Chapter 10
October 4, 1999
Max, Michael, Isabel and Liz showed up at school subdued and looking very somber. Their thoughts were consumed with what they had found out last night. For Michael, Max, and Isabel it was heartbreaking to realize there should have been three more like them but they never had a chance to live. What would they have been like? Were they related to them? What caused them to die? Was it a mechanical malfunction or were they murdered? Were there anymore pods out there they didn’t know about?
They couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to the other two. Were there two more like them out there right now? If they were alive, where were they? Did they live in Roswell? How were they going to find them? Why had they never met them or realized they were out there?
“Hey guys, who died?” Alex popped up with his trademark grin firmly in place. Realizing he said something wrong, Alex tried figuring out what was going on. “Okay, what did I say?”
“Um, well, it’s just we’ll tell you after school when we get together to have a meeting okay. We can’t really talk about it here.” Liz haltingly explained.
“Okaaay” Alex drawled. “Well I have some stuff to tell you guys too. Where are we meeting at?”
“Um, at my house Alex right after school.” Max volunteered.
Nodding, Alex waved goodbye and headed off to class as the bell rang.
Taking Liz’s hand in his, he walked her to her first class and kissed her forehead. Neither noticed Kyle watching them from down the hall.
-----
Max walked down the hall heading for the quad to join the others for lunch. He was lost in thought thinking about everything they so far had learned and wondering what else they would learn. He wasn’t naïve enough to believe there wouldn’t be some things that they would prefer not to know.
“Well, well, well… if it isn’t the girlfriend stealer.” One of Kyle’s friends snidely said.
Looking up, Max realized that Kyle and two of his jock buddies stood in front of him blocking his way. “What do you want Kyle?”
“I want you to stay away from Liz. She’s my girlfriend.”
“Uh, Kyle she broke up with you before I ever asked her out. If she wanted to be with you, she wouldn’t have broken things off.”
“See, I don’t believe that. I know you’ve been staring at her for years. She wouldn’t have broken up with me if you hadn’t given her any indication that you were interested.”
“Kyle, get a life. The world does not revolve around you and your buddies. Liz broke up with you before we got together and I’m not about to break up with her just because you’re developing stalker tendencies.” Max was getting bored with this conversation. If it wasn’t for the fact that Liz was changed by him healing her and they had some kind of weird dependency on each other, he might have guilt tripped himself into breaking things off. As things stood now, Max couldn’t leave Liz. He didn’t want to and wasn’t sure if there wouldn’t be severe physical results if he did.
“This isn’t over yet, Evans!” Kyle and his buddies took off as soon as a teacher made an appearance. Sighing, Max headed to lunch. He needed to be with Liz, if only for a few minutes.
-----
“Would you let Mr. Evans know Sheriff Valenti is here to see him?” Taking off his hat, Sheriff Valenti stood in the reception area of the law firm Mr. Evans worked at.
“One moment, sir.” The receptionist picked up the phone and hit Mr. Evans extension. “Mr. Evans, there is a Sheriff Valenti here to see you. Yes, sir. I’ll send him back.” Hanging up the phone the receptionist got to her feet. “If you’ll please follow me, sir.” Leading him down the hall, she knocked briefly and entered Mr. Evans office and showed him in.
“What can I do for you Sheriff Valenti?” Mr. Evans stood and shook the Sheriff’s hand. Inside, he was worried. It couldn’t be a coincidence that the Sheriff was here to see him. He didn’t really believe in coincidences and it was just too much to hope that the Sheriff was here about something else.
“I would like to talk to you about your son, Max.”
“What about him?” Mr. Evans portrayed the concerned but baffled father.
“Well, I was wondering if you had noticed anything strange about your son. Has there ever been anything you couldn’t explain?”
“I don’t know what you’re getting at Sheriff.” Trying to look confused and not nervous was hard. He hoped that his training as a lawyer would not fail him now.
Pulling out some files, Valenti opened them and looked up. “Did you know that Max Evans was at the Crashdown on September 17 when witnesses reported that a waitress was shot? Those some witnesses claimed they saw Max go up the waitress and do something to her. The next day, my son reported seeing a silver handprint on Liz Parker’s stomach. What do you make of this, Mr. Evans?” Watching Mr. Evans closely, Sheriff Valenti tried to read him. He wanted to get him to let something slip, although he wasn’t sure what Mr. Evans may or may not know. He didn’t think the Evans could be totally oblivious to their children. If there was something different about them, surely they at least suspected.
“These witnesses were what, the UFO nuts? Please, Sheriff, my son told me all about what happened. The gun went off and he went to check on a waitress that was on the floor. He opened her uniform and discovered that there was only ketchup on her. There was no bullet wound. He and his friend left the Crashdown to try to get the license plate of the guys who fired the gun but lost them.”
“Mr. Evans there was no bullet hole found in the Crashdown. Where did the bullet go?”
“I can’t answer that Sheriff. It could have gone anywhere. I’m not a forensics expert, Sheriff. What exactly are trying to imply about my son?” Mr. Evans demanded.
“Nothing, Mr. Evans. I’m just trying to figure out what happened that day. The witnesses believe that your son did something. They claimed he healed the waitress when she lay on the floor dying.”
“Sheriff, that’s, that’s just preposterous. Do you honestly expect me to believe that my son has some kind of powers?” Mr. Evans sputtered.
“Is it that hard to believe? You found your kids out in the middle of the desert, alone and naked. Maybe there is more to the story than you know.”
“Sheriff Valenti, I’m well aware of what happened to my kids prior to us finding them. They have told us everything and we have been in contact with their birth family. There is nothing out of the ordinary about my kids. They were abandoned by their step-father. Their mother didn’t find out about his plans until afterwards. We had already adopted Max and Isabel when she found them. Deciding she preferred her husband over her kids she left them with us. Now if there are no more outrageous claims, I have work to do Sheriff. You can show yourself out.”
Sheriff Valenti rose and headed for the door. He didn’t believe Mr. Evans, but without a court order he was not going to get more information about Max and Isabel’s birth parents. He would just have to come at them with a different tact.
-----
Mr. Evans called his wife at home and asked her to meet him at work. He was concerned about the Sheriff and what his plans were. Everyone knew that his father had lost his job because of his obsession with aliens. He couldn’t help but wonder if the younger Valenti was going to follow in his father’s footsteps. What would this mean for Max, Isabel, Michael and Liz? If Valenti was obsessed with finding aliens could this endanger his kids? What would happen if Valenti confirmed his suspicions? Would Valenti harm his kids?
“Hi honey. What’s wrong?” Mrs. Evans entered Mr. Evans’ office and immediately she grew concerned at his expression. It couldn’t be good.
“Close the door, Diane. We need to talk.”
“What’s going on? What happened?” Mrs. Evans closed the door and sat down across from her husband, nearly ready to panic at his concerned expression.
“I had a visitor earlier. It was Sheriff Valenti. So far he doesn’t have evidence, but a lot of suspicions. He suspects Max of not being human. I don’t know what he is going to do if he finds out the truth, but we have to make sure it doesn’t happen.”
“Oh God. We can’t let him hurt our kids. What are we going to do, Phillip?” Whimpering in distress, Mrs. Evans couldn’t help but imagine all the horrors that could happen to Max if anyone found out he was not human.
“I told Valenti that we knew the kids birth mother and their step-father was the one to dump them. The mother chose to stay with the guy instead of getting her kids back. I don’t know how long that is going to protect them but we need to come up with a plan in case the worse happens.”
“What do we do?”
-----
After school the gang met up at the Evans house. After grabbing some snacks they congregated in the living room.
“Okay, I guess I should explain what we found yesterday. Michael, Isabel and my parents were out in the desert searching for the pods yesterday. They found them.”
“Really, that’s great. Oh wait, why do you look so sad though?” Alex piped up.
“There were eight pods, Alex. Five were empty. Three had the bodies of small children.” Isabel softly supplied. Wiping her eyes trying to keep her tears at bay she clung to Michael’s hand.
“Oh my God! You mean there are two more aliens out there somewhere? Oh my… you actually saw their bodies. What did they look like? Oh I’m sorry that was so morbid of me.” Maria clamped her hand over her mouth to keep from saying anything else stupid.
“They looked like skeletons, Maria. Human skeletons. If it wasn’t for the fact they were in pods, I would have thought they were normal kids. We don’t know if the other two are alive or not. We’ve never met any others like us that we know of and other than the corpses with the silver handprints on them, we don’t have any indication there are more like us out there.” Max explained. He was sitting on the couch with Liz sitting on his lap. She had her head tucked under his chin. She could feel his sadness over the dead aliens and his fear of this unknown alien.
“There were also some boxes and there were symbols on the wall. It was so late yesterday that we didn’t stick around to go through all of it. Since Liz doesn’t work tomorrow, we were going to go out and start going through everything. We don’t know if there will be anything there that we understand but hopefully we’ll get some answers. Alex and Maria are welcome to join us if you want.” Isabel wasn’t really sure she wanted the humans there but logically understood that Alex at least could be helpful, especially with any alien technology found.
“Yeah, I can come. I want to see the pods where you guys were born.” Alex grinned. He couldn’t wait to see some alien technology. He couldn’t help but be curious about where Isabel and the others were born.
“I have to work. Maybe I can go another day.” Maria grumbled. She hated being left out but it looked like she wasn’t going to get to see anything alien yet.
“Well, while you guys were finding the pod chamber I was doing some research. The vision Michael had of a dome might very well mean something.”
“What? What do you mean?” Michael sat up suddenly very interested in the conversation. He hadn’t really been paying attention before since he already knew all of this other stuff. He was there after all.
“Well, when I was doing background searches on Atherton and the Hubbles, I came across a dome that Atherton owned. It’s in Marathon, TX. A picture of it is on the back of his book. Maybe the key fits some lock there.”
“We have to go to Marathon, Max. There could be something important to us there.” Michael stood up and started pacing.
“Michael, calm down. We’ll go but not today. It’s been there for 40 years it can wait until the weekend. We have school and we also have to find out what is in the cave with the pods.” Max tried to reason with Michael.
“Maxwell, maybe you have to act all normal, but I can go. Nobody is going to notice me being gone from class. I skip all the time. I had the vision. It means something. I have to go.”
“Mich…”
“Max is right Michael. We can plan a road trip on the weekend. You can’t go there and be back in one day, Michael. You’ll need a place to stay and money to eat. I doubt a few days are going to make that much difference.” Mr. Evans interrupted from the doorway. Holding up his hand to forestall any arguments from Michael, he continued, “Look, Michael. We can’t just let you go off on your own and this is a school night. If you just take off it’s going to raise Sheriff Valenti’s suspicions and right now none of you can afford that. We’ll go this weekend to check it out. Right now finding out what is in that cave is more important. Now promise me you will not go to Texas until we can all go, Michael.”
Glaring at Mr. Evans, Michael finally relented and promised not to go off on his own. He hated that he now had to answer to Max’s parents. He wasn’t used to it and he didn’t have the patience to wait. He wanted answers now. Although, even he had to admit that the cave might have quite a few answers for them.
“Okay, Max, Michael and Isabel are coming with me to help bury the other three. Any of you want to come as well?”
“Liz and I have to work soon.” Maria shook her head. Another opportunity lost. She hated this.
“I have a family thing I have to do tonight. I would come otherwise.” Alex explained. He wanted to go but he had already promised his mom that he would be home for dinner.
The group broke up. Liz and Maria headed to the Crashdown to start their shift and Alex went home.
----
After making their way back to the cave, they carefully extracted the remains of the three dead aliens and wrapped them in blankets and carried them out of the cave. Mr. Evans drove them further out into the desert. “Okay, guys this is a remote spot. Let’s bury them here. They shouldn’t be found here.”
The guys set to work digging a deep enough grave. They decided to dig just one grave instead of three. Once the grave was deep enough, they lowered the blankets into it and stood around awkwardly. They all felt that something should be said but none of them knew what to say. They didn’t know who these children were but they were still saddened at their premature death.
Mr. Evans said a short prayer over the grave and the guys carefully filled the grave back in. Making sure there was no evidence to indicate what it was. Placing a rock at the head of the grave, Max used his powers to create a symbol on the rock and fused it to the ground. He wanted to be able to find the grave again in the future. They may one day find out who they were or find family that would want to know.
----
Max climbed onto Liz’s balcony feeling a little melancholy. Burying the three alien corpses today made him think about his own mortality and the fact that it could have been him. Finding Liz sitting on her lawn chair writing in her journal, he sat and watched her for awhile. She looked so beautiful with the candlelight shining off of her dark hair.
“Hey Max. How did it go?” Liz asked him softly.
“It went okay. We buried them out in the desert. Dad said a short prayer over them. Sitting next to her, he pulled her onto his lap and just held her. “I missed you. I wish you could have been there.”
“Me too. Come on Max, let’s get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow.” Nodding, Max followed her in. Cuddling up with her on the bed, they drifted off to sleep content to just be in each other’s presence.
----
Heart's Desire (CC,M/L,Teen) - New Chapter 18B 4-29-07 [WIP]
Moderators: Anniepoo98, ISLANDGIRL5, truelovepooh, Forum Moderators
Chapter 10
Last edited by Ladeia3 on Thu Sep 07, 2006 5:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Chapter 11
(Bank name is made up because I'm too lazy to look for a real name.)
Chapter 11
October 5, 1999
Mr. Parker opened the door to his daughter’s bedroom and stopped horrified by the sight in front of him. Max and Liz lay cuddled up together sound asleep. “LIZ! What the hell!”
Coming out of a sound sleep, Liz looked up horrified to see her father standing in the doorway. Closing her eyes in disbelief, Liz wished her father didn’t see Max with her. She wasn’t ready to deal with this. What was she supposed to say? ‘Dad, by the way, Max healed me and now I’ve been changed and it’s physically uncomfortable for her to be away from him for too long.’ Yeah, that would go over very well.
“Liz, it’s time for you to get up. You’re going to be late for school.” With that Mr. Parker left the room and headed downstairs to open the Crashdown.
Startled, Max and Liz looked at each other in disbelief. Why didn’t her father say anything about Max in bed with her? “Um, maybe you should get home Max. I’ll talk to my father.”
After getting ready for school, Liz headed downstairs to talk to her father. “Hey dad. How are you this morning?” Liz asked uncertainly. She watched him closely to try to figure out what was going on in his head.
“I’m good. How did you sleep, pumpkin?” Mr. Parker smiled at his daughter. He continued opening the register.
“Oh, just fine. Um, didn’t expect you to wake me up this morning. Usually, the alarm wakes me up.”
“Your alarm didn’t go off this morning. You must have forgotten to set it. Maria’s out front your going to be late for school, honey. Have a good day.”
“Um, yeah, okay. Bye dad.” Liz mumbled and headed out the door completely baffled.
-----
Lunchtime in the Quad
Meeting the others at the quad, Liz hoped they would have some answers. Unfortunately, because she had been late this morning, she had been unable to talk to Max. “Look, guys something weird happened this morning. I want to get your opinion on it.”
“What’s up, Liz?” Maria asked.
“Well, my dad walked in on Max and me this morning when we were sleeping.”
“Oh shit! Maxwell, you are so screwed!” Michael didn’t know whether to laugh or yell.
“That’s not the really weird part guys.” Liz interrupted before anyone else could say anything.
“What do you mean, Liz?” Isabel looked between Max and Liz. She could tell that whatever it was had them both confused.
“Well, after my dad came in, I couldn’t believe he had caught us. I closed my eyes and then the next thing I know my dad is telling me I’m going to be late for school and he goes down to the Crashdown. He didn’t say a word about Max.” Liz sat there and nibbled on her lunch. She was still trying to figure out what happened. “Anyway, I sent Max home and went down to talk to my dad and he didn’t mention anything about Max. It was like he didn’t even see him.”
“Hmm, that is weird. You dad should have raised a fit at finding Max there.” Maria looked just as stunned as Liz felt.
“I know, Maria that’s why I find this so weird. My dad wouldn’t even let Kyle and me stay in my room by myself with the door open when we were dating. He’s like totally over protective and I know he shouldn’t be this calm about Max sleeping overnight.”
“Do you think it might be Czechoslovakian related?” Isabel wondered if maybe this was another power Liz had.
“You mean like a power?” Biting her lip nervously, Liz pondered the possibility for a moment. “I don’t know. I mean on that list of powers I looked up, there was something mentioned about illusion and I know I saw something about messing with people’s minds on that list too. I don’t know. I guess I’m going to have to see if I can do it again to know for sure.”
“Do you know what you were doing when your dad walked in?” Alex questioned trying to help her figure out what had happened.
“Um, well, my dad walked in and yelled and woke us up. I sat up and saw him. I closed my eyes because I just couldn’t believe that we had been so careless to get caught. Anyway, when I had my eyes closed I remember wishing that my dad hadn’t seen Max. The next thing I know my dad was telling me I was going to be late and left.”
“Hmmm… well if it was a mind power than you probably accidentally used it without realizing it. We’ll have to get together later and try it on purpose. If you’re able to do it on command then it’s possible that you really do have another power. If not then something else happened this morning. We’ll figure it out Liz.” Max pulled Liz closer and rubbed her arm comforting.
“We can’t go and practice tonight, Maxwell. We have to go check out that cave. We can check out her new power another day.” Michael grumbled. He was getting pissed off that it looked like they were going to put off finding answers just so they could play around with Liz’s newfound power.
“I didn’t say we had to do it tonight. I want to go to the cave as much as you do Michael.”
“Hmph!” Michael muttered and returned his attention to his food.
-----
Mr. Evans walked into First Roswell Bank. He had a mission. He and Diane had discussed things late into the afternoon and this was one of the things they were going to implement. He just hoped that it would never be necessary.
Taking care of his business, Mr. Evans left and headed back to work worried about the future.
----
Sheriff Valenti was pissed. Things were not going as he wanted them to. “I don’t care what you think. Max Evans is not what he seems. You get me the answers I’m looking for now.” Slamming down the phone, Valenti stormed out of the house.
Coming out of his room, Kyle just stared after his father. “Things are definitely getting interesting.” Heading back to school, he was suddenly glad he had gone home for lunch.
-----
Meeting up with Mr. and Mrs. Evans, the gang minus Alex and Maria headed out to the desert. Anticipation and dread of what they would find out permeated the group. Michael was excited. He was hopefully going to find out some answers to where he came from and how to get back home. It never crossed his mind that there might not be anything on how to get to another world in the information in the cave.
Max hoped there would be answers to explain what was happening to Liz. He dreaded finding anything that would keep him from having a normal life with her. He wanted answers to where he came from but was worried those answers would change his life forever.
Isabel wanted to know about her parents. Would those boxes contain information on who they were? Would there be pictures? She wanted to know so badly.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans hoped their kids could find some answers but they both worried about what they would find. Would these answers take their kids away from them? Would the answers destroy their kids? They didn’t want to lose their kids but they couldn’t stand in their way of the truth.
Entering the cave, they set up the lanterns so they could see and looked around. Now that they had better lighting they could see more clearly. The symbols covering the wall across from the pods were silver color like the handprint from Liz’s stomach. The symbols all felt familiar to the aliens but they didn’t understand any of them.
Against the back wall stood 6 boxes stacked up in three rows. They were a strange metallic color. They obviously were not of Earth origin. “Okay, everyone take one box and go through it. We’ll get it done faster that way.” Max ordered. He picked up one box and handed it to Liz. It was light. Too light to have very much in it. Taking another for himself he sat down on the cave floor and tried to open it. At first nothing happened until he tried using his powers on it. The top of the box split down the middle and opened. “Uh, guys you might have to use your powers to open them.”
Looking inside, Max found what looked like an orb with a strangely familiar symbol on it. He didn’t know how he recognized the symbol, but it was almost if he once knew what it meant. Pulling it out, he studied it but could find no openings in it. Trying to use his powers on it did nothing but frustrate him. Putting the orb to the side, he looked back inside and found a small book. It was made out of some sort of metallic substance similar to the box. Opening the book, he found more strangely familiar alien symbols like the ones on the wall of the cave. Flipping through the whole book only revealed more strange symbols but nothing that told him anything.
Michael opened a box for Mr. Evans and then took another box for himself. Opening it, he found eight crystals. They were all about the size of a grape but were clear. Picking them up one at a time, he was surprised when one of them glowed a light blue for him. None of the others did that. He wondered what that meant.
Isabel helped her mother with her box and then opened her own. Shaking with fear and anticipation she looked inside. Inside she found eight bracelet-like objects. They looked almost like jewelry. Silver with a bluish tint they were very pretty. They had alien symbols carved along the band. Running her finger across the symbols, she wished she understood what they meant. They seemed so familiar yet so strange at the same time. Startled, she realized one of the bracelets glowed for her. Picking it up, it seemed as if it belonged to her.
Liz opened her box and stared at the contents inside. There were pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. Rifling through the pictures, Liz realized they were of only eight people. Looking closer, Liz realized that there were three of them that looked a lot like Max, Isabel, and Michael, well that is, if they were dressed very retro. The pictures were taken in places that obviously were on Earth not unless some alien world had the White House or the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls.
Mr. Evans looked in his box to find what looked like files. Opening the first one he realized it was in English. Skimming through it, he realized it was test results. Specifically, test results of a human. What did this mean and why were there test results of a human in an alien artifact? Going through them, he realized there were eight files with information on eight people. It looked like experiments had been done on the humans to test their speed, strength, resilience, mental capacity, intelligence, healing ability, and other things that made no sense to Mr. Evans. He couldn’t help but think about the abduction stories about people being experimented on.
Mrs. Evans timidly looked in her box. Now that the moment was at hand, she was terrified of what she would find. Picking up the first thing she came to, she looked it over. It looked like some kind of device. She wasn’t sure what it was for but it gave her a creepy feeling. It looked sinister somehow. ‘I must be losing it’ Diane thought to herself. Looking further into the box, she discovered other devices. They were all different but there didn’t seem to be any information on what they were or what they did. They were strange little objects. All of them fit into the palm of her hand and all of them looked to be made of metal or some kind of crystal.
“Um, what did you guys find?” Max sat back and looked around. Everyone looked pretty much like he felt. Stunned and shell shocked. “Michael?”
“Uh, some kind of crystal objects. One of them glowed for me but the others didn’t.” He held up the one that glowed for him and everyone looked on in amazement at the crystal glowing in his hand. “Don’t know what it means though.”
Max came over and looked in the box. “There are eight here. Maybe there was supposed to be one for each of us.” He theorized. He touched each crystal until he came to one that started glowing for him. Picking it up, he studied it closely wishing he understood what it was for.
Isabel and Liz both came forward to look at the crystals. Isabel did the same as Max until she found one that glowed for her. Liz looked at the crystals and tried to figure out what they were made of. They kind of looked like quartz but she couldn’t be sure without further study. Reaching in, she picked up one. Startled she dropped it. “Uh, is it supposed to do that?”
“What happened?” Max looked at Liz in confusion.
“It glowed, Max.” Reaching into the box again, Liz picked up the crystal and showed the others that it glowed for her.
“Uh, try touching one of the others.” Liz did as was suggested and touched each of the other crystals including the ones Max, Michael and Isabel had but none of the others glowed for her.
“What does this mean?” Liz muttered softly. She didn’t really expect an answer. She knew they were just as confused as the others. “Uh, just to be on the safe side, uh, Mr. and Mrs. Evans would you touch the crystals and see if any react to you guys?”
Nodding, they tested the crystals but there was no response from any of them. Leaving the crystals that had not reacted to any of them in the box, they put the ones that did react in their pocket to look at later. Maybe they would figure them out later.
“Well, while we’re talking about glowing, um, I found some bracelet like things in my box. There were eight and one of them glowed for me. Maybe you three should try and see if one glows for you guys as well.” Isabel told them. She pulled out the bracelets and Max, Michael and Liz tested each one, pulling out the one that responded to them.
“I can get why they glow for you guys. They must belong to you or something, but I don’t understand why they would glow for me.” Liz bit her lip trying to figure out why they did that.
“I don’t know Liz. I’m sure we’ll figure it out somehow.” Max sighed. “What did you find dad?”
“Well, I don’t know what it means but there are eight files in here. They are written in English so they can be understood but the implications… They are test results on eight humans. I don’t know what the purposes of the tests were but they were extensive. They tested everything from how fast they could run to how much they could eat to how their bodies reacted to certain stimuli. It’s strange.” Mr. Evans picked up one of the files to flip through. He still didn’t understand what they were for.
“Uh, maybe that ties into what I found in my box.” Liz reached into hers and pulled out eight pictures. “Um, there are a lot of pictures in here but they are of the same eight individuals. Uh, Max, look at this picture and tell me what you think.”
Taking the picture from her, Max looked at it and felt his jaw drop. It wasn’t an exact copy but the resemblance was uncanny.
“What is it, Max?” Mr. Evans looked between Max and Liz trying to figure out what had them so stunned.
“Uh, three of these people could be related to Max, Michael and Isabel. It’s like they are a sibling or parent they look so much alike.” Handing Mr. Evans three photos, he studied them and realized Liz was right. If he didn’t know better, he would think the woman in one photo was Isabel’s natural mother or her older sister. In another picture, someone that looked a lot like Max stared back at him and in another the same smirk he had seen grace Michael’s face was here in black and white.
“I uh, don’t know what it means but it’s got to be a clue.” Liz explained. “What did you find Mrs. Evans?”
“Well, I don’t really know. They are a bunch of little devices it looks like. I don’t know what they do or what they are for though. I counted a dozen of them but none of them look exactly alike but they all look like they are made of the same kind of crystal as what Michael found or the metal that these boxes are made of.” Mrs. Evans pulled the devices out one by one and handed them around. The group studied them but couldn’t figure out what they were for or even how to operate them.
“Max, what did you find?” Mr. Evans looked at his son. He was the only one they hadn’t heard from yet.
“Oh, uh, I found some kind of book with the same symbols that are on the walls and some kind of orb thing.” Pulling them both out, Max showed them to the others.
“These symbols seem so familiar like I should know what they mean.” Isabel exclaimed softly. She hated not knowing what this all meant. It felt like déjà vu. Everything was so familiar. It was almost as if she could remember what everything meant if she just tried hard enough.
“Guys, lets head on back. Take the crystal and bracelet that glowed for you but leave the rest and those alien devices here. They should be safe enough. Leave the orb as well but bring the book. We might figure out how to translate it. Liz, bring one of each picture and I’ll take them along with these files to work. I’ll see if I can find out who these people are. They are somehow important and if we can track them down they may have answers.”
Nodding, the others did as he suggested. Closing up and stacking the boxes back the way they found them, they exited the cave and covered it back up.
Max took Liz’s hand and led her back to the jeep. He just wanted to go somewhere so they could be alone for awhile. He didn’t know what any of this meant but he must be coming down with Michael’s paranoia because he couldn’t help but feel they weren’t going to like the answers.
“Hey, Max wait. Maybe we should test Liz’s new ability first before you go.” Isabel called out.
It took Max a moment to figure out what Isabel was talking about, but realized that now was as good a time as any. They did need to figure out if anything had happened this morning.
“Um, mom could you play guinea pig for a moment. Liz wants to practice something real quick. We think she did something by accident this morning and we just want to verify it. Okay?” Max looked over at his mother and hoped she would just agree. He didn’t want to tell her what it was until after they tried it. She nodded her head but he could see she wanted to ask all kinds of questions.
Liz nodded her head at what Max whispered in her ear. Closing her eyes she concentrated on making Max invisible to Mrs. Evans.
“MAX? Oh my God where is he?” Mrs. Evans cried out as her son disappeared from view.
Liz stopped concentrating and Max reappeared. “Uh, did anyone else notice anything unusual besides Mrs. Evans?” Liz nervously looked at the others but they were all shaking their heads no.
“No, Max was just standing there and you had your eyes closed. Next thing we know is Mrs. Evans is yelling for Max. What did you do?” Michael rubbed his eyebrow in confusion.
“Uh, I did the same thing I did this morning. I just tried to make Mrs. Evans not see Max. Apparently it worked.”
“Yes, it did. One moment Max is standing right there and the next he isn’t. What made you accidentally do that this morning?”
“Uh, well, you remember the whole unpleasant symptoms we experience if we’re too far apart physically, right?” Diane nodded, vaguely remembering Max telling her about it. “Well, Max has been staying with me at night. Anyway, we forgot to set the alarm or lock the door last night and my dad walked in. I closed my eyes and wished my dad wouldn’t see Max. I thought we were going to be in like big, big trouble and the next thing I know my dad is saying I’m going to be late for class and he leaves without saying anything about Max.” Liz knew that Mrs. Evans was aware that Max had been spending the night but it was a totally different matter to actually talk about it.
“Oh, well, maybe we can have you spend the night over at our place sometimes so you don’t have to worry so much about your dad catching you.”
“I would like that but it’s going to be harder to get away with that as soon as they know that I’m dating Max. My dad is like super protective and all. He won’t like me spending the night with a boyfriend; even if I’m supposed to be staying with his sister with his parents down the hall. Oh well, we’ll figure it out.”
“Michael, you’re staying the night again right?” Mr. Evans directed towards his quasi-son. At Michael’s nod, he addressed Max. “Max, make sure you set the alarm this time and lock the door. We don’t need problems with Mr. Parker right now and with Valenti still snooping around; let’s not give him more reason to be suspicious.”
Max nodded and helped Liz into the jeep. Waving goodbye to the others he and Liz headed back to the Crashdown. They had learned so much today, but nothing made very much sense.
Arriving back at the Crashdown, Liz spent some time with her parents, while Max did his homework on the balcony. Joining Max on the balcony, she waited while he finished her homework and then they snuggled back onto the patio chair and stared up at the evening sky. They talked for a couple of hours about everything and nothing in particular. There was no mention of alien artifacts or powers. Only normal things were discussed.
Readying for bed, Liz made sure she locked her door and set the alarm. She didn’t want to risk her dad walking in again. She didn’t want to chance using her new power too often and they still weren’t sure how it worked or what it could be used for. She guessed they would have to spend some time practicing.
Curling up against Max, Liz realized she was exhausted and was soon asleep where she and Max dreamt together of future they both wished for.
----
Chapter 11
October 5, 1999
Mr. Parker opened the door to his daughter’s bedroom and stopped horrified by the sight in front of him. Max and Liz lay cuddled up together sound asleep. “LIZ! What the hell!”
Coming out of a sound sleep, Liz looked up horrified to see her father standing in the doorway. Closing her eyes in disbelief, Liz wished her father didn’t see Max with her. She wasn’t ready to deal with this. What was she supposed to say? ‘Dad, by the way, Max healed me and now I’ve been changed and it’s physically uncomfortable for her to be away from him for too long.’ Yeah, that would go over very well.
“Liz, it’s time for you to get up. You’re going to be late for school.” With that Mr. Parker left the room and headed downstairs to open the Crashdown.
Startled, Max and Liz looked at each other in disbelief. Why didn’t her father say anything about Max in bed with her? “Um, maybe you should get home Max. I’ll talk to my father.”
After getting ready for school, Liz headed downstairs to talk to her father. “Hey dad. How are you this morning?” Liz asked uncertainly. She watched him closely to try to figure out what was going on in his head.
“I’m good. How did you sleep, pumpkin?” Mr. Parker smiled at his daughter. He continued opening the register.
“Oh, just fine. Um, didn’t expect you to wake me up this morning. Usually, the alarm wakes me up.”
“Your alarm didn’t go off this morning. You must have forgotten to set it. Maria’s out front your going to be late for school, honey. Have a good day.”
“Um, yeah, okay. Bye dad.” Liz mumbled and headed out the door completely baffled.
-----
Lunchtime in the Quad
Meeting the others at the quad, Liz hoped they would have some answers. Unfortunately, because she had been late this morning, she had been unable to talk to Max. “Look, guys something weird happened this morning. I want to get your opinion on it.”
“What’s up, Liz?” Maria asked.
“Well, my dad walked in on Max and me this morning when we were sleeping.”
“Oh shit! Maxwell, you are so screwed!” Michael didn’t know whether to laugh or yell.
“That’s not the really weird part guys.” Liz interrupted before anyone else could say anything.
“What do you mean, Liz?” Isabel looked between Max and Liz. She could tell that whatever it was had them both confused.
“Well, after my dad came in, I couldn’t believe he had caught us. I closed my eyes and then the next thing I know my dad is telling me I’m going to be late for school and he goes down to the Crashdown. He didn’t say a word about Max.” Liz sat there and nibbled on her lunch. She was still trying to figure out what happened. “Anyway, I sent Max home and went down to talk to my dad and he didn’t mention anything about Max. It was like he didn’t even see him.”
“Hmm, that is weird. You dad should have raised a fit at finding Max there.” Maria looked just as stunned as Liz felt.
“I know, Maria that’s why I find this so weird. My dad wouldn’t even let Kyle and me stay in my room by myself with the door open when we were dating. He’s like totally over protective and I know he shouldn’t be this calm about Max sleeping overnight.”
“Do you think it might be Czechoslovakian related?” Isabel wondered if maybe this was another power Liz had.
“You mean like a power?” Biting her lip nervously, Liz pondered the possibility for a moment. “I don’t know. I mean on that list of powers I looked up, there was something mentioned about illusion and I know I saw something about messing with people’s minds on that list too. I don’t know. I guess I’m going to have to see if I can do it again to know for sure.”
“Do you know what you were doing when your dad walked in?” Alex questioned trying to help her figure out what had happened.
“Um, well, my dad walked in and yelled and woke us up. I sat up and saw him. I closed my eyes because I just couldn’t believe that we had been so careless to get caught. Anyway, when I had my eyes closed I remember wishing that my dad hadn’t seen Max. The next thing I know my dad was telling me I was going to be late and left.”
“Hmmm… well if it was a mind power than you probably accidentally used it without realizing it. We’ll have to get together later and try it on purpose. If you’re able to do it on command then it’s possible that you really do have another power. If not then something else happened this morning. We’ll figure it out Liz.” Max pulled Liz closer and rubbed her arm comforting.
“We can’t go and practice tonight, Maxwell. We have to go check out that cave. We can check out her new power another day.” Michael grumbled. He was getting pissed off that it looked like they were going to put off finding answers just so they could play around with Liz’s newfound power.
“I didn’t say we had to do it tonight. I want to go to the cave as much as you do Michael.”
“Hmph!” Michael muttered and returned his attention to his food.
-----
Mr. Evans walked into First Roswell Bank. He had a mission. He and Diane had discussed things late into the afternoon and this was one of the things they were going to implement. He just hoped that it would never be necessary.
Taking care of his business, Mr. Evans left and headed back to work worried about the future.
----
Sheriff Valenti was pissed. Things were not going as he wanted them to. “I don’t care what you think. Max Evans is not what he seems. You get me the answers I’m looking for now.” Slamming down the phone, Valenti stormed out of the house.
Coming out of his room, Kyle just stared after his father. “Things are definitely getting interesting.” Heading back to school, he was suddenly glad he had gone home for lunch.
-----
Meeting up with Mr. and Mrs. Evans, the gang minus Alex and Maria headed out to the desert. Anticipation and dread of what they would find out permeated the group. Michael was excited. He was hopefully going to find out some answers to where he came from and how to get back home. It never crossed his mind that there might not be anything on how to get to another world in the information in the cave.
Max hoped there would be answers to explain what was happening to Liz. He dreaded finding anything that would keep him from having a normal life with her. He wanted answers to where he came from but was worried those answers would change his life forever.
Isabel wanted to know about her parents. Would those boxes contain information on who they were? Would there be pictures? She wanted to know so badly.
Mr. and Mrs. Evans hoped their kids could find some answers but they both worried about what they would find. Would these answers take their kids away from them? Would the answers destroy their kids? They didn’t want to lose their kids but they couldn’t stand in their way of the truth.
Entering the cave, they set up the lanterns so they could see and looked around. Now that they had better lighting they could see more clearly. The symbols covering the wall across from the pods were silver color like the handprint from Liz’s stomach. The symbols all felt familiar to the aliens but they didn’t understand any of them.
Against the back wall stood 6 boxes stacked up in three rows. They were a strange metallic color. They obviously were not of Earth origin. “Okay, everyone take one box and go through it. We’ll get it done faster that way.” Max ordered. He picked up one box and handed it to Liz. It was light. Too light to have very much in it. Taking another for himself he sat down on the cave floor and tried to open it. At first nothing happened until he tried using his powers on it. The top of the box split down the middle and opened. “Uh, guys you might have to use your powers to open them.”
Looking inside, Max found what looked like an orb with a strangely familiar symbol on it. He didn’t know how he recognized the symbol, but it was almost if he once knew what it meant. Pulling it out, he studied it but could find no openings in it. Trying to use his powers on it did nothing but frustrate him. Putting the orb to the side, he looked back inside and found a small book. It was made out of some sort of metallic substance similar to the box. Opening the book, he found more strangely familiar alien symbols like the ones on the wall of the cave. Flipping through the whole book only revealed more strange symbols but nothing that told him anything.
Michael opened a box for Mr. Evans and then took another box for himself. Opening it, he found eight crystals. They were all about the size of a grape but were clear. Picking them up one at a time, he was surprised when one of them glowed a light blue for him. None of the others did that. He wondered what that meant.
Isabel helped her mother with her box and then opened her own. Shaking with fear and anticipation she looked inside. Inside she found eight bracelet-like objects. They looked almost like jewelry. Silver with a bluish tint they were very pretty. They had alien symbols carved along the band. Running her finger across the symbols, she wished she understood what they meant. They seemed so familiar yet so strange at the same time. Startled, she realized one of the bracelets glowed for her. Picking it up, it seemed as if it belonged to her.
Liz opened her box and stared at the contents inside. There were pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. Rifling through the pictures, Liz realized they were of only eight people. Looking closer, Liz realized that there were three of them that looked a lot like Max, Isabel, and Michael, well that is, if they were dressed very retro. The pictures were taken in places that obviously were on Earth not unless some alien world had the White House or the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls.
Mr. Evans looked in his box to find what looked like files. Opening the first one he realized it was in English. Skimming through it, he realized it was test results. Specifically, test results of a human. What did this mean and why were there test results of a human in an alien artifact? Going through them, he realized there were eight files with information on eight people. It looked like experiments had been done on the humans to test their speed, strength, resilience, mental capacity, intelligence, healing ability, and other things that made no sense to Mr. Evans. He couldn’t help but think about the abduction stories about people being experimented on.
Mrs. Evans timidly looked in her box. Now that the moment was at hand, she was terrified of what she would find. Picking up the first thing she came to, she looked it over. It looked like some kind of device. She wasn’t sure what it was for but it gave her a creepy feeling. It looked sinister somehow. ‘I must be losing it’ Diane thought to herself. Looking further into the box, she discovered other devices. They were all different but there didn’t seem to be any information on what they were or what they did. They were strange little objects. All of them fit into the palm of her hand and all of them looked to be made of metal or some kind of crystal.
“Um, what did you guys find?” Max sat back and looked around. Everyone looked pretty much like he felt. Stunned and shell shocked. “Michael?”
“Uh, some kind of crystal objects. One of them glowed for me but the others didn’t.” He held up the one that glowed for him and everyone looked on in amazement at the crystal glowing in his hand. “Don’t know what it means though.”
Max came over and looked in the box. “There are eight here. Maybe there was supposed to be one for each of us.” He theorized. He touched each crystal until he came to one that started glowing for him. Picking it up, he studied it closely wishing he understood what it was for.
Isabel and Liz both came forward to look at the crystals. Isabel did the same as Max until she found one that glowed for her. Liz looked at the crystals and tried to figure out what they were made of. They kind of looked like quartz but she couldn’t be sure without further study. Reaching in, she picked up one. Startled she dropped it. “Uh, is it supposed to do that?”
“What happened?” Max looked at Liz in confusion.
“It glowed, Max.” Reaching into the box again, Liz picked up the crystal and showed the others that it glowed for her.
“Uh, try touching one of the others.” Liz did as was suggested and touched each of the other crystals including the ones Max, Michael and Isabel had but none of the others glowed for her.
“What does this mean?” Liz muttered softly. She didn’t really expect an answer. She knew they were just as confused as the others. “Uh, just to be on the safe side, uh, Mr. and Mrs. Evans would you touch the crystals and see if any react to you guys?”
Nodding, they tested the crystals but there was no response from any of them. Leaving the crystals that had not reacted to any of them in the box, they put the ones that did react in their pocket to look at later. Maybe they would figure them out later.
“Well, while we’re talking about glowing, um, I found some bracelet like things in my box. There were eight and one of them glowed for me. Maybe you three should try and see if one glows for you guys as well.” Isabel told them. She pulled out the bracelets and Max, Michael and Liz tested each one, pulling out the one that responded to them.
“I can get why they glow for you guys. They must belong to you or something, but I don’t understand why they would glow for me.” Liz bit her lip trying to figure out why they did that.
“I don’t know Liz. I’m sure we’ll figure it out somehow.” Max sighed. “What did you find dad?”
“Well, I don’t know what it means but there are eight files in here. They are written in English so they can be understood but the implications… They are test results on eight humans. I don’t know what the purposes of the tests were but they were extensive. They tested everything from how fast they could run to how much they could eat to how their bodies reacted to certain stimuli. It’s strange.” Mr. Evans picked up one of the files to flip through. He still didn’t understand what they were for.
“Uh, maybe that ties into what I found in my box.” Liz reached into hers and pulled out eight pictures. “Um, there are a lot of pictures in here but they are of the same eight individuals. Uh, Max, look at this picture and tell me what you think.”
Taking the picture from her, Max looked at it and felt his jaw drop. It wasn’t an exact copy but the resemblance was uncanny.
“What is it, Max?” Mr. Evans looked between Max and Liz trying to figure out what had them so stunned.
“Uh, three of these people could be related to Max, Michael and Isabel. It’s like they are a sibling or parent they look so much alike.” Handing Mr. Evans three photos, he studied them and realized Liz was right. If he didn’t know better, he would think the woman in one photo was Isabel’s natural mother or her older sister. In another picture, someone that looked a lot like Max stared back at him and in another the same smirk he had seen grace Michael’s face was here in black and white.
“I uh, don’t know what it means but it’s got to be a clue.” Liz explained. “What did you find Mrs. Evans?”
“Well, I don’t really know. They are a bunch of little devices it looks like. I don’t know what they do or what they are for though. I counted a dozen of them but none of them look exactly alike but they all look like they are made of the same kind of crystal as what Michael found or the metal that these boxes are made of.” Mrs. Evans pulled the devices out one by one and handed them around. The group studied them but couldn’t figure out what they were for or even how to operate them.
“Max, what did you find?” Mr. Evans looked at his son. He was the only one they hadn’t heard from yet.
“Oh, uh, I found some kind of book with the same symbols that are on the walls and some kind of orb thing.” Pulling them both out, Max showed them to the others.
“These symbols seem so familiar like I should know what they mean.” Isabel exclaimed softly. She hated not knowing what this all meant. It felt like déjà vu. Everything was so familiar. It was almost as if she could remember what everything meant if she just tried hard enough.
“Guys, lets head on back. Take the crystal and bracelet that glowed for you but leave the rest and those alien devices here. They should be safe enough. Leave the orb as well but bring the book. We might figure out how to translate it. Liz, bring one of each picture and I’ll take them along with these files to work. I’ll see if I can find out who these people are. They are somehow important and if we can track them down they may have answers.”
Nodding, the others did as he suggested. Closing up and stacking the boxes back the way they found them, they exited the cave and covered it back up.
Max took Liz’s hand and led her back to the jeep. He just wanted to go somewhere so they could be alone for awhile. He didn’t know what any of this meant but he must be coming down with Michael’s paranoia because he couldn’t help but feel they weren’t going to like the answers.
“Hey, Max wait. Maybe we should test Liz’s new ability first before you go.” Isabel called out.
It took Max a moment to figure out what Isabel was talking about, but realized that now was as good a time as any. They did need to figure out if anything had happened this morning.
“Um, mom could you play guinea pig for a moment. Liz wants to practice something real quick. We think she did something by accident this morning and we just want to verify it. Okay?” Max looked over at his mother and hoped she would just agree. He didn’t want to tell her what it was until after they tried it. She nodded her head but he could see she wanted to ask all kinds of questions.
Liz nodded her head at what Max whispered in her ear. Closing her eyes she concentrated on making Max invisible to Mrs. Evans.
“MAX? Oh my God where is he?” Mrs. Evans cried out as her son disappeared from view.
Liz stopped concentrating and Max reappeared. “Uh, did anyone else notice anything unusual besides Mrs. Evans?” Liz nervously looked at the others but they were all shaking their heads no.
“No, Max was just standing there and you had your eyes closed. Next thing we know is Mrs. Evans is yelling for Max. What did you do?” Michael rubbed his eyebrow in confusion.
“Uh, I did the same thing I did this morning. I just tried to make Mrs. Evans not see Max. Apparently it worked.”
“Yes, it did. One moment Max is standing right there and the next he isn’t. What made you accidentally do that this morning?”
“Uh, well, you remember the whole unpleasant symptoms we experience if we’re too far apart physically, right?” Diane nodded, vaguely remembering Max telling her about it. “Well, Max has been staying with me at night. Anyway, we forgot to set the alarm or lock the door last night and my dad walked in. I closed my eyes and wished my dad wouldn’t see Max. I thought we were going to be in like big, big trouble and the next thing I know my dad is saying I’m going to be late for class and he leaves without saying anything about Max.” Liz knew that Mrs. Evans was aware that Max had been spending the night but it was a totally different matter to actually talk about it.
“Oh, well, maybe we can have you spend the night over at our place sometimes so you don’t have to worry so much about your dad catching you.”
“I would like that but it’s going to be harder to get away with that as soon as they know that I’m dating Max. My dad is like super protective and all. He won’t like me spending the night with a boyfriend; even if I’m supposed to be staying with his sister with his parents down the hall. Oh well, we’ll figure it out.”
“Michael, you’re staying the night again right?” Mr. Evans directed towards his quasi-son. At Michael’s nod, he addressed Max. “Max, make sure you set the alarm this time and lock the door. We don’t need problems with Mr. Parker right now and with Valenti still snooping around; let’s not give him more reason to be suspicious.”
Max nodded and helped Liz into the jeep. Waving goodbye to the others he and Liz headed back to the Crashdown. They had learned so much today, but nothing made very much sense.
Arriving back at the Crashdown, Liz spent some time with her parents, while Max did his homework on the balcony. Joining Max on the balcony, she waited while he finished her homework and then they snuggled back onto the patio chair and stared up at the evening sky. They talked for a couple of hours about everything and nothing in particular. There was no mention of alien artifacts or powers. Only normal things were discussed.
Readying for bed, Liz made sure she locked her door and set the alarm. She didn’t want to risk her dad walking in again. She didn’t want to chance using her new power too often and they still weren’t sure how it worked or what it could be used for. She guessed they would have to spend some time practicing.
Curling up against Max, Liz realized she was exhausted and was soon asleep where she and Max dreamt together of future they both wished for.
----
Last edited by Ladeia3 on Thu Sep 07, 2006 5:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Chapter 12
Chapter 12
October 6, 1999
Max and Liz were both up early and ready for school long before they had to be. Relaxing on her balcony, they cuddled and discussed the events of the past couple of days. “Max, why do you think the crystal and bracelet lit up for me? I didn’t come from one of the pods even if I’m not completely human anymore. Do you think it means something?”
“I don’t know, Liz. We don’t know what they are for or why certain ones glow for the rest of us. Maybe if we knew what they were for we could figure it out.” Max curled a strand of Liz’s hair around his fingers. He loved her hair. It was so soft and smelled so good. He probably should pay more attention to what Liz was saying but sitting her just being able to hold her was playing havoc with his senses.
Relaxing further into Max’s arms, Liz resolved not to think about it. She wanted to know why they reacted to her but Max was right. Until they learned what the bracelet and crystal were for, they weren’t going to be able to determine what was going on. “Mmm… I don’t want to move but you have to get home and I have to go downstairs and wait for Maria.” Liz murmured.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Max mumbled as he turned her so he could kiss her. He had wanted to do that all morning. Gently pressing his lips against hers, he teased her lips gently. Forgetting about everything else, he flicked his tongue against her lips seeking entrance to her mouth.
“Hmm…” Liz moaned pressing herself closer to Max. For never getting involved with anyone before, Max sure did know how to kiss. Losing herself in the kiss, she opened up and teased his tongue with her own.
Beep… beep… beep… Jumping apart, Liz scrambled through the window to turn off her alarm. Quickly kissing Liz goodbye one more time, Max headed out. He couldn’t believe how fast he could lose himself in her. He loved spending time with her. He just hoped that they could make it through high school at the rate they were going.
----
The gang met up for lunch in the quad. Although, they were still a little subdued their spirits were much improved from the other day. They couldn’t help but think about the possibilities of what they had found and learned in the cave.
“So what did you guys find in the cave?” Alex asked as soon as everyone sat down. He hadn’t been able to get any of them alone earlier to find out and his curiosity was about to eat him alive.
“Well, there were six boxes. One box held some bracelets, one box held some crystal things, another had files detailing tests done on eight humans, another box held a bunch of photos, another one had an orb and some kind of book with weird symbols and the last box held some kind of weird alien devices.” Isabel explained. Looking pensive for a moment, she continued with her explanation. “Uh, there were eight crystals and eight bracelets. One bracelet and one crystal glowed for each of us, including Liz.”
“What? What are they for? Do you know?” Maria excitedly chimed in. “Can we see them?”
“Maria! Let Isabel finish. Geez…” Michael glared at Maria. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was ever quiet.
“As I was saying, only one of each glowed for one of us and not the same one for each of us. We don’t know why one glowed for Liz. We looked at the pictures and well, one of the people pictured could have been my mother or my older sister. One of the guys looked just like Max and another one looked a lot like Michael… even having the same smirk. We don’t know what it means just yet but my dad is going to see if he can find out if these people are real and where they are at. Maybe we can get some answers from them.”
“How long do you think it’s going to take your dad to find them?” Alex asked wondering how the three aliens were taking this. He didn’t know what all this meant but he had to wonder why there were humans out there that looked a lot like them.
“He didn’t say but he was going to start looking today. Maybe he’ll have some answers soon but without having a name or even a location it’s going to be hard to find them.” Max answered. He was worried about what those people meant as well, but he refused to think about it. He had enough to worry about without worrying about eight mystery people and what they meant to him, Isabel and Michael.
“Maybe all those stories of alien abductions and hybrids are real.” Maria suddenly looked horrified. “What if you guys are here to take over the planet or replace humans? What if…”
“Maria! Breathe… they aren’t here to take over the planet and what are you talking about?” Liz demanded while pushing Maria back down in her seat and trying to get her to calm down. Sometimes having a Maria filter was just not enough to understand her.
“Lizzie, don’t you remember all those stories about people being abducted and the aliens getting them pregnant and then stealing their babies? Well what if those eight pods had the babies from them doing that? Who knows what the aliens were trying to do. Maybe the aliens are going to take over Earth and they are going to breed out humans. What if they are just the beginning….”
“Damn Maria, take a chill pill already. I seriously doubt the eight of us were meant to take over the world. Hell, we freaking crashed on this planet.” Michael grumbled. He didn’t know how Liz and Alex could stand Maria’s motor mouth and paranoia. This was just insane.
“Maria, we don’t know what it means yet. That’s why my dad is trying to find them. Maybe they know something, but I seriously doubt we were meant to take over the world. We aren’t that powerful.” Max shook his head. If Maria’s fear hadn’t been real, he probably would have laughed but figured that now wasn’t the time for it.
“Max is right Maria. Max, Michael and Isabel aren’t the enemy. We’ll find out what all this means but you just need to calm down. Nobody is taking over anything.”
The conversation finally settled down and went to more mundane topics. The rest of lunch was spent discussing the latest gossip and what was going on in their classes.
----
Kyle stood in the shadows watching the group of six talk. He wasn’t close enough to hear anything however much he wished he was. Deciding he needed to find out more about what was going on he stalked off to class trying to come up with a plan to learn everything.
----
Mr. Evans spent the majority of his day thinking over what had been found and trying to find answers for his kids. Fortunately for him, his caseload was light today and he had the time to dwell on everything.
Ever since he had learned the truth, his emotions had been on a roller coaster ride. He still loved his kids and wanted to help them, but he couldn’t help but fear the unknown. What would happen when his kids found all the answers? Would those answers destroy his kids or would they give them hope for the future? He studied the pictures in front of him and couldn’t help but wonder what these people meant to his kids. What was their purpose and how had their pictures and test results ended up in the same cave his kids were born?
After scanning the pictures, he called a private investigator in another town and emailed him the pictures asking for his help tracking them down. Giving him very little details, he hoped the guy didn’t find out anything otherworldly that could be traced to his kids. After supplying him with an email address and cell number specifically created for this purpose he sat back and downed a scotch.
----
After school, Michael and Isabel headed out to the quarry to practice their powers with Alex and Maria going along for look out duty and to volunteer as guinea pigs. Michael wanted to find out what else he could do other than blast things. He was curious about the ability Liz had developed yesterday and wanted to know if he and Isabel could also do it.
They practiced for nearly an hour discovering Isabel could create simple mindwarps for a few minutes but Michael had more trouble. He could start them but was not able to maintain the concentration needed to hold it for very long. Giving up on the mindwarping, they practiced other abilities for awhile.
Michael was able to strengthen and control his blasts better and even learn how to better fix the damage done by them. He was startled to learn he could cause an object to phase through something. He learned that after he blasted a rock that was too close to Maria and nearly impaled her with it. He wasn’t even sure how he did it but next thing he knew the rock passed right through her without harming her. Trying it out a few times, he could cause an object to go through another object but other than when Maria was in trouble he hadn’t been able to do it as well. He kept accidentally un-phasing the object in the middle of another one.
Isabel still didn’t have very many physical abilities but she continued to practice what she had. She couldn’t wait until they could work more on the mental stuff. She was getting a little depressed watching everything Michael could do and his excitement over his newest ability when she didn’t seem to have any others. She hoped she would find out she had something more impressive than just dreamwalking and a little bit of making people see things that weren’t there.
After practicing for a couple of hours they finally called it quits after listening to Maria start to gripe about everything and anything she could think of. Michael and Isabel had a quick conference and decided to show Alex and Maria the cave with the pods in it. Taking Maria and Alex out to the cave, they got to see the pods for the first time.
Alex thought it made it so much more real seeing the pods than watching them use their powers. He knew they were aliens and had even seen them use some far out there abilities, but he had also seen Liz do some of them and she was human. Knowing about there powers before had seemed like a really cool X-Men comic. It hadn’t really hit home just how different their lives were until he stepped into the cave and felt like he had entered the twilight zone. For Maria, it was a little bit of a let down. For some reason she believed the pods would look more alien or somehow different but they didn’t look as alien as watching Michael blow up a rock or Isabel change the color of her shirt or Liz move something with her mind.
“Which one is your pod, Isabel?” Alex asked curiously.
“This one.” Isabel gently touched the pod that was hers and watched as it glowed for her.
“Cool” Alex and Maria exclaimed at the same time.
Before either could ask, Michael touched his pod giving them the same special affects Isabel had gotten from hers. Maria boldly came up and touched his pod. She wanted to see what it felt like. The remains of the membrane were soft and damp while the casing around the membrane was hard. Getting no response from the pod, Isabel suggested they see if anything glowed for them like it had Liz. They tried to make the bracelets and crystals glow but were unable to get a reaction from any of them. Feeling a little let down, they left the cave shortly after and returned to town.
----
While Liz worked in the Crashdown, Max snuck up to her room and made sure to install a better lock. The one she had was too flimsy and would be easy to break. After fixing the lock, Max set up her balcony for a romantic dinner just for the two of them. He didn’t want any alien problems interfering tonight. He wanted tonight to be perfect.
Max set up a table in the middle of the balcony with a white tablecloth and candles. He set up scented candles around the balcony to give it a romantic glow and headed off to Senor Chow’s to pick up dinner. Seeing a florist shop on his way back, he stopped in and bought a dozen white roses and the cutest little teddy bear. Returning, he started setting up the food. Making sure everything was perfect he set out her cd player and put in her favorite cd.
Liz finally finished her shift feeling like the day had just drug on forever. She couldn’t wait to see Max. She could already feel the effects of being away from him too long and it was driving her nuts. They had spent so much time together that she had forgotten how bad she could feel.
Entering her room, she quickly took a shower and dressed in a pair of jeans and t-shirt. Wondering where Max had gone, Liz grabbed her journal and headed to the balcony to wait for him. “Oh my… Max, I didn’t realize you were here.” Looking around she was stunned to see the effort he had put into transforming the balcony into a romantic getaway. “Wow, it looks great.”
“Well, our last date was interrupted by Michael. I wanted to spend the evening with you without thinking about anything alien or weird. I got take out from Senor Chow’s. I hope that’s okay.” Max shyly smiled at Liz and pulled out a chair for her. He wanted everything to be perfect and hoped that she liked what he brought.
“It’s great Max. I’m glad you thought of this.” Pulling him closer for a quick kiss, Liz took her seat and waited to find out what else Max had thought of. After seating Liz, he started the cd and took his own seat.
Serving first her and then himself, they chatted about their day at school and her afternoon at work. They talked about their hopes and dreams for the future and their childhood. After finishing their dinner, Max pulled out the roses and teddy bear he had bought and gave them to her. “I wanted to get you something and I knew you liked white roses. He was just cute and I couldn’t resist getting him for you.” Smiling shyly, he knelt down by her waiting for her reaction.
Smiling tenderly at him, she smelled the roses and turned to kiss Max. “I love them. Thank you, Max!” Pulling him closer, she kissed him sweetly at first but soon they were both on fire and deepened the kiss. Groaning, Max pulled her off the chair and carried her to the lawn chair and settled her in his lap. Kissing her deeply, he teased her lips and flicked his tongue against hers.
Kissing his way down her neck, he nibbled on her pulse point listening to her moan and kissed her neck gently before returning to her mouth. Devouring her mouth, he moved his hands under her shirt and moved them up. He wanted to touch her. He needed to touch her. He had waited so long to touch her, he just couldn’t wait any longer. Moving his hand up to underside of her breast, he teased her. Rubbing his thumb across her lace cover nipple, he felt it hardened as she sucked in her breath.
Tugging Max’s shirt off, Liz couldn’t help but run her hands over his chest. She wanted to touch him so bad. She needed to feel him. She needed to taste him. Pulling her lips from his, she trailed light kisses and tiny bites down his neck to his shoulder tasting his skin. She knew they were getting out of control but she couldn’t help herself. She could feel he was as out of control as she was but she didn’t care. She wanted Max. She wanted all of him and she wanted him now.
Pulling her mouth of to his, he kissed her hungrily. She tasted so good and the little whimpers and sighs she made were driving him over the edge. He wanted to take her right now. Part of him knew that this was too much too fast and they were out of control but he didn’t care. All he wanted was to taste her and feel Liz in his arms. He wanted to feel all of her.
The ringing of Liz’s cell phone finally started penetrating the sensual haze they were in. He couldn’t believe how out of control he had become. He couldn’t regret it though. Seeing Liz’s passion filled eyes and swollen lips almost made him forget what had interrupted them.
“H-h-hello? Maria? What? Maria slow down. I can’t understand you when you talk that fast.” Rolling her eyes, Liz listened to Maria talk about what had happened this afternoon. She was glad she got to see the pods, but did Maria have to call right now? She wanted to hang up on Maria so bad and return to kissing Max senseless, but knew that would only make things worse.
Max laughed softly once he realized who was on the line. He knew she would be awhile so he cleaned up the balcony and headed in to get ready for bed. After nearly an hour of listening to Liz talk to Maria or more precisely, Liz listen while Maria rambled, his body cooled down enough for him to get control of himself.
Liz came in and readied herself for bed. She wished Maria hadn’t called but also glad she did. Liz didn’t think they would have stopped otherwise and she didn’t think either of them was ready to take that next step yet. She knew she was in love with Max. Every day she fell a little more in love and she knew that she would never love anyone like she did Max. That didn’t mean she was ready to lose her virginity to him… at least not yet anyway.
Locking her door, they cuddled up together and drifted off to sleep almost instantly. Tomorrow was another day and it would come soon enough.
----
October 6, 1999
Max and Liz were both up early and ready for school long before they had to be. Relaxing on her balcony, they cuddled and discussed the events of the past couple of days. “Max, why do you think the crystal and bracelet lit up for me? I didn’t come from one of the pods even if I’m not completely human anymore. Do you think it means something?”
“I don’t know, Liz. We don’t know what they are for or why certain ones glow for the rest of us. Maybe if we knew what they were for we could figure it out.” Max curled a strand of Liz’s hair around his fingers. He loved her hair. It was so soft and smelled so good. He probably should pay more attention to what Liz was saying but sitting her just being able to hold her was playing havoc with his senses.
Relaxing further into Max’s arms, Liz resolved not to think about it. She wanted to know why they reacted to her but Max was right. Until they learned what the bracelet and crystal were for, they weren’t going to be able to determine what was going on. “Mmm… I don’t want to move but you have to get home and I have to go downstairs and wait for Maria.” Liz murmured.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Max mumbled as he turned her so he could kiss her. He had wanted to do that all morning. Gently pressing his lips against hers, he teased her lips gently. Forgetting about everything else, he flicked his tongue against her lips seeking entrance to her mouth.
“Hmm…” Liz moaned pressing herself closer to Max. For never getting involved with anyone before, Max sure did know how to kiss. Losing herself in the kiss, she opened up and teased his tongue with her own.
Beep… beep… beep… Jumping apart, Liz scrambled through the window to turn off her alarm. Quickly kissing Liz goodbye one more time, Max headed out. He couldn’t believe how fast he could lose himself in her. He loved spending time with her. He just hoped that they could make it through high school at the rate they were going.
----
The gang met up for lunch in the quad. Although, they were still a little subdued their spirits were much improved from the other day. They couldn’t help but think about the possibilities of what they had found and learned in the cave.
“So what did you guys find in the cave?” Alex asked as soon as everyone sat down. He hadn’t been able to get any of them alone earlier to find out and his curiosity was about to eat him alive.
“Well, there were six boxes. One box held some bracelets, one box held some crystal things, another had files detailing tests done on eight humans, another box held a bunch of photos, another one had an orb and some kind of book with weird symbols and the last box held some kind of weird alien devices.” Isabel explained. Looking pensive for a moment, she continued with her explanation. “Uh, there were eight crystals and eight bracelets. One bracelet and one crystal glowed for each of us, including Liz.”
“What? What are they for? Do you know?” Maria excitedly chimed in. “Can we see them?”
“Maria! Let Isabel finish. Geez…” Michael glared at Maria. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was ever quiet.
“As I was saying, only one of each glowed for one of us and not the same one for each of us. We don’t know why one glowed for Liz. We looked at the pictures and well, one of the people pictured could have been my mother or my older sister. One of the guys looked just like Max and another one looked a lot like Michael… even having the same smirk. We don’t know what it means just yet but my dad is going to see if he can find out if these people are real and where they are at. Maybe we can get some answers from them.”
“How long do you think it’s going to take your dad to find them?” Alex asked wondering how the three aliens were taking this. He didn’t know what all this meant but he had to wonder why there were humans out there that looked a lot like them.
“He didn’t say but he was going to start looking today. Maybe he’ll have some answers soon but without having a name or even a location it’s going to be hard to find them.” Max answered. He was worried about what those people meant as well, but he refused to think about it. He had enough to worry about without worrying about eight mystery people and what they meant to him, Isabel and Michael.
“Maybe all those stories of alien abductions and hybrids are real.” Maria suddenly looked horrified. “What if you guys are here to take over the planet or replace humans? What if…”
“Maria! Breathe… they aren’t here to take over the planet and what are you talking about?” Liz demanded while pushing Maria back down in her seat and trying to get her to calm down. Sometimes having a Maria filter was just not enough to understand her.
“Lizzie, don’t you remember all those stories about people being abducted and the aliens getting them pregnant and then stealing their babies? Well what if those eight pods had the babies from them doing that? Who knows what the aliens were trying to do. Maybe the aliens are going to take over Earth and they are going to breed out humans. What if they are just the beginning….”
“Damn Maria, take a chill pill already. I seriously doubt the eight of us were meant to take over the world. Hell, we freaking crashed on this planet.” Michael grumbled. He didn’t know how Liz and Alex could stand Maria’s motor mouth and paranoia. This was just insane.
“Maria, we don’t know what it means yet. That’s why my dad is trying to find them. Maybe they know something, but I seriously doubt we were meant to take over the world. We aren’t that powerful.” Max shook his head. If Maria’s fear hadn’t been real, he probably would have laughed but figured that now wasn’t the time for it.
“Max is right Maria. Max, Michael and Isabel aren’t the enemy. We’ll find out what all this means but you just need to calm down. Nobody is taking over anything.”
The conversation finally settled down and went to more mundane topics. The rest of lunch was spent discussing the latest gossip and what was going on in their classes.
----
Kyle stood in the shadows watching the group of six talk. He wasn’t close enough to hear anything however much he wished he was. Deciding he needed to find out more about what was going on he stalked off to class trying to come up with a plan to learn everything.
----
Mr. Evans spent the majority of his day thinking over what had been found and trying to find answers for his kids. Fortunately for him, his caseload was light today and he had the time to dwell on everything.
Ever since he had learned the truth, his emotions had been on a roller coaster ride. He still loved his kids and wanted to help them, but he couldn’t help but fear the unknown. What would happen when his kids found all the answers? Would those answers destroy his kids or would they give them hope for the future? He studied the pictures in front of him and couldn’t help but wonder what these people meant to his kids. What was their purpose and how had their pictures and test results ended up in the same cave his kids were born?
After scanning the pictures, he called a private investigator in another town and emailed him the pictures asking for his help tracking them down. Giving him very little details, he hoped the guy didn’t find out anything otherworldly that could be traced to his kids. After supplying him with an email address and cell number specifically created for this purpose he sat back and downed a scotch.
----
After school, Michael and Isabel headed out to the quarry to practice their powers with Alex and Maria going along for look out duty and to volunteer as guinea pigs. Michael wanted to find out what else he could do other than blast things. He was curious about the ability Liz had developed yesterday and wanted to know if he and Isabel could also do it.
They practiced for nearly an hour discovering Isabel could create simple mindwarps for a few minutes but Michael had more trouble. He could start them but was not able to maintain the concentration needed to hold it for very long. Giving up on the mindwarping, they practiced other abilities for awhile.
Michael was able to strengthen and control his blasts better and even learn how to better fix the damage done by them. He was startled to learn he could cause an object to phase through something. He learned that after he blasted a rock that was too close to Maria and nearly impaled her with it. He wasn’t even sure how he did it but next thing he knew the rock passed right through her without harming her. Trying it out a few times, he could cause an object to go through another object but other than when Maria was in trouble he hadn’t been able to do it as well. He kept accidentally un-phasing the object in the middle of another one.
Isabel still didn’t have very many physical abilities but she continued to practice what she had. She couldn’t wait until they could work more on the mental stuff. She was getting a little depressed watching everything Michael could do and his excitement over his newest ability when she didn’t seem to have any others. She hoped she would find out she had something more impressive than just dreamwalking and a little bit of making people see things that weren’t there.
After practicing for a couple of hours they finally called it quits after listening to Maria start to gripe about everything and anything she could think of. Michael and Isabel had a quick conference and decided to show Alex and Maria the cave with the pods in it. Taking Maria and Alex out to the cave, they got to see the pods for the first time.
Alex thought it made it so much more real seeing the pods than watching them use their powers. He knew they were aliens and had even seen them use some far out there abilities, but he had also seen Liz do some of them and she was human. Knowing about there powers before had seemed like a really cool X-Men comic. It hadn’t really hit home just how different their lives were until he stepped into the cave and felt like he had entered the twilight zone. For Maria, it was a little bit of a let down. For some reason she believed the pods would look more alien or somehow different but they didn’t look as alien as watching Michael blow up a rock or Isabel change the color of her shirt or Liz move something with her mind.
“Which one is your pod, Isabel?” Alex asked curiously.
“This one.” Isabel gently touched the pod that was hers and watched as it glowed for her.
“Cool” Alex and Maria exclaimed at the same time.
Before either could ask, Michael touched his pod giving them the same special affects Isabel had gotten from hers. Maria boldly came up and touched his pod. She wanted to see what it felt like. The remains of the membrane were soft and damp while the casing around the membrane was hard. Getting no response from the pod, Isabel suggested they see if anything glowed for them like it had Liz. They tried to make the bracelets and crystals glow but were unable to get a reaction from any of them. Feeling a little let down, they left the cave shortly after and returned to town.
----
While Liz worked in the Crashdown, Max snuck up to her room and made sure to install a better lock. The one she had was too flimsy and would be easy to break. After fixing the lock, Max set up her balcony for a romantic dinner just for the two of them. He didn’t want any alien problems interfering tonight. He wanted tonight to be perfect.
Max set up a table in the middle of the balcony with a white tablecloth and candles. He set up scented candles around the balcony to give it a romantic glow and headed off to Senor Chow’s to pick up dinner. Seeing a florist shop on his way back, he stopped in and bought a dozen white roses and the cutest little teddy bear. Returning, he started setting up the food. Making sure everything was perfect he set out her cd player and put in her favorite cd.
Liz finally finished her shift feeling like the day had just drug on forever. She couldn’t wait to see Max. She could already feel the effects of being away from him too long and it was driving her nuts. They had spent so much time together that she had forgotten how bad she could feel.
Entering her room, she quickly took a shower and dressed in a pair of jeans and t-shirt. Wondering where Max had gone, Liz grabbed her journal and headed to the balcony to wait for him. “Oh my… Max, I didn’t realize you were here.” Looking around she was stunned to see the effort he had put into transforming the balcony into a romantic getaway. “Wow, it looks great.”
“Well, our last date was interrupted by Michael. I wanted to spend the evening with you without thinking about anything alien or weird. I got take out from Senor Chow’s. I hope that’s okay.” Max shyly smiled at Liz and pulled out a chair for her. He wanted everything to be perfect and hoped that she liked what he brought.
“It’s great Max. I’m glad you thought of this.” Pulling him closer for a quick kiss, Liz took her seat and waited to find out what else Max had thought of. After seating Liz, he started the cd and took his own seat.
Serving first her and then himself, they chatted about their day at school and her afternoon at work. They talked about their hopes and dreams for the future and their childhood. After finishing their dinner, Max pulled out the roses and teddy bear he had bought and gave them to her. “I wanted to get you something and I knew you liked white roses. He was just cute and I couldn’t resist getting him for you.” Smiling shyly, he knelt down by her waiting for her reaction.
Smiling tenderly at him, she smelled the roses and turned to kiss Max. “I love them. Thank you, Max!” Pulling him closer, she kissed him sweetly at first but soon they were both on fire and deepened the kiss. Groaning, Max pulled her off the chair and carried her to the lawn chair and settled her in his lap. Kissing her deeply, he teased her lips and flicked his tongue against hers.
Kissing his way down her neck, he nibbled on her pulse point listening to her moan and kissed her neck gently before returning to her mouth. Devouring her mouth, he moved his hands under her shirt and moved them up. He wanted to touch her. He needed to touch her. He had waited so long to touch her, he just couldn’t wait any longer. Moving his hand up to underside of her breast, he teased her. Rubbing his thumb across her lace cover nipple, he felt it hardened as she sucked in her breath.
Tugging Max’s shirt off, Liz couldn’t help but run her hands over his chest. She wanted to touch him so bad. She needed to feel him. She needed to taste him. Pulling her lips from his, she trailed light kisses and tiny bites down his neck to his shoulder tasting his skin. She knew they were getting out of control but she couldn’t help herself. She could feel he was as out of control as she was but she didn’t care. She wanted Max. She wanted all of him and she wanted him now.
Pulling her mouth of to his, he kissed her hungrily. She tasted so good and the little whimpers and sighs she made were driving him over the edge. He wanted to take her right now. Part of him knew that this was too much too fast and they were out of control but he didn’t care. All he wanted was to taste her and feel Liz in his arms. He wanted to feel all of her.
The ringing of Liz’s cell phone finally started penetrating the sensual haze they were in. He couldn’t believe how out of control he had become. He couldn’t regret it though. Seeing Liz’s passion filled eyes and swollen lips almost made him forget what had interrupted them.
“H-h-hello? Maria? What? Maria slow down. I can’t understand you when you talk that fast.” Rolling her eyes, Liz listened to Maria talk about what had happened this afternoon. She was glad she got to see the pods, but did Maria have to call right now? She wanted to hang up on Maria so bad and return to kissing Max senseless, but knew that would only make things worse.
Max laughed softly once he realized who was on the line. He knew she would be awhile so he cleaned up the balcony and headed in to get ready for bed. After nearly an hour of listening to Liz talk to Maria or more precisely, Liz listen while Maria rambled, his body cooled down enough for him to get control of himself.
Liz came in and readied herself for bed. She wished Maria hadn’t called but also glad she did. Liz didn’t think they would have stopped otherwise and she didn’t think either of them was ready to take that next step yet. She knew she was in love with Max. Every day she fell a little more in love and she knew that she would never love anyone like she did Max. That didn’t mean she was ready to lose her virginity to him… at least not yet anyway.
Locking her door, they cuddled up together and drifted off to sleep almost instantly. Tomorrow was another day and it would come soon enough.
----
Last edited by Ladeia3 on Thu Sep 07, 2006 5:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Chapter 13A
A/N: Some dialogue and scenes may be taken directly from the show with minor changes. Some violence and foul language in this chapter. Bold means telepathed thoughts.
Chapter 13A
October 7, 1999
Isabel awoke shortly after midnight and couldn’t get back to sleep. She had too much on her mind to sleep and didn’t know how to quiet her mind. She wished Max was here so she could wake him up and talk to him, but he was sleeping at Liz’s house again. She was both happy for Max and jealous of his relationship with Liz. Liz accepted him for who he was and still loved him. She could tell just by looking at them, that they were both besotted with each other despite the differences in DNA and origins. She wished she could find someone like that but she didn’t think she would ever have anyone love her so completely. Someone who could handle her being a different species and love her for who she was just didn’t seem likely to happen.
Getting up, Isabel wandered around her room trying to think of something to distract her. Coming across her yearbook, she pulled it out and sat on her bed to look through it. If she couldn’t go to sleep herself maybe she could amuse herself and visit somebody else’s dreams. She decided that it would probably be a good idea to check on Maria and Alex. She hadn’t gotten a chance to do so yet and she wanted to make sure they could be trusted. She knew Liz trusted both of them, but Liz now had a reason to stay quiet. She was changed due to Max healing her so even if she wanted to betray them, she would put herself in danger in doing so. Maria and Alex weren’t like her. They didn’t have anything to lose if they talked to the wrong person other than their friendship with Liz.
Flipping through her yearbook, she came to Maria’s picture first. Staring at Maria’s picture for a long moment, Isabel couldn’t face whatever Maria was dreaming about just yet. She didn’t want to know what Maria thought about them. She needed time to prepare herself first. Deciding on visiting Alex’s dream first, she flipped to the right page. Before she could talk herself out of it, Isabel pressed her finger against his picture and watched as the surface rippled.
Dreamscape
Isabel found herself in the school hallway surrounded by students on their way to class. Looking around, she finally managed to spot Alex moving rapidly down the hallway. As he drew closer, she could hear him muttering about some test he had to take and how he was late to get there. Following Alex, she watched as he disappeared through a doorway. Wondering what scholastic things he was going to dream of next, Isabel opened the door and entered what should have been a classroom. Instead, she found herself in the school gymnasium decorated as if for a dance. Stunned, Isabel realized there was only two other people in the room and they were herself and Alex. Moving closer, Isabel sat down on a chair and watched amazed as Alex asked her dream self for a dance. She couldn’t help but wonder why Alex was dreaming about her. In his dream, she was dressed in a gorgeous skin-tight, floor length red dress and he was wearing a tux.
Dream Alex: Hello
Dream Isabel: Hello Alex
Dream Alex: I’m glad you could make it.
Dream Isabel: Thank you for inviting me.
Dream Alex: My pleasure
Dream Isabel: You really think of me?
Dream Alex: I think that underneath that beautiful exterior is an even more beautiful interior. But I have a feeling that not too many people get to see that interior, do they?
Dream Isabel: No, they don’t.
Dream Alex: Cuz, it’s too scary to show who you really are. You can show me.
Dream Isabel: I can?
Dream Alex: Yeah
End Dreamscape
Isabel woke with a start and stared at Alex’s smiling picture. “He thinks of me like that?” Isabel blushed. She didn’t know what to think after going into Alex’s dream. Could she really take a chance with Alex? Could she trust not only her secret with him, but her inner self as well? Curling up, she drifted off to sleep thinking about Alex and how he wasn’t as bad as she thought.
----
Michael tried to get out of the trailer before Hank got up but luck wasn’t with him this morning. Hank was up and already drunk by the time Michael managed to get moving.
“Boy! You were supposed to do the dishes last night. Get in there and do them!” Hank drunkenly hollered from his spot in front of the TV. Taking another swig of his beer, he glared blurried eyed over at Michael standing in the doorway.
“I’ll do them later. I have to get to school.” Michael started out the door again, determined to ignore Hank.
“You better get your lazy ass back in here and do those dishes, Boy!” Hank stumbled after Michael and grabbed him. He was tired of Michael’s stubborn indifference to him and was determined to teach him a lesson. Before Michael could react, Hank punched him.
Startled, Michael hit the ground. Reaching up to touch his sore eye, he yelled at Hank, “What the fuck was that for?”
“Teaching you some manners, you ungrateful slob.” Hank started for Michael again, but Michael was ready this time and moved out of his reach.
“I have class. You do whatever the hell you want.” Michael turned and quickly headed for school. He could hear Hank yelling at him for another block, but he didn’t turn around or acknowledge him. He wanted to get as far away from him as he could. He hated living with Hank, but he didn’t know what to do about it. He couldn’t continue living in that trailer with Hank. If he did, he would wind up killing the bastard and he knew that wouldn’t be a good thing no matter how much the guy might deserve it.
-----
Max and Liz had managed to get up on time and now Max was at home getting ready for school. Stumbling into the kitchen, he wished they could come up with a better solution. He was tired from all of these late nights and early mornings. He couldn’t wait for when he could sleep late for a few hours. Maybe this weekend would give him a chance to sleep.
“Morning, Max. Sleep well?” Mrs. Evans entered the kitchen and looked at her son. It was obvious he needed a couple more hours of sleep.
“Morning, mom. I slept okay… just not enough of it.” Max sighed and grabbed some cereal. Maybe he could doze during study hall.
“What do you have planned for this evening?”
“Umm… well I was planning on taking Liz out and I believe right after school we were all going to go out and practice our powers a little. Why?”
“Well, your father and I wanted to speak to all of you for a few minutes if that’s alright. Maybe after you guys are done practicing but before you take Liz out, everyone can stop here for a few minutes.” Mrs. Evans explained. She and Philip had discussed things at length in his office the other day and they needed to let the kids in on what they were thinking.
“Oh, what’s it about? Did dad find out anything on those people already?” Curious now, Max looked at his mom. He was surprised that his dad was able to find out anything so soon though. He figured it could take some time.
“No, he hasn’t found out anything on those people, yet. We have some other things we want to discuss with you. It won’t take long.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I’ll let the others know and call you.” Mrs. Evans nodded at her son and left the kitchen to go wake up her daughter.
-----
“So what do they want to talk about at this meeting of theirs?” Michael asked in between bites of his sandwich. He had managed to heal the bruise left by Hank on his own. He was glad that he hadn’t had to ask Max to heal it or he never would hear the end of it.
“She didn’t say. She just said they had some stuff they wanted to talk to all of us about and it wouldn’t take too long.” He wondered what was up with Michael and Isabel today. Michael had avoided everyone this morning and was even more of a stonewall than usual. Isabel blushed every time Alex came into view or was mentioned. She had not said two coherent words to Alex all day. He couldn’t help but wonder what was up with her and Alex. He didn’t think they were a couple or even interested in one another.
“Are you sure she wants all of us, including non-family there?” Alex asked.
“Yeah, I’m sure. After we finish practicing, we’ll head over there for a few minutes. She said it wouldn’t take too long.”
“So, what are you guys practicing today?” Maria chimed in. She was actually looking forward to going with the others to watch them practice. She would never admit that there was a certain spikey haired alien that was behind her sudden desire to watch alien mojo in action. Not even to herself.
“Hmm, I thought we would try out some of the mental stuff today. We need to learn what we can do with that and of course Liz wants to practice what she did the other day and see what else she can use it for.”
“I practiced it some yesterday. It’s definitely a handy little ability. Michael couldn’t really hold it though. He needs to learn to concentrate more.” Isabel smirked at Michael but Michael didn’t even pay attention. She wondered again for the millionth time this morning what was up with him. He had been even more moody than normal and had gone out of his way to avoid her and the others. She would confront him later and get it out of him.
Liz hadn’t really paid any attention to the conversation. She was feeling very uncomfortable. It felt like someone was watching her and she didn’t like that. Looking around, she tried to find who was watching her. At first she couldn’t find anyone but then she noticed someone standing far enough back not to be able to hear their conversation but way too close for comfort. “Uh, guys? Don’t look now, but I think we have someone watching us. It, uh, looks like Kyle.”
“What? Why would he be watching us? Oh, no, what is it about you that make guys go all stalkery on you?”
“Maria, shh, he is the sheriff’s son. He may be watching us because his dad said something. We better be careful later on so he doesn’t follow us.” Liz watched as Kyle finally took off in the other direction from them. Breathing a sigh of relief, Liz couldn’t help but wonder what Kyle was doing watching them. Was it because she broke up with him and started dating Max? Or was it something more sinister? Was he watching them for his dad?
The bell rang causing the group to scatter to their next classes.
----
After school, the gang took off for the quarry but made sure no one was following them. They did not want Kyle or his father to see what they were going to be up to.
“Okay, we have a couple things we want to try out. Um, first, we want to see if any of us can, like talk to each other telepathically and second, we want to practice mind warping again. It could be a helpful ability in the future and we want to see if any of you can feel when it’s happening or if you can break through it.” Liz explained and handed a chart to Maria to make notations on.
“I say we split into pairs to work on this for a little while and then we can switch partners and try it on them.” Max and Liz moved off and sat on the ground to work on it.
Liz closed her eyes and concentrated on Max. After nearly ten minutes, she felt like something was finally happening. “Max? Can you hear me? Max?”
Jumping at hearing Liz’s voice in his head, it took Max a moment to respond. “Yeah, I hear you.”
Opening her eyes, Liz looked at him and grinned. “That is so cool. We’ll have to see if we can do it when we’re not so close.”
“Okay, let me try.” Max closed his eyes and concentrated. He tried for several minutes and had almost given up hope of being able to do it. “Liz? Liz?”
Liz smiled when she heard her name faintly being called in the back of her head. “Yeah, I heard you but it was so soft I could barely hear it.”
“Hmm.. I probably just need more practice with it because it’s a mental ability.”
“Probably.” Liz smirked. She thought it was cool they could talk without opening their mouths. She just knew this ability was going to come in handy. “So do you want to move a little further apart and see if we can still reach each other?”
Progressively moving further apart, they continued to try to talk to each other without speaking. As long as they were in sight of each other, they were able to do so, but once they were out of sight even if it was only a few feet or with their backs turned, they could not reach the other. Max became progressively better the more they practiced until both of them could carry on a conversation in their heads without having to concentrate too hard.
Michael and Isabel were paired up by default when Liz and Max had taken off. After watching them for a moment, Isabel tried to reach Michael telepathically. After about fifteen minutes of trying, she gave up. Apparently only Max and Liz could communicate without words.
Michael knew Isabel was trying to talk to him, but he didn’t want to risk her seeing inside his head so he blocked her and just pretended to try to talk to her. He knew she would be pissed when she found out, but he really didn’t want her in his head right now.
They waited for Max and Liz to finish their telepathic practice by practicing their other abilities.
“Okay, I’m guessing from the fact you two are doing something else that you weren’t able to have a telepathic conversation.” Max stated looking at his best friend and his sister.
“Yep, no mind talking for us. It must be your thing.” Michael grunted staring off into the desert.
“Okay, Michael why don’t you and Liz try it out while me and Isabel work on it a moment.” Michael just glared at Max but Max was already moving off with Isabel in tow. Glancing at Liz, he noticed she was staring at him.
“What?” Michael barked.
“Nothing… come on, let’s do this.” Liz got comfortable once again and concentrated on Michael. She realized after a few minutes that it wasn’t that she couldn’t talk to Michael but he was blocking her. “Michael? Why are you blocking me?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He turned away from her. Why did Liz have to figure out he was blocking? Geez, he could hide it from Isabel, but little Miss Scientist figured it out in five minutes.
“Yes, you do. Michael, I’m not trying to read your mind. Your secrets are safe.” Liz reached out and touched his arm. “I swear Michael. Even with Max I couldn’t read what he was thinking only what he projected to me. He was the same with me. I don’t think you have to worry about me invading your mind if I couldn’t do it with Max who I have some kind of bond with.”
Michael glared at her for a second before finally relenting. “Okay fine, try it again.”
“Michael, can you hear me? If you can, try to telepath back to me.” Liz grinned, knowing she had gotten through.
Michael jumped at hearing Liz’s voice so clearly in his mind. “Whoa.. You sound just the same.”
“Cool, isn’t it. Max and I were practicing and discovered as long as we could see each other we could talk in our heads. Do you want to move a little further away and see if it works the same for us?”
“Sure.” Michael stood up and walked off. Getting an idea, he jumped in the jeep and drove over to the other side of the quarry. He could see the confusion on everybody’s faces when he took the jeep, but he ignored them.
Hopping out of the jeep, Michael faced Liz. They were a good distance away from each other but they were still in sight even if they couldn’t make out details. He wondered if this would work this far away. “Liz, can you still hear me?”
“Wow! I didn’t think it would work from way over there. This is kinda cool.” Liz grinned even though she knew Michael probably couldn’t see it.
“Yes, it is. Okay I’m coming back. I just wanted to see if distance affected it any.” Michael returned to where the others were waiting. He could see that everyone was still waiting to find out what was going on. Apparently, Liz had not volunteered the information.
“Distance isn’t a problem. We could still talk even with the distance.” Michael explained.
“Wait a minute. You and Liz could communicate, but you couldn’t with me??” Isabel glared at Michael. She had already practiced with Max so she knew that she could talk to Max telepathically.
“Uh, well, I was sorta blocking you earlier. I didn’t want anyone in my head.” Michael mumbled. He knew Isabel was going to be pissed.
“What! Michael! I don’t believe you. So why did you let Liz into your head but not me?” Isabel crossed her arms and stared at Michael waiting for him to spill.
“Liz explained that she wasn’t going into my head just projecting her thoughts to me. I didn’t want anyone reading my private thoughts, okay Isabel.”
Glaring at him one last time, Isabel turned to Max. “Okay what’s next on the agenda or are we done for the day?”
“Uh, we could practice mind warping for few minutes unless you want to leave now.” Max looked at them waiting for their response. Maria and Alex had stayed back while they were practicing but had now come closer so they could hear the conversation.
“Maybe you and Liz can work on it for a few minutes. I practiced it yesterday.” Isabel went and sat in the jeep. She was still a little ticked off about Michael and didn’t feel like practicing anymore. Watching Max and Liz pair off with Maria and Alex and start practicing she got an idea. Grinning, she looked to see what Michael was doing. He was standing off by himself just watching the others. Closing her eyes, she pulled up an image of Rosie O’Donnell and Agnes from the Crashdown and put them in string bikinis. She then concentrated on projecting the image to Michael and him seeing them trying to seduce him.
“WHAT THE FUCK!!” Michael jumped back horrified to find himself face to face with two women he never in a million years would have thought of like that. Covering his eyes and shuddering, he wondered just what it would take to get that nightmare out his mind.
Loosing her concentration, Isabel fell back in the seat laughing hysterically at Michael’s expression.
“Michael, what happened?” Max demanded. He looked from Michael’s still horrified expression to his sister laughing like a hyena in the jeep and wondered what Isabel had done.
“ISABEL!! What the hell was that for?” Michael stalked over to her and glared down at her. She was still laughing so hard she had tears streaming down her face.
“Served... *hiccup* you... *giggle* right! *hiccup*”
“Uh, does someone want to explain to the clueless people here what just happened?” Maria griped. She couldn’t help but think whatever it was she was going to love it if Michael’s face was anything to go by.
“I just made Michael see his worst nightmare.” Isabel giggled as Michael cringed.
“Forget it! We have a meeting to get to.” Michael headed to the jetta and waited impatiently for Maria to come along.
Not too long after the gang was on their way to the Evans. They all wondered what the meeting was about if it was about anything at all.
----
Chapter 13A
October 7, 1999
Isabel awoke shortly after midnight and couldn’t get back to sleep. She had too much on her mind to sleep and didn’t know how to quiet her mind. She wished Max was here so she could wake him up and talk to him, but he was sleeping at Liz’s house again. She was both happy for Max and jealous of his relationship with Liz. Liz accepted him for who he was and still loved him. She could tell just by looking at them, that they were both besotted with each other despite the differences in DNA and origins. She wished she could find someone like that but she didn’t think she would ever have anyone love her so completely. Someone who could handle her being a different species and love her for who she was just didn’t seem likely to happen.
Getting up, Isabel wandered around her room trying to think of something to distract her. Coming across her yearbook, she pulled it out and sat on her bed to look through it. If she couldn’t go to sleep herself maybe she could amuse herself and visit somebody else’s dreams. She decided that it would probably be a good idea to check on Maria and Alex. She hadn’t gotten a chance to do so yet and she wanted to make sure they could be trusted. She knew Liz trusted both of them, but Liz now had a reason to stay quiet. She was changed due to Max healing her so even if she wanted to betray them, she would put herself in danger in doing so. Maria and Alex weren’t like her. They didn’t have anything to lose if they talked to the wrong person other than their friendship with Liz.
Flipping through her yearbook, she came to Maria’s picture first. Staring at Maria’s picture for a long moment, Isabel couldn’t face whatever Maria was dreaming about just yet. She didn’t want to know what Maria thought about them. She needed time to prepare herself first. Deciding on visiting Alex’s dream first, she flipped to the right page. Before she could talk herself out of it, Isabel pressed her finger against his picture and watched as the surface rippled.
Dreamscape
Isabel found herself in the school hallway surrounded by students on their way to class. Looking around, she finally managed to spot Alex moving rapidly down the hallway. As he drew closer, she could hear him muttering about some test he had to take and how he was late to get there. Following Alex, she watched as he disappeared through a doorway. Wondering what scholastic things he was going to dream of next, Isabel opened the door and entered what should have been a classroom. Instead, she found herself in the school gymnasium decorated as if for a dance. Stunned, Isabel realized there was only two other people in the room and they were herself and Alex. Moving closer, Isabel sat down on a chair and watched amazed as Alex asked her dream self for a dance. She couldn’t help but wonder why Alex was dreaming about her. In his dream, she was dressed in a gorgeous skin-tight, floor length red dress and he was wearing a tux.
Dream Alex: Hello
Dream Isabel: Hello Alex
Dream Alex: I’m glad you could make it.
Dream Isabel: Thank you for inviting me.
Dream Alex: My pleasure
Dream Isabel: You really think of me?
Dream Alex: I think that underneath that beautiful exterior is an even more beautiful interior. But I have a feeling that not too many people get to see that interior, do they?
Dream Isabel: No, they don’t.
Dream Alex: Cuz, it’s too scary to show who you really are. You can show me.
Dream Isabel: I can?
Dream Alex: Yeah
End Dreamscape
Isabel woke with a start and stared at Alex’s smiling picture. “He thinks of me like that?” Isabel blushed. She didn’t know what to think after going into Alex’s dream. Could she really take a chance with Alex? Could she trust not only her secret with him, but her inner self as well? Curling up, she drifted off to sleep thinking about Alex and how he wasn’t as bad as she thought.
----
Michael tried to get out of the trailer before Hank got up but luck wasn’t with him this morning. Hank was up and already drunk by the time Michael managed to get moving.
“Boy! You were supposed to do the dishes last night. Get in there and do them!” Hank drunkenly hollered from his spot in front of the TV. Taking another swig of his beer, he glared blurried eyed over at Michael standing in the doorway.
“I’ll do them later. I have to get to school.” Michael started out the door again, determined to ignore Hank.
“You better get your lazy ass back in here and do those dishes, Boy!” Hank stumbled after Michael and grabbed him. He was tired of Michael’s stubborn indifference to him and was determined to teach him a lesson. Before Michael could react, Hank punched him.
Startled, Michael hit the ground. Reaching up to touch his sore eye, he yelled at Hank, “What the fuck was that for?”
“Teaching you some manners, you ungrateful slob.” Hank started for Michael again, but Michael was ready this time and moved out of his reach.
“I have class. You do whatever the hell you want.” Michael turned and quickly headed for school. He could hear Hank yelling at him for another block, but he didn’t turn around or acknowledge him. He wanted to get as far away from him as he could. He hated living with Hank, but he didn’t know what to do about it. He couldn’t continue living in that trailer with Hank. If he did, he would wind up killing the bastard and he knew that wouldn’t be a good thing no matter how much the guy might deserve it.
-----
Max and Liz had managed to get up on time and now Max was at home getting ready for school. Stumbling into the kitchen, he wished they could come up with a better solution. He was tired from all of these late nights and early mornings. He couldn’t wait for when he could sleep late for a few hours. Maybe this weekend would give him a chance to sleep.
“Morning, Max. Sleep well?” Mrs. Evans entered the kitchen and looked at her son. It was obvious he needed a couple more hours of sleep.
“Morning, mom. I slept okay… just not enough of it.” Max sighed and grabbed some cereal. Maybe he could doze during study hall.
“What do you have planned for this evening?”
“Umm… well I was planning on taking Liz out and I believe right after school we were all going to go out and practice our powers a little. Why?”
“Well, your father and I wanted to speak to all of you for a few minutes if that’s alright. Maybe after you guys are done practicing but before you take Liz out, everyone can stop here for a few minutes.” Mrs. Evans explained. She and Philip had discussed things at length in his office the other day and they needed to let the kids in on what they were thinking.
“Oh, what’s it about? Did dad find out anything on those people already?” Curious now, Max looked at his mom. He was surprised that his dad was able to find out anything so soon though. He figured it could take some time.
“No, he hasn’t found out anything on those people, yet. We have some other things we want to discuss with you. It won’t take long.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I’ll let the others know and call you.” Mrs. Evans nodded at her son and left the kitchen to go wake up her daughter.
-----
“So what do they want to talk about at this meeting of theirs?” Michael asked in between bites of his sandwich. He had managed to heal the bruise left by Hank on his own. He was glad that he hadn’t had to ask Max to heal it or he never would hear the end of it.
“She didn’t say. She just said they had some stuff they wanted to talk to all of us about and it wouldn’t take too long.” He wondered what was up with Michael and Isabel today. Michael had avoided everyone this morning and was even more of a stonewall than usual. Isabel blushed every time Alex came into view or was mentioned. She had not said two coherent words to Alex all day. He couldn’t help but wonder what was up with her and Alex. He didn’t think they were a couple or even interested in one another.
“Are you sure she wants all of us, including non-family there?” Alex asked.
“Yeah, I’m sure. After we finish practicing, we’ll head over there for a few minutes. She said it wouldn’t take too long.”
“So, what are you guys practicing today?” Maria chimed in. She was actually looking forward to going with the others to watch them practice. She would never admit that there was a certain spikey haired alien that was behind her sudden desire to watch alien mojo in action. Not even to herself.
“Hmm, I thought we would try out some of the mental stuff today. We need to learn what we can do with that and of course Liz wants to practice what she did the other day and see what else she can use it for.”
“I practiced it some yesterday. It’s definitely a handy little ability. Michael couldn’t really hold it though. He needs to learn to concentrate more.” Isabel smirked at Michael but Michael didn’t even pay attention. She wondered again for the millionth time this morning what was up with him. He had been even more moody than normal and had gone out of his way to avoid her and the others. She would confront him later and get it out of him.
Liz hadn’t really paid any attention to the conversation. She was feeling very uncomfortable. It felt like someone was watching her and she didn’t like that. Looking around, she tried to find who was watching her. At first she couldn’t find anyone but then she noticed someone standing far enough back not to be able to hear their conversation but way too close for comfort. “Uh, guys? Don’t look now, but I think we have someone watching us. It, uh, looks like Kyle.”
“What? Why would he be watching us? Oh, no, what is it about you that make guys go all stalkery on you?”
“Maria, shh, he is the sheriff’s son. He may be watching us because his dad said something. We better be careful later on so he doesn’t follow us.” Liz watched as Kyle finally took off in the other direction from them. Breathing a sigh of relief, Liz couldn’t help but wonder what Kyle was doing watching them. Was it because she broke up with him and started dating Max? Or was it something more sinister? Was he watching them for his dad?
The bell rang causing the group to scatter to their next classes.
----
After school, the gang took off for the quarry but made sure no one was following them. They did not want Kyle or his father to see what they were going to be up to.
“Okay, we have a couple things we want to try out. Um, first, we want to see if any of us can, like talk to each other telepathically and second, we want to practice mind warping again. It could be a helpful ability in the future and we want to see if any of you can feel when it’s happening or if you can break through it.” Liz explained and handed a chart to Maria to make notations on.
“I say we split into pairs to work on this for a little while and then we can switch partners and try it on them.” Max and Liz moved off and sat on the ground to work on it.
Liz closed her eyes and concentrated on Max. After nearly ten minutes, she felt like something was finally happening. “Max? Can you hear me? Max?”
Jumping at hearing Liz’s voice in his head, it took Max a moment to respond. “Yeah, I hear you.”
Opening her eyes, Liz looked at him and grinned. “That is so cool. We’ll have to see if we can do it when we’re not so close.”
“Okay, let me try.” Max closed his eyes and concentrated. He tried for several minutes and had almost given up hope of being able to do it. “Liz? Liz?”
Liz smiled when she heard her name faintly being called in the back of her head. “Yeah, I heard you but it was so soft I could barely hear it.”
“Hmm.. I probably just need more practice with it because it’s a mental ability.”
“Probably.” Liz smirked. She thought it was cool they could talk without opening their mouths. She just knew this ability was going to come in handy. “So do you want to move a little further apart and see if we can still reach each other?”
Progressively moving further apart, they continued to try to talk to each other without speaking. As long as they were in sight of each other, they were able to do so, but once they were out of sight even if it was only a few feet or with their backs turned, they could not reach the other. Max became progressively better the more they practiced until both of them could carry on a conversation in their heads without having to concentrate too hard.
Michael and Isabel were paired up by default when Liz and Max had taken off. After watching them for a moment, Isabel tried to reach Michael telepathically. After about fifteen minutes of trying, she gave up. Apparently only Max and Liz could communicate without words.
Michael knew Isabel was trying to talk to him, but he didn’t want to risk her seeing inside his head so he blocked her and just pretended to try to talk to her. He knew she would be pissed when she found out, but he really didn’t want her in his head right now.
They waited for Max and Liz to finish their telepathic practice by practicing their other abilities.
“Okay, I’m guessing from the fact you two are doing something else that you weren’t able to have a telepathic conversation.” Max stated looking at his best friend and his sister.
“Yep, no mind talking for us. It must be your thing.” Michael grunted staring off into the desert.
“Okay, Michael why don’t you and Liz try it out while me and Isabel work on it a moment.” Michael just glared at Max but Max was already moving off with Isabel in tow. Glancing at Liz, he noticed she was staring at him.
“What?” Michael barked.
“Nothing… come on, let’s do this.” Liz got comfortable once again and concentrated on Michael. She realized after a few minutes that it wasn’t that she couldn’t talk to Michael but he was blocking her. “Michael? Why are you blocking me?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He turned away from her. Why did Liz have to figure out he was blocking? Geez, he could hide it from Isabel, but little Miss Scientist figured it out in five minutes.
“Yes, you do. Michael, I’m not trying to read your mind. Your secrets are safe.” Liz reached out and touched his arm. “I swear Michael. Even with Max I couldn’t read what he was thinking only what he projected to me. He was the same with me. I don’t think you have to worry about me invading your mind if I couldn’t do it with Max who I have some kind of bond with.”
Michael glared at her for a second before finally relenting. “Okay fine, try it again.”
“Michael, can you hear me? If you can, try to telepath back to me.” Liz grinned, knowing she had gotten through.
Michael jumped at hearing Liz’s voice so clearly in his mind. “Whoa.. You sound just the same.”
“Cool, isn’t it. Max and I were practicing and discovered as long as we could see each other we could talk in our heads. Do you want to move a little further away and see if it works the same for us?”
“Sure.” Michael stood up and walked off. Getting an idea, he jumped in the jeep and drove over to the other side of the quarry. He could see the confusion on everybody’s faces when he took the jeep, but he ignored them.
Hopping out of the jeep, Michael faced Liz. They were a good distance away from each other but they were still in sight even if they couldn’t make out details. He wondered if this would work this far away. “Liz, can you still hear me?”
“Wow! I didn’t think it would work from way over there. This is kinda cool.” Liz grinned even though she knew Michael probably couldn’t see it.
“Yes, it is. Okay I’m coming back. I just wanted to see if distance affected it any.” Michael returned to where the others were waiting. He could see that everyone was still waiting to find out what was going on. Apparently, Liz had not volunteered the information.
“Distance isn’t a problem. We could still talk even with the distance.” Michael explained.
“Wait a minute. You and Liz could communicate, but you couldn’t with me??” Isabel glared at Michael. She had already practiced with Max so she knew that she could talk to Max telepathically.
“Uh, well, I was sorta blocking you earlier. I didn’t want anyone in my head.” Michael mumbled. He knew Isabel was going to be pissed.
“What! Michael! I don’t believe you. So why did you let Liz into your head but not me?” Isabel crossed her arms and stared at Michael waiting for him to spill.
“Liz explained that she wasn’t going into my head just projecting her thoughts to me. I didn’t want anyone reading my private thoughts, okay Isabel.”
Glaring at him one last time, Isabel turned to Max. “Okay what’s next on the agenda or are we done for the day?”
“Uh, we could practice mind warping for few minutes unless you want to leave now.” Max looked at them waiting for their response. Maria and Alex had stayed back while they were practicing but had now come closer so they could hear the conversation.
“Maybe you and Liz can work on it for a few minutes. I practiced it yesterday.” Isabel went and sat in the jeep. She was still a little ticked off about Michael and didn’t feel like practicing anymore. Watching Max and Liz pair off with Maria and Alex and start practicing she got an idea. Grinning, she looked to see what Michael was doing. He was standing off by himself just watching the others. Closing her eyes, she pulled up an image of Rosie O’Donnell and Agnes from the Crashdown and put them in string bikinis. She then concentrated on projecting the image to Michael and him seeing them trying to seduce him.
“WHAT THE FUCK!!” Michael jumped back horrified to find himself face to face with two women he never in a million years would have thought of like that. Covering his eyes and shuddering, he wondered just what it would take to get that nightmare out his mind.
Loosing her concentration, Isabel fell back in the seat laughing hysterically at Michael’s expression.
“Michael, what happened?” Max demanded. He looked from Michael’s still horrified expression to his sister laughing like a hyena in the jeep and wondered what Isabel had done.
“ISABEL!! What the hell was that for?” Michael stalked over to her and glared down at her. She was still laughing so hard she had tears streaming down her face.
“Served... *hiccup* you... *giggle* right! *hiccup*”
“Uh, does someone want to explain to the clueless people here what just happened?” Maria griped. She couldn’t help but think whatever it was she was going to love it if Michael’s face was anything to go by.
“I just made Michael see his worst nightmare.” Isabel giggled as Michael cringed.
“Forget it! We have a meeting to get to.” Michael headed to the jetta and waited impatiently for Maria to come along.
Not too long after the gang was on their way to the Evans. They all wondered what the meeting was about if it was about anything at all.
----
Last edited by Ladeia3 on Thu Sep 07, 2006 5:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Chapter 13B
October 7, 1999
Previously on Heart’s Desire:
“Uh, does someone want to explain to the clueless people here what just happened?” Maria griped. She couldn’t help but think whatever it was she was going to love it if Michael’s face was anything to go by.
“I just made Michael see his worst nightmare.” Isabel giggled as Michael cringed.
“Forget it! We have a meeting to get to.” Michael headed to the jetta and waited impatiently for Maria to come along.
Not too long after the gang was on their way to the Evans. They all wondered what the meeting was about if it was about anything at all.
----
“Thanks for coming everyone. Have a seat. We’ll get started in a minute.” Mr. Evans motioned for everyone to get comfortable in the living room. He hoped he wouldn’t panic his kids too much with what he was about to tell them.
“I ordered pizza for everyone. It should be here in about an hour.” Mrs. Evans told them from her seat. She had brought in extra chairs so everyone would have a place to sit. Nervously twisting her wedding ring, she waited for Mr. Evans to begin.
“What’s all this about, Dad?” Max settled on the couch and pulled Liz down next to him. He couldn’t help but worry watching his parents’ actions. What new revelation was going to be dropped on them?
“I wanted to talk to all of you about several things. The first being Sheriff Valenti paid me a visit at the office the other day. He tried to get information about Max from me.”
“We have to get out of town, Maxwell. He’s getting too close.” Michael stated. He knew they should have left town the night of the crash festival. Starting to rise, he was halted by Mr. Evans.
“Relax, Michael. I gave him a story to distract him for now. I told him we knew Max and Isabel’s biological parents. I told him, their step-father dumped them in the desert because he didn’t want kids and their mother eventually tracked them down but she wanted to stay with the guy so left them here. I also told him that Max explained to me what happened at the Crashdown and that there was no otherworldly involvement. He may or may not have believed me. That isn’t the point. I wanted you guys to know about it so you’ll be on your guard, but also because it brings us to the reason for this little meeting.” Mr. Evans paused to catch his breath and gather his thoughts.
“Okay, so what is the reason?” Michael mumbled earning a glare from Maria and Isabel.
“Diane and I discussed this at length and realized that the four of you needed an escape route in case things became too heated.”
“Uh, what kind of escape route?” Isabel queried looking between her parents. They both looked on edge which was not helping her nerves any.
“We realized things could go bad for you guys at any time. The FBI could show up or Valenti may get proof of who you are or any number of scenarios. We wanted to have something in place so you’ll be able to take care of yourselves if you had to run. So, we’ve made a couple of contingency plans. We set up a savings account for the four of you that will draw interest until it’s needed. You can’t touch this account unless it’s a dire emergency. Second, I withdrew some money from our savings account. For the four of you there is $500 cash which is to be set aside. It is not to be spent on anything. You will keep it in a safe place you can get to in case you have to run. That money is just to help you should you have to run. Third, I have an old college buddy who owns some property in Colorado. He has offered on several occasions to sell me the property. I called him up and talked to him. We came to an agreement. The property is mine to do with as I want, but it will remain in his name. In the case of you guys having to leave town in a hurry, you will have a place to go to hide out until things calm down.”
“Dad… wow, I don’t know what to say. You’ve really thought about this haven’t you?” Max sat there stunned. He didn’t realize his parents had even put that much thought into the danger he and the others possibly faced.
“Yes, we have son. We want all of you to be safe. We would rather you never had to leave but in case something happens and you have to run; we wanted you to have some options. The account is in place to save money for the possibility you’ll have to leave. If you do have to run, we’ll have that money ready for withdrawal to give you but in case you don’t have time to get the money out of the account you’ll have the cash on hand to survive for a few days. The property in Colorado is somewhere you can go that has no legal ties to anyone in this room so you should be safe enough there for at least awhile.” Mr. Evans opened his briefcase and pulled out four manila envelopes and handed one to Max, Michael, Isabel and Liz.
“In those envelopes, you’ll find the $500 cash and a map to the property in Colorado. There is also a list of contacts of people Diane and I trust. You can call or go to them for help. There is also an email address, cell phone number and P.O. Box specifically set up in case you guys have to run. None of them have any connection to anyone in Roswell. They should be safe for you to keep in contact with us.”
Max, Isabel and Liz just stared at one another and the envelopes in their hands. For some reason having all of these plans set made the possibility of having to leave Roswell so much more real. All three of them had never really believed they would have to run. Liz had never even considered the possibility even after she knew she was changed and had powers. Looking at the envelopes and hearing Mr. Evans speech just seemed to amplify all of their fears and make them not so elusive.
Michael stared at the envelope in his hand unsure of how to react. He had always believed they would one day have to leave. He wasn’t sure why having the means to do so and a place to go made him feel weird. He had never really thought about how they would survive if they had to run. He had always just thought of the leaving part. He wasn’t sure how to feel about Mr. Evans giving him money. He felt he shouldn’t accept it, but he saw the logic in having the cash to run. It would make things a lot easier.
“Look guys, we didn’t set this all up just so you can leave. We hope that you never have to use any of this but it’s there in case. That’s everything we wanted to talk to you about. I haven’t found anything yet about those people in the pictures from the cave. I’ll let you know as soon as I’ve found anything out.” Mr. Evans sighed heavily. Even as he had made the plans and set things in motion, it hadn’t set in this was real. Now that he had told the kids, and had given them the information and money, he felt it was almost a portent of things to come. He hoped he was just being silly and sentimental, but he felt things were changing too rapidly. Would he really lose his kids? He hoped not.
At the ringing of the doorbell, Mrs. Evans got up to go get it. “That should be the pizza.” She came back into the room carrying six boxes. Setting them on the table, Mrs. Evans looked around at the kids. They still all seemed to be in a state of shock. “I know Max and Liz had plans but anyone who wants to stay for pizza is more than welcome to. There’s plenty.”
“Thanks Mrs. Evans.” Alex spoke up. He was just as shocked as the others but for him it was scary to realize that one day Isabel would just take off. He would never get to see her again or know what happened to her. He thought that was a very depressing occurrence if it ever happened.
Mrs. Evans went to the kitchen and grabbed plates and napkins. “There’s soda and tea in the fridge for anyone that wants something to drink. Help yourselves.” Mrs. Evans placed the napkins and plates on the coffee table. She was glad when all the kids seemed to come to life at the same time. Shock over with, the gang grabbed some pizza and something to drink with Tabasco for the aliens and got to eating. They were still a little unnaturally quiet but she didn’t think it would take long before they let loose.
“Liz, do you want to stay here or did you still want to go out?” Max whispered in her ear. He had made plans for them to have a real date but after hearing what his dad had to say he didn’t really feel up to going out now.
“Uh, can we just stay here? I don’t think I really want to go out now.” Liz mumbled. She realized Mr. and Mrs. Evans were looking out for them but it was still a shock to find out what they had been up to. She hoped she would never need what was in that envelope. She couldn’t imagine having to leave her parents or friends behind.
“Yeah, we can do that. I don’t really feel like going out either.” For the rest of the evening the gang hung out and eventually overcame their shock to start laughing and goofing off again. They put the meeting behind them and chose to think about it another time.
“Liz, do you want to call your parents and see if you can just spend the night here?” Mrs. Evans motioned towards the phone. “You’re more than welcome to stay here. All of you are welcome to stay if you want.”
“Sure Mrs. Evans.” Liz left the room and called her parents. After several minutes of begging, she managed to get permission. She knew she only got to stay here because her parents still didn’t know anything about her relationship with Max or how serious it was getting. She knew as soon as they did, she would never be allowed to sleep over again and would quite possibly be in big trouble for sleeping over here without them knowing that pertinent detail.
After eating, those that had to get home left and those that were staying did their homework and got ready for bed. Max felt a little weird having Liz stay in his room. So far he had only stayed at her house and he felt it was decidedly weird to have her stay over with his parents knowing, but it also felt right in a way he just couldn’t describe.
Cuddling up together, Max and Liz lay there listening to each other breath. They had too much on their minds to go to sleep very easily but neither wanted to disturb the other. Neither realized they were so in tune with each other they were keeping the other awake.
-----
October 7, 1999
Previously on Heart’s Desire:
“Uh, does someone want to explain to the clueless people here what just happened?” Maria griped. She couldn’t help but think whatever it was she was going to love it if Michael’s face was anything to go by.
“I just made Michael see his worst nightmare.” Isabel giggled as Michael cringed.
“Forget it! We have a meeting to get to.” Michael headed to the jetta and waited impatiently for Maria to come along.
Not too long after the gang was on their way to the Evans. They all wondered what the meeting was about if it was about anything at all.
----
“Thanks for coming everyone. Have a seat. We’ll get started in a minute.” Mr. Evans motioned for everyone to get comfortable in the living room. He hoped he wouldn’t panic his kids too much with what he was about to tell them.
“I ordered pizza for everyone. It should be here in about an hour.” Mrs. Evans told them from her seat. She had brought in extra chairs so everyone would have a place to sit. Nervously twisting her wedding ring, she waited for Mr. Evans to begin.
“What’s all this about, Dad?” Max settled on the couch and pulled Liz down next to him. He couldn’t help but worry watching his parents’ actions. What new revelation was going to be dropped on them?
“I wanted to talk to all of you about several things. The first being Sheriff Valenti paid me a visit at the office the other day. He tried to get information about Max from me.”
“We have to get out of town, Maxwell. He’s getting too close.” Michael stated. He knew they should have left town the night of the crash festival. Starting to rise, he was halted by Mr. Evans.
“Relax, Michael. I gave him a story to distract him for now. I told him we knew Max and Isabel’s biological parents. I told him, their step-father dumped them in the desert because he didn’t want kids and their mother eventually tracked them down but she wanted to stay with the guy so left them here. I also told him that Max explained to me what happened at the Crashdown and that there was no otherworldly involvement. He may or may not have believed me. That isn’t the point. I wanted you guys to know about it so you’ll be on your guard, but also because it brings us to the reason for this little meeting.” Mr. Evans paused to catch his breath and gather his thoughts.
“Okay, so what is the reason?” Michael mumbled earning a glare from Maria and Isabel.
“Diane and I discussed this at length and realized that the four of you needed an escape route in case things became too heated.”
“Uh, what kind of escape route?” Isabel queried looking between her parents. They both looked on edge which was not helping her nerves any.
“We realized things could go bad for you guys at any time. The FBI could show up or Valenti may get proof of who you are or any number of scenarios. We wanted to have something in place so you’ll be able to take care of yourselves if you had to run. So, we’ve made a couple of contingency plans. We set up a savings account for the four of you that will draw interest until it’s needed. You can’t touch this account unless it’s a dire emergency. Second, I withdrew some money from our savings account. For the four of you there is $500 cash which is to be set aside. It is not to be spent on anything. You will keep it in a safe place you can get to in case you have to run. That money is just to help you should you have to run. Third, I have an old college buddy who owns some property in Colorado. He has offered on several occasions to sell me the property. I called him up and talked to him. We came to an agreement. The property is mine to do with as I want, but it will remain in his name. In the case of you guys having to leave town in a hurry, you will have a place to go to hide out until things calm down.”
“Dad… wow, I don’t know what to say. You’ve really thought about this haven’t you?” Max sat there stunned. He didn’t realize his parents had even put that much thought into the danger he and the others possibly faced.
“Yes, we have son. We want all of you to be safe. We would rather you never had to leave but in case something happens and you have to run; we wanted you to have some options. The account is in place to save money for the possibility you’ll have to leave. If you do have to run, we’ll have that money ready for withdrawal to give you but in case you don’t have time to get the money out of the account you’ll have the cash on hand to survive for a few days. The property in Colorado is somewhere you can go that has no legal ties to anyone in this room so you should be safe enough there for at least awhile.” Mr. Evans opened his briefcase and pulled out four manila envelopes and handed one to Max, Michael, Isabel and Liz.
“In those envelopes, you’ll find the $500 cash and a map to the property in Colorado. There is also a list of contacts of people Diane and I trust. You can call or go to them for help. There is also an email address, cell phone number and P.O. Box specifically set up in case you guys have to run. None of them have any connection to anyone in Roswell. They should be safe for you to keep in contact with us.”
Max, Isabel and Liz just stared at one another and the envelopes in their hands. For some reason having all of these plans set made the possibility of having to leave Roswell so much more real. All three of them had never really believed they would have to run. Liz had never even considered the possibility even after she knew she was changed and had powers. Looking at the envelopes and hearing Mr. Evans speech just seemed to amplify all of their fears and make them not so elusive.
Michael stared at the envelope in his hand unsure of how to react. He had always believed they would one day have to leave. He wasn’t sure why having the means to do so and a place to go made him feel weird. He had never really thought about how they would survive if they had to run. He had always just thought of the leaving part. He wasn’t sure how to feel about Mr. Evans giving him money. He felt he shouldn’t accept it, but he saw the logic in having the cash to run. It would make things a lot easier.
“Look guys, we didn’t set this all up just so you can leave. We hope that you never have to use any of this but it’s there in case. That’s everything we wanted to talk to you about. I haven’t found anything yet about those people in the pictures from the cave. I’ll let you know as soon as I’ve found anything out.” Mr. Evans sighed heavily. Even as he had made the plans and set things in motion, it hadn’t set in this was real. Now that he had told the kids, and had given them the information and money, he felt it was almost a portent of things to come. He hoped he was just being silly and sentimental, but he felt things were changing too rapidly. Would he really lose his kids? He hoped not.
At the ringing of the doorbell, Mrs. Evans got up to go get it. “That should be the pizza.” She came back into the room carrying six boxes. Setting them on the table, Mrs. Evans looked around at the kids. They still all seemed to be in a state of shock. “I know Max and Liz had plans but anyone who wants to stay for pizza is more than welcome to. There’s plenty.”
“Thanks Mrs. Evans.” Alex spoke up. He was just as shocked as the others but for him it was scary to realize that one day Isabel would just take off. He would never get to see her again or know what happened to her. He thought that was a very depressing occurrence if it ever happened.
Mrs. Evans went to the kitchen and grabbed plates and napkins. “There’s soda and tea in the fridge for anyone that wants something to drink. Help yourselves.” Mrs. Evans placed the napkins and plates on the coffee table. She was glad when all the kids seemed to come to life at the same time. Shock over with, the gang grabbed some pizza and something to drink with Tabasco for the aliens and got to eating. They were still a little unnaturally quiet but she didn’t think it would take long before they let loose.
“Liz, do you want to stay here or did you still want to go out?” Max whispered in her ear. He had made plans for them to have a real date but after hearing what his dad had to say he didn’t really feel up to going out now.
“Uh, can we just stay here? I don’t think I really want to go out now.” Liz mumbled. She realized Mr. and Mrs. Evans were looking out for them but it was still a shock to find out what they had been up to. She hoped she would never need what was in that envelope. She couldn’t imagine having to leave her parents or friends behind.
“Yeah, we can do that. I don’t really feel like going out either.” For the rest of the evening the gang hung out and eventually overcame their shock to start laughing and goofing off again. They put the meeting behind them and chose to think about it another time.
“Liz, do you want to call your parents and see if you can just spend the night here?” Mrs. Evans motioned towards the phone. “You’re more than welcome to stay here. All of you are welcome to stay if you want.”
“Sure Mrs. Evans.” Liz left the room and called her parents. After several minutes of begging, she managed to get permission. She knew she only got to stay here because her parents still didn’t know anything about her relationship with Max or how serious it was getting. She knew as soon as they did, she would never be allowed to sleep over again and would quite possibly be in big trouble for sleeping over here without them knowing that pertinent detail.
After eating, those that had to get home left and those that were staying did their homework and got ready for bed. Max felt a little weird having Liz stay in his room. So far he had only stayed at her house and he felt it was decidedly weird to have her stay over with his parents knowing, but it also felt right in a way he just couldn’t describe.
Cuddling up together, Max and Liz lay there listening to each other breath. They had too much on their minds to go to sleep very easily but neither wanted to disturb the other. Neither realized they were so in tune with each other they were keeping the other awake.
-----
Last edited by Ladeia3 on Thu Sep 07, 2006 5:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Chapter 14
Chapter 14
October 8, 1999
Max and Liz entered the Evan’s kitchen to find everyone already up and eating breakfast. The mood was considerably lighter than it had been last night. Everyone was joking around and laughing. Max thought it was somewhat strange to see how everyone was getting along when just a few weeks ago they had not even had a real conversation with any of the others.
“Oh good, you’re up honey. Did you two sleep well?” Mrs. Evans asked Max and Liz as they sat down.
Max nodded as Liz replied, “Yes, Mrs. Evans.”
“I know Liz has to work tonight, but does anyone else?” Mr. Evans asked the teens. After everyone shook there heads, he continued. “Okay, after Liz gets off work, Diane will pick her up. Then we’ll all leave for Marathon, Texas. I know you’ve been impatiently waiting Michael and I thank you for waiting for the rest of us. We’ll get to the dome first thing in the morning.”
Michael just nodded his head. He hated the wait but even he could see the benefits of waiting for the parents. He still wasn’t all that thrilled with having them as members of the ‘I know an alien club’ but even he couldn’t deny they had been great. He was still a little shocked at them giving him and the others money for emergencies and setting up a place they could go in case things got bad.
Max had almost forgotten about Marathon, Texas with all that had happened since last weekend. He wondered if they would even find anything of value there. They had already found the cave with what it had. Would Atherton’s dome really have anything more to add to what they already knew? He hoped it wasn’t a wasted trip.
Liz was glad to be able to get away for the weekend. For tonight and tomorrow night, she and Max wouldn’t have to worry about parents catching them. It was such a relief to have the Evans on her side. All things considered, she felt they had taken things awfully well. She didn’t think her parents would have taken it as well. She really wasn’t in any rush to find out whether or not her thoughts were correct or not.
Isabel hoped they would find out more at Atherton’s house. She couldn’t help but feel that everything they learned had only provided more questions instead of answers. She wished they could find some concrete answers instead of all this mysterious stuff that made no real sense. Maybe this dome would bring them closer to the truth.
-----
Kyle stood in the shadows watching his father yell into the phone. He had been doing that a lot lately. He wondered what his dad was up to and what it had to do with Max Evans and Liz Parker. He watched his father slam down the phone and stalk out to his vehicle. Waiting until his father was out of the driveway, Kyle followed him. He wanted to know what his father was doing and where he was going.
Sheriff Valenti drove straight out to Albuquerque. His mood had not improved over the miles but he hoped what he would find would more than make up for what had put him in a foul mood. Pulling into a self-storage unit, he got out of his car and made his way to a storage unit specifically rented for this purpose. Taking out his key, he opened the lock. Pulling the door open, he found the package he had been waiting for. Grinning, he grabbed the package relocking the door and headed to his vehicle. He couldn’t wait to get home to open it up.
Kyle watched his father get a package from a self-storage unit and couldn’t help but wonder what his father was up to and what the package held. Figuring his dad was headed home, Kyle turned the car around and drove back home. Tired after driving, he rested while waiting for his dad to get home. While waiting he came up with a plan to get into the package before his dad did. It was now an obsession for him to find out what his dad was up to.
Sheriff Valenti finally arrived back home. Taking the package he headed to his room and placed it on his bed. He cursed under his breath when his pager went off. Calling into the Sheriff’s office, he unfortunately realized he had to go in. Hiding the box in his closet, he left muttering under his breath.
Kyle waited until his dad had driven off before going into his dad’s room. After a few minutes of searching he found the box in the bottom of the closet covered by some clothes. Taking it out, he carefully opened it so it he could close it again without his dad figuring out it had been tampered with. “What the f---?”
-----
After school, Max and Isabel went with the Evans to practice their powers some more. Michael told them he would meet up with them later. He had something he needed to do first. Michael had been trying to figure out what to do about Hank since the other day. He couldn’t continue to live with the bastard. If he did, he would end up killing him and he didn’t think that was such a good idea. There was only one other option he could think of. He needed to move out. Now he just had to figure out how to move out without getting into trouble or bringing too much attention to them all.
During his free period, he spent the time online trying to figure out what to do. He now had a plan. He smirked at that. He never planned anything, but here he was coming up with a plan. The first requirement to his plan had him needing a job. The only place he could think of was the Crashdown. He hoped he could convince Mr. Parker to give him a job. If he couldn’t get a job with the Crashdown, he was going to have to start looking at other places which was going to take a lot more time and work. Providing he got the job, he would talk to Mr. Evans this weekend about becoming an emancipated minor.
He knew the Evans would more than likely want him to come live with them, but he didn’t fit in with them. He hadn’t grown up in a family environment, and it was a little too late for him to start. He didn’t know the first thing about being a part of family. He had spent some time at the Evans home growing up, but he didn’t think he would be able to tolerate all the rules and family time. At least, not without causing some serious damage. He didn’t want to get stuck in another foster home. It might end up being worse than Hank’s, and with all that had happened recently he didn’t want to live with another family where he would have to worry about rules and curfews and stuff like that.
Walking into the Crashdown, he spotted Liz immediately, but saw no sign of her father. Liz approached him offering him a small smile. “Hey Michael, what are you doing here?”
“Uh, I, um need to talk to your dad.” Michael rubbed his eyebrow. He didn’t really want to tell her his plans since he didn’t even know if they would work out or not. He also didn’t want Max and Isabel finding out before he was ready to tell them. He really didn’t want to have that conversation yet. Not until he could tell them that it was a done deal.
“Um, okay, what about?” Liz couldn’t help her curiosity. She couldn’t think of any reason why Michael would need to talk to her father.
“If you must know, I was going to ask him for a job.” Michael mumbled not entirely comfortable with telling Liz.
“Oh, okay, um, hang on and I’ll get him.” Liz motioned for him to take a seat and took off to the back room. Finding her dad in the office, she knocked softly. “Hey, dad? Got a minute?”
“Sure, hon, what’s going on?”
“Uh, Max’s friend, Michael is out front. Uh, he’s looking for a job.”
“Okay, I’ll be out in a sec.”
Half an hour later, Michael left the Crashdown, inwardly smiling. He had a job. Now he just had to get up the nerve to talk to Mr. Evans this weekend. He realized that was going to be harder than the job part, but he didn’t want to go to anyone else. Even if he didn’t really like the Evans knowing the truth about him, Mr. Evans was still the only adult he knew that could help and trusted as far as he trusted anyone.
-----
Staring down at the sleeping girl, the shapeshifter just watched her. He hated the responsibility of having to care for her. He hated this planet and wanted to go home but first he had to find the others. Once he found them, than he could go home. There was a little more too it than that, but the rest was just details. His plan would succeed. Turning he left the room; he had to continue his search.
Opening her eyes, the blonde haired alien girl stared after the retreating figure of the only family she had ever known. She knew something was wrong about him. She didn’t trust him. He had never really given her cause not to trust him, but something told her that he was very dangerous. She wished she knew where the others were. She wanted her real family. They were the only ones that mattered.
-----
Liz finally got off work and grabbed her overnight bag. Quickly telling her parents goodbye, she hopped into Mrs. Evans car. She couldn’t wait to see Max again. She was already feeling the affects of being away from him for too long. She hadn’t had much time to think about it but it seemed like the amount of time they could be separated was getting shorter and shorter. She hoped she was wrong. It was already hard enough finding enough time to be together. She didn’t know how they would handle it if they couldn’t be separated at all.
Once back at the Evans, it didn’t take long for everyone to get started. Mrs. Evans, Isabel, Alex and Maria rode in her car and the rest rode in Mr. Evans car. They were going to drive straight through and stop at a motel once they got to Texas for a few hours of sleep. They would check out the dome tomorrow after they were rested and fresh.
Max and Liz curled up together in the backseat. They were just content to hold each other listening to the other breath. They were probably the only one on this trip that was more interested in the side benefit of being able to be with each other openly, instead of everyone else who was mainly concerned with what this trip would reveal.
October 8, 1999
Max and Liz entered the Evan’s kitchen to find everyone already up and eating breakfast. The mood was considerably lighter than it had been last night. Everyone was joking around and laughing. Max thought it was somewhat strange to see how everyone was getting along when just a few weeks ago they had not even had a real conversation with any of the others.
“Oh good, you’re up honey. Did you two sleep well?” Mrs. Evans asked Max and Liz as they sat down.
Max nodded as Liz replied, “Yes, Mrs. Evans.”
“I know Liz has to work tonight, but does anyone else?” Mr. Evans asked the teens. After everyone shook there heads, he continued. “Okay, after Liz gets off work, Diane will pick her up. Then we’ll all leave for Marathon, Texas. I know you’ve been impatiently waiting Michael and I thank you for waiting for the rest of us. We’ll get to the dome first thing in the morning.”
Michael just nodded his head. He hated the wait but even he could see the benefits of waiting for the parents. He still wasn’t all that thrilled with having them as members of the ‘I know an alien club’ but even he couldn’t deny they had been great. He was still a little shocked at them giving him and the others money for emergencies and setting up a place they could go in case things got bad.
Max had almost forgotten about Marathon, Texas with all that had happened since last weekend. He wondered if they would even find anything of value there. They had already found the cave with what it had. Would Atherton’s dome really have anything more to add to what they already knew? He hoped it wasn’t a wasted trip.
Liz was glad to be able to get away for the weekend. For tonight and tomorrow night, she and Max wouldn’t have to worry about parents catching them. It was such a relief to have the Evans on her side. All things considered, she felt they had taken things awfully well. She didn’t think her parents would have taken it as well. She really wasn’t in any rush to find out whether or not her thoughts were correct or not.
Isabel hoped they would find out more at Atherton’s house. She couldn’t help but feel that everything they learned had only provided more questions instead of answers. She wished they could find some concrete answers instead of all this mysterious stuff that made no real sense. Maybe this dome would bring them closer to the truth.
-----
Kyle stood in the shadows watching his father yell into the phone. He had been doing that a lot lately. He wondered what his dad was up to and what it had to do with Max Evans and Liz Parker. He watched his father slam down the phone and stalk out to his vehicle. Waiting until his father was out of the driveway, Kyle followed him. He wanted to know what his father was doing and where he was going.
Sheriff Valenti drove straight out to Albuquerque. His mood had not improved over the miles but he hoped what he would find would more than make up for what had put him in a foul mood. Pulling into a self-storage unit, he got out of his car and made his way to a storage unit specifically rented for this purpose. Taking out his key, he opened the lock. Pulling the door open, he found the package he had been waiting for. Grinning, he grabbed the package relocking the door and headed to his vehicle. He couldn’t wait to get home to open it up.
Kyle watched his father get a package from a self-storage unit and couldn’t help but wonder what his father was up to and what the package held. Figuring his dad was headed home, Kyle turned the car around and drove back home. Tired after driving, he rested while waiting for his dad to get home. While waiting he came up with a plan to get into the package before his dad did. It was now an obsession for him to find out what his dad was up to.
Sheriff Valenti finally arrived back home. Taking the package he headed to his room and placed it on his bed. He cursed under his breath when his pager went off. Calling into the Sheriff’s office, he unfortunately realized he had to go in. Hiding the box in his closet, he left muttering under his breath.
Kyle waited until his dad had driven off before going into his dad’s room. After a few minutes of searching he found the box in the bottom of the closet covered by some clothes. Taking it out, he carefully opened it so it he could close it again without his dad figuring out it had been tampered with. “What the f---?”
-----
After school, Max and Isabel went with the Evans to practice their powers some more. Michael told them he would meet up with them later. He had something he needed to do first. Michael had been trying to figure out what to do about Hank since the other day. He couldn’t continue to live with the bastard. If he did, he would end up killing him and he didn’t think that was such a good idea. There was only one other option he could think of. He needed to move out. Now he just had to figure out how to move out without getting into trouble or bringing too much attention to them all.
During his free period, he spent the time online trying to figure out what to do. He now had a plan. He smirked at that. He never planned anything, but here he was coming up with a plan. The first requirement to his plan had him needing a job. The only place he could think of was the Crashdown. He hoped he could convince Mr. Parker to give him a job. If he couldn’t get a job with the Crashdown, he was going to have to start looking at other places which was going to take a lot more time and work. Providing he got the job, he would talk to Mr. Evans this weekend about becoming an emancipated minor.
He knew the Evans would more than likely want him to come live with them, but he didn’t fit in with them. He hadn’t grown up in a family environment, and it was a little too late for him to start. He didn’t know the first thing about being a part of family. He had spent some time at the Evans home growing up, but he didn’t think he would be able to tolerate all the rules and family time. At least, not without causing some serious damage. He didn’t want to get stuck in another foster home. It might end up being worse than Hank’s, and with all that had happened recently he didn’t want to live with another family where he would have to worry about rules and curfews and stuff like that.
Walking into the Crashdown, he spotted Liz immediately, but saw no sign of her father. Liz approached him offering him a small smile. “Hey Michael, what are you doing here?”
“Uh, I, um need to talk to your dad.” Michael rubbed his eyebrow. He didn’t really want to tell her his plans since he didn’t even know if they would work out or not. He also didn’t want Max and Isabel finding out before he was ready to tell them. He really didn’t want to have that conversation yet. Not until he could tell them that it was a done deal.
“Um, okay, what about?” Liz couldn’t help her curiosity. She couldn’t think of any reason why Michael would need to talk to her father.
“If you must know, I was going to ask him for a job.” Michael mumbled not entirely comfortable with telling Liz.
“Oh, okay, um, hang on and I’ll get him.” Liz motioned for him to take a seat and took off to the back room. Finding her dad in the office, she knocked softly. “Hey, dad? Got a minute?”
“Sure, hon, what’s going on?”
“Uh, Max’s friend, Michael is out front. Uh, he’s looking for a job.”
“Okay, I’ll be out in a sec.”
Half an hour later, Michael left the Crashdown, inwardly smiling. He had a job. Now he just had to get up the nerve to talk to Mr. Evans this weekend. He realized that was going to be harder than the job part, but he didn’t want to go to anyone else. Even if he didn’t really like the Evans knowing the truth about him, Mr. Evans was still the only adult he knew that could help and trusted as far as he trusted anyone.
-----
Staring down at the sleeping girl, the shapeshifter just watched her. He hated the responsibility of having to care for her. He hated this planet and wanted to go home but first he had to find the others. Once he found them, than he could go home. There was a little more too it than that, but the rest was just details. His plan would succeed. Turning he left the room; he had to continue his search.
Opening her eyes, the blonde haired alien girl stared after the retreating figure of the only family she had ever known. She knew something was wrong about him. She didn’t trust him. He had never really given her cause not to trust him, but something told her that he was very dangerous. She wished she knew where the others were. She wanted her real family. They were the only ones that mattered.
-----
Liz finally got off work and grabbed her overnight bag. Quickly telling her parents goodbye, she hopped into Mrs. Evans car. She couldn’t wait to see Max again. She was already feeling the affects of being away from him for too long. She hadn’t had much time to think about it but it seemed like the amount of time they could be separated was getting shorter and shorter. She hoped she was wrong. It was already hard enough finding enough time to be together. She didn’t know how they would handle it if they couldn’t be separated at all.
Once back at the Evans, it didn’t take long for everyone to get started. Mrs. Evans, Isabel, Alex and Maria rode in her car and the rest rode in Mr. Evans car. They were going to drive straight through and stop at a motel once they got to Texas for a few hours of sleep. They would check out the dome tomorrow after they were rested and fresh.
Max and Liz curled up together in the backseat. They were just content to hold each other listening to the other breath. They were probably the only one on this trip that was more interested in the side benefit of being able to be with each other openly, instead of everyone else who was mainly concerned with what this trip would reveal.
Last edited by Ladeia3 on Thu Sep 07, 2006 5:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Chapter 15A
Chapter 15A
Max yawned wishing he didn’t have to get up just yet. It was a little after ten o’clock in the morning. They had driven most of the night and stopped at a motel once they reached Marathon, Texas. The whole gang had trudged into their rooms and collapsed. They hadn’t even grumbled about who had to share a room. They were just too exhausted by the long drive. Now it was hours later and it was time for them to go check out the dome.
“Okay, I know everyone wants to go out to the dome, but I don’t think the logistics of that are good. We don’t know what we’re going to find out there and the fewer people that go the better.” Mr. Evans explained. He knew this was not going to go over well with the kids but having six teenagers and two adults show up at the dome might be a problem. He didn’t know if there would be anyone else there or if they had some type of monitoring device in place.
“WHAT? No way, I’m not sitting here at the hotel waiting. I came all this way to see this dome. I’m not staying behind.” Maria nearly shrieked. She may not be an alien but she was a part of this and wasn’t going to allow anyone to tell her differently.
“Look, Mr. Evans, we’re all going. Maria and myself may not be aliens but we’re apart of this. We want to be involved. Besides, if there’s trouble, then there’s safety in numbers.” Alex stated determinedly. He was not going to be left behind. He didn’t want to be left out and if they found anything, he wanted to be there. Maybe he could help. Maybe he couldn’t but he was going either way.
“Dad, we all want to go. With all of us looking, we have more of a chance of finding something than just a few of us going.” Max didn’t want to leave Liz behind and he knew at least one of his parents was going to come. Alex and Maria were apart of this, and he knew they wouldn’t want to be left out. Michael was the one with the vision so he definitely had to come and Isabel was a part of this as well. There was just no way to decide who gets to stay and who gets to go.
“Well, I guess that’s it then.” Mr. Evans shook his head and led the entourage out. He supposed he should have guessed that everyone was going to go.
----
Since it was Michael’s vision that had led them here, the others stepped aside and gave him the opportunity to go in first. Michael nervously stepped inside, wondering what he would find inside. Squinting as his eyes adjusted to the dimmer interior, he gazed around the large room. The inside was a total disaster. Boxes littered the floor, cracks in the walls and floor had vegetation growing from it, windows were broken and dirty, the long bench-like tables were covered in debris along with the floor. It looked like the place hadn’t seen a visitor since Atherton died.
Michael headed towards the back. He knew there was something back there he needed to find. He didn’t really know how he knew or what it was but there was something back there calling for him. Stopping inside what looked like an office if the antiquated typewriter and dusty file cabinets were any indication, Michael took stock of his surroundings. He needed to find where the key went.
“This place is a mess. I seriously doubt there is anything useful left.” Isabel muttered. She hated getting dirty and this place was definitely filthy.
“She’s right, Michael. It looks like someone has already gone through this place looking for something and it doesn’t look like anyone has been here in decades. Whatever was here to find is likely long gone.” Mr. Evans stated looking around the office. Papers, yellowed with age and mildew, littered the floor. A couple of chairs were over turned and broken. The drawers of the file cabinets were thrown open with files hanging out.
Clenching the key in his hand, Michael growled out, “It’s here somewhere. There’s a secret room but we have to find the lock first. Look around; there should be a loose rock or panel. We need to find it.”
Not waiting to see what the others did, Michael began his search. Touching each brick, he tried to work it back and forth or pull it out. He didn’t know what exactly he was looking for. He just knew that it was hidden and he had to look for it. Ten minutes later, Michael nearly lost his balance when a rock that shouldn’t have moved pulled open at his tug. Calling the others over, he pushed the key into the lock and turned.
The room’s occupants held their breath waiting for something or anything to happen. Several moments’ of tense silence filled the room. They were just beginning to think nothing would happen when the sound of wood creaking and the squealing of rusted hinges brought there attention to the center of the office where a trap door was painstakingly rising. Looking at one another, they tried not to get their hopes up.
One by one they filed down the stairs into Atherton’s secret room. Larger than the office by several feet, it was obviously made to house someone for at least a few weeks if not longer. Rusted canned goods and jugs of water rested against one wall, a cot with ragged and dusty bedding lay against another. A table with a book sat in the center of the room. File cabinets rested against another wall and a curtain separated what looked like a bathroom from the rest of the room. The center of the room was cluttered with rotting boxes.
“Okay, just pack up anything that looks useful and we can look at it later.” Mr. Evans stated. He didn’t want to stay here any longer than he had too. The place gave him the creeps.
Grabbing a box, Liz and Alex packed up the files they found. They were actually surprised they didn’t fall apart as they stuffed them in. Michael found several pages of drawn alien symbols resting on Atherton’s cot. He picked them up and studied them. They seemed so familiar as if he should know them. Placing them in the box to take with them so he could study them later, Michael came up to the book sitting on the table. Opening it, he discovered neat handwriting. Reading the first paragraph he realized it was a journal. Atherton’s journal about meeting an alien. Taking the book, he carefully wrapped it up and set it inside the box.
“I think that’s everything. There wasn’t much down here.” Liz shrugged. She didn’t think anything in the files was going to be helpful. It looked like research done on alien abductions and sightings. Isabel strolled around the room one last time. Her attention was caught by a gleam out of the corner of her eye. Turning she found herself looking at a pendant with a symbol she felt she knew. It seemed so familiar. It was as if she thought hard enough, she would remember it and know what it meant. Hearing the others calling for her to hurry up, Isabel grabbed the pendant and put it on. She would figure it out later.
Michael closed the secret door and hid the lock once again. He figured it would be a good place to escape to if they ever had to. It didn’t look like anyone had discovered the secret room since Atherton died. If they ever needed to get out of Roswell and go somewhere and hide for a few days, this place could come in handy.
Arriving back at the hotel, the gang filed into the Evans hotel room to see what was in those files. Maybe they could find a few more answers. Michael could only hope there was something in there that could help him find home. Max and Isabel may be content to play normal and live as humans but he knew there was something else out there for him. Pulling Atherton’s journal out of the box, he unwrapped it and sat down to read.
“What are you reading, Michael?” Diane called out. She had noticed that Michael hadn’t paid any attention to the rest of what was in the box but went straight for some book.
“Oh, uh, it’s Atherton’s journal. It looks like he actually met an alien.” Michael shrugged and started to go back to reading.
“Why don’t you read it aloud for everyone to hear? That way we don’t keep rereading the same stuff over and over.” Mr. Evans suggested. Everyone else nodded their agreement and got comfortable. Michael looked a little put out, but nodded finally in agreement.
“Journal Entry 1:
Today I learned the most amazing and unbelievable thing. It goes beyond everything I ever believed to be true. This is the greatest discover of this century. Hell, of maybe the entire history of Earth. It’s so amazing and unbelievable if I hadn’t pinched myself until I bruised I would have believed it was a weird dream or some science fiction story.
ALIENS WALK AMONG US!
Surreal, scary, unbelievable but absolutely true. I don’t even know how to put into words what I feel right now. They are among us. How you might ask? Surely the aliens don’t look exactly like humans, do they? Even someone with an elementary school education can tell you the odds of a species from a completely different planet developing the same as us here. This one looked human… at least from what I saw. You probably think I’m totally nuts but I’ve met him. A real live alien. You’re probably wondering how I know it was an alien. I saw him change forms. He called it shapeshifting. I don’t know what he really looks like but he has the ability to look like a normal human. If I hadn’t seen him shapeshift I would never have known the difference. Scary isn’t it? Maybe next time he will allow me to see what he truly looks like.
He really wasn’t that talkative. I believe he’s in hiding. Probably from the military if the crash was real. I don’t know what he’s been through but even I can see the haunted look shadowing his eyes. I am a novelist and my latest project was researching aliens. I thought it was all hokie. I was just writing about aliens to make a few bucks. Now I know differently, but anyone who has ever done any research into the subject of aliens and looked into the Roswell crash has heard stories. Stories of the military catching at least one live alien using it as some sort of guinea pig. I can only imagine the horrors the poor creature was subjected to. If this alien, this shapeshifter I met today, was the one the military captured after the crash, I pity him and can understand the haunted look so much better. It is no wonder he doesn’t trust easily. I hope I will gain his trust. For now, he seems to believe me when I say I mean him no harm and will not reveal him to the authorities.
I find myself wanting to know everything. I want to know about his world, his people, why they were here, and if he will ever go home. Perhaps I am being utterly foolish, but the curiosity in me will not be tamped down.”
Michael looked up at the others. They were all hooked on Atherton’s words.
“Michael, please keep going or let someone else take a turn.” Liz all but begged. She wondered how much Atherton learned about the alien and what happened next. She felt an almost kinship with the dead author. They both started a journal after discovering the existence of aliens. Amazing how they change your life forever.
Nodding his head, Michael turned the page and continued with the next journal entry.
“Journal Entry 2
Nearly a month has gone by since that first day I learned the truth. My life will never be the same. This month has been one of discovery. A month of discovering who I am as a person and of learning to see another life form as sentient as myself. The shapeshifter or Nesado, as he is called by the Mesaliko Indians, is still close mouthed. He doesn’t talk much but his actions speak much louder than words ever could. He hasn’t shared much of his life or what his people are like. I didn’t even realize he had never smiled until today. Today I made him smile. It was a truly moving sight. For one moment, the pain in his eyes receded and all I saw was pure amusement. I think I’m slowly wearing him down with my constant questions and my desire to find out more. He so far only states that he will tell me when he’s ready. Maybe he will be soon. There are so many questions I have for him. Why is he on Earth? Why did they crash? Were they on a mission or just passing through? Did he have a family? What are his people and his world like? So far he has only looked at me strangely and walked away when I start my endless list of questions. At least he hasn’t blasted me.
Ah yes, I’m sure you’re wondering what that is. I have discovered that he has several abilities or powers as a human would say. They are normal for his kind… at least I think so. From what I’ve gathered, molecular manipulation is his main ability which is why he can shapeshift. The first time I saw him change the color of something, I nearly fell over in shock. Sure I had seen him glow and change form but nothing else until then. It’s quite fascinating to see him wave his hand over something and it changes shape or color just that fast.
He can use his abilities to heat or cool objects down. I’ve seen him warm his food or cool it down when it was too hot. I’ve also seen him throw out this ball of energy… it’s what I like to call a blast because it’s a blast of energy he sends out of his hand. I haven’t seen the results against a live creature but what I’ve seen it do to rocks and cacti… well it’s as close of a demonstration as I want to get.
I never get tired of watching him make something glow. He spends a good portion of his day out in the desert using his powers to trace strange symbols, alien symbols in the sand. After completing the symbol, he waves his hand over it and suddenly it lights up with an eerie blue light. It’s almost ethereal.
I’m sure as he was demonstrating this power to me, he was trying to scare me but it didn’t work. I’ve spent nearly every waking moment of the last month watching him. He may be tortured and haunted by his past but this being is not a cold blooded killer. He has a reverence for life that makes him more human than alien in my eyes.
When he is not out in the desert making symbols glow, he is at the reservation. He spends most of that time helping in any way he can. He visits the sick and ill and does what he can for them. He once told a young Mesaliko Indian by the name of River Dog that he cannot reverse the affects of aging… his powers will not allow him that, but he can alleviate their suffering. Many an elder has gotten back on their feet with his healing hands. Even when he can’t use his powers to help them, he sits with them and listens to their stories. How many elderly people sit in nursing homes and wish there was someone who would take the time to talk to them and listen to them? He has no reason to sit and listen to their ramblings. I, myself, find it hard to sit there for any length of time and listen to them blather about the good ol’ days. But Nesado just sits there patiently listening and sometimes asking questions.
When not helping those less fortunate, he can be found among the children. His touch is always gentle, his voice always kind with them. He has the patience of a saint. I’ve seen the kids become quite rough with him but he never raises his voice or his hand against them. I think it is a true mark of a great man that he can be so calm and patient with them when with the flick of his hand he could seriously hurt or even kill them.
All of the reservation knows he is an alien but it doesn’t seem to bother any of them. Maybe it’s because they always see him helping wherever he can. He doesn’t act superior to them. He doesn’t try to change the way they live. Many of the people that come to the reservation try to change the way the Mesaliko Indians live but he doesn’t. I think he finds their way of life more to his liking than the outside world. His presence is peaceful and soothing to be around. It makes me wish more people were like him. Maybe this world would be a better place.
“Wow. Nesado seemed like a really nice guy. How did he go from that to the inhuman killing machine leaving all those silver handprints on innocent victims?” Alex asked the question everyone was starting to wonder about. How did this alien who is described more like a humanitarian go from that to the monster they new about?
“Don’t know. Maybe Atherton knows.” Michael wished he could have known this Nesado. He wondered how different his life might have been like if had known. Was this Nesado related to him? Would he have raised him instead of Hank?
“Michael, let me read for awhile. You take a break.” Max held out his hand for the journal. He felt the need to read for awhile. He hoped Atherton could tell them more about Nesado. He hoped Atherton would tell them something about themselves.
"Journal Entry 3
Nesado is finally sharing details of his life with me. It took several months of wearing him down. He would only give me a few details at first. A few interesting facts about his people and his way of life were the first things he imparted to me. He showed me his true form. Tall, angular and gray in color, his natural form doesn’t look anything like a human form. His head is overly large compared to his thin body. His eyes are the most alien of him though. Large and black they have no iris. It is quite unsettling to look into his eyes. Like I said, quite an interesting individual.
It took several more weeks after showing me his true form before he told me the most incredible story. One that even now I have much trouble comprehending and believing despite the evidence he has shown me. I listened to his story and I couldn’t believe it until he took me to this cave and showed me proof. Proof in the form of eight small children floating in what he called incubation pods. Nothing he has so far showed me or done made me feel more like I was dealing with an alien than looking at these fetuses in some kind of green glowing goo.
You’re wondering how that could be construed as proof… well let me tell you this story. I hope I get it right. There is so much to tell and much of it is confusing and completely out of this world. The fate of the world rests on the tiny shoulders of eight babies… how’s that for scary? But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning.
It started last week when Nesado decided to trust me with the full story after months of stonewalling me. I hadn’t turned him in at any time over the last three months even with all the opportunities presented. He took me to this cave. He said only River Dog knew where it was. On the walls I saw many more alien symbols. Symbols he had written into the walls. He told me he wanted me to know the story. He feared for his life and if something should happen to him, someone needed to know everything to pass on to his charges. I asked him who these charges were and his response was “I have many secrets and a story to tell… once I’ve told you all, you’ll understand.”
Here I thought only elderly medicine men were cryptic. But the story he had to tell blew me out of the water. I still don’t know whether I fully believe it or not but it’s a story I need to write down. I doubt I could ever forget it but I want it written so I never forget a single detail.
Here it is:
In the Worldwind galaxy, there are five inhabited planets. On one of these planets, a species called the Cromerians live. They are many centuries ahead of Earth in technology but mentally they are even further behind. They have polluted their planet until it is dying. It can no longer support life. In desperation they attacked the crown jewel of the Worldwind galaxy.
The planet, Antar, is much like Earth but more pristine. Blue skies and oceans, oxygen is heavier there than here for there’s no pollution, dense forests and high mountains made this planet the most beautiful in the galaxy. The Cromerians wanted it even though they couldn’t survive in its atmosphere. They were jealous of the Antarians prosperity. And before I forget I should explain what he told me of Antar’s ruling system. Antar is ruled by a monarchy. Their royal court is made up of the King, the Queen, the King’s advisor, the Queen’s advisor, the General of Antar’s armies, the spiritual or religious advisor, a royal ambassador who usually was the younger sibling of the ruling heir, and the intelligence officer.
The Antarians, of course, protected themselves and won the war but being a generous and forgiving race, they offered the Cromerians two options. The first was a moon colony the Antarians had. The colony could be made to suit the Cromerians needs and would allow them to have a prosperous trade. The moon had many natural metals and minerals and would support the Cromerians for many generations. The second option was to allow the Cromerians to settle on an uninhabited continent. The continent was not the most beautiful by Antar standards but it could be adapted for the Cromerians to live on and had resources they could use as trade.
The unsettled continent would have taken too much work to make livable so the Cromerians chose the moon colony. They were unhappy though. They wanted an entire planet not just a moon colony or an unused continent. They plotted and planned and eventually found a way to start the war again.
Antar managed to defeat the Cromerians once again. The Cromerians swore revenge on the Antarians. They hated them for being able to defeat them twice without any help from any of the other planets in the system. Antarian spies discovered the Cromerians were making a type of environmental suit that would allow them to survive in any environment and could be made to look like any species. The Cromerians themselves do not have a solid form. According to Nesado they are more of an energy based life form that has no real form in its natural state. The environmental suits were a type of organic parasite that could be made to look like any other being. In one of these suits, the Cromerians could walk freely on any planet without raising suspicions.
The spies discovered the suits were so far only designed to look like two different species so far. The Antarians and a little known species known as humans. The king had discovered Earth during a scouting mission and had become fascinated by it and its people. Unfortunately, the humans were nowhere near being able to defend themselves against the Cromerians.
The royal court managed to find out the Cromerians plans. They were going to infiltrate the Antarian government and cause havoc from the inside while they sent a ship to Earth. They would slowly take over Earth while Antar was too busy dealing with their own problems to come to their aid. Unfortunately for them, King Zan had declared Earth a protected planet and was not about to sit by while the Cromerians destroyed them. So the plan was made to help Earth.
The king knew that they were going to have to deal with the internal threat before they would be able to send any of their own military after the Cromerians but due to the differences in Antar and Cromerian technology, an ingenious and somewhat far out plan was hatched. It would take over fifty years for the Cromerians to reach Earth at their top speed, but Antar could send a ship to Earth in just a couple of weeks time. The royal court came up with a way to help keep Earth safe while they dealt with the Cromerians who had infiltrated their ranks. They created hybrids.
Yep, I just about fell off the chair when he told me that. King Zan didn’t have the resources to send a bunch of his soldiers. Even with their ability to shapeshift, they wouldn’t be able to fit into Earth society and keep a low profile for over five decades waiting on the Cromerians to get here so they needed another way. The only other option they found reasonable was to create human-Antarian hybrids. They would look human but would have enough of Antarians special abilities to fight the Cromerians. He didn’t give me all the details. I’m not exactly sure he knew all of them. He only told me Antarian scientists combined human DNA with Antarian DNA from the Royal Eight and made eight embryos and placed them in incubation pods. They were designed to allow the children to “hatch” about ten years before the Cromerian forces were estimated to get here.
Things went wrong when the ship that had brought the incubation pods and the scientists tried to take off. Apparently there was a traitor on board. Nesado believes it could be a Cromerian in an Antarian looking environmental suit. The ship crashed and all hell broke loose so to speak. The military was on them in just a short amount of time. Four Antarians were dead, the traitor had disappeared and only two Antarians were left alive. Nesado and the other survivor ran but were both captured. Nesado escaped three days later. He had never found out what happened to the other despite his search. He could only hope the other died quickly or managed to escape.
I asked him what happened to the two that were meant to stay behind to help the children. I swear I saw tears in his eyes as he answered simply, “They were destroyed.” He went on to tell me the traitor had found the other two and killed them. He had moved the pods and hidden them a little better but he wasn’t sure if the traitor wouldn’t find them. He was just a pilot. He wasn’t a scientist or a teacher. He wasn’t sure how he could help these young children reach their potential. He was also very worried. He thought it looked like some of the pods had been tampered with. He didn’t know how to fix them. He could only hope they would be okay. I asked him what would happen if any or all of these kids died. Was there any kind of back up plan? He told me that he couldn’t tell me that. Yes, there was a back up plan but he couldn’t tell me.
He made me promise if anything happened to him, I would take care of those children and find them good homes and help them in any way I could. I promised even knowing that I might not even live that long. They were not going to come out of the pods for about forty years and I was already in my forties. I would be an old man by the time they were born but I promised I would do my best to help them.
To be continued.....[/i]
Max yawned wishing he didn’t have to get up just yet. It was a little after ten o’clock in the morning. They had driven most of the night and stopped at a motel once they reached Marathon, Texas. The whole gang had trudged into their rooms and collapsed. They hadn’t even grumbled about who had to share a room. They were just too exhausted by the long drive. Now it was hours later and it was time for them to go check out the dome.
“Okay, I know everyone wants to go out to the dome, but I don’t think the logistics of that are good. We don’t know what we’re going to find out there and the fewer people that go the better.” Mr. Evans explained. He knew this was not going to go over well with the kids but having six teenagers and two adults show up at the dome might be a problem. He didn’t know if there would be anyone else there or if they had some type of monitoring device in place.
“WHAT? No way, I’m not sitting here at the hotel waiting. I came all this way to see this dome. I’m not staying behind.” Maria nearly shrieked. She may not be an alien but she was a part of this and wasn’t going to allow anyone to tell her differently.
“Look, Mr. Evans, we’re all going. Maria and myself may not be aliens but we’re apart of this. We want to be involved. Besides, if there’s trouble, then there’s safety in numbers.” Alex stated determinedly. He was not going to be left behind. He didn’t want to be left out and if they found anything, he wanted to be there. Maybe he could help. Maybe he couldn’t but he was going either way.
“Dad, we all want to go. With all of us looking, we have more of a chance of finding something than just a few of us going.” Max didn’t want to leave Liz behind and he knew at least one of his parents was going to come. Alex and Maria were apart of this, and he knew they wouldn’t want to be left out. Michael was the one with the vision so he definitely had to come and Isabel was a part of this as well. There was just no way to decide who gets to stay and who gets to go.
“Well, I guess that’s it then.” Mr. Evans shook his head and led the entourage out. He supposed he should have guessed that everyone was going to go.
----
Since it was Michael’s vision that had led them here, the others stepped aside and gave him the opportunity to go in first. Michael nervously stepped inside, wondering what he would find inside. Squinting as his eyes adjusted to the dimmer interior, he gazed around the large room. The inside was a total disaster. Boxes littered the floor, cracks in the walls and floor had vegetation growing from it, windows were broken and dirty, the long bench-like tables were covered in debris along with the floor. It looked like the place hadn’t seen a visitor since Atherton died.
Michael headed towards the back. He knew there was something back there he needed to find. He didn’t really know how he knew or what it was but there was something back there calling for him. Stopping inside what looked like an office if the antiquated typewriter and dusty file cabinets were any indication, Michael took stock of his surroundings. He needed to find where the key went.
“This place is a mess. I seriously doubt there is anything useful left.” Isabel muttered. She hated getting dirty and this place was definitely filthy.
“She’s right, Michael. It looks like someone has already gone through this place looking for something and it doesn’t look like anyone has been here in decades. Whatever was here to find is likely long gone.” Mr. Evans stated looking around the office. Papers, yellowed with age and mildew, littered the floor. A couple of chairs were over turned and broken. The drawers of the file cabinets were thrown open with files hanging out.
Clenching the key in his hand, Michael growled out, “It’s here somewhere. There’s a secret room but we have to find the lock first. Look around; there should be a loose rock or panel. We need to find it.”
Not waiting to see what the others did, Michael began his search. Touching each brick, he tried to work it back and forth or pull it out. He didn’t know what exactly he was looking for. He just knew that it was hidden and he had to look for it. Ten minutes later, Michael nearly lost his balance when a rock that shouldn’t have moved pulled open at his tug. Calling the others over, he pushed the key into the lock and turned.
The room’s occupants held their breath waiting for something or anything to happen. Several moments’ of tense silence filled the room. They were just beginning to think nothing would happen when the sound of wood creaking and the squealing of rusted hinges brought there attention to the center of the office where a trap door was painstakingly rising. Looking at one another, they tried not to get their hopes up.
One by one they filed down the stairs into Atherton’s secret room. Larger than the office by several feet, it was obviously made to house someone for at least a few weeks if not longer. Rusted canned goods and jugs of water rested against one wall, a cot with ragged and dusty bedding lay against another. A table with a book sat in the center of the room. File cabinets rested against another wall and a curtain separated what looked like a bathroom from the rest of the room. The center of the room was cluttered with rotting boxes.
“Okay, just pack up anything that looks useful and we can look at it later.” Mr. Evans stated. He didn’t want to stay here any longer than he had too. The place gave him the creeps.
Grabbing a box, Liz and Alex packed up the files they found. They were actually surprised they didn’t fall apart as they stuffed them in. Michael found several pages of drawn alien symbols resting on Atherton’s cot. He picked them up and studied them. They seemed so familiar as if he should know them. Placing them in the box to take with them so he could study them later, Michael came up to the book sitting on the table. Opening it, he discovered neat handwriting. Reading the first paragraph he realized it was a journal. Atherton’s journal about meeting an alien. Taking the book, he carefully wrapped it up and set it inside the box.
“I think that’s everything. There wasn’t much down here.” Liz shrugged. She didn’t think anything in the files was going to be helpful. It looked like research done on alien abductions and sightings. Isabel strolled around the room one last time. Her attention was caught by a gleam out of the corner of her eye. Turning she found herself looking at a pendant with a symbol she felt she knew. It seemed so familiar. It was as if she thought hard enough, she would remember it and know what it meant. Hearing the others calling for her to hurry up, Isabel grabbed the pendant and put it on. She would figure it out later.
Michael closed the secret door and hid the lock once again. He figured it would be a good place to escape to if they ever had to. It didn’t look like anyone had discovered the secret room since Atherton died. If they ever needed to get out of Roswell and go somewhere and hide for a few days, this place could come in handy.
Arriving back at the hotel, the gang filed into the Evans hotel room to see what was in those files. Maybe they could find a few more answers. Michael could only hope there was something in there that could help him find home. Max and Isabel may be content to play normal and live as humans but he knew there was something else out there for him. Pulling Atherton’s journal out of the box, he unwrapped it and sat down to read.
“What are you reading, Michael?” Diane called out. She had noticed that Michael hadn’t paid any attention to the rest of what was in the box but went straight for some book.
“Oh, uh, it’s Atherton’s journal. It looks like he actually met an alien.” Michael shrugged and started to go back to reading.
“Why don’t you read it aloud for everyone to hear? That way we don’t keep rereading the same stuff over and over.” Mr. Evans suggested. Everyone else nodded their agreement and got comfortable. Michael looked a little put out, but nodded finally in agreement.
“Journal Entry 1:
Today I learned the most amazing and unbelievable thing. It goes beyond everything I ever believed to be true. This is the greatest discover of this century. Hell, of maybe the entire history of Earth. It’s so amazing and unbelievable if I hadn’t pinched myself until I bruised I would have believed it was a weird dream or some science fiction story.
ALIENS WALK AMONG US!
Surreal, scary, unbelievable but absolutely true. I don’t even know how to put into words what I feel right now. They are among us. How you might ask? Surely the aliens don’t look exactly like humans, do they? Even someone with an elementary school education can tell you the odds of a species from a completely different planet developing the same as us here. This one looked human… at least from what I saw. You probably think I’m totally nuts but I’ve met him. A real live alien. You’re probably wondering how I know it was an alien. I saw him change forms. He called it shapeshifting. I don’t know what he really looks like but he has the ability to look like a normal human. If I hadn’t seen him shapeshift I would never have known the difference. Scary isn’t it? Maybe next time he will allow me to see what he truly looks like.
He really wasn’t that talkative. I believe he’s in hiding. Probably from the military if the crash was real. I don’t know what he’s been through but even I can see the haunted look shadowing his eyes. I am a novelist and my latest project was researching aliens. I thought it was all hokie. I was just writing about aliens to make a few bucks. Now I know differently, but anyone who has ever done any research into the subject of aliens and looked into the Roswell crash has heard stories. Stories of the military catching at least one live alien using it as some sort of guinea pig. I can only imagine the horrors the poor creature was subjected to. If this alien, this shapeshifter I met today, was the one the military captured after the crash, I pity him and can understand the haunted look so much better. It is no wonder he doesn’t trust easily. I hope I will gain his trust. For now, he seems to believe me when I say I mean him no harm and will not reveal him to the authorities.
I find myself wanting to know everything. I want to know about his world, his people, why they were here, and if he will ever go home. Perhaps I am being utterly foolish, but the curiosity in me will not be tamped down.”
Michael looked up at the others. They were all hooked on Atherton’s words.
“Michael, please keep going or let someone else take a turn.” Liz all but begged. She wondered how much Atherton learned about the alien and what happened next. She felt an almost kinship with the dead author. They both started a journal after discovering the existence of aliens. Amazing how they change your life forever.
Nodding his head, Michael turned the page and continued with the next journal entry.
“Journal Entry 2
Nearly a month has gone by since that first day I learned the truth. My life will never be the same. This month has been one of discovery. A month of discovering who I am as a person and of learning to see another life form as sentient as myself. The shapeshifter or Nesado, as he is called by the Mesaliko Indians, is still close mouthed. He doesn’t talk much but his actions speak much louder than words ever could. He hasn’t shared much of his life or what his people are like. I didn’t even realize he had never smiled until today. Today I made him smile. It was a truly moving sight. For one moment, the pain in his eyes receded and all I saw was pure amusement. I think I’m slowly wearing him down with my constant questions and my desire to find out more. He so far only states that he will tell me when he’s ready. Maybe he will be soon. There are so many questions I have for him. Why is he on Earth? Why did they crash? Were they on a mission or just passing through? Did he have a family? What are his people and his world like? So far he has only looked at me strangely and walked away when I start my endless list of questions. At least he hasn’t blasted me.
Ah yes, I’m sure you’re wondering what that is. I have discovered that he has several abilities or powers as a human would say. They are normal for his kind… at least I think so. From what I’ve gathered, molecular manipulation is his main ability which is why he can shapeshift. The first time I saw him change the color of something, I nearly fell over in shock. Sure I had seen him glow and change form but nothing else until then. It’s quite fascinating to see him wave his hand over something and it changes shape or color just that fast.
He can use his abilities to heat or cool objects down. I’ve seen him warm his food or cool it down when it was too hot. I’ve also seen him throw out this ball of energy… it’s what I like to call a blast because it’s a blast of energy he sends out of his hand. I haven’t seen the results against a live creature but what I’ve seen it do to rocks and cacti… well it’s as close of a demonstration as I want to get.
I never get tired of watching him make something glow. He spends a good portion of his day out in the desert using his powers to trace strange symbols, alien symbols in the sand. After completing the symbol, he waves his hand over it and suddenly it lights up with an eerie blue light. It’s almost ethereal.
I’m sure as he was demonstrating this power to me, he was trying to scare me but it didn’t work. I’ve spent nearly every waking moment of the last month watching him. He may be tortured and haunted by his past but this being is not a cold blooded killer. He has a reverence for life that makes him more human than alien in my eyes.
When he is not out in the desert making symbols glow, he is at the reservation. He spends most of that time helping in any way he can. He visits the sick and ill and does what he can for them. He once told a young Mesaliko Indian by the name of River Dog that he cannot reverse the affects of aging… his powers will not allow him that, but he can alleviate their suffering. Many an elder has gotten back on their feet with his healing hands. Even when he can’t use his powers to help them, he sits with them and listens to their stories. How many elderly people sit in nursing homes and wish there was someone who would take the time to talk to them and listen to them? He has no reason to sit and listen to their ramblings. I, myself, find it hard to sit there for any length of time and listen to them blather about the good ol’ days. But Nesado just sits there patiently listening and sometimes asking questions.
When not helping those less fortunate, he can be found among the children. His touch is always gentle, his voice always kind with them. He has the patience of a saint. I’ve seen the kids become quite rough with him but he never raises his voice or his hand against them. I think it is a true mark of a great man that he can be so calm and patient with them when with the flick of his hand he could seriously hurt or even kill them.
All of the reservation knows he is an alien but it doesn’t seem to bother any of them. Maybe it’s because they always see him helping wherever he can. He doesn’t act superior to them. He doesn’t try to change the way they live. Many of the people that come to the reservation try to change the way the Mesaliko Indians live but he doesn’t. I think he finds their way of life more to his liking than the outside world. His presence is peaceful and soothing to be around. It makes me wish more people were like him. Maybe this world would be a better place.
“Wow. Nesado seemed like a really nice guy. How did he go from that to the inhuman killing machine leaving all those silver handprints on innocent victims?” Alex asked the question everyone was starting to wonder about. How did this alien who is described more like a humanitarian go from that to the monster they new about?
“Don’t know. Maybe Atherton knows.” Michael wished he could have known this Nesado. He wondered how different his life might have been like if had known. Was this Nesado related to him? Would he have raised him instead of Hank?
“Michael, let me read for awhile. You take a break.” Max held out his hand for the journal. He felt the need to read for awhile. He hoped Atherton could tell them more about Nesado. He hoped Atherton would tell them something about themselves.
"Journal Entry 3
Nesado is finally sharing details of his life with me. It took several months of wearing him down. He would only give me a few details at first. A few interesting facts about his people and his way of life were the first things he imparted to me. He showed me his true form. Tall, angular and gray in color, his natural form doesn’t look anything like a human form. His head is overly large compared to his thin body. His eyes are the most alien of him though. Large and black they have no iris. It is quite unsettling to look into his eyes. Like I said, quite an interesting individual.
It took several more weeks after showing me his true form before he told me the most incredible story. One that even now I have much trouble comprehending and believing despite the evidence he has shown me. I listened to his story and I couldn’t believe it until he took me to this cave and showed me proof. Proof in the form of eight small children floating in what he called incubation pods. Nothing he has so far showed me or done made me feel more like I was dealing with an alien than looking at these fetuses in some kind of green glowing goo.
You’re wondering how that could be construed as proof… well let me tell you this story. I hope I get it right. There is so much to tell and much of it is confusing and completely out of this world. The fate of the world rests on the tiny shoulders of eight babies… how’s that for scary? But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning.
It started last week when Nesado decided to trust me with the full story after months of stonewalling me. I hadn’t turned him in at any time over the last three months even with all the opportunities presented. He took me to this cave. He said only River Dog knew where it was. On the walls I saw many more alien symbols. Symbols he had written into the walls. He told me he wanted me to know the story. He feared for his life and if something should happen to him, someone needed to know everything to pass on to his charges. I asked him who these charges were and his response was “I have many secrets and a story to tell… once I’ve told you all, you’ll understand.”
Here I thought only elderly medicine men were cryptic. But the story he had to tell blew me out of the water. I still don’t know whether I fully believe it or not but it’s a story I need to write down. I doubt I could ever forget it but I want it written so I never forget a single detail.
Here it is:
In the Worldwind galaxy, there are five inhabited planets. On one of these planets, a species called the Cromerians live. They are many centuries ahead of Earth in technology but mentally they are even further behind. They have polluted their planet until it is dying. It can no longer support life. In desperation they attacked the crown jewel of the Worldwind galaxy.
The planet, Antar, is much like Earth but more pristine. Blue skies and oceans, oxygen is heavier there than here for there’s no pollution, dense forests and high mountains made this planet the most beautiful in the galaxy. The Cromerians wanted it even though they couldn’t survive in its atmosphere. They were jealous of the Antarians prosperity. And before I forget I should explain what he told me of Antar’s ruling system. Antar is ruled by a monarchy. Their royal court is made up of the King, the Queen, the King’s advisor, the Queen’s advisor, the General of Antar’s armies, the spiritual or religious advisor, a royal ambassador who usually was the younger sibling of the ruling heir, and the intelligence officer.
The Antarians, of course, protected themselves and won the war but being a generous and forgiving race, they offered the Cromerians two options. The first was a moon colony the Antarians had. The colony could be made to suit the Cromerians needs and would allow them to have a prosperous trade. The moon had many natural metals and minerals and would support the Cromerians for many generations. The second option was to allow the Cromerians to settle on an uninhabited continent. The continent was not the most beautiful by Antar standards but it could be adapted for the Cromerians to live on and had resources they could use as trade.
The unsettled continent would have taken too much work to make livable so the Cromerians chose the moon colony. They were unhappy though. They wanted an entire planet not just a moon colony or an unused continent. They plotted and planned and eventually found a way to start the war again.
Antar managed to defeat the Cromerians once again. The Cromerians swore revenge on the Antarians. They hated them for being able to defeat them twice without any help from any of the other planets in the system. Antarian spies discovered the Cromerians were making a type of environmental suit that would allow them to survive in any environment and could be made to look like any species. The Cromerians themselves do not have a solid form. According to Nesado they are more of an energy based life form that has no real form in its natural state. The environmental suits were a type of organic parasite that could be made to look like any other being. In one of these suits, the Cromerians could walk freely on any planet without raising suspicions.
The spies discovered the suits were so far only designed to look like two different species so far. The Antarians and a little known species known as humans. The king had discovered Earth during a scouting mission and had become fascinated by it and its people. Unfortunately, the humans were nowhere near being able to defend themselves against the Cromerians.
The royal court managed to find out the Cromerians plans. They were going to infiltrate the Antarian government and cause havoc from the inside while they sent a ship to Earth. They would slowly take over Earth while Antar was too busy dealing with their own problems to come to their aid. Unfortunately for them, King Zan had declared Earth a protected planet and was not about to sit by while the Cromerians destroyed them. So the plan was made to help Earth.
The king knew that they were going to have to deal with the internal threat before they would be able to send any of their own military after the Cromerians but due to the differences in Antar and Cromerian technology, an ingenious and somewhat far out plan was hatched. It would take over fifty years for the Cromerians to reach Earth at their top speed, but Antar could send a ship to Earth in just a couple of weeks time. The royal court came up with a way to help keep Earth safe while they dealt with the Cromerians who had infiltrated their ranks. They created hybrids.
Yep, I just about fell off the chair when he told me that. King Zan didn’t have the resources to send a bunch of his soldiers. Even with their ability to shapeshift, they wouldn’t be able to fit into Earth society and keep a low profile for over five decades waiting on the Cromerians to get here so they needed another way. The only other option they found reasonable was to create human-Antarian hybrids. They would look human but would have enough of Antarians special abilities to fight the Cromerians. He didn’t give me all the details. I’m not exactly sure he knew all of them. He only told me Antarian scientists combined human DNA with Antarian DNA from the Royal Eight and made eight embryos and placed them in incubation pods. They were designed to allow the children to “hatch” about ten years before the Cromerian forces were estimated to get here.
Things went wrong when the ship that had brought the incubation pods and the scientists tried to take off. Apparently there was a traitor on board. Nesado believes it could be a Cromerian in an Antarian looking environmental suit. The ship crashed and all hell broke loose so to speak. The military was on them in just a short amount of time. Four Antarians were dead, the traitor had disappeared and only two Antarians were left alive. Nesado and the other survivor ran but were both captured. Nesado escaped three days later. He had never found out what happened to the other despite his search. He could only hope the other died quickly or managed to escape.
I asked him what happened to the two that were meant to stay behind to help the children. I swear I saw tears in his eyes as he answered simply, “They were destroyed.” He went on to tell me the traitor had found the other two and killed them. He had moved the pods and hidden them a little better but he wasn’t sure if the traitor wouldn’t find them. He was just a pilot. He wasn’t a scientist or a teacher. He wasn’t sure how he could help these young children reach their potential. He was also very worried. He thought it looked like some of the pods had been tampered with. He didn’t know how to fix them. He could only hope they would be okay. I asked him what would happen if any or all of these kids died. Was there any kind of back up plan? He told me that he couldn’t tell me that. Yes, there was a back up plan but he couldn’t tell me.
He made me promise if anything happened to him, I would take care of those children and find them good homes and help them in any way I could. I promised even knowing that I might not even live that long. They were not going to come out of the pods for about forty years and I was already in my forties. I would be an old man by the time they were born but I promised I would do my best to help them.
To be continued.....[/i]
Last edited by Ladeia3 on Thu Sep 07, 2006 6:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Chapter 15B
A/N: Okay here it is. It's not completely too my liking but I'm crosseyed from staring at it for so long. Jeez, when I started this fic I had no intention of making it this long or this detailed.... Darn it! Oh well... here's the next part hope you enjoy it even though it's kinda crappy.
Chapter 15B
Max sat the journal down and just stared at it. He couldn’t believe what he had just read. It was just too unbelievable to be true. How could they save the world? They didn’t even know the first thing about fighting a war. Sure they had done some more training lately but they were nowhere near ready to fight others and according to this journal, the enemy aliens were either already on Earth or arriving soon. How were they going to find these aliens and stop them from taking over the world when they were just high school kids trying to keep a low profile?
On the other hand, Max was happy about part of it. If it was true, than he didn’t have to worry about his alien relatives coming for him and having to leave Earth… or Liz. It was just all too confusing. One minute he’s an alien survivor of a crash trying to keep a low profile and the next, he’s some kind of hybrid meant to save the world. What did this mean for him and Liz? Would she even want to be with him? After all, it was one thing to be a different species… it was quite another to be made in a lab for some specific purpose.
He had always wished he were normal. He wanted to be a normal guy that could ask Liz out, eventually get married, and have kids with the love of his life. Atherton’s journal made those dreams even more unattainable than they were yesterday. Yesterday, his biggest worry was having the wrong person find out what he was. Today, his biggest worry graduated to planetary proportions. Max didn’t really believe in God, but right now he had to wonder if there wasn’t some higher power out there he had pissed off. It just wasn’t fair. He wanted normal.
----
Michael stared out the window trying to stop his mind from thinking about the horrible realizations the journal had caused. He was stuck here. He didn’t have a home to go back too. His “real” mom and dad weren’t going to come rescue him. His “people” weren’t really his people, anymore than humans were. He was made, not born. Instead of having the hope and the dream of one day getting off this rock, he was hearing that it was never in the plan for him to leave. He was supposed to be here. He had a purpose, of course, but that didn’t change the fact that his whole life was a lie. What the hell was he supposed to do now?
Michael didn’t know what to think or how to react to all of this. One part of him wanted to believe it was just some elaborate hoax and any minute now they would discover Atherton was full of shit, but the rest of him knew what Atherton wrote in his journal was real. He and 7 others were designed to save the world. Maybe he should have listened when Max told him they might not want to know the answers. He was really wishing right now that he hadn’t been so gung ho about finding them.
They had a mission now to save the world. Michael mentally laughed at that. They were just kids. As much as he pretended to be the tough guy, he knew they weren’t equipped to save the world, even with their powers. They were just trying to survive just like everyone else. They didn’t know the first thing about war or killing or even how to find the aliens. The world was doomed.
----
Isabel gripped Alex’s hand tightly. Her biggest dream and desire her entire life was to one day meet her “real” parents. Sure she loved the Evans. They were her parents, but they didn’t give birth to her. They couldn’t understand everything about her. Even knowing the truth about her, they couldn’t really understand what it was like to be her. She always believed that one day she would get to meet her “real” parents and things would suddenly make sense. She wouldn’t feel so alone. Her “real” mother would understand what it was like to be an alien and have powers. They could discuss things that she really couldn’t talk about with her adoptive mother, even though she knew the truth.
Atherton’s journal just crushed her lifelong dream. She didn’t really have parents. She was created not born. She just couldn’t deal with this. Not right now. She didn’t want to save the world. She didn’t want to be some creation that was designed to save a planet in danger. She wanted to go back to yesterday when she believed she would one day meet her biological parents, and finally feel like she had found what she was missing all her life.
She squeezed Alex’s hand tighter and sighed. This just couldn’t be real. What did this make her? Was she even a real person? Would Alex even see her as a real person now and not a thing? What about her parents? Would they see her as their daughter, or some kind of monster? Isabel couldn’t even feel. She was just numb.
----
Liz leaned against Max wondering where she fit into all of this. There had been eight children originally. Now there were only five, but two of them were still missing if they were even alive. They were missing three. Would they be able to save the world without them? Did she have a role in all of this? Could she even do this? She was a small town girl. She didn’t know the first thing about intergalactic wars or saving the world. This was way over her head, but how could she walk away? Max needed her and even though she really wasn’t ready to think about it yet, she knew she needed Max too. He had become such an integral part of her life so quickly; she didn’t know how she could go on without him.
Liz sighed and realized that there really wasn’t much of a choice. They couldn’t let these aliens take over the world. They had to figure out how to stop them…. if they could find them that is… She hoped Atherton wrote more about what Max and the others were supposed to do. They couldn’t just do this without knowing who and what they were up against.
----
Alex was stunned by this latest development. He had taken the whole aliens amongst us pretty well considering. He had even taken one of his best friends possibly turning into an alien fairly easily… but this was just too much scifi for him. Quiet, shy Max, rebellious Michael and prom queen Isabel were part of a group meant to save the world. Should he be worried about his chances for survival right about now? Oh well, he knew when he stuck his nose into this it was going to be dangerous. They were going to need his computer skills and he wasn’t about to let his best friend do this all by herself. He knew Liz wasn’t going to back down, no matter how much she believed herself unsuited to the task. He couldn’t let Isabel do this alone either. He knew the chances of them working out as a couple long term were pretty slim, but he couldn’t just abandon her. She would need him, even if she acted like she didn’t. He firmly pushed thoughts of his non-relationship with Isabel out of his mind. Now was not the time to be wondering if she would ever date him. She had enough to deal with as it was.
-----
Maria exhaled loudly in the stifling quiet room. To say she was speechless had to be an understatement. It was one thing to learn that aliens are among us. That was freaky all by itself. It was even more terrifying to learn that her best friend was turning into one. She was still weirded out by that. Now she was learning that said aliens were meant to save the world. WTF??? She couldn’t picture of them being able to accomplish that goal. They were high school students for God’s sake. And what was up with the alien royalty stuff? There was no way in hell she was going to act subservient to them. Pfft, she didn’t care what their DNA said, they were not going to get any fealty crap out of her.
What about those evil aliens? Were they here on Earth now? Were they going to come to Roswell? Oh Crap… she was going to die wasn’t she? The wacky sidekicks always died first in the movies. She was just canon folder. Nearly hyperventilating now, Maria tried to focus on something other than her impending doom.
----
Clearing his throat, Mr. Evans looked around at the obviously shell-shocked kids. “Guys, you’ve heard enough for right now. Why don’t we go ahead and head back to Roswell? It will give us all some time to think about what we’ve learned, and we can finish reading the journal after we get back.” Noticing the kids were still too stunned to protest, he took advantage and got them moving. It was going to be a long drive back.
Mr. Evans had always prided himself on being a fair man. It was one of the reasons he became a lawyer. He was able to make a difference and help others get what they deserved. He couldn’t help but feel rage at this Antarian royal court that decided to play God and create these kids and then load them down with a responsibility that was too much for them. They should be worrying about normal things like getting a date or saying no to drugs or going to parties and figuring out how to cover with the parents when they came home drunk. They shouldn’t have to worry about the FBI or enemy aliens.
They were great kids, exceptional even, but they couldn’t be expected to save the world. What the hell were these aliens thinking loading them down with the responsibility to save the world? These were his kids. He couldn’t just stand by and let them get themselves killed, but what could he do? The world was possibly doomed if he didn’t let them at least try to save the world. The question wasn’t how could he keep his kids safe, but how could he keep them safe while still helping them fulfill their made for destiny.
----
Diane Evans gripped her husband’s arm as he drove back towards Roswell. They had gotten packed fairly quickly and were on the road again within an hour. In that time, the kids had barely said anything. They were all lost in thought. She tried to think calmly about everything she had heard today but she couldn’t do it. When she had learned her kids were aliens, she took it pretty well. She had always suspected they were different and special somehow, so it really hadn’t been much of an effort to wrap her mind around them being from another planet. But this, she couldn’t take well. Her kids were expected to save the world!
Her mind couldn’t stop thinking about all the things that they could go through. Her mind couldn’t stop flashing images of her kids dead because they were forced to fight a battle they shouldn’t have to fight. They were her babies. They shouldn’t have to fight for their lives, and the world’s when they were still in their teens. How could those aliens be so cruel as to saddle her precious babies with the responsibility of fighting this war? How could they decide to create eight innocent lives and make them save a world that would gladly kill them if they knew they existed?
It just wasn’t right. Her babies were too young to have this kind of responsibility. They hadn’t even graduated from high school yet. She wanted to see them graduate and go to college. She wanted to watch her daughter walk down the aisle and marry the man of her dreams. She wanted to be there when her first grandchild was born. She wanted to watch her kids grow into the wonderful adults she knew they could become. She didn’t want them to fight some war she didn’t believe was theirs to fight in the first place.
----
Pacing back and forth, the pensive figure tried to figure out what to do. Things were about to go out of control. Standing in the shadows, he watched the Evans return home. They had been gone all day, but now approaching midnight they were finally home. He wondered what had happened to put that look on all of their faces. Six teenagers and two adults all looked as if their world had been turned upside down and inside out and they didn’t know how to take it. Waiting until they had all entered the house, the figure cautiously approached the jeep. Making sure no one was watching, he carefully placed a package on the floor by the gas pedal. Hopefully no one else would see it before it was found by the person he wanted to find it. There was no going back now. He hoped he hadn’t made things worse by his actions.
----
Max woke to the smell of bacon and toast wafting through the house. Carefully extracting himself from Liz’s warm body, he wandered into the kitchen. Stretching to get the kinks of his muscles, he was surprised to see everyone else at the table already. Maria, Michael, Isabel, Alex and his dad were all quietly sitting at the table while his mother made breakfast. He wondered briefly if he was in an alternate universe. Michael and Isabel willingly up before 7am and the love of his life asleep in his bed and his parents knew the truth about him and accepted him. Yep, he was going to wake up any second and discover it was all just some fantastic dream. He shook his head to get rid of the annoying thoughts and took a seat at the table.
“Good Morning, honey. Did you sleep well?” Diane chirped from her spot at the stove. Michael snorted but refrained from comment when he got several glares.
“Morning, yeah, I slept fine.” Max slapped the back of Michael’s head in retaliation. “What is everyone doing up so early?”
“We wanted to read some more of Atherton’s journal. Maria, Liz and Michael all have to work this evening. I don’t know if you do or not but since they have to work later on we wanted to read more while we could. Besides, we still have all of those files to go through as well.” Alex explained to Max in between mouthfuls of pancakes and bacon.
“Oh” Max got up and grabbed himself and Liz a plate. He knew she was going to wake up shortly and probably be hungry. She hadn’t eaten anything last night. Actually, they had all pretty much skipped dinner.
----
Liz woke up almost as soon as Max left the bed. It was really annoying that neither one could really sleep later than the other. They seemed to only be able to sleep at the same time and when they were in close proximity. It would be nice to sleep late every once in awhile. She wondered if it was a permanent alien affect or if it would go away eventually. She hoped it was the latter.
Getting out of bed, she took a quick shower and joined the others at the table. They were just about finished with their breakfast so she hurriedly wolfed down her food. For the next little while, nothing was heard but the sound of forks scrapping plates and glasses clinking against the table.
Finished with breakfast, everyone thanked Mrs. Evans and headed into the living room to start on the journal. It was time to find out what else Atherton knew.
“How about if I start off?” Alex waited for everyone to nod before picking up the book and opening to where they left off yesterday.
Journal Entry 4:
I learn more about Nesado’s life before coming to Earth everyday. To say I find it fascinating is an understatement. I once thought Nesado lacking in human emotions, but I’ve since learned that those assigned as protectors, guards, or soldiers have their emotions muted to allow them to do their jobs more efficiently without emotions affecting them. They still feel the emotions but do not display them as they would have if they hadn’t been tampered with. I also learned that Antarians aren’t shapeshifters. The shapeshifters like Nesado were engineered. Apparently, shapeshifters are created for specific purposes. Some are servants, some are entertainers, some are soldiers and guards, some workers, etc. They have the ability to shapeshift so they can look however their owner wants them to. Other than the created in a lab and alien powers deal, it sounds a lot like the slavery that went on until a few decades ago.
Nesado was the only one to volunteer for this mission because King Zan was trying to change things for the shapeshifters. King Zan believed the shapeshifters should be able to choose their own lives and be free to choose what they do and whom they do it for. Needless to say, that was only popular with the shapeshifters and a few individuals who felt the same as King Zan. Because Nesado volunteered for this mission, his genetic coding is different than the other shifters. He had free will. Of course, he can’t harm the kids, but he could walk away from this mission and never look back.
The other shapeshifters were programmed to protect and guide the eight children. If they had lived they would not have been able to leave the kids. They would have been forced to take care of them whether they wanted to or not. If they even thought about betraying the kids or walking away they would have suffered severe physical pain. Another thing King Zan was trying to change. If a shapeshifter did not fulfill his duties the way they were supposed to be done, they would become wracked by a crippling pain. Some even died because the pain became too intense. It sounds like torture to me.
I’m sure you’re wondering why I haven’t mentioned anything about Nesado’s previous revelations. What can I say? I’m still in shock. I’ve been to visit the cave with the eight children several times over the last few weeks since Nesado told me about them but I still have trouble believing all of it. Other than a few crumbs about what Antarian life is like; Nesado has gone back to avoiding questions and being secretive. It’s damn annoying but I have learned to respect the guy so I will wait patiently for him to come to me.
Journal Entry 5:
Nesado took me to the cave again. He wanted to show me some things he was going to leave for the children. He had become increasingly paranoid the last few weeks. He believes the traitor is close. This is the last time he will come up here to check on the pods for a while. He intends leave the area for some time and hope he can lead the traitor away from them. I don’t know if that will work or not but Nesado believes it is his only option.
Well, I have to say alien technology is impressive. He showed me these eight crystals. He told me each crystal is coded to the DNA of one of the children. The crystals would help the children out. They contained knowledge on their powers and their role in the group. The crystals would only glow for the one they were encoded for. Apparently, the person they glow for is the only one able to access the crystals. Nesado explained the children would be able to access it once they found them. He said it was instinctive and there was no way to teach it.
He also showed me eight bracelets. The bracelets performed a completely different function. Apparently the scientists wanted to design the children to pair up when they got older but the original royal court refused to allow it. So instead they added an Antarian Z’lizca. Don’t worry I can’t pronounce it either. I’ve learned a lot of Antarian words are unpronounceable by the human tongue. Basically, it helps Antarians find their true mate. According to Nesado, the bracelets have never been wrong. Supposedly, the individual is supposed to wear the one encoded for them and then touch it against the bracelet of the one they are interested in. If it glows, it means they are compatible mates, physically and mentally. If it doesn’t glow then they aren’t suitable at all.
I asked if any Antarian had chosen a mate that the bracelet didn’t glow for. He said it happened sometimes, but the relationships almost always ended up in disaster. Antarians mate for life and the only way out is death. He also said the bracelets usually didn’t glow for more than one or two individuals at most. According to him, although the children weren’t genetically engineered to pair off with each other, because of their unusual DNA, more than likely they would pair off anyway.
I couldn’t help but look at one of the pods Nesado had pointed out as being damaged. Even to my untrained eye I could tell the child inside was very sick. I couldn’t help but ask what happened if one of them died before they could save the world. His answer completely surprised me. Apparently, the scientists had thought of that scenario. It was likely the kids would have to deal with a hostile government and population on top of evil aliens. There was every chance that some would die before they reached maturity. So they set up a back up plan.
Each one of the hybrids has the ability to connect and change a human into a hybrid but only one human. More than likely whoever they connect and change will be their permanent mate. Nesado compared it to a marriage ceremony but more binding. The two become intertwined and will never be able to live for very long without the other. If one or more of the children died, if at least four survived than they could change humans to become their mate and a part of the team.
Once this happened, the crystal and bracelet meant for one of the dead team members would automatically re-encode themselves to the changed humans DNA. He explained the crystals all had information encoded into them to help in case a changed human became a part of the team.
----
Alex stuttered to a stop suddenly realizing what he had read. Looking up he saw Max and Liz staring at each other and everyone staring at them. Right there in black and white telling them they were basically married to each other at the ripe old age of 16. Sheesh, he was really glad that he wasn’t Max or Liz right now. He couldn’t imagine how he would feel if he was told he was married to someone when he was so young.
“Uh, why don’t we stop reading there for now? I think we are all on information overload and we need to time to think about what we’ve learned so far and what to do about it.” Mr. Evans calmly stated. He was far from calm though. Damn it! How many more surprises and life altering information was Atherton going to throw at them? What do you do when you find out your son is married at 16? What do you do when that son is destined to save the world when he’s only 16? His head hurt just thinking about it.
----
Max pulled Liz off the couch with him. “Um, we’re going to go for a drive and talk. We’ll catch you guys later.” Max muttered quickly and nearly dragged Liz out of the room.
Helping Liz into the jeep, he went around to driver’s side but stopped seeing a package on the floor. Picking it up, he got in and looked over at Liz who shrugged. Opening it, he stared in surprise at the object nestled inside. It was some kind of orb with an alien symbol engraved into it. It looked a lot like the one found out at the cave. What was it doing in his jeep and where did it come from?
Chapter 15B
Max sat the journal down and just stared at it. He couldn’t believe what he had just read. It was just too unbelievable to be true. How could they save the world? They didn’t even know the first thing about fighting a war. Sure they had done some more training lately but they were nowhere near ready to fight others and according to this journal, the enemy aliens were either already on Earth or arriving soon. How were they going to find these aliens and stop them from taking over the world when they were just high school kids trying to keep a low profile?
On the other hand, Max was happy about part of it. If it was true, than he didn’t have to worry about his alien relatives coming for him and having to leave Earth… or Liz. It was just all too confusing. One minute he’s an alien survivor of a crash trying to keep a low profile and the next, he’s some kind of hybrid meant to save the world. What did this mean for him and Liz? Would she even want to be with him? After all, it was one thing to be a different species… it was quite another to be made in a lab for some specific purpose.
He had always wished he were normal. He wanted to be a normal guy that could ask Liz out, eventually get married, and have kids with the love of his life. Atherton’s journal made those dreams even more unattainable than they were yesterday. Yesterday, his biggest worry was having the wrong person find out what he was. Today, his biggest worry graduated to planetary proportions. Max didn’t really believe in God, but right now he had to wonder if there wasn’t some higher power out there he had pissed off. It just wasn’t fair. He wanted normal.
----
Michael stared out the window trying to stop his mind from thinking about the horrible realizations the journal had caused. He was stuck here. He didn’t have a home to go back too. His “real” mom and dad weren’t going to come rescue him. His “people” weren’t really his people, anymore than humans were. He was made, not born. Instead of having the hope and the dream of one day getting off this rock, he was hearing that it was never in the plan for him to leave. He was supposed to be here. He had a purpose, of course, but that didn’t change the fact that his whole life was a lie. What the hell was he supposed to do now?
Michael didn’t know what to think or how to react to all of this. One part of him wanted to believe it was just some elaborate hoax and any minute now they would discover Atherton was full of shit, but the rest of him knew what Atherton wrote in his journal was real. He and 7 others were designed to save the world. Maybe he should have listened when Max told him they might not want to know the answers. He was really wishing right now that he hadn’t been so gung ho about finding them.
They had a mission now to save the world. Michael mentally laughed at that. They were just kids. As much as he pretended to be the tough guy, he knew they weren’t equipped to save the world, even with their powers. They were just trying to survive just like everyone else. They didn’t know the first thing about war or killing or even how to find the aliens. The world was doomed.
----
Isabel gripped Alex’s hand tightly. Her biggest dream and desire her entire life was to one day meet her “real” parents. Sure she loved the Evans. They were her parents, but they didn’t give birth to her. They couldn’t understand everything about her. Even knowing the truth about her, they couldn’t really understand what it was like to be her. She always believed that one day she would get to meet her “real” parents and things would suddenly make sense. She wouldn’t feel so alone. Her “real” mother would understand what it was like to be an alien and have powers. They could discuss things that she really couldn’t talk about with her adoptive mother, even though she knew the truth.
Atherton’s journal just crushed her lifelong dream. She didn’t really have parents. She was created not born. She just couldn’t deal with this. Not right now. She didn’t want to save the world. She didn’t want to be some creation that was designed to save a planet in danger. She wanted to go back to yesterday when she believed she would one day meet her biological parents, and finally feel like she had found what she was missing all her life.
She squeezed Alex’s hand tighter and sighed. This just couldn’t be real. What did this make her? Was she even a real person? Would Alex even see her as a real person now and not a thing? What about her parents? Would they see her as their daughter, or some kind of monster? Isabel couldn’t even feel. She was just numb.
----
Liz leaned against Max wondering where she fit into all of this. There had been eight children originally. Now there were only five, but two of them were still missing if they were even alive. They were missing three. Would they be able to save the world without them? Did she have a role in all of this? Could she even do this? She was a small town girl. She didn’t know the first thing about intergalactic wars or saving the world. This was way over her head, but how could she walk away? Max needed her and even though she really wasn’t ready to think about it yet, she knew she needed Max too. He had become such an integral part of her life so quickly; she didn’t know how she could go on without him.
Liz sighed and realized that there really wasn’t much of a choice. They couldn’t let these aliens take over the world. They had to figure out how to stop them…. if they could find them that is… She hoped Atherton wrote more about what Max and the others were supposed to do. They couldn’t just do this without knowing who and what they were up against.
----
Alex was stunned by this latest development. He had taken the whole aliens amongst us pretty well considering. He had even taken one of his best friends possibly turning into an alien fairly easily… but this was just too much scifi for him. Quiet, shy Max, rebellious Michael and prom queen Isabel were part of a group meant to save the world. Should he be worried about his chances for survival right about now? Oh well, he knew when he stuck his nose into this it was going to be dangerous. They were going to need his computer skills and he wasn’t about to let his best friend do this all by herself. He knew Liz wasn’t going to back down, no matter how much she believed herself unsuited to the task. He couldn’t let Isabel do this alone either. He knew the chances of them working out as a couple long term were pretty slim, but he couldn’t just abandon her. She would need him, even if she acted like she didn’t. He firmly pushed thoughts of his non-relationship with Isabel out of his mind. Now was not the time to be wondering if she would ever date him. She had enough to deal with as it was.
-----
Maria exhaled loudly in the stifling quiet room. To say she was speechless had to be an understatement. It was one thing to learn that aliens are among us. That was freaky all by itself. It was even more terrifying to learn that her best friend was turning into one. She was still weirded out by that. Now she was learning that said aliens were meant to save the world. WTF??? She couldn’t picture of them being able to accomplish that goal. They were high school students for God’s sake. And what was up with the alien royalty stuff? There was no way in hell she was going to act subservient to them. Pfft, she didn’t care what their DNA said, they were not going to get any fealty crap out of her.
What about those evil aliens? Were they here on Earth now? Were they going to come to Roswell? Oh Crap… she was going to die wasn’t she? The wacky sidekicks always died first in the movies. She was just canon folder. Nearly hyperventilating now, Maria tried to focus on something other than her impending doom.
----
Clearing his throat, Mr. Evans looked around at the obviously shell-shocked kids. “Guys, you’ve heard enough for right now. Why don’t we go ahead and head back to Roswell? It will give us all some time to think about what we’ve learned, and we can finish reading the journal after we get back.” Noticing the kids were still too stunned to protest, he took advantage and got them moving. It was going to be a long drive back.
Mr. Evans had always prided himself on being a fair man. It was one of the reasons he became a lawyer. He was able to make a difference and help others get what they deserved. He couldn’t help but feel rage at this Antarian royal court that decided to play God and create these kids and then load them down with a responsibility that was too much for them. They should be worrying about normal things like getting a date or saying no to drugs or going to parties and figuring out how to cover with the parents when they came home drunk. They shouldn’t have to worry about the FBI or enemy aliens.
They were great kids, exceptional even, but they couldn’t be expected to save the world. What the hell were these aliens thinking loading them down with the responsibility to save the world? These were his kids. He couldn’t just stand by and let them get themselves killed, but what could he do? The world was possibly doomed if he didn’t let them at least try to save the world. The question wasn’t how could he keep his kids safe, but how could he keep them safe while still helping them fulfill their made for destiny.
----
Diane Evans gripped her husband’s arm as he drove back towards Roswell. They had gotten packed fairly quickly and were on the road again within an hour. In that time, the kids had barely said anything. They were all lost in thought. She tried to think calmly about everything she had heard today but she couldn’t do it. When she had learned her kids were aliens, she took it pretty well. She had always suspected they were different and special somehow, so it really hadn’t been much of an effort to wrap her mind around them being from another planet. But this, she couldn’t take well. Her kids were expected to save the world!
Her mind couldn’t stop thinking about all the things that they could go through. Her mind couldn’t stop flashing images of her kids dead because they were forced to fight a battle they shouldn’t have to fight. They were her babies. They shouldn’t have to fight for their lives, and the world’s when they were still in their teens. How could those aliens be so cruel as to saddle her precious babies with the responsibility of fighting this war? How could they decide to create eight innocent lives and make them save a world that would gladly kill them if they knew they existed?
It just wasn’t right. Her babies were too young to have this kind of responsibility. They hadn’t even graduated from high school yet. She wanted to see them graduate and go to college. She wanted to watch her daughter walk down the aisle and marry the man of her dreams. She wanted to be there when her first grandchild was born. She wanted to watch her kids grow into the wonderful adults she knew they could become. She didn’t want them to fight some war she didn’t believe was theirs to fight in the first place.
----
Pacing back and forth, the pensive figure tried to figure out what to do. Things were about to go out of control. Standing in the shadows, he watched the Evans return home. They had been gone all day, but now approaching midnight they were finally home. He wondered what had happened to put that look on all of their faces. Six teenagers and two adults all looked as if their world had been turned upside down and inside out and they didn’t know how to take it. Waiting until they had all entered the house, the figure cautiously approached the jeep. Making sure no one was watching, he carefully placed a package on the floor by the gas pedal. Hopefully no one else would see it before it was found by the person he wanted to find it. There was no going back now. He hoped he hadn’t made things worse by his actions.
----
Max woke to the smell of bacon and toast wafting through the house. Carefully extracting himself from Liz’s warm body, he wandered into the kitchen. Stretching to get the kinks of his muscles, he was surprised to see everyone else at the table already. Maria, Michael, Isabel, Alex and his dad were all quietly sitting at the table while his mother made breakfast. He wondered briefly if he was in an alternate universe. Michael and Isabel willingly up before 7am and the love of his life asleep in his bed and his parents knew the truth about him and accepted him. Yep, he was going to wake up any second and discover it was all just some fantastic dream. He shook his head to get rid of the annoying thoughts and took a seat at the table.
“Good Morning, honey. Did you sleep well?” Diane chirped from her spot at the stove. Michael snorted but refrained from comment when he got several glares.
“Morning, yeah, I slept fine.” Max slapped the back of Michael’s head in retaliation. “What is everyone doing up so early?”
“We wanted to read some more of Atherton’s journal. Maria, Liz and Michael all have to work this evening. I don’t know if you do or not but since they have to work later on we wanted to read more while we could. Besides, we still have all of those files to go through as well.” Alex explained to Max in between mouthfuls of pancakes and bacon.
“Oh” Max got up and grabbed himself and Liz a plate. He knew she was going to wake up shortly and probably be hungry. She hadn’t eaten anything last night. Actually, they had all pretty much skipped dinner.
----
Liz woke up almost as soon as Max left the bed. It was really annoying that neither one could really sleep later than the other. They seemed to only be able to sleep at the same time and when they were in close proximity. It would be nice to sleep late every once in awhile. She wondered if it was a permanent alien affect or if it would go away eventually. She hoped it was the latter.
Getting out of bed, she took a quick shower and joined the others at the table. They were just about finished with their breakfast so she hurriedly wolfed down her food. For the next little while, nothing was heard but the sound of forks scrapping plates and glasses clinking against the table.
Finished with breakfast, everyone thanked Mrs. Evans and headed into the living room to start on the journal. It was time to find out what else Atherton knew.
“How about if I start off?” Alex waited for everyone to nod before picking up the book and opening to where they left off yesterday.
Journal Entry 4:
I learn more about Nesado’s life before coming to Earth everyday. To say I find it fascinating is an understatement. I once thought Nesado lacking in human emotions, but I’ve since learned that those assigned as protectors, guards, or soldiers have their emotions muted to allow them to do their jobs more efficiently without emotions affecting them. They still feel the emotions but do not display them as they would have if they hadn’t been tampered with. I also learned that Antarians aren’t shapeshifters. The shapeshifters like Nesado were engineered. Apparently, shapeshifters are created for specific purposes. Some are servants, some are entertainers, some are soldiers and guards, some workers, etc. They have the ability to shapeshift so they can look however their owner wants them to. Other than the created in a lab and alien powers deal, it sounds a lot like the slavery that went on until a few decades ago.
Nesado was the only one to volunteer for this mission because King Zan was trying to change things for the shapeshifters. King Zan believed the shapeshifters should be able to choose their own lives and be free to choose what they do and whom they do it for. Needless to say, that was only popular with the shapeshifters and a few individuals who felt the same as King Zan. Because Nesado volunteered for this mission, his genetic coding is different than the other shifters. He had free will. Of course, he can’t harm the kids, but he could walk away from this mission and never look back.
The other shapeshifters were programmed to protect and guide the eight children. If they had lived they would not have been able to leave the kids. They would have been forced to take care of them whether they wanted to or not. If they even thought about betraying the kids or walking away they would have suffered severe physical pain. Another thing King Zan was trying to change. If a shapeshifter did not fulfill his duties the way they were supposed to be done, they would become wracked by a crippling pain. Some even died because the pain became too intense. It sounds like torture to me.
I’m sure you’re wondering why I haven’t mentioned anything about Nesado’s previous revelations. What can I say? I’m still in shock. I’ve been to visit the cave with the eight children several times over the last few weeks since Nesado told me about them but I still have trouble believing all of it. Other than a few crumbs about what Antarian life is like; Nesado has gone back to avoiding questions and being secretive. It’s damn annoying but I have learned to respect the guy so I will wait patiently for him to come to me.
Journal Entry 5:
Nesado took me to the cave again. He wanted to show me some things he was going to leave for the children. He had become increasingly paranoid the last few weeks. He believes the traitor is close. This is the last time he will come up here to check on the pods for a while. He intends leave the area for some time and hope he can lead the traitor away from them. I don’t know if that will work or not but Nesado believes it is his only option.
Well, I have to say alien technology is impressive. He showed me these eight crystals. He told me each crystal is coded to the DNA of one of the children. The crystals would help the children out. They contained knowledge on their powers and their role in the group. The crystals would only glow for the one they were encoded for. Apparently, the person they glow for is the only one able to access the crystals. Nesado explained the children would be able to access it once they found them. He said it was instinctive and there was no way to teach it.
He also showed me eight bracelets. The bracelets performed a completely different function. Apparently the scientists wanted to design the children to pair up when they got older but the original royal court refused to allow it. So instead they added an Antarian Z’lizca. Don’t worry I can’t pronounce it either. I’ve learned a lot of Antarian words are unpronounceable by the human tongue. Basically, it helps Antarians find their true mate. According to Nesado, the bracelets have never been wrong. Supposedly, the individual is supposed to wear the one encoded for them and then touch it against the bracelet of the one they are interested in. If it glows, it means they are compatible mates, physically and mentally. If it doesn’t glow then they aren’t suitable at all.
I asked if any Antarian had chosen a mate that the bracelet didn’t glow for. He said it happened sometimes, but the relationships almost always ended up in disaster. Antarians mate for life and the only way out is death. He also said the bracelets usually didn’t glow for more than one or two individuals at most. According to him, although the children weren’t genetically engineered to pair off with each other, because of their unusual DNA, more than likely they would pair off anyway.
I couldn’t help but look at one of the pods Nesado had pointed out as being damaged. Even to my untrained eye I could tell the child inside was very sick. I couldn’t help but ask what happened if one of them died before they could save the world. His answer completely surprised me. Apparently, the scientists had thought of that scenario. It was likely the kids would have to deal with a hostile government and population on top of evil aliens. There was every chance that some would die before they reached maturity. So they set up a back up plan.
Each one of the hybrids has the ability to connect and change a human into a hybrid but only one human. More than likely whoever they connect and change will be their permanent mate. Nesado compared it to a marriage ceremony but more binding. The two become intertwined and will never be able to live for very long without the other. If one or more of the children died, if at least four survived than they could change humans to become their mate and a part of the team.
Once this happened, the crystal and bracelet meant for one of the dead team members would automatically re-encode themselves to the changed humans DNA. He explained the crystals all had information encoded into them to help in case a changed human became a part of the team.
----
Alex stuttered to a stop suddenly realizing what he had read. Looking up he saw Max and Liz staring at each other and everyone staring at them. Right there in black and white telling them they were basically married to each other at the ripe old age of 16. Sheesh, he was really glad that he wasn’t Max or Liz right now. He couldn’t imagine how he would feel if he was told he was married to someone when he was so young.
“Uh, why don’t we stop reading there for now? I think we are all on information overload and we need to time to think about what we’ve learned so far and what to do about it.” Mr. Evans calmly stated. He was far from calm though. Damn it! How many more surprises and life altering information was Atherton going to throw at them? What do you do when you find out your son is married at 16? What do you do when that son is destined to save the world when he’s only 16? His head hurt just thinking about it.
----
Max pulled Liz off the couch with him. “Um, we’re going to go for a drive and talk. We’ll catch you guys later.” Max muttered quickly and nearly dragged Liz out of the room.
Helping Liz into the jeep, he went around to driver’s side but stopped seeing a package on the floor. Picking it up, he got in and looked over at Liz who shrugged. Opening it, he stared in surprise at the object nestled inside. It was some kind of orb with an alien symbol engraved into it. It looked a lot like the one found out at the cave. What was it doing in his jeep and where did it come from?
Last edited by Ladeia3 on Thu Sep 07, 2006 6:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Chaos erupted as soon as Max and Liz departed. Everyone was talking at once and looking at the others for some kind of explanation or some way to make it all better. What do you do when you find out your friends are basically married at the tender young age of sixteen? How do you deal with that that? What were they going to do? At least Mr. and Mrs. Evans knew the truth about the kids, but the Parkers didn’t. How were they going to keep this a secret from them?
Isabel’s shrill voice silenced the others, “What the hell does Atherton mean Max and Liz are married? They’re sixteen for god’s sake! There must be some mistake. He must have it wrong. He’s delusional.” Isabel could feel herself hyperventilating. This was just not happening.
“Isabel, honey, calm down.”
“I AM CALM! This is me calm!” Shuddering Isabel tried to hold back the sobs rising inside her. “I can’t be calm. I just found out my brother is married and we’re supposed to save the world and we don’t have a home to go back too, and I really wanted to meet my birth mother someday. I love you, mom. Nothing’s going to change that, but I always hoped that I would get to meet my birth mother, and now I find out that I don’t have one. I was made in a freaking lab.” Isabel burst into sobs and buried her head in her hands, rocking back and forth as Alex rubbed her back and tried to soothe her.
“I know, honey. I know you wanted to meet her. You’re my daughter and nothing is going to change that. Absolutely nothing! It doesn’t matter if you’re from another world or created in a lab or not even the same species as me. You’re my daughter and I love you very much.” Diane pulled her daughter’s hands from her face and carefully dried her tears. “It’s going to be okay, Isabel.” Hugging her daughter, Diane wondered how many more shocks her kids were going to have to endure.
“Are you sure Max and Liz are married?” Michael gruffly questioned as soon as he could be heard over Isabel.
“What do you mean, Michael? You heard the journal same as us.”
“What I mean is, Max healed Liz. He didn’t specifically try to change her or make her his mate or whatever. Maybe what’s going on between Max and Liz is different than what Atherton is talking about.” Michael abruptly shut up when he realized everyone was staring at him. “What? I’m just saying.”
“Michael, I would love to believe you but I think the evidence speaks for itself. Max healed Liz after being in love with her since the third grade. He had to make a connection with her to heal her, and use a tremendous amount of energy. Days after healing her, Liz suddenly changes. She has powers, she said her blood isn’t normal anymore, and now Max and Liz can’t be apart for more than a few hours at a time. It’s too coincidental for it not to be the same deal.” Mr. Evans sighed and rubbed his forehead tiredly. He was getting too old for this many shocks in so short a period.
Michael just grunted and stared out the window.
“Look, we all need to take some time and think about everything we’ve learned so far. I believe we’re all on information overload.” Mr. Evans stood up and took his wife’s hand and led her to the study. It was time they had a chance to discuss everything that had happened recently. They needed to figure out where they stood, and how they were going to help their kids deal with the changes in their lives.
-----
Isabel sat on the couch with Alex holding her while she tried to get control of her rolling emotions. Just a few short weeks ago, she was an alien hiding in plain site hoping to someday meet her *real* family. Today she was a human-alien hybrid that didn’t have a *real* family, and needed to save the world. Her twin brother was basically married and her life was on a roller coaster of one life altering surprise after another. The stress was getting to her. She didn’t know how much more she could take. She was really beginning to wish they had never started looking into any of this.
Alex held Isabel wishing he could do something to make it all better but he didn’t know what he could say or do to make it right. He couldn’t even think of a funny joke or wiseass remark to relieve the tension in the room. How would these new revelations change things for all of them? Would Isabel even want to be with him knowing what she knew now? It was still a little early in whatever was going on with them to think about it, but he couldn’t help but wonder if this made his chances of being with Isabel even more remote than they were a few weeks ago.
“Everything just keeps changing so fast. Just a few weeks ago, I was just an alien hiding who I was from the rest of the world with dreams of someday meeting my birth mother. Sure, I fussed at Michael for wanting answers and wanting off this planet, but deep inside I wanted those answers and wanted to find a way ‘home’ just as much as he did.”
Sighing, Isabel snuggled closer to Alex wondering when she had gotten so comfortable with him. Was it just a few days ago she had dreamwalked him? Was it just a few days ago that he didn’t know anything about what she was? It seemed like a lifetime.
“In the space of just a few hours, everything I believed about myself has turned out to be a lie. I suddenly have this massive responsibility to save this world. All the dreams I had are in ruins. Am I even a real person? I was made in a lab? A science experiment sent here because some group of aliens out there decided they couldn’t be bothered to deal with the situation themselves. What am I?” Isabel took a shuddering breath. She hadn’t meant to say all that. Maybe Alex hadn’t been paying attention or at least wouldn’t make a big deal about it.
Alex listened to Isabel and promised if he ever got to meet this ‘royal court’ that had decided to mess with their lives like this, he would thank them for Isabel first and then deck them for playing God with a bunch of kids’ lives. “You’re Isabel. The most beautiful girl at Roswell High, both inside and out. You’re Max and Michael’s sister. You’ve got some extraordinary abilities that make you even more special. You’re not a freak or some science experiment. You’re a person with a soul. It doesn’t matter how you came about. What matters is what you want. You don’t have to go out and save the world, Isabel. It wasn’t your choice to be born, or be given this responsibility. They have no right to dictate your life. Maybe you don’t have some “alien” mother out there waiting with open arms for you to come back, but you do have a mother here. She loves you as if you were her own flesh and blood. She knows the truth, and wants to be a part of your life.” Blushing Alex stopped talking as he realized that Isabel was staring at him stunned.
“Thank you, Alex. You know just how to make me feel better.” Resting against him, Isabel thought about everything he had said and what she was going to do about what she had learned about herself. Would she help save the world, or would she just go about her life? Maybe it was time she found new dreams for herself.
-----
Maria paced the kitchen floor ranting at the brooding alien staring out the window. “Michael?! Are you listening to me? Anti-social, much? What is it with you freaky aliens that you go around and totally screw things up? Max and Liz are married?!?! How is that even possible? Max made her his mate without even asking her if she wanted it!”
Taking a sniff of her cedar oil, Maria continued her rant. “What is it with evil aliens trying to take over the planet? How are you supposed to stop it?? Huh, tell me? You’re just a teenager. How are you supposed to stop them? And what about those that don’t have anyway to defend themselves? The wacky sidekick is always the first to die in all the movies. That means that I’m going to be the one to die first. Ugh, like you care. You’ve finally got your answers. I hope you’re happy.” Maria ended on sob.
She knew that she had been unnecessarily harsh. It wasn’t like it was actually his fault. She just didn’t know how to deal with all of this. It was only a few weeks ago she had been completely ignorant about aliens or powers, and now she knew way more than what she wanted to know. What was she supposed to do? How could she be of any help to her best friend?
Michael ignored most of Maria’s rant until she got to the end when he began to realize just what was really bothering her. Maria was human. She didn’t have any special abilities and couldn’t protect herself or anyone else. He didn’t really have any of the social graces that his pseudo-brother had, but he knew that he could hold her while she sobbed. Maybe it would be enough.
Carefully pulling her into his arms, he tried to ignore how having her this close was affecting him. She annoyed him most of the time with her constant babbling but there was something about her that made him want to protect her. He was losing his mind. He had more important things to think about then how Maria smelled or how he liked how her eyes lit up when she was excited or how she… Nope, he was so not going there.
-----
Max drove the jeep out to the quarry. Pulling Liz onto his lap, he tried to calm his chaotic thoughts and emotions. There was a part of him that was currently rejoicing and doing back flips in glee. Liz was his. Forever! He couldn’t help but be happy that she was his mate. It was his fondest dream, and greatest desire come true.
On the other hand, it was his worst nightmare. He had done something to Liz that not only took away her right to choose, but would put her in danger. How could he have been so selfish to do this to her? How could he not know he did this to her? How could Liz stand to look him in the eyes anymore? He had ruined her life. He wouldn’t blame her if she never wanted to have anything to do with him again.
“Liz, talk to me. Tell me what you’re thinking.” Max begged quietly. He was almost afraid to hear what she had to say. Even if it was horrible he knew he deserved it, but he wasn’t sure his heart could take it if she wasn’t okay with all of this.
“I’m not sure what I’m thinking, Max. It’s all a jumble in my head.” Liz sighed and snuggled closer to his chest. Breathing deep, she tried to figure out just what she felt and how to tell Max what was going through her head. So many things had changed over the last few weeks. She was now an alien hybrid, basically married to Max at 16, and was supposed to join the team to help save Earth from invading aliens. It was all so amazing and scary at the same time she wasn’t sure how to feel.
“I don’t know how I feel Max. On one hand, I’m scared. I’m scared of being an alien. I’ve always been this small town girl. My life was normal. I was a plain Jane and even if I had an occasional desire to have something extraordinary happen in my life, I always believed that my life would be normal. I would go to college become a scientist, work in a lab somewhere, marry some guy and have 2.5 children and a dog. My best friend, Maria would become a famous singer and my other best friend, Alex would become some famous computer guy like Bill Gates. Now, my life will never be normal. I have powers and my blood is different. I’m not even sure what normal is anymore.”
“I’m scared of being married this young and what that means for my life. I’m 16 years old. I had a crush on you long before you healed me, but we hadn’t even been on a real date when you healed me. I was brought into your secret and don’t get me wrong, Max. I love knowing the truth about you; it’s just; we’re too young to be married. We haven’t been together very long or had a chance to really get to know one another. I know I love you. I’m not questioning that, but it’s all so fast that I’m scared that we’re both making this monumental mistake.”
“I’m scared of having this huge responsibility of saving the world. I don’t know the first thing about fighting. Could I even kill one of these Cromerians? What if I’m just a liability? I’m a scientific type, not the warrior type. What if I get us killed because I’m not good enough? We’re just kids. How can we save the world and still go to High School and graduate someday? This is really starting to sound like a bad scifi movie”
“On the other hand, I’m completely excited and happy. I’m excited to have powers. It’s cool and fun. I can do things that most other people can only dream of. I can’t wait to see what else I can do and use them. I’m so happy to find out that you’re mine and we can be together. I love you. I love being with you. I love being an alien. I’m completely thrilled that I know you’re all mine and you’ll never leave me or fall out of love with me. I love knowing we can be together. On saving the world, it’s like this huge responsibility, but it’s also a great adventure. The things we’ll learn and get to do along the way… other than killing the bad guys of course, are full of endless possibilities. It’s like being a superhero. We’ll have to hide our true identities, but we have to go around and stop the bad guys.”
Liz stopped and stared out at the desert. She wasn’t sure if she understood everything she was feeling. She hoped she hadn’t scared Max off with all of her rambling. She was seriously starting to sound like Maria. Maybe she needed to hang around Alex some more.
Max turned everything over in his mind. He could definitely relate to what Liz was saying. “I feel the same way, Liz. Part of me is delirious and happy beyond belief. The other part is scared witless, but I also feel guilty Liz. I brought you into this. Changed your entire existence and you had no say in the matter. I took your options away from you.”
Interrupting Max before he could go on, Liz placed a finger against his lips and looked up into his eyes. “Max, even if I had known before hand, I would have chosen this. I don’t regret you changing me. Yeah, there are some scary moments and I’m sure in the future there will be times that are even scarier and harder to deal with than now, but I don’t regret it Max. I want to be with you. I want to help you in any way I can. We’re in this together.” Liz stated determinedly. Max could only nod his head in agreement.
----
Phillip Evans held his wife while she broke down and sobbed for her kids and what they were facing. He didn’t know what to think about today’s findings. On one hand, the parent part of him, was horrified to find out his son was married. On the other hand, there was a part of him that was relieved that his son could be with Liz permanently. He had always wondered if his son would ever show interest in any girls. He hadn’t seemed to notice any that he was aware of. At least he wouldn’t be alone facing everything that he had to deal with. He only hoped everything would turn out okay in the end. How could he help his son? Surely, even without having special powers he could help his son with everything. He could only hope they had time to be kids awhile longer before they had to face an alien war here on Earth.
A few days ago, finding out her kids were aliens seemed hard to handle, but with today’s revelations she wasn’t sure if she could deal with it all. Her son was married and both her kids plus a few others were meant to fight a war here on Earth. Could they even win it? How many, what were they called? Oh, that’s right, Cromerians. They were called Cromerians. How many of them were out there? Would her babies ever get the chance at a normal life? How could they deal with all of this when they were just babies? She didn’t want them facing all of this. They needed time to be just kids. To learn about love, have fun with their friends, finish school and make plans for the future. She didn’t want them ever fighting for their lives or anyone else’s life. How could those aliens have put this burden on her children’s conscience?
----
Chaos erupted as soon as Max and Liz departed. Everyone was talking at once and looking at the others for some kind of explanation or some way to make it all better. What do you do when you find out your friends are basically married at the tender young age of sixteen? How do you deal with that that? What were they going to do? At least Mr. and Mrs. Evans knew the truth about the kids, but the Parkers didn’t. How were they going to keep this a secret from them?
Isabel’s shrill voice silenced the others, “What the hell does Atherton mean Max and Liz are married? They’re sixteen for god’s sake! There must be some mistake. He must have it wrong. He’s delusional.” Isabel could feel herself hyperventilating. This was just not happening.
“Isabel, honey, calm down.”
“I AM CALM! This is me calm!” Shuddering Isabel tried to hold back the sobs rising inside her. “I can’t be calm. I just found out my brother is married and we’re supposed to save the world and we don’t have a home to go back too, and I really wanted to meet my birth mother someday. I love you, mom. Nothing’s going to change that, but I always hoped that I would get to meet my birth mother, and now I find out that I don’t have one. I was made in a freaking lab.” Isabel burst into sobs and buried her head in her hands, rocking back and forth as Alex rubbed her back and tried to soothe her.
“I know, honey. I know you wanted to meet her. You’re my daughter and nothing is going to change that. Absolutely nothing! It doesn’t matter if you’re from another world or created in a lab or not even the same species as me. You’re my daughter and I love you very much.” Diane pulled her daughter’s hands from her face and carefully dried her tears. “It’s going to be okay, Isabel.” Hugging her daughter, Diane wondered how many more shocks her kids were going to have to endure.
“Are you sure Max and Liz are married?” Michael gruffly questioned as soon as he could be heard over Isabel.
“What do you mean, Michael? You heard the journal same as us.”
“What I mean is, Max healed Liz. He didn’t specifically try to change her or make her his mate or whatever. Maybe what’s going on between Max and Liz is different than what Atherton is talking about.” Michael abruptly shut up when he realized everyone was staring at him. “What? I’m just saying.”
“Michael, I would love to believe you but I think the evidence speaks for itself. Max healed Liz after being in love with her since the third grade. He had to make a connection with her to heal her, and use a tremendous amount of energy. Days after healing her, Liz suddenly changes. She has powers, she said her blood isn’t normal anymore, and now Max and Liz can’t be apart for more than a few hours at a time. It’s too coincidental for it not to be the same deal.” Mr. Evans sighed and rubbed his forehead tiredly. He was getting too old for this many shocks in so short a period.
Michael just grunted and stared out the window.
“Look, we all need to take some time and think about everything we’ve learned so far. I believe we’re all on information overload.” Mr. Evans stood up and took his wife’s hand and led her to the study. It was time they had a chance to discuss everything that had happened recently. They needed to figure out where they stood, and how they were going to help their kids deal with the changes in their lives.
-----
Isabel sat on the couch with Alex holding her while she tried to get control of her rolling emotions. Just a few short weeks ago, she was an alien hiding in plain site hoping to someday meet her *real* family. Today she was a human-alien hybrid that didn’t have a *real* family, and needed to save the world. Her twin brother was basically married and her life was on a roller coaster of one life altering surprise after another. The stress was getting to her. She didn’t know how much more she could take. She was really beginning to wish they had never started looking into any of this.
Alex held Isabel wishing he could do something to make it all better but he didn’t know what he could say or do to make it right. He couldn’t even think of a funny joke or wiseass remark to relieve the tension in the room. How would these new revelations change things for all of them? Would Isabel even want to be with him knowing what she knew now? It was still a little early in whatever was going on with them to think about it, but he couldn’t help but wonder if this made his chances of being with Isabel even more remote than they were a few weeks ago.
“Everything just keeps changing so fast. Just a few weeks ago, I was just an alien hiding who I was from the rest of the world with dreams of someday meeting my birth mother. Sure, I fussed at Michael for wanting answers and wanting off this planet, but deep inside I wanted those answers and wanted to find a way ‘home’ just as much as he did.”
Sighing, Isabel snuggled closer to Alex wondering when she had gotten so comfortable with him. Was it just a few days ago she had dreamwalked him? Was it just a few days ago that he didn’t know anything about what she was? It seemed like a lifetime.
“In the space of just a few hours, everything I believed about myself has turned out to be a lie. I suddenly have this massive responsibility to save this world. All the dreams I had are in ruins. Am I even a real person? I was made in a lab? A science experiment sent here because some group of aliens out there decided they couldn’t be bothered to deal with the situation themselves. What am I?” Isabel took a shuddering breath. She hadn’t meant to say all that. Maybe Alex hadn’t been paying attention or at least wouldn’t make a big deal about it.
Alex listened to Isabel and promised if he ever got to meet this ‘royal court’ that had decided to mess with their lives like this, he would thank them for Isabel first and then deck them for playing God with a bunch of kids’ lives. “You’re Isabel. The most beautiful girl at Roswell High, both inside and out. You’re Max and Michael’s sister. You’ve got some extraordinary abilities that make you even more special. You’re not a freak or some science experiment. You’re a person with a soul. It doesn’t matter how you came about. What matters is what you want. You don’t have to go out and save the world, Isabel. It wasn’t your choice to be born, or be given this responsibility. They have no right to dictate your life. Maybe you don’t have some “alien” mother out there waiting with open arms for you to come back, but you do have a mother here. She loves you as if you were her own flesh and blood. She knows the truth, and wants to be a part of your life.” Blushing Alex stopped talking as he realized that Isabel was staring at him stunned.
“Thank you, Alex. You know just how to make me feel better.” Resting against him, Isabel thought about everything he had said and what she was going to do about what she had learned about herself. Would she help save the world, or would she just go about her life? Maybe it was time she found new dreams for herself.
-----
Maria paced the kitchen floor ranting at the brooding alien staring out the window. “Michael?! Are you listening to me? Anti-social, much? What is it with you freaky aliens that you go around and totally screw things up? Max and Liz are married?!?! How is that even possible? Max made her his mate without even asking her if she wanted it!”
Taking a sniff of her cedar oil, Maria continued her rant. “What is it with evil aliens trying to take over the planet? How are you supposed to stop it?? Huh, tell me? You’re just a teenager. How are you supposed to stop them? And what about those that don’t have anyway to defend themselves? The wacky sidekick is always the first to die in all the movies. That means that I’m going to be the one to die first. Ugh, like you care. You’ve finally got your answers. I hope you’re happy.” Maria ended on sob.
She knew that she had been unnecessarily harsh. It wasn’t like it was actually his fault. She just didn’t know how to deal with all of this. It was only a few weeks ago she had been completely ignorant about aliens or powers, and now she knew way more than what she wanted to know. What was she supposed to do? How could she be of any help to her best friend?
Michael ignored most of Maria’s rant until she got to the end when he began to realize just what was really bothering her. Maria was human. She didn’t have any special abilities and couldn’t protect herself or anyone else. He didn’t really have any of the social graces that his pseudo-brother had, but he knew that he could hold her while she sobbed. Maybe it would be enough.
Carefully pulling her into his arms, he tried to ignore how having her this close was affecting him. She annoyed him most of the time with her constant babbling but there was something about her that made him want to protect her. He was losing his mind. He had more important things to think about then how Maria smelled or how he liked how her eyes lit up when she was excited or how she… Nope, he was so not going there.
-----
Max drove the jeep out to the quarry. Pulling Liz onto his lap, he tried to calm his chaotic thoughts and emotions. There was a part of him that was currently rejoicing and doing back flips in glee. Liz was his. Forever! He couldn’t help but be happy that she was his mate. It was his fondest dream, and greatest desire come true.
On the other hand, it was his worst nightmare. He had done something to Liz that not only took away her right to choose, but would put her in danger. How could he have been so selfish to do this to her? How could he not know he did this to her? How could Liz stand to look him in the eyes anymore? He had ruined her life. He wouldn’t blame her if she never wanted to have anything to do with him again.
“Liz, talk to me. Tell me what you’re thinking.” Max begged quietly. He was almost afraid to hear what she had to say. Even if it was horrible he knew he deserved it, but he wasn’t sure his heart could take it if she wasn’t okay with all of this.
“I’m not sure what I’m thinking, Max. It’s all a jumble in my head.” Liz sighed and snuggled closer to his chest. Breathing deep, she tried to figure out just what she felt and how to tell Max what was going through her head. So many things had changed over the last few weeks. She was now an alien hybrid, basically married to Max at 16, and was supposed to join the team to help save Earth from invading aliens. It was all so amazing and scary at the same time she wasn’t sure how to feel.
“I don’t know how I feel Max. On one hand, I’m scared. I’m scared of being an alien. I’ve always been this small town girl. My life was normal. I was a plain Jane and even if I had an occasional desire to have something extraordinary happen in my life, I always believed that my life would be normal. I would go to college become a scientist, work in a lab somewhere, marry some guy and have 2.5 children and a dog. My best friend, Maria would become a famous singer and my other best friend, Alex would become some famous computer guy like Bill Gates. Now, my life will never be normal. I have powers and my blood is different. I’m not even sure what normal is anymore.”
“I’m scared of being married this young and what that means for my life. I’m 16 years old. I had a crush on you long before you healed me, but we hadn’t even been on a real date when you healed me. I was brought into your secret and don’t get me wrong, Max. I love knowing the truth about you; it’s just; we’re too young to be married. We haven’t been together very long or had a chance to really get to know one another. I know I love you. I’m not questioning that, but it’s all so fast that I’m scared that we’re both making this monumental mistake.”
“I’m scared of having this huge responsibility of saving the world. I don’t know the first thing about fighting. Could I even kill one of these Cromerians? What if I’m just a liability? I’m a scientific type, not the warrior type. What if I get us killed because I’m not good enough? We’re just kids. How can we save the world and still go to High School and graduate someday? This is really starting to sound like a bad scifi movie”
“On the other hand, I’m completely excited and happy. I’m excited to have powers. It’s cool and fun. I can do things that most other people can only dream of. I can’t wait to see what else I can do and use them. I’m so happy to find out that you’re mine and we can be together. I love you. I love being with you. I love being an alien. I’m completely thrilled that I know you’re all mine and you’ll never leave me or fall out of love with me. I love knowing we can be together. On saving the world, it’s like this huge responsibility, but it’s also a great adventure. The things we’ll learn and get to do along the way… other than killing the bad guys of course, are full of endless possibilities. It’s like being a superhero. We’ll have to hide our true identities, but we have to go around and stop the bad guys.”
Liz stopped and stared out at the desert. She wasn’t sure if she understood everything she was feeling. She hoped she hadn’t scared Max off with all of her rambling. She was seriously starting to sound like Maria. Maybe she needed to hang around Alex some more.
Max turned everything over in his mind. He could definitely relate to what Liz was saying. “I feel the same way, Liz. Part of me is delirious and happy beyond belief. The other part is scared witless, but I also feel guilty Liz. I brought you into this. Changed your entire existence and you had no say in the matter. I took your options away from you.”
Interrupting Max before he could go on, Liz placed a finger against his lips and looked up into his eyes. “Max, even if I had known before hand, I would have chosen this. I don’t regret you changing me. Yeah, there are some scary moments and I’m sure in the future there will be times that are even scarier and harder to deal with than now, but I don’t regret it Max. I want to be with you. I want to help you in any way I can. We’re in this together.” Liz stated determinedly. Max could only nod his head in agreement.
----
Phillip Evans held his wife while she broke down and sobbed for her kids and what they were facing. He didn’t know what to think about today’s findings. On one hand, the parent part of him, was horrified to find out his son was married. On the other hand, there was a part of him that was relieved that his son could be with Liz permanently. He had always wondered if his son would ever show interest in any girls. He hadn’t seemed to notice any that he was aware of. At least he wouldn’t be alone facing everything that he had to deal with. He only hoped everything would turn out okay in the end. How could he help his son? Surely, even without having special powers he could help his son with everything. He could only hope they had time to be kids awhile longer before they had to face an alien war here on Earth.
A few days ago, finding out her kids were aliens seemed hard to handle, but with today’s revelations she wasn’t sure if she could deal with it all. Her son was married and both her kids plus a few others were meant to fight a war here on Earth. Could they even win it? How many, what were they called? Oh, that’s right, Cromerians. They were called Cromerians. How many of them were out there? Would her babies ever get the chance at a normal life? How could they deal with all of this when they were just babies? She didn’t want them facing all of this. They needed time to be just kids. To learn about love, have fun with their friends, finish school and make plans for the future. She didn’t want them ever fighting for their lives or anyone else’s life. How could those aliens have put this burden on her children’s conscience?
----
Last edited by Ladeia3 on Thu Sep 07, 2006 6:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Chapter 17A
A/N: Okay, it has been longer than I care to tell anyone since I’ve been in school. I’m just guessing on some of the school stuff on what I vaguely remember from waaaayyy back then. I’ve managed to block most of my teen years out of my head so if there are very glaring errors, just let me know and I’ll try to fix them. Or ignore them and think I’m just a really big idiot. ;P
I have finally got the next part ready for you guys. Please forgive me for taking so long to do this. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 17A
Michael waited for Isabel to leave so he could have a word with Mr. Evans in private. He was glad she had volunteered to take Alex and Maria home. He didn’t really want to have this conversation with either her or Max around. Now that she was gone and it was just him and the Evans he had to get his nerve up to talk to Mr. Evans. He hated asking for help, but he didn’t see any other way to do this. Reminding himself of why he was swallowing his pride, Michael walked to Mr. Evans study and knocked on the door.
Mr. Evans called for his visitor to enter. He wondered what new surprises this day would bring and if he could handle anymore. Noticing it was Michael, he couldn’t help the thought that he really didn’t want to know what Michael had to say. He could only assume it was something alien related and it was going to knock his world for another loop.
Michael stood nervously fidgeting inside trying to talk himself out of saying ‘Nevermind’ and walking right back out the door. Taking a deep breath, Michael came all the way in the room and sat in a chair across from Mr. Evans. He knew this was the only way to get what he wanted… he just wished he could stop feeling like a wuss for being here.
“Uh, Mr. Evans, I, uh, wanted to ask for a favor.” Michael glanced at Mr. Evans before returning his attention to his shoes. Just because he had to ask for help didn’t really mean he wanted to see Mr. Evans reactions.
“What can I do for you, Michael?” Mr. Evans settled back in his chair and watched Michael. He couldn’t help the feeling he was in another reality. Any minute he would wake up and discover the last few weeks have all been a really weird dream or nightmare. Things would all go back to normal. His kids would just be kids; not alien superheroes. His son would just be dating; not married. And Michael would not be asking him for something.
“Um, well, you see the thing is I want to get away from Hank.” Taking a deep breath, Michael glanced quickly to see what Mr. Evans was thinking. “I heard it was, um, possible to get legally emancipated.”
“Well, we could see about starting the paperwork, but Michael, a judge isn’t going to grant legal emancipation without a really good reason. He’s liable to kick the case out of court since you’re only 16 without any means of supporting yourself.”
“Uh, I got a job at the Crashdown. I actually start tonight. And Hank… Hank is a drunk. Sometimes a violent drunk. I can’t stay there anymore. Not without doing something we’ll all regret.” Michael shut up realizing how much he had revealed. He didn’t want anyone to know about his problems with Hank. They were just that. His problems. Not anyone else’s.
“Why didn’t you ever tell anyone? What about Max and Isabel?” Mr. Evans could feel himself tensing. First, they find out they left Michael out in the desert, and now he’s finding out that Michael was abused by that sorry excuse of a foster father.
“I was always either able to hide the bruises or heal them if they weren’t too bad. I never told Max or Isabel. They would have wanted to do something… I didn’t want them involved. Look, can you help me or not?” Michael gruffly stated looking ready to bolt any moment.
“I’ll see what I can do Michael.” Mr. Evans signed as Michael just nodded and made his escape. No wonder Michael had trust issues. Why couldn’t they have found Michael when they found Max and Isabel? Maybe if they had, he would have been adopted at the same time and would have had a better life. One where he wasn’t abused and could have had the love and support Max and Isabel had had growing up.
Shaking his head of useless maybes, Mr. Evans got to work on dealing with Michael’s request. He wanted to make damn sure that Michael wouldn’t have to stay with Hank anymore. If that meant, he would have to adopt Michael and convince him to live with them, he would.
-----
Monday Morning
Isabel was on a mission. It was time she got to know her new sister-in-law better. She was currently the only other female on the planet that could truly understand her. Max and Liz were for all intents and purposes married which meant Liz was a permanent fixture in her life. Now that Liz had powers and was essentially apart of whatever future Isabel had, she needed to find out if she and Liz could be friends. She had never had a ‘real’ friend before. The popular crowd she hung out with didn’t really know her. Not about her being different or even just the real her that didn’t take into account the alien abilities. Liz could be a real friend if she could just get to know her.
Isabel had stayed up half the night last night thinking about everything. She wasn’t okay with everything yet, but she knew someone to talk to who could understand where she was coming from. Max and Michael were her brothers and she loved them dearly, but they were guys. Max, after having a minor meltdown from guilt, would become entirely too ecstatic over having his long time dream of having Liz Parker as his one and only. Michael, well Michael was Michael and she really wasn’t sure what went on his head most of the time.
That left Alex, Liz and Maria. Alex was sweet and nice and maybe she could someday open her heart to him, but there was too much going on for her to even consider it right now. Maria was just a little too high strung for her. She really didn’t understand how Liz had remained friends with her for so long. Maria gave her a headache whenever she had to deal with her for more than a few minutes.
She had never really paid attention to Liz despite the fact her brother was obsessed with her. Until Max healed her, Liz was just another human to avoid. She was just another girl at the school. Liz wasn’t at the bottom of the totem pole at school but she hadn’t been anywhere near Isabel’s level of popularity. Liz was the science nerd and the girl next door type. Now however, everything had changed. Liz was like herself. Liz may not have started out like Isabel did, but she was the only other girl, at least as far as Isabel was aware, that could understand her. It was time to try to make a real friend.
-------
Liz sat curled up in a corner shaking in a bathroom stall. Her entire body felt like it was on fire. Nausea caused her stomach to roll. Sweat poured off her. She didn’t know what was wrong but it had started out feeling like the withdrawal symptoms she and Max had been experiencing, but this was worse. Much, much worse. Silently crying, Liz prayed for it to just stop.
-------
Max leaned against the door to the janitor’s closet wondering what the hell was wrong with him. He felt like hell. Forcing the urge to vomit down, Max tried to figure out why he felt weaker than a kitten and his skin felt like acid was eating through it.
-------
Isabel had looked everywhere for Liz but hadn’t been able to find her. She wasn’t in class with Maria and Alex like she should have been. Deciding to use a little alien hocus pocus to figure out where she was, Isabel grabbed her year book out of her locker and located Liz’s picture. Trying to use her dream walking ability to see if she could use it to locate Liz, she nearly passed out from pain and nausea she felt when the connection occurred. Not knowing what had caused that reaction but getting enough to figure out Liz’s location, Isabel hurried that way. She really hoped that there was some other explanation for what she felt, other than the obvious.
-------
Michael had woken up late and hurriedly headed to class. He didn’t want anyone to take too close a look at what he was up to. Since coming back from Atherton’s, instead of staying at Hank’s, he had been staying in the attic at the school. It was used as a storage room and was kept locked but with his powers, he was easily able to unlock it.
-------
Maria was fuming. She couldn’t find Max or Liz. She was so going to be ticked off if she discovered them making out somewhere or playing hooky. She got that there was a lot of freaky stuff going on but if she couldn’t skip class than neither could they. Seeing one of the other aliens, Maria shouted for them to wait up. “Yo! Michael, wait up!”
Michael groaned. He really didn’t want to deal with Maria this early in the morning. Wishing he had been paying more attention and had been able to avoid her detection, he turned to glare at the blonde currently annoying him. “What?”
“Have you seen Liz this morning? I’ve been trying to find her and haven’t see her or Max at all? Do you know if they are skipping?”
“No, I haven’t seen either of them. I just got here Maria. I’m not their damn social coordinator.” Michael growled. Stomping off, he ignored Maria’s rant about rude sociopaths needing better hygiene.
------
Isabel found the girl’s bathroom where she knew Liz to be. Taking a deep breath, and wishing one more time for what she had felt to be something else, Isabel entered.
“Liz? You in here?”
“Is-abel?” Liz stuttered softly.
Isabel looked under the stalls, looking for which one Liz was in. Gasping at seeing Liz curled up against the wall, Isabel rushed over to her.
“Oh God, What’s wrong Liz? What happened?”
“I don’t know.” Liz whispered brokenly, “I think its part of the withdrawal stuff but it’s so much worse. It hurts, Isabel.” Liz whimpered in misery. She really just wanted this to stop.
“I’m going to find Max, Liz. Just stay here. I’ll be back.” Isabel rushed out of the restroom, wondering how in the hell she was supposed to find Max. What if he was in the same condition as Liz? How was she going to find him and get him to Liz if he was as bad off as she was?
Rushing down the hall, Isabel couldn’t think of how to find him. Max was the one to take charge in an emergency not her. Spotting Maria and Alex at their lockers, she headed straight for them.
“Maria, Thank God I’ve found you. Do you know where Max is? It’s important!”
“No, I haven’t seen him or Liz all morning. If I’m not allowed to sk…” Maria started ranting.
Isabel interrupted her, “Liz is sick! Like really sick. I need to find Max now, Maria!”
“Sick! What do you mean, sick?” Maria nearly shrieked.
“What’s the matter with Liz?” Alex worriedly asked. ‘It must be really bad for Isabel to look this worried.’ Alex thought.
“She’s in the girl’s bathroom curled up in one of stalls. She’s in pain and looks really pale. I have to find Max. You go sit with her and keep anyone out of there, Maria.” Isabel took off.
“Wait! I’ll help you look for Max.” Alex jogged to catch up with her. Alex headed off in one direction and Isabel in the other in the hopes that one of them would find Max.
------
Max finally realized that whatever was wrong with him was also affecting Liz. He could vaguely feel it through the connection they shared. Forcing himself to move, Max left the janitor’s closet and began a slow painful journey toward Liz’s location.
“MAXWELL! What the hell is wrong with you, man?” Michael had just been rushing through the halls to get to where he was supposed to be when he caught sight of Max. Pale, shaking and barely upright, he looked like death warmed over. Hurrying to Max’s side, Michael pushed the panic threatening to engulf him. They didn’t get sick. They had never been sick in their entire lives. The closest they had gotten were minor injuries which were easily fixed with their powers or just plain ol’ exhaustion when they over did it.
“Liz” Max mumbled. “I need to get to Liz.” Closing his eyes, he concentrated on just keeping upright.
“Liz, right.” drawled Michael, “I shoulda known this had something to do with her. Come on, Max. Where is Liz? Do you know which way to go?” Michael helped lead Max in the direction he had been going in, when Michael first saw him. He really hoped this was the right way. He prayed that nobody saw them. He wasn’t sure how he was going to explain this one away.
-------
Tess was excited! She felt like she was about to float off the ground. The shapeshifter had a new lead on where her family was. He had heard rumors about a girl that had been healed in Roswell, New Mexico in the USA. They were currently around the world from them but in just a few short weeks she would be reunited with her brother, her husband, his sister and all of their friends from before. She could hardly wait. She wondered if she would recognize them on sight. She just knew they remembered her, just like she did. Would they recognize her as soon as she showed up? Of course they would! They were her family! Now if only, they could get there now instead of having to wait on the shapeshifter to make arrangements to move there.
-------
As soon as Max was within a few of Liz, he began to feel better. By the time, he made it to her side; all signs of pain and nausea were gone. “Liz, honey, are you okay?” At her nod, he breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m so sorry. This is my fault.” Max groaned to himself.
“No, Max! It’s not your fault! We just have to be more careful and make sure we don’t spend too much time apart. We also need to see if there is anything in Atherton’s files or maybe with those crystals that will explain what this is and how to prevent it from occurring in the future.” Liz snuggled deeper into Max’s arms. Vaguely aware they weren’t alone; Liz wondered just how much trouble this was going to cause. They couldn’t have been so lucky as to not have anyone witness something.
“I hate to break up this touching moment and all, but we should get out of the girl’s restroom and find someplace a little less public.” Was Michael’s sarcastic response to the huddled forms of his brother and the latest bane to his existence, Liz Parker.
“Geez, Spaceboy, you could show a little sympathy!” Maria muttered.
“Yeah, um, Michael’s right. We need to get out of here before we’re caught and our parents are called. Can you make sure there is nobody out in the halls, Maria?”
“Sure, sure… You might want to let your sister and Alex know you’re okay now. She found Liz earlier and went off in a panic to find you.” Maria opened the restroom door and peaked out. Realizing the cost was clear, she waved the others to hurry up. “Come on guys. Nobody is in the halls right now.”
-------
Calling Isabel on her cell, Max had to listen to a ten minute rant from her before calming her down enough to let her know that he and Liz were fine, but were going to leave school for the rest of the afternoon. Getting her to cover for him in the rest of his classes and Maria to cover for Liz’s, he drove Liz to his home. Hopefully both his parents were at work and he wouldn’t have to explain this latest development to them until later… much later.
-----
Isabel called her parents to let them know what happened. She knew this wasn’t normal or a good thing. They could have been caught too easily and it would have been extremely hard to convince the school not to send them to the hospital or for Liz’s parents not to freak out. She couldn’t help but feel a little relieved to be able to call her parents and have them in on the loop. It felt like a massive burden was lifted off her shoulders since her parents were no longer being kept in the dark. She let the rest of the group know they were meeting at her house after school before storming off to her own classes vowing to find a way to force Max to make this up to her. She swore he was going to give her gray hair and wrinkles if he kept this up.
------
Mr. and Mrs. Evans were very disturbed over Isabel’s news and sat down to discuss what they could do to help Max and Liz. How do you handle something like this? This was so far beyond the ordinary and it definitely didn’t help that they couldn’t discuss this with the Parker’s and get their help as well. Letting Isabel know to make sure the others met at their home after school, they sat down to hash out some kind of plan to keep this from occurring in the future.
------
Silently wondering why Max and Liz had not fixed the problem they were experiencing yet, the watcher hurriedly left the school property and followed them. ‘Soon. It won’t be long now.’
I have finally got the next part ready for you guys. Please forgive me for taking so long to do this. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 17A
Michael waited for Isabel to leave so he could have a word with Mr. Evans in private. He was glad she had volunteered to take Alex and Maria home. He didn’t really want to have this conversation with either her or Max around. Now that she was gone and it was just him and the Evans he had to get his nerve up to talk to Mr. Evans. He hated asking for help, but he didn’t see any other way to do this. Reminding himself of why he was swallowing his pride, Michael walked to Mr. Evans study and knocked on the door.
Mr. Evans called for his visitor to enter. He wondered what new surprises this day would bring and if he could handle anymore. Noticing it was Michael, he couldn’t help the thought that he really didn’t want to know what Michael had to say. He could only assume it was something alien related and it was going to knock his world for another loop.
Michael stood nervously fidgeting inside trying to talk himself out of saying ‘Nevermind’ and walking right back out the door. Taking a deep breath, Michael came all the way in the room and sat in a chair across from Mr. Evans. He knew this was the only way to get what he wanted… he just wished he could stop feeling like a wuss for being here.
“Uh, Mr. Evans, I, uh, wanted to ask for a favor.” Michael glanced at Mr. Evans before returning his attention to his shoes. Just because he had to ask for help didn’t really mean he wanted to see Mr. Evans reactions.
“What can I do for you, Michael?” Mr. Evans settled back in his chair and watched Michael. He couldn’t help the feeling he was in another reality. Any minute he would wake up and discover the last few weeks have all been a really weird dream or nightmare. Things would all go back to normal. His kids would just be kids; not alien superheroes. His son would just be dating; not married. And Michael would not be asking him for something.
“Um, well, you see the thing is I want to get away from Hank.” Taking a deep breath, Michael glanced quickly to see what Mr. Evans was thinking. “I heard it was, um, possible to get legally emancipated.”
“Well, we could see about starting the paperwork, but Michael, a judge isn’t going to grant legal emancipation without a really good reason. He’s liable to kick the case out of court since you’re only 16 without any means of supporting yourself.”
“Uh, I got a job at the Crashdown. I actually start tonight. And Hank… Hank is a drunk. Sometimes a violent drunk. I can’t stay there anymore. Not without doing something we’ll all regret.” Michael shut up realizing how much he had revealed. He didn’t want anyone to know about his problems with Hank. They were just that. His problems. Not anyone else’s.
“Why didn’t you ever tell anyone? What about Max and Isabel?” Mr. Evans could feel himself tensing. First, they find out they left Michael out in the desert, and now he’s finding out that Michael was abused by that sorry excuse of a foster father.
“I was always either able to hide the bruises or heal them if they weren’t too bad. I never told Max or Isabel. They would have wanted to do something… I didn’t want them involved. Look, can you help me or not?” Michael gruffly stated looking ready to bolt any moment.
“I’ll see what I can do Michael.” Mr. Evans signed as Michael just nodded and made his escape. No wonder Michael had trust issues. Why couldn’t they have found Michael when they found Max and Isabel? Maybe if they had, he would have been adopted at the same time and would have had a better life. One where he wasn’t abused and could have had the love and support Max and Isabel had had growing up.
Shaking his head of useless maybes, Mr. Evans got to work on dealing with Michael’s request. He wanted to make damn sure that Michael wouldn’t have to stay with Hank anymore. If that meant, he would have to adopt Michael and convince him to live with them, he would.
-----
Monday Morning
Isabel was on a mission. It was time she got to know her new sister-in-law better. She was currently the only other female on the planet that could truly understand her. Max and Liz were for all intents and purposes married which meant Liz was a permanent fixture in her life. Now that Liz had powers and was essentially apart of whatever future Isabel had, she needed to find out if she and Liz could be friends. She had never had a ‘real’ friend before. The popular crowd she hung out with didn’t really know her. Not about her being different or even just the real her that didn’t take into account the alien abilities. Liz could be a real friend if she could just get to know her.
Isabel had stayed up half the night last night thinking about everything. She wasn’t okay with everything yet, but she knew someone to talk to who could understand where she was coming from. Max and Michael were her brothers and she loved them dearly, but they were guys. Max, after having a minor meltdown from guilt, would become entirely too ecstatic over having his long time dream of having Liz Parker as his one and only. Michael, well Michael was Michael and she really wasn’t sure what went on his head most of the time.
That left Alex, Liz and Maria. Alex was sweet and nice and maybe she could someday open her heart to him, but there was too much going on for her to even consider it right now. Maria was just a little too high strung for her. She really didn’t understand how Liz had remained friends with her for so long. Maria gave her a headache whenever she had to deal with her for more than a few minutes.
She had never really paid attention to Liz despite the fact her brother was obsessed with her. Until Max healed her, Liz was just another human to avoid. She was just another girl at the school. Liz wasn’t at the bottom of the totem pole at school but she hadn’t been anywhere near Isabel’s level of popularity. Liz was the science nerd and the girl next door type. Now however, everything had changed. Liz was like herself. Liz may not have started out like Isabel did, but she was the only other girl, at least as far as Isabel was aware, that could understand her. It was time to try to make a real friend.
-------
Liz sat curled up in a corner shaking in a bathroom stall. Her entire body felt like it was on fire. Nausea caused her stomach to roll. Sweat poured off her. She didn’t know what was wrong but it had started out feeling like the withdrawal symptoms she and Max had been experiencing, but this was worse. Much, much worse. Silently crying, Liz prayed for it to just stop.
-------
Max leaned against the door to the janitor’s closet wondering what the hell was wrong with him. He felt like hell. Forcing the urge to vomit down, Max tried to figure out why he felt weaker than a kitten and his skin felt like acid was eating through it.
-------
Isabel had looked everywhere for Liz but hadn’t been able to find her. She wasn’t in class with Maria and Alex like she should have been. Deciding to use a little alien hocus pocus to figure out where she was, Isabel grabbed her year book out of her locker and located Liz’s picture. Trying to use her dream walking ability to see if she could use it to locate Liz, she nearly passed out from pain and nausea she felt when the connection occurred. Not knowing what had caused that reaction but getting enough to figure out Liz’s location, Isabel hurried that way. She really hoped that there was some other explanation for what she felt, other than the obvious.
-------
Michael had woken up late and hurriedly headed to class. He didn’t want anyone to take too close a look at what he was up to. Since coming back from Atherton’s, instead of staying at Hank’s, he had been staying in the attic at the school. It was used as a storage room and was kept locked but with his powers, he was easily able to unlock it.
-------
Maria was fuming. She couldn’t find Max or Liz. She was so going to be ticked off if she discovered them making out somewhere or playing hooky. She got that there was a lot of freaky stuff going on but if she couldn’t skip class than neither could they. Seeing one of the other aliens, Maria shouted for them to wait up. “Yo! Michael, wait up!”
Michael groaned. He really didn’t want to deal with Maria this early in the morning. Wishing he had been paying more attention and had been able to avoid her detection, he turned to glare at the blonde currently annoying him. “What?”
“Have you seen Liz this morning? I’ve been trying to find her and haven’t see her or Max at all? Do you know if they are skipping?”
“No, I haven’t seen either of them. I just got here Maria. I’m not their damn social coordinator.” Michael growled. Stomping off, he ignored Maria’s rant about rude sociopaths needing better hygiene.
------
Isabel found the girl’s bathroom where she knew Liz to be. Taking a deep breath, and wishing one more time for what she had felt to be something else, Isabel entered.
“Liz? You in here?”
“Is-abel?” Liz stuttered softly.
Isabel looked under the stalls, looking for which one Liz was in. Gasping at seeing Liz curled up against the wall, Isabel rushed over to her.
“Oh God, What’s wrong Liz? What happened?”
“I don’t know.” Liz whispered brokenly, “I think its part of the withdrawal stuff but it’s so much worse. It hurts, Isabel.” Liz whimpered in misery. She really just wanted this to stop.
“I’m going to find Max, Liz. Just stay here. I’ll be back.” Isabel rushed out of the restroom, wondering how in the hell she was supposed to find Max. What if he was in the same condition as Liz? How was she going to find him and get him to Liz if he was as bad off as she was?
Rushing down the hall, Isabel couldn’t think of how to find him. Max was the one to take charge in an emergency not her. Spotting Maria and Alex at their lockers, she headed straight for them.
“Maria, Thank God I’ve found you. Do you know where Max is? It’s important!”
“No, I haven’t seen him or Liz all morning. If I’m not allowed to sk…” Maria started ranting.
Isabel interrupted her, “Liz is sick! Like really sick. I need to find Max now, Maria!”
“Sick! What do you mean, sick?” Maria nearly shrieked.
“What’s the matter with Liz?” Alex worriedly asked. ‘It must be really bad for Isabel to look this worried.’ Alex thought.
“She’s in the girl’s bathroom curled up in one of stalls. She’s in pain and looks really pale. I have to find Max. You go sit with her and keep anyone out of there, Maria.” Isabel took off.
“Wait! I’ll help you look for Max.” Alex jogged to catch up with her. Alex headed off in one direction and Isabel in the other in the hopes that one of them would find Max.
------
Max finally realized that whatever was wrong with him was also affecting Liz. He could vaguely feel it through the connection they shared. Forcing himself to move, Max left the janitor’s closet and began a slow painful journey toward Liz’s location.
“MAXWELL! What the hell is wrong with you, man?” Michael had just been rushing through the halls to get to where he was supposed to be when he caught sight of Max. Pale, shaking and barely upright, he looked like death warmed over. Hurrying to Max’s side, Michael pushed the panic threatening to engulf him. They didn’t get sick. They had never been sick in their entire lives. The closest they had gotten were minor injuries which were easily fixed with their powers or just plain ol’ exhaustion when they over did it.
“Liz” Max mumbled. “I need to get to Liz.” Closing his eyes, he concentrated on just keeping upright.
“Liz, right.” drawled Michael, “I shoulda known this had something to do with her. Come on, Max. Where is Liz? Do you know which way to go?” Michael helped lead Max in the direction he had been going in, when Michael first saw him. He really hoped this was the right way. He prayed that nobody saw them. He wasn’t sure how he was going to explain this one away.
-------
Tess was excited! She felt like she was about to float off the ground. The shapeshifter had a new lead on where her family was. He had heard rumors about a girl that had been healed in Roswell, New Mexico in the USA. They were currently around the world from them but in just a few short weeks she would be reunited with her brother, her husband, his sister and all of their friends from before. She could hardly wait. She wondered if she would recognize them on sight. She just knew they remembered her, just like she did. Would they recognize her as soon as she showed up? Of course they would! They were her family! Now if only, they could get there now instead of having to wait on the shapeshifter to make arrangements to move there.
-------
As soon as Max was within a few of Liz, he began to feel better. By the time, he made it to her side; all signs of pain and nausea were gone. “Liz, honey, are you okay?” At her nod, he breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m so sorry. This is my fault.” Max groaned to himself.
“No, Max! It’s not your fault! We just have to be more careful and make sure we don’t spend too much time apart. We also need to see if there is anything in Atherton’s files or maybe with those crystals that will explain what this is and how to prevent it from occurring in the future.” Liz snuggled deeper into Max’s arms. Vaguely aware they weren’t alone; Liz wondered just how much trouble this was going to cause. They couldn’t have been so lucky as to not have anyone witness something.
“I hate to break up this touching moment and all, but we should get out of the girl’s restroom and find someplace a little less public.” Was Michael’s sarcastic response to the huddled forms of his brother and the latest bane to his existence, Liz Parker.
“Geez, Spaceboy, you could show a little sympathy!” Maria muttered.
“Yeah, um, Michael’s right. We need to get out of here before we’re caught and our parents are called. Can you make sure there is nobody out in the halls, Maria?”
“Sure, sure… You might want to let your sister and Alex know you’re okay now. She found Liz earlier and went off in a panic to find you.” Maria opened the restroom door and peaked out. Realizing the cost was clear, she waved the others to hurry up. “Come on guys. Nobody is in the halls right now.”
-------
Calling Isabel on her cell, Max had to listen to a ten minute rant from her before calming her down enough to let her know that he and Liz were fine, but were going to leave school for the rest of the afternoon. Getting her to cover for him in the rest of his classes and Maria to cover for Liz’s, he drove Liz to his home. Hopefully both his parents were at work and he wouldn’t have to explain this latest development to them until later… much later.
-----
Isabel called her parents to let them know what happened. She knew this wasn’t normal or a good thing. They could have been caught too easily and it would have been extremely hard to convince the school not to send them to the hospital or for Liz’s parents not to freak out. She couldn’t help but feel a little relieved to be able to call her parents and have them in on the loop. It felt like a massive burden was lifted off her shoulders since her parents were no longer being kept in the dark. She let the rest of the group know they were meeting at her house after school before storming off to her own classes vowing to find a way to force Max to make this up to her. She swore he was going to give her gray hair and wrinkles if he kept this up.
------
Mr. and Mrs. Evans were very disturbed over Isabel’s news and sat down to discuss what they could do to help Max and Liz. How do you handle something like this? This was so far beyond the ordinary and it definitely didn’t help that they couldn’t discuss this with the Parker’s and get their help as well. Letting Isabel know to make sure the others met at their home after school, they sat down to hash out some kind of plan to keep this from occurring in the future.
------
Silently wondering why Max and Liz had not fixed the problem they were experiencing yet, the watcher hurriedly left the school property and followed them. ‘Soon. It won’t be long now.’