Chapter 12 – Rachel
Darkness... light... blackness... Tobias...
Where are you? I can't see.
Help me...
What is life? What is its worth?
Can you count it? Can you taste it?
Fading...
Someone answer me! Please... anyone...
"Hey Rachel," Tobias! Who is Tobias? Who am I? Rachel? Is that my name?
"Tobias? Is that you?"
"Yeah. I'm here.
"Don't leave me." Five senses. Sound, taste, sight... others? Touch...
I reached up. Needed to touch him. To know he was there.
"I won't."
I breathed deeply. Take in oxygen, expel carbon dioxide. Life. That's life.
That's what I'm fighting for.
I woke up.
Oh. School. I yawned and closed my window. I didn't remember leaving it open. Yawning dramatically, I walked into my bathroom and brushed my teeth.
Did Tobias come to see me last night? I hope not. I was at Cassie's. Besides, I I went to sleep early. I didn't remember anything after seeing Cassie. I almost laughed. I was too tired to think.
I pulled my toothbrush away from my mouth. The tip of the brush was red with blood.
My blood.
I spit the metallic taste out of my mouth and washed my gums with water. They still stung.
I got ready for another normal, boring, average day at junior high.
Oh, the glory of being an Animorph.
Chapter 13 – Tobias
I was worried. We all were.
Me especially. Yeah, don't remind me. Marco already did. Ha. Ha.
It was finally late that night that Jake decided we could do nothing to help Rachel get better right then. So, with a little persuading, Jake forced us to leave. I didn't want to leave Rachel. She was sick. Really sick.
Ax had studied her, like he was trying to figure out what was wrong with her. He kept checking her pulse with his weak hands and placing the flat of his tail-blade on her. Probably to feel her temperature. I don't know.
Who can tell with aliens?
I was definitely worried.
I guess I didn't figure out how much I needed Rachel until then.
I perched, shivering in my tree, waiting for the sun to rise. The sky was a dark blue, and my eyesight was poor. Almost as bad as a human's, but I could see. I could also hear the mice and other tasty animals scurrying inside their warm burrows. I sighed in my head, unheard by the many creatures around me.
Do they know? I thought, do they know that I'm not their average, every day hawk?
I mean, you have to wonder about those things, right?
Finally, after many chilling hours of waiting, the sun rose. The stars blinked and seemed to fall from the sky in a heap. Soon they were gone.
I stretched my wings and dropped off my branch. At the last minute, my wings caught a breath of air and I floated up above the treetops. My home.
I flew to Rachel's window. I looked inside.
Rachel wasn't there. I checked again. On the bed, the desk...
Gone.
I suddenly felt cold all over. An icy, steel hand gripped my heart. It tore me apart and sent shivers down my spine. I almost fainted right off Rachel's windowsill. My head bubbled in sadness and rage.
Rachel... you can't be dead... not you...
Why do you do this to me, Ellimist? I know you're there! Do something! Don't just sit there playing God... I choked, Why did you have to take her from me? She's the only one who cares! Or was. All because of you! Do you hear me, Ellimist? Your fault! I screamed to the sky. Of course he won't answer. He doesn't care about a gung-ho girl and a bird-boy. Why would he?
I heard something.
Probably just Rachel's Mom preparing the funeral. My head spun. Have you ever had something you don't want to think about? Like a test or speech or something? Then, when you really don't want to think about it, your brain taunts you. You scream and scream, but you can't stop your brain from thinking.
Just Rachel's Mom.
She's gone, Tobias. She's gone.
No! I screamed. I hadn't realized I'd spoken. I heard a crash. Suddenly, a person stepped into view.
A very beautiful person. Someone who can get run over by a garbage truck, get caught in a landslide, and get tossed around by a tornado, but still stay perfectly clean and immaculate.
Rachel.
Ever known someone with their own personal spotlight shining on them at all times? That's Rachel. Brave, smart, funny, and beautiful.
She came over to the window and opened it. I landed on the bed in a daze. Rachel looked at me and stroked my feathers.
"Hey Tobias. What's up? I heard you scream." She checked me, looking for injuries.
What? I thought, how could she not know?
"Tobias? Are you okay?" She looked at me, concerned and worried.
Rachel, I gasped, You're alive. Her eyes widened. Then her expression softened.
"Of course I'm alive! Why wouldn't I be?" Rachel laughed.
You – me, I stuttered. Did she remember anything at all? Did she even know that she had been deathly ill? Did she remember our kiss?
Rachel, I said, sounding more urgent then I was meaning to, What is the last thing you remember? She smiled, but it was a confused smile.
"Last night, I went to see Cassie." She shrugged, "Tobias, maybe you should stay here today. I can skip school to look after you --"
No. I don't need help. Really. Don't worry about me.
"But I do worry Tobias." Rachel said softly.
Right then, I wanted to hug her, to kiss her. I didn't do either. I just turned away.
I've got to go. Take care of yourself, Rachel. I nibbled her finger affectionately and flew through the window. I felt her eyes following me.
As I drifted lazily towards my meadow, I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to see Ax. Badly. I had a feeling Ax knew something about Rachel's mysterious sickness.
At least I hoped so.
Chapter 14
Ax! I yelled, scanning the trees. I was bound to find him soon. It's not too hard to find a four-eyed, black-hoofed, scorpion-tailed alien in the forest.
If you're a bird of course. And if you know where to look. That helps.
I headed back to Ax's Scoop as quickly as I could.
There you are! I said, spotting him laying in the sun, his legs tangled underneath him, his eyes closed except for a stalk eye, which seemed to sway in the breeze. His eye blinked and closed. He almost looked like he was asleep. Maybe he was.
Ax! I need to talk to you!
Ax immediately stood up and stretched his legs and arms. I could almost say he yawned, but I'm not positive. I felt his eyes on me as I landed on a sapling above him.
I dug my talons into the soft, deep wood of the tree.
Tobias! It's a pleasure to see you! He said, How is Rachel?
That's just it. I don't know. I was hoping you could tell me what's wrong with her. I responded, cocking my head slightly. Ax crossed his arms, another habit he has picked up from being around humans.
I am not certain, however, I do have a theory, He said.
What is it? I asked patiently.
I will not go into too many details, but I believe Rachel is suffering from severe stress. This stress, I believe, can cause damage to the brain. If I am correct, Rachel will relive a memory, then it will be 'recycled' to make room for other memories. Sort of like in a computer. Except I do not know if we will be able to bring her memories back after her brain is through with them. Ax shook his head sadly. I stared at him, sinking the news in.
What!? I said almost hysterically, She won't remember anything?!
Ax avoided my stares. For a good reason. I took a breath and tried to steady my heart's beating frenzy.
You said it was only a theory, right? I said, my hopes rising slightly.
Well, Ax said, I am almost positive. The correct temperature, heart beats per minute, breath rate... it all indicates --
Stop! I said, startling myself and Ax, Is there nothing we can do? Are we just going to watch her die?
Ax shuffled his feet, Oh, she won't die. She just won't remember anything. Usually the less important memories are 'recycled' first. He added hopefully.
I took a breath, Ax? I whispered, What if she blacks out again? At school or the mall or something?
She won't. The first time the memory loss shocks the body into a state where the victim cannot breathe, but, the next time her 'crisis stage' occurs, it'll be more subtle. Rachel might look like she is asleep with her eyes open.
I couldn't take it anymore.
Rachel... why you? Why couldn't it have been me? I don't have much to lose...
I need to go. I took off from the tree above Ax. I let everything sink in farther. The thought of Rachel losing all her memory sent a chill down my spine.
If what Ax said was true, Rachel might wake up one morning not knowing her name, or where she was born, or who her friends are. But it was more horrible than that. A new problem has occurred underneath all of Rachel's life problems.
Rachel might forget she was an Animorph.
Chapter 15 – Rachel
Finally. Fourth period. Done.
BRIINNNGGG! BRRIINNGGG!
I rushed out of the room, books in hand. As I turned a corner, I was nearly trampled by a crowd shoving and pushing to get to their lockers. I finally reached mine and spun the combination lock.
I opened my locker, grabbed my backpack, and shoved my books into it carelessly. I glared as someone ran into me, almost knocking me off my feet.
I looked over to see if Cassie was at her locker. She was. I walked over.
"Hi Cassie!" I said, smiling. Cassie looked up quickly and stared at me. She gasped and her eyes widened. I frowned.
"What's wrong?" I asked, jamming my hands into my jean pockets. I thought for a moment and realized that Tobias had acted almost the same way.
"Rachel, wow, you got better?" Cassie said grinning in a confused way. She sounded doubtful.
"Got better from what?"
"Don't you know?"
"No." Now I was really confused. I shrugged it off.
"Hey, remember your promise? You're going to the mall today, right?" I said laughing, "Actually, it's not a choice."
As I pulled Cassie away from her locker, I realized. They must have made some sort of joke, pretending I was sick, so I wouldn't make Cassie go to the mall. I almost laughed. Jake would probably help Cassie, Marco would do anything for a joke, and Cassie would do anything to stay away from the mall.
Ax wouldn't get it, and Tobias? Would he do that?
Yeah, probably.
The rest of the day was weird also. At lunch, Jake was staring at me constantly like he was afraid I would collapse right in front of him. When I yelled at him to stop acting like I was a porcelain doll, Marco sort of scooted his chair away from me. I got really mad then.
I mean, enough is enough already!
After what seemed like a millennia, school was out for the day, and I was ready to have some fun. I was going to get Cassie to the mall if it killed me.
As I walked outside, I saw a shadow on the blacktop. I squinted and looked up at the sky. I waved to Tobias, just a twinkling of two fingers, and began to walk home with Cassie.
Cassie and I met Jake, Ax, and Marco at the mall. Of course, we did some acting for any controllers that happened to be watching.
"Oh! Hi Jake! What a surprise to see you here!"
"Hey! Want to get some lunch?"
"Sure. We haven't eaten yet."
As we sat down at a table, Tobias joined us. I smiled at him and he sat down next to me. Marco started coughing loudly. I smiled at him.
"Marco, being the shortest, why don't you get our food for us?" I said sweetly. Marco put a hand over his chest.
"Right in the heart, Xena. Right in the heart." He said, grinning. I rolled my eyes and kicked him under the table. Hard.
"Oww! Fine. Fine, I'm going. Jake, you know your cousin just kicked me, right? Aren't you supposed to do the best friend thing and kick her butt?"
"Sorry Marco, she's family." Jake said, grinning. Marco sighed.
"I'm an outcast yet again." Shaking his head, Marco walked off to get some nachos. I turned and grinned at Tobias.
"Carpe Diem. That's what Marco tries to do." I said, running my hands through my hair. Tobias raised his eyebrows.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He said...
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tobias asked, staring at the teacher in confusion.
"Tobias, if you had been listening you would know." Mrs. Johnston said impatiently, "Stop daydreaming." As she turned back to the whiteboard, the class snickered. I had to suppress a snort.
"Tobias, stop daydreaming!" A kid mimicked. The class giggled again. Tobias blushed about five shades of red.
I didn't feel too sorry for him. That's just how he is - Always dreaming and staring at the sky. He's a loner after all.
I looked down at my math paper. Algebra. Yuck. I glanced at Tobias and he looked away. I felt some pity. Poor kid.
I raised my hand and Mrs. Johnston turned around and pointed at me.
"Rachel?"
"Mrs. Johnston? I finished with my algebra," I lied, smiling, "I'll help Tobias with his." Some people around me raised their eyebrows and snickered. I glared at them.
"Sure Rachel. Go ahead." She said, sounding doubtful. I picked up my pencil, walked over to Tobias's desk, picked up his paper and pencil, and walked out of the classroom into the pod. I sat down at a circular table and placed the materials down. Tobias sat down across from me.
"Thanks," he said, looking at his hands. I gave him a look.
"No problem, Mrs. Johnston didn't really explain it very well. Why don't you come take this seat?" I pointed to the chair next to mine. Tobias nodded, but he couldn't look me in the eye. He sat down.
I looked at the first algebra problem. It was an easy one: 15 = x + 8.
"Let's try this one." I said, picking up my pencil. Tobias picked up his.
"I know how to do this." Tobias said, staring at the problem.
"Yes," I said, grinning, "But I need to teach you a way that will help you with more complicated problems."
Tobias nodded and brushed a lock of hair from his face.
"Okay," I said, "First, we need to get the x by itself. We do that by canceling out the eight. Would you agree that by adding eight, then subtracting eight, we would get zero?" Tobias nodded, and I continued, "Okay, so we now have x isolated. What do you do now? Remember, you want to have the sides balanced."
Tobias's eyes lit up. He actually smiled.
"We would subtract eight from fifteen, right?" Tobias said, glancing at me quickly. I nodded so he could see.
"Yeah. So what does x equal?"
"Seven," Tobias said triumphantly, scribbling it down on his paper. He smiled at me.
"Thanks. I think I get it now. Should I do some more?" He asked.
"Yeah, you do that Tobias." I said. Jake, Cassie, Ax and Tobias stared at me. Marco walked to the table, carrying the nachos.
"Nachos anybody? I got extra cheese!" He said, setting it down on the table. Marco looked at everyone, "What's gotten into you guys? Cat got your tongue?"
I frowned. What was I doing? Why had I spoken without meaning to?
"Whatever. Fine. Ignore me." Marco picked up a cheese-covered chip and ate it, chewing slowly. Cassie and Jake blinked.
"Thanks for getting the nachos, Marco." Cassie said, giving me a concerned glance.
"Yeah." Jake said automatically.
Then, Ax saw the nachos. Uh-oh.
"Is that grease? And salt? Grease. Greasuuh. Saltuh. Those are enjoyable flavors!" Ax almost shook with excitement. He reached his hand across the table and grabbed a clump of chips. He plopped them in his mouth and did shake.
"More!" He cried, licking his fingers and reaching for another batch of nacho chips. Marco laughed.
"At least you're eating real foods," he snorted, "I'll never forget the time you ate those cigarette butts." Ax had nothing to say to that. He just reached for more chips. I laughed at Ax's antics.
Nothing can control an Andalite in human morph. Especially one that's next to food.