"Remember Rachel all you have to do is kill Jake. Then you'd be free off all this...." The drodes offer filtered through my mind. I shot up. Looking around I saw I was still in my room. Just a dream. Or was it? Was the drode communicating with me through my sleep? Or maybe it was my sub conciseness sending me a message. Thing had been tough lately I didn't know how much more I could handle. But that didn't mean I was going to kill Jake, he was my cousin. I couldn't kill him. And that was final.
But the nagging thought wouldn't leave m mind.
As I walked over to Cassie's the next day I was still thinking about the drodes offer. It was so tempting. I could make so he wouldn't even feel the pain. He wouldn't even know what was happening. I knocked on Cassies door, she and I were going to the mall together. Not to buy clothes, but to find a birthday present for her mom. That's when I realized. It was nearly her moms birthday, it had been about a year since we first saw Eric's hologram shimmer. Almost a year since the drodes offer. Did it still stand? YES RACHEL IT DOES. I shuddered. "Hey Rach." Cassie was standing in the door frame looking at me strangely. "You ready to go?" I nodded. We got on our bikes and road to the mall. We wandered around for a bit. Window shopping. Waving hi to kids we knew. Finally Cassie found what she wanted to get. A little brooch of a tiger. It makes me think of Jake." She added. At the mention of Jake my stomach squeezed up. "Uh yeah." I smiled feebly. Cassie was to busy paying for it so she didn't notice how pale I was. We headed to star bucks for some lunch. The whole while I was imagining various painless deaths. I ordered a salad. Cassie got a hamburger. "Are you ok Rachel?" She asked me. "You look awful pale." I forced a laugh, "do I?" She nodded concerned. "I'm fine," I told her, "really." I added when she looked skeptical. I bit my lip and focused on the salad.
That night I had another nightmare. Snatches of this and that. I woke up covered in sweat. I realized I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't. I looked inside Sara and Jordan's room. I kissed them each good-bye. Then my mum. Last I grabbed a photo of our family and Jakes and one of me Jake, Marco, Cassie, Tobias and Ax I shoved them both deep into my jacket pocket. Then I walked over to Jakes house. I found the spare key and walked up the stairs to his room. Pausing only to grab a sharp knife out of the kitchen. I entered Jakes room he was sleeping peacefully in his bed. "Sorry cous." I whispered. The knife came down. He didn't even scream. Then blinding whiteness surrounded me. GOOD JOB RACHEL. I KNEW YOU'D DO IT. COME IT'S TIME TO COME HOME.
The crayak took me to my dream world. Were Jake was alive, Tobias was human, there were yeerks, mom and dad weren't divorced. There memories of Jake and the yeerks still hurt, but after time I blocked them out. The only price was that sometimes the Crayak sent me to other planets to do his dirty work. But it was a small price to pay. Or so I thought.
I was at Cassie's. Watching her bandage a hawks wing when FLASH I wasn't at the barn anymore. At first I thought it was the Crayak wanting me to do something. But no, this was different. Then I had a vision, it was at school. The old school, before the Crayak. Everything was frozen, except me and the others. I knew what was doing this. And it frightened me. "Ellmist." I whispered.
YES RACHEL. "What do you want?" I said trying my hardest to sound brave, "I belong to the Crayak now. You can't touch me." YOUR RIGHT RACHEL. BUT YOU MUST UNDERSTAND. THE WORLD YOU LIVE IN NOW IS A DREAM WORLD. IT'S NOT REAL. I didn't say anything. RACHEL I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU THE REAL WORLD. THE WORLD YOU LEFT. There was another flash and I was looking at Cassie. She was barking orders at people. WHEN JAKE DIED CASSIE HAD A BREAK DOWN. The Ellmist said. SHE WAS DRIVEN TO DESPAIR AND GAVE HERSELF IN TO THE YEERKS. He paused, SHE IS NOW VISSER 3. "No." I whispered. I saw Tobias in human morph. THE NIGHT YOU LEFT TOBIAS TRAPPED HIMSELF AS HUMAN. HE IS NOW VISSER 2. I bit my lip to stop from crying. I saw Ax. AX KILLED VISSER THREE. BUT THEN WAS TAKEN. HE IS NOW VISSER 1. Then I saw Marco. MARCO MANAGED TO FLEE. HE IS IN THE THE HORK-BAJIR VALLEY WITH THE CHEE AND FREE HORK-BAJIR. I HAVE PUT A DISSAPEREING SPELL ON IT. THE YEERKS WILL NOT FIND IT. YET. "So? What does all this mean to me?" I said, trying to sound like I didn't care. I CAN TAKE YOU BACK RACHEL. YOU HOLD THE KEY. YOU CAN HELP. "How?" YOU HOLD THE KEY. I didn't say anything. I was scared that if I did I'd cry. Finally I said, "do they know what I did?" NO. THEY THINK YOU DIED WITH JAKE. I sighed, "then I'll go back. I have to." FLASH!
I was in the valley. Wearing the same clothes I had wore the night I... The night Jake died. Hork-bajir were all around. They hadn't seen me yet. I was behind a few bushes. I sat there for a while. After about half an hour I saw Marco. He looked different. He was taller, still not as tall as me. But that wasn't it. It was like he wasn't the same Marco. Like his spark was gone or something. "Marco!" I called. He spun around. He still hadn't seen me. I stood up. A look of surprise washed over his face "Rach?" I nodded not trusting myself to speak. "But," Marco still looked shocked then a look of hatred crossed his eyes. "Yeerk?" I shook my head. "No. I'm me Marco." I don't know why he believed me. I wouldn't have believed me. But he did. "Were have you been. All this time we thought..." I nodded. "I know." He shook his head, "but what happened?" I shrugged, "that's the funny thing. It's all a blank. One minute I'm in bed the next the Ellmist is telling me you've all been taken and I have to go help." Marco looked puzzled, "weird." I nodded, "tell me about it." The guilt inside me was overpowering. I had done this. It was my fault. I'd made my best friend a controller. I had made Tobias loose his wings. I forced the ugly thoughts away. "We have to fight back." Marco was saying, I poked him, "you sound like me." He smiled, "it's perfect." He explained, without a snappy come back. "They only expect me and the hork-bajir to fight like before. Sometimes the chee. But they don't expect you." I nodded, "your right." "So, we fight?" I grinned, feeling a smidgen like the old Rachel. "Lets do it!"
We rested until it was dark. Catching up. Again I was struck by how much Marco had changed. Then again his best friend was dead. And I was the one who did it. I shook my head. "Lets go." I told Marco once the sun was down. He nodded. We slipped out of the valley alone. Both well aware that what we were doing was suicide. Soon we were looking down at the main yeerk camp. "You do realize we probably won't come out of this alive?" Marco asked me. "Yes. But at least we'll die doing something for earth." He nodded. "Lets do it." I whispered for what could be the last time. Marco started to morph gorilla. I choose to go with elephant. I took my jacket of beforehand. When we were done Marco picked up my jacket in his big gorilla hands. He tied it around my trunk. What did you do that for? > I asked. He shrugged, war flag? > A fashion statement? > I suggested. He laughed. Nah. For once I jut want to go into a fight looking like an idiot. > But i's me not you. > He shrugged again, so? > I laughed. Come on. Lets go. > So with a jacket tied around my trunk I ran down the hill. A controller looked at us. "The human!" He cried. Then Marco appeared behind me. "What the?" The controllers looked puzzled. They weren't expecting two of us. But they couldn't think for long because Marco and I weren't slowing down. I slammed into them. Ha! Take that! > I thought yelled. Some ran. Other shot with dracon beams. I didn't care. It was madhouse. I smashed into people, hork-bajir, taxxons ect. Marco was punching wildly. "STOP!" I froze. The voice was so familiar. I looked. And my blood froze.
Tobias! He was standing on the observation stand. I wanted to rush up to him. To hug him. Just to be with him. But he was Visser 2. Visser 2. I kept repeating it to myself. "Hmm. Two of you." He said. "How curious." Everything was frozen. No one dared to move. "Could it be?" He said, in mock astonishment. "The missing Rachel?" He laughed evilly. Someone appeared behind him. "I wouldn't be laughing if I were you." Cassie! Tob- Visser to glared at her. "And why not?" Cassie, Visser 3 I mean, smiled, "you assured the council of 13 she was dead." Visser 2 laughed, "she will be soon, so will the other one." Make sure they are. > An andalite walked up next to them. My first thought was, Visser 3! But it was Ax. "Bring them up here!" Tobias yelled. Controllers ushered us up the the stand. We could have fought them but what was the point?
Dimorph. > adviser 1 told us. Marco did. I hesitated. The jacket still hung around my trunk. I said DIMORPH! > Visor 1 roared at me. I did. The jacket fell o the ground. "So. It is you." Visor 2 said smugly. "Hello Rachel." She stepped towards me. As she did she kicked my jacket. Something fell out one of the pockets. A photo! One of the animorphs. She looked at it for a long time. Then her chin wobbled. "Rachel?" Cassie, the real Cassie showed through. FLASH
I was in Jacks room. He was sleeping in his bed. Alive! The knife was still in my hand. I dropped it. "Ellmist?" I asked. YES RACHEL. YOU HELD THE KEY. There were so many questions I wanted to ask then I thought of something. I raced out of Jakes house and sprinted full pelt to the woods. "Tobias!" I yelled, "Tobias?" "Rach?" He was behind me in human morph. I hugged him fiercely. "Your ok!" I couldn't help but cry. He blushed. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I kissed him. He kissed me back. "I love you Tobias." "I love you too Rachel." I thought of the crayacks offer. 'Never.' I vowed. And this time, I meant it.
Disclaimer: All characters in this story belong to K.A.Applegate and scholastic.