The joke didn't go over very well. The tension remained, though there was now a loud ringing in Kyle's ear to distract him for a moment.
«Has something like this ever happened when she dreamwalked before?» Liz asked.
«Never," Max replied. «I have no clue how to stop it, Michael and I can't consciously enter a person's mind like that.»
«Are you sure?» Maria asked, not wanting to broach a sensitive subject. «Michael and Isabel do have that connection. You know, from before they were sent here.»
Maria was, quite reluctantly, bringing up the topic of the former relationship between Michael and Isabel when they were on their home planet. The two had shared some mental links in their human form, most notably when Isabel thought he had impregnated her in her dreams.
«Maybe Michael should try to reach her," Maria suggested.
«I don't think so," Liz interjected. «She's in Kyle's mind. He's probably the only one who could get through to her.»
«I did see her earlier when I meditated," Kyle suggested. «But as soon as I realized she was there, I was pushed right out of my trance.»
«You need to reach out through your mind," Liz replied.
«How?» Kyle asked. «Last time I checked, I was a mere mortal-well, mostly mortal.»
«Through your dreams," she explained. «You need to go back to sleep.»
«In case you missed what I said earlier," he replied, «I haven't been having the easiest time falling asleep lately. How do you suggest we do this?»
«Ooh, hang on.» Maria bounced over to her purse and started digging around, finally pulling out a small bottle that she handed to Kyle. «Use this.»
Kyle looked at it skeptically.
«It's a relaxation aid," she explained. «Purely natural ingredients, nothing to worry about.»
«I don't know.» He was still reluctant. «Sleeping pills?»
«No," she said. «Not sleeping pills. They're just some herbs that help with relaxation. I use them at particularly stressful times in my life when the cedar oil I usually rely on isn't relaxing enough. You know, like when our lives are in some sort of mortal peril, or the night before a really big test.»
Kyle looked at Isabel, still lying motionless on her bed. He felt a tremendous amount of guilt over the fact that everything appeared to be his fault. But why did you try to help me on your own? «And you're sure it's safe?» he asked.
«My mom wouldn't let me take it if she hadn't totally checked it out.» Maria looked absolutely sure of herself.
Hesitant, Kyle took one of the herbal capsules out of the bottle, staring at it as if it were dangerous. The blue capsule looked harmless enough to Kyle, but so did Michael, and he could kill people with his thoughts.
«Here, take it with this.» Maria lifted the bowl off the nightstand. It still had some water left in it from their failed ritual.
«This has been one strange day.» Kyle swallowed the capsule in a gulp.
As Michael and Maria carefully returned Isabel's room to its normal setup, Max took Kyle to his room to give him a comfortable bed to lie in and relax. Liz followed, covering
the windows and dimming the lights for him. Once everything was set up and Kyle was comfortably in bed, Michael and Maria joined them.
«Is everything okay?» Max asked.
«I can't decide if the bed is too hard, too soft, or just right," Kyle replied. «Do you have any porridge?»
No one laughed at the truly lame joke.
«Are you tired?» Max asked. «Do you think you can fall asleep?»
«It would probably be easier if I didn't have four people staring intensely at me," Kyle said.
Max immediately understood. «I should go check on Jason.»
«Yeah, we'll go too," Maria agreed as they all started to leave the room.
«Liz.» Kyle stopped his ex-girlfriend. «Would you mind staying?»
Instinctively, she looked to Max for approval or to apologize for her connection to Kyle, but Max consciously chose not to return her glance. With his sister's life in jeopardy, this was not the time for petty jealousies. Besides, he had been trying to move beyond her bond with Kyle just as he hoped that she could move past his relationship with Tess.
After the others filed out of the room, Liz sat beside Kyle on Max's bed and took his hand into hers. It was certainly an odd situation, no matter how one looked at it, and they both couldn't help but smile.
«So, back when we were dating," Kyle said, heading for dangerous territory, «did you ever think we'd end up like this?»
«What? Didn't you?» Liz played along. «Lying in my
new boyfriend's bed while you tried to release his sister who is trapped in your dreams? I always suspected that our relationship would end when I met an alien and threw all of our lives into almost constant peril.»
«Yeah, me too," Kyle agreed sleepily. «I just wanted to make sure we both had had the same expectations.»
«Marias magical herbs seem to be working?» Liz asked hopefully.
Kyle stifled a yawn in response. «How do you think I'm supposed to find Isabel once I'm asleep?»
«Honestly?» Liz said. «I have no idea. It's not exactly like we're treading on scientifically proven ground here. But, I can't think of anything else we could do.»
«Is it worth it?» Kyle turned serious for a moment. «All that we've been through? All that we're going to be put through?»
Liz thought about his question. There was no easy answer. «I don't know. Obviously, in light of Alex, I'd have to say no. But then I think about Max, Michael, and Isabel going through all of this by themselves with no one to turn to for help and I have to be glad that we can be there for them.»
«In spite of getting shot, running from the FBI, and Isabel getting trapped in my brain?» Kyle added with a full yawn.
«Yeah, in spite of all that.» Liz smiled. «Maybe we should stop talking so you can get some rest.»
«Okay," he said sleepily, closing his eyes. «Good night, Liz.»
«Good night," she replied.
Liz stayed with Kyle, listening to his breathing grow more steady. It did not take long for him to fall into what
she had hoped would be a productive sleep. She waited a few minutes to confirm that he was definitely out before moving over to the chair by Max's desk. She had no intention of leaving him alone while he experienced whatever it was he was about to go through.
Watching over his sleeping form, she wished Kyle luck on his journey, hoping he would be able to rescue Isabel and gain whatever kind of closure he needed to end his own suffering.
19
Kyle stood in the middle of his living room.
Alone.
«Isabel?» he yelled. «Isabel, are you here?»
But no answer came.
Then, he heard the familiar voices, fighting… screaming… dying.
He made his way over to his bedroom door. He had hoped he would never have to witness this event again. It was the same hope he'd had every time he'd closed his eyes the past few weeks. But he knew he would have to go where the dream took him if he was to find Isabel and free her from his mind. If only he knew how he was expected to do that.
Placing his hand on the knob, he couldn't bring himself to turn it. The metal felt warm to the touch and was growing hotter. Do it for Isabel, he thought, and flung the door open without further hesitation.
This time, however, he did not see a frightened Tess and a battered Alex. This time, his room was as empty as
the living room. Although if he listened closely he could hear the voices off in the distance, straining not to yell. He knew they were different than before, but did not know why.
Stepping into the room, he searched for any clues to Isabel's whereabouts, but found nothing. He knelt on the floor in the position he had memorized as the spot where Alex had died.
«This is new," her voice said from behind him.
Snapping to his feet, Kyle found the object of his mission into his mind, standing in the doorway. «Isabel!»
«Good to see you've grown up," she said, obviously believing him to be just another dream image-which he was, in a way. «Does that mean you're ready to discuss why I'm here?»