Chapter 25

Ax

Rachel had morphed and was following Tobias to Cassie's house to get help. They were racing against time, against death…

Jake was kneeling by Cassie, silent and pale. He would not respond to anyone or anything, he just sat there, staring, seemingly saying something to himself over and over.

Marco was standing off by himself, his face hidden and blank so no one could read his emotions or thoughts.

I, Aximili, was afraid. In my hearts I felt a pain and loss that I had felt when Tobias had been traded for Marco, for Marco when he had 'died' and then been kidnapped.

Cassie was my friend. She was kind and understanding, and as I saw her laying in the grass in an unnatural way, I cried out for her.

We stood, silent and pale, hoping and willing help to come.

Suddenly I heard a voice in my head.

Ax? Jake? Marco? Better move. Chopper's closing in fast.

Tobias! He and Rachel had returned. I took off to the shadows, hiding myself in a position where I could see Cassie but not be seen by anyone in the helicopter.

I heard a whirring noise, and Jake and Marco stepped back, holding a hand to their eyes as they looked up.

My stalk eyes followed their eyes, and I saw the helicopter, and as it came closer, the whirring became louder.

Just as I thought I couldn't take the noise any longer, they began to descend. Plants bowed down, and tree branches swayed.

The helicopter landed close to Cassie, and two men jumped out with a stretcher. The lifted Cassie onto it, and then placed her in the helicopter.

One man walked over to Jake and Marco, and seemed to be asking them something. Jake replied, the man shrugged, and ran back to the helicopter.

Jake and Marco melded into the shadows as it took off, and soon I saw a peregrine falcon and an osprey take flight.

Ax? A voiced questioned.

I am here, Prince Jake. I will join you shortly.

All right, man…Just, take care, you know?

Yes, I replied.

I stood staring at the stained grass that Cassie had been lying on. It was a brownish-red, and there was a small impression mark from her body. I shivered, and then I concentrated on the image of a Northern Harrier.

Chapter 26

Jake

No questions were asked. The only thing that mattered was Cassie.

School was canceled. This was the second attack on one of the students, they wanted people to feel safe- wanted them to be able to recover.

But that didn't matter. Only Cassie did.

Her parents barely left the room, let alone the hospital. Rachel, Marco, and I were there a lot as well.

Oh Cassie…

'She's in a coma,' the doctors would say. 'We can't do anything to wake her up. She's lucky to be alive. She lost a lot of blood.'

My heart was just about broken. It was hanging by a small thread of hope that Cassie would live, Cassie would awaken. And then there was that nagging, ripping, conquering feeling called Revenge.

I wanted to find that boy, I would find him and I would make him pay. I would do to him what he had done to Cassie, I would have revenge.

Revenge is an odd thing. It can start first, like when Cassie had been kidnapped, I was angry, I wanted to save her, but I wasn't bent on revenge, no, then.

When that boy had knocked Marco out, it made me a bit angrier, I wanted to hurt him, but then- when he had…..When he had…. When he had done what he had done to Cassie, I wanted revenge, not just throwing him into jail revenge or whatever revenge, but revenge as in make-him-suffer revenge.

I was going to find that boy, and then he would know what he had done to Cassie, my friend, and my secret crush.

And I would make him pay.

Chapter 27

Damon

I walked among the humans to the hospital. I was going to see my old friend, Cassie.

Imagine my surprise when I saw Jake, Rachel, Marco, and two adults who seemed to be Cassie's parents in the waiting room.

I saw their faces twist in surprise, and then turn to dark hatred.

"Hello," I said, politely to her parents.

"Oh, hello." Answered her mother, smiling. "I don't believe we've met."

"I am new in this town," I replied, watching the 'Animorphs' carefully.

"Ah, well, it's nice to meet you, um…"

"Damon." I replied, giving only my first name. I would use an alias if they asked for my last name.

"Yes, it's nice to meet you," Her father cut in.

I sat down in a chair behind Cassie's parents, by Jake, Marco, and Rachel.

"You scum," Rachel whispered to me, glaring. "I'll get you for what you did to Cassie!" she snarled.

I smirked. "But until then, what are you to do about it? You cannot simply tell everyone what I am. They would never believe you."

"Maybe not," Jake told me, an odd glint in his eyes. "But we can still gain our revenge."

"Jake, Jake, Jake." I said. "If you hadn't destroyed my love, this would never have happened to you, would it? And there's nothing you can do about it."

I stood up, and walked out of the hospital.

I couldn't wait for the next part of my plan to happen. But I had to be patient.

The games were just beginning, and they would most likely prove to be most entertaining.

Chapter 28

Marco

That stupid…

Ergh! I thought. I can't even think up a name for him. I don't know whether to say 'boy', 'vampire', or something less appropriate…

I almost laughed at that thought.

(AN: Incase your wondering, being that I am only 11, I'm not allowed to write…certain things in my stories, nor do I want to/choose to. If you have a problem with that, tough. But that's the way it is. Anyway. Back to the story, not my life story, but the real one of course…)

I was extremely annoyed. He could walk around, go anywhere, and no one cared. Because (1) he was no potential threat to the Yeerks and (2) no one knew the truth about him.

It was so…unfair that he could enter the normal world.

He was a sickening being, and I hated him.

Rachel and Jake would do anything for revenge I knew, except maybe deal with the Yeerks or Crayak. But still…

Sometimes, when you think you know someone, they'll do something so unbelievable, you wonder if you ever really did know the person.

That's what happened when I saw Jake the other day.

He had a faraway look on his face, and a weird glint in his eye.

"Marco," He began. "I've got good news and bad news."

"Tell me the good news first." I requested.

"The good news is Cassie is apparently awake. The bad news is, she's gone."

"Gone? What do you mean, gone?"

"I mean gone. She's not in the hospital anymore, she somehow got out."

I paled, eyes widening. "But how…? She was in a coma, for crying out loud! No one just…just gets up and walks away from that!"

"I know." Jake looked at me, tears in his eyes. "Cassie's gone, again!" He cried out. "Gone, and it's because we didn't protect her.. Oh Cassie!"

I held Jake as he cried out, and that's when I saw the cold, hard line A-to-B.

Chapter 29

Damon

I was walking down the street, working out my plan, when I saw her. She was walking in the opposite direction of me, (in other words, coming right at me) and she had long black hair, and yellow eyes. She was just a bit shorter than Cassandra, the blond-haired, green-eyed Cassandra that was planted into my memory.

"Excuse me," I heard her voice, and it brought me back to reality.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I answered, stepping aside. I looked up from the ground that I had been staring at as I thought.

I saw a look of bewilderment cross her face.

"The name's Damon." I told her.

"Damon ------" She finished for me. (AN: That's right! I'm not going to tell you his last name, mwahahaha. ^_^ Take that, faithful or-not-so-faithful- readers!)

Now it was my turn to be a bit confused. I had never met this girl, in all my lifetime.

"Have we met before?" I asked.

"No, I don't believe we have." She stated, looking dazed.

"Then how do you know my name?!" I demanded angrily.

"I…I don't know. But somewhere I seemed to gather that I know you." She shook her head.

I calmed down a bit, enough to ask her name.

"Cassandra," She replied. "Cassandra -----" (AN: Nope, not telling Cassandra's last name either.)

I felt my blood chill. That was Cassandra's, my Cassandra's last name.

"Cassandra -----? Spelled with an 'I'?" I asked quickly.

"Why yes!" She answered.

I took the girls hand. "How is it that you know my name?"

"I…I…I don't know. A voice in my head tells me…" She sounded as though she were faraway. I could see a battle going on in her head.

I held out my arm for her, which she took. I was going to see who she was.

The games had just gotten a bit more complicated.

Chapter 30

Cassie

I was tired, oh so tired. But he kept me awake, bringing me food when I asked for it.

He was kind, and nice. I didn't remember anything from a few days ago, just what was happening now.

I was somewhere, in a quite building, that was painted white, and there were lots of people to visit.

But I didn't go anywhere; I was so tired… Tired…

I yawned sleepily, as I ate a donut.

I drank some milk with it, and then I lay back down on my bed, staring up at the black ceiling, thinking hard.

I yawned again… Life was tiring. I pulled some covers and blankets over myself, and laid my head down onto my pillows that were soft and silky.

I closed my eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter 31

Cassandra

I awoke on a bed, not my usual one, but it was softer and I was propped up more. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, and sat up.

"Ah!" I cried out, and grabbed my arm, feeling enormous pain.

I turned my gaze to it, and saw stitches from my shoulder to the point where it joined my arm.

"Cassandra!" A voice I recognized as Damon's called. "You're awake!"

"My arm, it hurts so much.." I said.

"I know, I know. The stitches should heal in about another week." He told me.

"I barely remember anything." I began to tell him. "I remember my arm being slashed, but nothing more."

"Yes. We rushed you into our little medical room as soon as we could. We feared we would be too late."

"Let's not dwell on it. What's in the past is in the past," I quoted.

"Yes."

There was an uncomfortable silence, one that had been between us back when I had first came here, or, more accurately, when I had first been brought here.

I shifted irritably, and Damon, seeing my discomfort, finally spoke up.

"You've been sleeping for three days. Everyone was worried about you. Catherine was miserable."

I smiled at the thought of Catherine. "Where is she?"

"Visiting Edgar. He's the only one who was worried as I was. And the only one who could comfort her."

I sighed. I was hungry.

"Can I have something to eat?" I asked.

"Of course! I've been stupid; I completely forgot to ask you if you were hungry or thirsty. What would you like?"

"Oh, anything. And some water to go with it."

"Sure?" He asked.

"Yeah." I replied. "Thanks, Damon."

"I'll be right back." He answered, happier now that I was ascending above my grouchiness and becoming my old self again.

Chapter 32

Rachel

"We have to find her!" I raged. "Cassie is in the hands of that psycho again!"

"I know, Rachel." Jake tried to calm me, but it didn't help. Cassie might be his girlfriend, but she and I had been best friends forever. If that creep did anything to her…

I slammed my fist onto a desk. "How are we going to get her now? Everyone is worried. Kidnappings, they're talking about. Rabid animals, they say. They remember the wolf, Jake. They remember Cassandra. And now that…boy is here, messing with Cassie, probably driving her mad, and we're stuck doing NOTHING!"

Jake placed a hand on my shoulder. "Come on, Rachel. We can beat him. We beat the Valeek, we've beat Visser Three, and we've beat David. We've beaten Crayak and his Howler's, for crying out loud, don't worry! We beat that boy bef-"

I stared at him, hard. "Did we Jake? Did we? I don't know. He was probably doing that just to mess with us. We can't do anything just sitting here in Cassie's barn, worrying about her!"

"Rachel's right." Marco spoke up for the first time. "We have to do something. Those search guys aren't going to find her if they couldn't last time. That kid, whoever he thinks he is, he knows his way around. He knows the forest, obviously, and wherever he's hidden Cassie it's not going to be in broad daylight."

I smiled a bit at Marco. Marco is the A-to-B person; the guy who finds it and then does whatever it takes to get there. Almost anything, anyway.

I knew he had a plan. His face was deadly serious, but at the same time he was hiding his emotions, tuning everything out that wasn't important, and focusing on the facts to get an idea of what to do.

"We need a plan. And I think I've got a partial one. I mean, we all remember-or at least, I remember- those weird like apparitions and voices that went on.

"I think that if we remember everything we can about Cassandra, then we might be able to piece together at least who this guy is."

I nodded in approval. Marco can be annoying, but, like I said, he knows the line from A-to-B.

"Any more brilliant ideas?" Asked Jake.

Marco and I shrugged.

I have one. Tobias spoke up. Why don't we check the cave where he first held Cassie, and maybe that pit, or tomb, whatever, where Cassandra first 'emerged'?

Jake rubbed his hands together, in his usual 'even-though-this-is-the-worst-thing-that-could-ever-happen-let's-be-cheerful' way, and started separating us into groups.

"Alright. Tobias and I will go check out the cave where Cassie was held. Ax, Rachel? You go check out the pit. And Marco? Try and remember if Cassandra ever said anything important, or whether or not any of those voices meant anything."

"Finally!" I said. "We're doing something!"

That said, we all began to morph, except Marco, and four birds of prey and one human boy left the barn, in search of Cassie.