the forehead. A shot of pure terror. He knew something horrible had happened to her.
I hope Michael found her first, Max thought. He couldn't stand the idea of Isabel going through something so terrifying alone. If Michael didn't find her, he would have come back here, Max told himself.
So where were they? He'd expected Isabel to come slamming back into the house a couple of hours after she left-maybe with a new dress or a pint of Ben amp; Jerry's that she would refuse to share with him. That's what she usually did when she had a fight with him or their parents.
Well, maybe he hadn't expected that to happen. It wasn't like he and Isabel had a fight about whose turn it was to wash the dishes. But he'd hoped, he'd really hoped.
'Denial's not just a river in Egypt,' he muttered. It was something his mom always said. Max and Isabel were always making fun of her because she had a saying for everything. They'd even made up this game. One of them would come up with a situation, and the other one would have to come up with what Mom would say.
Max glanced at the clock. It was after two in the morning. What could possibly have happened that would stop Isabel from making it home? All he could feel from her was terror-nothing else, no hints about where she could be. He'd called a few of her friends, casually asking if she was there, but he wasn't surprised when they all said no. Izzy was popular. She had a billion more friends than Max. But they were all sort of surface, let's-hang-out-at- the-mall friends, not people she would go to if she had a problem. The only humans Isabel really trusted were their parents.
Man, Isabel, would you just come home already? Max thought. He shouldn't have yelled at her. She was already so freaked, and he'd made it worse.
He could take Dad's car and drive around. Maybe if he went in the right direction, the feelings from Isabel would get stronger. That way he'd be able to track her down. It didn't usually work like that, but Max had to do something. If he stayed in his room one more second, he'd go nuts. His parents would find him curled up in the corner, whispering to himself.
Max grabbed his key ring off the dresser. He decided to go out the window. His dad had X-ray hearing-if Max tried to go out the front door, he'd get busted. Luckily they thought Isabel was already home for the night. He didn't think he'd be able to find an excuse for what he was doing sneaking out after midnight. At least not one that would pass his dad's bull detector.
He slid out the window and hopped into the backyard. He trotted to the low side gate and vaulted over it. As he headed to the driveway he heard his Jeep driving down the street. He'd spent so much time working on the engine, he knew the sound by heart.
Max spun toward the sound. He felt some of the tension drain out of him when he saw that Isabel and Michael were both in the Jeep-until they pulled into the driveway and he saw their faces. All Isabel's lipstick and stuff had worn off-she never let that happen. And Michael's mouth was set in a hard line.
'What?' Max demanded.
'Valenti picked us up,' Isabel answered.
'What?' Max exploded.
'He was just doing his usual harass-anyone-under-twenty crap,' Michael explained. 'But it scared the hell out of both of us.'
Michael shot a glance at Isabel. Max gave a small nod, signaling that he had picked up on the fact that Isabel was seriously flipped out.
'I think… I think he could tell there was something wrong,' Isabel stammered. 'I was acting way too scared for someone… who got stopped for speeding, especially because I wasn't even driving.'
Max could see the muscles in Isabel's throat working as she struggled to keep from crying.
'You were fine,' Michael told her. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. That's when Max realized she was trembling.
Isabel shook her head. 'I made him suspicious. I messed up.'
'He probably just thought you were worried you'd get grounded for showing up at home so late,' Max said. He didn't really believe it. No one looking at Isabel right now would believe it. But he had to say something. The haunted expression on his sister's face was tearing him up.
Isabel wrapped her arms around herself. 'Maybe, maybe you're right,' she mumbled. 'But we aren't safe for long. Valenti's going to find out about us, I know it. We have to leave town tonight, and we can't ever come back.'
'If we bolt, then he'll really be suspicious. We'd end up with every Project Clean Slate agent out there searching for us,' Max argued. 'Besides, Mom and Dad would be devastated. They'd never get over it.'
And I would never see Liz again, he thought. Something was building between them, and he wanted to be around to see what it was.
'Mr. Hughes would probably have a party if I took off,' Michael muttered. 'But Max is right. It wouldn't be smart.'
'If we stay, we have to do something about Maria. She's going to tell Valenti everything-you saw the way she looked at us. And Liz won't be able to stop her,' Isabel insisted. 'We're not going to be safe as long as any human knows our secret.'
Safe. Max knew how important it was to Isabel to feel safe. He wasn't sure if she ever really had. But he couldn't let her hurt Liz or Maria.
'Liz is Maria's best friend,' he said. He tried to keep his voice emotionless. He didn't want Isabel to think he was about to go off on her again. 'They've known each other since they were little girls. I'm sure she'll be able to convince Maria to keep quiet.'
'You have a lot of confidence in Liz,' Isabel said. She didn't sound happy about it.
'So should you. Valenti came down on her hard, but she didn't tell him a thing,' Max reminded her. 'I want us all to agree that we leave Liz and Maria alone.'
Isabel didn't answer. Michael was looking anywhere but at Max.
'Come on,' Max urged.
'Okay,' Michael said finally.
'For now,' Isabel added.
I don't believe it. Maria told Alex. Liz could tell just by looking at his face.
Maria and Alex were waiting for Liz by her locker, and it was clear they weren't just hanging out, killing time before the first bell. They obviously had something important to say to her. 'Hi, guys.' Liz just wasn't ready to have this conversation. She acted really caught up in dialing her locker combination. When she pulled down the lock, it wouldn't open. She'd screwed up the combination somehow.
'We need to talk to you,' Maria said. 'I told Alex everything. I know I promised you I wouldn't, but I was wrong. This whole situation is too big and too dangerous for the two of us to handle alone.'
She sounded so stiff and formal, like she'd stayed fit up all night rehearsing. Liz stopped fiddling with her lock and studied her friend. Maria definitely spent last night doing something besides sleeping. Her eyes had dark smudges under them, and her complexion had a grayish tint.
'I wish you had at least called me first,' Liz answered. 'I left you about a hundred messages. I even stopped by your house, but no one was home.'
'I know. I'm sorry. I… I'm sorry,' Maria said again. 'That's all I can say. But I don't think I did the wrong thing.'
At least she's not making a speech anymore, Liz thought. Liz usually would have felt totally angry and hurt if Maria told a secret they agreed to keep. But she'd seen how scared Maria was yesterday. And Isabel did threaten to kill her. That was enough to make anybody break a promise.
'It's okay,' Liz said. She turned to Alex. It was so weird to have him standing there all quiet and serious. He usually talked practically nonstop. 'So now that you know, what do you think?' she asked.
'I think none of us really knows what we're dealing with-and that's dangerous. We don't know what powers they have. We don't know what their agenda is. I don't think we can just assume they are exactly what they appear to be. I think the three of us have to go to Valenti and tell him what's going on.'
'No!' Liz cried. 'You sound like your father, you know that? Talking about agendas and powers. We don't know
