Roswell Fanatics

I know what I said and I honestly thought I was going to be back with a new part this week but forces have conspired to keep me sleep deprived and now I'm sad because it's Black Wednesday and only some of you probably know what that is but I'm in mourning and if I write tonight, somebody's going to get hurt and I don't want to damage anyone important. sigh.

Smac, I know Jordis will get signed or a better band will snatch her up but it also means that when I turn on the TV next Tuesday, she will not be on it. grrr... Death to JD!

Ok. I'm done and I will definitely get this part done this weekend so I can post it on Monday morning. '-) It's almost done and subsequent parts will pick up on the action factor.

DM

I'm Liz Parker and the waiting is killing me. The FBI must know that the best way to get what you want is to make them believe you've already got it.

Agent Topolsky stared through the glass. "The tests?"

"Almost flawless." Agent Pierce nodded to himself. "All the tissue and x-rays came up normal but her blood work… is fascinating. She's talkative but that could be the drugs."

"No, not her. She knows exactly what she's saying." Topolsky studied the features on the girl and handed over the folder full of pictures. "Just like our victim."

"Is she still claiming to be a victim?"

"She shows all the signs of real trauma. I even recorded a few sessions with her support group. I'd say it happened just the way our ET said it did. The Sheriff's report looks stripped and sloppy, uncharacteristic for such a meticulous man. He knows something but I don't think he knows anything useful to us."

"Well, well. Our little alien friend has a twin sister. How do you suppose that happened?" Pierce clucked his tongue. "Another set of twins, how convenient." He flipped through the pictures, almost bored with the action. "And here… carbon copies for two bodies in our morgue… and all around little red riding hood." He tapped a group shot. "Which one do you figure for our murderer?"

"The fingerprints on the body suggest he turned her away before he snapped her neck. The burns happened post mortem. She wasn't in the device with the others. He has an affection for our carbon copy. I think he did it." She pointed out the spiky-haired hoodlum with his arm over the shoulder of a nicely dressed blonde with blue eyes. "He's been living at the Harding place with the carbon copy."

"How do you know which girl is the real Harding girl?" His eyes never left their guest on the other side of the glass.

"Her fingernails. Our body had clean, well-manicured fingers. What was left of her clothes came from the boutiques in the local mall. The carbon copy bites her nails, they're always painted one dark color or another, chipped. Her hair is blonde but too blonde. The yearbook picture doesn't match. Too much dark makeup around the eyes… just like on our guest. I think she's an imposter."

Agent Pierce pulled out his cell phone. "Yes, I'd like to file a missing persons report… Edward and Tess Harding. Father and daughter."

--

"Miss Harding?" Sheriff Valenti waved her over. The entire class stared as Ava made her way to the door. "I need to speak with you."

"What is it?" She spoke in a low whisper, something she'd had a lot of practice with in her life. No one but Valenti could hear her voice.

"It's about your father."

"My… why?" Ava turned to look over her shoulder at Liz.

"Someone's reported the both of you missing." He tried to placate her. "I've straightened them out on your account but… this thing with your father is going to be a very large issue."

Maybe we're confirming things by acting normal. Maybe we should be hiding or running or lying.

Ava looked to Max to try to explain to his father but Max just shook his head. So she pressed ahead and watched her tone of voice and annunciation. "Mr. Evans. They're saying they could file criminal charges until I tell them something but there's nothing to tell. He just left. No note. No phone call. Nothing. It's not the first time and I just figured it had to do with work."

"Criminal charges against you?" Mr. Evans blinked rapidly.

"Yeah."

He opened a fresh note pad and took out a pen to make notes. "How old are you?"

Ava's eyes flicked to Max who flashed his fingers quickly at her behind his father's back. "17… 18 in… next month."

"You've been abandoned… How long has it been?"

"That I knew for sure? Since October… maybe at the end of September." Ava quickly explained, trying to stick to the facts as they would be corroborated by whoever had reported them missing. "We got busy… with what happened to Liz. I wasn't home a lot. I was with her."

He raised a hand to placate the girl. "I understand… you say he left the same time?"

"I don't know." Ava shrugged and shook her head. The look on Max's face said they should make sure it was a different day at the very least or else Ed Harding could become the prime suspect in a crime that was better not linked. "Like I said. The last time I'm sure he absolutely wasn't home was in October."

"I'll see what I can do. Your friend Michael had a similar situation. We got him out of it… we'll get you out of this one." Phillip scribbled away on his note pad, brainstorming ideas and questions that would need answering. "Maybe you should come stay at the house. Until we get this figured out."

"But…" Ava looked to Max, eyes large and pleading. "I can't." She shook her head slowly and lowered her voice. "Zan."

"Right. Right." Mr. Evans pinched the bridge of his nose. "He can't stay in the house. If anyone knows he's been living there, they can use that against you… but given the nature of your relationship… you both can't stay in the same house with us."

"What if…" Ava sank into a chair and looked at Max. "Zan stays with you guys and I stay at Liz's. I could call Liz. She can talk to her parents. See if it's alright."

"It's a better option." Mr. Evans nodded and glanced at his watch. "After dinner, I'll meet you at your house and you can show me where he kept his things. Papers for work, for the house, the cars…"

"I haven't moved the cars. I didn't have my license long before we moved here. I'm not comfortable drivin'." The lies came too easy.

"Okay. Then it should all be okay. We'll take it one step at a time."

Maybe they're just hoping to drive us crazy with anticipation until we just leap out and say 'Here I am! Take me in. I'm an alien. I know the truth.'

Nancy smiled at the kids gathered in her living room. Liz had seemed to want to spend as little time as possible at home anymore. It was nice to know that these friends of hers could actually make her smile. That they were bringing back some semblance of the girl she had been before last September. "You need anything?"

"We're just gonna watch a movie, Mom." Liz shook her head, Max's arm over the back of the couch. Ava and Zan sitting on the floor. "You want to sit with us?"

Nancy just shook her head and disappeared down the stairs. Zan tilted his head back to Liz. "Your mom is hot. Ow." Zan rubbed his ribs and his thigh at the same time. "I was just sayin'. Dad's a lucky guy." Of course, he didn't keep his mouth shut. "I can be lucky, too. Pop over in the middle of the night and find out if you two cuddle. Ow. Watch the foot."

"Watch your mouth." Liz smiled down at him. "Make yourself useful and cut the lights… the normal way, please." They locked eyes for a second. "I meant, the human way. No… snapping fingers or waving hands or wiggling toes… or any other appendages."

"Damn… thought I could get around that one." He groaned like an old man as he got to his feet to flip the light switch off.

"What would you have… never mind." Max shut his eyes and shook his head. "I don't want to know."

"Kegels ain't just for the ladies." Zan informed as he fumbled his way back to his seat near Liz's feet.

"You don't watch MTV but you read Cosmo?" Liz took a deep breath through her nose. "I should be more surprised but I'm really not."

Ava snuggled up to Zan when he retook his seat. "Sugar knocks a lamp off the table, and it's all good."

"Now I'm gonna picture that." Max groaned and covered his face with the hand not stroking Liz's arm.

"He's jealous." Zan stretched proudly. "Work out all you want, you ignore the best muscle and you disappoint the ladies."

"We're not worried about that now." Liz kicked him again.

Zan caught the foot to minimize the damage to his ribs. "He should work it in the mean time."

"Enough." Max rubbed his forehead.

"Watch the movie." Liz encouraged and snuggled closer to Max.

"You don't mind?" Max whispered in her ear. "This whole arrangement? Ava staying here with you and your folks?"

"My parents don't mind. They've been concerned about me since the FBI was here. I think it makes them feel better to have Ava so close to me." She whispered back.

"Sorry we kind of threw it on you."

"I would have volunteered if I had been there." She played with the buttons on his shirt. "She got me to go out on the balcony today. We were checking out the fence."

"Why?"

"To see how long it would take Zan to get around it. I don't think it'll hold him out for a day… but I warned her… I don't want to wake up to find him in bed with us."

"Yeah, I don't want that either. I'll try to lock him in the guest room." Max's mouth turned up at the corners, prompting Liz to lean up and press her lips against his. When she pulled away, he followed her, embracing her lips with his. He kept their contact soft and slow, letting her lead him where she wanted to explore. Lips down her throat, hands up her sides, pulling her onto his lap.

Liz tilted her head back and let Max have free reign. She had missed it all. His smell so close, his warm hands under her shirts, those lips working their magic on her skin. His tongue sliding against hers, tasting vaguely of the Tabasco-Chocolate milkshake he'd had before the movie. Breaking for air, he lowered his head to look into her eyes before moving in again. To make sure she was okay. "You're too perfect."

"I was thinking the same thing about you."

When Max shifted into a better position, Liz's leg slipped and collided with the side of Zan's head. "Ow! I ain’t said nothin’!" He turned to glare at Liz but then had to bite back a laugh. "Sorry my head got in the way."

"How come you don't tell me sweet things like that?" Ava poked him in the ribs.

"Cause I can't say 'em with a straight face." Zan rolled his eyes and then had to catch his breath. "Ah-ow."

Liz buried her face in Max's neck, her face flaming red. Max cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, setting her back onto the couch itself. They tried to act as if they hadn't been doing anything but Ava and Zan weren't giving them much leeway.

"Gettin' hot in here." Zan teased, running a finger up Liz's calf. "Maybe you should take off some of them clothes."

Max didn’t hesitate to reach down and flick Zan's ear hard enough to make a snapping sound when his fingernail collided with an earring. Liz smacked him upside the head and reached for the blanket hanging over the back of the couch. "Enough, please. Watch the movie."

Liz cuddled up to Max to focus on the movie but it was hard to do when he smelled so good and his hands kept touching her skin, her hair. By the time the movie ended, Liz was sure she hadn't understood one bit of it. Somewhere in the middle of the movie, they had ended up laying out on the couch and her focus had been shifted to his body beneath hers, all the hard and soft planes of his body touching her, namely the one hard part they both pretended wasn't nestled between their bodies.

Amid the madness, there are moments where I forget that I'm being targeted. Where my primary concern is whether I might be leading on my boyfriend. When kissing him is the only thought on my mind. When I am my happiest with knowing that whenever I am ready to make love again, Max is going to be the one I make love to. Knowing that it's going to happen for us someday because he doesn't frighten me. He is understanding and gentle and far too patient for an 18 year old guy. I know he must have frustrations but he doesn't voice them to me and actually, that's rather important at the moment.

Lannie was rolled over onto her bed, restraints on every available limb and a strap across her shoulders and the back of her head. The needle pinched the back of her neck. She winced but didn’t move. They may not have been educated well but basic anatomy rules stated that moving while sharp objects were embedded in the base of the skull was a very, very bad idea

tbc

sorry it took a month but i had some distractions. '-)
It was done by Monday morning... I just wanted to make sure it made sense to me. '-)

I'm Liz Parker and my worst nightmares are coming true. My life is falling apart at the seams and this time I think I mean it.

Liz sighed in her sleep. She could feel Ava next to her. If she thought about it, she could feel Zan at their feet. They had given up in trying to keep him out days ago. So long as her parents didn't find out, it was okay. All he wanted to do was be in a position to come between an intruder and his girls. Rolling over, she sank deeper into sleep.

Liz arched her back under Max's mouth. He burned a trail down her throat and across her chest and down her stomach. "Oh Max," she murmured as he kept going, his wonderful mouth sliding lower and lower…

"Fuckin' hot." A voice spoke over her head. Liz's eyes popped open and could make out a figure standing over she and Max. Max didn't stop what he was doing and she strained to make out the features on the figure but couldn't because the candle light would never dance that way. "You do know that he's one of us, right? He don't give a shit 'bout you. He just wants in your pants, same as Zan."

Liz's eyes shot down to Max only to find that it was Zan who lay between her legs, his tongue running up the length of her thigh. "Stop it."

"Oh… darlin', he won't stop. Zan can pretend he's a good boy but he's always been a very bad boy and bad boys don't just change over night. Not bad boys like Zan… who teach their tricks to other bad boys… like Rath."

Liz watched in horror as the alien between her legs morphed into yet another alien. "No!"

"Sh. Sh. It's just a dream." Ava pulled Liz into her arms, trying to wake her up. "Liz, sh."

With a sob, her eyes opened to the black of her room and to the two aliens on her bed. She whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut against the tears that seeped out anyway.

When I told Ava and Zan about it, they were really quiet for a long time. Ava rushed to tell me that maybe it was just stress. The FBI crap combined with my hang-ups keeping me from letting Max be the perfect boyfriend. Zan didn't say a word and he didn't go back to sleep. When we woke up in the morning, he was in the same position I remember him in before we fell asleep again.

Zan snuck into Max's calculus class and knelt as well as he could out of sight of the teacher. "You and me have to talk. Today before you see Liz."

"What's going on?" The teen's presence was more than troubling. Zan had always made a big stink about not being in school. He could have waited until school was over… or at least class.

"It's just a… suspicion."

"Well?"

"Later. Not here." Zan managed to sneak back out before the teacher could see him.

Max couldn't get the urgency out of his mind. Zan was clearly upset about something. Clearly upset that something either had or would happen. When the bell rang, Zan was waiting to pull him into the eraser room. The alien looked sick. "Well? What is it?"

"Last night Liz had a nightmare."

"And? She told me they still happen from time to time. She's getting better."

"Yeah, I know but… um… she had one of those the other night and I got used to hearin' what those sound like. The one she had last night… not like that. It was bad. If Ava hadn't been quick to wake her up, her parents would have woken up. She was pretty loud and very scared." Zan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "She says there was someone in the dream that she couldn't see. Someone who spoke to her but that she couldn't distinguish."

"You mean like…"

"Like a Dreamwalker. I know Isabel ain't done it. So I'm worried."

"It could have just been a nightmare, Zan. Liz still has them. Maybe it was just worse than usual. She's acting like she's fine but the stress is getting to all of us."

"Okay. Let's just say I'm worried for nothin' but what if I ain't? Think Isabel could camp out in Liz's dreams tonight?"

--

"One really bad dream and suddenly there's a cloud over everything." Liz's voice wavered slightly. No one in the room judged. They had all felt like she had at one point or another and that was oddly comforting, despite the horrors everyone else must have endured to be able to sympathize. "Maybe I'm not getting better. Maybe I'm just hoping so badly that I'm ignoring some big issues that I've got. Things with my boyfriend are… progressing and I guess that could trigger some of this stuff. I want to be able to have him touch me without me recoiling and making him feel bad. I love him. Maybe I want to be ready so bad and deep down I know I'm not. It's manifesting in my dreams."

"Do you want to talk about your dreams?"

"In my dreams… I'm alone with my boyfriend. There are candles all around. It's romantic and we're naked and he's making me feel good and then there's a stranger in the room that I can't see. The candlelight dances just out of range of his or her face. They talk to me. Says things like… bad boys will be bad boys… When I look at my boyfriend, he's not my boyfriend, he's my attacker… that's usually where I wake up screaming." Liz shuddered heavily as the last words were finally out, her eyes filling with tears. Other's filling with tears because they understood to a degree that the dreams could not be controlled and often reminded them of what they just wanted to forget. "I know my boyfriend would never hurt me. He's never pressured me. He lets me decide what's going to happen if anything at all happens… but these dreams concern me. Like maybe it's a sign that however slow I'm moving… that it's just too fast."

"Those are some very deep observations about a pretty vague dream, Liz. Maybe it is your subconscious brain trying to slow you down. Maybe you're looking for an excuse not to move forward. You may have found yourself a very safe place. You've got, from all accounts, a very understanding and loving boyfriend. You're young and you don't have to move forward now. Maybe you think you can hold on to this safe ground forever if you can find a reason to keep it right where it is. Where you can still feel good about your progress and yet progress no further. Your mind is a dangerous place sometimes. You can't force yourself to be okay but… you shouldn't keep yourself from being okay if you've reached that point where you can be."

"So maybe I have found myself a non-threatening pocket and I'm trying to cling to it by subconsciously manifesting reasons to move no further." Liz breathed out heavily as she took her seat. That made sense too.

"In a nutshell. Liz, don't over-think your situation. If something feels right, it probably is right. It's very important that you listen to yourself. To realize that the only obstacles you're overcoming are inside yourself. Fear can strip away power. Overpower your fears."

I'm trying to put it all together but it doesn't seem to fall right in my mind. My nightmares in the last couple of months have been mild. I dream of the silo and I see their faces but lately they haven't touched me. Until this last nightmare, I thought I was getting better. Who is the voice who speaks to me? The voice seems to know just what to say to turn a good dream into a nightmare. Getting through the day is hard because when night falls, I have to sleep and if I sleep, I run the risk of having a dream. If I dream, then it could turn into a nightmare.

Ava fell asleep the instant her head hit the pillow. Following Liz around, escorting her to meetings and to the gym and working their shift. They were all tired from keeping busy and waking up in the middle of the night. "Mmmm."

"That's feels good, girl."

"Mmmm-mmm?"

"So good."

She sat up and gasped for air. "My turn?"

"You got it, girlie." Zan crawled over her body.

Ava stretched and let Zan do his best. When she opened her eyes, a figure stood at the end of the bed. "Who the fuck are you?"

"Tsk. Tsk. Ava. You really think Zan would go down on you? You know he doesn't play if he's gotta work. Never on Antar and never on Earth. You're a little pathetic to wish he would."

"Ava. Ava." Zan shook his girl awake. "Hey, sh… you'll wake up Liz." Those blue eyes looked scared when they peeked out from under those heavy lashes. "You okay?"

"Maybe these bad dreams are contagious. Hold me?" She pleaded. Zan only nodded and slid into the bed next to her. His arm wrapped around her and his smell swept over her. His lips brushed her forehead and then behind her jaw the way she liked. Her heart rate slowed. Liz slept peacefully on the other side of the bed… but only for another ten minutes.

I get the feeling that I'm not the only one losing sleep. The others are really worried and it's starting to wear on us all.

Max sat in the middle of the reservoir on a little piece of wood. He had a fishing pole made out of a stick and a guitar string. A tennis ball for a buoy. The sun was shining and it felt good. Liz splashed and swam in circles around him, every once in a while, a naked curve rose above the water and he nearly lost his seat on his driftwood. A moan floated over the water to them but they ignored it. It was just Zan and Ava having fun on shore. Or maybe it was Isabel and Michael. They were so far away from them. Was the reservoir growing? "Liz?"

"Yeah, Max?"

"Maybe we should head in? I think the current is pulling us out."

"It's a reservoir. There is no current." She dove beneath the water and came up closer to him.

"I'm serious. I can't see anybody anymore… all I see is water."

"How are we going to get back? You threw away the oars." Liz told him as suddenly they were in a very small boat. The oars floated away, out of reach. Then, while sweeping the water for some way back, Max saw it. A dark figure standing on the water as if it were solid. "Who's that?"

"Who's who?" Liz leaned over the edge of the boat and dipped her fingers into the water, then submerged her forearm. The water wasn't clear at all.

"You shouldn’t do that, Liz. You could fall in."

"Fall in? Fall in where? We're in the middle of the desert, Max. Maybe you should drink more water. I think you're dehydrated." Liz rifled through a bag that suddenly sat between them. "I know I had a canteen in here somewhere. Who packed all of these condoms? We don't need them. We never will." She tossed handful after handful onto the desert floor where they lay all shriveled up, all expired and useless.

Max scanned the landscape again. The dark figure still stood in the distance, on desert sand instead of water now. "Who is that?"

"There's no one out there, Max. No one is out there. No one's coming for us."

When his eyes fell on Liz again, she was lying bleeding and broken. "Liz? What happened?"

"You didn't protect me, Max." She turned and tried to crawl away. Her blood smearing on the desert floor.

"I don't even think I need to suggest this get worse." The dark figure laughed.

"Who are you?"

"Why are botherin' with me? Zan's fuckin' your girl." The figure pointed to a patch of desert that had turned into a pornographic palace oasis. Liz was all over Zan, moaning and crying out.

"Liz?" Max called out but when he rose to rush over, the desert under his feet turned back to water. He kept trying to swim to stop them but he kept slipping under huge waves. "Liz! Stop!"

"Zan, oh, Zan… do that to me again… Oh, Zan! How did you learn to do that with your tongue?"

"Natural talent, sweet thing."

Their voices echoed around his head as he struggled to beat back the waves and get to shore and rip apart that porn palace. Then someone appeared on the water next to him. "Max! Stop it! Stop it!"

"Isabel, I have to get to them. They're… they're… dammit, Isabel, help me."

"Wake up!"

Max sat straight up in bed, sweating pouring from every pore in his body. His breathing was so heavy. He felt like he really had been beating his arms uselessly through water for hours. A moment later, his door opened and Isabel walked in and sat on the foot of his bed. "How long were you dreaming that?"

"I don't know… it kept changing on me. One… random thought would send the whole thing into another place. I just… it started out okay and it just… got worse and worse." Max wiped his face with his shirt. "What's happening, Iz?"

"Someone was in there." She confirmed. "In your dream. In Liz's tonight. In Ava's…" She stared out the window. "Whoever it is… knows exactly what they're doing."

"Are they changing the dreams?"

"No. But whoever it is makes suggestions and your subconscious follows them. Lets them influence the dream. Whoever it is… has my limitations. I couldn't fix your dream and you were too far gone to let me suggest anything to calm you down." She turned her eyes back to her brother. "Are you really afraid that Zan will take Liz from you?"

Max shook his head slowly. "Sometimes… I… think maybe she likes him better than me… and that maybe… if she chose him, he wouldn't say no."

"She loves you. She dreams about you. Just you. When Zan shows up… it's because the… whoever suggests it. That's when her dreams take a turn for the worse."

"I guess that's supposed to make me feel better."

"Someone wants us scared, Max. You, Ava and Liz… maybe Zan but he hasn't told me he's been having nightmares."

"I don't think he's been sleeping. He's over there every night. So he can wake her up before her parents hear." Max sniffed. "Something's going on. If… these are similar to what you can do… do you think maybe Lannie and Rath survived?"

"I wasn't going to suggest it but… a small part of me recognizes what's being done."

"That was always one of Liz's biggest worries… that at least one of them survived and could come back. They left her for dead and then walked into a trap…" Max sighed heavily, drawing his knees up to his chest. "I'm scared, Iz. I don't know what's going on. If Lannie's doing this, it means she plans on doing more."

"You think Zan knows?"

"I think he knew days ago."

Is this nightmare ever going to end?

Lannie opened her eyes and glared at the agent at the foot of her bed. "You're stupid, you know. Even if I could tell them where I am… they wouldn't come."

The pictures lay on the table just within her reach. They were just guides. She could get into Zan's dreams without even thinking about it.

"How do we know you're doing what we think you're doing?"

"Ava, Liz and Max are going to have dark circles under their eyes tomorrow."

"And your brother?"

"Didn't go to sleep last night. We have a deal right? I help you get my brother and I go free."

"We'll see, princess."

"When Kivar comes… you'd better have done the right thing. He'll destroy you for hurting me."

"How is he going to know if you're dead?"

"We activated the Granilith. Every alien on the planet knows it was turned on. A few of them are buddies of mine. Kivar will know. Kivar will come and you will all die horrible deaths… but not before I help you get my brother. I want to watch you cut him open."

tbc

I'm Liz Parker and if I go one more night without sleep, they'll have to lock me up in the loony bin. I'm tired. I'm exhausted. I am afraid.

Pierce watched the monitors carefully. Her brain waves were off the charts when she slipped into her 'dream walk' and her heart rate remained steady. She sat up with a smile, as if she could see right through the camera into his eyes. "They's not sleepin' no more. We scared 'em good."

"Keep checking. Every night. We want them tired. We want them desperate." Agent Stevens spoke into the microphone.

"She uses the pictures as a guide wire." Topolsky observed quietly. "She has to touch the image and then she goes to sleep… like a trance but deeper. She’s vulnerable and she knows it."

"She complies because she’s healing herself while we allow her off the neuron suppressors." Pierce explained to her. "She’s smarter than she lets on. She acts mean and bratty because we expect it of her. So we don’t try to get closer to her. It’s a defense mechanism."

"Sir, we can make her lead us to them." Stevens pressed.

"We know where they are… but they’re strong just now. We need them weak… and so does she. She doesn’t want us to kill them, she wants to do it herself."

"Why? Wouldn’t she want to regroup?" The blond agent touched the glass.

"If I tried to kill you and failed," Pierce focused his gaze on the woman, "you would not think kindly on me. If you were captured by the enemy, you might help them just so you could get your hands on me yourself. At least you would if you were capable of hating as much as she can." His lips turned up when she refused to turn and acknowledge him. "The trick is to make her think we’re just as stupid as she wants us to be. Make her comfortable. We’ll give her just enough rope to hang herself."

"How?"

Stevens crossed his arms. Topolsky still acted like a rookie sometimes. It was amusing. Pierce cleared his throat and lowered his voice as if speaking to a child. "She’s building strength, Agent Topolsky, healing all those nasty injuries. She’s helping us wear down her alien brethren. She’s going to try to escape. Even if she believes that chip will fry her brain, she’ll try. She can’t cut it out. She can’t short it without killing herself but she’ll try to make sure we can’t trigger it before she runs… and when she runs… she’ll run right to the alien who leaves the silver handprints."

"Why do we need him, sir?"

"Because if she’s important, her brother will be, too. Her brother kills with a touch of his hand. I shouldn’t have to remind you that many of my predecessors ended up on the wrong end of that touch. She’ll only break for it when she thinks she can take him. She says he’s good for nothing but I’d like to see what someone like her thinks is weak."

"How do you know it’ll be worth our while?" She finally turned to acknowledge her superior.

His blue eyes met hers. "Patterns, Agent Topolsky. If you stare long enough at the numbers you’ll see a pattern and if you can see the pattern, you can predict the next move. Tomorrow, she’s going to get out of bed on her own, after we turn off the light on the camera, the way we do every day at ten for fifteen minutes. The day after, she’ll refuse to eat… and the next day she’ll run." When he turned back to the glass, Topolsky tried to contain a shiver. "When she does, give the order to main, not to kill. I want her to lead us right to him and take a shot before we swoop in and retrieve. I want it clean and I want no witnesses."

It's not just for myself because there's only one thing they can do to me and that's kill me. It's Zan and Ava, Michael and Isabel… and Max. Whatever is going on is because they're aliens and I wish I could lock them in my room and keep them safe but I don't know what they can get away with.

Liz backed out of her room and softly closed the door, the sounds echoing in her ears and the images indelibly burned onto the insides of her eyelids. At least they weren’t on her bed… though she would have to steam clean her chair soon. Flushed, she grabbed her purse and walked out the door and into the Crashdown. Alex and Debra were making out prettily heavily in a booth. Any further and she knew her father wouldn’t hesitate to hose them down. Shaking her head she turned and Kyle and Sandra were making eyes at each other over a basket of fries.

Hitting the street, she aimed for Maria’s. Eyes forward and not looking at all the people hooking up all over Roswell. When she reached the DeLuca residence, she didn’t know whether to throw her hands up and cry or to fall down on the ground and laugh. There was Freddy’s car in the driveway with the windows were steamed up. She was tired and she wanted company who would keep her awake. That’s all.

If I sleep at all, the dreams are rarely about me. They are about Max and they have him and they're cutting him open while he's still alive. I almost fell asleep in my physics class and the only thing that kept me awake was the memory of a dream.

Max almost knocked on the door but something make him check the window first. Maybe it was the quiet. Usually Michael blasted some music or had a game going on so loud people in the park knew the score. Michael also never closed his curtains all the way. All he saw in his quick glance was a flash of skin, he couldn’t be sure whose and he really didn’t want to. As much as he felt like punching Michael, he’d rather save his eyesight and leave them alone. Turning his feet onto the pavement, he made his way back through town. Everywhere he looked people were couple up and doing couple things. Movies, ice cream, bowling… making out in public. He shook his head at the couple in the front of the Crashdown and made his way around back.

It took only a few minutes to make it up to the ladder and just as he was about to vault himself over the top of the fence, he stopped himself. There they were, oblivious to the world as they ground together, rolling around on the bed. Zan and Ava. Carefully, he lowered himself back to the ground and forced himself home avoiding as much random coupleness as he could. It was everywhere, whatever it was. Mass explosion on an unusually warm day so early in the year. Throwing open the kitchen door, he found the note on the refrigerator door… which seemed to say his parents had caught ‘it’ as well and were spending the night in Clovis. There was something about money for dinner but he was in a wretched mood. Grabbing the cordless, he debated on what kind of food he’d order to piss off Isabel and headed to his room… only to find the house wasn’t as empty as he thought. "Liz?"

"Hi." She waved from where she lay on his bed.

"What?... Never mind." He shook his head.

"My room is occupied."

"Yeah." He lay out next to her and set the phone on the nightstand. "Have you been here long?"

"Five… ten minutes. Not long… Max…" She turned to face him with those huge brown eyes. "Can we not talk?"

The first kiss was soft and gentle. A greeting. The next was hungry and devouring, soul-consuming. All the tension, the worry, the exasperation of the day transformed into a raging inferno of passion as lips tasted and teeth bit, hands gripped and caressed. It took only a moment for Max to pull away and let her tug his shirt over his head, but ridding her of her shirts took a bit more time. He kissed every inch of flesh he could reach. Liz lay back, pulling him atop her body, their legs intertwining; their bodies flush against one another.

Images flew back and forth between them. Max could hear what Liz heard earlier in the day… when her bed was still virgin. He could see what she saw. Liz saw what Max saw and instead of sitting up indignantly, she channeled it all into touching Max. Feeling every hard plane covered in soft skin. Tasting every salty mole and freckle, tracing pebbled skin with her tongue and fingers, grinding her body against his.

Max rolled them over and let her have free reign with his body, wincing only slightly when her teeth grazed along his nipple. When she lifted her head, her lips were swollen and pouty, begging him to kiss them without whispering a word. Sliding his hands up her thighs, he found no complaints when he cupped her backside, holding her to him as tightly as he could manage. Her hips still rubbed steadily against him, he guided her into a rhythm that sent chills up his spine. Her fingers traced his abs, then slid along the contours of his body, flicking his nipples as they passed, until she gripped his shoulders tightly. She jerked herself down on him as she sat up, her hair falling all over the place.

Biting back a moan, he reached for the nightstand, fearing he wouldn't make it long enough to put on the sought after rubber. Liz caught his hand and placed it squarely on her breast, her bra tossed to the floor. Her soft breasts fell against him when she leaned forward, seeking his mouth as he teased the dark peak mercilessly. It took every fiber of his being not to pin her beneath him and sink into her warmth. He settled for sliding a hand under her skirt and beneath her panties. Her hips jerked violently against him and his hand, her mouth let out harsh gasps of air, then she let out a whimper before grinding so hard that he couldn’t take it anymore. He ground up as he came, pulling her tighter against him if there was any space left.

They lay in silence, her head on his chest, breathing in the slightly awkward air. Liz bit her lip and shifted slightly so his hand wasn't squashed so tightly between their bodies. "Um… should I apologize for um… leading you on… or… um…"

"I got there too." Max nodded stiffly.

"Okay. I'm sorry… I just… needed you."

"No need to apologize." He tipped her head up and pressed his lips firmly against hers. "There are no complaints here."

"So, you don't think I'm a tease?"

"No." He shook his head as he took a breath and reached between them to slide a hand inside his pants. "I'm cheating." He told her as he used his powers to clean himself up. When her hand caught his as it was pulling out of his jeans, he chanced a glance at her face. "What?"

"Um…" She bit her lip and then attempted to speak before she clamped her mouth shut, shook her head and released his hand. "Nothing."

"Liz…"

"I was… just… curious." She didn't even realize her fingers were rubbing circles in the hair that poked out of his boxers. Max tilted his head at her in confusion. "I… um… can I see you?" Max swallowed hard at her words, he had once asked her the same question. After a moment, he reached down to undo the snaps on his jeans, suddenly too tight for the second time in that hour. Liz slid to the side so she could see better the bulge in his shorts. Hesitantly she grasped the fabric and lifted. She looked and blinked. "Oh."

"I don't like the sound of that 'oh'."

Liz shook her head and tried to explain but she couldn't take her eyes off of it. "It's not a bad 'oh'. Just an 'oh'."

"'Oh' is a comment made in surprise. I don't think there's anything about my penis that would create a surprised response." He tilted his head at her but her eyes were definitely not on his.

"It's just… um…"

"Any adjectives aside from synonyms of 'small' are fine." He tried to work the joke in there to give her an out but she didn't seem to be in a joking mood.

"Well, it's not that… definitely not that. Um… it's… there's… more than I thought there would be."

Max took a breath and cleared this throat. "What? I'm confused."

"You've got… a hood." She spoke delicately, turning her eyes to the safer object of his clock. "I just wasn't expecting that. I'm just glad I'm not hyperventilating. We've made progress and a… piece of… skin is not really bothering me."

"Oh." Max nodded to himself for a moment. "Okay. So… hyperventilating has nothing to do with my penis."

"No. Point of reference for my state of emotion and what it could have been granted the ground we've covered today."

"So, you're okay with my penis."

"Yes."

"Good, because it's the only one I've got… unless I have an alien penis somewhere that I know nothing about."

Liz tried to respond to that but she had nothing. That was never something she had ever thought about.

"Okay. So no joking about second alien penises. Good to know." Max ran his hand up her arm. "Are you cold?"

"A little."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She kissed his lips and snuggled into his side, her head on his shoulder. "It wasn't sex but it was close."

"That it was."

"It's not that I don't want to… because I do." She hugged him close. "I do but… um… I'm much more afraid of hurting you than freaking out about it."

"How would you hurt me?"

"By freaking out." She cut off his response and leaned over him to look him in the eye. "I am so frustrated with myself, Max. I have these very deep and very strong feelings and I just feel like I can't make you see how I feel. I look at you and I want to so very badly but when I think about how we could be watched, I freeze up. Like someone could just come in and rip up apart."

"You can't have sex because you're afraid of an audience but what we just did was okay."

"It makes no earthly logic… and probably not on your home planet either but… it makes a warped sort of sense to me." She took a small breath and attempted a smile. "It means so much to me that when we're together that I can forget for a little bit… you know… about all the craziness."

"Okay… and it's fine, Liz. These are crazy days. It's okay to be upset and it's okay to be worried but don't try to keep it in. We're all going a little nuts…" Max reassured her and grabbed the comforter to pull the far side over her nearly nude body. "I know how you get when you're worried. Have you eaten?"

"Today?" She asked innocently.

"Yes, today."

"I think I had a banana or something for breakfast." She admitted quietly, enjoying her Max cocoon, his smell all around her.

"I don't know what planet you were raised on but on mine, bananas are not adequate sustenance… in fact, I don't even think we have bananas…"

“How would you know? What if you do have bananas but they’re called something else?”

“No. Please don’t get all science theory on me.”

I'm Liz Parker and I am healing parts of my soul that I barely knew were still torn. When Max touches me, I'm no longer a member of planet Earth. I'm somewhere else where it's just the two of us and nothing can hurt us. I saw inside Max today. He kissed me and I felt everything inside him touch everything inside me. I like knowing that he can share with me that way. Sometimes I feel a little vulnerable knowing that he can see inside me all the time but knowing that he can share with me when we're alone together, makes it special.

"How special?"

Liz whirled around and slammed her book shut. "Excuse me. I don't read over your shoulder."

"Because I don't read." Zan shot out from where he laying half out the window behind her.

"Uh-uh… You do read, mister."

His head whipped around to make sure no one was near to hear her. “Sh. No one knows that.”

Liz gripped her book and slapped his arm with it. "You are steam-cleaning my chair."

"What? Why?"

"You defiled it. It was a nookie-free zone until you and your naked ass got a hold of it… I don't even want to think of what else possibly touched my chair."

"What? Was you spyin' on us?" Zan slid into the room and examined the chair. It was clean.

"Spying? On you in MY room. Huh. Do you want to think about that question a little harder?"

"So maybe I got my thang on in your chair. I'm sorry. It was just the chair." Zan crossed her arms and winced when she cleared her throat, her eyes flicking to the bed, void of sheets. "Is there a camera or somethin' in here?"

"Max saw you."

"Oh."

"Yeah. 'Oh' and Ava already fessed up. She's washing my sheets."

“So, you guys is special now?” Zan tried to change the subject.

“We’re always special.”

“Come on… how special? Was today a special day for you?”

“What are you talking about?” Liz evaded as she put her journal away and found her hair brush.

“Why are your cheeks goin’ pink?”

“It’s a warm night.”

“It ain’t that warm.”

“Not as special as you and Ava on my bed.” She bit out and smacked him with the flat side of her brush. “Shouldn’t you be out… I don’t know… keeping look out?”

“I am a consummate multi-tasker.”

“Okay, Zan. If you want people to believe you’re not studying, you’re going to have to watch your language.”

“What’d he say?” Ava asked as she dumped a load of freshly washed sheets on the bed. “Was he runnin’ off at the mouth again?”

How bad is it that I dread the normal moments? I feel like they can be ripped away out of nowhere. I barely make sense to me anymore. I need sleep. We all do. How are we going to make it through if we’re all exhausted and incomprehensible? If I haven’t broken down in tears by the end of the week, I’ll be very, very surprised.

tbc

I’m Liz Parker and the way I figure it, sanity heavily relies on routine and being able to adjust routine to a sudden change… or maybe justifying it all is a sign of insanity. Lately, the days bleed together unless I set a specific task to a day.

Ava and Liz chatted all night about everything as quietly as they could. Mr. Evans had said he was close to setting Ava’s affairs to rights and then there would be no need for Ava to continue sleeping at Liz’s but they needed it to stay awake. When Ava left, Zan would probably go with her and then Liz would have to fight sleep by herself… but that’s only if Mrs. Evans couldn’t keep her hold on him. At five they would start the coffee for the morning rush and both girls would gulp it down laced heavily with sugar.

They would walk to school and go to class and sneak naps in whichever class would allow and they would all act like zombies. It was the same thing everyday. Everyone looking over their shoulders without even realizing they were doing it anymore. They all just adjusted to the extra burden of not sleeping at night.

My weeks are a routine unto themselves, revolving around routine. Mondays are my busy day. I turn in homework and catch a nap during homeroom. Max and I hit the Eraser room in free hour just to keep the blood pumping, not that we mind but… After school I head home to work for two hours before my self defense class. I can kick the crap out of a bag to keep the endorphins pumping but even Dr. White is noticing my lack of focus… because more often than not, the bag is kicking my ass instead.

Ava watched Liz fall on her ass for the third time in a row and gave up. She needed air and to move… but no way was she joining in. Liz looked up at Dr. White who shook his head at her. “Self defense discriminates against the vertically challenged.”

“Maybe the bag is a little too high for you.” He agreed.

“Why do I have to grab the top of the bag? My attacker will not be a bag and he will not be suspended from the ceiling… assuming there is a ceiling.”

“Very true.” ‘Dr. Dave’, as he was affectionately known, reached for her hands. “The idea is to grip your attacker by the shoulders.” He placed her hands on his shoulders and hauled her to her feet. “His strength will be in his arms and shoulders, most likely, and he will be in motion. Use his motion against him. Do you feel that?”

“I guess.” She pouted and tried to focus. “I like you better in group.”

“Well, until they find someone else, you’ll put up with me in here as well.” Dr. Dave gripped her hands where they lay on his shoulders still. “You’ll have to heave yourself up with your arms, which will bring him down as you jump up at the same time.”

“Why must I jump?”

“Because you want to plant your knee up under his ribs so you can knock the breath out of him because if he can’t breathe…”

“Then he can’t hurt me…”

“And you have time to run away. Don’t forget that running away part.” He let her arms fall and assumed the attack position. “Come at me.”

“No. What if I hurt you?”

He tilted his head at her and rolled his eyes, smacking his tongue against his teeth. “Yes, Miss Liz. That’s the idea. If you can’t hurt me, how will you hurt your attacker and live to fight another day?”

“I hate when you do that. It’s like… barely controlled annoyance. I am not annoying.” Liz shook her head at him and glanced around at the rest of the class, all three of them as they attacked their bags wholeheartedly.

“Why would I be annoyed? You’ve been asleep since you walked in. Is it the nightmares?” He lowered his voice and dropped his arms. Her eyes drifted away. “It’s him, isn’t it? You see him in your dreams and so you’re depriving yourself of much needed sleep. The human body is not meant to go without sleep.”

Tears pricked at her eyes but she didn’t let them fall. He was only half-right. Yes, Rath was in her dreams but so was Lannie… a not so dead Lannie who could make innocent dreams turn evil without so much as trying. “So, what?”

“Attack him. Attack me.” Dr. Dave assumed the position once more. “Make me him.”

Liz stood there for a moment, her leg shaking as she debated what to do. “I don’t want to hurt you and don’t roll your eyes at me again. I could SO hurt you.”

“Just… come at me.” He motioned with his fingers.

“You did the weird thing with your mouth.” She accused him. Stifling a sniffle she tried to get into defense mode. “Close your eyes. He had brown eyes and I can’t look at your eyes and see him.” She shifted back and forth on her feet trying to muster up the courage to ‘attack Rath’. Dr. Dave lunged with his eyes closed and Liz didn’t even think. She grabbed his shoulders, leaping off the floor and swung her body weight into her legs, her knee coming up and catching him in the side, making them both cry out. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t (hack) don’t… (cough, hiss) Don’t be sorry. You wouldn’t apologize to a real attacker… Now… back to the bag… just… Jump higher.” He rasped out as he fell to the mat.

“Are you okay?”

“Forgot how much power a little woman could possess.” He waved her off and collapsed on his back to catch his breath. “Good job.”

“Aw. Damn. I missed it. She kicked your ass and I missed it.” Ava cursed and stomped back out side.

“She’s a colorful one.”

“She’s one of a kind all right.” Liz nodded before she leapt at her bag and fell promptly onto the ground.

And I do pretty much the same thing the next day only I go to group instead. I can’t imagine how everyone else is holding together because I know I’m just barely holding on and frankly, the idea of thinking about everyone else is just beyond my limit.

The teacher droned on and on while the class very studiously took notes, whispering amongst themselves. Michael watched them all with barely contained loathing… but he was tired so it wasn’t like he had a lot of energy with which to loathe. His night had consisted of listening to Isabel whisper into the phone until he dropped off and then he was met with a dream so confusing he wasn’t even going to bother thinking about it again. Right hand scribbling notes, he rubbed Isabel’s back with his left and finally just rested it on her shoulder, near her neck so he could play with the chain on her necklace. Every once in a while, her fingers rose to still his and just held them for a moment. Neither of them ever stopped taking notes or else be tempted to sleep. If it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t even be in class, much less taking notes.

Mr. Evans’s lectures on the importance of studiousness had filtered down to him through Max and Isabel and he was finally getting the importance… he thought. He needed to graduate so he could get a job that hopefully would not consist of heavy lifting, fried food or garbage disposal… which incidentally fell into both of the previous categories. Shaking his head, he focused on taking notes. Important points. Important points.

His gaze drifted to Isabel, who looked amazing as always. When Isabel worried, she overcompensated in every aspect of her life. She was extra perky for her parents and teachers, she was extra helpful with everyone’s homework and wardrobe. She looked perfect because she didn’t want anyone to know she wasn’t sleeping. Barely a hair out of place, make up done, clothes ironed, shoes freshly polished. Only her eyes gave her away. None of them really slept much to begin with but Michael was slowly realizing just how much that three-four hours had really meant to him… especially after Isabel had almost fried the car stereo in her mother’s car trying to get a station from the far side of town. “Iz?”

“I’m okay.” She whispered automatically.

“Marry me?” He blurted out.

“What?” Her eyes never lifted from her paper as her pen looped through letter after letter, lifting only to cross ‘t’s and dot ‘i’s, a short line remaining between words. She was barely conscious of Michael sitting next to her.

“Marry me.”

“What?” Her head snapped up, her ponytail nearly whacking him in the face, her eyes darting around the room rapidly though no one noticed. “Did I fall asleep? Is this a dream?”

“Never mind.” He shook his head and turned his attention back to the teacher.

“Michael?” She hissed at his profile but his eyes were far away, not on his pen or his paper or even on his shoes. His hand squeezed her shoulder in acknowledgement but he didn’t turn back toward her. “Michael.”

He could feel her fingers intertwining with his over her shoulder. “Never mind. It can wait.”

It just seems like… everyone’s desperate to be alive and wake and we’re going through the motions and just getting on each other’s nerves.

Students milled around in the fifteen minutes before school started. Huge groups blocked corridors and minded their own business. Nobody had time for the foursome leaning on the lockers outside their homeroom. Ava’s blue eyes were trained on Max and Liz. Their eyes met, their hands reached automatically for each other, intertwining like fine lace, eyes lowered but still on each other. Ava turned back to her locker and started banging things around because Zan was standing right beside her but he wasn’t touching her or looking at her or probably even thinking about her. His eyes were on everyone else, watching this person and that crowd and checking that door and this teacher. She was about to turn and stomp on his foot or kick his shin when she felt the backs of his fingers running over the two inches of exposed skin at her hip and waist, but his eyes were still scanning the crowds for potential enemies. Still, he was reaching to make sure she was there. “I’s here.”

“Kinda.” She snorted and shrugged off her hateful feelings toward him, her anger dead for a second.

“I’s here.” He repeated, his eyes swinging to meet hers. “Right here.”

“Right.” Her head shook and her blonde hair fell in her face.

“I’s here. Tryin’ to be better for you.”

“Sometimes I think you was better for me when you was no good for anyone else.”

“What?” He blinked at her. Staring at her hard but she went back to organizing her schoolbooks with Tess’s locker organizer. “You want me to be rapin’ and beatin’ and goin’ on hunts with Nicky’s crew?”

“I want Zan back cause this guy right here… is just treadin’ water. Standin’ still. Doin’ nothin’ but standin’ guard. My Zan would’ve hunted Lannie down by now and been kickin’ some ass.”

“I don’t wanna go back down that road.” Zan shook his head.

“Then do somethin’ instead of moochin’ off everyone that’ll let you. Least before we came here you was workin’ for our food, stealin’ at least is doin’ somethin’. At least I try. Goin’ to school, pretendin’ to be Tess. I’m learnin’ stuff. I could go to college and Liz’s dad give me a job so I can pay my way if Tess’s shit falls through. I could be somethin’ if you’d let me.”

“And who says I don’t want you to?”

“Well, you always say people in school just too stupid to do somethin’ real. I like it and Tess had some good grades. All’s I gotta do is catch up and keep up and the teachers don’t say nothin’. I can go to a good college… or do you want me the way I was on Antar? Dumb as a post and lickin’ your hand like a good bitch.”

“I ain’t never said-”

“You ain’t never said nothin’… not to me one way or another. God, Zan. I love you to pieces but I gotta do somethin’ that’s not screwin’ you for the rest of my life.” She stormed off and through the classroom door just before a mob of people got there. Zan just stood there until the halls cleared, the bell rang and librarian made her rounds to catch the strays. He followed her to the library when she motioned to him and she gave him a stack of books to take with him so long as he brought them back by the end of the school year. He nodded and listened to what she had to say, the whole time… with glistening eyes and his mind on his little blonde.

We can’t even hang out all as a group or risk killing each other with some stupid argument.

Alex shucked his jacket and tossed it over Maria and Freddy, who were making out at the other end of their table. “Geez. Some people have to eat.”

“Like you and Debra were doing?” Liz tossed a chip at him. “Saturday?”

“Oh my god… people saw us?” Debra blushed and looked away.

“I didn’t… but… Max saw.” Liz shook her head at the girl. “He only told me.” She smiled up at him when he joined their table. Their hands found each other’s under the table. He took the seat behind her and leaned in. She turned to him. “Did you just sniff my hair?”

“I… like your shampoo.” He blushed when Debra looked at him strangely. “You… mind your own business. I heard about your programming fetish.”

“It’s not a fetish… it was just… an attraction point.” Debra defended herself and shoved a fry into Alex’s mouth before her boyfriend could say anything to refute her statement.

Max let Alex and Debra dominate the conversation. He stroked Liz’s hair back off her shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “I’m a little sore though…”

“From the other night?”

“What?”

“What are you talking about?” Max shook his head at her.

“How sore I am from kicking the punching bag’s ass region.”

“Oh.” Max nodded and turned to his lunch.

“What were you talking about?” Liz turned to face him.

“I… was… just…” He lowered his voice even further. “Thinking about the other day in my room.” The way her skin flushed made him smile. “Yeah, that.”

“I… liked being with you like that.”

“Yeah?” she nodded and ducked her head against his shoulder. “Want a… milder repeat?”

“Define milder?”

“Just enough that we won’t get suspended if caught under the bleachers?”

Liz shoved him off his seat and turned to her lunch, ignoring the stares from their lunch mates. “Did anyone do the extra credit?”

--

Zan poured the water and set the cups where he'd been taught. In ten minutes he could pour the tea. She got one sandwich, he got two. He opened a book and read aloud, his voice stumbling on the occasional unfamiliar word.

"You have a strong voice, Zan. The kind leaders use to guide their people."

"I'm just a guy. No one special." He shook his head to the book, reading ahead just to familiarize himself with the words.

"That's a lie if I ever heard one. Puts a whole other spin on Caesar's prophecy. A man born of no woman." Mrs. Montgomery shook her head and set napkins out for them both.

"But he was."

"He was but not in the conventional manner. Cut from her belly but you were carried outside a woman altogether."

"I done bad things."

"We've all done bad things, Zan."

"Bet your husband never done nothing bad."

"He had his share. Killing in the name of war. Whoring overseas." Mrs. Montgomery poured the tea with steady hands and added sugar to their cups. "Good people do bad things all the time. That president we had cheated on his wife in front of the whole country."

"I hurt people."

"Everyone hurts people. Pick up that book and keep reading. I'll bet that girl of yours is always trying to beat into your head how much she loves you."

"Sometimes."

"She's a nice girl. I like her. Do right by her, Zan. Get your GED, go to college or get a good job and ask her to marry you. In the proper manner of things."

"Yes, ma'am."

Even writing seems to do me little good anymore. My journal entries bleed one into another. If this isn’t over with soon, I’m going to have my first breakdown before I even graduate high school.

“I have three questions.” Liz blurted out as group let out.

Dr. Dave turned but didn’t stop stacking the chairs. “It can’t wait until your private session tomorrow?”

“No… well, probably but… they’re not even like… questions… well, one is more like a suggestion.” She glanced at the door but her escort hadn’t arrived yet. “It um… could be a little embarrassing… and I didn’t want to ask in front of the group.”

“Liz, if you say something… embarrassing in front of me, could you come back to meetings?”

“I guess so… but you would know why and it would be okay.”

“I’m sensing you want to ask me a sensitive question. Is this a question you’d be more comfortable asking a woman?”

“Not really and I’m not sure a woman could answer it the way a man could and before you ask, NO, I cannot ask my father.”

“So… three questions.” Dr. Dave took a seat on the coffee table.

“First, this is the suggestion.” Liz clarified as she pulled the coffeepot from the percolator. “Stop making coffee. You don’t know how and obviously where you work when you’re not here, someone else does it for you. If you want, I can bring some from the Crashdown for group.”

“I’ll take your suggestion under serious consideration. One down, two to go.”

“Second, I was um… wondering how… you got into this.”

“I went to school to do this. I knew someone… I didn’t know how to reach.”

“That wasn’t too personal a question, was it?”

“No, I tell everyone who asks. Was that the third question or was that a fourth one that crept up on you.”

“The latter. My third question is or could be considered extremely personal but it’s more of a wondering type of thing. Um…”

“Liz?” Max called into the room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“We were just finishing up.” Liz nodded to him and turned to the counselor. “Thanks, Dr. Dave. I can finish up this stuff tomorrow.”

“Alright then.” Dr. Dave rose and crossed the room to offer his hand to Max. “You must be the boyfriend. Most of the group is convinced that you’re some kind of ah… angel.”

“I’m just a guy.” Max shrugged and smiled down at his girlfriend. “in love.”

“See you tomorrow, Liz.”

“Night, Dr. Dave.”

It’s all just madness anyway. Looking over our shoulders for spooks who may or may not actually be there.

Dr. White clapped his hands together and the group stood. “This is… well, it’s going to sound cheesy but let’s try it because studies show it works. Read the wall behind me and if the God bits bug you, we can adjust for that but let’s join hands.”

Liz took a breath and took Dr. Dave’s hand on her left and Olivia’s hand on her right and offered the woman a small smile as she did so. “God grant me the serenity, to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”

“Very good but there’s more to it.” Dr. Dave gestured to the wall behind him. “Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen.”

“What’s the trick?” Someone asked.

“To believe it when you say it.” Liz answered for the counselor, her eyes running over the words again.

“Well, there’s some truth in that. To let it calm, to give you strength. To help you get through the days that seem impossible.” Dr. Dave dropped the hands he had in his and checked the time. “And let it carry you safely home. That’s good for today. I’ll see you all next week.”

Liz gathered her jacket and helped to stack chairs until Dr. Dave was ready to begin her private session. He always seemed to need a few minutes to shift into a more personal zone after group. While he poured out the coffee, he tilted his head at her. “Can I ask you a question Miss Liz?”

“Ok.” She nodded as she gathered trash to toss in the wastebasket.

“Why did it take you so long for you to look for help?”

“I…” Liz lowered her eyes and sank into a chair. Soon he would pull the other chair up to hers so they could chat. “I thought I could deal with it on my own and I told myself that I was doing a good job of it. I had other focuses. I was on painkillers but I couldn’t feel anything. I didn’t eat because I didn’t feel hungry. I just… did not feel. So I weaned myself after I was absolutely certain that any pain I felt wouldn’t lead to embarrassing conversations. The really bad nightmares were in the first few weeks so I didn’t sleep. I would fake it so my parents wouldn’t worry. I would think I could feel his breath on my neck or his hand on my leg.”

“How did the nightmares go away?” She could see his knees when he sat down, then his hands when he leaned on his knees.

“I started interacting with my friends again and enjoying it. When I seemed to take a backslide, my parents talked to Sheriff Valenti. He recommended this group to me. It’s… really helped.”

“Do we really?”

“Yeah. You do.” She lifted her eyes finally. “I’m glad I came. After coming here… I started to really heal. To hug people again. To tolerate and then enjoy the company of people who were not in my immediate social circle again. I’m comfortable in my own skin… well, maybe not as well as before but better than I was.”

“You look like you have a question. Is this the infamous personal question?”

“I don’t know if it’s really a question or if I’m just looking for an opinion. Before this happened, I would have considered myself a pretty open person. I dated boys. I wasn’t terribly shy. I’ve had one sexual partner before. It’s not a mystery or anything but… after… it happened… like you were saying two weeks ago…. I’m afraid I’m holding myself back. I want to be ready… At the very least I don’t want to confuse my boyfriend.”

“Miss Liz. A word of advice. All you have to do is talk to him. Tell him what you tell the group or invite him to listen one day when you feel you would like to share. As long as you tell him exactly what’s going to happen and what the limits are, he will be more than willing to comply… provided that he’s got a pulse, most young men are the same.”

“He’s… definitely got one of those, but you don’t think it’s frustrating?”

“I’m sure it is… for both of you but this type of thing usually works itself out. You’re a young woman with many years of lovemaking ahead of her.”

“So, it’s perfectly okay to feel like I want to rip his clothes off and not act on it.”

“That. Is called restraint, Miss Liz.”

“Huh?”

“If everyone acted on every impulse they had… it would be a far more dangerous world and I’d be a little afraid to go out in the morning. Nothing would get done. The world would be in chaos. We’d all be in bed with our significant others all day, tearing their clothes off and feeling really, really good about it.”

“Is there a Mrs. Dr. Dave?”

“Not at the moment.” He shook his head and got to his feet. “I think your knight in shining armor is waiting.”

My nme s Lz Pake and i an so lird.

The night was so quiet. Zan was outside standing guard instead of inside and for some reason that didn’t make Ava feel any better. She just stared at his outline in the window. He hadn’t spoken to her in two days.

"Ava?" Liz asked softly. "Are you awake?"

"Am I stupid?" she winced at the sound of her own voice. When had she gotten so mean?

"No."

Sighing, she checked her tone. "Then no, I ain't sleepin'."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Does Zan have… all his pieces… you know… below the belt?"

Huh? "Like his nuts?"

"I mean a little north of that."

Ava rolled over to look at her bedmate. "How do you mean?"

"I mean… is his… soldier a winter or summer kind of man?"

"Oh… well, yeah. Zan's proud of his little man. So, you saw Max's little man?"

"It's just that… I saw Kelen's and I made sure I didn't see Rath's. I guess in my head all penises look the same and… Max's didn't. I think I freaked him out a little."

“You lookin’ for a way to apologize for that? Come here. I’ll tell you what to do.”

--

Isabel punched her pillow and then rolled over and punched Max. He just stared at her. “Ow.”

“I’m sleepy.” She bit out at him.

“So am I. What are you hitting me for?” He yanked the sheet from under her.

“Because you look comfortable.”

“I didn’t invite you in here. You commandeered my bed.” He pinched her arm.

“Ow.” She pinched him back.

“Don’t make me kick you.” Max nudged her leg with his foot.

“Please, what would you be doing if I wasn’t here? Laying in bed, staring at the ceiling, thinking about Liz… whacking off.”

“Hey!”

“Oh shut up. I mean really…” Isabel’s fire died quickly. “Why do they touch us so deep?”

“What happened?” Max relented and pulled the blankets up to his chin.

“Michael asked me to marry him in econ yesterday. Just… blurted it out.”

“Are you sure? Maybe you fell asleep.” He managed a laugh but then saw she was completely serious. “Just… blurted it out.”

“I thought I had fallen asleep but he changed the subject and acted like nothing happened.”

“Maybe he fell asleep. You know, sometimes he talks in his sleep.”

“I know that but… he’s just… we were in econ, for goodness sake’s. Mrs. Alterberry was talking about supply and demand and he says. ‘Marry me.’ Like it was the most natural thing in the world.”

Max snorted and shrugged his shoulders. “This is Michael we’re talking about. To him… Econ might be the rightest time ever to propose.”

“Do you think that’s what it was? The right time for him? I mean… did he mean it or was he just so delirious like the rest of us?”

“Did you ask him?”

“All he said was that it could wait.”

“You know… he’s been tortured over you for months now. Maybe he finally figured it out. Maybe he finally knows that he loves you.”

“A-hem.”

The two teens turned their heads to the door. Their father looked tired and annoyed. “Have you any idea what time it is? I heard voices and I went to check on my daughter and she wasn’t in bed… So, someone want to fill in Dad? I’ll just assume that Zan is out catting around but why aren’t you two asleep?”

“Isabel had a nightmare. She woke me up because she’s so considerate.” Max blurted out.

“The next time… try to keep the noise down. Get some sleep. School tomorrow.” Phillip covered his yawn with a hand and held the door open for Isabel, who crawled over Max, kneeing him in the stomach on her way out. “Be nice to your brother. He’s far more tolerant of your whims than I am.”

lheyre oul lhre, jusl wailng for us lo slp ip.

Agent Stevens spoke softly into the microphone. “Lannie, how are you feeling?”

“Like shit.” She gagged and puked into the bucket next to the bed. “You guys missed something. There’s a piece. Inside me.”

Stevens looked to Pierce who shook his head. “We don’t think so. You’ve been x-rayed and there is nothing inside you that shouldn’t be.”

“I feel wrong!” She shouted at the camera and the bucket of puke flew at the mirror, obscuring their view of her.

“She’s put us off.” Pierce nodded to himself with a small smile. “But it’s coming soon. They are delirious and barely comprehensible to themselves.”

“She hasn’t been sleeping either.” Stevens noted. “I’d guess it has more to do with her vomiting than anything wrong with her. Could it be her diet? Something she would normally ingest on the outside?”

“It’s beginning to wear on her. The lack of sleep. Checking on them every hour or so. I think guilt is beginning to eat at her.” Topolsky barely looked up from her reports.

“Do you really think this creature feels guilt?” Pierce whirled on the blonde. “Look at her. She’s conniving. Everything she’s doing is on an agenda. She’s plotting revenge. And once she tears them down, we’ll scoop them up. That is the plan. Quit thinking of them as human. They are not human beings. We need to know why they’re here and what they were trying to do and what in the hell is going on… on MY Planet!”

Somlmes I lhnk I canl kep my eys opm any loger. One nighl wonl kill me.

tbc

Max drew Liz up close against him so he could taste the skin over her collarbone. More than once he had threatened to stop because she got too noisy. What class were they missing? Was it a core class? Huh? He pulled away. “You wear too many shirts.”

“You talk too much.” She shot back, capturing his lips in a searing kiss.

“We might be more comfortable sitting down.” He moved them toward a clearer space in the cramped room.

Shaking her head, she pulled him back against the wall. “We’re not having sex in the eraser room.”

“Ever or just today?”

“If you don’t let it drop, you won’t be having sex with me ever.” Her head tilted back as he wandered down her neck. The bell rang but Max only glanced at his watch. “What class period?”

“Um… school’s out.”

--

Zan took a deep breath and let sleep claim him. He knew what would happen. His reflection stared back at him. Blood streamed down his chest… actual blood… but Skins didn’t bleed. Was it his blood? She had only grabbed onto him for a second when Rath led her through the room. Why was she bleeding? Did someone slip him something?

“Zan, baby, what’s wrong?” His 'date' tugged him back into the room, and onto the bed. Why were there blood smears? He tasted it when he kissed her. Acidic and in his mouth, surrounding his tongue and creeping down his throat. He couldn't see the blood on her, couldn't smell it but at the same time, she reeked of it. Cries filled his ears from Rath's room but he couldn’t tell what kind they were. Had he ever been able to tell the difference? Why was his brain so fuzzy?

Things got quiet and the brunette went away. So quiet. He picked up a magazine, waiting for her to come back. He flipped but he hardly knew most of the words they used. Interesting pictures sometimes. It was all hazy, like mist had crept inside somehow when he rose to find her. Nicholas shrugged him off, he was busy organizing the harvest. Just a few more days.

"Why'd you go and remember this for?" Lannie asked, by his side like she should have been that night.

"Where were you?" Zan asked but didn't wait for the answer as he made his way through the halls to Rath's room. "You wasn't in there."

"What? You want me to watch him screw someone else."

"You done it before… and that's not what he's doing in there."

"You gonna blame me for what you gonna find in there? Seriously."

"Why didn't he do that to her?"

"Who? Maxie's girl? 'cause. Nicky said to do her, not kill her."

"Rath just do what Nicky says? Just like that. His allegiances change?" He couldn't open that door, not again. "I'm the man."

"Yeah, you the frickin' man, Zan. Zan da man. Couldn't keep him from killin' one stupid human girl. Gets all teary eyed and remorseful and likes to blow shit up."

"It wasn't one. It was three." The words came out through his clenched teeth. "Three girls who shouldn'ta been there to begin wit."

"So he kilt your girl. You was done wit her anyway." She lay her head on his shoulder. "You didn't even want her to begin wit. You was just playin', same as Rath. She was sick for a human and you know it. Liked to hurt."

"Skins don't die. Those girls weren't Skins. They was human and they died." Zan felt tears of remorse creep into his eyes. "Mine…she was human? I thought she was a Skin."

"We shoulda just kilt that doe-eyed bitch. It's all over her, ain't it. What is with you and them Nancies?" Lannie shoved him away and his dream self walked into that room and ran away to puke out his guts in the steaming desert night. Zan followed afterward, not needing to go back into that room to see what Rath had done, and watched himself, Lannie strolling behind him. "You can't even see the big picture. I wanna go home."

"Ain't no home to go back to. I teamed up with Nicky. I handed it over to Kivar. Antar is his. If I go back now, I'm a dead man." Why had he done it? What had he done?

"I wanna go back."

"Then you go back in time and tell Dad to give you the seal instead so that when it all goes down it'll be your fault and you can get reincarnated in a sewer and go back to your man with tainted genes."

"Who was you to speak for me?" She made him look at her.

"Your king." Zan turned his head to watch himself stagger in the dust and get up to keep walking. At the end of the strip he turned back to Skin-town as he had called it. Shame and guilt raced through his veins as he gripped the pole at the end of the block. His energy flowing into the pole and along the lines and into the storehouse. The explosion lit up the sky. Skin flakes soared through the air before fluttering to the ground. He turned and walked away, hoping the fire would take care of his problem for him. He had to go see someone about a girl.

"Why'd you have to go and do that for? Nicky had another body waitin'." Lannie watched the sky light up with fire as the hotel they had slept in went up, Skins staggering to doors, Nicholas cursing and screaming as all his plans went up in smoke. Lannie watched herself throw herself out a window, her arm on fire.

"I know."

"You didn't."

"I was stupid, not blind!" He whirled on her, the dream fading around them. History becoming just a memory once more. "I saw his new suit. You only needed me to activate that damned thing… the Granilith, fucking old relic. Nicky would have killed me then climbed inside the Granolith wearin' himself a brand new human-Zan suit. Posin' as me, being Kivar's butt monkey in front of all of Antar. Maybe things ain't all great up there but hell! At least no one would be lookin' at me in my face and shakin' they heads thinkin' I'm in league with that pile of steamin' shit. I'd rather they think I's dead… rather be dead than to have them think I chose NOT to save them."

"What do you think you're doin' by handin' it over in the first place?"

"Ensurin' I can go back and save them myself… when I'm older… stronger… more able." Had that been it? Had he had a plan the whole time? Or was he just making it up as he went?

"Or maybe 'til you can convince Max to go and do it for you." Her eyes flashed. "He ain't gon do that if his girl's dead."

"Be careful, my sister. I might have stopped playin' for the dark side but that don't mean I forgot all the old tricks."

"What are you gonna do, brother? Talk me to death?" She backed away, fading into the black. "You love me too much. You couldn't kill me before, you can't kill me now. You went and traded in your leather for silk. Wearin' white just to smudge it all up but it ain't gonna go black just cause you say boo."

"I'll find you."

"Bro… I don't even know where I am… but I know where you are."

"I'll be waitin'… wit open arms."

Her voice sounded all around his head even though he could barely feel her anymore. "Oh know this… you won't see me comin'."

"You and what army? Who would be stupid enough to help you?"

"You'd be surprised who'd help a Princess, Zan. Don't forget to wake up."

Zan sat up, chest heaving, anger surging through his body. "Don't forget to wake up?" What in the hell was that supposed to mean?

--

Liz tried to focus on their objective but she kept thinking about the ride over and how Max had to pull over because of what she'd done. It was dangerous and clearly she hadn't thought it out but she got her point across and Max had forgiven her and promised to forgive her more later. Dr. Dave waved his hand in front of her face. "Prime example. If you zone out and forget your surroundings, a predator could pick up on it and take you to the ground before you knew what hit you. If Miss Liz would come up and be my volunteer so we could break her out of her day dreams for an hour or so…"

--

"Go home. I don't want you droolin' in here and makin' me slip." Ava smacked Max with her order pad.

"What?" he blinked. How long had she been standing there?

She rolled her eyes at him. "Okay. Fine. What's with you? You ain't go to classes today and now you's off someplace in your head." She crossed her arms. "Liz ain't in class either…"

"Sh." Max warned her, eyes searching for Mr. Parker. "We lost track of time." He fiddled with a menu, unable to hide the flush that had taken over his face. "Hey Ava?"

"S'up?" She muttered as she glanced around at her tables. No one needed anything but if Mr. Parker saw her sitting, he'd fire her. At least, that's what she figured. He had never threatened Maria with that but then… Maria was practically an Honorary Parker from the cradle.

"Liz talks to you, right?"

"Yeah, and?"

"It's just… she did this thing in the car and… I know I'm just being possessive and unreasonable but I was wondering if she told you things she did… you know… with other guys." When he chanced a glance at her, she had her arms crossed, smirking at him. "What?"

"I taught her that. So… go home and have your lesbian fantasies there. I gotta work and you mopin' around here is just gonna bother me. And find Zan for me will you? He said he'd pick up Liz today and I ain't seen him since before school." She whacked him with the menu.

--

Topolsky did exactly as she was told. She waited. The alien hadn't moved all day, probably weak from two days of vomiting up everything she ate. Then the camera light went off and the second afterward, the blonde was out of bed and climbing into the ceiling through the tiles. Pierce had never once considered she'd go into the roof. She did what she had to. She turned on the tracking device and sent a signal to Pierce, wherever he hid during the evenings. Agent Stevens burst into the room a moment later. "Where'd she go? The guards never saw her pass."

"She's taking an alternate route. That light stays off for fifteen minutes."

"Don't turn on the alarms so much as a second early." Stevens warned and shot out the door again. He didn't bother with the guards, he had his tasks to perform. Pierce had been ready and waiting on this for days. It was time to mobilize.

--

Zan rinsed the dishes out and took out the garbage. Helen was napping, so he left a note that he'd be by the next day for more of the same. Etiquette, grammar, oration and moral guidance. Leaving his books in her study, he made his way to the Evans' but he didn't want to go inside. He could smell dinner cooking in the kitchen and it didn't smell half bad for once. Mrs. Evans always set him a place and she always asked questions and wanted to know how things were coming along for him. Max and Isabel tried to help but they couldn't make excuses for him… and they shouldn't have to because he should be taking care of himself already if Max was supposed to almost 19. Mr. Evans hinted that maybe it was time to take on some responsibility. He couldn't go back into that house. Ava would forgive him for disappearing for a while. She hated his guts anyway.

--

Topolsky shook her heat at Agent Stevens, her eyes on her tracker. He rolled his eyes. He gave the motion to head into town. He couldn't believe their brilliant plan was to drive the alien into Roswell themselves. She was hiding in the undercarriage. She thought they were searching for her. They were just helping her to find her brother faster so they could bring them both in with some measure of certainty that he wouldn't cause too many problems.

--

--

Michael nodded to Max when the other teen entered the living room. "Where's Liz? I thought she was attached to your hip."

"She's got to make herself powerful. She's got another hour. Zan's on duty." Max shrugged. Was it horrible that he was jealous of her self-defense instructor? So what if he wasn't supposed to know that Liz had the odd daydream about him, he still knew and he still got jealous.

"So you left Ava by herself. He's not going to be too happy with you." Isabel shook her head but turned her against back to the TV.

"Zan's not the boss of me. Anyway… maybe nothing's going to happen." Max sank into a chair and sniffed the air. "Mom's cooking?"

"We ate. It's a Martha Stewart night." Isabel waved him off. "Don't say nothing's going to happen Max. It's a matter of time before she stops visiting our dreams and starts visiting us for real."

"We should run for it. Get out of town before people start catching on. We've been damn lucky all this time." Michael groaned when he noted that both Evans had tuned him out. "Fine. Get killed. See if I care."

"Michael? Honey? Are you staying for dinner?" Mrs. Evans' voice called into the room.

"No thanks, Mrs. Evans. My experiments in cooking are better than they were." He lied but he had made the mistake of eating over on tofu night. Never again. He could not risk the damage to his taste buds or his digestive system.

"I told you that boys could cook too. You just needed the right cookbook."

All three teens shuddered at the same time. Max made a face. "I knew I should have stayed but Ava ran me off."

--

Zan saw her sneaking down the alley behind the Harding house. The sinking feeling in the pit of his gut for the last few weeks was finally justified. Sneaking out the window to keep an eye on her progress, he grabbed the power line with a shingle and let it swing down to catch her in the middle of her back. Immediately she went down, he watched Lannie fall to her knees in pain. She kept grabbing the back of her head even after the power line fell harmlessly against the woodshed. "Where you been?"

"Come on, Zan. That wasn't fair. You snuck up on me." She hissed, unable to move much as he descended from the roof and into the alley.

"Like you was doin' to me?" He knelt to see what she was so intent on accomplishing by slapping the back of her neck. Then he saw the scar running through her tattoo. "You stupid bitch. You let them put a tracker in you?"

"Come on, Zan. It's hurtin' mad. You gotta stop it so I can tell you what's been goin' on. And let isn't a word I'd use… come on."

"Tell me what? You been hidin' out wit the law for four months? Partyin', spillin' our secrets?" Zan gripped the back of her neck, killing the implant and knocking out her motor control. "You think I liked what I had to do? You gave me no choice."

"You shoulda snapped my neck like you did that Ava-wannabe."

"Don’t tempt me." Zan rose to his feet, pulling her with him by the nape of her neck. She hung from his hand like a rag doll. He turned her so she could see his eyes. "I snapped her neck because I didn't know her. She was just extra and she's a whole lot sneakier than you. How far back did you leave those assholes?"

"Far enough. Come on, Zan."

"You tell me to watch my back. That I can't forget to wake up. What in the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I never said that."

"You did."

"Last thing I said was I know where you are. Proved that."

"You said… 'know this… you won't see me comin.''"

"No, I didn't."

"I says… you and what army and you said 'you'd be surprised who'd help a princess… don't forget to wake up.'"

"I ain't said it."

"Then who the hell else is playin' wit us? How far you get in that thing before it crashed?"

"I don't know. I hit the ground. Boom. Then next thing I know, I's wakin' up in a lab with tubes comin' outta me all over. Government. FBI or some special unit. I only seen nurses, doctors and soldiers. I never saw no one in a suit but they always talkin' at me, hidin' behind mirrors."

"Did the Granilith have a beacon?"

"How the hell should I know? You're supposed to know all about that thing. Alls I know is they's givin' me drugs to slow me down. To keep me from usin' my powers on them and then I started breakin' them down in my food, gettin' my strength up and I bolted. They says they gon fry my brain wit a button but I disconnected the button and I got out. Come on. Fix me. We'll run together like old times…. You just gotta take this piece out of me."

"What piece?"

"Of the Granilith. It's killin' me and I's too weak now. Been spittin' up ev'rythin' they give me so I can cut loose."

"Ain't somethin' I can just cut you open and take out. You're a fuckin' beacon now, you whore. Kivar knows ev'ry fuckin' thing now. You been dreamwalkin' us with that brain of yours transmittin' every last bit to the man out there. He knows your ev'ry thought and he'll kill us all just to be done wit it. When's he comin'?"

"I don't know. I ain't even know it been four months since I seen you."

"You been dyin'… how long?"

"I got real sick when I woke up. Then, after I told them what I could do, they took me off the drugs and I got real better real fast and just the last few days… I been feelin' it. Had to stop eatin' had to get ev'rythin' out. I told you."

"They're close, you bitch. I'm leavin' you for the feds. I ain't facin' no aliens on top of the mess you made. You better hope to whatever God our people put our faith in that those fuckin' traitors to my throne don't show up… or I will be back to kill you for that mess."

"The mess you made… you should've just handed it over to Kivar in the first place." She spat at him and he dropped her on the ground. "Fuckin' Zan!" But all she heard was footsteps.

--

Topolsky blinked. "It's gone. The signal's gone."

"It can't be gone."

"Then you explain this." She shoved the tracker into his hands. "She was 100 yards ahead of us. We can't just lose her now." She started to panic. Her career in the SU wasn't doing so well to begin with. Agent Pierce was just looking for a reason to hang her. "You don't think she figured out how to short it, do you?"

"It's hardwired to her cerebellum. She's not going to short it." Stevens bit out at her. "Plain clothes! Look for her. Take her down, with or without the other ones." He sipped his coffee before tossing it to the street. "I always hated this plan. We get her back, I'll cut her open myself."

"They've got a stronghold in this neighborhood." Topolsky told him, studying the map of the area.

"They haven't been to that house since we tipped off the authorities to the owner's disappearance." He tossed his napkin to the ground. "That lawyer is going to fuck that all up."

"What lawyer?"

"The Evans patriarch, Agent Topolsky. He's vouching for the girl. Getting her affairs in order and screwing us up. If he puts her someplace else the day we said Ed Harding disappears, we can't pick her up without alerting the schools and the Sheriff's office and that damned sheriff is a real nuisance. Six months ago he'd call me if someone saw a shadow that looked like an alien. He hasn't called me but once since this all started. He knows something and I'm going to get my hands on that sample he 'lost'."

"What sample?"

"Gun shot victim but there's no body and no bullet hole. Didn't even find the shell. I thought he was cracking finally but then… we got these aliens running around under our noses." Stevens stared around the neighborhood. "Let's go to the house and find that bitch."

Topolsky took a team of men with her to the Harding residence. All the doors were locked and the power had been cut. One of the men raced back from the neighbor's pointing to the alley. "What? Report!"

"She said she heard arguing and she thinks they might have gone because she hasn't heard anything in twenty minutes. In the alley." He pointed and she followed, gun drawn. There she was, laying in the middle of the alley, not moving.

"Lannie." Topolsky knelt, her gun ready to shoot the girl.

"'Ey… I know your voice. You one of the suits." Lannie pursed her lips. "My brother's mad. He didn't like the plan…"

"Why are you laying in the alley, Lannie?"

"He got mad and he took away my legs and my arms and my neck. Alls I got is my face… which I'm fairly certain is a point he was tryin' to make. He's tryin' to do good by me and I'm not always as smart as I should be."

"Load her up. Get her back to base." Topolsky holstered her gun. "Shoot her up before you get the stretcher. She's a natural born liar. Call Agent Stevens. Tell him we need Agent Pierce here, now!"

"What are we supposed to do?"

"Wait for orders!" She screamed at him and made her way back to the van. "Pierce is going to have all our heads."

--

Max picked up on the second ring, eager to get away from the table. "Evans Residence."

"Max… Lannie got out."

"Out of where?"

"I don't know." Zan breathed into the phone. "Government like we thought. Probably same people harassin' Liz. Look. I'm gonna pull the heat out of town so get Ava to go get Liz. I don't want anyone alone. Where's Michael and Isabel?"

"They're here. Do you need help?"

"I got this. You just call Ava."

--

Liz grabbed her stuff and waited until Dr. Dave gave her his attention. "I'm sorry about spacing earlier. It's been a long day so far and I haven't seen the end yet. I got finals…"

"And your boyfriend and bad dreams and no sleep." He nodded to her and checked his beeper when it went off but just slipped it back into his pocket. "I understand, Liz but that's where you lose your power. You start thinking while you should be checking the shadows and you practically say 'Here I am. Take me away. Do what you will.' You can't let that happen. You have to be aware."

"I know." Liz nodded to herself.

"You're a strong girl and you need to know that." Dr. Dave gathered his things and guided her to the door. "No escort tonight?"

"I guess not." She scanned the street for her friends but she didn't see Ava or Zan or Max's Jeep. "I guess they got busy. I can't be dependent on them forever." She pulled out her cell phone to check for messages. There were none but her bars looked funny… like non-existent. "Dr. Dave, can I use your phone? I think mine broke."

"Sure. Come on. It's in my car. This way." He gestured with his briefcase. "It's only natural to keep your support system going long after it's useful. In your case, I don't wonder about it. I spoke to Sheriff Valenti and he said they never caught who did it."

"I'm fairly confident that they're not coming back for me."

"Made quite a ruckus in the papers."

"Not locally it didn't. Sheriff Valenti is a friend of the family and he tried to keep it low key for our sakes. In a small town it's bad enough to be gossiped about but when there are newspapers involved…" She shrugged and waited as he unlocked his car door. "It was hard just being me before. Now… it's like the magnifying glass is four times the power it was before."

"Power is a funny thing, Miss Liz. It's ever changing and never stopping." He handed her the phone and watched as she fiddled with it for a minute. "What's wrong?"

"I think the same thing is wrong with your phone. It's not coming on and there are no um… power bars."

"I was talking about human power… not electronics… which I'm afraid are dependent on power companies run by humans." He shook his head and took the phone back but it didn't work no matter what he did. "This explains my beeper blowing up during class. Hop in. I'll give you a ride."

"Thanks. I appreciate it." She moved around to the passenger side of the car, waiting while he unlocked that door. "My dad still freaks out a little when I'm out by myself, forget after dark." She sat when he held open the door, setting her bag on the floor. "He's going to throw a fit if he's been trying to call my cell and it's not picking up… which wouldn't surprise me with the way today is going."

"Where's the knight in shiny white armor? I didn't think he'd let you out of his sight."

"He had to go home because he was at my house all weekend. His father is rooting for him I think but his mother is still holding on with a death grip and I don't know what's going to happen when we graduate. I mean, really. He's 19 and so ready to get out of the house." Liz stared up at Dr. Dave. "I mean… I don't know if he'll move out or stay home but she's smothering to him sometimes."

"Everyone's got a parent who stifles. It's the law of man." Dr. Dave shut the door and jogged around to the driver's side so he could get it started. The engine sputtered on the first go but started on the second. "I hope you don't mind but I'm not as well paid as I'd like to be. I've got to let the engine warm up a little before we get going." He pulled his briefcase onto his lap and rifled through the side pockets. "Your spaced out attitude today didn't have anything to do with your knight did it?"

"We're progressing and it feels right."

"So, you don't care that your boyfriend is an alien?"

Liz turned to Dr. Dave and just blinked at him. Before she could come up with a question or a lie, his hand covered her mouth and a sweet sickly smell entered her mouth and nostrils. She struggled, using everything she could against him but he was cutting off her air supply. His car was too small and she didn't have enough room to fend him off properly.

"You are a strong girl, Miss Parker, but we always have ways of getting around that." He whispered as her attempts to free herself weakened. Liz tried with all her might but she couldn't not inhale the fumes and she couldn't seem to keep her eyes open. Her last coherent thought was that she didn't recognize his blue eyes at all. Where had her Dr. Dave gone?

tbc

Alright... I do have part 59 and it is complete and been beta'd but I'm not quite ready to let go of it. I am currently working on part 60 but I think that until I am started on part 61, that I won't be sure how much I like these two parts. I am writing pretty furiously on them. It's the perfectionist in me. '-) Hopefully you'll forgive the wait.

DMartinez

Part 59

“Hey Mr. Parker.” Max spoke into the phone. “No, not since school… I dropped her off there after school… I was actually calling to see if Ava wouldn't mind… how long ago? … No, it’s okay… It’s probably nothing but I’ll go look for her. She probably just… right, wanted to exert her independence.”

“Max, honey?” Diane peered over the table at her son, who placed the phone on the cradle and just stared at it for a minute.

“I’ll be back. No one’s seen Liz and her phone’s not picking up.”

“Is everything okay?” Diane and Philip started to rise from the table but Max waved them off.

“Probably.” Bile rose in his throat. "I'm gonna go see if I can track her down. I think we all got our lines crossed and if the grid is down, Liz won't know what's going on or who was supposed to get her home. She might have tried to walk home by herself."

“Surely not.” Diane shook her head. “Jeff wou—“

“If she’s trying to prove a point, she would.” Max shook his head. “That’s probably what it is but… just in case… I’ll be back in a bit.”

--

A sharp whistle rang through Liz's brain as she struggled for consciousness. "That's it, darlin'. Wakey, wakey."

That voice. Liz shot up, pain ringing through her head. It felt like she had cotton for brains. She stumbled away from that voice, falling off a bed and onto the floor.

"Aw… come on, Lizzie, baby. Come help me. I know you got some juice. I'm just askin' to borrow some."

"You bitch! Don't talk to me!" Liz screamed though she couldn't see yet. The light was so bright, she thought it would sear her brain if she opened her eyes.

“We apologize Miss Parker. I may have used too much chloroform but I couldn’t take any chances since you’ve been in prolonged contact with the extraterrestrials. According to Miss Lannie, you’ve probably been exposed to their energy since she believes that for you to be walking and talking today without any adverse affects of the quote-unquote “mind-fuck” that Mr. Zan must have healed you. Is that correct?”

“What?” Liz slumped against the wall. “Dr. Dave? What happened?”

“Again, I apologize. You’ve had a trying day. We meant to let you rest longer but your roommate is anxious and quite frankly, seems to have never been made to wait before.”

“This one sounds kind of sexy.” Lannie tuned her ears to the voice. “He’s new. I never heard him before.”

“How did I know you’d find a kidnapper sexy?” Liz murmured and struggled to open her eyes. The last thing she remembered was getting into Dr. Dave’s car and him saying something about Max being an alien. She knew something but her addled brain was slow putting it together. Max. Alien. Dr. Dave. Passing out? She wanted to cry and curl into a ball and hope someone would save her… but that hadn’t worked out so well the last time. Forcing her eyes open, she saw spots and then a small room equipped with medical equipment for the patient. A very still, very vulnerable Lannie. There was no one else. Rising to her feet slowly, she searched for the speaker and found it over her head, atop the mirror that she knew must obscure their captors from view. She stared into the mirror at her reflection but all she saw were her reddened eyes and her mussed hair. She couldn’t say she could discern any of her own emotions. Hadn’t Michael said her eyes were expressive? Why didn’t they express anything?

“Miss Liz, I know you’re a little confused just now but let me start by stating the things we both know are fact. The woman on the bed behind you is an alien, who was very involved in the very violent kidnapping last October, which left you scarred and scared. Her brother, one teenager named Zan, is also an alien. He has the ability to heal. What you probably don’t know is the same alien can also destroy. An entire town in Arizona was razed by this alien with whom you’ve been in extensive contact.” His voice stopped for a moment to let her absorb the information. “I could turn off the cameras, Liz. Give you a moment with her. I understand you harbor ill will towards her and it’s perfectly understandable after what she’s done and what she neglected to prevent. I could turn off the cameras and let you work it out for yourself. Give you some closure.”

Liz considered it. Really considered it for all of thirty seconds. Instead she raised her eyes to the mirror and spat at it. “Fuck you, Dr. Dave.” Tears stung at her eyes. His voice was no longer calm and inviting. The thought of him no longer held any sort of safety or reassurance. This whole time had just been a ploy and she felt she should have known better. Ultimately, she felt betrayed.

“That wasn’t nice, Miss Liz. I understand that you’re upset but I hardly think you would have come if I had invited you. Do you realize what exactly is lying in that bed? She looks human. She sounds human. She acts human.”

“No she doesn’t. You need a soul for that and she doesn’t have one.” Liz sank into a chair facing away from Lannie and unfortunately faced the mirror.

“Screw you, bitch.” Lannie bit out.

“That’s an alien, Liz. Born on another planet. Given human form to infiltrate our people. To take us over.”

Liz couldn’t help the snort that escaped her and turned her eyes to the mirror once more. “Do you even know what you’re talking about? I’m sure the government pays you a lot of money to research this stuff, Dr. White, but… the sources are limited and I think you’ve only spoken to her and she’s not what you would call reliable.”

“I think that maybe you fancy yourself in love and cannot see your boyfriend for what he is.”

--

Ava looked up when the Jeep screeched into the lot. She raced over to the door. "She's gone already. You think Zan got her?"

"No. Zan took off. He's following the FBI to their headquarters." Max shook his head. "The place is empty."

"Just a janitor. Said everyone cleared out as soon as the meeting was over. Been a while already." She shook her head.

"What do we do? Do we wait?" Max racked his brain but he didn't know what to do. They had to find Liz. They had to contact Zan. They had to figure out why Liz didn’t go home, even if no one had been here to get her. Max fixed his eyes on the janitor who was locking up. “Excuse me. Excuse me…”

“Yeah.” The old man looked up.

“There was a girl here… at the last meeting.” He dug out his wallet and flipped it open to Liz’s picture. “Did you see her?”

“Yeah. Yeah.” He nodded. “Stuck around awhile. Think she was waiting for a ride. That… Dr. White gave her a ride. Nice guy, that doc. Drives a pile of crap though. Took forever for him to warm it up before they left. Think that girl was sick. She was sleeping when he drove away.”

“Sleeping?”

“Slumped over against the door. He was real careful pulling out, seemed not to want to wake her. He’s a nice guy, that Dr. White. Sweet girl. Hate that them girls gotta come to this meeting. Hate to think anyone would hurt them. They headed out that way… toward the highway… guess she lives out in the boondocks… Night.” He snapped the key out of the lock and went on his way.

Max looked at Ava with tears filling his eyes. “He was a nice guy… you think…”

“Let’s call to her house… See if he dropped her off when we was comin’ here.” Ava prodded him, her eyes clouding with tears too.

“He didn’t take her home. Liz wouldn’t just fall asleep in someone’s car. Not now.” Max shook his head. “We’ve got to find out where Zan’s going… If he knows where they took her.”

--

Zan stared at the base. It looked empty except that there were soldiers stationed just inside the doors and men in black suits passed through that front entryway. The bigwigs were probably deep inside. They had taken Lannie back inside on a stretcher. Then a piece of shit car had driven into a docking drive. They had unloaded something from the car and the driver had disappeared right away. He just couldn’t see anything close enough without being seen. This whole base was gonna go up in flames one way or another. He debated just sending the whole place up in smoke from where he stood but… Lannie was his sister and fire wasn’t good enough for her… even in the condition he’d left her in.

--

“I don’t know if I can do this. He’s not asleep.” Isabel shook her head and paced Michael’s living room.

“Try Liz.”

“I did! She’s not sleeping. She’s not dreaming.” She shouted at her brother. “I am trying.”

“Then let one of us help you… maybe you can reach farther.” Max pleaded. “I know you’re scared for Zan and for Liz but… I don’t know if Zan knows they took Liz.”

“How do you know they did?”

“Liz didn’t go home. She didn’t call her dad… not even from a pay phone. You know she would have if she could… even if she was mad at all of us.”

“Isabel.” Ava pulled her attention from Max. “Zan’s gonna burn that place to the ground. It’s what he does. He’s going to raze that place like he did Skintown and if they got Liz, she’s gonna go up with it. If I help you… we could probably get through to him.”

“I can try. I’ve never dreamwalked someone who was awake before.”

--

"This is wrong." Topolsky hissed at Agent Stevens. "You know it and I know it. This is not why I signed on with the bureau."

"You know the rules. We don't leave." Stevens whispered. "If I go… my wife dies. I die. That's what he does. That's how he works. What do you think he's going to do to that little girl? Same as the alien. He'll test her and prod her and if she shows nothing… he'll kill her. Her best chances exist if he's right. If you leave and get yourself killed… who's going to take care of her? Not him."

"You shouldn't have showed him that blood sample."

"And you shouldn't have profiled her… but you did and I did and we're both stuck here, Agent Topolsky. The name of the game is survival now." He pointed to the glance. "It's you or her."

"She profiled right. She was lying." Topolsky protested weakly.

"She didn't lie. Look at her. She knows more than we do. More than he does. If he's wrong about what's going on… What's going to happen? If that alien girl is really the princess of a planet somewhere, who is going to save us when her people come to get her?" He pointed to the girl, who sat huddled in the chair, her forehead against the glass, tracing her own features and mouthing 'I hate Dr. White' over and over. "That little girl knows something big. Get close to her and maybe she'll tell you… she's not going to tell me and she's not going to tell him."

Agent Pierce entered the room, in a suit and tie. He pulled a chair over next to Liz and the agents waited to see what he would say. "Liz, look at me."

She turned deliberately to look at him, her expression bored. "I'm looking."

"You and I have gotten quite close in the last two months. We're friends. I'm sorry I had to lie to you about who I was but I wouldn't have done it if I thought you weren't in danger." He held out his hand to her. "I apologize. Let's start over. My name is Agent Daniel Pierce and I really am here to help you."

"If you really wanted to help me… you wouldn't have chloroformed me and put me in a room with that." Liz ignored his outstretched hand and gestured over her shoulder to Lannie.

"You don't think she's representative of aliens?"

"No. I think she's the exception."

"All right. I know you to be a reasonable woman. I won't try torture tactics because we both know it will get us nowhere. You've already been through enough… but I do need to take some samples."

"Why didn't you take them when I was passed out?"

"What makes you think I didn't?"

"Yeah. I can trust you." She snorted and turned back to the mirror. "You don't think someone is going to come looking for me? My dad is probably flipping out and turning over all of Roswell by now. He'll have the Sheriff on the streets and he'll put out an APB and…"

"Then they'll just figure that the same people took you and when they don't hear from you and there's no demand for a ransom, they'll eventually assume you've been murdered."

"And group? Won't they think it's suspicious when Dr. Dave doesn't show up?"

"Dr. Dave will show to work tomorrow. And he'll show up the day after that and when one of his members fails to show up… he'll think he can't save anyone and he'll quit." He kept his hand extended and gestured for her to take it. "You can help me to help you live your life without extraterrestrial interference. Don't you want to see this scourge gone from our planet?"

"Agent Pierce… what if this was never our planet? What if they're coming back to claim what is theirs?" She arched an eyebrow at him.

"I think you're putting me on. I think if 'they' come to Earth… it's to pick up their little stragglers." He took her hand and yanked her to her feet, spinning her into his arms and making her walk to the bed. "Like this one. She's inhuman, like you say. She has a deep bloodlust. I am curious though. I could just… take her apart but I'd probably just find the same things inside you. Her blood is the only component that carries the alien traits… What will happen if I give her a taste of you?" He wrapped Liz's hand around Lannie's, forcing them to clasp together. "Will this residual alien energy allow her to repair the damages her brother inflicted?"

"Please don't…" Liz sniffed, tears slipping down her face. She wanted to use all the self-defense moves she could remember but she was more than certain Pierce knew more than she did and there were other agents and soldiers with guns probably. She'd never make it out alive.

"I know, Liz. It's upsetting. Your flesh touching hers." He whispered in her ear, using his other hand to press their bodies closer together. "But… either you touch her… or I touch you."

"Fucking bastard." Liz sobbed when she felt his threat.

"He's crossed the line." Topolsky hissed at Stevens.

"Let's hope he's not right. If he's wrong, there's still a way to salvage this. If he's right, he won't let her go anyway." Stevens whispered back.

"That's it sugar, let me in. You remember this dance." Lannie used her meager supply of energy to reach out to Liz.

--

Isabel gasped when suddenly she was just where she'd been trying to go. She felt like she was in a whirlpool, twirling without control. Images flew passed. Then she saw Liz's face, tears streaking down it. Then she saw what Max and Ava must have seen that night out in the desert. Liz's bleeding body and her broken spirit. The brunette shook her head. "Not again." She screamed.

Flashes of another life flew passed. Sewers and desert cities and peeling skin… blood gushing between her fingers.

"Liz!" Isabel screamed. "Can you hear me?"

"Don't let her do it again!" Came the scream from all around.

"Who?"

"How could he do this to me?"

"Who? Who's got you?" Isabel pulled herself out of the whirl. "Liz! Who's hurting you?"

Images flew at her in a rapid succession before it all went black.

Isabel sat up, gasping. "Liz… she…"

"Did you get in?" Max sat by her side immediately. "Iz?"

"Hold on… I… can't… there's no… sense." Isabel shook her head trying to make heads or tails of the images. "Lannie's there…"

"So she is alive." Ava bit her tongue to keep a succession of curses inside. "Where?"

"Um… A… base? I don't know where. She… something was happening to her and that's the only reason I got in. She's… I think she was drugged… so… a lot of things didn't make sense. Like… she… there's this… man. He's got dark hair and blue eyes. One second he's wearing street clothes and the next he's in a suit." Isabel looked to her brother. "She's scared of him."

"Listen to me. Concentrate." Max took a deep breath. "His hair… about the same length as mine? Parts it down the side. No product? His street clothes… loose? Like to work out in?"

"Yeah. Yeah, that's him." Isabel shook her head at him, not understanding. "Who is he?"

"Dr. Dave…" Ava answered, her anger building. "Did you see where he took her?"

"It's fuzzy. I've never done this before." She protested.

"Anything. Any little thing."

"They've got her in the same room as Lannie… on purpose."

--

"Did it work?" Agent Pierce kept his tight hold on Liz and made Lannie look at him.

"I guess. I'm weak." She picked up her head and sat up a little. "It's good enough for now… until she recharges."

"Recharges?"

"Humans need sleep. They weak."

Pierce leg go of Liz but she didn't move, she just pulled her hand away from Lannie. "What did she do to you?"

"I can I have another room." Liz bit out, holding in the torrent of tears that needed to get loose.

"Of course. You see, you cooperate and we can make things happen for you." He took her arm lightly, almost cordially and led her to the door that opened just in time to let them through. The hallways were white and sterile. No markings. "The room is just down this way. Are you okay?"

"Like you care." She shook her head. Tremors wracked her body and she couldn't hide that. "I wet myself."

"We can get you clean clothes. Just cooperate and the pain will be minimal."

"Do you think what I just went through was painless?" She turned to him. "I'm 18 years old and I wet myself. Do you honestly think that was painless?"

"Calm down." He gripped her shoulders. "I was right. I believed her and I was right. Her toes moved. You will be taken care of. You like to study, right? We can get you the very best in whatever field you like. You don't have to be a prisoner… you can help us."

"I'll think about it." If she said 'fuck you' to him one more time, he might make good on his earlier threat and she didn't want to piss him off. Not now. Not when she could have sworn she saw Isabel in that room.

"It's all going to be okay, Liz. Trust me."

--

"I am trying!" Isabel shouted at Max but grabbed a piece of paper and a pen from the counter. Her hands moved without even knowing what she was drawing.

"I've seen that." Michael pointed, tapping the paper.

"So have I…" Max trailed off, studying it. "Where though? This is Roswell… big on alien murals, not eagles."

"No, no…" Michael gripped his hair and thought. "Iz, keep trying to contact Zan. We'll figure this out."

"I can't do this alone and even with Ava helping…" Isabel protested and looked around the room. The thought scared her. "We can't be the survivors… not us."

"What are you talkin' about?" Ava narrowed her eyes and followed Isabel's eyes. It was them. The four of them. One of each. A set. She bowed her head. She didn't like that she noticed that. "Maybe the four of us should hook up… try to get Zan together."

"I got it!" Michael leapt up. They all stared at him. "Sorry, I know where I saw this." He stiffened under their eyes. "What are we doing?"

--

Zan almost made his way down to the base, ready to wreak some havoc when the funnel formed over the base. Four soldiers got caught in it when it touched down. A flurry of activity surrounded the funnel. Then Zan was knocked out of the present. "What the fuck?"

"Zan." Isabel called out.

"I'm right here. What the fuck?"

She materialized in front of him. "They have Liz."

"Who?" Zan stepped forward, almost reached out to see if he could touch her. She looked more real than any dreamwalk Lannie had ever done.

"The FBI… Dr. Dave. Who is Dr. Dave anyway?"

"What?" Zan blinked at her. "You mean… down there?"

She turned to look. And suddenly Max was standing there next to her. "Oh my God… do you see that, Max?"

"Where are you, Zan?" Max whispered, eyes on the base, on the funnel.

"I'll get her out. You guys stay put." Zan shook his head.

"Zan… if that's anything close to what I'm thinking it is… you've got your hands full." Max turned to his dupe. "We're coming. Tell us how to get here."

--

Pierce yanked Liz with him to inspect what was going on outside. Liz struggled to keep up with his long strides in her fresh pair of scrubs. The funnel was transparent but forceful. The four soldiers were trapped inside. It just… came right out of the sky. "Do you know what that is?"

"No." Liz shook her head. "Strange weather we're having." She regretted that the second it was out of her mouth. Pierce yanked her against him and turned her face up to the sky. "I don't know what it is."

"Does that really look like a tornado? No clouds. No lightning. No wind." He pointed to the soldiers caught in the base. "What's happening to them?"

"Shouldn't you be asking your resident alien? I don't know."

Turning to a nearby soldier, Pierce took a pair of wrist cuffs off of him and snapped one on his own wrist and the other on Liz's. "We're going in."

Pierce strode forward, intent on finding some way in. Liz was jerked along by her arm, her wrist firmly attached to Pierce's. The closer they got to the funnel, the more charged the hair. Her hair stood on end, shivers ran up her spine as she fought with Pierce to keep from nearing that thing. Pierce just yanked his arm up, sending her crashing against him.

Then it withdrew. The funnel rose up, leaving the soldiers in a heap of tangled limbs, and disappeared into the night sky. One soldier stood up, extricating himself from the tangle, kicking the other limp bodies out of the way. He yanked off his helmet and dropped his gun. His gaze swept the yard, guns clicking all around. A sort of smile crept onto his face that made Liz shiver and cling to Agent Pierce. She felt sick to her stomach… and then even sicker when the soldier walked toward them. He rolled his shoulders and lifted his hand to Agent Pierce. "You're in charge. Where's Vilandra?"

TBC

Part 60

The soldier stared at Pierce then slanted his glance at Liz, cowered next to the agent. "That one reeks of Zan."

"Who are you?" Pierce demanded as if he somehow had power over the person in front of him, who was clearly not the man he was before. "What did you do to Private Wilson?"

"This body is just a vessel."

"What happened to the other men?"

"They were found lacking and unworthy of my presence."

"Who are you?"

"You will know them by the evil within…" Liz blurted, not knowing where the words came from.

"You sound like the queen mother." He reached for Liz, who scrambled to hide behind Pierce, who suddenly seemed a lot less scary.

"I asked you a question. I am the man in charge as you said." Agent Pierce met Private Wilson's eyes but that was not Private Wilson in control. "Who are you?"

"Lord Kivar. You have someone I'm looking for. Vilandra. Where is she?"

"Inside." Agent Pierce jerked his head behind them. "Am I to presume you are the one that Zan is fighting against?"

"Hardly." Kivar pushed passed Pierce and Liz, no longer interested. "He'd have to put up a fight first."

Pierce motioned for the soldiers to part and let Kivar into the building. They watched as he encountered the security system. Liz peeked out from behind Pierce, still shaking for the same unknown reason. Whatever she had felt from Rath, Lannie and Nicholas… this guy had it tenfold. This was the bad guy. This was the guy to fear, not the barely human Federal agent who held her hostage. The security scanner seemed to have him befuddled and amused rather than inconvenienced.

The body of Private Wilson turned to them and pointed to the scanner. Kivar spoke in a calm tone, almost polite. "Clever. I guess humans aren't totally useless. Open the door, Agent Pierce."

"Why?"

"Do it." Liz hissed over his shoulder where she tried to hide herself from Kivar's sight. "Just open the door."

"Do you know him, Liz?" He asked without turning to take in her shaking form.

"No and I don't want to."

"Lord Kivar… why would this little girl be afraid of you if she doesn't know you?"

"This isn't the time for twenty questions. Just do what he says." Liz felt the overwhelming urge to wet herself again.

"This… little girl has close ties to the only thing keeping me from power. I could kill her but it would be a waste of my time and energy. Stop stalling and open this door." Kivar turned to examine the doors once more. "Depleted uranium… it only took several thousand years for you to evolve to this point."

Agent Pierce yanked Liz forward so he could place his hand on the scanner. An X-ray of his hand appeared on the screen and the door slid open. Kivar took a long look at Liz before gripping her chin in his hand. "Zan always did have strange tastes."

He strode into the base and Liz did her best to keep Pierce from following. She kicked, she bit, and she knew she connected her knee with his genitals at least once. Pierce cursed but used her escape tactics against her. When she tried to pull away, he yanked her back by the cuffs, spinning her around in his arms, trapping her other arm between their bodies. "There will be repercussions for that."

"Do you seriously want to be trapped inside there with that?" Liz pleaded, tears streaming down her face.

"What do you know?"

"I don't know how I know. I just do. That guy is bad news. Don't make me go back in there. Not with him."

"I thought we had an understanding." Pierce practically picked her up and carried her through the threshold, maneuvering her kicking legs through the entrance. "You cooperate and no one touches you that you don't want to touch you in any way you don't want to be touched." He kept moving, following Kivar through the corridor. "You're 18 years old, too old for tantrums. You're witnessing history of the rarest sort, Liz. No one will ever write about this and you get to see it first hand. If you cooperate and we learn to work together… you could be running this unit when I am gone. You could know what these things are capable of."

"You have some pretty high delusions don't you."

"There's my witty girl."

--

Zan snuck through the fence while everyone was focused on the other side of the base. It was easy enough. He had to duck into the morgue when the commotion started to grow. He didn't have time to wait on the others. They were on their way and he planned for rampant bedlam to get them inside. Hiding inside a locker, he waited until the commotion died down. An icy chill ran down his spine. He heard the screaming. Liz. But she was priority three for him now. Lannie had been moved down to number two. Number one was that numbing fear that had appeared just before Liz had started yelling. When the voices went away, he crawled out to find three dead bodies on the tables. Whatever had happened, these guys had to wait.

Rushing, he rifled through their clothes to see their ranks. Taking the highest, he grabbed the dead hand and focused. He needed to get through the scanners. He had to call on every last trick that Nicholas had taught him about the government devices.

--

Agent Topolsky stepped out of the way when the private marched down her hall. She could see Agent Pierce and the girl behind him at a distance. The private put his hand on the door and the locks disarmed. When he stepped into the room, Agent Pierce unlocked himself from the cuffs and shoved Liz at her. "Take her to a clean room. Keep an eye on her."

"What's happening?" Topolsky gripped the girl loosely.

"We're being invaded." Pierce laughed and pointed to the room. "He was just a soldier this morning and now he's the host to an alien leader. This is fantastic."

"How do you want to proceed?"

"Find Agent Stevens. I want a full arsenal of neuron inhibitors at my disposal. When we see a weak moment, we take him down. He's not getting out of this base without human help and we're not going to give it to him." Pierce's eyes flashed at Liz. "And drug her, will you? She's been giving me trouble."

--

"It's gone." Michael peered out the window before hopping out of the Jeep.

"That doesn't mean it's over." Ava whispered and stared around at the desert. The base may have looked deserted when Zan got there but it didn't look that way now. There were soldiers on all the doors and men in suits running around all over. "Zan said the front entrance was clear. He was going in that way."

"We can't go in that way. Whatever happened has been taken inside." Max mused as he stared. "If they hurt her…"

"We're right there with you, Max." Isabel nodded and climbed out of the Jeep. "Do you think we can really do this?"

"What choice do we have?"

--

Zan made it passed the scanners through the chaos. As long as alarms weren't going off, no was paying attention. He ducked into a room and found it full of agents studying a row of monitors. One turned to him. "You're the new guy? Guess you were undercover."

"Posing as a high school student." Zan nodded stiffly. His hands itched. "I just got in. Did they get one?"

"No thanks to you, bub." One snorted and pointed to a monitor. "That one escaped and they hauled her back in. Didn't get very far. You missed the light show out back. Still don't know what happened. Agent Pierce isn't talking to anyone but his favorites and they didn't come up with us. They got recruited late in the game. Not fair but…"

"He is the boss, right…"

"Right…" The agent slumped over the controls when Zan put his hand on the back of his neck.

"Is he okay?" Another one turned.

"What is he? Narcoleptic?" Zan asked, making a face, reaching out to touch someone else.

--

Agent Stevens handed Pierce a handgun loaded with tranquilizer rounds and peered into the room around the younger man. The private stood at the end of the bed. Lannie had to fight to open her eyes. That soldier kept staring at her. "Try it and lose it, baby… I don't do humans."

"Vilandra." He leaned over her, peering into her eyes. "You set off the signal."

"No I didn't… who are you?"

"You know who I am." He took hold of her arm.

Images flashed through her mind. When they stopped, she felt violated. Nothing she had ever been through could have measured to that. "Kivar?"

"You stupid bitch. You blew it up."

"No… No. It was Zan." Her head pounded when she shook it at him. She tried to get up but her limbs felt like lead. All that fixing she had done through Liz was nearly undone.

"You let him. You… you should have known what he was planning. How could you let him go off on his own?" He pulled her up and glared into her face. "I should kill you but… you're already dying."

"Get it out of me. I know you can. Zan wouldn't do it." She pleaded with him. "It's inside me, I can feel it."

"You destroyed it. Let it kill you. I can still get what I want."

"No… I'm here. You came here for me." She gripped his arms, holding on for dear life. "Take me with you."

"I saw inside you. There's another one… Cleaner. Fresher." He shook her off and made for the door.

--

Liz blinked up at the light. Everything was fuzzy halos everywhere. Then there was a pinprick in her arm… not unlike the one before. Blonde hair… blue eyes… "Ava?"

"It's Agent Topolsky."

"Who?" Liz shook her head and it slowly cleared up.

"Liz, look at me." The agent turned her head. "I want to help you. Can you guarantee my safety? Can you get him to save me too?"

"Who? What?"

"Zan. Will his people take me in if I help you?"

"His people?"

--

Zan fused the door behind him. He turned in time to see the foursome enter wearing scrubs and face masks. Discreetly, he opened the door from the inside to let them in. "About time. I got the security room out. We have the run of the place. No one's payin' attention."

"Zan… what happened?" Max demanded as he slipped inside the door.

"Match your fingers to mine." Zan hissed and took his dupe's hand. "It'll get you out of here without me." Max suppressed a wince at the stinging in his fingertips.

"What was that funnel?" Ava hissed, running to catch up when the group moved further into the base.

"Evil." Zan gestured to the junction in the corridors. "I think Liz is down that way. Go get her. Michael… you stay here and keep this pathway clear. Kill if you have to. Don't hesitate because they will shoot you if they think you ain't who you say you are. A lot of things goin' on so maybe no one will notice." He put his hand on Isabel and her scrubs changed into a suit. "You stand by the exit. If they can't get into the security room, you say Pierce ordered it locked down."

"Zan…" Ava grabbed him. "What are you gonna do?"

"In five minutes, I start burnin'. Then we gotta get out of here. No one gets out but us."

--

Kivar grabbed Pierce by the neck and lifted him up. "Where is the other one?"

"What other one?"

"Don't be ignorant. If you have this one, you know about the other one. She told you. Where is the other Vilandra?"

"Not here."

Growling, Kivar tossed the agent aside and grabbed Agent Stevens. "Tell me."

"We didn't catch that one." Stevens blurted out.

"But you know where she is." Kivar winced when he felt the prick in his back but didn't waver. "Where?"

"In Roswell." He barely had time to finish the words before he was burning from the inside out. Kivar yanked the dart from his back and moved for the door.

Lannie nearly fell out of the bed when she tried to follow him. "You have to take me. I'm the one worked all this time to make this happen. You can't just take her. She don’t even remember you."

Kivar turned at the door and Private Wilson's face smiled at her. "She'll learn to remember. Remembering me did you no good. Look at you. You can barely move… why would I waste my time?"

"You don't know where she is." Lannie stood up. "If I find her first… she's dead."

--

Max checked doors but he couldn't find what he was looking for. Maybe Zan had been wrong. Sprinting down another hallway, he checked every door he could find. He was running out of time. Throwing open a door, he almost ran passed but something caught his eye. Liz's sweater. Rushing in, he found no trace of her but the smell of ammonia hit his nostrils and he couldn't stop his vision from blurring for a second while he racked his brain for something to do. He had to find her and kill whatever hurt her.

--

Zan spun. How had he gotten so turned around? Hadn't he read the monitors right? The base wasn't that big, right? Had he gone in a circle?

Isabel shook her head at the soldier. "Pierce ordered it locked down. You don't have clearance."

"I don't want in there." Private Wilson backed her against the door. "It's time to go home, Vilandra."

"What?" Her eyes widened.

"Let go of her!" Zan shouted. Michael heard the impassioned cry and turned toward Isabel.

"Hey!" Michael sprinted down the hall but was thrown back by a blast. Zan ducked both the blast and Michael's flying body before throwing himself at the two near the entrance, knocking them apart.

--

Topolsky whipped her head up. Was that smoke? Grabbing Liz, she made for the door. Why weren't the alarms going off if there was fire? Liz shook her head to clear it of the cobwebs. Topolsky tried one more time to get through to Liz. "If I get you out of here, will they save me?"

"I don't know." Liz shook her head. Her flesh felt icy. Was it the drugs? Was it that Kivar guy?

"Liz, listen to me. Pierce will make good on every threat if you don't or can't cooperate. He gets what he wants. Just think what he'll do to me if I try to stop him."

"I want to go home." Liz fought the tears but she was so frazzled and weak and tired that they slipped out and down her face. "Just take me home."

"Can you find safety outside?"

"I don't know."

"Liz!" Topolsky slapped her to get her attention. "Listen to me. Pierce will kill us both for having this conversation. If I help you, I need a guarantee that you'll talk him into helping me too."

"Please… just help me." Liz pleaded with the blonde agent, grasping onto her arms. "I'll try… just… get me out of here."

"Okay. I know you wi—" Topolsky started to turn before she fell.

Liz's eyes widened. They weren't moving. How did she fall? Touching her face, she felt the little warm spots of wet. Shaking, she tried not to move one inch or else be next. Then her wrist was once more attached to Agent Pierce's. For once his carefully groomed person was disheveled and his easing breathing a little labored. Turning her eyes up to his, he shrugged. "She wasn't right for this unit in the first place. You and I are taking a walk."

--