Chapter 4
"I want you to meet a couple of my friends." Jake was saying.
"Okay. Where are we going to meet them?" I asked him.
"At the house of one of them."
"Okay. Will mom or dad let you borrow one of their cars, or do you not have your license yet?"
"I don't ask them very often, so I'm sure they'll let me."
After he got permission we went to his friend's house. It looked... familiar somehow.
Once we got to where his friends were waiting at, I knew for sure that I had been here before. We walked into the barn.
"Alley? You're Jake's sister?" A familiar voice asked.
"Cassie! Hi. I didn't know you were his friend."
A blond girl looked really confused.
"You know each other?" Jake asked.
"Yeah. Remember how I said that I ran away sometimes? I could only get around this far. I always left at night and I met Cassie that way. I was getting tired, so I looked for shelter. Decided to come into the barn and saw Cassie there, tending the animals. I came here so often, Cassie got used to me. And every time she was talking about how I shouldn't run away because it was too dangerous. Every time until she realized it wasn't going to stop me." I smiled.
"And your Jake's sister?" The blond said surprised. Like she couldn't believe it.
"That's Rachel." Jake told me.
"My new cousin." I stated. "Hi."
Jake continued, "There's three more, but you're gonna have to meet them later. Yesterday night... that thing you went to... isn't all it seems to be."
"What do you mean?" I asked confused.
"It's not some group that is trying to be nice to other people. That's what it seems like on the outside. But when the full members go off, they're thinking just the opposite. They're planning on how to get more people to be full members." Rachel said.
"What's so bad about full members?" I asked, still a little confused.
"Okay Alley, this may sound a little strange, but please hear it with an open mind." Jake said.
"A very open mind." Added Rachel.
"Okay." I said.
Cassie gave Jake a reassuring look.
Jake sighed and started. "The full members are not in control of themselves. There are parasites unknown to this planet that are slowly taking control of people. They are called Yeerks. The Yeerk would push itself into the host's ear, putting out something to numb it. Eventually they get to the brain and wrap themselves around it. They sink into every gap and take total control of their host. The host sees what the Yeerk is doing but they have no control over it. There is an advantage. The Yeerk needs something called Kandrona rays to survive. So they go to a Yeerk pool to leave the host and swim around in the pool, soaking up the rays.
"Meanwhile the hosts is put into a cage by another group of aliens called Hork-Bajir. They are a group taken over by the Yeerks. There is one colony of free Hork-Bajir. They look deadly. They have blades on different parts of their body, but really they're a peaceful race that eat bark from trees. Which is what the blades are for. They are taken by the Yeerks involuntarily.
"On the other hand, there is a race that are voluntary. They are called the Taxons. They are cannibals and have an unending hunger. They will eat practically anything that has blood. The hunger is so strong that the Yeerks in control of the Taxons can't control the hunger.
"The leader of this invasion is called Visser 1. He is the only Yeerk to take control of an Andalite body. The Andalites fight the Yeerks. We have only one here on Earth. You'll be able to meet him but not until after you know everything.
"There are five more people fighting the Yeerks. A dying andalite gave these five people the power to morph into any animal they get the DNA of. They get it simply by touching the animal and concentrating. If they didn't fight, then no one will be able to. And the Yeerks would take control of the whole planet. Leaving no one to make decisions for themselves. Those five... are us."
I'm sure I had a stunned look on my face. "Um... wow... um... well, who's the forth and fifth?"
"Marco is the fourth one. He's not here and the fifth is Tobias." Jake said and pointed towards a red-tailed hawk perched in the rafters. "There is a limit amount of time you can stay in morph. 2 hours. If you stay in morph over that amount of time, you stay in that body. Forever. And you don't have the morphing power anymore. Tobias got his power back from an Ellimist. You'll meet him eventually."
I sighed. "Wow. Um... when can I meet the Andalite?"
"His name is Ax. And you can meet him as soon as Cassie comes back." Marco said. It was then that I noticed Cassie had left.
"Um. Okay." I was trying to soak in everything the best I could. So far I guess it was okay. I also guess I won't feel the full extent until something big happens.
When Cassie got back, she was holding something in her hands.
"What's that?" I asked.
"You have a choice," Cassie began. "Would you like to join our team?"
Chapter 5
I took a deep breath. I knew that it was a big decision and if I said yes then I would face harm everyday. But if I said no, then I would go on knowing what is happening and be defenseless.
Well, I certainly didn't want to be defenseless. "Yes."
"You know that you would be putting yourself at risk everyday?" Cassie asked.
"Yes. But I don't want to be defenseless and still know what is going on." I answered.
"Okay." She opened her hands. There was a blue cube. "Touch it."
I did as told to. I can't explain the weird feeling that swept over me. "Woah." I said and pulled my hand back.
"It's done." Cassie said.
"Can we go see Ax now?" I asked. I wanted to see what an andalite looked like.
"Sure. He should be on his way over." Cassie started.
Don't scream when you see his real form.
"Um... uh..." I said, confused.
"That would be Tobias. Whenever you're in morph you use thought-speech. Or if you have no mouth. If you notice, it sounds like the person." Rachel said.
"Oh. Okay."
"Morphing is kinda weird at first, but you get used to it." Jake said, going back to the subject. "Cassie has a talent for it. She makes it look better than what the rest of us make it look like. It would be better if you got to see her do it first."
"I guess I should." I answered.
He nodded towards Cassie. She started morphing. First feather patterns appeared, then became actual feathers. Like some kind of 3D thing. Her nose and mouth formed together then hardened to make the beak. She started to shrink and I could just imagine what was happening to her inside. As she was shrinking, her arms formed into wings and her feet formed into talons. By the time she was finished she was an Osprey.
"Wow" was all I could say.
"She has a talent for it." Jake replied again.
She's a beginner. We'd have to get her something to wear after she meets Ax. Cassie said pointing something out.
"Thank you for that thought, Cassie." Rachel said.
It has to be done. No matter how much I won't like you dragging me there too.
"Where are you planning on taking me and to get what?" I asked.
"To the mall to buy you a skin-tight thing to wear for when you morph. And unless you're more talented than Cassie, you'll need it."
"A... skin-tight thing?"
"It's either that or whenever you demorph you end up wearing nothing."
"Um, I think I'll go with the skin-tight thing."
Just then a Northern Harrier flew into the barn. There was a pause, then Jake nodded his head.
"There's also something called private thought-speak. It's where you aim your thought-speak to only the people you want to hear it." Rachel explained to me.
The northern harrier, which I guessed was Ax, started to demorph.
By the time he was done, I couldn't help it, it just came out. The scream.
Jake put his hand over my mouth.
My eyes were wide and I stopped trying to scream.
Jake put his hand down.
I will not harm you. I guess Ax said.
"You have to be careful. Anyone can be a controller. A controller is what we call a person taken by a yeerk. The yeerk goes through the person's memory and what that person would do in different situations, then slowly changes that person. Unknown to anyone else. Anyone could be them." Jake warned.
I turned back to Ax. "You're an andalite?"
Yes. I am Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill.
"I think I'll stick with calling you just 'Ax'."
"Okay. Good. Time for the mall." Rachel said.
Welcome to the group. Ax said, morphed to bird, and flew out.
Good luck. Tobias said to me and flew off.
"Okay. Out to the car." Jake said.
We went to the front, Cassie told her mom where she'd be, and we got in the car. Rachel always making sure that Cassie was with us.
"Now you know why I don't ask to borrow their car often." Jake told me.
"You'd have to come back to aquifer some animals." Cassie said.
It was mainly quiet the way there.
While we were there, Rachel took me to practically every store to see what they had. Finally, we found a black body suit I could wear and bought it.
"I'm tired now." I said.
"You don't know what tired is yet." Rachel whispered to me, "Tired is when you go to sleep at 9, wake up at 2, fight, and come back home with one hour left to sleep before you have to get up and go to school."
"I want you to meet a couple of my friends." Jake was saying.
"Okay. Where are we going to meet them?" I asked him.
"At the house of one of them."
"Okay. Will mom or dad let you borrow one of their cars, or do you not have your license yet?"
"I don't ask them very often, so I'm sure they'll let me."
After he got permission we went to his friend's house. It looked... familiar somehow.
Once we got to where his friends were waiting at, I knew for sure that I had been here before. We walked into the barn.
"Alley? You're Jake's sister?" A familiar voice asked.
"Cassie! Hi. I didn't know you were his friend."
A blond girl looked really confused.
"You know each other?" Jake asked.
"Yeah. Remember how I said that I ran away sometimes? I could only get around this far. I always left at night and I met Cassie that way. I was getting tired, so I looked for shelter. Decided to come into the barn and saw Cassie there, tending the animals. I came here so often, Cassie got used to me. And every time she was talking about how I shouldn't run away because it was too dangerous. Every time until she realized it wasn't going to stop me." I smiled.
"And your Jake's sister?" The blond said surprised. Like she couldn't believe it.
"That's Rachel." Jake told me.
"My new cousin." I stated. "Hi."
Jake continued, "There's three more, but you're gonna have to meet them later. Yesterday night... that thing you went to... isn't all it seems to be."
"What do you mean?" I asked confused.
"It's not some group that is trying to be nice to other people. That's what it seems like on the outside. But when the full members go off, they're thinking just the opposite. They're planning on how to get more people to be full members." Rachel said.
"What's so bad about full members?" I asked, still a little confused.
"Okay Alley, this may sound a little strange, but please hear it with an open mind." Jake said.
"A very open mind." Added Rachel.
"Okay." I said.
Cassie gave Jake a reassuring look.
Jake sighed and started. "The full members are not in control of themselves. There are parasites unknown to this planet that are slowly taking control of people. They are called Yeerks. The Yeerk would push itself into the host's ear, putting out something to numb it. Eventually they get to the brain and wrap themselves around it. They sink into every gap and take total control of their host. The host sees what the Yeerk is doing but they have no control over it. There is an advantage. The Yeerk needs something called Kandrona rays to survive. So they go to a Yeerk pool to leave the host and swim around in the pool, soaking up the rays.
"Meanwhile the hosts is put into a cage by another group of aliens called Hork-Bajir. They are a group taken over by the Yeerks. There is one colony of free Hork-Bajir. They look deadly. They have blades on different parts of their body, but really they're a peaceful race that eat bark from trees. Which is what the blades are for. They are taken by the Yeerks involuntarily.
"On the other hand, there is a race that are voluntary. They are called the Taxons. They are cannibals and have an unending hunger. They will eat practically anything that has blood. The hunger is so strong that the Yeerks in control of the Taxons can't control the hunger.
"The leader of this invasion is called Visser 1. He is the only Yeerk to take control of an Andalite body. The Andalites fight the Yeerks. We have only one here on Earth. You'll be able to meet him but not until after you know everything.
"There are five more people fighting the Yeerks. A dying andalite gave these five people the power to morph into any animal they get the DNA of. They get it simply by touching the animal and concentrating. If they didn't fight, then no one will be able to. And the Yeerks would take control of the whole planet. Leaving no one to make decisions for themselves. Those five... are us."
I'm sure I had a stunned look on my face. "Um... wow... um... well, who's the forth and fifth?"
"Marco is the fourth one. He's not here and the fifth is Tobias." Jake said and pointed towards a red-tailed hawk perched in the rafters. "There is a limit amount of time you can stay in morph. 2 hours. If you stay in morph over that amount of time, you stay in that body. Forever. And you don't have the morphing power anymore. Tobias got his power back from an Ellimist. You'll meet him eventually."
I sighed. "Wow. Um... when can I meet the Andalite?"
"His name is Ax. And you can meet him as soon as Cassie comes back." Marco said. It was then that I noticed Cassie had left.
"Um. Okay." I was trying to soak in everything the best I could. So far I guess it was okay. I also guess I won't feel the full extent until something big happens.
When Cassie got back, she was holding something in her hands.
"What's that?" I asked.
"You have a choice," Cassie began. "Would you like to join our team?"
Chapter 5
I took a deep breath. I knew that it was a big decision and if I said yes then I would face harm everyday. But if I said no, then I would go on knowing what is happening and be defenseless.
Well, I certainly didn't want to be defenseless. "Yes."
"You know that you would be putting yourself at risk everyday?" Cassie asked.
"Yes. But I don't want to be defenseless and still know what is going on." I answered.
"Okay." She opened her hands. There was a blue cube. "Touch it."
I did as told to. I can't explain the weird feeling that swept over me. "Woah." I said and pulled my hand back.
"It's done." Cassie said.
"Can we go see Ax now?" I asked. I wanted to see what an andalite looked like.
"Sure. He should be on his way over." Cassie started.
Don't scream when you see his real form.
"Um... uh..." I said, confused.
"That would be Tobias. Whenever you're in morph you use thought-speech. Or if you have no mouth. If you notice, it sounds like the person." Rachel said.
"Oh. Okay."
"Morphing is kinda weird at first, but you get used to it." Jake said, going back to the subject. "Cassie has a talent for it. She makes it look better than what the rest of us make it look like. It would be better if you got to see her do it first."
"I guess I should." I answered.
He nodded towards Cassie. She started morphing. First feather patterns appeared, then became actual feathers. Like some kind of 3D thing. Her nose and mouth formed together then hardened to make the beak. She started to shrink and I could just imagine what was happening to her inside. As she was shrinking, her arms formed into wings and her feet formed into talons. By the time she was finished she was an Osprey.
"Wow" was all I could say.
"She has a talent for it." Jake replied again.
She's a beginner. We'd have to get her something to wear after she meets Ax. Cassie said pointing something out.
"Thank you for that thought, Cassie." Rachel said.
It has to be done. No matter how much I won't like you dragging me there too.
"Where are you planning on taking me and to get what?" I asked.
"To the mall to buy you a skin-tight thing to wear for when you morph. And unless you're more talented than Cassie, you'll need it."
"A... skin-tight thing?"
"It's either that or whenever you demorph you end up wearing nothing."
"Um, I think I'll go with the skin-tight thing."
Just then a Northern Harrier flew into the barn. There was a pause, then Jake nodded his head.
"There's also something called private thought-speak. It's where you aim your thought-speak to only the people you want to hear it." Rachel explained to me.
The northern harrier, which I guessed was Ax, started to demorph.
By the time he was done, I couldn't help it, it just came out. The scream.
Jake put his hand over my mouth.
My eyes were wide and I stopped trying to scream.
Jake put his hand down.
I will not harm you. I guess Ax said.
"You have to be careful. Anyone can be a controller. A controller is what we call a person taken by a yeerk. The yeerk goes through the person's memory and what that person would do in different situations, then slowly changes that person. Unknown to anyone else. Anyone could be them." Jake warned.
I turned back to Ax. "You're an andalite?"
Yes. I am Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill.
"I think I'll stick with calling you just 'Ax'."
"Okay. Good. Time for the mall." Rachel said.
Welcome to the group. Ax said, morphed to bird, and flew out.
Good luck. Tobias said to me and flew off.
"Okay. Out to the car." Jake said.
We went to the front, Cassie told her mom where she'd be, and we got in the car. Rachel always making sure that Cassie was with us.
"Now you know why I don't ask to borrow their car often." Jake told me.
"You'd have to come back to aquifer some animals." Cassie said.
It was mainly quiet the way there.
While we were there, Rachel took me to practically every store to see what they had. Finally, we found a black body suit I could wear and bought it.
"I'm tired now." I said.
"You don't know what tired is yet." Rachel whispered to me, "Tired is when you go to sleep at 9, wake up at 2, fight, and come back home with one hour left to sleep before you have to get up and go to school."