Invasion (Mature. CC.) Authors note 4/24/08 [WIP]

[rie482]

Title: Invasion

Author: Rie482

Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell no matter how much we all wish we did.

Rating: Mature... Liz isn't going to be nice.

Couples: Mainly CC with a focus on Max and Liz, Max is going to be with Tess for a little while unfortunately. I promise that will be sorted out soon tho!

Synopsis: There is something invading Liz, contorting her thoughts and pushing her aside… leaving her lover to suffer at the hands of her mercilessness. Will it be too late at the end of it all? This starts half way through “Baby it’s you”

I know I haven’t finished exposure, I’m currently tearing my hair out at the thought I have to write something that fits for an ending, but the other day I was sat on the bus listening to Dido’s album No Angel and Here with me came on and a whole new story came to me.

Invasion.

Prologue

The desperation, anguish and terror in the way he screamed her name was what pushed the thing out of her mind completely; a whimpering part of her old self pushing itself forward past the wall formed around her, allowing entrance back into her consciousness. Her eyes focused around her, her body came to life and her heart and soul was released in that split second, throwing her into a turmoil and distress she had never felt before. Her whole body hummed from top to bottom, a powerful deep hum and painful burn that brought her back to the sight before her eyes.

He lay there on the hard dirty desert floor; his arm outstretched trying his utmost to push back the barrier that she was thrusting on to him that was slowly smothering him. The green surrounding him was crushing him to death, draining away any oxygen that could perhaps make it to his lungs, her hand holding it steady as she forced all her power into the field around him. She was killing him, her power so far out of control that it was unbearable; unstable.

Her eyes met his for a split second and the horror of recognition was seen in his eyes, his connection revived like hers. There was now only two options one that she wasn’t going to take; the first one being killing the man before her. The other option was just as heart shattering as the last; she would have to absorb the power she held in the palm of her hand, which would be a blow in itself, but that wouldn’t be the full extent of it – she’d have to take the final blow of Max’s energy; killing her instead.

He’d have to live without her.

She knew he wouldn’t be able to do it, his grief all consuming and destroying. He’d blame himself; punish himself everyday for not seeing it sooner but there was only one option she could take and she had to do it quickly before it was too late. Taking a deep breath she pulled back her force field, her power, deep into her body pulling his alongside with it. It burnt its way through her arms and into her stomach as she felt it drain from the barrier that was between the two of them; it ached within her very core and she tried to suppress a scream as she felt her organs start to heat beneath the energy that was flooding her system. Her gaze met his again and in an instant she regretted it as he screamed out to her, “NO!”, tears gushing from his beautiful yet tired eyes as he tried to scramble off the floor and into her arms.

But there wasn’t enough time.

“I’m sorry”, were the final words she felt her lips whisper to him quietly. “I’m so sorry”.


3 weeks earlier

“Liz! Liz!”

“What?”

“I was thinking to myself, right. How is it that Alex sent these emails from Sweden when he's isn't actually in Sweden, right? So, I took the emails that he sent me and went to Derek, all right, and he used his nerdness to uncover that the emails were sent from right here in New Mexico.”

“Are you telling me that Alex never left Roswell?”

“No, he--he did, he just--he didn't go far. The emails were sent from a dorm room from the University of New Mexico in Las Cruces”



“You know that this is dangerous and stupid right?” Michael whispered angrily as he watched Liz scope the apartment that ‘Ray’ was supposed to have stayed whilst at Las Cruces. “We should have told Max.”

“No.” Liz bit. “Not Max, he wouldn’t have wanted to come out here… he’s too busy with his own life.” She stared at the room with a scowl, searching for anything that may have clues as to what Alex had been doing at Las Cruses but was coming up with nothing.

“This is a pointless waste of time.” Michael grumbled again from the corner of the room, his stance reflecting his words. This was reckless in his eyes and a waste of time; Alex had died in an accident, a terrible accident but he couldn’t convince either Maria or Liz that so when Maria said that she was going off to Las Cruces to check it out, he was forced into a position he didn’t want to be in. It had taken all his strength not to blow up at Maria when she refused to stay behind with him in Roswell, he had practically man handled her into staying routed to the spot long enough for her to agree that he’ll have to escort Liz to Las Cruces whilst she stayed in Roswell. It didn’t help that he told Amy that Maria was a wild thing in bed but he had to do what he needed to stop Maria from getting hurt again; she was just too close to Alex to rehash old memories and perhaps add to more pain. He loved her too much for that.

It didn't change how he felt about it though, he didn’t want to be there watching the self sabotaging quest that Liz was on. It was too much.

Liz swivelled round to stare at him angrily; her voice showing there was more felt behind her stare. “Then leave.” She turned back to stare at the wall in front of her, frustration and anger welling up inside her chest. “I didn’t ask for you to come here.”

“Fine.” He grumbled as he grabbed his jacket. “I’ll tell Maria that it was a waste of time as I expected it to be, shall I?”

“Whatever.” Was her cool reply. She paused for a second and looked at him from the corner of her eye and said sincerely, “Thank you for coming here… it means a lot to me.” Even though she wished that Maria had come with her instead, it meant a lot to her that Michael even came with her – even if he was forced to.

Michael stopped for a second and shrugged his shoulders. “I’m only here because Maria asked me to be… if I didn’t have to keep Maria safe it would have been Maria wasting her time alongside you.” Seconds later he was out the door, slamming it gruffly behind him.

Liz slumped slightly at the reaction she had gotten from Michael, and to be honest it was expected. Even she herself was starting to get fed up about the whole situation; she hadn’t found a thing. Alex did nothing, he worked on nothing – even the slight lead towards the computer thing was pointless; to everyone else it was the point where one would quit the quest and leave it unfinished. But there was this feeling that just kept Liz rooted in the room in which she found herself in. She could feel it pulsing through her veins, this knowledge that she just couldn’t touch; it was in the air around her and in the feel of the walls. It was there. She knew it was.

She flopped onto the bed with a sigh. “Help me out here Alex.” She whispered tearfully. “What happened to you?”

“Me.” Came the reply from the doorway, Tess staring back at Liz from the doorway. “It was all me… not that you’ll remember that in an hour or two.”

[rie482]

Thank you so much to the following for their amazing feedback:
Gnomie
Rosdude
Tequathisy
Daydreamer23
begonia9508

Part one.

“No” She whispered as she looked at the photo’s that lay in her hands. “No.” It couldn’t be could it? She looked up quickly at the man before her with a sharp glare. “Are you sure that this is him? The one that was with Ray?”

He merely nodded with a confused look on his face. “Yup. That’s him alright. He came and went over the time Ray was here, said he was his brother and that he was here to help him.”

Liz frowned. “To help him? Ray?”

“Yeah. Stuart said that Ray was emotionally shut off due to a traumatising experience that left him, ya know, not all there. I have to admit that we did wonder about Ray, always staring off into the distance appearing to be completely sedated or stoned. It kinda made sense to us when Stuart finally arrived and told us about his condition… The poor guy, he tried so hard with him, you could tell he was physically aching from the fact his brother just wasn’t responding. Especially when he took him to the computers… every time he was here he’d drag him there hoping that he’d be able to awaken the inner geek that used to be. Never really did work, all he did was type nonsense.”

“The computers?” Liz asked confused, she hadn’t found anything when she was there last. All there had been was his student details and even then they were a bit sparse, so it was a bit of a shock to have someone telling her that Alex had been there. Surely there had to have been something there still if he had been forced to use them? “You sure?”

The guy nodded again meekly. “They’d be in there for hours when Stu was here, typing away. I caught them in there at stupid hours. They sometimes worked all through the night.” They both stood in an awkward silence as Liz stared intently at the photos in her hands. It couldn’t be right, she was sure he never left Roswell… well she assumed that he hadn’t; she couldn’t be completely sure of anything he did over the past few months. They had been so distant from one another, not seeing each other for days at a time… but still, it was Max, he wouldn’t do such a thing right?

Liz looked up at the guy again and noticed his annoyed expression, feeling a little guilty at the thought she was taking up his time. “Thank you for this… I didn’t mean to be any bother.”

The guy smiled slightly before quietly saying, “It’s no problem really. Is there anything else I can help ya with?”

Liz once again looked at him and merely nodded.

*********

Maria gave Michael the evil eye the second he stepped through her front door, a sheepish look on his face as he saw Maria standing with her hands on her hips.

“Where is Liz?” She demanded straight away, not at all pleased to see that Michael was alone. “You left her behind didn’t you?”

Michael just shrugged and pushed past Maria, flopping onto the sofa to avoid witnessing those pupils burning into his; to avoid the guilt starting to form in his stomach. “I dunno.”

Maria quietly shrieked in horror for a second, throwing her hands in the air before charging over in front of him. “Are you trying to tell me you left her there!”

Michael stared her straight in the face and with expressionless face he said, “Yeah. I did.”

“MICHAEL! You were supposed to be protecting her! Not leaving her!” She yelled at him hysterically. “God, Michael! What if she was hurt?!”

Michael folded his arms defensively. “She’s fine! Nothing was happening! We found nothing.”

Maria turned away for a second and ran her hands through her hair, anger and panic sweeping over her; a part of her couldn’t believe that Michael was giving up so willingly. If she gave into Michael right this moment she would actually believe him and the idea of there being a suggestion of Alex committing suicide was just not possible in her eyes; she had to have some hope and Liz was it. Alone. She quickly turned back to her boyfriend, rage deep in her eyes. “Take me there.” She demanded. “Now.” She started for the door, picking the keys up from the table as she moved away with a determination that Michael hadn’t seen before – and that was saying something.

“There’s no point.” Michael replied calmly as he stood up from the sofa and started to approach her. “She won’t be there any more. I left hours ago.” He instantly regretted telling his girlfriend that fact the second it left his mouth, so he sharply started to back up towards the sofa.

As predicted Maria stopped dead and slowly turned round, tension riveted in her back. “What?” She hissed.

“I left about noon.”

“YOU WHAT!” She screamed at him as she launched herself at him, her fists digging into his chest so hard that it forced him to quickly jump over the sofa in order to put something between them.

“I left hours ago… I had to see Max.” Once again he regretted that piece of information that fell from his lips, only he knew about Tess and the situation; now he had screwed up again and he knew the mood that Maria was in wouldn’t allow him to get away with not telling her. He silently prayed for a miracle as he noticed her back up a second in her own thoughts.

“What do you mean you had to see Max?” She said, panic starting to whelm as Michael never usually had to see Max, he usually just went.

Michael sighed for a second. “I can’t tell you…”

Maria was ready throw more abuse at him the second he said that, but the doorbell had her attention wavering slightly. Standing up straight she glared at him and pointed at him. “Stay right there… I’m not finished with you yet.” She quickly made her way to the door and with a sigh opened the door to find Liz on the other side.

The sight she was greeted with was unbearable. There on her doorstep was Liz, her eyes red raw at the amount she had drained herself from hours of crying and instantly Maria’s temper weakened, pulling her best friend into a hug.

“What’s wrong chica?” She whispered into her friends hair. “What’s wrong?”

“It-it was…” Tess. Liz frowned at that thought and she quickly shook her head, before pulling out of Maria’s hug slightly to look her in the face but stopped as she noticed Michael standing there behind them. All of a sudden she just couldn’t tell Maria, Michael’s presence being a sudden hindrance. “I didn’t notice you were here.” She said apologetically as she pulled away from Maria’s warm embrace. She wiped away the tears from under her eyes and backed towards the door.

“No, Liz, wait.” Maria started, worriedly. “What were you about to say?”

Liz stopped for a second and thought about whether or not she could actually tell Maria, even if Michael had been there; finally changing her mind completely about telling her it was Max that had killed Alex. It would kill Maria to know that someone she cared about so much took away one of her best friends. She’d have to deal with this on her own. So she decided to tell Maria exactly what Michael was probably in the process of telling her anyway; “It was a waste of time. I didn’t find anything.”

“Nothing?” Maria asked dejectedly, the part of her hoping that it wasn’t a suicide instantly dying as quickly as Alex had.

Liz shook her head. “Nothing. I’m sorry Maria.” There was a moment of silence between the three of them as they all took a moment to think of Alex. Liz shed a tear as she thought about how much she missed him, missed his friendship and about how the one person she thought would never hurt any human being had turned against her so completely. She thought about Max.

*****************

“You need to do this Alex.” His voice was resounding round the room, a constant murmuring that could only just be heard above the typing of the keyboard. Liz’s eyes watched, seeping silent mournful tears of anger as she watched Max whispering into Alex’s ear, his hands either side of her head. “You need to do this, for me, Michael… for Isabel. You want to see
Isabel happy don’t you? She’ll be happy there Alex. Make her happy.”

“You need to do this.”

“For me.”

“For Isabel.”

“Make her happy.”

It was just repeated over and over again as Liz stared at the footage in front of her and every time she heard his voice telling Alex something anger began to swell even more strongly towards him. It was nestling in the pit of her stomach and causing headache a she had never experienced before in her life. It hurt at the back of her skull, a deep needle like sensation creeping into her rest of her head, causing it to ache with an immense pressure. Yet, even though it hurt to watch the footage before her, she couldn’t tear her gaze away not even to look down at her hands that were slowly starting to tingle and burn.

If she had she may have seen the bright green sparks of electricity running in a criss cross motion across her skin, bringing every cell in her body to life. She was changing, her eyes becoming darker and more uncontrolled; almost menacing as she stared at the man who took away an important part of her life.

Liz was changing.

Overnight as she was sleeping, a creature and an anger that she hadn’t experienced in her life was consuming her.

She knew it was happening.

She couldn’t stop it.

[rie482]

Thank you so much for your support guys.


Part two

They walked down the stairs hand in hand, a smile plastered on their faces as if they knew the biggest secrets in the world – the best kept secret. For her it was the best moment of her life, walking down the halls of Roswell High with her prize possession. For him, it was a moment of distraction with thoughts of the fact the hand he was currently holding was the wrong hand and the woman beside him was the wrong person, yet he still smiled for her sake.

As they walked along all Max could think about was how wrong the fit was with Tess; a gentle unsettling feeling that many would suggest was the feeling of love but he knew all he was feeling was a lingering emotion from his past life; a past non existent. He didn’t want this, he didn’t want to be beside the woman who was squeezing on his hand tightly and he didn’t want to look at her and see her smug and self satisfied smile that was firmly in place on her face.

Yet he had to – he owed her that much.

He knew the longing for Liz would never leave him and it made him sick to the stomach to think that he would have to be a permanent part of Tess’ life for the rest of his. Some how he knew that it wouldn’t be easy… Liz constantly on his mind.

He almost let a sigh of torment out of his lips when he felt her presence in the corridor directly behind him; her soul making his skin tingle and his stomach churn even after everything that had happened between them. He knew that would never go away but he did take some form of sadistic comfort to know that everything between them would perhaps let Liz to live a normal life. It was going to kill him to watch her carry on, moving forward and leading a normal life, but he could learn to stay away; he had done for so long.

The second Liz walked past him he instantly knew that it was going to be a complete and utter torment for him because he found his eyes lingering on her body as she seductively walked past, her hips moving in a tightly fitted long black skirt with slits down the side allowing him full view of her legs. He finally gulped the second she turned round and to witness Liz in all her glory; she moved in slow motion to Max showing him a sight he had never seen before. Liz was wearing all black, the slits of the skirt as high as possible to show her knee high boot clad legs and her thighs without showing too much, her top was a floatly long sleeved top, the sleeves opening out wide, that seemed to just skim over her skin as she moved and was cut low enough to show a nice amount of cleavage without going too far.

And her hair, oh god her hair, he thought. She wore it up, her colour seeming to be richer than ever before and wiskfully put up into a ponytail, allowing wisps of her hair to full around her face. He just wanted to reach out and touch it; to touch her all over.

In a second the sight was over, the image of Liz smiling a weird smile and the wave of her hand all that was left of the moment.

He wanted her and he knew it was going to be hard to stay away.

Impossible.

************

Liz sat at the back of the science lab and just stared at the back of his head, knowing full well that her presence was torturing him completely; he’d come to her eventually but not quite yet. She smiled to herself as she watched Tess turn round and look at her in a weird way, almost shocked and confused.

“It was me”

Liz frowned at her as Tess turned back round to lay a kiss on Max’s cheek.

“I need to use you, to push Max. He needs…”

She shook her head, her thoughts disappearing from her mind completely in an instant, as anger started to boil in her veins at the sight of the two of them together and she knew that it wasn’t just Max that she could have fun with now. Tess always knew that Max was Liz’s and no one could have him unless she was dead… she wasn’t going to allow the bitch to steal her man, take him even if he was Alex’s murderer. She may want to punish him for the crime he committed but it didn’t mean that her body didn’t want him physically; it was hard not to walk over and take him on the lab table. She knew she was going to have her fun with both of them and enjoy every moment.

As the class carried on Max found it harder to concentrate as images of taking Liz in that very room started to invade his mind with such an extreme passion it was unbearable. He always took pride in the fact he didn’t see Liz as a bit of meat like a few of the men he knew did with their girlfriends; Liz had always been different and he had always wanted to treat her with the respect she deserved. However, right at that moment he was finding it hard to feel that way, his blood boiling to a point that was uncontrollable.

“Max!”

He couldn’t concentrate as her voice cried his name out in ecstasy, her lips right next to his ear and her nails in his back.

“Max!”

He could almost feel her fingers running along his body, down his arms.

“MAX!”

Shaking him violently.

“Max!” Tess’ voice came into plain consciousness as she shook him again and again, taking him out of his mind completely to find that he was burning the desk with his powers. He quickly looked at Tess in panic before he quickly wiped his hands over the surface removing all traces of there being any burn marks. Yet it didn’t go unnoticed, Tess’ voice sounded in panic so he quickly picked up a beaker of liquid and started to pore it over their work.

“What’s going on?” Mr Mason asked impatiently.

Max turned embarrassed, his heart thumping in his chest hard – what on the Earth had happened? “Noth-nothing sir, I just spilt the water over our work.”

Mr Mason didn’t quite believe him and looked over his shoulder. “It sounded like there was a fire the way Miss Harding was panicking.”
Max tried his hardest to suppress the urge to widen his eyes in horror but managed to shake his head. “No. No fire sir. Sorry sir…”

The rest of the lesson he stared at his hands in complete disbelief and worry; that had never happened to him before and it was as if he hadn’t really controlled it in the first place – he didn’t even realise he was doing it. He tried to put it down to tiredness but he couldn’t convince himself completely that that was the case.

Meanwhile, sat beside him Tess spent the rest of the lesson wondering what on the Earth she had unleashed in Liz as she looked over her shoulder to find Liz staring at her, swearing that she saw a tint of green flash across her pupils. She had used the spike in desperation, not knowing how to cover up completely the fact it was her that had killed Alex but she didn’t really think about the consequences. Naesdo had only shown her how to use it, she didn’t actually know how to control it or what it did other than allow her to twist the mind of the person it infected but it was now becoming obvious that that wasn’t all it did. Usually she would have just mind warped Liz into not realising anything amiss and control her actions but there was something in the way Liz had changed that told her that there was nothing she could do but sit on it and see what happened.

She had no control over Liz and the spike and for once she felt something incredibly human - Fear.

**********************

“I swear, I had no idea I was doing it,” Max explained to Michael. “It was like I had no say over what my hands were doing.”

Michael looked at him confused. “Do you feel any different? Ill?”

Max scratched his ear then shook his head. “Nope, it was just for that split second.”

“You have a letter Max.” Isabel informed him as she walked in the room and handed it to him before sitting on the sofa next to him. She didn’t look up from her letters but suggested, “Perhaps you’re tired, and after all it has been a stressful time for you.”

“Maybe… I” Max stopped mid sentence as he opened his letter and lifted out the contents.

“What?” Questioned Isabel as she sharply brought her attention to Max after his abrupt stop.

Max’s hand quivered slightly as he read the note before him; even though it was only two words long he read it over and over almost as if he couldn’t believe what he was reading.

“Max?” Isabel asked again, panicking slightly at his unnerving silence.

He just looked at her and turned the note round.

Her eyes widened as she read the words that were printed in bold capital letters on stark white paper.

I KNOW

[rie482]

Heya guys, thank you soooooooooooooo soooooooooooooo much for your support and comments. Here is the next part. I'd like to mention that I'm now in a process of esaay writing so the fanfiction is going to be put aside for the next two weeks. I apologise and hope you understand. Thank you so much

Part Three

The four of them just stood stock still as they looked out over the quarry, all of them lost in their own thoughts about the letter. Was it someone trying to scare them? Someone who knew their secret? Or was it something else… someone else? An alien? A human? What did they actually know?

“It could all just be someone teenage prank.” Tess suggested nervously, her mind looking towards another option she wasn’t willing to share with the others. “You know the majority of teenagers have secrets or are really easily scared sometimes… it might just be because you’re one of the quieter ones in school Max, they thought you were an easy target or summat.”

Max just looked at her from the corner of his eye, whole heartedly wanting to believe her but he could tell that this was something more – something different. This was a sinister feeling, as if something or someone knew and was out to get him. He tried to explain it earlier that evening but no one could understand him, feeling fine within themselves unlike him. What was worse was the fact that he felt that it wasn’t going to be towards anyone else; this was going to be all about him.

********

She watched from across the room, watching him look nervously around him as he sat hunched over the meal Maria had just served him. She knew that it was because not only did he not feel safe in his own home at that moment, but he was also worried about her safety. So ironic that the one thing he was terrified of at that moment was the one person in the world he wanted to protect with his whole heart and soul; it made her heart ache and sing all that once.

She couldn’t bare the feeling as she felt herself watching Max, the corners of her lips turned up in a slight smile that only the closest observer would acknowledge. It pained her so much that for once she couldn’t just make the pain go away, feeling almost compelled to make it worse for him. She couldn’t take it any longer so she quietly slipped out the room the second his eyes were turned away from her and tried to make it up the stairs. She came to a stop the second she could feel his panic as he barged through the door behind her.

“Liz?” He whispered sharply as he frantically searched for her, his heart aching at the loss of her presence in the room – the one thing he needed the most.

She sighed and started back down the stairs. “Yes Max?” She asked her tone short with him. For a second she wished that the look he next gave her made her heart skip and her knees quake like it used to, but it only served to make her angrier, wanting to make him suffer. For a split second she felt scared at her reaction, but in a second it was driven away and she could feel her body starting to go into auto pilot again.

She didn’t have the time to stop herself from letting it speak for her.

“I – I just wanted to make sure you were okay,” he implored to her as he stepped towards her, his eyes gazing into hers. “Are you?”

“Why?” She asked coldly. “Why does it matter to you?”

Max took a step back and looked sadly up at her, his gaze lost and scared. After everything that had happened in the last couple of days, sleeping with Tess just to find out she was pregnant and then to find out that someone out there was after him, he had wanted nothing more than to run into Liz’s arms for comfort. Now all he felt like doing was running away, nursing his broken heart as her tone and glare ripped at it. He knew that Liz had every right to be hurt at this moment in time; he was with Tess and he had almost forced her into his car just days ago yet despite it all, he had always felt like that if he was to make a step towards her, instead of stepping back, perhaps they could mend each others hearts.

So you're with her
and not with me
I hope she's sweet
and so pretty
I hear she cooks delightfully
a little angel beside you

So he took that step forward and gazed up at her. “Because I love you.” He managed to whisper out emotionally hoping somewhere deep in her soul she could sense his sincerity.

Liz just looked down on him a part deep within her trying to scream out, I love you to, but it just didn’t happen. Inside she was quivering, aching and pleading to take him up in her arms and tell him that everything was going to be alright but the anger forced it down, taking over fiercely like never before.

“Like you love her?” She growled out making Max once again look at her in horror.

So you're with her
and not with me
Oh how lucky one man can be
I hear your house
is small and clean
Oh how lovely with your homecoming queen
Oh how lovely it must be

He stepped up the first step, “Liz…” he started, his voice raw.

“Max, you’re with Tess now.” She insisted. “You love her.”

When you see her sweet smile baby
Don't think of me
When she lays in your warm arms
Don't think of me
Max frantically shook his head. “No. No. I- I”

“Don’t.”

“But liz…” He paused as he stepped up the next step, desperate to stop the nagging feeling in his gut that she was trying to pull away. “I need you right now Liz.”

She sighed exasperatedly. “Max, you have paraded the whole relationship across the high school!” She stated angrily, “You’ve made it perfectly clear that you need HER!”

So you're with her
and not with me
I know she spreads sweet honey
In fact your best friend
I heard he spent last night with her
Now how do you feel

He stopped for a second and paused, collecting his thoughts. He nodded, admitting to himself that in part he was parading Tess around, his heart torn by his situation but also because he had been so hurt by the one person he felt he could count on. He had wanted to make her suffer. “Maybe, but it doesn’t mean I love her Liz. The way I feel about her is nothing in comparison to how I feel about you.”

Liz snorted. “Yeah because you try to force the woman you love into the back of car, completely disregarding her feelings because you cannot face the fact that perhaps she’s right and don’t believe her! Last time I checked Max that wasn’t the way into someone’s heart.”

He stared at her, “I don’t want to think about that anymore Liz. I need you now.”

When you see her sweet smile baby
Don't think of me
When she lays in your warm arms
Don't think of me

“What’s changed?” She asked bitterly, wanting to hear his pain falling from his lips; a form of sadistic pleasure.

He glanced over his shoulder towards the door and stepped up the next step. “I think there’s someone after me… watching me. I got sent a note last night saying ‘I know’.” He paused a second to look at the floor. “I think someone is trying to get to me…” He looked back at Liz, desperately wanting her to show some sign of compassion but was horrified to find none in her eyes. “Like they know I’m an… you know,” He pointed upwards reminiscing over the times before, “or something.”

“I don’t believe you.” She stated coldly her arms crossed over her chest. “How can I believe anything that comes out of your mouth when you wouldn’t even believe me!”

And it's too late and it's too bad
Don't think of me
Oh it's too late and it's too bad
Don't think of me

He shook his head again, “No, you have to believe me, because you have always known that there is one thing in this world you know to be true… that I love you.”

Liz sighed. “Stop it Max, you don’t love me like you love her… She’s one of you.”

“Just because she’s an alien just like me doesn’t mean I love her more than you. I love her in a different way to you – with you, you make me feel different, human almost and I need that right now.”

“So right, the second she can’t give you what you need you come running to me?!” She yelled in frustration, anger swelling in her guts. She could feel the tingling sensation in her hands start to build up as she stood before him, watching him spill his heart out towards her half expecting her to just come running just because he was scared.

“No. No, I love you more than that!” He stated sincerely. “I love you. I need you.”

Does it bother you now all the mess I made
Does it bother you now the clothes you told me not to wear
Does it bother you now all the angry games we played
Does it bother you now when I'm not there

“But you love her more!” She spat, trying her utmost to control the urge to blast him to high heaven with her powers. She needed to control it so he could suffer.

“It’s not true!” He cried, taking yet another step towards her. “I could never love anyone more than you.”

Liz’s eyes burned with fury at him. “How can you say that? How?! When you haven’t believed in me? When you have paraded Tess in front of me? How can you say you love me when I have meant NOTHING to you until you suddenly get scared? How is that love?”

Max’s eyes suddenly turned dark and heavy with an emotion not yet released and calmly he stated in a tone Liz has only ever experienced once, “How can you preach to me about love? How can you love me when you run away when things get tough? How can you love me if you leave me all summer to deal with things on my own? I spent sleepless nights screaming your name but you weren’t there for me! How can you preach about how I cannot love you, when I’m still stood here declaring my love for you – when you’re the one you slept with Kyle!”

When you see her sweet smile baby
Don't think of me
When she lays in your warm arms
Don't think of me

“You have no idea what you are on about! At least I did those things for your DESTINY, I love you enough to give you up… where as you, you say you love me but we all know you love her enough to get her pregnant!” She screamed at him. “You loved her enough to sleep with her…. At least I can still declare I’m a virgin that’s more than you can vouch for.”

This left Max dumbfounded, taking steps away from the woman he no longer felt he knew. “How…? How?”

Liz just stood there, her mouth wide at the thought. How on the Earth did she even know that? Was it true? It must have been because the way she wanted to throw up was something she couldn’t ignore. “You got her pregnant.” She whispered to herself. How did she know that?

And it's too late and it's too bad
Don't think of me
Oh it's too late and it's too bad
Don't think of me“

I need you to force Max towards me… I need you to make him need me and be where ever I am. I’m pregnant, I want to go home… to him I need to go home.”

“Max?” She sobbed in grief, her true self there for a moment.

But the second the memory flashed across her mind it was gone and so was he.

[rie482]

Part four

Liz watched him leave the house and get into his car; his face bewildered and numb from the hours he had spent staring up at the ceiling. She had been stood there herself for hours, watching him intently from behind the bush that was in front of his house, taking in how occasionally a tear would escape his eye, rolling all the way down his face onto the pillow. It was one of those rare moments when Max cried, despair and longing taking over his heart completely until the only way for it to escape was just to let it overwhelm him completely down the sides of his cheeks. He was hurting, his body aching for the one person he wanted to love freely and completely and she just watched it all – a mere second away.

However, the whole time she had been stood there, there was a war going on within her. One side of her was imagining the pain that he was going through, wanting desperately to take it away, knocking on the window quietly and pleading for him to open up to her, but on the other side was a mixture of smugness and pure joy. That side of her was the entity that was taking over slowly, clawing at her consciousness as she watched him speak to Tess on the phone on his way out the door. What made the situation worse was the fact she was slowly letting the spike take her over, her heart breaking as she heard him say ‘Yeah, you 2’ as Tess put down the phone. Even though he hadn’t really told Tess he loved her, the fact he even responded to her moment of affection told Liz something; that Tess had won.

So as Max pulled away from the house, Liz was slowly giving up complete control of her motor controls to the spike and allowing her body to slink away from the edges of the bush towards his bedroom window. Tears slid down her own cheeks as the last part of her slowly recognised that there would be no more control, no more feeling from now on; her body would no longer be hers. Yet there was comfort in knowing that the last moments of despair were going to leave her, forcing her into a state of motionlessness and remoteness, her own mind free from the pains of anger, loss and regret that were once ebbing away at her soul. In part she was starting to embrace it all sadly, wishing that it didn’t have to come to this. Her hands, firm and cool, worked their way a few millimetres away from the edges of the window, her powers working their magic on the seals. Finally she lifted it up from the sill and silently opened it enough that she could get through without having to touch the window at all, knowing that Max would be able to pick up the flashes if she touched it with even a hair or a skim of a finger.

She quickly flicked a look over her shoulder to make sure Max hadn’t come back before she fluidly climbed into the room and was in, taken in by the smell of Max around her.

****************

He paused as his hand came up to knock on the door. Could he really go in there and talk to her as if nothing had happened that day? She’d know the second she saw him and would see him declaring his undying love to Liz the second he touched his lips to hers. She’d know from the way his eyes would purposefully look into hers, nothing natural about it, making it obvious he was forcing himself to look at her in some small way. With Liz it was natural; he couldn’t tear his gaze away from her, her presence was captivating, whereas Tess wasn’t Liz. He couldn’t even pretend to look at Tess in the same way. He felt guilty as he brought his hand down to his side and stepped a few meters away to look out on the scenery around, taking in the endless amount of rock and desert that surrounded them. Tess would be no more fooled by his performance of love than he was by the performance of the foreign trees that they had planted in the front garden - neither real nor natural. The worse thing was the fact he didn’t actually care either; he didn’t love or care about the mother of his child, the result of one night of weakness and loss, a complete and utter mistake.

“Max?” Came her small voice from the doorway which he had his back to. He closed his eyes at the way she spoke, the concern and the love that was within it and the way he felt about his name being called by the wrong woman, the wrong person – not Liz. He had to quite literally force the vomit that tried to push itself to his lips as he turned round to meet her blue gaze.

What he couldn’t understand was the way his attraction to Tess was no more, finding her not even the slightest exciting and alluring as he had initially. Any other normal human being, a man with a pulse, would find her ravishing in the way she leant against the door frame her blonde locks cascading down around her bare shoulders, as her white top hung low down her arms. The sun lit her bright blue eyes, making them look innocent and pure. How could he not want the woman who was stood before him, a smile skimming over her lips as she looked at him? How could he not love the woman he had given everything to? The woman he made love to?

It made him sick.

“Hi.” She smiled as he started to slowly walk towards her, his heart in the bottom of his stomach.

“Hi.” He said back in a slight tight smile.

He followed her into the lounge slowly, thinking about how he was going to spend the rest of his life not knowing whether he would ever be able to love the woman he was following. Could he ever be able to live with her? Lie next to her at night? How could he fully give her his soul like he could give Liz in a heartbeat?

The heart rendering fact was that it wasn’t even his own choice, it was all decided for him in the fact he had his child to consider – his son. He was the father of a first alien baby; he was a father who never knew his own real father and probably never would. He had only the memory of his mother splashed across the walls of the pod chamber and even then he was faced with the fact it was both the best and worst day of his life. Part of him wished he didn’t have to ever know about who he was and where he came from.

He was trapped and he knew there was nothing he could do about it as he sat down next to Tess and quickly took her in his arms, skimming his lips over her forehead, just to stop her from kissing him on the lips. The romantic gesture seemed to appease her, he could tell at the way she kind of melted into his arms and turned back to the TV.

He closed his eyes with pain as he heard her contented sigh. How was he going to keep this up? What had he gotten himself into?

Why Tess?

******************

She watched him walking back into his house, letting himself into his house with his key, smiling to herself with a cool feeling of anticipation. She could still feel the energy of the use of her powers bubbling underneath the surface of her skin as she crept round to the side of the house, peering into the window for a second. She could feel the excitement starting to reach fever pitch but knew that she couldn’t stay to watch his reaction, she had to leave or he’d surely find her out there. So she quickly slinked backwards and in a moment was off down the street.

******************

Max threw his keys into the bowl by the front door and kicked of his trainers with a sigh. He paused for a moment to stare in the mirror that was in front of him and look at the guy peering back at him; he was drained with tiredness and utter loss was taking over completely. His shoulders were square with tension and his jaw clenched at the thought that this was the way he was going to look for the rest of his days, it just reaffirmed what was written all over his face – he didn’t want this. But what could he do? How could he protect his child if he was with Tess? She couldn’t look after their child on her own and he couldn’t even suggest that the child lived with him... he was truly stuck.

He turned his head sharply as movement in the corner of his eye alerted him to a presence in the other room, moving around quietly and gently. He padded down the corridor, his body pressed slightly to the wall and his hands prepared by his side ready to attack. He didn’t know why he was so on edge as he rounded the corner, his hands outstretched to a shocked, red-eyed Isabel who stopped dead with a pizza box in her hand.

“Whoa Max, there’s enough for you too.” She commented in a quiet voice as Max stepped back slightly and stood up straight in a more relaxed way.

“Sorry” He mumbled as he scratched behind his ear embarrassedly.

Isabel sat down quickly, opened the box of pizza and looked up at her brother waiting for him to sit down. When he didn’t she tapped on the seat next to her with concern at the way he was stood looking so tense. “What’s wrong?” She asked quietly, the first hint of concern after all that had come between them recently because for the first time in days she could see that there was something wrong.

Max looked back at her and reached for the Tabasco sauce before sitting down beside her. He grabbed a slice, dosed it with Tabasco and took a bite while in contemplation.

He finally looked at Isabel who looked just as emotionally drained as him. “Do you really have the energy for this?” He asked sincerely. “I’ve been a bit insensitive to your needs recently... a bit of arse to be honest.”

“A complete arse” She corrected him. “But Max... despite it I’m your sister. You know I wouldn’t be bothering if I didn’t notice you look as bad as I feel.”

Max nodded and stared at the table, his eyes fixed on a crack in the wood. His hands reached out to skim his fingers over it, to heal the crack in the surface but he stopped feeling the depth of it underneath his touch. “I’ve done something Isabel...” He whispered as he felt like the crack in the table summed up how he felt right now, split and torn. “I’m a complete idiot and have thrown everything away just because I was too stubborn to listen to anyone.”

He paused as he felt the pressure of Isabel’s hand on his shoulder. He closed his eyes and for a moment relished in the contact of someone he didn’t feel obliged to be tied to.

“I... slept with Tess...”

There was silence as he waited for Isabel to take in the information. He opened his eyes as he felt her taking away her hand quickly and found her glaring back him.

“Well I know that. Is that it?” She spat in disgust. “That’s it and you look like the weight of the world is on your shoulders? Bloody hell Max get some bloody perspective, it’s not like someone has died!”

Max tensed completely and stood up from his seat, not even looking at his sister. “Do you honestly think that I’d be that self involved if that’s all that had happened?” He barked at her, finally pointing a glare in her direction. “I know you are going through your own personal hell at the moment... Alex died and it has devastated you completely. I know I haven’t helped matters recently, I’ve been an arse seemingly not considering your feelings but all I ever do is try to protect you, this whole family. If Alex’s death has taught us anything is that we can’t work separately – look what it has done to us, we barely talk anymore and we can’t even have a conversation without accusations!”

Isabel stood up and stepped towards her brother. “Well, ok then, I’m listening. What is so important that his highness gets his knickers in a twist?”

“Forget it.” He grumbled as he stormed out down the corridor towards his open bedroom door.

Isabel flew after him, using her powers to close his bedroom door before he could get there. “No.” She demanded. “No. You’re going to tell me what has gotten to you that gives you the utter nerve to talk to me like that.”

Max swung round violently. “I got Tess pregnant okay? Pregnant. After I finally washed the sweat off my body the last time I spoke to you, I found out I was an idiot and got her pregnant. Now, after everything, I was hoping you’d be my sister and support me because I’m now in the same position I forced you into... I have to stay and stick by the side of a woman I’m never going to love. But no, yet again I’m forced to confront the ugliness that is our relationship, reminding me how fucked up I am and how everything I touch tends to crumble. It just makes me think about how I’m going to fuck up this child’s life. How can I do this to a poor innocent child? Happy now?” He turned away from his sister with a shrug and opened his door slightly.

Isabel stood there, dumbfounded. “Max...” She started sadly as she watched him move away from her. “Max. I’m sorry.” She whispered as she reached out and touched him on the shoulder.

But he didn’t reply, he just pushed his bedroom door wide open, a look of confusion and horror started to spread across his face.

“Max?” Isabel asked as he walked into the room not saying another word to her. She quickly followed only to stop dead as she realised what had Max so captivated.

On every wall, written in a colour close to blood:

I Know
I know
I know

And above his bed in darker, bolder and larger lettering was the following word:

KILLER