finished making their food run faster than anticipated.
Isabel was facing away when Liz approached. Liz coughed slightly to get her attention, and heard Isabel say, 'What makes you think the kids won't look like you? “
Liz reached out to touch Isabel's shoulder, and started to tell her that Max and Kyle were coming.
The instant her hand made contact with Isabel, Liz's vision abruptly snapped into focus, as she saw a flash of a window exploding… Then men in dark uniforms, their guns pointed directly at her… Next she saw a placid coastline through the rounded window of an airplane, the sun-dappled water far below her colored a startling lapis lazuli blue… And suddenly she was strapped down onto a table, with tubes and wires entering various parts of her body. She could see her reflection in the edges of the metallic plates and the hoods of the lights above her. But it wasn't herself she was seeing.
It was Isabel.
Liz realized that her head… Isabel's head… was wounded and bloody, and she heard a whining sound like a dentist's drill beside one of her ears. She saw a masked doctor looking down at her, his pitiless, slate- colored eyes clearly visible through his transparent goggles. She could see blood spraying robins-egg patterns across his smock, his mask, his goggles… Next came pain and utter darkness.
Roswell, New Mexico Jeff Parker finished putting the garnishes on the dinner plates, making sure that every element of the food, from preparation to presentation, was as perfect as he could manage. He prided himself that the Crashdown nearly always got newspaper reviews as one of the best diners in southeastern New Mexico. But this order deserved special attention: It was for Jim Valenti and Amy DeLuca.
The months since graduation had been difficult. After the commencement ceremony, the Parkers had been interrogated by black-suited men from the government, but they had no answers for them. Not only did they not know where Liz or the others had gone, they also had no idea why they had suddenly skipped town. Amy DeLuca had been similarly interviewed, as had the Evanses and Deputy Valenti.
In a private meeting, Phillip Evans had promised Jeff and Nancy that he was reasonably certain that the kids were all okay, and that the reason the government was looking for them was not related to any criminal activities on the kids' part. Phillip's explanation had calmed everyone somewhat, but after Max's and Liz's run-in with the law up in Utah over a year ago, Jeff had to admit, if only to himself, that he still had his doubts.
Jeff knew that something strange had been going on between Liz and her friends during their high school years, but it wasn't until a month after they'd disappeared that he and Nancy had discovered what it was. A FedEx delivery had yielded a box with several cookbooks that Jeff couldn't recall having ordered, but as he opened one of them, he'd discovered that it had been hollowed out. Nestled within its center was Liz's journal.
The journal had explained everything, especially how Liz's world had changed so completely after she'd been shot during the altercation at the Crashdown three years ago. After closing that evening in the diner, as he read through Liz's journal entries, Jeff marveled at the secrets his daughter had kept, and the adventures she and her friends had experienced. It all seemed surreal, almost like a science-fiction movie or a television show. And yet it was his daughter's life.
The final entry had been written on the day she'd sent the journal via FedEx.
I can't tell you much more than that. It wouldn't be safe… for you or for us. I can tell you that we're far away, and that we're all trying to avoid the law and do good in the world. Oh, and I guess I should tell you that Max and 1 did eventually tie the knot. Give my love to Mom. Let her read this journal too. Then, give it to Maria's mom. And after that, take it and burn it out in the desert by the ruins of the pod chamber where my husband was born.
So that's the end. Our life in Roswell. What a long, strange trip it's been. Will we ever go back? 1 don't know. Even I can't see everything in the future. All I know is that I'm still Liz Parker, and I'm happy.
It was the last communication the Parkers had received from their daughter in months. Jeff had followed her instructions by sharing the journal with Amy DeLuca, and had also let the Evanses and Valenti read it. Even though he'd been shocked at first to learn how the kids had kept secrets from him, he understood now the necessity of those secrets. Nancy evidently felt likewise; she had told him that, in the same situation, the two of them probably would have made the same choices.
Valenti had warned all of them that they were being watched and monitored, and Jeff had even spotted some of the people he suspected were spying on him. But he never let on that he knew who they were, and neither did Nancy.
When they were in public, or home, or on the phone, none of the parents ever discussed what was really going on with their kids. They had all agreed to pretend not to know anything, expressing their concern and updating one another on not hearing from their children, for the benefit of any federal agents who might be listening in.
But Jeff knew that in their private meetings their tone with one another was quite different. Jim, Amy, Phillip, Diane, and he and Nancy all shared a secret bond that kept them in orbit around one another. Jim Valenti had shared more of his reflections on the past three years with them once the parents all knew the truth, and they now saw him as their children's guardian angel.
Jim had been the one who delivered to each of them their first news since Liz's journal arrived. Once a month, Jeff and Amy DeLuca received brief e-mails, though the Evanses had not always been so fortunate. Valenti always got them the e-mails in a way that made sure nobody but them knew what was happening: He delivered them as hard copies, which immediately went to the paper-shredder after they were read.
It had now been over a month since Jeff had last had any contact with Liz, so he hoped that the real reason Jim and Amy were eating here tonight might be to bring him some word from the kids.
Balancing the tray of food before him, Jeff moved out of the kitchen area, through the swinging door, and out into the dining area of the Crashdown.
'Here you go, Jim. The Tommy Lee Jones Basket. Extra peppers, as requested,' he said as he set the deputy's plate on the table in front of him.
'Mmmmmm, smells great,' Jim said, grinning.
Jeff placed Amy's plate in front of her as well. 'Here's your Moon Rock Hash and Orbit Rings, Amy. And, if I may say so, you look great tonight. “
She blushed, waving her hand at him as if to push the compliment away. 'Flattery won't get you a bigger tip, Jeff. “
Valenti picked up a folded menu from the table and handed it to Jeff. 'I noticed there was something spilled on this menu, Jeff. You might want to get it replaced. “
'Thanks, Jim. I'll do that.' He took the menu, his heart racing. 'Anything else? “
'Naw, I think that'll do it,' Valenti said.
Jeff turned and headed back to the kitchen. He opened the menu to find a folded piece of paper inside. He quickly slipped it into his pocket.
Ill read it tonight with Nancy, he thought. Out on Liz's balcony.
Cheyenne, Wyoming Max and Kyle approached at a run. Liz lay on the sidewalk, semiconscious. Alarmed, Max gently shook Liz and called her name. After a few moments, she groaned and began to awaken. Seeing that she didn't appear injured, Max felt relief flood through him like a physical force.
'Liz? What happened? “
Liz looked up at him, then seemed to notice the presence of Kyle and Isabel. Max could see that she was still disoriented.
'She put her hand on my shoulder and there was this big burst of energy,' Isabel said. 'And then she passed out. “
'I saw it,' Liz said. 'I saw Isabel die. “
