Chapter Twenty-Seven:
The bear that was Rachel eyed me. I swear she smiled.
The blades on the news helicopters grew louder. Any moment now, they were going to capture a million images of a bear where no bear could have possibly gotten.
Would they capture the bear's smile?
What were really you doing during that little flying trip of yours?
Feeding at the Pool, of course.
Why didn't you report us?
I will, she said. But not hastily or sloppily. I'm going to deliver all of you, already infested, to Visser Three!
The news helicopters grew louder.
Marco, Rachel, Tobias called, obviously unaware of the deadly situation on top of the tower. Cassie's safely away. Rachel, you've got to find a way to hide. If they see you in bear morph, it's all over.
"Rachel" and I waited, eyeing each other. Daring one another to make the first move. Finally, she spoke.
Neither of us wants for the human media to see this. Not yet, she sneered. Can we agree to hide for the time being? I don't want to kill you.
Not yet, I agreed.
The news helicopters grew louder.
I loped cautiously to the hatch that let down into the water of the tower. Standing next to it was a low, ugly box. Wires dangled from it, lights flashed on it. "Rachel" lumbered over. She followed my line of sight.
It was weirdly quiet on top of the tower.
Yes, she said. That's the projector. Will you destroy it, and die when we Yeerks send our troops to pick you up? Or hide in the water, like a coward, and perhaps come back to destroy it another day?
Grudgingly, I wrenched open the hatch.
In, I ordered.
Oh, after you, she sneered.
No, I insist.
Every word of mock politeness was another dagger of hate thrust in one another. We both knew exactly what we were doing, and how dangerous it was.
If you do not go first, I will not go at all. I have nothing to lose by fighting to the death here, she said. What about you?
My dad. My friends. Earth. Yeah, I had something to lose.
What are you doing, you idiots? Tobias demanded. The choppers are right on top of you! Get in the water, now!
I dropped down, in a careful, loping plunge, keeping one hand on the hatch in case she tried to lock me in.
She didn't. The water rocked as she dove in.
She resurfaced, and I took stock of my situation. I was in a cold water tower with, I realized, no way of getting out except to morph eel and swim out, or seagull and fly out. It was dark in the tower, except for the lone shaft of light that sunk through the hatch, illuminating a small circle of the water. Across from me, paddling lethargically, was the Yeerk that controlled Rachel's body. The bear's body.
I had been in morph for about half an hour.
Rachel had just morphed.
Half an hour after I was forced to choose between demorphing and life as a gorilla, Rachel would still be the bear.
I might be able to fight her off as gorilla.
As a human, I would die within seconds.
So, I said. You're why Cassie didn't run away when she had the chance.
I promised I would take her feeding during my watch. But I changed my mind. She twisted her bear head up, as if looking at something above us. Too bad, huh?
You killed your own comrade.
I have a guiding principle. Never share glory. I want it to be my moment alone when you six are presented to Visser Three.
The water was cold, but that had nothing to do with the chill that went up my spine. For a half hour, once I had been forced to demorph, I would be in the paws of a bear with a Yeerk behind its eyes.
A Yeerk that had killed its own ally.
I was already a dead man.
The bear that was Rachel eyed me. I swear she smiled.
The blades on the news helicopters grew louder. Any moment now, they were going to capture a million images of a bear where no bear could have possibly gotten.
Would they capture the bear's smile?
What were really you doing during that little flying trip of yours?
Feeding at the Pool, of course.
Why didn't you report us?
I will, she said. But not hastily or sloppily. I'm going to deliver all of you, already infested, to Visser Three!
The news helicopters grew louder.
Marco, Rachel, Tobias called, obviously unaware of the deadly situation on top of the tower. Cassie's safely away. Rachel, you've got to find a way to hide. If they see you in bear morph, it's all over.
"Rachel" and I waited, eyeing each other. Daring one another to make the first move. Finally, she spoke.
Neither of us wants for the human media to see this. Not yet, she sneered. Can we agree to hide for the time being? I don't want to kill you.
Not yet, I agreed.
The news helicopters grew louder.
I loped cautiously to the hatch that let down into the water of the tower. Standing next to it was a low, ugly box. Wires dangled from it, lights flashed on it. "Rachel" lumbered over. She followed my line of sight.
It was weirdly quiet on top of the tower.
Yes, she said. That's the projector. Will you destroy it, and die when we Yeerks send our troops to pick you up? Or hide in the water, like a coward, and perhaps come back to destroy it another day?
Grudgingly, I wrenched open the hatch.
In, I ordered.
Oh, after you, she sneered.
No, I insist.
Every word of mock politeness was another dagger of hate thrust in one another. We both knew exactly what we were doing, and how dangerous it was.
If you do not go first, I will not go at all. I have nothing to lose by fighting to the death here, she said. What about you?
My dad. My friends. Earth. Yeah, I had something to lose.
What are you doing, you idiots? Tobias demanded. The choppers are right on top of you! Get in the water, now!
I dropped down, in a careful, loping plunge, keeping one hand on the hatch in case she tried to lock me in.
She didn't. The water rocked as she dove in.
She resurfaced, and I took stock of my situation. I was in a cold water tower with, I realized, no way of getting out except to morph eel and swim out, or seagull and fly out. It was dark in the tower, except for the lone shaft of light that sunk through the hatch, illuminating a small circle of the water. Across from me, paddling lethargically, was the Yeerk that controlled Rachel's body. The bear's body.
I had been in morph for about half an hour.
Rachel had just morphed.
Half an hour after I was forced to choose between demorphing and life as a gorilla, Rachel would still be the bear.
I might be able to fight her off as gorilla.
As a human, I would die within seconds.
So, I said. You're why Cassie didn't run away when she had the chance.
I promised I would take her feeding during my watch. But I changed my mind. She twisted her bear head up, as if looking at something above us. Too bad, huh?
You killed your own comrade.
I have a guiding principle. Never share glory. I want it to be my moment alone when you six are presented to Visser Three.
The water was cold, but that had nothing to do with the chill that went up my spine. For a half hour, once I had been forced to demorph, I would be in the paws of a bear with a Yeerk behind its eyes.
A Yeerk that had killed its own ally.
I was already a dead man.