Michael sat, slumped over, head in his hands, back against the warm rough of the building. He felt the textured brick through his thin, damp T-shirt, and he felt wet and clammy, goosebumps prickling his arms. There was no breeze in the hot dry New Mexico air, but Michael was in a cold sweat. He thought about the unreal things he had heard that morning. In a few short hours, his destiny had changed, and he was going to a place that he had never seen before, a place that he was expected to call home. But none of it was certain. Everything depended on Max making the right choice at next day's meeting. He didn't entirely like Max, but he trusted him to make the correct decision in a matter like this. He had to. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if he didn't. Go to his home planet? But this was home! He tried to convince himself that nothing had happened, everything would be okay, just like it used to be. Still, he shook with silent sobs. He knew nothing was further from the truth. How would he tell Maria? He would have to, eventually. He stood, brushed the sand from his jeans, took a few deep breaths to steady himself, and with his mouth in a grim straight line, walked out of the alley.
Maria was waitressing at the Crashdown when she first felt it. It was a sharp dizziness that lasted several seconds, then lapsed into a painful headache. The last time she had felt this, she had found Michael beaten and near death near a large, rusty dumpster downtown. She had been sitting at home, watching T.V on her couch, when she felt dizzy and something had led her to that alley. She had been shocked when she found him, barely breathing, next to that huge dumpster. The dumpster was the most frightening part of it, she had no idea why. It was just so big and spectral, she had nightmares about it sometimes. She took him home with her that night, slowly nursing him back to health, and they knew that they were meant for each other. When she asked him how it had happened, he answered simply "I've got a lot of enemies". She hadn't pursued the matter further, as she preferred not to think about it at all. That had been nearly a year ago, when they first met. She panicked, thinking he might be in trouble again. She quickly put down the fries she was holding, probably at the wrong table, but she paid no attention. She walked nervously into the kitchen, pulling of her silver wire antennae and metallic apron. Her best friend Liz looked at her, worried.
"Maria, what's wrong?"
"Nothing..."
"Maria, you can tell me"
"I don't know, I just felt this, this thing, like what I felt when Michael was, you know, and I don't know what to do! I mean, should I go to him? Or am I just imagining all of this? I am so confused!"
"Wait, I don't understand, come here..."
Liz pulled her into the back room. She always came here to talk in private, it was so quiet and small, it made her feel more comfortable in strange situations.
"Ok, now we can talk. What's the matter?"
"You know how I felt all dizzy and stuff right before we found Michael, in, you know..."
She started to break down. Her voice was choked up, and tears splintered her vision.
"Yeah..."
"Well its happening again, I get these dizzy spells, and then-"
Maria suddenly collapsed onto the hard cold linoleum floor of the Crashdown. Liz gasped and tried to revive her. After a few minutes of giving her small sips of cool water, she was able to speak.
"Michael, I have to get to him, something's not right..."
"Is he like, hurt?"
"I think so Liz I'm so scared, we have to find him!"
" Ok come on Maria, I'm getting the car."
"Ok..." she muttered weakly.
Michael didn't even have time to react. He had taken about two steps from the alley when he was struck sharply on the head with a hard object. He never saw the attacker. His limp form was dragged through the dry sand into the shadow of a building by a hooded figure. He lay there, unconscious, as his assailant deftly bound him with a length of rope. Blood poured freely from the wound on his head. He was utterly and completely helpless, alone except for the uncomforting presence of that mysterious being. Another figure emerged from the shadows. It knelt by his side, pulled out a long needle filled with a clear liquid, and injected it into a vein in his forearm. Had Michael been awake, he would have heard them talking in a strange accent.
"So we's got im. Now how's we gonna make sure them othas find im?"
"Chill. They'll be here."
Liz drove haphazardly through the almost empty streets. She turned the steering wheel left, right, left again, sometimes going in pointless circles, and ceaselessly asking Maria questions.
"Where is he? Can you see where he is?"
"Near a building, I see someone else, I think, Michael looks hurt, oh god Liz he's unconscious! Liz hurry we have to find him!"
Maria broke into hysterical tears. Liz knew how she felt. If this were happening to her Max...she wouldn't know what to do. For now, she just tried to help her friend.
"Maria, you have to concentrate. Can you tell me where this building is?"
"I don't know I don't know! Omigod Liz I stopped getting flashes, he's not..." she broke off as a fresh wave of tears started.
"No Maria, don't even think that! You just need to calm down and concentrate and they'll keep coming." She sounded more confident than she felt. Even Liz was now starting to think that they might not be able to save Michael. She pulled over and instructed Maria to take deep, even breaths.
"Now are you getting them?" Maria concentrated on Michael, everything he was, everything he meant to her. She squeezed her eyes tight and focused harder. Finally, she caught a glimpse of his inanimate form.
"Yes, I'm getting them again, oh Liz we have to help him!!"
"can you see anything else?"
"wait..."
After a few minutes of quiet, Liz broke the silence.
"Maria, I've been thinking...no never mind"
Maria woke instantly from her trance.
"No Liz tell me if it has to do with Michael I need to know!"
"Ok, but I'm not sure if I'm right. You said there was another person there, right?"
"Yea..."
"Well, I have an idea as to who that person is."
"Liz please tell me!"
"Ok. Well, remember those people that came, the other aliens? I think they might have kidnapped him, I know they were mad at him for some reason, something about a meeting and the answer they wanted being different from the one he wanted..."
"OH MY GOD!! I think you're right Liz it has to be we have to find him!!"
"Where is he? I can't get to him if I don't know where he is"
Maria focused on him again. This time she saw a little bit more: a large brick building, an empty alley, and - a large, rusty dumpster.
By the time Michael came to, it was dark outside. Or was it? He could feel the heat of the sun, but saw nothing. He tried blinking, and felt his eyelashes brush against a rough fabric. He had been blindfolded. Still drowsy from the sleeping drugs he had been given, he tried to reach up and pull of the blindfold. At that point he discovered that his hands had been bound behind his back, and his feet were tied together. He felt a dull throbbing pain on the side of his head, where he had been struck. The blood had dried quickly, matting his hair and making it difficult for him to move his face. As his numbed senses continued to clear, he heard voices drifting through the still air.
"What we gonna do wit him now? He ain't gonna wake up any time soon, gave him nuff that stuff t' make sure a that, but them otha losiz, they don even know he's hea."
"Don worry, I got it unda control. Soon's they figa out he's missin, they'll come find im. And wen dey do, we'll tell em dey ain't gettin their lil' friend back 'til we got the ansa we want"
"Dat Max kid, e's too much like Zan. Too single minded, ya know? I'm almost sure he aint gonna give the ansa we wanna hear at the meetin, and we's changin dat. Dats nother problem wit dat kid. He cares 2 much bout his friends. Just like Zan. And look where dat got im!"
Rath and Lonnie laughed cruelly. Michael, though barely understanding the words in his hazy, drugged state, had figured out the plan. They were going to force Max into accepting Kavar's deal! He couldn't let that happen. For now, there was nothing he could do besides pretend to sleep and hope to hear more details about the plan.
"Come on, i'm starvin. Les get suttin ta eat."
Liz gripped the steering wheel unusually hard. She knew why Maria was worried. The place she described was the place where she had met Michael one long year ago. She stopped the car a few blocks early; it ground to a halt in the dry gravel. The brilliant sun was already starting to set, sending a glare over the barren desert bathing them in an unearthly glow. They walked side by side in the direction of that alley, of that horrible place that brought so many harrowing memories. Maria looked fearfully at the twisted, elongated shadows that reached from the dim somber structures. The buildings that framed the dreaded alley crept into view before Maria was ready to see them. She leaned against Liz's more steady frame and continued to trudge painfully forward. Finally, Michael's dark, prone shape swam into view. Maria let out a strangled cry and ran to her boyfriend's side.
"Michael, please, omigod..." she pulled of the blindfold and untied him quickly. Still he didn't move. She grabbed his limp hand and looked, anguished, at his expressionless face, the way the uncombed damp curls lay on his forehead, his soft closed eyelids, noticed how much more vulnerable he looked when he was...no. She couldn't think that. It wasn't true! Michael couldn't be gone! She cried out again. All Liz could do was stand away and watch quietly. Maria seized his unusually heavy form, cried into his shoulder as she had so many times, pressed him to her body. She stayed like that, silent, pained, alone, her heart beating frantically against his chest, for several minutes. Then, incredibly, she felt an answering flutter. It was weak, but it was there. She looked at him again, touched his face, willed him to awaken, to hold her again...his eyes snapped open. She felt a warm tangible feeling of joy. She gasped in relief and gratitude. Liz, standing nearby, smiled for her friend. He focused his eyes, saw Maria, and held her close as she held him. She could feel him trembling, could feel him clenching his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut.
"Michael, what's wrong?"
He stood, pulling her up with him.
"Zan didn't die. They killed him. The other set. They're not like us. They're different...evil. They tried to kill me, and they're going to kill Max, if he doesn't make the deal with Kavar."
She pulled away.
"Where are they now?"
"They left a while ago, to get food. But they'll be back soon. Do you have the Jetta?"
"Yea, come on, we have to hurry!"
All three of them ran as fast as they could in the direction of the car. They didn't dare look back. If they had, they would have seen two shocked and angry figures begin to pursue them. They jumped into the car, and Liz hit the accelerator almost before her door was closed. The wheels skidded, then they drove off, with Liz frequently looking nervously over her shoulder to make sure they weren't being followed. When she saw no one, she relaxed slightly. Maria and Michael were reassured, and began to talk. Liz just sat silently. She felt slightly overwhelmed at what she had witnessed that day. She drove them back to Roswell, back to their lives, back to reality.
"Michael, I was so scared..." Maria whispered.
"So was I," he admitted softly.
It was silent for a few minutes. Then Maria asked
"What did they do to you?" as she leaned over and attempted to clean up the deep gash in his head. He winced bravely, and answered her calmly despite the sharp stinging.
"Well, they used a stick or a bottle or something to knock me unconscious, then drugged me to try to keep me that way. They intended to keep me as a hostage to convince Max to accept Kavar's deal."
"If you were drugged, how did you wake up?"
"I'm not sure, Maria. I think you saved me. Thanks."
She hugged him and held him close for a few moments. Then she looked up.
"Won't they come back?"
"Yea. They'll be back. But we'll tell Max. And when they do come back, we'll be ready."
Somehow, they all knew this was true.
Maria was waitressing at the Crashdown when she first felt it. It was a sharp dizziness that lasted several seconds, then lapsed into a painful headache. The last time she had felt this, she had found Michael beaten and near death near a large, rusty dumpster downtown. She had been sitting at home, watching T.V on her couch, when she felt dizzy and something had led her to that alley. She had been shocked when she found him, barely breathing, next to that huge dumpster. The dumpster was the most frightening part of it, she had no idea why. It was just so big and spectral, she had nightmares about it sometimes. She took him home with her that night, slowly nursing him back to health, and they knew that they were meant for each other. When she asked him how it had happened, he answered simply "I've got a lot of enemies". She hadn't pursued the matter further, as she preferred not to think about it at all. That had been nearly a year ago, when they first met. She panicked, thinking he might be in trouble again. She quickly put down the fries she was holding, probably at the wrong table, but she paid no attention. She walked nervously into the kitchen, pulling of her silver wire antennae and metallic apron. Her best friend Liz looked at her, worried.
"Maria, what's wrong?"
"Nothing..."
"Maria, you can tell me"
"I don't know, I just felt this, this thing, like what I felt when Michael was, you know, and I don't know what to do! I mean, should I go to him? Or am I just imagining all of this? I am so confused!"
"Wait, I don't understand, come here..."
Liz pulled her into the back room. She always came here to talk in private, it was so quiet and small, it made her feel more comfortable in strange situations.
"Ok, now we can talk. What's the matter?"
"You know how I felt all dizzy and stuff right before we found Michael, in, you know..."
She started to break down. Her voice was choked up, and tears splintered her vision.
"Yeah..."
"Well its happening again, I get these dizzy spells, and then-"
Maria suddenly collapsed onto the hard cold linoleum floor of the Crashdown. Liz gasped and tried to revive her. After a few minutes of giving her small sips of cool water, she was able to speak.
"Michael, I have to get to him, something's not right..."
"Is he like, hurt?"
"I think so Liz I'm so scared, we have to find him!"
" Ok come on Maria, I'm getting the car."
"Ok..." she muttered weakly.
Michael didn't even have time to react. He had taken about two steps from the alley when he was struck sharply on the head with a hard object. He never saw the attacker. His limp form was dragged through the dry sand into the shadow of a building by a hooded figure. He lay there, unconscious, as his assailant deftly bound him with a length of rope. Blood poured freely from the wound on his head. He was utterly and completely helpless, alone except for the uncomforting presence of that mysterious being. Another figure emerged from the shadows. It knelt by his side, pulled out a long needle filled with a clear liquid, and injected it into a vein in his forearm. Had Michael been awake, he would have heard them talking in a strange accent.
"So we's got im. Now how's we gonna make sure them othas find im?"
"Chill. They'll be here."
Liz drove haphazardly through the almost empty streets. She turned the steering wheel left, right, left again, sometimes going in pointless circles, and ceaselessly asking Maria questions.
"Where is he? Can you see where he is?"
"Near a building, I see someone else, I think, Michael looks hurt, oh god Liz he's unconscious! Liz hurry we have to find him!"
Maria broke into hysterical tears. Liz knew how she felt. If this were happening to her Max...she wouldn't know what to do. For now, she just tried to help her friend.
"Maria, you have to concentrate. Can you tell me where this building is?"
"I don't know I don't know! Omigod Liz I stopped getting flashes, he's not..." she broke off as a fresh wave of tears started.
"No Maria, don't even think that! You just need to calm down and concentrate and they'll keep coming." She sounded more confident than she felt. Even Liz was now starting to think that they might not be able to save Michael. She pulled over and instructed Maria to take deep, even breaths.
"Now are you getting them?" Maria concentrated on Michael, everything he was, everything he meant to her. She squeezed her eyes tight and focused harder. Finally, she caught a glimpse of his inanimate form.
"Yes, I'm getting them again, oh Liz we have to help him!!"
"can you see anything else?"
"wait..."
After a few minutes of quiet, Liz broke the silence.
"Maria, I've been thinking...no never mind"
Maria woke instantly from her trance.
"No Liz tell me if it has to do with Michael I need to know!"
"Ok, but I'm not sure if I'm right. You said there was another person there, right?"
"Yea..."
"Well, I have an idea as to who that person is."
"Liz please tell me!"
"Ok. Well, remember those people that came, the other aliens? I think they might have kidnapped him, I know they were mad at him for some reason, something about a meeting and the answer they wanted being different from the one he wanted..."
"OH MY GOD!! I think you're right Liz it has to be we have to find him!!"
"Where is he? I can't get to him if I don't know where he is"
Maria focused on him again. This time she saw a little bit more: a large brick building, an empty alley, and - a large, rusty dumpster.
By the time Michael came to, it was dark outside. Or was it? He could feel the heat of the sun, but saw nothing. He tried blinking, and felt his eyelashes brush against a rough fabric. He had been blindfolded. Still drowsy from the sleeping drugs he had been given, he tried to reach up and pull of the blindfold. At that point he discovered that his hands had been bound behind his back, and his feet were tied together. He felt a dull throbbing pain on the side of his head, where he had been struck. The blood had dried quickly, matting his hair and making it difficult for him to move his face. As his numbed senses continued to clear, he heard voices drifting through the still air.
"What we gonna do wit him now? He ain't gonna wake up any time soon, gave him nuff that stuff t' make sure a that, but them otha losiz, they don even know he's hea."
"Don worry, I got it unda control. Soon's they figa out he's missin, they'll come find im. And wen dey do, we'll tell em dey ain't gettin their lil' friend back 'til we got the ansa we want"
"Dat Max kid, e's too much like Zan. Too single minded, ya know? I'm almost sure he aint gonna give the ansa we wanna hear at the meetin, and we's changin dat. Dats nother problem wit dat kid. He cares 2 much bout his friends. Just like Zan. And look where dat got im!"
Rath and Lonnie laughed cruelly. Michael, though barely understanding the words in his hazy, drugged state, had figured out the plan. They were going to force Max into accepting Kavar's deal! He couldn't let that happen. For now, there was nothing he could do besides pretend to sleep and hope to hear more details about the plan.
"Come on, i'm starvin. Les get suttin ta eat."
Liz gripped the steering wheel unusually hard. She knew why Maria was worried. The place she described was the place where she had met Michael one long year ago. She stopped the car a few blocks early; it ground to a halt in the dry gravel. The brilliant sun was already starting to set, sending a glare over the barren desert bathing them in an unearthly glow. They walked side by side in the direction of that alley, of that horrible place that brought so many harrowing memories. Maria looked fearfully at the twisted, elongated shadows that reached from the dim somber structures. The buildings that framed the dreaded alley crept into view before Maria was ready to see them. She leaned against Liz's more steady frame and continued to trudge painfully forward. Finally, Michael's dark, prone shape swam into view. Maria let out a strangled cry and ran to her boyfriend's side.
"Michael, please, omigod..." she pulled of the blindfold and untied him quickly. Still he didn't move. She grabbed his limp hand and looked, anguished, at his expressionless face, the way the uncombed damp curls lay on his forehead, his soft closed eyelids, noticed how much more vulnerable he looked when he was...no. She couldn't think that. It wasn't true! Michael couldn't be gone! She cried out again. All Liz could do was stand away and watch quietly. Maria seized his unusually heavy form, cried into his shoulder as she had so many times, pressed him to her body. She stayed like that, silent, pained, alone, her heart beating frantically against his chest, for several minutes. Then, incredibly, she felt an answering flutter. It was weak, but it was there. She looked at him again, touched his face, willed him to awaken, to hold her again...his eyes snapped open. She felt a warm tangible feeling of joy. She gasped in relief and gratitude. Liz, standing nearby, smiled for her friend. He focused his eyes, saw Maria, and held her close as she held him. She could feel him trembling, could feel him clenching his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut.
"Michael, what's wrong?"
He stood, pulling her up with him.
"Zan didn't die. They killed him. The other set. They're not like us. They're different...evil. They tried to kill me, and they're going to kill Max, if he doesn't make the deal with Kavar."
She pulled away.
"Where are they now?"
"They left a while ago, to get food. But they'll be back soon. Do you have the Jetta?"
"Yea, come on, we have to hurry!"
All three of them ran as fast as they could in the direction of the car. They didn't dare look back. If they had, they would have seen two shocked and angry figures begin to pursue them. They jumped into the car, and Liz hit the accelerator almost before her door was closed. The wheels skidded, then they drove off, with Liz frequently looking nervously over her shoulder to make sure they weren't being followed. When she saw no one, she relaxed slightly. Maria and Michael were reassured, and began to talk. Liz just sat silently. She felt slightly overwhelmed at what she had witnessed that day. She drove them back to Roswell, back to their lives, back to reality.
"Michael, I was so scared..." Maria whispered.
"So was I," he admitted softly.
It was silent for a few minutes. Then Maria asked
"What did they do to you?" as she leaned over and attempted to clean up the deep gash in his head. He winced bravely, and answered her calmly despite the sharp stinging.
"Well, they used a stick or a bottle or something to knock me unconscious, then drugged me to try to keep me that way. They intended to keep me as a hostage to convince Max to accept Kavar's deal."
"If you were drugged, how did you wake up?"
"I'm not sure, Maria. I think you saved me. Thanks."
She hugged him and held him close for a few moments. Then she looked up.
"Won't they come back?"
"Yea. They'll be back. But we'll tell Max. And when they do come back, we'll be ready."
Somehow, they all knew this was true.