Prologue
September 2, 2001
I’m
Michael Guerin and five days ago, I died. God,
I sound like Liz. Liz…I miss her
so much. I can’t believe she did
this to us, to Max. Then again, Max
turned around and did the same thing. The
boy just couldn’t live without her. I
don’t know how we’re supposed to go on without them.
Maria has completely lost it. All
she does is drink. Kyle mediates
all day long and Iz, well, she just wanders around in a daze.
What bugs me is that they don’t seem to realize that I’m affected
too. When Liz killed herself, the
world grew a little bleaker. But
when Max copied her, the light just went out.
I died too.
Max
was my best friend, no matter how much I fought with him.
I loved him like a brother and would have done anything for him. And Liz, she was really growing on me. I’m still not sure what made her snap. All I know is that she walked out of my apartment one night
to go home and get something, but never returned.
We all got worried and went over to her apartment, only to find her in
her bedroom, dead. She had slit her
wrists. God, there was so much
blood. We tried our hardest to
bring her back, but there was no use. We
were all destroyed and went home after talking to Valenti and Hansen.
In our grief, I guess nobody thought to stay with Max.
Maria and I went over the next morning with Kyle to check up on Max and
Iz. When Max wouldn’t open his door, I opened it and found that
he had blown his brains out while cradling a picture of Liz in his free arm.
The
joint funeral was the worst day of my life.
I thought it would never end. This
has given me two missions. One is
that I need to protect Maria, Isabel and Kyle.
I can’t lose them. Without
Maria, Kyle and Isabel, I’d have nothing.
The other is that I need to discover what happened to Liz. I need it to maintain my sanity.
God help me.
Part 1
God, its my first day back at school since it happened.
It feels so weird being here without them, so wrong.
We’re all wearing black. That’s the only color we wear anymore. Kyle and I are wearing black jeans with black button down
shirts; Maria is wearing black sweat pants, a black spaghetti strap top, and a
black hoodie; and Izzy is wearing a black skirt and black shirt.
We all look like hell and everyone at school is just too nice to say
anything about it.
Yeah
right. Everyone has been whispering about us all day.
Like they need to whisper. We
know exactly what they’re saying. “Look,
it’s the cult.”, “Wow, first
Alex, then Tess and now Max and Liz. I’d
hate to be part of that group.”, and “Jeez,
everyone in their group is dying. They’re such freaks.”
Those are my personal favorites. Of
course, there is some sympathy, but there’s mostly morbid curiosity.
I’ll
tell you who I’d like to add to the dead list; that damn Pam Troy. Right now,
she’s walking in my direction. I just know she’s going to say something to
piss me off.
“Hi,
Michael,” she drawls sweetly. A
little too sweetly.
“What
do you want, Pam?” I ask, not at all hiding my annoyance.
“I
just wanted to see how you’re doing.”
“Well,
Pam, three of my friends have died within the last five months.
All three of them were declared a suicide. How the fuck do you think I feel, you heartless bitch?”
Well,
that did it. Pam’s eyes widened
in shock and now she’s walking off, muttering about damn cult people.
Whatever, I don’t care. I
turn around to go to the parking lot and that’s when I see her.
Liz. What the fuck? I blink
a few times and look back in that direction.
She’s gone. I hate it when
I see things.
Shift to Kyle POV
“What the fuck?” I mumble aloud.
Liz. I just saw Liz. Buddha, I’m seeing things again.
Just last week I swear I saw Max outside of my house.
Really. I was driving up the
street and I could have sworn he was peeking inside the living room window.
When I got closer, he just disappeared into thin air.
Literally.
“Hey, Kyle,” Isabel says softly.
I look at her and give her a small smile.
She’s been so quiet lately. I
think she blames herself for not being there to help Max. She couldn’t have stopped him, no one could.
That’s why I owe it to her to find out why Liz really killed herself so
she’ll stop blaming herself for Liz’s death too.
By Buddha, I will find out, even if it kills me.
Part 2
Isabel
POV
I wonder what's up with Kyle. I mean,
besides Max and Liz's deaths. He looks like he saw a ghost. Weird.
Oh shit, there's Pam Troy. I so
do not want to talk to that bitch, or anyone else who's been spreading rumors
for that matter.
"Isabel! Wait up!" she
calls.
"Fuck off, bitch," I
mutter.
I doubt she heard me because I said
it quietly. Everything I saw is quiet now. Why? Maybe my constant yelling is
what drove Liz over the edge.
"Iz! I told ya to wait,"
she says as she reaches Kyle and me.
"Go away, Pam. Just leave me
alone," I hiss menacingly.
She narrows her eyes and stalks off.
"Good work, Izzy," Kyle
tries to say lightly.
Keyword: tries.
Oh God, there's a Jeep. A black Jeep!
I have to get out of here. I need to go home. No! Not home, that's where Max
died. The Crashdown...no, Liz died there. Can't go to Kyle's because Tess used
to live there. Maria's place is out because she's turned it into a Max, Alex and
Liz shrine. Very disturbing. I don't want to go to Michael's because it’s also
full of stuff on the three of them. God, is there nowhere I can go?!
"Isabel. Are you okay?"
Kyle asks.
That's when I realize that I'm crying
again.
"Let's get out of here."
" Okay. Where do you want
to go?"
"Anywhere but here." Pause.
"San Antonio."
"San Antonio? Any particular
reason why?"
"I just feel like I should go
there. I don't know why," I mumble.
Kyle shrugs and we get into his
Mustang and drive off. San Antonio, here I come.
**********************************************
Maria POV
"Sure, I'll tell Michael. Why
are you going to San Antonio?" I ask in my slurred voice.
"Isabel says that she feels she
has to go there. Whatever that's supposed to mean. How are you holding up?"
Kyle asks.
I stare at the phone with slight
amusement. How the hell can he ask me that?
"I'm doing okay." I am so
lying.
"Good. Listen sweetie, I'll talk
to you later. Don't forget to tell Michael."
"Okay, you two take care. We
love you guys."
That wasn't a lie.
"We love you guys, too.
Bye"
"Bye," I say and hang up
the phone.
I turn back to the bottle of whiskey
on Michael's counter.
"Now," I mutter,
"where were we?"
This has to be the fifth bottle I've
finished off in the past four days. I think its starting to piss off/worry
Michael, but ya know what? I don't give a fuck. It makes me feel better and I
can get my mind out of its state of utter despair.
I take another swig and look around
the apartment. Wow, that knife on the counter is really shiny. I wonder
what it felt like on Liz's skin. I wonder what it would feel like on mine. I
walk into the kitchen and pick the blade up. If I cut myself, I realize, the
pain would be gone and I could see Max, Liz and Alex again. That would leave
Michael, though. I frown at this, but smile again when I realize that he would
probably kill himself too. On that happy note, I pick up the knife and bring it
to my wrist. This is when Michael decides to arrive. He sees me and immediately
tears up.
"Maria, what are you
doing?" he asks softly.
"Taking the pain away," I
say like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.
"What about me, Maria? I would
die if you died. I'm not ready to die. Please, don't do this," he begs.
"Do you promise to make it
better?"
"Yes, I swear. Just put the
knife down."
He looks so scared and broken that I
have no choice but to put it down. As soon as it’s out of my hands, Michael
has me in a suffocating embrace.
"Don't ever do that to me
again!" he whispers.
"I won't. Oh, Kyle and Isabel
are gone." So its not the best time to mention it. Sue me.
He pulls away enough to look me in
the eye.
"What do you mean 'gone'?"
Normally I think he'd be a bit more
upset, but I think he's trying not to send me over the edge.
"They went to San Antonio."
"Why?"
"Iz felt compelled to go."
Michael is silent for moments and
then says, "Fine. We're going too."
"We are? Whatever. I'll go
pack."
My clothes are now at Michael's, much
to my mother's dismay.
We load all of our stuff into the
Jetta and Michael then pulls up in front of the Crashdown. I start to
hyperventilate.
"What are we doing here?" I
shriek.
"Calm down. I just need to get
something. Wait here," Michael says.
He climbs up the fire escape and
disappears over the side. I take this opportunity to dig through my bag.
"Hello Mr. Daniels!" I
exclaim as I locate my favorite drink.
Jack Daniels is my friend.
**********************************************
Michael POV
Oh. My. God. Maria almost killed
herself. I can't believe I was stupid enough to leave her alone all day. Jesus
Christ! I know I would have followed suit if she had succeeded. Where would that
have left Kyle and Isabel?
I calm down when I reach the balcony.
Liz's balcony. I shudder as my eyes drift over her window. She died in there.
Shaking my head, I return to my task. Where is her journal? I run my hand along
the bricks until I find a loose one. I take the journal out and cradle it with
my left arm as I climb back down to the street. Before I get into the car,
lightning flashes and is followed by a loud crash of thunder. I look up at the
ominous dark clouds. I feel this bad vibe and can't help but think 'something
wicked this way comes.'
**********************************************
San Antonio, Tx
"Is that her?" a girl asks,
pointing at the petite red head across the street.
The boy driving the Suburban smiles
and nods.
"Yeah, that's her."
The other boy in the back seat leans
forward.
"She's a babe. A complete hottie,
really."
"Ow!" he exclaims as the
driver hits him.
Their female companion laughs.
"Better watch yourself or you're
gonna get your ass kicked!"
She turns back to the driver and
notices his frown.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm just wondering what she and
her friends are fighting about. They know about her, remember?"
"They're probably fighting over
that little stunt that those two pulled today," says the other boy.
"What stunt?"
"Well, Jennifer told her
boyfriend, Jon, Cindy told her boyfriend, Ian, and they both told Lisa and her
boyfriend, Bill, about Alexis and the others. Considering how short her temper
is and what she's capable of , they're lucky that Alexis didn't kill them!"
The driver snorts.
"That's for sure. She's
dangerous when pissed."
"Look! She's leaving," the
girl says.
"Whoa, she's really pissed. God
help those humans," the driver mutters as he starts to follow her red Jeep.
**********************************************
Lex POV
"Lex, wait! You can't just walk
away. We're all in this together," Jennifer Paxton calls to her so-called
best friend.
I whirl around and narrow my green
eyes at her.
"In this together?" I
repeat incredulously. "I don't think so. You screwed me over so you can
deal with this mess yourselves."
"Lex-" my other 'best
friend' Cindy Essary starts to say.
I silence her with a glare.
"I don't want to hear it. From
now on, stay the fuck away from Serena, Zac, Danny and me. Stay away or I will
kill you. That's a promise."
That said, I turn around and hop into
my red Jeep Wrangler. As I drive away I shoot them the finger and speed away
from the high school.
"Bitches," I mutter under
my breath.
I can't believe they had the nerve o
tell their boyfriends, Lisa and Lisa's boyfriend about us. You just don't betray
your friends like that. I mean, if they told me that they were vampires or
something I wouldn't go around telling people. I guess that's what makes me an
alien; I have a conscience.
At least Lisa, Jon, Ian and Bill
didn't freak. I would hate to have to kill another person. Seriously, I'm not
heartless. Killing Tess, Nicholas and Debbie was the hardest thing I ever had to
do. I know it was to protect the Royal four and all, but it doesn't change the
fact that I took the lives of three people. Oh well, I need to get used to it.
The four of us will protect our siblings no matter what the cost. When I lost
Zan and Lonnie last time, it nearly killed me. I know it devastated Danny to
lose Ava, and Serena and Zac lost it when Rath died. Their deaths were what made
us vulnerable to Khivar and we can't let that happen again.
Oh, wow. I've reached work. I get out
of the car and walk into Clothestime, the store I work at.
"Alexis, you're late. Again,"
whines Lynn, my obnoxious coworker.
I swear, if I have to work with her
all year, sophomore year will suck even more than it already does.
"Bite me, Lynn," I snap as
I walk into the bathroom.
Great, I look like crap. My long
auburn hair is frizzy, my dark green eyes are red and angry looking, and my
pale, freckled skin is all splotchy. At least my clothes look good. I'm wearing
my almost knee length black boots, black micromini leather skirt, white
camisole, and black duster. Too cute.
I sigh, touch up my makeup, and make
my way back to the counter.
Lynn glares at me.
"I don't see why you think
you're so special. You're normal, just like everyone else who works here. You
can't be late all the time."
I stifle a giggle and nod absently.
Normal, ha! My name is Alexis Zana Johnson, I'm a sixteen year old sophomore at
Alamo Heights High School, and I am anything but normal.
This
is my December
This is my time of the year
This is my December
This is all so clear
This is my December
This is my snow covered home
This is my December
This is me alone
And
I just wish that I didn't feel like there was something I missed
And I take back all the things I said to make you feel like that
And I just wish that I didn't feel like there was something I missed
And I take back all the things I said to you
And
I’d give it all away
Just to have somewhere to go to
Give it all away
To have someone to come home to
This
is my December
These are my snow covered dreams
This is me pretending
This is all I need
Lex POV
Thank God! Work is finally over. I
was ready to kill Lynn. Obnoxious
bitch. Now in a better mood, I skip
merrily to my car. Yes, I skip.
Got a problem with that? Didn’t
think so. Anyway, my skipping is cut short when Jon Williams pulls up
in front of me.
I glare. Didn’t I just
tell his girlfriend that they were to stay away from me? Idiots.
“What do you want?” I ask with just a touch more hostility than
normal.
“Lex, just come with me to Danny’s,” he says.
“Why?” I ask warily.
“Something’s happened.”
My blood goes cold.
“What?”
“I’ll tell you when we get there.
C’mon,” Jon pleads.
I narrow my eyes and grab his arm. I
form a connection and break away as soon as I find what I’m looking for.
“No!” I scream, backing away from him.
Jon gets out of his BMW.
“Are you okay, Lex?”
I stare at him incredulously.
“Yeah, sure. I mean,
Khivar killing my parents and Serena and Zac’s parents is just an everyday
thing!” I shriek hysterically.
Jon sighs.
“I’m sorry. Zac wanted
to break the news to you. Khivar
also left this on your bed.”
I take the envelope and what I read turns my cold blood to ice.
Queen Alexisana,
Greetings
from Earth! You really didn’t think I’d let you get away with killing my
three best people, did you? You know, I think I’ll enjoy killing your family
even more this time. Maybe you’ll
get to watch, if you’re a good girl and don’t kill yourself like last time.
Let the games begin, your majesty. This
should be fun.
~Khivar~
I close my eyes and stand there numbly for a moment.
Then I run to my Jeep and floor it.
Jon stands there in shock.
As I speed along the highway my thoughts are cluttered.
I can’t think! I need to think! God, what am I going to do? Tears are
running down my face and my vision is blurry so I pull off to the side.
I collapse against the steering wheel with racking sobs.
I can’t believe my parents are dead.
It’s all my fault. If it
weren’t for me, Khivar would never have killed them.
Khivar. This is when my
anger and hatred sets in. I sober
up and speed toward Danny’s. So
Khivar wants a fight, huh? He just scored himself a fucking war. Bring it on.
Michael
POV
This trip is going to be the end of me.
Do you have any idea what driving from Roswell, NM, to San Antonio, TX,
with Maria DeLuca is like?! Its hell. Seriously,
she’s had almost an entire bottle of whiskey and insists on listening to these
really depressing songs. Wow,
another one is starting.
Why
does the sun go on shining?
Why does the sea rush to shore?
Don't they know it's the end of the world?
If you don't love me anymore.
Why
do the birds go on singing?
Why do the stars glow above?
Don't they know it's the end of the world?
It ended when I lost your love.
I
wake up in the morning and I wonder.
Why everything is the same as it was.
And I can't understand,
No I can't understand Why life goes on the way it does.
Before the song is over, Maria starts to scream.
“Change the station! I can’t listen to the rest of that song!”
“Okay…”
I change it to another station and what do ya know, another sad song is
playing.
Come
to me now
And lay your hands over me
Even if it's a lie
Say it will be alright
And I shall believe
I'm broken in two
And I know you're on to me
That I only come home
When I'm so all alone
But I do believe
That not everything is gonna be the way
You think it ought to be
It seems like every time I try to make it right
It all comes down on me
Please say honestly you won't give up on me
And I shall believe
And I shall believe
“No,
Jesus! Change it!” Maria shrieks.
“Okay,
how’s this?”
“Much
better.”
Don't
call me, don't write, don't show up in the middle of the night
you know that we needed some time and space to breathe in
I still re-call the words you said to me
It's what you did not say that set me free
Now how can I find peace of mind
when you keep coming back again
It's not okay for you to play this game of see-saw with my head
Now it hurts too much, and it hits too hard
An I wont play this part
So now I say the things I want to
say
Sometimes it's better letting go this way
I'll always know, down in my soul
We really had so far to go
I've given all I had to give and now
it's time for me to live, and I won't look back
and I won't regret, though it hurts like hell,
Someday I will forget
It's
funny how we seem to re-appear
I never thought I'd see this soul disappear
And this is letting go, this is letting go, and this is letting go, this is
letting go
Don't call me, Don't write, Don't show up in the middle of the night
you know that we needed some time and space to breathe
Don't call me, Don't write, don't show up in the middle of the night
to say that you've been thinking, coz I know it's just the drink in you
As
the song ends, I turn to stare at my girlfriend.
“How
is that better? It’s just as depressing as the last two.”
“Those
two reminded me of Liz, that’s why,” she states simply.
“Oh.”
I know there’s more to it, but I know I shouldn’t push. It would just upset Maria and Lord knows what she’ll do when she’s upset. I sigh and look at the clock. Great, five more hours until we reach San Antonio. Why do I have a really bad feeling about this?
Part 4
Earth year: 1946 Antar
year: 2020 Location: Zane, Antar
(capital)
6
months after the deaths of the Royal Four
Queen Alexisana runs down a long corridor. She stops and looks over her shoulder. Seeing no one she waves her hand over a panel and a door opens up. She steps through the door and closes it.
Zacariahs, Serena, Daniel and Via all stand to greet her.
Zacariahs immediately takes his place beside Alexisana.
Via studies her daughter and queen.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
Alexisana shakes her head and draws a breath.
“Khivar is in the palace. He
found out about our plans for Zan and the others.
I need to send them to Earth, now.”
Zacariahs shook his head.
“No way. You still don’t
have all of your strength back from that fight you had with Latessa last week.
There’s no way you’ll have enough power to send them without totally
draining yourself,” he says, his eyes full of concern.
Alexisana manages a weak smile.
“I know, but it’s our only shot.
I’ll just need all of you to take care of everything after I send them.
It will take a lot out of me, but I’ll be fine.”
“Zanar and Vilandra would have been proud of their little sister.
You’re an excellent Queen, Lex,” says Via, her voice full of emotion.
“Thank you, Mother.”
Alexisana turns to her friends who have yet to speak.
“Daniel, Serena? Are you two okay?”
The young husband and wife smile weakly.
“Yeah. Its just that today
Ava would have turned 23,” Daniel says softly.
“I know. I turn 16
tomorrow, remember?” Alexisana replies.
Serena snorts.
“What a time to be celebrating a birthday,” she mumbles.
Alexisana sighs and turns to the portrait on the way.
Pictured left to right are the Royal Eight: Prince Daniel and his sister,
Queen Drava; King Zanar and his sisters, Princess Vilandra and Princess
Alexisana; and Prince Zacariahs and his siblings, Prince Arthur and Princess
Serena.
Arthur. Alexisana chuckles a
bit. He always hated that name, but
no one knew how he had come up with Rath. He
always an oddball.
Touching the picture, Alexisana murmurs, “Someday, we’ll all be
together again.”
Zac
POV
“Where the hell are they?” I wonder out loud.
Jon went to get Lex 45 minutes ago.
They should have been back by now! I
continue to pace the floor and attempt to connect with Lex again. Finally! I have some success.
As soon as I’m in, I’m hit with a wall of burning rage.
“Uh-oh. Lex knows.”
“What?” Danny asks absently.
“Lex knows about what Khivar did and she’s way beyond pissed,” I
groan.
“Naw, really? I thought she’d be fucking high as a kite,” Serena
mutters.
“Look, smartass, you are not helping.
I know this is hard on you, but it’s hard on all of us too. Jesus, you act more like Rath everyday.”
My sister’s stormy gray eyes grow violent.
“What did you say?” she hisses, twirling her dark hair tight around
her finger. She always does that
when she’s mad.
“You heard me.”
“Don’t you ever compare me to Rath.
We’re nothing alike. I
mean, he abandoned us, Zacariahs.”
Now my gray eyes grow stormy.
“No he didn’t! How dare you say that.
He gave up his life to save Lex last time.
How is that abandoning us?”
“Because he didn’t love us enough to live.
He loved Alexisana more than us. He
always did.”
What the hell is her problem?
“That’s bullshit and you fucking know it!” I growl.
This is when Lex decides to grace us with her presence. I look at her and see how destroyed she is.
She looks exactly like she did after she found Zan and Lonnie’s bodies
in our other lives. Oh God, she’s gonna go after Khivar. All hell is going to break loose now, I just know it.
Lex
POV
As Zac stands there staring at me, I take time to study his appearance.
His beautiful gray eyes are cloudy and don’t have their usual spark,
his face is pale, and his chocolate hair is all messed up.
He looks like a lost child, just like when Rath died.
He opens his arms and I don’t hesitate to fly into them.
“Zac, what are we going to do?” I cry into his shoulder.
He rocks me gently and whispers, “I don’t know yet.
We’ll think of something.”
Before I can respond, I feel something.
Could it be? I look up and lock eyes with Danny.
He nods slowly and I know I’m right.
Almost as one, Danny and I run to the door and fling it open.
I look at the three people in front of me and smile.
“You’re here,” I whisper.
Things are looking up, but I’m still going to kill Khivar, believe me.