One of the two officers came back and took out a pad. "What are your names, boys?”
That was it. Kyle knew if they gave their real names, they were dead… the FBI certainly had them on some sort of wanted list by now. If they gave fake names, their false identities would fall apart as soon as the police asked for identification.
"Max," Max said. He hesitated only for a moment and said, "Max load.”
That was it. Max had thrown the dice. They had already told Dan their real first names. They couldn't tell the cops something different. Their last names, on the other hand…
"I'm Kyle Miller," Kyle said.
The officer studied them with disinterest and turned to Dan. "Do you know these boys?" he asked.
Dan said, "Yes. Kyle works for me, and they're staying in my studio out back.”
The cop didn't hesitate. He just closed his notebook and said, "Stick around. We'll question Gomer when he's feeling better. Then we may have some more questions for you boys.”
Max and Kyle nodded.
"Do you know the girl's folks?" the officer asked Dan, who nodded and gave them the address.
"I should go with you," Dan said, his voice tight. "I know her father pretty well.”
The officer nodded, and they left together.
Kyle tried not to show his relief. Less than three days into their great trip, it had almost ended with a simple, Let me see some identification, please.
When they had first arrived in Stonewall, Kyle had looked down on it for being a hick town. The sticks. Well, apparently they did things a little differently in the sticks. And that difference had just saved their lives.
19
"What now?" Maria asked when Max and Kyle got fin- ished talking.
"We can't leave," Max said. "It would be too suspicious.”
"Well, it would look bad to the cops, but the cops are not the biggest problem in this town," Michael said.
He was right, Liz knew. There were worse things than police here. Worse things even than the Special Unit.
There were rooms that weren't rooms.
And monsters.
"But in a few days we will have to get out of town and put as much distance as we can between us and these aliens," Max said.
"What about Jessica? Dawn? Who knows how many others?" Kyle said.
"I don't think we can…," Max said. He didn't allow himself to complete the thought out loud.
Liz wanted to say that it wasn't true, that they could help. They could do something, find a way. But even as she thought it, she knew it wasn't true. Max and the others would likely lose any battle they fought. She had seen it happen in her vision of the future, in her vision of a differ- ent battle.
What chance did they have against a huge ship full of monsters? But if that were true, what hope did Jessica have? What hope did Jimmy have? As if he were reading her mind, Max said, "I'm sorry, but I don't think we can fix this.”
Liz caught Isabel's eyes and saw her own feelings mir- rored there. Liz had caught glimpses of Jessica's pain, but Isabel had visited the girl's dreams.
No one spoke much for the rest of the night. They got ready for bed and took their places with minimum conversa- tion. They didn't sleep much either. Whenever Liz did close her eyes, she saw rooms that weren't rooms, and monsters.
It was a long night, but it passed and Liz and Maria had to get ready for work.
The others got ready as well. Without discussion, they headed together for the diner, where Bell was waiting for them with concern written on her face. "Are you kids all right? We heard about Dawn," she said when they entered.
"We're fine," Liz said. She was surprised to see Sam peek out from the kitchen. He didn't say anything, but he looked concerned. Bell sat them down, and they told Bell and Sam the same story they had told Dan and the police. It was true, to an extent.
"It's a shame. I hope they get the bastards before anyone else gets hurt," Sam said.
Liz realized that that was the longest sentence she had heard Sam speak since they'd arrived.
The group ate quickly, and Kyle headed off to work while Max, Isabel, and Michael got ready to paint.
"You don't have to do that today" Bell said.
"We want to," Max said. Then, to keep her from protesting, he added, "It'll keep us busy." He didn't add that it would keep them near Liz and Maria.
A few minutes later, Jimmy arrived, but he barely acknowledged them. He just took his place at the booth by the window and put his head down.
The day at the diner moved slower than it ever had before. At first Liz thought it was because of how she was feeling. Then she realized that it was because there were fewer customers… and no women. It looked like people were not going out if they could avoid it. Things had got- ten bad in Stonewall… very bad, and desperate.
Unfortunately, it looked like they weren't going to be getting better anytime soon.
Kyle got to the garage early and decided to get right to work. If he finished early, he would be able to get even more time in on the van. And it seemed important to get the van running as fast as possible.
He found that he didn't like the idea of running out on the town. People had helped them here. And now those people were scared and facing something they didn't understand.
Better that they don't, he thought.
If they knew what was really happening, they would be terrified and they would all run for their lives.
Like us.
Max was right, though, he knew. What could they do against the force they had witnessed? Even Max's powers, incredible as they were, would be no more effective than Kyle's wrench against that technology.
When he reached the garage, he was surprised to see the shop doors open already. Then something struck him about the shop doors… they were only partly open. In fact, they looked exactly as Kyle had left them the night before.
Dan had said he would lock up, but clearly he hadn't.
Kyle found his boss in the office, he head down on the desk. He was still wearing the same clothes from the night before.
Hearing the door open, Dan woke up and raised his head. His eyes looked haunted, and he looked exhausted.
He also looked like he had aged ten yeas "You okay, Dan?" Kyle asked.
Dan shrugged. "I've known Dawn's father since I was a kid. He used to hang out with my brother. Last night I told him his daughter is gone.”
"I'm sorry, Dan. I'm sorry about Dawn and about your brother," Kyle said.
His boss showed a tiny flash of surprise when Kyle mentioned his brother. "This place is named after him. Our father opened it the year he was born.”
It looked like Dan wanted to talk. Kyle was too sur- prised to move for a long moment. Then he sat down on the office couch. "Was the van out back his?" he asked slowly.
Dan nodded. "Yes, he and my dad rescued it from being junked somewhere. He did the paint job himself.”
"It looks like it was a hippie-mobile," Kyle said.
Dan actually made a slight smile at that. "I guess he and his friends were hippies. They were also good kids. Ever heard of Woodstock?”
"Well, yeah. My dad has the movie," Kyle joked. "Did you go?”
Dan smiled and shook his head. "We tried. Made it as far as Indiana before the van broke down," he said.
"1 know what that's like," Kyle said, smiling. "Too bad for you guys, though.”
Dan shook his head. "Not really. We camped out in the van for a week, me, my brother, and three of his friends. That was the best trip of my life. That summer…" He drifted off for a moment. "I was thirteen, hanging out with older kids. I had the time of my life. Tom, Dawn's father, was there.”
There was a long pause, then Dan added, "The next summer my brother was gone.”
Kyle didn't know what to say. Dan clearly wanted to talk… for the first time since Kyle had met him. But he didn't know if he should ask the obvious question. After more than a full minute of silence, Dan continued on his own.