by Kevin Ryan
his head, "but there was nothing there."
Gomer took a breath and continued. "It was too dark to
see, but there was noise. Dawn screamed. I tried to grab
her, but something had her. ... The dark, there was some-
thing wrong with it."
Max could see that he was barely holding himself
together. He looked like he was about to cry, and then
something else crossed his face.
In a huge heave, Gomer leaned over and threw up on
the side of the street. Kyle took a position next to him to
see if he was all right.
"Max, I think we have to call the police," Liz said.
"What do we tell them?" Michael jumped in. "That
aliens kidnapped Dawn and we should know because—"
Max shushed him with a wave. Then he called for Kyle,
who left Gomer leaning on the pickup several feet away
* * *
"We do have to report this," Max said, keeping his voice
down. "A girl is . . .missing."
"We can't talk to the police. God knows who is looking
for us. There's probably alerts across the country for us,"
Michael said.
"And if we disappear right after another girl is kid-
napped, every cop in this state will be after us—and they'll
have a pretty good idea of where we are. I don't like it,
either, but we don't have a choice. We'll have to take our
chances. We tell the truth: We heard a crash and found
Gomer in the car. Nothing about the ground shaking or
the ship. Gomer is the only eyewitness to the ... abduc-
tion. And he didn't see anything."
Then a thought struck Max: Whoever was after them
would be looking for six. "Michael, why don't you take the
girls back to the room. Kyle and I will answer their ques-
tions."
The others nodded, and then Kyle said, "I'll get Gomer
into the office and call Dan."
Kyle grabbed Gomer by the shoulders and said, "Come
on, let's get you some help."
A little earlier, Kyle had been ready to take Gomer
apart. Now he felt nothing but sympathy for the shaken
figure in front of him.
Gomer stood up and allowed himself to be led toward
the garage. "Dawn . . . ," he muttered.
"We'll call Dan and then the police," Kyle said.
They reached the office door, and Kyle realized that he
didn't have a key for that, so he had to prop Gomer against
the door and run to open the shop area door. Once that
* * *
was done, he led Gomer inside and into the office from
there.
Instead of a couch, the office had a large bench seat
from an old car. Kyle put Gomer down on that and
reached for the phone and dialed.
After a few rings, his boss picked up.
"Yes," Dan's voice said.
"Dan, it's Kyle. I'm in the office. There's been some
trouble. Gomer and Dawn were in an accident."
"Are they okay?" Dan asked, concern in his voice.
"I've got Gomer here, but Dawn is ... missing," Kyle
said.
"Missing? She was in a wreck. She can't have gotten
far," Dan said.
"It's not that. We think, Gomer thinks, that someone
took her," Kyle said.
There was silence on the other end of the line, and then
Dan asked, "Does Gomer need a doctor?"
Kyle took a look at Gomer, He had a vacant look on his
face and was shaking. "Yes," he said.
"I'll call an ambulance and the state police. Stay there,"
Dan said.
Less than two minutes later, a disheveled Dan appeared
in the office. He looked over Gomer, who was half out of it
on the couch. "The ambulance will be here soon. The state
police, too. What happened, Kyle?"
"Dawn was working late. She came into the shop, and
we talked for a minute. Then Gomer came to pick her up,
and they left together. I was locking up when I saw the
truck hit something in the road. Then its lights went out. I
ran over."
* * *
"We heard the accident too," Max said.
"We found Gomer but not Dawn. Gomer said someone
took her," Kyle said.
Dan was upset, but seemed satisfied with their story.
And then a few minutes later the ambulance showed up.
Two state police officers arrived just as Gomer was getting
loaded into the back of the ambulance. Max and Kyle told
the same story they had told Dan, and the state police offi-
cers tried to question Gomer, whose muttered replies
didn't make much sense.
One of the two officers came back and took out a pad.
"What are your names, boys?"
That was it. Kyle knew if they gave their real names,
they were dead—the FBI certainly had them on some sort
of wanted list by now. If they gave fake names, their false
identities would fall apart as soon as the police asked for
identification.
"Max," Max said. He hesitated only for a moment and
said, "Max load."
That was it. Max had thrown the dice. They had already
told Dan their real first names. They couldn't tell the cops
something different. Their last names, on the other hand ...
"I'm Kyle Miller," Kyle said.
The officer studied them with disinterest and turned to
Dan. "Do you know these boys?" he asked.
Dan said, "Yes. Kyle works for me, and they're staying
in my studio out back."
The cop didn't hesitate. He just closed his notebook
and said, "Stick around. We'll question Gomer when he's
feeling better. Then we may have some more questions for
you boys."
* * *
Max and Kyle nodded.
"Do you know the girl's folks?" the officer asked Dan,
who nodded and gave them the address.
"I should go with you," Dan said, his voice tight. "I
know her father pretty well."
The officer nodded, and they left together.
Kyle tried not to show his relief. Less than three days
into their great trip, it had almost ended with a simple, Let
me see some identification, please.
When they had first arrived in Stonewall, Kyle had
looked down on it for being a hick town. The sticks. Well,
apparently they did things a little differently in the sticks.
And that difference had just saved their lives.
* * *
19
"What now?" Maria asked when Max and Kyle got fin-
ished talking.
"We can't leave," Max said. "It would be too suspicious."
"Well, it would look bad to the cops, but the cops are
not the biggest problem in this town," Michael said.
He was right, Liz knew. There were worse things than
police here. Worse things even than the Special Unit.
There were rooms that weren't rooms.
And monsters.
"But in a few days we will have to get out of town and
put as much distance as we can between us and these
aliens," Max said.
"What about Jessica? Dawn? Who knows how many
others?" Kyle said.
"I don't think we can . . . ," Max said. He didn't allow
himself to complete the thought o
ut loud.
Liz wanted to say that it wasn't true, that they could
help. They could do something, find a way. But even as
she thought it, she knew it wasn't true. Max and the others
* * *
would likely lose any battle they fought. She had seen it
happen in her vision of the future, in her vision of a differ-
ent battle.
What chance did they have against a huge ship full of
monsters?
But if that were true, what hope did Jessica have? What
hope did Jimmy have?
As if he were reading her mind, Max said, "I'm sorry,
but I don't think we can fix this."
Liz caught Isabel's eyes and saw her own feelings mir-
rored there. Liz had caught glimpses of Jessica's pain, but
Isabel had visited the girl's dreams.
No one spoke much for the rest of the night. They got
ready for bed and took their places with minimum conversa-
tion. They didn't sleep much either. Whenever Liz did close
her eyes, she saw rooms that weren't rooms, and monsters.
It was a long night, but it passed and Liz and Maria had to
get ready for work.
The others got ready as well. Without discussion, they
headed together for the diner, where Bell was waiting for
them with concern written on her face. "Are you kids all
right? We heard about Dawn," she said when they
entered.
"We're fine," Liz said. She was surprised to see Sam
peek out from the kitchen. He didn't say anything, but he
looked concerned. Bell sat them down, and they told Bell
and Sam the same story they had told Dan and the police.
It was true, to an extent.
"It's a shame. I hope they get the bastards before anyone
else gets hurt," Sam said.
* * *
Liz realized that that was the longest sentence she had
heard Sam speak since they'd arrived.
The group ate quickly, and Kyle headed off to work
while Max, Isabel, and Michael got ready to paint.
"You don't have to do that today" Bell said.
"We want to," Max said. Then, to keep her from
protesting, he added, "It'll keep us busy." He didn't add
that it would keep them near Liz and Maria.
A few minutes later, Jimmy arrived, but he barely
acknowledged them. He just took his place at the booth
by the window and put his head down.
The day at the diner moved slower than it ever had
before. At first Liz thought it was because of how she was
feeling. Then she realized that it was because there were
fewer customers—and no women. It looked like people
were not going out if they could avoid it. Things had got-
ten bad in Stonewall. . . very bad, and desperate.
Unfortunately, it looked like they weren't going to be
getting better anytime soon.
Kyle got to the garage early and decided to get right to
work. If he finished early, he would be able to get even
more time in on the van. And it seemed important to get
the van running as fast as possible.
He found that he didn't like the idea of running out on
the town. People had helped them here. And now those
people were scared and facing something they didn't
understand.
Better that they don't, he thought.
If they knew what was really happening, they would be
terrified and they would all run for their lives.
* * *
Like us.
Max was right, though, he knew. What could they do
against the force they had witnessed? Even Max's powers,
incredible as they were, would be no more effective than
Kyle's wrench against that technology.
When he reached the garage, he was surprised to see
the shop doors open already. Then something struck him
about the shop doors—they were only partly open. In
fact, they looked exactly as Kyle had left them the night
before.
Dan had said he would lock up, but clearly he hadn't.
Kyle found his boss in the office, he head down on the
desk. He was still wearing the same clothes from the night
before.
Hearing the door open, Dan woke up and raised
his head. His eyes looked haunted, and he looked
exhausted.
He also looked like he had aged ten yeas
"You okay, Dan?" Kyle asked.
Dan shrugged. "I've known Dawn's father since I was a
kid. He used to hang out with my brother. Last night I told
him his daughter is gone."
"I'm sorry, Dan. I'm sorry about Dawn and about your
brother," Kyle said.
His boss showed a tiny flash of surprise when Kyle
mentioned his brother. "This place is named after him.
Our father opened it the year he was born."
It looked like Dan wanted to talk. Kyle was too sur-
prised to move for a long moment. Then he sat down on
the office couch. "Was the van out back his?" he asked
slowly.
* * *
Dan nodded. "Yes, he and my dad rescued it from being
junked somewhere. He did the paint job himself."
"It looks like it was a hippie-mobile," Kyle said.
Dan actually made a slight smile at that. "I guess he and
his friends were hippies. They were also good kids. Ever
heard of Woodstock?"
"Well, yeah. My dad has the movie," Kyle joked. "Did
you go?"
Dan smiled and shook his head. "We tried. Made it as
far as Indiana before the van broke down," he said.
"1 know what that's like," Kyle said, smiling. "Too bad
for you guys, though."
Dan shook his head. "Not really. We camped out in the
van for a week, me, my brother, and three of his friends.
That was the best trip of my life. That summer . . ." He
drifted off for a moment. "I was thirteen, hanging out with
older kids. I had the time of my life. Tom, Dawn's father,
was there."
There was a long pause, then Dan added, "The next
summer my brother was gone."
Kyle didn't know what to say. Dan clearly wanted to
talk—for the first time since Kyle had met him. But he
didn't know if he should ask the obvious question. After
more than a full minute of silence, Dan continued on
his own.
"Johnny and Tom went to Vietnam together. Tom
wanted to go—he thought he was saving the world. My
brother wasn't as sure, but he didn't want anyone going
in his place. I mean, he thought we were on the right
side of that mess, but he would have rather stayed
home."
* * *
Dan took a deep breath, then spoke the next part
quickly. "Johnny looked after Tom over there, and a lot of
other guys as well. He was a hero. Problem was, his squad
was caught in an ambush and there was no one to look
after him."
On the verge of tears, Dan held himself together—
barely, Kyle thought. "Sometimes you lose someone
and, well, things are never the same. You are never the
same."
Kyle nodded. He thought of his mother. He knew
something about that. He thought about Dawn. He had
liked her. They had shared a connection, a small one, but
a real one just the same.
And now he was running out on Stonewall. Running
out on her.
"Well, tonight I told my brother's best friend that he's
lost his daughter. Actually, I told him she was missing, but
we know what that means in this town. His wife was
there, so he said things were going to be all right, but I
don't think they will be. I don't think Tom will be all right
either." Dan shook his head. "What kind of place is this?
What kind of people would do this?"
Kyle had an answer to that, but he didn't think it would
help Dan to hear it. In fact, whatever his boss's suspicions
were, Kyle knew Dan would be better off if he never found
out what was really going on in his town.
Getting up, Kyle said, "Come on, you need some sleep.
I can handle the cars in the shop for today."
Dan nodded and allowed Kyle to lead him up and out
of the office. "Maybe just a little, then I'll head over to
Tom's to wait with him. Not much else to do."
* * *
Kyle walked his boss around back and up to his house.
At the door, Dan turned around and said, "Thanks, Kyle.
Why don't you work on your van today? Take what you
need from Johnny's van. Get yours running and get yourself
and your friends out of Stonewall. Okay?" Dan's voice was
stronger and clearer than it had been in the office. He clearly
wanted Kyle to listen to him. "Okay?" he repeated.
"Sure, thanks," Kyle said, and turned to head back to
the garage.
In the shop, there was only one car waiting. He
checked Dawn's book and saw that four cars were due in
this morning, but he wondered if they would show.
As he worked, Kyle thought about another group of
kids traveling in a van more than thirty years before. They
had shared the trip of their lives, but one of them would
be dead a year later, leaving a brother who looked like he'd
never really recovered and a best friend who would lose
his daughter.
Tragedy. Loss. Were they waiting for Kyle and his
friends at the end of this trip? Or would they not even wait
for the end?
Kyle knew he couldn't even begin to answer those
