ANIMORPHS: The Game Chapter 13: Allie, an animorphs fanfic

CHAPTER 13

Allie

A YEAR AGO I WAS IN THE CAR with my parents and my brother was driving. We swerved to miss a deer in the road and ended up hitting a semi truck."

"How awful," Cassie gasped.

It was hard to talk about it, but I had to. Rachel was right, I was hiding too much from my new friends. It was time for me to come clean, all or nothing. The six of them sat in Cassie barn, listening attentively.

I took a deep breath. I never told anyone about this before. My voice was shaking all most as much as my hands. I hugged myself so no one would notice how difficult this was.

"My parents were killed instantly. My brother was only a little beat up and bruised, but I was suffering from major internal bleeding and I wasn't going to make it through the next day.

"I guess that when the Ellimist first approached me I thought it was God or something. He tried to explain himself but I was on so many drugs it was next to impossible for me to comprehend what he was saying - at least that's what I thought. He told me he could give me a special power that I could use to help save the world.

"He told me - well, showed me, I guess - everything that the animorphs had accomplished. I knew everything. He said he had found a way to let me live and join his army to fight evil all over the galaxy.

"I said no the first time. I was in unimaginable pain and I was ready to die. I knew my parents were dead but I didn't know about my brother. The Ellimist told me he was going to show me something that would change my mind."

"He took me through the entire year from the day I died to the anniversary of my death. My brother lived, if you could even call it that. He turned into a drunk and drug addict because he blamed himself for our deaths. He couldn't deal with reality and -" my voice choked. I tried to hide a sniffle. "He took his own life on the day I died, a year later."

"Then the Ellimist took me a year into the future if I decided to become an animorph. I saw everything for the next year until I met up with the six of you. But there was a catch. My brother had to become a Yeerk, and so did I.

"So I accepted it. I had no choice. I would rather turn my brother into a Yeerk slave and seeing him live than let him die. And I knew that if I joined the animorphs there was a chance I could save him. So now he's a voluntary host.

"And so are you," Rachel said. "We saw you at the Yeerk pool. We followed you after school one day."

I was surprised, but I was glad she was being honest. "But the Ellimist didn't make me a Yeerk. This may be really hard for you to believe, but I have a machine in my head that acts as a Yeerk. It's this machine that keeps me alive. I don't know how it does it, but without it I would be dead. It doesn't control my thoughts and I can take it out at any time. I can take it out, if you like."

Jake shifted uneasily on the hay stack he was sitting on. "I know that after everything that's happened we should trust you, but we still have to be cautious."

Yes, please take it out, Ax suggested. I am very curious. I would like to study it.

"Okay," I replied.

I closed my eyes. All I had to do was think of it coming out of my ear and it did so, very easily. It slithered into my hands. They all stared with wonder. I gulped for air. I was extremely dizzy, removing it always took a lot out of me. I was lucky I didn't pass out. I handed it to Jake and sat down on a nearby pail.

"There. That's it."

Jake, with a disgusted look on his face, passed it to Ax. He stared at it with all four of his eyes. This is very advanced technology. Completely flawless. It must have been created by the Ellimist himself.

So do you have to go to the Yeerk pool every three days? Tobias asked.

I shook my head, a big mistake. I almost got to see my dinner all over again. "No, just once a month. It's not a hassle. My brother and I would go together about one every two weeks or so. The other times he just assumes that I go by myself or with friends."

"So why is he a voluntary host? Because he doesn't want to deal with the pain of living after the accident?" Marco questioned.

"No, though I suppose that would be a good reason. He is a voluntary host - and I am too- because he takes care of me after I go to the Yeerk pool. Paul takes care of me, the real Paul. It's only for a short time but it worth it."

"What do you mean he takes care of you?" Rachel asked, handing me my "life support" machine.

"Well, even though the Yeerk is out of my head for such a short time, my body begins to shut down, like I'm dying all over again. Once I get the Yeerk back inside me head it takes time for me to recover."

"So that's why you were sick last night," Marco said. He blushed. "We kinda followed you home too. Uh...sorry."

I shrugged. "No problem. I should have just come clean with all of you in the first place." I let the slug slither back into my ear. The disorientation returned for a moment. "And that's how I got here."

Whoa, Tobias said. That's really heavy.

I turned to Rachel. I wasn't sure if she had told the others about the Crayak, but I hoped that she wouldn't mind me mentioning it. "I knew that I had to persuade Rachel not to join the Crayak. I knew it would be tempting because he has the abilities to alter minds. I know this, because I know who his new member of his team is. Asking Rachel to join him was just suppose to be a distraction because he owed a favor to the new member of his team. My brother."

"How do you know it's your brother?" Cassie asked.

"When the Ellimst showed me everything that would happen in the year where I lived, I saw how the Crayak approached him and convinced him to join his team. If Rachel had accepted his offer, there's no telling what he would have done with her."

"So the Ellimist was right," Marco said. "You did prove to be a valuable member to our team. You have inside information, a fake Yeerk in your head, and you can double morph."

"I guess. But I'm inexperienced, and my brother is my enemy. And now I know how Jake feels."

I have one last question, Ax said.

"What is it?" I whispered. I needed to lie down. It was getting harder and harder to stay awake. I was exhausted from the nights events and from taking my Yeerk out.

Did you kill Voxfra?

There was silence. "I don't know. I made him bleed, that's for sure."

How did you get out alive? Tobias asked.

"I double morphed into a fly. They completely missed me. They were all looking for an Andalite. I was lucky, I guess."

Rachel stood up. "Listen Allie, I'm really sorry for being such a pain. I mean it, I made things so complicated."

"That's okay." I smiled and tried to stand up, but flopped back down on the pail.

"Are you all right?" Cassie asked, rushing to my side.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Don't worry."

Jake gestured toward the door. "I'm beat. We all need to get home and get a good night's sleep."

"Jake's right," Marco said, helping me up. "Come on, Allie. I'll walk you home." He took my arm and draped it over his shoulder, letting me lean on him for support. I was grateful.

And for the first time since the car accident, it felt like things were right in the world. I had new friends who I could be totally honest with and newfound hope that even though I may have killed my brother, I could save others like him. And with him out of the picture, it would be a lot easier.

But it didn't make me feel any better or miss him any less.