Chapter 13 (Joe)
I was mad, furious and… extremely worried. It sneered at me again. Then its mood changed. I could feel it sifting through my mind and making me relive things I never wanted to remember. But it wasn't finding what it wanted. And it was starting to panic. Fine, let it panic. Made no difference to me. I sat patiently in that little corner of my mind waiting for the Yeerk to understand what I'd been telling them all along. I didn't know anything.
I was getting different moods and emotions from the Yeerk. Not thoughts or memories, like he could from me, but he couldn't hide his moods from me.
You realise little boy, that we will both die at the end of the Visser's tail blade?
I shrugged mentally. I guess so. I'm not sure why I accepted that so readily. I believed him, oh man I totally believed him. But somehow, I don't know. It began to seem more and more impossible. Nothing was impossible. I'd decided to accept everything. There was nothing else I could do. Was there?
No, announced the Yeerk flatly, having followed my thoughts. You are right to accept it. You cannot fight me and it would be foolish to try.
Then suddenly we stood up. "I have control of the boy." Wait! I hadn't said anything? How…? Then I pieced it together. If it had control of my brain, the next logical step is the rest of my body, least of all my throat and mouth.
Report. The Visser's massive voice thundered into my head. Even if it was only thought speak, it still smarted.
"Minoi-Seven-Two-Nine, of the Culat Hesh pool. Reporting for duty."
What is the status of our Andalite bandit?
Are you going to tell him? I silently taunted the Yeerk. Go on. I dare you. Tell him he was wrong. But I doubt he'll like that too much.
It ignored me. "Visser, this boy is no bandit. He is merely a human boy. And he is no threat to us." I could feel myself sweating and trembling.
The Visser was silent for a moment. He's going to kill us, he's going to kill us, mumbled the Yeerk feverishly. It was freaking out completely.
Minoi-Seven-Two-Nine, announced the Visser at last, please remove yourself from your host. The Visser spoke almost pleasantly, as though he was inviting Minoi-Seven-Two-Nine to join him for a family get together or something.
The Yeerk was terrified. "Visser," my voice trembled as the Yeerk used it. "I am telling you the truth. I swear."
I don't doubt that. But please remove yourself from your host.
The Yeerk hung my head in quiet surrender and allowed us to be lead back towards the pool.
Just as they were about to thrust my head under the water, something went wrong. Don't ask me to explain it because I can't. My whole body convulsed like I was having some sort of fit. The Hork-Bajir, taken off guard, released their hold on my wrists for several seconds. They didn't waste any time getting hold of them again. Then I realised that, somehow, the Yeerk was leaving. Why was a mystery to me.
Time seemed to stop still. The Visser and everyone else present just stared at the Yeerk. Then the Visser started rapping out orders. I want a new host for Minoi-Seven-Two-Nine, immediately! And I want him, the Visser pointed a long finger in my direction, locked up until we can discover what happened.
I was promptly pulled off my feet and hauled away to a wall of cages and thrown into one. I lay where I had landed for a second, face down, trying to get past how nutso this all was. But I had seen it, and I know I don't hallucinate. I was not mad.
I picked myself up, and sat staring at nothing. Trying to figure out how to get out of here. It was hopeless. There was nothing I could do. I whipped around suddenly as I felt someone nudge me.
"Hi." Tall guy, dark hair, a few years older than me, looked like he wanted to kill himself but didn't quite know how. Fine, maybe I'm being a little extreme, but the guy did look like he had seen better times. "Are you really an Andalite?" His voice held a hidden awe.
I shook my head. "No."
"They say you are."
"Maybe they do," I snapped, "but I'm not. And I wish I'd never heard of the stupid word."
A girl who I hadn't noticed spoke up. Tall, blond hair, same age as the guy, you know the deal. "But you have to be."
"Why?" I asked her. "Because everyone wants to believe it?"
She simply nodded. "Otherwise there's no hope left."
"Hope of what?"
"Hope of being free," muttered the boy.
I snorted. "You make it sound like the slave trade or something."
"But it is. I have a family, okay? Every morning I eat my breakfast across the table from my little brother, goofing on and making jokes. He doesn't know that it's not me. He thinks his big brother's turned into some sort of evil demon and now we hate each other. He doesn't even guess. He can't guess, because I still act like me."
The girl spoke. "Me too. My cousin has just moved from Britain. Her parents are both dead." She stared at me hard as she said the word. "The Yeerk inside my head hasn't been nice to her since she got here. Even if things do change, Lee will hate me anyway."
"Gee, I'm sorry." I was sorry. I hadn't realised how tough it was. They waved off my apology and introduced themselves. I mean, let's face it. There was nothing else to do.
So this is how the story goes. Their names were Tom and Emma. Emma had been unhappy lately and she heard of this club called the Sharing and went to check it out. Tom, who liked Emma big time, decided to join up too, to see if he could talk to her. And it went from there, they became 'full members' and had a full time Yeerk for company.
I suppose they took a more round about route than I had of getting here, but let's face it, they both thought I was an Andalite bandit.
Does life get any better than this? I hope so. I really hope so.