"The Five: Next Time"
Toby Marie Henry
Copyright 2001
Prologue
I slammed the book shut, afraid to even bother reading it. Book fifty-three had sent me for a loop when Jake told his last name and age. I was too nervous to even read book fifty-four, the last book. It was all over, the conclusion to the war and all. Who was going to win? It was all two nerve-racking for me to even bother. I might as well set the book on my shelf and look at. Maybe if I never read it, the war wouldn't end. Yeah right, Laura, I thought to myself, You know it is only a book. Nothing is going to happen.
Chapter One
My name is Laura, and I know that from what you've read you know it would be okay for me to tell my last name, my town, my age, but I can't do that. I will tell someday if I can. I think it would be good to be able to tell the truth once in awhile. Never lie unless you absolutely have to, because it will ruin your life. I know it will because I lie almost every day.
Let me start from the beginning.
I was at a school football game. Football was the only thing we actually had to do on a Friday night. The mall usually didn't hold a lot on interest in people until Saturday when everyone went. Our school doesn't have the best football team, and once the score hit 6 to 49 in favor of the other team, I got up and took a walk. I walked around the track to the opposing team's side.
"Laura!" I heard from behind me and I turned around to see Sari. "Wait up already! I've been calling you for the past five minutes, I guess you didn't hear. Pretty lousy game going huh? We're getting ourselves killed again."
"Yeah, I guess." I replied. I was grateful for Sari's company but I also couldn't believe I'd wasted five dollars to come see this pathetic thing the people called a football game.
Sari and I continued to walk the track while we talked about school and plans for the weekend. Eventually the conversation turned to my worst subject: Boys. Sari went on about Matthew and his twin brother John, and I gave up on trying to follow the entire conversation. My experience with boys was zero. Sari on the other hand had gone out with every guy in the school it seemed. Her bright green eyes, deep auburn hair, and fair skin seemed to draw guys to her like a thirst camel to the water. My dark brown hair and pale blue eyes didn't do as well because I was the only girl at the school to have them. I had my guy-friends and I don't really want a boyfriend at the moment anyway.
"Hey Laura! Watch out!" A voice called to me.
I turned just in time to see a football flying at me head and even less time to catch it so instead I ducked and let John catch it behind me.
"Okay, who's trying to cut my head off this time?" I asked looking from Michael to John and Tyler.
"Tyler threw it." Michael said.
"You know what? I don't care. I want out of this place." I looked up at the score board which read 6 to 60 with 10 minutes remaining. "If we left now, we could get out before the traffic hit. There is no way we are winning this game."
"Yeah, we might as well go," Tyler said, "I was getting bored anyway."
Tyler is my best friend, even if he is a guy. We grew up as neighbors so we know everything about one another. He has dark brown eyes and black hair, which hasn't been cut in a year. His skin looked like he slept in a tanning bed because he was always a dark brown color. His mother, who is white, married a black man and they were married for nine years before his father got killed in a plane crash. We never talk about that much.
Heading out of the field area, Mrs. Nox told us to have a nice night but that if we wanted to get back in we would have to pay another five dollars. Like I was going to be coming back to this murder of a football game. Mrs. Nox is the Principal of our school; her two sons are two friends of mine, Michael and John. During school and school events, they act like they don't know each other.
We headed out to the parking lot where we could cross the street and cut through the woods to our homes. We all lived within the same five-mile radius of each other. We walked into the woods and instantly five flashlight beams cut on. We had all thought alike and realized we wouldn't be staying at that game the entire night. The woods got dark at night and seeing was nearly impossible without a flashlight.
We walked for nearly ten minutes, the normal walk took about fifteen, when a strange blue light passed over the woods like a search light. I looked up and saw some type of odd-looking airplane. I followed it in the air until it fell in the close by opening. I ran after like any teenage fool would do and came to a stop to be what I thought was an airplane.
In fact, this craft didn't look a think like an airplane. It looked more like an Andalite fighter from the Animorphs series Tyler and I both read. That was a ridiculous idea though. No way was this an actual fighter, besides the war was over. The Yeerks were gone. I stepped up to the craft just as the door opened and a small compact disk fell from the opening and rolled to my feet. I kneeled to touch it and the second I did a holographic image popped up of an Andalite. A female Andalite
My name is Aklia-Tremmna-Sylia. I have been shot down by Yeerk fighters and and badly injured, if not dead. Most humans now know about the Yeerk invasion and how it ended, but they are back again. Trying to infest the planet once more.
Toby Marie Henry
Copyright 2001
Prologue
I slammed the book shut, afraid to even bother reading it. Book fifty-three had sent me for a loop when Jake told his last name and age. I was too nervous to even read book fifty-four, the last book. It was all over, the conclusion to the war and all. Who was going to win? It was all two nerve-racking for me to even bother. I might as well set the book on my shelf and look at. Maybe if I never read it, the war wouldn't end. Yeah right, Laura, I thought to myself, You know it is only a book. Nothing is going to happen.
Chapter One
My name is Laura, and I know that from what you've read you know it would be okay for me to tell my last name, my town, my age, but I can't do that. I will tell someday if I can. I think it would be good to be able to tell the truth once in awhile. Never lie unless you absolutely have to, because it will ruin your life. I know it will because I lie almost every day.
Let me start from the beginning.
I was at a school football game. Football was the only thing we actually had to do on a Friday night. The mall usually didn't hold a lot on interest in people until Saturday when everyone went. Our school doesn't have the best football team, and once the score hit 6 to 49 in favor of the other team, I got up and took a walk. I walked around the track to the opposing team's side.
"Laura!" I heard from behind me and I turned around to see Sari. "Wait up already! I've been calling you for the past five minutes, I guess you didn't hear. Pretty lousy game going huh? We're getting ourselves killed again."
"Yeah, I guess." I replied. I was grateful for Sari's company but I also couldn't believe I'd wasted five dollars to come see this pathetic thing the people called a football game.
Sari and I continued to walk the track while we talked about school and plans for the weekend. Eventually the conversation turned to my worst subject: Boys. Sari went on about Matthew and his twin brother John, and I gave up on trying to follow the entire conversation. My experience with boys was zero. Sari on the other hand had gone out with every guy in the school it seemed. Her bright green eyes, deep auburn hair, and fair skin seemed to draw guys to her like a thirst camel to the water. My dark brown hair and pale blue eyes didn't do as well because I was the only girl at the school to have them. I had my guy-friends and I don't really want a boyfriend at the moment anyway.
"Hey Laura! Watch out!" A voice called to me.
I turned just in time to see a football flying at me head and even less time to catch it so instead I ducked and let John catch it behind me.
"Okay, who's trying to cut my head off this time?" I asked looking from Michael to John and Tyler.
"Tyler threw it." Michael said.
"You know what? I don't care. I want out of this place." I looked up at the score board which read 6 to 60 with 10 minutes remaining. "If we left now, we could get out before the traffic hit. There is no way we are winning this game."
"Yeah, we might as well go," Tyler said, "I was getting bored anyway."
Tyler is my best friend, even if he is a guy. We grew up as neighbors so we know everything about one another. He has dark brown eyes and black hair, which hasn't been cut in a year. His skin looked like he slept in a tanning bed because he was always a dark brown color. His mother, who is white, married a black man and they were married for nine years before his father got killed in a plane crash. We never talk about that much.
Heading out of the field area, Mrs. Nox told us to have a nice night but that if we wanted to get back in we would have to pay another five dollars. Like I was going to be coming back to this murder of a football game. Mrs. Nox is the Principal of our school; her two sons are two friends of mine, Michael and John. During school and school events, they act like they don't know each other.
We headed out to the parking lot where we could cross the street and cut through the woods to our homes. We all lived within the same five-mile radius of each other. We walked into the woods and instantly five flashlight beams cut on. We had all thought alike and realized we wouldn't be staying at that game the entire night. The woods got dark at night and seeing was nearly impossible without a flashlight.
We walked for nearly ten minutes, the normal walk took about fifteen, when a strange blue light passed over the woods like a search light. I looked up and saw some type of odd-looking airplane. I followed it in the air until it fell in the close by opening. I ran after like any teenage fool would do and came to a stop to be what I thought was an airplane.
In fact, this craft didn't look a think like an airplane. It looked more like an Andalite fighter from the Animorphs series Tyler and I both read. That was a ridiculous idea though. No way was this an actual fighter, besides the war was over. The Yeerks were gone. I stepped up to the craft just as the door opened and a small compact disk fell from the opening and rolled to my feet. I kneeled to touch it and the second I did a holographic image popped up of an Andalite. A female Andalite
My name is Aklia-Tremmna-Sylia. I have been shot down by Yeerk fighters and and badly injured, if not dead. Most humans now know about the Yeerk invasion and how it ended, but they are back again. Trying to infest the planet once more.
