The Outsider by Melinda Metz Read Free Book Online Page A

answered. They
had
covered a lot of ground over the years. But Michael wanted to do more. He wished he could search all day every day instead of once a week.
    â€œIt’s been a while since we’ve found anything. Maybe we’re getting too far away from the crash site,” Max said.
    â€œWe might be too far to find debris, but I still think the ship is stashed somewhere in the desert, not more than a few hours’ drive from the site,” Michael answered. “They wouldn’t want to risk taking it farther. Too many people would have to be involved. There would be too many questions.”
    Max gave a noncommittal grunt. Michael knew that Max doubted they would ever find the ship. And Isabel kept saying they were fools to keep looking. She’d given up the search a long time ago. But Michael was never going to give up. And Max would keep coming out to the desert with him every week as long as Michael wanted him to. Michael could count on Max. Always could, always would.
    Michael clicked on the radio. He didn’t really feel like talking, and it didn’t seem as if Max did, either. He was probably thinking about Liz.
    Michael didn’t know what that girl had said to Max when they were alone in his room. But whatever it was, it had totally annihilated him. After she left, Max told Michael and Isabel that Liz would keep their secret. He promised them they weren’t in any danger. But Max hadn’t sounded happy or even relieved, and he looked like he’d been punched in the gut.
    Liz couldn’t handle the truth. Michael was sure of that. She probably treated Max like some kind of freak.
    We just don’t belong, he thought. We’re never going to fit in. It’s never going to feel right living here. And that’s why he had to find a way out. He would make it back to his home planet, his real home, no matter what it took. Maybe he even had some relatives there.
    Michael watched the sun sink lower and lower, turning the sky pink and orange. Slowly the colors faded, then turned to black, and stars began to appear.
    He wished it could be night all the time. At night somehow it felt like his home planet was closer, almost in reach, up there behind the stars somewhere. At night he felt positive that he would find the ship, positive that he would somehow find his way back.
    During the day . . . sometimes during the day it seemed hopeless. It felt like there was nothing up there at all. No home to go back to.
    â€œWe’re coming up to the arroyo,” Max said. “Do you want to drive or hike?”
    â€œHike.” Michael needed to cool off. He figured after a long hike he might be ready to go back and see Mr. Hughes without wanting to punch his face in.
    Max parked the Jeep. Michael sprang out and half slid, half climbed down the side of the arroyo. He could hear Max right behind him.
    When Michael reached the bottom, he turned in a slow circle, scanning the walls and floor of the arroyo. He didn’t know what he was looking for exactly, just something that didn’t belong.
    One of the other things Michael liked about night was how clearly he could see. His vision was better in the dark than it was during the day. It made the weekly nighttime searches easier. Having the advantage over any curious humans who happened by was a bonus, too.
    â€œI’ll go south, you go north?” Max asked.
    Michael nodded and set off. We’re due to find something, he thought. It’s been way too long. It had been almost a year since Max found the strip of thin, flexible metal that they both figured was part of their parents’ ship. It had to be. It was like nothing they’d ever seen before. If you crumpled it up, it immediately straightened itself out. It was indestructible. Michael had tried cutting it with pruning shears. He’d even taken a blowtorch to it once. But the metal, if that’s what it was, always returned to its original shape,