Cassie sat on the cold hard stone ground. Her eyes were looking only down. Somedays she would only think of ways that she could kill herself. A way to end this endless pain and horror. But always, she could never bring herself to it. She was scared of death. Any sane person is. She had seen so much death that she knew most of the time it is not quick and painless. So she continued to sit in her small cell, waiting to be reinfested.
Her friends had all been caught. Jake was the first to go. His brother found out about the Animorphs. Tom had infested Jake himself. Actually, he stood right by him the whole way and mocked him.
Next they took Rachel. She was taken down screaming, swearing, threatening, and anything else she could think of. But it had all been pointless. She, like Jake, had been dragged down the pier, unwillingly, with Jake standing on the other end laughing.
Then Cassie had been caught. She struggled, but to no avail. She was taken down the pier and shoved violently to her knees. Then they had pushed her head under. Marco had been caught soon after, followed by Ax. Tobias was never caught, nor seen again.
Cassie's eyes closed in pain as she remembered what she had done with the Yeerk in her head. So much death and pain. Too much. The Yeerk that controlled her was violent. Very violent. If his way was not accepted, someone would not walk away alive. Very impatient also. She shook her head and put her hands over her ears, as if a loud noise were close by. She wanted the memories gone!
She was interrupted as a Hork-Bajir came up to her cell. "Foolish human. I have orders from Visser Three to put this human in with you. Enjoy the last few moments of freedom for three days." He started to laugh. Then the door to the cage was yanked open. Another person was shoved in. Then the door was slammed shut. The Hork-Bajir looked in one last time before striding away. Cassie didn't even look up. She had learned to ignore the stupid, arrogent Hork-Bajir. They had laughed and mocked her so much, she had become calloused to it. She heard the person who'd been thrown in shuffle around a little. She still did not look up. Why should she? It was just another person.
"Cassie?" A slightly gruff voice asked. Cassie's eyes widened. The voice was so familiar....but it couldn't be! She slowly brought her head up. The person came closer. "Cassie, is that you?"
Her hands began to shake. She brought them up to her mouth. A tear started to roll down her cheek. "J-Jake?" She asked, her voice shaky and unsure. She stood up slowly. She saw the familiar shape of someone she thought that she had lost years ago.
He nodded. "It's me." He walked up to her and grabbed her and held her close. "Oh my god, Cassie. I thought I'd never see you again." His voice echoed out the happiness that he felt. He let go and gently put his hands around her face. He tipped her chin so that she was looking at him. "Cassie, if I never told you outright, I just want to say I love you so much. I want you to know." She laid her head on his shoulder.
"Jake, I love you too. I think we both knew it. We were just too scared to say it then." She smiled and began to cry. "I've missed you so much, Jake. I've been so scared..." Before she could go on Jake kissed her softly on the lips. Cassie felt surprised at first, but she quickly kissed back. She pushed back Jake's hair. Then they broke away. They didn't say anything, but nothing needed saying. Everything they had felt was just said in one kiss. Cassie reached out and started tracing around Jake's face with her hands.
"What are you doing?" Jake asked with a smile.
Cassie looked at him. "I'm going to remember what it feels like to touch you. What your face feels like." Jake smiled again.
"Why don't you remember this instead?" He gently started kissing her again. She smiled. Jake always knew how to make her smile. She pulled back a tiny bit. She gently stroked Jake's hair.
They were interrupted by a Hork-Bajir guard who came up to the cell. "It is time for you to go back, stupid human girl." Jake fumed. How dare they call Cassie stupid? The cage was opened and two other Hork-Bajir came in and grabbed Cassie. Jake jumped in front, trying to stop them, but he was shoved aside. Each grabbed an arm and took her out. She struggled, but she knew that she couldn't get away from them.
The cell door was slammed shut and Jake went running to it. "Cassie!" She turned her head.
"Don't worry, Jake. I won't forget!." She was silenced as she was shoved to her knees and her head was forced under the sludge. Then she stood up a couple seconds later, no longer Cassie, but Visser 18. Calmly she walked away.
Jake walked to the back of the small cell and whispered out into the darkness. "I won't forget either, Cassie."
