Chapter 1

We were sitting in the barn, all of us, just the way we normally do.  It was hot and sticky out and made me seriously wish that Cassie's dad would install an A.C.  But anyway, back to the matter at hand.  My name's Marco ______ (insert fav. last name here, because I'm not telling you mine).  No, I'm not paranoid and I'm not crazy, although some of my friends  might disagree.  No, what I am is an Animorph.  Basically, it makes me one of the most hunted beings in the entire universe, but you probably knew that already.

            "Jake, why exactly are we here?" Rachel complained, breaking my train of thoughts (useless as they may seem).  She was fanning herself with the sports section of a week old paper.  Cassie was kneeling on the floor, lining the cage of a rather obnoxious squirrel with the front page of the same edition. 

            "I told you, I have no idea.  Erek just called half an hour ago and told me to get everyone assembled.  Said he had really big news, but that was it," Jake explained.  He didn't look too happy to be here either as he plopped down on a bale of hay, positioned directly in front of a stationary fan: the one source of relief in the staggering heat of the barn.

            "Cassie," I said, bolting upright from my reclined position against a hay bale, "I have just though of the perfect way to help fund the Rehabilitation Center."  I grinned wickedly.  "It's simple and quite brilliant, if I do say so myself…"

            "Which you obviously do," Rachel called out.

            "…You and your dad can convert the barn into a Spa.  It already serves as a sauna  Yeah… think of the possibilities.  Come and relax amongst nature in all her glory in the Wildlife Health Spa."  Jake groaned and Rachel removed her flip-flop and chucked it at my head.  I ducked.  "Just think, you can turn some of the horse stalls into private massage rooms.  Light some aroma therapy candles, like cow poop and rabbit poop scented ones, just to keep the theme.  You can turn the trough into a whirlpool, people can take mud baths with the pigs…"

            "Marco?  Just.  Shut.  Up," Rachel said.  "It is too hot, and I am too tired to come over there and beat you senseless right now.  So just do me a favor this once and shut up.  Please?" she moaned.  Obviously Rachel is not a warm weather kinda gal.  But I decided to give her a break, just because that's the kind of stand-up guy I am.  Just then a massive hawk shot through the open hayloft door and, pulling a U-turn maneuver most air force pilots couldn't duplicate, landed on a rafter right over my head.

            Ax is almost here and Erek's just a block away, Tobias told our freakish little group.  He was rustling his feathers in irritation.  Damn, we really need a cool down here, don't we?  My meadow's startin' to look more like the Sahara, he explained.  And mice don't exactly flourish in the desert.  He was cranky.  And my guess would be it was because he probably hadn't eaten in a while.  'Just another of the perks that comes with being a nothlit,' I thought sarcastically.  I didn't have time to think much else because right then Erek showed up, with Ax on his heels.

            Looking at Erek, you wouldn't think there was anything strange about him.  He looks like your typical average teenager, but then again, so do we.  But if anything, this war has taught us that looks can be deceiving and Erek is a prime example of that.  He is in fact, and android older than the pyramids.  His appearance is controlled by a holographic projector because, let's face it, people might get slightly freaked by a giant dog-like robot walking down the street.  It is for that exact same reason that Ax was in his human morph. 

            "Alright Erek, since you managed to drag us away from our air conditioners, can we make this short and sweet?" Rachel demanded.  Erek grinned at her.

            "You think this is hot?  Try living before they invented A.C.  That's hot," he chided her, but she shot him a look that said 'stop messing with me, or I'll make you eat your feet' so he decided to continue.  "I called you all hear today because something major has happened.   There is this department in the Yeerk force that is dedicated to monitoring extraterrestrial activity on Yeerk planets.  It is a pretty useless and futile department because most species know enough to stay away from planets under Yeerk control.  But several days ago, they picked up a craft of some kind inside Earth's atmosphere."  He paused for a second, clearly to see our reactions.  Clearly they weren't what he expected.

            So, something landed on the planet?  Big whoop!  Lots of things have landed here recently, Tobias said.

            "Yes, but this wasn't a Yeerk ship.  In fact, the Yeerks don't know what or whose ship it is.  They've never seen the likes of it before.

            "And this means…what?" I prompted.

            "That there is an unknown species on Earth."  Again he waited for our reactions.  We just stared at one another, blankly.

            "Oh for crying out loud!" he said, throwing up his hands.  "If the Yeerks don't know what they are, is it possible that they don't know about the Yeerks?" he asked, rhetorically.  Suddenly the little light bulb floating over Jake's head clicked on.

            "They…we could convince them to help us.  They could turn the tables of the whole war," he muttered, awestruck by the possibility.

            "But on the other hand, they could also help the Yeerks speed up the infestation of Earth.  Eed.  Speeee!  That's a fun word," Ax commented, speaking up for the first time.

            "Yeah Ax, no one has had so much fun with speed since Keanu and Sandra," I retorted, rolling my eyes.  Don't get me wrong, Ax is brilliant.  Just…not when he's human.

            "So now you see why this is so major?" Erek asked.  "This is huge.  You have got to get there before the Yeerks do."

            "Whoa, whoa, whoa.  Get where, exactly Erek?" Cassie wondered

            "The Yeerks have narrowed it down to about a 15mi radius located in the heart of Kansas-," he began

            "Kansas?  Hicksville?  Goobertown?  Isn't Kansas the only state where cows outnumber people?" I asked helpfully.  Thunk!  Another flip-flop went airborne, and this one made contact with the side of my head.

            "Yes Marco, Kansas," Erek said with exasperation.  Then he tuned to Jake, "you guys need to leave like, ten minutes ago.  The Yeerks are sending a party to investigate and they leave tonight.  We can fill in for you guys as long as you need, but you need to leave soon."

            "Wait," Cassie interrupted, "how do we even know that this ship, this species is still on the planet?"

            "The Yeerk sensors picked up its energy signature and tracked its movement for only 10 minutes.  It powered up from inside the atmosphere and powered down inside as well.  How it got through the atmosphere undetected is still a mystery to the Yeerks, but that's beside the point right now."  Erek was talking a mile a minute.  Clearly he was as excited by the possibilities as we were, but then it hit me.

            "Um, I hate to put a damper on everyone's good mood-,"

            "No you don't."  Rachel again.

            "-but how exactly are we going to get to Kansas," I wondered aloud.  "We can't exactly fly there."  But then Jake got that dangerous look in his eye.  It was the look Rachel got when she was about to do something stupidly brave.  It was a look that made me want to hurl.

            "Actually Marco, flying isn't such a bad idea."

            "I think I'm gonna be sick," I muttered dejectedly.