Ah, yes. The disclaimer. All characters (you know who) were created by K.A. Applegate. The others, -sorry- are mine. As always, please read this and then take a while to review.
Don't forget, I accidently wrote a sequel called "A Lesson Learned." Please read that one and review that one too!
Chapter 7
I hesitated. Should I go in? When the others came, would they know where I had gone? Did I care?
I stepped in and then jumped back. There was something bad there. I was going to need something to help me. Or... intuition. I backed up and prepared to run. Whatever was over there, I'd be a bit too fast for it to realize what had just happened. As soon as I reached the invisible barrier between this room and that, I jumped-
-And crashed into the wall on the other side.
I peeled myself off and stood at the top of the stairs. I looked behind me. Sure enough, there it was. Marco and the others called it a Gleet Bio-filter, I think.
I rubbed my nose. The stairway must be pretty narrow. I'd had maybe two feet to go before crashing into the wall. "I'm SO going to feel this tomorrow."
Slowly, I stepped down the front step, then the second. What had Marco indirectly advised? Act like you belong. Yeah, that was it.
I raised my head and walked down the stairs as if I did this all the time.
As I went down, I saw darker shapes that looked like they might be doors or something. Each time one branched to my stairway, it seemed to get larger. It had been meant for more and more people to be herded here. By the time I got to the bottom, it was at least fifteen to twenty feet long.
The first thing I noticed was that there were guards all over the place. Very few humans. Apparently the Yeerks thought that humans couldn't fight. Instead, there were creatures called Hork-Bajir and Taxxons. Surprisingly, they weren't even in the least disturbing. I'd gotten used to them through Marco's eyes. A long time had been squeezed into one second.
Hork-Bajir were standing closest to the entrance, the Taxxons beyond them, encircling the cave. My eyes followed the invisible line in front of me, even though it wasn't that invisible since the Hork-Bajir were standing at attention on either side of it. Beyond them, I could just barely make out the shape of the infestation pier.
I took a step back, into the dark. If I was lucky, maybe they hadn't seen me yet or something.
Somewhere, I heard Brandy crying. I opened my mind to her, and I saw through her eyes, although I once again blocked out her thoughts. In front of her was Visser Three.
I hear you have powers we may use, he was beginning.
I backed out of her mind quickly and returned to my own. I opened my eyes. The Hork-Bajir were still there, standing at full attention even though the Taxxons were getting a bit anxious.
Visser Three thought Brandy was the one with powers? He didn't suspect me? Then it dawned on me. Mrs. Homesly had merely been on the lookout for anyone who may help them. When rumors had started about someone having special powers, it must have been like a gold mine. At first, she'd thought it was me. That had been why she had been asking me all of those questions. And then I'd gone and started those rumors about Brandy and given the right answer to her "Do you believe in witches?" question.
This was becoming incredibly ironic. As in, "Hello? Is this Alanis Morrisette? I think I have some new song material for you" ironic.
However, first things first. The first thing to do was to take down the guards. The others may not arrive for a while, but until then, I was the one who had to save Brandy's butt.
Oh yeah. Definitely detecting irony.
I focused my mind. Had I really pushed Brandy back with my mind? It was possible, especially since I'd been getting so much stronger lately. In my mind, I saw the guards. I thought of Mrs. Homesly. She hadn't wanted to be that way. Her mind had been crying out for help. Were these guards the same way? They didn't deserve to die. I didn't want to be the one to kill them.
I heard a loud thud. You may think that thuds can't be loud, but this one was. I opened my eyes.
All of the guards were lying on the ground, motionless. Had I done that? Cool.
Visser Three rushed out of his quarters, the two Controllers following him with Brandy between them.
The Visser took one look around and yelled in rage. He spun and face Brandy. You did this! YOU DID THIS!
Brandy shook her head. She looked so... pitiful. Her hair was messed up. Her makeup was smeared by tears and sweat. "No," she muttered. "No." She hesitated. "But I can tell you who did do this," she told him with more certainty.
And who might that be?
Brandy opened her mouth to answer. I flung her against the wall. She slumped to the ground, unconscious. This whole mind thing was actually pretty cool. Very, very cool.
The two Controllers looked at each other uneasily and took a step back into the shadows. The Visser, on the other hand, took a step closer to the center. Who did that? he asked. Who did this? He waved his arm around the room to indicate what he meant.
I didn't say anything. Instead, I flung him and the two Controllers against the wall. With my mind, I focused on Brandy coming towards me. When I opened my eyes, she was floating in midair towards the stairs.
The guards were beginning to wake up. Somewhere far above me, I heard the sound of a wall falling, followed by the sound of Rachel's totally unfelt Oops.
A Hork-Bajir woke up. Then another. The Taxxons, I was confident, would be out of the way for a while. Brandy was almost towards me.
I heard the stairs rumbling and sat down on them, trying to make myself as small as possible- the only thing I could do. I felt the ground shaking. Suddenly, a tiger appeared. He was followed by a wolf, a gorilla, a hawk, and an Andalite. I still heard muffled sounds coming from behind.
Why can't they ever make these tunnels bigger? Rachel complained. I closed my eyes and instructed Brandy to keep coming towards me, while at the same time opening my mind to keep an eye on Rachel. She had shrank a bit, which helped. I followed her until she could see me, and then returned to myself. I moved aside as I heard, felt, rather, her growing.
In the underground alien theme park, everything was chaos. I couldn't see who was fighting who or where the others were- except Rachel, of course, and sometimes Tobias. A the first sign of blood, I realized what I had to do. I closed my eyes and sent Brandy's limp form to the top of the stairs and out the door in a rush. With my luck, she wouldn't be out of it for long.
And then, I started taking command. Controllers, up. I opened my eyes. It had worked. Hork-Bajir, Taxxons, and humans, even Visser Three, were all up in the air. Jake, Ax, Marco, Cassie, Tobias, and Rachel were looking up at them in awe. They looked back at me. I realized that all the Controllers still had their Dracon beams.
Weapons, even higher up, I instructed. Obediently, all of the weapons of any kind floated about fifteen feet higher than their owners.
Visser Three was beginning to wake up. Everyone began fighting me. They were all reaching for their weapons, or for the ground, or who was on the ground, or simply trying to move around freely.
Before I knew it, I became aware that I was tiring out, and fast. The others came towards the stairs, faithful in my holding them. I pushed them forward quickly with my mind.
What is it? Cassie asked.
I licked my lips. They were dry underneath a layer of sweat. "I can't hold them much longer."
Marco stepped forward. I'll take care of it, he said. He picked me up with his back towards the Controllers and held me in his arms as if I were a baby or something.
I closed my eyes and focused on keeping the Controllers in the air until we got to the top of the stairs. I had to hold them until then. I had to.
Jake seemed to understand. Either that, or he was in his leader mode again. Rachel, you go first. Shrink a bit so you can fit. We'll follow.
Okay. Rachel said giddily. You know, she commented as she shrank, that's the easiest fight we've ever had.
"Tell her to shut up," I whispered, trying to concentrate.
Okay, already. I can hear you perfectly well, you know. I'm incredibly fat, not deaf.
Nonetheless, she shut up.
I concentrated on holding them off. About three fourths of the way to the top, I had to let them drop, but I blocked the entrance to the stairwell so that they couldn't get to us. Behind me, in a private thought-speak whisper, I heard Visser Three saying, I'll get you. Just wait. You'll be ours. Soon.
I felt Marco step up and opened my eyes slightly. They hadn't gone through the door- they'd plowed through the wall to keep from doing that.
This was the only building that didn't have a fire alarm going off, Ax explained. Cassie followed your scent to here. The discovery of the picture was pure luck.
I nodded.
You okay? Marco asked. Want me to set you down?
I nodded again and let him drop me gently on the floor. I started to stand up, but my knees were shaking too badly. "I don't think- I can-" I fell to the ground, surrounded by darkness.
Chapter 8
I woke up outside, coughing. I heard Matt breathe a sigh of relief. He was holding my hand, but I didn't want to receive whatever information he might have had through whatever way that was.
"What happened?" I muttered.
"The building was on fire. You went in to save Brandy. Don't you remember?"
It started to come back in bits and pieces. My brain was fried. "I think so."
"I was trying to go and get you, but the teachers were holding us all back. They all said we should wait for the fire department. In the end, I got through. I went in there and found you at the top of the stairs. Don't you remember passing out?"
"Yeah." Oh, yeah. Did I ever remember that. Well, not really. "How's Brandy?"
"Fine. She got a bump on he head, though. The doctors already looked at you. They'll probably want to see you again, though.
I looked up at the building to where the half I'd been on was now just a sooty gap.
I closed my eyes and send out my mind. Marco- I'd ask him. He seemed like the one to do this.
I found him instantly. Was it possible to speak mind to mind? Wouldn't hurt to try. Did you set fire to the English building?
He looked around in his wolf morph, and I could have sworn he was laughing. Yes. Yes, I did.
One of your dreams come true, hmm?
School go bye-bye.
Uh-huh. Interesting way of saying it. I didn't want to tell him that now, we'd probably be squeezed into some tight space in another building.
You know, it's amazing what you can do with a match.
You and I and the others are going to have a long, long discussion later.
Sure, sure. Right. He ran away, somewhat unconvinced. I let him.
Yep. Just another day at school. Just another day with a bunch of airheads and a bunch of people who can't think without looking in the back of the book.
Chapter 9
She looked at the girl, Melanie. That boy, it must be Matt, was sitting next to her. There was something definitely odd about that girl, she figured. She had seen how easy Melanie convinced people. How she could know things she couldn't possibly know. Move things with her mind.
She was going to get this girl.
Maybe she'd give her away as a gift for a reward. Or maybe she'd keep the girl to herself. That would be interesting.
And this girl kept interesting company, too.
Yes, she'd have to keep an eye on her. That girl meant power. Power to whomever's hands she was in.
Guess what?! I finally got part one of the sequel done! More to come! It's called, "A Lesson Learned, Part 1." Whowoulda guessed! Thanks for reading, Dleet.