Part 34~<br><br>Agitated, Max has nothing to do but stare at the walls around him and wonder what’s going to happen next. He’s been staring at them for so long, he imagines the walls moving in around him and he stands up, walking toward the door when he hears it click and he jumps back. But no one comes through. He walks back to it hesitantly and reaches for the handle, turns it slowly, and finds it unlocked.<br><br>Slowly, he cracks the door open and peeks out, not seeing anyone on the other side. He opens the door more fully to an empty hallway and looks down both ways…no one. Is this a test? Are they waiting for him to leave his room? Making a quick decision, he leaves the room and silently makes his way down the hall. Somehow, he doesn’t remember there being a hallway like this when they moved him, but he doesn’t dwell on that very long as he checks the other doors for an open one. Maybe Jim is behind one.<br><br>As Max makes his way down the hall, it seems to get impossibly longer. He remembers that they drugged him as he sways on his feet suddenly and braces himself against the wall to keep from falling. When the dizziness passes, he straightens and feels something strange in his mouth. He brings his hand up and spits a molar out into it. Horrified, he realizes that several of his teeth are falling out and a strangled cry escapes as he spits out two more teeth.<br><br>Dazed and panicked, he drops the teeth to the floor and keeps going…hoping he can find Jim and Liz and get them out without anyone seeing. He’s covered in sweat and his feet can’t seem to keep up with him as he stumbles down the hallway, grasping at every door handle. Finally, one opens and as the door swings open he sees Jim sitting in the corner of a well-lit room. “Jim?” Max asks as he looks in shock at Jim.<br><br>Jim Valenti is sitting behind a desk which is covered in papers. A phone sits on one corner and on the other is his Roswell Sheriff’s hat. “What can I do for you Max?” <br><br>Max can’t answer. He’s staring open-mouthed, in shock, at Jim Valenti who has changed a lot since the last time he saw him. His skin has turned green and where his eyes should be are two large, black pools that seem to look at Max expectantly. Now, Max notices that there’s a plate of food sitting on the desk in front of him…a hamburger and fries from The Crashdown. Picking up a fry, Jim says, “Would you like a fry, Max?”<br><br>When Max doesn’t answer, Jim looks at the fry and swipes his hand over it changing it into an onion ring. “That’s right, you like Saturn Rings.” Jim holds the ring out toward Max, then shrugs and eats it himself. “You know, Max…” Jim says between bites. “We’re never getting out of here, so you should just make yourself comfortable. Ask Miss Parker over there,” Jim shakes his head as he looks to the side of the room. “she’d probably tell you the same, but she seems to have had a little accident.”<br><br>Max turns his head to the side of the room and rushes over with a sob when he sees Liz crumpled in the corner covered in blood. He falls to her side and screams, “No!” when he lifts her head and sees that her throat has been slashed. “No! Liz!” He lays her on the floor and tries to heal her, but his powers aren’t working. Looking up desperately, he sees Jim shrug his shoulders at him and turn back to his hamburger.<br><br>“Liz!” Max cradles her in his arms and rocks back and forth, crying her name. <br><br>“Liz…”<br><br>“Liz…”<br><br>“Liz…” Max wakes up with a gasp of confusion. He’s covered in sweat and as the dreamworld fades away, he lets reality sink back in and he looks around the room he’s being held in. He wipes his face dry with his shirt and for good measure, checks to make sure all his teeth are still there. Taking a deep breath, he falls back onto the bed in relief. Just a dream. He waits until his heartbeat returns to normal and he gets up, checks the door and finds it still locked.<br><br>Meanwhile, as Liz is being led from her cell to what she assumes is more testing, she feels Max’s sudden terror and she freezes. She panics but soon feels him calm down as the guards tug at her to get her moving again.<br><br>Liz shuffles down the hallway, trying to memorize every corner, every door, every inch of space that she passes. They’ve never taken her this way before but she knows they’re taking her to something called “the chamber”. Thoughts of what the chamber might be briefly dance over her mind but she has more important things to do than worry about what she can’t control. <br><br>Every door they pass, she reaches out to try and sense either Jim or Max. Nothing. She thinks she’s getting farther away from them because she can’t sense them at all anymore. As she walks, the doors seem to mock her like eyes in a face as she passes. They’re never getting out of here.<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>A few miles away…</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>“Well, there goes our hostage.” Kyle muses from the corner of the silent hotel room. “I guess our criminal lives in kidnapping didn’t get off to such a good start.”<br><br>“We had to do it. He’s our only chance.” Isabel shoots a look at Kyle telling him she doesn’t think he’s amusing.<br><br>“What do you think they’re doing? The others…I mean.” Everyone turns to Maria’s quiet voice on the floor. She looks to Kyle and Isabel for a silent answer to her question.<br><br>Kyle sees Isabel’s gaze dart around the room, avoiding Maria’s inquiry, and he realizes that she’s still uncomfortable talking about what they did to her. He wonders if she’s ever talked to anyone about it before he looks back at Maria. “They’re probably separated, but hopefully Liz isn’t being so difficult this time. They’re probably focusing more on Max right now since he’s the alien. At least he can probably heal himself.”<br><br>Memories of what happened cross Kyle’s face and Serena puts her arm around him. “Well, hopefully Gerard does what he said he’d do. I think we should get out of here, though…just to be safe.” She says.<br><br>Nodding, everyone gets up and starts gathering their things to take back out to the van.<br><br><!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Two Days Later</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br><br>“It’s been eight hours. Let’s open it up.” Dr. Weston’s voice blasts into the silence of the floor below him.<br><br>The technician jumps slightly at the intrusion and looks up to the glass enclosed lab above him to see Dr. Weston nodding toward the chamber. He nods back and turns to the large, metal container in the middle of the floor. Beeps are being emitted from it and various screens around it show vital signs. The technician enters the time to be marked for opening of the chamber and he releases the clamps before opening the lid.<br><br>No matter how many times he sees this, it’s still amazing to him. It’s almost like a rebirth. Like an infant, the girl lies on her side with her legs curled up. Her eyes are open and staring blankly ahead and when the light, dimmed already before opening the chamber, hits them she flinches slightly.<br><br>Reaching into the chamber to remove the contacts from her chest and head, the technician goes about his work as if he’s giving new life to a just-born baby. He hums softly as he works and helps her turn onto her back as he stretches out her legs. <br><br>“There we go. You’re doing great.” He murmurs to her as he helps her stand up, dries her off and slips a robe onto her arms to cover her nakedness. <br><br>Reluctantly, he turns her over to the two guards waiting at the door and he watches them lead her away out the door. After she’s gone, he turns to a computer and starts to compile the information they gathered during the last eight hours. “I’ll have it on your desk within the hour.” He says, not looking up, to the man he knows is standing above him.<br><br>Dr. Weston turns from the glass window and makes his way to his office. The last time he had Liz Parker in custody, they didn’t have the sensory deprivation chamber. But once they got it and he saw the wonderful results, he just knew it would be perfect for getting a glimpse into Miss Parker’s mind. As he sits behind his desk, he looks at one of the monitors along the wall of his office that shows Max Evans lying on his bed. Max Evans is scheduled to start chamber treatment later in the day and Dr. Weston can’t wait to see what’s in the mind of an actual alien.<br><br>Liz Parker lets the guards lead her down the hall willingly as she stares straight ahead. She no longer needs to memorize her surroundings. The door to her room opens and she steps inside, a small smile crossing her face as Dr. Weston’s thoughts enter her mind and she whispers to herself, “Too bad you won’t get the chance.”<br><br>~TBC~<br> <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=
http://pub129.ezboard.com/bmajiklmoonsr ... Angel13</A> <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="
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