Silent Dreams
(A/N: Ever notice how all my Animorph fics seem to have the word 'dream' in the titles? ^_^. Anyway, my twisted mind returns to the Animorph section, mwhahaha)
Prologue
Turning down the road, Jake noticed a big dog panting by the roadside. It wagged his tail when he saw Jake, and his tongue lolled out.
"Hey boy," Jake grinned. Jake had been a dog; just seeing them made him laugh at their HAPPINESS.
Jake reached out a hand and scratched behind the dog's ears. Suddenly-
The dog let out a vicious growl, and sank its teeth into Jake's arm.
"Ahh!" He cried. The fangs seemed to have reached his veins; the blood was everywhere, everywhere-
Blood was rushing over his arm, his vision was fading in and out, the dog was spinning in circles around Jake, dodging in and out to take bites, he was falling, falling- then it was dark.
Chapter 1
Marco
"A dog?" Cassie was asking. "Was it drooling- did it seem odd?"
"Other than the fact he bit me- no. He seemed normal, and then something seemed to make him go crazy."
Cassie bit her lip, and stared at Jake with concern. "You saw a doctor, right? He would be able to see if you were infected."
"I saw one. He said nothing was wrong. I don't know… It's just odd that a dog would do that."
I chewed on a French fry. They were getting all mushy again. I'm a comedian; not a romance novelist.
"This is all very touching- and I know you'd love to continue, but, can we get to the point?" I asked.
"Oh. Right." Jake said, turning away from Cassie.
Rachel glanced at Tobias. Oh, great. Now they were going to start. I sighed. I can only handle mush if it's coming from some girl who is looking at me.
Speaking of which…
"I got a date," I told everyone. "With some new kid. Beautiful girl; said she's from Romania, I think."
"England."
"I was close," I countered.
Jake's eyes rolled.
Rachel cut in. "Like you said Marco- let's get to the point!"
"As you wish, Xena, O Warrior Princess."
"Tobias?"
"Well, Ax and I have been scouting out. We've found a new pool entrance. And, Champman seems to be getting edgy. Something is going to happen. Soon. I can feel it." Tobias semi-explained.
"The new pool entrance is located at-" Tobias broke off, and looked around. There, standing rock still, was the girl from England or Romania. Maybe Greece.
It wasn't they way she was standing; it was the way she was looking. Right at Jake. Like she had seen a ghost.
Rachel stood up. She waved a hand in front of her eyes. "Excuse me. Are you like, on drugs or something?"
No reaction.
"Alright. Move it." Rachel said, giving the girl a shove. The girl broke off from her trance, and glanced at Rachel.
"I'm sorry, did I bump you?" Rachel mocked.
The girl gave her an odd look, and walked off.
Rachel sat back down.
"Alright, continue." She told Tobias.
"OK. As I was saying; the pool entrance is located at the-"
And then, time stopped. I sighed; it was going to be a long day…
Chapter 2
Aximili
Time froze. I caught a look of annoyance on the face of Marco, and that was it. Then, we were somewhere else in the mall- some store where they were selling face pieces, axes, odd costumes, and candy.
What is this place?
I was in my own body; therefore I spoke in thoughtspeak.
THE HALLOWEEN STORE.
"Oooh. I want that 'Austin Powers' costume. Rachel, you can be the 'British Girl'." Marco said. I didn't understand what was going on.
Humans actually sell their faces, and give away weapons that could cause harm for this…'Halloween'?
"We'll tell you about it later, Ax." Jake told me.
I nodded.
"So what does the Grim Reaper have to tell us today?" Marco asked. "Having a party in space? Need us to get some good cheese dip?"
NO.
"Doubted it, but thought I should try."
I HAVE COME BECAUSE, AS YOU KNOW, THE YEERKS ARE GETTING MORE ACTIVE. I WILL TELL YOU WHY.
Jake glanced at the Ellimist. This was not his usual way; he normally had us a task to complete.
THE YEERKS ARE DIVISING A WAY TO BEND TIME. ANOTHER TIME MATRIX, YOU MIGHT SAY. IT IS HERE, ON EARTH, HIDDEN IN THE YEERK POOL, GUARDED BY THE DEADLIEST TAXXON AND HORK-BAJIR WARRIORS. VISSER THREE IS SUPERVISING IT'S CONSTRUCTION, SO THAT NOTHING MIGHT HAPPEN. I NEED YOU TO DESTROY IT.
"I thought the Yeerks weren't advanced with that kind of technology." Rachel pointed out.
She is right. How did the Yeerks discover this?
I could feel the Ellimist's frown.
CRAYAK AND I HAD A DEAL. HE WOULD GIVE THE YEERKS SUFFICENT TECHNOLOGY TO BUILD IT, AND HAVE IT BUILT ON EARTH. I WAS ALLOWED TO INFORM YOU, AND HELP YOU A LITTLE TO DISCOVER HOW TO DESTROY IT.
"Help is good."
I AM TO TELL YOU ONLY ONE THING AT THIS POINT.
"Figures," Rachel murmured.
TO GET TO THE GROVE WHERE IT IS HIDDEN, YOU WILL NEED A BAT MORPH. I KNOW YOU ALL HAVE ONE. NOW, IT IS UP TO YOU TO FIGURE OUT THE REST.
"Some help," Marco grumbled, as we reappeared at the food court.
Silently, I agreed.
"Now, what is this Halloween?" I asked. "Hallo. Llo. Lo. Loween."
Chapter 3
Kari
That boy! She had seen him, but who was he?
Thoughts raced through her mind; which she, Kari, had no mind for. It didn't matter; nothing did. Just the key of life: kill or be killed.
She had no use for thoughts; the time for thinking was well over. Now it was time to run; to feel the heat of the half moon, the energy flow through her, to transform in the moon, to run through the night, dancing with the stars, to-
Then she remembered, as she ran through the woods, scaring the small and large animals, deer and voles away, she remembered. She smelled fear and resentment.
She remembered who he was. The boy. She had bitten the boy. And now, he was cursed. Forever.
Chapter 4
Rachel
We left the mall, Jake and Marco and I explaining the concept of Halloween to Ax along the way. I still don't think he got it.
After we finished that, Cassie asked more stuff about the dog, mainly about the appearance, sometimes about the way it acted, but in the end, the answer was the same: 'I don't know.'
We made it to the barn.
"Now, Tobias. Can you-"
"Please tell us where the new Yeerk Pool entrance is?" Everyone but Ax and Tobias said, at exact same time.
Sure.
Marco and I sat on various bales of hay, while Jake and Cassie worked on feeding the animals and stuff. Ax demorphed to his Andalite form, and watched outside warily.
The Pool Entrance is at the arcade. Kids that put up fights, steal quarters and junk- they get taken back, and when they get back- they aren't human anymore. Anyone who breaks the slightest rule- off to the Yeerk Pool.
"But that's not horrible…" Cassie trailed off.
"No, except for the some kids that do do stuff like that. Its only a few, but every person counts…" Jake replied.
Marco was looking shaky. "The arcade? Which arcade? There's the one at the mall, and then, the one in town."
Both. At least, I think so. Ax?
Shorm Tobias is right. At both arcades, they have Pool entrances. We will have to eliminate both.
"Yeah," I added.
Cassie and Jake exchanged secret looks.
"But there are so many people there," Cassie told us.
"We'd have to do it at night." Jake said, smiling. "This will be almost too easy. After we do this, we can concentrate on destroying
the time bending-machine."
There was something about that smile…
Chapter Five
Tobias
I drifted through the trees, banked left, and glided down and landed on my favorite perch: an old, gnarled tree branch. From there, I could see all the meadow, and the mice.
Using my eyes, I spotted a mouse that was gnawing on a seed, trying to crack it open. I waited, waited, -FLY!
I flared my wings, and dived towards the doomed mouse.
"TSSSEERRR!" I cried, snatching the creature in my talons, and landing on a safe spot where I could eat in piece. Eagerly I ate, then began preening. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of movement.
I turned my head, and gazed in the direction of movement.
I tried to peer into the woods; but whatever had been there was gone. Shrugging mentally, I returned to my branch.
Pondering what the movement was, I tried to shake it off. We had more important things to think about.
The sun was lowering, the last rays peeking over the trees, and I watched it for a few minutes, gazing at the picture-perfect quality.
Picture-perfect quality that was better than my old life.
Drawing myself closer to the tree, I ruffled my wings, then, dug my talons in deeper. I got ready for sleep.