She woke slowly, her eyes flickering open. Her sight was blurry, her head aching…her mind foggy. Shaking her head, she tried to clear her eyes, clear her head. She needed to figure out what was going on.
Pushing herself up to her knees, she squinted and examined her surroundings.
She had been lying in the dirt, in the middle of the forest, all by herself, at least that was how it appeared.
Coughing to clear her throat, she finally found her voice, shouting out one shaky word. "Hello?"
There was no response.
"Is anyone around?" She called again, her voice finally steadying along with her sight.
Shivering, she finally stood, wrapping her arms around herself for warmth, as she looked up at the faint early morning sky. Early morning…how long had she been out here? There would be people looking for her…wouldn't there?
But who?
Desperately, she shook her head, trying to clear her mind enough to figure out anything about what was happening to her…why she was here…who would be able to find her there.
There was nothing.
Tears of frustration stung her eyes…but she wouldn't let herself cry. Instead she started walking, but as she turned in circles, she realized she had no idea where to go.
Fear seized her heart, and her knees buckled beneath her, as she fell back to the earth. Clawing at the pine needles beneath her hands, she broke down, sobbing loud, gulping sobs.
She was crying so loud that she almost didn't hear the voice.
"Liz?" A woman's voice called out from a short distance away. "Liz? Are you out here? Can you hear me?"
Her voice was shaky again from her break down, but she managed to find her voice enough to call out to the voice.
"Help!" She cried loudly.
"Liz? Is that you?"
"Please…help me." She moaned, a little softer this time, as a face emerged from the trees.
It was a blonde girl, who had a huge smile of relief in her eyes, as she came rushing towards her. Something tickled at her mind as she stared at the blonde…like something she should know…but it faded as soon as it appeared.
"Liz! Oh my God, Liz! What the hell were you thinking, you idiot, disappearing like that and not coming home? You had us all worried sick!"
The blonde suddenly froze, noticing the blank look in her eyes.
"You know me?" She asked carefully, searching the blonde nervously.
"Liz?" The blonde asked uncertainly.
"Who is Liz?" She asked in frustration…and the blonde's response sent her world crashing into oblivion.
"You are!"
She searched her mind, trying to find a name…anything that sounded familiar…but there was nothing. Whatever had happened to her must have done something to her memory.
"I'm sorry…something must have happened to me…I don't…" She stammered over her words. "I'm Liz?" She asked in a broken voice.
"Oh my God…" The blonde mumbled, searching through her purse anxiously. "Oh my God…I can't believe this is happening." She pulled out a small glass jar and twisted the lid off, sniffing it like crazy.
"What's that?" The girl asked curiously.
"Cedar oil…it relieves stress." The blonde explained, a wild look in her eyes, as she stared at the girl in shock.
"Okay…" The girl sighed, desperately trying to figure out what to do. "I…I need your help." She stammered awkwardly. "There's something wrong with me…and until it gets better…I need help. You obviously know me, so maybe you can help me figure out who I am and where I need to be."
"Of course…you're my best friend. I'd do anything for you." The blonde exclaimed. "But then again, you probably don't know that, do you? God, this is so weird."
"I'm sorry. I know this is probably really hard for you." The girl tried to sympathize. "What's your name? Maybe we should start there and then get reacquainted with each other."
The blonde nodded wildly. "Yeah…all that while I take you back to town, okay? My name's Maria…Maria Deluca."
"Okay." The girl giggled, as she stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you Maria Deluca, my name is Liz….uh…what's my last name?"
Maria took her hand with a grin and shook it firmly. "Liz Parker…nice to meet you. Come on…the jetta is just through those trees…we'll take you back to town. Your parents are worried sick about you!"
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Max?" Isabel asked as she stepped out of her car. "Max? Are you okay?" He still didn't response. "MAX!"
"What?" He responded quickly, turning to look at the blonde girl who had found him out in the woods. He had been alone and unconscious when she found him and woke him. His condition had confused her, but she didn't know what to do, so she told him to get in his car, the convertible that was nearby and follow her home.
"You're talking to me?" he asked quickly.
"Oh God…" Isabel groaned impatiently, walking closer to her brother.
"Listen…there's a few things you have to realize before we walk in there." Isabel explained, slightly exasperated, but desperately trying to be patient. "Mom and Dad cannot know that there's anything wrong with you…which means you have to act as normal as possible. Do you understand?"
He nodded, gesturing for her to continue.
"You are Max Evans…you need to respond to your name, Max. I'm your sister Isabel. Do you understand that?"
"Yeah." he agreed quickly.
"Okay…you're 18 years old, you're going to be a Senior at West Roswell High next month. You're a straight A student, sort of a science nerd. Your best friend is Michael. If mom and dad ask, you went camping last night, and forgot to call."
Max nodded quickly. "Okay."
"If they ask anything else I'll cover for you until we can get you all the answers."
"We?" Max asked curiously.
"Michael and I." Isabel explained. "Okay…you ready? Let's go."
