Author Notes:-

It's been on my mind for years to rewrite all my old First Wave fic so I have eventually gotten around to it.

Summary;- Part five of the The Fair Maiden Series. Cade and Liz investigate a youth club which may be part of an alien experiment.

Disclaimer: - First Wave title and characters are the property of First Wave Productions and Pearson TV. Cade Foster, Crazy Eddie, The Gua and other references from the TV series are the property of Chris Brancato, Larry Sugar and Francis Ford Coppola. Elizabeth Baker and the rest of the characters as well as the plot belong to me and will not be used without my permission. (August 2000 - rewritten August 2019).

The Club

Prologue

Elizabeth Baker sighed as she picked up her cellphone for the third time in an hour to check if her source had called to give her a quote on the story she was currently working on. She tutted to herself when she saw that he hadn't. She glanced around the buzzing office of The Ohio Chronicle. She noticed that her editor was alone in his office so she made her way over to him.

"Come in Liz," her editor Jack Harrison said to her when she knocked on the door.

"Jack, Stanley hasn't called yet to give me that quote about the Silverman story, " she said.

"We need it if we're going to run with it," replied Jack placingle on his desk.

"I know."

"Our best option is to go down to Louisville Town Hall and get Gracefield to supply it instead... "

"Which means I need to get there by 5," replied Liz looking at her watch. "It's 3 now."

" You better get moving then, " Jack said smiling at her.

"Yes sir," Liz grinned as she left the office.

"Liz, we're all going to Mc Clintocks after work. Are you coming? " Her friend Casey asked as Liz was putting the stuff she needed to her briefcase.

"I wish Casey but I've to get to Louisville before 5," she replied. "And it's an hour and a half drive there and back."

"That's a pity. Nick is coming too. You can both continue giving each other gooy eyed looks," teased Casey.

"Gooy eyed looks?" Liz said in mock horror as they both giggled. She and Nick, the newspaper's photographer, had been out a few times since she started working for the newspaper.

"What's so funny?" They both turned to see him standing behind them. Nick was very good looking with dark hair and stubble on his face. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him.

"Nothing," smirked Casey as she winked at Liz and walked over to her own desk.

"So are you coming out tonight?, " he asked moving over closer to her.

"I've to go to Louisville. I'm not sure what time I'll be back at," she replied.

"Rain check then? I had a good time last time," he said quietly to her running his finger along her arm.

"I'd like that," Liz smiled as she gazed into his dark blue eyes.

"Has anyone heard from Jake lately?" Jack asked standing between his office door. Jake was the newspaper's messenger boy.

Liz and Nick pulled away from each other. She shook her head. "I've been out of town all week."

"I haven't seen him in a while," replied Nick. "Has he not called in?"

"He's probably coming down off a high somewhere," Liz said.

"No he hasn't," replied Jack. "If anyone seems him please remind him he still works here."

They watched as he went back into his office. Nick turned his attention back to Liz. "I better get going. Photographs won't take themselves. Call you later. "

She smiled as she watched him move towards the office door and sighed to herself.

Her office phone rang just as she was about to leave. She debated to herself whether to answer it but it might be her contact so she answered it.

"Liz?" a voice said down the line.

"Yes?" She frowned as she tried to put the voice to a name. It seemed very familiar to her.

"It's Jake, " replied the voice. "Will you come meet me? In an hour?"

"If it's money for drugs then no, " Liz said in a firm tone of voice..

"It's not," Jake replied. Liz thought she detected a note of desperation or maybe something else in his voice. "Meet me down by the boathouse in the park. "

"Ok," she replied with a sigh.

She left a message for her contact in Louisville to contact her as she drove to the park. He eventually called her back and supplied her with the quote as she sat in the car park. She glanced around and then took out her dictaphone before going to meet Jake. 'I m not giving him any money this time. He will have to deal with it himself, " she muttered to herself as she walked down the leafy footpath that lead to the boathouse.e scanned the area as she went down the steps and saw a figure huddled over on a park bench.

"What's this about Jake?" She asked when she reached him. He looked up at her and she was shocked by his appearance. He was pale and shivering with sunken red rimmed eyes.

""I need you to help me Liz," he whispered frantically.

"Jake, I'm not going to give you any money."

"They are after me."

"No doubt they are if you owe them money. How much is it this time?" Liz said turning around in disgust.

"It's not money. Liz, the aliens are after me." Liz turned around sharply and looked at Jake.

"What?" she exclaimed.

"I know they are here, doing experiments... they want to invade the planet."

"Jake, how do you know this?" she asked looking around her.

"They are doing experiments on me, on teenagers. The club..." Jake was shaking and he was sweating even though it was a cold day. "I know you write for The Paranoid Times. You have to help me."

"Jake, I have a friend you should talk to. You should tell him. What were they doing to you?" she asked.

"They were testing how teenagers react to various situations..." Jake stopped suddenly and fell forward to the ground. She looked in horror as she saw a pool of blood seeping from his back. She reached down to check him when a bullet hit the bench in front of her. She dived behind a tree and pulled out her cellphone to call the police.

\\\/

Cade's Journal Entry

"Quatrain 23, Century 11.

The Messenger's demise in front of The Fair Maiden, Begs the question for the Man Twice Bless'd, why the manipulation of the young tribe, conceals the depth of the pretence

Cincinnati, Ohio. Jake Santos was gunned down in front of Liz Baker yesterday. The aliens were doing some kind of experiments on teenagers. This isn't the first time we have encountered experiments being carried out on teenagers. Teenagers can be more trusting than adults and that is probably why the Gua have decided to experiment on them. Eddie did some research and discovered that a new youth club had been recently formed. Does the club have connections to the Gua? This club seemed to have everything going for it. But I have learned that nothing is ever what it seems. Especially in the fight against the Gua"

The following day a man with short brown spiky hair, of medium build, wearing a dark blue shirt and black pants arrived at the building were Jake Santos had lived. He took off his sunglasses and scanned the area for anything that looked suspicious. He looked down the nameplates on the wall until he found the one he wanted. The door opened before he could press the button for the buzzer so he reached out and caught the door before it closed.

He walked up the stairs, hesitating before he knocked on the door. When there was no answer he rapped on the door again.

He was about to leave when the door opened. "What do you want?" A woman in her 40's asked. Cade saw the grief in her eyes as he stepped forward to show his fake ID.

"Mrs Santos, my name is John Wilson. I'm a reporter for The Standard. I'm sorry about your loss but I was wondering if you could answer a few questions," he said hating the fact that he had to lie to this grieving woman.

"No, I am tired of answering questions. I answered them to the police, to the newspapers. No..." replied the woman shutting the door.

Cade sighed knowing how hard it was to have a loved one taken away.

He decided to go see Liz. She hadn't been at the Newspaper when he called after she didn't answer her cellphone when he called her earlier. They had said she was at home. So he drove to her place. She lived in an apartment building just east of the city.

"Who is it?" a voice said over the intercom.

"Liz, it's me!" he said.

She opened the door. She looked like she had not slept all night. Her blue eyes were red rimmed and her blonde curly hair was tied back. She hadn't even got dressed even though it was 4.30 in the evening. She was wearing a white bathrobe with a T-shirt and sweat pants underneath. "Come in."

"Are you all right?" he asked following her inside. He noticed a bottle of whiskey on the coffee table.

"No!" she sniffed.

"Are you drinking?" he asked indicating the bottle

"I was just about to get started. Would you like one?" she asked slamming a glass down on the table.

"Liz..." he started to say sitting down beside her.

"I'm angry," she almost spat out.

"I am too Liz," he said rubbing her shoulder but she got to her feet.

"How many more lives... human lives are these bastards going to ruin?" she shouted pacing too and fro between the couch and the door.

"I don't know," Cade said standing up.

"I recorded our conversation," she said to him.

"You didn't mention that in your statement to the cops," Cade said.

"No. I didn't tell them," she replied.

"Why?"

"Because it would have made Jake sound like he was on drugs."

"Did he have a drug problem?" asked Cade.

"About a year ago he did but all of us at the paper helped him get over it," replied Liz. "Here listen." She took out her dictaphone and played the recording for him.

"Go and get dressed. We're going to Eddie's." he said after he had listened to the recording.

/\\\

"What do the Gua have to do with this club that has recently been set up in the city?" Eddie mused after they had played the tape for him.

"I don't know," replied Liz. "I suppose the only way to find out about it is to ask his mother."

"I already tried talking to her but she wouldn't let me in," Cade said.

"Well she knows me. I'll go and talk to her," Liz said.

"Elena, can you tell us about the club he was in?" asked Liz after she had commiserated with Jake's mother.

"He joined it about 6 months ago. It was designed to keep the kids off the street," replied Elena taking a drink from her coffee cup.

"Where does this club take place?" Cade asked.

"North and Oak Street," replied Elena.

"What do you know about it?" asked Liz.

"Well they did all kinds of activities. They had just returned from a 2 week camping trip in the mountains."

"Do you know who ran it?" Liz asked.

"Well two people called Angela and Gerry. I don't know their last names. The name of the club was "The Great Under Age club".

Liz and Cade gave each other a look when they heard the name of the club.

"Liz you will find who did this to my son, won't you?" Elena sniffed as she wiped her eyes with a tissue

Liz took the other woman's hand and smiled ."Of course I will."

"The Great Under Age Club" Eddie exclaimed after Cade called him to tell him what they found out.

"Spells out GUA, Eddie. Can you do a background check on this club, find out how they operate, who finances them and more importantly if there are any other clubs like this set up around the country." Cade said into his cell phone.

"Sure thing, Foster." Eddie said.

"I 'm going to check out this club, have a look around and see what's going on. This could be the way the aliens get control of the teenagers. I'll call you later," Cade said hanging up.

"Can I come with you?" Liz asked.

"If I said no, would it make any difference?" asked Cade.

"No, so can I come? I'll go whether you like it or not," she said with a smirk.

"Well, I'm not going to sit here and argue about it all night. Come on," Cade said knowing she would find a way. His phone rang and he answered it.

"Foster, as far as I can make out this club is a pilot program. It has only been set up in Cincinnati but there are plans to make it a national program. The people who run are Angela Matthews and Gerry Greendale. They are part of a youth organisation called "Youth Alliance". This organisation has only been going for about a year and a half. They do all sort of youth activities such as hiking, camping, etc. etc. These people sound like your regular good Samaritans, Foster. It sounds like you are being led up the garden path. On a wild goose chase," Eddie said over his headset.

"That is what they want us to believe. This organisation will probably get teenagers to join. The kids think it is great. A way off the streets. The aliens will do what ever they do on them. Probably controlling their minds." Cade said.

"Yeah, but what are the perimeters of the experiment?" asked Eddie.

"That's what I need to find out," Cade said putting the phone in his pocket. He and Liz got out of the car and walked towards the building.

"There is a group on tonight. I wonder if I could get an interview with the group leaders," Liz said noticing a sign with the activities on the wall beside the entrance.

"Good idea. Try and keep them talking. I am going to do a little B & E around the back."

"Be careful, Cade," Liz said.

"You too," he said walking around the back.

"Excuse me, I'm Elizabeth Baker from the Ohio Chronicle," Liz said showing a woman in her 30's her press identity card.

"What can I do for you Miss Baker?" asked the woman.

"I'm reporting on the death of Jake Santos. I understand he was a member of this club and I was hoping I could get a reaction from you," Liz said.

"That was a tragedy," replied the woman. "My name is Angela Matthews.

"He worked at the paper. We're all very shocked at what happened."

"So are we," replied Angela.

"Well I'd like to know what you guys do here at the club," Liz said.

"Well this is a pilot program. If successful we plan to extend it to other inner city areas. It keeps the kids off the street."

"Why is there such a big attraction?" asked Liz.

"Well there is the activities as well as the talks that we have, on drug and alcohol abuse, sex education etc. We put them into different situations and see how they react."

Cade put his thief skills to use as he broke into the back of the building. He pulled out his gun and his torch. Steadying one hand above the other he shone it around the room. He blinked in astonishment and gasped when he saw what was in it. It was similar to the room he had encountered in 19 Haven Street back in Chicago when he discovered his own experiment by the aliens. "Purged", "Self eliminated" or "In Progress" were stamped on the pages. He knew he couldn't take the pages out as they would only be unreadable. He wrote down some names and left the room. He waited in the car for Liz to come back out. He took out his cell phone and dialled Eddie.

"Eddie, I found a room like the one that I found in Chicago. Find out about to Cally Morrison, Daniel Evans..." Cade read out a list of names for Eddie to check up on.

"Eddie, I think this experiment is similar to my own, " Cade said in disgust.

. "Foster, This is really freaky!" replied Eddie inputting the names into his computer.

"I know. I'm just waiting Liz to come out. She's doing an interview with one of the leaders. Here she is," he said seeing her run across the road as he hung up. Cade told her what he had seen when she sat in the car.

"Oh my God," she breathed out. "Well, I have some news. Apparently they have a hiking and camping trip and they are going tomorrow. They were looking for volunteers so I volunteered you and me. I hope you have your hiking boots ready!"

"Good work Liz, What time do they set off?"

"5.30 in the morning!"

Cade groaned when he heard the time. Life as a fugitive did not leave time for having a lie in or getting a good night's sleep. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept in.

"Well if you want to go you better get some sleep," Liz said. "You can stay with me..." She noticed the look he gave her. "On the couch I mean."

He looked a little embarrassed for a moment. "I didn't think you meant..."

"I know Cade," she said pushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. "The mission comes first."

He nodded as they drove to her apartment. He cared a lot for her but needed to put it on hold until they stopped the invasion.

When they arrived back at her place they talked how they were going to stop this experiment.

"Two days in the mountains with a group of teenagers should be fun," Cade said rolling his eyes.

Liz laughed as she handed him some blankets. "If they're anything like you and me then we're gonna have our hands full. "

"When I was 15 my stepfather was teaching me the art of breaking and entering," Cade revealed .

"It's an art? " she queried looking amused.

He nodded with a smile."Yep. Very much so! But I'm sure you were a goody two shoes when you were 15! "

"When I was 15 I went hiking in the woods with my friend Ben and we got lost. Mountain Rescue were sent out to find us," She giggled. "I was living with my aunt and uncle at the time. They were not impressed!"

"I'd say not." replied Cade. "I wish I'd known you then."

They locked eyes for several moments before she broke away glancing at the clock on the wall.

"Well, if we're to get up early I need to get my beauty sleep."

"Me to," replied Cade as he fixed the blankets on the couch.

She stood watching him for a moment. "See you bright and early. "

"Nite," replied Cade as she went into her bedroom. He lay on the couch watching TV with the sound on low for a while before falling asleep.

She tossed and turned most of the night. She lay on one side watching the clock change then she lay on her back staring at the ceiling before lying on her other side. She felt too warm so she pushed her blanket off the bed. Then she felt cold so she covered herself with it. She knew why she couldn't sleep. It was because he was in the next room. Even though they had agreed that stopping the invasion took precedence over anything else there was still a feeling of what if? She was seeing Nick from the newspaper now and she liked him a lot and even though it hadn't gotten to the next stage yet she felt that they could have something special but there was something holding her back.

She eventually fell asleep but it seemed like she had just fallen asleep when her alarm clock went off at 4.30am. She groaned and shut it off while turning over in the bed.

Cade knocked on the door several minutes later. "Wakey, Wakey," he said. He was already fully dressed wearing a grey T-shirt and jeans.

"Go away!" She groaned turning over.

He pulled the blankets off her. "This was your idea. Get up!" he said.

She looked at him with bleary eyes as she climbed out of the bed. "Put some coffee on," she mumbled heading towards the bathroom.

\\\/

A short while later they were waiting outside the club waiting to set off. Liz was wearing a sweater and blue jeans with her hair tied up under a baseball cap. She stifled a yawn with her hand.

"Someone is tired this morning, " teased Cade.

"I didn't really sleep too well," she replied.

"Why not? "

"I dunno. Just couldn't sleep I guess," she answered ignoring the look that he gave her.

Cade had called Eddie the night before to let him know where they were going. Eddie being his usual paranoid self told him to be careful and to stay alert.

"Ok, people! This is Liz Baker and Cade Masters. They'll be joining us on our hike for the next couple of days. Say hi everyone," Angela instructed the 10 teenagers standing around.

"Hi," they chorused.

Cade and Liz said hi.

"What we are going to do is split the group. You will have responsibility for 5 of them and you have to make sure that you are with your group all the time. Give each one responsibility for something, carrying the tent, food etc. This is like a survival hike. Make sure they do what you tell them to do," Gerry said to them as he told them which of the five teenagers they would be working with.

It was a three hour drive to their destination. The teenagers either slept or teased each other on the journey. After sorting out who was responsible for what they set off. Gerry and Angela went off in one direction and Cade and Liz went in another.

A couple of hours later Cade decided to stop for a rest. Even though he tried to keep in shape while on the run he was finding it hard going. The kids didn't seem to have any problems.

"Maybe we should take a break," he said sitting down on a rock taking a drink of water.

"Wow, for someone who is constantly running around, from the cops and the aliens. You are sure out of shape," Liz teased him.

"Shut up, Liz!" he said with a small smile.

The kids saw that the they had stopped and walked back to them.

"So the adults can't keep up with us!" one of them said. Liz remembered that her name was Jenny. She was a petite young girl with long blonde hair.

"We're taking a half hour break," Caddie said.

"No, we have to keep going. We have to reach the camp before the others do. Before it is too late!" exclaimed another girl.

"We've plenty of time, Lesley", Jenny said rolling her eyes.

"No we don't. We can't take any more breaks! We have to get to the camp!" Lesley said anxiously.

"There is no harm in taking a break," Cade said gently.

"NO, we have to keep moving!" Lesley seemed to be getting more and more agitated.

"It's ok Lesley," Liz said to her putting her hand on the young girl's arm.

"Would you calm down?" one of the boys, Matt, said to her.

"No. We can't take a break!" she said.

Liz and Cade glanced at each other and wondered what was going on.

"Lesley, sit down a minute and rest. We can start up again when everyone is rested." Cade said. He had an uneasy feeling about this. He wondered why the girl was getting so agitated. Was this some kind of warped experiment by the Gua?

"No, I will not rest, we have to keep moving," Lesley said as she started to walk off.

"Lesley, we need to stay together!" one of the other boys, Kenny, said.

"We don't have time to stop. We have to get to the camp," she said walking into the woods.

"Lesley, come back!" Liz called.

"Let her go. She'll get over it" replied Jenny watching Lesley go. "She knows the trail. She will be all right. We will catch up with her."

"Why was she so upset?" asked Cade.

"She's weird. That's why!" exclaimed Matt.

"That's enough" Cade said. "We are supposed to be working together, not fighting with each other. We better start off again and try and catch up with her."

"What about our half hour break," asked Kenny.

"Liz and I are responsible for what happens to the group. I'm not going to have that girl wandering around the mountains in the state that she is in. Let's go!" he said getting up.

The teenagers grumbled as they picked up their equipment and the group headed off again.

"I wonder why Lesley was getting so upset?" mused Liz.

"Didn't Jake say that the experiment was to test the kids reaction to different situations. The last two lines of the quatrain..."

"The manipulation of the young tribe conceals the depth of the pretence. Maybe the Gua are manipulating the teenagers to react to various stimuli," Liz said.

"Of course, they manipulated Lesley into thinking that they had to reach the camp before something wrong happens. We better catch up and find her," Cade said. He was alarmed that the Gua were once again experimenting on teenagers.

"Will these bastards stop at nothing to try and enslave us? " he muttered.

The group came to a fast moving river a short time later and there was still no sign of Lesley. Cade and Liz's concern about her increased with every minute. They had tried to call Gerry and Angela but there was so signal.

"The map says that we need to cross here," Cade said to the group. "There's a small footbridge up ahead," he said looking up river. As he did he noticed something in the river the same time Liz did. It was Lesley's jacket hanging off an overhanging tree branch.

Cade and Liz both pulled their jackets and sweaters off and dived into the river as the other kids watched in horror. They swam out to the jacket. They ducked under water frantically trying to find her. Cade stayed underwater longer than Liz and she had to drag him up.

"The river is flowing too fast. She may have been swept down river," he said.

"No!" cried Liz diving under the water again. Cade grabbed her and had to drag her out of the water.

"Liz, stop it," he said.

They both scrambled onto the bank and sat looking out at the river in shock.

"Lesley knows this area well. She knows the river runs really fast at this part..." Matt said. "She's probably fine"

"I hope so," Cade said feeling very uneasy about the whole situation. Liz just stared out at the river.

"Liz, she probably got her jacket caught," he said trying to convince himself as well as her that this was the case. He eventually got through to Gerry who told him not to worry as Lesley knew the area and would probably turn up at the camp. Cade still didn't feel comfortable about this but he felt that the best thing to do was to keep moving. He walked in front of the teenagers and Liz walked at the back. No one said anything as they were all deep in thought.

They got to a deep ravine and they all worked together to get down it before arriving at a clearing just as it was starting to get dark.

"We may as well set up camp here. It'll be dark soon," Cade said putting the equipment down on the ground.

"Ok, I 'll get water. Jenny, why don't you come with me? "Liz said turning to the 15-year-old.

"Sure!" said Jenny getting up and following Liz to the river.

Cade watched as Liz and Jenny walked in the direction of the river. The other 3 teenagers set about putting up the tent.

"Hey, we can tell ghost stories over the fire," Matt said.

"No ghost stories, we have already had our fright for one day," Cade said.

The teenagers soon had the tents up. Cade looked at his watch and realised that Liz and Jenny had been gone for over an hour and a half. He didn't want to panic anyone by saying anything.

"Jenny and Liz sure are taking a long time," Nancy said.

"That's what I was thinking," Matt said looking at Cade.

"They probably got lost in the woods. Did you know these woods are haunted?" Kenny said.

"Knowing Jenny they are probably bird watching or something," Nancy said.

"Yeah, Liz likes to fish. That's what they are doing. Fishing for our supper," Cade said trying not to worry.

Suddenly they heard a rustle in the bushes and saw Liz and Jenny coming into the clearing. They were both giggling as they carried a fish in each hand.

"We went fishing," Liz said showing off her her catch.

"I was worried," Cade said as he stood close to her.

She saw the look of concern in his eyes. "Sorry, we got carried away. Kenny would you like to clean the fish out," she said handing it to the boy.

After they had eaten the kids sat around the fire and started to tell ghost stories to each other.

"I won't be able to sleep now," Nancy said who was the youngest on the trip.

"I can tell you a really scary story," Kenny said. "It's about aliens that want to invade the planet. They take over our bodies and you can't tell because they look human, and they do all kinds of experiments on us."

Cade and Liz stared at Kenny as he continued talking. They didn't know if he was trying to scare the others or if he actually knew about the Gua.

"Stop it. There's no such things as ghosts or aliens," Nancy said.

"There is. You can tell who is an alien," Kenny continued.

"Kenny would you stop it," Jenny said. "Cade will you tell him to stop scaring Nancy with these alien stories of his. He's always going on about them. I think he watches too much of the Sci Fi Channel."

"Well I believe that there is some sort of existence out there," Cade said.

"These aliens want to invade the planet. They are already here. I could be an alien for all you know, Nancy," Kenny said reaching out to grab her arm causing Nancy to let out a loud scream.

"Ok, that's enough, Kenny. Give it a rest!" Cade said getting up and taking the boy by the arm.

Kenny looked at him. There was something in Kenny's eyes that made Cade feel uncomfortable. Could Kenny be a Gua? Kenny laughed and shook his arm away.

"You know they are here, don't you?" he said looking between Cade and Liz

The other teenagers stared at them waiting for them to answer.

"I don't want to frighten anyone but Kenny is right," Cade said cautiously.

"You are crazy as well," Nancy said shrinking behind Liz.

"It's ok sweetheart," Liz said holding her by the shoulder

"What are you talking about?" asked Jenny opening her eyes wide.

"The aliens known as the Gua are here on this planet but they are planning a bigger invasion. They are testing us seeing how we react. This camping trip is a test to see what happens when things go wrong," he said hoping he hadn't totally freaked the kids out.

"Stop it!" cried Nancy getting up and backing away. She turned and ran into the forest. Liz and Cade ran after her and brought her back.

"Don't worry. They are not going to invade us tomorrow," Cade said gently.

"When?" asked Nancy

"Not for a long time yet," Liz said trying to convince herself and the others that this was true. Truth was they didn't know when the second wave was going to be launched but they had to stop the first wave in order to prevent the invasion.

It was a warm night so the boys and Cade decided to sleep outside. The sun was just peaking over the horizon when Liz came out of the tent the next morning. The sky was a beautiful crimson and amber with streaks of yellow and blue. She inhaled the fresh air as she looked across the valley when she heard grumbles coming from behind her. She looked back to see Cade stretching himself in his sleeping bag.

"Morning sleepy head," she grinned as he climbed out of his sleeping bag.

"Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day!" He said coming up beside her.

"It's beautiful here. Hard to imagine what it will be like if the Gua invade," Liz said lightly tapping his arm before setting about lighting the fire for breakfast.

They headed off shortly after breakfast. It started to get warmer as the morning went on. Nancy lagged behind struggling to get over some boulders. Liz helped her over them and when they started hiking again they realized there was so sign of the others. Cade had possession of the map so she had no idea which direction to go. She tried calling him but there was no signal again.

"We're lost, aren't we?" Nancy said.

"No, honey. If we keep going in this direction we are sure to meet up with the others soon," Liz said hopefully and they set off again.

Cade and the other teenagers kept walking not realizing that the other two had stopped. He turned around to speak to Liz but saw that she and Nancy weren't behind him.

"Did any one see where Liz and Nancy went?" he asked the others.

"No," Kenny replied.

"Don't tell me they're lost now!"Jenny exclaimed.

"I hope not but we better double back," Cade said going back in the direction they came from.

"I think we are going in the wrong direction, Liz," Nancy said.

"So do I. Do you recognise anything?" Liz asked the girl.

"No!"

"Well, if we keep going in this direction we might get to the highway," Liz said.

"No, I think the highway is that direction," Nancy said pointing in the opposite direction.

"Are you sure?" asked Liz.

"Not totally. It's just a guess."

"Well you've been in these woods before so we will try it out".

Cade and the others hiked as far back to the river but there was no sign of Liz or Nancy. He took out his cell phone and saw that he had a signal so he called Eddie

"Eddie, Liz and I were separated. We doubled back to see if we could find her but there's no sign of her. I don't know where to go from here."

Eddie let out a big sigh. This was just another predicament that Foster was always getting into. He was always getting lost in the woods and needed him to tell him where to go. He pulled up the map of the mountain on the computer screen.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"By a waterfall. I am not sure where we got separated but I think we should get back to the start position and wait but I have no idea in which direction to go," replied Cade.

Eddie looked at the map. "Ok, head east along the river. You should come to a bridge. Cross the bridge and then head north. The start position should be about five miles from that point."

"Thanks Eddie," Cade said.

"And Foster..." Eddie was about to tell him something else when he realised that Cade had hung up on him once more. This really annoyed Eddie.

Eddie was just about to take his headset off when it rang again. He saw on the caller ID that it was Liz.

"Eddie, Cade and I were separated and we are lost now. I've no idea where to go," Liz said.

"He just called. They are heading back to the start position. Where are you?" he asked.

"On a ridge above a rock quarry. There is a railway line to my right," Liz said.

"Ok, head north east along the railway line. You should come to a small clearing. When you come to that go east. That should take you to the river, keep following the river till you come to a bridge. Head north after that. You should meet up with Foster then. Oh and tell him. .." Eddie heard the dial tone over the headset and realised that Liz had hung up on him as well.

"Dammit, now she's hanging up on me now!" he muttered to himself.

Cade followed the directions that Eddie had given him and it took less than an hour to get back to the start position. He and the other teenagers sat on the picnic table waiting for the others to come back. Cade had tried calling Gerry on the cell phone but the signal wasn't picking up. He wondered why he could call Eddie and not Gerry or Liz.

There was a rustle in the bushes and Cade looked up to see Gerry and Angela coming over to them. He stood up when they came over to him.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"This was an experiment to see how people react in various situations, when things go wrong. It is especially useful to see what would happen if we were to launch the second wave. We knew who you were from the moment we saw you. We have been tracking you through the woods to see how you handled yourself in difficult moments," Gerry said pulling out a gun. The teens watched the events unfolding when Kenny nudged them and they quietly got up from their seat and ran to hide behind the bushes.

"Where are the other kids?" asked Cade.

"They disappeared like Lesley," Angela said.

"What did you do them? Did you kill them.. like Jake?" asked Cade.

"They discovered who we are. We had to eliminate them," Gerry said.

"How many?" asked Cade in disgust,

"The number is not important," Gerry said. "What's important is that you are registered with the Assembly for capture and dissection and we are going to get a reward for bringing you in."

"Other's have tried before and failed," Cade said with a smirk.

"Well we don't plan on failing this time, Foster." Angela said smiling at him.

"Sorry to disappoint," Cade said raising his hand and then dropped it.

"Come with us quietly or we will be forced to kill you," Gerry said indicating the gun in his hand.

"Do it then. You won't find out the location of the book and that is what the Assembly really want now isn't it?" Cade said.

"Yes the location of the book would be productive to our plans but we also want to see what makes you tick," Angela said.

"We"re wasting time here, Angela." Gerry said.

Liz and Nancy eventually got back to the start position. She heard the voices and they both crouched down behind the bushes to watch what was going on. She scanned the area and saw a large tree branch on the ground. Indicating to Nancy to remain where she was she picked up the branch and silently moved from her position and hit Angela with it. The alien turned with a hiss and knocked the branch out of her hand. Liz high kicked her and knocked her to the ground. Angela grabbed Liz by the throat but suddenly fell back with a roar as Kenny had dived for the branch and slammed it down on the alien's head. She lay whimpering on the ground as Liz crawled over to her and jammed the branch into her torso. Kenny watched in disbelief as she dissolved into a puddle of nothing.

All the while Cade knocked the gun out of Gerry's hand and punched him in the face and he dropped it. Cade grabbed the gun and pulled the trigger resulting Gerry to dissolve into a puff of smoke.

The teens came out of hiding cheering as they did while Cade helped Liz up from the ground. "Nice work, Liz. Have you been practicing those high kicks?"

"All in a day's work," she smiled. "But Kenny is the real hero here! "

Cade and Liz watched as the teens rallied around Kenny slapping him on the back and calling him brave.

"We better get back to town," he said.

Suddenly there was a shout and they were stunned to see Lesley and the group that had been with Angela and Gerry come out from the other side of the trees.

"What happened to you guys?" asked Cade.

"We managed to escape from them. They thought we were dead," Lesley said.

"Well all in all I think this was a very eventful camping expedition," Kenny said. "Do you all believe me about the aliens now? "

"Kenny, shut up!" chorused the teenagers.

Jake's funeral was held the following day with the kids forming a guard of honour. They had promised to spread the word about the alien invasion to the rest of the club.

"So Liz, where did you learn those moves?" asked Cade when they were sitting in Eddie's trailer after the funeral.

"That is a secret!" smiled Liz.

"So are you some kind of secret martial arts expert/journalist?" teased Eddie.

"You never know. You may not be the only one who is twice blessed around here," Liz laughed glancing at Cade who looked uncomfortable as he always did when someone called him that.

"By the way, I'm not happy with the pair of you hanging up on me yesterday," Eddie began to say only to have a flurry of pillows and squeaky toys thrown at him.

The teenagers decided to keep the club going in memory of Jake and the other teenagers who weren't lucky to survive the experiment. They were also going to use it as a way of getting the message about the invasion across. The invasion is becoming all the more real to us. But as recent investigations have shown us sometimes people will believe us and sometimes they don't. I wonder what will happen to those who refuse to believe the unbelievable. Reality will rear its ugly head if we can't stop the Invasion and they will be forced to believe. I only pray that we can stop the first wave to prevent this from happening.

.