The guards didn't answer. They were too busy trying to contain Michael.

They were traveling hallways unfamiliar to Max after all his time in this government facility. He didn't recognize a single doorway. He tried to concentrate on what was going on inside his head. It had to be a hallucination, it just had to be.

*Max? Max, where are you?*

The guards opened a door and shoved him through. Max gasped and moaned when he saw the gore inside. *I'm here, Liz. They're just...never mind.*

He could feel her worry brimming over into tears. *Max...they aren't hurting you, are they?*

Max closed his eyes and tried to erase what he had seen from his memory. *Don't worry about it, Liz. Just keep my baby safe, will you?*

*Of course, Max. Always. I love you.*

Max moaned as he felt the connection begin to close. *I love you too, Liz.* He let reality come back into focus and heard Michael crying softly next to him. He looked over to see tears streaming down his best friend's face.

Isabel lay on the table before them, clearly unconscious. The table was slick with fresh and dried blood. Marcus, along with one of the numerous nameless doctors, stood next to her, looking at the two.

"Well, I suppose you can imagine what you two have been brought here for," Marcus said drily.

Michael walked hesitantly toward the table and reached for Isabel's hand, ignoring the blood that coated it. "Isabel...I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

Max watched, feeling sick. Isabel didn't respond at all. "What did you do to her?" Max demanded.

Marcus shrugged. "Well, I'm afraid your sister had a miscarriage. We tried to stop it, but...as you can see, we were too late."

Max growled deep in his throat and, before Marcus even had a chance to react, had grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. "Tell me the truth! What did you do to her? What are you trying to do here?" "Max...we..." Marcus gurgled as his air supply was cut off. The doctor reached under his monitor and pushed a button. The same guards that had dragged them to this room returned and pried Max's hands off Marcus's throat. They held him back, his muscles straining as he tried to get free.

Marcus shook himself indignantly. "I was telling you the truth, Max. You see, when we realized that we could not save the baby, the mother herself was near to death. So we brought you here."

Max squeezed his eyes shut painfully, and then opened them to look at his sister. "Can we help her, Michael?"

Michael shook his head. "I don't know, Max. She might...she might be too far gone already. But we can try."

They each took one side of the girl they had both known since childhood. They placed their hands on her and began to heal her.

****

Maria got off the freeway at the Roswell exit, glancing nervously around the dark, deserted town. She headed straight for Alex's old house. If he was staying anywhere, Maria was willing to bet it would be there. She gaped in awe at what she saw on her way. She had heard that it was deserted, but to actually see it put things into perspective. It was difficult to believe that all this could happen in just a few months.

She pulled up behind at his house and saw a car parked in the driveway. She walked closer and squinted at it in the darkness. It was a Honda, and a fairly new one, too. She wondered when Alex had gotten rid of his rusted-out old Pontiac. He had loved that thing like a baby ever since he turned sixteen.

Maria walked up to the front door and knocked. There was no answer. She tried to peer into the house through the glass plate on the door. From what she could tell, it had been recently occupied. But right now, nobody was home. She tried the door again. It was locked.

She sighed and sat down on the porch. This made no sense at all. She knew Alex had been here, yet it was 2 A.M., his car was here, and nobody was home.

Unless Alex wasn't alone in Roswell. But who else would be here with him, in this ghost town in the desert?

****

"Turn right," Liz said tersely.

Alex obeyed. For the last hour, her directions had been leading them further and further into the desert. Yet he could sense something near, something they were coming towards. He knew that Liz felt it.

He couldn't explain anything that was going on, and for once in his life it didn't bother him.

In the distance, a rambling cement structure appeared. "This is it," Liz whispered.

As they approached it, they realized the simple scope of what they had to do. The facility was enormous, several football fields long and a few wide. It was only one story that they could see, but who knew what was under the ground? It could take them days just to find a way in.

Liz closed her eyes and searched for Max. *Max...Max, I need you now.*

There was a faint response from Max, so faint that Liz could barely make it out. *Liz? Are you here?*

*Yes, Max, we're outside the facility. You have to tell us how to get in, and how to find you.*

*I don't know if I can.*

*You have to. We'll never be able to find you otherwise.*

*Liz...I can feel you near.*

*I know. I can feel you too.*

She could feel his soft laugh. *My stubborn Liz.*

*Why am I stubborn?*

*I told you not to come, and you did anyway.*

*Izzy called Alex, Max. She's hurt.*

*I know. I know. We've been trying to heal her, but...* Liz could feel the desperation in his words.

*I don't know if we're strong enough. She's just so sick.*

*Just hold on, Max. Hold on.*

*Liz, to get in...there's a door. It faces a steep cliff. It isn't guarded. But it is locked.*

*Okay, where do we go after that?*

*Liz...* She could hear as his voice trailed off.

"Dammit," Liz cursed aloud.

Alex looked at her. "Were you, uh, talking to Max?"

Liz nodded unhappily. "You were right, Alex. There's something wrong with Isabel."

Alex swallowed. "Have they healed her?"

"I don't know. They said she's too sick."

He moaned softly. "Liz, we had better get in there soon."