Roswell Fanatics

AN: So, I'm switching to shorter chapters now, because they seem to write themselves faster, and I usually have the attention span to write them during my classes, which means I get more done. Also, it means that this chapter is finally finished and being posted. Yay! And, I'm pretty sure I know what's happening in the next chapter, so that usually helps things along too.

Although, finals are in two weeks, so one of two things will happen: in my attempts to procrastinate, I will get a lot of writing done or my guilt will get to me and I'll actually try to pass my math class this semester. . .

I guess we'll see.

Chapter Ten

Isabel was on her feet two seconds after her brother stepped out of the house, nearly dragging Max to the ground as she propelled herself into his arms. When he staggered under her weight, she pulled his arm over her shoulder and began dragging him towards the car. Michael took his other side as soon as Maria pushed him out of the jeep.

Tess, for all her effort, only made it to the porch before collapsing, nearly splaying herself along the front steps in her haste. Kyle and Alex launched themselves from the car at the same time, each taking an elbow to guide her. If it hadn’t been for the immanent death threat, Kyle might’ve (or, more likely, would have) grumpily pushed Alex away while gruffly explaining that he could “handle this.”

Instead, they awkwardly maneuvered her towards the jeep, each struggling to find the other’s pace.

Ten minutes later, the jeep tumbled over the mangled back road, Serena at the wheel, trying desperately to keep from bumping anyone through the roof.

Liz found herself perched awkwardly between the passenger and driver’s seats, her arms gently holding Dylan on her lap. Max was slouched against the seat beside her, his arm brushing against her shoulder, his leg brushing against her knee.

But maybe she was just uncomfortable because Isabel was constantly leaning over her to poke and prod at Max.

Kyle, on the other hand, had completely blocked out everyone but Tess. Lying in the back of the jeep, her head rested in his lap while her legs hung over Alex’s. Her face was ashy and pale, and he struggled to hold her in place, because every time the jeep jarred her, he could see her wince.

“Don’t let her fall asleep,” Serena called to him, almost as if she could see the fall of Tess’s eyelids. Kyle’s head snapped towards the front, his eyes finding hers in the mirror and narrowing in question. “I don’t know what damage using her powers has caused her. I don’t know what she’s been through. At the very least, I’d guess she has some type of concussion.” Her eyes flick back to the road, but Kyle reads the concern on her face. “It might not even be anything.” But it is. “It’s just better to be safe than sorry.”

Kyle knew she was lying. Anyone who looked at Tess could see that she was far from okay. He couldn’t say that he didn’t appreciate the effort, though.

“Talk to me, Tess,” he told her gently, leaning over her so they could speak quietly. “Just keep talking to me.”
. . .
“Pack your things,” Serena told them as she gestured for Kyle to lay Tess on the bed. “We need to be gone in ten minutes.” No one moved, caught between staring at Tess and staring at Max.

“Go, now,” Dylan demanded, already pushing his and Serena’s things back into a bag. “We don’t have time for this.”

“What is she doing to her?” Liz asked softly, watching as Serena pressed a hand against the back of Tess’s neck.

Dylan glanced over his shoulder, his eyes softening at the sight of Tess. “God only knows what he’s done to her,” he answered. “And what she’s done to herself.” He went back to packing but continued his explanation. “Tess’s power, it doesn’t only damage whoever she’s using it on; it hurts her too. Supposedly, according to legend, the Hallowed One, many years before our time, cursed her people for their deceptions, so that they would have to feel the same pain they inflicted. It was meant to promote dependency between the races. Max’s people could heal; Tess’s often needed to be healed.” He shook his head. “Obviously things didn’t go quite right.” Liz opened her mouth, more questions perched on her tongue, but Dylan stops her. “We’ll have plenty of time for this later. Now, we have to leave this place. Go to your room and pack. Be back as quickly as you can.”

The urgency in his voice sent a chill down Liz’s spine, and she took Maria’s wrist and started for the door.

“Don’t go anywhere alone,” Dylan called out. “It’s not safe anymore. Michael, Isabel, go with them.”

“What about Max?” Isabel asked. He was still perched beside her, though she had lowered him to the couch to support his weight.

“He’ll be fine for the moment. When Serena’s done with Tess, she’ll check on him too.” Isabel’s eyes flickered to Michael’s in question. “We got him back for you, and you still don’t trust us.” Dylan’s voice was disbelieving, but he didn’t bother looking up. “If Nicholas finds us here, who do you think will need you more? You brother, whose here with two people who’ve been trained for their entire lives to fight this war, or your friends who don’t have or can’t use their powers? If we try anything, Alex and Kyle will be right here to tell on us.”

“Isabel, just go,” Alex told her, barely looking up from Tess’s pale form. “Max will be fine here.”

Alex didn’t see the hurt run across her features or the jealousy that passed over Kyle’s face. He didn’t see the look that Liz and Maria shared. But he heard them leave the room.
. . .
When Serena finished with Tess and found the room near empty, she turned to her brother, accusation cold in her eyes. “You sent them off alone?’

“Isabel and Michael are with them,” Dylan returned.

“Isabel and Michael have no idea what we’re up against. You should’ve gone with them.”

“You know that when you’re connected to them, you can’t sense anything going on around you. I’m not leaving you here like that.”

“Dylan, the sooner you realize that we aren’t important, the smoother this will go. Now go find them while I deal with Max. Get the things in the car, and return our keys to the front desk.”

Dylan knew better than to argue with her when she got like this.

“Why are you two so worried about them?” Alex asked, glancing away from Tess, who had abruptly fallen asleep after whatever Serena had done to her. Her even breathing was a slight reassurance for both him and Kyle. “I mean, it’s not like Nicholas knows where we are.”

”He chose this town for a reason,” Serena explained, her hand brushing over Max’s neck. “There’s only one hotel within ten miles. It won’t be hard for him to find us.”
. . .
Dylan and Liz took quick steps toward the main office, occasionally glancing over their shoulders to see Michael, Isabel, and Maria duck back into Serena’s room.

“How long has it been since we got back?” Dylan asked, glancing at the watch on Liz’s wrist. “Do you know?”

“About half an hour,” she guessed. “Maybe.” If possible, the answer made Dylan’s feet move faster.

And then halt abruptly at the office doors.

“Oh my god,” Liz gasped.

Ten feet away, the manager lay hunched over his desk, and, though neither could be quite sure, both Liz and Dylan thought they could see steam rising from a burn on his back.

TBC. . .

AN: Laptop's dead again, so I had to copy this from the written one. If you catch any strange typos, please let me know so I can fix them. Thanks.

Oh, and please come join me at my Author Chat at DAS tomorrow at 10PM EST. Please. I don't want to be lonely.

And I did bring the chapter, and in my time zone, it is still on time. Sorry for the delay. I'm really hoping to stop being a slacker. Or, since I procrastinate from other work by writing fanfic, maybe I should be more of a slacker...?


Chapter Eleven

Dylan realized Liz would run before she did. His fingers gripped her wrist with vise-like strength, and he couldn't decide whether she was more surprised by his hand or the fact that she'd been moving.

"What are you doing?" she snapped. "They're in trouble." She pulled against his hand in vain, and, for the first time, he saw fear register when she looked at him.

It was like a brick to his stomach.

"And you're going to save them by running in and getting yourself killed?" Her fear made him angry and tense. "That's nothing but a suicide mission, and you know it." Then he tugged her behind him, leading her toward the back of the motel building. "Your friends are all waiting in the car anyway. We parked behind the building for a reason." He paused, his words weighted and slow. "We know what we're doing, you know. This has been our lives."

Dylan walked slowly, his steps measured and precise, his eyes scanning for anything that would give them away, anything that would make a sound. Two windows away. Thirty feet. Ten slow, calculated breaths. One window. Two feet. Deep breath.

Three taps on the window, and he jumped on the four, a crash in the room beside overpowering it.

The other room.

Their room.

"Thank God," Serena whispered when she pulled up the curtain. Her hair had fallen flat, her face ashy and pale.

She looked like she could hardly stand upright, much less run from a psychopathic alien assassin.

"Out the window?" Dylan asked. "It's closer." Serena nodded, turning to the cathartic crowd gathered around her.

"You heard the little man." Dylan didn't even have the energy to act offended. "The faster the better; he's not slow."

And then they fell out the window. Alex first, then Max, his movements much more steadied but far from stable. He stumbled on the window frame, propelling his weight into Liz for a tense moment before he righted himself. He perched on the wall as Kyle threw himself out.

Kyle had his hands on Serena's waist, gently lowering her when the door burst open. In a jump, Serena fell from the window, knocking him and Alex to the ground. In the commotion, Dylan grabbed Liz, dragging her away. Her hand grasped for Max, but Dylan tugged harder.

By the time anyone pieced them self back together, they'd disappeared.

And Tess stood in the motel room.

Alone.

...

The silence clung tight as Nicholas drifted toward the window, drawing the shade away. His eyes drifted back and forth, lingering near the base of the window, but eventually he pulled away, delivering a swift kick to Tess’s crumpled form. Serena winced as if he’d hit her.

How? Kyle mouthed, knowing well-enough to keep quiet.

The answer was simple. Tess. Saving them. Again.

Serena signaled for no one to move. He’d know. They were luck enough that he didn’t sense Tess’s power, that she’d already been smart enough to fog his mind. She was the only one who could do anything without his knowledge, and she would save them while he killed her.

It was far from right, and nowhere near ideal. The plan did not account for this. It was a very best-cast plan.

“Where is he?” Nicholas demanded of Tess. Her silent insolence earned her another violent punishment. “What the hell were you thinking?”

Tess’s eyes were like fire when she looked back at him, her face lit with a rage he’d never seen before. “I answer only to my queen. I’ve done her work.”

“You queen is dead,” Nicholas spat. She was making him angry, wild, crazy. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. “Khivar is the king.”

“Khivar will burn for what he’s done,” she told him. “The queen will reign again.”

And then Serena could see everything, cast across the desert scene in front of her like a bad scene transition. She watched as his hand lifted, his face red with rage. Serena scrambled to her knees, pulling Max up from where he had slumped against the building. She wrapped her hand around his arm, pulling his hand into the window.

Her gestures were wild and erratic, hoping to draw Max’s attention away from his own shock and back to the reality around him.

They didn’t know what they were doing.

Tess wouldn’t be the only one to die if they didn’t learn.

His attention snapped to focus, Serena’s silent pleading digging into his forearm.

A glimmer of green filled the room for a moment so brief they all believed they imagined it. And then a ball of pure white burst from Nicholas’s fingertips, throwing Tess across the room.

Max pulled back as if he’d been struck himself, unable to watch as Nicholas checked her silent pulse. And no one knew what could happen next.

This wasn’t the plan.