Chapter Five- The Disease



I was burning. I felt like I was dead. I had HIV. And I had just gotten the flu. Oh, how would I survive? I had just been accepted by the Animorphs when this disease came up. I have NO idea how I got it. It was possible that maybe a needle that a doctor used wasn't washed or something. I don't know. The only thing that matter was that I had AIDS. And I didn't want it. Not at all.

I rolled over to my stomach. Then I heard a tapping on my window. I coughed and opened it up.

Suddenly my room was full of birds. Actually, it was only six birds but it felt like more. I started feeling dizzy and sat down on my bed.

{We heard.} Tobias says slowly.

I rolled onto my stomach. "Oh and so what?"

{We think you can be cured.}

That got my attention. "What?!" I looked over at them.

Jake spoke up. {We think if you morph you might be able to cure yourself.}

My heart sank. "I don't know if I can. It was hard enough getting from my bed to the window and back."

Cassie then demorphed. Following suit, the others did the safe. She kneeled down by my bed. "You have to try Bonnie. Please. We need you."

Those words gave me strength. Maybe it was Cassie herself and not the words. But either way I wanted to try really hard now. So I did.

I concentrated on my cheetah morph. I closed my eyes slowly. After a moment or two when nothing seemed to be happening I opened my eyes again and took a deep breathe. I tried again. Same results. "Nothings happening guys."

"It must have to with-" Suddenly I started coughing and I couldn't stop. I could hear footsteps on the stairs. "Go.They'll see you." I said weakly between coughs.

As they all morphed, Cassie kneeled by my bed. "Bonnie, no matter what, you'll always be out Ani-Sisterrrrrrrrrrrrr." She could say no more with her mouth because she was now more bird than human. One-by-one they few out of the open window.

Just in time too. My mother was by my bed a few seconds after the last of them had flown off. "Are you ok, honey?" she asked kindly.

I nodded. "Yeah, I just had to cough. It's ok."

"Are you sure because if-"

"It's ok Mom, really!"

She looked doubtful but stood anyway. "Ok, then. Call me if you need anything."

"I will, Mom."

Then my father from downstairs yelled up at my mother, "Lisa! There's a bunch of birds circling our house."

She sighed "There are ALWAYS birds around here, Henry."

"Big birds. Like hawks and falcons."

"What? How?" My mother looked out the open window. "Oh my gosh. DO you think they'll go away?"

She obviously expected my father to answer but I answered myself. "Yeah, Mom. They'll leave. They have to go home eventually. Don't worry, they aren't going to hurt us or anything. When they leave, they WILL leave, it might not be for forever but they will never bother us." Then I closed my eyes and made my breathing as even as possible. After a while I hear my mother leave my room.

*~*~*~*

I was feeling better and I was in the barn, ready to try again to get my disease away. I concentrated on my cheetah morph.again.

I was still feeling a bit faint but ready to try again. So I began the morph. I felt a long tail sprout out of my buttocks. My organs switching rapidly. My face growing to whiskers. My arms growing to the length of my legs. As soon as the cheetah's thoughts came to join mine I began demorphing. I didn't want to eat anyone.

Ax came to me and put something that looked like a Gameboy, up and down my body. It had been about three weeks since I bad first found I had HIV. Since then Ax had been trying to make this.machine thing.

Ax shook his head sadly and his lips drooped. He as in human morph, of coarse. He said it was easier to manage the machine thing with human hands.

I sighed "It didn't work, did it?"

Ax shook his head. "You still have it." Ax frowned. "How is that possible? It should be gone."

"Well, it isn't Ax. That's what we need to worry about." Jake said.

Ax took a deep breath. "There is a way."

Rachel turned to him suddenly, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Spit it out then!"

"She can remain in morph for more than two hours."

There was silence, only broken by the cries of the animals. Finally I spoke.

"I'll do it, of coarse."

They all stare at me. "What?!" most of them say or pretty much think at the same time.

"I will. I can't help you guys with this disease. There's no way. It's my life or my guilt. Maybe not even my life." I gave each other them a stare with my gray eyes. I would NOT let my mind be changed.

"What about your parents?" Cassie said. "They would so sad!"

I sighed. I hadn't thought about that. "Well, I could tell them about the Yeerks-"

"What if their Controllers? What if they turn into Controllers? What would you do then? The Yeerks would know who we are. We can't allow that." Marco said.

I frowned. "It's my life, Marco. You can't tell me how to live it. Try and you wouldn't succeed. Got that?"

Marco exchanged looks with Jake. Jake sighed and finally nodded. "Marco's got a point Bonnie. How will you deal with your parents? You can't tell them, that's for sure."

"Oh yeah?" I challenged. "Too bad for you." I turned and left them standing there, wondering how to tell my parents.