The next morning I awoke with a loud knocking on my door. I turned my head to see that the sun was shining through my window. I looked at my alarm clock and saw that it was close to noon.
"Come in," I called. I threw the blankets over my legs, just incase it was a nurse or doctor. Instead it was Julio and Collette. Julio walked into the room and sat down. Clearly he was feeling good enough today to walk. Collette wheeled herself in and shut the door behind her. She kept her chair in front of the door, just incase a nurse tried to get in.
"So, what is up?" I asked. I avoided Julio's eyes, still feeling horrible for sending him away.
"James, don't worry. You did the right thing," He said. He smiled at me, then I saw the side of his face jerk. I knew it was just an involuntary movement that was common with his illness. "Anyways, Ax and the others are going to get on the computer right away. They decided that deleting our hospitals site and even other ones would just tip the Yeerks off sooner, but they are going to try to make them harder to find. They are also putting harder encryption on so they can't get lists of patients' names."
"Well, at least it is something. It doesn't really help us with keeping the Yeerks away though. I guess we will just have to act extra pathetic, just incase they come anyways," as I said it, I knew that it was harsh. I looked at my two friends and could see a slight jerk in each of their faces. I knew this wasn't part of their illnesses. "I am sorry, I shouldn't of said that."
"No you shouldn't of, but your right. We have to reaffirm in them that we are helpless and that the Animorphs would never contact us," Collette said. She smiled at me and gave me a wink. I found myself smiling back. I really liked it when she smiled at me. I guess over some time, Collette and I had been growing closer. We had been good friends for a long time, and I guess maybe we could be something more someday. Maybe after the war.
"Any who, Jake was pissed. He yelled at me for a bit. Cassie backed us up, but said we should of waited for back up. Rachel said what we did was good and that we had to make sure the Yeerks didn't think we were for sure gone. Jake said he wanted you to come out later today," Julio said. I saw the nervous look on his face, and I knew I would get a royal screaming at.
Later, Tobias came by. I knew that he would probable be on my side in the issue, and I was glad he came to give me a heads up.
((Hey James, are you alone?)) He asked. I went and locked my room door and then opened the window. Pedro was out doing some treatments, so I was all by myself. Tobias flew into my room and landed on the tv stand. I knew that he wouldn't of risked coming here during the day unless he has something important to say.
"So, is Jake really mad?" I asked. I knew the answer, but I didn't know what else to say.
((Yeah, but he is calming down some. Cassie was really fighting for you guys. He was more mad at finding out that she knew about your guy's little outings. Those two have been butting heads a lot lately. I don't know why.))
"Yeah, well, I bet he is pretty pissed that I almost killed his brother too," I said.
((Yeah, that too,)) Tobias said. I smiled slightly. Over the last few months, Tobias had really been someone to talk to. He had lost a lot in the war, and I respected him a lot for that. He had spent a lot of time telling me and the new team stories to help us learn from their experiences.
"So, when I go out there, am I going to get it handed to me?" I asked. Tobias laughed.
((You know, I can never tell with Jake. Probable. If I were you, I would go out there and explain to him exactly what you did. Explain you knew it was dangerous, but just tell him the truth. Plus, I wouldn't worry about it. It isn't like he can ground you or whatever.))
"Yeah, I guess not," I said. I guess that kind of helped me get mentally ready for it.
I waited until that night. I knew Jake would be pissed, but I didn't want to run the risk of being caught. I asked Craig and Collette to come with me. I don't know why. Maybe it was the fact we would be flying long distance, or maybe it was cause I wanted some support. I soared high in the air, and could see two red-tailed hawks flying some distance to each side of me. I had gotten Tobias to let Collette acquire him. He was more then happy to let her.
((This hawk morph is way cooler then the pigeon. Who knew that something could see even better!)) Collette said for about the hundredth time. I just laughed and knew Craig was too. It took us about and hour to get to the valley. It was one of those nights that weren't to dark. The moon and stars were really bright. I knew that that would make flying easier for the other two. Still, they were dead tired by the time we landed at the camp and demorphed.
The rest of the Animorphs were already there, standing around a small fire. Also, most of their parents were there too and Toby, the leader of the Hork-Bajir. I guess Toby was what the Hork-Bajir call a seer. She was a super rare Hork-Bajir that was super intelligent. I mean Andalite intelligent.
"Hey," I said to Jake and the others. He just glared at me. He was standing next to the fire, wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and some jeans. His arms were crossed and I could tell he was really frustrated. Next to him, on a log, sat Marco. He just kept playing with a stick he was sticking in the fire. Cassie stood on the other side of the fire, next to her parents and the other auxiliary Animorph Elena. She came over and gave me a hug.
"Don't worry," She whispered in my ear. She stepped away and walked over to help her parents move Collette over to a log, where she could sit on the ground with her back against it.
"So, what exactly were you thinking?" Jake snapped. He just kept glaring at me. I took a deep breath and started to explain.
"Look, I figured that someone had to be in the city keeping an eye on things. You guys aren't really able to just come and go as you please there, so I dec..figured it was our duty to do it." I said. I didn't want to say decided. That would sound like I wasn't following Jake.
"Dammit James, we talked about this. You knew that you guys were suppose to wait for us to come get you. What were you thinking? What if someone got hurt? What if they saw you demorph? What would you of done then?" Jake said.
"Yeah, I know we talked about that. I didn't do it to under mind you or whatever. I did it because we are more then just your reserves Jake. We need to help fight this war too. You can't expect us to sit there all day and wait for you to do something. I am sorry that it got to the point that it did, I really am. I am sorry that I almost had to kill Tom, but you have to understand that we had to do something. Where are we suppose to get the experience we need to fight with you?" I snapped. I saw Jake cringe as I mentioned my near killing of his brother, but he caught himself.
"Jake, if they wouldn't of done this, the Yeerks could of figured out who they were by now. They could be shoving James's head into a Yeerk pool as we speak," Rachel said. She walked over from a near by Picnic table that her family was sitting at. I saw Jake give her a truly dirty glare, but Rachel didn't back down.
"Rachel, I don't need you getting into this. James, I get why you guys are restless, but I am just saying that you guys are still really green. Before you go out trying to fight the Yeerks by yourself, wait until you get more experience with us. We can't loose anyone. We are getting close to the finish, I can feel it. We need you guys." I could tell the fire in Jake's mind was partially burnt out.
"Look Jake, I am sorry. I really am, but I don't take back what we did. We need to do our part. I know now that I should have waited for you guys, but we were lucky we caught it when we did. Think of how many of us would have been slaughtered if the Yeerks came to the clinic," That did it. That pretty much ended the whole argument. I knew that we had one our case. I felt proud of myself for sticking up for us, but I didn't think any less of Jake. If anything, I appreciated him more for how much care he showed for us.
After a while of Jake just standing there looking at me. Finally, he just smiled at me.
"It's ok James. Just please, don't do it again," He said, holding out his hand. I smiled back and reached for it. We shook hands. "Any ways, you guys better stay here tonight. I will have someone wake you up early in the morning." I nodded. We spent the rest of the night talking with the other guys, there parents, and the Hork-Bajir. It was fun, actually. I liked any time that I got to spend time getting to know our team mates.
Craig and Marco really got along well, sending sarcastic jokes over to Rachel and Collette. Collette proved to be just as witty as the blond beauty, and the two of them countered each joke with a good comeback. All in all, it was fun.
We finally got about four hours of sleep. Elena came and shook my shoulders until I awoke. I sat up and ran my fingers through my unkempt curly hair. I looked at the blind girl. Her red hair fell lightly around her shoulders, and her fair skin was covered with freckles. I felt back for her. She was taken out of her home at her own school for the blind and brought here to the valley. So far, she had proven to be a good soldier and did what was asked of her.