A/N- Again, it's been far too long. I'm so sorry for that, although I realize apologies are worthless. I will let you know that I am writing now. All it took was a little music for inspiration and a little pushing from ZKS (Thank you :)), and I'm back. I've never written a story quite like this before- one that's so slow and with seemingly no plot. It was meant to be written so that when the reader reads it, it's almost as if you're in a fog- in steam. I was struggling to figure out how I was going to finish it and was worried it would have to end with no climax at all... nothing exciting. But alas, I have finally decided how to make this story great. This chapter starts out slow, but then gets a little better, and the chapters to come will be more exciting, I promise. So I hope my readers are still out there and willing to read and review, telling me whether or not I actually wrote something worth reading.
A small disclaimer- I don't know New Mexico geography at all, so I'm kind of picking towns out of the atlas at random. So I'm sorry for any errors.
Chapter Eight
The branches were thick. Suffocating. As she raced over the jagged floor, she could feel the denseness of them pushing down on her. The trees stared down at her as she ran, attempting to slow her flight with the sharp branches that reached out, catching her in their grasp, pulling her backwards as she fled.
She could feel the presence behind her, pushing her forward. With every step she took, the presence took two. She could feel it coming closer, pursuing her with hateful eyes. She pressed forward, the forest whispering messages of regret as she ran. Her breaths came heavy as she turned her head. For a brief second she caught the eyes of the person behind her. As she turned away, all Liz could see was the image of bright blonde hair contrasted against the dark, dark branches of the forest.
As she fell to the ground, she saw the sign with its letters halfway buried in mud from twenty years past. As she fell, she felt the letters engrain in her head. Dexter."
Liz's body jerked, her heart pounding as she pulled herself up into sitting position. She breathed heavily, feeling the cold sweat trickling down her back as the crickets hummed their rhythmic tune outside. As she looked out the window, she could see the sun stretching its arms as it began to slowly push over the horizon.
Slowly she pushed away the covers and let her feet fall on the floor. She crept toward Michael's room, opening the door slowly. She found him sprawled across his bed, his limbs tossed in a haphazard manner as a soft snore escaped his lips.
"Michael," she murmured quietly. She received no response so she crept closer, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Michael?" She spoke louder.
Michael bolted upward in defense, causing Liz to then jump backward. His stance was guarded; guarded in a way that only a person who'd been hiding his whole life could be. He caught her eyes and she watched as his body relaxed, his guard falling down. "Liz," he said slowly. "Liz, what's wrong?"
"Michael," she said again, pausing for a moment to gather her thoughts. "Michael, we need to go to Dexter."
Later That Day
The miles stretched in front of them as the car sped down the deserted desert highway. Their headlights cut a path through the dark night as they drove silently down the road. As impatient as they all were, they'd let the day play out before they began their journey to Dexter. It was dark before they were able to escape Roswell. There had been too many days off, too much disruption in daily lives. They'd been living lives of routine in fear of whatever it was that kept their eyes so guarded, and breaking routine caused questions to be asked. As Isabel had said, "If I miss one more day of work, my boss is going to know something is up."
Max, Michael, Maria, and Liz drove together in the first car with Isabel and Alex trailing behind them in the second. Liz could feel Max's eyes on her and when she glanced up, she saw his concerned gaze fixed on her in the rear view mirror. At the catching of their eyes, he pulled his away quickly.
"So what exactly is our plan?" Maria asked, her voice breaking the silence that had fallen over the group in the car.
There was a pause before any answer came. Finally Max answered, "It will be too late by the time we get into town to do anything. We'll get rooms in a motel and in the morning we'll try to find... something. Whatever it is that feels familiar to Liz."
Twenty minutes later they drove into town. The buildings were dark except for one motel on the far edge of town whose neon lights read "vacancy." They purchased two rooms for the night and shuffled slowly toward the doors of the designated rooms.
"Maria, Isabel, and Liz will share one room. We'll take the second," Max said, nodding toward Michael and Alex. As they filed into their respective rooms, Liz looked toward Max. His eyes stared into hers as she walked into the room, closing the door behind them.
"Well, this is... lovely." Maria said, looking around the run-down hotel room.
Isabel nodded in agreement. "Yeah, this isn't the best room. Although, I think we have stayed in worse over the years," she said and Maria nodded with a chuckle of understanding. "I guess we'll just have to deal for the night. You two can take the bed and I'll take the sofa."
They moved around the room, preparing for bed. Suddenly Maria turned toward the others. "Liz, are you okay?"
Liz stopped the comb halfway through her hair and looked toward Maria. She forced the smile on her face. "Of course, Maria, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
Maria shrugged, "I don't know, you just seemed so quiet on the way here. Plus, you've just been through so much. I just wanted to make sure."
Liz quickly nodded. "Don't worry, Maria. I'm fine."
Isabel jumped into the conversation. "I know we've been hard on you, Liz. We don't really let others into our group easily. We have... trust issues. You seem like a very nice girl, though, and so I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was so rude to you at the beginning."
Isabel's words rang in Liz's ears long after the lights had been turned out and the other girls had fallen into a deep slumber. She lay restless, staring at the stained ceiling above the bed. The neon sign outside the motel shined a bright red-orange light into the room and even with the curtains drawn, the figures around the room stood out clearly.
Liz felt the shift in the light before she saw the silhouette standing in front of the window. It was a man. Instead of feeling fear, Liz felt calm. She knew who stood outside their room. She got up slowly from the bed, attempting to not make a noise and not shake the bed so as to not wake Maria. She silently unlocked the door and slipped out into the night.
She walked toward his form, her head still bent low as to not look up into the inquiring gaze that she could feel resting on her form. He placed his fore finger under her chin, tilting her head up toward him.
"Are you alright?" He asked, looking down at her with worried eyes.
She let out a slow, shaky breath. "Not really, Max."
The concern was evident in his eyes as he looked at her small form. "Liz, tell me what's wrong. Tell me why we're in Dexter. Tell me what happened."
"I had a dream, Max," she said slowly. "I remembered something. In my dream I was running- I was being chased. I saw the sign for Dexter. I've had the dream before, it was different. I remember more. In my dream, Max, I think Tess was chasing me."
Max's head fell, his hair obscuring the view of his tired face. He let out a breath before speaking. "I knew there had to be some connection between us through Tess. From the things that you'd said, I knew there had to be something." He lifted his head to look at her. "God, how much I hate that. How much I hate that she can soil our bond as she's soiled so much in the past."
"We don't know anything yet, Max. I might be wrong," Liz said, taking a step closer toward him. She could see the pain in his eyes and it made her ache inside. "I'm sorry she hurt you so."
Max shook his head, "it isn't your fault. It isn't anyone's fault except hers." He lifted his eyes and looked at her standing in front of him. For a moment, there was silence. The neon sign above them hummed lowly as it cast its glow over them. Max looked at Liz standing across from him and he felt a sensation stirring inside of him; the same sensation he'd had when he first threw open his window and saw her laying on the ground in front of it. He could feel himself being drawn to her. The feeling of needing to hide her away and keep him all to himself still loomed deep within his heart. They had spoken so few words, but every moment he'd spent with her had fulfilled some small piece of himself that was empty. Empty places that he hadn't even realized were empty until she came.
"I want you to see it Liz," Max said, the words flying out of his mouth before he could stop them.
"See what, Max?" Liz asked him, tilting her head in confusion.
"Everything," he whispered. "I want you to see everything." Slowly he lifted his hand out, holding it in front of her.
As she looked down at it, she realized that he meant he wanted to open up to her. He wanted her to see everything inside of him. She lifted her hand up and placed it softly inside his, his fingers wrapping around hers. "Show me Max."
Max took a step closer toward her and reached his hand up, sliding his hand over her warm cheek. He removed his other hand from hers and placed it on her other cheek, cupping her face in them. He leaned his head down, resting his forehead against hers. Slowly, he opened up and let go. Without a word, the images began to flow from deep within him, into her.
The pod broke open, Max reaching out tentatively into the new world. He stepped out, looking around at his surroundings with young, naïve eyes. His gaze fell on the pods- three broken, one remaining in tact. The girl's face was distorted by the pod, but he could make out her features, her light blonde hair. He felt the urge to stay near the pod, curl up and wait for the girl to break free. He longed to be near Tess. He heard a noise and turned toward the other side of the cave and saw Isabel reaching out her hand toward him. He looked back at the girl reluctantly, but then took Isabel's hand and left the dark cave into the bright light of the outside world.
The headlights illuminated the highway, shining on their naked forms. Michael quickly darted out of the light, disappearing into the darkness of the desert. Max slunk back, feeling frightened by the light. Isabel gripped his hand tighter though, looking back at him with reassurance. Once the car stopped and the pair emerged from it, Max could feel the warmth and safety from Diane and Phillip Evans. They would not hurt him.
Max looked down at the injured bird. He glanced up at Isabel and she nodded. Max placed his hand over the bird's wing and slowly he could feel himself manipulating its structure. He could feel the pain of the bird beginning to ease. Slowly he removed his hands and the bird flew away. That was the moment Max realized he could heal.
Strange symbols and writing on the sand. The language seemed incomprehensible, but Max somehow understood what it meant. He couldn't remember learning the language, but he knew that it was his.
Five stars in the dark desert night sky, forming the shape of a V.
Michael's black eye. Max felt pain everyday that Michael showed up at school with a new wound. He knew that Michael's foster father was beating him, but he felt powerless to stop it. Michael wouldn't speak a word of it with him.
There was a new girl at school. The first time Max saw Tess, she walked through the cafeteria doors, staring around at the crowds. He felt something stir inside of himself as he looked at her- something that he'd never felt before. As he looked into her eyes, he could feel the connection of something he'd thought he'd lost long ago.
They first kissed on a bench under the night sky. She'd stayed late to study with Isabel and as she'd gotten ready to leave, Max had offered to walk her home so she wouldn't have to go alone. On their walk, they'd decided to stop and rest on a bench in the park in order to buy a few more minutes and look up at the stars. It was then that he'd awkwardly and tenderly reached over and smoothed her hair away from her face, and then leaned in, pressing his lips against hers her lips in a sweet, soft kiss. When they kissed, their connection formed immediately. When they kissed, Max felt like he'd gone home.
The four of them stood together in the desert, their hands connected forming a strong, united square. They were one again.
"You're always searching for something else," she said angrily, the tears trickling down her cheeks as she struggled to get him to look her in the eye. "What are you looking for, Max? Why can't you ever just see me?" As Max looked at Tess's sad eyes, he fought it, but he knew she was right. He couldn't just let himself break free. He knew he was constantly waiting for something else.
Prom night. They sat outside the gym on a bench together. They could hear the music pouring out from the other room and the happiness of their classmates. Tess's body was turned toward Max, her eyes begging him to look at her. "Why can't things be the way they used to be, Max?" She asked. He looked at her, but had no words to answer her question. "Someday you're going to wake up and I won't be here Max. Someday, if you don't start seeing me, someday I'm just going to leave."
They realized she was gone early one morning not long after graduation. They'd gone to the house where she'd been staying, and her things were gone. She'd left a note. Max knew she'd deceived them. The FBI had been on their trail for months, and she was ready to help them; make a deal. The three of them had to flee.
The first time they were able to return to Roswell. Isabel cried as she looked onto the town. It had been a year and a half since they'd fled. They'd been running for so long, that to stay still seemed strange. But they were back- they were home again.
She appeared after the rain. Max opened his blinds and saw Liz's frail body laying in the grass outside of his room, and he'd felt something stir inside of him. As he jumped out of the window and scooped her up, he felt the feeling inside of him as if he never wanted to let her go ever again. He knew he had to protect her- he knew that she was important. In her, he felt a connection of something he thought he'd lost long ago.
The images faded away and Liz felt Max's body so close, his forehead still pressed against hers. She could feel his soft breaths against her face as he focused on holding the connection and quickly she tilted her head upward, catching his lips with hers. Surprised, Max opened his eyes, looking down at the girl before quickly responding, sliding his lips over hers, drinking in the feeling of being truly connected once again.
Abruptly Liz pulled away and Max's eyes flew open. He watched as she stumbled backward, her hands pressing against her forehead, her eyes squeezed shut as if she were pained.
"Liz! Liz, what's wrong?" He asked, quickly closing the gap between them and wrapping his arms around her, holding her upward as she collapsed into him. Her eyes blinked open, her hands falling from her head. She let out a sigh as she looked up at him and a simple sentence escaped her lips.
"My name is Elizabeth Parker."