The six of them were soon racing out the front entrance of the barn, toward something that none of them would have expected. It became immediately apparent that whatever had urged them to hurry up when they were in the barn wasn't done with them yet.

They somehow knew exactly what route to take, making hairpin turns with hardly any drop in their speed. Soon, they stood in a clearing. The Animorphs, not sure at all of what they were looking for, began to prowl around aimlessly.


It didn't take them that long to notice signs of the struggle that had taken place less than six weeks ago. Other leaves had settled over the ground since that time, but there was a bad feeling over the entire area. Almost exactly like the one the Animorphs got whenever they faced off with Visser Three.

Cassie was the first to come across more tangible evidence that something had happened. The broken walking stick lying buried halfway in the leaves at her paws was decorated with a pair of feathers at the top, and someone had also painted six green stripes just below the handgrip.

***

Marco, however, came across something far more interesting. It was a tree with most of the bark on the upper third of the trunk gone. Some new bark was growing in, of course, but it was obvious that something way out of the ordinary had happened here. What that thing was, however, wasn't so readily apparent.

They could all feel that something was here though, just waiting beneath the surface. Jake began to demorph, not quite sure why, just a feeling that if he didn't none of them would ever find out what was going on. As soon as he was fully human, the ground caved in underneath him.

Not having time for anything but a surprised yelp before the hole closed, Jake found himself slammed rather abruptly into the ground. But the ground was softer than he had expected, in fact it was kind of squishy. That was all he noticed before he heard a fast slithering sound.

Like a hyperactive pair of snakes were coming after him, but the whole place was pitch-black and so Jake had to rely on his sense of hearing to gauge where the things were. Suddenly, Jake felt something wrap around his left ankle.

It started to pull at him, then stopped suddenly as if it had changed its mind. Just then Jake heard a voice inside his head, but it wasn't the everywhere-at-once voice of the Ellimist and it wasn't thought-speak either. It was louder, closer, and somehow more intimate than normal thought-speak.

I will not be able to aid you for long, child. I… need your help.

Jake blinked as his eyes abruptly became adjusted to the pitch-blackness. He saw that it was a vine that had wrapped around his ankle, and he also noticed that the entire floor was made of the same kind of vines. Jake stood up slowly, opening his mouth to ask what was going on.

Do not speak! I will be able to hear you if you direct your thoughts at me. Do you see the third pod on your right?

Pod? What was this guy talking about? I don't know what you're trying to tell me, Jake thought, feeling a little confused.

Look around.

Jake looked around and saw that he was indeed surrounded by pods. The pods were glowing with a soft red light, not enough for him to see by normally, but somehow he could see everything clearly. What did you do?

I simply speeded the process by which your eyes would adjust to this level of light. But my time is limited, so I ask you again, do you see the third pod on your right?

Yes, I see it.

Jake walked over to the row of pods on his right, surprised to discover that the pods held some kind of humanlike, armored figures. Stepping closer, he saw that each of them was in the same position: arms wrapped around their calves, legs curled up against their chests, heads almost touching their knees. Every now and then, a small column of bubbles would spiral upward from somewhere on the figure.

As if they were breathing. There was also a deep, reverberating thumping echoing around him. Synchronized heartbeats, Jake thought. Creepy.