by Melinda Metz
"We'll finish our game later when you're feeling better," Michael called.
"Okay," she answered, without looking back. She didn't want a last look. She had plenty to torture herself with already. She kept her eyes locked on the guards back as he marched her to Valenti's office.
"I want five thousand dollars, and I want you to tell my parents that I'm heading to New York," Cameron announced the second she sat down in the chair across from Valenti's desk. She didn't want to give herself any time for second thoughts.
"While you'll be trotting off to California, I suppose," Valenti answered.
Cameron didn't answer. Valenti seemed to remember he'd lost their last round of the silence game. "I'll give you twenty-five hundred dollars," he said. "And no more. As soon as you give me the names."
"The other aliens are Max and Isabel Evans."
*** 14 ***
Max handed the binoculars to Adam. "There's the surveillance camera. See, it's in that crack at the top of the rock formation."
Adam nodded. He felt as if his body was freezing from the inside out, the coldness paralyzing more and more area with each moment.
"All we need to do is crack the glass," Max said. He grabbed Adam's wrist. Adam could hardly feel the pressure of Max's fingers. If their plan worked, in a few minutes he would be back inside the compound.
And in less than an hour you'll be back out, Adam reminded himself. The coldness invaded his heart. He knew there was no way it had stopped beating, but he couldn't feel it anymore.
"Everyone, get ready to run," Max ordered. He turned to Adam. "On three."
Adam kept the binoculars up so he could focus on the camera. He didn't need to see it, but it helped.
"One, two, three."
Adam took the power that had been growing since he and Max connected and hurled it out, out, out. Was it strong enough to make it all the way to the camera lens? He heard a soft popping sound, and the camera exploded into metal and glass confetti.
"Run!" Max yelled.
"Nice shooting, Tex," Alex called from behind Adam as they all raced toward the rock formation that hid the opening to the compound. Adam smiled. Or at least he thought he was smiling. He couldn't quite feel his lips anymore.
When he was about a hundred feet away from the formation, Adam slammed to a stop. He watched the others run past him and take up their positions. Then he waited. If Max was right, in a few minutes a couple of guards would come out to check on the camera.
This could be my last minute in the sun, Adam thought. But he couldn't feel the warmth. Even the New Mexico sun wasn't strong enough to penetrate his cold skin.
Come on. Come and get me, Adam thought. Just standing here, passively waiting to be led back into his prison, was the hardest part of the plan.
It shouldn't take them too long. It had only been a week since Michael and Isabel had broken into the compound. The guards would still be extra alert.
Adam heard a low humming sound, and the rock formation slid apart in one smooth motion. It was time. He waited until he could see the guards moving toward the opening, then he ran toward them.
"Stay where you are!" one of the guards barked.
"I want to come back!" Adam cried. "I want to see my father!"
"We're coming out to get you," the other guard called. Adam noticed that she had her hand on her electric prod.
"Okay. Hurry! I'm scared!" Was that too much? Adam thought as the guards hesitated.
No, they were moving toward him. Side by side, they stepped through the opening in the rock formation. And Max and Isabel attacked. The guards never saw it coming. They fell to the ground, unconscious.
Adam raced up to them. "Help me move this one inside," Alex said. Adam hoisted the guard's legs and Alex grabbed her shoulders, then they carried her into the massive elevator just beyond the entrance.
Alex knelt down and quickly bound the guards' hands and feet with duct tape. He slapped a couple pieces of the tape on their mouths. "I love this stuff. You can use it on anything," he said.
"They can breathe and everything, right?" Maria asked, staring from Alex and Adam's guard to the guard Max and Isabel had just finished restraining.
"They'll be fine," Max reassured her. He hit the elevator button, and they started down.
Adam slid his hands under his armpits, trying to warm up his hands. How deep underground were they already? Ten feet? More?
The elevator continued its smooth descent. Finally it came to a stop with a tiny bump. The doors slid open.
Adam heard pounding feet. He scanned the small parking lot and saw a guard running away.
"We've been spotted," Max cried. "He's going to sound an alarm!"
***
They were here. Michael could feel them. Isabel, Max, and Adam. Coming to the rescue.
What were they, insane?
Michael sprang up from his cot and started to pace. They needed him. Something had already gone wrong. He'd just gotten a jolt of fear from all three of them.
He shot a glance at the two guards outside his cell. They clearly had no clue anything unusual was happening in the compound. At least not yet. That was something.
Michael took another lap in the small space to the right of his cot. He wished Cameron would get back. He didn't like the idea of her being out in the corridors right now, even with her guard escort. It would be way too easy for her to get caught in some kind of crossfire situation.
And he wouldn't be able to do anything about it, sitting in this cell. He wasn't exactly going to be able to back up Max and the others from here, either.
His eyes flicked back and forth between the two guards. Was there some way he could take them both out?
You decided your first day in here that there was no way to handle two guards at once, he reminded himself. Don't do anything stupid, or your friends are only going to have a corpse to rescue.
***
"I'll get the guard. You go on," Isabel exclaimed.
She took off across the parking lot. She heard feet pounding behind her and threw a quick glance over her shoulder. Alex. Good. She might need some kind of backup.
The guard had to hear them, but he didn't turn. He kept running, veering off onto a long corridor. What was he doing? Why wasn't he trying to stop them?
Suddenly Isabel knew why. She spotted an intercom on the wall. The wall about six feet from the guard.
She pushed herself to run even faster.
Too late. The guard reached the intercom. "I have a situation here," he barked. "There-"
Alex shoved past Isabel and hurled himself at the guard's knees. They both went down.
Isabel reached them a second later. She saw the guard go for his prod. Without hesitation she slammed her foot down on his wrist. She heard a bone crack, and the prod rolled out of the guard's hand.
An instant later she heard the guard's machine gun clatter down the corridor. Knew Alex would be a good guy to have around, she thought. She threw herself down on her knees and pressed her fingers against the guard's forehead. Yeah, he was unarmed. But that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous.
She pulled in a few deep breaths and made the connection. Images flashed through her brain. A boy proudly displaying his hall monitor badge. A parrot in an enormous cage. The boy at an even younger age screaming as a clown handed him a purple flower.
Isabel heard a second heartbeat join hers. She was in. Now she just needed to find a good vein in his head. Their head. She chose a medium-sized one near the brain stem and concentrated. She could feel the pain she caused him. God, she hated doing this.
The connection broke. The guard had lost consciousness. Alex tossed her a roll of tape, and Isabel started to restrain the man. She froze as she heard the intercom crackle. "What kind of situation?" a voice demanded.
"Keep going," Alex said. "I've got it." He pushed down the intercom button. "There was some kind of power surge down here. One of the surveillance cameras went down for a few minutes, but it's back up. I'll d
o the report."
"Valenti will want a copy," the voice answered. "Make sure he gets it today."
"Roger that," Alex said.
"Roger that. Your dad would be so proud." Isabel slid a piece of tape over the guard's mouth and shoved herself to her feet.
"You okay?" Alex asked her.
"Yeah," she answered. "I want to keep going this way. I started feeling Michael a little more strongly once we turned down this corridor."
"Adam knows where Michael's being held," Alex reminded her.
"But this feels like the right way. Maybe they moved him after Adam escaped," Isabel answered.
"Let's check it out, then," Alex said. They started down the corridor.
"Thanks for coming with me," Isabel mumbled, without looking at him. Now that they weren't fighting for their lives, it felt a little strange to be paired up yet again.
"No problem," Alex answered.
Isabel tried to zero in on exactly where the feelings from Michael were concentrated. "I think he's somewhere to the left of us," she said. The corridor continued on in the same direction as far as she could see. But there was a door on the left a few feet away. Isabel didn't think Michael was that close. But maybe if they cut through that room, they'd find another passageway.
She rushed up to the door. It was one of those massive metal ones she remembered from the last time she was in the compound. She focused on the molecules and gave them a shove. The door squealed open.
"I know it's old-fashioned, but I always appreciate having a door opened for me," Alex said as he stepped through.
Isabel followed him, and her breath caught in her chest. It was like walking into one of her nightmares. There's a door on the other side of the room, she told herself. All you have to do is walk over to it. Don't look at anything. Just move.
She kept her eyes locked on the door. But she couldn't help catching glimpses of things. Scalpels, and scissors, and even a little saw.
You're halfway through, she thought. And it's not like any of this stuff is going to jump up and start dissecting you all by itself.
Another step. Then another. Then another. You can do it. She bumped into something hard and cold. She glanced down and immediately wished she hadn't. It was a high metal table with troughs lining two of the sides. To catch the blood, she realized.
She reached out and touched the back of Alex's shirt. She didn't want to grab onto him like some pathetic thing. She just wanted to keep two fingers on his shirt. That's all.
She couldn't stop a long, shaky sigh of relief from escaping as Alex reached for the door handle. But before he could pull the door open, Isabel felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck. She reached behind her and felt something sticking out of her skin. She yanked it free. A syringe.
She turned and saw a man in a white lab coat. "Where did you come-"
Her body gave a violent jerk, then her legs started to spasm. The drain in the tile floor filled her vision as she fell.
***
"That's the door to Michael's cell," Adam whispered.
"Are there guards inside?" Max asked.
Adam shook his head. "They're usually out here."
If they were usually out there, then why did Adam lead them down this corridor without any warning?
Do you think there's any chance he could turn on us? That question of Alex's had been running through Max's head all day, like some kind of Muzak from hell.
Max just didn't know. Maybe they should have left Adam at home. But Max thought that he might need the extra power.
This is not the time to start rethinking your decision, he told himself. Adam's here now. There's no turning back.
"You two keep watch," he said to Liz and Maria. "If you see guards, try and knock on the cell door or give us some kind of signal."
"We'll kick their butts if they come near us," Maria answered, her voice quaking.
"Go," Liz urged.
"Let's connect here in case we need to use our combined power inside," Max said. Adam reached out and grabbed him by the wrist.
Do you think there's any chance he could turn on us?
Max tried to ignore that question as he and Adam crept up to the cell door. Adam reached out with his free hand and swung it open.
Wait. There was something wrong. Shouldn't it have been locked?
Before Max could formulate any kind of answer for himself, Adam stepped through the door, pulling Max with him.
"Max Evans. You've saved me the trouble of coming to pick you up."
Max jerked his head toward the voice and saw Sheriff Valenti sitting behind a wide desk. A girl with short red hair sat in one of the chairs across from it.
Adam had led him right to the sheriff's office. He'd clearly been planning this all along. But why?
"I hope your sister is here, too. Not that it would be too difficult to run into town and get her," Valenti said. "In fact, I'd enjoy it. I've spent half my life looking for the two of you. Soon I'll have all my aliens safely tucked into their beds."
Max couldn't answer. He felt a twisting in his gut. Valenti knew the truth.
Max grabbed Adam's hand and made the connection.
"Won't that be nice, Adam?" Valenti asked in a hideous kindergarten voice. "You always wanted a bigger family than just you and Daddy."
Max felt the power begin to grow inside him, doubling in size every second. Adam's getting ready to use it, he realized.
Maybe we could make a circle of fire around Valenti to trap him, Max thought. Or maybe with our combined power we can knock him out from here without touching him to make a connection.
Max turned toward Adam. Maybe he could signal him to-
His heart froze. Adam was smiling at Valenti. The same smile he'd given the rabbit.
"Adam, no!" Max yelled. He tried to jerk his hand away, but Adam's fingers were digging into his flesh.
Max twisted around and slammed his fist into Adam's side. Adam released him. "I don't need you, anyway," he muttered.
A flash of brilliant white light filled the room, reflecting off the walls, blinding Max. He blinked hard, trying to clear his vision. He thought he saw Valenti sitting behind his desk. But that was impossible. There was no way he could have survived.
Max wiped his running eyes with his sleeve and took a step closer to the desk. Valenti was sitting there, coated entirely in ash, not one speck of skin showing. He was absolutely motionless. What had Adam done to him?
He heard the girl in the chair behind him making these low moaning sounds deep in her throat. He knew he should go to her, but he couldn't stop staring at Valenti.
Adam moved up next to Max. He leaned forward, pursed his lips, and blew. With a soft whispering sound, Valenti crumbled into a pile of dust.
"Why did you do that?" Max shouted. "There were other ways we could have dealt with him. We never use our power to kill. Never!"
Adam didn't respond.
Max felt a trace of power in the room. It was building fast.
Do you think there's any chance he could turn on us?
Max whipped his head toward Adam. Adam smiled at him.
***
"What the hell did you do to her?" Alex screamed at the doctor.
Isabel gave another jerk, her eyes wide and staring. Alex could practically feel the pain in his own body.
The doctor dropped to his knees next to her. "I didn't mean to hurt her. I just gave her a shot of a fast-acting tranquilizer. It shouldn't have caused this reaction. I only wanted to detain you until I could call Valenti or one of the guards."
Alex reached down and yanked the doctor to his feet. He wrapped his arm around the man's neck to hold him still. Then he searched the pockets of the doctor's lab coat, coming up with two more syringes. He threw them across the room.
"I'm going to let you go now," Alex said into the doctor's ear. "And here's what you're going to do-you're going to do whatever it takes to save her life. She dies, and I do to your head what I did to that door." Alex used hi
s free hand to point to the metal door Isabel had crushed open, then he shoved the doctor away.
"I may need to draw some blood to find out why she's having this reaction," the doctor answered, his words tumbling out on top of each other.
"Fine. Stay in sight. And if you think about doing anything stupid, I want you to look at the door and think again," Alex snapped. He sat downnext to Isabel and took her hand in his. At least she'd stopped spasming.
He reached out with his free hand and brushed her hair away from her forehead. He felt something wet under his fingers. Did she cut herself when she fell? Alex leaned close. "Get over here and tell me what this is," he ordered the doctor.
The doctor rushed to Alex's side and crouched down next to him. "It looks like some kind of primitive gill," he said.
"A gill?" Alex exploded.
"This happened to Adam once when he had a high fever," the doctor answered. "I don't know how much you know about your own physiology, but your body is designed to adapt to whatever environment it is in."
My physiology? Alex thought. Then he realized the doctor must think he was an alien, too, since Alex had taken credit for the door.
"Occasionally it can malfunction and adapt when it isn't necessary," the doctor continued. "Look, the gill is closing already."
Alex moved his gaze to Isabel's forehead just in time to see her skin smooth itself back into place.
"I think it will be safer if we just let this run its course," the doctor said. "I don't think it will take long. If I'd realized the tranquilizer could cause this reaction…" He let the sentence trail off.
"You're going to be okay, Isabel," Alex promised. "I'm right here with you. I'm going to be here the whole time." Alex felt her hand move in his. "Yeah, see, I'm here." He squeezed her hand back. Her fingers felt… different. Alex opened his hand so he could see hers.
Her fingers had always been long and slender, but now they were almost twice as long and as thin as pencils. As Alex watched, one finger was absorbed into the side of her hand.
His breath started coming in harsh pants. Maintain, he ordered himself. This is just Isabel. He closed his hand around hers again and turned back toward her face.
