The Vanished

FOUR

Adam stepped back as Maria hung the last grainy, black-and-white picture of a flying saucer on the wall, moving her hips to the music pounding from the jukebox.

"It looks straight to me," Adam said, squinting as he tried to keep from laughing at Maria's bizarre dance moves.

"Good," she said, slapping her hands together. She turned around and addressed the room. "So, we've wasted enough time on housekeeping. How are we going to get Alex back?"

Adam glanced around at the blank faces of his friends, knowing his expression reflected theirs exactly.

"We could find the ship," Isabel said finally, hopping onto a stool.

"How, brainiac?" Michael asked. "We have no idea who took it… or even how they managed to move something so big."

"Yeah, it might take some time to track down the ship," Max added. "A long time. I'm not saying we shouldn't look for it, but we need to think of an alternate way of bringing Alex home. The sooner the better."

"So what's plan B?" Liz asked.

"That's the problem," Max said. "We're currently plan B-less."

"Comforting," Isabel muttered.

"Unfortunately, we can't rely on the collective consciousness for help," Max said. He closed the glass door of a display case. "I'm not sure how long it will take for them to recover from opening the last wormhole, but I got the impression that it would be a few months, at least. So that's out."

"Wait, you connected to the consciousness?" Liz asked, paling. "When?"

Max paused and looked quickly around the room, not really focusing on anyone. "Last night," he said quietly.

Isabel jumped off the stool and grabbed his wrist. "Why didn't you tell us?" she asked. "How's Alex? Did they say anything about him?"

"He's… fine," Max said, shoving his hands in the front pockets of his jeans as his eyes flicked from one face to the next. "Alex is fine. But we still have to get him out of there."

"Well, obviously," Isabel said, crossing her arms over her chest. "But at least he's okay."

"Yeah… so…" Max said.

Adam had the feeling there was something that Max wasn't telling them. His aura hadn't changed much, but there were a few minute flecks of oily yellow-green marring the rich jade.

"Wait a minute! If we all connected, could we open a wormhole ourselves?" Maria asked.

"Doubtful," Michael said. He walked over to the small sink behind the counter and started rinsing rags. "It takes a huge amount of power… Right, Max?"

Max sighed, staring at the floor. "It was a struggle even with the whole consciousness working hard at it," he confirmed, running a hand over his blond hair.

"Well, what about the Stone of Midnight?" Liz asked. "Isn't that what that Stone is, really… a huge source of power?"

Wow, she's amazing, Adam thought as she brushed a stray strand of hair from her cheek. He wasn't able to stop the weird turmoil she caused inside him. Being near her made his mouth dry and his palms sweaty. Adam kept losing track of the discussion because his attention always seemed to return to Liz… and not to what she was saying, either. There was something about her warm, amber aura that made him feel both thrilled and queasy and made his knees weak.

"I don't think using the Stone is the best idea," Maria said. "I still see those bounty hunters in my nightmares."

The words bounty hunters got Adam's full attention. "The bounty hunters got sucked through the wormhole with Alex, though," he reminded everyone.

Not that any of them could have forgotten the sight of those two creatures getting pulled into the vortex, their tentacle-lined mouths open wide.

"You're right," Michael answered. "But we don't know how many bounty hunters were tracking the use of the Stone's power for DuPris. DuPris could have a whole battalion of them out there."

A tiny shudder crossed Liz's body. Max moved closer to her and slid his arm around her shoulders.

Get off her. The thought blasted through Adam's mind, and he reminded himself for the billionth time that he actually liked Max and that Liz actually loved the guy.

"It's Alex. It's worth the risk of using the Stone," Isabel said.

"Agreed," Michael said. He turned away from the sink and leaned on the counter.

Max cleared his throat. "I hate to be the voice of reason here, but-"

"You do not," Isabel interrupted. "You live to be the voice of reason."

Everybody laughed, and Adam couldn't help noticing Liz's happy, musical sound. He wanted to hear it as much as possible. He wanted to be the one to make her laugh.

Something was definitely wrong with him.

"You were saying?" Liz asked Max.

"Before I was so rudely interrupted," Max continued with a smirk at his sister. "Yeah, maybe we could use the Stone. But we don't have it. DuPris does. And we have no idea where he is."

Adam felt a chill. Max was right. DuPris could teleport-he could be anywhere. He could be halfway around the world… although that concept was a bit fuzzy to Adam, who had only taken his first steps outside a few weeks ago. Still, he understood the distance enough to know that DuPris could be far, far away. Unreachable.

Or he could be right nearby, Adam realized, hugging himself to ward off the wave of ice that had invaded his body. DuPris, with all his poisonous hatred, could be right here in Roswell, with someone else's face.

Michael could at least have the decency to look dumpy sometimes, Maria thought. It would make being around him a little easier.

She watched him out of the comer of her eye as he drove Ray's car along the boring stretch of Route 285 north toward Albuquerque. Michael had decided to check out the old ranch house in the desert where they'd had the showdown with DuPris. It was possible, if unlikely, that DuPris was holing up there, using the ranch house as a base. If they found DuPris, they'd find the Stone.

Maria stared out the window at a reddish tan ridge of rock that ran along the highway, jutting up from the desert in the distance. Like a wall, Maria thought. Like the wall that stood between her and Michael now.

Which was the reason she had volunteered to keep him company. She had to see if she could fix the mess that lay between them.

They rode in silence. Usually Maria would be chatting to fill the chasm of quiet that separated them, but she and Michael had always talked so easily before…

Before she told him she loved him.

Oh, that was a great idea, Maria thought glumly. You told him how you feel about him, and now as punishment you have to sit in silence forever.

Maria peeked at him again. He was staring straight out the windshield, his mouth and eyes grim with concentration. What's he concentrating on? she wondered. Driving? DuPris? Cameron? Keeping me shut out of his life?

Say something, Maria ordered herself as he reached a junction and turned off Route 285 to Route 60 west. This is your Michael. Just talk to him. Say anything!

"Uh…" Michael said suddenly. He glanced at Maria and gave her a weak smile. "So…"

"Yeah?" Maria prompted. Talk to me! she screamed at him in her head. Can't you see I'm dying over here?

"Isabel seems really focused on getting Alex back," Michael said. "I guess she misses him after all. More than I thought she would."

"Why?" Maria shot back, more sharply than she'd intended. "I'm not surprised. Alex is a great guy. Of course she misses him. We all miss him."

"Yeah, but that's not the kind of missing…" Michael began. He adjusted his hands on the steering wheel. "Forget it."

Maria slumped back into the car seat. Isabel. Michael would have to mention her name, wouldn't he? Maria knew that Michael and Isabel had decided just to be friends, but hearing her name had made Maria remember the disgustingly embarrassing scene in which she'd tried to force Michael to choose between them.

He'd chosen Cameron instead. It had been one of the most humiliating, devastating moments in Maria's whole life.

Feeling more depressed now than when they'd started the trip, Maria turned to face the window as Michael pulled up in front of the ramshackle ranch house.

"What do we do now?" Maria asked.

"Have a look around," Michael said. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Maria answered.

Together they walked up to the house. Maria found herself tiptoeing across the dirt yard, even though she knew it was impossible to sneak up on DuPris. At the front door Michael took a deep breath and turned the knob. The door swung open, and they both froze.

Nothing.

"He's not here," Michael said, stepping inside. Maria followed. The air smelled stale, like no one had walked through to circulate it in over a week. The large front room echoed with emptiness.

"I don't think he ever came back to this place," Maria said.

"I'm sorry for dragging you out here," Michael said. "This was a total waste of time."

Maria wandered farther into the room. She could still so easily picture the horrible scene that had taken place there, the sense of complete powerlessness, of being under DuPris's control.

She stopped over the spot where DuPris had kept her frozen in place.

What a good little bunny you are, DuPris had murmured into her ear. Her terror at that moment had been overwhelming, and even recalling it now made her shiver. I wonder what thoughts bunnies are capable of having…

And then he'd plucked an image from her mind-an image of herself hoping to kiss Michael. Amused, DuPris had forced Maria to walk over to Michael and put her arms around him. It was the worst violation she'd ever experienced. At least touching Michael had allowed Maria to make a connection to him, which had broken DuPris's hold over them.

Now it seemed a total mystery how she'd made that deep connection with Michael. She couldn't even think of anything to say to him anymore-never mind a union of their auras.

Suddenly all of it-the gulf between her and Michael, DuPris getting away, Alex exiled to another galaxy-it was all too much for Maria to handle. She took a deep breath and burst into hot, uncontrollable sobs.

This was the last place she wanted to have a meltdown. Here. In front of him.

"Maria, don't," Michael said, his voice soft and full of concern.

She wheeled around to face him, tears trailing down her face. She rubbed them away and struggled to get a grip, but fresh tears kept streaming down her cheeks. "How… how are we ever going to get… Alex back?" she choked out. "Everything's against us! Nothing… nothing… nothing's going right."

"Maria, you-"

"No!" she shouted at him. "Don't 'Maria' me! You don't even have the decency… the common decency… to look dumpy sometimes!"

"What?" Michael demanded.

Maria turned away. "It doesn't matter," she wailed. "Nothing matters. Alex is gone. DuPris has the Stone. And you…"

And you don't love me.

But Maria couldn't say that. She could never say that.

Instead she spun around and ran out the door. She bolted over to the car, jumped in, and slammed the door. She just wanted to be home. She just wanted to be away from Michael. She never thought she'd feel that way, but she did.

After a long moment Maria heard Michael climb behind the wheel. He didn't say anything, just wrapped his arms around her. His aura wrapped around hers with all the comfort of a towel straight out of the dryer.

"I just feel so awful… about everything," she said, pressing her face into his shoulder.

"I know," he said. "I do, too."

"What are we going to do?" she asked, her voice muffled.

Michael let out a long sigh. "I don't know."

He held her for a few minutes, rocking her until her tears stopped. Then he pulled away, holding her shoulders.

"You know what I've got?" Michael asked.

Maria wiped her nose with the back of her hand. "Uh-uh," she said.

He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small cloth satchel tied with a dark red ribbon. He waved it in front of her face. "Remember this?"

Maria's heart skipped a beat. It was the aromatherapy satchet she'd made for him. She couldn't believe he carried it with him.

"Take it," Michael said.

Maria held the little satchel up to her nose. The smell of rose petals, eucalyptus, and pine needles filled her sinuses, clearing them with the strong fragrance. She held on to the satchel for a few moments, inhaling deeply. Those were three of her favorite scents in the world.

"Better?" Michael asked.

Maria nodded, giving him a smile that felt like it could break into pieces any second.

"Thanks," she said.

"No," Michael said, putting his arm around her. "Thank you. Somebody's got to let themselves feel all this crap we're going through, and nobody can do it better than you."

And all of a sudden Maria didn't want to be anywhere but where she was.

Michael did love her. Not the way she dreamed of him loving her. But still.

Isabel winced as she watched a look of pain cross Adam's face.

She, Adam, and Max were up in Ray's apartment-Michael's apartment-and Max had connected to Adam, trying to find out if Adam had any buried memories of the time DuPris had been in control of his body.

Adam's face screwed up in pain again, and Isabel shut her eyes. After Max was done with Adam, she was next. Isabel knew it was important, even crucial, but she was looking forward to it like a trip to the dentist.

When Isabel heard Max sigh, she opened her eyes again. Max and Adam were sitting beside each other on Michael's bed, and Adam was rubbing his forehead.

"Anything?" Isabel asked.

"Zilch," Max said. "Except that Adam's interesting in there. He's got powers I've never even heard of."

Adam smiled. "I've just been practicing longer," he said.

"Okay, Izzy, it's your turn," Max said.

Adam hopped up and headed downstairs. "I'm going to go see what Liz is doing," he said.

Isabel took his seat, her heart pounding with apprehension.

"Ready?" Max asked.

"Sure," Isabel answered, trying to sound calm, even though she knew Max was the last person on earth she could fool. But he didn't call her on her false bravery. He simply took her hand gently, and they were instantly connected.

Isabel felt Max's emerald green energy mingling with her own rich purple, and they headed for Isabel's memory centers. Their memory center. The connection between them was more than a simple attachment-it was a true sharing of souls.

The first image they uncovered was completely familiar. She was shopping at Victoria's Secret for something that would make Michael's mouth water. She'd taken the bus back to the museum, and then DuPris had used her to hurt Michael. Isabel watched in shock as the memory replayed in their mind. DuPris had made her betray one of her best friends. The very idea of it filled her with fury.

Max sent soothing images of family dinners with their parents at her until she calmed down. When Isabel had relaxed, she sensed Max asking her if she was ready to continue. Yes, she was ready. Go for it.

Her brother dug deeper, unleashing a torrent of memories of her time under DuPris's control. Isabel transformed into a child, hiding out with DuPris at the ranch. DuPris touching her face in the most loathsome way. DuPris laughing as Isabel raged against his hold on her. Isabel using her powers to fling Max against a wall.

There had to be something in her that would let them find DuPris. How she would love to rip out his lungs and use them as bagpipes!

Max soothed her again, willing her to stay calm. They'd learn nothing if she broke concentration.

Then Max poked at a dark, unformed image. Isabel concentrated on the black memory, curious despite her fear of what it might contain. There was no visual to it, only a sound… the sound of a car… and the smell of exhaust and oil.

Max encouraged her to replay the memory. DuPris had locked her in the trunk of his car. She'd felt so claustrophobic and terrified. Then DuPris opened the trunk, but the recollection remained hazy and dim.

DuPris was making her walk through the darkness. Isabel stumbled over loose rocks and held on to a guide rope to assist herself down the cavern path.

Cavern?

Yes, Isabel realized with a rush of excitement. They were in a cave. Her eyes were adjusting, and she'd seen stalactites, stalagmites… swooping bats. What cave was it? She just had to remember a little more, notice a landmark-

But then the memory went black. Something had knocked her out.

Max let go of Isabel's hand. "Do you have any idea where that cave was?" he asked.

"Not a clue," Isabel said, her mind still reeling. "But we have to figure it out."

"There are a million caves like that around here," Max said, rubbing his forehead.

Isabel grabbed his hand and looked him directly in the eye. "I know it's practically hopeless," she said. "But it's the only chance we've got to save Alex."

I should have thought of coming here myself, Liz thought as she climbed through the first-floor office window of the Astral Projector, the tabloid newspaper DuPris had published before he disappeared. She fell through the window and landed on the floor at Adam's feet.

Adam had found a copy of the Astral Projector, with its pages of doctored photographs of alien encounters, in Ray's museum. Apparently Ray subscribed-probably to give himself a good laugh every month. As soon as Liz explained to Adam what the newspaper was, he'd been sure the tabloid's office was the perfect place to search for clues to DuPris's whereabouts. And he didn't want to wait for Max and Isabel to be done upstairs.

Liz didn't want to wait, either. She was glad to have something to do. Anything that might lead to getting Alex back home.

"Where should we start?" Adam asked.

"You take the desk," Liz said as she looked around the dark office. "I'll go through DuPris's file cabinet." She shut the blinds and flicked on the overhead light.

Adam started rifling through the desk, and Liz opened the top drawer of the file cabinet, marked Abyss-Humidity. She pulled out the first file and scanned it.

"Abyss" turned out to be a bunch of articles about a hole in Colorado that led to the center of the earth, where an alien race had built a civilization. This was according to some questionable sources that DuPris had interviewed. It sounded insane to Liz, but then the Astral Projector's stock-in-trade wasn't exactly reality. DuPris had just used the newspaper as a cover for his investigation of Michael, Isabel, and Max and his search for the Stone of Midnight. Liz was amazed that he'd kept records at all.

Diligently Liz skimmed every article in the drawer, even though there were hundreds of them. She didn't want to miss anything that might help Alex. By the time she reached the file titled Humidity, she was struggling to contain her giggles over the ridiculousness of it all. "Humidity" was an article about how aliens from some planet called Neutron-6 needed to keep their skin moist at all times or they'd shrivel up like worms on the sidewalk after it rained.

"The scary thing is that people believe this stuff," Liz muttered to herself as she replaced the file. She had just closed the top drawer of the filing cabinet when she heard footsteps in the hallway outside the office.

The hair on Liz's arms rose as the doorknob started to turn. She glanced at Adam, and his eyes were wide with fear.

"Quick!" Liz hissed. "Under the desk!"

A second later the two of them were smashed together in the small space in front of DuPris's desk chair. "The light," Adam whispered as the door creaked open.

Liz squeezed her eyes shut. There was nothing to do about it now.

Liz strained her back until it hurt and peered under the metal edge of the desk. She stretched and managed to glimpse a pair of sensible shoes and a set of wheels on a cart. An odor of disinfectant wafted through the room.

It was the cleaning service. Liz's heart calmed in her chest. Although it still wouldn't be good to be discovered, she'd take the maid over DuPris any day.

"Always leaving the light on," the cleaning woman mumbled to herself.

As the cleaning lady emptied a garbage can near the door, Liz started to become very aware of Adam's arm lying across her stomach and his cheek pressed up against her shoulder. She could feel his heart beating… and it was thumping pretty rapidly, too.

She glanced at his face, and in the moment before he looked away, she saw that he was staring at her with wide, amazed eyes. Liz tried to shift away, but the space under the desk wasn't exactly roomy.

Adam's obvious crush on her had always seemed kind of sweet… from a distance. But up close, it was making her nervous and tense. Liz held her body taut, trying to prevent any skin contact whatsoever, trying to send out an anti-attraction vibe. She listened to Adam's ragged breathing and felt her face flush.

Liz stole a peek at Adam again. It wasn't that he wasn't cute-quite the contrary. He was muscular and sleek. But Adam wasn't Max, and that was that.

The cleaning woman finally left, shutting off the light and closing the door behind her. Liz scrambled out from under the desk as fast as she could and brushed herself off. The darkness in the office seemed far too intimate, so Liz hurried to turn the overhead light back on.

Adam didn't emerge for another minute, lingering as if he'd hoped their uncomfortable situation didn't have to end. He smiled awkwardly at her as he climbed to his feet.

Liz needed to take control before Adam said or, even worse, did something they'd all regret later. "Okay," she said. "Back to work."

"I'm done with the desk," Adam said. He sounded almost remorseful, as if he'd done something wrong. As maybe he had… in his imagination. Liz cut that thought off before her own imagination started supplying details.

"Then check out DuPris's bookshelf," Liz ordered. "Look inside the books, too, in case he's hidden something inside one of them."

Liz returned to the file cabinet, and by the time she was halfway through the third drawer, she had a monster crick in her neck. As she reached deep into the drawer to pull the files and condense them so they opened more easily, her finger grazed something along the side of the drawer. Liz yanked her hand away. "Ow," she muttered. She stuck her index finger into her mouth, tasting the coppery flavor of her own blood. Paper cut.

But what had she cut her finger on?

With her other hand Liz reached into the space between the hanging files and the side of the drawer. And found a manila folder that had been inserted into that space sideways.

She pulled it out, her hand shaking with excitement. It could be a folder that had been dropped there accidentally, or it could be something DuPris hadn't wanted to be easily found…

Liz opened the folder. It contained a single photo.

A photo of a middle-aged guy in a military uniform shaking hands with Sheriff Valenti. Both men were smiling at the camera.

With a jolt Liz realized that she recognized the man in the uniform.

It was Mr. Manes.

Alex's father.

Liz's stomach lurched.

This doesn't have to mean anything, she told herself as she stared at the picture. Alex's dad is retired air force, and Valenti was the town sheriff. There could be hundreds of reasons why they were hanging out. It could be some kind of macho-guy barbecue.

But the scene in the picture didn't look like it was taking place at a barbecue. It looked like an office. Valenti's office at the Clean Slate compound, to be exact.

Liz's heart dropped to the floor. It can't be, she thought. But what other explanation is there?

If Alex's father was at the secret compound, he had to be a member of Project Clean Slate, too.