The Measure of our Youth

"And the measure of our torment is the measure of our youth.

God help us, for we knew the worst too young!"

~Rudyard Kipling~

Maria sat holding the phone in her hands. The dial tone was loud and mocking. He was home. She knew he was home. And she knew he knew it was her calling. He didn’t answer. He didn’t bother to talk to her. It was over. Maria was finding the silence intolerable, so she finally decided to talk to her mom.

~~~

Michael sat watching the phone. It was ringing again, bringing a moment of life into his home. Unmoving he thought of all the things he wanted to say to her, all the things she would say to him, and in that imaginary conversation he was free.

He was fast walking a path of a silent stalker, but she couldn’t know that. Sitting for hours watching her work and later watching her through her bedroom window passed without thought. He needed to see her, hear her voice, and watch her sleep. These passing times were the solace to his soul that made him hope that maybe someday, somehow he would find a way to reclaim her. Then one day, it was too late. She was gone.

~~~

Michael searched everywhere for her. He looked for her at the CrashDown, around town, and at her bedroom window. But the house was dark, her room was empty, and her voiced was silenced. Michael didn’t know where to look or whom to ask about her. It was as if he had lost the right to ask about Maria. He left her of his own free will. How could he justify wanting to know about her life when he kicked her out of his. So Michael did the only alternative available to him, he looked for her around every corner. She remained missing.

Isabel and Alex watched Michael with concern. They both knew where Maria went, but they remained silent. If Michael had asked, they would have told him, but he didn’t. Alex and Isabel talked among themselves about just telling him, but something stopped them. Somehow they were afraid that if Michael knew where Maria was he would take off after her, just to be near her. But Maria left because she needed time to heal, time to regain herself away from Michael. If he showed up in her sanctuary it wouldn’t be fair to her. Maria had already suffered enough. She needed peace. So they kept it to themselves and watched after Michael as best as they could.

“He’s getting worse, Alex. Maybe we should just tell him? Or at least let him know that she’s okay and will be home at the end of summer.”

“Do we really know that? That she’s coming home?” Alex had his own doubts.

“Of course she’s coming home. Why wouldn’t she?” Isabel rubbed her hand along her neck at the soreness and tension. Maria had to come home. She was needed, desperately. Both her brothers seemed to wilt after she left.

“Because this place causes her pain.” Alex just shook his head at the changes in all their lives. No one had been spared the devastation. Destiny. It mocked them.

What was Destiny, but another way of saying they had no free will, that their lives, mind and hearts were not their own? Was being engineered to be with someone really that important? More important than the human heart, the soul, the very touch of existence? Was being bred to fight a war again and again really a life or a hope of living at all?

Alex didn’t know. No one did. All they knew was whoever thought of it was a fool. Alex had to believe that goodness and love would win. He was staking his own life on it, his own heart.

~~~

It was a summer of pure hell. The weather was unrelenting in heat with promises of rain on the horizon to be chased away by the demon sun.

Michael and Max in the jeep at the quarry looking at the horizon. School started tomorrow and neither were the mood to talk about what this year was going to be like. Max looked like crap. He worked, slept, and ate and that was about all he did all summer.

Truthfully Michael looked just as bad if not worse. All Michael seemed to be able to do all summer was work long hours at the CrashDown. He worked so many shifts that he saved enough money to pay his rent for the entire school year in advance. Between the after school job and the annuity payment he received from the state every month, his finances were looking pretty good. Add the money he was saving from not eating and he was a regular Rockefeller. The two young men remained silent waiting for the other to breakdown and talk.

“You think she’ll be there tomorrow?” Michael asked as he looked out over the quarry.

“Maria?” Max already knew, but Michael was so silent lately it was nice to hear his voice.

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know.” Max discreetly looked over at Michael. “Isabel says she hasn’t arrived home yet. Maybe today sometime?”

“Did you know where she was?” Michael asked quietly.

“Yes.” Max avoided looking directly at Michael. Maybe he should’ve told him sooner, but it was hard to know what to do since both Michael and Maria were his friends.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Michael didn’t even try to suppress the anger in his voice.

“You didn’t ask.” Max said specifically, deflating Michael’s anger.

Michael thought about that for a while. He didn’t ask. Not once did he seek out anyone who would have known where Maria was. Why? Rubbing his sternum, he mused on his lack of action. He felt her missing so deeply, but yet, he couldn’t ask about her. Why?

“Has Liz talked to you?” Perhaps Max was having a better time of it.

“She talks at me. But no, she doesn’t talk to me. It’s almost like a stranger has moved into her body since she got back from Florida, and taken away the person I loved. I can’t seem to break through to her that she’s my destiny. The destiny I choose. I may keep looking for answers and ways to help our people, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna accept Tess as part of that destiny.”

“But you’ll have to leave her. When we leave I mean. You’ll take off to find our people, and she’ll be left here. Then what Max? What happens to her then? Does she just shake off years of loving you to rebuild her life, or does she grow old watching the skies waiting for your return?” Michael stated the very thought that haunted his thoughts since getting involved with Maria.

Max remained silent at his side. Michael could see his jaw muscles clenching and unclenching. It wasn’t really easy for him to break up Max’s dreams, but Liz had to be considered too.

Was it easier to cut away early, then it would be to cut away after they had so enmeshed their lives until they couldn’t be untangled without harm coming to both of them? Michael prayed to the only God he ever knew, the one he didn’t really believe in, that it wasn’t too late for Max and Liz, because he knew it was far too late for him.

Maria had slid into his heart so quietly and quickly that each pump of his heart pushed her deeper and deeper into his body and soul. At nights he could close his eyes and taste her in his mouth. Michael gave a slight groan at the thought and tried to adjust his position in the jeep seat.

“You okay?” Max looked over at the uncomfortable Michael.

“Yeah, sure, I’m fine.” Max looked down and noticed the reason for Michael’s discomfort.

“Thinking of Maria again, I hope.”

“Well, forgive me Maxwell, but it’s hardly you. I could strangle her for this. Leaving without a word, forcing me to worry about her everyday she’s been gone.” Max looked forward again and against his will he began laughing. Michael shot him stony glares until the humor of the situation made him laugh too.

“I thought that was what you wanted? I thought you said you didn’t want her near so you didn’t have to worry about her getting hurt because of you. And how the hell was she supposed to tell you where she was going? Or even say a word to you? You avoided her calls, refused to answer the phone, or even talk to her. You shut her out.”

“Yeah, so?” Michael looked at Max confused. What the hell was his point?

“You worried non-stop. You’re more worried about what she’s doing without you looking in on her than you were when she was under your care. She has you running around in circles. And the strange thing is, she doesn’t think you care about her.”

“Did she tell you that? That I didn’t care?” The astonishment in Michael’s voice clued Max into how little Michael was able to read others emotions.

“No, she told Liz.” Max looked away and said quietly, “That’s why she left.”

“She left because I didn’t care?” Michael voice held all the disbelief he felt.

“No, she left to learn how not to care for you. She went away to find a way to let you go, let you have what you wanted.” Max ignored his friends swearing under his breath. “You told her to stay away from you, so she is.”

“Where did she go?”

“Some commune type place that her mother has a friend that runs it. It was up near Seattle. I guess she learned to meditate and other new age kinds of stuff.” Max almost laughed aloud at the look on Michael’s face.

“Her mother enrolled her in a brainwashing cult?” Oh God, it was worse than he imagined.

“It isn’t a cult, Michael. It is a new age commune.”

“Same difference.” Michael said off handedly.

“Actually, no, it’s not. She’s been writing Isabel, Alex, and me. Her letters have changed over the past few months. At first she wouldn’t even mention you, and now she mentions everyone and tells Isabel to pass on her love. She talks about meditating on the Sound, walking in the ocean, and greeting the sunrise. Isabel says that it sounds serene. That she seems to be at peace.”

Michael just snorted. “Sound like a hippy thing.”

“If she’s found tranquility then I guess it doesn’t matter. She was in a bad way when she left. If I had half a brain I would’ve gone with her. I could have used the serenity.”

“Yeah, then you’d sound even more gay than usual.” Max just laughed at the comment, and Michael eyes narrowed as he looked at his friend. “Liz may come around, Max.”

“Not unless she learns to see me different.” Michael studied Max closely trying to understand this change. “I spent the whole summer finally waking up. Liz and I both convinced ourselves that I was more human than alien. There were times last spring where we forgot almost like the alieness was just part of an adventure. That was until it got too real. You were lucky you know?”

“Lucky?” That was a concept Michael couldn’t even comprehend. “How so?”

“Maria knew and accepted it. I mean really knew that you were an alien from the very beginning. She didn’t try to deny who you were. All she really wanted was for you to care for her as much as she cared for you.” Max’s hands clenched down hard on the stirring wheel. “It never had anything to do with you being alien. Actually I think your alien status was a detractor. She always just saw you.” Max hesitated for a second. “After the whole Hank thing I saw her sad and on the verge of crying. I asked her what was wrong. She told me that you were so beautiful. What parent wouldn’t want you?”

Michael frowned at Max rubbing his hand over his face and scratching his eyebrow. “She said that?”

“Yeah.”

“That explain it then.” Michael looked away thoughtful remembering times, better times when Maria was a mystery to him. Hell, she still was. Would he ever figure her out? Even if given a lifetime to explore?

“What?”

“Before all this Destiny stuff blew up, Maria use to spend time with me at my apartment. I would wake up to find her just watching me, and she would get real silent. I couldn’t understand what she found so interesting for her to watch for so long.”

“The two of you slept together?” Max’s voice raised in volume as that information hit him.

Michael ignored the rising color on Max’s face. “Lots of times, but not the way you mean. We’d be heavy into a make out session and eventually we’d just fall asleep together. I like having her there. It was the best sleep I have ever had. I miss that.”

“I hope she comes back then for your sake. You should’ve told her you loved her, Michael.”

“I did.” Michael said almost too softly to be heard.

“Then maybe you should’ve shown her that you loved her instead. Her father no doubt told her he loved her too, on his way out the door.” Max watched Michael startle at those words. “Problems occur when words and actions don’t match. Your leaving probably hit way too many insecurities that Maria carries inside.”

“Sure, I can see what a good job telling Liz that you loved her and showing her has done for you.” Michael could feel his anger rising. Her stupid father, and then him, no wonder she left. “Face it Maxwell, we’re both losers in the game of love. And the worse part is that we’ve got so many years of our lives to keep making these mistakes, over and over again. Who knows, maybe we were just as clueless in our last lives. All I know, if someone takes my “essences” after this life and re-engineers me again, I’ll find them and kill them where they stand. I can’t spend endless lifetimes walking around like some kind of romantic nightmare. Soldiers don’t make very good romantics.”

~~~

Maria wandered the hall and was surprised at the difference of a change of scenery made in her mindset. How can a place you seen your entire life look so different? Was it the new awareness, the serenity that took some of the gray away and let colors blend in? If one looked at the desert the first thing that would amaze was the amount of life and color in even the soil. And there in the horizon loomed Roswell carved out of the hot New Mexico sky, standing stark and waiting. Maria was finally home.

Ever year when school starts, there was that rush to find your schedule, get your locker, and pick up your books. This year was no different from countless other years. A person would stand in the hallway at their assigned locker and noticed the smell that was associated with high schools everywhere, cooking of food in the cafeteria, fresh wax on the floors, and the almost sputtering smells from the overworked air conditioning trying to compensate for both the heat outside, and the added heat from hundreds of extra bodies inside. It was a sensation almost as timeless as time itself.

Michael was leaned up against a locker waiting for Max and Isabel to finish their discussion when he noticed the change in people around him. Following their glances he saw her first.

The heart recognizes first what had been lost and now was found. Maria. She was silently moving down the hall smiling recognition at people along the way. They watched her stop at her locker and leave some of her stuff inside. Turning around she noticed the group of them watching her. Michael’s heart jumped into his mouth when they made eye contact for the first time in months.

Maria appearance had changed; she looked so great, so special, almost an entirely different person. Her hair was longer and her skirt was shorter, and in short, she was a total knockout. Michael struggled to push the air out of his lungs.

“Hi, Neil, how are you?” Michael watched her make her way over to them. Her voice, it was like the soft sound of an angel. Stop that! Oh God, he was sounding like Max. He moved harder back against the lockers wishing for restraints to keep him impervious to the siren song of her voice. It was like his ears and mind found the very thought it was searching for these past few months. After a lifetime of need, it was hard to come to the realization that need was a pit that seemed endless. He needed Maria.

“Hi guys. It’s great to see you. How was summer?” Michael frowned at the creature that looked like Maria, but somehow was detached. Suddenly it hit him. He could no longer feel her.

“Maria, oh my God, you’re home.” Isabel smiled brilliantly. Her talk with Alex the other night about Maria actually had her worried. “Alex and I were wondering if you’d get home in time to start school. Your hair is so long.” Isabel exclaimed. “It looks wonderful.”

“Great, Isabel,” Maria smiled brilliantly. “you’re just the person I’ve been looking for. Do you time for a little talk in the Ladies’?”

“Sure, but what is it about? I have…”

“It’ll only take a few moments. Guys? We’ll see you later.” Maria took Isabel’s arm and led her away from the silent Max and Michael. All Michael could think of was speak, speak to her you idiot. He remained silent.

~~~

“Maria! You look so wonderful. What’s going on?” Maria quickly looked under that stalls to make sure they were alone. Turning towards Isabel, Maria noticed the leather and approved. Isabel just looked great in leather.

“Hair extensions.”

“Hair extensions, what?” Isabel smiled. Oh yeah. Maria DeLuca was definitely home.

“That’s how I got my hair so long, so fast. I was wondering Isabel if you’re able to alter my real hair to grow to the length of the extensions so I won’t need to keep getting them until my real hair grows out? On my own, it may take me half a year to get to this length.”

“You want me to grow out your hair.” Isabel clicked her nail against her teeth in thought.

“Please. Are you able to do it?”

Isabel smiled. It was so nice to have another female around again. “Sure, want some highlights too?”

“No, nothing to noticeable. If I leave the bathroom totally changed, people will talk.”

“Believe me Maria, with that skirt so short, people are gonna do more than talk.”

Maria laughed at Isabel and stood still as Isabel waved her hand over the hair. “Tell me about it. Just walking in today I was handed three phone numbers, and who is the new hunky teacher? He totally did a double take when he saw me.”

“Forget him. He is a new assistant coach, all beauty, no brains.”

“Jock boy?”

“Exactly. The type that crushes beer cans on their head and think beer nuts are a separate food group that is produced by beer.”

“How can you tell?”

“Oh, I had the honor of talking with him last week. He spent twenty minutes telling me about the type of hubcaps he has on his “ride” and said Roswell looked to be a “dope” town.”

“Eww, looks can be so deceiving.” Maria was brushing her now longer, natural hair admiring the more natural look. Isabel Evans was every girl’s fashion friend. The woman was a fashion genius.

Maria looked up at the sound of the ringing in the building. “Bell. Man, I’m so not looking forward to another school year. Meet you for lunch?”

“Absolutely. You have second lunch, right?”

“Doesn’t everybody?” They laugh on their way out of the Ladies’ room. Isabel liked having Maria back. Her outlook seemed so fresh and carefree. After a summer of desolation it was nice to breath the fresh air again. Isabel was dying to ask her about Michael. To tell Maria about how much Michael missed her. Lunch was only three and a half hours away. God, could they have made it any longer?

~~~

Michael watched her from afar. He could help himself. Maria had changed, but she was also the same. He couldn’t resolve the changes he saw in her. She seemed stronger, more at peace. She smiled, laughed, made horrible conclusions and puns. Maria was everything she was once before, but now she didn’t care about Michael. He watched her go on a date the other day with Dave Winslow. It had felt like his heart was being ripped out.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t talking to him or treating him friendly. She was. He was just being grouped into a huge category called “friend” and he missed being her lover, being her boyfriend. Maria touched him to get around him, gave him friendly pats, and steadied herself against him a few times, but she never touched him just to touch him anymore. He missed the movement of her hands along his body, on his skin. He missed having the right to lay his own hands on her, to kiss her or just to hold her.

The old adage of careful what you wish for, you may get it, suddenly made too much sense. Leaving her behind and telling her that they were over was the stupidest mistake he ever made. Maria had left him without really leaving, because she was still here. But, she was no longer his.

“Hello? Hey there dragon! Is it true that you’re the largest, strongest, and most fastest dragon short order cook in a four corner state area?” Michael startled out of his own thoughts to find wacky-doodle Maria in front of him.

“What?”

“I was asking if you’re…oh, never mind. Do you have the order up for table four yet?”

“Yeah, almost, just waiting on the Saturn Rings.”

“Great. So where were you?”

“Here.” Maria laughs at him in her way too charming manner. Michael felt his heart clutching. Touch her, kiss her, he was going to do both, right now, hard and fast.

“No you weren’t. You were miles away in thought, or is it worlds away?”

“No further than my own backdoor, Dorothy. Here’s your order.”

“Thank you kindly, dragon.” Maria took the plate and started to head away when Michael called her back.

“Hey, why do you keep calling me dragon?” Maria just looked at him and laughed with delight as she walked away shaking her head. Michael watched her perplexed. He didn’t mind her calling him dragon, but he wasn’t getting the association, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to.

It was taking all his strength not to just grab her, shake her, and then make love to her. She was driving him crazy. Lust never felt like this. She could melt him with a look, send his insides quaking with just a smile, and her hand on his arm stopped his heart. She was the first thought in his head in the morning, the last thought at night, and if his remembered dreams and state of his bed was any indication, the only thought in his head while he slept.

The only thing he knew for a fact was that she no longer cared. Leaving Roswell and entering a brainwashing cult had cured her of her fascination for him. It had taken her pain and gave her back even ground and peace of mind. He hated the bastards that stole her away from him, and he hated himself more for wanting the wounded Maria back, the one he could effect with just a touch.

Michael looked up and his teeth clenched. Fire of anger filled his face as he watched one of the new guys in town chatting up Maria. Her flirting laughter and smiles at the strange new guy, Matt was really driving him crazy.

Watching her go on with her life and leaving him behind in the dust was driving large painful stakes in his heart. Worse thing was she wasn’t trying to make him jealous. She didn’t care. She was just doing as he requested and going on with her life without him. The new waitress, Courtney was coming onto him hot and heavy. He should take her up on her offer to relieve some of the tension. It wasn’t like she was the kind of girl a guy thought about keeping around very long anyway. She was a disposable girl, one that you used and discarded.

Damn, the dead man was asking her out on a date and she was actually thinking about it. Michael turned away from the scene to punish some grilling burgers with his darker emotions.

~~~

When Maria got home that night she was tired and her feet hurt, but mostly her face muscles. Keeping up this damn sunny demeanor was giving her facial muscles a work out, but truthfully it took fewer muscles to smile than to frown. Working with Michael was hard, harder than she had imagined.

At times she just wanted to butt into whatever was making him sad, hard, and aloof. It was the times when he was caught unaware that she saw the barely restrained emotion under his remoteness. He was hurting, really bad. But, that was no longer any of her business.

God he looked good tonight. She loved that tight t-shirt thing he had going and as much as she hated to admit it, she was starting to really like his new hairstyle. That tossed about down look reminded her of a rock star, and it framed his face making his pouty lips more prominent. But it was the dark emotions in his eyes looking out from under that hair that could slay a heart from a distance.

He seemed so alone and unapproachable and in that laid the attraction. Courtney seemed really interested. Maria almost felt like she should warn the girl off, but after deciding she really didn’t like Courtney, it was an easy decision to leave her to suffer under the cool, non-approachable stonewall, Guerin.

Wanting a man that she couldn’t have had to stop. His feelings in the matter were painfully clear. Time to meditate and regain some control over these hidden emotions that kept wandering to the surface. But in a better age, in an older time, she would’ve taken up the task of dragon slaying and have stolen the dragon’s beating heart, to live basking in the warmth for a lifetime.

Fantasies, all fantasies, and they belonged in her dreams in the twilight hours, because only in her dreams did he still belong to her. It was only in her dreams that her own heart was given its heart’s desire and she rested in his arms gathering peace to face yet another waking day.

One day, in the distant future, she would stop visiting him in this dream world until it faded away, then her heart would free to love another, but until then she rested with him in the land of imaginings. In the morning she woke refreshed and able to once again face her living, breathing dragon darned in full body armor another day, with a smile.

~~~

The week after Nasedo died and Michael was released from jail things became tense. They were finding more and more skins left in areas that they as a group inhabited. Whoever these skins were, they were indeed near and among them, watching and biding their time until they could attack. Michael was in worse shape than the rest. All his spider senses were working in overtime and his anxiety and agitation was becoming volatile. In the darkness of his face, he became a stranger to all of them.

Only Maria seemed to glimpse the hidden Michael locked inside. In silence she stood near him giving him the fortitude and strength that his own emotions robbed him of. In his fear and anger he never noticed where the added support was coming from.

“We’ve made a list of all the new people in town. It is important that we cover as many of them at all times. The skins may be people we have already known, but our mother said that we’d recognize the evil within, so it’s time to start flexing some of these talents.”

Maria sat reading the list to see whom she could cover. The name of the new waitress, Courtney was high on the list. Looking up she looked over at Michael.

“I think that Michael should cover Courtney.” The group looked over at Maria with a question in their eyes.

“Why?” Max asked.

“Because she has done everything to get his attention except break into his apartment, strip down, and lay waiting nude in his bed for him.”

“As far as you know.” They all looked at Michael and then back at Maria.

“See, then it’s easier yet, again. Michael already has an established relationship with her so he is the best equipped to search her out, probe her as it were.”

“Maria!” Liz looked at her friend in shock from where she stood alone and apart from the group.

“What? Bad pun, but you know I’m right. She’s hitting and flirting big time, so this gives him an inch, just take her up on some of her suggestions, but the piercing thing?” Michael looked at her with his eyebrow up in question. “If you must pierce, bypass the silly stuff, and go straight to the areas that produce the best stimulation on a man. I would suggest a nipple. They’re so erotic.” The entire group stared coughing and laughing at the look of outrage on Michael’s face.

“Maria!” Maria just rolled her eyes at Liz’s outraged tones.

“What Liz? Can’t I express a preference?”

“Okay, I think Maria is right Michael, you take Courtney. We have the Congresswoman covered, the geologist, the new curator, and the few others, but what about this Matt guy?”

“Oh, he’s mine. I’ll take him.” They all turned to look at Maria again. “Hey, he keeps asking me out on dates, so I’ll just go on one. It’s not like I’m attached to anyone, and he does keep asking so he won’t be suspicious.”

Max looked over in time to see Michael’s wince when Maria stated that she was unattached.

It was still a real sore point with him. Maria’s dating other guys was not setting very well with him, but the thought of her putting herself in danger by dating a possible evil alien was clenching all his jaw muscles into one massive bunch.

“So Valenti is covering four of these strangers, Tess has the new girl at school, and Kyle is covering the new jock. I think that covers just about everyone, so lets meet together on Friday and exchange information unless something urgent arises before that.” The entire group gave their consent and Max was out the door to go find Valenti, but before he left he grabbed his best friend Maria to the side.

There friendship had blossomed over the summer before she left, and he loved it. Actually he cherished it. It was Something that he never had before, something he couldn’t have with Liz. His friendship with Maria was deeper and more touchy feely than his relationship with Michael, and she was able to bring a foreign perspective into their discussions. A female one.

“You’ll be careful, right?”

“Of course, caution is my middle name, you know that.”

“No it’s not. This is important to me, Maria. I need you to be safe. Michael is a burning fuse and you know how he feels about you being put in danger.”

“Actually, no I don’t. But, I’ll be cautious, I promise.”

“Okay, then you know how I feel about you being put in danger.”

“This is just a date, Max. I’m not gonna sleep with guy to see if he can give me a “flash” or something. I really think I’ll save myself until I know whether he’s evil or not.”

“Okay, but do me a favor?”

“Sure, whatever you want.”

“Take your cell phone and leave it on. Call me and leave the phone on so we can track you. Also, Maria, wear a longer skirt, please?”

“What? What’s wrong with my skirt length?”

“Honey, you’re an invitation to wild hot sex in those mini skirts, just until we know what we’re dealing with let’s take no chances.”

“Okay, leave phone on so eavesdrop boy can listen, borrow virginal aunt clothes from Liz, and do not sacrifice my virginity on the alter of finding evil aliens. Think I got it.”

“Thanks.”

Maria just nodded, not really happy with the mandate, but willing to comply. “Max?”

“Yeah?”

“Why so much more concerned over Matt than the rest? What makes him a big scare?”

“Michael. I know Michael has problems with you dating, but this guy has his hackle up big time. I don’t always appreciate how impulsive and brash Michael can be at times, but his instincts have proven to be on the mark too many times for comfort. Something near us, or near you is making all his instincts come online with too much force.”

“Really? So this is a new thing, right?” Maria allowed herself to actually feel concerned.

“No, it’s an old thing. It’s been growing stronger and stronger. But what concern me are the dark looks and the intensity of his demeanor. He looks like the warrior he was destined to be, ready for full outward warfare. But when we throw you into the fray, into the danger, he becomes borderline psychotic. So for all our sakes, stay safe.”

“Sure thing, Max, sweetie, don’t push the dragon over the edge. Gotcha.”

Max watched Maria leave the room as Michael came over to join him. They remained silently watching as the door closed behind her.

“Stop her, Max.”

“I can’t. Maria is right about her being the only one to check him out. You concern yourself with Courtney, and let Maria do her job.”

“This is gonna go bad, Max.”

Max rubbed his face and turned to look at his best friend of a lifetime. Sighing deeply. “Okay, give it to me. Tell me what has your hackles up. Give me some clue, some proof that this isn’t your jealousy rising to the top, taking control from your higher brain functions. The girl isn’t yours. You tossed her away. She’s a free agent. So tell me that the thought of her dating this Matt guy is really hitting your danger sensors and not your obsessive jealousy?”

“I can’t. I thought about using the Courtney chick for some basic relief, but other than light flirtation, I’m just not interested. There is too much working here, the jealousy and danger, that I’m having a hard time sorting the two. But they’re near to us, real near.”

“How do you know? We found a few shed skins, but how do you know?”

Michael pulled his t-shirt over his head and showed Max his burned skin on his chest and upper arms. The burns were ugly, pink and inflamed. Some looked new while others were slowly fading, mending over time as his alien blood repaired the damage.

“Whoever they are, I’ve been really close to them. I thought it was my skin, peeling, that maybe I was one of them and didn’t know it, but this isn’t peeling. It’s burns, Max. Very much like this one.” Michael reached over and grabbed Max’s arm. Along the inside running parallel to his upper deltoid was a burn very much like Michael’s.

“Damn.” Max rubbed his face hard.

~~~

Maria looked in the mirror, as she was getting ready for her date with maybe evil alien boy. Damn Max and his demand that she dress more conservative. This skirt was a dog. It hung down past mid-thigh and was loose fitting. No one would possibly get any ideas while wearing this piece of wasted material.

Looking over at her closet, Maria sighed in longing at her new leather mini with tooled paisley design and a silk lining. This offensive skirt was some kind of blend, looking at the label, Maria moaned at the mixture of polyester blend and rayon. Grabbing a form fitting mohair halter-top was the only defense she had against dying an old maid.

The doorbell pulled her from her endless pining for a better, more fashionable skirt. Grabbing her cell phone she quickly called Max while grabbing a bag to hide the phone in. Oh forget, the bag she could hide it comfortably in the pocket of this turnip bag skirt.

“He’s here. Are you ready?”

“Maria, you fully charged your battery?”

“Yes, fearless leader, it is charged to the max, get it? To the max.”

“Funny, answer the door.”

Maria made a face at the phone and headed to let her beau of the evening in. Funny that her mother wasn’t there to inspect the new guy, but Valenti came by earlier and tempted her away to an evening of fun and dancing. Old people sometimes were just so cute, and other times, just really wigged you.

“Hi.” Maria said smiling at the tall young man on her doorstep. He was...wow! Tall, long dark hair, and his eyes were deep and impenetrable.

“Maria. I’m I too early?”

“No, you’re perfect.” Maria said in an almost breathless voice.

Max looked over at Michael as he clenched his fist at the sound of Matt’s voice. This was a bad idea letting Michael shadow Maria with him.

“These are for you.”

“Flowers? I love flowers. Let me put them in some water before we go.” Max could hear Maria walking and the rustling of the flowers as she unwrapped them.

“Oh my God, Birds of Paradise and the Hawaiian mix. I love exotic flowers. How did you know?”

“You’re kind of an exotic bird yourself. It somehow seemed fitting. That is a, um, nice skirt.”

Maria’s voice lost its dreaminess and took on exasperation. “Damn, hit a girl when she feeling low. I promised my friend that I would wear it. It is to staid off potential date rape until I know you better.”

“Well, then maybe your friend should’ve put stipulations on your top. It is almost a moving violation in the making.”

Maria perked up at his compliment. Her new mohair halter-top was her newest prized possession. It cost half of her last paycheck. Maria smiled a large sparkling smile that shined from the inside out. Shopping. It was her panacea.

“For that, I’m gonna treat you so nice that by the end of the evening you’ll declare your undying adoration of me. Let’s go.” Dave offered her his arm to lead her out of the house.

“So where are we going? Please tell me it’s not some place fashionable? I can’t be seen in this Hillary Clinton, I know why my husband seeks sexual favors elsewhere, knock-off skirt. Think of my dignity.”

“No, just a quiet restaurant, and I promise to ask for a discreet dark corner.”

“You’re such a gentleman. All my last boyfriend gave me was a generic bottle of shampoo and conditioner in one bottle and a hard time.” Max looked sharply at Michael who made a rude comment and grimaced.

“It’s not the huge surly guy at the diner, is it? The one that manages to burn every burger I have ever had there?”

“That’s him. He’s okay, but you know foreigners, they sometimes lack social skills.”

“He’s a foreigner?”

“Yes, Czechoslovakian. I mean you have to forgive his bad manners. I understand that their country doesn’t exist anymore, some kind of war or something.”

“True. That must explain the hair.” Maria waved her hand as if to shoo away an unimportant topic.

“Did I ever tell you my theory about polyester and polyester blends?” Dave shook his head with a small smile. “I’m convinced that they cause brain damage.”

~~~

Michael and Max continued to follow them from the restaurant to a place with live music. Max was amused by the conversation. Maria was always an interesting companion. Her views on the world and ability to see humor in endless situations were very entertaining to say the least. As the evening progressed, Max was beginning to worry about Michael. He had become quieter and quieter as the night moved to the end.

The only reaction he had after they finished discussing him was when Maria had emerged from her home in the ultra conservative skirt and tongue swallowing sweater halter. Max knew he should’ve picked out the entire ensemble. Leave it to Maria to turn a wet dishrag into an invitation for wild hot passionate sex. The girl was a danger to herself. Michael had almost choked on the lump in his throat when he saw her date put his hand on her naked flesh exposed by the back of the top.

“So, Matt, I had a wonderful time and everything. I was just wondering, if I were to say dress more like my usual style in the future, I wouldn’t be inviting unsolicited advances would I?”

“Well, actually, I can promise that all my past girlfriends have never felt the need to run screaming from me, and when they do scream they usually stay near, and it is never anything like ‘you stupid jerk, take your filthy hands off me.’ Would you like references?” Maria chuckled to herself. Immediately getting the reference to sex, she choose to ignore it. Ears were listening.

“No, I just wanted to make sure, because I can’t go through anymore nights of wearing these types of skirts. I figure, as long as I have one small butt that I would, you know, dress it to its advantage. I’ll save the maiden clothes for the years when my natural graces have expanded to a more hefty seat.”

“I applaud your decision. Well, I guess this is goodnight. Let me open your door.”

“Always the gentleman. Wait until I tell my mom that you saw me to my door instead of grunting at me and leaving me in the middle of the street to see myself home.”

“Good to see your taste in men is improving. Here’s your key. Thanks for a lovely evening.”

Matt leaned forward and took Maria’s mouth in a quick, but deep kiss before pushing her into the house and pulling the door closed behind her. Walking down the path back to his car, he was worried. He couldn’t get the images of her ex-boyfriend out of his head, something about that Czechoslovakian worried him. Too much of him was in her head, in her thoughts, but there was a wall, impenetrable in her mind surrounding those thoughts, and he couldn’t get a clean read.

As soon as the door shut behind her Maria quickly turned and clutched her throat trying to keep a scream from coming out and bringing Matt back to the house. Putting her hands on the door she slid to the ground trying to untangle the cell phone from her pocket.

Max and Michael watched Matt drive away. When he kissed Maria goodnight, all of Michael’s hair bristled on his arms. He ushered a sound of outrage and anger. Max literally had to restrain Michael from getting out of the jeep and attacking the man.

It wasn’t even that long of a kiss, just a goodnight one really. Almost chaste in nature, nothing really to worry about. Max couldn’t understand Michael’s reaction. But it was as if another man had entered his territory and had attacked and raped his mate. All the violent emotions seething inside of Michael was causing Max’s own senses to become almost overly sensitive. Maria?

“Max?” They heard a loud scream, almost like a wounded animal over the phone. “Help me!”

Max and Michael were out of the jeep and running towards Maria’s house. He could hear her moving around her house making crying noises that sounded insane, almost pain driven. Michael was in front of him and the amount of power he was emitting was hitting Max in waves.

As they came upon the front door it flew open, Max almost paused in shock at the strength of power Michael was demonstrating. It was unlike anything they had experienced before. He was moving objects left and right with his mind, searching for her, searching for his mate.

She was in the bathroom pulling at her clothes, crying and scrapping at her skin. Michael quickly went to her raising the sweater from her stomach. Burns. They were all along skin, over her abdomen, her arms, and her back. Picking her up quickly he stepped into the bath and turned on the cold water. Without think he started stripping her body of her clothes and pulling his own shirt off, he stood in the shower, holding her under the water in only his wet jeans. Pushing the plug to the bath closed he let the cold water slowly fill the bath.

“Max call the others now. Tell them to get over here and stop following who ever they’re following, before someone else is exposed.”

“Michael, Maria, we need to…”

“I’ll take care of Maria. Call Liz. Tell her we need replacement fluids and that crap we use at the CrashDown for burns.” Michael looked down at Maria moving against him in pain. “Hurry, Max.”

“I can heal her.”

“Can you? Can you heal the burn on your arm?” Max looked at the burn that he was powerless to heal and then at the burns on Maria naked back. He was out of the bathroom in a run to make the calls.

Laying down in the bath, he held Maria against his body trying to keep her covered by the cool water. The blistering had slowed and no new burns had appeared, but she was still thrashing and letting out screams of pain. Her eyes were unfocused and confused, as if she was viewing something beyond his ability to see. Holding her close and trying to soothe her, he prayed the rest would come soon. Maybe combined they could heal the wounds.

“Michael?” Max stood looking down at them, trying not to stare too much at the very nude, Maria. “I got hold of everyone, except Valenti. They’re on their way. Is she okay?”

“No. I can’t calm her. It’s not just the burns. It’s something else, too.” Liz came running into the bath and stopped dead when she saw Michael and Maria in the bath in their state of undress. When she saw the range of burns along Maria’s skin, her mouth fell opened.

“Oh my God, Maria! What happened Max?”

“She went on a date with Matt. Everything was all right until after he brought her home. He just kissed her goodnight and left and then suddenly she started crying and screaming. When we came into the house we found her here in the bath trying to rip her clothes off. Before Michael put her in the water, the burns were spreading.”

“Liz, did you bring the stuff from the CrashDown that we use for the oil burns?”

“Yes, I brought that and some saline solution to wash out the burns, plus an analgesic cream and this silver cream stuff that suppose to keep her from losing water from her tissues. Michael, I think she needs to drink electrolyte drinks to replace minerals and things. I brought the stuff children’s drink for when they’re sick.”

“What about Gatorade?”

“No. That stuff is nothing more than expensive labeling to catch the jocks of the world.”

“Liz, get me some salt from the kitchen.”

Max watched Liz hurry from the room and Michael extract himself from Maria and stood up out of the bath. Quickly he shed his wet jeans and wrapped himself in a towel around his waist. Taking the salt from Liz, he added it to the water and swirled it in, holding a thrashing Maria under the soothing water.

“Liz, hold her head, don’t let her go under.”

“Michael, maybe I should do this alone or with Isabel’s help when she gets here?”

“Forget it, Liz. Maria doesn’t have anything I haven’t seen before. She needs me right now.”

Max and Liz shared a look at Michael’s words. There seemed to have been more to the other couples relationship than any of them knew about or even understood. Michael kept soothing the pseudo-saline water over her skin, holding her out of the water and tight against his own skin. Liz noticed the same type burns on Michael’s skin. It seemed like as one burn mark went off of Maria’s back, it quickly appeared on Michael’s, and then it slowly faded.

“What is going on here?” They turned to see Isabel and Alex in the doorway with Tess and Kyle behind them.

“Max, you and Liz take them into the living room and tell them the story. I’ll be with Maria for a little longer.”

“Michael.” Max looked down at his new friend, at Maria. He was uncertain.

“Max, just go. This is something only I can do right now. Telling the story is something only you can do. We’ll be all right.”

Max and the others left the bathroom shutting the door behind them shutting out the picture of Michael smoothing Maria’s skin and whispering words of comfort in a language that none of them understood. Even Michael seemed unaware of the words coming from his own mouth. The movement of the burns from her skin to his was a strange new event. Michael and Maria were connected at a level none of them understood, and even after a summer apart, that connection was still there.

The group talked in soft words waiting for Michael to finish whatever he was doing. They could still hear Maria’s soft cries and screams, but the thrashing was quieter as she tired. Finally Michael came out of the bath carrying Maria wrapped in a bath sheet.

They followed him into her bedroom as he placed her on her bed. “Liz, get her favorite sleeping shirt. It’s on the left hand-side, third drawer down.”

The group shared a silent look. How Michael knew so much about Maria was a mystery to them, but it was one they would solve later. Liz found the shirt and passed it to him. The entire group quickly turned around as Michael removed the towel and pulled the shirt over her head. Liz noticed that all the burns were either gone or fading fast, and Michael’s skin was quickly returning too normal as well.

Maria was sound asleep, but in her sleep she was haunted with visions and dreams that caused her to thrash in unrest. Her cries and scream were muted, but still loud enough to be heard. It was the pain and anguish that resonated from her that wounded her friends. Helpless, but to watch, they all sat around her bed while Michael sat on the bed with her wrapped in a warm blanket keeping her close.

“What is it Michael? What is wrong with her?” Isabel asked quietly, afraid and worried.

“I’m not sure. It’s more than the burns. She knows something more than that. But, I think we can safely say that Matt is a Skin, as is Courtney.”

“How do you know about Courtney, Michael? How can you be sure?”

“I recognize the feeling, now. I know it. I felt it with Matt, and Courtney was the same, but different. Now that I know it for what it is, I can recognize it. It is the evil within.”

Maria was slowly regaining consciousness. As she became more awake, her agitation level increased, until she pushed Michael to the side and was out of the bed. Moving around the room, almost like she was trying to escape, she frightened away from everyone, until she was trapped in a corner. Her eyes were wild and unfocused and she was like a wild bird trapped inside a cage. Michael jumped over the bed and stood in front of her barely keeping his towel in place. Putting out his hands in front of him he talked in low soothing words.

“Tell me, Maria. Talk to me. What is it? What pains you?”

She fell to her knees with her body shaking. Holding her hands to the sides of her face she shook her head as if to clear the image. Her cries of anguish cut the rest of them like a knife. Tears were streaming down her face and her eyes held terror, a greater fear then any of them could understand. Liz stood slightly behind Max with tears running down her face. Alex was holding Isabel close and even Kyle seemed to be sheltering Tess.

“Help me, please. Take away. Take away the horror.” Michael moved closer as her whispers were barely audible.

“Take what away, Maria? What is causing you pain?”

“Too many, too fast. Fire that burns, pain, I see pain. Help me. Take the vision.”

“Vision?” Matt gave her a vision. He gave her a fucking flash? Michael swore under his breath swallowing the jealousy like a sharp knife.

Michael moved closer and put his hand over hers joining their fingers. Moving her head to look at him, he tried to get her eyes to see into his, but he could not. Finally, he moved in and took her mouth in a deep kiss joining their bodies, sharing the pain.

As fast as he joined with her, he quickly pulled away almost as if thrown from her. He hit the wall and slid down it. Catching himself with his hands against the wall, he pulled himself back upright. She slowly looked up from where she laid crouched on the floor.

“Thank you.” Maria passed out in a dead faint. Moving himself gently towards her, Michael picked her off the floor and put her back into the bed before passing out himself. Max moved quickly to his side and covered him with a blanket before he lost his towel.

“Michael? Michael?” Max quickly felt Michael pulse. It was fast and pounding.

“I think they’re down for the count. Umm, where exactly are Michael’s clothes?” Alex looked around him.

“In the bathroom. After holding her under the shower and bath for almost an hour, he took them off. We should grab his stuff and run it through the spin cycle and dryer before Maria’s mom comes home and finds her daughter in bed with a not so dressed Michael.”

“It’s not like it would be the first time.” It was becoming apparent that sleeping together in some form was a habit for the once couple.

The group ran around the house cleaning up the mess and drying Michael’s clothes. Liz and Isabel looked at the mohair halter-top in horror. Michael had pulled her into the water with it on. The top had shrunk and was dripping wet. They were glad Maria was asleep and missing the destruction of her newest most prized possession.

It was almost an hour before Michael woke up.

~~~

“Maxwell?” They turned to see Michael struggling to sit up on the bed. He pulled back the blanket until he noticed that he had lost his towel. Quickly pulling the blanket back into place Michael looked over to see Maria staring at him.

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.” Michael reached over and pulled Maria into a strong hug.

“Are you okay? I was worried about you.”

“I know. I feel a little better.”

Max sat down on the bed next to Maria and held her hand. “What happened, Maria?”

“It was when he kissed me. It was like someone poured acid down my throat.” Maria squeezed Max’s hand hard. “Thank you for saving me.”

Max cleared his throat. “It was Michael.”

Maria nodded. “I know.” She looked up at Michael. “Thank you for taking away the vision.” Maria reached up and hugged Michael, kissing his cheek. Michael just ducked his head, but remain quiet.

They looked at each other, neither blinking nor backing off. It was the first time since Maria came home that they actually tried to communicate in a silent manner that they always had. It was something the others couldn’t understand. But the sudden flush on Michael’s cheek and a darkening of Maria’s eyes was making the others move on their feet restless. They were intruding on a personal moment.

“Michael, what happened? Can you tell us, you or Maria?” Max asked quickly trying to break whatever it was between the couple. It looked...it felt, hot and liquid, almost sexual.

Michael nodded. He searched Maria’s face, and their eyes found each other again. In silence they remembered and shared the vision. It ran hot between them, like a knife, cutting and edgy. Finally Michael nodded his head slightly at Maria, almost accepting that he would answer. He looked at the others. There were tears in his eyes and in Maria’s.

She hid her face in his chest as the vision still ran in her head, but not in the endless fast speed that it had before. The repetitive onslaught of images were moving so fast in her mind that the shooting light and pain was all she knew until Michael pulled the images from her mind into his.

Michael cleared his throat from the pain closing it, and he began...

“In the fifth year of the planet’s alignment to its three moons, they came in force. They, the scourge, took the lands fast and furious.” Michael met both Isabel and Max’s eyes. And finally, Tess’s. “For over sixteen generations our people knew no war, knew no disease, and as lambs to the slaughter, they herded us to our destruction.”

Michael paused as Maria whimpered against him, her head pressed firmly to his skin, her hands holding him tight.

“The campaign was already six cycles into the war. We fought to the battlements, laid waste to the stores of food and substance scorching the ground as we retreated. Looking for places to reinforce, we took the high ground, protecting our flanks. The armies of our world were mine to command with you, as our King, Zan, watched our world burn.”

Max made a move to question Michael, to ask how he could know, but Isabel’s hand on his arm stopped him. So they remained silent as Michael continued. His voice echoing, his eyes unfocused as he looked past them, seeing a world, a place long forgotten.

“I stood the ground in front of you. They pushed hard against the left flank and it fell to the onslaught. The right held the line and the enemy felt the crush of defeat. The battle raged for days and the fires in the sky lighted the nights, and they came, feasting on our demise. The final conflict was fought in flats above Or’Leon, and we stood the ground.”

Michael paused gulping in pain. “In the end, a nation was slew, armies fell and the blood of our brethren ran in rivers of red. The battlefield was so entrenched that as the remaining armies of our enemies walked the fields among the carnage, the blood pooled at their feet, ankle deep. It was there that we were lost to our people. The children and survivors were herded into camps, enslaved as future substance for our enemies. They ate our dead.”

“My God, Michael. Are you sure?” Max backed away from the bed as a tinge of the vision hit him.

“Yeah. I’m sure. Maria took the vision from his mind. It was too much. Like a non-ending story of death and destruction, it ran over and over in her mind, flashing the death of millions at the hand of the scourge.”

Maria’s brow furled in pain, in confusion as the remnant vision raced still in her mind. She made a soft mewing sound of pain, and Michael’s hand came up to cup her face, to comfort her.

“They walked the blood trails dragging the bodies of the dead behind them. We fought and they came. We won and they came. We retaliated and they still came. Thousand of millions lay slain in the fields, and they still came. Our forces held strong, but they were hidden among us. Traitors within our ranks, attacked us from within, while our outer defenses remained strong. We fell from the inside and weaken outward until nothing was left but the destiny to die.”

Michael looked Max directly in the eyes, and what Max saw frightened him enough to make him stand back. Michael was no longer Michael. He was more, something else. He was his ancient blood, a warrior, strong, noble, and proud.

“I stood in front of you until the end, but they went through me, tearing my fresh from my body. They left our bodies hanging from pikes to signify the end of the war.”

“The horror, it was the horror.” Maria whispered with tears running down her face and anguish finding a home in her expression. Michael held her tightly knowing that the images would never be removed from her mind, for they were equally imprinted on his.

“I saw something else, too. There was a place, Maxwell, a place that the Skins go. If we find that place we can identify the rest of them. It may be as easy as placing cameras around and recording who comes and goes. Then no one else has to be risked.”

“Do you know where it is, Michael?” Michael shook his head. He saw the place in the vision that Maria had taken from Matt, but the place was unknown to him.

“I do.” They both looked at Maria where she rested against Michael. “I know where it is. I recognized the turn off road from when I was lost once doing one of my mom’s deliveries. I can’t describe it, but I know I’ve been there.”

Max sat down on the bed again. “Can you find it?”

Maria nodded. “I think so, if you can get me close, on the road along the way. I can find it.”

Michael shook his head no. Absolutely fucking not! It was the very reason he pushed her away, that which he was trying to spare her. All his sacrifice, all her suffering, and losing her was lost if she remained in danger.

“Maria, you can’t go. I want you out of this, far out of this. If I could ship you off to another world so you could be safe, I would.”

“There is no more safe. It is no longer your place to care.”

“What kind of bullshit is that? I have every right to care. You’re more to me than just an ex-girlfriend I use to feel up and occasionally sleep with.” Michael didn’t notice the other’s getting more attentive to the conversation. This was starting to get really good.

“That was the past, and this is now. This isn’t about your world anymore.” Maria moved away from Michael pushing Max off the bed so she could get up. Turning back she looked at Michael still in her bed. Standing over him and then turning to the rest she made her own decision. Before it was all done for them, the podsters, it was all done to keep them safe and alive. But that time had passed. Things changed and the stakes were more crucial.

“This is about my world, my people, and my family. They’re here. This scourge that destroyed your world, enslaved it. They followed you. And over fifty years they slowly melded into my world, took strongholds waiting for a time to attack, to do here what they did to yours. And no one will know, no one but us. A small group of teenagers.”

The others looked at each other as the implication of Maria’s understanding hit them. They were the only ones who knew, who understood, who could understand the danger. They were helpless in their teenage bodies.

“The scourge that destroyed your world will work to annihilate mine next, once they have found you, and exterminated you as a threat. When you’re gone nothing will impede their advances. They will gain access to and hide among us until they’re strongly entrenched after generations of infiltration. Then they will signal their people that the time is right, and the scourge will come which will toll the hour of our destruction.”

Liz sat down heavily in the chair at Maria’s vanity. The weight of what Maria and Michael were telling them outweighed everything. Even a summer of loneliness hating the word destiny, and her pain over knowing that Max was meant for another. This was real. It was millions of steps beyond the whole high school broken romance thing.

Liz just shook her head. “How? How can we stop them? We can barely save ourselves from the FBI Special Unit. These Skins, they have powers. We are weak, where they are strong.”

“These powers that you have,” Maria looked at the podsters. “Nasedo said that they are human powers progressed generations in advance. That means that if they want this planet, they need to take it before our species evolves into a force to be dealt with. If your continual survival is what gives us the times we need to learn to defend ourselves, then you have all the help I can give.”

Michael understood what she was saying. It wasn’t his decision. It never was. Maria and the other humans had the right to decide to risk their lives. What in his mind was his right exclusively was suddenly hers.

“So get use to it. If I get hurt or die, then it was choice I made. You gave your life once to protect your world; don’t ask me to do less. I saw the destruction, the horror. I’ll not live to see it again.”

“Maria.”

“Max, talk to him. He’s not listening to me. I’ll not be left behind like the little defenseless woman waiting for the end of the world. If my world is to ends, it will not be because I did not fight.” Maria looked out her window into the dark seeing that burning alien world, and transposing it on her own. She would no be left defenseless. Not now. Not ever. Time for schoolgirl days were over.

“Now everyone has to leave before my mom gets home. I need some rest. I need to go to my place of peace for a while.” Everyone started for the door except Michael who was still in Maria’s bed.

“Michael? Leave.”

“Umm, I seem to be missing my clothes.”

“Oh for God’s sake. Where are Michael’s clothes?” Maria was at the end of her tolerance. She was so tired, and she could feel herself breaking. It was like glass shattering.

When he had finally dressed himself and was heading out the door, Maria put her hand out and stopped him. “I really meant it when I said thank you. You saved my life tonight. I know I was a little out of it, but I knew that you were trying to save me, so for what it is worth, thank you.” Maria reached up gently kissed his lips.

Michael watched her pulled back from the kiss. Wrapping his hand around her neck, he roughly pulled her back in and plunged her mouth with a kiss that scorched her soul. He wanted to erase any other man’s kiss from her memory, to cleanse her of every thought but him. When he finally released her, he gently kissed her forehead and whispered into her ear, “I have every right to care,” and with that said, he left.

~~~

Maria didn’t emerge from her place of peace for two days. Meditation. She learned it that summer. Learned to focus her thoughts, to center them, and balance herself. Her mother was worried about her, but called her in as sick and took phone messages. When she finally woke it was to find that she had lost her ability to regain her serenity. The vision of horror and one kiss from Michael took away all that she had fought to gain over the summer. The remnant of her control would have to be the façade she lived behind until she regained what was lost. But for now, she had work to do. They all did.

~~~

“Maria?”

“Hi, Matt.”

“I called you and left numerous messages. Your mother said you were ill.”

“I was. Right after you left my skin began to burn. I must have eaten something I was allergic to. It doesn’t make sense, because I didn’t order anything that I haven’t had many times in the past. Maybe they changed their recipe. I’m praying that it’s not peanuts or something. The burns have almost all faded except for a few.” Maria showed the one on her inner arm that still pained and burn. Actually the burning had increased as she came closer to Matt.

When he saw the wound he quickly moved away from her. Maria was a Sensitive, one of those individual’s who could find a hidden Skin from the reaction of their bodies to the mere vicinity. After increased exposures they no longer need contract to have their bodies react, just being in close proximity was enough. The kiss had taught her body the primary exposure creating a sort of antigenic effect like an immune system responding to a virus. Now her body would be tuned to the presence of Skins. She was now a danger to them. She was an early alert.

“Hey, don’t worry. It’s not contagious. I use to get these when I was a child. Amazing thing is that I thought I had outgrown it.”

“You know Maria? I think I need to skip ordering. I just remember something I need to do.”

“Well, I just wanted to tell you that I had a wonderful evening, except for the allergy thing.” Maria said smiling and her eyes sparkling.

“I’ll call you sometime and we can do it again.” Matt obviously wanted as far away from Maria as possible.

“Do that.” Maria smiled at him and then walked away. Nodding to Alex and the others as she passed them. Going straight through the lounge door into the break room, Maria grabbed her jacket and keys.

“Maria? Where are you going?” Maria turned to see Courtney with Michael silently coming through the door behind her. Courtney didn’t know he was there.

“Leaving, if that’s okay with you?”

“Your shift isn’t over.”

“I know. Unfortunately, I’m not feeling well. Not that it’s any of your business. But I have a burn, and it’s getting worse. Actually, it seems to have gotten worse since talking to you. What do you think?” Maria reveals the burn on her arm to Courtney whose eyes widen in shock as Maria advances. Courtney step back to avoid touching Maria and instead ran directly into Michael’s chest.

“Excuse, you.” Michael gave Courtney a push away from his body. “Maria, are you ready to go?”

“Thanks for driving me. This thing really is starting to hurt again. I swear I didn’t eat or drink anything unusual.”

Maria went over to him and gently rubbed his cheek, then gave him a quick deep kissing pulling away slowly to lick him with her tongue. Turning to look pointedly at Courtney, Maria smiled.

“Still here? Shoo, back to work, and don’t forget to refill the ketchup.”

Michael smirked at Courtney swish out of the back room and turned back to Maria as she chuckled. “I feel so cheap. Like a parcel of land being fought over. I’m not an object.”

“Not land, honey. Meat.”

Maria walked out of the door, but not before giving Michael’s ass a nice pinch. He hurried after her with a smirk on his face. He was actually feeling pretty good that Maria felt the need to put up no trespassing sign around him and establish him as her property. He was more than happy to comply and follow her lead in the matter. It could only be a good sign that she was treating him more territorial. It was the first real break she had given him in months. He wanted her away from him, safe. But Maria took that decision from his hands, and if she was going to be near there was no reason to keep her away from him. Now he just needed to get Maria online with his reasoning.

~~~

Alex and Isabel were hot on the trail of Matt. They were tailing him to see if he led them back to the secret den of Skins. Maria remembered the road, but when it came down to finding it again, she kept getting lost. Which wasn’t really that hard to believe since she was lost the first time she saw it. They were sure that if they found the area, she would remember the rest.

Michael and Maria stopped to pick up Kyle and the gross of miniature cameras that Nasedo Pierce had left them before he died. Nasedo and Valenti felt it was best that the electronics be stored at the Sheriff’s home since it could be explained away better than a bunch of teenagers having high quality bugging devices.

When they arrived Kyle was pacing the lawn in front of his house in obvious agitation. When he saw the Jetta, he rushed over before Maria could even stop. Michael almost started yelling at him, but Maria put a hand on his arm to calm him. Kyle wasn’t just being a jerk, something was wrong.

“Kyle? What happened?”

“It’s Tess. Michael you have to help her. I tried calling, but no one was answering their phones.”

“Where is she?”

“I left her in my room. This is not good. Man, this green people stuff is giving me an ulcer. I can’t believe I wanted know about this all last year. I could be in the back of the gym right now, feeling up some willing co-ed.”

“Kyle, calm, collect, and for God’s sake, focus.” Maria grabbed Kyle giving him a little shake. “Tess?”

“Oh man, Tess. Burns, yuck, real ugly burns.”

Michael pushed Kyle aside and hurried into the house. Rushing through the rooms he found her on Kyle’s bed. The burns were on her face and neck. He picked up an arm and noticed more.

“Did your dad get that supply of IV normal saline?”

“Yeah, it came in yesterday. I made a bed on top of the palates.”

“We need your bed then. Grab as many as you can and bring it into the bathroom.”

Maria helped Michael get Tess up. Finally he picked her up and carried her into the bathroom. Placing her into the bath Michael took some of the bags that Kyle brought in and emptied them on top of Tess’s burns. The saline applied directly slowed the spread and they began to fade in severity. Maria grabbed a washcloth and soaked it with the saline and applied it to Tess’s face while Kyle and Michael emptied liter after liter of IV bags into the bath. Tess opened her eyes to look at Maria.

“Thank you.”

Maria felt tears collect in her eyes. She really hadn’t treated Tess very nice. It was a hard situation given the whole Max and Liz situation and seeing two of her best friends broken up over the whole destiny thing. Tess was the messenger that they all blamed, but seeing her suffering the same fate that Maria had felt only days before made the compassion wash away some of the dislike.

“It’s okay, Tessie. We’re here.” Michael watched as Maria leaned forward and kissed Tess forehead soothing back her hair. His gratitude towards her was based on the compassion Maria was showing Tess. It opened his heart to her even more. Tess had helped him all summer long to work on his powers. Though he was still suspicious and reserved with her, she had done nothing all summer but try to be helpful.

“Tess, who was it. Do you know how you got the burns?”

“No. I just got home and felt a burning on my face. I thought someone was in the house with me, but I searched and I was alone. I felt so bad so I had to sit down on Kyle’s bed to rest. I was gonna call Jim, but I didn’t have the energy. That when Kyle found me.”

“The saline is working. They must have a way to remove salts from the system. These burns look like salt burns.” Michael said searching Tess’s arms for more.

“Salt burns? Where did you see salt burns Michael?” Kyle said in disbelief. Michael wasn’t no geek like Liz and Max. The man hardly remembered where the damn school was most the time.

“Remember chemistry last semester when I was forced to work in lab as your partner?”

“Yeah, it was the highlight of my year.” Kyle said with a biting sarcasm. “Wait, you never finished that lab. You left unexpectedly and took a zero on the grade. Hey, jerk, you almost cost me my grade too. It wasn’t like Chemistry was a strong class for me anyway.”

“Cool it Valenti, it was your fault that I was forced to leave when I did. You were horsing around with the potassium hydroxide crystals and an acid. We were using the KOH as a buffering system to add hydroxide to the system. We were working with the salt of the acid, which you accidentally spilled it all over the work area. You didn’t even clean it up.”

“That wasn’t my fault. Stupid Casey bumped into me on purpose because I asked his ex-girlfriend out on a date.”

“Spare us the detailed mating ritual of jocks and pre-ancestral primates. The point was that I put my hand down in a pile of the salt of the acid on the table. The sweat from my skin gave it enough water to activate the acid and I received a really bad burn.”

Kyle paused in his regards. Maybe they misjudged Michael in more ways than one. “Hey, sorry man, you should’ve said something to the instructor or something. They have stuff for acid burns.”

“Get real, Kyle. They would’ve dragged me off to the nurse’s office and then the hospital. Having people check my blood isn’t the smartest thing I could do in a normal day.”

“Bummer.”

“My point is that these look very much like the salt burns I had. So maybe they lack certain minerals and things. They leach those essentials from other living creatures, leaving very little left to bury. That would make them into a type of vampire, but their substance is the minerals in the body and not just blood.”

“Damn. These monsters are living on our world? This is what destroyed yours?”

“Yeah.”

Kyle remained quiet looking down at the sleeping Tess. Almost all the burns were fading and she was resting. What was coming suddenly became almost too real to handle. No wonder his father was getting more and more concerned. This wasn’t about high school kids stealing each other’s girl. It was about surviving, not just as an individual, but also as a race.

“We need to get going with the cameras. Maria, are you staying with Tess?” Michael asked hopefully.

“No. I need to go.”

“Maria, please. I’m asking you, stay with Tess.”

“Michael.” They looked to see Tess awake. “Go, all of you, I’ll be fine. I just need to rest. Take Maria with you. She knows what to look for when you get her close enough. Go.”

~~~

They left Tess reluctantly, but what needed to be done had to be more important. Once they knew where the threat lied, they had a better chance of protecting themselves.

No one talked about what would be done to the Skins as they slowly exposed them. It was no longer an issue. They would have to be killed, all of them. It was the only way to protect themselves and the Earth. For fifty years they were allowed to hide among humans. It was only a matter of time before they were firmly infiltrated all stratum of the society, then there would be no stopping the coming war.

“Alex, where are you?”

“We’re moving on the County due west off of 285. We’re gonna have to stop following him soon. It’s getting dark and our lights are gonna clue him in about us. We will get as close as possible and stop. Look for us on the road.”

“Michael, take the next county highway west.” Maria told Michael giving him Alex’s directions.

“Maria, does anything look familiar yet?” Kyle asked from the backseat.

“No. We have to hurry. I don’t know that I can recognize the turn off in the dark.”

~~~

Max and Liz were sitting in a booth watching Courtney work. They hadn’t said much since Alex and Isabel took off to tail Matt. Maria and Michael were fast on their tails. But, Courtney was still working. It was their job to follow her when she finished. Plans change sometimes. Liz’s phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Lizzie, it’s Maria. We’re catching up with Alex, but I need you to do something.”

“Maria, what is it?” Liz’s eyes met Max’s across the table.

“Tess.” Maria heard the pause on Liz’s side. “Liz, are you there? I need you to listen and do what I ask without question. Go to Valenti’s house. Tess is there. She was severely burned. We fix them as best we could, but she’s unprotected and alone. Liz, honey, I know how you feel, but this is very important. We can’t leave her unprotected.”

“I hear you. We’ll go immediately.”

“Liz, take care of yourself. Her burns were on her face and neck, and they were more severe than mine. Something big and bad is out there. And Liz,” Maria waited for Liz to acknowledge her, “it’s near. Too near.”

“I understand. Max and I’ll take care of it. We will bring her back here. Come in the back and meet us upstairs. My parents are gone right now so we should be safe.”

“Done. See you when we’re through.”

Maria hung up and looked at Michael. The look was dark and spoke volumes, Maria turned to smile at Kyle as his hand came to rest on her arm giving it a squeeze of gratitude. Liz may not like Tess and Max may try to avoid her, but neither would do anything to put her at risk.

“There’s Alex’s car, Michael.” Kyle said seeing the rear reflectors.

“I see it.” Michael brought the car up next to Alex’s car parked on the side of the road. Maria rolled down the window.

“He continued on this road. We stopped because I think he was getting to curious about us. I saw him keep looking into his rearview mirror. Maria, do you think you can find the turn off?”

“Yeah, if we do it now. I can’t find it in the dark and it’s getting darker as we speak.”

“We’ll follow you.”

They traveled along the road for another fifteen minutes. Maria kept looking at the sky. The sun was almost completely down. And then she saw the alien head.

“There it is, on the left, Michael.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. Look at the rock formation by the turn off.” Michael looked at the rocks and finally saw what must have stuck in Maria’s mind after all these months. The pile of rocks looked like a Roswell alien head.

“God Maria, do you have aliens on the brain?”

“Stop complaining, and make the turn.”

~~~

They stayed away from the structure watching until it became dark. The cell phones weren’t working so Maria could call to check on Tess. Looking over at Isabel and Alex next to her she couldn’t help but smile at the picture they made. Isabel was lying on her stomach and Alex was resting over her, covering her with his body to keep her warm.

Maria sighed and looked around to find her agitated dragon. Michael was in his element. He had reconnoitered the surrounding area finding a natural grotto in case they need to hide. He moved in stealth mode almost blending into the background.

As Michael came back to join the group, he removed his jacket and covered Maria. She looked cold. He missed the look of surprise she flashed at him. Taking the canteen, he took a quick drink and then passed it over to Maria.

“I’m fine.”

“Drink. You can dehydrate fast in the desert.”

“No, really, I’m not thirsty. Thanks.”

“Maria, just drink the bloody water.”

Maria opened her mouth to argue yet again when she noticed the smirk on Kyle’s face. Taking a quick drink, she passed the water to him. It would serve him right if she had to stop in the middle of the mission to go pee, bet he never needed to worry about a pea sized bladder.

“Kyle?”

Kyle took the water and drank before passing to over to Isabel and Alex. Looking over for cues from Michael, Kyle had to admit that Michael Guerin was impressive. He changed into something different. His face became more fierce and intense. He could see farther than the rest in the dark, his hearing was better, and he held himself poised, almost like he could instinctually feel the enemy. Kyle moved closer to his general.

Maria’s had to stop herself from chuckling at the masculine admiration Kyle was showing Michael. It must be a guy thing. Her dragon was showing his armor and skill and Kyle was responding to his natural ability to command. It was no wonder that Max and Michael had been at each other’s throat of late. Both were leaders of a different type. Michael was born to command armies while Max was destiny to lead his people as their King.

“Okay, there are only two in there at this time. We can only wait so long. More may come, or these may leave, but I feel that this is the best time to approach the structure and plant the cameras. Kyle, I need both you and Alex to enter from separate areas. Do not enter if you can’t remain hidden. The objective is to get as close as possible and set up as many cameras as possible.”

“If Isabel and I also enter, the five of us could cover more ground quicker and more efficiently.”

“We already discussed this Maria. You and Isabel are standing guard at different locations outside. The two cars are located to take different courses home. When we evacuate it is important for us to move out of here fast and without incident.”

“I told you that I don’t need to be shielded from harm. I can easily place cameras.”

“Maria, I’ll not argue with you again. I need you and Isabel to be on watch. When Alex, Kyle, and myself emerge from the structure our night vision will be for shit. You and Isabel will be the guides to the cars until our eyes readjust to the darkness. I’m not shielding you. There is no position of safe in this adventure.”

“Okay, but you better not be coddling me. I swear, Michael, I want to be an equal in this.”

“Noted. But know this, if I catch or even suspect you’re putting yourself in unnecessary danger, we will be having more than words about it.”

Maria opened her mouth to make a smart remark, but the sincere look in his eyes silenced her tongue. The thought of him spanking for misbehaving was having a curious effect on her. She almost shut her eyes and groans from the thought of him. Okay, she was moving into some seriously sick territory. Swallowing a small lump that somehow had lodged itself in her throat, she stood her ground and didn’t cower under his glaze.

“Noted.”

“Then let’s go.”

The group slowly moved towards the structure, spreading out to approach it from different angles. Maria followed close behind Michael using his impressive night vision to see clearer. He found an opening and using a hand gesture he moved his troops in. The structure was the main offices and building for an abandon mining operation.

Maria watched him. Watched the strong lines of his back, the steady easy tread unusual for a man his size. He was quiet and deadly. Totally lust worthy and fuckable. Turning quickly to look at Maria almost as if he could read her mind or desires, he grabbed her and kissed her hard before entering the structure beyond her sight. She stood touching her lips lost in a daze until reality reasserted itself. It was time to work thinking would come later.

Michael surveyed the interior of the structure. The lit area was a large open room with two people talking. They had set up endless phone lines and office machines; a smaller side room had numerous computers all working furiously. Moving to look among the other smaller rooms, Michael noticed what could only be termed as living quarters.

Moving into a room that looked like a kitchen, he quickly searched the cabinets finding tablets and other materials that didn’t look familiar. Taking a few tablets, he pushed them into his pockets and quickly set up a few hidden cameras in the galley area. Moving back outside around the large community area he placed more cameras until he was out.

Taking a few moments, he assessed the location of his team. Alex was the first to move back out of the structure. Michael watched him lift himself out of a broken window. Kyle was still placing camera along his perimeter, but he paused for some reason. Michael watched him crouch down and pick up some object. Suddenly he was up and moving out of the building. Once his team had cleared, Michael followed.

Maria grabbed him as soon as he came back out. She had seen Isabel leading both Alex and Kyle towards Alex’s car. They were safely away. Maria was glad because a flash of something metallic by the ridge was concerning her. It was time to leave this place.

Taking Michael hand she pulled him away from the structure as fast as possible trying not to make any noise. The Jetta was parked the furthest out since that access road had fewer hiding places to discretely cover the car. Maria could almost feel eyes on her back and when she looked over at Michael she noticed that his demeanor had changed yet again. The stillness of his body, the poised position was a testament to his preparing to fight worried her, but she now knew that her instincts were correct. They were being stalked.

Taking Maria’s hand, Michael pulled her along behind him, not bothering to be quiet since moving fast was all that mattered at that time. Leading her to the place he found before, they hid in the fissure silently waiting for the patrol to pass. Keeping her pressed up against him in the tight space under a natural overhang, the cliff wall was against his back and a large drop was in front of Maria. They lay there pressed hard together so their forms would not be seen. It took over ten minutes before the first patrol passed by the area.

“Did they search the other surrounding areas?”

“Yes, they didn’t find anything. What did you see?”

“I didn’t see anything. I felt something. It’s Him. I would know him through a thousand lifetimes.”

“It could’ve been an animal in the dark.”

“No, it’s one of the Royals, the commander, a cousin to the King. I know him. He was a bitch to kill before, and I’m not looking forward to fighting him again. The bastard almost wiped out my entire army, and I had over ten times his forces. For every man of his army I killed, he took eight of mine.”

The harsh voice was slowly moving away from their hidden position, but his evil nasty voice still echoed.

“But this time I’ll more than strip his body of flesh and eviscerate him; I’ll burn his carcass and spread his ashes to the winds. There will be nothing left to retrieve. A King is only as strong as his those who support him, and this bastard was a strongest adversary I ever fought. We only defeated him last time because we infiltrated his ranks early, before the conflicts when our people were still at peace. He knows us now and we will no longer have that advantage. I want him dead.”

They listened as the footstep moved away from their hidden position. Maria held on tight hoping that she wasn’t making enough sound to attract this alien psycho. It seemed impossible that he couldn’t hear the beating of her heart or the sound of her labored breathing.

“Calm down.” Michael whispered in her ear. He could feel her body’s reaction to the fear. Her heart was jumping out of her breast and her breathing sounded harsh to his ears. He shouldn’t have let her come. She was too frightened.

“I’m calm.”

“No you aren’t. I can feel your heartbeat. You’re scared.”

“A little, true, but that’s to be expected. When can we leave?”

“Another ten minutes or so, but we will have to go a long route to the car. I need to check out the area in case they found the Jetta and are waiting for us. I won’t risk your capture.”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re so scared, Maria. Don’t lie. I should’ve never let you talk me into letting you come.”

“You’re a real idiot, you know?”

“What?”

“My heart isn’t racing because I’m afraid, and my breath isn’t labored because of the trip here, okay? Sure I’m scared, but not that afraid. I’m with you, aren’t I? You’d never let anything happen to me, with you I’m safe.”

“Then why is…”

“Oh for god’s sake!”

Maria reached up and took his mouth in a deep passionate kiss. This new side of Michael was a total turn on, more so than deep dark brooding Michael. Commander Michael was too sexy to be ignored; he exuded his own type of sensuality. All the defenses she had built to protect herself from him were gone, slain by this new warrior dragon, but his heart was strong and warm, so it was so worth the surrender.

“Maria.”

Michael tried to stay focus on the danger, but she was breaking his control. He had spent months wanting her back in his life, and she waits until they’re in danger to let him back in? Oh hell, he may not be a romantic, but he was a man. With a good ten minutes to kill, they might as well take benefit of the time.

Michael took advantage of the opportunity and catalogued every scent, sound and sensation that he could. Taste had never been more seductive, more intoxicating. She was fast surpassing Tabasco as his favorite condiment. Spicy. Very spicy, but also sweet.

His tongue flicked out, tasting his mate. Maria could feel the dragon's moan against her skin, and she added her own sound of approval vibrated against Michael's scorching, greedy mouth. She threw her head back, eyes closed. This could not be real. Michael, sucking hotly on her neck, couldn’t be real. They didn’t do this anymore.

Michael knew that Maria was generous and passionate, but this? Nothing had prepared him for this. It was too much, Maria's lips, hands, and tongue, sliding against his own. It was feeding a hunger that he had carried for months of being without her, watching her leave.

"Maria," he gasped, "Stop. Let me…"

But she didn't stop, just kept right on loving Michael's mouth as though she was starving, and had been starving for a long time. Starved for his touch, starved for the knowledge that she was loved, that it mattered whether she lived or died.

“Damn you, say it. Give me that much at least.”

“Maria, later okay? I promise. But we have to move now.” Michael grabbed her back in his arms one more time before she moved away from him. “This time we do it the right way, okay? The whole candlelight, food, and soft music in a warm safe place with nothing but time and just the two of us, deal?” She gave him a quick nod as they slowly emerged from their hiding place.

They were four clicks from the car when Michael left her to reconnoiter the area. She stayed still and watching as he blended into the darkness.

Romance? Now he wants to give me romance? Maria almost groaned aloud at the inconsistent manners of a dragon. He ran fast and kept her at a distance when they were safe and had nothing but time. Now that they no longer had a safe place, with the enemy fast approaching, he wanted to take a day off and spend quality time. She was still shaking her head when he returned for her.

“The car is still hidden and clear. We need to go fast and stay low. Take my hand and try to keep up, okay.”

“Let’s just get home, okay?”

Michael nodded and took her hand. His neck was prickling, but the area was clear. They ran fast and as silently as possible. Suddenly he felt a compression wave disturb the air as Maria gave a muffled cry and stumbled into his back. Straightening her, he pulled her close in front of him with his arm around her waist hurrying her along and keeping her from stumbling again.

Helping her into the car, he quickly took the driver’s seat and took off heading for home and the safety of Roswell. Maria was breathing heavy next to him and he knew this time it was fear and not just passion. Speeding along as fast as he could, he looked over at her worried.

She seemed disoriented and almost unconscious. The lactic acid concentration during adrenaline rushes and situations of fright and flight tended to make the muscles weak and tired. The best he could do for her now was to get her home. If he weren’t finding the thought so laughable, he would swear that he could almost taste her blood.

“Umm, Michael?”

“I know, honey. Just a few more minutes and we will be home. Just rest, we’ll be there soon.” Maria became quiet again. He never thought that Roswell would be a welcomed sight.

~~~

“Where are they?”

“Max, we were done and on our way out. Michael finished first and stayed to make sure that both Alex and me finished our sides. I took a little longer than Alex because I tripped over a box of ammunition. They have bullets for guns, but the ammunition was strange. I’ve never seen anything like it.” Jim looked over at his son.

“Describe it son, what did it look like?”

“The projector cap and casing was strange. It was altered from the normal ammunition.”

“It could have been cop killers, armor piercing rounds.”

“No. It has a smooth metal jacket, but the front load was packed. Heavier than normal.”

They all looked up as they heard Michael come burst through the back door of the CrashDown. The group started down the stairs as Michael was coming up. He had pulled Maria into the back room behind him. She was locking the door as he continued up the stair. At the top of the landing he confronted his worried friends.

“Michael, what happened? Alex and the rest have been back for almost a hour.”

“We ran into a patrol and had to lay low for a good twenty minutes. Then we had to take a different route back to the car and check it out before approaching. I would’ve called, but the phone weren’t working in that area. Did you set up and get the cameras working, Alex?”

“No, not yet. We will have to find a place close enough for good reception.” Alex frowned at Michael’s jacket front. “Michael? You’re bleeding.”

“Not me.” Michael looked down at his front. There was blood smeared across his jacket and shirt. Suddenly he stilled, realizing that someone hadn’t followed him up the stairs.

“Maria!” Michael turned and rushed down the stairs. She was leaning up against the door, breathing hard. When Michael paused at the foot of the stairs she looked up at him and laugh. Pulling her hands away from her side she showed him her blooded hands. Suddenly, in almost slow motion, she slid down the door leaving a blood trail on the door as she collapsed in a heap.

“Max!”

Michael rushed to her side picking her up, the other moved as he took her upstairs with Max fast following. They opened up her coat seeing the entry wound was from behind and there was no exit wound in the front. Maria had wrapped her hands around her body to add pressure to the shot in the back, but the amount of blood that was pooling was too much.

“Max, save her before she’s gone. I can’t lose her. I need her. Please, Max.” Max moved Michael out of the way as they had rolled her slightly forward to see the wound better. “Hurry! She’s lost too much blood already, shock is settling in.”

Tess has heard the commotion and had left Liz’s room to see what was happening. When she saw the dying Maria, her heart stopped in her throat. Michael held her in his arms while Max tried to repair the damage. Taking her face gently Michael looked down at her closing eyes.

“You stay with me, Maria. Open your eyes honey. Don’t you leave me?” Max pulled his hand away and all was left was a silver handprint. The entire group sighed a sense of relief. Maria slowly was coming back to consciousness as Michael looked up at Max.

“Thank you, Maxwell. Thank you.”

He turned to look down and her to find her awake and staring back. He pulled her into a deep hug rocking him and her back and forth whispering words to her and placing kisses on her face. The rest of the group left them alone and moved into the Parker’s kitchen to get food and drinks giving the couple a few minutes to recover.

~~~

“Michael, you didn’t hear the shot?”

“No, I searched the area. There were no patrols near us. It had to have been done from a distance using a scope with silencer. I felt a compression wave, but it diffused.”

“Diffused? What do you mean?”

“Maria stumbled at the same time and ran into my back. That must have been when the bullet hit her.” Michael looked down at the semi-asleep Maria. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were hurt?”

“It wouldn’t have mattered. We needed to get out of there immediately so you couldn’t stop to heal me. So I waited until we were home safe.” Michael swore under his breath. She was right. He couldn’t heal, not even her.

“You and I are gonna have a real long talk about this and other things real soon.”

“Tyrant.”

“Yeah, as far as you’re concerned, tyrant is a good word.”

Maria just snuggled deeper into his chest and slipped off to sleep. It was shocking how little fear she had of him. Keeping her safe and in line was going to be more than just a difficult task, it was going to push him to the edge of his endurance. Taking her small hand in his Michael rubbed her fingers over his face and across his lips taking a finger into his mouth gently scrapping it with his teeth and sucking it deeply. The rest tried not to notice how close the couple had become again in just a few hours, but frankly, it was about time.

They discussed how to find a place near enough to monitor the Skins camp. Alex and Valenti were looking at area maps trying to define the limits of reception. Kyle went over to Tess to check up on her. Together they went back into the kitchen to make more sandwiches. Both Isabel and Liz kept looking at Maria as she slept. Her coloring still looked bad and her breathing was still labored. It was Michael’s stillness that concerned them the most. His hands started wandering all over her body.

“Max, she has a fever.”

Max returned to Maria’s side. Michael was right. Maria’s color was bad, sweat was covering her body, and she was beginning to shiver despite the heat radiating from her body.

“She’s not healed all the way.”

“I can’t heal her anymore than I have. It’s something else.”

“Max, maybe she just needs to sleep. This might be shock from the trauma. When you healed both Kyle and me, it was immediately following the accident. Maria ran through the desert in the dark and then bled all the way home. There was a delay in her healing.” Liz suggested.

“It’s possible. Michael, maybe we should let her sleep for a while and see if she improves. This could be shock to the trauma. Let’s put her to bed and cover her up so she isn’t cold.”

The group was more silent after they put Maria to bed. Michael stayed with her despite Liz’s and the others offer to watch her while Michael helped them make plans. Less than an hour later Michael was calling for them from the bedroom.

“She’s worse.” They looked at Maria. She looked half dead. Valenti finally made a decision.

“We’re taking her to the hospital, now.”

“The handprint has still not faded. We can’t take her there.” Max looked at the others in worry.

“She has to go, or she’ll die.”

“He’s right Max. She’s more important than our safety. We can’t let her die.” Isabel looked worriedly down at Maria. Michael hadn’t said anything, but he was too busy wrapping Maria in blankets to transport her. His decision was already made.

“Wait, I know a place that we can take her. Michael, take her to my car.” Jim rushed out of the room to grab a phone and make a quick call as Michael carried her down the stairs and outback to the Sheriff’s vehicle.

“Let’s go!” Valenti came rushing out after them and as many of the group piled in the back seat. The rest took the jeep.

“Where are we taking her?”

“To a friend, she’s a doctor and we can trust her. I’ve known her all her life and she’s beyond reproach.”

“Just hurry.”

~~~

When they stopped outside a private research clinic outside of town, Michael was surprised to see a young woman with a gurney waiting at the entrance.

“Jim, what did you bring me?”

“A problem that can’t spread.”

“You know my fee. One box of almond roca, and you cover for me at the next family get together.”

“Done.”

The group followed Maria and the doctor into the clinic. She quickly began examining the patient. Looking up at all the concerned faces she quickly found one she knew.

“Kyle, take you friends into the waiting room and make some hot coffee. Jim, you stay and tell me what happened.”

“I’m staying, too.” She looked up at the fierce looking large young man and nodded. The darker boy also stayed.

“This girl has been poisoned. She’s showing all the sign of toxicity. Did she eat something or was exposed to anything unusual?”

“No. There was nothing. We drank water, but all of us did it.”

“I need to know everything that happened.” The three men shared looks, but the pleading in Michael’s eyes made the decision. Max moved forward.

“She was shot in the back earlier tonight.” The doctor quickly turned Maria over to find the wound. Looking at the handprint she looked up at him. “I healed her.”

“How exactly did that happen?”

“I put my hand over…”

“No. I mean, what happens when you heal them? What happened to the bullet?”

“It dissolved.” Valenti suddenly looked up at Max as a connection began to fall into place.

“Kyle! Max, get me Kyle.” Max nodded and rushed out to find Kyle. When Kyle rushed into the room with Max, he wanted to know what was up.

“Kyle, you said the bullets that you found were special?”

“Yeah, they were smooth metal jackets, but the packing load was heavy.”

Jim thought about it a moment. “Doc, the bullet that Max dissolved may have been packed with the poison.”

“Like maybe curare? Or another poison used to take out large game animals?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, she’s gonna die if you can’t get me a sample of this drug or poison. Jim, I needed it over two hours ago. She’s not gonna last long.”

“Why can’t you just analysis her blood and give her an antidote?” Doc nixed Jim’s suggestion. No time.

“The spectrum analysis would have to be set to scan for a specific toxin otherwise all it may tell us is that she has an unknown toxin in her blood. I can try naloxone and atropine, but they only clear certain drugs and poisons. Using them may make matters worse by not knowing what she has been exposed too. I need the poison.”

“We’ll go back and get some of the bullets that Kyle found.” Michael quickly kissed Maria and started heading for the door. Time was too important to waste.

“Wait.” The group looked back at the doctor. “Not you. I need you to stay with me.”

Michael looked down at the doctor and then at Maria. “I can’t help her, here. The only way is for me to get this bullet for you. I can move faster and quieter than the rest.”

“I don’t care about that. You have a connection to her, don’t you?”

“I love her.” Amazing how it came out so honestly and naturally, without hesitation.

“Then you stay. If you don’t make it back in time, I don’t want her dying alone. This is where you belong right now. Trust my cousin, Jim. He won’t let you down.” Looking at Maria and the others, finally Michael gave his agreement.

“Sheriff?” Jim looked back at Michael and Maria. “Our lives are in your hands, now.”

“Don’t worry, son. I’ll be back.” The group of Valenti, Kyle, Max and Alex went to retrieve the ammunition. Leaving Isabel, Tess and Liz in the waiting room pacing.

Michael helped the doctor put Maria on the monitors, set up IV lines and watched as she took some blood for analysis.

“I thought you said that blood analysis would take too long.”

“It will. But if we don’t get a sample, maybe we can separate out the poison and prepare an antidote from that.”

“I don’t understand. If we could do that, then why send the rest to get a bullet.”

“Michael, the antidote won’t be for Maria. There is no time for that. It will be for the rest of you in case this ever happens again. I’m guessing that the people shooting at you knows that your friend is able to dissolve bullets?”

“Yeah, they know.”

“Then these bullets were made to kill you and your friends, especially. If they come looking for you in the future, this is what will happen if Max heals anyone again.”

“While I was in their compound, I found theses.” Michael took out the large wafer-like white tablets and passed them to Doc. She looked at them, smelt them, and then tasted one, then quickly spitting it out.

“Is it the poison?”

“No. It’s salt. It’s more than just normal salt. I’ll test it, but I suspect it is metallic salts such manganese, copper, iron and zinc. There are possible others. Where did this come from?”

“A room that looked like a kitchen or galley.”

“Maybe they’re unable to chemical extract salts and minerals from the food they eat, so they’re forced to ingest it or procure it in already viable forms.”

“Such as?”

“Such as from other living systems. They would have to leach the body of usable minerals because their bodies can’t process the inert form converting it into a usable one.”

“Vampires? They shed their skins.”

“Cool. I knew I should’ve kept subscribing to the sci-fi channel.” She rechecked Maria’s vitals. Maria’s breathing was getting labored. Doc collected what she needed to establish an airway just in case it was needed.

“How much longer does she have?”

“Hard to say, but I think maybe an hour, maybe two. Why don’t you lie down next to her and talk to her. I think that she would like knowing that you’re here.”

Michael went over to the bed and gently moved Maria over. Watching her sleep and moving her hair from her face, he felt his heart break over her condition. She was pale and sweating with her breathing laboring hard. Her lips were turning a shade of pale blue. He watched her for a while until he noticed that she was watching him, too.

“Hi, dragon.”

“Hi, slayer.” Maria chuckled to herself. He finally got it.

“Am I?”

“What?”

“Am I the slayer of your heart?”

“Yeah. This dragon’s heart is owned by no other.”

“Thank you. So do you know what happen to all of your kind, my dragon?” Michael looked around quickly for Doc. Maria’s voice was becoming quieter and softer. She saw his look of concern and came over.

“So how are we feeling?”

“Who are you?”

“I’m a friend, little girl, and you can trust me. So how are you feeling?”

“I’m tired. I can’t feel my legs and my hands feel numb.” Doc’s face increased in concern, she quickly smiled and patted Maria’s cheek. “You just hang on. I’m gonna give you something that may help.”

Michael whispered quickly to Maria and followed Doc out of the room. The others saw them come out and hurried over.

“Any sign of them yet?” Doc looked out at the dark pacing in front of the window.

“No. How is Maria?”

“Not good. I’m going to give her some atropine and put in an airway. I preferred to keep her talking, but she is struggling to breathe.”

“I thought you said that it could do more harm than good since you don’t know the poison.”

“Michael, she’s already losing sensation in her extremities. Soon it will stop her heart. I can’t just let her go without trying.” Taking his face in her hands she stared directly in his eyes. “Do you support me in this?”

“Why are you asking my permission?”

“You know why. I can’t do it without your consent.”

“Just save her.” Doc nodded and both her and Michael went back into the room.

The others watched them go. Standing there, helpless, they were out of the loop. Liz stared at her hands. Maria. How could she go on after losing Maria?

“I don’t understand. Why did she need Michael’s consent?” Isabel looked over at both Tess and Liz. Liz was softly crying again staring out at the night praying for a miracle.

“Because Tess, he’s her mate. He’s the closest thing she has to a relative right now.”

Michael went back to Maria. She looked to be sleeping again, but when he lay down beside her she opened her eyes and smiled.

“So are you gonna tell me?” Michael looked up to meet Doc’s eyes as she administered the drug into the IV line.

“Tell you what, honey?”

“God, I must be dying if you’re calling me honey.” Michael’s eyes softened. Did he really not give her even that much? Maria just went on talking. “About why there are no more of your kind. No more dragons.”

“You know why.”

“I do, but I wanted to know if you did.”

Doc checked the pulse-ox on Maria’s finger. Her oxygen perfusion rate was bad, but still stable. “Michael, since Maria already knows, and you know, how about you tell me why there are no more dragons.”

“Because, in every generation, there is born one really furious and stubborn dragon, and born to this dragon is his slayer. It is this special slayer that slays the dragon and takes his heart, keeping it with her own. And the combination of the slayer heart and the heart of the dragon has the power to transform the cursed one.”

“And?”

“And, the dragons are no more, because with the love of their slayers, they became human, warriors to fight for the day. They are all gone now...freed by love, except that one lone dragon who was too stubborn to feel, to believe that love could set him free. For him was born a special slayer, one so cunning and sly, able to sneak inside the dragon’s heart and free him against his will. He sits in the night sky with her at his side. He is Drago.”

Michael reached over and picks up her hand taking it to his mouth to kiss and then to place over his heart. Maria opens her eyes to look at him again.

“I’m dying.”

“No.” Michael’s voice caught in his throat. “No. I can’t let you go. I wasted too much time. Everyone deserves a second chance, Maria. Don’t you give up on me?”

“Shush, it’s okay. It’s okay. I’m not afraid.”

“Baby, please.” Michael didn’t even hear the desperation in his own voice.

“No. Be still. It’s okay. I don’t mind really. You stayed with me, and I know that you finally love me. I’m okay with this.”

“Maria, don’t…”

“Michael,” her voice was so soft he had to move even closer to hear her. They lay there facing each other with him softly touching her face and she reached up and wiped away his tears. “I hate not being able to feel you.”

Maria looked at her numb hands. Leaning forward, she gently kissed his mouth. Looking deep into his eyes she smiled. “I just want you to know, that despite everything that happened between us, that I never stopped loving you.” She pauses to take a labored breath and clear her throat. “And I want you to know that this is not your fault. My choice was to stand with you. I need you to know, that for a very brief time, while we were together, before the destiny thing, you made me happier than I ever had been in my life. I’ll always love you for that.”

“God, Maria…” Michael voiced choked in his throat looking at her to see her eyes had almost closed again. So little. He gave her so little, and then he took it away, and still she thanked him.

“Can I ask a favor from you?”

“Yeah, anything, anything, baby. You aren’t dying.” Maria licked her dry lips trying to find moisture.

“Will you take care of my mother and tell her I love her?”

“Yeah.” The word stuck in his throat.

“Will you love me for the rest of my life?” Maria asked shyly.

“I’ll do better than that. I’ll love you for the rest of mine.” Michael’s voice caught in his throat as it became almost impossible to breathe.

“Okay.” Maria smiled and then stopped breathing.

“Maria? Doc!!”

Doc rushed to quickly establish a stable airway. Quickly tubing Maria, she handed made Michael compress the bag so she could get the respirator ready. They had Maria breathing again, but she was weak. Too weak. Doc checked Maria’s vitals and the monitors. She was at the threshold. It was almost done.

“Michael, it’s almost time. You need to say your goodbyes.” She quickly rechecked the young girl, and her pupils were dilated and non-reacting. “I can’t do much more for her now. She’s slipping away.”

“No! This is not gonna happen. This is not happening!” Michael pulled Maria still form into his lap holding her close. “You have to save her! I can’t live without her. I won’t let her go. Maria, wake up baby. Fight, you’re a fighter. You stay strong, you survive.”

Isabel and the other ran into the room at the sound of Michael’s rising in anger and fear. They stopped to see him holding Maria close. Liz and the others realized that it was too late, what Michael’s anguish meant.

“Doc, please. Please.” She looked at the desperation on his face, the tears in his eyes powerless to change what was beyond her skills.

“I sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m not God. It is beyond my power.” Michael stopped.

“Maybe it’s not beyond mine.”

“What do you mean?” Doc went to Michael’s side and gripped his shoulder. “Michael, what do you mean? Quickly, she’s almost gone.”

“My blood, use my blood. It may not clear the poison, but maybe it can keep her here until they return.”

“I don’t have time to cross match your bloods. She could have a hemolytic reaction. It’s too dangerous.”

“She’s already dead! This could save her.”

“What’s so special about your blood?”

Michael didn’t hesitate, didn’t worry about exposure or trust. He could only see Maria.

“It’s not of this world.”

Looking at his face and knowing that he was offering her a chance to save her patient, Doc didn’t ask a questions or even hesitate. She grabbed a blood tray and took his arm. Inserting the catheter they watch Michael blood drain from his body slowly until the tube filled with excess spilling on the floor. The other end was directly inserted into Maria IV access.

“Just lay back with her. I need to start an IV on your other arm. I’ll give you replacement fluids to combat the lose of volume.”

“No. Take her blood and put it back into me.”

“Her blood is poisoned. She’s not a straw with one port in and one port out. It doesn’t work that way. It will pool in the organs, most likely liver or kidney until the toxic levels can no longer be cleared.”

“Just trust me. Dragons and slayers are joined by heart, soul and blood.”

“Her blood could kill you.”

“Doesn’t matter. If she dies, I’m already dead.”

~~~

Doc sat watching her two patients. He had been right. Maria had a reaction to his blood. First she seized, but then quickly settled. Her breathing improved and the blueness receded bringing about a healthier pink. But she was still dying.

His blood was holding Maria, actually her vitals were peaking. But she needed an antidote fast. They had brought her back further than when she was brought in, so suddenly there were options to consider. Michael was losing too much volume. His eyes closed ten minutes ago and it took work to wake him. To stabilize his volume, she started another IV on him adding replace fluids.

Taking his blood, Doc made a quick slide and looked at it under the scope. She needed answers that she couldn’t ask. Shocked, she pulled away and looked at her not so human patient. I’ll be damned, those two old coots were right all along. The two brothers, Jim’s father and her own had believed in the aliens when others would not. Taking more of Michael’s blood she mixed in Maria’s blood and watched the reaction.

“This isn’t possible.”

“What isn’t possible?”

“Aw man, don’t sneak up on me like that. Ms. Parker, isn’t it?”

“Liz.”

“Their red blood cells are bonding into a different form. I need to run test to see what the other blood parts are doing, but her reaction is suggesting an increase in white blood cell efficiency. This could be a fountain of youth, a protection against disease. Has Michael ever been sick?”

“We don’t get sick.” Doc turned to look at the other two girls. “Interesting. Even with a hyped immune system, you should still be susceptible to some illnesses. It is probably that your reactions are so minor that it slips beyond your awareness. Antibodies for major illness must be created in you bodies everyday protecting you. Very much like it happens in our bodies, but more efficiently. This hemoglobin is human. It just looks alien because of its unique shape, but actually it is attenuated.”

“Attenuated? I don’t understand. You’re saying that our blood is human?” Isabel moved closer. Human. A lifetime wish and desire.

“Basically, yes. It is like taking a single strand of DNA, then fabricating it a thousand times over. It’s not different, just more. It should move oxygen and by-products faster, cleaner, and more efficient.”

“They were told that their abilities are all human powers. That these are the powers that human will evolve to in hundreds of years.” Liz said standing beside Maria, taking her hand. “They were engineered with alien essence to human donor DNA.”

“So in a sense, you were engineered to be Supermen, super humans. Well, then that being the case, welcome home.”

“You mean this is our home?” Tess finally joined the group. Years of living with Nasedo taught her nothing if not caution.

“Now it is. But archaeologist and anthropologist have theorized for years that humans were a race that had many tribes including the famed lost thirteenth tribe. Some feel that visitors from other worlds colonized this planet and that they were responsible for many of the cultural advances in our early societies. Your people may have been a more advanced race of humans that had long given up or evolved beyond their human forms. So, something about being human was important enough for them to bring you back in this form. That is probably one of your biggest questions you need answered, but until then, welcome to the human race.”

“But, we’re different.” Isabel said looking at the young woman who despite learning their secret seemed unfazed.

“Sure you are. But, wait around for a few centuries and you may find that the rest of us have caught up with you.”

Doc looked over to see that Michael was awake again. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Maria?”

“She’s stable for now, but we need that antidote. Actually both of you will need it. Are you feeling any pain?”

Michael shook his head no. “I can’t feel my legs.”

“Okay, just rest. I’m going to give you some atropine like I did Maria.”

“Isabel?”

Isabel came to stand next to Michael’s bedside when he called. Looking at him with concern and tears in her eyes, she hated how soft and away his voice was.

“Michael? Don’t worry. They’ll be back in time.”

“I need you to tell Max something.”

“What?”

“If Maria doesn’t make it and I do, tell Max to do me.”

“What?”

“I need him to end it for me. I’m not capable of ending my own life, Max must do it for me.”

“Don’t be stupid. We’re not gonna let you die. And Max will not kill you.”

“I won’t be able to live with the pain. It’s best this way. Just tell him that I’m depending on him. It’ll be okay.” Michael’s eyes had a faraway look. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Michael went back to sleep. Isabel stood beside them crying, feeling their strength faltering. Doc watched her confusion.

“It from the bible, book of Revelations 21:4. But it’s not his time, yet. Are you willing to help me save them?” Isabel nodded.

“I need all of your help. I want you to take this tray and fill it with ice. There is an ice machine down the hall. Then I need you to take these latex gloves and fill them with as much ice and water as possible, as many as possible.”

“Why?”

“I’m losing both of them. The blood is holding the poison back by binding it to the altered hemoglobin, but it’s losing ground. I need to reduce their core body temperatures and metabolism to help slow the poison even more to keep it out of the organs. Can you do this?”

“Yes.”

“Then go.” Doc looked at her two dying patients and the clock on the wall. They should’ve been back by now. The alien blood gave her back hours, but that was slowly dwindling away. “Jim, you better get your macho ass back here pronto or I’ll kick it around the block myself.”

~~~

Valenti and the others watched the patrols move by for the third time. Since the earlier mishap it looked as if the Skins had tightened their security. They were having a problem finding a break in the patrols to enter the compound. Time was something they didn’t have a lot of and what little they did have was running down.

“I’m gonna go in myself.”

“Kyle, what the hell are you talking about? I’m not letting you go alone.”

“I’ve already been in once. I know where the ammunition is. I can move in fast and quieter on my own. Michael would’ve already been in and out. But I watched him before, I may not be as quick or silent, but I think I can do this.”

“This is not an option, son.”

“Dad, this isn’t about them anymore. This is about all of us, all our survival. If we’re going win, then we need to start fighting. Chances and risks have to be taken. Doing this is my job because I’m the only one to know where the bullets are.” Jim just stared that the firmness in his son’s face. When did he grow up? “You got my back?”

“Yeah, I’ve got your back. If you don’t come back, I want you to know you’ll be grounded.” Kyle squeezed his father’s shoulder.

“I hear you.” With a quick look, he was gone. Valenti started cussing under his breath. The stream of words was so impressive that both Alex and Max sat listening in amazement.

~~~

Kyle made the structure without incident, and quickly entered the way he did before. But as he entered he made an almost fatal mistake. He assumed that the area he entered before would still be dark and free of people. He was wrong.

They had turned on more lights in the community area and more people were moving around. Trying to stay in the shadows, Kyle slowly inched his was over to the boxes of ammunition. Every once in a while a person would pause and look into the shadows trying to see movement to match an instinct, but Kyle just remained unmoving until it looked safe to move again. He found the boxes again and took a small loaded clip and shoved it into his pocket. Thank goodness for tight jeans, it would keep the clip safe.

On his way out he had to lie low for a few minutes as the conversation in the room became more intense. A man voice joined the conversation. He couldn’t see the man, but the voice spoke of authority and harshness. Pausing before he was able to move again, Kyle eavesdropped on the dialog.

“What was it that you shot at?”

“I don’t know? I was coming in when I noticed movement below on the flats. The movement was low to the ground and moving fast. I was too high on the promontory to see anything and I had no night vision. So I just lined up the shot as best as I could and shot it. I saw an image fly into the other. It must have been hit.” Kyle listened in shock as he realized that the person who shot Maria had been a patrolling Courtney.

“But you’re not sure that it was human or animal?”

“I can’t say.”

“It was the commander. I’m sure of it.”

“I can’t say.”

Kyle could hear the angry masculine voice toss things across the room. Quickly glancing around, he was out of the structure. It was time to get out the den. He only knew that being discovered by that voice would not be wise or prudent.

“Look, if it was one of them and I hit them then they will try to heal the wound. Either way they will die. They can’t hide that fact one of them is dead, so then we will know.”

“Then I guess we will see what we will see.”

Kyle felt his heart pounding. It was important that Maria was well tomorrow or they would know that their structure was exposed. All the risks to plant the cameras would be for nothing, and Maria would’ve died for no reason. Looking over his shoulder and out into the night he vacated the compound immediately.

~~~

Liz saw the light first of a fast approaching car. She called the others and they stood waiting. Michael and Maria were both packed in ice together.

Doc was setting up a special apparatus to dialyze the toxin from the body, but it was her last choice since she was unsure of the molecular weight of the toxin. Only other consideration was a blood filtration system, plasmaphoresis, but with the differences in Michael’s blood and now the combined bonded blood between the two it was questionable whether any blood could be filtered. Dialyzing off the poison was tricky in the best of circumstances.

“Thank God.” Isabel ran to Alex’s side as the men rushed in the door.

Doc heard the commotion and quickly came into the common area. Seeing her cousin she gave him a questioning look. He held up the shiny missile in his hand.

“Well don’t stand there. Gentlemen we’re out of time.”

Doc quickly moved back into room and the others followed. As soon as Jim saw Michael and Maria he stood still in his tracks.

“Oh God. What happened?”

“She died, or at least was on the very verge of leaving us. Michael convinced me to loop their blood supply. No signs of rejection, but now they’re both on the edge. I just established airways for them half an hour ago. What took so you so long?” Jim began to answer but Doc held up a hand. “Never mind, I have no time. I need helpers. Who here is scientifically inclined and can do lab work?”

Everyone turned to look at Liz and Max. Doc noticed the glances and gestured them forward.

“Jim, I need that powder. Can you and Kyle unpack the load?”

“Yes.”

“This is a special scale. I need you to weigh one bullet packed load and mark it’s weight here on this paper. Then I need you to open as many bullets as you got, saving one unopened. I’ll need as much as I can get to distill the powder. You did get more than one bullet?”

“Kyle grabbed an entire clip.”

“Good. Parker, you and the healing man get over here. I’ll need you to take the powder and perform certain test. This is a boiling point test and here are others. Help each other, but mark down your results. Do every test twice, if the numbers have a discrepancy beyond five percent, and then perform it one more time. We don’t have time to sit and measure everything to perfection. Weigh out 5 micrograms and go. Once we distill we will run an ultraviolet spectroscopy. I want you to do the boiling points, pH test, and optical rotation. I’ve written out the lab procedure at each station, all the equipment is there, but if you have any questions, just ask me.”

It took longer than they wanted to separate two chemicals from each other. The spectroscopy told them the substances in the mixture and Doc used a combination antidote to cover both toxins. The group watched as the drug was administered by infusion IV drip, waiting for a sign of life from Michael and Maria. Isabel held her own consul on Michael’s last request. It might become a mute point.

As she was administering the antidotes Michael’s eyes opened. He silently watched her with the tube in his mouth helping him to breath. Out of the corner of his eye he looked at Maria when her shivers turned to convulsions.

“No, you don’t. Maria! Maria, you need to hold on just a little longer baby! Medicine is on the way. Come on, baby girl just hold on a little longer. I know you’re tired, but after this we will let you sleep.” Doc watched her timer to administer the dosage talking to Maria the entire time.

Doc looked into Michael eyes and opened the antidote up wide increasing the drip rate. Max stood at the bedside next to Michael holding his arm down. Michael tried to reach for Maria when she had started convulsing.

“She’s dying.” Doc looked up from where she was treating Maria and looked straight into Max’s eyes and then Michael’s.

“She’s not going anywhere. Not today.” The conviction of Doc’s words calmed Michael as he went unconscious again. He finally gave in to the void leaving his trust in the doctor.

~~~

Doc and the other sat watching over the two. They both had the antidote, and their color and breathing was improving. Neither had awaken, but their vitals were strong, especially Michael’s.

“Who ever mixed that poison was smart. They used two conflicting toxins that counteracted the symptoms of each other. The nicotine I might have suspected immediately, but the opiate confused the issue. This was a missile set to kill because both are fast acting into the blood stream.”

“You did good, Doc.” Jim said smiling at his younger cousin. Pain in his ass when she was younger with her constant questions and following him around. Who’d thought someday all that curiosity would work to their advantage.

“We all did good.”

“So what happens now?” Max asked quietly.

“We wait. And you? You get the pleasure of getting me some food. I’m starving.”

Jim rubbed his hands across his face. Feeding Doc usually required taking out a second mortgage or some type of loan. “Oh boy.”

~~~

She sat at the bedside reading while she watched over them. When their breathing improved she removed their breathing tubes, and most of the IV lines were gone. All that was left was IV fluids that replace depleted volumes.

After eating one and a half pizzas, Doc was ready for another day. It had been a fight between her and the tall, lean dark young man...Alex? They both were racing towards the same pizza, but something in Doc’s eyes had the young man backing away. Damn straight! The rest had bedded down in various places in the lounge. It wasn’t a surprise when the dark-haired healing boy came up behind her.

“They’re just sleeping right now.”

“I don’t know how…”

“Then don’t.” She put down her chart that she was writing in and looked at him. How did someone so young carry the weight of so much on his shoulders? “It’s Max, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I have a feeling that I’ll be needed in the future. If you start thanking me now, it could be a real long journey for us.” Picking up a remaining piece of pizza, she took a bite and looked at the boy critically letting him know that she could read him, would know if he was lying. “This isn’t gonna end soon, is it?”

“No. This will not be over anytime soon.”

“Hmm, looks like I was smart to never learn to sleep more than three hours a night. You’re the leader aren’t you?”

“Yeah, I’m the King.”

“And him? What is he?”

“He was my second in command.”

“Max, what is he to you?” Max looked over at the sleeping Michael.

“He’s my brother. He’s the strongest part of me; the part that acts and holds strong. If I lost him, we would’ve all died. Lately it’s been a hard road for us.”

“Why?”

“I broke a trust over a year ago and started all of this. I opened us up to the danger before any of us were strong enough or old enough to face it. I exposed him before he was ready to fight. In a sense, I betrayed him.”

“Does he hold it against you?”

“He gets pretty pissed at times, but basically, no. He just wants me to stop hiding from the danger and take a pro-active position on knowing our enemies before it’s too late.”

“I see. So that’s the story. You’re the leader, but he’s the fighter, so in a sense, you’re both leaders in your own way. Good statesmen, the best leaders listen to their generals and advisors in things of war and campaigns. He can’t dictate your heart and what you know must be done, but you should always listen careful to the warriors that tell you that danger is on the horizon. It’s their instinct that dictates your survival. He must be a natural. I must give him a copy of Sun Tzu, The Art of War. It states that a warrior will always win the war if he knows himself and he knows his enemy. So she was right, he is a dragon. Interesting.”

“What?”

“Nothing. You should get some rest. I’ll wake you, when they come to.” Max started to leave, but turned back.

”Why did you help? I mean without question, even when it was apparent that we were so different?”

“You brought me a patient. It’s what I do. Regardless of who my patient is, they’re all that matters. It is a sacred trust.” Max nodded his head and turned to leave again. “Max?”

“Yeah?”

“Your sister wouldn’t tell you this, because it would’ve bothered you as much as it bothered her. Michael asked her to tell you to end his life if Maria had died.” Max startled at the news.

“Why?”

“You know why. The guilt and pain would’ve been more than he could bear. When a dragon loses its heart, it can no longer live without it. It is his heart that makes him a great warrior. I think that he was engineered to protect you and your family. He can’t end his own life because of the honor and position he holds in your life, the bond you share. You’re his leader, his brother, and only you could take that life. It is great honors that he holds so much trust in you, that he would ask you to do this for him. I know it sounds strange to us, but it is like the samurai. They have their honor tied to a promise and only their King can dissolve the bond.”

“I don’t think I could do it. I need him too much to lose him. He’s all I have. Him, Isabel and Tess are all the family I have on this world. I love my friends just as much, and I wouldn’t give one of them up for all the kingdoms on the Earth.”

“I thought so. It didn’t matter. If she didn’t make it, I would’ve made sure he didn’t too.”

Max looked into her eyes and saw the understanding. It would’ve been a mercy killing, putting her patient out of pain. The decision would’ve been impossible for him, but Doc understood the difference. Max felt humbled knowing that his role as leader was one that he needed to start learning to play. Michael knew his position and role. Doc understood hers. They were telling him that it was time for him to make the hard decisions, to start following his instincts and not his desires. All of their lives were now in his hands. “Thank you.”

Doc smiled and resumed reading her charts leaving Max alone to rejoin the others and ponder his life. It wasn’t going to be easy. But, it never really had been before.

“Thank you.”

Doc looked up into the eyes of the dragon. Seeing him, really seeing him for the first time she saw the knowledge and hardness of age and experience, but it was all a veneer. Under that coating of coldness and hard campaigning was the softness of youth and the fears of failure, of not being strong enough to protect those he loved. The bigger they are the harder they fall, but this young man wasn’t a tree. He was a child who had finally made the first steps into adulthood.

“You’re welcome, commander. Sleep.”

~~~

When she came back into the room over half an hour later, she found them both awake and staring at each other while lying on their sides. The movement of his hands over her face and the touch of her hand over his fingers were so softly done and gentle. They were talking at a level beyond the human ears. It was words that could only be heard among a bonded pair. Slowly moving from the room, she left them to rediscover what could have been lost.

Going into the other room she moved slowly not to wake the others as the new day was dawning. Everyday that you faced the devil and won, it was a good day. Doc stretched and smiled. She well deserved that lovely box of Chocolate Almond Roca. In fact, two boxes!

“Jim?” Valenti woke to see his cousin standing over him.

“Doc? Is everything okay.”

“Everything is fine. They have woke up and I just wanted to remind you that you still owe me a box of my favorite chocolates.” She made a gesture of two.

“Don’t be coy, every type of chocolate is your favorite.” Jim reached up and pulled his laughing cousin in his arms letting her rest against as they watched the world come alive.

“How are they?”

“Beautiful together. I left them touching each other.” Doc looked up at her cousin. “Have you ever seen such devotion?”

“Only in my dreams. These kids ability to love each other has me amazed. It never seems to be about the things that drive young people today. I think that the secret they share has made their friendship so strong that they don’t hide behind youthful things. They all have a shared maturity together, as if they’re walking into adulthood. I worry about the innocence they will miss, but also envy the special relationship they have forged.”

“It will be interesting to watch it all unfold.”

“You in for the long haul, Doc?”

“I don’t save lives to watch them go out and take risks with my good work. I have an investment in those two. They belong to me. So, yes, I’m in for the long haul.” She patted his arm and thought hard in silence. “They’re gonna need me. You all are. I have a bad feeling about this. It is coming fast. We’ll all have to be strong to survive, to make sure all of us live to tell the tale.”

“Should I wake the troops?”

“No. Let them sleep. Let’s just enjoy that special time when we can live in the world of dreams and we truly belong to ourselves. It’s here in the lightest shadows where we’re truly free.” She sighed and rested against her cousin. “There time to fight will be upon us soon enough.”

~~~

“You didn’t leave me?”

“No. I couldn’t.” Michael moved his hand from her to cheek to grasp the back of her neck moving her mouth close to his. “I need you.”

“I love you.”

“Good.” He kissed her gently giving her back some of the care he had always taken from her, but never returned. “I plan to love you for the rest of my life. I promised.”

“Then you’ll have to do better than that.” Maria joined their mouths again in a deeper kiss, deeper and harder. It was a promise of love and passion, a promise of things to come when they were ready. It was a reminder that he owed her the words and the romance, and explanation of how he could love her now after all the torment she had suffered at his hands.

Understanding her need for reassurance, he was willing to give and do whatever it took, Michael curled his body around his mate’s body pressing their front together so nothing could come between them. He closed his eyes and opened his heart, searching for the words that would excuse months of coldness.

"All my life I felt alone, incomplete. Like I was waiting for something or someone to come along and fill me up. And when that didn't happen, I closed myself off, stopped wishing and stopped hoping. I kept looking because to stop that would be like death, but it made me cynical. And then one day, this gorgeous girl, sarcastic and full of bravo busted into my life, and for the first time in a long time, I felt hopeful. That was you. You gave me hope. But, I was so scared, so afraid that it would be like all the other times, so I kept you at arms' length. But you were persistent, you wormed your way into my life, into every corner of my existence, and all I could do was stand back and wait and watch.”

Michael moved his hands over her body placing kissing along her neck, nuzzling her skin enjoying the soft feel of it under his lips and hands. He wasn’t finished. He couldn’t stop until he said it all, because he might never say it if he didn’t. And she deserved better than that, better than doubt.

"It was little things that changed, things that I didn't recognize at first. There was always fresh fruit when before I never remembered to buy any. There was always food even if we ate the last of it the night before. You thought about my needs and me first, you made sure that my apartment was actually the first real home I ever knew, that it would be a place of solace against the world, a place I could retreat too. I didn’t notice it at first until I cut you out of my life and that place stopped being special. It wasn’t the apartment; it was you that made it safe, made it home. I just didn’t realize it until it was too late.” He lowered his head to her breast and held her tight letting her feel how deeply he had felt her loss. It was the least he could do.

"Still I held myself back, denied the attraction that I knew we both felt, though I couldn't resist flirting with you, just like you did with me. We were dancing around the obvious but still I kept my distance, because I knew that if I touched you, kissed you, I would never be able to live once you left me. When I killed Pierce, I saw a part of myself that I didn’t know existed. It wasn’t just about me; it was about all the people in my life that I was destined to protect. I needed you to be the safest, but I also was afraid that you’d see the hard killer in me, and leave. See, everybody leaves me eventually.”

He lifted his eyes to look at her, to let her really see the insecurity that lived inside his body from endless lifetimes. He spent so many years feeling worthless, undeserving, and less than Max and Isabel. He was always second or less.

"Then one day, the most terrible day of my life, I realized that I was an idiot, that I had wasted all that time we could've been together, should’ve been together. All that regret came to a head on the day that you died, last night. I kept screaming 'this can't be happening, this can't be happening' because it was impossible that you’d be taken from me before we had the chance to love each other. The silence, your silent heart, nearly pushed me over the edge. I wouldn't have lived without you, not for long. But then it came to me, telling me what to do, and your heart was beating again. I had you back. I’ll never let you go again. If you trust in me, I’ll trust in you." Maria stroked his face and placed kisses along his jaw never losing contact with his eyes.

Soft words drifted over Michael’s lips, "I came back for you, Michael."

Michael searched her clear gentle eyes, "Then why?"

Not even pretending to misunderstand what Michael was asking, Maria took a deep breath, "I never thought anyone could ever love me. I had to learn to trust you enough to believe that you really wanted me, valued me. I couldn’t stand the thought of you being all alone."

"Oh, Maria. I love you, I love you, I love you," Michael replied, punctuating each affirmation with a kiss. "I’ll always love you."

Maria moved deeper into Michael's embrace, deepening their kisses. Tongues met, giving and taking the love and reassurance they both needed. Slowly trailing kisses down Maria's responsive neck, Michael took his time, savoring the salty skin, the taste, licking and biting as the desire to be closer became almost insatiable. He rested against her neck holding her as close as they could be without becoming the same body.

“You saved my life.” Maria said has her hand rubbed his back and came to rest in his hair.

“Then we’re even, because you saved mine, too.”

“I read somewhere that when a person saves your life that they’re destined to be your protector for the rest of it, a sort of Blessed Protector. You have sealed your fate. I’ll be the one thing you’ll never be able to shake off.”

“Promise?”

“Absolutely, but if I find you flirting with any more blond waitresses with face pealing tendencies, things could get ugly.”

“I’ll put in the same stipulation, but add in that letting skin pealing aliens put their hands on you is absolutely not allowed.” Michael thought about it for a second. “And we’re going to have to talk about the length of your skirt. I personally love your legs, but I rather not watch the entire Roswell population ogling my girlfriend.”

Maria’s eyebrow went up at the word ‘girlfriend’. Running her hand up his arm, she nodded. Okay. She could give him an inch or two.

“Deal. Shake on it?”

“No. Kiss on it.”

Michael was enjoying the calm after the storm of the last twenty-four hours. It was nice to be quiet and just enjoy the feeling of her alive and breathing next to him. As a soldier he knew that he would become involved in the war, in the dispute and fight, but wherever he went she would be at his side.

Keeping her away from him had been worse than having her near. He’d rather know what she was getting herself into at any given moment then sit alone worrying that she would need him and he wasn’t there. Oh no, there was one confession he forgot to mention.

“Maria?”

“Hmm?”

“About your mohair halter top?” Michael went on to tell her the entire sorry tale wondering if new found peace would be broken. He had hid the evidence, but he knew it would be only a short time before she began to wonder about her top.

~~~

“No!” The others heard Maria’s scream of disbelief. They rushed in to find the now awake couple in a heated dispute.

“I didn’t have time.”

“Do you even know how much it cost? How much I loved it?”

“It just a stupid sweater. I was saving your life.”

“But my new sweater? It shrunk, didn’t it?”

“Maria, be reasonable…”

“Hello? What do you two think you are doing?” Michael and Maria turned to see the entire group watching them from the door. Doc stood there with her hands on her hips tapping her foot.

“Umm, nothing.”

“Michael, did I not tell you to sleep until I woke you?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you or are you not sitting on one of my clinic beds letting my other patient, who I snatched back from the jaws of death mere hours ago, scream at you?”

“Well, it’s not my fault…”

“Enough. You have only a few more hours of rest before I need to kick you out and people start showing up for work. I want peace and quiet and I want both of you resting if not asleep.”

“But, I didn’t…”

“Do you understand?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Michael settles back down next to Maria to rest, but started to open his mouth in protest once again. Doc’s quick glance stopped the words in his throat. Maria watched the interaction with interest. Looking up she made eye contact with Doc.

“See, stubborn. I told you he’s a dragon.”

~~~

Courtney came to work ready to watch the group to see who was missing. She wasn’t positive, but almost sure that she had shot one of them last night. It was near the end of her shift before some of them came.

First it was Kyle and Tess. They came in after what looked like shopping. Tess was making him carry all the bags and they were in a heated argument over hot water usage? When they took seats Kyle practically tossed the bags down causing Tess to start a new argument.

Sheriff Valenti came in with his usual thermos handing it over for a refill. Courtney watched him go over to talk to his son and houseguest. The entire group was in a long discussion when the rat pack finally arrives. Max walked in with Liz, his sister, and Alex. They’re all talking and laughing over some movie they just saw. None of them appeared to have a care in the world.

Courtney went over to serve them keeping an eye out for both Maria and Michael. It was strange that Maria didn’t work today. Even Michael was surprisingly absent. Another cook was covering his usual job and Courtney couldn’t say she was happy with his replacement. She was enjoying the flirtation she had going with Michael. It was only a matter of time that she would be able to reel him in.

“What can I get you?” Courtney patiently took the groups order almost losing her temper when Alex changed his order three times. She couldn’t see what Isabel saw in that geek.

“So, has anyone seen Maria?” Courtney asked casually.

“Why?” Liz asked equally casually.

“I was just wondering. Usually she works this shift and today she’s surprisingly absent.”

“I didn’t realize Courtney that my parent’s hired you to keep tabs on all the other employees. But if it helps, Maria is more like one of the family and she isn’t really an employee. She’s a manager. So if she needs the day off, my parents are more than happy to give it to her.”

“Whatever. I was just noticing that both her and Michael are no where in sight today.”

“So what? Maybe they have things they wanted to do together. They’re a cute couple.”

“Of what?”

“What is your problem?”

“Look, I’ve been around here long enough to know that they’re not seeing each other anymore. Just because Maria can’t accept that Michael doesn’t want her anymore, doesn’t mean that she has any claim to him. It’s better this way for her. She never could have kept a man like Michael. He is too far out of her league.”

“Interesting, do you think that it is possible that you’re the one harboring false illusions? Do you think you could put in our order anytime in this year? Or do you have problems performing your job?” Liz stared Courtney down until the girl finally took herself off. They all watched her silently knowing that she was the one that actually shot Maria last night.

It was another ten minutes before Courtney was closing down her shift. The group was starting to worry that Michael and Maria wouldn’t get here in time. They wanted her to see all of them alive and healthy to keep them unaware that the location of their meeting place was known.

Alex and Valenti had found a place to set up the monitors to watch the group with audio hookups. They were hoping to be able to observe the Skins a while without the enemy knowing they were being watched.

When Courtney entered the break room she didn’t notice them at first. But turning to the sounds coming from the sofa it was hard to miss the two.

Michael was all over Maria. His mouth was busy leaving marks on her skin while his hands had her top open and was rubbing the length of leg wrapped around his waist. Courtney almost swallowed her tongue when she heard Michael talking to Maria, whispering his devotion and love. Maria just brought his mouth back to hers and continued exploring it with a familiarity that actually left Courtney blushing and disturbed. Rushing from the room and back out past the others, Courtney left the CrashDown.

After they heard her leave the room, Maria pulled away from Michael looking down at her shoulder that he had exposed. It was burning. There on her skin was another burn starting to spread. Michael moved his arm showing her a similar one on his skin.

Without thought they each reach over to the other and covered the burns with their hand. Michael was the more surprised when Maria’s hand heated and show a bright light as she healed his burn and he did the same for her. They just healed the burns that never could be healed before, not even by Max.

Pulling apart they looked at the now perfect skin and turned to the gasps they heard at the doorway. Looking at their friends standing there with looks of surprise on their faces, Michael quickly gathered Maria behind him to cover up the area exposed by her open shirt. Michael tried to give them an unconcerned look as he commented on Maria and his new ability to heal the burns, especially Maria’s new talent.

“I think we evolved.”

The End?