| Secrets In The Past |
| Chapter 18 __________________________________________ After the attack things seemed to go back to normal for a little while. No more little alien mementos for the girls, Liz did not feel anyone watching her, nothing out of the ordinary to report. They had called the Sheriff and he had a deputy driving by the Crashdown at regular intervals to make sure everything was in order. Even without the odd occurrences the group slowly started to notice the changes in Liz. It was a week after the attack and Liz had missed lunch twice last week. Whenever she stopped eating that was always the first sign something was not right. She was avoiding the group and becoming quiet. They noticed that she stopped raising her hand in class or speaking unless spoken to. Getting her to join in the conversation at lunch took an act of God... or Michael. He was the only one she seemed comfortable with anymore. With the exception of Maria and Colin. Of course, the addition of the latter did not go unnoticed by anyone. Liz had managed, under duress, to convince Kyle, Tess, and Alex that he was not a threat. That she just wanted someone to be with who was blissfully unaware of the existence of extraterrestrials. That he was not out to get them, and he would not take her away from them. She just wanted someone on the outside. Was that so wrong? They could not argue with that, it was something they also longed for. Michael was not so easy to convince. Liz had snuck out of school twice to go somewhere with Colin nearly giving he and Max heart attacks. He came so close to forbidding her from seeing him that Maria joined forces with Liz out of protest to his archaic attitude towards woman, she said. His opposition only made her resolve stronger to spend time with him. Everyone saw the way Colin acted around her and could not deny that it was very unlikely that he would hurt her. Still, Michael, Isabel, and Max were not convinced. All for different reasons, none of them trusted him. That was not the only change in Liz. She was pursuing her powers veraciously. No one knew why. She did not take a great deal of pride in it or become overly excited when she achieved something new. It seemed more like an excuse, a diversion that also succeeded in exhausting her. She worked herself so hard she continually passed out. Also not something the boys handled calmly. On Sunday at the meeting Liz could barely stay awake. Despite her fatigue she was becoming clingy and jumpy. She startled so easily that they went home early because she was putting everyone else on edge. Michael and Maria, to everyone�s dismay, did not outwardly express any concern for Liz�s behavior. At that meeting Liz had almost crawled into his lap and never once let go of his hand. Maria never flinched. His groping, as Max put it, of Liz did not appear to bother her in the least. At the end of the night they all left together, Michael practically carrying Liz out to the Jetta. Whenever the subject was broached they dismissed everything as her wanting to master her powers and over work. They passed off her recent jumpiness to a residual affect of the attack and fatigue from, surprise, over work. They had a too easy answer for everything. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Michael had just stepped out of the shower when the phone rang. Grabbing a towel off the rack he ran into the kitchen tripping over his shoes on the way. �Ouch! Damn it!.� He picked up the phone holding his head were he hit it on the counter. �This had better be good,� he growled in to the phone. �Nice to hear your voice too, Michael. Sheesh, do you ever not have a bug up your butt on this planet?� �Gwyn?� �Yeah, hey how�s it going?� �How the hell do you think it�s going? You left as soon as Liz learns something that basically destroyed her life as she knows it. You won�t give us any answers. We can�t tell Max, which let me tell you is a not nearly as easy as it sounds. To top it all off there is a psycho out to kill her. So you tell me, how do you think things are here?� �That well huh?� �Were you this annoying on Antar?� �Oh yeah, totally.� �Liz is about to completely lose it. When are you coming back?� �Not one for small talk are you?� �When my sister is swiftly losing her sanity? No, I don�t think so.� �I am hoping to get back there a week from tomorrow.� �Gwen you have been gone two weeks already.� �I know Michael, but there are some really important things going on here that I need to get under control before I can come back and talk to you guys.� �What other important stuff? I thought finding Lilly was your main goal. And where are you?� �Finding Lillyah and making sure she was safe, which she is for right now, is our main goal. We are also monitoring the Skins and several of their camps. There has been a lot of odd activity lately that we are trying to investigate but its hard to infiltrate.� �Wait, you guys have been watching them. And you decided to tell us when? After they massacred us at the school last November?� �We had not found that sect at the time. Some of their camps are very well hidden. We have not been here for nearly as long as they have. And we don�t have near their numbers.� �Are you saying we have an army at our disposal?� �Yes and no. We should really not be discussing this over the phone.� �Fine. You need to come back sooner than that Gwyn. I think that guy might be on to Liz. Someone almost got her the other night.� �WHAT?!� �She�s ok, just a little shaken up. Max and I got to her before he did, but we never saw who it was.� �Michael you have got to keep a closer eye on her. We are getting some very strange reports from the spy in Durton�s camp about his behavior.� �I�m trying Gwyn but its not that easy. She�s not a child I can�t be around her all the time. The amount of time we spend together and our attitude towards each other are already drawing some major attention, not to mention jealous posturing from Max. Do you know how gross it is to know people suspect you of sleeping with your sister?� �Max will be grateful when he knows the truth, just remember that. As for Liz, I really don�t know what to tell you.� �This is really hard for her Gwyn. She�s very logical. The lack of answers is literally driving her over the edge, plus keeping two huge secrets from Max. I�m not sure how much longer she can keep it together.� �It won�t be much longer Michael, I promise. I will do things as fast as I can but I have to at lest try to find out what is going on with Durton. It might tell us how he plans to get to Lillyah and the rest of you.� �All right. Do you have anything I can tell Liz? Anything about her parents that might help?� �I- the only thing I can think of is I don�t think her parents knew about her origins. I don�t think they purposely kept it from her. That�s really all I can say and I�m not even positive about that yet. I have someone working on that angle though. Now that we confirmed who Lillyah is it will be easier to find out how she ended up where she did.� Michael was about to ask again where she was when he heard another voice in the back ground. �Hold on for a second Michael,� Gwyn asked. Michael tried to listen to what the other person was saying to Gwyn but could only make out a few things. �he�s back......we don�t know where......the English accent again........all happy.....truly losing it...... Lillyah?� �What? what about Lillyah?� �Michael, I have to go now. I�ll call you if there are any developments.� �Gwyn, no wait...� the only response he got was a dial tone. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Liz slammed her history book closed with a snap. No matter how hard she tried she could not clear her mind enough to read her chapter. She had read the same sentence countless times but if asked, she had no idea what it said. She had so many questions and thoughts whirling through her mind it was all she could do to remember how to dress herself. She had always been a very logical person. See problem, do research, find facts, solve problem, that was how she worked. It was what her entire life, her sanity was based on. Now that she had learned that her life was basically a lie and there were no answers, things were quickly spinning out of control. She was losing it and she knew it. And that was not even the worst part. The worst part was the weight of having these two huge, life threatening secrets. She wanted to tell Max so badly she could taste it. In her heart she knew he could make it all better. Soothe all her fears and find answers to all her questions. That�s what her heart said but not her head. Her head constantly berated her with how selfish those thoughts were. What was her sanity compared to the lives of all her friends, the lives of the world. So to fight her heart she let her befuddled mind take over. Pouring herself into learning to control her powers. It was the only thing she was able to fully concentrate on. She worked herself until she was too tired to ask questions or think about Max. What to do, what to do? She was too drained to work on any of her powers but too awake to go to bed. This was the first night she had been alone since the attack. Maria and or Michael were around just about all the time. Liz was starting to feel like their child. Tonight she had insisted that they go out. Go to the movies or something, anything that did not involve her. At the time she thought it was a good idea. The week had been fairly uneventful. No one had been watching her, no creepy little dolls, but last Saturday she had started feeling anxious. She did not like being left alone anymore. The more exhausted she became the more intense the feeling got. She told herself that it was just Michael�s paranoia seeping into her subconscious, but it didn�t help. The only times she truly felt safe anymore were when she was with Michael or Colin. She knew the others (Max) would make her feel better, convince her that she was just tired and stressing over nothing but she could not be left alone with them. Michael never let her be alone with the group anymore and she knew why. She was so close to the edge she could not even be trusted to keep her own secrets anymore. Grabbing her blanket off the bed and a box of matches, she went out on to the balcony. Dropping the blanket on the lounger she started to light the candles on the ledge. That was one power she wished she had. For some reason none of the aliens could figure out she could do nothing involving heat. No lighting candles with the flick of a wrist, no melting door locks, she could not even heat a cold cup of coffee to room temperature. Some of her other powers looked like they could be stronger than theirs, it was odd that she could not do one of their simplest tricks. She was on the fourth candle when a breeze picked up and blew out the match and the candles she had lit. The gust had been warm, so why was she shivering? Rubbing her arms for heat she turned in a circle. It was not the wind that was chilling, it was the eyes she could feel watching her. �Stop it� she chided herself. �There is no one there. You are on the second floor and going insane. You are perfectly safe� Purposefully, she grabbed the box and struck another match. When she got to the fourth candle the gust came up again and sent the world back into darkness. This time when the shivers overtook her she could have sworn she felt someone whisper in her ear. Spinning around she looked into every corner and nook of the balcony. No one there. �all right Liz, you have officially lost it.� Now she was hearing things. Fabulous. That quiet, padded cell was looking better and better. The hair on her neck and arms stood on end as she felt the icy gaze return along with the whisper. Ever so lightly growled into the now steady breeze. �Wait princess, just wait.� Not bothering with the blanket Liz ran back in to the house slamming the window so hard it almost broke. He breath came in gasps as she tried to calm herself. There was no way she was spending the night alone. Not with her mind playing tricks on her. Max, she wanted Max. No, today was Tuesday, he and Isabel had family night. Michael? No, this night with Maria was too important for her to call them. Tess and Kyle? Why were they out in the middle of the desert? It would take too long for them to get to her. Alex? Yes! He was alone at his house. Perfect. Alex had always made her feel better when they were little. He would not press any issues about what was upsetting her either. Alex, she would call Alex. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* The phone ringing pulled Alex from his light doze. Gently he shifted Liz from his chest to her pillow. Standing slowly so as not to jiggle the bed, he went to the kitchen. Grabbing the phone off the wall he answered, �Parker residence, I�ll be your receptionist. How my I direct your call?� �Alex?� �Max?� �Yeah, hey. Umm, is every thing ok? Is Liz ok?� he asked not able to keep the hint of concern out of his voice. �Yeah, everything is fine. She just got a little... spooked is a good word I guess.� �Spooked? As in scared? Why? What happened?� �Nothing, she was alone, the restaurant is closed, you know, funny sounds and all. She didn�t want to be alone.� �So she called you.� Alex almost laughed at the totally dejected tone in his voice. �She said I was the only one who was not busy at the time. You know Liz, even if its life and death she won�t ask for help if she thinks it might be a bother.� �Yeah, I know her,� there was a hint of a smile in his voice now, then he turned serious again. �So, how did she seem? Did she tell you anything?� �No.� Alex pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down with a thump and a sigh. �I asked her what it was that was bothering her lately but she refused to acknowledge that there was anything wrong. Just said that she really wanted to master her powers and it was tiring her out.� �That�s what she tells me too. Every time I ask her about it she either changes the subject or makes up a reason to hang up.� �You�ve been talking to her? How Did you get past her new growth, also known as Michael.� �We�ve been talking on the phone for almost an hour every night for the past month. Michael does not know, not that I would let that stop me.� �What is it with him lately? They never used to get along, now its like he�s her personal bodyguard, needed or not.� �I have no idea, there is something going on with all three of them. When I get her on the phone its completely different. She laughs, I can hear her smile, she acts like Liz. Liz before all this crap got dumped on her, before Tess and Nesado and Destiny. But that�s it, just the one hour, then she goes back to that shell we�ve taken to calling Liz.� �Have you noticed how she�s been really jumpy lately? Scared of her own shadow?� �Yeah, I was thinking it might be a little post traumatic stress. You know, from that guy chasing her.� �That�s what I was thinking too, but tonight I�m not so sure. She made me go out on to the balcony and look all around with a flashlight but she would not tell me why.� �A week or so ago she told me she felt someone watching her during school.� �Do you think its really happening? Or is she ummm, maybe a little ...� �Paranoid?� �yeah.� �I don�t know. All we can do is watch her right now. I can�t think of anyone that would be watching her the way she described or would want to hurt her, unless...� �Unless they are trying to get to you through her. Max, you have to stop thinking like that. There are always going to be people, ETs, whatever, looking for you. That means they will be looking for the rest of us too, not just Liz. There is nothing you can do about that. Liz knew the deal, we all did, when we became actively involved in this whirligig of fun. All we can do right now is wait to see if there really is someone out there or if its all in her head.� �I guess you�re right. Do you want me to come over there? Umm... stay with her or something, if-if you need to get back home.� �Max, I know how much you want to be here, but she called me. It�s hard to get her to talk any of us lately, this was a big step. I think I had better stay.� �Yeah, ok, you�re right.� �I think I should go check on her, so I�ll talk to you tomorrow.� �Right, tomorrow. Alex?� �Yeah� �Take good care of her.� Alex smiled, �Of course. Night Max.� �Night.� Alex stood and hung up the phone. He slipped silently back to Liz�s room. She was still in the same position he left her in. Liz usually kicked in her sleep. He remembered from summer sleep overs with her and Maria. She was spending way too much time on her powers if she was sleeping this hard. He crawled back into the bed when he heard her small whining cry. Pulling her to him, he lightly pushed her hair back from her temple, whispering comforting words in her ears. She settled down, snuggling up to him like when they were little. He let his chin rest on her head while drifting off to sleep. His last thought was that it felt like someone was watching him. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ On the balcony someone watched the pair from the shadows. His cold eyes boring into his flesh and leering longingly at hers. �That�s right princess. Sleep, dream of your precious prince. Be comforted by your jester. Soon you will be mine. All too soon.� A demonic smirk graced his features as he descended the ladder to make his plans. Chapter 19 _______________________________________________ The next Sunday... Everyone was sitting in the Evans living room waiting on Liz and Michael. The rest of the week passed fairly uneventfully, unless you count Liz failing a Chem. pop quiz, forgetting to turn in her English paper, and showing up late every day to school. To say everyone was worried was an understatement. Liz was becoming more distant by the day. She didn�t really talk or even make eye contact with anyone except Michael and Maria whom she clung to with an intensity. Everyone tried to pass it off as stress after that guy had attacked her. That was obviously only part of the problem. Things were starting to go back to the way they had been right after Max and Tess returned from New York. Liz was finding excuses to skip lunch and with in the week her clothes were too loose again. The only way she was willingly with anyone besides Michael, Colin or Maria was when they were working on her powers. She continued to work on them night and day. The combination of that and her neglecting her studies just did not match up. The tension among the group was mounting. Everyone had a different opining on what to do. It did not help matters that Maria and Michael became incredibly defensive whenever the subject of Liz came up. They insisted she would be fine, she just needed a little time. No one bought that. It had been two weeks and things were not getting better. The doorbell rang jolting everyone from the hushed conversations that were taking place all over the room. Maria jumped up to answer the door, Max was in close pursuit wanting to see Liz for himself. The door opened to find only Michael. �Where�s Liz� Maria asked as she followed him in to the living room. �She fell asleep working on her powers. I didn�t want to wake her.� A look passed between the two that Max caught sight of. She nodded imperceptibly and grabbed her purse. �I think I will go check on her. Umm, make sure she gets some dinner. You guys don�t need me right? Good,� she answered before they could object. �Oh Maria,� Michael called her back with a smirk. �Be careful when you walk in.� �Huh?� She cocked her head to the side. He stifled a laugh with his hand, �I don�t know what she was practicing but she turned the living room into an ice rink, complete with disco ball.� Maria and Alex laughed. Liz always wanted to learn to skate when they were little. Roswell did not have an ice rink. �I found her on the couch with one skate on, one skate off. I think she fell asleep before she could change it back.� �Ok, I�ll make sure she changes it later tonight, before it all melts. Bye guys.� Maria giggled as she pranced out the door. Michael plopped down into a chair and grabbed a piece of pizza. �fhat?� he asked, his mouth full. Everyone was staring at him waiting for an explanation. Isabel rolled her eyes. �Michael, did you check on her while she was working? Was she asleep or did she pass out?� �Isabel, don�t even start.� He cast a steely gaze in her direction. �Liz is fine, she�s just tired. Maria will check on her.� Max glared at Michael, his answer was completely unsatisfactory. Michael met his glare full on, daring Max to challenge him. The tension in the room continued to mount as they all felt the stirring of energy in the air. Neither was going to back down when it came to Liz. �Hey we have some news,� Tess blurted out trying to lighten the room. Max took a deep breath and looked over to Tess. Now was not the time to have a �heart to heart� with Michael, not in front of everyone. �What�s that Tess?� Isabel smiled at her, grateful for the diversion. Something had been about to explode. �Tell them Kyle.� She shoved his arm a little. He was perched on the arm of her chair. For the first time this evening everyone noticed just how comfortable the two looked together. He had his arm loosely looped around her shoulders while her hand rested on his thigh. He would whisper something in her ear and she would giggle. Tess giggled? He leaned into her and said in a low voice, �Tess I really don�t think now is the time.� Her smile faded and her brows rose as she adopted the same low tone. �Buddha Boy, it�s the perfect time.� �Tess, no.� �You tell them or I do.� �Tess, no. There are more important things going on.� �This *is* important,� she held his gaze for a minute. �Ok fine,� she smiled again as she turned back to the group. She was oblivious to their reactions to she and Kyle�s ease with each other. �Kyle has started to exhibit powers.� She turned back to him, �see was that so hard?� �You are in so much trouble when we leave.� �ooo what are you going to do? Smoke me out with your incense?� Kyle rolled his eyes trying unsuccessfully not to smile. �Sheeh! The defenseless human contingent is seriously dwindling. Maria and I are going to have to get shot one of these days.� �ALEX!� was his resounding response. Isabel slapped him upside the head. �Don�t ever joke about something like that.� �Hey just a joke people.� He held his hands up as a sign of surrender, �remember jokes? Laughing? Ha ha and hee hee?� He was met with glares and narrowed eyes. �Wow, tough crowd.� Max turned his attention back to Kyle. �What have you done so far? Changing colors like Liz?� �Nope.� �Show him Kyle.� Tess pulled on his sleeve, she was very excited at his ability to control his new power. �K. What do you want?� She scanned the room finding something not too heavy. �How about another soda.� �You got it.� Kyle held out his hand and focused his gaze on a can of cherry coke on the coffee table. After a second it flew threw the air coming to rest in his hand. Smiling he handed the can to Tess. �You might want to wait a minute to open that so it doesn�t explode.� �Wow, now that could really come in handy. You never have to get off the couch again.� �Don�t give him any ideas Alex.� �I don�t get it.� Michael looked to the other podsters, �Why do Liz and Kyle have different powers than the rest of of us?� �I thought about that. My guess is its like personality traits. We all have a particular power that is our strength. My healing, Iz�s dream walking, your power blasts, Tess�s mind warp. Because none of us are alike none of our powers are exactly alike.� �So do you think I will get any others?� �You have only exhibited the one?� �Yeah.� �My guess would be yes. Liz has what? Four, fairly powerful ones now. I would guess you�ll at least able to do the basic stuff we can all do, colors, molecular structure, that kind of thing.� �Right, I got it.� They talked about how Tess was working with Kyle and if he should start a training schedule with any of the others. Ultimately they decided until he displayed any other powers he could work alone with Tess. Their glowing smiles did not go unnoticed. After that the palpable tension returned to the room. Everyone lost in their own thoughts, Isabel told them to go home before Michael and Max inadvertently burnt down the house. Max gratefully retreated to his room when Iz and Alex offered to clean up. Everyone else left quietly hoping things would be quieter at school tomorrow. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~~*~*~* �What are you thinking about?� Kyle was being unusually quiet as he drove himself and Tess home. �Liz.� �Oh,� she looked out the window. Tess didn�t know what was going on between her and Kyle but she could not deny that once again she felt a little twinge of jealousy for the girl. Granted she was very worried about Liz, but she could not help but be a little envious that the only two men in her life had been in love with Liz Parker. �How do you think she really is? I know Michael says she�s Ok, but the last two weeks, to me anyway, she has been anything but ok.� �Yeah, I�m really worried about her. There is something more going on than meets the eye. I can�t help but wonder...� Kyle trailed off when he realized what he was about to say. �Wonder what?� Tess turned in her seat to look at him. Kyle pulled the mustang in to the drive and killed the engine. He sat for a minute thinking. Over the past month he had grown very fond of Tess. They talked about things they shared with no one else. He talked about his mom and how afraid he really was of his new power. She told him about life with Nesado and what she remembered from her past life. They had no secrets, except one. Tess never asked him about it, that night with Liz. He was starting to realize that despite his loyalty to Liz he did not want Tess thinking he had slept with her. Turning to look at her he decided to damn the consequences. Taking a deep breath he began �I can�t help thinking that if Liz told Max the truth that it would help her. I don�t think its the only thing going on with her but I know Liz. She can�t lie, especially to those she loves.� �Kyle, what are you talking about? Tell Max the truth about what?� Tess could not help the hope that was swelling in her heart. �Tess, what I am about to tell you, it breaks a confidence, one that I hold very dear. If I tell you you have to promise not to tell anyone. Especially Max, he would probably kill me.� Tess nodded but remained silent. This was bothering him a lot more than he let on. �Liz needs to tell Max the truth, that we never slept together. It was all a set up.� Tess had guessed what was coming but to actual hear it... all she could do was gasp. Her mind was swirling. �Why?� �I don�t know why. Liz came to me and said she was desperate. Begged me to help her. At the time I thought she was just mad at him, but for Liz to do something so extreme? It was so unlike her. She refused to tell me the real reason. All I can think was she was desperate to push him to what she thought was the right choice for him. No matter how much it killed them at the time. The look in her eyes after he saw us... she was as devastated as he was if not more. I can�t believe its gone on this long, especially now that you two are friends. Everything is so out of balance.� �I-I don�t know what to say. You know, that week was when she was trying to help me attract Max. I thought it was odd at the time but now... I don�t understand what could have convinced her to hurt him so much and at the same time destroy herself.� Silent tears of guilt, remorse, and relief were now coursing down her cheeks. She got out of the car so Kyle would not see her crying. He got out to follow, catching up to her at the doorstep. Grabbing her arm he turned her towards him. He smiled lightly as he stepped closer to wipe away her tears. �Why are you crying?� he asked in almost a whisper. Tess sniffled before meeting his soft gaze, �I feel guilty and relieved and guilty about feeling relieved,� she answered just as softly. Kyle kept his hand cupping her cheek brushing away a stray tear every now and then. �Why?� �Because I can�t help thinking she did what she did because of me, because of destiny. And I feel guilty because I�m really happy you didn�t sleep with her, but at the same time if I�m happy about that, then it makes it even worse that she did what she did to give me what I wanted and now I don�t want it anymore.� �You don�t?� �No.� Leaning a little closer, he could feel her warm breath on his face, �Do you umm... know what- you want?� He swallowed hard hoping against hope she gave him the answer he wanted. �Yeah,� she sighed. Tipping her chin a little she closed the distance between them. Her lips brushed lightly over his and she could feel him smile as he got the answer he wanted. Chapter 20 ___________________________________ Later that same evening..... Max flopped back on to his bed as he hung up the phone. A number of emotions coursed through him, frustration, fear, defeat, confusion. This was the third day in a row Liz had not answered his call. He called at precisely the same time every night so she would know it was him. He knew Maria was with her too. That meant that Liz was instructing her to not answer the phone, otherwise Maria would have answered it and told him she was asleep. That was what Michael did whenever he came to see her. It being the weekend he had gone over to see Liz but could not get past her body guards. It had been three full days since Max had seen or heard Liz and it was making him crazy. The longer he went without talking to her the more concerned he became. The longer he went without her the more he felt himself withering. The longer this went on the greater his urge to tie her up until she told him exactly how to fix what was wrong. That only served as more proof to what he already knew in his heart: They belonged together. He needed Liz and she needed him. He could fix it all, be whatever she needed, if she would only let him. Maybe he was deluding himself in thinking that it had all been a lie. If you thought about it you could trace the beginning of Liz�s downward spiral to that day. Maybe she did slept with Kyle. Did it hurt? My God yes. More than being without her? No. There was nothing Liz could do to make him stop loving her. It was impossible. There was nothing to keep them apart. He was going to make her understand that. It was the only way he knew he could brake into the little place in her head she had created for herself. Whatever was making her afraid of the world, of him, they could face it together. That was the most important lesson: They were always stronger together. If Michael and Maria had not been interfering this never would have happened. Before Liz and Michael started spending so much time together he was making real progress with her. If he would not have let them get between them, if he had not been such a coward, Liz never would have gotten this bad. He hated to admit it, but he was scared. That�s why he let Michael take Liz from him, he was terrified of being hurt again. Now he realized just how foolish that had been. Nothing could hurt as much as watching Liz do this to herself. Liz had locked herself away somewhere in her head. Somewhere she would not have to deal with whatever it was she was afraid of. That was why the phone conversations were so important. It was the only time he could get through to the real Liz. His Liz. She said she was afraid to be alone. That was the only explanation he could ever get out of her. Yet, every time he asked if he could come over, to make sure she was not alone, to just sit with her and be her friend, she said no. Every night the pause got longer, as her head and her heart battled for dominance in her answer. Apparently she had let her head win because now she had taken away his only link to not only her sanity but his. In a sudden moment of clarity Max came to a decision, one of purpose and determination. Tomorrow was going to be a new day. He was going to find her, wherever she was, and make her see. Make her understand how much he needed her, how much they needed each other. She was worried about Tess and his destiny. Fine. If tonight�s meeting had done anything it had accomplished one thing, it announced the end of destiny. Tess was obviously moving on and falling hard for Kyle. Truth be told he was happy for her. Tess was his friend and he wanted her to be happy. He just wanted her to be happy with someone else. Max sighed, he had a plan. He was going to get her back come hell, high water, evil aliens, or Michael and hurricane Maria. Now if he could just figure out how to get rid of that Colin guy... ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Just down the hall... Red. A blurry, red, haze. That�s all she could see. A swirling, blood red mist that was encompassing her entire being. It was suffocating and cold as ice. Every where she turned all she saw was the horrible red mist. Then she heard it, the unmistakable scream of murder. It was right in front of her, right behind her, echoing through her. The voice crying out in pain was so familiar, it was someone she knew. She had to get to them, had to find her, had to help her. Other voices joined the scream. Not screams of pain, but of terror and grief. She knew those voices too. They were calling out to her. Begging her to do something, anything to help the girl. She ran through the mist. Trying to find the voices, trying to stop the screaming but she never found them. She ran and ran until she collapsed, but still all that existed was that bloody mist. As quickly as it started, the screaming stopped. There was a moment of silence before the quiet was replaced with moaning and sobbing. Great, gasping sobs of the truly anguished and grief stricken. The loss broke her own heart until she could feel the tears coursing down her cheeks. She rocked back and fourth on the ground surrounded by the mist as it grew denser. She tried to bring her hand up to cover her ears. She had to shut out the stricken cries, but she was stopped by the sudden weight in her hands. A shrill scream was ripped from her own throat when she looked down. Laying in her blood covered hands was a warm, bloody dagger. Isabel jerked up in bed. Quickly, she flipped on the light to examine her hands. Gone, the blood was gone. A dream, it had only been a dream. She tried to slow her breathing and calm her heart rate while she rocked in her bed. She had had several horrible nightmares since learning about her past life as Valondra but this was the worst. The incredible weight of guilt came crashing down upon her once again. �No,� she whispered into her quiet room. It was over. Max knew all about Valondra and he forgave her. She was *not* Valondra. She would never hurt Max like that. Starting to calm down she turned back off the light and lay down. No, it was just a dream. There was nothing to worry about. It was just a dream, Max loved her. He came back from New York and fixed everything between them. Nothing was going to break that. Isabel was not Valondra. Isabel would not betray her family and friends. It was just a dream Isabel. Go back to sleep. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* The next day (Monday).... Liz walked down the hall towards her locker in her permeant daze. The questions she had were just too much. The guilt was too overwhelming. To keep some semblance of self she had to turn her mind off, it was the only answer. Her thoughts were now filled with monotonous directions and observations. *get books for class, go to locker, my locker is the third from the left next to room 215* The only time she allowed anything to penetrate her bubble was when she worked on her powers. It was her only release. Really it was just an excuse to exhaust herself so she would pass out and be too tired to dream of all the questions she had and how much she was hurting her friends. She was so out of it she had not even noticed Max staring at her all during Trig. Max had been called to the office shortly before the end of class, he had instructed her to wait there for him to come back and get her. She looked up at him with blank eyes that held only a hint of recognition. She didn�t even hear what he had asked her. She was so shut off that she didn�t realize that she was now being followed down the mostly deserted hall. A large hand ran down the length of her arm. She shook her arm, barely registering the caress. When she didn�t respond he leaned forward to whisper in her ear. �What�s up princess?� The phrase penetrated Liz�s self imposed fog like a bolt of lightning. She froze, came to a dead stop, and stiffened. Seeing how her posture changed, he placed both his hands on her shoulders and turned her. Leaning down so he could look into her wide, terror filled eyes. �Aww, what�s the matter princess?� He asked sticking out his lower lip in mock concern. Liz backed away, to scared to grasp the concepts of yelling for help or running. That word... princess. It was the word whispered on the balcony. She had been a princess. Someone wanted to kill her. Did he want to kill her? No one else called her princess. Michael never called her princess and he knew. Her dad didn�t call her princess. Why was he calling her princess? Liz continued to back up as he followed her progress. She came to a stop when she clanged into the wall of lockers behind her. He had her cornered. He put one had on the lockers above her head, towering over her, using his size to his greatest advantage. His other hand came up to roughly grip her chin and lock her gaze with his. �What�s the matter princess?� He smirked at her, he was obviously enjoying terrorizing her a great deal. �Cat got your tongue?� He leaned in until she could feel his musty breath on her cheek. �Maybe I can help you with that,� he whispered menacingly. Liz could do nothing but shake and let the silent tears of fear roll down her cheeks. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Isabel rounded the corner in a hurry. She was going to be late for lunch. She hated being late for lunch, Max always took the best spot at the table if she was late. Stupid Dr. Berrir. If she had not noticed her spacing off she would not have had to stay after listening to one of her stupid diatribes about the importance of English Lit. in the every day world. That woman really hated her. The feeling was mutual. She had been trying not to think about that dream last night. In the light of day she knew it was just a dream and she could get past that, she had seen much worse things in Pierce�s head. It was the voices that were bugging her. The voices were so familiar. It was driving her crazy. Almost to the point to where she wished she could have the dream again so she could identify them, almost. She wasn�t a masochist. Isabel was going to talk to Max about it on the way to school but he was off in his own world. He looked like he was getting ready to do something. Max got this look on his face when he was about to take some kind of initiative. It was a look that said �I�m the leader, I have made a decision, don�t bother me now� Generally it was a good idea to wait until the look passed before asking Max to devote any attention to something else. Hopefully whatever it was he was planing, Michael would not try to kill him for it. Things were so strained between the two lately. This whole thing with Liz was really weird. Then there was the whole problem of what was really going on with Liz. She had been growing more and more distant and... unhinged was the only way to describe it. No, Izzy�s freaky dream was the last thing Max needed to deal with right now. She rounded another corner so she could run by her locker. Glancing down the hall she saw the subject of her musings pinned to a locker by that jerk Rob McClain. Rob was much larger than Liz, there was no way she was getting out of this on her own. Dropping her books, Isabel started running down the hall. That jerk was going to pay for messing with one of her friends, especially someone as fragile as Liz currently was. He should thank his lucky stars it was not one of the guys that happened upon them. Had it been, Rob would no longer have the use of several vital body parts. �Get your hands off of her you bastard!� she yelled down the hall, still running. Rob turned his head slightly to glare at her. �Get lost sweetie. I came for the little princess here. Not the Ice Queen.� Isabel came to a stop right next to him. Rage flashed in her eyes when she saw how terrified Liz was. Then he used that name. No one called her the Ice Queen and got away with it. She took a deep breath as she stared him down. �Rob,� she began in an icy calm tone, �you get away from her, right now.� Rob cackled, �oh yeah? And if I don�t, what exactly are you going to do about it?� �Exactly? First, I�m going to kick your shin, then I�m thinking of going for the left eye. After that I�m going to call Michael and Max. While they are beating the living shit out of you I will be having you suspended and Kyle will be kicking you off the football team and getting your scholarship to UM revoked.� Rob narrowed his eyes at her. A small sob escaped from Liz as he mulled over his options. �Fine.� He released Liz and watched her sink to the floor. He started down the hall but turned before he left, �I would tell your prince that this isn�t over yet.� With that he flung the side door open and exited the building. Isabel dropped on her knees to a nearly hysterical Liz. She hugged her tight while rocking back and forth. �Shhhh, shhhh, shhh. It�s ok now Liz. You�re ok. He�s not going to hurt you.� She stood bringing the trembling girl with her. She had quieted down some but the tears were still coming. The look in Liz�s eyes almost made Izzy cry. The fear that was there, it was as if she were afraid for her life. Not knowing what else to do she wrapped her arm around her shoulder to lead her outside. �Come on, let�s go find Max and Michael.� Liz nodded while gripping Isabel�s shirt. She just hoped nobody went too ballistic when they saw her. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Max paced back and forth in front of the lunch table, everyone else staring at him. Almost everyone, Michael, Isabel and Liz were still missing. She was supposed to wait for him in Trig., when he had gotten there she was gone. Most likely with Michael. What was happening to her? It was like she didn�t even know him. As soon as he found her he was taking her away from here, away from him. �Max sit down. Your making us dizzy.� Max turned around to glare at Maria. �Have you seen her today?� he asked harshly. �Have any of you seen her? What the hell is he doing to her Maria?� �Hey, now wait a minute. Michael is not doing anything to her. He is trying to help her.� �Help her?HELP HER?! If he were helping her she would not be breaking down right before us. If he�s helping her why is he so adamant she stay away from us, from me?� �Max... it�s not that simp-� Maria was cut off when Max began abruptly running towards the school. �Max? Max, what are you doing?� she called after him. He felt it. That drop in his stomach and adrenaline rush to his heart. Liz was terrified and she was somewhere in that school. He had to find her and so help him once he did he was going to end this. He stopped in his tracks when he collided with a very panicked Michael. Michael gripped his shoulder and shook him. It was taking every last ounce of self control for him to not pummel Max into the ground. The terror and anger was bubbling up with in him, threatening to explode. Liz was supposed to meet him at her locker before lunch. He never should have let her come to school today. If Max let anything happen to his sister there would be no where for him to hide. �Where is she?!� �You tell me? Your the one whose been keeping her locked away, perpetuating her fear of whatever it is she�s afraid of.� �Me! I am helping her. You have no idea what�s going on Maxwell, so don�t try to lay a guilt trip on me after everything you have done to her.� �Damn it Michael! I don�t have time to get in to a pissing contest with you. Tell me where she is NOW! She�s terrified. I have to find her.� �Don�t you think I know that? Why the hell would I be here with you if I didn�t know she was scared to death? You had the last class with her, where is she?� By this time the rest of the gang made their way over to the boys. They were shouting and starting to draw a few other spectators as well. Maria was about to break things up and suggest focusing on finding Liz when something caught her eye. She turned to watch Isabel escorting a very upset Liz out a side door. �Oh my God.� She took off in their direction. The boys were pulled from their skirmish by Maria�s exclamation and were quickly on her heals along with the rest of the group. �Lizzy!� �Liz, Oh God!� �Shit!� The second they reached them Michael pulled Liz away from Isabel and wrapped her in a tight hug. He stroked her back trying to calm her shudders. She stopped crying almost instantly but she was still shaking and whimpering a little. Max looked on with a mix of emotions. Rage for whoever or whatever upset Liz. Pain that Michael had reached her first and now she was taking comfort from him and not Max. Compassion for the slip of a girl, who he loved so much it didn�t matter how she was comforted as long as she stopped crying. �Liz,� he said softly, moving toward them. He rested his hand gingerly on her back. She stiffened at the contact and he pulled his hand back as if he had been burned. Michael inched back taking Liz with him. Max narrowed his eyes, Michael was literally turning Liz against him. She didn�t even want him to touch her. Why? He was supposed to be his best friend, how could he do this to him? Michael decided to ignore Max for now. Today was Monday, Gwyn should be back in a few days. He just had to hold things together until then. �Shhhh, shhh, shhh. You�re ok now.� He continued to rub slow circles on her back while whispering comforting words in her ear. He looked over her head to make eye contact with Isabel. �What happened?� Isabel�s eyes hardened and her voice was cold, �I was walking to my locker when I found Rob McClain pinning her to a locker getting ready to shove his tongue down her throat.� Michael tightened his grip around Liz. His eyes turned black while contemplating all the ways her could slowly torture this idiot. His thoughts were interrupted when Liz lifted her head and pulled lightly on his shirt. He looked down into her tear stained face and his heart broke. She pulled on his shirt again indicating she wanted to whisper something in his ear. �Michael...� she said in a rasping, shaking whisper, �he-he...he called me p-princess.� He jerked his head back, his wide eyes meeting hers. Taking a second to formulate a plan he let the whole world drop away as his focus went completely to protecting his sister. He had a fleeting thought about how stupid he was to have left her alone even at school. He softened when he felt another tremor rock her body. Shifting her so she was tucked tightly under his arm, he began moving towards the parking lot. �It�s ok sweetling, we�re taking you home, Ok?� Max had watched the exchange with growing anger. Once things were squared away with Liz and Michael there would be no where for Rob McClain to hide. That would have to wait though, right now his attention was focused on Michael leading Liz away from him. Had he just heard Michael call her sweetling? Michael used a term of endearment? For Liz? Michael didn�t even call Maria honey. This was going to stop. Liz needed him. Michael had numerous chances to prove his worth to Liz. He had failed, now it was Max�s turn to pick up the pieces, once again. �Michael,� he called out as he followed them. �Michael, you are not taking her anywhere until I talk to her.� Michael continued to walk, ignoring his shouts. Max�s progression was halted when Maria stepped in front of him and placed her hands on his chest. �Maria, get out of my way.� He tried to step around her but she countered the move. �Max, you have to let him take her. Michael will take care of her.� �Yeah, he�s done a great job so far. Move Maria.� �Max, You�ll only make it worse right now.� He stopped for a minute and she saw the pain flash through his eyes. �You have to trust me on this one Max. You can see her soon, right now she needs Michael.� Max dropped his eyes to the ground. Maybe she was right. Liz was already so upset. The way she had reacted to his touch, maybe he would make it worse right now. He nodded curtly to Maria and went back towards the school. He might let him take her right now but he didn�t have to like it. He didn�t want to make her more upset, that would only hurt his cause. He would go see her after school. Right now he need to get out of here. He pushed past his friends and got into the Jeep. A nice drive out in the desert would help him cool off and reform his plan. When he got back this was going to end once and for all. Lost Conversations Part 5 Liz and Tess _________________________________ This is the Remote Reconfiguration training that was put on hold in Part 7a. It takes place some day after school between Parts 15 and 17. ___________________________________ �Liz we don�t have to do this today. Maybe you should rest a little more.� Tess assessed Liz with concern. She had been acting a little strange lately and today she was pale and fidgety. �I�m fine Tess really. I�m just tired. Besides it gives me a chance to break away from Michael for a few minutes. I love him but he is completely smothering me lately.� �Ummm, Okay.� Tess was completely confused by Liz�s answer. Michael and Liz were about as close and she and Liz were. What was causing their instant friendship? �Where shall we start?� Liz sat on the grass and tried to steer the conversation towards the training session. She really needed a diversion from her new found but unanswered identity. She also needed to move Tess away from the information that she had let slip about Michael. Tess dropped down beside her and pulled an orange out of her bag. �With this.� She held the orange up before placing on the ground in front of Liz. �I think we should start small. Since you already have the power I think this might be easier to learn than the mind warp. Its very much like the changing molecular structure. Just on a bigger scale.� Liz processed what Tess was saying. She understood and had become proficient at the basic stuff but this was going to be harder. These things she could not touch. �Ok, well what should I do first?� �Let the energy start to build while concentrating on the orange. Don�t imagine it as an apple *see* it as an apple. See the skin as red. See the shape change, the texture firm up. Concentrate on the energy flowing out of you. Not flowing from your hand but from your mind. Close your eyes and see the apple. Feel the energy coursing through you, building building behind your eyes. Now let it go.� Liz stoked the energy just as Tess instructed. She let it flow through her body building in intensity. She guided it back towards her head and let it build and collect. She saw the orange as an apple then opened her eyes. As she did so she felt the release of energy burst from her eyes. It was like a deep exhale or a light shove that caused her to rock forward a little. Her surroundings came into focus and her gaze rested on the shiny, red apple. Liz nodded pleased with her accomplishment. Tess thought it a little odd that she was not more excited. Isabel had said she was ecstatic at lifting a stain but doing something that none of the others could do barely brought a smile. She raised her hand to rub the space between her eyes. �Is there always so much pressure?� �It�s because your not used to the power yet. Its an unused muscle. It will get stronger with practice. Can you change it back now?� Liz closed her eyes and focused. This time the power came faster as she repeated the process. She opened her eyes back up to the orange. �Yeah! Liz you did it.� Tess leaned over to hug her. �Yup. It�s not as hard as it looks.� Tess snorted. �Tell that to those of us that have spent the last ten years trying to do what just took you fifteen minutes.� �Oh, I�m sorry.� Liz looked down at her hands. �I didn�t know.� �Liz, no. I didn�t mean it in a bad way. Its great, really. The more powers we can pool together the better off we are.� Liz raised her head and Tess saw just how pale Liz had become. A slight tremor shook her body but Liz seemed oblivious. Tess�s mind warps took a tremendous amount of power to maintain but she was used to it. The amount it must take for Liz to make the warp whole must be incredibly draining especially given the fact that this was her first time. �I think that�s enough for today Liz. I�m going to take you home now.� She stood and helped Liz to her feet. �No. I want to try something else.� �Liz I don�t think that is such a good idea.� Before she could do anything Liz pointed to a small willow tree halfway across their secluded part of the park and closed her eyes. �Liz no!� She shook her but Liz was too deep in concentration for her to bring her out of it. Liz concentrated on stirring the energy within her to a boiling point. She kept her eyes closed until the pressure from the power literally forced her lids open. The power she released knocked her to the ground. �Oh my God! Liz! Are you all right?� Tess dropped to her knees and rolled Liz over. She was a little disoriented but still conscious. Liz blinked a few times as the world came into focus and her breathing slowed. �Yeah, I�m just a little wiped out.� she struggled to get to her feet but Tess pushed her back down when she started to wobble. �Liz, what were you doing? You scared me to death. Why did you hold it for that long?� �How long did I hold it?� Liz thought it had been over in a matter of seconds. �You were like in a trance or something for almost fifteen minutes. I couldn�t get through to you. I was so scared. Do you know what Max and Michael not to mention Maria would do to me if I let you get hurt?� �Fifteen minutes huh? Wow.� Ignoring the latter half of Tess�s exclamations, Liz leaned around Tess to look at what she had been concentrating on. Tess turned to follow her line of sight. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. Holy Mother of God! Liz was extremely powerful. This particular power especially. Standing where that eight foot willow used to be was now a thirty foot blue spruce. Thank the Lord they were in a secluded area of the park so no one saw that. �Liz...� Tess didn�t know what to say. �Why did you do something so big? You could have hurt yourself.� �I�m fine Tess.� She fought off Tess�s attempts to keep her seated. �I won�t get any better unless I practice. Mmmmm� She moaned a little bring her head back to her head. �Your going to have a killer head ache now.� Tess shook her head. �Come on I better take you home before Michael or Max see you.� To weak to protest. Liz let Tess lead her home. Back Next |