Kevin Ryan: A New Beginning

"Liz," he said, voicing his thought.

She had gone into the back. Max headed for the kitchen at a run as the diner went dark. He banged into a table and heard Michael and Kyle doing the same.

"Close your eyes," he heard Kyle say, and did so immediately.

It helped relieve the nausea and the lightness in his head… a little.

It seemed to take forever to reach the back of the diner. Then Max's hand found the door to the kitchen and pushed it open. Michael and Kyle were right behind him, he knew and he pushed on. He felt the energy crackling in his hands as he ran, fear for Liz summoning it. He would make whoever was doing this regret they had ever come to Stonewall… if he could see them long enough to strike at them.

The ground was shaking so hard that Max found he had trouble keeping to his feet. Still, he felt his way back. There were screams and the rumbling all around them changed pitch. Something was happening.

"No!" Max said.

Then there was an odd whooshing sound, and the dark cloud lifted. Max opened his eyes, trying to readjust to the light in the alley. By the time his vision returned, he realized that the rambling had stopped. In fact, the alley was deathly quiet.

And Liz was gone.

"Bell!" a frantic voice called out next to him. It was Sam; he had a desperate look on his face.

Max knew exactly how he felt.

"Did they take her?" Sam said, his eyes wild.

Michael put a hand on the mans shoulder, and Max knew what he had to do.

Reaching out, he cupped his hand around the back of Sam's neck and concentrated. Slowly, the man crumbled to the floor.

"What did you do, Max?" Michael said.

"Put him to sleep for a while, 1 think," Max said. Lean- ing down, he touched the man's forehead.

"He's all right," Max asked.

"Liz," Maria said, from behind him.

Max shut out everything and concentrated on the prob- lem at hand. "Michael, help me with him.”

Together, they half carried, half dragged Sam into the diner and drew the curtains.

"Maybe, we should call someone," Maria suggested as Max and Michael drew all the blinds.

"No. No police. We don't call anyone," Max said.

There was no one to call. There was no one who could help them… no one who could do what he had to do now.

"Isabel, I need to connect with Liz. Asleep or awake, I need to know where she is, now," Max said, his voice tight and controlled… nothing like the swirling mass of grief and fear inside him.

"I'll try," Isabel said.

"No, don't try. Do it. Like you did with me when I was in the White Room. Direct contact," Max said.

Isabel nodded and sat down in a chair. She closed her eyes and fell immediately and deeply in to a trance. With- out asking, Max knew that Isabel was pushing the limits of her abilities.

A few moments later, Isabel came out of it, gasping for breath. "I know where she is," Isabel said, taking deep breaths. "She's not in the big room. She isn't on a table… yet. Bell is there and someone else," Isabel said.

"Dawn?" Kyle asked.

"I think so." Isabel said.

"Where?" Max said.

Isabel pushed her way out of the diner and scanned the road in the distance. "She could see outside for a second. There was a window, or a screen.”

Searching in the moonlight, Isabel pointed to a hill a mile or so in the distance. "There, behind that hill.”

Max turned to Kyle. "I need the keys to the van," he said.

"Max, you can't," Isabel said. "It's too dangerous. You said it yourself. Even our powers…”

"I'm going," Max said, his tone inviting no argument.

"Then we'll all go," Maria said. Max heard steel in her voice too. He understood. Liz was her best friend.

"No," Michael shouted. "Absolutely not.”

"She's my friend," Maria said defiantly.

"Don't you get it? They only take women," Michael replied.

"So you're saying that I can't help save Liz because I'm a girl?" Maria said, the challenge clear in her voice.

"Yes, in this instance, you can't go because you are a girl," Michael replied. He was clearly struggling to keep in control.

Max felt the seconds slipping away. If the ship left the planet or even the immediate area, they would never find it… and he would never see Liz again.

"You unbelievable, sexist…," Maria began, but stopped herself.

"You need to stay, Isabel, and keep and eye on Maria," Max said. "It won't be safe for either of you where we're going.”

Max didn't make it an order; he had given up that right. However, he would stop them if they tried to come. But Isabel only nodded, and then she gave Max a quick hug. "Come back, Max. And bring Liz with you," Maria said.

Nodding, Max turned to go. "Stay with them, Kyle," he said.

"I'm going," Kyle said.

"We don't have time for this," Max said. "It's too dangerous.”

"I know what's going on here, Max. Do you really think your chances out there are that much better than mine?”

"He has a point, Max," Michael said.

"I can't allow it," Max said.

"Well, maybe, but you're not the King and not the boss of me," Kyle said.

Kyle was right, but Max didn't want another person's life on his conscience. He reached out his hand. To his surprise, Kyle acted quickly. He leaned into Max for a moment and grabbed the keys from Max's other hand. Then he twisted his body away from Max. A second later he was holding the car keys.

"Nice try, Max, but I'm going. In fact, I'll drive," Kyle said.

Max felt the time ticking away. "Okay," he said, starting down the street. The boys were immediately at a run and reached the van quickly.

Kyle jumped in the driver's seat while Max and Michael jumped through the side door. Before they were even sit- ting, Kyle hit the gas and the van shot forward.

Even in his super alert and focused state, Max realized that the van was running smoother than it had since they'd gotten it. It also had more pickup, he noted as Kyle accelerated quickly.

They tore down the empty road, past the place where Dawn had been taken.

"There," Max said, pointing to the tall hill to their left. Immediately, Kyle pulled off the road and onto the open field.

The van bumped its way through the field, bouncing up and down. Kyle had to slow down to maintain control, and Max felt precious seconds ticking away. Then, when they were maybe two hundred yards from the foot of the hill, there was a loud snap from up front, and the van veered sharply to the left and came to a stop.

Kyle winced when he heard the snap. Something had broken in the front end. He knew it didn't matter now. The van couldn't take them any farther on tonight's trip.

If they succeeded in what they had to do, they would fix or replace it. If they failed in what they had to do, they wouldn't be needing transportation anymore. It would be cheerfully provided by some mean-tempered aliens. And the trip would be one-way.

"Van's toast," Kyle announced as he opened his door.

Almost as soon as they came to a stop, the three boys had jumped out of the vehicle almost simultaneously. Without a word, they started running for the hill at full speed. They were there quickly, and Kyle was sure that he had just beaten every sprinting time he had ever made on the football team.

They started climbing the hill and were at the top in less than a minute. Looking down, Kyle saw the ship. There was no black cloud, no running lights. Just a large cylinder sitting on some sort of landing struts in the rocky field.

It looked smaller on the ground, and Kyle figured it was maybe sixty yards across. It also looked a lot less men- acing, but that was a dangerous illusion, he realized.

"They don't look so tough now," Michael said, echoing Kyle's thoughts.

"We have to move quickly. Once they're in the air, we'll never see Liz again," Max said.