"Hi, Liz," she said. "I'm so glad you came over, because if you hadn't, I think we would have had to strap Max down," she rolled her eyes laughing.

Liz laughed with her, acknowledging Max's determination. "Hi, Mrs. Evans," she returned. "How is he?" she asked worriedly.

"Well, he definitely needs to get some more rest," she sighed. "He's pushing himself too much, but you know Max!"

Liz nodded and before she had a chance to answer, they heard Max's voice calling to her from down the hall. She raised her eyebrows and Diane moved aside as she walked to Max's room. He was lying in his bed and she was taken aback by his appearance. He looked terrible and she sat down on the bed to smooth his brow.

"Oh, Max, this is all my fault!" she cried. "I never should have let you do what you did today!" she sobbed, as she hugged him.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "I would've done it anyway," he told her. "Okay, I'm an idiot," he said, as she shot him a frustrated glare. "But a well meaning one," he said, as he gave her a puppy dog look.

"Oh, Max," she sighed, as she kissed him tenderly on the lips. "I love you so much. You have to take better care of yourself or there won't be anything left for me to love."

These words seemed to have the requisite effect on him, because the last thing he wanted to do was to hurt Liz. He lay back down on his pillow, gazing up into her tearful eyes and said, "I'm sorry. You're right. I won't take chances like that again. I promise.......unless, of course, it's a matter of life or death," he finished.

She flicked him lightly on the arm, smiling at his attempt to appease her. "Yeah, right. Well, that's usually when all the trouble starts, isn't it?" she reminded him.

Just then, Isabel walked by, and she popped her head inside the door. "Hey Liz," she smiled. "Tending to the wounded?" but she immediately regretted what she had said, as she looked at her brother. "Max!" she exclaimed. "My God, you look awful. What happened?"

Liz filled her in on what had occurred at the hospital this morning, and then she had an idea. She got up from the bed and took Isabel out into the hall. She had a whispered conference with her and they returned in a minute to a perplexed Max, who was attempting to sit up in his bed.

"Hey, you!" she stated. "Where do you think you're going? Lie back down, please!" she demanded.

"Is everybody gonna push me around today?" he muttered.

"Only the one's who love you," she confirmed. "Now, just relax. Isabel and I are going to work some magic on you."

Isabel moved to the other side of the bed and sat down, too. Then she took Liz's left hand and closed her eyes in concentration. Liz placed her right hand on Max's shoulder while Isabel placed her left hand on Max's temple. Max lay there in total confusion. Then he felt a warmth surging through his body and he closed his eyes as he experienced a powerful current of strength running through him. He breathed in deeply as his muscles responded to the new electrical influx.

The girls removed their hands and smiled down at him, as they saw his colour returning. For a moment, his confused mind tried to cope with this new experience. Then he shot up in the bed and hugged the two women who meant the most to him in the world. He kissed them both on the cheeks and whispered "Thank you". He couldn't believe what they had done. He didn't even know how they did it, but he was so grateful, that he just accepted it.

Isabel had never even attempted healing before, figuring it was her brother's exclusive domain, but when Liz suggested they give it a try together, she readily agreed. She realized that Liz's intense connection with Max might just do the trick, and she was right. Diane walked by at that moment and stopped in her tracks as she looked at her much improved son.

"My goodness!" she exclaimed. "Liz, you really do have a magical effect on Max! I"m impressed, " she smiled, as she continued down the hall, shaking her head in amazement.

The three looked at each other and burst out laughing. If she only knew!

------------------------------------------------

Isabel left them alone as she went to call Alex. Liz sat next to Max on the bed, and he stared at her in wonder.

"I can't believe you did that for me!" he exclaimed. "How did you know it would work?"

"I didn't," she confessed, as she shrugged. "But I thought it was worth a try. Max, you know I would do anything for you! How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"I guess a lot," he admitted. "I'm not very bright, you know," he joked.

"Yeah, well, when it comes to your own welfare, I'd have to agree with that," she giggled, as he attacked her ribs.

"Very funny, Parker! If we were alone right now, I'd make you eat those words!"

"Mmmm, I'd love to," she sighed as she batted her eyes. "With a large squirt of Redi Whip, please," she smirked.

"Doh!" Max said, as he realized he'd walked into her trap again.

--------------------------------------------------

The Mexican visitors would be leaving in a few days, and Balam was eager to meet with the teens one more time before he left. They were returning to school on Monday, so they arranged a meeting at the bungalow for after class. The kids were the centre of attention the whole day, but they played it down as much as they could, hoping that by week's end, things would return to normal.

When the final bell rang, they headed for the parking lot in relief.

"I thought this day would never end!" Maria exclaimed. "If one more person had come up to me and asked me how I was, I think I would have strangled them!"

"Now, now, Maria," Alex soothed. "What do you expect people to do? I mean, we are minor celebrities, now," he waggled his eyebrows.

"Oh, Alex," she breathed excitedly. "Can I have your autograph?" she joked, as she reached for a pen and paper in her bag.

"Ha, ha," Deluca. "You can be so drole. Note to self.......remember to laugh, next time."

"Okay, you two! Break it up. I want to get out to the house," Michael reminded them.

Just then, Balam drove up in a large van that he'd hired for the remainder of the week. He helped the kids load all their crutches and wheelchairs and they climbed aboard, as they headed out of town. They tumbled out when they reached the bungalow, and headed noisily inside. They had picked up some groceries the day before, and they made a bee-line for the kitchen in their sudden quest for nourishment.

"I'm starving!" Kyle admitted, as he struggled with a bag of chips, while he tried to balance on his crutches.

"Okay, look everybody. There's too many of us in the kitchen!" Isabel shouted. "You guys go sit down in the living room, and we'll bring some food to you, okay?" she said, indicating those who were invalids.

They grumbled good-naturedly at Isabel's usual high handedness, but she shooed them out of the kitchen, while she and Maria and Michael threw some snacks together, and brought them into the starving horde. Balam helped them carry in sodas and chips and cookies and anything else they could grab quickly, as they listened to the complaints of their friends.

They grabbed at the food eagerly, while Balam returned to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. In spite of their elevated importance to the human race, they were still just a typical bunch of kids, he thought, as he smiled at their teenage appetites. They reminded him so much of his own children, that he couldn't help but laugh. He gave them ample time to assuage their hunger, before he tried to get their attention.

"Now, my young friends. I hope you are sufficiently full, so that you can pay attention to what I have to say."

They nodded as they continued to chew on their food.

"Good. Then I will begin. I was most impressed with my visit with Charlie the other day," he stated. "So, I thought I must concentrate my efforts on studying the message you found in the Carlsbad cave. I must confess, I had a hard time accepting his tale, until I heard the whole story, but it has given me a renewed belief in what we have discovered thus far." He laid a sketch of the symbols onto the coffee table.

"Do you recall the list of items I gave you last week concerning your own alien symbols?"

They nodded in agreement.

"Do you also recall, that I made mention of the reference to five appearing three times?"

They nodded again.

"Well, apparently, I was correct in assuming that this would be crucial to solving the riddle. I have made a rough translation of the message and this is what I have come up with."

They sat forward as they realized the importance of what he was about to say.

"These are the words:

Four to the South, Four to the North, a fifth will discover."

"Huh?" Alex queried. "I don't think that makes any more sense than the squiggles we saw before."

"Please permit me to hazard a guess," Balam offered. "I believe that the *four to the south* refers to your pod numbers," he indicated the four alien teens. "Therefore, we must assume that the *four to the north* refers to the second set of pods that were whisked away from the air force base back in 1947. Of course, we do not know where that *north* is that the message refers to as yet, but I am sure we will discover it soon," he said with certainty.

"And I must also assume that out of the total of eight, that it will require a fifth one to *discover* whatever it is you are meant to find. Of course, that fifth person could be anyone of you," he suggested. "We must figure out who that is," he shrugged. "But, right now, it is crucial to concentrate our efforts on finding this elusive second set of podsters."

They looked up as they heard this unfamiliar term for the first time.

"Podsters!" Tess exclaimed.

"Forgive me," Balam blushed. "It is a term that I came up with to refer to your special status. I did not mean for it to be taken in a derogatory manner."

"I like it," Alex grinned. "Podsters.....it kind of rolls off the tongue. Yeah, it's cool," he affirmed.

"Hell, I don't care what you call us," Michael stated. "Just as long as we find the other guys, before it's too late!"

"Yes, well," Balam went on. "That will be your next search, and one you must complete as quickly as possible. Not only must you locate these individuals, but you must also convince them of the importance of their role, and then determine which of the four will be the one who is to complete the five that is referred to in the message. Not an easy task, I'm afraid, but one I am sure you are capable of, " he added reassuringly, as he watched their uncertain expressions.

"What North?" Isabel questioned. "Is it the Northern United States, or is it Canada or maybe it's a completely different country altogether!" Where do we begin?" she asked helplessly.

"I think perhaps, some of the glyphs you have already discovered in Mexico may be able to help you there," Balam suggested. "I have a strong suspicion, that the ones that you discovered in El Diablo, will be of particular interest," he thought aloud. "I am sure your grandmother had a very specific reason for pointing out this site to you."

"I now feel that the glyphs you found in Palenque were just to affirm the ties between your language and race with that of the Maya, and the real link was with the cave all along. Yes, I am certain that the answers are written on the walls of El Diablo!" he confirmed with enthusiasm. "I will require your help in deciphering them," he appealed to them. "It will make things go so much faster."

They all agreed to help, as they set about making phone calls to home, saying that they were going out for dinner together. Michael headed for the kitchen to whip up a fast meal with Maria's help, while Kyle and Liz booted up the computers for the long task ahead. Alex was itching to help but he was unable to type efficiently with only one hand. They removed the discs from the safe, and set up the overheads for the others as they downloaded the newest information into their files.

Soon, they had all the symbols that they were able to match, even slightly, listed on their screens. There were about fifteen altogether, that were *definite* possibilities and they studied them carefully, comparing them to the ones that they were most familiar with.

"Yes, I see what we might have here," Balam admitted. "I must admit that your system is so much more efficient than my own feeble attempts at translation," he congratulated them. "Yes, I think I see a pattern emerging. Please, Alex, will you pass me my own notes? Thank you, " he said, as he perused his sheets.

"There is some reference to a location or a direction," he said frustratedly. "But as I have already indicated, the language of the viejos is so subjective, that it is most difficult to determine," he said, as he brushed his hand through his hair. "I can see the reference to the word north, though," he admitted with satisfaction. "However, I see nothing further to indicate what north they are referring to. If only there were some co-ordinates!" he fumed.

"Wait, just one moment. Please, do you have an astrological chart that I may look at?" he queried anxiously.

"Hang on," Kyle said, as he searched their programs for the item in question. He had soon located one and he displayed it on the overhead.

"Yes!" Balam cried out in relief. "Please, pay attention. Do you see the first symbol in row four of the list I originally drew up for you.......the one containing all your own symbols?"

Liz used the cursor to point to the one he was referring to. "This one?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you, Liz," Balam answered. Do you notice that there are two dots on the same side of a straight line, divided by a wavy line?' he indicated, by pointing to the figure, as he stood up.

They all nodded in affirmation.

"The Maya often referred to the astrological features of the sky to point to locations on earth. As I said, they were very advanced in this field. Now, Kyle, is it possible to transpose this figure into the constellations to find a corresponding cluster of stars in the sky?"

He looked at him puzzled, so Balam explained further. "Do you recall my description of the location of the Great Pyramids, and how some experts thought that it referred to the layout of the Orion cluster in the sky?"

Yeah, " he nodded, along with the others.

"Well, I think our clever Maya ancestors have used the same method to locate the two sets of pods that they must have predicted would descend to Earth. Please, can you locate a cluster similar to this symbol?" he asked again.

Kyle went about searching for a shape similar to the displayed symbol. The computer scanned for a match and very soon, came up with a plausible one. Coincidentally, it sat above the Earth, the Moon and Venus.

"This is too good to be true," Balam rubbed his hands as he chuckled. "Now, we must transfer this picture to the surface of the earth. We already know where one of the co-ordinates is," he verified, referring to the chamber outside Roswell. Kyle located a map of the United states, and placed the lower dot in the desired location.

"Now, where will the other dot fall?" he asked expectantly.

They all held their breath as they watched the dot settle on a location.

"New York!" he exclaimed. "Well, it happens to be one of the largest cities in the world," he shrugged, "but at least it narrows our search drastically."

"You are a genius, Balam!" Alex exclaimed, as he patted him on the back.

"Omigod, I can't believe we've gotten this far!" Maria exclaimed excitedly, rubbing her hands in glee.

They all congratulated Balam as he humbly accepted their praise, waving his hands in denial.

"No, no, my friends. You did all the leg work. I am just a mere vessel for your efforts."

"Well, vessel or not," Liz admitted, "You saved us a ton of work. I never would have made that connection. Thank you so much," she said, as she got up from her chair to hug him.