River
Dog…..
Michael, cursing under his breath, quickly rummaged through
the small room grabbing papers and stuffing them into a box. He had come this
far; he couldn’t lose it. “Whoever's up there looking for us isn't gonna
stop until they find us. I'm gonna find out everything I can before they do.”
Maria and Liz both jumped in fright as Maria gasped
observing a rat crawling around in the room. Following it, Liz moved cobwebs
aside to find a tunnel leading out of the room.
“Max. Max.” She gestured to the tunnel and everyone
rushed to it, to leave.
Liz looked up at the roof, and the movement of feet.
“Come on! Come on!”
“Go, go, go, go, go.” Max gestured for her and the
other to go into the tunnel, Michael going first pushing the box of papers ahead
of him.
Isabel on her way out saw a necklace, pausing, she becomes
lost in thought for a brief moment as the design drew her attention.
Max looked up at the ceiling, and then at his sister,
frantic to be gone. “Isabel! Isabel!”
Grabbing the necklace, she quickly put it on going into the
tunnel. The tunnel emerged away from the dome, and they quickly climbed into the
jeep needing to be gone. As the jeep sped away in a trail of dust, Topolsky’s
head popped out of the tunnel seeing only their dust.
~~~
Returning to
“What?” Michael asked, suddenly uncomfortable by her
silent regard. If given an option, he actually preferred her yammering her mouth
off, at least then he knew what she was thinking.
“No, it's just kind of funny how surprising things can
get. All this time that I've known you, I've just always thought of you as,
like, this guy, you know. Like this weird guy from the other side of the tracks
going nowhere in life, which, of course, you know, you still are that but,”
Maria said, not wanting to give him too much credit since boys were known to
revert to type, and alien boys were an unknown quality, “...what I didn't
realize was that there's this whole other side to you.”
“What, that I'm from--” Michael jerked his thumb
upwards and glanced at her, confused at exactly what she was saying. She knew he
was an alien, so what was her point?
“Well, clearly there's that, but putting that aside,
underneath that, um, weird, poorly bathed exterior, there's, like, this
whole,” Maria struggled to find a polite way to say it, “...deeply wounded,
vulnerable guy.”
Michael grimaced. Not what he needed. When people started
thinking you were ‘nice’ it came with all kinds of expectations, ones he
didn’t want to live up to. “Listen, all right? In terms of what happened
yesterday between us, that was just because we were on the road, all right? We
talked. That's all over.”
“Of course.” Maria made a face and looked away from him
and out the side window. Yeah, like she knew that. Suddenly, her eyes twinkled,
and her native humor making the dimple on her cheek deeper. “Wait. You think
something happened between us?”
Michael looked at her, he couldn’t help it. Oh god. Frowning, he looked at the
mileage marker. They were never going to get to Rowell.
Maria saw his reaction and chuckled softly to herself
looking out at the passing scenery. This side of him was definitely much more
approachable. Losing what fear she still harbored towards him and his
questionable lineage, she allowed her body to relax in the seat.
It was Michael’s turn. He kept glancing at her. Her
profile…wasn’t awful. Rolling his eyes, he admitted that she was actually
beautiful in a strange…human way. Clearing his throat, the silence was
daunting.
“So what are you going to do when we get back to
Maria peeked at him, surprised he started a conversation.
“Go to school, I suppose. Bad enough I was out all night with the car,
didn’t get the money for the delivery, didn’t call, but missing school? My
mother is going to ground me for life as it is. No sense in adding to my
sins.” Maria sighed. Her fate was sealed. “I’m expecting lecture
twenty-seven about responsibility and regard for others. I’ll tape it for
you…maybe you’ll learn something.”
Michael’s hands tightened on the wheel. He hadn’t meant
to cause her so much trouble, and especially not get her grounded. His jaw
clenched as an uncharacteristic feeling of guilt hit him. He didn’t like it.
He wasn’t getting anywhere if he let himself get all mushy and maudlin over a
girl. He did what he had to do. That was all there was.
Maria, unaware of his inner struggle, looked at him again.
“What are you going to do? With the stuff I mean?”
Relieved to let go of his inner thoughts, Michael for once
was happy to answer the question. “Max and Isabel will stash it at their
place, and I guess after school, we’ll go look through it.”
“Alone?”
Michael looked at her. “Why? You want to help?”
Maria shrugged, looking out the window again. “I already
thought I was.”
“We’ll pick you up after school.” Michael glanced
over, noticing a slight smile pulling at the side of her mouth. He kept driving,
but couldn’t help but look at her again. Somehow, by including her, he made
her happy. Who knew?
~~~
Maria and Liz were walking through the school, Maria still
talking. She couldn’t stop. Now that the adventure was over, it was just
that…an adventure.
“The thing about Michael is that he's weird but
surprisingly interesting.”
“He's interesting?”
Liz asked, her chagrin apparent. They were talking about Michael!
“Not interesting for me, obviously.” Maria said
haughtily, but her interest was apparent.
“Oh, yes, obviously.” Liz bit back a smile.
“I mean, it can never be.” Maria assured Liz. Best to
get the obvious out there so there would be no misunderstandings. “There are a
number of obstacles. His hair, his personality, the fact that he was
hatched...”
She couldn’t take it anymore, stopping Maria, Liz refused
to budge. “Can you please tell me what happened in that motel room?”
Maria giggled. “I told you, Liz, nothing happened.”
“Are you sure?” Liz asked, not so convinced. Until
yesterday, Michael Guerin had topped Maria’s list of those that should not be
named.
“Nothing physical, although it wasn't very verbal,
either. What Michael and I share, well, it's non-verbal. Michael is the type of
person my mom likes to refer to as a vibrator.” Maria explained, happy with
her term.
“A vibrator?”
Liz shook her head remembering the cheap motel. That couldn’t be good.
Something was definitely up with Maria.
“You know what I mean. Someone who communicates by, you
know, sending vibes out into the atmosphere.” Hell, her mother probably had a
book on vibrations. She would have to look Michael up.
“What kind of vibes was he sending you?”
“Vibes that are, you know...” Maria struggled to find
the right words when Liz forestalled her seeing Kyle.
“Oh, I have to go talk to Kyle.”
“Oh, the stalker.” Maria made a face. “Good luck with
that, Lizzy.”
Liz rolled her eyes. “Thank you.”
“So, um, I guess I'll see you at Max and Isabel's
later.” Maria said before she took off.
“Um, Max and Isabel's?” Liz’s face puzzled.
“Yeah, you know, to go through the files.” Maria said
her mind already on her next destination. “Michael said they'd pick me up
after school, so...”
Liz startled. Max had never said anything about them going
through the files. “Oh. Uh, yeah, I will be there.” Liz frowned as Maria
took herself off, her thoughts going in all directions, but remembering Kyle,
she put them away. She could only deal with one crisis at a time. Going over to
Kyle’s locker, she squared her slim shoulders, preparing for the worst.
~~~
Max, Isabel, and Michael were in the jeep heading to Evans
home with Michael in the backseat hanging over the other two.
“So there's kind of a lot of stuff to go through, huh?
The files.”
“We'll do it piece by piece, the three of us,” said
Max.
“The three of us...right.” Michael looked between the
two of them. “'Cause there are some other people that might wanna help out
with that stuff.” Casual. He could be casual.
Isabel looked back at him, her eyes narrowing. “Some
other people?”
“Yeah, you know, that Maria girl.”
“That Maria
girl?” Isabel’s voice stressed her surprise.
“But it should just be the three of us.” Michael said
more to himself.
Max glanced at Isabel, sharing a look. “Probably,” he
said to Michael’s reflection in the rearview mirror.
“Yeah, that's what I figured.” Michael scratched his
brow. “Actually, I sort of told her we were gonna pick her up.”
Isabel turned in her seat. “Michael!”
“You know, she pushed it. She's got this whole thing.
She's a real vibrator. She sends out these vibes. It's...” He was more than
happy to push the blame of a moment of weakness off on Maria. He missed Max and
Isabel sharing a moment of amusement at his expense.
Max shook his head. “Michael, she can't come and look
through the stuff. It's us, that is all.”
“I know. I know. I'll call her.” Michael gestured to
Isabel. “Do you have your phone?”
Isabel sighed handing over her cell. “Fine, but don't let
her blather too long, ok, because I'm desperately low on minutes.”
Max smiled to himself, but concern quickly replaced it.
They were approaching their home, and there was a large commotion. Police cars
everywhere, their lights going. The jeep slowed a few blocks short.
Isabel looked at her brother in fear. “What's going
on?”
“We'd better go find out.” Max looked back at Michael.
“Michael, get out of here.”
“Wait.” Isabel worried a nail. “Are you sure we
should go in there?”
“It's where we live. We don't have any choice.”
Michael looked at the cops infesting the place. “Nah, I
don't like this.”
Max looked at his friend. “We'll meet you at the
Crashdown later.” Michael didn’t need to be told twice. He jumped out the
back and was gone. He and cops, they didn’t mix too well.
~~~
Michael entered the Crashdown from a back door. He was
getting paranoid, seeing FBI agents around every corner. He came through the
door in a rush colliding with Maria. Straightening her, he told her sternly,
“Never do that again.”
“I didn't do anything.” Shrugging his hands off, she
looked at him confused. He looked…scared.
“You startled me.”
“I startled you?” Maria asked. He was the one jumping
out at her, and she startled him?
“Yes.” Michael looked up at the stairs as Liz came
down. “Did Max and Isabel get here yet?”
Liz looked at Maria quickly who shook her head. She had no
idea what he was talking about. “Why? Were they supposed to be here?” Liz
never got to finish quizzing Michael as the backdoor opened again. Max and
Isabel entered. “Oh.”
“We need to talk somewhere.” Max told Liz. “In
private.”
~~~
They were upstairs in Liz’s living room. Michael ran his
hands through his hair, unable to find anything for them. “I can't say for
sure I was being followed. I just had a feeling, that's all.”
Seeing Isabel’s face, Max looked at Michael. “What did
he look like?”
“I don't know.” Michael’s voice broke under the
strain. “A man in a suit, 30-35. Tall. Brown hair. He looked suspicious to me.
What can I tell you?”
“When we were on the road, there was a guy who might've
been following us.” Max saw Isabel’s reaction. “I didn't say anything
because I didn't want anyone to get worried.”
Isabel wrung her hands, her face pale. “I can't believe
what's happening here. Someone broke into our house. Someone's following us.
It's too real.”
Max put his arm around her. “It's gonna be ok.” Michael
was only half listening, as he stared at a necklace around Isabel’s neck.
Feeling his stare, Isabel shook her head. “What?”
“I know that. I know that.” Michael pointed at the
necklace, at the design. “How do I know that?”
“We all know it.” Max offered. “We think it's from
the past.”
“Pretty wild, huh?” Isabel picked up the necklace
staring at the design. “I found it at Atherton's.”
“This has to mean something.” Michael said, unable to
stop staring the design. They lost the files, but they had that.
Isabel stared at the design, and then at the others. “You
know that Native American deputy? He said he recognized it from the Mescalero
reservation.”
Michael sat up straighter shooting a glance at Max. They
had to go. It was their next step.
Sighing, Max recognized that look. “We can't go anywhere
right now. We can't make any suspicious moves.”
“Come on. We gotta go.” Michael argued. This close. So
close, and they were going to stay safe? What the hell was safe? He hadn’t
felt that since Max saved Liz Parker.
“No one's going anywhere. Not right now.” Max said
stressing the point to Michael who looked away in disgust.
~~~
Michael paced, his anxiety and agitation increasing
exponentially.
His life! His future! His past! This was his
journey! He was the only one that fought hard to find every clue, and here he
was, on the outside waiting for a scrap of information.
He stared out the Crashdown door at the darkness. His place
was being filled by Liz Parker. Fucking Liz Parker. What the hell did this have
to do with her anyway? Seething, he kept looking towards the door. What if they
got caught? What if they missed vital clues? What if something happened and he
wasn’t there?
Trust. He couldn’t blindly trust them to do it right, or
even to tell him everything. His journey, his quest, and suddenly, he was on the
outside waiting for scraps?
Maria glanced over at him, biting her lip. He was building
to a nuclear meltdown. She definitely had no problems reading those vibes.
“What do we do?” Michael said in irritation. He
couldn’t wait any longer. They had been gone too long.
Isabel said rolling her eyes at him. Great, she gets to
pull Michael duty. “We wait. They've only been gone a little over an hour.”
“I'm telling you, this plan sucks the big one, all
right?” Michael’s voice rose in irritation. “They're out there on my
vision quest, and I'm sitting here in the kitchen with two girls yakking.”
Isabel’s brow went up at that, but she easily dismissed his rant. After ten
years, it wasn’t like she’d never heard it before.
“Interesting,” Maria said pointedly looking him over,
“Um, Michael, you know, some women of the, uh, 20th Century might find that
last remark just a tad bit offensive.” Maria shook her head. The only person
acting like a ‘girl’ was Michael with his dramatic hyperbole.
“Why?” Michael asked, his confusion clear.
“Why?” Unreal! He was clueless.
Isabel snorted. “Welcome to Michael-land.” Michael
shrugged taking some small plates, helping himself to a large slice of cake,
passing Isabel a piece as well.
Maria’s eyes widened at the large slice. “I hope you
intend to pay for that.”
“I do not.” Michael informed her, his eyes challenging.
“Well, then that's theft, buddy.”
“Arrest me.” He took the
“Ok, so what's with the
“Sweet and spicy,” said Michael shoving a large bite
into his mouth.
“Sweet and spicy?” Maria’s brow furled in confusion.
Isabel offered taking a smaller bite than Michael, “We
all like things extremely sweet mixed with extremely spicy. It's our little
dietary quirk.”
“Well, I'll have to, uh, keep that in mind.” Maria
said, her eyes locking with Michael’s.
“You do that.” Michael said with a smirk, refusing to
drop her stare.
Isabel stopped eating to look between the two of them,
their stares penetrating. “Are you two flirting?” Her face screwed up in
disgust. “God, could my life get any
worse?” God! Wasn’t Max mooing over Liz bad enough? Ick.
~~~
Isabel left. Tolerating as much as she could of Michael’s
agitated company, and the two of them flirting, she went off to find better
things to do. Michael could probably be left alone as long as he was flirting
with Maria. That thought made Isabel roll her eyes. Getting involved with the
humans was having a serious effect on her brothers.
Maria, left alone with Michael, soon felt every moment as
if it was an hour. Her state of anxiety elevated as the minutes ticked by and
Max and Liz did not return.
“This is taking too long. They're in trouble.”
“Cool your jets.” Michael said. He was a little calmer.
It was probably the sugar from the cake, and not Maria. She was irrational.
“We should go out there.”
“They'll follow us.” Michael was proud of his
reasonable response. It was nice to finally be a voice of rational thought. He
sat back to let Maria take the irrational high road this time, however he
drummed his fingers on the countertop, his ring clacking against the Formica.
“What are we supposed to do?”
“We wait.”
“You know, now I know why Isabel left.” Maria said, her
eyes narrowing as she took in his form. “You are obviously the last person to be around in a crisis!”
“We were told to sit here and wait until they come back,
all right, and that's what I'm doing. I'm not the one freaking out. You're
freaking out.”
“I am not
freaking out!” Maria said her voice reaching a loud pitch.
“You keep pouring sugar from one container to the other
and then back again.” Michael pointed out in irritation. Her anxiety was
feeding his own. “Quit it, it's driving me insane!”
“I just...I wish you would say something!”
“Say what? What do you want me to say????”
Michael’s irritation was definitely starting to match her freak-out
level.
“I don't know what. Just say something, you know, to make
me feel calm, to make me feel like it's gonna be all right.” Maria suggested.
Michael shrugged. “Maybe it's not gonna be all right.”
“Thanks,” Maria threw her hands up in exasperation,
“that helps a ton.”
“What do you want me to do????” She was being
unreasonable. Childish.
“I don't know.”
“Shut up,
then!”
“I...I hate you!” Maria slammed the sugar dispenser
down.
“Ditto!”
Michael replied nastily.
“You know,” Maria left the counter, pacing, “all I
ask of you is just to try to make me feel better, you know? Be a guy or
whatever.” She looked at who she was talking to, and put up a hand. “Forget
it. I have obviously tried to bark up the wrong tree.” She turned to walk
away, but Michael jumped off the counter and walked over to her, grabbing her
arm and spinning her around.
He bent to kiss her, but Maria’s hand came up covering
his mouth, moving slightly away from him.
“What are you doing?”
Michael swore. Obviously, the wrong thing if she had to
ask. “Calming you down!”
Maria snorted. “Listen, buddy, that would not
calm me down.”
Michael smirked. “Get you too excited?”
“More like upset my stomach. Then I’d be forced to
defend myself and kick you in the balls.” Maria looked at him skeptically.
“You do have those, right?”
Michael released her. Hell, what was he thinking? “Yeah,
I have those.” A glint of mischief entered his eyes. “Want to see? Check
them out?”
Maria seemed to be considering the offer. “Tempting, but
no.” They both sat down to wait. Maria kept peeking over at him. “So, do you
have a girlfriend?”
“No.” Michael looked at her. “Interested?”
“Hardly.” Maria snorted under her breath. She wasn’t
into interspecies breeding. She would leave that to Liz. “So why not? Except
for the bad hair, poor hygiene, and pissy attitude, it isn’t like you’re a
total loss.”
“Thanks. My heart is bursting in the warmth of your
regard,” he said sarcastically. Looking at her he shrugged. “What’s the
use? I don’t plan to live here forever. Someday I’m going home. Mixing it up
with a girl seems like more trouble than it’s worth.”
“Most people our age are getting paired off.” Maria
said offhandedly.
“No thanks. Sophomore. High school. I have more important
concerns in my life than to obsess over some dizzy dame that wants to remake me
in her image of the perfect boyfriend.”
“Too much work?”
“Not worth the effort.” Michael repeated, shrugging. He
wasn’t what any sane human would consider a good catch, because no matter what
they did, he wasn’t staying. Michael looked at her. She was far from hideous.
“So you? You got a significant other you’re harassing into line?”
Maria snorted. “Hardly. High school boys are dogs.
They’re sweaty and all hormonal. I should know. My mom was pregnant with me at
fifteen. Least I could do was learn from her mistakes. I think I’ll wait until
I’ve grown up, got a job that I love, and make a way for myself before I start
making those kinds of mistakes.”
“Who said it would be a mistake?” Michael sneered.
“Don’t tell me I finally found a girl that doesn’t dream about love?”
“I’m a female, aren’t I? Of course I have girlish
dreams. We all do. I look at Liz and Max, and their whole stare into my eyes,
soulmatey thing, and I wonder.”
“Wonder what?”
Maria turned red. Embarrassed. Guilty. “I wonder how long
it’ll last. I don’t believe in perfect. Nothing is free. It doesn’t come
without cost.” Maria ran her hand through her hair. “I want to believe,
but…I can’t. Not after all I’ve seen with my mom. One trainwreck
relationship after another. My dad walking without a backward glance. It’s
like the world’s largest scam.”
Michael suddenly looked at her with real interest. “You
don’t believe in unconditional love?”
“Sure. I believe in my mom. I know she loves me. I have
to because she sacrificed everything to keep me. Think it was easy? Having
people pity her? Me? After my dad left it was like we were diseased. He left us
nothing. No money. And she had no skills. It took everything she had to stand up
and make it work. Make us work. I believe in my mom. That is what I believe in.
Love? There is no love. Not until after I finish high school and go to college.
That’s what real love is. It’s what I am going to do for my mom. Make her
hard work and sacrifices worth something.”
Michael quietly looked at his hands. “To survive.” He
told her the same once. Strange that they moved towards the same goals, in
different circumstances, but still the same.
Maria nodded, embarrassed that she had told him, a virtual
stranger, more than she ever told even Liz, her best friend. The Maria she let
people see was so much easier for them to accept. This Maria was harder. One
with a purpose. Not so likeable. Why expose herself to him? Searching his face,
she knew. He had exposed himself to her. It felt like quid pro quo.
“My greatest ambition, yes. To survive.” She said
simply.
Michael nodded and looked outside. He cared. For once in
his life, he actually cared that she succeeded, as much as he wanted the same.
It was something else they had in common. Who would’ve thought it?
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then
took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I would ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I -
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
