Winds of Change
Chapter Twenty Venom
Max was closest to the door when the knock came, so he jumped up and opened it to find Liz and Kyle standing on the other side. A feeling of rage welled up inside of him, and he gripped the doorframe trying to contain it.
“Oh, God, Max, stop it,” Liz cried. She pointed to his hand on the doorframe and he moved, it, revealing a scorched imprint of his hand.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked. “And is Michael okay.”
“Like you care,” Max said, bitterly. “It took you long enough to get here. What did the two of you do, stop and park or something?”
Liz recoiled as if she had been slapped, and tears flooded her eyes. The venom in his voice, and the anger in his voice was a double-edged sword, and she stepped back into the shelter of Kyle’s arms as if she had been stabbed.
“What the hell is your problem, Max?” demanded Kyle. “She got here as soon as she could. She came flying down into the CrashDown, white as a ghost, but low and behold, none of you, or your kind had waited around for her. The one who saved your friend’s life. Remember that?”
“Forget it Kyle, let’s just get out of here,” said Liz. “We can go check out that thing at the library.”
“What thing at the library?” asked Max, jealously.
“Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, Senor Presidente,” snapped Kyle.
The term only served to enrage Max further, and he turned to close the door when Isabel pushed him aside.
“Maybe you’d better come in,” she said. “The doorway isn’t the place to be having this discussion.”
“Is Michael okay?” Liz asked, her concern evident in her voice.
“He’s resting,” said Isabel. “Maria’s in with him, though for the life of me, I can’t figure out why. Those two can’t stand each other.”
“What happened tonight, Liz?” Alex asked from his perch on Michael’s decrepit sofa.
Liz’s gaze wandered around the apartment as she formulated her thoughts. Her eyes stopped at the large television that overpowered the dusty corner of the room, then moved to the coffee table littered with the remains of several meals.
“It wasn’t much more than I told you already,” said Liz. “I was sitting outside, writing, when my mother called me. When I got inside, she told me I had a phone call, but when I picked up the phone nobody was there. I asked her who it was, and she said she thought it was Alex.”
“I didn’t call you, Liz,” Alex said. “Maria and I were practicing with my band, and we planned on calling you later.”
“Yeah, well, anyhow, I went back to my room and started getting changed. I was going to jump into the shower, when I heard a loud bang outside, and saw a flash of light. I ran outside and found Michael. Come on, I told you all of this already. Nothing’s changed since then,” Liz said in frustration.
“Are you sure you don’t remember anything else?” asked Max. His voice was still very harsh. Every time he looked over at Liz standing next to Kyle, he felt something churning in his gut. He had to force back the burning desire he had to kill Kyle right then and there.
“You know what, Max. I don’t have to take this from you,” said Liz. “I’m not some docile little lamb destined to follow you around. You have a different destiny, one that doesn’t involve me. Now go chase after him if you have to, but leave me alone.”
“Liz, what did you say?” asked Kyle as everyone else looked at Liz in shock. Nobody ever expected such a violent outburst to come from her.
“I said he had a different destiny, and it didn’t involve me, and he could go chase after it if he wanted to, but to leave me alone,” said Liz.
“No, no you didn’t,” said Isabel. “You told him to go chase after him. You said him, not it. Who is he, Liz? Do you remember?”
“It must have just been a slip of the tongue, Isabel, that’s all,” said Liz.
“I’m not buying it Liz,” said Max, this time, his tone gentle. “It wasn’t a slip of the tongue, and it wasn’t a coincidence, any more than any of the other things that have happened lately have been a coincidence. We just have to figure out what it all means.”
“You might as well tell him the rest of it,” said Kyle in resignation. He flung himself onto the couch next to Alex and began to cough when a cloud of dust rose up around him.
“I’m not really sure,” said Liz. “There’s something about the library, but I don’t know what. Kyle stopped by the CrashDown tonight to see if I wanted to get something from the library, and that seemed so familiar to me, but I don’t know why.”
“Plenty of guys ask girls to go to the library,” said Max, the jealous tone creeping back into his voice.
“Not me,” said Kyle from the couch. “The library’s the last place I’d want to go.”
“And then when we were driving here, something really weird happened,” said Liz.
“What was it?” asked Isabel from behind the counter in the small kitchenette. While she talked, she scrubbed futilely at the filthy grout. Finally, in resignation, she passed her hand over the counter and used her powers to eradicate the grime that had built up over the years. She changed the color of the tile to a blue while she looked at Liz speculatively. A memory echoed in her mind, dancing just out of reach. She turned the tile back to white while she waited for Liz to answer.
“Well, Kyle and I were discussing how we thought we make better friends than anything else,” said Liz.
“Well, that’s no startling revelation,” said Maria joining them. She stood in the doorway to Michael’s bed her arm around Michael’s waist, lending support to his shaky body. “I told you that a long time ago. No offense, Liz, but I was telling you that a long time ago.”
“Michael, should you be out of bed?” asked Max.
“Yeah, I’m good,” Michael said with a slight groan. “So does somebody want to tell me who the hell happened tonight?”
“Well, we were kind of hoping you could,” said Max. “Do you remember anything at all?”
“Well, I stopped by the CrashDown to pick up some food. I was climbing on my bike when I saw someone going up the fire escape. It looked like the same guy I saw in the kitchen the day of the earthquake,” Michael explained.
“What earthquake?” asked Max.
“Never mind, that’s not important,” said Maria.
“Well, I followed him up the fire escape, and watched. At first, he was just reading some book, and I figured maybe I was wrong and Liz was just gonna be studying with someone. Anyhow, then this guy starts staring in her window, moving closer and closer. It took me a minute to realize what he was doing, and when I did, I jumped him. That’s the last thing I remember until I opened my eyes and saw Liz putting a pillow under my head.”
Michael closed his eyes, and tried to erase the memory of the searing pain on his skin. Nothing, including the many beatings Hank had given him had even come close to equaling the agonizing pain he had felt tonight. He had thought he was going to die, and had in fact, prayed for a quick release from the agony he endured. But through the pain, he had heard a soft voice calling to him, telling him to hold on. He opened his eyes, to see Liz leaning over him. He had saved her, and she had repaid the favor in turn.
They all began talking at once, each trying to be heard over the other, and nobody paying attention to each other, and the noise level grew louder and louder.
“We all need to stop,” said Isabel, suddenly. “There’s too much going on. We’re not planning and thinking – there’s no organization to anything that we’re doing. If we keep going on like this, we’re not going to accomplish anything.”
“I agree with Isabel,” said Liz. “I’ve been trying to keep track of everything that’s been happening to me, in my journal. Maybe if we make up a master plan or something, we can find a pattern to all of this.”
“Liz, where is this journal of yours?” asked Michael, his voice still shaky.
Liz paused to think for a moment before answering, trying to remember where she’d left it.
“Oh,” she said suddenly. “I was writing out on my patio when my mother called me. I left it there when I went inside.”
“And that’s what our mysterious stranger was reading, before he decided to become a peeping Tom,” said Max.
“We need that journal,” said Michael.
“I’ll go back and get it,” said Alex. “The Parkers won’t think twice about letting me into Liz’s room.”
“I’m going with you,” Isabel said with amazing speed. “You shouldn’t be out there alone.”
Alex looked as if he was ready to argue, but one look at Isabel’s determined face quickly changed his minds. She’d get no arguments from him. They made their way to Alex’s car and drove off into the night, unaware of the car that followed them at a discreet distance.
The Winds of Change (CC TEEN/MATURE) Ch 32 9/18/05 Complete
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majiklmoon
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majiklmoon
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Winds of Change
Chapter Twenty-One – Nicholas
Nicholas brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes as he waited outside Michael’s apartment. He knew that eventually, someone would leave the apartment, and he’d act. No matter what he did, they seemed to be drawn together, almost as if it were preordained. Nothing he did seemed to drive them apart. He remained firm in his convictions that one of them had to die, but the question remained, who? He had been convinced that one of the humans must die because he needed the others to bring him to the Granolith, but lately he had begun to rethink that decision. As long as one of the Antarians survived to take him to the Granolith, it didn’t matter if the others died.
They owed him that much. After the imbecile Rath clone destroyed the husks, he knew that his only chance of survival was the Granolith. Attacking en masse as they had before hadn’t worked. Zan’s bitch of a wife destroyed the others. He was only able to escape because of his ability to bend time. Who knew she was capable of using her powers that way. She certainly wasn’t capable of much on Antar. She didn’t even warm his bed effectively.
Persuading them to go to the summit in New York had been another exercise in futility. First those defective sewer dwelling clones had almost ruined everything. Then the summit was a complete failure. This new Zan was proving to be just as stubborn as the old one. His refusal to give up the Granolith not only grated on his nerves, it put his very life in jeopardy. He needed that damn thing if he going to survive. Actually, what he needed was to get the hell off of this God forsaken planet and back to Antar before it was to late.
Nicholas shifted uncomfortably in the seat of the truck he had stolen. It was a piece of garbage, but it was inconspicuous in the dump of a neighborhood Rath had chosen for his home. He was sick of waiting, sick of trying to hold on to the time shift, sick of everything. He just wanted to go home, back to his own body. The one Vilondra, Ava and countless other woman, fought over. Here, on this planet, he was nothing. A simple boy that nobody took seriously, and he resented it. Kivar put him in this body as a punishment for allowing the duplicated essences of the royal four escape. He had vowed to find a way back to Antar and avenge himself. He looked forward to crushing Kivar’s skull to a bloody pulp under his boot, and he wasn’t about to let Zan and his royal flunkies keep it from happening.
A flash of light from Rath’s apartment caught his attention, and he shifted once again, and sank lower in the seat to escape detection. Over the dash, he saw Vilondra walking purposefully down the path, with one of the bumbling humans trailing after her like a lovesick puppy dog. Nicholas could understand the expression on the human’s face; he felt the same way himself. He wanted Vilondra so badly that it was a physical ache. There had been a time in his life when he would have done anything to get her to want him the way he wanted her. He had even pursued Zan’s slut of a wife Ava in an effort to make her jealous. But he couldn’t let those old feelings resurface now. He had to focus with a single-minded determination on his goal, to get back to Antar.
He watched as Vilondra and the human climbed into a battered car and drove off. His gaze shifted between the apartment house, and the car as he tried to decide what to do. The desire to stay, and possibly take out Zan or Rath was strong, but the desire to follow the beautiful Vilondra was even stronger. Finally, he started the truck and drove off down the street, trying to catch up with the car. It didn’t take him long to catch up with the battered silver vehicle, and he was careful to follow it at a discreet distance.
After a short ride through the Roswell business district, the car pulled up in front of the CrashDown Café. Nicholas parked several blocks away and exited the truck unobserved. He sauntered casually into the café and took a seat at the opposite end of the counter from where Vilondra sat alone. He picked up a menu to hide his face from her. He was fairly positive there was no chance Vilondra would remember him from the other time line, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He pulled his hat down lower on his head and shamelessly eavesdropped on the conversation she was having with the man behind the counter.
“Thanks again, Mr. Parker, for letting Alex grab those books. We all decided to study together, and Liz takes the best notes out of all of us,” she said. She took a sip from the soda Mr. Parker had placed in front of her and smiled.
“No problem,” Jeff Parker said, wiping down the counter. “And Alex knows where Liz keeps all of her things, so he’ll be able to find it right away. Can I help you?” he asked, noticing he young boy at the end of the counter.
“No, I’m still thinking,” came the muffled voice from behind the menu.
“No problem,” Jeff said amicably. “The grill closes in an hour though.”
“Oh, here comes Alex,” Isabel said, the relief in her voice evident.
“Did you find what you needed, Alex?” Jeff asked.
“Sure did, Mr. Parker, and thanks. “It was right where Liz said it would be.”
“And explain to me again why she didn’t come herself?” Jeff asked, trying not to sound like a suspicious father.
“She was afraid if she showed up here, you’d talk her into doing another shift, Mr. Parker,” Alex said guilelessly.
“She’s probably right,” Jeff admitted with a laugh. “Agnes called off yet again. Well you kids have a good time studying, and here are some snacks to help.” He passed a large take out bag across the counter to Isabel who took it with a smile.
“Thanks Mr. Parker, I’m sure this will really help ease the pain of studying on a Friday night,” she said with a smile.
Jeff watched with a smile as the two teens left the café. He didn’t know about Isabel, but it was as plain as the nose on his face that Alex had it bad for the blond girl. He liked Alex, he only hoped this girl didn’t break Alex’s heart.
“So, did you make up your mind?” he asked turning to the end of the counter where the young boy sat, only the boy was gone.
“That’s funny,” he said to the deserted counter. “I could have sworn the kid was still there. Oh well.”
He walked back to the kitchen, not noticing the rusty pick up truck that followed Alex’s car down the road.
Chapter Twenty-One – Nicholas
Nicholas brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes as he waited outside Michael’s apartment. He knew that eventually, someone would leave the apartment, and he’d act. No matter what he did, they seemed to be drawn together, almost as if it were preordained. Nothing he did seemed to drive them apart. He remained firm in his convictions that one of them had to die, but the question remained, who? He had been convinced that one of the humans must die because he needed the others to bring him to the Granolith, but lately he had begun to rethink that decision. As long as one of the Antarians survived to take him to the Granolith, it didn’t matter if the others died.
They owed him that much. After the imbecile Rath clone destroyed the husks, he knew that his only chance of survival was the Granolith. Attacking en masse as they had before hadn’t worked. Zan’s bitch of a wife destroyed the others. He was only able to escape because of his ability to bend time. Who knew she was capable of using her powers that way. She certainly wasn’t capable of much on Antar. She didn’t even warm his bed effectively.
Persuading them to go to the summit in New York had been another exercise in futility. First those defective sewer dwelling clones had almost ruined everything. Then the summit was a complete failure. This new Zan was proving to be just as stubborn as the old one. His refusal to give up the Granolith not only grated on his nerves, it put his very life in jeopardy. He needed that damn thing if he going to survive. Actually, what he needed was to get the hell off of this God forsaken planet and back to Antar before it was to late.
Nicholas shifted uncomfortably in the seat of the truck he had stolen. It was a piece of garbage, but it was inconspicuous in the dump of a neighborhood Rath had chosen for his home. He was sick of waiting, sick of trying to hold on to the time shift, sick of everything. He just wanted to go home, back to his own body. The one Vilondra, Ava and countless other woman, fought over. Here, on this planet, he was nothing. A simple boy that nobody took seriously, and he resented it. Kivar put him in this body as a punishment for allowing the duplicated essences of the royal four escape. He had vowed to find a way back to Antar and avenge himself. He looked forward to crushing Kivar’s skull to a bloody pulp under his boot, and he wasn’t about to let Zan and his royal flunkies keep it from happening.
A flash of light from Rath’s apartment caught his attention, and he shifted once again, and sank lower in the seat to escape detection. Over the dash, he saw Vilondra walking purposefully down the path, with one of the bumbling humans trailing after her like a lovesick puppy dog. Nicholas could understand the expression on the human’s face; he felt the same way himself. He wanted Vilondra so badly that it was a physical ache. There had been a time in his life when he would have done anything to get her to want him the way he wanted her. He had even pursued Zan’s slut of a wife Ava in an effort to make her jealous. But he couldn’t let those old feelings resurface now. He had to focus with a single-minded determination on his goal, to get back to Antar.
He watched as Vilondra and the human climbed into a battered car and drove off. His gaze shifted between the apartment house, and the car as he tried to decide what to do. The desire to stay, and possibly take out Zan or Rath was strong, but the desire to follow the beautiful Vilondra was even stronger. Finally, he started the truck and drove off down the street, trying to catch up with the car. It didn’t take him long to catch up with the battered silver vehicle, and he was careful to follow it at a discreet distance.
After a short ride through the Roswell business district, the car pulled up in front of the CrashDown Café. Nicholas parked several blocks away and exited the truck unobserved. He sauntered casually into the café and took a seat at the opposite end of the counter from where Vilondra sat alone. He picked up a menu to hide his face from her. He was fairly positive there was no chance Vilondra would remember him from the other time line, but he wasn’t taking any chances. He pulled his hat down lower on his head and shamelessly eavesdropped on the conversation she was having with the man behind the counter.
“Thanks again, Mr. Parker, for letting Alex grab those books. We all decided to study together, and Liz takes the best notes out of all of us,” she said. She took a sip from the soda Mr. Parker had placed in front of her and smiled.
“No problem,” Jeff Parker said, wiping down the counter. “And Alex knows where Liz keeps all of her things, so he’ll be able to find it right away. Can I help you?” he asked, noticing he young boy at the end of the counter.
“No, I’m still thinking,” came the muffled voice from behind the menu.
“No problem,” Jeff said amicably. “The grill closes in an hour though.”
“Oh, here comes Alex,” Isabel said, the relief in her voice evident.
“Did you find what you needed, Alex?” Jeff asked.
“Sure did, Mr. Parker, and thanks. “It was right where Liz said it would be.”
“And explain to me again why she didn’t come herself?” Jeff asked, trying not to sound like a suspicious father.
“She was afraid if she showed up here, you’d talk her into doing another shift, Mr. Parker,” Alex said guilelessly.
“She’s probably right,” Jeff admitted with a laugh. “Agnes called off yet again. Well you kids have a good time studying, and here are some snacks to help.” He passed a large take out bag across the counter to Isabel who took it with a smile.
“Thanks Mr. Parker, I’m sure this will really help ease the pain of studying on a Friday night,” she said with a smile.
Jeff watched with a smile as the two teens left the café. He didn’t know about Isabel, but it was as plain as the nose on his face that Alex had it bad for the blond girl. He liked Alex, he only hoped this girl didn’t break Alex’s heart.
“So, did you make up your mind?” he asked turning to the end of the counter where the young boy sat, only the boy was gone.
“That’s funny,” he said to the deserted counter. “I could have sworn the kid was still there. Oh well.”
He walked back to the kitchen, not noticing the rusty pick up truck that followed Alex’s car down the road.
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Winds of Change
Chapter Twenty-Two – Crash
“Hello, Dad,” Liz said into her cell phone.
Hi Lizzie, what’s up sweetie? How goes the studying? came her father’s tinny reply.
“Dad, have Alex and Isabel left yet?” Liz asked. “We really need the books they were getting.”
Liz, Alex and Isabel left here over an hour ago, Jeff answered. You mean to tell me that they’re not there yet?
“No, they’re not,” said Liz. “Maybe they just had car trouble or something,” she added hopefully. “Okay, thanks, Dad. We’ll go see if we can find them.”
Liz, wait, her father said.
“Gotta run, Dad. We’ll call you as soon as we find them.” Liz said. She quickly disconnected the call so that her father couldn’t ask any awkward questions and turned a worried face to the others.
“He says they left the CrashDown over an hour ago,” she said, her expression worried.
“We need to go look for them,” said Max. “And fast before whatever is doing this to us has time to do any more damage.”
“Let me get my shoes and we can head out,” groaned Michael as he tried to pull himself up off of the dilapidated sofa.
“Whoa! Not so fast, Space Boy. You’re not going anywhere,” said Maria. “You just got,” she paused, “Well, I don’t know what you got, but it wasn’t good, and you need some time to get over it.”
Michael glared at Maria, his eyes wishing a thousand different deaths on her for interfering in his life. Nobody had ever shown the least bit of concern for him, and he wasn’t comfortable with Maria doing it now, even if it did give him a warm glowing feeling in his gut.
“Maria’s right, Michael,” said Max. “You need to stay here and regain your strength.”
Michael chaffed at being kept out of the action, but he knew both Max and Maria were right. The quickest way to regain his strength was to rest. He grumbled an acknowledgement and collapsed against the sofa, trying to groan again.
“Liz, why don’t you come with me,” Kyle and Max said together.
Liz caught her lower lip between her teeth and looked from Max, to Kyle, unsure of what to do.
“Kyle, look,” said Max. “Whatever is happening, it seems to be directed at Liz, and I can protect her better than you.”
“That’s crap,” said Kyle. “Did you ever thing that’s whatever is happening is happening because of you, and if she’s with you, she’ll be in more danger!”
“Max, Kyle, stop it!” Liz shouted. “Will the two of you stop with the testosterone already? We don’t have time for this. Someone, or something is out there, and we don’t know why, or what it wants. The last thing I want to do is listen to the two of you go at each other while our lives are in jeopardy.”
Kyle and Max both looked shamefacedly at the ground, and then Liz, but never at each other, finally Michael decided to speak.
“Look, Liz is right,” he said. “We don’t have time for this. The three of you should go together, and Maria can stay here with me.”
“What, why?” Maria and Kyle asked, simultaneously.
“Because neither one of you have powers,” said Michael with sigh. “You can’t protect yourselves against whatever’s out there.”
“Who died and made you king,” said Maria, angry at being ordered around.
“I’m not the king,” Michael said with a long-suffering sigh. “I’m his second in command.”
“What?” Maria asked, not unkindly. “Max is the king, and you’re the second in command. Where is all of this coming from. King of what?”
“He’s right,” said Liz, his voice dull. “He’s the king, and Tess is his wife.”
Max looked at her with a horrified expression on his face. “Liz, I’m nobody’s king, and I’m sure as hell nobody’s husband. I’m just a kid.”
“Not here Max,” Liz said. “Up there,” she raised her finger and pointed upward. “We need to go to the library,” she said. “That’s what Kyle and I were talking about earlier. There’s something at the library, and we need you to get it.”
Michael pushed himself up off of the couch, groaning a little. He went and stood next to Maria, who slipped an arm around his waist in both a comforting and supportive gesture. Michael looked down at the blond gamine faced girl next to him and smiled. Having her there next to him felt right, and it gave him the strength to speak up.
“Maria and I will go out and look for Alex and Isabel,” he said in a voice that brooked no arguments. “Maria will drive, it will be okay,” he added in an attempt to forestall the barrage he was certain Max was about to unleash. “You three go to the library and find this whatever that Liz is so jazzed about.”
“Be careful,” Max said. “Don’t take any unnecessary chances, and call us if you find anything,” he added.
** * ** * ** *
The Roswell Library was about to close for the evening, but Liz pleaded with the librarian to give them just five minutes.
“Please,” she begged. “I just need to find one more source to finish my project.”
“Okay, Miss Parker,” the librarian capitulated. “But only because you are such a regular patron of the library. I wouldn’t do this for just anybody.”
“Thanks so much, Ms. Nelson,” said Liz.
“What’s your project on?” the librarian asked Liz conversationally as she led them to the reference section.
“Oh, um,” Liz stammered.
“Ancient languages,” said Kyle. “We’re teamed up on a project on ancient languages, and we need one more book.”
“Well, they’re right over there,” said the librarian with a wave of her hand. I’m just going to go check the rest of the doors. Please be quick.”
The waited until Ms. Nelson was out of site before they dashed over to the area the librarian had indicated. Kyle grabbed a chair and climbed up and shoved some books away.
“It’s here, I know it is,” he said, pushing at the wall.
“Let me try,” said Max. He climbed up on the chair next to Kyle and passed his hand over the wall where Kyle was pointing. A panel slid back, and Max slid his hand in and pulled out a book.
“Are you kids ready?” the librarian called from across the room.
“We sure are,” said Liz. She reached up and pulled down a book on Latin and walked over to the circulation desk.
“This is exactly what she need,” she said, flashing the librarian a blinding smile. “Thank you so much.”
“I’m always glad to help,” said the librarian. “You kids better hurry,” she added. “It’s getting late.”
“We will,” said Max. “Thanks again.”
** * ** *
With the aid of a streetlight, Max, Liz and Kyle examined the book. It was unlike anything Liz or Kyle had ever seen before. Max was less certain.
“I feel like I should know what this says,” he said, his voice ripe with frustration. “It’s like it’s right there, on the edge of my memory, but every time I try to reach for it, it slips away.”
“Maybe this will help you,” said Liz, her voice dead with pain. She passed the open book to Max, and he stared at the four engraved pictures grouped together.
“That’s me and Isabel and Michael,” he said, pointing at three of the pictures.
“And that’s Tess,” Liz said.
“Liz, look, it’s just a picture,” said Max. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
“It means everything,” said Liz. She started to stay more, but the ringing of her cell phone interrupted her.
“Hello,” she said into the phone.
Liz we found them,” said Maria, tears in her voice. <!--EZCODE ITALIC START-->They had an accident, just outside of town, heading towards the Pullman Ranch
“We’ll be right there,” said Liz. She closed her phone and looked at Max.
“Michael and Maria found them, just outside of town near the Pullman Ranch. They crashed.”
Chapter Twenty-Two – Crash
“Hello, Dad,” Liz said into her cell phone.
Hi Lizzie, what’s up sweetie? How goes the studying? came her father’s tinny reply.
“Dad, have Alex and Isabel left yet?” Liz asked. “We really need the books they were getting.”
Liz, Alex and Isabel left here over an hour ago, Jeff answered. You mean to tell me that they’re not there yet?
“No, they’re not,” said Liz. “Maybe they just had car trouble or something,” she added hopefully. “Okay, thanks, Dad. We’ll go see if we can find them.”
Liz, wait, her father said.
“Gotta run, Dad. We’ll call you as soon as we find them.” Liz said. She quickly disconnected the call so that her father couldn’t ask any awkward questions and turned a worried face to the others.
“He says they left the CrashDown over an hour ago,” she said, her expression worried.
“We need to go look for them,” said Max. “And fast before whatever is doing this to us has time to do any more damage.”
“Let me get my shoes and we can head out,” groaned Michael as he tried to pull himself up off of the dilapidated sofa.
“Whoa! Not so fast, Space Boy. You’re not going anywhere,” said Maria. “You just got,” she paused, “Well, I don’t know what you got, but it wasn’t good, and you need some time to get over it.”
Michael glared at Maria, his eyes wishing a thousand different deaths on her for interfering in his life. Nobody had ever shown the least bit of concern for him, and he wasn’t comfortable with Maria doing it now, even if it did give him a warm glowing feeling in his gut.
“Maria’s right, Michael,” said Max. “You need to stay here and regain your strength.”
Michael chaffed at being kept out of the action, but he knew both Max and Maria were right. The quickest way to regain his strength was to rest. He grumbled an acknowledgement and collapsed against the sofa, trying to groan again.
“Liz, why don’t you come with me,” Kyle and Max said together.
Liz caught her lower lip between her teeth and looked from Max, to Kyle, unsure of what to do.
“Kyle, look,” said Max. “Whatever is happening, it seems to be directed at Liz, and I can protect her better than you.”
“That’s crap,” said Kyle. “Did you ever thing that’s whatever is happening is happening because of you, and if she’s with you, she’ll be in more danger!”
“Max, Kyle, stop it!” Liz shouted. “Will the two of you stop with the testosterone already? We don’t have time for this. Someone, or something is out there, and we don’t know why, or what it wants. The last thing I want to do is listen to the two of you go at each other while our lives are in jeopardy.”
Kyle and Max both looked shamefacedly at the ground, and then Liz, but never at each other, finally Michael decided to speak.
“Look, Liz is right,” he said. “We don’t have time for this. The three of you should go together, and Maria can stay here with me.”
“What, why?” Maria and Kyle asked, simultaneously.
“Because neither one of you have powers,” said Michael with sigh. “You can’t protect yourselves against whatever’s out there.”
“Who died and made you king,” said Maria, angry at being ordered around.
“I’m not the king,” Michael said with a long-suffering sigh. “I’m his second in command.”
“What?” Maria asked, not unkindly. “Max is the king, and you’re the second in command. Where is all of this coming from. King of what?”
“He’s right,” said Liz, his voice dull. “He’s the king, and Tess is his wife.”
Max looked at her with a horrified expression on his face. “Liz, I’m nobody’s king, and I’m sure as hell nobody’s husband. I’m just a kid.”
“Not here Max,” Liz said. “Up there,” she raised her finger and pointed upward. “We need to go to the library,” she said. “That’s what Kyle and I were talking about earlier. There’s something at the library, and we need you to get it.”
Michael pushed himself up off of the couch, groaning a little. He went and stood next to Maria, who slipped an arm around his waist in both a comforting and supportive gesture. Michael looked down at the blond gamine faced girl next to him and smiled. Having her there next to him felt right, and it gave him the strength to speak up.
“Maria and I will go out and look for Alex and Isabel,” he said in a voice that brooked no arguments. “Maria will drive, it will be okay,” he added in an attempt to forestall the barrage he was certain Max was about to unleash. “You three go to the library and find this whatever that Liz is so jazzed about.”
“Be careful,” Max said. “Don’t take any unnecessary chances, and call us if you find anything,” he added.
** * ** * ** *
The Roswell Library was about to close for the evening, but Liz pleaded with the librarian to give them just five minutes.
“Please,” she begged. “I just need to find one more source to finish my project.”
“Okay, Miss Parker,” the librarian capitulated. “But only because you are such a regular patron of the library. I wouldn’t do this for just anybody.”
“Thanks so much, Ms. Nelson,” said Liz.
“What’s your project on?” the librarian asked Liz conversationally as she led them to the reference section.
“Oh, um,” Liz stammered.
“Ancient languages,” said Kyle. “We’re teamed up on a project on ancient languages, and we need one more book.”
“Well, they’re right over there,” said the librarian with a wave of her hand. I’m just going to go check the rest of the doors. Please be quick.”
The waited until Ms. Nelson was out of site before they dashed over to the area the librarian had indicated. Kyle grabbed a chair and climbed up and shoved some books away.
“It’s here, I know it is,” he said, pushing at the wall.
“Let me try,” said Max. He climbed up on the chair next to Kyle and passed his hand over the wall where Kyle was pointing. A panel slid back, and Max slid his hand in and pulled out a book.
“Are you kids ready?” the librarian called from across the room.
“We sure are,” said Liz. She reached up and pulled down a book on Latin and walked over to the circulation desk.
“This is exactly what she need,” she said, flashing the librarian a blinding smile. “Thank you so much.”
“I’m always glad to help,” said the librarian. “You kids better hurry,” she added. “It’s getting late.”
“We will,” said Max. “Thanks again.”
** * ** *
With the aid of a streetlight, Max, Liz and Kyle examined the book. It was unlike anything Liz or Kyle had ever seen before. Max was less certain.
“I feel like I should know what this says,” he said, his voice ripe with frustration. “It’s like it’s right there, on the edge of my memory, but every time I try to reach for it, it slips away.”
“Maybe this will help you,” said Liz, her voice dead with pain. She passed the open book to Max, and he stared at the four engraved pictures grouped together.
“That’s me and Isabel and Michael,” he said, pointing at three of the pictures.
“And that’s Tess,” Liz said.
“Liz, look, it’s just a picture,” said Max. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
“It means everything,” said Liz. She started to stay more, but the ringing of her cell phone interrupted her.
“Hello,” she said into the phone.
Liz we found them,” said Maria, tears in her voice. <!--EZCODE ITALIC START-->They had an accident, just outside of town, heading towards the Pullman Ranch
“We’ll be right there,” said Liz. She closed her phone and looked at Max.
“Michael and Maria found them, just outside of town near the Pullman Ranch. They crashed.”
-
majiklmoon
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 361
- Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2001 10:55 am
- Contact:
Winds of Change
Chapter Twenty-Two – Crash
“Hello, Dad,” Liz said into her cell phone.
Hi Lizzie, what’s up sweetie? How goes the studying? came her father’s tinny reply.
“Dad, have Alex and Isabel left yet?” Liz asked. “We really need the books they were getting.”
Liz, Alex and Isabel left here over an hour ago, Jeff answered. You mean to tell me that they’re not there yet?
“No, they’re not,” said Liz. “Maybe they just had car trouble or something,” she added hopefully. “Okay, thanks, Dad. We’ll go see if we can find them.”
Liz, wait, her father said.
“Gotta run, Dad. We’ll call you as soon as we find them.” Liz said. She quickly disconnected the call so that her father couldn’t ask any awkward questions and turned a worried face to the others.
“He says they left the CrashDown over an hour ago,” she said, her expression worried.
“We need to go look for them,” said Max. “And fast before whatever is doing this to us has time to do any more damage.”
“Let me get my shoes and we can head out,” groaned Michael as he tried to pull himself up off of the dilapidated sofa.
“Whoa! Not so fast, Space Boy. You’re not going anywhere,” said Maria. “You just got,” she paused, “Well, I don’t know what you got, but it wasn’t good, and you need some time to get over it.”
Michael glared at Maria, his eyes wishing a thousand different deaths on her for interfering in his life. Nobody had ever shown the least bit of concern for him, and he wasn’t comfortable with Maria doing it now, even if it did give him a warm glowing feeling in his gut.
“Maria’s right, Michael,” said Max. “You need to stay here and regain your strength.”
Michael chaffed at being kept out of the action, but he knew both Max and Maria were right. The quickest way to regain his strength was to rest. He grumbled an acknowledgement and collapsed against the sofa, trying to groan again.
“Liz, why don’t you come with me,” Kyle and Max said together.
Liz caught her lower lip between her teeth and looked from Max, to Kyle, unsure of what to do.
“Kyle, look,” said Max. “Whatever is happening, it seems to be directed at Liz, and I can protect her better than you.”
“That’s crap,” said Kyle. “Did you ever thing that’s whatever is happening is happening because of you, and if she’s with you, she’ll be in more danger!”
“Max, Kyle, stop it!” Liz shouted. “Will the two of you stop with the testosterone already? We don’t have time for this. Someone, or something is out there, and we don’t know why, or what it wants. The last thing I want to do is listen to the two of you go at each other while our lives are in jeopardy.”
Kyle and Max both looked shamefacedly at the ground, and then Liz, but never at each other, finally Michael decided to speak.
“Look, Liz is right,” he said. “We don’t have time for this. The three of you should go together, and Maria can stay here with me.”
“What, why?” Maria and Kyle asked, simultaneously.
“Because neither one of you have powers,” said Michael with sigh. “You can’t protect yourselves against whatever’s out there.”
“Who died and made you king,” said Maria, angry at being ordered around.
“I’m not the king,” Michael said with a long-suffering sigh. “I’m his second in command.”
“What?” Maria asked, not unkindly. “Max is the king, and you’re the second in command. Where is all of this coming from. King of what?”
“He’s right,” said Liz, his voice dull. “He’s the king, and Tess is his wife.”
Max looked at her with a horrified expression on his face. “Liz, I’m nobody’s king, and I’m sure as hell nobody’s husband. I’m just a kid.”
“Not here Max,” Liz said. “Up there,” she raised her finger and pointed upward. “We need to go to the library,” she said. “That’s what Kyle and I were talking about earlier. There’s something at the library, and we need you to get it.”
Michael pushed himself up off of the couch, groaning a little. He went and stood next to Maria, who slipped an arm around his waist in both a comforting and supportive gesture. Michael looked down at the blond gamine faced girl next to him and smiled. Having her there next to him felt right, and it gave him the strength to speak up.
“Maria and I will go out and look for Alex and Isabel,” he said in a voice that brooked no arguments. “Maria will drive, it will be okay,” he added in an attempt to forestall the barrage he was certain Max was about to unleash. “You three go to the library and find this whatever that Liz is so jazzed about.”
“Be careful,” Max said. “Don’t take any unnecessary chances, and call us if you find anything,” he added.
** * ** * ** *
The Roswell Library was about to close for the evening, but Liz pleaded with the librarian to give them just five minutes.
“Please,” she begged. “I just need to find one more source to finish my project.”
“Okay, Miss Parker,” the librarian capitulated. “But only because you are such a regular patron of the library. I wouldn’t do this for just anybody.”
“Thanks so much, Ms. Nelson,” said Liz.
“What’s your project on?” the librarian asked Liz conversationally as she led them to the reference section.
“Oh, um,” Liz stammered.
“Ancient languages,” said Kyle. “We’re teamed up on a project on ancient languages, and we need one more book.”
“Well, they’re right over there,” said the librarian with a wave of her hand. I’m just going to go check the rest of the doors. Please be quick.”
The waited until Ms. Nelson was out of site before they dashed over to the area the librarian had indicated. Kyle grabbed a chair and climbed up and shoved some books away.
“It’s here, I know it is,” he said, pushing at the wall.
“Let me try,” said Max. He climbed up on the chair next to Kyle and passed his hand over the wall where Kyle was pointing. A panel slid back, and Max slid his hand in and pulled out a book.
“Are you kids ready?” the librarian called from across the room.
“We sure are,” said Liz. She reached up and pulled down a book on Latin and walked over to the circulation desk.
“This is exactly what she need,” she said, flashing the librarian a blinding smile. “Thank you so much.”
“I’m always glad to help,” said the librarian. “You kids better hurry,” she added. “It’s getting late.”
“We will,” said Max. “Thanks again.”
** * ** *
With the aid of a streetlight, Max, Liz and Kyle examined the book. It was unlike anything Liz or Kyle had ever seen before. Max was less certain.
“I feel like I should know what this says,” he said, his voice ripe with frustration. “It’s like it’s right there, on the edge of my memory, but every time I try to reach for it, it slips away.”
“Maybe this will help you,” said Liz, her voice dead with pain. She passed the open book to Max, and he stared at the four engraved pictures grouped together.
“That’s me and Isabel and Michael,” he said, pointing at three of the pictures.
“And that’s Tess,” Liz said.
“Liz, look, it’s just a picture,” said Max. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
“It means everything,” said Liz. She started to stay more, but the ringing of her cell phone interrupted her.
“Hello,” she said into the phone.
Liz we found them,” said Maria, tears in her voice. They had an accident, just outside of town, heading towards the Pullman Ranch
“We’ll be right there,” said Liz. She closed her phone and looked at Max.
“Michael and Maria found them, just outside of town near the Pullman Ranch. They crashed.”
Chapter Twenty-Two – Crash
“Hello, Dad,” Liz said into her cell phone.
Hi Lizzie, what’s up sweetie? How goes the studying? came her father’s tinny reply.
“Dad, have Alex and Isabel left yet?” Liz asked. “We really need the books they were getting.”
Liz, Alex and Isabel left here over an hour ago, Jeff answered. You mean to tell me that they’re not there yet?
“No, they’re not,” said Liz. “Maybe they just had car trouble or something,” she added hopefully. “Okay, thanks, Dad. We’ll go see if we can find them.”
Liz, wait, her father said.
“Gotta run, Dad. We’ll call you as soon as we find them.” Liz said. She quickly disconnected the call so that her father couldn’t ask any awkward questions and turned a worried face to the others.
“He says they left the CrashDown over an hour ago,” she said, her expression worried.
“We need to go look for them,” said Max. “And fast before whatever is doing this to us has time to do any more damage.”
“Let me get my shoes and we can head out,” groaned Michael as he tried to pull himself up off of the dilapidated sofa.
“Whoa! Not so fast, Space Boy. You’re not going anywhere,” said Maria. “You just got,” she paused, “Well, I don’t know what you got, but it wasn’t good, and you need some time to get over it.”
Michael glared at Maria, his eyes wishing a thousand different deaths on her for interfering in his life. Nobody had ever shown the least bit of concern for him, and he wasn’t comfortable with Maria doing it now, even if it did give him a warm glowing feeling in his gut.
“Maria’s right, Michael,” said Max. “You need to stay here and regain your strength.”
Michael chaffed at being kept out of the action, but he knew both Max and Maria were right. The quickest way to regain his strength was to rest. He grumbled an acknowledgement and collapsed against the sofa, trying to groan again.
“Liz, why don’t you come with me,” Kyle and Max said together.
Liz caught her lower lip between her teeth and looked from Max, to Kyle, unsure of what to do.
“Kyle, look,” said Max. “Whatever is happening, it seems to be directed at Liz, and I can protect her better than you.”
“That’s crap,” said Kyle. “Did you ever thing that’s whatever is happening is happening because of you, and if she’s with you, she’ll be in more danger!”
“Max, Kyle, stop it!” Liz shouted. “Will the two of you stop with the testosterone already? We don’t have time for this. Someone, or something is out there, and we don’t know why, or what it wants. The last thing I want to do is listen to the two of you go at each other while our lives are in jeopardy.”
Kyle and Max both looked shamefacedly at the ground, and then Liz, but never at each other, finally Michael decided to speak.
“Look, Liz is right,” he said. “We don’t have time for this. The three of you should go together, and Maria can stay here with me.”
“What, why?” Maria and Kyle asked, simultaneously.
“Because neither one of you have powers,” said Michael with sigh. “You can’t protect yourselves against whatever’s out there.”
“Who died and made you king,” said Maria, angry at being ordered around.
“I’m not the king,” Michael said with a long-suffering sigh. “I’m his second in command.”
“What?” Maria asked, not unkindly. “Max is the king, and you’re the second in command. Where is all of this coming from. King of what?”
“He’s right,” said Liz, his voice dull. “He’s the king, and Tess is his wife.”
Max looked at her with a horrified expression on his face. “Liz, I’m nobody’s king, and I’m sure as hell nobody’s husband. I’m just a kid.”
“Not here Max,” Liz said. “Up there,” she raised her finger and pointed upward. “We need to go to the library,” she said. “That’s what Kyle and I were talking about earlier. There’s something at the library, and we need you to get it.”
Michael pushed himself up off of the couch, groaning a little. He went and stood next to Maria, who slipped an arm around his waist in both a comforting and supportive gesture. Michael looked down at the blond gamine faced girl next to him and smiled. Having her there next to him felt right, and it gave him the strength to speak up.
“Maria and I will go out and look for Alex and Isabel,” he said in a voice that brooked no arguments. “Maria will drive, it will be okay,” he added in an attempt to forestall the barrage he was certain Max was about to unleash. “You three go to the library and find this whatever that Liz is so jazzed about.”
“Be careful,” Max said. “Don’t take any unnecessary chances, and call us if you find anything,” he added.
** * ** * ** *
The Roswell Library was about to close for the evening, but Liz pleaded with the librarian to give them just five minutes.
“Please,” she begged. “I just need to find one more source to finish my project.”
“Okay, Miss Parker,” the librarian capitulated. “But only because you are such a regular patron of the library. I wouldn’t do this for just anybody.”
“Thanks so much, Ms. Nelson,” said Liz.
“What’s your project on?” the librarian asked Liz conversationally as she led them to the reference section.
“Oh, um,” Liz stammered.
“Ancient languages,” said Kyle. “We’re teamed up on a project on ancient languages, and we need one more book.”
“Well, they’re right over there,” said the librarian with a wave of her hand. I’m just going to go check the rest of the doors. Please be quick.”
The waited until Ms. Nelson was out of site before they dashed over to the area the librarian had indicated. Kyle grabbed a chair and climbed up and shoved some books away.
“It’s here, I know it is,” he said, pushing at the wall.
“Let me try,” said Max. He climbed up on the chair next to Kyle and passed his hand over the wall where Kyle was pointing. A panel slid back, and Max slid his hand in and pulled out a book.
“Are you kids ready?” the librarian called from across the room.
“We sure are,” said Liz. She reached up and pulled down a book on Latin and walked over to the circulation desk.
“This is exactly what she need,” she said, flashing the librarian a blinding smile. “Thank you so much.”
“I’m always glad to help,” said the librarian. “You kids better hurry,” she added. “It’s getting late.”
“We will,” said Max. “Thanks again.”
** * ** *
With the aid of a streetlight, Max, Liz and Kyle examined the book. It was unlike anything Liz or Kyle had ever seen before. Max was less certain.
“I feel like I should know what this says,” he said, his voice ripe with frustration. “It’s like it’s right there, on the edge of my memory, but every time I try to reach for it, it slips away.”
“Maybe this will help you,” said Liz, her voice dead with pain. She passed the open book to Max, and he stared at the four engraved pictures grouped together.
“That’s me and Isabel and Michael,” he said, pointing at three of the pictures.
“And that’s Tess,” Liz said.
“Liz, look, it’s just a picture,” said Max. “It doesn’t mean anything.”
“It means everything,” said Liz. She started to stay more, but the ringing of her cell phone interrupted her.
“Hello,” she said into the phone.
Liz we found them,” said Maria, tears in her voice. They had an accident, just outside of town, heading towards the Pullman Ranch
“We’ll be right there,” said Liz. She closed her phone and looked at Max.
“Michael and Maria found them, just outside of town near the Pullman Ranch. They crashed.”
-
majiklmoon
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 361
- Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2001 10:55 am
- Contact:
Winds of Change
Chapter Twenty-Three – Action
“I’ll call my dad,” said Kyle. “He should be able to get there faster than us.”
“No, nobody else can know,” said Max.
“Max, Kyle’s right. You have to trust him. His dad’s our friend, not our enemy. I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but it’s true,” Liz said. She passed her cell phone to Kyle and he dialed while the three of them ran back out to the Jeep.
“Dad, it’s Kyle,” Kyle shouted into the phone over the sound of the Jeep as the engine roared to life. “Alex Whitman and Isabel Evans were in a car accident by the Pullman Ranch. NO! Don’t send an ambulance. Just trust me, Dad. Please get out there, and hurry. Maria is out there right now, with Michael Guerin. Tell them Max said it was okay. Just tell them, Dad. We’re on our way.”
The Jeep flew down the streets. Kyle and Liz held on tightly, bouncing in their seats as Max hit every bump on the road.
“Max, slow down!” Liz shouted over the wind. “Getting us killed isn’t going to help Alex, or Isabel!”
Liz’s words struck a chord of reason in Max, and he eased up slightly on the accelerator. Liz breathed a sigh of relief, and relaxed her death grip on the Jeep’s roll bar. She looked out the window, to the darkened highway that stretched on before them. A faint glow in the distance alerted them to the fact that they were approaching the accident scene.
The Sheriff’s SUV was pulled off the side of the road, behind Maria’s Jetta and signal flares lit the area with an evil glow. Max slammed the Jeep into park and climbed out and ran over to where Michael and Maria stood. As he drew closer he realized that Isabel was kneeling on the ground crying over a body, the body of Alex Whitman.
“Max,” she said, her voice filled with tears. “You have to save him. You have to.”
“Get out of the way,” said Max. He knelt down beside Alex and placed his hand on Alex’s body.
“What the hell is going on here?” demanded Sheriff Valenti.
“Dad, just be quiet,” said Kyle. “We’ll explain everything, later.”
“Max will take care of it,” said Isabel, her voice confident. “He’ll heal Alex. Of course, we’ll have to come up with a cover story to explain the accident, but we can do that.”
“What do you mean, heal him?” asked the Sheriff. “We need an ambulance. We need to get this boy some help.”
“He’s fine, Sheriff Valenti,” said Max, standing back up. Everyone looked down and saw Max reaching out a hand to help Alex stand up.
“Does someone want to explain to me what happened?” asked the Sheriff. “And the long version please. Don’t leave anything out.”
“We will Sheriff. I promise,” said Max. “But first we have to find out what happened.”
“We were run off the road,” said Isabel. “This big old pick up truck came out of nowhere and forced us into the ditch. And Max, the driver got out and came down and just stared at us. Almost as if he was reassuring himself that we were dead. And he said the strangest thing.”
“What? What did he say?” asked Max.
“He looked right at me and said ‘Poor Vilondra, what a waste, to have you die again.’ Max, he knew me, he knew us,” said Isabel.
“Did you recognize him?” asked Michael. “Was there anything about him that was familiar?”
“He was just a little boy,” said Isabel. “He couldn’t have been any more than twelve or thirteen.”
“Nicholas,” said Max. “His name is Nicholas.”
“Will somebody please tell me what the hell is going on here!” roared the Sheriff.
“Call a wrecker,” said Max. “Say you saw an animal dart out in front of Alex’s car. He swerved to avoid it, and that’s how the accident happened,” said Max.
“I’m not doing anything, until somebody tells me what’s going on here,” said Jim.
“Dad, look, just do it,” said Kyle. “I promise you, nobody’s doing anything illegal. We’ll meet you at the Flying Pepperoni, and we’ll explain everything.”
“Kyle,” Jim said, a warning in his voice.
“Sheriff Valenti, they’re telling the truth,” said Alex, who had, up to now, been silent. “I’ll wait with you for the wrecker, and then we can meet them at the Flying Pepperoni.”
Jim looked doubtful, but acquiesced, and he an Alex watched as the rest of the group climbed into the remaining vehicles and headed back towards town.
“Start talking Alex, and it better be good,” said Jim. He reached into his SUV and grabbed the mike to his radio. He radioed for a wrecker and then turned back to Alex.
“Let’s have it,” he said. “Start at the beginning, and don’t leave anything out.”
“Well, to start with, I don’t think I’m supposed to be alive. I think I should have died in that accident. I’m pretty sure I did the last time.”
“Alex, what are you talking about, the last time?” asked the Sheriff. “Are you sure you’re okay? Maybe we should have an ambulance out here for you.”
“No, really, I’m good,” said Alex. “See, the thing is, well, Max has this, um, ability to heal people. That’s why I’m here right now, and why Maria isn’t dead, too.”
“That day at the CrashDown,” said the Sheriff. “She really was shot, wasn’t she?”
“Yeah, Max saved her,” said Alex, but then some really strange things started happening.”
“Max saving Maria’s life isn’t strange?” asked the Sheriff.
“No, stranger than that,” said Alex. “We, all of us, started remembering things, kind of like déjà vu type of a thing. We were trying to make sense of it, when the accident happened.”
“So what are you talking about, you should be dead? I’m confused,” said the Sheriff.
“We all are,” said Alex. “But I think if we figure everything out, I’m going to end up dead.”
Chapter Twenty-Three – Action
“I’ll call my dad,” said Kyle. “He should be able to get there faster than us.”
“No, nobody else can know,” said Max.
“Max, Kyle’s right. You have to trust him. His dad’s our friend, not our enemy. I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but it’s true,” Liz said. She passed her cell phone to Kyle and he dialed while the three of them ran back out to the Jeep.
“Dad, it’s Kyle,” Kyle shouted into the phone over the sound of the Jeep as the engine roared to life. “Alex Whitman and Isabel Evans were in a car accident by the Pullman Ranch. NO! Don’t send an ambulance. Just trust me, Dad. Please get out there, and hurry. Maria is out there right now, with Michael Guerin. Tell them Max said it was okay. Just tell them, Dad. We’re on our way.”
The Jeep flew down the streets. Kyle and Liz held on tightly, bouncing in their seats as Max hit every bump on the road.
“Max, slow down!” Liz shouted over the wind. “Getting us killed isn’t going to help Alex, or Isabel!”
Liz’s words struck a chord of reason in Max, and he eased up slightly on the accelerator. Liz breathed a sigh of relief, and relaxed her death grip on the Jeep’s roll bar. She looked out the window, to the darkened highway that stretched on before them. A faint glow in the distance alerted them to the fact that they were approaching the accident scene.
The Sheriff’s SUV was pulled off the side of the road, behind Maria’s Jetta and signal flares lit the area with an evil glow. Max slammed the Jeep into park and climbed out and ran over to where Michael and Maria stood. As he drew closer he realized that Isabel was kneeling on the ground crying over a body, the body of Alex Whitman.
“Max,” she said, her voice filled with tears. “You have to save him. You have to.”
“Get out of the way,” said Max. He knelt down beside Alex and placed his hand on Alex’s body.
“What the hell is going on here?” demanded Sheriff Valenti.
“Dad, just be quiet,” said Kyle. “We’ll explain everything, later.”
“Max will take care of it,” said Isabel, her voice confident. “He’ll heal Alex. Of course, we’ll have to come up with a cover story to explain the accident, but we can do that.”
“What do you mean, heal him?” asked the Sheriff. “We need an ambulance. We need to get this boy some help.”
“He’s fine, Sheriff Valenti,” said Max, standing back up. Everyone looked down and saw Max reaching out a hand to help Alex stand up.
“Does someone want to explain to me what happened?” asked the Sheriff. “And the long version please. Don’t leave anything out.”
“We will Sheriff. I promise,” said Max. “But first we have to find out what happened.”
“We were run off the road,” said Isabel. “This big old pick up truck came out of nowhere and forced us into the ditch. And Max, the driver got out and came down and just stared at us. Almost as if he was reassuring himself that we were dead. And he said the strangest thing.”
“What? What did he say?” asked Max.
“He looked right at me and said ‘Poor Vilondra, what a waste, to have you die again.’ Max, he knew me, he knew us,” said Isabel.
“Did you recognize him?” asked Michael. “Was there anything about him that was familiar?”
“He was just a little boy,” said Isabel. “He couldn’t have been any more than twelve or thirteen.”
“Nicholas,” said Max. “His name is Nicholas.”
“Will somebody please tell me what the hell is going on here!” roared the Sheriff.
“Call a wrecker,” said Max. “Say you saw an animal dart out in front of Alex’s car. He swerved to avoid it, and that’s how the accident happened,” said Max.
“I’m not doing anything, until somebody tells me what’s going on here,” said Jim.
“Dad, look, just do it,” said Kyle. “I promise you, nobody’s doing anything illegal. We’ll meet you at the Flying Pepperoni, and we’ll explain everything.”
“Kyle,” Jim said, a warning in his voice.
“Sheriff Valenti, they’re telling the truth,” said Alex, who had, up to now, been silent. “I’ll wait with you for the wrecker, and then we can meet them at the Flying Pepperoni.”
Jim looked doubtful, but acquiesced, and he an Alex watched as the rest of the group climbed into the remaining vehicles and headed back towards town.
“Start talking Alex, and it better be good,” said Jim. He reached into his SUV and grabbed the mike to his radio. He radioed for a wrecker and then turned back to Alex.
“Let’s have it,” he said. “Start at the beginning, and don’t leave anything out.”
“Well, to start with, I don’t think I’m supposed to be alive. I think I should have died in that accident. I’m pretty sure I did the last time.”
“Alex, what are you talking about, the last time?” asked the Sheriff. “Are you sure you’re okay? Maybe we should have an ambulance out here for you.”
“No, really, I’m good,” said Alex. “See, the thing is, well, Max has this, um, ability to heal people. That’s why I’m here right now, and why Maria isn’t dead, too.”
“That day at the CrashDown,” said the Sheriff. “She really was shot, wasn’t she?”
“Yeah, Max saved her,” said Alex, but then some really strange things started happening.”
“Max saving Maria’s life isn’t strange?” asked the Sheriff.
“No, stranger than that,” said Alex. “We, all of us, started remembering things, kind of like déjà vu type of a thing. We were trying to make sense of it, when the accident happened.”
“So what are you talking about, you should be dead? I’m confused,” said the Sheriff.
“We all are,” said Alex. “But I think if we figure everything out, I’m going to end up dead.”
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majiklmoon
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Winds of Change
Chapter 24 – Memory
“So, what your saying me is after Liz got shot, Max healed her?” Jim asked Alex as he steered the Bronco down the dark highway.
“Yes, no, wait,” said Alex, confused. “It wasn’t Liz, it was Maria, but the thing is, Sheriff, you’re not the only one who keeps mixing that up. Liz has had dreams that she was shot, and Max has mentioned it, too. We all seem to be remembering things that happened, but we’re remembering them differently.”
“I’m not really sure why I believe you, Alex, but I do. Nothing about this makes sense, but I’m going with my gut on this one,” said Jim Valenti. He took his eyes off the road briefly and looked at the young man sitting in the passenger seat beside him. In all his years as Sheriff, he’d never had a run in with Alex, and even though his tale was bordering on the brink of insanity, he was certain he was telling the truth. His mind was screaming that it was all lies, but somewhere, within the deepest recesses of his heart, he knew he was hearing the truth.
“Are you going to turn them in?” Alex asked, hesitantly.
“No, God helm me, I’m not,” said the Sheriff. “First off, who’d believe me, and secondly, can’t they just erase my memory or something to stop me from doing that?”
“They can’t do,” Alex began, then stopped as another memory washed over them.
“Alex, what is it!” shouted the Sheriff, alarmed at the expression on Alex’s face.
“They can’t do that,” Alex continued, his voice bleak. “But Tess can, and that’s how I’m going to die.”
** * ** * ** *
We need to figure this out,” said Max, looking around the large table at the others. “And fast. I can’t help but feel like something, or someone is working against us.”
“Well that’s really brilliant,” Kyle said, antagonistically. “Considering what happened to Michael and all.”
“Look, it’s not like you know anything about it,” said Max, his voice tinged with anger.
“Yeah, well it looks like I know as much about it as you do,” said Kyle. “And that’s absolutely nothing.”
“Will you two shut up and sit down,” Isabel hissed. “You’re causing a scene, an the waitress is coming over with our pizza.”
Max and Kyle glared at each other in silent enmity while the waitress placed the steaming pizzas on the table. After verifying that they didn’t want anything else, she left the table, and Liz began to pass around slices of the pie in an attempt to end the awkward silence.
Maria reached across the table and handed Michael a bottle of Tabasco Sauce, and a packet of sugar and began to eat her pizza. After several bites, she put the slice down and looked warily at the others who were staring at her.
“What, do I have cheese on my face or something?” she asked.
“Why did you give Michael the Tabasco Sauce, and the sugar?” Isabel asked.
“He puts the Tabasco in his soda, and the sugar is for the pizza,” said Maria. “Why?”
“But how did you know that?” asked Isabel.
“I don’t know, I just knew it,” said Maria. “It wasn’t anything I thought about, I just did it.”
“It’s happening again,” said Max.
“Isabel, do you have my journal?” asked Liz. Isabel nodded and passed the journal to Liz, who flipped over her placemat and began to scribble rapidly, often referring back to pages in her journal. Within minutes she had a list of all her memories. She drew separate columns for each of the others and began to write in the different memories they had as well.
“Well,” she said after she was done writing. “Either we’re all having one great big giant déjà vu experience, or something is radically wrong here.”
“Something is radically wrong here,” said Alex, pulling up a chair and sitting down. “I think I know how I’m going to die.”
Isabel gave a small gasp at Alex’s pronouncement and knocked over a glass of water, which spilled into the lap of Sheriff Valenti who had taken a seat at the corner of the table next to Isabel.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Sheriff Valenti!” she cried. “Let me take care of that for you.” She covered her hand with a napkin and held it over the sheriff’s lap, and when she removed her hand, his pants were completely dry.
“Isabel,” Max hissed. “What are you doing?”
“What!” she retorted. “I thought we decided we could trust him.”
“Coffee!” Liz said suddenly. “You did the same thing for me with the coffee.”
“That’s right,” said Isabel. “It was all over your shirt. I didn’t want to help you; in fact, I resented the hell out of you. Why, though, why was I resentful of you?”
“I don’t know,” said Liz. “But it’s one more thing to add to the list.” She reached for her pen and began to scribble on the placemat once more.
“Alex,” she said when she had finished. “What do you mean you know how you’re going to die? Nobody’s going to die!”
“Don’t give me that, Liz. Even you yourself said it one time,” Alex argued. “Some how, for some reason, most of us have a memory of me dying, and I’m pretty positive I know how it happens. One of you kill me,” he added, looking at the aliens.
Max, Michael and Isabel, drew back imperceptibly at Alex’s pronouncement, all of them feeling as though they had been physically attacked. They looked at each other in horror. None of them felt capable hurting anybody, let alone kill anyone.
“Hold on there, Alex,” said the Sheriff. “That’s a pretty harsh statement to make, no matter what’s going on.”
“Sheriff, it’s true,” said Alex. “I swear to you, I’m not making this up. Nobody could make any of this up. It’s too bizarre. I started remembering something when you made that comment about erasing your memory. That’s what someone did. Well not erase exactly, but they pushed at my brain so hard, there was nothing left. I was like a walking, talking vegetable.”
“You were fighting with them,” said Kyle, quietly, continuing Alex’s tale. “You were in my room, arguing and crying about how she had pushed and pushed, and now there was nothing left, and then you were on the ground.”
“Isabel?” Maria whispered. “You?”
“No, it wasn’t Isabel,” said Liz. “It was Tess.”
Chapter 24 – Memory
“So, what your saying me is after Liz got shot, Max healed her?” Jim asked Alex as he steered the Bronco down the dark highway.
“Yes, no, wait,” said Alex, confused. “It wasn’t Liz, it was Maria, but the thing is, Sheriff, you’re not the only one who keeps mixing that up. Liz has had dreams that she was shot, and Max has mentioned it, too. We all seem to be remembering things that happened, but we’re remembering them differently.”
“I’m not really sure why I believe you, Alex, but I do. Nothing about this makes sense, but I’m going with my gut on this one,” said Jim Valenti. He took his eyes off the road briefly and looked at the young man sitting in the passenger seat beside him. In all his years as Sheriff, he’d never had a run in with Alex, and even though his tale was bordering on the brink of insanity, he was certain he was telling the truth. His mind was screaming that it was all lies, but somewhere, within the deepest recesses of his heart, he knew he was hearing the truth.
“Are you going to turn them in?” Alex asked, hesitantly.
“No, God helm me, I’m not,” said the Sheriff. “First off, who’d believe me, and secondly, can’t they just erase my memory or something to stop me from doing that?”
“They can’t do,” Alex began, then stopped as another memory washed over them.
“Alex, what is it!” shouted the Sheriff, alarmed at the expression on Alex’s face.
“They can’t do that,” Alex continued, his voice bleak. “But Tess can, and that’s how I’m going to die.”
** * ** * ** *
We need to figure this out,” said Max, looking around the large table at the others. “And fast. I can’t help but feel like something, or someone is working against us.”
“Well that’s really brilliant,” Kyle said, antagonistically. “Considering what happened to Michael and all.”
“Look, it’s not like you know anything about it,” said Max, his voice tinged with anger.
“Yeah, well it looks like I know as much about it as you do,” said Kyle. “And that’s absolutely nothing.”
“Will you two shut up and sit down,” Isabel hissed. “You’re causing a scene, an the waitress is coming over with our pizza.”
Max and Kyle glared at each other in silent enmity while the waitress placed the steaming pizzas on the table. After verifying that they didn’t want anything else, she left the table, and Liz began to pass around slices of the pie in an attempt to end the awkward silence.
Maria reached across the table and handed Michael a bottle of Tabasco Sauce, and a packet of sugar and began to eat her pizza. After several bites, she put the slice down and looked warily at the others who were staring at her.
“What, do I have cheese on my face or something?” she asked.
“Why did you give Michael the Tabasco Sauce, and the sugar?” Isabel asked.
“He puts the Tabasco in his soda, and the sugar is for the pizza,” said Maria. “Why?”
“But how did you know that?” asked Isabel.
“I don’t know, I just knew it,” said Maria. “It wasn’t anything I thought about, I just did it.”
“It’s happening again,” said Max.
“Isabel, do you have my journal?” asked Liz. Isabel nodded and passed the journal to Liz, who flipped over her placemat and began to scribble rapidly, often referring back to pages in her journal. Within minutes she had a list of all her memories. She drew separate columns for each of the others and began to write in the different memories they had as well.
“Well,” she said after she was done writing. “Either we’re all having one great big giant déjà vu experience, or something is radically wrong here.”
“Something is radically wrong here,” said Alex, pulling up a chair and sitting down. “I think I know how I’m going to die.”
Isabel gave a small gasp at Alex’s pronouncement and knocked over a glass of water, which spilled into the lap of Sheriff Valenti who had taken a seat at the corner of the table next to Isabel.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, Sheriff Valenti!” she cried. “Let me take care of that for you.” She covered her hand with a napkin and held it over the sheriff’s lap, and when she removed her hand, his pants were completely dry.
“Isabel,” Max hissed. “What are you doing?”
“What!” she retorted. “I thought we decided we could trust him.”
“Coffee!” Liz said suddenly. “You did the same thing for me with the coffee.”
“That’s right,” said Isabel. “It was all over your shirt. I didn’t want to help you; in fact, I resented the hell out of you. Why, though, why was I resentful of you?”
“I don’t know,” said Liz. “But it’s one more thing to add to the list.” She reached for her pen and began to scribble on the placemat once more.
“Alex,” she said when she had finished. “What do you mean you know how you’re going to die? Nobody’s going to die!”
“Don’t give me that, Liz. Even you yourself said it one time,” Alex argued. “Some how, for some reason, most of us have a memory of me dying, and I’m pretty positive I know how it happens. One of you kill me,” he added, looking at the aliens.
Max, Michael and Isabel, drew back imperceptibly at Alex’s pronouncement, all of them feeling as though they had been physically attacked. They looked at each other in horror. None of them felt capable hurting anybody, let alone kill anyone.
“Hold on there, Alex,” said the Sheriff. “That’s a pretty harsh statement to make, no matter what’s going on.”
“Sheriff, it’s true,” said Alex. “I swear to you, I’m not making this up. Nobody could make any of this up. It’s too bizarre. I started remembering something when you made that comment about erasing your memory. That’s what someone did. Well not erase exactly, but they pushed at my brain so hard, there was nothing left. I was like a walking, talking vegetable.”
“You were fighting with them,” said Kyle, quietly, continuing Alex’s tale. “You were in my room, arguing and crying about how she had pushed and pushed, and now there was nothing left, and then you were on the ground.”
“Isabel?” Maria whispered. “You?”
“No, it wasn’t Isabel,” said Liz. “It was Tess.”
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majiklmoon
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majiklmoon
- Addicted Roswellian
- Posts: 361
- Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2001 10:55 am
- Contact:
I apologize for the delay in updates. We just finished moving my board after the traumatic ezboard hack. But finally, and update 
Winds of Change
Chapter 25 – Recollection
The name hung over the table, like a dark cloud, causing varying feelings of discomfort in everybody. Finally, the sheriff broke the silence.
“Tess,” he said, musingly. “I know that name. Is she a school friend of yours?”
“We don’t know,” said Kyle. “She’s someone, but we’re not sure who she is or how she fits in to everything.”
“She’s gone,” said Max, suddenly. “And she took something very important to me.”
When he finished speaking, Liz jumped up, her face white, and ran from the restaurant. Before the others could react, Max jumped from his seat and followed Liz out into the parking lot.
“Not that,” said Maria. “Seems really familiar.”
** * ** * **
“Liz, Liz! Wait up!” Max called. He rushed out of the restaurant into the cool night air, and looked around until he found Liz crying against the side of Maria’s car.
Max stopped beside her and reached out and tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder.
“What is it, what’s wrong?” he asked, his voice soft. “What did I say that upset you so much?”
Liz turned to Max, and he found himself staring down into her dark brown eyes, mesmerized by the reflection of the flashing neon lights that were reflected in their inky depths. Max felt compelled to lean down and press his lips to hers. It felt so right, so natural to take her in his arms.
He bent his head down to hers and kissed her, gently at first, then with a growing passion. As they kissed, Max felt the world spin out of control, almost as if they were on a merry-go-round gone wild. Images began to slam into his mind, faster than he could process them. He heard Liz whimper, and still he kissed her, afraid to break the connection between them.
“Max, Liz, get out of the way!” a voice screamed. Max dragged his lips away from Liz and looked up in time to see the headlights of a truck bearing down on them. Max reacted quickly, and dragged Liz out of the way as the truck flew past them, catching the edge of the Jetta’s bumper and ripping it from the car.
“Liz, oh my God, are you all right?” Maria cried, running over to her friend.
Liz groaned and pulled herself off the ground and looked around.
“Didn’t he stop?” she asked, looking around dazedly for the truck.
“No, he didn’t,” said the Sheriff. “But I got a good description of the truck and part of the plate. I’m going to go call it in now. Did anybody see the driver?”
“It looked like a little boy,” said Isabel. “An irritatingly familiar and eerie little boy, but that can’t be right. I mean, why would little boy be driving a truck?”
“There was a boy in the CrashDown tonight too,” said Alex. “Kind of weird looking, with dark hair.” He looked around at everyone, a troubled expression on his face. He opened his mouth to say something else, then thought better of it. Isabelle looked at him questioningly, but he only shook his head.
“It’s nothing,” he said, softly.
“Are you sure?” She queried.
No, but until I have a better idea of what I’m talking about, I’m not going to say anything.”
“Well, we’re not going to solve anything standing around here,” the Sheriff said. “Why doesn’t everyone go home? Tomorrow, as they say, is another day, after all.”
Maria looked ruefully at the remains of her bumper, lying on the ground in a crumpled heap.
“My mother is so going to kill me,” she said.
“Maybe not,” said Michael. He knelt down and passed his hand over the bumper and it straightened out. Without a word, Kyle reached down and fitted the bumper to the car and Max used his powers to adhere the two pieces together.
“I guess my mother isn’t going to kill me,” Maria said. “Or maybe she will,” she added looking at her watch. “It is way late.”
“Come on,” said the Sheriff. “I’ll take care of everything. Just follow me.”
** * ** * **
Liz climbed out onto her rooftop patio and stared up into the night sky. To say the night had been uneventful was something of an understatement. Thanks to Sheriff Valenti, she wasn’t even grounded for being out so late. He had brought each one of them to their doors, and explained to the parents about the car accident, and how they had decided to wait as a group for help to arrive rather than leaving some of them alone to wait in the desert while the others went to get help. Kyle’s father had been so convincing, all of the parents were commending themselves for raising such smart children.
Liz sighed, the soft sound carrying on the night air, and walked over to her chair. She sat down and opened the journal that Isabel had given back to her just before she went home. She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out the folded placemats that they had scribbled notes on at the Flying Pepperoni. She smoothed the creases out of them and laid them on her lap next to her journal.
“The answer is here,” she said to the empty rooftop. “I just have to find it.”
She thumbed through the pages of her journal, trying to make sense of everything she had written, but the more she read, the more confused she became. Giving up in exasperation, she allowed the journal to fall into her lap, and she gazed upward to the night sky. The stars danced before her eyes, and she stared, tracing the patterns of the various constellations.
Suddenly, the stars began to swirl violently, spinning faster and faster. Liz gripped the arms of her chair; afraid she was going to fly off into the whirling maelstrom. As quickly as it had begun, the spinning stopped. Liz loosened her grip on the arms of the chair. She climbed shakily to her feet, her breath coming in short gasps, and she made her way back into her bedroom.
Once inside, she held tightly to her bureau and stared at her face in the mirror, expecting to see some change. The face that stared back at her was pinched and white, with eyes that appeared too large, and filled with a great sadness.
Her gaze shifted to the familiar pictures that decorated the edges of her mirror. Alex and Maria smiled out at her from varying poses, and she smiled slightly as she remembered some of the occasions captured on film. She reached out and took down a picture, and admired the way she and her friends looked in their prom finery. She was unaware of the tears that coursed down her cheeks as she reached and touched Alex’s face in the picture. Her gaze shifted to Tess, and she felt her heart harden and the rush of hate shooting through her body.
Memories flooded her brain, and the picture fell, unnoticed, from her grasp as she grabbed back on to the dresser to steady her both physically, as well as emotionally. She whirled around and ran to her desk and pulled open a drawer. It crashed to the floor, and she dropped to the ground and began to paw through the scattered pieces of miscellany until she found what she was looking for. She looked at the rectangular piece of cardboard she held in her hand. On one side was a picture of some saint and the phrase “Go With God.” She stared at it for several minutes afraid to turn it over.
Finally, with trembling hands, she turned it over and found a small picture of Alex and underneath it the dates June 21, 1984 – April.
“No!” she shouted as the room began to spin wildly out of control. “No! I won’t let it happen, it can’t happen!”
Liz fought violently, trying to stop the feeling of vertigo that overtook her. She held on with a will she didn’t know she possessed, but at last, she gave in and closed her eyes against the flashing lights.
Nicholas rolled over on his back, panting, staring up the sky, watching as the sun peeked over the horizon. He was losing his strength, and Liz was getting stronger and stronger. He almost lost his grasp on the time shift. If she had fought much longer, he wasn’t sure he could hold out against her. Something needed to be done.
He pushed himself up into a sitting position, and grimaced as he saw the strip of skin dangling from his arm. Ripping it away in disgust, he glared at the bedroom window of Liz Parker. He was going to kill her and cement this reality, or die trying.
Winds of Change
Chapter 25 – Recollection
The name hung over the table, like a dark cloud, causing varying feelings of discomfort in everybody. Finally, the sheriff broke the silence.
“Tess,” he said, musingly. “I know that name. Is she a school friend of yours?”
“We don’t know,” said Kyle. “She’s someone, but we’re not sure who she is or how she fits in to everything.”
“She’s gone,” said Max, suddenly. “And she took something very important to me.”
When he finished speaking, Liz jumped up, her face white, and ran from the restaurant. Before the others could react, Max jumped from his seat and followed Liz out into the parking lot.
“Not that,” said Maria. “Seems really familiar.”
** * ** * **
“Liz, Liz! Wait up!” Max called. He rushed out of the restaurant into the cool night air, and looked around until he found Liz crying against the side of Maria’s car.
Max stopped beside her and reached out and tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder.
“What is it, what’s wrong?” he asked, his voice soft. “What did I say that upset you so much?”
Liz turned to Max, and he found himself staring down into her dark brown eyes, mesmerized by the reflection of the flashing neon lights that were reflected in their inky depths. Max felt compelled to lean down and press his lips to hers. It felt so right, so natural to take her in his arms.
He bent his head down to hers and kissed her, gently at first, then with a growing passion. As they kissed, Max felt the world spin out of control, almost as if they were on a merry-go-round gone wild. Images began to slam into his mind, faster than he could process them. He heard Liz whimper, and still he kissed her, afraid to break the connection between them.
“Max, Liz, get out of the way!” a voice screamed. Max dragged his lips away from Liz and looked up in time to see the headlights of a truck bearing down on them. Max reacted quickly, and dragged Liz out of the way as the truck flew past them, catching the edge of the Jetta’s bumper and ripping it from the car.
“Liz, oh my God, are you all right?” Maria cried, running over to her friend.
Liz groaned and pulled herself off the ground and looked around.
“Didn’t he stop?” she asked, looking around dazedly for the truck.
“No, he didn’t,” said the Sheriff. “But I got a good description of the truck and part of the plate. I’m going to go call it in now. Did anybody see the driver?”
“It looked like a little boy,” said Isabel. “An irritatingly familiar and eerie little boy, but that can’t be right. I mean, why would little boy be driving a truck?”
“There was a boy in the CrashDown tonight too,” said Alex. “Kind of weird looking, with dark hair.” He looked around at everyone, a troubled expression on his face. He opened his mouth to say something else, then thought better of it. Isabelle looked at him questioningly, but he only shook his head.
“It’s nothing,” he said, softly.
“Are you sure?” She queried.
No, but until I have a better idea of what I’m talking about, I’m not going to say anything.”
“Well, we’re not going to solve anything standing around here,” the Sheriff said. “Why doesn’t everyone go home? Tomorrow, as they say, is another day, after all.”
Maria looked ruefully at the remains of her bumper, lying on the ground in a crumpled heap.
“My mother is so going to kill me,” she said.
“Maybe not,” said Michael. He knelt down and passed his hand over the bumper and it straightened out. Without a word, Kyle reached down and fitted the bumper to the car and Max used his powers to adhere the two pieces together.
“I guess my mother isn’t going to kill me,” Maria said. “Or maybe she will,” she added looking at her watch. “It is way late.”
“Come on,” said the Sheriff. “I’ll take care of everything. Just follow me.”
** * ** * **
Liz climbed out onto her rooftop patio and stared up into the night sky. To say the night had been uneventful was something of an understatement. Thanks to Sheriff Valenti, she wasn’t even grounded for being out so late. He had brought each one of them to their doors, and explained to the parents about the car accident, and how they had decided to wait as a group for help to arrive rather than leaving some of them alone to wait in the desert while the others went to get help. Kyle’s father had been so convincing, all of the parents were commending themselves for raising such smart children.
Liz sighed, the soft sound carrying on the night air, and walked over to her chair. She sat down and opened the journal that Isabel had given back to her just before she went home. She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out the folded placemats that they had scribbled notes on at the Flying Pepperoni. She smoothed the creases out of them and laid them on her lap next to her journal.
“The answer is here,” she said to the empty rooftop. “I just have to find it.”
She thumbed through the pages of her journal, trying to make sense of everything she had written, but the more she read, the more confused she became. Giving up in exasperation, she allowed the journal to fall into her lap, and she gazed upward to the night sky. The stars danced before her eyes, and she stared, tracing the patterns of the various constellations.
Suddenly, the stars began to swirl violently, spinning faster and faster. Liz gripped the arms of her chair; afraid she was going to fly off into the whirling maelstrom. As quickly as it had begun, the spinning stopped. Liz loosened her grip on the arms of the chair. She climbed shakily to her feet, her breath coming in short gasps, and she made her way back into her bedroom.
Once inside, she held tightly to her bureau and stared at her face in the mirror, expecting to see some change. The face that stared back at her was pinched and white, with eyes that appeared too large, and filled with a great sadness.
Her gaze shifted to the familiar pictures that decorated the edges of her mirror. Alex and Maria smiled out at her from varying poses, and she smiled slightly as she remembered some of the occasions captured on film. She reached out and took down a picture, and admired the way she and her friends looked in their prom finery. She was unaware of the tears that coursed down her cheeks as she reached and touched Alex’s face in the picture. Her gaze shifted to Tess, and she felt her heart harden and the rush of hate shooting through her body.
Memories flooded her brain, and the picture fell, unnoticed, from her grasp as she grabbed back on to the dresser to steady her both physically, as well as emotionally. She whirled around and ran to her desk and pulled open a drawer. It crashed to the floor, and she dropped to the ground and began to paw through the scattered pieces of miscellany until she found what she was looking for. She looked at the rectangular piece of cardboard she held in her hand. On one side was a picture of some saint and the phrase “Go With God.” She stared at it for several minutes afraid to turn it over.
Finally, with trembling hands, she turned it over and found a small picture of Alex and underneath it the dates June 21, 1984 – April.
“No!” she shouted as the room began to spin wildly out of control. “No! I won’t let it happen, it can’t happen!”
Liz fought violently, trying to stop the feeling of vertigo that overtook her. She held on with a will she didn’t know she possessed, but at last, she gave in and closed her eyes against the flashing lights.
Nicholas rolled over on his back, panting, staring up the sky, watching as the sun peeked over the horizon. He was losing his strength, and Liz was getting stronger and stronger. He almost lost his grasp on the time shift. If she had fought much longer, he wasn’t sure he could hold out against her. Something needed to be done.
He pushed himself up into a sitting position, and grimaced as he saw the strip of skin dangling from his arm. Ripping it away in disgust, he glared at the bedroom window of Liz Parker. He was going to kill her and cement this reality, or die trying.
-
majiklmoon
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Winds of Change
Chapter 26 – Putting it Together
Liz Parker woke up slowly, groaning slightly at the stiffness in her body.
I must have fallen asleep out on the patio, she thought to herself.
Angry at herself for doing that, she opened her eyes slowly so the bright sunlight of the morning wouldn’t be too much an assault to her sleep fogged mind.
Something’s not right, she thought. This isn’t the patio. It’ s my bedroom, and what am I doing on the floor?
With a groan, Liz pulled herself up into a sitting position and looked around her room. Her desk and dresser looked as if a thief had ransacked them. On the floor lay one of her desk drawers, it’s contents scattered around the floor.
She crawled over and flipped the drawer right side up and prepared to scoop the contents back inside, when she became aware of a piece of paper clutched tightly in one hand.
She unfolded the paper with shaking hands, afraid to look at it, but more afraid of not knowing what it said. She smoothed out the last crease and saw Alex’s smiling face staring back at her.
“It’s just a picture,” she said out loud to the empty room in relief. “Just a,” she stopped as her mind registered the meaning of the words printed beneath the picture June 21, 1984 – April 29, 2001.
A silent scream ripped through her mind and she crumpled the card in her hand.
“No, not Alex,” she whimpered. She ran across the room and looked at the calendar tacked to the wall above her desk.
“Wait, this can’t be right,” she said out loud. “It’s only October 12, 1999.” But even as she said the words, she knew deep within the inner recesses of her heart that it was right. Alex wasn’t supposed to be alive.
Liz showered quickly and ran down the stairs of her family’s apartment, still buttoning her shirt as she ran. She waved to her father shouting something unintelligible as she ran to deflect any questions he may have had for her. Out on the street she stopped for a second, unsure of where to go. She thought for a minute and then found herself running down the street in the direction of Alex’s house.
She bypassed the front door and ran around to the back of the house and peered in Alex’s window to see if he was awake. She raised her hand to knock on the glass and stopped as she realized there were two figures in Alex’s bed, and one of them had long blond hair. She began to back away slowly as the figures began to stir, but not before she recognized a very naked Isabel Evans pressing kisses on the equally naked Alex. Blushing, Liz turned and ran out of the yard.
A short time later, after wandering aimlessly around the residential streets of Roswell, Liz found herself standing in front of the home of Max Evans. Unsure of how to proceed, Liz stood under a tree, just staring at the house.
Fate for once had decided to work with Liz, and in a short while, the front door opened, and Max stepped out, dressed in shorts and a pair of running shoes. He stretched briefly on the front lawn, and Liz watched, enjoying the way the sun shone on his muscles as he contorted his body into various positions.
She waited until he started to move away from the house before she sprinted until she caught up with him.
“Max, wait! Max!” she called to him. “I need to talk to you.”
“Liz,” he answered with pleasure. “I’m guessing you didn’t come out here to go jogging with me,” he said, his grin fading as he saw the distressed expression on her face. “What’s the matter, Liz?”
“Max, what do you think this means?” Liz asked handing him the crumpled card she had clutched like a talisman on her journey through town.
“What is this, someone’s sick idea of a joke?” Max demanded when he finished reading the card.
“I don’t think it’s a joke,” Liz said, her voice trembling slightly. “I think it’s real.”
“Liz, it can’t be real. The date on this is a year and a half away,” Max said, his voice desperate.
“I know Max. God, don’t you think I know that? But something isn’t right here. Someone is changing things, making them different. There is too much we all remember, and there are too many things that just don’t make sense. Nicholas shifted time before, maybe he’s doing it again! We have to fix it Max, Alex can’t die!” Liz shouted, her voice becoming more and more agitated.
“What did you say?” Max asked. He reached out and grabbed Liz by the shoulders and began to shake her as he yelled, “Damn it Liz, answer me, what did you just say?”
“I said Alex can’t die!” Liz shouted right back at him. “He’s my best friend Max, he can’t die.”
“Before that, what did you say right before that, Liz? You said someone had done this before. Who was it?”
“Nicholas,” Liz said slowly. “Nicholas did this before. Him and the other skins came to town. The stuck a big green rod in that billboard outside of town, and it shifted time so that everyone who wasn’t an alien disappeared.”
“Except for you, Maria, Kyle and his dad,” continued Max.
“Because we were all out of town when it happened, but we disappeared, didn’t we, one by one?” Liz finished. “And Nicholas is a small dark haired little boy.”
“Like the one Isabel thinks she saw driving the truck that almost ran us down,” Max finished. He looked down into Liz’s dark brown eyes and found his mind filled with flashing memories, but he couldn’t tell which were real, and which this Nicholas person had created. He lifted a hand to her cheek and caressed it gently. “It was you,” he whispered. “It was you.”
Chapter 26 – Putting it Together
Liz Parker woke up slowly, groaning slightly at the stiffness in her body.
I must have fallen asleep out on the patio, she thought to herself.
Angry at herself for doing that, she opened her eyes slowly so the bright sunlight of the morning wouldn’t be too much an assault to her sleep fogged mind.
Something’s not right, she thought. This isn’t the patio. It’ s my bedroom, and what am I doing on the floor?
With a groan, Liz pulled herself up into a sitting position and looked around her room. Her desk and dresser looked as if a thief had ransacked them. On the floor lay one of her desk drawers, it’s contents scattered around the floor.
She crawled over and flipped the drawer right side up and prepared to scoop the contents back inside, when she became aware of a piece of paper clutched tightly in one hand.
She unfolded the paper with shaking hands, afraid to look at it, but more afraid of not knowing what it said. She smoothed out the last crease and saw Alex’s smiling face staring back at her.
“It’s just a picture,” she said out loud to the empty room in relief. “Just a,” she stopped as her mind registered the meaning of the words printed beneath the picture June 21, 1984 – April 29, 2001.
A silent scream ripped through her mind and she crumpled the card in her hand.
“No, not Alex,” she whimpered. She ran across the room and looked at the calendar tacked to the wall above her desk.
“Wait, this can’t be right,” she said out loud. “It’s only October 12, 1999.” But even as she said the words, she knew deep within the inner recesses of her heart that it was right. Alex wasn’t supposed to be alive.
Liz showered quickly and ran down the stairs of her family’s apartment, still buttoning her shirt as she ran. She waved to her father shouting something unintelligible as she ran to deflect any questions he may have had for her. Out on the street she stopped for a second, unsure of where to go. She thought for a minute and then found herself running down the street in the direction of Alex’s house.
She bypassed the front door and ran around to the back of the house and peered in Alex’s window to see if he was awake. She raised her hand to knock on the glass and stopped as she realized there were two figures in Alex’s bed, and one of them had long blond hair. She began to back away slowly as the figures began to stir, but not before she recognized a very naked Isabel Evans pressing kisses on the equally naked Alex. Blushing, Liz turned and ran out of the yard.
A short time later, after wandering aimlessly around the residential streets of Roswell, Liz found herself standing in front of the home of Max Evans. Unsure of how to proceed, Liz stood under a tree, just staring at the house.
Fate for once had decided to work with Liz, and in a short while, the front door opened, and Max stepped out, dressed in shorts and a pair of running shoes. He stretched briefly on the front lawn, and Liz watched, enjoying the way the sun shone on his muscles as he contorted his body into various positions.
She waited until he started to move away from the house before she sprinted until she caught up with him.
“Max, wait! Max!” she called to him. “I need to talk to you.”
“Liz,” he answered with pleasure. “I’m guessing you didn’t come out here to go jogging with me,” he said, his grin fading as he saw the distressed expression on her face. “What’s the matter, Liz?”
“Max, what do you think this means?” Liz asked handing him the crumpled card she had clutched like a talisman on her journey through town.
“What is this, someone’s sick idea of a joke?” Max demanded when he finished reading the card.
“I don’t think it’s a joke,” Liz said, her voice trembling slightly. “I think it’s real.”
“Liz, it can’t be real. The date on this is a year and a half away,” Max said, his voice desperate.
“I know Max. God, don’t you think I know that? But something isn’t right here. Someone is changing things, making them different. There is too much we all remember, and there are too many things that just don’t make sense. Nicholas shifted time before, maybe he’s doing it again! We have to fix it Max, Alex can’t die!” Liz shouted, her voice becoming more and more agitated.
“What did you say?” Max asked. He reached out and grabbed Liz by the shoulders and began to shake her as he yelled, “Damn it Liz, answer me, what did you just say?”
“I said Alex can’t die!” Liz shouted right back at him. “He’s my best friend Max, he can’t die.”
“Before that, what did you say right before that, Liz? You said someone had done this before. Who was it?”
“Nicholas,” Liz said slowly. “Nicholas did this before. Him and the other skins came to town. The stuck a big green rod in that billboard outside of town, and it shifted time so that everyone who wasn’t an alien disappeared.”
“Except for you, Maria, Kyle and his dad,” continued Max.
“Because we were all out of town when it happened, but we disappeared, didn’t we, one by one?” Liz finished. “And Nicholas is a small dark haired little boy.”
“Like the one Isabel thinks she saw driving the truck that almost ran us down,” Max finished. He looked down into Liz’s dark brown eyes and found his mind filled with flashing memories, but he couldn’t tell which were real, and which this Nicholas person had created. He lifted a hand to her cheek and caressed it gently. “It was you,” he whispered. “It was you.”
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Winds of Change
Chapter 27 – Tidal Wave of Memories
Max reached out and touched Liz’s cheek, then drew back his hand sharply as he watched her beautiful face transform into a mask of horror. In that one minute, the missing pieces shifted into position, and she knew what it meant. What it meant for her, for Maria, for Isabel, and most of all for Alex. She knew what had to be done, and how it was going to affect them all.
Liz looked up into Max’s eyes, and then turned to run. He reached out and grabbed her by the arm, just as the world began to shift and tremble in a way that was becoming all too familiar. As the world around them shifted, Liz felt the memories slowly fade from her mind. She closed her eyes tightly and forced herself to repeat one sentence over and over again.
When the tremors subsided, Max released his grip on Liz’s arm, and stepped back. His apology for grabbing her died on his lips when he realized that Liz’s lips were moving, softly repeating something over and over again.
“Nicholas has shifted us to an alternate reality. Nicholas has shifted us to an alternate reality. Nicholas has shifted,”
“Liz, Liz!” Max shouted. “Snap out of it.” His voice rang out on the deserted street. “What are you talking about?”
“Nicholas, it’s Nicholas. He keeps shifting time, Max. He sent us back, back to before Alex died.”
“Liz, are you sure you’re okay. You didn’t fall or anything during that earthquake, did you?” Max asked, looking at her fearfully. “You’re really starting to worry me.”
“Max, listen,” Liz said. “I need you to concentrate. Think hard. This world, this time, it isn’t real. Nicholas did it. He shifted time. Remember, he did it once before. Only this time, instead of making people disappear, he,”
“This time, he changed time completely,” Max finished. “I know, you said it; more than once, actually. But what kind of proof do you have?”
Liz felt her hopes rise, then crash down to the ground in a matter of seconds. She felt certain Max would understand, even remember, but he didn’t. Nobody did. She took a deep breath.
“Max, listen to me. You didn’t save Maria in the CrashDown a few weeks ago. It was me, and it was a couple of years ago. I promised to keep your secret, but I told Maria, and later, we told Alex.”
“What about Kyle,” Max asked, his voice tinged with jealousy. “Come on,” he added, taking Liz by the hand. “Let’s start walking. We must look pretty suspicious standing out here so early in the morning.”
Liz ignored the jealousy in Max’s voice, and tried to ignore the tingle that shot through her body when he took her hand in his. She followed his lead, and began to walk slowly down the residential street, enjoying the sight of the rising sun as it peeked above the mountains in the distance.
“Kyle didn’t find out until he was shot and you saved him,” Liz said quickly as the memories crashed into her mind like a tidal wave. “Tess and Nescado came t Roswell, as did the Special Unit. You were captured and taken to the White Room.”
“The White Room,” Max whispered.
Liz looked up at him as they walked and saw the beads of sweat that dotted his brow. It was then that she realized that while his conscious mind may not remember, there was some part of him that did remember their true reality.
“Kyle got shot, and Sheriff Valenti begged you to save him. You did, Max. You saved him just like you saved me. Later, you activated to communicators that gave you a message from your mother. In this message, she explained how you, your sister, her fiancée, and your wife,” Liz paused to swallow the bile that threatened to choke her at the word wife. “But the communicators also let your enemies know where you were. You managed to destroy them, but apparently, Nicholas survived.”
“Maybe he shifted himself out somehow,” said Max. “Before Tess unleashed her conflagration.”
“Max, you remember!” Liz shouted. The joy she felt at him remembering overshadowed the pain she felt at hearing Tess’ name once again.
“I do, but I don’t,” Max admitted. “It’s kind of like rereading a book that I read a long time ago. Bits and pieces of it seem familiar, but it’s very vague.”
“Right,” Liz said, bitterly. “Pretty damn convenient. Anyhow, what else do you remember about Tess?”
“She wasn’t who she said she was,” said Max. “Well, she was, but she wasn’t our friend, that’s for sure. She had her own agenda.”
“Yeah, she did,” said Liz.
“And Alex died because of it,” Max said, his voice heavy, his heart heavier.
“Right,” Liz said, tears shining in her eyes.
“But it’s okay now, isn’t it?” asked Max. “I mean, yeah, things are a little different, but Alex is alive.”
“I don’t think so, Max,” said Liz. “I don’t think it’s okay, on several levels. First, I keep jumping back and forth between the two realities. I don’t know how, but I was able to bring this back with me from the real time to this time,” said Liz.
She held out her hand, and Max saw the memorial card from Alex’s funeral resting on her outstretched palm. He swallowed the tears that threatened to choke him at the sight of his friend’s face staring up at him from the memorial card.
“I don’t know much about time travel or whatever, but I don’t think that should be happening,” Liz continued. “But the question remains, why is he doing it this time? Last time it was because Michael destroyed the husks. Why now?”
“It wasn’t just for revenge,” Max said slowly, trying to process the flood of memories that clogged his mind. “They wanted something. Something you told me not to tell them about.”
“The Granolith,” said Liz. “But it’s gone. Tess used it to go back to Antar with,” her voice caught as the painful memories of Max’s betrayal in the arms of Tess came rushing back.
“With my son,” Max finished.
At his words, Liz stopped and looked down at the ground, trying to hide the tears that filled her eyes.
“We have to shift time back,” Max said, suddenly.
“What?” Liz shouted her voice filled with anger. “A few minutes ago, you were all for leaving time the way it was because Alex was alive.”
“And you were saying it wasn’t right on several levels,” Max said.
“But Max, if she shift time back to where it belongs, Alex will die,” Liz said.
“And if we don’t!” Max shouted. “My son will never be!”
Liz glared up at Max and turned and began to walk away. “Maybe that isn’t such a bad thing!” she shouted as she ran down the street.
Chapter 27 – Tidal Wave of Memories
Max reached out and touched Liz’s cheek, then drew back his hand sharply as he watched her beautiful face transform into a mask of horror. In that one minute, the missing pieces shifted into position, and she knew what it meant. What it meant for her, for Maria, for Isabel, and most of all for Alex. She knew what had to be done, and how it was going to affect them all.
Liz looked up into Max’s eyes, and then turned to run. He reached out and grabbed her by the arm, just as the world began to shift and tremble in a way that was becoming all too familiar. As the world around them shifted, Liz felt the memories slowly fade from her mind. She closed her eyes tightly and forced herself to repeat one sentence over and over again.
When the tremors subsided, Max released his grip on Liz’s arm, and stepped back. His apology for grabbing her died on his lips when he realized that Liz’s lips were moving, softly repeating something over and over again.
“Nicholas has shifted us to an alternate reality. Nicholas has shifted us to an alternate reality. Nicholas has shifted,”
“Liz, Liz!” Max shouted. “Snap out of it.” His voice rang out on the deserted street. “What are you talking about?”
“Nicholas, it’s Nicholas. He keeps shifting time, Max. He sent us back, back to before Alex died.”
“Liz, are you sure you’re okay. You didn’t fall or anything during that earthquake, did you?” Max asked, looking at her fearfully. “You’re really starting to worry me.”
“Max, listen,” Liz said. “I need you to concentrate. Think hard. This world, this time, it isn’t real. Nicholas did it. He shifted time. Remember, he did it once before. Only this time, instead of making people disappear, he,”
“This time, he changed time completely,” Max finished. “I know, you said it; more than once, actually. But what kind of proof do you have?”
Liz felt her hopes rise, then crash down to the ground in a matter of seconds. She felt certain Max would understand, even remember, but he didn’t. Nobody did. She took a deep breath.
“Max, listen to me. You didn’t save Maria in the CrashDown a few weeks ago. It was me, and it was a couple of years ago. I promised to keep your secret, but I told Maria, and later, we told Alex.”
“What about Kyle,” Max asked, his voice tinged with jealousy. “Come on,” he added, taking Liz by the hand. “Let’s start walking. We must look pretty suspicious standing out here so early in the morning.”
Liz ignored the jealousy in Max’s voice, and tried to ignore the tingle that shot through her body when he took her hand in his. She followed his lead, and began to walk slowly down the residential street, enjoying the sight of the rising sun as it peeked above the mountains in the distance.
“Kyle didn’t find out until he was shot and you saved him,” Liz said quickly as the memories crashed into her mind like a tidal wave. “Tess and Nescado came t Roswell, as did the Special Unit. You were captured and taken to the White Room.”
“The White Room,” Max whispered.
Liz looked up at him as they walked and saw the beads of sweat that dotted his brow. It was then that she realized that while his conscious mind may not remember, there was some part of him that did remember their true reality.
“Kyle got shot, and Sheriff Valenti begged you to save him. You did, Max. You saved him just like you saved me. Later, you activated to communicators that gave you a message from your mother. In this message, she explained how you, your sister, her fiancée, and your wife,” Liz paused to swallow the bile that threatened to choke her at the word wife. “But the communicators also let your enemies know where you were. You managed to destroy them, but apparently, Nicholas survived.”
“Maybe he shifted himself out somehow,” said Max. “Before Tess unleashed her conflagration.”
“Max, you remember!” Liz shouted. The joy she felt at him remembering overshadowed the pain she felt at hearing Tess’ name once again.
“I do, but I don’t,” Max admitted. “It’s kind of like rereading a book that I read a long time ago. Bits and pieces of it seem familiar, but it’s very vague.”
“Right,” Liz said, bitterly. “Pretty damn convenient. Anyhow, what else do you remember about Tess?”
“She wasn’t who she said she was,” said Max. “Well, she was, but she wasn’t our friend, that’s for sure. She had her own agenda.”
“Yeah, she did,” said Liz.
“And Alex died because of it,” Max said, his voice heavy, his heart heavier.
“Right,” Liz said, tears shining in her eyes.
“But it’s okay now, isn’t it?” asked Max. “I mean, yeah, things are a little different, but Alex is alive.”
“I don’t think so, Max,” said Liz. “I don’t think it’s okay, on several levels. First, I keep jumping back and forth between the two realities. I don’t know how, but I was able to bring this back with me from the real time to this time,” said Liz.
She held out her hand, and Max saw the memorial card from Alex’s funeral resting on her outstretched palm. He swallowed the tears that threatened to choke him at the sight of his friend’s face staring up at him from the memorial card.
“I don’t know much about time travel or whatever, but I don’t think that should be happening,” Liz continued. “But the question remains, why is he doing it this time? Last time it was because Michael destroyed the husks. Why now?”
“It wasn’t just for revenge,” Max said slowly, trying to process the flood of memories that clogged his mind. “They wanted something. Something you told me not to tell them about.”
“The Granolith,” said Liz. “But it’s gone. Tess used it to go back to Antar with,” her voice caught as the painful memories of Max’s betrayal in the arms of Tess came rushing back.
“With my son,” Max finished.
At his words, Liz stopped and looked down at the ground, trying to hide the tears that filled her eyes.
“We have to shift time back,” Max said, suddenly.
“What?” Liz shouted her voice filled with anger. “A few minutes ago, you were all for leaving time the way it was because Alex was alive.”
“And you were saying it wasn’t right on several levels,” Max said.
“But Max, if she shift time back to where it belongs, Alex will die,” Liz said.
“And if we don’t!” Max shouted. “My son will never be!”
Liz glared up at Max and turned and began to walk away. “Maybe that isn’t such a bad thing!” she shouted as she ran down the street.