“Sssh…” puts his finger to his lips. I’m listening for sirens.”

“Sirens? Why?” arches an eyebrow in query.

“I’m sure the neighbors must have called the police with all the noise you were making.”

She playfully punches him in the shoulder then covers her face in mock embarrassment.

“Liz Parker, you are so loud,” he pulls her into his arms and kisses her temple.

“I heard some very distinguished moans coming from a certain extraterrestrial,” she laughs as she whispers this in his ear while tickling his side.

To her surprise and delight Max is ticklish. It’s hard for her to believe he has a weakness so mundane. She playfully taunts him with her new found knowledge promising to stop but as soon as his guard is down her fiendish fingers attack.

In his effort to escape her last betrayal he falls naked out of the bed onto the cold floor pulling her and most of the bedding with them.

Liz is still laughing when Max turns his head toward the door as though he hears something.

“What is it?” her voice a low whisper. “Oh my God Max, maybe it’s my parents.”

“Shh…” he attempts to stand but is restricted by the tangled bedding. Max is naked as he walks to and puts an ear to the door.

They both hear and recognize the sound at the same time. It’s the same beeping sound, which led them to the Orb in the desert.

“Max, where is it coming from?” She has wrapped a blanket around herself and joins Max near the door where they wait for the next beep.

She hands Max his jeans, which he steps into right before opening the door leading into the hall.

They are just about to leave the room when they hear the beep again. It’s coming from within the bedroom.

The beeping leads them to the built in wall to wall storage unit with cabinets and floor to ceiling selves. Their thorough search of all the selves and cabinets do not yield a bounty.

“Is there another room on the other side of this wall?” Max prompts Liz.

She doesn’t answer him but kneels down and opens a lower cabinet door, reaches her hand up and pulls a lever that unlocks and opens a cabinet panel that doubles as a door leading into a hidden room.

“When the house was renovated this was the only solution to making the room symmetrical. Maria and I used it as a playhouse when we visited my grandmother.” Liz explains as she flips the light switch flooding the small room with artificial light.

Max leads Liz by the hand and has to duck his head to enter the small room but once inside he is able to stand erect.

“Pink,” smiles as he imagines her as a little girl playing in here with her dolls and tea settings.

Hits him on the shoulder, “My grandmother indulged me.”

He stops short as he hears the beep again and notices a familiar blue light spilling forth from a large partially opened metal chest tucked away in a corner of the room.

They slowly approach the source of the light knowing what they’ll find but perplexed as to how and why it would be in a hidden room in Liz’s grandmother’s lake house.

Max releases Liz’s hand, scurries over to the chest drops to his knees and flips the lid open. The room is suddenly ablaze with the luminous light as it reaches its brilliance before just as suddenly dimming to extinction. The beeps also stop.

“Liz,” holds out his hand to her and beacons her to come closer.

She adjusts the blanket sarong and slowly approaches the chest never taking her eyes away from it, “Max, I know that chest. I was with my grandmother in the Chaco Canyons when it was discovered.”

“When was this Liz? How long ago?” Angling his body toward her, his eyes questioning.

“Seven or eight years ago,” her eyes widen with clarity. “It was the summer before I started the third grade, the year I met you.”

Max is looking at the contents, pulls out a notebook, thumbs through it then hands it to Liz. “Your grandmother’s.” He hesitantly picks up another book from the chest, this one is similar to the one Tess showed them, which outlined their destiny. It has the same emblem on the cover as the other book. Upon opening it the characters looked the same, familiar to him but he is still unable to read it. Page after page of a language he should know but evades him just the same.

Max looks up from his scrutiny to see Liz sitting on a child sized chair perusing her grandmother’s journal.

“Hon,” His recent endearment for the women he loves. “What does your grandmother say about the chest?

Liz waves her hand at him as a signal to wait a moment so he continues to look through the book allegedly from his home planet

“Liz,” Max draws her name out and when she doesn’t answer he calls her name again but stronger. “Liz, come over here.”

She hears the urgency in his voice and earmarks the journal, places it on the small table and goes over to where Max is staring at the book that he recovered from the chest.

“Max,” as she places her hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright?”

She kneels next to him and takes the opened book he proffers.

Looking down at the book Liz is astonished, “Oh my God, it’s a picture of me.”

“Liz there are more,” Max leans over and turns a couple of pages to show Liz a picture of her as she looked in Middle school and another of how she looks now.”

The couple stare at each other for a moment before focusing their attention back to the book. Max begins to pace the small room running his hand through his hair and rubbing his chin, a dead give-away when he is bewildered.

“Max, my grandmother has had this for 7 years.” She retrieves the journal from the table and continues to read. “Her journal appears to be notes trying to decipher the language.”

“Max, it says here that there’s another section to the chest.” She runs back over to the chest and finds the tab that lets her lift the panel.

Max has joined her and they both look down at dozens of what appears to be triangle shaped ornaments made of the same material as the chest and the Orb. Liz moves to pick one of them up when Max stops her.

“Liz wait,” he retrieves the alien book and shows Liz a diagram of what appears to be an instructional manual on how to use these objects as a weapon.

The ornaments measure approximately 4 inches in diameter but the illustration show that they unfold to possibly 8 feet in diameter. They appear to be made of a similar material as the Orb and the metal chest that they are stored.

The diagram indicates that they are pliable and reusable.

When used as an imprisoning device and unfolded to its maximum size they become transparent.

1) As an extinguisher:

a) Place Tri-fold in palm of hand emblem facing target. b) Squeeze sides. c) Direct beam at target to vaporize target into nothingness.

2) As an imprisoning device:

a) Place Tri-fold in hand emblem faces up. b) Move away from Tri-fold once it has levitated to allow it to unfold to its full size. c) Push towards target whereas Tri-fold restrains prey eventually refolding to its original size imprisoning prey within its folds. d) Once returned to it’s original size Tri-fold is retrieved by extending the hand from whence it originated.

“Max, the diagram infers that the Tri-folds can be used more than once to either vaporize it’s target or engulfs him alive and imprisons the target in some alternate existence. Is that possible and do you think its humane?” Liz looks down and away from Max. “Liz look at me,” lifts her chin up and looks into her eyes. “This is not your war and I can’t ask you to be a participate.”

“No Max, it’s not that. It’s just that morally I don’t think I can kill any being. And at some point it may come to that.”

“And I would never ask you too. But for Michael, Isabel, Tess, and I, it’s kill or be killed. At least with these Tri-pods our enemy becomes prisoners of war in a way.”

“Maybe we should put these away until we can all evaluate and test their usage and determine their value to us.” Max’s concern for everyone’s safety his top priority.

Liz replaces the panel that had covered the Tri-folds. She also replaces the alien book and the Orb and closes the lid of the chest before leaving the small room to the comfort of her bedroom.

Max follows her out of the hidden room and pushes the panel until it clicks shut. He grabs her from the back, encircles her waist, kisses her neck and nibbles at her ear before grabbing the blanket that she’s been wearing like a toga.

“Max, don’t. I’m cold.” she pulls the blanket tight around her body and tries to evade his tug to disrobe her.

“You won’t be cold for long, I promise,” smiles shyly.

Liz runs to the bed and Max gives chase and they land on the rumpled bed at the very moment the phone rings. Liz answers the phone breathlessly, “Hello.”

“Liz it’s Isabel, Is Max there?”

“Max, its Isabel,” as she hands the phone to him.

He covers the mouthpiece and whispers, “To be continued.”

“Promises, promises,” giggles and grabs her robes and heads for the bathroom.

He watches her leave and lets out a contented sigh. What has he ever done to deserve her and the happiness that they now share?

“Max, are you there?” shrills Isabel. “Max”

“Sorry Iz, I was distracted.” A wide smile split his face.

“Snap out of it Lover Boy, troubles a brewing.” She flips back.

“What are you talking about Isabel?” He grated out.

“I’ll give you three guesses but you’re only going to need one.” She hurls at him.

“Tess?” He says dryly.

“Yes, Tess, Our parents and the Parker’s.” She declared.

“What has she done?” Max demands in exasperation.

“I saw Tess talking to Mr. Parker yesterday afternoon and Mom said she called here for you last night.” I went into her dreams last night and she plans to suggest to the Parker’s that you and Liz are together. You guys need to get back here as soon as possible.” She presses.

He looks at the bedside clock, “Its only 7am, we can be there by 10. Isabelle, do you think you can stall her? I’ll call you on your cell phone when we get back.”

“Max, why can’t you be here by 8:30? It’s only a 90 minute drive?” Iz remarks wisely and starts to laugh.

Max splutters, “We need to straighten up the house and we haven’t had anything to eat since last night and huh…Use your imagination Isabel. We’ll see you when we get back.” He says flatly.