Chapter 8: No Going Back

We couldn't attack that day because the others had school, and it would look suspicious if none of them turned up to school. Tobias and I don't have that problem anymore, and Ax never went to school on Earth anyway. That made us the recon team. Erek said that all the entrances were in the subway stations, but Ax reasoned that they would have to get their fighters and shuttles into the pool somehow. We morphed birds and coaster around town, riding the thermals up high before gliding down to the next one. Tobias showed us the air channels that the buildings formed, like a water slide. Even with the lightest breeze up higher, the wind funneled through the alleys and streets like a hurricane. Just gliding was fun enough, but I admit I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I flapped hard, quickly pulling away from the others. The windows sped past, a blue-black blur. I dove down to street level, dodging flag poles and trees. The lunchtime rush hour was on, and I zigzagged around the slow moving cars, under and over power lines and traffic lights before spiraling around a sky-scraper until the rush had finally worn off. I landed on a aerial of some sort, and caught my breath. Tobias and Ax caught up after a bit and perched nearby.

< I remember when I first morphed the hawk, I did the exact same thing as you. It really gives you a sense of freedom, to go wherever you want, whenever you want, doesn't it? >

< Yeah, just savouring the moment. I wish I could do this everyday. > I stretched my wings out, feeling the warmth of the midday sun on them. I definitely had to do this when I morphed back. < Hey guys. I can see my house from here! > I know it's very cliché, but it was true. Ax came over closer.

< You cannot go back to your family. By now the Yeerks will have every single controller on Earth searching for you. You represent a new species of Controllers for them, and as such would not have released you unless you were infested. You are lucky that the Peace Movement helped you escape to warn us. If they intended to conquer another planet using Controllers like yourself, then the conditions there must prevent them from using Hork-Bajir. They do not like to be on the loosing side, the Yeerks. > It wasn't exactly comforting to learn that I could never return home to my family, so I decided there and then to make the Animorphs my new family. They understand that everyone has their individual quirks, some larger than others, mine bigger than most. I fit in with them, something I couldn't do by myself. If I had lips, I would have smiled.

< Hey. I think I've found something, > called Tobias. We flapped our way over to the building that he'd perched on, a high rise apartment complex.

< What's up? > I asked.

< The vacant block across the street. I think it's a hologram. You can see it waver here and there every so often. >

< Are you sure? How'd you find it? > No harm in asking if it helps us see other holograms.

< I was watching a crow trying to break open a snail by dropping it from a height. Only the snail never made an impact, it went straight through that rock over there. > I had to give it to him, he had a neat eye for detail. If there's one animal I'd want to be stuck as, it would have to be a hawk.

< How do you propose we make an entrance? > asked Ax.

< We do what the snail did. We drop through the roof. >

Author's Note:

I borrowed the "air-slide" idea from another fanfic I read a while ago, but I can't find it now. Credit to them for that. (Thx)

Mav