Chapter 13
After that episode, we went home. Apparently, what Cassie said was true. The animal instincts had taken over. She was scared of everything and couldn't find herself in the shrew's mind.
She said she was about to take control when the cat jumped at her. Then the shrew's instinct of getting away just took over. The urge to run was just unbeatable, and she couldn't control it.
Then, on top of all that, there was the hunger. She says it's disgusting what shrews eat. She said the shrew smelled maggot on a rotting animal or something. And the grossest thing was that she had actually wanted to eat those maggots. It was really gross.
Anyway, when she had finally shook herself out of the haze, she demorphed. Unfortunately, that was when Cassie had her in the piece of clothing. Apparently, shrews are incredibly fearful creatures. Poor little things.
I went back to our place and told Sam all bout it. He was kind of jealous. He tried not to show it, but it was obvious because he always tried to talk about what he had done and how it was better.
"Yeah, I was practising my telekinesis, and now I can pick up heavy objects like rocks. Cool, Eh?" Was a good example.
The next day, Whitney came by. Just her, nobody else. The three of us hung out all day. We didn't do anything in particular, just hung out. You know.
"So, where are we going?" I asked Whitney as we were on our way into town.
"Not a whole lot, just walking." She replied.
"Why?" Sam asked.
"We need to talk. Has anyone wondered what happened to your parents?"
"Nope."
"Nope, why?" Sam asked.
"Just wondering. You have to realize, the both of you have been pulled away from society, how are you dealing with it. I have a good relation with my parents and I would hate to be in your position." She said. "I was just curious."
I shrugged. "I don't know. My dad is gone most of the time and wasn't here for the escape. I saw Sam and Mom both be taken away. I am assuming they are controllers now."
"You don't feel sorry for them?"
"No, I think that what needs to be done needs to be done."
Sam looked at me sideways. "What do you mean?"
I shook my head, "that came out wrong. I was trying to say that sacrifices must be..... no that sounds wrong." I paused. "In war, casualties will happen. As long as they are alive, there is hope. Besides, I think dad is fine. He was far away in Canada at the time, so I don't think that is a problem."
"So you don't care?" Whitney asked.
I shrugged again. "I care, but I have to deal with it and move on. There are no problems here. I feel that the war with the yeerks is more important right now, I will deal with them later. Besides, I have always wanted to live on my own."
"Well, I see there are no problems here." She turned to Sam as we continued to walk. Sam had a look on his face that I could tell he was trying to figure something out.
"Why are you asking us this?" Sam asked. "Did Jake set you up for this?"
"You could say that. He is worried that the two of you will be unstable. I just decided to see for myself. This has nothing to do with Jake."
"But why would it be such a big deal?" I asked.
"Because you two lost everything. Your friends, families, and lives."
"What about Tobias?" Sam asked. "He lost even more than we did, and nobody cares about him."
Whitney shook her head, "No, you are wrong there. You have no idea how much Rachel talks about him in the Gym. She feels very sorry for him."
I was kinda halfway surprised. "Rachel?" I asked, "Xena? You're kidding, you say that she has feelings?"
Sam slapped me upside the head. "Of course she does. She just likes to keep them to herself mostly. It would ruin her outer image if she didn't."
"Good point. She has the whole super-model thing going on. That would look bad." I said.
We began walking back towards home. The day was just getting to about five PM, so we had to get back home. Whitney came with us. Then she decided to press the issue.
"So, Sam, what about your family, won't you miss them?" She asked.
"No. They were great, and funny, but like Gordo said, sometimes there are casualties in war, dealing with it is the problem. As long as I can deal with it, I will be fine."
"I was just wondering, what do you think it was like? Being infested, I mean."
Sam stayed silent for a minute. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Why not?" I asked.
"Because, if I pretend it didn't happen, then it won't bother me much. Besides, we don't have proof that it happened, so maybe it didn't."
"Come on, don't kid yourself. You know more about the way the yeerks operate than we do. You know that since they had a connection with you, they would have been taken hostage right after they thought about you being a possibility, in case you told them something."
"I know, that is why they were looking for me, because they knew you, and I was one of the closest friends you got. I would be a good place to start. Same with Tobias, he was a friend, and therefore a suspect. I know this, but there is no reason that they would go to my family. Too many steps. If it went that fast, then they would be in trouble. They know how people operate. People think aliens are fake now, because there have been so many fakes. Nobody would believe a story, so most people keep to themselves." He stopped and caught his breath.
Whitney came closer. "You have good reason to believe that, but I believe it is farfetched. Hope is good, but don't kid yourself." She said, almost like a wise man's quote. "I do wonder though, what's it like? To be infested. I wonder if it hurts, or if it is neutral. I wonder if the brain learns to accept it. I wonder what would happen if any of us got caught and infested. Would we be able to hide our secrets?" Whitney pondered aloud.
"No, but let's hope none of s learn first hand." Sam said, then we made it into the forest.
After that episode, we went home. Apparently, what Cassie said was true. The animal instincts had taken over. She was scared of everything and couldn't find herself in the shrew's mind.
She said she was about to take control when the cat jumped at her. Then the shrew's instinct of getting away just took over. The urge to run was just unbeatable, and she couldn't control it.
Then, on top of all that, there was the hunger. She says it's disgusting what shrews eat. She said the shrew smelled maggot on a rotting animal or something. And the grossest thing was that she had actually wanted to eat those maggots. It was really gross.
Anyway, when she had finally shook herself out of the haze, she demorphed. Unfortunately, that was when Cassie had her in the piece of clothing. Apparently, shrews are incredibly fearful creatures. Poor little things.
I went back to our place and told Sam all bout it. He was kind of jealous. He tried not to show it, but it was obvious because he always tried to talk about what he had done and how it was better.
"Yeah, I was practising my telekinesis, and now I can pick up heavy objects like rocks. Cool, Eh?" Was a good example.
The next day, Whitney came by. Just her, nobody else. The three of us hung out all day. We didn't do anything in particular, just hung out. You know.
"So, where are we going?" I asked Whitney as we were on our way into town.
"Not a whole lot, just walking." She replied.
"Why?" Sam asked.
"We need to talk. Has anyone wondered what happened to your parents?"
"Nope."
"Nope, why?" Sam asked.
"Just wondering. You have to realize, the both of you have been pulled away from society, how are you dealing with it. I have a good relation with my parents and I would hate to be in your position." She said. "I was just curious."
I shrugged. "I don't know. My dad is gone most of the time and wasn't here for the escape. I saw Sam and Mom both be taken away. I am assuming they are controllers now."
"You don't feel sorry for them?"
"No, I think that what needs to be done needs to be done."
Sam looked at me sideways. "What do you mean?"
I shook my head, "that came out wrong. I was trying to say that sacrifices must be..... no that sounds wrong." I paused. "In war, casualties will happen. As long as they are alive, there is hope. Besides, I think dad is fine. He was far away in Canada at the time, so I don't think that is a problem."
"So you don't care?" Whitney asked.
I shrugged again. "I care, but I have to deal with it and move on. There are no problems here. I feel that the war with the yeerks is more important right now, I will deal with them later. Besides, I have always wanted to live on my own."
"Well, I see there are no problems here." She turned to Sam as we continued to walk. Sam had a look on his face that I could tell he was trying to figure something out.
"Why are you asking us this?" Sam asked. "Did Jake set you up for this?"
"You could say that. He is worried that the two of you will be unstable. I just decided to see for myself. This has nothing to do with Jake."
"But why would it be such a big deal?" I asked.
"Because you two lost everything. Your friends, families, and lives."
"What about Tobias?" Sam asked. "He lost even more than we did, and nobody cares about him."
Whitney shook her head, "No, you are wrong there. You have no idea how much Rachel talks about him in the Gym. She feels very sorry for him."
I was kinda halfway surprised. "Rachel?" I asked, "Xena? You're kidding, you say that she has feelings?"
Sam slapped me upside the head. "Of course she does. She just likes to keep them to herself mostly. It would ruin her outer image if she didn't."
"Good point. She has the whole super-model thing going on. That would look bad." I said.
We began walking back towards home. The day was just getting to about five PM, so we had to get back home. Whitney came with us. Then she decided to press the issue.
"So, Sam, what about your family, won't you miss them?" She asked.
"No. They were great, and funny, but like Gordo said, sometimes there are casualties in war, dealing with it is the problem. As long as I can deal with it, I will be fine."
"I was just wondering, what do you think it was like? Being infested, I mean."
Sam stayed silent for a minute. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Why not?" I asked.
"Because, if I pretend it didn't happen, then it won't bother me much. Besides, we don't have proof that it happened, so maybe it didn't."
"Come on, don't kid yourself. You know more about the way the yeerks operate than we do. You know that since they had a connection with you, they would have been taken hostage right after they thought about you being a possibility, in case you told them something."
"I know, that is why they were looking for me, because they knew you, and I was one of the closest friends you got. I would be a good place to start. Same with Tobias, he was a friend, and therefore a suspect. I know this, but there is no reason that they would go to my family. Too many steps. If it went that fast, then they would be in trouble. They know how people operate. People think aliens are fake now, because there have been so many fakes. Nobody would believe a story, so most people keep to themselves." He stopped and caught his breath.
Whitney came closer. "You have good reason to believe that, but I believe it is farfetched. Hope is good, but don't kid yourself." She said, almost like a wise man's quote. "I do wonder though, what's it like? To be infested. I wonder if it hurts, or if it is neutral. I wonder if the brain learns to accept it. I wonder what would happen if any of us got caught and infested. Would we be able to hide our secrets?" Whitney pondered aloud.
"No, but let's hope none of s learn first hand." Sam said, then we made it into the forest.