After dinner, Cassie went back up to her room to lay down. As she climbed the stairs, Cassie had the nagging feeling that she had forgotten something, something that could be important. I'm sure I'll remember what it was sooner or later. Cassie had already given Slade his food, making sure that it was a larger portion than what she had given him for breakfast.
Now, though, Cassie was ready to get to bed. She only wished that tomorrow were Saturday instead of Sunday. I guess I can't have everything I want all the time, Cassie had to laugh at herself then, knowing that even thought she only had one day of vacation left, she would still take the time to enjoy it. Maybe I shouldn't call it that, since it's really not much of a vacation when you work all the time.
Flipping back her covers and laying down, Cassie thought for a minute about the thing she had forgotten. I'm sure I'll remember, Cassie thought again with a yawn, pulling up her covers and drifting off to sleep.
Cassie abruptly sat up. Area 51! The people, the Yeerks want to infest them! I have to tell the others! Rolling quickly off her bed, Cassie almost literally tore off her pajamas. Quickly getting dressed in her usual morphing outfit, she morphed into an owl in what seemed to her to be record time. Hopping up onto the windowsill, Cassie flew out of her room and headed for the barn.
Flying in through the hayloft, Cassie spotted Slade very quickly. Sleeping again, not like I expected anything different.
(Slade, Slade wake up! There's some people that are going to be infested by the Yeerks if we don't help them. I need you to get up so we can get the other Animorphs.)
(I hear you Cassie,) Slade said, rolling over and pushing himself to his feet. (What do you want me to do?)
(I want you to morph into the raven you acquired, and then I need you to follow me. We're going to go get the others.)
(Right. I'll be with you in a few seconds Cassie.)
Slade managed to morph almost as fast as Cassie had, and soon he had joined her on the windowsill.
(Okay, let's get going,) Cassie said, turning around on the windowsill, just before she flew out of the barn. Slade followed as well as he could, but he found that he couldn't see nearly as well as he could the last time he used this particular morph. He couldn't even see as well as he could when he was in his normal body.
(Cassie, I don't want to worry you, but I think there might be something wrong with my morph. It's like it can't see as well as it used to.)
(It's night, Slade,) Cassie explained patiently. (Your raven morph is a bird of prey, and birds of prey don't see very well at night. I wish we had had an owl for you to acquire, but there aren't any injured owls in the barn right now. I know, I've checked.)
(Oh,) Slade said. (Well, it's good to know that there isn't anything wrong with me.)
After that, Cassie and Slade flew on in silence.
Once all seven Animorphs were together, it was Rachel who started the conversation.
(All right Cass, since it was you who arranged this little meeting, maybe you could tell the rest of us just what's going on, hmm?)
(Did any of you guys who went with me to Area 51 that first time remember seeing a sign-up sheet on the wall? Marco? Rachel? Slade?) Cassie asked.
(I was a little preoccupied with the forty-thousand Air Force guys waving guns at us and threatening to call our parents,) Marco said slyly.
(They weren't waving guns at us, and there was nowhere near forty-thousand of them,) Slade countered, not seeming to appreciate Marco's idea of humor. (But, I didn't notice any sign-up sheets either.)
(Neither did I,) Rachel said. (What was the sign-up sheet for?)
(The one that I paid most attention to was the one that was for a trip to The Gardens for all of the high-ranking officers, or whatever you call them,) Cassie explained. (I don't think there were any others.)
(Okay, so what's so important about a sign-up sheet for a trip to where your mom works?) Jake asked, patiently waiting for Cassie to explain why she had them all out at nearly seven-thirty in the evening.
(You remember how Visser Three was talking about how he had a backup plan to get to the people of Area 51 when he was talking to those Horse-Controllers?) Cassie asked. (I think I might know what it is.)
(What is it?) Jake asked.
(I'm pretty sure that what Visser Three intends to do is go after all the high-ranking people when they're all at The Gardens on their trip,) Cassie explained. (That's what the sign-up sheet was for. I don't know exactly how Visser Three found out about it, but I think we all know by now that he won't have the patience to wait for a better opportunity to infest them.)
(Okay, so now that we know why we're here, what are we going to do about it?) Rachel asked.
(We're going to stop them,) Slade said firmly. Then, realizing that he had spoken out of turn, Slade became uncertain. (Aren't we?)
(Of course we are, Slade,) Cassie rushed to assure him.
(So, now that we all know what we're out here this late for, why don't we hurry up? Cassie, what time are the Area 51 personnel scheduled to arrive, do you know?) Jake asked, picking up the thread of inquiry where Rachel had left off.
(Eight o'clock, that's what it said on the sign-up sheet.) Well, more or less, Cassie thought to herself uncertainly. Cassie wondered if she should tell the other Animorphs about the trouble she'd had translating the time written on the sign-up sheet into something resembling normal time. Then she decided not to, it probably wasn't that important anyway.
