Chapter 3
I sucked in a deep breath. I wasn't sure which side I was on. Did I want to tell my dad and put him in possible danger, or not tell him and risk having him infested?
"We need to make a list of pros and cons," Cassie said. She gave me a warm smile. I tried to smile back, but my lips wouldn't listen to me.
"Pros are....." Jake began.
We'd have an adult on our side.
"A smart adult, who knows a lot about technology," Rachel added. Ax looked offended. "Uh, for a human," she corrected. Ax seemed to nod a little bit.
"He can give us excuses for when we have to be out late," Jake offered, scratching the back of his neck.
"Yeah," Cassie agreed. "I've already gotten grounded about a dozen times for being out past curfew. My parents would listen if Marco's dad defended me."
"He wouldn't be a Yeerk," I told them quietly, focusing my eyes not on them, but instead on the light blue hospital gown I was wearing. I frowned. It had to be the ugliest thing I'd ever seen.
I never knew my father very well. The whole room was silent for a few minutes after that.
"He could give us the inside scoop on the Z-space project. See how far the labs have really gotten." Jake jammed his hands into his pockets and gave a weak smile.
"Hey, maybe he'd let me ditch school after a big mission," I joked. They all laughed tensely. Everybody seemed to be on edge.
"Cons?" Jake asked.
"Well, he'd never let me out of the house once he learns that I put my life in danger on a daily basis." I leaned back in my pillow. "He'll wrap me up in bubble paper, and lock me in the basement. Hire a priest to throw holy water on me and get rid of 'the animal inside.' Anybody seen 'The Exorcist.' It burns, it burns!" I babbled on, but nobody shut me up. I could see pity in their eyes. Have I ever mentioned I hate pity? If not, well, now you know.
"He might be a Yeerk," Jake said, in just above a whisper.
"He's not," I replied, just as quietly, my voice cold and hard.
"How can you know. Kno-oh, oh, oh. Know?" Ax, of course, was the speaker.
"I'd know if he was. He can't be."
"Maybe you just don't want him to be," Cassie said, quietly.
"He's not," I assured them, feeling more than a little peeved. They didn't trust me one bit, and it was written all over their faces.
Jake nodded, looking almost like he believed me. "Okay, then. Any other cons?"
"Yeah. There's no way I could ever tell him that his wife is still alive," I told them, frowning. Dad didn't deserve that kind of pain.
This time the period of silence lasted for about five minutes, before Rachel finally spoke up.
"So.....we vote. Who wants to tell Marco's dad all about us." She paused for a second. "Except about Visser One, and who wants to shut up and forget we ever even considered it?"
Jake nodded, something he'd been doing a lot of lately. "Tobias?"
I'm all for it. Then he said to be in private thought-speech, I couldn't ask you to give up your father's freedom. I do know how you feel. I threw him a smile. He, out of all the Animorphs, could actually relate to what I was going through. The enemy had taken his father.
"Rachel?"
"Let's do it." Then Rachel smiled her crazy, reckless smile, and I groaned.
"You do know, Xenia, that every time you say that, we are pretty much sentenced to death by Dracon." She rolled her eyes but didn't respond.
"Cassie?"
Cassie frowned and paced the room for a minute. She studied me carefully, probably looking to see if I had gone insane yet. Finally she spoke up. "Against my better judgment, but I say we have no choice. Marco might....." she blushed. "Never mind."
I rolled my eyes. "No, go ahead and say it. Marco might tell his dad anyway, because Marco is crazy. He's a lunatic. He's nuts. He loves his dad so much he'd be willing to sacrifice his life and the lives of his friends to save him. Well guess what?" I screamed. "I'm not crazy! If anybody dies because of this, it'll be me, and only me, so you can just relax. I'm putting my own fat in the fire, not yours."
Cassie looked really embarrassed but I didn't care right then. Jake continued on like I'd never screamed at them.
"Ax?"
"I vote-ote, as you, ouououu, do, Prince Jake. Ake. Rake. Bake. Take. So many words that end in 'ake.'" Ax went on marveling about the wonders of the English language.
"And I vote yes," Jake said slowly, not even bothering to tell Ax not to call him 'Prince Jake.' He pitied me. It was so obvious. But at the moment, I really didn't care.
"So I guess either way I vote, we're telling him, aren't we?"
Nobody answered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was later in the day. The doctor had released me, and my dad was ready to get started on his father\son bonding plan. Nora had school, as did the Animorphs. First, Dad and I stopped by Blockbuster to pick out a few movies. He reluctantly let me come in with him. Wasn't like he was going to leave me in the car anyway.
Nora had brought me some fresh clothes earlier. It was a nice gesture, but she managed to bring me clothes from the bottom of my closet that I hadn't worn in about two years. I looked pretty stupid, but nobody I knew would be in Blockbuster at 9AM so I didn't panic or anything.
I scanned the aisles, never leaving Dad's side. He said we could get three movies, and I could pick two. He picked up "The Breakfast Club." I'd never seen it, but Dad said it was one of Mom's favorites, and she had watched it dozens of times when she was pregnant with me. I picked up "American Pie," and some R-rated horror flick about a bunch of scantily clad cheerleaders getting massacred by a mental institution escapee with a chain saw and a perverted mind. A heart warming film for the whole family in my book.
After, we stopped at the supermarket and picked up some fudge brownie ice cream, chocolate sauce, sprinkles, the works. My dad couldn't cook anything to save his life, but he makes one hell of a sundae. Through the whole trip, Dad was really touchy-feely, putting his arm around me and stuff, acting very protective. It took a little getting used to, but I can't honestly say I minded. Gave me a false sense of security.
Once we got home, and I changed into some clothes that actually fit, I sat down on the couch to wait for my dad to finish the sundaes so we could start watching the movie. I was a little jumpy. After all, today was the day that I was going to inform him that his only son was fighting a war against slug-like aliens. No biggie, right? Ha! See, the other Animorphs shoved the job on me. Their excuse? He's my dad, so I should do it. Okay, that is a pretty good excuse, but I'd like a little back up just in case things get a little weird.
Dad soon came into the living room with two giant sundaes, each with a cherry on top, and one giant smile. He set the ice cream on the coffee table and flopped down on the couch next to me. I shivered. Dad noticed. He took the quilt off the back of the couch and wrapped me in it. I buried my head into his stomach, something I hadn't done in a long, long time. It was really comfortable. We started to watch the first movie, 'The Breakfast Club,' and started to eat our sundaes. Suddenly, I couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Dad?"
"Yeah, Marco?"
"I can talk to you about anything, right?" Of course this wasn't just 'anything,' but I had to start somewhere, didn't I?
Dad mussed up my hair a bit and grinned. "Of course you can, pal. What's on your mind?"
"And no matter what I tell you, you won't freak out or anything, right?"
Dad frowned. "Marco, are you on drugs?"
"No, no, no." I shook my head. "I've been doing this all wrong." I sighed.
"Marco, what's wrong. Are you feeling okay?" Dad's concern grew.
"I'm fine, Dad."
"Did you get that girl pregnant?" Dad asked, raising his voice.
"No, no, that's not it either," I replied, turning bright red. My dad had had a hard enough time giving me the "birds and the bees" talk. When he tried to, he'd turn all red, and start to laugh, and act like an idiot.
Dad clutched his heart. "Oh, thank God," he mumbled.
"Look, Dad, I have to tell you something. No, I need to show you something. And you have to swear that you will never tell another living soul. You have to promise to do exactly as I say." I looked him straight in the eye. He looked confused.
Dad raised in eyebrow. "Gee, all this time I thought I was the dad, and you had to exactly as I said." He smiled to show he was joking, but I was nervous just the same. "Now, Marco. Tell me what's wrong. I'm your dad. If you can't tell me, who can you tell?"
"Okay.....but I warned you." I sat up a little, and slowly started to morph.
I sucked in a deep breath. I wasn't sure which side I was on. Did I want to tell my dad and put him in possible danger, or not tell him and risk having him infested?
"We need to make a list of pros and cons," Cassie said. She gave me a warm smile. I tried to smile back, but my lips wouldn't listen to me.
"Pros are....." Jake began.
We'd have an adult on our side.
"A smart adult, who knows a lot about technology," Rachel added. Ax looked offended. "Uh, for a human," she corrected. Ax seemed to nod a little bit.
"He can give us excuses for when we have to be out late," Jake offered, scratching the back of his neck.
"Yeah," Cassie agreed. "I've already gotten grounded about a dozen times for being out past curfew. My parents would listen if Marco's dad defended me."
"He wouldn't be a Yeerk," I told them quietly, focusing my eyes not on them, but instead on the light blue hospital gown I was wearing. I frowned. It had to be the ugliest thing I'd ever seen.
I never knew my father very well. The whole room was silent for a few minutes after that.
"He could give us the inside scoop on the Z-space project. See how far the labs have really gotten." Jake jammed his hands into his pockets and gave a weak smile.
"Hey, maybe he'd let me ditch school after a big mission," I joked. They all laughed tensely. Everybody seemed to be on edge.
"Cons?" Jake asked.
"Well, he'd never let me out of the house once he learns that I put my life in danger on a daily basis." I leaned back in my pillow. "He'll wrap me up in bubble paper, and lock me in the basement. Hire a priest to throw holy water on me and get rid of 'the animal inside.' Anybody seen 'The Exorcist.' It burns, it burns!" I babbled on, but nobody shut me up. I could see pity in their eyes. Have I ever mentioned I hate pity? If not, well, now you know.
"He might be a Yeerk," Jake said, in just above a whisper.
"He's not," I replied, just as quietly, my voice cold and hard.
"How can you know. Kno-oh, oh, oh. Know?" Ax, of course, was the speaker.
"I'd know if he was. He can't be."
"Maybe you just don't want him to be," Cassie said, quietly.
"He's not," I assured them, feeling more than a little peeved. They didn't trust me one bit, and it was written all over their faces.
Jake nodded, looking almost like he believed me. "Okay, then. Any other cons?"
"Yeah. There's no way I could ever tell him that his wife is still alive," I told them, frowning. Dad didn't deserve that kind of pain.
This time the period of silence lasted for about five minutes, before Rachel finally spoke up.
"So.....we vote. Who wants to tell Marco's dad all about us." She paused for a second. "Except about Visser One, and who wants to shut up and forget we ever even considered it?"
Jake nodded, something he'd been doing a lot of lately. "Tobias?"
I'm all for it. Then he said to be in private thought-speech, I couldn't ask you to give up your father's freedom. I do know how you feel. I threw him a smile. He, out of all the Animorphs, could actually relate to what I was going through. The enemy had taken his father.
"Rachel?"
"Let's do it." Then Rachel smiled her crazy, reckless smile, and I groaned.
"You do know, Xenia, that every time you say that, we are pretty much sentenced to death by Dracon." She rolled her eyes but didn't respond.
"Cassie?"
Cassie frowned and paced the room for a minute. She studied me carefully, probably looking to see if I had gone insane yet. Finally she spoke up. "Against my better judgment, but I say we have no choice. Marco might....." she blushed. "Never mind."
I rolled my eyes. "No, go ahead and say it. Marco might tell his dad anyway, because Marco is crazy. He's a lunatic. He's nuts. He loves his dad so much he'd be willing to sacrifice his life and the lives of his friends to save him. Well guess what?" I screamed. "I'm not crazy! If anybody dies because of this, it'll be me, and only me, so you can just relax. I'm putting my own fat in the fire, not yours."
Cassie looked really embarrassed but I didn't care right then. Jake continued on like I'd never screamed at them.
"Ax?"
"I vote-ote, as you, ouououu, do, Prince Jake. Ake. Rake. Bake. Take. So many words that end in 'ake.'" Ax went on marveling about the wonders of the English language.
"And I vote yes," Jake said slowly, not even bothering to tell Ax not to call him 'Prince Jake.' He pitied me. It was so obvious. But at the moment, I really didn't care.
"So I guess either way I vote, we're telling him, aren't we?"
Nobody answered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was later in the day. The doctor had released me, and my dad was ready to get started on his father\son bonding plan. Nora had school, as did the Animorphs. First, Dad and I stopped by Blockbuster to pick out a few movies. He reluctantly let me come in with him. Wasn't like he was going to leave me in the car anyway.
Nora had brought me some fresh clothes earlier. It was a nice gesture, but she managed to bring me clothes from the bottom of my closet that I hadn't worn in about two years. I looked pretty stupid, but nobody I knew would be in Blockbuster at 9AM so I didn't panic or anything.
I scanned the aisles, never leaving Dad's side. He said we could get three movies, and I could pick two. He picked up "The Breakfast Club." I'd never seen it, but Dad said it was one of Mom's favorites, and she had watched it dozens of times when she was pregnant with me. I picked up "American Pie," and some R-rated horror flick about a bunch of scantily clad cheerleaders getting massacred by a mental institution escapee with a chain saw and a perverted mind. A heart warming film for the whole family in my book.
After, we stopped at the supermarket and picked up some fudge brownie ice cream, chocolate sauce, sprinkles, the works. My dad couldn't cook anything to save his life, but he makes one hell of a sundae. Through the whole trip, Dad was really touchy-feely, putting his arm around me and stuff, acting very protective. It took a little getting used to, but I can't honestly say I minded. Gave me a false sense of security.
Once we got home, and I changed into some clothes that actually fit, I sat down on the couch to wait for my dad to finish the sundaes so we could start watching the movie. I was a little jumpy. After all, today was the day that I was going to inform him that his only son was fighting a war against slug-like aliens. No biggie, right? Ha! See, the other Animorphs shoved the job on me. Their excuse? He's my dad, so I should do it. Okay, that is a pretty good excuse, but I'd like a little back up just in case things get a little weird.
Dad soon came into the living room with two giant sundaes, each with a cherry on top, and one giant smile. He set the ice cream on the coffee table and flopped down on the couch next to me. I shivered. Dad noticed. He took the quilt off the back of the couch and wrapped me in it. I buried my head into his stomach, something I hadn't done in a long, long time. It was really comfortable. We started to watch the first movie, 'The Breakfast Club,' and started to eat our sundaes. Suddenly, I couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Dad?"
"Yeah, Marco?"
"I can talk to you about anything, right?" Of course this wasn't just 'anything,' but I had to start somewhere, didn't I?
Dad mussed up my hair a bit and grinned. "Of course you can, pal. What's on your mind?"
"And no matter what I tell you, you won't freak out or anything, right?"
Dad frowned. "Marco, are you on drugs?"
"No, no, no." I shook my head. "I've been doing this all wrong." I sighed.
"Marco, what's wrong. Are you feeling okay?" Dad's concern grew.
"I'm fine, Dad."
"Did you get that girl pregnant?" Dad asked, raising his voice.
"No, no, that's not it either," I replied, turning bright red. My dad had had a hard enough time giving me the "birds and the bees" talk. When he tried to, he'd turn all red, and start to laugh, and act like an idiot.
Dad clutched his heart. "Oh, thank God," he mumbled.
"Look, Dad, I have to tell you something. No, I need to show you something. And you have to swear that you will never tell another living soul. You have to promise to do exactly as I say." I looked him straight in the eye. He looked confused.
Dad raised in eyebrow. "Gee, all this time I thought I was the dad, and you had to exactly as I said." He smiled to show he was joking, but I was nervous just the same. "Now, Marco. Tell me what's wrong. I'm your dad. If you can't tell me, who can you tell?"
"Okay.....but I warned you." I sat up a little, and slowly started to morph.
