The
Balance…..
“God, this day sucks. Table two says their bacon's not
crisp enough. Isn't anybody ever satisfied?” Maria asked making a face at the
ultra perky Liz. She looked over at the door as more customers entered. “Well,
if it isn't Prince Charming and alien Enforcer with bad hair.”
Max and Michael sat down at their usual booth, and Maria
moaned. Her station, of course it was. Like she didn’t have enough to do
already. The spaceboy would no doubt want to yak her ear off.
“Hey,” Michael said, noticing Maria, “do we have to
eat here?” Damn. She would no doubt think they shared a special connection,
and try to get all touchy feely with him.
Max grabbed the menu. “I'm, uh, really in the mood for a
piece of Men in Black-berry pie.” Max smiled. “Reminds you of something,
don't it?”
“Compared to nuclear winter, no.” Michael watched the
girls out the corner of his eye. Small talk. Damn, she would expect friendly
small talk. How did he keep getting into these situations? They had stayed out
real late, actually into early morning, and he had to push her fat ass into her
bedroom via the window. Okay, so her ass wasn’t really fat, but his hands
seemed to find enough there…to shove.
“What are you doing?” Maria asked.
Liz smiled filling a tall glass. “Max likes cherry cola.
What does Michael like?”
“Cherry cola with arsenic?” Maria shrugged. Hell, how
the heck was she supposed to know?
“Can we please leave? All right? I'll buy you a whole one
at the House of Pies.” Michael suggested ignoring the slight begging sound to
his voice.
Max frowned. “What's your problem, Michael?”
Michael made a face. “Maria.”
“Maria? I hadn’t realized you two were…” Max was
lost for words. “I, um…why don’t you want to see her?”
Michael rolled his eyes. “We sort of left the Rave before
the cops showed up, and…”
“Together?” Max’s voice wasn’t in any way
flattering.
“Technically…yes.” Michael quickly explained before
Max got the wrong idea. “We hit this place with live music since the Rave was
dead. It was nothing. Just tunes.”
“So what’s the problem?”
Michael leaned on the table. “She might have gotten the
wrong idea, and you know, think it means we’re more…”
“More?”
God! How dense could one person be? “You
know…friends.”
Max nodded biting back his amusement. “Friends. Yeah, I
can see where that would be uncomfortable.”
“Exactly. Let’s go.”
“So you’re not interested in being her friend?”
“Look, I don't...I'm not sure. I mean, it's confusing. I
don’t want her getting all mushy and whatever over me.”
Liz put a large glass in front of Max, smiling big. Maria
behind her rolled her eyes. “Cherry cola. On the house.”
Maria slammed Michael’s down in front of him. “Yours is
$1.25.”
“Guess it's not really a problem, is it?” Michael said
to Max. He should be relieved, but he wasn’t. Getting up to leave, he spilled
his glass of cola over the table. Max and Michael's books dropped to the floor,
and Michael bent to pick up Max's notebook. Pulling out a sheet of paper, he
stared at the hieroglyphic symbols from River Dog's cave drawn on it.
“What's this?”
Max looked around anxiously. “Put that away.”
“No, I know this. This is from...” Michael paused,
looking at Max.
“Not here, Michael.”
“What are you hiding from me, Max?”
Maria looked at the two as they faced off, biting her lip.
At that moment she decided Michael could have the cola, no charge.
~~~
In Max's room at the Evans, Michael and Isabel asked Max
about the symbols on the paper that Michael found in Max's notebook. All three
seemed drawn to it, to understand it in some form as familiar.
“I just drew it from memory. It was painted on the wall
of the cave that River Dog took us to.” Max reached out a hand to touch it.
“I don't even know if it means anything.”
Isabel frowned at the symbols, preoccupied with it. “Of
course it means something. Why else would we all recognize it? Just like the
pendant, Max. It's like our language or something. It's familiar, but I can't
seem to remember how to read it.”
“What I want to know is how long were you planning on
keeping this from us, Max?” Michael let his irritation show in his voice.
Max sighed. He knew this would happen. “Too much was
happening, Michael. Topolsky was all over us, and I couldn't risk that,” Max
paused, reversing what he was going to say, “...I just thought I should wait,
that's all.”
“No, no, no. Go ahead and finish that. You couldn't take
the risk that what? I’d go do something stupid?” Michael paced the room.
“That's not what I said.”
“Well, you didn't have to.” Michael refrained from
throwing shit.
Isabel looked one to the other. “I'm sure Max had his
reasons, Michael.”
“How did I know you would say that? Take Max’s side in
this?” Michael snorted. Yeah, same old story, and the more it changed, the
more it stayed the same. “Yeah, that he couldn't trust me with that. But he
could trust Liz.”
“She was there. I couldn't just,” Max threw his hands
up in disgust, “...why am I defending myself? This is exactly why I didn't
tell you. Because you would jump to some wild conclusion and go off and do
something crazy without even telling us. I didn't think that was particularly
wise with the FBI following us around.”
Isabel frowning at Michael’s reaction, tried to intercede
peace before it was too late. “You should have told us, Max.”
Mrs. Evans put her head into the room. “Max, honey? Liz
is here.” Both Michael and Isabel looked at Max with a question in their eyes.
“We're just,” Max quickly grabbed a clean shirt,
“...going out.”
“You're going out?” Michael asked. Of course they were.
Max’s newest confidant, everything. Nothing mattered but fucking Liz Parker.
Michael shook his head.
Isabel ignored Michael’s angry response. “What? Like on
a date?”
“No, not at all. We both just kind of felt like Chinese
food. It's no big deal.”
Gesturing to his shirt, Isabel lifted a brow. “Then why
are you changing your shirt?”
“I'm late. We'll figure out the questions we want to ask,
and then we'll go back to River Dog together, ok? Please, Michael. Leave it
alone for now.”
Michael refused to make eye contact, the anger still in his
voice. “Fine. I'll wait.”
Mrs. Evans called again. “Max!”
“We'll talk when I get back.” They watched him leave
the room.
“Do you ever wonder what else he tells Liz that he
doesn't tell us?” Michael asked.
Isabel rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. You're one to talk.
What have you been whispering in Maria's ear lately? Don’t think I haven’t
noticed how much time the two of you are spending together.”
“It’s not the same. We’re not dating, and I don’t
keep vital secrets, especially ones about our origins, with her and away from
the rest of you.” Michael looked at Isabel hard. “At least I'm smart enough
not to get attached. I can walk away from anybody if I have to.”
Isabel startled, a deep fear sinking into her stomach.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I'm not gonna let Max's mistakes keep me from
finding out what I need to know.” He headed for the window.
Isabel bit on a nail. “Oh, Michael, you promised.”
“I promise I'll be as trustworthy as Max.” He went out
the window, his fury still evident in ever line of his body.
Isabel frowned, worry creasing lines on her face. Michael
was moving further and further away from them. Max opened the door for others,
replacing him with Liz, and in response, they were losing Michael. They had
survived all those years because they had each other, and staring at the empty
window, Isabel was realizing that was no longer true. Michael meant them too. He
would leave them in a heartbeat if they refused to come, because his heart had
never lived in
~~~
“Hey.”
Maria looked up from work, frowning. “What are you doing
here? Max is on a date with Liz.”
Michael made a face. Yeah, he knew that. Now he did.
“Can’t I come here without Max?”
“Knock yourself out. It’s a free world.” Maria stared
at him again. “So, what are you doing here?”
Shaking his head, he took her arm and led her into the back
breakroom. “I need something. Your help.”
“My help?” Maria searched his face. He was angry. It
was apparent in every line of his face. “What’s going on?” Michael started
to shut down, but Maria stopped him. “Oh, do not
pull that stonewall crap on me! Not after all we’ve been through. You want my
help Pal-ly, then you need to come clean.”
“Max is lying to me. Keeping vital information from
me…information I’m responsible for finding in the first place.”
“What information?”
“The key.”
“Liz mentioned it first.”
Michael stomped around. “No, she did not! She mentioned
the man with the silver handprint. Did anyone else think we should investigate
more? No. Me. I did it. I found the key. I had the vision. I’m the one that
painted it until we could find what it meant, and got arrested for breaking into
the
“What is your problem with Liz? This isn’t envy, is
it?” Maria made a face. “What, you have a crush on her, and she’s with
Max, and…”
Michael made a disgusted sound, almost spitting. “The
last thing I am is attracted to Liz! Most of the time, I have to work my way to
keep from hating her.”
Maria stomped her foot, pissed at his angry attitude which
he seemed to focus on her best friend. “What did she ever do to you, except go
out of her way to help?”
“She told Alex!” Michael reminded Maria nastily. “She
promised not to do so!”
“She had no choice! He was going to talk to Valenti.”
Maria punched him hard on the shoulder. “She ruined her relationship with
Alex, lied to him all for you, and…”
“For Max! She didn’t lie for me. Don’t tell me that
she wouldn’t walk away in a second if Max wasn’t involved, returning to her
nice safe human life.”
“She’s trying to help! Try to be a little grateful, and
not such a whiny baby!”
“Whiny baby!” Michael said sourly. “Yeah, right.
Answer me this! What if you were searching for your father? You followed vital
clues, got closer than you’ve ever been, and Liz took that information and
pursued it with Max, cutting you out of the deal, and withheld the information
from you like you were some irresponsible child? How would you feel?”
Maria stared at him. She opened her mouth, then closed it.
Biting her lip, she admitted to herself that she’d feel betrayed. She would
feel betrayed by her best friend, and upset that her place had been taken by
Max. Sighing, she looked it from his point of view…reluctantly. “What do you
need?” Michael looked confused. “You asked for my help. What did you
need?”
“Your car.” Michael ran his hand through his hair. “I
can’t wait, and I don’t trust Max. Not anymore. I have to know myself.”
“It’s that important? You have to do it right now,
tonight?” Michael nodded. “By yourself?”
Michael seemed to pause. “You could come if you
wanted.”
“I can’t go. I’m still working.” He was serious.
Deadly serious. “If you could wait…”
“I can’t. I’ve waited all my life. I’m sick of
it.” Michael breathed in deeply. “Maria, I feel like I can barely breathe at
times, and every day is become intolerable. I honestly don’t know how much
longer I can hold out before I really do something stupid, or just pack up and
leave.” Michael said in a rush of brutal honesty. “Are you going to help me
or not?” Maria nodded to him. He could borrow the car. “Thank you,” he
said quietly, finally calming down.
“Why? Why are you going?” Alone. Did he have to do it
alone, and now? “What are you hoping to find that they haven’t?”
Michael scratched his eyebrow. “My quest. I have to
know.”
“They already went there.” What else could there be to
know?
Michael looked around and at her. “I know. Look, Maria,
don’t give me grief too. I…” Michael ran a hand through his hair. Since
the Heatwave he had been restless. Too restless to sit still. Liz and Max were
dating. It was official. He had no place. Max was busy, and Isabel had insisted
that Alex could be trusted. Now she spent all her time with him, talking.
Whatever. Max and Isabel. They weren’t interested in learning more.
Understanding.
“Go. Just be careful.” Maria handed him her keys. “I
mean it.”
“Thanks.”
Maria watched as he got in the Jetta to go to the
reservation. He was going to get into trouble on his own. Staring at the full
diner, she sighed. Nothing she could do about it. She had to work. He was on his
own.
~~~
“I'm looking for somebody named River Dog. River Dog.”
Michael to the woman loudly. He had already asked her twice.
A young Native American man came out of the dark. “She's
not deaf. She's just not answering you.” He looked Michael over. “My name's
Eddie. Who are you?”
“Well, Eddie, I'm somebody looking for River Dog.”
“He's busy,” Eddie gestured to a tent in the distance,
“...in the tent. It's a sacred ritual. You can't go in unless somebody invites
you.”
“So invite me.”
Eddie searched Michael’s face. “It's a sweat. It's a
spiritual cleansing. It's intense.”
“If that's where he is, then that's where I want to
go.”
Michael followed Eddie.
~~~
They entered the tent after removing their shoes and
shirts. There was a circle of men around a fire, and the heat was intense.
Michael could feel the prickling of sweat all along his skin, and the heat was
making it hard to breathe. His lungs felt on fire.
“Is that River Dog?” Michael asked gesturing to an
elderly man.
Eddie took a seat indicating Michael should join him.
“Don't worry. He knows you're here. No talking right now. Just follow the
chant.”
Eddie and Michael joined in the ritual, drinking water from
a bowl as it was passed in a circle to each person in the tent. River Dog met
Michael’s eyes as he threw something into the fire, causing the fire to
crackle with life. Michael shook his head, unable to handle the increased heat
as the herbal that River Dog tossed in the fire filled the air. He couldn’t
breathe as a cough moved up his throat. Eddie and Michael quickly left the tent,
both breathing hard drinking cold water. Michael kept coughing. They only lasted
a short period of time.
“I told you it was intense.”
Michael coughed hard drinking the cold water as it
alleviated the burning in his throat. “What the hell was that?”
~~~
Maria was in the back breakroom when Michael came through
the door. She blinked twice, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.
“Oh, God!” Rushing to him, she barely got under his arm
before he collapsed on her, her smaller frame taking the bulk of his weight.
Helping him to the ground, she felt his head. He was burning up, his eyes barely
focused.
“Michael?”
He shook his head. “Max...,” was all he said.
Rushing out of the back break room, Maria spotted Isabel
and Alex eating together in a booth. “You have to come with me. It’s
Michael.”
Isabel stopped when she saw Michael on the floor. Rushing
to him, she picked his head up putting it in her lap. “Oh god, he’s burning
up.” Isabel looked at Maria. “We need Max.”
Maria nodded. “I’ll go.”
~~~
Max, Liz, and Maria arrived back at the Crashdown to see
Michael lying on the ground with his head on Isabel's lap. Isabel was stroking
Michael's forehead.
Isabel was relieved to see her brother. “Something's
wrong, Max. He's really sick.” Max joined Isabel on the floor. They fed him
water. To Maria, Michael looked a little better than when he first entered the
Crashdown. It took some time, but Michael seemed to recover enough to sit up and
regain some of his pissy attitude.
Isabel hovered over Michael, pushing more water on him.
“Here, drink some more water. It's helping.”
“I feel better.”
“Maybe he should eat, you know?” Maria suggested.
“Starve a cold, feed a fever?” Michael frowned at how everyone discussed him
like he wasn’t there.
Alex chimed in his favorite remedy. “Echinacea always
worked for me.”
Isabel tried to feel his head, but Michael eluded her. “I
said I was better, all right? I feel perfectly fine.”
Isabel pulled her hand back, unhappy with his response.
“You were burning up a minute ago, Michael.”
“Well, whatever it was, it's over now, ok? I just want to
go home.”
Max looked at Liz. “I'll drive you.”
Michael saw the look, and he let bitterness enter his
voice. “I wouldn't want to ruin your date.”
Isabel stood up, not wanting to deal with fight between
Michael and Max on top of everything else. “We're leaving now. Alex, you need
a ride?”
Alex nodded making a face. “What I really need is a
sedative.” Damn, how much could one young man take? Aliens? Sick aliens, and
Isabel Evans. Whoosh. He was so out of his comfort zone.
As everyone started to leave, Max and Liz silently stared
at each other for a moment. Isabel saw the exchange and her irritation made her
voice brusque.
“Max?” One last look, and Max turned to leave. Michael
looked at his gang of babysitters, and unable to take any more henpecking or
mothering, his eyes met Maria’s pleading.
She nodded. He still had her keys. Michael looked at the
others. “Forget it. I’ve got a way home.” He exited quickly out the door
before they could stop him. The others stood silently for a moment, but having
already said goodnight, they left through the front.
Maria looked at Liz after the door closed and they were
alone. She wanted to hear about Liz’s first real date with Max, but her eyes
kept falling on the door that Michael used.
“Um, Liz…now that you’re home, could you finish
closing? I’ve got something I need to do.”
Maria didn’t wait for a response. She was out the door.
She needed to track down a sick Michael and her car.
“Yeah…sure.” Liz said to the empty room. Frowning.
She had expected a girl’s night, one on one session.
~~~
Finding Michael wasn’t as hard as she feared. He was in
the passenger seat of her car waiting for her.
Getting in, she looked around to make sure the others
hadn’t doubled back. They didn’t talk as she put the car in gear. Michael
sat with his head back, his eyes closed so he never noticed her bypassing the
turnoff to his trailer park.
“C’mon.” Maria said getting out of the car.
Michael looked around. “This isn’t home.”
“It is for me. Move your ass, or I’ll leave you to
sleep it off in the car.”
“What am I doing here?”
“Irritating me. Being a big sweaty inconvenience.”
“I didn’t ask…”
Maria dragged his wasted ass out of the car. “Yes, you
did. Earlier. C’mon. You’ve got a choice. Either you can bed down on my
floor so I can keep an eye on you, or you can go sleep on Max’s. Either or.
You decide.”
“I don’t need…”
Maria stopped. “You were really sick. I noticed you
didn’t tell them that you went to River Dog. Do I need to do that for you?”
“Do I have to sleep on the floor?” Michael quickly
capitulated.
“My mom’s out of town, but yep, I want you close in
case you need something. Lucky you, I have a nice mat you can use which is
better than the floor.”
“We could share,” suggested Michael.
“Your gross sweaty body next to mine?” Maria shriveled
up her nose. “Sorry, if you want that kind of care, I’ll give Isabel a call.
She can mother you.”
Michael stopped on his way to the house. She wasn’t
helping him out of pity. She wasn’t treating him like a kid. But, she wasn’t
ignoring him either. Her help was tolerable.
“The floor will be fine.”
~~~
Max entered the Crashdown diner from the rear. His face was
concerned, as he searched the restaurant for Liz. Coming from the
“Liz.”
Liz looked at Maria shrugging. “Max, um, what are you
doing here?”
Max looked at the other workers, and then at Liz. “We
came through the back. We need your help.”
“Maria.” Liz called as they followed Max into the back
breakroom.
“Michael.” Maria went to him immediately, her concern
evident. “Is he ok?”
“Does he look ok to you?” Isabel asked with a bite to
her voice, hysteria on the edge.
“What's wrong with him?” Maria ignored her, recognizing
fear. It was hard to miss. It was welling up in her own throat.
“How should I know? Nothing like this has ever happened
before.” Isabel’s helplessness was pushing her nerves to the breaking point.
Staring at Michael, she suddenly realized how much for granted she always took
their health, and how they would always be together, her, Max and Michael.
“We need to keep him someplace safe.” Max said. “Liz,
can we keep him here?”
Liz nodded. “Yeah, uh, but let's just take him upstairs.
It'll be safer there.”
Max reached down to pick up Michael. “I'll have to carry
him.”
“Yeah, I'll go first.” Liz led the way upstairs.
~~~
Isabel bit back a gasp as she read the thermometer. “It
only goes up to 112.”
Maria looked at Michael in concern. His fever was too high.
He was going to fry his brain or go into convulsions. “We're gonna need some
ice and towels. We need to cool him down.”
“Um, they're in the kitchen and then there's some in the
bathroom, too.” Liz’s hands were shaking as was her voice.
“Are you ok?” Max asked.
“Has this ever happened before?” Liz asked, looking at
Michael and then Max. “I mean, to you?”
“Never.” Max was interrupted from commenting when
Michael started to chant.
Isabel asked her brother, worry moving over her face at an
alarming rate. “What's he saying?”
Maria bit her lip as Max shook his head. “I don't...I
don't know. It's some kind of chant.” He sat on the edge of the bed.
“Michael, can you hear me? What are you saying? What are you trying to tell
us?” Max’s voice rose in fear. “Michael, it's me, Max. Please let me help
you.”
Michael’s eyes opened. They were opaque. He only said one
thing. “River Dog.”
~~~
Maria came into the room, happy to be away from the others.
Max and Liz had left to see River Dog, but not until after grilling Maria about
Michael’s activities from the previous night. That was what she got for
confessing. Isabel was watching over Michael, and Maria shook her head as the
other girl piled blankets on Michael.
“What are you doing?”
“Well, he's so cold, I...”
“Are you kidding? He's burning up.” Maria quickly
removed most of the blankets, smoothing a cool sheet over him. “Right before I
had the chicken pox, I had a really high fever, and my mom had to put me in an
ice bath.”
“This isn't the chicken pox, and he was fine.”
Isabel’s hackles rose at Maria taking over Michael’s care.
Alex looked in. “Knock, knock.”
Isabel glared at Maria. “I thought you said you locked
the door.”
“The key's always under the mat.” Alex frowned at
Isabel, reading her hysteria just fine. “Hey, look, everything's going fine
downstairs. I just wanted to come up...see if there's anything that I could
do.”
“Yes, there's something you could do. You can get out of
here, both of you!” Isabel said nastily. “And let me take care of Michael.
God, he needs me right now, not
strangers!”
Maria gestured for Alex to wait outside. She squared her
shoulders, and went to stand beside Isabel.
Isabel wasn’t through. “He especially doesn’t need you!”
“Me?” Maria said. “What did I do?”
“You lent him your car! You knew he went to the
Reservation, and you said nothing!”
Maria looked at the distraught girl. Sure, she needed
someone to blame, but Maria was damned if she would let the alien bitch from
hell land it on her door. “Maybe you should be asking yourself who’s really
to blame? Why did I know, and not you or Max? Maybe because no matter how nice
he asks, begs or pleads, the two of you never go to bat for him unless he’s on
death’s door?” Maria shook her head. “How can you know him for ten years
and not know that he’s hanging by a thread? How can you not know anything
about him?”
“That’s not true! You think you know…”
“No, I do know.” Maria looked down at Michael. “I
know that all he has is hope, and without it he wouldn’t be able to go on.”
Maria bit the inside of her mouth, trying to hold back the anger. “You treat
him like a second class citizen, a second class alien…and it hurts. How can
you not see the pain? What kind of friend are you anyway?”
“We’re family. He needs me. He needs us more than
he’ll ever need you.”
“What he needs is a doctor, or at the very least someone
that has actually been sick a day in their lives. Which is not you.” Maria
took a wet cloth and handed it to Isabel. “Keep changing this every few
moments. You might need to get colder water if it gets warm. I put ice in the
basin to keep it cold. Be sure to wring the cloth out, you don’t want to drown
him, or give him a chill on top of the fever.”
Maria quickly demonstrated. “I have to go downstairs
again, but I’ll be back to check on you.” Maria didn’t bother to wait or
expect a thank you. Gratitude was the least common courtesy among the alien
class.
~~~
Maria pulled the door close when she entered the room.
Isabel was still sitting at Michael’s bedside, her eyes never leaving him.
Maria handed her a plate of food and a bottle of
“Hey. You should eat.” Nodding to the plate, “Um, I
didn't know how much you like, so...”
“Thank you.” Isabel said much more subdued than before.
Maria licked her lips feeling slightly bad about before.
Isabel was scared, and she had good reason to be. “He…we’ve, um, well,
he’s become a friend.” Maria scratched her brow in a gesture that actually
belonged to Michael. “I care about him, too, you know.”
“I know you do.” Isabel said looking up at Maria.
“But Max and Michael are all I have. And if I lose them...”
“You won't.” Just to prove Maria wrong in a way that
only Michael could do, he started convulsing and slowly started chanting softly.
Maria’s voice joined Isabel’s in a new level of
hysteria. “What's happening?”
“I don't know. I don't know!” Isabel’s fear made her
voice hit a new high as she tried to subdue a convulsing Michael. “He's too
strong. He'll hurt himself. Go get Alex!” Isabel tried to hold Michael down,
as his convulsions increased. “Michael!”
~~~
Maria and Isabel worked together caring for Michael, who
was still chanting. Maria’s hands shook as she held a glass of water.
“Let's give him more water. That helped him before.”
Maria nodded, as Isabel tried to tip Michael’s head up and Maria fed him the
water.
~~~
Michael stood to find himself in a desert plain of red and
orange. Around him on the ground were laid out alien symbols drawn on the ground
in relief. He stood in the middle circling. Looking up at the sky, he could see
a constellation. He was alone, in a world foreign to him except for the symbols
that felt familiar. The light was bright and the air warm…
~~~
Maria and Isabel finally sat back and waited. There was
nothing they could do. Maria reached over and held Isabel’s hand, stopping her
from wringing them. She could no longer hold Michael’s, and there was no more
feeding him water. The room was silent, as they waited, uncertain what to do.
Maria stared at his sleeping form on the bed, her eyes
worried and afraid. The idea of him being alien never meant more, but she was
beyond that now. She knew him, and she was afraid. Maria stood up quickly when
Alex, Max and Liz entered the room.
“Thank God you're here.” Maria went to hug Liz.
Isabel looked at her brother in relief, her fear almost a
taste of metal. “Oh, my God, Max.”
Alex’s mouth opened as he stared at Michael’s body,
covered by webbing in a cocoon. “This is really happening, isn't it?”
~~~
They carried Michael in the dark over rough ground, just
outside Fraser’s Wood, to where the desert began. Carefully transporting
Michael, they carried him in a blanket serving as a makeshift stretcher, each of
them holding and edge. He was heavy.
Once the arrived at the cave that Max and Liz had found,
the one where they first met River Dog, the elderly man instructed them to put
Michael in the center of a diagram he laid out in stone. Michael was placed in
the center of a circle with five arms extending outward in spokes.
The elderly Native American looked at the group of young
adults, noting their fear and worry. They were all uncertain, but they had
traveled this far. Courage and love for the stricken young man fueled their
resolve.
“The man who lived in this cave when I was a boy was not
like us.” River Dog told them as he finished the preparations. “Some of the
elders believed he was an evil spirit, so they decided to test him. He was
invited into the sweat, just like I invited your friend. His reaction was quick
and severe. Within a minute, his eyes were white, and he developed a fever.”
“Just like Michael.” Max commented.
River Dog nodded. “Yes. Only it took the symptoms longer
to show up in your friend. That's why I dismissed him at first.” River Dog
moved around the cave looking down at Michael. “But when you told me he was
sick, I knew he was another visitor.”
“That's an interesting way to put it.” Maria said,
refraining from going to stand next to Michael, so he would not be alone.
“Well, that's what he called himself.” The man
explained. “In my language, the word is "Nasedo". So that's what I
called him.”
Isabel moved forward her interest peaked. “And you knew
Nasedo well?”
“I saved his life. After the sweat, he ran out into the
desert. And we were told not to follow him.” River Dog smiled slightly. “But
I was a boy, and I didn't listen. I found him in this cave, dying. He had to
trust me with his secret so that I could heal him.”
Max joined Isabel. “And now you'll do the same thing to
heal Michael?”
“I'll try, but I'll need the help of all of you.”
Alex looked at the others who had been in on the secret
from the beginning. “Even me?”
River Dog nodded charmed by Alex’s wonder at his own
importance, and ability to be part of this. “Healing requires energy. The more
we have, the faster we heal.” He motioned to the different positions. “Now
everyone take your place in the circle. There's a line for each of you leading
to the center.”
The large circle drawn on the ground had five lines leading
from the edge of the circle to the middle. Michael was lying in the middle with
webbing covering him from head to foot. Max, Maria, Alex, Isabel, and Liz all
walked towards a line, taking their places.
River Dog passed each a stone. “Nasedo gave me these
stones. They're from his place. And they carry an energy inside them.”
Max looked at the stone in his hand, for the first time
understanding the wonder and importance Michael felt, a connection to a place
beyond
“Wherever you are from.” River Dog finished. “He said
that his body carried the same energy that's in these stones. He called it the
balance. He said that the heat from the sweat disrupted it in some way.”
Max looked at his sister both of them holding the stone.
“How?” He couldn’t imagine how to activate the stone.
“He told me to hold the stones until my energy activated
them. And the balance would be restored.”
“And if you didn't?” Max inquired.
“He would die.”
Isabel nodded. Good enough for her. “So let's get
going.”
With everything in life, the known and the uncertain, there
were rules that govern them. River Dog looked at the group. “He warned me,
though, there was a risk.” He told them, meeting each person’s eyes slowly,
going around the circle, so they were absolutely clear. “The balance can pull
you in. It's a force that can change both your body and your mind unless you
navigate it properly. Now, clear your mind,” he handed a bowl to Max,
“...and drink from the bowl. Don't change the way you feel about your friend,
and you'll come out on the right side.”
Max looked at the liquid in the bowl before drinking.
“What is it?”
“Water.” He was informed. “Something in common with
all of us. By drinking from the same bowl, we begin the connection.” Max
nodded taking the first drink then passing it to Isabel, who passed it to Alex,
and then to Maria. Each of them drinking and passing to their right, without
hesitation. Liz was the last one to take the bowl, and she held it in her hands
hesitating to join in the healing ritual.
“You're afraid,” River Dog said coming to stand next to
Liz, “...not of the healing. Your fear runs deeper. You fear for someone else,
someone you care for a great deal.” He took the bowl from Liz. “Take a step
back. You cannot stop the flow.”
“I'm sorry.” Liz said, meeting Max’s eyes as she
stepped away. River Dog began to chant the same words that Michael had chanted
earlier. Those in the circle began to chant as well. Maria turned to stare at
Liz, stunned that she chose not to participate in the ritual. River Dog came to
stand next to her softly comforting her.
“She'll find her own path.” He told her, his eyes
holding her. “You take yours.” Maria looked at Michael, and she nodded
closing her eyes joining in the chant.
~~~
Michael stood in the other place, on the desert plain. This
time, he was in the middle of the circle with all the participants in the ritual
standing at the spokes of the wheel. Each of the participants walked towards
him. Alex first, shaking his hand. He met Maria, and their eyes held. Leaning
into each other, they kissed, pulled apart, and then kissed again. Turning, he
hugged Isabel as she kissed his cheek. Finally, facing Max, he reached out a
hand to pull him near, to hug him, when Max looked up to see Liz standing
outside the circle away from the rest.
The scene changed, and it was Max, Michael and Isabel as
they were children lost in the desert. Max and Isabel stood above Michael, who
was in a gully, Max reached out his hand. Michael hesitated, but finally took
it. The three walked away hand-in-hand as Michael woke with a start in the cave,
pulling the webbing of the cocoon off of himself.
Max helped him to stand. “You all right?”
Michael nodded looking around at the others. “I went
someplace, Max, and I saw things.”
“But you came back. For good this time.” Max said,
hoping it was true.
“Yeah, I came back.” Max quickly hugged Michael, doing
what he had missed doing in the dream plain. Isabel hugged him as well.
“Thank you, Maxwell. No more running.” Michael said
staring intensely at Maria. “No matter what.” He held out his hand to the
others. “Give me your rocks.” They each pass him the stones that River Dog
gave them, taking from Alex, Maria, Max, and Isabel, and the final one from
River Dog.
Michael walked over to the drawings on the wall, the ones
left by the alien Nasedo. He inserted stones at various places in recessed in
the wall. After inserting the final stone, Michael stepped back as the stones
slowly glowed brighter and brighter, revealing a design.
“It's a map.” Michael said. It was the constellation he
saw in the dream plain, a constellation showing the way home.
