My name is Marco.
My eyes were glued to the TV. The Nintendo control pad and I were one. I watched, unblinking, as a square shaped piece shot down the screen. Unthinkingly, I tapped the arrow key, then the A button, then the arrow key. The square piece moved smoothly into the square shaped opening, completing the line. "Level 64!" I cheered. "I am the Tetris King!"
Jake groaned.
"How many levels more is this now?" I asked Jake. "Five? Six? I'm so much higher than your record that I've lost count."
"Its six." Jake responded glumly.
It was a rainy Saturday afternoon, and Jake and I were sitting on the couch in his living room playing Nintendo classics. The Yeerks had been quiet for the last few weeks, and we were enjoying our break from the war.
Yeah, you did hear me right: I said our break from the war. Earth is in the middle of an alien invasion.
Now before you wonder if I'm on medication (or forgot to take it), let me explain. We're in the middle of an invasion by slugs from outer space called Yeerks. Yeah, good old Earth is being invaded. Then why hasn't anyone noticed? You ask. Why isn't the invasion on TV? Why aren't the armies of the world fighting the aliens off? Well, because the Yeerks don't want anyone to know about the invasion. They prefer conducting a secret invasion--not that that's too hard for them.
You see, Yeerks are mind-controlling parasites. They enter through the ear canal, and force themselves into your head. Once inside your head they have control of everything. And I do mean everything. Want to shake your head? You can't. Want to open your mouth to talk? Sorry. Want to blink? No go. You've become a slave to the Yeerk. You can't move or laugh or run unless the Yeerk wants you to. We call people who've become Yeerk slaves Controllers. Jake's brother Tom is one. So is my vice principal. My mom is Visser One, the highest-ranking Yeerk general.
Now I bet you're getting a bit scared, huh? I mean I would too: what with an alien invasion and inevitable slavery in your future. But not to worry, because Earth is safe as long as Marco the Magnificent is on the case. Together with my fellow Animorphs: Jake, our fearless leader and my best friend; Jake's extremely hot, but extremely scary cousin Rachel; Cassie, Rachel's best friend and kind of Jake's girlfriend; Tobias the Bird-Boy; and our resident Andalite, Ax; we protect humanity from Yeerk domination. Yeah four kids, a bird, and an Andalite aristh are the only thing standing between humanity and the Yeerks. But the situation isn't as hopeless as it sounds. See, we Animorphs have special powers. We have the power to become any animal that we touch. Yeah, I can change into a gorilla or a roach or even a wolf. Using our super-power, we fight the Yeerks.
"Ha Jake! One more line and I hit level 65!" I announced. "Then I'll be –what- seven levels higher than your record?"
" Seven levels don't make that much difference. " Jake protested.
"Just seven more that I passed and you couldn't." I argued.
" I could have!" Jake insisted. "Last time I hit Level 58, Mom made me turn the Nintendo off to clean the garage. I could have gone farther."
I smirked. "Yeah, I'm sure. Just keep telling yourself that, Jake."
An L shaped piece floated down the top of the television screen, and with a little help from yours truly, landed in the right spot. "Level 65," I said coolly. "Man, sometimes I'm so good that I even amaze myself."
At that moment, the front door opened and Jake's older brother, Tom, sauntered into the living room.
"Wow, have you guys been playing that since I left?" Tom asked Jake and I in mock-disgust. "What a waste of a Saturday. Don't you two have anything constructive you could be doing with your lives?"
Like I said, Tom is a Controller. If I hadn't known about intergalactic slugs, and alien invasions, I would have thought he was just Jake's cool older brother.
"Hey, I think destroying Jake's All Time Tetris record is pretty constructive!" I said indignantly.
Tom snorted. "Yeah, well worth five hours, huh?"
"Yeah, worth much more than spending five hours at a stupid Sharing Club meeting." I shot back.
Tom is a member of the Sharing, a YMCA wannabe club that is actually a secret front for Yeerk infestation.
"Hey, the Sharing is cool." Tom replied. "You two should really think about joining."
I turned to give Jake a thoughtful look. "Hmm," I said ponderingly. "Join the Sharing…thought about it. And its gonna be a no."
"Yeah, no go Tom." Jake doubled.
Tom sighed. "You guys just don't know what you're missing."
Yeah, but I had a pretty good idea. I turned back to my Tetris game, and quickly righted a line shaped piece into the right spot.
"Like today we were planning a really cool community service project," Tom continued.
"Cleaning up Marco's room?" Jake suggested.
Tom ignored his brother's comment. "Since we have a three-day weekend next week, we're going to sponsor a blood-drive and community fair. We're going to raise money and collect blood for the AIDS cure fund."
"Uh huh," I replied, seemingly disinterested. I focused in on the Nintendo game, trying hard not to let the implications of Tom's words affect me, because somehow I doubted that the Sharing was really interested in raising money for a cure to AIDS. Yeerks and charity just don't mix. So that meant on thing: the Yeerks were at it again, and our down time had now ended.
"So where are you going to have this fair?" Jake asked, playing the part of eager younger brother. He was really trying to dig up some more information on the latest Yeerk plot.
Tom's eyes glittered at Jake's interest. "You thinking of coming, bro?" he asked hopefully.
"Marco and I might make a cameo." Jake replied casually. "If we've got nothing better to do, that is."
Tom nodded. "You'll have lots of fun." He said enticingly. "We're renting a couple of amusement park rides, and we're having game booths, and BBQ."
"Sounds like a hoot-nanny of a shin-dig," I sneered.
"The fair's going to be next Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10 AM to 10 PM at West Sattler Park."
West Sattler Park, that was this park grounds out in the middle of no-where. The only thing remotely close to the park was Tinly Square, the Industrial Sector where my Dad worked.
The Yeerks were going after my Dad?
I shot Jake a look, and he immediately intercepted it. "Hey Tom, you do know that West Sattler Park is pretty far from the neighborhoods, right?" Jake asked, pretending to be confused. "Who's going to be coming to your fair if none of the school kids can walk to it?"
Tom shrugged. "Well, we couldn't get any other park to host our fair on such short notice. And we wanted to have the fair before the weather turned colder," he added. "But hopefully by word-of-mouth we'll have a good turnout."
Jake nodded. "Sounds cool. Yeah, maybe Marco and I will come." He suggested offhandedly. "If we don't have anything else to do on our three day weekend."
Tom smiled. "Cool." He turned, heading towards his room. "Don't play the Nintendo too much longer, Jake," he cautioned, playing his big brother role to a T. "Its been shown that too much video gaming causes brain damage."
"Thanks Tom, I'll keep that in mind." Jake muttered.
But we didn't need Tom's advice, because suddenly we weren't too interested in Tetris anymore.
"Jake," I said quietly. "Tinly Square is the only thing within a good mile of West Sattler Park."
"I know Marco."
The Yeerks were going after my Dad.
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Hey guys! I got this idea the other day and decided to run with it. This is going to be one of those Animorphs stories that's just about the Animorphs ( no new characters or anything) and its going to take place after book #13 when Tobias gets his powers back, but before #20 when they meet David.
Enjoy! (and please review…. I love reviews A Lot. In fact, I think I might be slightly obsessive about them).
: )
DH
