Connections 21

The bell rang and Maria quickly got her stuff together and grabbed Michael's hand as they headed outside. She glanced back at the girl as they walked down the hall and saw that she had put on her sunglasses and had started walking out to the grass courtyard, as if she knew where she was going already. 'For a first day student, she knows her way around way too well.' she thought.

'Could be that she just has a good sense of direction, although somehow I doubt that that's all' Michael thought back to his fiancée through their mental connection. Max turned a corner and met up with them. He saw their faces and panicked for a moment. "What is it you guys? Are you all right? Are Iz and Alex okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, Max. We're all fine, just suspicious of someone."

"Who now?" Max couldn't stand having to deal with yet another person trying to expose them or trying to get them to believe lies. Especially since the last time that had happened, his love and fiancée had been taken from him and was nowhere to be found as of yet.

Maria watched his face relax a bit, but it was still contorted in concern. She knew that he was thinking about Liz again. Always, he was always thinking about her. She didn't blame him though. She often missed her best friend so much that she would end up crying herself to sleep or crying into Michael's shoulder. She knew that Max missed her even more than she did, so they were always looking for ways to find her, but so far, they hadn't come up with anything. Kareena had said that it was doubtful that Liz would be able to get away from Nasedo on her own. Kareena hadn't even been able to find Liz...

"The new girl, "Michael replied as they sat down at a table near the edge of the courtyard. Alex and Isabel came and sat across from Max and began listening to what the other couple had to say.

Alex spoke up, "There's another new girl? What's different about this one?"

"I don't know really. It was like she seemed like totally familiar, and so closed up and all to herself like no one I've ever met before. I don't think she is who she says she is. Maybe she's from California, like she says, but she doesn't seem, well, normal. She freaks me out kinda, the way it feels like I should know her, but there's like no way I possibly could, you know what I mean?"

"So she's shy and closed off. That doesn't mean that she is lying or that she is anything other than what she says she is," Isabel remarked.

Michael rolled his eyes, "No, but maybe this does. Her name is Samantha, Samantha Harding. Last name ring a bell there guys? I don't trust her."

"Her last name is Harding?" Max questioned. "Alex, can you check her out? On the police files, school files, and the FBI ones you've got access to. Do you have your laptop with you right now?"

Alex nodded and began a search. The rest of the group was silent as he continued working at the computer until Maria noticed Samantha sitting down across the courtyard near a tree.

"You guys, you guys, that's her.." Max, Isabel, and Alex turned and saw her.

"The blonde?" Isabel asked quietly.

"Yeah, that's her," Alex said as he looked at the screen of his laptop. "Here's her drivers license picture on file in California. I guess she's been living there for nearly a year now. Her father works for a computer company is what it says here. Supposedly they move around a lot, but ended up staying in a town called Kaylieville since she started her second quarter of her junior year. Her driving record and school records are perfect."

"Just like Tess' were."

"And there's not much else here. There's nothing on any Samantha Harding on the FBI files, but there are agents posted in Kaylieville, California."

"So she could be with the government..."

"Or hiding from them..."

"Or completely unrelated to them..."

"The point is that we don't know though, and the information we have now on her isn't conclusive at all. Maybe we should approach her."

"Oh yeah, we just go up to her and say that we know she's not who she is and that she better tell us or we'll use our powers, right? That'll really work. If she's FBI, that's leading them right to us, and if she's the enemy, then we can't fight her right now, in front of all these people."

"No, we just go and talk to her, be nice about it, welcome her to Roswell. Small talk stuff, maybe we'll be able to find out more about her that way. At least we'd be able to get an idea as to her motives or figure out that she has none. We just have to be careful, that's all, but we should try something."

"Alright Max, we'll do it your way, this time. But believe me, I'll be waiting if you need me to get her. There's no way I am going to trust her."

"So who is going to go and talk to her?" Isabel asked.

"Well, at least one of whoever goes has to be Michael or Maria. You're the only two who would have any actual excuse to talk to her without looking too suspicious. I'm going too, so which one of you is going to go?"

"We both will. That way it'll look like we're just bringing a friend over to meet her or whatever." Max nodded at his friend and turned to Alex and Isabel.

"You guys be ready for back up in case we need it. And Alex, could you try getting deeper into the FBI security and find out more about her?" Alex nodded and looked back at the screen. Isabel simply watched the screen as well and Max knew that his sister was deep in conversation with her fiancée in their connected minds.

He slowly stood up with Michael and Maria and began walking over to the girl. He couldn't take the chance of having danger come to any of the rest of his family. He had already lost his love. Although he believed she was still alive, it tore him up inside to know, to have known for almost a year, that there was nothing he could do, although he was always trying.

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Liz walked out to the courtyard and did her best to avoid everyone she came across. She sat down next to a tree opposite the eating tables and simply sat back. She pulled her sunglasses off finally and opened her eyes.

She watched the students talk and laugh and the emotions quickly started to become tears again, so she turned away.

The image in Nasedo's mind was strong, and he was still controlling her powers with exception to the amount she was using to keep the image up. She closed her eyes and crossed her legs. She looked deep into the ties Nasedo had keeping her mind connected to his and saw the blues and reds that dominated it all.

She reached out as best she could to pull at the ties. She scrunched her face at the physical pain that trying to break the connection was bringing. She vaguely heard footsteps approaching her and quickly brought herself out of the daze that allowed her to visually enter the molecular make up of the connection. She replaced her sunglasses as the footsteps stopped before her.

"Uh..hi, Samantha, isn't it? I'm Maria DeLuca, and this is Michael Guerin and Max Evans."

Liz stood up to face them and was immediately glad that she had kept the sunglasses on as she felt her eyes grow wet with tears.

"Umm...yes. My name is Samantha. It's, uh, nice to meet you Maria, Michael, Max." Her voice caught as she spoke his name and she hoped the three wouldn't notice, but they did, however they didn't say anything about it.

"We, uh, we," Maria looked to Michael for a second as if trying to show how she was having to improvise.

"We just wanted to come over and introduce ourselves." Michael spoke up quickly where Maria had left off.

Max just stared at the girl, unsure of what to think exactly. She didn't seem to be a threat, but she wasn't completely normal either. The only thing he could tell was that she was hiding something. And even that was unclear. She wasn't projecting anything at all, no thoughts, no emotions, it was as if she was blocked off somehow.

"I'm sorry, I have to go now," Liz managed to get out before she picked up her bag and walked towards the front exit of the school. She calmed down halfway there and was able to return to the school grounds and to her classes for the rest of the day. She had no more classes with the people from the past she wanted to return to that day.