"Honey…are you ok?"

Liz sighed and never took her eyes off of the sky. "What?"

Ms. Parker ran her hand through Liz's hair, but she still didn't look down. "What are looking for?"

"A sign," Liz murmered.

Nancy Parker nodded and looked up at the sky also. "Maybe I should be the one out here."

Liz finally pulled her eyes down and looked at her mother. "Do you like him?"

Nancy smiled and then saddened a little. "Yeah…but I still love your father so much."

"I know…"

Nancy smiled and pulled her daughter close and kissed her forehead. "You keep looking for that sign. You'll find it." She squeezed her shoulders one more time before leaving.

Liz watched with a sad face as her mother walked to their door. She glanced back up at the sky and stared at the endless stars. "I think I just got it…" she whispered softly. Tears started to fill in her eyes and she blinked them away, catching the tail of a shooting star.

Liz glanced once more back at the door her mother had walked through then back at the shooting star. "I wish for my one true love…to come back for me," she begged, thinking of the little boy from elementary school. She knew it was ridiculous, but she still thought of him when she pictured her 'night in shinning armor'.

Liz thought back on the night and then scoffed. What good are dreams when your whole life is a nightmare?

***

Alex walked through his front door and saw his mother sitting on the couch, reading a book. "'Night mom," he called out, heading down the hallway.

"Alex, you got a call earlier."

"Who was it?" Alex asked as he took a detour to the kitchen; his stomach was growling. He opened the fridge and pulled out the milk. Alex popped the lid and took a gulp of it.

"Alex, don't drink out of the carton," his smother scolded, handing him a glass. Alex obeyed and poured some in.

"So, who called?" he asked again, pulling out all the fixings for a sandwich.

"She didn't leave a name," his mother replied.

Alex stopped as he put the cheese on his snack. "She?"

Ms. Whitman nodded. "A young girl. It wasn't Liz or Maria," she added, giving him a look.

Alex rolled his eyes. "Mom…" he said before taking a bite.

"The caller I.D. said the phone was under a 'Evans' I think."

Alex nearly choked on his sandwich and started to cough. "Alex!" his mother handed him his cup and he drowned the whole thing. "Are you ok?" she asked, concern etched all over her face.

Alex nodded and took a deep breath. "Yeah…are you sure it was Evans?"

"I guess…"

"Did she leave a number?" Alex asked.

His mother shook her head and smiled. "I take it this girl is a close friend?"

"Mom-"

"Patronize me."

Alex sighed and gave in. "Yes, Isabel's a friend; and just a friend. So get those looks of motherly pride out of your eyes."

Ms. Whitman scoffed. "Fine. And um…her number is still on the caller I.D. if you want it."

Alex tried to look uninterested, but gave up and dashed into the living room. Ms. Whitman shook her head and went down the hallway. "Don't be on too late," she warned.

"I won't," Alex replied, already burning her number into his memory.

***

Isabel watched as Max and Michael both paced, making her even more nervous. "How can you 'share' a dream?"

Max looked at Michael and shrugged. "I'm not even sure if…I mean, it was so real…I could feel her in my arms," he tried to explain.

"Are you sure?" Isabel asked. "I mean, maybe you just thought is was real."

Max shook his head. "It was real. I was in her room."

Michael walked up to Max, facing him. "And she was in the bath?"

Max got a little red and finally shook his head. "So…maybe it was all just a dream?" Isabel asked. "I mean, you have dreams like that about girls, right Michael?"

Michael looked a little embarrassed and glanced at her. "This isn't about me, it's about Max."

Isabel sighed. Why was this happening to them? What did we do to deserve this? She held her head in her hands, trying to will the world away.

"Plus, what about the cup?" Michael asked. "You can't just will that away by saying it was a dream."

Isabel knew that was true. Plus there was the occurrence at school.

"We need to talk about everything that's happened," Max said suddenly. "First off…Isabel?"

Isabel sighed and looked up. She saw how ragged her brother looked, and knew it was hard on him too. She blew out all of her breath and knew it was time. "I saw a room…it was white and had medical equipment in it," she replied.

"A doctor's office?" Max asked.

Isabel shook her head. "No…it was…" she could feel her brother and friends' eyes on her. "I can't explain it, but it wasn't a doctor's office," she said finally.

"It was an autopsy room."

Isabel and Max both glanced up at Michael. "Michael…I don't think-"

"No, it was," Isabel said, making Max stop and look at her. "The room, it was cold and I could feel…pain and remorse," she added, shuddering at the memory.

Max and Michael exchanged a look. Finally, Max took the plunge and asked, "could you tell whet they were…examining?"

Isabel shook her head. "No…it hadn't been used yet."

"What else?" Michael asked. "What else did you see?"

Isabel tried to think, but her mind kept pushing the memories down.

"It's ok, we've got enough," Max said softly.

Isabel looked up at him. "No…you're right," she finally admitted. "We need to think about this." She closed her eyes and let all of her feelings of control slip away, letting all of her fears in. "there was a man…behind a desk," she said, opening her eyes.

Michael came and sat down in front of her. "What about him?"

Isabel could feel the cold again and shivered. Her mind reeled back again. Then she felt Max's warm arms around her and she could see him again. "He had dark hair and eyes. And when he grinned…there was something about him."

"Was he the one who made the room?" Max asked softly.

"I…I don't know. But Max…he's-he's…he plans on hurting someone, or something. I know it," Isabel said with emotion.

"And you saw all this when you touched that Ken guy?" Michael asked.

Isabel nodded.

"What about you," Max asked Michael. "What happened with you?"

Michael sighed. "I was at the Crashdown. Some guy was harassing Maria," he said with an edge in his voice. "After the place closed, I was helping her clean up when this glass fell and broke."

"So, I bent down to pick it up, mumbling how I should've been more careful and Maria was gonna be pissed," he said.

"And then it fixed its self?" Isabel asked.

Michael shook his head. "I saw a…flash of red and a hand."

"Like someone had cut themselves?" Max asked.

"Yeah," Michael agreed. "Then the glass was fixed. I mean, it was perfect. Not one scratch."

"What did you do?"

"What do you think?" he asked sarcastically. "I told Maria I had to leave." Michael then looked at Max. "Your turn."

Max nodded and looked at his sister and best friend. "Well, I was thinking about Liz and waiting to get in the shower. When I opened my eyes, I was in her room. I could feel the bed beneath me and all of it. Then I found Liz…in the bath," he said softly.

Isabel saw his neck and face turn red. "We don't need all of the details," she told him, knowing he was embarrassed.

Max nodded and went on. "I got my hand…wet in the dream and it was still wet when I woke up."

"Same hand?" Michael asked.

"Yeah…same hand."

Isabel glanced at her brother. "And the first time?"

Michael shot his head up. "First time?"

Max ran his hand through his hair. "I dreamt about Liz the night she stayed over. We were making out in the dream and then I woke up. There wasn't anything to that one," he admitted. "It was just weird to see her when I woke up."

"You saw her?"

"Yeah…I mean, I ran into her at the bathroom."

"So, she was up too?" Michael asked. Max nodded.

Isabel saw where this was going. "We can't be sure she had the dream too."

"It's a lead though," Michael pointed out. "Our only lead."

"We can't just ask her," Max said finally. "Iz could."