A/N: Hi, fans. (grins) Here is chapter five, again beta'd by the inbesmirchable Araeph. Enjoy!
Oh, yeah, and this chapter has been edited for continuity reasons. Just mentioning it so that people re-reading don't think they're going mad. (wink)
The Mistake
Chapter 5
I screamed, and so did Uric. We stumbled backwards through the door, back into the gloomy hallway, tripped over the step and landed hard on my rear. I half-expected not to feel it, but no such luck – evidently Uric and I were both hurt, because he exclaimed: (Aah! Ouch, this was certainly not a good start.)
He opened up my mind again, looking for all I knew about wolves, even as he scrambled to my feet and backed up against a stainless steel locker. (Would you mind not doing that?) I asked, panic making my thought-voice squeaky. (It's really… impolite.)
The animal stopped growling for a moment and turned its head slightly to look in the direction of the quadrangle. Then it turned back to us. It wasn't moving forward any more; it almost seemed to be guarding us.
(Why is there only one wolf? Where is the rest of its pack?) demanded Uric. (Of course! They are still in the quadrangle. If I can escape this one, I am free!)
I had an uneasy feeling that a human could not outrun a wolf, but Uric had a different plan. My hand slipped beneath my coat, questing for the gun. My fingers found the smooth, warm handle –
Another wolf, even bigger than the first, crouched in the doorway! It saw my face and seemed shocked for a second, then lifted its black gums in a snarl.
Uric stepped backwards and dropped my hand, defeated. All his exits were blocked, and if he shot one wolf the other would surely leap. I could feel that he had given up. Then he had an idea. He looked around wildly, then bent down towards the first wolf, extending my trembling hand as I might to a pet dog. "N…nice wolf," he said, not having to fake the quiver in my voice. "Good wolf…"
(You said they were Andalites,) I said accusingly.
(But they do not know I am here,) he replied.
Of course. By pretending to be a normal kid, not giving away the fact that he was just a play-acting Yeerk inside my head, he was trying to get the Andalites to leave us alone. (It is me they want,) he said, (me and all my brother and sister Yeerks. They will stop at nothing. They might kill you to get to me. Every Yeerk knows this.)
If possible, I felt even more afraid. What had I let myself in for?
The first wolf looked quizzically at the newcomer, who lifted his snout to sniff me. Uric froze, and I would have done the same. Then both wolves lowered their heads in twin snarls.
(Don't try to fool us, Yeerk,) growled one. (We can smell you.) I was shocked: they were using the same silent thought-speech as Uric. Were they related, Yeerks and Andalites?
(Do not insult me,) snapped Uric. (We are not even from the same planet.) Out loud, he said: "So you have found me, Andalite. What do you propose to do now? Kill this human? I think not. So shall we skip the pleasantries and get to the part where I walk away unharmed?"
He was trying to sound confident and unafraid, but I could hear the tremor in my voice, and I was sure the wolves noticed it too. Me, I was shocked all over again, this time at Uric's cold mention that I might be killed. (What are you doing?) I screamed at him silently, but he was concentrating on the wolves.
The larger wolf narrowed its eyes. (Don't mess with us, Yeerk.) Did its voice sound somehow familiar? But no: the only thought-voice I'd heard was Uric's, and it couldn't be him.
(She has a point,) said the smaller one. (What can we do?)
Two more wolves came loping up to us, framed in the open doorway. (All the kids are safely away,) one reported. She had a long strip of denim in her jaws. (The Controllers took off, too, though there's one who'll need a new pair of trousers.) She dropped the denim.
The pair noticed me, and became silent. (Private thought-speak,) Uric explained. (I think the other two were using it before, as well.)
The largest wolf spoke again. (What were you doing up here? Why weren't you with the others?)
"What do you think I was doing?" Uric asked. He was a little more confident now that he was sure they weren't going to kill us. "I was getting acquainted with this delightful host."
(You know what we mean. We saw the people – the humans being taken in in fives, coming out again in fives. What makes you so special?)
"You want to know why? I'll tell you. It's because this human is one of the many who want to become part of the mighty Yeerk Empire."
(What are you talking about?)
Uric sounded gleeful. "She is a voluntary host. That's why she was infested separately, away from the pool."
One of the wolves made a noise of disgust. Another said: (I don't believe you!) I wasn't sure which one. It was true. I had let this happen. I had surrendered my body to this… thing.
For Tobias. I had done it to find Tobias. But even now, I wondered: had that been a lie? Did Chapman actually intend to help me? Or had he just used Tobias' disappearance as a bribe that he never intended to fulfil?
"You don't believe me?" sneered Uric. "Then I'll let her tell you firsthand."
Then he was gone. It took me by surprise, was so sudden that I failed to brace myself and fell to my knees with a noise of disbelief. Slowly, I moved my fingers, then my arms, then I got to my feet and stood by myself.
"Are you gone?" I whispered. And my mouth moved, my tongue rippled and my lips shaped the words.
(I'm still here,) said Uric.
(Well?) said the lead wolf, moving forwards slightly. They had all taken a step back when I had fallen. (Joan?)
"You're… Andalites?" I said hesitantly. I twined my fingers together edgily, then untangled them and gingerly touched my head.
(Yes.)
(Tell them, Joan,) Uric urged.
"I… I went into a classroom," I said hesitantly. The wolves regarded me, their expressions indecipherable. "With Chapman. He had a tank… full of… of Yeerks. He said… he promised…"
My mouth froze, my limbs locked. My face, my fingers, even the breath that blew down my windpipe was again no longer mine. Uric stared out through my eyes, aimed them and focused them, all despite me. He started the vibrations in my throat that came out as words. "Satisfied?"
(We're wasting our time here,) said the wolf. He spared one last glance full of anger and disappointment, though whether for me or the Yeerk I was not sure. Then he was gone, and the others with him, vanishing into the night like silent grey ghosts.