Roswell Fanatics

Title: Consanguinity




Chapter Nineteen

“Didn’t you hear me?” the sheriff asked. “Did I not make myself clear? I asked when you were going to let me know what was going on?”

“Dad, where’d you find that?” Kyle asked his voice cracking slightly. “I thought…”

“You thought it got stolen in the break in,” said Jim. “But apparently under your bed, sandwiched between Penthouse and Playboy is an excellent hiding place. I commend you on that, but not the fact that you’re keeping secrets from me.”

Kyle reached out to take the papers and the book he and Tess had recovered from the library, but his father was quicker.

“I’ll just be keeping those,” he said.

“Dad, you can’t,” Kyle said. “We need them.”

“Right, you need them,” said Jim. “Well, I need some information. You give me what I need and maybe, I’ll give you what you need.”

Kyle stared at his friends helplessly; he didn’t know how to proceed. Normally he and father got along very well, and Kyle didn’t want to put his relationship with his father in jeopardy, but on the other hand, this wasn’t his secret to share.

“Please, Sheriff, just give it back to Kyle. Please,” Max practically pleaded.

“You want me to give it back, Max?” Jim asked. “Well what about what I want? I want answers. Are you ready to give me what I want?”

“Sheriff, I can’t,” said Max. “I can’t give you what you want.”

“Well then I can’t give you what I want,” said the Sheriff. “In fact, how about if I give your parents a call and tell them all what I found?”

Max felt his stomach lurch. Their parents couldn’t learn their secret. It would put them in danger.

“Damn it!” Max exploded, fear making his voice sharp. “Give Kyle our stuff and just leave us alone!”

Without another word, the sheriff handed Kyle the book and papers, turned and exited the café.

“What the hell?” Michael breathed. “That has got to be the freakiest thing we’ve ever seen, and we’ve seen some pretty freaky things.

“Something is way wrong,” said Kyle. “My father would never do that. There’s no way he’d just walk out like that after giving us what we wanted. Leave with it maybe, but without, no way.”

“Tess, did you maybe do that thing you do?” Alex asked hopefully.

“I didn’t do anything. Honest,” Tess said, her voice thick with unshed tears.

“Sh, Tess, it’s okay, nobody expected you to –“ said Kyle, trying to comfort her.

“I expected me to,” said Tess. “And I tried, I really tried, but his mind, it was so dark, so black. It scared me, it’s like he wasn’t human or something. Kyle, I don’t think that was your father.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Tess, of course it was his father,” said Isabel, fear giving her voice a hint of disdain. “Who else could it have been?”

“Nescado,” said Liz, who had been flipping through the copy of the other Max’s message. “It’s right here, remember the other Max said that Nescado could change his appearance?”

“My dad,” said Kyle in a panic. “Do you think he’s okay? I swear, if that bastard did anything, I’ll…”

“You’ll what, Kyle,” Michael asked being the voice of reason. “It’s not like you have any powers or anything. You can’t stop him. I don’t even know if we can stop him,” he added softly.

“So fine, I don’t have powers,” said Kyle. “But I’m supposed to get them, or I did get them or whatever. Max healed me, like he healed Liz, and both of us got powers. Heal me now, so I can get powers. I have to protect my father. I have to, he’s – he’s all I have.”

“Kyle’s right,” Maria said. “We have to do something.”

“We’re will do something,” said Max. “But we can’t go charging out of here all half assed without a plan. Liz, what else does it say in there about Nescado?”

“Well, we know he’s supposed to be your protector and yea right here it says that he can change his appearance and oh- this is good – if one of you four gives him a direct order, he has to obey it, no questions asked.”

“Well that explains why he gave us this stuff back, no questions asked,” said Maria. “But we still have to find out what’s going on with Kyle’s father.”

Alex slid his cell phone across the table to Kyle.

“Call the station ad ask if he’s there and how long he’s been there,” he instructed.

Kyle picked up the cell phone and quickly dialed the number of the Roswell Sheriff’s Department. While he waited for the call to go through, he looked around the CrashDown, noticing for the first time years, the alien decorations that filled the place. He decided he much preferred the aliens he was sitting with, especially the cute little blonde who held his hand tightly, trying to comfort him.

“Uh, hi, Deputy Hansen,” he said when the call connected. “It’s Kyle. Listen; is my dad there? He is? Really?” he said, his face brightening. “Yeah, uh look, how long has he been there? A couple of hours? Fantastic. No, wait, I don’t need to talk, uh, oh hi dad, how’re you doing? Listen, we’re all at the CrashDown. Can you come here please? We need to talk to you. It’s important. Great, we’ll see you in a few minutes.”

After Kyle ended the call, he glared at the others, a look of defiance playing upon his face.

“We need to be tell my dad what’s going on,” he said in a voice that dared the others to argue with him.

Max opened his mouth to argue, but Liz quickly stepped in. “He’s right,” she said. “Nescado was right when he said the sheriff knew about our secret in that other time line. The other Max said it too, that’s how Nescado knew. He read it in the message the other Max left us.”

“That means he knows Liz is going to get shot this weekend,” said Isabel quietly. “Max, Kyle’s right. We need to tell his dad.”

“Tell his dad what?” asked the sheriff.

“Lot’s of things,” said Max, quietly. “Tess, is it him?”

Tess closed her eyes and focused all her energy on the sheriff for a minute and then smiled. “It’s him,” she said, happily.

“What do you mean, it’s me. Of course it’s me,” said the sheriff. “What are you kids talking about and what do you have to tell me.”

“Dad, maybe you’d better sit down,” said Kyle, reaching out with his foot and dragging another chair over to the table. “This is going to take a while.”

Title: Consanguinity




Chapter Twenty

It was a perfect summer day in Roswell. The sky was a bright blue and white fluffy clouds dotted the sky. The streets teemed with people in town for the annual Crash festival. Alien hunters and skeptics rubbed shoulders with residents, all of them enjoying the carnival atmosphere, all of them except for nine people. Nine people who were doing everything in their considerable powers to ensure that one of their own survived the day.

Jim Valenti sat in his office at the Rowell Sheriff’s Department, trying to wrap his mind around everything he learned last night. Those kids, those poor crazy kids ha tried so hard to deal with so much on their own.

The story of the Evans children was amazing in itself. It explained so much, but at the same time, left them with thousands of questions to which they may never have the answers. He let his mind drift back to the day before the Evans children had been found. He remembered the stranger he’d met on the side of the road. The stranger, that for all intents and purposes the same Max who was now headed to the CrashDown. It was a lot for him to take in. It changed so much, including his relationship with his father, but that was something he didn’t even want to think about right now. Right now, he had to focus on keeping Liz alive, and if possible, not shot. He had to give the kids credit. They’d come up with a viable plan. A lot of the plan hinged on variables that they couldn’t control. But still, he’d examined the situation from every possible angle, and he couldn’t come up with a better plan. He marveled at the way these kids pulled together. They were an amazing team. He was just glad they’d decided to fill him in on what was happening, even if it took an evil shape-changing alien to convince them to do so.

Jim picked up the sheaf of papers Max had reluctantly given him and scanned them for what had to be the thousandth time since last night. If what they said were true, they’d had quite an amazing life in that other timeline. Liz was shot, Kyle was shot, hell, even he got shot. But the worst, the absolute worst was finding out that Alex died, and that Tess was responsible for his death. But those kids, those amazing, incredible kids had done everything in their power to convince Tess that what had happened in that other timeline had nothing to do with this timeline. It wasn’t her fault, and now, in this timeline, it was never going to happen. They, all of them, were determined to make sure none of the bad things happened. Jim admired their determination, but he also wondered about all the good things had happened. The Isabel in the other timeline belonged to countless service organizations and did charity work. Max had healed all those children with cancer, and even Max and Liz stopping the mugging of a CrashDown customer late one night. Who knew how many wonderful and amazing things would happen in the future as a direct result of Liz getting shot. It was the butterfly effect – if you kill a butterfly here, it could cause an earthquake in a galaxy a million light years away. It was a mind-boggling concept, but Jim knew he couldn’t worry about what may happen in the future. He needed to deal with today and making sure Liz didn’t get shot. And if he and the kids were right, their so called protector was going to do everything in his considerable power to make sure the original timeline was restored as much as possible.

Jim grabbed his hat and keys and made his way to his Bronco. It was almost time for him to take his position at the CrashDown. It felt strange following a plan devised by a teenager, but he’d do it, and he’d do it willingly if it would keep those kids safe. His approach to the Bronco slowed as the way it sat penetrated his consciousness. All four tiers were flat, causing the SUV to list. He cursed softly. This he knew was no teenaged prank. He was certain that this was the work of Nescado. He sprinted across the parking lot and began to run down the crowded streets to the CrashDown.

“Liz, where’s Sheriff Valenti?” Maria asked, her voice filled with panic.

“He’ll be here, Maria,” Liz said.

“Oh my God, Chica, how can you be so calm? I’d be a basket case if I were you.”

“Well, you’re not me, and you’re already a basket case enough for the both of us. Besides, everyone else is here.”

Liz looked around and saw Tess and Kyle in a booth that gave them a good vantage point of the entire café. Isabel and Alex sat in a booth near the kitchen, effectively blocking the back entrance and Michael and Max sat at a booth near the front door. The only one missing was the Sheriff whose main role in their plan was to just be visible and hopefully be a deterrent to the shooter.

Liz smiled wanly a Maria, the strain of projecting an air of confidence was beginning to take its toll. Her hands shook as she paused to take an order from two would be alien hunters. For fun, she showed them a picture of an old doll that had been left out in the hot desert sun, it’s melted face making it resemble something otherworldly. It always got her good tips and she figured what the heck, maybe having some change in her pocked would deflect the bullet if things didn’t go according to Alex’s plan. She slipped the picture and her order pad into her apron pocket and turned to see to big burly men walk into the café. Liz blanched when she saw them. If the other Max’s descriptions were right, one of those men was wielding the gun that could potentially end her life.

All of them were on alert as Maria walked over to take the orders of the two men. Her hand shook as she poured the coffee, causing it to spill on the table. One of the men growled at her, and Maria jumped back in fear. Michael started to stand up and only Max’s hand held him in check. Maintaining a semblance of normalcy was hard for all of them but it was the only way they could be certain their plan would succeed.

Without warning, Tess deviated from the plan. She whispered something to Kyle and crossed the floor over to where Max and Michael sat, making sure she walked by the table where the two men sat. One of the men glared at her, his hate filled eyes burning a hole in her back as she walked past him. Shuddering slightly, Tess slid in the booth next to Michael and whispered something to him and Max, and then looked over at Kyle and nodded.

Kyle jumped up and met Liz in the center of the café as loud angry voices erupted from the front.

“Oh my God, Liz!” Maria shouted as two shots rang out.

“Tess, now!” Max shouted.

Tess closed her eyes and focused all her energy, projecting an image of normalcy into the minds of everyone in the restaurant. Instead of gunshots and chaos, they saw people eating and chatting amicably. Isabel rushed to the front door and used her powers to seal it shut, while Alex mounted guard in the rear. Michael jumped up and grabbed the man who held the gun.

“Rath, don’t. I’m your protector,” the man said.

“And you just shot my friends, and I’m their protector,” said Michael. He focused his mind and sent a burst of energy into the man’s chest. He stiffened and fell to the floor, and Michael watched in horror as the creature reverted to its natural form before disappearing completely. Michael blanched at the sight but shoved it from his mind and rushed over to where Max knelt on the floor in a pool of blood.

“Liz, you have to look at me,” Max said. “Michael, see if you can help Maria!”

Michael turned and looked and saw Maria kneeling on the ground trying to staunch the flow of blood from Kyle’s chest.

“Oh my God, Kyle!” cried the sheriff who’d come in through the back door. “Help my son, Max. Please help my son.”

A visibly exhausted Max dragged himself across the floor and placed his hand on Kyle’s wound and used his last reserves of strength to heal Kyle’s injuries. Isabel left her position by the door and using her powers quickly removed all traces of blood from Kyle, Liz and Max’s clothing, while Michael used his powers to erase the blood from the floor.

Alex and Michael dragged a weakened Max back to his seat while Isabel unsealed the door. Jim moved to stand next to Tess and whispered in her ear, “You did it Tess.” The shock of his voice pulled her from her mind warp and she collapsed into his arms. “You did it. You held it together and Max was able to heal both Liz and Kyle.”

“Kyle?” Tess questioned, weakly.

“I don’t know what happened,” said Jim. Nescado put my car out of commission. I got here too late for everything. When I walked in, Kyle and Liz were both lying in pools of blood. Max was healing Liz and Michael and Maria were trying to stop Kyle’s bleeding.

”Kyle went to go warn Liz that the shooter was Nescado, and to watch out for anything, not just a gun,” said Tess. “He must have gotten caught in the crossfire.”

“Well, he’s okay now” said Jim. Thanks to you and Max. And look,” he added, looking around the café at the patrons eating their meals. “Nobody even has a clue that anything happened.”

Title: Consanguinity




Epilogue

It was a somber group that stat in the Valenti group that at in the Valenti living room gathered around the low scarred coffee table that was dotted with snacks nobody had touched. Nobody wanted to eat, and while they wanted to talk, nobody was exactly sure how to begin. It was Alex who finally broke the silence.

“Well, that’s one mighty fine hulking elephant you have there, Kyle.”

Liz’s lips began to twitch as she tried to suppress a smile. A giggle escaped from Maria while Isabel gave a very unladylike snort at the thought of a giant invisible elephant in the Valenti living room. And with that, they all visibly relaxed and began to joke in a more normal manner. Jim Valenti walked in, carrying several steaming boxes carrying pizzas, and the kids descended on him like a hoard of locusts. And like locusts, they cut a swath of destruction through the food, leaving only some half eaten pizza crusts in the empty boxes when they were done.

Their appetites finally sated, Jim brought up the topic none of them wanted to discuss – what had happened in the CrashDown. He was especially concerned for Michael who had taken a life today – not a human life – but a life nevertheless.

“We need to talk about what happened today. You kids were incredible.”

“Not incredible enough” said Isabel. “Liz still got shot, and Kyle got shot ahead of schedule.” She bit her lip and then began to giggle uncontrollably. “I’m sorry,” she said when she finally calmed down. “That just sounded so funny. Imagine having a schedule of when you should be shot.”

“It does sound funny,” agreed the sheriff, smiling slightly. “But that’s one of the things we need to talk about. You didn’t stop the shooting, but you did manage to save two lives today while still protecting yourselves. That was no small feat. And you managed to erase all evidence of the shooting from the CrashDown. You did good, and don’t you forget it.”

“Maybe you’re right, Sheriff,” said Max. “According to the other Max’s message, Liz’s bloodstained uniform was the only evidence that the FBI’s special unit had when they started tracking us, and Isabel took care of that. The question is, what do we do now?”

“I think you should all just go be kids,” said the sheriff. “Enjoy yourselves. You’re only young once. Keep your eyes open, of course, but don’t let fear keep you from living your lives to the fullest.”

Behind the CrashDown, a figure dressed in black rummaged through the garbage cans. Pushing aside some half eaten food in disgust, he pulled out and item and shined a flashlight on it. Agent Daniel Pierce smiled in satisfaction at the blood stained order pad he’d just recovered. Whoever had called in that anonymous tip was right. Something interesting had happened at the CrashDown today, and he planned to find out what it was.

The End