PART 8
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Isabel
screamed. She woke with a start; she had just had the
most horrible nightmare. "Max!" She yelled at the top
of her lungs. It was a good thing her parents were
gone for the weekend, or she'd be in therapy and
counseling the next day. Isabel often had nightmares,
but this one was important. "Max! Where are you?!?"
"It's all right, I'm here." Max said groggily. "What
happened? I heard you scream."
"I had another nightmare, but this time it was
different. Max, it was real."
"What? What do you mean? What did you see?"
"I saw...I saw, Tess."
"Okay..."
"And, she...she was...murdered." Isabel whispered.
"Murdered?" Max asked, startled.
"I felt her die Max. It's all real, I know it. I'm so
scared..."
"Iz, it's okay, we'll figure it out. Was there
anything else? Did you see who killed her?"
"Umm, yeah, it, it was Maggie. You were right about
her. She, she's a shape shifter. Max..."
"I knew it! I knew she couldn't be trusted, and now
Tess is dead. Oh, God..." Max interrupted.
"Max, there's more."
"More? What, what is it?"
"It's about Liz. Maggie, I mean, Katswana, that's her
real name, uummmmmmm...I don't know how to tell you
this Max..."
"Tell me what? Isabel, is she, is Liz...?"
"No, not yet, but they have her Max. She's been
kidnapped."
"OMG. OMG! Iz, we have to help her! Do you know where
she is? Isabel this is important!"
"I know that Max! I don't know where she is, but Max
they said they won't harm her if, if..."
"If what?"
"If we tell them, Katswana and Nicholas, where the
granilith is. They are using Liz as bait, Max."
"What, I mean...how, I Oh God, Isabel, what am I gonna
do?" Max's head felt like it was about to explode.
*Liz...Nicholas...will they hurt her? What will I do
without her? I have to help Liz; I can't let her die!*
"Max, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I mean, no, I, I don't know. I just don't know.
We have to tell the others."
"I'll tell them Max. You, you're not in good shape.
Don't worry Max. Nothing's gonna happen to Liz. I
promise."
Unfortunately that was a promise Isabel wasn't sure
she would be able to keep. But as she looked at her
brother and saw the look of pain and sadness in his
eyes, she knew she had to try.
AT LUNCH IN THE QUAD
The gang was having their usual lunch at the quad, but
everyone knew something wasn't right. Max was looking
lonely and depressed; Isabel was looking deeply
pained. Alex looked confused, Michael and Maria were
as far apart as possible, and Maria had a look of
extreme distress on her face. Michael looked worried.
As you can tell, their 'normal' lunch was really not
so normal.
"Does anyone know where Liz is?" Maria finally asked.
Isabel let out a small whimper.
"Yes, I know where Liz is, Maria." Max answered.
It hurt him so much to think about it. There
was no way to reach Liz, and there was no guarantee
that they wouldn't hurt Liz after they had the
granilith.
"Well, where is she?" Maria asked, her eyes
brightening.
"She's been kidnapped, by Katswana. And Nicholas, they
want the granilith in return for Liz." Isabel said as
calmly as possible.
"What!?!" Maria screamed.
"And when were you all planning on telling me this?"
Michael asked Max and Isabel angrily.
"Isabel had a nightmare last night, it was about Liz,
and Tess...and Katswana and Nicholas, what happened
and what they wanted. It's all very complicated
Michael, but we just told you okay?" Max told him.
"You could have called or something." Michael replied.
"Is Liz, will she be...okay?" Maria asked, trembling.
"I, I don't know. I don't know what we're gonna do. We
can't give them the granilith Maria." Isabel said.
Maria gasped.
"I'm not hearing this...I can't believe this! After
all she's done for you, you're just going to let her
sit in some cage and rot? Or be killed by Nicholas? Or
whoever the hell Katswana is? Max, you of all people,
how could you?" Maria sobbed. Alex held her. Maria's
words stung Max. He felt horrible for even having let
such thoughts cross his mind.
"Liz is not going to die. I won't let that happen,
Maria." Max told her.
"What are we gonna do then?" Michael asked.
"There has to be some way we can connect to Liz. We
have to be able to find her. I'm sure Nicholas and
Katswana are nearby, and we can get rid of them too."
Max said.
"Who the hell is Katswana?" Michael asked.
"Maggie. I mean, Maggie is Katswana, and Katswana is a
shape shifter. She has lots of other powers too, I
just don't know what they are." Isabel said.
"Great, that's just frigging perfect. Where's Tess, is
she part of this? Was she kidnapped too?"
"No. Tess is, ummmmmm, well she was...killed by
Katswana." Max said.
"Tess? Tess is gone too? She's dead?" Maria wailed.
"How the hell are we gonna do anything about this
without Tess' help?" Michael yelled.
"We'll have to find Liz first. Then we can think of a
plan to save her." Max told them.
"Well, how are we gonna find her?" Maria asked, calmer
now that they were talking about a plan to save her
best friend.
"Isabel can dream walk her." Max said.
"But how will that help? Do you really think she knows
where she is?" Alex asked.
"Maybe not, but at least she'll know we know that
she's been kidnapped, and that we are going to save
her." Max said.
RING
Isabel and Maria headed off to class. So did Michael
and Alex. That left Max to walk to biology, all alone.
LATER THAT NIGHT
"Isabel, can you try it now?" Maria asked her.
"Alright, alright." Isabel said. Isabel took a deep
breath and entered her 'dream walking state', as
everyone liked to call it. Maria waited and waited. It
seemed like forever to her.
*What's taking so long?* She wondered. All of a
sudden, Isabel's eyes opened.
"I found her. She's fine. I told her everything we
knew about Katswana and Nicholas and I told her we'd
get her out of there. She told me she had no idea
where she was. She was mind warped on her way there."
"Well that wasn't much help." Maria said.
"No, but it's a start." Isabel replied.
AT THE CELL
Liz woke up, startled.
*Woah! OMG, they know. Max, oh Max you're coming!*
She thought. *I have to find out where I am. I'm
into science, it shouldn't be too hard. Right?* Liz
crawled around in her little cell. She hadn't really
explored it before. Before she kind of just sat there.
Now that she did explore though, she realized there
was a window. It was small and covered up and it was
behind boxes and it was covered in dust, but it was
there. Liz climbed over all the boxes and wiped away
the dust and other things, and peered out. Nothing but
desert. There was a cactus. And, she could see a road!
*OMG a road!* Liz thought. *But what's the
difference? I don't know what road.* She countered. She
looked out the window one more time. There was a large
rock a few feet from the cactus. In the distance Liz
could see a huge rock formation. It was more then 200
feet away though. It was very indistinct and there was
no way Liz could really describe it except as a rock
formation.
*Well, it's a start.* She thought. Liz crawled back
to the corner and sat there thinking. All of a sudden
she heard footsteps coming down the corridor, straight
to her. She sat up quickly.
"How are you doing Liz? That is your name right?"
Katswana asked.
"Yes that's my name, and I'm doing fine. I could use a
little more to eat though." Liz said.
"Well we'll take care of that now won't we? Wouldn't
want you dying before your time!" Katswana said,
laughing. At once a servant came with a lunch plate
for Liz. It was only a sandwich, some milk and a few
apple slices, but it was more then Liz had had to eat
in the entire time she had been there.
"I have a question Katswana." Liz said.
"Go on." Katswana urged.
"Well, I was wondering, since there is no way to get
out of this place, could I at least know where I am? I
mean am I still in Roswell? Am I still in New Mexico?"
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt..." Katswana said. "You
are still in New Mexico. You are a few miles away from
Roswell. In a desert town called Barba. Are you happy
now?" Katswana asked.
"I suppose. Is Barba a big desert town?"
"No, it's rather small actually. Why are you asking so
many questions?"
"Oh, it's just something for me to think about. You
know, other then my newest escape route out of here..."
"You're a funny girl Liz. Too bad you won't be heard
for much longer..." Katswana said. Then she left.
*I can't believe how easy that was!* Liz thought.
*Now Max and Isabel and Michael really will find me
and I'll be able to see Maria and Alex again! And Mom
and Daddy, they must be so worried! I can't wait to see
them again! I can't wait to go home!* Liz thought.
Then Liz ate the rest of her lunch and sat thinking
about what she would do when she got back. Because she
knew she would. At least, she hoped. If Max even tried
to get her back. If he even wanted her back.
*Why am I torturing myself?* She wondered. To try
and escape her problems, Liz went to sleep again.
Besides, it would make it easier for Isabel.
*Please find me...* she thought. *Please help me...*
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Isabel
screamed. She woke with a start; she had just had the
most horrible nightmare. "Max!" She yelled at the top
of her lungs. It was a good thing her parents were
gone for the weekend, or she'd be in therapy and
counseling the next day. Isabel often had nightmares,
but this one was important. "Max! Where are you?!?"
"It's all right, I'm here." Max said groggily. "What
happened? I heard you scream."
"I had another nightmare, but this time it was
different. Max, it was real."
"What? What do you mean? What did you see?"
"I saw...I saw, Tess."
"Okay..."
"And, she...she was...murdered." Isabel whispered.
"Murdered?" Max asked, startled.
"I felt her die Max. It's all real, I know it. I'm so
scared..."
"Iz, it's okay, we'll figure it out. Was there
anything else? Did you see who killed her?"
"Umm, yeah, it, it was Maggie. You were right about
her. She, she's a shape shifter. Max..."
"I knew it! I knew she couldn't be trusted, and now
Tess is dead. Oh, God..." Max interrupted.
"Max, there's more."
"More? What, what is it?"
"It's about Liz. Maggie, I mean, Katswana, that's her
real name, uummmmmmm...I don't know how to tell you
this Max..."
"Tell me what? Isabel, is she, is Liz...?"
"No, not yet, but they have her Max. She's been
kidnapped."
"OMG. OMG! Iz, we have to help her! Do you know where
she is? Isabel this is important!"
"I know that Max! I don't know where she is, but Max
they said they won't harm her if, if..."
"If what?"
"If we tell them, Katswana and Nicholas, where the
granilith is. They are using Liz as bait, Max."
"What, I mean...how, I Oh God, Isabel, what am I gonna
do?" Max's head felt like it was about to explode.
*Liz...Nicholas...will they hurt her? What will I do
without her? I have to help Liz; I can't let her die!*
"Max, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I mean, no, I, I don't know. I just don't know.
We have to tell the others."
"I'll tell them Max. You, you're not in good shape.
Don't worry Max. Nothing's gonna happen to Liz. I
promise."
Unfortunately that was a promise Isabel wasn't sure
she would be able to keep. But as she looked at her
brother and saw the look of pain and sadness in his
eyes, she knew she had to try.
AT LUNCH IN THE QUAD
The gang was having their usual lunch at the quad, but
everyone knew something wasn't right. Max was looking
lonely and depressed; Isabel was looking deeply
pained. Alex looked confused, Michael and Maria were
as far apart as possible, and Maria had a look of
extreme distress on her face. Michael looked worried.
As you can tell, their 'normal' lunch was really not
so normal.
"Does anyone know where Liz is?" Maria finally asked.
Isabel let out a small whimper.
"Yes, I know where Liz is, Maria." Max answered.
It hurt him so much to think about it. There
was no way to reach Liz, and there was no guarantee
that they wouldn't hurt Liz after they had the
granilith.
"Well, where is she?" Maria asked, her eyes
brightening.
"She's been kidnapped, by Katswana. And Nicholas, they
want the granilith in return for Liz." Isabel said as
calmly as possible.
"What!?!" Maria screamed.
"And when were you all planning on telling me this?"
Michael asked Max and Isabel angrily.
"Isabel had a nightmare last night, it was about Liz,
and Tess...and Katswana and Nicholas, what happened
and what they wanted. It's all very complicated
Michael, but we just told you okay?" Max told him.
"You could have called or something." Michael replied.
"Is Liz, will she be...okay?" Maria asked, trembling.
"I, I don't know. I don't know what we're gonna do. We
can't give them the granilith Maria." Isabel said.
Maria gasped.
"I'm not hearing this...I can't believe this! After
all she's done for you, you're just going to let her
sit in some cage and rot? Or be killed by Nicholas? Or
whoever the hell Katswana is? Max, you of all people,
how could you?" Maria sobbed. Alex held her. Maria's
words stung Max. He felt horrible for even having let
such thoughts cross his mind.
"Liz is not going to die. I won't let that happen,
Maria." Max told her.
"What are we gonna do then?" Michael asked.
"There has to be some way we can connect to Liz. We
have to be able to find her. I'm sure Nicholas and
Katswana are nearby, and we can get rid of them too."
Max said.
"Who the hell is Katswana?" Michael asked.
"Maggie. I mean, Maggie is Katswana, and Katswana is a
shape shifter. She has lots of other powers too, I
just don't know what they are." Isabel said.
"Great, that's just frigging perfect. Where's Tess, is
she part of this? Was she kidnapped too?"
"No. Tess is, ummmmmm, well she was...killed by
Katswana." Max said.
"Tess? Tess is gone too? She's dead?" Maria wailed.
"How the hell are we gonna do anything about this
without Tess' help?" Michael yelled.
"We'll have to find Liz first. Then we can think of a
plan to save her." Max told them.
"Well, how are we gonna find her?" Maria asked, calmer
now that they were talking about a plan to save her
best friend.
"Isabel can dream walk her." Max said.
"But how will that help? Do you really think she knows
where she is?" Alex asked.
"Maybe not, but at least she'll know we know that
she's been kidnapped, and that we are going to save
her." Max said.
RING
Isabel and Maria headed off to class. So did Michael
and Alex. That left Max to walk to biology, all alone.
LATER THAT NIGHT
"Isabel, can you try it now?" Maria asked her.
"Alright, alright." Isabel said. Isabel took a deep
breath and entered her 'dream walking state', as
everyone liked to call it. Maria waited and waited. It
seemed like forever to her.
*What's taking so long?* She wondered. All of a
sudden, Isabel's eyes opened.
"I found her. She's fine. I told her everything we
knew about Katswana and Nicholas and I told her we'd
get her out of there. She told me she had no idea
where she was. She was mind warped on her way there."
"Well that wasn't much help." Maria said.
"No, but it's a start." Isabel replied.
AT THE CELL
Liz woke up, startled.
*Woah! OMG, they know. Max, oh Max you're coming!*
She thought. *I have to find out where I am. I'm
into science, it shouldn't be too hard. Right?* Liz
crawled around in her little cell. She hadn't really
explored it before. Before she kind of just sat there.
Now that she did explore though, she realized there
was a window. It was small and covered up and it was
behind boxes and it was covered in dust, but it was
there. Liz climbed over all the boxes and wiped away
the dust and other things, and peered out. Nothing but
desert. There was a cactus. And, she could see a road!
*OMG a road!* Liz thought. *But what's the
difference? I don't know what road.* She countered. She
looked out the window one more time. There was a large
rock a few feet from the cactus. In the distance Liz
could see a huge rock formation. It was more then 200
feet away though. It was very indistinct and there was
no way Liz could really describe it except as a rock
formation.
*Well, it's a start.* She thought. Liz crawled back
to the corner and sat there thinking. All of a sudden
she heard footsteps coming down the corridor, straight
to her. She sat up quickly.
"How are you doing Liz? That is your name right?"
Katswana asked.
"Yes that's my name, and I'm doing fine. I could use a
little more to eat though." Liz said.
"Well we'll take care of that now won't we? Wouldn't
want you dying before your time!" Katswana said,
laughing. At once a servant came with a lunch plate
for Liz. It was only a sandwich, some milk and a few
apple slices, but it was more then Liz had had to eat
in the entire time she had been there.
"I have a question Katswana." Liz said.
"Go on." Katswana urged.
"Well, I was wondering, since there is no way to get
out of this place, could I at least know where I am? I
mean am I still in Roswell? Am I still in New Mexico?"
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt..." Katswana said. "You
are still in New Mexico. You are a few miles away from
Roswell. In a desert town called Barba. Are you happy
now?" Katswana asked.
"I suppose. Is Barba a big desert town?"
"No, it's rather small actually. Why are you asking so
many questions?"
"Oh, it's just something for me to think about. You
know, other then my newest escape route out of here..."
"You're a funny girl Liz. Too bad you won't be heard
for much longer..." Katswana said. Then she left.
*I can't believe how easy that was!* Liz thought.
*Now Max and Isabel and Michael really will find me
and I'll be able to see Maria and Alex again! And Mom
and Daddy, they must be so worried! I can't wait to see
them again! I can't wait to go home!* Liz thought.
Then Liz ate the rest of her lunch and sat thinking
about what she would do when she got back. Because she
knew she would. At least, she hoped. If Max even tried
to get her back. If he even wanted her back.
*Why am I torturing myself?* She wondered. To try
and escape her problems, Liz went to sleep again.
Besides, it would make it easier for Isabel.
*Please find me...* she thought. *Please help me...*