New Surroundings
Chapter 16
XVI
"Alex!" Liz cried plaintively, her voice breaking and her emotion obvious as the door to her room in the Crestview Mental Health facility was closed, separating her from her only comfort. She was alone.
"Don't worry, Liz… I'll be here…" Alex's voice trailed off, as Liz's door was closed, locking her in her room. Liz sat in her chair for several minutes, asking herself if this was the way it was all going to end for her… locked in an insane asylum… perhaps murdered… after everything they had been through… and bringing Alex down with her. No, she couldn't let that happen. Not to Alex. He didn't deserve this. Liz moved herself from her wheelchair onto the edge of the small, white bed and looked around at the room. It was stark, no windows, devoid of any color, devoid of any joy, miserable… just like her. She put her face in her hands and began to cry, but after a moment, she raised her head again, steeled her resolve, and dried the tears.
"I am not letting them get the best of me. They can shoot me, condemn me to life in a wheelchair, lock me up in some God-forsaken hole with only bare walls to look at… but they can't take my mind and soul… they can't take who I am. I still control that!" She looked around the small room again and swallowed… "If someone wasn't insane already, this place would send them there pretty quick!"
Liz breathed a deep breath and resolved to keep her sanity no matter what. "I'll have to find ways to entertain myself… escape in my mind. But maybe that's what insanity is… escaping in one's mind. No… it's only insanity if one forgets how to get back to reality. I still have to use my mind to keep my sanity."
In another room, equally stark and joyless, on the next floor up, Alex looked at the white, bare walls that surrounded him. Even the clothes he and Liz had been given to wear were white. Everything was so… sanitized. Alex hated it! He wished he had his guitar… or a book. Any book! Heck, even his old Biology textbook from Roswell High would be welcome right now. At least it would be something to keep him company. One can escape into the pages of a book… But there was no book… only the white walls, the small white bed, the white, loose-fitting clothes…
"I'll never be able to wear white again," Alex moaned to himself. "…assuming I ever get out of here." He sat down on his small bed and thought. "I have to help Liz… but how? Who's going to help me? I have to get out of here." Alex stood up and walked around the small, stark room, looking at the walls of his prison as though perhaps he might find a hidden door just waiting to be opened by a magic touch. But there was none to be found. "They can't leave me in this room alone forever. Someone has to bring me meals… I hope. At least the food should have some color! No… It'll probably be milk and cottage cheese!" Alex shook his head and groaned.
Meanwhile, in the Sheriff's Office in Roswell, Sheriff Jim Valenti sat at a table with Deputy Detective Dave Cotter.
"I brought you here because I need a special kind of person, Dave. This is a very sensitive assignment. I've spent some time reviewing your personnel files, your original application, your references, your psychological reports, everything about you, even when you were a kid, and the bottom line is, I think you're the person I can trust for this job."
Dave shrugged. "I'm here for you, Sheriff… all the men are. None of us would intentionally let you down."
"I know," Jim said with a nod. "But this assignment is particularly sensitive. It's going to require an unusual degree of level-headedness, stability, psychological stamina, and well… loyalty."
"Like I said," Dave insisted, "any of the guys…"
"Any of the guys would be willing," Jim nodded. "But you have what it takes. Do you want to accept the assignment? I'm sorry I can't tell you what it is before you've accepted it. It's a security thing. I can tell you, though, that it will mean you going undercover for several days… maybe weeks… maybe longer… And during that time, life may not be easy for you."
"I'm sworn to loyalty, Sheriff… sworn to uphold the law. I didn't apply to be a deputy or a detective to get out of the hard work."
Jim nodded. "That's why I chose you." Jim plopped a file down on the table and opened it.
"Some of the things you're going to see in this file, Dave, are privileged information… very sensitive information. It goes to the highest levels of the security of our nation. Even the state police are not aware of this information."
"How did you get it, sir?"
"Through… sources… I can't reveal at the moment. But trust me when I say that only a few army generals and some special forces operatives are aware of the information in this folder. It is not public knowledge, and it must stay that way."
Dave Cotter nodded. "You know you can count on me, sir."
"Yes, I do," Jim agreed. "That's why you're here at this table now. Dave, how do you feel about extraterrestrial life?"
"You mean like ET, sir? Aliens from other planets?"
"Yyyeah… sort of."
Dave shrugged. "I've never seen any." He smiled. "But if I can be totally honest, sir, I think this universe is too big and too complicated to assume that we're the only life in it."
"That's a sensible answer," Jim nodded. "You see, Dave, I have a little more information than you do… and I have seen them… some of them."
Dave looked up. The surprise in his eyes was obvious. Jim looked at Dave's face for several long moments, attempting to gauge his reaction. Would Dave's face reveal disbelief, distrust, doubt? All Jim could see was surprise.
"You see, Dave, some of these 'aliens' look just like us, and they're here… in Roswell."
Dave smiled for a moment. "Okay, you… you're not pulling my leg, right, sir?"
Jim shook his head. "You remember what happened at graduation, Dave?"
Dave nodded, and his smile disappeared. "A real tragedy. Those kids were just starting their lives. They didn't deserve to die like that. They had every right to live their lives out seeking the all-American dream…"
"Or the all-alien dream," Jim interjected. "Why do you think special forces operatives from the Army shot them, Dave?"
"Well, sir, the official report said that the agents had been drinking heavily and thought they were on a mission back in Viet Nam."
"Viet Nam was a long time ago, Dave. Didn't you ever wonder about that?"
Dave nodded slowly. "Yes, sir. I have to admit… I have wondered a lot how this could have ever happened… and why the Army kept everything so secret afterwards… and why the men were only court-martialed and the public was never allowed access to them or to their trial. But you can't ask the Army what they don't want to tell you… and I guess it's none of my business."
"Well, I'm making it your business, Dave. Those men were never court-martialed. And there are no bodies in those kids' graves."
"I heard rumors of that, sir… but some of the men said the bodies were there. You moved us all further away when the coffins were opened. I thought I saw bodies, too. I didn't think it was any of my business if you didn't want to tell us what you found."
"I'm making it your business now. The graves weren't empty… but what was in the coffins were high-tech, very realistic, how can I say this… mannequins… fakes."
"Where were the real bodies?"
"That was the mystery, Dave… that, and the other big question…"
"Why," Dave said for him.
"Bingo!" Jim nodded. "Exactly. Why. Why remove the real bodies and replace them with fakes? And the answer that I found was that they may not be dead after all."
"But… didn't you see them… the bodies… after they were shot?"
"I did. And except for the Parker girl, they were all dead. I assumed that the Army took the bodies to dissect them… study them."
"Okay… but why… what do they care about a few high school kids?"
"That would be a very puzzling question, Dave, except for one little piece of information that I had that most others didn't. Max and Isabel Evans and Michael Guerin… were not from around here."
"Yes, sir, I know. They were found in the desert and adopted when they were little. No one knew where they came from. But even if they were Mexican children, we don't dissect Mexicans… that I know of… We give them drivers licenses, maybe… We don't dissect them."
"Mexicans, no. aliens… yes… I gather," Jim said.
Dave looked at Jim for a moment. "You're not referring to, like, Mexican aliens, are you, sir?"
Jim shook his head.
"I didn't think so." Dave Cotter was quiet for several moments. "That's a lot to think about, sir."
"Yes it is," Jim agreed. "Do you want out?"
"No sir! No sir, I didn't mean that. I committed to this. I'll go through with it, whatever it is. It's just… wow!"
"Yeah, I guess that's a good way to put it," Jim said. "You're in this too far to back out now, anyway, Dave."
"I know. I'm in, sir."
"Okay."
"Was the other girl who was killed… uh, Maria DeLuca… one of them, too…" Dave asked, then his eyes flitted toward Jim as a sudden realization hit him. "She's… she's your stepdaughter."
Jim nodded. "Yes, she is. And no, Maria's not one of them. She's from this planet. So is Liz Parker, the girl who survived."
"What would the Army want with them then?"
"They're… the girlfriends."
"Aliens have those?" Dave asked, surprised. Then he shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir, I just, I can't get ET out of my mind… or ALF."
Jim grinned. "Well, you will. You watch the wrong TV, Dave. Think Starman or The Visitor." He shook his head and smiled… "ALF! Michael would love that!"
Dave shrugged slightly. "Should I watch those shows, sir?"
"No need, Dave. I'm having you committed to Crestview."
"That's a little radical, isn't it, sir? I never really believed ALF was real."
Jim smiled. "Did I say he wasn't real?"
"No, sir."
"Don't worry about it. You're going to meet the real thing… I hope. But first you're going to do me… and them… a big favor."
"You want me to spring the Parker girl from Crestview?" Dave Cotter asked.
"Not spring her… not yet anyway," Jim replied. "Just protect her… and her friend, Alex Whitman. I need someone on the inside there… someone no one there will recognize. You've never been on TV or associated with any high-profile cases. I'm hoping no one there will know who you are and you'll be able to keep an eye on Liz… and Alex… for me… protect them if need be."
"What do they need to be protected from?"
"The Army has a special unit… the ones who shot the kids the first time. The FBI has a unit, too, and they may be working together. These guys want to finish what they started. They've made several attempts already on Liz Parker's life. Hansen and I have protected her so far, but now that the powers that be have succeeded in separating her from my protection and my jurisdiction, I think you can see the danger she's in."
Dave nodded.
"Be careful, Dave. A young orderly at General tried to inject a poison into Liz while she was there. I stopped him. Hansen was taking him in for questioning… but he wound up dead before he could talk. These guys don't take prisoners and they don't hesitate to kill, Dave. Your assignment will be dangerous."
"Duly noted, sir."
**********
Several hundred feet beneath a mountain on the far side of the army base, five individuals stepped through the hole made by Max and Michael and emerged from the confines of a series of small tunnels dug by the army throughout the mountain into a much larger natural cave. Max and Michael looked around at their new surroundings, and Michael instinctively placed an arm around Maria. Maria smiled and leaned against him. Isabel smiled at Maria, feeling the same relief Maria was feeling, even if Maria had the benefit of a more personal and physical source of comfort at this moment.
It appeared that they were standing on a ledge overlooking a very large… and very deep… cavern. They would have to follow the ledge to wherever it went. Max looked at Rahn, and Rahn leapt from the ledge into the void, turning into a bat and disappearing quickly into the darkness. Moments later, he returned, changing into a sea gull as flew back across the chasm.
Landing gently on the ledge at Michael and Max's feet, Rahn smiled. "That worked pretty well."
"You've got that bat thing down to an art," Michael said, reaching over to pull a white feather off of Rahn's arm. "But you may need to practice changing back from a sea gull a few times."
"Ow!" Rahn yelped, as Michael pulled the feather off. "That's not a real feather! It's part of me. Next time just tell me and I'll change it back." Rahn held his arm up, and Michael saw that a piece of skin was missing. Max put his hand over it, and it quickly returned to whatever normal is for a shape-shifter.
"Sorry, Rahn," Michael said, "I didn't realize…"
Rahn smiled. "No sweat. But I should tell you, the cells in my body are rearrangeable. They flow to wherever they're needed and can get to the fastest whenever I change. That feather was made up of cells from my arm, but you could just as well have been tugging on one of my ears… or the family jewels."
Maria snorted, and Michael turned red.
"Rahn!" Isabel said with a grin, "where in the world did you pick up such stuff?"
"Isn't that the proper term here?"
"Well, I think we all understood it, Rahn," Max said with a smile. "It's just not something we'd expect an alien… one who wasn't born here… to say."
"Well, I did live on the base, with the army, for nearly sixty years. I learned a lot of your terminology there."
"Say no more," Max said, nodding. "Got that, Michael?"
Michael nodded. "Yeah, I got it. …Let's get going. We need to find our way out of here."
"We should go this way," Rahn said, pointing to the left. It leads deeper into the cave initially, but it takes us away from the army base."
"Then that's the way we want to go," Max said. The five began to make their way along the edge of the high ledge. It was perhaps three feet wide, wide enough that they didn't need to hug the wall to keep from falling off… but narrow enough to be very disconcerting. Maria held tightly to Michael's arm, and Isabel found herself, in spite of her normally independent demeanor, holding onto her brother, Max. If the truth had been known, though, both Max and Michael were happy to have the girls holding onto them. It made them feel a bit more secure themselves as they looked down into the deep crevasse. None of them, after all, had Rahn's ability to simply turn into a bat and fly away if they accidentally fell off the ledge.
The group hadn't gone more than two hundred feet when the first soldier appeared through the hole Max and Michael had made. He quickly began calling to the others, and within seconds, more soldiers were piling through the hole into the cavern like rats, one over the other, all with guns pointed in the direction of the five escaping friends. Max and Michael hurried the group along the ledge, just far enough ahead of the soldiers that the soldiers could not see them in the darkness to get off a good shot. But it seemed that the soldiers were gaining on them. Michael glanced back. They were. In fact, the soldiers had covered twice as much ground as the five had in the same amount of time.
Michael turned to Max… "Max, maybe we should blast the ledge behind us. It would keep the soldiers from catching us."
"We may have to," Max said, "but not yet. There's too much risk. We could start a slide or collapse the entire ledge under us… then, too, we'd be burning our bridges as they say. There would be no way back."
"We're not going back," Michael said emphatically.
"Max swallowed. "I know. We don't intend to… but I'm trying to keep options open… We may wind up having to blast it though, so be ready."
Michael nodded. The five friends rushed on along the ledge, picking up their pace, but after a couple of minutes, it became obvious that they were not winning this race. Michael looked back and raised his hand, and as he did, a long section of the ledge behind them crumbled and fell into the chasm below. They watched as the section of ledge dropped… down… down… down… disappearing from sight into the darkness below. It seemed to take forever. A few seconds later, they heard a distant echoing crash, as the ledge impacted the ground somewhere far below.
Max looked at Michael. "I was going to say let's blast it, Michael, but I hadn't given the order yet."
"I didn't do it," Michael said, looking as surprised as Max at the turn of events. Both of them turned to look at Rahn. "I didn't make it fall."
"Well, if Rahn didn't… and we didn't…" Max shook his head, then he looked across the chasm at the soldiers gathering on the other side. Whoever –or whatever– had collapsed the ledge, it had had the desired effect. There was no longer any way that the soldiers could get across to them… and there was also no longer any way that they could go back.
**********
Judge Lewis wagged his finger menacingly at Jim…
"Be careful, Jim. I don't know what you're up to… but I know you. You don't just sit back and give up… That's what you'd like me to think you're doing. But you've got something up your sleeve. Well, whatever it is, forget it. It won't work."
"I know Judge. That's what I'm doing… staying out of it. I'm following your orders."
"Yeah, well… make sure you keep your hissing cat away from me, too."
"Hissing cat?"
That little snippet you married, Jim. You warn her what she's up against opposing me! She gets all high and mighty with me again, and I'm liable to cut her off at the knees. She's setting herself up for tragedy if she wants a cat and dog fight.
Jim nodded thoughtfully. "The weenie dog and the tiger… You could be right. It could be tragic." Then he smiled. "But she'd still be hungry, Horace."
tbc
Coming up: Alex faces a challenge he never expected as he tries to save Liz; and Max, Michael, Maria, Isabel, and Rahn, searching for a way out of the cave, begin to think that they may have unseen company.