She had given up trying to flag down vehicles over an hour ago. No one was stopping. Not to mention the fact that she wouldn’t know which way to tell them to go if they did stop. Did she really want to go back? What was left for her New York? Nothing. Still, she’d made it this far. And it wasn’t like there was anywhere else for her to go. New York was the closest thing to a home she had ever had.

She ran a hand over her face. God, it was cold. She couldn’t spend the night here. She’d either have to walk to the closest town soon or take her chances and just hope that someone would stop.

She stared off into the distance, searching for a car ... a truck ... anything.

He brought me back

She shook her head, trying to dismiss Liz’s voice echoeing in her mind.

No. She wouldn’t think about that. Liz was a sweet girl, but ...

He brought me back

No!

It wasn’t possible.

It just wasn’t.

But still, she found herself trying to remember. How had the rhyme gone?

Why had she forgotten so much of it?

Probably because it had seemed like a stupid fairy tale. She had never expected for to actually be relevant. Try as she might there were only two or three lines that she could recall.

She shall be saved

Brought back from death

Brought back by one of the four

What if her suspicions had been correct? What if it was true? What if Liz was the reason why they had been dumped on this hell hole of a planet? What if ...

She stood up, deciding that it would be best to just keep walking. It would keep her mind off of ... things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He knew.

Finally.

The relief was almost unbearable.

She sat on her balcony, wrapped in an old Afghan, feeling more content than she had for months. Everything had been so terrible ... like a horrific nightmare.

But she was awake now.

It was over.

Finally

Nothing had haunted her more than the look in his eyes when he was around her during those months. When she had looked into his eyes, there had been pain, there had been distrust ... even hate. That had hurt more than anything else. She had always loved his eyes.

Thank God it was over.

Thank God that all of that was gone, without a trace.

Thank God that now, when she looked into his eyes, she saw, not only indescribable love but immeasurable respect.

That first night, when he had first found out, they had both cried. He had just held her and whispered that he loved her ... over and over. He had told her that she was brave, that he was in awe of her. He said that he would never have had the strength to do what she did. He said that he would never doubt her again. No matter what. Ever.

She smiled to herself and closed her eyes.

It had all returned - everything that he had ever felt for her. It was all the same. No, not quite the same ... it was all stronger. The intensity of his feelings might have frightened her if she hadn’t felt just as deeply about him. She was so happy ... overjoyed. He understood. Of course he understood. Why had she ever questioned that? She only wished that she had told him sooner. But ....

She bit her lower lip absent-mindedly.

But part of her was filled with a nagging fear - a growing sense of dread. What now? Would they all still die? Had she failed? Failed protect him ... to protect everyone? These questions plagued her - kept her awake at night. Max told her not to think about it. He said that it wasn’t her burden to bear. He said that it wasn’t her job to save the world. If only she could believe that ...

The day after he had found out, they had done what she probably should have done in the first place. They had gone to Tess. They had told her enough to convince her that she was vital to their survival. They had told her that if she left, everything would fall apart. She was surprised and confused, but she had seemed to get the message. She had sworn that she would never leave. And that was good enough for Max.

But Liz still worried.

She still didn’t completely trust Tess. She had no reason to trust her. Especially considering who she was and the role she played in Max’s life. Like it or not, Tess was Max’s destiny. There was no getting around that. It was hard to believe that Tess was just going to stand by and let Liz and Max live happily ever after.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What are you doing?!" He stormed into the room, screaming.

"Get him out of here." The guards were pushing him out the door before the order was even given.

"No! You can’t do this to her! I won’t let you!" His voice echoed through the halls as the guards drug him away. "I love her! You can’t do this! Nooo!"

Tess woke with a start, her heart still racing from the scene that had just played out in front of her. Slowly, her breathing settled into a passably normal pattern. She looked around the room. The house was completely silent and outside the window it was pitch dark. A quick glance at the clock by Kyle’s bed informed her that it was only 3AM. It might just as well have been morning. Another night’s sleep lost because of those stupid dreams. She was never even able to close her eyes after having them. She lay in bed for a few moments, trying to get herself together. Why was she shaking? It was just a dream, damn it. There was no reason to be scared.

After awhile, she got of bed and walked to the bathroom. She splashed ice cold water on her face, trying to shock herself back to reality ... repeating the same thing over and over:

The man in the dream does not exist

The man in the dream does not exist

The man in the dream does not ...

She emerged from the bathroom colder, but no more convinced of the man’s lack of reality than when she had entered. Why was it always the same room? The same scene? On different nights, the dream focused on different people, but the setting was always identical, and they’re reactions were always similar. And somehow she always knew that she was at the center of all of the distress ... that it was all her fault somehow.

She had just closed her door when there was a soft knock. She opened it hesitantly, and only half way.

"Hey. Are you alright?" Kyle stood in the hall, clad in a tee-shirt and boxers.

"I’m fine." She whispered.

"If you’re fine, then why are you up?" He asked skeptically.

"I had to pee. Is that alright with you?"

"I heard you scream something." He looked at her for a few seconds. "You’re sure you’re ok?"