Max was pleased by the doctor's words. It was the first sign that he was doing the right thing in his role as guardian for the weekend. «Thanks.»
«Take my card.» The doctor handed him a small slip of paper. «Please call me no matter what happens.»
«Okay.» Max shook the doctor's hand.
He went out into the lobby and collected Liz and Jason, bolstered by the doctor's simple words. For the first time that weekend, he felt like he was in control. They had resolved Jason's attitude problems and were going to tackle the larger issue when his parents returned. Not only that, but they also had an adult on their side who happened to be a medical expert. This bolstered Max's confidence to believe that everything would turn out right.
«Jason said everything was fine?» Liz confirmed as they walked back out to the bikes. They had been so concerned about getting Jason checked out immediately that neither of them had even thought to stop back at the house and pick up Max's car.
«Looks that way," Max replied. «Dr. Sellers wants him to come in Monday for some X rays.»
They could both see the look of trepidation on Jason's face as he climbed aboard the ATV behind Max.
«I'll go too," Liz offered. «I can stay until Monday.»
«Are you sure?» Jason asked.
«I'll stay as long as you need me," she replied.
They rode the bikes back to Jason's home, carefully sticking to the road so as not to risk any more adventures. Max wasn't sure if ATVs were okay to ride on the street, but he honestly didn't care. It was only a short trip from the doctor's place, and they found themselves pulling back into the garage only a few minutes later. Placing the two remaining sets of keys on the rack, they made their way to the house.
Entering the Lyleses' foyer, the trio split into different directions. Jason went upstairs to change, since his clothes were torn and dirty from the fall. Max's clothes were a bit dusty as well, but hunger was his primary distraction, since he was the only one of them who had left the house without breakfast. He hadn't had a shower, either, but that could wait until his stomach stopped grumbling. Making his way to the kitchen, he left Liz to check the answering machine to see if Jason's parents had called while they were out.
Searching through the kitchen cabinets hoping for something to ease his hunger, Max was hopeful when he found a bottle of Tabasco sauce. Now he just needed something to pour it over. In the adjoining cabinet, he found what he was looking for in one of those incredibly sugary breakfast bars. True, it wasn't a lot of food, but it would hold him over until they could put together something for lunch. Pouring the Tabasco over the breakfast bar for just the right sweet and spicy snack, he had taken only one bite when Liz called to him from the living room. The tone of her voice implied that he should hurry
«What's wrong?» he asked as soon as he entered the room with his breakfast bar still in hand.
«Listen to this," she replied, pressing the «play» button on the machine.
The machine announced that there were four messages, and after a short pause, Maria's voice came through. «Liz. Max. Where are you? You guys need to get back here, fast. Somethings wrong with Isabel. She's sick. We think it's some kind of Czechoslovakian flu. Hurry.»
Max blanched.
A drop of Tabasco sauce fell onto the spotless beige carpet.
He knew that Czechoslovakian was Liz's and Maria's code word for anything alien related. Something was seriously wrong with his sister, and it sounded like Maria didn't have a clue what it was.
«The other messages are from Maria too.» Liz stopped the tape so Max would not hear the increasing desperation in Maria's voice with each call. «She said she's at your place. Give her a call, and I'll go get Jason.»
«We can't take him to Roswell," Max said as he took the phone from Liz.
«Well, we can't leave him here," Liz said. «And I'm not staying behind if something is really wrong with your sister.»
«It could be dangerous," he said, dialing his own phone number.
«If things turn out to be too intense, we'll drop him off with my folks," Liz said as she left the room, ending the argument right there.
«Evans residence," Maria answered on the other end of the line.
«It's me," Max said. «What's wrong?»
Maria filled him in on the situation, which didn't take long since she couldn't tell him much. Following a litany of questions that she couldn't answer, Max finally gave up on asking for information that she obviously did not possess. He turned to see Liz and Jason standing in the doorway, ready to travel. «We'll be there in twenty minutes," he said into the phone.
«But you're over forty miles away," Maria answered back.
«We'll be there," he insisted, hanging up the phone. «Jason, how do you feel about visiting your old hometown?»
Kyle's eyes popped open.
He had been prematurely forced out of his meditation when he heard Isabel calling his name. Running to the bedroom, he found Maria cradling the phone in her hands with an expression of relief across her face.
«Max and Liz are on their way," she reported, looking at her watch to see that it was already one o'clock in the afternoon. She had no idea if their friends could do anything more than she and Kyle were already doing, but the mere fact that they were on their way back was comforting. For Max to be there in twenty minutes meant he would have to break more than a few traffic laws. Hopefully, former Sheriff Valenti could take care of it if anything happened.
«I think Isabel tried to contact me," Kyle said.
«What? How?»
«When I was meditating," he explained. «I was in the process of purging my mind when I saw her for a brief moment. She was calling my name.»
«Did she tell you how we can help her?» Maria asked the obvious.
«No," Kyle said as he took a seat beside his comatose friend. «But she seemed desperate. I don't think we have much time.»
«Don't worry, I've got a plan," Michael said as he climbed in the window and dropped a large sack on the floor.
Kyle was up and around the bed beside Maria in a matter of moments, watching as Michael first took a collection of stones from his sack. Maria instantly recognized them, but Kyle had no clue as to what good they would be.
«I figure if anything's going to help us it's these," Michael said with his usual intensity. Then, looking at Kyle, he explained further. «Before you were brought into our ever expanding inner circle, a Native American guy named River Dog gave us these. I took part in one of his rituals, and it nearly killed me. These stones come from our home planet. They saved me.»
Maria was visibly upset at the reminder of the time when she had almost lost Michael, but she tried not to dwell on it because it was in the past, and in the present there was a more pressing threat. «Max is on his way.»
«We need to prepare.» Michael returned to his magic sack and pulled out the long rope, handing it to Maria. «I need you to cut five pieces of rope that are about four feet long.»
«Okay?» she said with a question in her voice. «What do you want me to do with the rest?»
«Bring it back with the smaller pieces.»
«Gotcha.» She was out of the room in a flash to search for something she could use to cut the thick rope.
«Kyle, help me out," Michael said, moving to the bed, motioning for Kyle to get on the other side.
Grabbing one side of the headboard, he instructed Kyle to do the same. Together, they slid Isabel and her bed about two feet away from the wall so it was closer to the center of the room. «Maria!» Michael called out into the hall.
«Almost done!» she yelled back.
Tension filled the air as Michael impatiently waited for his girlfriend to return. Kyle knew better than to say anything when Michael was in this kind of mood. He would only throw rude comments back.
«What exactly are we doing?» Maria asked, coming back into the room. She apparently was used to the rude comments.
«Making a medicine wheel," Michael stated simply as he took the longer piece of rope from her. Walking around the bed, he laid the rope on the floor in a circle. It was a little long, so the ends overlapped for a good three feet.