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part 50 follows the jump...
“They deserve the truth,” Isabel said.
“No,” Michael answered automatically.
“They deserve the truth,” she repeated her words fiercely desperate.
Michael sighed, scratched his eyebrow, and turned to look out the window, “I know.”
“So we’ll tell them?” Isabel asked.
“I don’t know. Isabel, how do we know they’ll be safe?”
“We got rid of the Special Unit a year ago. And Max took care of Kivar. They deserve to know who their son was. They deserve to know why he died. Why he sacrificed himself for us.”
Michael acknowledged Isabel’s words with a nod. The Evans did deserve to know the truth. He’d been lying when he said they didn’t. But he wasn’t used to the idea of not having to look over his shoulder, of not having to fear for his life, of being able to be himself. It was frightening.
“Isabel, how do you feel about telling the Parkers?” asked Michael as he turned back to face the group of people in Max’s room.
“My parents? Why?” breathed Liz, not daring to hope for the freedom that being honest could bring.
“Because they should know Max Evans saved their daughter and that she’s different because of it. Because they need to understand all the strangeness. Because they were possessed by an evil alien from our planet too. Because they deserve the truth,” he answered.
“You’re right,” Isabel said.
“So then we’re coming out?” asked Kyle.
“Seems like. Does everyone agree?” Michael asked the group at large.
“The truth shall set you free,” Liz quoted.
Kyle replied, “My parent already knows I’m a freak, so I’m cool.”
“You know I’ve always wanted to Michael” Isabel said softly.
“If you kids want to do this, then I say go for it. I’ll be there to support you. I’m awful proud of all of you.”
“The truth it is,” Michael smiled sadly at the rest of them as he placed his hand on the walls, “You may want to call your parents Liz, tell them to come over.”
“Now?”
“Can you think of a better time?”
“No, you’re right. I guess I just thought I’d have time to figure out how to explain.”
“You’ll do fine. We all will.”
*****
Michael looked out the window when he heard a car pull into the Evans’s driveway, “It’s your parents Liz, we should all go downstairs.”
As a group they stood and walked towards the living room, Michael pausing only to take Max’s letter to his parents from the desk. He stopped for a moment at the threshold of Max’s bedroom, “I’ve got your back,” he said to the figure lying still on the bed.
It was time to face the parents.
As Michael walked into the room he could feel the intense stares from all its occupants. The Evanses and the Parkers had settled onto the sofa. Kyle and Jim stood in the corner behind the easy chair Isabel had taken a seat in. Michael seated himself next to Liz on the love seat. The Evanses looked at Isabel in confusion and Diane asked, “Honey what’s this all about? And where is your brother?”
Isabel looked at Michael who nodded at her before answering her mother, “Mom. Dad. There’s something I have to tell you. You might not believe it, but I swear it’s true. I promise this will answer all your questions.
“When you found us in the desert you saved our lives. Max and I were completely helpless, we couldn’t speak, we were just figuring out how to walk, and we were lost. We were far away from our home. What we never told you, once we learned how to speak was that we knew where our home was.“
“Sweetie, why didn’t you tell us? We would have never sent you back there.”
“Dad, we were afraid. You see our home, well, it’s not around here. It’s a planet called Antar in the Whirlwind Galaxy, several light years away from Earth.”
“Isabel, are you joking?”
“No. Max, Michael and I, we arrived here in the Crash of ’47. We were in these incubation pods and didn’t hatch until the day you found us wandering on the side of the road in the middle of the desert.”
“Michael, you were there that night? But we didn’t see you,” Diane said.
“I saw the lights and got scared. I hid. I was found later by someone else, they took me to Social Services,” Michael said quietly as he reached blindly for Liz’s hand and grasped it.
“How do you know that any of this is real?”
“Well, we’re different. We have special abilities. Maybe Liz should explain this part.”
“Liz is an alien too?” Diane asked in disbelief.
“No, that’s impossible. I was in the delivery room when Nancy gave birth—“
“And I suffered through eleven hours of labor. She’s completely human.”
“Actually, I was until one day almost two years ago. Dad, you remember the day there was a shooting in the Crashdown?”
“Yes, you were lucky you didn’t get killed that day.”
“I did get killed that day. The bullet ripped through my stomach, I’d never felt such intense pain. And then Max insisted I look into his eyes and he took the pain away. He broke a ketchup bottle and told me to forget anything ever happened. But you don’t get shot and miraculously healed without asking questions about it. That’s when I found out the truth about Max, Michael, and Isabel. That’s when all this craziness began. When Max Evans saved my life.”
Liz’s parents looked at her incredulously before moving towards her and enveloping her in a tear-filled embrace.
“That explains the bird, remember the bird with the broken wing Philip. He held it in his hands and then he let it fly. Is healing all you can do?”
“No, we can alter the molecular structure of things, walk into people’s dreams, throw energy blasts, and teleport. We’re still leaning our powers,” explained Isabel.
“Where is he?” Nancy asked when she found her voice, “I want to thank him for saving my baby girl.”
“There’s more we have to tell you,” Michael said seriously, continuing as soon as the room settled down, “You see, here the story gets all convoluted. Max and Isabel were brother and sister on Antar. They were the son and daughter of a King. I was Isabel’s betrothed and Max’s second-in-command. Tess, who was also an alien, was Max’s wife. We were killed by an opposing faction and genetically re-engineered and sent to Earth in order to find a way to save our planet. Technically, we are half-alien, half-human.
“To make a long story short, this opposing faction was lead by a man named Kivar. All this man wanted was to rule, he managed to get Tess on his side and she nearly managed to destroy us. It was thanks to Liz and Kyle that she failed. In any case, Kivar threatened us to battle. We met with him this morning. In order to save us, Max gave Kivar what he wanted.”
Frightened by the turn the conversation was taking Diane interjected, “What did he want? Where is Max?”
“Kivar wanted the Royal Seal. It’s something encrypted into Max’s DNA. Separating Max from the Royal Seal caused his body to shut down. And Max died to save us.”
“No. No, you are lying. Where is my son? Isabel where is your brother?” seeing Isabel’s tears, as well as the tears on all the kids' faces caused Diane to collapse into her husband’s arms. “It’s not true. It can’t be,” she repeated over and over again.
“Mommy,” Isabel said softly as she kneeled by her sobbing parents, “His body is upstairs. He left behind a letter for you.”
Michael stepped forward and placed the letter in Philip’s hand.
“Jim,” Jeff said suddenly giving the Evanses some modicum of privacy to read their son’s last words to them, “You don’t look surprised. Did you know about this?”
“Yeah, Max saved Kyle’s life too. When he was caught in the crossfire. There was a Special Unit of the government gunning for the kids a while back, and I didn’t agree with their methods. I helped them out after that.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Wasn’t my secret to tell. I owed these kids so much, I wasn’t about to betray them.”
Jeff nodded. He owed them so much as well. Liz meant the world to him. She was his baby girl. It would have broken his heart if she had died that day in the Crashdown.
The Evanses were walking up the stairs to Max’s room with Isabel. The rest of them watched helplessly as Philip supported a sobbing Diane in his arms.
“What do we do now?” asked Jeff.
Jim replied, “I’ll get the red tape stuff going, the last thing we want them to do is an autopsy so I’ll figure that stuff out. Kyle and I will stay here for that. If you want Nancy and you can take Liz and Michael home. It’s been a rough day for them, and I’m sure you want some private time with them.”
Jeff nodded, “You okay with that, kids?”
“Yeah, we should get home. Isabel has Kyle, and they’ll call if they need anything,” answered Michael.
“Give them our love. Tell them that if they need anything that they just need to ask,” Nancy told Jim as they walked out of the house into the blaring sunlight.
It was astounding how their world had so suddenly changed. It hadn’t completely sunk in, but there was no question about it. There really was such a thing as aliens.
Part 50
“No,” Michael answered automatically.
“They deserve the truth,” she repeated her words fiercely desperate.
Michael sighed, scratched his eyebrow, and turned to look out the window, “I know.”
“So we’ll tell them?” Isabel asked.
“I don’t know. Isabel, how do we know they’ll be safe?”
“We got rid of the Special Unit a year ago. And Max took care of Kivar. They deserve to know who their son was. They deserve to know why he died. Why he sacrificed himself for us.”
Michael acknowledged Isabel’s words with a nod. The Evans did deserve to know the truth. He’d been lying when he said they didn’t. But he wasn’t used to the idea of not having to look over his shoulder, of not having to fear for his life, of being able to be himself. It was frightening.
“Isabel, how do you feel about telling the Parkers?” asked Michael as he turned back to face the group of people in Max’s room.
“My parents? Why?” breathed Liz, not daring to hope for the freedom that being honest could bring.
“Because they should know Max Evans saved their daughter and that she’s different because of it. Because they need to understand all the strangeness. Because they were possessed by an evil alien from our planet too. Because they deserve the truth,” he answered.
“You’re right,” Isabel said.
“So then we’re coming out?” asked Kyle.
“Seems like. Does everyone agree?” Michael asked the group at large.
“The truth shall set you free,” Liz quoted.
Kyle replied, “My parent already knows I’m a freak, so I’m cool.”
“You know I’ve always wanted to Michael” Isabel said softly.
“If you kids want to do this, then I say go for it. I’ll be there to support you. I’m awful proud of all of you.”
“The truth it is,” Michael smiled sadly at the rest of them as he placed his hand on the walls, “You may want to call your parents Liz, tell them to come over.”
“Now?”
“Can you think of a better time?”
“No, you’re right. I guess I just thought I’d have time to figure out how to explain.”
“You’ll do fine. We all will.”
*****
Michael looked out the window when he heard a car pull into the Evans’s driveway, “It’s your parents Liz, we should all go downstairs.”
As a group they stood and walked towards the living room, Michael pausing only to take Max’s letter to his parents from the desk. He stopped for a moment at the threshold of Max’s bedroom, “I’ve got your back,” he said to the figure lying still on the bed.
It was time to face the parents.
As Michael walked into the room he could feel the intense stares from all its occupants. The Evanses and the Parkers had settled onto the sofa. Kyle and Jim stood in the corner behind the easy chair Isabel had taken a seat in. Michael seated himself next to Liz on the love seat. The Evanses looked at Isabel in confusion and Diane asked, “Honey what’s this all about? And where is your brother?”
Isabel looked at Michael who nodded at her before answering her mother, “Mom. Dad. There’s something I have to tell you. You might not believe it, but I swear it’s true. I promise this will answer all your questions.
“When you found us in the desert you saved our lives. Max and I were completely helpless, we couldn’t speak, we were just figuring out how to walk, and we were lost. We were far away from our home. What we never told you, once we learned how to speak was that we knew where our home was.“
“Sweetie, why didn’t you tell us? We would have never sent you back there.”
“Dad, we were afraid. You see our home, well, it’s not around here. It’s a planet called Antar in the Whirlwind Galaxy, several light years away from Earth.”
“Isabel, are you joking?”
“No. Max, Michael and I, we arrived here in the Crash of ’47. We were in these incubation pods and didn’t hatch until the day you found us wandering on the side of the road in the middle of the desert.”
“Michael, you were there that night? But we didn’t see you,” Diane said.
“I saw the lights and got scared. I hid. I was found later by someone else, they took me to Social Services,” Michael said quietly as he reached blindly for Liz’s hand and grasped it.
“How do you know that any of this is real?”
“Well, we’re different. We have special abilities. Maybe Liz should explain this part.”
“Liz is an alien too?” Diane asked in disbelief.
“No, that’s impossible. I was in the delivery room when Nancy gave birth—“
“And I suffered through eleven hours of labor. She’s completely human.”
“Actually, I was until one day almost two years ago. Dad, you remember the day there was a shooting in the Crashdown?”
“Yes, you were lucky you didn’t get killed that day.”
“I did get killed that day. The bullet ripped through my stomach, I’d never felt such intense pain. And then Max insisted I look into his eyes and he took the pain away. He broke a ketchup bottle and told me to forget anything ever happened. But you don’t get shot and miraculously healed without asking questions about it. That’s when I found out the truth about Max, Michael, and Isabel. That’s when all this craziness began. When Max Evans saved my life.”
Liz’s parents looked at her incredulously before moving towards her and enveloping her in a tear-filled embrace.
“That explains the bird, remember the bird with the broken wing Philip. He held it in his hands and then he let it fly. Is healing all you can do?”
“No, we can alter the molecular structure of things, walk into people’s dreams, throw energy blasts, and teleport. We’re still leaning our powers,” explained Isabel.
“Where is he?” Nancy asked when she found her voice, “I want to thank him for saving my baby girl.”
“There’s more we have to tell you,” Michael said seriously, continuing as soon as the room settled down, “You see, here the story gets all convoluted. Max and Isabel were brother and sister on Antar. They were the son and daughter of a King. I was Isabel’s betrothed and Max’s second-in-command. Tess, who was also an alien, was Max’s wife. We were killed by an opposing faction and genetically re-engineered and sent to Earth in order to find a way to save our planet. Technically, we are half-alien, half-human.
“To make a long story short, this opposing faction was lead by a man named Kivar. All this man wanted was to rule, he managed to get Tess on his side and she nearly managed to destroy us. It was thanks to Liz and Kyle that she failed. In any case, Kivar threatened us to battle. We met with him this morning. In order to save us, Max gave Kivar what he wanted.”
Frightened by the turn the conversation was taking Diane interjected, “What did he want? Where is Max?”
“Kivar wanted the Royal Seal. It’s something encrypted into Max’s DNA. Separating Max from the Royal Seal caused his body to shut down. And Max died to save us.”
“No. No, you are lying. Where is my son? Isabel where is your brother?” seeing Isabel’s tears, as well as the tears on all the kids' faces caused Diane to collapse into her husband’s arms. “It’s not true. It can’t be,” she repeated over and over again.
“Mommy,” Isabel said softly as she kneeled by her sobbing parents, “His body is upstairs. He left behind a letter for you.”
Michael stepped forward and placed the letter in Philip’s hand.
“Jim,” Jeff said suddenly giving the Evanses some modicum of privacy to read their son’s last words to them, “You don’t look surprised. Did you know about this?”
“Yeah, Max saved Kyle’s life too. When he was caught in the crossfire. There was a Special Unit of the government gunning for the kids a while back, and I didn’t agree with their methods. I helped them out after that.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Wasn’t my secret to tell. I owed these kids so much, I wasn’t about to betray them.”
Jeff nodded. He owed them so much as well. Liz meant the world to him. She was his baby girl. It would have broken his heart if she had died that day in the Crashdown.
The Evanses were walking up the stairs to Max’s room with Isabel. The rest of them watched helplessly as Philip supported a sobbing Diane in his arms.
“What do we do now?” asked Jeff.
Jim replied, “I’ll get the red tape stuff going, the last thing we want them to do is an autopsy so I’ll figure that stuff out. Kyle and I will stay here for that. If you want Nancy and you can take Liz and Michael home. It’s been a rough day for them, and I’m sure you want some private time with them.”
Jeff nodded, “You okay with that, kids?”
“Yeah, we should get home. Isabel has Kyle, and they’ll call if they need anything,” answered Michael.
“Give them our love. Tell them that if they need anything that they just need to ask,” Nancy told Jim as they walked out of the house into the blaring sunlight.
It was astounding how their world had so suddenly changed. It hadn’t completely sunk in, but there was no question about it. There really was such a thing as aliens.
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