Chapter One : Sarah
My name is Sarah.
I can't tell you where I live or what my last name is. It's just too dangerous to do that. They would find us, and then our planet would lose the only thing protecting us from them.
We are the Animorphs. They are the Yeerks. We are the combatants in a war of the sort you'd expect to see in a sci-fi movie. Except, this is no movie. Everything I'm about to tell you is real. It all is real. Whether you believe it or not is up to you.
We are fighting the Yeerks with all our might. Nine children against millions of aliens. Not at all what you would call even odds, but we are trying.
Okay, enough of the melodrama. I almost forgot to tell you about the Andalites. These aliens are actually on the human's side. They will return someday to Earth and help us out. Until that day, we fight. Without them, there really would be no hope. A small, sliver of hope is much better than no hope at all. These Andalites are the ones who have bestowed us with the amazing powers that make us Animorphs. I've actually never seen one yet, other than the evil Andalite-Controller Visser Three, but I hear they are beautiful.
Controllers. Yet another thing I've nearly forgotten to tell you of. You see, the Yeerks themselves aren't all that bad. They are merely slimy green slugs. However, Yeerks can enter a creature's brain and control them. Creatures with Yeerks inside their brains are Controllers. They can be anywhere or anything. That is why we must be so cautious. Don't ask me how these Yeerks control creatures in the manner they do; I could only answer in scientific terms that I have no idea how to spell. I recall it involves the Yeerks attatching themselves to the nerve endings within your brain. No one, except the Yeerks, knows for sure. And I don't plan on asking a Yeerk anytime soon.
Right now you are probably confused. I would be too, if I were you. So, to fix your confusion, I will tell you everything from the beginning. When I say beginning, I mean it was the beginning for Cristina, Andrew, Oliver, and I. The others had already become Animorphs.
The four of us were just returning from a shopping frenzy at the mall. I, myself, wouldn't call it a "frenzy"; I hadn't bought anything. The others did most of the shopping.
Anyway, we were just passing the construction sight when it started to rain. And I mean it rained.
"Let's take the shortcut!" yelled Cristina over the downpour. She gestured at the construction sight.
I nodded in agreement, and so did Oliver and Andrew. Both of the boys adored Cristina, and would jump off a bridge to please her. It was no surprise they agreed. I knew they would've never taken the shortcut if Cristina hadn't mentioned it.
The shortcut I'm referring to is an abandoned construction sight. They had started to build another shopping center there or something, but had quit when it was half finished. Now, the construction sight was where all the shady people hung out. This was definitely not a place to cross alone. If you were in a large group, though, you should be alright.
It started raining harder, if such a thing were possible. We ran into the construction sight as fast as we could. Which, now that we can morph, doesn't seem too fast at all.
I was in the lead, since my track team had taught me to run well. I was running down a small hill when I tripped over something and landed hard on my face.
The worst thing was that everyone behind me had seen my less-than-graceful fall.
"Sarah! Are you alright?" Cristina exclaimed.
Andrew and Oliver were struggling to contain fits of laughter. They weren't succeeding.
I nodded at Cristina. I was still sprawled on the ground and too winded to get up. I knew that if I spoke, it would come out as a squeak.
"This is what she…er…" Oliver, who was speaking, stifled some laughter. I glared fiercely at him. "tripped over." Oliver, now completely consumed by laughter, hoisted a strange, blue square thing. All of my anger was replaced by fascination. This object he was holding was like nothing I've ever seen before. I rose to my feet and laid a hand on one of the square's sides. Cristina and Andrew suddenly were silent. I think they were as amazed as I was. They touched the square too.
What happened next was so amazing, and so strange, that I can hardly accurately describe it. I recall it as a strange light radiating from the cube and shooting up my arm and the rest of my body. It felt strange, but it wasn't unpleasant. The whole thing lasted only a second, but, to me, it felt like a lifetime. When the last glimmer of light faded from the cube, we wordlessly dropped the cube.
"What was that?!" I exclaimed.
I didn't get an answer. The others had already taken off running, and I stood alone with the rain pouring down in torrents. I stole one final look at the strange cube before I, too, retreated to my house.
I think all of us knew, that night, that the strange cube had changed us. I think we were just too afraid to admit it, but we were forced to admit it the following day.
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A stressful day of school had erased all thoughts on the strange square from our minds. The day passed swiftly, and soon it was time to depart. I boarded my bus, and slept the whole ride home. I recall having some nightmares about Coach Clark, our evil health teacher (who we all despise).
I finally arrived at my bus stop. I got off, saying goodbye to the bus driver, and began the walk up my long driveway. I took my time. I noticed a lone red-tailed hawk circling overhead. This hawk was resident on our property, and we often saw him while caring for our animals. I waved at the hawk for no particular reason. I was in a splendid mood, and I tend to behave in such a crazy manner when I'm in a good mood.
See, my family and I live on a sort of farm. We have four horses, a Sicilian donkey, two Siberian Huskies, a cat, a goldfish, and two crazy ferrets. I'm the only child in my household, so most of this array of animals belongs to me. To be precise, I own the ferrets, one of the horses, the two huskies, and the goldfish. I also intend on taking all of my animal companions to college with me.
I unlocked my front door and closed it softly behind me. My mom hated it when I closed the door loudly.
"I'm home!" I yelled.
I honestly didn't expect an answer; I knew both of my parents were busy working or cleaning.
I walked to my room and deposited my school things in my closet. I fed my fish, and watched him devour his food for a while. Goldfish are truly ravenous eaters. Then I ambled over to my ferrets' cage (Yes, they do stay in my room.).
Pika, my dark sable ferret, was awake, so I took her out. Her brother Lupin, a black eyed white, was fast asleep in his hammock.
I sat on my bed and placed Pika in my lap. As I stroke her silky fur, I thought about how fun it must be to be a ferret. Abstract thoughts often fill my mind, so this new thought was nothing out of the ordinary. I mean, ferrets get to sleep all day while us humans work. I envy them for that. I wish I could sleep at my leisure.
In my lap, Pika froze, as though she were in a trance. The strange moment passed quickly, and soon Pika leapt from my lap onto the floor. Here, she proceeded to leap and jump around in the energetic acrobatics ferrets are known for. Sometimes I almost wish I could be a ferret, for they're always joyful and are extremely agile. I bet being a ferret would be quite fun, in fact.
The strangest thing I've ever experienced happened in that instant. I felt myself… shrinking. I looked down at myself. I was growing fur! I tried to scream, but it came out as a ferret chatter. I felt my bones shifting, my spine grown shorter, and my tailbone stretching out into a rat-like tail. It didn't hurt, but it wasn't pleasant, either. It was like cracking your knuckles, I guess. It was uncomfortable but felt good at the same time. My fingers, arms, and legs shortened. I fell forward on all fours; unable to stand on my hind legs anymore. My face elongated and became a snout. Pika, who had just now noticed me, squeaked in surprise. She dashed across the room, climbed into her cage, closed it, and cowered beneath her ferret igloo.
I glanced across the room into the mirror on my dresser. My reflection nearly made me faint from shock. It wasn't blonde-haired me staring back at me in the mirror, but dark-furred Pika. I had changed into a ferret!
Instantly, my mind was assaulted by the urges of a ferret. I wanted to dash around, leap into the air, and cause general chaos. I struggled to regain control of myself. I took several deep breaths through my wet ferret nose. My sense of smell was outstanding! Had I known that I could change back into my human form, I would've explored a bit in my ferret body. But at this moment, all I cared about was returning to my human form.
I thought. This was rather difficult to do, since I was struggling against that ferret side of my mind throughout the whole ordeal.
One of my greatest assets is the ability to remain calm and in control in bad situations. Had anyone else been in my shoes right now, they probably would panic. I know from past experiences, that freaking out does more harm than good.
I realized that my thinking about being a ferret had probably triggered the transformation. So, the only logical way to return to my human form was to think about being human. I also realized another thing. I had been right that previous night in saying that the blue cube had changed us. I believe it gave us the ability to change into things. That means Cristina, Andrew, and Oliver could change too! I decided to call them.
I was then I realized that I was human again. I was naked, but at least I was human. I swiftly put on my clothes, and then reached for the phone in my bedroom. I had to tell Cristina!
