Chapter 18-Jake
I looked around at the expressions of relief and joy on the parents' faces. They were happy that their children had were alive and unhurt. I should have been happy.
But I wasn't. I had already lost my brother that day. I was in no mood to celebrate. There should have been some way, a different plan, that I could have saved Tom. What happened was all my fault, and now I couldn't take it back. It was like a blunder in a chess game.
What could I have done? I said to myself, over and over. Every time I replayed the scenario, I couldn't find another way to save him. Tom had to die. Rather, Tom's Yeerk had to die, but the only way to accomplish that was to kill Tom.
I wanted to see my parents. They had been infested by Yeerks before I could rescue them. Actually, I could have saved them, but I decided to wait another day. One day too late. Another blunder I had made.
I didn't belong here. It was a time for mourning, and I couldn't do that with happiness all around me. I needed to get away from it all, from the war, from the final battle.
Without drawing any attention, I managed to slip away into the woods. I knew I should have told my friends, but then they would want to come. This was something I had to do by myself. I had to tell them, face to face, that I ordered Tom's death. That their oldest child was never coming back home.
I've heard telling parents their children are dead is an awful experience. I would get to find out. I hoped my parents would understand.
As soon as I was out of sight of the camp, I morphed to peregrine falcon. It would be the fastest way to reach my home, if it was still standing. There was this sense of importance racing through me.
I flapped the whole way. There were some nice thermals, but gliding was a waste of time. I didn't want to enjoy anything. I just wanted to get this terrible burden off of my shoulders. It was killing me, shutting my entire mind down. I couldn't think. I couldn't plan.
As I reached the outskirts of the city, where I lived, I saw the immense destruction the Yeerks had wrought on our town. Skyscrapers that had been standing a few days ago were piles of dirt. Car alarms rang throughout the silent city. No people were outside. The air was a dirty brownish color, absorbing most of the sun's rays.
I saw the block where I used to live. It was mostly unchanged since I had last seen it. There were no signs of life, but I couldn't be sure of that. Yeerks could have been hiding anywhere.
My house seemed empty. Windows were shattered. It seemed like a trap, and I didn't want to get caught in a possible fight in bird morph.
I landed in my backyard, and demorphed as quickly as possible. When I was human, orange and black fur began covering my skin. Tiger morph was my strongest battle morph, and it could move silently. Stealth was what I needed now.
The back door, oddly enough, was open. It was as if someone was expecting me. I walked in, careful not to stumble on anything. No lights were on. It was nearly complete darkness, except my tiger eyes were well-suited to see in the dark.
I made my way upstairs, and checked in my brother's room. An alarm clock kept blinking 12:00. Although Tom never set it, it bothered me. It was creepy.
Next was my room. It had been wiped clean. I guess the Yeerks wanted to check if I had left any clues. My parent's room was empty as well. Nothing. I was about to leave when a picture caught my eye.
It had been taken a few months ago, one of those family portrait pictures. My mom and dad were standing in the back, smiling at the camera. I was faking a smile. I remembered that I had never wanted to go get that picture taken. Tom was there, a grim look set on his face. His eyes were concentrating on something else. Even though he may have been controlled by a Yeerk, it was still Tom's body.
I realized it was the last picture with my whole family. Now, it would be the last picture. No longer would any family portraits contain my brother. He was gone.
"Well, if it isn't Jake the Yeerk-killer," a voice sneered.
My father! I spun around, expecting him to be there, pointing a Dracon beam at me. There was no one.
Motion sensors. That was it. How had I been so stupid? They could be anywhere. I was surrounded by unseen enemies.
But the voice didn't seem to be coming from upstairs. I padded downstairs, claws extended, ready for trouble. I didn't want to hurt my parents. But if they were still Yeerks, I had no choice.
Just like with Tom.
"You're not going to find your parents here," my father's voice said, rage barely contained in his voice. "You want them back? You'll have to find them."
Where are you? I demanded. Show yourself! I was in the kitchen now.
"It's not going to be easy, Jake," my father said, laughing. "Maybe you'll never get them back. Just like you'll never get your brother back."
The insult hit home. I was infuriated. I could feel my anger, my hate, vibrating in the air around me. My mind was prepared to kill. The tiger instincts were taking over.
"Goodbye, Jake." There was a click. It had been a recording.
Why had it been played when I showed up? How had it been so accurate? Surely it was no coincidence. Someone had set-
A flicker of red! I looked to my right. On the living room wall, there was a reflection of something. It was coming from the TV. But the red shadow kept changing shapes. What was it?
Numbers! They were numbers! My mind was racing. Why would there be numbers? Why, why, why…
A bomb! It had to be! It was a deliberate trap, and I was going to be dead in a few seconds.
I flew through the living room, and sailed right through the front window. The glass shattered, cutting me a little, but I didn't care. I had to get as far away as I could possibly be.
TSEEEW! TSEEEW! BOOOOOOOM!
From across the street, I looked back at my home. Or what was left of it. In a second it had been reduced to a pile of dust. A Dracon bomb had utterly vaporized my home.
What was I going to do? My parents could be anywhere. I wouldn't be able to find them alone. I would need help. Although I didn't want to, I would have to enlist my friends' help.
"Maybe you'll never get them back," the Yeerk had said with my dad's voice. It was true. I might never find them. Their life would be lived out as slaves to an alien race on a faraway planet. It was worse than death.
They'd still be alive, though. There'd always be the chance that I could rescue them somehow. But the way the Yeerk had said it…
Ice flowed through my veins. Even though it was warm outside, I was freezing. It couldn't be. There was no way.
I had lost my brother. I would not lose the rest of my family.
I demorphed and morphed to falcon. Adrenaline was pumping through my whole body. I could hardly believe what was happening. I took off and flapped towards the Hork-Bajir valley.
I hoped this was a dream. This nightmare was getting worse every second.