if you haven't read any of it before catch up from the beginning at the links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, and 47. there's only 5 more parts left.
part 48 continues after the jump...
Kyle held Isabel tightly between his arms, he held her so tightly he thought he might crack her ribs. He could feel her pain intensely, and it broke his heart knowing that he couldn’t do anything more to help. That all he could do was hold her. That all he could do was love her with every fiber of his being. That all he could do was pray that it was enough to give her some comfort.
Michael moved away from Liz too stand immediately in front of the two prone bodies. He checked Valenti’s pulse; it was shallow but still there. Moving slowly to Max he checked his friend, his brother, for any sign of life: a heartbeat, an indrawn breath, something, anything. He felt Liz’s small hand lightly touch his shoulder. Breathing raggedly he asked, “Why? Why did you stop me? I was supposed to protect him. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“What if it was? He knew Michael. The other day on my balcony, it was about this. He knew.”
Isabel raised her tear-stained face from Kyle’s shoulder, “She’s right. He knew. There was no stopping him. He did it to save all of us.”
Michael stared into Isabel’s eyes, then into Liz’s. He wanted to hide from the understanding in both their gazes. He wanted to shut down. He wanted to blow stuff up. He wanted not to feel the way he was feeling. He didn’t want this loss. He looked away from them, off into the distance, where sky and sand met, blended as if they were one. He wanted to be there. Somewhere he didn’t have to be himself, where he didn’t have to feel this way, where he was just air and dust.
Liz could feel Michael’s pain; coupled with her own it felt like her heart would break. She felt like she would break. She needed him to hold her. She needed his touch. She needed to feel something besides the terrible numbness of watching Max give his life for them. She let it happen. She’d had to. She placed her hands on Michael’s face and stretched to reach his lips with hers.
The slight contact shattered them. Michael pulled Liz firmly into his embrace as he dropped to the ground. They tasted each other’s tears on their tongues. They held each other tightly. Pulling away Liz looked at Michael and whispered, “Don’t you shut down on me. Promise me.”
“Only if you promise me.”
Seated on the desert floor they felt rather than saw Valenti move. They inched away from him cautiously, unsure of whether or not to believe it was him. Kivar could have decided to back out on his promise.
Kyle didn’t know how to react when he saw his father slowly sit up and look around him. On the one hand he was relieved his dad was okay. On the other, it had been his father’s hands that killed Max Evans. How was he even supposed to begin dealing with that?
Jim sat up groggily, the last thing he remembered he was waving the kids goodbye. Now he was sitting on the desert floor while they looked at him with fear in their eyes.
“Dad?” Kyle asked, his voice wavering. Jim hadn’t heard his son call for him like that since Katherine first abandoned them. As he looked around him, he took in Max’s body lying next to him, Isabel grief-stricken in Kyle’s embrace, and Michael and Liz.
He cleared his throat, searching for his voice, “What happened here? What am I doing here?”
“You don’t know. You don’t remember?” Isabel asked, her voice wavering. She needed to be sure that he hadn’t betrayed them.
Jim didn’t answer her at first. He was struck by Max’s unnatural pose. Inching closer to his body he realized that he wasn’t breathing. Reaching out a hand to check for his pulse, he was stopped by Michael.
“Don’t bother. He’s dead.”
“What happened here?” he repeated shell-shocked. “He can’t be dead.”
Kyle looked at everyone’s faces. He knew instinctively he’d have to be the one to tell his father what had happened. That he’d be the only one who’d get the words right. He also knew that this would devastate his father, “Dad.”
“Yes, son?”
“What we thought would happen today, it turned out completely different. See Kivar was more evil and ingenious than we ever gave him credit for. He possessed you.”
“Possessed me?” Jim echoed.
“Yeah, abducted you so to speak. And he knew we wouldn’t fight you. He knew we couldn’t fight you. So Max gave him what he wanted.”
“What was that?”
“The Royal Seal, it was engraved somehow into his DNA. The transfer killed him.”
“How?”
“You don’t want to know,” Michael cut in. He wanted to spare Jim the pain of knowing that his hands had been the ones that deprived Max of life. He knew it hadn’t been Jim’s fault. He was a much a victim as Max was.
“What happened here, was it my fault?” Jim looked at their faces tormented by their grief.
Isabel pulled herself away from Kyle’s embrace and knelt down by Jim’s side. She looked into his eyes and said, “No.”
Jim nodded and hugged her to him. He knew that if Isabel could say without a doubt it wasn’t his fault. That he had to believe her. Looking to Michael he asked, “What do we do now?”
Michael stiffened. the realization that he was in charge shook him. He’d wanted it, but not at this price, never at his price. Pulling Liz even tighter towards him he said, “Let’s transport back to Max’s room. He probably left instructions.”
“Instructions? He knew?” Jim asked.
“Yeah, we just didn’t want to see it. We didn’t want to say goodbye,” Liz replied.
Jim nodded. The truth was Max had been acting oddly when he’d last seen him.
Isabel and Kyle moved to flank him at both sides. “Dad close your eyes and picture Max’s room, this might feel a little funky. But it’s the best way back.”
Liz and Michael held Max’s body between their own and said, “We’ll see you there,” before dissolving into thin air.
Part 48
Michael moved away from Liz too stand immediately in front of the two prone bodies. He checked Valenti’s pulse; it was shallow but still there. Moving slowly to Max he checked his friend, his brother, for any sign of life: a heartbeat, an indrawn breath, something, anything. He felt Liz’s small hand lightly touch his shoulder. Breathing raggedly he asked, “Why? Why did you stop me? I was supposed to protect him. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“What if it was? He knew Michael. The other day on my balcony, it was about this. He knew.”
Isabel raised her tear-stained face from Kyle’s shoulder, “She’s right. He knew. There was no stopping him. He did it to save all of us.”
Michael stared into Isabel’s eyes, then into Liz’s. He wanted to hide from the understanding in both their gazes. He wanted to shut down. He wanted to blow stuff up. He wanted not to feel the way he was feeling. He didn’t want this loss. He looked away from them, off into the distance, where sky and sand met, blended as if they were one. He wanted to be there. Somewhere he didn’t have to be himself, where he didn’t have to feel this way, where he was just air and dust.
Liz could feel Michael’s pain; coupled with her own it felt like her heart would break. She felt like she would break. She needed him to hold her. She needed his touch. She needed to feel something besides the terrible numbness of watching Max give his life for them. She let it happen. She’d had to. She placed her hands on Michael’s face and stretched to reach his lips with hers.
The slight contact shattered them. Michael pulled Liz firmly into his embrace as he dropped to the ground. They tasted each other’s tears on their tongues. They held each other tightly. Pulling away Liz looked at Michael and whispered, “Don’t you shut down on me. Promise me.”
“Only if you promise me.”
Seated on the desert floor they felt rather than saw Valenti move. They inched away from him cautiously, unsure of whether or not to believe it was him. Kivar could have decided to back out on his promise.
Kyle didn’t know how to react when he saw his father slowly sit up and look around him. On the one hand he was relieved his dad was okay. On the other, it had been his father’s hands that killed Max Evans. How was he even supposed to begin dealing with that?
Jim sat up groggily, the last thing he remembered he was waving the kids goodbye. Now he was sitting on the desert floor while they looked at him with fear in their eyes.
“Dad?” Kyle asked, his voice wavering. Jim hadn’t heard his son call for him like that since Katherine first abandoned them. As he looked around him, he took in Max’s body lying next to him, Isabel grief-stricken in Kyle’s embrace, and Michael and Liz.
He cleared his throat, searching for his voice, “What happened here? What am I doing here?”
“You don’t know. You don’t remember?” Isabel asked, her voice wavering. She needed to be sure that he hadn’t betrayed them.
Jim didn’t answer her at first. He was struck by Max’s unnatural pose. Inching closer to his body he realized that he wasn’t breathing. Reaching out a hand to check for his pulse, he was stopped by Michael.
“Don’t bother. He’s dead.”
“What happened here?” he repeated shell-shocked. “He can’t be dead.”
Kyle looked at everyone’s faces. He knew instinctively he’d have to be the one to tell his father what had happened. That he’d be the only one who’d get the words right. He also knew that this would devastate his father, “Dad.”
“Yes, son?”
“What we thought would happen today, it turned out completely different. See Kivar was more evil and ingenious than we ever gave him credit for. He possessed you.”
“Possessed me?” Jim echoed.
“Yeah, abducted you so to speak. And he knew we wouldn’t fight you. He knew we couldn’t fight you. So Max gave him what he wanted.”
“What was that?”
“The Royal Seal, it was engraved somehow into his DNA. The transfer killed him.”
“How?”
“You don’t want to know,” Michael cut in. He wanted to spare Jim the pain of knowing that his hands had been the ones that deprived Max of life. He knew it hadn’t been Jim’s fault. He was a much a victim as Max was.
“What happened here, was it my fault?” Jim looked at their faces tormented by their grief.
Isabel pulled herself away from Kyle’s embrace and knelt down by Jim’s side. She looked into his eyes and said, “No.”
Jim nodded and hugged her to him. He knew that if Isabel could say without a doubt it wasn’t his fault. That he had to believe her. Looking to Michael he asked, “What do we do now?”
Michael stiffened. the realization that he was in charge shook him. He’d wanted it, but not at this price, never at his price. Pulling Liz even tighter towards him he said, “Let’s transport back to Max’s room. He probably left instructions.”
“Instructions? He knew?” Jim asked.
“Yeah, we just didn’t want to see it. We didn’t want to say goodbye,” Liz replied.
Jim nodded. The truth was Max had been acting oddly when he’d last seen him.
Isabel and Kyle moved to flank him at both sides. “Dad close your eyes and picture Max’s room, this might feel a little funky. But it’s the best way back.”
Liz and Michael held Max’s body between their own and said, “We’ll see you there,” before dissolving into thin air.
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