He reached out his hand and took Maria's in his. She flinched and pulled it away, turning her head from the window. "What?" she said sharply.
Immediately, the hair on the back of his neck went up. He wanted to bark back at her. The desire to do so was reflex by now, second nature for both of them. A month ago, he would have done it without thinking, but a month ago now seemed as far away as the day he had found his way out of his pod and into the desert.
Ignoring his instinct, he simply reached out and took her hand again. This time she didn't pull it away, but she looked at him suspiciously. He slid closer and gave her a comforting smile. "It's going to be okay," he said.
"Really?" she said.
"Max will lose them. If not, I'll make sure that nothing happens to any of us," he said with confidence. "Don't worry about them, or Liz's dream. I'll keep an eye on you."
"I'm not worried," she said sharply.
For a moment, Michael had no response for that. Then, he said, "We just narrowly escaped the Special Unit who tried to assassinate us on graduation day. Barely escaped the new aliens in Stonewall. Now we're maybe an hour ahead of the Special Unit, who would love to put us in a cell and experiment on us. And you say you're not worried?"
"I can take care of myself," Maria said. Her voice was even, but Michael knew it was only from effort. She was scared… he could see it in her eyes… but he couldn't tell
exactly what she was most scared of. Was she hiding it just from him… or from herself, too?
"Well, whether you want me to or not, I'm going to take care of you. For whatever time we have left, I want to be with you," Michael said.
For a second, she didn't say anything… which was amazing for Maria. Something was going on behind her eyes, something he couldn't quite see. Then a change came over her, and she said, "Is this what this is all about?"
"What?" he said.
"Sex," she replied.
"No, I'm just saying…," Michael said.
"All the things that are going on, and all you can think about is putting the moves on me," Maria said.
"That's not it," Michael said, feeling the blood rush to his face. Why did this always happen between them? Why couldn't they seem to connect, to communicate like Max and Liz did? Why couldn't Maria understand…? "I'm just trying to tell you…," he began.
"I know what you are trying to do… that's the problem. Now why don't you just leave me alone and grow up," she said.
Michael felt his anger rise up, catching in his throat. "Why…," he began, but stopped himself from saying another word from sheer force of will. He wanted to scream in her face. He wanted to shout his frustration.
That's what Hank would do, a voice said inside his head. The voice was right, and that was one of the reasons he held his tongue. He didn't want to share anything with his former foster father, ever. So, his face burning, he slumped back into the seat and slid away from Maria, who was
turned away from him and looking out the window again. It was then that he realized the van was completely silent. Max and Liz were staring straight ahead, and everyone seemed to be holding their breath.
Of course, they heard every word, he thought. The van was big enough for everyone to fit more or less comfortably, but it wasn't big enough for privacy. No one said a word that everyone else didn't hear.
Perfect, he thought as he stared forward and concentrated on the little that he could see out the front windshield. He saw that the glow they had been following had gotten brighter. Whatever it was, they were getting closer to it.
Just then, the glow disappeared, and it was nearly pitch dark again.
5
Relax…?" Liz said. "What was that?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Maybe the power went out in town."
"Maybe," Liz said, but somehow didn't feel like that was the reason. She couldn't explain why, but she knew that wasn't it.
Then the road changed again, and they were on a paved surface. They were also going uphill. That was good. Maybe when they reached the top of the hill, they would be able to see farther. If they could spot the town, she would feel better.
Minutes later the lightning lit up the sky again, outlining a building near the top of the hill. Liz could make out only a silhouette of the building, and that for only a second. Nevertheless, she felt a chill run down her spine.
There was something odd about the building.
Then there was another flash, this one directly behind the structure, and for a moment, it was brightly illuminated. Liz recognized it instantly. "Max, stop," she said.
"What?" he replied.
"Max, you have to stop the van," Liz said sharply.
He brought the van to a stop. "What is it, Liz?" Max pressed.
Immediately, all eyes in the van were on her. She didn't waste any time. She suspected they didn't have much time to waste.
"That is the house from my… vision. We have to get out of here," she said.
Max nodded, "Any objections?" he asked.
A chorus of "no's" came from the back.
Liz turned to see that Maria looked nervous… scared, actually. Liz understood. After all, Liz's vision had been about Maria in danger. Well, maybe the vision would be useful this time. Maybe they could just slip away now and prevent the event from happening.
Turning around, Liz watched the house recede and felt relieved. She barely had time to register the thought when the sound of the engine died. Pivoting her head back around, she saw that the light on the dashboard had gone off, as had the headlights.
The van slowed down.
"Engine just died," Max said as the van slowed.
"You have got to be kidding me," Maria said from the back.
"Gas?" Michael asked, as the van came to a halt.
"We have half a tank," Max replied.
"Well, there should be nothing wrong with the van," Kyle said, his tone firm. Liz knew he had spent many hours fixing and tuning the van in Stonewall. "Just try to start it again."
Max did. The first three times, the van's starter just clicked. Then it started normally.
"See," Kyle said as the van started moving again.
Liz turned to smile at Maria and saw relief on her best friend's face. But Maria's smile died as the van stopped again.
"This is impossible," Kyle said.
Max didn't respond; he simply tried to start the van again. On the fifth attempt it started, but this time it only moved a few feet before dying. He turned to the group. "We have a problem here." Liz saw that Maria was frightened and Kyle's face was set. "When the weather clears, Kyle can take a look at it, but for now we can't stay out in the open. I think we should try for the house," Max said.