Chapter Eight

Ha ha. Gotcha with the nasty, misleading cliffhanger.

It was the fire alarm, not the security alarm.

((That must be Jake's distraction,)) I said.

Everyone ran out of their offices, presumably heading for the nearest safe area. Soon, all the offices were empty.

((Let's go,)) I said. ((Cassie, stay here as lookout.))

((Okay,)) Cassie said.

Ax went inside the office, and I followed. I started demorphing. Being a fly wouldn't help when it came to computer hacking.

"I think I've found it," Ax said, pointing at a document he had opened. "Right there, it says 'Date'."

"That just means the day the document was created," I said, rolling my eyes. So much for Andalites being a technologically superior species.

"Ah," Ax said. "Sorry."

Ax resumed searching through the computer. The screen turned into a black and white mesh of gibberish. Ax started typing madly.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I am trying to repro-program this machine so I can use it," Ax said. "This device is far too primitive for me to use in its current state."

A few minutes later, nothing much was different. Ax was clearly upset.

"Oh, Britney Spears, this is hard!" he cried.

I cleaned out my ear with my little finger. Clearly, I was hearing things.

"Ax, did you just mention Britney Spears?" I asked.

"Yes," Ax said. "Is it not a human custom to invoke the names of their gods in times of stress?"

"I...no?" I asked. "Ax, humans don't think Britney Spears isn't a god!"

"Then why do you have daily sacrifices to her?" Ax said. "I have seen it on my television. There is a ritual program called Entertainment Tonight that informs her followers of her actions."

I started explaining the concept of celebrity gossip to Ax. He seemed fascinated, but before I could get anywhere, Cassie interrupted.

((Someone's coming,)) Cassie warned. ((No wait, he stopped. He's yelling into his phone. Something about security and a broken window. You guys need to leave now.))

((But we are not finished yet,)) Ax said.

((He's right outside the door,)) Cassie said. ((He could come in at any second!))

"But--!"

((Ah! He's coming in now!)) Cassie cried. ((I'll distract him! You guys get the heck out of there, fast!))

There wasn't any time to argue. I grabbed a stack of papers from one of the desks and opened the office door cautiously. Not far away, a man was flinging his hands around like mad, trying to catch a fly. That fly was Cassie, of course.

Ax and I snuck out of there as fast as we could. Fortunately, the man was too focused on smashing the fly to notice two kids sneaking out of an office.

"Home free," I told Ax. Too early, as it turned out.

"Hey! You two!" a voice behind us called.

Busted.

We turned around. "Yes, sir?" I asked.

The man gave us a mean look. "Didn't you hear the fire alarm? You should have left the building already!"

"We were just about to do that," I said.

"Make sure you do," he said. "Fire safety is of the upmost importance."