Quarantine r-4

by Laura J. Burns

  Quarantine

  ( Roswell’’ - 4 )

  Laura J. Burns

  TV Series Placement: Summer 2001 – Pre-Season 3There's a new corporation in town -- Meta-chem -- and Liz is psyched to land a scholarship program working in the lab. But when the giant pharmaceutical company creates a disease that accidentally infects the town, Liz is among the first to fall ill -- and, despite his powers, Max is unable to heal her. There's also a new girl in town, Sadie, who's come to Roswell searching for her half sister, who she believes is Maria. Maria doesn't know how to feel: what if she and Sadie do share a father? Maria hasn't seen him since she was seven years old, and she's not sure she wants to see him now. but when news of the quarantine breaks, Maria has no choice but to keep Sadie with her in town, all while trying to find out who is sick and whether anyone can be saved in time….

  Laura J. Burns

  Quarantine

  (Roswell’’-04)

  TV Series Placement: Summer 2001 – Pre-Season 3

  No One Is Safe.

  There's a new corporation in town – Meta-chem – and Liz is psyched to land a scholarship program working in the lab. But when the giant pharmaceutical company creates a disease that accidentally infects the town, Liz is among the first to fall ill – and, despite his powers, Max is unable to heal her. There's also a new girl in town, Sadie, who's come to Roswell searching for her half sister, who she believes is Maria. Maria doesn't know how to feel: what if she and Sadie do share a father? Maria hasn't seen him since she was seven years old, and she's not sure she wants to see him now. but when news of the quarantine breaks, Maria has no choice but to keep Sadie with her in town, all while trying to find out who is sick and whether anyone can be saved in time…

  For Jason, Ron, David, Gretchen, Aaron, Russel, Garrett, and, of course, Melinda.

  If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as "unsold and destroyed" to the publisher, and neither the audior nor the publisher has received any payment for this "stripped book."

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the authors imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  First Simon Pulse edition March 2003

  ™ and © 2003 Twentieth Century Fox Film. Corporation, Regency Entertainment (USA) Inc., and Monarchy Enterprises B.V

  All rights reserved

  SIMON PULSE

  An imprint of Simon amp; Schuster Children's Publishing Division 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020

  A.ll rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  Printed in the United States of America 10 987654321

  Library of Congress Control Number 2002107314 ISBN 0-689-85519-2

  1 SNAP.'

  The thick red ribbon broke, its two ends fluttering down to rest on the ground in front of Meta-chem's main doorway. The petite blond woman who had cut the ribbon smiled and waved to the cheering crowd in front of the state-of-the-art building. Meta-chem's new headquarters had been designed by world-famous architects and fitted out with the latest laboratory technology money could buy. And Marts Wheeler knew it was all a sham. The new building, the company's move to Roswell, New Mexico… it was all a big show she was putting on to hide the real reason she was here. She was here to find one person, a person who lived in Roswell and who possessed extraordinary powers. The one person in all the world who would be able to heal her dying husband, Clayton Wheeler III. And today, at last, Mans would lay her trap for the Healer.

  "Thank you!" Marts cried over the cheering. Half the city of Roswell seemed to be here for the Meta-chem ribbon-cutting. And why not? The giant pharmaceutical company

  was prepared to offer hundreds of new jobs to the community, everything from business managers to research assistants to janitors. Roswell loved Meta-chem, and Maris would see to it that the feeling continued for as long as she needed it to.

  "You're certainly making us feel welcome in our new home," Maris continued as the clapping quieted. "Now, as you know, Meta-chem is committed to giving back to the community. And we're going to begin that process today by announcing the winner of our new college work-scholarship program. We've chosen one Roswell high school student to become a research assistant here at Meta-chem. This student will not only receive the invaluable experience of working with our world-class scientists, but he… or she… will also receive a scholarship of ten thousand dollars toward the college of his or her choice."

  "Got your thank-you speech ready?" Maria DeLuca teased, nudging her best friend.

  Liz Parker smiled nervously. She glanced at the beaming faces around her… her parents, Maria and her mom, and Max Evans. Liz knew they were all expecting her to win this scholarship. And two years ago, she would have felt completely confident that she would. But her grades had been slowly slipping ever since she'd become involved with Max and his "family" of aliens… his sister, Isabel, his best friend, Michael Guerin, and, of course, his ex-girlfriend Tess Harding. The truth was, there were more important things on Liz's plate these days than winning scholarships. When she'd started high school, all she'd wanted was to excel in school, to continue her studies in science, and to get into Harvard University, her dream college.

  But now, she just wanted to get through senior year without a major global crisis.

  "Our scholarship student will be working with the director of research here at Meta-chem," Maris Wheeler was saying from the front of the crowd. "So I'll let him be the one to announce the winner. Please welcome Dr. Alan Sosa."

  There was polite applause as Dr. Sosa, a wiry man in his fifties, made his way to the podium where Maris stood.

  Liz shifted her weight uncomfortably. Her father had, insisted that they get to the ceremony early enough to find a place in the front… so she'd be able to get to the podium easily when her name was called. Liz didn't have the heart to tell him that she wasn't expecting to win. Jeff Parker had kept an eye on Liz's grades when she was younger, but it had been years since he'd felt the need to look over her report cards. Liz herself had always cared about her straight As enough for both of them. Right now Jeff was beaming at her proudly. Liz shuffled her feet and tried to stay calm.

  Dr. Sosa was talking now, but Liz couldn't seem to follow his words. She didn't want to be here! So what if she used to be into science? She'd grown up, changed her mind about what was important to her! The problem was, she wasn't sure what she had changed her mind to. There was always some kind of alien crisis to take up her time, so she'd stopped thinking about herself, her own needs. She mostly just thought about Max's needs.

  As if he could feel that she was thinking of him, Max

  put his hand on the small of her back. Immediately, Liz felt calmer. Max was always a grounding force for her. He leaned over and spoke softly into her ear. "Take a deep breath, Liz," Max murmured. "Whether you win or not, you'll still be the most important thing to me."

  Liz sighed. If only that were true. But she knew that Max's life was full of things… and people… that were more important than she was. And top on the list was his son, the baby he was having with Tess. Tess, still pregnant, had killed their friend Alex and then had left the planet. And even light-years away, she was still more important than Liz. Because as long as she had Max's son, Max would never be able to give up searching for them. He would never be able to put Liz first.

  "So let's cut to the chase," Dr. Sosa's words broke into Liz's thoughts. "The winner of the first Meta-chem work-scholarship… and my new assistant… is Ms. Elizabeth Parker!
"

  Maria shrieked and threw her arms around Liz. "I knew it!" she cried. "I swear, I read my tea leaves last night and they told me you were gonna win!"

  Maria's mother, Amy, pried her daughter off of Liz. "I think maybe Liz's parents want some hug time too," she remarked.

  Nancy Parker held Liz tight, pressing her lips to Liz's forehead. Then Jeff gave her an affectionate push toward the podium. "You'd better get up there before they give your job to someone else," he joked.

  Shocked at winning, Liz managed to walk over to where Dr. Sosa was standing. She shook hands with him and accepted a congratulatory kiss from Maris Wheeler, all

  the while wondering how she'd pulled this off. Josh Faber from her AP biology class was going to have a coronary… he'd been beating her grades for a year now.

  "Um, thanks," Liz said into the microphone at the podium. "I'm really… I'm thrilled. I can't wait to start working with Dr. Sosa…"

  As she spoke, her gaze fell upon Max. He was watching her adoringly, but she knew he would leave her in a moment if he had a chance to find his son. He can't put me first, Liz thought sadly. So maybe it's time I put myself first.

  "I've wanted to be a biologist since I was a little girl," Liz went on. "And right now, I feel more committed to that goal than I have in a long time." She took a deep breath. "This new job is my number one priority."

  Michael sighed happily and gazed through the order window at the Crashdown Cafe. There were two old men having coffee at the counter, and a family of tourists at one of the booths. No Liz, no Maria, no Jeff Parker. Michael was in charge, and he liked it that way.

  He made his way out of the kitchen and jumped over the counter… which was strictly forbidden when the boss was here. With a self-satisfied grin, he grabbed a pot of coffee off the burner and headed for the two men. "Hey, old-timer. More coffee?"

  "You bet," the gray-haired man answered. "The wife won't let me drink it at home. She's got me on that decaf crap."

  "That's not right," Michael commiserated while filling the guy's mug.

  "These damn women," put in the other old man, pushing

  his mug forward to be filled. "Why do they think they can run our lives for us?"

  "We do just fine on our own," Michael agreed. "All they do is make sure we never have any fun."

  The two old guys growled an agreement.

  'Well, not me," Michael went on. "I am not gonna let a woman tell me what to do."

  "I'll drink to that," the gray-haired guy said.

  Michael grinned as the two old men sipped their coffee in his honor. This was the life… -just a bunch of guys hanging together. He leaned against the back counter and pulled a Motor Trend magazine from his jeans pocket.

  "Michael!" a familiar screech broke into his quiet moment.

  Maria burst through the front doors, long blond hair flying behind her. "Why didn't you call me last night?" she demanded as she stomped across the restaurant. "And clean up that coffee spill!"

  Michael froze like a deer in the headlights. He glanced down at the counter, and sure enough, there was a ring-shaped coffee stain drying on the Formica. He looked up and met the amused gaze of the two old men. He would totally lose face if he didn't stand up to Maria. "Cleaning isn't in my job description," he said. He forced himself to begin reading his magazine again.

  There was a moment of silence. Michael grimaced. Silence was bad. With Maria, silence was a very, very bad sign. He peeked over the top of the Motor Trend, expecting to see two furious brown eyes boring into his own.

  But Maria was gone. Baffled, Michael stuck the magazine back in his pocket and glanced around the restaurant.

  "She went in the back," one of the old men told him. "And 1 think you're in trouble."

  With a sigh, Michael went around the counter… lifting up the end this time to walk through instead of jumping over… and pushed open the swinging door to the back room. If his girlfriend was too mad to even talk to him in public, he really was in trouble.

  "Baby, I'm sorry I didn't call… " Michael stopped, shocked. Maria was curled up in a ball on the couch in the corner, and she seemed frightened. "What? Did something happen?" Michael asked, instantly on alert.

  Maria nodded, her eyes wide.

  "Well, what is it?" he demanded. "An alien crisis? Something with the police? What?"

  "It's my mother," Maria whispered. "I'm hiding from her."

  Michael rolled his eyes. This was Maria's idea of a crisis? The two DeLuca women spent most of their time bickering, as far as he could tell. "What did you do, dent the Jetta again?" he asked.

  The door behind him swung open, revealing Amy DeLuca.

  "There you are! How dare you storm out on me, young lady!" she cried. Michael took a step back. Maria had clearly inherited her shrill voice from her mom.

  Maria leaped up from the couch and faced off with Amy.

  "I had to get to work, Mom. Remember? What did you call it… my 'dead-end job that will never prepare you for any sort of real life'?"

  "Your shift doesn't start for another fifteen minutes,"

  Amy shot back. "So I expect you to finish the conversation we were having instead of running away like a five-year-old."

  "You were the one having a conversation, Mom. I was there to be abused," Maria said.

  "Urn, I gotta get back to work," Michael mumbled. He retreated to the kitchen, but since it was only ten feet away, it wasn't far enough to block out the sounds of their argument. Michael knew the fight would come around to him sooner or later. It always did. He knew Amy liked him, but she didn't exactly approve of his relationship with Maria.

  "I'm not abusing you, Maria, I'm just concerned about your future," Amy was saying. "Watching Liz win that scholarship today got me thinking… "

  "I'm not Liz," Maria snapped. "I'm not about to win any science prizes."

  "I know that," Amy said. "But Liz is getting ready for life after high school… she's getting good work experience, starting to earn money for college. What are you doing?"

  "I do earn money!" Maria shrieked. "I've had a job since I was fourteen!"

  Michael wondered if the customers could hear them fighting. He snuck a look through the order window. Yup, they could hear. The two old men were listening attentively, while the tourist family looked nervous.

  "You earn money and then you spend it on Michael," Amy said.

  "I knew it," Michael muttered. "It always ends up being my fault."

  "It's my money," Maria told her mother. "I can spend it however I want."

  That means I'll be getting a lecture from Maria later about how she can't keep paying for dinner all the time, Michael thought.

  "Look, honey, in a few months you'll be a senior," Amy said, putting on a calm voice. "I'm not saying you can't still goof off and have fun. I'm just saying that you have to start thinking about life after high school. If you're not careful, you'll end up a waitress in Roswell for the rest of your life."

  "Not everybody wants to go to Harvard and become a biochemical-whatever scientist like Liz," Maria said. "Maybe I want to stay in Roswell and work."

  Michael sighed. The last thing Maria wanted to do was stay in Roswell. He would have to hear about that later too.

  "Great. Fine," Amy cried, throwing up her hands. "Stay in Roswell. Marry Michael, get yourself pregnant. Throw your life away just like I did!"

  "Oooh, not good," Michael whispered.

  Maria grabbed her backpack up off the couch. "I'm so happy to know that you consider marrying Dad and having me to be 'throwing your life away,'" she said coldly. Then she turned her back on Amy, walked into the bathroom, and closed the door.

  Michael shook his head. Usually he was jealous of his friends, who, unlike him, all had parents. But on days like today, he felt like the lucky one.

  "How about dinner at Senor Chow's tonight to celebrate your scholarship?" Max asked. He and Liz sat at one of the booths in the Crashdown just as the lunch rush started. Jeff Parker had given Liz the d
ay off in honor of her big win.

  Liz was quiet for a moment, twirling a strand of her dark hair around her finger.

  "Just the two of us having a nice romantic dinner?" he prodded.

  "I don't think so," Liz finally answered. "I start at Meta-chem tomorrow, so I want to get plenty of sleep tonight." She glanced up at him and smiled. "Don't want to be yawning my first day on the job!"

  Max nodded, disappointed. Liz might be smiling, but her heart wasn't in it. He couldn't read her mind, but he was pretty good at reading her emotions. And for the past few days, she hadn't been happy. The worst part was that it was his fault. He knew his romance with Tess had hurt Liz's feelings, but after all, Liz was the one who had told him that he belonged with Tess. For months Liz had even let him believe she'd had sex with Kyle Valenti. Then, after Tess left the planet, Max had decided that it was time to start over… start over with life here on Earth, and start over with Liz.

  Last week he'd planned a "first date" for them, and it was supposed to be the perfect evening. He knew the love he shared with Liz was strong enough to overcome the trust issues between them. But on their date, it had all gone wrong. While he was swimming in the lake, he'd gotten a mental flash… a vision of his son with Tess. It had seemed as if his son were calling out to him. At that moment, he knew he couldn't really start over. He could never rest until he found his son and rescued him from Tess.

  "Hey, brainiac!" Kyle's voice broke into Max's thoughts. He turned to see Kyle entering the Crashdown along with

  Isabel. Kyle headed straight for their booth to give Liz a hug. "Congratulations on the scholarship," he said, kissing the top of her head.

  Max couldn't help feeling jealous of Kyle, even now. Liz had told him she didn't sleep with Kyle, but she'd never explained why Kyle had been in her bed all those months ago. Max had seen them there together, and he still couldn't get the image of it out of his mind.