Kyle was near hysteria. "Wake him up! He's fine. Probably just needs a few stitches. Wake him up Michael!"

Michael placed his hands on Max's shoulders and gingerly rolled him to his back. There was a deep cut near his temple, the source of the blood. Michael refused to believe his friend wasn't okay. "Max? C'mon Max, wake up."

Kyle looked at Michael. "He's going to be fine isn't he? Isn't he Michael?"

Michael looked up at Kyle, speechless. But a tear trickled its way down his cheek. Kyle fell to the pavement, grabbing a hold of Max's wrist. He felt for a pulse, but there was nothing. He reached over and felt at the jugular, but again, no heartbeat throbbed against his fingers. He began shaking his head violently, refusing to believe what had happened.

"No. This isn't happening. He's fine. He's going to be fine. He's not dead. Michael, he's not dead. I didn't mean to... I swear. Can't we fix this? Oh god, can't we fix this?" Tears began to pour down Kyle's cheeks as well.

A thought occurred to Michael, and not caring that Kyle was even present, he pulled Max's head on to his lap.

"What are you doing?" Michael didn't answer the other boy, but held his hand over the gash, pouring all his concentration into healing his friend.

Kyle watched with his breath held. Michael closed his eyes, willing his powers to work the right way for once. He prayed to whatever God was out there to help him. Slowly, the wound began to heal, the blood flow beginning to slow. Kyle's eyes bugged out of his head as he realized what was happening.

"Oh my god! You guys are Aliens! My dad was right! Oh my god!" He stood up, the shock and realization too much for his scattered mind, and began quickly backing away from Michael and Max. But his outburst had broken Michael's concentration, and the healing reversed itself. Again, Max's blood flowed from the wound, covering Michael's legs in a sticky dark liquid.

Michael shook his friend. "Max? Max, no, god no! Don't die on me! Don't be dead!" His tears were flowing unknown and unbidden as he clutched Max's head to his chest, knowing it was too late to fix the damage. Max was gone.

"NOOOOOOOO!" The scream tore from his throat as something within him snapped.

He lay Max's head back on the ground and stood, chasing the now running Kyle down the alley. He wasn't as fast as Kyle, but somehow, he got close enough to make a dive for the boy who had killed his best friend.

Tackling him to the ground, Michael's rage took over. Slamming Kyle's face into the pavement, he managed to pin him to the ground beneath him. He rolled so that he sat on Kyle's chest, and began punching as Kyle tried to block his face. He began to babble in an effort to calm Michael. "Michael, please, I didn't mean to! I didn't want to hurt him. I just wanted to help Maria. Please, Michael, don't kill me!"

But the words never registered in the Alien's mind. The overpowering rage controlled him. He suddenly stopped hitting Kyle long enough to place his right palm on the other boy's forehead.

Without realizing what he was about to do, he channeled his rage, shock and grief, concentrating on his powers once again. A bright blue light glowed around Michael's hand as he drained the life force from Kyle.

A moment later, he snapped back to reality. Looking down at the still body beneath him, he slowly pulled his hand away to reveal a silver palm print covering Kyle's forehead. His hand immediately flew to check for a pulse, but he knew it was useless. Kyle was dead. He stood up, unable to tear his eyes away from the lifeless body on the ground.

"Oh, god, what did I do? What did I do?" He heard the wails of sirens are they approached the center of town. Someone had heard the scuffle. They would arrest him. No, god they'd know his secret, they'd kill him! He was an alien, and he murdered the Sheriff's son! He'd never see Maria again. Oh god, he needed Maria- she would tell him what to do. She would know. But he'd just killed her stepbrother. She would hate him. Too many thoughts clogged his mind. He needed to think. He needed Maria. He ran, as fast as he could. Ran from the horror of realizing he'd killed.

~~~~~

Maria and Liz had almost finished cleaning completely when they heard the scream. Dropping what they were doing, they ran for the back door. Liz in her haste, fumbled with the lock, unable to get the door open fast enough. Finally it popped open, and they spilled out into the alley, eyes searching.

It took a minute for their eyes to adjust to the dark, but Maria saw something near the lightpost.

"Liz? What's that?" She pointed, and both girls rushed over to the body, only partially illuminated in the streetlight.

Liz's scream echoed through the quiet streets as she fell to the ground, gathering Max's body to her. "MAX! MAX! NOOOOOO!" She began sobbing hysterically, clutching his head to her chest in much the same way Michael had minutes earlier.

Terror overtook Maria as she searched for her boyfriend in the dim light. "Michael? Where are you, Michael? Where are you?" she yelled, hoping he would appear. She spotted another lump near the street. She ran to the end of the alley, praying that it wasn't Michael. Please, not Michael, she chanted as she ran. Please not Michael.

She reached the body, and stepping closer, realized it was Kyle. She fell to her knees, feeling for a pulse at his wrist. She felt nothing, and moved her hand up to his face. It was then that she noticed the silver handprint covering his forehead.