Author: X_tremeroswellian
Email: [email protected]
Disclaimer: These characters belong to Melinda Metz, Jason Katims, and a lot of other talented people whom I have no affiliation with, but I hope they don't sue me anyway, because I'm broke. :)
Rating: R for language and violence
Spoilers: Up through "The UFO Convention"
Author's Note: Feedback is appreciated. Hope you enjoy! :)
In the Presence of Evil (Part Nine-The Conclusion)
Michael sat quietly in a chair in Maria's room after she'd been moved out of the I.C.U. and the doctors and nurses were examining her.
Her mother lingered by the window, watching nervously.
"Okay, I'm okay, really!" Maria pushed herself up into a sitting position and wrapped her arms around her stomach.
"Mrs. DeLuca?" the doctor turned to face Amy. "Can we speak out in the hallway?"
"Of course." Amy followed the doctor and nurses into the hallway, leaving Michael and Maria alone in the room.
Maria watched him from the corner of her eye. What was she supposed to say to him? She knew something wasn't right, that much she could sense. "Michael."
He met her eyes.
"Where's Liz? And Alex? My mom called them over a half hour ago."
Michael blinked and shifted his gaze to the clock, realizing she wsas right. The others should have been there by now. "I don't know. I'll call Isabel on her cell phone."
Isabel Evans waited at Alex's locker after class, wondering what was taking him so long. Her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her purse. "Hello?"
"Iz? Where the hell are you guys?"
Isabel frowned. "What are you talking about, Michael?"
"Maria's mom called the school over forty minutes ago!"
"Maria's awake?" she asked, her eyes widening.
"Yeah, didn't you guys get the message?"
"No..." She jumped as the bell rang. A second later, she saw Max come flying out of the biology room. "Max, what is it?"
"Liz isn't in class!"
"Isabel, what the hell is going on?" Michael demanded, straining to listen.
"Liz didn't show up to class and Alex didn't come by his locker..." her voice trailed off as she looked at her brother. "Max, Maria woke up awhile ago. Her mom called the school."
"They wouldn't have left without telling us," Max said.
"Oh, my God, Max," Isabel whispered, as their eyes locked.
"They're in trouble," he said, his voice cracking.
"What's going on?" Michael demanded again.
"Stay with Maria. We're going to find Liz and Alex." Isabel hung up her phone and ran down the hall after her brother, who didn't stop running until he reached the jeep.
"Okay, I want to know what's going on and I want to know right now!" Maria commanded the second Michael had hung up the phone.
He took a deep breath and turned to face her. "I don't know."
She glared at him. "Michael, I swear if you don't tell me, concussion or no concussion, I'm going to get out of this bed and strangle you!"
He sighed. Then he sat down on the edge of her bed. "Your mom didn't tell you about your car, did she?"
"My car? What does that have to do with..." Her voice trailed off as she met his eyes.
"Your brake line was cut."
Maria's eyes widened. "You mean someone tried to--"
"It was Nasedo."
There was dead silence for a full thirty seconds. Then, "Who the hell is Nasedo?" Amy DeLuca demanded from the doorway.
Maria looked at Michael, who cursed under his breath. "Shit."
Alex backed away from Nasedo, his mind racing. He had to find some way to stop him. But he was out in the middle of the desert. There were no weapons, and his opponent didn't need one. He could kill with a touch.
"Why are you doing this?" Alex choked out. "After everything we've done to help them--"
"Because all you humans are alike! You only care about one another. You don't care if you wipe out an entire alien race!"
"And what are you doing?" Alex challenged. If he could keep him talking, maybe he could stall until someone found them.
Nasedo stopped moving towards him, perplexed by the question. "I'm taking preventative measures."
"No, you're not! You're doing the same thing you accused the human race of! You're not giving us a chance to prove that we're not all killers!"
Nasedo's eyes darkened. "I'm going to enjoy killing you." He took three steps towards Alex before someone screamed behind him.
He whirled around just in time to see a tire iron swing at his head. He was slammed to the ground by the force of the blow. Liz glared down at him, still holding the metal bar in her hands. "Should have checked the trunk of my car before you locked me in it, you son of a bitch!"
Alex's eyes widened. "Liz!"
She looked up at him. "You okay?"
"I was about to ask you that!" He hurried to her, hugged her quickly, then looked down at the unconscious Nasedo. "What do we do with him?"
"I don't know. He's not dead. I didn't hit him that hard." Liz and Alex stared down at him.
"Well, we can't just leave him here for anyone to find, I mean, he's a...Czechoslovakian."
"Yeah, I know." She winced and reached up to touch the back of her head. It was bleeding.
Alex looked at her fingers, startled at the sight of blood. "Jesus, Liz," he whispered. "Let me see." He gently parted her hair in the back and looked at the wound. "You may need stitches."
"Great," she muttered, wincing again. They heard the sound of a vehicle driving towards them, and they turned to look. "Max!"
The jeep stopped a few feet away from them, and Max didn't even turn the engine off as he threw it into park and he and Isabel leaped out, running towards them. A second later, Liz was engulfed in Max's arms, holding her tightly. "Thank God you're okay!" he said, pressing his face in her hair.
Isabel threw her arms around Alex's waist and kissed him on the lips. He was surprised at first, then closed his eyes and kissed her back.
"What happened? Are you two all right?" Max asked, pulling away from Liz, and looking her over anxiously.
"She's got a pretty bad cut on the back of her head," Alex said before Liz could respond.
Max immediatly gazed into her eyes, and then moved so he could look at the wound. He frowned deeply, and touched his fingers to the cut, healing it instantly.
"Thank you," Liz said softly. He leaned his forehead against hers.
"Max," Isabel said, finally noticing Nasedo on the ground. She gripped onto Alex's arm with both hands.
Max glanced down at him, a surge of anger racing through him. Just as he was about to speak again, Nasedo leapt to his feet, opening his eyes widely, fury raging through him as he reached for Liz, who was closest to him.
Before anyone had a chance to react, a shot rang out through the air, and all four of them whirled to look. Sheriff Valenti lowered his weapon and looked at the fallen alien. Then he looked up into the faces of the four teens standing in front of him. "I thought you kids might need some help."
"But how did you--?" Isabel asked in confusion.
"I heard you kids talking at the hospital last night, and I knew you were in trouble. Amy called me on the phone a few minutes ago to tell me what was going on."
"Wait, you mean..." Max's voice trailed off.
"It seems Mr. Guerin and Miss DeLuca were forced into telling her the truth. She heard them talking, and when she found out who Nasedo was, and that he probably had Liz and Alex, she called me."
"But how did you know where we were?" Liz asked, finally regaining the ability to speak.
"I didn't. I followed Max and Isabel from the school," Sheriff Valenti explained. Max and Isabel exchanged a worried look, and Valenti held up a hand. "It's okay. I know who you are. All three of you. Your secret's safe with me."
"If that was true, why have you been after us all this time?" Max asked doubtfully.
"I wanted the truth, that's all. And I knew that there was one of you out there that was a killer..." He stopped when he looked down to where Nasedo had been lying.
Liz followed his gaze. Nasedo had vanished. She gasped.
"Guess we don't have to worry about what to do with his body," Alex mumbled, feeling a bit dizzy.
Isabel and Max stared down at the ground. There wasn't even a trace of blood on the desert sand. "Oh, my God," Isabel whispered.
Max swallowed hard, blinking against the brightness of the sun shining down on them. He wrapped his arms around Liz and pulled her to him. She buried her face in his chest, and wrapped her arms around Max's waist.
Sheriff Valenti met Isabel and Alex's eyes, and nodded. "You kids have some people waiting to see you at the hospital. Are you ready to go?"
The four teens exchanged worried glances, and then they all nodded in agreement.
"Where are they?" Maria asked, tapping her fingernails on her hospital tray.
Michael glanced at Amy DeLuca, who was still staring at him, and he sighed. "I don't know." He stood up and started pacing again. What if Valenti had captured Max and Isabel? What if Nasedo had killed Liz and Alex before anyone could stop him? A thousand questions raced through his mind all at once when the door suddenly opened.
"Liz!" Maria gasped. "Alex!" Her two best friends raced towards the bed and threw their arms around her in a group hug. "Oh, my God! Are you guys okay? What happened? Tell me everything!"
Michael turned in time to see Max and Isabel and Sheriff Valenti walk in the room. He breathed a sigh of relief as he met their eyes, and they both smiled at him. Valenti nodded at him as well.
"It's okay. He's on our side," Max told him. He turned to look at Amy DeLuca, whose eyes were wide and staring at the three of them. He swallowed hard and looked at Liz, Alex, and Maria.
Maria noticed the expression on her mother's face. "Mom? Do you remember Max and Isabel Evans?"
Amy nodded her head, but remained silent.
Maria threw a glance at Michael, who shrugged.
Jim Valenti noticed the exchange and walked over to Amy. "It's okay, Amy. They're good kids. All six of them."
Amy looked into his eyes, and saw he was telling the truth. Then she smiled. "So everyone's okay?"
The six teens looked at one another and nodded simataneously. "Mom, would you and Sheriff Valenti mind if we had a few minutes alone?" Maria asked, glancing around the room.
"Sure." Amy and Jim smiled at one another and stepped out into the hallway.
Max, Isabel and Michael stood on the other side of the room from where Liz, Maria and Alex were sitting on Maria's hospital bed. There was a moment of silence.
Liz met Max's eyes across the room and he crossed the floor so he was standing next to her. Silently, Isabel followed her brother and stood next to Alex. They all looked at Michael expectantly, but Maria had hope in her eyes. She smiled at him and he grinned. Then he, too, stepped forward and sat down on the bed with his friends.
"So," Alex said, grinning at his five friends. "Who's up for some pizza? I'm starving."
Liz laughed and leaned back against Max, who looked down at her. Then he leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips. She smiled and kissed him back.
The End