CHAPTER 1

//run HMODULE sdl_library = ;

Video archives loading.

Video archives loaded. Interview #1, subject: "Lyall --" [censored for security reasons].

Where to start? I'm Lyall, but seeing as the video header says that anyway, I guess you knew. I'd tell you my last name, but Sorn insists that I keep my identity secret, in case this is found by a host. Personally, I don't think it matters much, seeing as if this has been found, then we're almost certainly dead anyway, and even if we're not, we're about to divulge most of our secrets, but hey. Anything to keep Sorn happy. Still, I'll assume you are free-willed.

So.

We decided the best way to do this was to use a timed email. We picked a small internet site, that we visited using a proxy. It's an advice site for teenagers, run by teenagers and recommended by our local council. Sorn and Fahd made a basic program which, if we don't reset it once per month, counts down over forty days. If it reaches the end of that countdown, it will post a message on this advice board, via the proxy, with the GPS locations of where we buried the video archive discs, and the Escafil device. Seeing as you've found this, I'll assume you are a teenager, probably in your mid teens, or in other words, exactly the sort of person we'd want to find the Escafil device. There's many reasons why we decided you were the best sort of person.

To some part, it's because we started this when we were 16. We understand what it will be like for you, and we feel the advice these video archives have will apply to you more than anyone else. Another reason would be that they don't take many hosts under the age of twenty or so – they're not particularly useful, and are only assigned to junior Yeerk. This means that you are unlikely to be a host. The third reason is because we do not believe an adult is capable anyway. They'd attempt to go to the police, or contact the government, which is exactly the wrong move. At 16, you have the mindset of youth and determination, with none of the humdrum limitations of adults.

I mentioned the word "Yeerk" back there. I should probably explain. The Yeerk are

Subject: "Sornevan-Errendir-Barhara" interrupts transmission at this point.

I judge that this explanation will be of optimal assistance if you commence from point in time at which you became involved, as opposed to commencing in the centre of the story, Lyall.

Subject: "Lyall --" recommences.

I suppose Sorn is right. I guess I'm throwing you in at the deep end a little here, huh? I owe it to you to set things out a little better. I'll try to start at the start.

I'm not going to tell you exactly where we live. Seeing as we're teenagers and international travel is currently not really an option, then you've probably guessed that yes, we do live here in Britain, where you found the disc. Aside from that, we could live anywhere. Could be London, could be Edinburgh, could be Cardiff.

Who knows, could be in the same town as you.

Anyway, the following stories will tell you how it all happened, and hopefully give some useful advice – i.e., don't do whatever it was that got us killed.

Here we go.

My life was fairly standard, you know? I was an average kinda guy. Went to the local school, messed around with my friends whenever I wasn't in school. My ambition was to make it big in football, join the county squad. I would have, too. I was centre wing-back on the school team, which was an important position – we played 3-5-2, you see, so I had to set up our striker all the time.

Sorry, I got distracted a little there. It is... it was my dream, you know? Certainly, it's better than my current ambition of still being alive tomorrow.

It was an ordinary Saturday afternoon. Bright and sunny, not a cloud in the sky. I was down at the football field, burning time. Basically just making random shots at the goal, and practising keep ups, not a lot. I think I'd got to about four or five when Jack turned up.

Jack was my best mate. He was the striker I mentioned earlier. Together, we were amazing. He's a little taller than I am, blond hair, blue eyes. The girls go crazy for him. We basically ruled the school, more or less. I guess I'd better be honest; we weren't the nicest to everyone. Jack and I and the rest of the football team knew we were the best. We were the cool kids, the elite. If you weren't one of us, you were a nobody, pretty much, and we were probably assholes. It seemed so fun at the time... I don't think I really ever thought about what other people might think until after it happened.

"Haha, my main man!" Jack shouted cheerily. "How's it goin'?"

"'s all good. You?" I replied.

"Great. You heard the news about Lily?" Jack winked.

Lily (well, her full name is Lilith but she hates it) is... wow. She's this girl in our year, and is an easy ten out of ten. Long, blonde hair, green eyes, figure like a goddess. I mean, damn, that girl is fine. I have such a massive crush on her, and Jack never stopped teasing me about it back then.

"Nope." I tried to act casual, like I didn't care too much. Really, I knew that Lily was throwing a massive party round her place, and was dead nervous about it, but I was going to pretend I didn't know anything about it.

"Throwing a party. Four o'clock today. Could be your big chance." Jack grinned at this. "Gonna sweep her off her feet?"

"Very funny, Jack." I said, somewhat sourly.

"Haha, you'll do fine. Come on, if we start walking to her place, we can arrive fashionably late." He smoothed his hair back and made a mock pose. "You'll need to make a good impression."

I smiled at him. He was just totally irrepressible. "Come on, then."

Lily's house isn't far out of town, about a half an hour an walk away. It goes through a big farming area. It was summertime, so the fields were filled with corn, and all the while the sun was still beating down, from a sky was so vividly blue it was almost unreal. Hah, it didn't feel like Britain at all. Seems to me most days in Britain all you get is rain. If you'd seen us, you could have mistaken it for some place like France. At the start of the walk, it was kinda pleasant, but twenty minutes in and we were unbelievably hot and sweaty, drudging along a dusty gravel track through the hedgerows, surrounded by the golden fields.

We had just reached the top of a particularly steep hill, when suddenly, Jack stopped. "Well, look who we have here, Lyall. If it ain't Wheels McGee."

I should probably explain here. Lilith has a cousin, right. His name is Sean. When he was born, he suffered from spina bifida, which is a birth defect which stops some of the spinal bones fusing properly. He was born paraplegic, and can't control his legs. Obviously, this meant he used a wheelchair to get around.

I know, I was a bastard. Guess I still am. But Jack and I never really thought about what he must feel like, you know? He was in a wheelchair, and he was kinda quiet and shy, so we made fun of him. Called him names, Wheels McGee being our favourite. Bullied him pretty badly, sometimes.

Anyway, where he lives, the local school doesn't have disability access or anything, so his parents sent him to live with Lilith, so that he could go to our school, which does.

Jack smirked. "So, Wheels, why ain't you at the party?"

Sean was just looking up at the sky, whilst moving the wheels along. Dunno how he could, it was too bright for me to look up.

"I guess I'm not a party guy." He replied calmly.

"What you talking about, man? All the girls would want to get with you. I mean seriously, your ride is beast."

I laughed at that, a little cruelly. Jack pressed on.

"Tell you what, why don't we take you back to that there party? You could have yourself a real good time!" Quickly, he jumped behind Sean and grabbed the handles of the wheelchair, and began to wheel Sean around, heading backwards along the road to the party, going faster and faster.

"Stop it." Sean quietly said, gripping the arms of his wheelchair tightly. I was laughing so hard at this stage, and so was Jack, Sean looked like some sort of gangly insect in the speeding wheelchair, all limbs and jerky movement.

"Why, what you going to do about it?" I mocked.

"Leave him alone!" A female voice. It had come from behind us. I looked round to see Mai and Fahd. Fahd used to be a friend of mine, a while back. He's black and quite tall. He shaves his head so that there's just the tiniest bit of hair left, and wears a pair of rectangular half-rim glasses, which cover his brown, almost black, eyes. He is smart. Like, really smart. We used to be really good friends before secondary school, but when we moved into secondary school and I met Jack, we kinda drifted apart.

The girl who'd spoken was Mai. She's British by birth, but her mother is Japanese, so she has an interesting look. She wears her black hair quite short and cropped, and never really goes in for make-up and stuff like all the other girls do. I guess she's kinda cute, but I pity the guy who says that to her, because she's intensely feisty and excels in deadpan sarcasm. I didn't really know her too well back then, just that she was one of the unpopular kids, and that Fahd spent most of his time hanging out with her these days. As far as I could work out, they weren't a couple, just good friends.

"Woah. See, Lyall? Didn't I tell you Sean could pull girls like crazy?" grinned Jack. "Well, little lady, what you going to do about it?"

I was slightly uneasy at this point. Now Fahd had turned up, Sean didn't seem so funny any more. I felt a bit ashamed of myself, and was secretly wish Jack would stop, that the joke was over.

"Wow, casual sexism and taunting somebody about their disability. You're such a cool guy, Jack. Really, how do you do it?" Mai wielded each word like a honed blade, cutting Jack short.

Jack stopped smiling. He let go of the wheelchair, and walked over to Mai, looming over her. "I really wouldn't do that."

I tried to cool things down a bit. "Come off it, Jack, just calm down a bit. It's way too hot to think straight, let's just get to Lily's place and get ourselves a drink." I looked to Fahd for support.

Jack totally ignored me, and kept staring Mai straight in the eyes. She didn't flinch. "Stupid bitch." He muttered.

There was a blur of motion that I barely caught, and Jack was sprawled onto the ground. Sean had quickly wheeled forward and struck Jack firmly across the bridge of the nose. Jack swore loudly, and his nose began to bleed.

"Don't ever call her that again." Sean said.

Jack looked at him, then suddenly leapt to his feet and smashed Sean back, and then with all his might pushed the wheelchair back down the hill. It tipped over, and the wheelchair went rolling down the hill hard into the cornfields, followed by Sean. Jack spat after him, then ran off down the road in the direction of Lilith's house.

Mai and Fahd both ran at once down the hill to where Sean had fallen. I was torn. Did I go after Jack, or check if Sean was alright? I looked briefly at the disappearing figure of Jack, then dashed down the hill towards Sean.

Fahd got there first, and quickly stooped down to check how Sean was. "How are you, Sean? You feel okay?"

Sean gritted his teeth a little, then said shakily "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You absolutely sure about that?" said Fahd. "Don't try to be manly or anything about it, just tell it straight."

"Really, I'm fine. Just a few bruises."

I got there at about the same time as Mai. She looked at me disappointedly. "You two are assholes. Total, utter arseholes."

There's not a lot you can say to that.

"Guys, where'd my wheelchair go?" Sean asked.

"It won't be hard to find." I said. "It's flattened all the corn, look. I'll go find it." I felt this urge to help, to redeem myself a little, I guess. I knelt down and picked Sean up, hoisting him over my back. He was heavy, but I'm fairly strong, so it wasn't too much trouble. I headed off in the direction of the flattened crops left in the wake of the wheelchair, Mai and Fahd following.

A few metres later, and we stopped. The wheelchair was just in front of us, but that wasn't the odd thing. It was strange – the pressure suddenly dropped like a stone. My ears suddenly popped, like they would on a plane trip. All around us, the corn began to rustle frantically, shaking and twisting, although there was no wind at all. We all saw it almost the same time. It was a huge haze-shape in the air – it looked the same as the surrounding sky, only rippling and contorting. It was travelling much faster than any kind of airplane, but then suddenly it slowed down, before halting in the air, not more than fifty metres away from us, the corn underneath where it hovered totally flattened by some strange force.

It was Fahd who broke the silence.

"It's a spaceship."