Chapter 18

I ran, scuffling as fast as I could with my barbed feet, trying to gain traction against the polished linoleum, but the shoe held me in place with more force than I could ever hope to supply.

But then, suddenly, the foot lifted, and I was free. The giant owner of the massive shoes walked on, oblivious to me.

My tail felt numb–broken. With one footstep, the human walking by had crushed my bones like matchsticks. A helpless feeling washed over me. Against anything larger than myself, I was powerless.

But I couldn't resign yet. As much as I wanted out of this disgusting, futile little body, I had a mission, and that meant I had to find out who the giant that had just crushed my tail was.

I scuttled up the wall, dragging my tail limply behind me, and looked down with one eye at the walking human. I couldn't tell for sure, because my brain was still having trouble reconciling the Treecko's vision with my human memories, but I thought it was Chapman.

I didn't want to follow him on his path down the hallway. I wanted to leave it for another day, or perhaps never pursue him again. I wanted to demorph, go to class, and never think about Yeerks or Andalites or morphing ever again. But I couldn't. I had a mission: spy on Chapman. And there he was.

He was the mission. I was the leader. It was as simple as that.

And watching him might help me save my dad.

I crawled along the wall after him, trying my best to stay out of his sight. In my mind, I went over the plan. Yellow and I had discussed it when I'd acquired the Treecko. I would set up camp underneath Chapman's desk, or on a wall, and then listen into his phone calls in hopes he'd let something slip about Yeerks or the Yeerk pool. Every hour and a half or so, I'd head back to my locker, demorph, remorph, and go back to listen some more.

Of course, I'd be missing class to do so. I had a cover story planned if this happened to take all day and the school called my parents to tell them I'd skipped school. If anyone asked, I'd gone home before first period because I wasn't feeling well. My parents wouldn't be the wiser–they weren't home anyway. My mom was at work, and my dad was...

Probably doing Yeerk things.

I was jolted out of my thoughts when Chapman stopped far before I expected him to. I thought through the turns we'd already taken. Unless I'd lost track, there was at least one more hallway and a left turn to go. Had I zoned out?

Chapman swung open a door, and all of a sudden the smell of cleaning chemicals hit me. My assistant principal had just opened the door to the janitor's closet.

I darted through the doorway after him, making sure to stay in the shadows of the dark closet. I hid on the wall next to a mop head and watched.

My reptilian eyes could see through the darkness far better than human eyes. It was like they were tracking heat as well as light. I could see Chapman moving in the shadows, messing around with a sink. He twisted the faucet around a few times, flicked a switch on the wall that I'd assumed was for the lights, and then hit a button on the sink that I could only assume was its garbage disposal.

Except instead of hearing the whirring, grinding noise garbage disposals usually make as they shred bits of gunk, I saw something that at first I couldn't believe. I told myself that the Treecko's eyes were playing tricks on me, but then I looked again, and a third time, and I knew that there was no mistaking it.

The wall had opened. Where there had been a solid brick wall before was now a gaping hole. No, not just a hole. A doorway. It smelled strange–different from the janitor's closet. And there were sounds... sounds I could swear I recognized.

Chapman stepped into the doorway, and I realized that there were stairs through it, heading down somewhere my eyes weren't powerful enough to see.

And then I heard it. It was faint, almost as quiet as a whisper, but clear nonetheless.

"Nooo!"

Through that doorway, from what sounded like miles away, came a human scream of despair. And then I understood the sounds I'd vaguely recognized before. Crying. Human crying and wailing.

Hearing those sounds, I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that they came from prisoners awaiting their grim fate, waiting for a Yeerk slug to squirm into their ear and take over their mind with a vice grip stronger than any chains. It was the pitiful cry of a captured human being waiting to become a Controller.

Chapman entered the doorway and shut it behind himself.

I'd found the Yeerk pool.

It was right under my school.