Turnabout

the warm evening air. «I guess you could say that Nasedo sent me.» A bolt of anger ripped through Michael. Nasedo had been his mentor, and had pushed him to expand the limits and nature of his powers. And no matter what Tess had said about him at the end, Nasedo had always seemed to have a real affinity for Michael, and to favor him over the other half-alien teens. «Nasedo is dead,' Michael said, trying to keep his darker emotions in check. Eddie gave him a half-smile. «From what I understand, some of you have been dead in the past as well. Death is the end of one's life in this body, but not the end of the energy one brings to the universe.» He shrugged, and added, «Or so River Dog tells me.» Maria and Liz had crept out of the VW by now, joining Max and Michael. Maria looked surprised. «Eddie? What are you doing here?» Eddie grabbed a heavy-looking bag off the back of his motorcycle, and then pulled at something that was ducttaped onto the bike's fairing, next to the speedometer. «Why don't we sit on the grass over there and talk? I can explain everything all at once. And maybe work out the cramps in my legs.» The group moved over to a grassy area, and Michael looked to make sure no other tourists were nearby. Eddie unwound the duct tape on the thing he'd pulled from his bike, and Michael suppressed a gasp when he caught sight of the object it had concealed. It was a black pentagonal device; inset into the center was a five-part white node. Surrounding the node, and etched into the black casing, were alien symbols, the runes of the Antarian alphabet. «Nasedo left this with River Dog long ago. It led me here, to you,' Eddie said. «It's like a compass or something.» «What do you mean it's like a compass?» Max asked, taking the device when Eddie held it out toward him. «How does it work?» Eddie shrugged. «Whenever I touched it, parts of the white thing in the middle started blinking. And in my head, I suddenly knew which direction to turn, which way to go. I've been driving like a bat out of hell all day to reach you, and this led me to you. I was just trying to figure out which car you guys were in when you pulled over and stopped.» Maria looked skeptical. «Wait a minute. You're saying that this thing is some kind of alien OnStar system or something?» «I can think of weirder things,' Eddie said, smiling. He gestured over toward the Microbus. «You guys have any soda or anything? I'm really dry.» Liz got up to retrieve a drink while Eddie took his bag and zipped it open. «I brought you guys all this other stuff as well. Figured you might need it.» Michael looked into the bag and saw a pile of familiar items: the communicator orbs, the alien «Destiny Book» that Tess had pulled from within the wall at the West Roswell High School's library, the healing stone, and one or two other remnants of their alien past. Anger flared in him again. «We buried these! How did you get them?» Eddie remained calm. «I dug them up.» He pointed to the alien compass that was still in Max's hand. «That led me to them. A few months ago, I saw a bunch of government guys combing the desert, looking for something buried. I figured they couldn't be up to anything good. So at night, I went to the spot this compass led me to, and started digging. River Dog and I have been keeping this stuff safe ever since.» Michael's eyes bulged, and he felt as though his head were going to explode. He looked over at Max, and was surprised to see that their fearless leader didn't seem nearly as perturbed as he was. Neither did Maria, who gave Michael a calm down, now look. Michael closed his eyes for a moment and breathed deeply, wondering momentarily if this was how Kyle Valenti «centered himself in his Buddhist meditations. Liz returned with a six-pack of soda and offered a can to everyone. Michael took one, if only to give his hands something else to do other than repeatedly clench and unclench. «Why did you hunt us down to return this stuff?» Max asked. «Because Chameleon told me to,' Eddie said just before taking a swig of his drink. «Chameleon is my spirit guide. It's a Native American thing.» He paused again, and a serious expression crossed his face. «I'm sorry, I don't mean to be flip. I do have some serious news to tell you, if you'll let me.» «Go on,' Max said. «Very early this morning, government agents came to Roswell. Looks like they arrested Mr. and Mrs. Parker and Mr. and Mrs. Evans. They also tried to get Deputy Valenti, but he got away, with your mother,' Eddie said, looking toward Maria. «Apparently, Valenti got away because another FBI agent tipped him off just before the raids went down. River Dog gave him a car so he and Mrs. DeLuca could meet this FBI agent in Arizona somewhere. I don't know where, but it has something to do with some girl you guys once helped. Just before they left this morning, Valenti called the guy who runs the UFO Museum in Roswell, but I didn't hear what they talked about.» He stopped and held up his hands. «That's it?» Michael said, his voice pitched higher than he'd intended. He felt an urgent need a sensation akin to hunger to strike out at the government who had attacked his friends' families. «That's all you know?» «I only heard what Valenti told River Dog,' Eddie said. «After Valenti left, I was doing some chores and Chameleon came to me and told me to help.» «You're saying you came to us because a lizard told you to?» Maria asked, also exasperated. She looked over toward Liz, who had suddenly turned chalk-white. «Oh my Goddess! Liz, are you okay?» Liz started to cry, then fell heavily against Maria, who steadied her on her rubbery legs and began trying to comfort her. Max quickly got up and came around behind Liz, enfolding her in his arms, concern etched on his face. Michael wondered for a moment if she was having another one of her future flashes. «They got my mom and dad, Max!» Liz sobbed, showing that her concerns were rooted firmly in the present. «Why would they do that?» Max closed his eyes and gulped audibly. «They're tired of looking for us. That's why things have gotten tougher the last few weeks. They're trying to run us to ground. Flush us out by attacking our families.» «Are you sure you don't know anything else?» Maria asked Eddie. «Was my mom hurtl Was anyone else hurt?» «Your mom got a little cut on her head, but she's fine now,' Eddie said. «I guess she crashed her car while running from the government guys.» Michael remembered all the times when Amy's clunky Jetta had gotten him and the others where they'd needed to go, or out of scrapes. if there's a car heaven, I hope the Jetta made it there, he thought. He turned back toward Eddie. «Can you get in touch with Valenti?» Eddie's eyes brightened. «Oh, yeah.» He fished in his pocket and finally produced a scrap of paper. «This is his pager number.» Maria winced. «Pager? That won't do us a lot of good. We don't have a phone for him to call us back on.» «Can't we use the pay phone?» Michael asked, gesturing toward the main rest-area buildings. «They don't allow incoming calls,' Max said, his voice flat, nearly toneless, as though his supply of hope had all but bled away. «Damn!» Michael exclaimed, then got up and began to pace. He was feeling boxed in and trapped, and he had never been able to abide that feeling for long. «Call Brody,' Liz said between sobs. «He might know more.» «Good idea,' Max said. He looked over at Maria. «Can you handle that?» Maria nodded, then held out her hand to Michael. He helped her up. «Come on, Spaceboy. Help me juice up the phone.» «I'm headed to the bathroom,' Eddie said. «Anyone want some of those crappy rest-stop cookies if they're giving them out?» They all shook their heads. «Okay. More for other unsuspecting travelers.» Michael and Maria walked toward the battered pay phone that was mounted on one of the rest room building's exterior walls. «You okay?» he asked her. She sniffed, nodding. «I guess. I mean, my mom got away, so it could have been a lot worse for me personally. But I feel awful for Liz.» Michael put an arm gently around her shoulder. «We'll get them back, Maria.» He felt a twinge of guilt. Of all of them, he was the only one without a parent or adoptive parent who was in jeopardy. That's because Hank's dead, he thought, remembering his drunken foster-father's reliable oscillations between abuse and neglect. It's too bad the Special Unit never got their hands on him. At the phone, Michael looked around quickly to make sure no one was watching, and then touched the phone's metal change-box with his palm. A light flashed across his hand for a moment, and then Maria picked up the receiver and dialed. She listened for perhaps a minute, then hung up. «The UFO Center is closed for a few days,' she said, facing Michael. Not a good sign, Michael thought. «Does Brody have a cell phone?» «Yeah.» Grinning, Maria gestured toward the phone again, and Michael gave it another burst of power. She dialed, and moments later her grin grew wider still. «Brody? It's Maria! Yes, Maria DeLuca. No, I'm okay. I'm fine.» She paused for a moment to listen, prompting Michael to reflect wryly on how rarely he saw her do that. «Yeah, I heard about what happened to the Parkers today,' Maria said into the receiver. «That's why I'm calling. Do you know anything else?» Again, Michael watched her as she listened intently, saying nothing other than the occasional «uh-huh» and «yeah.» He wished he could hear the conversation's other side. «When did they leave? And you're sure they're going to Los Angeles? Okay, hold on.» She scrambled in her pocket for a pen, then jammed the phone between her cheek and shoulder as she quickly scribbled a set of numbers and names across the back of her left hand. «He promised you what? Uh-huh. Well, I'm sure the truth is going to be out soon enough. Look, Brody, I need to go, and I also need you to do a favor for me. When you talk to Valenti, I need you to give him this message. Tell him we're on our way to meet the second protector.» She paused. «I know it sounds weird. Just tell him that. He'll know who we're talking about, and how to reach us. We should be there by late tonight.» Michael turned to see Eddie exiting the bathroom. The Native American man approached him, then beckoned with his finger, apparently wanting to talk with him apart from Maria. «What do you need, Eddie?» Michael asked when he reached the other young man's side. «I hate to do this, but I wasn't thinking real clearly when I left Roswell,' Eddie said, an apologetic look in his eyes. «I didn't grab too much money, and I've got to make it back there somehow. Is there any way you guys can help out with some gas money?» Michael smirked. «Sure. Give me all the money you've got. Bills and quarters.» Eddie looked confused, but handed him three onedollar bills, a five-dollar bill, and four quarters. «Wait here,' Michael said. «And watch Maria. Tell her I went to the bathroom.» He made his way into the deserted bathroom and entered one of the stalls. He held the money in