Chapter 5

I was able to take a few of the pictures. The artist, nor the audience, seemed to care. The slaps on the table must indeed have been some bizarre currency. It gave the artist a lot of joy.

The images were troubling. With expressions and pointing alone, I had convinced the artist to draw more Andalites. They were portrayed with demonic eyes and threatening stances, but their depictions were often at the claws of defeat, with Mak and the new creatures featuring heroically.

And, bar the one earlier exception, there were no Yeerks to be seen. I was beginning to form a conclusion, but I was not ready to report. I still had to reach the tower.

I dragged myself away from the artist with the vaguest expression of thanks, pictures held securely underarm. My route would take me downhill, through another narrow gap and into the next, larger clearing with abundant activity. I politely swerved through lines of Mak and the odd-suited alien until I emerged into the bright open land.

All seemed normal, compared to the previous areas. That was until I moved about a hundred feet, and the telltale signs of a destroyed building came into view from behind a spire dwelling. It looked like another Bug Fighter crash site, and my curiosity lassoed me to it. There was a Taxxon and two Mak busily working at the entrance, carrying loads to and from it. Two of the suited guards were there, too, but they weren't too bothered by the activity behind them.

I moved with intent to the wreckage, passing by the guards without issue. The Mak and Taxxon weren't taking any notice, either, and I stepped over fallen rock and torn fabrics where the entire front of the structure had been smashed down. The sun sank behind what remained of the place (which was probably about two-thirds of it.) I saw no signs of a Bug Fighter, but something had unquestionably hit the area, and I was interested in finding out what.

I stepped into a room with a wall missing, its innards still in plain view of the street I'd arrived from. I spotted vandalism. Blue splodges coated the walls in patterns of Mak language and carefully constructed images. They gave nothing away, but I could see that they continued through a smoothened round hole in the wall. It was dark, but I wandered through, stepping over loose rubble.

The room was much darker, but an opening on the opposite side allowed just enough light in for me to gaze upon the contents. Everything was coated in dust, but beneath that layer, I could identify scorches. Burn marks. Pieces of rock had come away from the walls, webbed by cracks that trailed to the ceiling and floor. My feet stepped over gaps, but it seemed sturdy enough to hold my weight and more.

The blue images and languages changed. More color arrived, as did cautious detail, giving the walls an imaginative flair, something of a trait that I never imagined the Mak having.

I sidled along the walls like an art critic in a museum, scratching for clues or hints to past events. Perhaps I would discover a cause for the destruction around me. The information came thick and fast.

There were Bug Fighters, a Blade Ship, and other types of ships that engaged them in battle. Below were aliens: Mak, Taxxons, and other creatures that I had never seen before, including the vined ones. I moved along the wall, and it was like witnessing a storyboard for some movie. In detail, I saw the terror of the Mak race, enslaved by the Yeerks, eyes dull and bodies robotic. Yeerk slugs bordered the walls from floor to ceiling, forming a cage around that period of history. Other races, too, had fallen prey to the Yeerk Empire, but the background of it all was a shocking, faint image of an Andalite face, perfectly woven into the painted details of the depictions that sat in the foreground. It was distorted and demonic, four evil eyes gazing outwards past the horrific scene of slavery and towards the golden glow of the room's distant, sole window.

But it didn't remain that way as I circled to the next wall. The vine-backed creatures became more prevalent, their images enlarged and thrown decidedly into the spotlight. They drew weapons like oversized rifles, outlined with gold. Some kind of liquid oozed over the weapon from the creatures' bodies, dripping downwards to the floor where the artist had cleverly illustrated a purple puddle.

The Yeerks were vanishing. Images of downed Bug Fighters and Yeerk slugs upside-down became ever more frequent. It ended in defeat, and the Mak resumed their natural stances and stares. They were standing alongside the vine-backs, just as I had seen in the artist's pictures earlier.

But that was not the end. The Andalite face reappeared, just as it had earlier, casting a daunting gloom around what should have been a momentous image. I moved along once more, facing the far wall adjacent to the gold-spewing window.

There, dulled by the shadows of the window's contrasting light, was an Andalite with the feathers of a bird.

Suddenly, a report came through from Jake, who had wandered closer. ((Menderash is certain. Kelbrids. Kelbrids in the white suits.))

Kelbrids! Menderash's word was all that I required to solidify my conclusion. I was about to speak, but as I took my next step to the right, coming to the bright open window, the space around me released a worrying sigh. There was a creak that rose to an earthquake around me! The ground beneath my feet began to shudder, and very quickly, I was tilting forward with the building as it began to break apart. The crevices in the floor became canyons, and by the time I had realized that the structure was fatally collapsing, I was too far from the stable ground to make it back.

The ceiling was coming down! Vast chunks of rock broke loose and smashed to the floor on either side of me. I had to maintain my balance, but it was impossible as the ground turned and split beneath me. It tumbled down, taking me with it.

Debris clattered my torso. I rolled up my arms to protect my head as best I could, as my lower body received a sudden jolt of pain and then… nothing.

My arms slammed, almost crushing my head between them, and something heavy rolled over my back. The sounds of falling rubble tortured my dull ears, and the vibrations ruffled every fiber of my flesh, but then it slowed. All that was left to settle was dust.

I could still see, but my vision was blurred. The world around me was a maze of cracks and dust. My lower body had deserted me entirely, so far as I could glean.

((I'm down,)) I spoke to whoever was in range. ((I'm down.))

((What was that?!)) Cassie called back, startled.

I tried to move, but I could feel the pieces of fallen dwelling locking me in place. I panted as I started to regain some sense of urgency. ((The place just came down!)) I replied, feeling the panic build after the initial shock began to subside. ((Need help! Need it now!))

((Where are you?!)) Jake demanded.

I took too long to respond, and Jeanne was quicker. ((I heard it! It is east of the water pillars!))

((Can't feel my legs…)) I reported. ((Can't move. I think I can remain conscious.))

((Just stay there, Tobias,)) Jake ordered. ((We're coming. Everyone, east of the water pillars. Search for any signs of a collapsed building!))

I attempted another struggle, and this time I managed to dislodge my left arm that had been bent awkwardly around my head. It allowed me more space to breathe, but my mouth filled with the dust that packed the air. It sent me into a fit of coughing, and I felt my vision blurring once again.

Then I felt a release! The direct light of the sun hit me again, and the pointy edges of debris beneath me shifted with movement.

My vision returned as the coughing ended. I looked up to two white suits, their darkened visors gazing right back at me.