“Do you think they’ll attack again?” Alex asked. “What could they be thinking right now? And why the hell didn’t they storm the restaurant after they blew a big, bad fireball at us?” Alex shook his head in disgust. Too many questions were swimming in that swelling brain of his.

“I don’t think they want us dead yet. They were probably just trying to scare us so we’d do something stupid.” Max leaned against the wall, his butt firmly planted on the balcony cement. It had only been a few days since he had held Liz so closely on this very balcony. How quickly things had changed.

“I bet if they knew Liz that left, they wouldn’t be so hesitant in wanting to kill us. Khivar has objectives, you know.” Alex then busied himself with the cameras he had placed along the balcony ledge. He flicked on the two surveillance televisions that were seated next to him and got a clear picture. The four cameras glared at the suspicious vehicles and projected its clear picture.

“Geez, Alex, where’d you get all this stuff?” Max asked, obviously not wanting to discuss anything about Khivar right now. Alex grinned at him.

“Who knew that disposable cameras and some pocket radios could be so valuable? Hell, who knew that Michael could actually use his powers in a beneficial way?” Max grinned. At least Michael was doing something.

“Hey, I use my powers in a beneficial way all the time!” Michael called out as he crawled out the window and joined the other two boys. “Eggo’s don’t cook by themselves you know.” Alex laughed.

“Right, right. And Guerin, if you could spare some measly time, I wouldn’t mind those eggo’s with the maple syrup in the middle? They’re good,” Alex responded. He paused for a second and looked at the other two aliens. “I’ve been thinking, and what if all these people aren’t actually Khivar’s people? Maybe they’re a whole different alien species.”

“Great, just what we need, another race of aliens wanting to kill us,” Michael muttered, slinking down beside Max against the brick wall.

“No, we’re not going to think that way,” Max stated matter-of-factly. “We need to get rid of Khivar and that’s our primary concern.” He sighed heavily. “I wish Liz would connect with us again. It feels like we haven’t talked to her forever. What if something happened to her? What if Adam can’t protect her? What if she’s h-hurt?” He dropped his head into hands. He really needed to stop thinking like this. All it did was distract him and if he didn’t start getting it together, he was going to lose Liz and all his friends forever.

“Hey man, don’t worry about Liz,” Michael responded. Michael’s growing amiability no longer shocked any of the group. Max figured that Michael had been paid a visit by Liz, because after the “nap” Michael took the same day Liz had first connected to the whole group, Michael mysteriously became much more compassionate. And Max only knew one person who could create such a change in Michael, in anyone for that matter. Liz. In total, Liz had only connected with the group once but that one memory was permanently embedded in his mind. What he wouldn’t do to just be with her again.

“-If I know my sister at all, she’ll kick anyone’s ass before they touch her,” Michael pronounced, as Max had unintentionally stopped listening. “But I miss her too.” Michael exhaled the last part quietly, but Max still caught it. Another sigh erupted from his lips. At least Michael was in a similar boat.