The Wild One

And it's not as if he really hurt Liz. Not permanently or anything. He just knocked her out. She was fine.

'No, you aren't going to talk to him,' Michael said, his voice cold. 'You are not getting within ten feet of that guy ever again.'

Isabel turned to Maria. She understood, didn't she? 'Nikolas didn't mean-'

'I don't want to hear it,' Maria snapped. 'I can't believe you still want to hang out with a guy who would do that to Liz.'

'And I can't believe you're both being so judgmental,' Isabel answered. 'You're not even giving Nikolas a chance.'

She sprang off the bed and ran out of the room. She didn't want to hear one more word from either of them.

Isabel slammed out of the house and headed down the street. She walked fast, arms swinging. Then she started to run, pushing herself to go faster and faster. She focused on the feel of her feet slamming down on the pavement, the burning sensation building in her lungs, the pounding of her heart.

She tried to lose herself in the physical sensations. But she couldn't block out the memory of Liz lying motionless on the ground or Max yelling at her, ordering her never to see Nikolas again. Or Michael's cold voice insisting that she was going to stay away from Nikolas.

They were treating her like she was a little kid. They wouldn't even listen to her when she told them that she would talk to Nikolas about what he did. She would sit him down and tell him the whole story of how Liz, Maria, and Alex risked their lives to help fight Valenti. She would make Nikolas listen. She would make him understand. She knew she could do it.

But no, they didn't trust her enough to think that she could handle things on her own. They thought they had to step in and start issuing orders. They thought she was reckless and stupid-they'd always felt that way about her.

Well, Isabel wasn't going to take it anymore. They didn't trust her, even when she behaved exactly the way they wanted her to. So why bother trying to make them happy?

She turned onto her street and slowed to a jog. She heard a motorcycle roaring up behind her.

Nikolas. He wanted her to do just what she pleased. He didn't want to hold her back, or make her be careful, or tell her what to do.

She spun around and raced over to him. She hurled herself into his arms.

Isabel had always laughed at girls who climbed all over their boyfriends. She thought they looked desperate. Pathetic.

But now she understood how they felt. She needed Nikolas, like she needed air in her lungs. Waiting for even a minute left her gasping. She couldn't give him up. Not for anyone.

*** 10 ***

'I'm kicking you out, okay? I forgot there's something I've got to do.' Michael practically pushed Maria out the front door. 'Thanks for helping me pack and everything.'

'Uh, okay. Bye,' Maria said. He shut the door behind her, then headed straight for the phone. He was calling Max, and they were going to find Nikolas. Now. There was no way Michael would let Nikolas get away with what he did to Liz. It didn't matter that Liz wasn't hurt. No one touched a member of Michael's family and got away with it.

Michael punched in Max's number. It rang a couple of times, then the answering machine picked up. Michael slammed down the phone. He couldn't wait for Max to get home. He hesitated for a second, then dialed Alex's number.

Alex answered on the second ring. Michael quickly filled him in.

'I'm picking you up,' Alex said. He hung up before Michael could say another word.

Michael grabbed his jacket from his room, then stationed himself in front of the picture window that looked out over the street. At least the Hugheses weren't home, so he wouldn't have to answer any questions about where he was going.

His foster parents hadn't been around much since Mr. Cuddihy gave Michael the news that he'd be moving to another foster home. One night they went to the movies; one night they went over to a friend's for dinner. But Michael thought those were really just excuses to get out of the house, to get away from him. It was totally obvious Mrs. Hughes was uncomfortable around him now. She almost looked embarrassed if she ran into him in the hall. Mr. Hughes basically ignored him. Which was fine with Michael. It was better than always being in the middle of some stupid power struggle with the guy.

Michael spotted Alex's Rabbit turn down the street. He bolted out the door. The second he stepped outside, he smelled it. The thick ozone-rich smell of power being used. A moment later he felt the familiar buzzing tingle in his body. All the hairs on his arms stood straight up.

Not good, he thought as he trotted over to Alex's car. This is not at all good. He climbed into the passenger seat and slammed the door. Alex peeled out, barely waiting for Michael to put on his seat belt.

'You know those signs that have little numbers on them? They're there to tell you how fast it's safe to drive,' Michael told Alex.

It was a lame joke. He didn't even know why he told it. Maybe just because Alex looked ready to blow.

Alex didn't crack a smile. 'Where do we start looking?' he asked.

'Good question,' Michael answered. 'I don't even know where he lives. Let's just check out the usual places.' It's not like Roswell was a big city. There weren't that many spots you could go on a Saturday night.

'Even Nikolas and Isabel wouldn't be stupid enough to go back to the bowling alley. Let's try UFOnics,' Alex suggested.

'Good idea. Isabel loves to dance,' Michael said. Alex's hands tightened on the steering wheel. Oh, great, Michael thought. Why didn't I just offer to pour some salt into his wound? 'Although they're probably not even together,' he added.

Alex gave him an 'oh-please' look. Michael decided shutting up would probably be a good idea. He stared out the window, watching the well-kept houses of the south side fly by.

When Alex turned onto Main Street, Michael started checking parking lots for Nikolas's motorcycle. He caught some flashing lights out of the corner of his eye. 'Turn here,' he ordered.

The Rabbit's tires squealed as Alex made a sharp turn onto Mescalero. 'I want to see what's happening at the 7-Eleven,' Michael muttered. Sheriff Valenti's cruiser and an ambulance were parked out front.

Alex parked the car across the street. 'You know what's going on over there?' he asked a kid on a skateboard.

'Somebody trashed the place,' the kid answered. 'I think they were stoned and had the major munchies. All these bags of food were ripped open. Wish they'd invited me.'

'What about the cashier?' Michael asked.

'Down for the count,' the kid answered. 'I don't know what they hit him with, but it must have been heavy.'

Alex pulled back onto the street. 'We don't want to be here. Eventually Valenti's going to start asking everybody what they saw.'

'If it was Nikolas and Isabel that-' Michael began.

'If?' Alex asked.

'Yeah, you're right,' Michael said. 'I don't think they'd hang around town after pulling that stunt. Let's check the cave.'

Alex nodded. He drove out of town and sped down the highway, heading farther and farther into the desert. He didn't talk at all, and it was giving Michael the creeps. Alex usually talked constantly. It was like some mutant Alex clone was in the car with him. Michael flipped on the radio just so there would be some kind of noise.

'The cave's off to the left a couple of miles,' Michael said. 'Do you think your car will make it?'

Alex didn't even slow down. He veered off into the desert. 'The ground's pretty hard packed-we'll be okay. I don't want to waste any more time.'

Michael heard a mesquite bush crunch under the Rabbit's tires. Alex hadn't even swerved to avoid hitting it. He was on a mission. Michael had always had a hard time believing Alex came from a long line of military men. But