In the end, life was astonishingly simple.

Small breaths. In. Out.

Soon, he knew he would have to let that go too.

23

Liz felt her strength come back as she watched the alien ship. Max had healed her, but she still felt weak.

As the minutes ticked by, she felt her heart thundering in her chest. I'm sorry about your friend, Jimmy had said.

Was it Max whom Jimmy had seen? Was her vision coming true, just earlier than she had expected? She had seen Max fight. He had been brave and had stood strong… and he had died. Maybe her vision had become mixed with her dream. Maybe she had just seen this moment.

And I sent him back inside, Liz thought.

The ship shuddered a few times, and there were noises from within. Could he already be…? No, when he had died before, she had felt it. If anything happened to him now, she knew she would feel it. That told her he was still alive, but for how long? The ship shook again… no, it didn't shake; it moved.

Liz was on her feet, blood suddenly pounding in her veins. The ship had lifted several feet of the ground and was wobbling in the air. She had seen it move the night before. It could move quickly, and any second now, she knew it could disappear.

Then it might not matter if Max was alive or not. Either way, he would be gone. And the aliens would have him.

No! her mind screamed.

He had come for her and he and Michael had saved her.

Max had fought in the vision, though it had not been enough. He had still died. She had stood there helplessly and watched him die.

She had stood there.

Helpless.

That was what had bothered her about the dream. She had watched it all, but she was unable to help. Like now.

Except she wasn't helpless, and Max was not fighting by himself. She threw her hand forward and hit the ship hard. It was the same force that had blown out the wind- shield of the van but many, many times stronger, Liz realized.

The ship shuddered at the impact and drifted across the field for several seconds.

Then it started moving up.

Ten feet. Twenty.

Then fifty. More.

"No!" Liz screamed, reaching out her hand. She willed the ship to stop moving.

To her surprise, it did. And then it started drifting back down to the ground.

The ship made an ugly humming sound, and Liz felt her- self straining at the effort. The strain wasn't physical, but it was just as real. Then it was slipping. The ship stopped its descent maybe twenty feet from the ground.

Liz concentrated her mind and her will to the task. She managed to hold the ship.

There was movement in the door. Then on the ramp.

It was Max and Michael, she was sure. But the boys were struggling. They were each carrying something… someone. They were close, but it was still too high.

With a final burst of effort, she willed the ship down. It lurched to the ground and touched for just an instant.

But that instant was enough. Max and Michael jumped clear.

Liz lost her hold on the ship, and it shot into the air with the same speed it had moved the night before. Except this time, it was racing straight up.

She quickly lost track of the vessel in the night sky. "Max!" she screamed, racing toward him.

When she reached them, Max and Michael looked okay. In fact, they looked great. They were both carrying the weight of a person on their backs, but they were stand- ing strong. Max smiled at her, and she led the boys back to where Dawn and Bell were lying. Max and Michael put the two others next to them.

"Jessica," Liz said. "Oh, my God, you found her." Liz felt tears streaming down her face as she threw her arms around Max.

"Turns out they're only tough when they're picking on girls," Michael said.

"Liz, the ship was moving. It was leaving. Did you…?" Max said.

Liz nodded.

"Remind me not to make you mad, Parker," Max said, and kissed her.

"I guess jimmy was wrong," Michael said.

I'm sorry about your friend.

Thank God, Liz thought.

"The others?" Liz said.

"Maria and Isabel are fine, they're back at the diner," Michael said.

"Kyle was with us, but…," Max said.

"He got into it with one of the aliens, but Kyle got him. He got banged up but said he was okay," Michael said.

Liz felt her stomach fall. There was something wrong, she could feel it. "Kyle!" she shouted.

Nothing.

Then Liz and Michael repeated it, calling for their friend.

"Come on," Max said, running with Michael right behind him. Liz followed for a few seconds, then she saw the figure lying on the ground.

"Kyle," Max shouted.

Kyle didn't respond. In fact, he wasn't moving at all.

As Liz got closer she saw the dark pool on the ground next to him. His hands were resting on his stomach, and he was completely still.

Max's hands were glowing as he leaped the last few feet to their friend. Then he was on he knees.

"Oh my God," Liz said. "No, please.”

Kyle was still. His chest was not moving…

Max touched Kyle with one hand on his head and one on his stomach. Both hands were glowing brightly.

He was standing strong. Max was fighting for Kyle. It was costing Max something, Liz realized. He was fighting with everything he had. The pool around Kyle was starting to disappear, but the effort was etched across Max's face.

He was still fighting, but Liz knew that not even Max could win all of his battles. In her vision she had seen him lose in his final battle. And she knew that sometimes defeat was not a measure of how much you put into a fight.

Some battles were just lost before they began…

But not this one.

Kyle coughed and sputtered… and breathed.

He coughed again, and then Max was helping him sit up.

"He got me good, Max," Kyle said, feeling his stomach. "I thought I was…”

"We thought you were too," Michael said. "Good to have you back.”

"You fixed me," Kyle said, looking at Max. "Thanks. I mean, thanks again.”

Max nodded, and both guys looked away from each other, embarrassed by what they were feeling. By what all of us are feeling, Liz thought.

Kyle looked around. "Where is he?" he asked. A few feet away, smoke rose from the ground. They investigated and saw a puddle of goo there.

"What did you do to him?" Michael said.

Kyle smiled. "It's called a hit and wrap.”

Michael glanced back at what was left of the alien and said, "Cool.”

"We should get back. We found Dawn and Bell, Kyle. Jessica, and one other too," Max said.

A few seconds later, Max was looking over the girls. Jessica looked pretty bad, so he healed her first, then the others.

Michael stayed next to him the whole time and then looked at him and said, "Max, I say this as a friend, but you look like hell.”

He did, Liz realized. Max was covered in sweat and felt cold to Liz's touch. The fight and then healing them all had taken a toll.

"Liz, get him back to the garage. Kyle and I will take care of them," Michael said.

Max turned to Michael and said, "Michael…”

"Trust me, Maxwell," he said.

Max nodded, and Liz put his arm around her shoulder. They started walking to town.

Michael still felt the rush from their fight with the aliens. During the battle, he had felt strong, alive. And as he had struck out at each of them, he had felt a moment of satisfac- tion, but that didn't bother him now. Whoever they were, the creatures were like… pure malice. They were killing women, but not before they terrified and tortured them.

It was kind of like what Agent Pierce had done to his best friend in a cold, white room. The aliens saw people as lab rats. Well, today the lab rats had fought back. There was justice there, and Michael knew he would sleep with- out trouble tonight. But first, he had some things to take care of.