A New Beginning

22

“Doesn't look like there are any more guards," Michael said.

"I'm not sure he was a guard. He didn't even have any weapons," Max said.

"Either way, it looks like they are all inside," Michael said.

They crept closer to the ship. A few more steps. Then a few more. They moved as silently as they could. Now they were less than twenty yards form the ship. Details were clearer. Max could see the landing struts and a single ramp that let up to some kind of hatch or doorway.

"How is that plan coming along, Maxwell?" Michael said.

"Slowly," Max replied, considering the scene carefully.

"We have no idea how many of the aliens are around or inside. We don't know what kind of weapons the ship has. And for all we know, they're watching us inside on the big screen now and laughing," Max said.

"Well, sure it sounds bad when you put it like that,”

Michael said. "I guess that leaves us only one choice.”

"The front door," Max said.

"On three," Michael said.

"One," Max said.

"T…," Michael began, but he was interrupted by a loud, high-pitched clicking that suddenly filled the night.

Max's eyes searched the ship for signs of movement. An instant later, he saw a spot near the top begin to glow. Reacting instinctively, Max threw up his hand, and two things happened nearly simultaneously. A green barrier appeared in front of Max and Michael and a bolt of some- thing tore out from the ship toward them.

It struck the barrier Max had created with tremendous force. The barrier held, at first. But the blast of whatever it was was still there… an angry ball of swirling white energy pressing itself against the barrier.

The blast was pushing into the barrier, closer to Max and Michael. In seconds it would be over for them.

No, not just for them. For Liz, too.

"Noooo!" Max said, pushing forward with his hand… except that Max knew that it wasn't his hand that was doing the real work.

Somewhere in his mind, in his cerebral cortex, power- ful forces were at play. When Max pushed, he pushed with his whole being. The green shield crackled with energy and blew outward, the blast that the ship had sent to them went flying back toward its point of origin.

It struck the ship in a shower of sparks that blinded Max for a moment. It also shook the ground.

Before his vision cleared, he said, "Three," and started running.

He sensed Michael next to him as a new sound emerged from the ship. No, not a new sound, a familiar one. It started to grow darker. Max felt a queasy sensation beginning in his stomach and heard Michael say, "No way. Not now." Before the darkness became total, Michael lifted up his hand and fired off a burst of his own.

This one hit the ship nearly dead center and shook it visibly. Instantly, the dark cloud dissipated.

"What did you do?" Max asked.

"Not sure, but it looks like it worked pretty well," Michael said.

They were at the foot of the ramp now. There was light inside the ship, and Max ran toward it.

Liz is in there, he thought.

An instant later, two figures appeared at the top of the ramp. They were pointing something down at Max and Michael. ' Even as that thought registered, a blast from Michael leaped out at them and tossed them very hard back into the ship. Max realized that Michael had taken the lead and was barreling up the ramp just ahead of him.

Well, he's better at this part than I am, Max thought. He had an instant to wonder where that thought had come from, and then they were inside the ship, standing on a landing with one door on each side of them.

The ship was filled with loud clicking sounds, which Max guessed were some sort of automated alarm. Some- thing was wrong. The floor was shaking beneath his feet. He and Michael must have hit the ship pretty hard.

Good, he thought.

An alien appeared from a door that slid open. Max cursed to himself. He had held out a slim hope that there might only be the three they had seen so far. Clearly, there were more. This one was similar to the one Kyle had taken down. Actually, it looked identical.

Michael blasted him back the way he came.

"That way," Max said, pointing into the hallway the alien had emerged from.

They stepped inside and found nothing. Just thirty or forty feet of hallway.

"What now?" Michael said.

Max thought for a moment. The ship was shaking now. Something was wrong with it. Whatever they did, they needed to do it fast.

No time. No time. No time.

There were sounds of movement from inside the ship. Max did the only thing he could think of: "Liz!" he called out.

He did it again. Michael called out as well.

"Shhhh," he said, holding up his hand.

Nothing.

They called for her again.

"Max," a voice said. There it was. Faint, but he had heard it. A look at Michael's face told him that it wasn't his imagination.

"Max," the voice said, louder this time.

It was coming from back behind the door. Max led them back to the small landing they had first reached when they entered the ship.

He heard Liz again, louder this time. Then he realized where they were. They were in the dead center of the ship. The landing obviously connected two main hallways that ran the length of the vessel.

Max started for the door on the opposite door, the one that would lead him to Liz. The door opened, but Michael's hand on his shoulder pulled him aside before he could step through.

"Let me check it out," Michael said, stepping through. Max was an instant behind him.

Faster than he could ever have reacted, Michael identi- fied and blasted two aliens that were waiting for them.

"Max," Liz called out again. She sounded much closer now. Max ran down the hallway. He and Michael checked doorways together and only once saw an alien… whom Michael quickly dispatched.

Then they tried another door and saw three people inside against a wall.

Liz was there, Max realized, feeling a rush of relief. She was standing up attached to the wall with some sort of straps or bands. Next to her were Bell and Dawn. Both of them looked unconscious. Liz seemed half out of it her- self, but she was fighting. She had retained enough con- sciousness to see where they were and had told Isabel.

A rush of love for her overwhelmed him, but he pushed it aside. He still had plenty of work to do. Max didn't bother to scan the room. He sensed Michael was doing it, and since he didn't hear any blasts he assumed it was clear.

Rushing to Liz, he waved his hands and the bands around her flew off. She fell into his arms. Putting her down on the floor, he ran his hand over her whole body. She seemed okay, except…

Drugged. They had given her something. It was affecting her, keeping her docile. Summoning his power, he placed his hand on her head and felt his energy flow into her.

Immediately her eyes cleared and she looked up at him.

Holding his hand up to tell her to be still, Max ran his other, glowing hand over her body, clearing it of the drug.

An instant later, Liz's arms were around him and he was pulling her up. "We're in the ship," he said.

Liz nodded. "I told Isabel where it was.”

"Can you walk?" he asked.

"I'm okay," she said, taking a step to make sure.

"Good, we'll have to carry them," Max said, pointing to Bell and Dawn.

Michael had removed their bands and quickly threw Dawn over his shoulder. Max did the same to Bell and they headed down the hallway, making for the landing and the ramp.

Michael was in front, and Max could see that he was watching carefully for aliens. Thankfully, none appeared. Then they were on the landing.

The ramp was in front of them. Michael headed down first.

Max almost stumbled when the ship shook and the ramp nearly threw him. Liz's hand was on him and he kept his balance. Finally, they were on the ground. Ten feet. Twenty. Thirty.

Michael stopped and put Dawn down. Max did the same with Bell. He took a quick look at them and saw that they were both breathing.

That done, he had only one thought. He wanted to put his arms around… "Max, we have to go back," Liz said.

"What?" he said.

"Back in there? We just got out… miraculously… in one piece," Michael said.

"There are others in there, I heard… screaming," Liz said. "We can't leave them.”

Max thought about Isabel's dreamwalking experience and Liz's vision. Whatever the aliens were doing to the people they took, it was awful. He looked at the ship. It was shaking visibly. And inside, there were girls who were imprisoned and being experimented on.

Max had some experience with that.

"Liz, it's too late," Michael said.

"We'll go," Max said.

"We'll what?" Michael said, shocked.

But Max was already running back to the ship and he knew Michael was just behind him. By the time he reached the ramp, Michael was ahead of him… muttering, but leading the way.

Since they had searched the hallway that was to the right of the landing looking for Liz, this time, they turned left.

There were no aliens in the hallway… at least, none that were moving. Quickly, they tried doors. Max saw equip- ment he didn't recognize and seemingly empty room, but no people- -or aliens, for that matter. Finally, at the end of the hall, they saw a single large room. Scanning it quickly, Max saw a long row of tables like the ones Isabel had described from Jessica's dream. Ten tables. No, twelve.

And three of them were occupied.

Max ran over to look at the closest one. Once he stepped next to the bed, something happened. The rest of the ship seemed to disappear around him. He could see the floor and ceiling going on in all directions, seemingly forever. There appeared to be no walls.

Rooms that aren't rooms.

"Michael?" Max called.

"I'm here. I see it too. Weird," Michael said.

Max stepped away from the table, and the room took on its normal appearance. It's an illusion, he realized.

"Maybe it keeps them from trying to get away," Michael said.

Max nodded and said, "Let's get them out of here.”

"Max, I don't think… this one. Max, this girl is dead," Michael said, pain in his voice.

Dead.

Rage boiled up in Max. These creatures had taken an innocent girl. Experimented on her, and killed her. They had also taken Liz, and that fate had been waiting for her.

There were straps holding the girl in front of him to the table. Max used his powers to break then and took her into his arms. He gently put her on his shoulder and stepped away from the bed.

He was relieved when the illusion was broken and the room appeared normal finally.

"I've got Jessica," Michael said. "Can we go now?”

Max nodded, and they headed into the hallway. The ship rocked violently under their feet for a moment. Then it moved again.

"Did you feel that?" Michael asked.

"Yes," Max said, a feeling of dread coming over him.

"The ship is moving," Michael said, voicing Max's worst fears.

He and Michael raced through the ship. Max had a sec- ond to note the rough texture of the metal walls and floor. Otherwise the alien vessel was sparse except for a few lights, panels, and screens of different shapes.

It was a real spaceship. Under different circumstances he knew that he and Liz would love to explore it. Max lurched forward and pushed all other thoughts from his head. He knew that if he didn't hurry, he would have plenty of time to study the ship from the inside.

It's not cold out, Kyle realized. The growing puddle next to him told him that much. This cold he was feeling came from inside.

On the plus side, the worst of the shivers seemed to be over. And he barely felt the hole in his abdomen that was causing all his trouble. He had stopped pressing on his wound, not because he didn't care anymore, but because his hands would no longer obey his commands.

In the beginning, he had heard noises and seen flashes of light. That was when he had still been able to lift his head.

There had been one great moment, when he had seen a bright ball of something strike the ship and rock it hard. It had looked like Michael's work. Max and Michael had hurt them. Good, he thought. Kyle had always had a problem with bullies, and he sensed that these creatures were the worst kind. Whatever their motives, whatever their reasons for coming trillions and trillions of miles, they were just bullies… like the ones he had seen growing up. But some- times bullies picked on the wrong kid and got a surprise. When he heard a loud rumble coming from the ship, he decided that his friends were giving him that surprise.

He would have smiled if the effort had not been too great.

He thought of his dad. He wished he could see him again, but at least he had been able to say good-bye. It was more than he had been able to have with his mother. Still, he let them both go.

Liz, Max, Maria, Michael. One by one, he let his friends go. Isabel was last and hardest, but he let her go in the end.

Other friends, other times. Girls he had known. Dawn, who had liked him and had smelled very nice. Vicki Delaney, with whom he had spent an evening in the back of a pickup.

He let them all go.

His world became very simple and very small. He had thought the Middle Path was difficult to walk, that it would take great effort for him to find it. But now he knew it was as easy as letting go. In the end, there was only his breathing. He realized he probably should have stopped making he effort, but old habits…

In the end, life was astonishingly simple.

Small breaths. In. Out.

Soon, he knew he would have to let that go too.