Time To Talk
Chapter 21
XXI
Rahn had been jerked back through the window into the kitchen of the CrashDown, and the window had been slammed shut, momentarily preventing his escape. Jeff held the strange bird up by the tail and stared at it. It looked like any other roadrunner, he thought, and Lord knows, roadrunners are common enough in Roswell in the summer months… in fact, they're common most of the year. But this bird was something different. Jeff knew this for a fact. What he had just seen could not happen… but it had, and he was going to know what it all meant. Deep in his mind, Jeff suspected, even without realizing that he was thinking it, that somehow this bird held the key to a lot of the mysteries in Roswell recently… graduation, Judge Lewis, the army, Max, Michael, Maria, and Isabel's deaths and the disappearances of their bodies… and maybe even what had happened to Liz and Alex. The answers to everything somehow lay in this common-looking little bird with a long tail… Now Jeff was going to have his answers… and nothing but nothing was going to deny him that.
Dangling from Jeff's hand by his foot-long tail, Rahn was at first in shock. Then he began to think of escape. He could turn into a giant python… or a rampaging bull… No… These were not people whom he wished to harm… even inadvertently. He would have to think of something else.
"Alright," Jeff said, dropping the bird onto his counter and standing over it threateningly, "now you're going to tell me what you are. Then you're going to tell me what you were really doing here… in my window." Jeff felt a twinge of embarrassment at talking to a bird as though it could talk back to him… much less understand him. But he had seen what he had seen…
"Okay, that might be one solution," Rahn admitted to himself. It was certainly not the one he had expected or wished for, but… he could simply confess everything. The question was… could these people handle the answers? Nancy was still standing speechless right where she had been standing when Jeff had grabbed Rahn by the tail and pulled him into the CrashDown's kitchen. But Jeff… Jeff seemed very determined. Rahn suspected that Jeff was afraid, too, deep down inside. Who wouldn't be, coming face to face with something that was totally alien to them so unexpectedly. But if Jeff was afraid, he wasn't showing it. In fact, Rahn had to admit that the determination in Jeff's face… and the meat cleaver in his hand… intimidated HIM more than a little. Briefly, he considered turning into a mouse and running away, but as he looked at the meat cleaver in Jeff's hand again, he decided that turning into something even smaller might be a very bad idea.
Jeff took a step back involuntarily, as the bird began to stretch and expand, then its feathers began to disappear. Its legs grew longer and began to look… human. Arms replaced its wings, and the head began to change. Realizing what was happening, Jeff grabbed a kitchen towel and threw it over Rahn's lap, but in the end, he needn't have. As he watched, the legs, arms, and body seemed to "grow" clothes… clothes that fit perfectly and looked just like Jeff's own clothing. The creature and its clothes seemed, in fact, to be made of the same… well… whatever this creature was made of. It was somehow simply growing… a new skin.
"Who are you," Jeff asked hesitantly, not really sure that he was going to like the answer.
"Wha- what are you," Nancy asked, finally finding her own voice, which was still a bit shaky.
"My name is Rahn."
The man-bird spoke! It spoke in perfect English!
Rahn looked at Nancy. "As for 'what' I am, I'm not sure that you would understand. I am sorry that we have had to meet this way. It is not what I would have wished."
"You're not human," Jeff said. He wasn't sure if he was stating a fact or asking a question. No… No… of course it's not human. It can't be human.
"What are you? Answer the question… Rahn."
Rahn looked Jeff in the eyes then looked at Nancy. "I am a member of another civilization… one that does not… come from earth."
"You're an alien…?"
Again, Jeff wasn't sure if he was asking a question or stating the obvious. It's just that the "obvious" was so… unlikely. An alien… in Roswell! The very thought seemed somehow ludicrous. He wasn't sure why. Maybe because the residents themselves had fostered that "myth." Aliens were supposed to be here in Roswell. A lot of Roswell's citizens capitalized on their presence here. Even Jeff's own business, the "CrashDown" capitalized on the alien theme. But real aliens? Jeff shook his head. There weren't supposed to be real aliens. Not any more… if there ever were. Whatever had crashed here back in 1947 had been taken away by the army many years before. Everything else was just theory and supposition. It gave conspiracy buffs and sci-fi geeks a reason to come here and spend their money and the residents a way to get their money. There weren't any real live aliens living in Roswell.
But then… what was Rahn?
Rahn slid off of the counter and stood on the floor facing Jeff. He was about the same height as Jeff. He was about the same build as Jeff. Rahn did have lighter hair and a slightly lighter complexion. His face… did not look threatening. It looked somehow kind and reassuring.
"Okay… Rahn…" Jeff said. "Let's start from the beginning… wherever that is. Why are you here? What were you doing in my window? I'm inclined to believe that your being here was not an accident."
Rahn swallowed and tried to consider the consequences of giving away any information. Rahn was no coward. If someone else had been asking, he would have been quite capable of telling them nothing. The army had tortured him for decades, and he had given them nothing. But… this man was a friend. He just didn't know it yet. Rahn considered… and then made his decision.
"Zan sent me."
Jeff's face registered no emotion. Obviously this name meant nothing to him.
"I think… I think you know him as… Max… Evans."
Nancy gasped and her hand went instinctively to her mouth. This name did mean something to them. Jeff had flushed, and his mouth was open now.
"Max Evans? Max Evans sent you? Where is he? When did you see Max?"
"I left him about an hour ago. I can't tell you where he is. It would be dangerous for you to know… and for him if you knew."
"But… Max is alive?"
"He is alive," Rahn said. "He wishes to find Liz, and he wishes to know if his parents and her parents… that is you… are… okay."
Jeff nodded but then shook his head. "No! No, we're not okay! How can we be okay after what they did to Liz?"
"I heard you talking," Rahn said… "about her… and about Alex. He was her friend?"
Jeff nodded. "Alex was a friend of Max's, too."
"Then… they are both…"
"Dead," Jeff said. "I'll say it. Judge Lewis killed them."
"Doesn't your society have laws against… killing?"
Jeff sneered. "Judge Lewis doesn't care about laws. He is the law. He gets what he wants."
"I think I understand," Rahn said.
"No, you don't." Jeff shook his head. "Oh, Judge Lewis didn't pull the trigger, but he had Liz and Alex sent off to that… insane asylum, and he banned us and the sheriff from having any contact with them. He fixed it so someone else could kill them, Rahn, and I want to know why! I think you can tell me that. Why did Judge Lewis want Liz dead? And why did those guys from the army shoot her and those other kids at graduation? Tell me that if you can!"
Rahn looked uncomfortable, but he answered Jeff's question. "For the same reason they wanted me dead."
Jeff stood silently for a moment, digesting this information. Then he shook his head slowly…
"Wait… okay, you're an alien… Maybe they thought they were protecting the earth from some kind of… alien invasion or something. I could understand that, even if they're a bunch of knee-jerk idiots… but Liz was no alien… Max was no alien…"
"Zan is only half of this earth," Rahn replied. "He is also half Antarian. He is the true king… of our planet."
Jeff began to laugh, and Rahn, finding his reaction odd, appeared confused.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! MAX? MAXWELL EVANS? …is the king… on your planet?"
"He was the true king. He was deposed by a tyrant named Kivar."
"Oh, your planet has those, too?"
Jeff looked at Rahn, and, slowly, he realized that Rahn was being truthful. Rahn did not appear to be enjoying this or trying to put anything over.
"So… Uh uh! No! I can't… He's just a kid! He just graduated from high school. How could he be a king… of anywhere? And if Max was… what… half alien? Wouldn't the army be…?"
Jeff stopped suddenly, having answered his own question. His face flushed again.
"Max is half… alien? Why… why didn't anybody know?"
"Somebody knew," Rath said quietly.
Jeff's mouth dropped again… "Liz?"
Rahn nodded. "Liz… yes."
"Liz knew everything? She… she knew… Did she know that the army would come after him?"
"She knew… everything… after the shooting."
"Graduation? But she was shot herself at graduation!"
Rahn shook his head. "Not graduation. The other shooting… Here."
"In the CrashDown?"
Suddenly it all came back to Jeff, and his knees started to buckle. Rahn reached out to keep Jeff from falling, but he regained his balance on his own. Then he sat down.
"Liz was shot! When those two guys were fighting in the CrashDown a few years ago… she was shot! My God. I always thought… but I put it out of my mind. She seemed like she was okay, so I thought… she couldn't have been shot. It had to just be ketchup like she said. We all believed that. Max was hovering over her. Then the sheriff got very interested in Liz for a while. He followed her around… asking questions about the shooting… lots of questions. Eventually, it all died down. He asked a lot of questions about Max Evans, too. What did Max do to her, Rahn? What did he do to Liz?"
"He brought her back to life," Rahn said.
There was a small thud, as Nancy collapsed on the floor. Jeff rushed to help her.
"I'm okay," Nancy said, her voice shaking, as she regained consciousness. "I'm okay."
"Can you stand up," Jeff asked.
"Just let me lie here for a while, Dear. I… I'd rather not stand up right now."
Jeff looked back up at Rahn. "Liz was… dead then?" Jeff asked again, as though he still thought he might have heard wrong.
"Not dead by Antarian standards," Rahn explained. "only by your standards on earth. Max can heal… but not after one is… gone."
"So he healed Liz… then he told her who he was?"
"My understanding is that she figured it out."
Jeff nodded. "Liz would. She's smart. She… was… smart…" Jeff choked for a moment. "She would have pursued him until he told her the truth. I know that."
Jeff thought for several moments. "Rahn… why did Max send you? Why didn't he come himself?"
Rahn started to answer, but Jeff answered his own question for him.
"It's the army, isn't it? They're after him."
Rahn nodded. "He escaped from the base. I was with him. We found our way to freedom. For now, we must remain where we are."
"I understand. Was it just… the two of you?"
Rahn was silent for several moments, then he shook his head. "There were five of us."
"Who?" Jeff asked. "Who else was with you? More aliens… from your planet?"
Rahn wasn't sure how to answer this for a moment. "More… prisoners… from the base," he said finally.
"Okay. Was one of them Michael Guerin?"
Rahn nodded.
"Was one of them… Isabel Evans?"
Rahn nodded.
"Was one of them… Maria… Maria DeLuca?"
Rahn nodded, and Nancy, who was still lying on the floor, let out a small but audible gasp.
"My God, Rahn, Amy has to know! She has to! She risked her life to try to find Maria, and everyone thought she was… well, deluded. If Maria is still alive, she has to know!"
"The more people know," Rahn warned, "the more danger she will be in… and the more danger the others will be in."
"Well, I understand that," Jeff said, "but her mother!"
"She will know the truth soon," Rahn said. "It is important that no one else know these things for now. I hope I have not made a mistake telling you."
"I'll… We'll keep the secret," Jeff said. "But not forever, Rahn. Max must do whatever it is he has to do so that they can be safe. Amy will have to be told… soon."
Rahn nodded again. "I must go back to Zan and tell him the one thing that will kill him… that his chosen one has died. I do not wish to do this."
Jeff's face softened, as he looked at Rahn's anguish. Perhaps for the first time, he saw something else in this "man-bird," something which he did recognize… humanity. Jeff put his arm around Rahn's shoulder, and his own eyes teared up. "She was my daughter, Rahn. I loved her, too."
***********
On the Mesaliko Indian Reservation, darkness had come. The sun had gone down three hours before. Outside, the crickets were chirping, tree frogs were singing, and the stars were shining brightly in the sky. Inside the house, there was silence. No one spoke. There was little to say. Maria tried to sleep, but she tossed and turned and flipped her pillow over repeatedly, trying to find the driest wet side, as the tears fell silently on it. Isabel lay on her bed looking at the ceiling in silence. Sleep escaped her. Michael and Rahn were sitting on their beds, thinking.
Max slipped on his pants and shirt and headed for the door.
"Where are you going," Michael asked.
"Out… for some air. No one will see me. I can't stay in here any longer."
"I'll go with you," Michael said.
Max shook his head. "No. You stay here. I need to be alone."
Max cracked the door and peeked outside. No one was out, so he edged out the door and quickly walked across the dirt road then down the path toward the river. He didn't have to go far. The river was only a short distance away. Five minutes later, Max stood on the river bank, tears rolling down his cheeks.
For a time, Max stood silently, reflecting on his life with Liz, occasionally looking up at the stars then down at the deep darkness of the river's waters below. Then he sat down beside a large rock and took off his shoes and shirt, placing them neatly beside the rock. He took one final look up at the stars and took a deep breath then stood up. As he did, a faint noise attracted his attention. It was almost inaudible, but Max's hearing was excellent.
Fearful that if he made any noise himself, whoever might be coming would find out about them staying in Gray Hawk's house, Max decided to sit back down behind the rock until he knew if it was a person or an animal… or just the wind blowing in the leaves. He waited… The noise, though soft, grew steadily louder. It didn't sound like footsteps. It was more like something being dragged stealthily down the path. It was much closer now. From the sound of it, it could be a bear, he thought… or someone dragging a dead body to throw in the river. Max huddled out of sight behind the rock.
The noise stopped just on the other side of the rock. Whatever it was, it had decided to rest there. Just his luck! Max waited silently. Five minutes passed… then ten. He wondered when the bear would leave. He figured it wasn't someone dragging a dead body… They would have thrown it in the river by now and left. But there was still the small chance that it could be someone dragging a canoe or something. He waited. Max looked up at the stars above. They were shining so brightly… they seemed to pop out of the sky. He almost felt like if he just reached up… What was it that Angie Lee had said to him… "When the stars are so bright…" yes, he did feel closer to Liz now. It was a strange feeling… a tingle that ran through him from head to toe. "And if you reach up and take a star from the sky, you will soon be with the one you love." Max reached up toward the sky, framing a star inside his cupped hand…
"Ah-choo…"
Max stopped and listened intently. That was a pretty small sneeze for a bear.
"Excuse me," someone behind the rock added quietly, probably out of habit.
"Excuse me?" When did bears… Max felt a tingle surge over his whole body. He'd know that voice anywhere! Max jumped up and rushed to the other side of the rock, almost tripping over his own feet in his haste.
Sitting on the other side, in a wheelchair, was Liz, with her back to him. She was looking up at the stars, lost in her thoughts. Liz reached one hand up… toward a particularly bright star, and as she did, a hand took hers and closed it around the star.
Even in the starlight, Liz recognized Max's hand… its feel… the tingle it gave her. She spun around in her chair, almost overturning it, and Max scooped her up into his arms.
"Max! Omigod, Max! Omigod!" Liz cried over and over, wrapping her own arms tightly around Max and smothering him with kisses. "I've missed you so much! I knew you were alive! I knew it! I always knew it! But I thought I might never see you again."
Max hugged Liz to himself and kissed her face, her hair, her neck, her hands… as tears of pure joy ran down his cheeks.
"I knew you were alive, too, Liz," he said breathlessly. "I felt you. I always have! I was told that you were dead… and for a while, I thought maybe I was feeling you, because… because I couldn't let you go. But deep inside, I knew it was you I was feeling, not just a memory. I came down here to be closer to you… to try to be near you. And I thought I'd take a swim to relax… maybe help me to sleep. It's been kind of a… a rough day."
Liz pressed her lips to Max's and kissed him with all the passion that had been pent up inside her for so long. After several minutes, she pulled back and smiled, running her hands lovingly over his face. "Did that help any, Max?"
"A lot! But I think I'm gonna need intensive therapy tonight… all night."
Liz smiled. "I can handle that."
Max thought that the smile on Liz's face rivaled the stars in lighting up the night.
"Liz, where in the world did you come from? What are you doing here… on the reservation?"
"I'm staying in River Dog's house… with Alex. You remember River Dog. Sheriff Valenti arranged it… It's kind of a long story."
"I know what happened to you," Max said. "I heard already."
"Max… where did you come from? I can't believe you actually found me here!"
"I'm staying in Gray Hawk's house… with Michael, Isabel, Rahn… and Maria."
Liz gasped, and her smile grew even larger if that was possible.
"Omigod, I knew she was alive! I saw her! And Michael and Isabel are okay, too! But who's Rahn?"
"You'll meet him. You think maybe we could swap him for you tonight?"
Liz smiled. "Why don't you send Isabel over to stay with Alex… and I'll come over to where you're staying."
Max smiled. "I guess I'll have to fill Gray Hawk in… and River Dog. Gray Hawk said something about River Dog having his curtains all drawn. He was suspicious, but he thought it was just because of the heat."
"Can you walk, Liz?"
"No." Liz shook her head. "I haven't been able to move my legs since… graduation night."
Max ran his hand up and down Liz's back, while still supporting her in his arms. "When we get back to the house, I'll see what I can do. It's more than I can handle out here."
"Would you push me back, Max?"
Max smiled. "I've got a better idea." He picked Liz up in his arms. "I'll send Rahn back for the chair later. He can slip out of the house without being noticed."
Liz put her arms around Max's neck, and her body relaxed in his arms. She looked at his face… God! How much she had missed it! And she looked at the stars. They were bright tonight… very bright… and oh so beautiful.
tbc
Coming Up: Rahn gets to deliver good news… to Jeff and Nancy Parker… and to Jim and Amy.