BOOK 8 RESTRUCTURING
REALITY
(THE HISTORY OF
THE FUTURE - MAX)
|
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ PART 8 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Over the next few years, Max and Liz and the others settled into a
comfortable existence, taking jobs and even going to school. They moved several times to
different parts of the country, to avoid discovery. After Kyle had been rescued, Max had forbidden them from using
their powers except in emergencies, fearful of drawing attention to
themselves. But Michael and Kyle
disobeyed him and practiced secretly. Liz also guiltily disobeyed Max and used her new power of astral
projection to see her parents. She
was glad they had finally accepted her marriage before she and Max had left for
college. It would have been even
more awful if she and her parents had been fighting when she had to go into
hiding. Liz missed them terribly
and even though they didn't know she was there, it made her feel better to know
they were all right. At first, it
had been difficult for her to get to them, but with practice she was able to
visit them whenever she wished.
Liz hated keeping secrets from Max but she couldn't bear the thought of
never seeing her parents again.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ (Wednesday, September 16th, 2009) (Copper Summit, AZ) "The new troops have arrived, Your Majesty," Nicholas
informed Khivar. "How do you
want to proceed?" "Dispatch four squads of your best men to Roswell and take
the Evans and the Parkers hostage.
Then send a message to Max, telling him to come forward by an appointed
time, or we will kill his and his wife's parents." "Max would be an idiot to sacrifice himself for them,"
Nicholas sneered. "He won't
surrender. He will probably try to
rescue..." he let the sentence trail off as he realized Khivar's plan. "Of course, he will try to rescue
them and we can set a trap."
Nicholas frowned, "Max might suspect a trap though and not
come." Khivar shrugged, "At least it will appear that I gave him a
peaceful way out. If he doesn't
come forward, destroy Roswell. We
will systematically destroy that planet one city at a time if necessary, until
they surrender themselves to us." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ (Broussard, LA) Serena knew of Max's distaste for alien things and had kept the
communication orb out of his sight for years. It was too important to abandon and she thought that one day
he would change his mind and be grateful she had retained it. She kept it on a shelf in her room and
had hardly given it more than a passing thought in years, only considering it
when she dusted around it or packed it for another move. So when the shaft of blue-white light
burst from it, she was so surprised, she almost fell off her bed. After the initial shock, she grabbed the orb and headed into the
living room were the others were gathered, and thrust the orb at Max. "We just received a message." Max scowled, "From whom?" "I haven't listened to it yet," Serena said. Max sighed, they had to listen to the message, no matter how much
he wanted to ignore it and he nodded to Serena. She cupped the orb in her hands and sent a small burst of power
into it and the message started. "Max Evans, this is General Nicaron. His Majesty Khivar Roistar wishes you
to surrender yourself, Isabel and Michael into our power no later than noon on
Friday of this week. That should
give you plenty of time to get to Copper Summit from anywhere in the United
States. To assure your cooperation
we have taken Philip and Diane Evans and Jeff and Nancy Parker into our
possession. If you do not
surrender by the appointed time, they will be executed. "We will expect the three of you on Friday in Copper
Summit at the UFL building. I'm
sure you remember the way." Max jumped out of his seat and knocked the orb out of Serena's
hands with a growl, "They've already ruined our lives. Can't they just leave us alone?" "What are we going to do Max?" Isabel asked. "We can't let them kill our
parents." Max reached for the cell phone and quickly dialed his parents'
number, "First, we have to find out if it's true. It could be just another trick." The Evans' phone rang until the answering machine came on and Max
hung up. He dialed the number for
the Crashdown but got the same result.
He looked at his watch, it was just after seven p.m., the Crashdown's
busiest time of the day, but there was no answer. A shiver of fear raced up Max's spine, Nicholas was telling
the truth. Liz picked up on his fear immediately, "No!" Max took Liz into his arms and turned to the others, "This is
my fault. I thought our families
would be safe because they didn't know anything, but I never considered that
Nicholas would use them against us." "I wonder why he waited so long," Serena said. "He has known where your families
were for years. Something must
have changed for him to do it now." Max dismissed her point, "It doesn't matter. We have to figure out where they're
being held and come up with a plan to rescue them." Kyle stepped forward, "Can Liz see where they're being held,
the way she found me?" Liz nodded, "I'll try." Max nodded to Serena, signaling her to come to them. "Liz, do you want to do this here,
or do you need some privacy?" Liz shook her head, "It's fine Max." She allowed Serena to lead her to the
sofa. "Do you remember how you used your powers when you found
Kyle?" Serena asked. Liz glanced at Max guiltily, not wanting to admit to him that she
had used her powers many times to see her parents, and nodded, "Yeah, I
remember." Closing her eyes,
she concentrated on finding her parentsŐ energy, as she had done so many times
before. After a moment she felt
herself becoming lighter and lighter, and she lifted off the ground and sped
toward the place where she could sense them. Images rushed passed her, flying faster and faster and
suddenly she found herself in a room. She recognized the room immediately, it was the place where the
skins had kept Kyle, but now her father was inside the cell instead of
Kyle. He was crying, pleading with
someone, reaching out to them, and Liz took a step toward him, but the sudden
cry behind her made her stop and turn, and what she saw froze her in place. Two skin soldiers were holding her mother on the floor in a
kneeling position and Nicholas had his hand on her head. Her mother writhed in agony as Nicholas
used his powers to extract information from her head and Liz was helpless to do
anything but watch. In a matter of
moments, her mother's screaming stopped, and as she closed her eyes and slumped
forward, Liz knew without a doubt her mother was dead. The two soldiers dragged her body into the corner of the room and
dumped it next to two others that Liz had not seen before. But now she could easily recognize them
as Max and Isabel's parents.
Nicholas must have done the same thing to them. But the Evans and her mother were beyond help and Liz turned back
to her father just as Nicholas motioned for him to be brought forward. Liz saw an older woman approach and
speak to Nicholas. "Sir, if you kill him too we won't have any humans to bargain
with." Nicholas smiled, "That's the beauty of it. Max knows we took them so it doesn't
matter if they are alive or dead.
He won't know they are dead, and he'll walk into the trap anyway." The two skin soldiers forced Liz's father to kneel before Nicholas
and he reached out toward Jeff's head.
Liz rushed forward, "NO!" Nicholas stopped and glanced around. "Did you hear anything?" he asked the other
occupants of the room. Ida looked around too, "What do you mean, Sir?" Nicholas frowned, "I thought I heard someone call out, a
woman." He looked at each of
the others, "You didn't hear anything?" The others shook their heads and Nicholas shrugged and continued,
placing his hand on the human before him. Liz had been so surprised Nicholas heard her that she hesitated
for a moment, but then she concentrated all of her energy into solidifying
herself enough so Nicholas could see her.
She felt herself becoming more heavy, more solid but when she reached
out to touch Nicholas, the fog started to swirl around her. "NO!" Liz screamed,
"It's too soon." But the fog became more dense and she helplessly watched Nicholas
kill her father. The fog started
to obscure her vision but she used all of her strength to hold on as long as
she could. She could see her
father straining against the skin soldiers, trying to free himself, as Nicholas
pried the information from his head.
Liz could almost feel her father's pain as he screamed out in agony and
then was suddenly quiet. Liz let the tears spill down her cheeks as she allowed herself to
slip back into her own body. She
felt Max's strong arms around her and opened her eyes. Max could feel Liz's anguish through their connections and held
her tightly to him, "Liz are you okay?" Liz shook her head.
"They're dead," she whispered, "Nicholas killed them
all." "No," said Isabel, as she jumped off of the sofa. "They can't be dead, you must be
wrong, Liz." Liz looked at her sister-in-law, "I watched him kill my
mother and father, and I'm sorry Isabel but your parents were already
dead." Tears started to gather in Isabel's eyes and she quickly left the
room. Liz turned to Max, "I'm sorry, Max. I wish I could have done something." "There was nothing any of us could have done, Liz." Liz nodded and motioned toward the door where Isabel went,
"Maybe you should go after her." Max reached out to touch her cheek, "Liz, what about you?Ó he
asked softly. "You saw it
happening." Liz nodded again and her eyes fell on Maria across the room,
"What about Maria's mom? She
could be in danger." Maria jumped out of her seat, "You think they might go after
my mom too? We've got to do
something, warn her." "Amy is probably being watched," Serena said. "The skins may be using her to
draw us out." "We'll have to be careful," Max said, "but we can't
just leave her in Roswell. We need
to come up with a plan, fast."
Max looked at Maria, "Is there somewhere you could tell your mom to
go that she would know without you telling her the name? Preferably somewhere outside of
Roswell, in a public place where there would be a large crowd." Maria looked thoughtful for a moment, "I think I know a good
place. There's a mall near my
Grandmother's house in San Antonio where we used to go. Ingram Park Mall." "Okay," Max said, "that will be perfect." He looked at Kyle, "Get on the
internet and find out what stores are in that mall, their hours and a layout
too if they have one." Kyle nodded and headed for the computer. Max turned to Jim, "Find out how long it will take us to get
to San Antonio and how long it will take Amy to get there." Then he turned to Michael "Start
packing up our stuff, just the essentials. We don't want to have to come back here." Serena stepped forward, "Max you can't risk yourself. This situation is almost certainly a
trap." Max shook his head, "That's why IŐm sending you." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The group had come up with an acceptable plan before Max allowed
Maria to call her mother. They
suspected Amy was being watched and Max knew they only had one chance to pull
this off. As much as he wanted to
save Amy, he wouldn't risk the others to do it. He handed the cell phone to Maria, "Okay, you have to
convince her quickly and remember to be careful about what you say. Don't mention that we know our parents
are dead, in case the skins are listening." Maria nodded and dialed.
It was just after eight p.m. and she prayed her mother was home. The phone was answered after two rings and Maria nearly broke into
tears when she heard her mother's voice.
"Mom!" Amy was silent for a moment, "Maria? Is that you?" Maria choked back the gathering tears, "Yeah, it's me." "Maria, oh my God," Amy sobbed, "Are you
alright? Where are you?" "I'm fine, but mom you have to calm down and listen to
me. This is very important." "Okay, " Amy agreed. "Mom the people that are after us, have taken the Parkers and
the Evans and they might come after you too. You have to leave town right now." "Why would they come after me?" Amy argued. "I don't know anything." "Neither do the Evans or the Parkers, but the people after us
are trying to use them to draw us out of hiding. Mom, these are bad people, they killed Alex and they will go
to any lengths to get us. You have
to leave tonight, now." "Leave for how long?" Amy asked. "Where would I go? What about the store? I can't just leave it." "Mom you don't understand," Maria said, getting
angry. "They almost surely
have bugged your phone and can hear what we are saying. They could be coming for you now. Your life is at stake. Don't pack, just get in the car and
go." Maria could hear the silence on the other end of the line and
hoped she was getting through to her mother, "I wouldn't ask you to do
this if there was any other way.
You can come to us and we can protect you." "Okay," Amy agreed. "What do you want me to do?" Maria released a sigh of tension, "Okay, don't say any names
or places, just listen. Remember
the mall that we used to go to near Henny's house?" "Yeah," Amy said with a touch of surprise in her voice. "Drive straight there as soon as we get off the phone. Park on the south side of Dillard's and
go to the dressing room at the back of the gown section. A woman will meet you there and tell
you the name of the dog we had when dad left. Go with her and she will bring you to us." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ (Friday, September 18th, 2009) Serena and Amy had changed outfits and
cars six times in the last two days, but in the end it didn't matter because
Serena could not detect any sign of pursuit. As they had planned, Serena had met Amy in the
dressing room and taken her into the back where they changed their
appearances. Then they had used
the employee's exit to get out of the mall and rushed to Serena's waiting car. Amy had asked many questions on the drive
but Serena had told her it was not her place to explain and Amy had been forced
to curb her curiosity. Serena
wouldn't even tell her where they were headed or when they would arrive. They had driven in a different direction
after each time they changed cars, but finally Serena decided they weren't
being pursued and told Amy they were on their way to meet the others. Amy still didn't know where they were
going, only that they were in Oklahoma and headed northeast. Finally they exited the freeway and
headed into a small town called Vinita. Serena pulled the car into the parking lot of the Western
Motel, drove around the back and parked next to a black SUV. Amy had barely gotten out of the car when
Maria burst out of a hotel room, "Mom!" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ (Vinita, OK) The group had voted unanimously to tell Amy what was really
happening when she joined them. It
had taken an hour to tell her the whole story and several demonstrations of the
aliens' powers before she believed them.
Amy turned to Max, "So these other aliens, these skins, are
after you because you were a King on your planet?" Max nodded, "They were sent here to kill us." "And they killed your parents?" Amy asked. "The skins were trying to use them to draw us out. They didn't think we would know they
were dead," Max said. Amy's brow creased, "How did you find out?" Max put his arm around Liz and told Amy the slightly altered
version of what Liz had seen, that he and Liz had agreed to tell the
others. "Liz tried to see
where our parents were being held, like she did with Kyle, but they were
already dead." Amy looked at Liz.
The child she had known had grown into a woman but she could still see
the six-year-old girl who used to play Barbies with Maria. "I'm really sorry about your
parents, they were good people." Liz smiled and took Amy's hand, "Thanks." Amy turned her attention back to Max, "So what do we do now?" "Get another house," Max said, "and start living
our lives again." "What about the skins?" Amy asked. "The deadline they set for you is
today." Max shrugged, "They don't know where we are and I guess
they'll figure out we're not coming sooner or later." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ (The Universal Friendship League Building) (Copper Summit, AZ) Nicholas watched as the minute hand on the clock clicked to one
p.m. He picked up the amplifier
and signaled Walt who was waiting with a legion of troops near Roswell. "Destroy Roswell." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The group spent the afternoon in the motel, catching up on the
past few years. They had rented
adjoining rooms, and after they finished dinner, Max, Liz and Serena sat in one
room discussing where they should go next, while the others watched television
in the other room. "It might be a nice change to live a little farther
north," Liz suggested. "We can't get too close to Boston though, the skins might
look for us there," Max said as he pointed to the map. "But what about the eastern part
of Ohio? Maybe one of these towns
outside Columbus." Suddenly Michael burst into the room, his face pale as if he had
seen a ghost. He motioned over his
shoulder into the other room.
"You guys have gotta see this." They followed Michael back into the other room where everyone was
gathered raptly around the television, the emotional voice of the news
announcer the only sound in the room. To recap the late-breaking news, the city of Roswell, New
Mexico was destroyed this afternoon and most of its fifty-eight thousand
residents are presumed dead. The pictures shown behind the reporter, were miles away from a
Roswell that was engulfed in smoke and fire. The reporter spoke with a shaky voice. "Reports are still sketchy at this
time but what we can tell you, based on the survivor reports, is that a group
of people dressed as civilians, armed with explosives and high-tech weapons
that appeared to be lasers, entered the city this afternoon. And in less than half-an-hour, the city
of Roswell lay in ruins. They
demolished business, homes and schools, completely destroying most of the city,
seemingly unconcerned about taking innocent lives.Ó ŇAt this time, no group has come forward to claim
responsibility for this unprecedented act of terrorism and the perpetrators
seemed to have just disappeared.
The military and National Guard have the area around Roswell cordoned
off while they search for survivors and try to determine exactly what
happened. The FBI has asked for
anyone with knowledge of the perpetrators to come forward..." Max walked to the television, switched it off and turned to face
Serena, "The reporter said people dressed like civilians used weapons to
destroy Roswell. Nicholas told us
there was a warship in orbit, surely it has weapons." "Yes it does," Serena said, "but maybe they didn't
want to use them and risk exposing themselves." "What kind of weapons are we talking about on that
ship?" Michael asked, "Bombs, lasers, what?" "And how destructive are they?" Max continued. "Capable of destroying a
city?" Serena explained.
"A warship carries fifty smaller attack ships similar to Earth's
fighter planes but they have greater maneuverability and are capable of space
flight. The attack ships are equipped
with energy weapons similar to lasers but they are mainly geared toward
destroying other ships. The
warship itself is equipped with a larger version of the energy weapon but it
requires an incredible amount of energy to use and is only capable of short
bursts of power. It probably could
vaporize several blocks or maybe a square mile, but that is all. It is nothing like the weapons the
aliens had in the movie Independence Day, where they could destroy most of New
York in a few minutes." "A nuclear explosion would be capable of that type of
destruction," Liz said. Serena shook her head.
"We did not use fission weapons on Antar because our bodies are
even more vulnerable to radiation than yours." "But you haven't been on Antar for almost seventy
years," Liz pointed out.
"They would have made advancements in technology you wouldn't know
about." Serena nodded, "They will have superior weapons but the
amount of energy it would take to destroy a city in that manner would be
enormous. Seventy years ago we
didn't have anything even close to generating that kind of energy. For centuries all of our technology has
been based on the element trithium.
They would have to have discovered a new power source and developed
completely new technology around it." "It doesn't make any sense," Michael said. "Why do this now after all of
these years? If Khivar wanted to
destroy the Earth, he's had plenty of time to do it." Liz nodded, "You're right, Michael. Something must have changed for them to do this now, but we
might not ever know what that is." "Maybe he has decided to take over the Earth too,"
Isabel speculated. "It doesn't matter what their motives are," Max
said. "We can't let the skins
get away with this." He
turned to Serena again, "Do we have a chance against them with the current
level of Earth technology?" "Max there are more than five thousand of them, "
Michael reminded him. "We
can't possibly hope to fight them." Max nodded, "You're right. We
wouldn't stand a chance but the U.S. military would. I think we should make an anonymous call to the FBI telling
them who destroyed Roswell and where they are." Isabel laughed, "What are you going to tell them, Max? That a group of aliens has set up camp
in Copper Summit, Arizona." Max smiled, "No, I thought I would tell them the skins are a
cult that have gotten their hands on high-tech weapons. I could say I was part of the cult but
left when they started talking about helping aliens destroy the planet." He shrugged, "It's even pretty
close to the truth." Serena nodded, "It could work. The military could overwhelm them by sheer numbers." "I think that's a good idea," Jim said. "The skins hadn't done anything we
could prove up until now. This is
the perfect opportunity to get the military to wipe them out." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ (Saturday, September 19th, 2009) (Copper Summit, AZ) Nicholas' amplifier sounded and he pressed the activation
sequence, "What?" "This is Greer, General. Captain Toilad on the warship Plemas reports that there are U.S.
troops moving into position around Copper Summit." "Tell the Captain I want exact numbers and positions,"
Nicholas ordered. "Move the
ship into a lower orbit if necessary." "But General, if the ship moves into a lower orbit they risk
being spotted," Greer reminded him. "Yes they do," Nicholas agreed as he switched off the
amplifier. He turned to Walt, who
was seated across from him, and smiled, "The U.S. military is lining up
outside of Copper Summit. I have
been itching for a good fight for years." Walt nodded as Nicholas pressed another sequence of symbols on the
amplifier, "Battle stations!
This is not a drill!" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ (Sunday, September 20th, 2009) "In the last ten years I have been embedded with our
troops all around the world," the reporter said in a voiceover, as the footage started to roll
depicting the events he was describing, "but I have never seen anything
like this. It was like something
out of a movie.Ó ŇU.S. military forces had the town of Copper Summit, Arizona
surrounded but it was totally silent and appeared to be deserted. After repeated failed attempts at
communication with the inhabitants, we started to move in. Then suddenly the sky erupted with a
deafening sound, and what I can only describe as flying saucers attacked our
positions. They fired some kind of
energy weapon that destroyed tanks and personnel carriers, and sent us running
for cover." Tess smiled as the reporter continued, the sound of his voice
fading into the background. She
knew the skins' actions would be horrifying Max. He had always been so involved with the humans, so
protective of them. When she had heard about the destruction of Roswell yesterday,
Tess had let herself momentarily dwell on the pleasant image of Max's broken
and bloody body lying on the side of the road, but her satisfaction was
short-lived. Max deserved the
worst kind of torment for casting her aside, but somehow she knew he would have
survived. He would have gotten out
of Roswell in time, or maybe he was living somewhere else entirely, but she was
sure he hadn't died, it was just her luck. For years, Tess had tried to put Max and the others out of her
mind and concentrate on making a life for herself and mostly she had
succeeded. But the past two days
had brought all of the pain of Max's betrayal back to the surface. Tess let her eyes roam over the opulent
surroundings of her house, but she knew they were nothing compared to the
palace on Antar. Max had denied her everything that was rightfully hers and she
vowed to have her revenge.
Suddenly the twisted hatred on her face turned into an enchanting smile
as the perfect solution came to her.
It was so simple, she didn't know why she hadn't thought of it
before. Max had betrayed her, she
would simply return the favor. She would go to Copper Summit and make a bargain with the
skins. In return for immunity and
passage back to Antar she would give the skins the Granolith and help them
destroy Max and everything he loved. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ (Copper Summit, AZ) Nicholas smiled as he inspected the destruction his troops had
inflicted on the U.S. military.
They had easily destroyed their tanks and vehicles and sent the soldiers
scurrying into the hills. But he
knew the government would never let it stand. The next time the military came, they would have better
weapons and more troops. He turned
to Walt and Greer, "I want all troops on the highest alert. Destroy anything that comes near Copper
Summit. This is only the beginning
of the war." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ (Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009) Tess had flown to Phoenix, but from there she had been forced to
drive the rest of the way to Copper Summit. The military blocked all the major highways leading into the
area and cordoned off the roads leading into the small town for more than
twenty miles. She had been turned
back by the soldiers at a checkpoint, but she detoured onto a small dirt road
and waited in the wilderness until dark to continue her journey. Now she was less than ten miles away from Copper Summit and Tess
had to admit that she was growing nervous. She really hadn't made a plan. She had simply come, driven by her need for revenge, but now
she was having second thoughts.
Maybe she should have stayed in Florida and negotiated her surrender to
the skins, made an agreement before she had come. What if the skins didn't agree to her terms? She would have delivered herself to the
enemy with no hope of being rescued.
Nicholas could take the information about the Granolith from her mind
and there would be nothing she could do about it. Tess saw the lights from the town ahead, she slowed the car and
pulled off the dirt road she had been following. Her doubts had belatedly made her cautious but another
thought buzzing in her head was drowning out the sound of her doubts. The skins represented the only chance
she might ever have to get revenge against Max and return home, and anything
that might happen to her in Copper Summit was better than staying on this
planet the rest of her life. She made up her mind with a nod of her head and pressed down on
the accelerator, eager to arrive.
The skins weren't unreasonable.
What she was asking for wasn't that much and they would probably be glad
to have her help. She might even
be welcomed home as a hero. Suddenly a blazing light illuminated the area around her and a
ship swooped down out of the dark sky.
A burst of red energy erupted from the ship and headed straight for her. Tess had only seconds to realize that
she had made a huge mistake. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ (Friday, September 25th, 2009) (Vinita, OK) Exactly one week after they had watched the report of Roswell's
destruction, Max and the others were seated in front of the television
witnessing the end of the great city of Los Angeles. Just after dawn that morning, the skins' ships had descended
from the clouds over the sprawling metropolis, and within two hours, nothing
remained but a smoldering pile of rubble.
The strike had obviously been timed to catch the majority of the
citizens in the morning commute, when cars blocked all of the major roads,
preventing mass evacuation. The group sat in a shocked silence as the enormity of the
situation overwhelmed them. The
television news crew had caught the majority of the destruction of the city
center and the station was replaying the carnage over and over. Finally Liz couldn't watch anymore. She walked over to the window and pulled the drapes aside,
hoping the warmth of the sunlight would chase away the shivers that racked her
body. They couldn't let the skins
destroy the world around them. Max rose from the sofa and followed Liz to the window, wrapping
her in his arms and tucking her head under his chin. He spoke through their bond, automatically seeking to
reassure her. It's okay
Liz. Everything will be okay. No, Max it's not okay.
The skins have killed thousands of innocent people. We have to do something. We have to stop them. Do you have any ideas on how to stop them?
Max asked cautiously. I have one idea, Liz sighed, but I don't want to even think it. Max nodded, knowing what she meant. You are thinking the skins might stop if Michael, Isabel
and I turned ourselves over to them. It has crossed my mind, Liz admitted. But
apart from not wanting to lose you, I'm also not sure it would work. If you did go to Nicholas he would get
the Granolith and then nothing would stop him from destroying Earth and your
world too. If I thought it would save Earth, I would turn myself over to
Nicholas, but I'm sure you're right.
He would get the Granolith and destroy Earth anyway. There has to be another way. Liz sighed, I did have one other idea. What if we called your people for help? Max shook his head.
I have already spoken to Serena about it. She said that no one came to our aid when Khivar took my
throne. So I doubt they would
travel three or four years to another galaxy to help us. And even if they did, the Earth would
be in ruins by then. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ After the skins had destroyed L.A., the U.S. military bombed
Copper Summit but when they searched through the rubble they discovered it had
been deserted. Not one skin
soldier had been seen on Earth after the destruction of Roswell. Max anonymously gave the military all
of their knowledge about the skins, including how to kill them, but it was of
no use because it was discovered the skins had repositioned themselves into
orbit where none of Earth's weapons could reach them. Over the next two years, the skins destroyed city after city in a
largely uncontested campaign, because none of the Earth's defenses were strong
enough to stand against them.
After L.A., they systematically leveled every large city and major
military instillation in the U.S. and then continued with the smaller cities
and towns. At first, the allies of
the United States came to their aid, but the skins decimated each of the armies
and then turned their destruction on the other countries, slaughtering
civilians by the thousands, as they leveled the foreign cities. The human survivors were forced to flee into the countryside or
live in the ruins of their former homes.
Some banded together in groups to try and fight the skins, while others
just tried to survive. What was
left of the U.S. government went into hiding and an elite group of the military
were assigned, to keep the President and the others alive. After the Earth's major militaries were decimated, the skins
erected several new strongholds from which Nicholas directed the continuing
destruction and subjugation of Earth.
Any captured humans were put into labor camps and forced to work for the
skins, while the free humans continued to annoy the skins with supply raids and
rescue attempts. Nicholas was
forced to send ground patrols to fight the rebels and take as many captives as
possible. Max assembled a group of people who wanted to stand against the
skins. At first, he carefully hid
the fact they were aliens, assuming that the humans would automatically
distrust them if they knew the truth.
But the truth came out quickly when their group was ambushed, and Max,
Michael and others were forced to use their powers to save them all. Max feared his troops would turn
against them but they eagerly accepted their differences when Max explained the
skins were their enemies too. Max and Liz decided to conceal the fact he could heal because they
were afraid he would be overwhelmed by requests. He also asked them to conceal the fact that Liz was a hybrid
and tell everyone Liz's talent for prognostication was a natural human
ability. He was afraid she would
be a target if the humans turned against them, but he was even more afraid of
what Nicholas might do to her if she were captured. Max found he had a natural ability for leadership, and even though
he didn't remember his other life sometimes the answers to difficult problems
would simply come to him and he knew it was prompted by his past
experiences. He led one successful
raid after another and soon the stories spread of their group's success, and
people came from all over to join with them. Max's army moved almost constantly, traveling great distances at
night to avoid detection, afraid if they stayed in one place the skins would
find them. They learned how to use
camouflage to their advantage and relied on guerilla warfare tactics for
engaging the skins. Liz and Serena
learned how to make C-4 and other explosives and Max's troops were able to
capture some energy guns from the skins, called blasters. They repeatedly attempted to get a
communication amplifier from a skin soldier but none of the ground troops they
killed were carrying them. They used every resource at their disposal to defeat the skins.
Whenever they could, Max's troops would take a skin soldier prisoner, but they
always killed themselves before they gave away any information. Isabel attempted dream walking the skin
soldiers and Liz tried astral projection to help determine what Nicholas'
troops were planning, but there were so many groups of skins acting on Earth
and in orbit, that it was almost impossible for them to get anything more than
trivial information. Isabel had
even tried to get into Nicholas' mind, but he was too powerful for her. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ (Wednesday, June 13th, 2012) (Outside the ruined city of Helena, MT) Jim, Amy and Kyle led a small band of rebels to the edge of the
trees surrounding the skin outpost.
It had recently been erected to prepare for the construction for another
skin stronghold, and supply ships had been making regular trips to stock
it. Max's scouts had reported that
the outpost was not heavily guarded and the supplies could be easily taken. Jim raised his binoculars and peered through them, only seeing
half-a-dozen skin guards. Their
group should be able to handle that number easily but something felt
wrong. He scanned the area looking
for anything out of the ordinary, but could see nothing. The food and supplies in the building
were desperately needed and he pushed his doubts away. He signaled to his men silently,
motioning for some to go right, others to go left, and the remainder to follow
him. Then he turned to Kyle,
"Stay here, watch our backs and signal us if anything goes wrong." Kyle briefly hesitated, sensing his father's apprehension and then
nodded, "Okay dad." Jim signaled for the men to move forward and they spread out along
the edge of the forest, carefully staying under cover. At another signal from Jim they rushed
the skin soldiers taking all six of them by surprise and then they proceeded
cautiously into the building. Kyle kept a careful watch on the surrounding area, looking for any
signs of more skin troops. He
hated waiting, but it was a necessary part of the raids. His father's voice suddenly came over the walkie-talkie, breathing
hard as if he were running, "Everybody out, it's a trap. There are no supplies here, only empty
boxes. Kyle do you see
any..." JimŐs voice was cut off as an enormous explosion engulfed the
building, throwing Kyle to the ground.
"Dad? Amy?" Kyle
gasped, as he sat up, unable to believe what had just happened. "Dad!" he shouted, and jumped
up running toward the fire hoping to save his father, but the intense heat
forced him back and he knew no one could have survived. Stumbling back into the trees, Kyle
fell to his knees, retching in the grass. He sat for a few minutes just trying to draw breath and
automatically went into a meditation.
Neither fire nor wind, birth nor death can erase your good
deeds. All created things
perish. All created things are
sorrow. All forms are unreal. As he repeated the words, Kyle's mind cleared and the
reality of the situation sank in.
The skins had deliberately lured them here to kill them. They had set up the whole situation
with no other thought than killing more humans. Kyle could feel the hatred rising up within him and unconsciously
started the meditation against hate.
Hatred does not cease by hatred at any time, but then he stopped himself. After everything the skins had done,
they deserved his loathing and he let his hatred for them build, deliberately
stoking and strengthening it with memories of the past. He knew the Buddha would be
disappointed that he had given in to his hatred but he couldn't stop
himself. Hot tears flowed down his
cheeks as he mourned the loss of his father and the others. The skins had taken almost everything
from him, including his faith, and that just made him hate them more. With every fiber of his being, he hated
the skins and he would use the energy his hatred provided, to slaughter every
last one of them. Kyle looked down at the skin blaster in his hand. He had taken it off a skin soldier he
had killed last year and the sense of irony never ceased to amuse him. He would use their own weapon to
destroy as many of them as he could. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ (Friday, November 23rd,
2012) (In the ruins of Idaho
Falls, ID) It was a cold night, as Max
and Isabel led the small band of fighters through the eerie silence of the
abandoned buildings. Once it had
been a thriving town but now it was nothing but a pile of rubble. There was not even a single building
standing where their group could take shelter for the coming day. The fighters were spread out
military style, so a single blast from the enemy could not kill them all. Max always led with Isabel, while
Michael and Kyle took up the rear.
Max kept Liz and Maria near the back of the troops for their safety and
assigned a couple of ex-marines to watch over them. Suddenly a brilliant light
erupted, making the night sky brighter than high noon, and then the laser
blasts started. ŇScatter,Ó Max yelled, as he
and Isabel dove for cover. Ňlz
take the left flank,Ó he ordered and then through the connection he shared with
Liz, he sent more instructions, Tell Michael to take the right flank and you
and Maria stay back and keep down. He felt LizŐs mental ascent
through the connection and turned his full attention back to the battle. It only took a few minutes for him to
determine they were only fighting a small group of KhivarŐs soldiers, probably
scouts, but they couldnŐt let any of the enemy live to pass on their position. Using a blaster he had taken
off an enemy soldier in an earlier battle, Max sent one burst of energy after
another into the darkness, where he estimated the enemies to be. Even though he couldnŐt see them, it was
as if he could somehow sense their presence and he made each shot count. They were just gaining the
upper hand when suddenly he felt LizŐs fear through their connection. Without a second thought Max leapt up
and rushed to where Liz and Maria were hiding, knowing he would never make it
in time. And then it was as if he
were seeing through LizŐs eyes, and Max watched horrified as a skin soldier
rushed toward her and Maria. The
enemy soldier had somehow sneaked past their defenses and his first shots had taken
out the men protecting Liz and Maria.
That had alerted the women to his presence or the soldier would have
taken them completely by surprise.
Maria and Liz both carried
weapons and had been trained to use them, but neither of them had actually shot
an enemy soldier and Max never wanted them to. In Liz and Maria, Max saw the last vestiges of the world
before Khivar had attacked, and as crazy as he knew it was, he wanted to
preserve their innocence. In all
of this war and insanity, Max had hoped he could spare them the weight of
taking a life, even if it was the enemy. Through LizŐs eyes, Max saw
Liz and Maria raise their weapons to fire, but the skin soldier used his powers
with a careless flip of his hand and threw the girls several yards, sending
them crashing into a wall. Liz was
the first to regain her feet and shoved Maria out of the way as the skinŐs next
blast hit the rocks near them.
They fell to the ground and scrambled behind the rocks but the weapons
had been knocked from their hands and now they were defenseless. Another blast from the
soldier also hit the rocks, but it was closer and Max felt the flying rock
chips sting LizŐs face. The skin
soldier knew the women were unarmed and took his time walking toward them for his
next shot. Through the connection, Max
experienced LizŐs fear that she would be killed. She was desperately afraid, but she didnŐt fear death, her
greatest fear was that she would be separated from him. Liz was not ready to be parted from him
and an incredible anger started from deep inside her. Max could feel her anger fueling a rush of power, that
quickly built up within her body. Max raced around the final
corner as Liz stood, channeling her power through her hand, toward the enemy
soldier. The burst of energy hit
the soldier square in the chest and left a sort of burn mark, but at first it
appeared to Max as if nothing happened.
Max took aim on the enemy
but a horrible scream escaped the soldier as he clutched his chest and
collapsed to the ground. He
flailed around for a moment as a finger of blue flame flickered from a hole in
his chest and then he burst into a shower of ash. For a moment none of them
moved, frozen in place by the shock and then Max felt LizŐs overwhelming
grief. He crossed the last few
yards between them and took her trembling form in his arms. Liz collapsed into him, sobbing
uncontrollably. Max gently stroked LizŐs
head as he sought to reassure her, ŇShhhhh. ItŐs okay, my love.Ó
But he knew his words were lies, and carefully shielded his true
feelings. What kind of King was he?
Max asked himself, then shook his head.
No, it was more basic than that.
What kind of man was he, that he couldnŐt even protect his wife? Liz was the most important thing in the
world to him. He would do anything
for her, sacrifice anything for her, but he hadnŐt been able to keep her safe
and she had been forced to take a life.
Yes, they were at war but Max had tried to protect his sweet Liz as much
as possible from the horrors. Max felt a piece of him die
as the scene re-played in his mind.
He had failed Liz in almost every way possible but he vowed to redouble
his efforts. Never again would he
trust anyone else to protect her, he would personally ensure her safety. Max pulled the still trembling
Liz closer and quickly checked her for injuries. Finding nothing major he sighed in relief as he healed the
few scrapes and cuts she had received.
Then he gently stroked her hair, ŇIŐm so sorry, Liz but I swear IŐll
never leave you again.Ó ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ (Thursday, August 29th, 2013) (Outside the ruined city of Cheyenne, WY) Max, Liz, Michael, Maria, Isabel, Kyle and Serena stayed at the
makeshift table in their shelter after the latest strategy meeting. Max was increasingly depressed by their
ever-worsening situation but he had to keep up a brave front for the
troops. It was only when he was
alone with his family that he allowed his true feelings to show. "We kill a few skins here and
there and have some small successes but we aren't making progress fast
enough. This skins have almost
completely wiped human civilization off of the face of the Earth and it won't
be long before they find us or the Granolith." He paused, looking down at the table. "We have lost so many people, so many who didn't
deserve to die. And none of us
would have survived the raid last week if Liz hadn't gotten the
premonition. I just feel like all
of this is my fault. If I had let
all of you develop your powers, maybe we would have been strong enough to fight
them and none of this would have ever happened." He turned to Liz, "If I hadn't told you to suppress your
powers maybe you would have seen what would happen. I just wish I could go back and change everything." Liz put her hand on Max's, "None of this is your fault,
Max. You didn't choose this and I
know you would change it if you could." "Maybe we can change it," Serena said. "What do you mean?" asked Isabel breathlessly. "You remember that my
primary task on Antar was a Granolith technician?" Serena asked. "I studied the Granolith for over
two-hundred years trying to discover how it worked and possibly duplicate
it. In that time, I developed
several theories about its capabilities." "And you think one of these theories could help us?"
Michael asked. "Maybe," Serena admitted. "If we were left with no other choice it would be worth
exploring. The Granolith is
capable of producing an enormous amount of energy and according to the
calculations I have made, I believe it would be able to tear a hole in
time-space." "You think itŐs capable of time travel," Liz said
softly. "The Granolith is basically a machine like the computers on
Earth," Serena explained.
"To use it you just have to program it, tell it what to
do." "How do you program it?" Max asked. "I didn't notice an interface of
any kind on the Granolith." Serena picked up two nearby rocks and passed her hand over them,
fashioning them into a rough six-sided crystal approximately eight inches
long. "You simply make a
crystal like this one, the size and shape don't really matter, the Granolith
will adapt. There needs to be some
silicon in the mixture, rocks or sand are the best materials to use. The important thing is that you put
your instructions in it when you make it.
Just push your thoughts into the energy you use to form the
crystal. For time travel I would
specify a time and a place you wish to travel and who is going on the
trip." "And what about returning?" Max asked. Serena shook her head, "If a traveler changes the past, he
won't be able to return. He will
have come from a reality that no longer exists. The events that made him who and what he is won't have
happened and he will disappear as if he never lived, because in essence, he
never did exist." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ (Sunday, January 12th, 2014) (Near Hot Springs, SD) Nicholas surveyed the battle below him from his vantage point in
the hills. More and more humans
had joined with Max's army as the skins tightened their grip on the Earth, and
now Max commanded thousands. The
rebels had become increasingly troublesome, raiding one skin outpost after
another. They always struck
quickly and forcefully, sometimes overwhelming his troops with their sheer
numbers. It was as if they had
information about his troop movements they could not have known, hitting their
targets when they were most vulnerable. Nicholas had been forced to
delegate some of his other duties and lead the skin army against the rebels in
many battles. On more than one
occasion, Nicholas thought he had the rebels in his grasp, but each time they
miraculously escaped him. Nicholas
had come to only two conclusions; one, Max was a brilliant military strategist
or two, he was getting help. Finally Nicholas learned from one of Max's captured soldiers that
Max's human wife Liz, had the gift of prognostication and her visions had
repeatedly saved them. The captive
told him that Max and Liz were always together and the troops trusted Liz as
much as they did Max or Michael.
Nicholas also learned that Max didn't trust Liz's safety to anyone else,
even his second in command.
Nicholas smiled, Liz was Max's AchillesŐ heel and that was the type of
weakness he could use to his advantage. Many times, Nicholas had seen Max in the distance directing his
army, and always his human wife had been at his side. Nicholas took out his far-viewers and set them to the
extreme range. And searching the
hills opposite to his position he finally spotted Max, and Liz just
beyond. Nicholas reset the focus,
trying to get a better look at the small woman. He had heard of humans with psychic abilities but he had
always considered them to be charlatans and frauds. The odds were astronomical that Max would find a human mate
with such abilities. As he studied Liz, Nicholas wondered how attuned her abilities
were at foretelling the future.
Prognostication was a rare gift on Antar and even the most acclaimed
seers could not predict every event.
Nicholas decided he would simply have to test Liz's abilities. He would set one trap after another for
the rebel army, and sooner or later the law of probability had to fall in his
favor. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ (Thursday, March 6th, 2014) (Near Ft Collins, CO) Nicholas smiled as he watched a large group of Max's troops walk
into the trap he had set for them.
Obviously he had been right, Liz couldn't foresee everything and today
her failing would be the end of the rebel army. Nicholas signaled for his troops to wait until all of the humans
had entered the area before springing the trap, and his eyes quickly scanned
them to see who from Max's group was present. He noticed Michael right away, because he was in the lead,
but it took him a few minutes to pick out Isabel. Nicholas sighed.
For years he had not known if Isabel were alive or dead and he was
relieved to see her. Khivar would
surely reward him for delivering her back to Antar. Max, Liz and the other humans were not present as far as Nicholas
could see, but it didn't matter because Michael and Isabel could tell him
everything he needed to know; including the location of the Granolith and the
current whereabouts of Max and the rest of the rebel troops. Nicholas spoke softly into his amplifier, "Michael and Isabel
are in this group," he alerted his troops. "Be careful where you aim. Greer will take Michael, I will take Isabel and the rest of
you eliminate the others. I want
no escapes and no survivors." Finally the last few stragglers entered the trees and Nicholas
signaled for the trap to be sprung.
He watched for a moment, savoring the looks of surprise on the rebel's
faces as his troops completely enclosed them. They had nowhere to hide and the only cover was the
trees. He had chosen this location
particularly because of the lack of cover. Michael sent bursts of energy into the skin soldiers who suddenly
emerged out of the trees around them.
He attempted to find some cover as he picked off one skin after another,
but there was none. A sound behind
him alerted Michael and he turned just in time to see an older skin soldier
rush toward him. Michael sent a
blast of power into the charging soldier, breaking the seal on his husk and
turning him to dust. A small black
object was revealed by the soldier's demise and Michael caught it before it hit
the ground. He had just stuffed
the pentagon-shaped device into his pocket when he was tackled from behind by
several more skins. With a smile, Nicholas slipped into the dense undergrowth,
changing his coloring until he blended into the greenery perfectly. He moved stealthily around behind his
troops until he had Isabel in sight.
He watched the humans fall to the ground dead, one after another until
there were only a handful left and then he rushed forward and grabbed Isabel from
behind. "How nice to see you
again Vilondra." Isabel
was surprised at first but she struggled against her captor. She couldn't see him but she recognized
his voice from when he had nearly captured them and
killed Alex. She screamed in rage,
throwing her full weight against the smaller man. Nicholas was momentarily knocked off balance and his grip on
Isabel loosened. Isabel spun
toward him and aimed a burst of energy at him but Nicholas used his powers to
keep his feet and reached out to force her hand aside. Her blast went wide but still caught
Nicholas on the shoulder and he roared with rage, spinning Isabel around and
trapping her arms behind her. He
roughly shoved her to her knees to gain control of her and looked to where
Greer's team was securing Michael. Nicholas motioned for two of his men to come forward and take
Isabel. She struggled against them
but their superior strength kept her easily subdued. Nicholas incredulously examined his shoulder, where Isabel had hit
him. He had not been injured the
entire time he had been on Earth, and the fact that Isabel had succeeded made
all of his latent anger against her rise to the surface. He had intended to return her to Antar
intact but that was not the only option.
"Where's Greer?" Nicholas growled as he reached into his
pocket. One of the skin soldiers motioned to Michael, "He killed
Greer." Nicholas looked Michael in the eyes and Michael could see the
burning hatred within. Michael
fought desperately to escape his captors but they held him fast. A feeling of horror overcame him as
Nicholas suddenly pulled a device from his pocket and a long thin blade slid
out of it. Michael surged forward,
pulling the three soldiers with him a few feet, but they held him back. Nicholas held Michael's eyes as he brushed Isabel's golden hair aside
from the back of her neck and raised his arm to strike. "NO!" Michael screamed, as he struggled helplessly, and
Nicholas plunged the blade into the base of Isabel's head. For a moment Isabel swayed but then Nicholas slowly withdrew the
blade, and the soldiers let her lifeless body slump forward and fall to the
ground. Michael was suddenly thrown back into his captors by a nearby
explosion and he shook off the skins holding him and jumped to his feet. He took a hesitating step toward Isabel
but someone grabbed his arm and pulled him back toward the trees. Michael was so stunned that he didn't
struggle and let himself be led deeper into the forest. "Are you injured?" Serena asked as they ran, but Michael
didn't answer. Serena quickly
looked back over her shoulder at him.
He was stumbling along behind her only because she pulled him, but his
head was turned back to the place where Isabel had fallen. She knew she had to snap him out of his
shock. Both of their lives might
depend on it. She raised her
voice, "Michael!" Michael turned his head toward her and tried to slow their
pace. "We have to go back for
Isabel," he said woodenly. Serena could hear the sounds of pursuit now. She couldn't allow Michael to stop, and
she used a harsher tone of voice to bring him back to the reality of the
situation. "Isabel is dead
and we will be too if we don't hurry." Michael's head snapped up and he focused on Serena for the first
time and briefly nodded. He
followed her unresistingly and quickly looked around as they continued to run,
trying to determine their position from the maps he had studied. A rock formation to the south caught
his attention and suddenly he knew where they were. He surged forward and pulled Serena by the hand, angling her
toward the rocks. "There's a
small cave on the other side of these rocks. We can hide inside until the skins are gone." They increased their pace as they rounded the rocks attempting to
put as much distance between themselves and their pursuers as possible. Michael pushed Serena into the cave
ahead of him and crawled in after her.
He turned and passed his hand over the small entrance covering it with
rock. Serena kindled a small light when he finished and he noticed for
the first time that she was injured.
"You're hurt," he said, as he crossed to her and inspected her
wound. It was a deep, raw wound
high on her chest by the left shoulder, and her left arm hung uselessly at her
side. "I was hit by a blast from one of the skins that knocked me
unconscious for a few moments and I awoke too late to save Isabel." Michael nodded, "I'm not very good at healing wounds like
this but I'll give it a try." Serena shook her head, "It would take too much of your power
and we may need you to be at full strength to get away." "But the pain," Michael argued. "There is not much pain," Serena lied. "I can endure it until we return
to Max." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Nicholas' soldiers had been searching the woods for more than four
hours with no sign of Michael or the shape shifter. He still couldn't believe that they had escaped. In the confusion of the attack, the
shape shifter must have waited until her best opportunity to rescue
Michael. Nicholas just couldn't
understand why she had not tried to save Isabel. He looked at the tissue-harvesting device in his hand. Michael may have escaped him this time
but he had collected Isabel's brain cells and that would ensure Vilondra would
live again. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ TBC |
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BOOK 8 - RESTRUCTURING REALITY Part 9 Book 8 Main Book 8 Timeline | |||||
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