THE HUNTED

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Chapter 28 Cassie

Marco sat down in the drivers seat. Jake sat down in the passenger seat, and made a big fuss over fastening his seat belt.

The back seat had lots of room. Room enough for a full-grown Andalite, at least. So Ax fit right in. Rachel, Tobias - again a hawk - and I crowded around him.

"Let's go."

"Everybody hold on to your seats," Jake warned. "Great. We leave the Yeerk Pool only to be killed in traffic by a boy who CAN'T DRIVE!"

"I can so," Marco claimed.

CRASH!

That was us running into the car in front.

"Okay, so maybe I've got these small problems," Marco admitted and put in the reverse.

CRA-UNCH!

The car behind.

Just get us outta here, Tobias muttered darkly.

"You think I can't drive?"

Yes.

"Really? I CAN drive. I'll show you."

The limo jerked forwards and out into the street. At about 190km/h. Then it stopped suddenly.

"Good brakes," Marco commented. "Let's see how fast this thing can go."

The car sped forwards. Marco pressed the horn, but not all cars got out of our way fast enough.

CRA-

CRA-

CRA-RUSHEEEEEECH!

We bumped into one after another. The crashing sounds interrupted each other.

"Here! Turn turn turn!" Jake shouted and pointed.

We did a quick turn à la action movie. We barely made it onto the right street. The rear of the limo hit the building.

"Just wait until Visser Three sees what has happened to his car," Rachel laughed. "He'll be SO angry."

"Hold on," Marco said. "I'll need to zigzag here."

We didn't slow down. But we sped between cars, through a full-packed street. Most of the cars were bumped into and pushed out of our way. I held on for all I was worth.

BAM!

BAM!

BAM!

We made it out of the worst part.

We turned around another corner, going straight through a sign which we probably should have read.

And faced a problem. The half-finished road ended right in front of us!

There was a direct drop to the road below.

No time to slow down!

"JEE-HAH!" Rachel roared.

"AAAH!" Jake screamed.

"AAAAAAAAH!" I agreed.

AAAH! Tobias screamed.

"AAAH!" Marco screamed and shut his eyes.

"You're driving!" Jake reminded him shrilly. "Open eyes! OPEN! EYES!"

Marco opened his eyes.

We flew up the ramp-like road. Over the edge. And sailed through the air.

CRRU-BOOM!

KA-BOOM!

KA-BOOM!

We landed and bounced a few times. I was glad that I had a seatbelt on.

I checked the situation. The car was still in one piece. Barely. Jake and Marco were okay, although the front window lay in shatters, spread out everywhere. Tobias was held safely in Rachel's arms as if he had been a baby. Rachel was okay. Ax had been thrown forwards and back as a rag doll.

Marco, you'll never get a driver's license, Tobias said. You might have killed us!

"Yes, but I didn't, did I?"

"Take it easy," I ordered. "I need to check Ax."

I undid my seatbelt. Marco came to a screeching halt and parked the limo neatly - in the middle of the street.

"Is he okay?"

I ran my hands over Ax's legs. No broken bones there. His arms. Well, his left hand had been crushed, and his left shoulder was out of joint. The right one was okay. I could only reach his right set of ribs, and they were okay. He was breathing steadily. His neck and spine seemed undamaged. His tail had whipped wildly all over the place during the flight, and it had gotten stuck in the back of Marco's chair. I pulled it loose. I couldn't really check the tail for fractures, for there were too many muscles between the skin and the bones, but it appeared okay. It wasn't twisted awkwardly.

But I knew almost nothing of Andalite organs. Internal damages? No clue.

"Go," I said, and sat down in my seat again. "There's too little room in the limo to do anything now. I'll need to move him to fix it."

"What's wrong?"

"A shoulder is out of joint. I can't fix it now. Also, a hand is crushed. He'll have to morph. But he's alive."

Gee. We're lucky, Tobias said dryly.

"Are you insulting my driving?" Marco demanded.

What driving? That was driving?

"Calm down," Jake ordered.

Then came the familiar sound of police cars.

DEE-DOO

DEE-DOO

"Oh, great, now the cops want to see a license," Rachel complained.

Tobias climbed up on her shoulder. Rather them than the Yeerks. But I still suggest we move.

The car started with a jolt and blew forwards. Across a crossing. Marco ignored the red light.

DEE-DOO

DEE-DOO

Now the sound came from behind us. I glanced back. I checked the situation; five cars on our trail, but still far behind. I told the others.

"Well then," Marco muttered, swerving past another car. "I think we should get rid of them, don't you?"

We sped up. Zigzagging not too skillfully between cars and trucks and busses. Bumping into most of them. Causing chaos.

And totally demolishing Visser Three's limo.

DEE-DOO

DEE-DOO

"Cassie, keep an eye on them," Jake said. "Marco turn right... now!"

I almost fell out of my seat - despite the seatbelt - when the car swerved right, slid a few meters to the side, and finally continued forwards in the new direction.

This is nice, Tobias said. We just checked out of hell - only to check in at Jail Hotel.

"Or in your case, the zoo," Marco snapped.

I managed to see something in the police car the closest behind us that I didn't like. Sitting in the passenger seat, his face grim...

"Maybe the Yeerks didn't give up on us," I said. "Tobias, take a look."

Tobias turned his head and focused his raptor eyes.

Chapman, he confirmed. Marco, can this thing go any faster?

"I hope so."

The car turned sharply to the left. We blew past millimeters in front of a truck with a blaring horn.

The police cars weren't so lucky.

Two of them crashed into the truck. Among them the car with Chapman. And there is no way anybody in the police cars could have survived that crash. The other three cars got far behind again. But they didn't give up.

"Ouch," I said. "Two down."

"Three to go," Jake replied darkly. "We need someplace to go. Anybody got any ideas?"

"The forest," Rachel said. "We can hide in the forest."

Not for long.

"But for long enough."

Long enough? And how long is that?

"Shut up, Tobias," Rachel said. "And I mean that in the nicest possible way."

Tobias fluffed his feathers.

"Hey, this car belongs to Visser Three, right?" Marco said suddenly.

"Yeah. So?"

"So it'll be filled with all these neat little gadgets, right?"

I blinked. We all did. Except Ax, who was still unconscious.

"You mean this car has some firepower?" Rachel asked, eyes sparkling. "Cool."

"It might have," Jake agreed. "I'll search for a secret button or something."

"No need," Marco laughed. Then he paused as he turned down onto side- street. "Question; do ordinary cars have extraterrestrial console-looking pads under the steering wheel? Answer; no."

It's probably one of those thought-controlled mechanisms, Tobias said. Try it.

"What command?"

"Try 'dracon canon'," Rachel suggested. "Let's burn some Yeerk as!"

Marco pressed his fingers on the pad. Nothing happened.

"Ehm... 'activate'?"

Nothing again.

"Maybe 'activate defence'?"

Nope, not that either.

"I say it's high time for Ax to wake up now," Marco declared. "We can't get anywhere with this thing if..."

Rachel interrupted him. "'Activate dracon canon'?"

BZZIIIP.

I didn't see it. But what happened was that a dracon canon rose up from the roof of the car. A very large dracon canon.

And a joy-stick complete with a targeting system appeared in front of Jake.

Rachel laughed triumphantly.

"I'll blow them if they come too close," Jake said. "But if we can just shake them off, then..."

"I say blow them anyway," Rachel said. "They'll cause trouble."

But I had an idea. "Marco, try another command too. Try 'increase velocity'."

Marco pressed his hand to the spot again.

Nothing happened. He shook his head.

"Press the accelerator," I urged.

I guess Marco did that. For right then the limo whizzed forwards, everything around us turning into a blur.

"Yeah! This thing can shift!" Marco exclaimed.

CRA-

The sound had barely started before we were too far away to hear it any more. The sound was - I think - us driving straight through a building.

We blew through - that's right; straight through - the city like a rocket.

Everything around us was greener all of a sudden. Not city-grey any more.

"Slow down!"

The car stopped gently. We were far outside the city. The police cars were long gone.

"Wow!" Marco laughed. He turned to Jake. "Daddy, can we keep this toy?"

I don't think so, Tobias said. I bet they have some kind of tracking system on it. We'll have to leave it.

A light flashed on around us, blinding us all.

TSEEEEW!

A large hole appeared in the ground right in front of us.

BANDITS! a familiar voice boomed from outside the car. ABANDON THE VEHICLE! YOU ARE SURROUNDED!

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Chapter 29 Jake

You probably guessed who that was. And you probably guessed correctly.

I squinted against the strong light. Trying to see.

A dark shadow stepped daintily into our way. His stolen body quivered with his anger. His long tail slashed at the air. His stalk eyes focused on us. Behind him, up in the air, was an army of bug fighters - with the headlights aimed straight at us.

"Shoot the creep," Rachel snapped. "Shoot him! Shoot him!"

My hand was on the "joystick" for the dracon canon. Rachel's hands clamped around them, trying to tear me away, trying to reach the controls. Trying to barbeque the Visser.

And have us all fried by the bug fighters above.

"No! That's suicide!"

Marco and I tore her away from the controls. Cassie pulled her back into her seat.

I thought feverishly. There was a way out. There was a way out. There WAS a way out. There had to be. We hadn't gotten this far only to be caught again.

What..? What? Ah! Aaah! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Ax scrambled to his hooves behind us - or tried to. He hit the roof and fell down again.

"Hush!" I ordered, turning in my seat to face him. "Shut up!"

"It's his arm," Cassie explained. She hurried to Ax's side and... well... she slapped him. "Listen," she hissed. "We've got a situation here. Don't do anything dumb."

Ax raised his tail. It quickly started downwards again. Straight at...

For a horrible moment I thought it would strike Cassie.

But Cassie didn't flinch.

The tail stopped halfway to her face.

"Don't be silly," Cassie said. "It's us. And I'm glad you're back. We need help."

Ax seemed to be listening to something. Maybe he was thinking. Trying to grasp the situation.

Is there something I can do, Prince Jake? he asked finally.

"Yes," I said. "This is Visser Three's limo. We stole it. It's got all these gadgets, but we are deep in a mess here and we don't know how to get out of it."

Are we out of the Yeerk Pool?

"Yes."

Ax looked relieved - I think. He also seemed scared. Or maybe it was just stress or surprise.

Are these bug fighters and Visser Three our difficulty?

"Yes again. But we need to take down the bug fighters first - then, maybe, the Visser, too."

Expand the beam on the dracon canon, Ax instructed. His good hand was holding his broken one. Just think 'expand beam'. That will allow you to hit a wider target - like a row of bug fighters.

I concentrated on the joystick. I thought expand beam. Expand beam. On the targeting screen - or hologram, as it was - the target symbol grew wider. I repeated 'expand beam' until it covered the entire row of bug fighters.

Prince Jake, you are being obvious. Do not expand the beam in that way. Then they will have time to relocate themselves and return fire. And that would be highly unpleasant.

"Obvious? How?"

You are allowing the canon to expand before you fire. You can expand the beam with one command just as you press the button, as you only need to think the proper width to achieve it.

"Fire," Marco whispered. "Not much else to do. BEFORE they figure this one out."

I pressed the button.

TSEEEEEEEEW!

A row of bug fighters sizzled away in a series of explosions. All of them at once. Burnt edges fell down to the ground - far, far away. The lights from the bug fighters disappeared instantly. Marco turned on the head lights on the limo. He opened his window, and leaned out.

"Now look here, Visser," he started. "Here's the deal..."

Visser Three stared at us. Then he turned and ran.

Here's a strange part; a large group of foxes followed him. And a couple of owls.

"Shoot the foxes!" Rachel said. "And the owls! They are morphed Hork-Bajir! Shoot them!"

"No," I replied. "They're leaving us alone. Let's haul butt instead. Find a place to hide."

We abandoned the car. Ax set it to self-termination. He also morphed halfway to harrier, and then morphed back. His arm was back well again. We left in a hurry. Marco, Rachel, Cassie and I went wolves. Tobias morphed Ax again. In case there was trouble, we'd be ready. Hey, we'd know about anything around us soon enough to avoid it with ease. We started moving.

Being a wolf in a forest is a wonderful experience. I mean, you walk as a human in a forest, and you might have this strange feeling that you feel that the forest is full of life. You look around. You see trees, bushes, and some occasional flowers and berries. Maybe a bird or two, and if you're lucky some other animal as well.

A wolf doesn't only feel the life around. He sees it. He smells it. He hears it. He is the absolute master of his surroundings. He owns the forest. He's fast. He can run for days on an end. He's smart. He's confident. He's got excellent senses. He's got a thick coat of fur which keeps him warm. He's an omnivore. That means he can eat a large variety of food, even berries.

Running? Finding a place to hide in a forest? Ha! That's a piece of cake.

Rachel led us to her tree. We spent the rest of the night there. None of us got much sleep, though. We were too tense. Maybe even too happy.

But most of all, too afraid.

Rachel explained her meeting with the Ellimist and the Drode. Her deal. Our way home. Our way back.

Stay free for two days. Then we would be heading home.

I would be given a second chance to avoid Tom overhearing my raving... or mess up again.



The first day went by quickly. Tobias noticed foxes sneaking about near our tree in the morning, and we morphed birds of prey and flew away. We abandoned the hammock and the blanket.

We flew for two full hours before we landed again. We had found a nice little cave and decided to move in. There was a small river nearby, and Rachel brought us fresh fish. Then we manage to start a fire. Cassie took command over the cooking.

Roasted fish. Not the best I've eaten, but then I'm used to eating food cooked with a stove and with all sorts of nice spices to improve the taste. It was good enough.

Ax ran around outside to feed. Not alone, of course. None of us wanted to be alone. That was a bad idea.

We had couple of rabbits for lunch. Marco and I hunted them down as wolves.

Here's a tip; if you're lost in a forest, it's a very good idea to have someone able to morph along with you. You won't have to starve, at least. And that is a definite advantage.

The second day was more tense. We would go back. We would make it back!

Unless something happened. And something always happens. So we were tense. We were waiting for something to happen. For the Yeerks to come swarming through the woods and catch - or kill - us all.

In the evening, not one of us was very hungry. None of us had any urge to get dinner. We were only anxious. Waiting for the 48-hour deadline when we would be sent back.

We all fell asleep eventually. Except Marco and Rachel who sat guard.

And we woke up in the morning. Still in the cave.

"Maybe you just dreamt it," Marco was saying to Rachel. He was pacing around in the cave, trying to get warm again. It was a cold, rainy outside, and he had gone out to the river to drink. "Maybe it was wishful thinking."

"You don't dream that the Ellimist and the Drode show up," Rachel countered.

"Listen! 'And'? There you see. 'And'. They almost never show up both at the same time. They're enemies."

"Will you shut up now or do you want me to crush your jaw? You're starting to annoy me."

"Annoy? Aren't we all annoyed? We missed our train home! We missed our only chance to get back! Guess who's annoyed?"

Stop to think about this, now, Tobias said. If we haven't been sent back, then one of the demands isn't fulfilled.

"We're all alive, and out of the Yeerk Pool," Cassie started. "No Yeerk knows where we are... we would have noticed if they did."

"And? We're missing something!" Marco complained. "I want to go home! I want to go home to my father! I even miss that horrid little poodle! I don't want to spend the rest of my pathetic life here!"

I looked at Ax. He had been quiet. He had almost been trying to look invisible during the entire discussion. That was very un-Andalite to try to look invisible.

"Ax?" I said. "You've got something to add?"

He shook his head.

"There is one thing we've missed," Cassie said. She looked around, at each of us. "One of us..." she hesitated.

"Go on," Rachel urged impatiently.

"One of us could be a Controller."

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Author's Note;

Well, you didn't really expect me to let them get away that easily, did you? *evil grin*

I'm sorry this took some time to put up. I... forgot about it. That happens, sometimes. Anyway, (since this story is done and all I have to do is read through it and take away the worst of the grammatical errors) I'll put the next part up soon.

I hope. Unless I forget again.