A few seconds later, Michael and Kyle were inside the studio, where the others were waiting. Max was sleeping next to Liz, who was awake and looking only at him.
A glance at the clock gave Michael a surprise. "It's only eleven thirty," he said aloud. How could that be? Had that whole thing played out in only a few hours? Michael told the others what he and Kyle had done. They could hear commotion in the town. Then sirens.
"What are they going to make of tonight?" Isabel said.
"I don't know, but there won't be anything to connect us to any of it," Michael said. That was important. The town would likely be crawling with state police tomorrow.
"Gome on, Space Boy, let's get some sleep," Maria said.
Michael got onto the floor next to her. She pulled him closer, and Michael didn't question it.
What's the point? It will probably all change tomorrow, he thought.
Maria turned around and pulled him tightly against her. Michael stared at the back of her head as he held her.
Well, it might all change tomorrow, but it was pretty good right now.
24
Someone was shaking him. Michael shrugged them off. They shook him again.
"What?!" Michael said, not even opening his eyes.
"Come on. You can walk us to work," Maria's voice said.
That opened his eyes. Maria was glaring down at him.
Of course she is, he thought.
"You have got to be kidding me," Michael said.
"We should," Max said.
Michael looked up and saw his best friend looking down at him. Max looked better. Almost like himself… almost. His eyes were a bit sunken, but he looked better than he had last night.
"We don't even know if the diner will be open, but we should not change our routine. We don't want any extra attention," Max said.
Michael nodded. Max was right. The others were all up already. Michael showered quickly, and they were all out the door in minutes.
As dead as the town had been before, it looked like Grand Central Station now. There were half a dozen police cars and people milling about everywhere on the street. It was chaos, but Max knew it was good chaos. Before, they had been watched from every window when they walked down the empty main street. Now, they were barely noticed.
Max was mildly surprised to see Bell and Sam in the diner. Bell smiled at them when they arrived.
"I'm so glad you kids are okay," she said. "I thought you were on the road again.”
"We had some more trouble with the van," Max said.
"Well, let's get you some food," Bell said.
While they were all eating, Bell told them the "incredi- ble news." The night before, someone had broken into the diner after Max and his friends had gone. Bell was unclear on the details, but thought that she and Sam had been drugged. They had woken up feeling fine and had been checked out by the ambulance crew who had come for the girls who showed up mysteriously in the Laundromat.
"One of them was Jessica," Bell said, tears in her eyes.
"She looked fine, except a little weak. It looked like she hadn't eaten in a while," Sam said, joining the conversation.
"Becky Taylor was there too. She went missing the same day that Jessica did," Bell said.
"It's a miracle," Sam said.
Then, when the food was finished, she and Sam-disap- peared back into the kitchen.
"Do you think they'll come back, Max… the aliens?" Isabel asked.
"No," Max said. He couldn't say for sure why, but it felt like it was all over for Stonewall.
"Bullies don't like it when the prey fights back," Kyle said.
Michael nodded his head. "Especially when the prey kicks their butt.”
"Looks like we'll be staying here a little longer," Liz said.
"What about the van?" Max asked Kyle.
"I'll have to check it out," Kyle said. Then he got up suddenly. "That reminds me. I have to go see Dan before…
"I'll see you guys later," he said, heading for the door.
Kyle got to the garage quickly. Someone was already inside the office. When he got closer, Kyle could see that it was Dan. He was sitting behind the desk and looked up at Kyle immediately. He was holding up the envelope Kyle had left him the night before.
"I didn't expect to see you," Dan said.
Kyle shrugged. "We were going to leave last night.”
"What stopped you?" Dan asked.
For a second, Kyle was at a loss to explain. In the end, he said simply, "The van broke down." It was the simplest explanation. And it was even partly true.
Dan stared at him for a minute.
Kyle finally said, "Look, Dan, if it's okay with you… ”
Then something was sailing through the air at Kyle. His football reflexes kicked in and he caught the keys in midair.
"Take the tow truck and bring her in. We'll take a look," Dan said. He handed him back the envelope and said, "Hang on to this. We'll settle up when you're ready to go.”
"Thanks," Kyle said.
"They found her, you know. Dawn is okay," Dan said, the emotion clear on his face.
"I heard," Kyle said. "I heard back in town.”
Heading out the door, Kyle climbed into the tow truck. Half an hour later, he had the van up on a lift.
The garage was empty, so Dan came over to look at it with him.
"Spring snapped," Dan said, pointing to the metal coil near the left front tire. "Could probably use some shocks, too. You know, you can improve the handling if you get a torsion bar. When my brother…”
Dan talked for the longest he had since Kyle had met him. He told Kyle all about his brother's van and a little about the trip they had taken.
An hour later, the first car came in. Then another. Then they were actually busy.
They would be here a little longer. He would have plenty of time to work on the van. That was good in a way; there was a lot more he wanted to do with it.
"She came back, she came back!" Jimmy announced as he raced into the diner.
Bell immediately wrapped her arms around him. "We know, Jimmy," she said.
To Liz's surprise, Sam came out from the kitchen and patted Jimmy on the back. "It's a miracle, son," he said.
Someone in the nearly full diner started clapping. Then everyone did. In seconds, the people from the town and the police who were eating were all on their feet, applauding Jessicas return.
"Can I have the day off?" Jimmy asked. "Jessica's com- ing home from the hospital," he exclaimed, tears of excite- ment running down his face.
"Of course, dear," Bell said through her own tears.
"Okay," Jimmy said.
When Jimmy finally disengaged himself from Bell, he turned to go. Then he caught Liz at the waitress station.
"I knew I remembered right. You saw her, didn't you?" he asked, his innocent eyes full of gratitude. Jimmy kept his voice down. He had secrets of his own and had obviously learned to keep them. "You helped her," he said. It wasn't a question.
Liz nodded. Jimmy wrapped his arms around her and held her silently for a minute. In that time, Liz had a flash. Jimmy and his sister were in a room. She couldn't be sure, but it felt like a new place.
There was a game on the table in front of them. Jimmy was rolling dice and smiling as his sister watched him with a smile of her own on her face.
Liz's own tears… tears of relief… came freely, and she let them come.
Throughout the day, Liz heard endless speculation about what had happened the night before. In the end, Liz knew it would remain a mystery. It was a story that had at least a partly happy ending and would keep the town talking for as long as it was there. She was amused that much of the speculation revolved around the school bus that had been found parked on Main Street.