THE OTHER WAY AROUND
Note: Basis for the dialogue and characters are not my own. The characters of Roswell and the dialogue for the episodes 'Pilot' and 'The morning after' all belong to Jason Katims. (right?)
Roswell, New Mexico
He sat at his desk, typing an entry to his 'journal'.
'September 23rd, journal entry one. I'm Max Parker and five days ago I died. After that, things got really weird...'
Five days before, Crashdown Café
"Okay, I have got one Sigourney Weaver, that's for you. And one Will Smith. Can I get you guys anything else? Green Martian Shake? Blood of Alien smoothie?" he asked the man and woman at the table.
"No, thanks. We're good," said the man.
Max had to be careful not to start laughing. He managed to ask, "Are you guys here for the crash festival?"
The woman smiled and replied, "Yeah, can't wait." Then, seriously, "So... does your family come from Roswell?" The couple were looking at him expectantly.
"Just four generations," he admitted, knowing what they'd ask next.
Sure enough... "Uh, well, does anyone in your family have stories about the UFO crash?" asked the man.
Max pretended to look around, then bent forward and in hushed tones, "Well, I guess it would be okay to show you guys this..." He reached in his backpocket and showed them an old wrinkled black and white picture. They were mesmerized by it and didn't see Max give a grin to his best friend, Michael DeLuca as he passed by the table.
Michael walked up to a table where two men sat, in the middle of a heated discussion. "Refill?" he asked, a pot of coffee in his hand.
"No, get outta here," said one of them, barely looking to him. Michael walked off and ignored them.
Back at the table, Max had the couple on his every word. "My grandmother took this picture at the crash sight RIGHT before the government cleaned it up."
"Do people know about this photograph?" asked the woman.
"Well, I know about it, and now you know about it," said Max acting innocent. The couple expressed their amazement with a round of "whoa!" and "wow!" Still playing them, Max near-whispered, "I'm gonna be right back, don't show that to anyone."
The man shook his head, and the woman said "no" as he left them the picture and walked off with Michael to behind the counter.
"You are so mean. Oh, and Liz Evans is checking you out again."
"No way," said Max, looking out to the booth where Liz and her best friend Maria Guerin sat eating, "Michael, that is all in your imagination." He noticed that Liz, did look up to him shortly and looked back down again right after. Max turned back to Michael. "Liz Evans? Me? No... it's not..."
"With that face! Come on, Max," said Michael in a somewhat teasing tone.
"Michael... Even if she was, I'm going out with Tess. I mean, she's steady and loyal, and she appreciates me."
"Sounds like you're describing a poodle," said Michael as he went back around the counter.
Suddenly, they heard the two men's argument's getting louder. "... you ask me to give you another day? You're running out of time," said one of them. He pushed aside the dishes and they shattered on the ground.
"Max!" yelled Michael to his friend.
"I want the money today. NOT tomorrow!" continued the man. The second one pulled out a gun and they began to grab at each other, trying to get control of the gun. Around them, everyone dropped to the floor, except for Max, who seemed paralyzed somehow.
And then the gun went off. One shot. Max fell to the ground behind the counter. The two men just got up and ran, knowing it wouldn't be wise to stick around.
"Max..." called Michael as he began to get up.
From her booth, Liz heard him and looked to find Max lying on the floor. She got up and started to walk to him, to try to help him. Knowing what she was planning to do, Maria stood in her way. "What are you doing? Let go of me," said Liz.
"Liz, what are you gonna do?" asked Maria, trying to reason with her friend. Liz went past him, brushing past Michael.
"Call an ambulance," she ordered him. He was so distraught he just went and did it. Liz crouched down and tore open his shirt. Blood was gushing from the wound fast. "Uh... it's gonna be okay," she assured him. He was weak and she wasn't sure he'd heard her.
"Oh my god!" said the woman Max had served as she tried to see.
"Hey! Get back!" said Maria, making sure no one saw what was about to happen.
"Max, MAX! You have to look at me," said Liz, trying to get him to cooperate. He managed to look back to her, his eyes barely open, "You have to look at me."
Liz placed her hand over the wound and concentrated while trying to make the connection with him. Finally, she was in. She could see images... from his childhood... She saw him with Michael at school, on the playground, wearing a shirt with a big dog on it at some point. She saw herself and her brother, Alex, getting off the schoolbus. The force of the vision was making her a bit dizzy. Eventually she pulled back, breaking the connection. The wound was gone.
"You're all right now. You're all right," she whispered near him. He was still a bit disoriented.
They heard the sound of the ambulance and Maria yelled, "Keys! Now!" Liz threw her the keys to her Jeep and Maria ran out. She looked around for something to cover the remaining blood on Max. She saw a bottle of ketchup and broke the end, spilling the contents on him.
"You broke a bottle when you fell, spilled ketchup on yourself. Don't say anything please," she whispered again before getting up and heading out the door, joining Maria in the car as they sped away from the restaurant.
"Are you okay?" asked Michael, going up to his friend, who'd gotten to his feet by then. Max just looked out to see Liz hurrying away, her presence and what she'd done leaving him speechless.
*
Jeff Parker entered the Crashdown, frantically looking for his son. Finally he saw him sitting with paramedics around him.
"Max. Oh my God!" he said, seeing what appeared like blood on his shirt.
"No, dad, dad look, look at this. See, I'm fine, I-I just spilled ketchup, I'm really, I'm okay."
"Are you sure?" he asked unsure.
"Yeah," Max assured, although he wasn't even sure what had happened himself.
Somewhere else in the restaurant, a deputy was interrogating Michael about the accident. He wasn't exactly calm, and was actually glad his mother had given him that Cypress Oil. He sniffed it, hoping it would soothe him. And it kinda worked. He walked around, gesticulating as he told the deputy what he remembered.
"The guy with the gun was kind of like a, like a muscular Beavis. And... the other one was like a, like a beefy Butthead."
The Native American deputy was getting a bit annoyed. "I'm gonna need a better description than that. I'm assuming they weren't actually cartoons."
Michael took another sniff and said, "Excuse me," before turning away and taking another sniff. At that moment, the bell chimed and Sheriff Jim Valenti walked in the door. He gave Michael a look. He held up the oil and explained, "Cypress Oil, it um, it reduces stress." The Sheriff gave another look and walked away. Michael took a big sniff and went elsewhere.
The Sheriff walked over to Max. "You okay?" he asked him.
"Yeah thanks. I-I'm just a little shaken up," said Max, feeling like he'd been cornered.
The Sheriff went to talk to Deputy Owen, the one who'd talked to Michael. "Sheriff, the suspects ran out after the incident occurred. Couple of outsiders. No apparent robbery, no injuries other than the boy that fell. Just seems like an argument that got out of hand," he said, then stopped when he saw the couple from before, nosing around the back, "Hey, I told you two to stay outta there!" He turned to the Sheriff and continued, "Couple of tourists in town for the crash."
The man approached the Sheriff. "Um, Sheriff, hi, um, um, I'm sorry, I really need to talk to you. I think something happened here."
The Sheriff kept a straight face. "What do you think happened?"
Knowing he would be heard, the man went on. "The gunman was, was, was standing right over there, right? And the shot was fired into that direction. Now, Jen and I, we searched this entire place up and down and... I mean there's, where's the bullet?"
The Sheriff turned to Deputy Owen. "We haven't found the bullet hole yet, Sheriff," he admitted.
The man came forward once more, taking something out of his pocket. "Yeah, and uh, Sheriff. Before it happened, the boy gave me this," he said, handing the picture to the Sheriff.
Max saw the exchange of the picture and felt slightly red in the face. The Sheriff observed the picture, then walked off to Mr. Parker. "Jeff," he said, handing over the picture.
Jeff laughed for a second, then put on a serious face and went to his son. "Max!"
"Yeah?" said Max.
"I told you, about showing the alien photos to the tourists."
Meanwhile, the Sheriff walked to the table that Liz and Maria had been sitting at and picked up one of the two empty bottle of Tabasco sauce sitting on it. Seeing him, the woman, Jen, came up to him and informed him that, "There were two kids sitting over here when it happened, two girls about his age," she said, indicating Max, who started making his way to them, "And then one of them went..."
Max interrupted her and claimed, "Uh yeah, that's right there were. You know that I didn't recognize them, so they must have just been tourists."
"No, no it sure looked like that he knew them to me," said the man. Max looked back to the Sheriff, hoping his fear wouldn't show.
*
Later that night, Max got in his room and closed the door behind him. The events of the day hadn't completely sunk in. What had Liz done? He remembered bits and pieces of the accident to know that he'd really been shot. But he was fine. He stepped in front of the mirror and looked down to the blood and ketchup stained shirt he still wore. He passed his finger through a hole in it... bullet hole... and quickly took the shirt off, stuffing it in his backpack. When he stepped back, he saw his image in the mirror. There was a handprint, silver, right on his stomach, where he assumed he had been shot. This was getting more and more confusing by the second.
*
The next morning, West Roswell High
Max sat in biology class, stealing a few glances towards the empty stool beside him. Liz wasn't there. Would she ignore him? He shook it off and looked up to listen to the teacher.
"Okay, we've spent the last week talking about genus and phylum, and now we're going to get a little more specific and talk about the difference between species. For today's experiment you'll be working in teams of two."
Just then, Liz walked in. Max looked at her, and she looked back quickly before sitting next to him. She put her pencil in her mouth and started flipping the pages of his bio book.
"Ms. Evans, so nice of you to join us. Okay, everyone on the right prepare a slide with the vegetable sampling, everyone on the left, take a toothpick and get a sample from your cheek." Liz took the pencil out as her head shot up. She was obviously nervous and agitated as she got up from her seat. "Ms. Evans?"
"Could I get a bathroom pass?" she asked, trying to remain calm.
"High maintenance today aren't we?" said the teacher as she handed Liz the pass. She took it and exited the room, after putting her pencil on the table next to Max. The teacher handed Max a toothpick and spoke again as Max made the cheek sample.
"It's very easy to look on the outside and say what differentiates humans from other species. But what about what's on the inside, everyone, look at the human cells and describe everything you see on your lab sheet."
Max but the sample on the microscope and looked at his cheek cells, pink little cells. He looked up and saw Liz's pencil sitting there on the table. He picked it up and made a sample from the saliva on the eraser. He looked at that sample and saw Liz's cells, green cells.
After class, Max hurried and went up to Liz. "Liz! Liz! Excuse me, excuse me," he said as he squeezed through the bunches of students, "Liz, I have to talk to you." He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the band room.
*
Inside the room, they could hear someone beating on the drums. It was Tess Valenti, the Sheriff's daughter. Max had been going out with her for a little bit...
"Tess!" called Max when he saw her.
She turned. "Hey!"
"Hey!" he said again, trying to sound cheerful.
"Hey Liz," she said, looking past Max.
"Hey," said Liz.
"So'd you get my message?" she asked as she approached them.
"Oh yeah, I did. I was uh, just a little..." he started to explain.
"Shaken up," offered Tess.
"That's what it was," said Max.
"I know, my dad told me about the gun goin' off. You okay?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah I am, it was just load and then it was over," he said, going for casual.
"So you guys are..." started Tess, indicating the two of them and the band room.
"Um, we're looking for a place... to study, for our bio midterm," he lied.
"Oh right. Right okay, biology. All right, I was leavin' anyway," she said as she walked past them.
"Great, um, that's good," said Max, trying not to sound too happy, feeling the sentence had come out wrong.
"Oh, I got my costume for the crash this Friday it's great..." she started.
"Tess," Max interrupted, "We've gotta study. Sorry."
"Right," she said, nodding, "See ya Liz," she said before leaving.
Once she was gone, Liz spoke up. "So... you're going out with Sheriff's daughter?"
Max had his back to her. "Um, yeah. Well, it's kind of like this, this casual..." He turned to face her and continued, "Okay, Liz. Can we just focus here for one minute please?"
He lifted up his shirt just enough for her to see the silver handprint on his stomach. Liz observed it, trying to remain unaffected. "Wow," she said.
Max began gesticulating as he spoke. "Um, I-I scraped some cells from your pencil. This is really hard to say, I'm trying to keep from blacking out here. Um, the cells weren't normal. So, Liz, what I'm going to suggest to you is that we just go back to the bio lab now, so that I can take a sample so that I can see what I'm thinking is wrong, you know? That I got the wrong cells..."
Liz looked down slightly. "You didn't."
"Okay, um," said Max, a small laugh escaping as he continued, "So help me out here Liz. I mean, what are you?"
Liz thought a bit and spoke. "Well I'm not from around here."
"Where you from?" asked Max not missing a beat.
Liz looked Max right in the eye and pointed skyward. "Up north?" suggested Max. Liz pointed higher. Max took this in and pondered... amazed, yet dumbfounded by the news. Not even sure if what she was saying was a joke or the truth. "You're not an... an alien," he asked, the words feeling strange, "I mean... Are you?"
"Well I prefer the term 'not of this earth'," said Liz, trying to lighten the mood. "Sorry, it's not a good time to joke." Max became a bit uneasy. "Yeah, I am. Wow, it's weird to actually say it."
Max looked around and began heading for the door. "Max..." asked Liz as she followed.
"Um, Liz, you know, I have, I'm gonna be late for my US government class, so I'm just gonna..."
She went up to him and turned him around to face her. They stood close, almost no space between them. "Max, listen to me. You can't talk to anyone about this. Not your parents, not Michael. No one. You don't understand what'll happen if you do. Max please? Now my life is in your hands," she said, pressing her words so he'd understand how important this was. Max looked at her one last time and left. Thoughts were running through Liz's head... "Can I trust him? Will he tell someone? No... not him... he won't..."
*
Same day, West Roswell High cafeteria
Isabel Whitman sat next to Michael, holding the morning's newspaper. "Well, it says right here that shots were fired but no one was injured," she insisted.
"Then where's Max? I mean, why is he avoiding me? Okay, first of all, Max is never late, right? He walks into homeroom today, and goes and sits next to Troy Pamers. He... hates Troy Pamers and you know, goes around admitting it openly... and... Isabel are you listening to me?" he said, talking in a slightly sped up tone, turning to her at the last sentence.
She looked back to the paper and then to her friend. "Yeah, yeah, Michael I'm listening to you. But this is just you being you. All right? Max is fine, nothing happened it's all right here in black and white," she said, using the paper as emphasis. He knew Michael wouldn't let this go until he knew everything. And she wouldn't be taken into it.
*
Meanwhile, somewhere in Roswell, outdoor food stand
Alex Evans walked over to the table with his meal, to meet his sister, Liz and their, Maria. He was obviously upset.
"I can't believe this Liz. You know, I finally feel like I have a quasi-normal existence and you go and blow it all with one random act of lunacy." He turned to Maria and continued, "How did you let my misguided sister do this?"
"Hey, don't turn this around on me. I'm not the one who thinks she's a super hero," replied Maria as she poured Tabasco sauce on her food.
"Look, I said I was sorry," tried Liz, feeling uncomfortable.
"You're sorry? You break a sacred pact and that's all you have to say? It's against the rules Liz, the rules we made!" said Alex, trying to keep his voice down even though he wanted to scream.
"You use your powers all the time," reminded Liz.
"Recreationally," defended Alex. He waved his hand over his taco and it became warmer. "The important thing is, to contain this. We just have to figure out what to say to Mr. Scientist." He caught a glimpse of Liz's guilty face and he felt anger rising even more, but also disbelief. "Oh my God, you told him," he stated.
Maria dropped what she was holding and looked to Liz. "I didn't have a choice. It's gonna be okay," she said.
"Don't you realize that everything has changed?" he asked, panic sounding in his voice.
"No it hasn't," insisted Liz.
"Liz, he's right, we're screwed. It's time to leave Roswell," said Maria as she got up and began walking to the Jeep, with the others following.
"Maria, we can't just leave," said Liz.
"Yeah we can. We've always known this day would come. We said when it did we'd be prepared," explained Maria.
"Maria, where are we gonna go? You know Roswell's home," said Alex.
"Roswell's not home. It's not even in our solar system," said Maria, feeling her anger rising.
"Well this is the closest thing we have to home right now," said Liz.
"For you two maybe. It was you the Evans found on the side of the road not me. They're like real parents to you. My foster dad just keeps me around for the monthly check," said Maria.
"This is gonna be okay. We should just lay low. Go back to school and act normal," said Liz.
"Act normal? That's your big plan, Liz? Don't you realize it's only a matter of time before they find us and turn us over to some government agency where they're gonna test us and prod us, and, oh yeah, exterminate us," said Alex. By then they had climbed in the Jeep and Liz drove them off after taking another look at their angry faces. They were definitely not pleased...
*
Back at WRH
Max walked into the bathroom and went to the mirror. He splashed some water on his face and looked back up. He saw that Michael was exiting a stall and now he stood behind him.
"Hey," said Max, not turning to face him.
"So I called you... what? 37 times?" said Michael.
"I know, I'm sorry," said Max, still not turning.
"Max, what happened?"
"What do you mean Michael? You were there, you saw everything?" said Max, talking to his friend's reflection.
"Did I? Cause um, this isn't ketchup," he said, pulling out his order pad, which had a blood stain on the top sheet. Max turned to face him. "This looks a lot like blood to me. What did Liz do to you?" he asked. Max turned back and dried his hands, attempting to avoid him again.
*
In the Jeep, on the road
Liz and Maria were silent in the front, and so was Alex in the back, except he was listening to music... "Alex, could you please not do that?" asked Liz when she saw.
Alex removed the CD from the side of his head, by his ear and looked up. "Yeah, like listening to a CD is the problem," he said.
"I couldn't just let him die," she defended.
Suddenly they heard the sound of a police siren and Alex looked back to see the Sheriff's car come behind them, flashers on. "Is he pulling us over?" asked Alex, getting nervous.
"Liz go, let's get outta here," insisted Maria.
"We can't start acting guilty," pointed out Liz as she pulled the Jeep over to the side of the road. "He always pulls kids over he does it all the time. It's nothing," she said.
"Yeah, nothing," said Maria, looking out the window for a second.
Sheriff Valenti walked up to Liz's window. "Your license and registration please."
"Of course officer," said Liz, providing them.
The Sheriff looked them over. "Thank you Ms. Evans. We had a little trouble at the Crashdown Café yesterday. You kids be careful out there."
"Yes sir," said Liz, as she moved her foot to the gas pedal, hitting a half empty bottle Tabasco sauce in the process.
The Sheriff saw it. "Watch your speed. Arrive alive," he said before walking away.
"We will," said Liz, as she went to start the Jeep. But Maria grabbed the keys. "Maria, everything is gonna be okay."
"No it won't. Our cover is blown. And I'm not gonna hang around and wait for them to catch us," said Maria, letting her anger out at last.
"No one is caught yet. I mean, we don't even know if there is a "them"," said Liz.
"What happened to our parents? What happened to everybody else on the ship? They were killed, and you know that," said Maria.
"Max won't tell anyone, he's different."
"Really? So how'd he react when you told him? Great you're an alien that's fantastic." Alex smirked and Liz looked away. "No, I didn't think so." With that, she got out of the car and walked off, leaving the keys on her seat.
"Thought I was pissed," said Alex.
*
That night, outside Max's front door
Max and Tess got to the door. "Well, goodnight," he said.
"Oh right, right. Listen Max, you've been somewhere else all night."
"I know, I'm sorry. Tess, do you ever wonder if..." he started.
"Do I ever wonder what?" she asked.
"When you see me, do you, do you feel things?"
"Yes, of course. I feel things. Like what?"
He smiled. "Forget it, I don't know what I was talking about. I'm just gonna go get some sleep."
"All right," she said, nodding. Max reached up to turn off a light above him and his shirt rose up a bit, just enough for Tess to see part of the handprint. "Max?"
He quickly brought his arms down, the shirt covering the print again. "Good night Tess."
"Goodnight Max."
*
Later, on the 'balcony'
Max sat on a long chair, studying his bio book when he heard something. "Max!" came a voice from street level. He walked to the edge and saw Liz. "I have to talk to you."
*
Down in the Crashdown
Max let her in and walked further into the dining room. Liz kept a short distance, so that she wouldn't rush him. "I can't imagine how you must feel right now, I mean, I've thought about telling you a thousand times," she said.
"You have?" he said with a small smile. "Really?" Liz smiled. "What?"
"Sorry, I just, uh, I just keep picturing you in that shirt, with the... big dog... on it."
"What?" he asked confused.
"Forget it, it was a long time ago."
Max thought for a second and then he remembered. "Oh my God. That's... right. I can't believe I actually wore that..." He thought again and looked to Liz. "I had that shirt in kindergarten, I didn't know you until the third grade. Did you... read my mind or something?"
Liz approached him. "No, I-I don't read minds. When I healed you, I made this, this, I don't know, this connection. And I got a rush of images... An image of that shirt flashed into my mind, and, I knew how you felt about it."
"How did I feel about it?" he asked, still suspicious.
"It was the single supreme embarrassment of your life. But your Mom made it for you, she was so proud of it, she'd never knitted a shirt before, so you wore it. For her sake." Max nodded, the shock from the truth in Liz's words still hanging in the air. "I've never tried this before, but maybe I can make the connection go the other way. So you can see, you know that, that I'm still me." She was in front of him now. "I have to touch you," she said. Max nodded his consent. Liz rose her hands to his face, placing one on each side of his face. "Now just take deep breaths and try to let your mind blank out." She looked into his eyes and the connection was almost instant.
What he saw was amazing. He saw two children, walking on the road, naked, caught in a car's headlight. The car stopped and two adults came up. The children... Liz and her brother Alex. Next, he saw Liz and Alex get off a school bus. Immediately, Liz's sight was taken by something. It was him, playing with Michael on the playground. He had looked to her and smiled. She was just puzzled. He saw himself again, happy, jumping, he saw himself in the 'big dog shirt'.
"I could feel everything she was feeling. I could feel her loneliness. For the first time I was really seeing Liz Evans, I saw me as she saw me, and the amazing thing was, in her eyes, I was attractive."
Liz pulled away, breaking the connection. "Did it work?" she asked calmly. Max nodded slowly. She managed a small smile.
*
"Liz Evans has put a force on me. It's like my whole life changed in an instant. It's just... ironic that when something like this finally happened to me... it was with an alien."
Max and Liz grew closer over the next day or so. Neither would speak it, but they knew it. The way they were around each other, how they moved, how they stood...
*
WRH, Band Room
Max searched frantically, not finding anything. "Hey," he heard from behind. He turned and was relieved to find one of his two best friends, Isabel.
"Oh, hey Isabel. Have you seen my backpack anywhere?"
"No, I haven't. Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked.
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Well, I'm your friend, and I'm Michael's friend too, so if you lie to Michael, it's sort of like lying to me," said Isabel as Max stood before her.
"Isabel, what did Michael say to you?" asked Max, getting nervous.
"Well, frankly it's vague. I mean, everything needs to be put through the Michael filter. But he said something about how he found blood on your order book. What's going on?" asked Isabel, slightly concerned for her friend.
"Isabel, Michael is totally over-dramatic. You know that. Nothing is going on," assured Max.
"O... Okay, well look. All I care about is that you're okay. So you're... you are, right? You're okay?" asked Isabel.
"I'm okay," said Max with a smile.
"All right," she said, nodding.
"Okay."
"And whatever happened is... over now?"
"It is completely over," he assured again.
"Okay."
"Okay."
Just then, the principal walked in with a deputy behind him. "There he is," said the principal, pointing to Max.
"Mr. Parker, the Sheriff needs to ask you some questions." Max tried to be careful not to let his fear show as he stared at the two men.
*
Office
Max sat in front of a desk, alone in the room. The Sheriff walked in and went to sit behind the desk, as he began to speak. "Afternoon, Mr. Parker. Your father said it would be all right if I talked to you. I'm sorry to have to show you these." He put a picture on the desk and Max's breath was caught short. It was a picture of a dead man. He noticed the date on the picture... November 1959. "This man was found dead, no apparent cause of death. Except that," he said, with another picture, this time closer to the man's face. He had a handprint as well. "What do you make of that mark?" asked the Sheriff.
"I have never seen anything like that before," Max lied.
"Tess said she saw a similar mark on your stomach," said the Sheriff.
"She was wrong."
"I'm sure... Tess has got a pretty wild imagination... I'm gonna need to see for myself Max."
"Come on Sheriff," said Max, looking uncomfortable. "I told you that I spilled ketchup, and I, I said that... about a thousand times."
"Max, please?" Max stood up and slowly lifted up his shirt, just barely. But there was no mark. "The mark faded on the corpse too." Max sat down as the Sheriff continued, "What do you know about a girl named Liz Evans?"
Max hid his panic. "Liz Evans?" The Sheriff nodded. "Um... I don't really know her all that well."
"Was she one of the kids at the Crashdown that day?"
"No," he answered quickly.
"I see."
"Can I go home now, Sheriff?"
"Just one more thing," he said, dropping Max's backpack on the desk. "Someone turned in this backpack, it is yours isn't it?" Max felt all the color drain from his face.
*
Minutes later, gym
Liz was in the middle of volleyball practice. Just as she knocked the ball over the net, she saw Max standing by the door. His emotions were hard to see... too many of them.
*
Office
Sheriff Valenti was pacing the room as he stated the facts. "A shot was fired, there's a bullet hole in the shirt. I'm telling you, the boy was shot." The man who sat at the table, agent Stevens of the FBI, stood up then and stuffed the shirt in his briefcase. "What are you doing?"
"I have a flying saucer sighting in Phoenix. An accountant in Barstow who thinks he's Jesus. Both cases are more solid than this. Have this checked out at the lab, call me Sheriff, if you ever have anything... real." The man left the office, and the Sheriff followed him outside to the parking lot.
"Listen, you guys told me to call you if I saw anything. Well, my daughter saw that handprint."
"I'm sure she did."
"What happens now?"
"Have the lab check out the shirt. I'm gonna handle this case in the proper manner without getting too personal. I suggest you do the same."
"I'm not walking away from this. I'm gonna be a part of this investigation."
"Sheriff, do you know what everyone used to call your father? Sergeant Martian. You don't wanna end up like him," he said, climbing into his car.
"Agent Stevens, I was 8 years old when my father discovered that corpse, my whole life I thought he was as crazy as everyone else did. Crazy to believe. Now I'm not so sure."
"Thank you Sheriff. Your work is done now, we'll take it from here," said the agent as he drove off, leaving Valenti standing in the parking lot.
*
WRH, Art Room
Max and Liz walked in, and Max was a bit agitated, while Liz was still calm. "I need to know the truth Liz. I need to know, everything. Or I'll... I'm just gonna go to Valenti and I'm gonna tell him everything I know."
"Okay," said Liz.
"Okay," said Max, reaching for a piece of paper in his pocket and unfolding it. Liz grinned softly at that. "Okay. All right. Here we go. Where did you come from?"
"I don't know. When the ship crashed I wasn't born yet."
"So there was a crash?"
"All I know is it wasn't a weather balloon that fell that night."
Max thought for a second. "The ship crashed in 1947... you're 16."
"We were in some kind of incubation pods."
"We?" asked Max, feeling flushed.
"Alex and... Maria are also... uh..."
Max sort of looked around. "Okay, well, that... answers, um, that question. Um, what powers do you have?"
"We can connect with people, as uh, you know. We can manipulate molecular structures, and... we can..."
"Wait, what does that mean?" asked Max.
Liz looked around and saw a clay sculpture on one of the tables. She walked to it, placed her hand on top, looked to Max and then waved her hand in front of it. The features that had been sculpted into it disappeared as though it was a new piece of clay. Then she waved back and they returned. "That's, uh... that's how I healed you."
"Liz, who else knows this?" he asked, getting curious about that suddenly.
"No one"
"What about your parents?"
"We don't tell anyone. We sorta think our lives depend on it."
Max was amazed. "So when you healed me you risked all of this getting out didn't you?"
"Yeah," said Liz shyly.
"Why?"
Liz looked at him, warmth in her eyes. "It was you."
Max smiled. Then he remembered something and his face became determined. "Um Liz, Valenti showed me this photo of a corpse. A murder victim. It had the same silver handprint on it's chest."
"That can't be," said Liz, incredulous.
"The photo was marked 1959."
"That's impossible."
"Tess saw the handprint on my stomach and Valenti found my uniform shirt with the bullet hole in it. He just asked me if you were in the café during the shooting. Liz, he suspects you." Liz was definitely about to panic and she started to head for the door. "Liz!"
"I have to go!" she said quickly and left.
"Liz wait, go where? Where are you going? Liz wait! Liz!" he followed her into the hall, but by the time he got there she was gone, mostly due to the huge crowd of students in costume for the festival running through the halls.
*
Later, Evans home, Alex's room
He was standing in front of the mirror, putting the last piece of his costume on his head when the door burst opened and Liz all but ran in. "Forget the festival. It's time to leave." Alex gave her a look, but knew he didn't have a choice.
*
Not too long after, outside Maria's home
Maria ran up to the Jeep and hopped in. "Where's your stuff?" asked Alex, still in costume.
"I'm wearing it," informed Maria. Alex rolled his eyes as they drove off.
*
Parker home, Max's room
Max was sitting on his bed, doing homework, when the door opened and Michael came to stand in front of him, dressed as Yoda, but holding his 'ears' in his hands. Max looked up. "Before I go to this idiotic crash festival I want to know everything. And if you don't tell me the truth right now, I'm going to go to Valenti myself and tell him everything I know."
Max felt his heart beat slightly faster. "What do you know?"
"Well... uh, I-I know that Liz was in the diner that day, and I know that she went up to you when you were shot and... did something to you. And I know that the one person in the world that I thought I could completely trust... is lying to me."
Max hesitated, then said, "You have to promise me that you are not going to freak out."
"Freak out? Max, come on," said Michael.
*
Minutes later, just outside Max's home
The door practically burst opened, as Michael stumbled out, mumbling something incoherently. Max quickly followed. "Michael!" he called after him.
*
In the Jeep
"So is this picture what we're seeing is there's more of us?" asked Maria, obviously excited.
"One more," reminded Liz, "At least there was in 1959."
"Well then there's hope. I mean if we can find him, he can tell us where we came from, what we are..." said Maria.
"Maria, calm down, we had one potential relative 40 years ago, all we know about him is he was a potential killer," explained Alex, in hopes that Maria would let it go, because he knew she wouldn't and that worried him.
*
In Michael's Jetta
He was NOT taking this well. He was practically hyperventilating. "Max, Max what happened to you? You were on this whole... valedictorian path. You were on your way to be this... world renowned scientist and I was gonna be your wacky friend. I can't be a wacky friend to someone who's already wacky! It'd be like repetitious..."
"Michael, you're babbling," said Max as he watched the road, seeing as Michael was panicking while driving.
"I think I've earned the right to babble, all right so just deal with it."
At that moment, Liz, Maria and Alex drove by, going in the opposite direction. "Oh my God Michael that's them! Cut a U-ie!" ordered Max, his tone rising with a mixture of emotions.
"Cut a U-ie?" asked Michael incredulously.
"Michael!"
"Who are you? I mean..." started Michael as Max grabbed the wheel and made the Jetta do a U-turn and follow the Jeep. "Oh my God, you're crazy!" yelled Michael.
"Michael I am not! Please, just catch them!"
"Catch them? Max, we're in a Jetta."
*
The Jeep
Liz saw Valenti's car drive by and quickly turned into an alley, hoping he wouldn't see them. But as they drove in, they saw there was a car blocking the exit. She was about to back out of it, when the Jetta pulled in from the other side as well. They were cornered. "Great," said Alex sarcastically when he saw who it was.
Max and Michael got out of the Jetta and slowly walked to the Jeep. Liz, Maria and Alex did the same. Michael walked just a step behind Max. "What are they doing here?" asked Michael, indicating Maria and Alex. "No, don't tell me there's three..."
"Well..." started Max.
"I think I'm gonna be sick."
They came face to face. Max spoke first. "Michael knows."
"Unbelievable," said Maria.
"Look, I promise I won't tell anyone," said Michael, unsure of his own words.
Maria stepped up to them, and Michael stepped back. "Get your car out of the way, NOW," she said, trying to stay calm, showing no emotion.
"I really don't think that you should try to leave. It's just gonna show people that you're guilty," explained Max.
"Guilty of what? Saving your life?" asked Maria.
"Maria..." called Liz.
"Look, I think I have an idea here. If we can just all work together here maybe we can throw Valenti off," explained Max.
"We're not together. Our lives are at stake, not yours. Now move your car," said Maria.
"Maria, this can't last forever. This secret... and I don't want it to," said Liz calmly.
"Look I can't change what happened. But if you run, Valenti is gonna know it's you. You'll be proving it for him," said Max.
"He's right," said Liz slowly.
"I should've known you'd side with him," said Alex.
"Alex, I'm not on anyone's side all right?"
"Get on a side Liz because time is running out," said Alex to his sister.
Liz looked around a bit and turned to Max. "He should move his car." Maria and Alex seemed to be relieved for a second, until Liz added, "I'm turning myself into Valenti."
"Liz we said we were leaving," reminded Maria.
"Liz I can't leave without you," said Alex, feeling a tear coming unbeknownst to him. He sighed and walked up to Max and Michael. "What's your idea?"
*
A bit later, Valenti home
Tess opened the door and sort of frowned as she saw Max standing there, dressed as Spock. "I waited for you for an hour and a half," she said.
"Tess, I know I've been acting like a real jerk and... I'm sorry," he said with a small innocent smile.
*
Crash festival
Alex and Michael walked side by side, Michael still uncomfortable. A girl walked by in a silver suit and mask. "Nice mask Isabel," said Alex.
She removed her mask. "Alex, hey," she said, trying not to stammer. "Michael," she said, observing his Yoda get-up.
"Hey," he said.
She observed Alex's head gear, dressed as a Conehead, he was hard to miss. "Uh, nice cone," she said shyly.
*
Valenti home
Max and Tess stood close. "Max we don't even have to go to the crash," said Tess.
"Tess it is gonna be great okay?" They kissed. "I am gonna meet you in front of the podium in half an hour, right?"
"Right. Half an hour."
"Yeah," said Max. Tess walked back into the house as Max stepped behind a tree and took out his cell phone and dialed.
*
The Jeep
"We've got half an hour," confirmed Max to Liz.
"Got it," she said, closing the phone after and turning to Maria. "Well..."
"It won't work," she said.
*
The festival
Valenti walked up to Deputy Owen. "Where is she?" he asked.
"There," he said, pointing out Liz, dressed as Agent Scully. "What did this girl do Jim?"
"I'll take it from here, Owen." He walked off to where Liz had been.
*
Festival parking lot
Alex sat on the Jetta's hood as Michael rolled on the ground. "Come on roll!" he ordered.
"Okay, I'm rolling," said Michael.
"Roll!"
"I'm rolling! Okay?"
"Right that's better," he said, hopping off. "Keys?"
Michael held up the keys, not handing them over yet. "Okay, I know my mom's car doesn't look like much, but, not destroying it is the key to my and my mother's relationship okay?"
"Whatever," said Alex as he took the keys. Michael rolled his eyes for a change.
*
Somewhere else at the festival
Valenti approached Liz. She felt like she would faint. "I have some questions for you," he said.
"What kind of questions?" she asked innocently.
"Were you at the Crashdown Café the day of the shooting?"
"Yes," she said.
"What did you do to Max Parker?"
"I didn't do anything to him," she pleaded.
"I don't believe that," he said as he started to handcuff her.
"Aren't you going to read me my rights?" she asked.
"Do you have any?"
*
Still at the festival, elsewhere
Max walked around, waiting. Suddenly he bumped into two people, both wearing masks. He walked off without seeing that they were the couple who were at the Crashdown the day of the shooting. They took off their masks, looked at each other, and followed him.
Meanwhile, Alex got in the car, his 'cone' making it a bit hard. He backed up a bit, and pretended to run over Michael. Then, he got out and ran away. Max came about just then, and acted in shock. "Michael!" he yelled, starting to run towards him, the couple right behind him.
Just then, a girl ran up to Michael, still lying on the ground and placed her hand over his heart. She wore a long velvet cape with a hood and a small mask shielded her eyes. At the same time, Isabel walked up. "What's going on? What are you, what are you doing?" she asked, before the girl pushed her and ran off again.
"What happened here?" asked Valenti, just getting to the scene. He went up to Michael, immediately seeing the bright silver handprint. "Are you okay?" he asked as he helped him sit up a bit.
"Yeah, I think so," said Michael weakly.
The man, who still stood in the back, spoke up then. "There she goes! Sheriff, there she is. There's the girl that went up to him that's her!" he said, pointing to the girl, still running.
"Watch the girl," he told Owen, indicating Liz.
Valenti ran off, following the girl. At some point, he lost her, until he saw her standing in a crowd near the podium. He slowly walked up to her and then turned her around. The girl pushed her mask up and was revealed to be Tess. "Dad, scared the hell outta me. You seen Max around? He was supposed to meet me here like 15 minutes ago."
"No," he said simply, slightly dumbfounded.
"Mmm... okay," said Tess. Valenti looked down at his hand and saw silver.
*
Inside a port-a-potty
The girl in the long velvet cape brought down her hood and removed the mask. It was Maria. She breathed deeply, the rush of the experience coming over her.
*
Back at the festival
Valenti was dragging Liz to the side of a van. He was angry. "You think you're smart don't you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't play games with me, Ms. Evans, this is paint," he said, holding up his hand. "You went up to Max Parker in that café and you did something to him, and I need to know what it was."
"I had a hamburger, when the gun went off I ran away," explained Liz, tearing up. "Did I break the law? Sheriff are you arresting me?"
Valenti looked around and sighed. He undid the handcuffs. "No, your parents would have you our in an hour. Let me tell you something. I'm gonna find out what the truth is. You can count on it. You're really smart, Liz. Well, so am I." And he walked off.
*
The crash festival podium
"Is everybody ready?" yelled Jonathan Frakes to the excited crowd. Together, they counted down the clock. "8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Blastoff! Yeah!" When he yelled "Blastoff!", a small spacecraft was let down a wire and crashed to the ground, flames igniting, sending three little 'alien' bodies falling, slowly burning. "Yeah!" yelled Frakes.
All were cheering loudly. All but three. Alex and Maria stood at a gate, observing the crash, their faces washed of any emotions. Liz joined them and they stood watching the little aliens burn.
Liz looked around and saw Max standing to a side and walked to him. "Hey," she said.
"Hey," she said back.
She walked up and pushed away a small strand of hair that stood on Max's 'ear'.
"Oh," he said.
"You had a, uh..." she said shyly.
"Hair thing, right. Thanks."
"Sure," he smiled, then, "Max, it's not safe. I mean, for you and, and me too... it's not safe."
"I don't care," he said.
"Max I really, really wish that this could be something, you know, more. But it can't. We're just..."
"Different," he finished for her.
"Yeah," she said. "I'll see you at school." She turned to leave.
"Liz?" he called to her. She turned back. "I never got to thank you, for saving my life."
"Thank you," she said. Both smiled.
*
"It's September 24th, I'm Max Parker and five days ago I died. But then the really amazing thing happened. I came to life."
CHAPTER TWO
M
Note: Basis for the dialogue and characters are not my own. The characters of Roswell and the dialogue for the episodes 'Pilot' and 'The morning after' all belong to Jason Katims. (right?)
Roswell, New Mexico
He sat at his desk, typing an entry to his 'journal'.
'September 23rd, journal entry one. I'm Max Parker and five days ago I died. After that, things got really weird...'
Five days before, Crashdown Café
"Okay, I have got one Sigourney Weaver, that's for you. And one Will Smith. Can I get you guys anything else? Green Martian Shake? Blood of Alien smoothie?" he asked the man and woman at the table.
"No, thanks. We're good," said the man.
Max had to be careful not to start laughing. He managed to ask, "Are you guys here for the crash festival?"
The woman smiled and replied, "Yeah, can't wait." Then, seriously, "So... does your family come from Roswell?" The couple were looking at him expectantly.
"Just four generations," he admitted, knowing what they'd ask next.
Sure enough... "Uh, well, does anyone in your family have stories about the UFO crash?" asked the man.
Max pretended to look around, then bent forward and in hushed tones, "Well, I guess it would be okay to show you guys this..." He reached in his backpocket and showed them an old wrinkled black and white picture. They were mesmerized by it and didn't see Max give a grin to his best friend, Michael DeLuca as he passed by the table.
Michael walked up to a table where two men sat, in the middle of a heated discussion. "Refill?" he asked, a pot of coffee in his hand.
"No, get outta here," said one of them, barely looking to him. Michael walked off and ignored them.
Back at the table, Max had the couple on his every word. "My grandmother took this picture at the crash sight RIGHT before the government cleaned it up."
"Do people know about this photograph?" asked the woman.
"Well, I know about it, and now you know about it," said Max acting innocent. The couple expressed their amazement with a round of "whoa!" and "wow!" Still playing them, Max near-whispered, "I'm gonna be right back, don't show that to anyone."
The man shook his head, and the woman said "no" as he left them the picture and walked off with Michael to behind the counter.
"You are so mean. Oh, and Liz Evans is checking you out again."
"No way," said Max, looking out to the booth where Liz and her best friend Maria Guerin sat eating, "Michael, that is all in your imagination." He noticed that Liz, did look up to him shortly and looked back down again right after. Max turned back to Michael. "Liz Evans? Me? No... it's not..."
"With that face! Come on, Max," said Michael in a somewhat teasing tone.
"Michael... Even if she was, I'm going out with Tess. I mean, she's steady and loyal, and she appreciates me."
"Sounds like you're describing a poodle," said Michael as he went back around the counter.
Suddenly, they heard the two men's argument's getting louder. "... you ask me to give you another day? You're running out of time," said one of them. He pushed aside the dishes and they shattered on the ground.
"Max!" yelled Michael to his friend.
"I want the money today. NOT tomorrow!" continued the man. The second one pulled out a gun and they began to grab at each other, trying to get control of the gun. Around them, everyone dropped to the floor, except for Max, who seemed paralyzed somehow.
And then the gun went off. One shot. Max fell to the ground behind the counter. The two men just got up and ran, knowing it wouldn't be wise to stick around.
"Max..." called Michael as he began to get up.
From her booth, Liz heard him and looked to find Max lying on the floor. She got up and started to walk to him, to try to help him. Knowing what she was planning to do, Maria stood in her way. "What are you doing? Let go of me," said Liz.
"Liz, what are you gonna do?" asked Maria, trying to reason with her friend. Liz went past him, brushing past Michael.
"Call an ambulance," she ordered him. He was so distraught he just went and did it. Liz crouched down and tore open his shirt. Blood was gushing from the wound fast. "Uh... it's gonna be okay," she assured him. He was weak and she wasn't sure he'd heard her.
"Oh my god!" said the woman Max had served as she tried to see.
"Hey! Get back!" said Maria, making sure no one saw what was about to happen.
"Max, MAX! You have to look at me," said Liz, trying to get him to cooperate. He managed to look back to her, his eyes barely open, "You have to look at me."
Liz placed her hand over the wound and concentrated while trying to make the connection with him. Finally, she was in. She could see images... from his childhood... She saw him with Michael at school, on the playground, wearing a shirt with a big dog on it at some point. She saw herself and her brother, Alex, getting off the schoolbus. The force of the vision was making her a bit dizzy. Eventually she pulled back, breaking the connection. The wound was gone.
"You're all right now. You're all right," she whispered near him. He was still a bit disoriented.
They heard the sound of the ambulance and Maria yelled, "Keys! Now!" Liz threw her the keys to her Jeep and Maria ran out. She looked around for something to cover the remaining blood on Max. She saw a bottle of ketchup and broke the end, spilling the contents on him.
"You broke a bottle when you fell, spilled ketchup on yourself. Don't say anything please," she whispered again before getting up and heading out the door, joining Maria in the car as they sped away from the restaurant.
"Are you okay?" asked Michael, going up to his friend, who'd gotten to his feet by then. Max just looked out to see Liz hurrying away, her presence and what she'd done leaving him speechless.
*
Jeff Parker entered the Crashdown, frantically looking for his son. Finally he saw him sitting with paramedics around him.
"Max. Oh my God!" he said, seeing what appeared like blood on his shirt.
"No, dad, dad look, look at this. See, I'm fine, I-I just spilled ketchup, I'm really, I'm okay."
"Are you sure?" he asked unsure.
"Yeah," Max assured, although he wasn't even sure what had happened himself.
Somewhere else in the restaurant, a deputy was interrogating Michael about the accident. He wasn't exactly calm, and was actually glad his mother had given him that Cypress Oil. He sniffed it, hoping it would soothe him. And it kinda worked. He walked around, gesticulating as he told the deputy what he remembered.
"The guy with the gun was kind of like a, like a muscular Beavis. And... the other one was like a, like a beefy Butthead."
The Native American deputy was getting a bit annoyed. "I'm gonna need a better description than that. I'm assuming they weren't actually cartoons."
Michael took another sniff and said, "Excuse me," before turning away and taking another sniff. At that moment, the bell chimed and Sheriff Jim Valenti walked in the door. He gave Michael a look. He held up the oil and explained, "Cypress Oil, it um, it reduces stress." The Sheriff gave another look and walked away. Michael took a big sniff and went elsewhere.
The Sheriff walked over to Max. "You okay?" he asked him.
"Yeah thanks. I-I'm just a little shaken up," said Max, feeling like he'd been cornered.
The Sheriff went to talk to Deputy Owen, the one who'd talked to Michael. "Sheriff, the suspects ran out after the incident occurred. Couple of outsiders. No apparent robbery, no injuries other than the boy that fell. Just seems like an argument that got out of hand," he said, then stopped when he saw the couple from before, nosing around the back, "Hey, I told you two to stay outta there!" He turned to the Sheriff and continued, "Couple of tourists in town for the crash."
The man approached the Sheriff. "Um, Sheriff, hi, um, um, I'm sorry, I really need to talk to you. I think something happened here."
The Sheriff kept a straight face. "What do you think happened?"
Knowing he would be heard, the man went on. "The gunman was, was, was standing right over there, right? And the shot was fired into that direction. Now, Jen and I, we searched this entire place up and down and... I mean there's, where's the bullet?"
The Sheriff turned to Deputy Owen. "We haven't found the bullet hole yet, Sheriff," he admitted.
The man came forward once more, taking something out of his pocket. "Yeah, and uh, Sheriff. Before it happened, the boy gave me this," he said, handing the picture to the Sheriff.
Max saw the exchange of the picture and felt slightly red in the face. The Sheriff observed the picture, then walked off to Mr. Parker. "Jeff," he said, handing over the picture.
Jeff laughed for a second, then put on a serious face and went to his son. "Max!"
"Yeah?" said Max.
"I told you, about showing the alien photos to the tourists."
Meanwhile, the Sheriff walked to the table that Liz and Maria had been sitting at and picked up one of the two empty bottle of Tabasco sauce sitting on it. Seeing him, the woman, Jen, came up to him and informed him that, "There were two kids sitting over here when it happened, two girls about his age," she said, indicating Max, who started making his way to them, "And then one of them went..."
Max interrupted her and claimed, "Uh yeah, that's right there were. You know that I didn't recognize them, so they must have just been tourists."
"No, no it sure looked like that he knew them to me," said the man. Max looked back to the Sheriff, hoping his fear wouldn't show.
*
Later that night, Max got in his room and closed the door behind him. The events of the day hadn't completely sunk in. What had Liz done? He remembered bits and pieces of the accident to know that he'd really been shot. But he was fine. He stepped in front of the mirror and looked down to the blood and ketchup stained shirt he still wore. He passed his finger through a hole in it... bullet hole... and quickly took the shirt off, stuffing it in his backpack. When he stepped back, he saw his image in the mirror. There was a handprint, silver, right on his stomach, where he assumed he had been shot. This was getting more and more confusing by the second.
*
The next morning, West Roswell High
Max sat in biology class, stealing a few glances towards the empty stool beside him. Liz wasn't there. Would she ignore him? He shook it off and looked up to listen to the teacher.
"Okay, we've spent the last week talking about genus and phylum, and now we're going to get a little more specific and talk about the difference between species. For today's experiment you'll be working in teams of two."
Just then, Liz walked in. Max looked at her, and she looked back quickly before sitting next to him. She put her pencil in her mouth and started flipping the pages of his bio book.
"Ms. Evans, so nice of you to join us. Okay, everyone on the right prepare a slide with the vegetable sampling, everyone on the left, take a toothpick and get a sample from your cheek." Liz took the pencil out as her head shot up. She was obviously nervous and agitated as she got up from her seat. "Ms. Evans?"
"Could I get a bathroom pass?" she asked, trying to remain calm.
"High maintenance today aren't we?" said the teacher as she handed Liz the pass. She took it and exited the room, after putting her pencil on the table next to Max. The teacher handed Max a toothpick and spoke again as Max made the cheek sample.
"It's very easy to look on the outside and say what differentiates humans from other species. But what about what's on the inside, everyone, look at the human cells and describe everything you see on your lab sheet."
Max but the sample on the microscope and looked at his cheek cells, pink little cells. He looked up and saw Liz's pencil sitting there on the table. He picked it up and made a sample from the saliva on the eraser. He looked at that sample and saw Liz's cells, green cells.
After class, Max hurried and went up to Liz. "Liz! Liz! Excuse me, excuse me," he said as he squeezed through the bunches of students, "Liz, I have to talk to you." He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the band room.
*
Inside the room, they could hear someone beating on the drums. It was Tess Valenti, the Sheriff's daughter. Max had been going out with her for a little bit...
"Tess!" called Max when he saw her.
She turned. "Hey!"
"Hey!" he said again, trying to sound cheerful.
"Hey Liz," she said, looking past Max.
"Hey," said Liz.
"So'd you get my message?" she asked as she approached them.
"Oh yeah, I did. I was uh, just a little..." he started to explain.
"Shaken up," offered Tess.
"That's what it was," said Max.
"I know, my dad told me about the gun goin' off. You okay?" she asked.
"Oh, yeah I am, it was just load and then it was over," he said, going for casual.
"So you guys are..." started Tess, indicating the two of them and the band room.
"Um, we're looking for a place... to study, for our bio midterm," he lied.
"Oh right. Right okay, biology. All right, I was leavin' anyway," she said as she walked past them.
"Great, um, that's good," said Max, trying not to sound too happy, feeling the sentence had come out wrong.
"Oh, I got my costume for the crash this Friday it's great..." she started.
"Tess," Max interrupted, "We've gotta study. Sorry."
"Right," she said, nodding, "See ya Liz," she said before leaving.
Once she was gone, Liz spoke up. "So... you're going out with Sheriff's daughter?"
Max had his back to her. "Um, yeah. Well, it's kind of like this, this casual..." He turned to face her and continued, "Okay, Liz. Can we just focus here for one minute please?"
He lifted up his shirt just enough for her to see the silver handprint on his stomach. Liz observed it, trying to remain unaffected. "Wow," she said.
Max began gesticulating as he spoke. "Um, I-I scraped some cells from your pencil. This is really hard to say, I'm trying to keep from blacking out here. Um, the cells weren't normal. So, Liz, what I'm going to suggest to you is that we just go back to the bio lab now, so that I can take a sample so that I can see what I'm thinking is wrong, you know? That I got the wrong cells..."
Liz looked down slightly. "You didn't."
"Okay, um," said Max, a small laugh escaping as he continued, "So help me out here Liz. I mean, what are you?"
Liz thought a bit and spoke. "Well I'm not from around here."
"Where you from?" asked Max not missing a beat.
Liz looked Max right in the eye and pointed skyward. "Up north?" suggested Max. Liz pointed higher. Max took this in and pondered... amazed, yet dumbfounded by the news. Not even sure if what she was saying was a joke or the truth. "You're not an... an alien," he asked, the words feeling strange, "I mean... Are you?"
"Well I prefer the term 'not of this earth'," said Liz, trying to lighten the mood. "Sorry, it's not a good time to joke." Max became a bit uneasy. "Yeah, I am. Wow, it's weird to actually say it."
Max looked around and began heading for the door. "Max..." asked Liz as she followed.
"Um, Liz, you know, I have, I'm gonna be late for my US government class, so I'm just gonna..."
She went up to him and turned him around to face her. They stood close, almost no space between them. "Max, listen to me. You can't talk to anyone about this. Not your parents, not Michael. No one. You don't understand what'll happen if you do. Max please? Now my life is in your hands," she said, pressing her words so he'd understand how important this was. Max looked at her one last time and left. Thoughts were running through Liz's head... "Can I trust him? Will he tell someone? No... not him... he won't..."
*
Same day, West Roswell High cafeteria
Isabel Whitman sat next to Michael, holding the morning's newspaper. "Well, it says right here that shots were fired but no one was injured," she insisted.
"Then where's Max? I mean, why is he avoiding me? Okay, first of all, Max is never late, right? He walks into homeroom today, and goes and sits next to Troy Pamers. He... hates Troy Pamers and you know, goes around admitting it openly... and... Isabel are you listening to me?" he said, talking in a slightly sped up tone, turning to her at the last sentence.
She looked back to the paper and then to her friend. "Yeah, yeah, Michael I'm listening to you. But this is just you being you. All right? Max is fine, nothing happened it's all right here in black and white," she said, using the paper as emphasis. He knew Michael wouldn't let this go until he knew everything. And she wouldn't be taken into it.
*
Meanwhile, somewhere in Roswell, outdoor food stand
Alex Evans walked over to the table with his meal, to meet his sister, Liz and their, Maria. He was obviously upset.
"I can't believe this Liz. You know, I finally feel like I have a quasi-normal existence and you go and blow it all with one random act of lunacy." He turned to Maria and continued, "How did you let my misguided sister do this?"
"Hey, don't turn this around on me. I'm not the one who thinks she's a super hero," replied Maria as she poured Tabasco sauce on her food.
"Look, I said I was sorry," tried Liz, feeling uncomfortable.
"You're sorry? You break a sacred pact and that's all you have to say? It's against the rules Liz, the rules we made!" said Alex, trying to keep his voice down even though he wanted to scream.
"You use your powers all the time," reminded Liz.
"Recreationally," defended Alex. He waved his hand over his taco and it became warmer. "The important thing is, to contain this. We just have to figure out what to say to Mr. Scientist." He caught a glimpse of Liz's guilty face and he felt anger rising even more, but also disbelief. "Oh my God, you told him," he stated.
Maria dropped what she was holding and looked to Liz. "I didn't have a choice. It's gonna be okay," she said.
"Don't you realize that everything has changed?" he asked, panic sounding in his voice.
"No it hasn't," insisted Liz.
"Liz, he's right, we're screwed. It's time to leave Roswell," said Maria as she got up and began walking to the Jeep, with the others following.
"Maria, we can't just leave," said Liz.
"Yeah we can. We've always known this day would come. We said when it did we'd be prepared," explained Maria.
"Maria, where are we gonna go? You know Roswell's home," said Alex.
"Roswell's not home. It's not even in our solar system," said Maria, feeling her anger rising.
"Well this is the closest thing we have to home right now," said Liz.
"For you two maybe. It was you the Evans found on the side of the road not me. They're like real parents to you. My foster dad just keeps me around for the monthly check," said Maria.
"This is gonna be okay. We should just lay low. Go back to school and act normal," said Liz.
"Act normal? That's your big plan, Liz? Don't you realize it's only a matter of time before they find us and turn us over to some government agency where they're gonna test us and prod us, and, oh yeah, exterminate us," said Alex. By then they had climbed in the Jeep and Liz drove them off after taking another look at their angry faces. They were definitely not pleased...
*
Back at WRH
Max walked into the bathroom and went to the mirror. He splashed some water on his face and looked back up. He saw that Michael was exiting a stall and now he stood behind him.
"Hey," said Max, not turning to face him.
"So I called you... what? 37 times?" said Michael.
"I know, I'm sorry," said Max, still not turning.
"Max, what happened?"
"What do you mean Michael? You were there, you saw everything?" said Max, talking to his friend's reflection.
"Did I? Cause um, this isn't ketchup," he said, pulling out his order pad, which had a blood stain on the top sheet. Max turned to face him. "This looks a lot like blood to me. What did Liz do to you?" he asked. Max turned back and dried his hands, attempting to avoid him again.
*
In the Jeep, on the road
Liz and Maria were silent in the front, and so was Alex in the back, except he was listening to music... "Alex, could you please not do that?" asked Liz when she saw.
Alex removed the CD from the side of his head, by his ear and looked up. "Yeah, like listening to a CD is the problem," he said.
"I couldn't just let him die," she defended.
Suddenly they heard the sound of a police siren and Alex looked back to see the Sheriff's car come behind them, flashers on. "Is he pulling us over?" asked Alex, getting nervous.
"Liz go, let's get outta here," insisted Maria.
"We can't start acting guilty," pointed out Liz as she pulled the Jeep over to the side of the road. "He always pulls kids over he does it all the time. It's nothing," she said.
"Yeah, nothing," said Maria, looking out the window for a second.
Sheriff Valenti walked up to Liz's window. "Your license and registration please."
"Of course officer," said Liz, providing them.
The Sheriff looked them over. "Thank you Ms. Evans. We had a little trouble at the Crashdown Café yesterday. You kids be careful out there."
"Yes sir," said Liz, as she moved her foot to the gas pedal, hitting a half empty bottle Tabasco sauce in the process.
The Sheriff saw it. "Watch your speed. Arrive alive," he said before walking away.
"We will," said Liz, as she went to start the Jeep. But Maria grabbed the keys. "Maria, everything is gonna be okay."
"No it won't. Our cover is blown. And I'm not gonna hang around and wait for them to catch us," said Maria, letting her anger out at last.
"No one is caught yet. I mean, we don't even know if there is a "them"," said Liz.
"What happened to our parents? What happened to everybody else on the ship? They were killed, and you know that," said Maria.
"Max won't tell anyone, he's different."
"Really? So how'd he react when you told him? Great you're an alien that's fantastic." Alex smirked and Liz looked away. "No, I didn't think so." With that, she got out of the car and walked off, leaving the keys on her seat.
"Thought I was pissed," said Alex.
*
That night, outside Max's front door
Max and Tess got to the door. "Well, goodnight," he said.
"Oh right, right. Listen Max, you've been somewhere else all night."
"I know, I'm sorry. Tess, do you ever wonder if..." he started.
"Do I ever wonder what?" she asked.
"When you see me, do you, do you feel things?"
"Yes, of course. I feel things. Like what?"
He smiled. "Forget it, I don't know what I was talking about. I'm just gonna go get some sleep."
"All right," she said, nodding. Max reached up to turn off a light above him and his shirt rose up a bit, just enough for Tess to see part of the handprint. "Max?"
He quickly brought his arms down, the shirt covering the print again. "Good night Tess."
"Goodnight Max."
*
Later, on the 'balcony'
Max sat on a long chair, studying his bio book when he heard something. "Max!" came a voice from street level. He walked to the edge and saw Liz. "I have to talk to you."
*
Down in the Crashdown
Max let her in and walked further into the dining room. Liz kept a short distance, so that she wouldn't rush him. "I can't imagine how you must feel right now, I mean, I've thought about telling you a thousand times," she said.
"You have?" he said with a small smile. "Really?" Liz smiled. "What?"
"Sorry, I just, uh, I just keep picturing you in that shirt, with the... big dog... on it."
"What?" he asked confused.
"Forget it, it was a long time ago."
Max thought for a second and then he remembered. "Oh my God. That's... right. I can't believe I actually wore that..." He thought again and looked to Liz. "I had that shirt in kindergarten, I didn't know you until the third grade. Did you... read my mind or something?"
Liz approached him. "No, I-I don't read minds. When I healed you, I made this, this, I don't know, this connection. And I got a rush of images... An image of that shirt flashed into my mind, and, I knew how you felt about it."
"How did I feel about it?" he asked, still suspicious.
"It was the single supreme embarrassment of your life. But your Mom made it for you, she was so proud of it, she'd never knitted a shirt before, so you wore it. For her sake." Max nodded, the shock from the truth in Liz's words still hanging in the air. "I've never tried this before, but maybe I can make the connection go the other way. So you can see, you know that, that I'm still me." She was in front of him now. "I have to touch you," she said. Max nodded his consent. Liz rose her hands to his face, placing one on each side of his face. "Now just take deep breaths and try to let your mind blank out." She looked into his eyes and the connection was almost instant.
What he saw was amazing. He saw two children, walking on the road, naked, caught in a car's headlight. The car stopped and two adults came up. The children... Liz and her brother Alex. Next, he saw Liz and Alex get off a school bus. Immediately, Liz's sight was taken by something. It was him, playing with Michael on the playground. He had looked to her and smiled. She was just puzzled. He saw himself again, happy, jumping, he saw himself in the 'big dog shirt'.
"I could feel everything she was feeling. I could feel her loneliness. For the first time I was really seeing Liz Evans, I saw me as she saw me, and the amazing thing was, in her eyes, I was attractive."
Liz pulled away, breaking the connection. "Did it work?" she asked calmly. Max nodded slowly. She managed a small smile.
*
"Liz Evans has put a force on me. It's like my whole life changed in an instant. It's just... ironic that when something like this finally happened to me... it was with an alien."
Max and Liz grew closer over the next day or so. Neither would speak it, but they knew it. The way they were around each other, how they moved, how they stood...
*
WRH, Band Room
Max searched frantically, not finding anything. "Hey," he heard from behind. He turned and was relieved to find one of his two best friends, Isabel.
"Oh, hey Isabel. Have you seen my backpack anywhere?"
"No, I haven't. Can I talk to you for a second?" she asked.
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Well, I'm your friend, and I'm Michael's friend too, so if you lie to Michael, it's sort of like lying to me," said Isabel as Max stood before her.
"Isabel, what did Michael say to you?" asked Max, getting nervous.
"Well, frankly it's vague. I mean, everything needs to be put through the Michael filter. But he said something about how he found blood on your order book. What's going on?" asked Isabel, slightly concerned for her friend.
"Isabel, Michael is totally over-dramatic. You know that. Nothing is going on," assured Max.
"O... Okay, well look. All I care about is that you're okay. So you're... you are, right? You're okay?" asked Isabel.
"I'm okay," said Max with a smile.
"All right," she said, nodding.
"Okay."
"And whatever happened is... over now?"
"It is completely over," he assured again.
"Okay."
"Okay."
Just then, the principal walked in with a deputy behind him. "There he is," said the principal, pointing to Max.
"Mr. Parker, the Sheriff needs to ask you some questions." Max tried to be careful not to let his fear show as he stared at the two men.
*
Office
Max sat in front of a desk, alone in the room. The Sheriff walked in and went to sit behind the desk, as he began to speak. "Afternoon, Mr. Parker. Your father said it would be all right if I talked to you. I'm sorry to have to show you these." He put a picture on the desk and Max's breath was caught short. It was a picture of a dead man. He noticed the date on the picture... November 1959. "This man was found dead, no apparent cause of death. Except that," he said, with another picture, this time closer to the man's face. He had a handprint as well. "What do you make of that mark?" asked the Sheriff.
"I have never seen anything like that before," Max lied.
"Tess said she saw a similar mark on your stomach," said the Sheriff.
"She was wrong."
"I'm sure... Tess has got a pretty wild imagination... I'm gonna need to see for myself Max."
"Come on Sheriff," said Max, looking uncomfortable. "I told you that I spilled ketchup, and I, I said that... about a thousand times."
"Max, please?" Max stood up and slowly lifted up his shirt, just barely. But there was no mark. "The mark faded on the corpse too." Max sat down as the Sheriff continued, "What do you know about a girl named Liz Evans?"
Max hid his panic. "Liz Evans?" The Sheriff nodded. "Um... I don't really know her all that well."
"Was she one of the kids at the Crashdown that day?"
"No," he answered quickly.
"I see."
"Can I go home now, Sheriff?"
"Just one more thing," he said, dropping Max's backpack on the desk. "Someone turned in this backpack, it is yours isn't it?" Max felt all the color drain from his face.
*
Minutes later, gym
Liz was in the middle of volleyball practice. Just as she knocked the ball over the net, she saw Max standing by the door. His emotions were hard to see... too many of them.
*
Office
Sheriff Valenti was pacing the room as he stated the facts. "A shot was fired, there's a bullet hole in the shirt. I'm telling you, the boy was shot." The man who sat at the table, agent Stevens of the FBI, stood up then and stuffed the shirt in his briefcase. "What are you doing?"
"I have a flying saucer sighting in Phoenix. An accountant in Barstow who thinks he's Jesus. Both cases are more solid than this. Have this checked out at the lab, call me Sheriff, if you ever have anything... real." The man left the office, and the Sheriff followed him outside to the parking lot.
"Listen, you guys told me to call you if I saw anything. Well, my daughter saw that handprint."
"I'm sure she did."
"What happens now?"
"Have the lab check out the shirt. I'm gonna handle this case in the proper manner without getting too personal. I suggest you do the same."
"I'm not walking away from this. I'm gonna be a part of this investigation."
"Sheriff, do you know what everyone used to call your father? Sergeant Martian. You don't wanna end up like him," he said, climbing into his car.
"Agent Stevens, I was 8 years old when my father discovered that corpse, my whole life I thought he was as crazy as everyone else did. Crazy to believe. Now I'm not so sure."
"Thank you Sheriff. Your work is done now, we'll take it from here," said the agent as he drove off, leaving Valenti standing in the parking lot.
*
WRH, Art Room
Max and Liz walked in, and Max was a bit agitated, while Liz was still calm. "I need to know the truth Liz. I need to know, everything. Or I'll... I'm just gonna go to Valenti and I'm gonna tell him everything I know."
"Okay," said Liz.
"Okay," said Max, reaching for a piece of paper in his pocket and unfolding it. Liz grinned softly at that. "Okay. All right. Here we go. Where did you come from?"
"I don't know. When the ship crashed I wasn't born yet."
"So there was a crash?"
"All I know is it wasn't a weather balloon that fell that night."
Max thought for a second. "The ship crashed in 1947... you're 16."
"We were in some kind of incubation pods."
"We?" asked Max, feeling flushed.
"Alex and... Maria are also... uh..."
Max sort of looked around. "Okay, well, that... answers, um, that question. Um, what powers do you have?"
"We can connect with people, as uh, you know. We can manipulate molecular structures, and... we can..."
"Wait, what does that mean?" asked Max.
Liz looked around and saw a clay sculpture on one of the tables. She walked to it, placed her hand on top, looked to Max and then waved her hand in front of it. The features that had been sculpted into it disappeared as though it was a new piece of clay. Then she waved back and they returned. "That's, uh... that's how I healed you."
"Liz, who else knows this?" he asked, getting curious about that suddenly.
"No one"
"What about your parents?"
"We don't tell anyone. We sorta think our lives depend on it."
Max was amazed. "So when you healed me you risked all of this getting out didn't you?"
"Yeah," said Liz shyly.
"Why?"
Liz looked at him, warmth in her eyes. "It was you."
Max smiled. Then he remembered something and his face became determined. "Um Liz, Valenti showed me this photo of a corpse. A murder victim. It had the same silver handprint on it's chest."
"That can't be," said Liz, incredulous.
"The photo was marked 1959."
"That's impossible."
"Tess saw the handprint on my stomach and Valenti found my uniform shirt with the bullet hole in it. He just asked me if you were in the café during the shooting. Liz, he suspects you." Liz was definitely about to panic and she started to head for the door. "Liz!"
"I have to go!" she said quickly and left.
"Liz wait, go where? Where are you going? Liz wait! Liz!" he followed her into the hall, but by the time he got there she was gone, mostly due to the huge crowd of students in costume for the festival running through the halls.
*
Later, Evans home, Alex's room
He was standing in front of the mirror, putting the last piece of his costume on his head when the door burst opened and Liz all but ran in. "Forget the festival. It's time to leave." Alex gave her a look, but knew he didn't have a choice.
*
Not too long after, outside Maria's home
Maria ran up to the Jeep and hopped in. "Where's your stuff?" asked Alex, still in costume.
"I'm wearing it," informed Maria. Alex rolled his eyes as they drove off.
*
Parker home, Max's room
Max was sitting on his bed, doing homework, when the door opened and Michael came to stand in front of him, dressed as Yoda, but holding his 'ears' in his hands. Max looked up. "Before I go to this idiotic crash festival I want to know everything. And if you don't tell me the truth right now, I'm going to go to Valenti myself and tell him everything I know."
Max felt his heart beat slightly faster. "What do you know?"
"Well... uh, I-I know that Liz was in the diner that day, and I know that she went up to you when you were shot and... did something to you. And I know that the one person in the world that I thought I could completely trust... is lying to me."
Max hesitated, then said, "You have to promise me that you are not going to freak out."
"Freak out? Max, come on," said Michael.
*
Minutes later, just outside Max's home
The door practically burst opened, as Michael stumbled out, mumbling something incoherently. Max quickly followed. "Michael!" he called after him.
*
In the Jeep
"So is this picture what we're seeing is there's more of us?" asked Maria, obviously excited.
"One more," reminded Liz, "At least there was in 1959."
"Well then there's hope. I mean if we can find him, he can tell us where we came from, what we are..." said Maria.
"Maria, calm down, we had one potential relative 40 years ago, all we know about him is he was a potential killer," explained Alex, in hopes that Maria would let it go, because he knew she wouldn't and that worried him.
*
In Michael's Jetta
He was NOT taking this well. He was practically hyperventilating. "Max, Max what happened to you? You were on this whole... valedictorian path. You were on your way to be this... world renowned scientist and I was gonna be your wacky friend. I can't be a wacky friend to someone who's already wacky! It'd be like repetitious..."
"Michael, you're babbling," said Max as he watched the road, seeing as Michael was panicking while driving.
"I think I've earned the right to babble, all right so just deal with it."
At that moment, Liz, Maria and Alex drove by, going in the opposite direction. "Oh my God Michael that's them! Cut a U-ie!" ordered Max, his tone rising with a mixture of emotions.
"Cut a U-ie?" asked Michael incredulously.
"Michael!"
"Who are you? I mean..." started Michael as Max grabbed the wheel and made the Jetta do a U-turn and follow the Jeep. "Oh my God, you're crazy!" yelled Michael.
"Michael I am not! Please, just catch them!"
"Catch them? Max, we're in a Jetta."
*
The Jeep
Liz saw Valenti's car drive by and quickly turned into an alley, hoping he wouldn't see them. But as they drove in, they saw there was a car blocking the exit. She was about to back out of it, when the Jetta pulled in from the other side as well. They were cornered. "Great," said Alex sarcastically when he saw who it was.
Max and Michael got out of the Jetta and slowly walked to the Jeep. Liz, Maria and Alex did the same. Michael walked just a step behind Max. "What are they doing here?" asked Michael, indicating Maria and Alex. "No, don't tell me there's three..."
"Well..." started Max.
"I think I'm gonna be sick."
They came face to face. Max spoke first. "Michael knows."
"Unbelievable," said Maria.
"Look, I promise I won't tell anyone," said Michael, unsure of his own words.
Maria stepped up to them, and Michael stepped back. "Get your car out of the way, NOW," she said, trying to stay calm, showing no emotion.
"I really don't think that you should try to leave. It's just gonna show people that you're guilty," explained Max.
"Guilty of what? Saving your life?" asked Maria.
"Maria..." called Liz.
"Look, I think I have an idea here. If we can just all work together here maybe we can throw Valenti off," explained Max.
"We're not together. Our lives are at stake, not yours. Now move your car," said Maria.
"Maria, this can't last forever. This secret... and I don't want it to," said Liz calmly.
"Look I can't change what happened. But if you run, Valenti is gonna know it's you. You'll be proving it for him," said Max.
"He's right," said Liz slowly.
"I should've known you'd side with him," said Alex.
"Alex, I'm not on anyone's side all right?"
"Get on a side Liz because time is running out," said Alex to his sister.
Liz looked around a bit and turned to Max. "He should move his car." Maria and Alex seemed to be relieved for a second, until Liz added, "I'm turning myself into Valenti."
"Liz we said we were leaving," reminded Maria.
"Liz I can't leave without you," said Alex, feeling a tear coming unbeknownst to him. He sighed and walked up to Max and Michael. "What's your idea?"
*
A bit later, Valenti home
Tess opened the door and sort of frowned as she saw Max standing there, dressed as Spock. "I waited for you for an hour and a half," she said.
"Tess, I know I've been acting like a real jerk and... I'm sorry," he said with a small innocent smile.
*
Crash festival
Alex and Michael walked side by side, Michael still uncomfortable. A girl walked by in a silver suit and mask. "Nice mask Isabel," said Alex.
She removed her mask. "Alex, hey," she said, trying not to stammer. "Michael," she said, observing his Yoda get-up.
"Hey," he said.
She observed Alex's head gear, dressed as a Conehead, he was hard to miss. "Uh, nice cone," she said shyly.
*
Valenti home
Max and Tess stood close. "Max we don't even have to go to the crash," said Tess.
"Tess it is gonna be great okay?" They kissed. "I am gonna meet you in front of the podium in half an hour, right?"
"Right. Half an hour."
"Yeah," said Max. Tess walked back into the house as Max stepped behind a tree and took out his cell phone and dialed.
*
The Jeep
"We've got half an hour," confirmed Max to Liz.
"Got it," she said, closing the phone after and turning to Maria. "Well..."
"It won't work," she said.
*
The festival
Valenti walked up to Deputy Owen. "Where is she?" he asked.
"There," he said, pointing out Liz, dressed as Agent Scully. "What did this girl do Jim?"
"I'll take it from here, Owen." He walked off to where Liz had been.
*
Festival parking lot
Alex sat on the Jetta's hood as Michael rolled on the ground. "Come on roll!" he ordered.
"Okay, I'm rolling," said Michael.
"Roll!"
"I'm rolling! Okay?"
"Right that's better," he said, hopping off. "Keys?"
Michael held up the keys, not handing them over yet. "Okay, I know my mom's car doesn't look like much, but, not destroying it is the key to my and my mother's relationship okay?"
"Whatever," said Alex as he took the keys. Michael rolled his eyes for a change.
*
Somewhere else at the festival
Valenti approached Liz. She felt like she would faint. "I have some questions for you," he said.
"What kind of questions?" she asked innocently.
"Were you at the Crashdown Café the day of the shooting?"
"Yes," she said.
"What did you do to Max Parker?"
"I didn't do anything to him," she pleaded.
"I don't believe that," he said as he started to handcuff her.
"Aren't you going to read me my rights?" she asked.
"Do you have any?"
*
Still at the festival, elsewhere
Max walked around, waiting. Suddenly he bumped into two people, both wearing masks. He walked off without seeing that they were the couple who were at the Crashdown the day of the shooting. They took off their masks, looked at each other, and followed him.
Meanwhile, Alex got in the car, his 'cone' making it a bit hard. He backed up a bit, and pretended to run over Michael. Then, he got out and ran away. Max came about just then, and acted in shock. "Michael!" he yelled, starting to run towards him, the couple right behind him.
Just then, a girl ran up to Michael, still lying on the ground and placed her hand over his heart. She wore a long velvet cape with a hood and a small mask shielded her eyes. At the same time, Isabel walked up. "What's going on? What are you, what are you doing?" she asked, before the girl pushed her and ran off again.
"What happened here?" asked Valenti, just getting to the scene. He went up to Michael, immediately seeing the bright silver handprint. "Are you okay?" he asked as he helped him sit up a bit.
"Yeah, I think so," said Michael weakly.
The man, who still stood in the back, spoke up then. "There she goes! Sheriff, there she is. There's the girl that went up to him that's her!" he said, pointing to the girl, still running.
"Watch the girl," he told Owen, indicating Liz.
Valenti ran off, following the girl. At some point, he lost her, until he saw her standing in a crowd near the podium. He slowly walked up to her and then turned her around. The girl pushed her mask up and was revealed to be Tess. "Dad, scared the hell outta me. You seen Max around? He was supposed to meet me here like 15 minutes ago."
"No," he said simply, slightly dumbfounded.
"Mmm... okay," said Tess. Valenti looked down at his hand and saw silver.
*
Inside a port-a-potty
The girl in the long velvet cape brought down her hood and removed the mask. It was Maria. She breathed deeply, the rush of the experience coming over her.
*
Back at the festival
Valenti was dragging Liz to the side of a van. He was angry. "You think you're smart don't you?"
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't play games with me, Ms. Evans, this is paint," he said, holding up his hand. "You went up to Max Parker in that café and you did something to him, and I need to know what it was."
"I had a hamburger, when the gun went off I ran away," explained Liz, tearing up. "Did I break the law? Sheriff are you arresting me?"
Valenti looked around and sighed. He undid the handcuffs. "No, your parents would have you our in an hour. Let me tell you something. I'm gonna find out what the truth is. You can count on it. You're really smart, Liz. Well, so am I." And he walked off.
*
The crash festival podium
"Is everybody ready?" yelled Jonathan Frakes to the excited crowd. Together, they counted down the clock. "8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Blastoff! Yeah!" When he yelled "Blastoff!", a small spacecraft was let down a wire and crashed to the ground, flames igniting, sending three little 'alien' bodies falling, slowly burning. "Yeah!" yelled Frakes.
All were cheering loudly. All but three. Alex and Maria stood at a gate, observing the crash, their faces washed of any emotions. Liz joined them and they stood watching the little aliens burn.
Liz looked around and saw Max standing to a side and walked to him. "Hey," she said.
"Hey," she said back.
She walked up and pushed away a small strand of hair that stood on Max's 'ear'.
"Oh," he said.
"You had a, uh..." she said shyly.
"Hair thing, right. Thanks."
"Sure," he smiled, then, "Max, it's not safe. I mean, for you and, and me too... it's not safe."
"I don't care," he said.
"Max I really, really wish that this could be something, you know, more. But it can't. We're just..."
"Different," he finished for her.
"Yeah," she said. "I'll see you at school." She turned to leave.
"Liz?" he called to her. She turned back. "I never got to thank you, for saving my life."
"Thank you," she said. Both smiled.
*
"It's September 24th, I'm Max Parker and five days ago I died. But then the really amazing thing happened. I came to life."
CHAPTER TWO
M
