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 16: After School Report
"So, what happened with Liz?" Michael queried as the jeep rumbled away from Roswell High School.
Max was driving and Isabel was in the passenger seat looking towards him for the reply. She waited patiently for all of five seconds before bursting into a shocked awareness.
"Oh my God, you told her."
Michael erupted at Isabel's assertion. "You told her?"
"I had to," Max defended. "She knew too much."
"Oh so, she knew too much?" Isabel questioned with an enraged expression. "Well how much did she know, Max? How much was too much?"
"None of that matters anymore," Michael interceded sternly. "She definitely knows too much now."
"I can't believe you did that, Max," Isabel exclaimed with an inflection of hurt feelings. "This involves all of us. I can't believe you risked everything for this girl that you don't even know."
Isabel had always believed that Max and Michael would keep their secret with the same determination as she did. She had believed, up until Max's incident with Liz at the Crash- Down Café, that their maintenance of the status quo was paramount. However, despite Max's lapse of judgment in this, she never believed he could intentionally divulge their true selves to an outsider. She saw this as more than a betrayal to her and Michael. She believed such an act by Max would be tantamount to disowning their parents.
Leaving Roswell was accepted by Isabel, Max and Michael as the only solution for being found out. This was a frightening prospect for all three of them, but it was far more so for Isabel than Max and Michael. Isabel could not entertain the idea of ever being separated from her parents. It did not matter who or what she was, or where she came from. Her hope was to always be Phillip and Diane Evans' daughter.
"Liz won't tell anyone," Max insisted with a look toward Isabel.
"And she told you that?" Michael questioned sarcastically.
"Yes, she did," Max insisted heatedly.
"She's lying to you, Max," Michael replied dryly.
"No, Liz wouldn't do that," Max contradicted in a mildly defensive tone.
"Think about it, Max." Michael challenged. "You were standing right in front of her. She probably would have said anything to get away from you."
"We can trust Liz," Max insisted with finality.
"Oh, come on, Max," Isabel jumped in with an exasperated tone. "How can you know what's going on in her…"
Isabel was stopped by a sudden comprehension. Her eyes went wide as she gasped on a sudden inhale of air. An instant later she blurted out the thought that came to her.
"You joined minds with her!"
Max was reluctant to respond to this. His hesitation was all the confirmation that Isabel and Michael needed.
"You got to be kidding me, Max," Michael exclaimed with astonishment. "On top of having all your memories, she knows about the dreams we're having. She knows our suspicions … She knows about who we are and how we likely came to be here. She knows our strength and weaknesses. You've given her the power to hurt us, Max."
Isabel went into terrified silence. She brought her hands to face as she pondered the ramifications of this discovery.
"It was the only way I could convince her that we weren't dangerous," Max responded defensively.
"But we are dangerous," Michael argued back. "And you've shown her just how dangerous we are. Can't you see that?"
Isabel was becoming more frightened with each word that was being said. She could not think to speak because of the panic she was experiencing.
"Now we have to leave," Michael declared in a stern voice.
Another gasp of air was Isabel's reaction. Max's response was to swerve the jeep over to the side of the road and slam on the brakes. A cloud of dust was stirred up by the jeep. It briefly washed over the vehicle immediately after it skid to a stop on the dirt shoulder of the road. The area they had been driving through was comprised of scattered ranch houses positioned forty to fifty yards back from the road. Each house had a generous expanse of land around it that was being used as corrals and shelters for horses, cattle, sheep and other livestock. Short dirt roads connected the houses to the road. The trappings of an urban community, sidewalks and lamp posts, had yet to reach this area. Michael jumped out of the jeep, on the passenger's side, a second after it stopped. Max followed his lead and walked around to the passenger side of the vehicle to confront him.
"We're not leaving, Michael," Max exclaimed in a determined voice.
"What are you talking about, Max? We're exposed here," Michael insisted.
"If we start running, then we can never stop," Max yelled. "And you know we can't leave Roswell, Michael."
Max's last remark was in reference to the rock formation that kept whispering to them in their dreams. They all knew that it was somewhere in the wilderness outside of Roswell.
"Oh yeah right," Michael yelled out with exaggerated arm gestures. "Like that's going to mean anything when we're locked up and being dissected."
"Liz won't tell anyone," Max exclaimed with a look toward Isabel. "I saw it in her mind."
"That's great, Max," Michael retaliated with sarcasm. "What happens when she changes her mind?"
"She won't," Max hesitated to say in an unsure voice.
Michael began to fume in silence as he looked away from the source of his vexation. Max turned his attention to Isabel who was still sitting in the jeep staring at the floor with a look of dread.
"We can trust Liz," Max calmly spoke to Isabel.
"I hope you're right, Max," Isabel responded back with a look.
"You're not listening to him," Michael yelled as he spun around and reengaged in the conversation.
"Max is right," Isabel insisted with a glare towards Michael. "If we run then there's no stopping."
"We have to give Liz a chance before we start taking drastic actions," Max supported.
"I can't believe this," Michael roared into the air as he walked a couple of steps away with his arms flailing. He then turned back to direct his remark at Max and Isabel with intensity.
"You two are still trying to hold on to your phony lives. When are you going to accept the fact that we're not one of them? Your parents aren't your parents."
"Oh, give it up, Michael" Isabel fired back with rage. "Just because you've had a crummy life doesn't mean we have to disown our parents."
Michael knew better than to push that button again. He could see that the matter was settled, and he knew that attacking the motivation behind their decision would only provoke them into digging their heels in deeper. After a couple of seconds of fuming, Michael paced back two steps in resignation with his eyes staring at the ground. He could never leave Roswell without Max and Isabel. They were just as much a part of his family as he was of theirs. His bond with them was too strong for him to even consider breaking it. After many seconds of contemplation and kicking the dirt, Michael concluded that Max was right. He was jumping to the worst-case scenario. He wanted to find out what it was in the desert whispering to him in his dreams more than Isabel or Max. He concluded that running away for him was more about getting rid of his phony life and attaching himself to his real one.
"Okay," Michael announced with resignation. "Maxwell, you win. We stay. But we need to talk about doing something about that girlfriend of yours."
"No, we don't," Max insisted with a hint of defiance.
Michael matched his defiance and took a stance directly in front of Max before responding.
"She knows too much, Max, and you know ..."
"You stay out of her head, Michael," Max warned with an icy stare as he inched closer to Michael.
Michael stood firm and held his stare of defiance. Isabel could see that this was not going to a good place and quickly jumped in to ease the tension.
"Michael, we can't," Isabel almost pleaded. "If you go messing around in Liz's head, you'll probably make things worse."
They all knew that they could not erase Liz's memories. But they might be able to coax her into to forgetting them. However, that was not a fix, if it worked at all. They all knew that once they went down that road, Liz's mind would need to be managed continuously. They all knew that if Liz found the footprints of their tampering with her brain, the problem would then become exponentially greater. That more than anything else would convince her of the level of danger they presented, and Liz would likely take steps against them in her defense.
"I'm not going to do anything," Michael declared nonchalantly. "She's your girlfriend," he continued as he stared into Max's eyes. "If she becomes a problem, Maxwell, you're going to have to make a decision, her or us."
With that said Michael turned about and began walking down the road in the direction they were heading and towards home. Max and Isabel watched in silence for a dozen seconds as Michael strode off without hesitation and without looking back. At the end of this time, Max walked around to the driver's side of the jeep and climbed in. He started the engine, released the brake, applied the clutch and shifted the gear. Just before he could pull off Isabel put a question to him in a soft voice and with a concerned look.
"What will you decide, Max?"
Max hesitated for a few seconds to consider the question and then he answered softly and without returning Isabel's gaze.
"Liz won't tell anyone."
Max then released the clutch while applying gas. He U-turned the jeep back onto the road and then raced off down the road in the direction that they had just came.