|
|
 |
       __________________________________________________________
 "Michael, Michael, I know you're in there," shouts Maria. "Open up. I have a surprise for you." When Michael doesn't answer, Maria says, "Maybe he's working."
"As what?" says Isabel, looking around the debris surrounding Michael's trailer. It was too creepy. It reminds her of Hank.
"He's a night janitor and sometimes he tends bar," says Maria. "Michael!"
Isabel, getting impatient, unlocks Michael's door. She opens the door and steps in. The smell of stale beer permeates the room.
"My God," exclaims Isabel, shocked by the unkempt appearance.
"Well, what did you expect?" says Maria. "He's been blaming himself for your deaths for 13 years. Why didn't you try to send a message or something?"
"We tried," says Isabel, "but Larek died setting us free and energy reserves were low ... and ..."
It all seems so weak, but it had been true. Almost from the moment they had been freed by rebel forces, Max and Isabel repeatedly tried to "phone home". But the Antarian Intergalactic War had so strained the resources of the five planets that even communications between the five planets was often impossible. That, and their worlds were being threatened by a huge black hole and a dying sun. But, of course, Michael, Maria, Liz, and Kyle wouldn't know that. Based on Maria's revved up history of the past 13 years, their friends were living in their own sort of hell.
"So you want to wait or what?" asks Maria.
"It's not much to look at," says Liz of her apartment, carefully putting the folder, the disk, and her keys on the kitchen table. In fact, it's pretty utilitarian, devoid of personal objects, a far cry from Liz's bedroom in Roswell, at least as Max remembers it. Not at all like Liz. "I'm not here very much," she says apologetically. "I never got around to decorating." Actually, in truth, she never felt like decorating it. It has merely been a pitstop, a place to sleep ... when she could sleep.
But Max isn't interested in the room. For him, Liz is all that matters at the moment.
"Maybe you don't belong here," he says.
Liz looks around the room and considers what Max has to say. But until today, she did belong here. It says a lot about her life or lack of it since the Granilith ...
"Max, what happened?"
"Can we talk about that later?"
"Yeah, sure," says Liz, hurt that Max throws her question aside.
He sees the hurt in her eyes and wraps his arms around her.
"It's not that I don't want to tell you," he says, realizing he's made another faux paux, "It's just that I'm more interested in you ... and me."
"Max ... it's been a long time."
"I know ... but my feelings haven't changed ... and you, you still feel something, don't you? I know it."
Yes, she feels too much, Liz thinks. All the feelings she has suppressed over the years were as fresh and raw as they were 13 years ago. Max takes her silence as a bad sign.
"Are you in love with him?" he asks.
"In love with whom?" asks Liz.
"You know, that guy."
"Ethan?" asks Liz, "No, he's just a friend."
"Oh," says Max, "Is there anyone?"
"No," says Liz, then almost inaudibly, "Just you."
Max isn't sure whether or not Liz had intended him to hear it, but hear it he did. "Just you." It is all he needs to hear. He begins to kiss Liz and he feels her almost immediately respond. He flashes to their dance in Viva Las Vegas, the comfortable and continual entwining of their fingers, his hand on her bare back. It's still magic, drunk or not, 13 years ago or now. Liz is the only woman in the universe he could ever love. He strips off her lab coat as she pulls at his shirt. Just give me this one night, he prays, before ... He lifts her petite frame into his arms and heads for the bedroom.
It's close to dawn by the time returns from work. Michael sees the light in his trailer and freezes. Who the hell ... He's sees Maria's face in the window. He's annoyed. What is SHE doing here? He walks to the door and throws it open.
"Get out," says Michael. He's in an ugly mood. He hates the idea of Maria pawing through his stuff, trying to clean things up. He's caught her doing it before.
"Michael!" says Isabel sharply, coming from the hallway.
He looks at Isabel, then Maria in shock.
"I brought you a visitor," says Maria.
Michael's totally offguard.
"You're welcome," says Maria. "I'll leave now," she continues, slamming the door behind her.
"Well, you haven't changed," says Isabel sarcastically.
"Wait here," he says and goes after Maria.
He catches her as she's getting into her car.
"Maria," he says, "I'm sorry. Please, come back."
She looks in his eyes which brim with tears. It melts her anger. She brushes a tiny bead of a tear from the corner of his eye.
"Isabel's waiting," she says. She closes the car door and they go back into the trailer.
When the phone rings, Liz and Max wake with a start. Liz fumbles for the phone over Max's body.
"Hello," she says, her husky voice thick with sleep.
"Liz," says Ethan, "are you okay?"
"What?"
"It's 930."
Liz looks at the clock.
"OMG," says Liz. "I ... "
Max shakes his head.
"I overslept. I'm not really feeling too well," she lies. "And I have arrangements to make."
"Oh, yeah, right. Ava ... your friend. So you're not coming in?"
"No, I don't think so. ... Maybe later."
"What about the meeting?"
"You don't need me."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure."
Liz hangs up the phone.
"Hi," Liz says smiling, happier than she'd even been in a very long time. "Are you hungry?"
"I have what I want right here," says Max, nibbling at her ear.
"Stop ... I'm serious," she says, laughing.
"No, you're not."
Liz lightly slaps his chest.
"I can't breath," says Max feigning.
"Well, then," says Liz, "I guess I'll just have to give you mouth- (kisses Max) to mouth (kisses him again) resuscitation.
"I was hoping you'd say that," says Max, enfolding Liz in his arms.
Isabel takes a sip of cherry coke before continuing.
"I've missed you so much."
"So what's the scoop?" questions Maria.
"Kivar. Is he dead?" asks Michael.
Isabel shakes her head.
"He's here ... on Earth."
"Where?" asks Maria.
"We don't know, at least, not yet."
"Why is he here? asks Michael.
"The Collective thinks he's on the run."
"The Collective?" asks Maria.
"It's like a governing body, like our congress."
"But ..." says Michael.
"Max thinks he's up to something."
"Like what?" asks Maria.
"The end of the world," says Isabel.
Liz pours Max a cup of coffee as he enters the kitchen drying his hair. He wears her father's terry bathrobe, the one he uses when her parents come to visit. She places the coffee next to the folder.
"What's this?" asks Max.
"It's an autopsy report," says Liz. "I was going to tell you about it before, but I kind of got distracted."
Liz takes her tea cup and sits next to Max.
"This is what I was doing when you surprised me," says Liz.
"Liz, I saw this on the computer."
Liz nods.
"It's from a slide. Max, the autopsy report ... it's Ava's."
Max shoots Liz a concerned look.
"Are you sure?"
"I saw her body in the morgue."
"We have to get her out."
"I know. I'm checking into having the body released to me on the grounds that she has no living family members."
"Can you do that?"
"I don't know, but I think so. ... Max, someone wanted me to see this."
"How do you know that?"
"It's just a feeling. Call it intuition. Ethan slips this slide of this non-human blood cells in with routine research work without the accompanying report, then shows up as soon as I see the slide ... with this report."
"May I?"
Liz nods.
"Whoever it was wouldn't take the chance of revealing this slide to just anyone."
"Does Ethan know what it is?"
"He knows it's not human. He's a doctor, Max. He knows what human cells are supposed to look like. If I could tell the difference in high school, it's not going to fool any physician. He's very excited about it."
"So how did she wind up here?"
"Ethan said the police didn't know what to make of i, the blood. ... They ruled the death accidental, but brought the body here for further study."
"Sounds plausible."
"But why HERE? And what was Ava doing in Boston, anyway?" asks Liz. "Does anyone know you're here?"
"No one ... except Isabel."
"Do you think this has something to do with Kivar?"
"I don't know. It could be coincidental."
"Or Kivar could be setting you up."
"Or you," says Max.
Liz straightens in her seat, holding the tea cup in her hands.
"Me?"
"Kivar knows who you are. He knows what you mean to me," says Max. "If he knows I'm here, it's not safe for you or Maria or anyone else who care about."
"We have to call Maria."
"Isabel's taking care of it. Liz, Kivar came here with alien biotech weapons."
It begins to sink in. Everything she had sacrificed 13 years ago was to prevent this, yet here it was ... again.
"The end of the world," she says.
  Send any comments about this story to mailto: momosroswell@yahoo.com |
|
