A/N: Wrestling with Chapter 11 as we speak. Had fun in Germany but didn't manage to get much writing done, so I'm waaaaay behind. 'Pologies 'bout that.

The Mistake

Chapter 10

I was running flat-out, gasping in the stale air, sneakersricocheting off the hard floor. I ploughed through the crowd, clawing at their grabbing hands. I knew I was being chased, but I was in full sprint now. In the cages, people were watching my progress: some cheering wildly, others silent, following me with hollow eyes in sombre faces. In the voluntary area, a girl my age with ginger hair was placing a bet as to how far I'd get before—

WHAM!

"Aaaaaaah!"

An enormous, muscular, brown-spined Hork-Bajir was in front of me, stamping its Stegosaurus feet threateningly. I dodged clumsily sideways, caught by surprise, and ran straight into the waiting claws of another one of the huge, bladed beasts. It caught me up into a crushing bear-hug, and I kicked it desperately, but it didn't seem to even feel the bruise.

I froze as the edge of one of its elbow-blades tickled my throat. I whimpered.

"Grrt fash! Quiet!" the first alien commanded in the strange welding of English and its own language as I'd heard before. I didn't need telling twice. The only movement I made was trembling, and the only sound gulping sobs.

The Hork-Bajir carried me effortlessly back to the pool, blade still close enough to my throat to terrify me into submission. I could hear groans and boos from the cages, jeers from the voluntary area.

Next to the "in" pier, the Hork-Bajir set me down and manhandled me to the edge, his horny skin digging painfully into my arm. Looking down at the thick brown liquid, I had a sudden wild urge to run again, whether they killed me or not—but by then I was being forced to my knees, and I barely had time to snatch a breath before I was choking and struggling with my head below the surface. The Hork-Bajir held me down firmly, but didn't bother to threaten me again: he had me where he wanted me.

I shrieked briefly and wriggled in vain as Uric began to scrunch himself into my ear, and I felt the tickle across my face as a stream of bubbles raced each other to the surface. Then came the pain, and I screamed again; the Hork-Bajir hauled me out of the water, clamping my arms to my sides like a living straitjacket. A drowned host was of no use to anyone.

A wave of dizziness and nausea made me dry-retch, and then Uric straightened me like a puppet, thanking the Hork-Bajir. The huge dinosaur-thing nodded to him, then stepped backwards to allow him to walk us away from the pier.

A few people were still staring curiously. Uric glared at them with my eyes as he berated me. Really, Joan, what has gotten into you? You've embarrassed me. I thought you saw how good this relationship was.

Good for you, maybe! I screeched hysterically. Stealing people's bodies! Get out!

Joan, if you just--

Get out! Get out! Get out of my head!

I screamed as we met Erika and the rest of our group. I cried as we ascended the long stairway. I threatened as we climbed, one by one, through the hidden trap-door and dried our hair. And I pleaded as we rejoined the meeting, surrounded by happy faces which would one day be controlled by an alien slug whilst the real person was crushed into a tiny corner of their own mind, forced to spend the rest of their life in a cage, whether mental or tangible.

That was rather poetic, offered Uric. He was still trying to get back on my good side, to pretend that the incident in the Yeerk Pool had not happened.

I didn't answer. All the resistance in the world had not helped the people in those cages, and it had done me no good, either. Now I brooded silently.

The meeting was hardly a formal occasion, so people popped in and out as they pleased. I hoped I was wrong, but I suspected that several of them had an invitation down to the Yeerk Pool.

At last, the end arrived, allowing everyone to say their goodbyes and go off to their various ways of getting home. Erika and I lived near each other, so we were walking home together, but we didn't talk much. Erika kept looking at me sideways like her Yeerk wanted to ask about what had happened down in the Pool, but it was too risky a topic to discuss out loud. I wasn't talking to Uric, and he seemed to have given up on me. So, all things considered, I was relieved when Uric bid goodbye to Erika and trudged into my house.

As usual, I fell asleep before Uric, but my night was far from restful. I dozed and woke fitfully, panicking every time I found myself trapped in the blackness of a body I couldn't control, that had its eyes closed. It was impossible to tell whether Uric was asleep.

At last, the sun dragged itself above the horizon, bringing the dawn chorus with it. School was even slower than the day before, especially as Uric hardly took any notice of me, and I ignored him when he did. I'd reached the silent, sulking stage.

I hardly noticed as Uric munched on cornflakes, or as he puzzled over what "vorletzt" meant in German class. I only started paying attention when yet another nasty surprise was announced after school. Jake came running up, looking like he'd rather not be doing whatever he was doing.

"Er, I saw that you were upset… and… stuff," he began lamely. "About Tobias. And… I'm sure, you know, wherever he is, that he's still friends with you."

Uric, like a slimy idiot, said in surprise: "Friends? I thought th—that we were a couple."

Jake's expression at that little outburst was all I needed to confirm that my hope had been false. My stupid, false, vain, juvenile hope. But hey, in a world where slugs take over people's brains, who needs puppy love?

Jake said, "Er… I don't know… sorry," and high-tailed it out of there. I don't blame him. The silence was… awkward.

Uric looked confused for a couple of seconds, then started walking towards the school gate. He wasn't talking, so I guessed his little slug mind was buzzing away. Me? I was curled up in my own little corner of misery. All around, people churned their way out of school, and up in the sky, some big bird hovered against the obnoxiously fluffy clouds.

So Uric was striding with my legs towards the gate, until he stopped suddenly. He must have come to quite a revelation, as he said aloud: "That wolf knew your name."

If he was going to elaborate, he was interrupted by someone shoving past in a hurry. "Oi—watch it!" Uric called at Marco,who was marching at quite a pace away from the school. I envied him right then—he could walk back home to his normal life, maybe watch TV, talk to his dad of his own violation, with no more worry than that there was double math tomorrow.

Right then, that was all I wanted, too. I wanted to go home, greet my mum, grab a Tracker bar, and slob.

But Uric had other ideas. He was walking purposefully towards the gate, and turning to the right, pushing through the crowds of students to follow Jake.