Three days past. Three days of Cassie being practically tied to my hip was over. All during that time, I was anxious to know what Cassie had gone through… or was going through… for this to be necessary. I tried to have a bit of fun as I took to her to some places – a beach here, a food place there, and even a nightclub, which she wasn't interested in. And that was cool with me. Nightclubs weren't my thing either. When we weren't about, we spent time in the hotel room, just watching TV or just talking about the upcoming schoolyear. Overall, there were some highlights, but as we drove back, I couldn't help be glad that it was over.

As I drove, Cassie talked on her phone. I wasn't really paying attention – I barely even noticed that I didn't have the radio on. As I pulled up to a stoplight, Cassie was finishing her call.

"Okay, we'll meet you there," she said. "…Yes, I'm sure. My parents won't be home." I turned my head and looked at her for a few moments. "Okay. See you soon." She hung up the phone and looked at me. "That was Jake… and the others. They're going to meet us."

"…Are they part of whatever it is you're going through?" I asked.

"…I'd say yes, but somehow, that seems like an understatement." She smiled sheepishly. I sighed as I looked out through the windshield.

"You sure this ain't something gang-related?"

"We're not trying to jump you into something." I saw her smile from my peripheral. "Just… I need you to keep an open mind and…" I gave her a sideways glance. "And I just realized I sound I'm trying to invite you to an orgy."

I chuckled as I hit the gas after the light turned green.

After about an hour drive, I pulled into the parking lot of my dad's house. From there, we took the extremely short walk next door to Cassie's place. There was already a car there – the others were there.

"Shouldn't we grab our bags?"

"We'll do so afterwards," Cassie said reassuringly as she unlocked the door. From there, we stepped inside.

In the den was Jake, Marco, and Rachel… along with three other faces I haven't saw before. I started to feel even more nervous – especially since the coffee table was off to the side. Marco looked up at me and smiled.

"Well if it ain't the star QB," he said. I nodded.

"Yeah, that's me," I replied dryly. I looked at the three unfamiliar faces.

"Oh… the dirty blonde kid is Erek," Rachel explained.

"Hi," Erek greeted.

"Handsome over there is Tobias, my boyfriend."

"Pleased to meet you," Tobias sounded.

"And the last guy is Ax."

"…Ax?" I repeated.

"A pleasure. Pleasure. Plea. Suuuuuure."

I blinked a few times. All of the others gave Ax looks of exasperation.

"Anyway, you're probably wondering why we're all gathered here," Jake said as he signaled to the empty spot next to him on the couch.

"Yeah, I am," I confirmed as I walked over and took a seat on it. "I got questions." I looked around at everyone. "Like, why did Cassie and I have to be attached at the hip for three days? What does this have to do with all of you? And…" I paused when my eyes landed on Rachel. I blinked once, realizing what she was wearing. "…Why the heck are you wearing just a leotard?"

"All of this will make sense in a minute." I looked over at Jake, who held out a small waste bin towards me. "Just hold on to this, you might need it for what Rachel was about to show you."

"…" I looked at the bin, then at him. With a sigh, I took the bin from him. I really wanted to just leave, but at this very moment, but I figured I might as well humor him. "Just know that if this is some kind of weird prank, I'm swinging on you."

"Fair enough," Jake replied. He then looked at Rachel. "Um… let's go with the grizzly bear, shall we?"

I looked at Rachel after he said this. I watched as she closed her eyes and a look of concentration graced her face. Before I could ask what she was doing, I saw her face… no, her whole freaking head change shape into something that wasn't human. It looked like someone took a human's face and grafted it onto some kind of animal skull. But it didn't end there. Fingers became shorter and her body started to swell. I could have sworn I heard the sound of bones cracking. Suddenly I had the urge to throw up. And I did, letting loose the contents of my stomach as I heaved into the bin Jake gave me.

I looked back up as I placed the bin down, and then I started to see what Rachel was turning into – she was turning into a grizzly bear. Once her transformation was complete, I looked at the grizzly bear with my jaw dropped and my eyes wide open.

"…What the…?"

(Boo,) I heard a familiar voice.

"OH SHIT!" I suddenly scooted up the couch until I was sitting on the top of the back of the couch.

"Is my memory failing, or did we not agree that we weren't going to scare the man any more than we have to?" Marco said with a bit of heated sarcasm. I heard the familiar voice chuckle again. Then it ceased.

(Sorry, I couldn't help it.) The bear then lifted up its right paw and beckoned towards me. (Come on. It's still Rachel. I won't maul you, I promise.) I looked at Jake, who gave me a nod. I looked at the bear. Hesitantly, I moved down the couch before I stood up. I slowly walked up to bear that was apparently Rachel. Once she was within arm's reach, I slowly reached my hand out and placed it on top of her head. I moved my hand around, feeling her fur. (See? I told you. Now why don't you be a sweetheart and get mommy a honeycomb?)

I withdrew my hand and chuckled – not so much because of her joke as it was the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

"You okay?" Cassie asked. I turned towards her and shook my head.

"I'm starting to wonder if I accidentally smoked some 'dro on my way here," I replied.

"'Dro?" Jake asked.

"Marijuana," Cassie, Rachel, Marco, and I explained in unison. I looked back at Cassie.

"So, did I?" I asked.

"No," she said. "Everyone one of us can morph into different animals… except for Erek. And thing is, yourself included, there's only six humans in this whole room."

I tilted my head. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah um…" Cassie looked over at Ax. "Can you de-morph for me? And Erek, would you kindly turn off your hologram?"

And he did just that. When Cassie said that only six of us in the room was human, I expected to see Erek and Ax turn into like those short green bug eyed aliens. I didn't expect Erek to reveal himself be a robot that looked like Snoopy if he was reimagined as a Star Wars droid. And I didn't expect Ax to transform into some kind of alien centaur with scorpion like take, four eyes (two on stalks like a snail), slits for what I suppose was his nose, and no mouth.

I was almost speechless.

Almost.

"…Any more surprises?"

"Well… I'm technically not human anymore," Tobias said.

I looked at him. I opened my mouth to ask him what he meant, but then closed it. Instead, I waved my hand towards him. Apparently getting the message, Tobias stood up. Much like Rachel before, he closed his as a look of concentration came over his face. After some moments, he transformed a human to a hawk of some kind. I stared, this trying my best to wrap my head around all of this. I then turned my head towards Cassie.

"Um… I…" I bowed my head and covered my mouth with my hands. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. After releasing it, I straightened my head and looked at Cassie again. "…What… How…? You…?"

Cassie smiled at me before she grabbed me by the hand and led me back to the spot I occupied earlier. "You're going to need to sit down – it's a long story."

That was an understatement.

As everyone shifted back to their previous forms (with Rachel thankfully getting dressed in proper clothes, because I really didn't want to have to figure out what to say if Cassie's pops walked in) and as Marco and Jake moved the coffee table back to its proper place, Cassie started from the beginning and explained everything. All the while, I sat there, taking it all in. It all seemed like it came out of a comic book, or a sci-fi series for teens – albeit an entertaining one. She didn't skimp on details, with the others chiming in to give their takes and fill in a few things. What really stuck out to me was the part about the Yeerks – a bunch of alien slugs that hijacked that took over the brains of their hosts and completely controlled to the point that they can read their mind at will like it's a library.

"So basically, every single person I talk to – outside of you guys – could be a controller?"

"That is the logical conclusion," Ax replied. "Conclu. Sion. Con. Clujiiiiiin."

"And I can definitely confirm you met a few," Jake added. "Remember my brother Tom?"

I sighed. "Oh, right… y'all did mention him. Along with The Sharing." I shook my head. "I knew there was something off about them." I stood up and walked a few steps and placed my hands on my heads. "…Even my own pops can be a controller?"

"If it makes you feel any better, there's a good chance he's not," Cassie offered. I looked at her. She smiled sympathetically. "It's a lot to take in, I know. Just, take it easy for a bit."

"I…" I sighed. "I think I need to head back to campus." I looked at Jake and Rachel. "Y'all need a ride?"

"Yeah, we'll take it," Rachel said as she stood up. "Besides, someone needs to keep an eye on you after all of this stuff we dumped on your lap."

She had a point.

There was one week left until school officially started. Over that time, I was looking at everyone different. Every time I saw someone, I couldn't help but think that that person could be one of them – one of these controllers. I tried to get myself to relax, but it was hard to. And it only got worse when a few members of The Sharing tried to reach out to me.

It got a point where I just sat down in a random hallway. With my butt on the floor, I drew my knees up to my chest and placed my folded arms on it. I leaned my head onto my forearms and closed my eyes as I tried to clear my mind. I took in a deep breath. At that moment, I almost wished that Cassie and company… these Animorphs, as they called themselves… were just a bunch of weirdos with a twisted sense of humor. I could have just told them not to talk to me anymore. I could have moved into a different dorm and not worry about them anymore. It would have been so much easier than walking around wondering if the people around had an alien parasite in their heads.

"God, why?"

"Question of my life, I'd say."

I quickly shot my head up to see Marco standing over me. He had a small smile on his face. I let loose a sigh of relief. "Hey Marco," I greeted.

"How're you holding up, Big Guy?" he asked as he sat down next to me. I just noticed he had two bags in his hand.

"Not well," I replied plainly. He handed a bag to me. "What's this?"

"Donuts," he said. "It's a lot we laid on you, so I figured you could use a pick-me-up. I know our strength and conditioning coach would eat us alive, but given the circumstance, I'll risk." He raised his eyebrows. "I hope you like Boston Cream."

I looked down at the bag for a moment. I then nodded.

"I do."