Chapter Thirteen:
That night, around eleven o'clock, Ax and Jake came to pick up the Helmacron. I was more than happy to get her out of my dyed hair.
School flew by, the next day. Probably because, for the moment, I wasn't really stressed out about anything. Which was unusual. I mean, Ax was taking care of the Helmacron. Jordan was banned from the party. I wasn't a Controller. Life was good, relatively speaking. For me, anyway. I live one of those lives where the absence of evil is the presence of good.
Wow, how mystic was that?
We all got off of the school bus near Cassie's house. Since we didn't want it to look like a stampede or slumber party, Jake got off a little before her stop, and Marco got off a little after. Everybody knows Cassie and I are best friends, so I got to get off with her. Cassie watched the school bus rattle around the bend. Her expression was a little bit wistful.
"They're so lucky," she said.
"Jake and Marco?" I asked.
"No! The normal kids."
"Oh. Them." Cassie was about to get philosophical on me.
"Clueless and happy. Did you hear them? Their biggest worry is, 'Like, what if my new acne treatment doesn't work?' They're so . . . I don't know . . . "
I played with a green-ended strand of my hair. "Innocent," I supplied.
"Yeah, I guess."
"Except for the Controllers."
She heaved a sigh, and shrugged her backpack higher onto her shoulder. "So, what's this Helmacron like?"
"Like?" I repeated blankly, as we began walking up the long road to her house.
"You know, her personality."
"Cassie, she's a Helmacron. How do you *think* her personality is?"
"Well, you can't judge a whole species. I thought, since she this 'heretic,' she might be different."
I shook my head. "Sorry. She's the same as the rest of them. Overbearing, arrogant, loud. Thinks she's boss of the universe."
"Well, what's her big heresy?" Cassie probed. "Why'd she get kicked out of the empire?"
I shrugged. "I don't know."
"Okay . . . how about her name?"
"Um. Are we sure Helmacrons have names?" I hedged. I hadn't even thought about the little freak having a name.
"Rachel." Cassie turned on me with a disapproving frown. "You had nothing to do but talk to her yesterday afternoon and you didn't even find out her name?"
"I didn't have 'nothing to do'!" I protested. "It was all I *could* do just to keep her from being discovered. And as it was, Jordan saw her anyway!"
"She *did*?" Cassie gaped at me as if I had just morphed another human. "What happened?"
I quickly filled her in on what had happened the previous day.
She breathed a sigh of relief that Jordan had not actually found out anything, but still shook her head nervously. "That came too close."
"It was way, way too close." I mean, come on. My little sister had actually seen an alien. How can that be anything but too close?
We rounded the last bend on her long driveway. She stopped, and looked up at her house. "Rachel, has Jake talked to you about his plan for the Helmacron?"
"No, I didn't even know he had one. What is it?"
I hadn't talked to Jake since he muttered, 'Cassie's. After school,' at lunch.
It didn't surprise me that he had a plan, though. We each had our jobs as Animorphs. Mine was to be the ruthless warrior. Marco's was to make idiotic jokes. Jake's was to make the plans. To figure out how we would get through life-and-death situation after life-and-death situation.
I wouldn't have traded with him for the world.
She frowned. "If he didn't tell you . . . "
I rolled my eyes. What, was Cassie going to get paranoid with me now? "Cassie, he just hasn't had the chance. We haven't been alone all day."
"Well, we can't kill her. And Jake doesn't think we can handle taking care of her, so . . ."
"So we release her into the wild?"
"Nope," she said. "We're going to make her a nothlit."
"*What*?" I shrilled. "No, no, no! That's ridiculous! Do you know what we'd have to *do*?"
"Give her the morphing power."
"Yes!" I shouted, throwing my hands into the air in frustration. "Does that strike you as a problem, at all? Because it strikes me as one!"
Cassie reached up and pulled my arm down. It's one of her little calming gestures she uses when I'm getting a little too hot to handle. "What are our other options?" she asked gently.
"We could kill her," I suggested.
"Rachel, you know that's not an option. This is a sentient being, even if she is in a different shape than us. Killing her would be like killing another human. Actually, it would be like killing a baby, since she's about that helpless here on Earth."
"Okay, okay, so we don't kill her. We just let her go in the forest."
Cassie shook her head. We both knew that it came to the same thing. There was no way a Helmacron could survive without aid on Earth.
"Well, we sure can't take care of her," I said.
"No," she agreed, "We can't."
I frowned. Somebody had to watch her if she remained in Helmacron form. Not us. But somebody who wouldn't be weirded out by the fact that they were being asked to baby-sit a tiny alien for half a century.
"Hey," I said, "What about the Chee?"
"What about the Chee?" Cassie echoed back.
"The Chee could watch her for us, right?"
Cassie shook her head. "I already checked. Erek said they can't do that. Something about remaining neutral."
"Yeah right," I snorted. "The Chee are about as neutral as the Ellimist."
"Well, not in the Yeerk war," she amended. "Neutral to the Helmacron Empire."
"Oh." I kicked the dirt, not much liking the look of things. "The free Hork-Bajir?"
"Rachel, they could never keep her safe. You know I love them, but . . ."
"But it's just a little easy to imagine her being stepped on as they roll out of bed in the mornings," I finished.
"Yeah."
I began to pace. "Okay. So. Can't kill her. We can't keep her as she is, or release her as she is. The only way she'll ever be safe on Earth is if she's bigger." I looked at her with a sudden grin. "Hey, do you think we could blow her up a little with a shrinking ray in reverse?"
"What, and have a person-sized Helmacron wandering around? Yeah, like that won't attract attention."
I grimaced. "Good point. That leaves . . ."
"Nothlit."
I groaned. "I have a bad feeling about this, Leia."
That night, around eleven o'clock, Ax and Jake came to pick up the Helmacron. I was more than happy to get her out of my dyed hair.
School flew by, the next day. Probably because, for the moment, I wasn't really stressed out about anything. Which was unusual. I mean, Ax was taking care of the Helmacron. Jordan was banned from the party. I wasn't a Controller. Life was good, relatively speaking. For me, anyway. I live one of those lives where the absence of evil is the presence of good.
Wow, how mystic was that?
We all got off of the school bus near Cassie's house. Since we didn't want it to look like a stampede or slumber party, Jake got off a little before her stop, and Marco got off a little after. Everybody knows Cassie and I are best friends, so I got to get off with her. Cassie watched the school bus rattle around the bend. Her expression was a little bit wistful.
"They're so lucky," she said.
"Jake and Marco?" I asked.
"No! The normal kids."
"Oh. Them." Cassie was about to get philosophical on me.
"Clueless and happy. Did you hear them? Their biggest worry is, 'Like, what if my new acne treatment doesn't work?' They're so . . . I don't know . . . "
I played with a green-ended strand of my hair. "Innocent," I supplied.
"Yeah, I guess."
"Except for the Controllers."
She heaved a sigh, and shrugged her backpack higher onto her shoulder. "So, what's this Helmacron like?"
"Like?" I repeated blankly, as we began walking up the long road to her house.
"You know, her personality."
"Cassie, she's a Helmacron. How do you *think* her personality is?"
"Well, you can't judge a whole species. I thought, since she this 'heretic,' she might be different."
I shook my head. "Sorry. She's the same as the rest of them. Overbearing, arrogant, loud. Thinks she's boss of the universe."
"Well, what's her big heresy?" Cassie probed. "Why'd she get kicked out of the empire?"
I shrugged. "I don't know."
"Okay . . . how about her name?"
"Um. Are we sure Helmacrons have names?" I hedged. I hadn't even thought about the little freak having a name.
"Rachel." Cassie turned on me with a disapproving frown. "You had nothing to do but talk to her yesterday afternoon and you didn't even find out her name?"
"I didn't have 'nothing to do'!" I protested. "It was all I *could* do just to keep her from being discovered. And as it was, Jordan saw her anyway!"
"She *did*?" Cassie gaped at me as if I had just morphed another human. "What happened?"
I quickly filled her in on what had happened the previous day.
She breathed a sigh of relief that Jordan had not actually found out anything, but still shook her head nervously. "That came too close."
"It was way, way too close." I mean, come on. My little sister had actually seen an alien. How can that be anything but too close?
We rounded the last bend on her long driveway. She stopped, and looked up at her house. "Rachel, has Jake talked to you about his plan for the Helmacron?"
"No, I didn't even know he had one. What is it?"
I hadn't talked to Jake since he muttered, 'Cassie's. After school,' at lunch.
It didn't surprise me that he had a plan, though. We each had our jobs as Animorphs. Mine was to be the ruthless warrior. Marco's was to make idiotic jokes. Jake's was to make the plans. To figure out how we would get through life-and-death situation after life-and-death situation.
I wouldn't have traded with him for the world.
She frowned. "If he didn't tell you . . . "
I rolled my eyes. What, was Cassie going to get paranoid with me now? "Cassie, he just hasn't had the chance. We haven't been alone all day."
"Well, we can't kill her. And Jake doesn't think we can handle taking care of her, so . . ."
"So we release her into the wild?"
"Nope," she said. "We're going to make her a nothlit."
"*What*?" I shrilled. "No, no, no! That's ridiculous! Do you know what we'd have to *do*?"
"Give her the morphing power."
"Yes!" I shouted, throwing my hands into the air in frustration. "Does that strike you as a problem, at all? Because it strikes me as one!"
Cassie reached up and pulled my arm down. It's one of her little calming gestures she uses when I'm getting a little too hot to handle. "What are our other options?" she asked gently.
"We could kill her," I suggested.
"Rachel, you know that's not an option. This is a sentient being, even if she is in a different shape than us. Killing her would be like killing another human. Actually, it would be like killing a baby, since she's about that helpless here on Earth."
"Okay, okay, so we don't kill her. We just let her go in the forest."
Cassie shook her head. We both knew that it came to the same thing. There was no way a Helmacron could survive without aid on Earth.
"Well, we sure can't take care of her," I said.
"No," she agreed, "We can't."
I frowned. Somebody had to watch her if she remained in Helmacron form. Not us. But somebody who wouldn't be weirded out by the fact that they were being asked to baby-sit a tiny alien for half a century.
"Hey," I said, "What about the Chee?"
"What about the Chee?" Cassie echoed back.
"The Chee could watch her for us, right?"
Cassie shook her head. "I already checked. Erek said they can't do that. Something about remaining neutral."
"Yeah right," I snorted. "The Chee are about as neutral as the Ellimist."
"Well, not in the Yeerk war," she amended. "Neutral to the Helmacron Empire."
"Oh." I kicked the dirt, not much liking the look of things. "The free Hork-Bajir?"
"Rachel, they could never keep her safe. You know I love them, but . . ."
"But it's just a little easy to imagine her being stepped on as they roll out of bed in the mornings," I finished.
"Yeah."
I began to pace. "Okay. So. Can't kill her. We can't keep her as she is, or release her as she is. The only way she'll ever be safe on Earth is if she's bigger." I looked at her with a sudden grin. "Hey, do you think we could blow her up a little with a shrinking ray in reverse?"
"What, and have a person-sized Helmacron wandering around? Yeah, like that won't attract attention."
I grimaced. "Good point. That leaves . . ."
"Nothlit."
I groaned. "I have a bad feeling about this, Leia."