It's July 22nd. I'm Liz Parker and almost two months ago,, I left the only home I've ever known. I don't know if we'll ever be able to go back, but that problem is the furthest thing from my mind now. The six of us are three states away, but Roswell feels an entire lifetime away. Together, we have a different path to follow, an entirely new plan. A way of life none of has ever known is now all we have. Maybe that explains, for as far away as Roswell is to us now, why we just can't adjust to such a drastic change. Maybe none of us was as ready to leave as we once thought we were. Even though we had no choice, this path we have found ourselves on isn't nearly as easy or adventurous or satisfying as we had hoped. And the reality of our situation is, this is only the beginning....

Liz glanced up from her journal to see Max staring at her from the other side of the parked van. He smiled, a gesture she easily returned.

They had driven late into the night, and in a few hours the sun would surely begin its ascent into the sky. The further they were from the city, the calmer they all began to feel. But they didn't come to a stand still until they reached a heavily wooded area, the last signs of civilization miles back. The others had wandered a little outside the van to get some air while Max went over roadmaps and Liz scrawled in her journal.

"Are you okay?" he whispered. She nodded, gently tucking her russet tresses behind her ears.

"We'll find away around this. We always find a way, Max."

"Even if it means breaking the group up?" he questioned, moving to the back of the van to sit beside her.

"I don't want to even think about not seeing everyone. We've already left our families. I'm scared to think about not having Maria in my life either. She's like my sister."

"We've all kind of made our own family together, haven't we?"

Liz nodded, closing her eyes tightly. She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "No matter what, I'll always have you, right?"

Max stared down at her, finding her hand with his without even looking. He nodded as he smiled happily. "Always."

***

He watched her fixedly. Maria was kneeling beside the small brook, lazily tracing her fingers over the water. Michael jammed his hands into the pockets of his black jeans as he stood achingly beside a tree several yards behind her.

He thought back to the night they all left Roswell. He remembered the relief that had overcome him when faced with the knowledge he wouldn't be leaving alone anymore. He had been bowled over with comfort when Maria decided to come. He had been bowled over with an old, haunted emotion too. The one that disappeared over a year earlier when he chose to live in the present and let himself be free to love her. It had returned, though. Blame. It truly was his fault that she had to give up her life to run away with him. She said it was what she wanted, but his life had never given her a choice. Two months ago, her choice was either stay in Roswell, risk the FBI taking her in for her association with him and the others, be without her best friend in the world, be without all the people she had let consume her life for the last three years … or embark on a life on the run in order to be with him and keep her friends. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair for her or Liz or Kyle.

He shifted his feet, accidentally snapping a twig as he pressed his boot back down into the dirt. Maria, who had been squatting down on the tips of her toes, reflexively spun around at the sound, terrified. She spun too fast and fell backwards, her slender arms falling to her side in vain attempts to hold onto solid ground. She toppled back into the creek, yelping in shock. Water splashed, Michael stepped forward, and Maria glared as he revealed himself.

"I didn't mean to scare you." He stopped a few feet in front of her, afraid of getting too close – afraid of Maria's anger. She began to laugh instead of scream, and Michael bent over to hoist her up and out of the water.

"This just hasn't been a good night at all, has it?" she said through her giggles. Her jeans were completely soaked. "First a welcoming barrage of bullets and now I flip out over a stick snapping."

Michael silently waved a hand over her jeans. Maria watched as they instantly dried. "Thanks."

"No problem."

"So…."

"So….."

"Look, Michael. I didn't say anything when you mentioned the whole splitting up thing, but I need to know. You were planning on keeping me with you, right? No 'I'm-alone-and-that's-the-way-it's-gotta-be' speeches?"

He only stared down at her awkwardly before shifting his gaze to the trees behind her. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? You either you want me with you or you don't."

"It's not that simple."

"It should be. If you meant it when you said you loved me, it should damn well be that simple."

"Let's not get into this right now. We'll talk about it with everyone else in the morning."

"I just … I just thought the doubts were all over with, Michael."

"I'm tired. It already sucks enough that we're not going to have a motel tonight. So I'm going to make a nice place for myself in the dirt outside the van and get some rest."

"Fine." Maria crossed her arms over shoulders and watched him retreat. He stopped, turning back to her.

"Well, aren't you coming?"

"I'll be fine out here."

Michael sighed before sauntering back and sliding down against the tree, resting his arms on the tops of knees. Maria stared at him with a non- believing smile.

"What are you doing, Michael?"

"Just sitting."

"I don't need a babysitter. I made it out here just fine. The van isn't more than a mile back in that direction."

"Well, I don't want you getting scared again. And none of us should be alone after what happened tonight. Even if we are in the middle of nowhere."

"Whatever," Maria muttered, throwing her hands up in defeat. "Let's just head back. And I have the perfect topic to chat about on the way."

Michael groaned as he got to his feet again. "If I didn't ask what it was, could we just walk in silence?"

"Not a chance, buddy. It's about you."

"I told you we'd talk about everything in the morning."

"I want to talk about the nightmare you had tonight."

Maria noticed his quick stall in pace before a pitiful attempt at regaining his composure. He shrugged, feigning confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid. I saw it too." Even in the dimness of the night in which they walked amidst the bony trees, Maria noticed some of the color drained from his face as she uttered the last words.

***

"Are you cold?" Kyle asked, stepping next to Isabel. He offered her his jacket, but she refused him with a shake of her head. Her hair fell over her shoulder as she did so. Isabel was still getting used to having blonde hair again. If the FBI were as open about finding them as they had been in the group's final weeks spent in Roswell, they had surely posted pictures of all of them in the surrounding areas. Her picture would most likely be one sporting her short, darker hairstyle. The one she met Jesse with. The one that was in her wedding pictures; the one she wore every day of her relationship with him. It was for the best anyway. Going back to the blonde. She knew it was stupid, but the hairstyle was from a part of her life she couldn't return to. A part of her life where she was happy, and she couldn't carry it with her, not even as a reminder. Things like that just hurt too much.

Kyle sat on a nearby rock, staring at the wooded area surrounding them. "About what Michael said. Splitting up. What do you think about it?"

Isabel, whose arms were crossed and back faced to him, merely shook her head. "If he didn't say it, I would have brought it up."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I think it would be good. If you think about it, Kyle, we'll never get a fresh start if we keep clinging to each other."

"I guess, if that's the way you want to look at it."

"And how do you look at it?" she questioned, turning to face him.

"Well," Kyle began, scratching his head. "I think that the best thing to do is stick together. We have all we need. If one of us gets hurt, Max can heal. With your guys' manipulative powers, we're practically set for life financially. And with Liz's premonition hocus pocus, we'll be prepared."

"Max and Liz weren't prepared tonight. She couldn't predict the gunshots…. Sure, I can wave a hand over a sheet of paper and turn it into cash. And Max can wave his hands and heal us all. But, we don't have all we need. We need a place to go to, and no powers are going to protect us from the entire FBI, and a van with five other people just doesn't cut it for me, Kyle. I can't handle it."

"Does this have to do with Max and Liz? Being so close to them when they're married? You know … since you had to give up your own marriage…."

Isabel thought about her hair again as she narrowed her eyes. She could get used to long and blonde again. She could. She could revert back into aloofness in a heartbeat. Isabel had dyed Maria's hair brown. And Michael had cut his hair short again. His chaotic spikes were back, and even Isabel knew that his old barricades and brick walls had emerged, just waiting to break the surface again. Everyone knew, though no one could understand why. And no one asked, for there was much to be confused over in their lives at this point. But Isabel's blonde hair was a return to an earlier stage in life, one spent without getting too close, and she knew it had worked for her before. No one died and no one was running from their lives when she remained detached. And though Maria had no solid reason for switching to the soft brown color other than a whim, Michael seemed to cut his hair almost as a reversal. If he wished hard enough, maybe he could make things go back to the way they were long before everything changed. At least, that's what Isabel thought Michael's decision for a hair cut was all about….. Nothing was ever simple.

"You think I don't want to see my brother happy?" Isabel questioned coolly, still staring out into the distance.

"No. No, that's not what I meant at all, Isabel."

"Because I do want to see them happy. They deserve it."

"They do. They do." Kyle nodded in agreement, standing up and starting off back to the van. Isabel remained for a moment before following. They approached the van only to find Max and Liz making out with the door wide open. Isabel restrained from rolling her eyes, and Kyle smirked at her agitated expression. Deep down, he couldn't blame Isabel for wanting to leave, but he was at a loss when it came to understanding how she could justify walking away from everyone else left in her life.

Max and Liz were still pressed against each other, aggressively going at one another. Kyle coughed to signify their presence outside the van. The couple took no notice however, and they continued their passionate kisses until Liz gasped.

\\…Desert. Stretching for miles. The markings on the ground. Max. Michael. Everyone in a circle. The mountain beside them. The Indian descending. Children's voices. Explanations. River Dog. Lightning. A single echoing word….\\

Liz broke away from Max, pushing herself away from his body. She was unable to focus on Max's question, asking her if she was all right. Seconds passed, and she noticed Isabel and Kyle staring worriedly at her. "Flash?" Max asked, finally getting used to the reaction she always gave when she saw things. She nodded, catching her breath.

"What was it?"

"I – I saw us all in the desert around the cave markings. And I saw River Dog, Max."

"River Dog?"

"Yeah. And he kept saying one word over and over again, like an echo or something."

"What word, Liz?" Isabel asked.

"Soon."

"Well, that's concise. Soon, what? Soon, we'll die painful deaths or soon, something better than dying painful deaths will occur?"

"Shut up, Kyle," Isabel said as she slapped at his arm.

"That's all I could make out clearly. There was more, but whatever he was saying was all muddled."

"Maybe when you get another flash, it will explain more," Max suggested hopefully. Kyle hopped into the vehicle quickly.

"Well, another flash is going to have to wait unless you want to obtain it in the woods, because I am not going to even try to sleep with you two going at it in here."

Max remained silent and Liz looked down, blushing. Isabel stepped inside too, muttering something about agreeing with Kyle. Whether they liked it or not, Liz's flashes would have to wait, for exhaustion fell over them and only a few hours remained before morning.

~*~*~*~*~*~



1 More coming SOON. =D