Unbreakable - Surviving the Truth (AU M/L ADULT) Ch. 15 05/28/20 p. 14

[SmileeUk]

When you are on holiday you should enjoy it with loved ones, doing to things you don't normally do which includes writing

You need time to re-fuel, relax & rediscover the good things around you. Time to show your appreciation too

We know you love us but it's time for close family and we are not complaining yet..... Enjoy your holiday!!

[max and liz believer]

Hi guys!

You are wonderful You know that right? Thank you for your support and your recommendations to put my private life ahead of the story <3


Ashley (Morning Dreamgirl)

Speaking of - off to re-read. You spoil us with such a long posting.

Well, there should be a long posting when I update so infrequently nowadays

Sleep is a good thing. I love sleep. Sleep, sleep, sleep.

Also gardening. Natural vitamins created in the sun and all that jazz.

Glad you're enjoying your time off beautiful lady!

Thank you <3 You're the sweetest I love sleep too.

Thank you, Ashley


Carolyn (keepsmiling7)

I never suffered a miscarriage......but your outstanding writing took me though this procedure as if I was the one in all of that pain.

Fortunately, neither have I. So it means a lot to that you feel that my description of that whole horrible thing was good enough

What would Liz have done without Max's constant care?

He's pretty great, isn't he? Liz probably wouldn't be sane (or even alive) if not for Max.

On the lighter side..........Richard Gere as grandfather??

Well, why not? I needed a good-looking grandfather and Richard Gere has reached that age (like it or not)

Thank you so much for the feedback!!


Natalie36

your story is wonderful but spending time with your loved ones is better.

Thank you so much!!


SmileeUk

Now I wonder what Max would come up with?!?

Yes, it's not an easy nut to crack… If he can even come up with anything. But Max is smart. And inventive

It is like killing them slowly without getting as humanly close as possible!

Unfortunately, they are still hurting, yes. Let's hope that is coming to an end soon. Or at least, that they'll get a break soon.

When you are on holiday you should enjoy it with loved ones, doing to things you don't normally do which includes writing

You need time to re-fuel, relax & rediscover the good things around you.

Thank you, sweetie <3

Thank you Jo for another intriguing chapter

Thank you so so much for the feedback!!


From SEVEN:

“All of that is true,” George agreed. “Either you don’t engage in sex with the risk of the strength of your connection weakening. That is if you can even succeed in resisting the demands of the connection to bring you together.”

I doubted that. I had felt the strength of the sexual desire when the connection set its ‘mind’ to make us have sex. Resisting that urge would be nearly impossible.

We would have to live apart from each other…

The connection had also worked to refuel us when injured, a benefit that would be foolish to waste.

But there was an, “Or…?” voiced by Max.

“Or you come up with a physical block made of energy to stop sperm from reaching the egg,” George said evenly, as if he was discussing the weather rather than his grandson’s sex life.

“Which is something you can teach me…?” Max asked with tentative hope.

George shook his head and my stomach tightened even further.

“No,” he answered. “No. You see, we have never had any need to hinder the parims from procreating. Successful procreation has been our goal the whole time.” He looked apologetic, his expression damning us to figuring this out all on our own. “I’ll help you with the theoretical as much as I can, Max, but this will mostly be on you.”

I looked at Max again and felt like crying. Because this was not about sex. It was never about only sex with Max. It was about closeness and merging together. It was about making love. It was about emotional healing. It was about sharing everything. Your soul. Your being. All of you.

Not caring that George was looking, I disentangled our hands and turned to put my arms around Max’s neck, climbing onto his lap and hugging him close. It felt like a part of us had died. Something beautiful.

I just wanted the bad things to end now.

____________________________________

EIGHT

The days leading up to starting school passed in a blur. It was at the beginning of February that I miscarried, on the fourth of that month to be exact. Our parents had arranged for us all to go back to school the following Monday, on the 8th of February. Incidentally, on that date, exactly 100 days had passed since the Halloween Party where I had first seen Max use his abilities. The party which had been the starting point for the chaotic life I was leading now.

It was surreal to think that it had only been 100 days, a little bit more than 3 months, since my whole life had changed. The things I had experienced during that time was more than most people would experience in an entire lifetime.

But in those few days before school would start for our group of weathered teenagers, I thought very little about numbers, months, and experiences. My mind was trapped in the foggiest of dazes, where I would not allow myself to think of neither the future nor the past.

Apparently, Buddha had once said, Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment, and that was exactly what I was trying to do.

Some might call it denial. Some might call it repression. And some might even call it regression. I called it coping. My father had briefly attempted to speak to me about seeing a therapist about, well, everything, but I had quickly brushed him off. Distracted him well enough to start talking about something else.

What was there I could tell a therapist anyway? 90% of my life was classified. Top Secret. Inconceivable.

The only thing I would be able to talk about with an outsider was the miscarriage. But that was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to my problems.

Maybe I could have talked about the death of my mother, focusing on the grief rather than the chain of events. But pondering the prospect of doing so had me realize that the therapist would sooner or later ask about those dangerous details and I might not have the energy to lie about what had happened. I definitely would not be able to tell the person that I still suffered nightmares tied to my real memories of how it felt to have your skin being so hot that it broke out in blisters and actually melted. The therapist would obviously be able to tell that I could never have been burnt because I had no scars. Not a physical mark on me. How would I explain that?

I spent my days watching from the outside, trapped in some imaginative glass bubble. Max was there, both inside and outside the bubble, his mind firmly connected with mine, his attention always fixed on my well-being. Max was better at interacting with the group, engaging in conversations, laughter and banter, while I solely continued to observe from the periphery. My body registered every brush of his hand against mine, every hug, every kiss to my forehead, cheek, lips. But I was not really there.

I observed my friends while they seemingly moved on with their lives, as if we were at some camping excursion instead of a fairly well guarded mansion. As if bad things had not happened and we were not still under threat. I watched Maria and Michael tease each other, get annoyed with each other, make out, yell at each other, laugh and hug. I noticed the glances between Isabel and Alex and the subtle touches whenever they got close to each other.

I watched my dad relax, involved in a discussion with Amy and Philip one second, then reading a magazine or book the next. He was getting more comfortable now that he could finally be open about the secrets in his head that hadn’t made sense for so many years. A weight had been lifted from his shoulders. But I couldn’t help noticing the glances he threw in my direction with increasing frequency. How he kept wanting to talk to me, tell me to eat something, pulling me into sporadic and surprising hugs. While I was focusing on trying to respond to his concern by reassuring him that everything was okay, he was worried senseless about me. Obviously, I was failing miserably at my intention to calm him down.

I knew that Philip, Dresden and George were having a lot of discussions, but I didn’t have the energy to get my head around what those discussions entailed. They were obviously about how we were all in the middle of the process of ‘fixing’ the Antarian race by ridding it of darkness. But the pseudo-meetings were also about the whereabouts of the mayor.

I had, however, paid enough attention to know that the mayor was still missing and that every lead so far was turning up blank.

Through the meetings I had also been informed of their plans to place protectors - bodyguards - around the school once Max and I started attending classes. Extra protectors were going to follow Max and I to and from school. If we needed to do any after school activities that didn’t involve returning straight to the mansion, the protectors were to come along to those extracurricular activities as well. The protectors were to wear civilian clothing and attempt to avoid attracting attention. It didn’t, however, stop me from being extremely aware of their constant presence.

The extra security made me feel a lot safer, but also a lot less free. I could only hope this arrangement was temporary. I could only hope that they would catch the mayor very soon.

“Ready?”

I looked up - my unseeing eyes having stared at the water from the tap as the stream swirled in slow, gentle curves around the drain at the center of the white porcelain sink before disappearing - to meet Max’s worried reflection in the mirror as he was standing in the doorway to the bathroom.

I idly wondered how long he had been standing there, before I straightened, cleared my throat, turned off the tap and brushed my hair back. Too late I realized that my hands were still wet from having washed them previously and forgotten to dry them on off, my hands now making my hair damp at the temples.

Looking away from Max, I met my own reflection in the polished bathroom mirror and really saw me for the first time in so many days. I noticed the paleness to my face and the once full cheeks caving in with lack of life and food. I noticed the darkness underneath my eyes and the dryness to my lips. Without conscious thought, I licked my lips at the sight, but my attention was already drawn to my eyes. Once bright and lustrous, they were now flat and lifeless. Dead.

I frowned. A stranger was standing before the mirror, looking at me. Who was that? Who was this person who had replaced Elizabeth Parker? Why did my own face suddenly look unfamiliar?

“Lizzie?” Max asked, that all familiar stomach-gnawing worry in his voice.

I could feel his worry about me like claws slowly shredding through my insides. I quickly looked away from my (strange) reflection and turned to face him. He had lost weight too. Or rather, he had never really regained the weight he had previously lost. Being in a type of symbiosis with a girlfriend who was hurting mentally was putting a damper on his appetite as well.

He stretched his hand out towards me in a wordless invitation. I took a step forward and grabbed it, my hand lacking the strength to squeeze, but he made up for it by firmly pressing my hand, holding me tight in his warm hold.

I took another step forward and my chest brushed against his. When he didn’t move, I looked up and met the darkness of his eyes. His eyes were never golden brown anymore. Lately, they were constantly dark with emotions.

“What?” I mumbled, wondering why he wasn’t moving, why we weren’t walking.

He searched my face and I scanned his. I itched to touch the small beard he was sporting and wanted to run my fingers through his thick hair. But my arms didn’t move. They no longer obeyed such wishes.

Knowing my mind, he lifted the hand I had offered him and pressed my trembling palm against his cheek. The soft tips of my fingers sank into the rough hairs of his stubble. He leaned his head into my hand, flattening the palm of his hand against the back of mine.

“Do you want to do this?” he asked, his voice a mere whisper.

Wordlessly, I nodded.

“Because we can delay. Postpone. Whatever you need.”

“I’m fine,” I mumbled.

He was still for a couple of seconds, before angling his head to press a kiss to the heel of my hand.

“Okay,” he agreed, even though we were both very aware that my assurance was an outright lie.

When we arrived downstairs, me with my thoughts somewhere else and Max practically dragging me along on my uncooperative feet, Maria addressed me with something. The loud buzz in my head hindered me from making out her words. I know that Isabel was close by too and that my father pulled me into a hug. I felt Alex’s presence behind us the whole way out to the car.

Max was driving. I was placed in the passenger seat, Max helping me into the seat as if I were sick and unable to move on my own. He even leaned over to buckle my seatbelt. Maria and Alex were in the back. Michael and Isabel were in Isabel’s car.

They were all being normal. Or acting normal. Maria and Alex were bantering in the backseat like two siblings, Max was telling them to behave like some father figure. Next they were gossiping about people at school, people they hadn’t seen in several weeks. After that they moved on to discussing classes and teachers.

I didn’t say a word. I was completely occupied with watching the landscape pass by the car window so quickly that it smoothed into a blur. I felt Max’s gaze on the side of my face repeatedly, his recurrent silence from not participating in Maria and Alex’s discussions telling me that he was acutely focused on me.

I guess it should make me feel special and taken care of. But I couldn’t feel. Not now. I needed to take in that I was outside. Outside in the real world. Sitting in a car. Going to Roswell High.

*****

School.

With its bland bricked hallways, systematically and partly covered by yellow lockers, the place of learning used to be a place of enjoyment and indulgence for me. From a very young age, my nose had been constantly buried in a book, devouring Shakespeare, Austen, Hemingway, Tolkien, Dahl, and science. Science in every shape; biology, astronomy, physics, chemistry.

School.

With those brick hallways crammed with students. Teenagers occupied with their own lives. Teenagers with their noses buried in their smartphones, bumping into one another while occupied with something on the screen. Teenagers wearing the latest fashions or wearing no particular fashion at all. Teenagers who laughed, screamed, talked loudly, made dramatic gestures, flirted, snuck a peek at a love interest across the corridor.

Teenagers who stared. Stared at us. At me.

Teenagers who grew quiet and still as we passed. Teenagers who looked up from their smartphones and took a step to the side to avoid bumping into us.

While my head had been lowered up until now, entering the school made me look up. The silence that spread like a fire throughout the student population cleared the fog in my head, rebooted my survival instinct. Put my guard up.

From scanning the faces of the teens alone, I could fairly well estimate who were humans and who were not. The human students looked shocked, surprised, intrigued. Their faces looked like bird houses, their mouths hanging open in the formation of perfect circles. The alien students looked…blank. No surprises there. No expressions. Complete…nothingness. Except for their arms, which they all had crossed tightly across their chests in silent disapproval.

The chill in my chest was real. How much did they know? What story did the humans know? What story did the aliens know? Who were on our side?

Max’s hand on my arm made me jump, while he hissed into my mind, Calm down!

Naturally, I looked down at my arm, where his fingers were digging deeply enough into my arm to make my skin blanch around his fingertips. Simultaneously, I couldn’t help but notice the light that was being emitted from the tips of my fingers. The bright white light.

I inhaled sharply and managed to retract the energy. As soon as the light disappeared, my gaze snapped upwards to scan the crowd. How much had they seen?!

But their expressions were the same and no one was looking at my arm. The energy had been me, intuitively, preparing myself for battle, my whole being feeling threatened by the setting.

I won’t let anything happen to you, Max told me silently, his promise firm and believable. And for the classes I’m not with you, Alex will be. And there’ll be protectors in the corridors, disguised as guidance consolers, nurses, janitors.

“I know,” I whispered under my breath, keeping a close watch on the persons flanking the sides of the hallway as if walking carefully past a starving pride of lions.

Catching the dark eyes of Courtney Green, the dangerous expression in her eyes making my heart miss a beat, I was reminded that I should speak to Max telepathically rather than vocally.

What do they know?

He squeezed my hand, directing me towards my locker. Distantly, I wondered if I would remember the combination to the lock. It had been so long.

Max stood next to me, looking unaffected and suave while I fumbled with the combination, his voice clear in my head.

Do you remember the back-up story I told you to tell Maria before she knew the truth?

Vaguely. There was something about me grieving my mother and dad and me going away on vacation-

Yes, Max told me approvingly. That’s the one. At the same time that happened my dad got a job at a hospital in Boston and our whole family moved there. Michael attended school while we were in captivity, but his attendance is not regular as it is, so his absence probably didn’t raise many flags. Alex was away on a trip. Maria and her mom traveled to join you and your dad.

I got the locker open and stilled as I stared at the books neatly piled up in there. A bittersweet nostalgic emotion that I had difficulty defining moved through me. The photographs decorating the inside of the door, photographs of Alex, Maria and I, - photographs from before - put a lump of sadness at the bottom of my throat.

But how does that explain you and I? I asked as I traced the backs of the books.

History of Life. Evolutionary Theory. Chemical Basis of Life. To Kill a Mockingbird. American History.

It doesn’t, Max explained. The rumor that has been fluctuating was that we actually eloped and that the other stories were cover stories. That our parents went after us to track us down and they found us before we got married and hauled us back home.

I pulled out Evolutionary Theory for the biology lesson and asked, And we are going with that rumor?

Got any other ideas? We are going to be seen together. We are obviously a couple.

I closed the door to the locker with an obvious clang and looked up at him.

He looked rather bored. As if he was just waiting for his girlfriend to get her stuff. Not at all like he was having a conversation with her. I needed to practice that as well; that blank expression. I couldn’t let the world know that I was actually silently talking to Max. It probably looked weird with all my emotions displayed on my face when I wasn’t obviously talking to anybody.

I shrugged and told him, “Let’s go with that.”

“Let’s go with what?” Alex asked behind me.

Max looked at him, “She’ll tell you later,” before returning his attention to me and using both his arms to pull me close. His hands rested on the top of the curve of my butt as he looked down at me and whispered, “We’ll get through this.” He bent slightly at the knees to softly place a kiss to my lips. “I love you.”

I nodded. Tried not to cry. I hadn’t been away from him for more than an hour since we had been reunited after having been rescued from captivity. We had two hours ahead of us with separate classes.Two hours in a place where I no longer felt safe.

“I’ll see you in no time,” Max continued, eavesdropping on my fears, and added quietly, And you can always talk to me like this, you know.

I nodded again, swallowed back the tears itching at the back of my throat.

He placed another kiss on my lips before he rested his warm lips on my forehead, cradling my cool cheek in his hand.

“I love you,” I told him in a soft whisper, my voice wavering.

I couldn’t explain why this freaked me out so much. Why the prospect of facing Roswell High on my own frightened me almost as much as facing Command in battle. School was supposed to be familiar. Safe.

Max slowly let me go and gave Alex a hard look. “Don’t let her out of your sight.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alex do a mock salute, tapping his heels together. “Yes, sire!”

His comical response to Max’s deadly serious order eased my worries a bit, took the drama out of the situation, even though it brought more darkness to Max’s expression.

Before Max could say anything, Alex cooled his appearance and said, “Relax. I’ll guard her with my life.”

It’s his job, I thought darkly, but I couldn’t deny that it felt good to have Alex next to me.

Max nodded at him, attempted a smile in my direction (which fell flat) and took off down the corridor.

Alex came around to face me, wearing his most goofy Alex-smile. Offering his bent elbow, he said, “Alrighty then. Let’s do this. Let’s face the monsters.”

I shivered, took a deep breath, and looped my arm through his. There was not a single trace of bravado in my voice as I said, “Okay.”


TBC...

[L-J-L 76]

I feel so bad for Liz losing the baby. But I'm glad that Max, Alex, Isabel, Maria and Michael will be there for her. So now Max and Liz have people looking out for them. So Max and Liz are going with the story that they were going to elope. And the parents brought them back. Good plan Max. Hopefully Liz will ne able to make it through school with the help of Max and others.

From:
L-J-L 76

[keepsmiling7]

So many discussion going on.....
all the while Liz is in denial, or just coping.
You continue to write with such great feeling and emotion. Such a joy to read.
Carolyn

[Natalie36]

wow love it

[SmileeUk]

Didn't expect Liz would be so lost! The way you wrote this part is so full of emotion! Great writing!

I really like this made-up story....

.......Max explained. The rumor that has been fluctuating was that we actually eloped and that the other stories were cover stories. That our parents went after us to track us down and they found us before we got married and hauled us back home.

No wonder Courtney Green was fuming!

It was a new experience for Liz as she is part of the elite group now. The sea of student would part wherever Max & Isabel were present. Liz is just not used to it and obviously feeling being watched

Just wished this part would be tiny weeny bit longer Well, what's next to come??

[max and liz believer]

L-J-L 76

I feel so bad for Liz losing the baby. But I'm glad that Max, Alex, Isabel, Maria and Michael will be there for her.

They will be there. Promise. Not so sure about Michael's support, though

So Max and Liz are going with the story that they were going to elope

Yup

Hopefully Liz will ne able to make it through school with the help of Max and others.

We'll see. In this next chapter.

Thank you so much for the feedback!


Carolyn (keepsmiling7)

So many discussion going on.....
all the while Liz is in denial, or just coping.

She would have needed some time alone, to recuperate from everything. But she's not allowed to be alone. Too dangerous…

You continue to write with such great feeling and emotion. Such a joy to read.

Thank you <3

Thank you so much for the feedback!


Natalie36

wow love it

Thank you


SmileeUk

Didn't expect Liz would be so lost! The way you wrote this part is so full of emotion! Great writing!

T H A N K Y O U

I really like this made-up story....
.......Max explained. The rumor that has been fluctuating was that we actually eloped and that the other stories were cover stories. That our parents went after us to track us down and they found us before we got married and hauled us back home.

No wonder Courtney Green was fuming!

And we haven't seen the end of Courtney Green yet…

It was a new experience for Liz as she is part of the elite group now. The sea of student would part wherever Max & Isabel were present. Liz is just not used to it and obviously feeling being watched

I love this observation of yours!

Just wished this part would be tiny weeny bit longer

Sorry about that This was an uncharacteristically short chapter. Hope to improve on that in the future

Thank you so so much for the feedback!


From EIGHT:

“I’ll see you in no time,” Max continued, eavesdropping on my fears, and added quietly, And you can always talk to me like this, you know.

I nodded again, swallowed back the tears itching at the back of my throat.

He placed another kiss on my lips before he rested his warm lips on my forehead, cradling my cool cheek in his hand.

“I love you,” I told him in a soft whisper, my voice wavering.

I couldn’t explain why this freaked me out so much. Why the prospect of facing Roswell High on my own frightened me almost as much as facing Command in battle. School was supposed to be familiar. Safe.

Max slowly let me go and gave Alex a hard look. “Don’t let her out of your sight.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alex do a mock salute, tapping his heels together. “Yes, sire!”

His comical response to Max’s deadly serious order eased my worries a bit, took the drama out of the situation, even though it brought more darkness to Max’s expression.

Before Max could say anything, Alex cooled his appearance and said, “Relax. I’ll guard her with my life.”

It’s his job, I thought darkly, but I couldn’t deny that it felt good to have Alex next to me.

Max nodded at him, attempted a smile in my direction (which fell flat) and took off down the corridor.

Alex came around to face me, wearing his most goofy Alex-smile. Offering his bent elbow, he said, “Alrighty then. Let’s do this. Let’s face the monsters.”

I shivered, took a deep breath, and looped my arm through his. There was not a single trace of bravado in my voice as I said, “Okay.”

____________________________________

NINE

The morning actually went better than I thought it would. The first thirty minutes were hard, with students whispering and staring, but once I decided to let it go and focus on the teacher, things ran relatively smoothly.

It was actually really nice to be in a classroom again. To take notes. To answer questions. To get back into a comfortable routine. I was aware of Max’s presence in my mind the whole time, but he left it up to me to reach out and make contact. To my surprise, I realized that I didn’t need to. I was too focused on the teacher to talk to Max.

When I joined Max for biology in the third period, his face looked lighter, his eyes not as black. He gave me a soft smile, pecked a kiss to the corner of my mouth and took a seat next to me. He held my hand under the desk the whole lesson, his thumb gently moving back and forth over the side of my hand.

At the end of that period, I felt much calmer. I had a newfound belief that things were going to be okay. That it was the right decision to go back to school. At least until we reached the school cafeteria to have lunch.

I had been aware of the stares and whispers from the students while walking from one class to the next, but I had tried my best to ignore them and had been quite successful at that.

The cafeteria was different. There was no way I could avoid the people there. Feeling under threat, I briefly met the knowing gaze of the lunch lady (who I didn’t recognize and immediately assumed to be one of our protectors in disguise) before I refocused on choosing a club sandwich for lunch and searching out the table already occupied by Maria and Michael.

It was impossible to miss them; Maria rising from her seat and doing a large waving gesture. Michael looked like he wanted to disappear through the ground, partly hiding his face behind his left hand while he was pulling at the bottom of Maria’s shirt with his other, trying to get her to sit down.

I tried to make my steps light and unbothered as I concentrated on Maria’s normalcy (normal Maria behavior, anyway) and directed my steps towards them. Max was still at the counter, choosing his lunch, when Courtney Green stepped up to me. Seemingly out of nowhere.

Stopping right in front of me, I was an inch away from walking straight into her, blinking rapidly in surprise as her face was suddenly a mere inch from mine. Her warm breath spilled over my face, my lunch tray pressing into her middle, but all I could see was her eyes. Black. Either filled with pupils or lacking irises. I wasn’t sure which, but it scared the hell out of me. Her eyes were exactly like the aliens of Sci-Fi movies and I wondered if she purposely did them like that to scare me.

“I know what you did to Sean,” she hissed menacingly, small droplets of her saliva hitting the lower part of my face. Her voice lowered an octave and she added, “Bitch.”

Having gotten over my initial shock, I regained some kind of innate strength and matched my hiss to hers when I told her to, “Get away from me.”

Her eyes narrowed. She didn’t move an inch. “I’ve heard a lot of fucking shit about you. Makes me gag. Like you are our savior or something.”

My body felt hot, my knuckles hurting from my fingers tightening around the edges of the plastic lunch tray. “I don’t care what you heard, you’re in my space.” My voice was cold, barely above a whisper, and to the point. “Move.”

Surprisingly - even to myself - my old confident, abrasive self had resurfaced. Maybe it was school that had brought it out in me. Maybe it was the provocation of the situation. Whatever it was, I was relieved that I had the strength to not curl up into a crying, frightened ball of human flesh, but was actually standing up for myself. Considering the apathetic mood I had been in lately, I would never have expected this response from myself.

Max was behind me now. He was ready to throw the protective field up. He was silently - with eye language - communicating with the protectors stationed around the cafeteria to remain cool. For now, he let me be. Choosing to not interfere.

It was important that I was not saved by an alien, a.k.a Max, right now. It was important that I could prove that I could hold my own, in front of all these aliens. And Max could tell that I had the situation under control.

Unless Courtney did something unpredictable.

Courtney’s eyes didn’t flicker, the complete darkness of them as emotionless as the rest of her face. It was unnerving to hear such emotion in her voice when her face showed nothing. “You fucking killed him! They told me all about it. Max had nothing to do with that. That was all you. A fucking insignificant human.”

More spit landed on my face. I didn’t even move. Didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of flinching.

“You have manipulated Max. He used to be on our side. Now he’s all puppy eyes for you. You made him betray his own race, destroy our culture, propose that you,” she vehemently spit the word out, “mean something.” Her black eyes blinked. “You. A gaea. Nothing more than a brainless, mind warped whore.” Barely breathing she continued with, “You’re only good for one thing; giving us energy and getting your brain fucked out.”

I had let her speak. I had let her speak while silently watching her mouth move, silently observing how provoked she seemed to become by my lack of response to her insults. I had not moved a muscle. Not even to raise my hand to wipe off her disgusting saliva from my face.

Now I calmly asked her, “Are you done?”

Apparently, she wasn’t. “I hope Max sucks you dry.” A short humorless laugh trickled over her lips. “You deserve to end up like your slut of a mother; with a brain like mush.”

The anger exploded inside of me. Which most likely had been Courtney’s goal. Maybe she wanted to see if I really was capable of killing someone, as she had heard that I had done to Sean, which meant that she was not even fearing her own life. Or maybe she just wanted to see me expose myself in front of the whole cafeteria, advertising the aliens to the human students, and thus breaking the cardinal rule of the Antarian society. Maybe she hoped I would be punished for it. Maybe she hoped I would be kicked out of the alien society for it. Maybe she wished they would rid me of my special treatment and demote me into plain gaea status.

But without Courtney realizing he had stepped in, Max put a barrier around my anger before it could visibly detonate, secretly saving me from whatever the repercussions would be if I exposed the existence of alien powers, and simultaneously not letting Courtney get the best of me.

Some anger still got out though, which culminated in the very sharp impact between the palm of my hand and the soft and rouged cheek of her face.

Real surprise flashed across her face for the fraction of a second, retracting the blackness of her eyes, hinting of the human irises behind the dark veil, before she bared her teeth, hunched forward with her shoulders pulled back like a tiger ready to spring at me.

“Courtney.”

His calm, even voice cut straight through her tense posture and she froze. Her eyes flickered to my boyfriend - the owner of that composed voice - and her tight lips relaxed to cover her teeth.

“You don’t want to do that,” Max continued. “Think of the punishment.”

She stared at him, wildness in her eyes, gaze snapping between him, me, and next bouncing around the large room. As if she had suddenly become aware of our surroundings.

So had I.

The cafeteria was eerily silent. Everyone - and by that I mean everyone - was watching us. I doubted they could hear any actual words from our conversation, but our body language was enough to tell every single student that a cat fight was imminent.

But, scanning the crowd, the difference between humans and aliens was even more obvious than previously. The humans were quiet, but restlessly so. Shifting from one foot to the other, one facial expression replacing the next, eyes constantly moving between Courtney, Max and I, the humans were desperately trying to assess and get a grip on the situation.

The aliens were motionless, one hand slightly raised in front of their bodies, and they were all on their feet. To the untrained eye, they probably didn’t look suspicious at all, but to me they looked extremely conspicuous.

Were they prepared to take out me or Courtney?

“Can’t you see?” Courtney said then, addressing Max with a hiss like the one she used with me at the beginning of our ‘conversation’. She pointed sharply at me, barely gracing me with a glance, “She’s manipulated you. You’re completely pussy-whipped.” Taking a step away from me, making me almost drop the tray to the floor when the supporting pressure from her abdomen disappeared, and taking a step around me to get closer to Max, she whispered to him loudly, “She’s gonna kill you, just like she did with Sean. Just wait. She’ll get tired of you. I’m trying to warn you. Don’t be a fool, Max. You can’t see it now, but you will. And when you do, it’ll be too late.”

“We’re gonna have lunch now,” Max said evenly, blatantly ignoring what she said. I knew that he wasn’t that calm on the inside. I knew that he was ready to strangle her. I knew that feeling had been present in him since Courtney had approached me, growing with every hateful word in my direction.

But apparently Max knew quite a lot about manipulation (should I be worried?). He knew that the worst punishment for Courtney - the worst retaliation - would be to pretend like he didn’t hear what she was saying. That she was talking about the weather. To avoid adding fuel to the fire.

There was no point in trying to explain how she had gotten everything wrong. She wouldn’t listen anyway; she had already made up her mind. Instead she would be triumphant that she had managed to get a rise out of us.

“And my food is getting cold,” Max continued.

Courtney frowned. If she had been 100% human, I bet she would have stomped her foot right now and screamed at him, but her lack of emotions (coupled with the desaturation of her aura) told me that she was one of the darker aliens. One that Max and I would do best at ‘curing’ in the future. She was one of Command’s followers.

But in our job to cure the alien race, we had not reached the teenagers (and the kids) yet. It was more important to deal with the adults first.

In light of Courtney’s low degree of humanity, Courtney’s frown was a monumental emotional reaction. It even retracted the veil of darkness in her eyes completely, revealing beautiful blue eyes.

She took a step back from us, shaking her head, and redirecting the pointing of her finger towards Max. “Trust me, Max Evans. She is going to be your downfall. She is going to be all of our downfall.”

Hunching slightly, bringing him down to Courtney’s height, Max looked her straight in the eyes and lowered his voice, “Before you start accusing people, I suggest you get your facts straight. I know that you’ll probably go home to your parents after this and tell them all about this and how they need to do something about it. But know that if you do, they can’t do anything about it. Because we’re in charge now.”

His words gave me goosebumps. The effect was not the same on Courtney. Her eyes looked ready to fall out of her head, she was staring so hard at Max. She didn’t even seem to be breathing as he added, “And us being in charge is not even going to be as unpleasant as you have been told. Your life sucks right now, and you don’t even know it. It can only get better.”

I almost laughed at this. It almost sounded as if Max was trying to enlist Courtney into a religious sect, with the promise of him making everything better.

But whatever his intention with those words had been, it had the desired effect in Courtney. Her face paled in the most human way and she took a step back. Then another. Followed by a third. On the fourth step, she turned on her heel and disappeared out of the cafeteria without a single word.

The large room was quiet for another ten seconds, before sporadic whispers erupted from the human population. Whispers that grew louder and quickly turned into a diffuse buzz of human voices.

Looking at the humans around the room, now only occasionally glancing at Max and I, while whispering with their friends, I noticed some individuals with expressionless faces leave the cafeteria, following Courtney’s footsteps.

But the majority of the aliens stayed. And while I scanned the room, trying to organize my thoughts and feelings with the tray forgotten in my hands, I was distracted by a white light in the center of one of the alien’s chest. It seemed to be a part of his aura, but still not. More like the energy that they shot from their hands, but this one instead originating from the chest.

I took a frightened step backwards, on the verge of producing the protective shield, when Max’s arm wrapped around my waist from behind and he told me, Wait. It’s not an attack.

My breath was loud in my ears, rapid and shallow, while I kept watching the light in the center of that guy’s chest. Kyle. His name was Kyle. I couldn’t remember his last name, but I knew that he was one of the jocks Max played basketball with. Before.

A mere second later the room seemed to brighten and I forced myself to look away from Kyle.

The sight paused my shallow breaths, froze me to the spot.

It was not just Kyle anymore. That same light phenomenon was being initiated in almost all of the remaining alien students. The light brightened their auras, made them more colorful, made the colors more intense.

It was not a blinding light, but nevertheless a very present light.

Wonderment at the sight was quickly replaced by fear as I spotted the humans mixed within the aliens.

The humans! They’ll see!

No, Max replied calmly. They can’t see this light.

I frowned, about to ask him of his credence, but he beat me to it, I’m sure.

With his confidence, I tried to relax, but it was still an odd sight, still something I was wary of. And I still didn’t get it.

What are they doing?

Max was quiet for three long seconds, before he whispered into my ear, his breath warm and soothing against my skin, “They’re showing their allegiance. To me. To us. To you.”

To me?

Most have wanted change for a long time and they can finally be open about it. It’s finally safe.

Slowly, I looked at each and every one of them and I felt my heart swell with wonderment. The wary feeling vanished, replaced by amazement and awe. The lights were no longer threatening, but beautiful. The blank faced aliens were no longer frightening, but potential allies. Potential friends.

Then Maria was there. Her large blonde curls blocking my vision. “Liz? Are you okay?”

I blinked, dazed, and looked up at her.

“What did that crazy witch say to you?” Maria continued, quickly pulling me back to reality.

“Um…” I cleared my throat, blinking. I felt rejuvenated. Strengthened.

“Don’t listen to anything she says. She always had her eyes set on your man. She’s probably just jealous.”

I nodded and managed an absent-minded smile. “Yeah. I think so too.”

Maria’s frown went unnoticed by me, but she let me off the hook with a contemplative shrug to her slender shoulders. “Alright. Let’s eat. Lunch is almost over, thanks to Courtney.”

Another nod to my head got Maria back on track towards the table and when my visual field cleared up, the lights were gone. The aliens had taken their seats. The humans were talking amongst themselves, one throwing a napkin at his friend, the friend retaliating by throwing a piece of softened lettuce. The aliens were no longer looking at us, having resumed their lunch as well.

It was like it had never happened.

It did, Max assured me, his stable hold around my waist tightening. The movement pulled my back flushed with the front of his warm body and I was tempted to close my eyes and enjoy the feeling. But I couldn’t close my eyes. They kept scouring the crowd of the cafeteria, trying to find any sign that the whole thing had not been a mere hallucination on my part.

“Come on,” he whispered in my ear, pressing a kiss just below it. “Let’s eat.”

He took the tray out of my hands and walked ahead of me towards the table, leaving me dazed and confused as to what had just happened.

Because what had just happened meant that we were not alone. It highlighted something I had not yet thought about; This was not only the adults’ war. This was everyone’s war.

Our sacrifices, our pain, had not been in vain. We had actually helped.

That light had originated from their hearts. That light had been hope. That light had been gratitude.

That light had proved that they had accepted me as one of their own and would protect me as one of their own.

Realizing that I must look stupid just standing there, I got my legs moving, swallowed the tears of relief and quickly joined the chattering table of my friends.

Max reached down and pulled my chair closer, its metallic legs scraping loudly against the floor with the repositioning, melting the sides of our thighs together under the table surface, and he caught my hand with his. Lifting it to his lips, he placed a gentle kiss to my knuckles and gave me a look through his eyelashes that said everything.

It was going to be okay. Everything was going to be okay.


TBC...

[Natalie36]

so pleased that liz is being accepted by others.

[L-J-L 76]

wow so glad the aliens are liking Liz.

From:
L-J-L 76

[SmileeUk]

Just wished this part would be tiny weeny bit longer

Sorry about that This was an uncharacteristically short chapter. Hope to improve on that in the future

I forgot to say that it is the quality that counts but quantity

I didn't even think Courtney Green would be an alien. I just thought she was jealous because of Max. Courtney is so evil. I admire how well control Max had over his temper when he talked to Courtney. Just my man

I like how Liz had responded to Courtney. Her own self had returned: full of confidence & self belief, no bother with anyone else's thinking

You are so right about "Everyone's war"! Totally forgot not only the adults were fighting. Teenagers & kids did as well. Command must have his followers around & ready to fight when they were callled. It will be a challenge for M&L to heal everyone quickly enough

Hello Kyle! You are here Nice to know you are on the bright side.

Can't wait to read more about their school life. Back to normal again? Hopefully for a while at least?!?!