Chapter 11- Rachel

It was Sunday. Cassie had woken up, along with the mountain lion. No one knew what to do with it. They almost didn't trust Cassie around the thing I guess. Because of what had happened.

So Cassie's chores were lowered a bit- she didn't have to do anything for the mountain lion, merely feed and give the other animals medications. Her father took care of the lion.

Cassie and I didn't feel like going to the mall anymore- so we stayed home and studied for a test we were both going to have Monday in Math.

In the middle of a problem I asked her what had happened when the mountain lion hypnotized her as she said.

"I… I don't know," She admitted. "I just stared into its eyes and it sort of… Controlled me."

"Some animals may be intelligent, but that's about where I'd draw the line."

She nodded. "I doubt any animal- except maybe an alien animal- could hypnotize a person. Some animals can hypnotize other animals into not moving- like snakes. They get mice to look at them and they just sort of sit there until they're eaten."

I nodded to show I was following. "But that still doesn't explain how that cat did it."

Cassie shook her head.

Chapter 12-Marco

I was in the Hork-Bajir colony, now.

Jake had told me, my parents, Ax, and Tobias about the mountain lion and Cassie.

So now we had to try and figure out what was going on.

My mother, dad, and I sat on crude wooden chairs some Hork-Bajir had made. We couldn't exactly steal some, or even bring some without being noticed. Jake stood, with Ax alongside him.

It hypnotized him? Ax asked, puzzled.

"Yeah. At least, that's what Cassie says."

Perhaps it was merely a Yeerk trick.

Jake looked at him. "That would mean they knew who…what we are."

Ax nodded, and we all thought long and hard about that. "Is that the only choice?" I asked.

Ax's brow furrowed. At least, it looked that way. I couldn't exactly tell.

Perhaps something happened when it attacked her?

I rolled my eyes. "Like what? When it got her blood it banded them together so whatever happens to it happens to her?"

They all turned to stare at me. "What? I was joking! You don't think that could happen, could it?"

They stared harder. "Oh no. No, no, no, and no. There is NO way. It's impossible."

Jake shrugged. "After everything else that's happened? Why not?"

I sighed. "Life is getting out of hand."

Chapter 13- Lauren

It was the next day. I was in my room, thinking about what I had seen…and heard.

What's going on? I wondered. What is Principal Chapman doing at night in a construction site? Who is this 'Visser' person ?

Questions raced around in my head, ones I couldn't answer without more information. It made me uneasy- my life was becoming some sort of sci-fi/adventure movie rerun. The orphaned foster girl rescues the world from evil alien principals. At that, I giggled. Foster Mom and Foster Dad would never believe that. They would be mad. I could picture their faces when told I was a heroine.

I looked around me, at my room. Things I knew- the little shelf where I kept a few possessions like drawing paper, pencils, pens, markers, colored pencils. Another where I had my few books, and one where I had a few pictures. Pictures of… My real family- the one I wanted to know. Tears welled in my eyes, and I angrily brushed them away. I was mad again- mad at my easy coming tears at the subject of home, mad at my parents… I knocked my head on the window, and looked down at the street below. Rain was falling, and mud came, along with people carrying umbrellas trying to dodge the mud, kids trying to find the biggest puddle, and dogs sniffing away here and there not minding the rain at all.

Home… When would I find it? And what would I have to do to get it back?

Chapter 14- Cassie

My parents fussed over me. Not a lot- but more than usual. They wouldn't let me go out for too long, and other stuff. It was kind of annoying, but also kind of sweet, I guess.

Jake called a meeting in the barn one day- everyone was to meet at 7 when my parents would be gone for awhile- maybe an hour or so.

It was around 5 now, so I had 2 hours to kill. Wonderful.

I sat down to some homework I had to do, and started on it. I had a paper due the next day and yet another test to study for.

I stared at one problem for a minute, and then wrote an answer. Then moved on, doing the same process for each one.

After about twenty more problems, I was done, thankfully. I looked at the time. 6:35 PM.

In twenty-five minutes they would be here. I still had time to kill.

I studied for my test. It was social studies-slash-history on some sort of Indian tribe thing. How the colonists did stuff for them and the Indians did stuff back to repay them, and then the American Revolution and how some helped one side and some the other.

Practically asleep by the time the doorbell rang, I jumped at the sound. Then, realizing what it was, I ran downstairs and opened the door. It was Jake.

"Jake! I'm not late, am I?" I asked him.

Jake looked a bit amused at the thought of me being late when the barn was next door, and shook his head. "Nope, I'm the only one here yet, and it's about 6:59."

"Oh."

"Tobias and Ax are coming because of Erek."

"Erek?" I asked.

"You'll see. He has some sort of big news. I predict the first words out of Marco's mouth will be- 'What does the messenger of doom command now?'."

We laughed at the thought, then headed outside to the barn. Ax was there, but Tobias had gone to find Erek.

Chapter 15- Jake

The others arrived, one by one. Marco was next after Cassie and I, then Rachel, then Erek and Tobias.

"Alright. Let me guess: Erek has horrible news. Visser One knows who we are, where we live, what we do to pass time and how many times we blink per minute." Marco counted.

"Not exactly. We don't know much this time- all we know is the Visser is planning something big. He has…someone…or something…looking for you. The person-thing, whatever, doesn't know what you are- Andalite or human- but it knows your battle morphs, and it knows that you 'live' in the forest."

"Well that's just find and dandy peachy keen."

Erek shrugged. "We know he-or her- is planning a trap for you sometime next week at the Sharing. Whatever it is is planning to take several random important people- Mayor and so on- to be infested. And you have to go to save them. Because if you don't- the Mayor and the others he picked will become controllers. You have to go- and you have to win."

"Well this is just so cheery!" Rachel commented. "We have to save the Mayor and whoever else from being infested, we have to make it through the trap, and we have to make sure we win. Piece of cake."

"Well now I've seen everything! Rachel actually putting down a job?"

"Nah. I think it'll be fun. We'll have to use different battle morphs though."

Marco sighed. "The life of an Animorph."