Responses to reviewers:

I forgot to respond to the reviewers for chapter two, so I'm including all of them here now. The only exception is if you responded to both chapters...then I'll write a general response since your comment may have already been addressed in the past chapter.

Myitt: Thanks and I really appreciate your reviews.

GenesisDragon: Hope this qualifies as "soon."

Kelptic: You shall soon find out. This will be a short story, though, although Jason will make an appearance in Broken at some point.

Meow: There's a reason Jason's going to Tidwell and not Chapman. He's not exactly in the best possible situation, but he is aware of the fact that, chances are, he's going to be dead or reinfested soon enough.

Onto the next chapter...

"Of course. Follow me."

He led me into an empty classroom and shut the door.

"How can I help you, Jareth?" he asked once we were inside.

"It's not Jareth," I explained. "I escaped. It's just Jason."

Tidwell raised his eyebrows. "I see."

"Jareth was a torturer. I managed to trick the Hork-Bajir at the Yeerk pool," I blundered on. "I don't have a problem with being a Controller, but Jareth is evil incarnate."

Okay, maybe I was getting a little carried away. But the events of the last four days were still very much on my mind.

"You escaped...and you are willing to return for reinfestation with another Yeerk?" Tidwell/the Yeerk clarified.

"Yes. As long as the new Yeerk doesn't...I mean, they can't all be like Jareth, right?"

"I don't know your old Yeerk. He might be typical of Yeerks," Tidwell explained. "Many humans have trouble, at first. You might not find a better Yeerk your second time around."

"He wouldn't even let me think what I wanted. He just replayed bad memories, and images that he had of torturing other people and my family, every single second. He wouldn't even let me sleep," I tried to explain.

Why was this so hard to say? Maybe because Tidwell was also a Controller. Maybe because I wasn't a huge fan of writing papers and giving debates. Or maybe it was just because I couldn't really put into words what I had been through.

"Most Yeerks aren't like that," Tidwell admitted.

"What are most Yeerks like?" I pressed. "I mean, obviously I have no choice because I'll either be reinfested or killed, but I want to have a frame of reference."

"Well, we don't usually monitor Yeerks inside their hosts, but the general belief is that humans are below Yeerks. Most Yeerks ignore their hosts if they start to threaten. There are some harmonious relationships, probably just with the hosts who are voluntary. The Yeerk maintains complete control at all times, but is physically capable of allowing the host to have some control. It's highly discouraged, and lethal in Yeerk settings. About 2/3 of all hosts are involuntary. Most Yeerks do not use means of mental punishment except as that. Yeerks usually either ignore their hosts or converse with their hosts."

The description didn't exactly sound great, but it had to be better than what Jareth had put me through. Besides, this was one Yeerk speaking. There would be some kind of bias there. Maybe Tidwell's Yeerk was one of the nicer/average ones. There was no reason to assume that his description didn't have at least some degree of truth in it.

"I started out voluntary. I'd like to stay that way," I emphasized.

"After school, I will give you a ride to the Sharing. We will pretend that you are a new member and about to become a full member. I will try to make sure the Yeerk that's assigned to you is endurable."

"That sounds fair."

"In the meantime, say nothing to Innis 226. Pretend to be infested at all times. You will receive a new Yeerk this afternoon, and that Yeerk will have a cover story. Your old one will be given another host."

"Can't we just kill Jareth?" I complained. "He's too cruel for anyone. Even my next door neighbor."

Tidwell shook his head. "I'm afraid that we can't do that. Not without due cause. But your next Yeerk will probably be better than he was, if what you say is true," he added in a somewhat reassuring tone.

"Okay. I should get to lunch."

"Meet me in front of the school's main parking lot at 4:00. My host's car is dark blue," the Yeerk instructed.

"Hopefully nothing will happen before then."

"It shouldn't. It usually takes a few days before they notice if a Yeerk is missing. You are probably the first one to escape the Yeerk pool, but you'll also be the last. Once they see what happened, they'll pay much closer attention."

I nodded. "See you at four."