He and Michael raced through the ship. Max had a sec- ond to note the rough texture of the metal walls and floor. Otherwise the alien vessel was sparse except for a few lights, panels, and screens of different shapes.
It was a real spaceship. Under different circumstances he knew that he and Liz would love to explore it. Max lurched forward and pushed all other thoughts from his head. He knew that if he didn't hurry, he would have plenty of time to study the ship from the inside.
It's not cold out, Kyle realized. The growing puddle next to him told him that much. This cold he was feeling came from inside.
On the plus side, the worst of the shivers seemed to be over. And he barely felt the hole in his abdomen that was causing all his trouble. He had stopped pressing on his wound, not because he didn't care anymore, but because his hands would no longer obey his commands.
In the beginning, he had heard noises and seen flashes of light. That was when he had still been able to lift his head.
There had been one great moment, when he had seen a bright ball of something strike the ship and rock it hard. It had looked like Michael's work. Max and Michael had hurt them. Good, he thought. Kyle had always had a problem with bullies, and he sensed that these creatures were the worst kind. Whatever their motives, whatever their reasons for coming trillions and trillions of miles, they were just bullies… like the ones he had seen growing up. But some- times bullies picked on the wrong kid and got a surprise. When he heard a loud rumble coming from the ship, he decided that his friends were giving him that surprise.
He would have smiled if the effort had not been too great.
He thought of his dad. He wished he could see him again, but at least he had been able to say good-bye. It was more than he had been able to have with his mother. Still, he let them both go.
Liz, Max, Maria, Michael. One by one, he let his friends go. Isabel was last and hardest, but he let her go in the end.
Other friends, other times. Girls he had known. Dawn, who had liked him and had smelled very nice. Vicki Delaney, with whom he had spent an evening in the back of a pickup.
He let them all go.
His world became very simple and very small. He had thought the Middle Path was difficult to walk, that it would take great effort for him to find it. But now he knew it was as easy as letting go. In the end, there was only his breathing. He realized he probably should have stopped making he effort, but old habits…
In the end, life was astonishingly simple.
Small breaths. In. Out.
Soon, he knew he would have to let that go too.
23
Liz felt her strength come back as she watched the alien ship. Max had healed her, but she still felt weak.
As the minutes ticked by, she felt her heart thundering in her chest. I'm sorry about your friend, Jimmy had said.
Was it Max whom Jimmy had seen? Was her vision coming true, just earlier than she had expected? She had seen Max fight. He had been brave and had stood strong… and he had died. Maybe her vision had become mixed with her dream. Maybe she had just seen this moment.
And I sent him back inside, Liz thought.
The ship shuddered a few times, and there were noises from within. Could he already be…? No, when he had died before, she had felt it. If anything happened to him now, she knew she would feel it. That told her he was still alive, but for how long? The ship shook again… no, it didn't shake; it moved.
Liz was on her feet, blood suddenly pounding in her veins. The ship had lifted several feet of the ground and was wobbling in the air. She had seen it move the night before. It could move quickly, and any second now, she knew it could disappear.
Then it might not matter if Max was alive or not. Either way, he would be gone. And the aliens would have him.
No! her mind screamed.
He had come for her and he and Michael had saved her.
Max had fought in the vision, though it had not been enough. He had still died. She had stood there helplessly and watched him die.
She had stood there.
Helpless.
That was what had bothered her about the dream. She had watched it all, but she was unable to help. Like now.
Except she wasn't helpless, and Max was not fighting by himself. She threw her hand forward and hit the ship hard. It was the same force that had blown out the wind- shield of the van but many, many times stronger, Liz realized.
The ship shuddered at the impact and drifted across the field for several seconds.
Then it started moving up.
Ten feet. Twenty.
Then fifty. More.
"No!" Liz screamed, reaching out her hand. She willed the ship to stop moving.
To her surprise, it did. And then it started drifting back down to the ground.
The ship made an ugly humming sound, and Liz felt her- self straining at the effort. The strain wasn't physical, but it was just as real. Then it was slipping. The ship stopped its descent maybe twenty feet from the ground.
Liz concentrated her mind and her will to the task. She managed to hold the ship.
There was movement in the door. Then on the ramp.
It was Max and Michael, she was sure. But the boys were struggling. They were each carrying something… someone. They were close, but it was still too high.
With a final burst of effort, she willed the ship down. It lurched to the ground and touched for just an instant.
But that instant was enough. Max and Michael jumped clear.
Liz lost her hold on the ship, and it shot into the air with the same speed it had moved the night before. Except this time, it was racing straight up.
She quickly lost track of the vessel in the night sky. "Max!" she screamed, racing toward him.
When she reached them, Max and Michael looked okay. In fact, they looked great. They were both carrying the weight of a person on their backs, but they were stand- ing strong. Max smiled at her, and she led the boys back to where Dawn and Bell were lying. Max and Michael put the two others next to them.
"Jessica," Liz said. "Oh, my God, you found her." Liz felt tears streaming down her face as she threw her arms around Max.
"Turns out they're only tough when they're picking on girls," Michael said.
"Liz, the ship was moving. It was leaving. Did you…?" Max said.
Liz nodded.
"Remind me not to make you mad, Parker," Max said, and kissed her.
"I guess jimmy was wrong," Michael said.
I'm sorry about your friend.
Thank God, Liz thought.
"The others?" Liz said.
"Maria and Isabel are fine, they're back at the diner," Michael said.
"Kyle was with us, but…," Max said.
"He got into it with one of the aliens, but Kyle got him. He got banged up but said he was okay," Michael said.
Liz felt her stomach fall. There was something wrong, she could feel it. "Kyle!" she shouted.
Nothing.
Then Liz and Michael repeated it, calling for their friend.
"Come on," Max said, running with Michael right behind him. Liz followed for a few seconds, then she saw the figure lying on the ground.
"Kyle," Max shouted.
Kyle didn't respond. In fact, he wasn't moving at all.
As Liz got closer she saw the dark pool on the ground next to him. His hands were resting on his stomach, and he was completely still.
Max's hands were glowing as he leaped the last few feet to their friend. Then he was on he knees.
"Oh my God," Liz said. "No, please.”
Kyle was still. His chest was not moving…
Max touched Kyle with one hand on his head and one on his stomach. Both hands were glowing brightly.
He was standing strong. Max was fighting for Kyle. It was costing Max something, Liz realized. He was fighting with everything he had. The pool around Kyle was starting to disappear, but the effort was etched across Max's face.