PART 4
Isabel and Kyle had been in the elevator for over three hours, it was already nine o'clock. They had yet to figure out what was happening in the real world, they were trapped. The phone line was still dead, and the emergency button still didn't work.
"Do you think something happened? I mean, like a storm or something?" Isabel asked Kyle.
"Probably an earthquake," Kyle replied.
"I hope everyone's okay," Isabel said. She pictured Max trapped under an old building, slowly dying. She shook herself out of the awful picture, and concentrated on her alone time with Kyle.
"So, what should we do for the next three hours or so that we're trapped in here?" Isabel asked.
"I dunno. Talk, think, kiss…" Kyle said. Isabel laughed. But when Kyle leaned over and kissed her, she stopped laughing. Things continued on like that for a while. After all, they were alone in a dark small place, who could resist?
"Kyle?" Isabel asked, pulling away from him.
"Hmm?" Kyle replied, sitting up.
"Did you feel that? It was like this big shaking feeling. I'm really worried about Max," Isabel said.
"I'm sure he's fine. He knows how to take care of himself. We took earthquake prep classes in the sixth grade, remember?" Kyle joked. Isabel laughed.
"I hope you're right."
"I am." Isabel leaned over and kissed Kyle. It felt good to have someone protect her from the bad thoughts again.
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Liz finally got to the hospital and dragged Max inside; he was still unconscious, and very heavy. One of the male nurses saw her and helped her and Max inside.
"What happened to him?" He asked.
"We were on the Ferris wheel and the earthquake knocked out the power and one of the other cars hit us and he got knocked out," Liz said as quickly as she could.
"The injury looks pretty bad, I'll go get John," The nurse muttered. He walked off, talking to one of the other nurses and pointing at Liz. The girl walked over to Liz.
"Hi, I'm Carol, that was Josh. I'm gonna get your friend into a room, and we'll get him some help okay?" Carol said, reassuringly.
"Yeah, it's okay if I stay with him right?" Liz asked.
"Oh, yeah sure. Are you the girlfriend?" She asked.
"Well, sort of. I mean, uh, yeah," Liz replied.
"Follow me." Carol said as she pulled Max on his rolling bed. Liz followed her into a large room with lots of doctors. Carol rolled Max in next to another patient who, by the looks of things, had just finished surgery. Soon they rolled the other patient out and one of the doctors began examining Max's wound.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Liz asked.
"I think so, he'll need stitches, and it might take him a while to wake up. I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside for a little while, it's usually less painful, the less you see," The doctor told Liz.
"Oh, okay. You're probably right," Liz said, "I need some coffee." Liz walked down the hospital corridor trying not to look at the pale green walls. Liz hated hospitals, nothing good ever happened in them. Her grandmother had died in a hospital. Liz wasn't very comfortable being around sick people either. But she had decided long before she had actually arrived that she would stay until Max was okay. Even if it drove her insane. Liz finally found the coffee machine and put in her change. Liz took her coffee and began walking back to Max's room. When she returned, the door was still closed, so Liz walked to the nurse's desk and called Max's parents. She explained the situation and asked them to come down. Then Liz began to pace in front of Max's door. She quickly got tired of that and sat down in one of the chairs, praying that the doctors would hurry up. A few minutes (that seemed like hours) later, the doctor walked out of Max's room. Just as he did, Diane and Philip Evans came running down the hallway.
"Are you the parents?" The doctor asked them.
"Yes, we're Max's parents. He was adopted though, but I'm sure that doesn't matter?" Mrs. Evans rambled on until her husband quieted her and told her to calm down.
"Good, well. I'm doctor John Ashton; I've looked at your son. Is it okay if this young lady hears Max's condition?" Dr. Ashton asked.
"Liz?" Mrs. Evans asked, suddenly staring at Liz as if she were just realizing her presence.
"Of course. Liz is a good friend of Max's," Mr. Evans said.
"Good. Now, I've cleaned up Max's wound, as I thought, it's rather deep. He'll need stitches, but I don't think there will be too much permanent scarring. He's still knocked out; he might not wake up for a while. You can see him if you'd like, but I need to start the procedure as soon as possible," Dr. Ashton finished. Mrs. Evans was in tears. Mr. Evans guided his wife into Max's room, beckoning Liz to come as well.
"Liz, how did all this happen?" Mr. Evans asked her, looking fondly at his son.
"Well, we were all at the fair and Max and I were looking for Isabel, but we couldn't find her, so we decided to go on the Ferris wheel. And we were on it and right in the middle of the ride, the earthquake struck. So we were stuck in our cart, and we couldn't get out. Then there was a tremor and the cart behind us skidded off the track and Max shoved me down, but he didn't have time to get out of the way. And he got hit, and…" Liz trailed off, fighting the tears.
"I see." Mr. Evans commented. "How did you get out f the cart?" He asked.
"Umm, when the other cart hit us, it swung our cart down and we hit the ground." Liz lied.
"Liz, would it be okay if we had a few minutes alone with our son?" Mrs. Evans spoke up.
"Oh, of course! I didn't mean to-" Liz started.
"Liz, it's okay, you didn't." Mr. Evans interrupted. Liz turned and quietly left the room. A few minutes later Mr. And Mrs. Evans came out and let Liz go in to see Max by herself. She thanked them as she walked inside.
When Liz entered the room again, she saw Max lying there looking half dead. She thought about how he risked his life for her. It made her very upset to think that she might be the cause of Max's death. Then Liz caught herself.
"He's not gonna die. He's NOT gonna die," She repeated. Liz pulled a chair up to the side of Max's bed and sat down.
"Max. Oh, God. I know…it's been, difficult, with everything between us. But I want you to know, even though you can't hear me. I forgive you. I love you. I'm sorry," Liz took Max's hand and lifted it up to her lips. "I miss you so much." Liz let her tears fall freely after that. Then she stopped crying and wiped her eyes, getting up from the chair. "You'll be okay," She whispered. Once again, Liz wiped her tears, and left Max's side. As soon as the door opened, Mr. Evans spoke.
"Liz, we have a favor to ask you." Mr. Evans said.
"Of course, anything." Liz replied.
"Can you look for Isabel? I'm sure she's wondering what's happened." He continued.
"Oh, yeah, sure. Right away." Liz said. Mr. Evans smiled at her. She smiled back.
"Thank you, Liz," Mrs. Evans said, "For all you've done." Liz just smiled again.
*You have no idea,* She thought. Liz walked down the corridor and out of the hospital towards the jeep. Liz decided to skip looking at the fair entirely, she hadn't found Isabel there once, and she wasn't going to not find her there again. Liz drove straight towards town.
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Michael ran up to the door of the Crashdown. The sign on the door read: CLOSED FOR REPAIRS.
*Obviously,* thought Michael. He banged on the door, but no one answered. Suddenly Michael felt someone tapping him on the shoulder. He spun around, surprised. Brody was standing in front of him.
"Where's Maria?" Michael asked, before Brody could speak.
"I was going to ask you that. Last I saw her she was headed towards the UFO Center. I only just got back from seeing Sydney. She was very sick and was asking for me, but she's fine now. Anyway, I heard the earthquake did some pretty bad damage. I came back to see what the UFO Center looked like."
"Okay, well Maria might still be inside then?" Michael said, mostly to himself.
"I suppose she could be." Brody replied. Michael raced past Brody and through the door to the UFO Center.
"Maria!" He called. "Are you in here?"
"Michael?" Maria whispered. "Is that you?" Maria's vision was blurry, all she knew was that she was trapped underneath a ceiling beam, and she couldn't get up.
"Maria!" Michael called again. He ran down the steps and looked around him. The place looked okay, besides being unusually messy. Michael moved forward and looked around him.
"Michael!" Maria tried again, but her voice was weak, and she doubted Michael could hear her. Michael glanced around one more time and noticed movement near the wall, by a fallen ceiling beam. He walked towards it, cautious as he moved closer. Soon he saw Maria's body, motionless, trapped under the beam.
"Maria!" Michael yelled, "Maria, are you okay?" He dropped to his knees beside her, and tried to help her out from underneath the beam. Soon he got impatient and used his powers to lift it. At the same time he pulled Maria away and let the beam fall. Michael helped Maria stand and placed his arm around her waist, supporting her.
"Michael, I was so scared," Maria whispered.
"I know, it's okay now. You're gonna be okay," Michael told her. They walked up the stairs together and out onto the street. Michael looked down the road and saw the jeep in the distance.
"Liz?" Maria asked as the jeep pulled over to the side of the road next to them.
"Oh my God! What happened to her?" Liz screamed.
"She was trapped in the UFO Center. She got caught under a fallen ceiling beam," Michael told Liz.
"Oh, baby. You're gonna be okay. Come on, we're gonna take you to the hospital all right? Everything will be fine. I promise," Liz comforted her friend.
"Is Max okay?" Michael asked as he jumped into the driver's seat of the jeep.
"Yeah, he's still unconscious, but the doctor said he'll be fine. He needs stitches though." Liz told Michael. Liz faintly heard Maria's asking about Max, but she ignored it and told her not to worry. Finally they arrived at the hospital and got Maria admitted. At first Michael was reluctant to leave Maria's side, seeing as Maria had slipped into unconsciousness, but he eventually got up to see Max when Liz came back from calling Mrs. Deluca. Liz stayed with Maria and promised Michael she wouldn't leave until he got back.
Liz sat in the little room with her best friend, looking at all the respirators, cords, ties, and tubes that were surrounding her. Liz remembered all the good times she and Maria had shared. She remembered Maria's laugh, remembered how she cried. Liz knew Maria would be fine, but that didn't stop her from crying for her friend. Liz held Maria's hand and thought about that very day. Maria had been keeping something from Liz. Liz couldn't help but be annoyed that her friend couldn't share everything with her anymore. It made her sad to think that after all they had been through together Maria still kept secrets. But Liz soon forgot about Maria's secret when Michael walked through the door.
"Max is awake," Michael said, "He's asking for you." Liz gave Maria a kiss on the cheek and left the room. Liz walked down the corridors and past many rude nurses and patients until she found the corridor of Max's room. Liz came to the door and paused there wondering why Max would be asking for her. Liz decided to put her doubts aside as she opened the door. Mr. And Mrs. Evans were talking to Max; the doctor was there as well.
"Well, Max, your head is fine, you'll need to be back here in three weeks or so to get the stitches removed, but you can go home tomorrow. Okay?" Dr. Ashton said.
"Great, I can't wait to go home." Max replied.
"Oh sweetie, we can't wait to get you home." Mrs. Evans told him. Liz cleared her throat and walked further into the room. All eyes turned on her.
"Oh! Liz, I presume? Yes, Max has been asking for you. I'll be leaving now, Ms. Evans, Sir, would you care to follow me please? We'll discuss…" Dr. Ashton distracted Diane and Philip so that Max and Liz could have some time alone. The door closed and Liz sat on the side of Max's bed. He looked unusually pale, but that wasn't surprising. Liz looked at him and back down at the floor again.
"Liz, I need to tell you something," Max said.
"What?" Liz asked, lifting up her head and looking at Max once more.
"When I got hit, I slipped into unconsciousness, but it was more than that. I, I remembered things…the strangest things. I had visions. It was all so weird."
"Visions of what?" Liz asked.
"Of me and Tess mostly. I remembered things, like her mind warping me and making me believe we had had sex, and the baby. It wasn't really true, it was all lies, and tricks. Liz I knew, I knew that I never could have done that to you, and I didn't. I knew I didn't, but I didn't know…" Max said.
"I know," Liz told him.
"And there's more," Max continued, "I got visions of Tess on Antar. She was presented to Khivar. She had nothing, no baby, and none of us. I watched her die, Liz. I saw her being executed. It was horrible," Max said.
"Only what would have been done to you had you gone with her," Liz said. Max looked at her.
"Can't we go back? To what we used to be? What we used to have? Liz, you are the most important thing in my life. I love you more than life itself," Max told her.
"I love you too, Max," Liz replied. She leaned over him and they kissed. It was like a dream come true for them both.
"We'll never be apart again," Max whispered.
"I know," Liz replied.
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Isabel and Kyle had been in the elevator for over three hours, it was already nine o'clock. They had yet to figure out what was happening in the real world, they were trapped. The phone line was still dead, and the emergency button still didn't work.
"Do you think something happened? I mean, like a storm or something?" Isabel asked Kyle.
"Probably an earthquake," Kyle replied.
"I hope everyone's okay," Isabel said. She pictured Max trapped under an old building, slowly dying. She shook herself out of the awful picture, and concentrated on her alone time with Kyle.
"So, what should we do for the next three hours or so that we're trapped in here?" Isabel asked.
"I dunno. Talk, think, kiss…" Kyle said. Isabel laughed. But when Kyle leaned over and kissed her, she stopped laughing. Things continued on like that for a while. After all, they were alone in a dark small place, who could resist?
"Kyle?" Isabel asked, pulling away from him.
"Hmm?" Kyle replied, sitting up.
"Did you feel that? It was like this big shaking feeling. I'm really worried about Max," Isabel said.
"I'm sure he's fine. He knows how to take care of himself. We took earthquake prep classes in the sixth grade, remember?" Kyle joked. Isabel laughed.
"I hope you're right."
"I am." Isabel leaned over and kissed Kyle. It felt good to have someone protect her from the bad thoughts again.
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Liz finally got to the hospital and dragged Max inside; he was still unconscious, and very heavy. One of the male nurses saw her and helped her and Max inside.
"What happened to him?" He asked.
"We were on the Ferris wheel and the earthquake knocked out the power and one of the other cars hit us and he got knocked out," Liz said as quickly as she could.
"The injury looks pretty bad, I'll go get John," The nurse muttered. He walked off, talking to one of the other nurses and pointing at Liz. The girl walked over to Liz.
"Hi, I'm Carol, that was Josh. I'm gonna get your friend into a room, and we'll get him some help okay?" Carol said, reassuringly.
"Yeah, it's okay if I stay with him right?" Liz asked.
"Oh, yeah sure. Are you the girlfriend?" She asked.
"Well, sort of. I mean, uh, yeah," Liz replied.
"Follow me." Carol said as she pulled Max on his rolling bed. Liz followed her into a large room with lots of doctors. Carol rolled Max in next to another patient who, by the looks of things, had just finished surgery. Soon they rolled the other patient out and one of the doctors began examining Max's wound.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Liz asked.
"I think so, he'll need stitches, and it might take him a while to wake up. I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside for a little while, it's usually less painful, the less you see," The doctor told Liz.
"Oh, okay. You're probably right," Liz said, "I need some coffee." Liz walked down the hospital corridor trying not to look at the pale green walls. Liz hated hospitals, nothing good ever happened in them. Her grandmother had died in a hospital. Liz wasn't very comfortable being around sick people either. But she had decided long before she had actually arrived that she would stay until Max was okay. Even if it drove her insane. Liz finally found the coffee machine and put in her change. Liz took her coffee and began walking back to Max's room. When she returned, the door was still closed, so Liz walked to the nurse's desk and called Max's parents. She explained the situation and asked them to come down. Then Liz began to pace in front of Max's door. She quickly got tired of that and sat down in one of the chairs, praying that the doctors would hurry up. A few minutes (that seemed like hours) later, the doctor walked out of Max's room. Just as he did, Diane and Philip Evans came running down the hallway.
"Are you the parents?" The doctor asked them.
"Yes, we're Max's parents. He was adopted though, but I'm sure that doesn't matter?" Mrs. Evans rambled on until her husband quieted her and told her to calm down.
"Good, well. I'm doctor John Ashton; I've looked at your son. Is it okay if this young lady hears Max's condition?" Dr. Ashton asked.
"Liz?" Mrs. Evans asked, suddenly staring at Liz as if she were just realizing her presence.
"Of course. Liz is a good friend of Max's," Mr. Evans said.
"Good. Now, I've cleaned up Max's wound, as I thought, it's rather deep. He'll need stitches, but I don't think there will be too much permanent scarring. He's still knocked out; he might not wake up for a while. You can see him if you'd like, but I need to start the procedure as soon as possible," Dr. Ashton finished. Mrs. Evans was in tears. Mr. Evans guided his wife into Max's room, beckoning Liz to come as well.
"Liz, how did all this happen?" Mr. Evans asked her, looking fondly at his son.
"Well, we were all at the fair and Max and I were looking for Isabel, but we couldn't find her, so we decided to go on the Ferris wheel. And we were on it and right in the middle of the ride, the earthquake struck. So we were stuck in our cart, and we couldn't get out. Then there was a tremor and the cart behind us skidded off the track and Max shoved me down, but he didn't have time to get out of the way. And he got hit, and…" Liz trailed off, fighting the tears.
"I see." Mr. Evans commented. "How did you get out f the cart?" He asked.
"Umm, when the other cart hit us, it swung our cart down and we hit the ground." Liz lied.
"Liz, would it be okay if we had a few minutes alone with our son?" Mrs. Evans spoke up.
"Oh, of course! I didn't mean to-" Liz started.
"Liz, it's okay, you didn't." Mr. Evans interrupted. Liz turned and quietly left the room. A few minutes later Mr. And Mrs. Evans came out and let Liz go in to see Max by herself. She thanked them as she walked inside.
When Liz entered the room again, she saw Max lying there looking half dead. She thought about how he risked his life for her. It made her very upset to think that she might be the cause of Max's death. Then Liz caught herself.
"He's not gonna die. He's NOT gonna die," She repeated. Liz pulled a chair up to the side of Max's bed and sat down.
"Max. Oh, God. I know…it's been, difficult, with everything between us. But I want you to know, even though you can't hear me. I forgive you. I love you. I'm sorry," Liz took Max's hand and lifted it up to her lips. "I miss you so much." Liz let her tears fall freely after that. Then she stopped crying and wiped her eyes, getting up from the chair. "You'll be okay," She whispered. Once again, Liz wiped her tears, and left Max's side. As soon as the door opened, Mr. Evans spoke.
"Liz, we have a favor to ask you." Mr. Evans said.
"Of course, anything." Liz replied.
"Can you look for Isabel? I'm sure she's wondering what's happened." He continued.
"Oh, yeah, sure. Right away." Liz said. Mr. Evans smiled at her. She smiled back.
"Thank you, Liz," Mrs. Evans said, "For all you've done." Liz just smiled again.
*You have no idea,* She thought. Liz walked down the corridor and out of the hospital towards the jeep. Liz decided to skip looking at the fair entirely, she hadn't found Isabel there once, and she wasn't going to not find her there again. Liz drove straight towards town.
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Michael ran up to the door of the Crashdown. The sign on the door read: CLOSED FOR REPAIRS.
*Obviously,* thought Michael. He banged on the door, but no one answered. Suddenly Michael felt someone tapping him on the shoulder. He spun around, surprised. Brody was standing in front of him.
"Where's Maria?" Michael asked, before Brody could speak.
"I was going to ask you that. Last I saw her she was headed towards the UFO Center. I only just got back from seeing Sydney. She was very sick and was asking for me, but she's fine now. Anyway, I heard the earthquake did some pretty bad damage. I came back to see what the UFO Center looked like."
"Okay, well Maria might still be inside then?" Michael said, mostly to himself.
"I suppose she could be." Brody replied. Michael raced past Brody and through the door to the UFO Center.
"Maria!" He called. "Are you in here?"
"Michael?" Maria whispered. "Is that you?" Maria's vision was blurry, all she knew was that she was trapped underneath a ceiling beam, and she couldn't get up.
"Maria!" Michael called again. He ran down the steps and looked around him. The place looked okay, besides being unusually messy. Michael moved forward and looked around him.
"Michael!" Maria tried again, but her voice was weak, and she doubted Michael could hear her. Michael glanced around one more time and noticed movement near the wall, by a fallen ceiling beam. He walked towards it, cautious as he moved closer. Soon he saw Maria's body, motionless, trapped under the beam.
"Maria!" Michael yelled, "Maria, are you okay?" He dropped to his knees beside her, and tried to help her out from underneath the beam. Soon he got impatient and used his powers to lift it. At the same time he pulled Maria away and let the beam fall. Michael helped Maria stand and placed his arm around her waist, supporting her.
"Michael, I was so scared," Maria whispered.
"I know, it's okay now. You're gonna be okay," Michael told her. They walked up the stairs together and out onto the street. Michael looked down the road and saw the jeep in the distance.
"Liz?" Maria asked as the jeep pulled over to the side of the road next to them.
"Oh my God! What happened to her?" Liz screamed.
"She was trapped in the UFO Center. She got caught under a fallen ceiling beam," Michael told Liz.
"Oh, baby. You're gonna be okay. Come on, we're gonna take you to the hospital all right? Everything will be fine. I promise," Liz comforted her friend.
"Is Max okay?" Michael asked as he jumped into the driver's seat of the jeep.
"Yeah, he's still unconscious, but the doctor said he'll be fine. He needs stitches though." Liz told Michael. Liz faintly heard Maria's asking about Max, but she ignored it and told her not to worry. Finally they arrived at the hospital and got Maria admitted. At first Michael was reluctant to leave Maria's side, seeing as Maria had slipped into unconsciousness, but he eventually got up to see Max when Liz came back from calling Mrs. Deluca. Liz stayed with Maria and promised Michael she wouldn't leave until he got back.
Liz sat in the little room with her best friend, looking at all the respirators, cords, ties, and tubes that were surrounding her. Liz remembered all the good times she and Maria had shared. She remembered Maria's laugh, remembered how she cried. Liz knew Maria would be fine, but that didn't stop her from crying for her friend. Liz held Maria's hand and thought about that very day. Maria had been keeping something from Liz. Liz couldn't help but be annoyed that her friend couldn't share everything with her anymore. It made her sad to think that after all they had been through together Maria still kept secrets. But Liz soon forgot about Maria's secret when Michael walked through the door.
"Max is awake," Michael said, "He's asking for you." Liz gave Maria a kiss on the cheek and left the room. Liz walked down the corridors and past many rude nurses and patients until she found the corridor of Max's room. Liz came to the door and paused there wondering why Max would be asking for her. Liz decided to put her doubts aside as she opened the door. Mr. And Mrs. Evans were talking to Max; the doctor was there as well.
"Well, Max, your head is fine, you'll need to be back here in three weeks or so to get the stitches removed, but you can go home tomorrow. Okay?" Dr. Ashton said.
"Great, I can't wait to go home." Max replied.
"Oh sweetie, we can't wait to get you home." Mrs. Evans told him. Liz cleared her throat and walked further into the room. All eyes turned on her.
"Oh! Liz, I presume? Yes, Max has been asking for you. I'll be leaving now, Ms. Evans, Sir, would you care to follow me please? We'll discuss…" Dr. Ashton distracted Diane and Philip so that Max and Liz could have some time alone. The door closed and Liz sat on the side of Max's bed. He looked unusually pale, but that wasn't surprising. Liz looked at him and back down at the floor again.
"Liz, I need to tell you something," Max said.
"What?" Liz asked, lifting up her head and looking at Max once more.
"When I got hit, I slipped into unconsciousness, but it was more than that. I, I remembered things…the strangest things. I had visions. It was all so weird."
"Visions of what?" Liz asked.
"Of me and Tess mostly. I remembered things, like her mind warping me and making me believe we had had sex, and the baby. It wasn't really true, it was all lies, and tricks. Liz I knew, I knew that I never could have done that to you, and I didn't. I knew I didn't, but I didn't know…" Max said.
"I know," Liz told him.
"And there's more," Max continued, "I got visions of Tess on Antar. She was presented to Khivar. She had nothing, no baby, and none of us. I watched her die, Liz. I saw her being executed. It was horrible," Max said.
"Only what would have been done to you had you gone with her," Liz said. Max looked at her.
"Can't we go back? To what we used to be? What we used to have? Liz, you are the most important thing in my life. I love you more than life itself," Max told her.
"I love you too, Max," Liz replied. She leaned over him and they kissed. It was like a dream come true for them both.
"We'll never be apart again," Max whispered.
"I know," Liz replied.
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