Sibling Bond IX:

Sibling Bond IX:

The Hitchhike

A/N: Look kids! Another dedication! *dull "yay" is heard from stage right* Aw, shuddup. Anywho, this one is for…lets see…hmm…okie. This one's for all the people who have ever given a good review to any of my stories! It's you guys and those nice reviews that keep me going. Thank you! Oh, and AniSky, the reason Marco didn't go to the Hork-Bajir valley? Well, there are two of 'em. 1: His sister and girlfriend are with him. They don't know about the yeerks and he wants to keep it that way, and 2: The story wouldn't be that interesting then, now would it? Had enough of my ramblings? 'Kay. Read on! P.S. It's called "The Hitchhike" for lack of better title.J

Rachel: The barn was so silent, it was deafening. At least it seemed that way. I mean, the animals were making their usual noises, and Jake was talking about our next mission…but Marco wasn't there to interrupt with wise cracks. Or to trade insults with me. Or even say how insane the mission was going to be. I hate to admit it, but nothing is anywhere near the same. We all miss him too much.

But someone had to be the voice of reason. And I guess that's where I come in. Jake had long since stopped talking, and we were all just sitting there looking glum.

"Come on guys. We're all acting like he's dead! Well, he's not. Come on, I miss him too, but the only way he's going to come back is if we win this war! And the only way that's going to happen is if we shape up. Now, Jake, what were you saying Tom had been talking about on the phone?" At least I had gotten through to Jake. He stood up a little straighter and cleared his throat.

"Tom was talking to another yeerk. I'm guessing either the one controlling Marco's dad or the one controlling his step mom. He was saying something about how they were close to catching Marco. I talked to Erek, and he said that the yeerks suspect that Marco is in with the "Andalite Bandits". The search parties are made entirely of controllers, and each party has a yeerk with Marco's name on it. They think Marco will probably run south to Savannah, Georgia where his grandmother on his mom's side lives. That's why they're only searching as far as the border to Ohio westward. That's the reason Erek suggested that Marco run west when we talked before Marco left." He summed up.

"So, what you're saying is that they're searching in the wrong direction. But why do they think he's going to Savannah?" Cassie asked.

Jake smiled. "Well, the fact that that's where Debbie told them they were going helped a little."

Marco: We had reached Harrisburg a little after one am. We left the next morning at six. On the way to our next stop, Hollidaysburg, we were walking along the road, hoping no one would recognize us.

At around noon a dark red minivan slowed to a stop next to us. The driver rolled down his window. It was an elderly man with grey hair and a tan. I couldn't tell the color of his eyes because he was wearing shades. There was a woman in the passenger seat, presumably his wife. She also had grey hair and shades.

"You kids need a ride?" The man asked. I thought a minute. We'd cover a lot more ground that way, but this man might be a controller who was looking for us. I decided to chance it.

"Depends. Where are you guys going?" I asked him.

"Chicago." he answered. I looked at the girls. Chicago would bring us a lot closer to our destination; our trip would be days shorter! Debbie gave a slight nod, giving me her opinion. Trisha also nodded. I turned back to the man.

"Sure, that'd be great."

He unlocked the doors and we climbed in the back.

"So, where're you kids headed? Seems awful strange for three teenagers to be on the highway all by themselves."

I thought quickly to make up a reasonable sounding lie. I looked at our backpacks and an idea came to me.

"Actually, we're a lot older then we look. We were going camping when our car broke down. Just as we stepped out, it blew up. We were walking home because my mom wouldn't believe me and refused to come get us." I blurted out. Debbie looked at me unbelievingly and mouthed, "Are you insane?"

The old guy bought it though.

"Oh, that's awful! Where do you live?" His wife asked.

"Um…" I glanced at the map. "Aurora. But we have friends in Chicago who can drive us there." There was silence after that, I guess I gave the impression that I didn't feel like talking. Debbie leaned over to whisper in my ear.

"I really hope insanity isn't hereditary!" She hissed. I laughed quietly.

Rachel: When the meeting ended I went straight home. I hadn't gotten a chance to read the notes Marco and Debbie had given me yet. I opened the one from Debbie first. It said:

Rachel,

Hey, how's it going? Not like you're going to be able to answer me any time soon, my crazy little brother is dragging me to who knows where. I don't really think he wants to go, though. At first I thought it was because of the baby, but then Trisha told me that he told her it was life or death. But he has been known to exaggerate. Even I know that, and I've only known him for four months! Still, if you know why he had to leave, and why it was too dangerous for me to stay, would you tell me? He, being the annoying brat that he is, refuses. Uh oh, he's trying to read this! Get outta' here, Squirt! I really have to go, sorry if the paper's a little wrinkled. I'm really going to miss you. Even though we haven't known eachother that long, I feel like I've known you forever. So, I guess I'll see 'ya later. I'll drop you a line when we get…uh…there. Bye. Over and outie,

Debbie

Finally! Someone who realizes how truly annoying Marco is! I smiled as I folded the letter back up and put it in my dresser drawer. Then I unfolded Marco's to reveal his sloppy writing:

Rachel,

Yo, Xena. How's it hangin'? I just finished reading your note. No way could you have written it…it was full of actual human compassion! But, really, I'm going to miss you, too. I can't believe those jerks got all of my parents. Guess my dad knows about Mom now, huh? Not exactly the way I wanted him to find out, but hey, it works. So, however are you guys going to manage the fight without me? I mean, you're there and I'm going to be in Oregon. I guess I could always fight by mail. Dear Visser Three, POW. Love, Andalite Bandit #6. I think it'd work, how bout you? Well, I'm running out of paper, so I guess I better say good-bye now. I'm really going to miss you, Xena. I enjoyed being your annoying little brother, as you put it. I guess I'll be seeing you. Keep up the attitude, girl. It scares the yeerks. (And the boys who try to hold your hand.) Your Little Bro,

Marco

I folded up the note quickly and stuffed it into the dresser drawer with Debbie's. Then, I snapped off the light, telling myself I wouldn't cry.

Debbie: The nice older couple, who we'd found out were named Henry and Melanie, drove their minivan through the night with three strange kids in the back. They were really cool about it, though. Occasionally they were tell us about their twelve grandchildren who they were going to see, but they didn't ask us any questions. Which only left me more time to think about when I first moved in with my brother and Dad.

It was the day after I moved in, and already I could tell that Marco was gone a lot. Dad didn't seem to notice, what with his new wife and all, but I for one was bored to death. So, I decided to play big sister and yell at him for it.

"Why are you gone all the time? Are you with some kind of gang? Believe me, gangs are no good. My best friend was killed in a gang fight." I yelled (well, more like hissed, it was 4:37 am and I didn't want to wake anyone. But I hissed it in an angry fashion)

"No I'm not in a gang. I was out." He answered, brushing me aside and making his way to the stairs. I wasn't letting him get off that easy.

"Out where? Doing what?" I demanded.

"Out somewhere, being a teenager."

"Yo, Deb. Whatcha' thinking about?" Marco of present time asked.

"Nothing." I answered. "Nothing at all."

Cassie: I woke up after another nightmare about the termites. You'd think I'd eventually forget about that, but it's the kind of thing that sticks to you. I could tell I wasn't going to get to sleep any time soon, so I took out the notes from Marco and his sister. Marco's said:

Cassie,

How's it going Earth Sister? By the way, have you seen those skunks recently? I kinda' miss 'em, especially Joey. Guess what? We're not only going to Ohio, we're going all the way to Oregon! We plan to stop in a city called Burns. We don't know anyone there, so there's no one to turn us in. I guess you're going to have to loosen up Jake for me, huh? I promise to come back as soon as possible. About the jokes, I'll just have to make my letters to you guys full of 'em. Take care of the big guy for me. I'm going to miss you too. Gotta' go.

Love 'Ya (not that way),

Marco

I laughed to myself. Leave it to Marco to make me feel better. Now that he mentioned it, I had seen a skunk that resembled one of the kits we saved just the other day. I think it might have been CJ. I started to read Debbie's note:

Cassie,

Hi. I really have to make this quick because Jake's saying good-bye to Marco. I just want to say that these past few months have been really cool, you're a really nice person. I know that sounds kind of lame, but I'm tired, so sue me. I'm really going to miss you a lot. And about Jake, girl, you better make a move soon or someone's going to grab him. It's obvious you're both crazy about eachother. I really have to go. Guess I'll be seeing 'ya.

Over and Outie,

Debbie

Marco: At around two am we reached Chicago. We told Henry and Melanie to drop us off on the highway, figuring someone else might give us a ride the rest of the way to Davenport.

"Thanks for the ride." I thanked them before they drove off.

"Your welcome." Melanie smiled back. We began to walk a little more, giving the international hitchhiker sign. Finally, someone pulled over.

"Where you guys going?" She asked. It was a teenage girl, not much older then us.

"Davenport." Debbie answered.

"Hop in, it's on my way." We did as we were told.

"So," She started. "My name's Angela, what's yours?" She asked. Debbie started to answer, but I interrupted her.

"I'm Jason and these are my friends Kyra," I told her, gesturing to Debbie, "and Meredith." I pointed to Trisha.

"Cool. I knew someone named Meredith once." Angela decided to turn on the radio really loud. I took the advantage and whispered to the girls, "Remember those names. That's what we're going to tell people our names are from now on, okay?" They nodded. I leaned back in my seat; the music was starting to give me a headache.

Tobias: I got up the next morning to see Ax reading over his note from Marco again.

Hey, Ax. Can I read it? I asked him in thought speak.

Yes, you may. He answered. I landed and morphed human so I could hold the notes. I read mine over before reading Ax's. It read:

Tobias,

Yo, Bird-boy. 'Sup? My part of the forest is fine. A little forestier then I'd prefer…but what can you do? I'd be glad to teach you how to laugh again; all you have to do is win the war very quickly. I'll do what I can in Oregon. You know, trash a few Sharing meetings of my own. I'm gonna' have to let you go now. Take care of Xena, but don't let her know she has to be taken care of. Keep you eye to the sky, man. I'll miss you.

Signing off,

Marco

Yep, Rachel would ring his neck if she knew he said to take care of her all right. Next I opened Ax's note from Marco:

Ax,

Yo Ax-man. Yep, the written letter is right up there with the Cinnabun and the soap opera. I'm going to miss you too. It just won't be the same without hearing you and Jake argue over whether he's a Prince or not. And hearing you say "your" minutes even though they're everyone's minutes. Heck, I'll even miss the way you play with words. But I always got my loony sister for that. So I guess I better bid ye a farewell and hope I'll see you again sometime in this lifetime. Bye.

Saying See 'Ya,

Marco

I might need you to explain certain parts of this letter for me. I believe a lot of it is human humor. Ax told me.

Sure, Ax. I'll be glad to. I answered, still laughing even after I'd demorphed.

Marco: We finally reached the bus terminal after another couple of hours of punk rock. I don't think my head will ever recover.

We didn't have to wait too long in the lineup for Boise, which was as far as our money would take us. We reached the booth in less then fifteen minutes.

"How may I help you?" asked the lady behind the counter, sounding freakishly similar to a Macdonald's clerk.

"Um, we'd like three tickets for Boise." I told her, stifling a yawn.

"That'll be a total of four hundred and fifty dollars." She said perkily, like she had a little too much Java. I paid her and we took our luggage to a bench to wait. It would be another five minutes before the bus got there.

"Well, it should be smooth sailing from now on." Trisha said to me, kissing my aching forehead after she saw me rub it.

All of a sudden, two big guys came around the corner and pointed at me.

"That's the kid!" one of them yelled, "That's the kid we were told to find!"

To Be Continued…

A/N: Yes, I am evil. Actually, I just write better at night and my mom always kicks me off the computer at ten or ten-thirty. * "e-mail" to Kyra begins.* Hey Kyra, were you playing hockey? If so, hope 'ya won! Are you Canadian? That'd be so cool, 'cause I am. Canadians rock, eh? Anywho, gotta' make this short. "This isn't a message board" and my mom's going to commit me if I don't get off. J/k. but I really do have to leave. 'Kay? Bu-bye.**Ani-Bookworm#1 *end "e-mail" to Kyra.* Sorry ppls, I know I shouldn't bring my life into author's notes…but it's the only way! I'm gonna' leave now. Next part will probably be out tommorow.J