Melinda Metz - The Intruder

"Everybody okay?" Max asked, running his eyes around the group. He hadn't really registered any pain until he saw the blistered patches on Maria's face and realized pieces of his own skin felt as if they'd been splashed with oil from a french fry cooker.

"I don't see Michael," Maria cried. "All the cells are empty."

"That's his right there. Third one down. They must have taken him out," the girl said.

"Michael!" Max shouted. "Can you hear me? It's Max."

Maria started to yell, too. Liz and the girl joined in.

There was no answer.

"We're going to have to assume he got out of here somehow. Isabel and Alex, too," Max said. If he was wrong, he was leaving his sister and two of his best friends to certain death. But if he was right and they stayed down here continuing the search, he, Liz, Maria, and the girl would probably cook.

The girl nodded. "Let me take you on a tour. Starting with the exit."

"We can't leave them here," Maria protested.

"Anyone who stays is going to die," Liz told her, echoing Max's thoughts, as she often did. "They all know that. Michael, Alex, Isabel, and Adam-"

"Wait, did you hear that?" Max interrupted. He closed his eyes so he could listen better. No, he wasn't delusional. That was Michael. Wait. Michael and Alex.

"This way," the girl yelled. She took off down the row of glass cells. One exploded behind them, sending a rain of glass tinkling on the cement floor.

Now Max could hear Isabel, too. Her voice sounded totally different, all thick with smoke. He glanced toward the sound, and through the glass walls of one of the cells, he saw them. His heart expanded with relief.

"Let's go!" Michael shouted as the two groups converged. He wheeled to the left, leading the way. Max dropped to the back. He didn't want to get out and then find out someone had fainted from smoke inhalation on the way there.

"Its not that far," Michael called back as they ran. Max didn't know how he could tell. The smoke had turned the air into a thick gray blanket. With each breath it felt like less oxygen was making its way into his body.

Max's head started to spin. He couldn't feel his feet hitting the floor anymore. But they had to be. Because he was moving. Wasn't he? How could he tell? Everything just looked gray.

He felt an arm slip around him. "You stayed back here to make sure everyone else got out, right?" he heard Liz ask. He could hardly see her. "You're just lucky you have me to look out for you."

"I got the door open," Michael yelled, his words mixed with a coughing fit.

The smoke got a little thinner, and Max pulled in a breath that felt like it was at least half air. A few moments later he and Liz were out.

"Keep moving," Alex commanded. "We're-"

Before he could finish, an explosion threw Max into the air. He landed hard on his back and saw an orange mushroom cloud shoot upward with a blinding flash of light.

Max slowly pushed himself to his feet, wheezing with every breath. What he saw when he looked toward the compound almost made him stop breathing altogether-the sand was burning. Low blue flames covered the ground in a huge square over the area where the compound lay.

Liz was immediately by Max's side, touching his face, her cheeks reddened from the heat. "I love you, too," she said, and smiled. He smiled back, then pulled her tight against his chest. She listened to his pounding heart for a moment, then turned back toward the flames.

The crew was watching in silence as the flames flickered and slowly died, leaving the sand black.

"Valenti's dead," he said finally. "Adam killed him." He turned to his sister. "No more nightmares." She smiled at him, a tiny smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Look!" Alex cried. "Look who else made it out!"

"No one could have survived that," Liz whispered. "It's impossible-"

Max followed Alex's gaze. A human form was emerging from the flames. Liz smiled, realizing she was wrong. It wasn't impossible.

It was Adam.

[ front blurb]

"I guess it's now or never," Max said. He turned around, grabbed Liz by the back of the head, and planted a firm kiss on her surprised lips. "I love you," he said, looking her in the eyes. Before she could respond, he turned and ran.

Liz was so close behind him that she crashed into him when he came to a stop next to Maria.

"Everybody okay?" Max asked, running his eyes around the group. He hadn't really registered any pain until he saw the blistered patches on Marias face and realized pieces of his own skin felt as if they'd been splashed with oil from a french fry cooker.

"I don't see Michael," Maria cried. "All the cells are empty."

"That's his right there. Third one down. They must have taken him out," the girl said.

"Michael!" Max shouted. "Can you hear me? It's Max."

There was no answer.

[ Version History]

1.0 – scanned, formatted, and spell-checked from mass-market paperback. ISBN: 0-671-77459-X

2.0 – July 12, 2004 – The_Ghiti – proofed in detail against deadtree format.