Quarantine r-4 Page 5

  They were the same as these cells.

  Liz's head spun. These cells, here in Dr. Sosa's lab. These cells weren't human.

  Did Meta-chem know about the aliens?

  4

  Kyle sloshed the mop around in the pail of semi-sudsy water. With a yawn, he lifted the mop out and splashed it down onto the already-spotless floor of a Meta-chem hallway. He'd mopped about seven identical halls since he'd started his shift. His basic plan was to work his way down to the employee kitchen, where he could finish his night by raiding the fridge.

  "Working for the man," he sang in a falsetto voice. "Yes, I am wor-kmin!"

  "Kyle!" a voice broke into his wail. Kyle, mortified, spun toward the doorway behind him. He was shocked to see Liz standing there. "What the hell?" he cried. "It's midnight! I thought 1 was alone."

  "I need your help," Liz said. "And I already know you can't sing."

  "Okay then," Kyle replied. "What's up?"

  Liz glanced around suspiciously. "Do you think there are security cameras?" she asked.

  Kyle sighed and stuck the mop back into its bucket. "So it's that kind of problem, huh?"

  "What do you mean?" Liz asked.

  "I mean it's a drop-everything-and-risk-getting-arrested-to-save-the-aliens kind of problem," Kyle explained.

  Liz nodded, biting her lower lip. "Sorry," she murmured.

  "No problemo," Kyle assured her. "Let's go talk in the kitchen. If there are cameras, it will just look like we're stealing food." He led the way down the hall. "Why are you here so late, anyway?"

  "Because I needed to see you," Liz said. "I told the security guard that I'd forgotten something in the lab, so I don't have much time. I'm sure eventually he'll come check up on me if I'm gone too long."

  Kyle pushed open the door to the employee kitchen. He gestured for Liz to take a seat at the small Formica table, then he opened the refrigerator and peered inside. "So what is it?" he asked.

  "I was snooping around in Dr. Sosa's lab."

  Kyle rolled his eyes and reached for an apple someone had left in the fridge. "Don't you run into enough trouble without going around looking for it?"

  "I didn't think it would cause trouble," Liz protested. "He has me doing such boring stuff! I just wanted to get a look at what he's actually working on. You know, real scientific research material, not just stacks of inventory."

  "Whatever," Kyle said. "What did you find?"

  "Alien cells," Liz whispered. "In his cancer cell slides."

  "No way," Kyle whispered back. "Are you sure?"

  "I've seen way too many alien cells in my life," Liz pointed out. "I know what they look like."

  "Fair enough. But what are they doing here? Do you think Meta-chem knows about our aliens?"

  Liz shrugged. "They were labeled 'Patient X.' I thought maybe Dr. Sosa had stumbled across a cancer patient who'd turned out to be an alien."

  Kyle thought about it. The aliens they knew of were the so-called Royal Four; Nasedo, who was dead; and the Skins, who were also dead. Was there another one? "I don't think I can take another new alien," he murmured. "What if it turns out to be like Tess?"

  Liz fixed him with a hard stare. "You mean an evil, murdering bitch?"

  Kyle looked down at the table. "I wish I could think of her that way," he said. "But it's not that simple."

  "She killed Alex. It is that simple," Liz said.

  "Not to me!" Kyle exploded. "None of you even think of how it is for me, do you? I trusted her. She was like a sister to me, she lived in my home. And she totally betrayed me."

  "I'm so sorry," Liz said quickly. "I didn't mean… "

  "No," Kyle cut her off. "I don't want to hear it. Everyone just takes it for granted that and my dad and I are on board with the whole alien thrill ride. But none of you ever think about what it cost us."

  "Kyle… "

  "We took her in, we loved her. She became like family to us. And then she used her powers on me without even asking. She made me… she made me carry Alex's body." Kyle tried to swallow the painful lump in his throat. He tried not to think about Alex. Even now, he never felt sure which

  memory to trust… the one Tess had planted in his brain, or the one he knew was real. Tess had mindwarped him into thinking he was carrying a duffel bag out to the car, but really he'd been lugging the dead body of his friend. How could he ever forgive her for making him do such an awful thing?

  Liz reached across the table and took his hand. "Kyle," she said softly.

  He focused on the warmth of her fingers entwined with his. He was so angry at Tess that he could taste it… but he shouldn't take it out on Liz. He blinked back bitter tears and looked up at Liz. He was surprised to see tears in her eyes, as well.

  "I'm sorry, Kyle," she said. "I've spent so much time thinking of how Tess ruined everything for me, I've never realized how much she hurt you. But I should have. I've been a terrible friend to you."

  Kyle squeezed her hand. "Nah," he said, trying for a jokey tone. "You got screwed over too. You have every right to think about yourself."

  Liz gave him a small smile. "I was trying to forget about all the alien stuff," she told him. "I was going to devote all my energy to Meta-chem."

  "But all you found was more alien stuff," Kyle said. "Typical."

  "Yeah." Liz pushed back her chair and stood. "We'd better get going before that security guard comes looking for me."

  Kyle stood and followed her back out into the hallway. "Where are we going?"

  "To break into Dr. Sosa's lab."

  "Daddy! Look at me!" The little boy spun in a circle, his dark hair flying. "I'm spinning!"

  Max watched him, hardly able to breathe through the intense love he felt. It was his son, his baby, right here in the Evanses' front yard. The boy spun faster, faster, his features becoming a blur, his hair whipping about so wildly that Max couldn't follow it with his eyes.

  "Daddy… " The voice must have come from the little boy, but Max heard it inside his head, as if his son was speaking directly into Max's mind. "I've come home, Daddy. I'm right here on Earth."

  Max reached for his son, wanting to hold him in his arms. But the boy was still spinning impossibly fast. He was like a little tornado, kicking up grass and dirt in his wake.

  This isn't normal, Max thought. Someone will see him. They'll figure out what he is. They'll take him away.

  Max sat back on his heels, devastated. This had never occurred to him before. How was he going to protect his son from humans? It was hard enough being a grown-up alien like he, Isabel, and Michael. But his son was just a baby… he wouldn't be able to control his powers. He wouldn't even understand why he should control them. – I'll take him away, Max thought frantically. Now that he's back on Earth, I'll hide him. I won't let anyone see him until he's old enough to understand that he's… he's…

  "A freak," Tess said.

  Max's head snapped up. His son was gone. Instead, Tess stood there. Her beautiful face was the same as ever, but her eyes were the eyes of a reptile.

  "Is that what you're going to teach him, Max? That he's some kind of freak who should hide his powers? Do you

  want him to grow up skulking around like you do? Too afraid of his own shadow to take any action at all?"

  "What kind of action am I supposed to take?" Max demanded. "Should I kill someone like you killed Alex?"

  "You're the king," Tess said. "You should have come back to Antar to save the planet. That was your destiny. Instead you've abandoned your people the way you abandoned our son."

  By the time she'd finished talking, her features had melted back into those of a toddler.

  Max stared at his son, waves of love coursing through his body. "I didn't abandon you," Max whispered. "You would've died if you'd stayed on Earth. I didn't know what else to do, so I let Tess leave with you."

  His son stared back at him with the eyes of a reptile.

  Max shot up in bed, beads of sweat covering his forehead. He glanced frantically
around the room. Where was his son? Was Tess here? His breath came in gasps.

  Slowly his eyes adjusted to the darkened room and his breathing returned to normal. "Just a dream," he whispered. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, he thought. He'd dreamed of his son every night since he'd had the vision of the baby being born. The vision that had ruined his date with Liz, and maybe ruined any chance of making things right with her.

  His gaze strayed to the clock on his bedside table. It was after midnight. Liz was probably already asleep. He hadn't seen her in two days… she was too busy with her new job. But he needed to see her tonight. Even if it was just to look through her window and watch her sleep for a few minutes…

  Max threw back the sheet and climbed out of bed. He would go see Liz. That would make everything better.

  "Get down!" Liz whispered.

  Kyle ducked, just in time to avoid being seen by the uniformed security guard crossing the hall in front of them. He and Liz were now hidden behind a waist-high cart filled with some sort of scientific machinery. Kyle gestured to the cart. "Torture devices?" he asked.

  "Lasers used for precision dissection of cancerous tissues," Liz replied.

  Kyle shook his head. "Parker, you are a science nerd," he told her. "But you're a gifted science nerd. How'd you know that guard was coming?"

  "I think I've developed a sixth sense for danger," Liz said wryly. "Call it the silver lining of having an alien boyfriend."

  "Boyfriend, hmmm?" he teased her.

  But Liz didn't smile. She didn't even roll her eyes. "I don't know," she murmured. "Is the security guy gone?"

  "Don't change the subject," Kyle said. "I want to hear the dirt on you and Maximus Alienus."

  "Kyle, this is hardly the time for gossip," Liz snapped.

  Ouch! He had obviously hit a sore spot. Liz and Max were always on and off, as far as he could tell. He didn't know why they felt the need to break up all the time, but since Michael and Maria did the same thing, he figured it was some alien-machismo issue. Luckily, since he'd found Buddha, he was beyond such things. If he was to date someone… even an alien, like, say, Isabel… he would stick to it and not create so much drama all the time.

  "Earth to Kyle," Liz was saying.

  "You know, that phrase has new meaning to me since meeting the pod squad," he commented. He snuck a peek over the top of the cart. "All clear."

  Liz moved out from behind the cart and tiptoed up the hallway. Kyle followed, hoping there really weren't cameras everywhere. If someone saw this little escapade, he'd be out of a job.

  "This one," Liz said, stopping in front of a plain metal door. Kyle pulled out his Housekeeping passkey and inserted it in the lock. The door swung open, and they hurried inside.

  "You're a lifesaver," Liz told him.

  "Yeah, who knew being a janitor would come in handy like this." He glanced around the darkened room. A lab, just like the labs at school. He would never understand how Liz could love these places. They made him think of mad scientists. And chemistry pop quizzes.

  "I've looked through all the slides at Dr. Sosa's work station. They're all standard cancer cells, except that one slide I saw before." Liz started through the lab, weaving around tables and large machines.

  "So what are we doing here?" Kyle asked, following her.

  "Dr. Sosa keeps all the sensitive material in this back room," Liz explained. "He says it's because of corporate spying."

  "Huh?" Kyle could think of nothing else to say.

  "They're working on a cure for cancer. Every other pharmaceutical company on Earth would like to steal their research and come up with the cure first," Liz explained.

  Kyle hesitated. "You don't really think this Dr. Sosa is

  going to find a cure for cancer," he said. "I mean, is that even possible?"

  "I don't know," Liz said. "But if they've found an alien they think is a cancer patient, it will definitely lead them down the wrong road, research-wise. We need to stop them before they realize what they're actually studying."

  "Not cancer, just extraterrestrials," Kyle agreed. "And that is research even the government would want to steal."

  "Exactly." Liz stopped in front of another chrome door. "This is where he keeps all the sensitive material. Can you unlock it?"

  Kyle pulled out his handy passkey. "Of course. Even secret laboratory closets need mopping, right?"

  He stuck the key card in the slot over the doorknob and waited for the beep. Nothing. Kyle turned the key around and stuck it into the slot again. Still nothing.

  "What's wrong?" Liz asked.

  "I dunno." Kyle tried sticking it in upside down. Nothing. "It's not working." He looked up at Liz's frustrated face. "I'm sorry," he said. "I think you need Max for this."

  Liz gave a deep sigh and sank down onto the floor. Kyle, surprised, sat next to her. "What's up?"

  "It's Max," Liz admitted. "I don't want to get him involved."

  "Uh, Liz, if this is about aliens, Max is involved whether you like it or not. You can't always protect him, you know."

  "It's not that," Liz said. "I just don't want… I don't want to see him."

  Kyle was stunned. Liz and Max were soul mates, it was clear to everyone who knew them. Something huge must

  have happened. "You don't want to see him… ever again?"

  Liz shrugged. "I just want to figure out how I feel before I talk to Max. I need to know what I want for myself and my future. As soon as I start talking to Max, it all gets blurry."

  "You're only eighteen. Why do you need to know what you want your future to be?" Kyle asked.

  "Because Max knows his future. He knows his son is out there somewhere and he has to find him." She leaned her head on Kyle's shoulder. "It's like he just grew up about ten years faster than me. He has a child, Kyle. I don't know if I'm ready for that."

  Kyle nodded. "That's a tough one." He didn't know what else to say, but he had a feeling Liz just wanted a friend right now. He slipped his arm around her shoulders. "We'll figure out a way to do this without Max for now," he said. "I'll get Michael to come with me tomorrow and open this lock. Or Isabel."

  Liz smiled. "Thanks, Kyle."

  Suddenly a bright light shone in their faces. "What's going on here?" a deep voice demanded.

  Kyle was struck dumb with fear. This was it, the moment he'd been expecting ever since he'd found out about the aliens. This guy would turn them over to the police… or worse. Maybe he would bring them to the special unit of the government and they would do experiments on him because he'd interacted with aliens. He'd even been brought back to life by an alien…

  "What are you, Housekeeping?" the voice boomed.

  That didn't sound like a threat. "Uh, yeah," Kyle said. "My friend here works in this lab, and she… "

  "You kids should fool around on your own time," the security guard said. He turned the flashlight away from their eyes, and now Kyle could see that the guy was barely older than they were. "Why don't you go make out in your car instead of in here?"

  He walked back out into the hallway. Liz shot Kyle a relieved smile, then got up and followed the guard.

  "I will never get used to this cloak-and-dagger stuff," Kyle muttered as he pulled the door closed behind them.

  Max paced up and down on Liz's rooftop. Where was she? It was after one in the morning, and Liz was not in her bed. She wasn't downstairs in the Crashdown, either. He decided to check out Maria's house… Liz could be sleeping over there.

  As he turned to go, he heard a car pull to a stop down in the alley. Max crept up to the edge of the roof and peered over. Below him was Kyle's pickup. Liz sat in the passenger seat, earnestly talking to Kyle.

  Why are they out together in the middle oj the night? Max thought. He liked Kyle, but every so often the old jealousy reappeared.

  Liz kissed Kyle on the cheek and climbed out of the pickup. Max backed away from the edge of the roof and sat down next to the window that led to Liz's bedroom. She would be up any minute.r />
  He leaned back against the brick wall and stared into the sky. His son was up there somewhere. Tess was there, on a planet he'd never seen but that he was supposed to save. It didn't seem fair sometimes. He couldn't remember being a king. Before Tess, he couldn't remember Antar at all. There would be vague visions occasionally, but no

  concrete memories. And now he didn't trust the things that Tess had helped him remember. With her mindwarp powers, she could have planted things in his mind whether they really happened or not.

  But the baby was real. He knew that. He had connected with his son while he was still in Tess's womb. And then there was that vision last week… "What are you doing here, Max?"

  Liz had come up to the window without his even hearing her. He jumped to his feet. "Hey! I was worried about you. Why were you out so late?" Did that sound overbearing? Max wondered. Did I sound like some possessive idiot? I'm not even officially her boyfriend… do 1 have the right to ask questions like that?

  If he was any judge of Liz's reactions, she was thinking the same things. "I was at Meta-chem," Liz said.

  "I saw Kyle drop you off," Max added. Instantly, he wished he hadn't said it. Now he sounded like a jealous possessive idiot.

  Liz raised her eyebrows. "Just how long have you been up here?" she asked.

  Max could feel his face getting hot. "Only a few minutes," he lied. He'd been here for at least half an hour. "I was just climbing up the ladder when I saw Kyle's car pull up."

  Liz studied him. He wondered if she knew he was lying.

  "So why were you with Kyle?" he asked, doing his best to sound curious but not jealous. It didn't really work.

  "Because he works at Meta-chem too, Max. Remember?"

  "But why were you there so late?" Max pressed. "You're supposed to be home by five. That was eight hours ago."

  Liz averted her eyes. "Um, I forgot something in the lab," she said. "So I wanted Kyle to use his passkey to let me in."