Chapter Six ~ Sentenced To Life
Outside Chapman's office, Jake, Marco and Rachel were waiting anxiously. Jake fretted, "Is he ever coming out?" while Marco, in his typical harsh way, stated flatly, "Chapman's a bastard. I think he suspects something."
Rachel murmured assent. They waited and watched as seconds ticked by. In the not-too-distant foreground, Victor Trent began his steady pacing towards the door of the office.
"I think the ol' spider sense should be screaming right about now…" Marco, of course.
Rachel was alert. "I say we bust in and rescue him!" But she was batten down by the others. "No way, it'll be waaaaaaay too obvious. The last thing we need is a connection between us and the Andalite bandits."
Her temper flared up. "And the second-last thing we need is Ax trapped in morph!"
Jake tried hard to soothe. "Rach, we'll help him out. Things will work out in the end. You said that, didn't you?"
"Hmph. And SOMEONE so confidently decided 'but there will be one time that they don't, and what if it's now?' Remember, Jake?"
They waited.
Inside Chapman's office…
"Why good afternoon Mr. Trent, what a surprise to see you here."
Ax stared, and hastily shoved his eyeballs back into their sockets in case Visser Three noticed his reaction. Visser Three, coming to see Chapman? What coincidental timing. He cleared his throat.
"Can I go? I mean, I figure you want to talk to the bigwig guy, so…" he let his words trail off belligerently as two pairs of eyes came to rest on him.
Visser Three smiled, a sideways stretch of the mouth that didn't quite seem to reach his eyes. "No matter. Chapman, I'll wait in here while you straighten things out." He seated himself in front of the Assistant Principal's desk, stretching his legs comfortably. All the while his gaze did not waver from Ax.
Four minutes.
Ax exploded. "What is WRONG with you people?? It's a free country!! I can leave if I want!!" he strode over to the door and slammed his hand down on the handle. It didn't budge. Feeling more than slightly panicky, he tried again. Nada.
Chapman tauntingly dangled a brass key on a chain. "Ah, Darren, it might be advantageous if you learned some patience while you still can. You will stay here until I say you may leave."
Three and a half minutes.
Ax felt his insides freeze, then instantaneously heat up until he was sure he would combust from within. But he did not allow a trace of this to show through as facial emotion. He took a step away from the door, slowly, making his voice absolutely cool. "Fine. I'll play your game. Try me." He leaned back against the cold pine frame of the door; the thin barrier was all that was between him and freedom. Two inches of wood was two inches too much. Crossed his ankles casually. Waited.
A flicker of doubt spasmed across Chapman's face. Guardedly glanced at Visser Three, who remained dispassionate. With a mere twitch of his head - a movement so slight that Ax would have missed it if he had not been looking for it - the Yeerk general signaled his acolyte to remain in position. The room was tensely silent, the only sound being the rattling passage of vehicles outside. But much, much louder, was the plastic, mass-produced, dollar-a-dozen clock on the wall. Ticking relentlessly.
Two minutes.
Ax sighed noisily, but his mind was in turmoil. Could he escape? Logic said yes - if he demorphed right now and busted out of the office. Yet he knew - and it wasn't a gut reaction, nor a feeling from any of his hearts. It was an empathy derived from his essence, his very being. If he paid no heed, then he might as well not live.
One and a half minutes.
He couldn't demorph. What was saving himself compared with betraying his friends, his true kin? They were even closer to him than his family now. How could he extinguish their hope, just for his own selfish desires? The six of them made up the resistance. If he gave them away, it was likely that Earth, too, would fall to the Yeerks. He would not, no, he *could* not allow that to happen.
One minute.
Any decent Andalite warrior would commit suicide on his own tail blade to avoid being captured. Was this the same? Giving up life as an Andalite? No, something whispered. You are an Andalite from the way you think and act, not by your form. You are Andalite. You will always be Andalite.
But lately, haven't I been acting and thinking more human than Andalite? he asked. There was no answer.
Thirty seconds.
Ax folded his arms, crossed his ankles the other way, and waited some more.
Chapman started talking again, seeming much less together now, clearly unhinged by Ax's manner. "Darren, I hope you have learnt something from this. I'm sorry that you had to experience the stricter side of the school disciplinary system on your first day here, but I am confident that you understand why we had to do this. Now, the bell is due shortly, and if you will exercise your newfound patience, I will allow you to leave."
Ax bowed his head. "You are too kind, sir," he mocked, dripping sarcasm with every syllable. Chapman looked put out. Ax couldn't possibly have cared less.
Five seconds.
Ax didn't say another word for the next ten minutes. He didn't trust himself not to collapse on the floor and cry like a child. Chapman ceremoniously unlocked the door, gesturing widely for Ax to leave. Sweeping a disdainful look at the Visser who had completely lost interest in him now, he held his head high and stalked out.
Rachel met him at the edge of the compound.
"Ax… go! We found an empty shed two hundred metres from here. Run towards Marco, see?" she pointed at Marco, waving frantically from behind a wall. Ax stood immobile.
"Didn't you hear what I said?? Go!! Move it!!"
Ax reached inside his consciousness for the familiar feeling of demorphing. Touched only emptiness. Turned to Rachel, who was still gesticulating madly. "I can't."
She froze in mid-tirade. "You can't what?!?" she snapped. "Don't be a baby, two hundred metres is not far … And I know what you mean, you're saying you're trapped in morph." The reality of it sank in. "Oh my God" then she added some cuss words and a very graphic fantasy of what she would do to Chapman and Visser Three if she ever caught them.
Ax said nothing. And Rachel, calming down enough to look at him, realised that she'd been somewhat insensitive.
"Come here," she said awkwardly, and opened her arms.
He flung himself into them like they were some sort of sanctuary, and by doing so he could escape from his fate. His arms tightened around her as he pressed his face into her hair. She patted him gingerly on the back; although he was taller than her he somehow seemed smaller, and more vulnerable. As if the fight had gone out of him.
He could cry now, outside the laser gaze of Visser Three and Chapman's continuous scrutiny. But the tears wouldn't come. He simply clung on to Rachel like a hurt child, while Jake and Marco emerged from the shed and walked towards the pair of them.
Ax, sheepish, released his death grip around Rachel's shoulders at their approach. Jake was pale. "You're stuck, aren't you?" was his carefully neutral comment. Ax nodded.
Marco opened his mouth. "C'mon, Ax-man, it isn't all that bad being a human." Before Rachel could rebuke him, he added hastily, "I mean, think about it! One of your objects in life is now to eat! Yeah? Taste? Tuh-aste?" Hopefully lame.
Ax said nothing. Rachel bit her lip. "Come on, I think we'd better get you someplace safe."
They walked to the first place they thought of. Everyone tried to make conversation with Ax. Tried too hard. Ax answered dully, forcing himself to be polite even though his feet were to be made of lead and his one heart seemed to have lost interest in beating. They reached the front doorstep and knocked on the door. It was opened by a boy who must have been the same age as the four nowhere-near-average teenagers on the porch. He, too, was pretty far off the chart of normalcy.
"Welcome, Darren," said Erek.
Outside Chapman's office, Jake, Marco and Rachel were waiting anxiously. Jake fretted, "Is he ever coming out?" while Marco, in his typical harsh way, stated flatly, "Chapman's a bastard. I think he suspects something."
Rachel murmured assent. They waited and watched as seconds ticked by. In the not-too-distant foreground, Victor Trent began his steady pacing towards the door of the office.
"I think the ol' spider sense should be screaming right about now…" Marco, of course.
Rachel was alert. "I say we bust in and rescue him!" But she was batten down by the others. "No way, it'll be waaaaaaay too obvious. The last thing we need is a connection between us and the Andalite bandits."
Her temper flared up. "And the second-last thing we need is Ax trapped in morph!"
Jake tried hard to soothe. "Rach, we'll help him out. Things will work out in the end. You said that, didn't you?"
"Hmph. And SOMEONE so confidently decided 'but there will be one time that they don't, and what if it's now?' Remember, Jake?"
They waited.
Inside Chapman's office…
"Why good afternoon Mr. Trent, what a surprise to see you here."
Ax stared, and hastily shoved his eyeballs back into their sockets in case Visser Three noticed his reaction. Visser Three, coming to see Chapman? What coincidental timing. He cleared his throat.
"Can I go? I mean, I figure you want to talk to the bigwig guy, so…" he let his words trail off belligerently as two pairs of eyes came to rest on him.
Visser Three smiled, a sideways stretch of the mouth that didn't quite seem to reach his eyes. "No matter. Chapman, I'll wait in here while you straighten things out." He seated himself in front of the Assistant Principal's desk, stretching his legs comfortably. All the while his gaze did not waver from Ax.
Four minutes.
Ax exploded. "What is WRONG with you people?? It's a free country!! I can leave if I want!!" he strode over to the door and slammed his hand down on the handle. It didn't budge. Feeling more than slightly panicky, he tried again. Nada.
Chapman tauntingly dangled a brass key on a chain. "Ah, Darren, it might be advantageous if you learned some patience while you still can. You will stay here until I say you may leave."
Three and a half minutes.
Ax felt his insides freeze, then instantaneously heat up until he was sure he would combust from within. But he did not allow a trace of this to show through as facial emotion. He took a step away from the door, slowly, making his voice absolutely cool. "Fine. I'll play your game. Try me." He leaned back against the cold pine frame of the door; the thin barrier was all that was between him and freedom. Two inches of wood was two inches too much. Crossed his ankles casually. Waited.
A flicker of doubt spasmed across Chapman's face. Guardedly glanced at Visser Three, who remained dispassionate. With a mere twitch of his head - a movement so slight that Ax would have missed it if he had not been looking for it - the Yeerk general signaled his acolyte to remain in position. The room was tensely silent, the only sound being the rattling passage of vehicles outside. But much, much louder, was the plastic, mass-produced, dollar-a-dozen clock on the wall. Ticking relentlessly.
Two minutes.
Ax sighed noisily, but his mind was in turmoil. Could he escape? Logic said yes - if he demorphed right now and busted out of the office. Yet he knew - and it wasn't a gut reaction, nor a feeling from any of his hearts. It was an empathy derived from his essence, his very being. If he paid no heed, then he might as well not live.
One and a half minutes.
He couldn't demorph. What was saving himself compared with betraying his friends, his true kin? They were even closer to him than his family now. How could he extinguish their hope, just for his own selfish desires? The six of them made up the resistance. If he gave them away, it was likely that Earth, too, would fall to the Yeerks. He would not, no, he *could* not allow that to happen.
One minute.
Any decent Andalite warrior would commit suicide on his own tail blade to avoid being captured. Was this the same? Giving up life as an Andalite? No, something whispered. You are an Andalite from the way you think and act, not by your form. You are Andalite. You will always be Andalite.
But lately, haven't I been acting and thinking more human than Andalite? he asked. There was no answer.
Thirty seconds.
Ax folded his arms, crossed his ankles the other way, and waited some more.
Chapman started talking again, seeming much less together now, clearly unhinged by Ax's manner. "Darren, I hope you have learnt something from this. I'm sorry that you had to experience the stricter side of the school disciplinary system on your first day here, but I am confident that you understand why we had to do this. Now, the bell is due shortly, and if you will exercise your newfound patience, I will allow you to leave."
Ax bowed his head. "You are too kind, sir," he mocked, dripping sarcasm with every syllable. Chapman looked put out. Ax couldn't possibly have cared less.
Five seconds.
Ax didn't say another word for the next ten minutes. He didn't trust himself not to collapse on the floor and cry like a child. Chapman ceremoniously unlocked the door, gesturing widely for Ax to leave. Sweeping a disdainful look at the Visser who had completely lost interest in him now, he held his head high and stalked out.
Rachel met him at the edge of the compound.
"Ax… go! We found an empty shed two hundred metres from here. Run towards Marco, see?" she pointed at Marco, waving frantically from behind a wall. Ax stood immobile.
"Didn't you hear what I said?? Go!! Move it!!"
Ax reached inside his consciousness for the familiar feeling of demorphing. Touched only emptiness. Turned to Rachel, who was still gesticulating madly. "I can't."
She froze in mid-tirade. "You can't what?!?" she snapped. "Don't be a baby, two hundred metres is not far … And I know what you mean, you're saying you're trapped in morph." The reality of it sank in. "Oh my God" then she added some cuss words and a very graphic fantasy of what she would do to Chapman and Visser Three if she ever caught them.
Ax said nothing. And Rachel, calming down enough to look at him, realised that she'd been somewhat insensitive.
"Come here," she said awkwardly, and opened her arms.
He flung himself into them like they were some sort of sanctuary, and by doing so he could escape from his fate. His arms tightened around her as he pressed his face into her hair. She patted him gingerly on the back; although he was taller than her he somehow seemed smaller, and more vulnerable. As if the fight had gone out of him.
He could cry now, outside the laser gaze of Visser Three and Chapman's continuous scrutiny. But the tears wouldn't come. He simply clung on to Rachel like a hurt child, while Jake and Marco emerged from the shed and walked towards the pair of them.
Ax, sheepish, released his death grip around Rachel's shoulders at their approach. Jake was pale. "You're stuck, aren't you?" was his carefully neutral comment. Ax nodded.
Marco opened his mouth. "C'mon, Ax-man, it isn't all that bad being a human." Before Rachel could rebuke him, he added hastily, "I mean, think about it! One of your objects in life is now to eat! Yeah? Taste? Tuh-aste?" Hopefully lame.
Ax said nothing. Rachel bit her lip. "Come on, I think we'd better get you someplace safe."
They walked to the first place they thought of. Everyone tried to make conversation with Ax. Tried too hard. Ax answered dully, forcing himself to be polite even though his feet were to be made of lead and his one heart seemed to have lost interest in beating. They reached the front doorstep and knocked on the door. It was opened by a boy who must have been the same age as the four nowhere-near-average teenagers on the porch. He, too, was pretty far off the chart of normalcy.
"Welcome, Darren," said Erek.
