Chapter 3.

She said it as if she was in a trance. Michael had never seen her like this before. She just sat there, staring into nothing, replaying the night's events in her head.
"The bullet was meant for me, Michael, I was supposed to die tonight."
Michael reeled. The information hit him like a steel punch to his stomach. He walked towards the bathroom and turned on the faucet in the shower. He got one of his favourite shirts and a pair of sweatpants. Kyle was dead. The information kept hitting him in waves.
"Here, the shower's on and you should put these on when you're done."
He handed her the clothes and helped her towards the bathroom. She closed the door behind her and Michael made his way toward the couch. 'Maria could have died tonight' the thought made him shudder, a horrible mental picture of Maria lying on the sidewalk in a pool of her own blood exploded into his brain. A knock on the door pulled Michael back to reality. He walked towards the door in two strides.
"Max, Liz."
Liz stepped in through the door.
"Is Maria ok?"
"She's in the shower."
Max sat down and put his head in his hands. Liz sat beside him and put her arm around his shoulders. He looked up and tried to comfort her with a smile. Her bottom lip trembled, she knew what this meant; they were going to have to leave Roswell. Max turned and looked at Michael.
"I called Isabelle and Alex; they're on their way over."
Michael nodded.
"We're leaving, right? I mean, it would be stupid to stay here, right?" Michael asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"What makes you say that?"
"Oh come on Max!!! Maria told me that the bullet was meant for her, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna stay here and watch her die the next time. So, as soon as Maria gets out here, I'm gonna take her home, she's gonna pack a bag, and we're gonna leave, tonight."
Liz watched Max's expression as he took in this information.
"Michael, I know how you feel. And yes, she could have died. But we can't split as a group. Now, more than ever, we need to stick together. Don't rush anything. We need to plan this, to keep everyone safe."
Max wished Alex and Isabelle would hurry up, he needed them all here, as a group.
"Bullshit Max!!! We need to go as soon as we can."
Michael was advancing towards Max. Liz had never seen him this angry. She saw the bathroom door open and Maria emerged. She looked small and tired in Michael's clothes and her wet hair was tied into a messy bun away from her face. Her face had the expression of someone with a tormented soul, and Liz wished she could take away everything she had seen tonight.
"Michael?" a timid voice echoed from behind him.
He turned around and saw her standing there. Michael scratched his eyebrow and walked towards her. He could tell by her eyes that she needed to be comforted. Those blue eyes that always looked so happy and warm were now pained and tortured. Those eyes that Michael could read like a book, they told him that she was hurt and it ripped him to shreds inside. Usually, he caused her pain.
"I heard yelling."
He enveloped her in his arms.
"Michael, please tell me this is a dream, it's just a dream."
He looked at her again, studying her and a tear trickled slowly down her cheek.
"I wish it was" he whispered, "Maria, I'm so sorry."
He kissed her gently on the lips and she quivered in his arms.
"Isabelle and Alex are outside." Liz said, her hand on the curtain at the window. Isabelle was the first to enter the room. Her hair was tousled, like she had just woken up, her eyes were red and puffy, with tear stains running down her cheeks. She walked purposefully towards Maria, ignoring everyone else gathered in the room, and embraced her like a sister. They stood there for several moments, crying into each other, being comforted by the other's sorrow. Alex looked mournful, he stared at his feet and only looked up to acknowledge his friends presence. Liz watched him carefully and saw flashes of anger in his eyes. 'Of course he's angry', she thought to herself, 'one of his best friends is dead.'
"I just can't believe it," Isabelle sobbed, "he can't be dead."
"He is...."
"Max, what did you do with his body?"
"We hid it, in the cave. Now that you're all here, we need to talk about what we're gonna do."
"We should get out of Roswell, like I said, we're all in danger here, we don't even know who did this."
Michael's temper was getting the better of him. He knew what was best for him and Maria, and he was sick of Max playing leader, acting like he could solve all their problems.
"Michael's right, we should leave, and soon. Alex and I were discussing it on the way over, it would be best for all of us. We'll need help, have you told Sheriff Valenti about Kyle?"
Max found it hard to breathe. 'How could I have forgotten about Sheriff Valenti? How am I gonna tell him that his only son is dead?'
"Well, Max? Have you?"
"No Is, not yet."
"Well don't you think you should tell him that his son is dead?!?!"
"Isabelle," Liz cried, "this isn't the time to be screaming at each other. An innocent man is dead!!! OUR FRIEND is dead!!! Max and I know who did it, we followed him, and Max killed him, but not before we got information. It's true; he did target Maria, because he knew she was connected "to the Royal Four". He was a Skin. He was working for Kivar. They're after us, ALL of us. We're in this together. Because, to them, we are ALL gonna meet the same fate!!!"
Silence met Liz's speech and the group finally realised what they were dealing with; a threat on their lives, all of their lives. Max stood up.
"I don't mean to sound harsh, but you all know what this means, don't you? We can't worry about Kyle, he was my friend just as much as he was yours. But he's dead, there's nothing we can do about that. We have to worry about ourselves now, make sure we stay alive. I think I should tell Sheriff Valenti and then we will all go to see him, we should then pack some bags and get out of here."
"Yeah, we should leave, but tonight? What about our parents?" Isabelle's eyes were welling up, "shouldn't we tell them?"
Max felt responsible for her grief. He was going to have to tear his sister away from her stability, her rock: their parents.
"Is, they're probably asleep now, we should let them rest. We can leave a note, and we'll call regularly."
She said nothing but nodded her head, and gave a false smile, letting him think that she would be fine. But the knowledge that she would probably never see her mom and dad again was killing her.
"I think we should go now. We're gonna need three cars, something like the jeep, preferably. We should make three groups of two: Me and Liz, Isabelle and Alex, and Michael and Maria. Steal cars, borrow them, do anything you have to, just get them. Then change the licence plates and colour, and meet me in the Crashdown in an hour, everyone ok with that?"
They all nodded. Isabelle and Alex walked towards the door. Michael took Maria's arm to follow them. Max stopped them.
"Just stay safe, ok?"
They went outside and the three groups went their separate ways.