If there's a way to infiltrate you,
Sway your mind and complicate you;
I'm gonna crash into your world...
...And that's no lie.
Prince Jake never noticed, nor did Cassie. Tobias merely watched me from a distance.
I think Michael had grown used to the small kitten at his home, ready with food if he had forgotten to buy it, ready with groceries lists, the small kitten reading his diaries --most interesting things!-- and he started to find it amusing.
He seemed to have found the strength to keep his house in a proper state after Tobias and I had cleaned it, as if we had driven away all bad memories.
Michael was used to the kitten being there, leaving after an hour, maximum. Sometimes I allowed him to touch me, sometimes I didn't. He played with me, which made me mentally --as Marco would put it-- 'smile goofily', late at night.
He had tried feeding me a can of cat food once.
I had sniffed it, found the scent alone disgusting and turned to him to play. He had seemed disappointed at first and then scooped me up in his arms --warm, strong, human arms-- and nuzzled my kitten-waist with his nose.
"You probably want your dinner alive, no? 'S okay."
I had once written a note, before he came home, with 'Aximili' on it. He had found it an odd present and pinned it to the refrigerator.
Now, I realized why.
I had found out that his work would be paused for about a full of seven days, instead of just two days.
It was getting colder outside, a lot colder. I had known Michael for almost a month now, it was time for something Cassie had explained to me to be called 'Christmas'. If I understood correctly, it had to do with a baby that got born, each year on the same day, to die a few months later at another kind of holiday as a fully grown man, a single fat man in a red suit that flew through the air during this peculiar night in a sledge pulled by flying reindeers so he could break into houses and leave presents for children.
Heh.
Like I sometimes did for Michael.
Of course, I didn't tell Cassie that, I just pointed out that sledges and reindeers don't fly and that it is impossible to reach all children on the entire planet in a single night. And that I had at least seen twelve humans in the town, dressed like the man she had described, and still were all different, so her story couldn't possibly be true.
What I didn't knew was that the four human Animorphs had started to suspect something, and I knew even less that that suspicion'd save me from enslavement.
On the evening that Cassie had told me was called Christmas Eve, I visited Michael again. I morphed out of sight of any humans before mewling at the door until I got let in. The house smelled of cinnamon and vanilla. He was smiling.
"There you are! I was starting to get worried."
I allowed him to pick me up and pet me.
"Got you a present." he whispered gently into my ear, warming the skin even more. My cat-ears perked. A present? I was going to get a present?
I felt happy.
Michael had bought me a pr--No, wait, not me. He had bought kitty a present. He fully believed I was a cat and could never suspect otherwise.
He put me on the table, in front of a box that was wrapped with brightly colored paper. I scratched that off, and the box tilted and fell over.
A ring of leather, with a small, flat, circular pendant on it fell out.
What was this? A new toy?
I looked at the pendant and wanted to flee.
Aximili it said, followed by a phone number, making me realize what it was: this was no toy and could hardly be seen as a gift!
A collar! A mark of possession to another!
I struggled as it got put onto me.
How had he known my name?
Why was he doing this to me?
I hissed and scratched, wanting to be free from this abominable thing, this terrible object.
Michael laughed.
"Shh...It's okay. You're safe now."
Then why did I hardly felt safe?
I felt hurt, betrayed, alone, captured, dirty, humiliated...Not safe!
He put me in one of the portable cages Cassie used to transport animals back to nature, and then carried me off to an unknown location.
I had been into this morph for thirty minutes. If I'd morph into myself, I'd suffocate. And it was too tiring to go from this morph to something smaller, too tiring to be able to flee.
I luckily started to recognize the area. It was the Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic! I now remembered Cassie telling me her parents were the only vets working during the holidays.
But why would Michael want to send me to a vet?
I had morphed into a healthy animal, nothing wrong with it!
"Michael! I haven't seen you ever since..."
Cassie's father trailed off.
"Sorry for disturbing, sir, it be possible for you to give my cat its shots? I'm kinda fond of it."
Shots?
They were going to shoot me?
"Its injections? Of course, just this wa--"
"I can do it, daddy!" I heard Cassie offer,
"I've done it dozens of times, and then you can help mommy with dinner!"
Michael agreed reluctantly.
Oh, no! Cassie was going to give me a lethal injection and she didn't even knew it was me!! Oh, how I wished I had stayed in my scoop that night. Cassie took Michael and me to the barn, disappearing briefly and coming back with several objects, ending in a sharp needle.
Michael had to be Yeerk! Couldn't be anything else! Only they were so cruel!
"What's it's name?" she smiled at Michael.
"I called it Aximili."
She froze.
Oof.
I was remembered.
"Where did you hear that name?" she asked in surprise,
"So unusual." she added quickly.
"Someone broke into my house and left the cat and a note just saying 'Aximili'. I named it like that."
Cassie nodded and got a terrified me out of the cage.
"I'll have to take its collar off." she said stonily.
I recognized it as a lie. Cassie only held her face blank when she was lying. Otherwise, it was filled with emotion.
Michael nodded.
"Okay."
Cassie released me from the torturous object.
"Stay there for a min--" she started to tell me.
"No!" Michael panicked.
Too late.
I had shot out, into the forest, morphing as I ran.
I returned to my scoop and spend the entire night wallowing in self-pity, hurt, sadness and pain.
Never had I felt so utterly miserable.
Sway your mind and complicate you;
I'm gonna crash into your world...
...And that's no lie.
Prince Jake never noticed, nor did Cassie. Tobias merely watched me from a distance.
I think Michael had grown used to the small kitten at his home, ready with food if he had forgotten to buy it, ready with groceries lists, the small kitten reading his diaries --most interesting things!-- and he started to find it amusing.
He seemed to have found the strength to keep his house in a proper state after Tobias and I had cleaned it, as if we had driven away all bad memories.
Michael was used to the kitten being there, leaving after an hour, maximum. Sometimes I allowed him to touch me, sometimes I didn't. He played with me, which made me mentally --as Marco would put it-- 'smile goofily', late at night.
He had tried feeding me a can of cat food once.
I had sniffed it, found the scent alone disgusting and turned to him to play. He had seemed disappointed at first and then scooped me up in his arms --warm, strong, human arms-- and nuzzled my kitten-waist with his nose.
"You probably want your dinner alive, no? 'S okay."
I had once written a note, before he came home, with 'Aximili' on it. He had found it an odd present and pinned it to the refrigerator.
Now, I realized why.
I had found out that his work would be paused for about a full of seven days, instead of just two days.
It was getting colder outside, a lot colder. I had known Michael for almost a month now, it was time for something Cassie had explained to me to be called 'Christmas'. If I understood correctly, it had to do with a baby that got born, each year on the same day, to die a few months later at another kind of holiday as a fully grown man, a single fat man in a red suit that flew through the air during this peculiar night in a sledge pulled by flying reindeers so he could break into houses and leave presents for children.
Heh.
Like I sometimes did for Michael.
Of course, I didn't tell Cassie that, I just pointed out that sledges and reindeers don't fly and that it is impossible to reach all children on the entire planet in a single night. And that I had at least seen twelve humans in the town, dressed like the man she had described, and still were all different, so her story couldn't possibly be true.
What I didn't knew was that the four human Animorphs had started to suspect something, and I knew even less that that suspicion'd save me from enslavement.
On the evening that Cassie had told me was called Christmas Eve, I visited Michael again. I morphed out of sight of any humans before mewling at the door until I got let in. The house smelled of cinnamon and vanilla. He was smiling.
"There you are! I was starting to get worried."
I allowed him to pick me up and pet me.
"Got you a present." he whispered gently into my ear, warming the skin even more. My cat-ears perked. A present? I was going to get a present?
I felt happy.
Michael had bought me a pr--No, wait, not me. He had bought kitty a present. He fully believed I was a cat and could never suspect otherwise.
He put me on the table, in front of a box that was wrapped with brightly colored paper. I scratched that off, and the box tilted and fell over.
A ring of leather, with a small, flat, circular pendant on it fell out.
What was this? A new toy?
I looked at the pendant and wanted to flee.
Aximili it said, followed by a phone number, making me realize what it was: this was no toy and could hardly be seen as a gift!
A collar! A mark of possession to another!
I struggled as it got put onto me.
How had he known my name?
Why was he doing this to me?
I hissed and scratched, wanting to be free from this abominable thing, this terrible object.
Michael laughed.
"Shh...It's okay. You're safe now."
Then why did I hardly felt safe?
I felt hurt, betrayed, alone, captured, dirty, humiliated...Not safe!
He put me in one of the portable cages Cassie used to transport animals back to nature, and then carried me off to an unknown location.
I had been into this morph for thirty minutes. If I'd morph into myself, I'd suffocate. And it was too tiring to go from this morph to something smaller, too tiring to be able to flee.
I luckily started to recognize the area. It was the Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic! I now remembered Cassie telling me her parents were the only vets working during the holidays.
But why would Michael want to send me to a vet?
I had morphed into a healthy animal, nothing wrong with it!
"Michael! I haven't seen you ever since..."
Cassie's father trailed off.
"Sorry for disturbing, sir, it be possible for you to give my cat its shots? I'm kinda fond of it."
Shots?
They were going to shoot me?
"Its injections? Of course, just this wa--"
"I can do it, daddy!" I heard Cassie offer,
"I've done it dozens of times, and then you can help mommy with dinner!"
Michael agreed reluctantly.
Oh, no! Cassie was going to give me a lethal injection and she didn't even knew it was me!! Oh, how I wished I had stayed in my scoop that night. Cassie took Michael and me to the barn, disappearing briefly and coming back with several objects, ending in a sharp needle.
Michael had to be Yeerk! Couldn't be anything else! Only they were so cruel!
"What's it's name?" she smiled at Michael.
"I called it Aximili."
She froze.
Oof.
I was remembered.
"Where did you hear that name?" she asked in surprise,
"So unusual." she added quickly.
"Someone broke into my house and left the cat and a note just saying 'Aximili'. I named it like that."
Cassie nodded and got a terrified me out of the cage.
"I'll have to take its collar off." she said stonily.
I recognized it as a lie. Cassie only held her face blank when she was lying. Otherwise, it was filled with emotion.
Michael nodded.
"Okay."
Cassie released me from the torturous object.
"Stay there for a min--" she started to tell me.
"No!" Michael panicked.
Too late.
I had shot out, into the forest, morphing as I ran.
I returned to my scoop and spend the entire night wallowing in self-pity, hurt, sadness and pain.
Never had I felt so utterly miserable.