Chapter One: April

I had no idea of how little the control I had was. I had read the books; most of them said something to the extent of "I was unable to move, unable to lift a finger." I had imagined that many times. Imagined how much I would be totally unable to control my own body, and it scared me. Now I was living that nightmare.

>Another morph-capable host!> My Yeerk cheered. >The Visser will…>

>The Visser will find out nothing. Umm… If you do not tell your Visser, I will allow you to gain full control of my body,> I suggested.

>As tempting as that sounds, no. Either way, you wouldn't be able to control anything I said or did.>

>By the way, what's your name, Yeerk?>

>My name is Temrash 429.>

>Temrash, I am one of those people, as you should well know, that isn't very strong in body, but very strong in mind. I will find a way to break free. And when I do, it would be beneficial for you to be on our side.>

>I'd rather not.>

>Oh, really? I will break free. You know that, don't you?>

He sighed. >You are very persistent. Yes, I know that you could break free, should you find the correct time. But I will not let you find the right time.>

>Okay, then. Now that that's cleared up…>

"April? April! April, are you even listening?" Shelly gave me a little push.

"What?" the Yeerk asked.

"John just asked you a question."

"Are you all right, April?" John asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, just a little headache…" He said.

I took my chances. I pushed toward the speech centers, and screamed "Contro—"

The Yeerk snatched control back. I fought him, "ller!" I gasped.

"April!" Shelly said, grabbing me as I fell.

"She said 'controller,'" Jeff commented.

"Is a wolf's ear big enough to be infested?" John asked Al.

"Possibly. If the Yeerk has captured her, then we would know," Al said, "on the third day."

"Guys, I'm not a controller," the Yeerk said. Strange to hear someone else speaking with my own voice. "Wolves don't have big enough ears. For a Yeerk to infest me it would have to have linked onto my back and once I demorphed crawl up to my ears. You would have noticed that."

"Shelly, what do you think?" John asked.

"I think that all Yeerks could slip at any time. As soon as we see absolute proof of that… I've learned to listen to her, she's the Hermione of the real world."

"Well, second to Sarah," my voice offered.

"Yeah. Second to Sarah," Shelly agreed in almost a whisper.

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, watch me for the three days. Go ahead," the Yeerk said, attempting to throw them off.

>You just dug your own grave, Yeerk,> I snapped.

>Oh, really? We shall see.>

"I don't think we can spare the time, according to what Al found out."

"What?" The yeerk asked, knowing the answer already.

"Streefland is going global."

And the third of four parts has begun!

Elwing: Constructive criticism is CC. I'll attempt to slow down the posting a wee bit.

Janika: Maybe...

Korean Pearl: Thank you! I'll start revising the rest ASAP. You get candy! (hands over)