. Not gonna be a pleasure trip. Before that, we’ve gotta replace as many of the supplies as we can carry, now that Max has taken off with half our stuff.” He frowned in an effort to keep his temper in check.
When Michael recalled all the time and worry he and Kyle had put in over planning and buying their supplies, only for Max to betray their trust without a second thought for his friends, he could feel rage build inside. The only thing that stopped him exploding was the knowledge that the others depended on him. They needed a leader and he had to be strong for them all. The luxury of losing his temper was no longer an option.
Kyle spoke from his comfortable position on the rumpled bed.
“Got some good news on the shopping front. His ex-Majesty has left us some farewell gifts in the Chevy. Guess he had a conscience after all.”
The others all looked surprised, and in Isobel’s case, relieved, too. Max hadn’t been entirely thoughtless, despite everything.
“What did he leave us?”
“Looked like the other tent and the sleeping bags, I didn’t look closely. It’ll be a tight fit to get it all packed in the Chevy with the five of us as well, though.”
Michael looked thoughtful.
“As I said last night, we’ll soon need to get a pick-up truck from somewhere and that should give us plenty of room. It’ll be much better than the bus, anyhow and another 4WD, too. There are plenty round here to choose from, every other vehicle is a pick-up, and we won’t be as conspicuous in the mountains. Still, I think we should wait until we leave the park before we grab one. Less hassle and we can take our time planning it.”
He looked round at them all, noting that they all seemed wide awake and alert this morning, despite all the drama of the long night. Surprisingly, Liz and Isobel looked almost cheerful. It had been a good idea of Maria’s to suggest the state park. Michael wanted them to get well rested and prepare themselves for a summer surviving in the backwoods. He would tell them his plans for that when they had settled into the routine but he wanted to discuss it with Maria first chance he got, because it was time that she, above all, knew his secret. He hadn’t meant to keep it from any of them at first, but then he’d been distracted by other things until now.
*** So you’ve got secrets from me, have you, Spaceboy?***
Reflecting that while their unexpected new connection allowed them the privacy of independent thought and, having highly individual personalities, they were both profoundly grateful for that, there would be times when it might be a tad inconvenient… Like now, when he’d forgotten to shield his thoughts and she must’ve picked up on his slightly nervous anticipation. So his reply was a defensive growl…
*** I knew it would only be a matter of time before you tried to suck my brains out. Secrets don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell with you, do they, Blondie? Still, this one’s not gonna give up so easy…***
*** You think? Hmm, so young and so deluded. Oh, I do love a challenge, Spaceboy. As for sucking your brains out, Michael – well, that’ll just have to wait until we’re alone…***
The vivid image flashed through both their minds and their eyes met across the room. Michael looked away hurriedly, before he lost control and ravished her there and then. He heard her slow giggle in his mind and forced himself to concentrate on the public topic of conversation.
“…still got to get the right clothes, and make sure we’ve got enough food for the next week, anyway.” That was Kyle, revising their schedule. “I’ll go see what we’ll need to replace and what we can do about fitting the extra tent and stuff into the Chevy.”
“Isobel, why don’t you help Kyle? You did a great job when we split the stuff the first time.” If Isobel was surprised by a compliment from Michael, she was diplomatic enough not to show it. She merely nodded.
Michael thought back to what he’d learned from the survival manual. It seemed years since he had been peacefully reading it in the back of the bus, with only Maria and Kyle for company.
“Gonna be freezing in the mountains as well as hot, so we’ll need to layer up on clothes. It means more stuff to pack in the Chevy – maybe too much. I think we’ll just have to get a roof rack, even if it does make us a bit more conspicuous for a while.”
Kyle brought out his list from a pocket and smoothed it out.
“Good boots are a basic and Michael’s right - we need to plan for both extremes, so good gear is a necessity. This is what the book recommends as the minimum requirements.”
He read aloud from the list and Michael shook his head gloomily. They’d already spent far more “alien” money than he was comfortable with and they’d need to spend a lot more before they left the city. They were gathering some “real” money in exchange, which was some consolation, but the sooner they moved on, the happier he would be.
“Liz. When you and Iz were doing the research on the parks, what did you come up with?"
“There are a couple of possibilities within reach, if we drive all night and aim to get there tomorrow afternoon.”
“Then you, Maria and I will plan our route, while you two –” He nodded at Kyle and Isobel. “ –go sort out the Chevy.”
Isobel remembered to ask if they’d all packed their personal belongings yet, as they would need to find room in the Chevy for those, too. There was a general shuffle between the rooms as they all retrieved their stuff and set it beside the remaining vehicle. Despite being merely the bare necessities, it was still a significant pile to find room for.
Michael and Maria ate some of the food left over from the night before and drank more of Liz’s coffee as they leaned over the map spread out on one of the beds. Liz brought out the flyers for the parks and they discussed the options.
Ten minutes later the door opened and the other two came back inside, looking worried. Kyle broke the news.
“Max left more stuff than I first thought. Too much, in fact – there’s no room inside for all of it and all of us, too. We’re gonna need that roof rack or we’ll have to dump some of it.”
Michael stood up, yawned and stretched all over, flexing his muscles so that the already tight black sweatshirt he was wearing clung to his body like a second skin and his jeans slipped down lower on his hips, revealing his belly button.
Maria’s wide eyes drank in the sight and she licked her lips, unconsciously sending him a flash of lust, which made him grin smugly to himself. Liz noticed the display, too, and involuntarily recalled the sight of his naked, impressively endowed body from when she had interrupted him with Maria at the last motel. She flushed in horrified embarrassment, hoping nobody had seen her reaction.
Looking at his watch, which showed that it was nearly 7.30, Michael bowed to the inevitable. There would have to be a special trip for a roof rack, before they could leave the motel. There was no point in going as a group; someone would have to stay to guard the extra stuff. The others agreed, and 15 minutes later, much of the equipment had been unloaded into the room and the two guys had driven off towards the city to shop for the rack. After that, they intended to buy their personal all-weather gear but first of all, as Kyle convincingly argued, a real guy-type breakfast was a necessity.
Stopping at a roadside diner, they devoured the best breakfast they had eaten since forever. Ham, eggs, beans and sausage links preceded waffles with bacon and molasses, all doused with Tabasco and washed down with juice and coffee. Leaving their motherly waitress a generous tip, they set off for the shopping trip in a more up-beat mood than when they’d left the motel.
Maria kept watch from the window to see if they were followed, and was relieved when there was no sign of anyone else leaving soon enough afterwards to be suspicious. The three girls sat around in silence for a few minutes, then Isobel looked over at the map, still spread out on one of the beds.
“Did you three decide on which park we go to? How far did you get with planning the route?”
“The best one for us seems to be River Falls Lake. It’s a large park about a 24 hour drive towards the north west, and the flyer says it’s got secluded tenting areas in pine woods and alpine meadows as well as a big lake.”
“Sounds cool, like a vacation. Be good to stop somewhere for a while.” Isobel had long ago tired of the constant travelling. Maybe camping wasn’t her favourite activity, but she needed some time out from the suffocating presence of the others, to breathe and come to terms with her new life.
“It’s gonna be hard to spend more time on the road. When we get to the park, I think I’ll just sleep for the week…”
Maria echoed Isobel’s thoughts and Liz smiled briefly in agreement. She pointed to a spot on the map.
“We’re here and we need to leave this city by early afternoon, to get to the place tomorrow in time to set up camp before dark. The guys should be back by 10.30, so we can hit the stores for ourselves.”
“We can pack up the Chevy before we leave this place, shop for our clothes, then head out after lunch. Meanwhile, I could do with a nap now, how about you?”
Isobel looked at the other two. Maria shook her head.
“You two take a room each and I’ll stay on watch. We have to make sure we do our share, otherwise it’s not fair on the guys. We're all tired, but we have no choice - we have to hold out until we get to the park. It’s hard to sleep when we’re on the road. That’s why I like to drive if I can. It calms my nerves, and stops me thinking too much, I guess.” For a moment, she looked stricken as she thought of her mom, but she straightened her shoulders and went over to the dresser to gather up the bags. “We’ll have to dump this trash somewhere else, so we don’t leave any obvious traces, though I guess we can’t help fingerprints and stuff. I suppose if they look hard enough they can find us, anyway.”
Isobel grinned savagely and flexed her fingers.
“I can make it harder for them.”
She passed her hand over the nightstand, leaving a freshly gleaming patina behind. Wandering around the room, she polished all the areas most likely to have retained their fingerprints.
“There, this room’s cleaner than it’s ever been. I’ll go over all three rooms thoroughly, right before we check out.”
She went over to the door.
“Will you be ok here on your own, Maria? Just call if you need us, we can hear you through the walls…” With a sly wink at Maria, she left.
Liz stayed where she was, sitting on the edge of the bed by the map. Maria sat on the chair by the window and peered out for a moment.
“You don’t have to stay with me, Lizzie, I’ll be fine. You get some rest, chica, we’ve got a long way to go and I bet you didn’t get any sleep last night, did you?”
Liz sighed and folded the map back into its waterproof cover. She lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
“Are you and Michael finally sure about each other now, Maria? No more clairvoyance needed from me or Madame Vivien?”
She teased, but she really wanted to know. The sounds coming through the thin partition wall as the sun rose that morning had made her feel jealous and angry again, so she tried to be extra nice to Maria, to make up for her resentful thoughts.
Maria’s relationship with Michael had always been a mystery to her. They were so volatile and touchy, so wary and insecure about each others feelings that it was hard to believe that their relationship had effectively lasted nearly three years, whether they had been together or not. Although she had gone too far when she’d railed at Maria in the coffeeshop, and her apology had been real, she still privately thought that the relationship was doomed. Liz knew that the love she and Max had – used to have, she corrected herself quickly – was special, infinitely deeper than Michael and Maria’s edgy, uncertain relationship.
It was hard to ignore the fact that Michael was revealing a very different side of himself now that they were on the run, and she was more impressed by that than she would admit to herself, but she could not accept that he had so easily replaced Max, who had been born for the role of leader. Wherever he was, and whatever was causing his current erratic behaviour, Max should return and claim his rightful place in their group. Things could never be the same between them now, she had made the decision to move on, but that would not stop her being relieved when he came back and the natural order was resumed.
Maria’s eyes were shining as she looked over at her best friend and her smile was pure happiness as she replied to Liz’s curious questions.
“Things are solid between Michael and me, Lizzie. Leaving Roswell seems to suit us, we both know our future’s together now, whatever happens.”
She saw Liz’s smile tremble and quickly changed the subject. There was no need to talk too much about her own happiness and add to Liz’s pain. The private knowledge between Michael (whose current emotions - strongly focused interest and satisfaction, which surprised her as she knew he hated shopping - she could faintly feel somewhere deep in her mind) and herself was enough.
“It’s great that Isobel is helping you with your own powers, chica. How long did it take you to learn to control them enough to heat the coffee?”
Liz embarked on a pleasurable recap of her lesson in power control from the previous night, with scientific theories expounded and a demonstration of her skill once again when she chilled some water and made it taste like cherry coke. She explained that it didn’t look like the real thing yet, but Isobel had promised that would be their next lesson. Both girls giggled and their discussion turned to the clothes they would soon be buying for their new life in the mountains.
That was as far as they dared go when speculating, because neither could bring themselves to admit the trepidation they felt at taking another step away from their old life in Roswell. All the time they had been travelling, it didn’t truly feel as if they had cut all their ties. Now that the time had come to begin to live that new life, practical reality began to bite.
Maria persuaded Liz to rest properly in the next room until the guys came back, then she carried on watching out of the window, revelling in the happiness of being together with Michael again and idly daydreaming about their next encounter, until the Chevy pulled into the parking lot and stopped in front of their rooms once more.
The new roof rack had been fitted, and two large, hard-shell containers were already strapped to the top.
Michael climbed out of the vehicle and headed straight to the room that Maria was in. Kyle followed slowly behind, waiting for Isobel, who had emerged from the furthest room to join them.
Reluctantly confining themselves to a brief, chaste kiss in front of their friends, Michael and Maria shared a warmer, wordless, private greeting, each surprised by the depth of joy the other felt in being back together after even a few hours apart.
Kyle immediately started to sort the equipment into piles ready to load up the two containers. Michael and the two girls joined in and re-packing the Chevy was done in a very short time. One tent fitted into each container, along with the lanterns, two small outdoor cookstoves and fuel canisters, tarps, ropes, insulation pads, sleeping bags and various other items.
It left a generous space in back for the smaller stuff like the medical kit, personal packs, dried food provisions and other supplies.
Maria went to fetch Liz, who was fast asleep in the middle room, and brought her back, still half dazed, to join them. Isobel and Michael carried out a final “forensic clean-up” of all three rooms before the guys drank cups of spicy coffee to recover from the ordeal of shopping.
Michael picked up the map from the bed and looked over at the girls.
“Kyle and I have been talking over our plans and we think it may be best to start out right away instead of returning to the city. It’s 10.15 now. We can stop in Salida this afternoon and buy gear for you girls before we head north on a stretch of 285. It means we can leave this city behind quicker than we thought and maybe get to River Falls Lake earlier than we expected. Ok?”
Twenty minutes later the Chevy joined highway 50, heading west with a full load on board.
Maria was in the back seat between Michael and Isobel, while Kyle drove with Liz beside him. The Chevy was much more comfortable compared to the bus and Maria’s head soon fell on to Michael’s shoulder, while his cheek rested against her hair. Sleep claimed them both and Isobel smiled at them affectionately before settling back and gazing at the scenery, which was becoming more spectacular as they travelled further into the mountains.
They made good time and just after 12.30, Liz pulled into the crowded parking lot of a shopping mall in the city of Salida. The girls went to use the facilities and start their shopping expedition while Kyle quickly did his usual routine of checking for the suppliers they needed and marking the locations on a local tourist map. Michael stayed with the Chevy until Kyle returned before making his own expedition.
They were deep in the mountains now and everywhere they looked, snow-capped peaks towered into the blue sky and although the sun shone, the air was cold. Kyle had been asleep for the last hour and woke with a start, momentarily disorientated. Noticing where they were he thought, with a stab of pain, how far they had come from his desert home in a few days. The icy grey crags looked more threatening than he expected and he felt insignificant and lonely beside them, in spite of his new powers. He shook the gloomy thoughts off and concentrated on the more user-friendly aspects of mountain life.
“Hey, I just had an idea, Guerin.” His voice startled Michael, who was deep in survival manuals again.
“What now, Valenti?”
“Fishing tackle – that’s what we need. This lake place is bound to have fish and it’ll give us a source of fresh food.”
Michael caught his enthusiasm.
“Yeah, and we have to teach the girls to fish, too, for when we go deeper into the wilderness. It’s necessary for our survival that we all learn as much as we can and that includes them.” He grinned as he tried to picture Maria gutting fish for the campfire barbeque. It so wouldn’t happen.
*** Don’t kid yourself, Spaceboy. I’m not that helpless. I can do it if I have to ***
*** I won’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes, Blondie***
*** You just wait, Michael. Not only am I going to gut it, but you’re going to eat it…***
*** No way, babe. I love you, but I don’t need food poisoning…***
*** Damn it, Michael, I’ll show you that the DeLuca women can do anything we want to do. I will learn to cook and you will learn to love it if it kills us both***
He heard her mental growl, before her thoughts subsided into low mutterings that he was thankful he couldn’t quite make out. She had sounded really cross, although he hadn’t meant to ruffle her feathers this time. Life was about to get even more dangerous if Maria followed up her threat. He said so, just to provoke her some more.
*** Threat? Oooh, Spaceboy, that was low…***
She sounded amused again, but he knew that it was not always a good sign and mentally prepared himself for future battles. Life was looking up. Fighting with Maria was one of his favorite pastimes, next to making out afterwards.
Michael looked up to see Kyle watching him expectantly. He yawned to deflect any suspicion that his inattention had anything other than fatigue behind it.
“What did you say? I was out of it for a minute there, sorry.”
Kyle was unsympathetic.
“Shoulda got more sleep last night, instead of keeping the rest of us awake.”
Michael grinned, but said nothing. Kyle repeated his question.
“I said we’ll need to buy some rods and stuff this afternoon. I saw a sports store advertised on our way into the mall. Shall I go there now, or do you want me to wait until the girls come back?”
“Go now, sooner the better. How much cash do you think you’ll need? We’re running low again so Iz will have to cook some more, soon as she gets back. Pity we’re in a different city to spend it. Another trail marker left behind us. Same game plan, though. Spread the purchases.”
Kyle took the whole roll of “alien” notes and left, leaving Michael to look round at their fellow shoppers. It was very busy, being – he calculated - a Saturday and nobody appeared to take any notice of him or Kyle.
Half an hour later, the girls re-appeared in the distance, carrying several bags each. Maria also had a cardboard cupholder with two large coffee containers balanced precariously against her chest. He sent her a kiss for her kindness.
They all slid back into the Chevy, laughing and relaxed after the normal girlie pleasures of shopping and comparing their purchases over lunch in a coffee shop. The whole exercise had taken only an hour and a half, a personal best for all three.
Maria handed over the coffee to Michael, meanwhile asking where Kyle had gone and digging around amongst her shopping to pull out a bag of donuts. His eyes lit up as he reached for his personal Tabasco supply. Donuts were his favorite food and he never got bored with them, even though he had eaten them at every opportunity since they had been on the road. Maria indulged him as she suspected they were a food that might be hard to find in the mountains.
“Kyle’s gone to buy fishing rods. The lake should be a useful source of fresh protein.” He didn’t mention his plans for them all – Maria already knew and Liz and Isobel, both on record as preferring motel life to camping, would whine and complain at the prospect. He would wait for the right moment to break it to them.
The girls compared their lists and crossed off the stuff they had bought in the mall. Kyle’s tourist map showed the other stores were located nearby, but there was no sign of him until another 15 minutes had passed and Michael had finished off all the donuts, loudly sucking his sugary fingers and ignoring Liz’s disapproving comments about manners and sharing with Kyle.
Kyle was already mildly pissed off when he finally arrived back at the Chevy and loaded the stuff in back with the rest. The store clerk had been an enthusiast and insisted on taking a personal interest in the young man’s choices. While grateful for the advice, Kyle eventually had to plead a non-existent appointment in order to get away. So much for being an anonymous customer, he moaned to the others as he settled into his seat. Then he spotted the empty donut bag and became annoyed with Michael for eating them all.
Isobel reached over from the back seat and stopped him in mid-rant by holding a bag of Danish pastries in front of his face. She exchanged an I-told-you-so look with Maria and they both giggled with Liz when Michael turned round and scowled at her for her earlier attempt to make him feel guilty.
There was another sticky moment when Michael held his Tabasco bottle out of Kyle’s reach in retaliation for the earlier rude comments about his appetite, but he was distracted by Maria wrapping her arms around his neck from behind and kissing his ear so Kyle was able to make a successful snatch.
Peace was restored while Kyle ate both pastries and drank the rapidly cooling coffee without further complaint. Then they headed on to the next store.
They made one more stop before they left the city late in the afternoon. At a Borders store Michael surprised them by issuing each of them 50 real dollars to spend on books and CDs for personal entertainment in the wilderness.
They allowed themselves 45 minutes to browse before they all met up to set off again on their journey. Michael, Maria and Liz stayed on watch as the other two headed into the store.
Michael had wanted this time alone with Maria to talk seriously about his plans, but Liz had insisted on staying, too, joking uneasily that they needed a chaperone or risk being arrested for disturbing the peace. Maria was momentarily puzzled by this, but then dismissed it, assuming maybe Liz still didn’t feel quite comfortable alone with Isobel and Kyle yet. Michael just thought Liz was being her usual pain in the ass self.
He sent a regretful thought to Maria for having to delay their discussion once more, and returned to his survival manuals while Liz and Maria discussed their choices in literature and music.
When Kyle and Isobel returned, the other three immediately set out in their place.
As they approached the store Maria commented that these choices were going to be all the more important because they would be isolated for a long time and no doubt boredom would be a factor. Variety would therefore be vital. She quickly kissed Michael, gave Liz a small wave and disappeared among the bookshelves aiming, although her friends didn’t yet know it, for the cookbooks. Michael and Liz stared after her in surprise. Then they quickly headed in opposite directions, Michael towards the shelves of classic fiction and Liz towards the poetry section.
Meeting back at the Chevy, they all settled into the comfort to which they had quickly become accustomed. Maria would be driving with Isobel on look-out. Liz was sitting between Kyle and Michael in the back, silently cursing Max for stealing the bus and leaving her suddenly feeling like the outsider instead of the center of the group, as she normally was and still should be. She brooded quietly to herself on the unfairness of life.
After filling up on gas as they left Salida, they made their way to a three-way intersection of major highways where they took to the last stretch of the legendary 285, which held special memories for Michael and Maria, before they turned off onto a scenic route via Aspen and eventually through Glenwood Springs, although many of it’s views were lost as darkness fell.
In the small hours after midnight they stopped beside a long, empty stretch of highway and changed the Chevy’s disguise for the last time before it disappeared into the the park.
They chose their own disguises, which would also have to be retained for a week, before they finally set off towards the next stage of their strange, new alien life together.
TBC…
Chapter 19
The early evening sun burned down on the big, dark green Chevy truck as it swung into the eastern entrance of the River Falls Lake State Park. Michael left it outside the visitor center and went to buy permits and check in for the next week. When he returned 10 minutes later, a young employee in the park service uniform accompanied him. The guy spoke to Michael and lifted his hand in a friendly gesture towards the shadowy occupants of the Chevy as he passed it on his way to a nearby jeep.
Michael lifted the tailgate and tossed a couple of firewood bundles and briquette packs in back before he slid back behind the wheel and started the engine.
“Who’s he, Spaceboy?”
Maria voiced the wariness felt by them all, nervous at the unexpected attention of strangers after 5 days on the road.
“Says he’s a trainee park ranger – offered to lead us to the campsite as he was going that way himself. No point in refusing, would have seemed strange.” Michael’s voice was tight with tension. ‘Trust no one’ was still rule number one for him.
He followed the jeep out of the parking lot and on to a road winding gently downhill through trees. The sunlight filtered through the leaf canopy as they drove deeper into the park, catching occasional glimpses of the lake. After some time, the road levelled out and the trees abruptly gave way to a breathtaking view of the mountains and sky reflected in the mirror of water before them. The jeep led them along the edge of the lake for another mile or so before stopping at a camping area among the trees.
The trainee ranger got out and waited for them to pull up nearby, before walking over to the Chevy. He was a tall, suntanned blond, not much older than them, with friendly blue eyes that widened with appreciation as the girls emerged into the bright sunlight.
Isobel favoured shoulder length dark hair and mirror shades to elegant effect. She leaned unselfconsciously against the hood and smiled up into the blue sky, relieved to have reached a relatively safe haven at last, if only for a short time.
Liz had chosen a bleach-haired, pale look for the week, the short, spiky cut making her dark, tragic eyes seem too large for her face. She was reluctant to leave the protection of the Chevy and stood shyly behind the open door.
Maria, blonde again, honey-skinned, had reverted to a mid-length, sharply cut style from a couple of seasons ago that she knew Michael had liked. It reminded Liz of the time Tess had first arrived to disrupt their lives.
Their guide smiled at all three girls, but Michael wrapped a possessive arm around Maria, and Kyle moved casually in front of the other two in an unmistakable ‘keep off’ warning.
The young ranger pointed out the tent pads – smoothed out, grassy areas well-spaced among the trees and bushes along the lake shore.
“This is one of the designated fishing areas around the lake. There are eight tent pads in this campsite – but it’s early season and you have it all to yourselves for the moment, so you’re lucky to get the best shady spots. There are a few camp rules, all in the literature, so please make reading it your first priority. The toilet block and water hydrant are over there - ” he gestured to a rustic style building set some distance away from the lake “ – each pad has it’s own picnic table and fireplace or grill. We at River Falls Lake work to promote environmental education and guests are asked to respect our beautiful natural heritage. Now, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me or the other staff at the visitor center.”
It was a well-rehearsed speech, recited with genuine feeling. The guy clearly loved his job. He smiled at them all, waited for a moment and, when Isobel reassured him they were fine and thanked him for his help, he wished them a great vacation then climbed into his jeep. He leaned out and called to them as he manoeuvred it slowly back towards the road.
“There’s a shower headed this way, so I’d hold off from unpacking your gear until it passes over…” He pointed to the sky, waved and was gone.
The sun was still bright, but when they looked out over the lake, ominous dark clouds were rapidly piling up on the jagged rim of mountain peaks.
Three minutes later, they were all back in the Chevy as the rain drummed loudly on the roof and flooded down the windows. It seemed more claustrophobic than ever, trapped by the weather before they’d even had a chance to choose their site. Michael wanted nothing more than a hot, sweet, spicy coffee after the long spell of driving he had put in that morning but, instead, he handed out the literature he’d collected from the visitor center. It was vital for them all to know the rules so they wouldn’t inadvertently do anything to attract attention to themselves.
A few minutes later Isobel, in the back seat, suddenly sat up and exclaimed in surprise, making him jump.
“Bears! Oh my god, it says there are bears in the forest and to keep food out of reach – I don’t want to stay here if there are bears roaming around, Michael…it’s far too dangerous.”
The other two girls joined in her protest, until Michael had to raise his voice to make himself heard.
“Will you shut up!” They went silent, shocked at the loudness of his voice in the confined space. “God, they can hear you shrieking back at the park entrance...”
He took a deep breath to calm himself. Losing it now, when they finally had a chance to settle quietly for a few days and allow themselves time to think, was waste of energy. He continued in a normal tone.
“This is the wilderness, what did you expect? They can’t be too big a danger or there wouldn’t be a tourist campsite around here. There are no bear cages, either. What’s to be scared of, anyway? We’re much more dangerous than they are…especially DeLuca, here, she’ll just talk ‘em to death.”
He glanced sideways at Maria, who poked her tongue out at him, not yet entirely convinced it was safe.
“Yeah, nothing to get panicked about, ladies.” Kyle had, in fact, shared their panic at first, but hid it and quickly acknowledged Michael’s rational argument. It was true, he thought happily, the most dangerous beast roaming the forest was… himself…
The rainstorm passed and hot sunlight returned, steam rising from the ground as the water evaporated. They couldn’t wait to get out and explore their surroundings.
The lakeshore was rocky at this point and they were able to look out over the wide stretch of water towards the wooded slopes across from their campsite. Maria knelt and dipped her hand into the clear water, withdrawing it quickly when she discovered how cold it was.
“It’s freezing, guys. Too bad, I was really looking forward to a swim before dinner.”
“It’s too early in the year, the guidebook says it warms up later in the summer. Too late for us. We can fish from these rocks, though. I bought us a permit. The water looks deep around here and there’s no limit to the size of the catch.” Michael had already memorised the literature and was determined to make the most of their stay. He looked back at the Chevy.
“Time we unpacked and put the tents up.”
They moved the Chevy between two adjacent sites, about 50 feet apart among the trees and bushes. Chosen for shade and privacy, they were near the shore and some distance away from the facilities and the other pads. One had a grill and the other a fireplace, one for cooking and the other for sitting around, as Maria remarked.
The first tent took the combined efforts of them all, but the second was erected without too much of a struggle and presently they stood around the tailgate of the Chevy drinking coffee or cherry coke before they started to distribute the rest of the gear. They began to feel like they were on vacation and a light-hearted mood infected them all.
“So, which tent would you like, DeLuca – the one with the grill or the fireplace?” Michael hadn’t forgotten Maria’s vow to learn to cook and meant to get some amusement out of watching her efforts. Maria raised her chin in the air and spoke with airy confidence.
“The grill, Spaceboy. I’ll be using it all the time to create those delicious dishes you are so going to l-o-o-o-v-e.”
This earned her a frankly disbelieving look from Liz, who knew her friend’s life-long aversion to cooking.
“Did I hear you right? You, Maria ‘I don’t miss the cooking gene’ DeLuca, are planning to actually cook? Don’t you remember the last time when you tried to make dinner to surprise your mom? You melted the base of a pan and we had to spend all weekend re-painting the kitchen to cover the smoke-damage? Are you sure about this?”
Suddenly becoming the focus of interest for all her friends, Maria glared round at them, noting their broad grins. It only hardened her resolve.
“You’ll see. It can’t be that hard to learn and I have all of you to test my recipes out on…”
There was a collective groan, but only Michael and Liz looked genuinely apprehensive. They both knew she was serious.
“Still, you can all relax for the moment. Let’s make a meal from our supplies because I think we’re all too tired to do anything except catch up on our sleep tonight. I know I am.”
***You sure about that, princess…?***
***I guess maybe not 100%, Spaceboy… what did you have in mind…?***
***We gotta talk, Maria***
***Oh. Right. Talk, yeah. Its that secret you’re keeping from me, isn’t it?***
She heard his mental sigh.
***It’s not exactly a secret, but I do need to tell you about it soon, yeah***
He switched to the group conversation.
“Let’s get the stuff into the tents and then we can eat. I guess Isobel and Liz will be sharing the other tent, and Kyle can share with Maria and me. Everyone ok with that?”
Kyle shook his head.
“I’d sooner sleep in the Chevy. At least I’ll get some sleep, instead of having to listen to you two all night.”
“Kyle, you don’t have to do that, we won’t disturb you. The Chevy can’t be nearly as comfortable as the tent.” Maria was embarrassed and distressed. Had their love making back at the motel early that morning really been so loud?
***I guess we didn’t think of the neighbors, princess, but there’s no way I’m gonna be able to just sleep with you all night without lovin’ you, so Valenti can go sleep in the Chevy if that’s what he wants…***
Nothing and nobody was going to keep Michael away from Maria.
***We can’t let him be uncomfortable, Spaceboy, it’s not fair to Kyle. We’ll just have to make sure that we make the most of the times when he’s out on watch… and try to keep quiet…***
***Ok, Maria, I guess that might work…though how to keep you quiet is gonna be an interesting challenge…***
Maria was indignant.
***You make just as much noise as me, Michael. It will be a challenge for the both of us***
Aloud, Michael insisted that Kyle sleep in the tent, but that guard duties should be arranged to give them all as much privacy as possible. Kyle agreed to the idea, but with reservations. If it didn’t work out, there was probably enough room for his sleeping bag in the empty cargo space with the seats folded down. It was probably better than the tent, now he came to think about it… In fact, it might even be more comfortable than the couch at home. The big Chevy truck had heating, air-conditioning and a CD player/radio and there was bound to be a country music station for the long night watches. He decided to try out the tent for one token night, before he claimed the truck.
It took them well over an hour to unload the Chevy and arrange their possessions in and around the tents to the satisfaction of the girls. The guys had long since lost interest and gone to hang out on the rocks at the shoreline by the time the camp was ready.
Each of the family size tents now had a thick insulation pad topped by an inflated air mattress and sleeping bag (doubled for Michael and Maria) in its two ‘rooms’, along with pillows and extra blankets. A lantern was placed in the vestibule of each and some were hung around the canopy they had erected over the grill and others in the trees near the fireplace, ready for dusk.
The bulk of their food supplies were kept in one of the hard-shell containers roped and hung 15 feet up in a tree. A supply for immediate use was kept with the water containers in back of the Chevy, so the smell didn’t attract bears. Kyle and Michael had made several trips to fill the containers from the public hydrant, but Michael took the extra precaution of purifying it with his powers before they used it for drinking, cooking or washing. The public hydrant was ok, but he’d read that wilderness water was no longer safe to drink direct from source, even in the most remote places, as surface water everywhere was now contaminated.
Maria had unpacked some pots and pans and was sorting through the packages of dried meals for dinner. With the aliens around no fuel would be needed for cooking that night. Over at the other tent, Isobel was arranging the kindling for the campfire and Liz had set out the three remaining camp chairs around it together with some folded blankets.
Michael and Kyle came back from the water’s edge to find the girls relaxing in the chairs drinking cherry coke-flavored fizzy water (Liz was now fine on the taste aspect, but had not yet mastered color-change) and waiting to go shower over at the toilet block. As soon as they arrived, the guys were appointed to guard duty and abandoned. They took over camp chairs in their turn and surveyed their new base. It looked good.
The sun slowly set behind the nearby mountains and the lanterns around their shady campsite were lit as dusk fell. The girls came back freshened up from their showers and the guys headed off in their turn.
Thirty minutes later, Maria stirred the pot of re-hydrated stew, scraped the burnt crust off the bottom, fluffed up the pan of only slightly over-cooked rice and called the others over to help themselves. Then everyone moved across to sit round the table near the campfire and eat.
“Mmmm, chilli beef stew with extra burnt bits to add crunch. Nice touch, DeLuca.” Michael teased his girlfriend from a prudent distance just beyond her reach, but he was hungry and his heart wasn’t in it. He could wait until she took up her cooking challenge in earnest, then the sparks would really fly.
“Just ignore him, Maria. This is good, even if it is from a pouch. Funny how food eaten outside always tastes better than anything else.”
Isobel was hungry, too, and grateful that she hadn’t had to lift a finger to produce it. Liz had boiled the water, and kept the pans hot, keen on seizing any chance to use her powers. Kyle had watched with interest, remembering a puddle of water, over among the rocks, which had recently boiled as a result of his own efforts. Michael had been as good as his word and wasted no time in taking on a student.
They ate pistachio flavored ice-cream - hand made by Michael - and the last of the fresh fruit for dessert.
Afterwards, Isobel unconsciously twisted her wedding ring, a newly acquired nervous habit, and cleared her throat. She made her announcement with an air of defiance, unsure how Michael and the others would take it.
“I’m going to try to dreamwalk Max tonight.”
Michael shrugged his shoulders in pretended indifference. He was determined that Max would act as decoy for at least another night. He figured that if their enemies hadn’t jumped them by now, they would most likely continue to track the bugged van and wait until they thought the group had settled in some hideout and dropped their guard before attacking again. Max should be safe enough if he kept moving and stuck to the interstate highways. However, he didn’t trust Isobel not to warn Max as soon as she heard about the electronic bug theory and he didn’t trust Max at all. The group’s safety had to come first and so he ignored his guilty feelings and stared at Isobel in stony silence.
The others, too, said nothing and the atmosphere round the table became distinctly uncomfortable.
Then Liz leaned over and touched Isobel’s arm lightly, startling the alien girl.
“Would you like me to stay with you when you dreamwalk Max?” Liz was torn between wanting to offer support to Isobel and a strong reluctance to make any kind of contact with Max so soon after her resolve to move on. She felt guilty relief when Isobel shook her head.
“No, Liz. I’ll do this on my own, if you don’t mind. I’ll fall asleep more quickly if I’m alone this time. Thanks, anyway.” She smiled at Liz in gratitude, though.
The group around the table was quiet for a while, thinking about the dangers Max faced and, despite his actions, worried for his safety, too.
Isobel needed to do something to break out of her troubled thoughts, so she carried the dishes over to the other site to clean and store them back in the truck, while Kyle trekked to the far side of the camp to dump the trash and Michael made coffee for everyone.
Settled around the lantern-lit campfire wrapped in blankets against the cold evening air, the girls in the low chairs and the guys cross-legged on the grass, they all watched the flames and listened to the noises of night in the forest. For the first time since the horrors of Graduation, they had reached a place to rest for a while and before long, everyone’s thoughts were back in Roswell.
Michael’s mind was still on the mystery of who was behind the attack. He was puzzled by all the anomalies, not least by the lack of interest in the adult Evans’s and Parkers. The former Sheriff, too, must have been a prime witness for anyone who knew enough to identify the three aliens as targets. The FBI should have had enough resources to enable them to haul in the families for questioning. Cover stories should be no problem for a Government agency. However, all the parents had been left alone since their houses had been searched by the military for Tess and the baby. Why? He considered the suspects.
The Special Unit had been disbanded and he knew from Nasedo that there had been less than a dozen core agents involved. Considering that the military had found Tess’s spaceship, at least some of those agents might have been recalled to the investigation, although inter-service rivalry might have delayed that. Still, it was possible that at least some, if not all, died in the explosion. However, it didn’t mean that there were not enough or all of them left to organise a swift revenge attack and if that failed, to have a discreet back-up plan. That was where Jesse came in. The question was - how long had he been working for the FBI? They must have got a lot of information from him, if he was theirs from the beginning. Or had it been the revelation that his wife was an alien that sent Jesse to the authorities?
The Skins were another possibility, if Tess’s fireball really had been a mindwarp, but he thought it was remote as the nearly-ripe ‘husks’ needed to survive on Earth had undoubtedly been destroyed. There had been no future for them.
Khivar was a distinct threat. He had apparently retreated back to Antar after failing with Isobel, but had allowed Tess to return to Earth with the human baby. Michael couldn’t believe that Tess would have been allowed such easy access to a valuable spaceship in which to escape, mindwarping talent or not. Khivar could simply have had them both killed or imprisoned. He suspected that Khivar’s obsession with the Royal Four wasn’t over.
Michael gazed into the fire and let his thoughts wander back over that last night in Roswell and all that happened after Max first saved Liz and revealed their existence to others.
Kyle’s thoughts were with his dad and how he was doing back in Roswell. He wondered if any powers were showing up in him yet – and worried about the dangers of being helpless and alone when they did. He desperately hoped his dad didn’t have the same problems with being somehow linked to Max that he himself had experienced. Glowing green and sleeping a lot would attract attention, especially in a high-profile local man like the ex-Sheriff. He thought about various ways of leaving a warning message, but knew it would be too dangerous if there were phone-taps or mail checks on their families. Only one answer came to him and he reluctantly looked over at Isobel, to find the firelight sparkling on a tear rolling slowly down her cheek. He ached to comfort her, but knew there was nothing he could do except let her be.
With the added fear over Max, Isobel no longer knew how to how to deal with the pain she had locked away since the night she had told Jesse not to come with them and lose his chance of a normal life. She stared at her wedding ring glinting in the firelight and let herself remember Jesse’s smile as she came into the room, the feel of his arms around her and at last, reluctantly, his offer to come with her to share their fate. At first, she had been overjoyed when he said he loved her and wanted to go with her. In her heart, she had dared to hope he would brush aside her concerns and say that he wanted to be with her no matter what the future held. When he gave in to her protest without a fight, hope died and she knew that, after all, his love for her had not been strong enough to survive the consequences of what she was. The pain in her heart was now such a constant part of her, like breathing, that she could ignore it for hours at a stretch, but it was always there. Jesse was the dream lover she thought she would never find and part of her regretted keeping the secret from him, but another part knew that she would not give up one moment of the short time when she had felt like a normal, human girl, happy with the man she loved. To lose all her hopes and dreams without warning, once again, brought her close to breaking point. She felt the sting of tears behind her eyelids and panicked that she might be about to lose control. Then a warm hand reached for hers and she knew it was Maria, offering comfort, and understanding that her friend had feelings she wasn’t ready to share with anybody. Isobel clung as to a lifeline, forcing herself to open her eyes and pretend that she was strong enough to go on with her life without the man she loved.
Like Kyle, Maria had seen Isobel’s sorrow and she couldn’t stop herself from reaching over and taking Isobel’s hand in hers. The only response was a painfully tight grip, but she didn’t let go and they continued to sit in the fire-lit darkness, somehow comforted a little by that friendly link.
Maria herself had been thinking of her mom, but she knew that Amy would be sustained by the knowledge that she was with Michael, among friends. Her mom, despite her ditzy manner, was a strong woman, so the disappearance of her daughter, though painful and bewildering, wouldn’t destroy the passion for life her only child had inherited. Maria hoped that her mom and the Sheriff could find their way back to the promising relationship that had foundered soon after the Sheriff lost his job, his pride and his self-confidence. She knew that they could be close again and thought about asking Isobel if it were possible to dreamwalk them both some night soon. Other than missing her mom, Maria had no regrets at all about leaving Roswell behind.
Liz, curled inside her blanket, mesmerised by the flames, regretted everything – leaving her family, lashing out at Maria, losing Max. In the quiet peace of the night, she looked back over the last few days and all her actions seemed to belong to some part of her whose existence she had never before suspected. As in some in nightmarish fairytale, she looked into a dark mirror and all her worst character faults had been revealed.
She regretted hurting Maria, knowing her friend hadn’t deserved punishment for the crime of being happy while Liz suffered. Max, too, aside from her feelings about him which were still too complex to define, deserved a chance to try to sort out the trouble that had tormented him enough to run out on his only friends. She couldn’t even think about the pain her parents must be going through. She took a deep breath of the clean, cold night air, resolved to pull herself together and try to think only of the future: move on and make a real contribution to the group; learn to use her new powers for the general good and help make a worthwhile life for herself and the others. Feeling a little better about things than she had for days, she looked around at the group and re-discovered an affection for them all (except maybe Michael with whom she had never felt comfortable) that she hadn’t truly felt for … she was surprised to discover…more than a year past.
The fire was dying when finally Michael groaned and stretched, suddenly ready to head into his sleeping bag no matter where it was that night. First, though, there was the watch to arrange.
“So who wants when? It’s two-hour shifts between the five of us, if breakfast’s at eight. We can use the Chevy, rather than sit outside in the cold. Still need to take the occasional stroll towards the road to listen out, but as long as we keep all the lights off, we can see in the dark. You girls ok to be alone? It’s probably best if you take first watch until midnight, Maria, then me until 2am followed by Kyle, then Liz and finally Isobel at 6. Anyone have any problem with that?”
Nobody did and they all stood, wearily wishing each other goodnight, folding their blankets and chairs before heading towards the tents, except for Maria, who left her stuff to Michael and walked off in into the darkness.
A few minutes later, Michael emerged from their tent and went quietly over to the Chevy.
By then, Kyle was already asleep.
Meanwhile, in the other tent, Liz pulled her sleeping bag up around her ears, the first glimmer of optimism she had felt for days allowing her exhausted mind and body to rest at last.
Isobel, a few feet away, made herself comfortable and prepared to dreamwalk her brother to find out just what was going on with him…
TBC…
At 7am Michael and Maria found the others already gathered in Kyle’s room, waiting for them. Isobel smiled at Maria, pleased to see her friend happy; Kyle gave Michael a wicked grin and then winked at Maria, making her blush. Liz kept her thoughts to herself.
Maria headed straight to the dresser. Coffee for Spaceboy and herself was the first priority. Their reluctance to leave the bed meant that they had been forced to take a very fast shower together at the last minute.
Michael, frustrated at being denied time to play with a wet and soapy Maria, and annoyed at having to endure another day of shopping, was in a grumpy mood by the time he sat down on the chair by the dresser in Kyle’s room. Anger at Max’s desertion returned to him as he remembered the earlier part of the night and his formidable scowl was in evidence as he surveyed his companions scattered about the room.
Maria started to prepare the coffee, but Liz suddenly joined her and, with the first genuine smile her best friend had seen since they left Roswell, gave her a warm hug.
“Go sit down, Maria – I’ll make the coffee for you and Michael this morning. Isobel’s been giving me lessons. Watch!”
She carefully prepared the cups, held her hand over them and concentrated. Soon steam rose from them both and the others commented approvingly. She took a mock-modest bow, and handed them to the suitably grateful recipients. Michael relaxed for a few moments as the hot, sweet liquid revived his spirits slightly. Then he got down to business.
“First of all, we’ve got to get to a park as soon as we can, but one that’s far enough away to put some distance between us and the bus. It means driving all night with all of us packed into the Chevy. Not gonna be a pleasure trip. Before that, we’ve gotta replace as many of the supplies as we can carry, now that Max has taken off with half our stuff.” He frowned in an effort to keep his temper in check.
When Michael recalled all the time and worry he and Kyle had put in over planning and buying their supplies, only for Max to betray their trust without a second thought for his friends, he could feel rage build inside. The only thing that stopped him exploding was the knowledge that the others depended on him. They needed a leader and he had to be strong for them all. The luxury of losing his temper was no longer an option.
Kyle spoke from his comfortable position on the rumpled bed.
“Got some good news on the shopping front. His ex-Majesty has left us some farewell gifts in the Chevy. Guess he had a conscience after all.”
The others all looked surprised, and in Isobel’s case, relieved, too. Max hadn’t been entirely thoughtless, despite everything.
“What did he leave us?”
“Looked like the other tent and the sleeping bags, I didn’t look closely. It’ll be a tight fit to get it all packed in the Chevy with the five of us as well, though.”
Michael looked thoughtful.
“As I said last night, we’ll soon need to get a pick-up truck from somewhere and that should give us plenty of room. It’ll be much better than the bus, anyhow and another 4WD, too. There are plenty round here to choose from, every other vehicle is a pick-up, and we won’t be as conspicuous in the mountains. Still, I think we should wait until we leave the park before we grab one. Less hassle and we can take our time planning it.”
He looked round at them all, noting that they all seemed wide awake and alert this morning, despite all the drama of the long night. Surprisingly, Liz and Isobel looked almost cheerful. It had been a good idea of Maria’s to suggest the state park. Michael wanted them to get well rested and prepare themselves for a summer surviving in the backwoods. He would tell them his plans for that when they had settled into the routine but he wanted to discuss it with Maria first chance he got, because it was time that she, above all, knew his secret. He hadn’t meant to keep it from any of them at first, but then he’d been distracted by other things until now.
*** So you’ve got secrets from me, have you, Spaceboy?***
Reflecting that while their unexpected new connection allowed them the privacy of independent thought and, having highly individual personalities, they were both profoundly grateful for that, there would be times when it might be a tad inconvenient… Like now, when he’d forgotten to shield his thoughts and she must’ve picked up on his slightly nervous anticipation. So his reply was a defensive growl…
*** I knew it would only be a matter of time before you tried to suck my brains out. Secrets don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell with you, do they, Blondie? Still, this one’s not gonna give up so easy…***
*** You think? Hmm, so young and so deluded. Oh, I do love a challenge, Spaceboy. As for sucking your brains out, Michael – well, that’ll just have to wait until we’re alone…***
The vivid image flashed through both their minds and their eyes met across the room. Michael looked away hurriedly, before he lost control and ravished her there and then. He heard her slow giggle in his mind and forced himself to concentrate on the public topic of conversation.
“…still got to get the right clothes, and make sure we’ve got enough food for the next week, anyway.” That was Kyle, revising their schedule. “I’ll go see what we’ll need to replace and what we can do about fitting the extra tent and stuff into the Chevy.”
“Isobel, why don’t you help Kyle? You did a great job when we split the stuff the first time.” If Isobel was surprised by a compliment from Michael, she was diplomatic enough not to show it. She merely nodded.
Michael thought back to what he’d learned from the survival manual. It seemed years since he had been peacefully reading it in the back of the bus, with only Maria and Kyle for company.
“Gonna be freezing in the mountains as well as hot, so we’ll need to layer up on clothes. It means more stuff to pack in the Chevy – maybe too much. I think we’ll just have to get a roof rack, even if it does make us a bit more conspicuous for a while.”
Kyle brought out his list from a pocket and smoothed it out.
“Good boots are a basic and Michael’s right - we need to plan for both extremes, so good gear is a necessity. This is what the book recommends as the minimum requirements.”
He read aloud from the list and Michael shook his head gloomily. They’d already spent far more “alien” money than he was comfortable with and they’d need to spend a lot more before they left the city. They were gathering some “real” money in exchange, which was some consolation, but the sooner they moved on, the happier he would be.
“Liz. When you and Iz were doing the research on the parks, what did you come up with?"
“There are a couple of possibilities within reach, if we drive all night and aim to get there tomorrow afternoon.”
“Then you, Maria and I will plan our route, while you two –” He nodded at Kyle and Isobel. “ –go sort out the Chevy.”
Isobel remembered to ask if they’d all packed their personal belongings yet, as they would need to find room in the Chevy for those, too. There was a general shuffle between the rooms as they all retrieved their stuff and set it beside the remaining vehicle. Despite being merely the bare necessities, it was still a significant pile to find room for.
Michael and Maria ate some of the food left over from the night before and drank more of Liz’s coffee as they leaned over the map spread out on one of the beds. Liz brought out the flyers for the parks and they discussed the options.
Ten minutes later the door opened and the other two came back inside, looking worried. Kyle broke the news.
“Max left more stuff than I first thought. Too much, in fact – there’s no room inside for all of it and all of us, too. We’re gonna need that roof rack or we’ll have to dump some of it.”
Michael stood up, yawned and stretched all over, flexing his muscles so that the already tight black sweatshirt he was wearing clung to his body like a second skin and his jeans slipped down lower on his hips, revealing his belly button.
Maria’s wide eyes drank in the sight and she licked her lips, unconsciously sending him a flash of lust, which made him grin smugly to himself. Liz noticed the display, too, and involuntarily recalled the sight of his naked, impressively endowed body from when she had interrupted him with Maria at the last motel. She flushed in horrified embarrassment, hoping nobody had seen her reaction.
Looking at his watch, which showed that it was nearly 7.30, Michael bowed to the inevitable. There would have to be a special trip for a roof rack, before they could leave the motel. There was no point in going as a group; someone would have to stay to guard the extra stuff. The others agreed, and 15 minutes later, much of the equipment had been unloaded into the room and the two guys had driven off towards the city to shop for the rack. After that, they intended to buy their personal all-weather gear but first of all, as Kyle convincingly argued, a real guy-type breakfast was a necessity.
Stopping at a roadside diner, they devoured the best breakfast they had eaten since forever. Ham, eggs, beans and sausage links preceded waffles with bacon and molasses, all doused with Tabasco and washed down with juice and coffee. Leaving their motherly waitress a generous tip, they set off for the shopping trip in a more up-beat mood than when they’d left the motel.
Maria kept watch from the window to see if they were followed, and was relieved when there was no sign of anyone else leaving soon enough afterwards to be suspicious. The three girls sat around in silence for a few minutes, then Isobel looked over at the map, still spread out on one of the beds.
“Did you three decide on which park we go to? How far did you get with planning the route?”
“The best one for us seems to be River Falls Lake. It’s a large park about a 24 hour drive towards the north west, and the flyer says it’s got secluded tenting areas in pine woods and alpine meadows as well as a big lake.”
“Sounds cool, like a vacation. Be good to stop somewhere for a while.” Isobel had long ago tired of the constant travelling. Maybe camping wasn’t her favourite activity, but she needed some time out from the suffocating presence of the others, to breathe and come to terms with her new life.
“It’s gonna be hard to spend more time on the road. When we get to the park, I think I’ll just sleep for the week…”
Maria echoed Isobel’s thoughts and Liz smiled briefly in agreement. She pointed to a spot on the map.
“We’re here and we need to leave this city by early afternoon, to get to the place tomorrow in time to set up camp before dark. The guys should be back by 10.30, so we can hit the stores for ourselves.”
“We can pack up the Chevy before we leave this place, shop for our clothes, then head out after lunch. Meanwhile, I could do with a nap now, how about you?”
Isobel looked at the other two. Maria shook her head.
“You two take a room each and I’ll stay on watch. We have to make sure we do our share, otherwise it’s not fair on the guys. We're all tired, but we have no choice - we have to hold out until we get to the park. It’s hard to sleep when we’re on the road. That’s why I like to drive if I can. It calms my nerves, and stops me thinking too much, I guess.” For a moment, she looked stricken as she thought of her mom, but she straightened her shoulders and went over to the dresser to gather up the bags. “We’ll have to dump this trash somewhere else, so we don’t leave any obvious traces, though I guess we can’t help fingerprints and stuff. I suppose if they look hard enough they can find us, anyway.”
Isobel grinned savagely and flexed her fingers.
“I can make it harder for them.”
She passed her hand over the nightstand, leaving a freshly gleaming patina behind. Wandering around the room, she polished all the areas most likely to have retained their fingerprints.
“There, this room’s cleaner than it’s ever been. I’ll go over all three rooms thoroughly, right before we check out.”
She went over to the door.
“Will you be ok here on your own, Maria? Just call if you need us, we can hear you through the walls…” With a sly wink at Maria, she left.
Liz stayed where she was, sitting on the edge of the bed by the map. Maria sat on the chair by the window and peered out for a moment.
“You don’t have to stay with me, Lizzie, I’ll be fine. You get some rest, chica, we’ve got a long way to go and I bet you didn’t get any sleep last night, did you?”
Liz sighed and folded the map back into its waterproof cover. She lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
“Are you and Michael finally sure about each other now, Maria? No more clairvoyance needed from me or Madame Vivien?”
She teased, but she really wanted to know. The sounds coming through the thin partition wall as the sun rose that morning had made her feel jealous and angry again, so she tried to be extra nice to Maria, to make up for her resentful thoughts.
Maria’s relationship with Michael had always been a mystery to her. They were so volatile and touchy, so wary and insecure about each others feelings that it was hard to believe that their relationship had effectively lasted nearly three years, whether they had been together or not. Although she had gone too far when she’d railed at Maria in the coffeeshop, and her apology had been real, she still privately thought that the relationship was doomed. Liz knew that the love she and Max had – used to have, she corrected herself quickly – was special, infinitely deeper than Michael and Maria’s edgy, uncertain relationship.
It was hard to ignore the fact that Michael was revealing a very different side of himself now that they were on the run, and she was more impressed by that than she would admit to herself, but she could not accept that he had so easily replaced Max, who had been born for the role of leader. Wherever he was, and whatever was causing his current erratic behaviour, Max should return and claim his rightful place in their group. Things could never be the same between them now, she had made the decision to move on, but that would not stop her being relieved when he came back and the natural order was resumed.
Maria’s eyes were shining as she looked over at her best friend and her smile was pure happiness as she replied to Liz’s curious questions.
“Things are solid between Michael and me, Lizzie. Leaving Roswell seems to suit us, we both know our future’s together now, whatever happens.”
She saw Liz’s smile tremble and quickly changed the subject. There was no need to talk too much about her own happiness and add to Liz’s pain. The private knowledge between Michael (whose current emotions - strongly focused interest and satisfaction, which surprised her as she knew he hated shopping - she could faintly feel somewhere deep in her mind) and herself was enough.
“It’s great that Isobel is helping you with your own powers, chica. How long did it take you to learn to control them enough to heat the coffee?”
Liz embarked on a pleasurable recap of her lesson in power control from the previous night, with scientific theories expounded and a demonstration of her skill once again when she chilled some water and made it taste like cherry coke. She explained that it didn’t look like the real thing yet, but Isobel had promised that would be their next lesson. Both girls giggled and their discussion turned to the clothes they would soon be buying for their new life in the mountains.
That was as far as they dared go when speculating, because neither could bring themselves to admit the trepidation they felt at taking another step away from their old life in Roswell. All the time they had been travelling, it didn’t truly feel as if they had cut all their ties. Now that the time had come to begin to live that new life, practical reality began to bite.
Maria persuaded Liz to rest properly in the next room until the guys came back, then she carried on watching out of the window, revelling in the happiness of being together with Michael again and idly daydreaming about their next encounter, until the Chevy pulled into the parking lot and stopped in front of their rooms once more.
The new roof rack had been fitted, and two large, hard-shell containers were already strapped to the top.
Michael climbed out of the vehicle and headed straight to the room that Maria was in. Kyle followed slowly behind, waiting for Isobel, who had emerged from the furthest room to join them.
Reluctantly confining themselves to a brief, chaste kiss in front of their friends, Michael and Maria shared a warmer, wordless, private greeting, each surprised by the depth of joy the other felt in being back together after even a few hours apart.
Kyle immediately started to sort the equipment into piles ready to load up the two containers. Michael and the two girls joined in and re-packing the Chevy was done in a very short time. One tent fitted into each container, along with the lanterns, two small outdoor cookstoves and fuel canisters, tarps, ropes, insulation pads, sleeping bags and various other items.
It left a generous space in back for the smaller stuff like the medical kit, personal packs, dried food provisions and other supplies.
Maria went to fetch Liz, who was fast asleep in the middle room, and brought her back, still half dazed, to join them. Isobel and Michael carried out a final “forensic clean-up” of all three rooms before the guys drank cups of spicy coffee to recover from the ordeal of shopping.
Michael picked up the map from the bed and looked over at the girls.
“Kyle and I have been talking over our plans and we think it may be best to start out right away instead of returning to the city. It’s 10.15 now. We can stop in Salida this afternoon and buy gear for you girls before we head north on a stretch of 285. It means we can leave this city behind quicker than we thought and maybe get to River Falls Lake earlier than we expected. Ok?”
Twenty minutes later the Chevy joined highway 50, heading west with a full load on board.
Maria was in the back seat between Michael and Isobel, while Kyle drove with Liz beside him. The Chevy was much more comfortable compared to the bus and Maria’s head soon fell on to Michael’s shoulder, while his cheek rested against her hair. Sleep claimed them both and Isobel smiled at them affectionately before settling back and gazing at the scenery, which was becoming more spectacular as they travelled further into the mountains.
They made good time and just after 12.30, Liz pulled into the crowded parking lot of a shopping mall in the city of Salida. The girls went to use the facilities and start their shopping expedition while Kyle quickly did his usual routine of checking for the suppliers they needed and marking the locations on a local tourist map. Michael stayed with the Chevy until Kyle returned before making his own expedition.
They were deep in the mountains now and everywhere they looked, snow-capped peaks towered into the blue sky and although the sun shone, the air was cold. Kyle had been asleep for the last hour and woke with a start, momentarily disorientated. Noticing where they were he thought, with a stab of pain, how far they had come from his desert home in a few days. The icy grey crags looked more threatening than he expected and he felt insignificant and lonely beside them, in spite of his new powers. He shook the gloomy thoughts off and concentrated on the more user-friendly aspects of mountain life.
“Hey, I just had an idea, Guerin.” His voice startled Michael, who was deep in survival manuals again.
“What now, Valenti?”
“Fishing tackle – that’s what we need. This lake place is bound to have fish and it’ll give us a source of fresh food.”
Michael caught his enthusiasm.
“Yeah, and we have to teach the girls to fish, too, for when we go deeper into the wilderness. It’s necessary for our survival that we all learn as much as we can and that includes them.” He grinned as he tried to picture Maria gutting fish for the campfire barbeque. It so wouldn’t happen.
*** Don’t kid yourself, Spaceboy. I’m not that helpless. I can do it if I have to ***
*** I won’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes, Blondie***
*** You just wait, Michael. Not only am I going to gut it, but you’re going to eat it…***
*** No way, babe. I love you, but I don’t need food poisoning…***
*** Damn it, Michael, I’ll show you that the DeLuca women can do anything we want to do. I will learn to cook and you will learn to love it if it kills us both***
He heard her mental growl, before her thoughts subsided into low mutterings that he was thankful he couldn’t quite make out. She had sounded really cross, although he hadn’t meant to ruffle her feathers this time. Life was about to get even more dangerous if Maria followed up her threat. He said so, just to provoke her some more.
*** Threat? Oooh, Spaceboy, that was low…***
She sounded amused again, but he knew that it was not always a good sign and mentally prepared himself for future battles. Life was looking up. Fighting with Maria was one of his favorite pastimes, next to making out afterwards.
Michael looked up to see Kyle watching him expectantly. He yawned to deflect any suspicion that his inattention had anything other than fatigue behind it.
“What did you say? I was out of it for a minute there, sorry.”
Kyle was unsympathetic.
“Shoulda got more sleep last night, instead of keeping the rest of us awake.”
Michael grinned, but said nothing. Kyle repeated his question.
“I said we’ll need to buy some rods and stuff this afternoon. I saw a sports store advertised on our way into the mall. Shall I go there now, or do you want me to wait until the girls come back?”
“Go now, sooner the better. How much cash do you think you’ll need? We’re running low again so Iz will have to cook some more, soon as she gets back. Pity we’re in a different city to spend it. Another trail marker left behind us. Same game plan, though. Spread the purchases.”
Kyle took the whole roll of “alien” notes and left, leaving Michael to look round at their fellow shoppers. It was very busy, being – he calculated - a Saturday and nobody appeared to take any notice of him or Kyle.
Half an hour later, the girls re-appeared in the distance, carrying several bags each. Maria also had a cardboard cupholder with two large coffee containers balanced precariously against her chest. He sent her a kiss for her kindness.
They all slid back into the Chevy, laughing and relaxed after the normal girlie pleasures of shopping and comparing their purchases over lunch in a coffee shop. The whole exercise had taken only an hour and a half, a personal best for all three.
Maria handed over the coffee to Michael, meanwhile asking where Kyle had gone and digging around amongst her shopping to pull out a bag of donuts. His eyes lit up as he reached for his personal Tabasco supply. Donuts were his favorite food and he never got bored with them, even though he had eaten them at every opportunity since they had been on the road. Maria indulged him as she suspected they were a food that might be hard to find in the mountains.
“Kyle’s gone to buy fishing rods. The lake should be a useful source of fresh protein.” He didn’t mention his plans for them all – Maria already knew and Liz and Isobel, both on record as preferring motel life to camping, would whine and complain at the prospect. He would wait for the right moment to break it to them.
The girls compared their lists and crossed off the stuff they had bought in the mall. Kyle’s tourist map showed the other stores were located nearby, but there was no sign of him until another 15 minutes had passed and Michael had finished off all the donuts, loudly sucking his sugary fingers and ignoring Liz’s disapproving comments about manners and sharing with Kyle.
Kyle was already mildly pissed off when he finally arrived back at the Chevy and loaded the stuff in back with the rest. The store clerk had been an enthusiast and insisted on taking a personal interest in the young man’s choices. While grateful for the advice, Kyle eventually had to plead a non-existent appointment in order to get away. So much for being an anonymous customer, he moaned to the others as he settled into his seat. Then he spotted the empty donut bag and became annoyed with Michael for eating them all.
Isobel reached over from the back seat and stopped him in mid-rant by holding a bag of Danish pastries in front of his face. She exchanged an I-told-you-so look with Maria and they both giggled with Liz when Michael turned round and scowled at her for her earlier attempt to make him feel guilty.
There was another sticky moment when Michael held his Tabasco bottle out of Kyle’s reach in retaliation for the earlier rude comments about his appetite, but he was distracted by Maria wrapping her arms around his neck from behind and kissing his ear so Kyle was able to make a successful snatch.
Peace was restored while Kyle ate both pastries and drank the rapidly cooling coffee without further complaint. Then they headed on to the next store.
They made one more stop before they left the city late in the afternoon. At a Borders store Michael surprised them by issuing each of them 50 real dollars to spend on books and CDs for personal entertainment in the wilderness.
They allowed themselves 45 minutes to browse before they all met up to set off again on their journey. Michael, Maria and Liz stayed on watch as the other two headed into the store.
Michael had wanted this time alone with Maria to talk seriously about his plans, but Liz had insisted on staying, too, joking uneasily that they needed a chaperone or risk being arrested for disturbing the peace. Maria was momentarily puzzled by this, but then dismissed it, assuming maybe Liz still didn’t feel quite comfortable alone with Isobel and Kyle yet. Michael just thought Liz was being her usual pain in the ass self.
He sent a regretful thought to Maria for having to delay their discussion once more, and returned to his survival manuals while Liz and Maria discussed their choices in literature and music.
When Kyle and Isobel returned, the other three immediately set out in their place.
As they approached the store Maria commented that these choices were going to be all the more important because they would be isolated for a long time and no doubt boredom would be a factor. Variety would therefore be vital. She quickly kissed Michael, gave Liz a small wave and disappeared among the bookshelves aiming, although her friends didn’t yet know it, for the cookbooks. Michael and Liz stared after her in surprise. Then they quickly headed in opposite directions, Michael towards the shelves of classic fiction and Liz towards the poetry section.
Meeting back at the Chevy, they all settled into the comfort to which they had quickly become accustomed. Maria would be driving with Isobel on look-out. Liz was sitting between Kyle and Michael in the back, silently cursing Max for stealing the bus and leaving her suddenly feeling like the outsider instead of the center of the group, as she normally was and still should be. She brooded quietly to herself on the unfairness of life.
After filling up on gas as they left Salida, they made their way to a three-way intersection of major highways where they took to the last stretch of the legendary 285, which held special memories for Michael and Maria, before they turned off onto a scenic route via Aspen and eventually through Glenwood Springs, although many of it’s views were lost as darkness fell.
In the small hours after midnight they stopped beside a long, empty stretch of highway and changed the Chevy’s disguise for the last time before it disappeared into the the park.
They chose their own disguises, which would also have to be retained for a week, before they finally set off towards the next stage of their strange, new alien life together.
TBC…
Chapter 19
The early evening sun burned down on the big, dark green Chevy truck as it swung into the eastern entrance of the River Falls Lake State Park. Michael left it outside the visitor center and went to buy permits and check in for the next week. When he returned 10 minutes later, a young employee in the park service uniform accompanied him. The guy spoke to Michael and lifted his hand in a friendly gesture towards the shadowy occupants of the Chevy as he passed it on his way to a nearby jeep.
Michael lifted the tailgate and tossed a couple of firewood bundles and briquette packs in back before he slid back behind the wheel and started the engine.
“Who’s he, Spaceboy?”
Maria voiced the wariness felt by them all, nervous at the unexpected attention of strangers after 5 days on the road.
“Says he’s a trainee park ranger – offered to lead us to the campsite as he was going that way himself. No point in refusing, would have seemed strange.” Michael’s voice was tight with tension. ‘Trust no one’ was still rule number one for him.
He followed the jeep out of the parking lot and on to a road winding gently downhill through trees. The sunlight filtered through the leaf canopy as they drove deeper into the park, catching occasional glimpses of the lake. After some time, the road levelled out and the trees abruptly gave way to a breathtaking view of the mountains and sky reflected in the mirror of water before them. The jeep led them along the edge of the lake for another mile or so before stopping at a camping area among the trees.
The trainee ranger got out and waited for them to pull up nearby, before walking over to the Chevy. He was a tall, suntanned blond, not much older than them, with friendly blue eyes that widened with appreciation as the girls emerged into the bright sunlight.
Isobel favoured shoulder length dark hair and mirror shades to elegant effect. She leaned unselfconsciously against the hood and smiled up into the blue sky, relieved to have reached a relatively safe haven at last, if only for a short time.
Liz had chosen a bleach-haired, pale look for the week, the short, spiky cut making her dark, tragic eyes seem too large for her face. She was reluctant to leave the protection of the Chevy and stood shyly behind the open door.
Maria, blonde again, honey-skinned, had reverted to a mid-length, sharply cut style from a couple of seasons ago that she knew Michael had liked. It reminded Liz of the time Tess had first arrived to disrupt their lives.
Their guide smiled at all three girls, but Michael wrapped a possessive arm around Maria, and Kyle moved casually in front of the other two in an unmistakable ‘keep off’ warning.
The young ranger pointed out the tent pads – smoothed out, grassy areas well-spaced among the trees and bushes along the lake shore.
“This is one of the designated fishing areas around the lake. There are eight tent pads in this campsite – but it’s early season and you have it all to yourselves for the moment, so you’re lucky to get the best shady spots. There are a few camp rules, all in the literature, so please make reading it your first priority. The toilet block and water hydrant are over there - ” he gestured to a rustic style building set some distance away from the lake “ – each pad has it’s own picnic table and fireplace or grill. We at River Falls Lake work to promote environmental education and guests are asked to respect our beautiful natural heritage. Now, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me or the other staff at the visitor center.”
It was a well-rehearsed speech, recited with genuine feeling. The guy clearly loved his job. He smiled at them all, waited for a moment and, when Isobel reassured him they were fine and thanked him for his help, he wished them a great vacation then climbed into his jeep. He leaned out and called to them as he manoeuvred it slowly back towards the road.
“There’s a shower headed this way, so I’d hold off from unpacking your gear until it passes over…” He pointed to the sky, waved and was gone.
The sun was still bright, but when they looked out over the lake, ominous dark clouds were rapidly piling up on the jagged rim of mountain peaks.
Three minutes later, they were all back in the Chevy as the rain drummed loudly on the roof and flooded down the windows. It seemed more claustrophobic than ever, trapped by the weather before they’d even had a chance to choose their site. Michael wanted nothing more than a hot, sweet, spicy coffee after the long spell of driving he had put in that morning but, instead, he handed out the literature he’d collected from the visitor center. It was vital for them all to know the rules so they wouldn’t inadvertently do anything to attract attention to themselves.
A few minutes later Isobel, in the back seat, suddenly sat up and exclaimed in surprise, making him jump.
“Bears! Oh my god, it says there are bears in the forest and to keep food out of reach – I don’t want to stay here if there are bears roaming around, Michael…it’s far too dangerous.”
The other two girls joined in her protest, until Michael had to raise his voice to make himself heard.
“Will you shut up!” They went silent, shocked at the loudness of his voice in the confined space. “God, they can hear you shrieking back at the park entrance...”
He took a deep breath to calm himself. Losing it now, when they finally had a chance to settle quietly for a few days and allow themselves time to think, was waste of energy. He continued in a normal tone.
“This is the wilderness, what did you expect? They can’t be too big a danger or there wouldn’t be a tourist campsite around here. There are no bear cages, either. What’s to be scared of, anyway? We’re much more dangerous than they are…especially DeLuca, here, she’ll just talk ‘em to death.”
He glanced sideways at Maria, who poked her tongue out at him, not yet entirely convinced it was safe.
“Yeah, nothing to get panicked about, ladies.” Kyle had, in fact, shared their panic at first, but hid it and quickly acknowledged Michael’s rational argument. It was true, he thought happily, the most dangerous beast roaming the forest was… himself…
The rainstorm passed and hot sunlight returned, steam rising from the ground as the water evaporated. They couldn’t wait to get out and explore their surroundings.
The lakeshore was rocky at this point and they were able to look out over the wide stretch of water towards the wooded slopes across from their campsite. Maria knelt and dipped her hand into the clear water, withdrawing it quickly when she discovered how cold it was.
“It’s freezing, guys. Too bad, I was really looking forward to a swim before dinner.”
“It’s too early in the year, the guidebook says it warms up later in the summer. Too late for us. We can fish from these rocks, though. I bought us a permit. The water looks deep around here and there’s no limit to the size of the catch.” Michael had already memorised the literature and was determined to make the most of their stay. He looked back at the Chevy.
“Time we unpacked and put the tents up.”
They moved the Chevy between two adjacent sites, about 50 feet apart among the trees and bushes. Chosen for shade and privacy, they were near the shore and some distance away from the facilities and the other pads. One had a grill and the other a fireplace, one for cooking and the other for sitting around, as Maria remarked.
The first tent took the combined efforts of them all, but the second was erected without too much of a struggle and presently they stood around the tailgate of the Chevy drinking coffee or cherry coke before they started to distribute the rest of the gear. They began to feel like they were on vacation and a light-hearted mood infected them all.
“So, which tent would you like, DeLuca – the one with the grill or the fireplace?” Michael hadn’t forgotten Maria’s vow to learn to cook and meant to get some amusement out of watching her efforts. Maria raised her chin in the air and spoke with airy confidence.
“The grill, Spaceboy. I’ll be using it all the time to create those delicious dishes you are so going to l-o-o-o-v-e.”
This earned her a frankly disbelieving look from Liz, who knew her friend’s life-long aversion to cooking.
“Did I hear you right? You, Maria ‘I don’t miss the cooking gene’ DeLuca, are planning to actually cook? Don’t you remember the last time when you tried to make dinner to surprise your mom? You melted the base of a pan and we had to spend all weekend re-painting the kitchen to cover the smoke-damage? Are you sure about this?”
Suddenly becoming the focus of interest for all her friends, Maria glared round at them, noting their broad grins. It only hardened her resolve.
“You’ll see. It can’t be that hard to learn and I have all of you to test my recipes out on…”
There was a collective groan, but only Michael and Liz looked genuinely apprehensive. They both knew she was serious.
“Still, you can all relax for the moment. Let’s make a meal from our supplies because I think we’re all too tired to do anything except catch up on our sleep tonight. I know I am.”
***You sure about that, princess…?***
***I guess maybe not 100%, Spaceboy… what did you have in mind…?***
***We gotta talk, Maria***
***Oh. Right. Talk, yeah. Its that secret you’re keeping from me, isn’t it?***
She heard his mental sigh.
***It’s not exactly a secret, but I do need to tell you about it soon, yeah***
He switched to the group conversation.
“Let’s get the stuff into the tents and then we can eat. I guess Isobel and Liz will be sharing the other tent, and Kyle can share with Maria and me. Everyone ok with that?”
Kyle shook his head.
“I’d sooner sleep in the Chevy. At least I’ll get some sleep, instead of having to listen to you two all night.”
“Kyle, you don’t have to do that, we won’t disturb you. The Chevy can’t be nearly as comfortable as the tent.” Maria was embarrassed and distressed. Had their love making back at the motel early that morning really been so loud?
***I guess we didn’t think of the neighbors, princess, but there’s no way I’m gonna be able to just sleep with you all night without lovin’ you, so Valenti can go sleep in the Chevy if that’s what he wants…***
Nothing and nobody was going to keep Michael away from Maria.
***We can’t let him be uncomfortable, Spaceboy, it’s not fair to Kyle. We’ll just have to make sure that we make the most of the times when he’s out on watch… and try to keep quiet…***
***Ok, Maria, I guess that might work…though how to keep you quiet is gonna be an interesting challenge…***
Maria was indignant.
***You make just as much noise as me, Michael. It will be a challenge for the both of us***
Aloud, Michael insisted that Kyle sleep in the tent, but that guard duties should be arranged to give them all as much privacy as possible. Kyle agreed to the idea, but with reservations. If it didn’t work out, there was probably enough room for his sleeping bag in the empty cargo space with the seats folded down. It was probably better than the tent, now he came to think about it… In fact, it might even be more comfortable than the couch at home. The big Chevy truck had heating, air-conditioning and a CD player/radio and there was bound to be a country music station for the long night watches. He decided to try out the tent for one token night, before he claimed the truck.
It took them well over an hour to unload the Chevy and arrange their possessions in and around the tents to the satisfaction of the girls. The guys had long since lost interest and gone to hang out on the rocks at the shoreline by the time the camp was ready.
Each of the family size tents now had a thick insulation pad topped by an inflated air mattress and sleeping bag (doubled for Michael and Maria) in its two ‘rooms’, along with pillows and extra blankets. A lantern was placed in the vestibule of each and some were hung around the canopy they had erected over the grill and others in the trees near the fireplace, ready for dusk.
The bulk of their food supplies were kept in one of the hard-shell containers roped and hung 15 feet up in a tree. A supply for immediate use was kept with the water containers in back of the Chevy, so the smell didn’t attract bears. Kyle and Michael had made several trips to fill the containers from the public hydrant, but Michael took the extra precaution of purifying it with his powers before they used it for drinking, cooking or washing. The public hydrant was ok, but he’d read that wilderness water was no longer safe to drink direct from source, even in the most remote places, as surface water everywhere was now contaminated.
Maria had unpacked some pots and pans and was sorting through the packages of dried meals for dinner. With the aliens around no fuel would be needed for cooking that night. Over at the other tent, Isobel was arranging the kindling for the campfire and Liz had set out the three remaining camp chairs around it together with some folded blankets.
Michael and Kyle came back from the water’s edge to find the girls relaxing in the chairs drinking cherry coke-flavored fizzy water (Liz was now fine on the taste aspect, but had not yet mastered color-change) and waiting to go shower over at the toilet block. As soon as they arrived, the guys were appointed to guard duty and abandoned. They took over camp chairs in their turn and surveyed their new base. It looked good.
The sun slowly set behind the nearby mountains and the lanterns around their shady campsite were lit as dusk fell. The girls came back freshened up from their showers and the guys headed off in their turn.
Thirty minutes later, Maria stirred the pot of re-hydrated stew, scraped the burnt crust off the bottom, fluffed up the pan of only slightly over-cooked rice and called the others over to help themselves. Then everyone moved across to sit round the table near the campfire and eat.
“Mmmm, chilli beef stew with extra burnt bits to add crunch. Nice touch, DeLuca.” Michael teased his girlfriend from a prudent distance just beyond her reach, but he was hungry and his heart wasn’t in it. He could wait until she took up her cooking challenge in earnest, then the sparks would really fly.
“Just ignore him, Maria. This is good, even if it is from a pouch. Funny how food eaten outside always tastes better than anything else.”
Isobel was hungry, too, and grateful that she hadn’t had to lift a finger to produce it. Liz had boiled the water, and kept the pans hot, keen on seizing any chance to use her powers. Kyle had watched with interest, remembering a puddle of water, over among the rocks, which had recently boiled as a result of his own efforts. Michael had been as good as his word and wasted no time in taking on a student.
They ate pistachio flavored ice-cream - hand made by Michael - and the last of the fresh fruit for dessert.
Afterwards, Isobel unconsciously twisted her wedding ring, a newly acquired nervous habit, and cleared her throat. She made her announcement with an air of defiance, unsure how Michael and the others would take it.
“I’m going to try to dreamwalk Max tonight.”
Michael shrugged his shoulders in pretended indifference. He was determined that Max would act as decoy for at least another night. He figured that if their enemies hadn’t jumped them by now, they would most likely continue to track the bugged van and wait until they thought the group had settled in some hideout and dropped their guard before attacking again. Max should be safe enough if he kept moving and stuck to the interstate highways. However, he didn’t trust Isobel not to warn Max as soon as she heard about the electronic bug theory and he didn’t trust Max at all. The group’s safety had to come first and so he ignored his guilty feelings and stared at Isobel in stony silence.
The others, too, said nothing and the atmosphere round the table became distinctly uncomfortable.
Then Liz leaned over and touched Isobel’s arm lightly, startling the alien girl.
“Would you like me to stay with you when you dreamwalk Max?” Liz was torn between wanting to offer support to Isobel and a strong reluctance to make any kind of contact with Max so soon after her resolve to move on. She felt guilty relief when Isobel shook her head.
“No, Liz. I’ll do this on my own, if you don’t mind. I’ll fall asleep more quickly if I’m alone this time. Thanks, anyway.” She smiled at Liz in gratitude, though.
The group around the table was quiet for a while, thinking about the dangers Max faced and, despite his actions, worried for his safety, too.
Isobel needed to do something to break out of her troubled thoughts, so she carried the dishes over to the other site to clean and store them back in the truck, while Kyle trekked to the far side of the camp to dump the trash and Michael made coffee for everyone.
Settled around the lantern-lit campfire wrapped in blankets against the cold evening air, the girls in the low chairs and the guys cross-legged on the grass, they all watched the flames and listened to the noises of night in the forest. For the first time since the horrors of Graduation, they had reached a place to rest for a while and before long, everyone’s thoughts were back in Roswell.
Michael’s mind was still on the mystery of who was behind the attack. He was puzzled by all the anomalies, not least by the lack of interest in the adult Evans’s and Parkers. The former Sheriff, too, must have been a prime witness for anyone who knew enough to identify the three aliens as targets. The FBI should have had enough resources to enable them to haul in the families for questioning. Cover stories should be no problem for a Government agency. However, all the parents had been left alone since their houses had been searched by the military for Tess and the baby. Why? He considered the suspects.
The Special Unit had been disbanded and he knew from Nasedo that there had been less than a dozen core agents involved. Considering that the military had found Tess’s spaceship, at least some of those agents might have been recalled to the investigation, although inter-service rivalry might have delayed that. Still, it was possible that at least some, if not all, died in the explosion. However, it didn’t mean that there were not enough or all of them left to organise a swift revenge attack and if that failed, to have a discreet back-up plan. That was where Jesse came in. The question was - how long had he been working for the FBI? They must have got a lot of information from him, if he was theirs from the beginning. Or had it been the revelation that his wife was an alien that sent Jesse to the authorities?
The Skins were another possibility, if Tess’s fireball really had been a mindwarp, but he thought it was remote as the nearly-ripe ‘husks’ needed to survive on Earth had undoubtedly been destroyed. There had been no future for them.
Khivar was a distinct threat. He had apparently retreated back to Antar after failing with Isobel, but had allowed Tess to return to Earth with the human baby. Michael couldn’t believe that Tess would have been allowed such easy access to a valuable spaceship in which to escape, mindwarping talent or not. Khivar could simply have had them both killed or imprisoned. He suspected that Khivar’s obsession with the Royal Four wasn’t over.
Michael gazed into the fire and let his thoughts wander back over that last night in Roswell and all that happened after Max first saved Liz and revealed their existence to others.
Kyle’s thoughts were with his dad and how he was doing back in Roswell. He wondered if any powers were showing up in him yet – and worried about the dangers of being helpless and alone when they did. He desperately hoped his dad didn’t have the same problems with being somehow linked to Max that he himself had experienced. Glowing green and sleeping a lot would attract attention, especially in a high-profile local man like the ex-Sheriff. He thought about various ways of leaving a warning message, but knew it would be too dangerous if there were phone-taps or mail checks on their families. Only one answer came to him and he reluctantly looked over at Isobel, to find the firelight sparkling on a tear rolling slowly down her cheek. He ached to comfort her, but knew there was nothing he could do except let her be.
With the added fear over Max, Isobel no longer knew how to how to deal with the pain she had locked away since the night she had told Jesse not to come with them and lose his chance of a normal life. She stared at her wedding ring glinting in the firelight and let herself remember Jesse’s smile as she came into the room, the feel of his arms around her and at last, reluctantly, his offer to come with her to share their fate. At first, she had been overjoyed when he said he loved her and wanted to go with her. In her heart, she had dared to hope he would brush aside her concerns and say that he wanted to be with her no matter what the future held. When he gave in to her protest without a fight, hope died and she knew that, after all, his love for her had not been strong enough to survive the consequences of what she was. The pain in her heart was now such a constant part of her, like breathing, that she could ignore it for hours at a stretch, but it was always there. Jesse was the dream lover she thought she would never find and part of her regretted keeping the secret from him, but another part knew that she would not give up one moment of the short time when she had felt like a normal, human girl, happy with the man she loved. To lose all her hopes and dreams without warning, once again, brought her close to breaking point. She felt the sting of tears behind her eyelids and panicked that she might be about to lose control. Then a warm hand reached for hers and she knew it was Maria, offering comfort, and understanding that her friend had feelings she wasn’t ready to share with anybody. Isobel clung as to a lifeline, forcing herself to open her eyes and pretend that she was strong enough to go on with her life without the man she loved.
Like Kyle, Maria had seen Isobel’s sorrow and she couldn’t stop herself from reaching over and taking Isobel’s hand in hers. The only response was a painfully tight grip, but she didn’t let go and they continued to sit in the fire-lit darkness, somehow comforted a little by that friendly link.
Maria herself had been thinking of her mom, but she knew that Amy would be sustained by the knowledge that she was with Michael, among friends. Her mom, despite her ditzy manner, was a strong woman, so the disappearance of her daughter, though painful and bewildering, wouldn’t destroy the passion for life her only child had inherited. Maria hoped that her mom and the Sheriff could find their way back to the promising relationship that had foundered soon after the Sheriff lost his job, his pride and his self-confidence. She knew that they could be close again and thought about asking Isobel if it were possible to dreamwalk them both some night soon. Other than missing her mom, Maria had no regrets at all about leaving Roswell behind.
Liz, curled inside her blanket, mesmerised by the flames, regretted everything – leaving her family, lashing out at Maria, losing Max. In the quiet peace of the night, she looked back over the last few days and all her actions seemed to belong to some part of her whose existence she had never before suspected. As in some in nightmarish fairytale, she looked into a dark mirror and all her worst character faults had been revealed.
She regretted hurting Maria, knowing her friend hadn’t deserved punishment for the crime of being happy while Liz suffered. Max, too, aside from her feelings about him which were still too complex to define, deserved a chance to try to sort out the trouble that had tormented him enough to run out on his only friends. She couldn’t even think about the pain her parents must be going through. She took a deep breath of the clean, cold night air, resolved to pull herself together and try to think only of the future: move on and make a real contribution to the group; learn to use her new powers for the general good and help make a worthwhile life for herself and the others. Feeling a little better about things than she had for days, she looked around at the group and re-discovered an affection for them all (except maybe Michael with whom she had never felt comfortable) that she hadn’t truly felt for … she was surprised to discover…more than a year past.
The fire was dying when finally Michael groaned and stretched, suddenly ready to head into his sleeping bag no matter where it was that night. First, though, there was the watch to arrange.
“So who wants when? It’s two-hour shifts between the five of us, if breakfast’s at eight. We can use the Chevy, rather than sit outside in the cold. Still need to take the occasional stroll towards the road to listen out, but as long as we keep all the lights off, we can see in the dark. You girls ok to be alone? It’s probably best if you take first watch until midnight, Maria, then me until 2am followed by Kyle, then Liz and finally Isobel at 6. Anyone have any problem with that?”
Nobody did and they all stood, wearily wishing each other goodnight, folding their blankets and chairs before heading towards the tents, except for Maria, who left her stuff to Michael and walked off in into the darkness.
A few minutes later, Michael emerged from their tent and went quietly over to the Chevy.
By then, Kyle was already asleep.
Meanwhile, in the other tent, Liz pulled her sleeping bag up around her ears, the first glimmer of optimism she had felt for days allowing her exhausted mind and body to rest at last.
Isobel, a few feet away, made herself comfortable and prepared to dreamwalk her brother to find out just what was going on with him…
TBC…
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dreamer393
- Roswell Fanatic
- Posts: 1138
- Joined: Sat Sep 03, 2005 2:11 pm
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candylovespell
- Enthusiastic Roswellian
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2005 4:50 pm
Chapters 20 to 22
Hi, Dreamer393, good to know you're still reading.
RL is being difficult at present, so I can't always get time to post, but I will get there eventually...
Hugs,
Tx
Chapter 20
Once away from the lights of the tent area, Maria’s senses were more alert than they had ever been, alone in the wild, dark forest for the first time, scared of bears and enemy agents. She couldn’t decide which she feared more, so she crept as silently as possible from tree to tree as she headed for the road, listening hard for sounds that might be either. Or both.
Her eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness and she could see just clearly enough to avoid stumbling in the faint moonlight. The ground among the trees and bushes in the campsite had been cleared of scrub and the area was covered in short, springy grass and hard-packed earth. She moved quickly over to the next tree, staring suspiciously at the clump of bushes she had to circle to get there. It seemed a long way back to their tents.
It was very cold out here away from the fire and the thick blanket. She was wearing a warm black parka over a sweater and t-shirt, with a pair of practical black cargo pants, whose pockets contained emergency equipment - a torch, a Swiss army knife and raspberry lip-gloss - and her feet were clad in black trainers. The black knitted hat hid her blonde hair and she remembered how Liz and Isobel had teased her at the last mall for taking the whole guard duty thing too seriously. Determined not to let the group down, she’d tried to dress appropriately according to all the combat movies she had ever yawned through on Michael’s couch, although she drew the line at smearing her face with dirt. She hoped that she was nearly invisible in the darkness.
She suddenly remembered reading somewhere that it was best to stand downwind of animals so they couldn’t smell your scent. There was hardly any breeze at all, though, and the night air seemed quite still. So, where was downwind? She licked her finger and held it up to see which side dried first. Rats, she still had no clue. Who thought up these things?
Her heart jumped. Had a twig snapped? Why did that bush rustle if there was no wind? Oh, God, she so hated this. Still, there was no way she was going to let Spaceboy or the others know how frightened she was. She was the only full human left, so she had to show them all that she wasn’t going to be a liability that needed looking out for all the time. She would be as useful on watch as everyone else, powers or not. Nothing stopped the DeLuca women from doing what they had to do…
Repeating this mantra, she gained the relative safety of another tree. This brought her to the edge of the road and she pressed herself back against the rough bark, trying not to think about spiders and bugs, although normally they didn’t bother her. It was just that out here alone in the forest at night everything suddenly became a potential danger…
She told herself to be brave and, heart thumping, made a rush for the real forest on the other side. If she stayed near the edge she should be able to hear any noises from the road or from deeper in the wooded slopes above her, but still have time to run back if she thought there was any danger. Did bears wait in ambush for prey or was that mountain lions? Oh, God, DeLuca, just don’t even go there, she lectured herself.
The darkness was absolute in the dense foliage on this side of the road and looking back, the campground was hardly visible, except where a light from the girls’ tent glowed as a beacon. Maria stood shivering in the shelter of a tall bush and waited for the noise of her own heartbeat to stop drowning out all other sounds.
After an eternity had passed, she was able to hear the silence again but there were no sounds, suspicious or otherwise. She guessed that the slight noises she unavoidably made moving through the trees had sounded like a herd of elephants to the local wildlife and all would remain still for some time to come.
Knowing that she could be no use here unless she stayed still for hours, which was beyond her capabilities this first night (and probably many more to come) Maria decided to walk along the road as far as the toilet block and then circle round the far side of the campsite along the edge of the lake, where the darkness away from the trees was illuminated by the distant new moon and stars glittering overhead.
Her progress was slow as she was nervous about tripping over unseen hazards and she had no idea of how long she had been out on patrol. It seemed like a lifetime before she found the tents again, and there were a few moments of sheer terror when she found that her beacon light had vanished. Still, once she had got a grip again, she told herself that she was a little less scared now that she had made it and she felt quite proud of herself by the time she reached the truck. Maybe she would find enough courage to do this once more tonight before her watch was over…
A tall, dark figure was leaning against the side of the Chevy when she arrived. Michael straightened up and held out his arms so that she could fly into them and bury her face against his chest, clinging to him in relief at finding him there waiting for her.
Michael had been perfectly well aware of her fear, despite her belief that she had shielded her emotions from him. One of the hardest things he had ever done in his life was to stop himself responding to her with mental and physical reassurance. His muscles still ached with the effort.
He had known that she had to do this by herself, without his apparent protection, so he had stayed by the truck until she returned. Maria would have been furious and humiliated if she thought he didn’t trust her to keep watch by herself and he freely admitted that she had come through her own test with flying colors. He had shielded his own thoughts but couldn’t help hearing hers and in her fear and courage he found her adorable all over again.
Tipping her face up to his he kissed her, flooding her with his love and pride in her achievement so that she laughed shakily and had to draw back to stop herself from making love to him right there against the Chevy.
Instead, she opened the door to the back seats and climbed in, pulling him in beside her. Once again safe in his arms she eagerly returned his kisses, then snapped back into awareness of her responsibilities as he began to unzip her jacket and explore further. She pushed his hand away and sighed.
“Spaceboy, I’m still on watch and, anyway, I thought you wanted to talk about your secret…?”
He reluctantly moved away and zipped her jacket back up to her chin. It was time to tell her, but he didn’t quite know where to start.
Maria, after a brief check through the windscreen for marauding bears and Feds, helped him out.
*** Michael, I haven't said anything in front of the others, but I know you wouldn't just take us out into the wilderness totally blind...is that what it’s about?***
***Yeah, Maria, there's something you should know, not exactly a secret, but keep it to ourselves for the moment, ok? ***
***Of course, Michael. What is this big not-a-secret?***
***Remember at the picnic breakfast the first morning when I said I knew a place we might be safe?***
***Yeah, and Max yelled at you about it. I thought maybe it was Laurie you were thinking of... ***
***No, the Feds’ might know about her, so I won't put her in any more danger. Maybe someday down the line we may need her help, but the longer we can keep her out of it the better ***
*** Well, ok, then, what?***
***Hank had a cousin called Jed, used to drop in out of the blue and stay for a few days or weeks once in a while. He was ok. Always stopped Hank hittin’ me when he was around***
***Oh, Michael…***
*** Shhh, ‘s ok, I’m just sayin’***
He hugged Maria tighter at her distressed cry for the hurt boy he had been, then kissed her forehead in comfort, before continuing.
***Anyway, Jed used to talk to me, when Hank was passed out drunk, and tell me about when he was a kid growing up in the backwoods and how he was goin’ to go back there one day and settle down in his cabin again near his family***
***That must be the safe place, then, Michael - in the mountains! That’s why you want us to go there… you know someplace safe…***
*** Look, are you tellin’ the story, or am I?***
*** Ok, sorry. Go on, Spaceboy***
***I guess he was bored a lot of the time, so he used to go huntin’ rabbits in Frasier Woods and bring them back to cook. It was real good, too. Always ate well when Jed was visitin’. A few years ago he started to take me along with him, taught me how to trap, skin and make ‘em into stew. When I was thirteen, he turned up one day and found Hank layin’ into me. It was pretty bad and after he threw Hank out to sleep it off, he told me more about his place in the mountains and said how, if I ever needed somewhere to hide out, I could use it. He said to go find his “momma”, tell her this secret family password they had and she’d let me stay in his cabin***
***So why didn’t you go, Michael? Why did you stay with Hank when he hurt you?***
***Couldn’t leave Roswell while there was a chance that the – you know – the spaceship might come for us. Anyway, whenever Jed turned up after that he used to tell me the offer would always be good and I should never forget the password. Always made me repeat it back to him every time. Said his momma was a good woman and I could trust her not to ask questions***
***Do you think he knew about the Czechoslovakian thing?***
***No, I don’t. I think he just disapproved of Hank beatin’ on me and wanted to help me get away. I told you he was an ok guy. He was the only human I ever came close to liking, before you***
***When was the last time you saw him?***
***Summer after we found out about the destiny thing***
***Where is he now, Michael, do you know?***
***Yeah, he’s doin’ a 12 year stretch for armed robbery in Minnesota ***
Maria was shocked into silence for a moment.
***Well, I’m sorry to hear that, Michael. It sounds like he tried to be a good friend to you in his own way…***
***Yeah, he did. He’s a scary guy, though. Hank was always real respectful to him when he was stayin’ with us…***
***How do you know it’s still ok to use his cabin?***
Michael suddenly laughed out loud.
***’Cuz, y’know, he always sends me a Christmas card from wherever he is. No name, just a cartoon sketch of a cabin on a mountain…***
Maria was still curious.
***How did you find out where he is?***
***Postmark, year before last. I got curious and Alex checked him out on the internet for me one time, no questions asked. He was sort of a good friend, too, I guess***
***Yeah, he was…***
They were both silent, retreating into their own thoughts for a while until Maria stirred and lifted Michael’s wrist to check his watch.
“Gotta go out on another patrol, Michael. We’ll talk some more when I get back.”
“I’ll do it.”
“No, Spaceboy, I need to do this myself, so I get used to it, ok?”
“Ok. Be careful, babe.”
Michael kissed her cheek and let her go out into the night. He felt her nervousness kick in, but on a less frantic level and she even sent him a wicked thought about her plans for later that made him grin in anticipation.
Settling back to wait for her, trying not to follow her with his mind, he distracted himself by remembering the times that Jed had come to stay over the years and all the stories he told about the people in the community where he grew up. They’d always sounded like – well – stories, to the untrusting young Michael. If his plans worked out, he would maybe get to meet the characters in the only equivalent of “bedtime stories” he had ever known. The fact that the storyteller was a kind but scary armed criminal, with a collection of great recipes for cooking rabbit, was a matter of indifference to him.
He felt Maria’s burst of relief at nearing the end of her second ordeal in the darkness and opened the door ready for her breathless entrance a few seconds later.
She was wrapped around him and ready to hear more of his revelations before he had time to reach over and pull the door shut behind her. None of this information had previously been revealed to her in their flashes, so she reasoned that there must be a lot more to learn about Michael and his life than she so far had any clue about. He was the most reticent person she had ever known and even now when their minds were linked, much of his depths were still hidden to her.
“All clear outside, Spaceboy. It’s a really eerie place out here in the middle of nowhere. You can hear a fish jump out in the lake, sound carries so far in the night. I guess the mall-rat in me will have to make the adjustment to country-mouse sometime, but it’s gonna be a long, hard fight.” She grinned up at him as she said this, then went straight into her next question without apparently taking a breath.
“Do you think Jed’s momma will let us all stay in the cabin, Michael?”
She’d gone straight to the heart of the problem that he had wrestled with since he’d first considered sharing his sanctuary with the group. He had originally intended it only for Maria and himself when the group split up, as he’d thought they inevitably would if they had been closely pursued. He didn’t think that Jed or his momma would object to that. However, six teenagers turning up out of the blue was an entirely different matter. When Max had shouted him down before he could impulsively reveal its existence on the morning of the picnic, he’d been relieved. Later, he’d changed his mind when he saw that Max had no idea of where to go or what to do to keep them safe. He had finally come up with a workable solution when he remembered the stories Jed had told.
He explained all this to Maria.
“The community they live in sounds like a weird kinda place, full of old hippie types who live off the land and talk to the trees. Jed used to say it was real quiet, although a few tourists turned up in the summer. The point is, he mentioned tourists, so I thought that could be our cover until we decide if it’s safe to contact Jed’s momma and see if she’ll accept us all. What do you think, Maria? We pass as a group of students on a road trip and take a look around first.”
“What do we do if it doesn’t work out?”
He shrugged.
“We do a grand tour of the Rockies – some campsites are open all year round - and carry on working our way to the coast…”
Maria was intrigued and, anyway, was conditioned by life with her mom to deal with ‘old hippie types’, so she wanted to risk a look. She approved of this Jed character, as she would anyone who had been kind to Michael, and thought that the fall-back plan was more than reasonable. Although a natural mall-rat, she had enjoyed the first evening round the campfire (apart from the scary forest patrols) and, if this was typical, told herself that she might even grow to like the lifestyle, for the summer at least. She just wasn’t going to think about the winter yet.
“It’s a good plan, Spaceboy and I think you’ve got everything covered. I can’t see the others objecting. When were you planning to tell them?”
“At the end of the week when, hopefully, Max will have dumped the electronic tag and laid a false trail for our enemies. I don’t trust Isobel not to tell Max everything right away and I don’t trust Max not to screw things up somehow. The less they know the better, for now.”
“Maybe you’re right, Michael…” Maria had to agree with his reasoning, but was sad at the lack of trust among the group when they only had each other to depend on.
“Gonna tell Kyle tomorrow, though. He’s been in on all the planning with us so far, it’d be wrong to leave him out now.”
“Do Max and Isobel know about Jed?”
He shook his head and shifted her into a more comfortable position against his shoulder as he thought about it. They had never shown any interest in the details of his life and, in fact, had always managed to make it clear without actually spelling it out, that they would prefer to ignore any eye-witness reports from the poverty zone.
Michael had always stubbornly refused to think too deeply about this. He knew from the beginning that their lives were very different and, somehow, that admitting his circumstances would defile the clean, comfortable order of things they took for granted. He was their “alien” brother and they sympathised and included him as much as they could, but that was as far as they were prepared to go. He had preferred it that way, too. Michael wasn’t proud of his lifestyle.
Max had generously given him free access to a sleeping bag on the floor when he could, but avoided any discussion of marks and bruises, accepting the most transparent excuses without question over the years, until he finally had no choice but to heal the most visible injuries and then persuade Michael to apply for emancipation. Michael acknowledged that when Max had finally woken up to reality, he had genuinely tried to help, but it had been almost too late. Only the last minute gift of the healing stones touched Michael enough to stop him running far away from his problems.
Of course, the famous “sensitivity” hadn’t stopped Max punching him out in anger when he’d taken it on himself to meet Topolski or when the alien programming had taken over and tried to use him to replace the technically dead Max. He’d taken another swing back in the last motel, too. In some way, Michael respected that, though. “No quarter given” seemed the most fitting description of their relationship over the past few years. They never made it easy for each other. Maybe, he thought, because they never really liked each other.
Of the two, Isobel had the soft heart and Michael always knew that if he had let her, she would have spared no efforts to help and protect him, but he had contributed to the conspiracy of silence by letting his pride win out over the pain. So she just saw him as her social misfit almost-brother from the wrong side of the tracks, and his problems were put down to attitude and laziness. He had let her go on thinking that, because pity was the one thing he couldn’t take.
He hadn’t tried to shield these thoughts from Maria, but to his relieved surprise, pity wasn’t among her emotional reactions. Fierce love for him and hot anger that he had been left to suffer alone for all the years of his childhood, yes, but he also found, crystal clear, that she understood his secret pride in the strength that allowed him to withstand the years of abuse in silence because he came to see it as a battlefield to test his spirit until his people arrived to take him home. There had to be something better for him out there than Roswell, New Mexico.
***And this is it, Spaceboy. This has got to be the “something better out there for us than Roswell, New Mexico” we both wanted. I feel more alive and free on the run with you than I ever did in my whole law-abiding life back in Roswell, don’t you?***
***Thelma and Louise, huh? ***
She giggled, appreciating that he wanted to get away from the heavy stuff and into a lighter mood.
*** But there’ll be a happy ending for us, Michael, I know it in my soul. We’ve got a future together, waiting for us out there somewhere ***
He held her tighter and smiled into her hair.
*** You know, it might be the lack of sleep, but I actually feel it, too ***
*** That’s because we’re together forever now, Spaceboy, there’ll always be a happy ending for you and me***
*** Ok, sweetness overload, Maria. We both know how we feel, no need to keep yapping on about it ***
***All right, that’s it, pally, no nookie for you tonight until you apologise for that crack. I do NOT yap***
*** .................***
*** Don’t sulk, it doesn’t help your case, Michael Guerin. I shall be speaking to you only if it’s really necessary until I get a genuine apology ***
*** Don’t hold your breath, Blondie. No, wait, on second thoughts - DO, it’ll give us all a rest from the DeLuca lip***
*** Didn’t complain about the DeLuca lips in the gas station wash-room before breakfast this morning, did you?***
*** Was no need to complain then. You couldn’t talk with your mouth full…***
*** !!!!!!!!!!!!! ***
Uh-oh, maybe he’d gone too far in teasing her.
***….…uh, well, maybe I was a little hasty, there, Maria. Wait, are you laughing? I thought you were mad at me…***
***I was, but then you made me laugh and I couldn’t stay mad at you after all. Nice save, Spaceboy ***
***Nookie rights restored, than, princess***
***On this occasion, yes - but you’re on probation***
*** Good enough for me***
They cuddled together again in the darkness until Michael lit the dial on his watch. It was past time to start his turn on duty.
He sat up, disturbing Maria, and asked if she wanted to wait for him in the Chevy or get some sleep in the tent. She preferred to wait for him, just enjoying his company in a way she so rarely had a chance to do. They were usually fighting or loving, so prolonged conversation tended to lose out.
Michael, picking up on her thought, agreed with her. He sometimes just liked the pleasure of her company, too, and only now realized that they had neglected that aspect of their relationship for too long…
***Just sometimes, Michael?***
***You know what I mean, Maria. Are you gonna get on my case about that, now?***
***No, just as long as we make time to do this more often… I actually do really like you, Michael, as well as love you. I think maybe I forget to tell you that, Spaceboy…***
*** Ditto***
He leaned back into the truck and cupped her face to kiss her, feeling unexpectedly emotional at her comment. He’d never had anyone actually tell him that they liked him for himself in his whole life before. Being liked was still a new experience for him. Of course, he’d never made the effort to be liked, actively avoiding humans for so long, until Maria demolished his stonewall. Since then, although only the guys at Metachem had hung out with him on a casually friendly basis, he inferred that he might not be such a social outcast after all, if he chose. Now here was Maria, putting it into words. Another Kodak moment, he thought, snapping out of the trance.
Then he left to circle the area in his turn, alert for sounds that only his enhanced alien senses could pick up. There were none, as he had expected, and he went back to the truck to continue his conversation with Maria.
The first comment she made on his return was about the cabin’s location.
“I’m thinking it can’t be all that far from here, Michael, because you suggested Colorado right off, when we planned our route.”
“It’s about another day or so north, towards the Wyoming border. Place called Watercress Creek. That’s more-or-less all I know, except for the password.”
“Cute name, sounds kind of like Little House on the Prairie or something…”
“If Jed is typical of the locals, that is so not the right image.”
“Oh, well, then I guess we’ll just have to wait until we get there to find out. Not gonna worry until then, Spaceboy.”
“You need to know the password, just in case anything happens to me, Maria –,” he put his finger against her parted lips to quell her instant protest, but then her mental voice assured him calmly that whatever happened, they would be together, “ – you need to know, anyway. It’s ‘Dagwood’. Said it’s some kind of family joke and to ask his momma to make me one.”
“O-k-a-a-y, got that…”
Michael didn’t say any more, just pulled her head down onto his shoulder and let a comfortable silence fall between them.
After a while, she spoke softly.
“Something I’ve wanted to ask you, Michael…”
“What?” His voice was just as soft in the darkness.
“Why did you come back to Roswell after you left? You were so set on leaving alone…”
He paused, remembering…
“Madame Vivien – she gave me a warning that something bad was gonna happen. Gave me a tarot card and told me to ‘believe in the love’. I didn’t, of course. Thought she was a fake, until I saw the black cars driving into town as I was leaving. I remembered the tarot card, knew she was right - I just couldn’t leave you in danger, Maria, so I followed them. Saw what they were gonna do and – ”
“- and rode to the rescue again like a knight in shining armour, Michael. Always my brave, (kiss) handsome, (kiss) hero, (kiss)…” she gently rubbed her nose against his and sighed blissfully.
Something outside in the darkness caught her eye and she stared through the window at a light in their tent. She nudged Michael and they both watched as a shadow that could only be Kyle sat up and then began to struggle out of the tent, the image vanishing when the light winked out.
Michael looked at his watch again.
“Too early for his turn, must be goin’ over to the toilet block.”
There was a sudden rap on the window and the front passenger door opened. Kyle climbed in, sat down and turned a scared face towards them. Before he could speak or they could ask him what was wrong, the driver’s door opened and Isobel slid inside.
On seeing each other, she and Kyle both recoiled, glaring…
TBC…
Chapter 21
When the group round the campfire broke up, Kyle made directly for the tent he was to share with Michael and Maria. He undressed, gave in to an uncharacteristic urge to fold his clothes neatly, and then fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Before Tess occupied his bedroom, Kyle had always slept like a log through the night, never remembered his dreams, and kept his radio alarm tuned in to a country station so that his day started with his favorite music. Since she had mindwarped him to further her plans to depart for Antar, his sleeping pattern had changed.
He often dreamed now: warm, happy family scenes. After these, he would sometimes wake, restless and sad for the loss of a fleeting love she had warped into a feeble, fraternal shadow of its true nature.
Isobel now occupied that space in his heart and, although his feelings were deeper, they were as unrequited as ever were those he had harboured for Liz and Tess.
However, he never remembered any dreams of Isobel, if indeed he ever had any, and he was grateful that she was unlikely to dreamwalk him for fear of another centrefold encounter.
This night, his dreams were uneasy and formless until he found himself wandering through a dense white fog, with no idea of why he was there or any point of reference to give him a clue as to where he might be. He moved on, feeling solid ground under his feet, but unable to see more than a few inches in any direction.
After some time, he became aware that there was sound all around him - a faint, windy, roar in the air that offered him no more clue to direction than the blank surface of the fog.
He continued to walk slowly forward. The windy sound grew louder, ebbing and surging around him until the white fog began to swirl and dissipate leaving him in total darkness.
He froze, listening to the slow hiss of the wind, but feeling no breath of air against his skin. The darkness was absolute and he began to feel uneasy, as if he was being watched.
At this thought came to him, the darkness opened a pair of familiar blue eyes and gazed at him in exultant pleasure…
Earlier in the evening, after saying goodnight to Liz, Isobel had ducked into her compact sleeping quarters and immediately arranged the lantern so that it shone away from her. She didn’t want a back-lit shadow display of her nightly routine to appear on the tent wall. Kyle would inevitably somehow manage to see it and never stop commenting.
She had to sit on the bed to slip off her outer clothes and fold them carefully in a corner before digging around in her pack for the pretty nightgown she had bought to sleep in. Even in the wilderness, Isobel refused to drop her standards and sleep in anything less than glamorous. It was still a little chilly, so she warmed the air up to a more comfortable temperature. She spent a while checking over and arranging her new possessions to her liking, grateful for the illusion of privacy at last.
Sliding into her sleeping bag, plumping up the generously sized pillows that Maria had argued were a necessity rather than a luxury, extinguishing the lantern, Isobel thought about the life they were to live for the foreseeable future. Camping hadn’t been her choice and she didn’t really see herself changing her views anytime soon. The thought of endless months in the middle of nowhere, with no respite from the others’ company and nothing to do all day was suddenly the last straw so she just gave into despair and cried. Burying her face into the damp pillow, so that she didn’t disturb Liz, all her misery poured out at last and she whispered Jesse’s name brokenly through her muffled sobs until she fell asleep.
An hour or so later, she woke with a start.
Max! Her expressed intention had been to dreamwalk him, and yet she had just let herself get side tracked and fallen asleep. Her guilt made her sit up and hurriedly compose herself. She found the torch she had placed by her pillow and switched it on to low beam, a small comforting glow in the darkness as she smoothed her hair back and cooled her hot, swollen eyes, ready to make contact with her errant brother. Lastly, she dried her damp, crumpled pillow then lay back and closed her eyes, summoning his face clearly in her mind’s eye. Max was most probably getting impatient waiting for her by now.
However, try as she might, Isobel simply couldn’t get back to sleep. She tried all the tricks she knew, counting backwards from 999; picturing herself as a seagull flying over endless blue ocean; even counting sheep. Nothing. It was so frustrating. She lay there in her sleeping bag, warm, comfortable and now… wide awake.
Presently, she considered trying to dreamwalk him anyway – after all, it had worked in reverse when he had been in the White Room, so she knew it could be done. She concentrated hard.
The static image of Max’s face wavered and became animated for a moment as if he suddenly saw her, then broke up into fragments soon lost in a soft white haze. However, she was used to this and knew that she was about to step inside his dream.
The haze slowly cleared to reveal a pair of familiar blue eyes, staring into hers with exultant pleasure…
Isobel immediately felt an involuntary pang of revulsion and hate. The focus pulled back to reveal the huge, disembodied face of Tess, hanging in darkness like a hologram. The blue gaze was fixed on two shadowy figures entwined naked on a candle-lit, satin draped bed and the red lips were curved into an enigmatic smile.
Max, naked except for a narrow, golden band around his head, stood marble-still, in a faint green haze. He was facing away from her, standing close beside the bed, and he didn’t appear to notice or react to her arrival.
She slowly became aware of another, invisible, presence somewhere in the darkness and her heightened, dreamworld, senses prickled in warning.
As Isobel stared at the tableau, the figures began to move slowly against each other, twining and curling like snakes. Filigree patterns of light and shadow trailed over the lovers, making it impossible to see their identities, but there was no doubt as to what they were doing.
Time in the dreamscape seemed to be fluid, with disconcerting bubbles of close-up action appearing in slow-motion above the bed, while the unknown couple continued to writhe endlessly below.
Isobel glanced uneasily round at the other two, a reluctant voyeur but unable to escape. After a while, she realised that the scenes continued to spin languidly through the same cycle of pseudo-erotic images.
A swollen nipple jutted urgently from a soft dome of silken flesh, to be engulfed by a mouth whose lips drew back to reveal teeth tugging and pulling on the dark peak in slow, elastic torment.
The tip of a wet tongue probed the delicate folds of a shell-like belly button.
A large male hand cupped the apex of soft, pale, feminine thighs, middle finger plunged in hidden folds below, where it danced in slow, hypnotic rhythm.
Short, rose-tipped nails dug convulsively into hard, glistening, muscle and the amplified sound of heavy breathing roared like a hurricane.
Isobel, repulsed and mesmerised in the darkness of her brother’s dream, finally tore her eyes away from the disturbingly graphic display to see another naked figure, face shockingly familiar, emerge from the darkness and look directly at her.
Kyle shook his head disapprovingly and raised his hand. A stream of green light shot out and pushed her back into reality, where she opened her eyes into total darkness. Confused, she thought for a moment that she was still in the dreamworld, until she felt the reality of soft pillows against her cheek.
Kyle. Kyle had been in Max’s dream and had actually seen her there. He’d had the power -and the colossal nerve - to throw her out.
In growing anger and confusion Isobel struggled to drag on her pants and sweater over her nightgown in the dim glow of her torch, then searched impatiently around in the darkness for her shoes.
Creeping out of the tent, still having enough sense left not to disturb Liz, she headed over to the toilet block while she decided what to do next. The facilities were basic and she made use of them quickly, although only after a ‘power’ clean up. She’d forgotten how inconveniently Nature sometimes called in the dead of night and the lack of an en-suite bathroom in the tent was going to be the main plank in her argument for resorting to motels. She’d bet Maria would join her campaign after a couple of nights like this.
As she walked back to the tent, oblivious to her surroundings, Isobel berated herself for failing to contact Max earlier. Now she would have to try again later in the night, hoping for a less disturbing dream in which to try to talk to him. The chance to find out what was happening was too vital to delay, but she would have to make sure that Kyle didn’t interfere again. She couldn’t risk being thrown out at critical moments by his bumbling attempts to learn about his new powers.
The dream had shaken her badly in a way she couldn’t define. It looked as though Max really was in thrall to the Tess thing, but she had sensed a watchful presence somewhere that disturbed her. If Kyle hadn’t appeared at just the wrong moment, she would have acted to attract her brother’s attention and demanded to know what was going on.
Looking over at the truck, she decided to go see Michael for a few minutes as he was on watch. They hadn’t really spoken for months and he was all the family she had left now. Isobel made up her mind to keep the dream to herself until she heard what her brother had to say when she finally caught up with him. Michael was showing no signs of sympathy for Max and she thought maybe it was a mistake to make a fuss over a dream that might or might not be significant.
When she slid inside, however, she found Kyle already there. Isobel - the Ice Queen - glared... To her surprise, he glared right back.
In his dream, Kyle had been momentarily unnerved by the sudden appearance of Tess in an indefinably more menacing form than his usual dreams about her, but he had nevertheless recovered his composure and gazed back into the blue stare with curiosity.
He saw himself, naked, reflected in the dark mirror of one of the twin black pupils. In the other was the tiny image of Max Evans, also naked, a narrow, golden band around his head. A faint green haze enveloped them both.
A soft, golden glow appeared behind his reflected self, and he saw a candle-lit circle enclosing two naked figures lying on satin sheets, shadow-dappled and indistinct.
As his attention focused on this, he felt the dark pupil expand and engulf him so that he was standing in the darkness outside the ring of candle-light, opposite Max whose gaze was captured by the amorous couple on the bed.
Kyle found himself equally engrossed by the display of languid lust and he spent some time in growing appreciation of the imagination and variety of athletic positions adopted by the shadowy lovers. Movement above him caught his eye and he was amused to see that edited highlights of the action were apparently being shown in bubbles floating over the bed. The short cycle of almost clinical, close-up porno shots revolved in lazy repetition and he soon lost interest.
Looking around for the first time, he was startled to see Tess, golden hair streaming in the strange wind, blue eyes fixed unblinking on Max and red lips drooping in her familiar sexy pout. Like the moon, her face hung suspended in the darkness, looking down at them all, semi-translucent and glowing slightly as if lit from within.
Another figure moved into the candle-light and Isobel, long – now blonde - hair loose, clad in a sexy nightgown (a picture that Kyle automatically memorised for future… contemplation) stared in fascinated distaste at the writhing lovers and the graphic images above them.
He knew that she had to be dreamwalking and he also instinctively knew that this was no place for her. He looked straight into her eyes and shook his head. Sometimes her arrogance was just beyond belief. Whatever his feelings for her, his dreams were private and she had no business to be there. In his annoyance, Kyle raised his hand without thinking and a beam of green light shot out, hit her in the chest and shoved her gently, but firmly out of his dream.
As soon as she vanished, he turned back to the dreamscape. The same drama played out there as Max still stood in his green haze hypnotised by the sexual antics on the bed and Tess looked at Max like a cat with a mouse. The same hurricane sighed and roared in the air overhead and the unseen watchful presence prowled the edges of the darkness. There was only one difference, but that suddenly made Kyle’s blood run cold.
He saw himself, naked and glowing faintly green, standing across from Max, just as blindly absorbed in the lovers as his alien counterpart.
As he stared in growing horror, the dream images of Kyle and Max stretched out an arm towards each other, without tearing their gazes away from the bed, and the green haze that enveloped each of them extended a tentacle and linked them together. At the moment of contact Kyle felt a faint upsurge of power in himself and Max cried out in sudden angry protest.
Tess’s gaze left Max and turned to the dream image of Kyle. He saw then that her eye sockets were empty and through them he saw star-scattered black space. The face that appeared so real a moment ago was now revealed as a carnival mask.
There was a burst of anger from the unseen presence and then Kyle was thrust unceremoniously out of the dream and woke up.
TBC…
Chapter 22
In the Chevy, Michael and Maria sat startled and bemused in the back seat, ignored by two furious people confronting each other in growing anger.
“Kyle, what the hell were you doing in Max’s dream? You’ve got some nerve, too. How dare you you throw me out –”
“Max’s dream? Oh, come on, Isobel, that wasn’t Max’s dream and don’t pretend you didn’t know it. Listen, once and for all, my dreams are private. Do you even understand the concept? Just because you can, doesn’t mean that you have the right to walk into anyone’s head whenever you want…”
Isobel sputtered in outrage.
“Your dreams? Your dreams? You are the last person I’d dreamwalk for fear of what unspeakable things I’d find in your filthy mind...”
“Don’t pretend you weren’t in my dream a few minutes ago, Isobel. I saw you, and –yes- I threw you out because you had no right to be there.” He gave her a final glare and lowered his tone thoughtfully. “Anyway, there’s something weird…”
Isobel was so affronted that for a moment she was lost for words. Kyle ignored her and remembered why he was really there. He turned to Michael and Maria, shadowy figures in the darkness.
“I had this dream and Tess was in it, no – then she – it was this huge carnival mask, and Max was watching porn with edited highlights and the green, glowy thing was back and somehow we’re still connected. Oh, and something got mad and threw me out of my own dream…and I – I think Tess is trying to control my mind…” Kyle babbled on until he realised what he was saying and trailed off weakly.
He heaved a deep sigh and looked round at them all.
“Ok, let’s try this again slowly… I have just had a vivid and, I’ll admit, scary dream – don’t interrupt me, Isobel, your turn will come - in which Tess or some weird image of her, was watching green, glowing Max watching some kind of hot sex show. Then Isobel showed up, uninvited, on a little dreamwalk. After she… left, I saw an image of myself, also glowing green like Max, then the forcefields reached out and joined and – and then Tess noticed me.” He stopped for a moment and frowned at his knuckles without seeing them. “Then some – I don’t know – some presence got angry and threw me out of my own dream.” He finished in a rush and sat back against the door, waiting for their reaction.
It was Isobel’s turn to sigh heavily, a little less annoyed with Kyle now that she had heard his story.
“Kyle, I didn’t try to dreamwalk you – I was trying to reach Max. It was his dream, not yours.”
“Isobel, it sure felt like mine. I’ve never even thought about dreamwalking and Max Evans is the last person I’d want to try it out on.”
“Face it, Kyle, it was Max’s dream and you were an onlooker, like me. It seems another new power has shown up.”
Kyle shook his head, still not satisfied with the explanation.
“Tell me why Evans was dreaming about me, then. We’re not exactly friends, so why would I be in his dream?”
Michael spoke for the first time. He sounded tired and irritable.
“It’s gotta be the green, glowing thing again– there must still be a connection, even though your powers have developed. As for Tess being back…” He snorted in derision. “…Max’s delusions must be affecting you, now… did you manage to talk to him, Iz?”
She shook her head.
“No. Kyle threw me out before I had a chance.” Isobel deliberately avoided his eyes when she said it. She hadn’t entirely forgiven him. “I’m going to try again later.”
“Try now, Isobel. This time we’ll all be here with you.”
Isobel shook her head.
“Not just yet, Maria. I’m thirsty, anyone else want a drink?”
There was general agreement and Maria knelt on the back seat, groping around in the dark (the Chevy's interior light was too bright for safety) until she remembered her torch, then reached back into the cargo space for their supplies. She prepared their choices –coffee for the guys and hot chocolate for Isobel and herself – and Michael heated them up for her. Presently they all held steaming mugs, grateful for the warmth in the chilly night.
Kyle felt sure that, despite Isobel’s denial, the dream had been his. He had actually felt the power surge at the moment of connection between his own image and Max and he was certain that Tess or whatever the watching presence was, had felt it too. And been threatened by it. There was no way he wanted to go back to sleep that night. Kyle shivered, but not from the cold.
Isobel worried about Max. The dream was obviously connected to his recent behaviour; there must be an explanation, but she couldn’t bring herself to go dreamwalking again quite yet. She would finish her hot chocolate first and then try again.
Influenced by her mom’s varied New Age interests and therefore not unfamiliar with dream interpretation, Maria, impatient for answers as usual, automatically tried to analyse the symbolism. She knew darkness meant mystery, candles indicated intuitive or psychic aspects, and she also vaguely remembered that the carnival mask represented falsehood and deception but she had no idea about the sex thing. The accepted meanings didn’t seem to apply to her friends. Making a mental note to herself to warn Kyle not to mention the hot sex show to Liz, Maria considered the rest of his description. The green, glowing forcefield, surprisingly, didn’t really worry her. Having seen it in action when Kyle and Max were going through their power transference, she felt fairly confident about it’s significance. The color green indicated sharing and balance which was appropriate to its appearances so far. However, she simply couldn’t believe that Tess was really alive and back to torment them.
She mentally nudged Michael and shared her thoughts with him, although his response was even less enthusiastic than she’d expected.
The dream didn’t really interest Michael too much. He was inclined to dismiss it as the result of the strain they had all been under. He was a little disturbed by the reappearance of the green glow but not enough to lose any sleep over it. And sleep was what he needed right now. Suddenly, all he really wanted to do was climb into their sleeping bag, wrap himself around Maria and sleep for a week…
Maria snuggled closer against him. Only another hour of his watch to go before they could sleep at last. It suddenly occurred to her that Isobel must be a real expert on dream symbols but just as she opened her mouth to question her friend, Michael stopped her with a private warning.
***Not yet, Maria. Give her time to try to contact Max first, ok ***
***Oh, but surely if we understand a bit more about what this dream means, she can – well – warn him or something…***
***About what? It’s just a dream. He already thinks Tess is calling him, so no news for him there. Maybe he can tell us what's goin' on***
***We do need to talk about this dream, though. It does have symbols and aspects that apply directly to Kyle and Max, at least. We can’t just ignore it, Michael***
***Not goin’ to ignore it, Maria. Just gonna wait until daylight, when Iz has talked to Max and we might have more to go on. Don’t forget, nobody thinks straight when they’re scared and exhausted. We’ve been running for five day now, nobody’s had much sleep. Gotta give ourselves a chance to stop and rest for a while***
He felt Maria’s reluctant acquiescence and sighed in relief. For a moment he had been afraid she would argue with him and he suddenly found himself wound up and on the edge of picking a fight just for the hell of it. A fight with Maria over this would be stupid. The sudden change from lieutenant to leader had been more of a strain than he’d realized, and Max’s selfish obsession with Tess and subsequent desertion of the group had added stress he just didn’t need. No, the person he had in mind for the fight was Max himself…and one day, he promised himself, he was going to settle the score over this.
He roused himself and told the others he was going to patrol the area. Kyle and Isobel chorused that they would come too, and then glared at each other again. Both wanted Michael’s undivided attention so they could discuss the dream in more detail. When he saw they were about to argue over it, he momentarily lost his self-control and snapped at them.
“Look, you two want to talk about this f*ckin’ dream, you talk to each other – quietly, understand? These patrols are serious, in case you’ve forgotten – we need to be silent and listen out for any danger. Try to remember that, ok?” He zipped up his parka, gave Maria’s thigh a brief squeeze, then opened the door and was gone into the night.
Maria was secretly amused by the identical expressions of surprise and frustration on the faces of her two friends. She decided to get them to discuss the dream before their mutual antagonism got out of hand.
“Isobel, my mom was into dream interpretation at one time, so I remember a few dream symbols, but you must be an expert. Let’s start with Kyle; tell us about the dream again in case you missed anything…then, Isobel, you can see if you noticed anything different, ok?”
Isobel and Kyle exchanged a wary look, but then both grinned and relaxed, tacitly acknowledging peace between them again. Kyle glanced from one girl to the other and began to recall his memories of the dream. Soon all three were engrossed in the discussion, although no conclusion was reached. Isobel confirmed Maria’s ideas but had no more of her own, other than to try to reach Max again, this time with the others around for support. Kyle fell silent as the girls talked of symbols and meanings, more worried about the dream than he was prepared to let on.
Michael had circled the area and paused to sit on a rock by the edge of the lake until his spurt of temper had cooled. He knew exhaustion had finally caught up with him and he had over-reacted to Kyle and Isobel wanting to talk, but he was frustrated by the inability of the others (except Maria, he thought gratefully) to understand the need for a constant watch, however sure he privately was that they had not been followed.
He had noticed that the further they got from Roswell the more relaxed the others seemed to become about pursuit. It was as if they wanted to forget why they were on the road and were starting to believe Max’s cover story from the night at the Green Apple – students on a summer road trip. The mysterious Kyle/Max connection had taken over as the main topic of interest to the others, an excuse for avoiding the still sharp pain of their grief and loss.
As he let himself be soothed by the cold, silent beauty of the starlight reflected in the dark waters of the lake, he admitted to himself that it might be a good thing on the whole, as long as they didn’t entirely lose the edge. They needed to remain alert without reviving the terror of the first desperate flight. Michael had no intention of dropping his own guard. Keeping Maria safe was his first priority but he thought that as long as they were all under his protection, they might be ok. The Max/Kyle dream was probably down to anxiety and lack of sleep, or else the residual fall-out from the power-sharing thing. Either way, he wasn’t going to think about it tonight. He had too many other things to worry about and the group’s survival came first.
Michael rose, yawned and stretched, now ready to return to the Chevy and see if Isobel had calmed down enough to try to contact her brother. He hoped she had, because he really couldn’t wait to crawl into bed and get some real sleep at long last.
The three in the truck were lost in their own thoughts again by the time Michael opened the door. Maria didn’t jump in surprise, unlike the other two. She had felt his earlier anger, his need for space, and didn’t comment on the length of time he had been away.
Once he had settled into his seat again, Isobel lowered the angle of her own seat as far as it would go and leaned back comfortably in the dim glow of Maria’s torch. She checked her watch and closed her eyes, summoning Max’s face and concentrating hard. Presently, the white fog appeared, dissipating almost immediately, and she was in her brother’s dream.
This time he was in the middle of the desert near the rocks that had hidden the Granolith. Max was gazing at the brilliant night sky where the familiar ‘V’ star formation blazed and he turned to look at her impatiently as she walked over to him.
“What the hell took you so long, Isobel? I’ve been waiting for days.”
His tone was accusing and her eyes narrowed in wariness.
“Max. It was only the night before last when you ran off after Tess and deserted the rest of us. We’ve been driving ever since. I’ve been so worried. Where are you and what’s happening?”
He calmed down and smiled at her.
“I’m somewhere on Interstate 80, in Nebraska, in a motel. I spent last night in a motel in Denver waiting for you to contact me. I'm fine, nothing’s happened, I’m just cruising on and resting when I need to. Tess seems to know I’m on my way, so there’s no sense of urgency anymore.” He looked relaxed and faintly pleased about it. Isobel was irritated and a little hurt that he didn’t seem concerned about her or the others.
“I’m so worried, Max. I tried to dreamwalk you earlier and you were having some weird nightmare… Do you remember?”
“Nightmare? No, Izzy, I don’t remember anything except falling asleep to wait for you and now - here you are, at long last. How’s Liz? Is she still mad at me?”
“Of course she’s mad at you, Max! Anybody would be, treated like that. Why the hell are you chasing after Tess if it’s Liz you want?”
“I told her, I shan’t be free of this pull in my mind until I find Tess and…do whatever I need to do to stop her doing this to me. God, Isobel, you think I want to be here, on this crazy trip? I want to be with you and Liz; you know that. Tell her – make her believe me, Isobel, you could if you wanted to.”
“I can’t, Max. Only you and Liz can work that one out. Are you sure you can’t remember any dreams? Kyle was in it, so was Tess – kind of, anyway…and me, I was there, too.”
“No, I already told you, Isobel, if I had any dreams or nightmares, I don’t remember them.”
She nodded, moving on to the other worry that was uppermost in her mind.
“Have you seen any sign that you’re being followed, Max?”
“Followed? Wha - ? Oh, yeah, …I guess…I forgot.” For a moment he sounded uncertain, unsure of himself. Then the same arrogance he displayed when he had threatened her after Alex’s death was back. Before she could pursue the thought, he carried on talking.
“No, I haven’t noticed anything suspicious, but I’ll remember to keep a look-out from now on. I’ve been focusing on getting to New York, but now there’s no rush. Listen, Izzy, speak to Liz for me. Tell her I’ll come find you as soon as I can, I promise. Then we’ll make real plans to go find somewhere safe and settle down. Where exactly are you and the others right now?”
As he spoke, he smiled into her eyes and reached out for her as though to give her a hug, but at that moment the dreamscape vanished and she was back reclining in the smooth leather of the Chevy seat.
Kyle watched anxiously as Isobel blinked herself back into reality. She sat up and frowned at him and then at the other two in the back seat.
“That was worse than useless. Max is somewhere in Nebraska, heading for New York. He thinks Tess knows he’s on his way and so there’s less urgency.” Isobel closed her eyes in exasperation. “He doesn’t remember any dreams, his main concern is Liz, oh, and he forgot to check to see if he’s being followed. I didn’t get the chance to even ask what he’s doing for money. We never found out how much he had when he left Roswell. He’s using motels, so he can’t be short of cash or else he’s changing bills.”
“Was there anything strange about his dream, Isobel?” Kyle was almost frightened to ask, but he had to know. His own (he was sure) dream had disturbed him more than he was prepared to admit, even to himself.
Isobel shook her head.
“No. It was just the desert near the ruins of the pod cave outside Roswell. It was night and there was nothing and no one else around. The only unusual thing was that neither of us was ready for the dream to end… Maybe someone or something ended it for us – or, then again, maybe not. Maybe he just woke up. It happens.”
Michael ran both hands through his short, dark hair and looked wearily over at the two in the front seats.
“So there’s nothing more any of us can do about anything right now, huh?”
They both shrugged.
“Then I’m gonna go get some sleep. Kyle’s on watch next, so we’ll talk more in the morning, ok.”
He turned to Maria, who squeezed his hand briefly and then opened her door to climb out.
“Don’t wait breakfast for us. We’ll make our own. Michael looks like he’s gonna be asleep before he reaches the tent.” She said goodnight, then followed after the tall figure already trudging across the grass.
Michael had to duck his head to enter the fairly roomy vestibule of their tent, but Maria could stand upright with no problem. The rear part of the structure was divided into two ‘bedrooms’ each spacious enough for two people to sleep in comfort. The fortune they had spent on the tents and equipment was worth it for the comfort and convenience they would need if they were to be used long term as living quarters.
Maria had arranged the insulation pads, air mattresses and sleeping bags into a large, cosy bed in the centre of their room, with a pile of big, soft pillows at the far end of it. The lantern hung from a hook in the far outer corner of the tent. There was no danger that their shadows appearing on the canvas outside would be seen by onlookers as there were bushes growing close by that gave them privacy from the other tent pads. A mesh window for light and ventilation was set in the side of the tent with a roll-down flap that sealed it off when needed, as now. Their possessions, including the saddlebags from his bike, were neatly folded or stacked on each side of the bed. Michael registered all this and sent his sleepy approval to Maria as he rapidly stripped naked and slid gratefully into the smooth cotton sheets lining the bag. She had made it a haven from the outside world.
***Of course, Spaceboy. You may think that it’s macho to live a Spartan life on the run, but surely you didn’t think I would let us rough it in the wilderness, if we didn’t have to? Comfort is a necessity and shopping is in my blood, Michael, even if the nearest mall is probably in the next State…***
As she commented, she too stripped off, dropping to her knees and bending over to rummage in her pack beside the bed to pull on a short, soft, rose-colored T-shirt that didn’t quite cover her ass. Michael’s suddenly narrowed eyes raked over the enticing picture displayed just for him and he twisted himself out of bed to kneel behind her, letting his hands slide over the firm curves jutting provocatively into the air.
When Maria turned her face over her shoulder to look back at him from under sultry, half-closed lids, he smiled wolfishly and suddenly leaned down to bite a succulent peach-like cheek. She tensed and he reached around her under the shirt, pulling her firmly back against him, to cup each of her breasts in a large hand, stroking and pinching until each rosy nipple hardened into a fiery pebble in his palm. She began to rub her ass against his c*ock, moaning low in her throat as it jerked and throbbed into the huge, steel-hard erection behind her.
He brushed her hair aside with one hand in order to kiss and suck the side of her neck, leaving his mark on her sensitive, satin skin, branding her as his once again. Maria tilted her head to give him more access and involuntarily arched her back as he nipped sharply with his teeth, pinching a nipple at the same time and sending a sudden sizzling sensation to her c*unt. Instantly aware of her need, his hand found the soft cleft between her thighs and his fingers explored the slick, wet depths searching for the tiny nub to ignite the fire. There was no time for leisurely foreplay or teasing torment tonight, the urgent imperative of his need for Maria over-rode his exhaustion, but he knew this would have to be fast and furious while he still had some stamina left.
Even as the explosive charge built up inside, Maria reached behind her, desperately wanting to touch his c*ock, needing him to share in the pleasure he was giving her. Consumed with love and lust, he ignored her ineffectual groping, holding her tight against him with one hand between her legs and the other covering her mouth to keep her quiet as she came. Feeling all the sensations she felt, supporting her while the aftershocks of the orgasm rippled through her, he grinned to himself. Keeping their lovemaking quiet maybe wasn’t so difficult after all…
He turned them both so that they faced the piled up pillows at the top of their bed and he reached out to drag some towards him, pushing her forward so that she lay across them, her round ass raised in the air. Checking that she was ready for him, he gripped her hips and pulled her ass forward, plunging the long, thick length of his c*ock up to the hilt in her hot, creamy c*unt. She convulsed against him, thrusting back in response, her ecstatic silent scream ***yes, oh, Michael, Michael, oh, oooh,yessss*** echoing in his mind as he drove into her again and again, his balls slapping rhythmically against her softness until he, too, came, her name a strangled shout - abruptly cut off as he miraculously recalled the need for quiet, forgotten at the moment of his passionate release.
Afterwards, they lay breathless for a few minutes, Michael sprawled heavily on top of Maria, neither with the strength to move just yet. Then, with a heroic effort, he rolled off of her and found enough reserves of energy to sit up and re-arrange the pillows and sleeping bag around them until they were spooned together in a nest. Maria turned her face up to his for a soft goodnight kiss and was instantly asleep. A moment later, he had snuffed the lantern with a wave of his hand and followed her into bliss.
Outside in the night, Kyle and Isobel sat on in the Chevy for a long time, silent and preoccupied until Kyle roused himself to go out on patrol.
“You go back to sleep, Isobel. I’ll stay on watch until morning; I’ll be ok out here. I’ll wake Liz at eight, for her turn. She the only one of us who’s had a full night’s sleep so far. The rest of us can catch up now.”
Isobel agreed and they both went their separate ways in the darkness.
He didn’t mention that he was reluctant to go back to sleep until he was sure that Max had woken up and set off on the road. Kyle had developed the theory that if they were never asleep at the same time, then there should be no danger of any more “shared” dreams. So, it looked like he was going to have to become nocturnal for the foreseeable future…
Returning to the truck, he reclined the seat, made himself comfortable with a blanket and tuned the radio so that a country music station played softly. Diverting himself in this way between patrols, he whiled away the hours until the sun rose on the spectacular view and he prepared to go rouse Liz and get some sleep himself.
The others slept on, warm and comfortable in their sleeping bags, surrendered to the oblivion of exhaustion at last.
TBC…
RL is being difficult at present, so I can't always get time to post, but I will get there eventually...
Hugs,
Tx
Chapter 20
Once away from the lights of the tent area, Maria’s senses were more alert than they had ever been, alone in the wild, dark forest for the first time, scared of bears and enemy agents. She couldn’t decide which she feared more, so she crept as silently as possible from tree to tree as she headed for the road, listening hard for sounds that might be either. Or both.
Her eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness and she could see just clearly enough to avoid stumbling in the faint moonlight. The ground among the trees and bushes in the campsite had been cleared of scrub and the area was covered in short, springy grass and hard-packed earth. She moved quickly over to the next tree, staring suspiciously at the clump of bushes she had to circle to get there. It seemed a long way back to their tents.
It was very cold out here away from the fire and the thick blanket. She was wearing a warm black parka over a sweater and t-shirt, with a pair of practical black cargo pants, whose pockets contained emergency equipment - a torch, a Swiss army knife and raspberry lip-gloss - and her feet were clad in black trainers. The black knitted hat hid her blonde hair and she remembered how Liz and Isobel had teased her at the last mall for taking the whole guard duty thing too seriously. Determined not to let the group down, she’d tried to dress appropriately according to all the combat movies she had ever yawned through on Michael’s couch, although she drew the line at smearing her face with dirt. She hoped that she was nearly invisible in the darkness.
She suddenly remembered reading somewhere that it was best to stand downwind of animals so they couldn’t smell your scent. There was hardly any breeze at all, though, and the night air seemed quite still. So, where was downwind? She licked her finger and held it up to see which side dried first. Rats, she still had no clue. Who thought up these things?
Her heart jumped. Had a twig snapped? Why did that bush rustle if there was no wind? Oh, God, she so hated this. Still, there was no way she was going to let Spaceboy or the others know how frightened she was. She was the only full human left, so she had to show them all that she wasn’t going to be a liability that needed looking out for all the time. She would be as useful on watch as everyone else, powers or not. Nothing stopped the DeLuca women from doing what they had to do…
Repeating this mantra, she gained the relative safety of another tree. This brought her to the edge of the road and she pressed herself back against the rough bark, trying not to think about spiders and bugs, although normally they didn’t bother her. It was just that out here alone in the forest at night everything suddenly became a potential danger…
She told herself to be brave and, heart thumping, made a rush for the real forest on the other side. If she stayed near the edge she should be able to hear any noises from the road or from deeper in the wooded slopes above her, but still have time to run back if she thought there was any danger. Did bears wait in ambush for prey or was that mountain lions? Oh, God, DeLuca, just don’t even go there, she lectured herself.
The darkness was absolute in the dense foliage on this side of the road and looking back, the campground was hardly visible, except where a light from the girls’ tent glowed as a beacon. Maria stood shivering in the shelter of a tall bush and waited for the noise of her own heartbeat to stop drowning out all other sounds.
After an eternity had passed, she was able to hear the silence again but there were no sounds, suspicious or otherwise. She guessed that the slight noises she unavoidably made moving through the trees had sounded like a herd of elephants to the local wildlife and all would remain still for some time to come.
Knowing that she could be no use here unless she stayed still for hours, which was beyond her capabilities this first night (and probably many more to come) Maria decided to walk along the road as far as the toilet block and then circle round the far side of the campsite along the edge of the lake, where the darkness away from the trees was illuminated by the distant new moon and stars glittering overhead.
Her progress was slow as she was nervous about tripping over unseen hazards and she had no idea of how long she had been out on patrol. It seemed like a lifetime before she found the tents again, and there were a few moments of sheer terror when she found that her beacon light had vanished. Still, once she had got a grip again, she told herself that she was a little less scared now that she had made it and she felt quite proud of herself by the time she reached the truck. Maybe she would find enough courage to do this once more tonight before her watch was over…
A tall, dark figure was leaning against the side of the Chevy when she arrived. Michael straightened up and held out his arms so that she could fly into them and bury her face against his chest, clinging to him in relief at finding him there waiting for her.
Michael had been perfectly well aware of her fear, despite her belief that she had shielded her emotions from him. One of the hardest things he had ever done in his life was to stop himself responding to her with mental and physical reassurance. His muscles still ached with the effort.
He had known that she had to do this by herself, without his apparent protection, so he had stayed by the truck until she returned. Maria would have been furious and humiliated if she thought he didn’t trust her to keep watch by herself and he freely admitted that she had come through her own test with flying colors. He had shielded his own thoughts but couldn’t help hearing hers and in her fear and courage he found her adorable all over again.
Tipping her face up to his he kissed her, flooding her with his love and pride in her achievement so that she laughed shakily and had to draw back to stop herself from making love to him right there against the Chevy.
Instead, she opened the door to the back seats and climbed in, pulling him in beside her. Once again safe in his arms she eagerly returned his kisses, then snapped back into awareness of her responsibilities as he began to unzip her jacket and explore further. She pushed his hand away and sighed.
“Spaceboy, I’m still on watch and, anyway, I thought you wanted to talk about your secret…?”
He reluctantly moved away and zipped her jacket back up to her chin. It was time to tell her, but he didn’t quite know where to start.
Maria, after a brief check through the windscreen for marauding bears and Feds, helped him out.
*** Michael, I haven't said anything in front of the others, but I know you wouldn't just take us out into the wilderness totally blind...is that what it’s about?***
***Yeah, Maria, there's something you should know, not exactly a secret, but keep it to ourselves for the moment, ok? ***
***Of course, Michael. What is this big not-a-secret?***
***Remember at the picnic breakfast the first morning when I said I knew a place we might be safe?***
***Yeah, and Max yelled at you about it. I thought maybe it was Laurie you were thinking of... ***
***No, the Feds’ might know about her, so I won't put her in any more danger. Maybe someday down the line we may need her help, but the longer we can keep her out of it the better ***
*** Well, ok, then, what?***
***Hank had a cousin called Jed, used to drop in out of the blue and stay for a few days or weeks once in a while. He was ok. Always stopped Hank hittin’ me when he was around***
***Oh, Michael…***
*** Shhh, ‘s ok, I’m just sayin’***
He hugged Maria tighter at her distressed cry for the hurt boy he had been, then kissed her forehead in comfort, before continuing.
***Anyway, Jed used to talk to me, when Hank was passed out drunk, and tell me about when he was a kid growing up in the backwoods and how he was goin’ to go back there one day and settle down in his cabin again near his family***
***That must be the safe place, then, Michael - in the mountains! That’s why you want us to go there… you know someplace safe…***
*** Look, are you tellin’ the story, or am I?***
*** Ok, sorry. Go on, Spaceboy***
***I guess he was bored a lot of the time, so he used to go huntin’ rabbits in Frasier Woods and bring them back to cook. It was real good, too. Always ate well when Jed was visitin’. A few years ago he started to take me along with him, taught me how to trap, skin and make ‘em into stew. When I was thirteen, he turned up one day and found Hank layin’ into me. It was pretty bad and after he threw Hank out to sleep it off, he told me more about his place in the mountains and said how, if I ever needed somewhere to hide out, I could use it. He said to go find his “momma”, tell her this secret family password they had and she’d let me stay in his cabin***
***So why didn’t you go, Michael? Why did you stay with Hank when he hurt you?***
***Couldn’t leave Roswell while there was a chance that the – you know – the spaceship might come for us. Anyway, whenever Jed turned up after that he used to tell me the offer would always be good and I should never forget the password. Always made me repeat it back to him every time. Said his momma was a good woman and I could trust her not to ask questions***
***Do you think he knew about the Czechoslovakian thing?***
***No, I don’t. I think he just disapproved of Hank beatin’ on me and wanted to help me get away. I told you he was an ok guy. He was the only human I ever came close to liking, before you***
***When was the last time you saw him?***
***Summer after we found out about the destiny thing***
***Where is he now, Michael, do you know?***
***Yeah, he’s doin’ a 12 year stretch for armed robbery in Minnesota ***
Maria was shocked into silence for a moment.
***Well, I’m sorry to hear that, Michael. It sounds like he tried to be a good friend to you in his own way…***
***Yeah, he did. He’s a scary guy, though. Hank was always real respectful to him when he was stayin’ with us…***
***How do you know it’s still ok to use his cabin?***
Michael suddenly laughed out loud.
***’Cuz, y’know, he always sends me a Christmas card from wherever he is. No name, just a cartoon sketch of a cabin on a mountain…***
Maria was still curious.
***How did you find out where he is?***
***Postmark, year before last. I got curious and Alex checked him out on the internet for me one time, no questions asked. He was sort of a good friend, too, I guess***
***Yeah, he was…***
They were both silent, retreating into their own thoughts for a while until Maria stirred and lifted Michael’s wrist to check his watch.
“Gotta go out on another patrol, Michael. We’ll talk some more when I get back.”
“I’ll do it.”
“No, Spaceboy, I need to do this myself, so I get used to it, ok?”
“Ok. Be careful, babe.”
Michael kissed her cheek and let her go out into the night. He felt her nervousness kick in, but on a less frantic level and she even sent him a wicked thought about her plans for later that made him grin in anticipation.
Settling back to wait for her, trying not to follow her with his mind, he distracted himself by remembering the times that Jed had come to stay over the years and all the stories he told about the people in the community where he grew up. They’d always sounded like – well – stories, to the untrusting young Michael. If his plans worked out, he would maybe get to meet the characters in the only equivalent of “bedtime stories” he had ever known. The fact that the storyteller was a kind but scary armed criminal, with a collection of great recipes for cooking rabbit, was a matter of indifference to him.
He felt Maria’s burst of relief at nearing the end of her second ordeal in the darkness and opened the door ready for her breathless entrance a few seconds later.
She was wrapped around him and ready to hear more of his revelations before he had time to reach over and pull the door shut behind her. None of this information had previously been revealed to her in their flashes, so she reasoned that there must be a lot more to learn about Michael and his life than she so far had any clue about. He was the most reticent person she had ever known and even now when their minds were linked, much of his depths were still hidden to her.
“All clear outside, Spaceboy. It’s a really eerie place out here in the middle of nowhere. You can hear a fish jump out in the lake, sound carries so far in the night. I guess the mall-rat in me will have to make the adjustment to country-mouse sometime, but it’s gonna be a long, hard fight.” She grinned up at him as she said this, then went straight into her next question without apparently taking a breath.
“Do you think Jed’s momma will let us all stay in the cabin, Michael?”
She’d gone straight to the heart of the problem that he had wrestled with since he’d first considered sharing his sanctuary with the group. He had originally intended it only for Maria and himself when the group split up, as he’d thought they inevitably would if they had been closely pursued. He didn’t think that Jed or his momma would object to that. However, six teenagers turning up out of the blue was an entirely different matter. When Max had shouted him down before he could impulsively reveal its existence on the morning of the picnic, he’d been relieved. Later, he’d changed his mind when he saw that Max had no idea of where to go or what to do to keep them safe. He had finally come up with a workable solution when he remembered the stories Jed had told.
He explained all this to Maria.
“The community they live in sounds like a weird kinda place, full of old hippie types who live off the land and talk to the trees. Jed used to say it was real quiet, although a few tourists turned up in the summer. The point is, he mentioned tourists, so I thought that could be our cover until we decide if it’s safe to contact Jed’s momma and see if she’ll accept us all. What do you think, Maria? We pass as a group of students on a road trip and take a look around first.”
“What do we do if it doesn’t work out?”
He shrugged.
“We do a grand tour of the Rockies – some campsites are open all year round - and carry on working our way to the coast…”
Maria was intrigued and, anyway, was conditioned by life with her mom to deal with ‘old hippie types’, so she wanted to risk a look. She approved of this Jed character, as she would anyone who had been kind to Michael, and thought that the fall-back plan was more than reasonable. Although a natural mall-rat, she had enjoyed the first evening round the campfire (apart from the scary forest patrols) and, if this was typical, told herself that she might even grow to like the lifestyle, for the summer at least. She just wasn’t going to think about the winter yet.
“It’s a good plan, Spaceboy and I think you’ve got everything covered. I can’t see the others objecting. When were you planning to tell them?”
“At the end of the week when, hopefully, Max will have dumped the electronic tag and laid a false trail for our enemies. I don’t trust Isobel not to tell Max everything right away and I don’t trust Max not to screw things up somehow. The less they know the better, for now.”
“Maybe you’re right, Michael…” Maria had to agree with his reasoning, but was sad at the lack of trust among the group when they only had each other to depend on.
“Gonna tell Kyle tomorrow, though. He’s been in on all the planning with us so far, it’d be wrong to leave him out now.”
“Do Max and Isobel know about Jed?”
He shook his head and shifted her into a more comfortable position against his shoulder as he thought about it. They had never shown any interest in the details of his life and, in fact, had always managed to make it clear without actually spelling it out, that they would prefer to ignore any eye-witness reports from the poverty zone.
Michael had always stubbornly refused to think too deeply about this. He knew from the beginning that their lives were very different and, somehow, that admitting his circumstances would defile the clean, comfortable order of things they took for granted. He was their “alien” brother and they sympathised and included him as much as they could, but that was as far as they were prepared to go. He had preferred it that way, too. Michael wasn’t proud of his lifestyle.
Max had generously given him free access to a sleeping bag on the floor when he could, but avoided any discussion of marks and bruises, accepting the most transparent excuses without question over the years, until he finally had no choice but to heal the most visible injuries and then persuade Michael to apply for emancipation. Michael acknowledged that when Max had finally woken up to reality, he had genuinely tried to help, but it had been almost too late. Only the last minute gift of the healing stones touched Michael enough to stop him running far away from his problems.
Of course, the famous “sensitivity” hadn’t stopped Max punching him out in anger when he’d taken it on himself to meet Topolski or when the alien programming had taken over and tried to use him to replace the technically dead Max. He’d taken another swing back in the last motel, too. In some way, Michael respected that, though. “No quarter given” seemed the most fitting description of their relationship over the past few years. They never made it easy for each other. Maybe, he thought, because they never really liked each other.
Of the two, Isobel had the soft heart and Michael always knew that if he had let her, she would have spared no efforts to help and protect him, but he had contributed to the conspiracy of silence by letting his pride win out over the pain. So she just saw him as her social misfit almost-brother from the wrong side of the tracks, and his problems were put down to attitude and laziness. He had let her go on thinking that, because pity was the one thing he couldn’t take.
He hadn’t tried to shield these thoughts from Maria, but to his relieved surprise, pity wasn’t among her emotional reactions. Fierce love for him and hot anger that he had been left to suffer alone for all the years of his childhood, yes, but he also found, crystal clear, that she understood his secret pride in the strength that allowed him to withstand the years of abuse in silence because he came to see it as a battlefield to test his spirit until his people arrived to take him home. There had to be something better for him out there than Roswell, New Mexico.
***And this is it, Spaceboy. This has got to be the “something better out there for us than Roswell, New Mexico” we both wanted. I feel more alive and free on the run with you than I ever did in my whole law-abiding life back in Roswell, don’t you?***
***Thelma and Louise, huh? ***
She giggled, appreciating that he wanted to get away from the heavy stuff and into a lighter mood.
*** But there’ll be a happy ending for us, Michael, I know it in my soul. We’ve got a future together, waiting for us out there somewhere ***
He held her tighter and smiled into her hair.
*** You know, it might be the lack of sleep, but I actually feel it, too ***
*** That’s because we’re together forever now, Spaceboy, there’ll always be a happy ending for you and me***
*** Ok, sweetness overload, Maria. We both know how we feel, no need to keep yapping on about it ***
***All right, that’s it, pally, no nookie for you tonight until you apologise for that crack. I do NOT yap***
*** .................***
*** Don’t sulk, it doesn’t help your case, Michael Guerin. I shall be speaking to you only if it’s really necessary until I get a genuine apology ***
*** Don’t hold your breath, Blondie. No, wait, on second thoughts - DO, it’ll give us all a rest from the DeLuca lip***
*** Didn’t complain about the DeLuca lips in the gas station wash-room before breakfast this morning, did you?***
*** Was no need to complain then. You couldn’t talk with your mouth full…***
*** !!!!!!!!!!!!! ***
Uh-oh, maybe he’d gone too far in teasing her.
***….…uh, well, maybe I was a little hasty, there, Maria. Wait, are you laughing? I thought you were mad at me…***
***I was, but then you made me laugh and I couldn’t stay mad at you after all. Nice save, Spaceboy ***
***Nookie rights restored, than, princess***
***On this occasion, yes - but you’re on probation***
*** Good enough for me***
They cuddled together again in the darkness until Michael lit the dial on his watch. It was past time to start his turn on duty.
He sat up, disturbing Maria, and asked if she wanted to wait for him in the Chevy or get some sleep in the tent. She preferred to wait for him, just enjoying his company in a way she so rarely had a chance to do. They were usually fighting or loving, so prolonged conversation tended to lose out.
Michael, picking up on her thought, agreed with her. He sometimes just liked the pleasure of her company, too, and only now realized that they had neglected that aspect of their relationship for too long…
***Just sometimes, Michael?***
***You know what I mean, Maria. Are you gonna get on my case about that, now?***
***No, just as long as we make time to do this more often… I actually do really like you, Michael, as well as love you. I think maybe I forget to tell you that, Spaceboy…***
*** Ditto***
He leaned back into the truck and cupped her face to kiss her, feeling unexpectedly emotional at her comment. He’d never had anyone actually tell him that they liked him for himself in his whole life before. Being liked was still a new experience for him. Of course, he’d never made the effort to be liked, actively avoiding humans for so long, until Maria demolished his stonewall. Since then, although only the guys at Metachem had hung out with him on a casually friendly basis, he inferred that he might not be such a social outcast after all, if he chose. Now here was Maria, putting it into words. Another Kodak moment, he thought, snapping out of the trance.
Then he left to circle the area in his turn, alert for sounds that only his enhanced alien senses could pick up. There were none, as he had expected, and he went back to the truck to continue his conversation with Maria.
The first comment she made on his return was about the cabin’s location.
“I’m thinking it can’t be all that far from here, Michael, because you suggested Colorado right off, when we planned our route.”
“It’s about another day or so north, towards the Wyoming border. Place called Watercress Creek. That’s more-or-less all I know, except for the password.”
“Cute name, sounds kind of like Little House on the Prairie or something…”
“If Jed is typical of the locals, that is so not the right image.”
“Oh, well, then I guess we’ll just have to wait until we get there to find out. Not gonna worry until then, Spaceboy.”
“You need to know the password, just in case anything happens to me, Maria –,” he put his finger against her parted lips to quell her instant protest, but then her mental voice assured him calmly that whatever happened, they would be together, “ – you need to know, anyway. It’s ‘Dagwood’. Said it’s some kind of family joke and to ask his momma to make me one.”
“O-k-a-a-y, got that…”
Michael didn’t say any more, just pulled her head down onto his shoulder and let a comfortable silence fall between them.
After a while, she spoke softly.
“Something I’ve wanted to ask you, Michael…”
“What?” His voice was just as soft in the darkness.
“Why did you come back to Roswell after you left? You were so set on leaving alone…”
He paused, remembering…
“Madame Vivien – she gave me a warning that something bad was gonna happen. Gave me a tarot card and told me to ‘believe in the love’. I didn’t, of course. Thought she was a fake, until I saw the black cars driving into town as I was leaving. I remembered the tarot card, knew she was right - I just couldn’t leave you in danger, Maria, so I followed them. Saw what they were gonna do and – ”
“- and rode to the rescue again like a knight in shining armour, Michael. Always my brave, (kiss) handsome, (kiss) hero, (kiss)…” she gently rubbed her nose against his and sighed blissfully.
Something outside in the darkness caught her eye and she stared through the window at a light in their tent. She nudged Michael and they both watched as a shadow that could only be Kyle sat up and then began to struggle out of the tent, the image vanishing when the light winked out.
Michael looked at his watch again.
“Too early for his turn, must be goin’ over to the toilet block.”
There was a sudden rap on the window and the front passenger door opened. Kyle climbed in, sat down and turned a scared face towards them. Before he could speak or they could ask him what was wrong, the driver’s door opened and Isobel slid inside.
On seeing each other, she and Kyle both recoiled, glaring…
TBC…
Chapter 21
When the group round the campfire broke up, Kyle made directly for the tent he was to share with Michael and Maria. He undressed, gave in to an uncharacteristic urge to fold his clothes neatly, and then fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Before Tess occupied his bedroom, Kyle had always slept like a log through the night, never remembered his dreams, and kept his radio alarm tuned in to a country station so that his day started with his favorite music. Since she had mindwarped him to further her plans to depart for Antar, his sleeping pattern had changed.
He often dreamed now: warm, happy family scenes. After these, he would sometimes wake, restless and sad for the loss of a fleeting love she had warped into a feeble, fraternal shadow of its true nature.
Isobel now occupied that space in his heart and, although his feelings were deeper, they were as unrequited as ever were those he had harboured for Liz and Tess.
However, he never remembered any dreams of Isobel, if indeed he ever had any, and he was grateful that she was unlikely to dreamwalk him for fear of another centrefold encounter.
This night, his dreams were uneasy and formless until he found himself wandering through a dense white fog, with no idea of why he was there or any point of reference to give him a clue as to where he might be. He moved on, feeling solid ground under his feet, but unable to see more than a few inches in any direction.
After some time, he became aware that there was sound all around him - a faint, windy, roar in the air that offered him no more clue to direction than the blank surface of the fog.
He continued to walk slowly forward. The windy sound grew louder, ebbing and surging around him until the white fog began to swirl and dissipate leaving him in total darkness.
He froze, listening to the slow hiss of the wind, but feeling no breath of air against his skin. The darkness was absolute and he began to feel uneasy, as if he was being watched.
At this thought came to him, the darkness opened a pair of familiar blue eyes and gazed at him in exultant pleasure…
Earlier in the evening, after saying goodnight to Liz, Isobel had ducked into her compact sleeping quarters and immediately arranged the lantern so that it shone away from her. She didn’t want a back-lit shadow display of her nightly routine to appear on the tent wall. Kyle would inevitably somehow manage to see it and never stop commenting.
She had to sit on the bed to slip off her outer clothes and fold them carefully in a corner before digging around in her pack for the pretty nightgown she had bought to sleep in. Even in the wilderness, Isobel refused to drop her standards and sleep in anything less than glamorous. It was still a little chilly, so she warmed the air up to a more comfortable temperature. She spent a while checking over and arranging her new possessions to her liking, grateful for the illusion of privacy at last.
Sliding into her sleeping bag, plumping up the generously sized pillows that Maria had argued were a necessity rather than a luxury, extinguishing the lantern, Isobel thought about the life they were to live for the foreseeable future. Camping hadn’t been her choice and she didn’t really see herself changing her views anytime soon. The thought of endless months in the middle of nowhere, with no respite from the others’ company and nothing to do all day was suddenly the last straw so she just gave into despair and cried. Burying her face into the damp pillow, so that she didn’t disturb Liz, all her misery poured out at last and she whispered Jesse’s name brokenly through her muffled sobs until she fell asleep.
An hour or so later, she woke with a start.
Max! Her expressed intention had been to dreamwalk him, and yet she had just let herself get side tracked and fallen asleep. Her guilt made her sit up and hurriedly compose herself. She found the torch she had placed by her pillow and switched it on to low beam, a small comforting glow in the darkness as she smoothed her hair back and cooled her hot, swollen eyes, ready to make contact with her errant brother. Lastly, she dried her damp, crumpled pillow then lay back and closed her eyes, summoning his face clearly in her mind’s eye. Max was most probably getting impatient waiting for her by now.
However, try as she might, Isobel simply couldn’t get back to sleep. She tried all the tricks she knew, counting backwards from 999; picturing herself as a seagull flying over endless blue ocean; even counting sheep. Nothing. It was so frustrating. She lay there in her sleeping bag, warm, comfortable and now… wide awake.
Presently, she considered trying to dreamwalk him anyway – after all, it had worked in reverse when he had been in the White Room, so she knew it could be done. She concentrated hard.
The static image of Max’s face wavered and became animated for a moment as if he suddenly saw her, then broke up into fragments soon lost in a soft white haze. However, she was used to this and knew that she was about to step inside his dream.
The haze slowly cleared to reveal a pair of familiar blue eyes, staring into hers with exultant pleasure…
Isobel immediately felt an involuntary pang of revulsion and hate. The focus pulled back to reveal the huge, disembodied face of Tess, hanging in darkness like a hologram. The blue gaze was fixed on two shadowy figures entwined naked on a candle-lit, satin draped bed and the red lips were curved into an enigmatic smile.
Max, naked except for a narrow, golden band around his head, stood marble-still, in a faint green haze. He was facing away from her, standing close beside the bed, and he didn’t appear to notice or react to her arrival.
She slowly became aware of another, invisible, presence somewhere in the darkness and her heightened, dreamworld, senses prickled in warning.
As Isobel stared at the tableau, the figures began to move slowly against each other, twining and curling like snakes. Filigree patterns of light and shadow trailed over the lovers, making it impossible to see their identities, but there was no doubt as to what they were doing.
Time in the dreamscape seemed to be fluid, with disconcerting bubbles of close-up action appearing in slow-motion above the bed, while the unknown couple continued to writhe endlessly below.
Isobel glanced uneasily round at the other two, a reluctant voyeur but unable to escape. After a while, she realised that the scenes continued to spin languidly through the same cycle of pseudo-erotic images.
A swollen nipple jutted urgently from a soft dome of silken flesh, to be engulfed by a mouth whose lips drew back to reveal teeth tugging and pulling on the dark peak in slow, elastic torment.
The tip of a wet tongue probed the delicate folds of a shell-like belly button.
A large male hand cupped the apex of soft, pale, feminine thighs, middle finger plunged in hidden folds below, where it danced in slow, hypnotic rhythm.
Short, rose-tipped nails dug convulsively into hard, glistening, muscle and the amplified sound of heavy breathing roared like a hurricane.
Isobel, repulsed and mesmerised in the darkness of her brother’s dream, finally tore her eyes away from the disturbingly graphic display to see another naked figure, face shockingly familiar, emerge from the darkness and look directly at her.
Kyle shook his head disapprovingly and raised his hand. A stream of green light shot out and pushed her back into reality, where she opened her eyes into total darkness. Confused, she thought for a moment that she was still in the dreamworld, until she felt the reality of soft pillows against her cheek.
Kyle. Kyle had been in Max’s dream and had actually seen her there. He’d had the power -and the colossal nerve - to throw her out.
In growing anger and confusion Isobel struggled to drag on her pants and sweater over her nightgown in the dim glow of her torch, then searched impatiently around in the darkness for her shoes.
Creeping out of the tent, still having enough sense left not to disturb Liz, she headed over to the toilet block while she decided what to do next. The facilities were basic and she made use of them quickly, although only after a ‘power’ clean up. She’d forgotten how inconveniently Nature sometimes called in the dead of night and the lack of an en-suite bathroom in the tent was going to be the main plank in her argument for resorting to motels. She’d bet Maria would join her campaign after a couple of nights like this.
As she walked back to the tent, oblivious to her surroundings, Isobel berated herself for failing to contact Max earlier. Now she would have to try again later in the night, hoping for a less disturbing dream in which to try to talk to him. The chance to find out what was happening was too vital to delay, but she would have to make sure that Kyle didn’t interfere again. She couldn’t risk being thrown out at critical moments by his bumbling attempts to learn about his new powers.
The dream had shaken her badly in a way she couldn’t define. It looked as though Max really was in thrall to the Tess thing, but she had sensed a watchful presence somewhere that disturbed her. If Kyle hadn’t appeared at just the wrong moment, she would have acted to attract her brother’s attention and demanded to know what was going on.
Looking over at the truck, she decided to go see Michael for a few minutes as he was on watch. They hadn’t really spoken for months and he was all the family she had left now. Isobel made up her mind to keep the dream to herself until she heard what her brother had to say when she finally caught up with him. Michael was showing no signs of sympathy for Max and she thought maybe it was a mistake to make a fuss over a dream that might or might not be significant.
When she slid inside, however, she found Kyle already there. Isobel - the Ice Queen - glared... To her surprise, he glared right back.
In his dream, Kyle had been momentarily unnerved by the sudden appearance of Tess in an indefinably more menacing form than his usual dreams about her, but he had nevertheless recovered his composure and gazed back into the blue stare with curiosity.
He saw himself, naked, reflected in the dark mirror of one of the twin black pupils. In the other was the tiny image of Max Evans, also naked, a narrow, golden band around his head. A faint green haze enveloped them both.
A soft, golden glow appeared behind his reflected self, and he saw a candle-lit circle enclosing two naked figures lying on satin sheets, shadow-dappled and indistinct.
As his attention focused on this, he felt the dark pupil expand and engulf him so that he was standing in the darkness outside the ring of candle-light, opposite Max whose gaze was captured by the amorous couple on the bed.
Kyle found himself equally engrossed by the display of languid lust and he spent some time in growing appreciation of the imagination and variety of athletic positions adopted by the shadowy lovers. Movement above him caught his eye and he was amused to see that edited highlights of the action were apparently being shown in bubbles floating over the bed. The short cycle of almost clinical, close-up porno shots revolved in lazy repetition and he soon lost interest.
Looking around for the first time, he was startled to see Tess, golden hair streaming in the strange wind, blue eyes fixed unblinking on Max and red lips drooping in her familiar sexy pout. Like the moon, her face hung suspended in the darkness, looking down at them all, semi-translucent and glowing slightly as if lit from within.
Another figure moved into the candle-light and Isobel, long – now blonde - hair loose, clad in a sexy nightgown (a picture that Kyle automatically memorised for future… contemplation) stared in fascinated distaste at the writhing lovers and the graphic images above them.
He knew that she had to be dreamwalking and he also instinctively knew that this was no place for her. He looked straight into her eyes and shook his head. Sometimes her arrogance was just beyond belief. Whatever his feelings for her, his dreams were private and she had no business to be there. In his annoyance, Kyle raised his hand without thinking and a beam of green light shot out, hit her in the chest and shoved her gently, but firmly out of his dream.
As soon as she vanished, he turned back to the dreamscape. The same drama played out there as Max still stood in his green haze hypnotised by the sexual antics on the bed and Tess looked at Max like a cat with a mouse. The same hurricane sighed and roared in the air overhead and the unseen watchful presence prowled the edges of the darkness. There was only one difference, but that suddenly made Kyle’s blood run cold.
He saw himself, naked and glowing faintly green, standing across from Max, just as blindly absorbed in the lovers as his alien counterpart.
As he stared in growing horror, the dream images of Kyle and Max stretched out an arm towards each other, without tearing their gazes away from the bed, and the green haze that enveloped each of them extended a tentacle and linked them together. At the moment of contact Kyle felt a faint upsurge of power in himself and Max cried out in sudden angry protest.
Tess’s gaze left Max and turned to the dream image of Kyle. He saw then that her eye sockets were empty and through them he saw star-scattered black space. The face that appeared so real a moment ago was now revealed as a carnival mask.
There was a burst of anger from the unseen presence and then Kyle was thrust unceremoniously out of the dream and woke up.
TBC…
Chapter 22
In the Chevy, Michael and Maria sat startled and bemused in the back seat, ignored by two furious people confronting each other in growing anger.
“Kyle, what the hell were you doing in Max’s dream? You’ve got some nerve, too. How dare you you throw me out –”
“Max’s dream? Oh, come on, Isobel, that wasn’t Max’s dream and don’t pretend you didn’t know it. Listen, once and for all, my dreams are private. Do you even understand the concept? Just because you can, doesn’t mean that you have the right to walk into anyone’s head whenever you want…”
Isobel sputtered in outrage.
“Your dreams? Your dreams? You are the last person I’d dreamwalk for fear of what unspeakable things I’d find in your filthy mind...”
“Don’t pretend you weren’t in my dream a few minutes ago, Isobel. I saw you, and –yes- I threw you out because you had no right to be there.” He gave her a final glare and lowered his tone thoughtfully. “Anyway, there’s something weird…”
Isobel was so affronted that for a moment she was lost for words. Kyle ignored her and remembered why he was really there. He turned to Michael and Maria, shadowy figures in the darkness.
“I had this dream and Tess was in it, no – then she – it was this huge carnival mask, and Max was watching porn with edited highlights and the green, glowy thing was back and somehow we’re still connected. Oh, and something got mad and threw me out of my own dream…and I – I think Tess is trying to control my mind…” Kyle babbled on until he realised what he was saying and trailed off weakly.
He heaved a deep sigh and looked round at them all.
“Ok, let’s try this again slowly… I have just had a vivid and, I’ll admit, scary dream – don’t interrupt me, Isobel, your turn will come - in which Tess or some weird image of her, was watching green, glowing Max watching some kind of hot sex show. Then Isobel showed up, uninvited, on a little dreamwalk. After she… left, I saw an image of myself, also glowing green like Max, then the forcefields reached out and joined and – and then Tess noticed me.” He stopped for a moment and frowned at his knuckles without seeing them. “Then some – I don’t know – some presence got angry and threw me out of my own dream.” He finished in a rush and sat back against the door, waiting for their reaction.
It was Isobel’s turn to sigh heavily, a little less annoyed with Kyle now that she had heard his story.
“Kyle, I didn’t try to dreamwalk you – I was trying to reach Max. It was his dream, not yours.”
“Isobel, it sure felt like mine. I’ve never even thought about dreamwalking and Max Evans is the last person I’d want to try it out on.”
“Face it, Kyle, it was Max’s dream and you were an onlooker, like me. It seems another new power has shown up.”
Kyle shook his head, still not satisfied with the explanation.
“Tell me why Evans was dreaming about me, then. We’re not exactly friends, so why would I be in his dream?”
Michael spoke for the first time. He sounded tired and irritable.
“It’s gotta be the green, glowing thing again– there must still be a connection, even though your powers have developed. As for Tess being back…” He snorted in derision. “…Max’s delusions must be affecting you, now… did you manage to talk to him, Iz?”
She shook her head.
“No. Kyle threw me out before I had a chance.” Isobel deliberately avoided his eyes when she said it. She hadn’t entirely forgiven him. “I’m going to try again later.”
“Try now, Isobel. This time we’ll all be here with you.”
Isobel shook her head.
“Not just yet, Maria. I’m thirsty, anyone else want a drink?”
There was general agreement and Maria knelt on the back seat, groping around in the dark (the Chevy's interior light was too bright for safety) until she remembered her torch, then reached back into the cargo space for their supplies. She prepared their choices –coffee for the guys and hot chocolate for Isobel and herself – and Michael heated them up for her. Presently they all held steaming mugs, grateful for the warmth in the chilly night.
Kyle felt sure that, despite Isobel’s denial, the dream had been his. He had actually felt the power surge at the moment of connection between his own image and Max and he was certain that Tess or whatever the watching presence was, had felt it too. And been threatened by it. There was no way he wanted to go back to sleep that night. Kyle shivered, but not from the cold.
Isobel worried about Max. The dream was obviously connected to his recent behaviour; there must be an explanation, but she couldn’t bring herself to go dreamwalking again quite yet. She would finish her hot chocolate first and then try again.
Influenced by her mom’s varied New Age interests and therefore not unfamiliar with dream interpretation, Maria, impatient for answers as usual, automatically tried to analyse the symbolism. She knew darkness meant mystery, candles indicated intuitive or psychic aspects, and she also vaguely remembered that the carnival mask represented falsehood and deception but she had no idea about the sex thing. The accepted meanings didn’t seem to apply to her friends. Making a mental note to herself to warn Kyle not to mention the hot sex show to Liz, Maria considered the rest of his description. The green, glowing forcefield, surprisingly, didn’t really worry her. Having seen it in action when Kyle and Max were going through their power transference, she felt fairly confident about it’s significance. The color green indicated sharing and balance which was appropriate to its appearances so far. However, she simply couldn’t believe that Tess was really alive and back to torment them.
She mentally nudged Michael and shared her thoughts with him, although his response was even less enthusiastic than she’d expected.
The dream didn’t really interest Michael too much. He was inclined to dismiss it as the result of the strain they had all been under. He was a little disturbed by the reappearance of the green glow but not enough to lose any sleep over it. And sleep was what he needed right now. Suddenly, all he really wanted to do was climb into their sleeping bag, wrap himself around Maria and sleep for a week…
Maria snuggled closer against him. Only another hour of his watch to go before they could sleep at last. It suddenly occurred to her that Isobel must be a real expert on dream symbols but just as she opened her mouth to question her friend, Michael stopped her with a private warning.
***Not yet, Maria. Give her time to try to contact Max first, ok ***
***Oh, but surely if we understand a bit more about what this dream means, she can – well – warn him or something…***
***About what? It’s just a dream. He already thinks Tess is calling him, so no news for him there. Maybe he can tell us what's goin' on***
***We do need to talk about this dream, though. It does have symbols and aspects that apply directly to Kyle and Max, at least. We can’t just ignore it, Michael***
***Not goin’ to ignore it, Maria. Just gonna wait until daylight, when Iz has talked to Max and we might have more to go on. Don’t forget, nobody thinks straight when they’re scared and exhausted. We’ve been running for five day now, nobody’s had much sleep. Gotta give ourselves a chance to stop and rest for a while***
He felt Maria’s reluctant acquiescence and sighed in relief. For a moment he had been afraid she would argue with him and he suddenly found himself wound up and on the edge of picking a fight just for the hell of it. A fight with Maria over this would be stupid. The sudden change from lieutenant to leader had been more of a strain than he’d realized, and Max’s selfish obsession with Tess and subsequent desertion of the group had added stress he just didn’t need. No, the person he had in mind for the fight was Max himself…and one day, he promised himself, he was going to settle the score over this.
He roused himself and told the others he was going to patrol the area. Kyle and Isobel chorused that they would come too, and then glared at each other again. Both wanted Michael’s undivided attention so they could discuss the dream in more detail. When he saw they were about to argue over it, he momentarily lost his self-control and snapped at them.
“Look, you two want to talk about this f*ckin’ dream, you talk to each other – quietly, understand? These patrols are serious, in case you’ve forgotten – we need to be silent and listen out for any danger. Try to remember that, ok?” He zipped up his parka, gave Maria’s thigh a brief squeeze, then opened the door and was gone into the night.
Maria was secretly amused by the identical expressions of surprise and frustration on the faces of her two friends. She decided to get them to discuss the dream before their mutual antagonism got out of hand.
“Isobel, my mom was into dream interpretation at one time, so I remember a few dream symbols, but you must be an expert. Let’s start with Kyle; tell us about the dream again in case you missed anything…then, Isobel, you can see if you noticed anything different, ok?”
Isobel and Kyle exchanged a wary look, but then both grinned and relaxed, tacitly acknowledging peace between them again. Kyle glanced from one girl to the other and began to recall his memories of the dream. Soon all three were engrossed in the discussion, although no conclusion was reached. Isobel confirmed Maria’s ideas but had no more of her own, other than to try to reach Max again, this time with the others around for support. Kyle fell silent as the girls talked of symbols and meanings, more worried about the dream than he was prepared to let on.
Michael had circled the area and paused to sit on a rock by the edge of the lake until his spurt of temper had cooled. He knew exhaustion had finally caught up with him and he had over-reacted to Kyle and Isobel wanting to talk, but he was frustrated by the inability of the others (except Maria, he thought gratefully) to understand the need for a constant watch, however sure he privately was that they had not been followed.
He had noticed that the further they got from Roswell the more relaxed the others seemed to become about pursuit. It was as if they wanted to forget why they were on the road and were starting to believe Max’s cover story from the night at the Green Apple – students on a summer road trip. The mysterious Kyle/Max connection had taken over as the main topic of interest to the others, an excuse for avoiding the still sharp pain of their grief and loss.
As he let himself be soothed by the cold, silent beauty of the starlight reflected in the dark waters of the lake, he admitted to himself that it might be a good thing on the whole, as long as they didn’t entirely lose the edge. They needed to remain alert without reviving the terror of the first desperate flight. Michael had no intention of dropping his own guard. Keeping Maria safe was his first priority but he thought that as long as they were all under his protection, they might be ok. The Max/Kyle dream was probably down to anxiety and lack of sleep, or else the residual fall-out from the power-sharing thing. Either way, he wasn’t going to think about it tonight. He had too many other things to worry about and the group’s survival came first.
Michael rose, yawned and stretched, now ready to return to the Chevy and see if Isobel had calmed down enough to try to contact her brother. He hoped she had, because he really couldn’t wait to crawl into bed and get some real sleep at long last.
The three in the truck were lost in their own thoughts again by the time Michael opened the door. Maria didn’t jump in surprise, unlike the other two. She had felt his earlier anger, his need for space, and didn’t comment on the length of time he had been away.
Once he had settled into his seat again, Isobel lowered the angle of her own seat as far as it would go and leaned back comfortably in the dim glow of Maria’s torch. She checked her watch and closed her eyes, summoning Max’s face and concentrating hard. Presently, the white fog appeared, dissipating almost immediately, and she was in her brother’s dream.
This time he was in the middle of the desert near the rocks that had hidden the Granolith. Max was gazing at the brilliant night sky where the familiar ‘V’ star formation blazed and he turned to look at her impatiently as she walked over to him.
“What the hell took you so long, Isobel? I’ve been waiting for days.”
His tone was accusing and her eyes narrowed in wariness.
“Max. It was only the night before last when you ran off after Tess and deserted the rest of us. We’ve been driving ever since. I’ve been so worried. Where are you and what’s happening?”
He calmed down and smiled at her.
“I’m somewhere on Interstate 80, in Nebraska, in a motel. I spent last night in a motel in Denver waiting for you to contact me. I'm fine, nothing’s happened, I’m just cruising on and resting when I need to. Tess seems to know I’m on my way, so there’s no sense of urgency anymore.” He looked relaxed and faintly pleased about it. Isobel was irritated and a little hurt that he didn’t seem concerned about her or the others.
“I’m so worried, Max. I tried to dreamwalk you earlier and you were having some weird nightmare… Do you remember?”
“Nightmare? No, Izzy, I don’t remember anything except falling asleep to wait for you and now - here you are, at long last. How’s Liz? Is she still mad at me?”
“Of course she’s mad at you, Max! Anybody would be, treated like that. Why the hell are you chasing after Tess if it’s Liz you want?”
“I told her, I shan’t be free of this pull in my mind until I find Tess and…do whatever I need to do to stop her doing this to me. God, Isobel, you think I want to be here, on this crazy trip? I want to be with you and Liz; you know that. Tell her – make her believe me, Isobel, you could if you wanted to.”
“I can’t, Max. Only you and Liz can work that one out. Are you sure you can’t remember any dreams? Kyle was in it, so was Tess – kind of, anyway…and me, I was there, too.”
“No, I already told you, Isobel, if I had any dreams or nightmares, I don’t remember them.”
She nodded, moving on to the other worry that was uppermost in her mind.
“Have you seen any sign that you’re being followed, Max?”
“Followed? Wha - ? Oh, yeah, …I guess…I forgot.” For a moment he sounded uncertain, unsure of himself. Then the same arrogance he displayed when he had threatened her after Alex’s death was back. Before she could pursue the thought, he carried on talking.
“No, I haven’t noticed anything suspicious, but I’ll remember to keep a look-out from now on. I’ve been focusing on getting to New York, but now there’s no rush. Listen, Izzy, speak to Liz for me. Tell her I’ll come find you as soon as I can, I promise. Then we’ll make real plans to go find somewhere safe and settle down. Where exactly are you and the others right now?”
As he spoke, he smiled into her eyes and reached out for her as though to give her a hug, but at that moment the dreamscape vanished and she was back reclining in the smooth leather of the Chevy seat.
Kyle watched anxiously as Isobel blinked herself back into reality. She sat up and frowned at him and then at the other two in the back seat.
“That was worse than useless. Max is somewhere in Nebraska, heading for New York. He thinks Tess knows he’s on his way and so there’s less urgency.” Isobel closed her eyes in exasperation. “He doesn’t remember any dreams, his main concern is Liz, oh, and he forgot to check to see if he’s being followed. I didn’t get the chance to even ask what he’s doing for money. We never found out how much he had when he left Roswell. He’s using motels, so he can’t be short of cash or else he’s changing bills.”
“Was there anything strange about his dream, Isobel?” Kyle was almost frightened to ask, but he had to know. His own (he was sure) dream had disturbed him more than he was prepared to admit, even to himself.
Isobel shook her head.
“No. It was just the desert near the ruins of the pod cave outside Roswell. It was night and there was nothing and no one else around. The only unusual thing was that neither of us was ready for the dream to end… Maybe someone or something ended it for us – or, then again, maybe not. Maybe he just woke up. It happens.”
Michael ran both hands through his short, dark hair and looked wearily over at the two in the front seats.
“So there’s nothing more any of us can do about anything right now, huh?”
They both shrugged.
“Then I’m gonna go get some sleep. Kyle’s on watch next, so we’ll talk more in the morning, ok.”
He turned to Maria, who squeezed his hand briefly and then opened her door to climb out.
“Don’t wait breakfast for us. We’ll make our own. Michael looks like he’s gonna be asleep before he reaches the tent.” She said goodnight, then followed after the tall figure already trudging across the grass.
Michael had to duck his head to enter the fairly roomy vestibule of their tent, but Maria could stand upright with no problem. The rear part of the structure was divided into two ‘bedrooms’ each spacious enough for two people to sleep in comfort. The fortune they had spent on the tents and equipment was worth it for the comfort and convenience they would need if they were to be used long term as living quarters.
Maria had arranged the insulation pads, air mattresses and sleeping bags into a large, cosy bed in the centre of their room, with a pile of big, soft pillows at the far end of it. The lantern hung from a hook in the far outer corner of the tent. There was no danger that their shadows appearing on the canvas outside would be seen by onlookers as there were bushes growing close by that gave them privacy from the other tent pads. A mesh window for light and ventilation was set in the side of the tent with a roll-down flap that sealed it off when needed, as now. Their possessions, including the saddlebags from his bike, were neatly folded or stacked on each side of the bed. Michael registered all this and sent his sleepy approval to Maria as he rapidly stripped naked and slid gratefully into the smooth cotton sheets lining the bag. She had made it a haven from the outside world.
***Of course, Spaceboy. You may think that it’s macho to live a Spartan life on the run, but surely you didn’t think I would let us rough it in the wilderness, if we didn’t have to? Comfort is a necessity and shopping is in my blood, Michael, even if the nearest mall is probably in the next State…***
As she commented, she too stripped off, dropping to her knees and bending over to rummage in her pack beside the bed to pull on a short, soft, rose-colored T-shirt that didn’t quite cover her ass. Michael’s suddenly narrowed eyes raked over the enticing picture displayed just for him and he twisted himself out of bed to kneel behind her, letting his hands slide over the firm curves jutting provocatively into the air.
When Maria turned her face over her shoulder to look back at him from under sultry, half-closed lids, he smiled wolfishly and suddenly leaned down to bite a succulent peach-like cheek. She tensed and he reached around her under the shirt, pulling her firmly back against him, to cup each of her breasts in a large hand, stroking and pinching until each rosy nipple hardened into a fiery pebble in his palm. She began to rub her ass against his c*ock, moaning low in her throat as it jerked and throbbed into the huge, steel-hard erection behind her.
He brushed her hair aside with one hand in order to kiss and suck the side of her neck, leaving his mark on her sensitive, satin skin, branding her as his once again. Maria tilted her head to give him more access and involuntarily arched her back as he nipped sharply with his teeth, pinching a nipple at the same time and sending a sudden sizzling sensation to her c*unt. Instantly aware of her need, his hand found the soft cleft between her thighs and his fingers explored the slick, wet depths searching for the tiny nub to ignite the fire. There was no time for leisurely foreplay or teasing torment tonight, the urgent imperative of his need for Maria over-rode his exhaustion, but he knew this would have to be fast and furious while he still had some stamina left.
Even as the explosive charge built up inside, Maria reached behind her, desperately wanting to touch his c*ock, needing him to share in the pleasure he was giving her. Consumed with love and lust, he ignored her ineffectual groping, holding her tight against him with one hand between her legs and the other covering her mouth to keep her quiet as she came. Feeling all the sensations she felt, supporting her while the aftershocks of the orgasm rippled through her, he grinned to himself. Keeping their lovemaking quiet maybe wasn’t so difficult after all…
He turned them both so that they faced the piled up pillows at the top of their bed and he reached out to drag some towards him, pushing her forward so that she lay across them, her round ass raised in the air. Checking that she was ready for him, he gripped her hips and pulled her ass forward, plunging the long, thick length of his c*ock up to the hilt in her hot, creamy c*unt. She convulsed against him, thrusting back in response, her ecstatic silent scream ***yes, oh, Michael, Michael, oh, oooh,yessss*** echoing in his mind as he drove into her again and again, his balls slapping rhythmically against her softness until he, too, came, her name a strangled shout - abruptly cut off as he miraculously recalled the need for quiet, forgotten at the moment of his passionate release.
Afterwards, they lay breathless for a few minutes, Michael sprawled heavily on top of Maria, neither with the strength to move just yet. Then, with a heroic effort, he rolled off of her and found enough reserves of energy to sit up and re-arrange the pillows and sleeping bag around them until they were spooned together in a nest. Maria turned her face up to his for a soft goodnight kiss and was instantly asleep. A moment later, he had snuffed the lantern with a wave of his hand and followed her into bliss.
Outside in the night, Kyle and Isobel sat on in the Chevy for a long time, silent and preoccupied until Kyle roused himself to go out on patrol.
“You go back to sleep, Isobel. I’ll stay on watch until morning; I’ll be ok out here. I’ll wake Liz at eight, for her turn. She the only one of us who’s had a full night’s sleep so far. The rest of us can catch up now.”
Isobel agreed and they both went their separate ways in the darkness.
He didn’t mention that he was reluctant to go back to sleep until he was sure that Max had woken up and set off on the road. Kyle had developed the theory that if they were never asleep at the same time, then there should be no danger of any more “shared” dreams. So, it looked like he was going to have to become nocturnal for the foreseeable future…
Returning to the truck, he reclined the seat, made himself comfortable with a blanket and tuned the radio so that a country music station played softly. Diverting himself in this way between patrols, he whiled away the hours until the sun rose on the spectacular view and he prepared to go rouse Liz and get some sleep himself.
The others slept on, warm and comfortable in their sleeping bags, surrendered to the oblivion of exhaustion at last.
TBC…
Last edited by candylovespell on Thu Dec 01, 2005 4:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.