Kyle and Maria froze.
«Don't look at me,' Maria said. «I'm not going to get it.»
«Do you think Michael forgot something?» Kyle innocently asked, wondering whether he should answer.
«He's not really a doorbell kind of guy,' Maria said. «Or a front door kind of guy, for that matter.»
«Wait here,' Kyle replied. «I'll see who it is.»
Making his way through the house, Kyle wondered who could be at the door, since all of the members of their inner circle were currently accounted for except for his dad. In vain, he hoped it could be someone soliciting charity donations, selling cleaning supplies door to door, or anyone else who would not ask for an explanation for what he was doing answering the Evanses' door. He tried to come up with excuses as he walked through the house, but realized he didn't have a clue what to say.
The bell rang once again as Kyle unlocked the door and turned the knob. Swinging the door open, Kyle initially thought he had lucked out, since it wasn't someone he immediately recognized. Please be selling something, he thought once again. Then, a slow realization crossed his mind as he thought he recognized the face as being slighdy familiar.
The man standing at the threshold to the Evans home was Hispanic and appeared to be only a few years older than Kyle. He was dressed casually in a polo shirt and khakis, but the image that popped briefly into Kyle's conscious mind had the man dressed in a suit. That was the image that did it for Kyle. He knew it was one of Mr. Evans's employees.
What's his name? Kyle thought to himself… Jesse something?
14
«I'm going to call for help,' Liz said, pulling her cell phone out of her pocket.
«Wait a minute.» Max's mind was racing as dozens of scenarios played out in his head, although none of them ended well. «Maybe there's something we can do first.»
«Max, you heard him.» She ignored the phone for a moment. «The beam is loose. He could fall any minute. We have to get someone out here.»
He knew she was right, but he also knew that if she made the call, their situation would immediately spiral out of control. «Liz, whoever we call is going to alert the media. Think about it… a kid trapped in a mine shaft. They eat this kind of thing up. We're talking national news. Our faces will be plastered everywhere, and I'm not just worrying about Jason's parents finding out I stayed the weekend.»
Liz stared at him blankly.
Then Max stopped for a moment to truly understand what he had just said. I'm putting my secret ahead of Jason,
he realized. I'm risking his life to protect my own. Without thinking about it further, Max reversed his decision. «Make the call.»
«Okay,' Liz said, «but then you've got to get out of here. I'll handle everything on my own.»
«No,' Max replied. «I'm not going to leave him.»
Knowing she was wasting time, Liz picked up the phone and switched it on, dialing 911 without noticing that the numbers weren't beeping as she pressed them. When she held the phone to her ear, the realization struck her with horror. «My cell's not working.»
«Here, try mine.» Max pulled his out and handed it to her.
Pressing the «on» button, she quickly discovered that it was also out of the service area.
«What are we going to do?» she asked, handing his phone to him and placing her own back in her pocket without realizing that both of them had irretrievable messages waiting. Into the hole, she yelled, «Hold on, Jason! I'm going to get help. Max will stay here with you.»
Jason suddenly screamed.
«What's wrong?» Liz yelled.
«The beam is slipping!» he hollered back.
«Jason!» Liz and Max yelled in unison.
«I'm okay,' he hollered back, a little more calmly. «It stopped.»
«How far down are you?» Max was readying a plan of his own, removing his pads to give himself more maneuverability, but keeping the helmet on.
«I don't know!» Jason replied. «Not too far.»
«I'm going down to get him,' Max calmly said to Liz as
he circled the hole. He found a point along the edge where there was enough space between two of the beams for him to easily fit his body.
«How?» Liz was concerned about the risk involved, but even more concerned for Jason's safety. «We don't have any rope.»
«I can create handholds in the wall.» Max peered into the hole so she couldn't see the fear in his eyes. «It will be just like climbing a ladder.»
«It's too dangerous.»
«It's our only choice,' he insisted.
Liz felt helpless. «Be careful.» She gave him a kiss for luck.
«Aren't I always?» He shot her a comforting smile.
Turning, he started down the mine shaft.
Max carefully kicked his feet into the wall of the mine shaft. Holding for a moment, he allowed the dirt to form around his shoes as he used his alien powers to manipulate the molecular structure of the soil and harden it into a strong foothold. Then, he lowered his hands and did the same, curling his fingers into the wall of the shaft so the handhold would give him something to grasp on to.
Slowly and methodically, he repeated the procedure as he made his way down the side of the mine shaft. As he went, he made sure to keep the handholds and footholds close together since Jason would need to use them on the way up and he was slightly shorter than Max.
The sun was rising higher in the sky as more and more light filled into the mine shaft. Max couldn't quite make out Jason's form below him, but his eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness. As he continued the descent he
thought he could see the outline of a body in the shadows below. «Jason, I need you to talk to me so I know when I'm getting close.»
«You're almost here,' Jason replied, looking up at him. «I can make you out against the light coming from the opening. You look kind of like Spider-Man clinging onto the wall there.»
Max beamed at the reference, considering that high praise from Jason. There were many times in the past when he'd secretly compared his alien powers with those of comic book superheroes. In fact, when he was younger, before he'd realized the truth, he'd thought that maybe he was a superhero himself when his abilities started to present themselves. He had even drawn up designs for his own costume. He supposed that, technically speaking, the concept of an alien sent to Earth where he exhibits unusual powers did kind of fall into the superhero archetype.
«I'll have you out of here in a few minutes,' Max said reassuringly. «You'll be home in no time.»
«No,' came Jason's reply.
Max paused where he was, clinging to the wall. «What was that?»
«I don't want to go home,' Jason replied.
Recalling the clearly visible path that had led them to Jason, Max had to disagree. «I don't think that's true.»
«I wrecked my bike,' Jason replied, his hollow voice sounding much closer. «George is going to kill me.»
Max continued his climb and could now see Jason sitting on a collection of weak-looking cross beams. He was pleased to see that his young charge had had the foresight to be wearing his helmet and pads when he had sneaked
off on his bike. «I'm sure he'll just be happy that you're okay,' he said.
