Alysha walked down the beach by herself. She was only grateful that Davy hadn’t walked inside with her. He would have definitely heard the conversation. Alysha rarely got mad, but when she did, it would take her a while to get over it. She really did hate getting mad at her friends. She hated having everyone concerned about her and always had.

So she had simply walked away. She didn’t want to take her anger out on one of her best friends, no matter what they had done to her. She just needed a while to think things through…how long that was, she never knew. This current situation would keep her away for a few hours. Luckily, no one needed her for anything that day.

She looked around at her surroundings. The beach was lit up in a brilliant white, making the ocean appear a calming dark blue. The sky was a pale blue and not a cloud could be seen across it. The air was perfect, not too warm or cold. But that wasn’t enough of a distraction from the situation. No matter how beautiful the day was, Alysha knew that nothing could keep the thoughts from going through her mind.

Alysha just kept walking, hoping that something in nature would speak to her in a way that everything would suddenly make sense again. Before she had arrived in the sixties, nothing had been simple and it certainly wasn’t now. This was as simple as it could get. She knew that she wanted to stay, but her friends’ doubts were making her worried. What right did they have to be concerned about her anyway? It hadn’t bothered them until now.

Her earlier conversation with Mandy played in her mind, trying to piece together all the feelings that she had felt in those few moments. Nothing made sense to her anymore. Just by being here, was she altering the history of the Monkees and of her friends? She would never be able to know. Alysha stepped out into the street after making sure no one was coming.

She stopped short in surprise as a car came tearing down the road, screeching to a halt a few inches in front of her. A man stepped out of the car and turned to her, a black ski mask covering his face. He brought a gun out from under his jacket and pointed it at her, "Come with me," he said, "We need to have a talk."

"Where is she," Mandy asked several hours later. It had been a good eight hours since anyone had heard from Alysha and they were starting to get worried.

Outside, it had begun to rain, coming down in torrents unto the beach. It sounded heavily on the rooftop and windows, creating the illusion that it could be raining inside. Dark storm clouds had formed across the sky, like a stampede, just as sudden and terrifying. Thunder sounded in the distance, getting closer with each minute that passed and with every minute, they grew more concerned.

"This is all my fault," Mandy continued, "I should never have confronted her like that." Sara joined Mandy at the window, watching the storm grow more furious.

"No it wasn’t," Sara told her, "You didn’t mean for this to happen."

"When she gets back though, she’s going to deal with me for worrying us so much." Mandy turned back to the window. Suddenly the lights flickered around the place. A frantic knocking sounded on their front door. Stephanie rushed to answer it, hoping against hope that it was Alysha. But it was Mike, Micky, Peter, and Davy on the other side. The guys couldn’t help but notice the crestfallen expressions on the girls’ faces.

"Still no sign of her," Davy asked, walking in after the other guys. They nodded and his face took on an expression of great distress. The lights flickered once again and went out.

"This isn’t good," Mike said, "She’s been gone way too long. If she’s out in this weather, she must be in trouble."

"You bet she is," Mandy said, lighting a candle and locating a flashlight, "She’ll be in a lot when she returns." She sounded more than slightly angry.

"That’s not what I meant," Mike said, sternly "and you know it. I’d be a little more concerned for my friend and less concerned about grilling her out later."

"I’m really worried," Davy said, "This is possibly the worst weather we’ve had in a long time. I hope she’s okay." It was at this moment that Mandy saw the connection between Davy and Alysha…why they liked each other so much. They truly cared for each other and their safety, not wanting anything bad to happen to the other. The storm came louder outside, the rain coming down harder than before. A streak of lightning lit up the sky outside, revealing the raging ocean.

"What are we going to do," Davy continued, "There’s no way we can search for her in this storm. And from the looks of it, this is going to last a while."

"We can only do one thing," Mandy said, "and that’s to not give up hope that she’s okay and will walk in that door." Another few hours passed by and there was still no sign of their friend.

Alysha watched the man pace back and forth in front of her. She had no idea why she was there, but the gun in his hand had been enough to make her go. Besides, she had some questions for him as well.

"Why," she suddenly asked, "Why did you bring us here? Did you want us to fight…or was it for some twisted pleasure of yours?"

"Neither," the man replied, "I wanted you to get a different view point on life. Your friends didn’t seem to be too enthusiastic about the idea. What is your decision?"

"I’m staying," Alysha said, "Nothing can make me change my mind."

"Not even your best friends," he asked, "They all seem to want to go back one way or another."

"Nothing," she said again, "They can go back, but I’ve finally found something that feels right. I don’t have it in me to walk away…not now."

The man walked over to her and looked her straight in the eyes. He stared deep into them for a few minutes, as if it would reveal a dark secret. He slowly took a step forward and his eyes narrowed at her, "What are you running from?" he asked her angrily. The room shook with the sound of thunder. She stared at him in surprise and then turned away with a look of deep thought, although she already knew the answer to the question. She mumbled something, "What?"

"Reality," Alysha said, "That’s what I’m running from. There’s your answer."

"Why," he asked her, "Why do you run away?"

"Because I don’t belong there," Alysha answered, "For years, I’ve always wanted to fit in, but every time I tried to something else changed and I was left behind once again." He gave her a curious stare as if to ask what else, "The times that I actually tried to talk to people, they would nod politely at my answers and then turn away like they didn’t care. I might of well not have existed to them."

"What else," he asked, breaking the silence that threatened to take over.

"I even think that my friends treat me the same way," she said, "They don’t understand that I can’t tell them my life’s story. They become way too concerned for me, when there’s no need to."

"And you like it here," he asked. She nodded.

"Of course," she replied, "Everyone I’ve met here are a lot of fun and I enjoy spending time with them. This is the closest I’ve ever been to a group of guys before. Don’t ask me to go back. If you want to tell me what to do so I can tell my friends go ahead, but don’t expect me to leave with them." This time the man didn’t have anything to say.

"Very well," he finally said, "I can see now why you wish to stay. I don’t completely agree with you, but if that’s what you want, I’m not going to stand in your way." He handed her a slip of paper.

"What if they want to come back," she asked, "What do they do then?"

"What did you do to get here," he asked.

"We sang the theme song," she answered, "but isn’t it necessary to have a fan of the group there? It didn’t happen the other times when they did it without me."

"Yes," the man said, "It is necessary. The other times I believe were to get you to stop the c.d. you were playing." Alysha nodded in agreement, "But this time, it was so you could show them the Monkees picture." She nodded again, seeing the connection, "Here’s the formula to come back here." He handed her another slip of paper, tie-dyed so she could tell the two apart.

"What do I do now," Alysha asked. That very instant though, he vanished from her view. The room slowly turned to the outside. She found herself lying down on the sidewalk, rain pouring all around her. Picking herself up, she looked around quickly, but didn’t recognize her surroundings. Looking down at her hands, she saw the two papers clutched tightly in her grasp, "That’s just what I expected."

The ocean was nowhere in sight and neither was the street she had traveled down earlier. Wherever she was, it wasn’t where she started. All Alysha knew was that she had to get back to her friends. She just didn’t know how. She didn’t even know what number to dial to reach them by phone, not that it would help much anyway. By now, she was soaked as the rain continued to pour down.

Mandy looked back out the window, hoping to see the silhouette of her friend come into view. But her hope was short-lived because she saw nothing. The rain was pouring down harder than ever. The chances of Alysha returning home were slim. She glanced back at the others, their expressions looking as hopeless as her own did. The power still hadn’t come back on.

Peter and Sara were involved in a game of checkers to keep their mind off things. Mike sat nearby, strumming his guitar, which he had brought over. Stephanie sat nearby, listening to the music and blocking out everything else. Micky sat near Mandy, gazing out the window as well as being there for his friend. Davy was glancing out to the beach as well. Mandy couldn’t stand the silence anymore. She suddenly got an idea, partially thanks to Mike.

"Let’s play guys," she said, "Maybe some tunes will help to clear our heads." Everyone looked up at her comment. Eagerly, they all got up and walked to the stage. Mike still had his guitar, Micky grabbed the drums with Mandy sitting beside him, Sara grabbed her keyboard, Stephanie got her own guitar and Peter had picked up his guitar from the floor. Davy got up and got a tambourine and the maracas in his hands.

"Let’s start with ‘I’m A Believer’," Peter suggested, "Then move on to ‘As We Go Along." The girls glanced at one another. This was actually a song they knew, but not from the Monkees.

Alysha walked down the street, trying hard to see where she was going. She had barely managed to dodge a car headed her way only a few minutes before and now was more cautious. She was still soaked, not being able to find somewhere to walk into. It seemed that all the shops were closed, locking her out of the warmth inside.

She was worried now, more over what her friends were thinking about her at this moment than the storm raging just a few feet in front of her. She hadn’t even given Mandy a real chance to explain. She only hoped that Mandy didn’t think Alysha walked out on her in anger. Alysha simply didn’t want to hurt her friend any more than she already had. And knowing the guys, they would be hit with it hard as well. Now it seemed that she would never get back to their place, to get to tell them how sorry she was for walking out. How it wasn’t their fault.

"Watch out," a voice suddenly yelled out behind her. Alysha turned quickly towards the sound, and spun around too fast. Seconds later, someone pulled her back onto the safety of the sidewalk as a car whizzed by inches from her, "Are you all right?" She nodded slowly, "What are you doing out here anyway?"

"I’ve spent the last," she glanced down at her watch, "Ten hours! Oh great, my friends are going to kill me." She turned back to her rescuer, "I’ve spent the last ten hours trying to get home. Problem is, I don’t know where I am and with this storm the power is probably out." The guy helped her to her feet. She looked up at him.

The guy stood at five eleven. His blond hair was now a dark brown from the rain. His eyes were a deep emerald green and were now staring worriedly into hers, "Where are you going? I’ll walk you over." She told him the address. He immediately smiled at her, "I know where that is. I would drive you, but my car broke down. That’s why I’m walking out here."

"You sure," she asked him. He nodded quickly, "Well thank you then. I’m Alysha Davis." He shook hands with her briefly.

"Kenneth Blake," he told her, "but you can call me Ken or Kenny. Whichever one you choose."

"Ken," she said, "If you know where my place is, I’ll follow you there. I can’t tell you how grateful I am. My friends will be really mad at me though for leaving."

"I think your friends will be more concerned than mad," Ken said, "If you’ve been gone for ten hours I know I would be. Otherwise, they’re not really good friends. Why did you run out?"

"I got into a fight with one of them," she answered, "I realized that I was getting so angry I was about to punch her. So instead of hitting her, I turned around and walked out the door." They started walking back, him keeping her steady by partially supporting her. They walked in silence. Suddenly Alysha stopped walking.

"What is it," Ken asked her, stopping as well.

"I think I can find the rest of the way back," she told him. He almost argued but upon seeing the look of relief in her eyes, stepped back from her, "Thanks for walking me this far. I know where they are though. I recognize this area." He shook her hand once again and watched as she slowly made her way down the beach.

But it hadn’t been the beach that had caused her to know where she was going. At first she barely even noticed it, the storm drowning it out, but as they got closer, she could clearly hear it. The soft call of music drifted down the beach.

As the music ended and started again, Alysha reached the front door of the pad. Searching through her pockets, she realized that she didn’t have a key. She had left it inside after the argument. The papers were still there. Raising her hand slowly, Alysha knocked quietly on the door. The music stopped suddenly and silence filled the air.

"Somebody go answer that," someone’s voice, probably Mandy’s said. A second later, the sound of heavy boots sounded on the wooden floor. The door began to open slowly, revealing Mike standing in the doorway. He stared at her in shock.

"Hi guys," Alysha said, looking in.