A New Beginning

by Kevin Ryan

  from inside.

  On the plus side, the worst of the shivers seemed to be

  over. And he barely felt the hole in his abdomen that was

  causing all his trouble. He had stopped pressing on his

  wound, not because he didn't care anymore, but because

  his hands would no longer obey his commands.

  In the beginning, he had heard noises and seen flashes

  of light. That was when he had still been able to lift his

  head.

  There had been one great moment, when he had seen a

  bright ball of something strike the ship and rock it hard. It

  had looked like Michael's work. Max and Michael had hurt

  them. Good, he thought. Kyle had always had a problem

  with bullies, and he sensed that these creatures were the

  worst kind. Whatever their motives, whatever their reasons

  for coming trillions and trillions of miles, they were just

  bullies—like the ones he had seen growing up. But some-

  times bullies picked on the wrong kid and got a surprise.

  When he heard a loud rumble coming from the ship, he

  decided that his friends were giving him that surprise.

  He would have smiled if the effort had not been too

  great.

  He thought of his dad. He wished he could see him

  * * *

  again, but at least he had been able to say good-bye. It was

  more than he had been able to have with his mother. Still,

  he let them both go.

  Liz, Max, Maria, Michael. One by one, he let his friends

  go. Isabel was last and hardest, but he let her go in the end.

  Other friends, other times. Girls he had known. Dawn,

  who had liked him and had smelled very nice. Vicki

  Delaney, with whom he had spent an evening in the back

  of a pickup.

  He let them all go.

  His world became very simple and very small. He had

  thought the Middle Path was difficult to walk, that it

  would take great effort for him to find it. But now he knew

  it was as easy as letting go. In the end, there was only his

  breathing. He realized he probably should have stopped

  making he effort, but old habits . . .

  In the end, life was astonishingly simple.

  Small breaths. In. Out.

  Soon, he knew he would have to let that go too.

  * * *

  23

  Liz felt her strength come back as she watched the alien

  ship. Max had healed her, but she still felt weak.

  As the minutes ticked by, she felt her heart thundering

  in her chest. I'm sorry about your friend, Jimmy had said.

  Was it Max whom Jimmy had seen? Was her vision

  coming true, just earlier than she had expected? She had

  seen Max fight. He had been brave and had stood strong—

  and he had died. Maybe her vision had become mixed

  with her dream. Maybe she had just seen this moment.

  And I sent him back inside, Liz thought.

  The ship shuddered a few times, and there were noises

  from within. Could he already be . . . ? No, when he had

  died before, she had felt it. If anything happened to him

  now, she knew she would feel it. That told her he was still

  alive, but for how long?

  The ship shook again ... no, it didn't shake; it moved.

  Liz was on her feet, blood suddenly pounding in her

  veins. The ship had lifted several feet of the ground and

  was wobbling in the air. She had seen it move the night

  * * *

  before. It could move quickly, and any second now, she

  knew it could disappear.

  Then it might not matter if Max was alive or not. Either

  way, he would be gone. And the aliens would have him.

  No! her mind screamed.

  He had come for her and he and Michael had saved her.

  Max had fought in the vision, though it had not been

  enough. He had still died. She had stood there helplessly

  and watched him die.

  She had stood there.

  Helpless.

  That was what had bothered her about the dream. She

  had watched it all, but she was unable to help. Like now.

  Except she wasn't helpless, and Max was not fighting

  by himself. She threw her hand forward and hit the ship

  hard. It was the same force that had blown out the wind-

  shield of the van but many, many times stronger, Liz

  realized.

  The ship shuddered at the impact and drifted across

  the field for several seconds.

  Then it started moving up.

  Ten feet. Twenty.

  Then fifty. More.

  "No!" Liz screamed, reaching out her hand. She willed

  the ship to stop moving.

  To her surprise, it did. And then it started drifting back

  down to the ground.

  The ship made an ugly humming sound, and Liz felt her-

  self straining at the effort. The strain wasn't physical, but it

  was just as real. Then it was slipping. The ship stopped its

  descent maybe twenty feet from the ground.

  * * *

  Liz concentrated her mind and her will to the task. She

  managed to hold the ship.

  There was movement in the door. Then on the ramp.

  It was Max and Michael, she was sure. But the boys

  were struggling. They were each carrying something . . .

  someone. They were close, but it was still too high.

  With a final burst of effort, she willed the ship down. It

  lurched to the ground and touched for just an instant.

  But that instant was enough. Max and Michael jumped

  clear.

  Liz lost her hold on the ship, and it shot into the air

  with the same speed it had moved the night before. Except

  this time, it was racing straight up.

  She quickly lost track of the vessel in the night sky.

  "Max!" she screamed, racing toward him.

  When she reached them, Max and Michael looked

  okay. In fact, they looked great. They were both carrying

  the weight of a person on their backs, but they were stand-

  ing strong. Max smiled at her, and she led the boys back to

  where Dawn and Bell were lying. Max and Michael put the

  two others next to them.

  "Jessica," Liz said. "Oh, my God, you found her." Liz

  felt tears streaming down her face as she threw her arms

  around Max.

  "Turns out they're only tough when they're picking on

  girls," Michael said.

  "Liz, the ship was moving. It was leaving. Did you ... ?"

  Max said.

  Liz nodded.

  "Remind me not to make you mad, Parker," Max said,

  and kissed her.

  * * *

  "I guess jimmy was wrong," Michael said.

  I'm sorry about your friend.

  Thank God, Liz thought.

  "The others?" Liz said.

  "Maria and Isabel are fine, they're back at the diner,"

  Michael said.

  "Kyle was with us, but. . . ," Max said.

  "He got into it with one of the aliens, but Kyle got him.

  He got banged up but said he was okay," Michael said.

  Liz felt her stomach fall. There was something wrong,

  she could feel it. "Kyle!" she shouted.

  Nothing.

  Then Liz and Michael repeated it, calling for their friend.

  "Come on," Max said, running with Michael right


  behind him. Liz followed for a few seconds, then she saw

  the figure lying on the ground.

  "Kyle," Max shouted.

  Kyle didn't respond. In fact, he wasn't moving at all.

  As Liz got closer she saw the dark pool on the ground

  next to him. His hands were resting on his stomach, and

  he was completely still.

  Max's hands were glowing as he leaped the last few feet

  to their friend. Then he was on he knees.

  "Oh my God," Liz said. "No, please."

  Kyle was still. His chest was not moving. . . .

  Max touched Kyle with one hand on his head and one

  on his stomach. Both hands were glowing brightly.

  He was standing strong. Max was fighting for Kyle. It

  was costing Max something, Liz realized. He was fighting

  with everything he had. The pool around Kyle was starting

  to disappear, but the effort was etched across Max's face.

  * * *

  He was still fighting, but Liz knew that not even Max

  could win all of his battles. In her vision she had seen him

  lose in his final battle. And she knew that sometimes

  defeat was not a measure of how much you put into a

  fight.

  Some battles were just lost before they began. . . .

  But not this one.

  Kyle coughed and sputtered . . . and breathed.

  He coughed again, and then Max was helping him sit up.

  "He got me good, Max," Kyle said, feeling his stomach.

  "I thought I was ..."

  "We thought you were too," Michael said. "Good to

  have you back."

  "You fixed me," Kyle said, looking at Max. "Thanks. I

  mean, thanks again."

  Max nodded, and both guys looked away from each

  other, embarrassed by what they were feeling. By what all

  of us are feeling, Liz thought.

  Kyle looked around. "Where is he?" he asked. A few

  feet away, smoke rose from the ground. They investigated

  and saw a puddle of goo there.

  "What did you do to him?" Michael said.

  Kyle smiled. "It's called a hit and wrap."

  Michael glanced back at what was left of the alien and

  said, "Cool."

  "We should get back. We found Dawn and Bell, Kyle.

  Jessica, and one other too," Max said.

  A few seconds later, Max was looking over the girls.

  Jessica looked pretty bad, so he healed her first, then the

  others.

  Michael stayed next to him the whole time and then

  * * *

  looked at him and said, "Max, I say this as a friend, but

  you look like hell."

  He did, Liz realized. Max was covered in sweat and felt

  cold to Liz's touch. The fight and then healing them all had

  taken a toll.

  "Liz, get him back to the garage. Kyle and I will take

  care of them," Michael said.

  Max turned to Michael and said, "Michael. . ."

  "Trust me, Maxwell," he said.

  Max nodded, and Liz put his arm around her shoulder.

  They started walking to town.

  Michael still felt the rush from their fight with the aliens.

  During the battle, he had felt strong, alive. And as he had

  struck out at each of them, he had felt a moment of satisfac-

  tion, but that didn't bother him now. Whoever they were,

  the creatures were like . . . pure malice. They were killing

  women, but not before they terrified and tortured them.

  It was kind of like what Agent Pierce had done to his

  best friend in a cold, white room. The aliens saw people as

  lab rats. Well, today the lab rats had fought back. There

  was justice there, and Michael knew he would sleep with-

  out trouble tonight. But first, he had some things to take

  care of.

  "Wait here, I’ll carry them one at a time to the van,"

  Michael said.

  Kyle had nodded and had not asked any questions.

  That was just as well. Michael had a lot to do and didn't

  want to waste any time. Once they were all safe in the van,

  he said to Kyle, "Wait with them, I'm going to get us some

  transportation."

  * * *

  "You're going to steal a car, aren't you?" Kyle said.

  "I'm just going to borrow something," Michael said.

  Kyle nodded. "Just make sure it's big enough for all of

  them. And try to keep it low profile."

  "You bet," Michael said. Then he ran off into the night,

  toward town.

  Kyle was surprised when he saw the headlights less than

  twenty minutes later. Michael had made good time. Town

  was at least a mile away.

  When the car came closer, Kyle realized there was

  something wrong with it. The dimensions were off, and

  the taillights were too far back.

  What the. .. ? he thought.

  A minute later, the bus was close enough that Kyle saw why.

  That's low profile? he thought, shaking his head.

  The large, bright yellow vehicle bounced slowly

  through the field and came to a stop next to the van.

  Michael jumped out and said, "Come on, let's get moving."

  "You realize that's a school bus, right?" Kyle said, taking

  Dawn in his arms and stepping toward it.

  "Yeah," Michael said, picking up Jessica.

  "Very subtle," Kyle noted.

  "It's a long story," Michael said.

  Once the unconscious girls were in the bus, they

  quickly went back for the other two. Michael threw the

  bus into gear and headed into town.

  Michael's first stop was the diner. Maria and Isabel were

  waiting. Maria was awake and she didn't look happy.

  When he stepped out of the bus, she ran up to him and

  * * *

  slapped him hard across the face. Then she hugged him

  tighdy and kissed him.

  Women, Michael thought as he returned the kiss.

  "Max and Liz were here. They told us what happened.

  Max woke Maria up. Dan is still out," Isabel said.

  Then she went to Kyle and said, "Are you okay?"

  Kyle nodded.

  Michael ran back into the bus and came out carrying Bell.

  He put her inside, laying her down next to her husband.

  "Are you just going to leave them here?" Isabel said.

  He shrugged. "Unless you want to wait with them and

  explain what happened tonight."

  Then he softened his tone and said, "Look, they'll be

  together when they wake up. Can't be helped."

  "You two go back to the garage. We will be right there,"

  Michael said.

  "What are you going to do?" Isabel asked.

  "Don't worry, I have everything under control," he said.

  Maria looked up at the school bus and said, "I can see

  that."

  "What?" he said, annoyed.

  "A school bus, Michael?" she asked.

  Immediately, he felt the blood rushing to his face.

  "Look, I needed something big enough to—" He stopped

  himself, shaking his head, and said, "Oh, forget it. I'll see

  you later."

  A few minutes later Michael laid Jessica and the other

  women down on benches in front of the Laundromat.

  "Why not leave them in the diner? They'd be safe

  there," Kyle said.

  "It would raise too many questions," Michael said. This

  * * *

>   way would also raise questions, but that couldn't be

  helped. When they were a few feet away, Michael picked

  up a rock and threw it straight at one of the Laundromat's

  front window. It shattered, and a loud alarm sounded.

  A few seconds later, Michael and Kyle were inside the

  studio, where the others were waiting. Max was sleeping

  next to Liz, who was awake and looking only at him.

  A glance at the clock gave Michael a surprise. "It's only

  eleven thirty," he said aloud. How could that be? Had that

  whole thing played out in only a few hours? Michael told

  the others what he and Kyle had done. They could hear

  commotion in the town. Then sirens.

  "What are they going to make of tonight?" Isabel said.

  "I don't know, but there won't be anything to connect

  us to any of it," Michael said. That was important. The

  town would likely be crawling with state police tomorrow.

  "Gome on, Space Boy, let's get some sleep," Maria said.

  Michael got onto the floor next to her. She pulled him

  closer, and Michael didn't question it.

  What's the point? It will probably all change tomorrow, he

  thought.

  Maria turned around and pulled him tightly against

  her. Michael stared at the back of her head as he held her.

  Well, it might all change tomorrow, but it was pretty

  good right now.

  * * *

  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.