Disclaimer: I do not own Animorphs, it belongs to K.A. Applegate, and whoever else. You know the deal.
Three
All this happened about the time the dreams began. They were so vivid, so realistic. But . . . I didn't understand them. Especially the last one. I mean, what he said to me, I just . . . didn't understand. Besides, he was a magpie! And I'm fifteen! I don't want the sort of responsibilitya destiny brings! Wholey, that didn't make any sense at all, did it? Look, let me start again, right from the first dream. It came probably a month ago.
I stood before a dark green jungle. Huge vines wrapped around enormous tree trunks, and a thick coat of moss and lush green bushes covered the floor.
Somehow, I knew this place. I had been in this jungle for a long time. Many years, in fact.
As I looked around, examining my surroundings, I saw the small stream before me. Beautiful, fresh water.
I realised that I was parched, and desperately needed something to drink. So I leant down toward the shallow, beautifully clear water, and it trickled into my cupped hands. But as I did, I saw my reflected face. Instead of my normally smooth, naturally tanned looking skin, I saw brown skin, tanned by years of sun. There was a short growth of stubble over my normally smooth face. And my shortish black hair, normally bleached with blonde streaks was a light brown, shoulder length, and also obviously lightened by the sun. But still, it all seemed so natural.
It was strange. It was like . . . like I was still myself, but at the same time, I was this rugged man. But still, it seemed normal.
I stood, and observed my surroundings once more.
The colony. I need to find the colony. The others were there, waiting. I had to check in and tell them what I had seen.
Wait. The colony? And what had I seen?
Suddenly, my mind began to conjure up the image of a small bird. A Peregrine Falcon.
And I began to shrink. After so many years of practise, it didn't take me long to morph into these old forms.
I fell at an amazing speed toward the ground. I could almost, but not quite, feel my internal organs twisting and deforming. My bones became hollow, and I felt light. After just fifteen seconds, I looked like a plucked chicken. SPROOT! SPROOT! Hundreds of feathers popped out of my bare skin, and I was the falcon.
Now, to the colony.
I flapped my wings, and tried to get air. Nothing. The canopy above me restricted the light filtering in, but there was nothing on the ground to create any decent thermals anyway. Stupid of me to morph bird. What was with my head suddenly?
I reversed the morph.
Right. I was human again. I needed a particular morph to get back to the others. I closed my eyes, and concentrated on Dak's body.
My legs stretched, as I grew taller. I was now seven feet tall. My skin turned a brownish-green, and became pebbly. POP! POP! Two stalk eyes popped out of my head, and my backbone stretched as it grew into a long, muscular tail. And the long scythe blade slid out of the end. My blades flew out of my skin, on my arms, wrists, legs, knees, and head. Then they retracted back into their usual position, under the skin. Then came the wings. They exploded out of my back, a seven foot wingspan, then curled back onto my back. The morph was complete. I was a huge, rippling, Hork-Bajir.
Crouching, I aimed my arms upward. And . . .
Go!
I sprung upward, as the coiled power in my legs released, and I flew straight toward the top of the huge trees. I released my arm blades, and dug them deeply into the side of one of the trees, about halfway up. With the skill of a . . . well, a Hork-Bajir, I swung upward from branch to branch, until I reached the canopy. Then beyond it. Through it.
Peering far, with the binocular eyes, I saw it. The tallest tree on the island. It indicated where the colony was. I climbed to the highest branch that supported my weight. And leapt out onto nothingness.
WHOOSH! An automatic reaction, my wings flew out, and the wind caught beneath them.
"WHOO-HOO!" I cried in the strangely clear Hork-Bajir voice. I loved gliding as a Hork-Bajir. It was so much better than flying as a bird! This morph was of my favourites now. I spilled the air carefully out of my wings, as I had learned to do over the years I've spent in this morph.
Wait. The years I've spent in this morph? I'd almost lost myself, forgetting that I was still here. The second mind had almost taken control.
Whoa! I began falling toward the earth. Stupid! I had lost the other mind. But wait. It was still there. I closed my eyes, relaxing. Willing myself to fade away, and let the other human mind take control again.
My eyes opened. What just happened? I had lost control of myself momentarily. It was strange. I had felt another presence in my head, and it had taken over.
Ignore it, I told myself. You have to get back and tell the others what you've seen.
After a few more minutes of the amazing gliding, I saw the tree before me.
The glorious colony.
I lined myself up with the landing platform, concealed by debris from the jungle floor. Funny, when Aldrea first ordered her men to hide the platform, and set up the hologram around the colony, I had simply laughed.
Why bother, I had thought. We're the only ones trapped here on this tropical island.
But after what I had just seen, I wasn't so sure. Although, I'm not exactly sure what it was . . .
I landed almost silently, and tucked my winds up on my back again, then climbed down using my blades.
Once at the bottom, I saw one of the Hork-Bajir run to me. Aldrea. Strange how different these Hork-Bajir are to the ones we fought and protected for so long. But there was still so much to remind one of our old friends back home. "Thank goodness you are back, Jake. Tobias and Marco have been worried sick about you.
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A little note, in case you didn't catch on. The extra spacing in some parts was to separate the two minds, and what they were both thinking at the same time.