Liz slowly opened her eyes and winced.

Her hand automatically went to the right side of her face, which felt, for the most part, completely paralyzed.

Why was her face wet?

There's that ringing again...

Liz stared at her fingers, covered in bright red blood.

What...

The ringing was coming from inside.

She pulled herself to a sitting position, wondering why nighttime suddenly seemed so much brighter than the last time she had seen it.

Seen it?

Liz froze.

She was seeing it.

Nighttime. The balcony. The chairs. The stars.

She could see!

The ringing again.

Liz dizzily walked to the window.

She was so happy to see her hand as it reached for the sill, blood and all.

By the time she finally made it to the phone, a silly grin was plastered on her face.

"Hello?"

"Liz, hey it's me. I've got-"

"Alex! I can see," Liz glanced excitedly in the mirror straight ahead, momentarily taken aback by the bloody abrasion on her forehead and cheek.

Alex sounded stunned.

"What?"

Liz grimaced and turned away from the mirror, wanting to enjoy the moment.

"Yes, I can see. I can see everything!"

She reached out and wiped her hand off on a tissue haphazardly.

"Thatıs great! What...what happened?"

"Oh, well," Liz was having a hard time remembering exactly how she ended up there. "I sort of...fell and hit the wall on my balcony. My head is killing me, but I really couldn't care less!!"

She could hear Alex's voice turn serious.

"Well, um, I hate to ruin your first moments of sight, but I've just gotten some info about Tessı adopted parents that you are...are not going to believe...hold on...what the-"

Liz bent forward, trying to hear better.

"Alex?"

There were thudding noises, and the receiver fell to the floor.

"Alex!"

She heard him cry out amid a flurry of noise on the other end.

Liz was frozen, her emotions and logic fighting for control.

Alex was being attacked?

She dropped the phone, grabbed her purse and fled down the hallway, yelling as she went.

"Mom, I can see now and I've got to go to Alex's!"

"What??"

Her Mom's yell caught up with her on the stairs:

"Elizabeth Parker, you better get your butt back up here!"

******

Isabel was walking by Max's room when she heard his answering machine pick up.

Who would be calling Max?

She shrugged and headed to the bathroom.

Tonight was the night she did her weekly facial mask and her mind was on getting the perfect mix of ingredients this time. The homemade masks just worked so-

Wait a minute, thatıs Liz's voice...she sounds upset.

Isabel reached Max's room in three strides, intent on hearing the message.

"...not there. But something just happened at Alex's," Liz's strained voice continued. "I'm not sure what, but I'm on my way there now. I don't want you to..."

Liz's voice faded behind as Isabel grabbed her purse and raced to the front door.

Oh my god...what's wrong with Alex?

******

Liz cautiously pushed open the front door of the Whitman's house. No one was answering her knock and she was desperate.

The entire house was cold and still, shrouded in darkness.

Liz could barely choke out the question, "Alex?"

She headed for his room quickly, afraid to find out why he wasn't answering.

"Alex?"

A soft groan came from inside.

She turned the doorknob, only to find it locked.

She pounded on the door.

"Alex!"

The knob wouldnıt give.

She looked around frantically for something to break the door open with...

But suddenly, it clicked and swung open in front of her.

Liz's heart thumped in her chest.

The entire room was ransacked... furniture toppled, books strewn about and small objects embedded deeply into the walls.

Like a malevolent wind had swept through...

"Oh god," Liz cried as she saw Alex.

He lay awkwardly sprawled beside his bed, his eyes still open.

He was mumbling something andLiz felt tears sting her eyes as she bent over him.

"Alex?"

His face was rapidly showing black and blue bruises, his nose bloodied and obviously broken.

She touched his face lightly and finally asked, "God, Alex, who did this to you?"

He shifted painfully, reaching a hand down to his side.

As Liz's eyes followed his movements, she gasped.

The shiny handle of a pair of scissors stuck out of his side. Blood was collecting all over the floor beneath him.

Liz was so horrified, she almost didn't hear the loud clatter from the main room.

She whipped around.

"Someone's here," she whispered.

Her eyes darted around the room, looking for a weapon of any kind.

Alex grunted loudly and grabbed her hands, pressing something in them.

The scissors...covered in his blood.

Liz gave an involuntary cry.

Their eyes met and Liz nodded mutely at Alex's unspoken question.

She touched his face once more, then turned to slowly walk to the door.

The scissors felt slippery in her hands as she raised them up, blades open.

Could she really stab someone...?

Then a soft noise reached her ears from right outside the door.

Liz gulped and quickly stepped to one side.

A face appeared in the darkness and Liz desperately jabbed the scissors at it-

And Isabel grabbed her hand in midair.

They stared at each other for a long moment, each exhaling loudly.

Then Isabel released her arm and Liz fell back against the wall in relief.

"Liz," Isabel began, "What are you...oh my god. Alex!"

Liz watched Isabel run to Alex and kneel beside him.

She must've gotten my message for Max.

Liz pushed herself off the wall and followed Isabel.

"You can heal him, right?"

But Isabel apparently didn't hear her...

Liz's eyes widened as she realized she was already making a connection to him.

"Oh...good."

As Liz watched, she felt a prickling sensation on the back of her neck.

She was being watched.

She slowly turned her head and looked around the room.

A familiar feeling was creeping over her...

She shivered.

The darkness would be soon to follow.

She glanced once more at Isabel and Alex, then ran for the car.

She knew who had done this.