Chapter 6

"So, what's going on then?" I asked Rachel. "I've got something to ask everyone later, but first things first. Cassie said you had some news for us?"

Rachel, who was busily trying on yet another new jacket, looked up.

"Oh yeah," she said. "Well, I was at gymnastics training yesterday evening, and I slipped off the beam and sprained my ankle."

Marco started laughing. "Poor Rachel," he mocked. "Did it hurt real bad?"

"Shut up, Marco," Rachel said, throwing a clod of dirt at him. "Anyway, my ankle kinda swelled up a bit, and my mom insisted on taking me to hospital to get it X-rayed."

"Couldn't you have just morphed?" Philip asked. "I thought morphing healed injuries."

"Yeah, it does, but there were like, loads of people around and I didn't get a chance. So I had no choice but to go along with it and morph later."

"So…what happened?" I asked.

"Well, I was in the waiting room, and I saw loads of guys we know to be Controllers sitting and standing around. I've recognized them from the Yeerk Pool. But the strange thing was, they didn't seem to be ill. They looked like they were keeping watch or something."

"Strange," said Philip. "What about the doctors? Do you know if any of them were Controllers?"

"I did see one women, who I think is a Controller, but I couldn't be sure," Rachel replied. "I only recognized her because she had the most awful haircut you can imagine."

Marco rolled his eyes at this. "Anything else, apart from freaky haircuts?"

Rachel gave him a sour look. "Yeah," she continued. "There were loads of people in the waiting room with what looked like the same symptoms. Like flu or something. They were getting passed through the systems really quickly - and they all went with the Controller doctors."

"Did you recognize any of those patients as Controllers?" Sam asked.

"No, but I swear all the healthy Controllers were like staring at them. Like they were keeping an eye on them or something."

"My dad said something about an epidemic at his practice," I said. "He's a GP," I mentioned to Sam and the others. "He said he had to refer them all to the city hospital."

--Sounds a bit dodgy,-- Tobias said. --You don't think the Yeerks are finding some way to make patients into Controllers?--

"If they were, they'd have to have control of at least one department or ward," Cassie said. "Any patients who go in for a specific treatment would be those targeted. Otherwise, it would be really random for the Yeerks."

"Well, I don't think this is the sort of thing we'll be able to work out in a couple of minutes," said Philip, pulling on his new sweater. "What was that thing you wanted to ask us, Jake?"

"Oh, yeah. Tom wants me to go with him to a meeting of The Sharing tonight," I said.

"I thought he asked you every week?" said Rachel.

"Yeah, but this time, he bailed me out of babysitting next door's twins. So now he figures I owe him. Or at least, the Yeerk in his head does," I added, for the benefit of the new Animorphs.

"You're not gonna go with him, are you?" said Sam. "Isn't that place crawling with Controllers?"

"Yeah, it's a front organization for them," Cassie told her. "Like some kind of youth group or whatever."

"I thought maybe I should go," I continued. "I shouldn't think one meeting will hurt. Besides, Tom said Visser Three was going to be there. Which implies it's some kind of special meeting going on. We could learn a lot as to what their up to."

"No way, Jake," said Cassie sternly. "It's far too dangerous."

"They don't know who we are," I said. "We could easily morph roaches or something halfway though, and listen in on the full-member's meeting."

Cassie looked at me, her eyes dark. I knew that look. It said "I care about you, Jake. Don't do anything stupid." I gave her a "don't worry, I won't" look back. Sometimes it helps to have someone who can read the most subtle of expressions around. Other times, it was distracting. She'd already made me feel guilty once today. Now it was happening again.

"What time's the meeting?" asked Marco. He already knew that I would be going along, and was starting to make plans for the mission.

"Eight," I said. "Tom's driving me there. I thought a few of us should come along. Two of you with me as humans, a few more as gulls or flies to keep watch. Who's free tonight?"

"Yeah, we are," said Sam. "Nothing much for us to do back in the valley."

"Good, I was hoping one of you would like to come along. You haven't been to a Sharing meeting yet, have you?"

"No, the only stuff we've heard about it is what you guys have told us, and what we've read on their website."

"Cool. Well maybe you could organize one of your team to come with me in human morph. You'll probably have to do one of your partial morphs to avoid being recognized, though. The rest of you could keep watch as flies and sea gulls. You do have fly and seagull morphs, don't you?" Sam had briefed me on the morphs they'd acquired, when we'd first met them, but I was finding it difficult to remember them all.

"Philip, Ferdie and I have crows," Sam replied. "But Maggie only has an eagle and a swan. We've all got flies, though."

"That's ok, I'm sure Cassie can find a pigeon or something for Maggie." I turned round to face the rest of my own ground. "Marco? You want to join me tonight?"

"Any excuse to avoid doing my history essay," he replied.

"Good. What about you guys?" I said, facing Sam.

"I don't mind," she said. "Flawless? You want to go?"

'Flawless' is Sam and Philip's nickname for Ferdie. It's a combination of his initial name and surname. Not sure if it's truly accurate, but I didn't know the guy well enough to judge him yet.

"Absolutely," Ferdie chirped.

"Good. I'll meet the two of you outside the school then, at about five to eight. Ferdie, you'll need to wear some normal clothes. You can't go walking around looking like you've just spend the last ten years on the back of a horse."

"What about the rest of us?" asked Sam. "How many do you want as backup?"

"I want at least two people as flies to follow the three of us into the main meeting," I said. "And maybe another two to go crows or seagulls and keep an eye out for people entering the building."

"Ok," said Sam. "Philip, you can go as fly. You're the best in that morph. Maggie, you and I will go bird. You'll need to get Cassie to let you acquire a common bird morph first, though."

"No problem," said Cassie, leading Maggie over to one of the cages. "We've got a seagull with a broken wing here. He'll be perfect. You know how to acquire, right? Just touch and concentrate, and the animal will go into a trance."

"Yeah, we've acquired loads of creature," Maggie replied, putting her hand into the cage and acquiring the bird. The gull flapped and squawked noisily for a few moments, then settled down as Maggie acquired it.

"Beware of its' love of fast food," Rachel laughed. "Gulls have a thing for moldy trash and left-over fries."

"Right, so that one thing sorted," I said. "But I need someone else to go with Philip. Any takers?"

"I'll do it," said Rachel, practically leaping into the air.

"Are you sure, Rachel?" said Marco sarcastically. "We all know you don't like to volunteer for things. Maybe this is too big a step for you."

Rachel scoffed and flicked some hay at him. He dodged, falling backwards off the hay bale. I saw Sam raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"You were saying?" asked Rachel sweetly.

"Ok," I said, trying to resolve peace. "So Philip and Rachel - you're my spies. What about you three?" I asked, looking at Tobias, Ax and Cassie.

"Um, not to be rude or anything, but I'm really behind on my school work," Cassie said, biting her lip.

"That's no problem," I said, smiling at her. "We don't need everyone in on it tonight, now we've got some more members. Ax?"

"I shall do whatever Prince Jake tells me," the Andalite replied, who was happily cramming some bird seed into his mouth. Cassie walked over to him and gently removed the seed from his hand.

"Alright," I said. "You can go with Philip and Rachel. Tobias?"

He flapped down from the rafters, landing on top of one of the empty cages. An injured fox saw him and crouched back into the corner of his cage. Tobias ruffled his wings nosily.

--Um, I've got a bit of a problem back at my meadow,-- he said. --Some other hawk is trying to make his nest there, and he's trying to push me out. I don't want to be away from my tree for too long incase he gets ideas.--

I nodded understandingly. Just because Tobias lives his life as a bird and no longer had the problems of normal humans, it doesn't mean he doesn't have problems of his own.

"I guess you can't really file a lawsuit against another hawk for taking your land, right?" said Maggie kindly.

--Too right,-- Tobias replied. --So, I hope you don't mind, but I'd better be off if you guys don't need me on this. I could do with some dinner soon, too. I never got a chance to catch any lunch.--

"Sure, Tobias. Thanks for coming along," I said.

"See you later, Tobias," Rachel called, as he flapped out of the open door, and into the air.

"Ok, well I think that's all we need for tonight then," I said. "So it's me, Ferdie and Marco outside the school at five to eight. Rachel, Ax and Philip as flies. Rachel, you lead them to the main hall and keep out of sight. Sam and Maggie, you two go as birds and keep watch over the school."

"Got it," said Sam. "I'm going to get something to eat from the supermarket. Rachel, you got any more of Ferdie's money left? " she said, beginning one of her partial morphs.

Rachel dug into her purse and passed Sam a few notes. "Coming, Flawless?"

The two of them pulled on some of their new clothes over their morphing suits and headed out of the barn. "See you guys tonight," Sam said.

"I'd better get back too," I said, morphing back to falcon. "See you later, Cassie. Don't make Maggie work too hard!" I finished morphing and took to the air, soaring the late afternoon thermals back to my neighborhood.