The Outsider Read Free

time anyone’s aura turned black was at the moment of death.
    Max pulled Maria out of the way, trying to ignore the tremors of fear racing through her body. He wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t have one second to spare.
    He knelt beside Liz and placed his hands over her wound. In an instant his fingers were slick with blood.
    I love her. The thought exploded in his mind. It was true. He’d been keeping it a secret, even from himself. Loving a human wasn’t smart. It wasn’t safe. But he couldn’t help it. He loved Liz, and he would not let her die.
    â€œLet me through!” he heard Liz’s father yell from behind him. “Let me see her!”
    Max didn’t move. He didn’t answer. He had to focus on Liz now. Liz was the only thing that mattered.
    He closed his eyes and began drawing deep, even breaths. Trying to make the connection.
    Think about Liz, he ordered himself. Anything about her.
    The way her hair always smelled of jasmine. The way a dimple appeared in her left cheek when she smiled. The way she loved to tell stupid alien jokes. The way she listened with total concentration when he talked to her.
    Ahhh. He almost had it. He almost had the connection. He just needed to get a little closer. . . .
    â€œThe ambulance is almost here,” Michael muttered behind him.
    Max took another breath.
    Images flashed into his mind, coming so fast, Max could hardly register one before the next appeared.
    A stuffed dog with a chewed-off ear. A Mr. Wizard junior chemistry set. A blond little girl holding a baby bird. An onrushing car. Liz at about age five in a pink dress covered with cupcakes. A valentine. The high dive of a large swimming pool. Max’s own face.
    And he was in. Connected.
    He could feel the blood gushing out of Liz’s body as if it were his own. Feel her breath in his own lungs. Hear the sound of her heartbeat in his own ears.
    First the bullet, Max told himself. He focused his attention on Liz’s body. On
their
body.
    Yes. There it was. He could sense the exact position of the bullet. Of the lead. Of the molecules of lead.
    Then he
nudged
the molecules. That’s the only way he could describe it. He nudged them, and they broke apart. The bullet dissolving into microscopic particles. Harmless now as they were swept away in Liz’s bloodstream.
    â€œThe ambulance is pulling up out front,” Max heard Michael say.
    But he sounded far away. So far . . .
    Max focused on Liz’s somatic cells. The cells of her body. Of her stomach. Of her muscles and tendons. Of her skin.
    And instead of nudging he
squeezed.
Squeezed with his mind. Urging the cells closer together. Healing.
    Max felt hands on his shoulders, shaking him. “You’ve got to disconnect. Now, Max,” Michael ordered. “The ambulance crew is coming through the door.”
    And he was out. Separate again. Alone again. A wave of coldness washed through him, and he shivered.
    Max slowly raised his hands and stared down at Liz’s stomach. Under the blood her skin was whole and perfect. He released a shaky sigh of relief.
    Liz opened her eyes and stared at him. “I. . . you . . .”
    â€œI’ll explain everything later,” Max whispered. “But now I need you to help me.”
    He grabbed a bottle of ketchup off the counter and smashed it against the floor. He dumped the contents over the blood on Liz’s uniform.
    â€œYou broke the bottle when you fell,” Max told her. “Okay, Liz? You broke the bottle when you fell, that’s all.”
    A man and woman dressed in white jumpsuits hurried behind the counter. “Everyone move aside and give us some room,” the woman paramedic instructed.
    Max backed away. Did Liz even understand what he’d asked her to do?
    Liz struggled to sit up. “I’m okay,” she said. Her voice sounded hoarse. “When I heard the gunshot, I jumped. Then I fell I . . . I broke this ketchup bottle