Chapter 23 (Joe)
I paused for a second to let that sink in. I had just acquired Chance. His DNA was floating about in my bloodstream and he was a part of me. Whoa.
I continued on through the house, knowing my way like the back of my hand. Had I not crept this way hundreds of times whenever I needed to pee? But, instead of going into the bathroom I turned right towards my parents' room.
I was about to turn the doorknob but stopped. What if they were both awake? Or even just one of them lying awake in bed? I swallowed hard. What would the Yeerks do to me if I got caught again? If my parents were Controllers. Somehow I doubted it. But, like they said, it could be anyone. It wasn't a chance I could afford to take.
Taking a deep breath I tightened my grip on the handle and slowly turned it.
Nothing. No shout of alarm, nothing.
I pushed it a bit further, until I could see inside the room. They were both there, my parents. Mom's long red hair looked like a fiery serpent wriggling about her pillow. Just the way I'd always remembered. Dad looked like he'd grown old. Extra lines creased his face where they hadn't before. Worry. Worry lines, from worrying about me. Wasn't that proof enough? A Yeerk wouldn't worry about me. But… There's always a but. And, like I said, I wasn't prepared to take chances. Best just to get it over with.
I moved round to my mom's side of the bed and put a hand to her forehead. Her expression changed slightly, but there was nothing else to indicate that she knew there was anyone else in the room. I closed my eyes to help myself concentrate. Within a few seconds it was done. I had acquired my mom.
Moving around to my dad's side of the bed I repeated the procedure. This time I put a hand on his shoulder and acquired him.
Stepping away from the bed I felt slightly nauseous. It was finally dawning on me what I had done, and what I was going to have to do later on. I mean, I knew what I was going to have to do before now, but now that I was busy doing it… Just gives you a lot to think about.
Suddenly, I had an idea. It was a stupid idea as well as a crazy one, but I'd passed stupid and crazy in my last English class. Silently I tiptoed down the stairs and stopped at the bottom of the stairwell. What was the code again? Finally remembering it I crept down the last few stairs and burst across the hallway. The loud beeping of the alarm cut through the silence, and the numbers seemed to beep louder again. Putting in the four-digit code I finally managed to restore silence.
I stood and dragged in a couple of deep breaths and listened hard. I hoped and hoped that nobody had heard it. No such luck.
Joe? What the hell do you think you're doing? Get your butt out of there right now! Of course, I'd rather have had the guys hear it than my family. Lee's thought speak shouts were accompanied by others, but I kept toward my goal.
I made it into the kitchen and glanced about. Where was it? If she'd moved it I'd have risked the alarm for nothing. Then I spotted it hiding by the toaster. The pad of sticky notes and the pen. My eyes wandered over to the fridge. Notes were plastered all over it. Most of them about me. I shook my head slowly as I picked up the pen. I was severely tempted to forget everything and go wake up my mom and dad. But I had to get it through my thick head that that wasn't about to happen, and no amount of sticky notes could change that.
I gnawed at the end of the pen for a few seconds. Then wrote.
Mom & Dad,
Don't worry about me, I'm okay. Can't tell you much. But I really am fine and tell Chance that I love him. Okay?
Love Joe
That was all I could think of to write. I let the pen fall onto the worktop with a clatter. With trembling fingers I took the sticky note and stuck it onto the fridge. I didn't know when they would see it, but they would eventually find it. And if they were Controllers, there was nothing they could use to find me or know what I was about to do. After a second more thought I took the pen and added to my note.
Chance? Some dreams do come true.
Could anything be cornier? Probably. You never know.
I debated using the backdoor to make my escape, but the key was missing from the lock. So I trudged back up the stairs and let myself back out of my bedroom window. I left the alarm switched off. I saw no point in turning it back on again.