Tatum, New Mexico. Friday, 8:32 A.M.

"Why? Why can't we all just stay together?" A smooth, yet concerned voice asked the group. Six of them. All standing together in a circle, like this would be the last time for a long time.

"Because Liz, you heard the waitresses talking. They are looking for a group. Three male, three female. Between the ages of 18 to-"

"I heard them Max. But…there has to be another way." Liz said in desperation, looking at the faces of all her friends. "Right?" She asked, looking back at Max.

No one looked happy about the current situation, but deep down she knew it was the safest thing to do.

"You know Max is right. We've been running together in a group for too long. We should have left separately to begin with!" Michael said, taking his turn to put in his opinion. Only this time, no one disagreed. They all knew what needed to be done.

"It's only gonna be so long until they searched every city in Roswell, its time to finally leave this sorry state." Michael stated.

Everyone watched him. Max. Liz, Isabel, Kyle, Michael and Maria all watched him with patient eyes. He folded his arms and walked away from them. Looking out into the desert. The van was parked off the side of the road. This week it was orange. Last week it was forest green. After a few moments, Max turned back to the group.

"Here's the plan. We split. Three groups of two. Liz is with me, Maria and Michael, and Iz, you're with Kyle. We leave tonight. Nice and quiet. We get as far away as we can from New Mexico. We only contact each other if it's a desperate emergency. Once you feel safe somewhere, you can settle down, but not until you're sure you're safe! Understand?"

Everyone nodded when Max finished. They were all quiet. Maria was in Michael's arms, she didn't know what to expect from now one. Every day was a wild card. Anything can happen. Max nodded after everyone else took in his speech, he pulled Liz beside him. She nuzzled her chin into his neck and wrapped her arms around him. She was scared, but at least she knew she would be with Max.

"What are we gonna do about money and cars?" Kyle asked. Max walked over to the van and pulled a box from under the seat. It was filled with money. All that the six of them could collect before they left Roswell. He waved his hand over it, and the pile of fives and tens turned into bundles of hundreds. Max turned and handed a stack to Michael, and stack to Kyle.

"Let's go buy some cars." He said.

12:46 P.M.

All six of them were back at the desert, though instead of just the one van, there were three cars. A jetta and old 1998 Toyota. Michael and Maria were in the van, making sure they grabbed all of their belongings and getting them into their car. Max walked towards them, and peaked his head into the van.

"You know, I think we should all go and get some sleep. If we are going to be driving through the night, ya know?" Michael nodded. They took all their things and got out of the van. It felt very awkward. Knowing that they were all going to finally go their own ways. It was nerve-wracking. After a few silent moments, they all got into their respective cars and drove to the motel they had been staying at for a few days.

7:37 P.M.

"God, this coffee is hideous!" Maria said, as she forced down a gulp of coffee. Liz laughed, taking a sip of her tea.

"How come you're only drinking tea? You have to be up all night, don't you want something stronger?" Maria said, as she motioned behind her to the café they were sitting in front of. Across the street from the motel.

"Max agreed to take the first driving shift, so I can get some sleep." Liz said, as she took another sip. Maria just rolled her eyes.

"You guys are like two old married's. It's too adorable, stop it!" They both laughed. Liz sneaked a glance at her wedding ring. Just a simple silver band. She and Max had been married for about 5 ½ months and she couldn't be any happier. When she looked up, she was shocked to see the look of misery displayed all over Maria's features.

"Maria, what's wrong?" Liz said, reaching a hand out to hold Maria's. Maria took a few moments to catch her breath and find her words before she spoke.

"I just…I wish we didn't have to separate. I wish we could all stay together. I mean, what's gong to happen if something bad happens to Michael and me? We won't have anyone to help us!" Maria said, hysterics starting to creep up in her voice.

"Maria. Maria, listen. Everything to going to be fine. This is all for the best. We are all going to be fine. When this is all over, we'll see each other again, okay? You have nothing to worry about." Liz spewed out the most comforting words she could think, but even she didn't know if her words were true. She didn't know they were all going to be okay, but they had to separate. So it didn't matter.

"I know…I know. I'm just scared." Maria said as she calmed herself down. She took another huge gulp of her coffee. It that moment, they both saw Max and Michael walking towards them. They knew it was close to the time of departure, and they all wanted to be with their significant others. Liz looked back at Maria and smiled. She stood and walked over to Max. He took her hand and they walked across the street to the motel. Michael walked over to the table and sat next to Maria.

"Hey. How are you feelin'?" Michael asked as he rested his hand on her leg. Maria tried her best to smile.

"I'm a bit scared, but I'll be with you." She said. Michael leaned in and kissed her. She leaned her head against his shoulders and continued to watch Max and Liz walk away.

"We'll see them again." Maria said, not to Michael. But to reassure herself. Michael didn't respond, just ran his fingers through her hair to comfort her.

8:15 P.M.

Knock. Knock.

"Isabel, come on! Come out, talk to me!" Kyle said in his usual calm demeanor. Isabel had locked herself in the bathroom of her motel room for close to an hour. No answer came from inside.

"Isabel!" Kyle shouted.

"Kyle, just go away! I'm fine." Isabel shouted back from inside the bathroom. Kyle rolled his eyes; there was no way he was going to take that.

"Isabel, we have to leave in an hour and a half, and you haven't even packed any of your things. I know you're upset, but you need to come out of the bathroom. Please." Again, there was no answer from her. Kyle was starting to lose his patience.

"Isabel! If you don't come out of there right now, I'm gonna start quoting Buddha!" Kyle shouted. Seconds later, the door was open and a distraught looking Isabel was looking him face to face.

"It works every time." Kyle said with a smile. He wasn't trying to be cocky, only trying to lighten the mood. Isabel gave him a sarcastic smile, letting him know she wasn't amused.

"Look, I'm only kidding. Tell me what's going on." Kyle said to Isabel, as she walked right on past him, into the main area of her motel. Sitting on the bed. Kyle followed her, and sat down next to her. She sighed and was silent for a few long moments.

"I guess, now that we are actually leaving New Mexico, I feel like I'm really going to be separated from Jesse. I mean, we haven't been too far from him this whole time, and I haven't seen him once. What does that mean?"

"That doesn't mean anything against you. Jesse lives a busy life style, and we're never in the same town for more than a few days. It's inconvenience, not breaking up." Kyle said. He noticed a tear falling down Isabel's cheek. He lifts a finger and wipes it away from her pale skin.

"But what if this gets too hard for him, and he doesn't want to be with me anymore?" Isabel said as more tears began to come. She looked at Kyle with a pleading look in her eyes. He felt helpless. He didn't know how to help her while she felt lost.

"Then, he'll be declared the town idiot! No one could ever leave a woman like you." He said quietly. Isabel looked up into his brown eyes, amazed by the words he had said.

Over the years, she and Kyle had become very good friends. Confidants. Partners in crime, and now they were on the run together. A million thoughts ran through her head, but one thing was for sure…

"Come on; let's get your things packed." Kyle said with a smile.

…She would be safe.

10:05 P.M.

Everyone stood together and took a few moments to say their goodbyes. They had no idea when they would see each other again. The future was so uncertain. Maria held onto Liz like she never wanted to let go. The air felt awkward as they each took their turn to hug one another. When that was all done with, Kyle and Isabel were the first to leave. They got into their little two-door Toyota and drove off. East towards Texas.

After their tail lights were out of sight, Michael and Maria got into the Jetta and left. With many tears from Maria. They headed north, towards Canada.

The last to leave were Max and Liz. They were both the level headed ones, and knew most of all that this was the right thing. They reached out and took each others hands. And with a smile, they got into the van, and headed west, to California.

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