PART 9
Max couldn't fall asleep. He was restless. All he
could think about was Liz. *Is she okay? What is she
doing? What is she thinking? Does she know I love her?*
Max just couldn't fall asleep. Too many things were
floating around. Max had way too much to think about.
He couldn't take not knowing how Liz was. He decided
he had to go dream walking until he found Liz.
(A/N: I don't know if Max can dream walk on the show,
but he can in the books, so that's what I'm going on
here...also, before when I gave the impression that
only Isabel could dreamwalk, I meant that her
dreamwalking skills were better than everyone else's
because she did it more often.)
As Max entered the dream plane he saw all the orbs, he
heard them. He could see the orbs of people from
school, his parents, and his teachers. Max searched
for Liz's orb among the many that were there. He found
it. He was in. Liz was dreaming of a huge field full
of flowers...there were mountains, streams and forest
surrounding her. Max entered the dream. He couldn't
see Liz anywhere. Then Max felt something behind him.
He saw Liz. Suddenly the field disappeared and Max and
Liz were in Liz's cell. She told him where she was.
'I'm in a small desert town called Barba. There is a
large rock formation about 200 miles from where my
cell is. It should look like an old worn down shack
from the outside. There is a road that will lead you
right to it. Max, please help me.'
'It's gonna be okay Liz, I'll save you, I promise.
I'll get you back.'
'They will be ready for you Max. They could hurt you.
Be careful Max.'
'I will Liz. I love you.' The dream started to fade
and Max could hear Liz's whisper before he left.
'Please help me Max...'
Max was amazed. He hadn't expected Liz to know where
she was. He had to start looking for her
immediately. Then Max realized it was only two o'clock
in the morning. No one would appreciate being woken up
at that hour. Max would just have to wait until
morning.
LIZ'S CELL
Liz woke up from her dream. This time Max had come.
She was so happy. They were coming! They were going to
save her! Nicholas would never have the granilith. Liz
couldn't believe her luck. And Max, what had he said?
She knew he had said something important, but she
didn't know what.
*Oh Max. I love you so much. Please forgive me.* She
thought. *Why should he forgive me? I accused him of
cheating on me, with Tess. I know he'd never do that.
God Max, why do these things only happen to us?* Liz
was ashamed of what she had done. She couldn't wait
until she could see Max again and hold him in her
arms. God she missed that! She just had to wait. *Only
a little more time left,* she coached herself.
*You'll be out of here soon, just be patient...*
AT THE CRASHDOWN
"Why are we here Max? Is there news about Liz?" Alex
asked as soon as Max walked through the door.
"Yes, there's news. I went dream walking last night
and I found Liz. I know where she is."
"OMG!" Maria exclaimed. She was so excited, and
relieved and happy. She threw her arms around Max.
"Thank you." she whispered. Michael looked at Max with
a hint of jealousy in his eyes. Max smiled at him.
Maria couldn't control her giddiness as she grabbed
Michael's hand and squeezed with all her might. She
looked up at him and gave him her best 'Maria loves
you' smile. Michael smiled back.
"Well, where is she?" Alex asked Max.
"She said she's in a small desert town called Barba.
She also told me that there was a large rock formation
about 200 feet from the shack where she's being kept.
There should be a road leading right to it." Max
replied.
"Well let's go!" Alex shouted.
"Yeah, Me, Isabel and Alex in one car, Michael, Maria,
and Kyle in the other."
"Got it, let's go." Michael repeated. They all
headed out to their pre-assigned vehicles and left the
Crashdown parking lot.
ON THE ROAD
"So Max, did Liz tell you how she found out where she
was?" Isabel asked him. "Cus last time I talked to her
she had no idea."
"No, she didn't say." Max told her. The two cars had
reached the sign that said:
'YOU ARE NOW IN BARBA, NEW MEXICO. PLEASE ENJOY YOUR
STAY!'
There were two roads from there on.
"What now Maxwell?" Michael asked.
"You take right, we'll take left." Max replied.
Max and the others in the jeep sped down the
lonely desert road, looking for any sign of a rock
formation.
"Hey do you see that Max? Do you think that's what Liz
was talking about?" Alex asked, pointing out into the
desert to what looked like a small mountain.
"Maybe." Max said. The car sped up to reach where Alex
had been pointing and past it. Sure enough, in the
distance Max could see a small shack, the shack where
Liz was being held. Max turned around and parked the
jeep behind the rock formation. He called Michael and
told them where they were. Michael said he'd be there
as soon as he could. With that Max, Isabel and Alex
started towards the shack.
When they finally reached the front door, Max expected
someone to be on guard, or at least for the door to be
locked, but it wasn't. Max was suspicious as to why
this was, but he was also happy that so far it had
been easy. Max, Isabel and Alex walked in single file
down a long corridor. There were several doors in the
corridor, and Max could tell that this place was only
meant to look like a small shack on the outside, but
really it was huge. Max told Isabel and Alex to stick
together and go exploring. He told them, to take one
half of the corridor while he took the other. Max
opened the first door. There was nothing there. No
doors, no furniture, nothing. Max shut the door. He
moved on to the next door. Again, the same. He did
this at least ten times, until he came to an office.
He saw a desk and a computer, and lots of filing
cabinets. Max entered the room and began looking
through the files. He came across a file that read:
GUERIN, MICHAEL
Startled, Max opened the file. Tons of pictures fell
out. Pictures of school, the Crashdown, Maria, Liz,
him...everything. Max was amazed. He read the papers
about Michael, it told about his foster homes, and his
records. Nothing about the fact that Michael was an
alien. Max closed the file and began searching some
more. He found tapes of telephone conversations. Max
couldn't believe what he was seeing. They had Liz's
conversations on tape, Isabel's, even his. Max was
flipping through the other files when he came to one
labeled:
BOYLE, MAGDALENE
He opened it and saw all kinds of files and hand
written reports about killings, and powers, and Antar.
*Antar...* Max thought. He was about to sit
down and start reading through the file when he heard
an ear-piercing scream.
* Isabel!* He thought. He ran down the corridor,
searching for his sister. He found her with Alex.
Isabel was crying her eyes out and Alex was comforting
her. Alex pointed to one of the doors and looked at
him as if to say 'go in there.' Max opened the door
and saw what looked like an operating table.
On the table there was a body, and over the body there
was a sheet. Max's heart dropped.
*This isn't happening,* he thought. *No! This isn't
possible! Not now! Please, oh God!* Max was tormented
by thoughts that Liz was under that sheet. He knew he
had to look. He walked over to the table and lifted
the sheet. A sigh of relief filled him, but he
immediately felt guilty. It was Tess. Isabel's dream
had been right. Tess was dead, and there was nothing
they could do to bring her back. Max covered her back
up and walked out of the room.
"Are you okay Isabel?" Max asked her.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little upset." Isabel replied.
"I'll be okay, keep looking."
"I know you two were friends, sort of. I'm sorry."
"Yeah, me too." Isabel replied.
"Are you sure you're okay Iz?" He asked.
"She'll be fine." Alex answered. Max walked back down
the corridor, ignoring the office for the time being,
and started opening more doors. Finally he reached a
room with another corridor. This corridor, however,
was made of dirt, and rock. He walked down the
corridor and came to a large opening at the end. He
looked around and realized he had been there before,
with Liz. This was where she was, the dream...
"Liz? Liz where are you?" Max shouted.
"Over here Max." Liz's weak voice answered. Max turned
around and saw her. She looked so tired, and weak.
"Are you okay?" He asked her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to get out of here."
"I'll get you out." Max said. Then he started
looking for something to pry the bars with.
"Max?" Liz asked.
"What?"
"The keys are on the hook on the back of the door."
"Oh. Thanks." Max said, sheepishly. He got the keys
and unlocked the cell. Liz came out and threw her arms
around him.
"God Max, I missed you so much."
"I missed you too Liz. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm sure."
"She's sure now, but she won't be fine for long, my
King." Katswana said, stepping out from the shadows.
"Did you really think I'd make it that easy?" she
asked.
"What do you want, Katswana?" Max asked.
"You know what I want. I want the granilith." She
said, "Or your little friend here dies. See that
bracelet on her arm? One push of this button and..."
Katswana told them. Liz looked down at her arm. How
could she have not noticed the bracelet?
"Don't do it Max, don't tell her."
"Liz, I have to. I can't let you get hurt." Max said.
"Oh, how sweet. Can we get on with it please? Where is
the granilith?" Katswana asked. Liz looked at the
bracelet again. She tried desperately to take it off
her hand. She pulled and stretched it. It wouldn't
come off.
"Don't Max, please!" Liz begged. When Liz said that
Katswana sent out a bit of power to the bracelet. The
pain sent Liz to her knees.
"Liz!" Max exclaimed. "I can't let her do this to
you!"
"Max, I'll be okay..." Liz choked out. She was still
working on the bracelet. Katswana walked over to Max.
Max moved into a position so that Katswana was in the
middle of Max and Liz.
"So, Max, that is your human name?"
"Yeah."
"Where is the granilith Max? Or do you really want to
watch your girlfriend suffer and die? Do you really
want to hear the screams from her friends, when they
see her? What's it gonna be, oh my King?" Katswana
asked. While Max and Katswana were talking Liz had
succeeded in getting the bracelet off. She opened it
and slipped it carefully around Katswana's ankle. Max,
seeing what Liz had done, told Katswana she'd never
find the granilith with his help.
"Fine oh my King, if that's how you want it..."
Katswana said, and pressed the button. It all happened
very quickly, Katswana fell to the ground, pulling Liz
with her. Max was too shocked to do anything but watch
what happened next.
Liz was overwhelmed and surprised when Katswana pulled
her down. She was so surprised she didn't think to get
up. Before she knew it, they were connected. Liz could
feel Katswana dying. She could feel all the power
flowing out of her. Then she felt the last moment of
life in Katswana leave her. Katswana died, and Liz
collapsed next to her.
"Liz!" Max screamed. "No!"
Max couldn't fall asleep. He was restless. All he
could think about was Liz. *Is she okay? What is she
doing? What is she thinking? Does she know I love her?*
Max just couldn't fall asleep. Too many things were
floating around. Max had way too much to think about.
He couldn't take not knowing how Liz was. He decided
he had to go dream walking until he found Liz.
(A/N: I don't know if Max can dream walk on the show,
but he can in the books, so that's what I'm going on
here...also, before when I gave the impression that
only Isabel could dreamwalk, I meant that her
dreamwalking skills were better than everyone else's
because she did it more often.)
As Max entered the dream plane he saw all the orbs, he
heard them. He could see the orbs of people from
school, his parents, and his teachers. Max searched
for Liz's orb among the many that were there. He found
it. He was in. Liz was dreaming of a huge field full
of flowers...there were mountains, streams and forest
surrounding her. Max entered the dream. He couldn't
see Liz anywhere. Then Max felt something behind him.
He saw Liz. Suddenly the field disappeared and Max and
Liz were in Liz's cell. She told him where she was.
'I'm in a small desert town called Barba. There is a
large rock formation about 200 miles from where my
cell is. It should look like an old worn down shack
from the outside. There is a road that will lead you
right to it. Max, please help me.'
'It's gonna be okay Liz, I'll save you, I promise.
I'll get you back.'
'They will be ready for you Max. They could hurt you.
Be careful Max.'
'I will Liz. I love you.' The dream started to fade
and Max could hear Liz's whisper before he left.
'Please help me Max...'
Max was amazed. He hadn't expected Liz to know where
she was. He had to start looking for her
immediately. Then Max realized it was only two o'clock
in the morning. No one would appreciate being woken up
at that hour. Max would just have to wait until
morning.
LIZ'S CELL
Liz woke up from her dream. This time Max had come.
She was so happy. They were coming! They were going to
save her! Nicholas would never have the granilith. Liz
couldn't believe her luck. And Max, what had he said?
She knew he had said something important, but she
didn't know what.
*Oh Max. I love you so much. Please forgive me.* She
thought. *Why should he forgive me? I accused him of
cheating on me, with Tess. I know he'd never do that.
God Max, why do these things only happen to us?* Liz
was ashamed of what she had done. She couldn't wait
until she could see Max again and hold him in her
arms. God she missed that! She just had to wait. *Only
a little more time left,* she coached herself.
*You'll be out of here soon, just be patient...*
AT THE CRASHDOWN
"Why are we here Max? Is there news about Liz?" Alex
asked as soon as Max walked through the door.
"Yes, there's news. I went dream walking last night
and I found Liz. I know where she is."
"OMG!" Maria exclaimed. She was so excited, and
relieved and happy. She threw her arms around Max.
"Thank you." she whispered. Michael looked at Max with
a hint of jealousy in his eyes. Max smiled at him.
Maria couldn't control her giddiness as she grabbed
Michael's hand and squeezed with all her might. She
looked up at him and gave him her best 'Maria loves
you' smile. Michael smiled back.
"Well, where is she?" Alex asked Max.
"She said she's in a small desert town called Barba.
She also told me that there was a large rock formation
about 200 feet from the shack where she's being kept.
There should be a road leading right to it." Max
replied.
"Well let's go!" Alex shouted.
"Yeah, Me, Isabel and Alex in one car, Michael, Maria,
and Kyle in the other."
"Got it, let's go." Michael repeated. They all
headed out to their pre-assigned vehicles and left the
Crashdown parking lot.
ON THE ROAD
"So Max, did Liz tell you how she found out where she
was?" Isabel asked him. "Cus last time I talked to her
she had no idea."
"No, she didn't say." Max told her. The two cars had
reached the sign that said:
'YOU ARE NOW IN BARBA, NEW MEXICO. PLEASE ENJOY YOUR
STAY!'
There were two roads from there on.
"What now Maxwell?" Michael asked.
"You take right, we'll take left." Max replied.
Max and the others in the jeep sped down the
lonely desert road, looking for any sign of a rock
formation.
"Hey do you see that Max? Do you think that's what Liz
was talking about?" Alex asked, pointing out into the
desert to what looked like a small mountain.
"Maybe." Max said. The car sped up to reach where Alex
had been pointing and past it. Sure enough, in the
distance Max could see a small shack, the shack where
Liz was being held. Max turned around and parked the
jeep behind the rock formation. He called Michael and
told them where they were. Michael said he'd be there
as soon as he could. With that Max, Isabel and Alex
started towards the shack.
When they finally reached the front door, Max expected
someone to be on guard, or at least for the door to be
locked, but it wasn't. Max was suspicious as to why
this was, but he was also happy that so far it had
been easy. Max, Isabel and Alex walked in single file
down a long corridor. There were several doors in the
corridor, and Max could tell that this place was only
meant to look like a small shack on the outside, but
really it was huge. Max told Isabel and Alex to stick
together and go exploring. He told them, to take one
half of the corridor while he took the other. Max
opened the first door. There was nothing there. No
doors, no furniture, nothing. Max shut the door. He
moved on to the next door. Again, the same. He did
this at least ten times, until he came to an office.
He saw a desk and a computer, and lots of filing
cabinets. Max entered the room and began looking
through the files. He came across a file that read:
GUERIN, MICHAEL
Startled, Max opened the file. Tons of pictures fell
out. Pictures of school, the Crashdown, Maria, Liz,
him...everything. Max was amazed. He read the papers
about Michael, it told about his foster homes, and his
records. Nothing about the fact that Michael was an
alien. Max closed the file and began searching some
more. He found tapes of telephone conversations. Max
couldn't believe what he was seeing. They had Liz's
conversations on tape, Isabel's, even his. Max was
flipping through the other files when he came to one
labeled:
BOYLE, MAGDALENE
He opened it and saw all kinds of files and hand
written reports about killings, and powers, and Antar.
*Antar...* Max thought. He was about to sit
down and start reading through the file when he heard
an ear-piercing scream.
* Isabel!* He thought. He ran down the corridor,
searching for his sister. He found her with Alex.
Isabel was crying her eyes out and Alex was comforting
her. Alex pointed to one of the doors and looked at
him as if to say 'go in there.' Max opened the door
and saw what looked like an operating table.
On the table there was a body, and over the body there
was a sheet. Max's heart dropped.
*This isn't happening,* he thought. *No! This isn't
possible! Not now! Please, oh God!* Max was tormented
by thoughts that Liz was under that sheet. He knew he
had to look. He walked over to the table and lifted
the sheet. A sigh of relief filled him, but he
immediately felt guilty. It was Tess. Isabel's dream
had been right. Tess was dead, and there was nothing
they could do to bring her back. Max covered her back
up and walked out of the room.
"Are you okay Isabel?" Max asked her.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little upset." Isabel replied.
"I'll be okay, keep looking."
"I know you two were friends, sort of. I'm sorry."
"Yeah, me too." Isabel replied.
"Are you sure you're okay Iz?" He asked.
"She'll be fine." Alex answered. Max walked back down
the corridor, ignoring the office for the time being,
and started opening more doors. Finally he reached a
room with another corridor. This corridor, however,
was made of dirt, and rock. He walked down the
corridor and came to a large opening at the end. He
looked around and realized he had been there before,
with Liz. This was where she was, the dream...
"Liz? Liz where are you?" Max shouted.
"Over here Max." Liz's weak voice answered. Max turned
around and saw her. She looked so tired, and weak.
"Are you okay?" He asked her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to get out of here."
"I'll get you out." Max said. Then he started
looking for something to pry the bars with.
"Max?" Liz asked.
"What?"
"The keys are on the hook on the back of the door."
"Oh. Thanks." Max said, sheepishly. He got the keys
and unlocked the cell. Liz came out and threw her arms
around him.
"God Max, I missed you so much."
"I missed you too Liz. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm sure."
"She's sure now, but she won't be fine for long, my
King." Katswana said, stepping out from the shadows.
"Did you really think I'd make it that easy?" she
asked.
"What do you want, Katswana?" Max asked.
"You know what I want. I want the granilith." She
said, "Or your little friend here dies. See that
bracelet on her arm? One push of this button and..."
Katswana told them. Liz looked down at her arm. How
could she have not noticed the bracelet?
"Don't do it Max, don't tell her."
"Liz, I have to. I can't let you get hurt." Max said.
"Oh, how sweet. Can we get on with it please? Where is
the granilith?" Katswana asked. Liz looked at the
bracelet again. She tried desperately to take it off
her hand. She pulled and stretched it. It wouldn't
come off.
"Don't Max, please!" Liz begged. When Liz said that
Katswana sent out a bit of power to the bracelet. The
pain sent Liz to her knees.
"Liz!" Max exclaimed. "I can't let her do this to
you!"
"Max, I'll be okay..." Liz choked out. She was still
working on the bracelet. Katswana walked over to Max.
Max moved into a position so that Katswana was in the
middle of Max and Liz.
"So, Max, that is your human name?"
"Yeah."
"Where is the granilith Max? Or do you really want to
watch your girlfriend suffer and die? Do you really
want to hear the screams from her friends, when they
see her? What's it gonna be, oh my King?" Katswana
asked. While Max and Katswana were talking Liz had
succeeded in getting the bracelet off. She opened it
and slipped it carefully around Katswana's ankle. Max,
seeing what Liz had done, told Katswana she'd never
find the granilith with his help.
"Fine oh my King, if that's how you want it..."
Katswana said, and pressed the button. It all happened
very quickly, Katswana fell to the ground, pulling Liz
with her. Max was too shocked to do anything but watch
what happened next.
Liz was overwhelmed and surprised when Katswana pulled
her down. She was so surprised she didn't think to get
up. Before she knew it, they were connected. Liz could
feel Katswana dying. She could feel all the power
flowing out of her. Then she felt the last moment of
life in Katswana leave her. Katswana died, and Liz
collapsed next to her.
"Liz!" Max screamed. "No!"