Roswell Fanatics

Shifting Realities

Author: Mt. Gazer AKA Velvet Skye

Disclaimer: I in no way own the rights to Roswell or anything related to it. All rights belong to Jason Katims, 20th Century Fox, Regency Entertainment, etc… I am borrowing their awesome characters, and including my own.

Category: Alex/Isabel

Rating: TEEN-MATURE (And Possibly much higher)

Setting: Story starts after Cry Your Name

Summary: As Isabel is dealing with the loss of Alex; she comes to a startling revelation. This is her story…


A/N: I will sometimes use the same storyline from the show, but even then there will be alterations in the timings, characterizations, events and/or dialogue.

There are many twists, turns, and surprises in store, so I hope you come along for the ride. Thank-you for reading Shifting Realities. Feedback is greatly appreciated, as this is my first writing.




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Stargazer MD: First for your friendship, but also for encouraging me to continue with this when literally all that was written were a few paragraphs. Thank-you also for proofing it for me, I value your ideas and your “structural changes.” For your Story: Stargazer Gets the Girl and its companion Alex,Isabel and The Company. You showed me where my niche was. A/I all the way. As well as you being the best Beta. Thanks for everything.

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TrueLovePooh: You are my girl, and one of the only people I know who share my Katie love, (whose a woman.. we all know Ed does too.) Thanks for keeping my story burning in my heart so that I can share it with everyone. You make it's telling so enjoyable...

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Sternbetrachter AKA Trude: Your friendship, but you are an awesome test reader. I love your feedbacks. I'd started to write before I met you. But you still are the person who sees everything first. And as much as I love A/I, I'm pretty sure you made me love them even more. And your stories, although too numerous to list here, are awesome. I love Waking Up, its still my fave by you.

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StargazerUK: I adore your humor and innocence of your characters. I credit you with my wanting to acheive a same level of enjoyable humor when needed. And I loved Wishful Thinking. It got my brain working on this.

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Ian K: I love We Belong Together. But you also helped me to find my niche in A/I as well as essentially teaching me the art of chapters. How to break and how to cliffhang. Thank you as well.
This is still my first writing, my only writing alone, although I co-authored What Passes for Normal as part of an Enigma Challenge. (It can be found in completed stories on this site) I just am a lot more comfortable with the process and everything than when I originally posted a couple of years ago. (this is a revised version of the well loved Shifting Realities and is truly what I would have given you at first if i only knew how. I had to grow in my abilties to get to this level, but I did and now can share it in its new and improved version.) I'd still adore feedback to see what you are thinking. I love the exchange and love to know what you are thinking and guessing. And I invite you to follow the personal link and PM me with your addresses if you want to be kept informed of updates. I like to give something back and that is feedback of my own, on site, and letting you know when I put up an update. Its my way of personally thanking my readers.

I look forward to meeting all of you new readers. I'm Rhonda AKA Mt Gazer or Velvet Skye.... Welcome to the story.


She trudged slowly up the walkway and entered the house dejectedly, heading directly toward the stairs. She entered her room and closed the door with a dull thud. Standing backwards against it, she shook her head sadly and started to remove her mud-encrusted black leather boots from her feet. The first one was yanked off and tossed into the corner of her room; to be dealt with at a later time when she had more energy, and then the other was tossed unceremoniously to join it. Dirt tracks ran down the wall as the shoes slid to their resting place. The streaks joining other marks where this seemed to be a habit of sorts, shoes tossed aimlessly against the wall and fallen into a heap. Quite a collection of discarded shoes had gathered in the normally meticulous teen’s bedroom, where they all had been flung after she returned from her excursion. The smears of dirt and bits of grass sticking to her pant legs didn’t even seem to bother her. She made no motion to wipe it off either.

Plopping herself onto her bed, she sighed wearily as she opened her journal and began to write:

May 26, 2001
"I'm Isabel Evans, I will always be Isabel Evans, and this all seems so wrong somehow."

As she wrote, the tears that she held in check started to flow down her cheeks, she allowed them to drop unheeded. She didn't even bother to wipe them away. ‘What’s the use?’ she thought, ‘more will just take their place anyway.’

Isabel closed her eyes and thought over the events of the past month, two events in particular. So much pain had happened this month that she wished she could just erase it from her memory, and from her life. The day of the first event that she felt bittersweet about was April 27, 2001; she had gone to Junior Prom with him, he did it to be nice, considering she had asked him twice. She went because she was finally ready to let him into her life, it's all he really ever asked of her. His motto was essentially, ‘let me in’ and she had finally realized that he was the one whom she had been waiting for. She was ready to quit running from herself and to run into his arms, the only place she ever felt truly safe and understood.

Then two days later, April 29, 2001, the bottom of her world fell out…he died in an accident.

She started to write again, letting the tears flow freely.

“I am not supposed to Isabel Evans forever, but Isabel Whitman. I know he is ‘The One,’ I've known it since the day I kissed him on his porch as I was trying to ‘find my brother.’ I saw us that day, in the future, with a family, me, Isabel, alien girl in a human world having a ‘normal life.’ In that future flash, we were at the park with our children, just enjoying a day of being together. I was so happy, and surprised, that I broke off the kiss and tried to recover. When he asked me if I saw anything, I stumbled for a moment and said something to the effect of, nothing relevant to the current crisis. Maybe not the current one; but what about that new crisis, the one that was raging in me? I had found him years before I felt ready. I don’t want this. This can't happen and it’s not right. I ran again.”

Burying her head into her hands and sighing deeply she started to think. ‘I saw us together and that has to mean something. I want to be with him ... I need to be with him ... I can't function without him.’ She halted her thoughts because they were starting to overwhelm her as her breathing became shallow and labored. "Let’s continue this ‘exploration’ into my psyche," she muttered. Isabel reopened her journal and began to try to analyze her feelings again.

“Why did he leave me? How could he do this to me? Does he know that he took my heart with him and that he just pulled it out of my chest while it was still beating? I can’t recover from this ... not without him. He was the one I always went to when I needed a friend. But he is the one who has hurt me so badly that I can't hide, I won't go, I won't sleep and I can't breathe. I can't do this!” Angrily knocking her journal to her floor, she threw herself facedown on her bed and let the tears and anguish pour forth from her soul yet once again, her head buried in her leopard print pillow.

She never heard the door to her room open or noticed who entered until her mother came and sat on the edge of her bed and started to rub her back soothingly. Diane Evans sat there in silence, not really knowing how to comfort her daughter. She just rubbed her back and asked Isabel if she wanted to talk about it. Isabel continued to sob but said nothing to acknowledge her mother's presence.

Diane had noticed that since the death of Isabel's best friend, Alex, she had started to become very withdrawn into herself. She and her brother, Max, seemed to be at odds with one another, and her close-knit group of friends seemed to be falling apart at the seams. Diane sat there bewildered as she continued to stroke her daughter’s back. She was wondering what had happened to create such a rift in this abnormally tight group of friends. ‘Shouldn't Alex's death cause them to rely on each other even more?’ But yet, it seemed to be having the opposite effect. It was tearing them all apart, and no one seemed to know what to do about it, she had observed.

Diane realized that Isabel was taking Alex's death extremely hard. It was almost as if he was more than just her best friend, much more. Isabel was reacting as if she had lost her soul, as if she had lost her mate, her husband if you will. Then the reality dawned on her; Isabel was in love with Alex. Not just a little bit, but head over heels in love. To make matters worse she probably did not even allow herself to come to this realization until after his dreadful accident. She was still living in denial. Isabel woke up in tears every night after having dreams of him being alive; she would not speak about him in a past tense when she would speak of him at all. And her biggest question that she had voiced was, ‘Why did he leave me? Is he angry with me?’ Diane thought to herself, ‘How can I even answer that? She needs to admit he's gone first. Isabel can't even do that much.’

While Diane was coming to this realization, Isabel was deeply hurting, knowing just how much she missed him, and was wishing she could be with him again. She was in a reverie of her times with him, some good and some bad. She let the flashes of their life roll over her, bringing an unceasing torrent of tears.

**********

It was written in the stars


***Flash***
She and Alex stargazing in Frasier Woods during the Father’s campout. She had her head against his shoulder and felt content.


On the pages of my heart


***Flash***
Alex stopping in to give her the stargazing book he had bought during the convention. He had said that he had to get it for her; and she repaid his kindness by shooting him down hard that day. But the one thing he didn’t know was that she still had that book and that she treasured it. She had even used it some.


Oh that someday
I would find
The love I feel for you tonight


***Flash***
Alex bringing her home to rest, when she was going through the craziness of the Michael dreams. She had just reached out to him at that point.


On the oceans of our dreams
Like a prayer you came to me


***Flash***
The dream-walk. She remembered how astonished she was that Alex was dreaming of her, and how he cared for her. How she had watched herself dance in his arms and nearly kiss, at the end of it. If she hadn’t woken up, he probably would have kissed her.


And the longing that had been
Found it’s ending in your eyes


***Flash***
The prom. Gazing into his eyes all-night and feeling finally like she had arrived. She was home and her searching was over. She had found him!


And I am missing you tonight


***Flash***
Sheriff Valenti stepping into the Crashdown. “There’s been an accident. Alex is dead.”


I really want to see you
I really want to touch you
I really want to hold you, in my arms again


***Flash***
The trip to the Eraser Room, she relived the whole event in her mind.
It started when she unceremoniously pulled Alex inside.

She was waiting for him to pass her way and she grabbed his arm and jerked him into the Eraser Room.

“Whoa, hey what is the emergency?” He asked her in a confused yet irritated tone.

She responded, “Alex, I’ve been thinking.”

“Oh, This can’t be good.” He uttered. And she decided to ignore that comment.

“You know how I said I wanted to take things slow?” While she placed her right hand loosely on his shirt and her left hand was moving animatedly while she was talking.

“The word glacial comes to mind.” Alex teased in all seriousness.

“Maybe its time to melt the ice.” Isabel pressed him against the wall, desire flashing in her eyes.

“Whoa, wh…what?” Alex was rather surprised at the sudden turn of events.

“I’m ready. For a relationship, and I want it to be with you…not with anyone else I know.” Isabel’s eyes averted downwards momentarily, escaping his gaze, which a moment prior she held.

He answered in his confusion, “Well, There’s someone else?”

“No! No! Absolutely not. Only You.” She placed both her hands on his shoulders and leaned in closer.

Alex babbled on while Isabel inattentively listened to him, “Whoa, this is like monumental you know. I mean we…we’ve got to go about this the right way. You know, romance?…”

She was staring at his lips and nodded in agreement. “Uh-huh,” she mumbled.

“Um, how, uh, how about tonight?” he essentially asked her on a date.

“How about right now?” She answered breathlessly.

“Mmm … OK!” he barely spit it out before her lips were attached to his, and she let him know what she was thinking with that kiss.

Isabel smiled sadly as the memory faded. She really missed everything about him. His humor, his charm, everything. It was so lonely without Alex.


I really want to reach you
Forever to be with you
If only I could hold you


***Flash***
How she felt when she realized he had disappeared, when the Skins had made all the humans disappear.


In my arms again


***Flash***
Alex holding her during her dream-walk while Max was being held in the White Room by the FBI, Special Unit.


Across the waves
Across the sea
Separating you from me


***Flash***
Alex’s funeral, Maria singing ‘Amazing Grace’.


Here’s a promise and it’s mine
I will love you for all time


***Flash***
The lingering kiss they shared, as she kissed him intently during the prom. She felt that she had finally come home.


I’m wishing you were here tonight


**********

The pain was hanging tangibly in the air, Diane couldn't just watch her daughter's heart breaking without feeling the pain she was going through. She gave into her own sorrow as she allowed her own tears to fall; tears made all the more painful because of her revelation. She leaned over and whispered to Isabel, "I understand. I'm here if you want to talk."

She got up to leave the room and she heard a small voice say, "Mommy, don't leave. I need you."

‘Did she just call me Mommy? I haven't heard that in years,’ she thought. She went back over to the bed and sat down. Isabel laid her head in her mom's lap as body wracking sobs poured out. Her mother just held her and let her cry. ‘Actually, this is an improvement,’ Diane thought, while stroking her daughter’s long silky hair. ‘Isabel is reaching out to someone, and it is not the middle of the night, it is daylight.’ The poor dear was so worn out and exhausted from all her emotional turmoil that she finally succumbed to sleep, resting peacefully in her mother's lap.

Her mother held her for over an hour before she finally extracted herself from Isabel. She grabbed the nearest blanket and covered her with it. She leaned down and planted a kiss on her daughter's head, and smoothed her hair away from her beautiful face. She hoped that Isabel would be able to sleep without the dreams that seemed to be robbing her of her rest, and she thought wryly, ‘mine as well.’

Every night since Alex's terrible accident, Isabel has awakened in the middle of the night, crying out his name, pleading for him to stay, or something like that. It's never the same dream twice, and they are always about Alex. The amount of sleep Diane is receiving is very much like having an infant; on call whenever the next need arises and with Isabel, lately, those needs may range from three to four times a night.

She goes into her daughter’s room and wipes her sweaty brow with a cool rag. She holds her and lets her cry; giving her all the love she can pour into her. Isabel is hurting ... something has to break or give, before Isabel does, but what is it that will trigger the healing that is so desperately needed?

Diane silently prays, "We need help and we need answers. My daughter is breaking, and I don't know how much more she can take. Please God,” she pleads, “help our family."

This has become her new routine for at least the past month, something she does nightly. The nightmare recovery, the prayer, it’s all become so routine and she’s getting sick of this. What happened to Isabel, and the rest of them? And especially, why doesn't Max seem to even care what is going on with his sister? They used to be so close, now they can't stand to be in the same room with each other! It happened very shortly after Alex's death, that’s all she knows.

Isabel slept through most of the night. Diane slept lightly, waiting for the nightmares to start, but sleeping as well as she could while she did so. Around 4:00 a.m., she woke up to the familiar cries of, “ALEX! No! Alex! Don't Go!” She leapt out of bed and hurried to her daughter’s room, Isabel was thrashing around, still asleep. Diane reached out and woke her up, grabbing her into an embrace. It took Isabel a couple of minutes to readjust to her surroundings, and when she did she gave the most heartbreaking cry her mother had heard yet during this whole ordeal.

She spoke to her mother through her sobs, "Mom, he said goodbye. He said that he's already gone, that he isn't here. Mom, Alex is GONE!” Isabel swallowed the lump that seemed to be lodged in her throat. “He isn't coming back. He died. I loved him. No! I love him. How am I supposed to go on? I just lost the only person I will ever love. What am I supposed to do?” She broke into unrelenting tears, as the reality of the situation hit her full force; words were useless. Diane sat on the edge of her bed with Isabel leaning into her as she let her process everything.

When Isabel had calmed down a bit, she asked her mother if she could tell her anything, without questions. Diane nodded her assent, turned to face her, grabbed her precious daughter’s hands, looked her in the eyes and answered, "Honey, you have been through so much. Losing your parents as a little girl, and being abandoned…and now losing Alex like this. I know you are hurting, of course you can ask or tell me anything. I'm here for you.” She reached out a hand and stroked Isabel’s cheek in a soothing gesture. “You're my baby girl and I love you. What is it you wanted to say?"

Isabel drew in a quivering breath, looking steadfastly into her mother's blue eyes and replied, "Something’s wrong. First of all the reports of Alex committing suicide are way wrong. There is no way that he took his own life. We finally started to have a relationship. Why would he throw that away? He definitely did not plan to die the day he did, because Liz said she found tickets to a Beth Orton concert for the weekend. Alex bought them that day and they were for our first real date. He never even got to ask me to go with him, but that’s not all,” she said, shaking her head as if to clear her mind of something. "I know this will sound crazy,” she continued, "but it is something I know, and have known for a little over a year. Isabel sighed deeply as she started. “I was supposed to have a life with Alex. I was supposed to have his kids, we were meant to be together.” She sucked in her lips momentarily and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I had a ... well, call it a vision. We were a happy, young couple with two kids. I think they may have been twins. They were a boy and a girl. This IS my family, I know it. I was supposed to have this life. Why don't I?” She paused to watch her mother for any reactions, and not seeing any she then continued, “Something's wrong!! He was taken from ME!!!” Isabel said emphatically. “This was deliberate and I need to find out what happened, why Alex is gone, and why I will never have my family." She nervously sucked in her lips again as she finished.

Her large brown eyes were staring into her mother's caring blue ones, for the first time since it had happened. Isabel was trying to read them to see if she could sense what words could not convey. She had not been allowing herself to open up or get close to anyone, especially her mom. She wasn't ready for any rejection, betrayal, or any more pain. She didn't really know how her mom would react to all her troubles, so she hadn't bothered. She tried to handle it on her own, like she usually handled problems, but this one seemed to be too big for that. In fact this one was determined to tear her apart, starting with her heart. And looking into her mother’s eyes, all she saw was love. Her mother loved her, cared for her, was here to support her... no one else was, currently.

Diane Evans seemed a little shocked at what she had revealed, but did not say anything because she had given Isabel her word. She sensed that Isabel needed to have trust right now, more than anything, so she squeezed Isabel’s hands in reassurance. ‘Lord knows the poor child has trust issues,’ she thought. ‘Who wouldn't after being abandoned as a small child, and left without hope?’

Isabel didn't seem to want to converse any more at that point, so she just gave her mom a big hug and said, quietly, with a quavering voice, "Thank you." It expressed all she needed to say.

Diane guided her to lie down again, pulled the covers to her chin, gave her a kiss, and quietly whispered, "You're welcome. I love you honey."

She sat with Isabel until she resumed her sleep. Then she sent up a silent prayer, "Thank you. I know it’s not over yet, but I know she'll pull through. Thank you, God."

TBC…

Music: In My Arms Again by Michael W. Smith

As always FB is welcomed as its my favorite part of writing. I get to connect with you the readers and share a symbiotic relationship. I love it.

A/N: Thanks for reading and all the feedback. I hope you are enjoying the story.

And this is now the revised version of Chapter two, I am revising and changing things as I get the time to do so... eventually this will be at the same caliber of all the other later chapters.


Disclaimer: I in no way own the rights to Roswell or anything related to it. All rights belong to Jason Katims, 20th Century Fox, Regency Entertainment, etc… I am borrowing their awesome characters, and including my own.

Perhaps in this part and in parts to come I am or will be borrowing some scenes, and I will borrow direct dialog and use altered dialog at times.

Title: Shifting Realities
Author: Mt Gazer/Velvet Skye
Category: CC/ AU?
Rating: Teen...
Spoilers: The end of S-2, anything is fair game




<Center>******************************************</center>
<center>Shifting Realities

Chapter Two:

Surviving</center>
<center>******************************************</center>


Isabel awoke the next morning feeling somewhat refreshed; she also felt as if she had fought some battles and won them. “I need to get on with the task of living, or surviving,” she told herself, as she climbed out of bed. She took her shower, got ready for her day and headed downstairs.

Her mother was in the kitchen. "Hi, Mom,” she said, leaning against the doorway. "I can't thank you enough for last night. I really needed to talk. Actually, I still need to talk to you, I have some more things I need to discuss, and so can we talk this morning?” Her mother crossed the room, pulled her daughter into a hug, and said, "Of course. Anytime."

Releasing her, she stated, “You must be hungry, you fell asleep around five or six last evening, and you haven't been eating much lately." Isabel realized that her mother was right and that she was famished. Her mother made Isabel’s favorite childhood comfort food, chocolate chip waffles, with just the right amount of Tabasco sauce mixed into the syrup. Diane had experimented in the early days, perfecting recipes so that her children enjoyed their food. She still thought that it was an odd staple in her kitchen, but she shrugged her shoulders and said to herself, "It may be odd, but I love them."

They ate in the dining room and Isabel decided that now was as good a time as any to talk so she began.

"I know you must be confused by what I came up with last night, that Alex was deliberately taken from me, and the other things I shared. But I am serious. Something is going on and I need to figure it out.

Diane gave Isabel a puzzled look in response, but wanted to see if she would clarify her thoughts any, so she waited.

“I need to have those children that I saw in my vision; there is something important about them that I just can't figure out right now.” Isabel went into a thoughtful state for a moment. “The thought of our kids has been plaguing me since yesterday.” Isabel’s right hand reached for her abdomen and rubbed it slightly. “I can’t explain it, it almost feels like destiny; that I won’t live the life I am supposed to if I don't have them.” She looked at her mom with an apologetic expression.

Diane started to speak, “Isabel, honey, I don't...thin...” But Isabel held up her hand to stop her mom and stated that she knew it sounded crazy and it was as if she was speaking from the pain in her heart.

Then she looked questioningly into her mother's eyes and asked a very strange request, "If I could find a way to make it work, would you support me?"

Diane was taken aback; her mind was saying, ‘that's impossible.’ She gave a reserved shrug of her shoulders and stated, "Anything, Honey. You know that."

She couldn't help but think inside of herself that something was seriously wrong with her daughter; she wasn't speaking logically anymore. Yet she seemed more alive, if that was a good choice of words, than she had since Alex died. And what was with her rubbing her stomach during their talk, ‘Might she be pregnant and not yet know it?’ Diane made a mental note to watch Isabel's behavior very closely for the next few days; she was extremely worried for her daughter.

Isabel continued her discussion, staring at her plate while pushing the food around on it. “The other thing I'd like to talk to you about is Max. Well, specifically something he said to me lately.” She paused as she gathered her thoughts. “Do you remember how I talked to you about leaving Roswell and going to college in San Francisco? How I told you I just had to get out of here, there’s too much for me to deal with right now? Well, first of all, I’ve decided to attend The University of New Mexico in Las Cruces if I can still get in after all the missed days of school, due to well… everything. I am not ready to be that far from home, from you.” Isabel looked directly at her mom and gave her a slight smile. “I need stability right now, and that would just be more upheaval.” She shook her head as she sighed deeply.

“Have you talked to your brother about this?” Diane asked, carefully, as she grabbed Isabel’s hand in hers to lend her support.

“Max? You know we’ve been fighting,” Isabel sighed. “It all started when I told him that I was able to graduate early, and that I was on the wait list to start in San Francisco this fall.” She thought for a minute before continuing, " I don't know what’s wrong with him, he turned into this control freak and told me I couldn't go.” She pulled her hand out of her mother’s as her voice increased in volume. ” No! He threatened me if I chose to leave! ... He told me that he would tell you I had a drug problem.” Looking directly at her mother, and slamming her hands down on the table palms flat, caused her silverware to jolt, jingling against the plate. She then exclaimed, “Or try this!? Max would tell my teachers that I cheated on all of my tests for the past three years so that I can't graduate early.” She yanked her hands from the table, and ran them through her hair, nervously pulling it back into a ponytail and letting it fall again. “And as if that weren’t enough; this is the real clincher,” she said disgustedly... ”If I leave Roswell, he is going to personally drag me back." Isabel threw her hands up in disgust as she shook them in frustration; she then crossed them against her chest waiting for her mother’s response.

“Honey? Why does he think he can do that?” Diane questioned her, “I mean surely he realizes you are your own person with your own life? Doesn’t he?” Diane asked her concernedly.

“I think it might have something to do with Alex's death; he doesn't want to lose anyone else.” Heaving a big sigh, shoulders slumped, she continued softly, “But my God! I'm dealing with the death of my…” Isabel swallowed as she brought herself to say the word ...”boyfriend,” barely above a whisper as she finally allowed herself to say the truth. “And here Max is telling me that I have to obey him. He’s not my parent.” Shaking her head and looking down she stated, “I haven't been into talking much as I'm sure you noticed, so I'm only getting around to it now.” She quickly finished the last few bites of her breakfast while staring down at her plate. Isabel found it very difficult to open up so much and it was very taxing to do so. So she took her mind off of it by following her speech with her glass of Tabasco laced orange juice.

Standing up from the table, and clearing away her dishes, Isabel sighed, "I need to get out today. I'm actually thinking of calling Liz and seeing if she is available. Better yet, I think I'll just drop in." Isabel knew why she had to see Liz; it had to do with her theory that Alex was murdered. But she couldn't really tell her mom that. So she made it sound like she was actually seeking out a friend and trying to get on with her life.

Diane said, "I think that’s a great idea Honey. You haven't left here much for a while, except to go…” catching Isabel’s silent look she just finished, “well, you know where. Getting out might be just what you need. Don't overdo it, ok?"

**********

The tinkling bell above the door announced Isabel’s arrival to The Crashdown, as she looked around for Liz Parker. Liz was quickly becoming one of Isabel's closest friends and she was one of Alex's best friends, as well as being her brother's sometimes girlfriend.

Isabel thought, bemusedly, ‘What is it about us aliens and our significant others? We all seem to have trouble letting them in, or keeping them there… On again, off again. Alex and I were more off, than on. But I think my friendship with him is definitely stronger than Max or Michael’s are with their "humans."

She was so intently looking for Liz that she didn't realize someone was speaking to her. Not until this person actually reached out and touched her shoulder.

"Isabel?" She was asked.

She startled a little in response, and looked toward the person who touched her. "Yes?” She asked him, a little sheepishly.

"I know it’s been hard lately, but how are you doing?” Jeff Parker, Liz’s Dad and owner of the Crashdown, asked her.

"I am doing as well as can be expected,” She said with a small smile. “I take it one day at a time. Some are really hard." She quit speaking; not wanting to have this conversation with him. She needed to find Liz, because then if her emotions got the better of her, at least she would be able to share them.

Jeff nodded and said, "I understand. If you are looking for Liz, she's in her room and I think she could really use the company. It's good to see you again. We’ve missed you."

Isabel thanked him, nodded, and then turned to head upstairs, she had to talk to Liz. She had some apologies to make, and some things that she needed to hear. She wanted to know exactly what Liz was working on, and how the theory was going. The only thing she knew was that Liz was working on it alone. The last time they had all spoken was at Alex’s Wake. The theory had driven a wedge between all of them, and at the time, Isabel couldn't handle any more earth shattering revelations, or stressors to her life. Even yesterday, she wouldn’t have been able to, but today, she needed answers, and she was going to get them. She knew Liz was the only one she could talk to about it.

Isabel knocked at Liz's doorframe before entering her room. "Hey Liz," she said quietly.

Liz jumped up from her desk, where she was working on something, and ran to envelop her friend in a hug. "Oh! Isabel!” She said in surprise. “Oh my God! How are you?"

Isabel pulled back a little warily, "I’m fine, really." She crossed her arms, and nervously shifted her feet. "You?"

Liz looked at her before answering, and studied the way she was standing. Isabel did not look comfortable, like she was guarding herself. ‘I wonder what’s going on', Liz thought to herself. “I'm doing Ok. I guess."

Isabel, still standing in her guarded position said, "Ok! That’s good." She exhaled the breath she was unaware that she was holding. "Um... Liz, I really need to talk to you, it's about Alex, but I really don't want to talk here."

Liz just studied her; knowing there was more, so she encouraged Isabel to continue, "Go on...”

Isabel launched into her apology; she hadn't planned it out in advance. She figured stumbling through would be better, so she began hesitantly... "Liz, I'm really sorry for how we all treated you about Alex's death. You thought that there was something going on. I really was in a bad state that day at his wake when you tried to explain it and I was in too much pain and denial to listen."

She bit her lower lip nervously before continuing, as she let out a sigh. "But if you still think there is something going on, I need to know everything.” Isabel paused and took a deep breath. “I think you’re right, but I don't want to do this here.” She looked to the floor as she continued to speak, “I'm not trying to creep you out or anything, but I want us to talk with Alex," she said very slowly, quietly, and succinctly. There was no mistaking what she had stated.

Liz went a little pale at the thought and asked Isabel how they were going to do that.

Isabel replied, "Get all your stuff that you are working on and let’s go to his grave. We owe him this. He’ll listen, even if no one else will.”

Now it was Liz's turn to be nervous. "Isabel, are you sure that is where you want to go?"

"Positive.” she replied. "We need to go together. It is a quiet place, we won’t be disturbed, and no one will really expect us to be there,” she scoffed slightly, “especially together. And…" she bit her lip again, not knowing how to reveal this to Liz... "Alex will probably be there,” she said barely above a whisper, wincing as she said it and staring at the ground while nervously sucking in her lips.

Liz didn't really know what to say so she started to gather her shoebox of evidence together, sneaking a look at Isabel who was still staring at the ground, once again in a very guarded stance and biting her lip. Liz thought to herself, ‘Isabel seems to be very nervous; she keeps biting her lip, that’s the third time, at least, since she’s been here. I think it’s best to just be with her and see what’s going on. Who knows? Maybe she's right!'

TBC…..

The date is March 15, 2006, this is a revision.

Disclaimer: I in no way own the rights to Roswell or anything related to it. All rights belong to Jason Katims, 20th Century Fox, Regency Entertainment, etc… I am borrowing their awesome characters, and including my own.

Perhaps in this part and in parts to come I am or will be borrowing some scenes, and I will borrow direct dialog and use altered dialog at times.

Title: Shifting Realities
Author: Mt Gazer/Velvet Skye
Category: CC/ AU?
Rating: Teen
Spoilers: End of S-2, anything is fair game….



<Center>******************************************</center>
<center>Shifting Realities

Chapter Three:

The Mystery of Alex</center>
<center>******************************************</center>

Liz checked in with her parents before meeting up with Isabel and heading out to spend the day with Alex. Jeff Parker had been giving his daughter easier shifts, so that she could recuperate from the stress. This was one of her days off.

Before they left town they both purchased a bouquet of flowers to place on his grave, Isabel bought a dozen red roses; its fragrance heady. Roses, because only the best would do for her Alex; and, of course, red, because it was what Alex liked her in best. Liz picked out a bouquet of wildflowers and daisies. They reminded her of the carefree times that she had with Alex and Maria, in their childhood. Back in the days before aliens invaded their personal little world. She reflected on the irony of that thought as she glanced sidelong at Isabel; one of the aliens that she and Alex really didn't mind being invaded by. ‘Isabel is a good friend,’ she thought, ‘although she doesn’t know it. And the first rule of friendship is to do things for each other...that has to be the reason that I would even consider going to his gravesite for a conversation with her.’

Isabel continued to grip the steering wheel and focus her eyes on the road. She pulled the car through the gate and parked in a nearby location, but she needed to walk, and so she led the way. Unfortunately it was a memorized path. They walked among the rows until they came to the spot where his headstone lay. Isabel and Liz cleared out the partially dead flowers from the cup and placed in the ones that they brought. Isabel mixed the two bouquets together and made an unusual display, but one that spoke volumes about what they each meant to the other. Love and passion, was mixed with carefree innocence. If only it could be that way again... it was only a month ago.

Isabel knelt before the headstone; unable to meet Liz’s eyes, she kept herself busy while arranging the flowers. Liz stood back unsurely, as she could tell that this was hard on Isabel. Isabel’s tenseness was manifest in the fact that she seemed to be avoiding contact, but more so in how she just kept perfecting the flowers, fluffing petals here, and matching stem heights there. She was driving Liz crazy. But Liz knew she just had to listen, no matter how odd it seemed, for Isabel spoke while she worked, continuing exactly where she had left off in Liz’s room, "I was saying that I hope you don't creep out because I come here a lot.” Isabel cleared her throat, “Alex usually visits me.” Isabel heard Liz gasp in a forced intake of breath but ignored her as she kept explaining. “He most likely will today, due to the nature of this meeting.” Her fingers started to pluck stray blades of grass from the edges of the marker. No imperfections allowed. “It's really hard to explain, but I can physically touch him... My hand doesn't pass through as if he is a ghost. Hopefully, you'll see what I mean." Isabel turned for the first time to look at Liz. Liz was biting her lip in nervousness, her eyes wide, and she just looked to Isabel for direction.

Isabel patted the ground in front of the cold, black marble headstone, and they sat down to further discussion. "To change the subject,” Isabel plowed ahead, “do you have all the stuff I asked you to bring?”

Liz nodded silently, pulled out her box and opened the lid. She reached inside and pulled out the photo of Alex with Leanna, the one in which he no longer had a head. While Isabel peered over Liz’s shoulder to look at it, she mumbled, "Now, that’s creepy." She shuddered momentarily to escape a chill that ran down her spine.

As they were glancing at the picture they were interrupted by a pleasant male voice. "Ladies, what brings you out here? Is there another meeting of the ‘I-Know-An-Alien-Club’ that I should be informed of?"

Isabel was on her feet in an instant, she had been waiting to see if he would appear, and she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss.

Liz just stared in shock. ‘Isabel wasn't wrong; Alex is really here. I mean, I just saw her hug and kiss him. He didn't seem like a ghost. Ok, this is impossible!! This is not good. We must be losing it!!’ All these thoughts were tumbling around in her brain, words eluded her, and she didn't know what to do. She backed away from them shaking her head furiously, while her hand was raised palm out in a stop gesture and she was biting her lip.


Give me a reason to believe that you're gone
I see your shadow so I know they're all wrong


Alex held out his arms to Liz, and queried, "Hey! How's my best girl? I go away for a short time and you can't even hug me...” Alex pouted at her. Liz stared at him, tears starting to flow, as she shook her head repeatedly. “No! You’re not here. This isn’t right; you’re not alive!!! Alex, this can’t happen!!”

Alex saw her hesitation, lowered his arms, and said carefully, “I know it can be a shock! Isabel has gotten rather used to me in this form. Can I have a hug though?” He opened his arms wide; ready to receive a hug from Liz, his best friend. She hesitantly walked over to him and gingerly placed her arms around his neck, holding him much the way Isabel had done a moment prior. She realized that she was hugging Alex, and he definitely was not in spirit form; he felt real. Solid. Like a physical being, however cold. She pulled out of the embrace, still standing to his side, and wiped at her tears as they made their way down her cheeks. Giving Alex a watery smile, she whispered, “I miss you so much, you know.”

He replied while looking at both of them, his arm still around Liz’s shoulder, “I really miss all of you."

“But, really ladies, what brings you out here, together, and alone?" He looked to Isabel; "I don't think Max would take too kindly to your conspiring with the enemy... It didn't go so well before.” He shot Isabel a knowing look. “But I don't mind, conspire away... I always love a good caper." He gave his irresistible grin and they all just laughed for a moment. Isabel gave him a playful swat to the shoulder. He raised his eyebrows and said flirtingly; “I guess death has its benefits... that didn't hurt.”

He tried to duck out of the way as Isabel punched him this time as she said, laughing, "Do you want it too? I'm sure there is a pain sensor somewhere.” Stopping the playful mood she was in, she then stated solemnly, “But seriously, if there is one enemy I'm dealing with, it is Max, not Liz.” She sighed.

They all sobered up and got down to the business at hand. The three friends sat back down upon the ground. If anyone else could see Alex, it wouldn’t look so suspicious, they all decided, if they looked like they were visiting at a friend's grave. Not knowing what form Alex was in, if he was physical only to them or not, they decided to not take any chances. Isabel turned to him and lovingly and slowly teased her fingers through his soft, silky, brown hair; the color changing as her fingers reached its tips. Then she ruffled it playfully to distribute the color evenly. Isabel knew she could have done this with one wave of her hand, but where would the fun in that be? She wouldn’t have been able to stroke his soft hair. The transformation was completed with the altering of his eyebrows and lashes to match. Isabel grinned broadly to herself at the change as she cocked her head sideways to admire him, giving a slight nod. Sitting before her was the most handsome, hazel-eyed blonde she had ever laid eyes on. “Wow!” She said as she leaned in and gave him a small kiss.

Liz shook her head in disbelief. She would never get used to these alien powers being displayed so openly. But she had to admit; Isabel had done an amazing job with Alex.

Alex spotted Liz's box, pointed to it and asked if it was everything. Liz pulled it into her lap and started to retrieve its contents. Alex stopped her and said, "Only one thing at a time, in the order you found it." He nodded to her for emphasis. Liz returned everything except for the defaced picture.

Isabel looked at him questioningly. He asked Liz if that was the first thing she had found and she replied that it was. "So what is it with this?” Liz asked him.

Alex shrugged his shoulders and replied, “Later.”

Isabel stared at him and said, “A lot of help you are.” He ignored her comment and asked Liz what her next item was.

Liz pulled out his poetry book and the Beth Orton concert tickets.

Alex with a somber expression asked what the significance of the poem was. Liz answered, "Isn't that the one where the guy was thinking about committing suicide in the woods? But in the end he decided to live as evidenced by the line I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep." Alex grinned.

Isabel sat up straighter asking Alex directly, " When we were on the phone, didn't you say you had a big test in Robert Frost, which you corrected to English? It was set for the next day. Didn’t you say this the afternoon of the day you... died?” She sucked in her lips and pressed them together tightly, not really wanting to continue. After a reserved sigh, she did… “Did you know something was going to happen to you?"

Alex gave her a sad smile, "I love how smart you are." She smiled sadly back at him.

"Let's continue shall we, Liz?" Alex was waiting for Liz to remove the next clue. She pulled the tickets out, from where they were book-marking the poem.

Isabel stared at the ground; her eyes starting to mist, and she bit her lip yet again. She started to absentmindedly pluck at the blades of grass that lay beneath her hands. Alex noticed, but didn't comment on her emotions; he was here for a meeting, not to comfort his girlfriend. They had things they needed to discover.

"What is significant about these?" Alex asked.

Isabel had to answer though it hurt. "You bought those so that we could go on a date. You bought them the day you died. You had promises to keep and miles to go, didn't you?” She nodded slowly to him. “You were aware something was going to happen as evidenced by how much you left clues to figure it out. But I’m assuming you didn't know when though, and you were still planning for the future, right?” Isabel’s soft brown eyes were glistening with unshed tears. “Am I close?" She quietly answered.

He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "I Love You!" Turning to Liz he asked if there was anything else that she had discovered.

Liz said, "Yeah, I got into your file, the locked one... Maria helped. Amusing password by the way." She teased.

Alex grinned, "Well it's true isn't it? I'm sure Isabel would agree...” He gave a suggestive look to Isabel who looked positively befuddled, the confusion replacing her previous moment’s sadness.

Liz, noticing the look of sheer confusion on Isabel’s face leaned in and whispered, "Uh, it was locked and the password was, "I, the Stud." Think you understand now?"

Isabel blushed slightly and nodded her head; she couldn't believe Alex had included her in the previous statement. But she thought quietly to herself, ‘Yeah, you're mine, or supposed to be anyway.’ She pounced on the idea and said playfully, in a deep and sultry voice, "So stud, what's locked behind that door?” She leaned into him closely and unbuttoned the top button on his collar, as she returned his suggestive look.

Liz could not believe that they were openly flirting. She had never seen that side of them and she found herself watching them with an astonished expression. The young couple never noticed. ‘The unfortunate thing,’ Liz concurred, ‘is that due to Alex’s current state of existence or more accurately his lack of existence, their relationship is incapable of working.’


Some say I'm crazy for my love, Oh my love
But no bonds can hold me from your side, Oh my love
They don't know you can't leave me
They don't hear you singing to me


Liz, figuring she had nothing to lose, thought she may as well play along. “The stud here,” she lowered her voice sexily, “had a screen flashing, ‘Leanna is not Leanna’ on his computer.” Returning her voice to normal she said, “Although I haven't quite figured out that one yet."

Alex was eagerly waiting for the next clue. He pointed to the box, "What next, what else did you find?” He asked. Liz pulled out the Thai food receipt, with a puzzled look on her face. He asked her if she had figured it out.

She said, "Well when I did the binary thing, nothing made any sense. So I thought maybe it was a sentence. Perhaps, ‘Leanna is not Leanna?’ The spacing and letters came up to 20 characters, and the binary has 20 as well."

"Did you find out anything else about that receipt?” He eagerly asked.

"Should there be?" She queried back.

"Oh! There are two more things about that receipt,” he said while holding up two fingers to emphasize his point. “But I guess you'll have to wait until you figure them out."

"Two more?" The girls asked incredulously in unison, looks of matched confusion etched upon their faces.

He grabbed Isabel's hand and said somberly, "A very important two." Alex looked deeply into Isabel's eyes, holding the sides of her face as he rested his forehead against hers and stated, "Important to me, personally."


I will stay forever here with you
My love


"Are there any more clues or other things to discuss or have we reached the end?" Alex asked Liz.

Liz pulled out a different picture, but also of him and Leanna, and then launched into a discussion of calling the Swedish embassy, trying to find a particular building, only to be told that it was torn down in 1994. She looked right at him and said pointedly, "You never were in Sweden were you?" Isabel just gasped, this was news to her, and she immediately started to wonder where he was and what he was doing if he never went. But more importantly, how would they figure it out?

Liz, tired of figuring out all the clues, decided to find out what was up with Alex and his non-involvement in the answers. So she asked in an annoyed tone, "What's with all the clues? Why don't you just tell us everything that is going on? We really could use a little more help."

Alex ruffled his hair in frustration with his hands and said, "Don't you think I'd tell you if I knew? I remember leaving those clues; I know that each one is vital. But I really don't fully remember the significance of them anymore. I do know they all lead to one monumental answer though, but I can't even seem to remember what that is!” He returned her annoyance, “Are you aware of how frustrating it is to not have access to your memories?” Then to both of them he stated very seriously, “The mystery isn't over, there is still more to discover, actually I think you just started to unravel it, but I know you can do it. You're my girls, and I know how smart you are individually, so I really know what you can accomplish together." He smiled at them and stood to leave. Isabel took that as her cue and stood up with him. "I have to be going, I can't stay any longer." He said to both of them and then turning to his love, he said, "Tomorrow, Isabel,” leaning in to give her a kiss. While they were enjoying their last moment of togetherness, he faded away. Right before their very eyes, he just vanished.


The softly spoken words you gave me
Even in death our love goes on

And I can't love you, anymore than I do.

TBC…..

Musical excerpts: Even in Death by Evanescence

Disclaimer: I in no way own the rights to Roswell or anything related to it. All rights belong to Jason Katims, 20th Century Fox, Regency Entertainment, etc… I am borrowing their awesome characters, and including my own.

In this part and parts to come I am borrowing some scenes, and I will borrow direct dialog and use altered dialog at times.

Title: Shifting Realities
Author: Mt Gazer/Velvet Skye
Category: CC/ AU?
Rating: TEEN
Spoilers: Anything end-season two, post “Cry Your Name”

*****

A/N: I have used two songs in this chapter. They are numbered with a 1 or 2. Depending on the song.

1. My Immortal by Evanescence
2 My Last Breath also by Evanescence

The dream sequence is being placed in bold italics to distinguish it from the music, which as always is in regular italics.


<center>******************************************
Shifting Realities

Chapter Four:

Making Preparations

******************************************</center>




If Isabel thought the nightmares she'd been having before were awful, at least he was alive in them. But since her meeting with Liz at his grave that afternoon, tonight’s dreams were intense. She kept reliving the crash, Sheriff Valenti at the Crashdown, the group of them outside of the morgue... when Max couldn’t bring him back, his funeral, the wake, and Liz’s confession...

Her mother had been by her side at least four times during the course of the night. The tears were bitterer than before; Isabel just clung to her mom when she would come in to soothe her. Diane wondered if it was worth it; before it was just heartbreaking for Isabel to dream he was alive and to wake up to the realization that he was not. Now though, she was dreaming of his actual death.


1. When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
I held your hand through all of these years


Isabel didn't want her mother to leave the room because she didn't want to lose him again, for every time she fell asleep, she had to relive it. And the cruel trick her sleep played on her was just a continual assault of her memories. Some were even imagined, such as the crash; although she wasn't an eyewitness to the event, her mind more than made up for it.


Isabel woke up the following morning exhausted. Her body felt as if it had been hit by a truck, her head pounded like she had been hit by a sledgehammer, and she felt nauseous. 'So much for an alien constitution,' she thought. 'I've never been sick a day in my life, and now all I want to do is lie down and stay there. But I promised Alex. I have to meet him.' So she willed herself out of bed, and began to get dressed for the day. ‘Skip the shower,’ she thought.

She gripped the railing as she made her way, very unsteadily, down the stairs. As she reached the bottom, and no longer had anything to hold on to, she started to inch her way along the wall for support. 'This sucks,’ she thought. 'I can't even make it into the living room.' She slid down the hall wall, and just leaned against it.

She was in so much misery that she just couldn't move. Isabel pressed her hands against her forehead to quell any of the pain she was feeling, and a low moan escaped her throat. "Unnghhh!" She tried to press her head even harder, still moaning. The room started to spin and she realized that she was about to pass out. Noting that she had never had anything like that happen to her before; Isabel called out feebly, "Help! Is anyone here?" Then she collapsed into a heap on the hallway floor.


She woke up sometime later on the couch, and someone was wiping her brow with a cool rag. She blinked a couple of times, her vision bleary from a throbbing headache; as she tried to realize just who it was, and what had happened. Soft hazel eyes were contemplating hers. "Al-ex?" She barely managed.

"Shh,” he said putting a finger to her lips, "just rest."

"Wait! You can't be here, I know how you died.” Emotion choked her voice as tears were glistening in her pain filled eyes. “Believe me, I know how. I just lived through it all night," she croaked. She rolled over unto her side so that she could observe him more closely as she reached out her hand to touch his hair.


1. These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase


Alex tenderly answered, grabbing her hand in his as he lowered himself to crouch on the floor, near her head, "I know. And I'm so sorry you had to go through that. But I'm here now,” he let go of her hand and just gazed upon her, while his hands were in his lap. “You needed me, especially since your family isn't home.” Then kneeling next to the couch, as close to Isabel as he could get, he lightly touched her cheek with his fingertips and stroked it with his thumb as he looked into her eyes. She shivered from the contact. Still blinking, wondering if this were at all happening. It was too surreal. “I found you passed out in your hallway and I just carried you to the couch. I've been taking care of you ever since." Alex informed her.

"OK," she mumbled. "I was coming to see you. You know at the grave."

Alex took her hand once again while never letting his eyes leave hers, "You were in no shape to make it to our meeting today. I'm not quite sure how I got here myself. I heard you cry out and the next thing I know is that I’m picking you up and carrying you over to the couch." Alex seemed a little confused. "Hmmm… anyway, I thought we'd have our meeting here." Alex gave her a concerned look as he stroked her forehead, "It doesn't have to be long or intense. Really, I just wanted to see more of you Isabel, but I had to leave yesterday and I can't stay long today either, unless you want to go through another night like that."


2. Hold on to me love
You know I can't stay long


She moaned, "I don't think so.” Pressing the palm of her hand to her forehead she said, “I feel so sick today because of it, I can't even move."

"Yeah,” Alex looked at Isabel compassionately as he whispered tenderly. “I can't stand seeing you like this! Knowing it’s my fault makes it worse, makes me feel terrible."

Isabel lay back completely unto the couch sinking into its cushions, as she draped her forearm over her eyes for a moment. Letting out a deep sigh as she thought over the things he had just said and shaking her head to clarify her thoughts, she then rolled back unto her side to look at him. "Three times now, you've made it sound like you know what I dreamed last night.” She stated curiously. “ Can you please explain?" She asked him imploringly while reaching out to grab his hand.

He grabbed it in both of his, and answered her, "Usually you dream of us together, and I am alive, in some form at least. I come visit you and make them as pleasant as I can.” He gave her a small sad smile. “I know you wake up sad, because I've gone. But at least the dreams are tender.” He raised her hand to his lips for a moment as he lovingly kissed it. “I used up so much energy to hold myself at our meeting yesterday that I just couldn't be there last night, and you experienced what you would be dreaming if I weren't intercepting them.” He gave Isabel a sympathetic look. “I'm so sorry. I never want to cause you any pain. I hate seeing you like this." A couple of tears strayed down his cheeks. "All I can tell you is that I Love You!" Alex said in a quavering voice while he let go of her hand as he smiled at her sadly again.


All I wanted to say was
I love you and I'm not afraid


"I would be living those nightmares,” she paused momentarily before finishing, “if I weren't dreaming of you being alive!?" She asked incredulously.

Alex replied in a whispered hush, as he stroked her hair. "Yeah!” He paused, “Yeah, you would."

"Ok, I never want to go through that again!” She exclaimed. “How do I stop them?" Isabel demanded.

Alex answered quietly, "Ahh… the reason for our meeting. You follow the clues, solve the mystery, and fix it."

"Fix it, how?" Isabel questioned; while attempting to sit up, her head was still spinning.

Alex gently shoved her back down as he shook his head, while looking at her a little sadly. He said, "You'll know. We need to continue from yesterday and then I need to go, try not to miss me too much tonight, Ok? I need you at full strength in the morning. I won't be able to visit your dream for long... please be ready for me."

"O-k," she said puzzled. 'He's dream-walking me?' She thought, 'Since when can he do that?'

Alex scratched his head and sighed, "We need to go the University of New Mexico in Las Cruces. I really don't remember being in Sweden.” Slowly shaking his head and ruffling his once again brown hair in frustration, he said, “I vaguely remember something about the University. I think we will find additional clues there. That place just calls out… You Know?"

“Tomorrow, right?" Asked Isabel.

"Yeah, and bring your partner in crime.” Alex smiled, “I need my girls to help with this. I'd involve Maria, but she isn't coping well."

"And I am!?" Isabel stared at him in shock.

"No! I-I didn’t mean… No! You're definitely not...” he stumbled trying to make sense of what he had just said to her, “but this is of vital importance to you somehow, a- a- and….” Alex continued to stammer out his explanation. “Y- y-you are one of the strongest people I know.” He decided to spit it out; it would be better than stammering all day so he finished, “If it needs to be done, you'll do it Isabel, no matter what the cost. I know I can rely on you to work this out. Isabel, I love you. I’m so sorry, but I have to leave now." He leaned down and kissed her, and just like yesterday, he faded out of her arms.


2. Say goodnight, don't be afraid
Calling me, holding me, as you fade to black.


"It has to stop ending like this." Her arms were holding onto herself as if she were still hugging Alex. "Just once I'd really like to kiss him, and not have him vanish away like a puff of smoke.”


2. (Say goodnight) Holding my last breath
(Don't be afraid) Safe inside myself
(Holding me) Are all my thoughts of you

Sweet rapture and life,
It ends here tonight.


"Oh well, I guess I'll just rest on the couch today, and call Liz."

**********

After she had a short nap she awoke, picked up the phone and dialed.

Isabel began the conversation.
"Hello, Liz? It's Isabel.”

"Hi Iz. What’s up?" Liz asked in reply.

"Alex needs us to go to the University of New Mexico in Las Cruces tomorrow. He said it's of vital importance." Isabel sounded urgent.

"Of Course. If Alex says we need to, I'm there." Liz decided that once again she would do anything for her friend.

"I have no idea what or maybe even who we are going to find. Please bring EVERYTHING from Alex's trip." Isabel directed her friend.

Liz was a little puzzled so she asked for clarification, "What do you mean?"

"Are there any single pictures of just Leanna? Alex? Things like that? If so, bring them."

"What are they for?" Liz asked.

"We may need them. I want to be prepared for anything. Something happened, and we are following isolated clues to make any sense of it! Liz, we are going to figure this out. Alex is relying on us." Isabel was taking charge of the mission.

"What are we going to do about school?" Liz reminded her.

"Well, I'll pretend that I am checking out the campus on a tour so my parents will let me go. And I hate to do this, but with my powers, I'll forge you a note and get you out of school for the day. You'll have to figure out how to get out of work. Sorry. I don't have that answer for you." Isabel slightly apologized.

"Dress like a college student?" Liz was gearing up for the task.

"Yeah, have a notebook and stuff as well. Let's play the part."

"Do you think this will work, Iz?" Liz asked skeptically.

"It has to! See you tomorrow first thing. But meet at the park, that way our parents won't get suspicious in either direction."

"Bye Isabel. Thanks for doing this, believing me." Liz sounded grateful that Isabel was working with her.

"Bye Liz. I know you're right." Isabel sounded sad.

**********

Later that night as promised, Alex gave Isabel a pleasant dream.

They took a moonlit stroll along the path in the local park. Stopping every once in awhile to look at the stars while just enjoying each other’s presence. Then they continued the walk, hand in hand, until they made their way over to a bench where they sat under the starlit sky, taking time for a romantic interlude while they enjoyed a lingering kiss. Finally they settled into each other and finished off the night with a stargazing session, while snuggled close. Isabel felt secure as she rested her head against Alex’s shoulder. The whole dream lasted about ten to twenty minutes.


2. Closing your eyes to disappear
You pray your dreams will leave you here


Isabel woke up silently, in tears. As she grabbed her pillow and held it close for comfort she made sure to keep herself in check, so as not to wake her mother, or wear herself out. She had promises to keep, and miles to go, she mused. She forced herself back to sleep with a tiny burst of her alien powers. She knew what she had to do, and she was going to do it. She owed Alex that much.


2. But still you wake and know the truth
No one's there.


The next morning, she told her mom the lie that she was checking out the campus, and that she had a midday meeting so she had to just be going. Her mother, having no reason to doubt her, as she had already stated that she was going to try to attend there, just gave her a hug and said, "Good Luck, Honey. I hope you find it to be everything you are looking for. Drive safely."

‘No truer words were ever uttered,’ Isabel thought. And with that Isabel was out the door, dressed ever the part of a college student. She had on a form fitting, satiny, white, scooped neck, pullover-shirt, and had brought a leather jacket, (her customary style) which could be altered to be any kind of jacket she might need. Thinking to herself, 'You never know when you'll need a disguise.’ She also had on figure flattering jeans, which fit perfectly in all the right places and she carried an attaché case instead of a backpack. Inside the case were her pictures of Alex, paper, pens, and a notebook. She had taken anything she thought she might need. Isabel looked like she was ready to take on the world. She was in a way.

Diane, wanting to make sure Isabel was in something safe and reliable had loaned her car to Isabel for the day.

Isabel drove to the park at the edge of town and picked up Liz Parker who had done a good job of passing herself off as college bound as well. Liz had on a pink t-shirt with a cream colored sweater over it. She also had on tight jeans. She carried a backpack; inside it was everything imaginable that could pertain to their cause.

Isabel looked at Liz’s choice of clothing, smiled to herself and thought, 'Well, we'll blend in, if nothing else. We look hot!’ Then to herself, as she opened the door for her friend, "I hope Alex likes." Turning to Liz, "So college girl,”Isabel said, "Ready to take the University by storm?" They laughed and had semi-pleasant conversation the whole drive. They knew that they were going into unfamiliar territory, in more ways than one. They were just not going to stress and worry until they were forced to; which would more than likely become the case as the day wore on.

TBC…..

Musical Excerpts by Evanescence:
1. My Immortal
2. My Last Breath

Thank-you for reading and all the feedback. I appreciate it. I love to know what my readers are thinking, so let me know.... I hope you enjoy the continuing saga. LOL!!!!


Shifting Realities

Chapter Five: Part One

Solving The Mystery


They pulled up onto the campus at around 11:00 a.m. and looked around. Isabel couldn’t help but think that life-shattering revelations or events went hand in hand with this place. She sighed; first it was agent Piece’s bones that had been transferred here, after they were dug up. Max had fixed that problem by aging them so they would seem older than they were.

Now they had to find Alex, and search out the rest of the clues as to his death. The girls disembarked from the car and stretched their legs. They drew in a deep breath and steeled themselves for the task at hand.

Liz shouldered her backpack with everything in it, and Isabel clutched her attaché case tightly in her hand. They strode unto campus with their heads held high, an air of determination about them. If you didn’t know them, or even if you did, you would easily come to one conclusion. These girls were on a mission and nothing was going to stand in their way.

They wandered over to the campus directory to get a lay of the land.

Alex came up behind them and said, “Morning ladies, I’ve been waiting for you. Seems to be I have a new talent, wanna see?”

They just stared at him, “Huh?”

“Oh Yeah! It’s really cool, I seem to be invisible, watch this.” He sauntered right into the path of oncoming students and had four of them pass right through him in a matter of seconds. “I was trying to see what form I am actually in so I did a little experimenting before you got here. It’s really cool when a car passes through you!” He came back over to where they were standing, “Cool Huh?” He playfully raised his eyebrows.

Isabel just stared at him, as her face went ashen and she slapped his arm. “Don’t do that again in front of me, if you know what’s good for you. I really don’t think I could handle seeing that again today, or ever!!” she ground out.

“Alright Isabel, I’m sorry.” Alex pouted. “I was just trying to see what my physical limitations were for the day.” He looked at her directly. “The only times I’ve materialized were in your presence. I really didn’t know. I mean, I seem physical to you…”

Liz interrupted with, “Look over there. Doesn’t that look like Leanna?” She pointed in the direction of a blond student passing by. Liz reached into her backpack and pulled out a couple of photos, one was of Leanna, and the other was of Leanna and Alex.

She took off running in the direction of the student, leaving Isabel and Alex to watch.

“Excuse me, excuse me, Leanna?” Liz reached out to stop her.

The girl smiled and said, “I’m sorry, you must have me mistaken with someone else. My name is Jennifer, Jennifer Coleman.”

Liz pulled out her photos and showed them to her. “So, this isn’t you?” Liz questioned pointing to Jennifer’s likeness in the photo. “Because you sure look a lot like my friend, Alex’s friend, Leanna. And he’s been trying to find her.”

“You said his name was Alex? Jennifer looked at Liz curiously, “Hmm…he went by the name Ray, when we posed for those pictures. Some photography student said we looked like a natural couple, and asked us to pose together for her shots. Strange girl, if you ask me. Concentrated a lot and seemed to put a lot of focus on Ray/Alex---Whomever.” She shook her head in Liz’s direction, as she shrugged her shoulders... “I’m sorry. I really don’t know him other that the day we posed for the pictures, which were taken right over there,” she said pointing in the direction of where she had posed for them. Then she looked at Liz’s photo again and said, “I guess she had to put in an alternate background or something, cause I sure don’t recognize the background or the scenery in your pictures.” She shook her head apologetically. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t be of more help to you. “

“Actually,” Liz said, “You can. I’d like to ask you one more question if that would be alright? Would you happen to know what this photography student looked like? You know the one who seemed strange.”

Jennifer nodded understandingly, “Yeah, I’d never forget her. Very quirky, she was about your height, piercing blue, almost hypnotic eyes, a good figure, blond curly hair and a feminine voice. That’s about it. Sorry I can’t help you anymore than that.” She shrugged her shoulders again and handed back the photos.

Liz, replied, “No! You’ve been great. Thanks so much.”

Jennifer said, “You’re welcome, see you around I suppose.”

Liz just answered, “Yeah,” as they departed. She ran back to where Isabel and Alex were standing, holding each other in a semi-embrace. They had been watching the whole discussion from their vantage point.

“Ok, something happened with you two just now,” Alex observed.

“Yeah, I’d say so,” noted Isabel. “Before anything else happens though, we need a more private spot, more secluded." She looked around nervously and whispered, “We will need to find several out-of-the-way meeting points today.” The three friends scouted around for a few minutes until they came to a small clearing on the side of a building. Watching it for a while and realizing that no one seemed to walk by for a short time, they made their way over to it, and started to discuss the first order of the day.

Liz set down her backpack; she was still gripping the pictures of Leanna, she showed one to Alex and said, “She remembered posing for these pictures with you Alex. Only around here you seem to go by the name of Ray.” She looked at him curiously. “She said it was for some Photography Class assignment, for a really quirky girl. When she described her I couldn’t help but think of Tess.” Liz shook her head. “I’m sure that doesn’t make too much sense though.”

They turned to look at Alex, who appeared confused, as if he were trying to reconcile these events in his mind. Shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders he said, “Go on.” Liz continued, “Also, her name is not Leanna, it is Jennifer Coleman.”

Isabel jumped on the idea. “So you were definitely here,” she blinked as she processed the information…. “I gotta’ figure out where you stayed.” A plan emerged in her mind as a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “I’m going to Student Housing…. as Amanda Whitman.” She flashed Alex a playful grin as she cocked her head innocently to the side.

“You wouldn’t!” He teased.

“Watch me.” Isabel quirked her eyebrows at him teasingly, while she proceeded to change her appearance. Combing her hands through her hair, she became a vibrant red head with natural curls that fell a little past her shoulders. Then she passed her hand over her eyes, altering her normally, gorgeous brown eyes to a shade of deep blue. Pulling her leather jacket out of her bag she placed it over her white t-shirt. Looking down to observe the alteration, she smiled to herself at her new persona. Dusting imaginary lint off of her jeans, while her head was still down, she then stated to them, “You can come watch the show if you want, but please stay outside, and observe through the windows. I have a feeling I’m going to need to be doing a little acting.” She could feel Alex’s gaze upon her and it was making her nervous.

She shyly looked up directly at Alex, “How do I look?”

Alex was staring at her in shock, mouth agape; the transformation was breathtaking. Liz thought she might have to peel him up off the floor. “Wow! He replied, his voice deep and sexy, “and I thought you were a gorgeous blonde. But, man! Isabel! You’re a smashing red head.” He put his hand to his chest and said, “Be still my heart! You take my breath away.” Grinning at the irony of his statement, Alex laughed softly to himself. “Wow! Girl!!!”

Isabel felt her face growing warmer and she knew she must have been turning various shades of red as a shy smile crossed her face. She ducked her head again as she tried to get a hold of herself. Only Alex could make her feel this way. So she said laughingly, “OK, so you approve. I’m glad.” Looking back up to them she stated, “Now let me go.” Clearing her throat to get back in control, “Remember you two, stay outside!” She stated while holding up her hand as if to make them stay.

“Why the dramatic change Isabel?” Asked a very curious Liz.

“Because I am thinking of attending school here, and if I show up as myself I might be remembered. I need to be remembered in a different way. Deep blue eyes and this red hair will definitely throw them off when I am just my normal self the next time I come here.” She nodded confidently at her reasoning. Pulling a single picture of Alex out of her bag, she held it tightly and quipped, “Show Time!” Isabel as Amanda headed towards housing.

Alex and Liz, too curious to stay behind, trailed her at a distance.

Isabel walked into the housing building and adopted her Amanda persona. “Excuse me?” She drawled in a rich Texan accent. “Excuse me? Hi, My name’s Amanda Whitman.” She smiled at the person who had come to assist her, and cocked her head to the side. “ I was wonderin’ if ya’ll could help me? But would you possibly recognize this person?” She passed over her photo of Alex.

The housing clerk looked at it for a moment and said, “Oh! That’s Ray. Weird guy if you ask me.”

“Weird huh? That sounds ‘bout right,” she drawled. “Well ya’ see, I’m his girlfriend and we kind of had this fight. I can’t seem to be able to locate him and I was wonderin’ if maybe he switched dorms or somethin’. Ya’ know to get away from me? I’m kinda havin’ this problem see, and well its kind of personal and all, but it’s really important that I talk to him. Could ya’ll check and see if he changed rooms or somethin’, please?” She looked innocently towards the clerk, with a demure smile.

The clerk returned and said, “I’m sorry, but the last room he was in was 412 in the Dona Ana Dorm Quad 4. And it appears he moved out rather abruptly. Didn’t even finish the semester. Like I said, weird guy.”

Isabel was pleased to know where he stayed but it wouldn’t seem normal to not react to the fact that he just disappeared so she delved into her character a little bit further. Amanda launched into a tirade. “Just like that huh? What am I ‘sposed to do now? How am I ‘sposed ta find him? I know he’s weird and all, but couldn’t he have the common decency to talk ta me?” She turned on the waterworks as fake tears started in her eyes. “I mean this is important. I can’t do this alone and I really need him. I’m sorry,” She fanned her hand in front of her face to ‘control’ her tears. “I’m just bawling away here. I better be going. Thanks anyway.”

The clerk responded, I’m really sorry. I wish I could have been more help to you.” He gave her a sympathetic look. “Sure hope you find him. Good-luck.”

Amanda said, “Thank-you, thanks for tryin’ and all.” She headed out of the building.

************

Meanwhile, Alex and Liz had found a nearby bench where they sat to watch the show. At the mention of acting earlier, they both knew this was something they had to see. They had trailed her at a distance, but once she was inside, they found their bench and got comfortable. They watched a range of emotions flitting across her face, ending with a public display of ‘tears’? “What’s she doing in there?” They asked each other.

************

When Isabel reached them, they were staring at her with very quizzical expressions. “Shut Up!” She teased. I did what I had to do to find out what room you were in.” Grabbing Alex’s arm and pulling him upright, she stated, “Now let’s go.” Isabel thought to herself, ‘Knowing the way this is going, I’m probably going to have to use Amanda again.’

They found his dorm and went inside. It appeared to be absolutely empty.

“Hmm… I wonder…” Liz started to speak, but was interrupted by a male voice at the door. “Excuse me, can I help you ladies?”

Isabel went into full Amanda mode. “Well ya’ see, I’m Amanda and this here’s my friend, Liz. Pointing in Liz’s direction. I’m just lookin’ for my boyfriend. He was stayin’ here in this room, oh, probably a couple months back.” She caught the amused glances of her friends, Alex just grinned at her display. “I really need ta find him, and it kind of looks like he just up and left.”

The guy stared at her in shock and said incredulously, “You’re his girlfriend?”

“Yeah!” She looked at him quizzically.

“Honestly, I think you could do better,” he advised.

“O-kay, that’s your personal ‘pinion. I’m just trying to find my Ray, and this seems to be the last place he was.” Amanda stated annoyed.

“I’m sorry, I was really out of line.” The student apologized. “It’s just he has to be like the weirdest guy I ever met. He rarely talked, never hung out with anyone. I’m surprised he’s got a girlfriend as hot as you. Sorry, he just didn’t seem the type.” Then he shook his head thinking about the weird guy. “Anyway, he’s got this weird food fetish, he would have Thai food delivered to his dorm, he ate it for every meal. I don’t think he ever left.”

Liz jumped in, “Like ever?”

“Yeah! During the day he sure didn’t…once, late at night, I ran into him on campus. It was like 4:00 in the a.m. and we had to be the only two souls around. He was coming out of the Litvack building which houses like this supercomputer or something. The weird thing was that I tried to say hi but he acted as if he hadn’t seen me, we couldn’t have been more than five feet away from each other. Whatever… like I keep saying, Weird guy. He really gave me the creeps that time.”

Amanda drawled, “Could you please tell me where this Litvack buildin’ is? Maybe someone there knows his where’ bouts. I really have to find him… I’m goin’ through somethin’ kind of personal.”

“Amanda, Liz, the name’s Paul. It’s so easy to get lost around here if you don’t know where you are going.” He looked to the girls. “Would you mind if I escorted you to the building?” They just nodded their agreement.

“That would be so sweet of you, you’re such a gentleman, ain’t he Liz?” Amanda drawled as she draped her hand in the crook of his elbow. Liz took the other side.

The group headed across the campus, and arrived at the door of the John A. Litvack Computer Sciences building. When they arrived, Amanda said, “Thank-ya so much Paul. Maybe someone here can help us. I mean if this is where he spent his time and all?”

“No problem ladies, hope you get all the help you need here. Bye.” Paul left them to their mission and headed off in the direction of his next class.

The three friends made their way inside. Alex was naturally where his girls were. They found a professor and started to query him about the computers in this building.

Isabel shed her drawl and resumed her normal speech. Liz started to ask the professor questions, “So, what’s so special about these supercomputers?

Isabel was drawing out her picture of Alex as the professor answered, “Their best potential, or application, is in the field of cryptography or code breaking.”

Isabel stiffened momentarily and handed her picture over. “My friend Ray, here, was supposed to be working on a project a couple of months back. Would there be anyway to check into that?”

The professor sat down and typed a short while into the keyboard, suddenly he exclaimed, “Wow! We’re getting somewhere. It looks like your friend was trying to decode something major.” Isabel leaned closer into the screen and pointed at the screen asking if there was anyway of finding out what he was working on, and if he could try to please figure it out for them.

They stood around for a short time while the professor typed again and tried to find out any information. Isabel was starting to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Suddenly the professor said excitedly, “Girls, I think you will be excited to know that I found the source material. It looks like he was decoding an Ancient Native American Language.”

When Isabel heard that, the feeling of uneasiness intensified. Noticing her immediate distress, Alex came to support her from the side. She leaned closer into the screen and then pulled back as if burned. She tightly gripped Alex’s arm, trying to hold her composure, as she mouthed the words, “Oh, my God! It’s Alien.” She started to fan herself, as she was feeling as if she might pass out, or throw –up whichever came first.

Liz quickly covered for her as she leaned in and continued the conversation with the professor. Decoding… like translating…? Into what…? English?”

The professor said, “It appears that way but he deleted all the files so I’m not sure if he succeeded or not.” He typed for a short while again, and then said, “This might be of interest to you girls. It appears on his last time here he created this huge text file and e-mailed it to another address. He typed again, and then said surprised, “Oh! It seems to be right here on campus. The address is jcoleman@ulascruces.edu. Maybe that will help.”

As they were leaving they shook the professor’s hand and thanked him very much for his time and for helping them.

When they went outside Isabel’s uneasiness become evident to all of them. She was not doing well. She was bent over at the waist, hands on her knees gasping, swallowing repeatedly to stop the nausea that was slowly overtaking her, fear was etched in her currently blue eyes. She just could not lose it here. After giving her a moment to recompose, Alex and Liz helped right her, and she sputtered, “What the hell???”

Alex joined, “Leanna is not Leanna. She is Jennifer Coleman and she attends school here.”

TBC….

Shifting Realities

Chapter Five: Part Two

Solving the Mystery

They all concurred that the next order of business was to find another private place to meet. So they looked around till they found an out of the way grassy knoll, with a tree for shade. There weren’t many people around, they observed, just isolated students studying... So they sat down and began to discuss the events of the day that they seemed to keep stumbling upon.

Isabel turned to Alex, “What were you doing here, Honey? What were you translating and what did you send to Jennifer?”

Alex shook his head as if he were recalling a bad nightmare. He grabbed Isabel’s hands. The intensity of his grip caused to her unconsciously start to bite her lower lip, as fear registered within her and she began to shake her head repeatedly. Whatever he was thinking, or going to say was not going to be good. Her gaze averted to the ground. She didn’t see the tears that were starting to mist in his eyes. He started apologizing… ”Oh! Isabel, I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry… I never… I don’t want…”

You left me with goodbye and open arms
A cut so deep I don't deserve

Alex trailed off and didn’t finish his sentence for two reasons: the first was that tears were coursing down his cheeks, and the other was that Isabel was demanding that Liz pull out the Thai food receipt.

Isabel knew that this was going to be hard, so she climbed into Alex’s lap between his legs as he leaned against the tree. She needed to feel his arms around her. She needed his touch. This was going to be the most difficult thing that she ever had to say. As she held the receipt out in front of her, she started with the revelation that was working its way into her brain. “Alex! You said two important clues were tied into this receipt right? I think I figured them out.” She shook her head, willing herself to continue. “Computers use code to write the program, right? Look at this Binary; she pointed to the binary that he had written instead of his signature. You were trying to say that you were working with a computer. The other is the receipt itself. It is for Thai Food. That is all you ever ate.”

Liz stared at Isabel wondering what exactly she was thinking.

“Oh! God!! I don’t want to say this… I can’t believe this…” Isabel swallowed hard as she forced herself to continue. “This is only a theory… but…. No!” She shook her head forcefully, tears starting to mist her eyes.

“Isabel what’s wrong; please tell me what’s going on?” Liz asked concernedly.

Isabel ignored Liz and continued to speak to Alex, “You were working on decoding something, right.”

“Yeah.” He replied.

She shifted in his lap a little so she could look at him. “All you ate was Thai food.”

Liz was puzzled, “Huh?”

Alex could tell that Isabel was coming up with something but he didn’t want to pressure her so he just slowly nodded for her to continue. “Liz, can you pull out our only other unfinished clue, the first one?” Isabel directed her attention to their friend for a moment and then she continued to talk to Alex... “What is it about Thai food,” she continued, “isn’t it like one of the spiciest cuisines?” She started to tear up and she looked to Alex and shook her head sadly. “We have to eat spicy stuff because our taste buds don’t register otherwise. Regular food tastes bland.”

Alex looked at her sadly as he kept his arms wrapped tightly around her.

“Liz, you said that Jennifer told you of someone who reminded you of Tess, right?” Isabel queried.

Yeah, what are you getting at Iz.?” Liz was confused.

Isabel drew in a shaky breath, “I’m about to solve pretty much everything…just hang with me. I need to see the picture.” Liz handed it to Isabel. She looked at it and thought for a moment before continuing.

Tears glistening in her eyes and voice quavering Isabel looked sadly at Alex, “Ok! Would it stand to reason,” she choked out, “that someone,” she swallowed bitterly, “under massive…doses…of (sniff) …mind-warp…might (sob) …just possibly… become.. (shaky sob) …a …little bit …alien?”

You were always invincible in my eyes
The only thing against us now is time

Isabel was overcome by her emotions as she burst into tears, and threw herself into Alex’s arms, burying her head on his shoulder. She just sobbed as the revelations continued to assault her brain, unable to put them into words yet. She knew; she understood what had happened. Alex just held her, stroking her hair as his tears flowed.

Could it be any harder to say goodbye and without you
Could it be any harder to watch you go, to face what's true
If I only had one more day

Liz came over behind her and enveloped them in a hug, shedding her own tears at the time.

Alex and Isabel continued to cling to each other. They cried for all that was wrong, for their lost love, for the time that they would never have, and for the revelations that were yet to be discovered. Their connection was so strong that even though Alex wasn’t currently living in this plane of existence, Isabel was able to connect, and more of the mystery was revealed through flashes.

When Isabel had regained a bit of composure she took the picture and with a sigh started to explain its significance. “This is going to be really hard to say.” She sighed again, “Due to this picture, Sheriff Valenti ruled Alex’s death a suicide because it appeared as if he had defaced himself, erased himself, so to speak. But he chose this picture with care and there appear to be several reasons. First, this was taken when he was here, hence Leanna. Second, it reveals what happened to him as evidenced by his missing head. Third, and this ties into the second; he didn’t erase himself, just his mind. Fourth, the whole time he was here he was under the influence of someone. And lastly, the fifth, it was with him in the crash.”

Liz was watching her as what she had said started to sink in.
Isabel stood up and began to pace. “She killed him! Tess!” She spat out in a loud, angry, whisper. “She mind-warped Alex into decoding that stupid destiny book. She destroyed his mind and his life over it. I need to find that stupid book. Where is it at now?” Isabel’s eyes were flashing with anger, and a fierce look was written across her face.

Liz, knowing she needed to get Isabel calmed down, decided to work with this latest knowledge. “Ok! We need to go to Jennifer’s room. He sent everything to her, maybe she knows more than she let on. Maybe she was just trying to throw me off?”

Confusion crossed Alex’s face. “ I’m really sorry that I can’t help with most of these clues. I barely recall even leaving them. But I think I remember where Jennifer’s room is,” stated Alex. “Lets go!”

After walking across the campus they made their way into the girl’s dorm. They were in the hallway standing before the door of Jennifer’s room when Alex said, “I think I can help with this. I’m going to go in there and see if there is anybody at home. I can pass through things remember?” Isabel paled, but slowly nodded. She knew that it was the only way; they didn’t have time to wait all day to see if anyone was home or not.

Alex melted right through the walls and vanished into the other side. Isabel and Liz, unable to get used to this, just grabbed each other’s hands for comfort. He slid right back through the walls and said, “No one’s home, let’s do it.”

Isabel let them in with a little well placed alien power and once inside they began to go through her mail. “Here is a bill for Open Sky Property Management, think this might be something?” asked Liz.

Alex said, “That’s sounds familiar, that’s where it must be, we need to go there next.”

Liz brought the address with her. It was for a place outside of Las Cruces.

He knew situations were going to become even tenser before the day ended, so he allowed himself a private moment with Isabel. He looked her deeply in the eyes and said, “I know this is hard on you, you’re so brave. Thank-you for doing this, I love you so much Isabel.” She just leaned in for the kiss, hoping he wouldn’t vanish into thin air this time. She needed this, his presence, if the day was going to get any more monumental. They kissed for as long as they felt comfortable.

I lie down and blind myself with laughter
A quick fix of hope is what I'm needing
And how I wish that I could turn back the hours
But I know I just don't have the power

Then he said, “I’m sorry but we’ve really got to get going.” She drew strength from the fact that he was still there, and she had been able to kiss him. So she steeled herself once again for the inevitable.
Before leaving, they changed their appearances once again. Isabel went back to normal, but retained her blue eyes from before. She turned Liz into a blonde with shoulder length hair, altering her dark brown eyes into a rich shade of green. She also turned Liz’s shirt blue, seeing how she had already had a run in with Jennifer/Leanna earlier.

************

They headed out to the car, pulled out a map book for the surrounding area, and started to look up their directions. Isabel knew she had to hold it together, but her uneasiness never left her. They deduced that they had to drive several minutes out of town.

“Well this place is well hidden, so far out of the way, you have to know what you’re after,” mumbled Liz as Isabel drove towards their destination. They were driving on an unpaved road in a desolate area, passing power poles and oil derricks. They were heading into what seemed like nowhere. The drive got more interesting as they traveled.

The girls felt apprehension as the ride progressed, and they were doing everything they could to remain calm while the adrenaline was coursing through their veins. The only thought on their minds was the importance of the book that Tess felt compelled to murder for. Isabel knew she already hated the book and that nothing could bring back Alex, so she numbly drove to the place that would finish unraveling the mystery. She really did not care to finish understanding it; she was doing everything from this point strictly for Alex.

When they arrived at Jennifer/Leanna’s house they found that it was in a rundown area of town. The building was in shambles, and looked as if it needed to be condemned. Isabel turned to Alex and asked if he was sure they were in the right place.

He looked around and said, as far as he could tell they were.

As they walked towards the doorway Isabel asked objectionably, “Why would anyone rent this?”

“They have something to hide.” Liz finished for her.

Alex slid through the wall to get a layout for them. He came back out talking seeming nonsense. “There is a bomb. It is alien and it is wired. She set it up just as we planned. You should be fine, it should only react to Tess.”

They cautiously peered around the doorframe noticing plastic sheeting lined most of the walls. In some places the sheeting seemed to be the only walls. They looked at each other in curiosity. Entering a room in the back they heard a high-pitched beeping noise. It started to increase in volume, frequency and speed. Alex looked at Isabel and motioned her to blast it with her powers, so she propelled it out the nearest window, with not a second to spare.

Flash! The bomb detonated. The walls shook. But no one inside was injured. “AAAHHH!!!” A female’s voice was heard hysterically screaming from in the outer hall.

Alex screamed “Jennifer!! Go! Get her, it’s Leanna.” Isabel ran out into the hall of the building from which the bomb had been flung, and saw a terrified girl running away. Isabel instinctively raised her left hand as she generated her physical energy and sent out a beam of electricity that manifested as a green force field in front of the girl. Isabel was stunned, she hadn’t known she could do that. And the girl let out a surprised, yet terrified shriek at the sight of it and fainted. They carried her back into the house and set her on the only chair available.

When she regained consciousness she glared at her captors. “Who are you?” She hissed at Isabel.

“Calm down, we don’t want to hurt you. We just want to ask you some questions.” Isabel replied. “I know we scared you and we are sorry, but why are you here and who are you?”

“Release me! Get my hands out of these bonds,” Jennifer struggled in the chair where Isabel had used some “alien magic” to hold her in it.

“We can’t release you unless we know you won’t escape again. OK?” Isabel forcefully stated. She hated being a kidnapper and interrogator, but she was doing what was necessary.

“Ok! You saw what I can do, so I release you and we talk, no escaping. Got it??” Isabel leaned in closely to her face.

“Yes,” Jennifer spat in Isabel’s face.

‘Oh gross!’ Isabel thought disgustedly as she stepped back and then wiped her face with her hand. ‘She’s not going to be easy to talk to.’

Jennifer, now released and sitting there, looked directly into Isabel’s face, “I don’t have anything to answer.” She spat out venomously, “ Why don’t you just kill me and get it over with? Finish me the same way you did Alex!!!” Anger flashed in her eyes as she glared at her captor.

Isabel stumbled back momentarily at Jennifer’s admission and asked, “What about Alex… do you know him?”

Jennifer remained silent.

Isabel started to choke up… ‘We might be adding another person into the abyss’ she sighed, ‘but Jennifer has more answers than anyone else,’ she thought to herself. So she continued… “Please, what do you know about Alex?” Isabel pleaded. “I promise we’re not going to hurt you.”

“I know he died.” Jennifer stated rather unemotionally. “I read it in the papers, suicide or something. Can’t say I blame him, if it was the only way to get away from her,” she said rather dryly.

“From whom?” Asked Liz. Isabel was afraid to hear the answer.

“Someone named Tess; she has incredible power over the mind and can make you do anything she wants.” Jennifer narrowed her eyes and looked at each of them individually for a long time. Then she declared, “I know that either you,” she glared at Liz, “or your friend here has to be her,” pointing at each one for emphasis.

Isabel gasped audibly. “Why would you say that?” She protested. Jennifer stated, “That bomb that went off was meant only for her. It would only detonate when the wife of the king was near it. She was the one who wanted the stuff, and she was going to get it. I know that you’re aliens…” She stared at Liz and then pointed to her shirt and hair, and said, “You looked different earlier today at the school, I know that much.”

Liz mumbled, “Just our luck, we’re both blonde and you have blue eyes,” Isabel shot her a look as if to say, ‘Shut up!’

Jennifer got up out of the chair and was watched intently by the girls. “You said that Alex was looking for me.” Softly she muttered, “I wish he were, he was sweet.” She paced like a caged animal as she said, “But that leaves a couple of options, either you don’t know what happened to him or you’re lying and trying to find me. I don’t want any part of this… take what you came for and leave me alone.”

“Please tell us what your involvement with Alex was?” choked out Isabel. “He died a few weeks back and we are trying to figure out what happened.” Sighing she continued, “We have a few pictures of you and him, but we don’t know anything.” A few tears trickled down her cheeks as she softened. “I really did like him, and this is Liz, his best friend and we’re just trying to understand everything. We really miss him.” She swallowed thickly to dislodge the lump that was forming in her throat. “We’re not Tess and I couldn’t begin to tell you why the bomb registered; it’d never make any sense to you.” She shook her head sadly as she looked at Liz, “But please help us understand what happened to Alex.” More tears started to flow down her cheeks as she allowed her self to cry a little harder.

Isabel was hoping that being honest and emotional would show Jennifer that she wasn’t the enemy; the last thing a stranger would ever see was her emotions. Her emotions were usually carefully guarded as if they were in a strongbox. Yet here she was relying on them to hopefully get answers and prove her intent to this person. Alex reached in to hold her from back, resting his head on top of hers.

Could it be any harder to say goodbye and without you
Could it be any harder to watch you go, to face what's true
If I only had one more day

Jennifer just watched her emotional display warily. She did not know if she should trust these people or not.

“When we threw the bomb out the window, it was next to a computer, what is on the computer that is of importance and needing to keep away from Tess?” Liz demanded.

Jennifer/Leanna started her whole story. “I’m guarding it. My previous roommate was an alien living inside a human skin.” She looked at them skeptically. “She had to leave to go to Arizona for some Harvest type thing at one point and she never came back but before she left, she entrusted me with some things of importance and gave me implicit directions what to do with them.”

“What things?” asked Liz.

Jennifer ignored the question and continued with her tale. “My roommate said that these things are very important in an interplanetary war. There is a leader who needs to be replaced and she was trying to find the one that would be right. He goes by the name Michael on this planet.”

Isabel gasped, ‘Michael worshipper? Skin?’

Jennifer stood at the back of the chair resting her hands on its back as she looked at each of them. “My roommate left me this stuff when she disappeared: the bomb, and”… she walked over to the table, reached underneath and pulled out a crystal from a box, “this. It’s supposed to be some kind of key.”

“What kind of key?” Asked Liz.

“Like I would know!” she exasperated. “I am a computer/technology student and my friend told me to be on the lookout for someone who would come to the Litvack building who needed to decode a manuscript in some language... After awhile Alex came. But he wasn’t Alex; he went by the name of Ray. One day though, he wasn’t using the name Ray nor did he seem so… drugged... He said his name was Alex. We learned that he went by the name Ray when he was under a mind-warp; which was most of the time. But we worked together to fit the pieces when he wasn’t. Alex was really sweet, I’m sorry his life ended so badly. But anyways, Alex decoded what he was trying to and sent it to me and I have it here on this computer. The bomb would have blown it up.” Her eyes flashed anger towards Isabel, “But you,” she spat at Isabel, “sent it out the window! I have no idea who you are!” She started to pace again. “I was supposed to get this to Michael and to keep it out of the hands of Tess, but I don’t care anymore.” She threw her hands up in disgust. “I just wish I understood everything about what happened to Alex. Suicide would be a good way to get away from her, but here you are scouting around like its murder. I don’t know what to think.” She shook her head in their direction. ‘They might be ok,’ she was thinking to herself.

Isabel answered, “He didn’t kill himself and you know it already. You thought that Tess had done something to him because you told us to finish you off just like Alex.” Isabel walked over and placed her hand on Jennifer’s arm very gently as she stopped her pacing. “You’re right, she did kill him.” Isabel said quietly and then she finished in a voice barely above a whisper, “and she took away the man I love. No one knows that, what Alex meant to me really. No one.” Isabel crumbled, shaking her head sadly at her spoken revelation, unable to continue.

Alex said, “Hey, can I talk to her?”

So Liz said, “This is going to sound incredible, but, Alex is here; he’s been here the whole time. He helped us to find you today even though you obviously followed us. He’d like to talk to you.”

“Right!” Jennifer muttered sarcastically, “Now… you’re walking around with his ghost and he led you to me. Right!” She dejectedly sighed knowing that they were going to force the issue. “I’m still not sure I’m not under any kind of mind control right now. You seem to know Alex and so did she! I don’t believe you.” She stared at them.

Alex said, “Say this please: Thank-you for helping me. Thank-you for the pizza and the orange Slice soda, I was getting so sick of Thai food. Remember Juniper? Thank-you also for helping to keep my friends safe we are all indebted to you and we all appreciate it.” He chuckled, “Do you remember saying as I took the first bite of that heavenly food. ‘I’ve never seen someone so happy just to be eating Pizza?”’

Liz relayed the message and Jennifer broke down crying. “It is Alex. He knew my dog’s name from when I was four. We briefly talked about loves in our lives over that pizza, his is a girl named Isabel. Now who are you people?”

Isabel knew if Alex was decoding that book it was because he loved her, but the fact that he was sharing his heart with Jennifer touched her, and the tears flowed steadily. Alex just held her from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder.

Liz answered, “Alex’s friends. We’re the friends you’re protecting.” Isabel just nodded, unable to speak. So Liz then asked, “Could we see what you have that you are guarding? We won’t hurt you, I know you have no reason to believe us, but maybe you can do it for Alex.”

I'd jump at the chance
We'd drink and we'd dance
And I'd listen close to your every word
As if it's your last, I know it's your last
Cuz today, oh, you're gone

Jennifer showed them the computer and the decoded version of the alien book. She gave them the crystal and the printouts of the manuscript. Then she added angrily, “Take it all. I’m not part of this war. I don’t want to be involved. We all seem to have lost a friend or so over this and I’ve never been so scared in my whole life. Guarding this stuff was frightening.”

They nodded their agreement.

Jennifer launched into another description, “When you turned up looking around for Alex today,” she said while pointing directly at Liz, “ I freaked out and followed you. I got here just before you did and rigged the bomb to explode. I don’t even know how to find this Michael.”

Isabel interrupted her, “We do. He’s my brother.”

Jennifer continued, “I have no reason to believe you. But if you really are friends of Alex, he probably gave his life to protect you.” She looked at them compassionately. “Make sure this never makes it into the hands of Tess, and get this to Michael. Now let me make this perfectly clear. You have everything that I have and you know all that I know. I never want to see you again. I don’t want any part of this and I am not part of this war. I don’t care! I’ve never been more scared and I never want to see another alien again. Please Leave Me Alone!” she shouted.

They thanked her for everything; placing the manuscript in Isabel’s bag and the crystal in Liz’s backpack.

Isabel tried a personal approach for just a moment more before they walked out of this young woman’s life, forever. “Jennifer, thank-you for helping Alex. I’m glad he had a friend to help with what he was going through; I would hate to think he was all alone. I’m sad to think that he gave his life to save us, but that’s the kind of person he is. Alex will do anything for a friend and I think that’s why he trusted you with this huge responsibility. You befriended him. Thank you for being there for him.” Tears were once again glistening in her blue eyes.

“We’d really like to hug you, would that be OK?” Asked Liz.

“Yeah, for a second.” She held up her hand cautiously, “But I mean it, I never want anything to do with aliens again.”

“We understand, believe us,” said Isabel dryly. The three friends all enclosed Jennifer in a hug. Alex had to, she had done so much for him and for them.

Then they left. Once outside, Isabel used her powers to change them back to normal, and she made the forged note for Liz.

Alex took Isabel into the last contact of the day. “I hate to leave you now, when you just learned everything, and I know you must be dying inside, but I have worked hard to stay with you today and I can’t stay any longer. The dreams are going to be intense, as I can’t be there. Let your mom “in” Isabel. You need someone right now! I might not be around for a couple of days. Bye.” He gave her a very brief kiss.

Like sand on my feet
The smell of sweet perfume
You stick to me forever

“I want to hug my girls please.” They both had their arms around him when he vanished.

And I wish you didn't go
I wish you didn't go
I wish you didn't go away

Her composure broken, Isabel collapsed, she’d made it through the day but she just didn’t have any reserves left. She had willed herself to be strong for Alex, but now that he had left that strength had fled with him.

To touch you again
With life in your hands
It couldn't be any harder

She felt her knees give way under her, and found herself sliding down the wall, ending in a heap on the floor; where she stayed with her head in her hands… mourning, deeply mourning Alex’s death and Tess’ betrayal. She couldn’t have gotten up to save her life she was in so much anguish.

It couldn't be any harder, harder, harder

Liz put her arms around her tall friend and just held her. She rocked Isabel as if she were a small child. She was crying bitterly herself. They just took comfort in each other’s presence. It’s all they could do.

TBC......

Music: Could It Be Any Harder by The Calling

Feedback is greatly appreciated. I like to know what you, my readers are thinking. Thanks so much.

Ok this is a warning: This chapter is extremely intense

I have placed the dream into Bold Italics to distinguish it from the song...

And one final very important note: Thank-you to Paul, StargazerMD, and Trude, for getting me through the tough parts in this chapter. I really needed your guys help and couldn't have done it without you. This Chapter is dedicated to the two of you.


*******************************

Shifting Realities

Chapter Six:

Reeling From the Impact

Isabel was in so much distress that she cried most of the way home. The ride was normally three and a half to four hours long, depending on traffic… They made it in three. When she wasn’t openly sobbing she was uneasily sleeping. The silence was punctuated by tiny sniffles or sobs the whole way home. So many things had been learned today, none of them pleasant, and all were clamoring through her mind for her attention.

Liz had to drive. Isabel was a wreck.

Liz marveled at how well Isabel had maintained her composure throughout the day, considering everything they had learned and then she thought back to her display as the Ice Princess a short time back. Isabel would never let her emotion be seen, even if she was dying inside. Liz knew that her heart must be absolutely shattered to allow herself this much public emotion.

She was trying to hold it in herself. But she had to get them home; she had to be strong for both of them. Isabel was relying on her strength.

***************

It was already dark outside and late when they pulled into the Evans’ Driveway.

When you feel all alone
And the world has turned its back on you
Give me a moment please to tame your wild wild heart

Isabel was so emotionally distraught that her body had lost all semblance of control and she was shaking. Liz helped her very unsteady friend to her door, and then held her tightly as she turned the knob.

As they entered the house, Isabel’s parents were waiting for her. They had wanted to make sure she arrived home safely, unaware of the events that had just transpired.

***************

The sight that awaited them was shocking. Isabel’s eyes were red-rimmed, puffy and swollen as if she had been crying for hours; mascara streaked down her cheeks, leaving dark, blotchy tear tracks. She was bent over with her head buried on Liz’s shoulder, her arms wrapped very tightly around her petite friend’s shoulders and back, clinging to her as if she were a lifeline in a gale. Isabel’s body was convulsing with heart-breaking sobs, visibly displaying her emotions. This led her parents to be very concerned about what may have happened, as their daughter had never displayed her emotions openly.

I know you feel like the walls are closing in on you
It's hard to find relief and people can be so cold

Diane took one look at her daughter, “OH MY GOD!” She leapt from her seat beside her husband and raced across the room to pull her daughter into an embrace. “Oh my God! What happened? Sweetie… Honey, what’s wrong?” she asked, reaching out for Isabel.

Isabel did not answer, nor did she let go of Liz. She could not hear them.

Liz guided Isabel into her mother’s waiting arms and whispered, “Its ok Isabel, your mother has you now.”

Isabel resumed her stance, now safely ensconced in her mother’s arms. Diane Evans held tightly to her precious child and let her sob into her shoulder as she stroked her back.

Philip too had come over to them. “What happened Liz?” he whispered, as he stroked Isabel’s hair, his eyes pleading for answers. She explained that they’d have to talk to Isabel. She couldn’t divulge any information because she was on the verge of breaking down herself; and she wanted to be in the comfort of her own home when she lost it.

Liz had no idea what Isabel was going to tell her parents, but it didn’t look like there was anyway to explain it without bringing up the alien issue, and she did not want to be a part of that discussion.

So instead she asked for a ride home, because she had been driving Isabel’s car. Both parents realized that they had been together, which would mean that Liz had skipped school, and thankfully had been at the University with Isabel. Something wasn’t right; but they would deal with that later. Right now, it looked like the bottom had fallen out of their daughter’s world; she was shattered almost beyond recognition.

When darkness is upon your door and you feel like you can't take anymore

Philip kissed Isabel’s hair, stroking it softly one last time, and then he left with Liz, shooting Diane a look of extreme confusion, as he exited.

***************

Diane turned her focus to her daughter. She tried to pull out of the embrace, so that she could look Isabel in the eyes. Isabel would not release. She had her arms tightly wrapped around her mother’s neck, her head on her shoulder and was sobbing like the world had come to an end.

Let me be the one you call
If you jump i'll break your fall
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night

Diane guided them over to the couch and she helped Isabel sit down. She climbed onto it next to her and Isabel resumed her clinging. She still hadn’t spoken a word and remained in that position when her father returned from taking Liz Parker home.

He entered the living room and went to sit with his family on the couch, pulling his wife and daughter into a comforting embrace. He had tried to support Isabel when Alex had first died, but she was so unresponsive to anyone that he had given up. He had left all the recovery to his wife; it wasn’t because he didn’t love his daughter, but because he just hadn’t known how to help. Philip felt at a loss as to how to draw her out of herself.

Tonight however, Philip sensed that she was receptive to any and all comfort. She was so openly broken, that he just held his family and poured all the love and protection he could into Isabel. Silent tears streamed down his cheeks. ‘Was she raped, robbed, what? What could possibly have happened tonight? Maybe we shouldn’t have let her go alone…even though she seems to have had Liz with her. This is really, really bad. I’ve never seen her like this.’ These and other thoughts assaulted his brain as he tried to make sense of the scene before him.

If you need to fall apart
I can mend a broken heart
If you need to crash then crash and burn
You're not alone

***************

He headed to bed a couple of hours later; Isabel still had her mother in a death hold. “So help me God!” he exclaimed, “whoever has hurt my daughter will pay!!! No one hurts my family and lives to tell about it.” ‘What had happened though?’ was the one question that was still running through his mind. Liz also had seemed very sullen and withdrawn on the ride to her house earlier he had observed. Whatever had happened was affecting both of them. He climbed into bed for what would likely be a restless night.

***************

Isabel was starting to tire, she felt like just drifting off in the comfort of her mother’s arms. It had been an excruciatingly painful day, and rest would feel so welcome. So she willed herself awake and pulled out of her mother’s embrace. She shook her head of whatever sleep she could and went into the kitchen where she started a pot of coffee. Diane looked at her quizzically, while she watched what she was doing. Isabel then went to the sink where she splashed cold water on her face. She turned to her mom and stated, “I’m not going to sleep. I’m never going to sleep again. I need to stay up.”

When hopes and dreams are far away and
You feel like you can't face the day

When she was in this mode, her mother knew not to argue with her. She would give her reasons when she felt ready. So her mother waited with her. When the coffee was done, Isabel poured herself a cup and drank it down. Then she poured another and went to the kitchen table. She sat down, placing her head in her hands and releasing a very weary sigh.

Diane pulled up an adjacent chair, placed her hand on her daughter’s back and said, “I’m not going to let you go through this alone. If you’re staying up, then so am I. I’m not leaving you alone Isabel. Something happened today to shake you to your very core. I’ll be right here when you want to talk about it.” Isabel looked at her mom, sadly shook her head, and resumed her staring ahead at the wall, her knees drawn up and her arms folded across her chest. They both sat in silence, nursing cups of coffee and their own private thoughts, Isabel’s were tortured, and her mother’s were concerned.

***************

That night, across town at the Valenti residence….

Kyle Valenti was sleeping fitfully as his dreams plagued him. He remembered the night of the accident, and how everyone had lost a good friend.
All of a sudden his dreams took on a different edge, as if they were trying to tell him something, so he watched….

He saw the reflection of Alex in his bedroom mirror. He spoke, “You are the royal four, you were created from the genetic materials of your alien predecessors and human subjects.” You were given human form so you can….”

Kyle woke up gasping. “He was here.” He fell back to sleep, the dream continued….

Alex is commanding Tess. “You did this to me, you sent me to Las Cruces.”

Tess responds with, “Ok, ok Alex let me fix your mind, you’re not thinking straight.”

Alex is angry, “You mind-warped me for two months while I decoded that silly book for you. And now there’s nothing left for you to mind-warp. You destroyed my mind. How could you do this to me?!!!"

Kyle now noticed himself in the dream, observing the confrontation.

Tess turns to him, “Kyle get out!”

He asked, "What’s going on?"

Tess orders him to leave, “Kyle Go!”

Alex continues, “I have nothing, I might as well be dead."

Kyle states, “Hey calm down.”

Tess “sweetly” says, “He’s right, OK. Calm down, just calm down."

Alex screams at her, “No! You can’t mind-warp me. NO!!!!!”

Tess mind-warps him and he collapses to the floor.

The realization was hitting Kyle full force as he slept. The dream continued…

Kyle is shutting a car door, he turns to Tess. “You’re duffel is all loaded."

Tess says, “Thanks Kyle.”

He sees himself offer to come along, but Tess declines and says, “No! Go in the house. I’ll take care of everything from here.”

Then Kyle saw the crash.

Kyle raced out of his bed, barely making it to the bathroom in time. He bent over the toilet and vomited. The images of his dream were invading his mind, leaving him feeling very ill. He had carried the body of his friend, but wasn’t even aware of what he was doing. When he was done in the bathroom he stood there gasping for breath, “What the hell happened to Alex!? What did Tess do to him?” These thoughts and memories were overwhelming him as he rinsed out his mouth and decided on his next course of action.

Kyle, knowing Tess slept in what was his bedroom, quietly crept out of the house, so as not to wake up anyone. He made his way into town to the nearest pay phone…not really aware of the late hour. He just needed to talk to someone in particular. He picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number.

***************

At the Evans’ house, Isabel and Diane were sitting in silence. The kind of silence that lets you know something is terribly wrong; the kind of silence that is deafening. Isabel still had not allowed herself to open up; she remained staring straight ahead at the wall on the opposite side of the room, whilst her face bore a bereft expression. Diane was still in her chair, watching over her daughter, continuing her silent vigil. She had told Isabel that she was not going to let her out of her sight, and she had meant it. This time Isabel would know her mom was there no matter what was going on. So Diane remained fixed.

A shrill ring pierced the silence, causing both of them to startle a little in surprise. Diane looked at her watch, “Who the hell would be calling here at 3:00 in the morning?” she complained while Isabel rushed to answer it before it rang out again.

“Hello”

“Isabel its Kyle.” He sounded scared, “I need to talk. It can’t be at my house.”

“I’m not sleeping, come on over here.” She answered.

“You sure?” He thought it odd that she said she wasn’t sleeping.

“Yeah! Kyle what’s wrong?” Isabel was concerned.

“Our recent loss wasn’t an accident. His loss was ‘mind’ related if you get my meaning.”

“Kyle,,,”

“Not on the phone, I’ll be there in a couple of minutes. He hung up.

While she was on the phone, her uneasy feeling of foreboding that she had experienced at the school, resurfaced, leaving her feeling slightly queasy. She let out her breath as she momentarily rubbed her stomach to calm it down.

Isabel hung up the phone, and she pushed aside her feeling of nausea. ‘Is Kyle trying to say that Tess is involved? How does he know?? We found something like this out, at the school today… But what does he mean, telling me that Alex’s death wasn’t an accident?? I know Tess was involved, but it couldn’t be deliberate, could it?’ The feeling of discomfort was slowly replaced by anger.

Diane watched as Isabel went through a sudden change. It looked like her daughter was shaking off the feeling of loss and helplessness that she had exhibited since her friend’s death, and it looked like it was being replaced by determination, as to what, Diane didn’t know.

Isabel looked at her mom. Just moments ago, she didn’t know if she would make it through the night without her. Now, with the whole alien abyss rearing its ugly head, she would have to shut her out again. Or would she? Isabel had long argued that she needed her mother, and that she should be told the truth. With Alex’s death, she needed Diane more than ever. Isabel looked her in the eyes and made her decision.

Diane watched Isabel as she wrestled with a demon only she could know, but as her daughter settled down, it looked like she was ready to say something, something important.

“Mom,” Isabel reached and took her hand. “I love you, you know that, I think I love you more than life itself.” She took a deep breath and released it, “But you’ve been right…” ‘Should I speak for Max?’ “I’ve been keeping a secret from you all these years. Kyle is on his way over here and we’re going to have a conversation, one that just can’t wait. You’re not going to understand everything, but I don’t think I can go through this alone.”

“Iz, there’s nothing you can say that will make me love you any less, but what’s this secret? What can be so important that it scares you so much?”

“Mom, all I can tell you is that I’m different, I’m not from around here, and that scares people. I promise you that I’ll explain everything, but you have to promise me right now, you have to keep my secret. You have to promise me that you won’t say anything until we get a chance to talk… Later…”

**************

A few minutes later a very nervous Kyle knocked on the back door. He seemed scared, Diane observed, as she let him in. It was almost like he was running from something. She knew that from the way things were working out so far, this was going to be an interesting conversation: Isabel and Liz at the University, if that was even where they were, her coming home in tears, her refusal to sleep, Kyle calling at 3:00 am, and lastly the comment that things might not make sense.

He walked into the dining room where Isabel was pacing, and mirrored her activity. He paced as well, sighing loudly. At one point he stopped and ran his hands over his hair in frustration, ending with them cupped over his lower face and breathing out a discontented sigh, in a mannerism that was a Valenti trait he had inherited from his father, and his grandfather before him.

He crossed over to the side of the room where Isabel was still pacing. He said, “Lets go sit down!” They went to the kitchen table and Isabel looked to Kyle. He returned her gaze and started… “Isabel, I have something to tell you.” He let out a breath deeper than a sigh, “I really don’t know where to begin.”

She just watched him, her hands folded in front of her and resting on the table. She said quietly, “I probably know what you are going to say. Liz and I found out a lot yesterday…” The feeling in her stomach was making way from slightly queasy to downright nauseous. Isabel swallowed bitterly, her face contorted in response, as her mouth began to water.

He looked at her with surprised shock but didn’t let that stop him from continuing. He proceeded to tell her all about his dreams from earlier that night. She could hear in his voice what he was leading up to and the tears were starting to make a path down her cheeks once again. Kyle finally stopped recounting the details of the dream and ended with one final statement. “Tess killed Alex! She mind-warped him to death. That bitch could have stopped herself, but she didn’t. SHE KILLED HIM!” The finality of the statement hung in the air.

Diane’s eyes went wide and she drew in a very audible gasp. “OH! MY GOD!” she sputtered, “WHAT!!- NO!’ She was in pain for her daughter; ‘Tess was a friend, and Alex? Oh poor Alex.’ She turned to closely watch the effect it was having on Isabel.

Diane was shocked. ‘What were they talking about? They are all friends in high school together, surely none of them could be responsible for Alex’s death??’ “You can’t be serious??” she turned to Kyle incredulously….

Diane was interrupted by her daughter’s rage… “She could have left him ALIVE???” Isabel screamed as she slammed a fist unto the table’s surface... “Maybe if she had we could have healed him… Maybe Max”… The tears flowed steadily down her cheeks.… Her rage was evident as she stood up and started to angrily pace, “I’m going to KILL her. What did she kill him for, that book? Why is it so IMPORTANT to her. It has been nothing but trouble, damn the destiny book. And damn Destiny. I don’t want it.”

Diane continued watching the drama before her unfold but she couldn’t help wondering what they were talking about. ‘What destiny book? And what exactly is a “mind-warp?” And what destiny is her daughter talking about?’ She sat there in silence while tears of heartache for what her daughter was going through coursed slowly down her own cheeks. She grabbed a paper napkin from the holder to dab at her eyes…leaving the napkin on the table and thinking of her only recourse she got up to make a phone call….

Isabel still ranting about what Tess had done continued… “She just didn’t care… , his life wasn’t important to her…. At that moment her stomach revolted… “Oh God!” The nausea hitting her hard when she realized that it was straight murder. She covered her mouth with her hand and swallowed awfully hard a couple of times to get back in control, she had felt like this at the school earlier and she wondered what exactly was going on in her body. Isabel was taking in gulps of air and swallowing quickly trying to regulate herself, but nothing was working.

Diane was becoming more and more shocked, as the gravity of what they were talking about began to sink in. She was still listening to them as she picked up the phone; halfway through dialing she stopped as she realized that Isabel was on the verge of throwing up. Diane dropped the phone and ran to her daughter’s side pulling her hastily into the kitchen with her.

Kyle started to rise, but was waved back down by Diane, who was already in the kitchen with Isabel.

Isabel who had never been sick before was trying to ask her mother what was going on, not aware of what her body would be doing in seconds, “My stomach is… uneasy. I feel… like… I…” Isabel never finished her sentence. Diane quickly forced her over the sink, pulling her hair back, as everything came out. Diane just soothingly rubbed Isabel’s back in small comforting circles as she was bent over the sink, heaving the contents of her stomach. She remained with her daughter during the whole episode. When Isabel was done she handed her a clean but damp dishcloth to wipe off her mouth.

“I’m so sorry, Mom, why did that just happen?” Isabel felt ashamed, embarrassed and confused all at once, her emotions registering in her glistening eyes..

Diane held Isabel’s arm with one hand as she gently stroked her daughter’s cheek with the back of her trembling hand as she looked sadly into her eyes and said with a quavering voice, “Isabel you have just been told Alex, the man you loved, was murdered, in cold blood,” she shook her head in disbelief “by your supposed friend. Oh God this is so hard…” ‘And to think I let that girl into my house.’ “You couldn’t cope with it. I’m not doing that well myself”…Diane’s tears flowed and she choked out, “but…your body had to release, and you already have been crying about something, so you got sick. It’s a perfectly natural reaction to what you’re dealing with. Isabel, Honey, its ok, I’m right here, and there’s nothing to be ashamed of.” She lovingly brushed the hair off her forehead before she engulfed her in a hug, partly to calm herself down and partly to comfort her daughter. Isabel stood there motionless and did not return the embrace; her hands were at her sides. “Sweetie, why don’t you just go sit down while I clean things up?” She pointed in the direction of the dining room and the table, “Alright?” Diane was trying to engage her daughter into action, as she seemed to have fallen into a trance…

Isabel moved to her right a couple of feet, giving her mother just enough room, while she slid down the cupboard and unceremoniously sat on the kitchen floor, resting her back against the cabinet with her knees drawn to her chest. She placed her head down in her hands, which were shaking and she still felt horrible. The tears were once again flowing.

Diane rinsed out the sink after she told Isabel to go sit down. Noticing where Isabel had slid herself to the floor, Diane shook her head in disbelief that Isabel would choose to sit there, to gather herself together.

“Sweetie, come-on, stand up! That’s not quite what I had in mind.” Diane pulled her up to standing and just held her while she steadied herself. When she seemed more composed, Diane gave her a glass of water to rinse her mouth out, helping her to the sink again. “Kyle?” Diane called out. “A little help here!”

Isabel stood there in stunned disbelief of what had just happened to her, she had gotten sick, thrown up rather, and she still felt confused... and guilty…she had introduced Tess and Alex. ‘Tess was her friend… wasn’t she? There should have been some way for her to keep Alex safe… right?’

She was still trying to figure out what to make of it when she felt Kyle’s arm wrap around her shoulder. “You Ok, Isabel?” She turned slowly to him and stared at him blankly as if she did not realize that he was speaking to her.

***************

He just held her for a moment before they all made their way back to the table, where all three of them sat in stunned silence, because no one really knew what to say.

Kyle broken, choked out, “Isabel, I’m so sorry... I’m so sorry to have to tell you any of this… But I have more I need to say; Tess ummm, she ahhmm,,,” he hesitated, looking at Diane.

“Kyle,” Isabel replied. “You can say it. She knows…enough…”

“Tess mind-warped me too!” He looked pained, as he continued, “She made me think I was carrying a duffel for her trip. Isabel,” he spoke her name very softly, “ I carried the body of my friend, and I treated it as nothing more than a common object. Alex deserved better than this.” His voice had dropped to the level of a whisper. “I understand why you got sick, it’s ok, it happened to me too right before I called and came over. I really hate myself right now!” He broke, and found himself in the arms of Diane Evans, who just held onto him as his tears flowed. She stroked his hair and comforted him as any mother would do. It was really what he needed; his own mother had been absent from his life for so long now.

Diane was starting to feel overwhelmed. She did her best to comfort Kyle, while still not understanding all that was going on. She realized one thing for certain though. From what she had heard so far, both of the teens were in danger. She looked up from Kyle to see how Isabel was doing.

When you feel all alone
And a loyal friend is hard to find

Isabel had gone to a dangerous place inside herself. She started to pace as she turned on herself… “If it weren’t for me he wouldn’t be dead. If I had been there with him, she wouldn’t have been able to get to him…” She drew in a quivering breath. “ I left him open… because I didn’t want to get close… because of who I am. I left him open!” She started to cry bitter tears of self-deprecation. “Tess killed him, and I was the one drove her to him. I did it again, I got too close to someone I love, and the alien abyss happened. Again! … But this time, the one person I love more than anything ended up dead. I’m cursed. I’m not meant to have love. I can’t make this work in any lifetime.” She was swiping her tears away as furiously and angrily as they fell.

Diane just stared at her incredulously. What was she talking about? ‘Alien??… Any lifetime? What the Hell????’ She pondered.

Isabel continued her personal assault, “I should have been able to protect him somehow”… She drew in a shaky breath, … “Alex changed so much while he was in Sweden, I should have known something was wrong.” Her breath was coming out in ragged sobs. “He was my friend, some friend I turned out to be.” Her voice was trembling through her sobs, “ I didn’t even try to find out what was going on with him, talk about betrayal.” Her resolve shattered, the tears just poured forth. She stood still as she crossly wiped them away for a few moments.

You're caught in a one-way street
With the monsters in your head

Her mother got up to comfort her, but she rebuffed her attempts; swatting away her hand as it came to rest gently upon her shoulder. Diane looked crest-fallen. “ “You had no idea Honey. You didn’t know anything was going on…. There isn’t anything you could have done differently, I’m sure Alex knows how you felt…”

Isabel didn’t respond to her mother’s attempts at comforting her, instead she started pacing again as she turned to the still seated Kyle, “Knowing us is dangerous. Please stay away! We’re not safe. Kyle just go!” She pleaded with him with everything that she had in her.

When hopes and dreams are far away and
You feel like you can't face the day

He answered, “No! Tess told me to go, and look what happened to Alex? I am not leaving my friends again. Remember Isabel, I owe you guys my life.”

She turned to look right at him and said dejectedly, “I don’t want to be ALIEN anymore.” Isabel slowly said very sadly, “Our being alien has messed up all your lives. We have to live in fear of discovery. You don’t. Make a clean break and just get out! I don’t want to cause anyone anymore pain. I don’t want to cause You any more pain”…. She trailed off and stared at the floor. She didn’t want to look up.

Kyle got up and grabbed her arms forcibly, demanding that she look at him. He saw something that he had never seen in Isabel’s eyes before… What he saw was terror. She was terrified.

Let me be the one you call
If you jump I'll break your fall
Lift you up and fly away with you into the night

He exclaimed, “Then don’t continue with what you are saying, because it is causing me pain! Seeing you like this is causing me pain, Isabel!”

Diane nodded at this statement, making eye contact with Kyle to inform him that she was in agreement.
He continued, “I have just one question to ask you Isabel. Would you trade Liz’s life for Alex’s? This all started the day Liz was shot. You’re not responsible for Alex’s death, Tess is. But you are responsible for saving Liz.”

Diane was starting to panic over some of the things that she was hearing. ‘First Alex died, and then Kyle said he owed his life and later Liz’s life to them. And what was that about healing Alex, if he had lived? Who is them, both Isabel and Max? And what is all this hurt and death, and how can I keep them safe??’ Diane watched as Kyle started to get through to her distraught daughter, and bit her tongue, for the moment.

"If Alex were here I know he’d agree." Kyle started to lecture Isabel, “He wouldn’t let you talk like this. You know what he’d tell you? He’d tell you that you were full of crap. You know it and I know it, and I can prove it! While we were in the cave with the Gandarium crystals, Alex said that he was honored that of all the people on the world, he was allowed to know that aliens existed. He wouldn’t go back to being one of the normal people … He said he wouldn’t trade that for anything, even if it did cost him his life.” Kyle paused, “Neither would I.”

Isabel while still looking in his eyes, but not yet forgiving herself, whispered, “But he’s not… he’s not here… Not anymore.”

If you need to fall apart
I can mend a broken heart
If you need to crash then crash and burn
You're not alone

Kyle shook her arms in his frustration at trying to get through to her, “You are not to blame Isabel,” he said very forcefully. “ Not at all! You are the most generous, devoted, caring person I know. That’s why Alex loved you!” He then softened his voice so that she would not think that he was angry with her. “You did not kill him Isabel. Tess did! She is solely responsible.”

Isabel shook her head and said, “But I…I'm...”

Kyle cut her off, “If you feel you have trouble with love because of the past, because of your past-life… you are not that person, Isabel. That has messed you up and closed you off. We’ve all seen the effects, especially Alex. But It Is Not You!!! Don’t take the blame for Alex’s death. He loved you, and even though you will not say it out loud, I know you loved him too, or else you would not have reacted so hard to what I told you earlier. You need to hold on to that and only that! You do deserve love, Isabel. And we’ll get through this somehow.” He observed her soulful brown eyes mist up again and he hoped that he had reached her. He hoped that she had heard him and could accept what he was saying. He watched her with a measured cautiousness.

Cause there has always been heartache and pain

She just stared at him letting the words wash over her soul. She didn’t kill Alex…she loved him. She is not Vilandra, she is Isabel. And for the first time she really reconciled her two lives. She Is Isabel Evans! She is different than the other person she once was. She is a good person. She would do anything for her family and friends. She is ISABEL not Vilandra. Isabel just looked at Kyle as if to say, “ Thanks, I needed to hear that.”

And when it's over you'll breathe again
You'll breathe again

Kyle received the unspoken message and gave her a hug, which she returned.

Diane watched as Isabel found a little peace with the events of the evening, and thought that it was high time for her to make some of her own thoughts known. She looked at the two of them and took a deep breath. “I’m not going to try to pretend that I understand what’s going on, but you said that Alex was murdered! You have to go to the police, I was in the process of calling them but Isabel got sick, so I never finished dialing….”

“Mrs. Evans,” Kyle answered gently, “my dad is the police.”

“Does he know about this?”

“Not all of it, the stuff we just figured out, me, Liz, what Kyle has been talking about. No! He doesn’t know this yet… ” Isabel answered speaking for Kyle.

“Then how is he going to protect you? You say this new girl killed Alex. You talk about how Liz was shot. What aren’t you telling me? I won’t allow anything to happen to you and Max, or any of your friends. Maybe we should call the FBI,,,” Diane suggested forcefully.

Isabel’s eyes went wide with fright at the mention of FBI and she gasped audibly, but she quickly covered, “Mom, we can’t call the FBI. They’re hunting me because I’m different. If you call them they will take me away and you’ll never see me again. EVER!!!”

“Why?” Diane questioned, “you talked about being an alien, but we adopted you so many years ago that you’re my children. What is it about you that’s so different? I don’t care, I’ll love you even if you came from Mars, but you have to tell me why you won’t let me get help to protect you, we need to tell Sheriff Valenti...”

“Mom,” Isabel replied, with the first chuckle of the early morning, “You don’t have to worry about me. Now that I know who the enemy is, I can protect myself, and everyone I care about. I’ll explain more after Kyle leaves, but you have to keep your promise. I need you now more than ever, but you can’t tell anyone, she pleaded with her mom to just let it go for a short time...”

Kyle took charge. “I’m calling a meeting after school. All of us are to be there except for Tess. I will make sure my Dad is there. We will tell them everything you learned and what I know, and take it from there.” Turning to Diane who was silently watching this morning’s drama wide-eyed, he stated, “Mrs. Evans, I’ll assume you’ll want to be present as well, as I’m sure you have many questions.

“Where her safety’s concerned, and all of your safety, you try to stop me… I’ll most definitely be there!!” Diane exclaimed.

“I don’t care what Max thinks about my calling a meeting.” Kyle continued, “Its time to stop all the fighting and hurting each other we are doing. It just serves her purposes of dividing us all the more, if that was indeed what she was doing. We need to realize that we are all in this together, Alien, human, whatever—we are Friends! We have all experienced the same thing, and we all loved Alex in our own ways.” He held Isabel’s hand softly; “I know you are really hurting, and that you loved him in a very special way… Are you going to be ok today? Do you think that you can do this? … I really need you there.” He said softly making direct eye contact.

When you feel all alone
And the world has turned its back on you
Give me a moment please
To tame your wild wild heart

She drew strength from Alex words, “You are strong, you do what needs to be done,” etc… She said, “Yeah, I can do this. I’ll be staying home today,” looking at her mom in question.

Diane came over and pulled Isabel closely into her side. “I’m not about to let her go to school if this Tess is going to be there. I need to keep her safe, I know she thinks she can keep herself safe, but look at her really, she’s about to drop from exhaustion and stress. Even if she could normally defend herself against this person, I don’t think she would be able to today…. And I would hate to see what would happen if she couldn’t… This person is extremely dangerous and I won’t let her near my kids. What about you Kyle, will you be OK?“

“I’ll be Ok Mrs. Evans, I know who to avoid. Tess can’t do much in a public forum such as a school. So I’ll just never “see” her,” he answered. “What about you Isabel? Are you gonna be OK doing this today?”

Still being held tightly by her mother she said, “I can do this for Alex. I think we need to meet at the Pod Chamber.” She leaned her head backwards into her mother’s shoulder; “I need to have a long talk with my Mom. She needs to understand everything. See you after school, and Thank-you Kyle.”

TBC….

Music: Crash and Burn by Savage Garden

First off, feedback...

Kay: You are right it was an intense part. Will it get better before it gets worse??? Hmmm.

Roswellluver: If Isabel hadn't gotten sick that phone call would have gone through... What Then???

Trude: I seriously doubt Isabel can handle anything more either, but will she have to? What is next????

Ansleyrocks: Thanks for continuing.

Now I present, chapter 7. This is also somewhat intense.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shifting Realities

Chapter Seven:

Revealing Secrets

Diane looked at the clock after Kyle had departed, it was 5:00 in the morning and the rest of the family would soon be waking up to begin their day. Neither she nor Isabel had a moment of sleep the night before, a lot of things had transpired, but sleep wasn’t one of them… Diane couldn’t wait until the rest of the family left for the day so that she could then talk to Isabel and get answers to some of the questions and so she could figure out what the hell was going on with everything.

With all that she had learned in the past couple of hours, Diane found herself in a state of agitated shock; a glance at Isabel let her know that her daughter was doing no better.

Isabel had plopped herself onto the couch, her good grace and posture long forgotten, and she seemed to be in some sort of trance. Silent tears slowly slid down her cheeks, and she made no motion to wipe them away. She just stared with unseeing eyes into the center of the living room, while her hands were folded on her lap..

Diane couldn’t tell if Isabel understood the horrible events they had just learned, if she was withdrawing inside herself, or if she was just too exhausted to function. The last month had been very tough on Isabel, but yesterday made it almost intolerable. She felt the need to hold her daughter and soothe her in any way possible, but she wasn’t sure if Isabel was very receptive to anything so she cautiously made her way over to the couch. Isabel did not seem to react in the slightest form to her presence, so Diane tried a little more contact, reaching her hand out, she gently touched her daughter’s shoulder, softly questioning, “Isabel? Honey?”

Isabel blinked a few times and she shook her head as she registered the fact that she was being spoken to. The tears fell more forcefully from her eyes and she looked upwards to give her mother direct eye contact. “Oh God!” she breathed…swallowing the lump in her throat, “M-om?” Her voice cracked, her breath coming in ragged sobs, “A-A-Alex!!” Her face crumbled and her sobs increased as in her pain she reached out with both her arms to be held as if she were a small child. “Mommy.”

“Oh Honey, I’m so sorry. I’m so very, very sorry….” Diane reached down and enveloped her daughter in her loving arms as she lowered herself onto the couch to sit beside her.

The pain, heartache, betrayal, and her anger from the things they had just learned, piled atop the anguish she had felt for the past month had broken the dam of her emotions wide open. Everything she was feeling came rushing out in heart-wrenching, hysterical sobbing. She wasn’t going to be able to control herself for awhile. The pain was just too real; it was too much for her to even try. Isabel clung to her mother for support.

***************

When Philip Evans woke that morning, after his usual morning routine, he headed downstairs to go to the kitchen. As he was passing the living room he heard the sound of his daughter hysterically sobbing. Even last night she could not have been described as hysterical; overwrought, most definitely, but not hysterical. He peered in to see what if anything had changed since he had gone to sleep. He had to do a double take when he first looked in, because if he hadn’t known better, he could have sworn he had entered into a moment where time stood still.

His wife and daughter were in the same position he had left them in when he retired hours ago, and Isabel was still so broken. He momentarily wondered what, if anything had happened in the course of the night. He awoke several times during the night thinking that he had heard raised voices, believing that he had imagined them he would fall to sleep shortly after. The scene before him seemed to be evidence to the contrary.


He walked over to his family, placing a comforting hand on Diane’s shoulder as he whispered, “Not any better? Did she ever say what was wrong?”

Diane looked up, her own bright blue eyes brimming with unshed tears, “She’s hurting so badly… She had a really bad night and hasn’t slept. I’m exhausted, I’ve been with her all night, but I really need to be here with her to help her through this.”

Philip nodded at his wife understandingly and then he asked to speak with her alone.

Diane pulled out of the embrace to talk to her husband and Isabel collapsed onto her side taking the full length of the couch.

***************

Diane followed her husband into the kitchen, “What is it Philip?” she asked concerned.

“This… Isabel… Like that.” He shook his head, “She’s had a month to grieve, yet now she seems to be going into deeper mourning. She really needs to do something to get her life restarted…”

“Philip, what are you suggesting?” Diane did not like the turn this conversation was taking.

“I hate to say this Diane, but someone has to… I think she needs help.” Diane’s eyes went wide at what she thought her husband might be implying. Philip sighed before he continued, “I’m seriously thinking of calling Dr. Andrews this week and setting up an appointment.” He shook his head sadly as a couple of tears escaped his eyes, and he reached to hold his wife in an embrace.

Diane returned the embrace and then she pulled out and whispered, “A Psychiatrist, Philip? Give her some more time…” She was pleading for him to reconsider.

“How much Diane, how much does she need?” He pointed to the hysterically overwrought figure on the couch lying face-first and beating it angrily with her fists, screaming in anguish into a pillow to muffle the sounds, but screaming nonetheless. In reality Isabel was finding a way through the pain by giving voice to every emotion that she was feeling, and at that moment she was angry, pissed off, and enraged at Tess for what she had done. So she wordlessly was allowing herself to shriek. She was letting it all go…

Diane bit her tongue as she watched her daughter’s completely unexpected behavior... With the things that they had just learned Isabel really was not out of line, she had every right to be as angry as she was… Diane sighed as she tried to think of a way to say something to appease her husband yet not betray the confidence Isabel had placed in her concerning the whole “alien“ matter. She sighed deeply, as she placed both of her hands on her husband’s upper arms. She looked him directly in the eyes and started, “Philip, there is a lot more going on than just her losing Alex.” She shook her head, “I can’t explain this to you right now… but what you are seeing out there,” she redirected their focus to Isabel, “she is doing remarkably well, all things being considered.”

“What the Hell are you talking about?” he asked confused. “That is not doing well in my book,” he shot back.

“Philip … she won’t talk to a psychiatrist.” Diane shook her head to emphasize her point, “It will end up being a repeat of last fall when we had the kids in counseling and they never spoke. As their parents we knew that something was terribly wrong, but they had to deal with it on their own…”

“Diane have you noticed that whatever the issue was between them doesn’t seem to be resolved yet???” …Philip tried to reason with her. “They seemed to have lost touch with each other last year. Where they used to be so close, the rift only seems to be growing wider. What other choice do I have Diane? I’m not going to lose my family, to lose Isabel… God! Diane, she’s on the verge of losing herself into abysmal grief. She needs help Honey, I don’t know what else to do.” His eyes were pleading with his wife to understand his intentions.

“Philip I do understand you.” His wife lovingly caressed his arms, “I agree that she is entering into a deeper state of grief or mourning, and that is frightening. I don’t want to lose her to it either. But let me see what I can do today before you make any phone calls. Please Honey; I need you to trust me here. And also trust me on this; she needs more time to grieve and to mourn for Alex. He meant a whole hell of a lot more to her than anyone knew; she lost her “mate” Philip. She “survived” him, and she is in a difficult place of coping. I would need more than a month to move on without you Honey.”…She said reassuringly.

“I would need more than a month too… but Diane,,, she’s 18, Alex was 17. How can she know he was her mate? They had a high school crush on each other…. They hardly went out, except for the Prom. There is not a whole lot to base things on!!” Philip countered back.

“Trust me Philip, I can’t explain our daughter to you, but she would never feel this intensely toward just a “boyfriend,” Diane explained. “If you recall, Grant died, but she never had nightmares concerning him. Sheriff Valenti was there with her when it happened and he said that it was a pretty horrific thing …They had already broken up, but still… She never reacted like this toward Grant.”… Diane said stating the obvious. “Philip she is in love, and it was brutally ripped from her grasp as soon as she found it… Give her some time… You know her as well as I do, she hides her emotions and finds other ways to deal…. Right now, she is experiencing the full gamut of her emotions for the first time. Philip… I think that is a good thing, for Isabel anyways.”….

He looked at his wife, “Ok, honey I hear you…. Can we compromise? Three days?” he asked.

She stared at him incredulously “Longer, ” she stated in a drawn out manner.

“Five days?” He questioned, dreading he was nowhere close to a compromise.

She let out a low growling noise from her throat, a sign of sheer irritation. “If you must know… A week Philip, a week at least.” Diane was really hoping he would agree to more.

“I’ll give her one week Diane,” Philip stated confidently, “but if there is no improvement on the past month, I’m going to get her professional help.”

“If this is the best we can do, and the most we can give each other, a week it is.” Diane continued with her husband’s reasoning. “I’ll see if I can’t get her to open up to me today. Obviously, we’re not going anywhere. I’ll be over on the couch with her, just give me a kiss when you leave for work… I wonder if the kids know how much their father loves them?” She smiled at her husband for how he was trying to work with the situation before him and she leaned up and kissed him, “They are so lucky to have you for their father.” And with that she went back over to comfort her daughter.

***************

Diane sat down next to her emotionally exhausted daughter and pulled her head into her lap. She started to stroke her long, silky, hair, which currently was in need of brushing as some tangles had managed to catch in Diane’s fingers. Diane got up momentarily and then resumed her position with a hairbrush. She lovingly brushed Isabel’s hair as she lay there trying to make sense of everything that she had learned… Diane spoke soothingly as she cared for her daughter.


A short time later Philip gave his girls a kiss and left for work. Everything in him wanted to stay home and care for Isabel but he figured that if she would talk to anyone, it would be her mother, and he truly hoped that it would happen. He did not want to get her professional help, but he would do whatever was necessary. As he left, he made Diane promise to call him if there was any change in Isabel.

With Philip gone, Diane started to discuss the situation at hand with her daughter. “Isabel, Honey. I don’t want either of you to go anywhere near this girl. She is apparently very dangerous and she has already harmed two young men, and one of them is into sports… So I don’t see how anyone is safe around her. I know that you all hung out together, and that concerns me as well. But I don’t know what I should do about Max today… I don’t want to send him to school. You and Kyle seem to be the only ones in the know, so Max is not safe…”

Isabel interrupted her thoughts; “Liz was with me all day yesterday. She knows everything I know, except for what Kyle shared last night.” Isabel thought for a minute, weighing the risk…before she stated, hesitantly, “I need you to send Max to school, Tess or no Tess. I won’t be able to speak freely if he’s here, and I really have to talk to you.” She sucked in her lips in her nervousness.

“Isabel, Sweetie? Why wouldn’t you be able to talk to me? What aren’t you telling me??” Diane was worried for the answer.

Isabel’s voice wavered, as she quietly answered, “He won’t let me. It’s like everything else I shared a couple of days ago… Max is kind-of in charge.”

“In charge?” Her Mother questioned.

Tears slid down her face as she sat up to look at her mom, pleading for understanding, “Please!!! He told me that I could never tell you, that it’s too dangerous. He’ll never let me, we’ve had this conversation so many times, and I always end up hurting because I can’t share who I really am with you. Please!!!! He has to go to school.” Her eyes were pleading as intently as her heart.

Diane was watching the emotions in her daughter’s eyes. Isabel was nothing if not serious. She could read the need in them and so she reached out for her daughter and embraced her once again… “Izzy?” She asked, “How is Max involved?”

Isabel answered the question that would start all the others, she sighed as she responded, “He’s just like me!”

“How is that?” She answered cautiously.

“He’s different Mom, an alien… and so is Michael and,” Isabel whispered almost inaudibly, “so is Tess.” Speaking louder again she continued, “I promise I’ll tell you everything today, as much as I am able to… but I can’t until Max is gone. I’ve never needed anyone as much as I have lately, and since yesterday, I can’t live without you knowing everything. I’m in such pain and loneliness. I feel as if I can’t even breathe sometimes…”

“Are you sure Max will be ok sweetheart?” Diane was worried for both of her children.

“He’ll be fine mom, like Kyle said; it’s a public forum.”

“Ok Sweetie. I want you lay your head back in my lap until after Max leaves. I don’t care if you sleep or not, but I want you to attempt to relax and to rest for a few minutes”… Diane pulled Isabel back down…”I’m still so worried for you; this has been a very hard time. So close your eyes, and no more talking. Shh…” she softly caressed Isabel’s hair in comforting strokes.

Isabel responded by shutting her eyes to everything for a few minutes… She felt her body relaxing with her mother’s loving touch. It was not easy for her to do, so much of her life had been lived in a guarded stance, always watching and waiting… all senses in heightened awareness. It was almost the same amount of safety she had felt with Alex… only he also was always on alert with them. She trusted her mother, with her secret and her strength, and so she let herself go, as her body visibly calmed and she sank into the couch cushions with her head pillowed in her mother’s lap. She found herself relaxing, truly relaxing, for one of the first times ever.

***************

Max came into the living room shortly after this, he had already gotten ready for school and as he was headed into the kitchen for something to eat, he noticed his mother and sister over on the couch. He walked over and perfunctorily asked questions about his sister… “Is she asleep?”

Diane was trying to see if she could read anything in his eyes, “I doubt it.” She replied.

“Is she going to come to school?” He questioned.

‘Take a good look at her, I’m thinking... Not,’ she sarcastically thought to herself but did not voice her frustration, instead she lovingly answered, “No! Max, not today. This is going to be another of her bad days, she did not even sleep last night.”

“Is she ok, Mom!?” He had to ask, because Mom was with her a lot lately.

‘Riigghhhtt!! Ok? Alex dead… Alex murdered… Friend did it…. Not OK!!!’ Diane’s mind insisted on having these very sarcastic conversations with no one before she answered him. “No Max, she’s not feeling very well today at all, she even threw up earlier this morning, like I said, she had a bad night.”

At the mention of Isabel becoming sick, his eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly brought himself back into control. “Wow!!! Yeah I guess she should stay home then, she must really be feeling awful. I’ll let you take care of her, and I’ll get something to eat. Then I’m outta here; give Iz a hug from me when she wakes up OK??? He went and grabbed a quick something to eat and headed out the door.

“Bye Max, have a good day and stay safe.” Diane called after him. She continued to let Isabel rest as she went into the kitchen to prepare them something to eat.

***************

When breakfast was completed they adjourned to the living room for a very long overdue conversation; the one Isabel had waited for her entire life to have. They sat down on the couch again, this time facing each other, and conversed about all of the secrets that Isabel had been keeping for so long…

Not one thing was left hidden; Isabel and her mother shared everything… Who the aliens were and as much as she knew of them. They discussed how they had arrived during the famous ’47 crash, their birth/ hatching, and how they came to live with the Evans…. She gave a demonstration of her abilities by turning the flower centerpiece into a different color, and spoke of the different gifts each one of them possessed.

It was another emotional moment when she discussed their past lives. They discussed Tess’ arrival right before ‘the summer of destiny,’ and how their new found knowledge messed up the couples. She found herself sobbing in her mother’s arms as she recounted the dreams she had shared with Michael and how she thought she was pregnant from them. Diane held her securely at that point realizing that it must have been a very hard time for her, as she was essentially in it alone, women-wise anyways…. Diane wished, with a pang of sorrow in her heart, that she had known some of what was going on in her kid’s lives so that she could have taken away some of the fears and helped with the pain and confusion.

It was a lot to take in and Diane did quite well considering what she was learning. Isabel was finally feeling a sense of not being a stranger in her own home, and the Evans women were sharing a new bonding with each other.

After all of the past was hashed over, and many more things were left to discuss, they took a much needed break. Diane worked with Isabel’s hair as she had done when she was a child, and just gave her some one on one time that Isabel craved. This attention was something Isabel never realized she needed, nor would she have known how to ask for it, if she had.

***************

When they were somewhat refreshed the conversation continued,,, So Sweetie? Now that I know everything about you, and your “unusual” background, how did you all end up friends and in the group that you are?” Diane asked her daughter sincerely… “And what was Kyle talking about when he said the whole thing started when you guys saved Liz’s life? And how did his life get saved?”

“Ok, Mom”… Isabel started, “a lot has happened in the past 2 years… In the fall of 1999, Liz was shot in a freak accident at the Crashdown.”

“I heard about that, someone was rumored to be shot but it went away after awhile because they never found any evidence to support it. That really happened?” Diane questioned.

“Mom, I’ll give the events in our life in a quick rundown … you can ask questions a little later please… otherwise I’ll never make it through this.” She said apologetically.

“Of course Sweetie. I’m sorry, I probably have a million questions.”… Diane laughed a bit nervously.

“Its Ok Mom, I understand… trust me we have enough questions of our own. Well you know that Liz was shot…Max healed her, kind of dissolved the bullet and molecularly reconstructed and repaired her insides… Sheriff Valenti was the officer on the scene, and if it weren’t for two nosy tourists, the whole thing would have blown over, but it didn’t, and Sheriff Valenti got suspicious… He started to tail Max…”

‘So my son was being watched.’ Diane reasoned to herself, ‘Explains his odd questions sometimes.’…

“Well everyone knows Liz’s best friend Maria,” Isabel continued, “she dragged it out of Liz. There are no secrets between those.” Isabel shook her head and then nodded as the tale continued. “At one point, because of something I had done, Maria was ready to tell the sheriff. We had bags packed and ready to leave at the first sign of trouble. Mom, Valenti terrified me,” Isabel grabbed her mother’s hands, “I’ve never been more afraid of anyone before. Well, for some reason Maria covered for us. Actually me, she was going to tell Valenti about me, and I made her as nervous, as I felt around the Sheriff. I owe her big!”

The front door opened, but deeply engaged in their conversation the two women never noticed.

“Alex came into the picture with Liz and Max’s accident. He was the girls’ best friend, so he knew us as their friends…Remember when Max had that accident?” Isabel pressed her mother.

“Of course,” Diane responded, “I’ve never felt helpless where my son was concerned before that point…. after that, I’ve felt fear, confusion, and helplessness where the two of you are concerned on more than an occasional basis. I think I now understand why,,,”

“Things got deeper at that point… remember asking what is so different about us this morning?” Diane nodded. “Well, besides having “abilities” that range out of the norm of human, our blood and cells are different. We learned that they are not even remotely human, actually we have Liz to thank on that as well.” Isabel sighed, “She tested Max’s cells at school… that was when she discovered he was an alien and why he was able to heal her…”

Diane squeezed Isabel’s hands, which were in her own, for both of their support.

“Knowing this, we exchanged Max’s blood for Alex’s so that Max’s blood work would be human, I guess the word would be… normal.” Isabel nodded as she blatantly told her mother of their illegal activity, and she slightly chuckled to herself at her choice of words. “By the way that’s why we avoid doctors and hospitals, and even why Max really did not want you to know anything about us… Our lives kind of depend on our staying hidden in plain sight, as Max calls it. Now that you are in the know, you are beholden to our secret and you can never slip up. Max just didn’t want to worry you or make things hard on you, if you never knew, you never could. It wasn’t because he doesn’t love you…. He is just determined to keep us safe from anyone who can alert the FBI to our presence, accidentally or otherwise.” She shuddered at the thought.

Diane noticed it, “Are you cold Honey?”

She shook her head no as she stated, “Well actually, we had an FBI plant in our school, as a guidance counselor. Alex hacked into her computer and discovered it. This was while Liz was keeping our secret from him; and she almost lost their friendship as a result.”

“Wow! Lots of secrets being kept all over the place, huh???” Diane reasoned.

Isabel nodded, “Secrets and lies were our way of life. Still need to be… but there are some like you, who need to know. Anyways Sheriff Valenti held Alex and Liz in jail for a night so that he could get information out of them. Liz ended up telling Alex about us while they were in there.” Isabel looked a little sad as she recounted that night, “And Alex would not reveal us to the Sheriff.” She smiled a little at the thought, of how safe Alex made them.

Diane had noticed the sadness that flashed across her daughter’s eyes and asked if there was more to it.

Isabel just sighed, and said, “I had dream walked him, and I knew from what I learned that he would keep us safe. I went with him to that party with the express purpose of telling him about me…us. He mistook my intentions and thought that I was trying to seduce him into not telling Valenti. He ran out before I had a chance to explain. Then the cops showed up and Liz and him were arrested. The rest is history.”

“Ok, that’s how Alex, Liz, and Maria joined the picture; what I think I’m confused by now is Kyle Valenti. If the Sheriff was tailing you and watching you, how did his son get involved?” Diane asked incredulously.

“He kind of started out in the very beginning.” Isabel recalled. “He and Liz were dating, and she got interested in Max after he healed her. Kyle was tailing Max as much as his father was… don’t tell Kyle he would make a good cop, he doesn’t want to follow in his father’s footsteps.” Isabel laughed ... “They are so alike though. Anyways,” she choked out as tears started to slide down her immaculate face, “the FBI found us.”

“Oh God!” Diane’s heart leapt into her throat and she found herself gasping for air. “Honey??” She reached out and touched her daughter’s shoulder, panic was etched in her eyes.

“They captured Max and tortured him.” Isabel was struggling with her composure watching her mother’s reaction.

“When did this happen?” Diane asked cautiously…

“In May of 2000, a year ago.” She drew in a shaky breath trying to keep her emotions under control so she could get through the explanation of what had happened. “It was the worst time of my life, next to losing Alex of course…they did horrible things to him Mom!” She sighed… “Despite his suspicions, Valenti helped us rescue him from their clutches. But it wasn’t until we were running from the agent in charge that he really became our ally. Kyle got caught in “crossfire” and was dying. Sheriff Valenti begged for help and Max healed Kyle. In gratitude, Jim swore to help and protect us from that moment on, and he always has.”

‘So Kyle was also shot and then saved by Max.’ Diane kept placing the pieces together in her mind from the previous conversations…

“The FBI is scared of us, because we aren’t from around here, we aren’t human; fully human anyways, and we can do things that other people can’t. They’re afraid, they think they have to protect the world from us.” Isabel reminded her mother of last night’s conversation, “You know what I told you about earlier?” Diane nodded. “But I guess with what we just learned about ourselves and you factor in people like “the new girl,” she said refusing to even speak Tess’ name, or how evil or inhumane some aliens can be… Maybe they’re right,” she added softly. Isabel thought aloud about the shape-shifters and how many people had died at their hands; or the run-ins with the Skins, either Congresswoman Whitaker, or Copper Summit, and she sighed, realizing that she had her mother’s full attention and was being watched intently…especially when she heard her mother interrupt her thoughts.

“Congresswomen Whitaker was an alien? Honey, what are you talking about???” Diane was confused and curious.

Isabel looked at her mother in surprise and said, “That’s a long story for another time, I guess. But I can tell you how she died…” Isabel stated dryly.

Diane just looked at her in shock and really didn’t want to ask what that cryptic statement might possibly mean. So she didn’t… instead she heard Isabel continue

“I think the worst of all of this, the “humans” knowing and getting involved, is that my best friend, my Alex, died because of us. It’s all part of the alien abyss that is our lives and I don’t know if I’ll ever feel safe again, he made me feel safe Mom!!! And I learned from his death that we really can die at any moment, we’ve been through so much but we always lived to tell about it, so Alex dying really woke me up, and really scared me at the same time. Our lives are dangerous, and we might not come home. Ever. Any of us…. She took in a shaky breath and let it out as once again, tears began to trickle down her perfect face. “ I just feel so bad that he was so involved that he lost his life over it…I can’t believe what “she” did to him…. Isabel was quietly crying, “I can’t believe he was murdered Mom, and I don’t even know why.” Isabel swallowed hard. “I know it has something to do with the book, but I don’t know why…” Her bitter tears ran fast as she asked her Mother, the one question they knew that there was not an answer for… “Why Mom??? Why Alex?? He’d never hurt anyone… Why did he have to die??? Why Mom??? Why did I have to lose Alex???” And she leaned down placing her head in her hands into her lap to cry yet again and mourn her lost love.

***************

Philip Evans had forgotten his briefcase due to the odd occurrences in his home that morning. He returned home to pick it up. However, when he returned, he had overheard things so incredible that he forgot why he was home and he never made it past the hallway where he was leaning against the edge of the wall for support. He had snuck into the house upon observing that his family was deeply engaged in a discussion. He just stood there mutely and wide-eyed, unconsciously eavesdropping on the conversation between his wife and daughter. A single tear was streaming down his cheek as he listened to Isabel describe her unbelievable life. He spoke, forgetting where he was. “Oh My poor Baby!!! Oh My God, Alex was murdered!!!” He covered his mouth to choke back his anger. He was hurting for all his daughter and even his son had gone through, “My Kids are aliens”… he chuckled a little at the thought that there actually were aliens living in Roswell.

Isabel looked up and gasped, “Daddy? How much did you hear?” her voice was choked with emotion as she bit her lower lip unconsciously and stared at him with fear in her big brown eyes. Her dad was an unknown factor. How would he react? She always knew she could confide in her mom. But she secretly hoped that her mother would then just share her secrets with her father…so she wouldn’t have to. With these thoughts in her mind she watched him cautiously while the tears still ran down her cheeks…

Her father slowly approached her, her apprehension growing steadily, so she grabbed her mom’s hand for comfort. Philip Evans reached out and took his daughter into his arms, holding her tightly. “I heard enough baby,” He was actually crying, “I heard enough. … I seem to be still in shock, but its ok. Don’t be scared, Izzy, alright? You’re my kids and I love you. It’s my job to protect you, and as your father, I intend on doing my job. I overheard about Alex, and I’m so sorry. I’m going to keep you safe somehow, no one’s going to hurt you anymore.” ‘No wonder we can’t go to a psychiatrist. If they knew what we know, we would be the ones evaluated…No wonder the kids refused to talk. They can’t. It’s their whole life.’ Philip realized what his wife was trying to say to him that morning, and he pushed the whole therapy idea out of his head.

Diane was watching him with love and heartache shining in her deep blue eyes. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Don’t worry, forget everything I said today.” Then to the both of them, but especially to his daughter he said, “I’m going to call and have my schedule cleared … I want to know everything I missed and more…” Thinking back on what he had heard in the hallway, he asked her what she had found out with Liz at the university yesterday.

She said, “We’ll tell you everything at the meeting Kyle is setting up this afternoon. I really want to do it all at once; I can’t endlessly repeat it… because I keep living through the pain of it. I have enough strength for this afternoon, probably not much more, and even that is going to require all I have.”

“Ok Honey. “ Philip spent the rest of the day with his family, there were a lot of secrets hidden and revealed and he wanted to be informed.

****************

Kyle was busy at West Roswell High School that day; avoiding Tess, and letting everyone know of the meeting that afternoon.

He finally encountered Max in the P.E. locker room. He had observed him going inside and so he followed him in. He threw open the doors; they swung heavily outward and crashed into the adjacent walls. Slam!! “Max, we need to talk,” he bellowed. The room cleared out when they heard Kyle’s tone. He grabbed Max and cornered him against some lockers, and leaned in very closely to his face. ”This concerns Isabel! We are meeting today!”

Max was not pleased. “What do you mean, YOU are calling a meeting? I don’t think you are the king! There isn’t anything you have to say that I need to hear. He shoved Kyle back off of him. Alex died, accident, remember? Not some alien cause…Is Isabel aware of this meeting? She sure seems to be getting out of school a lot lately.”

Kyle said, “Yes, she is aware of the meeting. Actually Liz and her will be a big part of the meeting. They found out things that we all need to know. You will not invite Tess to it. I know you are mad at me because of Liz and I, and you may never get over it, but your sister needs you there.”

“My sister,” Max spat, “she’s leagued up with Liz trying to find out about Alex’s murder. It was an accident!!! Those girls have lost it!” Max interjected. Kyle just looked at him as if the last statement he uttered applied more to him.

Kyle just said, “Maybe so, but you can find out how much they have “lost it” at the meeting.” He replied caustically. “4:00 pod chamber, no TESS. Max you will be there, or I will make Michael bring you.” He ordered. He left the locker room throwing open the door angrily and letting it slam shut behind him. It reverberated on its frame as it sealed shut, Slam!!! The metal resounded with a thud. Kyle had had enough of Max’s insensitivity towards Isabel, Max wasn’t the one assuaging his sister’s pain earlier that morning after she didn’t sleep, but Kyle had been there.

Kyle hoped Michael would be easier. When he found him, he was with Maria…big surprise. They were rounding the corner from the hallway and it looked like well, they had just been spending a little time in the eraser room. ‘At least they are together,’ he thought. “Hey quys, wait up… Isabel and Liz found out some things about Alex that you need to hear.”

“Really? Did they really investigate his death?” Michael asked indignantly.

“Yes, Isabel came home yesterday and wasn’t able to sleep, plus Liz looks a wreck. Something is up. They need to talk and we need to listen. Everyone will be there. Pod chamber at 4:00. I’ve already told Max…Michael be prepared to drag him there. He wasn’t too receptive to the idea. I know you’ll go because Maria will force you to. She will do it for Alex.” He gave a satisfied smirk to them.

Maria grabbed his arm and pulled him aside, “Is it as bad as Liz thought?” she asked.

Kyle responded, “ I don’t know what they found out, but Isabel was blaming herself. It has to be pretty bad when that happens.”

“Wow!” Said Michael, I know I’ve got that problem, but Iz is usually so strong. Yeah! We’ll be there man!”

Liz was the easiest one to talk to. Well aside from the haunted look in her eyes. Kyle talked to her in the language arts classroom... She had her head down on her desk nursing a huge headache. She had cried for a few hours last night and she was well worn out. She was just going though the motions. There were only four days to go when this day ended. Then school would be out for summer and they would all be able to figure out what to do about …everything. She was thinking about these things when Kyle leaned over her shoulder and interrupted her thoughts.

“Hey Liz, bring everything to the pod chamber at 4:00, we’re all going to meet. You and Isabel need to share everything with us.” He had placed his hand on her back.

She looked up at him…”What, how? When did you talk to Isabel? What did she tell you?”

“I don’t know everything. I know that she didn’t sleep. I left there around 4:30 this morning, and she is a wreck.” Kyle lamented.

“Yeah! She is,” Liz agreed. “I’ve never seen her like that, it was pretty scary Kyle. I’m glad you’re doing this; everyone needs to know the truth. And we’re going to have to be the ones to tell them.”

First off I would like to respond with feedback of my own:


Creative Nickname: Will the meeting go that easy, or will it be crashed? The answer is forthcoming.


Roswellluver: Her dad did take it in well didn’t he? Her parents understand just how difficult everything is right now, and that she needs them. Period.


Trude: I’m glad you liked how I worked out the parents scene. Thanks for the compliment, best part so far huh?? Now I'm


FallenMagic/Isabel: As I tell everyone, Kyle was a good friend to Isabel in the end of s-2 even if he was not happy with the whole “alien” thing. I think that he is truly one of the reasons she pulled through at all.

I’m sorry if you think that Max is too harsh, but you will recall that his attitude is quitesimilar to that of the end of s-2, I’m writing the characters that have already been given, and expounding on them.


Neo: Glad to see you back. Hope you did good with all your finals, and new part is right now…


Stargazing101/Kay: Hope as well that all your finals went well.

The show was exactly that, a show. We are writing the fiction and can do what we want with the characters. Isabel needed her parents desperately. You want Philip and Diane to put Max into his place? Hmmm… parents acting like parents…. That would be interesting…

Kyle had to stand up for Isabel and indirectly Liz, no one else could. So I mad you feel bad for Liz, and you don’t like her? Wow! Thanks


Thanks for reading and all the awesome feedback, without further interruptions, the story continues…


Be sure to check out the music portion at the end, I chose this artist particularly for this part...

______________________________________________________________

Shifting Realities

Chapter Eight:

Revealing the Truth


Before she left to Liz’s Isabel had a brief visit from Alex. He was not in a physical form. She was in her bedroom gathering her things together when she felt his presence enter; the air just seemed to tingle with a familiar feel, as he arrived. She stopped, straightened up, and closed her eyes, her head tilted to the side as if in thought, a look of puzzlement on her face. Alex came over and stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders… “Alex??” she whispered as she reached out to touch his hand.

He pulled her hair back off her neck sweeping it to the other side, and then he whispered into her ear something he had told her before, “I know what you need to do, and I know that you need to do it alone.” Alex leaned in and kissed her, as he had that other time. “Good-Luck.” She felt his presence leave as suddenly as it had arrived, the air stopped tingling and the room felt strangely empty.

Isabel’s little encounter with Alex let her know that she could hold it together at the upcoming meeting. Alex knew she could, he believed in her and so she drew her strength from his confidence in her. And with that she asked her mother to take her to Liz’s house to get ready.

***************

Max Evans arrived home around 3:30; he was determined to avoid the meeting, unaware that his parents had learned all of their secrets while he was away at school. He came in the door and Isabel was nowhere to be seen, ‘Probably already gone,’ he thought to himself. ‘She would be with Liz.’

He was about to head down the hall when his father’s arm grabbed his shoulders and pulled him aside. Philip took a very parental stance and said, “Don’t think about it Maxwell. You are going. We all are. Isabel is with Liz. I think they needed to be alone.” He stood looking his son in the eyes, hands on his shoulders.

“Huh? What do you know Dad?” Max asked cautiously.

Philip replied, “I imagine that I know more than you want me to. I’ve been home most of the day with your mother and Isabel… he leaned in closer to Max, “I know your alien status. You’re safe here. So on that note, you need to know that Isabel and Liz found out a lot of things yesterday and they want to reveal it to everyone at once. Get yourself ready and we’ll ride together.” Philip relaxed his posture, “Your mother took Isabel over to Liz’s, as your sister was in no condition to drive. And I need you to show me where we are meeting.”

‘Great, just great,’ thought Max. ‘She’s finally done it. Not just one parent but two, she told both of them. Now our very existence is compromised…maybe Tess was right about not being able to trust humans.’ Max’s eyes narrowed as his thoughts persisted.

***************

The silence in the car was deafening as father and son made their way to the pod chamber. Max was seething that Kyle called this meeting, and that Isabel, but especially Liz, still treated Alex’s death as if it were more than an accident. He probably would have defied them and invited Tess, if not for his father and the element of surprise. ‘Why couldn’t she be there? She is rightfully one of the four. Oh, well. Can’t win them all, just tell her later.’ He thought.

They arrived outside of the rock formation. Diane’s car was present, Maria’s red Jetta was there as well, and the Sheriff’s Explorer was just pulling up, Kyle in tow. Philip wondered where everyone was, as he sure couldn’t see anyone. So he just watched where everyone made off. He followed Max up a steep incline and stood in front of a mountainous rock. Philip watched as Max passed his hand over it and a silver handprint glowed out, his curiosity piqued. Upon Max touching the handprint, a portion of the rock began to move and made a grinding noise as it pushed open, revealing a hidden cave. Philip peered into the darkness and thought that it was an unusual spot to hold a meeting; it wasn’t well lit. Actually the only noticeable light was coming from some chamber in the back. It was glowing through what could only be described as pods. He glanced at the wall and observed that there were four pods hanging in two rows, each stacked two high. He wondered which were his children’s. They seemed to be illuminated by an odd source of light from behind, casting a greenish glow on them. He stepped all the way inside as the rock ground upon itself, once again, this time sealing everyone inside…. The sheriff seemed prepared though; he passed around flashlights so that everyone had some form of light.

Max looked uncomfortable, almost like a trapped animal that wished it could flee. He looked at Isabel and she pleaded wordlessly, “Please stay. Listen.” He averted his gaze from her and shook his head. He was only here because his father had forced him to come, claiming it was important.

***************

Everyone took notice of the two girls. They were a physical mess. Isabel hadn’t even bothered to use her powers to repair her appearance. She was completely devoid of any cosmetics, so out of character for her. Also, her normally flawless hair was pulled back into a lopsided ponytail as if she hadn’t even tried to perfect it.


Baby do you know what you did today
Baby do you know what you took away


Isabel Evans had dark circles under her eyes, as did Liz. Still in the outfit she had worn yesterday, though most were not aware of that, Isabel looked like she was about to keel over from utter exhaustion, despite the fact that she was why this meeting was being held. Liz Parker did not look much better.


You took the blue out of the sky
My whole life changed when you said goodbye


The Evans’ parents flanked the two girls, Diane stood beside Liz, and Philip stood beside his daughter. They each were holding one of the girls and giving her strength and support. The girls looked to each other… This was it! It would soon be known what happened to Alex. They reached out and squeezed each other’s hand.

Isabel was shivering slightly, more out of nerves than actually being cold, so her father drew her in closer. Observing this, Liz decided to start.


An' I keep crying, crying


“In this bag are a lot of things that on their own don’t make much sense,” Liz said, “but they are clues Alex left for us, to find out how he died, or actually how he was murdered.” She let a couple of tears escape as she reached into her backpack to grab the first thing.

Everyone gasped.

‘They can’t be serious,’ Max thought. ‘Because than Liz would be correct, and we already dealt with this at his wake…’


Liz started her explanation, “When Alex died, I knew there was something wrong with it being deemed a suicide. Actually we all did, so everyone settled on ‘accident.’ That still wasn’t right for me. After much investigation of clues that he left, we, Isabel and I ended up at The University of New Mexico in Las Cruces yesterday and we wrapped up the case.”


Every day is just like the day before
All alone a million miles from shore


She pulled out the picture and explained the significance of the missing head. “I’m sorry sheriff, but it wasn’t suicide.” She said while pointing to a specific region of the picture. “He was trying to tell you his mind was gone. That he had been mind-warped. And so he removed only that section of the picture. You know Alex as well as we do, he would never kill himself.”

Sheriff Valenti grabbed hold of the picture and looked at it intently as Liz continued with her explanations…

“…We believed the girl in the picture to be his girlfriend from Sweden, Leanna. Wrong again. She wasn’t his Swedish girlfriend, because he never went to Sweden…”

“What???” Shouted out Maria. “Then where the hell was he??? At the university??? I mean that’s where you were yesterday.”

Liz ignored her friend, although Maria had already figured out his whereabouts, and continued, “He never went to Sweden!” Liz restated directly, looking around the cave at everyone present. “After I had tried to call his host family and learned that they didn’t know Alex,” she grabbed the picture back from the Sheriff, and held it up. “I had the Swedish embassy look for this particular building,” … Liz said while pointing to the background of the photo. “They called me back and informed me that it had been torn down in 1994. If I had gotten the call any later, I would have been on a plane to Sweden.” At that Maria, gripped onto Michael’s arm edging closer, her eyes growing wide.

“You were leaving the country to figure this out?” Sheriff Valenti pressed her, “without parental consent??? You wouldn’t have gotten very far.”

She eyed him directly as she said, “I’ll do anything for Alex, and when I found the clues in his room, I promised his spirit that I would figure it out.”

“So that’s what you did…” Maria was letting each piece of information take hold.

“Alex in his life has only had one love,” Liz said, with a knowing look to Isabel, “and we all know who she is. So this Leanna was obviously someone he knew, as evidenced by their comfort together in the picture. She was his friend, and we are so thankful she was in his life while he was away from us. Leanna is not her real name, which we do know, but its good enough. She doesn’t want anything to do with any more aliens and she has already lost someone as well.”

‘More alien stuff?’ Philip and Diane Evans simultaneously wondered how much was actually going on that they were never aware of. They shared a questioning look over the heads of the girls that they were supporting.

Leanna helped Alex through the short periods when he actually wasn’t warped. She was a friend to him during the worst time of his life… while Tess was mind-warping him to decode the alien destiny book.” Liz sighed.


Max appeared torn. He was struggling with what Liz was saying. Tess did all this. But NO! Tess was supposed to be his wife. But he loved Liz…he still loved Liz. What was he doing? Oh Yeah! Liz had proven that she didn’t care for him anymore, when she slept with Kyle; and Kyle through that act had become an enemy in his eyes…and he was the one who called this meeting. ‘Anyone who Kyle is in league with is not my friend,’ Max thought. That accounted for the growing animosity between him and his sister. As he was mulling over all these things he found that he had trouble focusing on what he heard next.


After explaining Alex’s whereabouts Liz then pulled out the Robert Frost poetry book and the concert tickets, “This poem; “Stopping By Woods On a Snowy Evening” is the poem about a man who briefly thought of suicide but didn’t commit it. He had miles to go, and promises to keep. Alex had his promises to keep as well, and he was determined to complete them. I think this may have been a clue for you, specifically, to know he didn’t commit suicide, Sheriff.” Liz once again made direct contact with the older gentleman.

Sheriff James Valenti Jr. paled at the thought that he had closed the case with a suicide ruling…without doing the top-notch investigation that these girls had obviously done.

Max saw the look on Sheriff Valenti’s face; he looked pained. He seemed to believe what he was hearing.

Liz next found herself explaining the significance of the concert tickets. “These are the tickets for his and Isabel’s date.” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and stole a quick glance at Isabel. “They would have been attending a Beth Orton concert on the night of May 5th at Roswell County Hall. Instead, that is the day we will all recall that we buried him; I found these in his room that day…. It was the day, when we said goodbye to one of the best of us. The tickets were bought the day of his death. The key is that they were book-marking the poem; he was showing us that he wanted his life. Alex was making plans, and he was expecting a future.” Once again Liz put all her focus onto James Valenti, “Sheriff??” She asked pointedly, “Why would someone buy something for the future the day they planned to kill themself? The point is that they wouldn’t!!…” Turning to the girl standing with her she gently said her name, “Isabel!” Isabel was being held upright by leaning into her father. Liz walked over to her and handed her the tickets. “ I want you to have these,” she said quietly. “I’m so sorry you never got to go, Alex would have enjoyed it so much.” Liz squeezed them into Isabel’s hands. “Just keep them as something to remember him by.” Isabel took them gingerly, kissed them, held them to her chest and mouthed, “Thank-you,” the tears streaming down her cheeks. Liz also handed her the Thai food receipt, “Your turn,” she whispered.


All of my dreams I dreamed with you
Now they will die and never come true

An' I keep crying, crying


Max couldn’t help but notice that Isabel’s hands were quivering. Actually she was shaking, trembling all over. Their Dad had her tightly pressed against his side as his arms held securely onto her. Max studied her more intently; she wasn’t coping well at all. Isabel looked like she was about to collapse. Two thoughts concurrently hit his brain, ‘How could I not have noticed the toll this was taking on her? Is Tess really responsible for all of this pain??’ And he looked at Isabel and watched how she was keeping herself together and that she seemed determined to say what she needed to say next.


Ooooh baby
Ooooh baby
I wish I never saw the sunshine
I wish I never saw the sunshine
An' if I never saw the sunshine bay
Then maybe I wouldn't mind the rain


Isabel held out her trembling hand, in it was a yellow, rectangular piece of paper, which quivered in her grasp. Her father’s hand joined hers to steady it so that she could explain what she needed to. She nodded slightly in her thanks. Isabel in a raspy voice said, “This receipt was for Thai food… It is all he ate for his meals the whole time he was at Las Cruces.”

“What do you mean that’s all he ate??” chimed in Diane Evans, “and how is that a clue???”

After clearing her throat to get some of her voice back, Isabel continued in a monotone, “He wrote the binary code as his signature,” which her father pointed out to everyone, “as a clue to tell us he was working with some kind of computer. The supercomputers at the University are used for cryptography, decoding”… taking a pause she then added one more word, “translating.” Everyone stopped to stare at her. “And lastly, he was only eating it because he was being “changed” by the massive doses of the mind warp. She changed him, like Liz and Kyle were changed by Max healing them. But it was continual, and it was deliberate… And it ended his life.” She broke off into tears and leaned into her dad’s shoulder, mumbling, “Kyle your turn”….

Philip Evans looked over her head toward the young man who was in an agitated stance as he shifted nervously from foot to foot, while his arms were crossed in front of him, and he stood very near a wall, almost leaning on it. “Kyle…” He nodded in Kyle’s direction.

All eyes turned to Kyle Valenti, he was now leaning against the back wall of the cave…


‘Alex was warped into decoding the book? Why?’ Max was becoming angry…he wasn’t sure just who he was angry at. Was it Tess, did she really break apart this family? Was it Liz, she had slept with Kyle? Was it Isabel who decided to remain friends with the both of them, Liz and Kyle? Or was it himself, for causing all of this to happen indirectly somehow? He kept clenching and unclenching his fists. Physical energy was coursing through him. He wanted to blow something up…. someone perchance. He started pacing.

Michael also felt the energy coursing through himself, he was getting angrier the more he learned.


Kyle nodded in response to Philip’s prompt… he was struggling to hold his composure, listening to the recounting of the girls investigation. But he knew if they were able to get through, he had to somehow. He owed it to Alex.
He started to disclose the last thing that would convince them all that it was murder in the first degree. Taking a deep breath, and feeling his father’s supportive hand on his shoulder… “I had a dream last night that was disturbing. I was breaking out of a mind-warp.” Everyone was now staring at him, their eyes wide in shock. “Alex was in our house the day he died. He was reciting from the alien book and he was confronting Tess, about being mind warped…” He proceeded to tell them all about his dream, ending it with... “I saw Tess kill Alex. She mind-warped him to death and she killed him! Then she mind-warped me and had me place his body in his car… only I thought it was luggage…” Kyle gagged as the bile rose in his throat; he swallowed it back down. “She covered up his death with the accident. I’m sorry.” He and his dad held each other as they shared in each other’s pain.

“That little bitch!!” Maria screamed… “I’m going to kill her.”

There wasn’t a dry eye in the place when Kyle finished with his revelation…there was plenty of conclusive evidence to show that Alex was murdered. The group was in pain.

Liz and Isabel were still being held by the elder Evans’ as Sheriff Valenti stepped up to apologize for his initial report of suicide.

Michael and Maria were clinging to each other for strength. Maria was too angry to even cry. She had heard it, but it was too horrible to process. The tears would hit later, and Michael would be sure to be there.


Michael was seething, and before he knew what he was doing, the energy that had been building up in him needed released, he turned to the pods on the wall and raised his right hand upwards palm facing front…

Sheriff Valenti grabbed anyone who was in front of the pods and quickly moved them to the opposite side of the cave; he had seen Michael in action before.

The energy charge on Michael’s palm was glowing and he closed his eyes and aimed specifically at the lower left pod….

The Evan’s adults stared wide-eyed at what was transpiring before them…they had not seen the aliens in action, except for such a simple demonstration of Isabel’s in the morning. And that was not in any way threatening…

The intensity on Michael’s face showed that what he was doing was being done with purpose. He flicked his palm forward and a beam of energy flew from his palm directly into the heart of the pod. Tendrils of smoke curled up from the edges as a small fire started on the inside…

The Evan’s who were the latest inductees into the I-Know-An-Alien-Club jumped in surprise and partial fright as they watched the egg-shaped, membrane covered, alien remnant smoldering and burning before their eyes. They moved to stand next to one another, holding each other for security.

Michael screamed at the empty pod, “I wish you’d never been sent with us… Everything got screwed up when you showed up. You destroyed everyone’s lives, all of ours, with your declaration of destiny. I wish I’d never heard that word. What did Alex ever do to you??? Why did you kill him??? Destiny is not a good enough reason.”

Maria joined him in her ranting at Tess, “I knew you were trouble the first time I saw you. You were always trying to break everyone up… Well, this time you succeeded. Not one of us is doing well now. Did you ever stop to think that maybe they didn’t want your stupid destiny. Maybe they were happy without you…. without you fucking everything up… We were all happier without you….”

Michael raised his palm again…. It did not go un-noticed by the other aliens.

Max silently nodded to Michael and raised his own palm, and from her location on the floor, Isabel as well, raised hers, together they sent another round of blasts right into its center. The current blast coalesced with the previous, igniting the pod as large flames licked around the edges of the incubation “chamber.” The meaning of what they collectively had done was lost on no one in attendance. It was obvious which pod had belonged to Tess.


Isabel collapsed in a heap onto the floor in bitter tears; that had been a hard thing for her to do; Tess had been her friend and the only other female whom she could completely relate to. She had sent that weak blast along with her brother’s to symbolize her anguish.

Max was struggling; Tess was supposed to be his wife on their planet. He had been getting closer to her, since Liz had slept with Kyle. What was the truth? And he had never seen Isabel so distraught. He made his next decision…

Maria had watched the little fireworks display that the aliens had provided and her anger burned as hot as the flames. She ranted as she paced, “I’m going to kill her, you know that right? The minute I see her, I’m going to wrap my hands around her bony little traitorous throat and I’m going to strangle her. I’m going to strangle her the way she warped Alex’s mind, a bit at a time, until she has no breath left… I need to get out of here, let me go get the little Bitch!!!!”

Max listening to all this had walked over to the opening of the cave and passed his hand over the panel.

Maria saw that and turned towards the door, “Max wait…” She started to make for the opening.

Max raced outside. He had to be alone with his thoughts. And he didn’t want to cause any damage to any one inside.

Sheriff Valenti grabbed at Maria before she could follow him… “You need to stay here. Everyone’s angry Maria. But none of us are a match for Tess, she’ll see you coming and you’ll believe that she is your “friend” because your mind will be twisted into believing a lie. You know I speak the truth.” He sadly stated, while holding her forearms securely and looking at her directly.

Max was already outside and the wall ground itself closed… as an angry “Hurricane DeLuca” struggled in the sheriff’s arms. She dropped her arms in resignation as the door sealed, her shoulders slumped and she let out an angry sigh. Michael came over and gathered her into his arms.

Valenti looked around at all who were left in the chamber, “Any of you!!” He pointed his finger around the room, “You will all be in danger if you try to confront Tess alone!” He ruffled his hair in frustration with one hand. “She’ll be dealt with most definitely, but I will handle that as the Sheriff. I don’t know what I’ll do yet, as normal measures do not apply here, but as promised, I will protect all of you.”

***************

In the meantime as Max had left the alien cave, he fired off a blast at the nearest rock, shattering it upon impact. Bits of sand and pebble sized particles flew through the air in a multitude of directions. He took off running; he wanted to distance himself from everyone and everything that were in his presence. He headed off further into the desert, waging war on any unsuspecting rocks that he saw.

His head was swimming with thoughts…. Tess. Home! Isabel and Alex at the prom. How they had finally found happiness with each other. Sheriff Valenti telling them Alex was dead. Max’s inability to revive him, or heal him; and how helpless he had felt at that moment, wishing he never had to walk out of the van. The news he had to share that devastated his sister. It shattered her!!! Isabel’s subsequent nightmares, continual nightmares. He realized he heard her every night, and was ignoring her. ‘Why would I do that?’ One factor emerged from the recesses of his mind, one thing that had a commonality with all these events…. He continued to consider the events in his life, desperate to find any other reason…

Home on their planet…Tess…He only remembered home when he was with her, she taught him memory retrieval techniques, yet no one else had learned any….

Liz…The White Room…Liz was the reason he was able to endure that torture at all.

The commonality persisted…TESS... She had been there when every event that rocked his immediate world had occurred. She was always there directly or indirectly. ‘Is that good or bad?’ he wondered.

Max’s head was aching…he’d never been sick, yet it was throbbing. He felt as if it might explode. And the realization hit him; Tess could have mind-warped him too. Everything with her could be a lie. Even the Destiny message could have been fabricated. ‘That would destroy Isabel,’ he thought. ‘She was so happy to know something from home, and yet so many things went wrong right after it.’ Max fell to his knees on the hot desert sand and screamed, “AAGGGGHHHHH!” His hands were clutching his head... The anguish pouring out, sounding like a wounded animal. It was a wounded cry. He stayed in that position for quite some time, dealing with his own tortured thoughts.

****************

In the alien’s birthplace Kyle and his dad had adjourned into a corner to talk about the situation.

“Kyle,” Valenti started in, “I mean it, we don’t confront her alone… or you at all. I already lost your mother when she walked out; I’m not losing my son too. I know that you want to know what Tess is doing and thinking, but I will not let you put yourself in harm’s way unnecessarily.”

“Dad, She killed someone… she lives in our house, and she’s like family. She’s gotta be stopped, before she hurts someone else.” Kyle protested back.

“Son, I know everything you are saying is true and I couldn’t agree with you more, but she is mentally stronger than any of us, and I’m talking the ‘aliens’ too.” He scratched his head as he thought, “I am going to figure out a way to take care of the problem, but I can assure you that I will not include you, or most likely any of the other children.”

“What are we supposed to do Dad?” Kyle angrily retorted, “Go home and make nice to Tess while she scrambles our brains like eggs?? You don’t think she hasn’t clued in to the fact that I am avoiding her today do you???” He pointedly added. “I can’t even stand the thought of looking at her, permission please to bunk out somewhere else, anywhere else, at Michael’s even???” His eyes were imploring his father. Michael’s head went up at the mention of his name.

“Not tonight son.” Jim sadly shook his head as his hand came to rest across his son’s shoulder. “We have to play the game…. She has been playing one since she got here apparently and seems to be a master at it.” Jim took a deep sigh, “As much as we are hurt and possibly even hate her right now, we have to, must, imperative, treat her as normal as we can tonight.”

“This is fucked up!!! You know that right Dad?? We have to just set our selves up. Damn!!” Kyle slammed his right fist into the wall and angrily sighed. When he removed his hand, blood was running down the sides of his wrist from a laceration of the rough and uneven surface…

“Sorry Kyle.” Sheriff Valenti, gave his shoulders a squeeze and went over to talk to the Evan’s parents who had to be in a state of bewilderment.

***************

Max after his lengthy bout of soul-searching knew what he needed to do. He headed back to the pod chamber and made his way inside.

He walked over to where his sister was sitting on the floor, her back against the wall of the cave. Her knees had buckled during Kyle’s speech and so her dad had helped position her where she was. Her exhaustion was evident. Isabel had her head on her knees, which were drawn up to her chest, and she was quietly weeping into her arms and rocking herself.


Ooooh this pain
And I know there would not be
This cloud that's over me
Everywhere I go


Max went over and sat down next to her. “I’m sorry Isabel, I’m so sorry. I wish I could fix it for you. Can I hold you?” She gave him an imperceptible nod and he just rocked with her. “ I haven’t seemed to care about your feelings, or your needs, or you for a while. God! Isabel. You’re right; I was killing you. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking.” Max shook his head at the thought, “Or maybe I wasn’t thinking at all,” he swallowed, “maybe I too was under the influence of Tess. I’m so sorry Isabel. I’m so confused; I wish I knew what I was doing.”


Ooooh baby
Ooooh baby
I wish I never saw the sunshine
I wish I never saw the sunshine
An' if I never saw the sunshine bay
Then maybe I wouldn't mind the rain


Brother and sister just sat there sharing their grief. Finally, healing could begin…Max at least knew what was going on, and his sister needed him. He could not believe that he hadn’t noticed or cared about her. ‘Maybe Tess is really influencing me.’ He thought.


Ooooh this pain
I wouldn't mind the rain


No one learned anything about the destiny book or the crystal rod that day. The meeting ended with everyone just trying to recover from the revelations that had been brought forth.

Isabel fell into a restless sleep on the way home, almost before they had pulled away from the cave. She was so exhausted that she just did not have any strength left. She would have willed herself awake as she had done the previous night if she could have, but instead she rested with her head in her mother’s lap, as they rode in the back seat while Max drove himself; Isabel and Diane home in her car. Philip took Liz home in the jeep.


There wouldn't be this pain


Max placed her in his bed when they got home. He was going to care for her the way he did when they were little. Many nights he had held his sister close as she was troubled over something, and she sought the refuge of his arms.


Tonight she was going to feel protected and safe. He was going to make sure of it. He pulled up a chair, grabbed one of her hands in his and sat vigil by his bed as the muffled sounds of the conversation taking place in the living room reached his closed door.


I wouldn't mind the rain
I wouldn't mind the rain


***************

About an hour after they had arrived home, Philip Evans agreed to take a meeting with Sheriff Jim Valenti. They gathered in the former’s living room to discuss what to do about Tess and the situation at hand.

There were a few reasons the meeting was held there, but the most important was that it was a safe neutral ground and that everyone in the household was on the same side.

Valenti started in…”What can we do? I’m thinking that we can’t kill her, though I can think of quite a few people who would like to,” he stated dryly.

“Of course,” Philip agreed, “but what are our other options?”

We can’t arrest her, she would be able to mind warp her way out of it. Can’t really lock her down either, they can get through locked surfaces. Your kids, in case you weren’t aware have all the skills at their disposal to be great criminals…” he laughed. “They can unlock anything, start fires, kill without a weapon, and the list goes on…”

“So I saw. I assume Tess is the same…” Philip wondered.

“Of course.” Jim Valenti answered; “now the thing we do want is her removed from our presence right?” he stated the obvious.
“Yes!!” Philip emphatically responded

“Ok, what can we do???” Valenti pressed the other gentleman for suggestions.

“FBI, apparently it is their biggest threat, and they could hold her in such a way that she could not escape.” Philip sarcastically answered, as he rolled his eyes.

“You already know the problem with that right?” Valenti eyed his partner curiously.

“Yes,” Philip sighed, “alert them to the presence of one and all the others will follow. My kids would be in serious danger. It was not meant seriously, I just wish we could.” Philip reassured him.

“We can’t let the kids kill her; you didn’t go through those instances with them… Michael felt like he was really evil and Isabel lost herself, for quite sometime.” Sheriff Valenti reasoned.

“My daughter has killed someone?” Philip asked incredulously.

“I won’t say whom, but it was in self-defense. She was a mess for months afterwards. And Michael, it was like having a young cop who had made his first necessary kill. The guilt over taking another’s life weighed heavily upon him.” Jim sighed…

“I don’t want to know what or who, or how, or why. I learned and saw so much today that I realize I have now entered into aiding and abetting them.” Philip Evans threw his hands up in a mock surrender.

“What about sending Tess away?” Valenti questioned.

“I’d like to slap her one before I do,” Philip responded gruffly.

“You really hate her don’t you?” Valenti had never seen this side of Philip.

“I know that she is like a member of your family. And I am aware that this must be very hard on you,” Philip Evans leaned in closely to the other gentleman, “but you haven’t been living here the past month… My wife isn’t getting any sleep at all, and I’ve got to believe it’s like having a baby in the house, that’s why I sent her to take a nap when we returned, Max is watching Isabel tonight.”

“What??” Jim was puzzled by what Philip was saying.

“Isabel awakens a few times each night in terror or sorrow, from some nightmare or another, always Alex related…” Philip paused for effect, “Her heart has been shattered into a million pieces and there are loose shards lying everywhere.” Another pause. “The past couple of days, and solving the mystery, has intensified her nightmares. She didn’t sleep last night, just to avoid them. Of course Kyle just finished revealing everything after she had been through it all day at the university. Our whole family is on ed”… he was cut off.

“AAAIIII NNNOOOO!!! AAALLLEXXX!!!!!” At that moment they heard a blood-curdling shriek come from Max’s bedroom. Isabel had probably been asleep for the past hour and a half.

Valenti jumped a little in surprise and his eyes widened in fright at the unexpected noise… he stared at Philip Evans who neither jumped nor made any motion of reaction, instead Philip humorlessly stated, “And so it begins.” He looked at the Sheriff as he raised his eyebrows and said, “Excuse me if I have no sympathy for the traitorous little bitch.” Shaking his head at what was transpiring in his house he pointed toward the hall. “Amazing timing, we discussing this very thing…”

“That’s Is – a- bel???” Valenti paled and slowly stated in disbelief as he pointed in the direction of the still continuing shrieking.

Philip nodded as he wryly answered, “Welcome to our world of the last month…” A large sigh escaped as he placed his fingers to his temples closing his eyes wearily for a moment, “it’s going to be a very, very long night… seeing how she has hardly been asleep.” He looked back up at Valenti with pain stricken eyes… “It hits her really bad at night, in her dreams.”

“She’s always like this???” Valenti could not believe what he was hearing.

“A few times each night,” he sighed, “but usually not so early. With everything she has learned, I’m not in the least bit surprised it has already hit her…” he perked up his ears and listened to something, “Excuse me for a second…” he ran to meet his wife at the bottom of the stairs, she was running to care for her daughter, pulling the tie on her robe as she came.

“She’s Ok Diane, Max is with her.” He placed his hands on his wife’s shoulders. “Go back to sleep. There’s nothing we can do, she’ll scream herself awake like always... It takes her a few minutes…” as they listened, the screaming subsided into sobbing. “See? She got through the terror, now she’s in the pain again. Max will be with her all night Diane… I want you to go back to sleep.” He leaned in and gave his mate a kiss. “I love you.”

Diane nodded a bit blearily, she was automatically responding to her daughter, but she really had been asleep and hadn’t recovered from the shock of waking so abruptly. She waved to the sheriff and apologized for everything and started back up the stairs.

“No problem Ma’am,” he replied.


Philip came back into the living room after checking on his daughter and resumed the conversation.

“Hypothetically, If we did kill Tess what would happen? Besides the fact that would all be accessories to murder, or murderers ourselves!” Philip shook his head…

“There actually are a couple of problems with that, one what her body would consist of after death…” Valenti started to explain.

“I don’t quite follow…” Philip was obviously confused.

“Well the one that your daughter killed turned into small flakes of skin…” Valenti pointed out.

“OOOKKKAAAYYYYY, and?” Philip was sending absolutely dubious looks towards the Sheriff.

“When their protector died,” he noticed Philip’s confused look, “if you don’t know, I’m not going into it right now.” He responded to the confusion… “He turned into a pile of dust. The thing is, neither of those were exactly the same type of aliens as the children are. Though they, the children, seem to all lean toward the dust concept.”

“So if she were killed and turned into dust she would effectively cease to exist…” Philip stated, trying to keep with the topic at hand. “But that would lead to a ‘disappearance.’ A missing person type problem, and someone might wonder what exactly had happened to her.” He continued with his train of thought.

“Precisely.” He was answered.

“Ok! So we can’t kill her for obvious reasons… so we need to make her disappear.” Philip implied.

“Right, but how do we do that? It has to be ‘legitimate,’ so that it doesn’t become suspicious and definitely so it doesn’t come back on us.” Valenti sent back the question.

“She is leaving Roswell as soon as I can throw her out!” Philip answered angrily.

“We need a paper trail,” Valenti intoned, “would you be willing?”

“What? Falsify documents?” Philip raised his eyebrows in question, as his hands were folded on his lap… he could not believe keeping his kids safe consisted of actual illegal activity.

“I’ve had to, Michael has an ‘arrest report’ of an incident that we had to make ‘never happen.’ Luckily, when the case against him fell apart, the arrest was cleared and his record purged. Think about it, you already have in your possession an obviously falsified document on both of your kids…”

“That would be??” Philip was pretty sure he knew what the sheriff was implying, but he wanted to hear it for himself…

“Their ‘birth records.’ Even child services had to ‘create’ something for them. There was no way of knowing any of that information. Its kind-of hard to have birth documents when you’ve had no birth.” Valenti reasoned with the other gentleman.

Philip nodded at the logic, “What do you need?” he would do anything o ensure his children’s safety.

“We need a letter verifying that she has been sent for by a relative, effective immediately, and that they are very ill or something and she is the last of kin. So she had to leave quickly. It’s logical enough and it will need to correspond with wherever we send her.”

“Ok… I’ll work on the ‘legal’ aspect of it”…Philip intoned. “And when do we send her off?”

“Saturday, there is no school, and there are hardly any days left after that. Who sends her off?” Sheriff Valenti volleyed the question back.

Just You and me, I don’t want Isabel there at all. Max would probably like to give her a piece of his mind. Michael is an emancipated minor and he doesn’t need this type of trouble. Philip started to plan out Tess’ ‘seeing off party.’

Valenti said, “Well that probably covers it all. Tomorrow I’ll get a location as to where we are sending her. And then on Friday I’ll need the paperwork from her ‘relative.’ And then on Saturday, she is leaving our lives…”

“It’s the best we can do, I hate this whole situation but what other choice do we have???” Philip reasoned back. “Thanks for coming and working on the solution.” Philip walked the other gentleman to the door where they shook hands. Then he headed up stairs to join his wife.

***************

Meanwhile in Max’s room, he was there during his sister’s every cry, every nightmare. He made it his duty to be attentive to Isabel’s every need. He owed her that much for all the pain he had caused her, and she was going through. As he went through his vigil that night he realized the hard way just how much pain his sister was actually in, and how much of a front she put on in the daylight hours. He was amazed at her strength.


Upstairs, their parents slept semi-peacefully for the first time since everything had happened. Max was once again concerned for his sister, and things seemed to be more normal. Would things ever be normal again, though? They both wondered. Too much had happened to this small family of friends, to know the answer.

TBC…

Music: I Wish I Never Saw Sunshine by Beth Orton

Feedback time... This is where I take the time to respond to your thoughts and questions...and thank-you for them.


Creative Nickname: Its’ not going to be so easy to get rid of her? You don’t think so? Are you thinking that everyone will take part in it??


Roswellluver: Yes, Max did come around and came to his senses. He really didn’t have a choice.


Trude: I had fun with the reactions, as you well know. You have seen this chapter, as my tester, How many times now??? (I lost count.. )

My dear readers… if you only knew how hard I worked at each scene and the descriptions in it, that bring it to life.. ( I am an auditory person, not a visual person. I have to “feel” things out, because I truly cannot “see” them. Description is so not my gifting..) {can you say headache??} I rely on this dear girl to let me know how I am doing. Thanks girl, I need you.

And we continue,
The reactions were necessary though. In a situation such as this, everyone is going to respond differently, and we needed to see it all.

Thank-you for bringing the Philip/Jim talk into the open. I like the way it came out.

And you did realize that Isabel truly isn’t the only one affected by all of this, The whole family is going through it. (Good job)


SarahWhitman: I will be moving back to the relationships but with a little twist. (One of many twists you have been forewarned about) Happy ending, Hmmm….???


CzechyslovakianSlayer: First off I shall refer to you as slayer from now on, because writing the other word will “slay” me.

So when is your birthday exactly? And happy birthday, I hope it was good. :new-bday:

The pod burning was essential, I needed “real” reactions from the characters. What would they have done on the show???

I had you actually feeling bad for Max…? You are the second person who told me this. Stay tuned! And welcome to the story or out of lurker status


------------------------------------------------------------


In this chapter both the flashback scene and the dream scenes are in bold italics to distinguish them from the music.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays... This is my gift you you, -mas: I think this chapter will answer some of those long seated questions.


------------------------------------------------------------


Shifting Realities

Chapter Nine:

Making it Work



…Max sat vigil as his sister slept that night…. He was concerned that she seemed to sleep fitfully, but after recent events he was happy to see her get any rest at all.

Isabel slept restlessly. She was reliving earlier dreams of when she and Liz were in search of clues in Alex’s death. At the same time her subconscious mind was engaged in a battle with an uninvited guest…

The silent observer saw Isabel leaning against a tree sitting between Alex’s legs and crying as she leaned on him for support, explaining his death as she was beginning to understand it. The lurker, thinking silently, ‘Ain’t that sweet! I see ya’ know how he was killed, I will never understand your obsession with this Opie; he ain’t got nothin’ going on,’ disgustedly pulled at the recesses of Isabel’s mind trying to detect what she came for.

‘What else is in here?’ The visitor to Isabel’s mind manipulated her dreams into revealing more of the secrets that were buried inside. Isabel was dreaming of the encounter with Leanna, and all the things she knew concerning Alex. Isabel also dreamed of getting the crystal and the translation of the destiny book.

‘So I sees you have the book as well, did he finish it?’…The observer did one more forceful entry into Isabel’s mind and demanded her dreams to reveal where the crystal and book were. Isabel was seen putting the book into her attaché case and Liz Parker was the keeper of the crystal. “Thank-you Princess,” the visitor sneered.


Wherever you are tonight
I’ll see you in my dreams


The visitor to Isabel’s dreams then journeyed into Liz Parker’s subconscious and demanded the whereabouts of the crystal, receiving an image of Liz Parker putting it into a small slot in her wall, on top of her diary, and then resealing the opening with a brick. To the outside observer, it looks like a normal brick wall, no one would guess it is the undisclosed hiding place of all of the alien’s secrets. ‘ Oh how easily I can access that, thank-you. Now the plan will commence’…a wicked laugh emanating in the recesses of Liz’s mind from her uninvited nighttime visitor.

Isabel awoke the next morning in Max’s bed and looked around, she was momentarily confused with her surroundings... How long had she slept? The last thing she could recall was the pod chamber meeting. ‘That must have been the day before. That means I slept since yesterday afternoon, I guess skipping sleep caught up to me.’ She sighed, everything weighing heavily on her heart and she wondered how she was going to make it through another day. “I really hope there aren’t any more life-shattering things to learn today, I don’t think I can handle any more.” ‘I’m only awake because my body is, I’m drained, emotionally as well as physically.’

After her shower and getting dressed for the day, she made her way downstairs and found her mother was preparing breakfast for her and no one else seemed to be around.

“Hi sweetie,” Diane said as she noticed her standing in the doorway. “Sleep ok?”

“I don’t know,” she moaned out. “I’m so exhausted, and I have a minor headache, what time is it anyway?” She questioned, because she was at a loss for words.

“9:00 in the morning.” Diane returned to the stove to stir the food.

Isabel let out a short, punctuated laugh. “Wasn’t it like 5:00 or 6:00 when I fell asleep yesterday?”

“Yeah it was.” Diane softly stated. “ You’re Dad and I decided that since you have finished your exams, you should stay home from school. With everything that has happened lately you needed your sleep. I stayed home to be with you, so that you wouldn’t wake to an empty house.” She paused, “We didn’t want a repeat of a few days ago,” she paused again. “You were pretty sick then and I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up. I just had to run something over to your Dad’s Memorial Day Company Picnic. You were so out of it, I figured you’d just stay in bed. Apparently you found your way downstairs when we were all gone. I’m so sorry honey.” Diane mentioned apologetically.

“Not a problem Mom.” She nodded and smiled slightly. ‘Thanks Alex.’ She thought to herself.

“How are you doing Isabel?” Diane’s eyes shone with concern. “The last two days have been hell for you.”

Isabel nodded in response, mumbling softly, “Yeah they were.” Looking at her mom she answered out loud, “I’m awake.” She then deeply sighed, “And I really can’t answer beyond that.” She paused to think. “After I eat, I’m going to go to school. I need to pick up my grades and put in an appearance. It might get my mind off of everything.” She ruffled her hair in an Alex like manner, and then shook her hands out in frustration. “I gotta do something, if I stay here all day I’ll go crazy.” Then in front of her mother, she used her powers to repair the damage she had just done. She smiled at how safe she now felt.

“Sure sweetie, I understand.” Diane reassuringly patted her daughter’s hand and led her to the table. They sat down to breakfast and ate in silence; Isabel just didn’t have anything to converse about. After a few minutes of rearranging the pattern of food on her plate repeatedly, Isabel took her plate to the kitchen, the food was uneaten. She came back out and sat on the chair facing Diane.

“In answer to your question of how I am doing?” She sighed deeply, “I am still having a very hard time coping with Alex’s death, and with everything I’ve learned,” she deeply sighed, again. “I think it is going to take quite awhile to get myself back together.” She stood to give her mother a hug and stated,” Right now I really just need to go to school. I need to surround myself with my friends. We can all support each other through this hard time.” She kissed her mother on the cheek, uttered a goodbye and headed out.

***************

Isabel arrived late to school by a few hours and acclimated herself to her surroundings. She felt like it had been forever since she had last been in these halls, but it hadn’t been that long really since Alex’s death. Once he had passed on though, her attendance became sporadic at best. On days she could barely function, she had just skipped attending. Alex was not in the halls of the school as he should be, no playful banter as he dodged Maria about something. Everything was just another heartbreaking reminder of Alex. Her life had been turned upside down and she really just wished there was a way to be free of all the pain.

But today, she thought school was her best course of action to take her mind off of all the things that had transpired in the past couple of days.


She and Liz Parker shared lunch together sitting beside each other. Isabel was perched on the top of the table and Liz sat on the bench. Isabel seemed to be on an alert status and was watching everything. They decided to meet after school to discuss the translation of the book and to figure out just what exactly the use of the crystal was. They still were deciding on where they wanted to meet however.

Liz told her, “I have an idea what the crystal might be used for, because I had a visitor from the future last year.”

“What?” Isabel was surprised, “from the future, how is that possible?” She quietly asked.

Liz continued to tell of her life-shattering experience, “Max visited me from fourteen years hence. He told me that I had to make him fall out of love with me in the present time, or else the world would be destroyed in the future. No matter what I said to your brother, Max, he stayed loyal to me. I finally had to pretend to sleep with Kyle, it was the only thing I could do.” She looked at Isabel imploringly.

“Wait!?…Pretended?” Isabel looked at Liz questioningly as she straightened up. “You are telling me that never happened?” She looked down at her in puzzlement.

“Yes, and I thought it worked.” Liz went on to explain everything about Future Max’s visit, and the subsequent turn of events.

Isabel placed a soft hand on her friend’s shoulder and asked a hard question, “How could it have worked when it hurt so bad? My brother was so destroyed; apparently you were too. There is no way all this pain can be right… There is just no way…” Isabel trailed off, shaking her head sadly; too much of her own pain was resurfacing.

Liz continued to tell of what had happened, as she sat there crying softly about forcing herself to break both of their hearts for the good of mankind, for the future of the world. “And I thought it was okay, that is until Alex died, but I now know there is something terribly wrong with the whole thing, but I don’t know what.” Liz looked at Isabel and sighed as she shook her head sadly.

Isabel knew there must be more to the revelation and a reason Liz had come to that conclusion, she slid to the bench beside her friend, “Go on Liz, you can tell me…” And she bit her lip while she listened.

“Alex wasn’t supposed to die,” Liz placed her hand on Isabel’s forearm and looked her directly in the eyes. “He and you were supposed to be at Max and mine’s wedding. That’s what future Max told me. I don’t know what went wrong Isabel.” Her eyes were brimming with tears.

Isabel instantly clasped her hand over her mouth and as her eyes went wide she gasped in understanding, “Oh My God!!!” She swallowed hard and then she sat there with Liz comforting her, and thinking to herself that something was terribly wrong with the whole set-up, and not just the death of Alex. ‘So something has screwed up the future from what it was supposed to be?’ Isabel reasoned to herself, the whole thing seemed so very amiss. “Liz, do you remember what you discovered at his wake?” She tentatively asked her friend…very quietly. “Think back on it… Remember it with me please.” Isabel’s sad voice was barely above a whisper.

Together the two girls sat and recalled the meeting that took place in Alex’s bedroom after they had laid him to rest. It was the meeting that had nearly effectively destroyed all of their friendships, and it had definitely drawn a dividing line between the aliens and the humans.

…. Michael was frustrated with what he was hearing but he said…. “We know Alex, we know what kind of guy he is”… Isabel had her fingers pressed to her temples to stave off an impending headache and she nodded softly at Michael’s statement… “and we know he’d never kill himself. So as far as the people in this room are concerned, it was an accident, nothin’ more.”

Liz countered with, “It wasn’t an accident, he was murdered.”

Kyle was stunned at her revelation, “Murdered?” Isabel who was sitting next to Kyle turned her head sharply towards Liz.
Max got upset with the theory, “Would you listen to yourself? Who could possibly want to murder Alex?” It sounded preposterous to him.

Liz undaunted by any of the disbelief said, “I don't know yet. Maybe, somebody with a grudge against him.” … She paused…. “Or, maybe an alien.”

Max could not believe what he was hearing and stood up crossly, “That is not what happened here.”

Liz continued to plead her argument, “Would you just think about it for a minute? If there is anything any of us should have learned over the last year and a half, it's that nothing is ever what it seems….” After some heated arguments from some of the others she continued as she pointed her finger directly at Isabel who was standing facing her off, …“You cannot deny the fact that a key member of this conspiracy just died under very suspicious circumstances.” Isabel was panting her breath coming in gasps, her anger visible.

As Kyle stood to his feet to join the already standing group of Liz, Tess, Max and Isabel, he stated, “I'm with Liz. There's somethin' not right about this.”

Max was shocked, could they not see what was before them, he answered, “It was a traffic accident. There's nothing otherworldly about that,” he said indignantly.

Michael joined in the disbelief that there was an alien cause for his death, “What possible reason would an alien have to kill Alex?”

Liz then plowed ahead not stopping for a breath, “Isabel, for one. We know that there's an alien named Khivar who wants to bring Isabel back to your world….”

Isabel was standing facing Liz and she shook her head, “No!….”

Liz continued to race her revelation, …“If Khivar discovered that you and Alex were back together…” She trailed off as Isabel overrode her.

Isabel was in pain and denial as this was too much for her to take, she couldn’t tolerate the thought that Alex was killed deliberately because of her… “NO! NO! You're just making this up!” She shouted out.

Max crossed in front of her sister and faced off with Liz as he angrily defended all of the aliens, “You don't know what the hell you’re talking about! You don't know anything about Khivar, or our world.”

Liz, knowing that there was no way Alex died without a reason, faced him back, her words coming in a rush, “You don't want to think that Alex was killed by an alien because that would mean *you* are responsible.” Max stood stock still staring angrily at Liz for a few moments.

It was the last thing any of the aliens heard, after a forced, “Lets go,” issued by Max, they all followed him out. They never heard Kyle utter, “Well, I guess its us versus them.” The group was severed.


The girls came out of their reverie and looked at each other. Neither knew what to say, but the things they had learned the past few days had proven that Liz was right in assuming he was murdered, the why was still a mystery.

Isabel placed her hands in Liz’s as she squeezed them, biting her lip to keep back a cry. “You were right.” She silently remarked.

“Isabel?” Questioned Liz softly as she look into her friend’s stricken face… “Did you want to say something?”

Isabel still biting her lip looked at Liz and slowly nodded. Taking in a deep breath she spoke, “Yeah! This might come as a shock to you, but I know he wasn’t supposed to die either,”…. She swallowed to hold her composure … "I was supposed to have his kids; I think twins, and they are important kids, somehow. I only came to realize you were likely right about his murder when I remembered that, the night before I came to visit you, you know a few days ago?”

Liz nodded. She was reading the pain in her friend’s eyes, “Are you ok Isabel?” She asked very softly, placing her hand on Isabel’s shoulder.

Isabel swallowed again, “The chance of ever having them died with him of course. And believe it or not, I feel empty.“ She took in a quivering breath as she fought to maintain a hold on her emotions. “And I don’t think I’ll ever feel fully right again.” Shaking her head she finished, “Remember the alien thing kind of makes things more pronounced or whatever.”

“Wow! I’d be willing to bet there is some conspiracy behind this.” Liz mumbled out matter-of-factly. Isabel with a confused and saddened look on her face nodded in agreement.

Liz then stated what Isabel wasn’t expecting to hear… “Anyways I think that crystal is used in the granolith to change time, or it could be….”

Isabel stared at her in surprised shock, “What do you know about the granolith? Because it actually sounds like you know more about it than any of us. We just know its there, and that the skins really want it for some reason. And we know that Max didn’t give it to them at the summit, thanks to you, and what you told him right before he left.” Isabel smiled at Liz and thanked her genuinely for saving his life. “You probably saved all our lives with that bit of knowledge.”

Liz nodded and continued… “So anyways we definitely need to talk when school is out…”Their conversation was cut short by the bell signaling it was the time for classes to resume.


Isabel was happy that her parents knew everything and she would be granted whatever freedoms she was needed to work on it. So wherever she needed to go or whatever she needed to do, she would be allowed.

***************

Just before the last class started, Isabel was looking for Liz to work out the location for their meeting when she spotted Tess leaving school early and heading out of the parking lot.

“I don’t like this,” she said to herself. ‘Too many weird things have happened lately to trust anything she does…. Now where would she be heading? …I wonder if I should have followed her? Yeah… if I did that without back-up and Sheriff Valenti, I can see my mother’s reaction now…’ These thoughts were the only things that held her attention during the last class of the day.


When school ended Isabel worked a deal out with her brother for the use of the jeep. She would give it to him tomorrow if he let her have it today. They agreed and she had the transport she needed for the next part of their mission.

Liz saw Isabel’s smile and headed over to her side.

“Come on Liz, jump in.” Isabel said to her. “I figured it would be quicker if I got the jeep from Max. Should I drop you at your home first?”

“Yea, I’m going to go get the crystal, and if you could pick me up in a half hour maybe we could go to the pod chamber to finish our discussion.”

“I have this very strange feeling that I need to get there soon, very soon.” Isabel said in a rush. “I can’t explain it, but thanks for confirming it. I need to go check in. After everything that has happened and my current state of mind, my mother is extremely worried about me and she will want to make sure that I am ok. So, I’ll see you in a half hour then.”


Isabel dropped Liz off and headed for home unaware of how much would change in the next few minutes and how it would ultimately alter everything they knew.

***************

As Isabel got into the door her mother embraced her in a huge hug. ‘Ok that’s weird; even for how much I’m going through.’ She thought to herself.

“Are you ok, honey?” her mother asked staring at her curiously. “More specifically, are you feeling alright?” Diane asked rather cryptically. Isabel pulled out of the embrace, holding her mother’s hands, only because Diane was not going to let her leave and grabbed them before she could. She stared at her mother in extreme confusion.

Diane, ever the protective mother, could not stop worrying about her daughter. Alex’s death most certainly had taken its toll, she had noticed, but maybe there was more. So she gathered her strength and just asked Isabel the question that had been aggravating her for the past couple of days. “Isabel, the men aren’t here and I’m going to spring a question on you that has been bothering me since we talked about the kids you need to have. You were rubbing your stomach rather protectively when we spoke, and I couldn’t help but notice how happy you were the morning after the prom… I doubt I’ve ever seen you happier.” Her mother smiled in reminiscence. “So let me just say this…Isabel?” She took a pause, “Is there any chance that you might be pregnant?” She let out a slow breath, she had asked it, hard as it was to bring up. “I am so worried about you right now, with everything that is going on.” As she continued to hold Isabel captive with one hand she stroked her daughter’s cheek with her other. “If you answer me this; I might be able to understand the weird phone call you got today.” Diane looked extremely concerned, which troubled Isabel. Seeing her daughter’s worry she held her hands securely again.

“What? What’s going on Mom? What phone call?” Isabel looked distressed. “I am in such a hurry, I don’t even have time for this, Liz and I have something we have to do. And we have to do it now!!!” She tried to tug her hands free.

“Ok Izzy,” Diane said looking directly into her daughter’s eyes as if she could convey the importance of it through a mere look. “You might care to respond to it before you leave though, the caller was pretty adamant.” Shaking her head and sighing deeply she proceeded to tell Isabel all about the strange phone call and the surprising things that had been discussed. She ended with saying, “He also said that he has answers for you …concerning everything… and it’s, and I quote here, vitally important that you plan a meeting with him.” Diane looked absolutely bewildered as she relayed what had to be the strangest phone call that she had ever received.

‘Current condition of Alex? Our Future? What is going on?’ Isabel felt a little nervous with her message and subconsciously bit her lip as her mother relayed it. “I don’t even know him; I mean I might’ve talked to him once. But I have no idea what he could possibly be talking about. Mom!!! It really makes no sense.” …Isabel shook her head to get her hair out of her face, she was starting to feel panicked inside and she wanted to be free of her mother’s grasp.

Diane, feeling Isabel’s tension mounting, released her hold on her daughter’s hands and went to the note pad. “Honey, it didn’t make any sense to me either. That’s why I had to ask if you might be pregnant, how else would you have a future?” Slowly turning to face her, she looked firmly at her daughter, “And you still haven’t answered that question….” Diane intoned, as she pressed her daughter for an answer.

‘Hmm? I wonder if…’ Isabel paused a moment in thought, as she absent-mindedly tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. ‘I think it would be rather impossible.’ She decidedly concluded to herself. Isabel looked over at her mother while a look of shock was registering upon her perfect features. She was dumbfounded by the fact that they were even having this discussion. And then she found herself doing something she hadn’t done for awhile, she laughed. A deep laugh emanated from within. “Absolutely not Mom! We haven’t done anything physical. Honest!”

Diane sighed with relief at her daughter’s news. At least they weren’t dealing with a teenage pregnancy. She smiled at Isabel and apologized for even asking it and asked her again if she were feeling alright.

“Yeah, fine…Liz and I are heading out to the pod chamber to work on more of the Alex mystery. Thanks for your support in all of this because I think I might have found a way to make it work.” Isabel smiled softly at Diane.

Diane looked surprised. “You did?” Her face bore a mask of shock. “You mean there is a way?” She sighed, “I really didn’t know what to think the other morning, but then learning my kids were aliens just kind of threw the impossibility of it all right out the window. You really have an idea?” Diane cautiously asked.

“I might have, I’ll tell you more tonight. I’m really in a hurry though, I’m grabbing a bite and leaving,” she said as she headed for the kitchen.

“Got a number I can call him at?” She was referring to the mysterious phone call from earlier. “All I have is Alex’s personal number.” Isabel called out from the kitchen.

“Here it is.” Diane tore it off the message pad and walked into the kitchen to give it to her daughter.

As Isabel was distractedly reaching for the kitchen phone with her right hand, and reaching out to grab the number her mother was handing over with her left, the phone rang in her hand startling her a little, and causing her to jump subconsciously in response.

***************

“Hello.” She answered in a startled tone.

“Isabel its Liz.” She did not even seem to notice the manner in which Isabel had answered as she plowed ahead. “We’ve got a big problem, HUGE!! The crystal is gone!!! Whoever took it left my diary; they weren’t interested in the alien knowledge. They went strait for the crystal. And they knew where to get it, I haven’t told anyone.” She said her voice bordering on panic…

Isabel flew out the kitchen when she heard that, “Tess left school early Liz.” Isabel was ready to take the next course of action.

In unison the girls came to one conclusion… “The Pod Chamber.”

“I’m on my way!” said Isabel, while shoving the phone into her mother’s hand, and telling her mom to get Max and Michael over to the pod chamber as quickly as possible. Then to call Sheriff Valenti if she chose to…. “Mom, I’m leaving now, Tess is up to something. Liz and I gotta go, we’ll be at the pod chamber. Bye!” She yelled as she raced out the front door.

“Isabel”… her mother called out after her, ” you’re not going where she,,,” Diane looked at the phone in her hand and frantically started dialing …

***************

Isabel squealed the tires of the jeep around the corners as she flew through Roswell, not even coming to a complete stop as she arrived at the Crashdown. Liz had to jump in and hold on for the ride because the minute she was in, Isabel sped off. The jeep was once again careening around corners as the tires squealed in protest. She made her way out of town, heading into the desert where the aliens had been born. They were going to go confront Tess at the pod chamber, not knowing what exactly was going on.

The tension was mounting and the adrenaline was coursing throughout their veins as they drove the short distance to the desert. Apprehension growing steadily with every second that passed, they pondered over whatever was happening.

***************

"We haven’t even had a chance to check out the book even to understand what this may be about, yet here we are in the middle of the alien abyss, AGAIN!!!" Liz stated as they pulled up next to Tess’ silver SUV, and the person who was apparently waiting for them, leaning casually against it.

Isabel threw the gear into park and rushed over, “Alex, what’s going on, I got a weird call from your dad, and now you’re here?”

“There’s no time Isabel, and don’t worry about the call. Liz get over here.” Liz rushed over because Alex was using a tone of authority. Then he started to speak, but it more likely could only be described as babbling. “Isabel,” he grabbed her shoulders, “there is no way to stop it; it has already begun. It’s going to happen, you need to get in there and get Tess out! NOW!!” Turning to Liz… "Do whatever it takes!” …. he said as he looked directly at her.

Isabel rarely saw Alex in this much authority and she had no idea what he was talking about so she matched his intensity and asked the only thing that came to mind… "WHAT!? What are you talking about?”

“Just do it Iz, trust me here.” Alex insisted.

Grabbing a startled Liz by the shoulders he said, “You’re going to need to run a diversion for Izzy. This is more important than anything, ever. Liz do you remember all the times you made me trust you as a friend while you were unable to answer my questions?” She nodded dumbly while Isabel leaned in to listen…”Well if nearly 6 1/2 years of friendship have meant anything to you, I’m asking you to return the favor, and trust me now. Liz I need you to do whatever it takes, and I do mean WHATEVER, to get Tess out of there. Get her all the way out, and Isabel will follow you in. We don’t have a lot of time, this needs to go fast, so are you guys ready?”

“Yes, not sure exactly what we are doing, but yes,” the girls replied in unison.

"Ok go."

***************

Isabel reached up and waved her hand across the rock face, her energy revealing the silver handprint, which she pressed and opened the door for Liz. It ground open as rock rubbed against rock, alerting Tess to the presence of whoever was about to walk through the door.


Tess appeared to be leaning over a console that was imbedded against the lower base of a black inverted cone shaped object that imposingly sat in the center of another room; a room that Liz hadn’t seen the last time she had been out to the pod chamber. She crawled through the open hole where the bottom left pod had been a day earlier, and she entered the room where Tess was.

Tess was inputting some codes and pressing panels as Liz appeared. She was first surprised that someone had turned up so quickly, and she looked up as Liz entered the room because she was even more startled by who had appeared.

“Liz, what are you doing? How the Hell did you get in here, and how did you figure out what I was doing?” She demanded. “Someone is obviously here with you, because you can’t get in on your own, you’re human.” she said sneeringly.

Liz answered her, “We need to have a talk, why don’t you come over here?”

Tess snorted in disdain, “Nope, this is too important,” while she continued to run her hand over the control panel, as she inserted completely the crystal that they had found a couple of days prior. The granolith responded by roaring to life. Its steady hum changed in frequency and Liz could tell she had activated it somehow.

Liz was angry, “I think the fact that you killed my best friend is important too. But not only that you’ve put the moves on my boyfriend from the moment you first stepped into Roswell. I want to settle both scores. But first we’ll deal with Alex!” Liz crawled back out into the other room… in hopes that Tess would follow her. She didn’t…


At the mention of his name Alex had materialized into the center of the pod chamber, having slid through the outer walls. “Yeah, Tess,” he spat out her name, “surprised to see me?” he asked contemptuously. She looked out through the pods at the sound of his voice, as she faltered in her steps a little. “Hey the girls see me as real, maybe you didn’t really kill me after all.” He quirked a raised eyebrow in her direction. “You know? Maybe I just let you think I was dead so that you could finish up your evil, dastardly plan. But I think the only way you are going to figure that out is if you come check it out for yourself.” His voice was tinged with rage. “I mean you just killed me, right? You watched them bury me, so why am I here? And here’s the thing, maybe aliens can see me, you know, and I am dead, but Liz is a human and she can physically touch me. Right Liz?”

Liz took that as her cue, and a silently agreed upon signal for Isabel to begin to sneak into the granolith, as she reached out to grab Alex’s hand. And if that weren’t convincing enough, with Isabel’s prior permission, she leaned in to kiss Alex. Enough to show Tess that he was real, and they weren’t using any mind tricks.

Tess was overcome with dread that she hadn’t succeeded in her mission, and as she stared at Alex it was as if he was reading her mind, “That’s right Ava… Who were you working for?” He glared at her in contempt. “You probably want to come over here to finish the job. So do it!” Alex seethingly hissed out.. “ With that she abandoned everything she was doing in the granolith chamber and came out to deal with Alex…


Isabel snuck in behind her and entered the granolith chamber. Alex coached her in the use of the control panel. He shouted to her, “Ok Baby, Press that bottom panel and just hold your hand there… Ok now that should reveal some very small buttons that you can barely see. You see them?”

“Yeah,” she shouted back out… before her was a nearly invisible keypad, with strange alien symbols on the buttons.

See the small button by your right hand, it looks like it has a swirl on it, press your thumb on it and hold it there. Ok now it is registering that you are the one in control of the granolith and Tess is not. Isabel kept her thumb on it, awaiting further instructions.

Tess was pissed. She started to swear in her frustration, as she turned away from Alex, not yet touching him, “Damn you! Get your hands off of those buttons, you don’t know what you are doing…” She continued to throw out obscenities

Alex continued to guide Isabel while ignoring Tess’s ranting. “Ok Izzy,” he called out. “Push on the panel. Now start pressing that bluish button in the upper left hand corner repeatedly, it’s the one that looks like 4 dots in the shape of a diamond… ” He continued to give out very exact instructions… “Right below it looks like a triangle with feet, hit that a couple of times with your thumb while still working the other one.. “

…. And Tess knew that she had to stop Isabel, so rather than dealing with Alex she headed back in... Liz’s eyes grew wide as she watched the scene.

“….And with your other hand work the small button to your right, it’s the one with the two upright parallel lines… keep doing that…” Liz gasped and Alex shouted out a warning, “Izzy she’s on her way back in…”

***************

Isabel felt Tess’s hands trying to yank hers off the controls. “You Bitch!” Tess physically slapped Isabel before she removed her hand and started to gather energy into the palm of it…She stood facing her off, both of them gathering energy into their palms. “You have absolutely no idea what you are doing, but you are not supposed to be doing it…and your little “boyfriend” is too smart. If it weren’t for him, you would have no idea what you were doing just now.” She circled Isabel like a cat about to strike; Isabel held her stance, waiting, her eyes narrowed….

Alex realizing that Tess’s hands were off of Isabel, and vice versa, and neither of them were touching the wall of the granolith, yelled to her, “Push on the wall, NOW!!! Izzy…” Isabel did as commanded and found herself absorbed into the core of the granolith, sealing her inside and keeping out any other occupants.

Tess was angry, was she supposed to deal with Alex, and how? He was messing up everything. She started to crawl back out…

Alex smiled at Tess and waved as he vanished from her sight and went to join a slightly hysterical Isabel in the granolith, materializing right in front of her. The granolith had begun to glow an amethyst hue while it sent an energy pulse throughout the chamber, which could be felt physically coursing through her body in time to the frequency of the granolith’s pulsing.


Hearing the granolith seal and seeing Isabel and Alex absorbed inside of it, Tess was outraged. Swearing even more furiously, “DAMN!! How‘d he get in there? Shit!!! Where does she think she is going? She doesn’t even know how to work it!!!” She ran over to watch Isabel struggle with the walls, pressing to see if there was any way out…. “You Fucking Bitch!!! she screamed at Isabel, you have no idea who you are messing with, nor do you know what you are doing. But I’ll deal with your friend here. Come on Liz let’s take your little grudge-match outside.” She was not in a mood to lose and so Perfect Parker would have to pay the price of her wrath, since Isabel had just sealed the granolith.


Liz said haughtily, taking advantage of the moment to rub salt in a wound, “Max will never love you, you see, here on earth I’ve taken your place. He chose me as his queen, not YOU!! I will not leave him alone again, especially not to the likes of you. You want to fight me? … Bring it on!!!! Lets take this outside… I’m ready to rumble…”

****************

Alex had to calm Isabel down, “Alex she’s going to kill Liz,” she pushed against the wall of the granolith again seeing if there was anyway she could get out, “I’m stuck in this thing and I can’t get out…I can’t even help her.” She started to wring her hands, “Alex another person is in danger. She’s going to hurt her. Liz is no match against Tess; Hell, none of us are, and we are aliens. Alex do something!!!” She gripped his arms in fear as she pleaded with him to make things better, tears misting her terrified eyes, panic overwhelming her every thought.

“I am Isabel.” Alex calmly stated, “Now trust me and do exactly as I say. I’m in control of every thing right now.” She shot him a look of extreme confusion.

“Remember the button your thumb pressed?” She nodded, “Well, you are in total control of the granolith now!!! That’s good you need to be the one in control.” He smiled reassuringly. “And remember those other buttons that you had to press repeatedly until she forced your hands off?” Biting her lip, Isabel nodded quietly again…. “Well, that’s it,” he pulled her in close for a hug, “We can’t do any more, it’s already set and you did the best you could… Once you entered inside, the controls couldn’t be altered…. I can only hope we altered it far enough back to change everything.” Alex sounded concerned, ‘there really is no way of knowing…’ “It’s just going to have to work.” He nodded conclusively, “Now…”

“Wait Alex, what’s set?” Isabel interrupted him, “What has to work? Why can’t I get out of this thing?” Isabel’s voice was taking on a hysterical quality, rising higher with each question. She was also extremely worried for the safety of her friend.

“Ok Isabel, I need you not to panic here!” He said forcefully, as he grabbed her arms. “Try to remain calm ok?” He looked into her eyes as he gently stated, “I know you didn’t want any more life-shattering things to happen today, but you are about to travel back in time, hopefully far enough to repair things. You just kept setting it back further with the repeated pressing of the buttons, because she wasn’t going back far enough for *You* to change things. And now, well I’m not going to leave you, but at the same time you’re going to have to do this alone…”


And though we are a world apart
I know you’ll never be that far


“You’re not coming with me Alex?” She looked distraught, “I need you. I don’t even know what I’m doing…”

“I really wish I could Isabel,” he replied. “But the granolith only responds to the four-square. I don’t think it would work on me, especially not in my current state.” He said laughing, “What would you want me to do, go back in time as a ghost and haunt myself?” He grinned as only Alex could do. “But seriously, remember when dealing with time travel that quantum timelines don’t necessarily remain continuous.”

Raising her eyebrows in question, “Less geek speak, more English please,“ she said teasingly to get him back for his haunt myself comment from a moment prior.

“Things might not be exactly the same as you remember them.” Alex informed her.

“Ok.” Isabel was skeptical.

***************

They heard a loud scream of agony and a blast was ricocheted off of the outer wall of the cave.

“NO! Not Liz!!!…NO!!! I can’t lose anyone else…. What did Tess just do to her?” Isabel started to get frantic, adding to that the fact that the granolith started to hum at a higher frequency. A white light haloed around the edges of the granolith, While the main core shone intense violet light and was growing ever brighter with the passing seconds.

Alex grabbed her shoulders, “Look at me!’ he said very authoritatively. “That wasn’t Tess, it’s been Ava for quite some time. Ava is the one who killed me, but I don’t even have time to go into it. In 10 minutes it will all be over and if you’ve gone back far enough I will be there and alive. It’s going to be ok Isabel, you need to do this and I know you can.”

“This is in the Destiny Book as a failsafe to assure that you succeed in your destiny… Your work is too important to fail… This is obscure alien knowledge, but there are a very few with it, and some who want it, badly… and it, like you guys is a last ditch effort to save the planet… You have to do this, it’s the only way.”

Isabel stared at him in dubious shock. And then she started in, “But I don’t want destiny…. I rejected it already and it messed all of us up… I don’t want to have to follow it….”

“Isabel, its ok.” He held her soothingly as the tears streamed down her cheeks; she felt that she was destroying herself and her chance at happiness by continuing.

“Isabel?” he asked her quietly, “will you believe what I tell you?”

She nodded dumbly, the tears still flowing…

“Ok Honey, I’m going to say this…. Your Destiny may surprise you.”

“I don’t get anything else, just that?” She was more confused than ever.

“Yeah…” he answered quietly…

“Is that why we were sent the granolith, is that what they expected us to do with it…. Alex?? … her confusion evident, “how do you know this stuff, Alex…?”

“I don’t have all the answers Izzy. God I wish I did, but I know someone who has a lot of them.” He nodded. “I don’t think anyone expected a 40-year delay before you were born and the granolith can only go back so many years.”

The granolith continued its charging up. The hum had crescendoed into a steady high pitch and the energy vibrations were coursing through her body just as rapidly. She felt as if she was plugged into an electrical current, because her body was vibrating at an intense frequency matching the energy in the granolith.


Alex stopped her thoughts from wherever they were and said, “Connect to me now, I need to let you know something. I need to show you the book.” They placed their foreheads together, and he placed his hands on the sides of her face and sent in images of the pages of the book and the translation of them. “You are the Royal four…you were given human form…. you have been given the granolith as a transport…. and also communications technology”…. He shared it all with her in a rush but had to abruptly finish as he was sending in the last of it.

The granolith sounded as if it were about to take off.


“Isabel, we don’t have much more time…I need to tell you a few things…”

“This is very important…don’t change anything that you don’t have to. We don’t know if anyone has the knowledge of what you’ve done. (What you’re about to do.) Keep it a secret, as much as you can, even if you have to do the same things the same way. I know with your super memory that you have the ability to recall every conversation and instance in your life. You’ll need to rely on those; they just might keep you alive or safe from the enemy. Isabel, he is an insidious enemy that I have already dealt with and I don’t want to see you hurt.” He said very insistently

“Who? How have you dealt with him? Alex I’m confused.” Isabel tried to question him.

He just shook his head to let her know that, no; he would not be dealing with those questions.

“Find my younger self and connect as soon as you can, you need him. Don’t worry about making him fall in love with you, I’ve loved you from the first time I ever saw you, and I’m sure he’ll be the same. Thanks for doing this, even though you didn’t get a lot of choices in the matter. You are doing this for US!” Alex reassured her that this was the right course of action to be taking.


Cause here in my heart
There’s a picture of us
Together forever
Unfaded and unbroken


“And now this, promise me… that you will love him the way you wanted to love me…don’t be scared this time…” He looked at her lovingly.

“Have the time we never got to have, its ok to love him Isabel. And finally, this is very important…in the right timing, promise me that even if it feels all-confusing, you will have our children, I saw them too in our very first kiss.” He admitted proudly as he knew she was stunned by that bit of knowledge.

With tears streaming down her cheeks she whispered, “I promise Alex.” Promising to reconnect to Alex as soon as she could, and that she would have their children when the time was right, she owed it to him. She was unable to speak the tears were flowing so rapidly.


Wherever you are
Your love covers me
Forever more you’ll be
Here in my heart


He raised his eyebrows and winked at her. “Remember this is not goodbye, its goodnight and I’ll see you in the morning.” He held her tightly as she processed everything that was about to occur, tears streaming down her cheeks.


Wherever you are tonight
I’ll see you in my dreams


Noticing it hadn’t yet discharged the energy pulse that would send his beloved back to his younger self; he asked her if she would kiss him. He wanted her to be in his arms as this time-line ceased to exist.

“Goodnight,” she replied. “I’ll see you in the morning.” So with tears streaming down her cheeks she leaned in for the very last kiss she would ever share with this Alex…


Wherever I go tomorrow
You’ll be here next to me


The energy pulse of the granolith reached its peak, sending out blinding white and amethyst colored lights, which converged together and shot through the chambers. Simultaneously, the pulse that was released shot through her like an electric current, hurtling her right out of her current plane of existence.


Your kiss and your touch
I’ll never forget
Cause you as close
As my very next breath

Music: Here In My Heart by Plus One


SURPRISED????



I'll see you again in January, have a wonderful Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanza, or any other holiday you might celebrate.
Happy Holidays. -mas:

Mt Gazer