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| There, she is attacked from behind and
chloroformed by the masked intruder himself, who pulls off the ski mask to reveal –
surprise! – he’s Grant. Isabel awakes to find herself in Grant’s car, with
Grant driving and muttering facts to himself in a vain attempt to remain sane. He tells
her he’s not doing well, that Agent Duff has been asking him questions that he
can’t answer, that he’s driving to Tucson and doesn’t know why. Isabel asks
him how long this has been going on, and Grant replies it’s been ever since he
started the dig at Pohlman Ranch. He doesn’t understand why it’s happening to
him, since he’s a good person, which Isabel is quick to reassure him he is. Grant
then admits that he’s supposed to kill her, but he doesn’t want to, so he pulls
off to the side of the road, tells Isabel to get out, gives her a cell phone, and takes
off. Isabel calls Valenti and frantically explains that Grant is definitely the kidnapper,
but it’s not his fault, because he’s been possessed by the Gandarium queen. She
continues that he’s on his way to Tucson to get Laurie, and tells Valenti to
intercept him before he can get there. Valenti doesn’t want to let Isabel there by
the side of the road in the rain, but Isabel replies with her usual feistiness, saying,
"Sheriff, I am the last person on Earth who has to worry about getting in a car with
strangers!" Alex and Kyle remain underground, and are now singing "American
Pie" as they wait to die in the cave. For some reason, they put a crystal into a
bottle and throw a lighted match in with it, then close the lid. The Gandarium skitters
madly around inside the bottle before finally dying. When they report what happened to
those aboveground, Liz theorizes that the match burned the oxygen in the bottle, and the
Gandarium suffocated.
In Tucson, Michael and Maria are living the high life – lounging by the pool,
ordering around the help, and dining on squabs and such. They’re really enjoying it,
until Maria tries to order another root beer at dinner and there is no response from
Carmen, the maid. Michael goes to investigate, and finds her dead, her throat slashed, in
the kitchen. He tells Maria to take Laurie out of there, and then gets shot by Grant, who
corners Maria in a room and grabs Laurie, holding a gun to her head. At that moment,
Sheriff Valenti and Agent Duff arrive, their guns drawn. Grant doesn’t want to kill
Laurie, and begs them to stop him, insisting they have to kill him. So Agent Duff shoots
him, and Grant’s lifeless chest suddenly sprouts crystals, and a hovering,
jellyfish-like creature emerges and floats above the body. Valenti, Duff, Laurie, and
Maria escape, closing the door to the room just as Michael appears behind them. He works
his alien magic to suck all the oxygen out of the room, and the Gandarium queen hurls
itself against the window of the door, splattering into blue globs. Simultaneously, in the
cave where Kyle and Alex remain trapped, the crystals begin to drip liquid and die, and
Kyle and Alex can finally escape. Much hugging ensues.
Isabel goes into the room where the body of Grant lies, and covers it with a blanket.
She then sits beside him and says sadly, "I’m just gonna sit here a while, okay?
Just sit here so you're not alone," once again proving that Isabel is the very best.
Agent Duff and Valenti discuss what will go into Duff’s report to the FBI, as
Michael and Maria say goodbye to Laurie. Michael entertains the notion of having Laurie
come live with him, but decides against it, since he doesn’t want her exposed to any
more of the danger that the aliens and their humans seem to attract. Michael and Maria now
appear to be closer than they’ve ever been, but of course, that could change in the
next episode.
Judith Gerber |
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