Chapter Two
Ding......ding......ding......ding.
Michael Geurrin was jolted out of his state of boredom as Maria grabbed his hand before it came on the bell again. "Will you please stop! My God, Michael, you're about to drive me crazy."
"Sorry.", he said. Sitting up from his crouched position on the couch, he stretching his sore muscles. He hadn't slept well the night before.
"What did you do,", she asked, reaching under the table for a dirty sock. "Steal the Crashdown's bell?" She couldn't believe she was cleaning up after a slob on her first day of freedom. An image of her mother picking up after her father sprang into her mind. What a frightening thought: She was turning into her mother.
"No, Jeff had another so I asked if I could have it. He said yes."
Spotting the clothesbasket in the corner, the one opposite from the week before, she started walking toward it with her arms full. "Why would you want a bell?"
Ding, ding! "Fix me a sandwich, Maria."
Maria stopped in mid-stride and, slowly, turned to face the man who had put her through so much, the one man who it often killed her to love, and fixed him with a stare.
They had been dating - more or less - for little more than a year now and he knew the meaning of the looks she threw at him. This one told him he had said something extremely sexist. A big stupid grin spread across his face. "I was joking.", he said, holding his breath the whole time.
She smiled sweetly at him. "I know you were, honey. After all, we wouldn't want you to come to work smelling like you just slept in the dumpster, would we?"
"No.", Michael said, shaking his head.
"And we were planning on spending more time together here in you apartment - alone - weren't we?"
Michael nodded. "Yes, we were."
"And you wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize that, would you?"
"No."
"Un-huh." When she turned around and continued on to the clothesbasket, Michael let out a sigh of relief.
They had talked about spending more time alone together. With everything that had happened over the last four months - learning about the crash, the man who had risked his life to save his and his human family - he had grown more attached to this world, allowing some of the walls around him to fall. In the last few days, he had had the urge to be close to Maria, to make her larger part of his life. It was weird. He had even thought of asking her to move in with him as soon as high school was over.
"Have you seen Max this morning?", he asked. "Tess called this morning and said he'd left before everyone else woke up. She was worried."
"I'll bet.", Maria muttered. Aloud she said: "No, I haven't seen him. Liz was gone early this morning too. Didn't tell anybody where she went or anything." After moment's thought: "I wonder where they went?"
Michael turned to look at Maria. "Weren't they supposed to be broken up or something?"
"It's complicated, Michael. Thinking about it will only give you a headache.", she assured him. She wasn't Liz understood it and she had lived through it. "Even if they stay broken up, they'll never be over each other."
Max and Liz had left at six that morning. They hadn't even planned to search for the cave until eleven but they hadn't wanted to give anyone the chance to ask why they were being suspicious.
Liz had snitched enough food from the Crashdown for three meals. There was no telling when - or if - they would be returning. Max too had grabbed some things that would raise questions if certain people realized he had left his room with them. They hadn't done much speculating on what they would be walking into. There were too many questions, too many possibilities. Instead, they had discussed trivial things and drove around, taking a last look at familiar places and discovering new ones as they traveled down unfamiliar roads. Even if they weren't walking into a trap, there was a chance they would learn something that would change things, never allowing them to look at the world the same again.
It had happened before.
They got lost twice searching for the cave: Once when Max convinced her he had memorized the correct path which ended up leading them to the highway and again when Liz second guessed herself and led them in a circle.
Finally, exactly at noon, they found what they sought.
Popping a tic-tac into his mouth, he watched as they approached. The torches he had lit barely cast enough light to see the outline of the cave. He didn't like a lot of light. He would've kept a better eye on the girl if there weren't so much light on this planet.
His system had a sun like every other but the numerous gases polluting the air there dimmed the light it cast. All this sunlight gave him splitting headaches if he was exposed to it for long periods. He thought he'd get used to it the longer he was here but he never had.
"Glad you could make it.", he said as they neared him. "My name is...." He paused a moment. There was no way these two could pronounce his real name and he'd never had a reason to come up with another. He had always scrawled something unintelligible when he was forced to sign something. If doctors could get away with it so could he. Suddenly, an idea came to him. "Tic-Tac. My name is Tic-Tac and I'll be your host for the evening."
Max and Liz stopped several feet away, leaving plenty of distance between them. They wanted to have enough time to react if he attacked. "What are you?", Liz asked. "You know a lot about us. You are an alien, aren't you?"
"Yes,", he said, inclining his head slightly. "I'm a shapeshifter."
He definately didn't remind them of Naesado - or any other alien they'd seen before. He looked very much like a mountain man. He was stocky; his arm as big around as some people's leg. He had a full beard and his stomach spilled over his belt by several inches. He wore a stocking cap on his head and had a large backpack strapped to his wide shoulders.
"Why do you want us here?", Max asked. "We've been here about three times already. There's nothing left to discover here."
An amused smile spread across Tic-Tac's face. Grabbing the nearest torch, he walked toward the back of the cave. "Let me show you something." Still keeping their distance, they did as he asked.
As they approached the end of the cave, it appeared Max was right. Tic-Tac poked and prodded the wall for a minute, apparently searching for something. Finally, with a satisfied grunt, he pushed on the section of wall he'd been looking for.
Max and Liz looked on in astonishment as the entire back wall slid to the side, revealing two more passages. A thick wall divided them and a set of stone stairs led down to each. Tic-Tac turned to face them, pleased to find both tongue-tied. "Naesado wasn't the only one with tricks up his sleeve."
"Where do they lead?", Liz asked, finally finding her voice.
Tic-Tac shrugged. I don't know. This was the cave's original design. I'm the one who added the fake wall. Good thing too. Not long after I used the cave for my purposes, Naesado found it and used it for his."
He motioned toward the passages. "This is why I told you to bring Max. I need one of you on the right and the other on the left." He positioned both of them at the front of each passage. Max and Liz threw questioning looks at each other the entire time Tic-Tac was prodding them into place.
This alien was indeed different. None of the others had physically manhandled them. A tiny voice inside Liz screamed at her to turn and run. Fast. She quickly dismissed it. There was something calming about him. There was almost a spiritual sense of peace flowing outward from him. His voice wasn't cold and emotionless like it had been on the phone. It too was calming, soothing.
Satisfied, Tic-Tac took several steps back from the passages. "I need both of you to take ten steps forward." Again, they did as he asked. There was little else to do. "I'm sorry for what you may be about to go through,", he said, a note of true sorrow in his voice. "But you'll thank me later."
Max and Liz both turned around, a horrified expression on their faces. "Max!", Liz screamed, running back the way she had come.
"Liz!", Max yelled. He too made a beeline for the stairs.
Neither made it. The wall once again slid shut, sealing them in like a mummy in a crypt, totally alone.
Ding......ding......ding......ding.
Michael Geurrin was jolted out of his state of boredom as Maria grabbed his hand before it came on the bell again. "Will you please stop! My God, Michael, you're about to drive me crazy."
"Sorry.", he said. Sitting up from his crouched position on the couch, he stretching his sore muscles. He hadn't slept well the night before.
"What did you do,", she asked, reaching under the table for a dirty sock. "Steal the Crashdown's bell?" She couldn't believe she was cleaning up after a slob on her first day of freedom. An image of her mother picking up after her father sprang into her mind. What a frightening thought: She was turning into her mother.
"No, Jeff had another so I asked if I could have it. He said yes."
Spotting the clothesbasket in the corner, the one opposite from the week before, she started walking toward it with her arms full. "Why would you want a bell?"
Ding, ding! "Fix me a sandwich, Maria."
Maria stopped in mid-stride and, slowly, turned to face the man who had put her through so much, the one man who it often killed her to love, and fixed him with a stare.
They had been dating - more or less - for little more than a year now and he knew the meaning of the looks she threw at him. This one told him he had said something extremely sexist. A big stupid grin spread across his face. "I was joking.", he said, holding his breath the whole time.
She smiled sweetly at him. "I know you were, honey. After all, we wouldn't want you to come to work smelling like you just slept in the dumpster, would we?"
"No.", Michael said, shaking his head.
"And we were planning on spending more time together here in you apartment - alone - weren't we?"
Michael nodded. "Yes, we were."
"And you wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize that, would you?"
"No."
"Un-huh." When she turned around and continued on to the clothesbasket, Michael let out a sigh of relief.
They had talked about spending more time alone together. With everything that had happened over the last four months - learning about the crash, the man who had risked his life to save his and his human family - he had grown more attached to this world, allowing some of the walls around him to fall. In the last few days, he had had the urge to be close to Maria, to make her larger part of his life. It was weird. He had even thought of asking her to move in with him as soon as high school was over.
"Have you seen Max this morning?", he asked. "Tess called this morning and said he'd left before everyone else woke up. She was worried."
"I'll bet.", Maria muttered. Aloud she said: "No, I haven't seen him. Liz was gone early this morning too. Didn't tell anybody where she went or anything." After moment's thought: "I wonder where they went?"
Michael turned to look at Maria. "Weren't they supposed to be broken up or something?"
"It's complicated, Michael. Thinking about it will only give you a headache.", she assured him. She wasn't Liz understood it and she had lived through it. "Even if they stay broken up, they'll never be over each other."
Max and Liz had left at six that morning. They hadn't even planned to search for the cave until eleven but they hadn't wanted to give anyone the chance to ask why they were being suspicious.
Liz had snitched enough food from the Crashdown for three meals. There was no telling when - or if - they would be returning. Max too had grabbed some things that would raise questions if certain people realized he had left his room with them. They hadn't done much speculating on what they would be walking into. There were too many questions, too many possibilities. Instead, they had discussed trivial things and drove around, taking a last look at familiar places and discovering new ones as they traveled down unfamiliar roads. Even if they weren't walking into a trap, there was a chance they would learn something that would change things, never allowing them to look at the world the same again.
It had happened before.
They got lost twice searching for the cave: Once when Max convinced her he had memorized the correct path which ended up leading them to the highway and again when Liz second guessed herself and led them in a circle.
Finally, exactly at noon, they found what they sought.
Popping a tic-tac into his mouth, he watched as they approached. The torches he had lit barely cast enough light to see the outline of the cave. He didn't like a lot of light. He would've kept a better eye on the girl if there weren't so much light on this planet.
His system had a sun like every other but the numerous gases polluting the air there dimmed the light it cast. All this sunlight gave him splitting headaches if he was exposed to it for long periods. He thought he'd get used to it the longer he was here but he never had.
"Glad you could make it.", he said as they neared him. "My name is...." He paused a moment. There was no way these two could pronounce his real name and he'd never had a reason to come up with another. He had always scrawled something unintelligible when he was forced to sign something. If doctors could get away with it so could he. Suddenly, an idea came to him. "Tic-Tac. My name is Tic-Tac and I'll be your host for the evening."
Max and Liz stopped several feet away, leaving plenty of distance between them. They wanted to have enough time to react if he attacked. "What are you?", Liz asked. "You know a lot about us. You are an alien, aren't you?"
"Yes,", he said, inclining his head slightly. "I'm a shapeshifter."
He definately didn't remind them of Naesado - or any other alien they'd seen before. He looked very much like a mountain man. He was stocky; his arm as big around as some people's leg. He had a full beard and his stomach spilled over his belt by several inches. He wore a stocking cap on his head and had a large backpack strapped to his wide shoulders.
"Why do you want us here?", Max asked. "We've been here about three times already. There's nothing left to discover here."
An amused smile spread across Tic-Tac's face. Grabbing the nearest torch, he walked toward the back of the cave. "Let me show you something." Still keeping their distance, they did as he asked.
As they approached the end of the cave, it appeared Max was right. Tic-Tac poked and prodded the wall for a minute, apparently searching for something. Finally, with a satisfied grunt, he pushed on the section of wall he'd been looking for.
Max and Liz looked on in astonishment as the entire back wall slid to the side, revealing two more passages. A thick wall divided them and a set of stone stairs led down to each. Tic-Tac turned to face them, pleased to find both tongue-tied. "Naesado wasn't the only one with tricks up his sleeve."
"Where do they lead?", Liz asked, finally finding her voice.
Tic-Tac shrugged. I don't know. This was the cave's original design. I'm the one who added the fake wall. Good thing too. Not long after I used the cave for my purposes, Naesado found it and used it for his."
He motioned toward the passages. "This is why I told you to bring Max. I need one of you on the right and the other on the left." He positioned both of them at the front of each passage. Max and Liz threw questioning looks at each other the entire time Tic-Tac was prodding them into place.
This alien was indeed different. None of the others had physically manhandled them. A tiny voice inside Liz screamed at her to turn and run. Fast. She quickly dismissed it. There was something calming about him. There was almost a spiritual sense of peace flowing outward from him. His voice wasn't cold and emotionless like it had been on the phone. It too was calming, soothing.
Satisfied, Tic-Tac took several steps back from the passages. "I need both of you to take ten steps forward." Again, they did as he asked. There was little else to do. "I'm sorry for what you may be about to go through,", he said, a note of true sorrow in his voice. "But you'll thank me later."
Max and Liz both turned around, a horrified expression on their faces. "Max!", Liz screamed, running back the way she had come.
"Liz!", Max yelled. He too made a beeline for the stairs.
Neither made it. The wall once again slid shut, sealing them in like a mummy in a crypt, totally alone.