Dreamwalk

15

”Hello," Kyle said, still holding on to the door, making sure the visitor could not see inside-not that there was anything to see, but just in case something odd happened. This was a valid concern, considering the group's history. They never knew when something strange could be going on behind them.

Jesse was naturally surprised to see the stranger instead of Isabel opening the door, but he recovered quickly. «Hi, I'm looking for… for Phillip Evans. I work with him.»

«Yeah," Kyle stalled while trying to come up with a good cover story. «I know. You're Jesse, right?»

«Yes," Jesse replied.

«I'm Kyle.» He held out a hand to the interloper while keeping the other hand firmly on the door. «I'm one of Isabel and Max's friends. How are you?»

«Good," Jesse replied, trying discretely to peek through the partially open door. «Is Phillip home?»

«Actually, no," Kyle responded abruptly, faced with at least one question he could easily answer. «He and Mrs. Evans are down in Santa Fe for the day.»

Jesse feigned surprise. «That's right. I forgot. They went to that arts festival.»

«Right.» Kyle hoped this piece of information would send the visitor on his way. «I can take a message for when they get back. Is there something you needed?»

«I just wanted to talk about a case we're working on.» Jesse created his own cover story as he grew more concerned that Isabel had not come to the door yet to rescue him from this situation.

«You couldn't have called?» Kyle asked, suddenly suspicious. Between being the son of a former sheriff and all the alien conspiracy stuff going on in recent history, Kyle's senses were honed to picking up on any kind of questionable behavior.

«I was in the neighborhood," Jesse replied, growing suspicious himself that no one with the name Evans had come to see who was at the door yet. Odder still since Isabel was expecting him. «Since I'm here, I was wondering if I could just pop in and say hi to Isabel… and Max.»

«Max isn't here," Kyle replied, grasping for some excuse. «And Isabel… is a little under the weather.»

Jesse was instantly concerned, remembering that she had cancelled on him the previous evening to look after a friend she had said was really sick. Unaware of the fact that he was speaking to the sick friend, he tried not to appear too worried, especially since they were only supposed to be passing acquaintances. «I hope it's nothing serious.»

«Not really," Kyle flat out lied.

«Would it be okay if I stopped in to say hi?» Jesse moved toward the door.

Kyle, however, stayed firmly planted in place. «Actually, she's resting right now. She said she didn't want to be disturbed.»

«By anyone?» Jesse let the charade slip for a brief moment, confused that she hadn't called him to stop him from coming over or alerted this kid to the fact that he might be stopping by.

«Yeah," Kyle said, growing even more suspicious. «If you don't mind, I should get back inside in case she wakes up and needs something.»

«Are you sure it's not serious?» Jesse asked, his anxiety beginning to take over and push their whole hidden relationship out in the open.

«Positive," Kyle said, trying not to stretch the lie too far. «We called the family doctor and he just said to let her get some rest. Nothing to worry about.»

«Okay.» Jesse felt some minor relief. «When she wakes up, please let her know I was here… to say hi.»

«Will do.» Kyle closed the door before anything else could be said in their odd little interaction. He would have to make sure to fill Isabel in on his lie when she woke up, so that no one would question her about it later. That's the problem with lies-even the simple ones require tremendous attention to detail. Of course, that's all assuming that Isabel would wake up. Don't even think like that.

«Who was at the door?» Maria asked as Kyle came back into the bedroom. She was sitting beside Isabel, holding her hand and rubbing it in small circles with her thumb.

«Someone from Mr. Evans's firm," Kyle replied. «Nothing important. Any change?»

«No," Maria replied hopelessly. «And I still haven't been

able to get in touch with Max or Liz. Meanwhile, Michael's still off God knows where. Have you tried your dad?»

«He's pulled another one of his disappearing acts," Kyle said, wondering once again where his father was spending his time lately. «I've hardly seen him at all this week.»

«What is it with the parents in this town?» Maria asked, frustrated. «They're never around when you need them.»

Kyle nodded in agreement.

«What do we do now?» she asked.

«Wait," he replied, as his mind spun with possible plans of action but nothing came.

«How I long for the day when waiting isn't our only plan of inaction.»

Kyle bristled from Maria's comment. He knew she meant nothing by it, but it still bothered him that he didn't know what to do. He couldn't think clearly. His mind was full of confusing, unclear images. Not now, he thought. This is not the time for a flash.

His fingers tapped against his leg for the first time that morning. This time, however, Kyle felt them pressing into his flesh and actually took notice of the action.

Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap.

«I think I'm going to meditate for a while.» He left the room, hoping to calm his mind before things got out of hand. They certainly didn't need two crises to deal with.

«Do you really think this is the right time to voluntarily make yourself unconscious?» Maria asked, following him into the living room. «You know, considering.»

«I won't be unconscious," he explained, hoping he didn't sound condescending to the unenlightened. «Meditation allows me to perform a conscious exploration of my

mind. It will give me the opportunity to organize my thoughts and purge any images that do not belong.» Kyle often felt that people had a tendency to listen to him explain his beliefs as if they were humoring him because what he was saying was a joke somehow-especially his father. But he thought Maria of all people would understand. «Would you like to join me?»

«Thanks, but I like my cluttered mind the way it is," she said, although at the same time she took a few drops of her calming cedar oil.

Kyle took a seat on the floor, placing his body in the lotus position, with his legs crossed and folded over each other. He then closed his eyes and began his breathing exercises, trying to establish a sense of inner peace.

«Great, Michael's going to come back to find two unconscious bodies," Maria said to herself as she went back to Isabel's room.

Walking up to the bed to check on her friend, Marias foot kicked something on the floor. Bending to retrieve the item, she found a copy of their yearbook lying there, closed. Maria picked it up, flipping through the pages and settling on the familiar photo of herself. Her face scrunched up as she once again regretted the awful picture. What was I thinking? she thought. Talk about a bad hair day.

Shutting the book so she no longer had to look at the offending picture, she placed it on Isabel's desk on top of another book that had been lying out. With' nothing else to do, Maria sat by Isabel's side once again, holding her friend's hand and wondering what could be going on.

Isabel was banging against the door, frantically trying to break out of the room as if freedom from its confines would free her from Kyle's mind. Through the banging, she thought she had heard something on the other side. Putting her ear to the door, she listened and was able to make out faint voices, arguing. She assumed that it was just echoes of Tess and Alex.

The memory of his murder sent chills through her.

She almost yelled out for help before realizing how pointless that would have been since no one was really outside the door. Truth be told, she wasn't actually inside the room either, and it concerned her that her body was across town without a conscious mind inside. Will I ever be able to get back?

The voices disappeared, and Isabel gave up on the door entirely.

«Okay, Kyle.» She turned back to the little boy. «Let's be proactive. You want me to stay here. Tell me why.»

The six-year-old version of Kyle was throwing a baseball into the air and catching it as it came back down. «I don't know," he said as the ball went up into the air.

«Are you afraid of something?» She sat beside him on the bed, taking random guesses to try to figure out the problem.

The ball continued, up and down.

«Is it Tess?» she carefully pushed. «Are you afraid of Tess?»

The ball continued its repetitive journey.

«Is it someone else?» She tried a new track, with frustration creeping into her voice. «Did someone hurt you?»

Kyle missed the ball as it came down. It rolled across

the floor and under his dresser. The boy looked like he was about to tear up.

«I'll get it," Isabel offered. «Don't cry. It's just under the-"

«Big boys don't cry," he said firmly.

Hearing a response, she ignored the ball and focused on the boy. «And you're a big boy?»

«Yes," he said.

«But sometimes big boys do cry," she said. «If something really hurts-"

«No.»

«Why do you say that?»

«Big boys don't cry.»

«Okay, fine.» Isabel gave up on trying to change his mind, and bent to the floor to get the ball. Reaching under the dresser, she slid her arm from left to right, but couldn't find it. The piece of furniture was small enough that she was able to touch the back wall, but she found nothing. The ball was gone. But, then again, it was never really there in the first place.

She thought about telling him that the ball was missing, but figured he probably knew, since this was his world and she was just a guest in it.

Giving up, she resumed her place beside little Kyle on the bed. «So are we going to sit here forever, or do you have something else in mind?»

Wordlessly, the boy finally got off the bed. Taking deliberate steps, he opened the bedroom door, waiting for her to follow.

Intrigued, she got up and went for the door. «So are you the ghost of Christmas past, present, or future?»

Little Kyle ignored her comment as they walked through the Valenti home and right into the police station. This time, however, it was empty. Making their way through a maze of twisting corridors that didn't exist in the real Roswell Police Station, Isabel followed the child right up to the sheriffs door.

He stopped there, waiting for her.

Assuming that it was her job to open the door, Isabel stepped up to turn the knob. «It's locked," she said after meeting resistance. Listening at the door, she had expected to hear someone crying again, but she heard nothing. «What is it, Kyle? What are you trying to tell me?»

«You're not supposed to go in there," he replied.

«Then why are we here?» She was trying to figure out this puzzle, but their trip was not a great example of linear thought. «What am I supposed to see?»

The world shifted around her as the fluorescents melted into the bright light of the sun, and the walls and floor fell away. They were back in the desert, at the same spot where Isabel had first entered into Kyle's nightmare. Little Kyle dropped to the ground and started digging.

The vulture or buzzard or whatever it was circled overhead while it either chased or was being chased by another one of its kind.

«What are you looking for?» Isabel asked, bending over the youngster and peering into the hole.

«Treasure," was his cryptic response.

«What kind of treasure?» She knelt beside him.

«Buried treasure.»

Should have seen that one coming.

«Here, let me help.» She dug into the ground with her

hands, thinking of the three-day-old manicure on her fingers as she clawed into the dirt with the pleasant knowledge that at least she was doing no real harm to her physical body. She figured that they would find whatever it was they were looking for much faster if she joined in. «How far do we have to dig?»

«Until we find what we're looking for," came yet another cryptic reply.

She could feel that something new had come into the dream.

Ignoring the digging for a moment, she saw an object glowing in the distance. Assuming that little Kyle would be okay on his own in his dream world, Isabel stood up and started walking to the strange object.

As she got closer, Isabel could see that it was some kind of huge iridescent orb hovering about three feet above the ground. Translucent colors swirled around the surface of the orb, and as Isabel approached it she could make out the shadow of an image inside.

She was so focused on the orb that she did not notice little Kyle had disappeared behind her and the birds were no longer in the sky above.

Stepping up to the strange sight, Isabel held her hand up to block the sun as she peered inside and saw the teenage version of Kyle that she was familiar with sitting in the center of the globe with his back to her. He was floating in what she recognized as the lotus position.

«Kyle!» she yelled, banging on the orb, wondering if this new version of her friend was there to answer some of her questions if only she could get through to him inside the sphere.

But he did not turn to her.

Assuming that he simply could not hear her while he was inside the orb, Isabel went around to face him. «Kyle!» She banged on the surface of the orb again while standing right in front of him.

His closed eyes did not open.

The orb began to radiate a bright light, replacing that of the now missing sun. Isabel stepped back as the orb expanded in size. For the first time, she noticed that parts of the desert image were disappearing, being replaced by blackness. Pieces of sky and earth had fallen away leaving nothingness behind as the place reorganized itself.

This is so not good, she thought as she began banging on the orb once again.

Energy flew from the orb, knocking her to the ground. A section of dirt disappeared beneath her hands as she nearly fell into the nothingness left in its place.

«Kyle!» She threw herself against the orb, fearing what would happen if she got trapped in the void that was enveloping the dream world. «Kyle!» She kicked at the expanding globe.

The darkness spread in pieces around her as Kyle was trying to organize his thoughts and remove the harmful imagery without realizing that he could be removing Isabel from existence. She had to take several steps to the left to keep from falling into the void as she saw the swirling colors of the sphere begin to fade. The surface of the orb began to clear, and she could see Kyle much more easily now, but his eyes were still closed to her. «Kyle!»

From within his meditative state, Kyle could hear a voice calling out to him. It was familiar to him. Using the

techniques he had been self-taught, Kyle methodically tried to clear his mind, removing the offending images piece by piece as he reached out to the voice. More of the confusion fell away as he concentrated on the voice.

«Kyle, open your eyes!» she screamed. Knowing she had little time to act because the blackness was taking over, Isabel held out her hands and focused her concentration. She had no reason to believe that her alien powers would work in this dream world, but she was out of options.

Kyle heard Isabel that time. She was reaching out to him, calling for him. He tried to do whatever he could to answer her back.

Taking strength from her powerful fear, Isabel shot her hands out. Screaming Kyle's name, she forced the orb to burst in an explosion of light.