The Death #7
[A/N: Well, here's the traditional annoying author's note. I never expected this series to go THIS far. Oh, and I consider this to be REALLY slow, but Flo says it's perfect. Well, anyway, this is melodramatic (like my vignette, "One Step Forward. NEVER, Look Back," but not AS much). So, if you hate soap operas (as a matter of fact, I hate em' too, no offense.), please go back to the home page or whatever. Thanx.]
Chapter One
Tsae-Lin
I sighed as I went home, kicking cans at my feet. I thought about what the Ellimist had told me. Nothing seemed a likely prospect. I felt something wet slide down the bridge of my nose and realized I was crying.
But what should I do? I felt so entirely helpless. I could die, and save my mom, but did I want to? She seemed perfectly fine the way she was. Oh, give it up, Lin. You KNOW she's not perfectly fine the way she is, I thought. I had SAID I would give up anything, pay any price, no matter what it was. But I had never been expecting ANYTHING like this.
At least I had time. Time to think about the options, which I knew the Ellimist rarely gave. He's giving you some time, I thought, so be HAPPY. I knew the "right" and "heroic" thing was to die, but then again, I was definitely NOT all heroic and righteous. Not at all.
I reached the front door and suddenly remembered Dad was in his rages again. My hand rested on the knob as I used my other knob to brush away my tears.
I went in. Unfortunately, Dad saw me, but after only a few slaps I could leave. This is not the life I wanted to have, I thought. My "old," of "past" life, you could call it, in the sense that I was "reborn," [A/N: I do NOT believe in that crap.] was what I had always imagined what a perfect life was.
I went upstairs and fell into a troubled sleep . . .
Chapter Two
Jake
I didn't like that Chinese girl. Not at all. I guess you could say, as a leader, that's unfair, but then again, they say that first impressions are the most important. She definitely did NOT have a good first imprint on me.
First of all, was she psychic or something? How could she know all about us and the Yeerks and Andalites? That was confidential. Or had that somehow slipped out and the Yeerks now knew it?
The more I thought about it, the more worried I became. Just HOW did she know all that stuff? WHERE did she hear it? The only good thing was the fact that she was not a Controller. Or maybe . . .
A thought raced through my head. Was she simply a Controller who had gone crazy through oatmeal? But then again, how did she have perfect control? Then again, she had admitted her mom was insane, so maybe . . .
Maybe her mom was an insane Controller!
THAT was the most sensible conclusion I had come up with so far. So I stuck to it.
The next day at school, I told Marco what I'd discovered. He looked skeptical, then shrugged. "Whatever you say, O Fearless Leader. Your saga lives on."
I nudged him and went to tell Cassie who told Rachel. At lunchtime, although we weren't supposed to, for fear that the Yeerks might be suspicious of us being a group, we sat together. But then again, this was SERIOUS.
"Oookay," said Cassie, "what do we do about her?"
"Well," said Marco, "we already made her an Ani- uh, member."
"Yeah. Besides that."
"Take her on a minor mission. See how loyal she is."
"On slip-up could mean the end for us," I warned.
"Her mom is an insane Con- um, host . . . she must then hate the Yeerks, right?"
"That's only an assumption," I told him, "we don't know the truth yet."
"Reasoned judgment is good enough for me."
"The fact that she's sinister doesn't mean anything. We should at least give her a chance."
Marco glanced down at his lunch and spat it out. "Ugh! I was so preoccupied with arguing that I didn't know I was eating my dad's beet sandwich!"
"Beet sandwich?" asked Rachel skeptically.
Marco winced. "It's my dad's lunch. He probably took MY lunch to work. Hostess Twinkies, Ho Hos, oh man, he must be in paradise!"
"I hate to say this, Marco," said Rachel, "but I actually feel sorry for you."
"ANYWAY," I said, rubbing the bridge of my nose, "could we please go back to the subject?"
"Whatever," said Rachel.
"I thought we already decided," said Marco innocently.
"Half-decided. Whatever. So are we REALLY going to let her on one of our missions?"
"Tobias told me we get to go to the Ye- uh, the pool again," said Rachel.
"Oh? And when was this? Yesterday when you were watching Runaway Bride starring Julia Roberts from the Super Saver Cinema? Aw, come on, I thought you had enough allowance to watch one of the hotter more recent movies," said Marco.
"Shut up Marco," said Rachel.
"But you ruined your perfectly romantic moment by talking about the pool," Marco complained.
"GUYS, can we please get back-"
"To the subject?" suggested Marco. I glowered at him.
"Let's just let her come," said Cassie, who was laughing. "We're never going to get anywhere."
Marco crumpled his milk carton and threw it into the garbage can. "Yes! Score three thousand for Marco the Great and Extremely Handsome Not to Mention a Few and nada for Rachel!"
Rachel slapped him as we left the cafeteria.
"Owww," complained Marco.
"Serves you right," I said. "Did you do the assignments?"
"What assignments?"
"You know, p. 245 -250?"
Marco slapped his forehead. "Damn, I forgot. Jake, could you forge a signature for me?"
"I have NO clue what your dad's signature looks like and I have no wish to get into detention, Marco."
"Some friend you are. But anyway, could you help me come up with a good excuse?"
"Um, your dad carried it to work also?"
"Great! Thanks ol' buddy, IOU."
"Whatever."
Chapter Three
Marco
After detention, I noticed Lin was waiting for me.
"Hey!" I said.
She only smiled.
"What's up?"
"I have to-" and all of sudden she was swirled away in green mist. I looked around. Only I had seen her.
I had to tell Jake. He may not have liked her, but she was part of the group.
"Jake!"
"Hmm?"
"It's Lin!"
His eyes narrowed. "What about her?"
"She just disappeared in this cloud of green mist!"
"Huh?"
"I repeat: she just disappeared in a cloud of mist!"
"Okay. Why?"
"Whaddya mean, 'why.' Don't ask me. But I just have a feeling that this involves the Ellimist," I said, "maybe he wants himself a babe."
"Marco," said Jake, rolling his eyes, "Let's just meet at the barn. I'll go tell Cassie."
"What, and I'm stuck with Xena again? You KNOW she hates it when I interrupt her on the balance beam!" I pinched my nose. "Hello, hello, this is the operator. We must inform you of the fact that Rachel has just succeeded on the balance beam, and she will now kill you for interrupting you."
Jake smiled. "Go get her," he ordered again.
I sighed.
Rachel was not only mad to see me, she was furious, outraged, upset, whatever. When I told her about Lin, for some miraculous reason her face softened slightly.
"What about her?"
"Confidential. Tell ya' at the BAAAARN," I said.
"Whatever," she sighed.
At the barn, I explained exactly what had happened, including the fact I thought it was the Ellimist. They all listened, despite an occasional sigh.
"So," I concluded, "what do you think? I think it's insane, but then again, I'm the one who's telling it."
{Interesting,} said Ax, {it is possible that it is the Ellimist.}
"Is that all? I need group participation."
Rachel smirked. "You're pathetic, Marco."
"Why thank you. I believe telepathy is one of my greatest talents, too."
Finally, they came alive. We went into a heated discussion except for Ax and Tobias. Even Jake showed some interest.
Chapter Four
Tsae-Lin
"Hey!" I cried as the Ellimist whisked me away. "I was just about to tell Marco."
HAVE YOU DECIDED?
"Um, I guess."
WHAT IS YOUR CHOICE?
"To do it."
He, or his guise, nodded. THERE IS ONE THING I STILL HAVE NOT TOLD YOU.
"What is it?"
YOU MUST KILL YOURSELF.
"WHAT?!" I shrieked. "You must be kidding!"
THAT IS THE PRICE.
"Give me MORE time," I said.
YOU HAVE UNTIL TOMORROW.
"What? I can't decide like that! It's impossible!"
And then I was in my room.
"Damn you, Ellimist!"
The phone rang. I dashed to pick it up.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Lin, this is Marco."
"Oh, hi, Marco."
"Listen, we have a meeting at the barn. Actually, we're all at the barn waiting for you."
"Yeah, sure. Whatever."
"Bye."
"Bye."
I lived pretty close to Cassie. She lived in the center of the city, a little off to the right. The south part of the city was the "awful" part, and the north was the "good" part.
I lived in the South.
I walked to her house, since I didn't have a bike. Not that my dad would ever bother to get me one.
"Hi," I said.
"Hi."
"Hi."
"Hi Lin."
"Hi."
Let me summarize this. They weren't exactly jumping up and down with joy at the sight of me.
I sat on the floor. "So what's up?"
"We're going to the Yeerk pool."
"Okay. What do I morph?"
Cassie led me to a fox. "Her tail was caught in a trap," she said. "Acquire her."
I shrugged and reached out.
Marco showed me a cockroach. To everybody's amazement, I didn't shudder. Well, I had no clue what Tobias and Ax might be thinking.
I reached out and touched it. Its attenae felt my finger.
They stared at me in amazement. I ignored them. What was their problem anyway?
They were idiots, I thought. Okay, maybe not idiots but they definitely had a problem.
"Let's do it!"
"Oh, no," groaned Marco.
Chapter Five
Rachel
We were off to the Yeerk pool. Getting in was a cinch, since their Gleet Biofilter was in repairs and they had two Hork-Bajir on guard.
Once inside, we found a moist dark place to demorph. It was a cellar. Then I morphed grizzly.
A Hork-Bajir came. This one was tougher and stronger than any Hork-Bajir I have ever fought.
{They've altered the DNA!} cried Cassie. {They've mixed in something else!}
While I was fighting, the Hork-Bajir was slowly driving me back. Soon I found myself cornered.
{Guys, help!} I exclaimed. Another one joined against me. But I knew none of the others could help me. They were too busy fighting these new Hork-Bajir to help me.
Then I saw the blade, aimed towards my jugular. {AHHHHH!} I cried.
And then Lin jumped in front of me.
In doing so, the blade cut her throat, not mine.
She died. She died. DIED. My mind was reeling, thinking of that word. She had taken the blow that had been meant for me. ME. I stumbled back. The Hork-Bajir were cheering. They had killed an "Andalite Bandit."
I wanted to rip their throats out.
And so I did.
I dove toward him. He had been talking to a fellow warrior, not noticing. "Get back you grryith fala!" he cried.
A few seconds later, his carcass was lying on the floor.
I fought with more strength and fierceness that I had ever had before. Perhaps it was because of Lin. I didn't know. All I wanted to do was kill all the Yeerks, who had killed one of us. Okay, she wasn't exactly one of "us," but she was close enough. She had seemed nice. Down there, underneath her stone mask, she probably had been fun and cheerful. But her life had changed that.
I guess what they say is true. If people had grown up in different surroundings, they would act differently then they would have if they had grown up in a different surrounding. Some people are lucky; they would get a good surrounding. But other people might not.
Lin was one of those people.
Not that she was bad, I don't mean that. I had never really known her, but still, I had that feeling. It's just her life; it was laid out in front of her already. She didn't want to face it, so I guess that was why she used crack. But her life was . . . so bedraggled, so worn, that I guess she didn't want it anymore.
She hadn't needed to kill herself this way, for me. She could use a razor, and that crack. She probably had planned to kill herself already with it. It didn't hurt, at least, as much as having your throat slit.
But when she had saved me, that was just a last glimpse of the real her, the one that was a person everyone liked, who was loyal and a good friend, that was about to be buried under all that grief and sadness.
Some people change. Some never do . . .
She had acted tough. But sometimes they say your eyes are a window to your heart. You know, sometimes, where you see it in books, "but she/he could tell he/she was lying; you could see it in her/his eyes." And so it was true in her case. You could tell she really cared what people thought of her; everyone does. She didn't want to be so cruel and hostile, but she had to be, to keep on going. Keep on going.
What goes on in your head?
I fought with a brutalness I had never fought with before. But there were still more, more; they kept on coming.
{How many of these did they mutate, anyway?} I yelled to Cassie.
{I don't know . . . they probably planned to defeat us. In that case, I would guess about a thousand or so.}
{A thousand? How are we supposed to fight off that many?} I said, half-expecting Marco to make a corny joke.
He didn't say anything.
{All right, people, let's move it! We really need to escape with our lives now. We have to retreat!} yelled Jake. I winced when I saw him. He was covered with cuts and missing a hind leg.
We retreated, slowly, barely making it. We demorphed right in the little section before the entrance and the door to the outside world. We were too tired to morph cockroaches, so we just walked out.
Chapter Six
Marco
I couldn't believe it. Lin was dead. DEAD. I kept on fighting numbly, and barely heard Jake telling us to retreat.
And so I did. And almost gladly. I wanted to get away from there.
From where Lin had died.
You know, there's this song called Death. My mother used to sing it all the time. It went like this:
Death/ It takes up all no folly/
Thee has strucke fool's gold/
Death/
Thou shall meet it sooner or later/
Thee can noit stope it/
Fighte it/
Only give thy self in./
A fool will fighte it/
Or invite it/
Death/
The most mortale punishment of all/
Blessede thou who passe/
The strike of the evil/
Or something like that. But I could still remember her voice singing perfectly, melody in tune with harmony. I was still small then. But the song was still wrong; Lin wasn't a fool, yet she had "invited" death.
I didn't get it. But then again, I was no philosopher. Then all of a sudden, I came up with a new thought: Lin had died for Rachel! And for some reason, now I was mad at Rachel. I stared at her.
"What?!" She said, glaring at me.
"It's your fault Lin died! If it hadn't been for you, she still would've been here!"
"That's not true! Lin died because she wanted to! And you know that she would've died anyway because of crack!"
Cassie stepped in. "Come on, guys, you're just tired. We all are. Those Hork-Bajir weren't just any Hork-Bajir, you know," she said as if she had been talking to some mad, rabid animal.
Yes. Tired. So tired. Enough to-
HELLO.
"Hello Ellimist," I said, amazingly calm.
I HAVE COME TO EXPLAIN WHY TSAE-LIN HAS DIED.
"Oh, goody."
"Shut up, Marco."
SHE HAS DIED OF HER OWN WILL. YOU SEE, SHE AND I HAD A DEAL. SHE WOULD DIE, AND HER MOTHER WOULD BECOME SANE. BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE: SHE HAD TO KILL HERSELF.
"So that's why-" started Jake.
YES.
"So it wasn't a good deed then?"
WELL, SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO KILL HERSELF BY PROTECTING RACHEL; SHE WAS GOING TO DIE ANYWAY AND SHE KNEW IT. BUT WHAT SHE DID WAS AN INSTINCT. THE SPECIAL THING ABOUT LIN IS SHE HAS A SENSE OF WHERE TROUBLE IS. PERHAPS IT WAS NOT A GOOD DEED, HOWEVER, BUT IT WAS NOT CALCULATED.
{Okay. Thanks, Ellimist. We appreciate it.} said Tobias, when everyone else was struck dumb.
I didn't know what to think. An instinct. An instinct. Who could possibly have an instinct of where you needed to kill yourself? So maybe it wasn't Rachel's fault. But there was something wrong . . .
Chapter Seven
Tsae-Lin
I didn't think about anything . . . just dove and blocked Rachel. I didn't know why . . . I never even knew her that well. As the blade cut into my throat, I could only think about what would happen after this. I visualized Rachel and Marco fighting, Jake resuming his leader position, and Cassie, as always, the peacemaker. I knew that their lives were more important then mine. I smiled. For some reason, the old me was resurfacing again. Good bye, I thought in my head, goodbye everyone. I'll miss you even though I only knew you for such a brief time . . .
I woke up, transparent and suspended in some black, starry place.
"Where the freakin' hell am I?"
YOU ARE IN MY REALM.
"What?!"
USUALLY THE DEAD MAY NOT RETURN TO THE WORLD. BUT I HAVE SOMETHING TO OFFER YOU.
"Now what is it?"
YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO RETURN. I MAY RECORD YOUR PERSONA, YOUR MEMORY, EVERYTHING. WE CAN HAVE SOMEONE VOLUNTEER TO TAKE YOUR IXCILA AND USE IT.
"You're havin' me go back as some freakin' ghost-Yeerk?"
IN A WAY. DO YOU ACCEPT?
This was absurd. We were fighting Yeerks and here the Ellimist was offering me a choice to be one, in a way. "I don't know . . ." I chose my words carefully. "Where exactly do the dead go? And what happens to me for the ixcila?"
YOU, OR YOUR SPIRIT, WILL BE ENCASED IN THE VIAL. YOUR BODY WILL REMAIN HERE UNTIL YOU LEAVE.
"Can I leave whenever I want?"
YES.
Okay. Well, it couldn't hurt to try. Back in the old days, I remembered I was always the daredevil. I smiled bitterly. But that part of me was gone now. Forever.
"I'll do it."
I felt pain, extreme pain. Then I lost conscious. My last memory was of being sucked into the vial.
Where am I now?
{Hi, Lin.}
{Marco!}
{Guessed right.}
{Where the hell am I? No, wait, lemme guess. I'm in your head. It's the Ixcila thing, right?}
{Yup.}
{So what do I do? Live in your head forever?}
{No. We're trying to resurrect you.}
{WHAT?! Resurrect me? Uh-uh, big boy, that ain't gonna happen.}
{Why not?}
{Look boy, I got myself killed. Understand? And I don't want to come back anymore. Why do you think I got killed in the first place? Definitely not to be resurrected again.} Not true, I thought.
{Well then, what do you want?}
{I want to go back to the stupid freaking Ellimist's realm or whatever it was instead of staying in your head.}
{We're going to resurrect you.}
I gave it up then. If he wanted to be stubborn, that was fine. But I did not want to be resurrected. For one thing, it was creepy. For another, how would you like to be a zombie? I'd much rather stay alive then save my mom and then be resurrected again. Seriously.
Maybe I could ask the Ellimist if I could simply be a spirit. Much more comforting than a zombie.
{Ellimist,} I thought, not knowing if it would work.
YES?
All of a sudden I wasn't in complete darkness but in that black, starry place again.
"I don't want to do the Ixcila thing. I wanna be a spirit. That Ixcila thing is creepy, man. And they want to resurrect me?! No way, it is NOT happening not in this life, man."
AS YOU WISH.
I was in the barn again. I wondered why the Ellimist was being so agreeable to me. I had a feeling soon that was about to change . . .
Chapter Eight
Tobias
I was there, perched on a cage, when all of a sudden Marco said in a ghastly frightening whisper, "LOOK!"
So I did, and there was Lin standing there, and yet not there. She was transparent, yet you could still see her ivory skin, black hair, almond eyes and her cherry-red lips. She was wearing a white robe of some sort with an olive wreath around her head. She was also wearing a thin gold-silver chain around her neck. But I could see the horse behind her.
Hello . . . Her voice was merely a soft, voiceless whisper.
"Why are you here?" asked Jake abruptly.
The Ellimist . . .
"But why?"
She shrugged, her bare shoulders showing. I'm supposed to help you . . .
"Okay, whatever."
For a moment she seemed to go within herself. Then Lin shook herself again and said, come with me . . .
PUH-leese e-mail me at Anigirl106@aol.com Look! I even made it easier for you by putting the hyperlink!
TO BE CONTINUED . . .
Read the next one, Unexpected Suprises-The Bond #8