Chapter 3: Afternoon Delight....for Maria, Anyway



Michael lowered himself to the floor and pulled Isabel to him. Looks like Max decided to tell someone after all, he thought. Maria stayed close to the doorway. She wanted to approach Isabel, offer her some comfort, but her thoughts were totally consumed with Liz. She wasn't in the mood to be supportive. She was too angry with Max.

From where she stood, she interuppted Isabel's reverie.

"Did he tell you he was leaving? Did you try to stop him? Do you know that your totally irresponsible and selfish brother took Liz with him on this misguided adventure?" Maria was getting angrier by the second.

Isabel, already shaken by the departure of her brother, became defensive. She pulled away from Michael and stood up. Facing Maria, she letloose a stream of responses.

"Yes, I know Liz was with him. And no, he didn't tell me he was leaving. Do you really think that I wouldn't have tried to stop him? Or tell Michael what was going on?" Her tears faded with her anger, and she realized that yelling at Maria wasn't the answer. Maria was just as upset as she was.

Michael, forgotten in the corner by the shouting women, had a question of his own.

"If Max didn't tell you, how did you know he was gone?"

Isabel felt herself begin to shake again, remembering what had happened just an hour ago. She tried to find the words to explain, knowing anything she said wouldn't be enough.

"I came home to see if Max still had some of my c.d.'s. I asked him for them a while ago, but he didn't give them to me, and Jesse and I were trying to put together a copy of all the songs that were played at our wedding....." She stopped, realizing that she was rambling. Taking a deep breath, she continued a little more slowly. "I didn't think anyone was home, my parent's truck was gone and I didn't see Max's car. So I came upstairs and opened my brother's bedroom door." Her trembling became visible, and amost immediately Michael was at her side. "Just slow down, Isabel," he said. "Take it easy, allright?"

Isabel was too anxious to take his advice, and continued talking. "I opened his door," she repeated, "and this light, this...blue light was shining. Not shining," she halted. "More like, the room was made of it. I couldn't see anything except that light. And a sound, it was like...thousands of voices all talking at once. I could make out only parts of the words. But it kept getting louder until nothing made sense at all. When I got more used to the light, I saw Max and Liz standing in the center of the room, holding something. I don't know what it was though," she said, knowing Michael would ask her. "Liz looked allright, she was just scared, I think. But Max...he was...changing. He got smaller, and it looked like he was being lifted off of the floor. It happened so fast," she apologized. "Just a few moments later, he just....wasn't Max. He was something else. And then he was gone. The light was gone, the noise stopped, and I was alone here with Liz."

At the mention of Liz's name, Maria rushed over to Isabel. "What do you mean? Alone here with Liz? She's here? Where?"

Isabel pointed to the other side of the bed, and Maria ran past her.

Liz was there, lying on the floor. Her face was pale and hollow, and she wasn't moving.

"Oh God...Michael, help me..." she cried, and Michael moved to help her. Isabel caught his arm and said quietly, so that Maria wouldn't hear..."Michael, the voices I heard, they were chanting our names. But not these names. Our Antarian names."