by Kevin Ryan
Maria headed for the door. "Okay then, bye," Maria said.
"Bye-bye," the girl trilled, and though Maria couldn't see her anymore, she was sure the girl was wearing the same smile as she said it.
She came out into the large garage, scanning it for Kyle. Seeing the owner, Maria walked right over to him and pulled a food container out of the bag she carried.
"Hi," she said, holding out the Styrofoam box. "Meat loaf with gravy, no mushrooms. Bell said it was your usual.”
He looked at her, confused for a moment.
"It's our way of saying thanks for the shower and oat- meal this morning," Maria said, handing him the food.
Then recognition bloomed on Dan's face, and then he did something Maria didn't expect: He smiled. "Thank you," he said.
"Is Kyle around?" she asked. The question was just out of her lips when Kyle appeared next to her.
"Hey," Kyle said.
"Lunchtime," Maria said.
"Why don't you take a break," Dan said, the ghost of the smile still on his lips.
Kyle came with her around back. They guys weren't in the van, so they tried the room in the back. Before they entered, they heard laughter from inside. Opening the door, they found Michael, Max, and Isabel sitting on the floor huddled around an ancient board game.
"You're going down," Michael said to Max.
Maria leaned down and saw which game it was: Chutes and Ladders.
Perfect, she thought.
At the three aliens looked up, Maria frowned and said, "I'm glad that while we mere mortals are busting our butts, you guys are making yourselves useful.”
Max and Michael started to get up.
"Maria…," Max started.
She shook her head. "It's okay. Somebody should be having fun today. Lunch is served," she said, handing out the food.
"Can you stay and eat with us?" Michael asked. "You can get into the game if you want," he added.
"I have time to eat," Maria said, sitting on the side of the bed. She had brought something for herself, anyway.
"Where's Liz?" Max asked.
"She's back at the diner, brooding. I think she's been spending too much time with you," she said.
Concern immediately ran over Max's features.
"She's fine," Maria said quickly. "You guys should come by for dinner at the end of the rush, six thirty or so.”
Then Maria took out her own food. She was glad to sit, and even gladder to not have to go back outside alone to face the aliens or whatever it was that had the whole town (and now her) spooked.
On the other hand, as Michael dug into his burger, she realized she had an alien of her own to protect her.
come on, Space Boy, you're walking me back," Maria said.
Michael fought an urge to snap back at her for giving him an order. "Okay," he said, standing up.
Maria shot him a look of surprise, and that made the effort of holding his tongue worth it.
"Ready to go?" he said, grinning at her.
He enjoyed the slightly confused look on her face as she got up off the floor. "Sure," she said.
He nodded to Max and the others, and then he and Maria were out the door and headed for town.
He noticed that she seemed nervous as they walked along the open field that separated the edge of Main Street from the garage. She looked over her shoulder at least five times as they crossed the short distance.
"You know, this is the first time we've been alone since we left," he said.
"What?" she said, clearly distracted.
"I said, this is the first time… ”
"Michael, there's something strange going on in this town," she said, as if he hadn't spoken.
"Right here, in fact," Michael said, not even trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice.
"Michael, I'm serious. Haven't you seen those missing- person posters in town? It's creepy.”
"Well, we're not going to be staying long," Michael said.
"I ran into Gomer, and he said something about aliens, like the girls were abducted by… ”
"Here we go," he said, shaking his head.
"I know it sounds stupid," she said.
"That's because it is stupid," he said, raising his voice. He was angry now… more at himself than at Maria. He hadn't wanted to fight with her. As they drove in the van and the miles sped by, Michael had found the earliest stir- rings of peace on the road. He had hoped that things would be different for him and Maria. As they drover far- ther away from Roswell and the pressure they had always been under, he had felt sure that things would be different. He would make them different.
But why did she have to drive him so crazy? "So you're saying I'm stupid?" she said.
By sheer force of will, he kept himself from saying any more.
"Then what…," she started, her own face scrunched and angry.
"Stop," he said, raising one hand. "Look, I'm sorry.”
That seemed to stop her cold. Michael saw that they were getting close to the diner. He didn't want to spend the few seconds they had fighting.
"What?" she said.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to suggest that you're stupid. I'm just saying that the only aliens you're going to find in this town are the ones you brought with you. We need to be careful, but we left all that stuff behind in Roswell. That was the point of this class trip," Michael said.
Maria looked at him, thankfully silent for a moment.
"We've all seen the signs," he continued. "There is something strange going on here, but it has nothing to do with us and nothing to do with aliens. My guess is that a bunch of girls got wise and escaped this hole-in-the-wall without leaving a forwarding address.”
Maria started to speak, but he raised his hand and she was silent.
"But if some psycho is kidnapping girls, I'll watch out for you. Just don't go outside alone, or… better yet… unless I'm there.”
He paused for a moment and said, "Okay? "Okay," she said, nodding.
They were approaching the diner door when he stopped her with a hand. "Don't worry," Michael said.
He smiled and said, "I don't want to fight with you.”
Then he did what he'd wanted to do since they left the garage… actually, since they left Roswell. Michael leaned down and kissed her.
Though surprised, Maria responded immediately.
A few seconds later, he felt her hands on his chest. Then she was pushing him away… gently at first, then with force.
"What?" he said.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Well, I thought it was self-explanatory," Michael said. "I guess not.”
"What are you thinking?" Maria said.
Michael raised his hands in frustration. "Well, I was thinking that I wanted to kiss you, but I've reconsidered," he said, feeling his face go flush as the hairs on the back of his neck began to stand up. With effort, he fought down the rising anger.
"Look, Michael, I'm just not ready for this. Too much has happened, and I just don't know what we are to each other anymore. I'm going to need some time here," she said, the challenge clear on her face and in her voice.
A voice inside his head screamed, I stayed on this planet far you! 1 blew my one chance to go back to the place I came from. For you! But Michael put his hands down and said, as calmly as he could, "Okay.”
She was silent for a moment, looking at him with a sur- prised expression. When she spoke, her voice was calm. "Look, I'm just not sure what I want right now.”
"There's a surprise," he muttered under his breath.
"What?" she said.
"Nothing, but understand this: I know exactly what I want, and I will wait if I have to," Michael said.
She looked at him with the same surprised expression. Well, he was surprised at himself. But he did know what he wanted, and he was determined to break the cycle of stupid arguments that had kept them apart too many times in the past.
"I'll wait," he said, then he pointed to the diner door.
"Maria, you'd better get back to work. We'll come by before your shift is up. Don't go outside until then.”
He took a moment to enjoy her stunned expression, then turned and headed back for the garage.
Kyle found Dan in the office.
"I just have to check the seals and add the fluid, then I'll be done with the transmission," he said. "What's next?”
"Points and plugs on the Impala. And check the brakes. They've been grinding. They'll need pads, but see if you can save the rotors. I have to stop in town. I'll be back in about an hour," Dan said.
Kyle nodded, "I'll be fine.”
"I'll keep an eye on him for you," Dawn said, flashing Kyle a smile.
Kyle could barely keep the goofy grin from his face. When did my luck start changing? he wondered.
He nodded to Dawn on his way out and said, "See you later.”
"You know it," she said.
As Kyle entered the garage, he was glad his back was to Dawn, because he lost the battle with his goofy grin, which spread itself wide across his face.
A few seconds later, he was back under the car, doing a quick inspection of the seals on the transmission. It took some effort for him to concentrate on his work, but he forced himself to do it.
"Hey, I want to talk to you," a voice said from above him.
It took Kyle a moment to place the voice. He was immediately annoyed at the interruption, because it ended the warm feeling that lingered from his encounter with Dawn.
"I'll be up in a few minutes," Kyle said. He would actually be less than that, but the last thing he wanted to do was to let Gomer think he would rush on his say-so.
"We'll talk now. You don't have to get up," Gomer said. "I just wanted you to know that Dawn is my girl.”
Kyle shook his head. This was ridiculous. "Funny, she didn't mention that," he replied.
"Well, I'm mentioning it," Gomer said.
His voice was tight, as if he was trying to intimidate Kyle. Well, Kyle was not going to be intimidated by this bad-tempered tow truck driver who worked at a shop in the middle of nowhere.
Nevertheless, Kyle was very conscious of the fact that while Gomer was standing on the shop floor, Kyle was flat on his back with less than a foot of clearance between himself and the car above him.
Kyle knew guys at the garage who didn't like to work under cars, either out of claustrophobia or a vague fear about the safety of the hydraulic lift that held the car off the ground. Though he had never had that problem himself, Kyle suddenly understood it. He considered sliding out from under the car, but he didn't want to give his nervousness away and give Gomer the satisfaction of thinking he had shaken Kyle up. Keeping his voice casual, Kyle said, "I think Dawn's big enough to decide what she wants for herself.”
Kyle heard Gomer make a sound like a grunt. When he spoke, he shouted, "You got a smart mouth. You want to watch that. We don't much like smart guys around here.”
"Then you must fit right in," Kyle shot back immedi- ately.
Gomer didn't reply, but Kyle heard footsteps and a click. Leaning his head up, he could see Gomer's legs were very close to where Kyle's legs were hanging out from beneath the car.
Suddenly Kyle didn't care whether or not Gomer thought he had gotten the better of him. Kyle didn't want to spend another second under this car with Gomer up there.
Since Kyle was lying on a wheeled cart, he could roll out in a second or less, if he rolled toward where Gomer was standing.
He couldn't go the other way, because the transmission lift and some other equipment were blocking his way. He could try to angle himself and roll out next to the lift. It would put the car between him and Gomer when he got clear, but that would take several extra seconds at least.
He decided to just face Gomer. Reaching up, he grabbed the underside of the car and pulled, moving the cart and himself toward Gomer.
Then something came down on his leg. It took Kyle a moment to process that fact that it was Gomer's foot.
Kyle's forward motion stopped.
"Where you going, smart guy," Gomer said.
Kyle felt his heart sink in his chest, but he was surprised by the strength in his voice when he said, "Let go, Gomer.”
Instead, Kyle felt more pressure on his right ankle.
"What's wrong smart guy? Scared?" Gomer said.
"This isn't funny," Kyle said.
Then Kyle heard a click and he immediately knew that Gomer had his hand on the lever that controlled the hydraulic lift's up-and-down motion.
"Yeah, I think it's pretty funny. You know, you should be careful under there. I don't think these things are safe. If something happened, you might hurt your smart mouth," Gomer said.
Then the car lurched down two inches in a sudden motion.
"Ahhhh!" Kyle said, forgetting completely about his dignity. Frantically, he tried to move in any direction, but Gomer kept up the pressure on his leg.
Kyle tried to calculate how much clearance he would have between this car and the floor if it dropped to the ground. How much damage would the car do to him? Would Max be able to fix it? He decided he didn't want to find out. "Wait. Let's talk about this," Kyle said.
"I don't want to talk to you, smart guy," Gomer said, then he laughed. The laugh was low and creepy. Kyle decided he didn't like it at all. Then Kyle heard another click.
11
Michael heard the shouting from inside the garage. Maria’s talk about the kidnappings or whatever was going on in this town had gotten under his skin more than he had expected.
On the other hand, that was true about a lot of things that Maria said and did.
"… much like smart guys…" Michael heard from inside as he passed the entrance to the garage. The words didn't exactly make sense, but the tone was very clear.
Somebody was pretty pissed off.
Michael debated checking around the back to see if the others were all right, but he was confident that Max and Isabel could handle most of the trouble they could find in this town. Then he remembered that Kyle would be work- ing inside the garage. It might pay to check in on him.
Walking through the large door, he didn't see anyone inside at first. Then, three cars down, he saw someone he recognized.
Gomer was standing next to a car, shouting down… at the tire? No, that wasn't right.
Then someone spoke back to Gomer, but Michael couldn't make out the words.
"What's wrong, smart guy?" Gomer said.
Michael decided he didn't like the tone of Gomer's voice and started walking toward him.
Where was Kyle? There was some more back and forth, and Michael thought he heard Kyle's voice. Then Gomer grabbed a lever, and the car seemed to shake in the air.
Then he heard a scream.
Sure that the scream was Kyle's, Michael started run- ning. He saw that Gomer had his hand on a lever. And then he saw Kyle's legs sticking out, one of them kicking at Gomer. When Michael saw the car move downward, he realized instantly what was happening.
When he acted, he did so immediately and without thinking. Reaching Gomer, he reached out with one hand, grabbed the larger man on the shoulder, pulled him back, and then shoved him hard. Michael heard Gomer grunt, then fall backward to the ground.
He was dimly aware of the fact that Kyle was still under the car when Gomer went flying. A moment later, Gomer was sitting on his butt and looking up at Michael in sur- prise. That surprise lasted only an instant and was replaced with fury. Well, Michael knew how that felt.
For someone so tall, Gomer moved quicker than Michael would have guessed. Gomer was on his feet in seconds and was lunging for Michael. Acting on instinct, Michael leaned to one side and grabbed for Gomer's shirt. The larger man hit Michael's hip, and Michael used Gomer's momentum to toss him back to the ground. This time, Gomer went down face first in an awkward dive.
Again, he moved quickly and was soon lurching to his feet.
Too stupid to stay down, Michael thought as a red haze of anger descen
ded on him, drowning out all other thoughts. A moment later, Gomer charged Michael again. This time, Michael met him straight on, launching one punch with each fist. His left hit Gomer low, in the ribs, while his right, then his left hit Gomer squarely in the face.
Gomer staggered back.
A satisfied smile crossed Michael's lips, and he raised his hand almost unconsciously. He felt his powers coalesc- ing and he prepared to…
"Michael," a voice said from next to him.
Michael ignored the distraction; he was dealing with a threat.
Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. The voice shouted this time, "Michael!”
Turning, Michael saw Kyle standing next to him. Then he saw Gomer looking at him, fear clearly on his face.
"Don't hurt him," Kyle said.
It took a moment for Kyle's words to penetrate Michael's red heat. Then he slowly put his hand back down. "He was trying," Michael said, not taking his eyes off Gomer.
"I was just kidding around," Gomer said, raising his hands in a warding-off gesture.
Michael felt himself relax by small degrees… very small degrees. "You think that was funny?" Michael nearly shouted.
Gomer shook his head. "I was just trying to scare him," he said.
Michael balled his right hand into a fist. It was not an act of anger, it was calculated, and by the look in Gomer's eyes, it had the desired effect.
"I'm sorry," Gomer said.
"Don't apologize to me," Michael said, gesturing to Kyle.
"I'm sorry, Kyle… I… was out of line," Gomer said.
"Urn, apology accepted," Kyle said. Michael noted that his friend was out of breath. Kyle must have been pretty scared.
Michael felt his anger rising again and forced it back down.
"Get out of here," Michael said. Gomer immediately turned to go, but not before shooting Kyle a look that Michael didn't like.
"Don't even think about it," Michael said. Then he paused for effect. "Remember, I'm everywhere.”
"Okay, okay," Gomer said, walking away.
Then Michael turned to Kyle and said, "Are you okay? You want Max to take a look at you?”
Kyle shook his head and said, "I'm fine, just a little shaken up.”
That's an understatement, Michael thought, looking at Kyle's face.