Lost13

Part 13
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She is lost in the immensity of the desert, all alone. She is wearing the same black dress that seems to float in the air as the wind blows.

�Michael!!! Max!!!�

There�s no answer, just the solitude of this place.

�Hahahaaa.� A cute five year-old boy with golden hair and deep brown eyes appears in the middle of nowhere smilling and waving to her.

Isabel runs to him but when she comes near the spot where he is, he disappears, appearing in another place. He laughs and waves to her, disappearing again.

�Hey! Wait! Who are you? What is happening? Where am I?�

The boy appears again waving his hands, calling her as he starts to run. Isabel goes after him. They run through the desert until the boy stops and points at something. Slowly, Isabel walks to the place the little boy is trying to show to her and gasps at the sight of it.

The symbols: their destiny, their home. Why? She doesn�t understand. A cold shiver hits her soul and she starts crying not knowing the reason. Or maybe she knows.

The little boy holds her hand, startling her. She stares at him speechless.

�Don�t cry, mommy. I�m here with you,� he says to her in a childish tone.

Isabel bursts into tears, collapsing on her knees and embracing the blond boy, who hugs her tightly to him, wiping her tears away tenderly. The two stay like this, lost in this embrace, for what seems like an eternity but then�

A cold and strong wind starts to blow from the south bringing with it the darkness. The once blue sky is now completely black. The symbols disappear. The desert disappears. All there is now is the darkness. The little boy starts to vanish too.

�No, wait!!! You can�t leave me. Please come back.� Terrified, Isabel cries out.

The little boy smiles sadly at her. �Don�t worry, mommy. Everything will turn out alright.� And saying that he disappears.

�NOOO!� Isabel feels her arms empty. He�s gone. Everything�s gone: Her family. Her home. Her destiny. Her life. Her dreams. She has lost everything. Why is she still breathing? Why is she still alive? There�s no more reason�The pain is so intense, it�s tearing her soul apart, breaking her heart into tiny pieces�She is so cold�so tired�She lies down on the emptiness of the darkness, waiting to disappear herself.

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Michael�s place
3:00 a.m

�Damn it. No. Damn it.� Max curses as he smashes his fists hard on the floor.

Liz is crying in the corner, seeing the man she loves hurting himself, hitting the floor again and again with his bleeding fists not knowing what to do to help him, not knowing how to erase his pain, this great pain that he is feeling now.

�GET UP, MAXWELL.� Michael grabs him abruptly.

Max stares at him with a lost look. �I can�t, Michael. All these stupid powers and I can�t even save my own sister. Why? Why?� Max is crying like a baby. Liz holds him tight to her.

Michael remains steady. However, through his eyes you can see how tired and torn down he is. He doesn�t know how to handle this anymore, how to stay on his feet without fainting. But he can�t lose his control right now and he can�t let Max lose it either. They can�t give up. He won�t give her up.

Michael glances at Isabel, lying on his bed. She is covered by three blankets. She seems to be freezing. She is so pale, so cold. Her once ruby lips are now purple and her hair is completely white. Michael kneels beside her and passes his hand through her hair and lightly kisses her forehead.

�We won�t lose her, Max.�

Max breaks Liz's embrace and kneels at the other side of the bed. He wants to believe in Michael�s words but he can�t. They have tried everything. He tried to heal her during their ride home but she didn�t even awake up. She has gone into this deep sleep and hasn�t even stirred. They tried the stones and nothing. Jim, Kyle, and Maria went to look for Nicholas and the dupes, who disappeared after Max and Michael ran from the base, hoping that they would know what they did to Isabel and what to do to save her. After all, as Nicholas said, he needs her alive, but there�s no sign of them so far.

�We have been trying to heal her for hours. We have tried everything, Michael. She is so weak. I don�t know how much of this she can take. I can�t heal her. My powers are useless.Whatever they have done to her, it�s destroying her alien cells, it�s killing Isabel�s essence. I can�t connect with her, I can�t�I don�t know what to do, Michael. Tell me what to do, please. Tell me that everything is going to be OK, that she won�t leave me.�

�I won�t let her go,� Michael promises. �But you must be calm. We have to be strong now, for her.�

Max nods.

�I don�t understand, Max. What do you mean by 'killing Isabel�s essence'? You mean this thing is killing her alien side? So, isn�t it possible that you can heal her human side? Like you did to me and to Kyle, maybe in this way�� Liz kneels beside him.

�No, Liz,� Max interrupts her. �Isabel�s essence is more than just her alien side, it�s what she is. She can�t just lose it and live as a human. Her essence is her life energy, it�s her��

�Soul�� Michael concludes for him, caressing Isabel�s face, his eyes filled with sorrow.

�Her soul? I don�t undestand. How could her soul die?�

�Her soul. I mean our essence. When we were recreated or built--I don�t know the right term--our people used human DNA and matched it with some alien DNA, but this just made our bodies. For us to be the same as we were before, for us to be the same Royal Ones, they put our essences or our souls in these bodies, and that�s what makes me the way I am, that�s what makes Isabel who she is. In a way we are the same Zan, Vilandra and Rath. Or at least we were supposed to be according to the Book. It�s not clear how they did that but�� Max stops abruptly.

�Max?�

�The book? You have a copy here, don't you, Michael?�

�Yes, Maxwell. You know I have. It�s hidden under the couch. But��

Max runs to the room like crazy, being followed by Liz. Michael sighs sadly, knowing what Max has in mind. He thinks that he can find something in the book. Something that can heal her soul, but Michael knows this is in vain. He has read that book so many times that he knows it by heart. There�s nothing there. He remembers when he read this part about the essence, that they have the same essence that they had in their past life. He remembers that he got confused by that. If they have the same essence how come they don�t remember their past? That book is so complicated--it�s beyond a teenager�s comprehension--and he is sure there�s nothing there about how to heal her soul. Actually there�s nothing there telling how they were able to give them the same soul in the first place. All Max is going to find there is more doubts,no answers.

Michael closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He then stares at the lifeless face of Isabel. He runs his fingers through a lock of her now white hair. He puts his head to her chest and listens. There�s only a soft and weak sound - too weak.

Michael is sobbing. He is losing her again. He promised himself that he wouldn�t lose her again no matter what. No. Wait. When did he make this promise? Where? He can�t remember. His memories are confused. He lost her before. When? How? Why won�t this pain just go away? Why do these strange feelings keep hunting him?

�Iz,� he whispers softly.

Here I am
Broken wings
Quiet thoughts
Unspoken dreams

�Iz, please. Don�t leave me.� He takes her delicate hand, kissing it lightly. �I�m so sorry, Iz. I have failed you. I promised you that I would take care of you, that no one would never hurt you, but I failed. I--I...�

Here I am
Alone again
And I need her now
To hold my hand

�Please, Iz, Please, come back to me. I need you. Who is going to argue with me, huh? Who is going to stop me every time I want to do something crazy and stupid? And who is going to make me laugh like you did? Who is going to always be there for me?�

He touches her cheek lightly. And thousands of memories come back to him. No. Not memories from the past. Memories that he keeps within him like his most precious treasure. Because she, Isabel Evans, is his most precious treasure. She is his life.

She�s all, she�s all I ever had
She�s the air I breathe
She�s all, she�s all I ever had

He remembers when he came out of the pods. How he went to the pod beside him immediately, like something was calling him to it. And there she was asleep. He remembers that when his small hand touched her pod, she opened her big eyes and showed to him his own soul in them.

It�s the way she makes me feel

He remembers that he had helped her to come out of her pod and the two were ready to leave the cave together when Max awakened.

It�s the only thing that�s real

He remembers when he opened the cave. The sun. The only sun that this planet has. Its light was so intense that it blinded him for a instant and it was that instant that started everything. The feeling of loss and sorrow hit his heart and there laid. When Max extended his hand to him it was already too late. He looked into her beautiful and also scared eyes and he knew that he couldn�t. He wanted to stay with them, stay with her but...That pain was burning him inside. That voice inside his head was telling him that he couldn�t. That he couldn�t let history repeat itself. That he had to protect her and the best way to do that was running way, forgetting, denying. That way he wouldn�t lose her again.

It�s the way she understands.

He remembers listening to her crying. Every night, during three years, the wind brought the echoes of the crying to his dreams. And he knew. He knew it was her cry. He knew she was crying because of him.

She�s my lover, she�s my friend

He remembers the day they met again like it was yesterday. The feelings that filled his whole being when he heard her voice, when he heard her name. Isabel�

And when I look into her eyes

He remembers the jokes, the games they made. How pissed off she'd get every time he started to tell her stories about their real parents and their three green heads. Oh, how beautiful she was when she got mad.

It�s the way I feel inside

He remembers that night. When he couldn�t handle anymore. When he were ready to run from Roswell. And how he found her there, in what became their secret place, their special place.

Like the man I want to be

He remembers all the special dates. She wanted to make everything perfect on those days, and she did, in a way that not even she knows. Only he knows how happy he got on his birthdays, when despite what he said, he loved all her efforts to make those days special for him. On his 13th birthday she made him a cake- well Isabel Evans and kitchen just don�t fit- the cake was horrible, but he remembers that he and Max ate everything just to make her happy because they knew that was what she was trying to do: make them happy.

She�s all I�ll ever need

Oh, and he remembers all the Christmases and all the other holidays. And how they argued because he insisted that they shouldn�t celebrate these stupid human things and how because of that she created their own holiday: The �I am an alien" day, saying that at least this holiday he had to celebrate. He remembers that on those days she used to use her powers to make crazy things like fireworks, balloons and snow. Max got crazy and he--He loved seeing her laughing while she tried to make him laugh. Oh, how he missed the alien day. How he missed the way she made everything special. Why are those days over?

So much time

He remembers when but he can�t quite understand why, why did he let them be finished, why didn�t he fight to keep them together. Mikey, Maxie and Izzy. Things shouldn�t have never changed. Why did he let them change?

So much pain (but)

He remembers how worried he was when their secret was no longer a secret. He was worried mostly about her. He remembers the incident between Isabel and Maria in the beginning. He remembers Isabel talking about making Maria fear them and him saying that they could, that they should kill her. He said that he was playing, but if something bad had happened with Isabel in that time because of Maria , he would not have been playing.

There�s on thing

He remembers how jealous he got every time she had a date. Every time a guy came near her. But he also remembers how he tried to deny it to himself blaming always the alien-brother connection they had. He tried to fool himself with the �I�m just jealous because I care about her, after all she is my sister, right?� And for years that worked.

That still remains (It�s the)

He remembers feeling her. Feeling her when he almost died. She was there with the others when they used the stones but...But before that he sensed her. She was taking care of him, she was holding his hand and she was in his visions. When he saw the stars, the symbols, for one quick second he saw her, in the black dress and she seemed sad, so sad. But it was so quick and in that time he didn�t give it much importance because then the others appeared and then and then�

The way she cared

He remembers when she went to the library with him and how she tried to protected him when Hank hit him. She was always there for him and that...That scared him. Made those feelings, those sensations come back again. That fear. Fear of losing her. The pain. The scream of his soul. He didn�t know what to do then. So he went to Maria, again. And he cried in her arms. He cried for the first time. He cried because he was lost. He lost something that he couldn�t find. He wanted to go home. To find what he'd lost. He did need to find the answer. But he couldn�t. So he ran. He ran away from them, from his family. And that hurt. Just a few miles away from them and he was already feeling that his soul was being torn up. Nothing made sense without them., without her. So he came back. He came back for her. He would always come back for her�

The love we shared

He remembers the dream, the destiny, their son...Their son. He had never been so happy. That dream was�that dream is�How he wished dreams did come true. He remembers desiring that kiss, that kid, Isabel but it was all only a dream�

And through it all

He remembers that day in the chamber and the word betrothal. She was his. And he was hers. But there was nothing then. Just a cold feeling. No. Empty. He felt himself empty, broken, and again lost. So he pretended that he didn�t hear anything. That that word meant nothing to him. He chose to forget. He chose denial.

She�s always been there.

He fooled himself.

She�s all, she�s all I ever had
In a world so cold, so empty
She�s all, she�s all I ever had

He remembers the enemies: the skins, the dupes, and how their past came to haunt them, especially her. Khivar. Just thinking about him makes him sick. He hates him. Hates them all for what they did to her. They made her suffer. Slowly, he saw that girl Isabel was dying. Her smiles were no longer true ones. And her sparkling eyes didn�t shine anymore.

It�s the way she makes me feel

Grant. Alex. He remembers that he wanted to run to her. Embrace her. But he was--He was too big a coward. He ran away from her. He stopped looking into her eyes. They told him too much, told him what he had to forget.

It�s the only thing that�s real

The lie that he lived was so big that he doesn�t even remember when he started believing in it. When did he give up completely? Maybe during his entire life. Maybe never.

It�s the way she understands

He remembers that day. He and Maria. That day something broke inside him. And all he could hear after what happened was a cry. A cry like the ones he heard when he was a kid. A cry that he heard in his dreams. He was dizzy and confused. And for the first time in his life home seemed too far, even if he was finally going there.

She�s my lover, she�s my friend

He couldn�t go home. He remembers now why: The Granolith, its light when Max activated it, Isabel� the flashes�the flashes he was having� that feeling that seemed to be swallowing his soul, burning his heart�

And when I look into her eyes

�Oh, Iz�I�m so sorry�Oh, please if there�s a God, please don�t take her away from me. Please, take me. But not her. She�s all I ever had.�

It�s the way I feel inside

�Iz, my Isabel, please don�t do this to me.�

Like the man I want to be

�You can�t leave me, Iz�I can�t lose you�I need you�I-I--� He caresses her face and one of his tears drops on her pale face. �I love you�

She�s all I�ll ever need

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Sleeping in the darkeness, she awakes with a single drop falling on her face. She can hear a soft voice. It seems familiar. It's calling her. Where? It�s all dark�No, there�s no one. It�s only her. She is alone. She has been for so long, she just wants to rest now. Just rest.

It echoes through the darkness

Suddenly, millions of stars appears around Isabel. No. She is floating, floating in space.

�What??� She looks around her without understanding what�s going on.

// I love you // I love you//

This time she hears it. And what she hears brings tears to her eyes. The symbols appear all around her and not too far away she can see five planets shining in the the deep of space.

�Antar�" she whispers
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�No. No. Nothing. This stupid book has nothing that can help,� Max yells losing control of his emotions.

�Calm down, Max. Maybe if we look again more carefully�� Liz is saying and the front door opens.

Jim, Kyle and Maria arrive looking sad.

�I�m sorry, Max. We couldn�t find Nicholas and the dupes. They��

But Jim never finishes the sentence because all the earth beneath their feet starts to shake.

�Isabel!!� Max exclaims running to the room, followed by the others.

When they reach the room, a strong light that seems to come from Isabel almost blinds them.

�Michael!!� Max shouts.

But Michael is as astonished as they are.

The earthquake stops and the light changes into a figure. They all look at it puzzled. The figure is surrounded by light, her long golden hair and her white dress float in the air. She stares at Liz, Jim, Kyle, and Maria not recognizing the faces around her.

�Isabel??� Max murmurs.

Seeing him she smiles. �Zan.� Her voice is soft and low.

Max glances at Michael�s bed and sees the asleep Isabel still there. He then glances at Michael who is just as surprised as him.

She then turns to Michael, reaching her hand to touch him. �Rath.�

Michael doesn�t move or say anything just stares at her with tears in his eyes.

But her hand passes through him. She smiles sadly at him. �Why, Rath? Why?� She then glances at Isabel- herself- on the bed. The light around her shines stronger and her image starts to disappear. �I�m still waiting for you,� she whispers to Michael and then disappears leaving behind a beam of light that gets inside Isabel�s body and then is reflected. Her skin receives back its rosy color and her hair is again blond. Her balance is restored.

Isabel gasps, awakening abruptly. Immediately, Michael and Max run to her, embracing her. She is completely dizzy. She doesn�t remember anything. What is happening? Why are Max and Michael acting like this? She then sees Liz, Maria, Jim, and Kyle staring at her with tears in their eyes. Wait. Kyle? Oh, my god, Kyle. He was shot. The wedding. Jesse. The white room. Michael. The memories come back to her bringing with it all the sorrow.

She breaks down into tears.

�Shsh�.We are here, Iz. It�s all over now. It�s all over.�

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Somewhere else�

�The Roswell base was completely destroyed. We lost half of our men,� a man reports to another one, who is behind a large desk.

�What about Agent Jesse?�

The man shakes his head in response.

�I see.�

�The mission has failed, sir.�

�No. Not completely, Agent Francis. The X-47 was a success. The alien girl must be dead by now. Those aliens showed us today their true power. With a power like that they can destroy our planet easily. And I can feel that the time of their attack is coming. There�s something big happening here. We have to destroy them all now that we know how. You are now the new chief of the X-47 project. I want you to go to New York and find this girl.� He throws an envelope on the table.

�What about Roswell?�

�It�ll take some time to set up a new base. Besides all the attention will be focused on Roswell after what happened there. We have to stay away for a while or we could call attention to ourselves. Don�t worry, they will be too sad over the girl�s death to try anything. You can go now.�

�Yes, sir.� The man takes the envelope and leaves.

Outside the office he opens the envelope and stares at Ava�s picture.
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