The Vanished

'Oh,' Max said when she pulled away. 'Crazy.' He smiled as he tucked his hands under the hair that fell like a thick, silky curtain around her face.

He pulled her closer, releasing a long exhalation of breath as her warm, soft body pressed against his. How could he have allowed his worries to interfere with getting his minimum daily requirement of Liz? He was so stressed, he hadn't even been thinking about kissing her, and that was wrong. Deeply wrong.

His lips found hers again, and he opened himself up to the intense passion of their kiss. Liz tasted sweet and deliciously alive. Max could feel his heart racing as her tongue glided across his own, sending tingles of pleasure echoing throughout his body. As always, kissing Liz made him feel inside out, as if all of himself was concentrated on the one small, soft spot where they were connected. It was the best feeling Max could ever imagine.

As he lost himself in her, a strange sensation started to creep up his neck, tingling over his scalp. Suddenly his mind seemed to open, as if it were exposed to the universe. And then the myriad beings of the consciousness made themselves known, reacting to his and Liz's kiss. Confusion, curiosity, pleasure, amusement-Max received all of those emotions in flickering images. They wanted to know what Max was doing, and they were there to share it with him.

Startled by the unexpected intrusion, Max pulled away from Liz abruptly. He hadn't even tried to connect to the consciousness.

Liz's beautiful brown eyes fluttered open in confusion. 'What?' Liz asked, sounding hurt. 'What's the matter? Did I bite you or something?'

'No, no,' Max assured her. 'I just felt a little… dizzy for a second, that's all.' And violated, he added silently.

Liz searched his eyes. 'Are you okay?'

'I'm fine,' Max said, attempting to smile. He couldn't tell Liz what had happened. She was already distrustful of the collective because of the physical effects connecting had on Max. If he told her about the intrusion, she'd be even more freaked out than he was. 'It was nothing. Maybe all that formaldehyde went to my head.' He smiled at her. 'Or maybe it was you.'

This time, as he leaned forward to kiss her, Max focused part of his attention on blocking the consciousness from trespassing again. He managed to keep them away, but it took effort-effort he should have been focusing on Liz. And he couldn't shake the creepy feeling that he was no longer completely alone with her.

***

'Is everybody coming over now?' Adam asked Michael.

'In a little while,' Michael replied. He picked up a tiny plastic rocket ship off the floor of the museum and placed it on a shelf. 'We're going to try to figure out what to do now that the ship's been stolen and maybe do a little work on this place at the same time.'

Adam's eyes swept over the museum. He didn't remember trashing the place, but he had when DuPris had turned him into the Adam puppet.

'Is Liz coming?' Adam asked, trying to sound casual. He picked up another rocket and set it next to Michael's.

'Yeah. She and Maria and Isabel and Max,' Michael answered as he continued to reorganize the shelves.

Adam smiled. He did that every time someone said the name Liz. They didn't even have to be talking about his Liz. Well, Max's Liz, really. Liz Ortecho. They could be talking about any Liz, and Adam's lips would just start to curve up. Sometimes just the sound of the letter L was enough to do it.

'Let's turn on some music,' Michael suggested, walking over to a big, mailbox-shaped machine in the corner. The machine had lots of blinking lights in it, along with rows of strange silver disks.

'What is that thing?' Adam asked, gathering up the pieces of a broken table.

'This is a jukebox,' Michael explained. 'Have you ever heard Elvis? Ray was definitely an Elvis man.'

'What's Elvis?' Adam asked. He hated asking questions like that. It made him feel like such a baby. But that's what Dad Valenti had wanted. A baby who depended on his daddy for everything- including information. He'd never even given Adam anything to read besides picture books.

Adam had been logging in some major hours on Max's laptop since he escaped from the compound, but there were still way too many things he was clueless about.

Michael laughed. 'Not what, who. Elvis was a guy. He was the king of rock. Man! You've been denied the classics.' He pressed a few buttons on the front panel of the machine. 'Now listen, and get ready to join the twentieth century.'

After a moment a strange, thumping beat filled the room, followed by a high-pitched wail. Adam stared at the jukebox as he listened. The music didn't sound like anything he'd ever heard before. It throbbed in his chest, and he started to nod along with the beat.

'There,' Michael said. 'That's Elvis. You're getting it.'

A deep male voice began to croon, singing about a hound dog. The singer's voice quavered and warbled, and suddenly Adam found the whole thing hilariously funny. He let out a loud burst of laughter.

'You like it?' Michael asked with a grin.

Adam sat down on one of the stools flanking the small coffee bar in the corner. 'I love it,' he said, twirling on the cushioned seat.

'Me too,' Michael replied as he polished the jukebox's trim with the bottom of his T-shirt. 'Although we should get some CDs from some people who are still actually alive, too. And I wouldn't mind having something to sit on besides those deflated beanbags upstairs. We'll have to hit some yard sales, see if we can find a sofa. Or maybe two recliners, like those guys on Friends.'

Adam stopped twirling on the stool. Michael was talking about his place like it was Adam's as much as his. 'Ray gave this place to you.'

Michael shrugged. 'If he'd known about you, he would have given it to both of us,' he said. 'We're from the same planet, you know? It's like we're family.'

Family. Adam had seen pictures of families in those baby books Valenti had given him. But he'd never thought… He'd known they weren't for him.

'Thanks,' Adam mumbled. It seemed the wrong thing to say, like there should be a better word.

'You know what the best part of having you live here is?' Michael asked. His tone was light, but Adam could see the emotion in his eyes.

'What?' Adam asked.

'You have to help clean.' Michael handed him a broom, and Adam began sweeping shards of broken glass from the display cases into a small pile. Suddenly sweeping was an absurdly fun activity.

The door opened, and Maria stepped in, followed by Max and Isabel. 'The cleanup crew is here!' Maria announced. Then she looked around the room. 'And apparently we're extremely late. You guys have done a ton already.'

'It's Adam,' Michael claimed. 'He tears into cleaning like he enjoys it.'

'I do,' Adam insisted.

'Whatever,' Michael replied with a laugh.

Adam looked up just as Liz walked into the room, and his breath caught in his throat. She was wearing a red T-shirt that made her dark skin seem like it was lit from inside. Adam's face got hot, and he quickly turned away. He didn't want her or Max to catch him staring. Staring and smiling.

'I have to agree with Adam,' Isabel said. 'You guys know how I feel about clutter.'

'No! You?' Maria asked. 'Miss Anal USA?'

Isabel rolled her eyes but smiled. She pushed up the sleeves of her blue sweater. 'So where can I start?'

'I'll take the alien autopsy section,' Liz offered. 'But first you have to tell me the truth. Those things in the jars aren't real aliens, are they?'

'They look like chicken embryos to me,' Max said. 'And I think that purple 'alien lungs' jar is nothing but a plastic bag floating in Jell-O.'

'Ray was a sick puppy,' Isabel said affectionately. She began to reorganize the moon rock display.

'Anyone want to join me?' Liz asked. Adam was about to drop the broom and volunteer, but Max beat him to it.