Disclaimer: You know the drill…the characters aren't mine Roswell and all characters belong to Jason Katims, 20th Century Fox etc. I'm just borrowing them.

Rating: PG-13 – possibly to R

Chapter Thirty-Nine Who are You?

"Do you have to do this, Alex?" Isabelle asked as she helped him pack his bag.

"You know I do," Alex replied, shoving some extra socks into his duffle bag. "Tess has it all worked out, or she thinks she does. She's sending me off to Las Cruses, to use their super computer to decode the book, and I'm supposed to tell everyone on an exchange trip to Sweden."

"Why Sweden? It's not like you've ever studied Swedish. They don't even offer it at West Roswell High."

"I don't know," said Alex, rubbing his head. "I guess she didn't really plan that far ahead, and when push came to shove, Sweden was the only place she could think of. Do you have any aspirin, Isabelle? My head is killing me."

"You've had an awful lot of headaches lately, Alex," said Isabelle. "I'm starting to worry about you. Maybe you should go to the doctor."

"Oh, right Isabelle. And tell him what? Doctor, I've noticed an increase in headaches ever since I developed the power to warp people's minds? Sorry Isabelle, I don't see that happening."

"No, I guess you're right, but we should do something. Maybe Max could heal you."

"No dice, he tried already," said Alex, shoving a razor into his bag.

"Well, maybe we should go back to the granolith again, all of us, together. Maybe that will help."

"Okay," said Alex. "I've been kind of worried about it myself. Maybe being there will give Max a power boost or something."

"Alex," called Mrs. Whitman, knocking on his bedroom door. "You have more company.

"Who is it, Ma?" asked Alex.

"It's Maria, and Michael. They came to say goodbye to you."

"Send 'em in please," said Alex.

Michael and Maria walked into Alex's room. On the surface, they did their best to appear calm, but both Alex and Isabelle were able to see past the façade.

"What's wrong?" asked Isabelle, as soon as the door was shut.
"It's Tess," said Maria. "She brought Rath and Lonnie to the pod chamber. We just barely managed to hide under the granolith before they came in."

"Under the granolith?" asked Isabelle.

"Not important," said Michael. "We'll show you later. Anyhow, we need to find Maxwell. They're pretty sure he stole their book, and they want it back, and their not opposed to killing me and Isabelle to get it."

"What?" shouted Alex. "That does it, I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here with you, Isabelle. There is no way I'm going to leave you alone while those psychos are in town."

"Alex, that's sweet, but you can't. We have to stick with the plan. You have to and pretend to decode our copy of the book. I'll be alright, we all will."

"I don't like it," said Alex.

"Don't like what?" asked Kyle, sticking his head in Alex's window.

"We have company," answered Michael. "In the form of Rath and Lonnie."

"Damn," said Kyle, climbing in the window. He reached back and held out his hand and helped Ava into the room. "What do they want?"

"The book," said Ava, sitting down on the bed. "What else could they possibly want?"

"Well, Max for one," said Maria. "They need him to make up their four square."

"We've got to find him right away," said Michael. "Does anybody have any idea of where he is?"

"Yeah, Ava and I passed him on our way over here. He and Liz were heading out to the quarry. I think they were looking for a little alone time."

"Yeah, well, it's going to have to wait," said Michael. "We need to warn them, and it has to be now."

"I'll go," said Kyle, moving towards the window. "Ava, you better stay here. If Rath and Lonnie are around, you'd better lay low. Michael, watch out for her?"

"With my life, man," said Michael.

"Wait!" cried Isabelle. "Bring them to the granolith."

"Why?" asked Kyle, one leg over the windowsill.

"We don't have time for explanations now," said Isabelle. "Just do it. We'll meet you there in an hour."


Kyle parked his car and climbed out and began to make his way down the rock-strewn path that led into the quarry. He slipped on some loose rocks and skidded part way down the slope.

"Damn," he said as he tried to stop his fall. He skidded for several more feet before stopping at the bottom of the path. He groaned and tried to get up on, but collapsed, a small trickle of blood dripping down his face.


"Max, I know I heard something," said Liz. "We should probably get out of here."

"Relax, Liz. It was probably just an animal or something," said Max. "We never get a chance to be alone anymore, and I don't want to leave any sooner than we have to."

"Humor me Max," said Liz. "Please. I'm sure I heard something."

"Alright," said Max. He stood up and reached down to help Liz up, grabbing the blanket that they sat on as well. "Come on, let's go play Nancy Drew and Frank Hardy and see what made the noise."

"Thanks for understanding, Max," said Liz. "I know it's stupid, but I just think we should check it out."

"Don't worry about it, Liz," said Max. The two began to walk across the quarry toward the path that would take them to Max's jeep. Liz stopped and looked around, staring into the darkness."

"Did you hear that?" she asked Max. "It sounded like somebody was groaning. It came from over there." She pulled Max by the arm towards the base of the path. As they drew closer, both of them were able to make out a form lying on the ground.

"Wait here," said Max, as he rushed forward. He knelt down beside the body and rolled it over. "Liz, it's Kyle, and he's hurt!"

"Oh, God!" cried Liz, rushing over to Max's side. ""Max, what happened to him?"

"I'm not sure," said Max. "I'm guessing he came out here to find us." He put his hand against Kyle's head. His hand began to glow and the wound healed. Kyle's eyes fluttered, then opened fully.

"Ouch, what happened?" he said. "Liz, where are we?" he asked. He turned and looked at Max. "Who are you and what are you doing with my girlfriend?"