Tomorrow's Yet to Come

Chapter Sixteen – Mystery Man

"Message received," said Max. "Nice painting by the way. So, did you guys manage to get away from Zan?"

"What?" shouted Michael. "Zan's dead, remember?"

"No he isn't," said Ava. "I mind warped Rath and Lonnie into thinking they'd killed him, but he got away. This is all my fault."

"Ava, we've been over this a thousand times," said Liz. "It isn't your fault, and nobody blames you." She turned to look at Maria and the others. "Zan was supposed to come back and get her after he got away from Rath and Lonnie. When he never did, she figured he really was dead."

"Okay, we know why we're here, and you know why we're here, but why are you here. Couldn't you have just phoned in that little bombshell."

"It's going to get really complicated," said Max, "And this isn't the most comfortable place in the world. Why don't we go somewhere else and talk?"

"Because all eight of us can't fit into a Chevy Lumina," said Maria, pertly. She activated the door , and they all stepped out into the dry desert sun. "I suppose we could go back in shifts," she said.

The walked down the path and around the rocks to where the Lumina was parked, and next to it, was Max's car, with the Sheriff at the wheel.

"I saw you drive past me on the road," he said to Michael. "I turned around and tried to catch up with you, but got stuck behind a slow moving truck. I figured this was not the place to hold your big summit meeting. Why don't we all head back to my place, and then you can figure out what's going on?"

Max, Liz, Kyle, Ava and Jim drove back to the Valenti house, followed by Michael and the others. They all trooped into the house, and Jim ducked into his bedroom and quickly changed into his uniform.

"I have to get to work, kids, but you're welcomed to stay here for as long as you like. We'll figure out the sleeping arrangements later."

"Thanks Jim," said Max. "You've helped us so much already, and here we are again. We couldn't have gotten through any of this with out you."

"Yeah, well," Jim said, ducking his head in an unexpected gesture of bashfulness. "I've been thinking, you guys had better lay low. Stick around here, and whatever you do, don't go into town. I'd hate to have to try and explain to your parents why you're here, and not where you're supposed to be."

"And what about any lady friend's you might have, Sheriff?" Isabel asked, shooting a mischievous look at Maria.

"Erm, don't worry about that," answered Jim. "I'll see you kids later on."

After Jim left, the group discussed the whys and wherefores of what brought them back to Roswell.

"So you're telling me that you saw all of this happening?" asked Michael asked Liz.

"Yeah, but it was in a dream, it wasn't in real time, if you know what I mean. I couldn't like warn you or anything. Not that anything I saw made any sense at all. It was more like images," explained Liz. She curled up in the plaid recliner that sat in the corner and waited for the barrage of questions that she assumed would follow. When none came, she relaxed.

"So it's safe to assume that it was Zan following us in New York," said Isabel. "But what about California. There isn't any way it could have been him. Even if we could teleport, or whatever, there is no way he could turn himself into a girl, and you guys think it was a woman that killed your friend."

"Fred said her name was Glenarra," said Max. "And he was positive that she was a woman. In fact, he really had a thing for her."

"So, it's safe to assume that we have two separate enemies," said Michael.

"Zan isn't our enemy!" cried Ava. "He wouldn't do anything to hurt me!"

"He left you with Rath and Lonnie," said Michael, coldly. "And besides, it wasn't you he was stalking, it was me, and Isabel.

"He must have had a good reason for that," said Ava. "He wouldn't,"

"Well, he did," said Michael. "Now if you don't mind, I don't want to hear chapter and verse on what a wonderful guy Zan is. He destroyed some of my stuff, and he stalked my best friends, as well as my wife. The man is not high on my list of favorite people."

"Listen, you don't know what it was like!" shouted Ava. "You weren't there. You were here. You think you had it so bad, living with your foster father, well let me tell you Michael, compared to the way I had to live, your life was a freaking party!"

Ava stood up and ran out the door, slamming it behind her. The room filled with an awkward silence, before Max finally spoke up.

"Maybe you were a bit hard on her, Michael. I saw some of her life with Rath and Lonnie. They were brutal to her. I don't know how she survived it. I know I couldn't have."

"Yeah, well, if it was so horrible, why didn't he save her?" Michael shouted. "If Zan was so fucking incredible, why did he leave my sister there with those two monsters?" Michael took the glass that he held in his hand, and threw it across the room. The glass hit the wall, and shattered into pieces, and cherry cola cascaded down the living room wall. He grabbed his jacket, and walked out the front door, slamming it so hard, two pictures of Kyle in his football uniform fell off the living room wall.

"This is going so well," said Kyle. "It's good to see that some things never change."

"Shut up Kyle," said Max, but the smile on his face took the sting out of his words. Michael feels bad enough about Ava being stuck with that pack of losers. He hates knowing that he wasn't there to protect her while they were growing up."

"No shit, your majesty," said Kyle, his tone sarcastic. "You don't think I know that. That's the only reason I didn't kill him for talking to my wife that way. Ava kind of feels the same way about him. She knows he didn't live in Leave it to Beaver land, and she feels bad that she wasn't there for him."

"Maria, you've remained uncharacteristically calm during all of this," said Alex. "Are you okay?"

"Actually, I am. A very smart person helped me to remember how Michael acts when he's stressed out." She smiled at Isabel, who simply raised one eyebrow. "Besides, that was nothing. Want to see him really freak, tell him you hate my singing." She sat back against the faded sofa, secure in the knowledge that her husband loved her, deeply.

"Well, as exciting as this has all been," said Alex. "Shouldn't we be doing something more productive, like figure out what crazed alien is running around killing people?"

"Hey," Michael said as he walked across the yard towards Ava.

"Hey yourself," Ava said, looking at the ground. She scuffed the dirt with the toe of her shoe, and small puffs of dust rose up and dissipated in the soft breeze.

"Look, I was a real jerk in there," said Michael.

"Yeah, you were," Ava agreed. "You didn't know him, Michael. He wasn't noble like Max, but he wasn't evil like Rath. If he didn't come back, there was a reason."

"Yeah, but," began Michael

"No," Ava said, firmly. "You're wrong. Zan was my friend, Michael, he was, and there isn't anything you can say that will convince me otherwise."

"Fine," said Michael, his voice tinged with a bit of resentment. "I just don't like knowing you had to live with them, and you didn't have any protection."

"But I did, Michael, I did. Zan looked out for me as best he could, right up until the end. We took off for Roswell shortly after Lonnie and Rath tried to kill him. Now can we just forget about this, please? Michael, I don't want to fight with you anymore, so let's just drop it."

Michael agreed, and he and Ava walked back to the house, together. Before they went inside, Michael held out his hand to stop Ava.
"If you and Maria ever ganged up on me, I'd be in a world of hurt, wouldn't I?"

"You know it," Ava replied as she pushed open the door.

Jim Valenti drove down the streets of Roswell, his eyes scanning the streets for any potential trouble situations. As he drove, his mind wandered to the group of kids that sat, even now, in his living room, fighting for their lives once again.

"Aw, hell!" he said, slamming his hand against the steering wheel. "What the hell is going on? I told them not to come to town." Jim pulled the truck over into a nearby parking space, and climbed out. He jogged quickly across the sidewalk, hoping to reach his prey before anyone else noticed him.

"Going somewhere, Mr. Evans?" he said, grabbing Max by the arm. "I could have sworn I told you not to come into Roswell."

"Yeah, well, you know how it is. I got a little crazy. I needed to stretch my legs."

"You know Max, I expect this kind of stunt from Michael, but not from you. Now, come on, get in the truck. I'm taking you back to the house before anybody notices you."

Jim practically dragged Max to the truck, opened the door, and waited for him to climb in. When Max was seated, he climbed in the drivers' side, started the truck, and eased back out onto the road.

"Keep your head down," cautioned Jim. "I hope to hell nobody saw you. I can explain Kyle and Ava being back in town, but you, no way."

"Ava?" asked Max.

"Yes, Ava," said Jim, shooting Max a confused look. "You remember, you and Liz went to Colorado after she and Kyle had that accident. You healed her, and we all came back together. Max, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm uh, just a little tired, that's all. The past few days are catching up with me, I guess."

"Well, just relax, I have you home, and back with the others in just a few minutes," said Jim. They rode in silence for a several miles, until Jim pulled into his driveway. "Here you go, Max. I'm just going to let you out here. I need to get back to work. I'll see all of you tonight. I'll bring back some takeout from Senor Chow's."

"Yeah, great, see you later," said Max. He turned and walked up the driveway. He climbed the steps, and knocked on the door, a feral smile on his face.