Chapter One
With each successive town he passed he thought about them less and less. The endless highways, each one so full of promise, but ultimately leading to no where in particular. Time did not seem to be moving at normal speeds. It's relevance lost in Xander Harris's mind. He didn't have any particular target in mind. He just knew that he would stop when he should, when something inside him told him that this was the place.
As he reached the outskirts of what seemed like another in a long run of non-descript towns, something made him pull over. He had the strangest feeling that he should pull in for the night. Maybe even stay a few days. He glanced ahead and chuckled to himself as he realized where he had stopped.
Roswell.
The famed alien crash city. 'Oh well, it can be a story to tell the kids,' he thought to himself.
Firmly planting his foot on the accelerator, he scoured the sides of the road for a sign showing where a motel would be. He shook his head slightly at the buildings he passed, "UFO convention Centre", "The Crashdown Café".
'Well it looks like Roswell has really embraced their fame.'
Arriving at Tumbleweed Motel, he quickly got himself a room, signing all the relevant forms. The clerk behind the counter took the forms from him and handed him a key.
"There you are, Mr. Harris. Your room is on the second level at the end."
Xander took the keys and headed to his room. The day's driving catching up with him as he sunk into his bed.
************
Xander awoke a few hours later, and seeing that the dark outside, he decided to take a walk into town and grab some dinner. He noticed the café he had seen earlier ahead and decided to check out the local food.
Putting his hand up to his mouth to stop him from laughing, he took a look around at how the 'Crashdown' was decked out. The décor, the menu's, even the uniforms were, well not to call them tacky, but whoever was in charge had obviously never heard of subtlety.
Taking a seat in one of the few spare booths, he grabbed the menu and chuckled at each of the items on the list. His mirth was interrupted by the arrival of one of the aforementioned waitress in uniform. Xander noticed that if you discounted the Princess Di haircut and the excessive make up she wore, she was rather pretty.
"What would you like?" she asked.
"Hi, Maria," Xander said nodding to her nametag. Maria gave him a forced grin.
'Obviously gets it all the time,' Xander thought.
"Can I get the Will Smith special and the Romulan Shake thanks."
Maria nodded, "It'll be a few minutes." She went to move away, when Xander called back to her.
"So how are the aliens?"
Maria stopped dead in her tracks glad that she was facing away from him. She slowly turned around. "Excuse Me?"
"Sorry, just you know all this stuff," he said pointing to the walls, "just making conversation." Xander gave her a grin. "Obviously another thing you are sick of hearing."
"Oh, right," Maria murmured before turning around and walking away. Xander watched her walk away thinking that she must have been having a bad day. He settled back into his seat and took the chance to look around at the other people who were frequenting the café. A lot of them were people around his age, enjoying their time, hanging with their friends. He remembered what that was like. He remembered the enjoyment he used to get from simply hanging with his friends.
He reached into his wallet and pulled out a photo he had inserted into one of the compartments. He stared closely at each of the figures. Willow Rosenburg, Buffy Summers, Rupert Giles and himself. They were so happy then. He felt his eyes mist up as he remembered the recent past. He missed them all deeply but there was nothing he could do about that now. So he sat there, almost caressing the photo, remembering the good times, feeling his face smile when those memories surfaced. He was still staring at the photo when Maria arrived with his dinner. He thanked her and set the photo down on the table, before tucking into his dinner.
As Maria walked away she noticed that his face changed as soon as she wasn't talking to him. The goofy grin had disappeared and in its place, a look of pain had transformed his persona.
Xander was pleasantly surprised at how good his meal was. Still fast food, but definitely a notch up on what he was expecting. More importantly it hit the spot. He got up and left the money on the table, thinking he would take a walk through the town before deciding if he would move on the next day.
Maria noticed that Xander had left and went over to collect the money and clear his table. There was something about him that creeped her out. Of course it may just be her paranoia. That seemed to be running more rampant since she had learned the truth about her friends. But she couldn't shake the feeling that Xander's apparent flippant nature was hiding something. She tried to push it out of her mind. As she was cleaning the table she noticed a photograph had fallen on the floor. Picking it up she saw that it was the photo that Xander had been staring into all night. She looked at the people and wondered if this was his family. It all looked rather normal to her. Slipping into her pocket she decided to keep it behind the counter in case he came back for it.
*************
Xander had almost made his way back to his motel room, when out of the corner of his eye he noticed some movement in an alley. He moved quickly over to the wall and melded himself to it, turning his head just enough to see down the alley. He noticed a person, well best to keep the options open, skulking around the alley, as if it was looking for someone. Xander thought that maybe it was all innocent, but after a few years in Sunnydale he knew things never seemed exactly like what the seemed at first glance. He decided to follow, keeping to the shadows as much as he could.
While Xander was doing his best to avoid being seen by his target, two other people walking along the footpath however noticed him. Max Evans and Liz Parker were walking back to the Crashdown Café, when they saw someone dart into the shadows. They didn't think much of it, apart from, as Liz noticed the incredibly garish Hawaiian shirt that he was wearing. After seeing Xander disappear from view, Max shrugged his shoulder and they continued on towards the café.
Xander had almost decided to give up on his pursuit, when his target moved off quickly. Xander rounded the bend, but cursed to himself that he had lost him. He was about to head back when a high-pitched scream cut through the night.
"Shit!" he muttered and ran back towards where he thought the scream came from. He searched each alleyway and street in the area but was unable find any evidence of a struggle. He didn't want to give up quickly but the police sirens that had started closing in on his area persuaded him it was time to get out. No need to draw any official attention to him. He headed off, hoping that the police would be able to do their job.
***************
Liz and Max arrived at the Crashdown Café, just as a police car went screaming past. Not taking much notice of it, they entered. Max saw his sister Isabel sitting in one of the booths and went over to her, while Liz went up to Maria.
"Hi, how was tonight?" She asked cheerfully.
"Same as usual. Locals and Nutcases. And how did you get the night off?" Maria added with a grin.
"Just lucky I guess." Liz glanced down on the counter and noticed a photograph that was leaning against the cash register. She picked it up and looked closer at the younger man in it. "What's this?"
Maria glanced down at the photo; "One of the loonies left it here. He was weird, got a strange vide from him. I think it was important to him, he spent ages just staring at it. I thought he might come back for it."
"What was he wearing?"
"Well he obviously had no fashion sense, he wore...."
"A bright Hawaiian Shirt, " Liz finished.
"Yeah, how did you know?"
"Max and I saw him earlier, he was, well it looked like he was following someone."
"Oh my God!!" Maria gasped.
Liz looked at Maria fearing the worst. "What?"
"He asked about aliens earlier"
Liz couldn't resist a smile, "Yeah him and every other tourist."
Maria gave Liz a wry indignant look, "I'm not that stupid. There was something strange about him."
"Okay he was strange, but it is a bit of a stretch."
"And we don't have the right to be paranoid? Remember Topolsky?"
"No we have to be careful, but we can't go overboard."
Maria through her hands up, "Fine, lets see what Michael thinks."
Liz sighed. If there was one person who flew off the handle quicker than Maria it was Michael. She followed behind Maria as they approached the table where Michael had joined Max and Isabel.
Maria thrust the photo under Max's face, pointing to the picture of Xander, "He was in here earlier asking about you."
Michael looked up at her, "Who is he?"
Liz interrupted hoping to get some rational thought into the conversation. "He wasn't asking about you, he asked about aliens in general, like most tourists." "Then what was he doing when you and Max saw him?" Maria asked.
"You saw him doing what?" Michael asked Max.
Max took a deep breath, before answering, "If it is the same guy we saw in the alley. He seemed to be following someone."
"It is the same guy, but I think we are over-reacting." Liz offered.
"But you can't be sure," Isabel entered the conversation for the first time. "The FBI have sent undercover people before." She looked at the photograph and chuckled, "Mind you, I think he would have to deep undercover."
"But it is a bit of a co-incidence and there was this strange vibe I got from him." Maria pushed the point.
"Well, that's scientific," Isabel responded sarcastically.
"No listen, he was all joking on the surface, but it was an act. He seemed to be covering for something."
"I think we should just carry on as normal, no need to draw attention to ourselves." Max suggested.
"But we can do something?" Michael asked.
"What?"
"We have a photograph. Isabel can do her own investigating."
"Hang On" Isabel objected.
"What do you mean investigating?" Maria asked.
"Isabel can go into other people's dreams, find out what they are about," Michael answered ignoring the stare that Isabel gave him.
"You mean..." Maria stared at Isabel, "Oh my god, that was you."
Isabel rolled her eyes not believing that Maria had only just worked it out.
"Max this is ridiculous," Liz said.
"Look it's not you that has to worry about whether someone is coming to take you away or not." Michael replied.
Liz didn't pursue the point. Michael was already worked up enough. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence Isabel spoke up.
"Look give me the picture. I'll do it."
Liz handed the picture over to Isabel who studied the features of the man she was about to pay a visit to.
Chapter Two
Xander stood staring at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. His eyes searching for a meaning to the events that had shaken his life in the last few weeks. Reaching down he scooped up a handful of water and splashed it over his face, hoping against hope that such a simple act would take away some of the hurt that he felt.
Switching off the bathroom light he slowly made his way to the bed and fell on to it. He wrapped his arms around his body, rocking gently, letting the emotions he had held in for most of the day wash over him, sending him to sleep.
*********************
Isabel sat on the edge of her bed staring intently at the picture that she held in her hands. She found it hard to believe that this guy could be a threat to them, but as over the top Michael could be sometimes, it was better to be safe than sorry. She also admitted to herself that she got a perverse sense of fun when she intruded into people's dreams. It was like having your own private theatre where a new movie played each night.
Rubbing her finger across the face of her target, she saw it shimmer, before she closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
*******************
Isabel opened the door and peered inside. The first thing that hit her was the pulsating beat of the music coming from with in. She took a few steps forward and looked around, realizing that she was in some type of nightclub. She slowly made her way through the crowd, searching for the man she was supposed to be checking up on.
Glancing over to some lounge chairs, she saw him there talking to the other two girls from the photo she had. She quietly made her way to the chairs behind them. Not that she needed to. She could control who saw her and how they interacted with her, but it was the natural thing to do when you were eavesdropping.
"So I hit it high, low, swept its leg out and plunged my trusty stake through its heart," Xander said with exaggerated arm movements.
"Sure you did," Buffy replied.
"Okay well fine, but I did stake it. Maybe not as professionally as it sounded." Xander conceded.
Buffy turned to Willow, "It fell on him and the stake went through it as it happened," she said with a laugh.
"Mock me, fine" Xander said with a grin, obviously getting into the spirit of the conversation.
Isabel listened as they continued talking, endless details of their exploits, gossip, tales of school. All very normal, but also all very boring to her. "This guy is no threat to us," she thought as she got up to leave. As she took a few steps away she noticed that the sound in the club had stopped. The once loud music had given way to an uneasy silence. She turned slowly around and noticed that Xander was staring at her, his happy go lucky mood, replaced by a very serious frown. 'He shouldn't be able to see me,' she thought.
"What do you want?"
He almost sounded scared.
"I'm just leaving," Isabel replied.
"You should get away from me!" Xander said before turning away.
"Why?" Isabel yelled.
Xander turned back to face her. He looked Isabel up and down, his face breaking into a small sad smile. "You seem nice. You should leave before you get hurt." He gave her one last glance before walking over to the stage.
Isabel was about to follow when she suddenly became aware of the heat that was emanating all around her. It was then she noticed that club which had been crowded was now empty of people. Suddenly the walls of the club burst into flames, the explosion knocking Isabel off her feet.
She screamed, which alerted Xander to the fact that she was still in the room. "Please go. I don't want anyone else to die!"
Isabel got herself up off the floor and stared at him, wondering what was going on in his mind. She started to will herself to wake up, watching Xander as she did. He had curled himself up into a ball on the stage and seemed to be waiting for the fireball to engulf him. Suddenly the floorboards gave way and Isabel felt herself falling, screaming as she fell.
******************
Isabel woke with a shudder, her body covered in sweat. She could feel herself shivering. For the first time ever she didn't feel in control in one of her dream walks. She sat herself up and shook her head, trying to make sense of the experience.
******************
Xander felt himself wake up with a jolt. Yet another night had ended in a nightmare. His resolve grew weaker with each one. He kicked his legs off the bed and sat up holding his head in his hands. After a moment he reached over for his jacket and searched through its pockets, frowning when he didn't find what he was looking for.
Shaking his head and cursing himself for misplacing it, he reached over to the bedside table and picked a newspaper that he had sat aside the bed earlier in the night. No matter many times he had stared at the front page of the Sunnydale Gazette, it still read the same to him. But for some reason he had to keep looking. He laid the paper down after a minute or two and lay back in the bed hoping he might be able to get some uninterrupted sleep. But as his eyes shut all he could see was the headline over and over again.
"TWO DIE IN FIRE TRAGEDY"
**********************
At school the next day Isabel found Max, Liz and Michael sitting together before classes had started. She had spent most of the night thinking long and hard about what had happened but no matter how many times she played it over in her head; she could come up with no answer to it. It had started as any of her other dreamwalks had, but had descended into madness. She wondered what could have scared him to make those things happen. She had discounted the fact that it was a normal nightmare aberration. The way he acted towards her convinced her of that. There was something about the experience that convinced Isabel that it was a symptom of a greater problem.
Liz gave her a small smile as she sat down. They had grown closer in the last couple of weeks. While she had her friends in the clique she hung around with, Liz was the first human female she felt comfortable with. This was helped by the fact that Liz was also the first human who knew the truth.
"Hey," Liz greeted her.
"Hi Guys," she said in return, taking a seat next to Michael.
Michael looked at her for a while, obviously bursting from within to ask. Isabel noticed his stare after a moment and snapped back, "What!"
"You don't have anything to tell us?"
"No!"
Michael pursued it further, "You didn't find out anything?"
"No, okay!" Isabel replied before getting up and walking away.
Max and Liz both looked at Michael.
"What?" he asked.
"Couldn't you see she was upset about something?" Max asked.
"What? And finding out whether or not we are in danger isn't important?"
"Of course it is but C'mon," Max answered.
"I'm going to find her," Liz said getting up.
Max watched Liz walk away before he turned back to look at Michael.
"What?"
*****************
Liz found Isabel sitting under a tree by herself. She approached slowly smiling at her when Isabel looked up.
"Can I sit?" she asked tentatively.
Isabel nodded but didn't say anything. After taking a seat, Liz paused waiting to see if Isabel would say anything. When she didn't, Liz spoke, "Are you okay?"
Isabel shrugged, "I'm fine."
"What happened last night?" Liz asked as gently as she could, half-expecting for Isabel to refuse to answer.
"It was weird. Scary and sad as well."
"Is he a danger to you?"
Isabel shook her head. "I doubt he is FBI or anything. I don't think he is much older than we are." She thought about it for a while. "I don't know. There is something about him."
"What about him?"
"I don't know. In the beginning he was like a normal person, having fun with his friends, but then...this is hard to put into words. There was this overwhelming feel of hurt and he saw me. Normally I am invisible unless I want people to see me."
"Did he say anything to you?"
"He told me to get out before I got hurt. He was sort of kind and sad about it. Then the whole room burst into flames and I woke myself up."
"My god. What are you going to do?" Liz asked trying to think about what it must be like to be in someone else's head.
Isabel bit her lip, "I'm thinking of going in again."
"Isabel I don't think that would be a good idea," Liz cautioned.
"I can't explain it, Liz. I just know I have to."
****************
Xander had spent most of the morning turning his room upside down, searching for his photograph. His frustration grew to a point where he threw a drawer across the room as he collapsed to his knees sobbing into his hands. He hated the fact that his emotions were so out of control, but as he kept telling himself, what you don't have control over you can't do anything about.
It was around 4.00pm. when he finally felt together enough to leave his room. Stopping in at he front office he picked up the day's paper, hoping that it would at least give him something to do for half and hour.
He walked along the streets, trying to clear his head, thinking that this would be his last day in Roswell. He sat down on one of the footpath seats and started to read the paper.
He didn't get far. The headline hit him with the force of a Mack truck.
"ANOTHER GIRL MISSING"
Xander cursed under his breath.
******************
Liz and Isabel sat together in one of the booths of the "Crashdown Café", Isabel facing the counter, while Liz faced the door. Michael was at the counter in the pretense of ordering a meal, when in reality he was flirting with Maria. Isabel didn't mind, it meant that he was grilling her about last night.
"Isabel, don't turn around. That guy has just walked into the café." Liz said in a forced whisper.
Isabel ducked her head under one of the menus; "He can't see me in case he remembers last night."
Liz waited until he had passed before getting up. "You can go, hurry" she suggested.
As Xander approached the counter something made him turn around. He saw a flash of long blonde hair as a girl exited the café. He had a feeling that he knew her but couldn't place where. Shaking his head he forgot about it and turned back to see the same waitress he saw yesterday.
"Umm, excuse me, Maria?"
Maria nervously coughed, "Yes."
"I was wondering if you happened to find a photo at the table I was sitting at last night."
Maria looked at Michael for a second, "Umm, not sure. I'll check with Liz," she replied as she noticed Liz had come up behind him. "Liz did you find a photograph here last night?"
"I'm sorry but I haven't seen one," Liz replied.
"Damn," Xander muttered to himself. "It's really important to me. Could I ask a favour?"
Liz nodded.
"If it turns up keep it safe, and I'll check tomorrow?"
"Of course."
Xander thanked Liz and exited, followed a few seconds later by Michael.
Liz turned to Maria; "he's going to following him isn't he?"
"Yeah probably. What's the deal with the photo? I thought Isabel would have given it back to you."
"No, she still has it."
*********
A few hours later Michael returned to the café. Seeing that Max and Isabel were siting at one of the booths he took a seat next to them.
"So anything?" Max asked, having been informed by Liz what Michael was up to.
"You could say that," Michael quipped. "He's only staying at the same motel as Moss"
"That's pretty flimsy Michael," Isabel replied.
"What is up with you Isabel. It seems strong enough to keep looking. Why haven't you told us what happened last night."
"I don't think he is FBI."
"You don't think? You're not sure?"
"No, but I don't think he is a danger to us. I'm going in again tonight."
Max looked closely at his sister. "Are you sure you should do that, Is?"
"I can't explain it Max, but there is something there. I don't think it is related to us, but I have to find out."
"I don't like it," Max counseled.
"I'm fine. I know what I'm doing.