Author's Note: And it came BEFORE the new year! Who knew I could get it out
with ONE WHOLE DAY to spare! And now that I've had my moment of silliness,
on with the first chapter narrated by our new character.
Chapter 5 Greg
[They have come to destroy you.]
That was not the way I wanted to learn about aliens on Earth. I mean, I wanted a first contact like they talk about on Star Trek. I'd heard that the next movie for Star Trek was going to be about the first contact between Earth and Vulcan, and that was obviously painless, and not an invasion. But life's not like that, apparently. The thing that shocked me most about the alien's statement, no one questioned it. No one said, 'No way,' or 'You're pulling our legs. This is some kind of alien joke. And not a very funny one at that.' It was as if we knew he was telling us the truth.
[They are called Yeerks. They are different from us. Different from you even.]
" Are you telling me there are already aliens on Earth?" Rachel asked.
[Many are here. Hundreds. Perhaps more.] I wasn't believing this alien. He had to be exaggerating or something. You don't read and watch as much Star Trek or Star Wars as I have without realizing that, while aliens come in all shapes and sizes, any alien can't just arrive on Earth and begin some kind of hostile takeover bid without reporters being all over it.
" Why hasn't anybody noticed them? I think that it would have been mentioned around at school," Marco said, voicing my opinions.
[You do not understand. Yeerks are different. They have no body like yours or mine. They live in the bodies of other species. They are...] He trailed off, and Cassie reached to help me bandage his wounds, or correct any miscalculation I'd made.
Suddenly, he closed his eyes and a bright picture popped into my head. Whatever the picture was, it was not pretty. It was a gray-green slimy thing like a snail without its shell, only bigger, about the size of a rat (No, not Marco.)
" I'm guessing that was a Yeerk. Either that or a very big wad of slimy chewing gum." Marco, of course.
[They are almost powerless without hosts. They-]
Another blast of pain came, straight from the alien. It was like we could feel his pain and his sadness. He knew his time was almost up.
[The Yeerks are parasites. They must have a host to live in. In this form they are known as Controllers. They enter the brain and are absorbed into it, taking over the host's thoughts and feelings. They try to get the host to accept them voluntarily. It is easier that way. Otherwise the host may be able to resist, at least, a little.]
" What are you saying, it's like Invasion of the Body Snatchers or something?" Rachel asked. My sister only gets passionate about a few things. Mainly shopping. She was really hoping this alien was going to survive. Cassie and I continued trying to help him, but he was bleeding badly, and I doubted I was going to stop it with the stuff around me.
The alien looked at Rachel and, almost as if he understood what Invasion of the Body Snatchers were, he did that eye smile again. It was a little eerie.
[No. They want to control the universe. We had hoped to stop them in orbit of Earth, and never reveal our presence to you. Swarms of their Bug fighters were waiting when our Dome ship came out of Z-Space. We knew of their mother ship, but were unprepared for the powerful Blade Ship they had hidden in on of your moon's craters. We fought. We lost. Now the Yeerks will come here to destroy any sign of my existence,] he finished. We took that in as slowly as possible.
" How? How can they do that?" Cassie asked.
[Their Dracon Beams will leave nothing behind but a few molecules of this ship and... this body. I sent a message to my home world. We Andalites fight the Yeerks wherever they go in the universe. My people will send help, but it may take a year, perhaps more, and by then, the Yeerks will have control of this planet. After that, there is no hope. You must tell people. You must warn your planet! Your people!]
There was another spasm of pain. We knew he was nearly gone.
" No one will ever believe us," Marco said.
He was right. They'd basically tell us 'If you've got no proof, you've got nothing.' And if the Yeerks were going to destroy his ship and his body- him, then we would have no way to make people believe us.
" I don't care if he thinks he'll die. We have to try to help him. We can take him to a hospital. Or maybe Cassie's parents...'
[There is no time. No time,] the Andalite said, and did the eye smile again, almost ironically. Then his eyes brightened. [Perhaps...]
" What?" Jake asked.
[Enter my ship. You will see a small blue box, very plain. Bring it to me. Quickly! I have very little time, and the Yeerks will find me soon.]
We looked at each other. Who was going to go into the ship. Somehow, we all decided it would be Jake.
" Go ahead," Tobias told him. " I want to stay with him." He knelt beside the Andalite and placed a comforting hand on his narrow shoulder.
Jake looked at the doorway and then glanced at Cassie. She whispered something to him and smiled. It obviously gave him confidence, since he entered the ship. The Andalite looked at me.
[Keep your jacket. As I said, the wound is fatal. If you leave your jacket here, it could put you and your family in danger when the Yeerks arrive,] he said. I started to argue, then sighed. I took my jacket off the wound. I looked at the part of it that had touched his injury. The blood from it seemed to sink into the jacket, vanishing.
[Do not worry. It is a natural reaction to Earth fabrics and Andalite blood,] he said.
" How do you know that-?" I was interrupted by Jake walking out of the ship with a blue box in his hands.
" Here's the box," he said.
[Thank you.]
" I, um... was that your family? That picture?" he asked.
[Yes. Most of it.]
" I'm real sorry."
[There is something I may be able to do to help you fight the Yeerks.]
" What?" Rachel demanded.
[I know that you are young. I know that you have no power with which to resist the Controllers. But I may be able to give you some small powers that may help.] He paused. [I can give you powers that no other human being has ever had.]
" Powers?" Jake asked.
[It is a piece of Andalite technology that the Yeerks do not have. A technology that enables us to pass unnoticed in many parts of the universe- the power to morph, to become any other species, any other animal, perhaps even any other person. You will need only to touch a creature, to acquire its DNA pattern, and you will be able to become that creature. It requires concentration and determination, but, if you are strong, you can do it. There are... limitations. Problems. Dangers, even. But there is no time to explain it all... no time. You will have to learn for yourselves. But first, do you wish to receive this power?]
" He's kidding, right?" I heard Marco ask Jake.
" No," Tobias said. One word that carried much more meaning.
" This is nuts. This whole thing is nuts. Yeerks and spaceships and slugs taking over people's brains and Andalites and the power to change into animals? Give me a break," Marco said.
" Oh, I'll break something," I muttered.
" It is beyond wired," Jake said.
" We're off the map of weirdness by now," Rachel said. " But unless we're all just dreaming, I think we'd better deal with this."
" He's dying," Tobias reminded us.
" I'll do it," Cassie said.
" Me too," I jumped in.
" I think we should all decide together," Jake said.
" Wait. What's that?" Rachel asked. She was looking up toward the stars. Two pinpoints of bright red light were shooting across the sky.
[Yeerks. They've come.]
Chapter 5 Greg
[They have come to destroy you.]
That was not the way I wanted to learn about aliens on Earth. I mean, I wanted a first contact like they talk about on Star Trek. I'd heard that the next movie for Star Trek was going to be about the first contact between Earth and Vulcan, and that was obviously painless, and not an invasion. But life's not like that, apparently. The thing that shocked me most about the alien's statement, no one questioned it. No one said, 'No way,' or 'You're pulling our legs. This is some kind of alien joke. And not a very funny one at that.' It was as if we knew he was telling us the truth.
[They are called Yeerks. They are different from us. Different from you even.]
" Are you telling me there are already aliens on Earth?" Rachel asked.
[Many are here. Hundreds. Perhaps more.] I wasn't believing this alien. He had to be exaggerating or something. You don't read and watch as much Star Trek or Star Wars as I have without realizing that, while aliens come in all shapes and sizes, any alien can't just arrive on Earth and begin some kind of hostile takeover bid without reporters being all over it.
" Why hasn't anybody noticed them? I think that it would have been mentioned around at school," Marco said, voicing my opinions.
[You do not understand. Yeerks are different. They have no body like yours or mine. They live in the bodies of other species. They are...] He trailed off, and Cassie reached to help me bandage his wounds, or correct any miscalculation I'd made.
Suddenly, he closed his eyes and a bright picture popped into my head. Whatever the picture was, it was not pretty. It was a gray-green slimy thing like a snail without its shell, only bigger, about the size of a rat (No, not Marco.)
" I'm guessing that was a Yeerk. Either that or a very big wad of slimy chewing gum." Marco, of course.
[They are almost powerless without hosts. They-]
Another blast of pain came, straight from the alien. It was like we could feel his pain and his sadness. He knew his time was almost up.
[The Yeerks are parasites. They must have a host to live in. In this form they are known as Controllers. They enter the brain and are absorbed into it, taking over the host's thoughts and feelings. They try to get the host to accept them voluntarily. It is easier that way. Otherwise the host may be able to resist, at least, a little.]
" What are you saying, it's like Invasion of the Body Snatchers or something?" Rachel asked. My sister only gets passionate about a few things. Mainly shopping. She was really hoping this alien was going to survive. Cassie and I continued trying to help him, but he was bleeding badly, and I doubted I was going to stop it with the stuff around me.
The alien looked at Rachel and, almost as if he understood what Invasion of the Body Snatchers were, he did that eye smile again. It was a little eerie.
[No. They want to control the universe. We had hoped to stop them in orbit of Earth, and never reveal our presence to you. Swarms of their Bug fighters were waiting when our Dome ship came out of Z-Space. We knew of their mother ship, but were unprepared for the powerful Blade Ship they had hidden in on of your moon's craters. We fought. We lost. Now the Yeerks will come here to destroy any sign of my existence,] he finished. We took that in as slowly as possible.
" How? How can they do that?" Cassie asked.
[Their Dracon Beams will leave nothing behind but a few molecules of this ship and... this body. I sent a message to my home world. We Andalites fight the Yeerks wherever they go in the universe. My people will send help, but it may take a year, perhaps more, and by then, the Yeerks will have control of this planet. After that, there is no hope. You must tell people. You must warn your planet! Your people!]
There was another spasm of pain. We knew he was nearly gone.
" No one will ever believe us," Marco said.
He was right. They'd basically tell us 'If you've got no proof, you've got nothing.' And if the Yeerks were going to destroy his ship and his body- him, then we would have no way to make people believe us.
" I don't care if he thinks he'll die. We have to try to help him. We can take him to a hospital. Or maybe Cassie's parents...'
[There is no time. No time,] the Andalite said, and did the eye smile again, almost ironically. Then his eyes brightened. [Perhaps...]
" What?" Jake asked.
[Enter my ship. You will see a small blue box, very plain. Bring it to me. Quickly! I have very little time, and the Yeerks will find me soon.]
We looked at each other. Who was going to go into the ship. Somehow, we all decided it would be Jake.
" Go ahead," Tobias told him. " I want to stay with him." He knelt beside the Andalite and placed a comforting hand on his narrow shoulder.
Jake looked at the doorway and then glanced at Cassie. She whispered something to him and smiled. It obviously gave him confidence, since he entered the ship. The Andalite looked at me.
[Keep your jacket. As I said, the wound is fatal. If you leave your jacket here, it could put you and your family in danger when the Yeerks arrive,] he said. I started to argue, then sighed. I took my jacket off the wound. I looked at the part of it that had touched his injury. The blood from it seemed to sink into the jacket, vanishing.
[Do not worry. It is a natural reaction to Earth fabrics and Andalite blood,] he said.
" How do you know that-?" I was interrupted by Jake walking out of the ship with a blue box in his hands.
" Here's the box," he said.
[Thank you.]
" I, um... was that your family? That picture?" he asked.
[Yes. Most of it.]
" I'm real sorry."
[There is something I may be able to do to help you fight the Yeerks.]
" What?" Rachel demanded.
[I know that you are young. I know that you have no power with which to resist the Controllers. But I may be able to give you some small powers that may help.] He paused. [I can give you powers that no other human being has ever had.]
" Powers?" Jake asked.
[It is a piece of Andalite technology that the Yeerks do not have. A technology that enables us to pass unnoticed in many parts of the universe- the power to morph, to become any other species, any other animal, perhaps even any other person. You will need only to touch a creature, to acquire its DNA pattern, and you will be able to become that creature. It requires concentration and determination, but, if you are strong, you can do it. There are... limitations. Problems. Dangers, even. But there is no time to explain it all... no time. You will have to learn for yourselves. But first, do you wish to receive this power?]
" He's kidding, right?" I heard Marco ask Jake.
" No," Tobias said. One word that carried much more meaning.
" This is nuts. This whole thing is nuts. Yeerks and spaceships and slugs taking over people's brains and Andalites and the power to change into animals? Give me a break," Marco said.
" Oh, I'll break something," I muttered.
" It is beyond wired," Jake said.
" We're off the map of weirdness by now," Rachel said. " But unless we're all just dreaming, I think we'd better deal with this."
" He's dying," Tobias reminded us.
" I'll do it," Cassie said.
" Me too," I jumped in.
" I think we should all decide together," Jake said.
" Wait. What's that?" Rachel asked. She was looking up toward the stars. Two pinpoints of bright red light were shooting across the sky.
[Yeerks. They've come.]