Max awoke to the insistent jab of his sister’s finger to his shoulder.
“Max! Max, wake up!”
Grumbling into his pillow, he tried to pull the blanket over his head. But Isabel wasn’t quite so easily put off. In a sweeping gesture, she ripped the green comforter off the bed completely. Cold and half-naked, Max curled into a ball. His eyes snapped open to find Isabel glaring at him, hands on her hips in irritation. Idly, he wondered just what he had done now to deserve the angry wake up call.
“Isabel, do you mind?” He tried to pull the pillow over his head to block out the blinding sunlight peeking through the window, but Isabel merely plucked the pillow away from him.
”Yes, I do. Do you know what time it is? We’re supposed to be at the Crashdown for breakfast in fifteen minutes for a meeting. How are we supposed to talk if we’re late and the restaurant is already open? Get up, shower and throw some clothes on. You are coming with me and you will be ready to leave in ten minutes.” Her demands made, she flounced out the door, slamming it behind her for good measure.
Groaning, Max swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. Immediately, he regretted the quick movement. He dropped his head into his hands and was dismayed to find a thin sheen of sweat covering his skin. He couldn’t ever remember even running a fever in his life, much less waking up in a cold sweat.
And as if his morning wasn’t starting out badly enough, he remembered the meeting Isabel had spoken of. They were supposed to talk before the Café opened about the events that had transpired in New York. The week had been too hectic for them all to meet together before now.
The aliens had met already, but they had been interrupted when Michael had left to pick Maria up when her car had broken down again. And life had been too chaotic since for another meeting.
And the very thought of spending the morning pretending not to bleed to death watching Liz and Kyle together was enough to assure his day would indeed suck. They’d spent every waking hour together in the last week. Max hadn’t seen one without seeing the other. And he supposed he should be happy that she at least had someone who cared about her. And maybe he would be if it was anyone but Kyle. He knew Kyle. Kyle didn’t love Liz, not the way he did anyway.
But knowing the meeting had to be held Max relented and resolved himself to another day of heartache. He pushed off the bed slowly and headed for the shower. His head was nothing more than a sharp concentration of pain and Isabel’s yelling at him for being even later than they were going to be wasn’t what he needed. Still, ten minutes was asking a bit much.
He took twenty minutes and thought that was making good time all things considered. But Isabel obviously disagreed with him and she rewarded him with her infamous silent treatment while she drove them across town. It was fine with Max though as he used the time to calm his thoughts.
Would Liz already be wearing her uniform? She always worked Saturday mornings. She’d once told him she’d rather get up and start the day early so she could have the rest of it to spend with him.
Did she look forward to spending her free time with Kyle the same way? He couldn’t help but torture himself with the thought. Would the raw ache ever go away when he saw her? Just being in her presence was intoxicating still. And he found himself running through the familiar list of reasons why what he’d seen in her bedroom last week was a mistake.
His overactive imagination had come up with a thousand reasons to explain why Liz would sleep with Kyle. But none of them were as plausible as the simple fact that maybe Liz really had wanted the normal life he couldn’t give her.
Too quickly, they arrived at the Crashdown and Max watched as Isabel cut the Jeep’s engine and sailed past him to enter the restaurant. No doubt telling them all how it was his fault they were late. Grimacing, he hauled himself out of the Jeep and forced his legs to move the short distance inside. They were already seated and waiting for him.
His sister sat with Alex and Maria in a booth. Michael and Tess were seated at a table in the center of the room, and Kyle was lounging at the counter. Liz was behind the counter, already dressed for work in the teal uniform that had been the subject of a thousand fantasies over the years.
She had been setting up a tray of coffee mugs and when he stopped just inside the door, her eyes raised to meet his and they locked together. As it always seemed to, time slowed between them. Nothing existed outside of the quasi connection they had begun forming from the instant their eyes met. He could see the way her pupils dilated every so slightly, and a slight flush crept up her cheeks.
And for the millionth time, he wondered what the true story behind last week was.
“Nice of you to show up, Maxwell. You call an early morning meeting at this hellhole and then stay in bed?”
Michael’s snarky words snapped Max out of his daze. He lowered his head and moved to sit beside Michael and Tess at what he considered to be the command table. From the corner of his eye, he watched as Liz sat beside Kyle at the counter. And the first fierce stab of jealousy for the day sliced through him.
Liz watched Max carefully as the meeting started around her. He didn’t look good. If she didn’t know better, she’d say he looked ill. But Max had never been sick a day in his life. She watched him let Michael take control of the meeting, as they tossed around ideas about what had happened to Lonnie and Rath. She knew the conversation would inevitably come back around to her and how she’d known about the Granolith. And she sighed just thinking about the argument that seemed inevitable.
“What are you doing after work?” Kyle whispered in her ear.
Liz grinned. At least it was nice to know she wasn’t the only pariah in the group. Kyle had become a good friend in the last few days, offering her an escape without asking why she’d orchestrated the fiasco in her bedroom. Of course their hanging out had only fueled the gossip at school even further, but she could handle that. As long as she knew the others would be safe and alive, she could handle any amount of schoolyard gossip. “I’m helping you pass French,” she reminded him. “Remember, big test Monday?”
Kyle scowled. “Damn. How could I have forgotten something so important?”
Liz’s lips twisted into a genuine smile. “I have no idea.”
“I don’t suppose I could talk you into blowing that off for tonight and getting a celebratory pizza with me?” He knew she’d been down lately, and her natural answer to that was to overwork herself. Whatever had gone down between her and Evans had to have been rough, but he was trying hard not to ask questions. If she wanted to talk about it, she would. Otherwise, he considered it his responsibility to keep her busy and laughing if he could help it.
”Depends on what we’re celebrating.” Liz frowned as she continued to keep one eye on Max. He was slumped over in his chair with one hand pressed to his head. No one else seemed to have noticed it yet. But she had.
Kyle turned his head until his nose was nuzzled in her hair, not wanting to interrupt the meeting with their conversation. Her ear was ticklish. It was one of those absurd things he’d discovered when they’d been dating and it never failed to elicit a smile from her. He’d long since moved past his romantic feelings for Liz and he was glad he could be this close to her on a friendly level. It was a new experience for him, and it was one he liked.
“I was thinking we could celebrate not being invaded today. Or the simple act of not being killed or threatened yet today. You take your pick.” Kyle wrapped one arm around he waist, wanting to shift closer to her. He’d seen the way Evans had looked at her when he’d walked in, and he could all but feel the pain coming off Liz in waves. He tried to be around whenever he thought Max would be, not wanting her to be left alone. He knew what it felt like to be on the outside of the group, and it was something he didn’t want her to have to suffer through.
Liz tried to hide the snort of laughter, and she elbowed Kyle in the ribs. But they had already garnered the groups’ attention.
Michael glared at them distastefully. Didn’t they have the decency not to flaunt their new relationship in front of Max? Even he’d seen the way Max had suffered the last few days and the blazing fury he’d lived with since he’d found out what Liz had done surfaced. “I’m sorry. Are we interrupting?”
Liz felt the weight of their collective stares and she dropped her gaze to the floor. Everyone knew or thought they knew about her and Kyle. The aliens had seemed to band together against her and Kyle, and she could hardly blame them. Maria was hurt she hadn’t been told anything and when Liz had put her off a few days ago, Maria had reacted by sulking. Alex simply sat back and absorbed everything going on around him until it all made sense. She mumbled an apology and felt Kyle’s arm wrap protectively around her waist. Grateful for his support, she managed a weak smile for him.
“Why don’t you take the floor, Liz? Tell us how you knew about the Granolith.”
Liz raised her eyes to meet the angry ones of her friends. She reminded herself for the thousandth time that she was doing this to save their lives, to protect them and give them a chance. “I told you everything I can.”
Isabel snorted scornfully. “Yeah, a visitor. Who, Liz? And what did he tell you exactly?”
“I’m sorry, Isabel. I told you everything I can.” She tried to firm the resolve in her voice but she felt Max’s heavy gaze boring into her.
“Not good enough, Liz.” Michael slapped his hand down on the table. “You don’t know who you were talking to and if they could be trusted. Plus, if someone out there knows about the Granolith, we need to know what they know. We’re supposed to be protecting this damn thing and we don’t even know what the hell it is! You’re not one of us, Liz. You don’t have the right to hold answers that we’ve spent our lives looking for!”
Wave after wave of pain slashed through her. You’re not one of us. Michael’s words cut to the quick of the problem. None of them wanted her around anymore, and maybe that was the way it was supposed to be. Maybe once they saw she wasn’t going to say anything further about the Granolith, they would cut her out of their meetings altogether.
“I’m sorry, Michael. But it’s all I can tell you.” Liz watched as a crazed look of frustration passed over Michael’s face before he very deliberately turned his back on her. She felt the full sting of the cold shoulder and reminded herself that at least he would be alive long enough to hate her for years to come.
Max barely heard anything around him. The strange tunnel sensation from last night had returned. His hearing was going in and out and his throat had begun to constrict painfully again. The pain in his head had done nothing but intensify in the last few minutes and he was desperately afraid the room would begin to spin uncontrollably again.
As Liz struggled to still pay attention to their run down on the Summit meeting, her eyes traveled back to Max. If possible, he looked even worse now than he had ten minutes ago. His cheeks had paled and he looked like he was sweating. Forced distance or not, she already found her muscles coiling to move toward him when he suddenly fell out of his chair.
Liz had been the only one to see the action and she was able to catch him before his head hit the floor. The others leapt to their feet as gasps of shock filled the room. Liz cradled Max’s head in her lap as she ran her fingers over his face and through his hair. He was running a fever and the thought of it terrified her. Memories of the time they’d almost lost Michael ran through her head.
Isabel knelt beside her brother and tried to shake him awake. When he stayed deadly still, she turned wide eyes to Liz and she saw the same terror that she felt mirrored in Liz’s dark eyes. “He’s so pale. What the hell’s wrong with him?”
“I don’t know.” Liz’s hands were shaking with terror. “We should put him on the couch. Maria, can you get some cold water and a towel? Does anyone know where the healing stones are? We might need them.”
The others let her lead them, she noted with satisfaction. Now wasn’t the time for arguments. Michael moved beside her to take Max’s shoulders and Kyle had moved to his feet. But before Michael had the chance to elbow Liz out of the way, Max’s head rolled to the side slowly and he groaned.
“Max?” Liz asked, desperate for any sign that he was okay.
Max fought to escape the downward pull of the darkness around him. He scrambled against it, pulling his way out of it inch by painful inch until he was finally rewarded with a blinding light. He groaned in complaint, jamming his eyelids closed in defense. Then crushed his hands to his ears as his hearing came rushing back to him.
It was as if he were being hit by a freight train, the cacophony of sounds was almost too much. Why didn’t anything make sense? All he could hear around him was harsh words and syllables, distorted garbage that didn’t make any sense. And it was enough to panic him into opening his eyes.
The light was too bright and he wanted to open his mouth to ask someone to turn the spotlight off, but his throat was thick and rigid. He doubted he could say anything even if he had to. But when the searing pain from the light subsided, the first thing Max saw was Liz’s worried face. He smiled then, knowing at least she was okay. Concern swam in her dark eyes. Concern for him. And it filled him with glee. No matter what happened, she still cared about him.
Her cool hand was on his face and she was smiling at him. Behind her, he could still hear the garbled words, but he blocked it out. He knew he was lying on the floor, so something must have happened. Were they in danger? There was a tidal wave of pain still building in his head, but he held it at bay. As long as Liz sat there looking at him as if he were all that mattered in the world, he would let her.
She opened her mouth, a trace of concern on her features and when a stream of unintelligible words poured from her mouth, Max’s panic hit an all time high. He bolted upright in her arms, his hands automatically feeling her face for damage. Finding none, he frantically looked around the room. His friends were looking at him as if he had grown a second head. And there didn’t seem to be any danger in the room with them.
Isabel came closer to him, reaching out a hand, and her lips produced the same incomprehensible language. Max shook his head slowly at first, then more frantically, despite the pain that lingered there. He shook it a few times, hoping to knock something back into place.
This couldn’t be happening. What was happening? They were all speaking at once, the harsh sounds mingling into a dissonant symphony that made him want to close his eyes and wish the horrible nightmare away.
He reached a hand to his throat, hoping to ease some of the tension there, enough to talk anyway. And though it was painful, he tried to cough, anything to loosen his airways enough to find out what had happened.
“What’s-“ he broke off, clearing his throat and tried again. “What’s going on?”
Max watched in shock as everyone in the room recoiled in horror. What had happened? He took a quick look around him, but found nothing grotesque behind him. His sister’s eyes had grown wide as saucers and she took a step back from him. A shadow of an idea, a horrible idea, grew in his mind. Needing answers, he turned to Liz. His Liz, who would know him, understand him better than anyone in the universe.
He opened his mouth again, more afraid of the truth than he’d even been in his life. “Liz? Can you understand me?”
He watched as her eyes filled with tears, watched as they streaked down her cheeks. Her eyes were as wide as Isabel’s, but she didn’t step back from him. She shook her head slowly, opening her mouth to talk again and when he wasn’t able to understand a word of it, he closed his eyes in horror.
Terrified of what was going on, he scrambled backwards until his back was pressed firmly against the counter. He only needed a few minutes to think, and everything would be okay. He knocked over a couple of stools that were in the way, and they clattered noisily to the floor. At least that sound was familiar.
He raised his knees tight against his chest and dropped his head. This couldn’t be happening. Why couldn’t he understand a word they were saying? And even worse and more confusing, why couldn’t they understand him? He closed his eyes tight, knowing what he would find if he opened them. Horror. They were looking at him as if he were an alien. And the bitter irony in it made him want to weep.
They were talking across the room in hushed tones. He figured they probably didn’t want to him to hear them, but the just didn’t seem to get it. It didn’t matter if he heard them anyway. Their words were nonsensical. They could be speaking in German for all he knew. But he recognized the tone, and it was full of the fear he’d been afraid of his whole life.
They were afraid of him, afraid of what he was.
A hand touched his elbow hesitantly and Max jerked his head up to find Liz watching him with a worried gaze. The argument seemed to have stopped for now, and they were all looking at him in various stages of shock. Liz was sitting on the floor a foot away from him, and Tess was slowly crawling her way across the floor towards him, as if she were approaching a wild dog that might take a nip at her.
She glanced back at the others before continuing forward. Opening her mouth, Max braced himself for another round of harsh consonants, but found that for once, something in the last five minutes made sense.
“Hello?”
Max looked at Tess gratefully, as if she had just cracked the answer to the world’s most difficult problem. They might have had their problems in the past, but none of it mattered in that instant. “Tess? You can understand me? I don’t know what’s going on, why no one can understand me. But I know we can figure this mess out.“ He smiled at her and when she didn’t return the smile, his died on his lips.
The worried expressions of the group behind Tess deepened and when she turned back to them, he wasn’t able to understand a word that came out of her mouth. With horrifying clarity, Max began to understand what was going on around him. By the looks of the others, they had figured it out too.
Liz squeezed his arm in reassurance and she offered him a worried smile. But she didn’t try to speak to him, and he was grateful for her silence. He wouldn’t be able to understand her anyway.
Because she didn’t speak Antarian. Even worse, he seemed to have lost the ability to speak English. And he had never been more terrified, or more alone in his life.
