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impala_chickTitle: The Lost City of Oasis
Pairing: Isobel Evans/Anatsa Mufaro
Rated: Teen
Word Count: 5,994
Summary: While on tour promoting her new fiction book about an alien romance, Anatsa gets kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire who hopes she can lead him to an alien city's lost treasure. Isobel, Michael, and Max come to her rescue, and Isobel and Anatsa get a chance to reconnect.
A/N: Also written for the Sapphic RNM event on tumblr.
Fic on AO3
Anatsa rested her forehead down against the cool wood of the table she was seated in front of. Both of her legs and one of her arms were tied tightly to the director’s chair she had been forced to sit in. The last time she actually slept in her bed was over 24 hours ago, and she was feeling achy all over. She turned her head so that she could stare at the strange piece of glass in front of her through squinted eyes.
This was not how her book tour was supposed to end. She’d started writing a romance novel just after she’d left Roswell, and it had quickly gained success. It was about a human falling in love with an alien, directly inspired by Roswell lore, but she hadn’t actually discovered proof of alien life out in the hot New Mexican desert. She already tried telling that to the billionaire who’d kidnapped her, but all of her long winded explanations had fallen on deaf ears.
Abigail Fairfax came from a very rich family, and hardly seemed like an evil mastermind, which was why it was extra frustrating that he had somehow managed to get past security at her book tour event, blindfold and kidnap her, load her onto a plane, and fly her to some remote island she’d never heard of before. But she supposed anyone could hire a bunch of mercenaries to do their bidding. Especially when that person was Fairfax, who had money to burn and a completely unhealthy obsession with Area 51 and life on other planets.
Fairfax had told her this glass he’d found was alien in origin. He’d plopped it down in front of her and ordered her to translate the symbols that ran vertically down the side of it. The glass, if it could be called that, was mostly translucent and shiny, but there were hints of pink and purple beneath the surface. The piece was smooth, about as big as a cell phone, and looked suspiciously not-alien to Anatsa.
She’d written about a fake alien language in her book, based off of random symbols she’d seen after doing research in Roswell. But she didn’t actually recognize the symbols on Fairfax’s glass. She’d been staring at it for what seemed like hours, and she was no closer to deciphering it. And without access to the internet, she was out of ideas.
She didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until she awoke to the sound of a large explosion. She couldn’t tell how far away it was, but it seemed pretty damn close. Then she heard someone yell, and the henchman who’d been assigned to guard her tent came flying bodily through the tent flap. He landed with a thud on his back, just off to her right.
She frantically looked around for a weapon or a sharp object to try and cut the ropes binding her, but there was nothing within reach. She reached out and grabbed Fairfax's glass piece and tucked it into her bra with her free hand. She was debating whether or not to throw herself backwards in an effort to break the chair she was tied to when she heard a familiar voice yell her name; a voice she’d recognize anywhere.
Anatsa turned to look to her right, and unbelievably, there she was. Isobel Evans, just as tall and just as beautiful as Anatsa remembered. Her high ponytail was still swinging as she froze in her tracks and gave Anatsa a soft smile.
Out of the corner of her eye, Anatsa saw the henchman stagger to his feet.
“Isobel!”
In one fluid motion, Isobel spun and kicked the guy right in the chest. He crumpled to the floor in a heap, and Anatsa nearly shouted for joy.
“How are you here?” Anatsa asked, flabbergasted.
“Well, I have a friend who is really good at tracking things. So I called in a favor. Your kidnapper really should have turned off your phone.”
Another loud boom sounded before Anatsa could say anything, and Isobel dashed over to Anatsa’s chair.
“Shit, that’s the signal. We have to go!” Isobel reached down and scooped up the entire chair that Anatsa was tied to.
“This is heroic and all, but are you really going to carry the whole chair?” Anatsa asked, bewildered and just a little freaked out.
“There’s no time!”
She kept on running, Anatsa bouncing roughly against the director’s chair as she did.
They passed at least three big white tents and reached the edge of the treeline before Isobel unceremoniously put Anatsa’s chair down.
“Okay,” she panted. “We don’t have much farther to go.”
She pulled a switchblade from her boot, and carefully cut the ropes that bound Anatsa’s wrist and ankles.
Anatsa didn’t even have a moment to savor her newfound freedom, because they heard gunshots in the distance.
Isobel cursed under her breath. “Time for Plan B.”
She looked over at Isobel with wide eyes.
“We’re going to have to run,” Isobel said.
“Okaay.” Anatsa drew out the second syllable. Obviously she was going to have to run.
Then she followed Isobel’s gaze down to her shoes. She was still wearing the heels she’d been wearing at the book tour event.
Anatsa cursed under her breath. “You didn’t happen to see any practical shoes on your way to rescue me?”
Isobel grabbed her hand, and then they dashed into the dense green jungle. They only made it a few feet before one of Anatsa’s heels snapped off. She reached down and purposefully snapped the other one off. Anatsa grabbed Isobel’s hand again and crashed through thick underbrush. Vines and branches kept scraping at her bare ankles and snagging on her shirt, but she did her best to keep up with Isobel. She was glad there was absolutely no time to think, because otherwise she would have been having a lot of thoughts about holding Isobel’s hand for the first time in a long time.
When they emerged from the tree cover a few minutes later, there was a dirt road with a small green Toyota waiting for them.
“Get in,” Isobel said as she wrenched open the door.
Anatsa eagerly complied, and Isobel ran around to hop into the driver’s seat. She floored it as Anatsa heard gunshots.
“Really?” Isobel grumbled.
The truck climbed up the mountain road, bouncing them in their seats. Anatsa frantically kept her eyes in the rearview mirror, but she never saw anyone else coming after them.
It took her a few minutes to calm down enough to ask Isobel where the hell they were going.
“The rendezvous point is a day's trip from here. We’ll have to stop and camp tonight. I’m really sorry about all this, Anatsa.”
“The rendezvous?”
“Yeah. Max and Michael came with me. In case we got separated, we agreed on a meeting point.”
Anatsa was slightly taken aback by that. All three of them just dropped everything and came to help her?
Something else that Isobel had said stuck out to her. “Wait, why are you sorry?”
Isobel sighed. “You shouldn’t have gotten onto Fairfax’s radar in the first place. This is all my fault.”
“Oh I think Fairfax can take all the credit for this one, to be honest.”
Isobel rolled her eyes, but she did shoot Anatsa a small smile.
“You shouldn’t feel guilty, though. Seriously,” Anatsa said as she eyed Isobel meaningfully.
Isobel drummed her thumbs against the steering wheel and bit her lip.
“I promise we’ll talk, but not until you’re safe.”
Isobel’s voice had a finality to it that made Anatsa’s hands clench at her sides. Antasa hated that answer, because she was immediately reminded of why they’d broken up in the first place. Isobel loved keeping her secrets. There was no use pressing once Isobel made up her mind, though.
Besides, Anatsa could feel the alien glass still inside her shirt, pressing against her. She had secrets of her own that she wasn’t quite ready to share either.
It meant so much to her that Isobel had come to rescue her. But it would seem that absolutely nothing had changed between them.
Anatsa crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, her head reeling. They rode together in silence until night fell.
---
Anatsa had been surprised to discover that Isobel’s backpack contained a multitude of useful items: including matches for starting a fire, a camp light to ensure they could see, a can of beans for dinner, bug spray that worked surprisingly well even though it smelled bad, and a few space blankets. However, there was only one hammock.
“I could only fit one in my backpack,” Isobel said by way of explanation as she started setting it up. “You can have it, I’ll sleep on the ground.”
Anatsa immediately shook her head.
“It looks huge. Surely we can just get in and lay opposite each other?”
Isobel looked skeptical, but she nodded her head.
Once Isobel finished tying off the second end of the hammock around a sturdy looking tree, Anatsa clumsily climbed in.
“Okay, your turn,” She said as she used her shoulders to wiggle up to the top corner of the hammock.
Isobel gripped the side of the hammock and tried to climb in, and it immediately swung downwards. Anatsa was almost dumped onto the ground. She huffed a laugh and righted the hammock again.
“Are you sure about this? It would totally be easier if I just slept out here.” Isobel said again, her voice hesitant.
“Just give it a go. The hammock can tell you’re being shy,” Anatsa teased. “Just commit to getting all of your limbs tangled up.”
Isobel frowned but dutifully tried again. This time, Isobel was able to keep it right side up as she sideways-rolled into the hammock. It sank down a little from the pressure of their combined weight. Her feet went well past Anatsa’s head, which actually made it easier for Anatsa to lie flat.
“See!” Anatsa said, with feeling. “This is fine.”
Isobel burst out laughing, and the joyful sound was contagious. Anatsa soon followed suit, and the hammock shook a little as the tension melted away.
“Thanks for rescuing me,” Anatsa whispered, when they both stopped laughing.
Isobel reached across her body and squeezed Anatsa’s calf. Isobel’s touch was anchoring, and Anatsa took a deep, soothing breath.
“Thank me when we’re actually off this island,” Isobel whispered back.
The nighttime sounds of bugs chirping and leaves rustling seemed soothing instead of scary, with Isobel right next to her. It wasn’t hard to fall asleep after that.
---
On the drive back down the other side of the mountain the next morning, they both fell into easy conversation, which only made Anatsa’s heart hurt. They still seemed so damn compatible even though it had been over a year since they’d last talked.
“You know, I have to ask. Was The Lost City of Oasis inspired by anything in particular?” Isobel asked with a sly smile.
Anatsa raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so you've read my book?”
Isobel shrugged. “Maybe.”
“What did you think?” Anatsa asked, a little embarrassed. The story was definitely full of popular romance tropes, but the heroine was inspired by Isobel, and Isobel could probably tell. She never in a million years thought Isobel would actually read it.
“It was fun. Seemed like Roswell really made an impression on you. Or maybe someone in Roswell?”
“Yeah, you could say that.” Anatsa wasn’t going to admit how right Isobel was, but she let her words hang in the air, the implication clear.
Then they rounded a bend in the road, and a bunch of lovely modern buildings came into view. Isobel drove down what appeared to be the main street until they saw a vacant sign. It turned out that the hotel clerk spoke Spanish, and Anatsa and Isobel cobbled together enough words between them to get a room for the night.
The small boutique hotel was lit by glowing orange sconces, and the carpet in the hallway was a calming shade of blue. The whole place looked like a romantic getaway. When Anatsa opened the door to their room, her jaw nearly dropped as she took in the champagne bottle on the bedside table, the red rose petals on the thick white comforter, the huge french doors that led out to a private patio, and the minimal but elegant decor.
Isobel whistled, while Anatsa made a beeline for the shower.
“Can you believe this place?” Isobel sighed, sounding wistful.
Anatsa was finding it hard not to think they were somehow fated to end up here, in this room together, but she didn’t say that.
“Must be a honeymoon spot or something,” she called from the bathroom.
She heard Isobel hum in agreement, and then she called out, “I’ll keep watch. Michael and Max should be around any minute.”
That gave Anatsa pause. She’d felt safe as soon as they’d stepped inside the hotel, but Isobel’s statement reminded her that she shouldn’t let her guard down. Fairfax was still out there somewhere, definitely still looking for her. He surely wanted his alien glass back.
As she undressed, she wrapped the alien glass in her dirty pants suit and put it on the counter. As she stepped into the hot spray of the shower, she debated telling Isobel about it. It just didn’t seem right to keep Isobel in the dark when she’d come all this way to save her. And they were both at higher risk of danger because of the mere fact that Anatsa possessed it.
A part of her wanted to be selfish, though, and keep this for herself. She still felt bitter about the way Isobel had been so closed off from her. But there was something magical about this place, something that made her feel like she could start again. And if she showed Isobel how much she trusted her, maybe Isobel would find her worth trusting in return.
Isobel somehow procured a soft pink jumper and sturdy looking boots for her in just the right size. She averted her gaze when Anatsa stepped out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel to grab her new clothes, which seemed both silly and utterly adorable.
After Anatsa got dressed, Isobel took a shower too. She emerged from the bathroom pink-cheeked and gorgeous, wearing a simple white tank top and jeans she’d brought in her backpack.
Anatsa immediately understood Isobel’s earlier impulse to avert her gaze, because Isobel looked so soft and so casual that she was reminded of when they shared a bathroom and a life besides. It was painful how much she missed seeing Isobel like that all the time.
But Anatsa met her gaze anyway, and offered a small smile.
“You look nice,” she said.
Isobel tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Thanks. You do too.”
It was difficult to turn her attention back to the business at hand, but she had to. After a quick discussion, they both decided Anatsa should report what had happened to the local authorities.
---
One of the cops spoke English, so it didn’t take that long for Anatsa to recount everything she knew. She hoped that telling them the truth would make it easier to find Fairfax. Well, at least most of the truth. She purposefully left out any mention of the alien glass she’d stolen.
She was exhausted after explaining her kidnapping. It felt like she’d just had to relive the last 24 hours, and she realized just how lucky she’d been. She would probably still be tied up, or worse, if Isobel hadn’t come to save her.
Isobel was waiting for her when she came out of the station, propped up against the building and shrouded in shadow like a noir detective.
“Michael and Max are here. I sent them to the hotel. You want to get some food?” Isobel asked as she pushed off the wall with her heel.
Anatsa felt so grateful that she’d waited, she threw her arms around her neck and pulled her into a bone crushing hug.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, and she meant it.
Isobel didn’t say anything, but she held Anatsa so close that Anatsa could hear her heartbeat thudding in her chest.
---
Anatsa was grateful to see Michael and Max, too. She hugged them both and then they laughed over drinks and delicious food in the courtyard of the hotel. For a moment Anatsa forgot all about why they were there in the first place.
Someone started playing a guitar as the hotel clerk walked over to their table. The tones were soft and romantic, and Anatsa was already swaying to the beat.
“You two lovebirds should dance!” The clerk said, looking between Isobel and Anatsa.
“Oh we’re not, uh. Together,” Isobel said as she looked down at her shoes.
Anatsa was letting the inherent romance of the evening get to her. She put out her hand towards Isobel and raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, it’s like that?” Isobel said, taking Anatsa’s hand.
Michael whooped and Max clapped as they got up from the table, and that made both of them laugh. But then they settled into a gentle sway, with one of Isobel’s hands on Anatsa’s waist and the other gripping her palm.
The hotel clerk began to sing, and her voice was incredible. Anatsa sighed happily. She pulled Isobel in close, and then rested her check against Isobel’s shoulder.
A part of her never wanted this moment to end. Suddenly she couldn't for the life of her remember why she broke it off with Isobel in the first place. Everything about being in her arms felt so right.
As the music swelled into something deeply sad, Anatsa was again struck by how much Isobel and Michael and Max had done for her. It felt so momentous to have all three of them come all the way out here, just because they cared enough to make sure she was okay. Or at least, Isobel cared and where she went, her brothers would follow. Surely that must have meant something. Anatsa must have meant something to Isobel.
The least she could do was make sure Isobel knew everything that she did. She shouldn’t keep secrets from the woman she was still in love with.
“Isobel, can I show you something?” she said, her head inclined back toward the hotel. She realized her timing made it look like a sex invitation. Not that she would have been opposed but showing Isobel the glass was a much more pressing objective. “It’s not… what you think.”
Isobel searched her face for a moment, and then she nodded solemnly. “Sure, let me just tell my brothers.”
“We’ll look out for Fairfax,” Max said with a mock salute as they stepped off.
Once they were back in their room, Anatsa got the glass out of her laundry pile and put it on the bed.
Isobel gasped.
“Is that… from Fairfax?” She asked, her voice shaking a little.
Anatsa nodded. “I thought you should see it. It just felt wrong letting him keep it, but having it is probably putting us all in danger.”
As Isobel reached out towards the glass, the pinks and purples started to swirl around just under the surface like water.
Now it was Anatsa’s turn to gasp. It hadn’t reacted that way with her.
“Have you seen something like this before?” Anatsa asked.
Isobel bit her lip and then crossed her arms. She took a step back from the glass and started pacing the room. She was breathing heavily, and her shoulders seemed impossibly tense. Anatsa just wanted to reach out and comfort her, but it seemed like Isobel needed a moment to herself.
Then she squared her shoulders and faced Anatsa.
“I’m an alien.”
If Isobel had told her at any other time, Anatsa would have assumed she was joking. But now, after she’d done research for her book and heard about Fairfax’s seemingly insane theories, she kind of believed that aliens on Earth were a possibility.
So even though that was the last thing she expected Isobel to say, she looked at the defiant tilt of Isobel’s jaw and the trepidation in her eyes, and she figured what she was saying was the truth.
It dawned on her that this is what Isobel had been hiding the whole time they’d been together. She was angry when she asked, “I… is this what you wanted to tell me before?”
Isobel’s shoulders slumped and she sat heavily on the bed. She crumpled into herself a little, looking defeated.
“I tried so many times, Anatsa. I wanted to tell you." Her voice wavered as she spoke, and Anatsa's heart clenched.
Anatsa immediately regretted reacting with anger. She could understand why Isobel would so closely guard such a secret. Hell, she’d been kidnapped and dragged halfway around the world just on the suspicion that she might have information about aliens. Who knew what Fairfax would do to Isobel if he got the chance.
“Hey, at least you’re telling me now,” she said softly.
Isobel looked up at her with a small smile on her face.
“There’s one thing I'm going to try,” Isobel said as she reached over and placed her index finger on the piece of glass.
The symbols that had been on the glass before lit up with a neon glow, and then they seemed to melt away. As Anatsa stared in disbelief, a light shot out from the glass and projected a detailed landscape outlined in blue and green light on the wall at the head of the bed.
“Oh my God,” Anatsa gasped. “It’s this island. I recognize those rocks.”
“I think you’re right,” Isobel said, sounding a little breathless. “It’s a map.”
She pointed to a configuration of unique-looking rocks outlined in blue light on the projection. There was a small but glowing purple X in the bottom of the projection, inside what seemed to be a cave.
“You think that’s what Fairfax has been looking for?” Isobel said as she pointed at the X with the hand not touching the glass.
“It has to be,” Anatsa said, stunned.
“Well we have to get there before he does,” Isobel said firmly. “I don’t know if this map will show up again, so I’m not going to move until Max and Michael see this.”
“Right. Good idea.” Anatsa reached for Isobel’s phone to get the boys to come up to the hotel room.
When they knocked at the door, she ushered them in and quickly shut the door behind them, hoping there were no curious onlookers in the hallway.
Then she watched, amused, as Max and Michael’s mouths dropped open in shock. They looked between Isobel and Anatsa, seemingly at a loss for words.
“Okay so I told Anatsa we’re aliens, she stole this Oasian glass from Fairfax, and we have some kind of treasure to find. Now we’re all caught up!” Isobel sounded very pragmatic when she spoke, but Anatsa wasn’t sure Max or Michael heard a word she said.
Anatsa did, though. “Wait, you’re ALL aliens??”
“Oops.” Isobel looked slightly sheepish, but really, Anatsa should have guessed that one.
“This is incredible,” Michael mumbled as he walked closer to the map.
Max was the only one who looked supremely uncomfortable.
“Anatsa, you know there was a reason Isobel and I had to keep our identities from you,” He said slowly, his gaze on her.
Anatsa waived Max’s explanation away. “I’m not mad at Isobel, or any of you. This is a lot to take in, and I’m sure I’ll think about what it all means later. But I just want to make sure we get to this before Fairfax does.”
“Sounds fine to me,” Max said. "It probably goes without saying, but you have to keep this between us."
Anatsa used her index finger to draw an x over heart. "Of course."
Anatsa sought out Isobel’s gaze, and there were happy crinkles at the corners of her eyes. She seemed so much lighter.
“Got any paper?” Michael said.
Max looked in the bedside drawer and found a pad of paper and a hotel pen. He quickly copied down the map. He showed it to Isobel, and once she approved, she took her hand off the glass. The map winked out.
Aliens were real, and Anatsa had just seen proof with her own eyes. She felt incredibly privileged that Isobel had trusted her with something so huge, like she'd finally earned a place in Isobel’s inner circle.
Max and Michael purposefully packed their backpacks, and Isobel did the same. Anatsa felt kind of dumb for not having a backpack of her own to pack, but it’s not like Fairfax let her bring anything when he kidnapped her. She also felt anxious about going back out into the jungle with Fairfax still out there somewhere, but she had no choice. There was no way she was going to stay behind and miss out on discovering where the map led.
As they all headed for the door, Isobel reached for Anatsa’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Anatsa raised their joined hands up and kissed the back of Isobel's, which made Isobel smile.
Then Anatsa pulled the hotel room door closed behind them.
---
As the four of them trudged through thick vegetation, Anatsa kept her eyes on the forest floor to avoid tripping. She could tell that Isobel and her brothers were worried about someone following them, because they stayed quiet instead of keeping up their usual banter. Max consulted his compass and Michael consulted the drawing, and they pointed the way ahead without even having to speak to each other.
When they came upon a gap in the trees, Max and Michael stepped through and stopped in their tracks. Anatsa saw what they were looking out before she’d even emerged from the treeline.
There were three huge gray rocks, each standing taller than a house and perfectly rectangular. They did not appear natural, because they were purposefully arranged in such a way that reminded Anatsa of stonehenge. All three of the rocks faced each other to form a triangular shape on the ground. The gaps between the rocks were just big enough for a person to fit through.
The rocks were magnificent, but even more beautiful was the huge waterfall coming down from the mountain just off to the left. The waterfall was so close that they were pelted with water droplets as they all stepped into the small clearing next to the rocks.
“Now what?” Anatsa asked as she looked around. As beautiful as the place was, she didn’t see anything that would warrant creating a secret alien map.
Isobel hummed thoughtfully and then motioned for Max and Michael to come closer to her. She stepped into the triangular space created by the huge rocks, and they followed her. Suddenly the ground began to shake, and Anatsa yelped in surprise.
“Isobel!” She called out, fearful.
Just as suddenly as it had started, the shaking stopped.
“We're okay!” Isobel said.
Anatsa breathed a sigh of relief. She turned to look around them, and her eyes landed on the rock wall off to the right of the stones. Where before there had just been an unremarkable cliff face, now there was an opening as large as a doorway.
The strange sight of it made Anatsa stumble back a little in surprise.
“You guys?” She called out. “You should see this.”
Isobel gasped when she came out from behind the rock formation.
“I think we did that,” Michael said, with a hint of pride in his voice.
“Well, should we go in?” Max asked, his voice just a little awestruck.
Anatsa felt someone grab her arm, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.
“Of course you’re going in.” A man with a chillingly familiar British accent called out from behind her.
Fairfax had caught up with them. And he had a gun in his hand, pointed right at Anatsa’s temple. He twisted her arm tight around her back, and Anatsa grimaced from the pain.
Isobel’s voice sounded like ice. “Let her go.”
“Oh, sure thing. Once you go inside the ominous looking tunnel.” Fairfax gestured towards the opening with his gun.
Anatsa watched Isobel furrow her brow in concentration. Then she seemed to make up her mind.
Without so much as a flick of her wrist, the gun flew out of Fairfax’s hand. Michael did flick his wrist, and then Fairfax himself went crashing to the ground in a heap. Anatsa didn’t even feel bad for him when his head hit a rock and he passed out.
She ran towards Isobel with her heart thundering in her chest. Isobel, and Max and Michael, had saved her life for the second time in so many days. Either she was really lucky, or really unlucky.
Isobel gathered Anatsa into her arms for a hug. When Anatsa let her go, she realized she was shaking all over. She didn’t want Isobel to see, so she turned around to watch Max disarming Fairfax’s gun and pocketing the bullets.
Anatsa replayed what just happened in her head. There was no way Fairfax just fell over on his own.
“Did you just… move him with your minds?”
“It’s called telekinesis,” Michael said matter-of-factly.
“I try not to use it very often,” Isobel added. She sounded apologetic, like maybe she felt guilty for what had just happened. Anatsa was going to have to dissuade her from that feeling as soon as possible.
“That was cool as hell!” Anatsa said enthusiastically. And she meant it. Being an alien was one thing, but having powers was like something out of a comic book. It was magical, almost incomprehensible. She was truly shocked Isobel had managed to keep such a huge part of herself a secret. If Anatsa had powers, she would probably have used them all the time.
“Yeah, well. I hope Fairfax doesn’t remember.” Max grumbled as he took off his backpack and rifled through it.
“He might not even remember after that bump to the head,” Michael said with a shrug.
Max and Michael then got to work tying Fairfax’s legs and arms with the rope from Max’s backpack.
“We’ll call the authorities to come help him,” Max added when he noticed Anatsa’s gaze on them.
Anatsa had been staring, but not because she felt bad about Fairfax. It was just that everything that was happening seemed completely surreal. Like maybe she was in a dream.
Michael raised his index finger and cocked his head. “After we go see what’s inside the tunnel though.”
“Definitely,” Isobel agreed.
Max seemed to hesitate, but then he stood up and put his backpack back on.
“Let’s go, then.” He headed for the opening with Michael at his side.
Isobel looked over at Anatsa with a question in her eyes, and hesitantly reached out a hand towards her.
Something held Anatsa back.
“It seems like this is something meant for only you three,” Anatsa said as she looked up at Isobel. “I’ll wait out here.”
Isobel’s face crumpled a little, but she tried to hide her disappointment. “Are you sure?”
Anatsa nodded. “I’ll wait.”
She watched as the three of them walked through the dirt doorway and disappeared into the darkness. Then Anatsa’s knees practically gave out on her, and she crumpled to the ground. Grass tickled her shins as she pulled her knees up to her chest and breathed as deeply as she could.
She tried to figure out what it was that was making her feel so panicked. She glanced over at Fairfax, who hadn’t woken up yet. He couldn’t hurt her. She didn’t really feel afraid of him anymore, not when three aliens with superpowers were watching over her.
Maybe she would have been wise to be afraid of Isobel. The whole time she’d known her, she’d turned out to be a damn good liar. And she had incredible alien abilities; abilities that she had used to hurt someone. But she only did that to save Anatsa’s life. Anatsa’s rational brain dismissed Isobel as a threat almost the moment Anatsa considered it.
Anatsa’s heart was already on a completely different train of thought. Because all she could think about, with that gun pointed at her, was that she hadn’t been able to tell Isobel how much she still loved her. And yet, after Isobel had saved her life a second time, and finally told her everything, Anatsa had seemingly turned away from her.
Anatsa had to cut herself a little slack. Someone just held a gun to her head and threatened her life. She probably was still in shock when Isobel had invited her into the cave.
She was okay. Isobel and Max and Michael were okay. They were still the kind and funny and normal people she’d known before, except they also happened to have alien powers. And they cared about her safety.
She felt her body relax slightly, and stop shaking. She could work with that.
Anatsa hopped up from the ground and dashed for the tunnel.
“Isobel!” She called out. She was done hesitating. She wanted to be by Isobel’s side.
“Here!” Isobel called back. She didn’t sound too far away.
Anatsa’s footsteps echoed in the damp dark corridor. It smelled pungently of wet dirt just after a rainstorm.
Then she reached an opening that was bathed in such bright golden light that she couldn’t make out what was on the other side. She stepped through anyway.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but when they did, the sight before her took her breath away.
She seemed to be standing on a completely different planet. There was a beautiful waterfall that flowed with orange and green colored water. Salamander-looking creatures bigger than her arm shimmied up and down rocks, their brightly colored skin seemingly flickering through several bright colors at once. There were huge flowers that were blooming in tones of red she’d never seen before. Huge fruits that reminded her of dragonfruit hung from tree branches. And everything smelled like a rainstorm, even though it was seemingly sunny and warm.
“It’s beautiful,” she murmured as Isobel walked over to her. Max and Michael were walking around the alien forest with wonder on their faces.
“Do you recognize it?” Anatsa asked.
“We’ve never been here, but it feels like we have,” Isobel said softly. “I think these things must have come from our planet.”
“Your home planet must be a wonderful place then,” Anatsa marveled.
She saw the way Isobel’s face saddened, and her gaze seemed far away.
“It was. I know that much.”
Anatsa’s heart clenched when Isobel said was. She didn’t pry, but something terrible must have happened. She took Isobel’s hand and threaded their fingers together.
“I’m so glad we got to see this together,” Isobel said as a tear slipped down her cheek. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
There were a million words jumbled in Anatsa’s head, ready to burst out. But words would never be enough. So Anatsa stood up on her tiptoes, put a hand on Isobel’s cheek, and kissed her gently.
“What was that for?” Isobel whispered against her mouth.
“I should say it’s for saving my life. But mostly it’s because I wanted to. You’re incredible and astounding and I still love you, Isobel.”
A huge grin lit up Isobel’s face, and she wiped the tear off her cheek. Then in what seemed like a burst of pure joy, Isobel wrapped her arms around Anatsa’s thighs and picked her up to spin her around. The beautiful alien colors of the strange place they found themselves in seemed to swirl above Anatsa as she put her arms out. She thought her heart might explode from happiness.
This treasure had undoubtedly been worth the trip.
Pairing: Isobel Evans/Anatsa Mufaro
Rated: Teen
Word Count: 5,994
Summary: While on tour promoting her new fiction book about an alien romance, Anatsa gets kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire who hopes she can lead him to an alien city's lost treasure. Isobel, Michael, and Max come to her rescue, and Isobel and Anatsa get a chance to reconnect.
A/N: Also written for the Sapphic RNM event on tumblr.
Fic on AO3
Anatsa rested her forehead down against the cool wood of the table she was seated in front of. Both of her legs and one of her arms were tied tightly to the director’s chair she had been forced to sit in. The last time she actually slept in her bed was over 24 hours ago, and she was feeling achy all over. She turned her head so that she could stare at the strange piece of glass in front of her through squinted eyes.
This was not how her book tour was supposed to end. She’d started writing a romance novel just after she’d left Roswell, and it had quickly gained success. It was about a human falling in love with an alien, directly inspired by Roswell lore, but she hadn’t actually discovered proof of alien life out in the hot New Mexican desert. She already tried telling that to the billionaire who’d kidnapped her, but all of her long winded explanations had fallen on deaf ears.
Abigail Fairfax came from a very rich family, and hardly seemed like an evil mastermind, which was why it was extra frustrating that he had somehow managed to get past security at her book tour event, blindfold and kidnap her, load her onto a plane, and fly her to some remote island she’d never heard of before. But she supposed anyone could hire a bunch of mercenaries to do their bidding. Especially when that person was Fairfax, who had money to burn and a completely unhealthy obsession with Area 51 and life on other planets.
Fairfax had told her this glass he’d found was alien in origin. He’d plopped it down in front of her and ordered her to translate the symbols that ran vertically down the side of it. The glass, if it could be called that, was mostly translucent and shiny, but there were hints of pink and purple beneath the surface. The piece was smooth, about as big as a cell phone, and looked suspiciously not-alien to Anatsa.
She’d written about a fake alien language in her book, based off of random symbols she’d seen after doing research in Roswell. But she didn’t actually recognize the symbols on Fairfax’s glass. She’d been staring at it for what seemed like hours, and she was no closer to deciphering it. And without access to the internet, she was out of ideas.
She didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until she awoke to the sound of a large explosion. She couldn’t tell how far away it was, but it seemed pretty damn close. Then she heard someone yell, and the henchman who’d been assigned to guard her tent came flying bodily through the tent flap. He landed with a thud on his back, just off to her right.
She frantically looked around for a weapon or a sharp object to try and cut the ropes binding her, but there was nothing within reach. She reached out and grabbed Fairfax's glass piece and tucked it into her bra with her free hand. She was debating whether or not to throw herself backwards in an effort to break the chair she was tied to when she heard a familiar voice yell her name; a voice she’d recognize anywhere.
Anatsa turned to look to her right, and unbelievably, there she was. Isobel Evans, just as tall and just as beautiful as Anatsa remembered. Her high ponytail was still swinging as she froze in her tracks and gave Anatsa a soft smile.
Out of the corner of her eye, Anatsa saw the henchman stagger to his feet.
“Isobel!”
In one fluid motion, Isobel spun and kicked the guy right in the chest. He crumpled to the floor in a heap, and Anatsa nearly shouted for joy.
“How are you here?” Anatsa asked, flabbergasted.
“Well, I have a friend who is really good at tracking things. So I called in a favor. Your kidnapper really should have turned off your phone.”
Another loud boom sounded before Anatsa could say anything, and Isobel dashed over to Anatsa’s chair.
“Shit, that’s the signal. We have to go!” Isobel reached down and scooped up the entire chair that Anatsa was tied to.
“This is heroic and all, but are you really going to carry the whole chair?” Anatsa asked, bewildered and just a little freaked out.
“There’s no time!”
She kept on running, Anatsa bouncing roughly against the director’s chair as she did.
They passed at least three big white tents and reached the edge of the treeline before Isobel unceremoniously put Anatsa’s chair down.
“Okay,” she panted. “We don’t have much farther to go.”
She pulled a switchblade from her boot, and carefully cut the ropes that bound Anatsa’s wrist and ankles.
Anatsa didn’t even have a moment to savor her newfound freedom, because they heard gunshots in the distance.
Isobel cursed under her breath. “Time for Plan B.”
She looked over at Isobel with wide eyes.
“We’re going to have to run,” Isobel said.
“Okaay.” Anatsa drew out the second syllable. Obviously she was going to have to run.
Then she followed Isobel’s gaze down to her shoes. She was still wearing the heels she’d been wearing at the book tour event.
Anatsa cursed under her breath. “You didn’t happen to see any practical shoes on your way to rescue me?”
Isobel grabbed her hand, and then they dashed into the dense green jungle. They only made it a few feet before one of Anatsa’s heels snapped off. She reached down and purposefully snapped the other one off. Anatsa grabbed Isobel’s hand again and crashed through thick underbrush. Vines and branches kept scraping at her bare ankles and snagging on her shirt, but she did her best to keep up with Isobel. She was glad there was absolutely no time to think, because otherwise she would have been having a lot of thoughts about holding Isobel’s hand for the first time in a long time.
When they emerged from the tree cover a few minutes later, there was a dirt road with a small green Toyota waiting for them.
“Get in,” Isobel said as she wrenched open the door.
Anatsa eagerly complied, and Isobel ran around to hop into the driver’s seat. She floored it as Anatsa heard gunshots.
“Really?” Isobel grumbled.
The truck climbed up the mountain road, bouncing them in their seats. Anatsa frantically kept her eyes in the rearview mirror, but she never saw anyone else coming after them.
It took her a few minutes to calm down enough to ask Isobel where the hell they were going.
“The rendezvous point is a day's trip from here. We’ll have to stop and camp tonight. I’m really sorry about all this, Anatsa.”
“The rendezvous?”
“Yeah. Max and Michael came with me. In case we got separated, we agreed on a meeting point.”
Anatsa was slightly taken aback by that. All three of them just dropped everything and came to help her?
Something else that Isobel had said stuck out to her. “Wait, why are you sorry?”
Isobel sighed. “You shouldn’t have gotten onto Fairfax’s radar in the first place. This is all my fault.”
“Oh I think Fairfax can take all the credit for this one, to be honest.”
Isobel rolled her eyes, but she did shoot Anatsa a small smile.
“You shouldn’t feel guilty, though. Seriously,” Anatsa said as she eyed Isobel meaningfully.
Isobel drummed her thumbs against the steering wheel and bit her lip.
“I promise we’ll talk, but not until you’re safe.”
Isobel’s voice had a finality to it that made Anatsa’s hands clench at her sides. Antasa hated that answer, because she was immediately reminded of why they’d broken up in the first place. Isobel loved keeping her secrets. There was no use pressing once Isobel made up her mind, though.
Besides, Anatsa could feel the alien glass still inside her shirt, pressing against her. She had secrets of her own that she wasn’t quite ready to share either.
It meant so much to her that Isobel had come to rescue her. But it would seem that absolutely nothing had changed between them.
Anatsa crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat, her head reeling. They rode together in silence until night fell.
---
Anatsa had been surprised to discover that Isobel’s backpack contained a multitude of useful items: including matches for starting a fire, a camp light to ensure they could see, a can of beans for dinner, bug spray that worked surprisingly well even though it smelled bad, and a few space blankets. However, there was only one hammock.
“I could only fit one in my backpack,” Isobel said by way of explanation as she started setting it up. “You can have it, I’ll sleep on the ground.”
Anatsa immediately shook her head.
“It looks huge. Surely we can just get in and lay opposite each other?”
Isobel looked skeptical, but she nodded her head.
Once Isobel finished tying off the second end of the hammock around a sturdy looking tree, Anatsa clumsily climbed in.
“Okay, your turn,” She said as she used her shoulders to wiggle up to the top corner of the hammock.
Isobel gripped the side of the hammock and tried to climb in, and it immediately swung downwards. Anatsa was almost dumped onto the ground. She huffed a laugh and righted the hammock again.
“Are you sure about this? It would totally be easier if I just slept out here.” Isobel said again, her voice hesitant.
“Just give it a go. The hammock can tell you’re being shy,” Anatsa teased. “Just commit to getting all of your limbs tangled up.”
Isobel frowned but dutifully tried again. This time, Isobel was able to keep it right side up as she sideways-rolled into the hammock. It sank down a little from the pressure of their combined weight. Her feet went well past Anatsa’s head, which actually made it easier for Anatsa to lie flat.
“See!” Anatsa said, with feeling. “This is fine.”
Isobel burst out laughing, and the joyful sound was contagious. Anatsa soon followed suit, and the hammock shook a little as the tension melted away.
“Thanks for rescuing me,” Anatsa whispered, when they both stopped laughing.
Isobel reached across her body and squeezed Anatsa’s calf. Isobel’s touch was anchoring, and Anatsa took a deep, soothing breath.
“Thank me when we’re actually off this island,” Isobel whispered back.
The nighttime sounds of bugs chirping and leaves rustling seemed soothing instead of scary, with Isobel right next to her. It wasn’t hard to fall asleep after that.
---
On the drive back down the other side of the mountain the next morning, they both fell into easy conversation, which only made Anatsa’s heart hurt. They still seemed so damn compatible even though it had been over a year since they’d last talked.
“You know, I have to ask. Was The Lost City of Oasis inspired by anything in particular?” Isobel asked with a sly smile.
Anatsa raised an eyebrow. “Oh, so you've read my book?”
Isobel shrugged. “Maybe.”
“What did you think?” Anatsa asked, a little embarrassed. The story was definitely full of popular romance tropes, but the heroine was inspired by Isobel, and Isobel could probably tell. She never in a million years thought Isobel would actually read it.
“It was fun. Seemed like Roswell really made an impression on you. Or maybe someone in Roswell?”
“Yeah, you could say that.” Anatsa wasn’t going to admit how right Isobel was, but she let her words hang in the air, the implication clear.
Then they rounded a bend in the road, and a bunch of lovely modern buildings came into view. Isobel drove down what appeared to be the main street until they saw a vacant sign. It turned out that the hotel clerk spoke Spanish, and Anatsa and Isobel cobbled together enough words between them to get a room for the night.
The small boutique hotel was lit by glowing orange sconces, and the carpet in the hallway was a calming shade of blue. The whole place looked like a romantic getaway. When Anatsa opened the door to their room, her jaw nearly dropped as she took in the champagne bottle on the bedside table, the red rose petals on the thick white comforter, the huge french doors that led out to a private patio, and the minimal but elegant decor.
Isobel whistled, while Anatsa made a beeline for the shower.
“Can you believe this place?” Isobel sighed, sounding wistful.
Anatsa was finding it hard not to think they were somehow fated to end up here, in this room together, but she didn’t say that.
“Must be a honeymoon spot or something,” she called from the bathroom.
She heard Isobel hum in agreement, and then she called out, “I’ll keep watch. Michael and Max should be around any minute.”
That gave Anatsa pause. She’d felt safe as soon as they’d stepped inside the hotel, but Isobel’s statement reminded her that she shouldn’t let her guard down. Fairfax was still out there somewhere, definitely still looking for her. He surely wanted his alien glass back.
As she undressed, she wrapped the alien glass in her dirty pants suit and put it on the counter. As she stepped into the hot spray of the shower, she debated telling Isobel about it. It just didn’t seem right to keep Isobel in the dark when she’d come all this way to save her. And they were both at higher risk of danger because of the mere fact that Anatsa possessed it.
A part of her wanted to be selfish, though, and keep this for herself. She still felt bitter about the way Isobel had been so closed off from her. But there was something magical about this place, something that made her feel like she could start again. And if she showed Isobel how much she trusted her, maybe Isobel would find her worth trusting in return.
Isobel somehow procured a soft pink jumper and sturdy looking boots for her in just the right size. She averted her gaze when Anatsa stepped out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel to grab her new clothes, which seemed both silly and utterly adorable.
After Anatsa got dressed, Isobel took a shower too. She emerged from the bathroom pink-cheeked and gorgeous, wearing a simple white tank top and jeans she’d brought in her backpack.
Anatsa immediately understood Isobel’s earlier impulse to avert her gaze, because Isobel looked so soft and so casual that she was reminded of when they shared a bathroom and a life besides. It was painful how much she missed seeing Isobel like that all the time.
But Anatsa met her gaze anyway, and offered a small smile.
“You look nice,” she said.
Isobel tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Thanks. You do too.”
It was difficult to turn her attention back to the business at hand, but she had to. After a quick discussion, they both decided Anatsa should report what had happened to the local authorities.
---
One of the cops spoke English, so it didn’t take that long for Anatsa to recount everything she knew. She hoped that telling them the truth would make it easier to find Fairfax. Well, at least most of the truth. She purposefully left out any mention of the alien glass she’d stolen.
She was exhausted after explaining her kidnapping. It felt like she’d just had to relive the last 24 hours, and she realized just how lucky she’d been. She would probably still be tied up, or worse, if Isobel hadn’t come to save her.
Isobel was waiting for her when she came out of the station, propped up against the building and shrouded in shadow like a noir detective.
“Michael and Max are here. I sent them to the hotel. You want to get some food?” Isobel asked as she pushed off the wall with her heel.
Anatsa felt so grateful that she’d waited, she threw her arms around her neck and pulled her into a bone crushing hug.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, and she meant it.
Isobel didn’t say anything, but she held Anatsa so close that Anatsa could hear her heartbeat thudding in her chest.
---
Anatsa was grateful to see Michael and Max, too. She hugged them both and then they laughed over drinks and delicious food in the courtyard of the hotel. For a moment Anatsa forgot all about why they were there in the first place.
Someone started playing a guitar as the hotel clerk walked over to their table. The tones were soft and romantic, and Anatsa was already swaying to the beat.
“You two lovebirds should dance!” The clerk said, looking between Isobel and Anatsa.
“Oh we’re not, uh. Together,” Isobel said as she looked down at her shoes.
Anatsa was letting the inherent romance of the evening get to her. She put out her hand towards Isobel and raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, it’s like that?” Isobel said, taking Anatsa’s hand.
Michael whooped and Max clapped as they got up from the table, and that made both of them laugh. But then they settled into a gentle sway, with one of Isobel’s hands on Anatsa’s waist and the other gripping her palm.
The hotel clerk began to sing, and her voice was incredible. Anatsa sighed happily. She pulled Isobel in close, and then rested her check against Isobel’s shoulder.
A part of her never wanted this moment to end. Suddenly she couldn't for the life of her remember why she broke it off with Isobel in the first place. Everything about being in her arms felt so right.
As the music swelled into something deeply sad, Anatsa was again struck by how much Isobel and Michael and Max had done for her. It felt so momentous to have all three of them come all the way out here, just because they cared enough to make sure she was okay. Or at least, Isobel cared and where she went, her brothers would follow. Surely that must have meant something. Anatsa must have meant something to Isobel.
The least she could do was make sure Isobel knew everything that she did. She shouldn’t keep secrets from the woman she was still in love with.
“Isobel, can I show you something?” she said, her head inclined back toward the hotel. She realized her timing made it look like a sex invitation. Not that she would have been opposed but showing Isobel the glass was a much more pressing objective. “It’s not… what you think.”
Isobel searched her face for a moment, and then she nodded solemnly. “Sure, let me just tell my brothers.”
“We’ll look out for Fairfax,” Max said with a mock salute as they stepped off.
Once they were back in their room, Anatsa got the glass out of her laundry pile and put it on the bed.
Isobel gasped.
“Is that… from Fairfax?” She asked, her voice shaking a little.
Anatsa nodded. “I thought you should see it. It just felt wrong letting him keep it, but having it is probably putting us all in danger.”
As Isobel reached out towards the glass, the pinks and purples started to swirl around just under the surface like water.
Now it was Anatsa’s turn to gasp. It hadn’t reacted that way with her.
“Have you seen something like this before?” Anatsa asked.
Isobel bit her lip and then crossed her arms. She took a step back from the glass and started pacing the room. She was breathing heavily, and her shoulders seemed impossibly tense. Anatsa just wanted to reach out and comfort her, but it seemed like Isobel needed a moment to herself.
Then she squared her shoulders and faced Anatsa.
“I’m an alien.”
If Isobel had told her at any other time, Anatsa would have assumed she was joking. But now, after she’d done research for her book and heard about Fairfax’s seemingly insane theories, she kind of believed that aliens on Earth were a possibility.
So even though that was the last thing she expected Isobel to say, she looked at the defiant tilt of Isobel’s jaw and the trepidation in her eyes, and she figured what she was saying was the truth.
It dawned on her that this is what Isobel had been hiding the whole time they’d been together. She was angry when she asked, “I… is this what you wanted to tell me before?”
Isobel’s shoulders slumped and she sat heavily on the bed. She crumpled into herself a little, looking defeated.
“I tried so many times, Anatsa. I wanted to tell you." Her voice wavered as she spoke, and Anatsa's heart clenched.
Anatsa immediately regretted reacting with anger. She could understand why Isobel would so closely guard such a secret. Hell, she’d been kidnapped and dragged halfway around the world just on the suspicion that she might have information about aliens. Who knew what Fairfax would do to Isobel if he got the chance.
“Hey, at least you’re telling me now,” she said softly.
Isobel looked up at her with a small smile on her face.
“There’s one thing I'm going to try,” Isobel said as she reached over and placed her index finger on the piece of glass.
The symbols that had been on the glass before lit up with a neon glow, and then they seemed to melt away. As Anatsa stared in disbelief, a light shot out from the glass and projected a detailed landscape outlined in blue and green light on the wall at the head of the bed.
“Oh my God,” Anatsa gasped. “It’s this island. I recognize those rocks.”
“I think you’re right,” Isobel said, sounding a little breathless. “It’s a map.”
She pointed to a configuration of unique-looking rocks outlined in blue light on the projection. There was a small but glowing purple X in the bottom of the projection, inside what seemed to be a cave.
“You think that’s what Fairfax has been looking for?” Isobel said as she pointed at the X with the hand not touching the glass.
“It has to be,” Anatsa said, stunned.
“Well we have to get there before he does,” Isobel said firmly. “I don’t know if this map will show up again, so I’m not going to move until Max and Michael see this.”
“Right. Good idea.” Anatsa reached for Isobel’s phone to get the boys to come up to the hotel room.
When they knocked at the door, she ushered them in and quickly shut the door behind them, hoping there were no curious onlookers in the hallway.
Then she watched, amused, as Max and Michael’s mouths dropped open in shock. They looked between Isobel and Anatsa, seemingly at a loss for words.
“Okay so I told Anatsa we’re aliens, she stole this Oasian glass from Fairfax, and we have some kind of treasure to find. Now we’re all caught up!” Isobel sounded very pragmatic when she spoke, but Anatsa wasn’t sure Max or Michael heard a word she said.
Anatsa did, though. “Wait, you’re ALL aliens??”
“Oops.” Isobel looked slightly sheepish, but really, Anatsa should have guessed that one.
“This is incredible,” Michael mumbled as he walked closer to the map.
Max was the only one who looked supremely uncomfortable.
“Anatsa, you know there was a reason Isobel and I had to keep our identities from you,” He said slowly, his gaze on her.
Anatsa waived Max’s explanation away. “I’m not mad at Isobel, or any of you. This is a lot to take in, and I’m sure I’ll think about what it all means later. But I just want to make sure we get to this before Fairfax does.”
“Sounds fine to me,” Max said. "It probably goes without saying, but you have to keep this between us."
Anatsa used her index finger to draw an x over heart. "Of course."
Anatsa sought out Isobel’s gaze, and there were happy crinkles at the corners of her eyes. She seemed so much lighter.
“Got any paper?” Michael said.
Max looked in the bedside drawer and found a pad of paper and a hotel pen. He quickly copied down the map. He showed it to Isobel, and once she approved, she took her hand off the glass. The map winked out.
Aliens were real, and Anatsa had just seen proof with her own eyes. She felt incredibly privileged that Isobel had trusted her with something so huge, like she'd finally earned a place in Isobel’s inner circle.
Max and Michael purposefully packed their backpacks, and Isobel did the same. Anatsa felt kind of dumb for not having a backpack of her own to pack, but it’s not like Fairfax let her bring anything when he kidnapped her. She also felt anxious about going back out into the jungle with Fairfax still out there somewhere, but she had no choice. There was no way she was going to stay behind and miss out on discovering where the map led.
As they all headed for the door, Isobel reached for Anatsa’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Anatsa raised their joined hands up and kissed the back of Isobel's, which made Isobel smile.
Then Anatsa pulled the hotel room door closed behind them.
---
As the four of them trudged through thick vegetation, Anatsa kept her eyes on the forest floor to avoid tripping. She could tell that Isobel and her brothers were worried about someone following them, because they stayed quiet instead of keeping up their usual banter. Max consulted his compass and Michael consulted the drawing, and they pointed the way ahead without even having to speak to each other.
When they came upon a gap in the trees, Max and Michael stepped through and stopped in their tracks. Anatsa saw what they were looking out before she’d even emerged from the treeline.
There were three huge gray rocks, each standing taller than a house and perfectly rectangular. They did not appear natural, because they were purposefully arranged in such a way that reminded Anatsa of stonehenge. All three of the rocks faced each other to form a triangular shape on the ground. The gaps between the rocks were just big enough for a person to fit through.
The rocks were magnificent, but even more beautiful was the huge waterfall coming down from the mountain just off to the left. The waterfall was so close that they were pelted with water droplets as they all stepped into the small clearing next to the rocks.
“Now what?” Anatsa asked as she looked around. As beautiful as the place was, she didn’t see anything that would warrant creating a secret alien map.
Isobel hummed thoughtfully and then motioned for Max and Michael to come closer to her. She stepped into the triangular space created by the huge rocks, and they followed her. Suddenly the ground began to shake, and Anatsa yelped in surprise.
“Isobel!” She called out, fearful.
Just as suddenly as it had started, the shaking stopped.
“We're okay!” Isobel said.
Anatsa breathed a sigh of relief. She turned to look around them, and her eyes landed on the rock wall off to the right of the stones. Where before there had just been an unremarkable cliff face, now there was an opening as large as a doorway.
The strange sight of it made Anatsa stumble back a little in surprise.
“You guys?” She called out. “You should see this.”
Isobel gasped when she came out from behind the rock formation.
“I think we did that,” Michael said, with a hint of pride in his voice.
“Well, should we go in?” Max asked, his voice just a little awestruck.
Anatsa felt someone grab her arm, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.
“Of course you’re going in.” A man with a chillingly familiar British accent called out from behind her.
Fairfax had caught up with them. And he had a gun in his hand, pointed right at Anatsa’s temple. He twisted her arm tight around her back, and Anatsa grimaced from the pain.
Isobel’s voice sounded like ice. “Let her go.”
“Oh, sure thing. Once you go inside the ominous looking tunnel.” Fairfax gestured towards the opening with his gun.
Anatsa watched Isobel furrow her brow in concentration. Then she seemed to make up her mind.
Without so much as a flick of her wrist, the gun flew out of Fairfax’s hand. Michael did flick his wrist, and then Fairfax himself went crashing to the ground in a heap. Anatsa didn’t even feel bad for him when his head hit a rock and he passed out.
She ran towards Isobel with her heart thundering in her chest. Isobel, and Max and Michael, had saved her life for the second time in so many days. Either she was really lucky, or really unlucky.
Isobel gathered Anatsa into her arms for a hug. When Anatsa let her go, she realized she was shaking all over. She didn’t want Isobel to see, so she turned around to watch Max disarming Fairfax’s gun and pocketing the bullets.
Anatsa replayed what just happened in her head. There was no way Fairfax just fell over on his own.
“Did you just… move him with your minds?”
“It’s called telekinesis,” Michael said matter-of-factly.
“I try not to use it very often,” Isobel added. She sounded apologetic, like maybe she felt guilty for what had just happened. Anatsa was going to have to dissuade her from that feeling as soon as possible.
“That was cool as hell!” Anatsa said enthusiastically. And she meant it. Being an alien was one thing, but having powers was like something out of a comic book. It was magical, almost incomprehensible. She was truly shocked Isobel had managed to keep such a huge part of herself a secret. If Anatsa had powers, she would probably have used them all the time.
“Yeah, well. I hope Fairfax doesn’t remember.” Max grumbled as he took off his backpack and rifled through it.
“He might not even remember after that bump to the head,” Michael said with a shrug.
Max and Michael then got to work tying Fairfax’s legs and arms with the rope from Max’s backpack.
“We’ll call the authorities to come help him,” Max added when he noticed Anatsa’s gaze on them.
Anatsa had been staring, but not because she felt bad about Fairfax. It was just that everything that was happening seemed completely surreal. Like maybe she was in a dream.
Michael raised his index finger and cocked his head. “After we go see what’s inside the tunnel though.”
“Definitely,” Isobel agreed.
Max seemed to hesitate, but then he stood up and put his backpack back on.
“Let’s go, then.” He headed for the opening with Michael at his side.
Isobel looked over at Anatsa with a question in her eyes, and hesitantly reached out a hand towards her.
Something held Anatsa back.
“It seems like this is something meant for only you three,” Anatsa said as she looked up at Isobel. “I’ll wait out here.”
Isobel’s face crumpled a little, but she tried to hide her disappointment. “Are you sure?”
Anatsa nodded. “I’ll wait.”
She watched as the three of them walked through the dirt doorway and disappeared into the darkness. Then Anatsa’s knees practically gave out on her, and she crumpled to the ground. Grass tickled her shins as she pulled her knees up to her chest and breathed as deeply as she could.
She tried to figure out what it was that was making her feel so panicked. She glanced over at Fairfax, who hadn’t woken up yet. He couldn’t hurt her. She didn’t really feel afraid of him anymore, not when three aliens with superpowers were watching over her.
Maybe she would have been wise to be afraid of Isobel. The whole time she’d known her, she’d turned out to be a damn good liar. And she had incredible alien abilities; abilities that she had used to hurt someone. But she only did that to save Anatsa’s life. Anatsa’s rational brain dismissed Isobel as a threat almost the moment Anatsa considered it.
Anatsa’s heart was already on a completely different train of thought. Because all she could think about, with that gun pointed at her, was that she hadn’t been able to tell Isobel how much she still loved her. And yet, after Isobel had saved her life a second time, and finally told her everything, Anatsa had seemingly turned away from her.
Anatsa had to cut herself a little slack. Someone just held a gun to her head and threatened her life. She probably was still in shock when Isobel had invited her into the cave.
She was okay. Isobel and Max and Michael were okay. They were still the kind and funny and normal people she’d known before, except they also happened to have alien powers. And they cared about her safety.
She felt her body relax slightly, and stop shaking. She could work with that.
Anatsa hopped up from the ground and dashed for the tunnel.
“Isobel!” She called out. She was done hesitating. She wanted to be by Isobel’s side.
“Here!” Isobel called back. She didn’t sound too far away.
Anatsa’s footsteps echoed in the damp dark corridor. It smelled pungently of wet dirt just after a rainstorm.
Then she reached an opening that was bathed in such bright golden light that she couldn’t make out what was on the other side. She stepped through anyway.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust, but when they did, the sight before her took her breath away.
She seemed to be standing on a completely different planet. There was a beautiful waterfall that flowed with orange and green colored water. Salamander-looking creatures bigger than her arm shimmied up and down rocks, their brightly colored skin seemingly flickering through several bright colors at once. There were huge flowers that were blooming in tones of red she’d never seen before. Huge fruits that reminded her of dragonfruit hung from tree branches. And everything smelled like a rainstorm, even though it was seemingly sunny and warm.
“It’s beautiful,” she murmured as Isobel walked over to her. Max and Michael were walking around the alien forest with wonder on their faces.
“Do you recognize it?” Anatsa asked.
“We’ve never been here, but it feels like we have,” Isobel said softly. “I think these things must have come from our planet.”
“Your home planet must be a wonderful place then,” Anatsa marveled.
She saw the way Isobel’s face saddened, and her gaze seemed far away.
“It was. I know that much.”
Anatsa’s heart clenched when Isobel said was. She didn’t pry, but something terrible must have happened. She took Isobel’s hand and threaded their fingers together.
“I’m so glad we got to see this together,” Isobel said as a tear slipped down her cheek. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
There were a million words jumbled in Anatsa’s head, ready to burst out. But words would never be enough. So Anatsa stood up on her tiptoes, put a hand on Isobel’s cheek, and kissed her gently.
“What was that for?” Isobel whispered against her mouth.
“I should say it’s for saving my life. But mostly it’s because I wanted to. You’re incredible and astounding and I still love you, Isobel.”
A huge grin lit up Isobel’s face, and she wiped the tear off her cheek. Then in what seemed like a burst of pure joy, Isobel wrapped her arms around Anatsa’s thighs and picked her up to spin her around. The beautiful alien colors of the strange place they found themselves in seemed to swirl above Anatsa as she put her arms out. She thought her heart might explode from happiness.
This treasure had undoubtedly been worth the trip.