Dude, a few of you are already excited? Wow…and it doesn't get REALLY interesting until chapter 5! Although, that could be just me…
Important Note: This story takes place sometime in between books 13 and 14, to clear the confusion.
Chapter 3
De-DEET! De-DEET! De-DEET! De-DEET! Without much effort, I blindly felt for the snooze button on my alarm clock. It was about fifteen minutes before 9 AM. I quickly went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. This was it, for this Laura person was going to meet us. Every weird question burning in my mind would be answered soon. I couldn't help but think along Rachel's idea of all this being a setup. Get real. We're all too smart to give any information about us Animorphs to the public, I thought. Right? I felt a little sense of dread for either option.
"Hey, midget," said Tom, who I saw standing around on the stairs. "Hey," I said, as casually as I could. "Are Mom and Dad around?" "They went out. Why? You thinkin' about throwing a summer party here?" I forced a laugh. "No, I was just wondering." I walked past him on the way out of the house. "See you later, man."
I grabbed my bike and rode to Cassie's farm again. Tom, my brother who's one of them, would be suspicious if I had left in only my morphing outfit. I felt very cautious all of a sudden as I pedaled faster and faster along the block. I had to prepare myself if this was going to be a setup. Rachel would morph to grizzly bear right away if she sensed the slightest hint of trouble.
I checked my watch. It just about nine 'o clock when I arrived at the barn. My friends were all there, including Ax in human morph. And there was one other girl there, grinning at me. "Are you Laura," I asked. "I am," she said. -(Jake, she just arrived here. Out of nowhere,)- Tobias told me in private thought speak. -(I think she might know the Ellimist after all.)- Laura turned her head to look up near the rafters. "Of course I know him, Tobias," she said. "The Ellimist is my friend." I gave a silent signal to Tobias to check if all was clear. "No worries," Laura said to me. "There's no one close by to overhear us."
She was close to being as tall as me. The girl seemed like any normal human kid around our age. Her hair was a long and wavy blond, shoulder length. Similar to Rachel's but it was a very sandy blond shade. Her eyes were brown, and her facial features were slightly different from Rachel's. Most likely on short notice, I would have considered that they were lost twin sisters or something.
Everyone grew quiet for a second when Laura talked to Tobias. "Impossible," Ax said in amazement and disbelief. Rachel stepped up to her. "Hey, just who are you, and how do you know the Ellimist," she demanded. Laura shrugged her shoulders. "I'm a new ally, and have come to help. I've been mostly with Ellimist for just about as long as I could remember. He cared for me since I was a six-year-old, when my parents were killed by the Yeerks. Gave me some powers by the age of twelve so I could come and go among Earth as much as I wanted to. About a few days ago, he's told me about you. The Animorphs."
"Wait, hold up," Marco interrupted. "Ellimist wouldn't do a thing like this. He'd only claim to not be helping much at all." "So you've known in experience," Laura said. She seemed not surprised, but a bit smug. "Ellimist saw how much danger I was in of knowing what had happened, and he claimed me as his own." She looked down at the ground, eyebrows narrowing. "Not exactly a loving parent, but he's been a teacher and a close friend to me." Laura looked to each of us and continued, "I've heard you know about the Chee. Oh, and congrats on freeing some of the Hork-Bajir, by the way." She looked to Tobias, who didn't say anything. "I was told quite a deal about you. I don't think I'd be the same if I were you." I felt as if I grabbed onto a power line. Everyone was surprised. "The Chee and I promised to keep each other a secret. That's why they've never told you about me."
"So, you have the powers of the Ellimist?" asked Cassie. "Technically, yeah," Laura said. "But I've been given pretty much the rule of not interfering much, unlike him." "What," Marco said, not believing this. I couldn't believe it either, but I felt that she was telling the truth. "If you have the same powers as him, why not just make the Yeerks all disappear?" Laura looked to him as she answered, "You know, I'd love to, but I cannot. If I did, then I wouldn't be able to have the abilities anymore, and can't come back to Earth again… I love this planet. I've been in and out of its atmosphere, constantly. Plus, I cannot possibly survive on my own, either. The rest is very complicated." "Complicated?" Rachel pressed. "How so?" My cousin looked like she was ready to pounce on Laura. The other blonde haired girl gave her a hard glare, and a moment later, Rachel's face had an expression of shock. Fear, even. And she's a tough warrior. Xena: the Warrior Princess, as Marco calls her. Never has anybody been able to stand up to her like that. "Hey, I'm only here to help, but I can only do so much without too much interference. Life's all about struggles, ya know? I can only help slow the invasion just a tad." She grinned again, which I felt was very disturbing. "You know why Visser Three's been such a nervous wreck recently? Oh, I've given him some frights in his dreams every now and then."
"Cool," Marco said. "We got a really powerful ally on our hands who can scare the hooves off of Visser Three, and make him wet his bed. Let's be allies." He was being sarcastic. "It takes more than that to keep them at bay, of course. I've only messed with their plans a little," Laura said. "How," I wondered. "Oh, just some small things with the help of Erek, the Chee. Messed up with some of the orders and delayed their actions to go on ahead and make any sudden movements to try to make conquering our home any easier. I impersonate, infiltrate… A little bit of this and that, but if I interfered too much…" She let that hang, and then turned to me for a moment. It was a look of concern or something in her eyes. I didn't know why. Then, it was as gone as quickly as it came.
Rachel was still angry, but kept her distance. "Uh, Laura, did you do something to Rachel," Cassie asked, to which what was on my mind. "I only told her to calm down. See, I got a psychic sense. I felt a lot of tension coming from her, and just sent one word to her mind. Don't." She grimaced toward Rachel. "And I know basically everything about you all, but no fear. I'm for Earth, and against the slugs. They murdered my folks and I'm eager to take my part into keeping our home world safe and sound. Your secrets are safe with me."