A Lesson in Sacrifice
Part 14
Maria locked the front door of the Crashdown and removed the antennae from her head. She dropped them on the counter as she made her way to the last booth where her friends were waiting in silence. Sam and Liz were on one side; he had his arm around the girl’s shoulders. Isabel and Alex were sitting across from them. To Isabel’s left, Michael had pulled up a chair and placed it backward; he was sitting on it, his chin resting on its back. Kyle was standing nervously against the back wall next to Sam, looking like he wished he was anywhere but there. Maria pulled up a chair and sat between Michael and Kyle, completing the little semi-circle around the booth. That’s when she noticed someone was missing.
“Are we waiting for Tess?” she asked. She noted Liz’s clenched fists. Sam pulled Liz a little closer to him. Isabel also noticed the reaction and gave her brother a questioning look, before turning to Maria.
“I guess not,” she said.
Kyle cleared his throat. “Then maybe I shouldn’t—“
“Why don’t you pull up a chair, Kyle?” Sam interrupted him, ignoring the comment the other teen was about to make.
“Well, I…” Kyle started. He caught a look from Michael, promptly sat down and kept quiet.
Sam looked at each of Max’s friends in turn. He looked at Liz last. When she nodded, he started to talk. He told everyone about what had happened to Alex and Kyle in the eraser room.
Both boys started to protest but Sam stopped them. “We think Tess has developed a new power. Or maybe it’s one she’s had all along but never bothered mentioning. In addition to making people see things that are not there, she can make people forget things that happened.”
Isabel was appalled. She exchanged a look with Michael. “How did you find out?” Michael asked Sam apprehensively.
“She tried to mindwarp me into forgetting a conversation we had this afternoon. But I remember it now,” Liz answered, tapping her fingers on the table top. She gave Sam a meaningful look. He raised an eyebrow. “She was on the phone with a Mr. Greer when I got there." That was a detail Al had not reported. Liz’s memory was slowly coming back to her.
“She told Liz everything she plans to do… to us,” Sam continued. “And none of it is good.”
“We were spying on them,” Kyle said softly, not listening to Sam anymore. His arms were folded across his chest and he was quietly drumming the fingers of his right hand on his left elbow. “Liz and I saw Tess and Alex go into the eraser room. They were talking about a computer and a trip. She caught me and I asked her about it, but she started talking about how Mr. Summers caught Pam Troy cheating and I… forgot to ask her again,” he ended, almost apologetically.
Alex shook his head. “No, that’s impossible.”
Isabel put a hand on his shoulder. “Weren’t you talking about going on a trip?” she asked quietly.
“Well, yes, I applied to be an exchange student for next semester, but that has nothing to do with Tess. I’ve always wanted to travel. Right?” He looked at Maria for confirmation. She nodded and gave him a small smile. “See? I’ve been thinking about doing that for years.” Alex was getting more and more agitated. “Tess has nothing to do with it. I applied on my own. My choices were to go to France or Spain or Sweden, but not Las Cruces.”
Alex suddenly stopped talking. Everyone just looked at him in silence. He looked at Liz, his eyes pleading. “What did I just say?” he asked, sounding on the verge of tears.
Liz took his hand across the table. She tried to give him a reassuring smile but only half-succeeded. “I know the feeling,” she said, squeezing his hand.
“Tess is trying to get you to translate the Book of Destiny for her,” Sam explained to the shaken teenager.
“Can it be done?” Michael asked.
“I think so,” Sam answered.
Michael just nodded but the others could see that, in his mind, he was one step closer to getting home.
“What Tess told Liz won’t be easy to hear for any of you. But please listen carefully and do not interrupt me.” Looking around the small group of friends, Sam waited until everyone had shown their agreement before starting.
He told them in as much detail as possible what Tess had told Liz only a few hours before. Liz sometimes would provide additional information as it was coming back to her. When Sam finished, he looked around the group again.
Kyle was staring at his hands; Maria had moved her chair closer to Michael’s, and her hand was hovering above the alien’s shoulder, but so far she had resisted the urge to hold him, or have him hold her.
Isabel had her head in her hands; Alex just looked dazed. Sam’s eyes finally stopped on Michael. Michael met his leader’s eyes without flinching. It was him who finally broke the silence.
“What are we waiting for?”
To be continued...
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