CHAPTER 3

We decided to avoid the rowdy human tourists and instead took the scenic route, headed towards Cassie's Animal Rehabilitation Centre. Of course, the scenic route meant travelling a further distance, but the park was beginning to get busy, which meant that the shorter route would actually take an hour or two to travel. The crowds would hold us back to ask questions and take pictures - the usual tourist things.
The Humans were only permitted to walk on a small path surrounded by short metal railings. They would mostly just talk to us, though some wanted to stroke us or touch our blades. I just assumed it was a human thing.
We all knew well enough to avoid being touched. It would usually just be innocent stroking, but once that innocent stroking turned out to be a kidnapping of a young child. Thankfully, security was tight on that day, and the child was quickly returned to his parents. We were lucky.
Since that day, Hork-Bajir do not allow Humans to get too close. They were untrustworthy and often dangerous.
We swung our way through the trees, Tal a few paces behind. The trunks began to appear less frequent as we moved closer to the near-edge of the park, and I flung myself into the clearing that neighboured the Rehab Centre car park once we were close enough.

The car park was filled with maybe eight shining vehicles. Cars were, as I had discovered, vital to the human lifestyle, not only as a means of transport, but as a kind of symbol for their lifestyle. The lot was taken up mostly by SUV's.
Cassie had a smaller car, however. It was bright blue, a colour which did not appear anywhere in the car park. Perhaps she had walked to work today.
I looked past the shining cars and saw the Rehabilitation Centre, a large, brown building, only recently built that sat overlooking the nearby city. It had many windows stretching up five tiers, moving up to a slated roof. Inside were what appeared to be offices, storage rooms and long narrow halls. A few humans could be seen walking around the halls and offices, looking busy. Most wore brown or black suits, from what I could make out. Others wore all-white or more casual clothing.
Clothes were yet another invention the humans used. It was made from soft material and came in many different colours and patterns. Humans wore them to keep warm when it was cold and to cover certain areas of the body that they deemed unsightly. I was always curious as to how, in warmer climates, they wouldn't overheat, but it never seemed to faze them. Then again, they were warm-blooded.
Also, what could be so offensive about their bodies? We never hid ourselves. We had nothing to hide. Maybe the humans did...
I shook my head and tried to concentrate. I was ecstatic after bounding my way here, and my mind had begun to wander. I strolled up to the tall hedge surrounding the car park and raised my long neck over the top to peer around. The sight of my own reflection in a car window made me jump.
Tal, meanwhile, was keeping himself busy. He was halfway up a tree, slicing up some bark and sinking his teeth into it.
I was quick to notice that I was still holding the piece he had given me. It was locked in my jaw. My tongue instinctively rubbed against the smooth surface.
A minute or so later, the bark was gone, and I had a satisfied stomach.
Tal moved up to my side as the last chunk slithered down my throat. "We go there?". He pointed a claw at the building.
"Yes. I think she will be inside." I gave him a serious look to make sure he was listening. "Stay by my side, I do not want you to get lost outside of the park."
He smiled cheerfully. "Tal not get lost. Always stay with Toby."
I supposed that it was convincing enough.
I leaped forward over the hedge and landed on the other side. Tal quickly followed, and we bounded into the centre of the car park.
"Hot." Tal said, referring to the tarmac beneath our feet. It had heated in the bare Earth sun."Ground strange. Not like grass."
"This is called Tarmac. It is a human invention. They use it so that they can move around in their cars." I directed his gaze over to the collection of brightly coloured vehicles nearby. "They are very fast. Be careful around them."
Tal stopped in the middle of the car park and looked at the ground. "Tarmac." He repeated, and began stomping his foot. He then walked to the front of one of the cars and placed his hands on the bright metal. He was quick to retreat his hands with a shocked yelp. "Hot!" Backing away from the bonnet, he moved right into the path of an oncoming car. The driver in the front reacted quickly and pplied the brakes, bringing the car to a stop about a metre away from collision.
Tal turned to face the car and jumped in horror. "Car attack Tal!" He leapt towards me and almost knocked me from my feet.
The human in the car just stared in awe at the two out-of-place Hork-Bajir. I shouted my apologies as he sped off and ran Tal off the road and around the corner of the building.
This little trip had already come close to disaster.
"Tal not like cars." He explained, beginning to calm down.
"You should have been more careful, Tal." I kept my voice quiet, so as not to draw any attention. "I think that from now on we should stay away from cars."
He nodded in strong agreement.
I swivelled my head to look along the side of the building. I saw the entrance nearby, a large glass box attached to the side of the building. At the top of this entrance was a long white banner, which read 'WELCOME TO CASSIE'S ANIMAL REHABILITATION CLINIC' in big red letters.
Over the years I had learnt to read the English language. This skill was very useful, especially when outside of the park.
We jogged over to the entrance and made our way through the rotating doors. As with most things Human, doors are a strange thing to us Hork-Bajir. Tal had not experienced rotating doors before, and was having trouble operating it. It took us a few minutes before we were both on the same side. I was already late to meet Cassie, and this just made me later.
After passing through the glass entrance, we came through into a larger room, the main reception of the building. There was a large desk at one side and a collection of small plastic seats at the other. The walls were covered in small paintings and plaques, sparing room for the occasional flora and soap dispensers. A small number of humans were dotted around the room, the majority of them sitting in the unappealing plastic seats. There was a woman sitting behind the reception desk reading a file. I recognised her. She was here when I had my teeth checked after "accidentally" biting a rock.
There was a Hork-Bajir ward here, the only one this side of the sanctuary. It was on the fourth floor and was blocked off from the rest of the building. They treated everything from broken bones to the Hork-Bajir equivalent of the flu.
They also gave jabs.
I hated the jabs.
The female sitting behind the desk was called Sue. She looked up from her file and raised her eyebrows as she saw us.
She was young, with long black hair which almost seemed to stretch under the desk where she sat. She also wore glasses over her big brown eyes, objects that humans wore to aid eyesight.

We walked as quietly as we could up to the desk, with the Human eyes in the room curiously dragging after us from the other side of the room.
"Hello." Sue said, sounding forcefully cheerful. "How are you today?"
The staff were always very kind to us here. They would try to instil confidence in us so that we would come back willingly when we were needed. It was usually very comforting, but I felt that it was put-on more often than not.
Sue was always sitting behind the desk and always looking terribly bored. It was no wonder she had to force on a smile when someone came in.
I was about to answer her question, but she was quick to interrupt. "Um… Where is your guide?" She questioned with a raised eyebrow. "You should know you are not allowed out of the park without your guide."
"Sue, it is me. Toby Hamee."
"Oh." She gave a look of embarrassment. For humans, this usually involves going slightly red in the face and averting the eyes. "Sorry, Toby, I didn't recognise you." She paused. "You should still come with your guide though. I don't care if you know your way around, you're still a Hork-Bajir."
"I know, Sue, but I did not have time to find my guide. I am late."
"You? Late?" She laughed.
Human laughter is strange. It sounded like they were hyper-ventilating.
"Yes. I am late. I overslept."
She looked shocked. "That's rather unlike you Toby." She lay back in her chair and took a mug of steaming liquid in her hand. "So, what are you late for?"
"I have come to meet Cassie. I was supposed to meet her in the park at midday, but I did not arrive in time. Did she come back here?"
"Yeah, she did. She went upstairs to her office. She may be busy, but I'll check for you." She smiled and held up a phone to her ear before looking over at Tal. He was staring nervously at the humans across the room, not paying attention to us at all.
Sue took the phone from her ear and spoke in a near-whisper, "Is he with you?"
"Yes. This is Tal." I nudged Tal and he turned to face Sue.
"Hello Tal." Sue said with a welcoming grin. "How are you?"
"Tal happy. Tal with Toby. How are you?" he replied, repeating what Sue had said, though maybe over-exaggerating the 'you'.
Maybe I should have been flattered. I smiled at him, nonetheless.
"I'm bored Tal. Very bored." She was using Human humour, and Tal did not understand.
"Tal help?" He offered.
"Uh, no thanks." She took up the phone again and pressed several buttons, before starting a conversation with who I assumed was Cassie.
"Hello - I have Toby here, says she's come to see you - She says she was late - OK - Alright - I'll make sure they do." She put down the phone, moved from behind the desk and signalled for us to follow.
She took us through a narrow hallway and into an even larger room. There were more seats here, and many more humans. Between the seats were low wooden tables covered in small, colourful books and magazines. There was a water dispenser in the middle of the room, accompanied by a rotating fan. In a far corner was a small cushioned area filled with toys and human children shouting at the top of their lungs.
Many of the humans were bored. They yawned, looked impatiently at the watches on their wrists. Some were fast asleep.
This was the waiting room. And that usually meant a long, long wait.
Before I became too uneasy, Sue took us to a distant side of the room, away from the human madness and to the Hork-Bajir waiting area. Thankfully, the accommodation was well thought-out. The seats were large enough, with extra room for our tails behind us; there was plenty of floor-space for those who did not want seats; and several plants and small trees decorated the area in an attempt to make us feel more at home. Being enclosed in a hot, busy room full of humans is far from fun, but the trees and plants made it somewhat bearable, especially since they blocked us from the sight of the humans.
It was not that we did not want to see the humans, but that we did not want them to see us. We were here to be treated, not to be tourist attractions.
"You two can stay here." Sue started. "Cassie is busy at the moment, but she should be down to collect you shortly." With that, she was gone. Tal and I were left to wait.
I glanced over to the clock, and it said 2:00. I looked away and closed my eyes.
I opened them again and this time the clock said 2:30. I had slept.
There was a heavy weight rested up against my side. I turned to see Tal, fast asleep, leaning partly against my arm and shoulder.
Cassie was still not here. Maybe I could just have another nap until she came…
I turned my head over to rest against the wall behind me.
"Ah!"
I jerked and threw Tal out of his sleep. He sat up drearily and followed my now wide-awake gaze at the human male who was sat right next to me.
"Hi." The human male started, seeming totally calm. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"
I stared at him in shock. He sat back in the seat which seemed far too large for him, legs crossed and bearing a confident smile. He wore a black, formal suit, as if he was involved in something important.
From what I could see, he was a relatively young human, perhaps mid-twenties to early-thirties. His eyes and short well-groomed hair matched a deep hazel-brown, and he held a strangely pleasant scent which seemed to radiate from his body. I believe it was called perfume or something similar.
"Um, hello?" He waved his hand before us and brought me out of my trance.
"Yes, you did wake us." I muttered "Did you want to talk?"
"I did want to talk, yes." He held out his hand, offering to shake. "My name is Terry. Terry O'Donnell."
We took turns to shake the strangely-accented man's hand, a formal human gesture which happened when two people met. Tal tried to repeat what I had done, but Hork-Bajir were not very good with shaking hands. The shaking was very much exaggerated.
"My name is Toby Hamee. This is my friend, Tal Ganat."
"It's nice to meet you both." Terry continued. "You know, I've never seen Hork-Bajir outside of Yellowstone before. Haven't met any up close neither."
"We prefer to stay inside the park," I explained, "We are here because we are meant to be meeting one of the staff who is currently busy."
He shot me a sideways stare, raising his eyebrows. "Haven't I seen you on TV before?"
"TV?" I cocked my head.
"Wait! I know now. You're in the House of Representatives, aren't you?" He said.
"Yes, I am."
"Wow. That must be very interesting."
I nodded, but in reality I had always found it very frustrating.
I finally gave into my curiosity. "Terry, are you trying to sell me something?"
He was stumped by my question. Tal, meanwhile, found himself lost from the conversation and stared blankly around the room.
"My dog is here," He stammered. "Broken leg. Poor thing."
"I am sorry to hear it." I decided to play along with what I assumed was a lie. "But I do not think you have answered my question." I politely told him.
He sighed and gave a defeated shake of his head. "Alright. You got me." He held up his hands. "I'm also here for business matters."
"Business matters?"
"I own a restaurant nearby. I'm advertising."
"So you have come to an animal rehabilitation clinic?"
"Everyone has to start somewhere." He said defensively.
"That is true." I reassured.
"Yes." His eyes glanced over us and rubbed his chin. "Say, Toby, how would you and Tal like to dine at my restaurant tonight?"
"Terry, you should know Hork-Bajir do not eat at restaurants. Firstly, we only eat bark, and I highly doubt that you specialise in this. Secondly, Hork-Bajir do not, and will not, use currency of any type, so how would you expect us to pay you?"
"My treat to you." He replied, with regained confidence.
I raised an eyebrow. "That is very generous, and I thank you for the offer, but I am afraid I will have to refuse."
He grinned. "I assure you that I have no bad intentions. I just need an outside opinion on my new restaurant. A visit from a Rep is just what I need."
I turned away to think. What was there to worry about? The place would probably be filled with humans, so there was no chance of kidnap without a handful of witnesses. They would not hold weapons in a restaurant, so we were not really in any physical danger.
And the Yeerks were defeated more than two years ago. There was none left on Earth, apart from those locked away.

Then again, it could all be one big lie.
Perhaps he was just being nice. If he was, it would be better for us to accept. If it turned out the place was not suitable, we could just leave before we got too close. I could leave Tal back in the park if I felt too uncomfortable.
"Alright Terry. If Tal and I have got available time, we will come." I looked over my shoulder to Tal who had started listening again. He nodded.
"Thank you, Ms. Hamee. I'm sure you won't regret it." He took up a large black briefcase from beside his seat and placed it in his lap. He pulled it open and digged through files of paper, before handing me a small piece of paper. "Well, I'd best be off. It was lovely to meet you both."
We shook hands again and he left, leaving us with only the scent of strong perfume and the small piece of paper.
The title stood out bright and bold: TERRY'S. Below were details of location and opening times.
I read over the paper several times. I was feeling very suspicious, but as I read through it became ever more apparent that this really was just a little restaurant in a nearby street. No doubt he wanted me to approve of his restaurant for advertisement purpose, although why the human population would take resaurant advice from a Hork-Bajir was beyond me.
"Toby?" Tal, finally speaking up.
"Yes Tal?"
He did not answer, but once again, I felt his weight leaning against my shoulder. He had fallen back to sleep.
I should have stayed awake myself. It would not have been long before Cassie arrived, but as the seconds ticked by, I found it increasingly harder to keep my eyes focused.
I leant against Tal who he was already snoring.
I really should have stayed awake.