Chapter 9
Liz woke with pain shooting through her. She slowly remembered the previous day. Liz repeatedly passed out and they revived her continuing their questions and surgical cuts but the pain made her incomprehensible. They eventually stitched her up and brought her back to her room. She felt herself go back under.
Smelling salts brought her around. Dr. Richardson was there with the laptop and phone at the ready. Another week had come and gone. How many had it been, ten, eleven. Liz wasn't sure anymore. Dr. Richardson helped Liz seat up and supported her as she walked to the sit at the desk then moved to his seat across from her. Liz saw the feed. Everyone she knew and loved was gathered around the phone at the Crashdown.
I don't know if I can do this, Liz thought, I'm in a so much pain and at the breaking point. I don't think I can protect them. Sensing her hesitation, one of the guards left the room. Dr. Richardson dropped his gaze as if ashamed, and the guard re-entered the room. Liz's eyes drifted back to the laptop and saw, instead of the usual dot on her father, there were dots on her dad, mom, Maria, Michael, Isabel and, oh, my god, Max. With trembling hands she reached for the phone.
"Hi Liz," they all shouted into the phone.
She was overcome with emotion and with her best bravado exclaimed how she missed them. She told them how great an experience Harvard has been and then she repeated the same lies she had been telling her parents for weeks.
"One more week and you will be home" Liz heard her Dad say.
"Then senior year, party time" Maria exclaimed. "Not too much party, Mr. Parker" Maria laughed.
Liz said good-bye and she'd see them in a week. She almost lost it but caught the sob before it escaped as she said, "I love you all."
The line went dead and she looked at the laptop. They all looked happy. Happy and safe. She had done it, Liz thought.
Dr. Richardson checked her stitches and packed up to leave. Liz boldly asked what would happen to her when she was supposed to arrive back home in a week. A look came over his face and looked away quickly saying he didn't know. Liz knew the look said it all. They would kill her. Maybe it was for the best, she thought. There would no longer be the girl that survived the shooting to tie to Max.
A short while later, Liz heard shouting in the hall.
"Let me talk to her" a voice said which was vaguely familiar to Liz.
"Pierce, we have it under control, " Agent Lewis yelled.
"I'm in charge here, I talk to her when I say it is time to talk to her."
The door flew open, causing Liz to sit up abruptly not knowing what to expect. An agent walked through the door and it closed and locked behind him.
"I am Agent Pierce, Liz. I believe I met , ah, your boyfriend, Max Evens in this facility not too long ago."
Liz's jaw dropped open. She knew Pierce was dead. She was there and saw Michael kill him and she has seen him suffer the guilt every day since. This was Nasedo. Maybe this was her way out. Maybe she was going home. Suddenly Pierce/Nasedo grabbed her and hauled her to her feet. He slammed her against the wall. Still holding onto her shirt, he leaned his weight against her. He was so close she could feel his warm breath on her face. He started yelling at her to tell them about the aliens but she heard something else in her mind.
"Why are you here? Have you told them anything? How long have you been here?" Liz heard in her mind and shook her head no.
"Help me" Liz yelled. "Why have you kept me here all summer? I just want to go home."
"You are putting the royal four in danger. It would be best if you weren't here" Nasedo continued.
Pierce/Nasedo starting yelling and slamming her harder into the wall.
Liz again heard something else in her mind.
"I am the protector of the royal four. Your presence puts all at risk."
Liz felt Pierce/Nasedo put her down and she slumped to the floor. Pierce/Nasedo grabbed her by the hand and dragged her to the bed saying he would be back later to continue their discussion.
Liz watched Pierce/Nasedo leave and carefully sat up trying not to tear her stitches. She realized there was something in her hand. It was a small knife. She cried knowing what Nasedo wanted her to do. He wanted her to end her life to forever sever the link to Max. Why did he need her to do it? Surely the FBI was going to kill her anyway. Nasedo as Pierce had said he would be back to talk so she hid the knife and waited.
Liz started to doze but woke as she heard arguing in the hall.
"We've tortured that poor girl enough. Not even a Navy Seal could have stood up to what she has been through." Liz thought that was Dr. Richardson.
"We should bring in the boy and see what happens" Agent Lewis said.
"No, we went down the path with the boy. Agents were killed and there was never evidence linking him to aliens." Liz knew that was Pierce/Nasedo. He continued "We should just kill the girl. She knows nothing but has seen too much of the unit. She…"
Agent Lewis cut off him off, "Max Evens had been our best lead to the aliens and you let him slip through your fingers. I didn't provide details, but the man upstairs knows we have a solid lead and has given me license to do as I see fit to get the answers that you have not been able to find. We have another week before she is supposed to return to Roswell so we continue. MY….WAY."
"Let me have one more go with her, and then she is all yours Lewis."
"Fine" Agent Lewis acquiesced.
The door flew open and Liz pushed herself up despite the pain from the incisions.
"This is your last chance before your dead. Tell us what you know" Pierce/Nasedo yelled.
Liz heard in her head. "If you truly love Max, then do what needs to be done before he is dragged back in."
"Why don't you just kill me?" Liz asked trying to hide her fear. "We want answers" Piece/Nasedo said through gritted teeth. Liz heard in her mind, "It would be best for Max if was a clean, unquestionable death to ensure all remain protected."
Liz looked down and nodded her head while saying she was sorry but didn't know anything. Pierce/Nasedo headed to the door and Liz heard it lock. Liz had never felt so alone. She prayed for strength and reached under the mattress for the knife. In the dark she whispered an apology and love to her parents. Her heart filled with sorry that they would never know the truth. She wondered what story the FBI would tell them. She succumbed to the pressure of Harvard, probably. She said goodbyes to each friend in turn saving Max for last.
Liz pleaded with the universe to somehow convey to Max she was sorry and how loved and cherished he was by her. Liz opened the knife, thinking, my hell can finally end. She pulled the knife across her wrist. The pain felt like nothing compared to what she had already gone through. The real pain was knowing she would never get to say her good-byes for real. Max would never know everything was because she loved him she thought as the blood pooled on the floor. Liz laid down hanging her wrist off the bed to make sure the blood continued to flow. Blackness finally enveloped her and she welcomed it and the release from the suffering it would bring.
Liz felt cold. Why am I cold? Liz thought. She opened her eyes and realized she was in a hospital gown lying on a metal table with a bandage on her wrist. Liz closed her eyes, squeezing them tight and shaking her head against the cold metal. She couldn't contain the sobs and her whole body shook rattling the table. She thought she had done it. Liz thought she had been able to save them by removing herself from the equation of the alien conspiracy. Now they would be pulled into this hell with her.
Liz felt a presence next to her face. "You didn't think you could leave us that easy" she heard a voice whisper in her ear. She knew before opening her eyes that it was Agent Lewis. "You go when I say you go." All Liz could do was sob.
Liz suddenly heard a commotion and heard "We've got him." Liz looked up and saw Max, his face bloody, being dragged into the room by two armed guards. No, she thought this was what she was trying to avoid.
"The human has nothing to do with us. I can kill her for you, like I have done with all the others that have learned about us" Liz heard Max say.
"Well, well Max Evens, come to save your girlfriend?"
"I'm not Max Evens, you stupid humans, and this one means nothing to me" Max said as he spat at Liz. Agent Lewis walked over to Max, whispering in his ear "You will pay for what you did to my father."
"Take them to holding, put them together and let's see what happens" Agent Lewis said to one of the guards.
Liz and Max were dragged to a cell together. Somehow Liz found the strength to stand and stumbled towards Max. She touched his face and felt black, emptiness.
"You're not Max, " she whispered.
"No, No I'm not" the Max imposter said laughing. "These FBI idiots think Max Evens is an alien when it has been me impersonating Max all along. There is nothing special about Max, unless you count being a lovesick sap for you. Liz noticed that the Max imposter kept looking up. Liz looked up, following his gaze realizing he was making sure he was being recorded by the camera in the upper corner of the room. Suddenly Max changed his appearance now looking like Liz, then a little boy, then back to Max.
"We observe, sometime we temporarily enter a human's life if the opportunity presents itself. Max is such a loner that it easy to pretend to be him as there were so few people around to fool. The only tricky part is making sure not to be at the same place as the real Max."
Liz slumped to the floor and the Max imposter slid down next to her. She suddenly heard a voice in her head.
"Its Nasedo, Liz. I have a plan but you must do exactly what I say. When Max was held here they took samples of his blood and cells. I have taken great pains to switch them with human specimens and alter any reports but there are still some that believe Max to not be human. I need them to take samples from me and when they do the comparison it will help solidify that Max is human and they will leave him alone."
Nasedo continued to relay the plan to Liz when the door flew open. Two guards came in and dragged him away. Liz heard screams for the next few hours. Liz thought about Agent Lewis's last comment to Max/Nasedo and realized one of those dead bodies in the photographs must have been his father. Liz remembered from Max's visions of the white room Pierce saying something about an Agent Lewis heading up the Special Unit in the past. Liz cringed as she imagined Agent Lewis was making good on his promise. The next day the door opened and Nasedo was thrown back into the room. He was bloody and bruised. His clothes were torn but he was alive.
Liz moved to his side. "Well?" she whispered afraid the plan wouldn't make it past the first step.
"Done" Nasedo said. "They ran every test and threw in a little torture on the side."
"Now what" Liz said. "We need a plan to escape once we complete the next phase of the plan."
"I already have one and I'm sorry but it doesn't involve you. The royal four are my only concern. Fulfill your end of the plan, then you must remove yourself from the aliens before you get them caught" he said.
Suddenly alarms started going off and everything went dark. The door burst off its hinges and she felt something on her wrist. Liz saw Nasedo get up and run out. She tried to get to her feet to follow but was blown to the back of the room slamming against the wall and she was enveloped in blackness. Liz woke, uncertain of how long she had been knocked out. The door was still off its hinges but guards were posted at the door. As soon as the guard saw she was awake he ordered her to stand and they marched to another room.
Liz looked around the room and saw a table and chairs. The guard ordered her into a chair. A short time later Agent Lewis entered. This is not going to be good, Liz thought as he looked furious.
Through pursed lips, Agent Lewis slowly asked "What…. happened…last…night?" Each word said with distinct staccato.
"I don't know" Liz stammered. "One minute I saw what looked like Max, then the room went dark and I woke up."
"Two agents are dead and the alien is gone. We ran tests, he was definitely not human. We need answers and we need them now. What happened to Max Evens?"
Liz started telling him the story Nasedo had mentally given her the previous day.
"The person, uh, alien you had that looked like Max can change. He can shape shift. I'm sure you witnessed it when we were together in my cell. When I touched him it came flooding back. I was telling the truth earlier about not being shot. Somehow he played with my mind. He healed me but made me think that I had broken the bottle. I never could explain the hole in my dress so I just ignored it. Now I remember, I was shot and dying and he was in the Crashdown pretending to be Max. He touched my stomach and healed the wound."
"How can I believe you that it wasn't really Max Evens that healed you that day?" Agent Lewis asked moving to stand behind Liz hovering over her.
"The alien just healed me again. " Liz lifted her sleeve and removed the bandage over her slashed wrist. The wound looked like it was a few days old instead only a few hours and there was the all too familiar silver hand print covering the wound.
The door to the room flew open and Pierce/Nasedo stormed in with anger in his eye and a laptop under his arm. He stopped at the table glaring at Agent Lewis. Liz sat in between the two standing men. Liz didn't look up at Pierce/Nasedo worried she hadn't told the story right and had blown everything.
Pierce set the laptop down and turned it toward Agent Lewis.
"What am I looking at? Agent Lewis demanded.
"A video feed from the security system showing the alien in the cell with this girl at 7 pm last night. " Pierce/Nasedo said motioning his head toward Liz. Pierce/Nasedo turned the laptop toward himself, typed a command on the computer and turned it again to Agent Lewis. "This video was taken from a surveillance camera outside the Crashdown." Liz could see Max walking into the Crashdown. "We have confirmation that he was in there all last evening with his blonde girlfriend and sister."
"You accused me earlier of letting Max Evens slip through my fingers. We let him go last spring because we knew he was human and we couldn't risk the scandal of having held an innocent high school boy getting out in the open or leaking to the people upstairs that fund our little covert operation here. Did you look at the reports and the samples we collected from him? The agent deaths were part of the coverup as they wouldn't believe the evidence in front of them. He was only held two days so it was better to release him then try to arrange his death which could have brought undue attention to the Special Unit. Now you have done the same thing but you have had this girl for months and she is covered in scars. There is no sweeping this under the rug. You're career is hanging by a thread Lewis. You've let a 17 year old girl ruin your career. When you look back in five years at why you are washed up, that is the face you should think of" Pierce/Nasedo said pointing at Liz.
Liz was confused by Nasedo's rant, making everything out to be her fault, and could see Agent Lewis becoming angry and agitated.
Pierce/Nasedo picked up his phone, dialed and said "focus on the shifter."
Liz was scared of what her fate would be as the two agents argued in front of her. Lewis wanted her released. Pierce/Nasedo wanted her dead. She was afraid to hope only to have that hope stripped away as it had been so many times before. Agent Lewis was fuming, running his hands through his hair and pacing.
Pierce yelled "Let this go. Disposing of her is the only option. If you can't do that, then you are relieved of duty."
"She has the answers we have been seeking all these years. You once wanted to find and kill all the aliens that killed your mentor, my father. We should let her go and she will lead us to the aliens" Lewis yelled.
"Guard, please escort Agent Lewis out please."
A guard reached for Agent Lewis's arm, but he pulled his arm away and grabbed Liz by the throat. The guard tried pulling him off but Pierce/Nasedo didn't budge and Liz thought she saw a small smile on his face. Liz could feel her throat constricting and she clutched at the agent's hand trying to free herself.
Agent Lewis leaned over and whispered in Liz's ear, "Pierce thinks I'll kill you to get back in the agency's good graces, but he is wrong. You are too valuable. You are the link to finding the aliens and the answers I seek. You, little girl won't stand in my way. You and your little alien friend will see me again that's for sure."
Liz was frantic now. She could feel the edges of her vision starting to darken as her lungs screamed for air. Agent Lewis loosened his grip slightly and the guard was able to pull Agent Lewis's hand from Liz and she pulled in a huge breath putting her to hand to her throat and watched the guard cuff and drag Agent Lewis out of the room. Liz rubbed her neck and thought, he won't stop. She took his words to heart and knew she had to figure out a new way to protect everyone, assuming of course she ever made it out of Eagle Ridge.
Pierce/Nasedo came up to Liz with a look of anger and said "either you remove yourself from the equation or you will be removed." He turned and left the room. The guard guided her back to her cell. Liz fell back on the bed exhausted. She pondered Nasedo's words. She had already tried to kill herself and failed. Should she try again? No, she thought to herself. I need to get out of here and protect everyone. Agent Lewis won't stop trying to expose Max even if she is dead. Nasedo has underestimated Lewis's conviction and desire for revenge. She couldn't make the same mistake otherwise they will all end up here in her position and she would die before she let that happen. After two days alone with her thoughts, and no one coming except with food, Dr. Richardson came to visit.
"I need to remove your stitches," he said. Dr. Richardson removed the stitches from the multiple incisions that ran across her chest and abdomen and then sat at the table. "I'm sorry, so sorry" he said looking at the floor and shaking his head. Tears welled in both their eyes and Liz realized that he had no part in the torture she had endured. All of this went farther than he ever expected it to go.
Liz was ordered to shower and get dressed then she sat on her cot and waited not knowing what was going to happen. A guard came and ordered her to stand and turn around. He zip tied Liz's hands and put a blind fold on her forcing Liz into darkness. She was led away, to where, she didn't know. Liz heard a door open and felt fresh air and the heat of the sun. She took a huge breath. It had been months since she smelled fresh air and it smelled sweeter knowing it might be the last time she experienced this. Liz struggled to get free as she thought she was being led to her death. Liz soon realized struggling was useless. The guard had a good hold on her. She needed to conserve her strength for the final escape. Liz was lifted up and told to sit. Suddenly there was motion and she could tell she was in a vehicle. They traveled for a while and then the car stopped and Liz prepared herself to run. The blind fold was removed and Liz had to partially close her eyes due to the blinding of the sun streaming in the front window of the SUV she was sitting in. Liz's eyes adjusted and Dr. Richardson was sitting in the front seat looking back at her telling her it was time to go. Liz looked out the side window and saw the Crashdown. She started to quietly cry.
"As you know, Agent Lewis was relieved of duty but I fear he may pose a danger to you in the future. He seems quite certain you have answers and won't stop until you give them to him." Liz looked at him confused. "I'm going home?" Liz asked scared this was all a trick.
"Pierce was called away to meet with Congresswomen Whittaker before he was able to finalize plans for your, ah, release" he said looking quickly at the guard next to her. "So I finalized your release in his absence." He motioned for the guard to get out of the car which the guard obliged and he stood next in the street.
"Don't tell anyone Liz. Pierce may still try to ensure things are covered up but I used his absence to get you released but I can't promise he will leave you alone."
"Why are you helping me?" Liz asked.
"I didn't sign up to be in the FBI to torture innocent kids, but to try and make this country safer. I have a daughter your age and would like to think if someone saw her being treated inhumanly they would help her. Forget about what happened Liz. Pierce may leave you alone if the secret stays with you. Just keep it quiet, understand? No telling a counselor, your best friend, no one."
Liz understood. This was her secret, her burden to bear. Dr. Richardson motioned for the agent to re-enter the car. He climbed back in shutting the door and cut the zip tie on Liz's wrists. Dr. Richardson handed over pills. Liz only vaguely heard him saying something about preventing infection. He handed her a second bottle of sleeping pills which was to help with any nightmares. She was going home. That's all that mattered to Liz. Liz took the pill bottles and shoved them in the purse the guard handed her along with a bag of "gifts' from Harvard to complete the cover story.
"There are additional things in your bag to help support your story for the summer," Dr. Richardson told her.
The guard reached across Liz and opened the door to let Liz out onto the sidewalk and Dr. Richardson grabbed her arm, "just forget."
With that Liz climbed out of the car and ran into the Crashdown. There was a welcome home banner and all her friends were there. Maria ran over and hugged her, then Alex, then her parents. Even Isabel hugged her with Michael standing close behind as if they missed her. Then she saw Max off to the side, his hands in his pockets with an embarrassed look on his face. He was debating if he should hug her or not. Max looked up and his eyes locked onto Liz's and somehow without realizing either of them had moved they were standing in front of each as if drawn together like magnets.
"Welcome home, Liz."
"Thanks Max."
"Hi Liz, " she heard from Tess. Keenly aware of how close she was to Max, Liz stepped back too quickly hitting a chair behind her. Max grabbed her hand to prevent her from falling and he instantly felt pain and the same blinding white from his dream. It took all of his self control not to scream out of loud. Liz pulled her hand away quickly severing the connection she felt with Max.
"Good to see you Max, "she said and turned quickly walking away to talk to Maria.
Max just stood there, hand still partially in the air from where he had grabbed Liz's hand to steady her. What he just felt, he had felt before in his dream not very long ago. Suddenly Max felt Tess touch his arm and his mind went blank.
"Are you okay, Max?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah, fine." He said trying to remember what he had just been thinking.
A/N: Please review, I am starting to get a bit of writers block and would love some feedback to help keep the story moving!
