Best Fan-art Cover
Round 4 - Best Lead Portrayal of Isabel
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Title: Eyes of a Stranger
Author: Kay/Krazykitti/WinterNymph87/StarGazing101
Disclaimer: I do not own Roswell & its characters in any way or the songs that I may use in this story. I do own the character(s)/persona(s) that I create though.
Summary: A young adult by the name of Anna moves from Roswell, New Mexico to Augusta, Maine. Once after she moves, she attempts to start a new life and not think about her past, but it seems a few surprises are in store for her when an old friend comes in her midst. Post-Graduation.
Coupling: Gavin/Annabelle, Annabelle/Alex
Rating: MATURE
Note: In Cry Your Name, Alex did get into a car accident, but they never found his body. After some time of searching they declared him dead. In Four Aliens and a Baby, Tess did come back but she did not come back with a child. She mind-warped Max when they slept together in ITLITB and accidentally mind-warped her self too. One other note...Alex was born in '82 just because I want him older.
Dedicated to my awesome beta Keri, without whom it would have taken me longer to write this, you rock girl!
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Prologue
It was a cold, rainy night in the town of Augusta, Maine and the wind blew harshly as passengers from the bus got off at the depot. Among those passengers is Annabelle Davidson, a young woman with a cruel and unpleasant past. Holding her duffel above her head, she runs under the awning for cover as the raindrops fall harder from the callous clouds above. Out of breath, she puts her duffel down and takes out a navy blue windbreaker and puts it on, hoping that it will keep her warm in this fifty-degree weather. Strapping her duffel on her shoulder, she puts the hood of her windbreaker up and starts heading north of the station, sticking her thumb out praying to get a ride from a kind person willing to take her to a cheap motel so that she can sleep.
Walking along the muddy trail next to the road, keeping her head down so that no debris will fly in her eyes, she wishes that she were in a bed, in her pajamas, enjoying a bowl of soup. Her body shakes involuntarily as she continues her pace, the coldness passing through her clothing and eating away at her delicate skin.
As Annabelle treads beside the semi-busy road, citizens in their cars giving her icy glares and looks of ‘you do not belong here’ as they drive by, she continues to keep hope that someone will let their guard down and offer her a lift. Her body’s convulsing persists as her heat depletes, her windbreaker not helping very much to keep her temperature up. After voyaging for another twenty minutes, a miracle is granted to her and a kind young man gives her a ride, but not before she checks that he is not some sexual predator or a homicidal maniac. He drops her off at a nearby Motel Six and she thanks him graciously before he drives off. Once checked in to a small one-bedroom, she takes a hot shower, changes into a pair of long johns and sets herself next to the fireplace where she starts a roaring fire with her powers. Huddling her knees to her chest, her waist-length, auburn hair wrapping around her, she rocks herself back and forth, finally letting the tears that have been threatening to come since she got off the bus spill. She eventually goes to bed, the sobs still wracking her fragile figure and ends up crying herself to sleep, hoping that this decision will not cost her, her dignity.
The next morning she wakes to a somber day of rain and clouds and decides then and there that she’s not going to think about the past and live day by day, letting fate take its course through her life. Annabelle showers and dresses warmer, now knowing what weather to expect, and heads out to prolong her journey in this new place which will soon become home to her. Checking out of the motel, she walks a steady pace and finds herself now sitting at a bus stop, contemplating where to go next. To pass the time, Annabelle takes out a travel guide that she bought at a bookstore long before she ever left Roswell. The book looks as if it has been fingered through and read many times, the front cover hanging off its binding as she skims through familiar pages.
While on the bus, she continues to flip through the guide and see where she can go in this town to find a respectable job and apartment, making sure that the prices do not exceed her tight budget. After a long forty-five minute ride, she gets off at the nearest stop to her destination and treads the rest of the way, which is only about a twenty-minute walk from the stop. She tours town, looking left and right at the little shops and stores all around this beautiful city, gazing at the exquisite antique shops and art galleries, wishing she could stop to look but she needs to keep going. Finally finding Sixth Street, she sees the apartment complex that she was looking for, but they look more like miniature houses than crappy apartments.
As Anna tries to find her new apartment, she wonders why they are so cheap. She finally finds her new residence and turns the key in the lock, opens the door, and sees why they are so inexpensive…they are absolutely horrendous inside! Walking around the place, she sees that there are grimy dishes in the sink, a bathroom that is indescribable, and a less than cozy bedroom to sleep in. ‘Awful!’ she thinks to herself. Done looking around her scrubby apartment, she drops her duffel on the floor and plops herself on the couch, which surprisingly, is very comfortable. All Anna needs to do now is find an occupation, a decent paying one that does not require too much social interaction since she is not the most service-oriented person around.
The following day, Anna scavenges the town searching for a half-decent place to work, but unfortunately, there is only one shop hiring…”The Kiwi Express”. A small coffee shop in the center of the municipality that sells many different kinds of foreign and original drinks, espressos, and coffees but is also a small café. Though the title does it justice, on the inside, the shop is very decorated with colorful wallpaper and strange designer tables and chairs, perfect for such a crazy name. The main thing that bothered her was that her new boss kept giving her a look of disparagement, like he thought she was some kind of delinquent, but still…that didn’t stop him from looking down her top. ‘Men.’ the mockery pops in disapprovingly. Otherwise, all was fine apart from the fact that it is a socially interactive occupation of misery.
Prior to going to the supermarket once landing her ever-so-delightful job, she decides to sit down on a bench nearby to rest her aching feet after walking the city for four excruciating hours. Gazing across the street, she sees a beautiful park with little children of all different ages and sizes playing in the playground. Daydreaming the next few minutes away, she’s broken out of her daze by the hustle and bustle of traffic along the street. Getting up and stretching her tired-out body some, she continues to go buy the cleaning supplies she needs oh-so-desperately for that retched home of hers.
When done straightening out her apartment, subsequent to three extensive hours of sanitizing and scrubbing, Anna retreats to her room. With different constellations mapped out all over the small area with glow-in-the-dark stars, Anna observes her bedroom, feelings of security and relaxation coursing through her body. Sitting on her bed, or better yet, the two mattresses that lay upon her floor Indian style she goes through her duffel taking out clothing, a dilapidated notebook, money, photos, and other miscellaneous things, she spreads them out across the space surrounding her. Gazing at the pile of pictures, she sees a photograph of her parents and picks it up, staring at it longingly…thinking of home. The feeling of security leaves her, guilt taking its place and grief replacing her sense of repose. ‘Nothing worse than feeling guilty about something you thought was best for you’ she contemplates darkly as stray tears begin to shed down her cheeks. ‘But…a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do, no matter under what circumstances…even though that doesn’t mean it is easy. If they only knew…but if they did…they would imagine that I was running from my evils rather than finding a way to fix them, hoping to rid of them.’ After a few moments, Anna takes out a piece of paper and pen and begins to write:
Dear Mother and Father,
The circumstances we are under as of present are abnormal and heart wrenching, but hopefully it will become easier as time passes and things slow down. I am sorry to declare that I have gone from the group and am now settled somewhere on my own, where hardships will become tougher for myself but will help me cope with what has just gone down. I acknowledge that by now all of the adults are in the know of our quick disperse to new and different places to keep you guys’ safe and us, so that nothing awful will come to Roswell even if it already has.
You have no idea how hard it is for me to write this letter and if you do receive it and have heard from a ‘certain someone’, please do not inform him of me sending this to you. We got into yet another disagreement and right now…I really do not want to think of him or the hurtful words he said to me so angrily to my face. I don’t know what exactly happened between us, but I know that this rift will not get better before it becomes worse…especially since I so abruptly left…just leaving notes of goodbyes to everyone.
I have changed my whole identity and persona, along with my attitude too, unfortunately, I don’t know if it is for better or for worse. Just to let you know, I am doing well so far with a nice…clean apartment and a new job, which I start tomorrow…even if it isn’t the most glamorous occupation around. The ride here was a little rough and long, but it was worth it just to see the breath-taking beauty of this state, which I will not mention… for prudence of my own safety.
I wish things could be different, but…fate has a weird way of planning out life, particularly mine. With any luck, if things become a bit safer, I can maybe have you come visit me, but as long as you take a vow not to tell the group and also don’t speak of this to the other adults either…especially another ‘certain someone’. Plus, it would be safer for you to come up here than for me to come visit there obviously.
Well, I think the paper is beginning to become blurry due to my teardrops falling upon the words I am writing, so I better wrap this up and say adios and let go before I reveal my whereabouts…if only. I love you very much and wish I were at home watching embarrassing home movies of myself as a child with you saying, ‘how cute’ or ‘you look adorable’ and dad laughing. I really don’t want to go, but I have to unless I want to start a whole other page of reminiscing and rambling, this is goodbye.
Eternal love always,
Your daughter,
Isabel Amanda Evans a.k.a. Annabelle Davidson
She folds the letter in half and places it in a small, porcelain box, her body shaking uncontrollably due to her sobbing. Unsteadily, she picks up the photograph, gazing at it through blurry eyes…kissing each of her parents’ faces and placing it back upon the stack of pictures once again. As her tears subside, she continues to shuffle through old photographs, reminiscing the times before everything became hell and knew what evils were out there to get them, memories of innocence in her eyes. ‘Why does everything have to be so complicated?’ the one million dollar question drifts in the pool of thoughts that float buoyantly in her mind.
Later, after a couple of hours of organizing her bedroom and taking a hot, relaxing bath, she puts on her pajamas and turns down the sheets of her bed, sighing in sadness as she picks up the small alarm clock on her nightstand. ‘I have spent too much time reflecting on the past today’ she reprimands herself as she sits down on her bed and sets the alarm clock. Turning out the light, rotating over on her left side to sleep, she sinks into the coziness of her bed and wraps the comforter around her, slowly drifting into unconsciousness.
A funeral, people all around mourning the loss of a good friend, someone that they could always count on, someone that didn’t deserve to die at such a youthful age…Alex. Isabel watches on as her love is slowly anchored six feet under into cold, hard ground…even if his body is not really in there…he was proclaimed dead when they didn’t find his body after the accident.
We now see Isabel in Alex’s house, it looks like the Wake, but she’s the only one moving…everyone else is solid, almost as if someone pressed the pause button on a remote. Everything around her in black and white, except for her, but she sees a glimpse of color swatch by and walks after what she saw…only to find Alex right in front of her. He looks at her, his eyes sunken in and colorless, like everything else surrounding them and in silence, signals for her to follow him. Even though she’s frightened, she nods and takes the vacant hand that he’s holding out for her to grab. They walk through a door she doesn’t remember ever being in his house and sees an unexpected scene in front of her…the accident. Watching the car about to crash head-on into the semi, she gives him a pleading look, telling him she doesn’t want to see this, to see him die in this horrid accident. Struggling to let her hand out of his grip, he grabs her arm tightly to stop her from fidgeting, giving her a look of anger and sentiment, as if to plea for her to understand what happened that night.
She averts her eyes only to see a certain blonde before her and looks back behind her and sees Alex nod and point back towards Tess. She looks back, but instead of seeing a malevolent grin on her face, like that of an evil genius or villain…she sees a melancholy, weeping blonde, her lips forming the words ‘I’m so sorry’ as she collapses to the ground, but is hidden so that no one sees her there.
As the car is about to collide with the huge truck, the scene switches and Isabel is now behind Tess, listening to her sobs and pleas, Alex puts his arms around Isabel from behind and gives her a comforting squeeze, whispering in her ear to listen to Tess’ words.
Isabel screams as she wakes up from the odd dream, breathing heavily and silently weeping, she gets up and runs to the bathroom and looks at herself in the mirror, that’s when she looks at her arm. Her mind flashes back to when Alex grabbed her arm in the dream, her breath catches in her throat when she looks again and sees bruises forming where his hand laid. She then thinks back to Tess’ cries of sorry and realizes Tess never meant for any of this to happen, someone was controlling her the whole time…but who, and how do you have black and blue marks upon your arm after a dream? ‘It seems the ominous signs are all leading to the same thing…Tess isn’t the evil…something else is and it’s still out there…and it wants something, but what?’ her mind races, her heartbeat pounding in her head, the adrenaline rushing through her veins as she becomes dizzy and sits down on the lid of the toilet… beginning to hyperventilate and stomach doing flip-flops as her anxiety starts to get the best of her.
Watching me, wanting me
I can feel you pull me down
Fearing you, loving you
I won't let you pull me down
Hunting you, I can smell you - alive
Your heart pounding in my head
(Excerpt from "Haunted" by Evanescence)
, consider what I said and I’ll see you at work tomorrow.