Once she was sure that the coast was clear, Cassie hurried inside the barn and quickly made her way up the ladder. Cassie was trying to strike a balance between quiet enough that no one outside would hear her, and making enough noise that she wouldn't startle Slade. Cassie had learned from hard experience that it was not a good thing to take Slade by surprise if it could be at all avoided.
The first time Cassie had made that mistake was just after she had first met up with Slade, not more a day after she and the other Animorphs had rescued him from that strange underground prison, or whatever that creepy place out in the forest was. That time, she had almost been slammed into the floor when Slade had grabbed her ankle. The second time had been just before she, Rachel, Tobias, and Marco had been set to go one a mission.
Cassie had wanted to have Slade's help, figuring that the more experience he had with morphing, the more help he would be in situations where the Animorphs were called on to use their powers for subterfuge or attack. When Cassie had come around the front of the right-most hay-bale that Slade had been sheltering behind, the same thing that had happened that first time she had surprised Slade happened again. And again, it was only Slade's lightning-quick reflexes that had kept her from getting hurt.
The third time had been just before the debacle in the forest, the one that had resulted in Jake beginning to question his decision to rescue Slade in the first place. That time, Cassie had tried coming up from a different side of Slade's hiding place, under the mistaken impression that maybe coming in from a different place would somehow keep Slade from panicking and lashing out at her. In hindsight, Cassie now realized that that had been a pretty stupid assumption on her part.
Slade had been napping at the time, but the instant that Cassie had gotten close enough to be able to lean over him, Slade had snapped awake. Before Cassie had had a chance even to move, Slade had kicked her legs out from under her. And, as if that wasn't enough, Slade had grabbed her by the throat on the way down. Luckily for Cassie, Slade had come to his senses and let go before he could have caused any real damage.
Slade had apologized, as he always did when he found out that he'd over-reacted again, and Cassie had again reassured him that there had been no harm done. Cassie shook her head. For someone who's supposed to be so incredibly observant, I can be really obtuse sometimes, Cassie chuckled to herself. Slade looked he had fallen asleep again, and for a minute Cassie wondered why Slade seemed to be so tired all the time.
Once Cassie had opened the container of fruit salad and let it stand for a little while though, Slade started to stir. Sniffing the air, Slade sat up and opened his eyes. Looking for the source of the mouth-watering scent he had just noticed, it wasn't very long before Slade noticed Cassie standing next to him.
"Hey Cassie," Slade said cheerily, smiling and leaning back against one of his hay-bales as Cassie sat down next to him. "What's that stuff you have in the container there? It smells really good."
"It's fruit salad, Slade. I figured you'd want some."
"Thanks, Cassie," Slade said, just before he started to eat.
Cassie had never stayed to watch Slade eat before, so this was a new piece of information for her. Slade ate ravenously, like he hadn't been fed for several days, instead of just several hours. Even as Cassie watched, Slade finished off the last of the fruit salad.
"Wow, what brought that on, Slade?" Cassie asked, once the last of the fruit salad was gone.
"Huh?" Slade looked up at Cassie, then back down at the empty Tupperware container that he was still holding. "Oh, this?" Slade asked a little sheepishly. "I don't know why I'm always so hungry, but for some reason I just can't seem to control myself when I'm around food."
Cassie considered that. "Maybe it has something to do with how you always seem to be sleeping when I come in to give you your meals."
Slade nodded. "Maybe."
What neither Slade or Cassie knew, and Cassie would definitely have cared if she had known, was that when Ness Carter had been changed into Slade by the Radam, his name, eating habits and personality hadn't been the only things to change. His very physiology, even down to the way his individual cells processed the energy they received from the food he ate, had been radically and permanently altered. In effect, Slade was no longer human at all.
The reason he was so hungry and tired all the time was twofold, the first having to do with his altered physiology. The other part was far more complex, and directly related to his place in the Radam hierarchy. Slade was an Enforcer Teknoman, one of the lower caste. Enforcers were tied to their base and by extension to their Warlord commander by the facts of their own biology. An Enforcer Teknoman was indeed far faster and stronger than even the greatest human athlete could ever hope to be, but they also burned a great deal more energy to maintain that strength.
Hunters – who were of a higher caste than the Enforcers – had almost the same level of strength as their lower-caste counterparts, but the Hunters also had greater stamina and the instinctive knowledge to use their strength to its best effect. Also, Hunters and Enforcers had drastically different ways of thinking. When confronted with the exact same scenario, Enforcer Teknomen like Slade would just slam their way through whatever came at them; while a Hunter would take time to observe the situation before striking out at the heart of it.
Or, put another way, Enforcers were inclined to rip a person's head off, while a Hunter would more likely stab them in the heart from behind. All of this was the reason for Slade's fatigue and above-average appetite, since most Teknomen, Hunters and Enforcers alike, spent most of their time in a strange state of quasi-hibernation. Since Slade had been… removed from the Radam, he had none of the extra reserves of energy that the Radam automatically provided for their warriors.
Thus Slade was forced to depend on his more limited human energies, and with the vast amounts of energy required to power his Teknocircuts – to say nothing of the nearly astronomical energy he would use up if and when he ever transformed – Slade's body was starting to show the strain from all the changes that he had undergone.
"Maybe I should start bringing you more food, too," Cassie suggested.
"I think I'd like that," Slade said, giving Cassie one of his well-known half-smiles.
"Well, have a nice day Slade," Cassie clapped a hand on Slade's left shoulder and he handed her the empty Tupperware container, which she put in a bag that she then slung over her shoulder, before she turned and walked back to the ladder that would take her out of the hayloft.
Once Cassie had left, Slade found that his eyelids were getting heavy again. Laying down again, Slade closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep for the fifth time that day.
Outside the barn, Cassie looked over her shoulder at the barn. She wondered what could possibly be happening to Slade that would make him so hungry and tired all the time. It probably has something to do with where Jake found him, but I just hope that it's not anything that's going to be too dangerous for him… or for us.
Cassie sighed, walking back into the kitchen to drop the Tupperware off in the sink. Sitting in the kitchen eating a sandwich, however, was Aisha.
"Hey Cassie, it's been a while since I last saw you," Aisha said pleasantly. "What have you been doing all morning?"
"Feeding and watering the animals," and taking care of Slade, Cassie added silently.
"Well, since you're here now, why don't we have some late lunch together?" Aisha asked, noticing the container in Cassie's hands but choosing not to bring it up.
Cassie had had lunch already, and was about to say so, when she thought about Slade. He had said that he was still hungry. "All right mom, let's have lunch together."
"Great," Aisha said happily. "I'll go make you a sandwich. What would you like on yours, turkey or ham?"
"I'd like turkey, please. And could I have some Sun Chips, too?" Cassie asked, thinking that while she snacked the Sun Chips, since she wasn't all that hungry, Slade could have the sandwich.
"Okay, I'll get some for you. Do you want anything to drink?"
"Just water, thanks."
"Suit yourself," Aisha said, turning back to the cutting board where she was slicing up tomatoes for Cassie's sandwich. Once Aisha had finished that, she started putting together the separate ingredients.
Once Aisha had finished making Cassie's sandwich, she pulled the half-full bag of Sun Chips off the shelf. I've got to remember to buy some more of these soon. We all like them so much, we just get a bag and then poof, it's all gone, Aisha chuckled to herself in rueful good-humor.
Once Cassie had finished her meal of Sun Chips, during which she and her mother had talked and Cassie was again made to promise that she would never worry her family again by staying out so late without at least telling one of her parents where she was going, Cassie had finally managed to get away from her mother on the pretext of going up to her room to rest. Cassie had never wanted to lie to her mother, but she had learned that some things were necessary.
Walking back out to the barn, after checking that the way was clear and she wouldn't be seen, Cassie carried the freshly wrapped sandwich that her mom had made. Peeking into the barn to make sure it was empty, Cassie went inside again. Hurrying over to the ladder, Cassie climbed back into the hayloft. Striding over to the stacked bales of hay, Cassie peeked around the corner of the right stack.
Sure enough, there was Slade, asleep on the floor again the way he had been when she had first come to bring him his lunch. Poor Slade, I just wish I knew what was happening to you. Cassie nudged Slade's shoulder, and then quickly moved back so she wouldn't get caught by whatever he was going to do.
Slade's eyes snapped open. Kicking out, Slade flipped himself over in the time it took Cassie to blink twice. His head whipped left and right, before Slade looked right at her.
"Cassie? What are you doing back here so soon?"
"You said you were still hungry, Slade," Cassie smiled. "So I thought I'd bring you some more food."
Stepping closer and kneeling, Cassie offered Slade the sandwich to Slade. He took it at once, ripping off the plastic wrap that Cassie had used to cover it while the sandwich had been in the 'fridge. Since the sandwich was a relatively large one, Cassie almost expected Slade to be satisfied with it. Almost.
Once Slade had finished the sandwich, which only took him a little longer than the bowl of fruit salad, he started licking the remains off his fingers. Picking up the discarded plastic wrapper, Cassie grinned.
"So, I take it you liked the sandwich, Slade?"
"A lot," Slade nodded. "I wish it hadn't been so small, though."
Cassie and Slade both chuckled, and Cassie shook her head in fond exasperation. Slade was a strange one, that was for sure. But it's not like I haven't dealt with things that were just as strange, or even stranger than Slade, Cassie smiled to herself as she climbed back down out of the hayloft.
Once she had gotten out of the barn, Cassie noticed that dusk was just starting to fall. Looking at her watch, Cassie found that it was a little past six o'clock. Wow, it's getting really late, I guess I should go help mom and dad start dinner.
