A New Beginning

24

Someone was shaking him. Michael shrugged them off. They shook him again.

"What?!" Michael said, not even opening his eyes.

"Come on. You can walk us to work," Maria's voice said.

That opened his eyes. Maria was glaring down at him.

Of course she is, he thought.

"You have got to be kidding me," Michael said.

"We should," Max said.

Michael looked up and saw his best friend looking down at him. Max looked better. Almost like himself… almost. His eyes were a bit sunken, but he looked better than he had last night.

"We don't even know if the diner will be open, but we should not change our routine. We don't want any extra attention," Max said.

Michael nodded. Max was right. The others were all up already. Michael showered quickly, and they were all out the door in minutes.

As dead as the town had been before, it looked like Grand Central Station now. There were half a dozen police cars and people milling about everywhere on the street. It was chaos, but Max knew it was good chaos. Before, they had been watched from every window when they walked down the empty main street. Now, they were barely noticed.

Max was mildly surprised to see Bell and Sam in the diner. Bell smiled at them when they arrived.

"I'm so glad you kids are okay," she said. "I thought you were on the road again.”

"We had some more trouble with the van," Max said.

"Well, let's get you some food," Bell said.

While they were all eating, Bell told them the "incredi- ble news." The night before, someone had broken into the diner after Max and his friends had gone. Bell was unclear on the details, but thought that she and Sam had been drugged. They had woken up feeling fine and had been checked out by the ambulance crew who had come for the girls who showed up mysteriously in the Laundromat.

"One of them was Jessica," Bell said, tears in her eyes.

"She looked fine, except a little weak. It looked like she hadn't eaten in a while," Sam said, joining the conversation.

"Becky Taylor was there too. She went missing the same day that Jessica did," Bell said.

"It's a miracle," Sam said.

Then, when the food was finished, she and Sam-disap- peared back into the kitchen.

"Do you think they'll come back, Max… the aliens?" Isabel asked.

"No," Max said. He couldn't say for sure why, but it felt like it was all over for Stonewall.

"Bullies don't like it when the prey fights back," Kyle said.

Michael nodded his head. "Especially when the prey kicks their butt.”

"Looks like we'll be staying here a little longer," Liz said.

"What about the van?" Max asked Kyle.

"I'll have to check it out," Kyle said. Then he got up suddenly. "That reminds me. I have to go see Dan before…

"I'll see you guys later," he said, heading for the door.

Kyle got to the garage quickly. Someone was already inside the office. When he got closer, Kyle could see that it was Dan. He was sitting behind the desk and looked up at Kyle immediately. He was holding up the envelope Kyle had left him the night before.

"I didn't expect to see you," Dan said.

Kyle shrugged. "We were going to leave last night.”

"What stopped you?" Dan asked.

For a second, Kyle was at a loss to explain. In the end, he said simply, "The van broke down." It was the simplest explanation. And it was even partly true.

Dan stared at him for a minute.

Kyle finally said, "Look, Dan, if it's okay with you… ”

Then something was sailing through the air at Kyle. His football reflexes kicked in and he caught the keys in midair.

"Take the tow truck and bring her in. We'll take a look," Dan said. He handed him back the envelope and said, "Hang on to this. We'll settle up when you're ready to go.”

"Thanks," Kyle said.

"They found her, you know. Dawn is okay," Dan said, the emotion clear on his face.

"I heard," Kyle said. "I heard back in town.”

Heading out the door, Kyle climbed into the tow truck. Half an hour later, he had the van up on a lift.

The garage was empty, so Dan came over to look at it with him.

"Spring snapped," Dan said, pointing to the metal coil near the left front tire. "Could probably use some shocks, too. You know, you can improve the handling if you get a torsion bar. When my brother…”

Dan talked for the longest he had since Kyle had met him. He told Kyle all about his brother's van and a little about the trip they had taken.

An hour later, the first car came in. Then another. Then they were actually busy.

They would be here a little longer. He would have plenty of time to work on the van. That was good in a way; there was a lot more he wanted to do with it.

"She came back, she came back!" Jimmy announced as he raced into the diner.

Bell immediately wrapped her arms around him. "We know, Jimmy," she said.

To Liz's surprise, Sam came out from the kitchen and patted Jimmy on the back. "It's a miracle, son," he said.

Someone in the nearly full diner started clapping. Then everyone did. In seconds, the people from the town and the police who were eating were all on their feet, applauding Jessicas return.

"Can I have the day off?" Jimmy asked. "Jessica's com- ing home from the hospital," he exclaimed, tears of excite- ment running down his face.

"Of course, dear," Bell said through her own tears.

"Okay," Jimmy said.

When Jimmy finally disengaged himself from Bell, he turned to go. Then he caught Liz at the waitress station.

"I knew I remembered right. You saw her, didn't you?" he asked, his innocent eyes full of gratitude. Jimmy kept his voice down. He had secrets of his own and had obviously learned to keep them. "You helped her," he said. It wasn't a question.

Liz nodded. Jimmy wrapped his arms around her and held her silently for a minute. In that time, Liz had a flash. Jimmy and his sister were in a room. She couldn't be sure, but it felt like a new place.

There was a game on the table in front of them. Jimmy was rolling dice and smiling as his sister watched him with a smile of her own on her face.

Liz's own tears… tears of relief… came freely, and she let them come.

Throughout the day, Liz heard endless speculation about what had happened the night before. In the end, Liz knew it would remain a mystery. It was a story that had at least a partly happy ending and would keep the town talking for as long as it was there. She was amused that much of the speculation revolved around the school bus that had been found parked on Main Street.

Though she knew that Max was still feeling the effects of the night before, he had insisted on continuing the painting job outside.

When she went out to call Max, Michael, and Isabel in for lunch, she had heard what sounded like… burping, and then laughter. It had stopped when she called out, but all three of them were smiling when she saw them.

That night, they headed back to the garage and settled down for the night. A few moments later, there was a knock at he door. Max answered it.

Dan stood in the entrance. "I just wanted to see if you kids were all right," he said.

"We're fine, come on in," Liz said as she got up.

Dan stepped inside and looked around as if he were seeing the place for the first time… or at least the first time in a long time. From what Kyle had told them, Liz thought she understood.

"We painted and spruced it up a bit. I hope that's okay," Isabel said.

"Fine," he said, his voice tight. "It looks good." Dan glanced down at the playing cards in Michael's hands. "Cards?" he said.

"Yeah, you want to play?" Kyle said.

"Please," Liz invited him.

Dan plopped down on the floor against one of the beanbag chairs as if he had done it a thousand times: Michael handed him the cards and said, "Dealers choice.”

Dan nodded and said, "Seven card follow the Queen, deuces wild.”

The others all shot him confused looks. Dan smiled. "Pay attention," he said as he dealt the cards.

A week later, they were saying their good-byes. Bell had hugged each of them, and Sam had even shaken the boys' hands. A rare display for him, Kyle noted. They had already said his good-byes to Dan, who was going to be in Pueblo for the day. It was just as well… better, in fact, con- sidering what Kyle was planning to do.

Kyle hadn't seen Gomer or Dawn since the night she disappeared, but that was just as well. From what he had heard from Dan, neither of them remembered much about what had happened after they'd left the garage the night she was abducted.

That being the case, Kyle figured she wouldn't have anything to say to him.

Bell was giving Kyle and his friends a going-away breakfast. It was the same food they had eaten since they had arrived, but there was a bon-voyage banner and some balloons.

As things wound down, Kyle got Isabel to one side and said, "Can I borrow you for a few minutes?”

She'd looked at him questioningly, but had nodded.

"We'll be right back," Kyle said.

The van was parked outside the diner. It looked the same on the outside, but under the hood was a different story, Kyle noted with some pride.

The diner, on the other hand, looked nice on the out- side. Max, Isabel, and Michael had finished painting the exterior, and it seemed to shine now.

"Where are we…?" Isabel asked.

Kyle raised his hand. "Just come with me," he insisted, leading the way back to the garage. He led Isabel around back and showed her the van.

"This is the one that belonged to his brother?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. He told her what he wanted her to do. When he was finished, she smiled.

"It's not very low profile," she said.

"No," he said. "And Max would hate the idea.”

"That's the problem with democracy," Isabel said. "Not everybody gets what they want.”

"You're in?" Kyle asked.

"What do you want me to do first?" she asked.

They started on the structural work. There was real damage to the chassis and body in the back. Isabel straightened it all with a few touches, and the ancient injuries to the van seemed to mend themselves. A ruined van that had been rusting for thirty years came to life in front of him. It was amazing. No, she was amazing. Kyle found himself watching Isabel's face most of all. The sim- ple joy it held was incredible.

He got down on the ground and checked her work. The frame and bumper were straight now. Body panels were smooth. The rear doors opened easily. Even the tail- lights looked new.

Kyle showed her the rusted-out frame on the side and seconds later it was whole. They circled the van smooth- ing dents and removing rust.

Checking his watch, Kyle saw that they had been there about ten minutes. They needed to hurry or Max and the others would come looking for them.

Opening the hood, Kyle showed Isabel the engine com- partment and explained to her what the engine block was, what it did, and how it looked.

"It has a crack there," Kyle said, pointing it out. "I don't know how far it runs.”

"I think I can get it," Isabel said, touching it. "That's it.”

There would still be plenty of work to do on the engine, Kyle thought. For one, it would need a new timing chain. But Dan was a mechanic, and something told Kyle he would enjoy this job.

Opening the door, he took her inside, and she removed rust and fixed holes and tears in the upholstery. She made it all look new.

"And now the fun part," Kyle said when they got back outside.

Isabel touched the side panel of the van and concen- trated. It was like a wave of color washed over it. And then the psychedelic paint job looked like it must have when a teenager named Johnny had first applied it.

Isabel took her hand off the van.

When she was done, she smiled broadly and gave Kyle a quick, impulsive hug.

Kyle took a moment to look at the van. The tires were missing, and it still sat on cinder blocks. Otherwise it looked like it must have thirty-some years before, when Dan and his big brother had set out on the road with a group of friends to see a rock-and-roll show.

"Let's go before Dan comes looking," Isabel said. And they left, heading toward Main Street and their own friends.

Liz watched Max as he pulled away from the diner. Bell was waving frantically. Liz waved back.

In seconds, they passed the garage, then the hill where the alien ship had sat. From there, it was just open road.

"The van sounds good, Kyle. Actually it sounds great," Michael said.

Kyle smiled, "Thanks. I had some extra time.”

"We really did something back there," Liz said.

The others nodded. They all felt it. They had helped Jimmy and others they didn't even know.

"I know what you mean. You should have seen the way the paint was peeling on the diner. We got there just in time," Michael said.

Liz heard a smack and Michael say, "Ow!”

She smiled, and then found herself getting thoughtful. "What do you think they wanted?" she asked.

No one answered for a long moment. Finally, Maria said, "That's just one mystery we may never solve, Velma.”

"What did you call me?" Liz said, whipping her head around.

"Like you're not completely Velma?" Maria teased.

"If anybody's Daphne, it's me," Liz said defiantly.

"You've got… ”

"Hold on," Max said. He smiled. "Are you telling me that all girls see themselves as either Daphne or Velma?”

"Well, yeah," Liz and Maria said in unison.

"See, you're either the hot one with the cute boyfriend, or the smart one in the bad orange sweater," Maria said.

"I don't know, I like Velma," Max said seriously.

"You're kidding me," Liz replied.

"Yeah, smart girls are hot," he said. "Besides, do you realize what a killer body she has under that sweater?" Max said.

Liz laughed out loud, saying, "I didn't realize you watched so closely.”

"I'm only human. At least only half-human," Max cor- rected himself.

Everyone laughed at that, Liz noticed. Even Isabel, which Liz was glad to see.

There was more laughter and lots of talk about nothing. Though she wouldn't remember a single thing that she and her friends discussed, Liz knew she would remember that morning for a long time.