The Vanished

It was dark by the time Max had found a place to park and everybody had agreed on where to set up camp. Max liked the spot they'd chosen. It was a mile or so from the main cavern in an area called Whites City, out in the backcountry open desert but protected from the wind by a jagged, crumbling outcropping of dark red rock. Nearby, large serrated cacti cast eerie shadows in the moonlight.

'So, we'll just camp out tonight and then take the first tour of the caverns in the morning?' Maria asked, dropping her bag on the ground.

'Yeah,' Max said. 'I think we should get a sense of the place first.'

'How are we going to know if DuPris is there?' Liz asked, pulling the cooler out of the Jeep. 'It's not like the guide's going to point him out along with the bats and other interesting features.'

'Well, with luck he'll use his powers and we'll be able to sense him,' Michael said. He pulled on his jacket and handed Max his sweater.

'We're probably going to have to go into the closed-off section,' Max said. 'Hope everyone's ready for some spelunking.'

'Some what?' Adam asked.

'He's just trying to sound like he knows what he's talking about,' Isabel said. 'Ignore him.'

'Cave exploring,' Michael explained. He shook his head. 'I can't believe I actually associate with someone who uses the word spelunking in conversation.' He turned to Adam. 'I'm going to make a fire. Help me out?'

'Sure,' Adam said. 'What do I do?'

Max smiled. Sometimes Adam was like a puppy dog around Michael. And the amazing part was that Michael actually put up with it.

'Go out and collect some dried tumble-weeds-thick ones if you can find them,' Michael instructed.

Soon the fire was roaring, sending up sparks and smoke into the starlit sky. Everyone gathered around the fire, pulling out food they'd brought.

'Guys? What are we going to do if we don't find DuPris?' Maria asked tentatively as she settled to the ground. 'I mean, without the Stone…' She trailed off, leaving only the crackling of the fire to break the tense silence.

'Without the Stone, how are we going to bring Alex back,' Max finished finally.

'We're gonna find him,' Isabel said firmly, staring into the fire. 'I know we are.'

'And that's the attitude we should keep,' Max said, looking at each of his friends. 'We're going to find DuPris, and we're going to figure out a way to bring Alex home safely. We have to believe it, or we shouldn't even bother trying.'

Liz looked up at him and smiled. 'Right,' she said firmly. 'Tomorrow we bring Alex back.'

'Right,' Maria repeated.

Michael slapped his hands together. 'Well, now that we're all settled on that, let's eat.'

'Mr. Sensitive,' Isabel muttered.

'What?' Michael asked, his eyes wide. 'Alex wouldn't want us to starve.'

Liz laughed. 'The man has a point. Alex did-' She corrected herself quickly. 'Does. Alex does love his food.'

'And so do I,' Michael answered. He reached out and grabbed the Tupperware container filled with nachos from the cafe. 'Mine,' he said, cradling the nachos close to his chest and stroking the blue plastic lid lovingly. 'Mine.'

Max ripped open a bag of Cosmic Crunch, stuffed a handful into his mouth, and passed the bag to Liz. It's like a celebration before the apocalypse, he thought, feeling a little creeped out. Enjoy yourself now because tomorrow… who knows what will happen?

'Max? I brought jalapeno potato chips and soy sauce just for you,' Liz said, holding up a bright red bag.

'Thanks,' Max said with a small smile. 'But I think I'll go for a walk first.'

Liz's lips tightened slightly, and Max's heart responded with a sharp pang. 'I'll be right back,' he promised. Then he shoved himself to his feet and headed off before she could argue or volunteer to come with him.

Max found a big shrub a few yards from the campsite and took a seat on a large flat rock behind it. He needed to connect to the consciousness.

Connect more deeply, to be exact. The connection was never broken anymore.

Max concentrated on shutting out the sounds of his friends and took a deep breath. He hadn't told the others about his encounter with Alex. He didn't want to worry them, and he'd been hoping against hope that the anger had died down. That Alex wasn't so terrified.

'Just let me be right,' Max muttered.

He leaned back and opened himself up to the maelstrom of images hovering at the back of his mind. Then he waited for the sense of belonging that always greeted him on his immersion into the consciousness.

Instead he was enveloped in a pocket of rage. Shrieks of fury in frenzied voices swirled around him from beings surrounding him. Max felt like he'd been sucked into a whirlpool of lava and then tossed to crash against jagged, molten rocks.

These beings were calling for Alex's life to be extinguished. They wanted him dead.

Now.

EIGHT

Isabel leaned against Michael's shoulder, enjoying the flickering warmth of the bonfire. Michael felt solid against her arm. Comforting and protective.

Brotherly.

'How was it I ever thought I could date you?' she asked Michael cheerfully, tilting her head back to look up at him. 'It would have been a huge mistake.'

'Definitely. But you're beautiful and I'm beautiful, so it seemed to make sense at the time,' Michael joked.

Isabel sat up on the thick plastic pad she'd brought with her. 'Beautiful! Beautiful? You're so conceited!' she squealed.

'Men are not beautiful,' Maria jumped in. 'Only women can be beautiful.'

'I am beautiful, and you both know it,' Michael replied with a smile.

'God!' Isabel exclaimed. 'You're more arrogant than I am.'

'Nah, it's not arrogance,' Michael said. 'It's just a basic understanding of reality.'

'See?' Isabel said to the others. 'Total arrogance.'

'He's self-centered, too,' Maria piped up.

Isabel grinned. Maria deserved to get in a few jabs of her own.

'Hey!' Michael protested. 'Don't hate me because I'm beautiful, all right?'

'We don't,' Maria reassured him. Then she gave him a long look up and down. 'In fact, I've changed my mind. I do think you're beautiful.'

'Hey!' Isabel protested.

'Thank you,' Michael said primly.

'And you're lucky you are,' Maria continued. She leaned closer to him. 'Because if you weren't beautiful, we'd have no use for you. You're way too conceited!'

'Go, Maria,' Isabel said, impressed. Who knew the girl had it in her?

Michael rolled his eyes and pretended to ignore them.

'Michael, Michael,' Isabel continued, enjoying herself. 'So vain, it's insane.'

'I am not listening to this,' Michael said.

'That rhymes,' Maria called. 'It's a song.'

Isabel laughed, watching Michael's face start to turn red. 'Michael, Michael,' she repeated, adding a lilt to her voice. 'So conceited… I'm defeated.'

'That doesn't even make sense,' Michael protested, obviously trying hard to keep his cool.

'Yes, it does,' Adam jumped in.

'Michael, Michael,' Maria sang. 'So arrogant, he makes the girls pant.'