Takehiro
Kaoru wouldn't do such a thing. She would never. I couldn't believe what Rachel said. Get rid of her? She's my own sister, for crying out loud.
Then it kept me thinking. What if she was a Controller? No, she couldn't be. I couldn't believe she was one. I just couldn't. I just hoped she would live a normal life and won't be involved with us, the Animorphs or the Yeerks.
She just got to live one.
It was a Friday night and Grandpa was out with his companions from a dojo he always visited. They are a couple of friendly old Japanese guys. And guess what they were doing that night.
Bowling. Heh, never expected a bunch of old guys to go bowling.
Emily was having a six-year-old sleepover party. So Zoe and I were home alone. Which was a good opportunity to proof that Zoe was, indeed, not a Controller.
I told the others to come over my house in animal morph and search the place if they wanted to while I distracted Zoe. If they didn't find the box, that proves Zoe didn't steal. If they found it...well, you get the picture.
I looked at my watch. 7:52 PM.
We had ordered pizza half an hour ago. And I was hungry that my stomach kept on growling.
Soon, Jake, Marco and Ax would be coming over in whatever morph they would be and I had to keep Zoe away from them.
I looked at Zoe, playing with Paws. I noticed she had a frown on her face.
"Are you alright?" I asked.
She looked up, hiding her woe behind her smile. "Yeah. I'm fine..."
She turned away and fiddled with her fingers. I could tell she was sad about something in her eyes. I wondered what was biting her.
-Hey! Zack!- And that would be Jake.
-Open the window! It's chilly outside!- yelled Marco.
I slowly opened the window and saw three flies fly in.
"You had to be flies?" I whispered, knowing that Zoe wasn't listening and was in her own world.
-At least it was the only morph available!- Marco intoned sharply.
-Zack, distract Zoe away from here while we look around,- Jake suggested.
I nodded.
-Look around, huh?- Marco said. I glared at him, knowing what he was up too. I raised a threatening fist. -Okay! Okay! No peeking! Got that already!-
-What does he mean by that, Prince Jake?- Ax asked but Jake preferred not to answer that question.
I turned back to see Zoe digging through her bag. "Zoe?"
I walked to her but stopped as she looked over and gave me a meaningful face.
"...Zack, I...need to tell you something," she said, turning around.
I almost fell back in fear. In her hand was the box. The box that changed our lives. She had it! Then...Rachel was right? That she was a Controller? No, she couldn't be. She wouldn't have shown it to me now.
-See! Rachel was right! She did take it!- Marco yelled. I, on the other hand, wouldn't believe it and threw a fist at the window slid, near where Marco's wing would have been smashed off.
Zoe looked at me, puzzled.
"Just a reflex," I laughed. Slowly, her expression turned back to the worried frown.
She approached to me and handed me the box. "Here. I think this belong to your friends..."
I looked at the box and to Zoe. She continued on.
"And how I got it? Paws was in my bag again. It happened the other day when I was visiting Cassie... He must have sneaked out of my bag and found it. I didn't know he took it... I'm sorry."
The room became silent. So quiet that you could hear Paws squeak loudly.
"...Could you tell that I'm sorry to your friends?" Zoe asked.
-I wouldn't bet on forgiveness,- Marco muttered. Again I threw a fist at the window slid, which I managed to catch his wing.
"Zack, what are you doing?" Zoe asked.
"Nothing," I assured her, grinning. "Just trying to kill one certain fly that doesn't know when to shut its trap!"
-Okay! Okay! I forgive! I forgive!- Marco screamed, trying desperately to fly away.
-You shouldn't have spoken out too much in the first place, Marco,- Jake said.
"...I think they would have forgiven you already, Zoe," I told her and smiled.
Her troubled face lightened up a little. Suddenly, she quivered her shoulders, rushed to me and threw her arms around me. She cried on my shirt.
"I'm sorry..." she whispered.
I looked at her and hugged her back. "It's okay. It isn't your fault."
It was a few minutes of hugging before Zoe backed away and wiped her face. I smiled at her. She smiled weakly but frowned again and turned away.
"I'm going out for a while," she told me, swinging her bag over her shoulder and reaching for the doorknob.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
A pause. She turned and smiled. "I'm just going out. That's all. I'll be back soon."
"But what about dinner?"
She shook her head. "I'll have that later. I'm not hungry now."
She left the room and I heard her exited the front door. I looked outside the window and watched her walk away. Something was not right. I had this feeling that something wasn't right somehow. It was then I noticed something long she was holding. It looked like a scabbard...
...But it couldn't be. Could it? She wouldn't dare hold that thing again.
-Well, since that's over, let's bring the box back,- Jake said.
I ignored him. Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong. I ran to the drawer. I dug through the first drawer.
-Hey. What are you doing, Zack?- Jake asked.
-Hey, Daredevil, I thought you said no peeking,- Marco mumbled.
I again ignored. "Ax, could you spy on Zoe?"
-Why-?- he began but I cut him off.
"Answers later. Just hurry up and follow her!" I urged.
Without hesitation, Ax took off. I think he might have morphed into a bird along the way.
I turned back to the drawer. Then combed the next one. Jake and Marco were morphing back to human.
"What's wrong with you, Daredevil?" Marco wondered.
I didn't answer. Finally, I pulled out a book with a small lock. Zoe's diary. Plain and simple diary. I then dug under the mattress of Kaoru's lower bed and found a key. I knew she would have put it there. I took the key out and opened the lock. I quickly skimmed through the pages.
"What are you looking for?" Jake asked.
"What Zoe may be up to," I replied.
"Huh?" Marco uttered. "You think she is a Controller?"
"No, she isn't. If she is, she wouldn't be writing her diary," I told him.
"Makes sense to me," Jake said.
I turned page by page until finally, I found the last entry. The date was today. I began reading it to myself. This was what it read:
Dear Diary,
...I feel out of place. I don't ever know where to start in this entry. I had another vision last night. It was the most frightening vision I ever had. I was in a warehouse. I think I recognize it. It was the old abandoned warehouse near the port where Takehiro and I had stumbled in once but we were thrown out for trespassing.
In the vision, there were these worms crawling into people's ears. People, aliens and animals were everywhere. I was standing there in the battle; a battle between aliens and animals. I turned to my hand where I was holding the reverse-edged sword, the gift that Grandpa gave to me.
Was I in the battle too? I don't know. My head hurt so badly like something was crawling in my ear to get to my brain...or...something was coming to engulf me again. I woke up after that. I was scared.
It could be a warning. I feel I should follow this vision. I might be crazy to do this. Maybe I am crazy. But I want to find the truth. Even if it means going insane again.
That's why I'm going to the warehouse tonight. I might not come back to write my experience. I might not come back sane. I might relive the nightmare once again. I hope Takehiro will forgive me.
Goodnight, Diary. And goodbye.
No! I thought horribly.
I rushed to the door but Marco stopped me.
"Okay, enough with the silence. What is going on?" he demanded.
"There's no time to talk now!" I yelled. "We gotta go after Zoe!"
"Why?" Jake wondered.
"She knows where the Yeerks are!"
A/N: Sorry, I haven't replied to all your reviews cuz I can't seem to read them. Even I don't get any via email! What the hell's going on here? 0o At least I reported this to the top people in charge of this and hopefully, I'll read your reviews and reply! Anyway, happy reading and reviewing!
+Chapter 10 Renewed & Updated+