posted on 27-Apr-2002 1:58:02 PM
Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell, so don't sue!

I am only going to be posting my finished fics on this thread...I do have six going right now which I won't post since they aren't finished and it could get confusing if I posted them. Maybe I'll add them at a later time, when they're finished.

THE OTHER ROSWELL

This is the very first fan fic I every wrote and I am extremely ashamed of it.....I think it's horrible! I've never posted it on any fan fic board EVER! But now I am...it's about what could have happened if the aliens didn't find each other till their teenage years and how the humans could have found out differently.

Part 1

Max picked his things up off the floor and tried to ignore the snickers and giggles coming from the students all around him. He just wanted to get home and forget this day ever happened. Of course, that's how he felt every day.

Max wasn't exactly what you would call popular. In fact, you could call him down right dorky. But it didn't bother Max too much. Sure, sometimes he felt left out and depressed, but he was used to it. Ever since he could remember, his only friend had been his sister, Isabel.

Isabel was what most people called a freak. She had dyed her hair purple and she wore tons of leather and had an obsession with fish net stockings. Like Max, she had no other real friends. Part of the reason for that was because she was just so quiet and seemed like she was off in another world.

And she had a good reason to act that way. She had a lot to think about. So did Max. They were aliens. They had come out of some type of pods, wandered naked to the side of a nearby highway, and were picked up by two nice people who took them in.

Isabel and Max started out their lives looking like normal 6 or 7 year old children. But they couldn't speak English (or any language for that matter) and they were extremely shy. They seemed to only trust each other. That relationship had lasted for the next 10 years. They were both aware of their alien powers.

Isabel seemed a little reckless with her powers though. She wasn't scared to use them in public. Whereas Max was afraid to use them, even in private. But if Max got too emotional over something, his powers just sort of did stuff on their own. Like every time he even looked at Liz Parker…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Liz and Maria walked into the Crashdown Café and into the back room to change into their uniforms. On the way back, they ran into Kyle Valenti, Mr. Preppy himself. Liz couldn't stand Kyle, but it was obvious that he liked Liz a lot.

"So ladies," said Kyle. "Working again today? What a pity. You should really get out more, Liz. Live a little. How about you and me go see a movie tonight? Afterwards, we can go back to my place. My dad's got the night shift. Hey Maria, you could come back to my place too. I'm all for a threesome." Kyle winked at Maria and looked at her, obviously checking out her chest.

An extremely pissed off look came across Maria's face. She stepped up to Kyle and slapped him.

"BASTARD! PIG!" she screamed. Customers were starting to stare, but she didn't care. "How dare you talk that way to me! And how dare you ask Liz out! You don't deserve her, you fucking pig!"

Kyle put a smile back on his face and walked towards the door. As he was about to leave, he turned and looked at Maria and Liz and said, "Ta ta, ladies. My offer still stands, though."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Michael walked around the corner of the school and saw Alex and Tess, the two most popular people in school, making out against the building. He just couldn't resist yelling, "Can't you two get a room or something? At least see if the eraser room is available!"

Alex and Tess looked towards Michael, as evil smiles spread across their faces.

"Lookie here," said Alex. "It's trailer-trash Guerin!"

"How lucky for us," said Tess. "I just love running into smelly ugly trash like him."

Michael looked down at his feet, trying to walk quickly past Alex and Tess. Alex stepped away from Tess and stepped in front of Michael.

"Where do you think you're going, Guerin?"

"Um, Alex. I thought you were smart. School is over. I'm going home." Michael tried to push past Alex, wishing the stuck-up football player would leave him alone.

Alex pushed Michael backwards. "You calling me dumb, Guerin? Huh? Bad idea." With that he punched Michael in the mouth.

Michael knelt to his knees, holding his mouth. Alex kicked him square in the crotch and turned towards Tess. He put his arm around her and they walked away laughing.

Michael struggled to his feet and reached out his hand. All of a sudden, Alex and Tess seemed to trip and fell in a big puddle.

Tess turned and looked at Michael with a look that scared him. In fact, it scared him A LOT. That look seemed to say "I know what you are Michael Guerin." But that was impossible, right? No one could know that Michael was different. That he was an alien.

Part 2

Max and Isabel walked into the Crashdown, their usual after school hangout. They found a table and sat down. Isabel stared at all of the people around them.

"Max, have you ever thought that we don't have friends because we're aliens? I mean, has it ever occurred to you that there might just be something about us because we are alien that inadvertently drives others away?" Isabel looked at Max and for the first time, Max realized just how lonely Isabel was for friendship.

He'd always known that he was lonely, but Isabel usually acted as if friends were the last thing she wanted. It hurt Max to see his sister this way, and he knew he should probably talk to her about it, but he didn't know how to respond to her question, and he had something else on his mind. Liz Parker.

Liz Parker was the girl of his dreams. She was funny, smart, and totally hot. Plus, she wasn't all stuck up like other girls. Sure, she didn't go out of her way to be nice to him or anything, but she didn't join in when her friends made fun of him. Ever since they were kids together in grade school, Max had felt something for her.

But he knew she was out of his league. She went out with boys like Kyle and Alex. Popular boys.

Max stared at Liz as she waited on customers. God, how he wished she would just smile at him. But of course he knew that then his powers would definitely do something weird on their own.

After a few more slow minutes of sitting in silence, Maria came to wait on Max and Isabel. Max and Isabel didn't know her too well, but Max knew that she and Liz were inseparable best friends.

"So what'll it be?" said Maria, taking a pen and pad of paper out of the pocket of her tacky alien-head apron.

"Um…I'll just have a burger and a chocolate malt," said Max.

"Same here," said Isabel. "And could you bring us a bottle of hot sauce?" Maria gave Isabel a puzzled look, but nodded her head and walked away.

Max looked across the room at Liz just as she turned in his direction. Before Max could look away in embarrassment, Liz flashed him a smile that practically melted Max's heart right there. He smiled back at her, but it felt corny, like his smile was a little too wide and a little too enthusiastic.

Liz slowly made her way over to the table that Isabel and Max sat at.

"Hi Max," she said. "Hi Isabel. Did Maria take your order?"

Isabel smirked at Max as he blushed and said, "Hi Liz. Yeah, she took our order. So…how's school going?"

HOW'S SCHOOL GOING? He was talking to Liz Parker and he actually said HOW'S SCHOOL GOING? What was wrong with him?!

Liz smiled and said, "Great, actually. My grades are much better than I thought they would be. Well… all except for biology. I just don't understand it…"

DING-DING-DING!!!! Bells went off in Max's head. He was getting an A in biology…

"Well, I'm actually doing pretty good in that class. If you ever need help or anything…"

Liz sat down next to him and said, "Oh that's great, Max! Do you think you could tutor me? I really need the help…"

Max tried to catch his breath. He was sure that he was blushing dark red by now. Having Liz so near him was making him so nervous and excited. She was actually talking to him! And just the thought of tutoring Liz…spending time with her…

"SURE!" he blurted out. "I mean…if you think that's a good idea, I'd be willing to do it." He looked away in embarrassment, sure that she could see his eagerness. Isabel certainly could. She was turning red from trying not to laugh at him.

"Ok, great!" said Liz. "I get off work at 6 tonight. Come over here then and we can go upstairs and study." Max nodded his head, not trusting himself to say anything. Liz stood up.

"Well, I should get back to work unless I want Maria to kill me." She walked away and Max looked at Isabel.

Isabel burst out laughing. "God Max, that was the funniest thing I've ever seen. You're redder than a tomato and you act like your in middle school again, all desperate and eager. But seriously…good for you for making a friend." She started laughing all over again.

Max just blushed some more and smiled. As long as he got to spend time with Liz, Isabel could laugh all she wanted.

Part 3

It was 5:00 and Maria desperately wanted to get off duty at the Crashdown and go home to soak in a nice bubble bath. She finished serving table 3 and walked over to Liz. "Hun, do you think you can handle it from here on? I really need to get home and relax."

Liz gave her a sympathetic look and said, "Sure Maria. I don't think we'll be too busy tonight. Go on home." She gave Maria a big smile.

"Ok, thanks, but hun…why are you so happy?" asked Maria. "I mean, I didn't think that by me leaving you would get so happy…"

"It's not that, Maria. I have a study date tonight."

"With who?! Is it that really hot guy in our gym class? Oh, I knew you two would get together!" Maria started jumping up and down.

"No, Maria. Calm down. I have a study date with Max Evans."

"Max Evans?! That dorky kid that hangs out with his sister? Eww… hun, that's gross. I think he and his sister have more than a brother-sister relationship going on…I mean, incest is more common than most people think."

"Maria! Max and Isabel aren't like that….I can't believe you would say that! And Max is not a dork…well, ok, maybe he's a little nerdy, but that doesn't mean he isn't nice. I think he'll be fun to hang out with. Plus, I just really need help with biology."

Maria gave Liz a skeptical look. "Whatever you say, it's your decision. Have fun studying." They hugged each other good-bye and Maria walked out of the Crashdown.

She walked up the street, wanting to be home in that bubble bath as soon as possible. Maria started daydreaming about nothing specific, but she wasn't watching where she was going.

She stepped into the road, not looking in either direction to check for cars. She got halfway across the street when she heard a car slam on their brakes and someone honking their horn. She looked up quickly, knocked out of her daze, and realized that the car that was honking and slamming on it's brakes was about 5 feet from her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Michael got up and brushed him self off, touching his hurt mouth to heal it. He looked around to see if anyone was looking and then reached his hands between his legs and cupped his crotch in his hands. That was what hurt the most…his precious alien jewels. He healed himself and tried to get himself back together. He started walking down the street again, looking around to be sure that Alex and Tess had really left and weren't standing behind a tree waiting to jump him.

Michael started daydreaming, thinking about all the ways he would love to use his alien powers to kill Alex and Tess. Well…maybe not kill them, but definitely hurt them.

He wasn't really looking where he was going, but just as he was about to step into the street, he heard a car slam on their brakes and honk their horn. He looked up sharply, wondering why the person was honking.

In horror he realized that a girl was standing in the middle of the road, about to be run down by a car. It was Maria Deluca…the girl he had always liked.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maria tried to run, but she was stuck there, she just couldn't make her legs work. The car seemed to be coming at her in slow motion. And then it hit her and all she knew was pain. Her whole world was pain.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Michael saw the car moving towards Maria, and it seemed to be moving in slow motion. He flinched and then screamed as the beautiful girl was hit by the car, and went flying a few feet down the street.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maria couldn't open her eyes, and she didn't know if she was alive or dead. She assumed she was probably alive, because she thought, if she was dead her pain would be gone, right….

She heard people stopping and yelling for someone to call 911, she heard someone sobbing and saying that he didn't mean to do it, it was an accident. That must be the person that had hit her.

A new wave of pain rolled over Maria and she blacked out again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Michael took about two seconds to consider what he should do before he came to a conclusion. He was an alien right? He had powers, right? He had just used them to heal himself…so wouldn't it work if he tried it on Maria?

He had never healed a human before, so he didn't know what his powers would do or if they would work, but it was worth a try. He couldn't just stand by and let this girl die in the street as he stood there watching, knowing he might be able to help.

He ran out into the street and yelled, "Hey, step away from the girl. I'm a doctor!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Maria came back to consciousness again, but she still couldn't open her eyes. She heard someone yell that they were a doctor and she felt like she was floating in heaven, she was so happy. She was still alive and now there was a doctor here…she was going to live! And then she blacked out.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Michael knelt down next to Maria and looked carefully at her. She didn't look as battered as he had thought she would look. She seemed to have a broken arm, and possibly a broken rib or two. She was bruised pretty badly, but that was about as bad as it got.

He decided to start slow, so he placed his hands on her arm and concentrated on her. As he felt his powers start to work, something amazing started to happen. He was seeing flashes of Maria's life!

He saw her as a toddler, playing dress up and having a tea party. He saw her as an older child, playing hide and go seek and tag. He saw her as a young teen trying on makeup and giggling with a girl that was probably Liz Parker, her best friend. He saw her as she looked recently, eating lunch in the cafeteria.

Michael looked down and was surprised to see that her arm was healed. He quickly pulled her shirt up a little and put his hand on her lower ribs, wanting to hurry up before someone got suspicious. He healed her, without seeing the flashes this time, and stood up.

He looked around and noticed that many people were looking at him. He knew he had to say something, but what? Hi, my name is Michael Guerin and I am an alien? That wouldn't go over too well.

"Um...she should be fine, she's just bruised up, but I don't think anything is broken. The ambulance can take her to the hospital to be checked out, but I really think she's ok," he finally said.

All of the people in the street gave a relieved sigh. Michael slowly stepped away from Maria and walked towards home, hoping no one would follow him to try to talk to him and also hoping that Maria wasn't conscious when he healed her. If she got suspicious, he could be in big trouble.

Part 4

Liz slowly brushed her hair as she stood in her room, thinking of her study date and whether or not Max would be a lot of fun to hang out with. It was 6:00 and he would be arriving any second now. Liz hadn't heard about Maria's accident yet, which was surprising, considering how fast word usually spread in small towns like Roswell.

She heard a knock on her bedroom door and it slowly opened. Max's head popped into the room. "Hi there," he said. "How are you feeling? I totally understand if you don't want to do this tonight. The whole thing with Maria has got to be so tough for you."

Liz looked at Max in confusion. What thing with Maria? Why would she want to cancel the study date? "Max…what in the world are you talking about?" she burst out.

He looked at her with a shocked and pity-filled face. She didn't know. He had to tell the girl of his dreams the bad news about her best friend. Damn. He took a deep breath and said, "Liz, right after Maria left the Crashdown she was hit by a car."

Liz turned pale and her mouth kept opening like she wanted to say something, but nothing came out except for little gaspy breaths. She sank down on her bed as the first tears welled up in her throat.

"Is she…alive?" she asked, fear pounding in her heart.

"Yes, and the doctors say she should be fine. She's just really bruised. Liz, you really didn't know about this before?"

"Oh, I am SO happy she'll be ok! And no, no one told me. Right after she left, my dad let me off shift and I have been up here for the past hour."

A silence fell in the room after Liz finished talking. Max felt slightly uncomfortable standing in Liz's room as she sat on her bed, tears streaming down her face. He walked over to her and cautiously put his arms around her. He wasn't sure how she would react to him hugging her…most girls would probably scream that he had cooties or something…

But Liz hugged him back, and as that happened, a special bond was made between the two of them. At the time, they weren't consciously aware of it, but that bond was what would shape their future.

After a few minutes, Liz calmed down, and Max reluctantly let go of her. He stood up to go, thinking that there was no way in hell she would want to study at a time like this. Liz stood up quickly and grabbed his arm.

"No, Max. Don't go…I really need someone to talk to right now. I don't feel like studying, but…well…do you think you stay for awhile?"

Max smiled and said, "Of course, Liz." They sat back down on the bed and once again there was silence.

After a while they started to talk about Maria and that topic turned to their childhood and to school. A long time later, Max looked at the digital clock on the nightstand next to Liz's bed and was surprised to see that it was 10:00. They had talked for 4 hours!!!

Liz saw Max looking at the clock and she glanced at it, too. "Oh, Max. You really should get home. Your parents might start to get worried soon. I can't believe we talked for so long."

They both stood up and Max looked down at Liz. All of a sudden he had an urge to do something he had never in his life done before. He wanted to ask a girl out. He wanted to ask Liz Parker out.

Max decided that if he didn't do it right away, he would lose his nerve. He bust out with, "Liz, would you ever want to go out with me? We could, like, see a movie or something. If you wanted to." He held his breath waiting for her to yell no and laugh and kick him out of her house forever.

But Liz didn't do that. She looked back at him and said, "Max Evans, I would love to go out with you. How about tomorrow night?"

Part 5

Maria groggily opened her eyes and looked up into the face of Amy Deluca, her mother.

"Oh, honey! You're finally awake! Thank God, I was so worried! How are you feeling? Do you need anything? Water? Crackers? Another blanket?"

"Mom," Maria said with a weak smile. "I'm fine. Just tell me how badly I'm hurt. Can you do that for me?"

"Oh, sweetie. You're going to be perfectly fine. You're very bruised, but you didn't break one single bone." Amy started to cry. "When the police first told me you'd been hit by a car I was so sure you weren't going to make it. I just wanted to stop time so that I didn't have to hear that you were dead or dying. But you're ok. You're really ok. You just need rest, and in the morning you can go home."

"Why can't I go home tonight?" Maria asked, worried that something might be wrong.

"Well, they just want to make sure you're ok…" Amy looked away form Maria. Maria thought her mom wasn't telling the whole truth…something was missing.

"Mom, really, why are they keeping me overnight? You just said yourself that I was just bruised. So why are the doctors keeping me here?"

Amy reached over to her daughter and pulled the blanket back. Maria looked down and gasped. On her arm and on her middle abdomen there were odd marks. Silver handprints.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After Amy left for the night, Maria pulled back her blanket again and stared in wonder and fear at the handprints on her body. How did they get there? What were they made of…some kind of paint? Why couldn't they come off? Why did the doctors have to keep her overnight just because of them? So many questions were running through Maria's head.

She decided to just forget about it for the night and try to get some sleep. Just as she was about to turn off the light over her bed, she heard a very light knock on her door.

Maria looked at the door, wondering if she had really heard that….she knew that visiting hours were over and the nurse said she wouldn't be coming back until the next morning.

There was another light knock. Maria said, "Come in. It's not locked." The door opened and a doctor dressed in full uniform walked in. He walked up to her bed and took his mask off. She gasped…this wasn't a doctor…it was a kid that went to her high school…one of the trailer-trash kids.

"What the hell?!" yelled Maria. "Get out of here! I don't know you! You shouldn't be here! Get out, or I'll scream!"

The guy quickly ran to her side and put his hand over her mouth. "Shh…" he said. "I'm not here to hurt you. I need to tell you something. But first I have to ask you something." He took his hand slowly away from her mouth, as if he expected her to burst out screaming any second.

"What is it? I need to get to sleep?" Maria said. "And could you please tell me who you are?"

"My name is Michael Guerin. I know you were hit by a car this afternoon and I need to know if you've noticed anything…weird…"

"Weird? What do you mean by weird? Why do you want to know?"

"Because only I can explain it to you…and only I can explain to you why you didn't die this afternoon. You're okay now, but when you were hit, you were about to die. I saved your life."

Maria looked at Michael and burst out laughing. "I almost died? That's a hoot! All I have are some bruises…how could I have almost died?"

"First, tell me, have you noticed anything weird…anything at all?"

"Well, I guess it can't hurt to show you…I want you to leave." Maria pulled the blanket back and showed Michael the handprints. "The doctors don't know how I got these handprints on me…they seem very interested in it…they're keeping me over night just because of them."

Michael turned pale and fell into a chair. "Oh my God…" he said. "I knew it would do something visible…"

"What? You know something about these handprints, don't you? Tell me how they got on me. Please. I want to know."

"You got them from me. I'm an alien and I saved your life by healing you. Those handprints are where I touched you." Michael reached over and placed one of his hands on one of the handprints. It was a perfect match.

Maria gasped and blacked out.

Part 6

Alex knocked on Tess's door and almost right away it swung open. He smiled and walked into her house.

"Hey Alex," she said. "I'm so glad you're here, Kyle is NO help in planning a party. We really I need you." She grabbed his hand and dragged him into the living room, where Kyle was already sitting on the couch, sipping a Coke. He looked up at Alex and nodded a hello.

Alex plopped down next to Kyle and they both stared up at Tess.

"What do you…uh…want us to do?" asked Alex.

Tess pointed at a pile of paper and said, "Kyle, make flyers. Alex, help me decide what music to play and what food to serve."

Alex and Kyle reluctantly went to their assigned jobs.

"So, Kyle, what's on your mind, man?" asked Alex, who thought Kyle looked a little out of it.

"Girls. A girl. Liz Parker," he said.

"What about her?" asked Alex

"I've been trying to get with her lately. And last night I stopped by the Crashdown at like six and her mom said she had a study date with Max Evans."

"Max Evans!" Alex burst out laughing. "That dope? Why would a pretty girl like Liz hang out with a gay boy?"

Tess looked at Alex. "He's not gay," she said.

"Oh yes he is," Kyle said, knocking his soda over. "Have you ever seen him with a girl? NO. Cause he's gay!"

"Yeah…but…have you ever seen him with a guy? NO…cause he's not gay!"

Alex grinned like an idiot at Kyle. "Man…are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yeah…I think I am." They both looked at Tess. "Tess…if you're so sure that Max isn't gay, prove it. Get him to sleep with you. It should be no problem for a girl like you…"

Tess threw a pillow at Kyle and laughed. "You know what? I'll do it. Just to prove to you that he's not gay…or at least he won't be when I'm done with him!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tess walked slowly down the block, putting party flyers in mailboxes of certain houses. Actually, she wasn't being too specific…she didn't care who came to her party…just as long as they came and it was the biggest party of the year.

As Tess walked, her mind kept returning to something she'd been thinking about for the past day. Michael Guerin.

Something was just…wrong about that boy. Like when he had stared at her and Alex and they fell. It had almost felt like she were being pushed…but no one had pushed her.

And yesterday she had been driving to work when she saw a girl get hit by a car. Which was sad and all, but the weird thing was that Michael ran up to the girl, saying that he was a doctor, and he had put his hands on her.

Tess saw the girl get hit, and knew she shouldn't have survived. But when Michael walked away, the girl was just bruised. As if she had been magically healed.

She only knew of one other person with the power to heal. Herself. Because she was an alien.

posted on 27-Apr-2002 2:00:39 PM

Part 7

Liz checked her hair in the mirror one last time and walked downstairs to wait for Max. He had called earlier in the day to ask her if she wanted to go to a Halloween party that he had gotten a flyer about. Some girl named Tess that hung out with Kyle was throwing the party.

She'd said yes and been obsessing all day over what to wear. She'd finally decided to go to the party as a queen. She was wearing a beautiful cream colored formal dress and she had a tiara on her head.

As she was walking down the stairs the phone started to ring. Liz ran back up to her room and managed to pick it up on the fourth ring.

"Hello?" she said, gasping for breath.

"Hey girl, it's me! They finally let me out of that hellhole they call a hospital!"

"Maria! How are you doing?" Liz asked, sitting down on her bed, careful not to wrinkle her dress.

"I'm feeling great, I'm even going to the party tonight! You're going, right?"

"Yeah…I'm going with Max Evans." Liz explained to Maria how they had hooked up.

"That's great that you guys connect. He's a little…weird…but he's nice. Anyways, I have something I need to show you tonight. And there's something I have to tell you. I don't think you'll believe me, but I have to tell someone."

Liz heard her father yelling up the stairs. "Oh, Maria, I gotta get going, Max is here."

"Ok, bye chica. See you soon!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Liz walked downstairs and saw Max, dressed in a beautifully tailored suit. He was wearing a crown and had a velvet robe wrapped around his shoulders.

"Max…what are you supposed to be?" she asked.

"Max looked down at his feet in embarrassment. "I called your mom and asked her what you were going to be. She said you were gonna be a queen, so I decided to go as a king. I mean…every queen needs her king, right?" He blushed.

Liz felt something in her change. At that moment she knew. She knew that she and Max were meant for each other.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Liz and Max got to the party and immediately started dancing. Max was surprised at how nice everyone was to him just because he was at the party with a popular girl.

After about an hour, Maria showed up and Liz told Max that she needed to talk to her. Max went off to see if Isabel was there, because she had said she might show up.

Maria spotted Liz walking towards her and grabbed her arm, pulling her into a back bedroom where two people were making out on the bed.

"Yeah…um…we need to talk," said Maria to the people on the bed. "Get out of here…can't you do two go do that in a car or something?" She shooed them out of the room and closed the door.

"Maria," laughed Liz. "What's so important that we have to be so private about it?"

"This." Maria pulled back her sleeve and revealed one of the silver handprints.

"Oh my god! Maria, is that a tattoo? That is so cool…when did you get it done?"

"Liz…listen to me, it's not a tattoo. And there's another one…" She pulled up the bottom of her shirt and revealed the other handprint on her upper stomach.

"Maria, if that's not a tattoo…what is it? Some kind of body art? And why does it have to be such a secretive thing?" Liz was very confused.

"Liz…I don't really know how to tell you this…so I'll just say it. Don't say anything until I'm done, k hun?" Liz nodded her head slowly.

Maria took a deep breath and said, "Liz, I technically shouldn't even be alive right now. I was hit by the car head on and I flew through the air. I broke several bones and hit my head HARD. But someone saved my life. That's how I got these handprints on me, from the person that saved me. His name is Michael Guerin. He goes to our school…and he's an alien."

Liz looked at Maria, wanting to laugh, but something about Maria's expression told her that laughing wasn't the best thing to do. Maria was either telling the truth, or thought that she was.

Liz sank down onto the be and stared blankly up at Maria.

"Liz, I know it's hard to believe, but you've got to believe me. I'm your best friend, I'd never lie to you."

"Maria, I believe you. A guy named Michael Guerin saved your life. And he's an alien."

The bedroom door slammed open and a guy barged into the room. "What the hell, Maria!" he yelled. "You swore not to tell! Damn it!"

Maria flinched and said, "Liz, I'd like you to meet Michael Guerin."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Shortly after Liz went off to talk with Maria, Max walked into the kitchen to see what there was to eat.

He still hadn't spotted Isabel, but that was ok. He picked up a handful of popcorn and walked over to the punch bowl. A blond haired girl was standing next to it.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Tess."

"Are you talking to me?" asked Max, looking around to see if there was anyone else around she could be talking to.

"Yes," she smiled and giggled. "I've noticed you around. Max Evans, right?"

"Yeah," he said. "Nice to meet you."

Tess smiled seductively and rubbed up against Max's arm. "So, you wanna have a real party? We can go up to my room…"

Max looked at her and moved away, feeling totally uncomfortable. "Um…no…maybe you've had too much punch…" he said.

Tess kept her smile plastered on her face even though she was seriously pissed off. How dare a dork like Max Evans turn down an offer like that from her! On to plan B…she'd use one of her alien powers…mind control. She concentrated on Max and sent him visions of them making out.

All of a sudden Max felt totally attracted to Tess. He grabbed her and pressed his mouth over hers. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, getting high on the feeling of kissing Tess.

There were cheers and whistles from other people in the room, which Max chose to ignore. Until he heard Liz.

"Max! Is that you…oh my god…um…excuse me."
Max quickly broke away from Tess and looked up. He saw Liz running out the door and Maria flipped him off and ran after Liz.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Isabel was one of the first people to arrive at the party, but she chose to stand in the shadows of an abandoned corner of the living room. After two hours of boring herself to death, she walked across the room, headed for the kitchen.

On the way she passed a boy, (she knew his name was Alex and that he was the most popular guy in school, but she'd never really looked at him before) and she looked into his eyes.

He saw her at the same moment and stopped talking to his friend.

Both of their hearts beat faster and both felt something they'd never be able to forget. Something like…love. Love at first sight.

Part 8

Liz ran out of Tess's house, closely followed by Maria, who was closely followed by Michael.

"Liz, wait up!" yelled Maria.

"Yeah, wait up!" yelled Micheal.

Liz stopped running and leaned against someone's car to get her breath back. Maria and Michael caught up to her and Michael said, "I need to talk to the both of you. NOW."

"Michael, if it's about your…difference in species from us… we can't talk now! Can't you see that Liz and I need to talk, alone?"

"No, I can't. I think what I have to say is much more important that the discussion you'd have about Max making out with other girls."

"Michael, listen to me. Liz and I need to talk for like 10 minutes, ok?"

"No, Maria. It's ok. I want to hear what Michael has to say. I really don't want to talk about Max or what we all saw him doing in the kitchen," said Liz.

"Thank you," said Michael. "I just wanted to say that I didn't want anyone to know about me. But then I saved Maria and I felt obligated to tell her." He looked accusingly at Maria. "And she WASN'T supposed to tell you, Liz."

"Listen, Michael, Maria probably told me because I'm her very best friend. But don't worry. I won't tell a soul. Your secret's safe with me."

"Yeah, me too," said Maria. "Er…well…from now on."

Michael looked at them and nodded his head. "Ok, I guess I'll have to trust you."

Liz quietly said, "Can I ask you some questions about it?" Michael nodded.

"I don't really know much about myself, but I'll try to answer your questions."

"Are there others like you?"

"Not that I know of."

"How did you get on Earth?"

"I'm not sure…but I have no memory of life before I was 6 years old."

"What can you do with your powers, besides heal people?"

"I can change the molecular setup of things…I can unlock doors…I can push people without touching them."

Liz's eyes opened wide as she noticed Max, who had snuck up behind them. He had heard everything.

"My god…" said Max, startling Michael and Maria. "I've found you. I've been looking my whole life…and now I found you."

Part 9

Michael spun around to look at Max. He turned pale and said, "How much did you hear?"

"Everything," said Max. "But don't worry, I can be trusted. I'm an alien, too."

Maria and Liz stood staring at Max, their mouths hanging open in surprise. "Oh. My. God," said Maria. She leaned against the car Liz was leaning on. "I've just entered the Twilight Zone."

Max looked at Liz and said, "About what you saw earlier…"

"Who the hell cares!" yelled Michael. "We need to talk, you and me. First, tell me, are there others, too? And you said you've been looking for me for your whole life. How did you know there were others?"

"I think we should go back to my house to discuss this. Um…Maria and Liz…I think you should come, too…you know about us, you may as well hear the whole thing."

The girls nodded their heads. They seemed to be in a daze. They all walked over to Max's jeep and drove to the Evans house. They walked in and Max said, "We can talk about this in the living room, my parents are out with some friends."

"What about Isabel?" asked Liz. "Where is she? What if she barges in…er…Max? Is Isabel an alien, too?"

Max motioned for everyone to talk a seat and said, "Yes. She is. Until tonight, I didn't personally know of any others besides me and Isabel."

"But how did you know there were others out there?" asked Michael. "I need to know."

"I'll tell you the whole story. Me and Isabel came out of these pods, well, we actually hatched. We found our way out of the caves that the pod things were in and walked to a road. We were completely naked and looked like normal first grade age kids. But we couldn't speak…at least not English. Isabel and I could communicate…somehow. Anyways, we were by the side of the road, and it was right before two people, who ended up adopting us, came along. We saw another boy, our age, naked, walk out of the caves and head in the other direction. We've always thought he must be another one…sort of like our brother. And now I've found him. You, Michael."

Michael looked shocked. "Wow," he said. "It's surprising enough to find out there are others like me. And now I heard about our…birth. I don't even remember that."

Max and Michael looked at each other and Michael slowly stood up and walked over to Max. He held out his hand, but Max didn't shake it. He stood up and hugged Michael.

Michael smiled weakly, looking extremely uncomfortable. He backed away and sat down again.

"So," said Michael. "You seem to know more about us than I do. Do you know why we're on Earth, or how we got here? Are there just the three of us, or are there even more?"

"I think it's just the three of us. And I have no idea how we got here or why. I had always hoped that when I met you, you would have the answers to those questions."

Maria and Liz were looking around the room absently. They felt excluded and knew that this was a big moment for Max and Michael.

"Um…maybe we should go. You guys need to catch up…on your whole lives," said Maria.

"No," said Max. "Stay. Ask questions if you have any more."

Liz looked at Max and said, "I have a question. But it's not about your alienness."

"Ok," said Max.

"Just be honest with me. Are you and Tess a couple?"

"Liz. NO. What you saw…that shouldn't have happened. I don't know what came over me. I don't like Tess like that…I like you."

"Ok. Well…I need to think about this. Can you drive me home?"

"Sure," Max said. "And I can drive you guys," he looked at Maria and Michael, "back to Tess's to get your cars."

They all walked out of the house and got back in Max's jeep.

Part 10

Over the next two weeks Liz and Max started going out on an almost daily basis.

Michael and Maria also started going out. A couple of times the two couples went on double dates.

Max told Isabel about Michael and how Liz and Maria knew about them. Isabel, who had never really had friends before, started hanging out with Liz, Maria, and Michael.

Everyone quickly figured out that Isabel liked Alex Whitman. Even though Michael hated him, they all decided it would be fun to set up Isabel and Alex.

The whole group was hanging out at the Crashdown one day when Alex came in. (Liz had asked him to come to help her with her math homework.)

Alex walked up to the booth they were all crammed into and was about to say hi to Liz when he saw Isabel. He instantly turned red and then stammered, "U-m, h-h-hello. Isabel, right? I-I-I'm Alex."

"I know, " said Isabel, making Alex turn even redder.

Michael stood up and pulled Maria up with him. We should go…study, Maria," he said. They walked away.

Max and Liz also stood up. Liz looked at Alex and said, "Sorry, Alex. I can't study with you now. Max needs me to…do his laundry."

Max looked at Liz, trying not to laugh. They walked out of the Crashdown, leaving Isabel and Alex alone together.

"You know they were just setting us up, right?" asked Isabel.

Alex looked into her eyes and said, "It's not such a bad thing…being set up with you."

Isabel blushed and tried not to look flustered…but damn…Alex was so hot! And he seemed to like her! She decided to ask him out…no point in waiting.

"Alex, do you think maybe we could go out sometime? I mean…I know you hang out with more popular people than me usually…but…well…I'd really like to get to know you." She looked up at him, expecting to see a mean smirk on his face, but she just saw his amazing eyes staring into hers.

"I'd love to Isabel. Thank you for asking."

They had a long conversation…and the next night went out together. They started going on triple dates with the rest of the group. A week later, they decided to let Alex into their secret…which brought about some MAJOR problems later on for the three aliens.

Part 11

It was the big day for Isabel: she was going to tell Alex she was an alien. She wouldn't do it alone, of course. Everyone else would be there to give her moral support-even Michael. He and Alex had been getting along very well lately.

Isabel walked into the Crashdown and sat in a booth. Liz and Maria walked over and sat down next to her. A few minutes later Michael and Max came in.

"Are you sure you want him to find out, Izzy?" asked Max. "I mean, I don't think it'll happen, but there's the chance that he'll push you away."

Isabel looked angrily at Max. "Of course I want to tell him, Max. I want him to know. We all trust him enough to tell him…of course he won't push me away. Alex isn't like that."

They all hung out for another half hour until Liz's dad closed up for the night and went upstairs. Isabel walked behind the counter and called Alex's house. He picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Alex. It's Izzy. Um…can you come down to the Crashdown now? Liz's dad is letting us hang out here. He even closed up early."

"Sure, sounds like fun. Be there soon." He hung up. Isabel gently put the phone down and walked back to the booth. She looked like she was in a daze.

"Are you okay?" asked Maria.

"I'm fine. Really. I just want this part to be over with." Maria patted Isabel on the back comfortingly.

After another fifteen minutes, Alex walked into the Crashdown. He saw the group and smiled. He sauntered over, grabbed a chair, and sat down in it backwards.

"So," said Alex. "What's up? What are we all talking about?"

Everyone looked nervously at everyone else, but no one made eye contact with Alex or said anything to him.

"Ok," said Alex. "We don't have to talk. We can sit. Hey! I know! Let's have a staring contest!" He tried to make eye contact, but no one was even looking at him.

"Geeze," he said. "Tough crowd. You're all acting like I'm some type of three-headed alien."

Trying a crack at humor, he raised his fingers in the peace sign and said in a high-pitched voice, "My name is Lexor. I come from the planet Oogabooga. I come in peace. Take me to your leader."

There was silence. Alex slowly lowered his fingers and stopped smiling.

"Ok, will someone tell me what's going on? Did someone die? Cause you're all acting really weird. In fact, you're all scaring me."

Isabel took a deep breath and said, "Alex, there is something you need to know. About me. And Max and Michael, too. I know it's going to be hard for you to believe. But I swear to you that I am telling the truth." She turned to look into his eyes and said, "We're aliens."

Alex looked at everyone and was scared. Either Isabel was telling the truth, that she Max and Michael were aliens, or these people were the best liers in the whole world. He stood up from his chair and said, "I don't know if I want to believe that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Michael. "Do you believe it or not?"

Alex looked at Isabel and then at everyone else. "I believe you," he said. "But I can't talk now. I have to talk to someone."

Before anyone could tell him to swear not to tell anyone else, he had run out the door.

Isabel looked up at Max, tears in her eyes. "I guess you were right," she said. "He's pushing me away. He doesn't want to talk about it…he couldn't even look me in the eyes. He ran out of here like he was terrified. I was so STUPID to tell him!" She stood up and slowly walked out of the Crashdown.

Part 12

Everyone looked at each other, not sure what to do. They all wanted to go after Isabel and comfort her, but they also knew that she probably needed to be alone now.

Max stood up and said, "I should probably go now. It's getting kinda late anyways. See you at school." He leaned down to kiss Liz. He walked out.

Michael and Maria also left, and Liz went upstairs to go to sleep.

As Max walked outside he noticed that Isabel had taken the Jeep. Which meant that he had to walk home.

He sighed and started to trudge down the deserted street. Geeze, he thought, Roswellians have no night lives. There was no one out, and it was only 9:30!

He continued to walk. After a while he started to feel uncomfortable. He felt like he was being watched or followed. He turned around and looked down the street, but it was hard to see into the shadows.

He turned back around and walked quickly but quietly, trying to listen for other footsteps.

There. He stopped. He turned around, but no one was there. But he could swear that he had heard footsteps…

Someone stepped out of the shadows. At first he didn't recognize who it was. Then he saw the curly blond hair and he groaned quietly. It was Tess. The last person he wanted to see.

"Oh, Max! Fancy meeting you here!" exclaimed Tess, with obvious mock surprise.

"Cut the crap, Tess. What do you want? Were you following me?"

"Maxwell, don't be so paranoid. I'm not a psycho stalker. I just want to talk."

"About what, Tess?" asked Max. "I'm not interested in you. I'm going out with Liz. And that kiss…that should've never happened."

"Oh, Max. Don't be dense. You're in total denial. You know you like me, not that frigid freak, Liz."

"Don't you dare talk that way about Liz! Just because she's not a slut…like SOME people…it doesn't give you an excuse to be rude. Now, I'd like to go home. Good night." He turned around and started walking again.

Tess glared at his back and started to use her mind control powers again. She was sure that this time she'd be able to get Max to sleep with her. After all, that bitch, Liz, wasn't around to ruin everything this time.

She concentrated hard. Max stopped walking and turned around slowly. He walked slowly back towards Tess. He grabbed her around the waist and started to roughly kiss her. He pulled her over to the wall of a nearby building and pushed her up against it, never breaking contact with her lips.

Tess silently congratulated herself, kissing Max back. She sent him more images, hoping it would work.

He slowly rubbed his hand down her back and reached up her shirt.

He knew he was losing control now-but who cared! It was amazing how he felt now. He ground his hips into Tess's.

This is awesome, he thought. I never thought I'd be doing this with her. The girl I love.

WHOA! He stopped kissing Tess and backed away. What the hell was he thinking? He did not love Tess! What had he just done?

Once again with Tess he seemed to have lost control. Something was wrong. Why did he always end up kissing Tess, even though he started out not wanting to?

"Dammit! What's wrong with me?" he asked himself. "I didn't mean for that to happen, Tess. I'm going home now. And please…don't come near me ever again."

"What's the matter, Max? Can't say no? You know you can't resist me. Just give in."

"No, I have Liz. She's the one I want to be with." He walked away, but Tess didn't follow him or run after.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alex ran down the street toward the Valentis' house. He had to talk to Kyle. Kyle was his best friend. He could help Alex make sense of what Isabel had said.

And after he talked to Kyle, they had to talk to Tess. To tell her that he had found the other three. He knew that all of her life, his friend Tess, who was an alien, had been looking for the other three aliens she knew existed.

Alex reached the house and started pounding on the door. Jim Valenti opened it and said, "Damn, Alex. Don't break down my door. It's the only one I got. Come on in, kid." He ushered Alex into the living room and yelled, "Kyle! Get your butt out here! Alex's here!"

Kyle came running through the kitchen, and threw a football at Alex. Alex caught it and said, "Kyle, I really don't feel like playing football. I need to talk to you. Something happened. Something BIG."

Kyle gave Alex a questioning look and led him to his bedroom. They sat down on opposite ends of the bed.

"So, what BIG thing happened?"

"I found the other three aliens." Kyle looked at Alex and his mouth dropped open.

"Oh my god… are you serious? You're serious. We have to tell Tess! NOW! She needs to know! Who are the aliens? Tell me! I want to know!"

"It's Isabel and Max Evans and Michael Guerin. Now Tess's destiny can happen. But she'll need our help."

Part 13

Alex and Kyle ran through the hallways the next morning, frantically searching for Tess. They'd stopped by her house the night before, but she hadn't been home.

They finally spotted her, walking out of a girls' restroom. They ran at her and grabbed her. They pulled her outside onto the football field.

"Geeze, boys…why are you being to touchy-feely? It's only 8 in the morning! Did you poor guys not get some last night or something?" She giggled and then realized that Kyle and Alex weren't smiling. In fact, they looked like they were going to keel over and die.

"Tess, can you ever be serious?" asked Kyle.

"Of course," she said. "Sorry…what crawled up your butt and died?"

"HA HA. Me and Alex gotta tell you something. Actually, I'll let Alex tell you because he's the one who found out."

Tess looked expectantly at Alex. "Yes, Alex?" she said.

"It's about finding the others."

"You mean…" Her eyes opened wide. "Alex, are you saying…Alex, did you find them?"

Alex slowly nodded his head, letting a grin spread across his face.

"Yes!" Tess screamed happily and jumped at Alex, giving him a huge hug. She jumped up and down with excitement.

"Who, Alex? Who are they?"

"Michael Guerin, and Isabel and Max Evans."

Tess stopped jumping and stared at Alex. "Max Evans?"

"Yeah…why?" said Alex.

"Well…it's just…he and Isabel are brother and sister, which means Isabel's destiny is to be with Michael. And Max is my destiny. It's just a little weird…I mean…that could explain why my mind control isn't totally working on him."

"Why are you using mind control on Max?" asked Kyle.

"To get him to sleep with me! Duh! You were the ones to dare me, remember?" said Tess, flicking Kyle on the head.

Alex grinned and said, "Tess, we didn't think you'd use mind control. We thought you'd just offer him sex, or something."

"I did…he turned me down."

Alex and Kyle looked at each other, trying not to laugh.

"It's not funny, you guys! And besides, now I HAVE to break up Max and Liz and get Max to sleep with me. It's our destiny."

"How do you plan on doing that? I mean, he turned you down and the mind control thing isn't working."

"I'll think of something," said Tess. "In the meantime, let's get back inside before we get in trouble."

As they were walking back into the school, Tess said, "How'd you find out, Alex?"

"Isabel told me. In fact, Liz and Maria know about the other three, too."

"Hmm…that could be a problem. But did you tell Isabel about me?"

"No! We're going out…but I've known you for much longer. I wouldn't tell anyone without your permission!"

"Good boy," she murmured under her breath.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After school that day, Tess walked into the Premature Pickle Palace. (It was the dumb little salad bar place next to the Crashdown, that Max worked at.)

She sat down at a table and spotted Max, wearing his dorky little Premature Pickle Palace outfit, which consisted of an apron with a cucumber on it that said 'We've got the best cucumbers in town' and a crown with cucumbers all over it. All in all, it was a really dorky outfit.

Tess waved her hand and said, "Waiter! I'd like to order!"

Max turned around and saw Tess. He reluctantly walked up to her. "Welcome to the Premature Pickle Palace," he said, sounding bored to death. "The home of Chef Pablo's Premature Pickle Palace Party-in-your-mouth Salads. May I bring you a beverage?"

"No, really, that's ok. I'm actually not here to eat…the food here would probably kill me…I came to tell you that I know about you and that I'm your destiny."

"What do you know about me? And what the hell do you mean, you're my destiny?"

Tess lowered her eyes at Max and stood up. "Don't play dumb with me, Max. You know what I'm talking about. You need to forget about Liz. The future of our world depends on us." She walked out of the Premature Pickle Palace, leaving behind her a truly confused Max.

Part 14

Alex walked into the Crashdown and saw everyone hanging out in that one particular booth that they always seemed to like.

"Hey, Alex!" yelled Michael. "Come over here for a second! We need to talk."

Alex walked over and said, "If it's about your secret then let me just tell you that it's safe with me. I won't tell."

"So that means you believe?" asked Isabel shyly, not making eye contact with Alex.

"Yes…I said that last night, didn't I? I believe you."

"Well then…why did you run out of here so fast and say that you had to talk to someone?" asked Max suspiciously.

"Um…I was just a little shaken up, I guess. I didn't really have to talk to anyone…that just sort of popped out of my mouth. Don't get all paranoid, I didn't tell anyone."

"Would you like us to explain some stuff to you? I mean…you aren't asking us questions or asking for proof…I just find it hard to believe that you just…accepted it so quickly," said Isabel.

"I trust you," said Alex, lifting her chin to look into her eyes. "I don't believe you would lie to me…so I believe you. You don't have to prove anything. But I would like to hear about your lives and why you decided to tell me and Liz and Maria about this."

Isabel, Max, and Michael told Alex everything they knew about their history, which wasn't much. And they told Alex about Michael saving Maria and him confessing to her about it. They all talked for a really long time. Max looked down at his watch, finally, and jumped up.

"Damn! I'm late for work!" he said. "I gotta get going, see you guys!"

He started running out the door when Alex asked, "Where do you work, Max?"

"Don't laugh at this…The Premature Pickle Palace." Everyone burst out laughing. "Hey, I told you not to laugh!" He ran out the door, looking embarrassed and angry.

"Well, I have to get going, too," said Alex. "But I just had a great idea. Why don't we all go on a quadruple date tonight at the Premature Pickle Palace?"

"A quadruple date?" asked Maria. "Who's the fourth couple?"

"My friends, Tess and Kyle." Maria and Liz shared a look that said, yuck…Kyle…cooties.

"Sure," said Liz, giving in. "Let's all meet there at 8."

"Great," said Alex. "Now I really have to go, bye." He leaned down to kiss Isabel. He walked out of the Crashdown and said to himself, "Tess better thank me for this setup. It's the perfect chance to get the other three to do what she wants." He headed for Tess's house, to talk to her about what the plans where for the night. On the way, he would stop at Kyle's to get him to go with him to Tess's.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

ran to the door and opened it. Alex and Kyle practically jumped into her living room. They were certainly excited about something.

"What is it?" she asked. "I have to condition my hair. This better be good."

"Oh, it's great alright," said Kyle. "Tell her, Alex."

"You and Kyle are going on a quadruple date tonight with me and Isabel, Max and Liz, and Michael and Maria at the Premature Pickle Palace."

"First of all, why am I going at all? Second, why with Kyle? And third…why do we have to go to that tacky hellhole?"

"Because. This will be the perfect opportunity for you to talk to the other three and tell them you know that you discovered who they are and let them know what their destinies are. You can get Max tonight."

An evil smile slowly spread across Tess's face. "Yeah…this would be the perfect chance. I mean…Liz will be there to witness her loving boyfriend turn to me…"

She sat down on her couch and said, "I have a lot of planning to do, boys. A lot of planning. But I won't tell you about it until it's gonna happen. You should probably leave now."

Before Kyle or Alex could say anything in response, she had pushed them out the door onto the porch and slammed the door shut.

"She's scaring me," said Kyle. "What do you think she's planning…nothing dangerous…right?"

"Come on!" said Alex, playfully punching Kyle. "Why would she want to do anything dangerous. That's not Tess at all."

posted on 27-Apr-2002 2:01:05 PM

Part 15

Max took off his Premature Pickle Palace apron and crown and walked into the main dining area where all of friends were sitting and waiting for him. He grabbed a chair next to Liz and sat down.

"Let's eat!" said Max, who happened to be VERY hungry.

"Not yet," said Liz. "Kyle and Tess are joining us…they aren't here yet."

"Why are Kyle and Tess coming?" asked Max, worried that something strange with Tess might happen while Liz was around.

"Because they are Alex's friends," said Isabel, giving Max a look that said that he better not make any mean comments or else.

They all sat and waited for a few more minutes until Tess and Kyle walked through the door to join them. Tess walked in and quickly sat down next to Max, leaning over so that he could see her cleavage.

Max quickly looked away, disgusted that Tess was obviously still trying things with him, even when Liz was right there!

After a few more minutes a waiter came along to give them some beverages and they all agreed to go to the salad bar. As they walked over Tess whispered to Max, "I know about you and Michael and Isabel. Don't deny your destiny, Max Evans. You know that you and Liz don't belong together. You belong with me. And if you don't start to see that real soon, I may have to force you into it…which won't be pretty. So, tonight you have to break up with Liz and proclaim your love for me…or you and your friends will suffer the consequences."

Max turned pale and whispered back, "What do you know about me and Michael and Isabel?"

"You're aliens. And guess what, Max? So am I." She walked away, towards Kyle.

Max felt like he had a frog in his throat. He swallowed hard and looked at Liz. No way was he going to break up with her…even if Tess was another alien. And why did she keep mentioning his destiny? Did she know something he didn't?

Everyone got their food from the salad bar and went back to the table. They all sat down and started talking to each other. Max was quiet for a while, but then he started to loosen up and he even found himself laughing at Alex's corny jokes.

Halfway through the night, the head chef, Pablo, came out of the kitchen and walked onto a little platform that was set up at one end of the restaurant. There was a microphone on a stand and he tapped it to see if it was on and working properly. There was loud feedback and everyone groaned.

"Oh, excuse me," said Alex, trying to make everyone laugh…most people just rolled their eyes.

Pablo looked around nervously and said, "How is everyone out there tonight?"

Their whole group looked around them and for the first time that night realized that they were the only people in the whole restaurant. Which made sense, considering the quality of the food served there.

No one answered Pablo. "Um...ok…well, here at the Premature Pickle Palace we have started a new custom. Every night we will be crowning a new King and Queen of the Palace. So, next to your napkins you will find a piece of paper and a small pencil. Please write down the names of the two people, one guy and one girl, that you would like to vote for as the King and Queen. I will be around to pick up the ballots. Please don't tell anyone else who you are voting for. Thank you."

Everyone looked at each other and tried not to laugh. It was the stupidest thing they had ever heard of! They all picked up their paper and pencils and started writing down names.

Tess leaned over to Max and whispered, "I know we're not supposed to say who we're voting for…but I just thought I'd tell you that I'm voting for us. Because you are the King. And I am your Queen." She smiled sweetly at Max.

He turned away, so that he could look at Liz. He thought that if he had to look at Tess for one more second he was going to puke his Premature Pickle Palace salad all over the place. She was so annoying! And the whole King/Queen, destiny thing was getting annoying too. She obviously thought he knew what she was talking about…but he didn't!

Pablo came around to pick up their ballots, looking a little overexcited. "Geeze," muttered Alex to Isabel. "Dude looks like he just got laid."

Isabel choked back a laugh and said, "He's probably hoping for a quickie with Tess later in the kitchen."

They both burst out laughing, not bothering to explain the joke to anyone else. For another half-hour the whole group had fun talking and goofing around. Tess was getting impatient, though.

She finally leaned over to Max again and hissed, "Break up with Liz! I'm warning you…if you don't, you're going to be very sorry. Do it! NOW!"

If looks could kill, Max's glare at Tess surely would have killed her. "No," he whispered. "Never. I don't know where you get all of this destiny crap from, but I will NEVER proclaim my love for anyone but Liz."

Tess groaned and stood up. "Alex and Kyle, I need to talk to you." Kyle and Alex looked at her, puzzled, but when she gave them the evil eye, they jumped up.

"Sure," said Alex. He turned to Isabel and said, "Hold on, I'll be right back." He and Kyle followed Tess over to the payphone, where they could have a little more privacy.

"Boys," she said. "We have to turn to desperate measures. Max isn't paying any attention to what I'm telling him. I have another plan…but it won't be easy…and I'll need your help."

She continued to whisper and told them her whole plan. Alex and Kyle got pale and looked at each other. Kyle gulped loudly and said, "Tess, are you sure there isn't another way…I mean…you could get in HUGE trouble doing that. And there are three of them and one of you…they're probably going to feel the need to defend themselves. One against three aren't good odds. What if they hurt you or even kill you?"

Tess waved her hand in the air as if to brush away Kyle's comments. "That won't happen," she said. "But I need to know…are you guys going to help me or not?"

They looked at each other and nodded slowly. What else could they do? If they said no…well…they'd have to go up against the wrath of Tess. She was not someone they'd want to mess with if she was pissed off.

They all walked back to the table and sat down.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Fifteen minutes later, Tess screamed and stood up. There was cola all over her cashmere sweater. "Damn! This is going to stain!" she yelled. Then she looked at Liz and said, "Your house is right next door. Do you think we could go over there and put something on it so the stain won't set in? Please?"

Tess looked so desperate that Liz, being the nice person that she was, couldn't say no. "Sure," she said. "Come on, we should hurry. Everyone else can just stay here. We'll be back soon."

They walked out the door and Liz said, "You can just borrow one of my shirts for the rest of the night."

"Thank you so much," gushed Tess in a sickly sweet voice. "I don't know what I'd do without you!"

They went in the back door of the Crashdown and Liz said, "The washer is in the basement. All the cleaning supplies are down there. Let's head down there first."

"Perfect," said Tess, smiling in a way that made Liz VERY nervous. They walked down the steps and Tess turned to Liz and used her powers to push her across the room, to slam into the wall. Liz hit her head and blacked out. She slid down to the floor and Tess laughed with glee. She only had to search the basement for a minute before she found a whole box of strong-looking ropes. She grabbed one and ran over to Liz. She tied her up and then found an old rag, which she stuffed in Liz's mouth…just in case she woke up and decided to scream.

Tess walked up the stairs and looked around to see if the coast was clear. She ran up to the main house and found Liz's room. Lucky for her that Liz's parents were both working in the café.

She opened the closet and pulled out a shirt. She put it on quickly, throwing her cashmere sweater casually onto the floor. She could always buy another one.

She looked in the mirror to see if she was disheveled and ran back down the steps and out the back door, to the door of the Premature Pickle Palace. She stopped to catch her breath and little and then opened the door.

She made tears well up in her eyes and ran over to the table. "Oh my god!" she screamed.

"What is it?" asked Max, with some concern, not seeing Liz coming in.

"Liz fell down the stairs! I couldn't find her parents! You all have to hurry over there and help me! I can't get her up or down the stairs and I think she might be seriously injured!"

Everyone stood up and ran to the doors, behind Tess. As they were running out, they heard Pablo yelling, "Hey! Wait! You have to pay for your meals! And you have to find out who the King and Queen are!"

Part 16

Tess was the first one to reach the back door of the Crashdown. She opened it and led the way to the basement steps. "Oh no!" she cried. "She's not here! She must have tumbled all the way down...it's hard to see into the shadows down there!"

Max pushed his way in front of his friends and headed down the steps, with Isabel, Michael, and Maria right behind. Alex and Kyle followed them, then Tess. As soon as everyone was in the stairway, Tess pulled the door shut behind her and used her powers to mold the lock shut...no humans would be able to open it.

Max saw Liz tied up and gagged on the floor and whipped around to face Tess. "What did you do to Liz? Why did you lie to us?" He turned back to Liz and gently ungagged her and untied her.

Michael, Maria, and Isabel all started to yell at Tess.

"You bitch! What did you do, push her down the stairs yourself?"

"Why would you do that to Liz after she was so nice to you?"

"Why would you do this to someone and then show us? Did you think we would be proud of you?"

Tess smiled and said, "I know about you. I know that you are the other three aliens that I have been looking for. And I also know that you have all chosen to ignore your destinies. I can't let you do that. I needed to be with the King. After all, I am his Queen."

Isabel and Michael stared at Tess and exchanged worried glances. Not only had Tess figured out who they were, but she was claiming to be one of them and she was obviously dangerous too!

"Listen," said Isabel. "We really don't know anything about 'destinies', so if you could explain it to us, maybe we could help you out. But there was no reason to hurt Liz!"

"You mean...none of you know about your destinies? Man...I thought with three of you, you would have it all figured out by now."

Tess explained to the other three aliens what their destinies were. As she was explaining it, Liz came back to consciousness.

After Tess finished talking, Liz said quietly, "You can't have Max. I don't care if it's your destiny. You can't have Max!"

Tess turned to Liz and said, "Listen to me, bitch. Max and I were together in another lifetime, we're going to be together in this one. We're going to have a child together. You can't stop destiny."

"No," said Max. "I don't care if our world depends on it, I won't be with you." He turned to look at Liz and said, "Becasue I love Liz."

Liz looked back at him, too astonished to say anything back. Michael looked at Maria and said, "And I won't be with Isabel. I love Maria."

"Aw...come here Spaceboy," said Maria. "I love you too."

Tess yawned and said, "It doesn't matter who you love, that won't stop destiny. Just give in...you're all just making it that much harder on yourselves. And you better all agree to this tonight. Kyle and Alex are on my side, right boys?" She looked at them expectantly.

Kyle nodded his head and said, "Yeah. I'm with Tess." Tess looked at Alex for an answer and he slowly shook his head.

"Tess...I just...I can't. I love Isabel. I can't let her get away from me."

"What?! You're one of my best friends! You can't just team up with the other side! You'll pay for that!" Tess stared at Alex and did what she had done earlier to Liz. He got pushed across the room and slammed into the wall. He couldn't move. He couldn't even talk.

"There," said Tess. "Until the three of you agree to go along with our destinies, Alex is going to be held hostage. Don't push me...I can easily kill him."

Max, Michael, and Isabel didn't even have to look at each other to know that the others were thinking the same thing as themselves. They all turned towards Alex and tried to use their powers to free him.

But nothing happened.

Tess laughed. "It won't work! I'm stronger than all three of you!"

The other three turned on Tess and tried to hurt her...but nothing happened again.

Except that Tess got more pissed off.

"You all want to fight me?" she said. "It won't work. Now, everyone, go join Alex."

Everyone was pushed up against the wall except for Kyle. They could all move a little...at least more than Alex.

"I'll show you why you shouldn't fight back against me!" said Tess. "Let's play a little torture game!"

She looked at Michael and concentrated on him. A spot on his head started to glow green and Michael cried out in pain.

"Stop that!" screamed Maria. "What are you doing to him?"

"Just taking some of his powers...it's extremely painful for him."

As she was doing the same thing to Isabel and Max, Kyle slowly shuffled over to a box on a table. Kyle had been to Liz's house before, and he knew that her dad kept a gun in the box. He wasn't sure if it would work against Tess, considering she was an alien and everything, but it was worth a shot.

Kyle had said he wanted to help Tess so that she wouldn't pay much attention to him...and so far his plan was working. He leaned over and quickly grabbed the gun out of the box and hid it behind his back.

Liz's eyes met his from across the room. She had seen him. He raised his finger to his lips to make sure she understood that she had to be quiet. He noticed that Tess wasn't even looking at Maria and Liz.

He quickly and quietly walked over to Liz and slipped the gun into her hands. He whispered, "When I distract her, shoot. I don't know if it'll work, but we have to try."

He walked back across the room and then yelled, "Oh man...Tess...come here quick! There's all kinds of alien rocks and stuff over here with those weird symbols on them!"

Tess turned to Kyle and walked over. As soon as she was walking, Liz raised the gun, flipped off the safety, and fired twice.

When Tess was hit, her powers over everyone else were broken and the three aliens got all of their powers back. They knew that Tess getting shot wouldn't kill her, she could just heal herself. They all concentrated on draining her of her powers.

Tess struggled and tried to heal herself before all of her powers were sucked out of her...but something was wrong. Nothing was happening. The bullet wounds weren't closing up like they should have...and there was so much blood. She looked down in horror and realized she was bleeding to death.

She died with a look of pure terror on her face and her body slowly turned to a dry husk of dust.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Everyone stared at one another, not really believing that they had killed Tess. They all expected the dry husk to turn back into Tess, who would kill them all.

Finally Alex said, "Is she really dead?"

Max cautiously walked up to the dry husk that used to be Tess and kicked it. It collapsed into a large pile of dust. "Yeah," he said. "Tess is dead."

They all looked at each other and laughed. The three aliens knew that there was still a lot about them that they had to learn, now that Tess was gone. But it was worth it. They were all with the people they loved...well...all except for Kyle. And they all knew that now there was no way the destinies could happen.

Max turned to Liz, who had tears in her eyes and said, "Hey, why are you crying?"

She said, "Because you're so damn perfect!" Everyone laughed. "No, really! Even when you knew that Tess could kill you and everyone else down here, you chose me."

Max walked over to Liz and kissed her. "I chose you because Tess was always wrong. She was never my destiny. You are."

The End

posted on 27-Apr-2002 2:02:21 PM

DIFFERENT PATHS

This is my very first attempt into the world of unconventional couples...Maria and Kyle to be exact. This fic probably sucks for the following reasons: first time doing UC, first time doing POV, second fic I ever wrote....the list goes on. Just give it a try though.

Maria's POV:

Ok, Michael is acting weird. Not his usual moody, broody, I'm down to earth and have no emotions whatsoever weird. He's acting weirder than that.

Maybe it has something to do with Alex being dead. I mean, that was really hard on all of us. Except Michael and Alex didn't really have a strong friendship anyways. It could be because Tess is gone, along with Michael's best friend's baby. Except I know that Michael is happy Tess is gone.

So, I can only think of one other thing that could be making him act so bizarre. We slept together. Yup, the big S-E-X! Now, I know he's not acting weird because he thought it wasn't good. No way. It was great…hell, that's the understatement of the year…it was out of this world! And he loved it too. (You can tell a guy likes it if he screaming your name over and over again.)

So, he must be acting weird because of some emotional thing attached to the sex. That's got to be it. Michael and emotions DO NOT mix. I just hope he can get over whatever's bothering him.

Michael's POV:

Maria. I can't get her out of my head. She's all I can think about…literally. I've proclaimed my love for her, and I really do love her. But ever since that night we slept together, things have gotten way too intense emotionally. I love Maria to death, but every time I'm around her I'm uncomfortable.

And when I'm not around her, I feel like I'm dying. That's not good. We've both proclaimed our love for each other and gone all the way…shouldn't these emotions be simmering down a little?

And I'm scared. I'm not exactly boyfriend of the month material, I know that, but I definitely don't want to be a heartbreaker.

Heartbreaker. That probably will be my new nickname, because that's the only option I feel I have right now…I have to break up with Maria…even though I'll probably die from my own broken heart.

Maria's POV:

Michael is up to something…I just know it! Last night he called me and told me to meet him at the Crashdown today at 4:00. That's not the weird part. He sounded…sad.

Michael…sad? It just creeped me out. I mean, the only time I really saw him sad was right before he moved out of his foster home and he came to me in the night, crying.

So, anyways, it's after 3:45 now and I'm practically sprinting to the Crashdown, since the Jetta broke down again and is in the shop.

I get there and walk in, trying not to look like I just ran a mile. (Which I did.) I look around and don't see Michael. I look down at my watch…4:05.

Of course Michael's late. What else should I have expected? I find a booth and sit down to wait.

At about 4:30 Michael comes running in. I see him walking up to me with his hands behind his back.

"Hey," he says, looking uncomfortable and not even making eye contact with me. I stand up to kiss him and he turns his head so I end up just kissing his cheek.

Ok. That was weird. Should I be worried? Because I am SO beyond worried…past paranoid…past freaking out…about to have a nervous breakdown.

"So," I say, sitting back down. "Whatcha got behind your back?"

He pulls his arm forward and pushed a dozen roses at me.

Wow. Michael giving me roses. I thought I was going to die right there. He just doesn't give good stuff…one time he got me a new bumper for my car.

"Wow, Michael." I didn't know what else to say.

"Yeah, um, we need to talk. About us." He sits down across from me. "It's not working."

I think my jaw dropped down to the floor. Not working? What was he talking about? Our relationship was great! We'd both agreed on that only a week ago. And he just gave me a dozen roses. He must be joking.

"You must be joking," I said. "Well, ha ha, Michael. It's not very funny!"

He looked up and me and I had that nervous breakdown I mentioned earlier. There were tears in his eyes! TEARS! My big macho Spaceboy was crying!

"Maria…I think we should break up. I-I'm sorry."

I slowly stood up and said, "Oh my god…you're really serious!" There were tears welling up in my eyes, but I promised myself I wouldn't cry. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

I threw the roses at him…hell, I didn't want them anymore, and said, "Michael Guerin, you're a jackass! As far as I'm concerned, you can rot in alien hell for eternity!"

I turned to run out, but instead I turned back to him and said, "And what the fuck is up with you giving me roses?! God, Michael. You don't give a girl roses when you break up with her!"

I couldn't stand being near him any longer, so I ran outside, sat down on the curb, and cried.

Michael's POV:

That was the worst thing I've ever had to do. I don't even know what to do now.

I stood up and walked to the door. I was about to go out…but I couldn't. She was sitting there on the curb with her back to me. Her golden hair was shimmering in the sunlight. And she was crying.

I just couldn't stand to face her. So I went to the restroom, locked the door…and I, Michael Guerin, cried like a baby.

Kyle's POV:

Girls. They're so damn complicated! I never know what to say or how to act around them. All the girls I've ever been with have dumped me.

Yup…that's me, the dumpee. Just once I'd like to be the dumper. Either that or get in a serious relationship.

I was walking down the street to go to the Crashdown. When I got there I saw Maria sitting on the curb, crying like the world was ending.

I've never known Maria that well…we just never had much in common. (Well, except for the whole thing with the aliens.) I didn't know if she'd appreciate me trying to comfort her or if she'd totally snap on me.

I decided to take my chances. I walked up to her and sat down. She didn't even look up. I sat there uncomfortably and waited. I felt like such a dope.

Finally, I cleared my throat. She looked up quickly in surprise.

"How long have you been here, Kyle?" she asked.

"A while. So…you wanna talk about whatever's making you cry? I mean…if you just need someone to listen to you…I'm here."

She tried to smile at me, but it didn't really work.

"Michael and I just broke up." She looked at me like I was supposed to say something ingenious that would totally cheer her up.

But I didn't really know what to say…I'm not Liz! If I had known why she was crying I wouldn't have tried to talk to her. I had just thought she'd broken a nail, or had cramps, or something.

"Um…I'm sorry," I said. "I mean…well…can I ask why?"

"I don't even know why! He just said it wasn't working and that we should breakup."

"Wow…um…that sucks." (See what a great conversationalist I am?) "I mean…I just never thought you two would… you know…be apart."

"Me too! Everything was going to good…" She sat in silence for a while, staring at a store across the street. "You wanna know what else he did, Kyle?"

Did I really want to know? Maybe not. Michael might have done something really bad…like slept with someone else or something. But I could tell that Maria wanted to tell me, so I said, "What'd he do?"

"He gave me a dozen roses." She laughed bitterly. "That's the best present he's ever given me…and it was a breakup present!"

I just stared at her in amazement. Michael gave her roses?! Geeze…I thought I was bad with the ladies! Even I know that that is a HUGE no-no!

"Listen," I said. "That was dumb of him. I can tell you really want to talk to someone right now. Why don't I help you find Liz?"

"She's out with Max."

"Oh…do you wanna go to my house and just…you know…talk? I can make you some cocoa…"

She looked up at me and nodded. "Sure. Thanks Kyle. That's really nice of you."

We stood up and headed for my house.

Michael's POV:

I finally got myself together and walked out of the restroom and out of the Crashdown. As I walked towards my apartment I saw two familiar figures about half a block ahead of me. It was Maria…and Kyle.

Why in hell was my girlfriend, correction…ex-girlfriend, walking with Kyle? They weren't even really friends.

I decided to follow them instead of going home. I'd just broken up with Maria, but I felt that I still had the right to know where she and Kyle were going together.

They kept walking and thankfully they never turned around, or they would have seen me for certain. After a while I realized where they were heading. Kyle's house.

I told myself not to get upset, after all, I was the one who had just dumped Maria. But I couldn't help feeling a bit betrayed. I had expected her to be very upset…too upset to hook up with another guy.

They reached the front door of Kyle's house and walked in. Hmmm…how was I going to spy on them?

Maria's POV:

I never realized before what a thoughtful and caring guy Kyle is…it's sort of a real shocker. I mean…I had just always kind of thought of him as…well, to tell the truth…an ass.

We walked to his house and went inside. He even really made me some cocoa! (Which was very good, I might add.) We sat down at the kitchen table.

He looked at me and said, "So…if you need to talk…I'm an ok listener. Vent. Yell. Hey…you can even use me as a punching bag and pretend I'm Michael."

I had to smile at that one…if Michael were really around then, I think I would have hit him. "No, Kyle, don't worry. I won't hit you. I don't think. Anyways, I want to save my punches for Michael. That…damn, uncaring, lying, son of a bitch, Spaceboy alien!" I totally lost it and started to cry all over again. I was probably scaring Kyle.

"I'm sorry, Kyle. I just…I loved him. I still love him. This is so hard." Kyle scooted over to me and hesitantly put his arms around me.

"It'll be ok," he said. "It'll be hard at first, but slowly you'll feel better. You two might even be friends someday."

I gave a little laugh. "Yeah right, Kyle. He broke my heart. There is no way I want to be his friend."

"So…" said Kyle. "Um…yeah…" I guess he didn't know what to say to me.

"I'm just so unhappy now. I need to do something totally crazy to get my mind off of this whole thing, you know?"

And then all of a sudden, Kyle Valenti was kissing me.

Kyle's POV:

Oh my god! What the hell am I doing?! I'm kissing Maria Deluca! She just broke up with a guy in which she was involved in a very serious relationship…and I'm kissing her!

I didn't plan this! She said she needed to do something crazy to forget about the breakup…and she was crying…I just sort of kissed her without thinking.

Well, if this is such a bad idea, why am I still kissing her? Why aren't I pulling away and apologizing? Because Maria is kissing me back. Yes…there is definite kissing back coming from Maria.

But this still isn't right! She's hurt and confused now…she probably doesn't even realize what she's doing.

"Oh, Kyle," she whispered.

Ok…so maybe she realizes what she's doing.

Michael's POV:

I cautiously walked up to Kyle's house, being careful to look at all the windows…I didn't want to be seen. I walked up to the living room window, because there were no lights on in there. I put my head up to the glass and cupped my hands around my eyes to cut out the glare.

I looked in and saw some shadows coming from what I assumed was the kitchen. I calculated about where the kitchen was and stepped back from the window. I walked around the house and spotted the kitchen window…but there was a problem.

This window was higher up…too high for me to see into. I would need something to stand on. I looked around and saw a rock, but it had a sharp edge on top…that would definitely not be easy to stand on. I walked around to Kyle's backyard and found a metal garbage can. It was one of those really old heavy duty ones. And it smelled funny…kind of like a mix of bananas and Kyle…odd.

I picked it up, careful to be quiet, and carried it over to the window. I set it upside down under the window so that I could stand on the bottom. I stood up cautiously on the garbage can, ready to jump off of it if I thought it wouldn't support my weight.

It held. I put my hands on the window sill and slowly raised my head so that just the top of my head and my eyes were visible. I looked in the kitchen and was instantly pissed off. They were kissing.

Maria's POV:

Damn. This is sooooo wrong. I don't even like Kyle! But I just can't stop kissing him! I mean, I still love Michael…but holy heck…Kyle is an amazing kisser!

At first the kisses were light, not too serious. But they got pretty intense fast. He started to stand up, and without thinking about it, I stood up too, my mouth keeping contact with his.

He slowly brushed his hands down to my waist and slipped his hands beneath my shirt. In one swift movement, breaking lip contact for less than a second, he pulled my shirt off.

I shivered. Partly because I was a little cold without my shirt on, but mostly because of the effect Kyle was having on me. I had rarely felt this electrified…even with Michael. It was scary…but more than that it was amazing.

He rubbed his hands over my back and down to my butt. He pulled me closer to him and for a second my eyes flew open in surprise. I could feel his huge erection pushing against me.

As we were kissing, he kicked off his shoes and took his shirt off. Whoa…how far were we going to take this? I mean…I'd only had sex once…with Michael. Because I loved him.

But I don't love Kyle! This is probably really wrong…I'm probably doing this as a way of rebelling against Michael, to sort of prove to myself that I don't need him.

Whether it's wrong or right, I want to keep going! I reach down and slowly unzip Kyle's pants. I push them down a little and they slip to the floor. He steps out of them and reaches to do the same to me and I go to unhook my bra.

There is a huge crash from outside of the window and I hear Michael's voice yelling, "I'm gonna kick your ass, Valenti!"

Michael's POV:

They were making out! They were getting undressed! They were groping each other! I was getting more and more pissed off…and then I slipped off the garbage can, and me and it clattered to the ground.

I didn't know what else to do then except yell, "I'm gonna kick your ass, Valenti!" And I really wanted to! Because at that moment I realized the real reason why I had followed Maria here…I wanted her back.

I knew the whole time that breaking up with her was going to hurt us both…but I didn't think about the whole scenario closely enough. I realize now that I don't want to be broken up from Maria…I just needed to get myself together and maybe cool things down with her a little.

But I can't live without her…I was extremely depressed, and we'd only been broken up for about an hour and a half!

As I was lying on the ground under the kitchen window, I saw Maria and Kyle's faces up against the window. Kyle opened it and stuck his head out the window.

"What the hell are you doing, Guerin?! Spying on me?!"

"Let me talk to Maria! I need to talk to Maria!"

"You don't deserve to talk to Maria. You break up with her and then spy on us! You're completely mental!"

"Just let me see what he wants Kyle," said Maria. She pushed her head out the window and looked down at me. "What the hell do you want from me, Michael? We're over…you said it yourself! Why are you making this more difficult?"

"Because I made the biggest mistake of my life, Maria. I need you. I love you. Please take me back. Please?"

Maria's POV:

Ok. The guy I love is lying on the ground with a garbage can on top of him. He is lying outside the house of the guy I was about to have sex with. Kyle and I are standing in his kitchen, in our underwear, with our heads sticking out the window. Boy…if this isn't the weirdest situation I've ever been in…

And Michael just told me he still loves me. He wants me back. He made a mistake.

But can I except that? He hurt me so badly. I feel betrayed…like he doesn't love me as much as he says. I mean, if he really loved me so much, why would he break up with me in the first place?

I yelled down to him, "Michael…let me and Kyle get ourselves, um, decent. Come to the front door. We'll talk."

Kyle and I put our clothes back on. Both of us were pretty embarrassed, realizing what we had been about to do…and it probably would have happened on the kitchen table!

I ran to the living room and pulled open the front door. Michael ran in and grabbed me. He tried to kiss me…but I held up my hand in front of my mouth.

"Michael, don't even try to kiss me right now. And get off of me before I bitch slap you. I swear I'll do it!"

He let go of me and stepped away looking like a wounded puppy. Good…he deserved to be hurt after the way he hurt me.

"Maria, I'm so sorry. Please take me back. I need you…I don't want you to be hurt."

"It's too damn late for that now, Michael! God…don't you ever think before you do things? Did you think I wouldn't be hurt?" I started to cry yet again. "You're the only guy I've ever loved. And today you broke my heart into a million pieces. And then you apologize, say, 'Oops, I'm sorry, take me back,' and you expect me to just pretend you never said it was over? Michael, when you said we should break up that was saying that you don't love me anymore-"

"No, Maria, I-"

"SHUT UP, MICHAEL! Just listen to me, dammit! That was like saying you don't love me. And even if you say that only once…even a million I love you's can't make up for that! How could I ever trust you again when you say, 'I love you, Maria'. I couldn't. And I can't live like that…not being able to tell if you love me or not."

"Maria, I do love you. I wasn't thinking. I need you. Please tell me you love me and you need me as much as I need you. Maria…"

"No, Michael. Everything changed in that one instant. Everything. You were responsible. I'm not going to fix your mistake. And you can't fix it either. Michael, as much as this hurts the both of us…I'm not taking you back. I can't. I just can't."

I turned to look at Kyle and said, "Kyle, what we almost did was wrong…we both know that now. And I just want to say that I would love to be your friend, and someday…possibly more. Thank you for helping me see that, Kyle." I walked up to Kyle and hugged him.

He hugged me back and whispered, "I wasn't thinking before…but yeah…being your friend would be great. And some day…maybe more than that."

I turned around and saw Michael, still looking at me with that pleading look in his eyes. I quickly looked away from him and walked out the door. I didn't look back.

I learned something important that day. Everyone may think they know exactly how their lives are going to turn out. But then something totally unexpected happens…and in one millisecond, your whole world is torn apart. You're all alone again. And everyone moves on through their lives, traveling on different paths.

The End

posted on 27-Apr-2002 2:03:39 PM

ISABELLA

This is my fluffiest fic.....I'm more into angst than fluff, so this is quite different from what I usually like to write, yet somehow this is definitely one of my favorite fics. It mostly centers around Isabella (yes, I changed her name slightly) and Alex, the other couples don't really come into play much at all. This fic is basically a modern day Cinderella story. Also, I'd just like to say that the songs I use in this fic don't belong to me, so don't sue me for that either, lol.

Part 1

Isabella heaved another bag of garbage into the dumpster and brushed her hands on her shirt. She seriously had to get a new job, being a maid in a hotel wasn't working!

She looked at her watch and sighed with relief. She could go to her room now, her shift was finally over. She walked back into the hotel. She practically ran down the main hallway to room 177-home sweet home.

Isabella lived in the hotel because she didn't make enough money to get an apartment of her own. As an employee of the Sagebrush Hotel, she got the room for only a tenth of the normal price charged to the public.

Isabella was 19 now, finally more independent. She had been an orphan until the age of 3. Amy DeLuca had found her one night in the alley behind the hotel and brought her inside the hotel, which she owned. Isabella was immediately put to work. Eventually Amy became Isabella's legal foster mother, which meant Isabella sort of had two sisters. Amy's daughters were Tess and Maria. They had never gotten along very well with Isabella and Isabella resented them because they got to keep all their wages, but she had to pay for her room. They were treated better by Amy, and had less work to do.

Her only real friends were Liz Parker and Max Evans. Liz also worked as a maid at the Sagebrush Hotel, and Max was going out with Liz. They were really nice to Isabella and included her in a lot of activities and parties.

But it wasn't enough for Isabella. She was sick of living with Amy, Tess, and Maria. She was saving all of the money that she could so that, maybe in a year, she and Liz could rent an apartment together. Now, Liz lived with her parents.

Isabella tried to push all these thoughts and memories out of her head and flopped down onto the bed. She flipped on the TV and thanked God for cable. She flipped to MTV and turned up the volume, they were actually playing a Linkin Park song for once!

She closed her eyes and got lost in the slamming rhythms and pulsating instrumentals.

Tess came through the door that connected their rooms, grabbed the remote, and turned the TV off.

Isabella opened her eyes and groaned. "Look who it is," she said. "Wanna-be-cool Tess! Welcome to my room! How may I help you?"

"You're such a dork, Isabella. Mom told me to tell you go down to the kitchen and do the dishes."

"But that's Maria's job! Why can't she do it?"

"She's getting a manicure now, duh. So, go do the dishes, Isabella."

Isabella stood up and grabbed the remote from Tess. "Ok, ok, I'm going. But haven't you ever heard of knocking before you enter a room?"

"No," said Tess, smirking and going back to her own room.

Isabella walked down to the kitchen and got her apron off of the hook by the door. She put it on and walked over to the sink.

"Damn!" she said, seeing the dishes she was supposed to wash for Maria. There was dried and gunky food all over them! These dishes should have been washed yesterday!

Amy walked into the kitchen and saw Isabella staring at the dishes. "Isabella!" she yelled, hitting her in the shins with a broom. "Staring at the dishes won't make them any cleaner! Hurry up, girl! We haven't got all day!"

"Amy…I mean, Mother, wasn't Maria supposed to wash these, like, yesterday?"

"Maybe she was, but she didn't. Just do the dishes, Isabella! Don't argue with me!"

Isabella turned towards the sink again and rolled her eyes. She started running hot water into the sink, and added some liquid dish soap. She started scrubbing the dishes. When she was about halfway done, Maria came running into the kitchen.

"Where's Tess?"

"I'm not her baby-sitter…how should I know? What's the big deal?"

"I have some great news! Well, not for you…" Maria ran off to find Tess, muttering to herself, "Where is that girl?"

Part 2

Isabella finished the last dishes and put them on the drying rack. She took off her apron and was getting ready to go back to her room, when Liz came running into the kitchen. She was jumping up and down and clapping her hands excitedly.

"Liz, what's up? Why are you so excited?"

"Isabella, you haven't heard yet?"

"Heard what? Maria was excited about something before, but of course she didn't tell me why. What is going on?"

"The Whits are coming to Roswell! They'll be playing here at the Sagebrush on July 8!"

"Oh my god!" Isabella started jumping up and down with Liz. "This is great! Maybe we'll get to meet Alex Whitman himself!"

"Even better than that, Isabella! See, they're here to hold audition for a new female vocalist because Wendy Lavely quit! You could sign up for the auditions!"

"Eeeeee!" Isabella squealed with excitement. Then she stopped. "It's no use," she said.

"What do you mean, it's no use?!"

"Maria and Tess will want to audition too. And they're better than me. Amy has been paying for them to have singing lessons ever since they were 7, I only sing for fun."

"Isabella, don't be so hard on yourself. You're the best singer I've ever heard…well…in person…You know what I mean. Come on, you have to try!"

"Ok, I guess. What about you? Are you going to audition?"

"Me? Hun, when I sing people drop dead from fright!" Isabella smiled, knowing Liz was right. She was a pretty bad singer.

The girls talked for a few more minutes, then Isabella retired to her room for the night, knowing she needed a lot of sleep. She had a whole day of cleaning ahead of her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alex Whitman yawned and opened his eyes. He rolled out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. He clumsily splashed water onto his face and brushed his teeth. He walked out of his tour bus and towards the trailer that served as the kitchen for The Whits and all of their crew.

He grabbed a blueberry muffin and poured himself some orange juice. He was eating his breakfast when his road manager, Phil, or more commonly known as Tubby for his weight problems, walked up to Alex.

"We've got another busy day ahead of us, kid. Glad to see you're starting it off right by eating a healthy breakfast." Tubby grabbed 3 muffins, 2 cinnamon rolls, and rest of the orange juice, and sat down across from Alex.

Alex tried not to laugh, but it was pretty funny when Tubby ate so much.

"So," said Alex. "What do we have lined up for today's schedule?"

"A photo shoot. We need to make promo ads for the auditions in Roswell, New Mexico. Finish up your breakfast, kid, and get over to the wardrobe trailer. Nicky, Chris, and Markos are already there."

Alex finished his muffin and juice and jogged over to the wardrobe trailer.

When he walked in, he saw Chris lounging on a couch with his girlfriend, and Markos was on the phone with his fiancée. Alex sighed. He wished he had someone special to be with, a girl that would put up with his hectic and crazy schedule.

He must have looked really upset, because Nicky walked up to him and patted him on the back. "I feel your pain, buddy, I do," he said. "Look on the bright side, though. We might meet some awesome chicks at the auditions in Roswell."

Alex smiled, realizing that Nicky was had made a good point. Why hadn't he realized it before? There would be TONS of girls trying out-one of them would be right for Alex.

Part 3

The next few days were very boring for Isabella. She cleaned hotel rooms and worked in the kitchen.

On Saturday night, Liz asked Isabella if she'd want to go to a party with her and Max. Isabella gratefully accepted the offer, happy to be able to get out and do something.

She wore one of Liz's dresses (since she didn't have any that she hadn't already worn a million times before). They did each other's hair and makeup.

Max picked them up in front of the hotel in his brand new yellow jeep. "Wow," said Isabella. "This jeep sure is bright." That set everyone off laughing. They all joked around on the way to the party.

Max pulled up in front of a huge house. They could hear the music coming from inside. They went inside and hung out together in a group, but soon Liz and Max went off to dance alone. Isabella sat down on a couch, watching everyone.

A guy walked up to her and took her hand. He pulled her off the couch and into the middle of the room. She decided it couldn't hurt her to dance with him. What she didn't realize what that she was dancing with Maria's boyfriend and that Maria was at the party.

Isabella was dancing with the hot guy when all of a sudden someone spun her around and slapped her. Isabella stood there, too stunned to speak. Maria had just slapped her in public! To make matters worse, everyone had stopped dancing and were all watching in interest. They were probably waiting for a fight to break out.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Maria screamed. Isabella was about to respond when she realized that Maria wasn't yelling at her, but at the guy. "How could you dance with this hussie that's a poor excuse for a sister?"

The guy said, "Calm down, Maria. We were just dancing. And I had no idea she was your sister. What's the big deal?"

"What's going on?" asked Isabella. "Is he your boyfriend, Maria?"

"Yes! Glad to see your brain has started to work, Isabella! Michael, come with me, we have to talk." She grabbed Michael by the collar of his shirt and dragged him across the room. He waved good-bye to Isabella.

Liz and Max walked up to Isabella. "What was that all about?" asked Max.

"I was dancing with a guy that just happens to be Maria's boyfriend. I didn't even know she had a boyfriend. I mean, we don't exactly talk about that stuff like normal sisters."

"Come on," said Liz. "Let's leave this party. Max, could you drop us off at the Dairy Queen? Isabella and I need to binge on ice-cream and talk."

Max smiled and led them to his jeep. "Sure," he said. They drove in silence to Dairy Queen.

"Thanks," said Liz. "We can both walk home from here, we only live 2 blocks away in either direction."

The girls got out of the jeep (and Liz kissed Max) and walked into the Dairy Queen.

They ordered their usual-one large banana split. They took it to the little table in the corner and dug in.

"So," said Liz. "I counted my savings the other day and I think I have enough to pay for my half of the rent and bills of an apartment for 10 months."

"That's great! I need to save up for another few months, but maybe we can get an apartment together in less than a year…that would be great. I just CANNOT stand living at the Sagebrush with my dysfunctional foster family."

"Things are bad there, huh?"

"Yeah, I seem to get more angry, sad, and impatient with them every day. I can't wait for the day when I'll be totally free of them."

"You poor thing," said Liz. "Here, have some more ice-cream." She pushed the banana split towards Isabella, causing them both to laugh.

The guy behind the counter gave them a weird look, but didn't say anything.

"So," said Liz after she got ahold of herself again. "Have you been practicing for the auditions? They're only 2 weeks away!"

"I don't have much time to practice…and I don't think I'll even have a chance unless I can get professional coaching."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that. I have a plan…but I can't tell you yet."

"A plan?"

"Yeah…just never mind for now. When I know for sure, I'll tell you."

"Ok, Liz." Isabella tried to think of what Liz's plan might be, but kept coming up blank.

Part 4

Isabella spent the next two days cleaning more than she ever had before. On Monday night she was relaxing in her room, wishing Maria would do her share of the work. Ever since she'd danced with Michael, Maria had refused to be of any help to Isabella.

Isabella was getting tired and was thinking of going to sleep when someone knocked on her bedroom door. She sighed and dragged herself to the door, hoping it wasn't anyone that was going to tell her to go clean something.

She opened the door and saw Liz standing there with a huge smile on her face and a glint in her eyes.

"Isabella," she said, jumping into the room. "I have got great news!"

"What? Did you finally sleep with Max?"

"Isabella!" Liz playfully hit her friend. "No, it's good news for you!"

"Did you kill my foster family?" asked Isabella hopefully.

"No…I got you signed up for singing lessons!"

"Liz, you totally didn't have to do that! It's so expensive, and besides, I have to work everyday, I don't really have time. In fact, I don't think I'll be able to do the auditions for The Whits."

"Don't say that! You have to try out…you will try out! And the lessons are free. My uncle's neighbor is a choir director and he agreed to help you. Plus, the lessons are in the evening, so it won't cut into your work time."

Isabella looked at Liz and slowly smiled. "I guess I have to say…yes! I'll try out. When is my first singing lesson?"

"In half an hour. You better change into some cleaner clothes, fast. We've got to go!"

"Whoa! In half an hour? Liz, you should have told me sooner! And I'm so tired now, I'm practically falling asleep on my feet."

"Too bad," said Liz cheerily, pushing Isabella towards the closet. "Pick out an outfit and let's go! Max's jeep is outside, I'm borrowing it."

Isabella gave in and grabbed her blue sweater and a black skirt. She changed and quickly brushed her hair. The two girls ran out to the jeep and headed towards-

"Where exactly are we going?" asked Isabella, trying to apply makeup. She wasn't doing a good job because Liz was driving like a maniac.

"We're going to the choir room at the high school."

Isabella sighed, wishing she didn't have to even see the high school. She knew it would just bring back bad memories…her high school year kind of sucked.

They pulled up behind the school and Liz led the way to a door that Isabella had never noticed before. "This door leads right to the choir room," explained Liz as she unlocked it. "My uncle's neighbor gave me a key."

They entered the choir room and Liz called out, "Hey! Mr. Valenti, are you here?"

A man who looked familiar walked out of a back room and grabbed Isabella's hand, roughly shaking it.

"Hi. You can call me Jim. I understand you need some help with your singing?"

"Yes," said Isabella, trying to figure out why Jim looked so familiar to her. "And I really appreciate you helping me out like this. You know, sort of at the last minute."

"No problem at all," said Jim reassuringly. "Liz, if you'd like to sit while Isabella sings, you can. Now, Isabella, can you read music?"

Isabella blushed and said, "Well…not too well…I know all the notes and how to sing them, but when I have sheet music in front of me I get a little confused."

"Ok," said Jim. "We'll work on that." He proceeded to give her copies of the music she would need to know how to sing by Wednesday night, their next lesson.

Isabella sang for him and he gave her a few pointers on correct breathing. He finally looked at the clock and realized it was almost 11 p.m.

"That's all for tonight, I think," he said, leading the tired girls to the door.

"Good bye," said Isabella. "And thanks again." They got in Max's jeep and Liz started driving towards the Sagebrush Hotel.

Isabella said, "Jim looked familiar…but I don't remember ever meeting him before. And I know that he wasn't the choir teacher when we were in high school."

"Isabella…don't you recognize his last name? Valenti…" Isabella thought about it, but it just didn't ring a bell.

Liz laughed and finally said, "He's Kyle's father. You know…Kyle Valenti. Captain of the football team…didn't he go out with Tess for a while?"

Isabella felt like hitting herself in the head and saying DUH. Now she recognized the name Valenti. And she had recognized Jim because Kyle looked so much like him.

Isabella's memories of high school came flooding back to her, but it was too much for her tired brain. She was asleep before they had driven halfway to the Sagebrush.

Part 5

Alex collapsed onto the poor excuse for a bed that was in the tour bus and closed his eyes. He was exhausted. Not physically, but mentally and emotionally.

He was tired of being bossed around all day. He was tired of not having any control over his life anymore. His agents didn't even let him pick out his own clothes in the morning! He was a star now, wasn't he supposed to by happy?

Alex's eyes flew open as this realization hit him full on for the first time. He wasn't happy with his life. He wanted freedom. He wanted companionship. He was lonely most of the time. Sure, he had friends, and he was around tons of other people all day, every day. It just wasn't what he was looking for.

He was looking for love. He tried to comfort himself by thinking of what Nicky had told him…that he might meet someone in Roswell.

Alex had never really had a girlfriend. Sure, in high school he'd dated girls…after all, he was raised in New York City. Anyone could get a date in New York City. Although he'd gone out with some of the girls for a month or two, he'd never been in love. Not even close. And at the age of 19, he thought it was damn high time he experienced love.

Alex picked up the remote for the CD player and pressed the play button. He didn't know what CD was in now, but he didn't care. He just needed some music to drown out his thoughts.

Desperate for changing, starving for truth

Closer to where I started chasing after you

Alex sighed when he realized what song he was listening to.

I'm falling even more in love with you

Letting go of all I've held onto

I'm standing here until you make me move

I'm hanging by a moment here with you

Alex grabbed his pillow and put it over his head.

Forgetting all I'm lacking, completely incomplete

I'll take your invitation, you take all of me

The pillow wasn't blocking out the music, but he was too lazy to turn it off. He'd dropped the remote under his bed, and didn't have the energy to get down on the floor and look for it.

Now I'm falling even more in love with you

Letting go of all I've held onto

I'm standing here until you make me move

I'm hanging by a moment here with you

Alex pushed all of his blankets on top of his pillow. Except that he could still hear the song quite clearly.

I'm living for the only thing I know

I'm running and not quite sure where to go

And I don't know what I'm diving into

Just hanging by a moment here with you

Alex groaned and rolled onto his stomach.

There is nothing else to lose

There is nothing else to find

He reached under his bed, moving his hand back and forth, trying to find the damn remote.

There is nothing in the world that could change my mind

There is nothing else

There is nothing else

There is nothing else

Alex finally felt the remote and wrapped his fingers around it. He pulled himself up into a sitting position and pointed the remote at the CD player

Desperate for changing, starving for truth

He hit the button again.

Closer to where I started chasing after you

Alex jumped up angrily from his bed and threw the remote at the wall. He bent down and yanked the plug from the CD player out of the odd electrical outlet that was built into the bus.

"Damn you!" he yelled at the silent CD player. "What do you know about love?" He kicked the wall and then screamed and grabbed his foot, hopping on the other. "Bloody fuck, that hurts!"

He fell onto his bed, trying to overcome the pain vibrating through his body from his foot. As he was lying there he did something he'd done very rarely in his life. He cried. Not for the pain in his foot, but the pain deep within his heart.

Part 6

The next morning Tess and Maria ran into the hotel lobby, looking for their mother. All they found was Isabella and Liz taking their break.

"Where's Mom?" Maria impatiently asked.

"Why?" asked Isabella. She knew Amy was off cleaning rooms, but she didn't want to be helpful to her 'sisters'.

"The signup forms came in the mail for the audition!" Tess said excitedly. "Maria and I are signing up…we have to tell Mom the good news!"

Isabella stood up, along with Liz. She asked, "Where are the signup forms?"

Tess and Maria looked at each other and burst out laughing. "You're signing up?!" asked Maria, trying to contain her laughter. "That's hilarious! You can't sing! And even if you could, you don't take singing lessons, so you'd have no chance!"

Isabella yelled out, "What do you mean, I can's sing?! I sound a million times better than you! And I am taking lessons!"

"Yeah right. Who's your teacher?" asked Tess, no longer laughing.

"Mr. Valenti," Liz said matter of factly. "I arranged it for her."

Maria and Tess turned very pale. They both knew Mr. Valenti was a GOOD singing trainer.

"Whatever," said Tess nonchalantly. "He's just a high school choir director!" Tess and Maria walked away, both fuming in their anger. Neither wanted to admit it out loud, but Mr. Valenti teaching Isabella pretty much meant they no longer had any chances of getting the part.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Two days later, Isabella was changing the sheets on a bed, thinking of the auditions. She had finally found the signup forms and had filled one out. She'd had two more lessons with Mr. Valenti and could already tell that she was singing much better.

As she was about to leave to clean the next room, Maria came storming in and slammed the door behind her.

"What did you do to me?" she rasped in a voice that was barely there.

"What do you mean?" asked Isabella. "And what's with your voice?"

"You know! You put something in my food or something and now I have laryngitis!"

"Maria, I didn't put anything in your food. You probably go laryngitis from yelling at me all the time."

"Shut up, bitch!" hissed Maria. Isabella took a step back, astounded by Maria's choice in words. Sure, she'd never gotten along well with her foster family, but none of them had ever called her that before! Maria continued, "You just want me to not sing in the auditions because you know I'll win. How dare you do this to me! My mom took you in, she gave you a home, food, clothing, a job! I was a good sister to you. This is how you repay me?"

Isabella was no longer in shock. She was extremely pissed off. "Maria, get it through your thick skull, I didn't cause your laryngitis! And I would have been better off if our 'mother' hadn't taken me in! I'd prefer to live in the streets than live here! This isn't a home, it's a hotel. You and Tess and Amy aren't a family! I'm like your damn servant! I'm sick of it! I'm sick of just sitting back and taking all this crap from you! Now leave me the hell alone! I'm not the bitch, you are!"

Isabella ran out of the room, heading for her room. Liz, who'd been in the hallway and had heard everything, cast a glare at Maria and ran after Isabella. She caught up to her sitting against the wall outsider her room, crying.

Liz slowly sat down next to her friend and gently hugged her. "Shh…" Liz whispered, moving some of Isabella's hair out of her face. Liz took a tissue out of her pocket and handed it to her. Isabella took it and wiped at her face. "I…I hate them all so much!" Isabella finally gasped out.

Liz just hugged her friend tighter. "I know you do, sweetie. But look on the bright side. Soon we'll get an apartment together and we can get better jobs and you'll never have to see them ever again."

Isabella continued to cry. "I just want a real family," she said when her crying had almost stopped. "I don't have anyone that loves me."

Liz turned Isabella so that she was looking right at her. "Isabella, don't you ever think that! Max and I love you so much! You're like the sister I never had!"

Isabella hugged her friend. "I know. I'm sorry I said that. I guess I meant I don't…I don't have the right kind of love. I want what you and Max have, you know? I want that magic."

"You will," said Liz. "You will because you deserve it. You deserve it more than anyone else I know."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Alex ate his spaghetti in silence. Nicky, Chris, and Markos were all laughing and goofing off. No one seemed to notice how quiet Alex was being. He was getting impatient. He knew there was only a little over a week until the auditions in Roswell, but it didn't seem soon enough. He was probably just getting his hopes up by believing that someone special was waiting for him in Roswell. Yet, he knew it was true. Somehow he just knew that there really was someone in Roswell, waiting for him.

Part 7

The next few days at the Sagebrush were hectic. Everyone was running around, trying to get ready for The Whits. Isabella sighed as she got the main suite cleaned up.

She still couldn't totally believe that in just one week she would actually meet Alex Whitman himself! As she continued to clean, she settled into a cozy little daydream about her and Alex meeting and falling in love and eloping.

BANG! She was interrupted by a slamming door. She sighed, hoping it wasn't one of her evil sisters. She turned around and was relieved to see it was only Amy

"Oh, um, hi Mom. Can I help you with something?"

"No, I just wanted to tell you that I forbid you from singing at the auditions next week."

"What?! You can't do that!"

"You heard me, I forbid you. Maria is very sick, and you somehow caused it! You are not trying out!"

"You fell for Maria's story? I didn't do anything to her! And you can't forbid me, I'm not a child. I'm 19 years old. I'll do what I want!"

"No. I am in charge of the signup forms. I ripped yours up. Any others that you fill out will also be ripped up." Amy calmly turned around and walked out of the room.

Isabella sank down onto the floor and stared at the closed door in shock. How could Amy do this her? Didn't she realize how important this was to her? Of course she did. That's why she's forbidden Isabella from trying out. She didn't want her own foster daughter to have any happiness.

For what seemed like the millionth time that week, Isabella cried.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Is Liz here?" asked Isabella, standing on Max's front porch.

"No, sorry, you just missed her. What's up? You wanna come in and like, have a soda and talk?"

"Sure," said Isabella.

"You look upset," said Max. "Is something wrong?"

"Only everything." Isabella told Max about everything that had happened with her family.

"Wow," said Max. "Your mom sure sounds like a stick in the mud."

"More like she's got a stick up her butt," said Isabella, giggling.

"You know what?" said Max. "Don't worry. I'll talk to Liz tonight and we'll come up with a plan. We'll get you on the audition sheet somehow."

"Max, thank you so much!" Isabella leaned over to give him a friendly hug. "I feel better knowing you'll be helping me. It's great to have friends like you and Liz!"

posted on 27-Apr-2002 2:04:55 PM

Part 8

Isabella left Max's house, feeling a little better. She knew that Max and Liz would help her somehow. They'd always come through for her when she'd needed them.

Isabella snuck in the back entrance to the hotel and hurried to her room. She didn't want to risk running into anyone from her so-called family. She knew she just wouldn't be able to handle seeing them.

She went to her answering machine to play back any messages she'd gotten. Nothing. Of course. Who'd want to call her? She layed down on her bed, and soon she was asleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next few days she never had any chance to talk to Max and Liz. She really needed to know if they'd come up with a plan, though, because the signup deadline was only two days away and The Whits would be arriving in three days!

Isabella finally decided she couldn't wait any longer. She snuck out of the room she was supposed to be cleaning, and went down to the front desk, where Liz was working for the day.

"Liz, can we talk?" asked Isabella. "You know…about you and Max helping me."

"Sure," said Liz, looking around to see if anyone would need her assistance while she was gone. "We'd better make it fast. If Amy sees up both on a break, she'll kill us."

Isabella lead her into a cramped little private office. "Liz, have you and Max come up with anything?"

"Yes, we have. We already did some stuff to help you."

"Really? What?"

"We got you signed up for the auditions."

"How? Amy would just rip up any signup form with my name on it."

"Exactly. Which is why Max and I came up with a new name for you."

"Uh oh," said Isabella. "This doesn't sound like a great idea."

"No, no, trust us. Amy is so not onto you."

"What's my new name?"

"Star."

"Star?"

"Yup."

"Do I have a last name?"

"Nope. You're like Madonna…just one name. You're just Star."

"Ok, but how is this going to work? As soon as I get up to sing, Maria, Tess, and Amy are going to drag me off the stage."

"Not if they can't tell it's you that's singing."

"What? You mean…"

"Yup. A disguise. We need to go out and buy you a wig and some new clothes. Maybe some sunglasses to wear while you sing."

"No! I'm not wearing sunglasses while I sing, Liz!"

"Fine. Contacts. We'll get contacts to change you eye color. We have to make you look like a totally different girl."

Isabella sighed in defeat. "Ok," she said. "It's the only plan we've got. I just hope this works."

"It will. We should go out and buy your disguise tonight. Max can help too."

"Ok."

"Liz! Isabella! Where are you two?" they heard Amy yell. "Get back to work you lazy, good for nothing…" her voice faded away as she walked away from where the girls were. They snuck out of the office and went back to work, thinking about what type of disguise to get.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Max pulled up to the Sagebrush and waited for Isabella to come out. After a few minutes she came running out.

"Step on it!" she said. "Tess is onto me, she knows I'm leaving. If I get caught I'll be dead."

Max did as she asked and got out of there quickly. He drove to four blocks to Liz's house in record time. She came to the jeep and got in. "This is going to be great," she said to Isabella.

"Yeah, I'm getting excited. I just can't wait to see what the new me, I mean Star, will look like!"

Max drove them to the mall and parked. They all piled out of the jeep and entered the hustle and bustle of the late evening shoppers.

They started walking and then Liz and Max stopped in front of a piercing and tattoo shop. Isabella realized where they were and shook her head.

"Uh, guys, what kind of disguise are you getting me? Cause I'm not really into pain…"

"Don't worry," said Max. "We though that you'd need to disguise your face more. With a piercing. Fake of course."

"Yeah," said Liz. "How do you feel about a nose ring?"

"Uh, not too good. But if you guys think it'll be good for me, ok. Let's get me a fake nose ring."

They walked in and started to look at the selection. "I like this one," Isabella finally said. She paid for it and they went to a Walgreens to get contacts and hair dye, because there wasn't a wig shop in the mall.

"I'll help you dye it right before the auditions," said Liz. "You'd look good as a brunette."

"Ok," said Isabella, picking out a shade of brown. She also got contacts to make her eyes green. They went to several clothing stores until they found the perfect outfit for Isabella. Black leather pants and a low neck purple tank top that was cinched in the front. Liz decided that Isabella needed to go all out and get leather boots with spike heels, which Max and Liz graciously bought for her.

As they got back in the jeep with all of Isabella's purchases, Liz said, "Isabella, you're going to knock Alex Whitman right off his feet!"

Isabella blushed, wishing that could be true.

Part 9

Alex slowly opened his eyes, thinking that the light was too bright. He lay in bed, trying to wake up, for a few minutes. Suddenly, he sat up and said to himself, "It's Friday. We get to Roswell today." He grinned and jumped out of bed. He grabbed some jeans and a tee-shirt that were lying on a chair and threw them on. He ran over to the kitchen trailer.

"Hey, kid," said Tubby. "You look excited."

"Hell yeah! Today we will arrive in Roswell. We'll get a new female vocalist in our group…and I'm hoping she'll be a girl I'll really connect with."

Tubby nodded as he slurped his milk loudly. Alex ate a Pop-Tart and headed back to his bus when he heard that they would be leaving soon.

For the rest of the morning Alex read a book and played around with his guitar. At 1:00 p.m. he heard Tubby yell, "We're here! The Sagebrush Hotel in Roswell, New Mexico!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabella woke up after someone slammed a pillow onto her head. She opened her eyes as she was hit again and again with pillows.

"Wake up," said Tess. "The Whits arrive at 1:00 p.m. and it's already 5:00 a.m.!"

Isabella groaned and rolled over. "So let me sleep," she mumbled, already dozing off again.

"No!" said Maria and Tess at the same time. "We need to get ready!" said Tess. "Which means you have three times the work to do!" As Tess talked, she enunciated each word by hitting Isabella with a pillow.

Isabella just groaned, trying to ignore her idiotic sisters. When she showed no intention of getting out of bed, Maria pushed her out. Isabella fell to the hard, cold floor with a dull thump.

She admitted defeat and shakily stood up, trying to stretch the sleep out of her bones. She ambled into the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed.

She went downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed a granola bar for breakfast. Amy was sitting at the table with papers spread out in front of her.

"Good morning, Mother," said Isabella, sitting down across from her.

"Yeah, sure. Do you know who this Star person is?" Amy asked.

Isabella tried not to choke on her granola bar. "Uh…no. She doesn't sound familiar. Why?"

"Well, I know all of the other girls that signed up for the auditions…Maria, Tess, Pam Troy, Laurie Dupree…but not Star."

"Odd," said Isabella, wiping crumbs off her mouth. "Well, I'm going to go clean out the indoor pool and then vacuum the lobby. See you later."

Isabella plodded off to do her work, Maria's work, and Tess's work. After cleaning the indoor pool and vacuuming the lobby, she cleaned 15 rooms, did 4 loads of laundry, vacuumed all the main hallways, did tons of dishes, cleaned up the dining room, restocked the soda machine, and started to clean the windows in the lobby. Liz was helping her with the windows, both of them talking and laughing.

Maria and Tess came running through the lobby to the front doors, jumping up and down and squealing (like pigs, thought Isabella). "It's The Whits! They're here!"

Isabella desperately wanted to run over to the door to see The Whits, but knew that if she stopped cleaning for even one second, Tess and Maria would have a fit.

Isabella and Liz moved to the next window, hoping to at least get a better view of the door so they could see The Whits when they walked in.

The door opened and in walked Chris, Nicky, Markos…and Alex Charles Whitman himself. Isabella felt like screaming with happiness, but just continued to wash the windows. And then Alex looked at her. He even smiled.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Alex walked up the sidewalk behind the rest of the band. He rolled his eyes as he saw two girls about his age jumping up and down and squealing. He hoped he wouldn't have to talk to them, they both looked like they wanted to rip his clothes off and jump his bones.

As the manager of the hotel, Amy Deluca, came out and introduced herself, Alex saw two other girls washing windows. One of them, a brunette, was petite and cute. She looked nice, but not someone Alex would be interested in as more than a friend.

But the other girl-wow. She was beautiful. She had a curvy, full figure, long blond hair that was up in a messy ponytail, and sparkling eyes. He smiled at her, not paying any attention to the people talking all around him. He practically swooned like a schoolgirl when she smiled back at him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabella smiled back, feeling Liz's eyes on her. "Oh my God!" whispered Liz. "He's smiling…at you! Eeee!"

Isabella broke eye contact with Alex and continued to clean the window. "Chill, Liz. He's probably just trying to appear friendly."

"No way! I saw the way he just looked at you, Isabella. There was some definite interest in you!"

Isabella blushed. "Do you really think so? I mean…I look like crap now. My hair is all over, I have old work clothes on…"

"You look fabulous," said Liz. "No wonder he's still staring at you."

"What?" asked Isabella, wishing she had the courage to look at Alex again.

"Yeah. He hasn't taken his eyes off you once." Liz giggled as Isabella got flustered ant dropped the rag she was cleaning with.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"…show you to your room?" finished Amy, looking at Alex questioningly.

"What? Sorry, I'm tired, and I wasn't listening very well."

"That's quite all right," said Amy. "I just asked which of my daughters you'd like to have show you to your room."

Alex looked at the two blondes next to Amy. In his opinion they both looked like ditzy airheads. "I can find it myself," he said.

"Nonsense! Have Maria or Tess carry your bags for you."

"No, that's all right. They're actually quite heavy. I wouldn't want either of them to get hurt."

"Oh," said Amy. "Well, in that case, Isabella can carry them for you." She turned towards Isabella and Liz and loudly called, "Isabella! Get over here now!"

Alex was overjoyed to see the beautiful blond walking towards him.

"Isabella is my foster daughter," said Amy, as if she were talking about nothing more than a mop. "Isabella, please show Mr. Whitman to his suite and carry his bags."

Isabella leaned over and grabbed Alex's bags, leading Alex to the elevator. When they were safely inside and away from the other people, Alex said, "You don't have to carry my bags. People always treat me special, but I'd prefer to be treated normal…"

Isabella nodded. "If you're sure…" Alex nodded and there was silence in the elevator. When it reached the third floor, they got out.

Isabella led Alex to his suite and unlocked the door for him. "Here you are, Mr. Whitman. Our finest suite."

"Uh, thanks. But please call me Alex. I feel like I'm ninety when you call me Mr. Whitman."

"Ok, sure," said Isabella nervously. She wanted to say more, but didn't know what she should say. Finally she spit out, "Well, I should get back to cleaning windows. Have a wonderful stay."

Alex didn't want Isabella to leave so quickly, so he said, "Uh, are you auditioning?"

Isabella turned pale. 'Oh no,' she thought. 'What should I say? If I say yes, he'll think Isabella is auditioning, not Star. But if I say no, and then he recognizes me as Star, he'll know I've lied…'

"Well?"

"Oh…uh…yes, I'm auditioning. Kind of."

"Kind of?"

"It's hard to explain."

"Oh, ok."

"I really should go."

"Ok, I'll talk to you later, maybe?"

"Yeah, bye."

Part 10

Alex finished unpacking his bags and walked over to the minibar. He couldn't find anything he wanted to eat.

He desperately wanted to talk to Isabella again. He decided to head down to the hotel restaurant to get something to eat-and hopefully see Isabella.

He walked down the hallway, hearing some noise from behind him. He turned around saw Maria and Tess, following him.

"Oh, imagine running into you here!" said Maria in a sickly sweet voice.

"Yeah, uh, sure," said Alex, wanting to get away from these girls as quickly as possible.

"Can we get your autograph?" asked Tess.

"Sure," said Alex, hoping that would get them to leave quicker. He took the pen Tess handed him and signed the little booklet insider her CD (The Whits: Hybrids Are Among Us).

As he was signing it he heard Maria say loudly, "Smile!" He saw a blinding flash of light.

Tess and Maria giggled and ran down the hall. "Damn flash cameras," Alex muttered, staggering blindly to the elevator. He got in and instead of pressing the button to take him to the first floor, he pressed the button to take him to the basement.

As the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, he stepped out, still not able to see clearly. He walked until he hit a wall. 'Why is it so hot and dark in the lobby?' he wondered. He continued to walk around, holding his hands in front of him so he wouldn't run into any more walls. 'Where are other people?' he wondered, starting to get nervous.

As he was walking, his hand came to rest on something warm. He quickly pulled his hand back, knowing what he had touched.

"Oh my god! Alex?" he heard Isabella's beautiful voice yell. "What are you doing down here?"

"Isabella? Your sisters blinded me with a camera. I was trying to find my way down to the restaurant. Where am I?"

"In the hotel basement. So, you really can't see?"

"Not well. It's getting a little better."

"Ok. Good. Cause I was about to slap you. You kind of grabbed…my chest."

"Oh man. I'm so sorry! I really can't see! I was holding my hands out in front of me so I wouldn't run into something."

"It's all right. I've never been felt up by a star before." They both laughed uncomfortably.

"Well, my sight is coming back. I should head for the restaurant…"

"I could join you," said Isabella nervously. She really wanted to spend more time with him, but was afraid of looking too eager.

Alex smiled and nodded. "That'd be great! I need to hang out with some different people, the band is annoying sometimes."

They walked to the elevator and pressed the button to go up to the first floor. "So, why were you in the basement?" asked Alex.

"I was checking the furnace…it's been acting weird. The hotel keeps getting hotter and hotter."

Alex nodded, not sure what to say to the beautiful girl standing next to him.

As they were standing in nervous silence, the elevator made a loud screeching noise and jerked to a stop. The doors didn't open. Alex hit the button for the doors to open. Nothing happened.

"Why aren't the doors opening?" he squeaked in a high, frightened voice.

"I think it's stuck," said Isabella, opening the little door and picking up the emergency phone. "I'll call for help."

"Hurry," said Alex, sinking down to the floor. "I have this…uh, phobia."

"Phobia? Of what?"

"Getting stuck in an elevator."

"Oh," said Isabella, hoping Alex wouldn't start freaking out. "Just hang in there. I'll call to the front desk." She dialed, but got to answer. The answering machine wasn't even on. 'Great,' she thought. 'I bet Tess and Maria are supposed to be working the front desk…it figures that they aren't there.'

"We may have a teeny tiny itty bitty little problem," she said quietly to Alex.

"What?"

"I'm getting no answer from the front desk."

Alex closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Just great," he muttered. He continued to breathe deeply.

"Uh…maybe you should breath shallow," said Isabella. "There's probably not a lot of air in here."

"Oh god…" muttered Alex, getting more frightened. He covered his face with his hands and tried to get himself calmed down.

Isabella sat down next to Alex, wishing she knew how to calm him down. She tentatively reached over and placed her hand on his arm. He looked up at her and their eyes met.

They stared at each other, not knowing what to say. Both of them felt better, though. Isabella broke eye contact, picking up the emergency phone again. She was visibly flustered, but tried to hide it by not facing Alex.

She dialed to the front desk again, and there was still no answer or answering machine message. She hung up and sat down again, stretching out her legs. "I think we're going to be in this elevator for a long time," she said.

"Oh goody," said Alex sarcastically. "But the good thing is that now we can get to know each other."

Isabella nodded. "Ok. But just so you know, this is really really weird for me. I've never been stuck in an elevator with a star before…"

"Yeah, I figured. So, you want to tell me what's up with your sisters?"

"Ugh, they are not my sisters. Not really…I'm the foster child."

"Really? That must be hard on you."

"Yeah. Amy found me in the back alley behind the hotel when I was three and took me in."

"That was kind of her."

Isabella laughed bitterly. "Not really. I've been a maid here my whole life. I have to pay for my room and do Maria and Tess's work. I hate it here. My friend Liz is the only thing that makes it bearable."

Alex nodded in understanding. "Sometimes I can't stand to be a part of the band. There's so much pressure…"

"But don't you like it most of the time? I'd love to be famous and get away from Roswell…"

"The traveling part of it is okay, but sometimes I feel like I just want to settle somewhere for good. And fame is exhausting. it may look like a fun life, but it is fun very rarely."

"I never thought of it that way…I've just always wanted to be a famous singer."

"So you are auditioning?"

"Yes…but like I said earlier, it's complicated."

"Would you mind explaining to me? Cause we're probably going to be here a while, and, well, your voice is really calming…and pretty." Alex blushed as he said that. He meant it…but he was always afraid that a girl would take compliments from him the wrong way.

"Well, thank you," said Isabella, taken back by comment. She was having a hard time believing she was talking to Alex Whitman, much less stuck in an elevator with him. And he'd just complimented her! (Plus there was the whole accidental groping thing before…)

"Well, see, I signed up for the auditions. My friend Liz even got me free singing lessons to help me out a little. Then Maria came down with laryngitis. And of course she blamed me. Amy believed that I really did somehow make Maria sick, and to punish me, she tole me I was forbidden from auditioning."

"But aren't you an adult?"

"Yup. I'm 19. But she is in charge of the sign up forms and she said she'd rip up an form with my name on it."

"So how are you going to audition? The deadline for signing up was yesterday."

"My friend Liz and her boyfriend Max came up with a plan. They filled out a form for me with the name Star. And they helped me buy my outfit, which also serves as a disguise. I'm even going to dye my hair."

"Wow," said Alex. "I'm glad you're so determined to audition…I bet you'll kick ass."

Isabella laughed, no longer thinking about calling the front desk for help. Alex seemed to be thinking about something for a moment, and then he said, "Would you mind singing now? I'd really like to hear you…if you're ok with that."

Isabella nodded. "Uh, ok, let me think of a song I want to sing." She thought about it and finally decided on something. "I think I want to sing my favorite song of all time--Everything I Do, I Do It For You."

Alex nodded and waited in anticipation for Isabella to start singing. What she didn't know was that this was one of his favorite songs, too.

Isabella's crystal clear voice reverberated through the small elevator as she began to sing.

Look into my eyes

You will see, what you mean to me

Search your heart, search your soul

When you find me, then you'll search no more

Don't tell me it's not worth trying for

You can't tell me it's not worth dying for

You know it's true, everything I do, I do it for you

She stopped singing and looked down at the elevator floor. "I suck…I know," she said.

Alex shook his head. "No, that was…beautiful." He leaned over and gently placed his lips against hers.

Part 11

Isabella lost track of time, lost in a fantasy world. She never knew that just kissing someone could feel so amazing. Alex pulled Isabella closer. Just as the kiss was reaching its peak, the doors to the elevator opened.

Isabella heard a small giggle and looked up. She saw Liz standing there, covering up a smile. "I uh…think the elevator was stuck," said Liz. "Surprise! I fixed it."

"Oh, thanks," said Isabella, thinking that Liz had the worst timing in the world. She turned back to Alex. "Uh, well, I guess I'll see you later…"

"Yeah. Uh, thanks Liz," said Alex, as he and Isabella got out of the elevator. They each went their separate ways. Liz followed after Isabella like a little puppy.

"OH MY GOD, ISABELLA! You and ALEX WHITMAN were kissing! I can't believe…I can't believe that happened to my best friend! Wow…I am so happy for you! What was it like?"

Isabella kept walking, not looking at Liz. "Liz, there are no words to describe what kissing him is like. I mean, it's like totally inconceivable to someone who hasn't kissed him…I mean, WOW!"

Liz giggled and slung her arm around Isabella's shoulder. "You just may have found yourself some of that magic you want so badly with a guy."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

That night Isabella talked Amy into letting her be the waitress in the classy little restaurant that was housed in the hotel. She wanted to see Alex again, even if it meant she had to wear the ugly black dress waitresses had to wear.

She took a deep breath and walked out of the kitchen, into the restaurant. Her smile was wiped off her face instantly. She saw the rest of The Whits and their security guards and managers…but not Alex. She walked up the large banquet table they were at and passed out menus. "Isn't Alex Whitman dining with you tonight?" she asked nonchalantly.

"No, man, it's weird," said Markos. "He said he had other plans. How could he have other plans? This is just a small hick town with nothing good in it."

Isabella nodded. He was right…it was just a small hick town with nothing good in it…well, except for Alex. As she headed back to the kitchen to get beverages she tried to think of what kind of plans Alex could have. As far as she knew he hadn't been anywhere all afternoon except his room and the elevator. How could he have plans?

Isabella trudged back to the table, setting down wine glasses and filling them generously. She took their orders and headed for the kitchen once again. She handed the order to the chef who worked there in the evenings. "Here you go, Brody. Knock yourself out."

"Thank you," he said, expertly chopping up vegetables and dumping them in a pan. Isabella stood around and watched Brody cook. There was nothing else to do…there were no other people to wait on, and Alex wasn't around…

Finally Brody finished preparing all of the orders and passed plate after plate of food to Isabella. She had to make three trips before she was done. She went back to the kitchen and collapsed against a counter.

"What's wrong?" asked Brody. Isabella smiled. He was so sweet. He'd always looked out for her…he was like a big brother.

"I'm just kinda bummed because Alex isn't out there."

"You like him a lot," said Brody.

Isabella looked up sharply. "What? Brody, how would you know…"

"I can see it in your eyes…and Liz told me about the infamous liplock in the elevator this afternoon."

Isabella blushed. "Yeah, ok, I like him a lot. And he kissed me. But…well…I need to talk to him. I want to know if this is going to go anywhere…I mean, he's famous. He could have any girl he wants…I doubt that the girl he wants will be me."

Brody lifted Isabella's chin so she was looking at him instead of the floor. "Don't be so unsure. You're beautiful, witty, smart, nice, funny…he kissed you because he likes you. I can practically guarantee it."

Isabella smirked. "Practically? Not totally sure?"

"Well, I'm not a psychic, am I?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Isabella finished sweeping the floor of the restaurant and leaned the broom up against the wall. She turned the lights off and walked into the kitchen.

"OH MY GOD!" she yelled.

"Sshh…it's ok! It's just me!"

"Alex?"

"Yeah."

"You have got to stop running into me in dark places."

"Sorry…I just needed to talk to you."

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you too."

"How about we go in the lobby?"

"Ok," said Isabella, leading the way. "Where were you tonight? Everyone at dinner said you had some other plans."

"I needed to go out and think."

"Oh."

"About the kiss in the elevator."

Isabella stopped walking and faced Alex. "Yeah…was that just like, you know, a random thing, or was it…"

Alex leaned in and kissed her. He pulled back and said, "No, it wasn't just some random thing. I really like you Isabella." She blushed and looked away.

"I really like you too…but you're famous, so…"

"So what? You think you're not worthy? That I should be with someone famous? No. I want to be with you."

Isabella looked up into his eyes and started to tear up. "What…did I say something wrong?" asked Alex, instantly concerned.

"No," said Isabella. "You said something right." She hiccuped and said, "I've waited so long to feel a certain way about someone…and now I think I'm feeling it."

Alex smiled down at her. "I felt it when I walked in and saw you cleaning windows. I just knew that there was something special about you…that we would connect."

Isabella looked at her watch and sighed. "I'm sorry, but it's late, and I need to get some sleep. I have to wake up early tomorrow to clean…the auditions are the day after tomorrow…"

"It's ok. I should get some sleep too. But let me walk you to your room."

"Thanks." Alex grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers. Isabella smiled to herself and showed him the way to her room. They stopped outside the door and faced each other.

"I really need to kiss you," said Alex.

"And I really need you to kiss me," said Isabella, leaning in to capture his lips with hers. He pulled her into his embrace and deepened the kiss. They finally had to come up for air. They looked into each other's eyes, foreheads resting against each other.

"I think…I'm falling…"

"In love," said Alex, finishing the sentence. He smiled and gently brushed his lips against Isabella's one more time. "I think I better go back to my room," he said. "Or else we'll be out here kissing all night."

"I see nothing wrong with that," said Isabella, with a mischievous grin.

Alex smiled. "Yes, but I want to do this right. Take things slow. This is too perfect to rush."

"Well then, goodnight."

"Goodnight Isabella."

posted on 27-Apr-2002 2:06:15 PM

Part 12

The next morning Isabella rolled out of bed, fresh faced and ready to face the day. She couldn't wait to see Alex again. And she was excited about the auditions…which were only 36 hours away. She showered and changed into her grubby work clothes. She went down to the kitchen and made herself some toast for breakfast.

She ate quickly and then went on her rounds. She had 10 rooms to clean this morning. She stopped and smiled when she reached the last room…Alex's. She wasn't sure if he was up yet, so she knocked very softly. The door flew open and there stood Alex, rubbing the sleep from his face. He smiled and leaned down to plant a soft kiss on her lips.

Isabella pouted. "Is that all I get?" she asked playfully.

"You need to clean my room, otherwise you'll get in trouble. And I need to get some breakfast, or I'll starve to death. And after that…I have a surprise for you. Meet me in the lobby in half an hour."

"Oh…better make it an hour. I also have to clean out the indoor pool and the hot tub."

"Ok, one hour." Alex slipped past Isabella towards the restaurant, as she slipped into his room to clean. As she was making the bed she thought about how wonderful Alex was. As she cleaned the bathroom she thought about how she felt for him.

She'd only known him since yesterday, yet she knew without a doubt that she was madly in love with him. She sighed and set down the sponge she was using. She was in love. On any other day, it would have sounded odd. But now it didn't…

She looked at her watch and quickly finished cleaning up Alex's suite and headed for the pool room. She cleaned out the pool and the hot tub. She hurried back to her room to change into different clothes…the ones she was wearing were dusty and wet. She walked to the lobby and saw Alex waiting for her.

He walked up to her and kissed her…in front of Maria and Tess. Her sisters looked as if they didn't know whether or not to cry or slap Isabella. They ran off…presumably to tell Amy. Isabella turned her attention to Alex and said, "So, you said earlier that you have a surprise for me?"

"Yeah. I wanted to give you these," he whipped out some pink roses from behind his back. "And I wanted to ask you to have dinner with me tonight."

"Oh…I'd love to! Wow…these roses are amazing! Thank you so much!" She kissed him passionately.

"We'll be going to The Sand Dune for dinner and my limo will take us."

"The Sand Dune?! Wow! That place is expensive…"

Alex smiled. "In case you've forgotten, I can afford it."

They finished making plans and Isabella headed off to finish her cleaning for the day and to tell Liz the great news.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~

"Liz! You'll never guess what's happened to me since last night!"

"What is it? You look so…happy." Liz smiled and sat down to listen to what Isabella had to say.

"I'm in love. With Alex Whitman…"

A frown washed over Liz's face. "Isabella…love? You just met him yesterday…"

"I know. And I know it's hard to believe…but it's true. Alex and I are in love. And we're going out tonight…"

"Where?"

"The Sand Dune."

"Whoa! That place is pricey! A one person meal there can cost $200!"

"I know…but the best part is…we're going in a limo!"

Liz stood up and hugged her friend. "Oh, Isabella, I'm so happy that you're happy. But promise me you'll think more about this love thing. I know it may seem like love, but it could be that you just have a major crush on him."

"No, Liz. I love him. I know it. And now I want you to help me pick out something to wear tonight. I have to look exquisite."

The girls decided on a pale blue dress that Isabella had bought a few months back but had never worn. The dress was ankle length and was a snug fit, but left enough to the imagination. Isabella had heels in just the right color to match. She and Liz spent the whole afternoon talking together about Isabella's date with Alex, doing their chores and trying to stay away from Maria and Tess.

Maria and Tess were watching Isabella closely, not wanting to believe that somehow she had managed to snag a guy like Alex Whitman.

"There's no way Alex could really like her," said Tess. "He's probably just using her to get a free fuck and then he'll kick her to the curb." Maria looked at Tess and could tell that she didn't really believe that. Maria sighed. She knew how much Tess wanted to be with someone famous…and as much as she absolutely hated to admit it, she knew that Isabella was a million times better for Alex than Tess would ever be. At least Maria didn't have to worry about that type of thing…she had Michael.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~

Isabella grabbed her purse and headed down to the lobby where she was going to meet Alex. As she was halfway to the elevator, she ran into Tess.

"Where are you going, Isabella?"

"Why do you care, wannabe gerbil?"

"Oh…someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Amy says you have to clean out the main office tonight. You can't leave."

"What?! No one told me that before! I'm leaving…you can't stop me. I'm 19, I can do what I want."

Tess angrily pushed Isabella up against the wall. "You may think that…but you're wrong. And you're delusional if you think you can be with someone like Alex Whitman. He doesn't go for small town trash like you. He's using you for sex…that's all you are to him, a sex toy."

"No. NO!" Isabella pushed Tess away from her. "Don't say things like that! Alex isn't like that! He's a nice person, and he cares about me! Now let me pass, I have a date with Alex tonight."

"You're not going anywhere!" said Tess, pushing Isabella again. "Where did you get that dress anyways? Sluts R Us?"

Isabella slapped Tess. Tess's hand flew to her face. "You bitch! You slapped me?! You can't do something like that and get away with it!" Tess threw herself at Isabella, hitting and pulling hair. Isabella fought back as best she could. Tess grabbed one of the sleeves of Isabella's dress and ripped it right off.

"Damn it Tess! You ripped my dress!" Isabella fought back with renewed energy, throwing Tess to the ground, punching her. Isabella's sight was blurred by tears…so she didn't see Amy and Maria running towards her and Tess.

"Get off my baby!" yelled Amy, dragging Isabella up and away. Liz came running towards the group of women in the hallway.

"What happened?!" she asked Isabella.

"She attacked my daughter!" said Amy, holding Tess against her. "I always knew she was no good!"

"She ripped my dress. She started it!" said Isabella between sobs. "She was the one being a bitch-"

"Excuse me?!" said Amy loudly. "What did you just call her? You know what…leave. You are no longer welcome here. You no longer have a job. And now you longer have a family!'

Isabella laughed maniacally. "You never were a family! I hated living here! I hate you…all three of you! I wasn't a daughter or sister to you! I was your servant! Do this Isabella, do that Isabella! I hope you all rot in hell!" Isabella stumbled down the hallway towards her room, Liz following after.

Isabella got into her room and collapsed into a ball on her bed, the sobs wracking her whole being. "Shhh…it's ok," said Liz, rubbing small circles on her back.

"Where am I supposed to live, Liz? Where am I going to find another job?"

"I'm sure my parents will let you stay with us for a while. And we can look for a new job for you tomorrow."

Isabella sat up quickly. "Alex! He's downstairs waiting for me! Oh Liz…I can't go on our date looking like this!" she said, pointing to where Tess had ripped the sleeve off her dress.

"I'll tell you what you're going to do," said Liz. "You're going to put on some other clothes and start packing your stuff. I'm going to go down to the lobby and tell Alex what happened. Then I'm going to drive you to my house and Alex will come with. I'll call Max and have him bring over a pizza and some movies and the four of us are going to forget about this whole thing with your foster family and have a fun night. Max and Alex could sleep over at my house too. My parents probably won't mind, if they sleep in a separate room. What do you say?"

Isabella smiled as best she could. "Sounds like a plan to me. Thank you so much Liz." She reached over and gave her best friend a hug. She stood up and went to her dresser to get clothes to wear while Liz headed for the lobby.

Liz ran there as fast as she could and spotted Alex sitting alone on the couch. "Hey," she said.

"Hey," he said. "Where's Isabella? We missed our reservation at the restaurant…"

"Something came up with her family…we'll explain on the way to my house."

"Your house? What?"

"Please just go back up to your room and grab an overnight bag or something. Then go to Isabella's room and help her pack. She's leaving this place."

Alex gave Liz a questioning look, but did as she asked. Liz called Max and told him to meet her at her house with movies and a pizza. Then she went back up to Isabella's room. They quickly packed Isabella's belongings and carried them down to Liz's tiny little car

"I think we should get it all to fit," said Liz, trying to cram a box into the trunk of the car. When everything was finally squeezed in, they drove to Liz's house, while Isabella and Liz told Alex what had happened. They carried the stuff up to Liz's room and Liz went downstairs to talk to her parents.

Alex turned to Isabella. "I'm so sorry this had to happen to you. You don't deserve all this shit…"

Isabella hugged Alex to her and said softly. "Alex, everyone keeps telling me that it's too soon for me to know for sure if I love you."

Alex looked down at her. "I don't think it's up to them. What you feel is what I feel. And I know I love you. I can tell you love me too. It's not too soon, it's too late. I wish I had met you earlier in life, so that we could have had even more time together."

Isabella smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. "I do love you. I love you more than I thought humanly possible."

"Then maybe you're an alien," said Alex playfully. "I mean, hey, it's Roswell…" Isabella poked him playfully in the ribs. Liz came back upstairs.

"Oh…sorry to interrupt your moment. Isabella, my parents said they'd be glad to let you live here as long as you want. And Max is downstairs with the movies and food."

They all went down to the living room to have a fun night with the people they loved.

Part 13

Isabella had fun hanging out with Alex, Liz, and Max, but she got tired very fast. "Liz, I think I'll go up to guest room now and go to bed. I'm really tired."

"Yeah, I should go now too," said Max. "I'll drive Alex back to the Sagebrush." The girls kissed their guys goodnight and headed upstairs. Isabella went into the guest room and collapsed in an exhausted heap onto the bed. She sighed and thought about how hard it was going to be for her to get a permanent place to live, and get a new job. As she started to drift off she began to think of Alex. She fell asleep with a smile on her face.

The next morning Liz ran into the guest room to wake up Isabella. "Wake up sleepy head!" she said happily as she opened the curtains, letting in the hot sunlight.

"What? Liz? Don't you have to go to work?"

"Nope. I called Amy this morning and told her I quit. We're going to find new jobs together!"

"That's great! Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Of course, I could never work for anyone who would throw their own foster child out and anyways, I always hated Amy just because of the way she treats me."

"Well, I'll go shower and then we can job search."

"Ok, but hurry. We need to get back here in time to get you ready for the auditions tonight."

"Oh my god! The auditions are today! What am I going to do? I can't go back to the Sagebrush!"

"Isabella, they'll never find out it's you, remember? Tonight you will be Star. Don't worry. Plus, Alex, Max, Mr. Valenti, and I will be there for you if anything happens."

Isabella nodded and headed for the bathroom. She showered and got ready. She ran downstairs to find Liz making toast. "Hey, thought we'd start the day off with a little breakfast."

Isabella gladly accepted some toast and ate it quickly. She stood up and grabbed her purse. "Ok, let's go," she said. They got into Liz's car and headed for the downtown area. They asked at about 10 places before they found a place that was even looking for job applicants.

They applied at The Sugar Shack, which was the local candy store, The UFO Center, which was like some kind of weird alien memorabilia museum, and The Crashdown Café, an alien themed restaurant.

They headed back to Liz's house at about 3:00 p.m. to eat something for lunch and get Isabella…er, Star, ready for the auditions. Liz took all of the needed supplies and brought them into the bathroom. "We'll dye your hair first," said Liz, prepping the dye and chemicals.

Isabella let Liz do all the work and when they were finally done, Isabella was a brunette. "Wow," she said, looking in the mirror. "I look totally different. I love it!"

Liz giggled and left so that Isabella could get dressed in privacy. Isabella stepped out of the bathroom and Liz gasped. "Wow," she said. "You look like a model…"

"I can hardly move in these pants, though," said Isabella, giggling and pointing down towards the leather pants she was wearing. "And these heeled boots are going to kill me…but I guess I'll have to deal with it."

Liz helped Isabella put on her fake nose ring. They both looked in the mirror and grinned. "You look like a completely different person," said Liz. "This was a genius plan."

They headed for Liz's car and drove to the Sagebrush, excited about the auditions.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Isabella and Liz walked into the lobby and looked around at the bustling crowd. The auditions were being held in the small ballroom, but it looked like the whole town of Roswell had shown up. Liz spotted Max on the other side of the room and the two girls made their way over to him.

"Hey Max," giggled Liz. "I'd like you to meet my new friend Star."

Max did a double take. "Holy cow…that disguise really works!" said Max, enveloping the girls in a hug. "Here comes Alex."

Isabella looked up and saw Alex walking towards her with a look of animal lust in his eyes. He grabbed her and kissed her hungrily, earning cheers and laughter from many other people in the room.

"I knew it," Isabella heard Tess saying to Maria. "He didn't love Isabella! Look at him with that girl! He's all over her!"

Isabella giggled and looked into Alex's eyes. "Hey there," she said. "My name is Star. It's nice to make your acquaintance."

"And it's nice to meet you too," said Alex. "But I must be going now, the band is warming up. I'll see you onstage." They kissed one final kiss goodbye and Isabella turned back to Liz and Max.

"Well, let's go backstage and check me in," she said. They walked to the small room behind the ballroom and Isabella instantly spotted Amy, talking to one of Alex's managers, a short fat man wearing a name tag that said Tubby.

"Uh, hi, Amy Deluca?" said Isabella nervously. "I'm Star. I'm just checking in."

"Oh, how nice to meet you," said Amy, checking of her name on the list. "Please feel free to walk around, eat something, or talk to the band. We'll be starting soon." She turned to face Liz and Max and said, "I'm sorry. What are you doing here? Leave! Only the singers can be back here!"

Liz and Max left in a hurry, waving goodbye to Isabella and wishing her luck. "You know those two?" asked Amy.

"Oh, uh, not really. We met in the lobby."

Amy nodded and moved on to talk to the next person coming in the room. Isabella found a chair and sat down to wait. She was more nervous than she'd ever been in her whole life. She was going to audition in less than half an hour.

Part 14

Isabella sat in her chair and waited. Amy went out on the stage to get the audience's attention and to announce who the girls were that were going to be auditioning. Isabella found out that she was going to be the last one to audition. She groaned softly. She didn't want to wait…she wanted to get it over with.

Laurie Dupree walked out on stage and sang Oops I Did it Again by Britney Spears. Isabella chuckled to herself. She knew Laurie had no chance now. The Whits didn't seem like the type of people to be impressed by a song originally sung by a ditzy blonde with a boob job.

Then Maria sang There You Go, by Pink. Isabella had to admit that she sounded really good. After Maria sang there was an intermission. Isabella ran to the lobby. She found Liz and Max.

"Hey," said Liz. "Are you nervous?"

"Yes," said Isabella. "I'm terrified."

"Don't be. You're so going to get the part," said Max. "Besides, you already won Alex over."

Isabella looked at Max in shock. "I never thought of it that way. I don't want to get the part just because I'm with Alex. If I get the part I want to get it because I deserve it."

"Don't worry," said Liz, giving Max a disapproving look. "Max was joking. You'll get it because you deserve it. I'm sure no one will pick you just because you're with Alex. Besides, none of the judges will recognize you as Isabella, remember?"

"You're right. Thanks Liz. I better go now. Wish me luck."

"Luck!" Max called out as Isabella walked backstage again.

"Hey," said a voice from behind her.

"Alex?" she asked, turning to see who it was.

"Ah, no, just little old me," said Mr. Valenti. "I just wanted to wish you luck and remind you to remember the breathing techniques I taught you."

"Thanks Jim. And thank you so much for helping me out with my singing. It's meant a lot to me."

"You're welcome. Well, I'll head back to my seat. I think Tess is about to sing." Isabella went to stand in the left wing of the stage, watching Tess walk out. Tess sang I'm Like a Bird, by Nelly Furtado. Isabella thought to herself, 'Yeah, you look like a bird!'

Next up was Pam Troy, Liz's least favorite person from high school. She sang Have You Ever, by Brandy. Isabella got really scared then. Not because she knew she would be called out any second, but because she knew that Pam had sung better than she ever could.

"And last, but certainly not least, we have Star," announced Amy. Isabella stood up on shaky legs, but couldn't get them to walk her out onto the stage. "Star!" announced Amy a little louder.

Isabella finally got herself moving, but extremely slowly. She went out onto the stage and walked up to the microphone. She tried to find her friends in the audience, but couldn't spot them. She did however see Alex. He smiled and blew her a kiss. All of a sudden her fears flew out of her mind. She was no longer scared. She was just going to sing and have a good time.

"I'll…I'll be singing Here With Me, by Dido," she said into the microphone. She took a deep breath and signaled for the band to start playing the backup music they had learned.

I didn't hear you leave, I wonder how am I still here

I don't want to move a thing, it might change my memory

Oh I am what I am, I'll do what I want, but I can't hide

I won't go, I won't sleep, I can't breathe, until you're resting here with me

I won't leave, I can't hide, I cannot be, until you're resting here with me

I don't want to call my friends, they might wake me from this dream

And I can't leave this bed, risk forgetting all that's been,

Oh I am what I am, I'll do what I want, but I can't hide

I won't go, I won't sleep, I can't breathe, until you're resting here with me

I won't leave, I can't hide, I cannot be, until you're resting here

I won't go, I won't sleep, I can't breathe, until you're resting here with me

I won't leave, I can't hide, I cannot be, until you're resting here with me

Oh I am what I am, I'll do what I want, but I can't hide

I won't go, I won't sleep, I can't breathe, until you're resting here with me

I won't leave, I can't hide, I cannot be, until you're resting here

I won't go, I won't sleep, I can't breathe, until you're resting here with me

I won't leave, I can't hide, I cannot be, until you're resting here with me

She bowed her head in embarrassment. All she could think was, 'That was horrible!' And then the ballroom exploded into applause. Max and Liz stood up and applauded as loud as possible. Soon everyone was rising to their feet, applauding. For her!

She looked out at the crowd and started to cry. She couldn't believe that all this applause was for her. Yet, it was.

"Yay, Isabella!" yelled Max. Isabella paled and looked at him. He instantly realized what he'd done. Isabella looked at Amy and saw that she had heard. Amy knew that she wasn't Star…and now she was in trouble. Amy, Maria, and Tess came running up on the stage and grabbed her, pulling her backstage.

"You lying little twerp!" yelled Amy. "I told you that you were forbidden from auditioning…and then you went and did it anyways! I ought to-"

"Is there a problem here?" Isabella heard Jim Valenti say. She was relieved that someone was here to help her.

Amy looked up and saw Jim…Jim who she had liked for years. "Oh…Jim. No, no problem. Just congratulating Star."

Jim shook his head. "We both know she's Isabella. Let's call her by her real name. I must say, Amy, I'm quite disappointed in you."

"Well, Jim…really, she somehow gave laryngitis to Maria, so I had to punish her somehow…"

"You do know that she can still win…she's an adult. Even if she signed up under a different stage name, her document is legal."

Amy turned pale. "No. I don't believe this! One of my daughters was supposed to win. It can't be like this!"

Jim led Isabella forward onto the stage again. "Let's have another round of applause for our new member of The Whits!" he said.

Isabella faced Jim, her mouth hanging open. "Wha…what?"

"You were picked, Isabella. Everyone agreed. You are the new female vocalist for The Whits!"

Isabella felt weak in the knees. She started to collapse, but someone behind her caught her. She turned to face…Alex.

"Hey there love," he said. "This is so amazing, isn't it? Now we can be together all of the time."

"NOT IF I CAN HELP IT!" Amy yelled, running onstage, much to the amusement of the audience. "I KICKED YOU OUT! YOU ARE TRESPASSING! NOW YOU HAVE TO LEAVE BEFORE I CALL THE POLICE! GET OUT!" She shooed Isabella offstage. Alex tried to follow, but Maria and Tess held him back.

"Let go of me!" yelled Isabella, struggling. Amy pushed her ahead of her and hurried her towards the front doors. As Isabella was running, one of the heels on her boots broke off. She stumbled, but kept going. She left, walking towards Max's jeep, where she saw him and Liz, about to drive away.

She climbed inside. "Max," she muttered, out of breath. "I am going to kick your ass. Now drive."

Max looked nervously at Liz and drove towards Liz's house. He stopped in her driveway and turned to look at Isabella. "Look, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to say your name. Forgive me please?" He looked like he was about to cry.

Isabella decided she had too many problems now without adding a lost friend to the list. "Ok," she said. "You're forgiven. Did you guys stick around long enough to find out who won?"

"No," said Liz. "Who won?"

"I did." Liz and Max broke into smiles and hugged her as best they could with the seats between them.

"Oh my god Isabella," exclaimed Liz. "I knew you could do it!" They went inside Liz's house to celebrate.

Back at the Sagebrush, Alex ran into the lobby to see Max's jeep pulling away. He leaned down and picked something up off the carpet. It was the heel from Isabella's boot. "I'll see you soon," he said quietly. "I'll find you…and then we'll never be apart again."

Part 15

Alex retired to his room for the night, wanting to go after Isabella, but not sure if she would be at Liz's or not. He would find her first thing in the morning. He climbed into the big bed in his suite and sighed. Tomorrow night The Whits were going to leave Roswell…and Isabella would be with him. As he dozed off he smiled and thought of the way she sang. She sang the words to songs as if they really meant something to her, that they came from her very own soul, instead of other people who he'd heard singing that just sang the words with no emotion. He drifted off to sleep, dreaming the whole night of Isabella.

He woke up the next morning and quickly took a shower, deciding to skip breakfast. He picked up the phone and asked the operator for Liz's number. He called and someone picked up on the 7th ring.

"Hello?" asked a sleepy Liz.

"Hey, Liz. This is Alex. Is Isabella there?"

"Yeah, but she's in the shower. Do you mind if I just set the phone down and make myself some breakfast? I'll tell her you're on the phone when she comes downstairs."

"Sure," said Alex, taking a small box out of his jacket pocket. He fidgeted with the box, playing around with it, trying to entertain himself until Isabella came to the phone.

Finally he heard Liz's voice in the background saying, "Izzy, Alex is on the phone waiting to talk to you."

"Hello?" he heard Isabella breathe into the phone.

He smiled. "Hello, pretty lady. How are you today?"

"I'm great now. What's up?"

"Can you meet me somewhere? I need to talk to you about something."

"Sure, how about I meet you out in the desert. There's this one place that I love to go. It's on highway 285 near the exit to Hondo. Can you make it there in an hour?"

"Yup. And please come alone."

"Uh…sure," said Isabella, wondering what Alex was up to. They hung up and Alex walked downstairs to see if he could find Tubby to ask him if he could borrow his truck.

Isabella asked Liz if she could use her car and Liz agreed, saying that it was no problem, if she needed a ride, she'd just call Max. Isabella ran out to Liz's car and headed for the place in the desert where she was meeting Alex.

She popped a CD in without looking at what it was. N SYNC came blasting out of the speakers. "AH!" she screamed. She quickly took the CD out and threw it out the window. "Liz doesn't need that CD anymore," she said, putting another CD in. Sum 41 came blasting out of the speakers. She sighed. 'That's more like it!' she thought.

Alex drove along the highway, taking deep breaths. He wasn't nervous, but very excited. Finally he reached his destination and drove off the highway into the desert towards Isabella, who was leaning against Liz's car.

He pulled up next to her. As soon as he stepped out of the truck Isabella was pressed up against him, her tongue searching for his. He kissed her back, reveling in her taste and feel. He could stay that way forever. But he knew he needed to do what he came there to do. He reluctantly pulled back and said, "Isabella, I came here to talk to you about something."

She pouted. "Aww…but little old me wants to kiss you." Alex smiled and held her hand.

"I know, and believe me, I feel the same. But this is important. You're part of The Whits now."

"Yes. Now we can be together everyday."

"Even better. Isabella, I love you more than anything in this whole wide world. I want to be with you forever. You are my one and only soul mate." Alex got down on one knee, still holding Isabella's hand. "Isabella Deluca, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Isabella started to weep. "Oh god…Alex! Wow…yes! Yes! Let's do it! Let's get married!" He slipped the ring on her finger and she looked down at it in wonder. She fell into his arms, feeling his warm tender kisses on her head. She kissed him, pushing him back onto the ground. A pretty intense makeout session persued.

Finally they had to come up for air. They gazed into each other's eyes. Isabella smiled. "Alex, how would you feel about getting married right now?"

Alex raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. I want to do this now."

"Well then I'm all for it."

"Ok. Let's get Max and Liz and the rest of The Whits and go to this little chapel right outside of Roswell."

Alex smiled and tucked a strand of Isabella's hair behind her ear. "I must be the luckiest man on the face of the planet. I have you."

They shared loving looks and reluctantly got in their separate cars. Isabella was going to get Max and Liz, while Alex got the band together. Isabella went about 90 mph the whole way to Liz's house. She tore into Liz's driveway, practically driving through the garage door.

She ran into the house and started to jump up and down. "Liz! Come here! Quick!" Liz ran down the stairs.

"What? What is it? Why are you all worked up?"

"Come on, we're going to get Max."

"Why? What happened?" Isabella held up her left hand so that Liz could see the engagement ring. "Oh my god! Is that what I think it is?"

"YES!" Isabella grabbed her best friend into a hug. They jumped up and down, squealing in excitement.

"This is so great! Oh…let me help you plan the wedding! You should get married this summer-"

"Actually, we're getting married today. Liz, will you be my maid of honor?"

"Oh…yes! Of course! Today! Wow! Come on!" Liz dragged Isabella upstairs and they changed into dresses and then headed for Max's house.

Max was outside, washing his jeep…shirtless. "Oh wow," muttered Liz under her breath. "Does he even realize what he does to my hormones when he goes around like that?"

Isabella groaned. "Gross…I do not want to hear about your out of control hormones. Come on, let's go tell him the good news."

They jumped out of Liz's car and ran up to him. "Hey," said Liz, kissing him.

"Hey," he said, looking down lovingly at Liz. "What's up? Why are you both wearing dresses?"

"I'll let Isabella tell you. It's her news."

"Max, Alex and I are getting married. Like, right now. We want you to be there."

"Oh, wow. Congratulations, Izzy!" He enveloped her in a hug thinking of how much his sister (that's what he called her) was growing up. "I better go change my clothes," he said, running into the house. Isabella and Liz waited for him and when he came back out, they headed for the chapel.

They arrived there right after Alex, the band, and his managers and security guards. Alex ran up to Max. "Hey man, I know we don't know each other very well yet, but we both love Isabella a lot, so I was wondering if you wanted to be my best man?"

"Yeah," said Max, hugging Alex in the awkward male way. They all went into the church. The pastor agreed to marry them immediately. Alex went up to the front alter with the priest.

Liz walked up the aisle alone. (She would have walked with Max, but he was also giving Isabella away.) The piano player started to play the wedding march and the few people there stood up as Max and Isabella walked down the aisle. They got up to the front and Max gave Isabella a friendly kiss and whispered to Alex. "Take good care of her man."

The pastor went through the whole ceremony, finishing with the words, "I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Alex Whitman. You may now kiss the bride." Alex leaned over and kissed Isabella. They broke apart and turned to face the church. Everyone broke into applause.

Isabella beamed with an angelic glow. "Mrs. Alex Whitman," she said under her breath. "Those are the best words in the whole world."

The End

posted on 27-Apr-2002 2:07:39 PM

THE FIRST NIGHT

This fic was just a little spoof that I wrote a while ago when I couldn't think of an idea for a longer fic. It's basically four parts (all POV) telling what the pod squad felt, saw, etc, as they emerged from their pods on that first night.

Part 1: Max's Story

I opened my eyes for the first time and saw nothing. Blackness. I was surrounded by the ebony darkness. I was crowded into a small space, but it was still comfortable. I knew that it had been my home for a very long time.

Although I was comfortable, I wanted to move, to stretch out. Somehow I knew there was more space out there. I slowly moved my arm until it was touching the jelly-like wall above me. I pushed and the wall bulged out, but didn't break. I pushed harder and one of my fingers slipped out. I could tell that the air out there was colder than where I was, but I wanted to get out.

I wiggled some more of my fingers out of the hole, making it bigger. I still couldn't see anything. Finally both of my hands could fit in the hole I had made. I slowly ripped open the pod that was holding me.

I gasped as the cold air hit me. Being covered in the jelly-like substance made me cold, too. I stuck my head out of the pod and sniffed the air. Everything smelled different. I could smell things in the air…other animals. I didn't know if they were like me or not, yet I wasn't scared.

I stuck my arms fully out of the pod and started to pull myself out. Then I realized that the ground was about six feet beneath me.

My eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but only slightly. I looked around and saw that I was in some sort of room made of rock. A cave. There was another pod next to me, and two below me.

I could see figures emerging from the two pods below, but nothing happening in the one next to me. I positioned myself so that I could drop down to the ground without hurting myself. I dropped down and saw one of the other beings like me reach out her hand towards me. I took it and instantly felt very protective of her. I knew she was my sister.

We walked slowly, tracing our hands along the cave walls, looking for a way out. We eventually did find an exit, but we were both leery of walking out of the cave into the night. Finally my sister took the initiative, grabbed my hand, and pulled me out into the cool nighttime desert. We walked for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was probably only an hour.

As we were walking I kept having an odd feeling. Almost as if someone was following me. I looked over my shoulder many times and never say anyone. To make the time pass more quickly, my sister and I played guessing games. We didn't know how to speak, yet somehow we communicated perfectly with each other.

After walking for an hour, we came upon a road. A highway. We stood by the side of the highway, trying to figure out why it was there and what purpose it served. That odd feeling came over me again, that someone was following us. I turned around and saw another being like me, standing on a rock. He was standing there defiantly as if he was saying, "Here I am, deal with it." And although he was trying not to look scared, I kept getting these waves of emotion from him. He was terrified of me and my sister. He was unsure if we could be trusted.

As all three of us stood there observing each other, we heard a rumbling in the distance. We felt a vibration in the ground. We looked up and saw lights. Two small pinpoints of light surrounded by the black velvet of darkness that covers the deserts of New Mexico on summer nights. The lights were coming closer. And closer. And closer.

I could make out the shape of the object the lights were attached to. I could sense that there were two beings in the object, but they were not like the three of us standing there naked by the highway. I grabbed my sister's hand and looked at the boy standing on the rock. I could sense that the beings in the object with the lights were going to take us away. I desperately wanted the boy to come with us. I didn't want us to be separated. I had the strong feeling that we needed to be together. I held out my hand to the boy…and waited.

He looked at me, the fear shooting out of his eyes into my very soul. He turned and fled. He ran into the shadows, far into the desert. My sister squeezed my hand comfortingly as the boy fled and the object stopped.

Two beings, older than us, emerged. One of them ran up to us, yelling behind her, "Philip, get the extra blankets out of the back seat!" She gently grabbed us and guided us to the object. "Here, kids, get in the truck."

Truck. The object was called a truck. I climbed inside, while the person named Philip put warm things around me and my sister…blankets. "They should be warm now, Diane," said Philip. Philip and Diane climbed into the front of the truck and Philip started to drive it down the highway again. I looked out the back window, terrified. Not for me and my sister, but for the boy who was left behind.

Part 2: Michael's Story

I lay awake in my pod for hours before I heard stirring in the others. I was scared. I didn't know where I was, or who I was. I knew instinctively that I needed to leave the safety and warmth of the pod which had protected me for a long time. But I didn't want to. I could tell that there were at least two others like me…but I didn't know if they could be trusted.

I finally decided to see what it was like out there. I punched my hand through the jelly-like substance and tore at it until there was a hole large enough for my head. I stuck my head out and looked to my right. There was a female being like me, stepping out of her pod. I ducked as another male being dropped to the ground from above me. I guess they must not have seen me or something, because they grabbed each other's hands and walked towards the cave exit.

I hurriedly tore at the pod wall, wanting to follow them. I didn't want to be left all alone! I finally freed myself and hurried out into the chilly desert moonlight. I looked around, but I couldn't see the two that had left before me. Yet, I could sense their presence. I walked towards where I instinctively knew they were. I wanted to call out to one of them, but I couldn't speak. I couldn't communicate with them at all.

A few times the male being turned around, as if he knew I was following them. I always managed to hide behind a sand dune or large rock. I kept myself at a distance of about 100 yards behind them. I didn't want to be seen, but I didn't want to lose sight of them

After walking for a while, they stopped. I couldn't tell why, so I snuck up behind them, as close as I dared. They were standing by a strip of ground that was different. The word highway came to mind. They looked up and down the highway, as if they were inspecting it.

I stood up on a tall rock so that I too could see the highway better. I didn't mean for them to see me…but they did. The male being turned and looked at me. Then the female being. I was terrified, but I stood tall and threw caution to the wind. Trust. I needed to trust them. So I tried. But I guess it was evident on my face that I didn't really trust them that much.

All three of us looked at each other. I was ready to run if either of them proved to be threatening in any way. There was a slight rumbling noise far off in the distance. There were vibrations in the ground, dancing up through my feet, shaking my teeth. I looked in the direction of the sound and saw two needles of light, slicing through the night, heading for us. They came closer and closer. The fear was building within me.

The word truck popped into my mind. The truck was coming towards us. I could sense two beings in the truck…but they were different life forms. I felt the fear rising in my body, my stomach doing flip flops and loop the loops. The male being turned back to me and held out his hand. He wanted me to come with them.

I knew. I knew that the beings in the truck would take us all away. To where I didn't know. But I didn't want to take my chances. They could be dangerous. So I did something completely stupid. Something completely wrong. Something only I would do. I ran. I ran as fast as I could and then faster. I ran into the darkness, not wanting to be alone, yet not wanting to be with the others.

After I couldn't run anymore I collapsed onto the cold desert ground and cried. I cried till the tears had washed away some of my fears. I sniffled and wiped at my nose. I brushed sand out of my hair and sat up. I looked around. I realized that I was by a highway again. It wasn't the same one as before, though. I stood up and walked along the side of the highway, wishing the truck would come by again. I regretted running. What if I never saw the other two like me ever again? Were they my family?

I felt the vibrations in the ground and heard the rumbling in the distance again. I looked up excitedly. Could it be? The truck was coming back? I stood by the road and waited. But something was wrong. This wasn't a truck. There was one person in this thing called a car. Someone different. The lights of the car washed over me, blinding me. I wanted to run again, but couldn't see.

I heard someone running towards me and then someone picked me up. I could tell that this person was strong, yet gentle. I started to regain my sight and looked at the person holding me. He looked older than me, and like he had authority. He placed me in the car and got in next to me. He started to drive the car down the highway again.

"What's your name, son?" he asked me. I could understand…but I couldn't speak! And besides that, I had no name!

"I'm Sheriff Valenti. Do you know who you are or where you live?"

I shook my head.

"Can you speak?"

I shook my head again.

"But you do understand me?"

I nodded my head.

"Do you have parents?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Do you have a home?"

I shrugged again. He sighed and looked at me. "You don't look familiar. Are you from around here?"

Somehow I knew that I wasn't. I shook my head.

"Ok," he said. "Well, don't you worry. I'm going to take you to my house and get you some clothes…I have a son about your age. You should fit into some of his clothes. And then we'll go down to the station and figure out what happened to you and who your parents are."

I wanted to cry when he said that. Parents. I didn't have parents, at least not in the real sense. If I did, they wouldn't have left me in the desert. I was scared. I wanted to be with the others who were like me. I didn't want to be with this man. I was lonely.

Part 3: Isabel's Story

I opened my eyes, terrified. I could feel that someone was in pain…but I couldn't see anyone. I needed to get out of my pod…to see if I could help this person in pain. I threw myself at the jelly-like wall that would let me out. I half stumbled, half fell out of the pod onto the cold hard ground. A male being fell from above and landed next to me. He looked at me and took my hand.

There was something like a jolt of electricity coursing between us and I knew that we were brother and sister. I could sense the presence of another male being behind us, but he was scared of us. And the other…she seemed to be in pain. Not physical, but emotional pain. It was like she could tell we were about to leave her, but she for some reason couldn't join us, but she wanted to.

My brother started to lead me towards the cave exit. The other male being followed behind us at a distance. I could communicate with my brother, but for some reason I couldn't communicate to him that there was another female back in the cave, still in her pod.

We walked. We played games with each other and walked. And then we walked some more. It seemed that we walked all night. After a while we stumbled upon a strip of ground that was harder than the ground around it. My brother communicated to me that it was called a highway. I didn't know how he knew that, but I didn't question him. We stood there, just surveying the highway, wondering why it was there.

My brother turned to look behind him, then I did. The other male being was standing there, looking at us. The fear was so evident in his eyes…I felt so sorry for him. I didn't know why he was so terrified, but he was. As we stood there studying each other, I felt an odd sensation running up my legs, coming from the ground. And there was a rumbling sound in the distance.

We all looked up at the same time, spotting two beams of light in the distance. Truck. A truck was coming. I knew that…but what was a truck?! My brother turned back to the other male being and held out his hand. The boy looked at it in fear and then turned and fled. He ran far into the desert. I wanted to go after him, but I knew that my brother would stop me. We looked back towards the truck.

It stopped near us and two beings came running out. They looked like us, but older. Yet I knew that they were a totally different species.

The female ran up to us, yelling to the male behind her, "Philip, get the extra blankets out of the back seat!" She herded us to the truck. "Here, kids, get in the truck." We were put in the back of the truck and warm blankets were wrapped snugly around us.

"They should be warm now, Diane," said Philip, quickly moving to the front of the truck and starting it up again. He started to slowly drive down the highway again.

My brother looked out the window, and then so did I. Who was that other boy who was so terrified of us? Why hadn't he trusted us enough to come with us? And most importantly, who was the other girl who was in pain? Why was I the only one able to sense her? Why hadn't she emerged from her pod with the rest of us? I made up my mind never to tell anyone that there was another girl there. It would be too dangerous to go back and try to find her. The same with the other boy.

I started to cry. How were the other two going to survive in the desert? How were me and my brother going to be taken care of? Would we be taken care of by Philip and Diane? So many questions…so many fears.

Part 4: Tess's Story

I could feel fear and worry far before I could move or open my eyes. I could sense one night that the other three were leaving their pods, they were going to leave me. I couldn't move, I couldn't signal to them for help. Only one of them even knew I was there. Even she didn't help me. No one has ever helped me.

I lay there in my pod, just listening to the others emerging from their pods. Seeing the world for the first time. I wanted that so badly, I wanted to be with them. But they all left the cave and I was alone in the silence. I lay there, for how long I don't know. It could have been just seconds, or it could have been months. Time made no difference to me anymore, now that the others were gone.

And then one day he came. My father. More commonly known as Nacedo. I still couldn't move, but he opened the pod for me. He looked down at me laying there, a sneer on his face.

"Where are the others?!" he communicated to me. Not through language, but through the mind. "Tell me, where are the others?!"

"I don't know. They left."

"What?! When?"

"I'm not sure. I don't remember. But they left…they didn't even try to take me with them."

"All right. We'll have to find them. Come with me." He leaned in and picked me up, not at all gently. He set me on the ground, throwing a towel and some clothes at me.

I toweled off and dressed myself as best I could with my never before used hands. When I was finally done he took my hand and led me out of the cave into the desert. "We're going to have to look for them…forever if needed. We cannot rest until the four of you are together again. Take this and keep it with you," he said, handing me a strange metal book.

"What is this?" I asked as we walked.

"Your destiny," he said. "And no matter what happens to you or me in this lifetime, you must always remember your destiny."

"But what is my destiny?"

"You will remember, child. Someday, you will remember." We walked side by side into the sunset, heading for our exciting yet depressing future of searching for the other three and running from the FBI. I didn't yet know what my destiny was, but I swore to myself that I would try my hardest to fulfill it.

The End

posted on 27-Apr-2002 2:09:04 PM

ALL YOU WANT

This fic is based on the song All You Want by Dido, which I of course don't own. It's about Max and Liz.

*****

I'd like to watch you sleep at night,

To hear you breathe by my side

Liz sighed and flipped onto her stomach, completely unable to get comfortable. She hadn't slept in days. There was this weird electrical shock that kept running through her body. Something like this always happened when Max was close to Roswell. She tossed and turned again.

And although sleep leaves me behind,

There's nowhere I'd rather be.

She kept thinking of him. Of what he'd done to her, to them. He'd slept with Tess. He'd gotten Tess pregnant. Her worst fears had come to life…he'd gone after Tess, wanting to bring back his son.

Liz had tried to help him at first, knowing how dangerous Tess was. She'd killed Alex and Liz knew that Tess wouldn't hesitate to kill again.

But Max…he'd grown obsessed. He was convinced Tess hadn't really left the planet. That she and their son were still on Earth, hiding. Max began searching day and night, sometimes not returning to Roswell for weeks. Liz had tried to hold on, to pick up the remnants of their love and piece them back together. But their love was too fragile by then, too complex for Liz to piece together by herself. She had slowly lost her grasp on Max.

And now our bed is oh so cold,

My hands feel empty, no one to hold

All he cared about was finding his son. Michael and Isabel had tried to talk him out of his obsession, but that had angered him. He claimed they were all against him. He couldn't understand why no one wanted him near Tess.

I can sleep what side I want,

It's not the same with you gone.

Liz had slowly fallen back into a routine. Get up in the morning, go to school, work a shift at the Crashdown with Maria, do homework, sleep, start over. Liz began to feel like a robot, programmed to do only the simplest, most basic things. She hardly talked to anyone but Maria. Her grades slipped. Her parents worried. But she kept trudging along, from one day to the next, from one week to the next, from one month to the next, from one year to the next. It had been three years since Liz had last seen Max. Three long years of agony, knowing he was out there, not thinking of her. No, he was thinking of his son… and of Tess. Thinking of where Tess could be.

Oh if you'd come home,

I'll let you know that

All you want, is right here in this room, all you want

Liz's eyes snapped open as she heard a tapping. It sounded like it was coming form the front door of the small apartment she now occupied. She sat up and listened, holding her breath. Listening. Listening. And then she heard it, the tapping, again.

She quietly slid off the bed and slipped her feet into her slippers. She crouched down and reached under the bed, fumbling in the moonlight to find the baseball bat. Her hand met the cool metal of the handle and she pulled it out from under the bed, standing, and slowly shuffling out of the bedroom. As she was halfway across the kitchen, she heard the tapping again. But it wasn't just tapping, it was knocking. Someone was at her door.

"Who's there?" she called out. There was no response. She shuffled a few feet closer to the door and called out again. "Hello? Is someone there? Michael, if you're trying to scare me, I'll kick your ass!" Michael had tried to scare her before, as a joke. He lived two floors above her.

"Liz," a hoarse voice cried through the door. Liz stopped in midstep, trying to figure out who it was. The voice seemed vaguely familiar, like something she'd heard in a dream. It seemed unreal…but it was happening.

She took a deep breath and walked the rest of the way across the kitchen and to the door. She slowly unlatched the lock and inched the door open, not prepared for what she knew would be behind it.

"Liz…" She looked up into his warm amber eyes and she remembered. And she wanted.

And all you need, is sitting here with you, all you want

She stared in shock at Max. He looked no different than when she'd seen him three years earlier, yet he was different. 'He's a man,' she realized. 'He grew up, so did I.' He was dirty and disheveled. Finally she managed to say, "Come in, Max."

Max turned and looked down the hall, smiling. "Jeremy, come here. We'll be safe here." Liz watched as a small blond boy toddled down the hall and she felt like someone was trying to squeeze her heart, twisting it until it exploded. The boy, Jeremy, had Max's ears and eyes, but that's were the similarities stopped. He was practically the spitting image of Tess.

Tess. The one person she never wanted to see again. Because in all actuality, Max had chosen Tess over Liz. He may not love Tess, but he chased her around the world for three years instead of staying with the one he did love.

It's been three years, one night apart,

But in that night you tore my heart.

If only you had slept alone,

If those seeds had not been sown.

Max took the boy's hand and led him into Liz's apartment. Liz slowly returned to reality, not liking the way her mind kept wandering down memory lane. She realized that the apartment was still shrouded in darkness, so she flicked on the nearest light.

Max and Jeremy sat on her couch while she filled a glass with water and one with milk. She returned to the living room and handed the drinks to Max and Jeremy.

Jeremy eyed Liz warily as he gulped down his milk. Max and Liz sat, staring at each other, neither knowing how to break the silence…neither wanting to break the silence. The silence was their delicate barrier. As long as the barrier remained, they didn't have to face what had happened over the past three years. They could just sit and pretend everything was perfectly fine. But Liz knew it wasn't. The more she looked at Max the more she wanted to run to him and kiss him. And she realized by his expression that he wanted the exact same thing.

Oh you could come home and you would know that

All you want, is right here in this room, all you want,

All you need is sitting here with you, all you want.

As they stared into each other's eyes, Liz remembered the last time they'd seen each other. At that time she was living in a different apartment, one to which Max had a key. He had come in that night, as if it wasn't a rare occasion. Liz had squealed with delight and ran to greet him, jumping into his arms.

And then he'd told her. He knew where Tess and his son were hiding, but they were well protected. It would take him a long time to get his son safely away from Tess.

The next morning Liz had awoken to discover that he'd already left again. And she'd promised herself she'd not take him back the next time. She'd promised herself that would be the last time she'd allow him to walk in and out of her life so easily, as if her feelings meant nothing.

I hear your key turning in the door,

I won't be hearing that sound any more.

And you and your sin can leave the way you just came in,

Send my regards to her.

Liz knew that the longer she just stared at Max and prolonged the barrier of silence, the less chance she'd have of being able to tell him to leave. Max smiled then and she knew it was all over. She couldn't turn him away. No matter how hard she'd tried over the years, she couldn't stop a small, secluded part of herself from loving him. Now, that small, secluded part of herself was rising to the surface of her heart, expanding.

She noticed that Jeremy was asleep on the couch next to Max. She smiled and stood up. "We can put Jeremy in the guest room," she said. Max gently picked up the little boy and followed Liz to a small room at the back of the apartment. He laid him down on the bed and proceeded to take off his jacket and shoes, as Liz stood in the doorway, watching.

I hope you've found that,

All you want, is right there in that room, all you want

All you need is sitting there with you, all you want

Max finished up and joined Liz in the hall, quietly shutting the guest room door behind him. Neither Max or Liz said a word as they went to her bedroom. He stripped down to his boxers and got into the bed next to her. His arms slowly encircled her petite body, holding her close.

I'd like to watch you sleep at night,

To hear you breathe by my side.

Liz lay awake as Max slowly drifted off. She knew they had a lot to work out between them. They had so much to talk about. But for now Liz was content to lie in his arms, watching him sleep and listening to him breath. He was all she wanted and that's all that mattered.

The End

posted on 27-Apr-2002 2:10:40 PM

My Love Grows Deeper

This fic is based on the song My Love Grows Deeper, by Nelly Furtado. (I don't own the song, so don't sue me!) This fic deals with Isabel and her feelings for Jesse and Alex after Jesse finds out she's not human. A special wish is granted for Isabel.

*****

Jesse knows about me. This is not the way I had imagined him finding out. And in a way, having Jesse know who I really am, what I really am, takes away from our relationship. I love Jesse, don't get me wrong. But our relationship was special because to him, I was normal. To him, I was nothing more than his loving HUMAN wife.

Lately I had wanted him to know, yet I knew our relationship would change. And now there's all this guilt that I can't get rid of. He said what bothers him isn't the fact I lied, but how good of a liar I've been.

I need to talk to someone about this. Someone who knows me and understands what I'm going through. Alex. And I know that he's never come back, as a ghost. I realize he's a figment of my imagination. Yet, he's the only one I can talk to. (The only one I want.)

And what scares me most is the fact that although he's dead, and although I'm married to Jesse, I am falling more in love with Alex.

When that fever hit me as I was recovering from my gunshot, I realized that Alex still means the world to me.

My love grows deeper every day and takes a little piece of me.

My love grows deeper every day and takes a little piece of me.

My love grows deeper every day, deep into the sea.

But takes a little piece of me, a little piece of me.

I'm lying in bed now, next to Jesse. He's sleeping peacefully, unaware of what I'm going through. He thinks we're ok, that we're going to get through this. I told him I love being his wife. And I do, because I love him. But I don't think I'm in love with him. Ok, I'll admit it, we rushed into our marriage. I was so lost after Alex died and then Jesse came along and I felt like I was living again. I thought I was in love with him, but I think I was wrong. He was just the rope to pull me out of the deep abyss I'd stumbled into. He brought me back to reality, and for a short while, he made me forget that I'd lost Alex.

But I can't forget anymore. I can't deny how I feel. I need to face what I feel.

Oh it's so beautiful out and I can't see why we're not allowed to be

Up in the sky with the birds counting the flowers.

I slowly get out of bed to start breakfast. I haven't slept all night, and I'm still recovering from the gunshot. I know Jesse won't want me out of bed, but I have to. The sun is shining and birds are twittering in the tree outside the window. Everything is sunny and cheerful, giving me hope. Hope for what? I don't know, especially considering Alex is dead. I mean, it's not like I can tell him how I feel, yet, I have hope.

I try to prepare french toast for Jesse, but as usual, it's burned. Since he's not in the kitchen yet, I decide to use my powers.

Oh my powers have failed me again when I can't see beginning to end

And I try to test it again through the hours.

My powers don't work. I'm weak and thinking of Alex has made me too happy, nervous, and jumpy to concentrate enough. Jesse comes in then and walks up to me, grabbing my hand, guiding me back to the bedroom. He says something about me being in bed, recovering and resting. I allow him to help me into the bed, pulling the blankets up to my chin. I smile weakly as he goes to make his own breakfast. Memories of Alex take over my mind.

I remember prom. Las Vegas. Him dressing as a policeman and stripping for my birthday. His attempts at flirting with me. When we went stargazing during the father/children camping trip.

Wandering stars in the blue could not be born because of you.

Wandering stars in the blue could not be born because of you.

A tear slips down my cheek and I hastily wipe it away, not wanting Jesse to see if he comes back in the room. He'd ask me what was wrong, he'd want to talk about it.

My love grows deeper every day but takes a little piece of me.

My love grows deeper every day what takes a little piece of me.

Jesse leaves for work, calling to me that he'll be checking in on me throughout the day. As soon as I know he's gone, I shuffle to the kitchen and make myself oatmeal. I eat in silence, trying to figure out what to do about my "Alex or Jesse?" predicament.

My love grows deeper every day, deep into the sea

But takes a little piece of me, a little piece of me.

I finish my oatmeal and wash out my bowl, deciding to go for a walk. I shouldn't…if my friends or Max sees me, they'll make me return to the apartment. I grab a jacket and slip my sneakers on, not caring that I'm still in pajamas. I walk outside and decide to head north.

Oh why can't I be as green as the grass beneath my feet,

As fresh as the dew…hits the ground in the morning,

And not yellow like bumble bees, please take me off my knees.

I don't wanna be red forever.

I continued walking and before I realize it, I'm in the cemetary, walking towards Alex's grave. I try to stop myself, to force myself to walk back to the apartment, but it's as if my legs aren't a part of me. I keep walking, almost as if Alex is somehow calling to me. I sit next to his grave and stare blankly at the headstone. The tears fall, but I don't try to stop them. I don't want to. I need to cry. I need to get it all out. I haven't cried for Alex in a long time, though I've wanted to.

Before I know it, it's night, and I'm still at his grave. Jesse will be worried and I know I have to leave. But I'm waiting. For what, I'm not even sure, but I can feel it coming. I try not to think of Alex as I slowly stand. I need to think of Jesse. I need to think of me now. I have recovering to do, both physical and emotional.

I'll be looking at the moon but I'll be thinking of myself.

I've got me under my own skin, I don't need nobody else.

I feel something, in the air. It's cold, so cold. But even as I think this, it's getting warmer. I feel safer.

I'll be looking at the moon but I'll be thinking of myself.

I've got me under my own skin, I do not need nobody else.

I look to the heavens and notice a shooting star. I make a wish. A wish to start anew, to do things differently.

Wandering stars in the blue could not be born because of you.

Wandering stars in the blue could not be born because of you.

As I finish making my wish, the heavens open up, the rain falling faster and harder than I've ever seen before. I gasp in surprise as I'm drenched immediately.

I turn and lightning flashes, blinding me. I can't see, I can't tell where I am.

If I could have sunlight in the palm of your hand I'd take the moonlight instead.

If I could have sunlight in the palm of your hand I'd take the moonlight instead.

I feel a strange tingling, like my whole body's fallen asleep. I open my eyes and have to blink several times before I can believe it. I'm back at prom, in Alex's arms, dancing. The way he's looking at me, the way he's holding me, reminds me of how much I always wanted to tell him I love him. But then he died…

I look around me and notice all my friends dancing together, exactly as it had originally happened. And then it hits me…

My love grows deeper every day but takes a little piece of me.

My love grows deeper every day but takes from me.

My love grows deeper every day, deep into the sea.

But takes a little piece of me, a little piece of me.

I've been given a change to relive it. My wish was granted. I can tell Alex I love him. I can stop Tess from finally killing Alex. I can be with Alex and have the life I want. Because my love grows deeper every day, and now I'll be complete.

The End

Thanks for reading my fics! I'll be posting Freaks and Geeks of Roswell later, since I want it to be posted with the sequel, Freaks On the Run.

~Kari

posted on 4-May-2002 2:50:39 PM
Honestly Ok


I just wrote this one, it's loosely based on the song Honestly Ok, by Dido. This is told from Liz's POV and is post-Panacea.

-----

I wake up and I know. I just know. There is no question, no doubt, in my mind that I could be mistaken. I wish I was. I wish I was dreaming, and that any moment Maria, lying beside me, would awaken me. But it’s true. Max is dead. I cannot feel his presence at all.

I feel like a part of me is gone, I feel like I’m dying. Something in me is missing now, something vital.
Max is dead.

I form the words with my mouth, saying them out loud without realizing it. Maria is asking what I’m talking about. I don’t care about her stupid questions and doubts. It’s true and nothing will change that. She can’t make me feel better about it or try to convince me that I must be mistaken.

Max is dead.

He left me all alone. The stupid bastard left me all alone.

And instantly I regret thinking this. He’s not a bastard. He’s the boy who saved my life. The boy who risked his life to save mine. The boy who loved me. Most of the time.

And as I sit here, in "The Rat", with Maria, I can feel my powers building up in me. There’s a slight tingling in my hands, as if they’ve fallen asleep. But I know that if I look down at them there will be green sparks all along them, and that does not happen when your hands fall asleep. It’s because I’m thinking of him. And her.

Max slept with that hussie. He created a child with her. He performed what, in my opinion, is the most sacred act two people can perform together. And they created life. How the hell could he do that to us, to me?

I stand up, trying to wipe the tears from my eyes, but it’s useless, they spill down too quickly, blurring my vision. I stumble to the door and run down the stairs. I can hear Maria calling me, running after me, telling me we should call someone in Roswell to tell us I’m mistaken.

I’m not mistaken, damn it! Max is dead and I am all alone in the world with these stupid powers. At least he left me a parting gift.

I make it outside and suck in the fresh cold air as quickly as I can. It feels good to be outside. I start walking, to where I don’t know, and don’t really care. I just need to walk. Maria catches up to me and starts babbling to me while she tries to reach Michael. I keep walking and she says she’ll come find me if she finds out anything.

As I walk, I’m no longer angry. Now the sadness, the grief, the loneliness is washing over me, threatening to pull me down and drown me. Good. Let it take me. What do I have to live for now? The only thing I had before was Max, and trying to salvage what was left of our quickly deteriorating relationship. Now I don’t even have that.

I sit down on a bench and try not to cry. I know Maria is going to want to talk to me, to comfort me. But she can’t. She loves Michael, whether she’ll admit or not, but she hasn’t lost him. She doesn’t know what it feels like to have your heart cut out of you, to see it torn and shredded to pieces in front of you, to actually FEEL the person you love dying. She doesn’t know, so she can’t comfort me.

-----

Maria comes back and I realize I’ve been sitting there for almost an hour. She has tears in her eyes as she looks at me, and then she cracks. "I’m so sorry, Liz," she says. And that’s all I need to hear. I pull her into my arms and try to comfort her. I don’t know why I’m not crying now. Maybe because my heart is too broken.

I’m too broken.

I soothe her quietly, smoothing her hair like she’s a small child. Telling her it’s ok.

It’s not ok. He died. How could he die? He’s an alien. Was it Khivar? A skin? Are we in danger. Fuck that. Who cares? I don’t. I’ve got powers now, I can protect myself.

And as soon as I think about my powers, I can feel them surging up and I quickly let go of Maria and point my hands in another direction. A tree in front of me explodes into flames and Maria jumps up in fear. In fear of me. Of what I am now.

And I just wish I were normal.

I just want to feel safe in my own skin, I just want to be happy again

I wish I was normal. And that I’d never had to deal with the whole thing between Max and Tess. I wish I’d never made Max believe I slept with Kyle. Ever since that night, I’ve been lonely. Max pulled back, went to Tess. I pulled back and tried not to show how much he was hurting me.

I just want to feel deep in my own world
But I’m so lonely I don’t even want to be with myself anymore


I wish I could go back in time, back to when things were simple. When the boy I loved, loved me back and there was nothing standing in the way of us being together. No destiny. No bastard child. No future versions of Max showing up on my balcony, feeding me some crap about how the world would end just because Max loved me.

I should have told future Max to go away, to leave me alone. If I’d done that, maybe Tess would have left.

Alex would be alive.

Max wouldn’t have slept with her.

I wouldn’t have these powers.

Max would be alive.

I would be myself.

If I could go back, even for one day, to when things were simpler, less frightening, I’d try to change things, so that the here and now, the present, wouldn’t be like this.

On a different day, if I was safe in my own skin, then I wouldn’t feel lost and so frightened

But I know I can do no such thing. Today is today. Max is dead. Alex is dead. Max has a son. I’m a human with alien powers.

And I’m terrified.

More terrified than I’ve ever been before. What’s going to happen to me now? Will my powers go away? Will I ever have to deal with any more alien crap, or can I finally break free from it, the way I know Maria desperately wants to? Will I ever have normal?

I’m lost. I don’t know what to do, to say, to think.

But this is today and I’m lost in my own skin

-----

It’s been two weeks now. Will the pain ever go away? Or will it at least ever become less? I can’t go on like this much longer.

My powers have gone. Thank God for that. But everyone is still worried about me. They think it’s unhealthy for me not to speak to anyone. Maybe it is. Either way, I have nothing to say to any of them.

Maria thinks I’m angry at her somehow. I’m not.

Michael doesn’t seem to care at all that Max died. Cause hell, now he’s the man, he’s the king. Whatever.

Isabel isn’t handling Max’s death well, but she’s still talking to people.

Kyle and Mr. Valenti are just kind of in shock. I don’t think either of them fully appreciates how Max saved them, even now, when he’s gone. Mr. Valenti saw Max die. I’d think he’d be more upset by all of this.

And Jesse. He left Isabel. She’d been shot and he found out she was alien and he left. Wanna know the kicker? She’s pregnant. He left her and she’s pregnant. Bastard.

My days go by at a crawl. Seconds seem likes hours, one day seems like an eternity. Every night I go to bed, hoping I won’t have to wake up in the morning to face another day. To face the pain and the loss and the confusion and the utter loneliness.

And then I wake up.

And I wish I were dead.

I wish I were in heaven. Maybe then I could see Max, and Alex too…maybe even my Grandma Claudia. Whether or not I go to heaven or not isn’t really important, though, just so long as I get away from this pain.

Have you ever known someone who goes on living without a heart? I am. My heart died with Max. I think he took my soul too.

I’m so depressed…so depressing, that it annoys even me. I wish I could just tell myself to go away, to leave me alone and go lay my problems on someone else.

And I’m so lonely I don’t even want to be with myself anymore
I just want to feel safe in my own skin, I just want to be happy again


I keep telling myself I’m honestly ok, that I’ll make it, that I’m strong. But I know I can’t make it until I feel safe and happy.

I just want to be happy again.

The End


[ edited 4 time(s), last at 4-May-2002 3:08:08 PM ]
posted on 5-Aug-2002 2:02:37 PM
Yes I Do


Rating: R for mention of rape and other violence

Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell. Oh well. Jason Katims f*cked it up anyway… Don't own the song 'Just For' by Nickelback. Nickelback owns it. Ain't it nice how that works?

Couple: Well, mention of M/L is made…not nice mentions though. And some mentions are made of A/I. Then it becomes sorta A/L, but only in a friendly sense. This is totally AU.

Note/Summary: I don't want to ruin it for you, but let's say that Alex is there for Liz in her time of need…kinda like he was there for Maria during the whole Michael/Courtney thing…only this is to more of an extreme. All italics are lyrics.

Warning: If you like Max even one little bit, don't read this fic. This fic is for all of us Max-haters out there!

Distribution: No, you can't have it. Unless you ask. Only if you ask. Otherwise I reserve the right to kick you in the rear, k?

---

Alex. Alone. Stars. No Isabel. Sigh.

Alex reluctantly turns from the wonderful view he has of the stars from this vantage point in the desert and walks slowly back to his car.

Shuffling steps. Head lowered. Blink back tears. Fumble for keys.

He finally manages to open the car door and he collapses into the driver's seat, suddenly looking forward to going back to Roswell. Not because he hopes for a secret glimpse of Isabel. But because he's tired, and his bed is in Roswell. The bed he hasn't slept in for three days.

Isabel dumped him three days ago. Seems more like three decades to Alex. He knew that by now his other friends were probably in a frenzy, searching for him. Maybe Isabel would even feel a little guilty. Maybe some of the ice that had wrapped its way around her heart had started to thaw and drip away.

Maybe.

Alex drives back to Roswell and goes down the main street, slowing to a crawl as he goes by the Crashdown Café. They would have been closed for hours now, as it was almost two a.m. Yet, Alex can see a light on in the restaurant, far in the back corner. He quickly pulls his car over and climbs out.

Something is wrong. Running. Banging on the door.

"Liz?!"

Alex can see her, lying on the floor, her legs splayed out grotesquely. Blood runs from her. She has a black eye. She is crying hysterically, and yet no one but Alex seems to hear her. Where are her parents?

Alex continues to pound on the door, yelling his best friend's name loudly. She finally notices him and he watches as she tries to climb to her feet, but stumbles and falls, hitting her head on a table and collapsing to the floor.

"Damn it!" Alex curses, kicking at the door frantically, bruising his foot, until the glass gives way in one great crashing wave of sound. Liz's cries and moans can now be heard more clearly, and they rip at Alex's heart. They literally make him hurt.

He rushes to her side, now crying with her. He isn't sure yet what has happened to her, but he has a sneaking suspicion. Alex helps Liz to sit up in a booth and then he hurries into the backroom to find a towel or rag with which he can clean up Liz's bleeding wounds.

He finally manages to find what he needs. He places an icebag over her black and blue eye, hoping that will stop the swelling enough that she will be able to keep the eye open. He begins to clean the cut she got on her forehead when she tried to stand. Then he glances down to her lap. She's bleeding…from down there.

"Liz, are you having your…period?" Alex asks, stumbling over the last word.

Liz moans and chokes back another sob. She shakes her head.

Alex nods, now knowing what happened. Liz was raped. His best friend. His Lizzie was raped.

Anger boils. Rage surges.

I want to take his eyes out
Just for looking at you
Yes I do
And I want to take his hands off
Just for touching you
Yes I do.


Alex helps to get a thick towel under Liz to help soak up the blood, which, thankfully, is starting to flow more slowly.

After sitting with Liz in the crook of his arm, her head on his shoulder, for an hour, he finally asks, "Who did it, Liz?"

"M-Max," Liz whispers, her whole body now trembling.

"Shit," Alex whispers under his breath. "I'm gonna kick his damn alien ass all the way back to fucking Antar."

Liz smiled weakly up at Alex, hugging him closer to her.

Alex smiled back, feeling fake and phony. Who the hell smiles at a time like this?

"Can…can you talk about it?" Alex asks.

Liz takes a deep breath and lets it out in shaky little exhalations. Finally she managed to moan, "I loved him Alex. I loved him and he made me do it. He said I'd like it." Liz began to sob again. "I didn't like it!"

Alex choked back his own sob and had to look away from Liz for a moment to get himself back together.

And I want to rip his heart out
Just for hurting you
And I want to break his mind down
Yes I do, yes I do, yes I do.


Liz managed, somehow to go on, her voice shaky and uneven. "He came by to see me. We were joking around and we were going to study."

Books sitting on a nearby booth. Abandoned.

"He knew my parents were out of town visiting my aunt. I closed up the café. Maria and Michael went home. He started to kiss me."

Liz's words came slower now, more and more unsure. Her voice trembled to the point where Alex could barely discern what she was trying to say.

"I didn't want to make out. I wanted to study. He told me it'd be more fun to kiss. He kept doing it. Then he…he put his hand on my…breast. I tried to push him away and tried to tell him no. No. I didn't…I didn't want to! But he held me down and he lifted up my-my skirt."

Liz took a deep breath and snuggled farther into Alex's arms, gaining comfort from his presence.

"He ripped off my…underwear and he held me down as he took off his clothes. And I couldn't stop crying and he kept telling me it'd be ok, that I'd like it, that it'd feel good. He kept calling me baby. He's never called me that before. And then he…he put his…in my…oh god!"

A fresh wave of heart-wrenching sobs gripped Liz's body. She clung desperately to Alex as he in turn clung desperately to her, not fighting his own tears this time, letting them stream down his face to mix with Liz's own.

And I want to make him regret
Life since the day he met you
Yes I do
And I want to make him take back
All that he took from you
Yes I do.


Two friends. Crying. Mourning. Embracing. Alone. Together. Comfort.

And I want to rips his heart out
Just for hurting you
And I want to break his mind down
Yes I do, yes I do, yes I do.


As the sun began to rise on Roswell, as a new day began, Alex disentangled himself from Liz's sleeping form. He quickly went upstairs, entering Liz's room. He found clothing for her and hung it on a hook in the bathroom. Then he went downstairs and called Valenti.

Valenti promised to go immediately to a nearby clinic and get pills for Liz that would halt a potential pregnancy, and also to make appointments to check her for STDs or complications.

Alex thanked Valenti and then started scrambling eggs, making bacon, and toasting bread for breakfast. The smells woke Liz and she smiled sadly at Alex.

"You didn't have to do that," she said.

"Hey, it's no problem at all," reassured Alex. "Now let me help you get upstairs and you can take a shower, ok?"

Liz nodded and allowed Alex to help her to her feet. They shuffled slowly to the bathroom next to Liz's room and Alex shut the door after her, hoping she'd be all right in there alone.

He went back downstairs and growled in anger and rage.

Max. Standing. Smirking.

Alex stormed up the man who could potentially snap him in half and punched him in the jaw. The blow knocked Max to the ground before he even had a chance to defend himself.

Alex continued to punch Max, taking out his anger on him. Max deserved whatever he got, after what he did to Liz. No one messed with Alex's friends and got away with it. Ever.

Alex continued to pummel Max until Max was crying and begging for Alex to let him go.

And I want to rip his heart out
Just for hurting you
And I want to break his mind down
Yes I do, yes I do, yes I do, yes I do.


Valenti came running in, managing to pull Alex from Max's battered body. Then he helped Max to his feet and immediately hand-cuffed him. He handed Alex the pills for Liz and then left, hurrying Max to the squad car.

"I want to hurt you, I want to break you," Alex whispered as he watched the car pull away. He turned to go upstairs and see if Liz was ready for breakfast.

"Yes, I do."

The End


[ edited 1 time(s), last at 5-Aug-2002 2:04:52 PM ]
posted on 23-Aug-2002 11:33:16 AM
Where The Light Isn't Parts 1-4

Part 1

Maria pressed down on the gas pedal, taking the Jetta up to a risky 75 mph. “Faster!” laughed Liz, the wind blowing in the through the window and whipping her hair around her face. “We’re free, Maria! We are no longer high school students!”

Maria and Liz laughed joyously, thinking about all the fun they were going to have this summer. All of them (Maria, Michael, Liz, Max, Isabel, Alex, Tess, and Kyle) were planning on going on a road trip all the way to New York City. Liz was a little nervous because at one point in their junior year, Tess Harding had liked Max. Liz decided to forget about it for now…she didn’t want to bring down her mood by obsessing over the likes of Tess the gerbil.

Maria took the Jetta up to 85 mph and looked at Liz with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Liz…want to see how fast this thing can really go?” she asked.

Liz giggled and nodded. “Sure…we’re the only ones on this highway for miles around. Why not?”

Maria continued to take the Jetta up to higher speeds, far past where her mother had always told her was the limit for the old car. They were going 103 mph when the car gave a horrible shudder. Maria looked down at the wheel with an unmistakable look of fear in her eyes.

She tried to look calm for Liz, but wasn’t succeeding. “Maria? What’s wrong? Is something wrong with the car?” asked Liz, instantly regretting telling Maria to go faster.

“Oh my god…Liz…the brakes aren’t working! I can’t…can’t stop the car!” Maria said in a panic, turning to look at Liz.

“No, Maria! Look at the road! Take your foot off the gas and just…you know…steer. The car should stop eventually, right? I mean, it can’t go forever.”

Maria nodded her head. “Ok. No foot on the gas. We’re just gliding. See, ok, this should work.” Liz had never heard more fear in her friend’s voice than at that point.

“Liz…uh, I think we’re going downhill…meaning we aren’t losing speed. If anything, we’re gaining speed.”

Liz took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She jumped as she heard a shrill ringing. It was her cell phone. She grabbed it quickly and yelled into the phone, “Help!”

“What?! Liz, what’s going on?” she heard Alex ask. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”

“Alex, Maria and I are in the Jetta. We were going like, 100 mph, and then the brakes went out…we have no brakes, Alex!”

“We’re going to die!” yelled Maria.

“No, Maria, we’re not going to die,” said Liz in an unsure way. “Alex, do you know how we can get the car to come to a complete stop?”

“Uh, don’t use the gas and kind of glide till you’re down to a pretty low speed, then turn off the ignition.”

“Alex, we’re trying the gliding thing…but we’re going downhill.”

“Oh, uh, here, Michael’s at the door. Hold on, I’ll go get him.”

“Ok,” said Liz. She turned to look at Maria. “He’s getting Michael.” Maria nodded and continued to concentrate all of her attention on the highway and the car. She happened to look up at her rearview mirror and gasped.

“Liz, that car is coming straight at us…and they aren’t slowing down!” Liz looked out the back window and saw a car full of high school guys, presumably from their graduating class, gaining on them. Liz leaned out the window and tried to signal to them that they had to slow down. The guys just thought she was flirting, so they honked their car horn and made obscene gestures out the windows at her.

She pulled herself back into the Jetta and looked at Maria. “I think they’re going to hit us,” she said, forgetting that she was still on the phone with Alex and Michael.

“Hello? Hello!” Michael yelled into the phone. He looked at Alex. “I’m getting no answer.”

Alex grabbed the phone and yelled into it, “Liz! Maria! One of you answer me, damn it! Michael says there should be an emergency brake somewhere! Are you there?”

Alex pulled the phone away from his ear as he heard an earth shattering scream and then he heard Liz scream, “They’re going to hit us! Oh my god, we’re going to die!” There was a grinding, ripping sound of metal on metal and many more screams. Then the line went dead.

Part 2

“Oh shit,” said Alex, running out the door, Michael right behind him. “We need to tell Valenti!”

“What? Are you crazy?! We need to get Max and get out there pronto! We need to heal them!” Alex nodded and jumped into his car, driving them towards Max’s house. He pulled up and Michael jumped out the door, running up to the Evans’ house and running in without ringing the doorbell.

A few seconds later Max came running out and hopped into Alex’s car. “I don’t know exactly where they were,” said Alex. “But I assume they were on 285, so that’s where we’re going.”

“All right,” said Max. He was very pale, his eyes sunken in. To Alex and Michael he looked like he had aged 40 years in 40 seconds.

“Where are Isabel and Tess?” asked Alex.

“At the mall, shopping, where else? I mean, today they graduated, and then they head right for the mall…I’ll never understand those two.”

They drove in silence the rest of the way. Alex got onto highway 285 and sped up to slightly above the speed limit.

“Alex, I see something!” yelled Michael, pointing to the road ahead of them. They all saw a glint of sunlight bouncing off the metal of what was unmistakably a terrible car wreck.

Alex got them there in record time and Max and Michael were out of the car before Alex even pulled onto the shoulder of the road. As Max and Michael ran up to the wreck, Alex got out his cell phone and dialed the sheriff’s station.

“Sheriff Valenti here. What can I do for you?”

“Sheriff, there’s been a terrible accident!”

“Alex, is that you?”

“Yes. Liz and Maria were in a car accident on 285. Hurry!”

“I’ll be right there. Are some of the…well, can anyone there heal them?”

“Max and Michael will try.”

“All right. Just hang on till I get there.”

As Alex was on the phone, Michael and Max were running towards the wreck. Some of the guys from the car that had hit the Jetta were laying on the side of the road, but Michael and Max just passed them by. All they could think about was their girls.

Max spotted an arm sticking out of the window of the Jetta, which was flipped upside down. He ran over and looked in the window. “Michael! This is Maria! Get her out of the car while I find Liz.”

Max ran to the other side of the car and looked in the passenger window. He saw Liz curled up in a ball, her head bent at an unnatural angle. “Oh my god,” he breathed. He used his powers to cut a hole in the metal of the car and gingerly picked Liz up and took her to the shoulder of the road, where Michael was bent over Maria, crying and trying to heal her.

Max concentrated on making a connection with Liz and placed his hands on her neck. He concentrated. He concentrated harder. He heard sirens approaching, but they seemed to be in a different world. He concentrated even harder, moving his hands to a different spot on her neck.

“Max,” he heard Valenti saying. “Max, just stop. She’s gone. Max, it’s no use. Max, she’s dead.”

Max finally looked up and saw Valenti’s face. “Max, Maria and Liz are dead.” Max and Michael looked at each other, tears in their eyes.

“That’s bullcrap,” said Max, tears streaming down his face. “Liz can’t die, we were all going to go on a road trip and have the time of our lives. Someday I was going to ask her to marry me. Someday we were going to have a family together! Damn it, she can’t die! She isn’t dead! She’s alive, and she’ll be fine! Damn you, you don’t know what you’re talking about! Liz isn’t dead, neither is Maria!” Max stood up and pounded on Valenti’s chest, wildly flailing his arms, knocking Valenti’s hat off. Max collapsed back to the ground and curled up into the fetal position, hardly aware of Alex trying his best to comfort Michael, who was crying and holding onto Maria’s hand.

“No,” he whispered. “I can’t lose her. She can’t be dead.” As the tears streamed down his cheeks it really hit him. The love of his life was gone.

Part 3

"No!” screamed Maria. “What’s going on? Liz, what’s happening?”

“I don’t know!” yelled Liz. “Why are we there and here? Why can’t they see us?” Liz tried to run towards Max, wanting to comfort him and assure him that everything was ok. That she was alive and the Liz laying there dead next to him wasn’t real. She turned to Maria.

“They think we’re dead. Why? What has happened to us? Where are we?” As she asked her last question, the highway and the forms of their heartbroken boyfriends blinked out of existence. They were in the dark. Just the two of them. Maria held onto Liz and whimpered.

“Lizzie, I’m scared. Are we in heaven?”

“Why is it so black?”

“Oh jeeze, we’re in hell then, aren’t we? Lizzie, did we die and go to hell?”

“I don’t know, Maria, but we’re not in Roswell anymore.”

*****

“Max, you need to eat something,” said Isabel, smoothing back his hair. “You haven’t eaten in days.”

“Who cares?” he said. “Something as trivial as food doesn’t matter right now. Liz is dead. Maria is dead. Who the hell cares if I don’t eat or not? Maybe it’s for the best. I could starve myself to death.”

Isabel slowly stood up, wiping the tears from her face. She left Max’s room and went to her own. She didn’t know how to comfort Max, or Michael for that matter. Michael was even worse than Max…

“Michael, you need to stop dwelling on this and start to move on,” she said, sitting on his couch and pleading with him.

“Move on? Move on to where? Huh? Without Maria, I have to life to move on to! Don’t you get it?! I never had anything in my life! I never had a family…even you and Max weren’t my family! But then I found Maria, and I had a life. I had a reason to wake up in the morning. I had someone who cared about me! I just lost it all! And you want me to stop dwelling on it and move on?!”

“Yes, Michael. Move on. You aren’t the only one who lost someone you love. Don’t be so selfish. Alex just lost his two best friends in the entire world. How do you think he feels? And how about Max, huh? Have you even taken one damn second to consider Max’s feelings? He lost the love of his life too! And me and Tess and Kyle…we were friends with them too! We need you and Max to stop acting like you’re the only who are hurt by this…we need you!”

Michael stood up and yelled, “If you need someone, go to Alex! Go comfort each other! At least you still have the person you love! At least you still feel like you’re living! I…I feel dead. I can’t eat, or sleep, I can’t even think. My whole life is disappearing right in front of my eyes Isabel!”

“Michael, please, don’t yell,” said Isabel, cowering on the couch. “You’re scaring me.”

“I don’t care Isabel! I really don’t! Leave! Get out of my apartment and don’t come back until you’re ready to accept the way that I’m feeling!”

Isabel sighed and picked up her telephone. She needed to call Ms. Deluca and Mr. and Mrs. Parker to see if they needed any help with the funeral services. She had made a resolution with herself when she had heard about Maria and Liz…she was going to mourn them, but she wasn’t going to dwell on their memory. She couldn’t, or she would become weak like Max and Michael. What no one knew was that Isabel had loved Maria and Liz as sisters. They were her best friends, and now that they were gone, she was lost and didn’t know what to do. She felt like she needed control and organization. So she wouldn’t become weak. She wouldn’t break down like the others. Her heart was stronger…or so she hoped.

Part 4

Liz held Maria to her, trying to calm her down. Maria had been crying nonstop for who knew how long. She truly believed they were in hell. Liz was starting to believe her. After all, it was warm…not really hot though…and it was dark. They hadn’t seen light the whole time they were there. Of course, they hadn’t seen flames and the devil, either…

Maria sniffled one last time and sat up. She looked around and said, “Something’s different.”

“What?” asked Liz. “What do you mean, Maria? Nothing is different. And even if it was…it’s too dark to see anything.”

Maria shook her head, which Liz just barely was able to see. “No, Liz, something is definitely different. Doesn’t it seem…a little lighter?”

“Maria, that’s just your imagination. We’re stuck here in some strange world in the dark and you want it to be lighter so badly that you’re imagining it.”

“Liz, hold up your hand in front of your face.” Liz did as she was told and gasped. She could actually see her hand. She looked at Maria and could make out her facial features. She broke into a grin.

“It’s get lighter, Maria! Oh my god, it’s getting lighter!” The two girls stood up, grabbed hands, and jumped up and down, dancing in crazy circles, happy that something was changing. Their future looked brighter…literally.

*****

Max rolled over and reached his hand out towards his night stand, meaning to grab his glass of water. He knocked it onto the floor instead. He groaned and reached out his hand and used his powers to clean up the floor of spilt water and broken glass. He looked at his digital clock and slowly sat up. He shuffled his way into the bathroom to take a shower. It felt good…he hadn’t been out of bed since the day Liz and Maria had died, not even to shower. He wouldn’t have bothered today…except today was the double funeral service. In one way he wanted to go, to say goodbye to his true love and to one of his best friends. But in another way, he didn’t want to go…to see Maria and Liz lying there, dead. (They were having an open coffin service.) Max also had to go because he, Michael, Alex, and Kyle were going to be pallbearers.

He didn’t know if any of them would be able to actually carry the coffins. Knowing that Maria and Liz were dead, inside of them. Max shuddered and stepped out of the shower, toweling off his head and muscular chest. He wrapped a towel around his waist and headed back to his room to get dressed and ready for the funeral.

As he was getting dressed, tears streamed down his face. Max no longer noticed when he cried…it had become such a regular part of his life.

*****

Maria and Liz finally exhausted themselves and sat down again. It was still growing brighter, but now it was obvious that the light was coming from one certain spot far up in what was presumably the sky. They both stared up at it in wonder and awe until it began to hurt their eyes. They looked at each other, not being able to wipe the grins off their faces. Neither said it, but both believed that if they truly were in hell, that the light was from heaven, calling them up. Telling them they were in the wrong place.

The light continued to get brighter and brighter and then there was one last fantastic burst of light, which forced them to cover their eyes. The grins were wiped off their faces as they heard a spine tingling evil laugh near them. This person did not sound friendly at all.

*****

Alex took a deep breath and walked into the funeral parlor, looking around desperately for one of his friends. He spotted Isabel across the room, trying to comfort a crying Ms. Deluca. Alex hurried over to see if he could be of any help.

“Ms. Deluca? It’s me, Alex? How are you feeling?”

“Alex? Oh, it’s so good to see you!” Ms. Deluca grabbed Alex in tight hug, crying on his shoulder. Isabel watched and gave Alex a lopsided, depressed smile. Ms. Deluca let Alex go from her death grip and smoothed her blouse. She dabbed at her eyes with a soaking wet tissue and said, “Well, I’m going to go see how the Parkers are doing.”

Alex and Isabel sadly watched her walking away. Alex turned back to Isabel and gave her a tender hello kiss. Isabel hugged him close. “Please, Alex, just hold me for a little while. I’m…lost. I need to know you’re here for me.”

“Of course, Isabel. I’ll always be here for you.” Finally they separated themselves and walked into the main room to take their seats. Alex looked away as he passed Maria and Liz’s coffins. He couldn’t bring himself to look at them like that, at least not yet. He sat down with Isabel, Max, and Mr. and Mrs. Evans. He looked around to see who else was there. In front of him were Mr. and Mrs. Parker and Ms. Deluca, along with Sheriff Valenti, Kyle, and Tess.

The old cook from the Crashdown, Jose, was in the back of the room. Some of the teachers from school had shown up, and many students that Alex didn’t know. He sighed and turned back towards the front of the room. A pastor started to talk, but Alex was lost in his own thoughts. He was remembering…

Liz and him in jail together after the rave at the old soap factory, when he had first found out about the aliens, helping to get Max out of the white room, punching Michael and comforting Maria after the whole Courtney thing, fighting the skins, going to the prom…

He started to cry as Sheriff Valenti got up to say a eulogy, his heart breaking again, just like it did everyday when he thought of how he had lost his two best friends.

[ edited 1 time(s), last at 23-Aug-2002 11:36:43 AM ]

posted on 23-Aug-2002 11:42:02 AM
Where The Light Isn't Parts 5-8

Part 5

“Who the hell is that?” whispered Maria. The laughter continued, getting louder and louder. It seemed to be coming from the light, which the girls noticed was now starting to fade.

“I don’t know,” said Liz. “And I hope we don’t have to find out.” They continued to look in the direction of the light and laughter and all of a sudden the laughter stopped and a figure emerged from the light.

He was tall, with brown hair. He wore all black and had a very pale complexion. What terrified Maria and Liz the most was that his eyes were pure black.

“Oh my god, that’s the devil,” yelled Maria, huddling behind Liz as if Liz was her shield.

The man’s laughter started again, causing a shiver to run up and down Liz’s spine. “I am not the devil, dear girl, although I like to think of myself as a devil-in-the-making.”

Liz tried to look the man in the eyes, but couldn’t. Every time she looked into his eyes, they seemed to burn her own. They seemed to be deep pools of a mixture of evil and…nothing.

“Wha…” Maria tried to speak, but her voice cracked. She took a deep breath and tried again. “What do you want from us? Where are we?”

“All of your questions will be answered in time, dear girl, but for now I must take you to a different place. Please, if the both of you would stand up and come near me.” Liz and Maria slowly stood up, but neither of them wanted to move closer to the sinister man. “I said, come here!” he yelled. They scuttled over to him and held each other’s hands, not wanting to be separated for one second.

“Where are you taking us?” asked Liz.

“Don’t you listen? I said that all of your question would be answered in time. Right now is not the time!” He raised his hand and then brought it down quickly. As he did so, the three of them were enveloped in the bright light. Maria and Liz felt as if they were flying…no, soaring. But they couldn’t see the ground, so they couldn’t be sure.

As quickly as it all started, it was over. Maria and Liz collapsed onto the ground, looking around them. They seemed to be in some sort of hospital room.

“This is where you will reside until I return,” said the man. “Make yourselves at home.”

“Please, can you tell us who you are?” asked Liz.

Before stepping out the door, the man said, “The name I go by is Khivar.”

*****

It was a week and a half since the tragic car accident and Max was still lying in bed, as he did most days. He wouldn’t be surprised if when he got out of the bed there would be a mold of his body formed in the mattress.

He lay staring at the wall, wishing he’d been able to say goodbye to Liz one last time. But he hadn’t. Before she had driven off with Maria (to pick up some new suitcases for the road trip they had planned) he had been to involved in a conversation with Kyle about some stupid little thing. He had just waved goodbye to Liz, not saying anything, not giving her a kiss.

Max practically fell out of bed as his phone rang, startling him. He leaned over and picked it up, mumbling into it, “Hello?”

“Uh, hey,” he heard Michael saying, sounding much like himself. “I uh…was wondering how you’re dealing…cause I’m…I’m not doing too well.”

Max didn’t know what to say. Michael NEVER admitted to Max that he had feelings or that he couldn’t handle something. He was touched, though, that Michael had chosen to talk to him about it.

“I’m not doing well either,” said Max, sitting up and rubbing some of the sleep from his eyes. “Do you want to come over and talk?”

“No, actually, I was thinking maybe everyone could come over to my place. There’s just some stuff I think all of us need to talk about.”

“Ok,” said Max. “I’ll tell Isabel and have her call Tess. You call Kyle, and I’ll call Alex. Is an hour ok?”

“Yeah,” said Michael, hanging up the phone and heading for the bathroom to make himself presentable. He thought over in his head what he wanted to tell his friends, but couldn’t come up with an easy way to tell them. He knew they wouldn’t take his news well, they might even forbid him to do it…but he had to.

Part 6

Maria and Liz crawled up onto one of the beds in the room, huddled together. Maria started to cry again. “Liz, this is some weird alien thing. Don’t you remember a long time ago hearing Isabel saying something about a guy named Khivar?”

“Yes,” said Liz. “He killed the royal family.” Maria looked at Liz, her eyes wide with fear.

“Maybe…maybe he’s holding us hostage to get to them to kill them again, in this life time.” Liz fell back onto the bed.

“Maria, I really don’t want to talk about this right now. I’m scared and lonely and confused and everyone thinks we’re dead. I need to sleep.” Maria silently lay down next to Liz, falling asleep also.

*****

Michael hurried to get the door, hearing voices out in the hall. He flung open the door to reveal to him his best friends. Max looked lost and alone, the same way Michael felt. Kyle and Tess looked uncomfortable. Alex looked like he hadn’t gotten any sleep since the tragic accident. Isabel looked worse than everyone else put together.

“Come on in,” said Michael, stepping back so that they could step in. “Can I get you any sodas or something?”

Everyone shook their heads and headed for the living room. They sat down and looked at Michael.

“What did you want to tell us?” asked Max.

“First,” said Michael, turning to Isabel. “I apologize to Isabel for blowing up at her the other day. I’m upset and really lost right now, but that doesn’t give me the right to yell like that at someone who’s always been like a sister to me.”

Isabel, teary-eyed, stood up and hugged Michael, making a few others in the room smile. They pulled apart and Isabel sat down again.

“And the other thing I need to say is that I have decided that I need to leave Roswell.”

“What?” yelled Max, standing up quickly. “You can’t just leave Roswell…not now!”

“Why not? We haven’t had any weird alien stuff go on in over a year. I need to leave. Everywhere I go, all I think about is Maria. This whole town is one big memory of Maria. It’s too painful. I can’t stand to be in this town one more day. I love you all, and I’ll miss you, but this is something I have to do. I didn’t call you over here today to get your permission. I called you over to tell you that I’m doing this and I have a ticket for a flight to New York City that’s leaving at 6:00 p.m. tonight.”

Isabel stood up, tears now streaming freely down her face. “Michael, you said I was like a sister to you. Well, I feel like you’re my second brother. I need you here. We all do. This is hard for all of us. Please don’t leave us!”

Michael shook his head sadly. “I’m so sorry, Izzy. I’ll come back someday…when it doesn’t hurt anymore. I’ll write to all of you every day, I promise.” He slowly walked to the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He slid to the floor, putting his hands over his face, trying to hold his tears back. The sobs wracked his body as he thought once again of how he would never see Maria again. Never be able to kiss her or hold her. He’d never get to hear her call him Spaceboy again or bicker with her in their flirtatious way. He’d never be able to love again.

*****

Liz slowly opened her eyes and saw the face of Khivar looking down at her. She gasped, waking Maria. Maria saw Khivar and also gasped. Khivar threw his head back and laughed.

“What the hell do you want?” hissed Maria, trying to sound brave, but instead sounding like a meek little kitten.

“Just to answer a few of your questions. The place you were in when I first found you was called The Land Where The Light Isn’t.”

“That’s the name of the place?”

“Yes, but people seem to sometimes shorten the name down to Where The Light Isn’t. It’s really just a place between dimensions.”

“So, are we in a different dimension now?” asked Maria. “Like, compared to the dimension earth is in.”

“Yes, you are in my dimension now.”

“Are we on Antar?” asked Liz.

“No, that exists in the same dimension as earth. We are now in a dimension without a name. But it’s mine. Everything in this dimension, the whole universe in this dimension belongs to me. The people are all my slaves.”

“Well, why are we here?” asked Liz.

“To bring Vilandra to me of course.”

Part 7

“Vilandra?” said Maria in confusion. “Who’s…” Then she remembered. “Oh. Isabel. Why do you want Isabel? And how can you use us to bring her here…everyone thinks Liz and I died in a car accident.”

Khivar chuckled. “They don’t just think that. In your dimension, you two really are dead. It is only in this dimension that you can exist.”

Liz looked at Maria. “This keeps getting weirder and weirder.”

Khivar’s smile widened. “It will be getting even weirder very soon. And I’m going to let you in on a little secret…you were drugged while you were sleeping.”

“What? Why?” cried Maria, trying to stand, but unable to.

“So you can’t try to escape or fight me. As you are beginning to see, you can’t stand, much less put up a fight.”

Liz growled low in her throat. Khivar smirked. “Hmmm,” he said. “Girl’s got spunk.” The smirk quickly disappeared. “Keep that in check or you may not live in this dimension either.”

“Don’t threaten her!” yelled Maria. “You idiotic bastard! Michael and Max will figure out eventually what happened and will come to save us!”

“Rath and Zan? Interesting…” He left the room.

“Interesting?” said Liz. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What it means,” said Maria. “Is that we just dragged Max and Michael into this. I don’t think Khivar had even considered them coming to save us.”

Liz gulped loudly and closed her eyes. The last thing she wanted was to get Max hurt. He must already be hurting enough because on earth she was dead.

*****

Michael got up off the bathroom floor. He had heard everyone leave. Now he had to pack. He slowly walked into his bedroom and opened the closet. He kicked some junk around until he found his suitcase. His trusty old suitcase. The one he had used each and every time he had switched foster homes. He plopped the suitcase down onto his bed and opened it. He grabbed some clothes from his dresser and threw them in. He three in some books and then grabbed some stuff from the bathroom: his toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, and a comb. He had put all of this into his suitcase and was about to close it, when he remembered the most important things he’d need: his Metallica CDs and his sketches and pictures of Maria.

Sure, he was leaving Roswell to try to get away from the memories of Maria, but he needed the pictures. They were kind of like a security blanket to a little kid. He’d be scared without them.

He finished packing and took his suitcase into the living room. Just as he was about to turn on the TV, he heard a knock at the door. He walked across the room and opened the door to find Alex standing there.

“Hey Alex. Uh, what’s up?”

“You’re really leaving, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. That’s the plan.”

Alex grabbed Michael in a hug. “I’m going to miss you. We all are.”

Michael hugged Alex back. “You take care of Isabel,” he said.

“I will,” said Alex, breaking the hug. “Well, I should go.” He turned and left. Michael shut the door, not knowing that would be the last time he’d ever see Alex alive ever again.

Part 8

Liz opened her eyes, feeling very groggy. She must have fallen asleep again. She tried to lift her arms to stretch, but her hands were held down by restraints. Just as she was getting ready to look for Maria, a white sheet was thrown over her head.

“What the heck?” she yelled. “I demand to know why the hell I’m strapped to this bed! Where is Maria? I-UH!” Liz yelled out in pain as someone (someone with a very hard fist) punched her in the stomach, knocking the breath out of her.

She cringed back her tears as she felt the hospital-like bed being moved. She strained to see if she could make out any shapes or people through the sheet over her face, but with no success.

She relaxed her clenched muscles and tried not to think about the crazy mess she was in. The ride to wherever she was being taken was very long. She was starting to drift off again when her bed finally jerked to a halt.

The sheet was removed, but all that Liz could see was a dull gray ceiling. She heard whispering from across the room. Then she heard another bed being wheeled into the room. Liz smiled when she heard the other person in the bed. It was Maria.

“Get me out of this damn bed, meathead!” she said. “I’m serious…I could have you sued! I could put you out of business! Or better yet, Michael, well you call him Rath…anyways, he’ll beat the crud out of you bozos! Max too…that’s Zan to you…” All Maria received in response to her threats was laughter.

A man, still chuckling at Maria, leaned over Liz and untied here. She rubbed her wrists, observing how red and raw they were from the chaffing rope. She sat up and looked across the room at Maria.

“Where the heck are our clothes?” asked Maria. Liz looked down, realizing for the first time that she and Maria were now dressed in weird jumpsuit things. Maria’s was buttercup yellow and Liz’s was minty green.

Liz shuffled across the room to sit on Maria’s bed. They sat for a few minutes in silence before Maria said, “Liz, how do you think Khivar is going to use us to contact Isabel and get her here?”

“I don’t even want to think about it,” said Liz. “And I’m not going to do anything that might hurt Isabel in any way. She’s alive on earth and I plan on keeping it that way.”

“No, but Liz, this could be our one chance! Maybe if Khivar has Isabel he’ll let us go! We’ll be with Michael and Max again!”

Liz looked at Maria in shock, not wanting to believe she’d heard those words come from Maria’s mouth.

“M-Maria! How can you be so selfish? Let Isabel live her life in peace! All you’re thinking about is yourself!”

“Why?” yelled Maria. “Why should I leave her in peace?” demanded Maria, standing up angrily.

“Because she has her whole life ahead of her!” Liz’s voice softened. “She has a life and we don’t. We’re probably buried already. And think of how Alex would feel if Khivar got Isabel.”

Maria’s eyes widened and she collapsed into Liz’s arms. “I…I can’t believe I even said what I said,” sobbed Maria. “You’re right, Liz. I’m selfish. I wasn’t thinking of Isabel or Alex. All I could think about was being able to see Michael again.”

Liz brushed some hair out of her friend’s face. “Shhh…I know,” she said. “I’d do anything to see Max again.”

“Aww…how revoltingly touching.” Liz and Maria looked up to see Khivar standing in the doorway. “But on to business. I need to start some of the tests.”

“Whoa, what?” yelled Maria. “Tests? What kinds of tests?”

“I need to test your mental state. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt…much.”

*****

Michael picked up his suitcase and stepped into the hallway. He took one last look behind him at his apartment and shut the door. He planned on calling Max from New York City and telling him to take whatever he wanted from the apartment and sell the rest. He also wanted to arrange to have Max tell his landlord he was gone. He didn’t want to do it because he still owed two months rent. He knew it wasn’t fair to stick Max with that problem, but he couldn’t handle it, at least not at the present time.

He walked the two blocks to the bus station and boarded the bus for Albuquerque, where he’d catch his plane.

Just as the bus passed out of Roswell, Michael had a strong feeling that Maria was alive. He sighed and told himself not to think like that, he knew she was gone, he’d helped carry her coffin to the grave. He’d held her lifeless body. Yet, he couldn’t shake this new feeling…

*****

Max looked out the window of the Crashdown, where he was eating an early dinner. He saw a Greyhound bus pass by and he saw Michael looking out of one of the back windows.

“Goodbye, Michael,” he whispered. “I love you, man.”

posted on 23-Aug-2002 11:49:35 AM
Where The Light Isn't Parts 9-12

Part 9

Max left the Crashdown and got into his jeep. Instead of heading for home, he turned onto the highway, heading for Blue Moon Canyon. He’d started going there every time he needed to be alone ever since him and his friends had found Enigma there. It had been New Year’s Eve. He’d been with Liz…

Max’s emotions took over and he started to sob. He reached the canyon and blindly pulled over and got out of the jeep. He sat down on the ground, leaning against the jeep for support.

He sat there and let the memories wash over him like waves: saving Liz on that fateful day at the Crashdown, telling Liz he loved her after she helped get him out of the white room, going to the prom with her, their countless meetings in the eraser room, their trip to Las Vega, fighting the FBI and the Skins, going to Enigma.

Max slowly got himself composed again and looked up at the sky in surprise. He must have been sitting there for close to three hours because the sky was dark and the starts were starting to appear. He looked up at the sky, trying to picture what heaven would look like. He smiled to think of Liz in heaven. An angel. His angel.

He slowly stood up, brushing the dirt and sand from his pants. He heard a car approaching him from behind. He turned and identified the car as Alex’s. He waved and Alex pulled over next to him.

“Hey Max. Whatcha doing way out here?” asked Alex.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Max, giving his friend a small smile.

“I…uh…I came out here to kind of…just…meditate.”

“Meditate? Have you been hanging out with Kyle again?”

“Hey, some of that Buddha stuff really makes sense. I’m really considering becoming a Buddhist. This…whole thing…with Maria and Liz gone…and Michael leaving Roswell…I’m really messed up. I need a new perspective on life, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” said Max, getting into his jeep. He waved to Alex and headed back into town. As he was going home, he noticed Isabel’s car outside of Michael’s apartment building.

Max parked and went into the building, up to Michael’s place. The door was slightly ajar. He walked in, but the living room and kitchen were empty and dark.

He saw a sliver of light from the crack below the bedroom door. He walked towards it. He stopped, with his hand on the doorknob, listenigng. He knew Isabel was in there, but he didn’t know if she’d like him barging in while she was crying. He flinched as he heard her cry out, as if she was in a lot of pain.

He slowly turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. She was lying on Michael’s bed, holding onto a pillow. Her hair was all messed up and her makeup was running. She looked like a little girl.

Max walked to the bed and sat down, gently scooping his sister into his arms. “Shh…it’s all right,” he said, giving her a quick kiss on the top of her head. He gently rocked her back and forth as she clung to him.

“Max, he left. Michael really left us,” she managed to choke out.

“I know Izzybear,” he whispered. He hadn’t called her Izzybear in years, but now it seemed like the only appropriate name to us.

Isabel sat up and hastily wiped at her eyes. She looked Max in the eyes and said, “Max, I need to go after Michael. I need to go to New York City.”

*****

Michael was the last one off the Greyhound bus. He trudged into the airport and flopped into a chair. Just as he was contemplating whether or not to splurge and get himself a burger, his flight number was called to board.

He walked towards the area where the flight attendants were letting people onto the plane for New York City. He sighed and took his ticket out of his pocket and handed it to the woman. “Thank you for flying Midwest Express,” she said. “Have a nice trip and let us know if you need anything at all while onboard. You will be receiving dinner and a movie will be shown on your flight.”

Michael nodded his head and headed onto the plane, quickly finding his seat. He put his one small suitcase into the overhead baggage carrier and sat down. Next to him, staring out the window, was a girl with long dark hair and dark eyes. She looked a lot like Liz.

“Uh, hi,” said Michael. “I’m Michael.”

“Oh, hi,” she said. Her voice was warm and cheery. “My name is Serena.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you,” said Michael. “Can I ask why you’re heading for New York?”

“Well, I just need a break. I just graduated from high school and my parents want me to go to college, but I just don’t think I’m ready. I mean, I have good grades and everything, and I’m a really social person, I just don’t feel like going to school again yet.” She blushed and looked down at her hands. “I’m sorry. Look at me, practically telling my life story to a stranger.”

“No, it’s ok,” said Michael.

Serena looked up at him. “So, Michael. Why are you going to New York?”

Michael looked away from Serena and said, “My best friend’s girlfriend and my girlfriend died in a car accident. I need to get away from the memories.”

“Oh wow, I am so sorry,” said Serena, reaching out and giving Michael’s arm a friendly and encouraging squeeze. “Well, this is kind of a long flight, because we have a layover in Chicago, so if you need to talk to someone, I’m here.”

“Thanks,” he said. “I’ve really wanted to talk to someone about this, but I can’t talk to any of my friends, because it’s just as painful and hard to hear about for them as it is for me.”

Serena nodded in understanding. “Why don’t you tell me about your girlfriend?”

“Well, her name was Maria….”

Part 10

Michael and Serena talked nonstop for the entire flight. Michael surprised himself by telling her a lot about his life…practically everything unalien-related. He usually wasn’t this social, even with his lifelong friends. He thought maybe it was just his way of dealing with losing Maria and Liz and leaving Roswell. For whatever reason, he liked Serena. She was a great listener and a really good friend.

The plane landed in New York City and everyone started to file off of the plane. “Where are you headed?” asked Serena.

“To go look for an apartment,” said Michael, walking quickly through the crowd of people.

“What? You don’t even have a place to go yet?” asked Serena in disbelief.

“Well…this was sort of a last minute trip.”

“Well, I’m going to be staying with an old friend of mine and he has this huge apartment…and well, I’m sure he’d let you crash there for a few days.”

“Uh, sure, thanks,” said Michael, stopping to look down at Serena. “It’s nice to have someone nice to help me out during this.”

Serena just nodded her head and led Michael outside, where she hailed a cab. The cab driver shoved their bags into the trunk of the car and Michael and Serena got into the cramped back seat. The car smelled like cough drops and rotten eggs. Michael tried not to breathe much.

“Where to?” asked the cab driver, sounding bored out of his pants.

“I’m not sure of the exact address,” said Serena hesitantly. “The large white apartment complex on 5th Avenue…”

“I know where that is,” said the driver, causing Serena to smile and sit back with relief. Silence fell upon the car as no one knew what to say.

*****

“AAAAHHHH!!” Maria screamed in agony as the needles slowly entered her brain. Her vision started to fade and she was enveloped in a whiteness, almost cloudlike. She tried to control her breathing and not think. Khivar and his evil minions had been doing tests on her and Liz for what seemed like days now. First they had tried tests to see if Maria and Liz had any telepathic powers. Now they were conducting tests to test their mental state and how much strain they could handle. They were probing their brains for information about the aliens, too. That was why Maria was trying not to think…she didn’t want to accidentally give any important information to Khivar.

She grimaced in pain and disgust as she felt the microscopic needles retracting from her brain, making her feel woozy. Her vision began to return and she could vaguely sense someone wrapping a bandage around her head. She laid back and fell asleep, not wanting to be awake if another test was going to be done any time soon.

*****

“What?” asked Max, hoping he had heard his sister wrong.

“I need to go to New York, Max. Michael can’t be alone now. He needs me!” Isabel started to struggle out of Max’s hold on her. “He needs me, Max! Let go of me! Michael needs me!” She continued to struggle and Max let go of her, causing her to fall to the floor with a thud.

“Oh, shit! I’m sorry Isabel!” cried Max, leaning down to help her up. She allowed him that, but then pushed him away.

“Don’t try to stop me, Max. I need to do this.”

“Isabel, be rational! New York City? That’s all the way across the country! What are you going to tell Mom and Dad? And what about Alex, huh? His two best friends die, then one of his other friends goes to New York…I don’t think he’ll be able to handle you leaving him too.”

“Max,” Isabel whispered. “I need to.” With that said, she left Michael’s room and walked out of the apartment and drove off in her car. Max chased her down the stairs, but wasn’t quick enough. All he could see of her when he got outside where the taillights of her car, fading into the distance.

Max sighed and got into his jeep. “Why?” he asked himself quietly. “Why am I losing everyone I love?” He slammed his fist down on the horn again and again, letting out his anger and misery.

Part 11

Liz waited impatiently for Maria to be brought back into their room. Finally a door on the other side of the room was opened and Maria was ushered into the room, holding a hand to her head, a look of confusion on her face. Liz hurried over to Maria to help her walk to a chair to sit down.

“Are you okay?” asked Liz looking down at her friend with concern. Maria had been having more tests conducted on her than Liz, but neither knew why.

“No,” said Maria. “That was the worst one of all. They stuck needles into my head,” Maria looked up in fear at Liz. “Why?” she asked. “Why are they doing so many tests on me and not you? I mean, I don’t have anything wrong with me do I? If anyone would be different I’d think it would be you, since you were the one that was healed by Max.”

The two girls sat in silence, holding hands and trying to make sense of the confusing events that their lives were now made up of. They were both lost in their thoughts when the door opened again and Khivar walked in.

“Hello ladies,” he said. “I have the results of your tests. I must say, I am very excited!” Maria sent him a death glare, which he chose to ignore. “Liz, you seen to be closer to Vilandra, so I’ll be using you to talk to her through dreams. Maria, you…you’re quite an amazing human. You seem to have telepathic gifts and I think you’ll come in handy with communicating with Avana, Rath, and Zan.”

Liz rolled her eyes. “Will you please call them by their names? They are Isabel, Tess, Michael, and Max. The names you use are from their other lives. Those Antarians don’t exist anymore!”

Khivar once again chose to ignore Liz. “We will be going back to Where The Light Isn’t in a few hours. I’d recommend that you get some rest now, Maria, you’ll need all of your strength.” Khivar left once again, except this time he turned off the lights in the room, plunging the girls into almost complete darkness. They heard him chuckling from the other side of the door and saying, “Get used to the darkness. You won’t be living in my dimension anymore. You are going to be living in The Land Where The Light Isn’t.”

Maria and Liz held onto each other, lying down on one of the beds. “What is he going to use me for?” asked Maria, trying to disguise the fear in her voice but not succeeding.

“Maybe he needs you to communicate with someone in our dimension. Don’t worry Maria. I’ll be there with you. And at least we won’t be in this place anymore. We’ll be in The Land Where The Light Isn’t from now on, just us.”

“Somehow, that doesn’t comfort me a lot, Liz.”

*****

Tess sighed and crawled under the blankets on her bed, trying to get comfortable. There was someone she needed to talk to. She concentrated on entering the dream plane and tried to find the entrance into the dream, or more precisely, the mind, of the person she had to speak to. Finally she found her way and entered.

“Ah, Queen Avana, welcome,” he said, walking up to her and enveloping her in a hug. “How are you doing?”

“Good. I need to speak to you though. I want to know when the next part of our plan is going to go into action. It should be soon…we may be having some problems here.”

“Really? What types of problems?”

“Isabel and Michael, excuse me sir, I mean Vilandra and Rath, have left Roswell. They are going to New York City.”

“Why in the world are they doing that?” exploded the man, starting to pace back and forth angrily. “I asked you to be sure everyone was easily accessible and then you just let those two slip through your fingers?! What is wrong with you? Do I need to get someone else to help me?”

“No sir, I can handle the job. Just give me some time. They may be accessible for communication, even in New York City. When are you going to attempt a communication?”

“I wanted to wait a few more days, but I can’t wait any longer. The subject is as strong as she will ever be, and so I will be trying shortly. Tell me, how is Zan doing?”

“Upset, obviously. I haven’t really talked to him much lately. I spend most of my time with Kyle. He’s quite a pleasant human.”

The man nodded his head and said, “I have to go now. I will speak to you again in two days, Avana.”

“Yes sir, Khivar.”

*****

Isabel pulled over towards the dusty, rundown looking rest stop. She got out of the car and placed her hand over the car, filling it up with more gas, since she was very low. She walked towards the building and opened the door, looking around for signs that anyone was around. She saw an elderly woman behind a counter, reading a trashy tabloid magazine.

“Hello,” said Isabel. “Is there a restroom here that I can use?”

“Yes deary, right that way,” said the woman, pointing to Isabel’s right. She smiled a thanks and walked to the restroom. She walked in and was surprised at how much cleaner and more modern it was as compared to the rest of the building. She relieved herself and then splashed some water on her face and brushed her hair. She left the restroom again and was about to walk outside when she heard the woman call out to her.

“Young lady! You look tired, would you like a cup of coffee? On the house…”

Isabel turned around and smiled. “Yes, thank you. That would be wonderful. I have been driving all night and I still have so far to go.”

“Oh my. Where did you come from and where are you going?” asked the woman as she poured coffee into a huge styrofoam cup.

“I’m from Roswell, New Mexico. I’m going to New York City.”

“That’s a very long trip for a young lady to travel alone. Why are you going?”

“Um, two of my close friends recently died in a car accident. And one of my other friends couldn’t deal with it, so he flew to New York City yesterday. I just have this gut instinct to go after him. I feel like he needs me.”

“Oh, so it’s a boy you’re chasing after?”

“Yes, but it’s nothing romantic or anything. I grew up with him and he’s like my second brother. My boyfriend is back in Roswell.”

“How is he handling your decision to leave?”

“I uh, didn’t tell him, or my parents. Only my brother knows…” Silence fell over them. Finally Isabel said, “Well I should go. Is that coffee done?”

“Yes, here you go,” said the woman, handing it to her. “Have a safe trip.”

“Thanks.” Isabel walked back to her car, sipping her coffee. She set it in a cup holder and pulled back onto the highway. She passed a sign that read ‘DALLAS, TEXAS 100 MILES’. She sighed and turned on the radio, enjoying the feel of the wind coming in the windows and the sight of the rising sun.

*****

The cab stopped in front of a huge white building and Serena said, “We’re here.” Michael and Serena climbed out of the cab and got their bags from the trunk. Serena turned to Michael and said, “Before we go up, I need to tell you something about my friend.”

“Sure,” said Michael.

“Don’t talk about Maria or Liz while you’re around him. A few years ago his sister was in a car accident and died. He hasn’t gotten over it and if you talk about your girlfriend and friend, his feeling are bound to resurface and upset him. Also, his name is Lucas, but don’t ever call him that. Luke is the only name he’ll allow someone to call him.”

“Ok,” said Michael. “And you’re sure this guy is going to let me crash here for a few days?”

“Totally. Luke has a huge heart. He totally won’t mind.” Serena led Michael up the small stairway to the third floor and stopped in front of room 3K. She knocked and the door flew open almost immediately.

“SERENA!” Luke yelled, grabbing her into a hug and swinging her around, totally oblivious to the fact that Michael was also standing there. Finally Luke set Serena down again and noticed Michael. He sent Serena a questioning look.

“Luke, this is Michael. Michael, this is Luke.”

“Nice to meet you,” said Luke, sticking out his hand.

Michael shook it as Serena said, “He’s got nowhere to stay so I said that you’d let him crash here until he finds a place.”

“Yeah, that’s cool with me,” said Luke, leading them into his apartment. “Come on Michael, I’ll show you to your room.”

*****

Khivar returned a few hours later and dragged Liz and Maria to their feet. “We’re leaving now,” he said. They walked with him down a long hallway to a big room that looked strangely like a high school gymnasium. They stood in the center of the room and all of a sudden they were enveloped in the brilliant light just like when they’d been brought to Khivar’s dimension.

This time the trip seemed to take longer and the sensation of flying or soaring did not occur. The landing was not as rough either. One minute they were in the light, the next they were standing on solid ground in total darkness. Liz and Maria could feel Khivar still holding onto their arms. Apparently he wasn’t going to let go and risk losing them in the dark until they did as he wanted.

Khivar spoke up, “Maria, I need you slowly sit down on the ground. You too Liz.” They did as he asked and then he let go of Liz’s arm saying, “I don’t need to work with you now, just Maria.” He grabbed both of her hands and said, “Maria, I need you to just take deep breaths and concentrate on what I tell you to do. Can you do that for me?”

“That depends on what you’re using me to do and what the consequences might be.”

“I need you to help me get in touch with Rath. We need to convince him that Vilandra shouldn’t be with Alexander Whitman.”

“No!” said Maria, pulling her hands back from Khivar in disgust. “I know that Isabel and Alex are in love and I’m not going to help you break them up!”

“Fine,” snarled Khivar. “We’ll do this the hard way!” He roughly shoved Maria to the ground and held her down and he placed his hands on her head. “I have received word that Rath and Vilandra are in New York City. Think of New York City, Maria. Think of Rath and Vilandra.”

“Their names are Michael and Isabel,” said Maria angrily. “I know the dupes as Rath and Vilandra.”

Khivar took his hands off Maria’s head and looked at her, which she couldn’t see in the darkness. “What? There are duplicates?”

“Yeah. Two sets of pods were taken to Earth. One set in Roswell, one in New York City.”

Khivar smiled excitedly. “So there are four dupes in New York City?”

“No, only three. Zan was killed, so only Ava, Lonnie, and Rath are alive.”

“Seven,” muttered Khivar. “There are seven hybrids on Earth…” He slowly stood up. “We’ll do this some other time. I need to make some changes in my plans. Oh, and I guess I could do what you want me to do and call them Isabel, Tess, Michael, and Max. Now that there is another set…” He walked away from Liz and Maria, still muttering and mumbling excitedly to himself. There was a bright flash of light and he was gone. Liz and Maria were once again alone in the dark place between dimensions.

Part 12

Max slowly drove home, not at all looking forward to having to tell his parent and his friends, especially Alex, that Isabel had gone after Michael. He pulled the jeep into his driveway and sat in the silence, staring up at his house. It looked so big and empty in the moonlight. He finally dragged himself out of the jeep and walked quietly in the front door, hoping not to wake his parents. He was in luck, they were sleeping soundly in their room. Max shut his bedroom door, threw his jacket on the floor and sat on his bed.

He wanted to tell his friends right away about Isabel and just get it over with. He looked at the clock. It was 1:00 a.m. to late to call anyone. He sighed and fell into a laying position, falling asleep as his head hit the pillow.

The next morning Max awoke to hear pounding on his bedroom door. “Come in,” he called out, his voice cracking because his throat was so dry.

“Max!” said his mother, walking into the room. “Wake up! It’s noon already. Have you seen Isabel? I haven’t seen her all day, and her bed doesn’t look like it’s been slept in.”

“Mom, sit down.”

“What? Max, why would I want to sit down?”

“Please Mom. Just sit down.”

“Alright…but I really don’t see why…”

“Mom, I have something to tell you about Isabel. She, uh, she went to New York City.”

“She what! I thought your group of friends canceled the road trip!”

“We did, but Michael felt like he needed to leave Roswell and yesterday he flew to New York City. Isabel went after him in her car.”

“Why didn’t you stop her? Why would you let her go!” Mrs. Evans started to cry. “Her two friends just died…she needs to be with family and friends right now. What made her think leaving was going to solve anything?”

“Mom, she left because she didn’t want Michael to be alone. She kept on saying that he needed her.”

Mrs. Evans stood up. “Well, I better go call your father and tell him. You need to get out of bed and do something today, mister. I know you’re very upset…about Liz…and I don’t blame you. You loved her-”

“I still love her Mom! That will never change. She’s the only woman I will ever love.”

Mrs. Evans shook her head sadly. “Oh Max…” She left and Max shut the door after her, deciding there was no time like the present to tell his friends that Isabel had gone after Michael. He walked to his phone and called the Valenti house. Kyle picked up on the second ring.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Kyle? This is Max.”

“Oh, hey dude. What’s up?”

“I think you and Tess need to come over here now. I have something I need to tell you. Could you call Alex for me and tell him to come too?’

“Sure, bye.”

Max set the phone gently in its cradle and headed for the bathroom to take a shower. As he was showering he thought about how he wanted to tell his friends. Did he want to just come out and say it, or sort of leave hints until someone else figured it out? He stepped out of the shower and got dressed, finishing just as the doorbell rang. He ran to answer it and let in all three of his best friends remaining in Roswell.

“Hey Max,” Alex greeted him. He looked into the living room. “Uh, where’s Isabel? Let me guess…she’s upstairs doing her hair.” Alex chuckled and then realized Max wasn’t laughing with him. “Ok…I guess not…”

“Let’s all sit down,” said Max, ushering everyone into the living room. “I uh, well, I don’t really know how to say this. I’m just gonna say it and get it over with…Isabel went after Michael to New York City.”

“She what!?” yelled Alex, standing up quickly. “Why would she do something crazy like that?”

“She felt that Michael shouldn’t be alone at a time like this…that he needed her.”

Alex scowled and cried out, “But I need her too! I’m her boyfriend! And besides, Michael left to get away from Roswell…that includes getting away from us!”

“Hey, I don’t understand it very well either,” said Max, shrugging his shoulders.

“I’m out of here,” said Alex angrily, stomping his way out the door. Max looked at Kyle and Tess.

“Um, you two can leave too, if you want to,” said Max sadly. Kyle and Tess stood up and silently followed Alex, giving Max encouraging but sad smiles.

Max sighed and flopped down onto the couch, covering his eyes with his arm. Mrs. Evans walked into the room and sat down next to him, comfortingly rubbing his back. “So, you told your friends?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Alex didn’t take it too well though.”

Mrs. Evans nodded knowingly. “Well,” she said. “I am going out to the market. Care to join your old mom for the afternoon?”

Max thought about it and said, “Sure Mom. I’d love to…I do need to get out. And thanks for being so supportive of me. I really appreciate it.”

“I love you Max.”

“I love you Mom.”

*****

Khivar walked into his private chamber, which was actually about as big as a regulation size football field. He sat down in a plush velvet chair and called out to Tess.

“Tess? Can you hear me?” he said.

“Yes,” she replied. “Why aren’t you calling me Queen Avana?”

“You aren’t the Queen. Ava, in New York City is.” Tess gasped in surprise. “That’s right, Tess. I know about the dupes now. And I am very very angry with you for not telling me about them. They are the rightful royal four.”

“No,” said Tess. “We are. They’re mistakes! I am the Queen, not Ava!”

Khivar fell silent for a moment. “Let’s suppose,” he said. “That there are two queens…do you think this is possible? That there are two queens, two kings, two second-in-commands, two unloyal sisters?”

“Uh, sir, it could be possible. We do all contain the DNA of the Antarians as they were in past lives…”

“So, there are two Vilandras? Lonnie and Isabel? Both of them?”

“Uh, yes, I suppose you could look at it that way, sir.”

“Very well then. Our plan has changed. We get Isabel first and then she brings me Lonnie. I can have both of them.”

“Very well sir. As you wish.”

*****

Isabel turned into the parking lot of a small roadside motel outside of Louisville, Kentucky. She walked into the motel office and requested a room. She was given a key and she walked silently to her room. She opened it and flinched at the sight that greeted her.

The carpet was dingy and worn through to threads in some places. The bedspread had holes in it and the overhead light was burned out. She peeked into the bathroom and saw that where there used to be a shower stall there was nothing. The toilet looked old and as if it hadn’t been used in a long time. She sighed and walked back to the car, deciding to spend the night in there, rather than try to make herself at home in the dump that almost passed for a motel.

She was in very low spirits. She had been having a bad couple of days…all of the motels she could afford to stay at were like this one or worse. She had to eat greasy fast food if she wanted to eat at all. She’d spilled coffee on her favorite pair of pants. And she missed Alex. She missed him more than she thought she’d ever miss someone in her whole life. It was like she was literally traveling farther and farther from her life, from herself, with every mile she drove towards New York. She wished Alex were with her right now, holding her in his warm arms. If she could have that, everything else would be okay.

*****

“Maria?” Liz whispered into the darkness, unsure if her friend was awake or not.

“Yeah chica?”

“I don’t feel good.”

“Neither do I. I feel more depressed than I ever have before and I think I’m going through Michael withdrawal.”

“No, Maria. I mean, I don’t feel good like I have a stomachache.”

Maria sat up and felt around until she felt Liz’s arm. She grabbed onto her friend, hugging her to her and said, “You’ll be ok. I think it’s just because you’re scared. Don’t worry, I’m here Liz.”

Liz shook her head and pushed herself away from Liz. “No, Maria, it’s getting worse. My stomach feels all cramped up and I think I’m going to puke.”

“Maybe that’ll make you feel better,” said Maria, pulling Liz’s hair back in case her friend was really going to puke. They waited in silence and then Maria flinched at the retching sounds coming from Liz. She continued to hold her friends hair back and rubbed comforting circles on her back. “It’s ok,” she said soothingly.

Liz finally stopped and sat still, unsure of whether or not that was the end of it. “Maria,” she gasped out. “I can’t…breathe! I can’t…”

Maria cried out and Liz collapsed into her arms, trembling and wheezing. Maria didn’t know what to do other than to scream at the top of her lungs, “MICHAEL! I NEED YOUR HELP!”

*****

Michael flinched and fell to the ground, twisting his ankle at a dangerous angle. “Oh my God!” yelled Serena, leaning down to help him up. “Are you okay?”

Michael looked at her in confusion. “Yeah…I think so…did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“Someone called my name. I heard someone call out, ‘MICHAEL! I NEED YOUR HELP!’ clear as day!”

Serena gave Michael a strange look and said, “Maybe going out to the movies wasn’t such a good idea. You should go back to the apartment and get some rest. I thin k the plane ride wore you out.”

“Yeah, ok,” agreed Michael. He was getting kind of freaked out. He could swear that the voice he had heard cry out to him had been Maria’s.

posted on 23-Aug-2002 11:59:44 AM
Where The Light Isn't Parts 13-16

Part 13

Alex slammed his bedroom door and then looked around his room. There were so many small reminders of Isabel that he just couldn’t stand to look at. How could she leave him without saying goodbye?

Alex remembered back to the funeral when she’d asked him to hold her because she felt lost. He’d promised her he’d always be there. She obviously wasn’t always going to be there for him. He was sick of her mind games…one day they were together, the next they were just friends.

Alex grabbed a framed picture of Isabel off of his desk and threw it in a cardboard box he’d gotten from Mr. Parker. Alex planned on clearing his whole room of Isabel-related items. Maybe he’d give them back to Max or something. Just as long as he didn’t have to look at them everyday.

*****

Maria cried as she cradled Liz’s head in her lap. Liz had been unconscious for hours after she had what had appeared to Maria as an asthma attack. Except she knew Liz didn’t have asthma…

Liz shifted slightly and Maria held her breath, hoping that her friend would finally awaken. No such luck.

As Maria sat there she thought about everything Khivar had said. She was telepathic. Was it possible to communicate with someone from her dimension without the help of Khivar’s powers?

Maria closed her eyes and took a deep breath, preparing herself to try a telepathic communication. Except she didn’t know what to do next. She sat perfectly still for a moment and then, in one quick second, she focused all of her energy in calling out with her mind, “Michael, we’re alive!”

Maria passed out and slumped to the ground next to Liz as all the energy flowed out of her body.

*****

Michael dropped the glass of water in his hand and grabbed onto the counter for support. He’d heard the voice again. This time saying, “Michael, we’re alive!”

There was no doubt in Michael’s mind now that the voice he was hearing was Maria’s. “Ah shit,” he muttered. “They’re not calling out to you. Stop imagining things!”

Except this burst of power he’d felt directed at him both times wasn’t just his imagination. It was very real and excruciatingly painful.

*****

Isabel let out a small sigh of relief as she entered Philadelphia. Now she could finally find a place to rest for the night. She was more exhausted than she’d ever been before. Who would have thought that driving could be so tiring?

She saw a Holiday Inn and pulled into the parking lot, dinging her bumper on another car. She grabbed her purse and as she passed the bumpers of her car and the other, she held out her hands and fixed it. She was too tired to even look around to see if anyone had noticed her.

She flung open the door and stepped into the air-conditioned lobby. “May I help you?” asked a bored-looking girl who was probably her age.

“Yeah, I need a room for the night.”

“Sure, sign this and show me some form of ID. You can pay in the morning.”

“Ok,” said Isabel, signing her name with a flourish. The girl handed her a key attached to a keyring that said ‘Room 41’.

“You’re on the fourth floor, first door to your left at the top of the stairs,” said the girl.

“Thanks.” Isabel trudged up the stairs and found her room. As soon as she opened the door she started squealing with delight. She’d finally found a place to stay the night that was clean and modern. She ran into the room and jumped onto the bed. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of a cozy place to sleep. Within a few minutes Isabel was fast asleep.

When she awoke she saw a vast heaven of stars above her. She blinked in confusion as she realized that she wasn’t in a bed in the Holiday Inn. In fact, she wasn’t in a bed at all, but lying on the dewy green grass of an immense orchard at the foot of a mountain. She looked up and saw that the summit of the mountain was obscured by a few stray clouds.

There were a few trees around her and large bunches of every wildflower imaginable. She plucked one that looked pale orange in the starlight. She held it to her nose and inhaled the fresh scent. It was unlike anything she’d ever smelled before. It was vibrant and…new. Everything around her seemed new, as if this were a world born into the universe just seconds ago. A place unscarred by humans or by natural disasters. It seemed like paradise.

Isabel looked around her. She felt that she wasn’t alone here. Yet, she knew she was in no danger. Whoever else was here was friendly. In fact, she felt an almost overpowering wave of love coming from this other person.

She slowly stood up and slowly turned in a circle, searching for the other person. She spotted the person, watching her from behind a patch of large weeping willow trees. Isabel gasped in surprise as the person’s face came into focus.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

Part 14

"What are you doing here?" repeated Isabel. She looked into Liz's light brown eyes and saw so much pain and confusion that she felt her own heart ripping inside her chest.

"Isabel, help," said Liz, reaching out for Isabel. No matter how far she reached out she couldn't seem to grab onto Isabel. "Isabel, we need you."

"Liz? Tell me where we are. How can you be here? You died!"

"Yes, I did," said Liz. "But I didn't. Help us Isabel. Maria and I need to find a way out of here. She isn't sick yet, but I am. We can't survive in Where The Light Isn't. The atmosphere isn't right. That's Khivar's one mistake…sticking us here were we can't survive. He wants you to come to him. He thinks you are Vilandra. You are in danger. You need to contact the others and form a plan. The dupes are in danger too."

"Liz, what are you talking about? How can you be dead and not be dead? You've met Khivar? Liz, give me a better explanation! I'm not Vilandra…Liz!" Isabel watched in horror as Liz began to fade. "Liz, come back!" Isabel fell to her knees and began to cry, not knowing what was happening.

Liz completely disappeared from Isabel's sight. Isabel looked around her and realized that the sky was brightening and that she could now hear birds twittering among the few trees.

She blinked and she was back in her bed in the Holiday Inn. She looked at the digital clock by the bedside and realized that it was the next day. She rubbed her hands over her face, trying to convince herself that what she'd experienced was nothing more than a crazy dream. Yet she knew it wasn't a dream. It was some horribly real nightmarish reality.

She went into the bathroom and showered, trying to clear her mind and not think about what Liz had said. But that was impossible. The conversation haunted her mind. Liz was dead…yet she wasn't. How? She'd mentioned being in a place called Where The Light Isn't. What the hell, or where the hell, was that? What did Khivar have to do with anything? Isabel had heard of Khivar from Whittaker a few years ago, along with hearing about the fact that in her past life she was Vilandra. Vilandra and Khivar had a secret affair and she had ended up being the main cause of Khivar killing the Royal family.

Khivar was obviously still alive, and for some reason was still searching for his Vilandra…but then why had he killed her on Antar? Isabel rinsed her hair and tried once again to push the thoughts out of her mind. And once again she failed.

Liz had said that the dupes were also in danger. She'd said that Isabel had to contact the others. And the thing that had scared Isabel the most was the fact that Liz was so scared. She said that she and Maria weren't going to be able to survive where they were…which meant that they had to be alive. If they weren't alive it wouldn't make sense to worry about dying. Isabel had to tell the others, but how? Just call them up and say, "Hey, guess what? Last night Liz contacted me and told me that she and Maria are dead, but they aren't, and they can't survive where they are. Oh, and if that isn't confusing enough, Khivar is somehow involved, and he thinks I'm Vilandra. We, along with the dupes seem to also be in danger."

Yeah, like Michael, Max, and Tess would believe that. They'd tell her she was just stressed out, they'd tell her to return to Roswell. They'd tell her she was just imaging things. She sighed and turned off the flow of water in the shower, getting out and toweling off. She put on her clothes she'd been wearing the past few days and used her powers to make them cleaner and fresher. She quickly used her powers to dry her hair and then she grabbed her purse and went down to the main desk in the lobby.

The same girl was behind the counter, this time she appeared to be checking her e-mail. She looked up and said, "That'll be $35 please."

Isabel handed her the money and the key to the room and left. She pulled out of the parking lot and drove through Philadelphia, getting back on the highway and heading towards New York City. She figured that she'd be there by sundown.

*****

Khivar stared at Tess, waiting for an answer. "Well?" he finally said.

"Sir, I don't know. This is a delicate situation. We can't just make this decision at the blink of an eye. This needs to be well thought out. A few years ago Max and I did go to New York for the summit meeting. At that time they were living in the subways. Who knows where they could be now. The dupes didn't exactly strike me as people who stay in one place for very long. They could be anywhere by now."

"That's not my concern then. You need to track them down. Our plans have changed. We don't capture Isabel first, we capture Lonnie. And Ava and Rath could be useful too. You need to find out where they are and report back to me within one week in earth time…or you will no longer be a part of this."

"Sir, I can't leave Roswell! That would look too suspicious, with Michael and Isabel already gone."

"You will do whatever it takes, whether you are in Roswell or New York City and you will do it by the one week deadline. No excuses. Do you understand what I can do to you if you don't? I can torture you. I can keep you alive for many decades while torturing you the whole time. You don't want that, do you Tess?"

"No sir."

"All right then," he said, an evil grin overtaking his face. "Just so we know who's in charge here…"

*****

Alex shifted the box to his other arm and rang the doorbell. After a few seconds the door was flung open by Mrs. Evans.

"Why, hello Alex," she said. "How are you?"

"As good as can be expected, Mrs. Evans."

"Oh, you poor thing. I'm surprised that Isabel didn't say anything to you before she left. This whole thing is just so unlike her…"

"Yeah, uh, is Max around?"

"He's in his room. You go right on up."

"Thanks," said Alex, walking up the stairs. He stopped in front of Isabel's room and looked in. Everything looked the same. It looked as if she'd been there just seconds ago. Alex sighed and moved on down the hallway to Max's closed bedroom door.

He knocked and slowly opened the door. Max was reading a book while lying on his bed. He looked up and smiled sadly. "Hey Alex, what's that?"

"This," said Alex, setting down the box. "Is a box full of stuff I had over at my house that belongs to Isabel or reminds me of Isabel."

Max slowly walked over and inspected the box. "Well, uh, you can just go set it in her room. I, uh, really can't bear to look through it now. She hurt me too, you know. She left when everyone here needed her to stay. We all needed each other. We still do."

Alex nodded and picked the box up again. "Well, I'll go put this in her room now. Go back to reading your book, Max. I'll see you later."

"All right, later."

*****

"You need to see a doctor!" Serena insisted.

"I'm fine, really. This happens sometimes." Michael lowered himself carefully onto the couch, trying not to make any sudden movements because he was very dizzy.

"Well, this isn't normal. Please. You're a guest here in Luke's apartment and I'm sure he doesn't want a dizzy, headachy, messed up guest!"

"So now I'm messed up?" muttered Michael, holding his hands to his throbbing temples.

"That's not what I meant, Michael. I'm just worried. You could be really sick."

"I'm not sick. I just need to figure out what exactly is causing this."

"Which is what a doctor could do for you!"

"No, a doctor wouldn't be able to help me with this."

"How do you know that?" asked Serena, standing up and looking down at Michael, hands on her hips.

"I know, ok? Please, just let me figure it out. I can't see a doctor. Maybe some of my friends in Roswell can help me…figure it out."

Serena sighed and said, "Ok, I guess. But if this continues for much longer, I'll make you see a doctor. I'm really worried."

Michael gave her a crooked smile. "I met you on a plane. We don't even know each other that well. Why are you so worried about me?"

"I'm a dedicated friend. I'll do almost anything to make sure that my friends are ok. And although we met on a plane, I feel like I know a lot about you. I consider you my friend."

"Well, thanks," said Michael. "Same to you."

Part 15

Tess gave Kyle a quick kiss on the cheek and stood up from the couch where she’d been sitting with Kyle, watching old reruns of ‘The Brady Bunch’.

“Where are you going?” asked Kyle.

“Kyle, as much as I love you, I can’t stand to sit through another episode where Jan keeps muttering to herself, ‘Marsha, Marsha, Marsha. Everyone loves Marsha,’ or I am going to die a slow and torturous death.”

“Hey!” said Kyle, putting on his best sad-puppy face, but Tess just shook her head.

“Kyle,” she said seductively, leaning down towards him and licking her lips.”

“Yes?” he whispered, watching her lips. She leaned closer until he could feel her ragged breath against his ear.

“Get a new hobby. Television is so overrated.” He sighed in frustration and looked up at her, an amused smirk was spread across her lips. “And now, Buddha boy, I’m going to bed. Good night.” She turned and walked towards her bedroom.

“Wait!” yelled Kyle. “My dad works third shift tonight. Come on, Tess! Don’t you have a lamp that needs trimming or something?”

Tess giggled at his use of their code word for sex, but continued on to her room. She needed to get down to business and try to locate Lonnie.

“Hmmm,” she murmured to herself. “I’ve been looking for an excuse to dreamwalk…”

*****

Michael finally escaped again to the confines of the small bedroom he’d been occupying for four days at Luke’s apartment. He hadn’t seen Luke around much, but that was ok with Michael. He was bothered enough everyday by Serena. She was a sweet girl, but bothersome.

Michael got onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. As he studied the cracks and chips of paint on the ceiling, his mind wandered back to the what had happened a few days earlier.

Michael was now one hundred percent sure that the voice he’d heard was Maria’s. He wasn’t, however, completely sure if he was sane or not. As much as he wanted to uphold a hope that Maria was alive, he couldn’t. No matter how convincing the evidence, he couldn’t see it any other way. She was dead. Gone forever. He’d held her lifeless body, he’d seen her in her coffin, he’d seen her buried in the Roswell Cemetary. There was no possible way for Maria to be crying out to him!

He groaned as he felt the all too familiar prickling of tears at his eyes. ‘Why?’ he thought. ‘Why does this have to happen now? Why does my mind have to keep playing these games and putting on these pointless charades?’

Michael sat up quickly and grabbed for the phone by the bedside. Without making a conscious decision to do so, he dialed collect to the Evans’ home, just wanting to hear a familiar voice.

“Please state your name,” read the recorded message.

“Michael Guerin.”

There were a few bleeps and blips as the lines were crossed and Michael could hear a faint humming on the line that always seemed to accompany long distance calls.

Faintly he could hear, “Hello?”

“Hello. Will you accept the charges for a call from Michael Guerin?”

“Of course!” Michael smiled as he heard that, knowing it was Max. Their connection was put through all the way and Max said, “Michael, how are you?!”

“Good. I met this really nice girl on the plane. Her name is Serena. The guy she’s staying with is letting me crash here too.”

“That’s good. So, has Isabel gotten there yet?”

“Excuse me?” said Michael, getting confused. What was Max talking about?

“Isabel left Roswell like seven hours after you did. She was going to drive all the way to New York City.”

“Maxwell, are you crazy? You let her! It could be dangerous!”

“I tried to stop her. I really did. But she kept saying you needed her.”

Michael sat in silence, absorbing what Max had told him. Finally he said, “Does she have her cell phone with her? Has anyone tried contacting her?”

“She left it at home. We have no way of reaching her. We don’t know if she’s safe. My mom is upset and my dad is highly pissed off.”

“How’s Alex?”

“Not good. He feels like she just abandoned him. Which, in all honesty, she did. Yesterday Alex brought a big box of her stuff over that he’d had at her house. I told him to just stick it in her room. I can’t go through it. I’m too…upset. I needed her here, with me. And she just left.”

“Your time is up,” came the voice of the operator.

“All right,” said Michael. “I’ll talk to you later Maxwell.”

“Yeah. If you see Isabel tell her to call. Everyone here in Roswell is worried. Bye.”

“Bye.”

*****

Khivar stepped out of the bright light and walked to the two girls who lay huddled together on the ground.

“Wake up,” he snapped at them. He waited impatiently for a response, but didn’t get one. “Wake up!” he yelled, kicking savagely at Maria’s leg.

Maria slowly blinked until her eyes came into better focus. As soon as she realized that it was Khivar standing over her, she tried to stand up. She got up on one knee, but found she didn’t have the energy or the strength to go any further.

“What the hell is the matter with you?” asked Khivar, looking down at Maria with disgust.

“I don’t know,” she said. Her memory was hazy. She didn’t remember much of anything since Liz had gotten sick…

“Liz?!” she cried out, gently shaking her friend. Liz moaned quietly, but didn’t open her eyes or acknowledge Maria in any way. Maria looked at Khivar with pleading eyes. “Please, you have to help her! She couldn’t breathe before, and then she just passed out!”

“Damn,” muttered Khivar. “I was hoping this wouldn’t happen. We are going to have to go back to my dimension. Where The Light Isn’t seems to be too close to your dimension, where you two are dead. It appears that you can’t survive long here…you would eventually die.”

Maria looked up at Khivar, totally and utterly speechless. For the first time in her life, or the lack thereof, Maria Deluca was unable to utter a word. They were dying all over again? Liz was dying all over again because of the dimension they were in? But she…

“I don’t think I’m dying,” said Maria.

“What? You’re too weak to stand. You aren’t talking much or spewing out insults at me left and right! Of course you’re dying!”

Maria shook her head. “No, really, I don’t think I am. Neither is Liz. I think the dimension’s atmosphere just caught up with her and made her ill for a little while. And then, maybe, she did what I did.”

“What did you do?”

“Contacted someone on-”

“You contacted someone without my supervision?! Who?”

“Does it matter?”

“Of course it matters! What did you say?”

“That’s not your business! You’re holding us hostage here! I don’t owe you any explanations.”

Khivar chuckled. “Hostage…you think I’m holding you hostage? That is the farthest thing from the truth, child. You are dead on earth, but I am allowing you to live here! It is a great honor to be in my world. Holding you hostage…no. You’re more like…a puppet. Yes, you two are my cute little human puppets to help me lure Isabel and Lonnie here.”

Maria’s eyes grew dark with rage and hate. “I am no one’s puppet! I’m a human being!’

Khivar grabbed Maria by the hair, pulling her weak body into a standing position. He brought her face right up to his, staring into her eyes. Maria wanted to look away from those eyes. The eyes that revealed the horribly sinister and grotesque corners of whatever he had in place of a heart.

“You’re a human being?!” yelled Khivar mockingly. “Do I look like I give a shit that you’re human?! You, and all humans, should be annihilated! You’re vile creatures, practically useless!”

Maria whimpered softly as his gaze became more solid and steely. He slowly loosened his hold on her hair, his hands slipping to her cheek. He stroked her cheek, almost gently. Maria whimpered again.

“Do I scare you?” asked Khivar. “Do you suddenly turn cold when I’m around? Can you see the bottomless pit of darkness in my eyes? Do you?!”

Maria quickly shook her head, eyes wide open. She kept shaking her head, knowing she wasn’t being honest at all, but not wanting to send Khivar over the edge.

Khivar smiled. “I know you’re lying. You’re scared of me, you wish I’d die. I don’t like the way you look at me…with so much disgust. I’d like to make a deal with you. If you stop looking at me like that, I might not be forced to give in to my physical needs and do this…” He roughly grabbed at her breast with one hand, squeezing it painfully.

Maria held in her cry of pain and fear, not wanting to provoke him into going any further. He let go of her and stepped back.

“Remember, stop looking at me with all that hate and I might be nice. And since you believe you aren’t dying here, stay. But don’t you dare try to contact anyone…or you’ll pay the price, with your body, if you know what I mean.” He turned and walked away, soon disappearing in the flash of bright light.

Maria fell to the ground again next to Liz, curling up in a little ball. The tears slipped down her face and the sobs wracked her body. She cried the way she had when she was little and she’d found out that her father had left and wasn’t going to come back.

But this time she wasn’t just sad and confused, she was terrified. What if Khivar raped her? What if he took from her the one thing she wanted to share with Michael? Maria slowly cried herself to sleep, thinking about Michael.

*****

Isabel pulled over and parallel parked between two cars. She got out of her car as quickly as she could with so much traffic zipping past her. She ran across the street to the pay phone she had seen and got into the small pexiglass cubicle surrounding it.

She reached into her purse for two quarters, only to realize she had no change. “Shit,” she muttered, running her hands through her hair in despair. Why hadn’t she just brought her cell phone with her? She needed to call Max in Roswell and see if he knew where Michael was.

Isabel turned to go back to her car when she decided to reach out her hand and see if there was any change in the coin return slot. She expected to find nothing…how many people actually left their change there?

But her fingers felt two small metal disks. She quickly fumbled them out and realized she was holding two quarters…enough for a phone call! She did a little victory dance in the phone booth, which was difficult, considering the limited space, and then her face fell in disappointment.

Yes, she had $.50, with which she could make a call…but only local. And she’d decided earlier not to even try a collect call because if Max answered he might not accept the charges, and if one of her parents answered, they might try to coarse the operator into disclosing information on the location of the phone from which Isabel would be calling from.

She slumped against the phone, not knowing what to do. She then caught sight of a dark-haired girl walking down the sidewalk. Isabel gasped as she realized how much this girl looked like Liz.

The girl saw her and the combined looks of despair and recognition much have talked to her heart, because she came rushing over to the phone booth. “You look like you’re not having a good day. Can I be of any help?”

Isabel was touched at the girl’s kindness and sighed with relief. “I don’t have enough money to call by brother in Roswell, and I need to find one of my friends here in New York City…” She took a deep breath, trying to get her frayed nerves under control. She definitely didn’t want to break down in tears in front of a stranger…no matter how nice the stranger seemed to be.

A look came over the girl’s face, she seemed to be thinking about something. “Did you say Roswell? As in Roswell, New Mexico?”

“Yeah,” said Isabel.

“And you’re looking for your friend? Is your friend a he who arrived here a few days ago?” Isabel stared at the girl, in shock. Was this girl psychic…or a Skin? The girl noticed Isabel’s discomfort and said, “I don’t mean to freak you out. My name is Serena and if my guess is correct, you are Isabel, and you are looking for Michael. I met him on the plane. He told me about all of his friends back in Roswell, including you.”

Isabel broke into a smile. “Do you know where he is now? I need to find him.”

“Yeah, me and him are staying at my friend Luke’s apartment. Come on, we’ll take your car. It’s only six blocks from here.”

Isabel, still in complete and total shock from her coincidental good luck, lead Serena to her car.

“Just take this street past these lights and at the next set of lights turn right and go for four blocks. It’s a big white building.”

Isabel began driving, then said to Serena, “Do you have a cell phone? I’ll pay you back for the call, but I really want to talk to my brother before I see Michael.”

“Sure,” said Serena, handing her cell phone to Isabel. “And don’t worry about paying me back.”

Isabel dialed to her home in Roswell, all the way across the continent. It was picked up on the third ring by Max.

“Hello?”

“Max?”

“Isabel?”

“Yeah. Um, I’m in New York City. I’m about four blocks from where Michael is staying.”

“How’d you find him so quickly?”

“I met Serena, this girl he met on the plane…”

“They’re staying at the same place, I know,” finished Max.

“Have you talked to Michael?”

“Yeah…he seemed like he wasn’t telling me something. Something big.”

“Well, I have something HUGE to tell you. I can’t now…but me and Michael will talk, then I’ll call you again, ok? I have to go now Max. Tell Mom and Dad I love them.”

Max snorted in amusement. “Isabel, they’re worried sick over you! Telling them you love them won’t ease their minds much.”

“Are you angry with me Max? Because I came for Michael. I wasn’t being selfish.”

“Maybe,” said Max. “But Alex doesn’t see it that way. Bye, Isabel.”

Isabel stopped the car in front of the apartment building and handed the cell phone to Serena. “Well, I guess we should go up and see Michael now.”

Serena reached over and squeezed Isabel’s shoulder comfortingly. “Hey, what’s wrong? I’m sure he’ll be ecstatic to see you.”

“Yeah,” said Isabel. “But I have some news for him that he may not take well.”

*****

After Michael got off the phone with Max he headed into the kitchen to grab an apple. “Hey,” said Serena. “I’m going for a walk. I’ll be back later. Are you feeling better?”

“Yes,” he lied. If anything, he was feeling worse than before. He couldn’t shake this weird feeling…like someone was talking to him, but he couldn’t hear them.

He headed back to his room, munching on the apple, and flopped down onto his bed once again. He felt drained…everything that had happened since graduation was so emotionally exhausting. He fell asleep, the apple, now turning a pale brown, slipping from his fingers as he slipped into a place unfamiliar to him.

He never had the sense of waking up there…he was just there. The place we bright and sunny, full of flowers and trees. A stream flowed past on his left, and to his right was a large mountain range.

He looked around and gasped in shock when he realized who he was looking at. She was wearing a yellow robe-like thing. Her eyes were haunted, her face seemed aged. Yet there was no denying it. He was looking at Maria.

“Michael,” she said calmly. “I’ve been trying to properly contact you for hours. Liz and I are still alive in another dimension. Khivar is using us to lure Lonnie and Isabel to him. You need to help us. Get us out of Where The Light Isn’t. It’s so dark…so lonely. We’ll go crazy if we stay here much longer. Help us Michael. Get Max and find a way to get us back.”

Michael was too in shock to do anything but nod weakly. His lips were crying out to touch hers, his hands to touch her. But his muscles wouldn’t cooperate. He could do nothing but look at her longingly.

“I have to go now, Michael, the connection is getting weak. But first, I have two things to say. First, if you and Max find a way to get us back to earth, our bodies there need to be ready to receive us. On earth we really are dead. And secondly, I love you. I love you and I was saving myself for you. If Khivar has his way with me, know that. I love you and no one else.”

Michael blinked and he was back in his room in Luke’s apartment. He heard Serena coming back from her walk and yelling, “Hey, Michael! Your friend Isabel Evans is here!”

*****

Tess entered the dream plane and after only a minute or two of searching, found Lonnie’s dream. She stepped into it and walked up to Lonnie.

“Where are you?” she asked, seeing no point in beating around the bush.

“What?” asked Lonnie. She, being an Antarian hybrid, knew about dreamwalking and knew this wasn’t a dream Tess, but the real one. “What the fuck do you mean, where am I?”

“Where do you live?”

“Why?”

“Give me an answer.”

“The same place in this shithole subway system as when you and goodie two shoes Max came here for the freakin’ summit meeting. Why the hell do you care?”

“Never mind,” said Tess, stepping out of the dream and smiling in her sleep. She was now well on her way to handing Lonnie to the waiting hands of Khivar.

Part 16

“Alex, you have to relax!”

“I am relaxing, Kyle! Ok, ok, let’s try again,” Alex took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind. Kyle was teaching Alex how to meditate, but Alex wasn’t doing too well. He couldn’t seem to completely clear his mind. There was too much stuff all jumbled up, stuff he couldn’t ignore for even a few seconds. Primarily Isabel.

Kyle sighed and stood up. “Let’s just take a break,” said Kyle. “Maybe you just need to loosen up a little. I’ll go get us some sodas and something to eat.” Kyle went into the kitchen, leaving Alex alone in the Valentis’ living room. He looked around and saw something sitting on the coffee table that looked vaguely familiar. He went over and picked it up. Instantly he knew that what he was holding had belonged to Liz. It was a small white teddy bear.

Alex slumped down onto the couch as he held onto the teddy bear tightly. He was beginning to feel sleepy, but Kyle wasn’t coming back from the kitchen yet. Alex slowly closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

He woke up in the same place that Isabel and Michael had woken up in, although he didn’t know that. He looked around him, puzzled as to why he was standing in a pasture near a mountain. He gasped as he heard someone call out, “Alex!” That voice…could it be?

He turned and was shocked to see not just Liz standing there, but also Maria. Maria smiled at him as if it was a daily occurrence for Alex to see his two dead best friends standing in front of him. He closed his eyes and murmured, “Wow, this meditating thing is weird.”

He opened his eyes, expecting to be back in the Valentis’ living room. Nope, just the pasture and two dead girls. “What…what are you doing here? What am I doing here?” he asked.

Liz smiled reassuringly. “Alex, don’t be frightened. We’ll explain. Maria and I are alive in another dimension. We are, however, dead on earth. We need you and everyone else to help us. Khivar is holding us here. Isabel and Michael know this too. For some reason, I can’t contact Max. I need you to tell him, Alex. Tell him I’m alive. Tell him he has to find a way to bring me back. Tell him I love him.”

Alex blinked and Liz was gone, he was alone with Maria. “Alex, I know this may be scary and confusing, but trust us. You need to talk to Max. I know how much you love Isabel and Liz and I, and we’re all in danger-”

“What does Isabel have to do with this?” interrupted Alex.

“Khivar is holding me and Liz to try to lure Lonnie and Isabel to him. He will do anything it takes to get his Vilandra back. Help us Alex.”

Alex blinked again and was back in the Valentis’ living room, Kyle was leaning over him. “Yo, man, you were like asleep. I was calling you for like five minutes. You ok?”

“No,” said Alex. “I need to go, sorry.” He fumbled to get his jacket on.

Kyle’s face fell. “Aw, come on. Stay for another few minutes. You haven’t meditated yet. You are like a beautiful butterfly, trapped inside its cocoon. If you could just get out, your world would be so much bigger and more beautiful. You might even meet a female butterfly!”

“Isabel is my female butterfly,” said Alex, and then realized what he had just said. He shook his head. “No, Kyle, you know what, stop it with the butterfly thing. I have to go talk to Max. I’ll see you later.”

He practically sprinted to his car and drove like a maniac to the Evans’ house.

*****

Michael stumbled out of his bed and ran out into the main room of the apartment. There before him stood Isabel. He ran to her and they both began to cry, holding onto each other desperately. Serena noticed all the tears and slipped out of the apartment to give them some privacy.

Isabel pulled back from Michael’s embrace and looked into his eyes. “Michael, I need to talk to you.”

“And I have to talk to you.”

“Maria and Liz-”

“-are alive.”

They stared at each other in shock. “You knew?” asked Isabel.

“Yes, Maria contacted me. Khivar has them.”

“Liz contacted me. They could be dying or something, Michael! We need to figure out what to do!”

Michael flinched at the mention of Maria or Liz dying all over again. “Isabel…Maria told me that Khivar might rape her.” He stared down at the carpet as the tears continued to run down his cheeks.

“Oh my god,” breathed Isabel, leading him to the couch. She sat him down and then picked up the phone. “We won’t let that happen,” she said. “I’ll call Max. We’ll figure something out…some way to get them back before Khivar can do anything to them.”

Michael grabbed Isabel’s wrist and stopped her from dialing. “But Isabel,” he said. “What are we going to do? They’re dead here. Even if we found a way to bring them back, how would we explain that to their parents? We need to concentrate on keeping you safe. Khivar wants you.”

Isabel dropped the phone onto the couch and sank down next to Michael. “We have to do something to help them,” she said quietly. “We can’t just ignore them. They are still alive, Michael. Not in this dimension, but they are still alive.”

“I know,” said Michael, massaging his temples. “This is so…stupid! First my girlfriend dies. Then I find out that she is alive in another dimension, being held to lure you there. And Khivar might rape her. I feel so helpless…”

With a determined look on her face, Isabel picked up the phone and called Max.

*****

“Master, she says she is staying in the same place as she was when Max and I went there for the summit meeting.”

“Very well. You have done good. Do you know if Rath and Ava are with her?”

“Probably. I can dreamwalk them too and find out if you wish.”

“Yes, do that, Tess. Thank you. You may be excused…you’re using up my powers by elongating this meeting. I must bring Lonnie here, and soon. Thank you for your help.”

*****

Lonnie lay wrapped in a threadbare blanket on the cold floor of the subway, awaiting the return of Ava and Rath. They’d left to try to find food and had been gone for hours. As she lay there her mind drifted back to the night before when Tess had entered her dream and asked her where she was. Why? No one had ever cared about her much…what difference did it make where she was living?

She sighed and closed her eyes, wishing the floor wasn’t so cold and wishing the squeaking rats would go away. As she was drifting off to sleep her arms began to tingle. She scratched at them and then sat up as the tingling spread to her legs. She was beginning to get very annoyed. ‘Damn,’ she thought. ‘If I’m allergic to something, that’ll just make my day!’

She continued to scratch as the tingling got worse and slowly turned into a burning sensation. She kept scratching, realizing that if she didn’t stop soon, she’d be scratching off her skin. As she continued to scratch she noticed the light dimming.

In the last second before she lost consciousness, she saw the darkness envelope the light, and she felt like her body was going up in flames.

*****

Alex pounded on the Evans’ front door, and then, without waiting for a response from anyone inside, he barged in and ran up the stairs to Max’s room.

“Alex?! What’s wrong?” asked Max, sitting up quickly from where he was lying on his bed, instantly concerned because of the look on Alex’s face.

“We have to find a way to bring them back! She loves you and we have to get them back! They aren’t dead! They’re-”

Alex was cut off by the ringing of Max’s phone. He held up a finger to tell Alex to wait a minute and then picked up the phone. “Hello? Isabel? What’s wrong?”

*****

Isabel took a deep breath as she heard the rings and then Max saying, “Hello?”

“It’s me.”

“Isabel? What’s wrong?”

“Michael and I have some big news. I really don’t know how to say this Max, but Liz and Maria aren’t, uh, completely dead.”

There was a loud thud in Isabel’s ear and then she thought she could hear someone saying, “Max? Max! Why’d you faint? Max?”

*****

Alex watched in fear and slight amusement as Max’s face paled and the phone slipped from his fingers, falling to the floor. Max slumped down to the bed and Alex ran to his side. “Max? Max! Why’d you faint? Max?” Then he realized that Max had said Isabel’s name…could she be the one on the phone?

He picked it up and said, “Hello?”

“Alex?”

“Izzy! What did you say to Max to make him faint?”

“Alex, Liz and Maria are alive!”

“I know.”

“You know?! How?”

“Somehow they connected with me. How do you know?”

“The same thing happened to me and to Michael. Get Max to wake up, I need to talk to him now!”

Alex patted half-heartedly at Max’s cheek and said quietly, “Isabel, whatever you and Max and Michael decide to do about this, let me and Tess and Kyle help too. Especially me. I uh, I know why Khivar is holding Maria and Liz…and well, I don’t want him to get you…so…”

“Thanks Alex, that’s sweet.”

Max groaned and opened his eyes. He looked at Alex and said, “Did Isabel say…”

Alex nodded his head and handed the phone back to Max.

*****

Isabel sighed and said, “Max? I need you to not pass out now. We need to formulate a plan. Khivar is holding Maria and Liz in a place called Where The Light Isn’t to try to lure me and Lonnie there. Liz is very sick and Khivar may rape Maria. They aren’t in this dimension, in fact, they really are dead in this dimension. We have to help them Max.”

Max closed his eyes and inhaled, trying to calm himself down. Which wasn’t easy to do. Liz was alive in another dimension. But she was very sick. Khivar wanted his sister. How were they supposed to deal with this?

“Max, Michael wants to tell you something.” There was a moment of silence as Isabel passed the phone to Michael and then he spoke.

“Max, Maria connected with me or something and she told me things. Anyways, what I’m getting at is that she said that if we find a way to bring them back to this dimension we have to have their bodies ready to receive them.”

“Wha—what?” gasped out Max, grossed out at the thought of having to dig up Liz’s dead body.

“She didn’t explain it any better than that. So, uh, I’m guessing you have to somehow get the bodies out of the coffin and keep them somewhere.”

Max sighed. “Michael, how do you recommend I go about doing this? I mean, the guard at the cemetary will notice if I go in there and then come out with two bodies. Besides, where would they be kept? They’ll be decaying…” Max gagged at this thought, unable to bear the thought of having to see his beautiful Liz like that.

Michael groaned. “I know. This sucks. But if we do this, that’s part of what has to be done. But the thing is, we have no idea how to get them back to this dimension.”

Michael covered his face with his hand and then said, “Let’s just think about this for a while. We’ll contact each other if we have any ideas or if they contact us from the other dimension.”

“All right,” agreed Max. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Michael hung up and turned to Isabel. They stared at each other, unsure of what to do next. All Michael knew was that he had to keep Isabel safe. He could sense that Isabel was sad because she really didn’t get much of a chance to talk to Alex, but that wasn’t the most important thing right now. Her safety and keeping her from Khivar was what was important now.

*****

Maria woke up to feel Khivar’s hand over her mouth, his other hand under her arm, dragging her away from Liz. She tried to struggle, but found that she didn’t have the strength.

Khivaar growled. “Don’t have the strength to fight me? No wonder…I told you not to contact anyone, but then you contacted Michael and that other human boy, Alex. Now, you will pay the price.”

Maria’s eyes opened wide in fear as she realized what Khivar was about to do to her. “NO!” she yelled out, struggling with renewed energy.

Khivar pushed her to the ground, as he laughed. “Yes, child. You disobeyed me and you knew what the consequences would be. Also, you could think of this as a celebratory kind of thing…I know have imprisoned Lonnie.” He leaned over her and kissed her. Maria grimaced in disgust at feeling his slimy, cold lips on hers. The way they felt made him seem dead and lifeless. She whimpered as he held her down and lifted her shirt off, looking at her with his dirty, disgusting eyes.

*****

Rath laughed quietly at Ava as she stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk and they headed down to the subway. They walked along in silence until they reached their little alcove.

“Yo, dude, where’s Lonnie?”

“I don’t know…who cares? Just means more grub for us!” He opened the bag from the fast food place and pulled out a huge hamburger, dripping with grease. He took a big bite and grinned at Ava, who looked away in disgust.

“Seriously, Rath. She said she wasn’t going to leave. What if something happened to her?”

“What the hell could happen to her? In case you need reminding, we are hybrids. We have powers. What could happen to her?”

“I don’t know!” yelled Ava. “But I have a bad feeling. Something happened.”

Rath rolled his eyes and took another huge bite of his hamburger. “You chicks complain and worry too much. Leave me alone.”

Ava walked further along to the small couch they had and sat down. She noticed a piece of paper sticking up from between two cushions, next to her. She apprehensively picked it up and read it. Then she reread it. Then she screamed and fainted. When Rath came to her he found her unconscious on the couch holding a small scrap of paper saying:

Rath and Ava,

Nice little home you’ve all made for yourselves, very cozy. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve kidnapped your dear little friend Lonnie. Don’t expect her back.

Khivar

*****

Michael cried out as the wave of fear and pain washed over him. Faintly he could hear Isabel crying out to him, asking him what was happening. But all he cared about was Maria. Maria was terrified. Maria was extremely upset. Maria was heartbroken and lonely. Maria was disgusted and confused. The waves of emotion Michael was receiving contained all of these feelings, but most of all they contained the knowledge that Maria had just been raped by Khivar.

Michael cried as he clung weakly to Isabel, his heart breaking all over again. In that moment he made a pact with himself. If he ever saw Khivar he would personally kill him with his own two hands. He wanted to wring the life out of Khivar’s disgusting little body.

posted on 23-Aug-2002 12:09:22 PM
Where The Light Isn't Parts 17-20

Part 17

Serena returned to Luke's apartment, thinking she'd given Michael and Isabel enough time alone to talk. She was a bit embarrassed to walk in and see that they were both sitting on the couch, crying. They didn't notice Serena standing in the small entryway and so they continued their conversation.

"What's going to happen to me?" sobbed Isabel.

"Nothing," said Michael, in a determined way. "Khivar won't lay one hand on you. He has already raped Maria. He's not going to do the same, or worse, to you. I won't allow it. Max and Alex won't allow it either."

Serena stood there in shock. Isabel was in danger of being raped? Or worse…what could that mean? Death. Michael said Maria had already been raped. Serena recognized that name, but couldn't place it.

"I'm so scared, Michael. Who knows how powerful Khivar is. What if we can't do anything to stop him?"

"We will," said Michael. "Because we're going to find the dupes, and we're going to get them to help us. They should be willing to, considering Lonnie is also in danger."

Serena groaned inwardly as Michael talked about danger. She had just met Michael a few days prior, but that didn't mean she wouldn't care if he got killed. She knew she should interfere, but she knew she wasn't even supposed to be hearing all of this. And then she remembered that Maria was one of the girls that had died, Michael's girlfriend. Although, he hadn't mentioned to her that she'd been raped.

"I just feel like we'll be too weak. Our powers aren't as fine-tuned as they could be. And there may be a way for Khivar to rid us of our powers. Besides that, how will we ever find our way to Where The Light Isn't or Khivar's dimension? And Maria and Liz are dead here, it'll be a risky and not to mention morbid job to dig up their bodies!" said Isabel.

Serena paled and took a step back. What the hell was going on? Powers, other dimensions, digging up dead bodies…it all amounted to something that Serena didn't even want to consider. She couldn't consider it, it was too bizarre. But was it? It was the only thing she could come up with to explain all of the things she'd just heard Michael and Isabel saying. She'd never believed in the supernatural, had always left that for the less stable people, the people who couldn't rationalize correctly or see the simple explanation for something. But now she was beginning to change her mind. Because if her guess was correct, Michael and Isabel were not human at all.

*****

Lonnie raised her head, looking around in confusion. She didn't recognize the place she was in. She was in a hospital bed, but not in a hospital. The room was huge with drab gray walls and a ceiling that was probably 30 feet above her. She slowly sat up, wincing at the pain in all of her joints. Her skin itched and felt like she'd been severely sunburned. She looked down at her arm and noted that the skin looked normal. She slowly stood up and shuffled to the closest wall, searching for a door. Searching for anything to tell her where she was or how she could get out.

She had to hold herself up with the wall because she was so weak, dragging herself along. It took her half an hour to walk completely around the room. She crawled back to the bed and with her last strength, pulled herself up and into it. She lay down and tried to catch her breath. She had to think. What had happened to her before she'd woken up. She had to think for several minutes before it came to her. She'd been waiting for Ava and Rath to return with food. And then…there'd been pain. That was all she could remember.

Lonnie slowly fell into a restless slumber. As she was beginning to fall deeper into the depths of sleep, a light flashed, so brightly that she could see it through her closed eyelids. She opened her eyes slowly and was taken aback by the sight of the light, enveloping the room. She cringed as it got brighter and brighter. It was far worse than looking directly at the sun. And as suddenly as the light had appeared, it disappeared. She reluctantly opened her eyes, unsure of whether it was over or not. She saw a man.

He was dressed in black. He had brown hair and he was very tall. He stared at her, an odd smile on his face. "Hello, Lonnie," he said quietly.

"Who the fuck are you?" she asked.

"My my, watch the language, love."

"LOVE? Answer me, who the fuck are you?!"

"My name is Khivar."

A cold fear settled into Lonnie's bones. She knew about Khivar. She knew about Vilandra betraying her brother and the second in command to be with Khivar, only to be killed anyways. She knew that she had Vilandra's DNA in her. She knew she was in danger.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice no longer strong and fearless.

"You, my dear. You are Vilandra, aren't you?"

"I'm Lonnie. I have Vilandra's DNA. Why do you want me?"

"We belong together, love. But I do realize you aren't the only one with Vilandra's DNA."

"Isabel."

"Yes, Isabel. I'll have her here soon, too. But I may not even need her, if you are the true Vilandra."

"What do you mean?"

"One of you should be more Antarian, more Vilandra, than you are human. I need to find out."

"How?"

"Like this." Khivar leaned over her and placed his hands on her head. She tried to fight back as he fought to invade her mind. He dug deep into her mind, into her memories, forging past the ones of her human life. Deeper, into the recesses of her mind, to the memories she held of her past life, memories she never knew she had. He pulled them to the surface. And finally she fully understood what had occurred in her past life.

"Zan, he's not evil! And you cannot forbid me from seeing him! I love him!" Zan turned to face Vilandra, a look of pure anger and hate on his face.

"You cannot love him! Are you a fool? You and Rath have bonded! You are destined now to be with him! You cannot take that back! Once you bond, you cannot be with another!"

"I'll do as I wish, brother!"

"And by doing so, you will kill Rath! Is that what you want? To kill the King's second in command? You cannot do this!"
"You are not a King yet, Zan! You have no authority over me! Rath is not the second in command yet! You are a prince and I am a princess. I can and will do as I please!" Vilandra turned and fled from Zan's quarters, tears streaming down her face. How dare he boss her around as if she was a child! So, she had bonded with Rath! That meant nothing to her! No one really believed that fairy-tale myth that if you bonded with another, the first would die.

And even so, it was a sacrifice Vilandra was willing to make. She loved Khivar and she hated Rath. She hated Rath for the way he never payed attention to her, yet always claimed her as his, as if she were a possession. She deserved better, and Khivar could give it to her!

Vilandra fled from the palace, running towards the transport building. She needed to go to Khivar, she needed to bond with him before Zan could stop her or tell her father. As she ran, a terrible explosion knocked her to her feet. She looked behind her, in shock.

The palace had just been bombed! She'd just barely escaped! Within that instant she knew that her parents were dead. The connection she had to them had been completely severed. Somehow, and to her dismay, Zan and Rath were still alive.

She stood up, trying to find someone, to ask them who had bombed them. She let out a yelp of surprise as someone grabbed her arm tightly and spun her around. She stared in shock at Khivar, wondering why he was here, on Antar, when he should be far off on his planet, Remes.

"Khivar?"

"I could feel it coming and I used the emergency transporter to get here. I had to see you, to hold you, to know that you're ok."

Vilandra hugged him to her. "Khivar," she whispered. "Who did it?"

Khivar pulled back from her and looked down at her sadly. "Rebels from Remes. I knew nothing of it, love, or I would have stopped it. I would have had them all killed."

Vilandra nodded, accepting his explanation without a second thought. Everyone knew that there were dangerous rebels all over Remes, rebels who wanted to conquer Antar and kill the Royal Family.

*****

Vilandra stared with hate up at Zan, sitting in his throne in the newly rebuilt palace, even more grand and glamorous than before, looking as if he owned the world. She sighed as Rath sat next to her, pulling her close. She didn't want to be near Rath, fearing he'd be able to tell what she had done. She'd slept with Khivar the night before, bonding with him. Rath, however, could tell that something was wrong.

"What is it, Vilandra?" he asked. "Are you nervous about something?"

"No, Rath. I am just tired. This whole ordeal has been exhausting. Losing my parents, and then Zan becoming the King and you becoming the second in command."

Rath beamed with pride at the mention of him becoming second in command. "You should get some sleep, Vilandra," said Rath, showing no indication that she was allowed to get up and go to her chambers. She rolled her eyes and looked on at the ceremony that was playing out in front of her. She wanted it to end soon, so that she could visit Khivar. He told her he'd be waiting for her in her chambers.

Finally, after a lot of political mumbo-jumbo, the ceremony was over and Vilandra was free to escape to her chamber. She walked as fast as she could to her chamber, annoyed at people when they stopped her, wanting to talk. She understood that it was expected of her as a princess to keep up appearances and interact with the common people, but now was just not the time! She finally escaped the crowds and was free to lift her skirts high enough of her ankles so she wouldn't trip, and run down the halls. She reached her chamber, breathless. As she was about to enter it, Rath came around a nearby corner, startling her.

"Vilandra? What is the rush to get into your chambers this evening? Is someone in there?" Rath looked down at her, almost as if he were willing her to say no.

"Rath," Vilandra said, taking a deep breath. "I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I love you. I thought I loved Khivar, but I love you."



"NO!" Khivar bellowed, throwing Lonnie off the bed and across the room. "You aren't Vilandra, not the one I knew! You chose Rath!"

Lonnie lay on the floor, not moving, hoping he'd think she was unconsciousness and go away. He slowly strode up to her and looked down at her, hate and fury in his eyes. "What do you want from me?" asked Lonnie. "I'm not who you're looking for. Let me go."

Khivar shook his head. "No, that would be too easy. No fun. You aren't the one I'm looking for, but you can be used as bait. I need Isabel. Maybe Ava and Rath will capture Isabel and hand her over to me in exchange for you. Stand up."

Lonnie struggled to her feet, eyeing Khivar warily. Immediately and unexpectedly the bright light enveloped them. From the inside, though, it wasn't as bright. Just as she got accustomed to the light and the sensation of flying, it was over and she was alone, in a very dark place.

"Is anyone here?" she called out, happy to be rid of Khivar, but terrified to be all alone.

"Maria…and Liz too! Who are you?" a voice called out from a little distance away.

"Lonnie. I remember you, from Roswell."

"Lonnie! Try to find us! Maybe you can help Liz?"

"And why the hell should I help Liz? Why should I do anything for you?"

"Because if you don't, she may die. Besides that, we're stuck here and there's no point being stuck here with nothing to do."

"All right," said Lonnie grudgingly, slowly finding her way over to Liz and Maria.

Part 18

Serena slowly walked back to her room, trying to explain away everything she'd heard. But she knew that what she'd heard Michael and Isabel discussing had really been said. And their tears had been real tears of pain and fear.

Serena sighed and crawled onto her bed, trying her hardest to fall asleep. She wanted to forget that Michael and Isabel had ever mentioned powers, rape, Khivar, and other dimensions. She especially wanted to forget the Khivar part. Because he was her father.

*****

Rath and Ava read over the letter from Khivar again. "What are we going to do?" asked Ava, trying desperately to hold back her tears. She cared deeply about Lonnie and didn't want Khivar to do anything to her. She and Lonnie hadn't gotten along for a long time, but eventually Lonnie had felt remorse for helping to kill Zan and she had become closer to Ava.

"I don't know!" snapped Rath. "I'm trying to think! Stop your blubbering!" Ava backed away from Rath and sat back down on the couch, hoping she wouldn't pass out again. She had no idea how they were going to be able to get Lonnie out of Khivar's clutches. They didn't even know where he was holding her. For all they knew, she could be on another planet.

"We have to call our dupes," Rath finally said.

Ava raised her head slowly, trying to gauge if Rath was really serious. He'd never liked the others in Roswell, saying they were genetic mistakes, too human. If he felt that the only thing they could do was turn to the dupes in Roswell, things must be worse than she thought.

*****

"Alex and I have something to tell you," said Max, choosing his words carefully. Alex was sitting next to him in the Evans' living room, while Kyle and Tess sat across from them in armchairs.

Kyle and Tess sat and waited for Max to continue. Kyle had absolutely no idea what Alex and Max had to tell them, but Tess did. Tess was very upset that what was happening with Khivar had already been discovered.

Max took a deep breath and quickly said, "Maria and Liz are still alive. They're being held captive by Khivar, who wants Isabel."

Tess tried to act surprised, but it was hard to do. Kyle, on the other hand, felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. He never in a million years could have thought up that scenario. He'd believed without a doubt that Maria and Liz were dead. "How?" he managed to ask.

"It's complicated," said Alex. "They really are dead here, in this dimension. But Khivar is allowing them to live in a place called The Land Where The Light Isn't, which is sort of a place between dimensions. Khivar wants his Vilandra, but doesn't know if it's Lonnie or Isabel he needs. And Michael and Isabel know all of this."

"How did you find out about all of this?" asked Tess.

"Maria and Liz have been communicating with me, Michael, and Isabel," replied Alex. "They sort of bring us into this dream place, and they can't uphold a connection with our minds for very long."

Kyle shook his head in disbelief. "This has got to be the weirdest alien crap we've ever had to deal with." As he was about to say more, the phone rang. Max motioned for Kyle to hold his thoughts for one moment and leaned over to pick up the phone.

"Hello?" he said wearily. There was a moment of silence, in which a look of shock passed over Max's face and then he said, "Well, hi Rath. Never thought I'd hear from you again."

*****

Lonnie placed her hands over Liz and helped Liz even out her breathing and slowly brought Liz back to consciousness. Liz's eyes fluttered open and she looked up into Lonnie's eyes. "Wha-what are you doing here?" she asked.

Maria leaned over Liz so that she could see her too and said, "You were unconscious for a few days Liz. Lonnie helped you." Maria helped Liz sit up and that's when Liz noticed Maria's ripped clothing and the bruises on her arms.

"What happened?" she asked.

Maria swallowed back a few tears and said, "Khivar raped me." Liz grabbed Maria into a hug.

"Oh god, Maria, I'm so sorry. I should have been awake to stop him."

"There was nothing you could have done," said Maria. "He's too powerful."

Liz nodded weakly and then turned back to Lonnie, who was watching their display of emotions with little interest. "Can you heal her bruises and stuff?"

Lonnie nodded and leaned over, placing her hands on Maria, healing her quickly. "Not as good as Zan…or your Max could do, but that's the best I can do. I'm the only female with the power to heal."

"Thank you," said Maria quietly. "Why are you here? Are you the Vilandra he wants?"

"No, Isabel is, but he still wants to hold me captive. He invaded my mind and looked at my memories of my past life. It ends up that I have the part of Vilandra in me that was faithful. I have the pure essence. Isabel doesn't."

The three girls sat huddled in a circle, thinking about everything that had happened to them and everything that lay ahead of them.

*****

"Khivar has Lonnie," Rath burst out.

"What?" asked Max, in slight disbelief.

"He left us a note saying he took her and not to expect her back. We don't know where she could be and we'd appreciate your help in finding her."

Max sighed and then proceeded to tell Rath everything he knew about Khivar and Where The Light Isn't. "So Isabel is also in danger, but I'd be glad to help you get Lonnie back safely," Max finished.

Rath sighed. "Well, since you've agreed to help us get Lonnie, we'll help keep Isabel safe. Should Ava and me come to Roswell?"

"Actually, Michael and Isabel are in New York City now."

"What? Why?"

"After Maria died, Michael needed to get away from Roswell, and then Isabel decided to chase after him. They're staying with some people they barely know." Max gave Rath the address to Luke's apartment, which Michael had given him on the phone earlier. They hung up, with Rath promising that he and Ava would go over there and see that Isabel was protected.

Max turned back to his friends and said, "Khivar already has Lonnie. Rath and Ava have agreed to help keep Isabel safe, if we try to help them get Lonnie back." Tess sat there, listening with disgust. Khivar was going to be extremely upset to know that he had so many people who were prepared to fight against him. She wasn't looking forward to telling him. And she really didn't look forward to pretending she was on Max's side in all of this.

*****

Serena opened her eyes and looked at her clock. She must have dozed off for awhile, because several hours had passed. She sat up and stretched, getting out of bed and walking to the living room, knowing what she had to do.

Isabel and Michael were still in there, but they'd changed positions and were watching television. "Hey," said Serena, sitting down across from them.

"Hi," said Isabel.

"I, uh, need to talk to both of you," said Serena. "It's really important."

Michael turned down the volume on the television and turned to Serena. "Sure," he said. "What is it?"

Serena took a deep breath and hoped that they wouldn't hate her for what she was. "Well, first of all, I know you're aliens."

A thick silence fell across the room, the only thing that could be heard was the faint sounds from the television.

Serena continued on. "Don't worry, I'm not going to turn you in to the FBI or kill you. But I need to know some things about Khivar."

Isabel looked at Serena, shock in her eyes. "How…how did you know?" she whispered.

"I heard your conversation. And I know who Khivar is. I'm his daughter."

"You're what?!" Michael screamed, standing up angrily.

"Michael, calm down. I'm not like him, I'm not evil. I don't want to hurt you or your friends. I want to help you. But I need to know exactly what my father has done."

"Like damn hell you aren't like him! You're his daughter! How can I trust you!"

"Michael, listen to me! I was born with a genetic defect, I have absolutely no powers whatsoever. Khivar hates me, he denies that I, a Remian without powers, is his daughter. We haven't talked much in the course of my life, and when we have, we argue. I know he's evil and I want him to be stopped. If you feel any danger from me, you could easily kill me. I'm as defenseless as a human. Although, if you do kill me, that will just be pleasing to Khivar."

Michael slowly sank back down onto the couch, looking in amazement at Serena. "This is…too much…" he said.

"What is a Remian?" asked Isabel.

"A Remian is a person from Remes, the planet I was born on, the planet my father is king of. Remes has been at war with Antar for half a century now. Khivar wants to rule both planets and be the king of the entire Whirlwind Galaxy."

"Which would make you a princess?" asked Isabel. "Like me?"

"No," said Serena. "Khivar disowned me and sent me to Earth to live like a human because I have no powers. I am not a princess. Now please tell me exactly what Khivar has done." Michael and Isabel filled Serena in on all they knew.

"Well, I will try to keep you safe," said Serena to Isabel. "And I do know a way to get to Where The Light Isn't or to my father's dimension."

Michael stared at her in shock. "You mean…you can help us get Maria and Liz back to Earth?"

"Yes," said Serena. "But remember what you said…their bodies have to be ready to receive them. Someone in Roswell will have to dig them up. When their souls come back to Earth they will try to find their rightful bodies. If they don't find them within 24 hours, the souls will be lost forever, and they will truly be dead."

Michael looked at Isabel and nodded. "We have to try. It's the only chance we've got. We should call Max."

*****

A few minutes after Max had hung up with Rath, the phone rang again. Max picked it up and said again, "Hello?"

"Hey, Max, it's me Michael. I have something to tell you…" He told Max first about how he knew that Maria had been raped. Then he told Max about Serena and how she could get them to Maria and Liz. Max tried to hold back his shock long enough to tell Michael that Khivar had Lonnie and that Rath and Ava were on their way to help protect Isabel. Eventually they hung up.

Max looked at his three friends sitting with him and then said, "We're going to the cemetary. We have to dig up Maria and Liz's bodies. Then me and Tess have to head for New York City."

"What!?" yelled Alex, standing up quickly. "If you're going to New York City, Kyle and I are going too!"

"It's too dangerous for you," said Max. "Only the aliens should go. Now let's get to the cemetary. I'll tell you what Michael told me on the way there."

Part 19

Michael, Isabel, and Serena sat in the living room of Luke's apartment in silence. They were waiting for something to happen…Luke to come home from work, for the dupes to show up, anything.

"So, uh, Serena," Michael said, shifting slightly in his chair. "What exactly do we have to do to get to, uh, Khivar's dimension?"

Serena sighed. "I'd rather wait until Rath, Ava, Max, and Tess are here so I have to explain it only once. I think I'll be taking you, Max and Tess with me, while Rath and Ava guard Isabel."

They only had to wait 15 more minutes before there was a knock at the door. Serena opened it and much to her amusement, let Rath and Ava in.

Rath's hair was long, longer than at the Summit. He had piercings everywhere: eyebrows, ears, tongue, lips, nose. You name it, he probably had a hole in it.

Ava had grown her hair out, too, very long. It was all twisted into multicolored dreadlocks that hung past her hips. Isabel would never admit it, but the look really worked well for Ava.

Rath and Ava stood against a wall, surveying Michael and Isabel. "Hey, it's been awhile," Ava said amiably.

"Yeah," said Isabel, letting out a sigh of relief. "I'm just so glad you could come to help me. And believe me, we'll all be trying hard to get Lonnie back for you."

Ava nodded distractedly while she studied Serena's face. Ava recognized her from somewhere, but she just couldn't remember…

"Would you like anything to drink?" asked Serena, nervously wringing her hands and brushing imaginary lint off her pants.

And then Ava remembered. Serena's mannerisms…so much like his. She remembered, from her past life. Khivar. Somehow Serena was related to him.

"We ain't not thirsty," replied Rath, trying to sound nice. What was it with humans and always asking you if you wanted anything to drink? If he ever wanted a drink, he'd either say so right away or go get it himself.

"You look familiar," blurted out Ava. "You look like Khivar."

"What the hell do ya mean by that?" burst out Rath. "Why would ya go and say a thing like that?!"

"Well, she does," said Ava quietly.

"She's right," said Serena. "I do look like Khivar because I'm his daughter."

"You's his WHAT?!" exclaimed Rath, an angry expression spreading over his face. He turned to stare accusingly at Michael and Isabel. "Is she shitting me?"

"No, she's really Khivar's daughter," said Isabel. "But we can trust her. Besides, she has no powers."

Serena explained everything to Rath and Ava, who began to calm down again.

"So what do we do now?" asked Ava.

"We wait for Max and Tess," said Serena. "In the meantime, let's get something to eat and try to find a way to talk Luke into letting Isabel, Ava, and Rath stay here too."

*****

"Grab a shovel," said Max to Kyle and Alex. The three guys were going to be the ones to dig up Maria and Liz…a job none of them were sure they'd be able to go through with.

Tess was going to be their look out of sorts. She'd form a mindwarp so that anyone passing by would just see them standing over some graves, mourning the loved ones they'd lost.

Max stood over the grave of Maria. He and Kyle were digging her up, while Alex dug up Liz. Max knew that there was no way he could dig up Liz…it'd be far too painful. It was bad enough having to do it to Maria's body. He sighed and closed his eyes, pushing his shovel into the soft ground and digging out a shovelful of dirt. He threw it to the side and shoved the shovel into the ground again.

"So, uh, you really think we can trust that Serena chick?" Kyle asked Max. "I mean, she is Khivar's daughter. Couldn't she be lying to Michael and Isabel about her identity to deliver them straight to Khivar?"

Max shook his head. "No, I don't think it's a lie. And even if it is, we have to take the chance. She says she knows how to get to Maria, Liz, and Lonnie…that's reason enough for me to at least pay some attention to her. If she is going to stab us in the back…well, hopefully we can get the girls out safely before that happens."

Max and Kyle continued digging together, while Alex went on alone. The sun set, and still they toiled. Tess was still holding up the mindwarp, which Max knew was draining her of power. He was sorry that she was going to be so drained afterwards, but they had no other choice. At this particular moment, Tess was the only think keeping them safe from prying eyes and inquiring minds.

*****

Tess concentrated on the mindwarp she had created, the illusion of the guys standing over the graves, mourning. She sort of locked that image into her mind and then concentrated on another thing…contacting Khivar. He had to know what was going on, immediately.

Finally she managed to tap into his mind's wavelength. "Khivar?" she spoke tentatively in her mind.

"Yes, what is it?" asked Khivar, making himself visible to her, letting him also see her.

"There is a huge problem here."

"I'm not in the mood to listen to you wag your tongue about a bad hair day. As a wise man once said…I don't give a shit."

"Sir, this is really important. Max, Kyle, and Alex are right now digging up the bodies of Maria and Liz. Rath and Ava are helping everyone now. And the last thing is…your daughter, Serena, is helping them all. She claims to know how to get to your dimension and to The Land Where The Light Isn't."

"WHAT?!" bellowed Khivar, startling Tess, causing her mindwarp over the guys digging to break for a few seconds.

"Sir, it's really not my fault…"

"You were assigned to help me! You were assigned to be my little evil sidekick in all of this! You CAN'T handle this! I'm firing you!"

"Sir, let me explain! Serena is powerless, right?"

"Yes."

"So, she's no harm to you. Rath, Ava, and Isabel are most likely going to stay in New York City. Me and Max are joining Michael and Serena and coming over to your dimension. But with Serena powerless and me on your side, we can easily take down Max and Michael. We can still succeed in this, sir."

"Go on."

"Well, if we hold Max, Michael, and Serena captive along with the three girls already in Where The Light Isn't, Rath, Ava, and Isabel will get worried. Maybe even Kyle and Alex too. If we can lure Kyle and Alex here, it'll give Rath, Ava, and Isabel even more reason to come to Where The Light Isn't to try to save everyone. Then you can get Isabel…Vilandra, and either let the others go or kill them all."

"This is a plan, Tess. A horribly thought out plan with no skeleton to it at all. But it does appeal to me. Ok, we'll try. But if you fail me, even one more time, you will die!"

"Yes, sir," said Tess, breaking the connection with him and concentrating all of her energy on the mindwarp. She couldn't risk having the guys get caught and arrested, they were too valuable now…

Part 20

Max threw one last shovelful of dirt behind him and threw the shovel to the ground. He sighed and looked up at Kyle. They both looked at Alex and they shared a look of fear and unease.

They could see Tess standing in the distance, still upholding the mindwarp. They had to hurry now, before Tess ran out of strength.

Alex joined Max and Kyle at Maria's grave. They looked down at the top of the white coffin, a light layer of dirt still covering it.

"It's now or never," said Kyle quietly. "We have to do it."

"I know," said Max sadly. Then he had an idea. "Hold on for a few minutes guys, I have to talk to Tess." Kyle and Alex gave Max confused looks as he ran to where Tess stood.

"Tess," he said. "Can you mindwarp me, Kyle, and Alex into seeing Maria and Liz as if they're just asleep? It'll make our job easier."

"Sure," said Tess. "But now we have to work even quicker. Creating another mindwarp is going to drain me fast."

Max nodded and ran back to the graves.

"What was that about?" asked Kyle.

"Tess is going to mindwarp the three of us into seeing Liz and Maria the way they'd look if they were just sleeping. It should make it easier when we have to carry them."

"But we still know they're dead," said Alex. "It's still gonna be mighty gross and upsetting."

"But at least they won't look dead," said Max, fighting back the tears that were threatening for control of his eyes. He stepped forward and motioned for Alex and Kyle to step back. He stretched out his hand over Maria's grave and concentrated on opening the coffin.

He saw the lid slide off and a peaceful looking Maria lay inside. He concentrated on levitating her body, lifting her slowly up unitl he could set her gently on the grass.

Kyle carefully picked up her body, muttering under his breath, "She's asleep. She's asleep. She's asleep." He began to walk towards the jeep, where he'd lay her on the blankets in the back.

Alex and Max moved on to Liz's grave. Max took a few deep breaths, trying to prepare himself. But there was no way he'd ever be fully prepared to see Liz again knowing she was dead. He concentrated on moving the coffin lid and lifting Liz's body out and onto the grass. Alex quickly picked her up and took her to the jeep.

Max rested for a minute and then used his powers to close both girls' coffins and to replace the dirt and grass to resemble the way it had looked before.

He jogged to where Tess was and nodded to her. She broke off the first mindwarp. Together they quickly went back to the jeep and crammed themselves into the already extremely crowded jeep.

Max, Tess, and Alex sat in the front, while poor Kyle had to share the backseat with Liz and Maria.

Max smiled apologetically to Kyle through the rearview mirror and drove towards his house.

*****

Serena opened the door to the apartment and walked in, leaving Michael, Isabel, Rath, and Ava in the hallway. They'd just gotten back from an extremely late dinner, (more like a midnight snack) and Serena had to ask Luke if the three people that had shown up the day could stay.

She walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table across from Luke, who was working diligently on some bills and other paperwork.

He looked up and smiled. "Hey," he said. "Where's Michael? Out enjoying the nightlife of New York City?"

"Actually, I need to talk to you about Michael," Serena said.

"Why, did he break something?" asked Luke, only half kidding.

"No, uh, nothing like that. It's just that, um, some friends of his showed up today and they have nowhere to stay."

Luke nodded slowly. "So you're wondering if I'd let them stay here. Why, Serena? Don't these people have money? Can't they find an inn or motel or something?"

"I…Luke, these people are just really…important. Please, for one night?"

"And if I said yes, where do you expect me to put these people? Michael and you have the two guestrooms. I only have one couch."

"Well, two of them are used to…challenging conditions. They won't mind sleeping on the floor, I swear."

Luke looked at Serena for a moment and then sighed. "I'll probably end up regretting this, but…ok. They can stay. But only tonight."

"Thank you so much," said Serena, standing and going to the door to let everyone in. She showed them where they could sleep for the night and introduced them to Luke. She introduced Rath as Michael's twin, since there really was no other way to explain it.

As everyone settled in for the night Luke began to think that maybe something was going on…something strange. And he was going to figure out what it was.

*****

Max ran ahead of Kyle and Alex and Tess to open the doors to the small tool shed in his backyard. His parents hadn't used the shed in years and he'd decided that it was the safest place to keep the bodies until they were needed.

Kyle and Alex followed after, carrying the girls, while Tess leaned on the jeep for support. She was losing strength now at an alarming rate and she could barely stand. She had two mindwarps going again, one so that the girls didn't look dead, and another so that anyone who saw them thought they were only carrying bags of dirt, not bodies.

Max threw open the shed door, letting sunlight into the shed. Kyle and Alex stooped low to enter the low-ceilinged shed and gently set the girls down on the ground, wrapped in the blankets from the jeep. Kyle and Alex quickly exited the shed, unable to be near the bodies any longer without breaking down and crying.

But Max looked down at them sadly. A wisp of brown hair was peeking out from one of the blankets. He knelt down on the concrete floor and ran his fingers through the hair. "I love you," he whispered. "We're going to get you back here, I promise. We'll be together again."

"I love you too Max. I trust you…" Max blinked in surprise. That voice…it had been in his head, but he was sure he hadn't made it up…it was Liz. For the split second that she'd been talking he'd felt their connection spark to life, only to sputter out again. But she had contacted him! She'd reached across the dimensions to tell him she loved him!

Tears sprung to his eyes as he slowly stood and stepped out of the shed, padlocking it behind him. He slowly walked back to where the others stood, gathered around the jeep.

"You ok?" asked Kyle, noting the tears in Max's eyes.

"She contacted me," he said.

Alex gave a sad smile. "That's great Max, I'm happy for you."

Tess sighed and said, "Well, I guess we should be going then, huh?"

"Uh, yeah," said Max, feeling a bit uneasy. He was going all the way to New York City while Liz and Maria's bodies lay in his shed. He didn't want to leave them there, but he knew he had no choice. "Yeah, let's get to the airport."
posted on 23-Aug-2002 12:18:37 PM
Where The Light Isn't Parts 21-24

Part 21

They drove in Tess's car to the airport, wanting to leave the jeep behind in Roswell, in case, for some emergency reason, Alex or Kyle needed to move the bodies. Max knew that Alex and Kyle would be very squeamish at the idea of putting the bodies in their cars, and since the bodies had already been in the jeep, it made sense to use that vehicle if they needed to be transported.

As Tess drove, Max rummaged around in her glove compartment until he found two random pieces of paper, both of which he turned into tickets for their flight. They didn't have time to actually go to a desk and buy them.

As Tess sped towards the airport, Max sat and reflected. This was without a doubt the riskiest, weirdest, and scariest thing he'd ever done. Sure, he and his friends had been in danger before. But nothing like this. Because this time, two of them were actually already dead.

He tried to push these muddled thoughts out of his head as he noticed that Tess had pulled into the airport parking lot and was getting out of the car. Neither of them said a word to each other as they ran to the terminal, Max handing Tess her makeshift ticket.

He'd noticed that she'd been uncharacteristically silent for almost the entire day since he and Alex had told her and Kyle about Maria and Liz. He kept trying to tell himself that she was just in shock. After all, she had been friends with Maria and Liz…not the best of friends, but friends none the less. Also, she could just be tired now. After all, she was very drained of energy from the mindwarps, and besides that, it was nearing 3:00 am now.

As they found their gate and boarded their plane Max realized that he hadn't told his parents he was leaving. Hopefully Alex or Kyle would take care of that.

*****

Alex turned over onto his side and then flipped onto his stomach. He'd been tossing and turning fitfully all night. He glanced at his clock. 4:30. Their plane would have left Albuquerque by now. And he couldn't stop himself from thinking that he and Kyle should be on that plane too.

They'd always been involved in other 'alien missions'. What made this one so different? In fact, this one affected two very human girls whom he loved deeply…and one not so alien girl whom he loved even more.

In the dim light of the moon Alex stood up and began to dress quietly, not wanting to wake his parents. He grabbed his car keys and light jacket and jumped into his car, but not before first writing a note to his parents saying he'd be back in a few days. He headed down the street for the Valenti's.

*****

5:00 am. Luke shuffled to the kitchen to make coffee. He couldn't sleep anymore, something was tugging at his mind, something he couldn't get rid of. The thing was, he didn't know WHAT was tugging at his mind. But it was important. It was big. It was right underneath his nose.

As he passed by the living room he did a double take. There stood Rath and Ava, looking like…well, like security guards, or bouncers. They stood in front of the couch on which Isabel slept.

"Uh, morning," said Luke. "Any one wants some coffee?"

"Sure, thanks," said Ava, smiling at Luke.

"Nope," said Rath. "That stuff tastes like piss."

Luke nodded and moved on into the kitchen, fighting the urge to ask Rath how he knew what piss tasted like. He threw some coffee grounds into the machine and opened the refrigerator to see if he had anything he could make for breakfast.

Nothing.

Great. First he let all these people into his home, and now, being the nice host he was, he wanted to make breakfast. But he had nothing in the refrigerator save for a few bottles of beer, some ketchup, and moldy bread.

The coffee was done, so he poured two mugs and was taking one to the living room when he heard whispers. He stopped and stood still, listening carefully. It was his apartment, and if these people were here he deserved to know what they were up to. Maybe they'd give away a clue.

"…have to protect her at all costs."

"I know that Rath. You've only told me this a million times."

"Just makin' sure you know your job."

"I know. I'm not gonna fuck this up, Rath. If I do, if WE do, we may not get Lonnie back."

Rath growled low in his throat. "That idiot…how could she let herself get caught by the likes of Khivar? We's the royals…we's supposed to have more power!"

Luke stood there and listened, a perplexed look on his face. What did they have to do if they wanted Lonnie back? Who was Lonnie? Who was Khivar? Why had he taken Lonnie?

Luke's eyes opened wide at a new thought that entered his mind…where these people messed up in some sort of kidnapping or hostage situation. Was he harboring criminals in his apartment?

All of a sudden he didn't want to give Ava her coffee. He didn't want to go anywhere near her, or Rath, or Isabel. Even Michael…and Serena. They were probably all in on it.

"Just fantastic," he muttered to himself.

*****

Max sank into his seat on the plane and fastened his seat belt. Almost immediately he was dozing off, before the plane even took off. He dreamed restless dreams. Nightmares. About not getting Liz back. Or finding that Khivar had done something horrible to her, like raping her. Like he'd done to Maria.

Periodically Max would wake up and look over to see that Tess was still there. The entire flight she just sat there and stared out the window. She seemed to be deep in thought, and Max thought it'd be rude to bother her.

About an hour before the end of the flight Max dozed off again. This time, however, when he awoke, he was not on the plane. He was in a bright and sunny field of flowers…and Liz was standing before him. He didn't think he'd ever seen her looking more radiant than at that moment. He studied her for a minute or two before speaking, to try and engrave this vision of her into his mind for eternity.

Her hair looked longer than he remembered it, and darker. No longer a dark brown, but a jet black. It whipped in the wind, accentuating the petite features of her face. Her eyes sparkled and her lips looked so inviting. The clothing she was wearing, an outfit much like a cross between a jumpsuit and a bathrobe, wasn't very snug, yet it showed off her gentle curves in a very flattering way.

Max stepped forward and raised his hand to her cheek. It was so warm and soft. He wasn't dreaming, he couldn't be. Everything seemed too real.

"Liz, where are we?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said. "But when Maria or I communicate with people, we end up here. I think it's a place in our minds. It resembles a world Maria and I dreamed up when we were younger. Everything is fresh and new. Eternal spring. Always peaceful."

"It's beautiful," said Max.

Liz smiled.

"I miss you so much," said Max.

"God, Max. I miss you too. The thought of you is what's keeping me going." Liz fell into Max's arms. Max reveled in the feel of her against him. He closed his eyes and inhaled the scent of her hair. This is what he thought heaven must smell like.

"Max, I can't keep up the connection much longer, but I just had to see you again. I had to hold you."

"I'm glad you did. And we're coming. We'll be there to help you soon. And then we can hold each other soon, for real."

"I love you Max," said Liz, fading away.

Max woke up smiling.

*****

Liz woke up and smiled. She laughed and then she burst into a fit of giggles.

"Chica, you ok?" asked Maria, her voice coming from the darkness around Liz.

"I'm better than fine," said Liz. "Max loves me, I love him, and we're going to be saved. They're coming, Maria. We'll be out of this place soon. And we can go back to earth and live with the men who love us."

*****

Alex knocked on Kyle's window lightly. Almost instantly the window was flung open.

"Hey, Kyle. That was quick."

"Couldn't sleep. What are you doing here man?"

"We are going to New York City, my friend. Whether Max and Tess want us to or not. My two best friends are in another dimension and my girlfriend is wanted by some crazy alien. I have an obligation to be in New York."

"Hey, you don't have to tell me twice," said Kyle. "I'll be ready to leave in 10 minutes."

"Ok," said Alex, going back to his car.

He leaned against it and was surprised when the Valenti's front door swung open and Jim walked out.

"Uh, hey Sheriff," said Alex. He wasn't sure what to say next. Did the sheriff know what was going on?

"You and Kyle are leaving for New York City?"

"Yeah," said Alex.

"Ok. I'll keep watch over the bodies."

Alex blinked in surprise.

Jim chuckled. "Kyle told me about everything when he got home. And I'm more than willing to take a few days off work to help you guys out. Believe it or not, I loved Maria and Liz too. And Isabel. I'll do all I can to help get them all back in Roswell safely."

"Well, thank you Sheriff," said Alex wholeheartedly. Just then Kyle came running out.

"Stop your gossiping," he teased. "We have to get to the airport!"

Jim nodded and said, "I can even drive you there and buy you your tickets. Alex, you can just leave your car here in my driveway until you get back."

They all hopped in Jim's car and headed for Albuquerque.

*****

Max and Tess stepped off the plane and into the airport terminal. "We need to get a cab," said Max. "We can be with the others in an hour at the most."

"All right," muttered Tess under her breath. "Let the show begin."

Part 22

Diane Evans hummed to herself as she walked up the stairs towards Max's room, a basket of folded laundry in her arms. She knocked on Max's door. There was no answer. She laughed slightly. He must still be sleeping. She'd just put the laundry basket on his floor and leave.

She slowly opened the door and was surprised to see that Max wasn't in bed. In fact, Max wasn't in the room at all and his bed didn't look like it'd been slept in. She put the laundry basket onto his bed and walked to Max's window that overlooked the driveway and back yard. She pushed back the curtain and saw the jeep sitting there. Odd…

She decided he must be out with some friends somewhere for an early breakfast.
It wouldn't be until much later that day that she'd become worried.

*****

This was it. The large white apartment complex on 5th Avenue. And this was apartment 3K. Max raised his fist and knocked, unsure as to if anyone would be awake yet inside. It was only 7:30 am.

The door was flung open by a man Max didn't know, so he assumed it was Luke. "Uh, hi, Luke? I'm Max and this is Tess."

Luke gave them a blank look.

Max's face fell. "Didn't anyone tell you we were coming?"

"No," said Luke. "But please come in, everyone else in New York City seems to be here. Everyone's in the living room. I'm leaving for work now. If anyone breaks anything, you all have to leave!"

"Uh, ok," said Max. "We'll only be here shortly. We're leaving today."

"Good," said Luke gruffly, stomping off down the hallway. Max and Tess shared amused looks and walked into the apartment. To their left they heard voices, and so proceeded down a short hallway towards the living room.

Isabel looked up in surprise at Max and Tess and then stood up, jumped over Ava, who was lying on the floor, and threw herself into her brother's arms. "Max!" she exclaimed. "I'm so happy to see you!"

Max laughed and hugged his sister. "Same here," he said. Finally Isabel let him go and then turned to give Tess a hug.

"Hey girl, glad you came to help us."

"Where else would you expect me to be at a time like this?" asked Tess, hoping she sounded genuine.

Isabel turned and said, "Max, Tess, you already know Ava and Rath. This is Serena. Serena, this is my brother Max and our friend Tess."

"It's great to meet you," said Serena, getting out of her chair to shake hands with them. "And now we need to get right down to business. Last night, while everyone was sleeping, I was making plans. Now, these plans need to be followed exactly."

Everyone took their seats and listened attentively to what Serena was saying. "First, I'm going to be the leader until we're actually there, for obvious reasons. I am the only one who knows how to get there. When we arrive, Max should take over. He's the king, plus…well, he's a guy. No offense Tess, but males fight better against Remians like Khivar. Anyways, Michael, Max, and Tess will be accompanying me while Rath and Ava keep Isabel safe. We'll check all three of them into a hotel before we leave, so as not to leave Luke with perfect strangers in his apartment."

Serena sighed and sat down, then continued, "Once we get there we need to be cautious. We'll be in a dimension owned solely by Khivar. There are literally trillions of citizens there…and they all serve Khivar. We shouldn't run into too much trouble though, and if we do, we can fight back. Remian powers are miniscule compared to Antarian powers. Now, I think all of you know this, but I'll say it again. I have no powers whatsoever. It's a genetic defect. So if we ever have to split up while in Where The Light Isn't, I'll go with Michael, and Tess will go with Max."

Everyone nodded and waited for her to go on. She sat in silence for a moment, thinking. "When we get there, if we run into Khivar, he probably won't recognize me. He hasn't seen me since I was a toddler. Also, he has extremely bad eyesight."

Everyone raised their eyebrows in amusement at this. Khivar wanted to rule the Whirlwind galazy and he had his own dimension. But he had bad eyesight and he didn't wear glasses. Not always a good idea…

Serena took a deep breath and said, "I'm willing to sacrifice myself to save your friends."

"What?" asked Max. "What do you mean? You're willing to die?! No one is going to die!"

"It's only as a precautionary measure. I don't expect to have to do this…but if I have to, I will let Khivar kill me, thinking it's Liz."

Everyone's eyes opened wide at this comment. They couldn't believe she'd be so self-sacrificing and willing to help.

"If Khivar thinks he's killing Liz," Serena went on, "then maybe he'll let Maria and Lonnie go…and the real Liz, whom he'll think is me."

"But what if he wants to really kill you?" asked Michael. "He doesn't strike me as the loving father figure."

"He wouldn't risk it because even though he disowned me and sent me to earth, his citizens still know I'm his daughter. An uprising against him would start if they found out he killed me and he'd lose his power. Well…I think that about covers it," said Serena.

"We have the bodies ready in Roswell," said Max.

"Good," said Serena. "Well, if we're done talking I think we should all take bathroom breaks and get ready to go."

"Oh yeah," muttered Michael. "Always have to remember to take bathroom breaks before hopping into another dimension."

*****

"This is the place," said Serena. She, Max, Michael, and Tess were standing in Central Park, hidden in a tangle of trees. They'd already dropped off Isabel, Ava, and Rath at a hotel with instructions not to leave unless absolutely necessary.

"This is the place?" asked Michael. "We're standing in a bunch of trees."

"No, we're standing in a doorway to Where The Light Isn't." Serena took Michael's hand and he took Tess's, who took Max's.

"Now, don't let go of each other. This may feel weird. And when we get there it will be completely dark." With that said, Serena tapped a tree. Part of the trunk slid back to display something much like a computer keyboard. "Fake tree," she said to the other three, who had amazed expressions on their faces.

Serena hit a few buttons and all of a sudden they were enveloped in a bright light and they felt like they were flying. All too soon the sensation ended, and they were back on solid ground, in complete darkness.

"Welcome to The Land Where The Light Isn't," said Serena. "Now let's get moving."

*****

Kyle and Alex ran up the stairs and knocked on the door to apartment 3K. No answer. They knocked louder. They pounded on the door. Still no answer. Kyle glanced down at the slip of paper with Max's handwriting on it.

"This is the place," he said.

"What if we missed them?" asked Alex. "What if they left already?"

"No way," said Kyle. "They probably went out for brunch. We'll just sit here and wait." And so Kyle and Alex sat down outside Luke's apartment to wait.

Part 23

"Where the hell are we going?" Michael grumbled, stumbling over yet another rock in the dark.

"Will you shut up?" hissed Serena. "Do you really want my father to find us? Because if you keep jabbering, he will find us and he will not hesitate to kill at least you."

Michael instantly shut up, and kept following Serena. They had decided right away to split up from Max and Tess because no one had anticipated just how dark this place was. It was so dark you felt like you were suffocating. They knew that if they stuck together, there was virtually no chance they'd find Maria, Liz, or Lonnie.

The only thing that now bothered Michael was the fact that Serena was the only one who knew how to leave this place and get back to their dimension. If Max and Tess found the three girls, they'd have to leave as soon as possible…but they wouldn't be able to because first they'd have to find Michael and Serena again.

"Shit," muttered Serena, breaking Michael out of his thoughts. She stopped suddenly and caused Michael to walk into her.

"What is it?" he whispered as quietly as he could.

"A dead end."

"What?!"

"This place is actually like a small village, you know. The people that are slaves of Khivar, and Khivar included, can see in this darkness. Apparently we are walking on a dead end street."

"Wait a minute," said Michael. "If these people can see in the dark, shouldn't they be able to spot us?"

"Yes, but I don't think they're here, I think they're all back in Khivar's dimension. This is a place between dimensions, but it also serves as a rest stop for troops. I don't think there are any battles going on now, and they don't really like going to our dimension very often, so they don't come here often. We should be safe."

"Geeze! You should have told us this before! This is, like, vital information!"

"Michael, I really don't think anyone's here. Besides, you have powers. Like I said before we came here, the Remians are no match for Antarians when it comes to powers. Now let's stop talking, and find another road. We need to get to the girls before my father finds out we're here. I'm sure he's probably been tracking you ever since he captured the girls, and I know he tracks me. We need to hurry up!"

Michael didn't need to hear anymore, he knew they needed to hurry up. And they just couldn't afford to lose any more time. What Michael didn't realize was just how little time they really had.

*****

Max gripped Tess's arm and helped her over a large hole in the ground. It just wouldn't do to have someone sprain their ankle at a time like this. They continued walking, an eerie green light coming from Max's palm. He'd had the idea of lighting their way with his powers. He hoped that with this, he'd either be able to spot the girls sooner, or the girls would spot the light and call out for help. But nothing had happened so far, and he estimated that they'd been in Where The Light Isn't for almost three hours already.

A brief while ago Tess had seemed almost catatonic, as if she were dreamwalking someone, but Max couldn't believe that. He knew she wouldn't drain her powers like that, and besides, who did she have to dreamwalk or talk to?

They continued on down the road they were on, looking in every direction for any indication that the girls were near.

What had surprised Max when he'd started using his powers for light was the fact that there were actually buildings here! He'd thought it would be a dark place, devoid of all life, or manmade creations. But he was wrong. This was like a primitive village, and he'd seen animals too…something that slightly resembled a deer had crossed their path an hour earlier.

They trudged along together, helping the other if they were about to stumble over some obstacle, when all of a sudden, they were in a clearing, and there, lying in front of them were none other than Liz, Maria, and Lonnie.

Maria was the first to spot Tess and Max and she immediately jumped up and started screaming, "Oh my God! Liz, Lonnie, wake up! Wake up! We're saved! Thank God, thank Buddha, thank someone, our heroes are here!"

Lonnie raised her hand in a wave at Tess and Max, a grin spreading across her face, a grin that she rarely showed to anyone. "Thanks," she murmured to no one in particular.

Liz slowly awoke and looked up at Max. She thought she was dreaming. She had to be. There was no way she could be staring at Max right now. Yet, it was undeniable, what with Maria practically having a heart attack, hugging Tess, and then Lonnie, and then swinging them around in a wild, frenzied dance.

Liz slowly stood up, not breaking eye contact with Max. His eyes were tearing up, and so were hers, until Max's face was nothing but a blur to her. She hurled herself into his arms, holding onto him with a death grip. He did the same to her.

He inhaled the scent of her hair.

She reveled in the feeling of being held in his strong, warm arms, his hard chest up against her.

He smiled down at her and whispered, "I can't believe I'm holding you."

"It's amazing," she breathed, snuggling into the crook of his neck.

"I…" He choked back a sob and then started again. "I held you in my arms after the accident. I just held you and tried to heal you. And it didn't work. You'd been ripped away from me. I thought I'd die then, knowing you were dead. Knowing I'd never get to see your smile again. Knowing I'd never get to kiss you again, or hold you."

"Max…"

"Let me finish," he said gently. "I went to your funeral and I thought I'd completely lose it. I was a pallbearer. That was so hard. To carry the coffin, knowing you were in there. Knowing you were so close and yet so very far away, too far away to touch. I don't think I've even really been living since you died. I've been walking around in this blank state, not caring about the real world, only dreaming of being with you. And then I found out you were alive."

Liz smiled up at him, tracing his jawline with her finger, waiting for him to continue. "I found out you were alive and I felt like I was alive again. I had a reason to live. We…we had to dig up your bodies. Geeze, that was hard to do. But I knew that it was the only way to get you back, to have the bodies ready to receive your soul. And so I did it. And now here I am, with you, and we can go back to earth and just…be together."

Liz wiped away a few of Max's tears and did what she'd been wanting to do for weeks. She touched her lips to his. She kissed him. She poured her heart and soul, all of her love, into that kiss. And she was taken aback by what she received from Max.

Flashes. Not just any flashes. She was seeing and feeling all the pain Max had been feeling since she'd died. She'd never felt such pain before, didn't know pain could exist in that degree without killing someone.

As the kiss broke she realized she was weeping. She collapsed fully into Max's arms. How could someone love her that much? How could this wonderful boy, whom she loved more than her own life, love her back that much?

It could only be a miracle.

*****

Luke slipped his keys out of his pocket as he stepped out of the elevator, shifting his briefcase to the other hand so he could more easily open his apartment door. And then he noticed them.

Two men, barely men…probably just out of high school, sprawled in front of his apartment door. As if they were waiting for someone. Him. Great. Just what he needed. More guests. He needed to have a serious take with Serena because she was just plain taking advantage of his apartment now.

He lightly tapped both of the guys on the leg and waited for them to wake up. They saw him and stood up quickly. One of them, the more gangly and tall of the two, stuck out his hand and smiled. "I'm Alex," he said. "This is Kyle. We're looking for our friends."

Luke didn't shake Alex's hand, but pushed past him and unlocked the door to his apartment. "And who would your friends be?" he asked, knowing full well who they were.

"Um, Michael, Max, Tess, Rath, Isabel, Ava…and Sabrina?"

"Serena," corrected Kyle, smiling sheepishly.

"Wait out here," said Luke gruffly, slamming the door in their faces and throwing his briefcase to the floor. He walked into the kitchen and yelled, "Is anyone here?!"

He received no answer. He checked all the rooms and found no one. He went back to the door and opened it. Alex and Kyle were standing there, waiting.

"They're not here, no one is. Now will you people please just leave me alone?" He started to shut the door, but Kyle's hand shot out and pushed it open.

"Please," he said. "Do you have any idea where they could be? It's urgent."

"What the hell are you people up to?" asked Luke. "You think you can just come into my apartment and I'm not supposed to ask questions?! I've been hearing things I don't even want to begin to try to comprehend, but if my wild guess is correct, you're all wrapped up in a conspiracy of some kind. I want nothing to do with this!"

"Please!" yelled Alex. "Is there any clue as to where they could have gone?"

Luke sighed and said, "Serena left some stuff here, go ahead and get it, maybe there's some clues there. After that, I want you gone."

Kyle and Alex instantly pushed past Luke. "Where?" asked Kyle. Luke sighed and pointed towards the spare bedroom Serena had been staying in. Alex and Kyle hurried in that direction while Luke went to his liquor cabinet. He needed a drink. In fact, he needed a few drinks.

*****

"I gotsta do somethin!" Rath yelled at Ava. "I'm not just gonna sit around on my ass all day, waiting for those preppy pansies to save Lonnie! I'm going in, and you're staying here with Isabel."

"No!" yelled Ava. "Why do you get to go, and I get stuck here, protecting her alone? Besides, if Khivar tries to take Isabel, I can't protect her alone. If Khivar gets Isabel, we get blamed and them 'preppy pansies' won't help us get Lonnie back!"

"Just shut up and do as you're told!" Rath bellowed, walking out of the hotel room and slamming the door behind him.

Ava sunk down dejectedly onto one of the beds. "This sucks the big one," she complained.

Isabel studied Ava for a few moments and then said, "I want to help too. I know Khivar is after me, but I can't just let everyone else do all the work."

Ava turned onto her side and raised her eyebrow, brushing a few dreadlocks out of her face. "And so what are you saying?" she asked.

"I'm saying, we give Rath a little headstart…and then we follow him."

Ava smiled at Isabel. "I like the way you think," she said.

*****

"Ok, break it up, you two, you can cuddle, or whatever, when we're safely back home," said Maria, pulling Max and Liz apart.

They smiled at Maria, but still held hands. "You're right," said Liz. "We need to get out of here now, that's our first priority."

"Ok," said Tess. "Then we just need to find Michael and Serena and we can leave."

They all started moving back towards the direction from which Tess and Max had come from.

*****

"Shh! Stop!" hissed Serena. Michael stopped walking, standing as still as he could.

"What?" he whispered back.

"I heard something."

"You're just being paranoid."

"No, she's not," said another voice. Serena and Michael slowly turned around, not wanting to see who was behind them.

As soon as they saw him they knew. It was Khivar.

"Welcome to The Land Where The Light Isn't. Too bad your tour is going to be cut short. And Liz, why…I wouldn't have expected you to leave Maria and Lonnie all alone. Good for you. Growing a spine. I'm proud."

Serena stood there, staring at her father blankly. He thought she was Liz. It just might work. She knew now though, that she would be killed, no question about it. The question was, would Michael make it back to the others? Could any of the others escape?

*****

"Kyle, I found something," said Alex. Kyle came over and stood next to Alex, who was holding a small slip of yellow paper.

"Well, what is it?"

"This is what we're looking for." He read from the paper. "Dimension slipstream-Central Park-near large cluster of trees and bushes, red flag as marker, white stripe on largest tree."

Kyle and Alex smiled at each other. They were going to Central Park. And then they were going to go help their friends.

Part 24

“You sure this is the place?” Kyle asked Alex. They were standing among a small copse of trees in Central Park.

“Yeah,” said Alex. “Are you ready?”

“No, but I guess that doesn’t really matter does it?”

“Nope,” said Alex. He walked up to the marked tree and tapped it. Nothing happened. He tapped it harder and a computer-like thing appeared.

“You know what you’re doing?” asked Kyle.

“Sort of. I think I can hack in and figure out how this works.” Alex’s fingers began to expertly tap away at the keyboard, the computer giving small bleeps and blips occasionally. Finally Alex held up his hands in victory. “I got it!” he exclaimed. “We’re leaving in 10 seconds…9…8…”

Alex stopped counting and grabbed onto Kyle’s hand. As Alex had predicted, a few seconds later they were enclosed in a bright light and when it was over, they were standing in a world completely devoid of light.

*****

Max and Liz led the way as Maria, Lonnie, and Tess followed behind. “We’re never going to find them,” Tess grumbled to no one in particular.

“Shut up, shut up, shut up,” muttered Maria. She’d always hated Tess and her whiny little voice wasn’t making this situation any better.

“Hey!” said Lonnie, stepping between the two bickering girls. “Does I gotta break this up? If you two start duking it out I’m gonna throw some punches and the both of ya’s gonna get it!”

Maria and Tess obediently shut up and walked on like scared little puppies with their tails between their legs.

Max chuckled and pulled Liz closer. He didn’t mind the bickering. It was just good to know they were all ok. As soon as they found Michael and Serena they’d go back to their homes and live happily ever after.

*****

Tess slowed her breathing and walked blindly with the others. Now that they’d found the girls, Khivar had to be warned and told that Serena might try to pose as Liz.

Tess had tried to contact him earlier, but her attempts had failed. This time she HAD to contact him, or else risk losing his respect…and maybe even her life.

She continued to slow her breathing and when she felt fully prepared, she stepped quickly into the dream plane, which was always present within the recesses of her mind. She hastily found the mind of Khivar and stepped in.

“What the hell do you want?” he snapped. “I’m busy! Michael picked up Liz and they tried to get away! I need to get them to a holding cell now!”

“That’s not Liz!” Tess said quickly, before Khivar had the chance to throw her out of his mind.

“What? Of course it’s Liz.”

“It’s Serena.”

“My…offspring?” asked Khivar in absolute disgust.

“Yes. I’m with Max, Lonnie, Maria, and Liz now. If you give me directions, I can lead them to you.”

“Perfect! Keep walking, I can track you and meet you. Just make sure Max doesn’t find a way to get out of this dimension before I get there!”

“Yes sir.”

*****

“Well, that’s a good head start. I say we follow after Rath now,” said Isabel, pulling herself up off the bed where she’d been lounging.

“All right!” said Ava excitedly. “This’ll be great!”

“Remember,” said Isabel as they left the hotel and walked in the direction of Central Park. “Khivar is looking for me, not for you. If worse comes to worse, I’ll give myself up while you find the others, then you can come back for me.”

“Yeah, I know,” said Ava. She was grinning broadly. “I just can’t wait to get my hands on Khivar. I think I wanna rip his head off.”

“Same here,” sighed Isabel. “Same here.”

*****

“Where are you taking us?!” Michael yelled angrily. Khivar was using his powers, most obviously far more developed than other Remian powers, even more powerful than Antarian powers, to take Serena and Michael somewhere. Neither of them could move except when and where Khivar wanted them to.

“A holding cell,” said Khivar. “I’ll keep you there until your friends are found.” They went on in silence, and after a little while Khivar’s breathing became shallower and he seemed to be paying very little attention to what he was doing.

Finally his breathing returned to normal. He stopped walking, levitating Michael and Serena over the ground. He studied Serena for a moment and then laughed out loud. Michael shivered. That laugh was so…inhuman.

Khivar walked closer to Serena and then reached out and stroked her cheek. “I know who you really are now,” he said. “And I’ll enjoy killing you, daughter.”

*****

“Where are we going?” Kyle whispered to Alex.

“Gee, to the candy store,” said Alex sarcastically.

“Really?” asked Kyle hopefully.

“NO!” yelled Alex. “I don’t know where we’re going, but we have to concentrate on finding the others.”

“But I’m hungry…” said Kyle, sounding like a fussing child who’s been stuck in a car for far too long.

“Oh fine,” said Alex, digging in his jacket pocket. “Here, eat this.” He handed Kyle a slightly smashed, but otherwise perfectly edible, Milky Way bar.

“I prefer Snickers,” said Kyle. “Would you happen to have a Snickers?”

“No!” snapped Alex, taking the candy bar back. After all, if Kyle was just going to complain about it, Alex may as well eat it.

*****

Ava and Isabel easily found the spot that Serena had told them about in the trees. They found the computer, typed in the code, and within seconds they found themselves in The Land Where The Light Isn’t.

“This is some creepy shit,” murmured Ava, trying her hardest to see. But her attempts were futile. There was no light and no way to see.

“Well, let’s go,” said Isabel, walking carefully. “Let’s just be quiet and listen for the others.”

Ava and Isabel walked along, holding hands so they wouldn’t lose each other in the darkness. All of a sudden Isabel thought she heard a familiar laugh. A laugh she’d know anywhere. It was Alex’s laugh.

*****

“I think we should go this way,” said Tess, pointing in the opposite direction from the way Max wanted to go.

“Are you sure we should go that way?” asked Liz.

“Yes. This is the way we came from.”

Max squinted and tried to see into the distance, but the light he’d created with his powers was quickly ebbing and all he saw was shadows. “If you’re sure…” he said skeptically.

“I’m positive,” said Tess. “Let’s go.”

Everyone followed after Tess, not knowing they were walking into a trap that could mean the end for all of them.

*****

“Alex?” Isabel called out, but not too loudly. “Is that you?”

“Isabel?”

“Alex? Where are-”

Isabel bumped into something…or rather, someone.

“Ow!”

“Kyle?!”

“Isabel?”

“What are you two doing here?” asked Isabel.

“Trying to save you!” said Alex. He felt around until he found Isabel’s arm. He pulled her into his arms. “I’ve missed you.”

“God, Alex, I’ve missed you too. I just had to leave…but I never meant to hurt you.”

“I know,” he said. “I didn’t know that before, but I know that now.”

“Ok, are we done with the lovey dovey crud?” asked Ava, only half mocking.

“Ava?” asked Alex.

“The one and only. And now we better go find Rath and the others.”

They began walking again, staying close together. “Hey!” said Kyle, brightening suddenly. “Ava, would you happen to have a Snickers bar with you?”
posted on 23-Aug-2002 12:27:15 PM
Where The Light Isn't Parts 25-26

Part 25

“This don’t seem like the right way,” grumbled Lonnie, trudging along as she shot looks of anger at Tess’s back.

“It is,” said Tess. “Trust me. We’ll meet up with Michael and Serena and be out of here in just a little while.”

Lonnie sidled up to Maria and whispered. “I don’t trust her. She has some evil looks abouts her.”

Maria studied the form of Tess walking slightly ahead of them and whispered back, “You know, I NEVER liked her. Two years ago she tried to steal Max from Liz and any real friendship I had with her was over.”

“I don’t mean evil like that,” said Lonnie. “I means like…really evil. Likes she’s planning against us. Almost like she’s helping the big K.”

“The big K?” asked Maria in confusion. “Oh! Khivar!”

“Nothing gets past you blondie,” said Lonnie teasingly.

Max, who still had his arm around Liz, turned to Lonnie and Maria and said, “Shh…I hear something.”

“Awww, is Maxie hearing spookies in the dark?” asked Lonnie in a kidding manner.

“I’m serious! Shut up for a second!” snapped Max. Lonnie shut her mouth, but not before smirking at Max and rolling her eyes.

The five of them stood there in silence, listening. Tess looked impatient, but the rest seemed unfazed by whatever was getting Tess’s panties in a bunch.

‘Oh hurry up,’ Tess thought. ‘Khivar doesn’t have all day to wait for you!’

They all stood in silence, listening for whatever Max had heard. Then Liz’s head snapped to the right. “I hear it!” she said quietly. They all listened and then they all heard it. Voices. Very very familiar voices.

“I said I want a Snickers!”

“If you don’t shut up you’re going to get the chance to ask Khivar himself for a Snickers. And even if you get it, it’ll be your last meal!”

“But I’m so hungry! And everyone knows that if you’re hungry you HAVE to have a Snickers!”

Then they heard the sound of someone being slapped on the head.

“Ow! Ava, that hurt!”

Liz turned to Max, her eyes sparkling, but worried. “It sounds like Ava, Isabel, Alex, and Kyle. But what are they doing here? It isn’t safe here! Especially for Isabel!”

“You’re right,” said Max, grabbing Liz’s arm and leading everyone in the direction of their friends voices.

“Where are you going?” sputtered Tess, jogging to keep up with them.

“To get our friends, you blonde-haired dimwit!” Maria yelled back over her shoulder.

Tess scowled at Maria. “Hey, you’re blonde too!” she called back, but her words fell on deaf ears as Maria spotted Alex and ran at him, screaming excitedly.

Alex hugged Maria and immediately clapped his hand over her mouth. “Ria! Quiet!”

She blushed. “Oops. Sorry. I’m just so…god…I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, Alex!”

Alex’s smile was from ear to ear. “And I’m glad to see you!” He waved to Liz. “You too Lizzie!” Everyone smiled and hugged Maria and Liz…and Lonnie.

Ava started to cry when she was hugging Lonnie. Lonnie held Ava at arms length and said teasingly, “Now don’t go cornball on me A!”

Ava just smiled and pulled Lonnie in for another hug.

Tess stood away from the others and rolled her eyes. “Ok, now that that’s over, can we get going again?”

But once again, Tess’s words fell on deaf ears as an unkempt Rath stumbled into the midst of their group. He was gasping for breath and was bent over, clutching his side, as if he had a cramp in it from running too much.

He didn’t even seem to notice that Isabel and Ava were there, very much against his orders for them to remain safely away from Khivar.

Lonnie rushed to Rath’s side and let him lean on her. “What happened?” asked Max.

“I…I heard…Khivar. He’s got Serena and Michael. He thinks Serena is Liz.”

Liz and Maria both tried desperately to hold back tears. Maria because she loved Michael and knew he was in imminent danger, and Liz because she felt guilty for the very plausible death of Serena.

Max pulled both girls into his arms, kissing Liz’s forehead and rubbing Maria’s back comfortingly.

“We need to find them!” said Alex valiantly. Isabel smiled at him, amazed at the bravery and determination she could see shining in his eyes.

“I agree,” said Max. “But how? We’re literally in the dark here. We have no idea how big this dimension is or if Khivar is even keeping them in this dimension.”

As everyone discussed plans and ideas on how to located Michael and Serena, Tess closed her eyes and called out for Khivar’s mind. She was granted immediate access.

“Well? Where the hell is everyone? I’ve been tracking you all and you are extremely off course! I thought you told me you were going to lead them to me!”

“Gosh, I’m trying. We ran into Alex, Isabel, Kyle, Ava, and Rath on the way. And Rath apparently knows that you have Michael and Serena. Except Rath thinks that you think Serena is Liz.”

Khivar laughed. “I did think she was Liz and I guess Rath didn’t stick around long enough to hear me tell Serena I’d enjoy killing her. Although, I do believe I’d like to kill Liz as well.”

“So, what do we do now?” asked Tess.

“Try to keep the group in that relative area. Michael and my daughter will be kept in a holding cell while I come to collect the rest of the members of this disgusting little group.”

Tess nodded and was snapped back to the group.

“So what are you saying?” Maria was yelling. “That we just stand around and wait?!” She jabbed her finger at Max’s chest. “Don’t you dare tell me we have to stand around and WAIT! Khivar has Michael and I refuse to just sit here and give Khivar more time in which to kill him! I fucking refuse to!”

Tears began to fall in a waterfall from Maria’s eyes and Liz tried to pull Maria into her arms, but Maria angrily pushed her away and ran off into the darkness.

“Maria!” everyone yelled after her. But it was no use. She was lost to them in the darkness.

And then things got worse.

“Hello friends,” said a deep voice. Everyone turned around and Liz yelped. “What, I don’t get hugs?” asked the man sarcastically.

“Khivar, unhand our friends!” bellowed Max.

“Ah, that would be the sucker ending to this whole soap opera, wouldn’t it? No, I think I need to have a little more fun.” Khivar rubbed his hands together and looked around at everyone, smirking. “Anyone up for dying?”

Part 26

Isabel screeched in fear and then collapsed into Alex’s arms. Alex struggled to maintain his balance under Isabel’s dead weight. She had completely passed out.

Without warning, Khivar raised one of his hands high up over his head and shot out a blast that seemed to blow everyone but Isabel backwards by ten feet. Then he raised a force field around them, one that was far more powerful than anything Max could ever dream of creating with his powers.

Liz started to sob as she watched Khivar slowly approach Isabel’s fallen body. He kneeled next to her and gently moved a few stray strands of hair out of her face.

“Vilandra,” Khivar whispered, looking down at Isabel in wonder. “My Vilandra. We are finally reunited.” Khivar continued to stroke Isabel’s hair, occasionally caressing her cheek.

Lonnie, Rath, Ava, Liz, Max, Tess, Alex, and Kyle all stood watching and waiting with bated breath behind the force field. For a short time they’d all forgotten about Michael, Serena, and Maria. They couldn’t think about anything but the horrible scene unfolding before them.

Eventually Isabel blinked and moaned softly, trying desperately to raise her head. Khivar helped her sit up and then looked into her face.

Isabel screamed and batted desperately at Khivar’s hands, which were around her arms. She hadn’t realized who was helping her sit up until she’d seen his face with the aid of the dim green light from the force field behind which her friends crouched.

Khivar, however, would not release Isabel from his firm yet gentle grip. “Vilandra, do not fight me,” cooed Khivar, raising one hand to cup her cheek. “It’s me, Khivar. Your bonded mate…for all eternity.”

“I am bonded to no one, and especially not for eternity,” Isabel replied coolly, removing Khivar’s hand from her cheek. “I would rather die than be with you for an hour.”

“Oh, tsk tsk, Vilandra,” said Khivar, speaking to her as if she were a child who’d been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. “That’s the wrong answer! Now, you either agree to stay here and live with me, and…renew our bond…or you and your friends are going to be sent to the fiery depths of hell. I’ll even lead you there!”

Isabel met Khivar’s gaze and seemed to be thinking of his proposition for a few seconds…and then spit in his face.

“Did I just see Isabel Evans spit?” Kyle whispered to Alex, completely amazed.

Alex didn’t answer because he was straining to hear what Khivar was saying and because he felt that this was no time for humor of any kind.

“Damn,” Khivar muttered under his breath. He ran his hand over his face, removing the spittle from his cheek. “That’s no way to treat your lover.”

“Ha! The only man who has any chance of being my lover is Alex!” Isabel replied.

Alex blinked in surprise, then smiled to himself.

Khivar release his grip completely on Isabel and raised a smaller force field around her. He spun around and studied the large group of teenagers standing before him. His gaze finally landed on Alex.

“Alex, you lucky dog,” said Khivar, an evil grin cascading over his face. “You win the grand prize.”

“I-I have?” squeaked Alex, for once happy about the force field that separated him from Khivar.

“Yes. Come here.”

“I-I can’t,” said Alex, pointing dumbly at the force field.

“Oh, but you can, Alex,” said Khivar. “Go ahead. Try.”

Alex looked at the other teens standing around him. None of them said anything, but Max was shaking his head.

“I have to,” Alex said, more to himself than to Max. “Maybe I can help get Isabel away from him.”

“Alex, don’t,” commanded Max. “If you go over there you are just signing your own death warrant. Khivar is evil. We all know that. If you think that you are just going to walk over there, pick up Isabel, and be able to escape, you’re dreaming. He’ll kill you Alex.”

Alex let Max’s words go in one ear and out the other. He looked at Isabel and the look of pure desperation on her face and he knew that his mind was made up. There was no way he could just leave Isabel on that side of the force field, alone with Khivar. If that dirty, slimy bastard were to touch her even one more time…

Alex thought of what he’d like to do to Khivar, fueling his rage, making him feel stronger and more confident. He took three steps forward. He was now standing directly in front of the force field.

‘This is it,’ he thought to himself, taking a deep breath. ‘You may like…disintegrate trying to go through the force field…or you may get through. Just do it, Whitman!’

Alex took a deep breath and stumbled forward a few steps, almost losing his balance. Khivar chuckled and Isabel breathed a sigh of relief.

“I-I’m alive!” Alex exclaimed happily.

“I told you that you could do it, Alex,” said Khivar

“Whatever,” Alex mumbled. He started to run to Isabel’s side but suddenly found himself unable to move. It was almost as if he’d been…frozen. Without the cold aspect of freezing.

“You will stay away from her,” growled Khivar. “Vilandra is mine now. I’ve allowed you to come to this side only to say your good-byes.”

“Are you blind?!” Alex yelled so suddenly that everyone jumped. “Are you a deaf idiot?! SHE DOESN’T WANT YOU! She HATES you! You held her friends hostage when they should have been resting in peace! You disowned your own daughter because she has a genetic defect. You killed Vilandra, Rath, and Zan in their last lifetimes! Does ANY of that sound familiar to you? Why would ANY woman want to be with a man like you?”

Alex’s gaze softened as he turned his eyes on Isabel. Isabel gasped as she saw the pure love and admiration that seemed to be pouring forth from his eyes, his smile.

“Isabel is the perfect woman. She deserves the perfect man. I’m not worthy of her, and Khivar, you most definitely aren’t even a runner-up. But you heard what she said. I’m the only one she’d consider being with. If you cared at all about her Khivar, you’d want her to be happy. You’d let her go. You’d let all of us go, and you’d let her be with me.”

Alex fell silent and all eyes fell on Khivar, waiting to see what his reaction would be to Alex’s words.

****

After Khivar had promised Serena that he would kill her, and enjoy doing it, he left. Serena finally allowed herself to break down and cry, collapsing into Michael’s arms. As the sobs wracked her body she wondered to herself how she could even be related to such a vile and cruel man. What kind of man said he’d enjoy killing his only offspring?

Michael, concerned for the small woman in his arms, held her and let her cry on his shoulder, knowing she needed to let out her anger, confusion, and fear somehow. This was as good a way as any.

Finally Serena’s sobs subsided to a few sporadic sniffles, hiccups, and an occasional desperate moan that somewhat terrified Michael. After all, if Serena was so distraught how would they even have a chance of finding a way out of the holding cell they were in and locating the others? She was the one who had even a remote idea of how to get around in Where The Light Isn’t.

Serena raked her hair out of her face and turned away from Michael, glad that it was so dark and he wasn’t able to make out her face. ‘I must be a mess,’ she thought to herself.

“We have to get out of here somehow,” Michael finally ventured to say.

“Yeah, I know,” said Serena. “But I don’t have any ideas on how to get out of here. This is a cell with no doors. Khivar transported us here with his powers.”

They fell silent for a long moment, wondering if their friends were safe, wondering how all of this had come about so quickly, and wondering how the hell they were going to escape from their holding cell.

“You have to blast a hole in one of the walls,” said Serena, sighing in defeat. “It’s the only thing to do.”

“I can’t,” retorted Michael. “My powers aren’t strong enough for that type of thing. I can barely blow apart a rock, much less a solid brick wall.”

“Michael, you have to!” Serena yelled, letting her fear get the best of her. “Do you want to be killed!? Don’t you want to see Maria again!? You have to at least try!”

Serena’s words must have had an affect on Michael, at least to some degree, because he slowly raised himself off the floor where he’d been sitting and shuffled blindly to the wall across from Serena. “Stay back,” he warned. “Like I said, my powers aren’t strong, but if I do manage to create a blast strong enough to rip a hole in the wall, bricks may fly.”

Serena shuffled as far into a corner as she could and waited.

Michael raised his right hand in front of him and pointed it at the wall a few feet in front of him. He tried his hardest to even out his breathing and calm his racing heart. He concentrated on the bricks. They looked red, but their wasn’t really any light so it was hard to truly tell their color.

As quickly as he could and with as much power as he could muster, he let a bolt of pure energy rush from his hand. It spilled out of his fingertips. It exploded from his open palm. The energy blast hit the brick wall and created a hole

A hole big enough to stick a hand through.

“Damn it!” Michael cursed, flipping up his middle finger at the wall, as if that would somehow coax the small hole he’d created to expand.

“What happened?” Serena asked, now standing at Michael’s side.

“I made a hole,” said Michael.

“I don’t see it.”

“Get closer.”

Serena walked closer to the wall and then let out a sigh. “You’ll have to try again, Michael,” she said.

“Uh…no.”

“What do you mean no?! Michael, you are our only hope of getting out of here. Now try again!” Serena retreated back to her corner and Michael turned back to the wall.

“I can’t do this,” Michael complained, even as he raised his hand and prepared to once again attempt to break a hole in the wall.

“Just shut up and do it already!” Serena snapped, Michael’s complete lack of self-confidence grating on her last nerve. Didn’t he realize that his power was mostly fueled by the confidence that the powers could be used well? If he didn’t believe anything was going to happen, then nothing most likely was going to happen.

Michael concentrated once again on the wall in front of him. He aimed his hand at the small hole he’d already created, hoping that he’d be able to make it bigger.

He let out a blast of energy and was blown backwards, knocking over Serena, by the force of the wall exploding inwards into their small cell.

“You were supposed to blow the bricks outward, you ass!” Serena yelled, her voice muffled. Michael was sprawled across her chest and head. He quickly rolled off her and assessed her for scrapes or cuts.

“Are you ok?” he asked.

“I’m fine. But you should have blown the bricks outwards!”

“Well excuse me! I’ve never done that before!”

Serena’s gaze softened a bit and she said, “I know. I’m sorry I’m being so uptight and bitchy. I just really want to find the others and get out of here.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Michael asked, pointing to the wall he’d demolished. “Let’s go find them!”

*****

“You are a fool if you think that I would let any of you go without keeping Vilandra here. Vilandra is my bonded mate, and either I have her in this lifetime, or you all will die.”

“NO!” Alex bellowed. By an amazing show of strength, he managed to leap at Khivar, overpowering the freezing effect Khivar had placed upon him. As Alex leapt at Khivar, things started to happen. Everyone else saw it happen so fast that it was practically a blur. They were unsure of what had occurred until a few moments later. But Alex saw it all, in slow motion.

He was in the air, hurtling towards Khivar, his arms outstretched as if he were going to choke Khivar. Khivar calmly raised his hand and Alex could see a blast of energy so bright it looked like fire shooting outwards, straight at him. And then from the corner of Alex’s eye, he saw movement. Isabel.

She dove at Khivar and diverted his hand. The energy blast didn’t hit Alex. It his Isabel. She crumpled to the ground with a thud that turned Alex’s stomach. Alex hit Khivar, knocking him over.

Blindly Alex began to pummel Khivar, punching him. He broke Khivar’s nose. But it wasn’t enough. No, he had to kill Khivar. Because Khivar had killed the only woman he’d ever love.

Khivar had killed Isabel.
posted on 23-Aug-2002 12:32:02 PM
Part 27

Khivar rolled over easily, pinning Alex’s body to the ground. This time Alex could not break free from the powerful bonds holding him in place.

Faintly, Alex could hear the other teens crying from behind the large force field, trying to get to Isabel and him. Khivar only chuckled and wiped half-heartedly at the blood pouring from his nose, the only blood Alex had been able to draw from this sick bastard who had killed Isabel.

*****

Maria stumbled blindly in the darkness, unsure of where she was and wishing she hadn’t left the group. Yes, she wanted to find Serena and especially Michael…but she had just put herself in more danger by going off on her own. She realized that now…when it was a bit too late.

So she continued on, hoping that somehow she’d either manage to find Michael and Serena, or that she’d stumble upon the larger group of teens again.

She just didn’t like being alone in the darkness. It was creepy.

*****

“Hurry!” Serena called back behind her to Michael. “We have to get there before something happens! I can feel it…something BIG is about to happen!”

The only response from Michael was his panting and labored breathing from trying to keep up with Serena’s insane pace. She sure as heck could run a lot faster than you would think a petite young woman like her could.

“Wait, stop!” Serena hissed, holding up her hand. Michael, not able to stop quickly like Serena, ran smack into her hand.

“Shit!” he cursed, rubbing at his nose. “What? Why are we stopping?”

“I hear something, or rather, someone. We aren’t alone here.”

*****

“Can you do anything?” Kyle asked Max as they all watched helplessly as Khivar pinned Alex to the ground next to Isabel’s dead body.

Max let out a heart-wrenching but frustrated groan from deep in his body and let his head collapse into his hands. “No,” he mumbled. “Nothing. There’s no way I could ever break through this barrier. I can’t…I can’t do anything.”

Liz pulled Max into her arms both of them crying for Isabel and also for Alex, who was almost sure to lose his life soon as well.

“I’m so sorry,” Max cried out through his tears. “I should be the one out there, not Alex or Isabel. It should be me!”

“No, Max, don’t say that,” said Liz, clinging to him. “Don’t ever say that!”

“But it’s true. I’m the King. Besides that, it if weren’t for me, Alex, you, Maria, and Kyle wouldn’t be involved with any of this. This IS my fault.”

“Max, no!” Liz yelled, swiping angrily at her tears and pulling Max’s hands from his face. He had no choice but to look into her eyes.

“No,” she said in a quieter tone. “If it weren’t for you I would have died that day at the Crashdown, and you know it. Any ambulance would have been too late. You saved me. You are the most wonderful thing to happen to me. And Michael is the most wonderful thing to happen to Maria. And Isabel is the most wonderful thing to happen to Alex. And Tess…well…whatever Kyle sees in her… Anyways, my point is that you, and even the dupes, have made our lives more complete and whole and wonderful then they ever could have been had you not decided to save me that day. You gave us ALL live, Max. And we all love you for it. This is not your fault. You know that as well as I. This is Khivar’s fault. You only loved me, and the rest of our friends. You’ve done more than any friend should ever hope for from another friend. This IS NOT your fault.”

Max’s eyes began to tear up again and he quickly crushed Liz to his body and concentrated only on matching his heartbeats to hers.

The only thing he could do now, the only thing he WANTED to do, was hold the woman he loved and never let her go.

*****

“Please,” Alex begged Khivar as he tried desperately but to no avail to free himself from whatever force Khivar was using to hold him to the ground.

“Please what?” asked Khivar. “Let you go?”

“Yes,” said Alex. “Let me go. Let my friends go. What do you want from us? You wanted Vilandra. You got her…and you took her.” Alex stumbled over those last words and tried desperately not to start crying hysterically again. He needed to keep himself calm and collected until he and his friends had escaped harm, and then he could curl up and cry for the rest of his life.

“What do you think I want from you, dimwit? I thought it was only too obvious. I want to kill you all. Did you really think I would ever let you go, even if I had Vilandra? You should know better,” Khivar barked back at Alex.

“Please,” Alex begged again. “Let my friends go. I’ll stay. You can kill me. Just let my friends go. Please?!”

Khivar only laughed and lowered the force field that was holding back Liz, Max, Kyle, Tess, Ava, Rath, and Lonnie.

Everyone shuffled towards Alex and towards Isabel’s lifeless form. Max immediately crouched next to Isabel and placed his hands on her head. He grunted in annoyance and anger almost immediately.

“She’s really gone,” he said in disbelief. “I thought maybe I could…god…she’s dead. My sister is dead.” And once again tears fell from Max’s eyes.

Through all of this, Alex was still begging for his life, and still Khivar insisted that he would kill them all. No one tried to fight back, knowing that they would immediately be killed. They stayed back and hoped that somehow they’d be able to escape unharmed.

*****

“Who’s there?!” Serena’s voice demanded into the darkness. “Answer me!”

“It’s-it’s Maria,” a small and scared voice came back. “Who-who are you?”

Michael didn’t give Serena a chance to respond as he ran frantically in the direction of Maria’s voice, yelling, “Maria! Keep talking. I’ll find you!”

“Michael! Oh god, is that really you!? Michael, I’m over here,” Maria yelled back, turning slowly in a circle, trying desperately to see Michael’s approaching form in the darkness. All of a sudden Maria felt a hard body crashing into hers and together they both tumbled to the ground.

“Maria, gosh are you ok?” Michael asked, pushing hair out of her face. “I’m sorry. It was dark and…” His words were cut off by Maria’s demanding mouth closing over his.

From where Serena stood she could hear two content sighs from the two reunited lovers. She smiled slightly to herself before she jogged in the general direction of the two, who were still sprawled out on the ground, kissing each other desperately.

“All right,” said Serena. “Sorry to break this up, but we need to get our rears in gear and find the others before something happens.”

“You’re right,” Michael replied, reluctantly pulling back from Maria’s lips. “Come on Ria,” he said, helping her to her feet.

“I’m Serena,” Serena said to Maria, although that was sort of ridiculous, since Maria probably had that already figured out, and besides, it was too dark to see anyone as more than a vague shape.

“And I’m Maria,” said Maria, sounding a little miffed that her make-out session with Michael had been cut short.

“Well, let’s go,” said Michael, grabbing onto both girls’ hands and leading them in the direction that Serena told him to go.

“I feel like I’m trapped in some weird version of the Wizard of Oz,” muttered Serena.

“Yeah…too bad there’s no yellow brick road to follow,” Maria replied.

*****

Before anyone knew what was happening, Alex was running at Kyle. "Give me your pocket knife!" he hissed at Kyle, who immediately whipped it out, thinking that Alex was going to try and use it on Khivar.

Alex took the pocket knife and whipped out the blade, holding it up above his head. "You won't kill me Khivar!" Alex yelled in a practically hysterical voice. "You can't! I would never allow someone so evil to take my life away! Never!"

A look of fear passed over Khivar's face, as if he knew what was going to happen soon.

"You took the love of my life away from me. You killed her! But you can never kill me!" And with these words…Alex plunged the brand new, very sharp pocket knife into his own chest.

*****

"Are we almost there?" Maria whined, holding onto Michael's arm and dragging her feet.

"Shh…keep your voice down," said Serena. "We should almost be there, so now we can't talk much, ok?"

Michael and Maria nodded in agreement, which was useless in the darkness, as Serena couldn't really see them.

"I hear someone," whispered Serena so quietly she almost wasn't heard. "Stop. Listen."

*****

Khivar stared in surprise at Alex's body and then smiled. "Well good," he said. "Less work for me to do. Tess, can I speak to you?"

Max's tear-filled gaze whipped away from Alex to Tess, his eyes flashing with anger. "What?" he spit out. "Why would Tess talk to you?"

"Oh, don't be so dense!" Khivar chuckled. "Have you really not figured it out yet? Tess is on my side."

"You…bitch!" Liz screamed at Tess, who only shrugged off the insult and smiled at Khivar.

Khivar led Tess farther into the darkness, away from the group of distraught teens who were all crying over their two lost friends. Lonnie and Max, the two healers there, were trying desperately to heal Alex, but it looked like it wouldn't work. Ava, Lonnie, and Liz crowded around as well, wanting to see it happen if Alex was saved.

"So, what's the next part of the plan?" asked Tess, rubbing her hands together in glee and anticipation. "I want to do some of the dirty work, if you get my drift. I'd really like to kill Liz. That stupid little-"

"All in good time my dear," said Khivar. "Right now I need you to just wait here until I call for you…"

*****

"That's Khivar!" Maria squeaked as she and Michael and Serena stood listening to the conversation they had accidentally stumbled upon.

"And Tess," Michael grumbled. "That stupid hussy is working on his side! The idiot was probably feeding him clues and tips the whole time since you and Liz…died."

"Shh," said Serena. "Come closer. I have a plan. But we need to synchronize this well…"

*****

"Are you ready?" asked Khivar, looking closely at Tess.

"Yes. You go ahead. I'll be along soon."

"All right," said Khivar, not able to stop a smile from spreading across his face. "Let's go kill 'em…"

Khivar jogged ahead and before any of the nervously waiting teens could do anything, raised his hands over his head and shot out a large blast of pure alien energy…hitting Kyle, Lonnie, and Ava head on.

Killing them almost instantly.

*****

"Oh fuck," Michael muttered from his vantage point in the distance. Khivar's energy blast had lit up the small clearing they were in for a few seconds and in those few seconds he saw not only Kyle, Ava, and Lonnie crumple to the ground, but he also saw Isabel and Alex lying dead near them.

Michael could tell that Maria had at least seen Alex's body from the way she gasped and then started to sob.

"Maria, keep it together," said Serena, putting a comforting arm around Maria, who was already also in Michael's arms.

"But Alex…"

"I know baby," Michael whispered into her ear. "I know. God, I swear…I'm going to kill that man for what he's done to all of us. Especially what he did to you…"

Maria sobbed louder as the memories of Khivar raping her came back. "Do it," she said to Michael. "Kill him."

"I will, but we have to stick to our plan," said Michael, stroking her hair, placing tender kisses all over her face. "We need to kill Tess first."

"Let's do it," said Serena, standing up.

*****

Tess stood by herself nervously watching on as Khivar killed Kyle, Ava, and Lonnie. Something wasn't right. She could feel it, everywhere. There was an eerie feeling in the air, in the light from Khivar's energy blast, even in her bones. Something just wasn't right.

Tess spun around as she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. "Who's there?" she called out quietly, her hand held out in front of her.

"Don't even try," said a male voice. "You really don't have any idea of how powerful I am, do you?"

"Come here," said Tess, intrigued. She created a small light with her other hand and smirked as Rath stepped out of the shadows. "You?" she asked incredulously. "What are you going to do to me?"

"Whatever he does, I'll help him," came another voice from behind Tess. She spun around to face Michael.

Michael nodded at Rath as if to say, 'Hey dude. How's it going? Gonna help me kill her? Cool.'

Tess started to look a bit nervous, standing between Rath and Michael, who both also had their hands raised in front of them, pointing at her.

"Boys, boys," she said, her voice cracking. "Can't we work out a compromise or something?"

Rath and Michael shared smiles over Tess's head and then both shook their heads. "No can do, rodent bitch," said Michael, using all of the power he could muster and aiming it straight at her as Rath did the same.

*****

"I'm nervous," Maria whispered to Serena as they slowly approached Khivar. "I mean, like really nervous. Like, my hands are clammy and my stomach is all twisted up and I'm starting to sweat, and I think I'm gonna freak out and-"

"Maria, chill until we get to Khivar. Then you can ramble and babble all you want, ok? Just take a few deep breaths and you'll be fine."

Maria did as Serena said and then whimpered as Khivar spun to face them.

"Do it!" Serena hissed at Maria. "Babble! Ramble! Just distract him!"

"Uh, hey," said Maria. "Nice weather we're having, isn't it? I bet…"

Maria continued to babble and go on and on, never giving Khivar a chance to see what was going on behind him. Michael and Rath (Maria wondered how he had come to help Michael, but shrugged that thought off) were killing Tess as Serena ran towards Max and Liz and told them of her plan that would either end in the killing of Khivar…or the killing of all of them.

*****

Rath and Michael continued to aim all of their power and energy at Tess’s body until finally she slumped to the ground, unmoving.

“Yo, is she dead?” asked Rath, staring down at her.

“I don’t know,” said Michael. “Check to see if she has a pulse.”

“I don’t wanna touch her. You do it.”

“I’m not touching her. Just do it.”

“You a chicken?” asked Rath, smirking.

“No,” said Michael. “But I just don’t want to touch her. Who knows what kind of diseases she’s carrying! I could like…get infected and die!”

Rath’s smirk vanished and he frowned down at Tess’s body. “Dude, you’s right.” Rath slowly reached out his foot and kicked Tess. She rolled over, but didn’t do anything else.

“I don’t think she’s breathing,” said Michael, leaning over farther to try and see if Tess’s chest was rising and falling.

“Dude, we fried her!” Rath exclaimed happily, giving Michael a high-five.

“Good,” said Michael. “Now let’s go help Serena and Maria. They’re…” Michael continued to talk to Rath in a low voice, telling him of their simple plan to try and defeat Khivar at his own game. Maria was going to distract Khivar while they (Michael, Max, and now Rath as well) used all of their energy to kill him.

*****

“Think you can do it?” Serena asked Max, looking hopefully into his eyes.

“Yeah, I should be able to,” he said. “As long as I know that Michael and Rath are behind me…”

“They will be. Well…I know that Michael will be for sure. Just be careful ok? Don’t hit Maria with your energy blast.”

Max nodded and then turned to Liz. “You just stay here, ok?”

“But Max, I want to help!” Liz protested.

“Liz, shh…” Max took Liz’s hands into his own and looking directly into her eyes. “I don’t want anything to happen to you. Please stay here, it’s safer. I love you too much to lose you all over again. I can’t have that happen, ok? Please?”

“Ok,” said Liz, pulling Max into a hug. “I love you too Max. Now go kick some Khivar ass.”

*****

Rath and Michael had finally reached the rest of the group and Michael had to try his best not to laugh at the look on Khivar’s face. Maria had been babbling and rambling Maria-style for quite a while now, and he looked ready to either fall asleep or try and make a run for it.

Serena and Max walked nonchalantly towards Michael and Rath, not wanting to draw too much attention to themselves. Everything would work much better if Khivar was paying attention to Maria.

“Ready?” Max asked Michael and Rath.

They both nodded and then all three raised their hands in front of them and waited a few seconds for Maria to move out of the way. Then they fired. Michael and Rath were already weak from killing Tess, and Michael had blasted through the cell wall earlier, but somehow they managed to muster up almost as much energy as Max.

“No!” bellowed Khivar, even as the powerful energy blasts were ripping through his body. “You can’t kill me!”

“Ahhhh!!!” Max screamed, partly in victory as Khivar slowly sank to his knees, and partly in fear, as he was now the only one shooting out power…Michael and Rath were drained.

“You can never kill me!” Khivar shouted again, turning to face Serena and Maria. He raised his hand and looked as if he were about to blast energy at them.

“NO!” Michael screamed. He and Rath bolted away from Max’s side and tried to dive in front of Maria and Serena before the energy blast could reach them.

They watched the last second of Maria and Serena’s lives in fear and terror. They had been one second too late. One second.

As Maria fell from her standing position, Michael caught her body in his arms and then screamed in rage at Khivar. “Noooooooooo!!!” He sank down to his knees, cradling Maria in his arms. He hugged her body to his chest and sobbed, tears blurring his vision until there were no longer any solid shapes around him.

Rath watched Michael helplessly, not knowing what to do now. What COULD he do?

Khivar laughed in glee as he watched Michael’s heart break all over again, even as Max’s energy ripped through him again and again.

He tried to gather up Max’s energy before it could harm him and tried to fuse it into his own energy.

As Max’s energy ebbed and then died away, leaving him desperate to do something, anything…Khivar shot out almost all the rest of his energy at Rath and Michael.

Max and Liz could do nothing but look on in horror as Rath and Michael died as well.

Everyone had died except for Max and Liz.

As Khivar cackled and chuckled happily, Max and Liz shared a longing gaze at one another, wondering if they too were going to meet the same fate as all of their friends had. Did they even have a chance now? Would they get a chance to live life together? Would they be able to get engaged, and married, and have children? Would they have a chance to grow old together?

Max had no energy left, and Khivar had managed to kill all of these other people. What was stopping him from killing them as well? His powers certainly were replenished much more quickly than the powers of the Antarians.

*****

Everything began to move in slow motion. The connection between Max and Liz flared to life until it had completely enveloped them, bringing them together into the world of flowers and mountains and rivers that very much resembled the world Maria and Liz had used to talk to Max and Michael and Isabel and Alex before.

Liz stood there, teary-eyed, sobbing. Max walked towards her, crushing her into his arms, his own sobs drowning out her own. They clung to each other for as long as they could, knowing that one of them would be killed next, that they’d have to watch it happen. They clung to each other and whispered promises of meeting the other in heaven.

And then the connection was ripped apart.

*****

“Noooooooooooooooooooo!!!” Max screamed in anguish. Pain ripped through him, so emotionally damaging that it became physical pain. His heart felt like it was no longer fully formed, but was now sliced into many small pieces.

He was watching Liz die at Khivar’s hands.

*****

Liz heard Max’s anguished screams and pleas with Khivar, but could do nothing to respond. She was slowly beginning to float away on a beautiful white cloud. Even as she cried, she couldn’t help smiling. This time, she was going to heaven. This time she was dying the right way.

“I love you Max,” she said with her last breath. “And I’ll see you in heaven.”

Part 28

Without thinking about what he was doing, Max ran at Khivar. He jumped on him, knocking him to the ground and then closed his hands around Khivar’s throat.

Khivar, finally drained of power, struggled for a moment with Max, then realized he was no match for the anger that Max held towards him. There was no way he could win.

Max choked the life out of Khivar and then, when he was sure that Khivar was definitely dead, he released his grasp on Khivar’s neck and pushed the body away from him. He crawled quickly to Liz’s body and grasped her right hand in his.

“Liz, please,” he begged. “Not again. You can’t be dead again. I can’t…I can’t live without you.”

Liz just laid there, her eyes shut and a look on her face of not pain, but of peacefulness and tranquility. One of Max’s tears fell from his eye and onto Liz’s lips.

Max stared at the drop of glistening water, shimmering and otherworldly. He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Liz’s lips.

“Good bye,” he whispered. “I love you Liz.”

*****

“I love you too silly,” giggled Liz, looking up at Max, a smile spread across her face. Then she shot up to her feet and looked around in amazement, as Max was doing. And so were Alex, Isabel, Michael, Maria, Kyle, Ava, Lonnie, Serena, and Rath.

“Holy crap!” yelled Rath. “We’re alive! All of us!”

“How? Why?” asked Maria, instantly demanding answers. “Hey Spaceboy, you listening to me?”

Michael just smiled and placed his lips over Maria’s, silencing her. Everyone smiled at Michael’s typical way of shutting up Maria.

Alex turned to face Isabel and grabbed her hand, pulling her away from the group of people, as Max did the same to Liz.

*****

“What happened Alex?” asked Isabel. “Why was Rath so surprised that we were all alive?”

Alex sighed and then said, “Isabel, in Where The Light Isn’t…Khivar killed you. Then I took my life. I’m guessing that from what Rath said, he killed all of the others too.”

Isabel shook her head in disbelief. “That can’t be true,” she said. “We’re all alive. We can’t die and then be alive, and…”

Alex pulled Isabel into his arms and said, “Let’s try not to think about that now, ok? Let’s just be happy we’re together and we’re alive, and we have our whole lives ahead of us.” A thought flew through Alex’s head and then he asked, “Isabel, did you mean what you said? About me being the only one you’d ever even consider being with?”

Isabel smiled back at Alex and slowly nodded her head, losing herself in his eyes. “Yes, Alex. I want to be with you. Only you. There could never be anyone else. I’m just so sorry I left Roswell like that, without even saying goodbye. I was confused and scared for Michael…I didn’t know what I was doing. Can you forgive me?”

“Of course,” said Alex. “I love you Isabel.”

“And I love you too Alex. So much,” said Isabel, gently kissing Alex.

*****

“Max, what happened?” asked Liz. “The last thing I remember was floating away on a white cloud. Are we in heaven, Max?”

“No,” said Max. “I think…” he looked around and then chuckled. “I think we’re in Central Park in New York City. We’re all alive, Liz.” He looked around again. “Well, except I don’t see Tess or Khivar. Thank Buddha, as Kyle would say.”

“You mean…we’re really truly alive? What about my…body…that you dug up?”

Max thought about this for a while and then said, “Whatever was supposed to happen upon bringing you and Maria back here has probably happened. I think it’s safe to say that you and Maria are just as alive as the rest of us. As for explaining this to all of our parents and everyone else in Roswell…that’s going to be the hard part.”

Liz smiled and buried her face in Max’s chest, inhaling the scent that was his own. “Max,” she mumbled against his chest.

“Yes?”

“Can we take our road trip?”

Max looked down at Liz and laughed. “I had totally forgotten about that,” he admitted. “After you and Maria died, no one even thought of going on the road trip.”

“Well, we should do it now,” said Liz. “All of us. We can take a road trip back to Roswell. We don’t have much summer left before college, do we?”

“No,” said Max. “We don’t.”

“We’ll make it worth it. This’ll be the best summer of our lives, Max.”

Max smiled down at Liz, studying her face and the way her eyes lit up every time she said anything.

“What?” she finally asked, when he wouldn’t stop looking.

“Just thinking about how much I love you and how I just want to sing and shout to the heavens because somehow you’ve been brought back to me. We’ve been given another chance.”

Liz blushed and ducked her head, but Max placed his hand below her chin and gently raised her face until her eyes met his again.

“I love you too,” she whispered as Max’s lips met hers, their connection flaring to life and flashes of stars and other planets enveloped them.

*****

“Seriously, Michael, what’s going on?” asked Maria, pulling reluctantly away from Michael’s wonderful lips.

“I haven’t the faintest fucking idea,” said Michael. “And I don’t care. All that matters is that you’re alive. I’m alive. And we’re here, together. It’s like…we’ve been given another chance.”

“You mean, like…God gave us another chance?”

“Something like that. I don’t know. Maybe it was Buddha,” joked Michael. “But whoever, or whatever, it was…they deserve our thanks. But right now…all I want to do is kiss you. I…I love you Maria Deluca.”

“And I love you Michael!” shouted Maria, jumping into his arms for another round of kisses, thoughts of Khivar, killing, and rape flying out of her head. She was with the man who she loved, who loved her back. Nothing else mattered at this moment.

*****

“Wow, this is…weird…” said Kyle, looking around uncomfortably at Ava, Rath, Serena, and Lonnie. “Where’s Tess?”

Rath smiled weakly and said as gently as possible, “Dude, she was a traitor. She was in cahoots with the big K.”

Kyle looked at Rath in disbelief but then saw that he was serious. “Tess? I don’t…I…I should have known! I always sort of hated her. I was only with her cause Liz, Isabel, and Maria were taken and she was the only other chick around who even spent any time with me.”

Ava raised her eyebrows and then laughed. “Dude,” she said, slinging her arm around his shoulder. “You’re funny. Kinda cornball…but you’re ok.”

*****

A few hours later Lonnie, Rath, and Ava went off to their underground lair, making promises to keep in contact with their friends in Roswell.

Serena helped everyone get ready to head back to Roswell in Isabel’s car and a rental car that Max would drive. She decided to stay behind with Luke for a few more weeks to try and help him to forget about anything he may have over heard while everyone had been camping out in his apartment.

Alex, Isabel, Michael, and Maria drove in Isabel’s car, as Max and Liz went in Max’s rental car.

They made it back to Roswell three weeks later, after having seen much of the east coast and the mid west. That first night, Alex and Isabel made love under the stars as the others camped five miles further down the road.

By the time they had reached the Texas state lines, Max and Liz were engaged to be married, and Michael and Maria had had six large arguments and six make-up make-out sessions.

Although they all tried their best to completely forget about Where The Light Isn’t, they all had a fear, for the rest of their lives, of the dark.

Upon entering Roswell they realized that it really HAD been the best summer of their lives. They’d died (some of them had done it multiple times), fought evil aliens, made life long friends, went on the road trip they’d been planning for years, and had truly found their soul mates.

Life was good again. Life was normal.

Well, as normal as life can be for three alien hybrids and their soul mates.

The End
posted on 28-Sep-2002 3:42:32 PM
Title: Life You Waste

Author: Kari

Rating: R (for mention of rape)

Disclaimer: I don’t own Roswell, so don’t sue me. I also don’t own the song ‘Waste’ by Staind.

Summary: Liz holds a terrible secret and is afraid to let anyone in. Michael is secretly in love with Liz. One day he discovers her secret…but is he too late to help her?

Note: Lightly based on the song ‘Waste’ by Staind. The title of this fic is taken from a line in the song. This fic is told from the POVs of Michael and Liz.

-----

Prologue

Liz’s POV:

It’s happening again. I can’t stop it. God, I do want to stop it. But I can’t. I’m powerless against this force. This force that holds me down, this force that won’t let me up. This force that holds me down as I cry and cringe and try my hardest to pretend this isn’t happening.

THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING TO ME.

I’m a straight A student. I live in a nice, small community that is very alien-themed, but nice. My family owns the most popular café in town. I’ve always had an open relationship with my parents. I always felt like I could talk to them about anything.

But I can’t talk to them about everything anymore. I can’t tell my mother about this force that has control over me. I can’t stand to know how much it would hurt her if I told her. If I told her the single biggest secret I hold.

And of course I can’t talk to my father. That would be completely pointless. In fact, that could drastically worsen everything and send my life tail spinning out of the control that I am barely holding onto.

Because my father…he’s the force. He’s the force that controls me, that is destroying my life.

My name is Liz Parker and my father rapes me.


Michael’s POV:

Maria needs to just get over herself. We don’t belong together. We never have and we never will, end of story. But this is real life, and the story never ends…

She seems to have this idea lodged in her thick head that she, and she alone, is the only girl that could ever be with me. Because God forbid her little ‘Spaceboy’ (and don’t even get me started on how much I hate that nickname) could ever meet and fall in love with someone else!

Maria and I have never even gone out! How does she think she can claim me as hers? Does she think I’m a cow and she can just put a brand on my forehead that says, ‘Property of Maria DeLuca’?

If only she knew who I would choose over her any day. She’d probably kill me…or the other girl. Especially considering that this other girl is Maria’s best friend and Maria has made it very clear to all of her friends that if they touch me, they die.

I like Liz Parker. Nope, take that back. I love Liz Parker. And heaven help me, and Liz, if Maria ever finds out.


Liz’s POV:

It’s over, for now. He’s left for work and my mother still sleeps, oblivious to the horror that occurs at least once a week in her home.

Slowly, moving as if underwater, I raise myself off my bed, wrapping a sheet around me. I stumble to my closet and pull out my baggiest jeans.

I’m always sore after my father finishes with me and I can’t wear tight jeans.

Screw fashion.

I pull on my panties and bra and then struggle to get into my pants without causing myself pain. Guess today isn’t my lucky day…

I wince as a shooting pain twists its way through my lower abdomen.

He’s always so rough. He’s always hurting me. He likes to hurt me. He likes it a lot.

I pull on a tee shirt and a large sweatshirt. I quickly throw my hair into a messy ponytail and apply some mascara and lip-gloss, noting for once that I don’t have a black eye or cuts or scrapes. At least I won’t get stared at too much today.

I grab my backpack and head out the door to Maria’s waiting car. So begins my daily charade that everything is fine in my life.

If only people knew the truth.

Nothing is fine. Not any more.


Part 1

Michael’s POV:

Why is it that all of the people who deserve it can’t ever seem to find love? I guess what I’m trying to ask is why can’t Liz find love? Why can’t she love me?

I’m selfish, I know. I don’t want her to love anyone else; I want her to be mine. That’s just the way I feel and I can’t change that.

I’m standing at my locker before my first class of the day. Isabel is standing next to me, babbling on and on about how her date with Alex went on Friday night. I’m paying no attention to her. Like I really care to hear about them making out in the movie theater.

I’m looking at Liz. Ok, I’ll admit, I’m not just looking. I’m staring. She’s just so…beautiful. She’s mysteriously beautiful. And yet, lately, something about her has been different.

She used to have this light in her eyes. Like she really loved life. She always looked happy, she was always smiling and laughing, joking around with the rest of our group when we’d hang out at the Crashdown.

But that light has slowly been dimming over the past two months. I try to stay away from Maria as much as possible, but every time I do find myself with her all she does is tell me how she’s worried about Liz, about how Liz isn’t very happy anymore. Sure, she can act happy, but Maria says she can see right through the act. Maria tells me that she’s caught Liz crying on countless occasions, but that Liz won’t tell her what’s wrong. In fact, Liz has been denying that anything is wrong at all, just trying to make up stupid excuses.

“Michael?! Have you heard one word I just said?” asks Isabel loudly, breaking me out of my thoughts of Liz. I reluctantly look away from Liz, who is nodding and smiling weakly at a joke that Alex is telling her and Maria.

“Sorry, Iz, this isn’t the best time,” I mumble.

She huffs angrily. “It’s never the best time for you. All you ever do is stare at Liz. You know, if Maria found out how much you like Liz, she’d rip out your eyes and she’d probably do something just as horrible to Liz.”

“I don’t like Liz,” I say, as if the entire idea of liking her were the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard.

“Sure,” said Isabel. “Whatever you say. Just watch out for Maria.”

Isabel walks off to leave me wondering if anyone else has noticed the way I’m always looking at Liz. Is it that obvious how I feel about her?


Liz’s POV:

I wish they’d leave me alone. They mean well, they really do, but it just gets annoying after a while. Maria is somehow always catching me while I’m crying. She knows something is wrong, but she doesn’t know what.

I want to tell her. But she’d report my father. And as fucked up as this may sound, no matter what my father does to me, he’s still my father. I can’t be responsible for sending him to prison.

And so I lie to Maria. I tell her I’m just upset because I failed a test, I’m having a bad day, I have a headache and I have cramps. The list goes on. And she accepts my answers, but I know that the day is approaching when she will refuse to accept my answer and she will demand the truth from me. I don’t want that day to come.

And Alex. He can tell there’s something wrong too. He’s always trying to tell jokes to make me smile. I love Alex, I really do. But his jokes just aren’t funny anymore. Nothing is funny anymore.

I finally tell them I have to go or I’ll be late for class. I walk down the hall and I can swear I feel eyes following me. I turn back, but I can see Maria scrounging around for something in her locker, while Alex and Isabel smile and whisper endearments to each other.

And then I see Michael. He’s just looking at me, studying me. Why is Michael looking at me? We aren’t even that close of friends. It’s kind of creepy. But in a way…it’s not. He looks sad, like me, but Michael always looks sad or pissed off or both at the same time. But there is just something about the way he’s looking at me now that says he’s not sad. He’s not pissed off. He’s heartbroken and confused.

I turn around and continue walking. After all, it’s none of my business what Michael’s going through.

I just wonder why he keeps looking at me.


Part 2

Liz’s POV:

My day continues like any other. Except that I keep noticing Michael looking at me. He won’t stop, even when I look back. And the thing is, even a week ago; I probably would have been freaked out by Michael’s behavior. But now…I’m just intrigued. And…well…I keep finding myself looking at Michael.

I think that just maybe…I might be developing a crush on Michael Guerin.

Which is completely ludicrous and insane. I mean, first of all, Michael’s not even someone I know that well. I doubt we’ve ever spent more than 10 minutes in each other’s presence at a time.

And then there’s Maria. God, Maria would be so pissed off if she knew that I might have a potential crush on the guy she claims she is in love with.

Which, by the way, completely irks me. After all, Michael’s never given any reason for Maria to think that he likes her…and she’s never gone out with him or kissed him. He won’t even let her hold his hand. So, how can she love him? I mean, half the time she complains about him anyway.

Finally my school day ends and I trudge off to work in my parents’ restaurant, The Crashdown Café.

Today Maria doesn’t have a shift and it’s just my luck that Michael is the one manning the grill. Great. Now he can stare at me some more. And then I can stare at him. And both of us can pretend that we aren’t staring at each other, because neither of us likes the other, especially me. I don’t like Michael.

Oh god, I’m hopeless.

I practically love the boy.


Michael’s POV:

She’s been staring back. I try to look away when she catches me looking or I try to pretend I’m looking at something over her shoulder, but I think she knows I’m looking at her.

I can’t help it. Her hair is so…smooth and silky looking. Today at lunch, she leaned over to pick up a quarter she’d dropped on the floor and her hair grazed over my arm. It took all of my willpower not to just take it in my hands and run my fingers through it.

And her eyes, they’re so…mysterious…like I said before. They’re so deep and brown…

And her lips, I’ve never felt like this before, not with any girl. I feel like I won’t be able to get through the day if I don’t get to kiss her. But of course, I’ll have to get through the day. And I will. Liz Parker would never in a million years want to kiss me. She probably thinks I’m just trailer trash. She is probably nice to me only because of Maria.

And today I have to cook at her parents’ restaurant. And I can’t help staring some more. She just looks so…lost. She’s sort of floating around from table to table. Sure, she’s polite and makes jokes with the customers. But it looks like an act. Every time her eyes meet mine I can’t help but wonder what Liz Parker is hiding, because she is definitely hiding something, and it’s slowly wearing her down.
posted on 28-Sep-2002 3:45:24 PM
Part 3

Liz’s POV:

Finally my shift is over. I rip my apron off, shove it into my locker and sprint upstairs to my bedroom before Michael can say anything to me. Or look at me some more. Or even follow me. I couldn’t handle that, not now.

My own feelings are confusing enough. I mean, within one day I realize I’m practically in love with the guy my best friend claims to love. That’s just…overwhelming. I need to work this all out in my mind before I do anything. And before I even attempt to talk to Michael I need to talk to Maria.

She’ll kill me, I know she will. But she deserves to know that I like Michael. It’s the right thing to do, it’s the only thing to do. I need to tell Maria right away, before I lose my nerve.

I pick up the phone. I start dialing.

Oh, who the hell am I kidding? I can’t tell Maria! I slam down the phone.


Michael’s POV:

Should I follow her upstairs? I know that her parents are out of town for some business thing, so they won’t yell at me if I go upstairs. Then again, I might really freak out Liz.

I finally decide against following her and I finish cleaning up the kitchen. I grab my jacket and I check to make sure the front door is locked and then I flip off the lights. I head out the back door. As I’m getting onto my motorbike I notice lights.

They’re coming from Liz’s balcony. She must be up there. Should I go up? I know that Maria and Alex climb up the ladder to Liz’s balcony all the time. But they’re her best friends and they have her permission to go up there. Should I do it?

Yes. I mean, this could be the perfect opportunity to talk to her. And I need to talk to her. I need to admit these feelings I’ve developed for her before I explode. I’m so overwhelmed by these feelings. And they’re strong feelings. Stronger than I thought any person could develop so quickly. But I can’t deny that these feelings are very real.

If only Max could hear these thoughts. He’d never let me live it down. I’m supposed to have this tough, bad boy, rebel reputation. I’m not supposed to be a guy to fall in love, much less with the good little girl next door type.

As these thoughts finally flee my mind I find that I have walked over to the ladder leading up to Liz’s balcony and I am gripping the rungs above me. Here I go. I won’t turn back now. I can’t.

I slowly and quietly climb up until I can see over the ledge at the top. Liz is in her room, looking at the phone as if she’s in deep thought about calling someone. It looks as if she decides against calling whoever she was going to call and then she goes into her bathroom.

Great. What am I supposed to do now? Sit on her balcony and wait for her?

Exactly. That’s the only plan I have. So I pull myself over the ledge and walk across her balcony. I sit on a lawn chair and notice something on the lawn chair next to me.

I pick it up. It’s a book. It’s leather bound and looks expensive. I see no title on the cover so I flip it open.

It’s her diary.

Do I read it?

Do I put it back?

What do I do?

I read it of course. I don’t usually invade others’ privacy, but I KNOW there is something Liz is hiding, something I want to help her with. And I can’t help her unless I know what it is that she’s hiding.

And what do you usually write in a diary? Things you want to hide from other people, things that are bothering you.

I flip open to the first page. It’s just an entry saying that she got this journal from her grandmother, nothing that can be of any help there. I flip farther along.

Most of the entries are about Maria and Alex and the things they’d go out and do together. And then I flip to one of the last pages and my heart jumps into my throat as I read the words on the page in front of me. The words blur and I feel like I’m suffocating.

Today is April 3, 2002…and it happened again last night. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know who to turn to. Is there even anyone I can turn to? Maria or Alex would turn him in. My mother would either turn him in or try to talk to him. And if my father found out I told anyone, he’d be very angry. And he’d probably do it to me again. He’d probably go farther than raping me, though. He’d probably kill me.

I’m so scared of my father. I’m scared for my health and I’m scared for my life. And I just wish that someday I could wake up from this dream, this nightmare. My life so far has just been a waste. I’m a poor excuse for a daughter, for a person. That’s why my father rapes me. He told me that if I wasn’t such a bad daughter, he wouldn’t have to do it to me. But I’m a terrible daughter. My whole life is a waste and I have to be punished for that.

But when will my punishment end? Haven’t I suffered enough?


Oh God. Liz’s father rapes her.

Oh God. Liz sees me.


Liz’s POV:

What the hell is Michael doing on MY balcony, sitting in MY chair, holding MY diary? What if he knows? Oh shit. He can’t know. Please lord, don’t let him know.

“Liz,” says Michael hesitantly. “I know what your father does to you.”

No. He can’t know. No one can know. My father will punish me more. No. This isn’t happening. I must have fallen asleep and now I’m just dreaming.

Yes, that’s it. This is a dream.

But the look in Michael’s eyes is too real. This is my reality. And I wish it weren’t.

“Liz, you need to tell someone.”

I can’t! Don’t you understand?! I can’t…


Part 4

Liz’s POV:

I can’t breathe. I can’t think. And I most definitely cannot talk to Michael about this. Not now. Not ever.

I hold my hand out towards Michael and demand, “Give me my journal, Michael.” He slowly rises and steps towards me. He holds the journal out and I quickly grasp onto it, comforted by the familiar feeling of its leather cover under my fingertips. I turn and toss it onto my bed and then I turn back to my window.

“Go home, Michael,” I say wearily.

“Liz, please, you need to talk to someone. Let me listen. I promise I won’t tell until I have your permission.”

I shake my head, for the first time realizing I have tears streaking down my cheeks, the droplets falling from my chin. Drip. Drip. Falling onto the carpet.

“Michael, go home,” I say, but this time my voice cracks. Why did it have to do that? Why can’t I just make him believe I’m strong? Why can’t I face up to the way my world is?

“Liz, I-”

“Michael, go home! You don’t know me! You NEVER knew me!” I scream at him. “Don’t tell anyone and just LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!” I slam my window shut and draw down the blinds, erasing Michael from my sight.

Oh god. He knows. This just CAN’T be happening. Not now. I can’t deal with this now.

I slowly slip down to the floor, sliding down the wall. I try to control my crying, to get my sobs under control, to stop this flow of tears I hate.

And as I slowly stop crying I wonder, why was Michael here in the first place? What could possibly make him feel the urge to climb up to my balcony and sit there? And why did he read my diary? He should know better than that.

These thoughts fly out of my mind as my bedroom door flies open. I quickly stumble to my feet and shudder as my father stands there, smirking at me.

“D-Daddy?” I ask. “Do you need something? I heated up your dinner. It’s still in the oven.”

He just continues to smirk at me and then he steps into the room and closes and locks my door behind him. He leans against it casually, his arms crossed over his chest.

I don’t want to look at him anymore, but I don’t risk looking away. I can’t risk not knowing where he is in the room at all times.

“Lizzie, my dinner was NOT heated up. It was ice cold.”

Oh no. Please, no. Not twice in one day. Please lord, don’t let him near me.

“And do you know what happens to daughters who don’t do as they should? To daughters who are a WASTE of space and time?”

I swallow the bile that has risen in my throat and try not to moan in terror. I keep silently begging for help but God ignores me. Please don’t let him touch me. Please don’t let him punish me. Please.

“They have to punished, Lizzie. YOU need to be punished for being a WASTE, for being trash and garbage. Ain’t that right, you little slut?! Get on the bed, whore!” he screams at me.

No. No. No. No. No. This isn’t happening. I’m just having a nightmare. I’m sleeping.

“I said get on the bed!” he roars at me, leaving me wondering why my mother doesn’t come running. He’s never been this loud before, and I wonder why my mother isn’t knocking on the door and asking what’s wrong. Where’s the good parent when you need her?

I squeeze my eyes shut and scoot onto the bed. I clutch the quilt in my fists, my eyes still shut.

I can feel the bed shift under his weight and then I hear the sounds of clothing being quickly and hastily thrown off. I gasp as I feel hands roughly ripping my robe off me. He leans over me and then I stop. I just stop.

I stop feeling. I stop listening. I just wish I could stop living. And I make up my mind. I know now how to escape this hell. There is only one way. It was always there, staring me in the face. And now I’m ready to stare it in the face.

posted on 28-Sep-2002 3:49:35 PM
Part 5

Michael’s POV:

I NEED to get her to talk to me. I NEED to tell someone. But…I can’t tell anyone without completely destroying any semblance of trust Liz has in me. I can’t tell without destroying any chance I may have with her.

Ha. That’s a riot. I’m actually thinking about NOT telling? I have to tell. Someone. Someone who can help her, but who? When?

Maria.

I know Liz specifically wrote in her journal that she didn’t want Maria and Alex to know, but she’s the only one I can think of…unless…

What if I told Jim? He’s an officer…he can arrest Jeff Parker!

I take a right turn instead of a left and speed towards the Valenti home. It seems like it’s been hours since I left Liz’s balcony, but it’s only been minutes.

I pull up in front of the Valenti home and note that there are no lights on and no car in the driveway. I remove my helmet and rest it on my bike. I run up to the house and ring the bell.

There’s no answer. I sink down onto the cold porch floor and lean against a railing to wait. Jim has to come home sometime soon. And then I’ll tell him what I know and Liz will get help.


Liz’s POV:

My father went back to his and my mom’s room hours ago. I cleaned up the evidence of this latest encounter and now I’m sitting here. Just sitting. Staring at the thing on my bathroom counter that can save me. This is what can release me from hell.

I slowly pop open the bottle and remove eight pills. I place them in a neat row along the counter, noting the difference between their bright whiteness and the blue marble. They don’t look threatening at all. But I guess what I’ve learned from living with my father is that looks can be deceiving. Boy, can they ever…

I grab the plastic cup I always use to rinse out my mouth when I brush my teeth and fill it will water from the faucet. Cold clear water. Sparkling. Beautiful. Without it, life would cease to exist. In a way, water IS life. Ironic. Considering I’m using it for the opposite purpose.

I raise my head and look in the mirror one last time. I notice the bags under my eyes that give away the fact that I’ve gotten very little sleep lately. I note how bloodshot and lifeless my eyes themselves are. They look like the eyes of a person who’d long ago given up on life. And my mouth. Will it be set in this grim frown for eternity?

Probably.

I carefully pluck one pill from the counter and raise it to my lips. Codeine. A common narcotic prescribed by doctors for pain relief after minor surgery. These happen to be left over from when I had my appendix out last year.

I slip the pill into my mouth and take a small sip of water, just enough to wash down the pill. Too much water will slow down the effects of the drug.

I take another.

And another.

Soon there is only one pill left. It sits in my hand. Already I feel the drugs working. I’m sleepy. My vision is swimming and everything seems to be moving. My head is pounding and my heart is beating fast. Faster. Faster. Then it remains constant, but still at a deadly rate.

I take the last pill. I lie down on the floor. I close my eyes. And I wait. I just wait for death to claim me.

Is my punishment over yet?


Part 6

Michael’s POV:

A feeling washes over me. Like nothing I’ve ever felt before. And I know. I was too late. I should have run screaming to the hills that Liz Parker’s father rapes her. But I didn’t. I wasted precious time just sitting here on the Valenti’s front porch, twiddling my thumbs.

I let Liz’s father do it again. But this time it was too much for her and she acted out the ultimate escape plan. She committed suicide.

I just KNOW this. Maybe it’s cause I’m an alien, who knows. But for whatever reason, this knowledge just invades my brain.

I curl up in a ball on the Valenti’s porch and cry. This is how Jim finds me when he finally comes home. An hour too late.

-----

The funeral is three days later. Most of Roswell’s citizens are there to pay their respects. Our group stands off to the side. Maria is sobbing uncontrollably, clinging to me. Alex and Isabel are holding each other. Tess stands between Max and Kyle as they bow their heads in prayer for Liz’s soul, stray tears dotting their faces. Tears that shimmer in the sun.

Why is the sun out? It should be raining.

And as I think this, a large cloud rolls over the sun, creating a shadow over everything. The service goes on and then…it’s over. It’s over.

Maria still clings to me. I understand her need for comfort, but I can’t offer that now. I can’t. Cause Mrs. Parker is approaching me. And by the look in her eyes, she knew what I knew.

She knew.

That’s crazy. If she knew, why didn’t she do something to stop it, to stop Jeff? Why would she allow it to continue?

I look down at Maria and gently disentangle her hands from my shirt. “Maria, could you leave me and Mrs. Parker alone for a moment? We need to talk.”

Maria nods her head and hurries away towards Isabel and Alex.

I raise my head and stare into Mrs. Parker’s eyes. And somehow, our eyes are the same. They reflect something. But I soon realize that I’m mistaken. Mrs. Parker doesn’t know anything. She is seeking answers though.

We keep eye contact and finally she breaks down into tears as she sees something, some minute little detail in my eyes, that tells her I know. She breaks down at the same moment as the heavens let lose a downpour of rain upon us, soaking us almost instantly.

Your mother came up to me
She wanted answers only she should know
Only she should know


“Did…did you know my daughter well?” she asks me.

I slowly shake my head. “No, Mrs. Parker. We were merely acquaintances.”

It wasn’t easy to deal with the tears that rolled down her face
I had no answers cause I didn’t even know you
But these words
They can’t replace
The life you
The life you waste


And in that instant I no longer fully understand. I thought I did. I thought I had Liz all figured out. She was sad and depressed because of the things her father did to her. But there has to be more. Something more was causing her additional heartache. And all of a sudden I feel like I don’t know the smallest thing about Liz Parker or her motivation for killing herself.

There were many reasons that she killed herself, but I don’t know what they were or how they figure in. I just KNOW they were there.

How could you paint this picture?
Was life as bad as it should seem that
There were no more options for you?
I can’t explain how I feel


But I know what’s it’s like to want to end it all. I know. I grew up with Hank. I had no friends. I had no one to love me or care for me or even care about me at all.

I once thought about committing suicide. But I couldn’t do it.

I’ve been there many times before
I’ve tasted the cold steel of my life crashing down before me
But these words they can’t replace
The life you
The life you waste


I pull Mrs. Parker into my arms and hug her. I look around and don’t see Mr. Parker. Thank god. A cemetery would be a bad place for me to beat the life out of that piece of shit.

He wasn’t a father. He was a demon in disguise. Those are the only words that can explain what he was.

Did Daddy not love you?
Or did he love you just too much?
Did he control you?
Did he live through you at your cost?
Did he leave you no question for you to answer on your own?


I let Mrs. Parker out of my embrace. We nod to each other in recognition of each other’s grieving and then we go our separate ways. Somehow, I can’t tell her. Not yet. But someday, I will.

I find myself walking towards the park and all I can do is think of the many painful ways I can kill Jeff Parker.

Well fuck them
And fuck her
And fuck him
And fuck you
For not having the strength in your heart to pull through


I’m sobbing again, not even trying to protect myself from the rain. The rain is a bit refreshing and it just washes my tears away so that they merge with the rainwater. The rain wipes away the evidence of my grief and this guilt I will always carry.

And I wonder if maybe Liz had an idea, by taking those pills. Would it be worth it? To take my life? Now?

I see my friends ahead of me, clustered in a circle, holding hands, and I know I can’t leave them. Not now. Not yet.

I’ve had doubts
I have failed
I’ve fucked up
I’ve had plans
Doesn’t mean I should take my life with my own hands
But these words
They don’t replace the life you waste


Liz could have gotten help. But instead, she chose to waste her chance at a happy life. I won’t do that. I won’t throw my life away.

I’m going to live. Slowly I’ll get through each day.

I’ll live for Liz.

Somehow.

“I’ll live the life you waste,” I whisper. My words are swept away as I join my friends in grieving.

This is my life. I’m going to live it.

The End

posted on 28-Sep-2002 3:52:00 PM
Title: Living (sequel to ‘Life You Waste’)

Author:Kari

Disclaimer: I don’t own Roswell, so please don’t sue me.

Summary: Years later, Michael talks to Nancy Parker about what transpired between Jeff and Liz and he also asks his own questions. This whole story is told from Michael’s POV.

---

Part 1

It’s been three years, and yet I feel like it’s been a million. It’s only been three years since I last walked down these streets, saw these same buildings, nodded hellos to these same people. Yet they all look different. It seems as if everything and everyone has changed while I was gone. All but me, that is. I feel the same. I think I even look the same. I know I still feel the same.

I’m back in Roswell. Home of the aliens. The place where I grew up. The place where I first fell secretly in love with Elizabeth Parker. The place where Liz’s father destroyed her, her life, and everything she knew. The place where Liz took her own life in a desperate attempt to free herself from the hell she was stuck in.

The place where I lied to Mrs. Parker and told her I didn’t know anything.

Why did I do that? Why didn’t I tell Mrs. Parker what I knew? She deserved to know. God, did she ever. She was married to Jeff, after all. She needed to know what kind of perverted monster he was. And why hadn’t I told anyone else, any of my other friends? Like Maria…Alex…they deserved answers as well.

Yet I couldn’t say it. Why? I don’t know. I’ve asked myself that question everyday for the past three years, and never have I even come close to answering it. Because I just don’t know what drove me not to say anything that day.

It’s very simple to answer some of the other questions, such as why did I leave Roswell. Well, because Roswell held too many reminders of Liz, of my feelings for her. Of how I may have been able to help her. I needed to get away, and get away I did.

I went to live in Chicago for a year, then spent the next two years in Boston. I never finished high school. Never even gave that a thought. My only thoughts were on how I could make it through the day. I had money for food, and I took shelter where I could. But the main thing that I needed to overcome in order to make it through the grind of everyday life, was trying not to think of Liz and the way she’d taken her own life.

And now I had returned, hell bent on answering any and all questions that I could answer. Hell bent on finding the answers to my own questions.

And God help Jeff Parker if I see that son of a bitch.

Before I can find anyone, before I can even try to answer or ask questions, I need to visit Liz. One time. Just for good luck. And so I slowly begin walking down the main street of Roswell, heading for the cemetery where I know her body will rest for eternity.

This feels weird though. I’ve never really gone to visit someone in a cemetery before, you know? But no matter how weird this is, I know I have to do it. If I don’t, there’s no way I’ll be able to face anyone else and talk to them about this.

And so I slowly walk through the main gates of the cemetery, walking with some new and vibrant determination towards the very back of the cemetery, where I know Liz’s grave is. Although she was buried three years ago, and although in all this time I haven’t been back, there is no way I could ever forget exactly where her grave is. The memory of her burial seems engraved in my brain. At odd times the whole sequence of memories plays over and over in my head, haunting me. I’ll never forget.

Before I know it, I’ve stopped walking, as if my legs knew when to stop, although the rest of me was paying no attention. I’m standing here, staring down at Liz’s grave. And this overwhelming need to cry washes over me.

I have to cry. And the sobs become to much, so slowly I sink to my knees, my right hand reaching out. I graze my fingertips over the headstone. The beautiful marble headstone that reads:

Elizabeth Ann Parker
1984-2002
Forever remembered, forever cherished
May God take her in his arms

The marble is smooth and so very cold that it seems to shock me a bit. I hesitantly run my fingers over her name, engraved in the marble. And that one horrible night comes back to me. The memory of our confrontation on her balcony envelope me until the real world seems to disappear.

“Liz,” I say hesitantly. “I know what your father does to you.”

She looks at me in horror, her mouth moving slowly, but no words coming out.

“Liz, you need to tell someone,” I suggest.

The look on her face is practically killing me.

She holds her hand out towards me and demands, “Give me my journal, Michael.” I slowly rise and step toward her. I hold the journal out and she quickly grabs onto it, seeming to be comforted by it. She turn and tosses it onto her bed and then she slowly turns back to the window.

“Go home, Michael,” she says wearily.

“Liz, please, you need to talk to someone. Let me listen. I promise I won’t tell until I have your permission.”

She shakes her head, tears falling quickly down her cheeks and falling off her chin.

“Michael, go home,” she says, her voice cracking.

“Liz, I-”

“Michael, go home! You don’t know me! You NEVER knew me!” she screams at me, surprising the hell out of me. “Don’t tell anyone and just LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!” She slams the window shut and draws down the blinds, erasing herself from my sight.


That was the last time I saw her alive. That was the last time I talked to her. And she was angry at me. God, was she angry. And all I’d wanted to do was help her. To free her from her father.

To love her.

But it didn’t work out that way. When Valenti wasn’t home, I sat on his porch and waited for him, even as Liz was killing herself. I could have saved her, had I done something. Been quicker. But I didn’t, and forever that will weigh on my mind.


Part 2

The tears falling from my eyes somehow manage to dry up and leave me. I don’t feel any better though. And I have no reason that I should feel better. After all, I’ve failed Liz.

I didn’t live my life to its fullest potential, as I had silently promised myself I would after Liz’s death. And I never cried for Liz, not once, until today, though I’ve lived the past three years in a state of mourning and despair.

What would Liz have to say to me if she were able to see me now? Would she tell me I’m a failure? Would she tell me that I’m worthless? Would she just turn her back on me?

Why do I even torture myself with these inane questions? Liz is dead. How long until I can fully accept that and move on?

But move on to what? I don’t want anything to move on to…I just want Liz back here, alive. I want to be able to finally tell her how I feel about her and to hell with what Maria would have to say.

I sigh heavily and shake my head. I can’t let these thoughts keep running around in my head. I came back to Roswell for a reason, and now I need to do this.

With heavy steps and a heavy heart I trudge back through the cemetary, walking towards the gates. A cloud rolls over the sun, darkening everything, much as it did on the day of Liz’s funeral. And once again I am bombarded by the memories.

Maria is sobbing uncontrollably, clinging to me. Alex and Isabel are holding each other. Tess stands between Max and Kyle as they bow their heads in prayer for Liz’s soul, stray tears dotting their faces.

The service goes on and then…it’s over. It’s over.

Maria still clings to me. I understand her need for comfort, but I can’t offer that now. I can’t. Cause Mrs. Parker is approaching me. And millions of crazy thoughts run through my head. None of them can be true.

I look down at Maria and gently disentangle her hands from my shirt. “Maria, could you leave me and Mrs. Parker alone for a moment? We need to talk.”

Maria nods her head and hurries away towards Isabel and Alex.

I raise my head and stare into Mrs. Parker’s eyes.


Those eyes have haunted me for the past three years. Those eyes only wanted to know why Liz did what she did. Mrs. Parker didn’t understand why her little girl would kill herself. Was it something she had done?

No, and yes.

She hadn’t done anything to Liz to harm her…but she hadn’t helped her.

And I’m now realizing that that may be the reason I didn’t want to say anything to Mrs. Parker. Cause I was disgusted with her. She should have known. She should have done something.

But of course I can’t tell her that, and so I push that thought out of my head, or at least to the back of my mind, and step out onto the main street. I’m heading for the Crashdown. I did my research, and I know that Liz’s parents still own the place and live in the apartment above it.

I shuffle my feet as I walk slowly down this familiar street again, hoping no one I know too well will notice me and try to talk to me, or worse yet, make a scene because I’m back in town after not being heard from for three years.

There’s another one of my regrets. I didn’t keep in contact with anyone. Not Max, Isabel, or Maria. Not Alex, or Kyle. Especially not Tess. And I wish I had. I wish I had at least talked to them once or twice. But I hadn’t. Two days after Liz’s funeral I had fled Roswell and had not looked back, not once. It hadn’t even occurred to me to do so.

And why would it? The whole ordeal of losing Liz like that right after it came to me how I really felt about her was much too painful a wound. Keeping in contact with the group, who would have been openly mourning her death for months or even a year or two, would have been like pouring salt into that wound and then rubbing it in. I would have been forced to mourn with them. I would have been forced to remember. And I think that for just a little while I didn’t want to mourn or remember.

I wanted to be free.

Free from grief. Free from loss. Free from my broken heart.

At any rate, I didn’t keep in contact with anyone, and there’s nothing I can do about that now except hope and pray that no one sees me. I know I risk being seen by one of my old friends by going into the Crashdown. After all, who’s to say which of them left this town, and which of them stayed. But without pausing or giving it a second thought, I fling open the door to the Crashdown Café and step in.

“Michael Guerin?!” I hear Maria squawk as she drops a load of dishes onto the floor.

Shit.
posted on 28-Sep-2002 3:54:05 PM
Part 3

“Uh, Maria.”

Those are the words that come out of my mouth. Those are the only words that can come out of my mouth. I mean, what do you say to the girl who was convinced she was in love with you, but then all of a sudden woke up one morning to find you gone? And does she even really know why I left? Has she ever figured out in the time that I’ve been gone that I loved Liz?

These thoughts are important. Oh yes, they are. Yet, the thought that seems dominant in my mind is one which I find hilarious and depressing at the same time?

Why in hell is Maria still working at the Crashdown?

And then, seeing as how I do the whole speak-before-I-think thing, I blurt out, “You still work here? Are you a full-time waitress now?”

Maria’s smile of surprise turns to a scowl and she quickly shuffles around behind the main counter to retrieve a broom. “Always a smartass, Michael, always a smartass.”

“You know what they say,” I tease, not knowing why I’m teasing her. “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. Manners never did suit me.”

“Obviously,” she mumbles, sweeping up the dishes she’d dropped and broken. “A person with manners, or even a semblance of a conscience, would have told his friends he was skipping town. Especially considering that only a few days before, said group of friends had lost one of their other friends to suicide.” Maria’s tone was quickly turning to anger, her face turning red, her lips trembling as if she were trying not to cry. “But obviously some people don’t think of other people’s emotions! God damn it, Michael! Do you have any fucking idea what I went through?! I lost my best friend in the entire world, and then you…you just fucking left Roswell! We never heard from you! We thought you’d died, Michael! And I wish you’d never have come back!” Maria threw the broom at me with those last words and then ran to the back room, tears streaming down her face.

“Damn it,” I mumble, rubbing my hand over my face. I came here to talk to Mrs. Parker, not to deal with Maria and her never-ending emotional roller coaster.

And then there she is.

Mrs. Parker, I mean.

And the world seems to freeze as she too sees me.

A look of recognition comes over her face. She seems to be smiling at me, yet frowning at the same time. It’s like some weird hologram or something.

“Michael,” she says quietly, slowly approaching me. “Welcome back to Roswell.”

“I’m not staying long,” I snap back, sounding much gruffer than I had meant to.

“All right,” she answers, still offering me her puzzling smile-frown. “Well, what brings you back?”

“You.”

“Me?” she asks, sounding one hundred percent genuinely surprised. “Whatever did I do to cause you to return?”

“Can we talk in private?” I ask, looking around uncomfortably at all of the customers, some of whom are looking at me as if they recognize me and will soon realize who I am.

“Sure,” she agrees, leading me towards the back room. She swings open the door and I catch a glimpse of Maria slipping into the bathroom, her eyes red and puffy. Mrs. Parker doesn’t seem to have noticed Maria.

Mrs. Parker sits down on the couch, the same old couch that was here when I worked here, flipping burgers after school. I sit next to her, take a deep breath, and throw my words out of my mouth quickly and without hesitation.

“I know why Liz killed herself.”


Part 4

Mrs. Parker shakes her head as if in confusion and looks at me as though I’ve grown a second head. “Excuse me?” she whispers.

“I know,” I whisper back, any semblance of confidence gone now from my voice.

“You…how?” she asks, tears forming in her eyes.

“I…I found her journal. I know I shouldn’t have read it, but I did…and…the reason she…did what she did…was that Mr. Parker…”

“My husband?” Mrs. Parker asked, now sounding bewildered as well as confused. “What does my husband have to do with any of this?”

“He raped her,” I blurt out, wincing at how harsh my words sound. Mrs. Parker can only stare at me in shock. “It’s true,” I whisper, gently grabbing one of her hands in mine.

“I…I…should have known,” Mrs. Parker gasped out before breaking down into sobs. And all I can think is, ‘Hell yes, you should have known!’

“Don’t blame yourself,” I plead with her, although I know she will. I do. I just don’t want her to blame herself right now. We need to talk.

She slowly nodded her head, wiped away the tears on her cheeks, and bravely squared her shoulders. She raised her head and her eyes met mine. There were a million questions in her eyes and I knew that I couldn’t keep anything from this woman any longer. She needed to know everything, and she needed to know it all NOW.

“How long was my husband…” Mrs. Parker tries to ask me, and I know what her question is, though she can’t manage to finish it.

“A few months, I think,” I say.

She nods her head, trying to soak in this news.

“Now…I have a question for you,” I say, which seems to greatly surprise her.

“Oh,” is all she says.

“That one night…the night Liz committed suicide…why were you and Mr. Parker back home? Weren’t you supposed to be out of town for some business meeting?”

“We were out of town,” says Mrs. Parker, shaking her head. “Why?”

“Because I…I just…” And now I don’t know how to tell her I KNOW that her husband was there that night. That he had raped Liz after I left. How could I tell her that? She didn’t know I was an alien, so telling her the truth…that my alien senses had just magically picked up on this information…was out of the question.

Finally I manage to think of something to say. “I could swear I’d seen him there, that night. That was the night I found out what he was doing to your daughter. I was going to go get the sheriff…but I…I was too late.” I swallow back a lump in my throat and will myself not to break down into tears. It’s been a long time since I’ve thought about all of this at once, and I’ve never voiced these memories out loud. By the moment, this entire situation is becoming more and more difficult to get through.

Mrs. Parker shakes her head and says, “If you saw Jeff that night…that means he left the motel to come back just so he could…” She can’t say it, and neither of us wants to imagine that that is what happened. What kind of man comes home from a business meeting just to rape his daughter?

But I know that this must be what happened.

Mrs. Parker stands up quickly and wipes furiously at the tears on her cheeks and in her eyes as Maria comes out of the bathroom.

Mrs. Parker must notice the uncomfortable looks being exchanged between Maria and I because she gently lays her hand on my arm and guides me to the back door. “I’ll tell her, Michael,” she whispers. “I’ll tell everyone. You’ve been carrying this secret for years. It’s time for the secret to be told to everyone…and I’ll do it. You just go get some sleep and then…try to start living, ok?”

I look at Mrs. Parker in surprise. How could she know that that is only thing I want in this world? How could she know that I’ve felt like I haven’t been living and that that is the only thing I truly want?

She seems to read this question in my eyes and says, “I can see it in your eyes, Michael. And it’s what Liz would have wanted. Now go…live your life to its fullest. Just…please…don’t ever forget my daughter.”

“Never,” I say, grabbing Mrs. Parker into a hug. “I could never forget Liz. I…loved your daughter.”

She smiles slightly at me and says, “Well then, thank you for loving her, Michael. Now I better go talk to Maria and some of the others still in town…and then Jeff and I need to talk about a divorce.”

I nod my head, smiling on the inside because now maybe Mrs. Parker can start really living too.

Maybe that’s all any of us wanted after Liz passed away. And until today, none of us was sure how to go about doing that.

But now we can. We can keep on living.

We just have to learn to appreciate what we still have and we have to take our lives one day at a time. And we can’t waste our lives.

There’s too much to live for.

The End