ANIMORPHS: The Game Chapter 8: Tobias, an animorphs fanfic

CHAPTER 8

Tobias

I HAD BEEN FOLLOWING RACHEL SINCE THE THREE OF THEM HAD LEFT McDONALDS. She had this triumphant look on her face. Cassie was definitely troubled by something, and Marco looked like a zombie from Night of the Living Dead.

I was hungry but my curiosity got the better of me. What had they been doing at the Yeerk Pool entrance? I wondered. But I figured that I would find out soon enough. They went to Cassie's barn and after I caught a nice sized rodent for dinner, I saw Jake on his way to Cassie's house too. So I tracked down Ax-man and headed to the barn.

The barn was filled with an eerie quietness. Something was wrong. Something was really wrong, especially with Marco. He hadn't even spoken a word yet and usually we couldn't get him to shut up.

"You guys made it. I'm glad we didn't have to go out looking for you," Jake said.

What's going on? What's wrong?

"We've had a little meeting to discuss something," Rachel replied.

Well then where's Allie?

"Allie is what we're here to discuss," Jake answered. "Let me bring you guys up to speed. I don't know if you guys have noticed, but Allie has been hiding a secret from us. A big secret. Rachel had a dream about Allie and her brother last night and she took Cassie and Marco with her to investigate after school. They followed the two of them to McDonald's where they went down into the Yeerk Pool, without permission..." he shot a look at Cassie, who blushed and looked down to the floor, ashamed. "It turns out that Allie and her brother are both voluntary Yeerk hosts."

What? I asked. You can't be serious. Why would the Ellimist put a Yeerk on our team? It's a death wish.

"Who knows?" Rachel shrugged. "Now we have to figure out what to do with her."

"Well, I know what I want to do with her," Marco spoke up form the pile of hay he was sitting on. "I want to confront her host and kill it. I want to keep her away from the Yeerk Pool for three days and watch it die."

"Marco, you've got to think rationally," Jake said. "I know you've got these feelings for Allie, but -"

"We did the same thing for you, Jake," he interrupted. "We could have Ax morph into her for a few days."

"But her brother would notice," Cassie said. "After all, they go there together. If she just stopped going, he would know something was up. I'm sorry Marco, but it just seems impossible."

"But so is double morphing," Marco replied. "And she can do that."

"Maybe it's a mutation or something," Rachel suggested.

"Rachel, you've had something against Allie since the first day we saw her. You aren't even willing to try. What if this is what the Ellimist wanted us to do? What if we're suppose to get rid of the Yeerk inside her mind and then she'll become an asset to us."

I don't know Marco. He said that all we have to do is accept her. He didn't say anything about the Yeerk in her head. I said.

"Maybe he didn't know," Rachel declared.

That's impossible, Ax replied. The Ellimist knows everything.

"I think we should stop using the word impossible from now on," Cassie said. "Nothing is impossible. Maybe we can save Allie."

Marco stood up. "I want to see her. I want to confront her."

"Not now," Jake said. "First we have to try and figure out how much she's told the Yeerk Empire about us and figure out how much time we have before they catch us."

"What if she's part of the Yeerk resistance force?" Cassie asked. "Maybe she's a Yeerk rebel."

"Either way, we're in danger," Rachel said. "And she's still got control over Allie's mind and body."

"But we don't know that," Marco replied. "Maybe it just sits back and lets her live her life. Maybe that's why she's a voluntary host."

"Yeah, or maybe she's planning something against us right now," Rachel shouted. "I don't about you guys, but I'm definitely not feeling safe anymore. I don't want to go home, I don't want to put my family in danger."

Rachel is right, Ax said. I believe we should strike first before she does.

"You're all crazy!" Marco cried. "She's is not against us! I know it!"

"Marco, you're blind! Would you listen to yourself?! You're the crazy one!" Rachel said. "You can't depend on your feelings or your intuition. It's suicide."

"What about instinct?" Marco asked. "Isn't that what you thrive on Rachel, the heartless warrior that you are?"

I could see something inside Rachel snap. What Marco said about her seemed to make her second guess herself. An odd thing, a habit that Rachel never had.

No offense, I told Marco, but every instinct inside me says that we need to get to Allie's apartment right now and see what's going on. Whether we battle with her or not, we need to find out what she's up to.

"Tobias is right," Jake said. "We can decide what we'll do with Allie after we know all the facts. I still believe that the Ellimist brought her to us for a reason. We just need to figure out why before she tells the Yeerks what we are."

"She wouldn't do that," Marco cried.

"We'll argue about it later," Jake replied. "Let's get a move on." He walked out of Cassie's barn, everyone else not far behind. Ax morphed into a harrier and flew behind us, making sure we weren't being followed.

The sun was setting outside. I felt like going back to my favorite tree and perching in a branch for the night, but I had other duties to attend to. The owls would be on the prowl when I got back, so I'd have to be careful about where I flew. By the time we reached Marco's apartment building it was almost completely dark.

"Tobias, fly up to her window and see what's going on," Jake called up to me. "We're going to head up to the second floor. Fill us in on what's happening."

Okay, Jake. I flew towards the second story, peeking in the windows on the opposite side of Marco's apartment. I passed a few windows and came to the first one with the lights on inside. As I flew closer, I realized it was Allie. It was her bedroom.

She was lying her bed, her face pale and flushed. Her blankets were pulled up to her neck and her brother was sitting by her side in a chair. She had a damp wash cloth on her forehead and she was breathing heavily.

Hey, you guys. I think we've been worrying over nothing. I couldn't hear a reply, but I knew they heard me. Something's wrong with her. It doesn't look like she's planning anything against us. She can barely breathe.

With my sensitive hawk hearing I could hear someone running down the stairs inside the building, the door slamming. Marco came running around the corner. "I've got to see her," he said. The others ran out of the building and watched as he took off his shoes and started morphing into a harrier.

He joined me by the window, out of sight from the window. I heard in thought speech what can only be described as a gasp of incredible shock and terror as he whispered words that swept inside the heart of everyone listening.