Roswell Fanatics

Gravity of the Situation
Author: Lindsay
Category: Max/Liz
Rating: ADULT for violence, possible nudity
Disclaimer: The characters of Roswell belong to The WB, Melinda Metz, and UPN. No infringement intended.
Summary: This story takes us on a journey back to the time of “The Balance” – before Tess, before alien babies, and before a bunch of other random events that were never explained.
Author’s note: This is a challenge, sorta, by my good friend Deejonaise, who without her help I would have never dared to venture into canon territory. So yes, this fic IS canon...and actually, it's more horror than sci-fi. It's weird, trippy and well...scary, lol. Just in time for Halloween! I hope you all enjoy...




Most Imaginative Fanfiction




banner by babylisou


Certain portions of dialogue have been taken from episode 109–The Balance.

<center>Gravity of the Situation</center>

<center>Prologue</center>


“The balance can pull you in. It's a force that can change both your body and your mind unless you navigate it properly. Now, clear your mind...and drink from the bowl. Don't change the way you feel about your friend, and you'll come out on the right side.”

Flickers of torchlight illuminated the seven figures inhabiting a cavern that was hidden within the hills of a rarely sought Native American reservation. Peculiar markings decorated the walls, testaments of previous visitation.

She stared at the prone form lying in the center of a crudely drawn circle, a strange webbing covering him from head to toe. The image was grotesque in such a bizarre fashion that her stomach pitched and rolled as conversation went on around her.

She heard Max speak up, the deep rumble of his voice doing nothing to soothe the tremor coursing throughout her body. She wondered at that revelation, having never felt anything but secure by his side. Even when she’d learned the truth of him, a part of her had known he would bring no harm towards her. Instead, he awakened feelings she’d never known had existed inside of her. Feelings that had grown so large so quickly, that it frightened her in a way that made her want to cling to him, to assure herself he would never leave her. But now… she wanted to turn and run far away from the happenings that had brought them all there that eve.

“What is it?” Max murmured, taking a diminutive, carved bowl from the older man’s hands as he stared into its depths. The flames danced aross his face, leaving one half in shadow as Liz stared at him from across the circle.

He lifted his eyes, ensnaring her in a pool of gold as their gazes met and clung. Her breath began to come more quickly, and she fisted her hands at her side as tears began to blur her vision. What was happening? Why couldn’t she breathe? Silently, she begged for him to recognize her hesitation, to offer her some unspoken sign that showed he understood and didn’t think less of her for it.

But he merely frowned, his stare flicking towards the center where his best friend and family lie. His lips tightened and when he glanced back, she nearly gasped at the pain filling his eyes. She barely heard River Dog explain the contents of the bowl as her vision began to cloud from the smoke and her hearing began to dim.

She shook her head, blinking rapidly as perspiration began to dot her flesh. As though through a dream, she watched as the bowl was passed around the circle and her friends each took a sip. No one seemed to show the slightest hesitation, whereas she wanted to scream out her fears.

“Liz.”

Maria’s soft voice caused her to jerk, and she inhaled sharply as she met her friend’s worried gaze. Looking down at the proffered bowl in Maria’s hand, she hesitantly reached out. Before touching the object, she looked back up and found River Dog quietly watching her, a knowing gleam in his dark eyes.

“You're afraid,” he murmured, bringing everyone’s attention towards her as she clutched the bowl to her chest. “Not of the healing. Your fear runs deeper. You fear for someone else, someone you care for a great deal.” As he paused, she couldn’t help but look to where Max was watching the preceedings, a stoic expression on his handsome face. Only she saw the flash of hurt in his eyes. “Take a step back. You cannot stop the flow,” River Dog continued gently.

“I…” her voice quavered as she held Max’s gaze, tears trickling from the corners of her eyes as her pulse began to race and her heart thudded heavily in her breast. “I’m… sorry…”

When the words left her mouth, Max flinched and looked away as his jaw tightened. Feeling something inside of her shatter, she took a deep beath and prayed she was making the right decision.

“Wait,” she said softly, as River Dog stepped forward to take the bowl from her. She raised a hand to wipe at her eyes and stiffened her back. “I’m staying.”

“Liz, if you can’t handle it…” Isabel began in gentle tone unlike anything she’d ever heard from the icy blonde woman. “We’d all understand—”

“No,” she stated firmly as Max glanced her way again. “I’m sorry for hesitating, I just… I’m sorry,” she repeated lamely, and without thinking twice, closed her eyes and quickly took a sip.

It was water. It slid down her throat cool and sleek, but it didn’t quench her thirst or soothe her throat from the smoke filling her lungs. Instead, it seemed to set her on fire from the inside out. In reaction, she choked and dropped the bowl as her hands wrapped around her neck.

“Liz!” Alex shouted, face paling as Max moved to step forward.

“Do not break the circle,” River Dog said sharply. “If you do, your friend is lost.”

“What’s happening to her?” Maria cried out.

As soon as it had happened, it was over and she inhaled deeply as clean air once again filled her nostrils. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” It was all she knew to say, so she kept repeating it.

River Dog stared at her with a disconcerting expression, but said nothing as he began a low chant filled with strange words never uttered in any language on this Earth.

The others slowly began to pick up the mantra, Max joining in last as he threw another concerned and slightly perplexed look Liz’s way. When she was able, she opened her mouth and found her rhythm of the song, and her eyes fell closed as a sudden flash enveloped her mind.

She couldn’t make out the images, they came too quickly to tell one from the other. Blurs and spatters of color burst against the backs of her lids and she became aware of something inside her, threatening to break free.

A cry filled the air, animalistic in its pain, and only after she opened her eyes did she realize it came from her own lips. She stared in complete shock at the group now huddled around Michael as he shed himself of the webbed skin and sat up, flesh pasty from his near brush with death.

“You all right?” Max asked, sheer relief dripping from his voice as he helped clean him off.

“I went someplace, Max, and I saw things,” Michael’s deep voice intoned, sounding shaky, but not from fear. From excitement. Typical Michael Guerin. Who cared if you nearly killed yourself from your exploits, so long as you uncovered something?

“But you came back. For good this time,” Max left the statement hanging, his voice cracking slightly.

Michael glanced up and for a split second, his gaze caught and held hers. She was the only one not in the circle and crowding around him. For a moment, he said nothing, then turned and offered Max and Isabel a small smile. “Yeah, I came back.”

As Max wrapped his arms around the other boy, Liz fell into the shadows, wondering where she had gone, and whether or not she would ever return.

Wow, thanks for all the positive feedback! I'm doing naked cartwheels that you guys like it so far!

Deejonaise wrote:There was once a time when I thought pigs would fly through the sky before I wrote fluff and you wrote canon. I guess this means the end is here, lol.

You know... people sure are using that term with me alot, lol! They did it over at RAMS about something else... I can't remember what. I must just inspire pigs flying in people, LOL!

Angel wrote:Well, look at you! Over here writing canon. I can't wait to see where you go with this, I'm sure it'll be fabulous. So stop your worrying. But you know, if Nick shows up for a brief appearance, I don't think anyone would complain.

So where did Liz go? It seemed as if Michael knew. Interesting. More now!

A HA! So Angel bit the dust, too, on the Nick Gannon front, eh? Don't worry... there are a lot of other Nick Obsessors out there to keep ya good company. Like uh... me? He's real, real I say!

begonia9508 wrote:That was so frightening!...... what is happening to Liz? but I love reading something from you in the conventional part... you never wrote about aliens if I'm not mistaken? Dosesn't matter anyway bc the start was terrific!
EVE

Nope, never ventured onto this board, lol! And you'll have to wait and see what's happening to Liz...

alienmom wrote:my licious mistress has ventured to the dark side?? but with your writing abilities, i'm not suprised

i'm so hooked already. just what happened to liz?? and why did it happen?? river dog didn't seem to suprised. he knows way more then he's telling. hopefully you will utilize him more than the writers of the show did. i think he has lots more potential.

waiting quietly chained in the corner like a good minion slave

Since you found this all on your own, Michelle, I'm giving you twenty minutes of unchained freedom. Should you abuse this privilege, it'll be bread crumbs for a week!

Behrsgirl77 wrote:So Linds, I get home from work get online and Sarah Marie tells me...LINSDAY POSTED A NEW FIC! And of course I'm like where...she's like the CC Board...And I'm like on the CC Board?

Something tells me that conversation was way more interesting than that, lol! And where the HELL is S&M today??! I'm going through withdrawals... need... BILL!

Breathless wrote:Are my eyes deceiving me? Is that Lindsay, posting a canon fic? And an amazing one I might add!

I always thought Liz's hesitation in the Balance was an idea the show dropped the ball on. I guess it was just an excuse to keep Max and Liz apart and nothing more. I'm glad to see you expand on that idea, and can't wait to see where you take it.

Thanks Debbi! Yeah, I think it's an interesting premise, as well, but credit must go to Dee for thinking it up. I'm just the lowly writer... I don't have the imagination to come up with original plots like that, LOL! Luckily, she trusts me enough to take it wherever I end up... so we shall see! Hope I don't disappoint! And also... um... hope to see you over at LOD soon. You know I can't be totally happy until I have ALL my fave authors posting over there.

sunrise102 wrote:Truly though, all I needed to see was this for me to read it:

Rating: NC-17

J/K!! Really though, your name is enough to warrant a second look.

Yeah... no worries on that front, huh?

Anais Nin wrote:No matter what you write - CC or AU - you do it with that typical Lindsay-flair that just makes it worth reading. I hope to be able to read more soon!

Um... how about... now?


Okay, the reason I didn't answer any of your very good questions concerning the fic, is because I want you all to be going, " " So no spoilers, LOL! If you just have NO idea what's going on, pm me and I'll answer as best as I can.

Onward we go...


<center>Chapter One</center>


“Are you sure you’re feeling all right?” Maria asked tentatively, nibbling her lower lip as Michael let out a sigh of exasperation.

“I told you, I’m fine,” he snapped in a gruff tone that couldn’t quite hide the wary affection he felt for the petite blonde. “It’s not like I died or anything.”

“Bad joke, Michael,” Max answered, folding his arms across his chest as he glanced down the expanse of the grassy quad. Brow furrowing, he spoke in a soft voice, “Has anyone seen Liz today?”

“You know, I haven’t really seen her since the heal… since that night,” Alex corrected quickly when a group of students walked by within earshot. “I called, but her parents said she was sick.”

“She hasn’t been at work, either,” Maria added. “I didn’t think anything of it at the time, with everything else going on… but it isn’t like Liz.”

“What do you mean?” Isabel asked. “She’s just sick, right? That’s normal enough. Max, you have to stop worrying about every little thing Liz does…” She trailed off with a gasp as something caught her attention across the quad. “Oh, my God.”

They all turned and saw a figure stumbling through the crowd, hand held to her head. A pair of baggy cords hung from her hips, accented by a battered flannel shirt that had seen better days. Her long dark hair was twisted into a lop-sided ponytail and wisps framed her face as she fell to the ground, knocking a pair of sunglasses from her nose.

“Liz!” Max shouted, attracting attention from surprised students who had never heard the closed-off young man speak, much less raise his voice. He took off running, pushing through the throng as he kneeled beside her, taking her elbow and raising her chin towards him. “Liz, look at me.”

She stared up at him through glassy eyes, blinking dazedly. “Wha…” her voice was thick and husky, completely unlike the normal sweet tone that spilled from her lips. “What happened?”

His blood ran cold as he realized the reason for the glasses. Her eyes were black and swirled in a leering tandem as she gazed at him, her lips parted as unsteady breath left her lungs. “Oh, my God,” he whispered, glancing around at the curious faces of their peers. “We’ve got to get you out of here,” he added softly, helping her to her feet as he shielded her from everyone’s gaze. Grabbing the glasses, he placed them back on her nose, trying not to shiver at the sight of her eyes.

As he half-carried her to where the rest of the group watched in varying degrees of fascination and horror, she began to struggle. “No!” she shrieked, regaining her strength and shoving against him as he stopped to stare at her. “Let me go!”

“Liz… what’s…” His voice drifted off in shock as she turned and fled from him, her hair spilling from its confines and down her back. “Liz!” he cried out, heart pounding as he went after her.

He felt and hand grip his arm, stopping him in his tracks as he spun around to meet Michael’s gaze with fire in his own. “What are you going to do, Maxwell?” he asked, mimicking words from not so long ago as they stared at each other. “If you go after her, it’ll only create a bigger scene.”

Inwardly, he knew Michael was right. But that didn’t keep the blood from pounding in his ears as he replayed the frightened disgust painted on Liz’s face right before she’d taken flight. Swallowing, he looked around and sure enough, he was currently the object of several attentions. He allowed Michael to lead him away as his eyes dropped to the ground.

“What the hell was that?” Maria screeched upon his arrival, looking ready to run after Liz as well. “What happened?”

“I… I don’t know,” Max answered honestly. “She looked at me like… like she didn’t know who I was.” The final words came out in a hoarse whisper as a sharp pain filled his chest. “Her eyes were…”

“What?” Alex demanded, an expression of concern on his lean face. “What about her eyes? And why are we letting her go off by herself? This is crazy.”

“Alex is right,” Maria decided, taking a step forward, before Michael blocked her path. “Out of my way, Spaceboy,” she snapped, tears filling her eyes. “I’m going after her.”

“No,” Max intoned when Michael opened his mouth to reply, no doubt to cause an argument. “No… let me.” When they all looked at him, he let out a sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I need to find her myself. Please understand.”

“Max,” Isabel began hesitantly. “Why does it have to be you? I thought… I thought you planned on, you know… taking a step back from the whole Liz thing?”

Maria gasped. “You were going to dump her, just like that?” she hissed. “Why? What has she done wrong to make you doubt her? Why push us away now, after everything that’s happened?” She turned wounded eyes towards Michael, who visibly cringed at what he knew was coming next. “This was all your idea, wasn’t it? God forbid you guys get close to anyone. No, it’s just the three of you… no matter that we were there to save your ass!”

“Maria, calm down,” Alex murmured, pulling her into his arms as he shot Isabel a disappointed glance. “She’s right, though. You all need to open your eyes and realize… there are six of us now. We put our asses on the line to save Michael, we deserve more than your superiority complexes.”

“Just wait a damn minute,” Michael started. “I never asked for you guys to become involved, did I?”

“Of course not,” Maria snapped hurtfully, turning away. “You never do. So you won’t mind when I take myself and my human stupidity away from you and find my friend.”

With one last disapproving glance, Alex followed. Max’s jaw tightened as he glared at his sister and best friend. “Thanks so much, both of you,” he murmured.

“I’m sorry,” Isabel whispered, obviously shaken by both of the humans comments. “I didn’t mean…”

“Didn’t you?” Max asked tiredly. “You and Michael have been nothing but against this entire ordeal between Liz and me. Between the humans and us. The fact remains… we need them, whether either of you like it or choose to accept it. I have.”

“Maxwell, this is bigger than what you think you feel for Liz Parker,” Michael answered in a defensive tone. “Don’t you remember, no attachments?”

“Don’t you remember?” Max returned angrily. “You were lying there… dying, Michael! It was Liz who helped figure out how to save you! Maria and Alex joined the circle that helped bring you back. How can you still think of them as attachments?”

“Because that’s what they are,” Isabel broke in softly, not losing her ground as Max spun around to face her. “Michael’s right, Max. We can’t afford to let them in… to let them get too close. If something were to happen to us… if someone were to find out the truth…”

“Don’t think that way,” Max whispered painfully.

“It’s the truth!” she hissed, tears filling her brown gaze. “If something happened to us, it wouldn’t be safe for them, Max. The less they know about anything, the more protected they are.”

“I agree,” Michael added, gentling his tone. “I don’t hate them, Max. I don’t even think that they’re as useless as I did before. But they can’t help us, not really. They’d only get in the way of what’s important.”

“And what’s that?” Max asked bitterly, not bothering to disguise his pain at the words coming from their lips. “Finding where we come from? Haven’t we learned anything, yet? Every time we move closer to something, it all blows up in our faces. Look at how close we came at Atherton’s. And for what? You risked your life at the reservation… what did you see? We’re moving nowhere.”

“That’s not true.”

“Then what? Tell me what you saw,” he pressed on, then inhaled sharply. “No, not here. God, I can’t believe that we’re even discussing this now… I need to find Liz. Don’t stand in my way.” With that he turned and walked away, ignoring the burning stares piercing his back.



<center>***</center>



Fear. Anger. Betrayal. Pain. Shaking. Shaking… stop the shaking. No. Can’t stop. Must find a way to stop…

Close your eyes and let your mind blank out…

What are you?

You know what I am… do you know what you are?

“No!” she shrieked, tucking her legs up to her chin and rocking against the wall. “I know who I am, I know who I am… I know…”

“Liz?”

She jumped at the hesitant voice, and looked up to see a muscular figure approaching. She scrambled away, hiding within the shadows of the dimly lit band room as he stopped in his tracks and stared at her. “Kyle,” she whispered, recognizing him and letting out a sigh of relief. “Kyle!”

“What are you… whoa!” he cried out in surprise as she leaped to her feet and threw herself at him. Barely catching her, he struggled to breathe as she literally tried to crawl inside of him. “Liz… what the hell…?”

“Can’t stop… the shaking…” her teeth chattered as she pressed her cheek against his, the rough stubble leaving tiny scratches behind on her translucent flesh.

“Shit, Liz, you’re freezing!” Kyle said in shock, pulling her away and holding her by the arms. “What the hell’s the matter with you? Are you sick?”

“Stop… shaking…” she whispered, jerking in his arms and trying to move back towards him. “Need… heat…”

“Okay, you’re definitely freaking me out,” Kyle muttered nervously. “Liz… does Evans know you’re in here? Aren’t you guys like, glued at the hip?”

As if on cue, Max’s voice rang out, hard and unyielding. “I’m right here. Liz, are you all right?”

At the sound of his voice, she jerked again and her eyes went wide. “No!” she whispered, trying to hide behind Kyle as she pointed a shaky finger towards Max. “Stay away!”

Max’s jaw worked and he flinched at the barely restrained fear in her voice. Taking a step forward, he held out a hand and whispered, “Liz… it’s me, Max.”

“Maybe you just better stay there, Max,” Kyle said when Liz made a low sound and clutched at his shoulders. “What the hell did you do to her?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Max hissed defensively, trying not to let her rejection faze him. “She’s sick, can’t you tell? She’s not thinking properly.”

“All the same… just…” Kyle trailed off as Liz stepped out from behind him, a confused expression on her face.

“Kyle?” she frowned, pushing at a few strands of hair that had flown into her eyes. Her face was a wan shade of pale, but her eyes were once again deep and brown. Dark shadows plagued the skin beneath her gaze as she flicked a glance in Max’s direction. “Max… what are you doing here? Why aren’t we in biology? What time is it?” she wondered with a nervous laugh. “How did I get here?”

Kyle and Max exchanged wary glances of worry. “Liz… do you remember what happened in the quad?” Max asked gently, focusing on her perplexed expression. No trace of the hysterical female from seconds before lingered.

“The quad?” Her brow furrowed. “But I haven’t…” She trailed off and stared at Kyle. “Kyle. Would you mind giving Max and I a moment?” she asked softly, not wanting to be rude, but unable to ask the questions she needed so long as he was present.

Kyle simply folded his arms across his chest and pierced her with a dubious stare. “What? Hell no, Liz. You practically attacked me when I came in to fool around with the drums and found you here, hiding. And then when Evans came along… you looked like you were scared for your life. So no, I’m not leaving until I get some fucking answers.”

She gasped. “I… what?”

“Kyle,” Max said roughly. “She’s sick. We went on a camping trip and she came down with the flu, okay? She shouldn’t be here. I’m taking her home. Leave it be.”

“Leave it be?” the other boy snorted. “Hell no, Max. You saw her. That wasn’t some fucking virus. She was scared to death. Just what the hell have you done to her, Max?”

“Kyle!” Liz cried out admonishingly. “Max hasn’t done anything to me! This is… this is none of your business,” she added softly. “Just… leave.”

Kyle stared at her in shock, then his expression tightened in hurt and anger. “You know what, Liz? I’ve had it with you. Really. You’ve changed so much, I hardly even recognize you anymore. You want to hang out with Max Evans and his psycho friends and… and deal drugs or whatever the hell the secret you guys are keeping is, then be my guest. Next time I won’t bother stopping when I see you huddled behind a fucking drum set.”

He turned and stormed away, knocking Max a half step backwards as their shoulders brushed. The second the door slammed, Liz flinched. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I… I didn’t mean to upset him…”

“What’s going on, Liz?” Max asked softly. “You freaked out. You’ve run away from me twice now, and you looked at me like… like…”

“Like what?” she whispered, her stomach beginning to pitch from the shattered expression in his amber gaze.

“Like you were afraid of me,” he admitted, looking away. “Like you were seeing something else entirely. Like… you were disgusted by me.”

“Max, no!” she murmured, shaking her head forcefully as he blinked rapidly. They both were near tears now, as she took a step in his direction. “I didn’t mean… I don’t even remember…” She trailed off on a sob, falling to her knees and hugging her stomach. “What’s happening to me?” she cried out, tears rolling freely down her cheeks as he stared at her. “I feel so… I can’t think… too many voices…”

“Voices?” Max echoed, walking over to kneel beside her. He ran a hand down her hair as she looked up. Catching a tear with the pad of his thumb he whispered, “What voices?”

“I don’t know,” she cried out in a shaky voice. “I can’t remember! Why can’t I remember, Max?” She laid her head against his chest as he swallowed and held her in his arms.

“We’ll figure it out,” he promised, although he didn’t have a clue what was going on. He only knew that whatever it was, it was hurting Liz and that hurt him as well. “Hey, look at me…” he whispered, bringing her up to meet his gaze.

Their mouths moved closer together, until he lightly brushed his lips across hers, tasting the saltiness of her tears. As always, he melted into her mouth, dragging his hands up and into her hair with a sigh.

She allowed him to deepen the kiss for a moment, before stiffening and wrenching herself away, breath coming fast and heavy as she stared at him with wide eyes.

“What?” he asked in sheer confusion. “Liz… what is it?”

She looked away, unable to meet his gaze as she replied, “Nothing. I’m sorry… I just, I’m very tired. I think I want to go home.” Her voice broke on the last word, and something inside of him broke, as well.

“Okay, Liz… okay,” he pulled her into his arms and began rocking her back and forth. She didn’t pull away, but she didn’t return the embrace, simply stared over his shoulder at an unforseen point in the distance.

<center>Chapter Two</center>



There was a certain scent that came with the night… a flavor that was different from that of the light. Thick and heavy, it filled her lungs as the darkness wrapped around her like a cool blanket. The macabre dance of predator and prey filled the air, tightening her muscles with anticipation as she waited.

A shift in the energy that pulsed through the night alerted her to the fact that she was no longer alone. Heart pounding, she forced her frozen limbs to turn to face her unseen companion. Heavy mist swirled around the tall figure, effectively cloaking their identity as her head began to throb in realization.

She had no memory of this place.

Her mouth opened on a silent scream when the haze disappeared, revealing the figure who stood before her. A wide, gaping grin split his features, the echo of maniacal laughter filling the air as she began backing away.

“No,” she whispered, hands coming up to wrap around her throat as her blood pounded through her veins. “No! You’re not real! This isn’t real…” She stumbled, falling to her knees as he continued to descend upon her. Tears coursed down her cheeks as she shook her head, eyes falling closed against the horror presented to her. “I’m dreaming… I’m dreaming… oh God, Liz, wake up…”

Something brushed across the edge of her mind, a silent flutter that had her eyes flying open. She swallowed against a sob, looking around wildly as she found herself in the middle of the fog. A flash of black by her side caused her to shriek, and she used her hands to push to her feet, ignoring the pain that radiated through her bruised knees.

Through the haze of tears and mist, she limped away as a symphony of whispers rose from within the depths of the darkness. She reached up, holding her palms against her ears as the voices rose, becoming a single voice that seemed to echo within her mind.

“Do you know what you are?” the disembodied tone questioned silkily. “Do you know what you’ve become? What you’re meant to do?”

“Stop it!” she shrieked, shaking as the tone became hauntingly familiar. “Leave him out of this!”

Laughter sounded again, low and mocking as another figure stepped out in front of her, a sinister smile on his face as he held his arms wide open for her.

“Max!” she sobbed quietly. “No, no…”

“I love you, Liz,” he said in a tone that raised chills along her skin. “Don’t you love me? Do you love me enough? Do you know what I want?”

“You’re not Max!” she accused, but her voice wavered uncertainly as those recognizable golden eyes flickered back at her.

“I’m what you want me to be,” he purred darkly, kneeling before her as she stared in fascination. “I’ve always been what you’ve wanted me to be, Liz. Do you want to see the real me? What I’m capable of?”

Her mind screamed at her to say no, not to believe the words spilling from lips that looked so similar to the man she loved. But she was unable to look away, and found herself nodding even as tears streaked her face.

His lips curled and he bent to take her lips, fusing their mouths together in a grim mimickry of the passion that usually spiraled between them. She jerked as he roughly grabbed her against him, fingers hard and unyielding as they wrapped around her throat.

She gasped as flashes scattered through her mind, all twisted and bizarre and leaving her blood cold as she screamed within the boundaries of her mind. Pulling away with a frightened moan, she blinked and nearly fainted at the grotesque vision before her.

The last thing she heard was a monstrous chuckle as he raised a distorted hand towards her and closed her eyes...


Sitting straight up in her bed, she screamed as her body shook from head to toe. Perspiration drenched her flesh and left the tank and shorts plastered against her body as she bent double and cried into her hands.

“Liz?” Her father’s concerned voice sounded from outside of the door. “Honey… what’s wrong?” He hadn’t opened the door, but from the tone of his voice he wasn’t far from it. “Liz? Are you all right?”

“I’m…” she choked on the words as she struggled to pull herself out of the lingering vestiges of the horrifying nightmare. “I’m fine,” she managed thickly.

“You screamed,” he pointed out, jiggling the doorhandle. She allowed herself a momentary sigh of gratitude that she had locked it before falling asleep. Catching sight of herself in the mirror across the room, her eyes widened at her tangled, sweat-soaked hair and bright eyes.

“I had a nightmare,” she called out, running a hand down her hair and brushing the strands from her eyes. “I’m sorry I woke you up.”

A moment of silence passed before she heard him turn to leave. As soon as the sound of padded steps disappeared, she reached over to turn on the lamp that rested next to her bed.

Glancing back, she inhaled sharply at the sight of a light shadowing around her throat. Her stomach roiling in disgust, she jumped from the bed and moved to take a closer look. Sure enough, a pale bruising dotted the tender flesh, taking on the distinct impression of fingertips. She raised a shaking hand to touch the marks, and shuddered as she recalled how they had come to be there. One hand pressed to her mouth, she turned and stumbled to the bathroom to vomit up the contents of her stomach.




<center>***</center>



“How many more of those are you going to drink?”

Max looked away from the milkshake he was aimlessly stirring and glanced at Michael, who was sprawled in the seat across the booth. He met his friend’s questioning expression with a cool one of his own. He was still feeling slightly upset at Michael and Isabel over their treatment of the humans after the healing, and didn’t feel particularly inclined towards either of them at the moment. “I’m waiting for Liz to take a break. I need to talk to her.”

He waited for Michael to demand to know why and what he needed to talk with her about, but the other boy simply glanced over and raised a brow. “She doesn’t look too good,” he stated bluntly.

Max’s gaze returned in time to see Liz nearly drop a platter of drinks as she approached a nearby table. Shadows lingered beneath her eyes and her typically glowing skin was gaunt and pallid against the bright turquoise of her uniform. He tried not to feel worried, but couldn’t keep from wincing as she backed into a customer on his way to the restroom. One of the glasses tipped over and went crashing to the ground, sending its contents down the front of the patron’s shirt as he jumped back to try to avoid it.

“What the hell?” he yelled, shocked by the icy coldness seeping through his shirt as he pulled it away from his chest.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” Liz gasped, a hint of color lighting her pale features as she looks around for a place to put the tray down. “Sir… I’m so sorry…”

The man opened his mouth to reply, then frowned. “Hey… are you all right? You look like you’re about to faint.” The words weren’t out of his mouth before she stumbled into his arms, the remainder of the drinks shattering upon impact.

“Liz!” Max was out of his seat and at her side in record time, taking her from the shocked customer’s arms as people began speaking in loud whispers around them. “Liz,” he whispered worriedly, running the back of his hand across her cheek and swallowing at the clammy feel. “Liz, wake up.”

A sudden shouting erupted behind them, and Jeff Parker appeared with a tight expression. “What happened?” he demanded harshly, staring at Max as he stood and held Liz’s limp body in his arms. “Max? Max Evans, right?”

“Mr. Parker… I think she’s sick,” Max mumbled inanely, a strange thickness filling his chest as he glanced down to see her chest rising and falling erractically. “She just… fainted.”

“Oh my God,” Maria cried out, entering from the back room and seeing Liz’s still form. “What’s wrong with her?”

“Liz?” Mr. Parker murmured, reaching down to brush his daughter’s hair away from where it had fallen across her lip. “Honey, open your eyes.”

Slowly, her lids began to move. Max held his breath as first one eye opened, followed by a slow blinking. She let out a whoosh of breath and in a cracked voice asked, “Daddy?”

“Baby, why didn’t you tell me you weren’t well enough to work,” Mr. Parker sighed, embracing her as Max moved away, mixing into the background as Maria crouched down beside her. He felt more than heard Michael come up behind him.

“Did you see that?” he murmured in a low tone filled with pain. “She just… collapsed.”

“She fainted, Maxwell,” Michael corrected, although he couldn’t hide the apprehension from his gruff tone. “She looks sick… maybe she just got overheated or overworked.”

Max turned haunted eyes on him and licked his lips before replying. “No… when I touched her I…” he glanced back at the scene and swallowed before taking a step forward. At the same moment, Liz glanced up and met his gaze. Something sparked in the air, only felt by the two of them as they both inhaled sharply and moved further away from each other.

“Maxwell?”

He started at the sound of Michael’s impatient voice and turned to see his friend regarding him through unreadable eyes. “I felt… I don’t know what it was,” he admitted in a rough whisper. “But it hated me, Michael. I could feel it’s hatred.”

“It?” Michael raised a brow, disconcerted by the fear in his friend’s voice. “How can there be an it when you just touched Liz?”

Max opened his mouth to respond, then shook his head. “I don’t know,” he admitted, blinking rapidly to prevent the stinging behind his lids. The emotions rocking through him were threatening to buckle his knees, and he needed to get out of there before he did something incredibly stupid. Like grab Liz and demand to know what the hell was going on. What the hell he had seen when he connected with her.

“Let’s leave,” he announced dully, stepping backwards as Maria hugged Liz and began speaking rapidly as Liz stared back with glazed eyes.

“I thought you needed to talk to…” Michael trailed off as Max simply turned around and walked away. “Maxwell!” He followed the other boy out to the dusty Jeep, swinging his legs inside. “Where’s the fire?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Max answered in a sharp tone, backing out of the parking slot. “Where can I drop you off?”

Michael tried not to be hurt by the abrupt dismissal and simply shrugged, leaning against the door as he stared at the passing scenery. “At Hank’s I guess. That’s where I live, right?”

The edge in his tone resonated through Max’s mood and he swallowed in shame. “Michael, I didn’t mean…”

“Hey, you don’t want to talk about it, fine,” Michael snapped. “Just take me to the trailer park.”

Max sighed and rubbed the bride of his nose wearily. “Okay, Michael… subtlety isn’t your strong suit. I get the point and I’m sorry,” he said softly.

Michael didn’t answer his apology, and Max didn’t expect him to. They rode the rest of the way to Murray Lane in silence.

Thanks for all the feedback, guys! I know this might be confusing... and I can't promise anything but more confusion to come, lol. But pay close attention, and you might catch onto somethings that will help later on when it gets really bad. Well now, that might not have helped, lol!

hugs, Linds



<center>Chapter Three</center>



“Can we… talk?”

Liz glanced up from where her pen feverishly stroked along the pages of her journal, surprised to find herself staring into uncertain golden eyes. She watched Max vault over the ledge and land on the balcony, sticking his hands in his pockets as he regarded her quietly.

She wondered that she hadn’t felt him coming. There had been a time when she would have known he was near… when everything inside of her would have lit up and sent her pulse leaping. Now… there was nothing, and it terrified her.

Without looking, she shut the journal and slid it beneath the chaise she rested upon. Nibbling her lip, she nodded and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear in a compulsive gesture of nerves. “Of course,” she mumured, glancing up to meet his gaze. “What’s wrong, Max?”

He blinked those impossibly long lashes, his eyes heavy and sad as his mouth opened then shut several times. Finally he heaved a ragged sigh and sat on the ledge, careful to keep a few feet between them as he murmured, “I was hoping you could tell me.”

The despair in his tone confused her, even as foggy memories clouded her mind. “Are we fighting?” she asked, honestly perplexed by his wary expression. “Max… am I missing something?”

He stared at her, jaw falling open as his eyes narrowed. “Liz… don’t you remember anything? What happened yesterday?”

“Yesterday?” she frowned, then understanding dawned. “I’m fine,” she answered, meaning to sound reassuring but instead, her voice came out suspicious and defensive. “I felt a little light-headed, and then I was embarrassed about dropping the glasses and—”

“You passed out in my arms, Liz,” Max interrupted gruffly. “What’s going on with you? You’ve been different ever since the healing. You… you barely look at me anymore.” The last words were nothing more than a whisper. “You act scared to death of me, and I don’t know what I’ve done wrong. What have I done wrong, Liz, tell me.”

She frowned, pressing a hand to her head as a sharp pain swept through her at his thick tone. She squeezed her lids shut, images flashing through her mind. “I… I don’t know what you mean,” she managed, shifting away from his burning gaze.

“No?” he answered softly. “You haven’t touched me willingly in days, Liz. And whenever I’ve touched you, I feel…”

“What?” she whispered as his expression fell and he looked away. “What do you feel?”

Instead of answering the question, he turned away and looked over the edge of the balcony. “Is it because of what I am?” he asked brokenly. He took a deep breath, voice cracking. “Has something changed… and you’re disgusted by me?”

“Max,” her lips trembled as his shoulders stiffened in agony. “No, Max, it isn’t like that.”

He spun around so quickly she barely had time to react before he was in front of her, tears filling those tiger eyes she loved and spiking his lashes. “Then what is it?” he demanded harshly, his hands squeezing her shoulders as he pulled her against him. She gasped at the sudden contact, and his eyes flashed in understanding. Releasing her, he let out a shaky breath and backed away. “It’s true… you do feel disgusted by me.”

“No,” she whispered, feeling the same dizziness consume her as the memory of mocking golden eyes loomed within her mind. “You’re Max!” she cried out, surprising him by the confusion in her tone. “You’d never hurt me!”

“Of course I wouldn’t,” he whispered, swallowing against injury as she stared at him with wide, glazed eyes. “Baby… tell me what’s wrong. How can I help you?”

He lifted a hand and she shook her head quickly, falling back. “No, no… powers,” she pleaded.

“I just want to…” His breath caught on a sob. “I just want to connect to you,” he begged, feeling as though his heart had been cut in two at the strength of distance between them. “Maybe that could help… I could see what’s wrong with you and—”

“Nothing’s wrong with me,” she snapped suddenly, glaring at him through narrowed eyes. “Why do you automatically assume there’s something wrong with me? Just because I don’t want you to put your hands all over me? When did I become your property, Max?”

“Liz…” he trailed off in shock.

“It’s always your way, isn’t it, Max?” she continued, firing up as her eyes began to glow in the moonlight. “You decide we need to stay away from each other, and you decide when we should get together. I didn’t want to step in the circle, Max! I did it for you!”

He stayed silent, watching in shock as a low sound erupted from her throat, reminding him of a dog being attacked. His heart beat a thick cadence in his chest as tension practically sparked between them.

“I’m sick of it all,” she drawled, in a voice so unlike anything he’d ever heard come out of her mouth, that he blinked in momentary astonishment. "I’m sick of all of you, thinking I owe something to you, just because you were stupid enough to put yourself in the spotlight by saving me.”

He struggled for a calm he didn’t feel as anger and pain surged inside of him. “You don’t know what you’re saying,” he said quietly. “What’s gotten into you?”

A slow smile crept along her lips, and when she spoke it sent a shiver down his spine. “You don’t want to know.”

They stared at each other for a moment longer, until he became so uneasy he turned to leave. “We’re having a group meeting tomorrow,” he managed thickly, slinging one leg over the side of the ladder that led down to the street below. “At our place since the parents won’t be home. It’s important for you to be there, Liz.”

“I don’t make promises,” she responded lazily. “See you later, Max.”

He stared at her for a long moment, and something seemed to snap inside of her at the heartbroken expression in his eyes. But just as she opened her mouth to speak, he was gone.


<center>***</center>


“Ten more minutes,” Max murmured, ignoring the curious and sympathetic gazes thrown his way as he stared out of his bedroom window. “She’ll be here.”

“Whatever you say,” Michael mumbled, wincing as he received an elbow in the ribs for the effort. “Damn it, Maria…”

“Shut up, Spaceboy,” she muttered between her teeth, glaring at him as he glared right back, rubbing his stomach.

“Are you sure you told her it was here?” Isabel asked, careful not to raise Max’s temper, as it was obvious to all that he was under terrible stress. She hated to see the dark circles under her brother’s eyes, proof of the sleepless nights that had plagued him recently.

Ever since Michael had run off to the reservation, things had gone from bad to worse. The healing hadn’t brought them all together, it had done just the opposite. It had left the humans feeling defensive and the aliens feeling the need to keep away. It had taken them back to square one.

What none of them had realized, or maybe they hadn’t wanted to… was how much they’d come to rely on the humans for support and understanding, and Liz in particular. Her logical reasoning and quiet sensitivity had ingrained itself into the backbone of the group, and now the glue was starting to crumble. If they couldn’t find what had happened to her… well, they all refused to ponder the implications.

“Yes, I’m sure she knew it was here,” Max finally answered, a pained expression on his face. “She never promised to come, but…”

“She’s Liz,” Maria finished what everyone else was inwardly thinking. “She wouldn’t let us down. She knows it’s important, and hell if Michael can drag his raggedy ass here…”

“Very funny,” Michael grumbled. “Maxwell, just what did she say when you saw her last night?”

A flash of agony crossed Max’s face before it was carefully wiped clean. “I didn’t… really get a chance to talk to her,” he hedged, not wanting to admit that he’d felt like he hadn’t spoken to Liz at all. He still couldn’t help but replay the nasty tone that had spilled from her lips, the way her eyes had bored into his own until he’d felt the throbbing all the way to the back of his skull.

“But you told her to come,” Alex prodded. At Max’s absent nod, he sighed. “Then she’ll be here. Liz isn’t the type to forget something that important.”

“Liz isn’t exactly acting like her usual perfect self,” Michael pointed out dryly, moving away before Maria could hit him again. As everyone glared, he puffed out his chest. “Let’s not bullshit, the reason for this meeting is because we’re all concerned about what’s going on with her, and we wanted to try to stage an intermission.”

“That’s intervention, idiot,” Maria snapped. “And there’s no need for that. I’ve already spoken with Liz, and she’s tired. That’s all. There’s no reason for everyone to get so worked up over it, I mean, we’re all tired, thanks to Spaceboy’s trip into the land of weird.”

“Maria, I swear to God—” He never got to finish his statement, because at that moment Max’s back stiffened and he turned to stare at them all. “What is it, Maxwell?”

“I’ve got to find her,” he stated bluntly, his eyes unfocused as he swayed. Gripping the windowpane, he hissed and raised his hand to his eyes. “I need to find her, now!”

“Max!” Isabel cried sharply. “What’s wrong? What is it?”

“Liz!” he shouted, scrambling into motion and nearly knocking Alex over on his way to the door.

“Whoa!” Michael caught him around the waist and received a clip to the eye. “Damn it, Max! What the fuck are you doing?”

“Get out of my way,” he murmured darkly. “She needs me.”

“Oh my God, what’s happening?” Maria whispered, staring in sick fascination as two slits appeared in Max’s wrist, blood welling from the wounds and dripping onto the carpet.

“Max!” Isabel shrieked, going pale as Michael stared in horror at the hand he held raised. “Michael, let him go!”

“I need to find her,” Max sobbed, falling to his knees as they all watched in silence. “Help me!”

“He’s losing a lot of blood,” Alex snapped out of his terrified daze and ripped a piece of clothing away from the pile of laundry on the chair next to the window. He quickly bent and pressed it against the seeping wounds.

“Can’t he heal himself?” Maria demanded. “What’s happening? Michael?”

“Maxwell, look at me,” Michael demanded in a hard tone, fighting to breathe around the constriction of fear in his chest. With a rough sound he reached out and dragged his friend’s chin towards him, their eyes locking. “Look at me, damn it! You have to heal yourself, do you hear me? I can’t… I can’t do it.”

Max’s fuzzy gaze finally sharpened, and he let out a sharp hiss as he stared down at his wrists. The wounds immediately began to close, and within seconds, the only evidence they had been there at all was the sheen of blood trickling down his muscled forearm.

“What the hell?” Alex mumbled. “Did you guys see that?”

“I saw it,” Michael answered grimly. “Max, what just happened?”

“Liz,” was all he said. “I need to go to her.”

“I think you should stay here, Max,” Isabel said softly, wrapping her arms around herself as she trembled with latent fear.

“I’m fine,” Max repeated stonily. “I just need to find her.”

“I’ll go,” Michael answered gruffly. “You need to lie down. For God’s sake, Maxwell! You nearly bled to death on the fucking bedroom floor!”

“This is seriously creeping me out,” Maria stated, shaking her head as she backed up. “That was like, some kind of weird Stigmata stuff.”

“Everyone just calm the fuck down!” Michael shouted irritably. “I’m going to find Liz. If she tries to pull any of her bi-polar crap on me, I’ll knock her out and drag her here that way.”

Everyone stared at him and he rolled his eyes. “With my powers,” he explained, and if anything, they all looked even more frightened. “Okay, okay, I’ll just use something to tie her up,” he snapped. “Don’t anybody fucking move.”

With that, he turned and jumped out of the window. He started running across down the street, and didn’t bother to stop until he was breathing heavily and standing in front of the Crashdown Café two blocks later.

With a grim expression, he moved around the back of the building until he caught sight of the ladder propped against the side. Without thinking twice, he ambled up and vaulted over the ledge, frowning as he caught sight of the closed windows and drawn curtains.

Walking past the chaise lounge where melted candles perched, he headed straight for the window. At the sight of the lock in place, he glanced around out of habit, then pressed his hand against the latch. A moment later, the window fell open.

He glanced inside the dimly lit room, his frown deepening at the still shadows. Part of him realized how strange it felt to be walking around Liz Parker’s bedroom with no one there, but another part of him peaked with curiosity.

A faint sound caught his attention in the darkest corner of the room, and he spun around just as she stepped out of the shadows. His eyes widened in surprise, then dropped as she raised a hand. “Liz…?” he called out in shock.

“You shouldn’t be here,” she answered coldly, and the sight of blood caused his stomach to tighten. “Get out.”

“No, I…”

He never even saw it coming as he fell to the ground in a lifeless thud, the sound of evil cackling echoing in his mind.

Thanks for the tremendous feedback! I should probably warn you all...this fic is going to be pretty dark and angsty. Like that isn't already obvious, lol. But I still insure a dreamy ending, okay? I just wanted to explore some possibilites that never came to light. So I hope you'll all trust me...and stay with me during this crazy journey!

hugs, Linds


<center>Chapter Four</center>


“He’s been gone too long,” Maria stated, tapping her foot anxiously as they all sat there in silence. Her green eyes flicked from person to person, growing wider. “It’s been way beyond too long.”

“She’s right,” Max answered wearily, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He still felt slightly unsteady from the bizarre scene that had transpired earlier, and nausea churned in his stomach. “Something’s wrong.”

“We don’t know that,” Alex reasoned, trying to remain logical even as his face paled. “Maybe they’re on their way.”

“It’s been nearly an hour,” Isabel pointed out worriedly. She chewed her lower lip as she turned to stare out of the window. “Max, you don’t think Michael would have…”

“What?” Maria questioned when she trailed off. “You don’t think he would have done what?”

Max met his sister’s gaze. “No, he wouldn’t have taken off, Iz. He’s been…different since the healing. More level-headed, anyway. Something’s wrong.”

“Then why are we standing here talking about it?” Maria screeched. “Why aren’t we on our way to Liz’s? Oh my God…”

“Maria, chill out,” Isabel snapped, feeling edgy as she turned to Max. “What should we do? Max?”

Help me! Max!

He jerked as the frightened voice skittered through his mind. The others watched in fascination as he jumped up and looked around as if in a daze. His eyes were blurry and unfocused as he turned to stare at them. “Do you…hear that?”

“Hear what?” Alex asked warily. “Are you all right?”

“Max, maybe you should lie back down—” Isabel began, but jumped back as he spun around and started for the window. “Max! Where are you going?”

“Something’s wrong,” he repeated, ignoring the tearing sound as the sleeve of his shirt caught on the bush outside of his window. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he was running for the Jeep. He vaguely heard the others following behind, and didn’t stop to check as he started the ignition.

“Max!” Maria called out as she yanked open the passenger door, Alex and Isabel already climbing into the backseat. “Wait!”

“No time,” he mumbled, his attention sharp and focused as he began pulling out of the driveway. During the five minute drive to Liz’s the other’s exchanged concerned glances as Max sped through stop signs, ignored passing pedestrians, and muttered wildly beneath his breath.

He pulled into an alley behind the CrashDown, and barely managed to park the Jeep before he took off. The others ran after him, calling his name as he ascended the ladder with a grim expression.

The sun had already set in the sky, casting pale shadows around them as they all crowded onto the balcony outside Liz’s room. Max glanced down at the scattered candles, severl turned over on their sides as if knocked over during a scuffle.

He reached down and picked one up, shaking as he received a flash of a body being dragged along the ground, an arm trailing along limply. With a gasp, he dropped the candle in time to hear Maria announce, “Liz’s parents left for a restaurant convention. That’s why the café’s closed.”

“Doesn’t look like anyone’s home,” Alex said nervously. “And the window’s locked.”

Isabel suddenly shrieked and they all turned to see her staring at the ground, brown eyes wide and filled with horror. “Oh my God, Max!” she whispered, falling back against the wall as she trembled.

He quickly made his way over and looked down at what had caused his sister to have such a reaction. At the sight of the pool of blood, his throat closed up and he had to fight to breathe as he glimpsed a glint of silver within the macabre scene. Bending, he picked up the ring and stared at it in his palm, watching as the moonlight turned the blood black. “Michael,” he whispered, closing his hand over the ring as Maria started hyperventilating.

“Oh my God, oh my God,” she whispered, shaking her head. “No. No! Where are they?”

“What is it?” Alex craned his neck to see, then his eyes flooded with terrified understanding. “Is that the ring Guerin’s always wearing?”

“I think it’s safe to say they aren’t here,” Max managed thickly. “I think I need to…sit down.” As he stumbled against the pain building inside him, he crashed into the wall next to the window, knocking loose one of the bricks as it fell to the ground with a thud.

“What did you do?” Isabel wondered, feeling numb as she blinked against stinging tears. “What’s in there, Max?”

“It’s Liz’s journal,” Maria answered, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand as she approached. “She hid it here after all that mess with Topolsky. She…she told me in case anything ever happened…” She broke off with a choked sob as Alex moved to take her into his arms.

Max came to his knees, staring into the small hiding place. As he reached a hesitant hand inside, his fingers brushed against soft leather. He drew the small book out and stared at it. He couldn’t help but feel as if he were doing wrong by attempting to read such a private document.

“Read it, Max,” Maria whispered. “Maybe…maybe it will tell us something.”

Ignoring his conscience, he slowly opened the journal. Liz’s delicate handwriting flowed across the page, her voice echoing in his mind as he read.

September 23rd. Journal entry one. I'm Liz Parker and five days ago I died. After that, things got really weird…

September 27. I'm Liz Parker and I will never look at the stars in the sky the same way again. I'll never look at anything the same way again…

As he flipped through the pages, he couldn’t keep the tears from filling his eyes as he read the words of Liz’s soul bared to him. His fingers drifted across the ink, his breath ragged as he felt every one of her emotions as if he were going through them himself. And he had.

He read everything she felt for him, everything he’d always longed to know…but had always been afraid to find out. When he’d teased her in the storage room at the museum, he’d only been half-kidding. A part of him had been terrified that she might have refused to let him read it because just maybe, a part of her still thought of him in fright.

“Well?” Alex asked. “What’s in there?”

“It’s just…” he trailed off when he turned the next page. His first thought was that Liz must have been in a hurry, judging by the way her writing dipped and looped. Then he began to read the words, and everything inside of him turned to ice.

Voices in my head…telling me to hurt them. Make them bleed. Where is Max? Why isn’t he here? What can I do…I can’t stop…MAKE THEM SUFFER! RIP THEM APART!

“Max?”

He turned the page, and the next one was filled with the same incoherent rambling. Breathing heavily, he began flipping the pages, staring in horror at the same words over and over…written on front and back.

Hurt them.

He gazed at the arbitrary drawings etched into the paper, the lines deeply sketched and raw with anger. Images of pain and death…of him and the others. The urge to vomit rose within him, he could feel the sinister emotions practically pouring forth as the pen had scorched across the page. As he came to the final entry, he made a low sound and dropped the book so that it fell into the rusty pool below. One sentence.

One down, two to go.



<center>***</center>



With a groan, Michael blinked as he slowly awoke from the depths of oblivion. The vision before him was blurry, and he struggled to comprehend his surroundings as he turned his head slightly to the left. A sharp pain coursed throughout his skull and he hissed lightly in reaction.

As he brought a hand up to his temple, he suddenly realized the reason his everything was moving so quickly. He was lying in the backseat of an unknown vehicle, staring up at the window where scenery drifted by. A sense of panic filled him as he sat up bolt-right, disregarding the swift pain it caused.

As he stared at his driver, everything came back to him in a moment of clarity. His heart began to beat quickly, anger warring with fear of the unknown as he called out, “Liz?”

She didn’t respond, simply continued staring out the windshield as her fingers gripped the steering wheel. Her reflection in the mirror showed glazed eyes and blood dripping down the right side of her face, pouring from an untended cut in her cheek. A faint bruise marred the flesh beneath her eye.

He prepared to speak again, when she suddenly looked up and met his gaze in the mirror. His breath left him at the complete terror there. Her lips began moving, her soft voice piercing the quiet.

“I can’t. He’s my friend. No…” her voice hitched and she began to shake her head. “Stop it! No!”

He stayed silent as she spoke again, her tone turning hard. “Do it. Dispose of him immediately. He’s worth nothing to you…it’s him you want.” Her face twisted, becoming cruel in the faint glow of the car.

He decided to take a chance, his voice gruff. “Liz. What’s wrong?”

“Shh… they’ll hear you!” she whispered, sounding young and frightened as her expression melted back into the Liz he knew and trusted.

“Who?” he asked, shifting slowly so as not to set her off. He didn’t know what the hell was going on, and until he did…he wasn’t going to risk upsetting her. When she didn’t answer, he asked softly, “Am I speaking with Liz right now?”

She began a low chant he couldn’t understand…but he understood when her palms began glowing on the wheel, smoke rising from the burning rubber. Her eyes turned black as coal and swirled as he started screaming.

“Liz! Liz, snap out of it!” A faint tremor sounded beneath the floor of the car, and he watched in fascination as it undulated beneath his feet. “What the hell…” He trailed off when the car screeched to a halt.

She threw open the driver’s side door and moved to open his. He refused to shrink back from the hatred stemming across her features, struggled to remind himself that he could more than protect himself.

“Get out,” she snarled, reaching in and grabbing his arm in a rough grip. He let out a surprised cry when she yanked him forward, dislocating his shoulder as she dragged him to the ground.

“Fuck!”

Ignoring his shout of pain, she kneeled above him and ripped open his shirt, staring at his chest in twisted delight. He panted as she raised a hand and set it over the place where his heart thudded. He jerked, trying to unseat her but she simply laughed, a cold sound that froze him as her palm began burning. “Liz, no!”

“You fucking bastard,” she hissed. “You think you can defeat me? You’re nothing.”

“Don’t do this,” he answered, gazing up into her wild eyes and desperately hoping he could reach whatever part of Liz Parker might still be left. “Liz…it’s me, Michael.”

She answered him with a slap across the cheek, then shrieked in pain as she fell back, convulsing on the ground and tearing at her hair. He scrambled away, supporting his injured shoulder as he watched the gruesome scene before him.

“No!” she screeched, kicking outwards as her skin seemed to ripple. “Leave me alone…please!” She sobbed, thrashing about as though fighting an unseen ghost. Her next cry chilled him, the tortured agony piercing through his soul. “Help me! Max!”

He moved closer, attempting to hold her down before she hurt herself, when she arched her neck on a silent scream, then went still. “Liz!” he limped forward, falling into the dusty ground beside her as his eyes roamed across her body. Her eyes were wide open, her chest rising and falling shallowly. “Liz…oh fuck…”

“Help me,” she croaked, her lips dry and cracked as her gaze shimmered. “Michael…?”

“Oh God.” He cursed, looking around feverishly as her eyes rolled back into her head. “Liz! No, look at me…I need you to look at me. Damn it!” He grit his teeth and reached up, pain splintering behind his eyes as he relocated his shoulder.

Ignoring the intense throbbing, he laid his head against her chest as he checked the beating of her heart. His hand found her pulse, and he let out a heated curse at the faint pulse. When he raised his head, she was staring at the sky and breathing rapidly.

“It hurts,” she whispered. “It hurts…inside. Max…”

“Hurts where?” he demanded harshly. “Inside? Where, Liz. Tell me!”

Her lips moved, but no words came out as he shoved her shirt up with a grunt. He inhaled sharply and stared in shock at the silver handprint, shimmering in the spot where Max had healed a gunshot wound months earlier.

<center>Chapter 5</center>



Max stared at his sister, his entire body taut with tension as her lids fluttered. He resisted the urge to shake her, to demand to know what she’d seen the moment she’d touched Michael’s picture. But he was also afraid that if he did, he’d break Isabel’s concentration and then they’d never discover Michael and Liz’s whereabouts.

He swallowed past a thick lump in his throat, turning to stare out the window as his heart pounded in his chest. He knew Michael was alive…he knew it. Liz couldn’t…she could never…

Isabel fell forward with a gasp, her eyes flying open as Maria and Alex crowded around her. Her teeth chattered, sweat beading across her forehead as Max spun around to stare at her with wide eyes.

“What’s going on?” Maria demanded in a sharp voice. “What did you see? Isabel?”

“Did you get in?” Alex added worriedly, laying a consoling hand on Maria’s shoulder. Both humans were beside themselves with worry over their best friend, and also the alien whom they’d both come to know in their own very different ways.

“Max,” Isabel managed, blinking furiously as the dreamy haze left her brown eyes. “I got in. It…took me awhile, but I got in.”

“What did you see?” Max asked softly, part of him dreading the news. Since reading Liz’s journal, his mind was spinning out of control with possibilites, and none of them were pleasant.

Something had happened to her. This wasn’t the Liz he knew…the Liz he loved and cherished. She hadn’t been herself the past few days. Come to think of it, she hadn’t been herself since that awful night in the cave when Michael had been healed.

Something important danced along the edges of his mind, something crucial to the situation, but before he could grasp it and hold on, it slipped away. He tuned back in time to hear Isabel say, “They’re both alive, Max. But…Michael was…” she swallowed before looking up to meet her brother’s gaze with disturbed eyes. “He was terrified, Max,” she added softly. “He was terrified.”

Terrified…of what? He wondered silently as they all took in Isabel’s words. Through the lump in his throat, he asked the question that was plaguing his very soul. “And Liz?”

Isabel’s gaze grew shuttered and she looked away. “I don’t know, Max. I don’t know.”

“You couldn’t contact her?” he pressed fervantly, stepping forward and keeping his eyes trained on his sister’s face. “Isabel…you couldn’t get in?” He knew he sounded half-crazy, but damn it…he felt half-crazy. Even now, he could hear the echo of her screams in his mind. Screams that no one else had heard.

Help me, Max!

“Something was keeping me out,” Isabel tried to explain. “It was like…trying to walk through quicksand. The harder I pushed, the more she resisted.” Repressing an involuntary shudder, she added softly, “It wasn’t right, Max. It wasn’t…”

“Liz,” he finished quietly, knowing exactly what his sister meant. Because he’d felt the same thing when he’d touched her. When he’d read her journal. When he’d looked into her eyes to see shock and hatred. “It’s not Liz. Christ…” He walked away and rubbed his eyes helplessly.

“There’s more,” Isabel added a few minutes later when no one spoke. “I know where they are.”

“What? Why didn’t you say so?” Maria hissed as Alex immediately perked up. Max turned as well, silently questioning his sister as she held his gaze.

“They’re in Marathon, Max. She took him to Marathon.”


<center>***</center>


Michael huddled in the backseat of the car, careful not to jar his injured arm as he silently watched Liz continue to stare into the distance. The blank expression on her face sent chills down his spine.

When she turned suddenly and caught him watching her, he held his breath as she studied him dispassionately. After her earlier behavior, he wasn’t quite sure what to expect whenever she seemed to come out of her catatonic state. He wasn’t all that sure he wanted to find out, either.

Her voice startled him, quiet and reflective. “You’re going to die, you know.” As if she were talking about nothing more interesting than the weather, she added, “You’re all going to die.”

Michael licked his lips, ignoring the jab of fear that pierced through him. This was definitely not Liz here with him…at least not at the moment. “How do you know?” he asked with a shade of a sneer. Taking a chance he added, “You could have killed me earlier, but you didn’t. Why not?”

Letting out a long-suffering sigh, she tossed her long hair over one shoulder before sifting her hands through the desert floor. “It wasn’t the right time,” she murmured silkily, her lips curving into a dark smile before she glanced up at him from beneath her lashes. “I got carried away…let myself succumb to emotion. Such a human thing to do.”

Her tone bespoke of disgust, but not the blatant hatred she seemed to direct towards him. Towards the three of them, he ammended upon rememberance of her words.

You’re all going to die.

“You aren’t human, Liz?” he asked softly, deliberately using her name in the hopes of somehow breaking through to his friend. When she didn’t respond, he tried a different tactic. “What have we ever done to you? Huh?”

Still no response.

Feeling impatient and hot from the desert sun, he snapped, “Listen, whoever the hell you are. Leave Liz the fuck out of this. Max will—”

The instant he spoke the other alien’s name she came to life, sparks lighting in her eyes. “Don’t speak that bastard’s name to me!” she hissed in a tone that felt like ragged glass across his flesh. Her breath came out in a hiss, her fingers curling into claws as Michael watched in fascinated horror.

“You didn’t like that,” he whispered softly, swallowing as she glared at him with barely repressed rage. “I wonder why that is.”

“I will gut him like the spineless imbecile he is,” she growled. “Speak his name again, and I will do the same to you. You test me?” The words, so filled with hate and anger, appeared drastically wrong spilling from lips that were so soft and a face so angelic.

Michael nodded slowly, biding his time as he fell silent again. He knew that even now Isabel was relaying the dreamwalking experience to Max and possibly the others. It was only a matter of time before they were found. He hoped…

Ironic that it had always been he who had left in pursuit of the unknown, and this time…he’d been taken. If he hadn’t been injured and terrified to the point of pissing himself, he might have laughed at the situation. Of course, it was hard to laugh at anything when someone wanted you dead.

Testing his arm, he let out a hiss when the sore joint stiffened in protest. He gave up, his head falling back against the headrest in frustrated anger. Why couldn’t he have been the one blessed with fucking healing powers?

His ears perked as Liz came around the other side of the car, stepping inside and starting the engine. He thought about asking where they were going, but he’d pressed his luck enough for one day. She had made it clear that she had no intention of doing away with him until she had the others. Max and Isabel. His chest clenched at the thought of the people most important to him being harmed in any way.

Maria’s face swam into view and he cursed silently as Liz gunned the engine and they sped off into the dying afternoon. Somehow he knew Maria DeLuca wouldn’t just sit back as her best friend disappeared under strange circumstances. His stomach roiled at the idea of her being in the middle of whatever the hell they’d managed to get themselves involved in this time.

“I’m sorry, Michael.”

He glanced up, meeting Liz’s bright gaze in the rearview mirror. His breath caught at the pain and fear in her brown eyes, and he immediately recognized her as…Liz. “Parker?” he demanded gruffly, cradling his arm as he struggled to sit up. “What the hell…?”

“I can’t,” she cut him off shakily. “I can’t…explain. I don’t know who I am anymore, Michael. Please understand…please tell him…warn him…” She stiffened as though having revealed too much already. When she spoke again, her voice had grown harder. “Keep him away from me!”

That was going to be hard to do, seeing as how he desperately needed Max and Isabel’s help at the moment. Even with his so-called powers he was no match for the power brimming inside of Liz at the moment. Until he knew what the fuck was going on, he wasn’t making any promises.


<center>***</center>


“Are you ready?” Isabel asked as she found Max silently staring at Liz’s open journal, splayed out across his bed. “Max…don’t look at any of that,” she said shakily. “You know it’s not—”

She trailed off when he stonily held it up to show her the page he was studying. She dropped the coat in her hand, staring at the incredible likeness portrayed on the creamy paper. Her eyes flicked to Max’s in wary confusion. “What does he have to do with this?”

“That’s what I want to find out,” Max answered gruffly, snapping the book shut and standing up to shove it in the small bag of essentials he had packed. “This entry was made two hours before she and Michael disappeared. Why?”

“I take it we’re stopping at the reservation,” Isabel murmured knowingly, studying the determined expression on her brother’s face. “Maria and Alex are meeting us at the Crash. I called Mom and Dad…they won’t expect us until after the weekend. That gives us two days to catch up with them.”

Feeling a pang of guilt at the lies they were forced to tell, Max asked softly, “What did you tell them?”

Her lips curved into a bitter smile. “Camping.”

Snorting quietly, he hooked the bag over his shoulder and followed Isabel out of the room. When they arrived at the Crashdown Café fifteen minutes later, Maria and Alex were waiting fretfully on the curb.

The setting sun cast shadows along the quiet evening as the four teens headed out of town and towards the Mescalero reservation. The only sound was that of the engine purring as they all sat in silence, tumultuous thoughts racing through their minds.

As Max pulled up outside the reservation, he wasn’t surprised when River Dog appeared out of the shadows. A frown was settled on the old man’s face, his eyes cautious and wary.

“What are you doing here?” he rasped, taking in the passegers of the jeep. His thick brows lifted at the absence of Liz and Michael and he met Max’s direct gaze with a questioning one of his own.

“We’ve come for answers,” Max replied in a low tone.

“I have no more answers to give,” the older man protested. “I told you, you should not be here.” He looked over his shoulder as an owl hooted in the distance. “You should not be here…”

Max opened the door, stepping out of the jeep. He turned and reached down into the floorboards and picked up the journal. He caught River Dog’s probing gaze as he held the book open to the page he’d bookmarked, and watched the disbelief, then shock contort the older man’s face as he saw what was revealed. “It all keeps coming back to you, doesn’t it?”


<center>***</center>


Hours later, or had it been only minutes? Michael wasn’t sure, but the sun had definitely gone down since the last time he’d opened his eyes. He blinked, trying to adjust to the darkness as his aching muscles protested at the slightest movement.

They were still driving towards God only knew where, and he stared at the passing scenery flashing past the window, if it could even be called scenery. Desert, desert, and more desert. Sometimes he hated living in a sand trap. At least he knew the general direction they were headed in. He’d taken this exact route when he’d “kidnapped” Maria a few weeks ago.

They were heading towards Marathon, Texas.

Sure enough, an unknown amount of time later they pulled to a stop in front of the familiar geodesic dome. Atherton’s house. His eyes narrowed, wondering just what was there that they hadn’t already found, why Liz would bring them back here. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask, when she unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out of the car. “Get out.”

When he didn’t immediately move, she turned to pierce him with a burning gaze and he hissed as his arm began to sting. “Shit!” he grunted, exploding into motion and fumbling for the door handle. He fell in a heap at her feet, still convulsing as waves of pain coursed through his body.

She made a sound of amusement, before bending down and hauling him up with unnatural strength. “You sorry sack of shit,” she spoke between her teeth. “Don’t make me drag you…”

He fought back an angry retort, biting his own tongue as the pain dimmed to a dull throbbing and he stumbled along after her towards the abandoned building. Once inside, he collapsed against a covered couch, breathing heavily as she began to pace the interior. “What now?” he bit off huskily, eyeing her caged movements.

Without meeting his gaze, a sinister smile curled her lips and sent his heart racing before she answered in a soft voice, “Now…we wait.”

Update here! But first...a quick author's note.

I'm pretty much done with this fic, there are only about ten parts left...give or take a few. My plan is to post a chapter a day (I hope) and post the final chapter on Halloween. I figured it would be appropriate, lol. Anyway, keep a close eye on this thread, because I might post more than one part per day, depending on how editing goes. Thanks for sticking around, and I hope you all enjoy!!

xoxo,

Lindsay


Song lyrics belong to Remy Zero


<center>Chapter 6</center>



“Hey, I can't get my head straight,
Of words we're twenty blocks too late.
Now the devil is in my face,
She seems to be looking down…”

Michael huddled against the wall, teeth chattering as he listened to Liz hum an eerie tune happily beneath her breath. Oblivious to the cold, she’d stripped her shirt away to reveal a tiny white tank top and was carving strange symbols into the walls with a knife Michael had seen her unstrap from her thigh.

He glanced around at the remains of Atherton’s home, the strange geometric shapes appearing leering and grotesque in the shadows. His entire body ached and his mouth was dry from thirst. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping him awake, and it flowed through him in a shaky tandem. The glint of steel caught his gaze again and he focused on Liz’s sharp movements. He desperately needed to try to get through to her again, to find out what the hell was going on. He knew the others were on their way, and he wanted to be prepared to do whatever he had to do to keep them safe.

“What are you singing?” he asked, hating the fact that his voice wavered from chill. He compensated by keeping an indifferent expression when she turned to stare at him through dark, glassy eyes that appeared empty and shuttered.

With a half smile, she continued in a sing-song voice, “Oh, you're hangin' so weird and strange, Oh, your darkest days, they're just beginning now…” She ended with a giggle and waved the knife through the air in a sharp arc. Twirling around, she continued to laugh, sending chills down his spine.

Michael squeezed his eyes shut, wishing not for the first time he had better control of his powers. Wishing he wasn’t so damn helpless. But he knew even if he could, he wouldn’t risk hurting Liz. Something was controlling her and he had to find out what. His gaze fell on a small pipe laying inches away from him. “What do you want with us?” He tried for a casual tone, discreetly sliding his fingers towards the weapon and hiding it behind him.

“I want you to suffer, of course,” she answered in the same amused tone. She took a fighting stance, slashing the knife viciously through the air in elegant patterns. “I want to see…you…dead!” She accented the last word with a thrust that had him shrinking against the wall. She bursted out laughing, tucking the knife in the back of her waistband before crouching down to study him. “Not so rebellious now, are you?” she mused, running a soft finger down his dirty cheek. “You know Guerin, you should have listened to your friends. You’re a wild-card, an outcast. You don’t belong here. Nobody needs you. I’m probably wasting my time, why would anyone come after you?”

He ignored the pangs that shot through him at her callous words, the tiny part of him that believed what she was saying was true. He simply stared into her unrelenting gaze. “Then why bother?” he ground out.

Her lids narrowed slightly and he caught a glimpse of some unreadable emotion that lit her gaze before she leaned closer and whispered into his ear, “You can't let your panic show…”

He grimaced when she licked the outer shell of his ear, nipping the lobe sharply before pulling away and smiling chillingly. He stared in disgust when she began humming again, turning away and returning to her strange carvings. His fingers closed around the end of the pipe. And he waited.


<center>***</center>


“We need to know everything,” Max stated hollowly, tracing the symbols carved into the cave wall as the torchlight flickered across the shadowed faces of his companions. He glanced up, meeting River Dog’s dark gaze. “We don’t understand what’s happening. A friend, she’s…” He broke off before his voice could catch, then continued calmly. “Something’s happening to her.”

“The brunette with the dark eyes,” River Dog murmured, and Max caught something that looked close to panic mirrored in the old man’s gaze. “Tell me everything.”

Isabel, recognizing how hard it was for Max to speak of the things that had occurred, began explaining the events since Michael’s healing. Max watched as River Dog’s expression grew tight and his gaze narrowed as the discourse continued. When she reached the part about Michael and Liz’s disappearance, the old man stepped forward.

“Where are they now?” he rasped.

Isabel began to answer, but Max held up a hand. “No. We’ve told you everything we know. Now we want some answers. You know something,” he stated quietly. “Don’t deny it, you’ve kept something from us. We need to know what.”

River Dog licked his lips, looking from each of them before falling back against the cavern wall and staring blankly ahead. “She couldn’t stop the flow,” he answered hoarsely, his voice thick with fear. “It has taken hold of her.”

“What has?” Maria squeaked. “Oh my God, what’s happening to Liz?”

“I told her to step back…I told her to step back,” River Dog repeated, his gaze growing glassy as a flush crawled up his weathered face. “Now it’s too late.”

“No,” Max said harshly. “It’s not too late. Tell me how to fix it, dammit!” He stepped forward, grabbing the man’s shoulders and shaking him as terror and energy pulsed through him. “Tell me!”

“It’s…it’s the balance?” Alex questioned nervously. “You said it can change you, your mind. Is that what happened to Liz?”

River Dog faced him blankly. “It can pull you in, you must be strong to resist. She wasn’t strong.”

“She’s the strongest person I’ve ever known,” Max denied fiercely. “And I’m not giving up. Tell us how to fight what’s in her! Tell me how to restore the balance!”

“You don’t understand,” River Dog said, falling back and crossing himself, of all the strange things to do. “She is the Balance.” He began moaning a bizarre chant, the words seeming to chill the air around them until they all shivered.

“Max?” Isabel whispered, touching her brother’s shoulder and staring at him with wide eyes. “Max, what do we do?”

“I cannot help you,” River Dog stuttered, feverishly rubbing at the leather braid that fell from his neck. “She is lost…”

Max stared in a mixture of shock and anger as the old man disappeared again, melting into the shadows and leaving them alone in the dim cave. He turned to stare at the place where he and the others had stood not so long ago to save Michael. He recalled Liz sipping from the bowl, her expression changing as she choked. Choked on water.

“We have to find them,” he whispered doggedly. “Forget River Dog, we have to go to Marathon.”

<center>***</center>


“You know what I hate about him the most?”

Michael glanced up, surprised that she’d spoken. They’d spent the last several hours in silence, only the scrape of her knife against the walls and the distant hoot of a desert owl breaking the monotony. He tried to sleep, God only knew he was exhuasted. But every time he closed his eyes he was assailed with images of Liz’s face as she’d screamed for his help. He had to try to stay awake, in case somehow he could get through to her again. Find out exactly who…or what was controlling her.

He met her hard gaze and didn’t have to ask who she was referring to. “Why do you hate him?” he questioned softly, feeling that the safest route to take was to play along until he could get a better advantage.

To his surprise, she dropped her gaze to the ground and laid her head to the wall as if suddenly overburdoned. “I hate him for his humanity.” Her lips pressed together and her gaze grew vivid and sharp. “I hate him for feeling…” She trailed off with a hiss, her eyes closing. Appearing to recollect herself, she opened her eyes and pinned him with a heated stare. A faint smirk lit her features before she murmured, “You don’t have that problem, do you?”

“I feel,” Michael muttered softly. Aloud he added, “Humanity is overrated.” He hoped she didn’t catch the sarcasm in his tone, but if she did she didn’t let on. Instead her lips curved further in a mocking grin as she stretched her legs.

“I think I’m beginning to like you,” she drawled, fingering the knife with her fingers. “It’s really too bad I’ll have to kill you.”

“Oh, spare me that particular cliché,” he spat before he could stop himself. He froze, staring at her carefully and awaiting some sort of reprimand. His heart thumped and he cursed silently at his inability to keep his damned mouth shut.

But she only laughed. “Poor, poor Michael Guerin,” she hummed. “So lost…so misunderstood.” Making a tsking sound she sat forward, eyes gleaming. “But I understand you, Michael. I know how much you hate them…deep down inside. You just want to go back, don’t you? Fuck hiding in plain sight. You want a one way ticket home.”

His jaw tightened as she continued speaking in a low, melodic voice as if she were lulling him into submission. He knew she was trying to use him against the others, perhaps to impart some sort of information that would prove helpful in her pyschotic battle.

“You hate him, too, don’t you?” she purred, creeping closer as he eyed her carefully. “I can feel your hatred…you want him gone almost as much as I do.” She reached out and placed a hand against his chest and he jumped at the contact. “You despise his human ways, his human needs…you don’t understand his need to make a home in this place.” She pulled back and delivered the final blow. “Perhaps you’d like to take care of him for me. Consider it your final gift before your destruction. A Last Supper sort of thing.” Her eyes twinkled mischieviously and his stomach rolled at her meaning. “Breakfast before execution?”

“No,” he managed hoarsely. “I won’t…I don’t want that.”

She studied him for a long moment, then stood up with a sigh. “So be it. I guess you’re right…besides, I was really, really looking forward to killing him myself.”

“Why are you doing this?” he moaned, beginning to sweat with frustration and fear as she started whistling. “I don’t understand.”

She paused, lips pursed as her neck turned. Her eyes met his and he gawked at the unholy gleam in their fathomless depths. When she spoke, it seemed as though it were hundreds of voices instead of just one. “You will…you will.”


<center>***</center>


Max’s lids fluttered as he reclined in the passenger seat of the jeep. Faint strains of music drifted through the night air as they rode on to Texas. He could hear whispered conversation between Maria and Alex in the back, but he couldn’t make out the words. He was so tired…it had hit him like a ton of bricks and he could no longer fight against the waves of fatigue threatening to bring him under.

Suddenly he was jolted awake, sitting up and scrambling to his knees as sweat drenched his skin. He stared into the darkness, reaching out a hand and finding nothing. He could hear his own heavy breathing, feel his heart pounding in his chest as he tried to understand what was happening.

“Max…”

He looked over at the whimper and everything inside of him froze when he saw her. “Oh God…Liz…” His voice broke and he crawled on his hands and knees across the vacillating ground, desperate to reach her. But with every foot he breached, she seemed to move farther away. “Liz…what’s happened to you.”

She stared at him through hollow eyes, her face pale and expressionless as her lips parted. “Max, you have to stay away…” She begged brokenly, even as she reached out a hand towards him. Her hair fell in tangles across her brown and down her shoulders. She was naked and huddled against herself as she stared at him. “Stay away.”

“No,” he moaned thickly. “I’m not leaving you…tell me what’s happened, baby. Oh God, look at you…” A sob nearly racked his body as she erupted into screams of blind terror, convulsing as though she were being electrocuted. “Liz!”

The only answer was her screaming…

He woke up with her name on his lips, and glanced down to see faint streaks of blood soaking through the bandages at his wrists.

Thanks, *twinkie*

Yeah...sorry about the delay, guys. We had a bit of trouble where I am and the power's been funky and not letting me post. But...I'm back, and with a new chapter for you all. I promise we'll still meet the Halloween deadline. And I'll be back soon with more...until then, enjoy...

xoxo, Linds


<center>Chapter 7</center>




“Is this really necessary?” Michael managed as he was dragged down a dark hallway that was littered with broken furniture and a thick layer of dust. “I told you I won’t do anything…I won’t try to stop you.”

He was desperate at this point. He’d lie his ass off if there were a chance that she’d leave him out in the open, somewhere where he could attempt to help his friends when they arrived. Sweaty fingers closed over the hilt of the pipe where it lay hidden in the folds of his clothing. He couldn’t risk attacking her now, not in this state. He needed Max, needed Max to heal him first. Damn himself for having no control.

“Shut up,” Liz ground out, pausing only to kick him in his bruised ribs before blowing out a breath that sent strands of her hair flying away from her face. She rolled her eyes in the dark, muttering in that same unrecognizable language as she took him by the feet again and pulled.

Michael bit down on his lip so hard he tasted blood. He didn’t have any idea what she planned to do with him, but it was obvious she wanted him out of the way before Max, Isabel and the others arrived. He didn’t think Liz would kill him…oh hell, who was he kidding?? Whoever this person was, she wasn’t Liz. And she had no love for the aliens. “Where are you taking me?” he asked again, braving her short temper. Hey, he’d always been a risk taker.

This time she merely smirked, releasing a sound that could have been taken for a chuckle, but seemed darker and much more evil than a laugh could ever be. Chills raced down his stiff spine as she continued dragging him. “Don’t worry, Michael,” her voice came out derisive and cruel. “I promise you’ll be here to see the death and destruction of your precious family, I just need you gone for the first act.”

He shivered at the sheer sadistic delight resonating from her tone. “You’re really enjoying this, aren’t you?” he whispered needlessly. “Why are you hiding behind a sixteen year old girl? Aren’t you strong enough on your own?”

Damn his mouth. He winced as the words left his lips but held his ground, as it was, when she went rigid and froze. His eyes widened when she turned her neck to stare into his eyes, slow and controlled as the rest of her body remained stock still. “Holy shit,” he whimpered, freaking whimpered. He couldn’t help himself when her eyes took on a faint glow, burning through his skull in the darkness.

As quickly as the temper had filled her body, it dissolved and left her once again smiling as Michael gasped below her in pain. “You just don’t know when to shut the hell up,” she said as politely as if they were carrying on a civil conversation and he wasn’t injured and broken in a heap on the floor at her feet. “Nasty little habit, you know. Is it really any wonder why no one has any patience with you, Michael? You don’t think before you speak, or act. Oh well, you’ll learn soon enough. Too bad it’ll be too late for you.”

He looked up as she threw open a door revealing a dark closet space. He twisted his lips when he realized her intent. “So you’re just gonna stuff me in the closet? That’s your evil plan?” Even as he spat the words out, he struggled against her as she hefted him up. He tried not to let it show, but the idea of being stuck in that tiny darkness sent a cold sweat dripping down his spine. Faint memories beat at his mind, threatened to arise as he grit his teeth and breathed heavily.

The last thing he remembered was a hard thump at the back of his head, pain exploding in his skull before everything went black…


<center>***</center>



“Max?”

Max looked up at his sister’s soft voice, his face drawn and pale with fatigue. As Isabel moved to sit beside him on the steps just outside the motel room they’d chosen to stay in for the night, he turned his gaze back out to the desert just beyond the highway.

They were out there somewhere, Liz and Michael. His throat felt tight as he remembered the images from his dream. The helplessnes in Liz’s voice as she’d pleaded with him to stay away. As if he could. As if he could ever just…stay away. Hadn’t that been his problem the entire time? He’d never been able to stay away…

And Michael. God, everytime he thought of his friend guilt and pain filled his chest. Guilt that he’d let Michael go that day to find Liz instead of him. Pain that whatever was happening to Michael right now, was because of him. He knew it, deep down inside. This was all because of him. He couldn’t forget the emotions he’d felt those times when he’d touched Liz. The hatred and rage. For him. And Liz’s desperate warnings, had been to him.

Max, you have to stay away! Stay away!

He shivered, wrapped his arms around his knees as he blinked back tears of frustration and terror. What the hell was he supposed to do? He was going into this situation with both hands tied behind his back. River Dog had refused to help, despite the fact that Max knew the old man knew more than he was saying. The stark fear etching his face before he’d turned and ran had proven that. So what had frightened him?

And what was this talk of Liz being the Balance? As if it was its own lifeform. And why Liz? Because she hadn’t been able to navigate the Balance when they’d healed Michael? More guilt for him. He knew the reason she’d stepped in and helped. She hadn’t wanted to disappoint him, she’d said as much. And she was right, those few moments when he’d thought she would back away from saving Michael he had been filled with a terrible disappointment.

Not for the reasons she assumed. He could never be disappointed in her. It was himself. What had happened to Michael had succeeded in doing what Michael and Isabel had tried desperately to accomplish ever since he’d saved Liz Parker on the cold CrashDown floor back in September. It had disillusioned him to the fantasy of ever truly being with Liz. It had forced him to face the gravity of the situation, that they were what he’d claimed that night on the cliffs so long ago.

That they were just…different.

Not that he’d ever stopped realizing it. He’d just tucked it away, overcome with radical hopes and a burning love for her that had clouded everything else. Logic. Reason. Maybe even sanity. So he’d prepared to step back, giving her an out before she eventually realized the truth…that it was simply too much to ask for them to be together. It could never work.

But she’d surprised him yet again, drinking from the bowl to prove herself to him and the others that she was there to stay, that she was loyal and determined. Everything he already knew she was. He hadn’t needed a demonstration, but she’d apparently felt the need to offer one. And now things had gone to hell.

He released a shaky sigh, rubbing a hand down his face as an owl hooted in the distance. He felt Isabel’s hand fall on his shoulder and he glanced her way to find her staring at him with large eyes and pale features.

“We’ll find them,” she murmured, although there was a slight hesitation in her voice. “We’ll find them, Max.”

“Yeah,” he managed thickly, pulling away from her touch. He felt her pain at his withdrawal, but he couldn’t explain at that moment how alone he truly felt. This was all his fault, he’d made so many mistakes…

Yet he didn’t regret the one that had started it all. He could never regret saving Liz. Even if it meant his own destruction. He only mourned for that of Isabel’s and Michael’s.

“Listen, you need to get some sleep,” Isabel tried again. Licking her dry lips, she pulled her jacket more firmly around her shoulders and fought to keep her voice from breaking. “This isn’t helping, Max. I know how upset you are, but just sitting here and-and staring…”

Max turned and stared at her for the first time since she’d appeared. “I can’t get her face out of my mind,” he said dully. “I see it over and over again, Iz. Her begging for help, anyone’s help but mine. She’s beaten, naked…she’s hurting and she doesn’t want me there…Christ!” His voice cracked as he jumped up, fists clenched at his side.

He hadn’t planned to speak of his horrible dream, but Isabel had known. She always knew when something was plaguing him. She hadn’t demanded an explanation, but he’d broken down and given her one anyway when he’d awakened to find her staring at him with troubled eyes.

Now he met his sister’s watery gaze again. “H-how can I help her when she won’t l-let me, Iz?” He heard the waver, struggled to keep control. “They’re out there, something’s h-hurting them and I…I can’t stop it.”

“They’re all right,” Isabel whispered feverishly, standing and cupping his face between her hands, forcing him to stare into her eyes. “They’re alive, Max. Right now…that’s all that matters. We’ll find them, we will.”

He dropped his head to her shoulder, shudders racking his body as they held onto each other. And prayed. For him, it was the first time in his life he’d ever looked to a higher power for help. But at that moment he would have sold his soul to promise safety to those he cared about.

“Hey…” Maria’s small voice broke into the moment and they turned to see her and Alex standing awkwardly at the door to the motel. Both were pale-faced and jittery, eyes filled with the same pain that haunted him. “Has something happened?” Maria’s tone was husky with tears. “Oh God…did you feel something, Max? Are they…”

She left the terrifying question hanging, pressing her hands against her lips as silent tears escaped from her eyes. Alex wrapped an arm around her, pressing her face into his chest as he stared at the two aliens. “Well?” he demanded hoarsely.

“We don’t know,” Max managed in a semi-normal tone of voice. Seeing the two humans’ pain had strangely given him the strength he needed. He was filled with a sense of protectiveness, for all of them. He wouldn’t let anything happen to any of them, not if he could help it. They were all tied together by a secret, there was hesitation and even mistrust still between them. But at that moment…they were united to help find their friends. And they would.

He turned, arms hanging and weight shifted on one foot as he studied them all. “We know nothing about what we’re up against,” he admitted, his heart thumping. “But we’ll face it. Together.”

Silence reigned for a long moment, before they all nodded one by one. Max turned to glance back out over the desert, and when he spoke his voice was hard and unyielding. “Let’s go.”

They packed up and moved out in record time and drove the last few hours to Texas in a sort of silent anticipation. Max could feel the nerves crawling in his belly, threatening the calm that had taken over him with every mile that pulled them closer to Marathon.

Alex sat beside him, tense and unblinking as he fiddled with a guitar pick, tapping it against his nails while staring out the windshield at the empty road ahead. Isabel and Maria rested in the back, but no one slept. They were all too wired. They all knew something awaited them…something horrible.

When Max pulled up the long, winding road that led to Atherton’s home, the air seemed to pulse around them in warning. The night grew darker, still. He ignored the anxiety gathering in his stomach and pulled to a stop twenty feet away from the dome-shaped building. Another car was parked haphazardly across from them, the passenger-side door flung open like a gaping mouth.

They all stared, but no one moved.

Finally Max released a breath, unsnapped his belt and opened his door. As his foot fell on the ground the wind picked up, rattling the sand that spread around them. He ignored it, unfolding himself from the jeep and standing to face the house. He heard the faint sounds of Maria, Alex and Isabel coming up to stand behind him, but his attention was completely focused on the abandoned building before him. It seemed to call to him, draw him closer with invisible fingers. The wind whispered his name, seductive and soothing as he moved.

“Max!” he heard Isabel’s cry as if from underwater, everything was growing hazy, his legs were trembling…or was it the ground? He glanced down, his heart rate speeding up as he stared in horror at the undulating waves. He tried to stop, but he couldn’t.

And the wind continued to sing.

“You should have stayed away…”


TBC...

Linds you got me on the edge of my seat. What’s going to happen to Max? Is it the Balance which is possessing Liz? And why does it want Max dead so badly?

I can’t wait for more.

<center>Chapter 8
</center>



He shivered in the cramped darkness, small sounds coming from his lips. Sweat beaded across his brow, slid down his back in a cold rush. Behind his lids, brown eyes moved feverishly as memories took him back...

“Mickey! Where are ya, little shit? MICKEY!”

He was drunk again. There was always a chance that the alcohol would knock Him out, allowing him to experience a night free of the terror that consumed his youthful being. He’d go hungry, but at least there would be a semblance of peace.

The sound of breaking glass sent his hopes scattering like shards of crystal across the cheaply carpeted floor. He closed his eyes, knowing that there would be no peace tonight. Only rage, terror. Pain.

He cowered in the corner, hoping that he’d somehow be overlooked. His throat felt dry and he licked his lips nervously as heavy footsteps approached. Before the curtain that separated his bedroom from the rest of the mobile home was thrown back, he summoned all of his bravery and thrust out his chin.

“There ya are, you little shit. Why are ya hiding from me, eh? You know you done wrong, huh Mickey? Come here and let your old man see your guilty fucking face.”

Rough hands dragged him out of the shadows and he dangled in a drunken grip, toes scraping the floor as his heart thudded and he stared into blurry eyes of anger. “P-please…” he managed, tears filling his eyes as he braced himself against the blow that was sure to come. When it did, pain exploded against his eyes as he felt his lip split. Coppery blood trickled into his mouth, and his tears stung the bruised flesh as he blubbered.

“What did I fucking tell ya, Mickey?” He demanded harshly. “I said I wanted this fucking place cleaned up before I got home. Does this shit look clean to you? Huh? HUH?”

His face was clamped by strong fingers, forcing his blurry gaze towards the room at large. He blinked rapidly, feeling something strange begin to surge inside of him. Something born of fear and anger. His fingers twitched.

“That goddamn social worker’s been sniffin’ around the place again, Mickey. Whatcha think she’s gonna do when she sees this shit? I sure as hell won’t be getting’ my check, now will I?” More pain rocketed through him as the back of a palm laid across his cheek. “Look at me, boy!”

He focused on the face, taut with anger and haggard with intoxication. He knew what would happen now. He’d fall to the floor, covering anything worth protecting while He whaled on him with his feet and fists. He closed his eyes and waited for it all to be over, just as he did every other night.

Only…nothing happened. He opened one eye and caught a glint of malice darkening His gaze. Before he could even gasp, he found himself being dragged by the collar across the room. He went limp, forcing Him to carry his dead weight. His heart began to race as He threw open a door. A dark chasm met his gaze and he began screaming in terror, thrashing his arms and legs in an attempt to get free.

“No! Please, no! Hank…please…”

He was thrown inside, the sound of a lock being turned echoing in his mind as he wailed. His breath coming heavy, he drew into himself, eyes wide and terrified in the darkness…

Michael jerked awake with a muffled cry, his eyes taking inventory of his surroundings. He’d been locked in some sort of closet and he was bound and gagged. When had that happened? He couldn’t remember…everything seemed hazy.

He winced as pain shot through his skull, and his gaze hardened. So she’d knocked him out. Bitch. But had she found the pipe? He struggled against his bonds, fingers stretching as he tried to reach for his thigh. When he felt the heavy metal knob he breathed a sigh of relief.

Now he had to get loose.

<center>***</center>


Max stared before him. He couldn’t explain why, he’d been in Atherton’s home before, but the entire house seemed different. As his eyes got used to the darkness, he noted the furniture was still covered and located in the same place it had been weeks ago. It still looked uninhabited, as if nothing and no one had been there in years.

But the hair rising on the back of his neck spoke differently. He knew he wasn’t alone in this house. He turned and his gaze collided with Isabel’s as she stepped through the front door, Maria and Alex on her heels. Their breath froze in the air, surrounding their heads like an eerie halo. He held up a hand for silence, taking in the rest of the building before taking a step forward.

The floor creaked beneath him and he paused. A faint scurrying sounded in the distance, snapping his gaze to the far corner of the room. A dim light shone from the hallway that he supposed led towards the bedrooms. Even as he stepped forward, Isabel caught his arm.

“Max, I don’t know…” Her voice caught in fright as something howled outside.

“Oh my God, oh my God…” Maria began whispering behind them, clutching to Alex as she looked every which way. “This wasn’t a good idea…why did we come here at night? Oh my God…”

The light seemed to beckon him, drug him. His blood thickened, slowed as his limbs grew heavy. He stumbled against his sister, eyes rolling into the back of his head as he collapsed with a groan.

“Max!” Isabel cried as Maria shrieked and the wind rattled the house. Alex flew forward, helping her carry Max’s limp form to the floor, careful not to knock his head. Isabel stared into his pale, blank face, her pulse beating rapidly as she checked his. It was faint, slow as if he were simply sleeping.

The sound of disembodied laughter pierced the room and they all spun around with a gasp, seeing the hallway dark once again. Isabel’s fingers clenched as she held up a hand. “W-We know you’re here, Liz,” she called out. “Show yourself.”

Only more laughter, this time from the other side of the room. Maria began whimpering, her face ash white as her breath came fast and shallow. She closed her eyes, backing towards the wall as she murmured indistinctly beneath her breath. She prayed for cedar oil, anything to help her stay calm. She was close to losing it, and they hadn’t even found Michael. Or Liz.

She took another step back, and the floor simply gave way. As she careened into the abyss, she let out a piercing scream and reached out to clutch empty air. She heard the distant screams of Alex and Isabel, but as she plunged farther and farther the only sound that filled her mind was her own.

She seemed to fall forever, but truly only seconds passed before she landed with a hard thud, jarring her knee and bruising her elbows as dirt filled her open mouth. She scrambled up, blubbering as she came to her hands and knees and blinked in the darkness.

“Oh God…Oh God…Maria…” she whispered, gasping as she felt around. Nothing but dirt and earth met her fingers. She was trapped in some sort of shadowy pit, walled in for no escape. She glanced up, squinted her gaze but saw nothing. She continued feeling her way along the walls, tears streaking down her cheeks as she felt the smooth crevices.

Suddenly, she felt something move past her and she screeched, spinning around and clutching a hand to her heart. “Oh shit,” she moaned. “No…no, no, no…”

She began clawing at the earthen walls, not caring as her nails began to tear and blood mixed with the soil. “Let me out!” she screamed wildly into the silence. She was feeling light-headed, claustrophobia settling in.

Her fingers closed around something hard, a rock of some sort. She began pulling it out, desperate to use it to help her dig. As she uncovered it, a frightening realization crept in when she noted the size and length of the object. It wasn’t a rock. It was bone.

A sly whisper sounded from behind her, and the blood drained from her face as the bone fell to her feet.

“‘Will you walk into my parlour?’ said the Spider to the Fly. ‘I’ve a many curious things to show when you are there…’”

She recalled the strange, haunting poem as one that Liz had studied several years ago during an honors course in English. Just as she recognized the voice that delivered it. Desperate moans began to come from her mouth as she slowly turned around, face damp with sweat and tears. “Please…no…”

Dark eyes glinted, white teeth shined in a mocking smile. “Hello, Maria. I’ve missed you.”

She had no time to scream.


<center>***</center>


“Where did she go? Where did she go?” Alex yelled, scratching at the floor. “There’s nothing here! Nothing!”

“Keep looking!” Isabel answered, fear sharpening her voice as she struggled against tears. She ran her hands along the walls, along every crack in the floor where Maria had last been seen. It was seamless, no sign to indicate the ground was shaky. She tested it with a foot, pressing lightly.

Nothing. Yet she’d seen…they’d both seen Maria hurtle through the gaping hole. They’d both heard her screams, seen the wild look in her green eyes before she disappeared. She was somewhere down there.

“It’s like she vanished into thin air,” she whispered in terror, tracing the intricate pattern of the hard wood with her nails. “How is this possible?”

“Is there a basement?” Alex wondered impatiently, reminding her that he hadn’t been along the last time they’d broken into James Atherton’s home in search of answers to their past. “Maybe…maybe there’s some sort of trap door that she activated.”

“No…I mean, yes, there is a basement,” Isabel answered huskily, blinking her lashes as the cold raised bumps along her skin. “But there’s only one trap door that I know of. And besides, the room wasn’t under here.”

“Maybe there’s another room, another entrance,” Alex suggested almost hopefully. Their eyes met, clung and he reached out and swiped a finger down her cheek. She blinked as he held it out to her, showing the glistening drop that clung to his skin.

“Don’t cry, Iz,” he whispered. “It kills me to see you cry.”

Her lips wobbled at the sincerity burning in his pained gaze. She looked away, feeling guilty at the warmth that flew through her as she realized the extent of his caring. How could she even be thinking this when Michael, Liz and now Maria had disappeared?

Her eyes widened as she looked over where they had left Max while running after Maria. He was gone. “Alex…” her voice rose in fear. “Where’s Max?”

“Huh?” Alex glanced over and cursed. “I…I didn’t even hear him get up,” he admitted hoarsely. “I thought he was out.”

“He was,” Isabel insisted, wrapping a hand around her throat.

“Then he’s somewhere in the house.”

“There was no way Max would have left us. No way…” Isabel shook her head defiantly. “He wouldn’t have left us.”

“Then…”

“Oh my God…she’s doing it on purpose, Alex.” The realization had her breath hitching and panic pounding through her body. “She’s doing it on purpose.”

“Doing what? Who?” Alex wondered in alarm at the change of her features. “Iz?”

“She’s trying to separate us,” Isabel breathed, meeting his gaze with haunted eyes. “One at a time.”



TBC tomorrow...