Wednesday 9:30 AM West Roswell High School, Roswell New Mexico
Liz knew she’d already given up her future for Tess, and her heart told her that ought to be enough. But her head told her that her previous sacrifice didn’t make a damn bit of difference if Tess died without doing….well…whatever she had to do to keep the end of the world from occurring. Liz told herself that giving up Max had never guaranteed that this future would be any better than the one she had changed. It was just another throw of the dice….not a certainty.
And that was why she was going to go over to Tess and say something that she’d rather be boiled in oil than say. Because the only thing Liz knew with absolute certainty is that she’d given up fourteen years of happiness, and there had been far too much pain in that sacrifice for her to not try to make the new future better than the old.
“Tess, I was so sorry to hear about the latest attack on you. I want you to know, Tess….if there’s anything I can do. If there’s any way I can help…to guard you or something…just tell me. I want to do it.”
Tess was somewhat taken aback, Liz was hard to figure. Tess had thought that Liz really loved Max…and she still felt that way. But it didn’t make sense, because Liz had not just retreated from competing for Max’s attention, but it almost seemed like she was pushing Max away. She could tell Liz didn’t like her…and that was an understatement. She could get a feedback through the same talent she used for mindwarping..not really reading thoughts…she’d have to connect for that. But she could get a flavor for how Liz felt. And that flavor was strangely mixed. It seemed to almost sicken Liz to be around her…but the offer to help had nonetheless been real. Liz was just a silly human from a backwoods planet, weak and stupid really, but she nonetheless had some class…Tess would have to give her that.
“Thanks Liz, but…well I’m kind of a magnet for trouble right now I guess. It’s probably better I stay away from anyone who doesn’t have powers of their own…just for their own good.”
“Well, the offer is always open, Tess. If you ever decide I can be of help…just call, OK?”
“OK, Liz.”
Wednesday 12:15PM The Quadrangle, West Roswell High School, Roswell New Mexico
It had only been 24 hours since they’d been sitting there, but the absence of Michael was the proverbial elephant in the room that no one was talking about but everybody was thinking about.
They were sitting on the table…their eyes outward. Isabel watching to the South, Tess to the North. They’d done that by unspoken agreement. Both sensed the hostility Max had for Kyle and instinctively had seated themselves to separate the two. They saw the Sheriff coming, stopping first to talk to the deputy that he’d posted at the school that morning, telling him to go take a quick lunch while he covered for him…and talked to the kids.
“Max..”
“Sheriff…”
“Well, Michael is going to be fine and we have pretty much contained the secret with the tornado story, but I have no idea whatsoever where we go tonight. Any suggestions?”
“Pod chamber? It’s 4 ft of rock everywhere, except the door…and only the four of us can open the door..”
“Max, I’m not sure that 4 ft of rock will be enough…remember what happened to those bricks on that first attack. And the door itself is less than a foot…worse yet, it’s the ONLY door. Tess survived the first attack only by being able to run. I hate the idea of anyone being in a blind sack with the enemy at the door. And unless we want to tell the whole damn world the secret, we can’t get any other sort of help there, it’s you guys and my shotgun against…well, whatever this is.”
“And my rifle too, Dad. As long as I did all that practicing to be state junior NRA champion…well, I might as well use it.”
“Kyle, I just told Liz that I didn’t think humans ought to be in on this…for their own good, Kyle’” Tess said, wondering as she did so why she was turning down someone with a gun who actually might be helpful. Probably because he’d been at least trying to be nice to her, while her would-be sperm donor was being such an ass.
“I sort of agree with Tess, Kyle. If we have to make a stand somewhere, I’m not sure that a person with regular weapons will be much more than a speedbump for whatever that is,” said Isabel. “But do we have to make a stand?”
“What are you trying to say, Isabel?”
“Well, this…thing seems to avoid times when people are around and generally strikes when it’s unlikely to be seen as well. It may not want a standup fight where it can be seen, particularly not if it’s alien and doesn’t want anyone to know. And so far it’s confined its attacks to an area of only a couple of blocks. Maybe we should just get out of Dodge for awhile?”
“Road trip?” asked Kyle?
“Well, something like that. The cheerleaders are going to a cheerleading conference in Las Vegas for three days. They’ll be staying in a hotel…..right in the middle of town. It's a twenty-four hour town...there's always someone around...lots of witnesses to scare off ...whatever. It’s not terribly expensive or anything..maybe we could tag along?”
“Hey, three days in Vegas with all the cheerleaders in the Southwest,” said Kyle. What could be better than that?”
Tess felt an odd urge to slap Kyle, but the idea had merit…except she couldn’t be away from Alex…not if she was going to mindwarp him to keep him from being surprised when he got confirmation on BOTH those applications.
“I’m a little bit afraid if just the four of us go off…it really will highlight us….make people suspect something. Maybe if we could somehow get more people…Michael, Maria, Liz,…Alex. If we could all do it, it wouldn’t look so suspicious.”
“Hey, I’m game.” Said Kyle.
“I’m not too sure I’m all that keen on eight underage kids staying in Las Vegas together,” said Jim Valenti.
“Well I damn near died yesterday…Michael damn near died this morning. I’m not real keen on that either Sheriff,” said Tess, nudging him gently with her mindwarping powers.
“I guess I could talk to the cheerleading coach…..tell her that we need to get you out of town for…witness protection purposes. Ask her if she’d chaperone. I could use the same excuse to the Las Vegas PD, get them to watch over everyone a little. It might be a good idea at that. Isabel…why don’t you talk to Liz, Maria, Alex….see if they are interested.”
Isabel nodded her head. Maria would go if Michael went, Alex….heck Alex would do it. Liz was the wild card. Whatever had happened between her and Max…well, she could only guess how asking her to go along with Max would be received. And Kyle…..damn, if they shared rooms, Max and Kyle sure couldn’t room together. The object was to avoid further violence, not cause it.
“Liz is the one I’m not sure will be interested,” she said, almost under her breath. Tess overheard her.
“Don’t worry about Liz, Isabel. “She already offered to help. Let me ask her. Count her in.”
Ninety-six hours (Canon/CC Adult) 15 Nov 06 complete
Moderators: Anniepoo98, Rowedog, ISLANDGIRL5, Itzstacie, truelovepooh, FSU/MSW-94, Forum Moderators
The parents were a little dubious until the Sheriff managed to convince them. It was after all a school function, and there would be a school chaperone present. So somehow they got convinced, Isabel had been a cheerleader...she was going now as a backup to the varsity cheerleaders taking part in the competition...the others were going to cheer on the squad.
Wednesday 8 PM Las Vegas Nevada
Liz had real reservations about going...it just hurt too much to be around Max...but Tess had asked, and she'd made the promise, so she'd done it. And she'd thought that she was resigned to that...thought that she'd be alright with it. After all, she was just sharing a room in a hotel with Maria...how bad could that be?
But it hadn't quite worked out that way. Because Maria had Michael...that was clear. From the moment they'd gotten on the bus together in Roswell to the moment they'd gotten on the plane in El Paso, Maria had Michael. And Liz could understand that...understand Maria hovering around him. She'd almost lost him. But Liz HAD lost Max..or worse, given him up. As much as she thought she'd come to terms with that, she hadn't really known how very much that had affected her....not until they'd checked in and gone down to the lobby to meet for dinner...not until they'd walked across the street to go to the restaurant.....not until she saw the sign...
Maria turned away from holding Michael when she heard the small sob beside her. "Liz, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"
"It's nothing, Maria. Just thinking about Elvis...dying so young...you know, what might have been.?"
"Yeah, only forty-two. Wonder if he'd still be a star if he were alive today? Wonder if they'd still call him, the King?"
Liz didn't want to talk about it...not about Elvis, not about alternate futures, and certainly not about Kings. She's already invested enough of her heart in a lost cause...she just wished the world would stop reminding her about what she'd lost.
Wednesday 8 PM Las Vegas Nevada
Liz had real reservations about going...it just hurt too much to be around Max...but Tess had asked, and she'd made the promise, so she'd done it. And she'd thought that she was resigned to that...thought that she'd be alright with it. After all, she was just sharing a room in a hotel with Maria...how bad could that be?
But it hadn't quite worked out that way. Because Maria had Michael...that was clear. From the moment they'd gotten on the bus together in Roswell to the moment they'd gotten on the plane in El Paso, Maria had Michael. And Liz could understand that...understand Maria hovering around him. She'd almost lost him. But Liz HAD lost Max..or worse, given him up. As much as she thought she'd come to terms with that, she hadn't really known how very much that had affected her....not until they'd checked in and gone down to the lobby to meet for dinner...not until they'd walked across the street to go to the restaurant.....not until she saw the sign...
Maria turned away from holding Michael when she heard the small sob beside her. "Liz, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"
"It's nothing, Maria. Just thinking about Elvis...dying so young...you know, what might have been.?"
"Yeah, only forty-two. Wonder if he'd still be a star if he were alive today? Wonder if they'd still call him, the King?"
Liz didn't want to talk about it...not about Elvis, not about alternate futures, and certainly not about Kings. She's already invested enough of her heart in a lost cause...she just wished the world would stop reminding her about what she'd lost.
Wednesday 11:30 PM Las Vegas Nevada
‘Well Liz,’ she thought, ‘…you might have predicted it would happen this way.’ Maria was with Michael…and Liz wondered if she’d be back tonight. She wouldn’t blame Maria if they got a room together. Michael’s close call had shown Maria just how tenuous human…or alien…life was. Liz wasn’t going to be judgmental if Maria wanted to be with him now…hell, how many times had she wished that she’d just caught that rose…taken the fire escape down to the alley…being serenaded by a mariachi band…with one member slightly out of tune.
How many times had she wished that she hadn’t given up what she gave up? No, even now she couldn’t do it…not even if he’d have her after her deceiving him…hurting him that badly. She couldn’t trade even fourteen years of joy for the pain of knowing he would die at the end of it. No, she couldn’t do it…couldn’t have him…but at least Maria could be happy.
Liz couldn’t bear to sit in the empty room…couldn’t bear to be alone…and most certainly couldn’t bear to see him...to see Max…not with quasi-memories of Elvis chapel weddings running around in her head. Alex and Kyle were rooming together…she’d go talk to them. She hoped they were still up.
As she knocked on the door of room 817, she heard Kyle call, “Just a minute…” Kyle opened the door and she entered before she looked…only then seeing both Max and Tess…sitting on one of the two beds together, eating microwave popcorn from the same bag.
‘I can’t take this,’ thought Liz, looking at the two of them together, She turned back towards Kyle and said the first thing that came in her mind, "I was looking for Alex. Do you know where he is?”
“I think he and Isabel went dancing, actually," said Kyle. "Tess and I were watching a movie…Max is going to be guarding her until 1:00AM, then Izzie will take the night shift while Max gets some sleep. Michael’s got the morning shift.”
“Oh…well, I probably better get to bed then…I don’t want to wait up that long.”
Max looked at her…willing himself to be angry rather than hurt…but once more it didn’t work. He was pretty sure that it hadn’t been Alex that Liz was looking for….that if Tess hadn’t decided to watch a movie with Kyle…well, he’d seen her and Kyle in bed together once…why did it surprise him she’d come to his room tonight?.
But he had thought he’d gotten over the hurt…thought that he could submerge the pain in rage….after all, he was the one that she’d cheated on…whose trust she’d violated. Why wasn’t the anger enough? How could he look at her, knowing what she’d done, and still know he’d forgive her in a heartbeat if she only asked…swallow his pride…forget all the painj, if he could just have her back again?
‘You are so damn pathetic, Evans..’ he told himself. He tried not to look at Kyle…tried not to let the anger grow within him again. He tried to rationalize what he knew to be true, ‘It’s not like he forced her to do anything, Max..’ but he couldn’t bring himself…even now…to hate her. Maybe hating Kyle was all he had left.
“If you’d like, Tess and I could go watch this in her and Izzy’s room,” he said, hating himself for saying it even as he heard the words echo off the walls…even as he saw Kyle’s face darken and Liz’s lower lip quiver. He could see he’d hurt her…but there was no joy in it for him…no sense of justice or vengeance. Because it pained him see her hurt…even when she glared at him with angry tear-filled eyes.
“Max…” she replied, the anger in her voice belied by the tears that were starting to fall, “..you can go to hell…”
It’s hard to tell what angry words were about to be spoken..and we’ll never know. Because at that point the lights went out and the energy hit…like a huge powerblast…that crumpled rooms 815, 817, and 819.
The explosion knocked Liz down, but somehow she was missed by the worst of it. Dust from the shattered wallboard filled the air, dimly lit by the emergency light….and the light from the glow coming through the shattered window. It…whatever it was…whatever entity had caused this, was outside…floating in the air…moving slowly toward the building. She looked in desperation for the others…Max was down…breathing but unconscious. Kyle was down as well, trapped by the debris, but moving slowly. Tess was on her knees…dazed…barely moving…and the entity was getting closer. Liz could feel it…feel it with her mind. It was old…ancient…filled with hatred….pain…loathing…even for itself. She could feel the thing in her mind…it was…..vile…obscene…corrupt….like putrid meat smelled. And it was after Tess.
Liz looked at Max…at Kyle, knowing she could protect neither of them…but Tess…if she could get Tess out of there….that thing…it hated everything…hated everyone…even hated itself, but it hated Tess most of all. If she could get Tess out of there…maybe it would follow…leave the others…if Max could recover, he could heal Kyle. Liz seized Tess’s arm and pulled her to her feet.
“Come on..”
“Liz….what happened..?” She was confused…that time there had been no warning…not even from the healing stones. It was almost like the thing had known she was sensing it…had somehow managed to screen itself from her detection until it had gotten close enough to strike.
“Come on, Tess….just run.”
Somehow the attack had set off the fire alarm, and as she pulled the half conscious Tess to the elevators she found they were shut down. But as she looked back at the hallway…back at the way they’d come, she saw the glow of the thing…felt it getting closer. The green exit sign was three doors down, and she half dragged Tess through it. They went down…both of them...as fast as they could run…ignoring the scratches and torn clothes…ignoring the pain from their scratches and bruises and small cuts. Passing the fourth floor Liz’s mind began to clear. At first this had just been about drawing the beast away from Kyle and Max…but the situation really hadn’t changed. She’d given up fourteen years of happiness to keep Tess part of the group…she wasn’t going to lose her now. Even as she ran Liz developed the plan.
The parking garage was actually ten floors down from room 817, and as they burst out on the lower parking garage Liz went right to valet parking. The area was clear…the PA speaker had been telling everyone to evacuate the hotel…that there was a small fire on the eighth floor, but that the fire department was on its way. Apparently the valet parking attendants had taken that advice, the area was empty. But on the keyboard there were lots of keys…and a special section up front was reserved for the high rollers. She grabbed the yellow key fob with the rearing horse and ran to the nearby Ferrari. She shoved Tess into the passenger seat and slid into the driver’s seat. Three minutes later they were traveling down the Vegas Strip at 90 miles per hour…weaving in and out of traffic. Sixty seconds later, they were on highway 93 enroute to Kingman Arizona and Highway 40 East at almost 120 miles per hour.
Hiding out in Las Vegas sure hadn’t worked. They might as well go back to New Mexico…..
It was almost twenty minutes before Tess had really recovered enough to have a coherent thought. She was confused…terrified. It was painfully obvious…whatever this evil thing was…it was after her. She’d been the focus of each attack. Others had been injured…but she doubted they’d been the real target. And she didn’t understand it…the only one who really ought to be hating her right now was Liz…and the stupid girl had just saved her life. It didn’t make any sense…….
‘Well Liz,’ she thought, ‘…you might have predicted it would happen this way.’ Maria was with Michael…and Liz wondered if she’d be back tonight. She wouldn’t blame Maria if they got a room together. Michael’s close call had shown Maria just how tenuous human…or alien…life was. Liz wasn’t going to be judgmental if Maria wanted to be with him now…hell, how many times had she wished that she’d just caught that rose…taken the fire escape down to the alley…being serenaded by a mariachi band…with one member slightly out of tune.
How many times had she wished that she hadn’t given up what she gave up? No, even now she couldn’t do it…not even if he’d have her after her deceiving him…hurting him that badly. She couldn’t trade even fourteen years of joy for the pain of knowing he would die at the end of it. No, she couldn’t do it…couldn’t have him…but at least Maria could be happy.
Liz couldn’t bear to sit in the empty room…couldn’t bear to be alone…and most certainly couldn’t bear to see him...to see Max…not with quasi-memories of Elvis chapel weddings running around in her head. Alex and Kyle were rooming together…she’d go talk to them. She hoped they were still up.
As she knocked on the door of room 817, she heard Kyle call, “Just a minute…” Kyle opened the door and she entered before she looked…only then seeing both Max and Tess…sitting on one of the two beds together, eating microwave popcorn from the same bag.
‘I can’t take this,’ thought Liz, looking at the two of them together, She turned back towards Kyle and said the first thing that came in her mind, "I was looking for Alex. Do you know where he is?”
“I think he and Isabel went dancing, actually," said Kyle. "Tess and I were watching a movie…Max is going to be guarding her until 1:00AM, then Izzie will take the night shift while Max gets some sleep. Michael’s got the morning shift.”
“Oh…well, I probably better get to bed then…I don’t want to wait up that long.”
Max looked at her…willing himself to be angry rather than hurt…but once more it didn’t work. He was pretty sure that it hadn’t been Alex that Liz was looking for….that if Tess hadn’t decided to watch a movie with Kyle…well, he’d seen her and Kyle in bed together once…why did it surprise him she’d come to his room tonight?.
But he had thought he’d gotten over the hurt…thought that he could submerge the pain in rage….after all, he was the one that she’d cheated on…whose trust she’d violated. Why wasn’t the anger enough? How could he look at her, knowing what she’d done, and still know he’d forgive her in a heartbeat if she only asked…swallow his pride…forget all the painj, if he could just have her back again?
‘You are so damn pathetic, Evans..’ he told himself. He tried not to look at Kyle…tried not to let the anger grow within him again. He tried to rationalize what he knew to be true, ‘It’s not like he forced her to do anything, Max..’ but he couldn’t bring himself…even now…to hate her. Maybe hating Kyle was all he had left.
“If you’d like, Tess and I could go watch this in her and Izzy’s room,” he said, hating himself for saying it even as he heard the words echo off the walls…even as he saw Kyle’s face darken and Liz’s lower lip quiver. He could see he’d hurt her…but there was no joy in it for him…no sense of justice or vengeance. Because it pained him see her hurt…even when she glared at him with angry tear-filled eyes.
“Max…” she replied, the anger in her voice belied by the tears that were starting to fall, “..you can go to hell…”
It’s hard to tell what angry words were about to be spoken..and we’ll never know. Because at that point the lights went out and the energy hit…like a huge powerblast…that crumpled rooms 815, 817, and 819.
The explosion knocked Liz down, but somehow she was missed by the worst of it. Dust from the shattered wallboard filled the air, dimly lit by the emergency light….and the light from the glow coming through the shattered window. It…whatever it was…whatever entity had caused this, was outside…floating in the air…moving slowly toward the building. She looked in desperation for the others…Max was down…breathing but unconscious. Kyle was down as well, trapped by the debris, but moving slowly. Tess was on her knees…dazed…barely moving…and the entity was getting closer. Liz could feel it…feel it with her mind. It was old…ancient…filled with hatred….pain…loathing…even for itself. She could feel the thing in her mind…it was…..vile…obscene…corrupt….like putrid meat smelled. And it was after Tess.
Liz looked at Max…at Kyle, knowing she could protect neither of them…but Tess…if she could get Tess out of there….that thing…it hated everything…hated everyone…even hated itself, but it hated Tess most of all. If she could get Tess out of there…maybe it would follow…leave the others…if Max could recover, he could heal Kyle. Liz seized Tess’s arm and pulled her to her feet.
“Come on..”
“Liz….what happened..?” She was confused…that time there had been no warning…not even from the healing stones. It was almost like the thing had known she was sensing it…had somehow managed to screen itself from her detection until it had gotten close enough to strike.
“Come on, Tess….just run.”
Somehow the attack had set off the fire alarm, and as she pulled the half conscious Tess to the elevators she found they were shut down. But as she looked back at the hallway…back at the way they’d come, she saw the glow of the thing…felt it getting closer. The green exit sign was three doors down, and she half dragged Tess through it. They went down…both of them...as fast as they could run…ignoring the scratches and torn clothes…ignoring the pain from their scratches and bruises and small cuts. Passing the fourth floor Liz’s mind began to clear. At first this had just been about drawing the beast away from Kyle and Max…but the situation really hadn’t changed. She’d given up fourteen years of happiness to keep Tess part of the group…she wasn’t going to lose her now. Even as she ran Liz developed the plan.
The parking garage was actually ten floors down from room 817, and as they burst out on the lower parking garage Liz went right to valet parking. The area was clear…the PA speaker had been telling everyone to evacuate the hotel…that there was a small fire on the eighth floor, but that the fire department was on its way. Apparently the valet parking attendants had taken that advice, the area was empty. But on the keyboard there were lots of keys…and a special section up front was reserved for the high rollers. She grabbed the yellow key fob with the rearing horse and ran to the nearby Ferrari. She shoved Tess into the passenger seat and slid into the driver’s seat. Three minutes later they were traveling down the Vegas Strip at 90 miles per hour…weaving in and out of traffic. Sixty seconds later, they were on highway 93 enroute to Kingman Arizona and Highway 40 East at almost 120 miles per hour.
Hiding out in Las Vegas sure hadn’t worked. They might as well go back to New Mexico…..
It was almost twenty minutes before Tess had really recovered enough to have a coherent thought. She was confused…terrified. It was painfully obvious…whatever this evil thing was…it was after her. She’d been the focus of each attack. Others had been injured…but she doubted they’d been the real target. And she didn’t understand it…the only one who really ought to be hating her right now was Liz…and the stupid girl had just saved her life. It didn’t make any sense…….
Thursday 5:00 AM Prewitt New Mexico
It wasn’t much of a town…just one of many old towns along the old path of Route 66 that was now highway 40. They had driven through the night…with her fear for Max and Kyle sitting like a lead weight in Liz’s gut. Tess hadn’t said much…Liz thought she’d probably been stunned by the attack at first. Now..? Well, it was certainly obvious that Tess was the target and Liz…well, if Liz hadn’t realized how important Tess’s survival was…how necessary it was to stop what future Max had described to her…Liz might have actually allowed herself some little joy at that irony.
‘But Tess IS important,’ Liz told herself, ‘..and in the end…you weren’t. Not important enough to keep him alive… to keep any of them alive past those fourteen years.’
It was so damnably frustrating…It wasn’t like giving up on her life with Max even guaranteed he’d survive. It was all chaos theory once you messed with time….a butterfly effect that was totally unpredictable. She’d given it all up…those fourteen years of happiness she could have had, not for a guarantee that the world wouldn’t end…..but simply for another roll of the dice. No one…certainly not an undistinguished small town girl could really predict what that act would do. ‘Hell, Tess and I might not survive the day..’ she thought to herself.
But Tess was the one that was important. As far as Liz was concerned…her life had stopped the moment she’d seen the pain in Max’s eyes as he looked in through that window…saw hatred slowly replace the love that had once been there.
She drove in to the 24 hour service station. Tess went in first and used the rest room while Liz put fuel in the car. At least out here in the sticks, they were unlikely to attract the attention of the police…although the bright red sports car was certainly being noticed by the attendant. Liz made a mental note to herself to see if the once and future queen of Antar could be induced to change the color of the car when they were out of town.
As Tess came out of the bathroom she saw the phone. She walked over to it and dialed the number. It was out of service. She called the front desk…
“Hello…I was trying to call someone in room 817…”
“I’m sorry, that room….well, there was a …mechanical problem there. Those people are now in 912…I’ll connect you.”
“Yes…”
A smile came to Tess’s face when she heard Kyle’s voice. She’d been worried about him….Max too, she told herself…Mr. DNA donor to-be…but knowing Kyle was still alive….somehow the morning just got a little brighter.
“Kyle…Tess”
“Tess…God, where are you? Is Liz with you? Are you alright?”
“Yeah…I was kind of shaken up…stunned…but Liz….”
‘Liz what?’ she asked herself. ‘Liz saved my sorry butt and got the two of us the hell out of Dodge before that thing finished me off?’
“..that is, Liz and I are alright… We went down to the garage and the perfect Miss Parker stole the hottest car in the place..would you believe? …nothing like leaving Las Vegas in style. How about you? Are you OK?”
“Yeah….some bumps and bruises…that’s all. Max was banged around a little worse, but he’s OK physically. Mad as hell and worried sick…but OK. We’re all worried about you two though…are you sure you’re OK?”
“Right now we are…just about scared shitless though…”
‘…or at least you are, Tess,’ she thought to herself. ‘Liz is the ice woman…doesn’t look like she cares if she lives or dies…wonder why she cares if you do?’
“We are on our way back to Roswell. It doesn’t look like distance is any protection from that thing, and if it hit us in a crowded hotel…”
‘Us? Who are you kidding, Tess. Whatever that thing is, it’s clearly after you…almost like it was personal.’
‘…anyway, as long as we can’t keep away from it…and it doesn’t seem to mind attracting attention anyway we thought….well, Liz thought…we might as well be on our home turf, where we at least know the terrain.”
“Ok…I’ll call dad…let him know you are coming back…see what he can come up with. I’ll let the others know you are alright too…we’ll take the first plane back we can get. Take good care of yourself….oh…and Liz. Tess….be careful…I’d hate to lose you.”
As she hung up the phone she shook her head. She would do her best to be careful…although with that entity out there, her chances were anybody’s guess. But it was sweet that he was so worried…unlike Mr. brooding sperm donor to be. It was too damn bad that Kyle wasn’t the King of Antar…that might make what she needed to do just a hell of a lot more pleasant.
As she walked to the car she passed Liz.
“I talked to Kyle…everyone is OK..”
She saw Liz look visibly relieved when she said everyone. Well that narrowed it down. She was still carrying a torch for Max, apparently, illogical as that seemed.
‘The royal ass treats her even worse than he treats you, Tess. The girl must be a glutton for punishment. But that still doesn’t explain why she’s helping you. It doesn’t make sense…doesn’t make any sense at all….’
It wasn’t much of a town…just one of many old towns along the old path of Route 66 that was now highway 40. They had driven through the night…with her fear for Max and Kyle sitting like a lead weight in Liz’s gut. Tess hadn’t said much…Liz thought she’d probably been stunned by the attack at first. Now..? Well, it was certainly obvious that Tess was the target and Liz…well, if Liz hadn’t realized how important Tess’s survival was…how necessary it was to stop what future Max had described to her…Liz might have actually allowed herself some little joy at that irony.
‘But Tess IS important,’ Liz told herself, ‘..and in the end…you weren’t. Not important enough to keep him alive… to keep any of them alive past those fourteen years.’
It was so damnably frustrating…It wasn’t like giving up on her life with Max even guaranteed he’d survive. It was all chaos theory once you messed with time….a butterfly effect that was totally unpredictable. She’d given it all up…those fourteen years of happiness she could have had, not for a guarantee that the world wouldn’t end…..but simply for another roll of the dice. No one…certainly not an undistinguished small town girl could really predict what that act would do. ‘Hell, Tess and I might not survive the day..’ she thought to herself.
But Tess was the one that was important. As far as Liz was concerned…her life had stopped the moment she’d seen the pain in Max’s eyes as he looked in through that window…saw hatred slowly replace the love that had once been there.
She drove in to the 24 hour service station. Tess went in first and used the rest room while Liz put fuel in the car. At least out here in the sticks, they were unlikely to attract the attention of the police…although the bright red sports car was certainly being noticed by the attendant. Liz made a mental note to herself to see if the once and future queen of Antar could be induced to change the color of the car when they were out of town.
As Tess came out of the bathroom she saw the phone. She walked over to it and dialed the number. It was out of service. She called the front desk…
“Hello…I was trying to call someone in room 817…”
“I’m sorry, that room….well, there was a …mechanical problem there. Those people are now in 912…I’ll connect you.”
“Yes…”
A smile came to Tess’s face when she heard Kyle’s voice. She’d been worried about him….Max too, she told herself…Mr. DNA donor to-be…but knowing Kyle was still alive….somehow the morning just got a little brighter.
“Kyle…Tess”
“Tess…God, where are you? Is Liz with you? Are you alright?”
“Yeah…I was kind of shaken up…stunned…but Liz….”
‘Liz what?’ she asked herself. ‘Liz saved my sorry butt and got the two of us the hell out of Dodge before that thing finished me off?’
“..that is, Liz and I are alright… We went down to the garage and the perfect Miss Parker stole the hottest car in the place..would you believe? …nothing like leaving Las Vegas in style. How about you? Are you OK?”
“Yeah….some bumps and bruises…that’s all. Max was banged around a little worse, but he’s OK physically. Mad as hell and worried sick…but OK. We’re all worried about you two though…are you sure you’re OK?”
“Right now we are…just about scared shitless though…”
‘…or at least you are, Tess,’ she thought to herself. ‘Liz is the ice woman…doesn’t look like she cares if she lives or dies…wonder why she cares if you do?’
“We are on our way back to Roswell. It doesn’t look like distance is any protection from that thing, and if it hit us in a crowded hotel…”
‘Us? Who are you kidding, Tess. Whatever that thing is, it’s clearly after you…almost like it was personal.’
‘…anyway, as long as we can’t keep away from it…and it doesn’t seem to mind attracting attention anyway we thought….well, Liz thought…we might as well be on our home turf, where we at least know the terrain.”
“Ok…I’ll call dad…let him know you are coming back…see what he can come up with. I’ll let the others know you are alright too…we’ll take the first plane back we can get. Take good care of yourself….oh…and Liz. Tess….be careful…I’d hate to lose you.”
As she hung up the phone she shook her head. She would do her best to be careful…although with that entity out there, her chances were anybody’s guess. But it was sweet that he was so worried…unlike Mr. brooding sperm donor to be. It was too damn bad that Kyle wasn’t the King of Antar…that might make what she needed to do just a hell of a lot more pleasant.
As she walked to the car she passed Liz.
“I talked to Kyle…everyone is OK..”
She saw Liz look visibly relieved when she said everyone. Well that narrowed it down. She was still carrying a torch for Max, apparently, illogical as that seemed.
‘The royal ass treats her even worse than he treats you, Tess. The girl must be a glutton for punishment. But that still doesn’t explain why she’s helping you. It doesn’t make sense…doesn’t make any sense at all….’
Brent Armitage had been driving the eighteen-wheeler full of new furniture continuously since Tulsa and planned on going all the way to Long Beach California before he rested. A few decades ago, he might have done this by taking uppers….but not anymore. His company was required by the Department of Transportation to test for drugs….but caffeine didn’t count in drug testing. He drank hot coffee at night, and cold Red Bull during the day, but at a little past 5 AM he was running out of both.
Brent didn’t need fuel when he pulled in to the service station in Prewitt, and the place didn’t have diesel in any event. But he needed caffeine…needed it badly if he was going to keep going, and that’s why he pulled his big rig into the vacant lot next to the all night service station. He left the motor idling…made sure his running lights were on…checked the emergency brake and climbed down to go into the minimart, the only things on his mind being cigarettes, a thermos of black coffee, and a six pack of Red Bull. Oh…he noticed the attractive young brunette who was leaving the minimart just as he entered…he was tired, not dead. That Ferrari had to be hers…or at least, her boyfriends. ‘Gees….some guys have all the luck.’
Liz had been surprised to find the ladies restroom really clean…the rest of the place was a dump…until she realized. The previous occupant of the facility had been Tess. Kyle and Jim once kidded that their bathroom got cleaned more every month with Tess living with them, than it had been cleaned in the fourteen years before that…since Kyle’s mother had left. Liz shook her head. She’d given up fourteen years of Max to save the world…and so far the only tangible benefit she'd seen was a clean commode. 'Great...she thought...just great.' She peed, washed her hands, and left.
The closest thing to a warm breakfast available in the mini mart was Pop Tarts from the microwave. Liz wasn’t quite that desperate. She grabbed a couple of small containers of chocolate milk and some packaged pastries that had a ‘best if used before’ date only three weeks past, paid the cashier and headed for Tess and the stolen Ferrari, reminding herself that she wanted to ask Tess to change the color of the conspicuous beast……a dark black would be nice, she thought…as she looked out to where the car was parked by the pump. That’s when she saw it.
She wasn’t sure just what ‘it’ was at first..or even if ‘it’ was real. She’d been awake for almost twenty-four hours herself. But as she watched it…a ripple in the air 100 yards past the Ferrari…it started to grow…and as it grew…it started to glow.
Tess was sitting in the driver’s seat…admiring the car. Maybe it was a primitive world..but when it came to converting extinct dinosaurs into noise and speed…well they did a good job of it. She wished she could see Kyle’s face driving this…he loved his Mustang…but would this ever be a kick for him. She took the wheel in her hands…imagining him racking the car through a few turns. Liz had made good time…but Kyle really knew how to make cars corner…
Tess continued lost in this harmless fantasy for about three more seconds…right up until the blast hit the side of the car, spinning it halfway around.
Tess found herself facing….she wasn’t sure what…a vortex of some kind…a tunnel that seemed to open to infinity…and through the healing stones in her pocket she could feel the entity coming…almost see it coming through the vortex. Her hand went to the key and the engine cranked….her foot already floored on the accelerator…but it wouldn’t start. She smelled the fuel as it cranked again… ‘Could the damn thing be flooded?’ The last thing in the world she wanted to do was to take her foot off the accelerator…but she did…cranking to clear the flooded cylinders…knowing that the entity was about to step through the vortex…knowing she was about to die.
Liz was paralyzed with confusion as she saw the vortex form, but as the light flew from the vortex, spinning the Ferrari around, her trance seemed to break. She heard the starter on the car grind uselessly…felt the power radiated from the vortex…felt it grow…felt the power emanating from it…the hatred of everything…even itself…like something ancient…something that had lived long past its time…something that hated with its very soul…and that the hatred had somehow turned it into pure evil. Her mind was decided in milliseconds…Tess was too important….more important than she was.
Tess could see it coming.....she could FEEL it coming...and even as the engine started to clear itself...started to cough as the first few cylinders started to fire...she knew it was too late. It was right there...too close...and too strong. She was almost paralyzed with fear...just waiting for the next blow to fall.....
The eighteen-wheeler was already idling…Liz found and released the parking brake. The big Cummins 485 horsepower turbo diesel roared as she worked through the gears…aiming the huge truck and trailer at the maw of that vortex.
Only about a third of the front of the truck fit into the vortex, and as the truck touched the sides of it…all hell broke loose. Not only wouldn’t it fit, but the vortex gave up its energy…shattering the engine. The big rig jackknifed at the hitch…the remains of the cab coming to rest on its side…the trailer continuing toward the vortex…causing an even larger explosion. When the dust cleared, there were over 40 tons of furniture…smashed cab…and smashed trailer laying in the dirt in a vacant lot in Prewitt New Mexico….and no vortex in sight.
Brent Armitage went running out of the mini mart to the crumpled remains of the cab of his truck. For a moment…just a moment…he thought he saw a blonde haired girl pulling the battered body of the brunette from the cab of his truck…but she seemed to disappear before his very eyes. The mini mart guy was watching a porno film on a DVD player under the counter…he missed the whole thing.
When the State Patrol finally got there…almost 90 minutes later…Brent told them his story. They took him in for a blood alcohol and a urine drug test. He passed both...but then his logbook revealed he'd gone 30 hours without sleeping. They ticketed him and locked him in the drunk tank anyway.
Brent didn’t need fuel when he pulled in to the service station in Prewitt, and the place didn’t have diesel in any event. But he needed caffeine…needed it badly if he was going to keep going, and that’s why he pulled his big rig into the vacant lot next to the all night service station. He left the motor idling…made sure his running lights were on…checked the emergency brake and climbed down to go into the minimart, the only things on his mind being cigarettes, a thermos of black coffee, and a six pack of Red Bull. Oh…he noticed the attractive young brunette who was leaving the minimart just as he entered…he was tired, not dead. That Ferrari had to be hers…or at least, her boyfriends. ‘Gees….some guys have all the luck.’
Liz had been surprised to find the ladies restroom really clean…the rest of the place was a dump…until she realized. The previous occupant of the facility had been Tess. Kyle and Jim once kidded that their bathroom got cleaned more every month with Tess living with them, than it had been cleaned in the fourteen years before that…since Kyle’s mother had left. Liz shook her head. She’d given up fourteen years of Max to save the world…and so far the only tangible benefit she'd seen was a clean commode. 'Great...she thought...just great.' She peed, washed her hands, and left.
The closest thing to a warm breakfast available in the mini mart was Pop Tarts from the microwave. Liz wasn’t quite that desperate. She grabbed a couple of small containers of chocolate milk and some packaged pastries that had a ‘best if used before’ date only three weeks past, paid the cashier and headed for Tess and the stolen Ferrari, reminding herself that she wanted to ask Tess to change the color of the conspicuous beast……a dark black would be nice, she thought…as she looked out to where the car was parked by the pump. That’s when she saw it.
She wasn’t sure just what ‘it’ was at first..or even if ‘it’ was real. She’d been awake for almost twenty-four hours herself. But as she watched it…a ripple in the air 100 yards past the Ferrari…it started to grow…and as it grew…it started to glow.
Tess was sitting in the driver’s seat…admiring the car. Maybe it was a primitive world..but when it came to converting extinct dinosaurs into noise and speed…well they did a good job of it. She wished she could see Kyle’s face driving this…he loved his Mustang…but would this ever be a kick for him. She took the wheel in her hands…imagining him racking the car through a few turns. Liz had made good time…but Kyle really knew how to make cars corner…
Tess continued lost in this harmless fantasy for about three more seconds…right up until the blast hit the side of the car, spinning it halfway around.
Tess found herself facing….she wasn’t sure what…a vortex of some kind…a tunnel that seemed to open to infinity…and through the healing stones in her pocket she could feel the entity coming…almost see it coming through the vortex. Her hand went to the key and the engine cranked….her foot already floored on the accelerator…but it wouldn’t start. She smelled the fuel as it cranked again… ‘Could the damn thing be flooded?’ The last thing in the world she wanted to do was to take her foot off the accelerator…but she did…cranking to clear the flooded cylinders…knowing that the entity was about to step through the vortex…knowing she was about to die.
Liz was paralyzed with confusion as she saw the vortex form, but as the light flew from the vortex, spinning the Ferrari around, her trance seemed to break. She heard the starter on the car grind uselessly…felt the power radiated from the vortex…felt it grow…felt the power emanating from it…the hatred of everything…even itself…like something ancient…something that had lived long past its time…something that hated with its very soul…and that the hatred had somehow turned it into pure evil. Her mind was decided in milliseconds…Tess was too important….more important than she was.
Tess could see it coming.....she could FEEL it coming...and even as the engine started to clear itself...started to cough as the first few cylinders started to fire...she knew it was too late. It was right there...too close...and too strong. She was almost paralyzed with fear...just waiting for the next blow to fall.....
The eighteen-wheeler was already idling…Liz found and released the parking brake. The big Cummins 485 horsepower turbo diesel roared as she worked through the gears…aiming the huge truck and trailer at the maw of that vortex.
Only about a third of the front of the truck fit into the vortex, and as the truck touched the sides of it…all hell broke loose. Not only wouldn’t it fit, but the vortex gave up its energy…shattering the engine. The big rig jackknifed at the hitch…the remains of the cab coming to rest on its side…the trailer continuing toward the vortex…causing an even larger explosion. When the dust cleared, there were over 40 tons of furniture…smashed cab…and smashed trailer laying in the dirt in a vacant lot in Prewitt New Mexico….and no vortex in sight.
Brent Armitage went running out of the mini mart to the crumpled remains of the cab of his truck. For a moment…just a moment…he thought he saw a blonde haired girl pulling the battered body of the brunette from the cab of his truck…but she seemed to disappear before his very eyes. The mini mart guy was watching a porno film on a DVD player under the counter…he missed the whole thing.
When the State Patrol finally got there…almost 90 minutes later…Brent told them his story. They took him in for a blood alcohol and a urine drug test. He passed both...but then his logbook revealed he'd gone 30 hours without sleeping. They ticketed him and locked him in the drunk tank anyway.
The engine started finally, but Tess knew it was too late…the entity was far too close. But then somehow the mass of the truck was there…moving between her and the evil she could feel that somehow seemed to hate her so badly. Only after the front exploded did she realize that Liz had been driving…as she saw the crumpled cab thrown into the air to land 100 feet in front of her. When the trailer hit the vortex and exploded, the vortex seemed to fold in upon itself and the sense of ancient evil…the sense of hatred seemed to disappear at the same time…almost as if someone turned off a switch. Her instinct for survival started to overcome her fear at last, and she thought to herself that maybe Miss Scientist could explain what just happened…that’s when she saw the unmoving body in the crumpled truck cab.
Nasedo had taught her..drilled it into her her entire youth, that you never took chances..but the danger seemed to be past…at least for the moment and Tess mamaged to rationalize to herself that the information she could get from Liz might well be valuable enough to risk the few seconds that it would take to get her out of the wreckage.
As she drove up to the cab she saw that it was crumpled in…far more than she had at first believed. And the big truck driver running from the store did NOT look happy at what Liz had done with his truck. ‘Oh hell, Tess,’ she told herself as she mindwarped the man, then used her powers to bend the crumpled metal away from Liz…pulling her into the battered Ferrari, ‘you’re already here…just get her and run for it.’
Just off Route 23 - 5 miles East of Prewitt New Mexico
It was the bay of an abandoned service station….one of several that had served the area back before I-40 came in and concentrated all the traffic along a narrow corridor. The crumpled fender scraping on the wheel was what had forced Tess to seek temporary refuge there…using her powers to pry the bent metal back out. Not cosmetically elegant, certainly, but it would serve.
Tess looked at Liz then…still unconscious. She was breathing erratically. Tess pulled her eyelids back to look at them…one was widely dilated..the other seemed normal…but stared blankly. The growing lump on the left side of her skull where she’d hit the frame of the truck told her all she really needed to know…Liz wasn’t in good shape…and wouldn’t be much use to her.
Maybe if Tess were Max it wouldn’t be any problem, but her own healing powers were slight…and time was wasting. There was an old cot by the storage room…Tess put her there. Maybe if she got somewhere that the damn cellphone in the car worked…maybe then Tess thought she could call 911…but with that entity after her, Tess had no intention of sticking around any longer. Besides, there was probably nothing she could do anyway.
Route 23 - 10 miles Northeast of Prewitt New Mexico.
The red Ferrari with the crumpled driver side pulled over to the side of the road….screeching to stop in a cloud of dust. The young blonde in the car would have seemed, to any passer-by, to be engaged in a rather bitter argument…except she was the only one in the car….
‘This is absolutely stupid, Tess,’ she told herself. ‘You know what Nasedo taught you about not taking any chances. You want to be little Miss nice-girl? Make the friggin 911 phone call…and haul your ass out of here before that thing comes back..’
‘911?....are you kidding?’ she asked herself. ‘Did you see Prewitt New Mexico? YES. You actually DID see Prewitt New Mexico. That one friggin gas station with the dirty restroom and the night manager addicted to porno films…that was pretty much what there was of Prewitt New Mexico. So do you really think calling 911 would make any difference?’
‘And how’s you going back to that shithole going to help,’ she asked herself. ‘You aren’t Max..and she’s just an earthling..and she’ll probably die anyway…even if you did try to help. Never ever take an avoidable risk…that’s what Nasedo taught you, and the one time he didn’t follow that advice himself, he died. That thing is after YOU Tess, it’s not after the others, it’s after YOU. Whatever set it after you…whatever you did to piss it off somehow, it’s you that it’s after…and going back to be at Liz’s side when she dies…because that’s what’s going to happen…it’s an avoidable risk. That thing’s been one step ahead of you all the time…you don’t need to give it help catching you’
The argument raged in Tess’s mind for another ten minutes, sitting on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. Eventually she managed to convince herself that going back to help Liz was so out of character, the entity could never predict she might do it..and that by doing so she might even confuse it. And in the unlikely event that she could help Liz…well, maybe Liz actually could give her useful information about the vortex.
Tess never entirely believed that argument..and felt an unseen reproach from the memory of Nasedo as she made the U-turn and headed back west…but it was close enough.
Twenty minutes later she stood beside the body of a critically injured Liz Parker in the old service station.
Nasedo had taught her..drilled it into her her entire youth, that you never took chances..but the danger seemed to be past…at least for the moment and Tess mamaged to rationalize to herself that the information she could get from Liz might well be valuable enough to risk the few seconds that it would take to get her out of the wreckage.
As she drove up to the cab she saw that it was crumpled in…far more than she had at first believed. And the big truck driver running from the store did NOT look happy at what Liz had done with his truck. ‘Oh hell, Tess,’ she told herself as she mindwarped the man, then used her powers to bend the crumpled metal away from Liz…pulling her into the battered Ferrari, ‘you’re already here…just get her and run for it.’
Just off Route 23 - 5 miles East of Prewitt New Mexico
It was the bay of an abandoned service station….one of several that had served the area back before I-40 came in and concentrated all the traffic along a narrow corridor. The crumpled fender scraping on the wheel was what had forced Tess to seek temporary refuge there…using her powers to pry the bent metal back out. Not cosmetically elegant, certainly, but it would serve.
Tess looked at Liz then…still unconscious. She was breathing erratically. Tess pulled her eyelids back to look at them…one was widely dilated..the other seemed normal…but stared blankly. The growing lump on the left side of her skull where she’d hit the frame of the truck told her all she really needed to know…Liz wasn’t in good shape…and wouldn’t be much use to her.
Maybe if Tess were Max it wouldn’t be any problem, but her own healing powers were slight…and time was wasting. There was an old cot by the storage room…Tess put her there. Maybe if she got somewhere that the damn cellphone in the car worked…maybe then Tess thought she could call 911…but with that entity after her, Tess had no intention of sticking around any longer. Besides, there was probably nothing she could do anyway.
Route 23 - 10 miles Northeast of Prewitt New Mexico.
The red Ferrari with the crumpled driver side pulled over to the side of the road….screeching to stop in a cloud of dust. The young blonde in the car would have seemed, to any passer-by, to be engaged in a rather bitter argument…except she was the only one in the car….
‘This is absolutely stupid, Tess,’ she told herself. ‘You know what Nasedo taught you about not taking any chances. You want to be little Miss nice-girl? Make the friggin 911 phone call…and haul your ass out of here before that thing comes back..’
‘911?....are you kidding?’ she asked herself. ‘Did you see Prewitt New Mexico? YES. You actually DID see Prewitt New Mexico. That one friggin gas station with the dirty restroom and the night manager addicted to porno films…that was pretty much what there was of Prewitt New Mexico. So do you really think calling 911 would make any difference?’
‘And how’s you going back to that shithole going to help,’ she asked herself. ‘You aren’t Max..and she’s just an earthling..and she’ll probably die anyway…even if you did try to help. Never ever take an avoidable risk…that’s what Nasedo taught you, and the one time he didn’t follow that advice himself, he died. That thing is after YOU Tess, it’s not after the others, it’s after YOU. Whatever set it after you…whatever you did to piss it off somehow, it’s you that it’s after…and going back to be at Liz’s side when she dies…because that’s what’s going to happen…it’s an avoidable risk. That thing’s been one step ahead of you all the time…you don’t need to give it help catching you’
The argument raged in Tess’s mind for another ten minutes, sitting on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. Eventually she managed to convince herself that going back to help Liz was so out of character, the entity could never predict she might do it..and that by doing so she might even confuse it. And in the unlikely event that she could help Liz…well, maybe Liz actually could give her useful information about the vortex.
Tess never entirely believed that argument..and felt an unseen reproach from the memory of Nasedo as she made the U-turn and headed back west…but it was close enough.
Twenty minutes later she stood beside the body of a critically injured Liz Parker in the old service station.
'Come on Tess,' she told herself, '...you can do this..'
Nasedo had told her that all alien powers were inter-related..although each alien would have specific powers that came easy to them. Tess had done some minor healing...although she certainly wasn't in Max's league. But the essential thing in healing was to connect...wheich was sort of like mind-warping in reverse. Once you were inside...once you could see what was going on...you could then kind of use molecular manipulation to correct what was wrong. For Max healing was intuitive...just like mindwarping was for Tess. Still...if she really tried...and if the damage wasn't too great...there was at least a chance...especially with the healing stone to help her.
What she needed first was to get inside. Nasedo said that when Max connected he had flashes...bits of memory from or about the other person...something to bridge the gap between the two minds. Tess tried...she really tried...
'Like mindwarping,' she told herself, the stone glowing in her hand, '...but instead of pushing...you pull.'
It wasn't a flash really...or if it was one...it was running in slow motion...and when she saw it her first inclination was to just let Liz die. 'What a skank...getting it on with Kyle behind my back?'
But even as she thought it, Tess told herself she had no right criticizing...it wasn't like she had any real claim on Kyle...hell, she was going to sleep with Max...then leave the whole world...if Kyle really wanted Liz and she wanted him......but she didn't...she was wearing clothes...
'The little cock tease....'
Kyle deserved better than that...better than someone just leading him on....but as she was suddenly inside..suddenly saw the damage in Liz's head, she tried to put the flash out of her mind. She needed to concentrate...to fix the damage.
Liz had an epidural hematoma. She hadn't had the time to put a seat belt on, and when the truck had been thrown through the air the side of her head had struck the doorframe causing a linear skull fracture. The jagged edges of the fracture had torn through the small medial meningeal artery...causing a slowly growing clot that was pressing against Liz's brain. The amount of actual damage wasrather small, but as the clot grew...as it put pressure on Liz's brain...she was likely to die.
Tess concentrated on the small artery...pulling the tear together with her manipulative powers, and sealing it. The clot itself she wasn't sure about. Finally she used her molecular manipulation to break it up into it's original parts...then break those even further into small molecules...amino acids, that could eventually be resorbed into her bloodstream. Liz's breathing seemed to ease and Tess decided she'd done enough....she was afraid to do more without Max's intuitive ability. Liz would live and would recover eventually...she seemed to be getting better already. She wrestled her into the passenger seat and belted her in. It was time for them to go.
Tess's hand went to the red Ferrari and it became black. Not much of a disguise, perhaps, but it would do for now.
Twenty minutes and twenty-eight miles later, Tess was still thinking about the flash from Liz. She felt the girl's pain as she saw Max looking in through the window....it still made no sense. If she wanted to make him jealous...well, that was one thing...but as much as she loved him...and Tess could feel that to her core...she was actually trying to drive him away.
Human beings were so illogical Tess thought, looking at the sleeping girl in the passenger seat next to her. 'And actually prefering Max....when she was snuggled up next to Kyle? What was with that? I don't care what her SATs are...she may be smart, but the girl has no taste in men whatever...'
Nasedo had told her that all alien powers were inter-related..although each alien would have specific powers that came easy to them. Tess had done some minor healing...although she certainly wasn't in Max's league. But the essential thing in healing was to connect...wheich was sort of like mind-warping in reverse. Once you were inside...once you could see what was going on...you could then kind of use molecular manipulation to correct what was wrong. For Max healing was intuitive...just like mindwarping was for Tess. Still...if she really tried...and if the damage wasn't too great...there was at least a chance...especially with the healing stone to help her.
What she needed first was to get inside. Nasedo said that when Max connected he had flashes...bits of memory from or about the other person...something to bridge the gap between the two minds. Tess tried...she really tried...
'Like mindwarping,' she told herself, the stone glowing in her hand, '...but instead of pushing...you pull.'
It wasn't a flash really...or if it was one...it was running in slow motion...and when she saw it her first inclination was to just let Liz die. 'What a skank...getting it on with Kyle behind my back?'
But even as she thought it, Tess told herself she had no right criticizing...it wasn't like she had any real claim on Kyle...hell, she was going to sleep with Max...then leave the whole world...if Kyle really wanted Liz and she wanted him......but she didn't...she was wearing clothes...
'The little cock tease....'
Kyle deserved better than that...better than someone just leading him on....but as she was suddenly inside..suddenly saw the damage in Liz's head, she tried to put the flash out of her mind. She needed to concentrate...to fix the damage.
Liz had an epidural hematoma. She hadn't had the time to put a seat belt on, and when the truck had been thrown through the air the side of her head had struck the doorframe causing a linear skull fracture. The jagged edges of the fracture had torn through the small medial meningeal artery...causing a slowly growing clot that was pressing against Liz's brain. The amount of actual damage wasrather small, but as the clot grew...as it put pressure on Liz's brain...she was likely to die.
Tess concentrated on the small artery...pulling the tear together with her manipulative powers, and sealing it. The clot itself she wasn't sure about. Finally she used her molecular manipulation to break it up into it's original parts...then break those even further into small molecules...amino acids, that could eventually be resorbed into her bloodstream. Liz's breathing seemed to ease and Tess decided she'd done enough....she was afraid to do more without Max's intuitive ability. Liz would live and would recover eventually...she seemed to be getting better already. She wrestled her into the passenger seat and belted her in. It was time for them to go.
Tess's hand went to the red Ferrari and it became black. Not much of a disguise, perhaps, but it would do for now.
Twenty minutes and twenty-eight miles later, Tess was still thinking about the flash from Liz. She felt the girl's pain as she saw Max looking in through the window....it still made no sense. If she wanted to make him jealous...well, that was one thing...but as much as she loved him...and Tess could feel that to her core...she was actually trying to drive him away.
Human beings were so illogical Tess thought, looking at the sleeping girl in the passenger seat next to her. 'And actually prefering Max....when she was snuggled up next to Kyle? What was with that? I don't care what her SATs are...she may be smart, but the girl has no taste in men whatever...'
Last edited by greywolf on Mon Jul 09, 2007 9:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Liz was in that nether region…..neither asleep nor really awake….that condition where you were dreaming…but you knew you were dreaming. She felt him against her…hearing his breathing..feeling his body shove gently against her with each breath. It was only a dream, she knew. She would never really have him…she could have…could have had him for fourteen wonderful years…but she’d given it up…given it up for another roll of the dice…for a chance…just a chance, for there were no guarantees….that the future would come out better.
But in this dream..in the here and now as her consciousness started to return…she could still have him. She felt his hand softly cup her breast and turned her head to see his face and Liz saw the face of…Kyle Valenti.
“KYLE!” she screamed, sitting up in bed…pulling the sheets up to cover her nudity.”…what do you think you are doing?” she screamed at him. As if in answer his face rippled…and he disappeared, and Liz found herself looking at Tess, straddling a chair looking at her in what was apparently a small hotel room somewhere.
“A good question, Liz…,” Tess said. “What are YOU doing? Why would you fake having sex with Kyle…just to dump Max? I mean…I can almost understand why Max has been being such an ass to Kyle lately. But why did YOU do it? That I can’t understand.” ‘and don’t tell me that you wanted to dump him because you no longer cared,’
Tess thought. 'I could tell that wasn’t true in the flash.'
‘Omigawd,’ thought Liz. ‘How much does she know?’ “What did Kyle tell you?”
“Kyle? He didn’t tell me anything….and how could you use him like that?” Tess asked with annoyance. She was surprised tat her own ambivalence about Liz and Kyle. She had used Kyle and one part of Tess said that if she’d gone so far as to ask him to crawl in bed with her Liz should have at least gone through with it…rather than just use him….tease him. But somehow something in Tess was very glad that nothing had really gone on between the two.
“You saved my life back there but you had a skull fracture…a small artery was killing you. I…I had to connect woth you to stop the bleeding, but the flash I saw…you and Kyle…. Why did you use Kyle to break up with Max, Liz? I’d really like to know.”
Liz’s heart started beating just a little slower once she realized that Tess didn’t know about future Max. She decided to tell her the truth….or part of it. “I…I thought it over Tess and what you said…well it made a lot of sense. You four have your destiny…it was wrong of me to get in the way. The four of you need to be together….you and Max need to be together.”
She was only a human…but Tess had felt in the flash what Liz had felt…felt her heart break as Max had looked at her that way through the window. ‘Damn…I don’t want Max, girl’ Tess thought…. ‘Hell, just one night will be enough.’ Nasedo had told her that when she was…engineered…as a hybrid, the designers had taken no chances. Any act of unprotected intercourse would get either her or Isabel pregnant….they were engineered to ovulate on…well..demand, not to put too fine a point on it.
Tess didn’t want a lifetime with Max…just a ticket off this hellhole planet. Maybe she could even change the deal around with Kivar…get him to promise that the other three could stay here…in return for her bringing him a Royal heir that Kivar could be Regent for while she was Queen Mother to the young Crown Prince or Princess. Nasedo had told her that Kivar was in trouble…over extended….that the people were threatening to overthrow him in Antar. Maybe he’d settle for just the two of them…let Max and Isabel and Michael live.
Liz wasn’t really all that bad…for an Earthling anyway…and Max…well Tess certainly didn’t want him….but Liz sure did. It might work….just get with the plan…mindwarp Alex, break the code…one fling in the sack with his royal nibs…and Liz could have him…with Tess’s blessing.
“Look..Liz…,” Tess found herself fumbling for words… “…you’ve saved my life at least a couple of times…I mean…you’ve been more than fair about the whole thing and…well…it was never personal. I mean…Max and I….it’s politics Liz….not love. According to Nasedo..it never was…even when we were alive…I mean…when our DNA was alive before. It’s like Prince Di and Charles…I mean…it was never about love…just about heirs….about his family and my family staying in power….about our people. Even if we can someday kick out Kivar…restore the monarchy…I mean…if you wanted him then…and you were discrete….it’s done all the time, Liz. It would be OK. I mean Prince Charles has Camilla…everybody knows that…except your prettier of course…” ‘..and I could have Kyle,’ she thought…and almost said, surprising even herself.
But it wasn’t going to happen, Tess knew. The monarchy wasn’t going to be reinstated…because there was still one Skins base out there someplace…waiting to take over the Earth…and in ten or fifteen years they’d have it, because Nasedo hadn’t been able to find out where it was. Sure, they’d gotten the one at Copper Summitt…and maybe with the power of the stones, they could get the other one…but she had no idea where it was…and without knowing that, it was only a matter of time. No…the only way the monarchy was going to be reinstated was her child with Kivar as Regent and herself as Queen Mother…Tess knew she needed to accept that. But maybe she’d have enough power under that arrangement to make sure that Liz and her family lived… Michael…Isabel…maybe even Max…and maybe Liz and Max someday could be together.
Liz had helped her…helped her far more than she deserved…Tess would give her that future if she could….Max was an ass maybe...always had been, in this life and the last.…but she really did owe Liz.
But in this dream..in the here and now as her consciousness started to return…she could still have him. She felt his hand softly cup her breast and turned her head to see his face and Liz saw the face of…Kyle Valenti.
“KYLE!” she screamed, sitting up in bed…pulling the sheets up to cover her nudity.”…what do you think you are doing?” she screamed at him. As if in answer his face rippled…and he disappeared, and Liz found herself looking at Tess, straddling a chair looking at her in what was apparently a small hotel room somewhere.
“A good question, Liz…,” Tess said. “What are YOU doing? Why would you fake having sex with Kyle…just to dump Max? I mean…I can almost understand why Max has been being such an ass to Kyle lately. But why did YOU do it? That I can’t understand.” ‘and don’t tell me that you wanted to dump him because you no longer cared,’
Tess thought. 'I could tell that wasn’t true in the flash.'
‘Omigawd,’ thought Liz. ‘How much does she know?’ “What did Kyle tell you?”
“Kyle? He didn’t tell me anything….and how could you use him like that?” Tess asked with annoyance. She was surprised tat her own ambivalence about Liz and Kyle. She had used Kyle and one part of Tess said that if she’d gone so far as to ask him to crawl in bed with her Liz should have at least gone through with it…rather than just use him….tease him. But somehow something in Tess was very glad that nothing had really gone on between the two.
“You saved my life back there but you had a skull fracture…a small artery was killing you. I…I had to connect woth you to stop the bleeding, but the flash I saw…you and Kyle…. Why did you use Kyle to break up with Max, Liz? I’d really like to know.”
Liz’s heart started beating just a little slower once she realized that Tess didn’t know about future Max. She decided to tell her the truth….or part of it. “I…I thought it over Tess and what you said…well it made a lot of sense. You four have your destiny…it was wrong of me to get in the way. The four of you need to be together….you and Max need to be together.”
She was only a human…but Tess had felt in the flash what Liz had felt…felt her heart break as Max had looked at her that way through the window. ‘Damn…I don’t want Max, girl’ Tess thought…. ‘Hell, just one night will be enough.’ Nasedo had told her that when she was…engineered…as a hybrid, the designers had taken no chances. Any act of unprotected intercourse would get either her or Isabel pregnant….they were engineered to ovulate on…well..demand, not to put too fine a point on it.
Tess didn’t want a lifetime with Max…just a ticket off this hellhole planet. Maybe she could even change the deal around with Kivar…get him to promise that the other three could stay here…in return for her bringing him a Royal heir that Kivar could be Regent for while she was Queen Mother to the young Crown Prince or Princess. Nasedo had told her that Kivar was in trouble…over extended….that the people were threatening to overthrow him in Antar. Maybe he’d settle for just the two of them…let Max and Isabel and Michael live.
Liz wasn’t really all that bad…for an Earthling anyway…and Max…well Tess certainly didn’t want him….but Liz sure did. It might work….just get with the plan…mindwarp Alex, break the code…one fling in the sack with his royal nibs…and Liz could have him…with Tess’s blessing.
“Look..Liz…,” Tess found herself fumbling for words… “…you’ve saved my life at least a couple of times…I mean…you’ve been more than fair about the whole thing and…well…it was never personal. I mean…Max and I….it’s politics Liz….not love. According to Nasedo..it never was…even when we were alive…I mean…when our DNA was alive before. It’s like Prince Di and Charles…I mean…it was never about love…just about heirs….about his family and my family staying in power….about our people. Even if we can someday kick out Kivar…restore the monarchy…I mean…if you wanted him then…and you were discrete….it’s done all the time, Liz. It would be OK. I mean Prince Charles has Camilla…everybody knows that…except your prettier of course…” ‘..and I could have Kyle,’ she thought…and almost said, surprising even herself.
But it wasn’t going to happen, Tess knew. The monarchy wasn’t going to be reinstated…because there was still one Skins base out there someplace…waiting to take over the Earth…and in ten or fifteen years they’d have it, because Nasedo hadn’t been able to find out where it was. Sure, they’d gotten the one at Copper Summitt…and maybe with the power of the stones, they could get the other one…but she had no idea where it was…and without knowing that, it was only a matter of time. No…the only way the monarchy was going to be reinstated was her child with Kivar as Regent and herself as Queen Mother…Tess knew she needed to accept that. But maybe she’d have enough power under that arrangement to make sure that Liz and her family lived… Michael…Isabel…maybe even Max…and maybe Liz and Max someday could be together.
Liz had helped her…helped her far more than she deserved…Tess would give her that future if she could….Max was an ass maybe...always had been, in this life and the last.…but she really did owe Liz.
Last edited by greywolf on Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
They slept for five hours…not even caring to keep guard they were so tired…They had been up for 27 hours…survived two attacks…and each of them been beaten around pretty badly in at least one of the attacks. They could simply go no farther without rest. It was early afternoon before the battered black Ferrari was back on the road. They skirted Albuquerque, cut south at Clines Corners then east again at Encino until they found themselves southbound on 285 toward Roswell. Going through Ramon, they stopped once again for gas and the restroom. As they got back to the car, Tess talked as she drove.
“Look, Liz….whatever this thing is…it’s pretty clear it’s after me. Sure…it’s hurt Michael and you..probably hurt a lot more bystanders as well… but I’m the target. I’m going to let you out when we get to Roswell, then I’m just going to keep on going. I have an idea where I can hide out…I’ll probably be safer there than anyone else. I’ve got some plans that may help….but they are going to take time. Until then…I really think I’m better off on my own.”
Tess had come to the decision on the long drive…She needed time…time for the summer vacation to come…time for Alex to break that code. Once he had done that she could use the power of the stones to mindwarp Max…conceive the child…and get away from whatever this entity was. The entity could have Earth…and all the people on it…she’d go to Antar as Queen Mother of the little royal bastard she’d conceive with Max. She’d do her best to convince Max, Isabel, and Michael to stay when the time came…do her best to convince Kivar to let them live…let Liz and Maria and Alex live…Hell, with a Regent that had the allegiance of the people, maybe the conquest of the Earth wouldn’t even be needed…Kivar would have the ability to stay in power without the spoils of this primitive world. And maybe…just maybe, if the fates were kind, Liz could have Max if she wanted him….and she apparently really did, despite her protests. Hell, Liz wasn’t half bad…for a human.
“But Tess…you can’t break up the four. The other three…well what if they need you…what if they need the power of all four of you to survive?”
“Liz…I’m not going anywhere,” she lied… “I’m just going to hide out awhile.”
”But what if YOU need us to help you?”
“Look, Liz…I’ll call in to you…once a day. If we need to get together…I’ll set up a time and place, OK?”
“Tess, this is a bad idea….We all need to stay together. There’s strength in numbers…”
“Uh-uh, Liz. My mind’s made up. I’m the one at risk…I’m going to do it my way for a change.”
Two hours later Liz stepped out of a battered black Ferrari in front of the Crashdown and the car sped off. An hour later the rest of the gang got in to the airport and a meeting was held at the Valenti house. It didn’t exactly go well.
”You LET HER drive off alone?” Max asked incredulously.
Before Liz could respond, Maria jumped in to the fray. “Do I detect a note of criticism there Max? Because Liz saved Tess’s ass after you and Kyle weren’t able to keep her safe in Vegas…then damn near died to save her again on the way back here…and now your jumping all over her because Tess decided to take off? What was Liz supposed to do…stand in the road? Make her powerblast her? Make her mindwarp her? Just how was Liz supposed to stop the blonde bitch from leaving?”
Max glared but didn’t say anything. Even he knew his criticism, and the tone of voice he’d used had nothing to do with Tess going in to hiding. He was just mad at Liz…but he couldn’t bring himself to say what was really bothering him. ‘You slept with Kyle, Liz. Why? Why?? How COULD you do that to me?.....to us?’ Only there wasn’t an ‘us’ any longer, Max realized…and never would be.
“Well do you have any idea WHERE she’s gone at least? Did you at least ask her that?”
“Yeah, I asked alright…but she said she didn’t want us to know?”
“Why not?”
“How should I know, Max. YOU’RE the king….she’s YOUR queen,…YOU deal with it.”
The last word was punctuated by the slam of the door.
“Well that was just great, Evans…” said Kyle.
“And I’ve about had it with you too, Valenti…”
“STOP IT both of you ,” screamed Isabel, pushing herself between the two.
“That’s right,” said Michael. “We have all the trouble we need without fighting among ourselves…..”
“Look, Liz….whatever this thing is…it’s pretty clear it’s after me. Sure…it’s hurt Michael and you..probably hurt a lot more bystanders as well… but I’m the target. I’m going to let you out when we get to Roswell, then I’m just going to keep on going. I have an idea where I can hide out…I’ll probably be safer there than anyone else. I’ve got some plans that may help….but they are going to take time. Until then…I really think I’m better off on my own.”
Tess had come to the decision on the long drive…She needed time…time for the summer vacation to come…time for Alex to break that code. Once he had done that she could use the power of the stones to mindwarp Max…conceive the child…and get away from whatever this entity was. The entity could have Earth…and all the people on it…she’d go to Antar as Queen Mother of the little royal bastard she’d conceive with Max. She’d do her best to convince Max, Isabel, and Michael to stay when the time came…do her best to convince Kivar to let them live…let Liz and Maria and Alex live…Hell, with a Regent that had the allegiance of the people, maybe the conquest of the Earth wouldn’t even be needed…Kivar would have the ability to stay in power without the spoils of this primitive world. And maybe…just maybe, if the fates were kind, Liz could have Max if she wanted him….and she apparently really did, despite her protests. Hell, Liz wasn’t half bad…for a human.
“But Tess…you can’t break up the four. The other three…well what if they need you…what if they need the power of all four of you to survive?”
“Liz…I’m not going anywhere,” she lied… “I’m just going to hide out awhile.”
”But what if YOU need us to help you?”
“Look, Liz…I’ll call in to you…once a day. If we need to get together…I’ll set up a time and place, OK?”
“Tess, this is a bad idea….We all need to stay together. There’s strength in numbers…”
“Uh-uh, Liz. My mind’s made up. I’m the one at risk…I’m going to do it my way for a change.”
Two hours later Liz stepped out of a battered black Ferrari in front of the Crashdown and the car sped off. An hour later the rest of the gang got in to the airport and a meeting was held at the Valenti house. It didn’t exactly go well.
”You LET HER drive off alone?” Max asked incredulously.
Before Liz could respond, Maria jumped in to the fray. “Do I detect a note of criticism there Max? Because Liz saved Tess’s ass after you and Kyle weren’t able to keep her safe in Vegas…then damn near died to save her again on the way back here…and now your jumping all over her because Tess decided to take off? What was Liz supposed to do…stand in the road? Make her powerblast her? Make her mindwarp her? Just how was Liz supposed to stop the blonde bitch from leaving?”
Max glared but didn’t say anything. Even he knew his criticism, and the tone of voice he’d used had nothing to do with Tess going in to hiding. He was just mad at Liz…but he couldn’t bring himself to say what was really bothering him. ‘You slept with Kyle, Liz. Why? Why?? How COULD you do that to me?.....to us?’ Only there wasn’t an ‘us’ any longer, Max realized…and never would be.
“Well do you have any idea WHERE she’s gone at least? Did you at least ask her that?”
“Yeah, I asked alright…but she said she didn’t want us to know?”
“Why not?”
“How should I know, Max. YOU’RE the king….she’s YOUR queen,…YOU deal with it.”
The last word was punctuated by the slam of the door.
“Well that was just great, Evans…” said Kyle.
“And I’ve about had it with you too, Valenti…”
“STOP IT both of you ,” screamed Isabel, pushing herself between the two.
“That’s right,” said Michael. “We have all the trouble we need without fighting among ourselves…..”
Thursday 11:18 PM The dry creek bed near the entrance to the pod chamber 14 miles northeast of Roswell New Mexico
Tess didn’t care what the Sheriff had said about not having a back door. The pod chamber had sheltered her for decades…she felt safer there than anywhere else. The walls were many feet thick of hard igneous rock and even the door was almost a foot thick. It was as close as you could come to a bomb shelter, and only the four of them could open it. Even the Skins hadn’t been able to find it…much as they wanted the granolith. It gave her the best chance she could think of to avoid the entity…and with the healing stones power, it was close enough that she might be able to continue to mindwarp Alex, even from 14 miles away.
Nasedo had told her from the time that she left the pod that the Earth was a dump…that her destiny was to be the queen of Antar, and she didn’t want to get trapped into staying here…to fight a battle she couldn’t win against the entity…or a war she couldn’t win against the Skins. Max was a jerk….although after seeing the flash…she could understand a little better why he had been treating Kyle so poorly. But damn…it wasn’t Kyle’s fault. He was just being a friend. Kyle deserved better than for Liz to put him in that position…and if she didn’t owe so much to Liz for saving her….she’d have told the girl so.
But as much as she owed Liz…Tess wasn’t interested in dying for her… or for Max either. But she’d miss Liz she decided….and miss Kyle quite a lot. She’d at one time thought of him as her brother however….well, she might as well admit it….that had been pure jealousy she’d felt as she’d seen that flash start. She REALLY liked Kyle…but it was no longer the least bit brotherly. She wondered how Kivar would feel about her having some…companionship….as Queen Mother? She pushed the thoughts from her mind. Too much to do..and those thoughts were definitely….distracting.
Tess finished camouflaging the Ferrari…it was the exact color of the surrounding rock and half-covered with brush. Besides…the exposed side was the side that was pretty much mangled…even if someone recognized it as a car it would be easy to believe it was abandoned. Hidden by the overhead of the cliffs on one side and the brush on the other…she doubted anyone could see it…even from the air.
As she approached the entrance Tess hesitated, taking the stones from her pocket…all of them. The entity…whatever it was…had a very distinctive aura. Tess was sure if it was around there…if anything living was around…she could detect it with her mindwarping powers magnified by the stones. She let her mind flow into the surrounding area…detecting only the quasi-thoughts of the non-sentients of the desert…a kangaroo mouse about to blunder into the range of a hunting rattlesnake 100 yards east was the closest there was to any sort of sentient thought.
For some reason she didn’t totally understand, Tess somehow felt a kinship with that little mouse. With a flick of her mind she sent it scurrying in a different direction. It might not make any difference, she knew. The rattlesnake would still be out there...as would the little mouse. But it cost only a thought to give it another roll of the dice she thought as she put her palm on the spot that would open the entrance to the pod chamber.
As she entered the pod chamber she was still on alert…but there was nothing approaching sentient life in the pod chamber…only a few long lived insects that would survive in the thin layer of sand that had sifted in to the chamber since Nasedo had created it. As she looked at the pod….at her pod…she felt a feeling of safety at last. But that feeling was short-lived.
When she saw the small machine Tess at first wondered why Max or Michael would bring something like that to the chamber…but as she saw the alien construction ……it was like some of the machines of the Skins….but they couldn’t have brought it here…with Nasedo dead…only the four of them could open the chamber…at least without destroying it. She started to back away from the machine..back toward the entrance. That’s when it triggered...erupting in green radiation.
Tess had never felt such pain…convulsing every muscle in her body. The stones fell from her hand and rolled away…even as her own body dropped to the dusty floor. She had no control of her body….she continued to convulse…even her sphincters releasing as she lay there. She couldn’t breathe …just laying in the dust ….feeling the pain course through her. Her final thought as she passed out...one of regret, strangely enough, was not about Tess at all…in fact…not about any human.
As she passed out her last wish was that she’d powerblasted the snake…because the snake was still out there…still hungry….. ‘If I wanted the kangaroo rat to live…I shouldn’t have taken any chances......shouldn't have taken any chances at all….’
Tess didn’t care what the Sheriff had said about not having a back door. The pod chamber had sheltered her for decades…she felt safer there than anywhere else. The walls were many feet thick of hard igneous rock and even the door was almost a foot thick. It was as close as you could come to a bomb shelter, and only the four of them could open it. Even the Skins hadn’t been able to find it…much as they wanted the granolith. It gave her the best chance she could think of to avoid the entity…and with the healing stones power, it was close enough that she might be able to continue to mindwarp Alex, even from 14 miles away.
Nasedo had told her from the time that she left the pod that the Earth was a dump…that her destiny was to be the queen of Antar, and she didn’t want to get trapped into staying here…to fight a battle she couldn’t win against the entity…or a war she couldn’t win against the Skins. Max was a jerk….although after seeing the flash…she could understand a little better why he had been treating Kyle so poorly. But damn…it wasn’t Kyle’s fault. He was just being a friend. Kyle deserved better than for Liz to put him in that position…and if she didn’t owe so much to Liz for saving her….she’d have told the girl so.
But as much as she owed Liz…Tess wasn’t interested in dying for her… or for Max either. But she’d miss Liz she decided….and miss Kyle quite a lot. She’d at one time thought of him as her brother however….well, she might as well admit it….that had been pure jealousy she’d felt as she’d seen that flash start. She REALLY liked Kyle…but it was no longer the least bit brotherly. She wondered how Kivar would feel about her having some…companionship….as Queen Mother? She pushed the thoughts from her mind. Too much to do..and those thoughts were definitely….distracting.
Tess finished camouflaging the Ferrari…it was the exact color of the surrounding rock and half-covered with brush. Besides…the exposed side was the side that was pretty much mangled…even if someone recognized it as a car it would be easy to believe it was abandoned. Hidden by the overhead of the cliffs on one side and the brush on the other…she doubted anyone could see it…even from the air.
As she approached the entrance Tess hesitated, taking the stones from her pocket…all of them. The entity…whatever it was…had a very distinctive aura. Tess was sure if it was around there…if anything living was around…she could detect it with her mindwarping powers magnified by the stones. She let her mind flow into the surrounding area…detecting only the quasi-thoughts of the non-sentients of the desert…a kangaroo mouse about to blunder into the range of a hunting rattlesnake 100 yards east was the closest there was to any sort of sentient thought.
For some reason she didn’t totally understand, Tess somehow felt a kinship with that little mouse. With a flick of her mind she sent it scurrying in a different direction. It might not make any difference, she knew. The rattlesnake would still be out there...as would the little mouse. But it cost only a thought to give it another roll of the dice she thought as she put her palm on the spot that would open the entrance to the pod chamber.
As she entered the pod chamber she was still on alert…but there was nothing approaching sentient life in the pod chamber…only a few long lived insects that would survive in the thin layer of sand that had sifted in to the chamber since Nasedo had created it. As she looked at the pod….at her pod…she felt a feeling of safety at last. But that feeling was short-lived.
When she saw the small machine Tess at first wondered why Max or Michael would bring something like that to the chamber…but as she saw the alien construction ……it was like some of the machines of the Skins….but they couldn’t have brought it here…with Nasedo dead…only the four of them could open the chamber…at least without destroying it. She started to back away from the machine..back toward the entrance. That’s when it triggered...erupting in green radiation.
Tess had never felt such pain…convulsing every muscle in her body. The stones fell from her hand and rolled away…even as her own body dropped to the dusty floor. She had no control of her body….she continued to convulse…even her sphincters releasing as she lay there. She couldn’t breathe …just laying in the dust ….feeling the pain course through her. Her final thought as she passed out...one of regret, strangely enough, was not about Tess at all…in fact…not about any human.
As she passed out her last wish was that she’d powerblasted the snake…because the snake was still out there…still hungry….. ‘If I wanted the kangaroo rat to live…I shouldn’t have taken any chances......shouldn't have taken any chances at all….’