Part 4
Maria stared out the window of Isabel's Jeep, which they had borrowed. Michael had left his motorcycle at school because Maria had been too weak to hold on. She watched the desert fly past as Michael sped towards the Reservation.
"Michael, slow down. Getting ourselves killed on the way there isn't going to help anything." She told him automatically for the tenth time. She knew he was worried and that he was freaking out internally about her little visit from the alien flu earlier in the day. It saddened her that he couldn't seem to get used to it.
She had.
"It's fine Maria." He snapped, but she could tell that he did let up on the gas.
"Are you okay?" Maria asked quietly, knowing that he was not. He had seemed to be briefly in a better mood after the summit with their friends about the possibility that Max was trying to contact them. He had sobered fairly quickly once they had been alone together though.
"Yup." Michael replied.
But she knew that he wasn't. She knew that he was torturing himself with guilt, with the fact that he considered himself to be responsible for the loss of Max, for Liz's frozen state and Isabel's grief. And for the biggest thing of all - the fact that she was dying.
No matter how hard she tried to convince him that while he had made a mistake, it had not been his fault. Tarsus of Dernia had played on Michael's greatest weakness, his desire for a family. He had known that Michael would leap before looking. There was no way that Michael could have known that it had all been an elaborate ruse to trap Max.
And yet he blamed himself.
It was the one down-side to the return of Michael's humanity, and consequentially his emotions, when they returned to Earth. Guilt was not the most fun emotion to have as a perpetual companion.
Yet the love that Michael showered on her now - she couldn't help but think that it had been all worth it.
Their joint trip to Michael's home world had bonded them. Although they recalled very little and could not figure out why not, they knew that something significant had occurred between them there.
Michael's stone wall did not exist anymore. He seemed to have turned over a new leaf in that department. Maria now knew how much he loved and depended on her, because even though he was still Michael and didn't say it aloud very often, he showed her in a thousand different ways.
The way he held her gently when they fell asleep together on the couch in his apartment because she was too weak to move.
The way he tried to get along with her mother. He had actually come to dinner with Amy last night and had actually held a conversation with Maria's mom. It had amazed and touched her. Michael had once told her that he "didn't do parents." Well, he did now - for her.
The way he spent hours upon hours practicing with his powers. He ignored his most powerful ability - the ability to kill with a sweep of his hand. Rather he concentrated on the tiny inherent ability he possessed to heal. While Max's gift had been natural, for Michael it was like cutting the lawn with scissors...but he kept at it - for her, to try and save her.
That's where they had gone on their recent road-trip. They had spent three weeks camping out under the stars in the desert, Michael laying his hands upon her again and again, exhausting himself to the point that she thought he might be killing himself.
Nothing had happened but she had known better then to try and stop him.
But Michael had only stopped when Maria had told him that she needed to check on Liz. It had been useless, but he had been willing to kill himself in an attempt to save her.
"Okay, spaceboy, where are we going?" Maria asked now. Although she trusted him implicitly, the fact that Michael was becoming more tense as they drove away from Roswell was beginning to worry her.
"To where it all began." Michael told her curtly.
Maria sighed. "And that would be?" She prompted, frustrated that even now getting information out of Michael was like extracting teeth. She smiled slightly to herself, remembered a conversation they had once had when Tess had first come to Roswell.
"What happened to partners? What happened to an even exchange of information?" Maria had asked.
"I lied." Michael had replied, clearly unimpressed.
But those days were long over. She just had to ask the right questions.
Michael never lied to her now.
"The crash site." He replied as though it was the most obvious answer in the world.
I'm standing on the edge of time,
Playing out a reckless pantomime,
And every day's another wrong to rectify.
I dream about a stranger's touch,
And voices in my head I cannot hush,
And every night's a hunger I can't satisfy...
It's the secret that I keep,
It's the ache that makes me weak,
And I know I'm in too deep,
I'm gonna drown.
It's the emptiness I fear,
Baby, please don't leave me here,
'Cause I'm lost inside a dream,
It's out of bounds.
I close my eyes and its so real,
All at once I know just what I feel,
And baby it's the kind of rush that terrifies.
I am weak, I am wrong,
Everyday I swear that I'll be strong,
There's a bond between us that I can't deny.
It's the secret that I keep,
It's the ache that makes me weak,
And I know I'm in too deep,
I'm gonna drown.
It's the emptiness I fear,
Baby, please don't leave me here,
'Cause I'm lost inside a dream,
It's out of bounds.
Amanda Marshall
Liz flopped down wearily on her bed, stared up at the ceiling. She had managed to make it past her parents without being treated to the third degree, but just barely.
Just like everyone else, they were sure that she was close to losing her mind.
No one believed that someone who never cried was just strong.
She was stone, she was ice. She would not cry.
Liz flicked on the radio, sighed, wished that she could fall asleep right then. She KNEW that Max was waiting for her.
Unfortunately, she wasn't at all sleepy.
Oh, she was tired - in the way that she always felt tired since Max had left, but she wasn't sleepy.
And being logical Liz, she also knew that the harder she tried to fall asleep, the more impossible it would become.
So she thought instead.
"Go to where it all began...your greatest wish will be fulfilled...make the sacrifice. What the heck are you trying to tell us Max?" Liz muttered to herself as she stared at the picture of him that sat on her bed-side table. "And why did you go to Isabel and not me?"
Logical Liz knew that if it was Max who was contacting them, Isabel was the most intelligent choice. She was his sister, bonded to him by alien blood. She had control over her own mind in ways that the rest of them could not even imagine - in ways of which Isabel was still unaware. Her entire gift revolved around access in and out of minds.
But it still hurt.
"Okay, focus Liz." She ordered herself. "To where it all began...hmmmm..."
And then she knew.
She sat up on her bed like a bolt of lightening had gone through her. She jumped up, sprinted through her door, down the hallway and past her father who was coming out of his bedroom.
"Lizzie! What the heck?"
"Be back in a sec Dad!" She called over her shoulder. "I just forgot my bio book in the restaurant."
Liz was down the back stairs and through the break room in two minutes flat.
And then she stopped. She carefully pushed open the door into the dining room.
It was dark. Agnes had obviously finished cleaning up - or had ignored doing so altogether which was more likely - and the Crashdown was closed for the night.
Liz took a deep breath, pushed through the swinging door.
A thousand memories assailed her now that she had opened herself to them.
"Max Evans is staring at you again."
"I can't imagine what you must be thinking right now."
"Ummm...I'll have an alien blast."
"Well, how 'bout it Evans? Have you ever been in love?"
"No."
"Now you sound like Isabel!"
"I look at you and I know you're the person I'm supposed to be with. I've always known it."
Liz held her breath, walked forward, stared down at the spot where it had all begun.
"You're okay now."
Liz could still feel Max's hands on her, could still see him staring down at her intently, intense concentration on his face.
Liz pressed her lips together. She closed her eyes, called out with her entire soul.
MAX! Where are you??
The Citadel, Illyria
Jaxon Falconer sat on the stone floor in the cell, his forehead resting on his knees, his arms wrapped around his legs in an attempt to stay warm. He wasn't asleep, but he was in that state that lies somewhere between slumber and awareness.
* MAX! Where are you? *
His head snapped up. Jaxon stared around the cell.
There was no one there.
"Liz?"
Now, where did that come from? He asked himself, annoyed.
Tarsus was right. He WAS going crazy.
Jaxon, lowered his head back to his knees.
It didn't matter anyway - insanity was unimportant.
It might even help.
No man needed a sound mind where he was headed.
"Liz?" It was no more than a whisper, but the voice was so familiar, to Liz it sounded like Max was standing right in front of her yelling in her face.
Her eyes snapped open.
She was alone.
"Max!"
There was no answer.
Part 5
Michael pulled the jeep to the side of the highway, switched off the ignition.
He glanced at Maria in the seat next to him. She had fallen asleep again. The circles under her eyes were enormous, emphasizing the delicacy of her bone structure. The gentle rise and fall of her chest assured him that she was still with him.
Michael didn't know how much longer that would be the case.
Which only made the necessity of bringing Maxwell back to them even more desperate.
The spearing guilt to which he was now so accustomed came like a welcome friend.
For while Michael Guerin now reveled in his humanity - recognized it for the gift it was - the best part was the determination that negative emotion provided.
He would not rest until his brother came home.
Michael regretted doing it, but he reached out and gently shook Maria awake. He watched her eyelashes flutter."Just five more minutes Mom." She muttered.
"Wake up." Michael snapped, knowing that annoying Maria was the best way to give her a shot of adrenaline - and there was no question she needed it.
Her eyes snapped open. "Are we there?" She asked, frowning at him.
"Yup." Michael swung out of the jeep, hurried around to the passenger side and lifted her out.
Maria looked around warily. "It's really dark out there Michael. Are you sure this is what Isabel's vision meant?"
"What else could it have been?" Michael demanded.
"I just don't understand why you didn't mention this to the others before." Maria was looking at him with concern.
It humbled him. She was always worried about him.
When he was the one responsible for the fact that she was dying.
"I just had a feeling." Michael replied shortly. He grabbed a flashlight out of the emergency compartment in the back of the car, then took Maria's hand. "C'mon."
"Did you have a feeling that I had to be with you?" Maria asked quietly as they picked their way over the rocky terrain of the former ranch.
Michael paused, pulled her into his arms. He felt her relax instantly. "I always want you with me." He told her truthfully.
Maria pulled back, grinned up at him. "Okay then bub. Let's get on with this. I need my beauty sleep. I didn't quite make it through the whole school day today. If I miss one more class, I can kiss graduation in May good-bye."
Michael swallowed. He suppressed the thought that if they didn't get Max back - the only one with any chance of healing Maria - it was unlikely that she would live until May.
They continued to walk in silence.
Maria was the one to stop them the next time. Michael looked back at her with concern. "Are you okay?"
She didn't reply. She had her head thrown back, her long strawberry blonde hair trailing down her back.
"Maria?" Michael snapped, worried, being more abrupt then he meant to be.
"Michael - can't you feel it?"
"Feel what?"
And then the vision was upon him. Michael stumbled into Maria, knocked her to the ground. The last thing he noticed was her wide-eyed gaze, still staring at the stars.
*Flash
Max was staring at him, his dark eyes unreadable. In his hands he held a red orb - the symbol was different to that on the blue orbs that had caused all the trouble in the first place though. Michael recognized it but its meaning was just beyond his reach...
*Flash
Maria was across from him. She was wearing a long, white, flowing gown and her long hair was blowing out behind her. She was reaching out for something just beyond his field of vision.
*Flash
Michael could feel himself stepping forward. He looked up. Above him towered immense, standing stones. They looked as solid as the day is long and yet he knew that he was afraid.
*Flash
Young Michael, Max and Isabel joined hands, walked across the desert together...
"MICHAEL!"
Maria's voice finally shattered into his consciousness.
He shook his head, realized that he was still sprawled on top of her. He quickly rolled away. He was not surprised when she reached out and grabbed him.
Michael pulled her close to his side. They were both breathing heavily.
"Did you see that?" Maria finally whispered, after what seemed like eons.
"Yeah." Michael replied. He didn't know what else to say.
"What did it mean?" Maria asked, sounding peculiar. Michael turned his head, glanced at her. She was staring up at the stars again, her expression unreadable.
"I don't know."
Maria sat up, began to climb to her feet. Michael quickly jumped to his, helped her.
"I need to go home." She told him, still in that same quiet way - it was unnatural and a little freaky.
"Okay." Michael told her.
They started back. When she stumbled, Michael ignored her protests, swung her up into his arms, held her high against his chest.
"Just shut up and rest."
She did.
And that's when Michael knew that the end was drawing near.
Part 6
Isabel sat curled up on the couch in the Evans' living room, her head on Alex's shoulder.
They were both pretending to watch the news, but she knew that Alex's thoughts were drifting along the same lines as hers.
What did my vision mean? Isabel asked herself, for what felt like the ten millionth time. Where did it all begin? What is the sacrifice?
She kept coming back to one idea.
For Isabel, life had begun the night that Diane and Phillip Evans had found she and Max on the side of the road.
Was that what Max meant? Was she supposed to go there?
She wouldn't mind. A visit to a place that symbolized a feeling of security to her would not be misplaced at this time. It would remind her of a time when Max and she were just free to be part of a family, completely unaware that their real parents had destined them for so much more. They had been free to let the Evans's love them. Sure they had had weird powers and had had to be careful that no one found out, but they had been just Max and Isabel Evans then.
But nothing would ever be that way again.
Isabel worried about her parents.
They had been nothing but supportive since Isabel had told them the truth of her and Max's origins. She was sure that they might have taken it harder if they hadn't been mourning her brother so intensely these past months - for longer than that in fact. The Max that had disappeared on the Father's Camping Trip had been THEIR Max, but they had not known that for themselves. To Isabel's Mom and Dad, Max had still been the anti-Max - the rebellious, disdainful teenage nightmare they had been forced to endure for several months. They had been victims of the act Max had been forced to perpetuate by Tarsus of Dernia.
Isabel knew that her mom was gradually beginning to recover. She and Izzy were closer then ever, now that there was no longer any secrets between them. While Diane would never completely get over losing her son, her connection to Isabel had always been stronger, mainly because Max had always kept himself slightly guarded around her.
But her dad - he had lost his beloved son, not once, but twice. First in spirit, and then in fact. Phillip Evans had become a shadow of his former self.
This fact was reinforced to Isabel when her parents poked their heads into the room a few minutes later. "Hey Honey! Hi Alex."
"Hi Mom. Did you guys have a good time at the movies?" Isabel asked, frowning with concern at the strained expression on her father's face. He seemed sort of out of it, as usual.
Isabel felt Alex squeeze her hand. He knew how much she worried about both her parents and how they were handling Max's disappearance.
"It was fine." Diane replied, sounding tired. "We're heading up to bed now Sweetie. Can I get you anything before I go?" Isabel's dad still had not said a word. He gradually began to make his way to the stairs, plodding as though he was exhausted.
"No, thanks Mom. I'll just see you in the morning."
"All right. Goodnight then. Don't stay too late Alex."
"I won't Mrs. Evans. Good night." Alex replied. Isabel could hear the concern in his voice.
When Isabel's mother was out of ear-shot, he turned to her. "Your dad is like still totally losing it huh?" Isabel just shook her head.
"I don't want to talk about it."
Alex sighed. "I think maybe you should Iz."
Isabel scowled at him. "I really don't want to fight with you about this Alex. We have other things to worry about right now."
Alex looked away, seemed a little frustrated. "Fine. Did you come up with anything?"
Isabel was relieved that he was letting her change the subject. If she dwelled on how much her parents missed Max - well, it would make her think about how much SHE missed him.
And then the hope that had been growing within her would flicker out.
She couldn't allow that. They didn't have time for that. Liz was gradually beginning to lose it, Maria was almost goneand Michael - he was going to kill himself with guilt.
They needed Max.
"Not really." Isabel replied. "The only thing I came up with was the place where my mom and dad found us on the side of the road?"
Alex shook his head. "That just doesn't sound right, does it?" He looked down at the floor. "But wait. What about the pod chamber? I mean, that's where you were born right?"
Isabel's head snapped around to stare at him. "That's it!" Isabel threw herself at him, began raining delirious kisses all over his face. "You're a genius!"
Alex kissed her back. "Too bad I'm not a genius more often." He managed to reply. He was laughing.
Isabel jumped off the couch, pulled him up after her. "Let's go."
Alex followed, but asked, "Shouldn't we call the others?"
"I want to go by myself first - make sure we're right." Isabel replied. She stopped in the front hall, groaned when she noticed that her car keys were missing. "Darn! I forgot I lent the Jeep to Michael." She grabbed his hand, pulled him back in the direction they had come from.
Isabel paused at the stairs, called up. "Mom! I'm taking your car to drive Alex home."
"Okay sweetie. Don't be long." Mrs. Evans' voice filtered back.
They were on the road five minutes later.
Liz was seated on the floor of the Crashdown, her back against the counter, staring at the spot where Max had healed her two years before.
She had been there for almost an hour, calling out to him with her mind, willing him to answer her again.
She had started to wonder if she was going crazy. It wouldn't surprise her at all.
Liz took a deep breath, closed her eyes and tried once more.
MAX! CAN YOU HEAR ME?
MAX! PLEASE!
Nothing. Only silence.
Liz was suddenly unbelievably weary.
Missing Max was so tiring. It was like an ache, one that became bigger and bigger every day. There was no relief either. It wouldn't go away - ever.
Or at least not until she was able to hold him in her arms.
She let herself curl up on the floor, in the exact spot she and Max had made their first connection. She realized that it was actually a bit morbid, but she didn't care. It made her feel close to him.
I really should call Isabel, Liz reflected to herself. I should tell her what I thought happened.
But Liz didn't really believe it anymore. It had all been a figment of her imagination.
Max was gone. He was never coming back. She was just going to have to begin to accept it. She knew that she could live a fairly productive life without him. There were other rewarding things in life besides love.
She could become the brilliant molecular biologist she had always wanted to be.
It didn't make her feel better. If anything, the emptiness in her soul grew bigger.
None of it would mean anything without Max.
Liz was shocked when a tear began a slow journey down her cheek.
NO! NO! NO!
STRONG! I HAVE TO BE STRONG! I PROMISED!
She squeezed her eyes shut, willed the tears to stop.
It was no use.
The release of that one tear was like opening the gates to a floodway. Within moments she was sobbing.
She wept for Isabel, who lived without the brother that she had loved more than her perfect life. Isabel Evans had only ever wanted to be normal, to be human - but she had been willing to give it up for Max, if he had wanted her too.
She wept for Maria - for her best friend, who was dying. If Max was there, he could heal her. Liz just somehow knew it.
She wept for Alex, Kyle, Tess - all of whom were nothing but loyal friends, all of whom didn't know what to do to help her or Isabel or Maria or Michael.
She wept for Mr.and Mrs. Evans, who were confused and distraught and had lost a son without ever having a chance to really know him.
Yes, she even wept for Michael, although she was still furious with him, she knew deep down that his own guilt was probably even worse then her hatred.
And, lastly, Liz cried for herself - for the empty life that stretched out before her without her soulmate, her best friend, her other half.
She cried herself to sleep on the spot where Max Evans had saved her life - where her life had truly begun.
And that was when the dream came.
Liz blinked her eyes, sat up, stared around her in amazement.
She KNEW that she had fallen asleep on the floor of the Crashdown - but she certainly was not there now.
She was sitting in a field of yellow grass, her eyes just above the level of the tops, which were waving in the breeze.
Above her towered an immense stone. It threw a shadow across the entire area.
Liz slowly climbed to her feet, looked around, felt her heart beating a mile a minute. The standing stone was not alone. It was one of many that stood in the field of gold, surrounding her, dwarfing her.
It was a stone circle.
Liz did not have time to examine what this could mean. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a flash of movement.
She slowly turned her head.
It was then that she knew she was dreaming.
For standing not ten feet from her, under one of the gigantic, towering stones, his beloved eyes wide with shock, was Max Evans.
Liz stared back at him, could not seem to form a word.
She saw Max swallow, open his mouth to speak.
"It's you."
To be continued...
Maria stared out the window of Isabel's Jeep, which they had borrowed. Michael had left his motorcycle at school because Maria had been too weak to hold on. She watched the desert fly past as Michael sped towards the Reservation.
"Michael, slow down. Getting ourselves killed on the way there isn't going to help anything." She told him automatically for the tenth time. She knew he was worried and that he was freaking out internally about her little visit from the alien flu earlier in the day. It saddened her that he couldn't seem to get used to it.
She had.
"It's fine Maria." He snapped, but she could tell that he did let up on the gas.
"Are you okay?" Maria asked quietly, knowing that he was not. He had seemed to be briefly in a better mood after the summit with their friends about the possibility that Max was trying to contact them. He had sobered fairly quickly once they had been alone together though.
"Yup." Michael replied.
But she knew that he wasn't. She knew that he was torturing himself with guilt, with the fact that he considered himself to be responsible for the loss of Max, for Liz's frozen state and Isabel's grief. And for the biggest thing of all - the fact that she was dying.
No matter how hard she tried to convince him that while he had made a mistake, it had not been his fault. Tarsus of Dernia had played on Michael's greatest weakness, his desire for a family. He had known that Michael would leap before looking. There was no way that Michael could have known that it had all been an elaborate ruse to trap Max.
And yet he blamed himself.
It was the one down-side to the return of Michael's humanity, and consequentially his emotions, when they returned to Earth. Guilt was not the most fun emotion to have as a perpetual companion.
Yet the love that Michael showered on her now - she couldn't help but think that it had been all worth it.
Their joint trip to Michael's home world had bonded them. Although they recalled very little and could not figure out why not, they knew that something significant had occurred between them there.
Michael's stone wall did not exist anymore. He seemed to have turned over a new leaf in that department. Maria now knew how much he loved and depended on her, because even though he was still Michael and didn't say it aloud very often, he showed her in a thousand different ways.
The way he held her gently when they fell asleep together on the couch in his apartment because she was too weak to move.
The way he tried to get along with her mother. He had actually come to dinner with Amy last night and had actually held a conversation with Maria's mom. It had amazed and touched her. Michael had once told her that he "didn't do parents." Well, he did now - for her.
The way he spent hours upon hours practicing with his powers. He ignored his most powerful ability - the ability to kill with a sweep of his hand. Rather he concentrated on the tiny inherent ability he possessed to heal. While Max's gift had been natural, for Michael it was like cutting the lawn with scissors...but he kept at it - for her, to try and save her.
That's where they had gone on their recent road-trip. They had spent three weeks camping out under the stars in the desert, Michael laying his hands upon her again and again, exhausting himself to the point that she thought he might be killing himself.
Nothing had happened but she had known better then to try and stop him.
But Michael had only stopped when Maria had told him that she needed to check on Liz. It had been useless, but he had been willing to kill himself in an attempt to save her.
"Okay, spaceboy, where are we going?" Maria asked now. Although she trusted him implicitly, the fact that Michael was becoming more tense as they drove away from Roswell was beginning to worry her.
"To where it all began." Michael told her curtly.
Maria sighed. "And that would be?" She prompted, frustrated that even now getting information out of Michael was like extracting teeth. She smiled slightly to herself, remembered a conversation they had once had when Tess had first come to Roswell.
"What happened to partners? What happened to an even exchange of information?" Maria had asked.
"I lied." Michael had replied, clearly unimpressed.
But those days were long over. She just had to ask the right questions.
Michael never lied to her now.
"The crash site." He replied as though it was the most obvious answer in the world.
I'm standing on the edge of time,
Playing out a reckless pantomime,
And every day's another wrong to rectify.
I dream about a stranger's touch,
And voices in my head I cannot hush,
And every night's a hunger I can't satisfy...
It's the secret that I keep,
It's the ache that makes me weak,
And I know I'm in too deep,
I'm gonna drown.
It's the emptiness I fear,
Baby, please don't leave me here,
'Cause I'm lost inside a dream,
It's out of bounds.
I close my eyes and its so real,
All at once I know just what I feel,
And baby it's the kind of rush that terrifies.
I am weak, I am wrong,
Everyday I swear that I'll be strong,
There's a bond between us that I can't deny.
It's the secret that I keep,
It's the ache that makes me weak,
And I know I'm in too deep,
I'm gonna drown.
It's the emptiness I fear,
Baby, please don't leave me here,
'Cause I'm lost inside a dream,
It's out of bounds.
Amanda Marshall
Liz flopped down wearily on her bed, stared up at the ceiling. She had managed to make it past her parents without being treated to the third degree, but just barely.
Just like everyone else, they were sure that she was close to losing her mind.
No one believed that someone who never cried was just strong.
She was stone, she was ice. She would not cry.
Liz flicked on the radio, sighed, wished that she could fall asleep right then. She KNEW that Max was waiting for her.
Unfortunately, she wasn't at all sleepy.
Oh, she was tired - in the way that she always felt tired since Max had left, but she wasn't sleepy.
And being logical Liz, she also knew that the harder she tried to fall asleep, the more impossible it would become.
So she thought instead.
"Go to where it all began...your greatest wish will be fulfilled...make the sacrifice. What the heck are you trying to tell us Max?" Liz muttered to herself as she stared at the picture of him that sat on her bed-side table. "And why did you go to Isabel and not me?"
Logical Liz knew that if it was Max who was contacting them, Isabel was the most intelligent choice. She was his sister, bonded to him by alien blood. She had control over her own mind in ways that the rest of them could not even imagine - in ways of which Isabel was still unaware. Her entire gift revolved around access in and out of minds.
But it still hurt.
"Okay, focus Liz." She ordered herself. "To where it all began...hmmmm..."
And then she knew.
She sat up on her bed like a bolt of lightening had gone through her. She jumped up, sprinted through her door, down the hallway and past her father who was coming out of his bedroom.
"Lizzie! What the heck?"
"Be back in a sec Dad!" She called over her shoulder. "I just forgot my bio book in the restaurant."
Liz was down the back stairs and through the break room in two minutes flat.
And then she stopped. She carefully pushed open the door into the dining room.
It was dark. Agnes had obviously finished cleaning up - or had ignored doing so altogether which was more likely - and the Crashdown was closed for the night.
Liz took a deep breath, pushed through the swinging door.
A thousand memories assailed her now that she had opened herself to them.
"Max Evans is staring at you again."
"I can't imagine what you must be thinking right now."
"Ummm...I'll have an alien blast."
"Well, how 'bout it Evans? Have you ever been in love?"
"No."
"Now you sound like Isabel!"
"I look at you and I know you're the person I'm supposed to be with. I've always known it."
Liz held her breath, walked forward, stared down at the spot where it had all begun.
"You're okay now."
Liz could still feel Max's hands on her, could still see him staring down at her intently, intense concentration on his face.
Liz pressed her lips together. She closed her eyes, called out with her entire soul.
MAX! Where are you??
The Citadel, Illyria
Jaxon Falconer sat on the stone floor in the cell, his forehead resting on his knees, his arms wrapped around his legs in an attempt to stay warm. He wasn't asleep, but he was in that state that lies somewhere between slumber and awareness.
* MAX! Where are you? *
His head snapped up. Jaxon stared around the cell.
There was no one there.
"Liz?"
Now, where did that come from? He asked himself, annoyed.
Tarsus was right. He WAS going crazy.
Jaxon, lowered his head back to his knees.
It didn't matter anyway - insanity was unimportant.
It might even help.
No man needed a sound mind where he was headed.
"Liz?" It was no more than a whisper, but the voice was so familiar, to Liz it sounded like Max was standing right in front of her yelling in her face.
Her eyes snapped open.
She was alone.
"Max!"
There was no answer.
Part 5
Michael pulled the jeep to the side of the highway, switched off the ignition.
He glanced at Maria in the seat next to him. She had fallen asleep again. The circles under her eyes were enormous, emphasizing the delicacy of her bone structure. The gentle rise and fall of her chest assured him that she was still with him.
Michael didn't know how much longer that would be the case.
Which only made the necessity of bringing Maxwell back to them even more desperate.
The spearing guilt to which he was now so accustomed came like a welcome friend.
For while Michael Guerin now reveled in his humanity - recognized it for the gift it was - the best part was the determination that negative emotion provided.
He would not rest until his brother came home.
Michael regretted doing it, but he reached out and gently shook Maria awake. He watched her eyelashes flutter."Just five more minutes Mom." She muttered.
"Wake up." Michael snapped, knowing that annoying Maria was the best way to give her a shot of adrenaline - and there was no question she needed it.
Her eyes snapped open. "Are we there?" She asked, frowning at him.
"Yup." Michael swung out of the jeep, hurried around to the passenger side and lifted her out.
Maria looked around warily. "It's really dark out there Michael. Are you sure this is what Isabel's vision meant?"
"What else could it have been?" Michael demanded.
"I just don't understand why you didn't mention this to the others before." Maria was looking at him with concern.
It humbled him. She was always worried about him.
When he was the one responsible for the fact that she was dying.
"I just had a feeling." Michael replied shortly. He grabbed a flashlight out of the emergency compartment in the back of the car, then took Maria's hand. "C'mon."
"Did you have a feeling that I had to be with you?" Maria asked quietly as they picked their way over the rocky terrain of the former ranch.
Michael paused, pulled her into his arms. He felt her relax instantly. "I always want you with me." He told her truthfully.
Maria pulled back, grinned up at him. "Okay then bub. Let's get on with this. I need my beauty sleep. I didn't quite make it through the whole school day today. If I miss one more class, I can kiss graduation in May good-bye."
Michael swallowed. He suppressed the thought that if they didn't get Max back - the only one with any chance of healing Maria - it was unlikely that she would live until May.
They continued to walk in silence.
Maria was the one to stop them the next time. Michael looked back at her with concern. "Are you okay?"
She didn't reply. She had her head thrown back, her long strawberry blonde hair trailing down her back.
"Maria?" Michael snapped, worried, being more abrupt then he meant to be.
"Michael - can't you feel it?"
"Feel what?"
And then the vision was upon him. Michael stumbled into Maria, knocked her to the ground. The last thing he noticed was her wide-eyed gaze, still staring at the stars.
*Flash
Max was staring at him, his dark eyes unreadable. In his hands he held a red orb - the symbol was different to that on the blue orbs that had caused all the trouble in the first place though. Michael recognized it but its meaning was just beyond his reach...
*Flash
Maria was across from him. She was wearing a long, white, flowing gown and her long hair was blowing out behind her. She was reaching out for something just beyond his field of vision.
*Flash
Michael could feel himself stepping forward. He looked up. Above him towered immense, standing stones. They looked as solid as the day is long and yet he knew that he was afraid.
*Flash
Young Michael, Max and Isabel joined hands, walked across the desert together...
"MICHAEL!"
Maria's voice finally shattered into his consciousness.
He shook his head, realized that he was still sprawled on top of her. He quickly rolled away. He was not surprised when she reached out and grabbed him.
Michael pulled her close to his side. They were both breathing heavily.
"Did you see that?" Maria finally whispered, after what seemed like eons.
"Yeah." Michael replied. He didn't know what else to say.
"What did it mean?" Maria asked, sounding peculiar. Michael turned his head, glanced at her. She was staring up at the stars again, her expression unreadable.
"I don't know."
Maria sat up, began to climb to her feet. Michael quickly jumped to his, helped her.
"I need to go home." She told him, still in that same quiet way - it was unnatural and a little freaky.
"Okay." Michael told her.
They started back. When she stumbled, Michael ignored her protests, swung her up into his arms, held her high against his chest.
"Just shut up and rest."
She did.
And that's when Michael knew that the end was drawing near.
Part 6
Isabel sat curled up on the couch in the Evans' living room, her head on Alex's shoulder.
They were both pretending to watch the news, but she knew that Alex's thoughts were drifting along the same lines as hers.
What did my vision mean? Isabel asked herself, for what felt like the ten millionth time. Where did it all begin? What is the sacrifice?
She kept coming back to one idea.
For Isabel, life had begun the night that Diane and Phillip Evans had found she and Max on the side of the road.
Was that what Max meant? Was she supposed to go there?
She wouldn't mind. A visit to a place that symbolized a feeling of security to her would not be misplaced at this time. It would remind her of a time when Max and she were just free to be part of a family, completely unaware that their real parents had destined them for so much more. They had been free to let the Evans's love them. Sure they had had weird powers and had had to be careful that no one found out, but they had been just Max and Isabel Evans then.
But nothing would ever be that way again.
Isabel worried about her parents.
They had been nothing but supportive since Isabel had told them the truth of her and Max's origins. She was sure that they might have taken it harder if they hadn't been mourning her brother so intensely these past months - for longer than that in fact. The Max that had disappeared on the Father's Camping Trip had been THEIR Max, but they had not known that for themselves. To Isabel's Mom and Dad, Max had still been the anti-Max - the rebellious, disdainful teenage nightmare they had been forced to endure for several months. They had been victims of the act Max had been forced to perpetuate by Tarsus of Dernia.
Isabel knew that her mom was gradually beginning to recover. She and Izzy were closer then ever, now that there was no longer any secrets between them. While Diane would never completely get over losing her son, her connection to Isabel had always been stronger, mainly because Max had always kept himself slightly guarded around her.
But her dad - he had lost his beloved son, not once, but twice. First in spirit, and then in fact. Phillip Evans had become a shadow of his former self.
This fact was reinforced to Isabel when her parents poked their heads into the room a few minutes later. "Hey Honey! Hi Alex."
"Hi Mom. Did you guys have a good time at the movies?" Isabel asked, frowning with concern at the strained expression on her father's face. He seemed sort of out of it, as usual.
Isabel felt Alex squeeze her hand. He knew how much she worried about both her parents and how they were handling Max's disappearance.
"It was fine." Diane replied, sounding tired. "We're heading up to bed now Sweetie. Can I get you anything before I go?" Isabel's dad still had not said a word. He gradually began to make his way to the stairs, plodding as though he was exhausted.
"No, thanks Mom. I'll just see you in the morning."
"All right. Goodnight then. Don't stay too late Alex."
"I won't Mrs. Evans. Good night." Alex replied. Isabel could hear the concern in his voice.
When Isabel's mother was out of ear-shot, he turned to her. "Your dad is like still totally losing it huh?" Isabel just shook her head.
"I don't want to talk about it."
Alex sighed. "I think maybe you should Iz."
Isabel scowled at him. "I really don't want to fight with you about this Alex. We have other things to worry about right now."
Alex looked away, seemed a little frustrated. "Fine. Did you come up with anything?"
Isabel was relieved that he was letting her change the subject. If she dwelled on how much her parents missed Max - well, it would make her think about how much SHE missed him.
And then the hope that had been growing within her would flicker out.
She couldn't allow that. They didn't have time for that. Liz was gradually beginning to lose it, Maria was almost goneand Michael - he was going to kill himself with guilt.
They needed Max.
"Not really." Isabel replied. "The only thing I came up with was the place where my mom and dad found us on the side of the road?"
Alex shook his head. "That just doesn't sound right, does it?" He looked down at the floor. "But wait. What about the pod chamber? I mean, that's where you were born right?"
Isabel's head snapped around to stare at him. "That's it!" Isabel threw herself at him, began raining delirious kisses all over his face. "You're a genius!"
Alex kissed her back. "Too bad I'm not a genius more often." He managed to reply. He was laughing.
Isabel jumped off the couch, pulled him up after her. "Let's go."
Alex followed, but asked, "Shouldn't we call the others?"
"I want to go by myself first - make sure we're right." Isabel replied. She stopped in the front hall, groaned when she noticed that her car keys were missing. "Darn! I forgot I lent the Jeep to Michael." She grabbed his hand, pulled him back in the direction they had come from.
Isabel paused at the stairs, called up. "Mom! I'm taking your car to drive Alex home."
"Okay sweetie. Don't be long." Mrs. Evans' voice filtered back.
They were on the road five minutes later.
Liz was seated on the floor of the Crashdown, her back against the counter, staring at the spot where Max had healed her two years before.
She had been there for almost an hour, calling out to him with her mind, willing him to answer her again.
She had started to wonder if she was going crazy. It wouldn't surprise her at all.
Liz took a deep breath, closed her eyes and tried once more.
MAX! CAN YOU HEAR ME?
MAX! PLEASE!
Nothing. Only silence.
Liz was suddenly unbelievably weary.
Missing Max was so tiring. It was like an ache, one that became bigger and bigger every day. There was no relief either. It wouldn't go away - ever.
Or at least not until she was able to hold him in her arms.
She let herself curl up on the floor, in the exact spot she and Max had made their first connection. She realized that it was actually a bit morbid, but she didn't care. It made her feel close to him.
I really should call Isabel, Liz reflected to herself. I should tell her what I thought happened.
But Liz didn't really believe it anymore. It had all been a figment of her imagination.
Max was gone. He was never coming back. She was just going to have to begin to accept it. She knew that she could live a fairly productive life without him. There were other rewarding things in life besides love.
She could become the brilliant molecular biologist she had always wanted to be.
It didn't make her feel better. If anything, the emptiness in her soul grew bigger.
None of it would mean anything without Max.
Liz was shocked when a tear began a slow journey down her cheek.
NO! NO! NO!
STRONG! I HAVE TO BE STRONG! I PROMISED!
She squeezed her eyes shut, willed the tears to stop.
It was no use.
The release of that one tear was like opening the gates to a floodway. Within moments she was sobbing.
She wept for Isabel, who lived without the brother that she had loved more than her perfect life. Isabel Evans had only ever wanted to be normal, to be human - but she had been willing to give it up for Max, if he had wanted her too.
She wept for Maria - for her best friend, who was dying. If Max was there, he could heal her. Liz just somehow knew it.
She wept for Alex, Kyle, Tess - all of whom were nothing but loyal friends, all of whom didn't know what to do to help her or Isabel or Maria or Michael.
She wept for Mr.and Mrs. Evans, who were confused and distraught and had lost a son without ever having a chance to really know him.
Yes, she even wept for Michael, although she was still furious with him, she knew deep down that his own guilt was probably even worse then her hatred.
And, lastly, Liz cried for herself - for the empty life that stretched out before her without her soulmate, her best friend, her other half.
She cried herself to sleep on the spot where Max Evans had saved her life - where her life had truly begun.
And that was when the dream came.
Liz blinked her eyes, sat up, stared around her in amazement.
She KNEW that she had fallen asleep on the floor of the Crashdown - but she certainly was not there now.
She was sitting in a field of yellow grass, her eyes just above the level of the tops, which were waving in the breeze.
Above her towered an immense stone. It threw a shadow across the entire area.
Liz slowly climbed to her feet, looked around, felt her heart beating a mile a minute. The standing stone was not alone. It was one of many that stood in the field of gold, surrounding her, dwarfing her.
It was a stone circle.
Liz did not have time to examine what this could mean. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a flash of movement.
She slowly turned her head.
It was then that she knew she was dreaming.
For standing not ten feet from her, under one of the gigantic, towering stones, his beloved eyes wide with shock, was Max Evans.
Liz stared back at him, could not seem to form a word.
She saw Max swallow, open his mouth to speak.
"It's you."
To be continued...