The building where humans seek wisdom is infiltrated.

Are you positive?

I have merged myself seamlessly with their society. It will be as if I were here forever.

Is that the end of your report?

No. I have urgent news. There is another invasion of earth. Humans are unaware of this one, too. It is being conducted by beings called yeerks. You'll have to send another agent to deal with it. I have unfortunately tied myself to the human world.

I will dispatch one immediately.

Agent 56 out.

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Mary jogged down dirt road, wondering why she was here. After school, something had told her to follow the short, black girl sitting next to her off the bus. So now she was ducking behind trees, trying not to be seen. It was almost impossible, as the road to wherever they were going was practically bare.

The girl suddenly turned around, and Mary froze behind a maple tree. The girl looked left and right, and then spun and hurried left.

Mary crept after her, trying not to crunch the leaves. Voices! Something told her, a second before she heard them herself. Mary threw herself to the side and landed in a foul smelling pile of something.

"Well, that doesn't make sense!" A voice said. "Maybe you were mistaken."

"I'm sure somebody was following me." The girls voice said loudly. They were getting closer.

"Well, I don't see anything." Another voice said. Marco! Mary was puzzled. What was he doing here?

(I do!) A voice yelled in her head. (Lying in the horse manure!)

Horse manure? Mary shuddered, but crawled forwards, trying to get away from the voices.

"Ah!" She was yanked up roughly by her hair. She was twisted painfully around and was looking into an angry female face. Her eyes were dangerous blue, and her hair looked wild and windswept despite the breezeless day.

"Well, well, well." The girl sneered. Rachel, Her mind whispered. "Hello, Miss Manure. What brings you here today?"

"Rachel, calm down." A voice said. Jake. "Put her down."

She looked at the other three people standing around her. Cassie. Tobias. And...Axim-Phi-Aximil-Phil-

"Ah!" She grabbed her head as it exploded into pain. She kept staring at the oddly beautiful boy standing in front of her, focusing through the red haze. Aximilli. Philup. Aximilli! Philup! AXIMILLI! PHILUP!

Two pairs of arms lifted her up, and her head was turned away from the boy. The red haze cleared.

"Are you ok?" Jake asked. She fell over and threw up.

"Yuck." Marco commented. "How about we leave this increasingly gross area?"

They all walked towards the barn, Jake and the boy with two names supporting her.

Mary let them take her into the barn. She was too overwhelmed and in too much pain to resist. She felt herself drop onto a pile of hay, and she just let herself lay there.

"Do you need help?" Marco said, loudly and slowly. Mary looked at the blurry face above her. "Uuuuh." She moaned incomprehensibly.

"I want to know why you're here." Jake said coldly.

Mary closed her eyes. Love, Love, Love. She thought.

Jake's expression suddenly turned gentle, and slightly goofy. "Do you-" He stammered. "Would you like- to go out with me?"

Cassie glared at Mary angrily, and Mary felt a chill run down her body. Mary closed her eyes and thought. Like, Like, Like.

Cassie's expression flickered for a moment, but reverted quickly to hatred again.

"Yes, of course." Mary said, grinning evily. Jake led her out the barn, with six pairs of eyes staring at him in surprise.