Liz stood at the end of a long corridor, listening carefully. She’d been searching for Max, looking everywhere she could think of to find him. But he was nowhere to be found.
A voice had called her this far, away from the safety of her balcony and the Café. Was it Max? The possibility had drawn her to the spot she now stood in. She could sense that he needed her now more than ever, but it was as if he had simply vanished. She’d always been able to feel his presence in her dreams, but not tonight. She had the distinct impression that he was slipping further and further away from her and she was running out of time.
Now, she stood, considering her options. The corridor was lined with doors, all identical looking. She could feel the urgency in this room, and the power, though weak, beckoned her forward. The very air was still, waiting for her decision. She only had one chance, as the power that sought her couldn’t last much longer, but she refused to let that urgency affect her decision.
Reaching into the calm center of her being, Liz reached out, letting herself be guided. Her feet moved of their own accord to a nondescript door halfway down the hall. She tried to reach out with her feelings as her hand hovered above the brass doorknob, but she felt nothing.
With a calming breath, Liz turned the knob and pushed the door open.
The sun was bright on the rocky bluff Liz found herself standing on. It took her only minutes to find that she was in the desert, standing within the circle of rocks that had housed so many of their early meetings. She looked around, half expecting to see Max’s Jeep resting just beyond the largest of the boulders, but his parking space was empty. Shielding her eyes with her hand, she turned in a full circle. Had she made the right choice? There wasn’t anything around here for miles. Not even the birds were flying overhead, and Liz found the silence unsettling. She didn’t have time for this. Max needed her.
“Liz?”
Liz paused when she heard her name, but still she saw nothing. “Max?” The air was shimmering in front of her, and Liz felt that same pulse of power surround her. As she watched though, the air took the precarious shape of Max’s sister. “Isabel?”
“Liz,” Isabel breathed in relief. “I’ve been looking all over for you, both of you. How are you? Are either of you two hurt?”
Liz furrowed her eyebrows in thought. “What do you mean? Isabel, have you seen Max? I know he’s close. I can feel him.”
“I know. I can feel him too. He’s blocking us, Liz, or some part of him is anyway.” Isabel took a step closer to Liz, examining her for injuries. She’d dreamwalked people before that had no idea what had been going on before they’d fallen asleep, but they usually carried into the dream with them some sort of clue. Liz didn’t look to be hurt. She was confused, and worried for Max, which didn’t bode well for her brother. Were they together wherever they were?
“Liz, I know it’s hard, but I really need you to remember. I need to know where you are so we can come help you and Max.” Isabel felt the last bits of her energy draining, but she willed herself to stay in the dream with Liz. It had taken her hours to find her, and she wasn’t leaving until she had an idea where they were. “You were in your bedroom with Max this morning. Remember? And someone came and took you both.”
Liz considered Isabel’s prompting, and she felt a tickle of a memory. She cocked her head to the side, struggling to remember. “Cold,” she whispered. “It’s so cold on the floor.”
“Excellent, Liz. That’s great. What else do you remember?”
“Max. He needs me.” Liz shook her head frantically when a memory threatened to form. Pain was radiating in her right wrist and she held it up for inspection. To her horror, the skin darkened until it was blood red. And then she remembered. “Handcuffs. I couldn’t move when I woke up and I couldn’t see Max.” Liz latched onto Isabel’s arm. “Isabel, you have to help us. The Skins are here and Max is so weak. He’s hurt, Isabel and I can’t help him.”
Isabel ran a comforting hand down the length of Liz’s hair as she sobbed. She’d seen the bruises forming on Liz’s skin, and she could only imagine how hard she had fought capture. There was a fighter inside of Liz, and it was something she had to respect. It was just one more aspect of Liz Parker that Isabel didn’t know or understand. But she very much wanted the opportunity to find out. What was it like to love someone so much that you were willing to risk your very life to keep them safe? “I’m going to find you two, Liz. Do you have any idea where you are? Anything? A sound, or a smell? Are there any windows?”
Liz fought to control her breathing. “No. Well, there’s one window, but it doesn’t face outside. I can’t see out of it though. It’s too high.”
“Can you show me, Liz?” Isabel wasn’t sure how much energy she had left, but maybe if she used the last of it, she could help Liz recreate her surroundings.
Nodding, Liz closed her eyes tight. She tried to hold on to the last memory she had, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself standing in the dank room again. Isabel stood beside her, looking down where the real version of Liz and Max lay sleeping on the floor.
Isabel tried to take in every detail. Liz was handcuffed to some sort of metal rack, and her free arm was thrown over Max’s body. Max was curled against Liz, holding her tight. From her vantage point, Isabel could make out several bruises on her brother’s face and she noticed that he was lying at an odd angle. What sort of damage had been done to him that he had been unable to heal himself and free Liz?
“Liz, are you two okay for now?” How had she ever thought that the day would come when Liz wouldn’t love her brother? She always put him above everything else, and they should have known that the stunt she’d pulled with Kyle would have been another part of that. It was hard to watch them huddle together in the dark room, harder even to acknowledge that Liz could give him some measure of peace that no one else was capable of giving him. She owed Liz the biggest apology known to man.
“For now,” Liz answered, following Isabel’s gaze to Max. “I put him to sleep. They can’t ask him questions if he’s sleeping.”
Isabel smiled at Liz’s ingenuity. “You’re right.” She thought back to what Kyle and Tess had related about Max’s new symptoms. He had been wearing himself out trying to stay awake. It could account for why he hadn’t healed himself. Was it possible Max didn’t have any power at his disposal? If so, they were in more trouble than Isabel had imagined.
Looking around the room, Isabel could almost feel the chill in the air. She wrapped her arms around her body and looked for clues. It looked as if they were being held in some sort of abandoned building. The dust on the blinds was thick, and through the window, Isabel could see a large room. A warehouse? She did mental calculations and figured it could be right. She couldn’t hear any sounds, and a quick glance around the room didn’t tell her anything more helpful. It would have to be enough to find them.
“Liz, I have to go tell the others where you are so we can come.” She could feel the pull already, telling her that her powers were spent, but still she was hesitant to leave them alone. “Will you be okay?”
Liz was continued to look down where Max slept. He was holding the other Liz against his chest and he looked almost peaceful despite the situation. Did she do that to him? “I’ll be fine, Isabel. It’s Max you should worry about. I don’t know how much more he can take.”
Silently, Isabel agreed, but she wasn’t about to tell Liz that. “We’re coming, Liz. Just hang on.” Liz looked as if she was going to say something, but her eyes opened wide all of a sudden and she looked off to Isabel’s left.
“I’m waking up,” she whispered. “Someone’s here.”
Isabel tried to tell her to hang on again, but she found herself thrust out of the dream. Her eyes opened and she gasped in a deep breath of air. Clutching at her throat, she bolted upright in bed.
“Isabel?” Michael turned when he caught her sudden movement. She’d been lying on his couch for so long, he’d forgotten what she had been attempting to do.
Alex crossed the room to sit on the bed beside Isabel. He’d seen this reaction before, and knew she needed a second to get her bearings again. Gently, he rubbed her hand between his, trying to warm her up. “What did you see?”
“Liz. She’s alive, they both are.” She pressed her free hand to her forehead and struggled to remember. Fatigue was fighting to settle into her bones, but she couldn’t let it yet. There was still too much left to do. “They’re in a…warehouse I think. Abandoned. Max is with her and he’s hurt. I couldn’t tell how badly, but Liz said the Skins had been questioning him.” It made her want to sob when she thought about it. Max couldn’t have any way of answering the questions even if he wanted to.
“Is Liz okay?” Maria asked as Michael wrapped his long arms around her waist.
“I don’t know…I think so. She looked bruised and her arm was bleeding, but nothing serious. Not yet anyway.” She turned to Michael. “We need to find them now.”
“Did you get any other information?” Michael asked, trying to come up with a location for this abandoned warehouse.
“No. I couldn’t hear anything, and Liz was waking up.”
Alex considered the possibilities, then turned to Kyle. “Aren’t there a couple of abandoned warehouses south of the city?”
“Yeah, I think so.” Kyle thought he could remember his father saying something about it a few months ago. “They’re scheduled for construction in a couple of weeks I think as part of that mini-mall idea.” Kyle glanced up sharply at Alex. “They’ve been empty for awhile and they’re pretty remote.” No one around for miles to hear you scream. Kyle grimaced at his own thought, but knew Alex shared it. “They’re the only abandoned warehouses I know of.”
“Okay, okay.” Michael released Maria to run his hands through his hair. “That’s more than we’ve had to go on all day. The three of us will go down there-“
Maria slipped her hand into Michael’s palm. “If you even think about leaving us here I’ll break your kneecaps.”
“Max is going to need this device,” Alex interrupted, afraid one of the glares between Michael and Maria might come his way.
“Do you know how to work it?” Isabel asked, surprised. How long had she been out?
“I think so. There really aren’t a lot of choices though. And it is alien technology, so all I can do it guess to a degree. But I don’t think you guys want to handle it. You know, after the whole Max incident.”
“Fine,” Michael grumbled, hating that Alex was right. He really didn’t want to get within ten feet of the thing. “You can come. But Kyle and Maria stay behind.” He pointed a finger at Maria. “If you argue with me, I’ll lock you in the closet. Maria, I’m not risking your life, and I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to take care of you.”
Kyle saw the hesitation in Maria’s eyes and knew she was never going to just let Michael walk into danger that way. She was too worried he would do something reckless to help Max and Liz. But they didn’t have a second to spare if Nicholas and the Skins were involved. Moving to stand behind Maria, Kyle placed a hand on her shoulder. She didn’t look up at him, but he knew he had her attention. “They’re wasting time.”
Maria sighed and gripped Michael’s hand. “Just promise me you’ll be careful. No, I mean it,” she continued when she saw his automatic reply. “I want you to come back in one piece and able to understand any yelling I feel you deserve.”
Michael took a second to dip his head low for a kiss. “I promise.” When Maria released him, he turned quickly and grabbed his jacket, shrugging it on as everyone behind them scrambled to get out the door.
Alex leapt off the bed and quickly placed the alien device back in the canvas bag from the University. Isabel was behind him, picking up the tools he’d been using and tossing them inside his small tool kit.
Kyle held Maria’s shoulders, forcing her to stay in the room when Michael slipped out the door with the others. As the door clicked shut, Maria turned in his arms. “I’m not staying here.” She reached for her jacket and pulled out her car keys before turning back to him again. “Are you coming with me or not?”
With a sigh, Kyle pulled his own keys from his letterman jacket. He really wasn’t surprised in the slightest. “At least let me drive.”
*~*~
Liz found herself being ripped out of the dream she’d shared with Isabel to find two men standing over them. Instinctively, she curled closer to Max, wanting to protect him anyway she could. He was still sleeping, and she wondered if he could even be woken when he was like this.
One of the men kicked at her leg, trying to move her out of the way, but Liz refused to move. They were here to take Max away for a second round of questioning. Idly, she wondered how long she’d been sleeping. The man kicked at her again, and she winced this time, sure it would leave a mark. Her grip on Max tightened and she glared at him. “
If you want him, you’ll have to kill me first.” She cocked her head to the side, hoping that she was reading her role in this correctly. “What exactly were your orders concerning me anyway? Are you allowed to kill me? Because if not, I suggest you back off.” Liz moved toward Max as far as her handcuffs would allow, and prayed that they wouldn’t take her up on her suggestion.
After a moment’s hesitation, the man took a step backward. He glared at Liz before turning and heading out the door.
Liz let out a breath and slumped backward when they left her alone with Max again. She had bought them a small bit of time. But was it enough? When they came back for Max the next time, would it be with orders to kill her if she resisted?
Deciding it didn’t do any good to dwell on it, Liz pulled Max’s head closer until it was resting in the curve of her neck. She didn’t think it was her imagination that she heard him sigh. Maybe if she was lucky, she could let him rest for a bit longer. Maybe when he woke, he would be stronger again. Maybe he would have the strength to help her get out of the handcuffs and they could escape.
Images of the dream she’d shared with Isabel ran through her mind. Maybe Isabel would have seen something in the building that she didn’t. With any luck, they were on their way now. She knew it was a long shot, but she had to hold tight to it. She and Max had to get out of here. There was too much they had to work though still. She hadn’t told him she loved him, that she hadn’t slept with Kyle. She wanted to be able to whisper the words to him, and for him to understand her. She wanted the Max that had wooed her from the alley below her balcony with a Mariachi band, strong and confident that his act of love would win her affections.
“We’re going to get out of this alive, Max.” Liz ran a hand through his hair as he slept. “And we’re going to do whatever it takes to fix you.” She rocked him gently, whispering affirmations in his ear, and hoping that somehow he would find a way to understand her.
