A/N: I know the Animorphs aren't really close, but this is more my idea of how they would act if they all chilled out a little and really enjoyed themselves. I do not own anything pertaining to the Animorphs. Those all belong to K. A. Applegate. Travis and Dave are my own characters.

Chapter 5: Crossing the River

The Animorphs and I surveyed the wasted campsite. Very few tents remained and almost no bags. Jake later said they owed the survival of their belongings to me: he said that they had to hand it to me, I could pitch a sturdy tent.

"Hey dudes and dudettes!" Dave called, sauntering up the beach. He was sopping wet, for which the students were grateful as he neared them: the absence of his overpowering stench was a great relief.

A few other guys and I managed to rig a makeshift shelter for everyone out of the remains of the tents. Exhausted, we all curled up together for warmth and fell sound asleep to the rushed lapping of the waves.

The next morning, Dave roused us and announced we'd have to cross the river. He had some of his junior guides on the other side of the river with vans and buses, ready to truck everyone back. The only thing to do was get across the river which was still flowing rather swiftly. I had loaned Dave the use of my water-proof satellite phone with built in GPS. With a little help, Dave was able to send a message to his guides with our location, status and the order to bring transportation.

For a while, there was debate about how to get across. Some were advocating swimming; others wanted to string a rope across. The river was about 40 yards wide, so neither of those ideas were really valid options. Nobody had 40 yards of rope, so the latter idea was out and it'd have to be a born swimmer to be able cross the current raging in the middle of the river. I grinned at Rachel.

"I've got an idea," I said.

Marcos smiled and rubbed his hands together. "This sounds like it might just work."

Rachel rolled her eyes, but slipped away unnoticed. She soon returned and nodded. The Animorphs gathered in a small knot to watch the proceedings.

I waited a few minutes and approached the water's edge. Some people stopped to watch as I waded out and started slapping my hands on the water. Mutters began to start up: "…gone crazy…", "…lost something…", "won't catch a fish that way…"

All of a sudden, two dolphins surfaced nearby, opening their forever-smiling mouths and talking with loud whistles and creaks.

"Toss the rope in the water when I get close," I yelled at the guides on the other side of the river. I plunged into deeper water and the dolphins swam into place. This is going to work, I thought. I was vaguely aware of Mr. Dixon's protestations, but I focused on the guides preparing to toss the rope to me.

As we got to the middle of the river, I could feel the current picking up, so I tucked my legs up close to my body to shield myself between the two dolphins as much as possible.

Finally, we were in range for the guides to toss the thick rope to me. After a couple of fails, one of the dolphins lunged for the rope, surprising me. I swallowed a good bit of river water and coughed violently for a minute or two. The dolphin looked at me apologetically.

I apologize.

"No worries," I spluttered, grabbing the rope and pulling myself up the side of the embankment. The guides reached down to help me up as I scrambled over the edge. I turned and waved to those on the other side.

"Everyone, come on!"

People looked at each other uncertainly. Then Cassie strode purposefully into the water. She draped her arms over the dolphins' backs like I did and, when they reached the other side of the river, she pulled herself up as well.

And so it went for the next hour and a half. Somebody fashioned a harness of sorts out of the makeshift shelter so that 6 people could go across at a time.

When everyone was safely over, the dolphins gave a weary leap and disappeared downstream. We were all herded into buses and Mr. Dixon insisted on taking roll three times before he would allow the buses to depart. Everyone was clapping me on the back and asking how I knew to call the dolphins. I just shrugged and said it was gut instinct. I'd seen the dolphins helping students during the flood and hoped that they were still around. This launched other students into telling their stories about being saved by the dolphins, effectively getting me out of the spotlight.

Once the bus gave the initial lurch up the dirt path and things were quieting down, I turned around to face Jake and Rachel. "You guys owe me some explanations," I said mildly, folding my arms on the seat, putting my head down and looking up at them with expectant eyes.

Rachel laughed and Jake shook his head, grinning. "Wait til everyone's asleep," he whispered, glancing around the bus, "We'll tell you then."

I shook my head and opened the sodden backpack. All the food had been swept away in the flood, but I still had the MREs! I ripped open the spaghetti and the shrimp jambalaya and passed them around to the others, keeping the meat patty one to share with Marco who was sitting next to me. Everyone said the meat patty smelled like dog food, but it was the only MRE with two wheat snacks and the bacon cheddar spread to go with them. I smiled as I munched on one of the wheat snacks and had the meat patty with the BBQ sauce in my lap. The rest I gave to Marco. We all munched quietly.

A little bit later, everyone was asleep on the bus and I turned around expectantly.

And so it was that, in the back of a dirty old bus that stunk of algae, I heard the secret of the Animorphs. When we got home, Rachel and Jake took me out into the nearby woods to meet Tobias and Ax. And I became a part of the resistance against the Yeerks. Later, it would be my privilege to provide valuable equipment and skills for the use of the Animorphs in the war for humanity.