Soon after Ben and Sandy had regained most of their strength, them, Maria, Isabel and Kyle trailed stealthily back to the motel. Ben and Sandy were sure that Khivar and his men were long gong from the motel room, as Max and Liz were nowhere near it. Khivar was looking for Liz first, the rest could be disposed later. It was a horrifying thought to think but basically the truth.

Now the bodies of the men Ben and Michael had killed were gone.

“What would Khivar want dead men for? It’d be a hassle,” Sandy replied, her game face now on. Any signs that Maria had detected of love and kindness were long gone.

“Maybe they’re not dead,” Maria replied. “Invincible men. It’s genius. You can kill them all you want but in the end, they’ll continue to return to Khivar.” Maria shuddered at the thought. Was it even possible?

“Oh god,” Isabel whispered, “What do we do? They could be coming back right now! They’ll kill us, but we can’t kill them! They’ll keep coming for us! They’ll-”

“Ahem,” Kyle interjected, rolling his eyes at the group. Each could see the obvious annoyance of the group on Kyle’s face. “Khivar took the men because if the FBI found a couple of little green guys floating around in a motel in the middle of nowhere, they’re going to start snooping around. So Khivar would get rid of the evidence before anyone could suspect anything. Get rid of the hassle before it’s even there.” Kyle stated his explanation clearly and bluntly. He flung himself on to one of the beds afterwards though. This smart thing was kind of tiring.

“Either way,” Ben continued, straining to regain his composure after being outsmarted by Kyle. “Khivar or some of his troops must have been here to clean up the mess because even the wall in the back is fixed up. This room looks like what it was when we were first in here.” They all nodded in agreement.

“We can’t stay here, we’ve got to move. We don’t know how far they are from here, and there’s no way we can go up against them alone.” Sandy crossed her arms, finding it almost painful to say the next part. “We work better as-” Sandy coughed.

“As two complete units,” Ben finished for her. He had a bit of sympathy for his sister. A little bit. Ben turned to his sister and held her in a hug that she didn’t seem to refuse.

Maria’s heart softened again for the girl.

“What about Michael and Adam?” Isabel asked. “How the hell are we going to get in contact with them again? And what about Max and Liz for that matter?” Isabel shook her head at the mess that never ended.

“We can’t stay here,” Kyle squeaked. “The alien dudes are going to fry us! And personally, I’d like to stay the raw human being that I am. I may be outnumbered but I’m not dumb.” Isabel and Maria both bit their lips in hope they wouldn’t squeal in laughter.

“He’s right,” Ben added, seriously. “We don’t know where Khivar is and we don’t know where Michael and Adam is. And we certainly don’t know where Liz and Max are. It’s better to be safe from Khivar than be sitting ducks while waiting for the rest of our group.”

“No!” Maria screeched, striking everyone’s eardrums with surprise at her ferociousness. “We are NOT leaving! My boyfriend and my best friends are out THERE-” Maria pointed to the window “-and there’s no way in HELL you’re going to get me to leave. I am not leaving without THEM! If we have to wait around all fucking night, then be it, but so help me God if anyone tries to convince me to do otherwise.” Maria’s eruption quieted the room, but she knew that no one was agreeing with her quite yet.

Maria turned to Isabel, pointing a finger to her face. “You! You have a brother out there! Max! No, you have [b]two[/b] brothers out there! You know Max and Michael would never leave without you, even if it meant sacrificing their own lives. Why can’t we do the same?” Isabel avoided Maria’s accusing stare.

“And you two!” Maria yelled, pointing at Ben and Sandy. “Your best friend is out there. Adam, your leader. As much as this is still digesting in all of us, Adam is your leader and your friend! Not only that, but your king and queen are out there! The two people in this world you are supposed to protect! Actually, no, forget I said that. They’re not your king and queen. They are your friends.”

“And you,” Maria continued, now turning to Kyle. “You’ve just made some of the best friends you’ll ever make in this world. You may not like it, but since the moment you agreed to keep our secret and help, you’ve gained the greatest, tightest set of friends you’ll ever make in your life. As long you are there for us, you’ll never have to doubt that we’ll be there for you. It’s time to live up to the pact we’ve all made.”

Maria’s rant ended, and all that was heard was her furious, loud pants of breath.

“Maria,” Ben started softly. He thought she was going crazy… Maria thought she was going crazy too though. But instead of hearing it in words, she held up her hands in plead of silence. She turned away from the group, burying her face in her hands, choking down inaudible sobs. This wasn’t going to end, and Maria didn’t want to face that.

Kyle stood silently and walked to Maria’s side, putting a supportive hand on her shoulder.

“Maria,” Kyle said quietly. “Look.”

Maria’s head slowly eased up and the opened door caught her eye. Adam and Michael stood there, looking wordlessly at the group. Michael’s eyes zoned in on Maria, noticing her tear streaked cheeks. He began to move towards her, but Maria put her hand up again to stop his forwarding.

With hope shining in her eyes, she looked directly at Michael.

“Max and Liz…?” Maria trailed. Michael bowed his head down immediately, and after a hesitant moment, he shook his head.