(has it really been that long?)
Credit to the writers of 'Skin and Bones' for this update...
10
Liz POV
Stepping off the bus at the New York terminal, I suddenly felt nauseas. I was usually the careful one – I had a plan for everything. My life was scheduled down to the minute. I was going to graduate high school with enough marks to get me a place at Harvard studying biology. I would study hard, do well, and get a nice paid job in research after I left college. That was how I pictured my perfect life.
Instead I now found myself in a strange city with very little money, no where to live and no job. If I was going to keep a low profile and stay hidden, I wouldn’t be able to enrol in school, go to college or get my dream job. I had to go underground, and that meant working to survive, not working for a career.
What had I been thinking? When I decided to leave Roswell I thought it would be easier away from the alien-madness that had become my life. I would be safer. No Special Unit, no FBI hunting me down, no Nasedo and definitely no Max-and-Tess-destiny. But now all that seemed insignificant compared to the prospect of trying to survive on nothing in this city – all alone.
Luckily my parents had given me a little bit of holiday spending money, and I had emptied my bank account before leaving Roswell. I would have enough for a couple of weeks rent, assuming I could find something relatively cheap. It would tie me over long enough to get a minimum wage job in a diner somewhere – the more out of the way the better.
I spent the first night in a seedy motel near the bus station where, once I was safely inside, I made sure I locked the door behind me. I didn’t get much sleep that night, from the flickering neon light that streamed through the window, and the sound of sirens screaming down the street every half an hour. I never realised just how quiet Roswell was until that night, which I spent sitting on my bed with my knees pulled up to my chest. I kept telling myself that it would get better and that I had made the right decision. It was the only way I could get through the night without jumping on the next bus straight back to Roswell first thing in the morning.
The following day, I pored over the newspaper looking for some cheap share accommodation. After meeting some very unsavoury potential housemates, who I would be very happy never to meet again in my entire life, I found the perfect situation. It was an apartment above a nightclub, which although not necessarily the quietest corner of the city, meant that the front door was, by default, guarded by some very friendly bouncers. I liked the thought of having my own security – it could come in very handy one day.
My new housemate was also perfect. Her name was Serena, and was an aspiring Broadway actress. She worked in the nightclub downstairs while she waited for her big break, and despite the fact I was well underage, she managed to get me a job there bussing tables. I worked during the day, before it got too rowdy, but unfortunately also before the higher pay rate kicked in. It didn’t matter though, I liked the fact that it was usually empty and I didn’t have to fight off drunken old men trying to pinch my backside – well, not often anyway.
After a month or so, when I got to know the managers, and they got to know me, I began waitressing instead of just clearing tables, and occasionally filled in when someone called in sick on the night shifts. Those nights were always interesting. Picture sweet, innocent, little Liz Parker, surrounded by twenty-something’s all trying to get wasted and/or pick up. I quickly learnt from the other waitresses how to politely reject advances, without risking losing my tips of course.
But when I wasn’t working, I had plenty of time to obsess about my new enhancements. They hadn’t returned since I last saw Max, but knowing they were there made me feel nervous in public places, thinking that someone was always watching me. Any second I expected to see Agent Pierce ready to take me back to the white room. I practically broke into a sweat whenever someone entered the nightclub in a dark suit and sunglasses.
Sleeping wasn’t much better, and Serena would often tell me that she heard me screaming in my sleep, as though I was being tortured. I would tell her it was just a recurring nightmare that I had every since I was a child, but I’m not sure she believed me. Occasionally I would find her lying next to me in the morning when I woke up, and it was those nights she said I didn’t scream in my sleep, as though having someone next to me made me feel safe.
I had called my parents, and Maria, the night I arrived in New York. I knew my aunt would be on the phone the moment she realised I wasn’t on the bus that I was supposed to be on, and I didn’t want to worry my parents unnecessarily. They were upset at first, worried about me, but I told them that I had met an old friend from school at one of the bus terminals on the way to Florida and she had convinced me to stay with her and her family in New York for the summer.
I told Maria the truth though – well, at least that I needed to hide out for a while, and New York seemed like a good place to do it. She was also worried, but she understood what I needed. Eventually she let me hang up the phone, but only after promising to carry mace with me everywhere I went.
Now it was nearing the end of summer, and I was going to have to tell my parents, and to some extent Maria, that I wasn’t planning on coming home anytime soon.
Max POV
“Your parents are concerned about you Max. Deeply concerned. Max, I want you to know that however unique you think your problems may be, there are millions of teenagers out there going through exactly what you’re going through right now. Let me assure you, this is all normal teenage stuff. Can you try and tell me what’s been going on?” The psychologist asked.
That’s right – a psychologist. Apparently my parents were worried about me. Since finding out about my ‘destiny’ I had been acting distant … quiet. Well – more distant and quiet than usual. I guess I hadn’t really been dealing well with the news that I was a king in my past life, and Michael, Isabel and Tess were all counting on me to lead them now. What did I know about being a leader? I’m just a sixteen year old boy who is still trying to grow up. Still trying to deal with the fact that I hadn’t seen Liz in three months.
Liz had been gone for the whole summer, and I had somehow resisted the temptation to go to Florida to see her. I wanted to give her space, in the hope that when she cleared her head, she would return to Roswell and I would have the chance to start rebuilding our relationship. I knew that she was dealing with a lot – the knowledge that she had taken somebody’s life must be eating her up inside. And I know I let her down – I failed her. It would be a long time before we would be anywhere close to how we used to be. But I had to hope.
I hadn’t heard from Liz, but I knew Maria had been speaking to her regularly. The most I could get out of Maria was that Liz was doing fine, and she wasn’t quite sure when Liz was coming back. I think Maria was getting sick of me asking, actually describing me as a “grovelling dog” at some point.
“Max don’t you have anything to say? Anything at all?” The psychologist said exasperated.
“It’s like you said … just normal teenage stuff.” I replied lightly, as though every other sixteen year old boy was actually the king of an alien race.
* * * * *
“Max you’re a genius.” Alex announced.
“What?” I asked, breaking out of my thoughts. We were currently watching a televised briefing of the congressional sub-committee grilling Agent Pierce, aka Nasedo, about the spending of the Special Unit.
“Having Nasedo pose as Agent Pierce. You know, making a mockery of the Special Unit and the government threat against you all. It was really smart.” Alex explained.
“I had nothing to do with it. I haven’t heard from Nasedo in three months.” I replied. Exactly the same amount of time I haven’t seen Liz.
“Well, if Nasedo can put an end to the Special Unit, I’d say all your problems are solved.” Alex concluded.
I couldn’t help but feel that my problems would only be solved if Liz returned.
“We still have our enemies to deal with.” Isabel pointed out.
“It’s been three months, and nothing has happened. No aliens have shown up. Maybe there’s no one out there. Maybe the war is over.” I suggested. There was me hoping again.
“Or thousands of them could be lining up outside of town right now.” Isabel retorted.
“I just don’t think we should live our lives in fear like Michael.” I replied.
“Maybe he’s just preparing for the inevitable. We weren’t ready to deal with the Special Unit, and look what happened to Liz.” Isabel pointed out, and I couldn’t help but cringe at the memory. The guilt was ever-present. “We’re going to need to bring our powers up to full strength if we are suddenly going to be attacked by aliens. Who knows what powers they are going to have?”
Isabel was right. I had been sitting around feeling sorry for myself all summer, while Michael and Tess had been working on developing their powers, and Isabel had been picturing Armageddon.
Our attention was brought back to the TV by the comments of our own Congresswoman, who was the sole dissenting vote to the immediate disbandment of the Special Unit. She had evidence of a murder in 1972 that left silver markings. I could only assume that Nasedo had been the murderer. It seemed as though Congresswoman Whittaker wasn’t letting it go, obsessed with the presence of a substance named Cadmium-X. A non-human element that we apparently create when we kill. My question was, if it was caused by a silver handprint, then did healing someone create the substance too? I left a silver handprint on Liz when I healed her, so did healing Liz produce Cadmium-X? And if it did, what did it do to her?
* * * * *
Isabel and I walked into Michael’s apartment in time to see him blow up three rocks on his kitchen table.
“No rock stands a chance against Michael Guerin.” I joked, causing Michael and Tess to spin around to see us let ourselves in.
“Our fearless leader.” Michael replied, his eyes narrowing. I had sensed his hostility over the past few months, but had ignored it. Now it was getting harder to.
“I think Nasedo’s finished with D.C. He’ll probably be headed back soon.” I announced, ignoring Michael’s hostility a little longer.
“It’s not like he’s Ward Cleaver when he’s here.” Tess replied, not looking overly keen at the thought of Nasedo returning. I hadn’t really given it much thought, but she must have enjoyed the past few months where she didn’t have Nasedo watching her every move, and criticising, or just being his usual emotionless self. I gave Tess a small smile, acknowledging her apprehension.
“So what’s going on?” Michael interrupted. “Something tells me this isn’t a social visit.”
“Actually… Isabel and I were hoping we could work on our powers with the both of you.” I replied.
“Finally come to your senses?” Michael retorted. “For three months I have been working my butt off and you have been sitting around moping. Now you suddenly think we need to work on our powers?”
“Yes.” I replied, raising my chin and holding his eye contact. If he wanted a leader, he was going to get one.
“Fine.” Michael replied, stepping away from the rocks that remained intact on the table. “Knock yourself out.”
I stepped over to the table and looked from the rocks on the table back up to Tess. “Do you think you could teach me?” I asked.
“Of course.” Tess smiled.
* * * * *
A few days later, the four of us were out in the desert, practicing generating force fields, and trying to break through them. I had already managed to put up a force field a couple of times, but never for very long. Michael was still struggling. It seemed that he was better at the destruction and I was better at protection. I guess the four of us really did complement each other.
“What do the four of you think you’re doing?” A voice came from the road.
I paled, kicking myself for being so careless practicing our powers in public.
“You’re back.” Tess responded, recognising Nasedo before the rest of us did. I guess she had seen most of his disguises before, or maybe she had just learnt to sense his presence.
“Do you realise how dangerous it is for you to be doing that out here at the moment?” Nasedo demanded, not acknowledging Tess’ comment.
“Where in the middle of the desert.” Michael retorted. “Who’s going to see us?’
“The entire police department that is currently over the next hill.” Nasedo replied.
“Why is the entire police department out here?” I asked.
“Because some geologist found where I buried Pierce’s body.” Nasedo stated without batting an eyelid.
“What?!” I replied. “What are we going to do?”
“We are going to do nothing. I am going to handle this.”
“And how are you going to do that?” My eyes narrowed. I didn’t like how Nasedo had ‘handled’ things in the past.
“I’m going to extinguish anyone with the knowledge.” Nasedo grinned.
“No one’s going to die. Killing people is not going to solve anything.” I ordered.
“Oh my. A pacifist for a king. Should we commit joint suicide right now, or shall we wait for our enemies to show up and have a nice boxed lunch of us?” Nasedo retorted.
“We’re not killing anyone. That’s an order.” I replied. I was not going to let Nasedo get to me. If I was the leader, we were going to do things my way.
“As you wish.” Nasedo mock-bowed. “By the way, the Fed’s know about Cadmium-X, thanks to Congresswoman Whittaker. If they find it on the bones, then we are in more trouble than you could imagine.”
“If Liz was the one who killed Pierce, why would there be Cadmium-X on the bones?” Michael asked confused.
“Because I healed Liz.” I replied, knowing the answer without Nasedo needing to tell me.
“So he’s not just a pretty face after all.” Nasedo sneered.
“Is Liz alright?” I asked Nasedo.
“What? You haven’t spoken to her lately? Don’t tell me you don’t even know which city she’s in?” Nasedo smiled.
“What are you talking about?” I demanded, but Nasedo was not going to give anything away.
“Forget Liz and focus on the problem at hand. You have Congresswoman Whittaker getting wind that the bones have Cadmium-X in them, and she won’t stop until she discovers who killed him. Oh, and just wait until she finds out the bones belong to Pierce and that she’s been diddling a corpse all summer.” Nasedo grinned.
“We’ll figure out a way to fix this.” I replied, before adding “Without killing anyone. Nobody moves until I say so.”
“Anything you say.” Nasedo replied. “Just don’t take too long, or it will be over for all of us.”
I gulped. I was trying to be a leader, but I really had no idea what to do.
Liz POV
“Hey Maria.” I answered my mobile when Maria’s name came up on my caller ID.
“Hey Chica. How’s the Big Apple treating you?”
“Oh, you know. It’s not home.” I replied.
“I hear ya.” Maria replied, and that’s when I heard the nervousness in her voice that I hadn’t picked up before.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing… it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Maria dismissed my concern.
“Maria… Tell me what’s going on.” I pushed.
“Okay, I just know how much you really don’t want to be pulled back down into the alien-abyss …”
“What happened?” I pushed. Now I was worried. Everything had been so quiet for the past three months, I was sure that all the worry about alien invasions was for nothing.
“They found Pierce’s body.” Maria blurted.
“Who did?” I asked before my mouth went dry.
“The Sherriff. Congresswoman Whittaker. Soon, I guess the FBI.” Maria explained.
“Oh my goodness. It’s all starting again…” I said, suddenly feeling the need to sit down to prevent my legs from giving way beneath me.
“There’s more.” Maria added.
“More?”
“They’ve found out about this substance called Cadmium-X. It’s an isotope of cadmium or something like that, and it’s not human. Nasedo thinks they will find it on Pierce’s body.”
“Because I killed him…” I finished.
“Yeah, but how Liz? I don’t understand. How could you create this alien substance.”
I took a deep breath. It was now or never.
“Because when Max healed me, he changed me.”
“What do you mean he changed you?” Maria asked hesitantly.
“He modified my genetic makeup or something … I don’t really know. But it was how I was able to kill Pierce. It gave me this strength… this current of some kind of power within me.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” Maria asked.
“Because I was scared of how you would react. Don’t you remember how you reacted when I first told you about Max?” I pointed out, picturing Maria running down the main street of Roswell, screaming at the top of her lungs.
“Yeah, but I’ve had the chance to get used to some very weird stuff since then. You’re my best friend – I wouldn’t think of you any differently.” Maria promised.
At that moment I wish I had told her earlier. It would have made things so much easier.
“Why haven’t you told Max?” Maria asked.
“Because … I guess because of everything that was happening. Max and I weren’t really at a good place. I didn’t want him to feel as though he had some claim over me now. Plus, this dangerous energy thing seems to get worse when he’s around.” I explained.
“What are you going to do?” Maria asked.
“Well, I haven’t had any problems since I’ve been in New York. Maybe it was a one time thing, and I’m over it.”
“Or maybe you just haven’t had the need to try it out again.” Maria suggested.
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” I replied. “So what is Nasedo doing about Pierce’s body?”
“I’m not sure. I think there is currently a stalemate between Max and Nasedo. Nasedo wants to kill anyone who knows about the body, and Max refuses to give Nasedo permission to harm anyone. Congresswoman Whittaker has taken the bones somewhere, and Max is really confused about what to do next.” Maria explained. “We’ve been watching the Congresswoman, but so far we have been unable to find where she has taken the bones.”
I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Max for being in such a position, but it made me happy to know he was standing up to Nasedo.
“I have an idea.” I announced. I then explained to Maria about the new particle physics lab at Las Cruces University that could detect Isotope ratios in an object. If Congresswoman Whittaker wanted to find Cadmium-X on the bones, that’s where she would take them.
“You’re a genius!” Maria gushed. “We seriously need your brains back here.”
“Yeah, well …” I stammered. I wasn’t quite ready to go home just yet.
“Anyway, I’d better go and tell Max. You look after yourself okay?” Maria signed off.
“I promise. Miss you.”
“Miss you too Babe.” Maria replied before hanging up the phone.
Max POV
Liz’s idea was brilliant. Turned out we got to the University just in time for the test. I managed to climb into the cyclotron without being noticed, thanks to Tess’ handy mind-warping abilities. I had just enough time to not only remove all traces of Cadmium-X, but also change the carbon dating on the bones to make them appear over forty years old. No one would be suspecting a bunch of teenagers who weren’t even born when the bones found themselves buried in the desert.
Later that night, I went to visit Maria at the Crashdown. There were a few things that were bugging me.
“Hey girlfriend.” Maria greeted me, as I took at seat at the counter. “What can I get for you?”
“Answers.” I replied, not breaking eye contact. Maria did however. She seemed to find it very difficult to meet my eye.
“W-what do you want to know?” Maria asked hesitantly, while wiping down the counter.
“Where is Liz?” I asked, remembering Nasedo’s comment about not knowing what city Liz was in. He definitely knew something I didn’t.
“Florida.” Maria replied, still not meeting my eye.
“Please Maria… I need to know the truth.” I pleaded.
“Okay, she’s not in Florida. But I can’t tell you where she is.” Maria replied.
“Why not? Because she asked you not to?” I demanded.
“Yes. She had her reasons for leaving, and you were one of them, you know that. She needs time alone and having you traipsing across the country after her is not going to help either of you.” Maria argued.
“At least tell me if she is okay.” I begged.
“She’s doing as well as can be expected.” Maria replied diplomatically.
“Is she coming back?” I asked the question that had been plaguing me. School was starting on Monday, and there was still no sign of Liz.
“I don’t know.” Maria replied, and I could sense that she was missing Liz as much as I was.
“Next time you speak to her… could you tell her that I miss her.” I asked. “And tell her that I’m sorry for everything.”
“I will.” Maria promised.
I nodded. I had to be content with that for now.