Chapter Six

"We need a car," Max said.

"Yeah, great, Max. We can't even drive yet, I can't really see Mom and Dad buying us a car," said Michael. "Besides, what do we need a car for? Mom or Dad is always happy to take us just about anywhere."

"Last night, Isabel was practicing again," said Max. "This time, she brought me into Tess' dream – well, nightmare actually."

"Yeah, so, we've all been there before," said Michael. "What does this have to do with your sudden urge to get a car? You just want to take that Liz chic out on a date, don't you?"

"Shut up, Michael, that has nothing to do with it," Max denied while color crept up on his cheeks. If you must know the truth, I remembered something. And besides, it wouldn't hurt for us to be able to go some place where we can practice and learn to control these powers of ours. Last night when you sneezed, you blew up Mom's favorite vase."

"Hey, I can't help it!" Michael shouted as books tumbled off the shelf above his bed. "I'm working on it!"

"See," Max said.

"Jack ass," Michael answered, lobbing a pillow at his brother. "So what did you see in Tessie's dream, anyhow?"

"I wouldn't call her that," said Max. "Remember the snakes? Anyhow, it was just like she's always telling us. The three of us were standing there looking at her in some sort of bubble thing and this big tall guy comes out of nowhere and breaks the bubble open and pulls her out."

"Did he seem scary or anything?" Michael asked.

"No, but we were in a dark place. A cave or something, and I saw him put something on the wall. I wish we could find it."

"Max, get real," Michael said. "Some boogy man from Tess' dream put something on a wall, and you think it really exists?"

"I don't think it's a dream, Michael, I think it's a memory."

"Max, Michael, come on!" Philip Evans called. "We're ready to head out."

Max groaned, their father had promised to drive all of them to the mall at Isabel's request. He and Michael didn't want to go, but their parents said the girls couldn't go if they didn't go as well.

"Coming, Dad!" he called, his voice breaking a little bit.

Philip smiled as he watched his two sons gallop out of the house to the family minivan. Puberty had hit the Evans house hard, and along with it, all the afflictions that were typical of that phase in life. The boys' voices were cracked and squeaked so often, Philip never knew whom he was speaking to if he called home. The girls had more mood swings than he thought could happen in one day. If my mood fluctuated that much, he thought to himself, I'd implode from stress.

"You know the rules," he said, driving down the road. "Stay together, and nobody goes to the bathroom alone."

"Yes, Dad, we know," said Max.

"Humor me, Max. I'm your father," Philip said. He pulled in front of the entrance to the food court and put the car in park. "What time do you want me to pick you up?" he asked.

"Now," Michael grumbled.

"Is five o'clock okay, Dad?" Isabel asked.

"Five is fine, sweetie. "Do you have enough money," Philip added, reaching for his wallet.

"Yeah, Dad, we're good," said Michael, pushing Max out of the van.

"Shut upMichael," Isabel said. "If you want to give us more, Dad, we won't say no."

"Here's another five for each of you to get something to eat," Philip said. "Have a good time, and I'll see you later."

They watched their father drive off and entered the mall. The cool air conditioning made a pleasant change from the oppressive heat outside.

"Come on," said Tess. "I want to go to the book store."

"Well, I want to go to the sports store," said Michael. "And then that new hobby place. Come on, Max."

Max looked from Michael to Tess, and then to Isabel who was tapping her foot impatiently.

"Come on, Max, you know you don't want to go to the book store, or to look at shoes or whatever dumb thing Isabel wants to do. We can just meet them later."

"Yeah," Max said, brightening at Michael's suggestion. "How about if we just meet you guys in an hour out front of the cookie place?"

"Fine," Isabel huffed. She didn't care where they went, just as long as she was able to get the shoes she'd had her eye on. "Whatever, you guys go do your man things, and Tess and I will go have fun." She turned on her heel, grabbed Tess by the arm and pulled her down the walkway.

"I guess we're not staying together?" Tess said, finally.

"Oh, they just make me so mad sometimes," said Isabel. "They think they're so great because their boys, and we're just girls that can't do anything. Well, I've got news for them, we can do anything they can do!"

"And a few things they can't," Tess giggled. "Like walking through their dreams and messing with their minds. They can only blow stuff up."

"Shhh, Tess," Isabel said, looking around. "We aren't supposed to talk about that stuff in public."

"Because Max said so," said Tess. "And we don't care what Max says, remember?"

"Well, maybe he's kind of right," said Isabel. "I mean, you never know who could be listening."

"Right, like evil government agents in their stupid blue suits and sunglasses with those little ear pieces in their ears, right?" mocked Tess. She closed her eyes and concentrated, and within seconds, those very same images appeared in front of Isabel.

"It's not funny, Tess," Isabel said. "Make them go away."

"You're no fun either," Tess grumbled as the vision faded away.

"Tess, stop behaving like a child," Isabel said.

"And don't talk to me like I am a child, I'm your age!" Tess shouted.

"We think you're my age," Isabel shot back. "But if we based it on the way you're acting, I'd say you were six!"

"Oohh, you're such a bitch," Tess said in a low angry voice. "I really hate you sometimes. Go look at you're stupid shoes. I don't want to hang out with you anyhow."

With that parting shot, Tess pulled away from Isabel and stomped off into the crowded mall. Without looking over her shoulder to see if Isabel was watching, she ducked into the music store. Pausing to catch her breath and calm her pounding heart, Tess flipped idly through the sheet music. She'd never stood up to Isabel like that before and it felt different – good, but different. She paused for a moment to revel in the feeling of knowledge – she didn't need Isabel to tell her what to do – she was a strong enough person to do what she wanted, when a hand came down on her shoulder.

"Tess," the man said. "I've been dying to meet you."

An hour later, Max, Michael and Isabel waited in front of the bakery for Tess to appear.

"How could you let her go off on her own?" Max said.

"For crying out loud, Max, she's not a baby, none of us are, and she's perfectly capable of taking care of herself," Isabel said. "We had an argument, and she took off. What was I supposed to do, chase after her?"

"Yeah, maybe you should have," Michael said. "I bet you got all stuck up on her or something. You're turning into a stranger lately Isabel. We've all noticed it."

"Just because I don't want to stand out, you think I'm being stuck up?" Isabel practically shouted. "I just don't want to be a freak, is there anything wrong with that?"

"There isn't anything wrong with that, Isabel," Max said, trying to diffuse the tense situation. "But right now, we need to figure out where Tess is."

"Tess, Tess, Tess!" Isabel said. "Fine, go find the little baby. She's probably hiding somewhere waiting for us to come looking for her. Well, I'm not. I'm going to wait here!" She pulled a chair away from a nearby table and sat down in it, defiantly.

"Good, stay here," Max said. "And if Tess shows up, don't let her leave. We'll be back as quick as we can."

Isabel sat, drumming her fingers nervously on the table. She knew she had been wrong, but lately, she couldn't seem to control the words that came out of her mouth. It was like some evil pod person was living in her body, making her say terrible things. She just felt like her entire world was spinning out of control, and there wasn't a thing she could do about it.

"Hi Isabel," a voice said. There was a scraping of chairs, and three girls sat down at the table with Isabel.

"Where are the others?" the same girl asked. "You're never very far away from those cute brothers of yours."

"They went to go find Tess," Isabel said. She looked at the three girls and wondered why they had decided to join her. They represented the so-called beautiful people of Roswell Middle School. They were in fact, the very group of people she wanted to be a part of.

"Oh, did the poor little baby get lost?" the first girl, named Ashley," said.

"No, she didn't get lost," Isabel said, wanting desperately to be a part of their group, but not at the expense of her sister. "She just lost track of time, that's all."

"It doesn't matter," said the second girl, Michelle. "So tell me, Isabel, you're brother, doe he like, you know, like anybody?"

The three girls giggled and Isabel smothered a groan. The last thing she wanted to talk about was her brothers and their crushes.

"Yeah, does he like anybody, because Ashley said he's really hot, and she'd love to go to the dance with him," said Maureen, the third girl.

"Sorry," she said, an artificial smile playing upon her lips. "Max hasn't said anything about liking anyone."

And it's the truth, she thought. Max hadn't said anything about liking anybody, he'd just had about a million dreams of Liz Parker. Not that she'd reveal that to them.

"Max!" squealed Ashley. "I was talking about Michael."

"Oh," Isabel said over the giggles. "Well, sorry, he hasn't either. Look, I hate to break this up, but I have to go," she added, noticing Michael waving at her from the other end of the food court. "I'll see you later."

She made her way quickly across the food court to where Michael stood waiting.

"It took you long enough to notice me," he gripped. "What were you doing with them?"

"Listening to them beg me for information about you," she said, making gagging motions. "Did you find Tess?"

"Yeah, and she's really shaken up," said Michael. "Some guy tried to grab her."

"What, she couldn't stop him?" Isabel asked, incredulously.

"No, she got away, but not before he told her that he knows all about us – who we are, and where we come from. Isabel, he says he knows everything."