The Vanished

SIX

"How is anybody supposed to eat this?" Liz asked her friends, all of whom were seated around a long table in the school cafeteria. All her friends minus Alex, of course. And Adam. They still hadn't figured out a way to register him for school without every social services department in the country swooping down on him. So Adam hung out in Michael's apartment alone during the day.

Adam. Liz had woken up with an odd feeling about him this morning-a pleasant feeling, too. But she couldn't put her finger on where it came from.

"That's why I brought tuna fish," Maria said. "You couldn't pay me to eat this cafeteria garbage."

Michael looked at them with feigned shock. "What are you talking about?" he protested. He added extra pickles to the top of his slice of sausage pizza. "This is a gourmet meal."

"That is the most vile thing I've ever seen," Liz said, pointing at his lunch.

"Seriously," Isabel said. "You could have at least added some Sweet'n Low."

"Oh, yuck!" Maria said.

"Fine. More for me, then," Michael replied with a smile.

Liz smiled, too, but she was wondering why Max had been so quiet all lunch period. He hadn't joined in any of their joking around, and he hadn't even sat beside Liz at the table. Max was sitting on the other side of Isabel, across from Michael, lost in his thoughts. Drifting to… wherever.

"Max," Liz said. "Earth to Max."

He looked up at her, surprised. "Oh," he said, a faint blush coloring his cheeks. "Sorry. I was just thinking about the cave."

"Isabel's memory?" Maria asked.

Max nodded. "I've been wracking my brain for any distinguishing factors, but so far… zilch, zip-"

"Nada," Isabel said. "Me too. It's all a blur. I wish I could remember it better, but-wait, scratch that… I'm glad I don't remember. DuPris's a pig."

"What do you remember? Is it like your cave?" Maria asked, referring to the cave where Michael, Isabel, and Max had broken free of their incubation pods. They used it as their hideaway from the rest of the world and had brought Liz, Maria, and Alex there when they'd first started hanging out together. Now they often used it as a sort of crisis headquarters.

"You mean our cave?" Isabel said, looking at Liz and Maria meaningfully. Liz smiled at her. She knew it took a lot for Isabel to include her new friends in something so close to her heart. "DuPris's cave was a lot bigger," Isabel continued, "but it had all your basic stuff-stalagmites, stalactites, bats, darkness, the works. A cave."

"There are a million places like that in New Mexico." Michael groaned. "Max and I have been searching the desert for years, and we've only hit the smallest fraction of the caves out there."

"It doesn't even have to be in New Mexico," Liz added glumly. "DuPris can teleport, remember? He followed us back to the museum from the ranch house. And he took the bounty hunters along with him that time, so he could have transported Isabel and Adam, too."

"I remembered being in the back of a car," Isabel argued.

"He could have done that just to trick you," Michael pointed out. "So it would be harder for us to follow him… which it is."

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch period.

Biology, Liz thought as she stood up. At least it was her favorite class of the day, and Max was in it with her. Maybe he wouldn't be so out of it if they were sitting next to each other, doing experiments together.

Liz said her good-byes, and she and Max headed out of the cafeteria toward the biology lab. When they were halfway down the hall, Liz nudged Max with her arm.

"You ready for today?" she asked. "We're playing matchmaker to a bunch of mutant fruit flies."

Max stopped short. "You know what?" he said. "I left my book in my locker. I'll catch up with you, okay?"

"Yeah… okay," Liz replied, but Max had already headed down the corridor.

With a sigh, Liz continued to the lab. He's just preoccupied, she told herself.

She made a detour for the drinking fountain by the trophy case. As she bent down, a strong hand grabbed her shoulder. Her first thought was that Max had come back for her. But no way would Max grab her so hard it hurt.

She spun around quickly. Kyle Valenti stood there, glaring at her. Sweat was trickling down his forehead from his hairline, and his pupils were like tiny black pinholes.

"What are you doing?" Liz asked, trying to keep her voice as light as possible. She shrugged her shoulder free. "Is there a problem?"

"Problem?" Kyle repeated. He laughed, but it came out more like a choked gasp. "Yeah, there's a problem! Why don't you tell me where my father is?"

His father. Suddenly Liz was overwhelmed by a rush of fear, pity and confusion, and she had to fight to keep it all from showing on her face. Liz felt bad for Kyle-he had lost his dad. Sheriff Valenti was a horrible person, but Liz didn't even like to consider how she'd feel if her papa disappeared.

But how did he know she'd had anything to do with Sheriff Valenti's disappearance? How much did he know?

"Your dad?" Liz asked, carefully maintaining a calm exterior. "What are you talking about?"

Kyle narrowed his eyes, half covering his shrunken pupils.

"I know you had something to do with it!" Kyle snapped. "You were snooping around my house that day-right before I saw him for the last time. You expect me to believe that's just a coincidence?"

"Kyle, I'm so sorry," Liz said as sincerely as she could manage. "But I honestly don't know where he is." She tried to push past him before he saw in her eyes that she was lying.

Kyle held on to her arm. "So then why were you in my house?" he demanded.

"Kyle, I already told you," Liz began with a nervous laugh, trying frantically to remember the explanation she and Maria had come up with when he'd found them there a week ago. "Maria… and I… were decorating all the football players' houses, just for a laugh-"

"Don't feed me that bull again!" Kyle yelled. "Is he dead? Did you kill him? Either tell me what you know, or-"

"Or what?" Liz asked, taking a step back.

"Or I'll-," Kyle began. He looked around the hallway. "I'll-"

Kyle suddenly turned and smashed his fist through the plate glass of the trophy case beside them.

Liz jumped as shards of glass crashed to the floor. God, Kyle was out of his mind! He'd always been an idiot, but the sheriff's disappearance had sent him right over the edge. Liz winced as she saw blood oozing out of the cuts on Kyle's hand. For a moment she was so stunned, she couldn't even move.

"Security!" somebody called from down the corridor. Liz looked over to see Ms. Shaffer rushing toward them with the two burly security guys following close behind.

"What the hell's going on over here?" Ms. Shaffer took one look at the blood running down Kyle's wrist and the smashed trophy case and realized what had happened. "Kyle? Are you all right?"

"It's her!" Kyle shouted. "She did something to my father! She's in on it! She's in on it!"

Liz watched, stunned, as the security guards quickly led Kyle away. He kept shouting as they half pulled him out of sight around a corner. Liz's stomach clenched with a mixture of guilt, sympathy, and fear.

"Liz, what happened here?" Ms. Shaffer asked.

"Well… Kyle wanted to date me a few months ago, and I turned him down. He hasn't been too happy with me since then." She figured it was good to mix some truth into her story. "And just now? I don't really know what the deal was. Kyle started yelling something about his father. Some kind of family problem. I had no idea what he was talking about. And then he just snapped."

"Huh," Ms. Shaffer replied. "Strange. Very strange."

"You can say that again," Liz said. She scanned the principal's face for any sign of disbelief, but she seemed to buy Liz's story.

Ms. Shaffer touched Liz's arm lightly. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, I'm fine," Liz said. Only after the principal asked did she realize how fast her heart was beating. "Just a little shaken up." She took a deep breath. "Well, I guess I should get to class."

She took off down the hall, ordering herself not to break into a run. As soon as she turned the corner, Liz slumped against the wall.

Kyle knows, she thought. Kyle knows! Liz and her friends weren't responsible for Sheriff Valenti's death, but they were there when it happened. And DuPris had used Adam's body to do the dirty work. If Kyle suspected them and kept digging, Adam-and the rest of her friends-could be in a lot of trouble.

Liz pushed herself off the wall and walked to the water fountain on the other side of the hall. Kyle'd grabbed her before she got her drink. As she sipped, she forced herself to look at the situation rationally.

What, exactly, did Kyle know?

Enough to accuse her, but not anything more than that, she decided as she straightened up and continued down the hall and up the stairs. He had no proof of any kind. And his accusations were based on circumstantial evidence at best.

But did he know more than he was letting on?

Did he know about Project Clean Slate? Did the sheriff tell his son he was on Max, Isabel, and Michael's trail? Had Kyle ever hung out at the compound?

Maybe Kyle is the one who chased us through the desert, Liz thought, taking a deep breath. He was obviously off at the moment. It definitely could have been him.

Liz headed toward the lab, her mind reeling. If Kyle was the one who'd chased them, did that mean he'd somehow managed to move the ship, too?

Pausing outside the biology lab door, Liz took one more deep breath to steady herself. Kyle couldn't have moved the ship.

Not without a lot of help.

Somehow that wasn't a very comforting thought.

Isabel drove the Jeep through the suburban back streets of Roswell, heading for Alex's house. Max and Michael might have decided to leave Mr. Manes alone for the time being, but that didn't mean Isabel had to do the same.

Since Valenti died, Isabel had felt safe. Or at least safer than she'd ever felt before. The man who had haunted her nightmares for years was no more.

But apparently the maniac had friends right here in Roswell.

Isabel had to know if Alex's father was Clean Slate. Until she found out for sure, it would drive her crazy. The whole idea that the Major could belong to an agency that seemed dedicated to her personal eradication made her feel like she was itching all over her body. She'd met him. She'd had dinner at his table.

What if Alex's dad is Clean Slate and he's the one who removed the ship? Isabel wondered as she turned up the Maneses' driveway. He could be jeopardizing Alex's only chance to get home… and not even know it.

Isabel had no idea what she would do if she discovered the Major was part of the same horrible organization as Valenti, but she'd think of something. She'd have to. No matter what it took, she couldn't allow Alex's own father to get in the way of saving him.

No matter what it took.

Isabel killed the engine. She'd risk anything to get Alex home safely. Even snoop around in the house of a man whose mission in life could be tracking Isabel down, locking her away, experimenting on her, and then…

Isabel ordered herself not to complete the thought. She climbed out of the Jeep and headed up to the front door. This is for Alex, she repeated in her head. Think of Alex.

Isabel was unprepared to have Mrs. Manes answer the doorbell. She'd been ready to flirt with the Major and sweet-talk him into letting her look around. Isabel liked Mrs. Manes, but she had no idea what Alex might have told his mother about their breakup. With his dad, she could have been sure that Alex hadn't told him anything. Alex and his dad didn't do the talking thing much.

She had to rethink her whole game plan quickly. "Yes?" Mrs. Manes asked. Her eyes were red and puffy, as if she'd been crying. "Oh, Isabel. I didn't recognize you for a second. I was-come on in."

"If it's no trouble," Isabel said. "I don't want to bother you-"

"No trouble at all," Mrs. Manes broke in. "Please. I could use the company."

Mrs. Manes led Isabel through the wide foyer into the casual yet tastefully decorated living room. She sat in a short leather upholstered armchair and faced Isabel. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I can't stop thinking about Alex," Isabel answered. Her voice squeaked a little as she said his name, but she steeled herself and plowed on. "I've been worried about him. I guess… I guess I just wanted to see how you've been holding up and if you've heard anything."

Mrs. Manes picked at the seam of the leather armchair for a long moment, and when she looked up at Isabel again, her eyes glistened with tears. Her mouth twitched as she tried to reply. "I'm… I'm sorry," she said finally. "It's just that, with you being so concerned, I suppose I was caught off guard." A tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it away. "I'm not usually like this," Mrs. Manes explained. "I've been trying to be strong-"

"You don't have to be strong," Isabel said softly. "Nobody's asking that of you."

"If only that were true," Mrs. Manes replied. She rearranged herself on the chair and cleared her throat. "Listen, I've got one son in the marines and two in the air force. I've worked hard at preparing myself for any eventuality, no matter how grim. But this is Alex we're talking about. Alex is different. He's-"

"Sweet," Isabel supplied.

"Sweet," Mrs. Manes agreed. "I know my youngest. He wouldn't have run away, not without leaving some sort of note. Which means something must have happened to him…"

Mrs. Manes's face crumpled up, and the tears spilled over onto her pale cheeks.

Isabel knew she wasn't going to win any awards as the world's warmest person, but she had to do something. She stood up and walked over to Alex's mother and covered her hand with her own.

"Mrs. Manes," Isabel said. "You don't know what's happened. Nobody does. He could walk through that door any minute."

I wish, Isabel added silently.

"Thank you," Mrs. Manes said, clinging to Isabel's hand. Isabel almost cringed. The woman's fingers were so cold-as if the life were seeping out of her. "Thank you for your kind words. It means a lot to me."

"No problem," Isabel said. "Can I get you a cup of tea or something? Or maybe you should lie down for a while? You don't look like you've slept since… in ages."

"I could use a rest," Mrs. Manes said. "But my husband has the police calling in on the hour, and he calls even more frequently than that. I've got to answer those calls-"

"I'll handle it," Isabel offered. "You go lie down and take a good nap, and I'll cover for you for an hour or so. Okay?"

"You're an angel," Mrs. Manes said eagerly. "Now I know why my son thinks the world of you. But just for an hour or so. Promise you'll wake me then?"

Isabel nodded. "I'll just be here, watching TV," she said as Mrs. Manes rose from her chair and headed down the hall.

When Mrs. Manes had left the living room, Isabel did turn on the television, but she turned the volume down low so she could hear Alex's mother moving through the house. Isabel flipped around for a while, stopping on the shopping network, which had a special on metallic nail polishes. She watched that impatiently, waiting for Mrs. Manes to fall asleep.

When Isabel couldn't stand waiting another second, she got up from the couch and crept down the hall, pausing outside Mrs. Manes's open bedroom door. Alex's mother's breathing was slow and regular-perfect.

Isabel hurried as fast and as silently as she could in the opposite direction. She had her destination firmly in mind from what she remembered from Alex's tour of the house.

Mr. Manes's office.

In the center of the room was a huge wooden desk with a laptop computer. Isabel sat down in the Major's leather chair and popped open the laptop, pushing the power switch. She found a half-empty box of disks and began to copy as many files as she could from a directory marked Private. As she copied, Isabel listened for any sign of movement outside the office. The Maneses' house was as silent as a tomb.

The whirring of the disk drive sounded awfully loud to Isabel's ears. What could she say to explain why she was using the computer if Mrs. Manes found her in there? She was looking for the latest version of Doom? I don't think so, Isabel thought.

If Mrs. Manes found her, Isabel would have to knock her out and try to scramble her memory. As distasteful as that idea was, she couldn't think of any other way to escape.

When the Private files were copied onto disk, Isabel clicked around for a few moments, looking for anything else that seemed appropriate. She passed up the Major's financial records and personal correspondence and left his Memos folder alone. Then, in a subdirectory marked Xtra, she found a folder titled Tabula Rasa.

Vaguely Isabel recalled something from some PBS philosophy show her mom had on one night while Isabel was doing her homework. Apparently some philosophers thought that human children were born without any instincts or memories-just an empty brain. And that empty brain, if Isabel remembered correctly, was called a tabula rasa.

The phrase was Latin. In English it roughly translated as "blank slate."

A chill ran up Isabel's arms and down her spine. Blank slate. Clean slate. Bingo, she thought.

She inserted a fresh disk and copied and pasted the folder into the A drive. Now that Isabel might have found something important, the drive seemed to be taking forever to copy. Hurry up, she ordered it. Can't you go any faster?

Then the phone rang.

Isabel thought she was going to jump out of her skin. But she forced herself to calm down as she picked up the office extension.

"Hello?" she said as cheerfully as she could manage. "The Maneses' residence."

"Who's this?" a gruff voice demanded. "Where's my wife?"

"This is Isabel," she replied politely, although the bristling sound of the Major's voice set her teeth on edge. "I'm a friend of your son's. We met a few weeks ago? I'm answering the phone for Mrs. Manes while she rests."

"Oh," the Major said. "Thank you. Tell her I called when she gets up."

"Of course," Isabel said. "I certainly will." Being so polite made her teeth ache.

"Good." Mr. Manes coughed softly, and then he hung up without saying good-bye.

Isabel replaced the receiver and concentrated on listening, blood pounding in her temples. Had the phone call woken Mrs. Manes?

When she didn't hear anything for a few moments, Isabel sighed with relief and checked the computer's progress. The files were all copied. She pulled out the disk and added it to the two others she'd made.

Isabel checked her watch and quickly shut down the computer. Why did I tell her I'd stay? she thought nervously. She had to get out of here and bring these files to Max so he could sort through them. Part of her wanted to ditch, but she couldn't do that to Mrs. Manes. She could hang out and let the woman sleep-give Alex's mom a little comfort.

After everything Isabel had done to Alex, she figured she owed him that much.

Isabel burst into her family's kitchen and found Max sitting at the table. He was munching spicy tortilla chips and peanut butter, a snack they both loved. She waved the disks in front of him.

"Guess what I got?" she asked excitedly. It had taken forever for Mrs. Manes to get herself out of bed, and Isabel couldn't hold her news in any longer.

"Proof that aliens live among us?" Max guessed, dipping a chip.

"Such a comedic genius," Isabel said, rolling her eyes. "On these disks I happen to have copies of Mr. Manes's private files. And get this-one of the files is named Tabula Rasa!"

Max's eyes opened wide. "No way," he said. "Where did you get those?"

"Reconnaissance mission to the Maneses' house," Isabel informed him.

Max frowned. "Isabel," he said in the big-brother voice that drove her up the wall, "are you out of your mind? I thought we decided that we'd leave the Major alone-"

"Chill," Isabel told him. "I knew you'd start freaking, but I got in and out, no problem."

"Do you know how dangerous that could have been?" Max continued. "Michael or I should have come along… as backup, at least. What if you'd gotten caught?"

"But I wasn't," Isabel replied, tossing her long blond hair over her shoulder. "Now, do you want to lecture me all day, or do you want to go up to your laptop and see what's in these files?"

Max heaved a big sigh as he started out of the kitchen. "Let's go see what you've got."

"Wait," Isabel said. "Bring the chips."

Up in his room, Max took a seat at his desk, and Isabel hovered over his shoulder. "Forget the Personal disks," Isabel suggested. "Go right for Tabula Rasa."

"Right," Max said, clicking around with his mouse. The folder contained several files, all named with numbers. But when Max clicked open file l.mxl, the screen filled with nonsense characters. Pure gibberish.

"This program doesn't support this type of file," Max explained in frustration.

"Do you have a program that does?" Isabel asked.

"Maybe. I've got a translator that's pretty new." Max started the program, but it crashed the system, causing the little hourglass cursor to spin endlessly in the center of the screen.

As Max rebooted, Isabel ground her teeth. "What's the matter?"

"I think they're encrypted," Max said. "I'm not going to be able to open these files. Sorry, Iz. All that work for nothing."

"Encrypted," Isabel repeated. "If the Major's encrypting stuff, he's got to be hiding something, don't you think? He's got to be Clean Slate."

"We shouldn't jump to any conclusions," Max said.

But Isabel knew she was right. Encrypted files. Tabula rasa. The photograph of Mr. Manes shaking hands with the thankfully deceased Sheriff Valenti.

It all pointed to one inescapable conclusion. Valenti might be dead, but now they had a new force to contend with.

And Mr. Manes was just a little too close to Isabel and her friends for comfort. Make that a lot too close.

The Crashdown Cafe was a madhouse.

Maria had been working her butt off all afternoon, and she still had another half hour before her break. She navigated her way through the aisle of the Ortechos' diner with a teeming tray on her arm, sidestepping a little girl who was running back to her table. At least tips will be good, Maria reminded herself as she served three out-of-towners at a window table. The tourists who came to Roswell to check out UFO central might be annoying, but they usually tipped decently.

As Maria headed across the room to take the order of a couple who had just sat down, she glanced across the restaurant. Adam and Michael were hanging out in a booth in Liz's area. Liz hurried by them, rushing to the pick-up window, and Maria smiled to herself as she watched Adam following Liz with his eyes.

The boy had it bad. Maria had felt the same expression cross her face too many times when she looked at Michael. She could recognize a major crush when she saw one. She just hoped it didn't look as sweetly pathetic on her. But of course it probably did.

Michael, Maria thought as she half listened to the new couples drink order. My good friend Michael.

"I'd like an iced tea, no sugar," the woman said.

Maria nodded absently. It wasn't easy slipping back into thinking of Michael as just a friend. Understatement. It was one of the most painful processes of her entire life.

But that's the way Michael wanted it, so that's the way it would be.

Friends.

Good friends.

One of her best friends.

"Miss, are you even listening to me?" the man at the table in front of her asked.

"Oh," Maria said. "Oh, sure. You wanted an icecream sundae, right? With a cherry?"

"No," the man said. "I wanted a beer."

"Right," Maria replied. "Beer."

As she bustled away to get the drinks, Maria caught a cute girl shooting Michael a flirty look. Please, just don't let him start bringing some girl around me, she thought. At least not for a while. Not until I've… mended a little more.

Maria filled a plastic tumbler with iced tea. When he does find some girl, some girl he looks at the way he looks at Cameron, Maria told herself sternly, you are not going to allow yourself to be pulverized again. You will still be Michael's buddy. Get used to the idea of him dating because it's going to happen.

She put the iced tea on a tray, along with a bottle of beer and a tall glass. Maybe we'll even discuss what to get Michael's girlfriend for Valentine's Day and stuff, Maria thought, like I do with Alex.

Why don't I just stick needles in my eyes while I'm at it?

As she brought the tray over to the tourist couple, Maria continued her conversation inside her head. Not pins, but needles, she clarified to herself. Because needles have nothing to stop them from traveling through your bloodstream until they pierce your heart.

Maria put the tourist woman's iced tea down too hard on the table, splashing some on the woman's T-shirt.

"Yikes, sorry," Maria said. "Here." She pulled a handful of napkins out of her apron and handed them to the shocked woman. "The tea's on the house."

Then Maria noticed the woman's T-shirt. Or rather, what was printed on it.

It was a logo for My Favorite Martian, the old TV show.

As Maria gave the guy his beer, she glanced at his T-shirt, too. Tourist couples often had matching or similar slogans on their shirts, which always amused Maria.

But his didn't match. Instead it proclaimed, I've Gone Underground… in Carlsbad Caverns! over a picture of the gigantic cave's yawning mouth.

Carlsbad Caverns, Maria thought, staring at his T-shirt. Could-

"Miss, is there something wrong?" the man asked.

"Uh, no," Maria replied. "Sorry, I was just spacing out. Are you ready to order your food?"

"Ten minutes ago," the woman piped up.

But Maria barely heard her.

Carlsbad Caverns. Stalactites? Check. Stalagmites? Check. Bats? Check. A possible hideout or whatever for DuPris, down deep in the cavern where no tourists or explorers ever went?

Check.

"Miss?" the man at her table asked. "Can we just forget about the food and get a check for the beer? Quickly?"

Check.