Chapter 6

Marco

I groaned. I definitely need more sleep, I thought.

Oh well.

I sat up, and got dressed quickly. Today was…

As if on cue, my calendar fell off the wall.

"October 10, 2000" I read. Something inside my gut twisted. October 10 was three days 'til the full moon. But why was that important? I wondered.

***

At lunch that day, I spotted Kari. "Hey, Kari!" I called.

Kari froze, as if she were some wolf that had been caught stealing sheep.

She turned, slowly. As she saw me, her expression faded to a small-relieved smile.

"Marco, isn't it?" She asked.

"Yeah," I said. I caught myself staring a bit. She was beautiful. Almost prettier than Rachel.

"Look, Marco. About that date. I'm afraid I can't pull through with it. Family celebration three days from now, and we have to get ready," She told me, green-gray eyes focused intently.

"Oh," I replied, trying to hide my disappointment. "OK."

"I knew you'd understand, Marco," She told me, giving me a brief hug, leaving me stunned.

A Girl. Had. Hugged. Me. And not just any girl. One of the prettiest in the whole school.

I drifted through the rest of my classes the rest of the day.

Chapter 7

Jake

"We have a new socials studies teacher," Cassie told me at lunch. "His name is like Russian. For the life of me, I cannot pronounce it."

"Huh. I have that class. With Marco."

"I have it with Rachel."

"Weird," I said, with a shrug of my shoulders.

Weird. That explained life for me right now. It seemed… odd. Ever since that dog bit me.

That morning I had felt some weird pull and had checked the calendar. Three days 'til the full moon. For some reason, that excited a part of me.

I felt extremely cranky half the time, and in an odd pleasant mood the rest. As if I were tired, and had suddenly drank a pot of coffee.

I don't even like coffee.

Sighing, I said bye to Cassie, and went on to my next class. Just a few more hours until freedom.

Then we could start planning for when and how we would attack the new Pool entrances, and then we could go on to that time matrix.

Lovely. A party at the Yeerk Pool, Marco would say. Too bad we didn't have party mix.

I went on through my classes in a haze.

Then, quickly gathering my things, I headed for the exit of the school, without my stuff, remembering at the last minute I had to get it.

"What's wrong with me?" I whispered to myself. I must be going crazy or something.

I hoped not.

Chapter 8

Kari

Family celebration, indeed. I thought, holding back a laugh as I exited the school. I was glad to be free again. There were so many new places to explore in this new town. So many crevices. So many innocents…

She shook her head.

I'm not here to totally destroy them, She thought. Then again, Her lips twisted into a smile, it might be enjoyable.

She continued walking.

Because she didn't want anything interfering with her plans, she decided not to go hunting 'til the full moon. Then she could blame it on the wolfing, Jake. She was staying at a hotel in town, and really didn't feel like eating there. She decided to get some money, and use it to eat out. Perhaps a steak…

She moved swiftly to her room, and entered her bedroom. She pulled out an old, worn purse and dug out some money

She had stolen over a thousand American dollars in cash.

She took $50 and exited, walking back into the street.

Looking around, she tried to decide which was best.

Her eyes scanned the signs. 'McDonalds', 'Burger King', 'KFC', 'Dairy Queen', 'Olive Garden'.

Shrugging, she trotted towards a restaurant entitled 'Tony's'.

Let's try this, She thought…

Chapter 9

Cassie

"We'll attack Friday night," Jake was saying.

We were at the barn. I was feeding some of the animals.

Marco and Rachel were sitting on bales of hay, as usual and Ax was there for once, standing deadly still except for his stalk eyes. Tobias was in the rafters, watching for my parents. Jake was standing by a fox that was pacing despite its leg wound.

"As for plans…Any ideas?"

"We storm in there, bust up the entrance, and kick some Yeerk butt." Rachel, of course.

Marco rolled his eyes. "And get killed in less than 3.1 seconds after the storming in part."

Jake seemed to think about Rachel's suggestion. "It might work. I mean that if we do it at night, all we need to do is disable the security cameras. Ax can easily do that."

"We need a place to morph," I said. "We can't be walking around the city as a bear, a wolf, a gorilla, a tiger, a hawk, and an Andalite."

"True." Jake agreed.

"We could have Tobias survey the roof and see if there are any places a roach or spider could get into." Marco mused.

"Good idea. Tobias? Tomorrow, check the roof. See if there is anywhere we can get in. At the arcade that's not at the mall, that is."

"That's right, we have to do the one at the mall, too!"

Jake grinned oddly. In a way that scared me. A wolfish, sly smile. "The Yeerks better be ready, because this time, we're going to get them."

As everyone said goodbye for the night and left, that smile stayed with me, haunting my dreams.

Chapter 10

Ax

Shorm Tobias, I think that Prince Jake is acting oddly.

Me too, Ax-man. He hasn't been the same since the day he was bit by that dog.

Perhaps it did carry diseases.

Perhaps. I couldn't tell you.

Couldn't tell me what? I asked, puzzled.

Tobias gave a mental sigh. Forget it.

OK. But I still don't understand. I told him. Sometimes my human friends will use words and phrases in odd ways that puzzle me.

Will Prince Jake or any of the others be doing something special for this 'Halloween'? I asked. Even though they had explained, I was still a bit confused on the subject.

I don't know, Ax. They might. Usually it's just like, 11 years and younger who go trick-or-treating. They might be going to a costume party or just a party though.

Ah,] I said, understanding a little better.

Well, Ax. I better get going to do my little survey. You can come if you like.

No thank you, Shorm Tobias. I am going to watch a program on 'Fox Family'. It's called 'My Life As A Sixth Grade Alien'. It looks interesting, though non of the species in 'These Messages' are ones I have seen or heard of before.

Tobias gave a short laugh. Alright, Ax-Man. Have fun. Save some popcorn for me. And with that, my friend Tobias flew off.