Roswell Fanatics

Author: Island Breeze
Rating: TEEN or YTEEN, about like the show
Forum: CC
Pairings: M/L, M/M, A/I, ALL



The Mystery Of Sandy is the sequel to Darth Maxwell, which is only a one-part fic, so it is recommended that you read it first. The Mystery Of Sandy will be two parts. Max’s son, Zan, now 14 and living with his adoptive parents, who call him “Jason,” has a new girlfriend… a girlfriend who, as it turns out, may have as big an unknown past as he does. This is a Roswell fic. Despite the mention of Star Wars characters, it is not a crossover… also, it is not part of the Altered Time series. In the Altered Time series, Max never had a son except with Liz, and they live on Antar together. In this story, they are not on Antar. But Alex is still alive here, just as in that series. Why? Well… because it’s just wrong to kill Alex! The Mystery Of Sandy is rated TEEN, about like the TV show.

Melinda Metz and the creators of Roswell, the TV series, Jason Katims, et al, deserve the credit for the characters from the TV show, Roswell, and for whatever mention, if any, there might be of any event that occurred on the TV show, Roswell. Darth Vader and other Star Wars characters mentioned are the property of George Lucas and whoever else might have rights to them.





“Sandy… is that you?”

“Yeah, Mom!”

Mrs. Lane walked out of the kitchen and smiled at her daughter, who had just returned from watching Star Wars III - Revenge Of The Sith with a classmate, a boy named Jason Strand.

“How was the movie?”

“Great, Mom!”

“Tell me about it.”

“The Siths tried to destroy the Jedi’s, and Annakin became Darth Vader.”

“I knew that much from reading the ads,” Mrs. Lane said, pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes.

Sandy smiled and gave her mom a playful peck on the cheek… “Don’t worry, Mom. I did watch it.”

Mrs. Lane smiled. “I wasn’t worried.”

“We did all our ‘making out’ after the movie,” Sandy added with a twinkle in her eye.

Mrs. Lane watched, speechless, as Sandy skipped off down the hall to her room, a huge grin on her face. That girl just loves to tease me; I never know if she’s kidding or not. She sighed and shook her head then chuckled… “She’s kidding.”

Sandy fell onto her bed and took out her diary to write in it, but there was a knock on the door.

“Come in, Mom,” she said, putting the diary under her pillow.

“How did you know it was me?”

Sandy smiled.

“Silly question, I guess,” Mrs. Lane admitted sheepishly, “So you had a good time, huh?”

Sandy nodded.

“What’s that boy like… Jason, isn’t it? He seems like a nice boy.”

“He is,” Sandy agreed. “I like him.”

Mrs. Lane nodded. “I can see that. That’s why I want to know everything about him.”

Sandy wrinkled her nose playfully. “I don’t need protecting, Mom.”

Mrs. Lane looked unexpectedly hurt, and picking up on it, Sandy quickly jumped out of the bed and put her arm around her mother… “Aw, Mom, I know you love me and want to protect me… but I don’t need to be protected from Jason.”

Mrs. Lane sighed. “I know, Dear. It’s just that you’re growing up so fast, and… and…”

Sandy nodded understandingly… “You know, you really are my Mom. You’re the only Mom I ever knew.”

Mrs. Lane smiled, and tears came into her eyes… “It seems like I’ve had you for so few years, and all too soon you’ll be leaving us.”

“I think maybe there might be a few more years before I get married,” Sandy laughed. “I’m only fourteen, Mom.”

“Time doesn’t stop, Sandy… for any of us.”

“I know, Mom. Would you want it to?”

Mrs. Lane raised her eyebrows and smiled, then she shook her head. “When you were three, Sandy, I thought you were perfect. I didn’t want you to ever grow up. But when you were five, I realized that you were perfect then. And now that you’re fourteen… I feel like this is the age you should always be… fourteen. You see, Sandy, it really doesn’t matter, I love you just the way you are at every age. I can’t help it if I’m afraid of change… and… and of losing you.”

Sandy smiled, hugging her mother. “I’m not going to change, Mom… I’m just going to keep getting better. And you aren’t going to lose me.”

Mrs. Lane smiled and nodded.

“Mom?”

“Yes?”

“When I… you know… when I came into your lives… when you and Dad found me… you said they searched for my real parents but never found them.”

Mrs. Lane nodded. “Children’s welfare… and the police… they both searched. You were eventually placed with us, but we didn’t get to actually adopt you until you were five… almost four years after we found you.”

“On the beach,” Sandy said, “You told me.”

“Hidden,” Mrs. Lane corrected… “Nestled in the rocks at the secluded end of North Beach… in the nature preserve. Someone had wrapped you up in seaweed and…” Tears came unexpectedly into her eyes.

“It’s okay, Mom. It was meant for you and Dad to find me.”

Mrs. Lane looked at her daughter.

“I mean… it was meant to be,” Sandy said, “Like karma or something. You were meant to be my parents.”

Mrs. Lane smiled. “That’s where your name came from, you know…”

“The beach…” Sandy nodded, “I know.”

“I’ve always said that you were our little mermaid, Sandy; our gift from the sea. Lord knows, you love the water!”

Sandy smiled then lay back on her pillow and pulled the covers up, then her mother kissed her and turned out the light.

“Oh, Mom?”

“Yes?”

“I may need to go down to the police station tomorrow.”

The light came back on, and her mother stood over the bed… waiting.

“I didn’t do anything, don’t worry, Mom. I didn’t get arrested or anything. A little girl got attacked after the movie… by a boy who sells drugs… Mike Lurch. He thought her brother, Aaron, took some marijuana. The police arrested Mike. Jason and I saw it all, and we have to give a statement. It’s no big deal.”

“No big deal?” Mrs. Lane gasped, closing her eyes and crossing herself, “Was the little girl hurt? How old is she?”

“Nine… and no… nothing that… I mean… She’s okay.”

Mrs. Lane sighed. “I guess it’s the world we’re living in. I can’t blame two good kids for what one bad one does. But you be careful, Sandy. I don’t want you having anything to do with that Mike boy. I don’t want you getting hurt… or getting mixed up with him in any way.”

“Don’t worry, Mom. I just have to give a statement. I don’t ever talk to Mike anyway.”

Mrs. Lane nodded. “Okay, I don’t like it… but if you witnessed a crime, you have to do the right thing. I’ll go with you.” She kissed Sandy again and turned out the light, then she left the room, closing the door behind her.

After a few moments, the light came back on, though no one flipped the switch, and Sandy rolled over and took out the diary and a pen that were under her pillow…

Dear Diary,

JASON KISSED ME!!!!! He finally KISSED ME!!!!! I almost did cartwheels all the way home! We went to see Star Wars III and then walked home together after it was over. And he didn’t just kiss me ONCE, either! He kissed me in the ice cream parlor, then he kissed me when we were walking home… three times! And then we kissed again on my porch! This was my favorite night ever! A BEAUTIFUL, GORGEOUS, FIREWORKS kind of night! * Sigh * Jason’s friend, Aaron, and Aaron’s little sister, Becky, were with us, but Aaron was cool with it all. His little sister was silly and kind of funny, but she’s just a little kid. On the way home, a guy named Mike Lurch grabbed her and cut her with a knife, because he thought Aaron had something of his. I fixed Becky’s cuts, and the police arrested Mike. Becky doesn’t know what I did. I told her she was all right, and she believed it, because it was all fixed.
JASON KISSED ME!
YES! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! YESSSSS!
I only wish Jason could know, like I do, that one day he’s going to be mine, and I’m going to be Mrs. Jason Strand. * Sigh *
Goodnight, my sweet Jason.
Goodnight, Diary… till tomorrow. I’m so glad I’ve got you to tell my secrets to. You never tell anyone, you only listen.




Only a few blocks from Sandy’s house, in his own home, Jason slept… with a smile on his face and pleasant dreams running through his head. But a little after midnight, there was a visitor…

“Zan! Jason!”

Jason separated his lips slowly -and unwillingly- from Sandy’s. He tried to hold her there, but she disappeared, fading inexorably away into that place where dreams go after they’ve been dreamt. Jason spun around sharply and glared at Darth Vader. He knew that he could see Max as he really was now… Max had shown him that he could do it… but right now Darth Vader seemed more… appropriate.

“I hope you’re not planning on making a habit of this!”

As soon as he had said it, Jason cringed. He had managed to sound a touch more bitter than he had intended, even given the circumstances.

“I… I just wanted to talk with you… son. Did I interrupt something?”

Standing beside Max, Isabel, who had brought Max and the others into Jason’s dream, rolled her eyes and whacked Max on the arm with the back of her hand.

“I’m sorry…” Max said sheepishly, “I should have looked before I called out to you. I promise I’ll look next time.”

“Couldn’t you just get a cell phone… or call first… or something…?” Jason asked, but then he looked into Vader’s face, and the mask crumbled away. He saw… and felt… the feeling in Max’s eyes…

“Oh, it’s alright,” Jason groaned. “I shouldn’t have said that. Sandy might not even like me if I wasn’t different… because of you.”

“Sandy, huh?” Max smiled. “Is this serious?”

“Max, he’s fourteen!” Isabel said, whacking him on the arm again. “It’s serious!”

“Oh… right…” Max nodded, “What did you mean she likes you because you’re different?”

Jason smiled. “Sandy’s different, too! I had a cut on my forehead, and she healed it just by touching it with her fingertip… and she healed Aaron’s little sister after this guy cut her with a knife.”

Max swallowed hard and looked at Isabel then at Michael and Liz standing nearby. Then he turned back to Jason…

“What do you know about Sandy?”

“She’s beautiful!”

Max nodded. “Anything else?”

“Sure! She’s sweet… nice… smart…”

“I get the picture,” Max said, raising his hands in surrender. “I meant… do you know anything about who… what… she is… You know…”

“Just that she’s different… like us.”

“Do you know why?”

“I guess maybe she’s from where you’re from… I don’t know.”

“We should find out,” Max said.

“Max…” Liz cautioned, pulling him aside privately, “Do you really think that’s necessary? They’re only kids.”

“No, he’s right,” Michael said. “We don’t know who she is. She could be dangerous. She’s obviously been hiding her true identity.”

“Not at all like you and Max, right?” Liz asked.

“That’s different,” Michael said.

“Is it?”

Michael looked at Max, and both of them sighed, conceding the point.

“Okay,” Max said, “We won’t do anything… overtly.”

“What does that mean,” Liz asked.

“Overt?”

“I know the word. What do you intend to do?”

Max smiled. “A little sleuthing on the side. Don’t worry. I won’t involve him, and she’ll never know. It’s important.”

Liz sighed and nodded.

Max turned back to Jason and smiled. “Have you known Sandy long?”

“About three years. She went to a dance with me once, and I asked her to see Star Wars with me last night. That’s when we got closer.”

Max chuckled. “Nothing like a good romantic movie to do that.”

Isabel groaned and rolled her eyes… “Only you would consider watching a sweet kid turn into Darth Vader to be romantic, Max!”

“It was romantic… kind of…” Jason said.

Isabel nodded… “He’s your son, Max.”

Max smiled and raised his eyebrows… “Maybe the romance wasn’t all on the screen, Iz.”

Isabel shrugged… then nodded. “Point taken.”

Max turned back to face Jason again… “I guess you’d like to get back to… uh… whatever you were doing… before we showed up, huh?”

Jason smiled, and Max nodded.

“Okay, we’ll leave you alone. I’ll see you again soon, Jason. I promise not to interrupt anything important next time. Okay?”

Jason smiled ever so slightly and held up his hand… “Bye, Dad… See you later.” Then Isabel ended the dreamwalk, and they found themselves back in Max and Liz’s apartment.



Michael exhaled a deep breath… “She could be anybody, Max. I mean… she could be the daughter of one of the Antarians who came here to find a place to hide the pods… or the daughter of a ‘skin…’ or she could actually be a ‘skin’ herself. And there were others here before us… and before the ‘skins,’ you know.”

Max groaned. “I’ve thought about that. Remember Laurie Dupree… and her grandfather…?”

Michael nodded.

“Isn’t it possible that she could have come here more recently, though,” Liz asked.

Max shrugged. “Right now, anything’s possible. We just don’t know.”

“Well, why don’t we see what she has to say about it,” Isabel asked.

Max scoffed. “So… what… You’re going to just walk up to her and say, We think you may be an alien. What about it?”

“Something like that,” Isabel said… “Only we’ll ask her in my territory.”

Max nodded, as Isabel’s meaning sank in.

“Dreamwalk her…?”

Isabel nodded.

“We don’t have a picture of Sandy,” Michael said, “You need a picture.”

“I didn’t have one of Jason.”

“And it took you years to find him,” Michael reminded her.

Isabel pointed to her head. “I’ve got a picture… right up here. I saw her in Jason’s dream, remember? …Before Max poofed her away.”

Michael smiled. “Zan will never forgive you for that, Max. I know I wouldn’t.”

Max didn’t reply.

Four minutes later, Isabel had found what she was looking for, and she walked into the mist that dreams are made of and toward a young girl standing on the sidewalk… The girl didn’t notice the approach of several other people. Her attention was entirely on Jason… and on the very long -and passionate- kiss that they were sharing.

“Well… THIS looks familiar,” Isabel said. “Max? You’re the heartbreaker. Get her attention.”

Max shook his head. “I’ve already got Jason miffed at me. Two teens mad at me at the same time would be bad luck.”

Isabel sighed and leaned against a tree to wait. After a few minutes, she looked at her watch.

“Don’t these kids have parents?”

Michael smiled. “I don’t think their parents are what they’re thinking about, Iz.”

“Well, they’d better think about something… besides tonsil hockey… before the sun comes up and she wakes up. How long can they do this?”

“How long can you and Alex do it… in your dreams,” Michael asked with a grin.

“We’re older than they are,” Isabel scoffed. “We can do that kind of stuff… and not only in my dreams!”

“Apparently so can they,” Michael chuckled.

Isabel huffed and looked at her watch again… then settled back to wait.

It was a long night.

Right before dawn, Jason said goodbye, and Sandy walked into her house.

“Well… about time!” Isabel exclaimed quietly, staring at Jason from the shadows as he left.

“Jealous?” Michael asked.

“It’s a dream, Michael! Just a dream! Besides, Alex and I still have them beat.”

“When you were fourteen?”

Isabel stared at Michael momentarily. “You’re in my territory now, Michael. In the dream realm, I can kick your ass!”

Michael chuckled but shut up.

“Isabel doesn’t know it,” Michael whispered to Max, with a wink, “But I wouldn’t want to take her on in the real realm either… or in ANY realm!”

“I heard that,” Isabel said, smiling to herself, “And you’re right… You wouldn’t want to.”

Isabel waved her hand and they found themselves inside the house, though in reality, that’s where Sandy had been all along… asleep in her bed. They never saw her asleep… or in her bed… though. Rather, they saw her as her mind saw her… awake in dreamland.

Sandy gasped and stepped backward as Isabel, Max, Michael, Liz, and Maria appeared.

“Who are you? What do you want?”

“Don’t be afraid,” Isabel said, “We’re not really here. It’s only a dream.”

Sandy looked around and seemed to think about it. Apparently, somewhere in her mind, she knew that what Isabel had said was true.

“Okay… but I still don’t know who you are. Why would I dream about you? I don’t know you.”

“We wanted you to tell us about YOU,” Isabel replied, ignoring Sandy’s request for information about them. “You’re special, Sandy.”

Sandy shook her head. “I’m not special… I’m just me.”

“Who is ‘just me?’” Michael asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Who is the real Sandy,” Max asked. “Where do you come from?”

“Why are you asking me all this? You’re scaring me.”

Liz and Maria both turned and gave Max and Michael a look that said this was going too far.

“Max…” Liz cautioned. “She may not know anything. You’re just scaring her.”

Maria nodded her agreement with Liz.

“We don’t want to hurt you,” Max said, “We only want to know where you’re from.”

“You see,” Michael added, “We may be from the same place you’re from. We want to know if you’re one of us… That’s all.”

Sandy nodded and seemed to relax… but only a little.

“Where are YOU from,” she asked, turning the question back around as smoothly as they had.

“It’s a reasonable question,” Isabel said, “How can she know if she’s from the same place if she doesn’t know what place it is?”

Max thought for a moment then nodded.

“Antar. Have you heard of it?”

Sandy shook her head.

“She doesn’t know,” Isabel said.

“Why do you think I might be one of you?” Sandy asked.

“Because you have certain abilities… like us,” Michael replied. “On earth, other people don’t have these abilities.”

“What abilities?”

“Like healing people…” Max said.

“Can you do that?” Sandy asked.

Max realized that this session was not going the way he had intended, but he nodded.

“What else can you do?” Sandy asked.

“I can come into your dreams… like now,” Isabel said. “We all have different abilities.”

“Are you the only ones like you… like us, I mean… on earth?” sandy asked.

Max shook his head.

Sandy closed her eyes and concentrated… then smiled. “You’re Jason’s Dad!”

This took Max by surprise. He had not intended to involve Jason in any way in this, and he certainly had not intended to reveal anything about his son to anyone… even Sandy.

“Can you read our minds,” Liz asked.

Sandy shook her head. “No… but sometimes… if I concentrate… I can see the future. That’s how I know…”

She stopped short, without finishing the sentence.

“How you know what,” Max asked.

“How I know… who you are,” Sandy said, though it was not what she had been going to say.

“I can’t see everything in the future… only some things,” she added quickly, qualifying her statement.

Max nodded.

“Do you think I’m Antarian,” Sandy asked.

“You don’t know?” Michael asked.

Sandy shook her head.

“I’m not sure,” Max conceded, “It’s possible.”

Sandy nodded. “And what if I’m not?”

For some reason, this question caught Max and Michael both off guard.

“I… I don’t know,” Max said.

It was true. Neither Max nor Michael had considered what they would do or say in the event that Sandy turned out to be anything but Antarian. The only question in their minds had been was she a dangerous Antarian… like the skins… or a potential ally… And was she safe for Jason to be with. If she was alien but not Antarian… that was a whole different set of problems. She had powers. They were fairly sure that she wasn’t from earth… at least originally. But that was no guarantee that she was Antarian either. The problem was… she didn’t know.

“I guess the real question,” Liz said, “Is what do you feel… inside? What does your mind tell you?”

“I’ll have to think about that,” Sandy said honestly. “But what you really want to know is if I will betray Jason, isn’t it?”

There was no reply. The truth is, at that moment, no one was quite sure what to say.

“Well, I won’t,” Sandy said. “I love Jason.”

“I… I think we could all see that,” Max said, actually blushing ever so slightly.

“You saw us… out there?” Sandy asked in a shocked tone.

Max nodded, and Sandy smiled sheepishly, matching Max’s blush.

“You weren’t exactly hiding anything,” Max said, “Anybody walking by could see.”

Michael snickered. “Hey, it’s all innocent, Max. Besides, it was late at night. There was no one else around. It’s not like they were showing off their powers for everyone or something.”

“Well, Jason’s friend, Aaron, and Aaron’s little sister saw him zap that guy that attacked Aaron’s sister,” Maria reminded them. “They all saw him do that.”

“Aaron won’t tell,” Sandy said with certainty, “And nobody believes Mike… And I removed that memory from Becky’s mind when I healed her.”

Max smiled and looked at Michael, who nodded appreciatively.

“Way to go,” Michael said. “I don’t suppose you could remove the memory of our being here from your mind now?”

Sandy shook her head.

“I didn’t think so. Max, you’re just going to have to face Jason’s wrath.”

Max groaned.

“Unless maybe… I didn’t mention it…” Sandy said with an endearing grin.

Max smiled, and his eyes lit up perceptibly.

“Well, this was only a dream, right?” Sandy added.

Max nodded… “Sandy… I hope Jason knows what a really lucky guy he is.”

“From what I saw,” Isabel retorted, “I think he’s figured that out already… on his own.”

“Just take us home, Iz,” Max said. “Goodbye, Sandy… and… welcome to our little group… even if it turns out you’re not Antarian.”

Sandy smiled, and Max and the others reappeared in the apartment he lived in with Liz.

“Well, that went well, I thought,” Max said, standing up and smiling.

“For her it did,” Isabel chuckled, “By my count, she got you to answer twice as many questions as you got her to answer… and your undying gratitude.”

Max shrugged. “Are you sure you and Alex can top them, Iz?” He ducked, as three pillows from the sofa sailed over his head.



“What do we do now, Max?” Michael asked, “We’re still going to try to find out who she is, right?”

“We’re going to try,” Max agreed, “It’s for her as much as for us now.”

Liz and Maria both nodded. “I think we should help her find out who she is,” Maria said, “I know I’d want to know.”

“Me, too,” Liz agreed.

Michael put his arm around Maria and walked to the door with her… “Let me know when you come up with a plan, Max. We’ll be here.”

Max nodded. “Thanks, Michael… Thanks, Maria… I appreciate your help. I know it’s for Zan, but…”

Michael laughed… “Hey, all for one, and one for all… like the Musketeers. We hang together… right?” He opened the door and stepped out, almost running into someone standing on the porch…

“Brody? Brody Davis?”

The man smiled…

“In the flesh… if not the mind,” Brody said cryptically.

“Larek?” Michael asked hesitantly.

Larek nodded slightly.

“I thought we didn’t need to meet this way anymore,” Max said, “Since we learned the secrets of the orbs…”

Larek sighed. “Normally, that is true, Zan… but we have a problem.”

“Don’t we always,” Max said.

Larek smiled. “It just seems like it… because whenever I show up…”

Max nodded. “What’s so important and so secret that we couldn’t use the orbs this time and you had to inconvenience Brody Davis again?”

“A girl.”

Max raised his eyebrows. “You want to narrow that down a bit?”

“You already know, Zan. Her name is Azrina.”

“I don’t know…” Max stopped suddenly and caught his breath… “You mean… Sandy?”

Larek nodded.

“As you know, Zan, we got rid of Kivar on Antar…”

“I helped… We all did… We haven’t forgotten,” Max said.

“Yes… and you also know that Nicholas was never captured. He disappeared.”

Max nodded.

“Well, it seems he’s turned up again… and he’s looking for a daughter he had about fourteen years ago…”

Max turned white, and Liz gasped.

Maria’s hand went over her mouth, and tears came to her eyes. “No! I don’t believe it! Sandy can NOT be Nicholas’ daughter. She just can’t be!”

“The problem is not whether he is or is not her father,” Larek replied. “The problem is that he believes he is, and he wants her back. She was hidden from him long ago. Finding her… he may also find your son, Zan.”

Just when it looked like Max couldn’t turn any whiter, he did.

“Is she… Is Sandy… his daughter, Larek?”

Larek smiled slightly and took a deep breath, perhaps judging whether or not he should reveal what he knew, but then he decided that Max, even on earth, was still the king. He nodded.

“Nicholas had a daughter… by an earth woman… not of her choice. After the baby was born, he let his guard down, and the woman escaped, taking the baby with her.”

“Sandy…” Michael said.

Larek shrugged. “Nicholas believes Sandy is that baby.”

“And is she?” Michael asked.

“No.”

For a moment, one could actually feel the sense of relief in the room.

“But that will not matter,” Larek said, “As long as Nicholas believes that she is his daughter, he will keep her… as a prisoner, if necessary.”

“Then we have to let him know that Sandy’s not his daughter,” Isabel said.

“Then he will kill her,” Larek cautioned.

“No. If he knows she’s not his daughter, he’ll forget about her and keep looking for his daughter,” Max said.

Larek shook his head. “It is too late. He already has her. Nicholas knows that this girl is different. He will kill her when he learns that she is not his daughter.

“Sandy?” Maria gasped.

Larek nodded.

“But we were just talking to her,” Isabel said, “Twenty minutes ago.”

Larek shrugged… “I know… I was watching. We’ve been watching Nicholas since he reappeared a few days ago. Nicholas took the girl from her home right after you left her.”

“And if he finds out she’s not his daughter, he’ll kill her,” Michael said.

“And if he doesn’t find out, she’ll be his prisoner… forever,” Max said disgustedly.

“I’m afraid that is the truth of the situation, Zan. But there is more…”

Max groaned. “When you say it that way, Larek, it’s always bad news.”

Larek nodded. “The Council did not want Azrina harmed, but… they believe that your son, Zan, may be in danger… and Zan is of the royal line.”

“And Azrina’s not,” Max asked, “Is that it?”

“Not… exactly,” Larek replied.

“Tell me everything, Larek! Everything you know! Now!” Max commanded sternly.

Larek winced. “Azrina… Sandy… was born from a pod… much as you were, Zan… but she was born under the sea. It was intended that she would be raised there.”

“Under the sea?” Maria repeated, shocked, “What is she… a mermaid or something? People here can’t live underwater… Neither can Antarians as far as I know!”

“The M’rogians can,” Larek replied. “Their world is a water world. Azrina’s protectors were M’rogians. Her physiology was planned… to allow her to live under the sea until she was about six… then the M’rogians would pass her care off to others, who would take care of her on land.”

“And what went wrong,” Max asked.

“A series of unexpected events,” Larek replied, “A hurricane sank an old barge being towed by a freighter, the barge disrupted the pod’s hiding place on the ocean bottom, and the pod was lost. Apparently, it broke open… the baby was found on the beach by the couple who have raised her ever since then. We have always known where she was, but the Council thought that it was best to leave her there.”

“I don’t believe this,” Max said, shaking his head, “Why wasn’t I told all of this before?”

“It wasn’t deemed necessary, your highness.”

“I’m the king!” Max exclaimed. “I don’t want to be worshipped, but I expect to know things like this!”

Larek nodded. “The Council never intended to hide this from you, Zan. It’s just that they saw no reason to tell you… You don’t live on Antar, and…”

“Why was Azrina created, Larek?”

“It was Kivar who had her created.”

At the mention of Kivar, a shudder ran through the room, and everyone stared at Larek, aghast…

“After Kivar found out about the pods… yours and Rath’s and the others… he rounded up the scientists responsible for his betrayal, intending to kill them. But then he decided to have them make one more… one that would guarantee his own survival. They were supposed to take his DNA and recreate him… a baby with all of his memories and desires. It was to be a way for him to live eternally… recreated over and over.”

“Omigod!” Maria whispered, “If Sandy is Kivar’s daughter, that’s just… horrible!”

“What happened?” Michael asked. “Sandy doesn’t look anything like Kivar.”

“The problem,” Larek said, “Was that it might actually have worked. Our scientists cooperated with Kivar… to the extent necessary to remain alive… but they could not stomach the idea of Kivar being potentially immortal. And they had already betrayed him by creating the first pods, which meant that once he had no more use for them, he would probably kill them anyway, so they decided to betray him one more time.

“By stealing the pod and bringing it here?”

“No. Kivar had four pods created. He kept one on Antar, he had one placed at the bottom of the ocean on this planet, he had one placed at the bottom of the ocean on the M’rogians’ planet, which is all water, and he had one hidden on Torgos.”

“There are four?”

“Not anymore. Torgos was hit by a small asteroid, and that pod was lost. Rebel M’rogians found and destroyed the one on their planet. The one here on Antar never developed. The ONLY one that still survives is the one here. After Kivar was killed, the Council kept an eye on the girl. She is, after all, Antarian… half Antarian anyway.”

“Sandy,” Max said, nodding. “You said they betrayed Kivar… if Kivar himself had the pod placed here, how was he betrayed?”

“They did not use his DNA after they took it from him.”

For a moment, Max looked surprised, but then he nodded. “Whose DNA did they use?”

“DNA that was left over… after your pods were seeded.”

“Whoa! You may have two children, Max,” Michael said, “That’s going to put a real crunch on Zan’s crush!”

Larek shook his head. “The DNA used was from Rath.”

Michael’s jaw dropped, and he struggled for words, “Me? Sandy was from my… from Rath’s DNA?”

“In a real biological sense, Michael, you are her father.”

Michael turned to look at Maria and saw that Liz was holding her up and fanning her… but she was beginning to come around again.

“Omigod, Michael,” Maria said, after she had got her voice back, “Do you realize what this means? Sandy is your daughter!”

Michael nodded then kind of smiled. “It’s okay… I guess. She seems like a nice girl.”

“There’s more,” Larek said.

Michael, Max, Maria, and Liz all groaned this time.

“I don’t want to hear the bad part, Larek,” Michael said. “Can’t we just leave it as it is?”

“We can… if you wish,” Larek agreed, “It really isn’t necessary for you to know whose DNA was combined with yours… who the mother was.”

“Tell us,” Michael and Maria both said.

Larek nodded. “Each pod had a different donor mother. The one on M’rogia was a M’rogian woman. It only made sense, because the child would have to pass for a M’rogian.”

Michael nodded.

“The one on Torgos used DNA from a Torgosian woman, and the one here on Antar used DNA from an Antarian woman.”

“Who?” Michael asked.

“Ava,” Larek replied simply. “It was leftover DNA, like yours.”

“That one never developed, right?”

“That is correct,” Larek said.

Michael breathed an obvious sigh of relief and took another deep breath…

“And the one here… on earth?”

“An earth woman.”

“This would have been in the late forties, right?” Michael asked.

Larek shook his head. “Actually, no. Kivar didn’t learn about your pods until about fifteen years after they were hidden… then he had to round up the scientists involved. He had his pods made a little over thirty years ago… thirty-three to be precise.”

Michael swallowed. “Whoever the donor was, she could still be alive. Thirty-three years ago…” Michael started to calculate… “Add to that about twenty years, because she would have been an adult, and she would be about, what… fiftyish now?”

“It was Amy DeLuca,” Larek said.

“Amy…! Amy agreed to this?!” Michael gasped.

“Rath!” Larek said, shaking his head in disbelief and adopting a tone that almost sounded condescending… “It’s called abduction here. Look at this body. Do you see Larek… or do you see Brody Davis? They go their own way afterward and never know the difference. They’re not hurt. It’s the best way.”

“From your point of view maybe,” Michael scoffed.

Maria began to laugh hysterically, and Michael turned to look at her…

“I don’t see what’s so funny about that, Maria! It’s weird! It’s perverted! It’s not funny! She’s my mother-in-law, for God’s sake!”

“I know,” Maria said, sniffling, “And she’s my mother, but if I don’t laugh, I’ll just be crying.”

Michael realized that it was true… Maria was laughing and crying at the same time. Huge tears were rolling down her cheeks.

“But this would make you related to Sandy, too,” Liz said, trying to cheer Maria up. “Maybe that’s not so bad, Maria!”

“I know,” Maria conceded, “But it’s like Michael said, it’s just weird. That means Sandy is my sister and my sister is my husband’s daughter.”

“There’s more…” Larek said.

Everyone turned to look at him in disbelief.

“The DNA from the DeLuca woman turned out to be incompatible.”

Larek had finally worn out the indulgence of everyone in the room… especially Maria… and one look into her eyes told him that it was way past time to get this over with, or Brody Davis’ body might be severely damaged. He coughed slightly and continued…

“It was fortunate that the DeLuca woman happened to be with child at the time. The baby’s DNA was a perfect compliment to Rath’s.”

Michael heaved and staggered then turned to look at Maria, but Liz was holding Maria up and fanning her again.

“Maria… Maria is… Sandy’s mother?” Michael gasped, rushing to Maria’s side and taking her into his own arms to hold her up.

Larek nodded.

Looking at Michael’s eyes, for a moment, Larek wondered if Brody Davis’ body might get damaged anyway, but then Maria began to come around, and Michael turned his attention to her…

“You took your sweet time getting to the truth, Larek.”

“I thought you would want ALL the details, Rath. I didn’t want to hide anything from you and Zan again.”

“You could have started at the end and worked backwards from there,” Michael grumbled.

Larek raised his eyebrows. “This is such a strange planet. Everything here is backwards.”

“Be thankful you’re in Brody’s body,” Michael said, “Or your head might be attached backwards after that.”

Larek held up his hands in surrender.

“Oh, God!” Michael exclaimed, as it sank in… “Maria… and I… are Sandy’s genetic parents. That’s so… awesome!”

Maria put one arm around Michael’s neck and pulled his face to hers, kissing him, then she smiled… “Daddy… again. I think I like it! This was the easiest delivery of any my children.”

She started to get up, but realized that her head hurt now… “Unh… but maybe not by much! Can I hit him, Michael? Please! Just once?”

Michael shrugged, “Sure, why not?”

Larek stepped backwards and put his hands up for protection, but Maria didn’t follow through on her threat.

“I really would like to be going now,” Larek said, “But there is one more… little… matter.”

“What?” everyone in the room said together.

“Nicholas has Sandy now.”

“Nicholas has Sandy,” Maria repeated, in shock, as the stark reality set in… “That perverted little slimeball… that sorry little excuse of an alien douchebag… kidnapped MY little girl… OUR LITTLE GIRL!” She turned to Michael imploringly, and Michael swallowed and took a deep breath. Every second that he thought about Nicholas having his and Maria’s daughter, even if he had only just learned that she was their daughter, he became more and more angry… until it looked like something might explode if he didn’t say something soon. Liz put her hand on Michael’s arm and looked at him sympathetically… “We’ll help you get her back, Michael.”

“We all will,” Max said, stepping forward to face Michael. “We’ll find Nicholas… and we’ll get Sandy back… I promise!”

Michael closed his eyes and tried to calm himself, but even Liz and Max’s words of encouragement hurt, only making him dwell more deeply on the fact that Nicholas was holding his and Maria’s daughter captive. Nicholas! The slimiest little snake on this side of Antar… had kidnapped his and Maria’s daughter!

“I’LL FIND HER! COUNT ON IT!”

The words almost exploded out of him, as though from a pressure cooker that had just reached “critical mass…” He took another deep breath and managed to bring his voice level back down several decibels…

“I’ll find her… and when I do, that little twerp better not be anywhere near her… or I swear, Max, he’s toast! If he hurts her… there won’t be any place on this planet or any other planet that’s far enough away where he can hide.”

Max nodded.

Michael didn’t wait for any further discussion on the subject… Instead, he immediately took charge. He didn’t ask for anyone’s opinion or permission, and Max knew that he wouldn’t. Max understood and expected it. As the once-king’s protector and defender of the kingdom, Michael usually sought Max’s opinion and advice in matters that affected them all, even if he didn’t always follow it; but this was personal. Nicholas would soon know just how personal.

Michael turned toward Maria, and the message that she read in his eyes was unmistakable. She might have almost felt sorry for Nicholas, but she didn’t. She suspected that what SHE would do to him, especially if he hurt Sandy, would be at least as unpleasant… assuming that Michael left anything for her to exact her revenge on.

Michael put an arm around Maria and managed a small smile…

“Let’s go find our daughter.”



Not far from Sandy's house, a small cargo-type Isuzu truck was making its way out of town. Behind the wheel was a boy who appeared to be no more than fourteen or fifteen. But that appearance was deceiving. Nicholas was not the adolescent kid whose body he was trapped in… and would remain trapped in… until the next “harvest…” if indeed there ever was another “harvest,” which seemed unlikely now; but that was just another one of many things that Nicholas hated this planet for.

By his own account, Nicholas had personally killed Michael back on Antar, where Michael was known as Rath, and had helped depose Zan from the throne. Nicholas was twenty-five then, when Zan was overthrown, and that was well before the crash of July 2, 1947 in Roswell.

Unlike Max, Michael, Isabel, and Tess, Nicholas was not “reborn” from a pod as a young child starting all over. He was placed in the prepared body… or “husk…” of an earth boy… a barely adolescent earth boy. “Husks” had to be prepared first… for a considerable amount of time. They weren't easy to obtain. When the husks were ready, the aliens that Max and the others knew as “skins” acquired the bodies they needed to survive in earth’s atmosphere in an act that they called the “harvest.” But inside the boy’s body, or husk, Nicholas was still himself… a man… an alien man notwithstanding. He had been on earth almost as long as Michael and Max. But there was something about this cursed adolescent body that not only made him look like he was fourteen but often made him act like it, to his great consternation.

And as for girls… the ones Nicholas had an eye for were always 18 to 25 years old, occasionally a little older. They either patted Nicholas on the head and told him to come back in ten years or ran from the self-absorbed, precocious little ogre-child like the 13 and 14-year-old girls did.

Nicholas did finally find a “mate,” but not a willing one. He kidnapped her and kept her hidden for two years, fathering a child by her, a baby girl. But then he made a mistake. His self-absorbed ego allowed him to believe that his kidnapped “bride” was beginning to warm up to him, and he left her alone and unchained for just long enough for her to take her baby and escape far away to where Nicholas would never find them. That was thirteen years ago. Sandy was fourteen now… and she had powers. Nicholas was pretty sure that he had found his daughter. He knew immediately that the woman caring for her was not his escaped “bride,” but that, he figured, was because she had given the baby up for adoption… probably thinking that it would protect the baby from him. Nicholas smiled. He had the child. He was sure that he would soon have her mother again, too. What he did not know was that he was about to have something else… something that he never expected or counted on…

It was Saturday, and Sandy’s adoptive mother was sleeping when Nicholas crept into the girl’s bedroom. The sun had barely begun to rise, and normally Sandy would have slept in till nine, at least, on a Saturday morning. But this day she was rudely awakened by a hand clamped over her mouth. Before she could react, her mouth was taped and a large burlap bag was thrown over her. Nicholas quickly tied the bag tight, then he half carried, half dragged it to the waiting truck. It was all done very quietly. He probably wouldn’t have even awakened the family dog… if there had been one. The operation had been performed masterfully and in less time than even he had hoped.

But someone did see him.

Normally, Aaron hated getting out of bed early, but Saturdays were different. On Saturdays, he could scarcely wait to grab his bike or his skateboard and head out on the street to ride. Something about Saturday was different than other days! Saturdays were invigorating! Saturdays were happy! Saturdays were…

Aaron stopped as he rounded the corner on his skateboard, then he ducked out of sight behind a parked car. A strange boy was dragging a large bag out of Sandy’s house, and someone was inside it. All he could see of the person inside the bag was some locks of hair that protruded from the bag… but he could see that the victim was struggling to get out, and he knew it was Sandy. The “boy” didn’t look too formidable. Aaron thought, for a moment, that he might take him himself, but something was setting off warning bells in his mind. Something told him this “boy” was far more dangerous than appearances would suggest. Aaron watched as Nicholas struggled to push the bag into the cab of the truck then got in and quickly drove away. Then Aaron turned around and raced away, too… in the direction of Jason’s house.

Jason awoke to the sound of rocks pelting his window and someone excitedly yelling his name. Opening the window, he looked out at Aaron…

“Aaron? What’s going on, man? You’re going to wake up the whole neighborhood!”

“Somebody kidnapped Sandy!” Aaron managed to say, trying to catch his breath. “They put her in a bag and drove off with her in a truck!”

Jason climbed out the window and jumped to the ground.

“Are you sure it was Sandy?”

“Positive! They drove off with her in a truck. She was fighting to get out of the bag.”

“Where did they go?”

“North… toward the I.”

Jason swallowed. “They’ll have to go down several one-way streets if they’re heading to the highway. It’ll take them ten minutes at least. We could beat them. Come on!”

Jason grabbed his skateboard, and both boys headed off toward the highway. They didn’t worry about one-way streets. In fact, for the most part, they didn’t use streets… Jason cut through a small alley, two yards, and a park, then he went over a small footbridge that crossed a creek and brought them out next to the on-ramp to the interstate.

“Do you think they already got on I-95 Aaron?”

Aaron shook his head. “I came and got you as soon as I saw it happening, Jas. I don’t think they could have got here yet.”

“Maybe they weren’t going to the I,” Jason suggested. Aaron shrugged, but at that moment, the truck appeared at the end of the street.

“There it is!” Aaron yelled, “That’s it!”

As the truck approached, Jason got a glimpse of the “boy” driving it, and he knew that, no matter what, he could not let this boy get away with Sandy. The truck drove past the two skateboarders and headed up the on-ramp onto the interstate… but unknown to the driver, it acquired an unexpected trailer on the way. Jason had grabbed hold of the handle at the bottom of the truck’s rear door as it had gone by and was holding on for dear life as the truck merged onto the interstate, speeding up to sixty then seventy miles per hour and moving into the faster left lane. The wheels on Jason’s skateboard seemed to actually scream as they spun faster than they had ever been intended to. Feeling the wind trying to pull his pants off, Jason used one of his hands to grab his belt, but someone already had their hands on it. He turned and looked behind him. Aaron was holding onto his belt.

“Aaron! Are you crazy! What are you doing? You shouldn’t be doing this?”

“And you should?” Aaron asked.

Jason had no immediate answer for Aaron’s retort. He knew that what they were doing was impulsive and rash. But at the moment, neither one saw any reason to regret his actions.

For about five minutes, both boys held on tightly, Jason to the truck and Aaron to Jason’s belt, and hoped that the wheels on their skateboards would hold out. That’s when a patrol car passed them going in the opposite direction. The officer looked out his window and saw a truck go by towing two skateboarders in the fast lane of the interstate. He blinked once and took a quick second look, then the blue lights came on and the cruiser skidded across the median, sliding on the grass as it tried to gain traction. Immediately, the cruiser headed off after the truck, its siren wailing and lights flashing, and the officer radioed headquarters to report that he was in pursuit of an Isuzu cargo truck and two skateboarders doing seventy-eight on the interstate.

Nicholas cursed, as the blue lights and siren came on behind him. He knew that if he stopped, he wouldn’t merely receive a ticket for going a few miles per hour over the speed limit, he would be dragged down to the police station as an underage driver. They would want to know who his parents were so they could call them. It was humiliating to be trapped in this child’s body. But it was even worse than that… He had a kidnapped girl in a burlap sack in the truck with him. He cursed this planet… he cursed the people who lived here… he even cursed himself for his own stupid impatience… for allowing them to put him into this child’s body rather than waiting for a more appropriate one. He had no way of knowing that there would never be another harvest.

Nicholas did know one thing, though… he could not allow himself to be caught. Putting the pedal to the floor, he pushed the truck’s speed up as high as it would go, hitting ninety, then briefly a hundred and five miles per hour, but the police car behind him was having no problem keeping up. Nicholas cursed this stupid earth transportation… and himself for not stealing something faster.

He looked around and assessed his options. Ahead on the highway, ten or twelve semi’s were bunched together in the two right hand lanes, and Nicholas saw his salvation. He would swerve between the semi’s then hide on the other side of them, using them as a shield. He was pretty sure that if he maneuvered between them fast enough… and suddenly enough… the cop would be unable to get between the trucks in time to stay on him. Once on the other side, he could take the next exit off the I and disappear with the girl. By the time the cop could turn around and get back to the exit, he would be gone.

Nicholas pulled up alongside the line of trucks in the two right hand lanes and chose his opportunity carefully… then, without warning, he swerved, cutting between two of the semi’s. As expected, the cruiser flew by, unable to get between the trucks in time. But the dangerous maneuver also proved too much for Jason to handle. He and Aaron were whipped outward and then back around like the snap of a whip, and Jason lost his hold on the truck handle. For a brief moment, he saw himself heading straight for the side of a semi…

“DUCK!” Jason just had time to yell, as he bent down low and passed under the tractor trailer, missing the oncoming rear wheels by inches. Somehow, Aaron managed to keep his grip on Jason’s belt, though he feared that it might break at any moment. As the two boys emerged on the other side of the semi, they saw the Isuzu directly in front of them, nestled in between the big tractor trailers, and Jason quickly grabbed the rear handle again.

“I don’t want to know how you got us under that semi and out again without getting mashed flat,” Aaron said, trying to catch his breath. “Don’t ever tell me you don’t have the Force with you, Jason, because I won’t believe it!”

In the Isuzu, Nicholas smiled smugly and laughed to himself as the police cruiser flew by the big rigs, unable… or unwilling… to match his reckless maneuver. But his gloating was short lived. The truck drivers, who had been listening in on the police band, quickly pinned the Isuzu in. Then the semi’s slowed to a stop, as the police cruiser pulled back in behind them. Unable to move forward or backward, and with his own vehicle coming to a standstill, Nicholas opened the door and leapt out. But he didn’t run. He still wanted Sandy. He would play it smart… wait for the right moment…

The police officer got out of his car and walked toward the Isuzu. As he passed the semi’s, the truckers gave him a thumbs up, and the officer smiled and returned the gesture.

“It’s just a kid!” one of the truckers said, “A punk kid!”

“Hey, officer,” another trucker yelled, sticking his head out the window of his cab, “If you want, I’ll spank him for ya.”

Nicholas scowled, and his hands opened like they wanted to respond, in the usual way, to the insult, but he held his actions in check… for the moment.

“I can take it from here,” the officer said, “You guys can get back on the road… I know you’ve got schedules to meet. Thanks for the help.”

“Anytime,” several of the truckers yelled back.

“If you want me to administer that paddling, officer, just call. My number’s on the back of the rig,” the previous trucker said, laughing.

“I’ll keep it in mind,” the officer yelled back with a grin. Then, one by one, the truckers each drove off, as the policeman sauntered up to Nicholas and looked him over.

“A little young to be drivin’ aren’t you fella?”

“I don’t think I heard that,” Nicholas responded.

The officer chuckled. “Hard of hearing?” He stepped closer to Nicholas…

“Where are your buddies?”

Nicholas had no idea what the officer meant, and he almost let the question pass, but something told him that it was important.

“What do you mean?”

“You know… the two pals you were towing behind the truck… the ones on skateboards.”

Nicholas’ mind reversed direction, going back to the on-ramp… He had passed two skateboarders. In his mind’s eye, now, he focused on their faces. He hadn’t paid them any attention before… but he had seen them. That was enough. He stared at the faces in his mind. Still, he had no idea who they were, but they intrigued him… and worried him.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about, officer. There’s nobody with me.”

“I saw what I saw, fella,” the officer said, nodding, “I’m gonna have to check the truck.”

Nicholas stepped in front of the officer, and the officer placed his hand on the “boy’s” shoulder to move him aside. As he did, Nicholas reached up unexpectedly and placed his own hands on each side of the officer’s head. The officer let out a scream that would have awakened a dead man and dropped to his knees, gasping for breath.

Nicholas grinned. “So you like the idea of having me paddled, huh?”

The officer screamed again, in excruciating pain, as something grabbed his mind like a claw and threatened to rip his brain apart.

“That’s just a tiny sample of what I’m going to do to you,” Nicholas gloated, “Prepare to experience hell.”

Nicholas concentrated and pressed both hands tighter against the officer’s skull, but before he could rip the man’s brain apart from the inside with his power, a ball of energy struck him in the chest, sending him reeling onto the ground. Released from Nicholas’ death grip, the officer also dropped to the ground, like a sandbag, and lay there moaning in pain.

Nicholas turned to see who his attacker was and saw a boy… with his hand out… and his palm glowing. Quickly putting out the smoldering flame that threatened to consume his shirt where the mass of energy had struck him, and satisfying himself that he had not been seriously injured by the surprise attack, Nicholas brushed himself off and stood back up, looking the boy over.

“Well, well, well, well, well… What do we have here? A BOY… with powers that these primitive earth creatures shouldn’t have. Now what sort of boy would have such powers? Hmmm… let me think… This is just a crazy guess…” Nicholas paused for several long moments to smirk again. “Zan. Max’s son, Zan, might have such powers. I think today might turn out to be a good day after all.”

“Don’t try anything,” Jason said, “I’ll hit you again. I can hit you even harder than I did before.”

“With those little fireballs?” Nicholas laughed derisively. “You couldn’t do anything more than knock me off my feet… and that was only because I wasn’t expecting it. You’re not powerful enough to hurt me.”

Nicholas took a step toward Jason, and Jason followed through with his threat, hitting Nicholas squarely in the chest with another mass of energy. Nicholas staggered, but only for a moment. He quickly stifled the smoking embers… and then smirked…

“See?”

Jason threw a barrage of energy balls at Nicholas, but it seemed that with each one, Nicholas only gloated more.

“Give it up, Zan. You can’t win. Your dad couldn’t beat me. I deposed him from his throne and he was killed. Rath couldn’t beat me… I killed him myself. What makes you think you could do what they couldn’t?”

“Maybe they didn’t get a fair chance at you,” Jason said feistily.

“Well, here I am,” Nicholas said, holding his arms out, inviting Jason to hit him again. “Do your worst.”

“Did you give them that chance… or attack them from ambush like a thief,” Jason asked, showing an uncanny perception of the truth.

Nicholas scowled. “They had their chance; they lost it.”

“I thought so,” Jason said. For a moment, a dark cloud seemed to come over Nicholas, and his lips curled in a sort of sneer, but then he composed himself again.

“Get in the cab, Zan. You’re going with me.”

“No one’s going with you,” Aaron said, stepping out from behind the truck and slamming Nicholas in the back of the head from behind with his skateboard. Nicholas found himself on the ground again, this time with a rapidly growing knot and a seriously throbbing head; but he quickly got back up then grabbed Aaron, who was about his own size, like Jason, and pressed both hands to Aaron’s head tightly.

“Now it’s your choice, Zan. You can keep this up… and your foolish friend here gets his brains scrambled… or you can get in the cab and go with me. What’s it going to be?”

“Don’t hurt him,” Jason said, turning somewhat pale, having seen what Nicholas could do and his willingness to do it. “Alright… alright… I’ll go with you.”

Nicholas shoved Aaron toward Jason. “I don’t know who you are, kid, but I can use you to keep Zan here in check, so you just won a free ride… until I don’t need you anymore.”

“What do you want with ME,” Jason asked. “Who are you?”

“WHO I am is none of your business,” Nicholas said, assuming an air of self-importance and imagined regality, “But I’ll tell you. You SHOULD know the name of the one who defeated Zan and Rath on our planet. It’s Nicholas! My name is Nicholas. Remember it! And as for what I want with you… isn’t that obvious?” Nicholas’ lips widened slowly into a sardonic grin… “You’re the bait.”

For the first time, a genuine sense of morbid fear ran through Jason from head to toe.



Nicholas had turned off of I-95 North almost immediately after attacking the patrolman and kidnapping Jason and Aaron and was now going east on US 70, as Jason worked feverishly to untie the burlap sack holding Sandy. Apparently, Nicholas no longer felt that keeping Sandy in the bag was necessary, because he made no effort to stop Jason from releasing her. In a short time, Jason had Sandy out of the bag and in the seat with him and the tape off of her mouth… and she immediately kissed him and hugged him. Nicholas rolled his eyes and groaned but said nothing. Aaron just smiled.

Slightly less than ten minutes after getting on US 70, Nicholas exited at a rest stop, behind a red Hummer that he had been following for the last several miles. The owner of the Hummer got out of his vehicle and went to the rest room. He locked his doors, but that was no deterrent at all to Nicholas. Easily opening the Hummer’s doors, Nicholas used his powers to quickly change the license plate number and the vehicle’s color… to black… and to start the engine. Then he changed the color and license number of the Isuzu so that it would not be immediately connected with this incident and no one would know which way he had gone. Then, he ordered everyone out of the Isuzu and into the Hummer. It was well thought out and easy… almost too easy… and casual for Nicholas, as though he did this sort of thing every day.

Jason climbed into the back seat of the Hummer with Sandy and Aaron. At least now he would not have to be squished up against Nicholas anymore in the front seat of the truck. That was some consolation. And he had Sandy with him… That made him both happy and frightened at the same time. He could scarcely deny that Sandy’s presence made him happy… even giddy, but he wished that she were not there… at least not now… and not like this. This “boy” who called himself Nicholas was obviously self-absorbed and dangerous… far more dangerous than Jason could afford to ignore. Of this, Jason was certain. If they were ever going to get away, he knew that he was going to have to remain vigilant and on his toes… never let his guard down for a moment… and it wouldn’t hurt to have any information that he might be able to get…

“Where are we going?”

“You don’t need to know,” Nicholas replied curtly.

For a while, they continued to drive east on US 70, toward the coast, in silence; then, unexpectedly, Nicholas became talkative…

“Do you know what irony is, Zan?”

Jason shrugged. “You mean like me being here… with you right now?”

“That would be one example, I guess,” Nicholas said, nodding slightly, “Or like my being here on this backward planet… in this stupid child’s body… when I should be a prince living in exotic splendor in the palace on Antar.”

“Oh,” Jason said simply.

“But that wasn’t what I was thinking of when I asked the question,” Nicholas continued, “I was thinking about this road.”

“US 70?”

Nicholas nodded. “Here you are, Max’s son, Zan, living near the east coast of North Carolina just off US 70. Do you know where US 70 goes… in the other direction?”

Jason shrugged. “All the way across North Carolina, I guess… maybe into Tennessee.”

“Through Tennessee and much further,” Nicholas said, “Here you are… and my daughter… on one end… and on the other end is Las Cruces… and Roswell… where your father is. Ironic, isn’t it? This road connects you and your father… This road… and a little over 1,700 miles.”

“New Mexico?”

“Yeah.”

“My real father… is in New Mexico?”

“You didn’t know?”

“Well, I’ve met him… kind of… but… No, I didn’t know where he lived… New Mexico…”

“Roswell,” Nicholas repeated.

Suddenly, Jason knew what Nicholas was hinting at. Roswell… the alleged UFO crash in the 1940’s… his father… Jason’s mind put the pieces together, and he swallowed and looked at Sandy. She understood.

“Is that why you kidnapped me,” Sandy asked… “Was my real dad from Roswell, too?”

Nicholas grinned. “No. I am your real dad.”

Sandy’s mouth dropped open, there was an audible gasp, and her face became momentarily pale; but as she thought about it, she knew, deep within her body and soul, that it wasn’t so. Perhaps it was her unusual sense of intuition and the occasional glimpses into the future that told her, perhaps it was just normal intuition, but whatever it was, she was certain that this “boy,” whatever else he might be, was not her father. Oddly enough, she was just as certain that he actually believed he was. Unsure how much she should say under the circumstances, Sandy buried her face against Jason’s chest, and he put his arms around her.

Jason glared at Nicholas so accusingly that Nicholas actually felt it… burning into his back.

“If that displeases you, Zan, I really don’t give a damn. She’s my daughter. That’s a fact that you will just have to accept… not that I care if you don’t. It won’t change anything, and it doesn’t matter anyway. If you think I would ever allow you to have her, you’re more stupid than I give you credit for. You are nothing to me but bait for a larger fish.”

“My father.”

Nicholas grinned and nodded.

“After I have caught, gutted, and filleted that fish, I will have no further need for the bait.”

Jason understood completely the implications of what Nicholas was saying. He was expendable… just a means to obtain an end… Max… the king… the real obsession.

“You’re Captain Ahab… chasing Moby Dick,” Jason said under his breath.

“Never heard of them,” Nicholas replied, overhearing the comment.

Jason shook his head. “It’s not important. It’s just a story we read… about an obsessed whaler who was chasing a big white whale… He finally found it.”

Nicholas grinned. “This Ahab sounds like me then… a noble captain chasing the biggest catch of all… and finally catching it… I like it! Too bad I don’t have the time to indulge myself in useless fictional drivel the way these stupid earth creatures do.

Jason looked at Sandy, and both of them smiled. They wouldn’t tell Nicholas that Captain Ahab lost his life to the big white whale that had been his obsession… that after he finally did find it, it wound up drowning him and carrying him to the bottom of the sea.



Many miles away, Michael placed his finger on a spot on the map near the intersection of I-95 and US 70.

“Smithfield. Larek’s contact on Antar said Nicholas turned off of I-95 and was traveling east on US 70. That was three hours ago. We haven’t got an update since then. Do you think this receiver’s still working?”

“Maybe they just don’t have anything more to tell us yet,” Max said, as he drove east on US 70, already in Arkansas and doing considerably more than the posted 70 mph speed limit.

Passing under a bridge and back out again, Max glanced to his right and saw a police cruiser hidden behind the culvert. It was too late to slow down… he had already been tagged by the radar. Max waved and smiled and continued on without slowing down. The patrolman looked at his radar screen and scratched his head. Then he looked up again. The car was already out of sight. He looked at his radar screen again and gave it a whack on the side, knowing that it had to be wrong. Briefly, he considered going after the car and clocking it with his speedometer, but instead, he picked up his microphone to radio another cruiser further along up the road. But then he put the microphone down. No, even if Willard stops him, the radar said he was only doing 65. Any ticket would never stick. But then he picked up the microphone and called anyway…

“Uh, Unit 89… What’s your Ten-Four?”

“Madison… north side of the bridge.”

“Watch for a red Chevy coupe. It should pass you in about a minute and a half, I figure. I clocked it at 65, but this friggin radar’s gotta be screwed up.”

“I’m on it.”

“Thanks.”

A little under a minute later, Max passed under the Madison Bridge and smiled at the radar. The patrolman looked at his screen and shook his head then picked up his microphone…

“Sixty-five, Bob… on the money. That’s what my radar says.”

The first patrolman sighed. “All right… thanks, Willard.”

“No sweat.”

“I wish I had Max’s power to control radar emissions,” Maria said, as she looked back and saw that, just like every other time they had seen a patrol car or radar trap since leaving Roswell, there were no blue lights behind them or police cars chasing them.

“I wish I had Michael’s power to put a protective force field around my car,” Liz said with a laugh. “I wouldn’t want to be going this fast if we didn’t have him with us.”

Maria sighed. “I know… I wouldn’t recommend it either… but to get my daughter back from Nicholas, I’d do it… force field or not.”

Liz nodded. She understood what Maria was feeling. And she knew that Michael was feeling it, too. Michael had scarcely spoken since leaving Roswell, except to wonder about when Larek’s contact was going to have more information for them. His mind was hardly idle, though… There hadn’t been a second that had gone by that he hadn’t thought of another way to kill Nicholas if they found out that Sandy had been hurt.




Nicholas turned off of US 70 onto a small road… then onto an unpaved road that ran through an uninhabited, forested wilderness area, ultimately going off the road altogether and driving overland, which was no problem in the Hummer. He wound up at the edge of a saltwater bog or tidal pool. Jason could hear the ocean in the distance, and he thought that he could just see some sand dunes through the trees. He knew that they were not far away from the ocean.

“We’re here,” Nicholas said.

Jason, Sandy, and Aaron looked around at the landscape… “Where is HERE?” Jason asked, “It looks like the middle of nowhere. There’s nothing but trees… and a tidal bog.”

“Exactly,” Nicholas smirked, “We are in the middle of nowhere. Now we wait.”

Jason looked at Aaron, and Aaron shrugged.

“How long are we going to wait here?” Jason asked.

“As long as it takes for Max to find us.”

“You want him to find you?” Aaron asked, surprised.

“You can’t catch a fish if it doesn’t come to your line,” Nicholas retorted smugly. “I’m expecting him. He will not be expecting what I have planned for HIM.”

“My dad doesn’t know I’m here,” Jason said. “He won’t come.”

Nicholas laughed. “Zan… you disappoint me! Do you think for one moment that I didn’t know you’ve been in touch with him from the moment I picked you up?”

“I haven’t been,” Jason said honestly… “I wouldn’t know how to.” That last part was not entirely true. Jason ‘suspected’ that he could contact Max if he needed to… but until now he had only spoken to him in dreams, and it was Isabel who had facilitated those interactions. Jason did think that Max heard him when he said ‘Thanks,’ once… and he had ‘felt’ a response from Max that time. But that had been a feeling.

“What are you planning to do to him,” Jason asked.

“You’ll see,” Nicholas gloated.

Jason looked around but only saw trees and the tidal bog. Nothing looked amiss. The area was untamed and wild… but nothing that he would not have expected in such a setting. He turned and started to walk towards the ocean, but Nicholas stopped him.

“You afraid I’ll escape?”

“I’m not afraid of anything,” Nicholas smirked, “If you must know, going that way would be dangerous.”

Jason stopped and looked around again. He really didn’t know why this direction would be any more dangerous than any other. He decided that the comment had probably been intended as a threat… of what Nicholas would do to him if he tried to stray. He sat down beside Sandy, and Sandy leaned her head on his shoulder. That made Jason smile.

Aaron sat down near Jason and Sandy, shaking his head. “That guy’s totally loco, Jason. We’ll be out here forever. He thinks you called your dad somehow, and he intends to wait until he gets here… even if it’s forever.”

Jason nodded.

“Can you do that, Jason… I mean, contact your dad?”

Jason shrugged. “I don’t know. I think so… maybe. But if I do contact him, he’ll come, and then Nicholas will kill him.”

“That little punk?” Aaron exclaimed under his breath. “I almost think I could take him! I’ll bet you and I together could take him! Crap, I’ll bet Sandy could take him!”

Sandy smiled, and Jason looked at her. Then he smiled, too.

“She probably can,” Jason chuckled, but then he shook his head. “He’s not what he looks like, Aaron. Remember, he said that stuff about being in a boy’s body but really being a man. He’s dangerous. He’s got alien powers. You saw what he did to the cop back there.”

“Yeah… how did he do that?”

Jason shrugged. “It’s just a power that he has.”

“A stupid power,” Aaron said, “Who gave him that power anyway?”

“I don’t think anyone gets to approve what powers anyone gets,” Jason said, smiling. “It’s kind of genetic… or something… alien genetic.”

“Yeah,” Aaron nodded, “Well, it’s weird.”



Max had crossed the state of Tennessee, from west to east, in a little over three hours, which was no small feat considering the width of the state. They were now in North Carolina but still a good distance from the coast.

“Has Larek’s contact given you anything else, Michael,” Max asked.

“The last thing he had was that Nicholas had dumped the truck and was now driving a military-type vehicle. I think he meant a Hummer, based on the description.” Michael pushed the little receiver deeper into his ear and listened again.

“Anything?”

“I thought I heard something,” Michael said, “But I guess I was mistaken.”

“Intergalactic wrong number,” Max joked.

“Wait a minute,” Michael said, tapping the little receiver and listening… then removing it from his ear.

“What is it,” Max asked.

“Shhh…” Michael said, holding his hand up and listening without the receiver in his ear. Then he smiled…

“It’s our road map… I know where Sandy is.”

“Where is she?” Maria asked excitedly, “Is she okay?”

Michael listened again then nodded. “She’s okay.”

Maria squealed with delight… and not a little relief… then threw her arms around Michael and Liz.

“I won’t hug you, Max. I don’t want us to have to depend on that force field to save us if you drive off the road going 140.”

Max smiled… “Darn.”

“There’s one more thing,” Michael said, listening to the voice in his head again… “Jason and a friend of his are with Nicholas and Sandy. Nicholas kidnapped them, too.”

Liz looked at Max and saw that he had turned several shades paler, but his color began to come back almost immediately… and as it did, their speed seemed to rise proportionally.

“Michael… how good is that force field of yours?” Maria asked, holding onto his arm a little tighter.

Michael swallowed then smiled… “Good enough. Go for it, Max.”

Max didn’t need the encouragement… but he took it.



“I’m getting bored, Jason,” Aaron said, lying back on the grass under the trees and fidgeting. “I don’t think anyone’s going to show up, and then when monkeyface over there finally realizes that nobody’s coming, he’s going to knock us all off. I think we ought to see if we can take him. Between you and me, maybe we can do it… if we catch him off guard. I mean, you’ve got powers, too… not like his maybe, but you’re no pushover. I’ve seen what you can do.”

Jason didn’t reply. He wasn’t sure that he agreed with Aaron on every point, but he couldn’t totally refute what he had said either.

“Let’s wait a while longer, Aaron.”

“Why?”

“Because I think my dad’s coming.”

Aaron sat up and looked at Jason… “You ‘contacted’ him?”

“Kind of… Not exactly… I didn’t tell him anything at first… I just sort of made a connection with him for a few moments. I felt his presence and I knew that he was coming. He knows where we are.”

“He does?”

Jason nodded.

“How does he know that?”

Jason shrugged. “I told him… but he already knew.”

“My dad told him,” Sandy said.

Both boys looked at Sandy, surprised…

“That little twerp over there?” Aaron asked.

“He’s not my dad,” Sandy said, spitting the words out, “I knew that almost as soon as he said it.”

“Why did he say it then,” Aaron asked.

“He thinks I’m his daughter. He has a daughter about my age, but she’s hiding from him.”

“Smart girl,” Aaron said, nodding, “I would, too. He’s a psycho! Who’d want a psycho monkeyface fourteen-year-old for their dad anyway?”

Sandy smiled… “I already knew I wasn’t his daughter, but after he said that, I started wondering about who my real father really was… and then you and Jason started talking about contacting his father… so I decided to try to contact mine… about two hours ago.”

Jason’s mouth dropped open, but then he began to smile.

“He’s coming, too, isn’t he!”

Sandy nodded. “Don’t let monkeyface hear you say it. My dad wants to surprise him.”

“Yessss!” Aaron said, glancing at Nicholas, who was still far enough away that he couldn’t hear their conversation.

“I only held the connection with my dad for a few moments,” Jason said, “But I told him to look out when he gets here, because Nicholas has something planned for him… but I didn’t know what it was.”

“Good thinking,” Aaron agreed.

Jason shrugged. “I wasn’t going to tell him where we were, because I didn’t want him to fall into Monkeyface’s trap, but he already knew.”

“I’ve got a feeling if we hadn’t told them, they would have found out one way or the other anyway,” Sandy said, “They were already on the way.”

Jason thought about it then nodded.

Suddenly, Sandy noticed that Nicholas had perked up and seemed to be listening intently…

“Do you think he heard us?”

Jason looked around and swallowed but then shook his head. “I hear something. It sounds like a car. I think that’s what Nicholas is looking for.”

Sandy listened then nodded… “I hear it, too… I think it’s over that way.” She pointed the way they had come in from. Moments later, a car did appear, making its way, with considerable difficulty, over the soggy terrain and bouncing heavily over the ridges.

“That’s not my dad,” Jason said with certainty, although he had no idea what Max was driving.

“No, it’s not,” Sandy agreed.

The car, a vintage model, brownish, patched up Cadillac Coup-de-Ville that was beginning to rust out, bounced and slid over several more ridges then stopped near the place where the three friends were. Before they realized what was happening, Nicholas grabbed them and pulled them gruffly back under the trees and toward the ocean.

“You said this direction was dangerous,” Jason protested, trying to wrest his arm away from Nicholas.

“It is… to you… if you don’t know where to step,” Nicholas said, pulling the three further back under the trees and quickly tying their hands up behind their backs to make sure they would not do anything unexpected. Then he stood in front of his three captives, facing the intruding vehicle.

Someone opened the door of the car and stepped out, and all three of Nicholas’ captives gasped…

“Mike?” Aaron exclaimed, “What the heck is he doing here?”

The driver, who appeared to be about eighteen, walked toward Nicholas, all the time staring at the three youths behind him. Then he stopped.

“I only want Aaron. The rest of you get out of here. If you don’t, you’ll get the same thing he’s gonna get.”

“And what’s that,” Nicholas asked.

Mike pulled out a switchblade and flicked it out. “I’ll cut you up, too.”

“You’ll cut ME up?” Nicholas asked, not believing he had heard correctly.

“I won’t hesitate to do it,” Mike replied, “Get out of here… while I’m letting you.”

“Who is this idiot,” Nicholas asked, turning to Aaron.

“Just a small time drug dealer from our school. I lost some of his stuff, and he wants me to pay for it. I don’t know how he found us.”

Clearly ticked off by the unexpected intrusion, Nicholas looked back at Mike…

“If you’re not out of here in one minute, I promise you, you’re the one who’ll regret it.”

Mike had no way of knowing that Nicholas’ threat was not an idle one… or that he was more than capable of carrying it out. He sauntered toward Nicholas, brandishing his switchblade threateningly, but Nicholas stopped him again…

“Stop! Don’t take another step!”

“Or what?” Mike asked defiantly, “Is the little kiddy gonna hurt me?” He laughed and took another step, and as he did, the ground beneath him erupted in a fireball, as a wide beam of energy shot upward toward the sky, lifting Mike momentarily higher than the treetops then dropping him back through the branches. Most of the branches broke on his way down, and Mike’s fall was stopped, in the end, by a large branch in the lower part of the tree. He hung over it, limp and seriously singed, apparently not dead but looking close to it.

“Stupid ass!” Nicholas said disgustedly, “You ruined a trap I’ve been waiting over ten years for a chance to use. I ought to finish you. Maybe I will.”

Nicholas raised his hand and pointed his palm toward Mike then fired off a zigzagging mass of energy, cracking and splitting the limb Mike was draped over and momentarily lighting him up like a light bulb, leaving him smoking. Amazingly, even after this, he was still alive… though now a bit less so than before.

“I didn’t know you could do that,” Jason said, surprised by what he had just seen.

“I have powers that you don’t know of. I don’t have to tell you everything I can do,” Nicholas replied with a deadly seriousness that belied the smirk on his face.

As fate or luck would have it, and adding greatly to Nicholas’ frustration, at that moment, he looked up and saw Max standing on the other side of the trees. While he had been distracted with a small-time drug dealer of no consequence to him, Max and Michael had shown up with Liz and Maria. Nicholas, however, did not see Michael, nor did he see Liz or Maria. He only saw Max. They had parked the car a good distance away so that their arrival would not to be noticed, and had walked the rest of the way. Michael was staying out of sight with Maria and Liz, intending to circle around and surprise Nicholas from behind. But every fiber of his being ached to just rush in and grab Sandy and Jason while blasting Nicholas into oblivion.

Nicholas, on the other hand, was beside himself with frustration. His trap had been ruined… and now this. In childish, tantrum-like irritation, he blurted out…

“No! No! No! You weren’t supposed to come right now!”

“Would you like me to leave and come back at a more convenient time,” Max asked.

Nicholas glowered at Max in silence for several moments before speaking…

“This whole area is booby-trapped. If you take another step towards me, you’ll be killed.”

Max grinned. “It’s very kind of you to warn me. I didn’t know you cared. I wonder, though… why WOULD you warn me? Could it be there aren’t any booby-traps really?”

Max took a step forward, and in frustration, Nicholas launched a barrage of zigzagging energy bolts at him. Max easily deflected the energy upward… and unintentionally, directly into the tree that Mike was in. The coursing energy knocked numerous branches out of the tree, almost all of which struck Mike on the way down. Mike groaned and covered his head, too weak to lift himself off the limb or try to escape.

By now, Michael had finished circling around to the other side and was in position. He immediately let go with a barrage of bluish energy, catching Nicholas unaware and sending him tumbling end over end. But unexpectedly, at that moment, the limb that Mike was hanging on made a loud cracking sound, and Max and Michael both looked up.

Nicholas seized his opportunity and sent out another course of zigzagging energy, which Michael and Max, through their quick reaction, easily deflected. But as fate would have it, at that moment, the tree branch finally gave out completely and fell, bringing with it a great amount of debris. Nicholas immediately increased the outflow of his barrage, hoping that the distraction, together with some extra effort on his part, would help him put an end to his nemeses. Michael and Max, however, again easily deflected the energy upward, this time serendipitously catching the falling Mike in it. He was held there, suspended in the air, caught inescapably in the sizzling, crackling, rapidly expanding uprise of energy.

Beginning to tire from his own unceasing barrage, Nicholas looked around for a way to escape and found one. Moving his hand from side to side several times, he used the remaining energy he could muster to fell five or six trees between them, making it momentarily impossible for Max and Michael to get to him. Then he disappeared.

Seeing Nicholas getting away with the children, Michael threw a quick succession of fiery energy balls at the tangled mess in front of them, with some success, as Max bent down to check out the now barely alive Mike, lying limp on the ground.

“Who is he, Max?”

“I don’t know, but we can’t just let him die.”

“We can’t take him with us… He’ll slow us down.”

Max nodded, knowing that Michael was right, then he quickly healed the worst of Mike’s injuries, the life-threatening ones, leaving the rest to heal on their own…

“We’ll leave him here. When he comes to, he can fend for himself. He should be okay.”

Michael nodded. “Let’s go. I want to catch up with Nicholas before he gets away.”

Max stood up and took one last look at the unconscious Mike then quickly left with Michael. Reaching the other side of the trees and tidal pool, Max and Michael came to some sand dunes and a beach… where they found Maria and Liz.

“We tried to stop him,” Liz said. “He got away.”

“Which way did they go,” Michael asked.

Liz pointed at a wharf several hundred yards down the beach. “He took a boat… a fishing boat, I think, from the wharf.

“Let’s go,” Michael said.

“Where?”

“To see if we can find a boat,” Michael replied.

Michael started off down the beach, and the others ran to keep up. He wasn’t stopping or slowing down for anything or anyone. Ten minutes later, he had found a boat that was fueled up and ready to go…

“This one will do. Get in.”

“You’re going to steal it?” Maria asked.

“Borrow it,” Michael said.

Maria nodded, remembering her mother’s Jetta and 285 South, but she wasn’t inclined to argue at this point. The fact is, she was just as ready as Michael was to “borrow” this boat, abduct it, or anything else if it meant catching Nicholas and getting Sandy and Jason back… and Aaron. They could deal with the consequences later.

“He went that way,” Maria said.

Michael used his powers to start the boat’s motors then pulled out of the marina, quickly turning the boat and heading off in the direction that Maria had indicated. Maria sat on the bow with Liz, watching for any sign of Nicholas, and Max took the back seat. It didn’t take long to spot Nicholas.

“There he is!” Maria shouted, “That’s them over there!” She pointed toward a charter fishing craft, the type that usually carries six anglers, about a quarter of a mile off to their north. Michael revved the two outboard motors on his “borrowed” boat and set a course toward the stolen charter boat. Within five minutes, he had caught up with it. Their boat was smaller, but it was fast.

As they approached the charter boat, Michael saw Sandy standing on the transom at the back, and she appeared to be wrapped tightly in the anchor chain.

“Come any closer,” Nicholas yelled, “And you can say goodbye to Sandy!”

“You wouldn’t kill your own daughter,” Michael yelled back, cringing at the very suggestion that she could be Nicholas’ daughter, but hoping to keep Nicholas from hurting her.

“Actually, I would,” Nicholas replied, “But she’s not my daughter. I realized that when we got on the boat. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.”

“She never did anything to you,” Maria said, “Let her go!”

“She’s your daughter,” Nicholas replied… “Yours and Michael’s. I got her to tell me the truth. That’s enough reason to kill her.”

“Let her go,” Maria said, “Take me instead.”

Nicholas smiled. “Tempting! But Rath is there with you… I’d be dead before I could make the switch. I’ve already got Sandy. You can’t save her. Her fate is in my hands now.” Nicholas lifted the boat’s anchor, which he had detached at the other end in order to wrap the chain around Sandy.

“Say goodbye to your daughter, Rath… or Michael… or whatever you choose to call yourself!”

Nicholas gave Sandy a shove and tossed the anchor over the back of the boat with her. Sandy disappeared beneath the waves, dragged quickly and mercilessly to the bottom, over two hundred feet below, before Michael could do anything to stop it. Without hesitating or thinking, Michael dove into the water and swam toward the bottom, trying to find Sandy. But a little over a minute later, he resurfaced… alone. Maria closed her eyes and started to cry, and Liz held her and cried with her.

“You’re a monster!” Liz shouted at Nicholas. “How could you kill an innocent little girl… a child? She never did a thing to you.”

“She was the spawn of my enemy,” Nicholas said, as though that were self-evident and reason enough.

Michael dove again… then yet again, but the waters were well over two hundred feet deep. Michael was a good swimmer, but this depth was far more than he could ever hope to reach. Sandy was gone.

Climbing out of the water, Michael looked at Max, and Max nodded. Both of them raised their hands and aimed at the charter boat’s engine room and gas tanks.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Nicholas said with a smirk, pulling Jason up to his feet. Jason’s hands and feet were bound, but he managed to bend his knee far enough to inflict some very memorable pain on Nicholas, while at the same time calling him a few choice epithets.

Groaning and bending over until he had got his breath back, Nicholas placed his hands on both sides of Jason’s head…

“Blow this boat up, and he goes with me. What are you going to do, Max… blow up your own son?”

Max wavered, knowing that he could not do it, even though he was caught in a catch 22. If he didn’t blow the boat up, Nicholas would almost certainly kill Jason anyway, the way he had already killed Sandy. Max swallowed. He couldn’t blow up the boat, not with Jason on it… not with any of the children on it. Nicholas might kill them, but Max could not… even to end Nicholas’ reign of terror. Max looked at Michael. He couldn’t either.

Nicholas stood on the transom with Jason, his hands on both sides of Jason’s head, smirking. He had every intention of killing Jason… of tearing his mind apart from the inside. After all, Jason was the spawn of his enemy. No more justification was needed than that… though he knew he was going to love watching the expression on Max and Rath’s faces as he did it.

But he never got the chance. As Michael, Maria, Max, and Liz watched, a dolphin leapt from the sea high into the air behind the charter boat, spraying Nicholas and Jason with saltwater as it rose, and causing a tremendous splash. Everything after that seemed to happen in slow motion… Nicholas turned toward the dolphin, which arched its body at the top of its jump and brought its tail upward. The tail caught Nicholas squarely across the face and body, lifting him into the air and sending him flying into the ocean a hundred yards away. Unconscious, Nicholas quickly sank out of sight beneath the waves.

“I told you you were Ahab chasing Moby Dick,” Jason said sadly, watching Nicholas disappear into the sea, as Michael, Max, Liz, and Maria jumped onto the charter boat and untied him and Aaron. Then Jason turned toward Max, with tears streaming down his face…

“Why did he have to hurt Sandy, Dad?”

Max shook his head. He had no answer. Instead, he held Jason for several moments then looked over at Michael and Maria… and his heart broke.

But a moment later, as they grieved, the sound of a dolphin squeaking in the water behind the boat caught their attention. Looking over the back of the transom, they saw the dolphin, with its head out of the water… and beside it was Sandy, with a big smile on her face.

“The water’s great! Come on in!”

Maria’s mouth opened wide, and she began to laugh and cry all at the same time as she looked at Michael… “I forgot Larek said that she was supposed to have been raised in the ocean.”

Michael grinned and stripped off his shirt. His muscles glistened in the sunshine and salt air as he picked a giddy Maria up in his arms and threw her into the water then dove in after her. Jason dove in right behind them, immediately swimming over to Sandy, who kissed him and wrapped her arms around him, as her dolphin friend squeaked and clapped its flippers together, seeming to applaud. Liz and Aaron both followed Jason into the water. Max finished tying the boats together and used the smaller boat’s anchor to anchor both boats. Then he took his shirt off, too. His chest expanded and his muscles glistened in the sunshine, as he took a deep breath of fresh salt air and smiled… then dove into the water to join the others.






Aaron walked into the house and dropped his skateboard on an end table in the living room then dropped onto the sofa on his back, with one leg over the back of the sofa and the other off the side.

“Aaron, is that where your skateboard belongs?”

“I’ll move it in a little while, Mom. When did you and Dad get back from the convention?”

His mom sighed… “About two hours ago. I think these conventions are a big waste, personally, but it’s his job. I hate leaving you alone overnight, though.”

“Aw, it’s okay… I’m not a little baby anymore, Mom… and I promise, I didn’t have any wild parties while you were gone.”

“Mmm… all the same, I feel guilty about it. What did you do while we were away?”

“Nothing really… Rode my skateboard… went swimming with Jason and Sandy…”

“Swimming?”

“Don’t worry, there were adults present, Mom.”

His mother picked up the skateboard and started to scold him again for leaving it in the living room… as he usually did… but then she noticed the wheels…

“Aaron… are these the new wheels your dad put on your skateboard just last week?”

“Yeah, Mom.”

“They’re practically worn out… They’re just nubs.”

“Yeah, well, I guess I ride it pretty hard.”

“Well, that may be as it may be, Aaron, but I really think they should last a little more than three or four days!” She sighed and put the skateboard in Aaron’s room… “They just don’t make things like they used to. Nothing lasts nowadays.”

At about the same time, at the Smithfield Police headquarters, the patrolman that Nicholas had injured was back on the job but was doing desk work while he finished recuperating. Walking into his office, his partner noticed that there were drugs and drug paraphernalia all over his desk… Quaaludes, crack, pills of various different kinds… even LSD.

“Have you started moonlighting Connor?”

Connor laughed. “No. You remember that kid that tried to cut the little girl up after the movie because he thought her brother had some marijuana of his?”

“Yeah… Mike, wasn’t it? Mike Lurch.”

Connor nodded. “That’s the guy. He walked in here thirty minutes ago looking like he’s been to hell and back. Said he was having a really bad trip and needed help. Then he dumped this bag of stuff out all over my desk.”

The other cop picked up a small stamp-like piece of paper. “Where the hell did he get all this stuff? I haven’t seen some of these things since I can’t remember when. The kids used to sell them in school. They’re impregnated with LSD and they’d lick them to get high.”

Connor shook his head. “I don’t know. He had quite a collection.”

“Where is he now?”

“We took him over to County for treatment. He’s 18, so when he gets out, he’ll probably spend some time in jail this time, but at least he’ll get the treatment he needs and be clean. Maybe he’ll straighten up… who knows. He sure looked ready to when he came in!”

The other cop laughed. “Well, if he had a really bad trip, like he said, that may do it for him.”

Connor nodded and chuckled. “It just may. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone more frazzled.”




(but, of course, we know it’s only the beginning for Jason and Sandy… and new family relations for Michael and Maria and Max and Liz… )