Chapter 8 (Jake)
I tossed and turned that night. Tangling myself up in the sheets, and then having to untangle myself in case I sweated so much I became dehydrated. I suppose, although I feel guilty admitting it, I hardly thought about Joseph. There'd be plenty of time to think about him tomorrow.
Eventually, I somehow managed to doze off and entered a hazardous plane of dreams and nightmares. Except that I never got that far that night.
The second my feet hit solid ground, I had to put out my arms to stop myself falling. An immense feeling of nausea swept over me, and I fought to stay standing.
"Jake?" I turned to see Rachel looking uncertainly about.
"Yeah," I muttered, "I'm here."
Glancing over either shoulder I saw everyone was there. Marco, Ax, Lee and Tobias to my right, Cassie and Rachel to my left.
"Well, this is nice," commented Marco, glancing about like I had just done. "The Animorphs all out for a little midnight partying. But I have a distinct feeling that my old man's going to have a problem with me being whisked off to another plane of existence after about… say midnight? So, what's say we pack this up and leave?"
Lee and Rachel turned to him simultaneously. "Lead the way."
They both glanced at each other past Marco. Rachel grinned broadly and Lee returned it.
Marco looked at first one and then the other. "Xena and… what? Gabrielle?"
Cassie's face was worried. Ax and Tobias didn't look too happy about being here either. I knew how they felt. I took a tentative step forwards. "Hello?"
Is anyone here? called Tobias, ruffling his feathers uneasily.
I AM HERE.
We all stood in a stunned silence. The Ellimist. He wasn't there, but he was. He was no more than a voice, but we knew he was there.
Ax was the first to pick up enough courage to address the Ellimist. For what reason have we been summoned?
I HAVE CALLED UPON YOU TO ASK A FAVOUR.
Marco had adopted his usual let's-make-this-funny attitude. "No way, my dad's made me swear never to do any favours for Ellimists."
Cassie shot a warning look in Marco's direction, before addressing the Ellimist. "What kind of favour?"
I WISH YOU TO HELP ME RETRIEVE MY SON.
Lee turned to me. "Ellimists have children?"
I shrugged. "Apparently."
I AM AFRAID CRAYAK MAY FIND HIM BEFORE I DO.
Crayak. Another being, an evil being who rivalled even the Ellimist's power. Really, really evil. Scary evil.
"You mean you don't know where he is?" Rachel's voice held more than a slight trace of disbelief. I knew what she meant. Most dads tend to know where their kids are, never mind some guy who could be identified as having god-like powers.
I HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF HIS WHEREABOUTS, admitted the Ellimist sadly. I SENT HIM INTO HIDING AS A CHILD. HE HAS HIDDEN WELL. TOO WELL, I'M AFRAID.
"How are we supposed to find him?" Asked Lee, a puzzled look on her face. That's the question I would have asked. I waited impatiently for an answer.
A sigh vibrated through each one of us before the Ellimist spoke again. HE IS HIDING ON EARTH. AS A HUMAN BOY.
"What does he look like?" asked Rachel.
I DO NOT KNOW.
"How are we supposed to find this guy if we don't even know what he looks like?" I was having a hard week. It made me a bit snappy, even with a being who could say… kill me or something.
YOU WILL FIND HIM, the Ellimist assured me. IN FACT, he continued, YOU HAVE ALREADY MET HIM. It was like he was standing in front of me and had fingers outstretched towards Lee and Marco. He wasn't physically standing there, but you could… feel, I guess… the indication towards them.
They both got slightly fidgety. Marco was looking anywhere but towards me, and Lee was suddenly examining her feet. Then, like she'd had an electric shock or something, Lee looked up. "Joseph!" she exclaimed. "Is it Joseph?" She was looking about since she couldn't see who she was addressing and, let's face it, the Ellimist was something new for her.
POSSIBLY. Not much of a response.
"Well, that's helpful," muttered Marco. "Can't you be slightly more specific?"
I ONLY KNOW WHAT I HAVE TOLD YOU.
Tobias gained our attention by ruffling his feathers loudly. Can't you even tell us which part of the world he's in? We can't even hope to find something if we don't know where he is. It's a needle in a haystack situation here.
I ONLY KNOW WHAT I HAVE TOLD YOU, repeated the Ellimist. BUT I HAVE ONE MORE THING TO SHOW YOU.
Like magic, the scene around us changed. Like ripples in a pool. When the ripples finally settled into calm I had a chance to look about. It was like I was in someone's basement. Four bare concrete walls penned us in, and I was instantly alert. I guess, once you've been taken by surprise more times than you care to count you tend to become a little more wary.
Cassie turned to me. "Where are we?"
"I have no idea. Any guesses?"
No one answered me. The only sound was the Ellimist's booming voice. I DO NOT KNOW WHERE THIS PLACE IS. I ONLY KNOW THAT MY SON IS HERE.
"But, if you brought us here, shouldn't you know where it is anyway?" Lee glanced about warily as she spoke, as though she was waiting for something to leap out of the shadows and attack us.
I SHOULD, BUT I DO NOT. The Ellimist was starting to sound perplexed at all our questions. Can't say that I blame him. THERE ARE THINGS THAT EVEN I AM NOT CAPABLE OF.
Marco's answer to that was a low, awed whistle.
Taking a tentative step forward, I felt my way along the walls. Even though we knew this kid was human, I didn't really know what to expect. I mean, we were talking half-Ellimist here. The Ellimist can do things like stop time, and whisk people off to other planes of existence, so what was this kid going to be capable of?
Carefully, I walked alongside the wall. It was cold beneath my fingertips. And dank. I tried to take another step forward, but my foot kicked something. Something warm.
Joseph groaned wearily, and then seemed to doze off again. "Well," I whispered, "We've found him. What next?"
I heard Lee's voice through the darkness, "Wake him up."
And if he's a Controller…? Pressed Ax. What then?
HE WILL REMEMBER NOTHING OF THIS EXCHANGE.
I heard Ax pawing at the ground with a hoof. Ellimists and Andalites never got on well before now, why should it be any different now? I think that Ax was also a little ticked off at having his opinion brushed aside so easily.
"Well," I whispered, barely being able to make out everyone's faces in the gloom. "I suppose that answers that question." I bent down and shook Joseph awake.