(Jake)
My name's Jake. That's all I can tell you about myself, well I guess I can tell you other things, but not normal things like my last name, where I live, what school I go to. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I have a good reason to be. You see Earth is being invaded, by alien parasites. They crawl into your brain through the ear and take you over, utterly, totally, completely. You try to scream, but your voice is no longer yours. You try to warn others, but your body is no longer under your control. They own you, and you can't do anything to stop them once they have you. They can play you perfectly. They just dig into your mind to find the perfect thing to say, to do. They know your friends, your secrets. No one knows about them here on earth. Or rather, hardly anyone knows, and of those who do know there are only six of us who fight. Five kids, and one alien. Not exactly reassuring. We only have one weapon, the power to morph, to change our shape to that of any animal we can touch, we copy their DNA, store it inside us and somehow are able to turn into that animal when we concentrate on it. This obviously is not a human technology. It's Andalite, given to us by a dying Andalite Prince, who is Ax's older brother. Now we six are the only things standing in the way of the invasion.
So we have to keep our identities a secret, because if we're taken, it's all over. I thought we were a secret, that no one knew, but I was wrong. I got a letter yesterday, a simple little note yet it changed everything. It said, We know, Prince Jake. Not a big deal, except for the fact that the only one who calls me Prince Jake is Ax. All Andalite leaders are considered Princes, and Ax considers me his leader. This is a cause of much debate, him calling me Prince. We were in Cassie's barn discussing it. "It could be nothing," Cassie said. "Yeah but what if it isn't?" Marco said. "I mean, they called him Prince Jake, how many people do that?" Rachel nodded. "As much as it pains me to say this. Marco is probably right, it just oozes suspicion." She said. She was sitting on a bale of hay next to Tobias; he was in his human morph, as was Ax.
Marco was lounging on a chair a few feet away from them. I was helping Cassie move some cages around. "Well what do we do about it?" Tobias questioned. "I don't know, it's typed, and even if it wasn't it isn't like we could trace handwriting, or fingerprints for that matter." I said. "I don't like this," Rachel growled. I nodded in agreement. "It may just be a warning, not necessarily a threat." Cassie said. Marco frowned. "What's that supposed to mean? They just want us to know that they, whoever they are, know who we are?" He said suspiciously. She shrugged. "Just an idea." "We can't really do anything at this point, they have the upper hand." I said. Marco scowled, I could tell this wasn't sitting right with him. "Well I have to get home, mom's been going through a whole dinner as a family thing lately," Rachel said glancing at her watch. "I have to go too, my grandma's coming over." I said. Marco had homework to do, so we spit up. I walked home slowly. I didn't really want to see my grandma. I hadn't seen her in like four years, but I remember her as being pretty observant, I hope she can't see any differences in me. I walked inside and yelled. "Mom, Dad, I'm home." "No need to yell, we heard you come in." My dad said dryly from the kitchen. "Come see your grandmother," mom ordered. I pasted a fake smile on my face and walked into the kitchen. My mom, dad, and grandma were sitting at the table. "Where's Tom?" I asked. Tom's my brother; he's also a controller. "You haven't seen me in four years and that's what you have to say?" My grandma asked. "Come give me a hug." I walked over and gave her a hug. She pulled back and looked into my face. I tried to wear that expression of innocence that most people my age have. She frowned a little and her eyes narrowed. "You've grown up." Was all she said. I smiled a little and pulled back. She didn't smile back. I shifted around, a little uncomfortable under her gaze. "Um, I have homework I need to do," I said to my mom and left. I stopped right outside the door and listened. "There's something going on with that boy," I heard my grandmother say. "With Jake? Of course not, if we have to be worried about anyone it'd be Tom, Jake's always been the responsible one." I heard my mom say. "Have you looked in his eyes lately? Those aren't the eyes of a child." My grandmother snapped. I closed my eyes a little, then I turned and walked upstairs. I really did have some homework to do. I came back downstairs about and hour and a half later. My mom and dad were sitting at the kitchen table with Tom and my grandma. They were getting ready to eat dinner. "Jake, we were just about to call you," My mom said. "Could you grab the milk out of the kitchen?" She asked. "Sure," I replied and went to fetch it. I brought it back and sat it on the table. Then I took my seat, right across form Grandma. "So how have you been Tom?" My grandma asked. Tom had seen her more than I have. Every year he went to stay with our cousin, who lived near our grandma. "I'm fine Grandma. I'm part of this great club, I keep trying to get Jake to join but he won't" Tom said, grinning. My grandma looked at him sharply, then at me. "Never did like clubs myself, Jake if you don't want to join, then you shouldn't." She said. I was a little surprised, but I hid it. We talked through dinner, my grandma was pretty intelligent from what I saw, and observant. She kept giving Tom and I strange, assessing looks. I was relieved when the meal was over. "Oh Jake, this letter came for you today," My mom said handing me a white envelope. Curiously I opened it, and froze. It said: Who shall go first?
"Jake? Are you all right?" My mom asked. I nodded a little. "You look pale," she said. "I'm fine." I managed to say in a normal voice. I excused myself and went up to my room. I looked at the note then went online. I sent and e-mail to Marco, and the others telling them what the note said. It didn't mention anything about yeerks so I figured it was safe. It turned out that Marco was online because he IM'ed me. An IM is kind of like mini chatroom for two people.
Baldwinboy5: So what do you think of the letter?
Bball24: Don't know, joke maybe?
Baldwinboy5: not likely
Bball24: maybe we shouldn't talk about it like this. If you see the others at school tomorrow tell them to meet at my house. No one will be here.
Baldwinboy5: Why your house? Not Cassie's barn?
Bball24: Her dad is having over some people, sponsors or something.
Baldwinboy5: Ok, got it. See you tomorrow.
Bball24: Yep, bye.
Baldwinboy5: bye.
I signed off, and ran my hand through my hair. I looked at the clock, it was almost ten o'clock, we had eaten a fairly late dinner. I turned off my computer and went to bed. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP my alarm sounded the next morning. I groaned and reached over to turn it off. I stumbled out of bed into the bathroom for a shower. When I was finished I got dressed and went downstairs. My grandma was sitting at the table. I was surprised I figured she'd sleep in. "What? Surprised that an old lady like me could get up so early?" She asked, reading the expression on my face. I didn't reply. Just said good morning and went to get something for breakfast. "What are you eating that for?" She asked while looking scornfully at the box of cereal I was holding. "What's wrong with this?" I asked, bewildered. She snorted and handed me a plate. I looked down at it, it was filled with eggs and bacon and toast. I looked up and blinked. She laughed a little and gave me a little push towards the table. I ate quickly, then stood up. "Well I guess I better get going," I said, and gave her a kiss in her weathered cheek when she pointed at it. Then I grabbed my bag and headed for the bus stop. No one else was there; Tom caught a ride with some of his friends. The bus came a minute later and I climbed on and headed for where Cassie was sitting. I sat down next to her; she silently handed me a note. "I found it wedged into one of the cages this morning while I was doing my chores." She whispered as I opened it. Cassie the killer with a conscience. "What do you think it means?" I asked handing it back to her. She shook her head "I'm not sure, but these notes are obviously from someone who knows us well." She replied. We sat back and though about whom it could be. The bus came to a screeching halt at the school. We climbed off and headed towards the entrance. The day went uneventful, we told the others about the next note. They were as confused as we were. It was the same for the next week. Every morning another one of found a note. They said: So how's mommy Marco? ~ You have such a nice family Rachel, wouldn't want them to get hurt. ~ How are the mice lately? Happy hunting. ~ So I see you haven't fulfilled your 'duty' Ax. Simple things like that, not necessarily threatening but hinting at trouble.
We were all jumpy, suspicious of everything, but that was it. Just the notes nothing else, one a day. To make things worse I found out my Grandma's visit would be a little longer than expected, a lot longer. My parents decided that she should move in with us. We had an extra room that guests stayed in and she would use that. On Monday, two weeks after the first note it changed. We met up in front of the school ignoring our usual rule about not appearing together in public too much, feeling safer in a larger group. "So who got a note today?" I asked tiredly. No one answered. I perked up. "Maybe this means it's over." Marco said. "Maybe, or maybe they're just changing their tactic." Cassie said. "I'd say their tactic is already working pretty well." Rachel muttered. The rest of us agreed half-heartedly. The warning bell rang and we went into school. I looked over my shoulder all day, half expecting someone to be there pointing a finger at me yelling 'Animorph!' I was at my locker putting my stuff away at the end of the day. Maybe nothing else will happen I was thinking. Then I heard the screams. I recognized them immediately, Cassie. I dropped my bag and ran towards the sounds. She was standing in front of her open locker, her eyes wide, her hands shaking. I grabbed her shoulders as soon as I reached her. She stopped screaming when I touched her. She pointed to the inside of the locker. I looked and flinched. There was rabbit hanging from a miniature noose, now this in itself was bad enough, but the rabbit wasn't just hanging there dead, it was mutilated. The blood was dripping down onto her things. I spied a little sign on the rabbit. I snatched it quickly, not wanting to touch the animal. The paper was bloody but I could make out the words. It said. 'Jake?' She reached for the paper. I turned and stuck it back into the locker. I grabbed her arm and led her away. There was a whole crowd around the locker. Some looked sick; some had an expression of horrified fascination on their faces. Then Mr. Chapman came up. "What's going on here?" He snapped. I motioned toward the locker. I looked in; he didn't look very bothered, I guess he was probably used to gruesome sights in his line of work. "Mr. Chapman? Maybe I should take Cassie home." I said. He waved his hand motioning us to leave, and I took Cassie's hand and led her out of the school.
Luckily the bus was still there so we just barely made it on. I grabbed us a seat towards the front. "God, who would do such a horrible thing?" She asked in a pained voice. I shook my head and squeezed her hand. "That rabbit is from the clinic." She said. I frowned. "You're sure?" I asked as the bus pulled away. She nodded. "The markings are really distinct." She answered and fell silent. We didn't talk for the rest of the trip, and I got off at her stop. "You didn't have to come with me." She said. "I wanted to," I replied. She smiled faintly and held onto my hand as we walked towards her house. What next? I though.
Chapter Two
(Cassie)
Jake and I walked toward my house; I was still shaken up. It wasn't that I was afraid of dead animals, I've seen a lot of death in my life. It was the deliberate cruelty, that animal had been tortured, it died a very painful death because someone wanted to scare me. The note bothered me too, Jake had tried to hide it so I wouldn't see, but I had caught a glimpse. I shivered who would do this? Jake squeezed my hand tighter trying to reassure me. What did the note mean? Were they going after Jake next? I don't think I could stand losing Jake, he means too much to me. I looked around; there weren't any vehicles around so I knew my parents weren't here. "Want to come in for a while?" I asked him. He nodded and followed me into the house. I noticed him looking around carefully as we walked towards the kitchen. "You think they'd come in?" I asked as I realized what he was doing. "I don't know, I wouldn't take any chances. I mean I know it was only a rabbit, but…" He said. I nodded, he understood. "So what are we going to do?" I asked. "I don't know. I asked Tobias to try to look out if he can. The thing is that the notes were left in the night, he can't see in the dark, and we can't stay up all night looking for them." He said. "I don't like this. I mean we're always in danger because of the yeerks, but this is different. The yeerks don't know who we are, or they think they do, but they can't find us. This is different they know who we are but we know nothing about them except that we need to be careful." I said. "I know," was all he said. "So do you want to work on the math assignment?" He asked me. I smiled a little, he knew very well that I didn't want to do homework but he also knew that I didn't want to be alone. I nodded. We went into the kitchen and sat down at the table. I pulled out my book. He grabbed his notebook, and grimaced. "I hate this stuff," he said looking at the problems. "Math should be numbers not letters." "Ah, but it's not math is it? It's Algebra." I teased. He gave me a mock glare and we started. My parents came home about a half and hour later and Jake left. "Bye Cass," he said on his way out. "Bye," I replied.
When he was gone my mom turned to me. "Cassie," she began. "Mom, we were just doing school work," I interrupted. "I know but, maybe you two are getting a little too close," she said. "Mom, we're fine," I said and went to put my things in my room. Rachel called at about 9:00. I heard my mom answer the phone. "Hello?" She asked. There was a pause, then she handed me the phone. "Hello?" I said. "Cassie? It's Rachel," Rachel said. She sounded furious. I got up slowly and went where I wouldn't be overheard. "Rachel, what's wrong?" I asked. "This is getting serious, way to serious. Whoever is doing this is going to die." She snapped. "Someone through a rock through a window at my house about 5 minutes ago." She said. "Someone through a rock through your window." I repeated. "Not min, Sara's. There was a note wrapped around it. It said that Sara should try to do better on her spelling quiz." Rachel said tersely. I was confused for a moment, why would Sara's spelling test have anything to do with this. Then I realized, it was a warning to Rachel that they could get very close to her family. "Rachel, did you hear about the rabbit?" I asked. "Yeah, Jake told me." She said wearily. "This is getting out of hand. What kind of person does something like this?" She asked. "I mean, we haven't done anything to anyone except the- well you know who, and if they knew it'd be over." She said. I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. "I don't know Rachel. We just have to be very careful, maybe you should just warn Sara and Jordan to be extra careful." I said. "Well you know there is one more thing now. The police are involved. My mom was there when the window was broken, she saw the note." Rachel said. "Maybe that's a good thing." I responded. "Maybe a good thing for catching whoever did it, but what if one of the cops is a you know, and what happens if they find this person, or people? They obviously don't like us and could figure since they're already caught they might as well turn us in." Rachel said. I groaned. "You're right, I never even thought of that. Why don't you call Marco and tell him, and I'll call Jake." I said. "Yeah okay. I'll see you tomorrow." She replied. "Bye," I said and hung up.
Then I pushed the power button and dialed Jake's number. His mom answered. "Hi, is Jake there?" I asked. "Cassie? Isn't it a little late to be calling Jake?" She asked. "I'm really sorry, but I just need to tell him something." I said. She sighed and called Jake. He picked up the phone a few moments later. "Hey," he said. "Hi, it's me." I said. "Can we talk?" I asked, trying to make it clear I was asking if Tom was there. "Yeah, he's not here and my mom left the room." He replied. I quickly relayed what Rachel had told me, trying not to make it sound too suspicious, just in case. "Ok, she's right. This could work to our advantage or it could blow up in our faces. Just be careful, okay?" He said. "Yeah I will, you too." I said. "Well I have to go my mom just came in and is giving me the evil eye. I'll see you tomorrow at school okay?" He said. "Yep, 'night." I said. "Goodnight," he replied and we hung up. I put the phone on the charger and went to bed. I woke up the next morning and went to do my chores. I kept looking around, expecting to find another mutilated animal, a note, anything but nothing happened it was just like any other day except that I was so nervous I felt like I was going to be sick. I finished my chores and ran back to the house to take a shower and get ready for school. I took my shower, when I stepped out the mirror was all foggy, you know how it gets when you shower or take a bath. That wasn't what scared me though, what scared me what that written on the mirror through the mist were the words. 'Hi Cassie, enjoy your shower?' I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around myself. I looked around wildly, then ran out of the bathroom into my room. I sat on my bed, shaking. How could someone have gotten into the bathroom without me knowing? I would have heard, no I wouldn't have heard anything the water muffled the noises. Someone had been in my house; they had been in my bathroom. I looked around warily, I didn't want to have to get dressed but I had to go to school. I cast off the towel and dressed in record time. Then I grabbed my bag and headed to school. I was too early for the bus so I decided to walk instead. I got there about the same time the buses did. I went into the school and headed for Jake's locker, he was standing there with a few of his friends. I walked up and touched his arm. "I really need to talk to you." I whispered. He nodded. "Ok, Well I'll see you guys later." He said to his friends, then he grabbed his bag and left with me. We stopped at one of the drinking fountains. "What is it? Another animal, a note?" He asked. I shook my head. "I was taking a shower this morning, when I got out someone had written on the mirror. You know how you can draw on it when it gets all fogged up? Someone was in my bathroom, while I was taking a shower." I said quietly. His eyebrows went up. "You're sure?" He asked. "Of course I'm sure, I didn't write it and my parents wouldn't do that, I mean get real. Someone was in the bathroom!" I said. He touched my arm. "Quiet." He whispered. I tried to calm down; I took a deep breath. "What are we going to do?" I asked. "This is getting really serious. Did you hear about the rock? Now they're threatening our families." I said. "I know, my Dad got these calls at work yesterday. Someone kept calling and hanging up. Then on the last one they just started laughing. I don't know if it means anything, my Dad just thought it was a joke, but with everything going on, we should suspect any suspicious behavior." Jake said darkly. "And when we find this guy, well let's just say if they do anything to my family they're dead, no questions asked." He said and left. I didn't like this, it had been happening sometimes, more frequently lately. All of a sudden Jake would just get cold somehow, hard like there was no one there. It really bothered me, and it was a little frightening as well. I shook off the feeling and went to the office to see about my locker. When I went in they sent me to Chapman's office. He was sitting at his desk when I entered. "Mr. Chapman?" I asked hesitantly. "Cassie, good morning could you sit down please?" He asked. I sat, and looked at him waiting to hear what he was going to say. "Do you know who could have put the rabbit in your locker?" He asked. I shook my head truthfully, I honestly didn't know who could have done it. "Well we've assigned you a new locker and obtained new books to replace the ones that were, ruined. Here is the number and the combination code. Please tell me if you have any more problems." He said handing me a piece of paper. I took it and began to stand up. "Oh one more thing, I'm involved with a group called the sharing. We work a lot with young people who have problems. Perhaps you would consider coming?" He asked. I shook my head; I had been expecting this. "No thank you, I'm very busy with school and helping my parents with the clinic, I really don't have time for any more activities, thanks anyway." I said as kindly as I could. Then I picked up my bag and headed for my new locker.
were new books, I was luck that I had most of my stuff in my bag. I pulled out the books I needed and went to class. The day went fairly uneventful, until after the final bell rang. I was at my locker when I saw Marco stumble out of the boys' bathroom; he was holding his head. I went over to him. "Marco, what's wrong?" I asked. He looked up and me and pulled away his hand, it had blood on it. I looked at his head; the hair on one side was matted with it. "I was in the bathroom someone snuck up behind me, I didn't hear anything until the last moment. They hit me and I went down, I just woke up a few minutes ago. I was in one of the stalls, and this was in my hand." He held up a figuring of a gorilla, its head was torn off. I looked at him; we both knew what it was implying. I saw Rachel walking down the hall with some of her other friends. I grabbed her arm as she went past, at first she started to shake it off frantically. I knew she was jumpy and probably thought it was the stalked, then she saw it was me and calmed down. She said bye to her friends and turned to us. "What?" She snapped, I didn't take offense we were all under pressure. Then she saw Marco's face and peered closer. "What happened?" She asked. "I was attacked in the bathroom." He said and showed her the little toy. "Maybe we should have a meeting." She suggested. I nodded. "How about tonight, late like 3 a.m. in my barn." I said. They nodded. "I'll tell Jake," Rachel said. Then she left "Maybe you should go to the nurse." I said to Marco. He shook his head and grinned. "Nah I'm fine, it'd take more than that to crack my hard head." He said. I laughed a little. "Hey Rachel didn't say it, I had to." He added and left. I grabbed my stuff and headed home.
(Rachel)
"Bye," I waved at one of the girls from my gymnastics class as I walked out of practice. I had done really badly today, I was too focused on the mystery stalker, and I was mad. It was one thing to threaten me and my friends, we could take care of ourselves, it was a whole different thing to threaten my family. I grabbed my bag a little tighter and walked down the darkened street. I should have taken Melissa's offer of a ride, I thought for a second. Then I changed my mind, I really didn't want to ride in a car with Chapman and I was so mad that only a very foolish person would get in my way tonight. I shook slightly; I had the strange feeling that someone was watching me. I started to walk a little faster. Come on Rachel, stop being so paranoid, no one is following you, I reassured myself. Then I head the soft pad of footsteps, they sounded really close. I picked up the pace a little more, so did the footsteps, they were getting closer. I looked behind me; I saw a shadow of someone there. I panicked then I broke into a run, the person followed me. I ducked into one of the shadowed alleyways. They were still following me. I ran to the end and threw my bag over the gate and vaulted over. Thank god for gymnastics I thought as I picked up my bag and continued to run towards the main street. I heard a frustrated cry as someone pounded on the fence. I ran the rest of the way home, and then I slammed the door behind me and locked it. I leaned against the wall and slid down it, breathing heavily.
Note: This was a rare occurrence, don't expect too much narration from the other characters, sorry. I know some of you would like it but well deal.
(See next part for conclusion)
Chapter Three
(Cassie)
[I would like to thank noperfecshun
My alarm beeped, and I sat up quickly, confused at first. My room was dark; it was too early for school. Then I remembered the meeting. I turned off the alarm and got out of bed, pulling on some clothes. Then I snuck out of the house towards the barn. Rachel was there when I went in. She looked a little pale. "Rachel? Is everything okay?" I asked. She shook her head. "Someone chased me on my way home from gymnastics today, and I didn't even try to fight back. I ran, I was a coward, I was scared and I ran away." She said, angry with herself. "Rachel, you were scared, it doesn't mean you're a coward." I said softly. She shook her head. "I shouldn't have been scared of something as unimportant as that, I mean, I've faced things a million times worse than that." She said. "Rachel, you were afraid it was the stalker, there's nothing wrong with that." I said. Then the others walked in. Jake followed by Marco and Ax. Tobias flew in through the top and perched on the rafters. "Ok, I heard about Marco getting attacked. Now so far we have the notes, the rabbit, and the rock through Rachel's window, the writing on the mirror, Marco being attacked in the bathroom. Am I missing anything?" Jake said, getting right to the point. He sounded angry, and he had a cold, hard look on his face. "I don't know if it's anything but when I was coming home from practice today someone chased me." Rachel said. {Are you okay?} Tobias asked immediately. Rachel smiled up at him. "I'm fine." She said. "Everything keeps getting worse, the notes then the rabbit, the rock, then Marco was physically attacked, and I'm thinking that Rachel getting away was not part of that plan." Jake said. "And it's not just us they're threatening, it's our families too." Rachel said. Jake nodded, "Yeah, and that is completely unacceptable. I told my dad offhand that he should be careful, my mom too. But they just kinda blew it off." Jake said. "Same here, I had a little 'talk' with Sara and Jordan when I got home, but they just rolled their eyes and Jordan said that she didn't need the whole don't talk to strangers lecture." Rachel said. "My parents totally freaked tonight, I guess the school called and told them about the rabbit in my locker and they were pissed that I didn't mention it to them." I said. "Luckily no one but you guys knew I was knocked out in the bathroom, I can just imagine how my parents would react." Marco said. I shivered and looked around; I had a jumpy feeling, like someone was always watching me. I stood up and walked around, I was going crazy. No one is here but you and your friends, I told myself. "Okay, from now on we have a meeting every day, just to make sure everything is okay, everyone be extra alert. Ax, Tobias could you guys check on Jordan and Sara every once in a while when they're at school? And our parents too if you can manage it?" Jake asked. {No problem man, it isn't like we have anything else to do.} Tobias said. "Of course, my Prince." Ax said. "Don't call me Prince." Jake said tiredly. "Yes Prince Jake." Ax replied. Then everyone left to go get the rest of his or her night of sleep. Jake hung around a minute after everyone left. "Cassie, be careful okay? I just have a really bad feeling about this." Jake said. "Of course I will." I replied. His voice was warm but there was something in his eyes that scared me, I wouldn't want to be the stalker, especially when Jake and Rachel got a hold on them. Over the next week there was only one threat, someone pinned a dead bird to Tobias's tree, it was when we were all having a meeting at my barn. It wasn't a hawk, but the meaning was clear. And that was it, having nothing happen was almost worse than the threats. Everyone was jumpy and snappy, Rachel was walking around with a black, angry expression on her face, Marco wasn't making any jokes at all, and Jake had a cold, emotionless face, everyone at school was staying away from him. I was always looking over my shoulder, expecting someone to be there with an ax or something. Jake came over one night, I was in the barn cleaning out some cages. "Hey," he said. I jumped and whirled around. "You wanted me to come over?" he asked. "Yeah, listen Jake, I'm worried about you." I said. "Why would you be worried? I'm fine." He said. "Something's changed, I don't like it. You're so cold; you hardly talk to anyone. Half the school is afraid of you." I said. He laughed a little. "I doubt that, and there's nothing wrong with me, I'm fine." He said, snapping on the last bit. "I'm just," I began. "God, I said I was fine! Can't you leave it alone!" He yelled. I was stunned for a moment, he rarely yelled. Then the stress of the past week broke. "Fine! Why do you always have to push me away! Even before all of this! What is your problem? I care about you, I was worried!" I yelled back. "I don't need you to care about me! I do fine on my own, I don't need your damn worry!" he shouted. "You walk around with the expression of an ax murderer and I'm not supposed to be worried?" I said back, my voice just as loud as his. "Yeah, it's not your job to worry about me!" He yelled. "Then I wont, go back to your cold little, lonely world! You never let anyone care about you anymore! Then I'll just leave you alone!" I yelled. "Fine!" he shouted and turned around to leave. "Where are you going?" I asked. "Anywhere but here!" he said and stalked out, slamming the door of the side exit he went out of. "Cassie?" I heard my father ask tentatively. "Is everything okay?" he asked. "Everything is just peachy," I snapped. "I'm going for a walk." I stalked out of the barn the opposite side that Jake had left. A half an hour later I found myself in the park; I was walking in the parking lot. I heard the screech of tires. I turned around quickly. I saw the glare of headlights frighteningly close, then everything went black as my body exploded in pain.
Chapter 4
(Jake)
I stalked out of Cassie's barn. What was wrong with her, I was fine. I told myself. I was fine; I hadn't changed that much. Sure a little, but people change, that's life. I raked my hands through my hair; I could still see the shocked look on her face when I yelled at her. That was really the first real fight we'd had. I walked around for a while; it was growing kind of dark. Was I getting cold? I mean lately, it had almost been as if, I didn't care whom it was I just did my job and if that job involved killing my enemies, well that was that. No, nothing was wrong I was fine, I told myself. I couldn't let myself feel too much, that's how you got hurt. I couldn't think of my enemies as real people, their hosts as people as I destroyed them, it would destroy me. And what about Cassie? I had to keep my distance I told myself, what would happen if I fell in love with her and something happened? Could I handle it? Jake, you fool. You're already in love with her. What if something happened? I don't think I could handle losing her. Yeah well Jake buddy you're going to have to lose these feelings or suppress them or something, I told myself harshly. I shook my head and walked up the stairs to my house. "Hey sweetie," My mom said as I came in. "Dinner's on the table." "I'm going to eat in my room." I said. "No, you're not." She replied. "Yes. I am." I said shortly. I scooped food onto my plate and went up to my room. I put it next to my computer and turned it on, then I signed online. 2 hours later I rubbed my eyes and turned the computer off. I got up and flopped back onto my bed. It wasn't more than 5 minutes before the phone rang. I leaned over to pick it up but it stopped in mid-ring, someone downstairs must have gotten it. A few minutes later I heard slow footsteps coming up the stairs. "Jake?" my mom asked softly. "Yeah?" I replied. "Honey, there's been an accident." She said. I frowned and sat up. "What kind of accident?" I asked sharply. "It appears that Cassie was taking a walk, and she was hit by a car. She's in a coma, it's too early to tell what's going to happen." She said. My heart stopped, my whole body froze. "Cassie?" I asked. My chest felt like it was going to explode. She nodded. "Let's go." I said. "Jake, maybe we should stay away. This is really a moment for her family." Mom said. "I'm going with you or without you Mom." I said. I picked up the phone and quickly dialed Marco's number. He answered. "Marco, did you he-," I began. He cut me off. "Yeah I did, me and my dad are on our way to the hospital." He said. "Rachel's already there." I nodded. "I'm going too, see you there." I said and hung up. "Come on Mom, are you taking me or not?" I asked. She nodded. "Ok, let's go." She said. I walked down the stairs, put on my shoes and walked out the front door. Minutes later my mom and dad both came out the door. "Both of you?" I asked. "Cassie's parents are our friends, we thought they might need some support." My dad said. I nodded and got into the car. 15 minutes later we were at the hospital. After we found where she was we went up to the ICU. Her parents were sitting in the chairs along with Rachel and Marco and Marco's dad and Rachel's mom. I jogged over to them. "How is she?" I demanded. Rachel and Marco stood up and came over to me. Rachel's eyes were watery and red and Marco looked on the verge of tears. "They're not sure, but they, they say she might never wake up. She got hot on the head really hard, along with all of her other injuries. At the moment they say she has a 30% chance of waking up." Marco said softly. My knees almost failed me. 30? That's all. "Oh my God." I said. "Did they find who did it?" I asked. Marco shook his head. "No." he said. "I think we have a pretty good idea though." Rachel said. I nodded, "Whoever's been stalking us." I said. "Whoever they are, I'm going to kill them. They've gone too far." I said savagely. Rachel nodded her head fiercely and Marco tightly agreed, revenge blazing in both of their eyes. At that point I noticed that Cassie's parents were talking to a pair of police officers, who were taking notes on a small pad of paper. I noticed one of the officers glance at me as they talked. After a few minutes they walked over to us. "I understand that you're friends of Cassie's." The woman officer said. "Yeah," Marco said. "Do you know of anyone who would want to hurt Cassie, maybe have a grudge against her for some reason?" Her partner asked. We shook our heads, we knew but we couldn't say anything to them for all we know they could be controllers. "You think that someone deliberately targeted Cassie?" Rachel asked. They hesitated for a moment. "She was found almost on the sidewalk. That's a pretty far out of the way to drive and she was hit with a lot of force, it suggests that someone tried to hit her." She said finally. "Do you mind if we talk to you individually for a moment?" The man asked. "Sure," I said. They talked to Rachel then Marco. Then it was my turn. We stood a fair distance away from everyone. "What is your relationship to Cassie?" she asked. I hesitated, what was our relationship. We were friends but kind of more than that. "Well we're friends, but kind of more, but we're not really going out." I said. She nodded. "We have here that you had a fight with her that evening." The male officer said. What? How did they now about that? "Her father heard." The woman said as if reading my mind. "Yeah we did." I said. "Would you mind telling us what it was about?" She asked. "It wasn't really about anything, I mean just normal things I guess." I said. "Normal things, what kind of normal things?" he asked. "Just normal things. She was upset at me for something, emotional things I guess." I said. "Why would she be upset at you for that? What kind of emotional things?" The woman officer asked. "I have no idea, that was part of the argument I guess. I have no idea why she was angry, beyond the emotion thing, I mean I don't understand girls that much." I said. They nodded. "Thank you, we'll be in touch." She said and they left. I went back and sat by Marco and Rachel. "Well?" they asked. "They wanted to know about the fight Cassie and I had." I said. They exchanged a glance. "Jake, they asked us a lot of questions about you. Like our relationship to you, and your relationship with Cassie. Your personality and stuff. Whether or not you were a violent person and things." Rachel said. My jaw almost dropped. "Oh god, they think I did it." I said. "Yeah, I think that they do." Marco said. "They seemed disappointed when they found out I was your best friend, I think they wanted to talk to someone who wasn't really close to you, someone un-biased." Marco said. "Yeah, same here. They asked me a few questions before they found out I was your cousin, after that it was basically over, I guess they thought I would try to protect you or something." Rachel said. "I can't believe that they would think that I would hurt Cassie." I said. "I know, that's what I told them. I pretty mush said they should be locked up if they thought you did it." Marco said. "I mean, I can't even drive." I said. "Well, didn't you get your permit a few weeks ago?" Marco said. "I guess they would take that as being able to drive at least knowing the basics." I looked at them. "You guys don't think I did it do you?" I asked. They looked horrified. "Of course not." They exclaimed. Our parents came over then and told us we had to leave. I was in the car driving home with my parents. "They think it was me." I said. Neither of my parents said anything. "Mom, Dad. Did you hear me?" I asked. "Yes, we heard you. Jake, did you?" My dad asked tightly. I couldn't believe it. "What?" I asked. "Did you hit Cassie with the car?" He repeated. "Of course not!" I exclaimed. "What kind of person do you think that I am?" I asked. Neither of them said anything. When we got home I went straight up to my room; I sat on my bed and put my head in my hands. I noticed that I was shaking, finally it all hit me at once. I took my pillow and screamed into it. I heard a soft knock on my door. My grandma opened it slowly, I ha almost forgotten she lived here. I almost laughed, she spent so much time away and in her room it was like she wasn't here at all. "Jake? Are you okay?" she asked. "Of course I'm not okay." I said. She came and sat down next to me. "Your fool parents tried to tell me that it was you that ran that poor girl over." She said. "You believe that it wasn't m?" I asked. "Of course it wasn't you. I told them that, you aren't the kind of person that would run an innocent person over like that, especially that little girl." She said. "It's all in the eyes you see. That's one thing that I've learned. Everything is in the eyes; they really are the windows to the soul. It's all in the eyes, you just have to look hard and be able to accept what you see there." She said. "You know you can find out a lot by being quiet, by not talking and just looking, you learn a lot. Sometimes more than you want to know." She said. I looked at her sharply. "Like what?" I asked. "Something is here, something not good. I've been watching over the years. It was slow at first, but it's getting faster, people are changing. And I hear things; you would be surprised by how many people ignore a little old woman sitting in a corner. I hear things, horrible things." She said. "What kind of things?" I asked. "I think that you know." She said quietly. "Like I said, it's all in the eyes. Now you find out who hurt that poor girl." She said firmly and stood up and left. I stared after her for a while. I couldn't believe it, my senile or so I thought, old grandmother, had found out, well kind of, about the yeerks. I opened my window and let the breeze flow across my face. For a moment I thought I saw someone standing in the shadows, but then it was gone. I'm going to find you, I thought, whoever you are that hurt Cassie. I'm going to find you, and you better pray that she is still alive when I do.
Chapter Five
(Jake)
I sat there for a long time, just staring at the window trying not to be consumed by the feelings that threatened to overwhelm me. A burning need for revenge against whoever had done this to Cassie, worry for the rest of the group, agonizing fear that Cassie would not wake up, and a rending pain that seemed to rip my heart apart at the thought of losing here, and any pain or fear she might have gone through. Had she been conscious as she lay on the side of the parking lot? Had she felt any pain, or fear? Eventually my exhaustion took over and I fell into a tormented sleep. The next morning I awoke with a feeling of dread. I heard a knocking at my door; I sat up sleepily, "Yeah?" I called. The door opened and Tom walked in. "Hey, Jake." He said. He came and sat on the edge of my bed. I looked at him suspiciously. "What?" I asked. He took on a look of what I knew to be fake worry. "I'm worried about you little bro, I mean after what you did yesterday I don't know what to think." I said. "What I did? Tom you can't think that I hurt Cassie." I stated. "I don't want to, but…Listen mom and dad think that you should just confess, they can send you somewhere to get help, you wouldn't get in trouble you could just go somewhere to get better." He said. I just shook my head at him, I knew that the yeerk was trying to act all big brotherly to try to convince me to confess to something he probably thought I was capable of. Yeerks wouldn't stop to think about little things, they themselves were capable of almost anything so why would they think humans were all good? And I knew that the real Tom, my brother would never have believed I could do something like that. "Tom, I did. Not. Hit. Cassie. With. A. Car." I said. I shook my head. "I need to get dressed, can you please go away." I said. He got up with a sigh and walked out. I followed him to the door and listened down the hallway after he had left. I could hear him talking to my parents. "I tried, he says he didn't do it." Tom said. "I have a sharing meeting, see ya." He said and I heard him leave. I stayed at the door listening to my parent's conversation. "Nikki, maybe he didn't do it, maybe we jumped to conclusions." My dad said. "Greg, I don't want to believe it either, but all the evidence says so. And you've seen how different he is, I didn't even recognize it until my mother pointed it out, but he just seems so...old, and cold inside." She said. "Besides, they found his math book inside the car." She said. My math book? How could my math book have gotten in the car? "That's another thing, why would he have his school stuff with him, it was nighttime." My dad argued. "He was probably studying with someone." My mom said. I heard my dad sigh heavily and they walked downstairs. That hurt, how could my own parents believe that I could do that? I mean, they were my parents, supposed to support me and be my strongest allies. I ignored the pain and concentrated on the problem at hand, there would be time later to feel. I quickly showered and dressed in my morphing suit and flew to Marco's. I landed on his window ledge and tapped gently on the glass. TAP TAP TAP. He slowly stirred awake and blinked at the light. {Hey Marco, man you sleep later than anyone I know.} I said. He looked at my groggily and lifted the window so I could come inside. I demorphed then turned to face him. "We have to catch whoever did this." I said bluntly. "Oh, you think?" he asked sarcastically as he became more alert. "We can't allow them to continue doing this, we have to catch them before someone else gets hurt." I said. "And to make them pay." Marco said eyeing me carefully. "Yes, and we have to make them pay." I said tightly. I tried not to think about Cassie, I knew that if I did it would consume my thoughts and I wouldn't be able to concentrate on the task at hand. "Get dressed, we're going to see Rachel." I said. Marco got into his morphing outfit and we flew to Rachel's. After getting her we went to Ax and Tobias' meadow. {Prince Jake!} Ax exclaimed when we landed and demorphed. {I heard what happened to Cassie, I am sorry.} He said solemnly. I took in a shaky breath. "Yeah, well we're going to catch who did this," I said. Everyone nodded, they, or he or whoever had hurt one of our own, and that demanded repayment. "So where do we start?" Marco asked. I took a deep breath; this was a part that I hadn't figured out. "First we have to get together everything we know about who's doing this," I explained. "We know that he has something against us. He knows who we are and things that no one but us should know, like the fact that Ax calls me Prince Jake, and that Marco's mom is Visser One. We haven't been turned into the yeerks so that suggests that it isn't a controller stalking us, they would want our body as hosts and use our capture as a promotion. We're being toyed with, and our families are getting involved so that means that it's probably pretty personal, they're not only trying to get us, but people close to us." I said. Marco had a strange look on his face for a moment but he shook his head and it was gone. I considered asking him about it, but let it go. "Well that's what we know, but how can we use that to catch whoever it is?" Rachel asked. "I don't know, all I know is that I'll probably be under pretty heavy guard…my parents think I was the one who attacked Cassie, pretty much everyone does except for my Grandma." I said bitterly. {And us.} Tobias said. I smiled lightly. "Yeah, and you guys." I said. Rachel looked angry. "My mom's all worried too, I heard her talking to my dad. She thinks it was you too, but I picked up the phone and listened in, my dad thinks she's nuts. So you have one more person on your side." Rachel said. "Great, and old lady and someone who lives a few thousand miles away." I said. "Well, it's morning so we have plenty of time to get to work, but I want someone watching Cassie at all times." I ordered. "I can watch her during the nights but like I said my parents are on the prowl, they think I've gone nuts so most of my work will have to be at nighttime. Speaking of which, I have to be leaving." I said. "Ok, see you later. Ax and I are going to take the first watch over Cassie." Marco said. I nodded and began to morph as soon as I was done I took off. {See you later.} I said and soared away. I went home and flew into my room. I landed on my bed and demorphed, then I dressed in normal clothes and grabbed a notebook, I wrote everything we had discussed earlier but wording it so that it wouldn't be suspicious to someone reading it. After I was done I stared at it for awhile. Something was wrong, I was missing something, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I stayed up in my room all day, not wanting to face my family. At the moment in my mind, they had betrayed me. Marco called at about 8 o'clock. "Hey, how'd everything go?" I asked. "Fine, nothing suspicious, doctors came, nurses came, her parents were there like 3 times but that's it. Rachel has watch until 10:30, then you take over, ok man?" Marco asked. "Yeah, fine." I said. I'll see you later." I said and hung up. I set my alarm and tried to go to sleep, since I would be up all night. I managed to grab a few hours of rest then flew to the hospital. With every flap of my wings my heart grew heavier and the dread swelled in me. I landed on the ledge next to Rachel. {Hey, I'll take it from here.} I said. {Ok, good night.} She said tiredly and flew off, saying as she went. {Nothing happened.} I watched Cassie through the window; I could see her lying on the bed with the light from the hallway shining on her still form. She was hooked up to all kind of machines that were admitting steady beeping noises, she was breathing on her own but was still hooked up to an oxygen mask. I couldn't stand just sitting there, looking at her and not being able to touch her and make sure she was really alive. Carefully I positioned myself on the edge of the ledge and began to demorph, hoping I was in the right position so I wouldn't go tumbling off the side. When I was finished, I took a deep breath and morphed to fly. I found a small crack between the window and the wall and flitted inside. I landed on the floor next to the bed and demorphed. I check the curtain, it was drawn around the bed so no one from the outside could see in and very little light reached in. I sat down in the chair and reached for her hand. "Hey Cassie." I whispered. "I know our last meeting wasn't on very good terms. I should have listened to you, I shouldn't have yelled and stalked out like that." I rubbed her palm gently as I spoke in a whispered hush. "How could anyone do this to you? They think it was me, because of the fight your dad heard. If they only knew the truth. I want to tell them so bad, but I know that could be even more dangerous." My voice cracked slightly with emotion, I still held onto her hand, feeling the pulse beating in her wrist, an assurance of life. I kissed the tips of her fingers lightly. "I'm going to find who did this to you, and make sure they don't hurt anyone else." I promised. I brushed a stray curl back from her forehead that the breeze from the air-conditioning must have blown across her face. "Just stay alive, don't die on me, promise that. I'll be okay, as long as you don't leave." I whispered and kissed her forehead lightly. Then I assumed my place on the ledge for the night, taking time to demorph at the proper times.
Chapter Six
(Jake)
I stayed on that ledge all night, demorphing at times to stay safe. I didn't go back and talk to her again though the need to, to touch her hand, her face; to just sit there and be assured of her life was strong. Tobias came at about five-thirty to relieve me. I flew home; I had to be there when my family began to wake up. As I flew I remembered the fight that Cassie and I had had. She had said that I was cold. Maybe I was, but I had to. The memories were creeping up on me; I could only hold them back for so long, that's what I did. Forget things that I did, the battles, the things I had done. I had to or they would drive me insane, and I couldn't allow that to happen, at least not until it was all over. But everything that I had done was creeping up on me. All the battles, the decisions, the sacrifices. The way that I had used my friends in situations. Rachel with David and Ax in the thing with my father and Tom. I get ill when I remember, when I began to accept who I was and what I had become. That was why I had to be cold, so they didn't bother me, to save myself from myself. I flew into my bedroom window, looked to the door to see if it was closed then demorphed. I was exhausted, mentally, emotionally and physically. I climbed beneath the covers and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. I woke up the next morning at about ten o'clock, not much sleep, but enough. I got dressed and went downstairs. No one was there except for my Grandma. "Hey," I said as I sat down at the table. She glanced at me. "Good sleep?" she asked. "Uh, yeah." I said. "After you got home that is, at about oh, five or six?" she said. "Of course not, where would I have been?" I asked. "Oh nothing," she said. I had to watch out for that lady, she was too observant for my own good. "Where is everybody?" I asked. "Tom's at his cult group, and you're parents are talking to those screwed up cops." She said bluntly. "Oh, am I allowed to go anywhere?" I asked. "I don't see why not." She answered. "Thanks," I said and left for Marco's. He answered the door a few moments after I knocked. "Oh hey, how is she?" he asked, letting me in. "She was fine while I was there." I said tiredly. "This is just unreal." He said shaking his head. I nodded. "I know." I replied. He looked at me for a moment. "What?" I asked. He shook his head. "Someone tried to get Ax last night." He said. "What? In his own form? Are they nuts, what happened?" I demanded. "Someone hid some kind of gas bomb in his scoop, they must have been nearby because it went off just after he fell asleep." Marco said. "Is he okay?" I asked. He nodded. "Yeah, Tobias saw the smoke, he was in a tree nearby." He said. "I saw Tobias this morning, I wonder why he didn't tell me." I said. "I talked to him afterwards, you needed some sleep man, and if we told you about it then, we knew you wouldn't get any." He said. "We have to catch these guys." I said. He nodded. "I know." The phone rang in the background. Marco went to get it. "Hello?" he asked. "What? Are you okay?" he asked. "Yeah, okay. Bye." He said and hung up. He turned around, furious. "They went after my dad!" he yelled. "What?" I asked. "I don't know what the hell is wrong with these people. Someone attacked him at work. He's okay, but he was knocked out and broke his arm." Marco said. "We have to get them, they're going after our families too." I said. Marco stomped his foot, he was majorly pissed. "Okay I have an idea, but we'll have to do it tonight. School tomorrow. And we have to get all our family in the same place. I don't want anything to happen while this goes down." I said. I told him my plan. "Good, so how do we get everyone in one place?" he asked. "Tell them it's some kind of parental school meeting." I said. "You'll think of something. Get them here, it's closer to everything, we don't want to be too isolated." I said. "Ok, got it." He said. "Can I use your phone?" I asked. He nodded. I called up Rachel and then Tobias and Ax (Ax made a phone for his scoop). I told them the plan and told them to be ready at 6 o'clock. I glanced at my watch as I hurried down the street. 5:45. The trap was laid. They obviously wanted to get us, so we give them an easy target, one they couldn't resist. Marco would walk through the park alone like he was going to someone's house. It was already pretty dark, so no one would see anything. They would see that he was alone and try to take him out. But we would be waiting and nab them. It was simple, but hopefully they would take the bait and we could find out who they were from whom we captured. I turned the corner. And bang, a fist slammed into my face. I reeled back. I saw someone in front of me; they were wearing some kind of mask. There were three or so people I saw briefly. Agony split though my midriff as one of them punched me in the stomach. I swung out with a fist and hit one of them. I fought back, but there were three of them and one of me. A reeling blow send me to my knees. My mouth was filled with blood and my nose was in agony. Someone's shoe connected with my ribs and I heard and felt a loud crack. I heard one of the guys say "Tonight's the last night, then it'll all be over." Then something hit me in the side of the head and everything went black. I awoke; my whole body was throbbing. I pulled myself to my knees, ignoring my screaming body. I stumbled to my feet and somehow made it to Marco's. I should have gone to my house, but my mind was fuzz, I also should have demorphed and remorphed to heal, but I was too weak. I stumbled up the steps to his door and knocked weakly. "Just a minute." I heard someone yell. Then footsteps neared the door and it opened. I fell forward as the door opened, which I was using to hold myself up. "Jake!" Someone yelled. I think it was Marco's dad. He helped me into the living room. My parents, Cassie's, and Rachel's mom were all in there. I saw the clock briefly. 6: 30. The plan was ruined, damnit. My friends were there too, looking worried but trying to hide it. "Jake!" my mom cried. She and my father rushed forward. "Jake, what happened?" My dad asked. "Who did this?" Rachel demanded. "You know." I replied through my bloody lips. "That's it, they're all dead!" she cried, ignoring the fact that our parents were here, as well as Jordan and Sara, who were looking at me in horror. My dad was checking my nose and mouth. "I think it's broken," he said. Examining my nose. "You should see my ribs." I laughed. He frowned at me. "This is not funny!" he exclaimed. "No shit." I replied. I pushed him away lightly and sat gingerly in a chair. Rachel, Marco, Ax and Tobias all came towards me. "They said that after tonight it would all be over." I mumbled. "So that means that tonight they'll make they're last move?" Rachel said. "Duh," Marco hissed. "Why didn't they just kill you then?" Tobias asked. "Yeah well they obviously aren't very good at making sure people are dead." Rachel snapped. "What are you talking about?" Cassie's father demanded. "Oh, you mean you still don't know?" An eerily familiar voice asked. "David." Rachel growled. "That's impossible." Marco said. "Oh really? You really should have hidden that little box better you know. After a few friends rescued me from that hell of an island it wasn't much work to find it. And wouldn't you know that one of them was a controller? One that wasn't too happy with the Yeerk Empire it seems, so he helped me. He allowed the box to give the morphing ability to nothlit's; somehow my human DNA was still intact. How convenient." He smirked. "I'm going to kill you." Rachel snarled. "Oh really? Yes well you should have last time." He said. "What the hell is going on!" Marco's father yelled. "Should you tell them? Or shall I?" David asked evilly.
Chapter Seven
(Jake)
"Forget it David, you have nothing to bargain with." I growled. He smirked. "Oh really? Well for one thing, I have this." He said and pulled out a handgun. The adults, and Sara and Jordan all gasped. "Big deal." Rachel snarled. David narrowed his eyes and glared at her. "Oh, yeah I almost forgot. I also have one of my 'friends' staked out at the hospital. Anything happens to me, my friends waiting a safe distance away call him, and little Cassie goes bye-bye, for good." He said, mocking the first words, his voice getting low on the last. "What about my daughter?" Cassie's father yelled. "Shut up." David said calmly. "What is it that you want David?" I said, pushing myself to my feet. He looked at me. "You're looking a little, bloody, Jakey. What's the matter, have a little trouble on the way over?" he asked. "I guess you could say that, some coward had three of his thugs attack me." I said nonchalantly. "Coward? If I remember correctly, I'm the one holding all the cards here Jake." He said. Marco spoke up. "You think so do you? Well we know for a fact that Cassie wont survive the week. Why should we care if you cut her suffering a little short?" He bluffed. Cassie's parent's started, but I gave them a look that told them to sit still and keep their mouths shut. "Yes well, I almost believe that. Not. I know none of you would ever lose hope like that." He said, sneering on the word hope like it was a curse. "It's been awhile since you've seen us though, we've changed." Tobias said. "Yes, you have. And maybe you would let her go, but Jake wouldn't." he said. I glared at him. "She's going to die anyway." I said, using all my strength to act calm. He smiled at me; it was not a nice smile. "Jake, Jake, Jake. Why are you lying to me? I know you, and I know that you wouldn't let me kill any of your friends if you could do anything about it, especially Cassie. Besides, I heard your little talk with her at the hospital. Touching. Really." He stated. "And what do I want? Well it's quite simple. First I want you to tell your loving families here what you really are. Then, well the we'll see." He said. "And what if we don't tell?" Rachel challenged. David shrugged. "They die." He said. "Just tell is Jake." My mom begged. "Yes Jake, Just tell them." David sneered. "Tell them what you are, that you've become killers, murderers who act under the excuse of freedom fighting. Ruining lives without remorse or thoughts of mercy. Tell them." He jeered. "Killing?" Jordan asked fearfully. "Fine if you won't say anything, I will." David said. "Forget it, we'll do it." Marco said, he was thinking the same thing I was, he would lie, tell them things as they weren't. "Shut up, I'll tell them. Let you lose your families as I have lost mine." He said. "Your children here, are trying to save the world. Well, that's what they say. They have the ability to morph, given by the hypocrite alien prince, Elfangor. They've been fighting the yeerks, alien parasites who take over other being's bodies. You should ask Tom about them sometime, I'm sure that would be interesting." He said to my parents. Ax stiffened at the insult to his brother but I gave him a look that said not to make a move. "They claim to be doing it for mankind, for freedom. Hah! Their own selfish reason's more likely. Frozen, merciless killers are what they really are. Marco, the cold ruthless killer, willing to do anything to win, kill anyone. Tobias, not even human anymore, a pathetic loner in the body of a hawk. Ax, an arrogant alien, so caught up in his own self worth to care about anything but ensuring a victory. Then there's Rachel, one of my favorites." He said, giving Rachel a leering up and down look. "A crazy bitch who gets a rush from killing and threatening innocent people, tell them Rachel, tell your little sisters how you threatened to kill my parents if I didn't go along with what all of you said. And of course there's Cassie, a two-faced little witch, I knew it was her idea to trap me in that horrible body. But she's pretty much dead anyway. Jake, the fearless leader, the 'prince' more like a power-mad dictator, everything has to be your way, otherwise you better kiss your life good-bye, isn't that it Jake?" David sneered. "Actually, no that's not it at all." I said lowly. "Why don't we tell about you David? We saved you from the yeerks; you would have been a controller if it weren't for us. And how did you repay us? You tried to kill us, we made you one of us, and you betrayed us." I said. "You saved me because you wanted the blue box!" David yelled. His eyes were bright, he's crazy I thought, trapped on that little island, it's driven him crazy. "We did what was necessary." Marco said coldly. "Oh really? Why don't you tell daddy about mommy, Marco? I'm sure he'd like to know the truth." David said with mock innocence. "What the hell do you want from us David?" Rachel yelled. "Revenge." David said bluntly. "Then why haven't you just killed us?" I asked. "Because, I have a little proposition for you." He said. "Like we would ever make a deal with you!" Tobias exclaimed. "Well, you really have no choice. Either you do, or I kill Cassie, and your families." He said. Chapter Eight
(Jake)
"What exactly is this 'proposition'?" I asked coldly. My body was screaming for me to relax and heal it, but I ignored the pain and concentrated on David. "Simple. You see I've been thinking. Do you still think that tiger could beat the lion?" he said. There was challenge in his voice and something in me rose immediately to meet it. "I don't know David, why don't we see?" I asked, my voice harsh. He smiled mockingly. "Let's go then. The tiger wins," he began. "The tiger wins, and you'll be dead." I said brutally. "Yes well, if the lion wins, you're dead, and I come back tomorrow for the next challenge, and when I've killed all of you, I'll be satisfied." He said. "You sound so sure that you'll win." Rachel said in a deadly tone. "Of course I will, you have nothing against me." David said. "So Jake. Ready to see if the lion really is more powerful than the tiger?" I walked slowly towards him. "What's going on here?" My dad asked angrily. "Nevermind Dad, this is nothing to do with you." I said. "You idiots, you can't fight here." Marco said. "Of course not, Cassie's farm will do fine." David said. "See you there." And he walked out the door, and none of us could do anything to stop him. "What the hell is this about?!" Rachel's mom yelled. "It's personal mom, don't worry about it." Rachel said. "Not worry? That boy threatened to kill us all, then he left with some nonsense about lions and tigers." Aunt Naomi replied. "We'll tell you after I kill him." I said. "Kill him? You cannot be serious." My mom said, shocked. "Of course I'm serious, this is a kill or be killed situation. And what I should have done the first time." I said. "Jake, you better get a ride there, no morphing except into the tiger, you'll need all the energy you have left." Marco said. He understood that this had to happen, we couldn't just shoot him, or gang up on him, it had to be by his rules or our families would suffer. "Dad? Will you give me a ride?" I asked. "I'm not driving you anywhere, you need help, all of you do." My dad said. "Fine, anyone?" I asked, no one spoke. "Marco, I guess it's your turn again." I said. "I'll drive you." My grandma said, walking out from the kitchen. I was confused. "How did you get here?" I asked. "Your friends shuffled us all over here, I guess they forgot about me. I was in the kitchen when that young man came in. I'll drive you." She said. "Do you understand what you're doing?" I asked. "I'm old, not stupid." She snapped, then her face softened. "I understand perfectly, and I know that you'll win. You're a lot like your great-grandfather, did anyone ever tell you that?" she asked. "Let's go." I said. My dad stood up and grabbed my arm. "You're not going anywhere." He said. I looked him in the eye, and in my most commanding, powerful tone, I said. "Let go, I have to do this, maybe in time you'll understand." He let go and I walked out the door with my grandmother, my friends right behind me. We got in the van and drove to Cassie's. Not one word was spoken on the way there, not about what was going to happen, about what had happened, about the cars that had pulled out of the driveway a few moments after ours, and no good lucks or good-byes, that would mean that there was a chance of failure. And I could not fail. We pulled up into the driveway. Standing there in the middle of the twilight dark yard stood a tawny, pacing male lion. I slowly got out of the van and walked toward it. When I was about 20 feet away, I stopped. I was aware of my family and those of my friends, pulling into the yard. I peeled away my outer clothing, dropped it onto the grass. Then I began the morph, ancient, wild power filling my veins with each passing second. When it was completed David and I began to circle each other. I opened my huge, crushing jaws and let out a primal, furious roar. David answered with one of his one, and then he charged. He went in low, aiming for my legs. I turned quickly and jumped on him as he went pass, trying to clamp onto his neck. I missed but managed to tear a gash in his side with my powerfully sharp claws. He caught my back leg with a swipe and tore the flesh, I let out a small growl of pain, but filed the sensation away, nothing mattered. Nothing but destroying my enemy. I took a swipe and he did, he attacked and I counter attacked. It went on for an indeterminable amount of time. I was weakening, and so was he. He jumped and reached out with his powerful forelegs and hit my head, the force of the blow made me dizzy and the impact of his body pushed me back. His claws dug into my chest. I was down. { I guess the lion will always be more powerful than the tiger, Jake. } He said and lowered his head for the kill. A thought filled my head, a thought and a memory, and I flipped him over. { What you will never realize David, is that it was never a question of which was more powerful, it wasn't a test of wills between the tiger and the lion. You didn't have to beat the tiger; you had to beat me. } I said, and with one move, he was gone. I walked away in exhaustion, when I was closer to the others I demorphed. Rachel looked at me proudly, and nodded her head. I hadn't realized how one-sided the battle looked, they had thought I would lose there at the end. "We have to get to the hospital." I said. My parents, and those of my friends, and my two cousins, were standing in absolute shock. "I don't think they're going to be able to drive," Marco said, some of his dry humor back. My dad shook his head. "I'll drive you." He said. We walked to the cars and drove to the hospital. "Come on, quicker." I said impatiently. David's friends could already be there; Cassie was still in danger. We pulled up to the hospital and I practically ran to her room, the others right behind me. I ignored the shocked looks we got at our move through the hospital and my strange attire. I neared her room and saw a man in a doctor's coat sitting calmly at the desk, talking on a cell phone; he glanced at us as we came. Fear and hatred evident in his eyes. "Rachel." I said, pointing towards the man. She nodded and her and Tobias went toward him. Luckily the halls were quiet and almost empty. I entered Cassie's room fearfully, not knowing what to expect. My hands almost shook in relief when I saw her lying there, the monitors beeping steadily. "Is she okay?" Marco demanded, coming up behind me. "Yeah," I said. "As well as she was before." Slowly I walked towards the bed. She was still unconscious. My dad grabbed her chart as the parents came up, slower than we did. He frowned as he read it, though I didn't catch it. I was next to Cassie's bed. My gaze roaming her peaceful face. "It says here that she's being given….that's not right…" he was mumbling under her breathe. He walked towards me. "What?" I asked, glancing at him. "The medicine they're giving her, it's a sedative used to induce comas for certain injuries." He said. "So, that means…" I said, realization dawning. "If I take her off of it, she should come out if it within a few hours." He said, removing a syringe from the automatic I.V. pump. I nodded and momentarily closed my eyes in relief. Then I walked out of the room. "Where did they take him?" I asked Cassie's mom. She soundlessly pointed towards a supply closet. I walked toward it while she and her husband hurried into Cassie's room. I opened the door and walked into the small room. Rachel, Marco, Ax, and Tobias were surrounding the man. "The controller that David talked about. This is him; chances are that he's also a doctor, Cassie's. He's been…" Marco said. I nodded and cut him off. "I know about the induced coma." I said. At his questioning look I replied, "My dad looked at her chart." He nodded. "Ok, well apparently, he isn't any normal yeerk. He's some kind of genius, which is why he was able to fix the cube. He altered it and cured David, and then they returned it to the hiding spot. He was angry because the visser has been exploiting his work and taking the credit. He, his host's nephew and a few of the guy's friends were out on a boat when they heard David yelling from the island. They went to investigate and found him, you basically know the rest. David convinced the others that we were evil, and well him, he's a yeerk, and we're working with an andalite." Marco said. "He's also a complete coward." Marco added, looking at the blubbering controller. The man backed up and reached behind him, he came up with a needle. "What, you think that's going to hurt us?" Rachel laughed. "Of course not, this is for me. I have nothing left, you'll kill me." He said and plunged to needle into his arm and drained the medicine into his stolen body before be could blink. He convulsed and slipped to the ground. We stared in shock. I opened the door and walked out. The others followed and we gently closed the door. I let out a deep sigh. "We won't have to worry about any information on us being found on him, he wouldn't have taken the risk of another controller finding him with unreported information on us." Marco said quietly. I nodded, and walked to Cassie's room. "She should wake up in a few hours." My dad said. "Jake, I want to apologize, for ever thinking that you could have hurt her, I saw the way you looked at her, and I know that your not the kind of person to hurt innocent people, despite what that, boy, may have said." My dad said. I nodded, accepting the apology. Things weren't okay with us, he had betrayed my trust, but someday they would be. "We have to find David's other people, and break this up before someone comes." I said. "Well, all of you." I said to my parents and the others' families. "Go home. Marco and Rachel come with me. Tobias, stay here and keep an eye on Cassie, Ax, watch our families." I ordered. "Jake, how about you stay here man. We can find those guys." Marco said. I hesitated. "Just say here Jake, you're mind would be here the entire time anyway." He said grinning. "Ok fine, but report back in four hours." I said. They nodded. "I'll explain this later." I said to the parents. They slowly walked away and I sat on the chair next to Cassie's bed and waited for her to wake up. About two hours later her eyelashes began to flutter. Her head moved slightly on the pillow. I jumped forward. "Cassie?" I asked. She opened her eyes and blinked drowsily a few times. "Jake?" she asked. "Hey, how are you. I've been pretty worried." I said lightly. She smiled a little. "I know, I heard you." She said. "What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "I remember, hearing your voice. I wanted to talk back, but I couldn't." She said. "I love you too." She said with a weak smile. I grasped her hand tightly and kissed her.
Epilogue
(Jake)
I held Cassie's hand tightly in mine as we walked to her house. It had been a week since she was released from the hospital; we had to have it seem like she healed as anyone else would. We had taken care of David's companions, and talked to our parents, who were shocked, but beginning to accept it. Tom was still a controller, but my parent's were talking about starving the yeerk and sending him away to hiding until this was all over. As for Cassie and I, we were doing fine. We had talked about the fight, something that hadn't been easy for me, but I was surprised at how much her love helped me. "Have I told you how much I love you?" I asked. She smiled her angel's smile at me. "Not in the last hour." She said. "I love you." I said, leaning to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around my neck. "I love you too." She whispered. "So much." I kissed her and wrapped my arms tightly around her back. "Forever." I whispered against her lips, and I could feel her smile…
The End…
(Corny I know ; ) )