Marco

It was Friday. Cassie was off with Antoine, and Rachel was serving as her pair of eyes in the sky as backup. So it was just the five of us – Jake, Tobias and Ax (who were both in their human morphs), Erek (who had his hologram up), and I. And we were doing a good old stakeout.

With Erek in the driver's seat, we drove towards the beach. As we did so, we were making small talk.

"So how's the college life so far?" Tobias asked.

"It's been okay, so far," I replied. "The campus is nice, the women look even nicer, and I think I know my way around the school. How's the nature preserve treating you?"

"It's fine," Ax said. "I still miss the forest out west, but the preserve has been an adequate replacement. There's even an abandoned cabin. Ca. Bin."

"And there's plenty of wildlife to feed on, and I blend right in," Tobias added. "It's a good thing Red-tailed Hawks ran be found all over the U.S." He then changed the subject. "What's going on with this Antoine guy? Is he copacetic?"

"We'll know on Monday," Jake replied as he stared out the window. "Cassie and Rachel are handling that. But, so far, he's looking like he's one of the two allies that The Ellimist told us about." He looked over at Tobias. "Turns out, he's not a fan of The Sharing."

"Oh really?" I said. That was a good sign. Controllers that were a part of The Sharing talked about the organization as if it was the second coming of Jesus and his Apostles. And they did a lot to craft that image, from charity work in the communities they are in, to testimonies on their sites and interviews on the local news. "What's his beef with them?"

"Well, he says they give him a bad vibe. And apparently, they tried to reach out to him after the incident that caused him to leave the football program out west. He doesn't like being treated as a charity case."

"Interesting."

"We're here," Erek said. He pulled into parking lot. This parking lot was some ways from the beach and was metered. Once a spot was found, he pulled into it and put the car in park. After that, we all stepped out of the car. Once Erek fed the parking meter, we all started walking together.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked.

"We're not going to do much," Jake said. "We're going to morph seagull, then we're going to take to the air and then scope out The Sharing's building. From what I heard from Tom, it's apparently a fancy white beach house that's been repurposed to an office building."

I scoffed. "Of course they are. Way to blend in, guys."

"In a way, they are blending in," Erek said. "Everybody judges with their eyes. And if The Sharing was in some old rundown building – especially in this part of the state – there's going to be some eyebrows raised. In the eyes of many, success is a virtue."

"Peacocking at its finest, I'd say," Tobias added. I raised my eyebrows briefly.

Once we reached the beach, he walked on to it and made our way to some of the greenery that was growing nearby the short wall that separated the beach from the sidewalk. Jake took a quick look around before he nodded towards Erek. Without saying a word, Erek extended his hologram. No longer did wesee his human projection. Instead, we were looking at his true form – a dog-like humanoid android.

"All they see are tropical plants," Erek explained. "You guys can morph now."

I nodded before I stripped off my clothes, leaving me in nothing but my black wet suit. All of the others did the same (except, Erek, of course). Once that was done, I closed my eyes and concentrated on becoming a seagull.

The thing about morphing is… it really should have been a painful process. Bones, muscle, skin, organs… all of that are changed, rearranged, or often times lost or grown. And all of it is felt. It was like having your teeth worked on by a dentist after they apply the procaine – you still felt, but it uncomfortable worst.

As it was for me, I felt my fingers fuse into one bone as I shrunk down. I felt my knees invert as it transformed, bending the other way. My ten toes became six as skin grew across them, making my feet web. My teeth disappeared and my jaws elongated as they formed a beak. My bones felt lighter – no doubt from hollowing out. Eventually, I shrunk down to seagull size and was completely covered in feathers.

My transformation was complete.

Jake and I were already transformed. We had to wait for Tobias and Ax since they had to morph back to their real bodies before they transformed into seagulls. I stretched by wings out a few times before I turned my head to Jake.

(Everyone ready?) Jake asked.

(I'm good to go,) Tobias said.

(Ready as I'll ever be, as per usual,) I added.

(Yes, Prince Jake,) Ax replied.

Jake visible took in a breath. He was about to tell Ax to stop calling him Prince, but decided it wasn't worth the breath. (Okay, let's fly.)

We walked out of the hologram slowly. After we looked around, we flapped our wings and took to the air.

We flew in a loose formation as we moved up the beach, just flying along. We didn't have fly long – about "fifteen of your minutes" according to Ax.

(It's coming up on our right,) Jake alerted to us before he turned towards that direction.

It was a white cubic building. From what I can see, it was three stories, with the top floor looking a small strip running across the top of the second floor. Flanking that third floor were two lawns with patio furniture. I couldn't tell if the grass was real or not. And in the back yard was a fancy pool, as well as a small pier where boats could be driven up to. As a matter of fact, there was a two seater tied to the pier, from what I can see. In that backyard, a few people were talking – about four in total.

(Fancy indeed,) I said out loud.

(Let's land on that pier,) Jake ordered. (But keep it low key. We can't look suspicious. We'll confirm that this is the building then fly away. Last thing we need is for them to know that they Andalite bandits are here.)

(I hear that,) Tobias said.

We descended down to the pier. I landed on one of the posts. Jake did the same while Tobias and Ax landed on the pier itself. I looked out towards the sea, pretending I was looking out towards the water as I listened in.

"I like to thank you all once again for the donation to the hospital," one of the men said.

"No problem," another one replied. "Once again, The Sharing is about helping people, and medicine will never ever not be a need for everyone."

"I hear that. With that donation, we can strengthen our bond with the local university." I started to hear footsteps. "I'll be back here to discuss even more details."

"We're looking forward to it."

(Let's get out of here while we're not made,) Jake ordered.

I held off the urge to nod my head before we all flew away. After making our way back to Erek and redressing in the hologram, we made our way back to his car and drove off. During the car ride, we talked about what we just heard.

"Seriously, what is it about the Yeerks and hospitals?" I asked. "Like, I understand it's easy to get controllers these days, but you think they'd switch it up or something."

"I rather they not," Jake commented. "The less curveballs we get from them, the better. But I'm more worried about them doing work in the hospital across the street from the university. Whatever they have planned there is going to be hard to handle without getting made."

"We'll still have to figure out the nature of their donation," Ax pointed out.

"It's The Sharing," Tobias said. "We'll likely hear about it in the news. Or on campus, for you college folks, since a chapter of The Sharing there is going to be involved."

"You may be right," Jake said with a nod. "Okay, we'll keep an ear out. Then we'll plan from there. But for now, let's just take the rest of the day off."

"No complaints here," I said in agreement.

When I got home, I took off my shoes and left them by the door. "I'm going to my room for a bit," I told Erek.

"Sure thing," Erek said. "Stove is still acting up, so if you want to order dinner on my card, let me know."

"Noted," I said as I made my way to my room. "Thanks, bro."

"No problem."

I stepped through the door, walked over to my bed, and laid myself down on it. I rolled over on my back, took out my phone, and checked it for any messages or calls I may have missed. There were none. The last text I got was from Jada responding to my way of telling her goodnight ("Wow, lol. Goodnight Cornball!"). I smiled, remembering the conversations we had about random stuff. I only knew this girl for about a week or so and I was already catching feelings.

And it was frustrating.

Had this been a different time, I'd take her out to dates with no issue. I would just have to worry about where I'd take her, what we would do, if she feels the same about me, and if we're moving too fast. I wouldn't have to worry about if she was a controller and if she was grooming me and setting me up to be a Yeerk's host. Or, if she wasn't, I wouldn't be worried about trying to protect her while keeping what I do a secret.

I sighed bitterly.

It was times like these made me envious of the others – Jake & Cassie and Rachel & Tobias… those two couples had next to zero worry about such things when they're together. With each of them in the know, they didn't have that burden or concern.

"Fuck me," I said.

Trying to date Jada was probably a bad idea.

So why did I have the urge to call her?

It was such a temptation to avoid. I could have just gotten up and asked Erek for his debit card so I can order some food. I could have waited in the den and watched a show or movie. But I didn't do any of that. Instead, I went through my contacts, highlighted her name, and dialed her number. The line rings three times. A part of me was hoping that she didn't pick up. Then when her voicemail came up, I could just hang up. However, that hope went out the window when she picked up on the fifth ring.

"Hey Marco," she said on the line.

"Hey Jada," I replied. "How was your day?"

"It was okay, I guess. I didn't do much. I just chilled at home, watched some TV… I think I might have just stepped out on the balcony to get some air, but that's as close to stepping out the house as I got today. You?"

"I stopped by the beach with a few friends of mine," I replied.

"Same ones as the barbecue?"

"For the most part – Antoine wasn't there."

"I see." She went quiet for a bit. "…Marco, what do you think about me?"

I paused for a moment as I sat up and turned my body until my feet was on the floor. "I think you're pretty cool, Jada. You honestly have been the best part of me moving here."

"Are you being honest, or are you being a cornball?"

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Both… but only because you bring the cornball out of me." Now it was her chuckling. I smiled – I enjoyed it. But my smile faded. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I am… I just been thinking how I enjoyed the times we talk. Hopefully we can hang out some more. …I think you're pretty cool, too."

"Thanks," I said as I tried to fight off the goofy smile on my face. "And we will hang out more. I promise. I'll even take you out to dinner sometime."

"I'll hold you to that," she replied with a cheery tone. "Just tell me when and where."

"I will."

We talked for about an hour more before we ended the call. I sat there as I debated myself in my head. The more logical side of me knew that dating this girl was a risk. And it wasn't just a risk of my life – it was the risk of the others' lives as well, as well my father… and their parents. That should have been enough to end the debate right there. But there was a part of me that was selfish. There was a part of me tired of not having nice things because of our little guerilla war. There was a part of me that was tired of being feeling envious and left out whenever the others would talk about plans for a date or double date while I was around.

…Come to think of it, I was tired of being tired.

What's the worst that can happen?

I already knew the answer.