“You’re not Liz.”
As Max continued to stare at the Liz lookalike as she studied him for a minute. Then she asked, “Liz? No, my name’s not Liz. My name is Shyla.”
“Shyla?” Max repeated. “But that was Liz’s name before…”
Shyla’s eyes widened in shock. She knew that since this human had been so positive that she was this girl Liz, that it had to be her dupe. This meant that they were friends or at least acquaintances. But it appeared that he more knowledgeable about her than Shyla had guessed. He knew her secret, or at least it sounded like it if he recognized her name from their previous lives. It could explain the strange feelings she was getting off of him. “You know about who Liz is?’
“Yes, we’re friendly.” Max said suddenly feeling uneasy. He had already said too much about knowing Liz. What if these two were shape-shifting enemies of Liz? After all the girl was going by Liz’s previous name, they didn’t know her name was different. But if she was, why did he feel like he could trust her? And why was he picking up a vague trace of his connection to Liz when he was close to her. Was that what he had picked up earlier and had mistaken it for Liz? He couldn’t be sure. They still weren’t sure what their connection was or how it had come about.
Shyla saw the wary and guarded look flare up in the human’s eyes and knew she had to work quickly. “I need to talk to this Liz. I can see that you are concerned for her but I’m not here to hurt her, I’m here to warn her.”
“Why should I believe you? You and him are just shapeshifters posing as Liz and Kyle to try and get close to them, so why should I trust you?”
Shyla tried not to laugh at him calling them shapeshifters. “We’re not shapeshifters.”
“What?” Max asked confused but before he could ask more, Kyle’s look alike spoke up.
“Forget this cornball. We got trouble.” He stated motioning to Shyla what he was talking about.
Shyla looked at what he was pointing at and saw that they had indeed some trouble. Her idiotic brother was holding up some human by the scruff of his neck about ready to thump him. But with the ruckus he was creating, she saw that there was a positive outcome to it all. Her dupe, as well as the twins’ dupes was hightailing it towards the skirmish. Not exactly the meeting she’d been thinking of but it’d do.
(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(**)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)
Liz, Isabel, and Michael all arrived by Alex and Maria’s side at the same time. Isabel immediately saw the face of the girl that Alex had kissed. It was her, at least someone that looked like her. And it clicked in her head that he had kissed her thinking the girl was Isabel. It explained a lot, including the situation they were now in.
Thinking quickly, Isabel slid between Alex and the Michael look alike’s fist. “Don’t hit him! He thought she was me. It was just a mistake.”
The guy looked from her to the other version of her then back to her again, as if uncertain of her defense. His eyes then drifted over to Liz for a moment just as they heard someone yell, “RATH! Put him down.”
They all turned in the direction of the voice and saw Liz and Kyle’s look alikes making their way over. Liz was completely stunned when she saw Max was with them. Had he mistaken her dupe for her? She stared at him for a moment, scanning him to make sure that he was okay. He appeared okay, and relieved to see her.
Rath narrowed his eyes at Alex before dropping him to the ground. Alex wasn’t expecting it and when he landed he stumbled backwards. Michael grabbed his arm quickly, pulling him behind him while raising his free hand, ready to blast or shield if necessary. “Who are you?”
“We’re not your enemies.” Shyla stated. “We’re the same as you. But that’s a long story.”
It occurred to Liz then how much commotion they had made and what they must look like. They were somewhat on the outskirts of the festival but were still in open view. And exposure was not what they needed. “How about we hear it somewhere a little less public?”
“Where?” Shyla asked.
That posed a problem. Usually when they had a meeting, they met up at the Crashdown or at Michael’s apartment. The Crashdown was out because it was still open and wouldn’t be much more private then the festival and there were too many to squeeze into Michael’s apartment. Plus they weren’t sure who these people even were, if they were good or bad and so it wasn’t a good idea to show them where they lived.
Glancing around, Liz’s eyes came to rest on the trees that bordered around the meadow that the festival was being held in and got an idea. “We can hide out in the woods, we’ll be far away enough that no one will overhear or disturb us. Follow us.”
The whole group headed out towards the parking lot. As they did, Kyle popped up. “Holy shit.”
“My sentiments exactly.” Maria commented.
“What’s going on?” Kyle asked.
“We’re about to find out.” Liz stated before looking him dead in the eye. “Tell me the truth Kyle. Has Nasedo ever mentioned anything about there being more of us? Like we had twins or something?”
“No, never. I swear to you. He never said a word. But there was a lot he didn’t tell me.” Kyle explained.
“Where is he? At home?’
“He should be.”
“I’ll deal with him after we figure out what is going on.” Liz growled in anger. “He’s got some answers to give whether he likes to or not.”
As they headed deeper into the woods, Liz came up to stand beside Max. “Are you okay?”
“Working through some shock but yeah. I’m okay.” Max answered as he glanced back at the look alikes. “I thought she was you, I mean you two look almost exactly alike.”
Liz looked back as well and couldn’t help but wonder what happened before Max had realized that her look a like wasn’t her. She felt jealousy blossom within her at the thought of him touching her or something similar. She’d hold it against him; he didn’t know the difference.
They finally got far enough away from the festival that the racket from the speakers could barely be heard. It was very dark and shadowy. Thinking that he could lighten it up some, Max kicked some branches into a natural hole in the ground and pointed his hand at it, torching the wood. The new arrivals looked as if someone had just stunned them. They probably couldn’t figure out how he had powers.
Liz wasn’t thrilled that Max had showed his powers but didn’t scold him for it. Not in front of the their company. Instead she looked at the new look alikes and scrutinized them more closely. Her own look alike had hair a little longer than her own with little braids mixed in. Silver piercings adorned her eyebrow and six or so holes in her ears. Her short shirt showed that another one was in her navel, in the center of a familiar symbol. The Whirlwind symbol.
Liz could also see the bottom of what she suspected was the foursquare symbol poking out of the sleeve of her shirt. Kyle, Isabel’s, and Michael’s look alikes had the same tattoo along with more various Antarian symbol tattoos. Kyle’s even had one on the side of his head. They also seemed to share her look alikes love of piercings. “Okay, so who are you?”
“We’re you.” Shyla answered.
“I know you look like us but that doesn’t tell us who you are.” Liz stated.
“We’re what most people would call your twins or your duplicates. We were with you in the Crash in ’47.” Shyla stated.
“That’s not possible.”
“Yes, it is. Get comfortable, this is going to take a while.”
PART 7
“First off, my name is Shyla,” Shyla said then pointed at Kyle’s duplicate. “This is Dero,” Isabel’s duplicate, “Lonnie” Michael’s duplicate, “and Rath.”
“I’m Liz.”
“Isabel.”
“Kyle.”
“Michael.”
“And these are our friends, Maria, Alex, and Max.” Liz said introducing the others.
“How’d he get those powers of his? Because no one ever mentioned him before.” Shyla asked. She was dying of curiosity. She should have known that the funny vibes she was getting off him had meant something.
“From me, I healed him. He got shot, and I had to heal him or he’d have died. I didn’t know at the time but it changed him so he’s like us now. He’s a hybrid.” Liz explained. “Now what do you mean about being our duplicates?”
“You know the whole story about up there right? About the war, us dying, and being reborn?” Shyla asked and they all nodded. “Well they made two sets of us. You guys and us. From what I’ve been told, after the crash and our protector escaped, he grabbed us from where we’d been stashed and took off. You see, we were supposed to be raised separate. That way if one set didn’t make it, there was another. The only reason we knew about you guys was because our protector let it slip one time. I’m the only one who he told about where you were. He said he had a feeling that we might need to find you at some point.”
“Sounds smarter than our protector.” Michael grumbled.
The Roswellians all took in the tale and tried to let it settle. It was strange to find out that there was another person out there that not only looked like you but also had the same makeup as you. The four had thought that they had known all about themselves after their destiny had been revealed however now they knew that they were wrong. Nasedo definitely had some answers to give them as soon as they saw him.
“So when they recreated us, they always intended for there to be two sets?” Isabel asked.
“I don’t think so. Cal, our protector, always acted like it had been unplanned. Like a mistake or something. But he never said for sure.” Shyla answered.
“So where did you guys end up?” Kyle asked eyeing the ring in Dero’s nose and the stud just under his lip. He couldn’t believe that they shared the same DNA.
“New York, home of great Pizza, and the Yankees.” Rath commented. “Yo, what up with all the humans? Don’t you guys know what a secret is?”
Max, Maria, and Alex all shifted uncomfortably at his question even though Max technically didn’t fall in the human category anymore as Isabel explained. “They’re our friends. When Liz healed Max, they found out the truth about us, and have been helping us ever since.”
The duplicates seemed to weigh Isabel’s words for a moment before accepting what she said. But they didn’t look happy about it, Liz decided. “So if we’re supposed to be separate, why did you guys come to Roswell?”
“Because a whole bunch of uglies are coming.” Lonnie commented.
“And what does that mean?” Maria asked.
“It means that our enemies have found us.” Dero elaborated.
“About a week ago they popped up in our hood and started huntin’ us down. We made it through the first few battles all right, killed a few handfuls of them in the process but in the last one we lost Cal. They killed him.” Shyla explained.
“That’s when we blew and came here, figured between the eight of us and your protector, we’d stand a better chance against them.” Lonnie added.
“So since you couldn’t handle them you lead them to us?!” Michael asked irritably.
“Hey! You best watch your step!” Rath bellowed. “They’s all ready after yous. If you think they ain’t found you yet, you’re wrong. Hell, you only a stone’s throw away from the crash site. You’d be the easy ones to find. They just binding their time before they come in and wipe you out.”
“Why?” Liz asked. “Why would they wait?”
“Do I look like a skin to you? I don’t know why they waitin.” Rath exclaimed.
The Roswellians all looked at each other at Rath’s statement as Michael asked, “What the hell is a skin?”
The dupes all rolled their eyes as Shyla explained. “On our planet, there are two races, one that are shapeshifters and another that we call the skins. We call them skins because when they’re on Earth they have to wear these space suits things to protect them from Earth’s atmosphere. The space suits are made out of something similar to skin and they look like every other human. But after so many years of wear and tear, they start showing their miles and shed. When you find a big piece of skin lying around, you know that a Skin’s been there. If you see someone who looks like they’s peeling, they’s a skin.”
“Yuck, gross.” Maria commented scrunching her face.
“Yeah, I’d say that’s a pretty accurate description of them.” Shyla said unable to keep a slight smile off of her face at Maria’s narrative.
“The Skins are allied with Kivar, but they’re a different race then us and him.” Lonnie said informing them. “From what Cal was able to find out, a big group of them were sent down a few years after us to make sure that the crash had killed us. When they found out they hadn’t, they started trying to track us down. They didn’t know at the time that we weren’t supposed to come out of our pods for a few decades.”
“Your protector hasn’t tipped you off at all about any of this?” Rath asked. “That there are people out there besides humans that want you dead.”
“Yeah, but not really anything specific.” Liz answered angrily. “He’s not exactly forthcoming with the information. I’m going to talk to him about it.”
Liz turned to Shyla, “At least you should be with me when I talk to him.”
“That cool, I figured we’d be meeting him at some time.”
“So you guys are going to chew Nasedo out, then what?” Michael asked. He didn’t like the idea of just sitting around doing nothing when there were people plotting to attack and kill them.
“We don’t have any idea where they are at the moment so I figure we should stay on guard, look out for anyone that is suspicious and try to figure out.”
“Uh, what are we going to do with our out of town guests?” Isabel asked.
“Good question.” Liz said biting her lip.
“We cool, we’ll just find us a motel room to crash.” Shyla stated.
“No, it’s better to keep you close, we never know how much warning we may have.” Liz said but also thinking it’d be easier to keep and eye on them too.
“”We can put them up at my place.” Michael offered.
“Your apartment isn’t big enough for five people.” Maria commented.
“Shyla and Lonnie can stay with us while Rath and Dero stay with Michael.” Isabel stated. “Now that Mom and Dad know, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.”
“I guess it doesn’t hurt to ask.” Liz said hoping her parents wouldn’t freak out too much.
PART 8
Once the rooming arrangements had been figured out, the spontaneous meeting broke up. The plans for the festival were forgotten. They needed to get things settled and the knowledge that their enemies were close had kind of dampened the festive spirit. The four dupes broke off together, whispering in hushed tones.
Max saw Liz watching them as he approached her. “Kind of weird huh?”
“Yeah, just when I didn’t things couldn’t get any weirder.” Liz smiled at him. “But here we are.”
“And there you are.” Max said nodding his head towards the dupes. “It’s amazing. If it weren’t for their unique taste in clothes, you wouldn’t be able to tell a difference. Even in their different style, those who know you were fooled.”
Liz’s earlier jealousy and curiosity in regards to Shyla and Max’s encounter popped up and she couldn’t stop herself from asking, “And how fooled were you?”
“What?” Max asked confused.
“How fooled were you?” Liz repeated her question. “What happened between you and Shyla before you figured out that she wasn’t me?”
Max’s eyes went wide. “Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing like you are thinking. I was looking for you when I spotted Shyla and Dero. I thought they were you and Kyle. Kyle was acting weird, of course at the time it was Dero but I didn’t know that. I asked what was going on and Shyla asked me if I knew them. It was then that I realized it wasn’t you in a costume. We talked a little, they found out that I knew your secret and Shyla was trying to set up a meeting with you when we spotted the fight. That’s all that happened…except.”
“Except what?” Liz asked.
“I can feel her.” Max answered. “Through your and my connection. It’s not nearly as strong as how I feel you. At first I thought it was you, I didn’t put any thought into why it was so weak but it turned out to be Shyla. But I don’t understand how I could and can feel her.”
“I can only assume that it has something to do with the fact that Shyla and I have the same DNA. It would be safe to say that our energies are also similar. But there appears to be enough of a difference that you are able to differentiate between us.” Liz explained. She had no idea if it was true or not but it was the best guess she had.
Liz saw the dupes breaking up their little pow wow and said to Max, “I’ve got to go. Are you going to be okay with Alex and Maria?”
“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Max assured her. “I’m more worried about you.”
“I can handle Nasedo.” Liz stated. “And I’ll deal with whatever else comes my way.”
He didn’t know if it was because of his worry for what was to come or if it was just his need to feel her but Max couldn’t help but lean forward and kiss her gently on the lips. It wasn’t a kiss of passion although he always had that for Liz, no it was a kiss of reassurance and support.
Liz returned the kiss wanting the support and comfort he was offering. When they broke away, they saw everyone staring at them. The dupes with looks of revelation and confusion while the members of their group gave them looks of surprise and delight especially Maria. They had seen the two becoming more affectionate and comfortable with each other but never to the point that they had kissed.
Liz fought the urge to bury her face in Max’s shoulder and instead said, “Okay, let’s get out of here. I’ve got a protector to interrogate.”
(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(**)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)
The drive to Nasedo’s and Kyle’s house wasn’t long, but enough time for Liz’s anger to become juiced up again. Kyle drove his own car while Liz, Shyla, Lonnie, and Isabel all drove in the Evans’ jeep. As they drove, Liz and Isabel filled Lonnie and Shyla in on the story of their protector. About how he had arrived at their podchamber too late and had only found one of his charges left. And how they had not been brought back together until recently.
When they reached the house, Liz didn’t knock on the door and be polite like normal; she simply barged into the house. Kyle was next to her and didn’t say a word as she called out. “Nasedo! Nasedo where are you?”
There was the sound of footsteps on the staircase before the protector came into view. “Why all the noise down here? What is going on Liz?”
“That.” Liz said pointing to where Isabel, Lonnie, and Shyla had just walked in. They stood back, giving Liz plenty of room. “Is what is going on.”
Nasedo’s eyes took in the site of the two duplicates of Liz and Isabel before saying. “They are not supposed to be here.”
“We did not even know that they existed.” Liz exclaimed practically yelling. “You should have told us that there were duplicates of us out there.”
“And what good would it have done but put both sets in danger?” Nasedo inquired.
“You still should have told us anyway!” Liz yelled. “How are we supposed to be prepared if we don’t have all the information?!”
“My job is to protect you, how I see fit.”
“Hopefully you can get that stick out of your ass long enough to actually do some protecting from something more than the truth.” Shyla snorted. “Because you got skins knocking at your back door.”
“Skins?” Nasedo asked. “Are you positive?”
“Do you think we would have made the trip all the way to Mayberry if we weren’t?” Lonnie stated. “It’s not like this is our idea of a good time.”
“They caught up with us in New York, killed our protector.” Shyla said giving him the low down. “They plan to wipe all of us out. We escaped them and came here, figured that two sets are better then one. My Bro and Dero are with Michael.”
Liz watched as Nasedo processed the new information and could see that her anger was lost on him. He thought what he had done was right and no matter what she told him, he’d keep believing that. So she might as well find out as much as she could and she switched her line of questioning. “What can you tell us? Are we exactly the same? Was it always the plan to make two sets?”
“No, it wasn’t always the plan to make two sets.” Nasedo stated. “After the scientists were able to formulate a balanced combination of human and Antarian DNA that would create a stable hybrid something unexpected happened. Each of the four cells split into two, similar to what happens here on Earth when identical twins are created. When it did, we saw an unexpected opportunity. We decided to send both sets down. Extra insurance if you will. If one set died, there would still be an existing set of royals.”
“What if both sets survived?” Liz asked.
“Just before you were podded, one set was chosen to bear an active seal while the other, a dormant seal. The active one of course would designate who would be first, and the dormant one would become functional if the active one dies.” Nasedo explained.
Liz didn’t think she wanted to hear the answer but knew it had to be asked. “Who has the active seals?”
“You do.” Nasedo answered. Liz shut her eyes in defeat. She never asked for this and had thought that she had come to grips with it but it was obvious she hadn’t and didn’t know if she ever would. Why couldn’t Shyla have the active seal? She seemed more confident in herself.
“But aside from the seals, we are identical?” Isabel asked
“No genetic differences aside from the seals.” Nasedo commented looking over the dupes appearances. “But you were raised differently, they had the benefit of a protector from the time they hatched. They would have been raised the way they were supposed to and not have had the interactions with humans that you have had.”
“Yeah, yeah I know how you feel about that.” Liz commented. “But we don’t have time to discuss your dissatisfaction with our relations with humans. Speaking of which, we need to get home and talk to our parents about Shyla and Lonnie staying with us.”
“We have room here.”
“It’s up to you.” Liz said to the female dupes.
Shyla looked at Lonnie who shrugged. She had a few questions for Liz she wanted to ask so she said, “We’ll crash with you.”
“All right, let’s get going then.”
PART 9
It didn’t take long before Liz pulled the jeep up in front of their house and killed the engine. As the four of them climbed out, Liz nodded to the garage. “Michael’s apartment is above the garage. There’s a balcony outside of Isabel and my room that looks out to it, if you need to get over there in a hurry, that’s the best way to go.”
Shyla and Lonnie nodded in understanding as they looked over the Evans’ house. Lonnie looked at with obvious distaste; “I’d go nuts livin’ here. Way too Leave it to Beaver.”
“Why’s Michael got an apartment over the garage? He not house broken?” Shyla joked.
“Michael wasn’t adopted with us. We got separated the night we came out of the pods and he ended up in foster care. It was really…rough and he got out of it and went out on his own. Mom and Dad let him rent the apartment since he was a good friend of ours.” Isabel explained. “Course now they know he’s our brother.”
“Come on, I know Mom and Dad heard the jeep, let’s get this over with.” Liz instructed. She wanted to talk to her parents, she had came up with another idea on the drive home and wanted to get it taken care of as soon as possible.
“I think it’d be a better idea if one of us went in and explained thing first, while the other stays out here with Shyla and Lonnie.” Isabel stated.
“You’re right, seeing both sets might give them a heart attack.” Liz agreed. “I’ll go in and do the explaining, you three stay out here until I come to get you.”
Liz didn’t wait for an answer; she just turned around and made her way into the house. Her mom and dad were sitting in the living room watching a movie and eating some popcorn. When she entered they looked up surprised. “Liz! What are you doing home? Is the festival over already?”
“No, it’s not over. Actually I never technically made it into the festival.” Liz said. “Something happened before I had a chance to do anything but park the jeep.”
“What happened? Is everyone okay?” Both parents asked.
"Everyone’s okay, well physically anyway. We’re kind of in shock.” Liz said then shook her head. “I’m getting off the subject here. Okay, you know when we went through our whole story and how we told you that the scientists on our world had recreated us, put us in the pods and sent us here?”
“Yes, because you were the royals and important in ending the war.” Philip stated. “Where are you going with this Liz?”
“Well you see, we were so important that they didn’t want to take the chance that we wouldn’t survive so they created a guarantee if you will.” Liz said trying her best to explain but not actually giving details. This was the first time that their parents were brought in on anything alien since finding out the truth. They hadn’t known about Max until after the whole explanation from Nasedo. She hadn’t purposely kept them in the dark; they had just did it. “I would have told you about this sooner but we didn’t find out about it until a few hours ago.”
“What?” Diane asked.
Liz opened her mouth to tell them but didn’t have to because just then, Lonnie and Shyla walked in followed by a flustered Isabel. Twin gasps of surprise met their entrance as well as wide eyes that raked over Shyla and Lonnie’s attire. Lonnie smiled brashly at her parents, “Whatup.”
“Damn it you two, I asked you to wait outside.” Liz hissed at them. She saw Isabel giving her an apologetic look but she just shrugged. Lonnie and Shyla looked proud of the reaction they got from the parents. “Figured you might need some visual aids for your explanation.”
“Who are these girls? Why do they look like you? Why are they dressed like that?” Philip asked. “And when do you use such language in front of your mother and me Liz?”
Liz couldn’t believe that her father had focused on her cussing. “Sorry, it just kind of slipped.”
Lonnie and Shyla snickered and Liz threw them a glare, “Shut up.”
“Mom, Dad, this is Shyla and Lonnie.” Isabel introduced.
“And the reason they look like us is because they are us, sort of. They have the same DNA of us.” Liz clarified. “When the scientists created us, our cells split in a way that made two sets, like twins.”
“So they sent both sets?” Diane asked understanding.
“You’s got it.” Shyla commented. “Our set got taken to New York. Hence our killer threads.”
“Both sets were not supposed to know about the other, for safety reasons. Nasedo never mentioned it so none of us knew about the other set until they showed up at the Crash Festival tonight.” Liz explained. “There was a few cases of mistaken identity but then we were able to all get together and talk.”
“Yeah, we had a whole meet and greet, sharing notes moment.” Shyla continued.
“So why now?” Philip asked. “Why and how did the New York search the four of you out?”
Liz bit her lip and looked at Isabel, they both knew that their parents were not going to like what was said next. “Well it seems that when we were sent here, it wasn’t so secret and some enemies followed. They found the dupes in New York and um…killed their protector. They found out that the enemies were going to come after us too.”
“So we’s figured since the Skins coming for us and for them, we might as well pair up and combine our fire power so we could kick some ass.” Lonnie stated enjoying the frowns and glares from Liz and Isabel. She was enjoying this, and they were just too easy to get a rise out of.
“Skins?” Diane asked.
“The skins are our enemies. They have to wear these protective suits that look like real skin to protect them from Earth’s atmosphere.” Liz stated. “Anyway, like Lonnie said, their four came to join our four.”
“To take on your enemies?” Philip said. “I know you explained before but you guys are just kids.”
“The skins don’t care Daddy.” Liz explained.
“It’s a harsh reality but they want us dead, whether we are our age now, or grown adults. They would have been happy to wipe us out when we were all still babes floating in our pods.” Shyla added.
“What can we do to help?” Diane asked.
“Nothing when it comes down to the actual fight. I don’t want you near it if we can help it. I could bear if you or Daddy got hurt.” Liz said. “But there is a favor we need. Two actually.”
“What?”
“I was going to ask if it was okay if Lonnie and Shyla stayed here. The other guys are bunking with Michael.” Liz said.
“Of course, we don’t have a lot of room but we have plenty of extra blankets and stuff that we can set up in your rooms.” Diane said.
“Secondly, I want you and Dad to get out of Roswell.” Liz said then talked quickly when they were about to argue. “The skins might use you as bait or try to hurt you and we can’t have that. Can you guys please just listen to me on this?”
Philip looked at the emotion in Liz’s eyes and knew she was genuinely scared for them both. And while he didn’t like the thought of abandoning them, he had to respect her wishes. After all, she seemed to know what they were dealing with. “Okay, Liz. First thing in the morning, we’ll go.”
PART 10
Isabel watched her dupe explore her room with careful eyes. She just couldn’t get past the fact that although they had the same DNA, they seemed to be complete opposites of each other. Isabel liked to think of herself as polished and stylish maybe even elegant and graceful. Attributes that she figured she had carried over from her previous life. But if that was true, why did Lonnie seem so different?
As she watched Lonnie, she had to admit that there was a certain way she carried herself that was distinctive from other girls she had seen. Isabel finally determined that Lonnie had a presence. One that could possibly be from a combination of their past life and her life in New York. The presence spoke of someone who was confidant in who she was.
Lonnie saw Isabel staring at her but ignored it. Instead she picked up a picture of Isabel and the Alex guy who had kissed her earlier and asked, “So you and Alex got a thing going huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Wouldn’t have pictured it but he’s kind of cute and a great kisser so I can see the attraction.” Lonnie provoked giving Isabel a half smile. The smile grew when she saw the jealousy flash in Isabel’s eyes.
“Stay away from him Lonnie.” Isabel said in so low of a tone she would have thought she was growling. She had watched Lonnie enough in the last few hours to know that Lonnie like to entertain herself, and to do that, she did whatever she wanted. She thought of saying something to Shyla to talk to Lonnie but decided against it. She wouldn’t give Lonnie the satisfaction of knowing how much she bugged her.
“You never know, Alex might like a little threesome action.” Lonnie egged on. “And I bet I could teach him a thing or two, neither of you would be too innocent then.”
“Who said we were innocent now?” Isabel fired back.
Isabel felt triumphant when Lonnie’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. She hadn’t been expecting that. “Besides, Alex is totally ‘satisfied’ with what he has that he doesn’t need you.”
Isabel rolled over then showing her back to Lonnie in the obvious gesture that she did not want to talk anymore. Seeing that she couldn’t have anymore fun Lonnie flopped back on her pallet and closed her eyes for some much-needed rest.
(*(*(*(*(*(*(*(**)*)*)*)*)*)*)*)
In Liz’s room, Shyla was conducting similar room exploration but she didn’t have to do it under the watchful eyes of her dupe. Liz was too busy talking to her parents about their leaving and talking on the phone arranging for a meeting with everyone for the next day. Shyla wasn’t used to surrendering authority and control to someone else but she had been the one to show up on Liz’s turf and ask for her help so she did it grudgingly.
As Shyla looked over Liz’s room, her eyes caught on her desk where a collection of photo frames was sitting. There were several pictures of Liz, Michael, and Isabel as kids, some just the three of them, others with their parents. It looked like Liz had had a typical childhood, a human one.
There were other pictures too. There was one that had Michael, Maria, Isabel, Alex, Liz and Max right next to one of just Max and Liz. The idea f one of them with a human wasn’t a complete oddity to her. Her brother and sister had gotten with humans before. Granted it was usually a wham bam thank you ma'am kind of thing, a way to relieve their needs. But they more often than not left the next morning. Nothing like she had seen between this set and the humans in their lives. Especially Max and Liz. Those two confused her.
Not only was Max and Liz’s relationship and Liz’s lack of one with Kyle confusing her but Shyla didn’t understand what she was picking up from them either. It felt similar to the ones she had to form to deeply heal someone but deeper, more emotional she guessed. Shyla knew she was only getting a faded version of the connection and couldn’t image what it felt like full force.
After finishing up everything, Liz came back into her room and saw Shyla looking over her pictures. At some point she had changed her clothes into what Liz figured she wore as pajamas. It was an oversize black shirt with writing so faded that she couldn’t make out the letters. The shirt revealed yet another tattoo around Shyla ankle that Liz had not seen before.
It wasn’t a symbol like the other ones; it was a ring of wild flowers. It was very girly, not what Liz would have expected after looking at her dupes’ hard image. She cleared her throat to indicate that she was back in the room. When Shyla turned towards she said, “Everyone’s going to meet up here tomorrow. Michael, Maria, and Max have to work the opening shift but will be done by noon.”
“Cool.”
“Is there anything you need?” Liz asked.
“No, your mom made sure we got some blankets and I used your bathroom to clean up.” Shyla said.
“Sorry about Mom, she can be very…mothering when she feels it’s needed.” Liz said. After they determined that the dupes were going to be staying there, her mom had taken over to make their guests comfortable. She had pushed food at them and other things to tend to them.
“Don’t sweat it, never had a mother but I know that’s what they do.” Shyla shrugged. “Got admit it’s weird wearing something to sleep in. Usually just sleep in the buff.”
“Must get kind of cold in New York.” Liz stated.
“Dero keeps me warm.” Shyla smiled.
“I’m sure he does.” Liz blushed.
“So what’s up with you and Kyle? I know what you said about him being raised apart from you but why didn’t you two get together when he showed up?” Shyla asked as she sat down on her bed.
“Kyle and I are only friends. There were some issues and incidents when he first moved to town but not since. At the time, I had no clue who he was or anything about our destiny and even after I found out, I didn’t want anything to do with it.” Liz explained. “I was already in love with Max.”
“Ahh, the third point in the triangle.” Shyla exclaimed. “What’s that story?”
“I’ve known Max for years. Ever since I met him, I’ve been drawn to him, and it grew into love. Last September, I was with Michael in Max’s parents café when he was shot. I couldn’t let him die so I healed him.” Liz explained. “After that I had to tell him. Alex and Maria found out shortly after. They’ve been there for us ever since even though all the strange stuff. Like FBI stuff and Kyle and Nasedo showing up, our awakenings.”
“I bet old Max liked your awakening huh?” Shyla asked but didn’t really expect an answer. “Speaking of Max, I’ve been picking up some odd vibes from him. It’s like I can sense him.”
“Max mentioned it earlier. I think I might know why. You and are similar enough that he picks up your and my energy.” Liz explained. “Like I said, I’ve always been drawn to Max, it’s like we had a link or something. After he found out, I was scared that he would freak out so I reversed the connection I opened when I healed him so that he could see I was still me. Ever since it’s like the connection was never severed.”
“Really?” Shyla asked sounding as if she was in awe.
“Yeah. We can feel when the other is near, like a room away maybe a little more and get flashes when we kiss. We can see each others’ memories and stuff.” Liz described. “It can be intense to say the least. I asked Nasedo about it but he doesn’t seem to know anything about it.”
“I don’t know anything either.” Shyla stated. “I gathered from the brief conversation earlier that your protector is not too thrilled about all of this with Max and the others, huh?”
“To say he isn’t happy is an understatement. He would be ecstatic if we all left our here and ditched our friends even Max now that he’s hybrid.” Liz said. “What was your protector like?”
“Cal was okay. Kind of distant, but I guess he’d have to be with his job. You know like in movies they say that bodyguards shouldn’t develop feelings for their charges because it can cause problems.” Shyla explained. “But he was pretty cool. He made sure we had stuff to eat, how to use our powers, and how to take care of ourselves if we needed to.”
“Was he a big destiny fanatic?” Liz asked.
“Yes, no. Kind of.” Shyla faltered. “He made sure that I knew who I was supposed to be, and the others too. Things we would need to know if we didn’t completely recover our memories.”
“You mean you have some of your memories from before?” Liz asked stunned.
“Yeah. Cal taught us some memory retrieval.” Shyla said simply.
“Nasedo offered but we never took him up on it.” Liz stated. “I think we were scared of what we’d see.”
“What you mean is that you were scared you’d remember Derogo, right?” Shyla said in a straightforward manner. “You didn’t want to take the chance you might feel something?”
“Yeah.” Liz admitted. “I don’t want my past life to dictate this one more than it has to. I understand I have responsibilities that I have to live up to but I won’t let them influence my personal life as well.”
“Do you want to know?” Shyla inquired. “Do you want to know about the past without feeling it? I could tell you, at least what I know.”
Liz thought over Shyla’s proposal. She was curious about her previous life. She didn’t want experience it again; she wasn’t that person anymore. She was half-human now, but she was curious. Especially since the only chronicle she had heard was from Nasedo and it wasn’t like she trusted his version at the moment. Although she had just met Shyla, she somewhat trusted her. “Okay.”
“I’ve only recovered pieces of memories, sometimes they’re complete, other times I just get images or feelings.” Shyla described. “I’ve seen bits and pieces of our childhood. Our parents were always busy but still made time for us. When the three of us weren’t with them, we had classes on how to be a monarch as well as etiquette and protocol.”
“We were always in the public eye but it wasn’t until we were older that we took part in functions. Parties and balls, sh*t like that.” Shyla shrugged. “Derogo was raised in a similar way but not to the extremes. After all, they didn’t know until Shyla and Derogo were teens that their engagement was arranged.”
“So their marriage was arranged and not one of love?” Liz asked.
“Yes, and no. They were friends when their parents arranged the marriage. Eventually they did love each other as more than friends. It wasn’t an overpowering starry-eyed love but they were happy with each other. It’s kind of hard to describe what I mean.” Shyla explained.
“I think I get what you’re talking about.” Liz declared in understanding. She had heard about love like Shyla was describing. It wasn’t like what she had with Max
but it could be very satisfying. “Is that why you’re with Dero now? I mean, I figured you were, it looked like it earlier.”
“Yes, we are but no it’s not because of the past. Dero and I have always been tight, mainly because of growing up together. What’s between us is all us, no one else. Cal told us about our destiny but said as long as the four of us stuck together, we’d be okay. I think he knew that we’d get together anyway.”
“Anyhow we were friends and when we hit puberty, we got curious and kissed. We were fourteen. Been together ever since. Rath and Lonnie are the only ones who ever had dealings with humans. Mostly just one night stands. ” Shyla stated then steered the conversation back to the memories.
“There’s some more stuff, I don’t remember the wedding but I remember pits and pieces of the war starting. The negotiations and peace talks. I remember our deaths.” Shyla said.
“It was in the palace, and the whole battle was a blood bath. Vilandra and Rath were both killed in a large explosion while Derogo bled to death in my arms.” Shyla said giving details.
The two were quiet for a moment thinking of what Shyla said. They both had a faint sense of déjà vu. Eventually Liz asked, “Do you think we’re going to survive this?”
“The way I see it, we got more to fight for.” Shyla said. “The skins are coming after us because it’s their job. They were ordered to do it. Us? We’re fighting for our lives, to survive. I gotta believe that’s going to give us an advantage.”
“I hope so.” Liz whispered before lying back to sleep.
Back
Next