Soon, Kyle returned with the item and scrambled down the slope to help Max. Michael and Alex had already joined him and had ascertained that it was a young male around their age. His body was badly bruised and looked like it had suffered some burns. They couldn’t see his face clearly, so they wrapped him in the blanket and carefully lifted him up over the embankment.

They carried him to the house, being careful not to shake him around too much. He moaned as they lifted him onto the sofa in the living room, trying not to aggravate his wounds. It was only then that they caught a glimpse of his face. They stood back as they gasped and Ava came up behind them as she sensed something monumental about to take place.

She recoiled in fear as she looked down at the pathetic figure lying before her. Then, she began to scream and hold her hands to her eyes as she tried to erase the image from her mind. But when she removed her hands, the apparition remained. She knelt down by the sofa and touched his hand and brought it to her lips, mumbling over and over,"Zan, Zan, Zan."

It was Max’s double, there was no doubt about that. He wore a goatee and he was in bad shape but he was definitely a dead ringer for Max. They stared in shock at the young man who was supposed to be dead and buried, trying to comprehend what had taken place. His eyes shot open, as he felt Ava kissing his face and lips. He took in a deep shuddering breath, filling his starved lungs with oxygen and looked around at the strangers in the room.

He started when he saw Max staring back at him, and tried to rise from the sofa, but fell back down as his strength failed him. He looked at Ava and smiled weakly at her as he reached out to touch her face.

"I never thought I’d see you again," he whispered, as his eyes moistened.

She began to cry anew as she hugged him to her hard, ecstatic at his miraculous return. The others were dumbfounded as they watched this little encounter. How the hell did this happen? How did he get in their backyard and how long had he been there? How come he wasn’t dead? So many questions, and they couldn’t wait to hear the answers.

Zan held onto Ava for dear life as he tried to gain back some of his control. The last thing he remembered was this crazy guy breaking into their crib and firing at them with his hand. Lonnie and Rath fell first and then he taunted Zan, drawing out his death sentence. He asked him where the other bitch was, but Zan refused to answer him. He just laughed in his face before he blasted him too.

Then, he wakes up in this strange house with all these strange people staring at him, his twin being one of them. He was just as confused as everyone else and he was anxious to get some answers of his own.

"Where am I?" he asked Ava.

"First things first," Max intervened. Let’s get you cleaned up and I’ll have a look at your burns. Then we’ll talk," he added kindly. "Do you think you can walk?"

Zan looked at Max curiously but tried to concentrate on moving his legs. He clutched the blanket around him, realizing for the first time that he was naked. He stood up hesitantly, his legs a little wobbly. Max grabbed him around the waist and he again looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and fear, but he allowed Max to assist him to the bathroom.

"Do you think you can stand in the shower?" Max asked, as he lead him into the bathroom.

Zan nodded and Max left him to wash himself. His skin was tender from the dirt and burns but he washed himself valiantly, scrubbing away all traces of his confinement. He shampooed his hair and then exited the shower. He found a new toothbrush and a razor for his use. He didn’t usually shave but he decided to trim his goatee a bit anyway. He brushed his long locks away from his injured face, looking into the mirror at his ghost.

Max left his robe and some clean boxers for him and he put them on, wincing as the cloth touched his sensitive skin. He was just about to leave the bathroom, when he heard a quiet knock. He opened the door to find Max waiting for him, almost as if he had read his mind. Max lead him into the bedroom and asked him to lie down on the bed.

Zan hesitated, wondering if this guy was a qualified doctor. Max sensed his fear and called Ava in to join them. She explained to Zan about Max’s healing powers and although he was skeptical, he did as she asked him. He lay down on the bed and Max touched his temple, as he waved his other hand over the painful burns on his body. He felt a light warmth and tingle course through his flesh and soon, all sense of discomfort disappeared.

"Thanks," he smiled hesitantly at Max, as Ava also jumped up and hugged him for his help.

"Don’t mention it," Max waved it off. "I laid some of my clothes out for you. I’m pretty sure were the same size," he smiled, as he raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, thanks again," Zan returned as Max left the room. When they were alone, he turned to Ava. "What’s going on here?" he asked, totally confused.

"I wish I knew," she admitted. "I’m just so glad your back," she wept, as she collapsed onto him

He held on to her tight as she cried in his arms, partly from relief and partly from fear.

"Well, I guess I better get dressed and see if we can straighten this mess out," he said as he started to haul on Max’s clothes. "Not exactly my style," he laughed, as he finished dressing.

"No, it ain’t," Ava admitted. "But it beats goin’ around naked," she giggled.

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

They left the comfort of the bedroom and walked down the hall towards the living room, where everyone awaited their presence. They were impressed with the improvement in his appearance and indicated a place for him to sit next to Ava. He might have been confused and a little hesitant to trust them, but he was definitely no push over. He sat down with authority and looked them squarely in the face.

Liz caught her breath at the remarkable resemblance to Max, and was momentarily taken with the rougher side he portrayed, with his longer hair, scruffy beard and earring. Max looked at her curiously as he sensed her interest and Zan smirked as he also felt her arousal. Ava caught the whiff of sexual tension and glared at Liz, who quickly lowered her eyes, pretending to fuss with some dust on the coffee table.

Max cleared his throat and tried to bring some order to the meeting. Zan looked at him, waiting for him to make the first move. He watched his enemy, all those years learning to survive on the streets serving him well, now. He leaned back on the sofa, his arm draped casually over the back, eyeing Max and waiting.

Max stood up to gain an advantage. All eyes swung from him to Zan, already sensing a power struggle going on. Zan looked up at him, his face an unreadable mask as Max fought to control his nerves. He could feel the power vibrating off Zan and realized for the first time, that he had met his match.

"Do you know how you got her?" Max finally asked.

Zan shrugged. "I was hopin’ you could tell me," he answered back.

Max cursed himself for not taking the power position. Now, suddenly, he was the one who would be answering questions. "Well," he thought, "two can play at this game."

"Alright, smartass, what can you tell me?"

Zan laughed at Max’s direct approach, liking him for his adaptability. So, he told him what he remembered happening to him before he was *killed*.

"Did you get a good look at the guy?" Max asked.

"Yeah," Zan smirked. " He was sort of our height and he had darker skin and dark hair. His eyes were a dark brown and he had a scar on his right cheek. He was one of them," he finished.

"By one of them, you mean a shapeshifter?" Max verified.

"Yeah, I guess so," Zan confirmed.

"Had you ever seen him before," Max continued.

"Nope," Zan answered.

"Don’t talk much, do you man?" Michael spoke up.

Zan’s head swivelled towards him and he eyed him coldly. "Just like Rath," he spit out.

Ava had told them about the rivalry between Zan and Rath so they weren’t surprised by his reaction to Michael. Michael just smirked at him, trying to maintain his position in the hierarchy.

"Zan," Max tried to get his attention again."We aren’t here to give you the third degree. We just want some answers like you. I mean, you have to admit that it’s pretty weird that you’re back in the land of the living.......so many weird things have been happening to us lately that we thought if you could give us some answers, we might be able to help you too, man."

Zan swallowed hard, his emotions wavering as he fought his own uncertainty. "I got no answers either," he confessed.

"Alright then," Max nodded. "Well, we’ll have to come up with some answers ourselves. Look, none of us has eaten yet," he said glancing at his watch. "Why don’t we do that before we go on any further?" he stated.

"Sounds like a plan Maxwell," Michael agreed, lending support to his friend.

Zan just looked at him, realizing that Rath would never have agreed with anything he said. Maybe these guys weren’t as lame as he thought. He’d give them some time before he made up his mind. He watched Liz as she moved out of the room, wondering why Max had chosen her over the other girl who was Ava’s obvious double. He didn’t yet realize that only four of the eight were aliens. He had a lot of catching up to do.

The teens prepared a quick meal of sandwiches, which they laid on the dining room table. They brought in another extra chair for Zan who sat next to Ava. They all ate quietly, too perplexed by the previous events to carry on polite conversation. Max kept glancing at Liz who kept glancing at Zan who kept glancing back at her.

She realized she wasn’t attracted to him. It was more a morbid curiosity about how he compared to Max. This whole situation was so bizarre that she couldn’t get a handle on her emotions. She excused herself from the table and went outside. Max got up to follow her but before he could make a move, Ava shot out the door behind her. Zan looked at Max and shrugged and Max sat back down, frowning over his sandwich on his plate.

Ava followed Liz into the yard and they were quite a ways from the house, before she caught up with her. She grabbed her by the arm, pulling her around to face her.

"What the hell do you think you’re doin’, anyhow? You already got a guy.......leave my Zan alone!" she threatened.

"Oh, Ava, I’m not after Zan," Liz admitted. "Obviously, I find him attractive,’ she admitted. "I’d have to, wouldn’t I?" My God, he looks just like Max. Don’t tell me you don’t find Max attractive," she eyed her shrewdly.

"Yeah, he’s cool, but not as cool as Zan," she admitted, smiling.

"Well, now you know how I feel. But Ava, I love Max with all my heart and soul. There could be a thousand guys who look just like him, but none would ever compare to my Max. He means the whole world to me, and if anything ever happened to him, I wouldn’t be able to live. He is a part of me now, and if he dies, I die too," she admitted.

"I feel the same way," Ava returned. "That’s what I was doin’ when I found Zan lyin’ in that ditch. I was tryin’ to figure out a way to kill myself," she confessed. "It’s kinda like he was tryin’ to stop me, ya know!"

Unbeknownst to the two girls, Max and Zan had overheard the conversation. Neither one could sit at the table wondering what the two girls were confronting each other about, so they followed them outside. Max looked at Zan when Ava made her confession and he touched his arm as if to say "Go talk to her.....she needs you."

Zan nodded and headed to where the two girls were standing. Liz looked up and smiled at him and then saw Max. Her face lit up and she ran to him with her arms outstretched. She jumped into his arms and kissed him lustily.

"I love you, I love you, I love you," she said, as she kissed him passionately on the lips.

"I know, " he whispered, as he kissed her back "I adore you,’ he returned.

Zan approached Ava quietly as she stared out over the property. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.

"Don’t ever leave me," he whispered. "I couldn’t live without you, either."

She turned in his arms and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. "I won’t if you won’t" she promised, as she kissed him lovingly on the lips.

He kissed her back, deepening the kiss, longing to make love to her. She felt his arousal pressing into her and rubbed against him. He hissed at her response and searched for a place to complete the tryst. He noticed a shed at the rear of the property and grabbed her by the hand, running towards it. There was an old mattress on the floor and he flung himself onto it, pulling her on top of him.

Max watched them go and laughed. "I wonder if we should let them have our bed," he said to Liz.

"Not on your life," she warned him. " I have my own plans for that right now," she grinned, as she grabbed Max and ran towards the private patio outside their bedroom. Max opened the sliding door and they collapsed on the bed, rolling around in sexual bliss as they tore each other’s clothes off.

By dinnertime, the ardour had still not cooled in the bungalow. All the couples were in a constant state of arousal but tried to laugh it off since they were all experiencing the same symptoms. Even Zan and Ava were unable to control their feelings.

"Alright, something definitely happened in that damn cave last night," Liz stated," and we have to figure it out before we go home tomorrow. It’s okay for you guys," she pointed to Zan and Ava. "You don’t have to deal with the constant interruptions of parents, who want to talk about your feelings........yadda, yadda, yadda. I can’t live with these feelings constantly surfacing. And what about school? We’ll never make it through the first day!"

"What do you suggest Liz?" Alex asked, as he nibbled on Isabel’s ear.

"Well, we should go back to deciphering those damn symbols," she said in frustration, as Max pawed at her leg. "Otherwise, we’re all gonna die from too much sex!"

"Mmmm." Max sighed. "But what a way to go!" he said, as he kissed her fully on the lips.

"Isn’t there something we can take to curb our feelings?" Tess spoke up, as Kyle gnawed on her neck. "You know, like they give the guys in the army?"

"I don’t think that really works," Liz admitted. "But maybe we can find something that’ll work on us.......just to tame us down enough to function normally, anyway. Tess, did Nasedo ever mention anything to you about this kind of thing happening to your people?"

"We didn’t really discuss sex, Liz," she raised her eyebrows. "Not the fatherly type, you know."

"Okay, okay," Liz said, as she tried to stop herself from giving in to Max’s advances. "We need to contact Grandma. This is a crisis and we need her just as much now as we ever did. Isabel, do you think you can reach her?"

"I doubt it," she admitted. "She’s never even been in touch with me!"

"Whose Grandma?" Zan asked.

They had tried to fill him in briefly about their lives over the past year and a half, as they had done for Ava, but they were having a hard time concentrating. Liz explained briefly who they thought she was, but it meant very little to him, since he hadn’t heard the whole story.

"What if we all call her together?" Maria suggested.

"Anything! I’ll try anything," Liz answered desperately. "Okay, let’s all hold hands in a circle and concentrate real hard. We’ve got to do something soon!"

They joined hands and focused on her picture that Liz passed around. As each person stared at the picture, they formed an indelible mental image in their heads. Their hands began to vibrate from the energy they were producing and soon, she appeared to them in the middle of the circle. She communicated with them telepathically. Isabel was thrilled to finally meet her and she came over to her granddaughter and caressed her cheek.

She smiled when she realized their predicament, and she gave them a recipe for an herbal drink that they could take. But she cautioned them to drink it only once a day, for this sexual energy they were creating would be necessary to complete their task, in March. She promised them that they would find all the answers they were seeking if they applied themselves with the same dedication they had portrayed so far in their journey, and then she left them.

They hadn’t had a chance to ask her about Zan’s re-appearance, but she probably wouldn’t have told them much anyway......she liked to see them work things out on their own.

The herbs grew wild on their property, and soon they were grinding them up and boiling them to make an infusion that they could drink. It didn’t taste too bad and within an hour, they were feeling back to normal. They suddenly realized how hungry they really were, and rushed to the kitchen to prepare a hearty meal. They made chicken breasts and lots of vegetables to accompany them, plus a large toss salad and rolls and whatever else they could find to fill the gap that all the sexual energy had created.