Roswell Fanatics

Interlude

He was devastated. He had lost his wife and his child. Who wouldn’t feel lost after this? The truth was he didn’t deserve either of them. The question was why was I sitting with him or more important why did he want me to be there. I had as much influence as anyone in encouraging her to leave him. To ask her to leave a life of both physical and mental abuse was almost like an obligation to me. Even after all of the divorce testimony he could not see that he had been wrong. He acted in the same way he had learned from his parents and they from theirs. He had missed the new phrase of the century. “It has to stop here.” Why did he feel he had to explain that she deserved, what she got? This was repeated so many times that even she started to believe it. Why did he have to attempt to drag her through the mud to show that she, the person, that he at one time, had chosen as lover and then later consented to choose as wife, was really trash? Why did he have to cheapen the most beautiful act two people could mutually commit, that of physical intimacy? Even if the original magic had faded why couldn’t he have some reverence to a former time? Why couldn’t he see that at one time she gloried in his presence? What did I get out of this? I got a villain to revile in as many plots as I can consider, both now and in the future.

this chapter contains the death of a character. if this bothers you skip to the end right after the wedding.

Chapter 9
I do, said to all of the world.

Liz was contented to just remain in Max’s arms. It was not getting married and it sure as hell wasn’t being with Max that had bothered her. It was, that her own mind, she wasn’t ready to make a decision. Liz in High school had always prided herself for being in control. She made flow charts and thought up scenarios to consider every possible outcome. Being with Kyle and under the hand of the sheriff had damaged her self-esteem to the point that she was terrified of making any decisions. The decisions she seemed to have made had been such a disaster. She was not able to convince herself that she had accepted a decision from someone else who did not have her interest at heart. That was the same as that first night she had spent with Kyle. Kyle wanted a piece of ass and Liz wasn’t, at that time, able to see it that way. She wanted love and she didn’t understand someone who wanted sex without feeling. She now knew that Max wanted sex too, but he wanted it to be something memorable, something that days later would still make him tingle with feeling. Accepting Max removed a weight from her heart. No longer did she wonder if she would be loved as she grew old and she had visions of spending eternity with him.

That night when they went to bed, Liz dug out one of the negligees Isabel had given her. She and Max just lay on their bed in what would soon be their house and held each other. Lovemaking, when it started was so subtle that Liz almost didn’t notice when holding went to touching, to exploring, to kissing, to penetration, to orgasm. The night progressed slowly as Max tried to assure Liz that their lives and possessions would now be one, not two. The next morning it was Liz who got up first. She had a wonderful dream last night and she had awakened to find it was real and not a dream. She showered, dressed and started breakfast. Max followed shortly. They called Isabel and announced that they would pick Alicia up for school. They didn’t have to say anything else because Alicia had told everything to Isabel.

That afternoon, Max bought an emerald cut diamond ring. He was late for his practice, but when he showed the ring to Mrs. Ordonez, his patient, she almost forgot for what ailment she had come to see the doctor. When she heard it was Liz Valenti, she hugged Doctor Max because she had long been worried about Liz being with Kyle.

Max stopped by his parents place and showed them the ring. Diane was very happy because now Alicia would be her granddaughter and Diane had always liked Liz. Max’s father just shook his hand and was proud of his son.

Max went home to Liz and Alicia. When he entered, they both came running to him. Max knelt in front of Liz and said, “Liz, you have always been in my dreams. Will you now be in my heart also?” He then presented her with the ring. It took her breath away. Kyle had not seen fit to spend money on anything other than a simple band that he felt was like a brand to show the world his ownership of Liz. Alicia wanted to see the ring and she turned it around on her mother’s finger as she studied it.

Alicia relayed the news to Isabel and Isabel told Maria. Max didn’t know whether or not Maria had put it on national news. Max hadn’t checked the cable channels, but Maria did tell everyone else she knew. As soon as they finished dinner, Max, Liz and Alicia drove over to the Parker’s home. Liz wanted them to hear the news from her before they heard from everyone else. Nancy Parker was satisfied because she knew Max loved her daughter. Jeff was more skeptical. He and Liz remained in the other room for some time while Nancy entertained Max and Alicia.

“Daddy just be happy for me. Pretend that I am eighteen and I am just entering college, as you always wanted. Max loves me and he loves Alicia. He wants me to educate myself and he wants everything for me that I could dream of. He only asks me to love him in return. I have never known a man who was so kind, generous and loved by the community. Please daddy, he isn’t Kyle.”

Jeff was difficult to convince. In fact, it was his customers that really changed his mind. The next morning when the cowboys came in for their morning coffee, one of them came up and congratulated him. “Max is my Mama’s doctor. She saw the ring the other day and she called all of us. We have been looking for that pendejo that was trying to hurt Liz a few Sundays ago. Now she will have a man with her to protect her.

Isabel had a party for Max, Liz and Alicia. She included Alicia because she thought that Liz’s marriage should include Alicia. She informed everyone that there were other changes. Alex had moved in with her. Michael was still keeping company with Maria and it was sometimes difficult to decide if he was working for Alex or Maria. Isabel was willing to help Liz move out, but for many reasons, she wanted to keep Alicia’s room intact. Isabel had also invited Jake Alvarez to the party. It was decided that this party would be strictly non alien and without mind reading. Max still was not willing to put Jake in a position where he had to admit anything para-normal.

From a distance, Max, Liz and Alicia had all of the appearance of a family. Alicia referred to Max by his name. She never used the word daddy for anyone. As soon as they were married, Jake would proceed with adoption by Max and reinstatement of rights for Liz. The evening after dinner was spent telling stories about high school and, for all except Liz and Alicia stories from college.

After the party, that closed early because Alicia had to get to bed and after she was safely tucked in, Max and Liz were in their room talking. “Max, I am sorry that I appeared not to want to marry you.” Liz whispered.

“I understand, Liz, it is just that I wanted so much to quit playing and for us to be a real family. I have worked so hard for so long and I want to share everything I have with you and Alicia.”

“Max, I come to you with nothing but someone else’s child, don’t you want me to sign some sort of agreement? After all, I did divorce one man. Aren’t you afraid I might leave you?” Liz asked.

“Liz, if you asked, I would give you everything I have and allow you to go anywhere you want. Without you, nothing is worthwhile anyway.” Max looked at her. His eyes said it all, “Please Liz, never leave me.”

Jake was being very careful to insure that Kyle didn’t do anything when he heard Liz was to be remarried. The Sheriff had lost most all of his, previous power. No one had heard any thing from him since Liz’s divorce was final.

Max asked Jake to investigate what it would take for Kyle to give up all rights to Alicia and allow him to adopt her. This would be done at the same time that Liz’s rights would be restored and they would be married. Jake contacted Kyle’s attorney. He made Max’s request. Jake also added that Liz had agreed not to prosecute Kyle for abuse against Alicia, but Max as her doctor, had made no such promise. Kyle also was facing the recent charges of harassment of both Alicia and Liz.

Kyle, in stubborn stupidity, refused to give up anything. “That damned Evans stole my wife and now wants to steal my daughter.” In private, Michael was prepared to take Kyle out, but Max held him back for the moment. Kyle could never be given custody of Alicia and Michael’s method would have to be used if Kyle couldn’t be persuaded in some other way.

Nothing more could be done, anyway, until Max and Liz were married. For Max, this was his first wedding. For Liz, it was not. Before, Liz had a simple civil ceremony. She had not had a gown or all of the things she should have had. Her parents did want a priest this time and Liz’s friends wanted Liz to have a gown along with a maid of honor and bride’s maids. Jeff was willing to do as much as he could, but ten years of helping Liz had depleted his resources. Max and Isabel, along with Maria and Alex, were willing to pay for everything, but Jeff felt that it was his responsibility. It was Jake again that started the rescue. He contacted a local band to play for them. The band members owed him for helping them one time. The Ordonez family organized the catering from the patients and friends of their Doctor Max. Maria would sing, provide the wedding music and she insisted on giving Liz a gown gratis from all of her friends. Isabel and Maria insisted in buying Alicia’s dress. Isabel and Maria would make up the bridal party while Michael and Alex would stand with the groom. The first time Liz hadn’t been given away and she wanted very much for her father to do this now.

Liz was overwhelmed. Her wedding, itself, was a present from all those who knew her and those who knew Max. Her original idea was to make it a small intimate affair, but the years of being “the best waitress at the Crashdown” and the fact of being the wife of “Doctor Max” added to her fellows workers at Doctor Nayman’s research group, exploded the event into a celebration for everyone. The wedding was read under the trees in the mild afternoon weather of downtown Roswell. The priest justified Max’s universally wide view of God by the many wonderful things his parishioners told him about Doctor Max and his kindness. He also was happy for Liz because he knew the unhappy results of her previous civil marriage.

The wedding dinner was an open affair and was a cornucopia of Anglo and Hispanic offerings. There were enchiladas, tortillas, tacos and chili of many sorts. There were also potatoes, corn, breads, pies, chicken done a thousand ways and steaks. It was more like a church supper than a wedding supper. That is what it was, a wedding supported by the whole community. Liz learned how many people loved her and her family.

There probably was only one person who was unhappy about the ceremony. Kyle sat in a bar nursing a drink. The last of many he had consumed during the day. Damned that Evans. He takes her and she becomes a queen. The ten years Kyle had lived with Liz, she was just someone to push around and blame for every thing that had befallen him since high school. For Evans, she would dress up like a movie star and for Kyle she would only wear a plain dress and slouch around the house. For Evans, she was the college scientist she had been on the way to becoming before Kyle despoiled her. If only Evans had known how easy it was to take her that day. Two beers and he, Kyle Valenti, had her clothes off and was inside her. She hadn’t been that much. It was her first time and she didn’t know enough to be erotic. But, it was so much fun to take down someone like her. She was the smartest girl in class, but she went down just like the slut she was.

Kyle’s imagination only magnified itself as he built images of the dominance and degradation he had brought to the smart, intellectual school girl. He further imagined himself as a man with power, as she was twisted to his will. He saw his father proclaiming his act as a man’s right. Then, he saw the disgust in his father’s eyes as he told him of her pregnancy.

The old man then faulted Kyle for being with a girl that didn’t have enough sense to have protection. In all his visions, it was Liz’s fault not his, for having to get married.

Kyle got into his car and left the bar. He was driving, but he did not know where. He went faster and faster. He was trying to get there as fast as he could. The only thing he couldn’t remember was where “there” was. The road crossed an arroyo and Kyle didn’t. They buried him with almost no ceremony.

Kyle was dead and Liz was loved. Liz and Max went to Santa Fe for the weekend. On a scale of romantic places, it might not be the greatest place for a honeymoon, but for them it cemented their existence together. Among the many varied cultures, architectures and peoples they affirmed their love for each other. They had not yet heard about Kyle. So there wasn’t anything to blemish their happiness. Liz was now Mrs. Evans. Soon Alicia would also be an Evans and they would be a family for sure. Liz no longer was alone. Her wedding had proved that the whole community was supporting her. It is true that now the only novelty in making love to Max was in its consistency. Liz knew every time she was with Max, his world stood still for her. Where with Kyle she felt used, with Max she was worshiped. Liz knew that no matter what happened, she would always compare her life now to what it was before. She must show to Max that he was what made her life rekindle every morning. She now had an obligation for both Max and Alicia to take her place as wife, mother and persona d’importance.

Alicia climbed up into Isabel’s lap. She was crying. “Why are you crying Alicia?” Isabel queried.

“I was in someone’s head when he died.” Alicia whispered.

“Whose?” Isabel asked, but she was sure she knew.

“Daddy’s,” the little girl said. This was the first time she had used the word daddy that Isabel had heard.

“Tell me what happened.” Isabel was rocking Alicia trying to calm her.

“He was making up terrible things about Momma. I have been his mind before and I have been in Momma’s mind. I know what they both said happened before I was born. Kyle was saying things about Momma. I know that Kyle slept with Momma that first night and then one other time when they made me, before they were married. That was because he said he loved her. He was saying terrible things that he had done to her. They weren’t true.

Isabel was taken back by the words said by the little ten-year-old girl. Then you could not expect there to be much naiveté in a child that read minds. “Alicia did you do anything?” Isabel asked her.

“No, Isabel, Michael made me promise to call him if I felt my feelings getting away. I just was hurt that someone would say those things about Momma. Kyle was killed by his own feelings.” Alicia was sitting looking into Isabel’s eyes. Isabel couldn’t imagine Alica was lying.

Isabel called Michael. “Did you feel any energy surge from Alicia?”

“No why?” Isabel explained what Alicia had said. “No, Iz, I would have felt it if Alicia had done anything. We work together all of the time and I know her signature pretty well. I think she is right. Kyle’s own bile killed him. I think we are going to have to work with Liz when she comes back.

When Max and Liz got back near Roswell they received a cell phone call for them to meet at Isabel’s. When they got there, they found all four of their friends waiting. Liz was surprised that Alicia didn’t run out to greet her. At first, she was afraid that something had happened to her. It was left up to Isabel to lead the meeting. “Max, Liz, Kyle was killed the other day in a car accident.”

Liz’s angry glance took in both Max and Michael. “Did either of you do it?”

“No.” they both answered in unison.

Isabel again took over. “Liz, shut up. There is a lot more to it. Alicia was in his mind when he died.” Isabel was harsh but she had to make Liz concentrate.

Liz just crumpled, “Did she do it?”

Michael answered this one. “No, Liz, I work with Alicia all of the time and if she had done something like this, I would have known. She promised me she would call me if she ever felt like she was loosing control.

“Liz, Kyle was thinking terrible things about you when Alicia went into his head. Alicia is terribly afraid that you are going to be hurt. She claims that she had seen the truth in both of you years ago. It was about the night when you first slept with Kyle during the UFO festival and the nights afterward.” Isabel was looking right at Liz.

“I only slept with him twice before I became pregnant.” Liz was perplexed. How much did her ten-year-old daughter really know?

Isabel continued, “That is what Alicia said. It seems Kyle was making up stories in his head about the many times he took you and how he brought you down.”

“Oh my gosh what did Alicia see? How is she taking it? What do we do?” Liz was frantic.

It was Michael who brought sanity to the table. “Liz, you love your daughter. You believe in her and you wipe any doubt from your mind. You trust in your friends. Max adopts Alicia and you grow old as a family as if Kyle never existed. Remember, Alicia will see any doubt in your mind so do not have any. We don’t.”

Stories by ken_r


Part 2
Alicia Evans

Chapter 10 Alicia

Sixteen-year-old Alicia Evans formerlly, Alicia Valenti, sat in the back of her grandfather’s restaurant, the Crashdown. She was with her bodyguard, Michael Guerin. They were playing a game. Alicia would drop a goose down feather and they would each try to make it land on their side of the table. The difference in the game was that neither Alicia nor Michael would blow or use any physical means to control the feather. They were using mind control. They only played this game when the restaurant was empty and when the waitresses were not nearby. Everyone was used to Alicia being in the Crachdown and they paid little attention to her. She was known for being a quiet, very polite, young lady. No one had ever heard her angry or throw a tantrum as many children might. If she disagreed with a situation, she would just walk away. Alicia had developed extreme control over her emotions. Alicia was the strongest telepath/ telekinetic in the group. She had been born with these abilities even though both of her biological parents, Kyle Vanenti and Liz Parker, were completely human in every way. Before Alicia had been conceived, her mother, Liz, had been shot. At that time, Liz was a high school sophomore. She was healed by Max Evans, who was an alien. Shortly after his leaving town with out any explanation, Liz got pregnant. She was forced into the marriage with Kyle, which led ten years later into divorce. Liz was now remarried, to Max. Alicia had been adopted by Max six years ago. This had opened new worlds for both of them. The healing caused changes in Liz that were magnified in her child. Michael, the second alien in the group, had appointed himself as Alicia’s trainer. She had to learn to both live with and to conceal her abilities. Michael was concerned mostly with her telekinetic abilities. Not only could Alicia move large objects, but also she was able to concentrate and move large amounts of energy. All of the aliens could do this a little, but Alicia surpassed the others even though she was a teenager. Like many highly gifted children, she had developed a personal code of ethics. Alicia, to survive in society, had been forced to make several rules for herself. She had to avoid fear and anger in her emotions. Either of these might trigger surges that could hurt someone or, at the very least, bring attention of her abilities. She went to great lengths to avoid confrontation. This was not always easy because many times her avoidance was viewed as cowardice. Alicia was anything but a coward. If she had any fear, it was from within, that she might reveal this power.

Telepathic ability was the weakest in the aliens. They could sense each other to some extent and Isabel could enter dreams and manipulate dreams. Max could move things in a body to accelerate healing, but Alicia could excel in all of these. Alicia’s father, Liz’s first husband, was an alcoholic. He would hurt Liz when he was drunk and he had begun to hurt Alicia when Liz left him. Developing defenses against this abuse might have been the reason for her rapid development. Telepathy in Alicia was like an extension of hearing and seeing. She had learned to ignore some of the constant barrage of visions just like a normal person can ignore thousands of voices in a large room, but then she would notice one that would stick out. She could read any mind, but she could talk, so far, only to the three aliens. Alicia could sense things at a distance when she was familiar with the other person. She and Michael, through practice, were able to talk to each other at relatively great distances. She also could sense someone if their thoughts were strong. When her father had been killed in an auto accident, he had been thinking very strong thoughts about her mother and Alicia picked up his thoughts from a far. Alicia could sometimes put the seed of thoughts into people’s minds.

Liz had graduated from college and was continuing her work with doctor Nayman in his research. Her new husband, Max, was still a doctor in family medicine. To Liz, except for memories of Alicia, she had suppressed the ten years of abuse when she had been married to Kyle. In high school, Liz had intended to study Biochemistry in college and move into research. This she had now accomplished. She had the husband of her dreams and friends who supported her. As Alicia had grown older, Liz more and more realized that she had a daughter with special abilities and she turned to the aliens for help. It was Michael who formed the closest bond with Alicia when it came to using her powers. Max’s sister, Isabel, had formed a bond, guiding her in social conduct and in social graces along with the human, Maria. With Max, Alicia had found the loving parent she had missed with her father Kyle. To Liz, Alicia was always the rock she had in her life that kept her focused and anchored in reality. Alicia was blessed with two sets of grandparents, Liz’s parents and those of Max, who also loved her very much. She was the only grandchild of both sets of grandparents.

To Alicia, the world was a place of noise. It was seldom that she could be free of the cacophony of thoughts around her. Occasionally, when her father Max took her into the wilderness away from everything, she could find peace within her mind, but even then, his thoughts and insecurities would show through, no matter how hard he tried to mask them. To keep herself sane, she learned to ignore stray thoughts and to mask them into the background. It was like walking in a crowded room where she would, from time to time, see bits of thoughts rise out of the white noise. Liz had always had issues with this because she felt that mind reading was an invasion of privacy. Alicia had tried to learn not to hear these thoughts, but that was like trying to make a musician not hear music. The thoughts were everywhere.

Liz saw Alicia’s growing up as a mixed blessing. Alicia seemed to be missing the normal joy of a young girl in dating and discovering herself. Liz hoped Alicia would also be immune from the same mistakes she had made which had led to her early marriage and suffering because of it. Alicia had to learn to differentiate the hormonal lust in any normal teenage boy from that of the indifference of the young men who never rose above that lust and never developed feelings of caring and love. Alicia had met several young men who seemed to care for her, but when she uncovered the physical feelings these young men had, she became afraid. Alicia didn’t feel comfortable talking with her mother about this so she sought out her aunt Isabel for advice.

“Jacob is a nice boy who is shy and I like him, but I get flashes of him wanting to see me naked Then I wonder if I would end up like Mom,” Alicia sat talking to Isabel.

Isabel treated everything Alicia said as serious. She knew that being in a person’s innermost thoughts was difficult. No one approached Alicia with anything hidden. Isabel knew that for a normal girl being able to differentiate between simple thoughts of a teenage male and genuine love was difficult. But, what could it mean for a girl that could know a boy’s every secret? Isabel knew that Alicia remembered her father’s feelings when he had came home drunk and practically raped her mother.

Alicia had looked deep into her stepfather Max’s mind and she had seen the deep caring he had for her mother. She saw the lengths he would go to help and protect her. She also saw the joy they found in each other’s bodies. She knew how different this was from when Kyle had taken her mother.

Alicia had looked into Isabel’s mind as she sat talking to Alex. She saw the respect they had for each other and then, she saw the joy they shared in physical contact. It was Maria who she found the most interesting. When she was with Maria Alicia saw the flirtatious glances Maria cast to men when she passed them in the mall. Alicia saw the glances that were based on only physical admiration. She also felt the thoughts in Maria when she was with Michael. True, all of the physical desires were still there, but they were overshadowed by feelings of wellbeing and comfort. Maria might still be flirtatious with Michael, but she received joy, in the security and pleasure of his company.

These were mature people that had long ago discovered much about themselves and others. Alicia was confronted with teenage boys who had little control over their thoughts and had not reached a level where they could feel thoughts of commitment and security.

“Alicia,” stated Isabel, “young boys are going to have thoughts of desire, sex and physical activity. That is what propels them into adulthood. If they have none of these, they won’t make good companions. Some of them will go no further, never maturing beyond this. This is what happened to Kyle. It is hoped that you will also meet some boys who care for you, love being with you and want to assure your happiness above and including their physical feelings. Most girls do not see this basic feeling that all boys are going to have. They just assume that these physical feelings are there and they look for the overt indications of care and appreciation.

“Isabel, do you think that I could go with all of you the next time you go dancing?” Alicia asked. “I would like to better study the way adults think and interact?”

“Alicia, most of them are not much different from what you see in high school. I will ask your Mom and we will try to arrange something,” Isabel stated.

Isabel approached Liz and explained what Alicia wanted to do. “I don’t know, Isabel, for a normal sixteen-year-old it might not be a correct experience but we have to remember that there is little that Alicia has not been exposed to from someone’s mind sometime.” Liz said.

It was two weeks later when Isabel planned around everyone’s schedule to set up a weekend night out. Isabel bought Alicia a dress that took her breath away. Liz frowned at first, then she really looked at the dress. True, it showed the incipient curves Alicia was developing but it was not overtly revealing. It clung to her waist and then flared out just above her knees. It was a light blue, which always complemented Liz and, thus, on Alicia it was truly beautiful.

Alex always held that he was the best dancer because he was both a musician and very light on his feet. He asked for Alicia’s hand and led her to the floor. The way he moved to the music was beautiful to Alicia. She almost forgot to look into his mind. First, he was thinking about Isabel, his joy when he was with her, and then he was thinking about the girl he was now guiding across the floor and the little girl she had been. As Alicia felt so light in his arms he marveled that she had grown up to be such a beautiful and wonderful woman. He thought of how many years he had known her mother. He felt proud for his part in her mother’s life and, also, for what he had been able to do, to get them both out of such an abusive situation.

After the dance, he went out on the floor with Isabel and Alicia noticed how their minds flowed as one. Isabel’s feet moved just smoothly as Alex’s. Alicia marveled at the choreography of their movements. Alicia saw that the same choreography in their thoughts. She saw their appreciation for each other and also the desire each had for the other physically. Watching them was like a symphony. Isabel’s beauty and Alex’s agility resembled that of professional dancers or maybe just dancers who had been with each other for a long time.

Max was the next one to dance with Alicia. Alicia always had a special place for Max in her heart. Her mother had always thought of Max as her savior. Alicia knew the place Liz held in Max’s heart. There was nothing as important as Liz, to Max. When he looked into Alicia’s eyes, he saw Liz as he saw her when she was a little girl. As they danced, Alicia saw something else starting to grow in Max’s mind. Max was starting to not see Liz in Alicia, but rather a totally separate and beautiful young girl who he called a daughter. She saw his thoughts start to flow toward a future and he had doubts about his ability to help her. For a minute, Alicia was shocked because she had always thought of Max as all-powerful, without any doubts. She saw that he did fear that he would not have all of the answers for her. This had never occurred to her before. Alicia searched again in his mind. She found no reference to Kyle. As far as Max was concerned, he was her father and he had all the fears a father could have when raising a beautiful, teenaged daughter. He delighted in holding his daughter as he watched her grow up.

Alicia sat the next set of dances out. She watched Michael as he danced with Maria. She knew about Maria’s flirtations, but when Alicia looked at Maria with Michael on the dance floor, Alicia could only feel the power emanating from Michael surrounding Maria. With Michael, Maria could dance without any insecurities or fears. She expected Michael to catch her at every spin. Any other reference to other men in her mind was only about their inadequacies. Their physical relationship was in the back of their minds. It existed without doubt and neither of them feared the intrusion of others. After dancing with Maria, Michael asked for Alicia’s hand and she found her partner exuded confidence on the dance floor. She also felt the admiration Michael had for her. Michael had made most of his way through life, alone without help. He was determined that Alicia would not have to face that. She knew that Michael took his role as her protector very seriously.

For a while Alicia was content to just sit and watch the people. She felt waves from several men as they passed by. Their thoughts were disturbing. She laughed because when the men looked at her, they also saw Michael. Their thoughts of disrobing her wilted as they saw his glare. She was watching as Max and Liz danced together. Max never claimed to be a great dancer. He thought too much about each step. With Liz, he just felt happy. Alicia could see the many years Max had loved her mother. In her mother she just saw contentment and, for once in her life, she saw security and true feelings of love. There had never been anything like this when Alicia was young and her mother was living with Kyle. Alicia tried to think of any time she had ever seen her mother happy with Kyle, or for that matter, when she had ever seen Kyle happy with her mother. Kyle had lusted after her mother, but his feelings toward his wife never were what Alicia saw as love.

There was one young man in his early twenties. He asked if she would like to dance and Michael nodded his assent. As they walked onto the floor, Alicia looked at his thoughts. She could, at first, only see how he admired her. As they talked this admiration increased. When Alicia told him she was here with her parents and that she was just sixteen and still in high school, she sensed his disappointment. He realized she was too young for him, but he also thought about what a splendid young lady she was. He escorted her back to her table and thanked her for the dance. She smiled at him over the glare of Michael and Max. Alicia thought about how nice the young man was. She hadn’t been with him long enough to read thoughts of physical attraction, but the thoughts she had seen were very respectful. She didn’t see fear about Michael and Max, but she did see respect he felt for parents who loved and protected their daughter.

Isabel smiled at Alicia, “Do you find this interesting?” she queried.

“I see so many different feelings that people have for each other,” was Alicia’s reply.

“Here on a dance floor, which is after all a courting floor, you can see emotions of people toward each other without most of the normal issues of life crowding them out,” Isabel said wisely. “Dancing is an activity that allows physical contact with the safety of the protection of numbers. For youth, both boys and girls can get used to the feel of each other’s bodies without teachers, parents or others being critical. It also is a place where rejection can take place without undue damage to self-esteem. In dancing, nothing more is implied other than the dance itself.”

Alicia started to allow her mind to drift. There was a middle-aged man with a buxom blond at least half his age. He was thinking of how much he was spending and how soon he would be able to get her back to his hotel room. As far as Alicia could tell, the blond was not thinking anything. She saw an elderly couple dancing and as she watched them, she saw the years they had spent together. She saw the way they looked at each other and in their eyes they were each still young and very much in love. She saw, as they danced, the children they had given to each other and the many experiences they had shared. She read that they still desired each other, and even with many sensations of pain they would endure to be together.

Isabel leaned over to Alicia, “What you see in most of the couples is physical attraction. You should also see, in some of them, other things such as respect and admiration. The balance of these makes a good relationship. Alicia spent the rest of the evening looking and comparing for those thoughts of love and those thoughts of only raw lust.

Alicia was so much like her mother in high school. She started arranging these feelings according to the importance she felt in people’s minds. She was always listening to other girls talking about their boyfriends. Alicia began to organize what the girls thought about them then she compared that with what she knew was in their boyfriends minds. Alicia learned something else. Even with her abilities, she was going to have to make it a life-time study to understand people. Even what they had in their minds did not tell the whole story. She really was little better off than any of the other girls who didn’t have her abilities.

Liz still had that nagging sensation that Alicia’s ability was an invasion of privacy. Long ago she had given up any hope of her own personal privacy from her daughter. It was the random picking up of stray thoughts that Alicia did, that bothered her. She knew that Alicia could not just turn it off because it was a sense like seeing or hearing. Alicia could ignore it, which she did most of the time, but if someone had strong emotion tied to their thoughts, it was like shouting in a church service. One of the things Liz insisted the aliens help her with was to teach Alicia to respect privacy and not invade it deliberately. And when she couldn’t avoid this, to be respectful of not repeating what she had seen. This burden added to Alicia the habit of distancing herself from others.

Because she felt what was in everyone’s mind in class, learning was difficult. It was as if every test and assignment was a group effort or an open book. This was another of those gifted characteristics where Alicia learned not for the grade, but because she and her family thought this was necessary. Michael talked to her about his dereliction with school. Even though he had skipped most of his formal education, he had a great respect for knowledge and learning. Because Alicia could see in everyone’s mind she also was exposed to as many wrong answers as right ones.

Sometimes when she was with a large group of people, Alicia would detect a mind so depraved that she would almost be sick. Michael had always told her to inform him anytime this happened. Her parents and their friends always tried to protect Alicia without smothering her. As most parents know, this was difficult.

Chapter 11 Jacob

Liz was experiencing changes also. She had been having visions of probable outcomes of events. None of these visions were exact and pre knowledge could change them. It had started to affect her research. Liz was getting intuitive glimpses of successes or failures. She had to be very careful because sometimes she would learn as much from a failure as a success. This was an ability that none of the aliens had at all.

It was reminiscent of Max long ago, the way Alicia would, many times, eat alone in the quads. Sometimes Jacob would come by and they would talk about school and class things. Jacob made it very clear that he liked Alicia. She was frightened to let him get too close. There was a group of girls who called themselves the Vixens. It was reported that they were a girl street gang. They had teased Alicia before. She avoided them whenever possible. Jacob had just sat down with Alicia when they came up. Alicia could see no reason for attracting their attention. It was as if they sensed that she was different. In their minds, Alicia could see drugs, their boyfriends and hear thoughts of crimes they had committed or thought about committing. It was a psychotic jumble. Jacob stood up and pulled Alicia behind him. Alicia read in his mind a moment of indecision, and then she felt his concern for her safety.

“The little freak has a protector.” That was Louise. She was the most dangerous. Her father was doing time for murder and her mother was selling drugs from their home.

Jacob didn’t say anything. He just stood in front of Alicia and waited. Alicia looked in his mind and to her surprise she saw he had no plan or any idea of what to do. He was just determined to stand in front of Alicia. She detected fear but it was fear of inadequacy. If the girls pushed him he had not the slightest plan of what he was going to do. Alicia had one thing she could do. She created a feeling of extreme perturbation for any who might respond.

Jess Sanchez was a homicide detective. He had stopped two bullets in the chest just missing his vest. He only had one more year until his twenty-year retirement. The only two choices he had been given were a desk or a school detective position. Ever since the studies at Flint Michigan in the sixties, many schools had hired detectives to be on campus. Jess took the school. His job was easy, compared to the deadly homicide squad. Jess had occasional fights, but most of them were laughable. He rounded up truants and, occasionally, he solved a theft. High school kids were a joke. They thought they were tough, but they crumbled before authority most of the time. Jess had always depended on gut reaction to guide him. Gut reaction was moving him now. He picked up his radio and started out to the back. There were only a few places that were hidden from the view of the school administration. Toward the back, the place the students called the quads, there was a delivery alley where students often gathered. Jess headed in that direction. When Jess got to the alley he saw a small girl clutching her books and before her was standing a young man. Jess knew both of them. The girl was probably going to be valedictorian some day and the young man was well liked by most of the school. In front of them, he saw seven girls. They were trouble. He advanced toward the group. “What’s wrong Louise, boyfriend not putting out today?” The girls knew just how hard Jess was. The girls grumbled as they left. They didn’t want any part of Jess.

“Jacob, what are you doing back here?” Jess asked. “Did you have any plan about handling those girls?”

Jacob was embarrassed. Truly, he had no idea of what he would have had to do. He had liked Alicia for so many years that standing up for her was just natural. He looked at Alicia and blushed red, mumbling something he turned and left.

Jess walked up to Alicia. She never was one to cause trouble. Jess had many times talked with one of the adults who usually brought her to school or picked her up. He seemed to be a bodyguard or something of the sort. His name was Michael.

Jess took Alicia by her arm and led her back to the main part of the school. He looked at her. She didn’t seem scared, but he sensed that she was worried. Jess made a guess and said, “That boy has balls and he is a gentleman besides. I just wish he had the ability to back it up. You need to try very hard not to get him into something he can’t handle.”

Alicia nodded. She had allowed them to be herded into the alley. She should have checked better for the girl’s intentions. About this time, Michael’s car drove up beside the school fence. Alicia waved and Michael waved back. Jess left Alicia and walked over to where Michael was waiting just outside the fence. They nodded and Jess said, “She allowed herself to get in a spot where she might have had trouble. Her boyfriend stood in front of her until I got here. I just do not think he could have done anything.”

Michael raised his eyebrows at the mention of boyfriend and just nodded at the rest of the story.

Jess went looking for Jacob. He found him alone and depressed. Jess sat down beside Jacob. “Guess I just hoped that they would jump me and give her a chance to get away,” Jacob mumbled.

Jess nodded and said, “Well that is a plan and you might have protected her, but you might have paid a high price. You would not have been much good if they decided to take both of you at the same time.”

Jacob looked even worse if that was possible. Jess just sat there looking at Jacob. “You like her a lot. You stepping out together?”

Jacob shook his head. “We are just friends.”

“Well, friends is a start. I bet you could go with her if you wanted,” Jess stated.

Alicia felt Michael’s presence in her mind. “What’s up Angel?”

“It was a girl gang. I wish they would just leave me alone,” Alicia thought.

“We will talk to Iz tonight. What’s this about a boyfriend?” Michael quizzed.

“Jacob’s just a boy who tried to stand up for me. He did give me time to stir up the detective,” was her reply.

“Does Max know anything about him? We need to talk tonight. Just be careful, Angel,” Michael signed off.

Max, Michael and Isabel sat talking that afternoon. Later that evening they wanted to talk to both Liz and Alicia. “We need to do something about that girl gang,” Michael said.

“We could stir up discord within their ranks to make them break apart,” offered Isabel. “If they started fighting each other, they might be less likely to bother Alicia. A few suggestive dreams might make things interesting.”

“True,” Michael mused thinking about what else was bothering him. “Alicia may have a boyfriend,” he said slowly.

With this, Max looked up. Isabel just smiled and wondered which of the several young men Alicia had mentioned was receiving that honor.

“I do not really feel comfortable discussing this without Liz present,” Max stated. “The girl gang we can take care of in any number of ways, but a discussion of a boyfriend is something her mother should be party to.”

When Liz came home that night, she found Alicia waiting for her. Alicia was crying as she fell into her mother’s arms. “Mama, I may have hurt some one. Someone who is really nice.”

They were sitting on the couch. Liz, trying to calm Alicia requested, “Tell me about it.” Liz requested.

“Well there is this boy. He is a very nice boy who eats with me sometimes. I never go looking for him, but he does come looking for me. I have always been afraid to let him get too close. I am afraid that if he is with me, he is going to get hurt,” Alicia sobbed. With that she told her mother everything that had happened that day. “He could have been hurt and it would have been for nothing. He didn’t know that I could take care of myself,” she finished.

“Alicia, it wasn’t for nothing. To him, it was very important that he try to help you. To him, you were very important. Are you sure you want to turn away that sort of friendship?” Liz was very serious because she was remembering her youth. “Once upon a time there was a young boy who loved a girl and he was afraid that his love would cause her harm so he went away. It took ten years to return to this love and realize that his love was what made her strong.”

Even without reading her mind, Alicia understood the story her mother was telling. What did Jacob mean to her? She had been so concerned about hiding her abilities from him that she hadn’t thought if he meant something to her. Jacob was about the only regular person that she ever talked to and she had tried over and over to hide from him.

Liz was still holding her daughter close to her. “I think the hardest thing I have had to learn in my adult life is to accept help. Max once told me to repay what was done for me by doing for others. I learned that accepting help was placing me under a bond to continue the help to others. This was continuing a process and obligation that must be passed on. When you accept help from Jacob, even when you feel that you do not need it, you improve your humanity by being obligated to also help others.

Max once said that there was only one reason for me to be with him and that was because I love him. You should base your association with Jacob on whether you like him or not. If you do like him you will be stronger because of him,” Liz was thinking about her life and how, with, not only Max, but also all of their close friends, she was much stronger.

When Max, Isabel and Michael came to see Liz that night, they wanted to talk about Alicia having a boyfriend. Michael, as usual, was worried about more people getting close to their circle. Liz addressed him, “What do you know about the boy, Jacob?”

“I talked to the school detective, Jess Sanchez. He thought that Jacob was a brave, but naive young man. Jess talked very favorably about both Jacob and Alicia. He was worried about the girl gang, but Isabel is going to take care of this by a few disconcerting dreams,” Michael reported.

Liz was being more aggressive because they were talking about her daughter. She also was learning, first from Max, and now from the others that she was being considered more and more an equal. “I think we need to be there for Alicia, but she is going to have to be encouraged to make her own decisions. She is going to have to quit isolating herself if she is to make her own way in the world. Alicia is not Max, nor Michael, nor Isabel. She is also not me. She can’t be asked to grow up alone. You all had each other, I tried to make my way without advice and I made some bad choices. It took me ten years to straighten out my life.

Stories by ken_r

Liz of the Desert

Stories by ken_r

The dreams and forcast are allegorical their explanation should appear in the narative somewhere.

Chapter 12 dinner

The next day Alicia was sitting again in the quad during lunch but this time she was at a middle table rather than the edge table she usually took. “Hello,” she knew the voice of Jacob instantly. “May I sit down?” he asked. “I guess I wasn’t much help yesterday,” he stated.

Alicia smiled at Jacob. She saw in his mind how much this meant. “We both should be more careful. Michael told me not to let myself get cornered.”

“Who is Michael?” Jacob inquired.

“He is just a friend that takes care of me sometimes,” She said.

“Do you live with your parents?” Jacob asked.

“Yes, but you see it is complicated. My mother and stepfather look after me when they can, but other times I have people like Michael and my aunt Isabel who take care of me. Ever since my stepfather, Max adopted me, I have been surrounded by those that worry for my safety,” Alicia told him.

“Must be nice. My mother and father are divorced and my mother doesn’t have much time to worry about me. She works long and hard hours,” Jacob said. “That is why I work in the library so much after school.”

“Would you like to come over to my house some time for dinner and then you could meet everyone?” Alicia projected thoughts to Isabel. Isabel thought that would be an excellent idea. That would give Max and Michael a chance to meet Jacob. Not to mention Liz. Alicia continued, “We are going to have a family dinner this Friday.”

Jacob had no idea that she had been talking to Isabel and arranging for him to meet everyone. “I will have to ask my mother but I am sure she won’t mind,” Jacob was delighted that he was going to see more of Alicia.

On Friday Jacob was hurrying to get out of school. As he was running past Jess Sanchez, the detective, Jess called out, “Hey Jacob where are you going in such a hurry?”

Jacob was all smiles, “I was invited to Alicia’s house for dinner.”

“Well I told you being friends was a start.” Jess called out.

Jacob’s mother, Susan Maiers, was happy her son had been asked to the Evans for dinner. She knew that she didn’t spend enough time with him but it was hard to keep a job that would support both of them. Jacob was a good kid. He helped around the house and he tried to do his part taking care of himself and helping her. She worried sometimes that he didn’t have enough friends or get out with people his own age enough.

Jacob walked up to a large house that was well lit up. He knocked on the door and Alicia met him. Jacob’s mother had picked up a bouquet of flowers on her way home. She said he should take something to show his appreciation. He handed them to Alicia and she led him through the long line of introductions. In the living room sipping coffee were Alicia’s two sets of grandparents. Mr. and Mrs. Evans and Mr. and Mrs. Parker. They went into the next room and it was filled with people. Alicia introduced Jacob to her mother, Liz and her stepfather Max. They approached a tall well built man with a pretty blond hanging on his arm and a beer in his hand, “This is Michael and his girlfriend Maria” Alicia continued with the introductions.

A tall beautiful blond entered the room wearing a decorative apron. “you must be Jacob, she said. “These flowers are beautiful.” Isabel took the flowers and put them in a vase in the middle of the table. About this time Alex entered the room carrying a dish for Isabel.

“You are Mr. Whitman,” Jacob said, “You are the head of the computer company where my mother works.”

Isabel leaned over from Alex’s shoulder, “Here, for tonight, you may call him Alex and by the way, I am Isabel.”

The dinner with so many people was buffet where everyone came up to the table served themselves and then found a seat somewhere in the several rooms. Alicia helped Jacob and they went into the living room with her grandparents. They sat at a small table and talked. Both the Parkers and the Evans were very interested in Jacob. They asked him about what he was taking in school and where he lived. He found them inquisitive but very nice people. Pretty soon the couples Alex and Isabel with Michael and Maria came in the room. Michael asked what sports Jacob liked. Jacob sort of stuttered, “I take fencing at the YMCA and I swim a little. I play chess and several Video games.”

“Chess,” Alex started, “Alicia is an…Ouch!” as Isabel’s high heel came down on his foot. Playing against Alicia would not help any relationship at all.

Michael, though, was interested in the video game Jacob was playing. They talked for a time about what level he was on and where Michael was. This was a surprise for Jacob because he had not met an adult who liked video games before.

The grandparents left after saying how much they enjoyed meeting Jacob. Next were Michael and Maria who were heading out to the dance club. So Jacob and Alicia were left with Max and Liz along with Isabel and Alex, who were cleaning up the party food. Jacob found himself sitting talking to Alicia’s parents. He learned that Liz was a student and a research assistant and that Max was a doctor. He found both of them very easy to talk to. They were very different from other adults he had been around. Alex popped in for a few minutes and Jacob found he had a lot in common with him. Especially when it came to computers. As soon as she had put everything away the beautiful Isabel sat down. Jacob found her to be very gracious and he learned that she had a design business along with an interest in a recording company. She also used computers in her business. The evening came to a halt as the time got late. Max and Liz said they would take Jacob home. Max’s new pickup was a crew cab so all four got in. Max and Liz told Jacob how much they enjoyed meeting him and Alicia walked him to the his door holding his hand. “Thank you for meeting everyone,” Alicia told him.

“I had a really good time and I see what you mean about having so many people taking care of you.”

When Jacob entered the house he found his mother waiting up for him. “Did you have a good time?” she was so concerned about her son.

“Mom, guess who I met there tonight? Alex, I mean Mr. Whitman, your boss was there. He is the boyfriend of Alicia’s aunt. I met one of Alicia’s protectors and he likes video games. Her grandparents were there and we talked. They have been in Roswell for a long time. Max and Liz, her parents brought me home. I had a very good time.” His mom hugged her son and was very happy that things had gone so well.

In another home Alicia was hugging her parents, “Mom, Max thank you for making the very first boy I ever brought home have a good time.”

That night, in bed Max and Liz were talking. They were talking in low tones but they both knew that Alicia could hear their thoughts and everything they said. “Liz, she is growing up, what am I going to do?” Max sighed.

“Nothing Max, we can only guide Alicia and hope she makes good choices.” Liz breathed in his ear.

“You need to talk to her about not saying too much until she is sure he is the one. He may be the last boy that comes through or he may only be the first of many more.” Max said.

Liz giggled, “Max don’t you think you just did. I am sure Alicia is listening to every thing you think. Good night baby and do not grow up too fast.”

Alicia blushed, her parents knew her so well. She turned over she had so many things to think about. She had seen so much in Jacob’s mind that she needed to think about. This gave her parents a bit of privacy as she considered her own thoughts.

Chapter 13 dating

That night Alicia had a dream. She thought at first it had come from Isabel. Alicia knew well that Isabel would broadcast to everyone happy dreams when she, herself, was pleased. This dream wasn’t that happy, at least at first. In the dream Alicia saw Jacob. He was standing on a hill. All around him was an army. Everyone in the army looked like that gang girl Louise.

Jacob would turn around and the army would advance from behind him. When he faced them they retreated but when his back was to them they advanced. Since they surrounded the hill, he had to keep turning to keep any of them from getting to the top if the hill. He kept doing this even though he was getting so tired. Then she saw an altar or something on the top with Jacob. It was made it harder for Jacob. Now, because instead of just turning around he had to keep circling the altar to face the army down. Alicia wanted to cry because she could feel how fatigued Jacob was becoming. Then the dream changed again. Alicia saw herself sitting on the altar. Jacob was starting to stumble. He looked at her and he redoubled his efforts to keep facing the army. They were getting higher up the hill as he was becoming slower in rounding the altar. Alicia stood up from where she had been seated and took Jacob’s left arm. She put it across her shoulders. She felt his weight but surprisingly he began to feel lighter as she supported him. They began to walk right at the army and it gave way as they approached. Alicia supporting Jacob walked right through the army and as they passed the army dissolved into mist.

A smile replaced the worried expression on her face as she started to enter the usual world of ideas that floated through her mind like they normally did. Alicia relaxed in sleep as her night conformed to its usual setting.

Max woke up. He looked at the electric alarm clock. It was three thirty. He reached over to check on Liz and she was not there. He could see a glimmer of light from down the hall. He got up and went to the kitchen. Liz was sitting on a chair with her knees held by her arms and tucked under her chin. She looked up. He could see that her eyes were troubled. As he came up she reached up and pulled his hand against her face. “Max he may be the one.”

“Are you sure, Liz?” Max asked.

“It has never been exact and it always is subject to changes in our actions.” Liz replied. “If Alicia does something different it could change everything.”

“Do we want him to be the one?” Max thoughtfully said.

“I don’t think we want to be the ones changing what ever is to be,” she mused.

“What did you see?” Max queried.

“I saw three children and they were sitting around you. You were telling them a story. None of you were speaking. It was all telepathy.” Liz look at Max as she said this. “Jacob was holding Alicia and my voice was coming from the other room.”

“I think this should be our secret. We will, in no way, interfere for him or against him. Let Michael and Isabel do the advising. Alicia will see our minds but she knows that what you see is not exact anyway. If she says anything we need to tell her just that. He is a possibility.” Max was at the first step at being a father he had dreaded. The insecurities that he had lost in his day to day affairs had now returned in dealing with his or rather their daughter.

The weekend was over and Alicia was back in class. She had seen Jacob in the hall and they had agreed to eat together in the quad. She got there before Jacob and she had sat at a table away from the alley. Jess Sanchez came up to her table and sat down. “Jacob was real excited last Friday after school. Did he meet the family?”

Alicia giggled and said, “He met the whole lot.”

“What did Michael say about him?” Jess smiled as he thought of how intimidating Michael could be.

“They talked about Video games. Michael still plays them and he and Jacob discussed their levels and tactics,” Alicia replied. “I think Michael thinks he is okay.”

“How did the good doctor take having his little girl bring home a boy?” Jess laughed. He knew a little of being a father of a daughter and he knew how worried Max could get.

Alicia giggled again. “Mom told him to be on his best behavior.”

Jess laughed again and he got up to continue his rounds.

Jacob came running up out of breath, “Sorry I am late. I had to stay a bit after class to get some help in calculus.”

Jacob and Alicia spent the rest of the lunch period talking small talk of little importance.

Alicia felt guilty because of the many times her mother had cautioned her about looking into other peoples minds. She had seen so much in Jacob’s mind while he was at her house Friday that she was determined to see how he felt about her. She saw her face in his mind. It was glowing. Visions like these were a little distorted but she could see pleasure as he looked at her. She saw him looking at her neck and following the neckline down to the buttons of her of her blouse. She saw him hesitate then he imagined her body beyond the buttons. She saw that his inexperience made his vision from here on very unclear. His mind went back to her voice, not what she was saying but the way it sounded. To him it was like a silver bell. She wondered where he had ever heard a silver bell and then she decided it was just a metaphor. His mind briefly centered on his trouble in calculus and then it wondered back to conversations they had at her house last Friday night... Alicia shook her head. “I am sorry what did you say?”

Jacob smiled, “I asked if you would like to go to a movie next Friday?”

Alicia had to do a double take to recover her train of thought. She briefly consulted Isabel and then said with a smile. “I think that would be a nice idea. Why don’t we talk about it this week and decide what we want to see?”

Alicia would have to have a talk with Isabel. Isabel said that she should expect a boy to be physically attracted to her or he wouldn’t be worth while. She needed to talk to Isabel about the other stuff such as the other values she should expect a boy to have with respect to her.

When Alicia said yes she saw the happiness she had made in Jacob’s life. Isabel had told her that she must next look into her own mind and see if that same happiness was there for herself.

Alicia had a lot of fun talking and discussing with Jacob which movie they would see. It was a lot more fun talking about them than going to them. Alicia didn’t like being in crowds very much. The minds were so noisy and the thoughts were sometimes so cruel that she had trouble keeping her concentration.

The evening of the movie came. They had chosen a Tom Cruise movie about Japan. Jacob had studied fencing so he was interested in the sword fighting. Both Jacob and Alicia enjoyed the movie. Toward the end though a horrible thought came through. It was a thought about wanting to hurt someone, wanting to squeeze someone until they stopped breathing. It was the kind of thought that Michael had warned her about. Alicia looked around and of course she couldn’t see where the thoughts were coming from. They got stronger and more horrible. Alicia was about to cry.

“What’s up Angel?” she had contacted Michael.

She tried to explain that she had felt those horrible thoughts.

Michael and Maria were at the dance club. When he explained to Maria she immediately got her coat and prepared to leave. “Angel we will be in front of the move house about the time the movie is over.” Michael reported.

Alicia was worried that she had ruined her first date. When they left the theater she could still feel those horrible thoughts. Outside the theater the thoughts were so strong that Alicia gasped. She held tightly to Jacob. he was worried that something was wrong. About that time Michael drove up. Maria it was that saved the day or rather the date.

“Alicia, Alicia,” she called. “would you kids like to get a pizza. We are just on our way and we would enjoy the company.”

Alicia looked at Jacob. Jacob liked Michael and if Alicia was willing he would enjoy talking to Michael again about video games. The evil thoughts decreased as soon as Michael drove up. Alicia and Michael slowly looked around at the people standing around. Was it that man standing alone by the bus stop? Was it the man leading his son out of the theater. Was it the man in the shadows so dark that they could just barely make out his features. There just wasn’t anyway to tell. Perverts came in all sizes and types including well established parents. The thoughts could be just stray lusts from someone that had no stronger meaning.

Alicia was still shook up. The thoughts were so vivid and though they were not completely defined they were definitely scary.

After Michael talked with Jacob about video and Maria told stories about high school back in her day and they consumed a four flavored pizza Michael took them home. Jacob was curious about the Tobasco sauce Michael put on his pizza. He had tried a piece and found it not that bad. Alicia and Maria laughed and said their men were both crazy. Michael took Alicia home first so Jacob could walk her to the door. There was that extreme awkwardness a boy has when he doesn’t know what to do as he is saying good bye. Alicia, having Isabel as a mental mentor quickly leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. As Jacob was returning Maria was sure by his smile that the date had gone well. Michael dropped Jacob off at his home and then he returned to Max’s. Max and Liz were both up. Michael and Maria came in briefly. Alicia had already told her parents about the thoughts.

“Monday I am going to see if I can talk to Jess Sanchez. Maybe he will listen to me without having to show any real proof and at least look into the problem.” Michael stated.

Liz nervously said, “Could it be alien related?” she had a half smile because she was not sure how the other three would take this.

The three aliens frowned. Michael spoke first. “I wondered over a lot of the Southwest and much of the Midwest while you guys were in California. I was looking for aliens and I did not feel anything that I could call alien. As far as we know the three of us are the only ones. I can’t feel what Alicia is feeling and to her anything this bad is alien, just not necessarily, not of this Earth type.

The First Day of School

Goodbye Mr. Evans, Hey Max

Liz of the Desert

Stories by ken_r

Chapter 14 Predator

Monday morning Michael entered the administration building of the high school. He knocked on the door of Jess Sanchez’s office and was admitted. Michael sat down and he and Jess began small talk. Finally, Michael got down to the reason for his visit. “Jess, is there a sexual predator that the police are watching in Roswell?”

Jess made a steeple out of his fingers. He leaned back in his chair and looked at Michael. “Do you have something to offer about such a predator?”

Michael just shook his head. “Not what you would be able to call evidence.”

Jess again leaned back, “You know that I can’t talk about any investigation we are conducting.”

“What I know, you could never use and I would never tell anyone else, but there might have been a deviant at the Tom Cruise movie last Friday night.”

Jess was disturbed because he knew that the vice squad had been investigating someone in that area. They had lost them and they still had no positive identification. How did Michael know this? For a few minutes he thought about squeezing Michael with interrogation. He remembered that Michael was a friend of Doctor Max and Max was related to the Evans Law Firm. Jess had followed Jake Alvarez when he was bringing down the old sheriff. No, it would be better if he remained on good terms with Michael. He would try to find out Michael’s source of information.

Alicia was waiting for Jacob at lunchtime. He was very excited, talking about the movie they saw last Friday. As he was telling her about the Japanese swords and the methods of fighting, Alicia slipped into his mind. The first thing she saw was herself. She was glowing, sitting on the couch at Isabel’s house. She was wearing the same clothes she was wearing that night two weeks ago. Alicia saw her bare skin as soft velvet. She wondered why he saw her this way and then she saw that velvet was something he valued as soft and gentle. She saw his sword case and a music case. They were both covered in velvet. She saw how soft the inside of the case felt as he placed his sword in it. Then, she saw him touching her arm and he was receiving the same feeling as with the velvet in the music and sword cases. She went further and she felt warmth. The day in Roswell had been warm, but she felt warmth that was different from a surrounding cold. It had nothing to do with the weather. She felt comfortable and this contrasted with something. She was not sure what it was, but it had to do with being home alone. … Alicia again caught herself as Jacob asked her something. “I sorry what did you ask?”

“You looked sort of dreamy. I asked if we could go out again this weekend?” Jacob frowned, why did Alicia sometimes seem disconnected?

“Do you think you would like to see a live theater play? The Glass Menagerie is playing at the Community Theater,” Alicia suggested. “Isabel and Alex are planning to attend and we could go with them.” Isabel echoed in Alicia’s mind that she would enjoy their company.

Neither Jacob nor Alicia were driving yet. Jacob’s mother had not had time yet to enroll him in Driver’s Education. Alicia was proceeding, but she did not seem to be in a hurry to get her permit. This made it a little difficult for them to date on their own. Alicia didn’t want to ride the busses at night and she was still afraid of the ‘scary thoughts’ person.

Jacob had already asked his mom about going out this weekend. To Susan Maiers, it seemed that only yesterday that he was just a little boy she held by the hand and led across the street. Now, he was holding the hand of another girl and he was the one leading her. Susan felt that soon she was going to have to meet the girl’s parents, but for now, she was happy that Jacob was finding companionship and meeting people. When she heard who the people were, she was impressed. Dr. Evans was a favorite to all those she knew who visited him. His wife was known as a life long resident in the town. She was still a student at the university extension school and she also was working as a research assistant. The fact that Jacob was talking to Dr. Whitman, Susan’s boss, was impressive. She wasn’t sure about the couple Jacob called Michael and Maria. She had asked Jacob who they were. His answer was that Michael was some sort of protector to Alicia. That confused Susan. Why would a little girl need a protector? That Maria girl, Jacob said, was a recording executive and recording artist. Susan was not sure she had ever known a recording executive. Susan had seen the gorgeous Isabel Evans with Alex, her boss. Jacob didn’t know much about her except to say that she was very gracious and nice to talk to. He thought that Michael and Isabel were sort of godparents to Alicia. She had heard of the Evans Law Firm. They were very small and mainly run by Jake Alvarez, a brilliant attorney with Mr. and Mrs. Evans mainly being consultants. Mr. Alvarez had several junior members employed and they had a very good reputation. Susan was mainly confused how her shy, quiet, only son was running with this crowd. When Jacob came home and said he and Alicia had been invited to attend a play at the Roswell Community Theater with, as he said, Alex and Isabel, she was even more confused. She hoped that her son was not getting in over his head or setting himself up to be hurt.

Jacob and Alicia had the week to read and talk about the play. It would have been an exciting week for Alicia, except that in the middle of the week, she again felt those horrible thoughts.

Michael arrived as fast as he could. He slowly circled the school yard. He saw nothing out of the ordinary. He was stopped by a prowl car. They asked him for his identity and what was his business. Michael stated that he was responsible for the care of a little girl and he had heard there was a problem near the school. The car called Jess Sanchez who identified Michael and requested that he stop by Jess’s office.

When Michael came in, Jess had fresh coffee brewing. He indicated a clean cup to Michael and they sat down. “You told the officers that you heard there might be trouble near the school grounds. Do you care to elaborate?”

Michael, sipping the hot, black brew, “There is a problem and I do not know what it is, but I can’t tell you how I know. It might bring danger to Alicia and we cannot allow this.”

Jess frowned, “Who is this we?”

Michael was nonplussed, “Alicia’s parents and grandparents, her aunt, Isabel Evans, myself and the Evans Law Firm which represents her.”

Jess raised his eyebrows. He knew that those around Alicia were a close knit group, but he had not realized either how powerful or how prestigious they were. Jess put down his cup. He stared at Michael for several more seconds. “We have information that there is a sexual predator who has recently come to Roswell. The Information is sketchy and we can’t pin it down to any identification. If you have any information that can help us, we would really appreciate it.” Jess decided that this different tack might better serve him when dealing with Michael.

Michael grimaced, “Believe me Jess, my source would not do you any good in any court or even in presenting a case to your superiors. My job is protecting Alicia and those around her from any harm.” Michael stood up to leave.

“Does that include Jacob?” Jess asked.

Michael smiled, “At the moment, it does.”

“Michael, last week there was a rumor about the predator near the movie theater. This morning, information was that someone was lurking around the school grounds. We do not know if these incidents are related, but any help you can give us would be appreciated.”

Michael called Isabel. “Iz, we need a meeting tonight including Alex. You need to talk to Max to see if he is ready to bring Jake Alvarez into this.

That afternoon, Susan Maiers got off early. She cell-phoned Jacob that she would pick him up after school. While waiting in the pickup area for parents, she saw Jess Sanchez. He nodded to her as he passed, “Afternoon, Mrs. Maiers.”

Before he could pass further down the line, Susan called out to him. “Jess, how well do you know Alicia Evans and her family?”

Jess smiled, “It’s got that far has it?”

Susan was embarrassed. “Please don’t say anything to Jacob. I am just worried. He has never had a girl friend before and they seem to be such an extended group. Is Jacob safe being with them?”

Jess chuckled and answered, “Mrs. Maiers, Jacob is safer with Alicia and her family than he is anywhere else. At any sign or hint of trouble, they are always there for their child and I was told today that it includes whoever their child is with. Alicia is a sweet girl and your son is a nice boy. They seem to make a good couple.”

That night, Michael reported to the group what he had learned from Jess. “We know more than the police. We know where he has been. I think, at this time, we should consider it only coincidence that Alicia has detected him, but if it happens again, we should take the warning directly.”

Liz was the most worried. Alicia, for so long, had been the only thing she had. She knew the fear any parent knows when they think their child is perhaps in danger.

Michael wasn’t worried about Alicia being hurt. He knew that there was probably no one on Earth who could protect herself better than she could. Michael didn’t want Alicia put in a place where she would have to use any power to protect herself. None of them had any idea of how powerful it would be if Alicia felt herself, or now Jacob, in danger.

Max felt very strongly about his daughter. He didn’t ever want her to be afraid or have to experience danger.

Alex spoke, “Maybe, we could look into data bases and learn what the police know about this predator. I am sure there are some young hackers at work who could find more information for us.

Finally it was decided that they would all cooperate to make sure that Alicia and her companion were safe.

Jacob was sitting alone in the quad area. Alicia had to see one of her teachers, so she would be late. Jess walked by and sat down with Jacob. “How’s it going, Jacob?”

Jacob smiled at the detective, “Pretty good, I was invited to Alicia’s house to meet her folks. We went to a movie and this weekend, we are going to a play at the community theater.”

Jess laughed, “That is good, for just friends.”

Jacob was serious, “I think we might someday be more than just friends. Jess, you know a lot about women.”

“Whoa sport, there ain’t nobody that knows a lot about women, not even women themselves. What is the problem?” Jess was suddenly very attentive to Jacob.

“Well… we were having a good time at the movie. Then near the end, Alicia became scared. She held on to me and kept looking around until Michael appeared. Both of them seemed uneasy until we got to the pizza place. Then, every thing was like normal. There are times when I am talking to her that she seems distracted. She will miss questions I ask and then, as if waking up, continue our conversation. Yesterday, we were walking across the schoolyard and she became scared again. She insisted we go back in the building immediately. I saw Michael going into your office. I asked her if we could go somewhere this weekend and she set up a date to go with her aunt Isabel and her boyfriend to go to a play. Jess, am I doing something wrong?” Jacob looked up at Jess, his eyes pleading for answers.

Again Jess smiled and put his arm around Jacob. “Son, welcome to the adult world of couples. Us men will never understand our women, but we must try so we can protect them.” Then Jess became serious, “Jacob, here is my card. My cell number is on it. I know it seems that Michael is always there when Alicia seems scared, but if he is not or you see something suspicious call me anytime.”

Usually when Max got home from his practice, he would find Liz fixing supper. Since she got home first, she had taken on this task. They took turns fixing breakfast and on weekends Max would do as much as he could too lift her burden. This day, though, when he came home, he found Liz again sitting on a kitchen chair holding her knees up under her chin. She was rocking and crying. When she heard him enter the room, she scrambled up and threw her arms around Max.

“Max,” she cried, “I had a vision. I saw Alicia and Jacob on their knees. They had their arms around each other and they were bleeding. There was some sort of dark cloud above them and the cloud was hurting them. I saw Alicia’s eyes and they looked as if they were preparing to explode. They were in so much pain!”

Max and Liz sat together on the couch, their arms wrapped around each other. Liz softly crying and Max with tears streaming down his face. The thought of their daughter being hurt was unbearable. It would be delivery tonight for supper.

Max untangled himself from Liz and went to Alicia’s door. He knocked softly. She kind of answered. Max entered to find Alicia not crying, but very pensive sitting on her bed. He sat down beside her. “Daddy, I will never let myself be hurt that way and I will never let anybody hurt someone I love. I have the power and I will try to keep it under control, but I never want Momma to cry for me like she is doing.”

Max put his arms around Alicia and kissed her on the forehead. It did not pass by him that she had called him “Daddy.” She had refused to call Kyle Daddy and it was almost as if she didn’t want to ever use that word. “Honey, we will always try to protect you from using your powers, but if you must, make sure you know what you are doing. Max made a note to ask Michael to take her far out into the desert and renew her practice along with as much advice as Michael could give her.

Friday night came. Alicia had a new dress to wear. It was blue with white trim. It was an “A” line dress with a matching jacket. Alex and Isabel took Alicia to Jacob’s house to pick him up. They all three went into Susan’s house. She was a bit nervous seeing Dr. Whitman and even more nervous when Jacob came down and greeted him as Alex. He also greeted Isabel then he took both of Alicia’s hands as he presented her to his mother. “Mom, this is Alicia Evans.” His mother looked at his eyes as he stood there. She had to take a deep breath because she knew she had lost her little boy. She was also proud because she had gained a manly son. She looked at Alicia. True, this was a young girl, but she had the beginnings of a strong young woman. Susan didn’t believe this would be the last girl her son presented to her, but she was sure that it would be hard to find another one this strong.

Alicia, on the other hand remembered that her mother said Jacob was a possibility. She gazed at Susan Maiers and saw a bit of jealously at someone else becoming this important to her son, but Alicia also saw pride in her son being so grown up and the joy she saw in his friends accepting him. Alicia wanted to ingratiate herself to Mrs. Maiers. She wanted to be liked by the mother, of perhaps, her intended. Alicia made no mistake. She understood her youth at sixteen, but she also knew that she had abilities that would transcend her lack of years. The problem, as far as Alicia saw it, was what was in Jacob’s mind and how would he handle his youth as they spent time together.

Michael had told Maria that he didn’t want to go dancing that Friday night. Maria was a little miffed, but when he explained that he was worried about Alicia, she took a deep breath and went over to visit with Liz. Michael was damned if he would sit through one of those plays, but he wanted to be out front at the start and when the patrons came out at the end. Since Alicia had gotten their tickets much later than Isabel and Alex, they couldn’t sit together. She and Jacob found their seats and soon the play began. Jacob and Alicia had been studying the play all week so they knew what to look for. They had read reviews and summaries. They enjoyed the whole intellectual experience and talked about the play between themselves and a few others near by like professional critics. Many of the adults enjoyed talking to these teens because they were so prepared and knowledgeable. Alicia was used to being accepted in adult circles, but for Jacob, it was a new experience being where his views were accepted, debated and dissected on equal par with those around them. Walking out of the theater, they were part of the group and genuine goodbyes were said as they waited at the door for Alex and Isabel.

Alicia held on to Jacob. He looked at her face and he saw her fright. He backed them up against the outside walls of the theater with himself in front. Alicia was looking around, but her expression was serious. Jacob said nothing because he had no idea what to say. In the back of the crowd before them, he thought he saw Michael, but if he did, Michael was not looking at them, but rather at the crowd. A group of patrons came out of the doors and jostled them. Alicia tensed, but Jacob anchored himself and would not let them physically touch Alicia. He saw Michael look toward them as if he had been called all of a sudden. Michael started toward them slowly, always perusing the crowd. As a small group of people passed against Jacob and Alicia, an arm reached out and grabbed Alicia. Jacob, without any thought, hit the arm just above the wrist. There was a yelp, but neither he nor Alicia could see who made it. Michael started to come to them in a hurry. As soon as he arrived, Alicia could no longer feel the thoughts. Alex and Isabel arrived shortly. Alicia and Jacob departed with them.

Michael received a cell phone call as he was getting back into his car. “Michael, Jess here, meet me for coffee at the all night diner as soon as possible.”

Michael waited until he saw Alex and Isabel leave with the two teens before he proceeded to the diner. He saw two uniformed officers inside. Just to be on the safe side, Michael called Jake Alvarez. He informed him of where he was and that he would be talking to an officer Jess Sanchez. Jess was sitting a bit apart from the uniforms. Michael sat down across from him.

“Michael, just who is Alicia?” Jess asked.

Michael sat for a few minutes and then he began. “Many years ago, in the third grade, a boy loved a girl. He left her when they were in high school and she got into trouble. She was forced to marry a man who didn’t love her and whom she didn’t love. They had a little girl. Many years later, the man returned and found his lady love in a terrible marriage of abuse and neglect. He and all of his friends and family fought to save both the mother and the daughter. He married his love and adopted the daughter. She also was accepted by all of his family and friends. Her name is Alicia and this extended family will fight anyone and anything to protect her.”

Jess probably knew more of the story that Michael had abstracted, but he had not had it presented in this linear fashion before. About this time, a tall Hispanic man wearing jeans and boots walked up and sat down beside Michael. “Jess Sanchez meet Jake Alvarez. Jake is Alicia’s attorney.”

Jess marveled. He had just witnessed the efficiency and speed of the famous Evans Law Firm. It was midnight and by the stubble on Jake’s face, he had been rousted out of bed, but he was here. Michael continued, “Please, say anything in front of him that you would say to me.”

Jess was thoughtful. He knew that Jake was trustworthy and he certainly wouldn’t compromise any investigation that involved danger to Alicia. “The latest we have on this subject is that he is after a girl named Alicia. She is his target and everything he is doing is to get to her.”

Michael and Jake just sat. “Do you have a list of suspects in this area and their MO (modus operandi)?” Jake asked.

“No, we are expecting this from the FBI, but it will take a few days.” Jess stated.

“You will have it on your fax machine tomorrow morning. Don’t bother tracing this since it will all originate from my office and is privileged information. Is there any other information you need now, rather than through regular channels?”

Jess just nodded.

“I will also send, by courier, addressed to you, any other information we can find. Right now, my office is just interested in protecting Alicia. When we are satisfied that can be accomplished, we will help you find usable evidence to prepare a court case.” With this, Jake just stood up shook hands and left.

Jess looked at Michael, “Whew, how efficient are you guys?”

Michael was grim, “Jess, I am serious. Alicia is not to be hurt by anyone. We will work with you, but she is first priority for us.”

Alex and Isabel had stopped for pie and coffee after the play. Jacob was excited about the evening they had. He told Isabel about the discussions they had with all of the people around them in the audience. He then got serious, “What was Michael doing at the play or at least in the crowd?”

Alicia had already been briefed by Michael after he had left Jess. “Jacob, I am afraid that we can’t go out together for a while.”

Jacob was shocked. Alex and Isabel were just listening since they had not yet been told about the turn of events in the situation. “Why Alicia, is it something I did?”

There were tears in Alicia’s eyes. “You can’t tell anyone at school. I am being targeted by a stalker. My family can take care of me, but they would not want anything to happen to you.”

Alex and Isabel looked at each other. They would get the official version when they saw Michael. Right now, they both felt the anguish apparent in both Alicia and Jacob. Alex took Jacob home first. He and Isabel watched from the car as Alicia walked Jacob to his door. They hugged each other and Alicia stood on her tiptoes to reach Jacob’s face. She kissed him long and hard. Isabel heard her say that was her real first kiss. At first, Jacob was confused, but the passion Alicia was trying to put in her kiss drew his attention away from everything else. “Jacob, you are the first boy I have ever kissed this way. I hope I will get another chance after things become quiet again.”

“Alicia, I do not see why we can’t be together. If your family protects you I wouldn’t be in danger,” Jacob pleaded.

“Alicia put her hands on both sides of his face, “Jacob, my family is with me twenty-four hours a day. To get at me, this person might go after you when the family couldn’t be near. If they see us together, you would become a target.”

Going home that night, Alicia was crying. This was her first crush and it seemed terminated before it had gotten a good start.

At another home, a crestfallen boy proceeded to his room. He was also weeping. His mother heard him come in and she heard him sobbing in his room. She knocked on his door. He didn’t answer so she slowly pushed his door opened. Jacob was lying on his stomach, his face buried in a pillow. Susan put her hand on his shoulder. “What happened son?”

“Someone tried to hurt Alicia and her family is working to protect her. I do not understand it, but they want me to stay away until she is safe again,” Jacob sobbed.

Susan didn’t understand this either, so she decided she would have to talk to Dr. Whitman on Monday at work.

That night, Isabel picked up a snapshot they had made of Alicia and Jacob the night of the dinner. She looked at the snapshot and then in a dreamy state, she proceeded to make a dream for Jacob. Jacob and Alicia were in a forest sitting on a grassy hill. They were dressed like fairy tale people or like people in a middle ages enactment. Someone was playing a lute and a flute. The two children were sitting by a picnic spread listening to the music and eating the picnic. She made the dream run several times so Jacob would remember it.

Michael was sitting beside Alicia. Her parents were looking on as Michael and Alicia tried to find the evil thoughts. Three times she had experienced these thoughts so Michael hoped she would be able to pick them out. Alicia could tell they were still there, but they were far away. They were still not defined.

“Daddy, it was hideous when that arm grabbed me. Jacob hit it with all of his might. The thing yelped, but neither of us could see it closely or define it in any way.” Alicia was crying.

Max looked at Liz and half smiled. First, Alicia had called him Daddy again and second Jacob was looking better all of the time. The young man had reacted instinctively to protect Alicia.

Alex went into work on Saturday. He found the research his hacker kids had left. He faxed it to Jake, who recopied it and sent it by courier to Jess Sanchez at the police station. Michael and Maria took Alicia far out into the desert where they practiced their refined use of power. They were trying to teach Alicia to limit her power so she might use it without being caught. She was trying to place several rocks in a row and only take out selected ones. It all took concentration, but concentration in a panic was difficult, so she needed to work and work until it became instinctive and automatic.

On Monday, Susan was terrified. She was not a brave person and she had no idea why Jacob couldn’t see Alicia any more. The story he told her was more like a fairy tale than truth. She was worried about her job, but more worried about her son. She asked the secretary if she could see Dr. Whitman sometime today. The secretary told her that she would call her when Dr. Whitman got in and tell her what time he could see her.

It was almost ten o’clock when Susan received the call. Dr. Whitman would see her at eleven forty-five just before lunch.

Susan knocked on his door at exactly the appointed time. Dr. Whitman opened the door and showed Susan to a chair in front of his desk. “Before we say anything Mrs. Maiers, Max and Liz Evans and the Evans Law Firm want to complement you on your very brave son. He has stood up for Alicia three times and he was very brave. It would please me if you would keep what I say in confidence. Alicia has been targeted by a random stalker. At least, we think it is a random stalker. We have found no evidence that there is any purposeful intention directed against Alicia. We think he just picked her out of the crowd and now is trying to attack her. The Evans family and the Evans law firm are working with the police and we have put protections for Alicia in place. We can cover Alicia twenty-four hours a day, but if she is seen too many times with Jacob, we fear that Jacob might be in danger. This, for Alicia, is her first love so as you can imagine, she is devastated.”

Susan was fidgeting with her hands. The story, that Jacob had told as far as he understood it, was true. She looked down at her lap, “This is the first time Jacob has ever gone out with a girl, too. He is quite broken up about not being able to see her.”

The Evans family wished me to tell you that Jacob is quite welcome to call Alicia on her phone and talk as much as you are willing to allow.” Alex handed Susan a card with Alicia’s name and phone number on it. “We hope to clear this up and hope you will then be willing to let these young folks run their relationship through whatever course it takes.”

Susan looked at Alex, “Is the Evans family a danger to my son?”

Alex smiled, “No more so than any other family with an attractive daughter would be.”

Susan wasn’t quite ready to let go she asked, “Who is the Evans family?”

Alex stood up, “We are a group of friends centering around Max and Isabel Evans who knew each other in high school. Now we help each other out in times of need.”

Stories by ken_r
The Magic Horn

Stories by ken_r
Chapter15 Hiding

Monday also was a trial for Alicia. At noon she proceeded, as directed, to the office of Jess Sanchez. She knocked on the door and he opened it for her. Jess had a table and chair in the corner of his office. He pointed to the chair and Alicia took out her lunch. “How are you doing Alicia?”

She smiled a small crippled smile. “Okay, I guess.”

Jess remembered how many times he had felt sorry for her since she usually sat alone eating and then, the happiness she had when Jacob started eating with her. He hoped they would catch this animal and let this frail creature be herself again.

Alicia had never been this close to Jess before. She looked into his mind. She saw, very close to the surface, the trauma he had suffered when he was shot. She saw that he would always be a cop and even as a school detective, he was working on this case of the stalker-predator. She saw his two daughters who were grown with their own families. She saw with amusement that he had another family, two young people who he felt he had helped to bring together. She saw herself and Jacob as two people he cherished.

Jess picked up his radio and turned to Alicia. “I have to make my rounds. The door is locked and you can’t be seen, so don’t answer it if somebody knocks. If I am not back by class time, just close the door behind you.”

Alicia felt something, “He is still out there. I do not know how close, but he is there,” she shivered.

Jess walked through the commons, through the quads and across the yard. He saw Jacob sitting alone on the school steps. “Hang in there sport. She misses you and as soon as we catch this guy, things will be back to normal.”

Jacob smiled, but he lowered his head and Jess could see he was very disturbed. Jess continued on his rounds. He saw someone at the edge of the school fence. He called it in and a squad car rushed in. They spread the man against their car and took him in. It was about two hours later when the station called and reported then he was just a dumb wino who had wandered up to the school fence. They had booked him for mandatory detoxification and had gone back out on the street. Jess imagined that Michael was out there somewhere. He would pick up Alicia after school and return to the same thing tomorrow.

That night, Alicia received a call on her private phone. “Alicia this is Jacob. Is it okay to talk?”

“Of course, Jacob, I just wondered how you got this number?” Alicia replied.

“Alex gave it to my mom. She went to see him about what happened Friday night. She said I could have thirty minutes on the phone.” Jacob said.

“Jacob, I miss us eating lunch together. For a long time, that is all I did, eat alone, and now I have gotten used to having company for lunch. The stalker was nearby today.” Alicia mused.

“How do you know that?” Jacob asked

Alicia had screwed up. She was so lonesome that she forgot to cover her abilities. They talked for Jacob’s allotted time. Alicia felt a lot better.

The next day, Alicia, again, felt she was in prison. The whole day she had a particular feeling. That afternoon, Michael was late. He had started out on time, but an accident made him detour. Then, as he was approaching the school, a squad car pulled him over. Michael grabbed his cell and called Jess. “Jess, I am late picking up Alicia. Get her some cover if you can and try to get this rookie to let me go so I can get there in time.”

Michael explained to the officer that he needed to get to the school to pick up his charge, but with the stubbornness born of inexperience the officer just went slower and slower in processing Michael through his system. He released Michael with a “Have a good day.”

Michael showered the squad car with gravel. He heard a cry for help in his head. The officer jumped back into his car and took after Michael. Michael got Jess on speed dial. “Jess, she is in trouble and I am too far away.”

The officer was chasing Michael as he proceeded across the school yard. He called for backup. Jess was coming from the other way. They were converging on a small girl sitting beside a boy who was bleeding from his head. Beside them, screaming, was a man in a suit with a compound fracture of his lower leg and a broken jaw. Michael spun around to face the officer who had drawn his pistol. “Put up the fucking gun and get an ambulance,” he ordered.

As soon as the officer was back in his car, Michael covered Alicia. She put her hands over the cut on Jacob’s head and, just like her father, the blood stopped and the wound closed. She messaged two bruises and the color was absorbed. The man was screaming so Michael kicked him on the broken bone. “Shut up or I will permanently shut you up,” he shouted.

The crippled man started screaming about his rights. Michael leaned over him, “Look, you idiot, I am her father. For me, you have no rights,” Michael lied.

The man looked at Michael and saw his eyes were just black onyx orbs. Almost like that girl who was hiding behind her friend. He would have gotten her if that kid hadn’t stood in front of her.

Alicia was terrified, not for herself, but whether she would have to use her powers. Michael had said that he was being detained by a policeman and he had promised to send Jess to help her. She felt the thoughts. They were so close. Alicia was concentrating her energy. She could feel her eyes turning black. She could still see, but the effect on others was frightening. All of a sudden, she felt someone pull her back to the wall. It was Jacob. About twenty feet in front of them was a man in a suit. Outwardly, he looked like any business man, but Alicia could feel the hate he had for her. She looked over Jacob’s shoulder. “Jacob, get out of here!” Alicia said.

“No, we are together and I am not going to leave you here.” Jacob insisted.

As he approached, the stranger’s face took on a hideous visage. He was completely insane. He intended to take Alicia and eventually kill her. Jacob was cold. He knew he did not have the skill, but he intended to delay this monster and give Alicia any chance she could have to get away. The man was clumsy. He swung at Jacob. Jacob ducked, then Jacob put all he had into the one punch he could get. Just as his fist connected with the man’s jaw, Alicia let loose with a blast. That is what broke the man’s jaw. As he came up, again, a voice in Jacob’s head said, “Kick his knee.” Again, as his foot contacted the man’s leg, Alicia let loose another blow. As the man was falling he hit Jacob in the forehead and split open Jacob’s scalp. Alicia was preparing to simply cut off the blood to the man’s brain when she heard Michael say, “Let it go, Angel.” This voice in her head immediately calmed her. As soon as Michael got her some space, she started healing Jacob’s head wound and bruises. By the time the ambulance arrived Jacob was dizzy but seemed all right. Alicia called her father, Max and told him, “Jacob is partially healed but you need to check him over.” Max waited at his office until his daughter, her boyfriend and Michael arrived.

Alex contacted Susan Maiers and told her that Alicia and Jacob had been hurt. He was at Dr. Evans office. Jacob would be all right and Alex would make sure he got home as soon as possible. Susan told her supervisor that she had an emergency and asked to leave early.

Chapter 16 Jacob may be the one

When they got to Max’s office, Alicia was supporting Jacob as they entered. Max was worried. He knew he had to help Alicia, but he still wasn’t sure how far he should go in letting Jacob know what they could do. “Daddy, he can hear me. He doesn’t know this, yet, but he heard what I told him to do and did it.”

Max frowned because even Liz couldn’t hear Alicia. Only the three aliens could converse both ways with Alicia.

Max took Jacob’s face in his hands. He looked into his eyes. Alicia had done a good job. He cleaned up a few spots and then he sat down and the four of them talked.

“We appreciate you standing in front of Alicia. You do realize that you could have been hurt?” Max asked calmly.

“Yes sir, but I would have given some protection to Alicia,” Jacob said. “At least, I would have given Michael time to get there,” he continued. Jacob hung his head, “Some times, you have to do things even if you might get hurt. Do you know how much Alicia means to me? I was even hoping I could give her a chance to get away. She doesn’t listen very well, does she?”

About that time Liz arrived. She ran to Alicia and hugged her, crying. Then, she threw her arms around Jacob.

This was the scene Susan Maiers saw as she entered the office. This small woman with her arms around her son, crying and telling him how much he had done for her.

Jacob saw his mother. He ran to her. She hugged him, but he was pulling away from her. Instead, he grabbed her hand and led her over to where Max and Liz were standing. “Mom, this is Max and this is Liz. They are Alicia’s parents.”

Max shook her hand, but Liz with tears still streaming down her cheeks took both of her hands and kissed them. “Your son is so brave. The monster was trying to take my child and all that stood in his way was your son.”

Susan, on one hand, was a little miffed that anything had occurred to put Jacob in danger, but on the other hand, he was becoming a man. She was proud of him. She tried to put her arm around Jacob as she said, “Come on Jacob. We need to get home.”

He shook her off and put his arms around Alicia and they kissed, not as the scared adolescents they had been when she dropped him off at his home, but as two people that really cared for each other. As they started out the door, she was blocked by Michael. “Ma’am, you have a son to be proud of. He is not a boy. Today, he faced his adversary like a man.”

Susan wasn’t sure about this. She needed to get home to some sense of security. They drove home with neither of them talking. When they arrived, before entering the door, Susan held Jacob at arms distance and said, “It might have been brave, but it was foolhardy. You could have been badly hurt.”

Jacob looked at her, “Mom, no pain would have been as bad as seeing Alicia hurt or kidnapped and, maybe, killed.”

Jess was meeting with several of the officers who had been on the case of the sex offender. The District attorney was represented by a very young lawyer. Shouldn’t we be concerned that maybe the young man, Jacob, used too much force? Maybe, we should investigate what happened at the school this afternoon. Jess looked at the ADA while the rest of the officers just bowed, holding their heads. Jess was trying to be civil. “Look junior, if you do anything to that kid, the Evans Law Firm will make sure you not only loose your job, but they will make damned sure that you never run for any office, anywhere. I, myself, will testify that the perp tried to jump first Michael, and then me. We, together, took him down. Make sure you are not part of the prosecuting team!”

Jess had not felt so frustrated in his life. He knew that they did not have the whole story. He knew Michael was holding something back. He was also sure that whatever this something was, it would not affect the guilt of the animal they had incarcerated.

Susan was still disturbed. Jacob had made new friends. They were very prestigious, but associating with them had caused her son to be hurt. Dr. Evans told Susan that he had checked Jacob very carefully and he assured her that Jacob was fine.

Susan had seen Alicia and she still had several scrapes on her body. Susan also heard scraps about what had happened. Apparently, a man was trying to assault the girl and the only thing stopping him was her son. Susan wasn’t willing to see her son sacrificed for the protection of anyone. She had told Jacob that she wanted to think seriously about whether or not she would allow him to see Alicia again. Jacob had always been such a good child. He knew that being a single parent was hard on his mother. He never blamed her husband’s leaving on her, even if sometimes Susan thought that maybe it was her fault. Susan had been narrow-minded and short tempered in her youth. She had been difficult to live with for any man. She wanted her husband to conform to the image that she had seen of her father. It took years of maturity for her to see that her father was terribly flawed. By then, it was too late. Jacob’s father had been long gone. She had angered him when she tried to use the visitation of Jacob as a weapon to control him. Finally, her husband, Jacob’s father, just disappeared. Jacob, at some level. knew that his mother was responsible for his father’s absence but he had respected her and always been an obedient son. When she said she didn’t want him seeing Alicia anymore, Jacob stubbornly refused to listen to her. She was taken back because even when she might have been wrong, Jacob had obeyed. But, because of this little girl, he was adamant. Susan was his mother and he would try to respect her, if he could, but nobody was going to take him away from Alicia. Susan wanted Jacob to see another doctor, but when she informed him that she had made an appointment, he simply smiled and told her to cancel it. He reminded her that he had been a good son, but she no longer controlled him. She tried to threaten him by with holding money and privileges to force him to cooperate, but again, he reminded that he had contributed, for a long time, to the family budget. Susan had other fears. Jacob was a lot closer to her boss than she would ever get. If she put pressure on either the girl or Jacob, she might find herself out of a job. Susan was, again, about to find that she was no longer in control. She, also, was to see that Jacob was not a child anymore who needed or would tolerate being controlled. This was a shock for Susan.

Alex scheduled a working lunch for several of his employees. There was a meeting room at the Crashdown. He borrowed, and arranged sandwiches, drinks and deserts to be served as his team worked through the day. Susan Maiers was part of this team. She was not particularly happy about this type of a workday, but Susan was not too happy about anything right now.

The ten people broke up into smaller groups. They brain-stormed, discussed and destroyed suggestions. They took a break for lunch, but they still kept up their discussion. Toward four o’clock that afternoon, plans had started to shape up. Alex told them that they would quit at four and then take their ideas back to their corporation the next day. They were cleaning up when Alex asked Susan to wait a few minutes. When the others had cleared, Alex brought Mr. and Mrs. Parker in to meet her.

“We met Jacob several weeks ago and we were impressed that he is such a mature and well-mannered young man,” Mrs. Parker stated.

Susan was very cold. This was a set-up by Alex and she didn’t like it, but her alternative might be to simply have to look for a new job. Alex sat down at the table and the Parkers followed suite. Susan was forced to follow also. The Parkers started talking about the problems Alicia had growing up. They mentioned the abuse she had suffered as a child and of how the Evans family and friends has rescued her. They mentioned how lonely she had always been, hiding her abuse from adults for so many years that by the time she got to high school, she was so shy. They told of the horror they had all faced in the latest event that had plagued Alicia. They tried to convey that Jacob was the only one to stand between Alicia and probable death. It was hard for Susan to hear this and she began to see that her son had indeed been instrumental in the salvation of this young lady. When Susan left that night, she found that the Parker’s had a lot more adoration for her son than she had been able to muster for their granddaughter. When Susan got home that night, Jacob was his usual polite self, but he remained distant. When she made any suggestion about the happenings of his day, he seemed to just tune her out.

Stories by ken_r

Stories by ken_r
Chapter 17 getting to know you


Susan was not stupid. She no longer tried to blame others for her mistakes. Susan, deep down, regretted the loss of her husband and she regretted the flawed reasoning that contributed to this loss. She realized that her perception of her father had been inculcated into her mind by the way she was raised. But, ultimately it was her choice to choose this over the love she could have experienced from Jacob’s father. If she was not careful, she might loose Jacob also. Attitudes could be passed down through generations, but she must be strong enough to say this attitude must stop here.

After every one had gone, Max looked carefully at his daughter. He saw physical scrapes and bruises to her face and body, but he also saw that there was a lot of damage to her mind. Special or not, Alicia was just a sixteen-year-old girl who had suffered an attack and the threat of great bodily harm. The entire group were going to have to work very hard to cure these mental sufferings. Max carefully cleared the physical damage to her body. He hugged her as long as he could, then he passed her on to her mother. They closed the office and went home.

Alicia’s cell phone rang, “How are you holding up?” It was Jacob. “I was never so scared in my life when I saw that man coming at you. I could almost feel his intentions. I had no idea what to do. Jess Sanchez had told me to follow my instincts and act accordingly. When I hit him, I had no idea what I was doing. Neither did I understand when I kicked him in the knee, but whatever happened, I am glad that you are now safe.”

The fear that she had so seldom faced, and had always suppressed, was flooding through Alicia. Added to that fear was a new fear that Jacob would figure out what really happened. Alicia was also thinking about what her mother and father had discussed about the fact that Jacob might be “the one.” How could her first love be her one love? She knew that her mother had said that it was still too early to tell and that there might be changes that would develop into “the one,” being someone else.

At school the next day, Alicia felt liberated. She didn’t have to report to Jess’s office and she was there when Jacob came looking for her. She was surprised when he leaned over and kissed her. Alicia felt herself slipping into Jacob’s mind. It was a surprise when she found only contentment from him being in her presence. For some reason, she could go no further.

“I have been so worried about you,” Jacob said. “How are you holding up?”

The only thing holding her right now was the inability to see deeper into his mind. “Alicia smiled and said, “You are the one that we should worry about. After all, it was you who faced my attacker.”

Jacob kind of laughed, “Maybe, we will have to talk about this some day, but right now, I am just happy to see you again.”

Alicia wasn’t sure when talking went to holding hands and gazing into each other’s eyes. She was usually pretty sure of when things were developing because she could see, in other people, their intentions. Now, in Jacob, she could see nothing.

As they were sitting there the Vixens approached. As they stood up Jacob automatically pulled Alicia behind him. It was a different Jacob who talked to Louise this time.

Louise had been having trouble controlling the group. There seemed to be more infighting among the girls. They were quarrelling about each other’s intentions toward their respective boyfriends. Louise usually had been able to keep them in line, but now, she was having to walk carefully and be more of a mediator than a leader. Louise was very unsure of her feelings toward Alicia, whom she still thought of as some sort of freak with this new development of her having a boyfriend. She addressed Jacob because he clearly was standing in front of Alicia. “Just because you took out a perv, do you think you can take us?”

Jacob was so different than he had been just a few weeks before, “Louise, he was a lot meaner than you, but I realize you have the numbers on me. I think you are going to have to decide who is going to the hospital.”

Louise stood there just looking at the couple. Suddenly, she laughed and addressed Alicia, “Maybe, Kid’do, you are okay. Just promise me that when you decide to ditch him, you’ll let me know. He is a good catch.” With this, she and her gang walked away.

No one on either side had observed Jess standing at the corner of the quad, looking on with his finger near the transmit button of his radio. Jess relaxed. The boy had grown up fast in the last few weeks. His intentions were even more sure as he directed his attention toward the small girl. Jess also noticed that this was an incident that did not precipitate the arrival of Michael.

Alicia turned to Jacob, “You do not completely understand what happened the other day. I wish you would be more careful.”

Jacob just smiled, “I may know more than you give me credit for but it was your father who told me that if I truly felt strongly about you, we would both be stronger together than either of us would be separately.”

Alicia frowned because she had been present all of the times Max had talked to Jacob and she did not remember that conversation at all.

In her mailbox at work, Susan found an invitation from Diane Evans inviting Susan to come by Diane’s house at ten o’clock Saturday morning for tea and talk.

Susan was curious about to the invitation. It had been delivered by standard post and addressed to the Whitman Company attention: Susan Maiers.

Susan wasn’t sure about her attendance until the last minute on Saturday. It was her innate curiosity that made the decision for her.

When she arrived, she was met at the door by an attractive woman in her sixties. Mrs. Evans took her hand and greeted her. Diane led her into a room where she met Nancy Parker, whom she already knew and then she was introduced to Isabel Evans, Alicia’s aunt. Isabel was the lady Susan saw from time to time on the arm of her boss. She also met the excitable Maria Deluca and, again, the diminutive Liz Evans.

The women gathered around Susan all expressing their appreciation for the bravery of her son. Susan was surprised because in these women she could detect no guile. They were all straight forward with their feelings and were genuinely trying to convey these feelings to her. Isabel poured tea and Liz placed a platter of small cakes and delicacies, on a small table before them. Susan saw why Jacob described them as gracious. She saw in Liz the delicate beauty of she had seen in Alicia. Susan learned that all of these women were professional working women. She was amazed at the diversity of their occupations. Nancy still over saw the daily working of the Crashdown, Diane was a law consultant in the law firm she and her husband had founded and Isabel ran her own business and was invested in Maria’s record company. Finally, she learned that Liz was in graduate school and was employed in bio-chemical research. Susan learned that all of the women were dedicated to protecting Alicia.

For Susan, there was only one thing for a worried mother to do. She needed to spend some time with Alicia. The Whitman Computer Company had a “bring your daughter to work” day. Alex had set this up mainly at the instigation of Isabel, to encourage girls to be involved in computers. He already had several programs for sons, but Isabel convinced him that he needed to have a day dedicated to daughters. Susan thought that this might be excellent if she used it right.

Susan called the Evans house one night. It was Liz who answered the phone. “This is Susan Maiers, Jacob’s mother. Do you think I could borrow your daughter for a day?” Liz was a little confused but continued to listen. “We have a “bring your daughter to work” day at the company and I would like to invite Alicia to come with me. I have involved myself with sons days, but this would be the first time I ever went to a daughter function,” Susan continued.

“Let me have you talk to Alicia,” replied Liz.

Alicia had been receiving everything Susan said from her mother. She knew that this might be a chance to dispel any bad feelings Jacob’s mother might have toward her. She agreed to go with Susan.

Jake Alvarez offered the services of the Evans Law Firm to the district attorney. They would do research or investigation in the prosecution of the man who had attempted to assault Alicia.

It was eight o’clock in the morning when Alicia met Susan Maiers at the front of the company building. She was given a badge from Alex and she proceeded with Susan through her office day. Alicia sensed the fear and anger that Susan had toward her. Their first project of the day was to peruse several files to find references to the current project Susan was working. Susan found Alicia able to quickly read through the files and she was very apt in finding the references.

The next job was to type reports to present these references to the project committee. Again, Alicia was competent in this task. When they made their presentation, Alicia stood by and quickly handed Susan the correct reports almost as if she was reading her mind, and she was. Only Alex knew of her ability.

At lunch, Susan took advantage of the time to talk to Alicia. “What are your intentions after graduation, my dear?” she inquired.

“I will probably go to a college or university to study mathematics and psychology.” Alicia answered.

“Your father went to Stanford. Is this in your plan?” Susan asked.

“My mother wanted to go to Harvard, but she is achieving her dream going to a university extension school here in Roswell. I know that my parents do not care where I go and I am not sure how far I want to get away from home,” Alicia stated.

“Your mother said that Jacob is the first boy you have dated. Don’t you believe you will meet many young men in the next few year?” Now Susan was getting down to what was bothering her.

“I do not know if the one for me will be the first or the hundredth. My stepfather loved my mother since the third grade. She married the wrong man and Max returned for her, his only love,” Alicia explained.

“What do you see happening between you and Jacob?” Susan was now voicing her concerns.

“Jacob is a remarkable young man. We have just started to explore our interests. He respects me and that is very important. He is a very strong young man. We need time to know each other and we might not be made for each other, but I do not want to make the mistake of my mother when she settled for second best,” Alicia explained her self as best she could.

Susan had expected to hear comments like Jacob is hot or some of the other vernacular of youth. Alicia had thought carefully about what she wanted in both her career and also in a companion.

That afternoon, the two women worked in tandem complementing each other and accomplishing their tasks efficiently. At the end of the day when Susan walked Alicia out the door she saw Michael waiting to take her home. Susan took Alicia’s hand and told her that she enjoyed their day very much.

That night, Alicia had another dream. It was similar to the other one she had. There was a hill top, but both Alicia and Jacob were on it. They were back to back. This time the army surrounding them all looked like the man that had tried to assault Alicia. The two of them would turn and when either was facing the army, it would retreat and when they had their sides to them, the army would advance. Again, they were both getting so tired. Then, the dream changed. Instead of an alter, there was a square based obelisk in the center. They each had two sides to protect. The army moved quicker so they had to jump from side to side. The obelisk kept them from seeing each other, but they could talk to each other by thoughts. Just like before, they would be energized when they each heard the other, but every time their energy would get a little less. Beyond the army, two people were walking in a big circle around the outer perimeter of the army. Alicia looked closer and she saw one of them was Jess Sanchez. The other was Louise, the gang girl. Alicia couldn’t go any further. She thought to Jacob, “Run, you need to live to save everyone.”

Jacob came to her side of the obelisk and picked her up in his arms. The army on the side he had vacated stormed the hill. He started toward the army on her side and they fell back. Jess and Louise started from the outer side of the army and were hacking their way through. Alicia couldn’t tell what weapons they were using, but they were making a path toward Jacob and herself. Alicia, with her arms around Jacob, looked into his eyes. They were Onyx orbs. As Jess and Louise reached them, the army dissolved just like last time. Not only did Jacob continue to carry her down the hill, but he held her tightly, her face close to those onyx eyes as he proceeded across the plain. At the edge of the plain, Alicia saw Liz and Max. Between them were two boys about ten. In front of them were three toddlers.

There was no way Alicia was going to sleep after that dream. Where most dreams filter away until there are only vague memories of them, both of the dreams about being on a hill were still as vivid to Alicia as the minute she had awakened each time.

While Alicia was sleeping, Max and Liz were lying in bed with pillow talk. “Jacob has stepped in harm’s way, now, more than four times. Each time it was because he wanted to be there. He maybe is developing the ability to hear her.” Max was talking, but he saw that this last part made Liz wince. Liz had not ever been privy to Alicia talking to her directly. Alicia could put subtle thoughts in her mind and she could sometimes interfere with her decision-making, but she never had communicated like she did with the aliens. Secretly, Liz had hoped as her own transformation progressed, that she would be able to hear Alicia as well as they could. Sometimes, Liz and Max could recognize each other’s thoughts just because of their closeness, but Liz felt badly and then she felt guilty, because she could not be as close as the aliens were to Alicia.

“Alicia may be becoming very sure of her feelings, but she must remember that Jacob’s feelings must be taken into consideration. For the premonition to be true, they both have to be ready,” Liz was explaining, more to her self than to Max.

There was even more police cover at the school after the predator had been caught. Jess didn’t pay much attention to the added security because he knew it was just a knee-jerk reaction to public opinion. Jess was good because he was known by the students. Both the good students and the troubled ones would come up to Jess, ask questions and tell him information simply because they felt comfortable with familiarity. The new faces and uniforms were shunned because they had not earned any trust. Jess knew that after a few weeks, he would have his campus back and things would be back to normal. The one thing Jess feared was that the new faces would jump into things they didn’t understand. You didn’t treat students on their own campus like you might treat persons on the street. To many things you just didn’t give any attention. And some things, you reacted to immediately. It was a skill built up by interest in the students and an insight into their world.

The first difference Jess noticed was the relationship between Louise and the couple of Evans and Maiers. Louise wasn’t a friend of anyone’s, but she nodded to the couple, and sometimes, would stop and say a few words to them. Alicia and Jacob didn’t allow themselves to be on the fringe of any crowd. Out of class, they were together almost constantly. Many times Michael would pick up Jacob when he came for Alicia. All of these observations, Jess filed away.

Things seemed simpler to the two teens. For instance, a date could be studying at the library, or stopping for a soda at the Crashdown. Sometimes a date was going to Isabel’s where Alicia would visit with Isabel or Maria or both, while Jacob talked to Alex or Michael. Occasionally, they would plan a day trip with Max and Liz to visit the many sites in southern New Mexico. The Evans family always made sure that Jacob called his mom and asked for permission, or at least, informed her of what they were doing. Susan was still a little frightened about the changes in Jacob, but she knew that he was a lot happier than he had been before.

Jacob asked Alicia to the spring dance at school. After he asked her he then began to worry. He had never been with a real live girl on a dance floor. He called Isabel. Just a few months earlier, he would never have thought of calling someone to ask for their help nor would he have had anyone to call. Isabel suggested that Jacob’s mother bring him over to her house about eight that night. Susan was nervous going to the big house that was Isabel’s. She was even more nervous when she saw that Alex was there. The nervous feeling disappeared after a few minutes. Susan found that Isabel was an excellent teacher and Alex would demonstrate the steps using Susan as his partner. She had never been that familiar with her boss and she learned what an excellent dancer he was. They came a few more times until Isabel thought that Jacob was ready for his big date and big dance.

Stories by ken_r
please look at Liz's wedding dress from the desert at the end of the story below
Liz of the Desert

Stories by ken_r
Chapter 18 dance

This was the first ‘someone her own age’ who had wanted to dance with her. For Alicia, this might be well the most important night, yet, of her life. Liz took her to buy a dress. Isabel and Maria were a little hurt, but Liz now had her own finances and this would be the first time she had ever been able to buy her daughter something that would make memories for most of her life. Alicia had been with Isabel and Maria so many times that she was a good shopper. For that matter, Liz had been with those women so many times as they supported her, that it was like the fashion parade was just over her shoulder. They found a dress that had a skirt of dark pink that stopped just above the knee. It had layers and layers of lighter pink netting that ranged from totally opaque above the knee to transparent at its ankle length. It had narrow straps, a tight waist, and was cut low enough to emphase her maturing figure, but not so low that it would cause her father to have undue duress. The greatest part was that Alicia and Liz picked it out without ever looking at the price tag. Alicia wore sensible, medium heels. When Max saw Alicia in the dress ready for the dance, tears came to her step-father’s eyes. He could imagine how Liz would have looked in a dress like that, but by the time Liz should have gone to this dance, she was pregnant and barely keeping alive.

Michael and Maria were going to the dance club so they offered to pick up Jacob first and then to go to Alicia’s home and from there, to the school dance. This was one thing Susan Maier was still trying to get used to with the Evans family. No matter where Alicia was or what she was doing, there was always someone nearby to assist her and protect both her and her escort.

When Jacob walked up to the door and Max let him in, Liz had Max’s best camera out and was taking pictures. From Jacob entering, to the kiss Alicia gave him as she came down the stairs, to pinning the corsage (that always scares the hell out of a boy until he is very comfortable with his girl), to walking out to the car with Michael acting as chauffer, Liz took pictures of everything. She would treasure these pictures in her heart forever. At first, Alicia was surprised at Jacob’s skill on the floor. Then, she peaked inside his head and saw Isabel and Alex. That was why he was so easy to dance with, he danced just like Alex.

Alicia was only with Jacob. He had a few friends there, but the closest person Alicia had was Louise. Alicia looked into Louise’s mind, and to her surprise, she did not see any ill feeling towards herself. Louise’s boyfriend looked a little mean and scary, but Louise’s her self might even have been considered friendly to both Alicia and Jacob. As they were dancing, Alicia looked into Jacob’s mind. She did a double take. In his mind, she only saw the visage he saw as she came down the stair and nothing else. She felt a tug in her own mind and she glared at Jacob, but he just laughed.

They were sitting at a small table watching the dancers. Jacob took her hands and smiled at her. He placed her hands on each side of his face and she was suddenly flooded with his thoughts. They were thoughts stored up for several days. They were thoughts that she had attempted go get all week. What was important to her was that these thoughts were concentrated about her beautiful dress, her beautiful body and last, her beautiful mind. Alicia hadn’t been that managed before in her life. Jacob put both hands on her face and said, “Please.”

Alicia released any hold on her mind and Jacob smiled. He saw first of all, his name at the top of a nebulous list. He saw her attachment to her family and he saw himself added to this attachment. He saw a fear that he couldn’t understand. He tried to go beyond this fear, but the passage was securely blocked. Michael appeared at the block and Jacob saw clearly he was not to pursue that direction any further. Jacob saw the abuse that Alicia had grown up with. He saw two things that, at first, were confusing. He saw Max and Liz. They were glowing and everything else in Alicia’s mind was connected to these two people.

Alicia just said, ”Wow.” This was the first time she had ever had someone truly compatible to her thoughts. True, she could talk to the aliens and she could look anywhere she pleased, but Jacob made a completeness that she had not yet experienced. “When did all of this happen?” she asked.

“When we were fighting the predator, I felt something burn my face when I hit him in the jaw. After that, I felt someone tell me to kick him in the knee, After that, I felt closer to you than I had ever felt to anyone. When we were in your father’s office, he told me that if I felt you, we would be stronger together than apart.”

“Do you feel anyone else?” Alicia asked.

“No, I can feel the presence of your father, but so far everyone else is safe from my prying eyes.” Jacob smiled and hugged Alicia.

Jacob, this is very serious. We are going to have to talk to each other and then, we are going to have to talk to certain adults.” Alicia was very serious.

Jacob laughed, “You mean like Michael, Isabel and your mother?”

Again, Alicia was weighing every word she spoke to Jacob and she was also mind talking to Michael. “I am not sure if you completely understand.”

“Course, I do. If we have this type of relationship where our minds are as one, then looking for others as companions is rather frivolous. We have already found our mates.”

Alicia was not prepared to take her mind to that step, but what Jacob said was true. She also knew as her mother had told her so many times that when you find the perfect one, then you must also wait for the correct time. This is what Jacob must understand.

Jacob took her by the hand, “For tonight, I want to exercise my lessons from Isabel and enjoy my first formal date.” They danced most of the rest of the evening, except for one interlude. Louise and her date danced close and Louise said, “I want to switch partners.”

This caused Jess to really laugh. The smartest girl in school and the nicest boy also in school, dancing with the really bad girl and her delinquent boyfriend. Even he hadn’t foreseen this.

Alicia felt strange in the arms of a stranger. She looked into his mind. He was confused, but if his woman said this was a person they needed to know, that was enough for him. He held her like a delicate flower and at the end of the dance, he slightly bowed and led her back to where Louise and Jacob were waiting for them.

Louise whispered in Jacob’s ear, “I know you are here to protect her, but if you ever leave or she leaves you, look me up.”

Jacob was no longer surprised that Max and Liz were waiting for them when the dance ended. They stopped at the all night diner for pie and sodas. Then, Max took the two teens home. Alicia walked Jacob up the steps, and then, he bent down wrapped his arms around her and they kissed. This was a good ending for their first formal date.

Chapter 19 wedding

The weekend was one of announcements. First, Isabel and Alex were going to be married. They had been going together for over six years. Alex’s parents had died years ago and he had been on his own for a long time. His independence, matched with the independence of Isabel, had denied their relationship this next step. Neither wanted to loose control. It wasn’t until they decided that neither had to loose control and control wasn’t even necessary, that they could advance. Their lives had been coasting in the same direction for some time. They both had separate businesses, but they both had the same passion. Living together had been natural and they found that conflict was rare in their desires. Isabel found that she wanted to be known as a part of Alex. She wanted everyone to know that this brilliant man had chosen her to be with him for his life. Alex just wanted everyone to know that he was the luckiest man in the world because this beautiful and powerful woman chose him over the infinite numbers of suitors she could have encouraged. They both wanted to be a family like they had known in their youth. They wanted the next step that they saw in Liz and Max. Alex had chosen the Evans Law firm to represent his business and this gave Jake Alvarez even more responsibility. Jake had married and he now had two children. He still wasn’t privy to the secret of the Evans family.

Isabel would probably get as much pleasure in planning her wedding as she would in living her new life. Of course, Liz would be in the bridal party. Alicia also would be a junior bride’s maid. Maria would provide the music and stand with her, now, close friend. When informed of the news, Maria sat on her bed and contemplated her association with Isabel.

Because Maria was raised in the home of a single parent, often her mother made strange and sometimes dangerous choices in her men friends as well as her other choices in life. You could readily say that Maria raised her self, with help from those around her at the time, to her position of executive. This was a position she held by right of her ability. Gone was the little girl who used to have tantrums at school when children teased her. Gone was the little girl who started working as a waitress even before she was a legal sixteen. Now, she was a woman who sat with the classic Isabel Evans, soon to be Whitman, and discussed fashions and trends. She was one of the women, who Isabel wanted to share the biggest step, so far, in her life. When Maria, the little girl, had looked enviously at the also young Isabel, she never would have foreseen this friendship.

When Michael heard about the wedding, he was pleased that the second alien he knew was going to have the security of a married life. Aliens, because of their secret, did not take close relationships lightly. Michael sometimes yearned for the same for himself. He had not ever known the security that Max and Isabel had known growing up in a stable family. He loved Maria, but it was difficult to discern what Maria wanted. She was the most stable relationship Michael had ever been in since the inception of his life.

Max couldn’t be happier for his sister. She had always been there for him and now she could have some of the happiness he, himself, felt. Isabel, for all of her apparent coldness, was a very caring person. She was also a very private person, and to Max, the fact that she took Liz into her heart, endured her to him that much more.

To little Alicia, her Aunt Isabel was getting married. She knew all that was in Isabel’s mind and that of Alex, also. Now, she knew that she would see the happiness of them together. Hey! Alex was now her uncle. Wow, would this affect her relationship with Jacob? She knew that Susan Maiers worried about her son going with a friend of her boss. How would Jacob’s mother feel now that her son’s girlfriend was related to her boss. Alicia and Jacob were just starting to explore their new-found mental sharing. Neither knew yet, the extent of this ability. Neither knew exactly how Alicia had imparted this ability to Jacob. They needed to talk to Max and Isabel to discover this. Alicia had a secret desire. She knew that her mother, Liz, secretly felt badly that she couldn’t share with her daughter like the aliens did. Alicia wanted to talk to Max and Isabel, but she knew that right now, Isabel’s attention was elsewhere.

Alicia tried as hard as she could to focus on her aunt’s happiness. She needed so badly to focus on her own problem about what to do about her boyfriend. Like her mother, Liz, Alicia mentally listed her problems. Jacob could block her. That had never happened before. Could she block him always? At the dance, she had received Michael’s help. Right now, she had no idea of how far or how strong Jacob’s mental power had developed. Alicia needed to understand how he had gotten that power. Jacob had been exposed to Alicia’s intense emotional stress and to her concentration of energy while trying to protect her from the predator. Was that the answer Alicia was seeking to giving her mother the ability to share her mind? Alicia went over what she could do. Alicia could read almost anyone’s mind. She knew this to be both a blessing and a curse. This contributed to her introversion. How can you be friends with someone if you know every thing they are thinking? Jacob was the first person she had deliberately allowed to become close to her. It was at her mother’s instigation, that that she finally learned to filter Jacob’s thoughts and classify them to see that his love and concern rose above the thoughts of simple sex that she saw in all of the boys her age. Alicia harrumphed, like the thoughts she saw in most men of any age. Could Jacob freely enter her mind as easily as she had his when she first met him? If so, then there would have to be a decision made about telling him about the aliens. This would mean that he would have to be tied to them forever. Wasn’t that why the aliens had such permanent relationships and, also, why they usually were slow to accept these relationships? Was Jacob ready, at sixteen, to make such a eternal commitment? Jacob had said, when you find a mind so compatible as they were with each other they did not need to look any farther. If he wasn’t really, ready, then Alicia needed to terminate her association before he dove too deeply into her thoughts. What would this do to Jacob? Would it be fair to leave Jacob when he would need guidance and support as this mental power grew? This all seemed so unfair, but life isn’t fair, sometimes it is ironic. Alicia was so young. Why, at this time, did she find someone who she thought was her final quest?


Alicia needed help and guidance more than she had ever needed it before. Again, like her mother, her life might be in terrible straits and she would need help from those called from afar.

Alicia approached Max, “Daddy, I have to decide what to do about Jacob. I do not think I can block his thoughts. I have used getting ready for Isabel’s wedding as an excuse to not be with him, but he is getting impatient. I think he is also worried about this new gift or curse that he now has. He knows that I have something to do with it, but he doesn’t yet understand what we all are.”

Max noticed that ever since the night Liz had seen a vision of Alicia and Jacob being attacked by the predator, Alicia had been calling him daddy. It was a new experience for both of them. She had never called her real father anything but by his name, Kyle, and until now, she had resisted anything, but Max, for him. “It is a big step for us to let Jacob into our secret. It is a step that all of us need to consider. Until we all know more about him, it dangerous for any of us to be too near him.”

Dress fitting and the company of gaggling women occupied much of Alicia’s time and thoughts. Isabel was the director and star actress in this drama. There was less than a week left until the event. Isabel had controlled everybody to the point she was going to have an intimate wedding with family and close friends. Liz thought of this as she assisted Isabel. Liz had intended for her second marriage to keep things to a minimum, but with the notoriety of her divorce and trials with ex husband, Kyle, her second wedding had become a testimonial to the people who knew her, those that respected her father, and finally, to the many patients of Dr. Max. It resembled a cross between a church supper and a neighborhood block party. In the midst of this, Alicia received a call to come to her father’s office.

Chapter 20 Can you help me

After over 24 years of knowing Isabel, the aliens were now thirty, but they had been in incubation pods until they were about six, Max found that work, or any other excuse, was preferable to being around Isabel when she was on a crusade. Like the coward that he admitted to being with respect to Isabel, Max was doing late night work at his office, as well as any extra work he could find at the hospital. He heard a knock on his locked door. Angela, now married with a toddler and with the label of LPN, had gone home for the evening. She did not have to face the turmoil that Max would of a wedding going splendidly well, but constantly being scrutinized by it’s director looking for detail mistakes. If Alex ever tried to divorce Isabel and she had to plan a second wedding, CSI would be more present than either guest or clergy. Max walked to the locked glass door. He was surprised to see Jacob Maiers. He was even more surprised that when he opened the door for Jacob to say, “Dr. Evans, I need to talk to you.” Jacob had assumed the custom of the Evans family of using Max’s first name only.

Max poured himself a cup of coffee and offered Jacob either coffee or a drink obtained from the vending machine by the door. Jacob shook his head no. “Dr. Evans, Alicia is avoiding me. I assume you know why.”

Max sat there and looked at the young man. “Perhaps, what can I do?” he asked.

“The night we came in for you to check us out after fighting that predator. You said some things to me that I do not think you said aloud,” Jacob started.

Max sipped his coffee. Coffee was a marvelous device to delay conversation. Someday, Max would get himself glasses. You could waste huge amounts of time in polishing glasses. “Go on, Jacob,” Max replied neither confirming nor denying the implied accusation.

“You told me that if I truly felt strongly about Alicia, we would both be stronger together than either of us would be separately.” Jacob stopped looking at Max.

Jacob was trying to assess Max’s intent, but Max just smiled and said again, “Go on.”

Jacob took a deep breath. Dr. Evans wasn’t helping very much. “I have always thought Alicia was special, but I now think she is more than just important to me.” Jacob was about out of courage. He was relieved when Dr. Evans put down his coffee cup.

“Jacob, we need to talk in confidence. Nothing good will come of this if you reveal it to your mother or anyone else. Alex and certain others are privy to what we are going to discuss, but it could mean Alicia’s death and the death of many others, if the secret gets out. I am only, at this time going to tell you what you need to know. We are going to need many talks like this to fully understand each other.” Max stood up and asked Jacob to sit on a stool in front of him.

Max examined Jacob’s eyes, ears and throat. He then felt of the glands under Jacob’s jaw. Again, this was more of a thought-collecting time rather than an exam to gather information. Max thought Jacob’s name as strong as he was able. Jacob looked up. “What did you see?” Max asked.

“I think I heard my name. It wasn’t very clear.” Jacob replied hesitantly.

“Good, good,” Max mused. “Now, when you sit down with Alicia what do you see?”

“Sometimes, I see pieces of her life, like in a dream. Sometimes, I see things that she wants to say to me, but she won’t . Sometimes, I reach a block that looks like Michael and I become afraid.” Jacob tried to explain completely.

“What do you see in your mother’s mind?” This was what worried Max the most. Alicia had explained that Mrs. Maier was not sure about Jacob going with Alicia.

“I see worry, I see anger and I see something that I do not understand it is like confusion. I do not see things like I see with Alicia,” Jacob was a bit confused in how to talk about his mother.

Max went over to his office phone and dialed home. He got Alicia.

Michael drove Alicia to Max’s office and he went in with her. He saw Jacob sitting, talking to Max.

Alicia was frightened. She knew that the aliens would be very leery of letting anyone in to their secret. That was why she wanted to talk to Isabel. She had hoped Isabel would tell her what to do.

Alicia sat in Max’s office chair. Michael sat in one of the other chairs in the office. Max and Jacob both sat on stools. Michael and Alicia were in deep conversation within their minds. Max spoke first, “Jacob is developing certain traits that we are going to have to monitor both for his safety and ours. Jacob I am going to have to ask you not to try to break the barriers in Alicia’s mind. You both should explore each other’s minds as much as is proper. There is tremendous responsibility that goes with any gift and, especially, this one. You should try to work with Michael some times, since he is our strongest, after Alicia. You must, at all times keep considering if you want to limit your options by being with Alicia and, thus, the rest of her family. The sooner you quit and leave the easier it will be for everyone. Eventually, you might get in so deeply that you will have to stay with us to survive.

With this, Max shook hands with Jacob and Michael drove Alicia and him home, while Max went home to face the wedding Nazi.

The next day, Liz had a doctor’s appointment with her obstetrician. She purposely did not want talk to Max and she had avoided Alicia all morning. She confirmed that she was pregnant.

When max came home that night, he found supper was delivery. That usually meant that Liz had something important on her mind. Alicia was called from her room. Liz preferred to talk to Alicia rather than to allow Alicia to discover by prowling in her mind, even though she was not supposed to do so. “Max, Alicia, we are going to have a baby,” she kept it short and simple.

Alicia immediately started to search through her mother’s mind and body. Sure enough, there was an essence that was warm and comfortable. It had no direction or intention, just contentment. Alicia smiled because after being able to bond with Alicia, the next thing Liz wanted was another child. She wanted to experience a child who could grow up without the fear that Alicia had. Max carefully held his wife in his arms. His sister was getting married, his daughter, maybe, had found her true boyfriend and now, best of all, his beloved wife was going to have a baby. Max would be the father of two beautiful children.

In the middle of last-minute checking, Isabel stopped and looked up at nothing. Alex was reading nearby when she turned to him and said, “I am going to be an aunt again.” Of course, she told Maria and from there everyone else would know. Max and Liz knew that they had to hurry if they wanted to be the ones to break the news to their parents

Then, there was the day of the wedding. The ceremony went off perfectly, of course. Who would thwart the will of Isabel? Isabel and Alex would be gone for a week. Susan Maier was thoughtful. Her usually-obedient son was now going with the niece of her boss. Jacob already disturbed Susan very much by calling her boss by his first name, instead of Dr. Whitman, as she felt compelled to do.

It was summer. Alicia worked part-time for her grandpa at the Crashdown. Max told Liz that he had plenty of money, but she told him that she learned a lot about people serving them in the restaurant. Jacob got a job in the UFO museum across the street. He and Alicia both had finally gotten their driver’s licenses. The next thing Jacob needed was a car. He managed to find one, with Alex’s help, by the end of the summer.

Liz had had a long talk with her daughter. “Alicia, you feel that Jacob is the one for you, and you might be right. Even with both of you having gifts, we still haven’t told him all about us yet. You must learn how the gifts will fit together.” Liz was having a hard time because, essentially, she was saying, “do as I say and not as I did.” She did not even want to go in this direction. She wanted Alicia to see responsibility for her self, rather than be giving ultimatums from a parent.

“Mama, I know how hard it was for you because you made what you believed was a mistake. Please remember, Jacob and I have to trust each other because we can read each other’s thoughts. We are trying to understand the responsibilities of being too intimate. We can’t promise that we won’t make mistakes, but we do promise that our mistakes will be made in love and not in selfishness. Because of our gifts, we can be more assured of this love than can most teens.”

Liz put her arms around Alicia, “I know, Honey, but having the responsibilities of intimacy in high school is much more difficult than it would be when you are ready for college.” Then, Liz hugged her daughter and added, “Please remember that your father and I, along with all of our family, still will try to always support you.”

Having this talk with Max was more difficult. “Max, there is a time when you can’t instruct. You can’t command. You have to hope you have developed a strong ethic of responsibility, and then, all you can do is love and support.”

Max felt that he had been denied the first ten years of Alicia’s life, and now, he wasn’t willing, even if it was a few years in the future, to loose her. His logical self said he wanted Alicia to find a loving relationship and be happy in her adult life. His irrational self said he wanted Alicia to be with him forever.

The problem for all four of them would be to determine what was an adult? Legally an adult was defined as 18, but that was a cultural-legal definition. The reality was when they were willing and able to accept responsibility for their actions.

Susan Maiers was going out of her mind. She liked to be in control and she was sensing that she was rapidly loosing that control as Jacob was maturing, maybe faster, than she felt he should. She wanted to make rules and ultimatums to control her son, but she was afraid that these would simply drive her son away as she had driven away her husband.

Alicia and Jacob dated, going to movies, to museums, to plays with Isabel and Alex, and occasionally, on family outings with Max and Liz. Max, again, insisted that Jacob always consult his mother in everything he did. They all tried to include Susan Maier in parties and gatherings. Jacob felt that there were secrets he was not privy to, but Max told him that it wasn’t from lack of trust, but rather he needed to perfect his abilities in what he knew now, before he proceeded further.

Jacob was observant. Even though Alicia was an active girl, and maybe a bit of a “tomboy,” she never had bruises or scrapes. Alicia never suffered from acne or skin blemishes. Jacob noticed that he had fewer blemishes since he had been with Alicia than he had previously. Against his mother’s wishes, he had changed his medical care to Dr. Evans. This was given gratis, for no other reason than Max said he would.

Alicia and Jacob were facing physical pressures of intimacy, but neither felt they had to prove anything to each other. They were both facing the alien curse. The longer they stayed together, the more difficult it would be to ever have a lesser relationship with other people.

Even though she was privately frightened of Michael, Susan grudgingly gave permission for Jacob to spend time with Michael. Michael tried to test Jacob’s abilities and the progress of these abilities. He never gave Jacob complete information, but he did say that it was his job to instruct Jacob like he had instructed Alicia. This did surprise Jacob as he imagined Alicia to have been born with her abilities fully, and not having had to painstakingly, develope them.

Alicia and Max had taken up a new obsession. They both tried to detect Liz’s unborn twin boys. Yes, Liz was going to have twins. Max changed his earlier comment of before. Now, he was going to have three lovely children. Alicia could receive feelings of well-being most of the time. She could also, sometimes, feel pain as the fetuses developed nerve endings and learned to respect these new sensations. Liz was still the outsider. Alicia could detect the twins and she could convey this to Max, but all she could convey to Liz was some feelings of contentment.

Although there were some things of her relationship with Jacob that Alicia kept private, she tried to tell Liz as much as she could about their general feelings. Liz began to understand how left out her parents had always felt when she was not able to make them more a part of her adolescence.

Both Alicia and Jacob would be seventeen sometime before school started. They were now seniors. They had colleges, major course studies and graduation to worry about. Susan Maier thought that this would be a time she could get Jacob away from Alicia. When she learned that Alicia intended to stay in New Mexico for her education, Susan began to talk to Jacob about Eastern schools. Once, when she was really wound up, he mentioned she could barely keep him in high school, how did she expect to pay for Eastern colleges. This quieted her for a while, but she tried to talk to him about student loans. This scared him to think of having such a debt when he finished college. When she ran out of things to say Jacob informed her that he and Alicia would probably go to an state college they could afford. Her next project was to try to set up dates for him with daughters of her friends. Jacob wasn’t even nice about this. “No! not even to be polite,” he had stated. He was not going to go with anyone other than Alicia. Susan started to look for a job in another state. When she told Jacob about this, he scared her. “Mom, if you leave the state to separate Alicia and me, I will get Jake Alvarez to represent me and I will emancipate myself. This, finally, convinced Susan that she should learn to celebrate her son’s happiness and accept what he intended to do.

Begonia9508 this is for you. Next posting you will see why Max and Liz had to wait so long to have more children. the script had to wait until every was in place.

Stories by ken_r
Goodbye Mr. Evans, Hey Max
Liz of the Desert
The Magic Horn

Chapter 21 her mother’s gift

It was approaching Christmas time. Liz’s due date was close. Max was watching her carefully. Her own doctor was also watching her. There were signs that things might not go as well as they had hoped. Kyle had beat Liz over most of her body at one time or the other. It was this that caused the doctor’s and Max’s concern. It was December 24th when Liz’s labor started. Max was in the delivery room with Liz. Alicia and Jacob had come and were waiting along with most of the Evans family and the Parkers. At 11:15 PM, Alicia told Isabel, Michael and Jacob that the twins had been born and were doing well. At 11:30, she shared with the aliens and Jacob that her mother was in trouble. At 11:35, her father, Max, mentally told her he needed her. As he was telling her this, Jacob was motioning her into come to a room he had found. There was a set of scrubs there that the nurses wore. He had lined up gloves and a mask. In the waiting room, Isabel fainted and did so with drama that would have garnered her an Oscar in any movie. During the confusion in the waiting room, Alicia was able to enter the delivery room. Max pulled her behind him and they waited. One of the doctors shook his head and turned to Max and said, “Say your farewells, I think she will die soon. The doctors began to leave Liz. Isabel and Alicia were pulling them away as fast as they could infiltrate suggestions into their minds. Max and Alicia put their hands on Liz’s body. Max just didn’t have enough power. Alicia was mentally connected to Isabel, Michael and Jacob. All four were trying to assist Max. If the doctors had been there, they would have seen a light under Max’s hands. Isabel and Michael were sweating. Surprisingly, Jacob was just getting stronger. Alicia was receiving from all of them and Liz moaned. Her doctor turned back and saw her vital signs rising. He immediately recalled his team and they were able to save Liz.

Max and Alicia retired quickly. Jacob rid Alicia of the hospital clothes as quickly as he could. “Doctor Evans, we do not know what happened, but your wife is going to be fine now, the doctor stated in obvious relief. She will have remain in the hospital for a time, but she, and you, should celebrate the birth of your twin boys,” Liz’s doctor was not one to ever refuse a miracle.

Jacob took Alicia home. On the way, Alicia found his mind to be even clearer than Michael’s. “Do you think the aliens will accept me, now?” he asked in his mind.

Alicia looked at him and thought, “When did you find out?”

“I had signals from Isabel, your father and Michael. There are no more blocks in anyone’s mind, anymore,” he thought back.

“Are you all right with this?” she stretched her mind to get past their conversation and she saw contentment. “Jacob smiled, “You mean going with a half-alien girlfriend.”

Alicia quickly corrected him, “I am completely human. Only my brothers will be part alien.”

Jacob squeezed her and replied, “Then we are both made alien by gifts from your family.”

When Jacob finally got home, his mother was waiting. When she heard about the hard a time Mrs. Evans had, even in her anger, she felt sorrowful. Jacob, for the first time, saw into his mother’s mind. She was scared that she was loosing him. Jacob was still new at this, but he began to reassure her that she would always be his mother and she should enjoy his choice of girl friend. He saw her fear that Jacob would somehow get in trouble. Jacob worked to assure her that he would always love, her but she had to allow someone else to be first in his heart. Jacob saw that this was going to take a long time, but now, he had the tools to build a realistic relationship with his mother.

The next day, Liz woke up with a feeling of comfort. She couldn’t understand where it was coming from. They brought her babies into nurse, if possible. As she held first one, then the other, Liz strongly felt the longing of each to be held close to her. She felt the contentment as they each dropped off to sleep. She was surprised. When Max and Alicia came, later that day, Liz was thinking how good it was to see them, then she caught her self. She had said nothing, but they had answered in kind. Max first kissed her and his emotions flooded over her. She saw a bit of what she had gone through. With Alicia it was even stronger, She saw the love Alicia had always had for Liz and later for Max. Then, she saw the love Alicia was building for Jacob. Finally it dawned on Liz that she now could mentally communicate with Max and Alicia. She was no longer isolated from their world.

The spring was busy for everyone. “Lord, please give me more weekends to complete my work,” became a prayer. The self-appointed morals police were constantly watching Alicia and Jacob. They had seen them since they had been going together during their junior year. The fact that neither had a history of activities with other people, made them think that this relationship might be unhealthy. Neither Alicia nor Jacob had given them any action to complain about. They thought that Alicia and Jacob must be getting intimate, but there was no evidence of this. School counselors had talked to both of them. Alicia was firm, but polite. Their private life was their own, private business, even from their parents.

Springtime brought opportunities from many places for seniors to explore. Both Alicia and Jacob had been invited to a conference for gifted students held in Carlsbad. Transportation for any of the students was their own responsibility. Susan decided she wanted to use this time to try to mend some of her relationship with her son.

Susan had called Max Evans and asked if she could come by and talk to him about their children going to the conference in Carlsbad. She was met, at the door, by Liz. When she entered the home she saw that many of the Evans family were present. Most of the family took all opportunities they could find to play with the twins. Susan was, again, shaken by the solidarity of this family. Isabel and Alex were bouncing the twins in their knees while the babies were cooing at the attention. Susan couldn’t help but be impressed at the care and attention the babies seemed to be getting. Michael, Max and Liz detached themselves from the others to give their attention to Susan.

“I would like to drive and chaperone Alicia and Jacob to the conference in Carlsbad,” she said. “I would like to be part of their new-found relationship and I think this might be a positive way to do this.”

Michael immediately frowned. This would be the furthest Alicia would have ever been without one of the aliens as a companion, since she had become part of the Evans’ family.

Susan and Max discussed plans she would make for the teens on the trip. Susan was nervous at the concern all of the family had for Alicia, not only for her safety, but something else. Susan couldn’t figure what this other thing was. After all the frowns from Michael and the discussion from Max, it was the small woman who made the final decision.

“I think it would be nice for Alicia and Jacob to spend the time with you, Mrs. Maiers. I think you all would have a good time,” Liz said while looking at the others in the room. Susan noticed that Liz had the deciding voice.

It was later that night, in bed, that Liz confided to Max. “I sense a heavy feeling and some trying times ahead, but I also sense the completion of our family by letting Mrs. Maiers spend the time with the couple.

Max was perplexed. Alicia’s dreams were highly allegorical, but Liz’s premonitions were usually much more straight forward. He knew that Michael was far from pleased to be releasing Alicia’s well being to another, but he also felt that Liz’s desire should be paramount.

Susan was first confronted with the maturity of her son as they started the trip. Of course, he showed great deference toward Alicia but he also showed similar feelings toward his mother. It was almost as if for the first time, Susan was seeing her son as an adult. He packed the car, held the door for each woman, and in general, was not the child Susan could remember. At the motel, it was Jacob who arranged for three rooms for the party. Susan started to object that she and Jacob could share a room, but she realized that Jacob was a man and she respected his need for privacy, even from his mother, at least in front of his girl friend. Somewhere during the trip, Susan stopped thinking of Alicia as a child and started to see her as another woman traveling with them.

The next morning, the three of them were split up by scheduling. Jacob and Alicia each had their own interests and they were comfortable that they would each get the best of the conference that they could. Susan, as a chaperone, was scheduled into seminars about managing the gifted. She was given a choice between “Understanding Gifted Daughters” or “Understanding Gifted Sons.” Susan, surprised her self, by signing up for the “Understanding Gifted Daughters.”

The seminar had two principal speakers. The first was a psychologist who was speaking on problems smart girls had with preconceptions of society.
She started with studies of how hard it had been in the past for women to achieve excellence in academics. A successful woman in Mathematics was, indeed, good because she not only had mastered the theories of mathematics, but also had to overcome the obstacles placed in her way by a male-oriented discipline. She discussed the need for women in so many fields, not for the striving of equality, but to bring to these female-deficient disciplines new avenues of thought and to break down old paradigms. Susan became lost in thoughts of her own education. She remembered, just a generation ago, how there were still artificial barriers to herself as she developed her educational program. She remembered her counselors telling her the directions she should take in education, because that was the direction young ladies were supposed to travel. Susan wondered what it must have been like for her mother. Then, she wondered how this had affected her father’s thinking.

The second speaker was funny. He was a teacher with many years of experience. He mainly told stories to illustrate his points. There was the girl who had refused to take accelerated classes as a freshman, because she wanted to be popular. In her senior year, she was in the teacher’s class bemoaning the fact that all of the boyfriends, she had found, had been shallow. There was the girl who wanted to be a civil engineer because she wanted to out-bid her father on construction contracts to make him pay attention to her. He went on and on. Thirty years of teaching had given him plenty of examples. Susan enjoyed her self very much. She saw herself in so many of these stories. Then she started to see that Alicia had chosen her son, Jacob, to be her companion, no matter for how long this might be, because of his insight and his compassion. Susan saw that she, Jacob’s mother, had been very successful in raising the type of son an intelligent woman would want to accompany.

Susan enjoyed herself in the coffee klatches between meetings made up of parents and teachers. It could be said that Susan got as much or more out of the conference than the children had.

It was late when the tired trio started to return to Roswell. Susan had been observing her son and his girlfriend. She, indeed, noticed that they were very close. They would finish each others sentences and they anticipated each other’s movements. To Susan, this all spoke of a long-term intimacy and about this, Susan was worried. They were chatting as they were driving through the night. The weather was turning bad. There was a a storm beginning and the wind was blowing, making driving difficult. New Mexico is noted for it’s high incidence of ‘driving while intoxicated’ accidents. Whether it is because it is a rural state with many wide open spaces or because there is almost no public transportation, or there are just too many drunks for the police to catch all of them, it is a dangerous state. Susan saw, way back in her mirror, a car coming up behind her quickly. She had no warning at all before she was hit from behind. Their car skidded off the road, off an embankment and into an arroyo. Michael knew about it immediately.

There was another couple who had traveled to Carlsbad that day. Jess Sanchez had been ordered to transport Louise to Carlsbad to attend a hearing about some trouble she had gotten into in her junior year. He was to present her file and testify that she had been on track most of this year and she might even graduate. It was easier for Jess to transport her, than to have a human services person who she didn’t know and for whom she might not behave. Jess had Emilia Ortega of the Juvenile division also riding with him. Jess had always been straight forward with Louise and she didn’t give him any lip. They all three had put in a hard day. It was late when they started back for Roswell.

Michael called Max and then called the State Police. He could only give an approximate location of ‘somewhere between Carlsbad and Roswell.’ The police were not to happy about the information because Michael couldn’t tell them how he had gotten the information. This was a lot of territory, but they would check it out. Michael knew, that unless he could get in touch with Alicia, the police could easily miss an accident in the storm. As he was collecting Max and Alex to help him in his search, Michael called Jess. “Jess, Michael here, Alicia, Jacob and his mother are probably in an accident some where between Carlsbad and Roswell. I have called the SP, but I can’t tell them am exact location. Are you still in Carlsbad?”

“Michael, we are just starting on our way home now. We will be on the lookout.” With this, Jess slowed down and began to look for signs of a car running off the road. Emilia looked at him quizzically.

Louise heard them talking and asked from the rear seat, “Are you talking about that little freeky chick and her dude boyfriend?” Jess nodded his head yes. Louise cleared the steam off her side window and began to squint, looking for anything that would tell of an auto veering off the highway.

Alicia had been in the back seat. She was thrown about against the seatbelt and was very sore. She saw that both Jacob and his mother were unconscious and bleeding. There was gas pouring out around the wreck. The forces Alicia could wield were not fire. They were energy, and if used incorrectly, they could generate heat. She was very careful as she blasted the rear door off the car. There was no time to see if there was anyone around. She disassociated the molecules of the front door. Then using her telekinetic energy, she pulled Jacob out of the car and deposited him several yards from the wreck. Susan was bleeding profusely. The car on her side was partly against the ground. Alicia dissolved the door, but she had to remove a lot of earth before she could transport Mrs. Maiers out of the wrecked vehicle. When she had Susan safely out, she stopped the bleeding as best as she could. This would have been easy for Max, but for a high school girl who had little experience with anatomy, it was difficult. She looked at Jacob. His cuts seemed superficial and he was showing signs of coming around.

Alicia was crying when Jacob regained consciousness. She was trying to help his mother. Alicia had to follow traces of blood flow and look for tears in the arteries. She was doing this without Susan being conscious, but Alicia was working from within Susan’s mind.

“Jacob, wake up! I need help.” Alicia was trying the best she could. She had more power than her father, but she was hindered by inexperience.

Jacob slowly moved. He groaned and began to move. Alicia couldn’t stop what she was trying to do with Susan. Alicia visualized the veins and arteries as best she could. She had stopped the main flow of blood, but she had so much more to do. Alicia needed to see the bones and mend at least a few of them. She was mainly interested in those that might cause more bleeding. Jacob finally roused himself enough to come to Alicia’s side. His mother looked so pale.

The first thing Alicia did, was put her hand on his and think as loud as she could with his help, “Daddy, Michael, please come for us,” Alicia didn’t really know exactly where she was and she wasn’t in a mind set where she could figure this out.

Jess, Emilia and Louise were pearing through the rain and wind. It was very hard to make out anything in this weather with just headlights. The unmarked car Jess was driving had no searchlight. It was the young sharp eyes of Louise that spotted a pickup off the road against the embankment. There was no one in it, but there were drag marks where something was dragged or something had crawled away. They were trying to follow the marks by flashlight. As she followed Jess and Emilia ,Louise stumbled against something soft. Her ankle was grabbed, by a rough hand. Louise screamed and kicked the something soft several times. Jess heard a moan. He and Emilia quickly examined the thing, whatever it was and it turned out to be a man. About this time over the sound of the wind, they heard a yell for help. Jess, before he got lower, into the arroyo called Michael on his cell. “Michael, is Dr. Evans with you?”

“Yeah, Jess, he and Alex both,” was the reply on the phone.

“My blinkers are on, but I do not have a bubble,” and Jess described their approximate location. “ We need a doctor and call in an ambulance.”

No matter from which city it would be sent, the ambulance would be several minutes away. It was several minutes before Michael found the unmarked car. Max shouted and it was in his mind that he heard Alicia. “Please, daddy, I did the best I could,” her mind-speak got through where the wind would have masked a yell.

Michael had an emergency light he followed Max, along with Alex. He briefly shown the light on Jacob, but Max pulled his hand so he could see Susan Maier. In his mind, Max told Alicia, “take Jacob away from the lights and check him carefully for broken bones and any other injury you can find.”

As Max worked with his medical kit, and surreptitiously, with his powers, Alicia led Jacob just beyond the immediate area. She was embarrassed. “Jacob, I need to move my hands over your body and look for broken or fractured bones and any bleeding,” she said as she gently touched his body.

Jacob smiled at her. With one arm he pulled her to him and whispered; “Just pretend we have returned from the hottest date of our lives,” and with that he kissed her.

Alicia was very glad for the dark. She was blushing as she ran her hands over Jacob’s body all sorts of feelings were running through her and not all of them were medical. Jacob had sustained several bruises and cuts. He had a knot on his forehead, but Alicia would let her daddy look at that.

About that time, there was a shout, “she is a witch! She is a witch,” the man in custody with Emilia and Louise started screaming.

Jess went over to the man. He reeked of alcohol and vomit. He was struggling against the cuffs they had put on him. He was gesturing toward Alicia with his head. “She just went poof and the car doors disappeared. Then, she waved her hands and the bodies just floated out. Next, she was making mumblings as she made a light on one of the bodies,” then he became incoherent in his rantings.

Michael put his hand on Alicia’s shoulder. He closed his eyes and she could see he was trying to put something in the man’s mind. Alicia helped him, but all she could think of was that stupid movie with Pink Elephants on parade. This wasn’t very scary, but the man started screaming, “Don’t let them get me,” and Louise tripped him as he tried to get away. By this time, the ambulance and the state police were there. They took the drunk away for a psych evaluation. Susan was put in the ambulance. They also wanted to take Jacob, except Max identified himself as a doctor and stated he had checked Jacob already. The medics looked at Jacob and at Alicia. They were surprised that they had sustained so few traumas for so serious an accident, but they said nothing more.

The wrecker came. Michael, Alex and the rest picked up what luggage and things they could, and departed for home. Max sat in the back with the children as Michael drove them home. Alicia and Jacob were quietly giggling over some private joke. Max knew they needed to let loose somehow to release the tension they had been under. He did remember to pull Alicia close to him and whisper, “Daughter, you did real good in treating Mrs. Maier.” To Alicia, that indeed, was high praise.

When Susan arrived at the emergency room, she found the women of the Evans’ family waiting for her. Isabel took care of the booking information, listing that Mrs. Maier was an employee of her, Isabel’s, husband. She gave the insurance information and when they asked for her doctor Isabel listed Dr. Max Evans, consulting doctor. Maria was not with them since she was taking care of the twins.

In the morning, Susan Maier found a note that the Evans’ law firm had been retained to look into anything related to her accident and that the president of that firm, Jake Alvarez, would contact her at her convenience.

That afternoon, she woke up to see Alicia and Jacob standing by her bed. For the first time since she was a little girl, Susan felt that she had a large, caring family about her.

This has been my very first attempt at writing a fan fiction. I hope readers realize that as you are reading a story you have the privilege of watching both the story and the writer grow. We become a family, story, reader and writer and with any family there comes a time when graduation, marriage or death, the family members must each go on their separate ways. There, for me, is always a sadness, when something I have lived with for so long, is over. I have, since starting this, written other stories and I hope to do more. I originally intended to end this story with the marriage of Liz and Max, but with the introduction of Alicia it became a challenge to study the problems, an adolescent girl with telepathic powers, would have in going through high school. In retrospect her problems are more severe but not unlike those of smart children going through the educational system everywhere. I was also challenged to settle the problems between Louise and Alicia in an amiable way. For me, a person of an incredibly short attention span, this has been an experience.