[u]Part 8[/u]
Liz woke up with a splitting headache. She groaned, bringing her fingertips gingerly to her temples. What the hell had happened to her? Memory returned slowly as consciousness seeped in.
The last thing she remembered clearly was the shocked and dazed look that had gradually come over Alex's face as she had told her best friend the entire story of Future Max. At first he had looked like he was humoring her, his face displaying the same expression it had when she had told him the first time about Max and who he really was, that time they were in jail during the heat wave. But, as he slowly started to accept that what she was saying was true - that a future version of Max Evans had really come back to tell her that she needed to push he and Tess together or the world would end - his face had taken on the same overwhelmed expression he had worn for a good two weeks after the original revelation of aliens living among them.
She remembered what a relief it had been to finally get it all off her chest, even if Alex wasn't going to buy it at first. And he hadn't. Right before they had heard all that noise out in the hallway, he had started grilling her with questions - asking her things that [I]she[/I] had asked herself a million times already.
"Maria thinks that someone is mindwarping you. Are you sure it's not that? This could be Tess playing with your mind," and "What about a shapeshifter? It could have been a shapeshifter!" and, finally, just because he was Alex, "You're on drugs again, aren't you?" That one had made her giggle, despite herself.
As for the other questions, Liz calmly answered them all with the same response. "It was Max. I [I]know[/I] it."
Finally, Alex had thrown his hands up in frustration. "Liz, how can you be [I]sure[/I]? How?"
"His eyes." It was the first time she actually understood how she had known, but she was right. It had been Future Max's eyes. He had been Max. There was no doubt in her mind. His eyes had told her so. They had been the same gentle, loving eyes she had always known - the eyes that spoke to her soul.
It was as this revelation had hit that chaos had erupted on the other side of the Eraser Room door. She and Alex had stared at each other, equally confused and, then, stupidly, they had gone barreling into the corridor. Because who would believe that a full-fledged alien smackdown was taking place right out in public? Right in [I]school[/I] for God's sake!
But it had been. After that, everything had happened so quickly, it was mostly images, little more. To one side Liz had seen Max and Isabel, cowering behind the shield that Max had used to protect she and Tess in Copper Summit. Turning her head she had seen Will, the new boy, sending lightening bolts flying at the two Evans siblings, his face an emotionless mask. Liz had looked back at Max, terror for him making her stomach churn. She had seen the pain on his face as he struggled to keep the shield in place, had seen the fear and she had screamed his name despite herself. She had been aware of Alex grabbing her, of him trying to pull her back into the Eraser Room. Then everything had gone dark.
"You're all right now." The voice penetrated the pain, familiar and, yet, frightening. "I'm sorry that had to happen."
She felt a cool cloth against her eyes. It was enough that when it was taken away, she managed to slit her eyes open. Her heart started to beat erratically as she met Will Spencer's blue-eyed gaze. She could see concern melt into relief as he seemed to become aware of the fact that she was truly awake.
Liz sat up and moved away from him so quickly, he almost fell over backwards off the bed. "Stay away from me!" She told him urgently. She pushed herself back against the headboard, terror making her want to scream, but, as her eyes darted around the room in which she found herself - were they in a motel? - she wondered if there was anyone around to hear her.
"Liz." Will was steadily on his feet now, reaching out to her. "Please, it's not what you think."
"Not what I think?" Liz almost screamed at him. "You're an alien! Aren't you? And you kidnapped me! Didn't you? I think it's [I]exactly[/I] what I think!" She could feel shivers beginning to claim her body. The only time she had ever been more afraid in her life was when Max had been taken by Pierce.
The thought of Max actually calmed her down slightly. At least if she was the one who had been kidnapped, Max was safe. Even with how bad things were between them presently, she could not have borne it if something had happened to him again. She had barely been able to deal with it the last time. Flashes of all that he had endured in the white room passed through her mind, making her feel ill, as they always did.
At least Max was safe. It was a small comfort, but comfort nonetheless.
Unless he was being kept somewhere else. The new, horrible thought penetrated her relief, making her heart thunder again.
"What do you want?" Liz demanded. "Where is Max?"
Will's eyes flickered slightly. He had been watching her helplessly, but now his face hardened. "Not here."
Liz stared at him. "You didn't take him?"
"No."
"So this is a trap then? Max comes after me and you do something awful to him [I]then[/I]?"
"It's [I]you[/I] we want." Will's voice was quiet as he carefully sat back on the bed. "Liz, please. You need to listen to me. We never intended to have to teleport you out of there. We were just coming to talk to you. We had no idea that [I]they[/I] would be there." The way he emphasized [I]they[/I] - it did nothing to mask his hatred of Max and Isabel. It upset Liz even more. She had been right then. Will [I]was[/I] Max's enemy.
It took a moment, but she finally remembered what he had said about it being [I]her[/I] they wanted. Who was [I]they[/I] anyway? And what did they want with her, if it wasn't to trap Max? Liz narrowed her eyes, stared at him for a long moment. He was watching her with those blue eyes, obviously trying to figure out what she was thinking.
"Why me?" She whispered. "Don't you know that he doesn't love me anymore?"
Will frowned. "Who doesn't love you?"
"Max. I broke his heart." Her voice trembled slightly as Max's words in Copper Summit replayed themselves in her brain, just as they had a million times since he had said them.
[I]What I saw can't be true, because it means everything I felt in my heart for the last year is a lie![/I]
Liz closed her eyes against the painful memory. Why was it getting harder to deal with the fact that she was lying to Max? Shouldn't it be getting easier? Wasn't time supposed to heal all wounds?
"Liz?" She felt his hand on her knee, flinched away. Her eyes flew open and she berated herself for becoming distracted. She needed to be strong, needed to find out as much as she could about these enemies so that she could warn Max. She needed to figure out a way to escape before Max came for her, so that he wouldn't put himself in danger - so that he wouldn't suffer anymore on her behalf. "Are you okay?"
"Why would I be okay?" Liz demanded. "You kidnapped me!" A memory managed to make it's way past the confusion that she felt. "And Alex! Where is he? Did you hurt him?" Oh God! Alex! This was her fault. She had brought him into it all by weakening, by telling him the truth.
"Your friend Alex is fine," Will reassured her quickly. "He's with Kate."
"I want to see him." Liz pressed her lips together, folded her arms against her chest, lifting her chin.
"Will it make you feel better?" Will sounded a bit disappointed, like he liked being alone with her. She remembered suddenly what Alex had said to her, about how he had not liked the way Will looked at her - possessively, as though she belonged to him.
She bit her lip, stared at him. "Who [I]are[/I] you?" She whispered, curiosity finally winning over fear.
"It's not really about who I am Liz," Will replied, looking away. "It's about who [I]you[/I] are." He turned back, a slight frown on his face. "What did you mean when you said that you broke Max's heart? Were you two [I]together[/I]?" The last word was said slowly, as though he desperately wanted her to deny it.
She wasn't sure which course to take. If Will understood just how important Max was to her, would it make things better or worse? She eyed him for a long moment, tried to [I]read[/I] him. She remembered the way she had felt when she had spent those few short hours with him this morning - God! Was it really only this morning? She had felt that she could [I]trust[/I] him. It had been the first time she had felt that since she had first connected with Max.
Liz realized that this was what she found the scariest about Will. She had never imagined that there were two people who could make her feel the same way, had never thought in a million years that anyone could replace Max. And, yet, this boy had actually made her wonder if the possibility existed, if even for a short while. She knew now that it had all been a lie, a ruse, but it had worked. She had found herself opening up to him earlier and she wanted to do the same now.
Somehow she just knew in her heart that he would never hurt her. She [I]knew[/I] him and she wanted to know why.
"We were together," she told him shortly. "I love him."
Liz watched in wide-eyed fascination as Will stared back at her. A shudder ran through his entire body, making her flinch. She actually felt sorry for him, for what reason, she couldn't understand. He was a complete stranger. She couldn't be [I]hurting[/I] him by telling him this.
"Why does it matter to you?" She asked him quietly, reaching out a hand to comfort him, despite herself. He shivered again when she touched him gently on the cheek. "Who [I]are[/I] you?"
Will clenched his hands in his lap, turned away so that his forearms rested on his knees and he was staring at the floor. "It doesn't matter," he spat out a moment later, as though whatever had hurt him was now turning into an anger so deep, he couldn't look at her.
"It does matter. I don't understand any of this." She touched him again, this time on the back, urging him to look at her. "Please tell me what's going on."
He stood up abruptly, turned on her. "I'll tell you what's going on! You are sleeping with the enemy and you've betrayed everything I've ever believed about you."
"What?" Liz whispered, staring at him in horror. "[I]You[/I] are my enemy. Any enemy of Max's is my enemy too. Max is my soul mate." Her voice lowered. "Even if we can't ever be together, he is one I am supposed to be with."
Will snorted. "He has truly fooled you, hasn't he Rowena?"
Liz was very frightened again. She backed away from him, not understanding any of this. "What are you talking about? My name is Liz. Are you confusing me with someone else?"
"I wish." His voice cracked slightly. "I wish I was. I can't believe this is happening. How can this actually be happening?"
It was a rhetorical question, but Liz answered him anyway. "I can't tell you anything until you tell me who you think I am." Because she understood that this was what was happening. He obviously thought she was someone else, was making a mistake because she had been close to Max. Maybe he wasn't Max's enemy at all. He was obviously an alien, but he was just as obviously not a Skin. Maybe he was just as confused as Max and Isabel and Michael and Tess were. Maybe she could help him.
Will turned back, his face expressionless and said the absolute last thing she expected. His voice was calm and cold as he stated the words that were destined to change her life forever.
"You are my wife and you have betrayed me by falling in love with the person I most hate in the universe."
*************************************************
"Max! Max, are you all right?"
"Does he look all right Tess? He practically just drained himself!" Isabel screeched.
"I can see that Isabel!" Tess flared back. It took Max a moment to realize that he was slumped against a bank of lockers and that he was at school. He wasn't quite sure how he had ended up so out of it, but he was slowly coming back to himself. When he was fully able to focus again, he saw that Isabel and Tess were kneeling beside him, both frantically running their hands over his body to see if he was hurt. Kyle was standing behind them, his arms folded across his chest, a scowl on his face.
Max's eyes narrowed. He pushed the two girls away, climbed unsteadily to his feet. "I'm fine! Leave me alone!" Suddenly he remembered exactly how he had drained himself so completely he had momentarily lost consciousness.
[I]Liz![/I]
Isabel seemed to understand why he was frantically looking around. "They're gone Max." He could hear the tears in his sister's voice. "Both Liz and Alex just disappeared into thin air."
"But not before the two new aliens on the block made a huge scene, with a little help from both of you," Kyle added. He looked around uncomfortably. "You're both just lucky that Tess and I came into the school just as you guys were running up here. We followed you and Tess was able to mindwarp so that no one else saw."
Max grimaced slightly as he realized that Kyle was right. He had just openly displayed his powers, but he had had no choice. Both he and Izzy would have been fried to a crisp if he hadn't. The other two - Kate and Will - had obviously not cared a bit if they were seen. It was weird and extremely unsettling.
"We have to find them," he finally said, knowing that it was obvious, but wanting to focus his thoughts. "Now. If anything happens to either of them, I'll never forgive myself." He turned on his heel and hurried towards the stairs. Max knew that they needed to find Michael and Maria and split up so that they could cover more territory.
"I just don't get it Max," Isabel told him as the other three trailed after him. "We were both right here and we obviously couldn't have held them off for much longer. Why did they take Alex and Liz? It doesn't make [I]any[/I] sense!"
"I know," Max replied. It was what was freaking him out more than anything. What did these new kids want with Liz? Because it was now more than obvious that it was Liz that, at least, that Will wanted. "I don't understand [I]any[/I] of this Iz." He frowned, frantically searched his brain for any hint as to what the other two wanted. "He called me Zan." Max shook his head in confusion. "What does that even mean?"
Tess spoke up at this. "It sort of sounds like a name, don't you think?"
Max turned his head abruptly when he heard Isabel gasp. "Maybe," he answered Tess, distracted by the look on his sister's face. "Izzy?"
Isabel had gone completely white. "Vilandra." She stopped walking, closed her eyes and swallowed. "My name was Vilandra."
"What?" Max demanded, staring at her. "What are you talking about?"
When his sister opened her eyes again, there were tears shining, threatening to fall. "I.I."
"Isabel, what do you know?" Max asked quietly. Because the terror on his sister's face was actually making his knees quake a little bit.
"I didn't want to tell you!" Isabel's voice cracked. "I thought when we destroyed the Harvest it was all over. You didn't need to know."
"Know what?" Max placed his hands firmly on Isabel's shoulders. "Isabel, calm down and tell me. What do you know?"
Isabel stared at him for a long moment, sighed once, a shudder running through her tall frame as she took a deep breath. "Whittaker told me a little bit about what happened to us in our past lives."
"Isabel!" Tess exclaimed. "How could you not tell us this?"
"Tess." Max said her name firmly, causing the small blonde to snap her mouth shut. "Isabel, what is it? Why couldn't you tell me this?"
"Max, it's really awful," Isabel replied, her voice toneless. "It's.I just really couldn't bear for you to know."
Max frowned. "I don't understand. Why are you thinking differently now?"
"Because if that guy called you [I]Zan[/I] - and I heard him do it.in our [I]heads[/I] Max!.then it means it's [I]not[/I] over. If Tess is right, and that was your name before, it might still happen." She trailed off, looked away. If Max was not mistaken, she could not meet his eyes.
"What might still happen Isabel?" It was like pulling teeth, but Max could see how upset his sister was. She [I]truly[/I] did not want to tell him whatever it was she was hiding.
"I will betray you. Because I did," she finished quietly. "Before."
"Hey guys! Finally! Michael and I can't find Alex [I]anywhere![/I]" Maria's voice broke the dead silence that followed Isabel's statement. Max was still staring at his sister in dumbfounded disbelief as Michael and Maria hurried over to join them, having come in from the quad.
Michael took one look at them all standing around with their mouths hanging open and demanded, "What the hell happened?"
"Your past lives are coming back to haunt you," Kyle replied, shaking his head. "I think."
"Huh?" Michael looked at Max. "Maxwell, what is he talking about?"
Max was still trying to process what his sister had said. [I]I will betray you.[/I] Why did Isabel sound so certain? What exactly had Whittaker told her? And why did that phrase make him think about Liz again, think about her face when he had found her in bed with Kyle?
Betrayal. He did not believe that Isabel was capable of it and he [I]knew[/I] that Liz wasn't either. He had [I]always[/I] known it. They were the two people he trusted the most in the world. How could he doubt - have doubted - either of them, if even for a moment?
Max turned his head, looked at Kyle, a slight frown on his face. Was it his imagination or would Kyle not meet his eyes? "I'm tired of secrets," he said, ignoring Michael's question. "And I'm tired of running away from the truth." He started walking again, this time towards the parking lot. "C'mon," he called over his shoulder to his friends. "Let's get this resolved once and for all."
"Max? Max!" Isabel's voice called after him as they all raced to keep up with him. "What about Liz and Alex?"
"This is a way to find them. We [I]need[/I] to know who these people are who took them, what they want," Max replied. "We need answers, once and for all. And I know [I]just[/I] where to get them."
Liz woke up with a splitting headache. She groaned, bringing her fingertips gingerly to her temples. What the hell had happened to her? Memory returned slowly as consciousness seeped in.
The last thing she remembered clearly was the shocked and dazed look that had gradually come over Alex's face as she had told her best friend the entire story of Future Max. At first he had looked like he was humoring her, his face displaying the same expression it had when she had told him the first time about Max and who he really was, that time they were in jail during the heat wave. But, as he slowly started to accept that what she was saying was true - that a future version of Max Evans had really come back to tell her that she needed to push he and Tess together or the world would end - his face had taken on the same overwhelmed expression he had worn for a good two weeks after the original revelation of aliens living among them.
She remembered what a relief it had been to finally get it all off her chest, even if Alex wasn't going to buy it at first. And he hadn't. Right before they had heard all that noise out in the hallway, he had started grilling her with questions - asking her things that [I]she[/I] had asked herself a million times already.
"Maria thinks that someone is mindwarping you. Are you sure it's not that? This could be Tess playing with your mind," and "What about a shapeshifter? It could have been a shapeshifter!" and, finally, just because he was Alex, "You're on drugs again, aren't you?" That one had made her giggle, despite herself.
As for the other questions, Liz calmly answered them all with the same response. "It was Max. I [I]know[/I] it."
Finally, Alex had thrown his hands up in frustration. "Liz, how can you be [I]sure[/I]? How?"
"His eyes." It was the first time she actually understood how she had known, but she was right. It had been Future Max's eyes. He had been Max. There was no doubt in her mind. His eyes had told her so. They had been the same gentle, loving eyes she had always known - the eyes that spoke to her soul.
It was as this revelation had hit that chaos had erupted on the other side of the Eraser Room door. She and Alex had stared at each other, equally confused and, then, stupidly, they had gone barreling into the corridor. Because who would believe that a full-fledged alien smackdown was taking place right out in public? Right in [I]school[/I] for God's sake!
But it had been. After that, everything had happened so quickly, it was mostly images, little more. To one side Liz had seen Max and Isabel, cowering behind the shield that Max had used to protect she and Tess in Copper Summit. Turning her head she had seen Will, the new boy, sending lightening bolts flying at the two Evans siblings, his face an emotionless mask. Liz had looked back at Max, terror for him making her stomach churn. She had seen the pain on his face as he struggled to keep the shield in place, had seen the fear and she had screamed his name despite herself. She had been aware of Alex grabbing her, of him trying to pull her back into the Eraser Room. Then everything had gone dark.
"You're all right now." The voice penetrated the pain, familiar and, yet, frightening. "I'm sorry that had to happen."
She felt a cool cloth against her eyes. It was enough that when it was taken away, she managed to slit her eyes open. Her heart started to beat erratically as she met Will Spencer's blue-eyed gaze. She could see concern melt into relief as he seemed to become aware of the fact that she was truly awake.
Liz sat up and moved away from him so quickly, he almost fell over backwards off the bed. "Stay away from me!" She told him urgently. She pushed herself back against the headboard, terror making her want to scream, but, as her eyes darted around the room in which she found herself - were they in a motel? - she wondered if there was anyone around to hear her.
"Liz." Will was steadily on his feet now, reaching out to her. "Please, it's not what you think."
"Not what I think?" Liz almost screamed at him. "You're an alien! Aren't you? And you kidnapped me! Didn't you? I think it's [I]exactly[/I] what I think!" She could feel shivers beginning to claim her body. The only time she had ever been more afraid in her life was when Max had been taken by Pierce.
The thought of Max actually calmed her down slightly. At least if she was the one who had been kidnapped, Max was safe. Even with how bad things were between them presently, she could not have borne it if something had happened to him again. She had barely been able to deal with it the last time. Flashes of all that he had endured in the white room passed through her mind, making her feel ill, as they always did.
At least Max was safe. It was a small comfort, but comfort nonetheless.
Unless he was being kept somewhere else. The new, horrible thought penetrated her relief, making her heart thunder again.
"What do you want?" Liz demanded. "Where is Max?"
Will's eyes flickered slightly. He had been watching her helplessly, but now his face hardened. "Not here."
Liz stared at him. "You didn't take him?"
"No."
"So this is a trap then? Max comes after me and you do something awful to him [I]then[/I]?"
"It's [I]you[/I] we want." Will's voice was quiet as he carefully sat back on the bed. "Liz, please. You need to listen to me. We never intended to have to teleport you out of there. We were just coming to talk to you. We had no idea that [I]they[/I] would be there." The way he emphasized [I]they[/I] - it did nothing to mask his hatred of Max and Isabel. It upset Liz even more. She had been right then. Will [I]was[/I] Max's enemy.
It took a moment, but she finally remembered what he had said about it being [I]her[/I] they wanted. Who was [I]they[/I] anyway? And what did they want with her, if it wasn't to trap Max? Liz narrowed her eyes, stared at him for a long moment. He was watching her with those blue eyes, obviously trying to figure out what she was thinking.
"Why me?" She whispered. "Don't you know that he doesn't love me anymore?"
Will frowned. "Who doesn't love you?"
"Max. I broke his heart." Her voice trembled slightly as Max's words in Copper Summit replayed themselves in her brain, just as they had a million times since he had said them.
[I]What I saw can't be true, because it means everything I felt in my heart for the last year is a lie![/I]
Liz closed her eyes against the painful memory. Why was it getting harder to deal with the fact that she was lying to Max? Shouldn't it be getting easier? Wasn't time supposed to heal all wounds?
"Liz?" She felt his hand on her knee, flinched away. Her eyes flew open and she berated herself for becoming distracted. She needed to be strong, needed to find out as much as she could about these enemies so that she could warn Max. She needed to figure out a way to escape before Max came for her, so that he wouldn't put himself in danger - so that he wouldn't suffer anymore on her behalf. "Are you okay?"
"Why would I be okay?" Liz demanded. "You kidnapped me!" A memory managed to make it's way past the confusion that she felt. "And Alex! Where is he? Did you hurt him?" Oh God! Alex! This was her fault. She had brought him into it all by weakening, by telling him the truth.
"Your friend Alex is fine," Will reassured her quickly. "He's with Kate."
"I want to see him." Liz pressed her lips together, folded her arms against her chest, lifting her chin.
"Will it make you feel better?" Will sounded a bit disappointed, like he liked being alone with her. She remembered suddenly what Alex had said to her, about how he had not liked the way Will looked at her - possessively, as though she belonged to him.
She bit her lip, stared at him. "Who [I]are[/I] you?" She whispered, curiosity finally winning over fear.
"It's not really about who I am Liz," Will replied, looking away. "It's about who [I]you[/I] are." He turned back, a slight frown on his face. "What did you mean when you said that you broke Max's heart? Were you two [I]together[/I]?" The last word was said slowly, as though he desperately wanted her to deny it.
She wasn't sure which course to take. If Will understood just how important Max was to her, would it make things better or worse? She eyed him for a long moment, tried to [I]read[/I] him. She remembered the way she had felt when she had spent those few short hours with him this morning - God! Was it really only this morning? She had felt that she could [I]trust[/I] him. It had been the first time she had felt that since she had first connected with Max.
Liz realized that this was what she found the scariest about Will. She had never imagined that there were two people who could make her feel the same way, had never thought in a million years that anyone could replace Max. And, yet, this boy had actually made her wonder if the possibility existed, if even for a short while. She knew now that it had all been a lie, a ruse, but it had worked. She had found herself opening up to him earlier and she wanted to do the same now.
Somehow she just knew in her heart that he would never hurt her. She [I]knew[/I] him and she wanted to know why.
"We were together," she told him shortly. "I love him."
Liz watched in wide-eyed fascination as Will stared back at her. A shudder ran through his entire body, making her flinch. She actually felt sorry for him, for what reason, she couldn't understand. He was a complete stranger. She couldn't be [I]hurting[/I] him by telling him this.
"Why does it matter to you?" She asked him quietly, reaching out a hand to comfort him, despite herself. He shivered again when she touched him gently on the cheek. "Who [I]are[/I] you?"
Will clenched his hands in his lap, turned away so that his forearms rested on his knees and he was staring at the floor. "It doesn't matter," he spat out a moment later, as though whatever had hurt him was now turning into an anger so deep, he couldn't look at her.
"It does matter. I don't understand any of this." She touched him again, this time on the back, urging him to look at her. "Please tell me what's going on."
He stood up abruptly, turned on her. "I'll tell you what's going on! You are sleeping with the enemy and you've betrayed everything I've ever believed about you."
"What?" Liz whispered, staring at him in horror. "[I]You[/I] are my enemy. Any enemy of Max's is my enemy too. Max is my soul mate." Her voice lowered. "Even if we can't ever be together, he is one I am supposed to be with."
Will snorted. "He has truly fooled you, hasn't he Rowena?"
Liz was very frightened again. She backed away from him, not understanding any of this. "What are you talking about? My name is Liz. Are you confusing me with someone else?"
"I wish." His voice cracked slightly. "I wish I was. I can't believe this is happening. How can this actually be happening?"
It was a rhetorical question, but Liz answered him anyway. "I can't tell you anything until you tell me who you think I am." Because she understood that this was what was happening. He obviously thought she was someone else, was making a mistake because she had been close to Max. Maybe he wasn't Max's enemy at all. He was obviously an alien, but he was just as obviously not a Skin. Maybe he was just as confused as Max and Isabel and Michael and Tess were. Maybe she could help him.
Will turned back, his face expressionless and said the absolute last thing she expected. His voice was calm and cold as he stated the words that were destined to change her life forever.
"You are my wife and you have betrayed me by falling in love with the person I most hate in the universe."
*************************************************
"Max! Max, are you all right?"
"Does he look all right Tess? He practically just drained himself!" Isabel screeched.
"I can see that Isabel!" Tess flared back. It took Max a moment to realize that he was slumped against a bank of lockers and that he was at school. He wasn't quite sure how he had ended up so out of it, but he was slowly coming back to himself. When he was fully able to focus again, he saw that Isabel and Tess were kneeling beside him, both frantically running their hands over his body to see if he was hurt. Kyle was standing behind them, his arms folded across his chest, a scowl on his face.
Max's eyes narrowed. He pushed the two girls away, climbed unsteadily to his feet. "I'm fine! Leave me alone!" Suddenly he remembered exactly how he had drained himself so completely he had momentarily lost consciousness.
[I]Liz![/I]
Isabel seemed to understand why he was frantically looking around. "They're gone Max." He could hear the tears in his sister's voice. "Both Liz and Alex just disappeared into thin air."
"But not before the two new aliens on the block made a huge scene, with a little help from both of you," Kyle added. He looked around uncomfortably. "You're both just lucky that Tess and I came into the school just as you guys were running up here. We followed you and Tess was able to mindwarp so that no one else saw."
Max grimaced slightly as he realized that Kyle was right. He had just openly displayed his powers, but he had had no choice. Both he and Izzy would have been fried to a crisp if he hadn't. The other two - Kate and Will - had obviously not cared a bit if they were seen. It was weird and extremely unsettling.
"We have to find them," he finally said, knowing that it was obvious, but wanting to focus his thoughts. "Now. If anything happens to either of them, I'll never forgive myself." He turned on his heel and hurried towards the stairs. Max knew that they needed to find Michael and Maria and split up so that they could cover more territory.
"I just don't get it Max," Isabel told him as the other three trailed after him. "We were both right here and we obviously couldn't have held them off for much longer. Why did they take Alex and Liz? It doesn't make [I]any[/I] sense!"
"I know," Max replied. It was what was freaking him out more than anything. What did these new kids want with Liz? Because it was now more than obvious that it was Liz that, at least, that Will wanted. "I don't understand [I]any[/I] of this Iz." He frowned, frantically searched his brain for any hint as to what the other two wanted. "He called me Zan." Max shook his head in confusion. "What does that even mean?"
Tess spoke up at this. "It sort of sounds like a name, don't you think?"
Max turned his head abruptly when he heard Isabel gasp. "Maybe," he answered Tess, distracted by the look on his sister's face. "Izzy?"
Isabel had gone completely white. "Vilandra." She stopped walking, closed her eyes and swallowed. "My name was Vilandra."
"What?" Max demanded, staring at her. "What are you talking about?"
When his sister opened her eyes again, there were tears shining, threatening to fall. "I.I."
"Isabel, what do you know?" Max asked quietly. Because the terror on his sister's face was actually making his knees quake a little bit.
"I didn't want to tell you!" Isabel's voice cracked. "I thought when we destroyed the Harvest it was all over. You didn't need to know."
"Know what?" Max placed his hands firmly on Isabel's shoulders. "Isabel, calm down and tell me. What do you know?"
Isabel stared at him for a long moment, sighed once, a shudder running through her tall frame as she took a deep breath. "Whittaker told me a little bit about what happened to us in our past lives."
"Isabel!" Tess exclaimed. "How could you not tell us this?"
"Tess." Max said her name firmly, causing the small blonde to snap her mouth shut. "Isabel, what is it? Why couldn't you tell me this?"
"Max, it's really awful," Isabel replied, her voice toneless. "It's.I just really couldn't bear for you to know."
Max frowned. "I don't understand. Why are you thinking differently now?"
"Because if that guy called you [I]Zan[/I] - and I heard him do it.in our [I]heads[/I] Max!.then it means it's [I]not[/I] over. If Tess is right, and that was your name before, it might still happen." She trailed off, looked away. If Max was not mistaken, she could not meet his eyes.
"What might still happen Isabel?" It was like pulling teeth, but Max could see how upset his sister was. She [I]truly[/I] did not want to tell him whatever it was she was hiding.
"I will betray you. Because I did," she finished quietly. "Before."
"Hey guys! Finally! Michael and I can't find Alex [I]anywhere![/I]" Maria's voice broke the dead silence that followed Isabel's statement. Max was still staring at his sister in dumbfounded disbelief as Michael and Maria hurried over to join them, having come in from the quad.
Michael took one look at them all standing around with their mouths hanging open and demanded, "What the hell happened?"
"Your past lives are coming back to haunt you," Kyle replied, shaking his head. "I think."
"Huh?" Michael looked at Max. "Maxwell, what is he talking about?"
Max was still trying to process what his sister had said. [I]I will betray you.[/I] Why did Isabel sound so certain? What exactly had Whittaker told her? And why did that phrase make him think about Liz again, think about her face when he had found her in bed with Kyle?
Betrayal. He did not believe that Isabel was capable of it and he [I]knew[/I] that Liz wasn't either. He had [I]always[/I] known it. They were the two people he trusted the most in the world. How could he doubt - have doubted - either of them, if even for a moment?
Max turned his head, looked at Kyle, a slight frown on his face. Was it his imagination or would Kyle not meet his eyes? "I'm tired of secrets," he said, ignoring Michael's question. "And I'm tired of running away from the truth." He started walking again, this time towards the parking lot. "C'mon," he called over his shoulder to his friends. "Let's get this resolved once and for all."
"Max? Max!" Isabel's voice called after him as they all raced to keep up with him. "What about Liz and Alex?"
"This is a way to find them. We [I]need[/I] to know who these people are who took them, what they want," Max replied. "We need answers, once and for all. And I know [I]just[/I] where to get them."