"I don't know what happened!" Max exclaimed, stepping on the gas to keep up with the strange girl. "She connected to me and . . .I saw our planet. I saw . . .things that aren't making any sense!"

"Where is she going?" Michael asked in alarm. It was becoming clear that Lauren knew exactly where she was going. And so did everybody else in the Jeep.

"The pod chamber," Lauren breathed, stepping inside the cave and looking at the four pods arranged on the wall. They were surrounded by a green light, unlike her and Dave's. Their's had glowed of blue, or so one of the security guards had said.

There was a scuffling noise behind her and Lauren whirled. Max and company were standing several feet away, looking startled and surprised. Lauren offered them a tiny smile and turned back to the pods.

"You know, my pod would have been here, too," Lauren said in explanation. She paused and reached up to touch a dried up pod. She knew it was Max's. She could feel his presence lingering there.

"You were in the crash, too?" the other boy that Lauren didn't know asked. Lauren turned to face him and studied his face. His name came to her after a few seconds.

"Michael, right?" she didn't wait for an answer. "Yeah, the 1947 crash. It's crazy, isn't it?" She looked over everyone else. Liz, Maria, and Tess. Lauren's eyes widened when she realized who Tess was. "Wow. So the whole Royal Four is here. That's very cool."

"What happened to you? Why weren't you with us?" Isabel asked in a shaky voice.

Lauren leaned against the cave wall and began to talk. "I was sharing a pod with my twin, Dave. We were captured by the government, like all of you, but we were put in a different room. The other aliens didn't find our pod before they were killed, so Dave and I were held by the government for thirteen years."

Isabel was crying and Lauren looked at her. "They didn't treat us badly or anything. Until the day we escaped. Well . . .the day I escaped." This news recieved shocked looks from everyone. "We had a plan. And it was going well. We were so close." Lauren paused and fought back tears. "Dave was shot and killed. I had to fend for myself for the past three years. Last summer, my communicator went off and I found you."

"Who are you?" Max asked in a strangled voice.

Lauren flashed him a mega-watt smile. "Your sister."

Lauren awoke in the middle of the night bathed in sweat. She kept having this nightmare about the day she escaped from the compound. She was running and so was Dave and there were gunshots. Dave was falling and bleeding. She was crying.

Lauren put her head in her hands and began to cry. She stumbled out of bed and down the Evan's hallway, keeping her hands on the walls to steady herself.

"Why did I decide to stay here?" Lauren asked herself, annoyed. She flopped down the steps. "You know you're a loner, dammit. I just wanna cry in peace."

Lauren slipped through the front door, realizing that it was raining. Without hesitation, she plunged into the downpour and let the water run over her sweaty body. Clutching the pendant that still hung from her neck (she never removed it), Lauren dropped to her knees. Her attitude gone, she sobbed into the night for the brother she had lost. And for the brother she had gained.

Max rubbed sleep from his eyes as he padded down the stairs. Isabel was behind him. Since Lauren hadn't been in her room, they figured she was downstairs. Max and Isabel went into the kitchen and stopped.Lauren was MIA.

"Where is she?" Max asked sharply, turning in a circle. Isabel began to wring her hands.

"I don't know, Max." Isabel looked out the window and stopped. "Oh my God. Max, she's out there! In the rain!"

Lauren woke, her body shaking furiously. She opened her eyes and squinted, rain falling down her forehead, her soaking shirt clinging to her tiny frame. Max was hovering over her, concerned. Lauren stood up fast and faced her brother.

"You scared us! What the hell are you doing out here?" Max yelled, fear creeping into his voice. The rain spilled over his handsome features. There was fear in his eyes, too. Fear for her.

"Nothing," Lauren said, annoyance radiating from her. She tugged on the shirt and started to back away from Max. She reached the Jeep and hopped in. Before anything else could happen, she sped away.

Lauren reached into her battered suitcase and withdrew a towel. She wrapped it around her naked body and sat on the floor of the pod chamber, enjoying the silence. After a moment, she dried off and pulled on worn cargo pants and a red tanktop. Her boots went on her feet and she pulled her damp hair into a knot on the top of her head.

Bored, she closed her eyes and conjured up images of her home planet. She had been blessed with these, the only one in the pods who had this power. She had the most power, actually. If the King was captured and he held all the memories and powers of their planet, they would be lost. Lauren had been trusted with these memories and she valued them. As soon as she was able, she would pass them on to Isabel and perhaps Liz.

"Liz is a human," Lauren mused aloud, eyes still closed. "And yet, there are traces of alien in her. Maybe it has to do with Max. Maybe . . .he saved her."

Liz was important. Lauren wasn't sure why, but she was. Suddenly, images began to flow through her brain. The Lake, named after Vilandra, before she had betrayed her brother. Her parents. The castle.

"I thought maybe you would be here," a soft voice interrupted her. Lauren's eyes opened. Liz was standing to the entrance of the cave, holding an umbrella and looking uncomfortable. "When Max said you had disappeared . . .well, anyway. If you want me to leave . . ."

"Stay," Lauren offered, grateful for some company. Liz was really pretty. She was wearing clothes Lauren would never be caught dead in : a pure white knee skirt and a pink turtleneck sweater. It suited her.

Liz plopped down on the ground, obviously not caring if her clothes got dirty. She began to play with a ring on her finger and spoke. "Max told me that you held pictures of your planet in your mind."

"Would you like to see?" Lauren asked, trusting Liz. Liz looked at her and smiled. Lauren took Liz's hand and connected. Pictures from the planet flashed before them, and Lauren stopped each one. She explained about each image in their minds. The only images she didn't show Liz was the alien's real body.

"Thank you," Liz said softly when they had finished. "Do you want me to call Max?"

Lauren sighed and nodded. "Yeah, he's probably worried."

Liz drove Lauren back to the Crashdown. They agreed that Lauren shouldn't stay with at the Evans house. Mr. and Mrs. Evans had been gone for two days, but they were returning and there wasn't a reasonable explanation for Lauren to be there.

Max, Isabel, Michael, and Maria were all waiting when they got back. Lauren pulled on a black hoody sweatshirt on her way in, not wanted to meet anyone's eyes.When she looked at Max, she found that it was unavoidable. She had come into their lives, made them care for her, and treated them terribly.

"I'm not one for being sensitive. Living on your own and running from the law makes you tough," Lauren said, facing her brother. Liz was behind her, a protective arm on her shoulder. "I don't have anyone to answer to, not even you. I answer to myself. So, if I take off, don't freak."

"As much as you obviously don't care, I do," Max said harshly. "You are my sister and I will worry about you and protect you. If you run, I'll find you. So don't run."

"It's dangerous in Roswell," Isabel spoke up. "We want to protect you."

Lauren shrugged. "I don't need protecting. Basically, I wanted to make sure that you are all okay. And you're not. That's why I stayed last night. The Skins are after you, the protector is dead. Your relationships are a mess and your love lives suck." Lauren looked out the window. "You know, we're too human. It's a fault of ours. We can't help it. Our alien sides are shocking. Why you want to know about it, God only knows."

"Our planet is suffering," Michael said quickly. "I want to know everything about who I am. Maybe we can go back . . . and help."