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Atherton's Underground, Part 4 Banner
Liz comes out of her bathroom in her robe, drying her hair. Maria sits on the edge of the bed  and starts to ask Liz a question when Nancy Parker walks in.
"Feel better?" asks Nancy.
Liz nods and notices the two plates of food her mom carries.
"Why don't you get in bed?"
Liz obediently climbs in bed under the covers as her mom hands a plate, first to Maria, then Liz as she settles in with pillows propped behind her.
"Thanks, mom!"
Nancy Parker smiles and leaves the room.
Maria waits until Mrs. Parker's footsteps fade down the stairs.
"What happened?" says Maria, hardly able to contain herself as Liz stuffs a mouthful of chicken in her mouth.
Crosstown, Michael leafs through the book as Max shows Isabel the photograph of Claudia, Atherton, and the unidentified men.
"That's Liz's grandmother?" asks Isabel.
"Yeah," says Max.
"You mean, the one that died," asks Michael as he grabs the photo from Isabel.
"Michael!"
"What is she doing with Atherton?"
"No idea," says Max.
"What did Liz have to say?" asks Isabel.
"I think she was really shocked."
"I bet," says Michael. "Who are these two guys?"
"Friends of Atherton’s or Liz's grandmother I guess."
"This is getting too weird. First Liz, now her grandmother."
"It's probably just a coincidence," says Max.
"There are no coincidences in Roswell," says Michael "Remember?"
"Our Grandma Claudia?" says Maria, incredulously.
Liz nods.
"With Atherton?"
Liz nods again.
"I suppose it's possible," says Liz.
"And the hatched pod ..."
"Yeah, it was just like the ones in the pod chamber ... except it was by itself."
"It gives me the heebie jeebies."
"Not half as much as waking up and realizing a total stranger has been in the room you've been sleeping in."
"That part is just too creepy," says Maria, shaking off the willies.
Liz gives her friend a tired smile. There was so much information running through her mind and it was all jumbled. Liz feels her focus slipping.
"Maria," begins Liz as Mr. Parker comes in.
"Hi, Mr. Parker ..." says Maria a little too brightly as she tries to remember if she was saying something she shouldn't have.
Jeff Parker sees Liz's eyes slowly begin to close.
He puts his fingers up to his lips, then points to Liz.
Maria turns and sees her friend nodding off.
"Oh, OH," says Maria and gets up off the bed. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Parker! She's slightly embarrassed, realizing that she had been prattling on and had been so self-absorbed that she hadn't realized how tired Liz must have been. "I guess I'd better leave, huh?"
Mr. Parker gives her a fatherly smile and nods.
Maria swiftly slips out the door. Mr. Parker quietly picks up the plates from the bed and softly kisses his daughter's forehead. Liz stirs slightly as Mr. Parker leaves the room and shuts the door.
"So what do we do?' says Michael.
"I'm not sure," says Max.
"We need to go back out there," says Michael.
"There's nothing to go back there for," says Max.
"You might have missed something," says Isabel.
"I think we already have what we need," says Max holding the book. "Whoever was out there isn't coming back."
"What about the pod?"
"It's just a shell," says Max. "It's not going to tell us anything."
"How do you know that?" says Michael, perturbed. "It could mean that there's someone else out there. Maybe whoever was living in the cave. Maybe there's someone else like us out there."
"Max, Michael may be right. There is someone else out there and we need to find out who that is."
"I think the pod is Ava's," says Max.
"Ava was born in NY."
"We don't know that," says Max. "I saw only three pods. One was missing. This pod has to be Ava's"
"You're sure?" asks Isabel.
"Yes."
"So, are you saying that Ava has been living there?" asks Michael.
"I don't know. Maybe. Liz and I never saw who it was."
"It's possible," contemplates Isabel. "She didn't go back to NY. She could have just stayed."
"Then why would she hide from us?" asks Michael.
"Well, you weren't very nice to her," says Max.
"Who told you that? Liz?"
"Stop it! This isn't getting us anywhere." says Isabel.
"You were in trouble," says Michael. "We needed information."
"Michael!" warns Isabel.
"I'm not sure it was Ava," says Max, rubbing his eye.
"What?"
"It may have been someone else."
"So who do you think it was?"
"I think it was one of the two men in this photo," says Max.
Liz turns restlessly in her sleep. Dreams come in flashes, lightening flashes -- Grandma Claudia, Max, a hand emerging from the pod, the crash, the orb being buried, the cave map, Grandma Claudia's book, an arm emerging from the pod, over and over -- as if Liz is trying to sort information in her head. There's a crack of thunder and Liz bolts awake. All she sees are black coal eyes looking down at her through the flash of light. The room is empty as she breaks out in a cold sweat.
It's pouring rain as Maria runs up to Michael's door and starts pounding.
"Michael, Michael, let me in!" she shouts over the thunder.
Inside, Max looks at Michael.
"Aren't you going to let Maria in?" he asks.
"In a minute," says Michael.
"Michael!" says Isabel.
"What?" he says, "I'm only joking."
He goes to the door and lets Maria in.
"Join the party," says Michael.
Maria steps in, shaking herself like a drowned puppy.
"What took you so long?"
"How's Liz?" asks Max, before Michael can make a smart remark.
"Sleeping," says Maria. "So what's going on?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out."
"You know, the usual 'alien chaos' stuff, says Michael.
"Tell me something I don't know," says Maria sarcastically, as she brushes by Michael.
"We found another pod," says Max.
"Yeah, yeah, Liz told me that. What does it mean?"
"That there's someone else out there."
"Obviously," says Maria. "Liz said something about you finding a photo of Grandma Claudia."
"Yeah, we did," says Max. He looks for the photo and hands it to Maria.
Yup, it was Grandma Claudia all right, thought Maria ... and Atherton. ..."
"Did Liz tell you anything?" asks Max.
"Not much," says Maria. "She fell asleep and Mr. Parker kicked me out. ..."
"So what's with the hatched pod?" asks Maria.
"I think it might be Ava's," says Max.
"Ava's?"
"When Tess and I were in NY, one of the pods was missing."
"What makes you think it was Ava's?"
"Lonnie and Rath treated Ava as an outsider. I think ... she was like Tess, that she didn't hatch at the same time."
"But there were two sacs with four pods," says Michael. "That's what Hal saw and I believe him."
"I believe Hal may have seen eight pods," says Max, "but we don't know what happened to the other set. What if they were separated?"
"Separated?" asks Isabel.
"Our pods were two by two in two rows. That means the dupe pods should have been the same, but they weren't. They were side by side, three in a row."
"So you're saying that somehow the fourth was removed," says Michael.
"But why?" asks Maria.
"I don't know. Maybe the protectors weren't able to get all of us out. You said that Hal told you that there were doctors in the room."
"Yeah, but they were dead, Maxwell."
"What if those doctors had already started dissecting the other pod before the protectors reached us?"
"But wouldn't the dupes have died?" asks Maria.
"Maybe not," says Max. "Maybe the protectors killed the doctors before they got too far."
"You mean, before they killed any of us," says Michael.
"Yeah."
"None of this makes sense," says Isabel.
"It does," says Max, "except we haven't got all the pieces yet."
Liz switches on the light in her bedroom. Yes, the room was empty, but the dream ... it seemed so real. She looks at the clock. It's a little after 10 p.m. Had she slept that long? Was she sleeping? Or was it something else? She sits up, pulling her knees to her chin and runs through the dream in her head. How could it be possible? She bolts up from the bed and goes to her mirror. Staring back at her in the subdued light were coal black eyes, the same coal black eyes in her dream.

Atherton's Underground, Part 5 Banner
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