Author's Note: This Fanfic is dedicated to the Animorphs fan community. I love you all.
Rachel
The Wallflowers- One Headlight
My name is Rachel Berenson, and I was nervous.
It's an unusual feeling for me.
Scared? Sure, I do scared all the time.
In my line of work, if you're not scared, you're stupid. And stupid gets you dead, real quick.
But tonight I was nervous.
We'd been on so many missions in the last year, my friends and I. Too many close calls, too much blood and death and screaming terror. It had been too much, even for me.
Everyone thinks I'm just this gung-ho adrenaline junkie. And I guess I am. But I think sometimes they think I don't get scared.
That's okay. I think that in a lot of ways, that's what they need from me. No Fear Rachel. Let's Do It Rachel. Kick Yeerk Butt and Laugh About It Rachel.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little proud of that.
But tonight, I was nervous.
It had taken a lot of planning, a lot of cajoling Jake. And in the end, I had to go to Marco and ask for his help.
Ugh. I'd be hearing about that forever…
It was all worth it though, because tonight, the Animorphs were going to Party!
Smashing Pumpkins- Tonight, Tonight
Rachel
There was a warm breeze blowing in from the west, gently rustling the leaves in the row of oak trees that lined the street we were walking down. It still carried the faintest whiff of the ocean, bringing a small smile to my lips.
"You nervous?" I asked as I gently squeezed Tobias' hand.
He turned his head to face me and blinked a few times, squinting in the dim yellow light from the street lamps. After a moment, he remembered to make his face smile.
"House full of people partying? Nah, I'm good."
I nodded and squeezed his hand again, this time feeling him give a reassuring squeeze back.
"I just hope they've got some juicy mice in the fridge…"
I looked over at his expressionless face and laughed. Man, he could really pull off that deadpan thing when he wanted to.
"Oh, Mike's folks are loaded. I'm sure they'll have fresh rabbits." I said blandly.
That got a quiet chuckle.
I felt my heart flutter as we passed the dark rows of suburban houses. This would actually be our first "normal" date. Our first date as just a boy and a girl.
We spent time with each other often, flying around or hanging out in my room doing homework. We had even been to the school dance a few months ago, though that hadn't exactly ended well.
I knew Tobias was still upset about that. He thought I had tried to trick him into getting trapped in his human morph.
I hadn't. I swear, I wouldn't do that to him. But I could understand why he might think it.
I had been getting very worried about Tobias lately. At first, I'd been worried that he wasn't handling being a hawk well. Although, really, who would?
But lately, I'd been worried that maybe he was starting to handle it a little too well, you know what I mean?
I couldn't let him forget that he was a boy. That he was Tobias the boy.
"I uh, think this is the place." He said unnecessarily. We'd heard the music thumping from two blocks away, and there were about a dozen people hanging out on the front lawn of the two story brick house, in various states of inebriation.
I looked at Tobias and flashed a reassuring grin. He stared back at me, uncertain.
"Just stick with me, it'll be fine."
Smash Mouth- All Star
MarcoMusic? Bumpin'. Hotties? In abundance. Adults? Not a one. Drinks? Well, it'd be impolite to decline!
"You see, Ax-man," I waved around at the living room full of laughing, dancing people, being careful not to spill anything from the red plastic cup in my hand, "this is what we like to call a party."
"Par-tee. Parrr Teeee. Tee. Tee. Puh. Ar. Tee."
Ax rolled the sounds around in his mouth, playing with them.
Ax in his human morph is a weirdly pretty mash-up of all of us, the Animorphs. In his usual andalite form he doesn't have a mouth. So when he gets the chance to use one to speak, he kind of goes a little weird with it. And don't even think about letting this guy near food. He's like an unstoppable force when he sees a cinnamon bun.
I had to remember to try and keep him out of the kitchen.
But I had more important things to do than play chaperone to a wayward Andalite teen. I had a responsibility. I was duty-bound.
Tonight, my job was to have a good time.
Those had been Jake's orders, delivered in the same tone he'd used to direct us into battle, "I want everyone to have a good time tonight."
You got it, boss!
I took a long drink from my cup and tried not to make a face.
"Look, just watch and learn Ax-man." I handed him my cup and worked my way out into the room, swaying to the beat and smiling at any girl that caught my eye.
The DJ was spinning tunes, the ladies were shaking what their mommas gave em, and I was feeling it big time! After a few songs, I'd even managed to start dancing with a pretty red headed girl. I'm sure I even saw her smile.
And she kept glancing around, probably making sure everyone saw her dancing with this suave piece of man she was getting down with.
I'd just failed to get her number when I spotted Rachel and Tobias coming in the front door.
Hard to miss those two. Tobias looked like he wanted to flap his arms and fly right out of the party, while Rachel stood there like she owned the place.
I swear, if some butler had scurried up and offered to take her coat, she wouldn't have batted a perfectly styled eyelash.
"Whoa!" I said as I danced my way over to them with a grin.
"What do we have here? Is it Rachel and Tobias, or Blackbeard and his pet parrot?"
Tobias just stared at me blankly, while Rachel shot me a look of disgust.
Whatever, she knew it was funny.
I reached over and punched Tobias lightly on the shoulder.
"Dude, ditch the wall-eye look. People are going to think you're on drugs or something."
Tobias looked around the room at the wild party unfolding around us.
"I'm not sure anyone would notice in this place." He remarked, dryly.
"Are the others here?" Rachel asked.
"Yeah, Jake and Cassie are on the back porch being boring. I'm keeping an eye on Ax," I said, glancing over my shoulder at the Ax-less living room with a sinking feeling. "Uhh...I'll catch up with you guys later."
Leaving Tobias and Rachel at the door, I worked my way through the living room and back into the kitchen with a sinking feeling in my stomach. Steeling myself, I walked into the large, modern kitchen.
There was a beer pong game set up on the kitchen table, and two college guys were facing off against a disturbingly attractive guy and a short, dark haired girl with a flannel shirt tied around her waist.
As I watched, a ping pong ball splashed into a red cup in front of Ax, and the girl poked him with her elbow.
"Okay," she said patiently "now you have to drink that, then we get to shoot."
With a firm nod, Ax grabbed the cup and upended it into his open mouth. The girl reached up and pulled the ball out of his mouth right before he swallowed. Ax smacked his lips loudly.
"Ah! That is most refreshing. Shing. And so many flavors! Ayyyy. Vors!"
The crowd around the table apparently thought this was hilarious, and erupted in peals of laughter.
I covered my eyes and groaned. "Aw man…"
"Okay, now you shoot."
The girl handed Ax the ping pong ball he had just almost choked on.
"I see. So the objective is to bounce the ball into one of their cups?" Ax asked.
"Exactly," the girl said.
"And then they drink the delicious flavors?" More laughter.
"Yeah man, then they drink the delicious flavors."
"Then they are fortunate indeed!" Ax yelled jovially, and expertly bounced the ball squarely into one of the other team's cups without looking. The kitchen erupted into cheers.
I worked my way across the kitchen. I had to get Ax and stop this from going any further. If Ax got drunk, who knew what would happen? Would he start morphing uncontrollably? Would he reveal information about the Animorphs? What if some of these kids were Controllers? We couldn't take any risks. I had to get control of the situation, get Ax out of he-
Wait. Hold up.
Marco.
Tonight. Tonight. Your orders are to have a good time.
None of these people knew us. We were just some of Mike's sister's friend's friends. None of these kids were controllers. Yeerks wouldn't be wasting their time getting plastered at some college kid's house party.
To my surprise, the rationalizations actually worked and I felt myself start to relax out of mission-mode.
I know what's at stake, but I'm only 16, I can't be a soldier all the time. I'm not Jake.
Besides, I had orders.
I grabbed a full cup from the line next to the steel keg sweating on the counter and took a big sip, trying not to make a face.
"Yeah! Go, Ax Man!" I shouted.
Third Eye Blind - How's it gonna be
Cassie
I could hear the bullfrogs croaking by the pond in the backyard. I leaned against the wooden railing on the back porch and looked over at Jake, watching as the warm breeze ruffled his brown hair.
I wished that they would turn down the music. It's not that the songs were bad. Actually, I could feel myself starting to sway to the beat. It's just that I was trying to listen to the frogs.
Jake glanced over at me and flashed his small, sad smile.
"Enjoying the party?"
I could see the weight of responsibility on his face, even here. Lately, all his smiles had been tinged with sadness.
I edged down the railing till our shoulders touched.
"I'm glad we came," I said. "I think we all need it."
Jake was quiet for a moment, staring out into the darkness. Shadows hid half his face,and I couldn't read his expression. After a while, he nodded slowly.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "We can't be soldiers all the time."
I leaned a little harder on his arm, and rested my head on his shoulder. He gently laid his head against mine and we stood silently for a while, me staring out at the fireflies in the grassy lawn and Jake staring up at the glittering stars above.
"I don't think I want to be a vet when I grow up," I said suddenly.
Jake hesitated a moment, thrown off by the statement.
"Wait, really?" He asked.
I turned around and leaned back against the railing, staring into the brightly lit patio doors at the loud party going on inside. All those people moving, dancing, talking. All those lives and stories interacting in that one little place in space and time.
I smiled, surprised to feel my eyes welling. "Yeah," I said.
"I want to do something with people."
"Meet them," I muttered, suddenly unsure, "help them."
Jake turned around with a laugh and leaned against the railing next to me, watching the people inside with a thoughtful expression.
"Cassie, you DO help people. I mean, look at all of them in there. Every time we go on a mission, we are protecting them."
I fought the urge to roll my eyes and settled for a shrug instead.
"That's not what I mean. It's not-" I hesitated. "The things we have to do…"
Jake looked unsure, but supportive.
"What I mean is, I'd like to have something where I can do good, to do good." I turned to look at him, willing him to understand.
He nodded and put his arm around my waist. We leaned against each other and turned to look back in at the party.
"So," he said with a smirk, "you gonna be some kind of a "Life Coach" or something?"
"Oh my god…" I giggled, imagining myself cheering on some bored housewife or overworked ad exec. "Definitely not!"
"I don't know," I said as my laughter subsided. "I was thinking maybe the Peace Corps or something. Y'know, see the world."
"Ahh," Jake said, sagely. "Adventure."
We both laughed at that. Our lives had been too much adventure lately. That's why we had let Rachel talk us into coming to this party.
And now here we were, sitting out on the back porch in the dark being boring while all this… this living was going on right in front of us. Rachel was right. It wasn't just that we needed a break. We needed to live while we had the chance. Win or lose, I knew we'd never be the same after the war. We would pay a heavy price for the fate of the world.
So tonight, we would steal back a few hours of normal kid stuff from the Yeerks.
"Cassie."
"Yes?"
"Do you want to dance with me?"
I smiled up at him and took his hand, giving it a small squeeze.
"Why Mr. Berenson, I thought you'd never ask…"
Cake- The Distance
Marco
"AX! AX! AX! AX!"
The kitchen rang out to the cheers of the crowd. I was cheering too.
One cup a piece. Last shot.
The college guy leaned against the table, squinting at Ax's cup as a bead of sweat rolled down his face.
The crowd hushed as he slowly raised his shaking hand.
He let out a long slow breath...and threw.
Bounce!
The ball catching on the rim of Ax's last cup!
Teeters…falls.
It's out!
A quick cheer erupts, hushed just as quickly as Ax steps to the table.
Suddenly, Ax hesitated.
He looked down at the cup in front of him with a pensive expression, and glanced at his partner.
"But Kara, If I succeed in propelling the sphere into their vessel, will I still get to drink my delicious beverage? Age?"
The girl laughed and slugged Ax in the shoulder, nearly sending him sprawling into the crowd.
"Listen dude, if you sink this one the drinks are on me!"
Ax stumbled back to the table with a concerned look on his face.
"On you?"
I rolled my eyes and cupped my hands in front of my mouth to be heard over the crowd.
"Ax! Just shoot it!"
Ax looked at me across the room and nodded unsteadily, gripping the counter to steady himself. He turned back to the table and, without hesitation, bounced the ball off the table and neatly into the center of the other guy's last cup.
The crowd exploded into chants of "AX-MAN! AX-MAN!"
Seriously, I thought they were about to hoist the kid on their shoulders and do a lap.
I was kind of surprised to find that I was cheering as loud as anyone. I'm not exactly Mr. Feelings, but even I had noticed that Ax had been getting pretty distant lately. It's got to be lonely, being so far from anyone else like you. I was glad to see Ax getting cheered on by a bunch of humans for something totally unrelated to the war.
My eye caught the clock on the microwave through the cloud and my joy dampened a little. Ten minutes left on Ax's morph. I needed to get him to the bathroom so he could demorph.
I worked my way through the crowd, pushing past the happy, yelling people towards my friend. I saw the girl scribble something on a piece of paper and tuck it into Ax's pocket with a wink.
I grabbed him by the elbow. "Hey Ax, you probably gotta go to the bathroom, huh?"
Ax turned and looked at me with a bleary expression.
"Mmmmmarco!" He exclaimed and threw his arms around me awkwardly. "My human friend!"
Tobias
Third Eye Blind - I Want You
Mike's house was a nice 2 story brick house out in the suburbs. It was clear that he was popular, the place was packed.
Mostly it was college kids, but Rachel's friend Emily was there with a few of her friends.
The living room was full of people dancing, laughing, talking, smoking, living normal lives like normal kids. I tried to relax and join them.
I knew Rachel wanted to have a normal date, and I was trying hard not to let my disquiet show.
Even in my human morph, the hawk was with me. The living room was huge, especially compared to anywhere I had been raised, but it was still an enclosed place, packed with loud people bumping into each other.
"Hey…I'm here." Rachel looked at me and smiled gently, pulling me out onto the dance floor and sliding her arms around my waist.
I returned her smile and pulled her close as we swayed to the music the DJ was spinning. She laid her head on my shoulder and my heart jumped. The smell of her hair filled my nose and I closed my eyes, letting myself feel the moment. I concentrated on the feeling of my arms around her, her body pressing against mine, her hair tickling my chin as we rocked back and forth.
For a moment, everyone else in the room faded away, the hawk faded away, and my whole world shrunk down to just the two of us, holding each other and letting the music wash over us.
I tried to soak up every sensation. I care very much for Rachel, and I know she feels the same about me, but we don't exactly get a lot of chances to hold each other. Flying with Rachel is great, but I decided right then that dancing with her was a thousand times better.
Ax-
Reel Big Fish- I Think I'll Have Myself a Beer
"AX MAN! AX MAN! AX MAN!"
The humans surrounded me, cheering and shouting. They were crowded around me so closely that, even though I was feeling strangely dizzy, I wasn't worried about falling over. Actually, I wasn't feeling worried about anything. I was feeling...warm. I was feeling loved. I was feeling AMAZING! My mouth was tingling with the delicious flavors of the beverages I had won during the cup-ball game, and my human morph's stomach had a strange warm sensation. Although, I was having some difficulty focusing my eyes. And with only one pair of eyes, this was proving somewhat problematic.
Suddenly I felt a hand grip my human waist. My game partner, Kara leaned over, pressing her body against mine and staring up into my eyes with a grin. I saw her tuck a small square of folded paper into the pocket of my artificial skin. She winked at me, which is when a human blinks only one eye.
"See you later, Ax man." She said, shouting in my ear to be heard over the cheering crowd.
She released me and disappeared into the crowd.
Suddenly someone else grabbed my elbow. "Hey Ax, you probably gotta go to the bathroom, huh?"
It was my dear friend and fellow Animorph Marco. I felt overcome with camaraderie. I awkwardly threw my human arms around his shoulders and leaned against him, feeling unsteady.
"Mmmmmmarco! My human friend!"
Marco helpfully steered me out of the kitchen and towards the bathroom downstairs. As we passed through the living room I saw Rachel and Tobias holding each other and dancing to the terrible Earth music that was playing at an unconscionable volume. Although, to tell the truth, ever since I had finished the simple child's exercise humans call "beer pong", I had started to feel that perhaps Earth music wasn't all that bad.
"Rachel and Tobias! Ass! Ass! Byeass!" My silly human leg gave out and I slipped off Marco and thumped up against a couch. "It is I, the Ax man!" For some reason I decided to try a maneuver that humans call a "bow." I bent my body in half at the waist, and a moment later Marco lifted me off of the floor.
The crowd of dancing humans laughed, and some cheered "Ax man!" But Rachel and Tobias did not appear to share their amusement. I shuffled out of Marco's grasp and tattered up to the pair. For some reason my human form seemed sluggish and even more unstable than usual. I leaned on Tobias' shoulder and shouted in his ear.
"Tobias my shorm! You are my *hic*" I paused, confused about this new sensation.
"Yyyyyou. Ew. Are my favorite nephew. Few. Ewwwwwuh." I hugged him tightly and my eyes started emitting liquid. "M'fvrt."
Rachel was glaring at me. I do not think she liked the music either.
At that moment Marco grabbed my elbow and pulled me off of Tobias.
"Okay amigo, let's head to the bathroom, yeah?"
I nodded, which nearly caused me to fall again.
"Yes, that is good idea."
As he dragged me away through the house I saw two Rachels pulling two Tobias' through the crowd toward the stairs leading to the upper floor.
A moment later we were in the bathroom and Marco locked the door.
"Marco." I said. "I...feel unwell. Ell. Hell. I think I have been poiso-"
Suddenly my stomach muscles clenched, I doubled over and hot liquid began to drool out of my mouth. The room was spinning terribly.
Marco grabbed my shoulders and swung me over until I was facing down into the toilet, and I watched in amazement and disgust as my winnings from the beer pong game erupted from my mouth and splashed into the bowl.
These flavors were not delicious.
Jake
Mazzy Star- Fade Into You
I followed Cassie into the house and out into the living room. The place was packed with people partying and having a good time. I didn't see anyone else from the team. I made a mental note to check on everyone as soon as we finished dancing.
Cassie slid her arms around my waist as the DJ put on a slow song. I put my arms around her shoulders and smiled at her.
"I thought you hated dancing," she said.
I grinned at her. "Hey, at least it's not square dancing."
"Amen to that!"
I chuckled a little and tried to concentrate on swaying to the beat and not stepping on her toes.
I scanned the crowd again, looking for Marco or Rachel or anyone. I was starting to get a little nervous. Everyone there seemed like just a normal kid, but that's the thing about the Yeerks; they can be anyone, pass as anyone.
My brother Tom had been a controller for months before I found out. Marco's mother had been a Visser for years before she had "died." If a controller in the crowd had heard something, or seen something… Where was Ax?
"Hey."
I jumped a little and looked down at Cassie, startled out of my thoughts.
She reached up and cupped my face in her hands, staring up at me with a calm expression and that small, gentle smile of hers.
"Come back to me, Jake. Everything's fine. We're here to have a good time, remember? General's orders."
I laughed and slid my hands down to her waist.
"I'm not a general. I'm just a big galumphing goober that can't dance."
She laughed, and I fell a little more in love with her.
"Just follow my lead."
I sighed as she laid her head on my chest and closed her eyes.
"Always," I whispered.
My eyes kept scanning the crowd.
Tobias
Goo Goo Dolls- Iris
Rachel gripped my hand and led me up the staircase.
"Let's go somewhere quiet. And somewhere Ax wont puke on you."
We got to the second floor and found our way into an empty guest room. Rachel closed the door and I turned on the small lamp next to the bed.
"Thanks. It was getting a little crowded down there."
Rachel nodded and checked her watch. I suddenly noticed that it was the same cheap casio that we had used to track our morphing time during our mission with the Yeerk supply ship in the mountains. She must have bought a strap for it. Strange, I thought. Rachel could have a nicer watch, her mom had money.
"You should probably demorph," she hesitated and then continued in a hopeful tone, "and remorph? You're getting close to your limit."
She reached over and locked the door.
"Yeah. Yeah of course. I should." I cleared my throat and laughed a little for some reason. I was suddenly feeling very awkward. "Uh yeah, I'll… do that...I guess."
Rachel turned away as I stripped off the clothes she had bought for me and laid them on the bed.
I concentrated on the familiar form of the hawk and felt the strange falling sensation as my body shrank. I could see by the dim light of the desk lamp as the floorboards rushed up at me. Felt the strange prickling sensation of feathers sprouting from my skin. Felt the killing beak and the rending talons growing from my face and my feet.
A moment later and I was done. I felt the hawk mind rise within my own. The hawk was uncomfortable too. It didn't like being in this small space with this large animal. Immediately, I noticed that the window of the room had been left open. The drapes rippled slowly in the gentle breeze. I could smell the fresh air. I could even hear something scurrying around in the branches of the large oak tree just outside the window. The hawk focused on the sound. A squirrel? A mouse, maybe? I started to spread my wings.
Rachel cleared her throat.
Almost done, sorry.
I fixed the image of my human form in my mind and a few moments later I was back in the body I was born in. half deaf and blind, defenseless, and nearly naked in a room just a few feet away from the most beautiful girl I'd ever met. I felt the heat rising in my cheeks and my heart thumping in my chest nearly as quickly as my bird heart had been.
I shuffled quickly over to the bed and grabbed my clothes, struggling to get them back on.
I sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Okay, I'm uh, decent. Heh."
Rachel laughed quietly and slid onto the bed next to me shaking her head.
"It's okay Tobias, I understand. I liked dancing with you, but I...I know you probably weren't very comfortable around all those people."
I nodded and an awkward silence stretched out between us. After a moment I scooted up and sat next to her on the bed, looking around the room and trying to think of something to say. My heart was fluttering in my chest and my stomach was starting to feel kind of queasy.
"Thanks for-"
"I'm really glad you-"
We both laughed awkwardly as we stumbled over each other's words.
"Sorry Rachel, go on."
"...I wanted to say thanks for agreeing to come. I know…"
She was staring intently at her hands, pretending to pick away at some imaginary blemish.
"I know things are messed up. But I really wanted to be here with you tonight."
I took a deep, slow breath to stop my hand from trembling and slowly slid my arm around her shoulders. I felt her lean her weight on to me. She turned and stared into my eyes with a strange scared and hopeful expression. Her face was so close to mine. I could feel one of her hairs brushing my eyebrow.
"I don't want to be anywhere else," I whispered.
Rachel reached past me and turned off the lamp.
Her lips found mine in the darkness, and all my thoughts dissolved.
Ax
Champion Jack Dupree- Can't kick the habit
According to Andalite scientists, the morphing process cleanses the body of all poisons or toxins during the morph. They are isolated into micro-cryo-crystalline structures and expelled into Z-space.
But as I remorphed into my human form once again in the cramped bathroom with Marco, I resolved to inform those scientists that they were surely mistaken.
My head was pounding with pain. My single pair of human eyes felt dry and grainy as the Mercot desert. And my mouth tasted like I had just hereth illint a Taxxon.
I leaned against the sink and tried not to fall down.
"You okay there buddy?" Marco asked.
I took a deep, slow breath through my nose.
"Marco."
"Yes?"
"What the fithk is wrong with humans? You do this to yourselves for FUN?"
Marco laughed and patted me on my back. My knees wobbled and nearly buckled.
"Yep. Welcome to Earth, champ. The Yeerks don't know what they've stepped in here."
I started to nod and felt my stomach rumble dangerously. Marco leaned over and grabbed a small glass that was sitting next to the counter. He rinsed it out and filled it from the faucet, pressing it into my hands.
"Here, drink this. You'll feel better."
I glared suspiciously at the glass of liquid.
"It's just water, dude. C'mon man, down the hatch."
I looked up at him questioningly.
Marco rolled his eyes. "Just drink it, Ax. It's just water, I promise."
I gave the glass and appraising sniff and, satisfied that this was indeed only water, drank the entire glass.
I set it back down on the counter and slowly straightened up, wobbling slightly. After a moment, I did indeed feel slightly better, but only slightly.
"I do not think I wish to play beer pong again."
"First time's the charm, eh?"
I groaned and held my head. "Sure."
Marco reached over and squeezed my shoulder.
"You're alright man, you did great. Let's get you out back and into some fresh air, huh?"
That sounded amazing, the bathroom reeked with the aftermath of my beer pong victory.
Marco led the way out of the bathroom and down the hall. The music was still pounding in the living room, seemingly even louder than I had remembered it. We passed through the kitchen again and I shuddered when I saw that a new game had been set up and more humans were crowded around the table, bouncing white plastic spheres into red plastic cups. I shook my head in disbelief as we reached the back door and stepped out onto the empty porch.
I shuffled over to the railing and leaned against it, taking in deep lungfuls of the warm, sweet air. I closed my eyes to fend off the growing headache, and had a sudden, irrational pang of fear that somehow, some way, my parents would find out about this.
Marco leaned against the railing beside me and let out a long sigh.
I opened my eyes and was shocked to see him holding a red plastic cup.
Marco saw my expression and laughed, holding up the cup.
"Just water, Ax." He took a long drink and winked at me, putting a finger to his lips in an expression humans use to indicate that someone should be quiet. Quiet sounded like a very good idea to me.
"Well," he said after a moment, "did you have fun?"
I barked a laugh but then hesitated.
"I...well...actually, yes. I guess."
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the scrap of paper that Kara had slipped into it. I examined it in the dim light spilling onto the porch. It had her name and what appeared to be a set of stellar coordinates or possibly a ship's identification code.
"Marco, what is this? The girl I was playing with gave it to me."
Marco plucked the piece of paper out of my hand and quickly tucked it into his pocket.
"Nothing man, not important. So anyway, maybe we can do this again someti-"
Marco froze and spun around. Strange blue lights were flashing against the trees along the side of the house.
"Oh shit! Ax, stay here!" Marco bolted into the house.
As I stood there confused, I heard a strange noise echo from the street in front of the house. It sounded like-
Marco
Sound of da Police- KRS One
I rushed through the kitchen, pelted down the hallway, and burst into the living room.
"JAKE!" I yelled
I saw Jake's head snap up and stare at me.
"C O P S!"
BANG! BANG! BANG! The front door shook.
"Police! Open up right now!"
Cassie jumped out of Jake's arms as the room began to scatter. People were yelling and screaming and running in every direction. The music screeched to a stop. The front door burst open and flashlight beams played across the roiling crowd.
Jake and Cassie rushed to my side.
"Where's Rachel and Tobias?" Jake shouted.
"I don't know! C'mon bro we gotta get out of here!"
Jake looked around desperately and then nodded quickly and shoved us all towards the hallway.
"Let's go!"
We ran out of the house and onto the back porch. I grabbed Ax by the shoulder.
"Time to run, Ax man!"
We all stumbled down the short stairwell and fled into the dark woods. I looked over my shoulder and saw flashlights glinting in the windows.
"We gotta warn Rachel and Tobias!"
"I saw them going upstairs," Ax panted.
Jake ushered us into some dark bushes at the edge of the back yard. He turned to Cassie.
"Go owl, as fast as you can, and guide them out. We can't afford to get busted."
Cassie nodded curtly and moments later a great horned owl burst out of the bushes, flapping to gain altitude. I strained my eyes to see the dark shape circling over the house.
I don't see th- oh.
Um, okay I found them. I'll um, let them know. I don't think the cops are upstairs yet they should be able to get out in time.
Cassie's thought speak sounded strange. I wondered what it was that she was seeing. We all waited in expectant silence.
Okay, They're morphing. The window is open, they should be out in a second.
Jake nodded and looked around.
"Okay we have to keep going. The others will catch up, c'mon."
At that moment another flashlight played across the edge of the woods and fell on us crouched in the bushes.
"Hey you kids! Stay right there!"
"Go! Go!" Jake shouted.
So we ran.
I gripped Ax's elbow to help keep him from falling over, and the three of us ran blindly through the dark woods. Branches and vines snapped at us but we didn't slow down. I could hear Ax and Jake stumbling and panting. The yelling and shouting started to fade away behind us.
Suddenly we burst out of the edge of the forest and onto a dark, empty street. The three of us stopped running. I couldn't hear anyone pursuing us any more.
I leaned over with my hands on my knees, gasping for breath.
"Holy shit man, that was close."
Jake nodded, his chest heaving like mine.
We all turned our faces upwards and stared into the night sky. A few moments later we all breathed a sigh of relief as an owl, an eagle, and a hawk all descended to land on the pavement.
We're clear. Cassie said. And I watched my friends grow out of the birds.
Rachel
After everyone had demorphed, we stood around staring out into the dark woods, trying to listen for any cops chasing us or other teens running past. I could faintly hear shouting from the direction of the house, but everything sounded quiet around us.
Suddenly Marco startled me by laughing loudly. We all stared at him for a moment and suddenly we were all laughing. The six of us stood on that dark street, some in regular clothes, some in skin tight morphing suits, and we laughed til our sides hurt. We laughed til tears streamed down our faces. We laughed to be alive. To be together. To be free.
After our laughter had subsided, Marco and Jake took off heading towards their houses, with Marco loudly complaining that his dad was going to kill him. After that, Cassie offered to fly home with Ax. I watched them morph and disappear into the night.
Finally it was just me and Tobias, standing beside each other. We stared at each other in the shadows and darkness. I thought I saw him smile.
"So…" I said, "can I fly you home?"
He laughed, and I felt his hand slip into mine.
"Let's walk."
The End 3