Many of the characters within this story, and the universe they inhabit, are the intellectual property of Jason Katims Productions.
Roswell: Re-Imagined
Written by Horatio Jaxx
Chapter 15: I Have to Know
On the Monday of the next week, Liz Parker returned to school, much to the consternation of Dr. Whitesell. He found the timing of her return shockingly quick. But he was defenseless against the results of Liz's last examination and her insistence on getting back in school.
"I feel great, just some minor soreness. Which I believe is more your doing than the bullet."
Doctor Whitesell relented to this with the proviso that she does nothing strenuous and that she returns to home and bed the instant she feels any discomfort. Liz left his clinic with an eagerness to meet with Max Evans.
Liz arrived at Roswell High School in the passenger seat of Maria's 1992 Volkswagen Jetta. This was not an uncommon arrangement. Liz and Maria were best friends, and they regularly rode to school together. The only difference between this day and any other was the edict of Liz's parents that Maria chauffeurs her there and back. Maria was only too happy to do that. The excitement swirling about her best friend made her even more entertaining to be around.
The first three hours of school was a parade of questions for Liz. Almost at every turn in the hallways, she was ambushed with questions from students and teachers alike. The most common questions were inquiries about her condition and how did it feel to be shot. She endured the questions pleasantly. Over the past week she had grown accustomed to them and had by then developed a list of shorthand answers: a little sore, no, yes, when I bend over, when I walk too fast, anything I want, painful, dazed, confused, dreamlike, no memory of it, I have to go. She had on two occasions seen Max in the halls, but he quickly evaded her shortly after their stares cross connected. Liz made no attempt to follow him. She was waiting for their fourth period class.
Liz entered her fourth period biology class and found Max sitting in his assigned location. Their eyes met and then Max quickly looked away. His efforts to look like he was indifferent to her sent a virtual alarm bell off in Liz's head. She knew he was intensely aware of her, and that all but validated, in her mind, that what she experienced was not the result of delirium.
"Max," Liz called out an instant before intercepting him at the door at the end of the class. "We need to talk."
"About what," Max responded with feigned confusion?
"I need to know what you did to me," Liz insisted in a hushed voice. The other students were still filing out of the room as they spoke.
"You know what I did, Liz," Max responded softly with a slight incredulous shake of his head. "I just did what I could to stop the bleeding."
"You did more than that, and you know it," Liz argued.
Max gave Liz his best look of confusion before responding to her outburst.
"I'm sorry, Liz, I don't know what you want me to say. But I really should get to my next class."
Max slipped around her and started out the classroom door. He and Liz were the last two in the room. Just before he cleared the doorway, Liz reacted with a threat, more so than a response.
"Yes, you do, Max and if you don't talk to me, I'm telling Dr. Whitesell that you're the reason why my body started healing at a superhuman pace."
Max was caught by surprise with that accusation. He quickly turned about and stared into Liz's eyes.
"Superhuman pace are his words, not mine," Liz added a second later.
For a moment Max thought about probing into Liz's mind and attempting to make some adjustments, but the thought was only a passing one. He knew himself incapable of doing any harm to Liz. After a second of thought, he stepped back into the room and confronted Liz face on.
"Meet me behind the football field bleachers during study," Max softly instructed as he stared into her eyes with an expression of worry on his face.
A few seconds later, Max turned away and left the room. Liz paused there for several seconds more and then left the room with more than a little worry about what she had begun. During her sixth period study, Liz hesitantly walked out of the school and towards the football field. As soon as she rounded the last corner, she saw Max waiting for her. He saw her instantly and visually followed her approach. Liz slowly walked toward him as she studied his appearance for any indication about his mood. After nearly a minute of walking, she stopped directly in front of him.
"What do you think you know, Liz?" Max questioned with an expression of embarrassment.
"I know you healed me, Max," Liz almost pleaded. "I know you did it with your mind, somehow. I know that this thing that you can do has something to do with your sister and Michael Guerin. And I know that you're hiding. What are you, Max? How did you do that?"
Max hesitated to give Liz an answer. He discerned that she only had fragments of his memories and he was reluctant to add to what she already knew. But he feared that any attempt at evasion would give Liz the license she needed to expose him, Isabel and Michael.
"I don't know what I am," Max confessed solemnly after a moment of thought. "I just know that I can do things that normal people can't."
"What kind of things?" Liz asked with a mixed look of fear and suspense.
Max hesitated to consider how he should answer, and then he directed all his attention at a yard long two by four laying on the ground. After focusing on it for a few seconds, the two by four levitated five feet into the air and hung there as though it was floating in space. A few seconds later, Max turned his attention back toward Liz, and the two by four fell to the ground.
"How did you do that?" Liz asked from behind an expression that bordered on a look of terror.
"I don't know. I just know that I can," Max declared with a shrug.
"I don't understand, Max. How-how can you do that?" Liz pleaded with befuddled speech.
Max could hear that Liz was frightened by what he had showed her. He immediately started searching for something he can say to ease her fear.
"When I concentrate on something," Max timidly began, "I can feel it … in my mind. Then I just think about what I want it to do … and it happens."
"And you've been hiding this?" Liz asked softly.
After a pause, Max nodded in the affirmative.
"And Isabel and Michael, they can do these things too," Liz questioned with a mix of fear and intrigue.
Max was suddenly experiencing an overwhelming sensation of fright. He knew he had crossed a boundary that was fixed in his mind like a neurosis. He felt that he could trust Liz with his secret, but his trepidation was pushing back against that reasoning. His internal emotional struggle was manifesting itself in his actions and his expressions. Liz noted his fidgeting and anxious behavior with a look of concern. After a few seconds of that, Max continued his confession in a near pleading tone of voice.
"You have to understand, Liz, this is something we've been hiding since we were eight. We kinda feel that our safety is depended upon our staying hidden. Please, Liz, our lives are in your hands. You can't tell anyone about this."
Liz took objection to that instruction, and it displayed in her facial expression.
"But why, Max, why do you have to hide it? Why should I trust you?" Liz questioned with an inflection of shock. "You have a gift, … an ability, … or possibly even a weapon. I don't know. I need to know why you have to keep it a secret. I need to understand, Max," she implored in turn.
"I saved your life, Liz," Max quickly pointed out. "I didn't have to do that."
"I know," Liz concurred with a shake of her head. "And that's why I haven't spoken about this to anyone. But, Max, I don't feel right about not telling my parents and Dr. Whitesell about what really happened. I mean, couldn't this just be … an irrational fear?"
"No," Max quickly corrected. "It's more than that."
Max suddenly felt a desperate need to clarify how important this was to him. With almost no thought given to what he was saying, he blurted out a suggestion that he knew would eliminate Liz's misconception.
"I can show you!"
"What, what does that mean?" Liz questioned with an expression of confusion.
"I can show you who I am," Max explained in a soft voice. "I can show you that I'm not dangerous. I can make it possible for you to see who I am."
Liz was taken aback by Max's offer. She did not know what he meant by that. But she feared it involved him connecting with her mind again. She interpreted his sudden calm demeanor and pleading stare as a validation of that.
"What do you mean, I can see you?" Liz questioned hesitantly.
"You only saw bits and pieces of me," Max explained in a soothing tone. "I can show you everything."
Liz was clearly frightened by that suggestion. She moved back an inch in reaction to the nudging of her flight reflex.
"I-I don't know," Liz fumbled out the words three seconds later.
Max noted her fear. He made no move towards her to minimize her fright as much as possible. After a moment of silence, he softly clarified his intention.
"I don't need your permission, Liz … but I won't do anything without it."
Liz took a moment to return Max's stare before accepting his offer with a slight nod of her head. She continued to meet his gaze with a look of wonder and fear. A few seconds into that, she felt her mind expand into his. The sudden sensation of an extended sense of being took her by surprise. She gasped with a sudden inhale of air. A dozen seconds later, she began to relax into the experience. She did not feel as though she was in his mind, or that he was in hers. She felt like a whole new being, with her memories and his mixed within the brain of this new person. She suddenly knew everything there was to know about Max Evans. She knew his fears, his hopes, his likes and dislikes. And most of all, she knew that Max was hopelessly in love with her. She could see herself through his eyes. She could see in his mind how perfect she looked to him. And she realized how much saving her went against his need to hide. Suddenly, after what felt like five minutes, but in reality was less than one, the new person was gone. She was herself again and Max Evans was standing two feet away staring back at her. They held their stares for a dozen seconds more before an astounded Liz nodded to affirm that she understood.