Title: Higher Ground

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Post Season Three. The first sign of trouble since fleeing Roswell forces the gang to decide what to do next, while each of them still adjusts to a life on the run. This story has plenty of both Michael and Maria as well as Max and Liz.

NOTE TO OTHER AUTHORS: Any Roswell fanfic authors who fully intend to continue with Roswell fanfics well into the coming months, please contact me at AgeRose@aol.com . I've maintained a website before, and I'd like to start a Roswell fanfic website dedicated solely to NEW Roswellian fanfiction (stories written AFTER the series finale, although, I do NOT care if your fics are post season three or take place during seasons one, two, OR three). Hope to hear from some people!

Disclaimer:  I own absolutely nothing related to Roswell. This fanfiction is simply in the name of fun. No profit is being made or anything like that. Yada, yada, yada.

The *** signify a shift in "scenes" ….

Now. Onto the story. Enjoy!

**********

Everything was screaming, shrieking scornfully as he ran through the raven alley. The cement screeched up at him as his boots slammed and dug against it. He pushed himself forward, sweat dripping from above his lip and the muscles in his legs burning angrily through the bitter ache of the cold night air. He couldn't risk shouting out to her, knowing it would alert their pursuers. The alley soon gave way to a wide river of black pavement as Max Evans rounded the corner. His eyes never left the petite creature ahead of him, cantering down the street. Long strands of brown hair flailed about behind her, the wind raging against her entire body. Even from his distance, he knew she was trembling. Trembling from cold. Running from the wind. From the fear. From loss. Running, even though it all surrounded her.

***

She was dancing on her toes. She was twirling around and around so that her hair swished through the air. Maria DeLuca was lost inside the depths of her dream, and she was circling inside a crystal clear box, dancing gracefully to music that was only in her head. Every time she spun, her eyes came across the man she loved. A brooding Michael Guerin sat cross-legged, outside the box. He looked on with envy and fear. He looked at her with regret, and his eyes were so dark and sad. She seemed to float on air to the corner of the crystal cube and press her palm against the glass. Michael stood and educed a small yet relieved smile as he reached his hand up to meet hers, with only the see-through material separating them. Though, as soon as he touched the glass, she stopped floating. She fell and fell and fell and when she thought she had hit the ground, she felt the cold splash of icy water. Rising water. She looked back up to Michael, still standing on the outside, but when she looked back down, she was all but submerged. Her cube was filling up, and she could no longer stand. Everything was so cold. The water seemed to flood in from somewhere unseen. The top of the box fell closer and closer. Michael pounded, but nothing happened. Nothing could be done. She had no escape. She floated in the dark, gliding waves, but as she neared the ceiling and had but inches of space left before the entire cub was flooded and devoid of air, it was Michael she felt. Still outside of the box. Screaming, pounding, begging. Helpless. Overwhelming helplessness trickled inside of her, along with the freezing waves that began to fill her lungs.

***

After a breath-consuming block and a half, Max still was unable to catch up to her. Footsteps could be heard in the distance, far behind him, but it was only a matter of time before they reached them. His side ached. His mouth was dry and tasted of blood. He was fighting for air, but not a single obstacle in the universe would stop him from getting to that young woman, ambling further and further into the darkness of the night. And so he picked up his speed with a hidden burst of energy. Within moments, she was within his reach. He reached his arms out, still running. Hurriedly, he grasped her shoulders, pulling her into him and lifting her off the pavement all in one single, swift motion. Her terrified scream filled the air as the two tumbled in the street, collectively falling against the curb between two parked cars. Their once fast pace had now crumpled into complete stillness as both remained tangled and lifeless.

***

Maria gasped heavily as she jolted up, nearly knocking herself off the seat she had been lying in, curled against Michael's body. She stared at the blur in front of her, dazed until her surroundings grew less fuzzy. She made out Kyle Valenti, who was sitting along the side of the van, gazing back at her, concerned. "Nightmare?" he asked quietly. Maria nodded in silence.

Confused at the vivid images still swirling in her head, she looked back to Michael. His chin rested against his chest, and his arms were crossed loosely in front of him. His eyes were closed in slumber but his face held an expression of trepidation. Before she turned back to Kyle, Maria saw him flinch.

"Seems like he's having one too," Kyle murmured.

"Yeah…." Maria trailed off, rubbing her forehead. She could feel the crease marks left along her skin, obviously produced from sleeping with her head against the fabric of Michael's shirt. She was still able to feel the warmth of his body on her cheek.

Cautiously, she extended her hand and traced her fingers along his bare forearm. White hot light engulfed her mind, accompanied by the sound of bouncing waves and gasps for air, echoing over silence. The image of the glass box flashed like a still image in her head. And then blackness, overcome with the greatest sense of helplessness she had ever experienced in her life. Finally, a deep shade of red engulfed her, and she could hear trickling. Drops fell like rain. Rich red drops that were thick. Blood. Utterly shocked, she ripped her hand away from him to end the flashes.

***

Max shifted beneath the trembling woman, whose long hair was now upturned and covering her entire face. As he worked to sit up straight and untangle his limbs from hers, he heard it. Soft whimpers. Still gasping for his own breath, he pulled her up and began sloppily pushing away the dark and silky cinnamon tresses to unbury her face. When he finally revealed her skin from beneath her soft hair, he could see that she was squinting her eyes, keeping them closed tight in fear, crossroads of tears sprawling over her crimson cheeks. Max could only be captivated for that single moment, and time seemed to stop for him. Beauty at its purest form sat shakily in front of him. He was enchanted, but the foot steps hammered his eardrums. They were close. Quickly, he brought his hands up to her cheeks, feeling once again the soft skin of this woman, his wife. "Liz!"

Her eyes snapped open and widened as she gawked at his face. "Oh my gawd, Max! Max, you're all right." She flung herself into his arms, relieved to the point of exhaustion. Max took in her scent of vanilla and lilac, closing his eyes and relishing in the bliss that a single touch from Liz Parker Evans could produce. "I thought they-" she said before being cut off by Max, as he pressed his fingers to her lips.

"They didn't," he stated firmly, never wanting her to even have to think about losing him, let alone believe it and say it aloud. "But they're still after us," he whispered.

"We have to make it back to the others."

"We'll cut across through these buildings. They're only a couple more blocks away." The couple interlaced hands and crept to their feet. They nearly crawled over the curb and across the sidewalk, staying as low as possible in order to blend in with the shadows. And once they reached the nearest building, they pressed their bodies against the cold brick. As swiftly and silently as they could, they edged down the seemingly never-ending alley. All the while, they remained close to the building's wall, becoming just another shadow along its brick.

The footsteps pounded heavier than ever behind them, but for a moment, it seemed as though their hunters had scrambled past the lightless back street that Liz and Max were creeping along in. Liz let out a tiny breath of relief as Max took her hand and they picked up their speed, now almost sprinting past the dumpsters. They had all but reached the end when Max haphazardly kicked an empty soda can with one of his long strides. The hollow piece of aluminum bounced and skidded across the pavement, ricocheting off of the nearby dumpster. Max looked down to Liz's doe-eyes, now filled with renewed fright. Shouts sounded from the other end of the alley, and as the newlyweds glanced behind them, they could now see two large men, one in a market apron, and the other in a police uniform. Without hesitation, the two men stampeded toward them.

And Max and Liz took off. Running away. Again. A gun shot sounded as a warning shot as the cop shouted demands that they stop. But neither did. Max only clutched at Liz's hand tighter. And Liz only picked her feet up more to stay in stride with her husband. They turned abruptly down the next street and forced themselves into an even quicker pace for the last stretch. Thunder threateningly boomed in the distance. The still van that contained the rest of their group was now in sight, sitting idly in the empty parking lot, but Max and Liz were now in plain sight of their pursuers, as the orange tinge of the street lamps illuminated their figures. More gun shots sounded, and the couple was too close to dodge any of them.

***

Maria continued to stare at the slumbering Michael until Kyle called her name. She turned to face him only to see puzzlement written over his face.

"Something wrong?" Isabel Evans asked, looking back from the very front of the vehicle. Her once-again-long-and-blonde hair swished behind her in the tight pony tail she had just pulled it into.

"Other than our entire situation?" Kyle questioned with a slight smirk, which caused Isabel to roll her eyes icily and return to her magazine that she was absentmindedly flipping through.

Maria shook her head, sighing. "I need to get some air." She pushed herself off the seat and, hunched over beneath the roof of the van, stepped to the sliding door. Two sharp, quick booms echoed outside. Isabel gasped. Michael shot upright in his seat, ripped abruptly from his sleep.

"What happened?" he shouted immediately, dazed.

"Were those gun shots?" Kyle asked, turning around to look outside. Maria slid the door open, which caused Michael to jump up from the back and shout her name. If the sound really was a gun shot, he wanted Maria nowhere near that door. But just before he could grab her and wrench her into the back of the van, she shrieked, not even able to take one step outside. The next instant was a mess of flying hair and body parts as Maria fell backwards with Liz on top of her.

Before anyone could react, Max had flung himself into the back after retracting his protective green shield. He rushed to slam the door shut. Once he did, he wasted no time in jumping into the driver's seat. Just as he turned the engine, a bullet shot straight into a side window, shattering glass in Kyle and Michael's direction. Shrieks of fear mingled together to form a collective voice of fear. Max sped off, spinning out of the parking lot and into the street, escaping the wildly firing men.

Michael stared down at Maria, ensuring she was unharmed. Max looked back, despite Isabel's pleas to keep his eyes on the road. He was rapidly increasing speed as the van headed for the highway. "Is everyone all right? Liz?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," Liz said, dazed and still on top of Maria.

Kyle worked to pick away any loose shards of glass that clung to his shirt. He noticed a few stray cuts along his forearms, though he felt fine. He glanced over at Maria, being straddled by a shaking Liz.

"If we hadn't just been attacked by rapid gunfire, I'd say that position was pretty hot, ladies."

Kyle anticipated the slight slap to the back of the head from Michael but gave Liz and Maria a thumbs-up despite it. Maria merely rolled her eyes as Liz slid off of her best friend, apologizing for bowling her over in her attempt to escape the gunfire.

"Oh, anytime, chica," Maria joked with a dismissive wave of her hand. She brushed her jeans off, and both girls remained on the floor. Neither could shake the newfound apprehension, however. It was the first time since they left Roswell that they had been recognized, and it was an earth-shattering revelation. They wouldn't be able to disappear so easily. Max and Liz had walked a few blocks into the city, while the others waited in the parked van, partly hidden in the shadows at the edge of a small parking lot. The newly married couple's job was to purchase a few groceries and a newspaper, as well as subtly ask around if their had been any news generated from the their wild graduation departure in Roswell. It had been weeks since they had set foot near any big cities. For the previous month and a half, the gang stuck strictly to the back roads, and they had altered the paint and make of the makeshift family's van three times since fleeing.

Their first venture into a big city had turned into one giant bad idea. Max and Liz had run into a police officer inside the grocery store. It was bad luck, but as each day dropped away from them, they knew their luck was doomed. It was as if each person traveling in that van had become an alien the day they left Roswell. There was no longer a division between them, but this union refused to be as happily accepted as once would have been believed due to their current situation. It was different, because now they were being openly hunted.

The rest was simple. Liz had barely escaped the grocery store. Max was restrained by the officer while the store manager ran out from behind the counter to aid in the capture. He screamed and demanded that Liz continue running. With a hidden bolster of energy, Max broke free merely moments after being held down. He ran to find Liz, knowing the two men would not stop their pursuit. The cop had probably already called in back up. And he ran as fast as he could in spite of this knowledge. He ran as fast as he could to find Liz. It was obvious that main authorities in the surrounding states had been alerted to capture them. They didn't need a newspaper to tell them that. The unexpected, attempted seizure of Max and Liz was all the information they needed.

And this is how they all came to be, once again in the van, but this time their location exposed. The breathing had yet to calm, even several minutes after exiting the highway and onto a back road that would lead away from the disaster and noise and watchfulness of the city.

"We gotta do something, Maxwell," Michael called from the backseat, noting the way Maria was nervously fidgeting with the bottom of her green top.

"I know that. We have to find a place far enough and hidden enough before we can stop again."

"We can't keep doing this. Running. It isn't going to work forever. We need a place to go."

"We don't have any place where they won't find us, Isabel," Kyle replied.

"Maybe we should discuss splitting up," Michael uttered. No one responded, for everyone had lost their breath in the moments that followed the eerie suggestion. After all the group had been through, they thought leaving Roswell would be their biggest decision. As Max drove along the bumpy road, however, each of them realized that the choice to be faced within the next few hours would be indeed, their greatest decision.

To Be Continued extremely soon…..