“Come on. We’ve got to go.” Max continues to urge them on.

“Coming Max.” Liz answers without looking up from the piles of papers she continues cramming into her bag. Then her and Sarena run over to join Max by the back door.

Max slowly opens the back door, taking a look all around the outside, and when he is sure that there is no one out there he opens the door and hurries Liz and Sarena towards the Jeep. He keeps an eye out while Sarena jumps into the back of the Jeep with her bags, and Liz throws her bags in the back with her, as she climbs into the passenger seat, and anxiously looks back to see Max running over to the driver’s side of the Jeep.

Max quickly jumps into the driver’s seat and start the engine up. Thankfully it starts on the very first try. He quickly throws it into gear and begins heading out of town. He continually looks into the rear view mirror and side mirrors looking for any sign of pursuit, but thankfully they make it to the edge of town without incident.

“So, have you two figured anything out about the Granolith?” Max finally breaks the silence, finally feeling that they are somewhat safe.

“Uh, no, not actually. We do have an theory though.” Liz begins.

“A theory?” Max asks.

“Well, Sarena thinks that it might be some sort of engine, possible from the ship that brought you here.” Liz continues.

“An Engine? What would the Skins want with an engine?” Max asks confused.

“Well, it’s not a normal engine, it’s… Sarena, maybe you can explain it better than I can.” Liz says turning back to Sarena.

“Uh, ok. If I’m right, it is capable of traveling through space and possibly time without actually moving?” Sarena begins.

“What? How is that possible.” Max asks really confused now.

“Ok, um, how can I explain this. Okay imagine a map.” Sarena tries to make it easy to understand.

“Ok.”

“Let’s say that you are in New York, and wanted to go to LA.”

“Ok.” Max tries to keep up, even though he still doesn’t understand.

“Now, take that map and fold it so that LA and New York were now standing next to each other, then simply step from New York to LA. In essence you are folding space, and traveling without actually traveling.” Sarena finishes up her analogy.

“How is that possible.” Max asks even more confused now.

“Well theoretically if there were enough energy to tear a hole in the space time continuum you could open a doorway to any where, and any time.”

“So, you could move an army from one location to another instantly, taking your enemy by complete surprise.” Max begins to see the importance of the Granolith.

“Yes.” Sarena tells him.

“So how do we control it.” Max asks?

“Well unfortunately, that much I haven’t been able to figure out. All I can tell is that this crystal is some kind of key.” Sarena tells him as she pulls a long clear crystal out of her bag and hands it to him.

“This is a key?” Max asks.

“I found it in the base, and the moment I pulled it from the unit it the base of the unit went quiet.” Sarena explains.

“Ok, so this is the key. How does it control it?”

“I don’t think that it does control it. I think it simply allows it to work.”

“Okay, then how do we control it? Can we use it to get us out of here?” Max begins to wonder if it might actually be able to help them.

“Well, my best guess would be that you will have to use your powers to control it. Possibly try to imagine the place you want to be, and concentrate on it and cast that image into the Granolith and it will take you there.” Sarena tries to guess.

“You mentioned before that it could travel through time as well.” Liz asks. “Do you mean that you could travel to any time you want?”

“Theoretically, you could. Time and space exist on the same plane of reality. Break one, and theoretically you could break the other as well. All it would take is …” Sarena’s explanation is cut off by a loud thump and then she collapses forward lifelessly in between the front seats.

“Sarena!!!” Liz yells pulling Sarena towards herself.

Max looks in the rear view mirror and finds 2 vehicles closing in on them. Max begins to chastise himself for not keeping an eye out for the skins, but was too engrossed in the explanation and the possible hope for escape, to notice the skins coming up behind them. He floors the Jeep and tries to gain as much speed as he possible can, but they continue to close on them. He looks over to see Liz crying over Sarena and knowing that he must do something quick or they too will join Sarena’s fate.

“Liz. Liz!!!” Max yells to Liz in order to get her attention. “Liz, grab the wheel.”

“What?…Ok, I’ve got it.” Liz says with tears in her eyes.

Max grabs a hold of Sarena’s shirt and pulls her up and leans her back into the back seat. “Ok, I need you to slide over here and take over the Jeep.” Max begins to tell her.

“What?”

“Just place your foot on the accelerator and then slide into the seat when I get into the back.”

“What are you gonna do?”

“I’m not sure, but if I don’t do something we are both going to die. So now slide!” Max climbs out of the driver’s seat and into the back and grabs a hold of the Jeep’s Roll bar to steady himself, as Liz climbs into the driver ’s seat and takes over driving. “Now just keep going as fast as you can.”

Max turns back towards the two vehicles following them and notices another one coming behind them. Out of reflex more than actually trying, Max throws up his energy shield just s second before another shot would have hit him square in the chest. He lowers the shield a couple of seconds later while he tries to come up with a plan. He thinks to himself how this would be the time for Michael’s powers. He looks around the back of the jeep for anything that he can use for attack, but all there are is the bags of papers that Liz and Sarena were carrying. He quickly raises his shield to block a few more shot, and then an idea comes to him. Instead of lowering his shield this time he pushes it further away from them, almost making it stand in one place.

Before the Skins in the vehicle following closest behind them can react, the shield slams into the front of the vehicle, instantly crushing the front end and slamming both of the passengers through the windshield. The vehicles driving behind them, manage to swerve out of the way and avoid hitting the first vehicle, but it does slow them down.

Max lowers the shield seeing this as their opportunity. “Ok, one down and the others slowed down.” Max looks over Liz’s head and sees that they have just passed the quarry and are closing in on the pod chamber. He taps on Liz’s shoulder and points in the direction of the rock outcropping. “Liz head directly for it. Their vehicles are not made for off road. It might just give us the advantage that we need.”

Liz doesn’t question him. She simply turns the jeep and begins taking the direct route, while Max holds on to the roll bar and keeps an eye out for their pursuers.

*********************************************************************

Back at the pod chamber, Michael is beginning to get anxious. He is pacing from the chamber’s opening and back into the chamber. Back and forth, he goes, and Kyle and Valenti are sitting on crates watching him.

“Stop!” Kyle jumps up from the crate he was sitting on, and takes Michael arm. “They will be here very soon.”

“I should be out there with him. What if they should run into trouble?” Michael tells him.

“Max is more than capable of taking care of himself.” Valenti tries to help calm him down. “The best thing we can do is be ready here in case they need us.

“Fine, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.” Michael says pulling his arm free.

“No, no it doesn’t, but worrying about it isn’t going to help either.”

“I…I’m going to see if I can see them yet.” Michael finally says knowing that they are right, but is not willing to let them know it.

“Ok. Let us know when they arrive.” Kyle turns from him and walks back towards the crates.

Michael doesn’t even answer them, simply grabs a pair of binoculars and heads out of the pod chamber. He stands on the ledge outside the chamber and begins scanning the horizon for any signs of Max and the others. All he sees for the next few minutes is the bland featureless landscape in all direction, but then as he is about to give up, he sees a dust cloud heading their way. He focuses in on that point and can barely make out Max’s jeep.

“Kyle, Valenti. Their coming, and….” Michael yells, without taking his eyes off the jeep.

“What? They're coming and…what? “ Kyle comes running out of the chamber followed by Valenti.

“They are being followed I think.” Michael adds.

“Are you sure?” Valenti asks as he tries to adjust a scope on his riffle and then aims it in the direction Michael is facing to see what he can make out. Through the scopes lens he can make out the Jeep and at least 2 other vehicles following behind them. “Ok, got them. I make out 2, how many do you see?”

“I can see 2 more behind them.” Michael tells him.

“Ok, Kyle go grab as many of the riffles as you can and bring them out here. Looks like we might be in for a little action sooner than we expected.” Valenti tells Kyle.

“On my way.” Kyle says while he turns and runs into the chamber.

“Looks like we are in for a battle.” Valenti tells Michael without taking his eyes off the quickly approaching vehicles. “They should be here in about a minute or so.”

Kyle returns from the chamber 30 seconds later carrying several riffles, he takes one and hands one to Michael, who looks at it for a second and then lies it down on the ground next to him. Kyle takes one and checks to see that it is loaded and prepares for their next move.

The next minute seems like it takes forever. They feel like they are watching the jeep approach in slow motion. As the vehicles get close enough, Valenti and Kyle begin taking shots at the pursuers, many of the shots missing wide but a few of them hit their targets, taking out windshields, and Kyle even manages to hit one of he skins in the chest. The skin slumps back for a second before regaining his composure and begins firing back in their direction.

All around them they hear the sound of exploding rock and are hit my small fragments of stone as they come tumbling tot he ground, but none of them pay attention to it. They instead keep their eyes on Max and their pursuers. Continuing to take shots at anything they can hit, hoping to at least slow them down.

Before Valenti can react, Michael Quickly jumps up and begins running down to the ground level, moments before Max’s Jeep is about to arrive. “Michael!!!!” He yells to Michael knowing full well that he isn’t going to stop, so he goes back to taking shots at the skins, in the attempt of giving him as much cover as possible.

Michael runs down and gets to the bottom a few seconds before Liz and Max come skidding to a stop. Michael runs around to the back of the jeep before Max or Liz even know what he is doing and Michael raises his hand and the closes truck explodes into a huge ball of fire, causing the others behind it to swerve to avoid hitting it. He hits the next closest one and takes it out in a similar manner to the first one, before turning back to Liz and Max.

“Thanks.” Max says as he jumps out of the jeep. He reaches into the back of the jeep and grabs Sarena and throws her over his shoulder as Liz begins frantically trying to gather all of their stuff. “Leave it!!!” He yells to her.

“Let’s go! I don’t know how much longer I can hold them off.

Max grabs Liz by the arm and begins dragging her with him towards the pod chamber. Liz drops all the stuff she was grabbing but reaches into the jeep and grabs the crystal before Max pulls her away.

They make their way to the pod chamber nearly tripping on Kyle who is firing at the skins while lying down on the ledge outside the chamber. Michael is following right behind them running backwards while using his powers to stop as many of the approaching vehicles as he can. No matter how many of them he takes out, three more seem to take their place.

Kyle and Valenti stand up and run into the chamber behind Max and Liz, just before Michael makes it to the top. Michael makes it to the top and is standing in the opening when a huge explosion can be heard from above them and the opening collapses in on Michael burying him and the opening in rocks and debris. Max drops Sarena and rushes over to the pile of rocks burying Michael and begins trying to get to him. “Help Me!” He yells to the others.

Kyle and Valenti rush over and begin helping him dig. After a couple of minutes they find Michael’s arm and begin anxiously trying to uncover the rest of his body. A couple of minutes later they pull Michael’s lifeless and body from the pile and Max sits on his knees holding Michael’s head in his arms simply crying and rocking back and forth.

“Max. We’ve got to do something, they’ll be able to get through the pile pretty soon, and then we will be sitting ducks in here.” Valenti tries to snap Max out of it, but he just sits there staring at Michael’s lifeless body. Valenti just shakes his head and looks back to Liz.

“Max. Max, he’s right. We’ve got to do something. There’s nothing you can do for him right now.” Liz tries to snap him out of it.

“There’s nothing we can do. We are all dead.” Max answers him.

“Come on, Max. We’re not dead yet. We’ve got to do something.” Liz tells him.

“There’s nothing we can do. We might as well just accept that.”

“No. No, Max. There’s the Granolith.” Liz tries to think of what to do. “We can use it.”

“No matter where we go, they can find us. There isn’t anywhere we can hide now.”

“We might not be able to go anywhere, but maybe we can send you to another time.” Liz begins to see a plan form in her head.

“Send me? What?” Max asks really confused now.

“Remember that Sarena said it could send you to another place or even time?” Liz begins.

“Yeah, but…” Max tries to interject but is cut off.

“You’ve said it before. If Tess wouldn’t have left all those years ago, you might have been able to destroy the Skins before they became a threat.” She continues.

“Yeah, but…”

“Well, we send you back to before she left and stop her.” Liz goes on.

“What’s this me? I’m not leaving you behind.”

“You’ve got to. It’s out only chance.” Liz says while standing up and grabbing Max’s arm and dragging him towards the Granolith.

*******************************************************************

Inside the Granolith chamber, Liz is dragging Max into the chamber behind her. Max knows what needs to be done, but doesn’t want to, knowing that he will lose Liz in the process.

“I won’t leave you.” Max pleads with Liz.

“No…no…no. Max, you have to.” She tries to convince him.

“If I’m successful…If I can do this…you and I won’t exist. Not as we do now.” He tells her.

“Max, if you don’t do this, we’re gonna die. Everyone will. Max, you have to do this. You have to try.” Liz pleads with him.

“I’ll never see you again.” Max says with a tear in his eye, and he looks down into Liz’s eyes. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Liz asks confused.

“For every kiss, for every smile.” Max tells her caressing her cheek.

“Max, I don’t have any regrets.” Liz tries to be strong for him.

Max bends over and gives her a kiss, before turning to the Granolith and sliding the crystal into place. Then he raises his hand over the unit and concentrates for a second or two, on the time he knows he has to go back to. He has to go back and stop himself from getting back together with Liz, the past Liz that is. There is a brief flash, and he finds himself inside the Granolith looking out at Liz. Who is raising her hand towards the edge of the Granolith with tears streaming down her face, and as he reaches forward to try and touch her, he is taken in a bright flash of light.