Title: Capture
Author: Ras (Robin)
Spoilers: Leaving Normal, written immediately following that episode.
Summary: Liz confronts Max with the information Kyle gave her. Little do they know this conversation could lead to deep trouble.
Author's Note: I'm taking some liberties rearranging the ending of the show to fit my needs.
Disclaimer: Characters in this story are based on the television series and books entitled "Roswell." They are copyrighted by the WB Television Network and Melinda Metz. Certain scenes from Roswell episodes are used as a background for the story; these scenes are copyrighted by the previous companies. The characters are being used in a nonprofit way of showing appreciation of the show and books. No infringement is intended in any part by the author.
Part 1
In an ally outside the Crashdown Cafe, immediately after Liz has learned from Kyle that Max was beaten up by his football player friends stood the lone couple.
Tension and longing filled the air as Max and Liz starred into each others' eyes, each one searching for the right thing to say. Max refocused his stare to the ground.
Liz tenderly reached out her hand and caressed his face, pulling his attention back to her eyes as she gently traced around the cuts and bruises. "Does it hurt?" she whispered.
"No." He shook his head to free himself from her delicate touch. "It's nothing," he muttered quickly before returning his eyes to the cracks in the asphalt.
A long pause followed. It was as if the entire town of Roswell were holding its breath, waiting for a conclusion.
"Kyle told me . . . about what really happened." There, she had finally thrown it out there.
Max simply nodded and looked further away at the bricks on a distant building.
Liz sighed, 'why does he have to be so quiet?' She made herself force the issue. "Why didn't . . . YOU tell me?"
Max didn't respond; he simply glanced at her and returned his stare to the ground. Liz wasn't going to let him go without answering her. She had learned that he would open up, if she were patient.
Max took a deep breath, "Maybe because it humiliating for me." His words were distant, nearly inaudible. "being . . . beaten this badly is hard on a guy's ego." He closed his eyes and took another breath to find the courage to continue. "What was I suppose to say Liz, 'oh by the way your buddies beat the crap out of me, just so you know? I was terrified to even talk to you because of . . . what might happen.'"
"I would have killed them if you had told me they had hurt you . . . YOU."
Max shook his head. "You're Kyle's girl, Liz. You . . . you know how I feel about you . . . what right do I have to keep bothering you when I know you're with someone else?"
Liz put her finger to his lips this time. "I'm not Kyle's girl. I never belonged to him. And I'm not with him anymore either." Max flashed her a questioning glance. "I broke up with him today."
"Because of this?" Max asked pointing to his bruised cheek.
"Because I don't love him. Because . . . I want to be WITH YOU."
Max fixed on her eyes, trying to make sure he had really heard what she said. He wasn't dreaming or hallucinating. She had really said that . . . his brain repeated the phrase, 'because I want to be with you."
"Liz," Max whispered finally allowing his emotions and thoughts to run free, "All I've wanted since this whole thing began is for you to hold me in your arms and make it all go away, but I couldn't because . . ." Max was crying.
"Shhh," Liz whispered. "Come here," she said as she put her arms around him and lowered his head to her shoulder. "It's okay now," she comforted.
"The . . . the worst part," Max blubbered, "was having to just let it all happen. I could have stopped them; I could have hurt them, but I couldn't because then everything would come out. I wanted to heal the cuts, and stop all of the rumors and snickering at school, but I couldn't because everyone would find out that I'm an alien and I'd end up on a dissection table in a lab somewhere. I'm so tired of always worrying about someone finding out. I'm sick of being the cautious reasonable one."
Liz comforted him and let him pour out his pain into her arms.
Unbeknownst to both of them, a figure in the shadow smiled. "I KNEW they existed. And I've found one. Max Evans, you're mine."
********Part 2********
Liz had managed to comfort Max, to calm him down. Max thought about the ending of the night as he walked home. His brain kept repeating her last words to him, 'Max . . . I love you,' and then the kiss. Liz had kissed him. It was amazingly better than he had imagined it all of his life, gentle . . . sweet. And now he had the memory to replay over and over in his mind.
BAM! Max jerked back, but it was too late. He got hit in the arm, hard. He winced at the pain. 'Just what I need, more bruises,' he whispered to himself as he looked to see what had hit him. A rock lay on the cement by his feet. Max quickly glanced around to see who had thrown the rock, but the street was empty. He sighed as he starred at the rock. 'New game, hit the alien and win a prize. The whole town is playing.' He noticed that the rock was covered in a piece of paper. Max was almost afraid to see what it said; he didn't want to know. Still, he bent down to pick it up and read it.
"I know what you are Max Evans. Stay away from the Parker girl or there will be a severe punishment. Be advised, I'm onto you, and I can't wait to see you laid out on a dissection table."
Max fought back the tears. 'WHY? . . . All I want is to be normal, with Liz. Why can't I just put the other part behind me?' Max realized that he was standing in the street like an idiot and still vulnerable to whomever threw the rock. He forced himself to walk home as his thoughts ran. 'Who would do this to me? Who knows? Kyle? After all, Kyle did have me . . . beaten, but something doesn't fit. Parker girl . . . the note said Parker girl. Why would Kyle call Liz the Parker girl? But that means its somebody else. How did someone find out about me? Why would they do this to me?' Max answered his own question with disgust, 'you're a freak to them, Max. Anyone that found out what you are would want to see you hurt. Somehow someone has found out, and they're going to hurt you. Please don't let them have found out about Isabel and Michael too. They don't deserve this.'
Max was at his house. He carefully folded the note and stuffed it into his jeans. He made himself calm down. He was use to stuffing his feelings inside. He could do it again. Max went into his house and straight to his room. He knew that Isabel had a right to know. It affected her life, too. She could be in danger. Sitting on his bed, Max looked at the note again. 'If I show this to Iz, she'll insist on leaving.' Max shook his head. 'I'm not leaving now. Not when . . . not when Liz and I are SO close.'
He carefully hid the note in his sock drawer, secretly hoping it would make the whole problem disappear. He slipped into a t-shirt and boxers to go to sleep. Crawling under the covers he pushed all thoughts of the note out of his head. All he wanted to think about tonight was Liz . . . and the kiss.
********Part 3********
"Ahh," Max jolted when someone touched him from behind while he was getting into his locker. His heart raced.
"Hey, didn't mean to startle you," Liz said with a smile. She had had pleasant dreams, too. Max gave her one of his infamous grins when he saw it was she. Feeling bold, Liz lent in to give him a morning kiss. Warm, soft, Liz closed her eyes . . . but he stopped. Liz opened her eyes and followed his . . . Kyle, and his buddies. Instinctively, Max lowered his head and turned away. Liz watched them walk by. 'Poor Max' Liz thought, 'I'd like to give every one of those guys a black eye for what they did to him. Not just physically, but emotionally.' Liz caressed her hand down the side of Max's face. She had to show him her support, but not in words. Max didn't operate in words. He communicated through expressions, gestures, his eyes. Max responded as expected, he starred straight into Liz's eyes . . . pulling energy from her touch. They stood there, communicating on a distant plane between their eyes that no one else could see.
Max ended it. "I . . . I have to get to class," he whispered brusquely.
"Okay," Liz said with a sympathetic smile as he walked off.
********
During the next passing period, Liz visited Max's locker again. This time she simply extended her hand and said, "here." Max stuck out his hand. Liz stuck an intricately folded note in his hand and walked off without a word.
Max sighed heavily. He had really done it; he was sure. He hadn't meant to be rude that morning, he was just so consumed by thoughts of the rock and Kyle and her and the kiss . . . it was too much to worry about what he was actually saying. Max dolefully headed to class to read the note and discover the extent of the damage.
Mrs. Carter began lecturing; Max couldn't tell you what about. It was just a sign that he could read the letter now. He slowly opened the folds, being careful not to rip anything. The little triangle soon became a full sheet of loose leaf paper.
"Dear Max, I just wanted to let you know that I understand what you're going through and about this morning. I'm REALLY sorry if I rushed things. I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable. The past few weeks have been complicated; so many things are happening so fast. I know what Kyle's friends did has really hurt you. It's an awkward situation. But, last night was wonderful; I loved being with you. My point is if you need some time, I will understand. I'm willing to wait until you're ready. I already know you're worth it. Love, Liz."
Max read the words over and over in disbelief. Here he was acting like an idiot, and she was apologizing to him! She was . . . understanding, caring . . . wonderful. Max looked at the page 'pink . . . her words are curvy . . . I can't believe she wrote this note . . . for ME. She wrote that she knows I'm worth it . . . LOVE . . . I'm not giving up what I have with her, what I've wanted for so long. I can't leave her . . . no matter what the consequences."
"Max? Max! Answer the question please." It was Mrs. Carter.
Flustered, terrified of being caught with the note, Max closed his eyes and listened with his mind. "12," he responded.
"That's right!" Mrs. Carter exclaimed with a smile as she scribbled some math formula on the board.
Max let out a sigh of relief. Maybe being an alien did have a few side benefits.
********
Max didn't get to see Liz again until the end of the day. This time he went to her locker. "Liz," he whispered.
She smiled, surprised. "Max, . . ."
"Shhh," he put his finger to her lips. He leaned in closer, put his hand to her cheek, and closed his eyes. "Thank you . . . I love you, too," were the only words Liz actually heard in her head, but Max transferred so much more. Liz could actually FEEL all of his feelings about the letter. It was more than words could ever say. Max slowly took his hand away.
Liz smiled. "I get off from work at nine tonight, call me?"
He nodded.
********Part 4********
Max stopped to get the mail at his house while Isabel went on inside. He pulled out a couple of letters and began to flip through them. His heart stopped; another note bound with a rubber band to something. He unwrapped the package. Panicked, Max looked to make sure that Isabel was still in the house. He quickly scanned his environment. He couldn't see anyone. He returned his attention to the objects in his hand, pictures . . . of Isabel, Michael, his parents, himself and Liz. Terrified, Max read the note. "You do what I say or someone gets hurt. Who will it be?"
********Part 5********
Liz entered the family room, exhausted. The cafe had been so hectic today. She was glad the day was over, and that Max would be calling soon.
"Ring!"
Liz jumped to grab the phone, but her dad beat her to it. "Is it Max," she asked with a smile.
Her father shook his head. Disappointed, she slumped onto the couch. As her father's conversation dragged on she began to worry that maybe Max would get a busy signal and stop calling. She really wanted to talk to him tonight. Her dad wasn't even saying anything on the phone. Who was he talking to anyway?
Finally, he hung up the phone. "Liz, we need to talk."
"Who was it, Daddy?"
"Tell me about this Max boy."
"He's suppose to call tonight. I'm sorry I was rude when you were on the phone, I'm just anxious to talk to him."
"How much do you know about him, Liz?"
"He's a really nice guy, Dad," Liz said confused. "What's this about?"
"Did you know that he's in trouble with the law?"
"WHAT? Who was that? Was that Sheriff Valenti?"
"That's not important, Liz. What is important is that I don't want you hanging around a boy like that. You aren't to see him again."
"What? Dad, you have got to be kidding! Max is the nicest most innocent guy . . . you have no reason to tell me not to see him. Who was that?"
"I'm not fighting with you about this. You know how much I love you, Liz. I will not have my daughter hanging out with . . . Go to your room!"
Still in shock, Liz stormed into her room, slamming the door behind her. This wasn't like her father. Her Dad was like a big teddy bear. He wouldn't act like this unless he had a REALLY good reason. 'Who was that? What in the world did they tell him about Max? It had to be the sheriff, but surely he doesn't have Max in custody . . . they don't have anything to hold him on, we fixed that. Unless, they found something else. If the sheriff arrested Max . . . Oh my God!" Liz didn't want to be disobedient, but Max was in trouble. She had to get Isabel or Michael and help Max. Besides, her Dad wouldn't have told her to stay away from Max if he knew what Max had done for her.
********Part 6********
"Ding Dong!" Max answered the door to find Liz to his surprise.
"Max!" Liz sighed with relief. "You're all right!" She hugged him so tight; it frightened Max.
She didn't look good; she had been crying. "Liz? What's wrong?"
"I need to talk to you," she whispered in an intense, urgent tone.
"O . . . Okay," he grabbed her hand to guide her up the stairs. "My parents aren't home," he whispered as he shut the door to his bedroom.
Liz nodded. Dead silence. She didn't know how to tell him this. "My father just got a phone call. I . . . I don't know who it was, but . . . when he hung up he started questioning me about you. He . . . , he said you were in trouble with the law." Max closed his eyes and sighed. Liz continued, "and that I'm not allowed to see you anymore. Max, why would my Dad say that? The person on the phone, I . . . I thought the sheriff had you and . . ."
"Someone is trying to break us up, Liz," he whispered. He pulled the note out of the drawer and handed it to her.
Liz read the note quietly, occasionally glancing up at Max with concern.
"Someone threw a rock at me with that attached to it last night," he whispered as he slowly rolled up his sleeve to show her the bruise.
Liz gasped. "Oh my God, Max! If that would have hit you in the head . . ."
"It's nothing . . . I mean it didn't . . . it's not important." Max hated it when he fumbled over words. "There's more," he whispered handing her the pictures.
Liz looked up at him, aghast. "Do you know who's doing this?"
"Do you think . . . that Kyle?" Max hesitantly asked.
"Oh, No!" Liz immediately exclaimed. "He wouldn't."
"He had me beaten up," he whispered inaudibly to the floor.
"His friends did that, Max. Kyle didn't know about that. I know he seems like a jerk, but . . . he just doesn't have the heart to do something like THIS." Max nodded dejectedly. "Maybe one of his friends . . . but, why would my father listen to them? This is bigger than Kyle, Max."
"You're right," he whispered. "I just didn't want to see that. Someone's found out about me."
"Someone wants to HURT you Max, and I'm scared," Liz started crying. This was too much for her. "What if they really hurt you? Whoever's doing this could . . . they could turn you over to the FBI or . . ."
"Liz, shhh, shhh," Max hugged her. "I'm okay . . . it's okay, shhh." It broke Max's heart to see Liz cry, especially when it was his fault. A month ago she was living her perfect life with Kyle. If he hadn't told her so much . . . "I'm sorry I drug you into this," he whispered. He knew telling her was a risk for him. He wasn't prepared for it to be a risk for her.
Liz shook her head, "all I care about is you."
"Don't you worry about me tonight, I'll be fine. This is . . . it's probably going to blow over anyway. If someone really knew something, he'd have done something about it by now. He's just trying to scare us."
Liz couldn't stop crying. "I'm so afraid that tomorrow I'll go to school and you won't be there!"
Max hugged her tighter. What could he do to ease her pain? "Do you want to stay here tonight?" he whispered apprehensively.
"Yes," she responded before he even finished. "I want to know you're safe."
Max nodded and smiled. He wanted to know she was safe, too. At least this way he could make sure that nothing happened to her. His parents wouldn't be home until late, and he could sneak her out in the morning. "I . . . I have a sleeping bag I keep for Michael," Max commented as he went to get it.
To his surprise Liz grabbed his arm, "Do we really need it?" She waited for his response; she got his curious stare. "I'd rather sleep with you," she whispered shyly.
"You would?"
"I mean . . . if it's all right with you . . . because you know, if you'd be more comfortable . . ."
"No," Max quickly replied.
"Hold me in your arms all night?"
********
Max was comfortably in bed with Liz lying on his chest. She was borrowing one of his t-shirts. That somehow made him feel closer to her. Having her there in his room, in his shirt, in his bed felt amazingly right . . . unlike everything else that was wrong, so wrong. He thought about that stupid rock, and what Liz's Dad had said, 'in trouble with the law.' It was finally happening, the thing he had feared most all of his life was already a snowball running downhill so fast he couldn't stop it. He knew what was coming. He was going to be captured. He had read the books; he knew what would happen, how bad it could be. And now he was just waiting, waiting for it to happen, for them to come get the freak. Max took a deep breath. Intuitively, Liz squeezed him tighter.
"Liz," he whispered.
"Hmm?" she snuggled in even closer.
"Thank you."
She contorted her body slightly so she could see his face. "For what?"
"Being here . . . not making me go through this alone."
********
Liz was jerked into alertness by a loud sound. Someone was at the door to Max's room; they were breaking in. She forcefully nudged Max in sheer terror. The door opened, and Liz let out a short scream.
"Oh my God!" the intruder yelled.
Max turned on the light. He should have seen this coming, but with Liz . . . he didn't think of much else. "Michael, it's not what it looks like."
"Are you trying to wake the living dead in here, Max? Turn it down . . . OH MY GOD!" Isabel entered the room.
"Great, great! Think there's anyone else who'd care to join us?" Max asked sarcastically.
Isabel glanced out the door to the hall. "You are SO lucky that Mom and Dad didn't wake up. What were you thinking?"
"It really isn't what this looks like," Max repeated.
"Oh please, enlighten me, Max. What is it when she's in your room, in your shirt, in your bed at 3 AM? 'Cause I have to say there aren't too many things I can think of that can explain that." Michael was angry.
"Look, some bad stuff happened last night, and I got scared. Max was kind enough to say that I could stay with him. That's ALL that happened," Liz explained.
"Bad stuff like what?" Isabel asked in an apprehensive tone.
"You didn't tell her?" Liz asked in surprise.
"Didn't tell me what? Max???"
Max reached over to the nightstand and handed them the notes and pictures. He knew he was eventually going to have to tell them, but he wasn't ready to, especially not like this.
"Were you EVER planning on telling me about this, or were you going to wait until I starred in my own alien autopsy video before you took this seriously?" Isabel asked.
"We don't know who's writing the notes, and we don't know how much they know," Max responded.
"It says 'I can't wait to see you on a dissection table.' Yeah, that's kinda vague," Michael threw the note back at him.
Isabel was nervously pulling at her pajama sleeve, "We have to get out of here . . . tonight."
"All I'm saying is that we shouldn't overreact. Maybe that's what they're counting on. It could just be a scare tactic," Max calmly explained.
"Max is right, we have to keep a calm head about this. It's going to . . . it's going to turn out to be nothing, I'm sure," Liz backed him up.
That set Isabel off. "You have NO say in this, Liz. OUR LIVES are at stake here. You aren't the one they're going to be poking and prodding . . . and torturing."
"I still can't believe you told HER before you told us," Michael said in an accusatory tone.
For the first time that night, Liz felt unwelcome even unsafe in Max's room. "Maybe I should go," she whispered.
Max stood up. "I'll walk you home. It's not safe for you to walk home by yourself."
"It's not safe for YOU to be out there either, Max. You're the one with an alien hunter on your tail," Isabel said with sincere concern.
"I'll be fine. You two need to cool off anyway. We'll talk about it when I get back." Max threw Liz her jeans to put on and then put his arm around her to walk her home.
*******Part 7********
Max slowly made his way back to his house. He had no desire to get there any sooner than necessary; he dreaded facing Isabel and Michael. Instead, Max tried to think about Liz. She was so worried about him; somehow that made him feel safer. He had promised her he'd meet her before school started. He was NOT leaving her, no matter what Isabel and Michael said.
Instantaneous pain flowed through Max's shoulder as he collapsed to the ground. 'What's happening?' he asked himself before he fell unconscious.
Coming out of the shadows, a man snickered at his capture. "Now Max, it's just you and me and the truth."
*********
"Hello," Liz answered the phone on the first ring. She hadn't even thought of sleeping since Max dropped her off.
"Put Max on the phone, Liz," Isabel commanded.
"He's not with you?"
"Don't play games, Liz. This is serious, so tell him to pick up the phone now."
"Are you saying he never came home? Isabel, he left hours ago."
"You're serious?" The line was quiet as both girls absorbed the meaning of that statement. "We haven't seen him since you left," she said in an eerily quite voice. Slowly it sank in and she started crying, "I knew it wasn't safe for him to go out like that . . . I told him it wasn't safe. Oh my God, they've got him . . ."
"Isabel, calm down. I'm really worried, too. Maybe . . . maybe he just needed some time alone. This has been really hard on him. He promised me that he would meet me before school started. He'll be there . . . he will, he'll be there." Liz wasn't sure who she was trying to convince more.
********
The clouds floating through his brain began to clear and Max slowly reached consciousness. Where was he? His head hurt; he couldn't remember anything. He had walked Liz home and . . . the pain . . . someone had shot him. Based on his current level of grogginess, Max assumed it had been a tranquilizer. He attempted to put his hand to his head, but failed. His hands were bound beneath him; he was tied to a table. Max jerked and pulled, but he was bound tightly. He glanced around the room that held him. He had no idea where he was. In one last futile attempt Max tried to use his matter altering power to make the restraints looser, but his head . . . he was too weak; he slipped out of consciousness.
********
Liz sat at the bench she and Max had agreed to meet at before school. 'He promised he'd be here. He promised me, no matter what he'd be here. Why isn't he here? They can't have captured him . . . I know they didn't,' Liz repeated to herself as she waited. The first bell signaling that it was time to head to class rang. Liz started crying. He wasn't coming. It was too late, Isabel was right; they got him. She had tried to remain positive, sure of Max's safety until now, but how could she now? 'I can't wait to see you lying on a dissection table,' she remembered. It was too much, Liz started crying so hard she was hyperventilating. He was captured, and it was her fault.
"Liz?" a friendly voice said. It was Kyle, heading with all of his buddies for class.
"Kyle, I . . . I . . ." Liz couldn't stop crying long enough to get a word out.
Kyle walked over to where she was sitting. "What's the matter, Liz?"
"I . . . I can't . . . tell . . . you . . . I . . ."
"Figures," Kyle whispered under his breath. He looked at Liz. She was crying so hard her entire body was shaking. No matter how hurt he was over the breakup, he couldn't stand to see her cry like this. "Look, I know I'm probably the last person you want to talk to. Do you want me to find Maria for you or something?"
Liz shook her head. "She . . . can't help. No one can . . . fix it . . . now."
Another bell rang signaling that everyone should be in class by now. "Kyle, you coming or what?" one of his friends called. Kyle waived them to go on without him.
"What can I do, Liz? Tell me what to do to calm you down," he whispered.
Liz was still hyperventilating and sobbing. She stood up from the bench. "I have to go . . . . I have to . . . have to find him . . . I'll go find him."
Kyle stood up and followed her. "Him meaning Evans."
"He's missing," she cried. "I . . . have to . . . find him." She started digging for her keys in her purse.
"Jesus, Liz. You're in no position to be driving anywhere." Kyle sighed. Just what he wanted to do, help the girl he loved find her new boyfriend. But she was so upset. He couldn't let her go driving around town like this. "I'll drive you, Liz. Will you at least let me drive you?"
Liz nodded; she realized she was too upset to drive. Kyle put his arm around her and led her to the parking lot.
In the lot, Michael and Isabel were just driving up in the jeep. "Look," Michael pointed out Liz and Kyle to her. "Nice to see where her true loyalties lie."
********Part 8********
Max slowly regained consciousness. He didn't feel quite so disconnected; the drug was wearing off. He scanned his immediate environment for any changes.
"Glad you're awake," the voice startled Max.
"Sheriff Valenti?" Max asked in confusion. "Where . . . am I?"
"You're in my world now, Max, and we're going to do things my way. I know what you are. My father knew your kind existed but couldn't prove it, and now I'm going to prove it for him." Sheriff Valenti placed a small tape recorder next to Max. "Now, let's start with what you did to the Parker girl in the Crashdown."
"I . . . I didn't do anything to Liz. She fell on a ketchup bottle and . . ." Max quickly realized that the sheriff had no evidence. He convinced himself that acting normal was the only way to get out of the situation. Maybe if he bluffed long enough, the sheriff would give up and think he really was human. "I checked to make sure that she was okay, that's all I did."
Smack! Pain radiated from Max' cheek into his eye. Sheriff Valenti didn't buy Max's pretext for a moment. "There are two ways we can do this Max." He hit Max again, hard. "This is the hard way. I suggest you try the easy way. Now, what did you do to Liz Parker?"
Max moaned; the torture had begun.
********
Liz slammed open the door to her home. "Max! Max, please be here," she yelled quickly searching the home. Seeing that he wasn't there either, Liz fell into a ball of tears on the couch. She couldn't help it as she started to hyperventilate again.
"Shhh, calm down, Liz," Kyle soothed as he brought her a brown paper bag from her kitchen. "Breathe into this," he whispered as he brushed a strand of wet hair from her face. "He's going to turn up, Liz. I'm sure he'd appreciate it if you didn't pass out before he does."
Liz nodded that she understood, but her breathing showed no signs of relaxing. "Where haven't we searched? Where could he be?"
"I don't know, Liz. I think we've been over the whole town. Maybe he just needed a little time to think or something. Sometimes guys need a break."
"Do you think . . . he could be in jail?"
"It's possible," Kyle shrugged.
"We have to check it out," Liz started to get up, but got dizzy and fell back down.
"You're not going anywhere in this condition, Liz." Kyle sighed, something he had been doing a lot of lately. "If you want I'll go sneak around and see what I can find out."
"Would you?"
"But, you have to promise me you'll stay here and RELAX. I don't want you moving off this couch, Liz."
"Okay," she agreed, "that way I'll be here in case he shows up here."
Kyle shook his head as he headed for the door. This was exactly what he wanted to be doing while skipping school.
"Kyle," Liz whispered after him. He whirled around immediately. "You're the best friend ever."
"Yeah . . . friend," Kyle whispered under his breath.
********
"Very well, Max. If you won't tell me about your healing powers, how about you show me?" Valenti asked as he lifted Max's shirt and raised a steaming iron above him.
Max turned away and waited for the pain. He tried to convince himself that it was almost over. If he just remained normal a little longer . . . Valenti would give up and then he could be in Liz's arms. Max closed his eyes and thought about Liz, about kissing her, about her beautiful white smile. If he concentrated on her hard enough, he couldn't feel the pain. He thought of her hair, the softness of her embrace, her . . .
"Ahhhhhhh," Max screamed at the top of his lungs as the burning started in his flesh and penetrated deep inside him. "Liz, help me . . ."
*********
"Pick up, please pick up," Liz repeated to herself as the phone rang. She knew Max wasn't home, but somehow she hoped that if she just let it ring long enough, he'd answer and this would have all been a misunderstanding. "Where are you Max?"
"You want to explain to me what's going on here, Liz?" a voice asked from behind her.
Frightened, she spun around. "Michael . . . Isabel, how did you get in?"
"That doesn't matter. What does matter is what you and Kyle Valenti have done to Max."
"What??? Kyle and I . . . you think that I . . ."
"Come on, Liz. How stupid do you think we are? One minute you're in Max's bed. He disappears and all the sudden you're in the arms of one of Max's biggest enemies. I think its pretty clear what's going on here."
"I would never . . ." Liz's breathing became more erratic.
There was a knock at the door.
"Max!" Liz yelled full of hope. "Max!" she flung the door open. She let out a deep breath, "Oh . . . Kyle."
Nothing could describe the pain in Kyle's heart as he saw Liz's face. She looked at him through the eyes of disappointment. He could imagine nothing more painful than knowing that she wanted more than anything for him to be another man, the man she loved. The knowledge eroded through his stomach like concentrated acid. Kyle forced the anguish further down.
"Hey, how are you doing?" he asked. He caressed her cheek and lowered his fingers to her throat. "You're hearts still racing."
"Was he there?" she asked in desperation, unsure what she wanted the answer to be.
Kyle shook his head. "Can I come in?" he asked.
Liz nodded apprehensively, hoping that Michael and Isabel weren't still standing there.
"Here," he whispered handing her a thick file. Liz starred at it, puzzled. "It's Max Evan's file. I stole it from my Dad's office."
"You stole from your Dad for me?"
"Well, I certainly didn't steal it for Evans, Liz," Kyle said out of frustration as he flopped down on her couch.
Liz carefully scanned the first few pages. What in the world could Sheriff Valenti have on Max that would take up this much space? She turned another page. Liz's head jerked. She saw Max, bound to a table . . . an iron . . . pain . . . 'help me Liz.' Liz dropped the file and fell to her knees.
"Liz?" Kyle jumped up in concern.
She shook her head. "I . . . I saw him . . . he's in your basement, Kyle."
"What?"
"I had a . . . a flash. He's in your basement!"
"That's it, Liz. I'm taking you to the hospital . . ."
"You saw him? You had a flash of Max?" Michael asked revealing himself.
"What the fuck?" Kyle yelled. "Liz? What the hell is going on here?" Kyle's last thread of patience snapped.
"I saw him. We have to help him," Liz pleaded.
Michael took the paper from her and focused. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He handed the paper to Isabel. She shook her head. "You're sure you saw him."
"Yes! He needs my help."
"I don't know what's going on here, but I am taking you to the hospital, Liz . . ." Kyle asserted.
"No, Kyle. He's there. Your father is holding him hostage. Please, Kyle . . . Kyle, if you care about me at all, you'll take me to your house. If I'm wrong, I'll take a voluntary psych commitment right then and there."
*********
The four teens stood outside the door to Kyle's basement. Kyle still couldn't believe he was going along with all of this. He reached to turn the doorknob. Locked. "This door is never locked," he said aloud.
"Here, let me try," Michael offered, melting the latch as he spoke. "Not locked now either," he smiled.
Kyle glanced at him suspiciously. He had never trusted these two. A scream from the basement grabbed their attention. Liz rushed past him down the stairs. There Max and Sheriff Valenti were, just like she had seen in her flash.
"Dad?" Kyle asked in shock. This was not happening. "What is going on?"
"I've got him, Kyle," the sheriff said with a sadistic smile. "He's going to show me his alien powers."
"What? What are you talking about Dad?"
"He fixed her with his alien powers," he pointed at Liz, "and now I've got him so he has to show me how he does it. I'll have the proof your grandfather always needed."
"Dad look at him. Does he look like an alien? Jesus, what did you do to him?"
"No, he can do it!" Valenti affirmed as he struck Max with the iron once again.
"Dad, he's a pile of blood and boils. Look at him . . . he's not healing anything. Look at him!"
Sheriff Valenti clung desperately to the hope that this was the evidence he needed so badly, but the boy was right . . . Max hadn't healed anything. No human being could withstand the amount of torture he had endured without healing it if he could. He fell to his knees in tears, "but I heard him . . . he is . . ."
Liz ran to Max's side. She didn't wait to unfasten him, she kissed him, she hugged him lightly avoiding the burns.
"I knew you'd come for me," Max whispered.
They didn't need to say any other words. They were together again. They couldn't be separated. All they needed was to stare into each others eyes and all of the chaos around them disappeared. They were two half of the same whole. For one, all that existed was the other half.
Kyle watched the glances between the two with envy. As much as he loved Liz, she would never look at him like that. Those two had a love, a psychic connection that was beyond the physical world. No matter what he did, he could never stop the love that existed between them. Their love was simply meant to be, and he was doomed to spend the rest of his life wishing he were Max Evans.
********Scene 9********
A slight knock on the door drew Liz's attention. She glanced at the clock, 3 AM, right on time. "Hey, Michael," she whispered as she opened the door.
"How's he doing?" Michael asked signifying Max with his eyes.
"Okay," she whispered. "He finally fell asleep a couple of hours ago."
Michael nodded. The body in the bed began to toss and moan. Liz reached for Max's hand again. "Shhh, I'm right here," she whispered as she resumed her seat next to him. "He's afraid of being alone."
"I can understand that."
"He try and fix any of the burns and bruises?"
"No, he wants everything to be normal."
"What happened to him wasn't normal. There is no way that THAT could be normal."
"I know. The pain's . . . intense for him, but he's terrified of doing something not natural."
Michael nodded.
"Things really are returning to normal. Sheriff Valenti called and apologized to the Evans and my dad. He said he had some sort of PTSD thing or something."
Michael nodded again. A long silence followed. They had reached the point in the conversation where he had to say what he had come there to say, but it was hard for him . . . he wasn't use to apologizing. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier today, about accusing you and all."
"It's okay, you were just looking out for your friend."
"But it wasn't okay. If you hadn't gotten that flash from Max . . . we would have never found him."
"Yeah, and if Kyle hadn't been there to talk his father out of hurting Max . . . I still can't believe he did that."
"He cares about you. You have a lot of people who care about you, Liz. I hope you realize how lucky you are to have that."
"Yeah," she said with a smile as she squeezed Max's hand tighter.
"Listen . . . would you mind if I . . ." Michael asked.
"No, I think Max would like it if you stayed, it would be . . . normal."