1 Part 2 – Stonehenge

Max gazed thoughtfully out the window of the train as it sped across the English countryside. He found the flat green farmland beautiful in its own way, but found himself thinking of the vast stretches of New Mexico desert with a slight tinge of homesickness. He liked visiting England, but so far he had seen nothing that would keep him away from the desert he loved.

Liz, who was sleeping peacefully on Max's shoulder, shifted slightly and Max tightened his arm around her. He hadn't found anything that could keep him away from the girl he loved either. He looked down at the top of her head and smiled. They had been through so much, and yet here she was with him anyway. He never stopped being grateful for that. He lifted up thanks to whatever fates controlled their joint destiny and placed a soft kiss on the top of Liz's head before turning his gaze out to the English countryside once more.

His thoughts turned to Stonehenge. He had always wanted to visit it. No one knew exactly what it was for, and Max had no reason to believe it had anything to do with Antar, yet he had always felt a certain pull from the ancient stone circle. He figured it wouldn't hurt to visit. He had been disappointed to discover that visitors were no longer allowed to walk right up to the stones, but he a resigned himself to that fact and had decided he could soak up atmosphere just as well at a distance of fifty feet.

Soon the train pulled into a small village. Max woke Liz and they got off the train. At the train station they were lucky enough to find cars for hire. Max, wielding his tourist's driver's license, took to the country roads with no trouble at all. Unlike Liz, he didn't even flinch when passed by a huge truck on what would have been classified as one lane in America.

Within a short period of time Max and Liz arrived at Stonehenge.

"Max!" Liz exclaimed. "There it is!"

Max turned down the road to the carpark and took a second look at the circle.

"It's amazing, isn't it, Liz?"

"I'll say," she agreed, and jumped out of the car as soon as Max parked. They paid the admission fee and headed towards the tunnel that went under the road separating the carpark and gift shop from the stones.

When they reached the stones, they were surprised to realize that the barriers between the path around the circle and the circle itself were open.

"That's weird," Max murmured, tugging Liz toward the nearest employee. "Excuse me," he asked, "but I thought the stones were off limits to visitors."

"Today only there's full access. Enjoy!"

"Cool," breathed Liz, and she tugged Max towards the stones. Max followed without argument.

"You know, Liz, I've always felt like I had to come see Stonehenge…like had to…" Max trailed off, unsure how to say what he meant.

"Me too, Max. So let's go, yes?"

Max nodded as they entered the stone circle. Liz dropped Max's hand and began to wander inside, trailing her fingers along the stones as she passed. She breathed deeply, and she almost believed she caught the scent of flowers though there were none on the hill. She stopped at one of the complete archways as her fingers encountered markings in the stone. She crouched down, expecting to see modern carvings from before the site was closed off. When she saw the writing however, she dropped to her knees in shock.

"Max!"

Max was at her side in an instant, crouched down and looking worriedly at her face.

"What is it Liz? What's wrong?"

Liz didn't speak, only pointed to the writing carved into the huge stone. Max shifted his gaze to the stone. What he saw turned his blood to ice.

It was Antarian writing. The whole group had learned the language after Tess had left. Max had thought it would be helpful if they all knew it. He read the words in a shaky voice:

"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny, but in ourselves. We are going away to defy the stars, and no earthly ships will bring us home again. Time is, time was, time shall be." Max broke off, then said to Liz, "It's signed." She nodded.

"Maxwell and Elizabeth." She looked deep into Max's eyes. "What does it mean, Max? What can it possibly mean?"

"I don't know, Liz."

"Pretty writing, isn't it?" a voice said behind them. Startled, Max and Liz jumped up, Max standing protectively in front of Liz. Realizing it was just an employee, they relaxed so quickly, the employee didn't even notice that for moments they had been battle-ready.

"Uh, yeah," Max ventured. "Do you know what it means or when it was carved?"

The employee shook his head.

"No, but it's been here as long as we've own the place. So far as I know, the Druids who use the place don't know either. It's just there. Hope you're enjoying your visit." With a cheerful smile the employee was gone, leaving Max and Liz standing frozen in front of the archway, staring down at the carving. Liz shivered involuntarily, and Max wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I think we should go, Max."

"I agree."

Max kissed Liz's temple as they walked blindly towards the pathway back to the gift shop…through the archway.

They felt a sudden cold wind and for a second they could almost hear the stones sing. The force of the wind knocked them to their knees, and Max pulled Liz protectively to his chest. Frightened, she buried her face in the curve where his neck and shoulder met and shut her eyes tightly. Then, as quickly as it had started, the wind and music stopped and all was still and quiet.

Max opened his eyes, expecting to see a paved road, cars, and a large building.

"Shit…" he breathed. He did not see those things. He saw rolling plains and wild horses.

Liz pulled out of Max's embrace and stared at Max, echoing the sentiment he'd expressed upon seeing their surroundings. He was wearing, and so was she for that matter, what appeared to be the clothing of Elizabethan peasants.