Shadow and Light Book 01

Kyle pressed Tess back against a wall, Tess was thankful as she felt her knees beginning to buckle and she needed some extra support. Then Tess heard Kyle growl, it was almost completely primal. Kyle pulled at the strap covering her shoulder and moved it down to her arm. He leaned down and latched his mouth onto the flesh, Tess gasped as he tasted her skin and grabbed his head back to kiss him.

Then it happened. Tess was so distracted with what she was feeling that it left her mind open to the onslaught of flashes. She saw Kyle's life from his first memory to his most intimate dreams, however it was all completely drowned out by an even more powerful flash. Tess saw the Granolith sitting in its chamber just they way they left it.

It started as if she was a few meters away but then with each pulse of light in her mind's eye it moved closer and closer. The images fixed in on the pictures of the lycanthropes. It got tighter in, moving away from the pictures that got their attention last night. Tess then saw the two final faces that had been ignored due to the discovery of Max's father and Liz's grandmother being Chimera; she saw Kyle's face and his father's. The realisation of it caused Tess to break the kiss and pulled Kyle's head away from hers.

"What?" Kyle asked, "Is this too fast? It's too fast, yeah, okay maybe we should go slower."

Tess looked at him, "It's you...you're a...a...you're him. I can't." she said as she pushed Kyle away. She straightened her clothes and picked up her bags and just walked away.

She didn't know how far things would have gone with him before that point but she couldn't take the risk. From the moment she saw the last flash she came to the understanding that if she was with Kyle then he could become one of them. Tess couldn't take that step without letting Kyle know about it, or at the very least to discuss it with the others.

Kyle just watched her walk away. A part of him wanted to chase after her but he knew that something had freaked her out. He wasn't willing to push it; there was concern in him about the extent of just how far he's gone with her there. It was completely unexpected. As he stood there he said, "I've always been me." He simply didn't understand it.

City Limits, Roswell, Same Time

Valenti was showing the guy from the zoo around where the animal sightings had happened. For the most part they didn't find anything concrete or unusual but then they were on dry cement sidewalks so tracks weren't an issue. However, out in here where the desert sand took over from solid ground, something was found.

"Oh my..." he said and then chuckled

"You got something?" Valenti asked as he looked around

"Yeah. Animal tracks. Sheriff as ridicules as this sounds, you got a cat problem. Weird cats at that."

"Why'd you say that?" Jim asked

"Well you see here...this set is definitely lion tracks but running along side them, that's tiger, jaguar, cougar and a few other breeds. Them being out here is weird enough but running together..." he said while shaking his head, "I guess it's possible they came together of survival purposes...uh...hunting and the like. But I checked before I came here and there haven't been any missing or mutilated cattle. If they were out there then they'd need to eat something. Only problem is I haven't heard of missing cats like this."

"Nothing's come across my desk about it." Jim said, "Where do you think they came from?"

"I haven't a clue. Since there hasn't been any notices from the area, my first guess would be across the Mexican Boarder but that's unlikely."

"INS watches it like a hawk. Some people get through but they would have noticed a pack of big cats and called it in." Valenti said

"Okay, here's what I can do. I'll head back to the zoo and put in a few calls to out of state zoos, if anyone's missing a few cats then I'll find out about it."

"Good, the last think I need is for a five year old to be eaten by these things." Valenti said

"Oh I doubt that would happen."

"Come on, I'll give you a ride back into town." Valenti said, "Thanks for your help."

"Yes. Thanks Sheriff."

The two men got back into the Sheriff's SUV and got back to the Sheriff's station where his guest parked his car. He got into his own vehicle and headed back to Albuquerque.

Somewhere Across Town, Noon

For the rest of the morning, Kyle just walked around town as he mulled over what happened with Tess. As he walked he kicked some stones as his hands stayed in his pockets, not once did he look up. Being bummed was an understatement. Unfortunately after one kick he heard a resounding ouch form in front of him. For the first time Kyle looked up and saw the stone he kicked by Michael's foot and he was rubbing his ankle.

"What the hell is your problem?" Michael said

"Sorry." Kyle said as he walked passed Michael

"Wow, you're...down." Michael said

Kyle looked back at Michael, "Hey, you're friends with Tess these days...what's her problem?"

"What do you mean?" Michael asked

"Well for a while now she's been giving me all these signals and things. I ask her out on a date, she says yes. Then things get..."

"What?"

"Hotter." Kyle said

"You mean??"

"Hotter. That's all I'm saying. Then all of a sudden she stops, says that `It's me', that `I'm him' and that `she can't'. After that she runs off. I've no idea what happened." Kyle said

Michael thought for a moment, he was confused as Kyle but then his eyes went wide, "Oh, okay...uh..."

"What? Come on Michael, tell me what's going on?" Kyle asked

"I think you better just leave it alone. Tess is going though some..."

"Ah...no. I'm not accepting that as an answer. That's what I got from Liz and I still don't understand it. What is going on with Tess?"

Michael looked into his eyes, "Just give her time."

Kyle got a chill down his spine. Michael's words were sympathetic but his tone was telling him to back off, at least for a while but he wasn't willing to accept that. However, Michael wasn't giving him a chance to counter. The alien was off and heading down the street. Kyle just shook his head.

"What the hell is going on?" he said with ever-growing frustration.

Living Room, Harding Residence, 15:00

Tess sat with the other girls around her. They had initially planned on a little girl time bonding with a chick flick, popcorn, ice cream and talking on the guys. In an extraordinary life, they planned for as much of an ordinary afternoon as possible that was to be followed by a night out at party being held at the Soap Factory.

However, as the girls gathered Tess filled them in on her flashes of the Granolith from kissing Kyle. They were all listening intently, Liz knew there was something that initially attracted her to Kyle for her to say yes when he asked her out but she had no idea.

"So he's really a Narada." Maria asked

"Sounds like it." Liz said

"We should go back up to that Machine and check the pictures ourselves. Make sure it really is him." Isabel said

"Yeah. That's a good idea." Tess said, "It might just have been my imagination running away with me."

"Uh, what do we do if he is one? I mean...his dad hasn't exactly been subtle about his interest in Max or what happened at that shooting." Maria asked

"I can tell you now, if I hadn't gotten that flash...I think Kyle would be one of us right now." Tess said

"You're kidding...right?" Liz asked

"All I know is that I wanted him and he wanted me." Tess said

Liz smiled.

"What?" Maria asked

"Well...when we were dating...Kyle and I talked about...you know, doing it. Well Kyle talked I said I wasn't ready and that was the end of it. From the way you described that kiss...you're a lot closer to him than I ever was." Liz said, "I just couldn't...I never kissed him like that."

"Yeah this is interesting but what do we do?" Isabel asked

"That decision...is Tess's." Liz said

"But you and Max are the leaders of this Pride." Tess said

"And if you want Kyle, you're going to have to tell him...probably everything." Liz said

"And risk him freaking out and telling his dad. Na uh, no way." Tess said

"Then we have to deal with Valenti. Or find another Narada." Liz said

"This is nuts. We find the needle in the haystack and it turns out its even more trouble." Tess said as she rested her head on the back of her chair.

"Well how about we do our best to forget this right now. The guys will be here in a few hours to pick us up so I suggest we get on with our afternoon and chill." Isabel said

"Good plan." Maria said as she reached over and picked up the DVD and put it in the machine

Liz and Isabel came over to Tess and hugged the girl, "Now, let's forget about men for a few hours and focus on us." Liz said

Tess smiled, "Yeah okay. I can do that."

Isabel left the room only to return a few minutes later with two large bowls of popcorn and told the girls that the ice cream was in the fridge when wanted. After that, they all settled down to watch the television.

Outside Harding Residence, 18:00

On the hour, the girls had finished getting ready for the party. Their clothes were perfect, revealing just the right amount of flesh to entice the guys while covering enough to make sure other men wouldn't be interested. Not that that needed much doing, one look from Max, Alex and Michael would be enough to deter unwanted advances.

Soon they left the house and met the guys on the street before heading out. However, just as they were about to walk to where they parked the car but then Isabel remembered...

"Oh I forgot my purse." She said, "I'll just get it."

"No, my dearest. Your handsome prince will get it for you." Alex said with a smile and bowed.

"Oh, delusions of grandeur now is it?" Maria said

"Me...I'm not delusional." Alex said

Isabel smiled at her boyfriend, "Go your highness, but be quick. Tonight will be fun."

"Oh great princess, your wish is my command." Alex said

Alex jogged back to Tess's house while the others walked slowly up to the cars. Alex reached the house and opened the door, he stepped inside and the door swung shut...

Nearby...

In a car close to the house, two people sat and watched a portable monitor that fit into the palm of their hand.

"Okay, they're clear of the house. Once the sequence is activated, it cannot be shut down."

"Do it."

The one holding the monitor pressed a button on the side of it and a light flashed.

"10...9...8...wait, one is heading back in...5..."

"It's just a human."

"2...1...now."

Harding Residence...

...and inside Alex found Isabel's purse resting on a step of the staircase. As he reached for it, Alex smelled something. As he looked around he could see small crackles of electricity run short distances over the walls, all originating from a small box by the door.

Outside, everyone was about to open their doors into the car. All of a sudden there was a massive explosion that knocked them to the ground. All the windows in the neighbourhood shattered into a thousand pieces as the shockwave hit and every car and house alarm went off.

The group all turned back to see Tess's house engulfed in a massive fireball. Flames roared out the windows, the roof was practically incinerated and massive chunks were blown off the sides of houses that were directly next to the house.

"Oh my god." Michael said

"ALEX!" Isabel screamed out.

Harding Residence, Immediately Following

Tess's house was burning with a roaring fire and soon the whole thing would be incinerated. The last thing any of the group saw before the explosion was Alex getting inside; they never saw him come out. All they could see was red-hot flame and a cloud of billowing smoke that was rising higher and higher. Isabel felt her heart stop and she would have fallen to her knees if Liz hadn't held her.

All any of them could do was stare, they couldn't believe what they were seeing and it took a few minutes to completely register it. Max almost started running to the fire but Michael held him back. Everyone that was in the nearby houses had all fallen to the ground as every single window they had was shattered, as a result none of them went anywhere near the. It made them miss what happened next but one person coming down the street did see it.

There was a tiny ripple in the fire, a distortion and a shadow that looked as if it was moving. Then the shadow became brighter and soon everyone saw Alex walking out of the inferno. His face was black with ash and his clothes looked burned but Alex himself was encased in an almost skin tight shell of blue light. He stammered away from the fire, walking with heavy steps and as he got closer the light faded.

"Alex?" Max asked

Alex opened his mouth and an escape of air took with it a puff of smoke, "Owwww...". Alex fell backward and landed on his back.

Max was quickly by his side and hand his hand on Alex's chest after pulling open his shirt. He felt a crackle, a residual from the light that protected Alex but it didn't last long. Max connected with Alex and started to heal the human, there wasn't much damage, there was just some physical strain that formed in the seconds between the blast and the shield being formed.

Off to the side, Kyle had been walking down the street on his way to Tess's. After his talk with Michael he decided not to back off ¬ he wanted answers. He was walking down the street and about to call Tess's name when he saw her, which was when the house blew up. If that wouldn't have stopped him in his tracks, the sight of a blue light walking of the flames did it.

Slowly Max moved his hand away and left a shining silver handprint on Alex's chest. Alex then opened his eyes; they rolled back into his head and groaned in pain. "Oi, the ribs."

"They'll be fine in a minute or two." Max said as he took his hand and pulled Alex up onto his feet., "Good timing on the powers kicking in."

He never got a chance to breathe as Isabel wrapped her arms around him before pulling away and hitting his arm, "Don't do that to me."

"Hey, just got better and sorry...didn't have much of a choice." Alex said, "Now, what the hell happened?"

"No clue." Michael said as he looked around, he saw everyone in the neighbourhood move to their windows.

All were staring at the house as some came outside; the fire engines were beginning to come into the street. As Michael looked further around he spotted Kyle, "Uh guys."

Everyone looked around and saw the look in Kyle's eyes, in that instant they knew that he had seen something more than they'd be comfortable with. Tess looked at him and then looked away to her house, she had no idea what to do next.

A Little Later...

The street was insane, fire engines where on the road right outside Tess's home with fire fighters holding their hoses toward the flames. Their efforts were paying off in that most of the house was out but there was still a lot of burning going on. The Sheriff and his people arrived shortly after the fire department and started to evacuate the street.

Initial thoughts was that a gas explosion but a cause wasn't important right now. Valenti got everyone out of the street except the teens. They were all at the back of an ambulance. When the Sheriff saw the state of Alex he insisted that he be checked out, despite Alex's protests. At the very least he could ensure that it would only be his vital signs that would be checked and no blood taken.

Kyle stayed away at the background, not even coming close to them. He managed to stay out of sight when his father arrived, his brain was trying to understand what he'd witnessed and the last thing he needed was his dad doing the policeman routine on him.

Soon Valenti came over to the group, his reflective sunglasses never left his face as he stared at each of them ¬ especially Max. "So, what happened?" he asked

"I wish I knew." Max said

"Ms Harding?"

"All I know was we were on our way out. Isabel forgot her purse, Alex went back for it and the house just..." Tess trailed off

"Mr Whitman?"

"I honesty don't know Sheriff." Alex said as he looked to his friends, "All I know is that I got to the door...I felt this static from the door handle and then the big bang. I guess I was blown clear by it."

"You're very lucky. A blast like that could have killed you." Valenti said just as they heard clapping from behind them.

They all looked over to see that the fire fighters had put out the blaze and they were turning off their hoses. All that remained of Tess's house was a pile of blackened cinders. The bottom floor walls were barely standing but the upper floors were gone, collapsed into what was beneath.

The Fire Chief spoke with his people. One of them had gone inside during the fire to put out the flames in the heart of the house where the water couldn't reach with them standing outside. He had come back out with the device Alex spotted before the blast and immediately showed it to the Chief. They talked for a few minutes before he looked to the Sheriff, both soon moved to each other.

"What's going on?" Valenti asked

"My guys found this inside. It was plugged into a wall socket by the door, it was low down and near what was left of a small table so they probably wouldn't have even noticed it."

Jim took the device, "What is it?"

"I have no idea, I've never seen anything like it but it was channelling electricity. Causing it to spark out all over the place. This on top...it looks like some kind of radio receiver."

"Are you saying this is some kind of bomb?" Jim asked

"That's what it looks like. I'm no expert on these things but this thing was probably set off after those kids left the house. They would have noticed what was coming out of this."

"That means someone was watching."

"Yeah, I doubt they could have switched it off by the time that kid got to the door if they could at all."

"Someone's after her."

"Or someone else in that house."

"No her father...her father hasn't been around for the last few days." Valenti said

"Convenient"

"I think it's time I did a little digging into the Harding family." Jim said as he looked around. He saw two people barge passed his barricade.

Alex's parents had arrived and were moving straight to their son. They were all over him as they made sure he wasn't injured.

"Mr and Mrs Whitman, we really should take your son to the hospital to be checked out."

"No." Charles said, "No hospitals."

"But sir..."

"No." his wife said, "We have our reasons."

While the general human population didn't have the technology to detect the DNA discrepancies that made them distinctly different from the rest of humanity when they were in human form, they were concerned about any differences that could be found relating to the aliens in the group. Under no circumstances were they going to risk it. Soon the Sheriff came over to the group.

"Sheriff." Charles greeted

"Mr Whitman. Ms Harding...where is your father?"

"My dad? Uh...why?" Tess said

"We found a device...this wasn't accidental." Valenti said

"What, are you saying this was a bomb?" Alex's mother asked

"Not exactly but it has the same effect. The target is probably yourself or your father." Valenti said

"Okay, so not me. I may piss people off on occasion but no, no way." Tess said, getting very worried

"Then where is your dad?" Jim asked

{Opportunity.} Tess thought, the other three aliens looked at her. With their eyes they all agreed. "He...uh...took off. He got a phone call on his private line and said he had to leave for a few weeks. I don't know where he went."

"What kind of phone call?"

"Don't know...but he was loud. He practically yelled down the line. I answered it once and they hung up on the other end. I do know that dad always spoke Spanish when he talked."