Title: Consanguinity
Chapter Nine
Liz stiffened slightly as a pair of hands covered her eyes.
“I give up,” she said, not in the mood for any games. “Who is it? And if it’s you, Maria, I’m going to kill you. I’m late already.”
“Ouch!” came the male voice behind her. “That hurts. Do my hands really remind you of Maria Deluca?”
“Kyle, is that you?” Liz asked laughing. She pried the hands away from her eyes and turned to find her friend standing behind her, looking insulted.
“I do not have girl hands,” he said.
“No, you don’t have girl hands,” Liz agreed with a smile. Kyle always made her smile. Ever since that night in middle school, the eight tweens had formed a group, though some times, the Evans siblings seemed a bit aloof and withdrawn.
“Guess what I got today?” Kyle said, practically dancing in the hallway.
“Um, an A in Spanish?” Liz guessed.
“No, that’s never going to happen,” said Kyle. “Let’s limit this to things that slightly more realistic.”
“I give, what did you get?” Liz said, laughing at her friend’s excitement.
Not speaking, Kyle reached into his pocket and pulled out a small card and grinned.
“Kyle!” Liz squealed. “You got your drivers license! That’s so cool!”
“Yeah, I’m totally psyched,” said Kyle. “So, like, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go to the movies or something, you know, now that I can drive and stuff.”
“Oh, uh, um, you mean like a date or something?” Liz asked. “Kyle, I thought you liked Tess? I mean, the way you look at her and stuff, you know.”
“Yeah, well, I do,” he admitted.
“Kyle, are you just asking me to go out to make Tess jealous?” Liz asked.
“No way, I wouldn’t, uh, okay, yeah, I am,” Kyle admitted. He looked down at the floor, scuffing his foot in embarrassment.
“I knew it,” said Liz, smiling. “You’re such a geek, Kyle. It’s never going to work.” She reached into her locker and grabbed her last book and stuffed it into her backpack.
“I’m sure it will,” said Kyle, giving Liz a pleading look.
“I don’t know, Kyle,” Liz began. “I don’t feel comfortable…” Liz paused as a figure walking down the hall caught her attention. Without warning, she leaned over and kissed Kyle on the cheek and smiled. “What time are you picking me up tomorrow?” she asked in a loud voice.
“Uh, um, four o’clock,” Kyle asked, flustered by Liz’s complete turn around. “Liz, are you – oh,” he said, catching sight of Max Evans retreating figure. “Now I get it.”
“Shut up, Kyle. Don’t say another word. Just pick me up at four o’clock.”
** * ** *
“I really don’t get how the four of us going all the way down to Greenfield is going to make Tess jealous,” Kyle grumbled, driving down the highway.
“Because Maria overheard Tess and Isabel making plans to drive out to the desert on this road to do some exploring,” Liz explained.
“I get that part,” said Kyle. “It’s the why Maria and Alex are here with us part that I don’t get.”
“Because Maria wouldn’t stop nagging Liz until she told her everything,” said Alex, leaning over the front seat. “And as soon as she did, Maria went into full Maria mode until Liz said she could come along. Personally, I’m impressed. Liz held out for a full forty-five minutes before she caved in.”
“Okay, that explains the Maria part, but why are you here?” Kyle asked, driving carefully down the highway, with both hands placed at 10 and 2, in the way of a new driver.
“It wouldn’t look like much of a date if you had Liz and Maria with you, now would it?” asked Alex.
“Yeah, and Alex has it bad for Isabel Evans,” said Maria. “And she won’t even give him the time of day. Personally, I think he should just forget about her. She’s turning into one of those A-List popular crowd losers.”
“Hey!” Kyle interjected, “Those are my friends you’re talking about.”
“Well, you have to admit, some of them are – hey, there they are!” said Liz, pointing through the windshield to a Jeep pulled off the side of the road.
Kyle pulled his father’s car off the road and pulled the key out of the ignition. “This had better work,” he said, glaring at Liz.
“Hey, don’t get mad at me,” Liz shot back. “This was your stupid idea, not mine.”
“Yeah, but as my friend, you’re supposed to try and talk me out of said stupid idea. I know you’ve had a lot of practice,” he said, looking in the rear view mirror at Maria.
“Watch it, Kyle,” Maria growled. “Or I’ll have Alex kick your ass.”
“Don’t bring me into this,” said Alex. “And can I just point out, we look incredibly stupid and stalkerish sitting in the car. Shouldn’t we get out or something?”
** * ** *
“Max, we have company,” Isabel said, watching the approaching foursome. “It’s Liz, Kyle, Maria and Alex. What did you do, invite your girlfriend and her buddies out here?”
“Liz isn’t my girlfriend,” Max started to say automatically, but the words stuck in his throat when he saw Liz walking with Kyle, his arm around her waist. His face turned first white, then red when he realized that the two were walking like a couple.
“Gee, Max, you’re not looking too good right now,” Isabel said in an undertone.
“Hey, Max, I think we found something,” Michael called as he walked out from behind a rock. “Tess thinks she remembers something. What, did you invite the whole freshman class or something?” he asked, catching sight of the foursome walking toward them. “Is this like a – is Maria dating Alex?” he finished, practically shouting.
Everyone stopped short at Michael’s outburst, looking around in shock as two large rocks nearby apparently exploded. Maria screamed and grabbed on to Alex’s arm, while Max turned and glared at his brother.
“Sorry,” Michael said. “I guess I lost my temper.”
“You lost your temper, that’s great, really great,” said Max. “How are we supposed to explain this to them?”
“Hey, what’s going on?” Tess called. “Max, Isabel, didn’t you hear Michael. I think we found something. Oh, uh, hi,” she said, her voice flat when she spied Liz and Kyle standing arm and arm. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Never mind that,” said a hysterical Maria. “Those rocks just exploded. What the hell are you guys doing out here – Playing with bombs?”
“No, uh, it’s nothing like that,” Max began and stopped as several more rocks around them began to explode. “Michael!”
“It’s not me, Max!” Michael shouted. “I think there’s somebody out there.”
A large boulder near Liz exploded, raining smaller rocks down on her and the others. Kyle reacted instinctively and pushed Liz down to the ground and covered her body with his, shielding her from the worst of the explosion.
“Michael!” Max shouted again.
“Damn it, Max, it isn’t me. I’m telling you, I saw somebody out there!” Michael shouted back. “Get behind the rocks, now. It isn’t safe out in the open.”
He started running, grabbing Tess by the arm and dragging her behind him. “Will you four move it he shouted before disappearing behind a large rock.
Alex pulled Maria along with him just as another rock, exploded, this one positioned near Maria. Kyle got up and half dragged, half carried Liz, following behind Alex and Maria.
The eight friends huddled behind a large group of rocks, trying to figure out their next move.
“What is it?” asked Isabel. “What’s doing that?”
“Well, whatever it is, it’s coming closer,” said Max, after an exceptionally large explosion. He stood up, and tried to lean out around the rock, but the awkward angle caused him to slip, and lose his balance. As he fell, his hand slid across the face of the rock, catching on the rough edges of the rock.
“Max, are you all right?” Liz asked kneeling down to help him up.
“Forget that,” said Alex, pointing toward the rocks. “What’s that?”
As one, the other seven looked to where Alex was pointing, what had been solid rock was now a doorway revealing a chamber hidden within the rock.
“Now is not the time to be discussing, now’s the time to be hiding,” said Michael, pushing the others inside. Acting instinctively, he passed his hand along the wall, and the wall again appeared to be solid rock, only this time they were on the inside.
“I, uh, I can explain,” Max said, looking at Liz.
“Oh – My – God,” said Maria, holding her hands to her head and looking around. “You guys are aliens, aren’t you?”
Consanguinity (CC)(Teen/Mature) (Complete)
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majiklmoon
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majiklmoon
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Consanguinity
Author’s Note: Thanks again to everyone who voted for this story
Chapter Ten
“We are not aliens,” Max said, gritting his teeth.
“You so are,” Maria countered. “You made those rocks explode, and you made a door appear in solid rock, and well, you’re aliens!”
“We didn’t make those rocks explode,” Max said.
“Well, not all of them,” Michael said.
“Michael!” Max shouted.
“What? It’s not like I meant to do it! It was just a mistake. I kind of lost it when I saw Mar – never mind, it was just a mistake.”
“Jesus, Michael, are you ever going to learn to control your..”
“Isabel!” Max shouted.
“Mouth?” Isabel continued. “Come on, Max, do you think I’m stupid or something?”
“Look, would somebody mind telling me what’s going on here, because I’m really confused?”
“It’s nothing,” Max began. “We were just…what was that?”
“What was what?” said Tess, I didn’t hear anything.”
“That! Listen!” He turned and looked over to where the door had been located, trying to place the rumbling sound he heard.
. “Everyone, be quiet,” Max whispered. “I think somebody’s trying to get in. There isn’t any place to hide. It’s up to you Tess, can you do it?”
“I think so, Max,” Tess whispered back, her face a mask of worry.
“So what?” asked Kyle. “What can she do?”
“Will you please shut up!” Max whispered.
“Aye-aye El Presidente,” said Kyle, giving Max a mock salute.
Max was about to respond when the hidden door suddenly appeared, and slid back. Sunlight entered through the chamber door, making it impossible for them to identify the figure that entered slowly. He stepped further into the chamber, his features becoming more clear and defined. When they could finally see him clearly, Tess gave a small gasp of fear, closed her eyes tightly and began to move her lips in a soundless whisper.
“Where are they?” the man growled. “They had to come in here? Damn it, I need them and the Granolith if I want to get out of this place. Where the hell did Calarish hide the damn thing?” He cursed softly as his eyes scanned the small cavern once more. With a final burst of what they took to be profanity in some unfamiliar language, he turned, passed his hand across the rock wall, and stepped through the door that appeared.
The eight friends waited silently for what seemed like hours – waiting to see if the stranger would return. Finally through some unspoken signal, they all began to speak at once. Maria, Alex and Kyle all began demanding an explanation of what had just happened, while Michael and Isabel did their best to convince them that nothing had happened. Tess was crying and shaking with fear, and Max was busy asking her who the man was.
“That’s the man who tried to gr-grab me in the mall,” Tess sobbed.
“But who is he? Does he know who we are?” Max asked.
“His name is Nescado, and not only does he know who you are, he’s one of you,” said Liz, holding a folded piece of paper. “At least I’m pretty sure he is.”
“You know that creep?” asked Kyle, who had by now, abandoned all pretense of being on a date with Liz, and stood, rubbing Tess’ back.
“No, I don’t know him, but I can read, and the answers to everybody’s questions are right here,” Liz said, waving the paper.
“Give me that!” Michael demanded, trying to grab the paper from Liz.
“No, not until you guys tell us the truth – about everything,” said Liz.
“What truth?” bluffed Max. “There isn’t anything special about us.”
“Max, this says it was written by you. That in 2014, you and I used the granolith to send you back in time to warn me. And it says that we made a mistake in our calculations, and you went back to far. There’s a lot more, but I’m not letting you have this, until the four of you come clean. What is the granolith, and why did WE send it back in time so that you could warn me?”
Max looked at his brother and sisters in a moment of silent communication, and one by one they nodded.
“We might as well sit down,” Max sighed, dropping to the ground. “This may take a while.”
Max explained, with the help of his siblings to explain everything they knew about themselves, including faint half memories of a stranger finding them and leading them to the spot where Philip and Diane found them.
“Yeah, I’m sorry, but that just sounds pretty strange,” said Alex.
“I know,” said Isabel. “Try living it. But it’s all true, I swear. We – we’ve wanted to tell you for a long time, but we’d all swore we’d never tell anyone. Our parents don’t even know.”
“Wait, you wanted to tell us?” Maria asked. “Us four, specifically? Why, Isabel. It’s not like you even like any of us, or anything. We’re not a part of the “A” list.”
“Hey!” said Kyle. “Didn’t we already have this discussion? I’m a part of the A-List, remember?”
“Seriously, Isabel,” Maria continued, ignoring Kyle. “Why would you want to tell the four of us, the three of us,” she amended, glancing at Kyle, “anything?”
“This is going to sound weird,” said Isabel, “but all of us, have felt a connection to you in one way or another from the first time we met. Tess and Max didn’t fight it as much as Michael and I did, but all of us have kind of felt that there was some sort of bond between us.”
“She’s not far from wrong,” said Liz, softly. “According to this we were, uh, close in the future.”
“Close, what do you mean, close?” asked Maria. “Cause girlfriend, you can’t tell me that I was close with,” she paused when she realized that Liz’s gaze shifted from her to Michael and back again. “You have got to be kidding me?” she shouted. “He doesn’t even like me. He can barely stand to be in the same room with me, and you’re telling me that in the future, we were, uh, close?”
“That’s what it says here,” said Liz. “Look, it says a lot of stuff, but how do we know it’s true? I mean this could all be part of some elaborate practical joke that they’re playing on us.” Her voice climbed hysterically. “Right, it’s just some joke? Because if it’s not, that means I’m going to get shot in a few months, and I really don’t think I can stand knowing that it’s going to happen.”
Without warning, Liz dropped the paper and covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders shook as she struggled to contain the deep sobs that exploded from her chest.
“I don’t want to be shot,” she cried. “I don’t.”
It was Max who moved toward Liz and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly.
“Liz, don’t,” he said, quietly. “You’re not going to get shot. If we know when it’s going to happen, we can make sure it doesn’t. Don’t worry, we’re not going to let you get hurt. I promise.”
“Look, I really don’t think we should hang around here,” said Michael. “We don’t know if that Nescado guy is going to come back. JockBoy,” he added, pointing at Michael, “ You come with me and scout out the area to make sure he’s really gone. If it safe, we’ll come back and get the rest of you, and we can head back to town.”
“Who died and made you king?” Maria asked glaring at Michael.
“Yeah, and can I just say, I’m not really comfortable of being a part of the scouting party. That guy was blowing up rocks. I don’t really think I can do much to defend myself against that.”
“Michael’s right,” said Isabel. “We have a lot to talk about, and it’s obviously not safe here. Kyle, you’ll be okay. Michael won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I’m not reassured,” said Kyle with a long-suffering sigh.
“Uh, before you go out there, I think you should all hear this,” said Alex. He glanced down at the paper Liz had dropped. The one he’d picked up off the ground and continued reading while Max comforted Liz. “According to this, by the time Max came back to change the future, we were all already dead.”
Author’s Note: Thanks again to everyone who voted for this story
Chapter Ten
“We are not aliens,” Max said, gritting his teeth.
“You so are,” Maria countered. “You made those rocks explode, and you made a door appear in solid rock, and well, you’re aliens!”
“We didn’t make those rocks explode,” Max said.
“Well, not all of them,” Michael said.
“Michael!” Max shouted.
“What? It’s not like I meant to do it! It was just a mistake. I kind of lost it when I saw Mar – never mind, it was just a mistake.”
“Jesus, Michael, are you ever going to learn to control your..”
“Isabel!” Max shouted.
“Mouth?” Isabel continued. “Come on, Max, do you think I’m stupid or something?”
“Look, would somebody mind telling me what’s going on here, because I’m really confused?”
“It’s nothing,” Max began. “We were just…what was that?”
“What was what?” said Tess, I didn’t hear anything.”
“That! Listen!” He turned and looked over to where the door had been located, trying to place the rumbling sound he heard.
. “Everyone, be quiet,” Max whispered. “I think somebody’s trying to get in. There isn’t any place to hide. It’s up to you Tess, can you do it?”
“I think so, Max,” Tess whispered back, her face a mask of worry.
“So what?” asked Kyle. “What can she do?”
“Will you please shut up!” Max whispered.
“Aye-aye El Presidente,” said Kyle, giving Max a mock salute.
Max was about to respond when the hidden door suddenly appeared, and slid back. Sunlight entered through the chamber door, making it impossible for them to identify the figure that entered slowly. He stepped further into the chamber, his features becoming more clear and defined. When they could finally see him clearly, Tess gave a small gasp of fear, closed her eyes tightly and began to move her lips in a soundless whisper.
“Where are they?” the man growled. “They had to come in here? Damn it, I need them and the Granolith if I want to get out of this place. Where the hell did Calarish hide the damn thing?” He cursed softly as his eyes scanned the small cavern once more. With a final burst of what they took to be profanity in some unfamiliar language, he turned, passed his hand across the rock wall, and stepped through the door that appeared.
The eight friends waited silently for what seemed like hours – waiting to see if the stranger would return. Finally through some unspoken signal, they all began to speak at once. Maria, Alex and Kyle all began demanding an explanation of what had just happened, while Michael and Isabel did their best to convince them that nothing had happened. Tess was crying and shaking with fear, and Max was busy asking her who the man was.
“That’s the man who tried to gr-grab me in the mall,” Tess sobbed.
“But who is he? Does he know who we are?” Max asked.
“His name is Nescado, and not only does he know who you are, he’s one of you,” said Liz, holding a folded piece of paper. “At least I’m pretty sure he is.”
“You know that creep?” asked Kyle, who had by now, abandoned all pretense of being on a date with Liz, and stood, rubbing Tess’ back.
“No, I don’t know him, but I can read, and the answers to everybody’s questions are right here,” Liz said, waving the paper.
“Give me that!” Michael demanded, trying to grab the paper from Liz.
“No, not until you guys tell us the truth – about everything,” said Liz.
“What truth?” bluffed Max. “There isn’t anything special about us.”
“Max, this says it was written by you. That in 2014, you and I used the granolith to send you back in time to warn me. And it says that we made a mistake in our calculations, and you went back to far. There’s a lot more, but I’m not letting you have this, until the four of you come clean. What is the granolith, and why did WE send it back in time so that you could warn me?”
Max looked at his brother and sisters in a moment of silent communication, and one by one they nodded.
“We might as well sit down,” Max sighed, dropping to the ground. “This may take a while.”
Max explained, with the help of his siblings to explain everything they knew about themselves, including faint half memories of a stranger finding them and leading them to the spot where Philip and Diane found them.
“Yeah, I’m sorry, but that just sounds pretty strange,” said Alex.
“I know,” said Isabel. “Try living it. But it’s all true, I swear. We – we’ve wanted to tell you for a long time, but we’d all swore we’d never tell anyone. Our parents don’t even know.”
“Wait, you wanted to tell us?” Maria asked. “Us four, specifically? Why, Isabel. It’s not like you even like any of us, or anything. We’re not a part of the “A” list.”
“Hey!” said Kyle. “Didn’t we already have this discussion? I’m a part of the A-List, remember?”
“Seriously, Isabel,” Maria continued, ignoring Kyle. “Why would you want to tell the four of us, the three of us,” she amended, glancing at Kyle, “anything?”
“This is going to sound weird,” said Isabel, “but all of us, have felt a connection to you in one way or another from the first time we met. Tess and Max didn’t fight it as much as Michael and I did, but all of us have kind of felt that there was some sort of bond between us.”
“She’s not far from wrong,” said Liz, softly. “According to this we were, uh, close in the future.”
“Close, what do you mean, close?” asked Maria. “Cause girlfriend, you can’t tell me that I was close with,” she paused when she realized that Liz’s gaze shifted from her to Michael and back again. “You have got to be kidding me?” she shouted. “He doesn’t even like me. He can barely stand to be in the same room with me, and you’re telling me that in the future, we were, uh, close?”
“That’s what it says here,” said Liz. “Look, it says a lot of stuff, but how do we know it’s true? I mean this could all be part of some elaborate practical joke that they’re playing on us.” Her voice climbed hysterically. “Right, it’s just some joke? Because if it’s not, that means I’m going to get shot in a few months, and I really don’t think I can stand knowing that it’s going to happen.”
Without warning, Liz dropped the paper and covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders shook as she struggled to contain the deep sobs that exploded from her chest.
“I don’t want to be shot,” she cried. “I don’t.”
It was Max who moved toward Liz and wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly.
“Liz, don’t,” he said, quietly. “You’re not going to get shot. If we know when it’s going to happen, we can make sure it doesn’t. Don’t worry, we’re not going to let you get hurt. I promise.”
“Look, I really don’t think we should hang around here,” said Michael. “We don’t know if that Nescado guy is going to come back. JockBoy,” he added, pointing at Michael, “ You come with me and scout out the area to make sure he’s really gone. If it safe, we’ll come back and get the rest of you, and we can head back to town.”
“Who died and made you king?” Maria asked glaring at Michael.
“Yeah, and can I just say, I’m not really comfortable of being a part of the scouting party. That guy was blowing up rocks. I don’t really think I can do much to defend myself against that.”
“Michael’s right,” said Isabel. “We have a lot to talk about, and it’s obviously not safe here. Kyle, you’ll be okay. Michael won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I’m not reassured,” said Kyle with a long-suffering sigh.
“Uh, before you go out there, I think you should all hear this,” said Alex. He glanced down at the paper Liz had dropped. The one he’d picked up off the ground and continued reading while Max comforted Liz. “According to this, by the time Max came back to change the future, we were all already dead.”
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majiklmoon
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Title: Consanguinity
Chapter Eleven
“Lucy, you got some ‘splainin to do,” said Kyle. “Especially before I go out there to face the apparently homicidal psycho alien with nothing but Michael for protection.”
“We'll explain everything,” said Max. “We promise, but not here, it isn’t safe.”
“Right, and how do we know you won’t just erase our minds or something?” asked Maria.
“We won’t do that,” said Michael, his tone defensive. “We can’t do that. Can we?” he added as an after thought.
Tess nodded her head, a guilty expression on her face.
“I’ve done it to mom to make her forget to fix dinner, and I’ve been cooking instead,” she said.
“Tess!” Max shouted. “That’s kind of wrong, don’t you think?”
“Well, if you subscribe to the whole ‘I only use my powers for good,’ theory, then I’d have to say that’s about as good as it gets, because I’ve tasted your mom’s cooking, and no offense, but it bad.”
“Real bad,” said Michael.
“Yeah, horrible,” agreed Liz.
“It’s the worst, Max. You have to admit it,” said Isabel. “Tess was, you know, only trying to keep us alive.”
“Yeah but still, we don’t know if you’re doing that could hurt mom in any way,” said Max.
“Oh, I never thought of that,” Tess whispered, an expression of fear masking her pretty features.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Max. “I’m sure nothing happened. Besides, we have an even bigger problem to deal with. We may have fooled this Nescado guy or now, but our cars are out there, and sooner or later he’s going to figure out that we aren’t anywhere, but here.”
“I have an idea,” said Liz. “Can we all go out together, and have Tess make it look like we’re walking away from our cars or something?
“That may work,” said Max. “Can you do it, Tess?”
“I think so,” said Tess.
“Wait a minute!” Maria shouted. “You know, we’re taking an awful lot on faith here. No offense, but what proof do we have that you guys are even telling us the truth?”
“What do you want from us; a signed affidavit from our home planet or something?” Michael practically shouted.
“That’d be a start,” said Maria.
“Oh, sure great, well I’ll just jet off in our spaceship to Mars,”
“Antar,” interjected Liz.
“Antar,” continued Michael without missing a beat. “And I’ll get our king to sign a note saying we’re all aliens. Would that work for you?”
“You have a spaceship?” asked Alex.
“Actually,” said Liz, reading the paper in her hand. “Max is the king of your planet.”
“He is?” asked Michael, and Isabel, while at the same time Max said, “I am?”
“Cool!” said a now excited Isabel. “That makes Michael a prince – well that’s kind of hard to believe, and Tess and I are princesses. Do you think we had tiaras? And coronation gowns, and royal jewels?”
“Excuse me, but isn’t this supposed to be about a little bit of proof from you guys?” said Maria. “Not about tiaras. Unless, do you have any here? Cause if you do, I’d love to borrow one. I think I’d look pretty hot in a tiara.”
“Can all of you just shut up so we can get out of here?” shouted Liz. “I just want to go home.”
“Liz, are you okay?” Max asked, concern dancing across his face.
“Let’s see, in the past hour, I’ve been attacked by a homicidal alien, found out I’m going to get shot, and that my husband sent himself back from the future to convince me to make his teenaged self fall out of love with me so he could be with Tess. On the whole, I’d say I’m doing just fine. Now, can we please just get out of here?”
A loud chorus of what’s echoed in the chamber as the others processed what Liz had said.
“Liz, stop it, we have to talk,” said Max. He reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders.
“No, we don’t have to talk, we don’t have to do anything. You on the other hand are supposed to take your bride and go back to your home planet. Now can we just get out of here?”
Liz jerked away from Max, dropping the papers she held in her rush to get away, and ran over to where the door had appeared in the wall. Picking a rock up off the ground, she began to bang at the wall, looking for a way out. Suppressing a scream of frustration when the opening didn’t appear, Liz turned and threw the rock. All eyes watched it’s arcing path and started in amazement when instead of a rock on rock sound, they heard the unmistakable sound of rock upon metal.
“What was that?” asked Alex. “Cause if it really was a spaceship, I call shotgun!”
The others forgot Liz for a moment as they moved across the small and stared at the cause of the noise.
“What is that?” Maria asked pointing at a metal structure. It consisted of four rectangular metal containers stacked two by two, with a filmy white substance draped over it.
“I think that’s what we were in before we were born,” said Michael. He reached out and began to stroke the receptacles with an almost reverent expression on his face. “Do you realize that this is a piece of home?” he asked. “See, one space for each of us.”
“And Tess was down here,” said Max. He was staring that the unit, but he wasn’t really seeing it, he was staring into the past.
“I remember,” he whispered. “We came out first,” he said, pointing at Isabel and Michael. “And Tess was still in there. We were so afraid, and we didn’t’ know what to do. And then that man did something to get her out.”
“That man was you, Max,” Isabel reminded him. “You did it.”
“The question remains; why?” asked Alex, examining the unit.
He pulled at it experimentally, but was unable to budge it. Meanwhile, Maria climbed into one of the small openings, and sat with her arms wrapped around her knees.
“Wow,” she said. “It must have been a pretty tight squeeze. Good acoustics though,” she added, rapping on the panel above her head.
“Maria, come on. Get out of there. I want to go home,” said Liz.
Maria was about to argue, but once glace at Liz’s strained face caused her to shut her mouth and climb out of the small cube.
“Okay,” she said, making her way out. “I’m coming. Oops!” she said, banging her foot on the back panel of the chamber. “That was loud. But see, good tone.”
“Yeah, except for the part where that totally didn’t sound right,” said Alex.
“What do you mean?” Maria asked, standing up right. “It sounded good to me. Actually, it sounded like a G.”
“It sounded hollow,” said Tess.
“Yeah, so, what’s the big deal?” asked Michael.
“The deal is,” said Liz, getting drawn into the conversation despite her desire to leave, “That if it’s up against solid rock, it shouldn’t sound hollow.”
“That means,” Max continued. “There’s another room behind this one.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not like this thing is going to move,” said Kyle, pushing at it ineffectually. “It’s like they used alien super glue or something.”
“Well just consider us the alien super glue remover,” said Isabel. “You guys may want to step back a bit.”
The four aliens focused their power on the metal chamber, and it wobbled slightly before it sliding to one side. An opening in the rock wall was revealed and a glowing light spilled out, flooding the cavern with it’s shimmering glow. The filed one by one into the new room and stared in awe at the tall glowing object that filled the room.
“I think we found the granolith,” said Liz.
Chapter Eleven
“Lucy, you got some ‘splainin to do,” said Kyle. “Especially before I go out there to face the apparently homicidal psycho alien with nothing but Michael for protection.”
“We'll explain everything,” said Max. “We promise, but not here, it isn’t safe.”
“Right, and how do we know you won’t just erase our minds or something?” asked Maria.
“We won’t do that,” said Michael, his tone defensive. “We can’t do that. Can we?” he added as an after thought.
Tess nodded her head, a guilty expression on her face.
“I’ve done it to mom to make her forget to fix dinner, and I’ve been cooking instead,” she said.
“Tess!” Max shouted. “That’s kind of wrong, don’t you think?”
“Well, if you subscribe to the whole ‘I only use my powers for good,’ theory, then I’d have to say that’s about as good as it gets, because I’ve tasted your mom’s cooking, and no offense, but it bad.”
“Real bad,” said Michael.
“Yeah, horrible,” agreed Liz.
“It’s the worst, Max. You have to admit it,” said Isabel. “Tess was, you know, only trying to keep us alive.”
“Yeah but still, we don’t know if you’re doing that could hurt mom in any way,” said Max.
“Oh, I never thought of that,” Tess whispered, an expression of fear masking her pretty features.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Max. “I’m sure nothing happened. Besides, we have an even bigger problem to deal with. We may have fooled this Nescado guy or now, but our cars are out there, and sooner or later he’s going to figure out that we aren’t anywhere, but here.”
“I have an idea,” said Liz. “Can we all go out together, and have Tess make it look like we’re walking away from our cars or something?
“That may work,” said Max. “Can you do it, Tess?”
“I think so,” said Tess.
“Wait a minute!” Maria shouted. “You know, we’re taking an awful lot on faith here. No offense, but what proof do we have that you guys are even telling us the truth?”
“What do you want from us; a signed affidavit from our home planet or something?” Michael practically shouted.
“That’d be a start,” said Maria.
“Oh, sure great, well I’ll just jet off in our spaceship to Mars,”
“Antar,” interjected Liz.
“Antar,” continued Michael without missing a beat. “And I’ll get our king to sign a note saying we’re all aliens. Would that work for you?”
“You have a spaceship?” asked Alex.
“Actually,” said Liz, reading the paper in her hand. “Max is the king of your planet.”
“He is?” asked Michael, and Isabel, while at the same time Max said, “I am?”
“Cool!” said a now excited Isabel. “That makes Michael a prince – well that’s kind of hard to believe, and Tess and I are princesses. Do you think we had tiaras? And coronation gowns, and royal jewels?”
“Excuse me, but isn’t this supposed to be about a little bit of proof from you guys?” said Maria. “Not about tiaras. Unless, do you have any here? Cause if you do, I’d love to borrow one. I think I’d look pretty hot in a tiara.”
“Can all of you just shut up so we can get out of here?” shouted Liz. “I just want to go home.”
“Liz, are you okay?” Max asked, concern dancing across his face.
“Let’s see, in the past hour, I’ve been attacked by a homicidal alien, found out I’m going to get shot, and that my husband sent himself back from the future to convince me to make his teenaged self fall out of love with me so he could be with Tess. On the whole, I’d say I’m doing just fine. Now, can we please just get out of here?”
A loud chorus of what’s echoed in the chamber as the others processed what Liz had said.
“Liz, stop it, we have to talk,” said Max. He reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders.
“No, we don’t have to talk, we don’t have to do anything. You on the other hand are supposed to take your bride and go back to your home planet. Now can we just get out of here?”
Liz jerked away from Max, dropping the papers she held in her rush to get away, and ran over to where the door had appeared in the wall. Picking a rock up off the ground, she began to bang at the wall, looking for a way out. Suppressing a scream of frustration when the opening didn’t appear, Liz turned and threw the rock. All eyes watched it’s arcing path and started in amazement when instead of a rock on rock sound, they heard the unmistakable sound of rock upon metal.
“What was that?” asked Alex. “Cause if it really was a spaceship, I call shotgun!”
The others forgot Liz for a moment as they moved across the small and stared at the cause of the noise.
“What is that?” Maria asked pointing at a metal structure. It consisted of four rectangular metal containers stacked two by two, with a filmy white substance draped over it.
“I think that’s what we were in before we were born,” said Michael. He reached out and began to stroke the receptacles with an almost reverent expression on his face. “Do you realize that this is a piece of home?” he asked. “See, one space for each of us.”
“And Tess was down here,” said Max. He was staring that the unit, but he wasn’t really seeing it, he was staring into the past.
“I remember,” he whispered. “We came out first,” he said, pointing at Isabel and Michael. “And Tess was still in there. We were so afraid, and we didn’t’ know what to do. And then that man did something to get her out.”
“That man was you, Max,” Isabel reminded him. “You did it.”
“The question remains; why?” asked Alex, examining the unit.
He pulled at it experimentally, but was unable to budge it. Meanwhile, Maria climbed into one of the small openings, and sat with her arms wrapped around her knees.
“Wow,” she said. “It must have been a pretty tight squeeze. Good acoustics though,” she added, rapping on the panel above her head.
“Maria, come on. Get out of there. I want to go home,” said Liz.
Maria was about to argue, but once glace at Liz’s strained face caused her to shut her mouth and climb out of the small cube.
“Okay,” she said, making her way out. “I’m coming. Oops!” she said, banging her foot on the back panel of the chamber. “That was loud. But see, good tone.”
“Yeah, except for the part where that totally didn’t sound right,” said Alex.
“What do you mean?” Maria asked, standing up right. “It sounded good to me. Actually, it sounded like a G.”
“It sounded hollow,” said Tess.
“Yeah, so, what’s the big deal?” asked Michael.
“The deal is,” said Liz, getting drawn into the conversation despite her desire to leave, “That if it’s up against solid rock, it shouldn’t sound hollow.”
“That means,” Max continued. “There’s another room behind this one.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not like this thing is going to move,” said Kyle, pushing at it ineffectually. “It’s like they used alien super glue or something.”
“Well just consider us the alien super glue remover,” said Isabel. “You guys may want to step back a bit.”
The four aliens focused their power on the metal chamber, and it wobbled slightly before it sliding to one side. An opening in the rock wall was revealed and a glowing light spilled out, flooding the cavern with it’s shimmering glow. The filed one by one into the new room and stared in awe at the tall glowing object that filled the room.
“I think we found the granolith,” said Liz.
-
majiklmoon
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 361
- Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2001 10:55 am
- Contact:
Title: Consanguinity
Chapter Twelve
Liz slid into the booth at the CrashDown beside Kyle and looked across the table at her two best friends. Both wore the same confused and depressed expression that she knew graced her face. It had been several weeks since the incident, as they’d taken to calling it, had occurred out in the desert. And since then, none of them had seen even one glimpse of the Evans family. It was like they’d disappeared off the face of the Earth.
“I still stay they beamed back up to the home planet,” said Kyle, popping a Saturn Ring into his mouth.
“Antar,” said Liz, “And I thought we agreed not to talk about stuff like that in public.”
“What public,” said Alex, looking around the empty café? This place is as deserted as the school library on a warm spring day.”
“Yeah, well, we can’t be too careful,” said Liz. “I mean, that paper we had talked about all sorts of crazy people that were after them, us, them, oh, I don’t know,” she said, throwing her hands up in frustration. “It’s all so confusing.”
“Well, if you hadn’t dropped the paper when you had your meltdown,” said Kyle, “It would be a lot less confusing.”
“I’ve apologized a million times for that,” said Liz. “What do you want from me, blood?”
“Lay off, will you, Kyle,” said Maria, coming to Liz’s defense. “If anyone was entitled to a freak out, it was Liz, after all, she’d just found out she was going to get shot. Besides,” she added, her gaze shifting to the plate glass window that looked out on to Roswell’s main street. “It looks like ET didn’t fly home.”
Kyle and Liz turned in the booth to see Max, Isabel, Michael and Tess staring in at them through the window. Kyle nudged Liz, and when she didn’t move fast enough, climbed over the back of the booth and jogged across the café and opened the door.
“Hey,” he said. “How are things on the home planet?”
“Hi, Kyle,” Tess answered, smiling shyly, while Max pushed past him and made his way to where Liz sat.
“Are you okay?” he asked without preamble. “I was worried about you.”
“You couldn’t have been too worried,” said Alex. “Seeing as how nobody heard from you in over two weeks.”
“We don’t owe you any explanations,” began Michael.
“Excuse me?” Maria all but shouted. “You don’t owe us? I think you owe us a heck of a lot, explanations being the least of what you owe us.”
“Look, it’s not our fault,” said Isabel. “Our parents,” she blushed slightly. “Well, they decided we needed to go on a family vacation. We’ve spent the last two weeks bonding at Disney World in Florida. They even took our cell phones so there wouldn’t be anything to detract from family time.”
“Oh, wow, that’s, well that’s just heinous,” said Kyle. “Two weeks of It’s a Small World? How did you survive?”
“It wasn’t easy,” said Michael. “If I get hugged by one more freaking Disney character, I can’t be held accountable for my actions.”
Everyone laughed at the image of Michael being hugged by Chip and Dale, and the tension that had filled the café with the arrival of the Evans’ eased considerably. But as the laughter died away awkwardness filled the room. The eight of them had shared something, and none of them were sure of how to deal with it.
“So, nice elephant,” said Maria, finally.
“Elephant, what elephant?” asked Michael, a panicked look on his face. There’s no elephant – Tess, are you doing something?”
“I’m not doing anything,” Tess said, smothering a giggle. “Maria’s talking about the elephant in the middle of the room. You know, the one everybody sees, but nobody talks about.”
“Oh,” he said, slightly mollified. He reached down surreptitiously and patted the small package in his pocket. It contained a charm bracelet with a Dumbo the Flying Elephant charm and a Tinkerbell charm. He’d bought it at Disney World for Maria, and he was afraid she had somehow found out about it.
“As long as I live, I swear, I will never understand women,” he grumbled. “What are you two babbling about?”
“She means we’re all just ignoring this whole alien thing,” said Liz. That’s the elephant.”
“Well, jeez, why didn’t she just say so?” asked Kyle, who had looked as confused as Michael during the entire exchange.
“Well, there it is, out in the open,” said Alex. “So what do we do about it?”
“Well, I think the whole thing is a fake,” said Liz. “No, not the part about you being aliens, obviously, you do have powers that none of us can even conceive of. But that whole thing about another Max coming back from the future – it can’t be true.”
“Why not?” asked Isabel. “I mean, we remember him, we have a picture of him and everything.”
“It couldn’t have been Max,” Liz said. “I’ve been doing some research, and all the theories say that if time travel were possible, and you came in contact with yourself from another time, both of you would cease to exist. So that couldn’t have been Max that came back, and that means maybe everything that was on that paper was a lie too.”
“Not necessarily,” said Alex. “I get what your saying, Liz, but think about this, the Max that emerged from that chamber thingy, he wasn’t Max yet. He was more of a blank slate. He had no prior knowledge of who he was, so it’s possible that the two Max’s didn’t cancel each other out.”
Liz opened her mouth to refute Alex’s statements but couldn’t. What he said made sense.
“That means everything on the paper was probably the truth,” she said, her expression grim. “Including the part where I get shot.”
“We don’t know that,” said Max. “That’s why we thought we should all sit down together and go over that paper word by word.”
“You mean you didn’t do it while you were on vacation?” Alex asked, his tone incredulous.
“Actually, Max the boy king forgot to pack it,” Isabel admitted with a grin.
“Hey, it’s not my fault,” said Max. “Mom and Dad were rushing us around, and I…”
“You forgot to bring it,” said Michael. “Forget it. We’re back and we’re here, so why don’t we start at the beginning.”
“Don’t you think it would make more sense if we each had a copy of our own to ready?” asked Tess. “I mean, I can’t really see all eight of us crowded around the one copy we do have. And what if something happens to it. We should make at least one back up copy.”
“Great idea,” said Kyle. “But there isn’t any place opened on a Sunday night where we can make copies.”
“Maybe we do,” Max said. “Do you have any paper?”
“Does she have any paper?” asked Maria. “This is Liz we’re talking about. She has notebook paper, loose-leaf paper, printer paper, all kinds of paper. If it’s a school supply, Liz Parker has it.”
Liz frowned at the geeky yet accurate description of herself and walked across the café floor to the fax machine her father had recently installed in an effort to boost business. She reached under the counter and pulled out a ream of paper and returned to the area where the others were sitting. They were all so different, yet they were inexplicably bound together. There was a word for it; she’d learned it just the other day while studying for her PSAT’s, but it danced on the edges of her memory.
She handed Max the paper, and they all watched, mesmerized as Max passed his hand over the old faded paper and then over the paper Liz had given him. As his hand moved across the paper, words appeared behind it, slowly coming into view like. While he worked, he talked half to himself, and half to the others in the room.
“There was this word that he used at the beginning. I don’t know what it meant. He said it had to do with all of us – Cons- cons…” his voice drifted off as he tried to remember the word.
“Consanguinity!” Liz shouted. “It can mean a connection formed by blood, like a family, or a close connection or a common bond.”
“That’s it,” said Max. “Consanguinity. Anyhow, he, um, I – God, this is so confusing – said we, all of us, had that affinity or common bond. There, I’m finished,” he added, making the last of the copies.
“Holy shit!” Kyle said. “That is probably the coolest freaking thing I’ve ever seen in my life. “Do you realize how much that could help me in school?” he continued while Max continued making copies for everyone.
“Shut up and read,” said Max, passing out the copies to everyone.
The small restaurant was silent, except for the occasional rustling of paper as the eight friends read. At one point, Maria got up and went to the cash register and returned with a handful of pencils, which allowed everyone to make notes. One by one, they finished reading and waited silently until the last person read the last page.
“Well,” said Max.
“Well, what?” asked Alex. “This is your show, what do you expect from us?”
“You heard Max before,” said Isabel. “We have a close connection. I guess before it was formed by Liz getting shot, but this time – well, I don’t really know how it happened, but we all admit that we’ve all kind felt bonded to you from the first time we met.”
“Do you remember when the other Max found us, he did something,” said Tess.
“Yeah, he did,” said Michael. “I kind of remember it was like seeing a movie playing in my mind, though I didn’t know what a movie was then. He showed us all the good stuff about all of us together.”
“Yeah, and it looks like he left a lot of the bad stuff for the letter that he wrote,” said Maria, flipping through the papers. “Some of this stuff is pretty horrible. You’re hunted by the FBI, and another alien race, that’s pretty scary.”
“But it doesn’t have to happen,” said Tess. “Especially this part about my being with Max. That’s really gross on all sorts of levels. He’s my brother. I can’t ever imagine liking him, liking him.”
“But he’s not really your brother,” said Liz. “You were married back on Antar, and see, it says here that if you’re not together, you’re all going to die.”
“Right, if we’re not together – but we are together,” said Michael with stunning logic. “We don’t have to be couples to be together. The bond we have now is really strong, who says that isn’t enough.”
“It might be,” said Kyle, rereading the papers Max had copied. “I think the other Max realized that. He originally was trying to get Liz to fall out of love with him and have her help Tess fall in love with him. I think he realized that it wasn’t necessary. What was necessary was to keep the four of us together as a family. THAT’S the bond he was trying to forge. I mean come on – we’re family, and family is forever. You can fall in and out of love with people, but family is family, no matter what.”
“Michael’s right,” said Max. “We’re a family – all of us,” he added, his look encompassing the whole group.”
“Great, now that we’ve solved the aliens taking over the world in the future problem,” said Maria. “How do we stop Liz from getting shot?”
Chapter Twelve
Liz slid into the booth at the CrashDown beside Kyle and looked across the table at her two best friends. Both wore the same confused and depressed expression that she knew graced her face. It had been several weeks since the incident, as they’d taken to calling it, had occurred out in the desert. And since then, none of them had seen even one glimpse of the Evans family. It was like they’d disappeared off the face of the Earth.
“I still stay they beamed back up to the home planet,” said Kyle, popping a Saturn Ring into his mouth.
“Antar,” said Liz, “And I thought we agreed not to talk about stuff like that in public.”
“What public,” said Alex, looking around the empty café? This place is as deserted as the school library on a warm spring day.”
“Yeah, well, we can’t be too careful,” said Liz. “I mean, that paper we had talked about all sorts of crazy people that were after them, us, them, oh, I don’t know,” she said, throwing her hands up in frustration. “It’s all so confusing.”
“Well, if you hadn’t dropped the paper when you had your meltdown,” said Kyle, “It would be a lot less confusing.”
“I’ve apologized a million times for that,” said Liz. “What do you want from me, blood?”
“Lay off, will you, Kyle,” said Maria, coming to Liz’s defense. “If anyone was entitled to a freak out, it was Liz, after all, she’d just found out she was going to get shot. Besides,” she added, her gaze shifting to the plate glass window that looked out on to Roswell’s main street. “It looks like ET didn’t fly home.”
Kyle and Liz turned in the booth to see Max, Isabel, Michael and Tess staring in at them through the window. Kyle nudged Liz, and when she didn’t move fast enough, climbed over the back of the booth and jogged across the café and opened the door.
“Hey,” he said. “How are things on the home planet?”
“Hi, Kyle,” Tess answered, smiling shyly, while Max pushed past him and made his way to where Liz sat.
“Are you okay?” he asked without preamble. “I was worried about you.”
“You couldn’t have been too worried,” said Alex. “Seeing as how nobody heard from you in over two weeks.”
“We don’t owe you any explanations,” began Michael.
“Excuse me?” Maria all but shouted. “You don’t owe us? I think you owe us a heck of a lot, explanations being the least of what you owe us.”
“Look, it’s not our fault,” said Isabel. “Our parents,” she blushed slightly. “Well, they decided we needed to go on a family vacation. We’ve spent the last two weeks bonding at Disney World in Florida. They even took our cell phones so there wouldn’t be anything to detract from family time.”
“Oh, wow, that’s, well that’s just heinous,” said Kyle. “Two weeks of It’s a Small World? How did you survive?”
“It wasn’t easy,” said Michael. “If I get hugged by one more freaking Disney character, I can’t be held accountable for my actions.”
Everyone laughed at the image of Michael being hugged by Chip and Dale, and the tension that had filled the café with the arrival of the Evans’ eased considerably. But as the laughter died away awkwardness filled the room. The eight of them had shared something, and none of them were sure of how to deal with it.
“So, nice elephant,” said Maria, finally.
“Elephant, what elephant?” asked Michael, a panicked look on his face. There’s no elephant – Tess, are you doing something?”
“I’m not doing anything,” Tess said, smothering a giggle. “Maria’s talking about the elephant in the middle of the room. You know, the one everybody sees, but nobody talks about.”
“Oh,” he said, slightly mollified. He reached down surreptitiously and patted the small package in his pocket. It contained a charm bracelet with a Dumbo the Flying Elephant charm and a Tinkerbell charm. He’d bought it at Disney World for Maria, and he was afraid she had somehow found out about it.
“As long as I live, I swear, I will never understand women,” he grumbled. “What are you two babbling about?”
“She means we’re all just ignoring this whole alien thing,” said Liz. That’s the elephant.”
“Well, jeez, why didn’t she just say so?” asked Kyle, who had looked as confused as Michael during the entire exchange.
“Well, there it is, out in the open,” said Alex. “So what do we do about it?”
“Well, I think the whole thing is a fake,” said Liz. “No, not the part about you being aliens, obviously, you do have powers that none of us can even conceive of. But that whole thing about another Max coming back from the future – it can’t be true.”
“Why not?” asked Isabel. “I mean, we remember him, we have a picture of him and everything.”
“It couldn’t have been Max,” Liz said. “I’ve been doing some research, and all the theories say that if time travel were possible, and you came in contact with yourself from another time, both of you would cease to exist. So that couldn’t have been Max that came back, and that means maybe everything that was on that paper was a lie too.”
“Not necessarily,” said Alex. “I get what your saying, Liz, but think about this, the Max that emerged from that chamber thingy, he wasn’t Max yet. He was more of a blank slate. He had no prior knowledge of who he was, so it’s possible that the two Max’s didn’t cancel each other out.”
Liz opened her mouth to refute Alex’s statements but couldn’t. What he said made sense.
“That means everything on the paper was probably the truth,” she said, her expression grim. “Including the part where I get shot.”
“We don’t know that,” said Max. “That’s why we thought we should all sit down together and go over that paper word by word.”
“You mean you didn’t do it while you were on vacation?” Alex asked, his tone incredulous.
“Actually, Max the boy king forgot to pack it,” Isabel admitted with a grin.
“Hey, it’s not my fault,” said Max. “Mom and Dad were rushing us around, and I…”
“You forgot to bring it,” said Michael. “Forget it. We’re back and we’re here, so why don’t we start at the beginning.”
“Don’t you think it would make more sense if we each had a copy of our own to ready?” asked Tess. “I mean, I can’t really see all eight of us crowded around the one copy we do have. And what if something happens to it. We should make at least one back up copy.”
“Great idea,” said Kyle. “But there isn’t any place opened on a Sunday night where we can make copies.”
“Maybe we do,” Max said. “Do you have any paper?”
“Does she have any paper?” asked Maria. “This is Liz we’re talking about. She has notebook paper, loose-leaf paper, printer paper, all kinds of paper. If it’s a school supply, Liz Parker has it.”
Liz frowned at the geeky yet accurate description of herself and walked across the café floor to the fax machine her father had recently installed in an effort to boost business. She reached under the counter and pulled out a ream of paper and returned to the area where the others were sitting. They were all so different, yet they were inexplicably bound together. There was a word for it; she’d learned it just the other day while studying for her PSAT’s, but it danced on the edges of her memory.
She handed Max the paper, and they all watched, mesmerized as Max passed his hand over the old faded paper and then over the paper Liz had given him. As his hand moved across the paper, words appeared behind it, slowly coming into view like. While he worked, he talked half to himself, and half to the others in the room.
“There was this word that he used at the beginning. I don’t know what it meant. He said it had to do with all of us – Cons- cons…” his voice drifted off as he tried to remember the word.
“Consanguinity!” Liz shouted. “It can mean a connection formed by blood, like a family, or a close connection or a common bond.”
“That’s it,” said Max. “Consanguinity. Anyhow, he, um, I – God, this is so confusing – said we, all of us, had that affinity or common bond. There, I’m finished,” he added, making the last of the copies.
“Holy shit!” Kyle said. “That is probably the coolest freaking thing I’ve ever seen in my life. “Do you realize how much that could help me in school?” he continued while Max continued making copies for everyone.
“Shut up and read,” said Max, passing out the copies to everyone.
The small restaurant was silent, except for the occasional rustling of paper as the eight friends read. At one point, Maria got up and went to the cash register and returned with a handful of pencils, which allowed everyone to make notes. One by one, they finished reading and waited silently until the last person read the last page.
“Well,” said Max.
“Well, what?” asked Alex. “This is your show, what do you expect from us?”
“You heard Max before,” said Isabel. “We have a close connection. I guess before it was formed by Liz getting shot, but this time – well, I don’t really know how it happened, but we all admit that we’ve all kind felt bonded to you from the first time we met.”
“Do you remember when the other Max found us, he did something,” said Tess.
“Yeah, he did,” said Michael. “I kind of remember it was like seeing a movie playing in my mind, though I didn’t know what a movie was then. He showed us all the good stuff about all of us together.”
“Yeah, and it looks like he left a lot of the bad stuff for the letter that he wrote,” said Maria, flipping through the papers. “Some of this stuff is pretty horrible. You’re hunted by the FBI, and another alien race, that’s pretty scary.”
“But it doesn’t have to happen,” said Tess. “Especially this part about my being with Max. That’s really gross on all sorts of levels. He’s my brother. I can’t ever imagine liking him, liking him.”
“But he’s not really your brother,” said Liz. “You were married back on Antar, and see, it says here that if you’re not together, you’re all going to die.”
“Right, if we’re not together – but we are together,” said Michael with stunning logic. “We don’t have to be couples to be together. The bond we have now is really strong, who says that isn’t enough.”
“It might be,” said Kyle, rereading the papers Max had copied. “I think the other Max realized that. He originally was trying to get Liz to fall out of love with him and have her help Tess fall in love with him. I think he realized that it wasn’t necessary. What was necessary was to keep the four of us together as a family. THAT’S the bond he was trying to forge. I mean come on – we’re family, and family is forever. You can fall in and out of love with people, but family is family, no matter what.”
“Michael’s right,” said Max. “We’re a family – all of us,” he added, his look encompassing the whole group.”
“Great, now that we’ve solved the aliens taking over the world in the future problem,” said Maria. “How do we stop Liz from getting shot?”
-
majiklmoon
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 361
- Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2001 10:55 am
- Contact:
hmmmm, well, I'm not quite sure what the heck happened tonight, but here, have a present!
Title: Consanguinity
Chapter Thirteen
If you’re reading this, it means my plan was successful, Liz read. Hopefully, this means you’re able to change the timeline, and prevent the horrible tragedy that happens because of us.
Liz sighed and rolled over on the bed. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to read it again. How many times could she read about getting shot and getting saved by Max, only to have everybody she ever loved killed by some evil aliens. She gave a gusty sigh, and rolled back over and continued reading. Maybe this time, she’d find something they’d all missed in the seven million times they read the stupid things.
My name is Max Evans. I was sent here, along with my sister Isabel, my best friend Michael, and Tess from our home planet of Antar. On Antar, we were known as Zan, Vilondra, Rath, and Ava. There was a terrible war on Antar, and we were killed by Kivar. Scientists managed to clone our essence, mix it with DNA from humans and send us to Earth where we were to incubate in four pods. The hope was that when we emerged, we, along with our protectors would find our way back to Antar and save our people.
Maybe, if we had remained strictly Antarian, this would have happened, but we, Liz and I, believe that because our DNA was mixed with Human DNA, it changed us too much. We are essentially human, but with advanced abilities. Isabel, Michael and I emerged from our pods too soon, and this is where our problems began. We managed to get out of the pod chamber and we roamed through the desert, to the road. We saw the lights of an oncoming car, and Michael got frightened and ran away. Isabel and I were found and adopted by Diane and Philip Evans. Michael was found later, and placed by social services in many different foster families before he finally settled with Hank Guerin. None of us remembered Tess, and later, she was removed from her pod by one of our protectors named Nescado.
Isabel and I grew up in a happy family, while Michael had an extremely difficult life with Hank. The three of us became friends in elementary school, drawn together by the differences that nobody could see, but that we knew we had. Things were fine for a long time, and our goal was to just blend in, but one day, my world collapsed and everything changed.
I liked a girl named Liz Parker. I used to go into her parent’s café and watch her for hours at a time, just to torture myself. I knew I could never be with her; it was too risky. We had to be prepared to run at any time, in case our secret was discovered. One day, Michael and I were at the CrashDown when it happened – a fight broke out, and Liz was shot. It would have been fatal, it practically was. I couldn’t let her die, I had to save her, she was everything to me even if she didn’t know it.
A knock at the door interrupted Liz’s reading, and she quickly slipped the papers under her pillow and pulled out a magazine and began to leaf through its pages.
“Come in,” she called.
“Hey, Lizzie,” her dad said, sticking his head in the door. “I just wanted to let you know that we’re home. Did you have any problems tonight?”
“No, Dad, everything was fine,” Liz said, smiling up at her father. “Did you and mom have a good ‘date night’?” she asked.
“We did, sweetie, thanks for asking. Did you, Maria, Kyle and Alex have fun tonight?”
“Yeah, we mostly sat around downstairs and ate. Oh, and the Evans kids stopped by. Their parents surprised them with a trip to Disney World so they stopped by to tell us about it. I hope that was okay.”
“That’s fine, Lizzie, thanks for telling me. You’ve never given us any reason to not trust you. I’m glad you enjoy having your friends come by here.”
“Well you know, the free Saturn Rings is a pretty good incentive,” joked Liz.
“You goof,” Jeff laughed. He stepped into the room, dropped a quick kiss on the top of Liz’s head and stepped back. “Sweet dreams,” he said, “and remember…”
“I know,” said Liz. “Pray for aliens.” It was a long-standing family joke that business in Roswell boomed whenever there was a sighting. “Good night, dad.”
She waited patiently until she heard her parent’s bedroom door close before dropping the magazine and pulling the creased papers out from underneath the covers and continued reading.
It was September 18th, and there was a big crash festival going on in town, and the CrashDown was filled with all sorts of alien hunters. Michael and I were sitting, and I was watching Liz, when it happened; a fight broke out between these two guys. Maria screamed, the gun went off, and Liz went down. I didn’t stop to think; I just knew I had to save her. Michael tried to stop me, but I didn’t listen, and in saving Liz, I started a chain of events that led to the destruction of everyone that I loved. But, I know I’d do it again if I had the chance.
Liz paused to scrub away the tears that trickled down her cheeks. She was crying not only because she was reading about getting shot, but from what Max wrote. She could feel the depth of the love this Max from the future had for her.
Liz figured out our secret, and she told Maria, it wasn’t long after that Liz told Alex. We formed a little group, the seven of us, and then, Tess came to town. We didn’t know who she was at first, but she wormed her way into our group with determination. She kept trying to come between Liz and me. It wasn’t long until we found out that she was the fourth person who had been in the pod with us. She’d been raised by our protector – if you could call it raised. He kept drumming her destiny into her brain, and I was her destiny. But her destiny, and a life that had happened however long ago on another planet didn’t matter to me. The only thing that mattered to me was Liz. We were a couple, and nothing was going to change that.
A group called the special unit was after us. They started looking for us after I healed Liz, and because of them, Kyle was shot while his father was helping us. I used my powers to heal him, and he too became a part of our group – kicking and screaming all the way. So then we were eight, and for a while it worked, but after Liz and I got married, Tess fell apart. Nescado – our so called protector – had brainwashed her into believing that we had to be together, and when she couldn’t have that, she left.
He was right, we needed to be together – but I don’t think we had to be together as in a couple. The four of us have these powers, and the compliment each other. Without Tess, we were weaker, and our enemies were able to work against us – to destroy us.
Liz and I, along with her friend Serena were able to modify the Granolith to send me back in time. Originally, the plan was to have me try and convince a Liz from my past to NOT fall in love with me. We both agreed it was the only way, but I couldn’t do it. I don’t know if it was the too human part of me, or what, but I couldn’t go back and convince Liz to destroy the best thing that had ever happened to both of us.
I don’t know if it was a miscalculation on our part, or the strength of my love that sent me back to before we emerged from our pods, but here I am, and I have a plan. I’m going to make sure all of you emerge together, if I have to pull Tess out with my hands, and I’m going to make sure my parents find all of you. You’ll be together.
When we were planning this, Liz talked a lot about consanguinity – she said it was a relationship by blood, or a close connection. She learned that word just before I healed her, she said. She figured the four of us needed that bond of blood to keep us together in the future. Maybe she’s right, but I’m gambling on it being a bond of love – the love the eight of us have for each other.
I’m going to try and give you all some of my memories. I hope it will help you form your own bond.
A noise caused Liz stop reading and look up. Through her window, she could see a dark shape huddled on her fire escape. Heart pounding, she slipped out of bed and crossed her room. Summoning all her courage, she pulled back the curtain. Her scream died in her throat when she realized that it wasn’t an intruder, but Max Evans on her fire escape.
“Hey,” she said softly, after she’d opened the window. “What’s up?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” said Max. “I kept thinking about the 18th.”
“Yeah, me too,” Liz admitted. “A lot, actually.”
“Liz, we’re not going to let you die,” he said. “We can’t.”
“You can,” said Liz. “And I think you have to. I also think you can’t save me, Max. Saving me is what gets that Special Unit after you.”
“Liz, you read what the other Max wrote. You’re the most important thing to him, to me. I can’t let you die.”
“And how is what he wrote any different than what Nescado did to Tess. He kept telling her that you were her destiny, and instead of that, we have this Max from the future telling us that you and I belong together.”
Without warning, Max put his hand on her shoulders and kissed her. It was a tentative kiss at first, growing stronger and stronger. Liz parted her lips wider as she felt Max’s tongue slip gently into her mouth, and she leaned farther out the window to get as close to him as possible. As they kissed, her mind was filled with images. She saw three naked children standing beside the four pods while a shadowy image reached out and pulled a fourth child free. The image shifted, and she saw him place his hand on Max’s head, and a cacophony of sights and sounds filled her mind.
Liz gasped and instinctively pulled away, severing the connection between Max and herself.
“What was that?” she demanded.
“That is what the other me let me see,” said Max. “And I wanted you to see it too. And this he said, placing a sheaf of papers on the windowsill is what he wrote that I didn’t let the others see.”
“You withheld this from us?” she asked. “Why?”
“Because I get what you said about not doing what Nescado did,” said Max. “Read it and you’ll see what I’m talking about.”
Liz scanned the papers and smothered a giggle. “Alex and Isabel?” she said. “Michael and Maria, were together? Michael and Maria? The same Michael and Maria who can’t be together for five minutes without arguing?”
“Yeah, that Michael and Maria,” said Max. “ But I kind of felt the same way you do, and I didn’t want to force them into anything based upon what happened before, or in the future, or whatever. You know what I mean.”
“Well, what about us, then?” asked Liz. “Aren’t you doing the same thing with us that Nescado did with Tess?”
“Liz, can I ask you something, and can you promise me to answer honestly?” asked Max. Liz nodded slightly, biting her lower lip with her teeth as she did so. “Before all of this, how did you feel about me? Did you like me, maybe even a little?”
Liz nodded again. “Yeah, I did, and not a little, but a lot,” she admitted.
“Then it’s not the same, because nobody put those images in your mind,” said Max, kissing her again. “And since we feel this way about each other, I think it’s safe to say we’re not going to let you get shot. I just don’t know how, yet.”
Title: Consanguinity
Chapter Thirteen
If you’re reading this, it means my plan was successful, Liz read. Hopefully, this means you’re able to change the timeline, and prevent the horrible tragedy that happens because of us.
Liz sighed and rolled over on the bed. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to read it again. How many times could she read about getting shot and getting saved by Max, only to have everybody she ever loved killed by some evil aliens. She gave a gusty sigh, and rolled back over and continued reading. Maybe this time, she’d find something they’d all missed in the seven million times they read the stupid things.
My name is Max Evans. I was sent here, along with my sister Isabel, my best friend Michael, and Tess from our home planet of Antar. On Antar, we were known as Zan, Vilondra, Rath, and Ava. There was a terrible war on Antar, and we were killed by Kivar. Scientists managed to clone our essence, mix it with DNA from humans and send us to Earth where we were to incubate in four pods. The hope was that when we emerged, we, along with our protectors would find our way back to Antar and save our people.
Maybe, if we had remained strictly Antarian, this would have happened, but we, Liz and I, believe that because our DNA was mixed with Human DNA, it changed us too much. We are essentially human, but with advanced abilities. Isabel, Michael and I emerged from our pods too soon, and this is where our problems began. We managed to get out of the pod chamber and we roamed through the desert, to the road. We saw the lights of an oncoming car, and Michael got frightened and ran away. Isabel and I were found and adopted by Diane and Philip Evans. Michael was found later, and placed by social services in many different foster families before he finally settled with Hank Guerin. None of us remembered Tess, and later, she was removed from her pod by one of our protectors named Nescado.
Isabel and I grew up in a happy family, while Michael had an extremely difficult life with Hank. The three of us became friends in elementary school, drawn together by the differences that nobody could see, but that we knew we had. Things were fine for a long time, and our goal was to just blend in, but one day, my world collapsed and everything changed.
I liked a girl named Liz Parker. I used to go into her parent’s café and watch her for hours at a time, just to torture myself. I knew I could never be with her; it was too risky. We had to be prepared to run at any time, in case our secret was discovered. One day, Michael and I were at the CrashDown when it happened – a fight broke out, and Liz was shot. It would have been fatal, it practically was. I couldn’t let her die, I had to save her, she was everything to me even if she didn’t know it.
A knock at the door interrupted Liz’s reading, and she quickly slipped the papers under her pillow and pulled out a magazine and began to leaf through its pages.
“Come in,” she called.
“Hey, Lizzie,” her dad said, sticking his head in the door. “I just wanted to let you know that we’re home. Did you have any problems tonight?”
“No, Dad, everything was fine,” Liz said, smiling up at her father. “Did you and mom have a good ‘date night’?” she asked.
“We did, sweetie, thanks for asking. Did you, Maria, Kyle and Alex have fun tonight?”
“Yeah, we mostly sat around downstairs and ate. Oh, and the Evans kids stopped by. Their parents surprised them with a trip to Disney World so they stopped by to tell us about it. I hope that was okay.”
“That’s fine, Lizzie, thanks for telling me. You’ve never given us any reason to not trust you. I’m glad you enjoy having your friends come by here.”
“Well you know, the free Saturn Rings is a pretty good incentive,” joked Liz.
“You goof,” Jeff laughed. He stepped into the room, dropped a quick kiss on the top of Liz’s head and stepped back. “Sweet dreams,” he said, “and remember…”
“I know,” said Liz. “Pray for aliens.” It was a long-standing family joke that business in Roswell boomed whenever there was a sighting. “Good night, dad.”
She waited patiently until she heard her parent’s bedroom door close before dropping the magazine and pulling the creased papers out from underneath the covers and continued reading.
It was September 18th, and there was a big crash festival going on in town, and the CrashDown was filled with all sorts of alien hunters. Michael and I were sitting, and I was watching Liz, when it happened; a fight broke out between these two guys. Maria screamed, the gun went off, and Liz went down. I didn’t stop to think; I just knew I had to save her. Michael tried to stop me, but I didn’t listen, and in saving Liz, I started a chain of events that led to the destruction of everyone that I loved. But, I know I’d do it again if I had the chance.
Liz paused to scrub away the tears that trickled down her cheeks. She was crying not only because she was reading about getting shot, but from what Max wrote. She could feel the depth of the love this Max from the future had for her.
Liz figured out our secret, and she told Maria, it wasn’t long after that Liz told Alex. We formed a little group, the seven of us, and then, Tess came to town. We didn’t know who she was at first, but she wormed her way into our group with determination. She kept trying to come between Liz and me. It wasn’t long until we found out that she was the fourth person who had been in the pod with us. She’d been raised by our protector – if you could call it raised. He kept drumming her destiny into her brain, and I was her destiny. But her destiny, and a life that had happened however long ago on another planet didn’t matter to me. The only thing that mattered to me was Liz. We were a couple, and nothing was going to change that.
A group called the special unit was after us. They started looking for us after I healed Liz, and because of them, Kyle was shot while his father was helping us. I used my powers to heal him, and he too became a part of our group – kicking and screaming all the way. So then we were eight, and for a while it worked, but after Liz and I got married, Tess fell apart. Nescado – our so called protector – had brainwashed her into believing that we had to be together, and when she couldn’t have that, she left.
He was right, we needed to be together – but I don’t think we had to be together as in a couple. The four of us have these powers, and the compliment each other. Without Tess, we were weaker, and our enemies were able to work against us – to destroy us.
Liz and I, along with her friend Serena were able to modify the Granolith to send me back in time. Originally, the plan was to have me try and convince a Liz from my past to NOT fall in love with me. We both agreed it was the only way, but I couldn’t do it. I don’t know if it was the too human part of me, or what, but I couldn’t go back and convince Liz to destroy the best thing that had ever happened to both of us.
I don’t know if it was a miscalculation on our part, or the strength of my love that sent me back to before we emerged from our pods, but here I am, and I have a plan. I’m going to make sure all of you emerge together, if I have to pull Tess out with my hands, and I’m going to make sure my parents find all of you. You’ll be together.
When we were planning this, Liz talked a lot about consanguinity – she said it was a relationship by blood, or a close connection. She learned that word just before I healed her, she said. She figured the four of us needed that bond of blood to keep us together in the future. Maybe she’s right, but I’m gambling on it being a bond of love – the love the eight of us have for each other.
I’m going to try and give you all some of my memories. I hope it will help you form your own bond.
A noise caused Liz stop reading and look up. Through her window, she could see a dark shape huddled on her fire escape. Heart pounding, she slipped out of bed and crossed her room. Summoning all her courage, she pulled back the curtain. Her scream died in her throat when she realized that it wasn’t an intruder, but Max Evans on her fire escape.
“Hey,” she said softly, after she’d opened the window. “What’s up?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” said Max. “I kept thinking about the 18th.”
“Yeah, me too,” Liz admitted. “A lot, actually.”
“Liz, we’re not going to let you die,” he said. “We can’t.”
“You can,” said Liz. “And I think you have to. I also think you can’t save me, Max. Saving me is what gets that Special Unit after you.”
“Liz, you read what the other Max wrote. You’re the most important thing to him, to me. I can’t let you die.”
“And how is what he wrote any different than what Nescado did to Tess. He kept telling her that you were her destiny, and instead of that, we have this Max from the future telling us that you and I belong together.”
Without warning, Max put his hand on her shoulders and kissed her. It was a tentative kiss at first, growing stronger and stronger. Liz parted her lips wider as she felt Max’s tongue slip gently into her mouth, and she leaned farther out the window to get as close to him as possible. As they kissed, her mind was filled with images. She saw three naked children standing beside the four pods while a shadowy image reached out and pulled a fourth child free. The image shifted, and she saw him place his hand on Max’s head, and a cacophony of sights and sounds filled her mind.
Liz gasped and instinctively pulled away, severing the connection between Max and herself.
“What was that?” she demanded.
“That is what the other me let me see,” said Max. “And I wanted you to see it too. And this he said, placing a sheaf of papers on the windowsill is what he wrote that I didn’t let the others see.”
“You withheld this from us?” she asked. “Why?”
“Because I get what you said about not doing what Nescado did,” said Max. “Read it and you’ll see what I’m talking about.”
Liz scanned the papers and smothered a giggle. “Alex and Isabel?” she said. “Michael and Maria, were together? Michael and Maria? The same Michael and Maria who can’t be together for five minutes without arguing?”
“Yeah, that Michael and Maria,” said Max. “ But I kind of felt the same way you do, and I didn’t want to force them into anything based upon what happened before, or in the future, or whatever. You know what I mean.”
“Well, what about us, then?” asked Liz. “Aren’t you doing the same thing with us that Nescado did with Tess?”
“Liz, can I ask you something, and can you promise me to answer honestly?” asked Max. Liz nodded slightly, biting her lower lip with her teeth as she did so. “Before all of this, how did you feel about me? Did you like me, maybe even a little?”
Liz nodded again. “Yeah, I did, and not a little, but a lot,” she admitted.
“Then it’s not the same, because nobody put those images in your mind,” said Max, kissing her again. “And since we feel this way about each other, I think it’s safe to say we’re not going to let you get shot. I just don’t know how, yet.”
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majiklmoon
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Title: Consanguinity
Chapter Fourteen
If the desire of Future Max was to create an unbreakable bond between the eight, he succeeded beyond his wildest imaginations, for it seemed as if the eight friends were inseparable. If they couldn’t meet together as a group, then they would meet in twos and threes creating and discarding plans like battle weary generals at the turning point of a great war. And like those great generals, they were determined to succeed. Nothing was going to destroy their plans in any way shape or form. What they didn’t consider, however was across town, a desperate alien was also making plans, an alien who would do anything and sacrifice anybody to return to his home planet, boy king in tow.
** * ** *
Michael summoned his courage and knocked on the storm door of Maria’s house. He hoped and prayed with all his being that Maria would open the door and not her mother. Luck, however, was not with him, and Amy Deluca opened the door, a half smile playing across her lips.
“Hi,” she said.
“Uh, um,” Michael stuttered. “I’m Michael Evans, and I was wondering if Maria would um, like to go for a walk or something?”
“Michael, sweetie, I know who you are,” Amy said, struggling not to laugh. “You’re over hear all the time, remember?”
“Oh, uh, yeah, that’s right,” he said in a rush, trying to cover his nervousness. “Sorry, Miz Deluca, I was just being kind of stupid. So I was wondering if Maria wanted to come for a walk with me, Isabel and Alex?”
Amy opened the door and looked out over Michael’s head.
“I don’t see Isabel or Alex anywhere,” she said, enjoying the look of discomfort on the young man’s face.
“No, uh, they stopped for slurpees,” Michael improvised. “I was just wondering if Maria wanted to come with us, or something.”
Amy laughed to herself at Michael’s obvious discomfort. “Hang on just a second and I’ll see if she wants to go,” she said. “Maria,” she called, turning into the house. “Michael’s here to see you.”
“He is?” came the excited cry from within the house. “I mean, tell him I’ll be right with him,” Maria said, trying to sound calm.
“She’ll be right with you,” said Amy. “Did you want to come inside and…”
“MOM,” came the shout from inside the house.
“I mean have a seat on the porch while you wait?” asked Amy, not missing a beat.
“Thanks, I will,” said Michael, looking alarmed at the crashes and bangs that were coming from within the DeLuca household.
“Mom, have you seen my black – oh never mind,” Maria yelled. “Just one more minute, Michael!”
“Do you think everything’s okay? It kind of sounds like there’s a hurricane going on in there.” he asked, tentatively, causing Amy to laugh.
“Michael, with two sisters, you’ve never seen either one of them get ready to go out before?” she asked.
“Well, Isabel goes out a lot, but honestly, Miz Deluca Isabel’s such a control freak that even if she does act like that, there is no way anybody’s ever going to know about it,” said Michael. “And Tess, well she’s more of a grab a coat and go type of person. I don’t think either one of them have ever acted like that before.”
“Well, I think it’s just because the right person wasn’t waiting on the steps,” said Amy.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Michael asked, confusion dancing across his face.
“Never mind,” said Amy. “You’ll understand someday.”
A loud crash, followed by a muttered curse proceeded Maria’s arrival at the door.
“Hi,” she said, trying to lean casually against the doorframe while gasping for air. “I, uh, I didn’t know you were stopping by.”
“Yeah, well, it was kind of a spontaneous thing,” said Michael. “I was wondering, uh, that is, Alex, Isabel and I wanted to know if you wanted to go for a walk?”
The expression on Maria’s face was priceless when Michael mentioned Isabel, and Alex, and it took all of Amy’s acting ability to not explode with laughter.
“Well, you kids have a nice time, and Maria, school starts tomorrow, so don’t be too late,” she said.
“So, uh, you wanna go for a walk or something?” Michael asked again.
“Yeah, sure, I mean, we still have a lot of things to figure out before the eighteenth,” said Maria.
“Yeah, about that. I was kind of thinking maybe we could not talk about all of that crap for a change,” Michael muttered, his face turning red.
“Oh, uh, I, uh,” said Maria, for once at a loss for words. “Well, uh, what do you want to talk about?”
Michael stopped, floored by the question. When he’d practiced asking Maria to go for a walk, he went over every possible scenario he could imagine, but he didn’t even start to plan what would happen if she said yes.
“Um, are you excited about school?” Michael asked. Even as the words popped out of his mouth, he knew they were lame.
“No, not really,” said Maria. “School is just something I do until I get a recording contract.”
“Recording contract?” asked Michael. “Really?”
“Well, that’s the dream, anyhow,” said Maria. “And I’m going to do everything possible to make it come true. How about you?”
“Well, I – I guess my main dream was to figure out who I am and where I came from,” said Michael. “But that’s moving into dangerous territory, so let’s not talk about it.”
“Okay, how was your trip to Disney?” asked Maria.
“Actually, it was really fun,” Michael admitted. “But if you ever tell anyone I said that, I promise I’ll kill you.”
“My lips are sealed,” said Maria, making a zipping motion across her mouth. “So tell me about it. What was your favorite thing? And don’t say Space Mountain!”
“Actually, Space Mountain was cool, but I loved The Tower of Terror at MGM. The whole story leading up to the actual ride totally freaked me out. How about you? Do you have a favorite ride there?”
“Well, uh, we’ve never been,” said Maria. “We’ve never had the money.” She looked down at the cracked sidewalk, trying to hide the color that rushed into her cheeks.
“Oh, uh, yeah, sorry,” said Michael. He thought quickly and then reached into his pocket. “Well, um, since you’ve never been, I thought maybe you’d like to have this piece of Disney World for your very own,” he said in a rush.
Awkwardly, he thrust the bracelet at Maria, waiting with his heart in his throat to see if she would accept it.
“You got this for me?” she asked, touching it lightly.
“Yeah, I saw it and I thought of you,” he said, starting to relax a little.
“You saw Dumbo and you thought of me?” Maria asked. “I think I’m insulted.”
“Wait,” Michael said, his voice ripe with panic. He reached into his pocket and fished around, and let out a gusty sigh of relief. “No, I saw this and it reminded me of you.” He thrust the small charm of Tinkerbell at Maria and waited.
“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Maria said. “Oh, but look, it’s broken.” She reached out and touched the small, broken gold loop that was used to fasten the charm to the bracelet.
“No problem, I can fix that,” said Michael. He reached out to use his powers to repair it, but before he could, Maria stopped him.
“Wait,” she said. She took the bracelet from Michael and quickly fastened it around her wrist. “Okay, now fix it,” she said.
“You want me to fix it, while you’re wearing it?” Michael asked.
“I trust you,” she said, simply.
Michael felt the gratitude and something else well up inside his heart. Nobody, not Max, Isabel, Tess, or their parents had ever put so much faith in him. He summoned every ounce of control he had and deftly repaired the fastener on the Tinkerbell charm.
“There,” he said. “You’re all set.”
Maria smiled up at him, and then, before she could think about what she was doing, stood on tiptoe and kissed him.
** * ** *
Across the street, a man watched, and felt a growing rage in what would have been his heart, if he had one. Something was going to have to be done, before it was too late.
Chapter Fourteen
If the desire of Future Max was to create an unbreakable bond between the eight, he succeeded beyond his wildest imaginations, for it seemed as if the eight friends were inseparable. If they couldn’t meet together as a group, then they would meet in twos and threes creating and discarding plans like battle weary generals at the turning point of a great war. And like those great generals, they were determined to succeed. Nothing was going to destroy their plans in any way shape or form. What they didn’t consider, however was across town, a desperate alien was also making plans, an alien who would do anything and sacrifice anybody to return to his home planet, boy king in tow.
** * ** *
Michael summoned his courage and knocked on the storm door of Maria’s house. He hoped and prayed with all his being that Maria would open the door and not her mother. Luck, however, was not with him, and Amy Deluca opened the door, a half smile playing across her lips.
“Hi,” she said.
“Uh, um,” Michael stuttered. “I’m Michael Evans, and I was wondering if Maria would um, like to go for a walk or something?”
“Michael, sweetie, I know who you are,” Amy said, struggling not to laugh. “You’re over hear all the time, remember?”
“Oh, uh, yeah, that’s right,” he said in a rush, trying to cover his nervousness. “Sorry, Miz Deluca, I was just being kind of stupid. So I was wondering if Maria wanted to come for a walk with me, Isabel and Alex?”
Amy opened the door and looked out over Michael’s head.
“I don’t see Isabel or Alex anywhere,” she said, enjoying the look of discomfort on the young man’s face.
“No, uh, they stopped for slurpees,” Michael improvised. “I was just wondering if Maria wanted to come with us, or something.”
Amy laughed to herself at Michael’s obvious discomfort. “Hang on just a second and I’ll see if she wants to go,” she said. “Maria,” she called, turning into the house. “Michael’s here to see you.”
“He is?” came the excited cry from within the house. “I mean, tell him I’ll be right with him,” Maria said, trying to sound calm.
“She’ll be right with you,” said Amy. “Did you want to come inside and…”
“MOM,” came the shout from inside the house.
“I mean have a seat on the porch while you wait?” asked Amy, not missing a beat.
“Thanks, I will,” said Michael, looking alarmed at the crashes and bangs that were coming from within the DeLuca household.
“Mom, have you seen my black – oh never mind,” Maria yelled. “Just one more minute, Michael!”
“Do you think everything’s okay? It kind of sounds like there’s a hurricane going on in there.” he asked, tentatively, causing Amy to laugh.
“Michael, with two sisters, you’ve never seen either one of them get ready to go out before?” she asked.
“Well, Isabel goes out a lot, but honestly, Miz Deluca Isabel’s such a control freak that even if she does act like that, there is no way anybody’s ever going to know about it,” said Michael. “And Tess, well she’s more of a grab a coat and go type of person. I don’t think either one of them have ever acted like that before.”
“Well, I think it’s just because the right person wasn’t waiting on the steps,” said Amy.
“Huh? What do you mean?” Michael asked, confusion dancing across his face.
“Never mind,” said Amy. “You’ll understand someday.”
A loud crash, followed by a muttered curse proceeded Maria’s arrival at the door.
“Hi,” she said, trying to lean casually against the doorframe while gasping for air. “I, uh, I didn’t know you were stopping by.”
“Yeah, well, it was kind of a spontaneous thing,” said Michael. “I was wondering, uh, that is, Alex, Isabel and I wanted to know if you wanted to go for a walk?”
The expression on Maria’s face was priceless when Michael mentioned Isabel, and Alex, and it took all of Amy’s acting ability to not explode with laughter.
“Well, you kids have a nice time, and Maria, school starts tomorrow, so don’t be too late,” she said.
“So, uh, you wanna go for a walk or something?” Michael asked again.
“Yeah, sure, I mean, we still have a lot of things to figure out before the eighteenth,” said Maria.
“Yeah, about that. I was kind of thinking maybe we could not talk about all of that crap for a change,” Michael muttered, his face turning red.
“Oh, uh, I, uh,” said Maria, for once at a loss for words. “Well, uh, what do you want to talk about?”
Michael stopped, floored by the question. When he’d practiced asking Maria to go for a walk, he went over every possible scenario he could imagine, but he didn’t even start to plan what would happen if she said yes.
“Um, are you excited about school?” Michael asked. Even as the words popped out of his mouth, he knew they were lame.
“No, not really,” said Maria. “School is just something I do until I get a recording contract.”
“Recording contract?” asked Michael. “Really?”
“Well, that’s the dream, anyhow,” said Maria. “And I’m going to do everything possible to make it come true. How about you?”
“Well, I – I guess my main dream was to figure out who I am and where I came from,” said Michael. “But that’s moving into dangerous territory, so let’s not talk about it.”
“Okay, how was your trip to Disney?” asked Maria.
“Actually, it was really fun,” Michael admitted. “But if you ever tell anyone I said that, I promise I’ll kill you.”
“My lips are sealed,” said Maria, making a zipping motion across her mouth. “So tell me about it. What was your favorite thing? And don’t say Space Mountain!”
“Actually, Space Mountain was cool, but I loved The Tower of Terror at MGM. The whole story leading up to the actual ride totally freaked me out. How about you? Do you have a favorite ride there?”
“Well, uh, we’ve never been,” said Maria. “We’ve never had the money.” She looked down at the cracked sidewalk, trying to hide the color that rushed into her cheeks.
“Oh, uh, yeah, sorry,” said Michael. He thought quickly and then reached into his pocket. “Well, um, since you’ve never been, I thought maybe you’d like to have this piece of Disney World for your very own,” he said in a rush.
Awkwardly, he thrust the bracelet at Maria, waiting with his heart in his throat to see if she would accept it.
“You got this for me?” she asked, touching it lightly.
“Yeah, I saw it and I thought of you,” he said, starting to relax a little.
“You saw Dumbo and you thought of me?” Maria asked. “I think I’m insulted.”
“Wait,” Michael said, his voice ripe with panic. He reached into his pocket and fished around, and let out a gusty sigh of relief. “No, I saw this and it reminded me of you.” He thrust the small charm of Tinkerbell at Maria and waited.
“Oh, it’s beautiful,” Maria said. “Oh, but look, it’s broken.” She reached out and touched the small, broken gold loop that was used to fasten the charm to the bracelet.
“No problem, I can fix that,” said Michael. He reached out to use his powers to repair it, but before he could, Maria stopped him.
“Wait,” she said. She took the bracelet from Michael and quickly fastened it around her wrist. “Okay, now fix it,” she said.
“You want me to fix it, while you’re wearing it?” Michael asked.
“I trust you,” she said, simply.
Michael felt the gratitude and something else well up inside his heart. Nobody, not Max, Isabel, Tess, or their parents had ever put so much faith in him. He summoned every ounce of control he had and deftly repaired the fastener on the Tinkerbell charm.
“There,” he said. “You’re all set.”
Maria smiled up at him, and then, before she could think about what she was doing, stood on tiptoe and kissed him.
** * ** *
Across the street, a man watched, and felt a growing rage in what would have been his heart, if he had one. Something was going to have to be done, before it was too late.
-
majiklmoon
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 361
- Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2001 10:55 am
- Contact:
FINALLY, an update. I apologize AGAIN for the lenght of time between updates. I can't say life has been busy, but it's been strange. I'll try and do better.
Title: Consanguinity
Chapter Fifteen
Kyle stood hesitantly in the foyer of the Roswell City Library. It was not an environment he was familiar with, nor was he comfortable being surrounded by all the books that were housed in the library. But Tess was in here, and it was Tess he needed to see. His footsteps echoed on the hard wood floor, as he walked, looking down the stacks for a lone blond figure. He was about to admit defeat, when he finally found her, huddled in a corner in the children’s section, thumbing through a well-worn copy of Dr. Suess’ Are You My Mother.
“A little light reading before school begins?” he asked, sliding down on the floor beside her.
“Oh, hey, Kyle,” she said, scrubbing a hand across her eyes. “How’s it going?”
“I think that’s the question I should be asking you,” said Kyle. “You look really upset.”
“Well gee, how am I supposed to react?” Tess asked. “Is there a rule book you get when you find out you’re a homicidal maniac? Because if there is, someone forgot to give me my copy.”
“Geez, jump down my throat why don’t ya?” said Kyle. “Look, I came to see if you were okay, but if this is how you’re going to be, forget it.”
Kyle turned to walk away, and Tess jumped up, quickly. The book she had been holding tumbled to the ground, forgotten as she reached out and touched his shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m just…”
“Confused, freaked out, scared to death?” asked Kyle. “Join the club, me too.”
“You are?” Tess asked, concern for him temporarily overshadowing her own concerns. “Is anything wrong?”
“Well, let’s see,” said Kyle. “If we can believe everything we know, in about a week, one of my best friends is going to be shot, and in about eight months, I’m going to be shot. And then, I have this person I really care about, and they seem to think that all of this stuff is their fault.”
“But it is my fault!” Tess cried. “Wait, what do you mean, you really care about?”
“Well, I thought it was pretty obvious,” Kyle said. “I think you’re um, really cool.” He scuffed at the ground with his sneaker like a small boy who had been caught doing something wrong. “And you’re really upset, and that’s upsetting me.”
“Oh,” Tess said, faintly. “Well, I, uh – you’re really cool, too,” she finished in a rush. “And I don’t want you to get shot, or Liz. And I don’t want it to be my fault if it does happen.”
“Okay, we need to talk, Tess,” Kyle said, pulling her toward a chair. “First off, you had nothing to do with Liz getting shot, or me for that matter.”
“But what about Alex?” Tess questioned. “You can’t say that wasn’t my fault.”
“Yeah, I actually can, because you know what? You’re talking about something that never actually happened, Tess. You were a whatchamacallit, a victim in that whole other timeline thing. You were raised by that freaky Nescado thing, not that he really raised you. I mean geez, who knows what horrible things he did to you. You, wait, the Tess in the other timeline, cause she isn’t you, did that as a matter of survival.”
Tess gave an audible sniff and scrubbed ineffectually at the tears that streaked her cheeks.
“Maybe you feel that way, but the others probably don’t,” she said.
“Don’t be stupid, Tess,” Kyle said, his voice uncharacteristically sharp. “Of course they feel that way, and you’d know it if you’d give them a chance to tell you. They’ve tried, but you keep shutting them out, the same way you’ve been shutting me out, and it has to stop. We’re all on the same side, or we should be. Don’t shut us out Tess, you need us, and we need you. I need you.”
“When did you go and get all insightful?” Tess asked, trying to ignore the hopeful feeling that was welling up inside her chest. Maybe Kyle was right. Maybe she had been shutting her friends and family out instead of the other way around.
“I’ve always been insightful, you just never noticed,” said Kyle, attempting to appear wounded by her comment. Tess giggled, softly at first, then louder and louder until a full-fledged belly laugh escaped.
“That felt good,” she said, after her laughter subsided. “I haven’t laughed like that in forever. “In fact, I feel so happy now, I think I’m ready to do something.”
“Do what?” Kyle asked.
“You’ll see,” said Tess. “I’m going to need your help. Come on.” Tess grabbed Kyle by the hand and dragged him across the library. “It’s right over here.”
“What’s right over here?” Kyle asked. “Ancient Languages? What, Spanish isn’t enough for you, you want to start on Latin or something?”
“There’s something here, Kyle,” she said. “I started sort of remembering. Well, kind of. I saw you and me, and I was looking for something on a top shelf, but it was kind of like I was watching me, you know?”
“Maybe,” said Kyle. “And we were in Ancient Languages?”
“Yeah, over here,” Tess said, looking around. “It’s up here, on the top shelf. Will you give me a boost?”
“Yeah, sure,” Kyle said. He cupped his hands and bent his legs, allowing Tess to put her foot in his hand. He straightened up carefully and waited while she fumbled around. “Did you find it – whatever it is?” he asked.
“Yeah, you can put me down, now,” Tess said.
Kyle carefully shifted his hands so that he gripped Tess around the legs and allowed her to slowly slide down to the ground.
“Um, Kyle, I’m on the ground now, you can let go,” she said.
“Not until I do this,” Kyle responded. He lowered his head to hers and kissed her. As soon as their lips touched, a burst of energy shot through his body. He felt so alive, so connected to Tess; he didn’t want the moment to end. But end it did, and he slowly pulled away from her.
“What the hell was that?” he asked, his voice cracking slightly.
“I’m not sure,” Tess said, her voice coming in short panting gasps. “But I can’t say I didn’t like it.”
“I saw you, and I saw me,” Kyle said. “I saw what you were talking about. I saw you climb up and get something, but it was like I was watching us on television or something.”
“Or like we were seeing it through Max’s eyes,” said Tess, slowly as she started to realize what had happened. “I bet in that other time, Max saw us, and when he came back in time, it was one of the images he put in our minds. That means he wanted us to have this. It’s important. I knew it was!”
“And what exactly is it?” Kyle asked.
“This,” said Tess, holding out what looked like a book made of a golden tinted metal.
“Wow,” he said, looking at the indecipherable language. “I guess Ancient Languages was an appropriate place for it. Come on, let’s go show the others.”
Title: Consanguinity
Chapter Fifteen
Kyle stood hesitantly in the foyer of the Roswell City Library. It was not an environment he was familiar with, nor was he comfortable being surrounded by all the books that were housed in the library. But Tess was in here, and it was Tess he needed to see. His footsteps echoed on the hard wood floor, as he walked, looking down the stacks for a lone blond figure. He was about to admit defeat, when he finally found her, huddled in a corner in the children’s section, thumbing through a well-worn copy of Dr. Suess’ Are You My Mother.
“A little light reading before school begins?” he asked, sliding down on the floor beside her.
“Oh, hey, Kyle,” she said, scrubbing a hand across her eyes. “How’s it going?”
“I think that’s the question I should be asking you,” said Kyle. “You look really upset.”
“Well gee, how am I supposed to react?” Tess asked. “Is there a rule book you get when you find out you’re a homicidal maniac? Because if there is, someone forgot to give me my copy.”
“Geez, jump down my throat why don’t ya?” said Kyle. “Look, I came to see if you were okay, but if this is how you’re going to be, forget it.”
Kyle turned to walk away, and Tess jumped up, quickly. The book she had been holding tumbled to the ground, forgotten as she reached out and touched his shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m just…”
“Confused, freaked out, scared to death?” asked Kyle. “Join the club, me too.”
“You are?” Tess asked, concern for him temporarily overshadowing her own concerns. “Is anything wrong?”
“Well, let’s see,” said Kyle. “If we can believe everything we know, in about a week, one of my best friends is going to be shot, and in about eight months, I’m going to be shot. And then, I have this person I really care about, and they seem to think that all of this stuff is their fault.”
“But it is my fault!” Tess cried. “Wait, what do you mean, you really care about?”
“Well, I thought it was pretty obvious,” Kyle said. “I think you’re um, really cool.” He scuffed at the ground with his sneaker like a small boy who had been caught doing something wrong. “And you’re really upset, and that’s upsetting me.”
“Oh,” Tess said, faintly. “Well, I, uh – you’re really cool, too,” she finished in a rush. “And I don’t want you to get shot, or Liz. And I don’t want it to be my fault if it does happen.”
“Okay, we need to talk, Tess,” Kyle said, pulling her toward a chair. “First off, you had nothing to do with Liz getting shot, or me for that matter.”
“But what about Alex?” Tess questioned. “You can’t say that wasn’t my fault.”
“Yeah, I actually can, because you know what? You’re talking about something that never actually happened, Tess. You were a whatchamacallit, a victim in that whole other timeline thing. You were raised by that freaky Nescado thing, not that he really raised you. I mean geez, who knows what horrible things he did to you. You, wait, the Tess in the other timeline, cause she isn’t you, did that as a matter of survival.”
Tess gave an audible sniff and scrubbed ineffectually at the tears that streaked her cheeks.
“Maybe you feel that way, but the others probably don’t,” she said.
“Don’t be stupid, Tess,” Kyle said, his voice uncharacteristically sharp. “Of course they feel that way, and you’d know it if you’d give them a chance to tell you. They’ve tried, but you keep shutting them out, the same way you’ve been shutting me out, and it has to stop. We’re all on the same side, or we should be. Don’t shut us out Tess, you need us, and we need you. I need you.”
“When did you go and get all insightful?” Tess asked, trying to ignore the hopeful feeling that was welling up inside her chest. Maybe Kyle was right. Maybe she had been shutting her friends and family out instead of the other way around.
“I’ve always been insightful, you just never noticed,” said Kyle, attempting to appear wounded by her comment. Tess giggled, softly at first, then louder and louder until a full-fledged belly laugh escaped.
“That felt good,” she said, after her laughter subsided. “I haven’t laughed like that in forever. “In fact, I feel so happy now, I think I’m ready to do something.”
“Do what?” Kyle asked.
“You’ll see,” said Tess. “I’m going to need your help. Come on.” Tess grabbed Kyle by the hand and dragged him across the library. “It’s right over here.”
“What’s right over here?” Kyle asked. “Ancient Languages? What, Spanish isn’t enough for you, you want to start on Latin or something?”
“There’s something here, Kyle,” she said. “I started sort of remembering. Well, kind of. I saw you and me, and I was looking for something on a top shelf, but it was kind of like I was watching me, you know?”
“Maybe,” said Kyle. “And we were in Ancient Languages?”
“Yeah, over here,” Tess said, looking around. “It’s up here, on the top shelf. Will you give me a boost?”
“Yeah, sure,” Kyle said. He cupped his hands and bent his legs, allowing Tess to put her foot in his hand. He straightened up carefully and waited while she fumbled around. “Did you find it – whatever it is?” he asked.
“Yeah, you can put me down, now,” Tess said.
Kyle carefully shifted his hands so that he gripped Tess around the legs and allowed her to slowly slide down to the ground.
“Um, Kyle, I’m on the ground now, you can let go,” she said.
“Not until I do this,” Kyle responded. He lowered his head to hers and kissed her. As soon as their lips touched, a burst of energy shot through his body. He felt so alive, so connected to Tess; he didn’t want the moment to end. But end it did, and he slowly pulled away from her.
“What the hell was that?” he asked, his voice cracking slightly.
“I’m not sure,” Tess said, her voice coming in short panting gasps. “But I can’t say I didn’t like it.”
“I saw you, and I saw me,” Kyle said. “I saw what you were talking about. I saw you climb up and get something, but it was like I was watching us on television or something.”
“Or like we were seeing it through Max’s eyes,” said Tess, slowly as she started to realize what had happened. “I bet in that other time, Max saw us, and when he came back in time, it was one of the images he put in our minds. That means he wanted us to have this. It’s important. I knew it was!”
“And what exactly is it?” Kyle asked.
“This,” said Tess, holding out what looked like a book made of a golden tinted metal.
“Wow,” he said, looking at the indecipherable language. “I guess Ancient Languages was an appropriate place for it. Come on, let’s go show the others.”
-
majiklmoon
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 361
- Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2001 10:55 am
- Contact:
Title: Consanguinity
Author’s Note: No excuses…I just haven’t been writing lately. Those of you who know me, know why. I can’t make any promises as to when the next part will be up, but I will finish this story. This part is for my BFF because even though I swore I wouldn’t be giving her any Gazer lovin…how could I not.
Chapter Sixteen
He watched, from a distance, Vilondra and the human she called Alex as they walked down the path of the city park. It amused him, slightly, to watch the Royal Four form attachments to these lesser beings. It had been no different on Antar – they had gone constantly out into public and consorted with the people. It wasn’t seemly, and it in part was what made it so easy for Kivar to over throw Zan’s regime.
“This isn’t right,” the man muttered angrily. “I need them. I need to get off this planet and go back home. And I need Zan to do it. But nothing is working. What can I do to get close to him? I need him damn it. Everything I’ve tried has failed. But I refuse to fail. Somehow, I’ll make this work. They weren’t supposed to come out together. Somebody did something,” he continued. “Somebody changed things, but who, and how? No matter – I’ll get them on my side, one way, or another.”
** * ** *
Isabel wandered off the shady concrete path that meandered throughout the municipal park and made her way over to one of the many swing sets that dotted the playground. She sat down and pushed off with her feet so that she moved gently back and forth. Alex, without being prompted, stood behind her and began to push gently so that she quickly picked up speed. She laughed gleefully, happy to forget all their worries, if only for a short time.
“Higher!” she yelled, pumping her legs with abandon. “Higher!”
Alex gave one final push and Isabel swung out in an arc, so that she was almost parallel with the ground. She felt almost weightless for one moment, and in that moment, she wondered if that was what it felt like when they traveled from Antar. And with that thought, all her worries should come rushing back to her, and she waited until the swing was at it’s apex and jumped, landing on the ground in a crumpled heap.
“Isabel!” Alex shouted, running over to her. “What happened? Why did you jump like that? Are you okay?” He knelt down beside her, brushed her hair away from her face, and began to feel her arms and legs, looking for broken bones.
“Alex, stop it, I’m fine,” Isabel said, her voice irritable. She shook her hair back from her face and pushed herself up off the ground.
“I’m sorry, Isabel – I,” Alex began.
“No, I’m sorry,” she said, tossing his hair back from her face. “I shouldn’t have snapped, and I’m sorry.”
“It’s no big,” Alex said, still stinging from her rebuke. “Why’d you jump?”
“For a second I felt totally weightless up there,” Isabel explained. “I’d forgotten about everything and then, in an instant, I wondered if that was how we felt in our pods, and it all came rushing back. And I just wanted to, I don’t know, escape it or something, so I jumped.”
“Did it work?”
“No, it didn’t,” Isabel admitted. “All I got was you scared, me angry, and I ripped my favorite pair of pants.” She looked down at the rip in her pants and grimaced before passing her hand over it. Alex watched in amazement as the fabric repaired itself right in front of his eyes.
“That has got to be the coolest thing, ever,” he said, his eyes shining. “I’m in total awe.”
“Yeah, great, I can fix my pants, like that really compensates for the worry of being an alien,” Isabel said.
“Uh, yeah, that was kind of bitchy, you know,” said Alex. “I’m only just trying to help.”
“Why?” Isabel asked.
“Why what?” asked a clearly confused Alex.
“Why are you trying to help?” asked Isabel. “I don’t get it. Why are you putting yourself in danger to help us?”
“You’re kidding, right?” asked Alex. “I mean seriously, you’re not standing here in front of me asking me that question.”
“Yes, Alex, I am seriously standing here in front of you asking that question. I mean, Max and Liz so obviously belong together,” said Isabel. If everything we learned is true, they have some great love that even manages to transcend time, or an alternate reality or whatever this is. And Michael and Maria…well, where Liz goes, Maria goes. But why you, Alex, what’s in this for you?”
Alex reached out and took her hand in his and squeezed it gently, and reached out and brushed a stray lock of Isabel’s hair off her face. He moved forward slowly, bringing his face closer to hers until their lips gently touched. They kissed, gently at first but with more passion. Isabel reached out and wrapped her arms around Alex’s neck and opened her mouth a bit wider. For a few shining minutes they were alone in the world, forgetting everything and everybody, except for each other.
When the kiss ended, Isabel stared at Alex, speechless for once. He looked at her and smiled.
“You, Isabel. I’m here because of you,” was all he said.
** * ** *
He tried to quell the feelings that raged up inside of him. Technically, they weren’t supposed to feel emotion, it had been bred out of them generations ago, but what he felt had to be anger. There was no other word to describe what gripped him when he watched Vilondra kiss the human. Every second of every day the Royal Four forged tighter bonds with those human creatures. He didn’t know how he was going to sever the ties they had formed. There had always been some connection between his charges and the humans, but lately, it had grown deeper. Something had happened to make their bond stronger, and he had to find out what it was and destroy it, but how?
As he watched, the nucleus of an idea began to form in his twisted alien mind. Something happened to them when they all went out to the chamber that housed the Royal Four’s incubation pods. He needed to find out what happened. He could use it against them – break them apart. Then he’d be able to convince the Royals that their duty lay on Antar.
Author’s Note: No excuses…I just haven’t been writing lately. Those of you who know me, know why. I can’t make any promises as to when the next part will be up, but I will finish this story. This part is for my BFF because even though I swore I wouldn’t be giving her any Gazer lovin…how could I not.
Chapter Sixteen
He watched, from a distance, Vilondra and the human she called Alex as they walked down the path of the city park. It amused him, slightly, to watch the Royal Four form attachments to these lesser beings. It had been no different on Antar – they had gone constantly out into public and consorted with the people. It wasn’t seemly, and it in part was what made it so easy for Kivar to over throw Zan’s regime.
“This isn’t right,” the man muttered angrily. “I need them. I need to get off this planet and go back home. And I need Zan to do it. But nothing is working. What can I do to get close to him? I need him damn it. Everything I’ve tried has failed. But I refuse to fail. Somehow, I’ll make this work. They weren’t supposed to come out together. Somebody did something,” he continued. “Somebody changed things, but who, and how? No matter – I’ll get them on my side, one way, or another.”
** * ** *
Isabel wandered off the shady concrete path that meandered throughout the municipal park and made her way over to one of the many swing sets that dotted the playground. She sat down and pushed off with her feet so that she moved gently back and forth. Alex, without being prompted, stood behind her and began to push gently so that she quickly picked up speed. She laughed gleefully, happy to forget all their worries, if only for a short time.
“Higher!” she yelled, pumping her legs with abandon. “Higher!”
Alex gave one final push and Isabel swung out in an arc, so that she was almost parallel with the ground. She felt almost weightless for one moment, and in that moment, she wondered if that was what it felt like when they traveled from Antar. And with that thought, all her worries should come rushing back to her, and she waited until the swing was at it’s apex and jumped, landing on the ground in a crumpled heap.
“Isabel!” Alex shouted, running over to her. “What happened? Why did you jump like that? Are you okay?” He knelt down beside her, brushed her hair away from her face, and began to feel her arms and legs, looking for broken bones.
“Alex, stop it, I’m fine,” Isabel said, her voice irritable. She shook her hair back from her face and pushed herself up off the ground.
“I’m sorry, Isabel – I,” Alex began.
“No, I’m sorry,” she said, tossing his hair back from her face. “I shouldn’t have snapped, and I’m sorry.”
“It’s no big,” Alex said, still stinging from her rebuke. “Why’d you jump?”
“For a second I felt totally weightless up there,” Isabel explained. “I’d forgotten about everything and then, in an instant, I wondered if that was how we felt in our pods, and it all came rushing back. And I just wanted to, I don’t know, escape it or something, so I jumped.”
“Did it work?”
“No, it didn’t,” Isabel admitted. “All I got was you scared, me angry, and I ripped my favorite pair of pants.” She looked down at the rip in her pants and grimaced before passing her hand over it. Alex watched in amazement as the fabric repaired itself right in front of his eyes.
“That has got to be the coolest thing, ever,” he said, his eyes shining. “I’m in total awe.”
“Yeah, great, I can fix my pants, like that really compensates for the worry of being an alien,” Isabel said.
“Uh, yeah, that was kind of bitchy, you know,” said Alex. “I’m only just trying to help.”
“Why?” Isabel asked.
“Why what?” asked a clearly confused Alex.
“Why are you trying to help?” asked Isabel. “I don’t get it. Why are you putting yourself in danger to help us?”
“You’re kidding, right?” asked Alex. “I mean seriously, you’re not standing here in front of me asking me that question.”
“Yes, Alex, I am seriously standing here in front of you asking that question. I mean, Max and Liz so obviously belong together,” said Isabel. If everything we learned is true, they have some great love that even manages to transcend time, or an alternate reality or whatever this is. And Michael and Maria…well, where Liz goes, Maria goes. But why you, Alex, what’s in this for you?”
Alex reached out and took her hand in his and squeezed it gently, and reached out and brushed a stray lock of Isabel’s hair off her face. He moved forward slowly, bringing his face closer to hers until their lips gently touched. They kissed, gently at first but with more passion. Isabel reached out and wrapped her arms around Alex’s neck and opened her mouth a bit wider. For a few shining minutes they were alone in the world, forgetting everything and everybody, except for each other.
When the kiss ended, Isabel stared at Alex, speechless for once. He looked at her and smiled.
“You, Isabel. I’m here because of you,” was all he said.
** * ** *
He tried to quell the feelings that raged up inside of him. Technically, they weren’t supposed to feel emotion, it had been bred out of them generations ago, but what he felt had to be anger. There was no other word to describe what gripped him when he watched Vilondra kiss the human. Every second of every day the Royal Four forged tighter bonds with those human creatures. He didn’t know how he was going to sever the ties they had formed. There had always been some connection between his charges and the humans, but lately, it had grown deeper. Something had happened to make their bond stronger, and he had to find out what it was and destroy it, but how?
As he watched, the nucleus of an idea began to form in his twisted alien mind. Something happened to them when they all went out to the chamber that housed the Royal Four’s incubation pods. He needed to find out what happened. He could use it against them – break them apart. Then he’d be able to convince the Royals that their duty lay on Antar.
-
majiklmoon
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 361
- Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2001 10:55 am
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Title: Consanguinity
Author’s Note: Okay, I’m stupid. I originally thought that I’d completed part 16, then I thought that I hadn’t, so I wrote this, only to find out that I did indeed finish part 16. What does that mean…it means that we now have this part 17 and what I thought was part 17 just needs to be typed up and posted as part 18. In any event, I put in some extra gazer goodness for my bff Truelovepooh, who totally needs some Alex/Izzie action this week. I love you bff!
Chapter Seventeen
“But why, Alex, that’s what I don’t get. What’s so special about me? Honestly, I’m nothing special. In fact, if we can believe what the other Max said, I’m pretty shallow in that other time line.”
“Isabel, I don’t remember that other time line, but even if I did, it wouldn’t matter,” said Alex. “I loved you then, and I love you now.”
“You love me?” Isabel asked, her voice quavering.
“In this lifetime, that other lifetime and any other lifetime we may be we may be given,” said Alex, brushing a strand of hair away from Isabel’s delicate features. “On my planet or yours, it doesn’t matter, Isabel, I love you ad always will.”
“Oh,” Isabel whispered. “Alex, I…”
“It’s okay, Isabel, you don’t have to say it back. I know someone like you could never love me. You’re funny, smart, popular and I…”
“But I do, Alex,” Isabel said, softly.
“Could never expect you to - you what?” Alex said, pausing.
“I do,” said Isabel. “How could I not? You make me feel safe, Alex. I’ve never really felt safe before. Even though I’ve always had Max, Michael and Tess, I’ve always felt so alone. I don’t feel that way with you. I’ve always felt like a part of me is missing, and when you’re around, I feel, I don’t know, complete or something. Maybe it’s love; maybe it’s forever, I don’t know. All I do know is I’ve never felt this way before and I can’t imagine feeling this way about anybody else,” Isabel finished in a rush.
The two teens looked at each other, unsure of how to handle their emotional outbursts. After several awkward moments, they both grinned and laughed.
“Wow,” said Alex.
“Yeah, wow,” Isabel agreed. “So uh, now what?”
“Uh, how about we put this on hold for a while and meet up with everyone? I kinda think I may have a plan,” said Alex.
“About the shooting?” Isabel asked eagerly.
“Yeah,” Alex said, reaching out and taking her hand in his. “Come on, I think it might work.”
Isabel squeezed his hand gently and followed his lead through the Roswell city park towards the CrashDown Café.
** * **
They assembled in the CrashDown, gathered around two tables that Kyle and Michael pushed together. Kyle and Tess told the others of the book that they found and gave them brief summary of the events that occurred when they found it.
“So you were like seeing yourselves do this?” Maria asked.
“Yeah, I can only think that it was something that the other Max saw, and he put the memory in us, so we’d find the book or whatever it is,” said Tess. “It’s important. I think it’s the book that Alex went to Las Cruses to decode. The – the one I killed him for.” She hung her head, but not before the others saw tears glistening on her eyelashes.
“Stop it Tess,” Alex said. “Isabel and I were talking about this earlier. What happened in that other time line doesn’t matter. We’re not there, we’re here, in this time line. And nobody can be held accountable for things that happened in a time line that may or may not exist.” He reached out and took Tess’ hands in his. “Tess Evans, you are one of my best friends, and I know that you would never do anything to hurt me.”
“He’s right, you know,” said Liz, giving her friend a brief hug after she set a plate of Orbit fries on the table. “We’re not the same people that existed in that other time line. We’ve changed so many things.”
“Now let’s just hope we can change Liz getting shot,” said Max. “Alex, why don’t you tell us your idea?”
Alex outlined his plan to the others while Liz and Maria paused to listen in between customers. When the rush died, Liz grabbed a couple of sodas for herself and Maria and they sat down to hash out the finer details of the plan.
“It’s seems kind of risky,” said Max. “You’re putting a lot of pressure and responsibility on Tess.”
“Are you worried that I can’t handle it?” Tess demanded, gesturing with a French fry she’d been ready to bite. “I can do it, Max.”
“Of course you can, Tess,” Kyle said, coming to her defense and shooting Max a malevolent glare. “And nobody is going to say you can’t. Right Max?” he added pointedly.
“No, Tess, that’s not what I’m saying at all,” Max said in a rush. “But what if something goes wrong. I’m just worried that you’re going to feel responsible if something happens.”
“Nothing’s going to happen, Max,” Tess said, her jaw set resolutely.
“You don’t know that, Tess. Nobody can predict how anybody is going to react.
“Max, relax,” Michael said. “If Tess says she can handle it, she can handle it.”
“Handle what?” asked Kyle’s father, Sheriff Valenti, who had snuck up on them unnoticed.
“Oh, pack a picnic lunch for everybody,” said Tess, her bright smile lighting up the room. “We were talking about having a picnic tomorrow and I said I wanted to make the food for everybody. That’s all.”
“Hey, Jim, how’re you doing?” asked Jeff Parker who’d left his spot behind the register when he saw the sheriff enter the café. He clapped the sheriff on the counter and smiled at the kids. “Can I get you something, it looks like my two best waitresses are taking a well deserved break.”
“I just stopped in for a cup of your famous coffee, Jeff when I heard Miss Evans over here planning on preparing a picnic meal for this thundering herd. Better watch out or she may put you out of business,” joked the sheriff.
“A picnic, really?” asked Mr. Parker. “Well, I’ll tell you what. As a way of thanking you for spending your hard earned allowances in here so often, why don’t you let me make your picnic lunch tomorrow? I’ll pack you a picnic to end all picnics in fact.”
“Dad, really, you don’t have to do that,” said Liz.
“No, really, it’s my pleasure,” Jeff said, smiling. “It will be a great way to kick of the school year. Oh and Jim, I’ll go get you that cup of coffee.”
The sheriff waited until Liz’s father was out of earshot before he turned back to the kids.
“A picnic, huh?” he asked, doubtfully.
“Yeah, Sheriff, a picnic,” said Max. “Like Mr. Parker said, to kick of the school year.”
“Yeah, to kick off the school year,” Michael added, the thought of school bringing an unbecoming scowl to his face.
“Really?” asked the sheriff. “Are you sure there isn’t anything else you want to tell me about?”
“No, dad, we’re good,” said Kyle, looking at the others as if for confirmation.
“Well, if you’re sure,” the sheriff said, turning away.
“Dad, wait!” Kyle said suddenly. “There is something. Do you mind if I go on a picnic tomorrow?”
Author’s Note: Okay, I’m stupid. I originally thought that I’d completed part 16, then I thought that I hadn’t, so I wrote this, only to find out that I did indeed finish part 16. What does that mean…it means that we now have this part 17 and what I thought was part 17 just needs to be typed up and posted as part 18. In any event, I put in some extra gazer goodness for my bff Truelovepooh, who totally needs some Alex/Izzie action this week. I love you bff!
Chapter Seventeen
“But why, Alex, that’s what I don’t get. What’s so special about me? Honestly, I’m nothing special. In fact, if we can believe what the other Max said, I’m pretty shallow in that other time line.”
“Isabel, I don’t remember that other time line, but even if I did, it wouldn’t matter,” said Alex. “I loved you then, and I love you now.”
“You love me?” Isabel asked, her voice quavering.
“In this lifetime, that other lifetime and any other lifetime we may be we may be given,” said Alex, brushing a strand of hair away from Isabel’s delicate features. “On my planet or yours, it doesn’t matter, Isabel, I love you ad always will.”
“Oh,” Isabel whispered. “Alex, I…”
“It’s okay, Isabel, you don’t have to say it back. I know someone like you could never love me. You’re funny, smart, popular and I…”
“But I do, Alex,” Isabel said, softly.
“Could never expect you to - you what?” Alex said, pausing.
“I do,” said Isabel. “How could I not? You make me feel safe, Alex. I’ve never really felt safe before. Even though I’ve always had Max, Michael and Tess, I’ve always felt so alone. I don’t feel that way with you. I’ve always felt like a part of me is missing, and when you’re around, I feel, I don’t know, complete or something. Maybe it’s love; maybe it’s forever, I don’t know. All I do know is I’ve never felt this way before and I can’t imagine feeling this way about anybody else,” Isabel finished in a rush.
The two teens looked at each other, unsure of how to handle their emotional outbursts. After several awkward moments, they both grinned and laughed.
“Wow,” said Alex.
“Yeah, wow,” Isabel agreed. “So uh, now what?”
“Uh, how about we put this on hold for a while and meet up with everyone? I kinda think I may have a plan,” said Alex.
“About the shooting?” Isabel asked eagerly.
“Yeah,” Alex said, reaching out and taking her hand in his. “Come on, I think it might work.”
Isabel squeezed his hand gently and followed his lead through the Roswell city park towards the CrashDown Café.
** * **
They assembled in the CrashDown, gathered around two tables that Kyle and Michael pushed together. Kyle and Tess told the others of the book that they found and gave them brief summary of the events that occurred when they found it.
“So you were like seeing yourselves do this?” Maria asked.
“Yeah, I can only think that it was something that the other Max saw, and he put the memory in us, so we’d find the book or whatever it is,” said Tess. “It’s important. I think it’s the book that Alex went to Las Cruses to decode. The – the one I killed him for.” She hung her head, but not before the others saw tears glistening on her eyelashes.
“Stop it Tess,” Alex said. “Isabel and I were talking about this earlier. What happened in that other time line doesn’t matter. We’re not there, we’re here, in this time line. And nobody can be held accountable for things that happened in a time line that may or may not exist.” He reached out and took Tess’ hands in his. “Tess Evans, you are one of my best friends, and I know that you would never do anything to hurt me.”
“He’s right, you know,” said Liz, giving her friend a brief hug after she set a plate of Orbit fries on the table. “We’re not the same people that existed in that other time line. We’ve changed so many things.”
“Now let’s just hope we can change Liz getting shot,” said Max. “Alex, why don’t you tell us your idea?”
Alex outlined his plan to the others while Liz and Maria paused to listen in between customers. When the rush died, Liz grabbed a couple of sodas for herself and Maria and they sat down to hash out the finer details of the plan.
“It’s seems kind of risky,” said Max. “You’re putting a lot of pressure and responsibility on Tess.”
“Are you worried that I can’t handle it?” Tess demanded, gesturing with a French fry she’d been ready to bite. “I can do it, Max.”
“Of course you can, Tess,” Kyle said, coming to her defense and shooting Max a malevolent glare. “And nobody is going to say you can’t. Right Max?” he added pointedly.
“No, Tess, that’s not what I’m saying at all,” Max said in a rush. “But what if something goes wrong. I’m just worried that you’re going to feel responsible if something happens.”
“Nothing’s going to happen, Max,” Tess said, her jaw set resolutely.
“You don’t know that, Tess. Nobody can predict how anybody is going to react.
“Max, relax,” Michael said. “If Tess says she can handle it, she can handle it.”
“Handle what?” asked Kyle’s father, Sheriff Valenti, who had snuck up on them unnoticed.
“Oh, pack a picnic lunch for everybody,” said Tess, her bright smile lighting up the room. “We were talking about having a picnic tomorrow and I said I wanted to make the food for everybody. That’s all.”
“Hey, Jim, how’re you doing?” asked Jeff Parker who’d left his spot behind the register when he saw the sheriff enter the café. He clapped the sheriff on the counter and smiled at the kids. “Can I get you something, it looks like my two best waitresses are taking a well deserved break.”
“I just stopped in for a cup of your famous coffee, Jeff when I heard Miss Evans over here planning on preparing a picnic meal for this thundering herd. Better watch out or she may put you out of business,” joked the sheriff.
“A picnic, really?” asked Mr. Parker. “Well, I’ll tell you what. As a way of thanking you for spending your hard earned allowances in here so often, why don’t you let me make your picnic lunch tomorrow? I’ll pack you a picnic to end all picnics in fact.”
“Dad, really, you don’t have to do that,” said Liz.
“No, really, it’s my pleasure,” Jeff said, smiling. “It will be a great way to kick of the school year. Oh and Jim, I’ll go get you that cup of coffee.”
The sheriff waited until Liz’s father was out of earshot before he turned back to the kids.
“A picnic, huh?” he asked, doubtfully.
“Yeah, Sheriff, a picnic,” said Max. “Like Mr. Parker said, to kick of the school year.”
“Yeah, to kick off the school year,” Michael added, the thought of school bringing an unbecoming scowl to his face.
“Really?” asked the sheriff. “Are you sure there isn’t anything else you want to tell me about?”
“No, dad, we’re good,” said Kyle, looking at the others as if for confirmation.
“Well, if you’re sure,” the sheriff said, turning away.
“Dad, wait!” Kyle said suddenly. “There is something. Do you mind if I go on a picnic tomorrow?”
-
majiklmoon
- Addicted Roswellian
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- Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2001 10:55 am
- Contact:
No, the world is not coming to an end...it's just another update in less than a week *gasp* Yeah, i'm kinda amazed too 
Title: Consanguinity
Chapter Eighteen
Kyle cocked his elbow back and then brought it forward and watched the trajectory of the football with satisfaction as the ball left his fingers and spiraled across the cloudless blue sky. The ball arced almost effortlessly, falling gracefully toward Michael’s outstretched hands, until suddenly, and without any earthly explanation, the ball veered to the right. Liz reached up and plucked the ball from the air and ran back up the field to score the winning touchdown.
“Goal!” Maria yelled, throwing her arms in the air, gleefully.
“Touchdown,” whispered Tess.
“Oh yeah, right,” Maria said, not missing a beat. “Touchdown!”
“No way!” shouted Kyle, charging back up the field. “That was interference!”
“What?” Liz shouted. “How was that interference? You’re just mad because the girls won.”
“No way,” Max said, joining the argument. “That ball was Michael’s.”
“That ball, Max Evans,” Liz said, gritting her teeth, “Was mine. Jealousy does not become you,” she added, standing toe to toe with Max.
“J-jealousy?” Max sputtered. “I’m not jealous of a bunch of cheating girls.”
“Cheat!” Liz practically shrieked. “We didn’t cheat. How could we have possibly cheated?”
“Someone obviously used their powers to make that ball change it’s path,” said Max.
“Oh yeah, and who would that be, me, or Liz?” demanded Maria, joining the argument. “Cause from where I was standing, Tess was busy being tackled by Alex, and Isabel, well Isabel was busy dong her nails.”
“It had to be Tess,” said a furious Michael.
“Hey!” cried Tess, who was rubbing ineffectually at the grass stains on her shirt.
“It wasn’t Tess,” said Alex. “I was practically sitting on her. There was no way she could have used her powers to do anything. So that just leaves Isabel.”
As one the group looked over at Isabel who was still painting her nails and studiously avoided looking at the small group. After several minutes Max finally said, “Fine, it must have been a fluke downdraft or something. Whatever, the girls get to pick the movie tonight.”
“Great, now that we’ve finally solved the world’s problems, can we please eat? I’m starved,” said Kyle.
“There’s a surprise,” said Tess, linking her arm with his. “Name five times when food wasn’t on your mind.”
“Um, never,” said Kyle, causing everybody to laugh. “Now what is there to eat?”
“Everything,” said Isabel, capping her bottle of nail polish. “Liz’s dad sent us tons of fried chicken and all the Saturn Rings you could ever imagine eating.”
“Cold Saturn Rings?” said Maria, plopping down on the blanket next to Michael. “Perish the thought.”
“You forgetting my superior reheating skills,” said Isabel passing her hand over the container holding the onion rings. “As well as my other unsung skills,” she added in an undertone, winking. “Nice catch, Liz. You’re quite the player.”
Max whipped his head around at the saccharine sound of Isabel’s voice and glared at her. She looked at him guilelessly and continued setting out the food, and he shrugged and grabbed a plate.
The eight friends talked and laughed among themselves, enjoying the food and the day, and by their previous agreement, no talk at all about the events that were slated to occur during the Crash Festival. The teased each other mercilessly, the way good friends will, and just enjoyed being together – until their cell phones began to ring. One by one, they answered the incoming calls, varying expressions of shock and disbelief crossing their faces. Isabel ended her call first and she wordlessly began to ram the contents of their picnic back in the basket.
“That was Dad,” she said finally, struggling to hold back tears. “We need to get home right away, the house was broken into and vandalized.
“Hey, so was mine,” said Kyle. “That was my dad.”
“Mine too,” said Alex, looking shocked.
“My mom said our house was broken into, too,” said Liz.
“That was my mom,” Maria said, closing her cell phone and reaching fro a vial of cedar oil. “S-someone broke into our house. Our house! Strangers were in our house!”
“Maria, breath,” Michael said, pulling her into his arms. Someone broke into all our houses.
“Why? Why is this happening? What does it mean?” Maria asked.
“It means somebody’s on to us,” said Max, grimly.
“Do you think it’s the same person who…” Tess began.
“After us?” Max continued. “Yeah, or at least I hope it is.”
“What?” Isabel asked, her voice rising a bit. “Why?”
“Because if it isn’t, that means we have more than one person to worry about,” said Michael, suddenly. “Max is right. We’re better off if it’s that Nescado person – the one the other Max warned us about.”
“Okay, fine, he’s on to us,” said Kyle. “But why rob our homes? What does he expect to find?”
“The stash of playboys you have under your bed, maybe?” Isabel teased trying to inject some humor into the somber moment.
“Nah, those are safe, they’re hidden way under my bed next to the stuff that Max….” Kyle said, his voice trailing off.
“I guarantee that’s what he’s after,” said Max. “Come on, let’s get out of hear and head home. We can meet up later and try and make sense of all of this.”
The formally happy group quickly packed up the remains of their picnic and made their way to their cars. Their goodbyes were reluctant, but necessary and filled with worry for none of them knew what they would find when they returned home.
Several hours later, the somber group reassembled in the CrashDown Café, along with their parents. It wasn’t planned, but none of the parents felt up to the rigors of cooking and cleaning after the stress of their day. Talk quickly turned to the break-ins and all the parents, with the exception of Jim were surprised to find out the others had also been robbed.
“Isn’t it funny,” Diane Evans asked. “That all of our homes were broken into while all our kids were together?”
“That’s right, Sheriff,” said Jeff Parker. “All the kids were together today on that picnic. Do you think there’s any connection?”
“I doubt it,” said the Sheriff. “But if it’s all the same with you, I’d like to talk to the kids after we’re all done with dinner. No sense in ruining Jeff and Nancy’s fine cooking with shop talk,” he added jovially while he fixed his steely glare on each one of the kids.
“You don’t think they’re involved, do you sheriff?” Amy Deluca asked.
“No, of course not, Miz, Deluca,” said the Sheriff. “I just thought that if the kids and I talked informally, one of them might remember overhearing something that could help us.”
“So you’re not charging them with anything, is that correct?” Philip Evans asked, slipping into lawyer mode.
“Of course not, Philip,” said Jim. “Don’t be ridiculous. In fact, all of you are welcome to stick around while I talk to the kids. I just thought the kids might speak more freely if you weren’t here. If we’re lucky, maybe they’ll remember something, no matter how innocuous that can help us.”
One by one the parents reluctantly agreed, and when they finished their meals, they departed the café, after agreeing to return in an hour to pick up the kids. The sheriff made small talk with the nervous group, killing time until a reluctant Jeff Parker closed the café and retreated upstairs with his wife. For several nerve wracking minutes the sheriff walked around staring at each one of the kids until they all squirmed uncomfortably in their seats. When he was certain that he had their attention, he reached into a briefcase pulled out some papers and another item and slammed them on the table with a resounding crack.
“Well Zan,” he said. “Were you planning on filling me in any time soon? No? Or you, Ava?” he continued, glaring at Tess. “Since apparently at one time I took you into my home. Or how about you Liz, or you, Kyle, my own son? I just found out that you and Liz are both supposed to get shot within the next six months. Did any of you think that maybe, just maybe you should take me into your confidence?”
Silence filled the room while varying looks of shock and amazement played across the faces of the eight friends. Here was their worst nightmare – an adult knowing there secret – but instead of scoffing disbelief, he was somebody who wanted to help.
Title: Consanguinity
Chapter Eighteen
Kyle cocked his elbow back and then brought it forward and watched the trajectory of the football with satisfaction as the ball left his fingers and spiraled across the cloudless blue sky. The ball arced almost effortlessly, falling gracefully toward Michael’s outstretched hands, until suddenly, and without any earthly explanation, the ball veered to the right. Liz reached up and plucked the ball from the air and ran back up the field to score the winning touchdown.
“Goal!” Maria yelled, throwing her arms in the air, gleefully.
“Touchdown,” whispered Tess.
“Oh yeah, right,” Maria said, not missing a beat. “Touchdown!”
“No way!” shouted Kyle, charging back up the field. “That was interference!”
“What?” Liz shouted. “How was that interference? You’re just mad because the girls won.”
“No way,” Max said, joining the argument. “That ball was Michael’s.”
“That ball, Max Evans,” Liz said, gritting her teeth, “Was mine. Jealousy does not become you,” she added, standing toe to toe with Max.
“J-jealousy?” Max sputtered. “I’m not jealous of a bunch of cheating girls.”
“Cheat!” Liz practically shrieked. “We didn’t cheat. How could we have possibly cheated?”
“Someone obviously used their powers to make that ball change it’s path,” said Max.
“Oh yeah, and who would that be, me, or Liz?” demanded Maria, joining the argument. “Cause from where I was standing, Tess was busy being tackled by Alex, and Isabel, well Isabel was busy dong her nails.”
“It had to be Tess,” said a furious Michael.
“Hey!” cried Tess, who was rubbing ineffectually at the grass stains on her shirt.
“It wasn’t Tess,” said Alex. “I was practically sitting on her. There was no way she could have used her powers to do anything. So that just leaves Isabel.”
As one the group looked over at Isabel who was still painting her nails and studiously avoided looking at the small group. After several minutes Max finally said, “Fine, it must have been a fluke downdraft or something. Whatever, the girls get to pick the movie tonight.”
“Great, now that we’ve finally solved the world’s problems, can we please eat? I’m starved,” said Kyle.
“There’s a surprise,” said Tess, linking her arm with his. “Name five times when food wasn’t on your mind.”
“Um, never,” said Kyle, causing everybody to laugh. “Now what is there to eat?”
“Everything,” said Isabel, capping her bottle of nail polish. “Liz’s dad sent us tons of fried chicken and all the Saturn Rings you could ever imagine eating.”
“Cold Saturn Rings?” said Maria, plopping down on the blanket next to Michael. “Perish the thought.”
“You forgetting my superior reheating skills,” said Isabel passing her hand over the container holding the onion rings. “As well as my other unsung skills,” she added in an undertone, winking. “Nice catch, Liz. You’re quite the player.”
Max whipped his head around at the saccharine sound of Isabel’s voice and glared at her. She looked at him guilelessly and continued setting out the food, and he shrugged and grabbed a plate.
The eight friends talked and laughed among themselves, enjoying the food and the day, and by their previous agreement, no talk at all about the events that were slated to occur during the Crash Festival. The teased each other mercilessly, the way good friends will, and just enjoyed being together – until their cell phones began to ring. One by one, they answered the incoming calls, varying expressions of shock and disbelief crossing their faces. Isabel ended her call first and she wordlessly began to ram the contents of their picnic back in the basket.
“That was Dad,” she said finally, struggling to hold back tears. “We need to get home right away, the house was broken into and vandalized.
“Hey, so was mine,” said Kyle. “That was my dad.”
“Mine too,” said Alex, looking shocked.
“My mom said our house was broken into, too,” said Liz.
“That was my mom,” Maria said, closing her cell phone and reaching fro a vial of cedar oil. “S-someone broke into our house. Our house! Strangers were in our house!”
“Maria, breath,” Michael said, pulling her into his arms. Someone broke into all our houses.
“Why? Why is this happening? What does it mean?” Maria asked.
“It means somebody’s on to us,” said Max, grimly.
“Do you think it’s the same person who…” Tess began.
“After us?” Max continued. “Yeah, or at least I hope it is.”
“What?” Isabel asked, her voice rising a bit. “Why?”
“Because if it isn’t, that means we have more than one person to worry about,” said Michael, suddenly. “Max is right. We’re better off if it’s that Nescado person – the one the other Max warned us about.”
“Okay, fine, he’s on to us,” said Kyle. “But why rob our homes? What does he expect to find?”
“The stash of playboys you have under your bed, maybe?” Isabel teased trying to inject some humor into the somber moment.
“Nah, those are safe, they’re hidden way under my bed next to the stuff that Max….” Kyle said, his voice trailing off.
“I guarantee that’s what he’s after,” said Max. “Come on, let’s get out of hear and head home. We can meet up later and try and make sense of all of this.”
The formally happy group quickly packed up the remains of their picnic and made their way to their cars. Their goodbyes were reluctant, but necessary and filled with worry for none of them knew what they would find when they returned home.
Several hours later, the somber group reassembled in the CrashDown Café, along with their parents. It wasn’t planned, but none of the parents felt up to the rigors of cooking and cleaning after the stress of their day. Talk quickly turned to the break-ins and all the parents, with the exception of Jim were surprised to find out the others had also been robbed.
“Isn’t it funny,” Diane Evans asked. “That all of our homes were broken into while all our kids were together?”
“That’s right, Sheriff,” said Jeff Parker. “All the kids were together today on that picnic. Do you think there’s any connection?”
“I doubt it,” said the Sheriff. “But if it’s all the same with you, I’d like to talk to the kids after we’re all done with dinner. No sense in ruining Jeff and Nancy’s fine cooking with shop talk,” he added jovially while he fixed his steely glare on each one of the kids.
“You don’t think they’re involved, do you sheriff?” Amy Deluca asked.
“No, of course not, Miz, Deluca,” said the Sheriff. “I just thought that if the kids and I talked informally, one of them might remember overhearing something that could help us.”
“So you’re not charging them with anything, is that correct?” Philip Evans asked, slipping into lawyer mode.
“Of course not, Philip,” said Jim. “Don’t be ridiculous. In fact, all of you are welcome to stick around while I talk to the kids. I just thought the kids might speak more freely if you weren’t here. If we’re lucky, maybe they’ll remember something, no matter how innocuous that can help us.”
One by one the parents reluctantly agreed, and when they finished their meals, they departed the café, after agreeing to return in an hour to pick up the kids. The sheriff made small talk with the nervous group, killing time until a reluctant Jeff Parker closed the café and retreated upstairs with his wife. For several nerve wracking minutes the sheriff walked around staring at each one of the kids until they all squirmed uncomfortably in their seats. When he was certain that he had their attention, he reached into a briefcase pulled out some papers and another item and slammed them on the table with a resounding crack.
“Well Zan,” he said. “Were you planning on filling me in any time soon? No? Or you, Ava?” he continued, glaring at Tess. “Since apparently at one time I took you into my home. Or how about you Liz, or you, Kyle, my own son? I just found out that you and Liz are both supposed to get shot within the next six months. Did any of you think that maybe, just maybe you should take me into your confidence?”
Silence filled the room while varying looks of shock and amazement played across the faces of the eight friends. Here was their worst nightmare – an adult knowing there secret – but instead of scoffing disbelief, he was somebody who wanted to help.