Chapter 22
It wasn't necessary for us to leave the shack to have our discussion. We could have just used private thought-speech. But if everybody else felt the same as me, it was necessary. I felt like I had to get out of that place. I didn't know if the Yeerk was telling the truth or not, but the fact was that at least one of the creatures in that shed was a serial murderer. And I felt dirty just breathing the same air. Once outside, I demorphed.
Nobody said anything at first, and I guess Jake figured we were waiting on him to start. (I don't know what you guys want to hear from me. I'm lost on this one. I have no idea what to do.)
(Is it a bluff or not?) Marco asked. (He thinks we're Andalites, and he knows no Andalite would ever want to morph a Yeerk. Maybe he thinks we'll believe him without calling his bluff, you know? Just because he put the offer out there or whatever…I guess it all depends on whether or not he thinks we'd actually take him up on it.)
(Marco is correct,) Ax said. (No sane Andalite would consider becoming our enemy, even in order to find out something useful. This falls under the category of us not interfering in other species' affairs. I will excuse myself from this matter, now. This is between you humans.)
(But it's not,) Cassie argued gently. (It's not just between humans. There's a Yeerk involved, and that changes everything.)
(So it's down to what Marco said,) Rachel mused. (We have two choices – we can either believe his story, take him at face value. Or we can call his bluff – if he's actually bluffing – and check out his story for ourselves.)
(Would it help?) I asked. I was thinking ahead to what we would do if the Yeerk was being honest. (What if he's on the level? We would have a Yeerk in his natural state to deal with, not to mention a sick killer. What do we do with him? What do we do with either of them?)
(I don't know,) Jake said. (The Yeerk…if he's being real about the killer, then he's probably being real about not being able to go back to his own people. If that's the case, I say we do what he suggested and toss him into the stream. Live, die…whatever. We'd probably just be extending his life for a couple of days, but that's more than Visser Three would do for him.)
(What about the man?) Cassie asked, sounding troubled.
Jake let his control slip a little, and it manifested itself as a little, uncomfortable growl from his wolf morph. (I don't know. We don't have any options, there. We can't turn him in to the cops, not without risking what we are. We can't let him go, either. I won't be responsible for turning him loose and having him go on a murder spree. But I won't kill him, either – we're not like him, and we can't start killing our own. No matter what.)
(Our own,) Marco repeated, sounding amused and disturbed. (I don't know about you guys, but I wouldn't consider someone who enjoys killing little girls one of my own. And I don't care what you think about me, but I'd rather kill him myself than cut him loose to do his thing.)
(Vote?) Rachel asked. She tried to sound confident, but she was troubled.
(No,) Jake said instantly. (I won't allow that.) I was a little shocked – Jake had never outright seized the reins like that. He'd never just taken total control of a situation. I guess he felt like he had to, in order to spare us the horror of having to vote on something like that. On having to vote on murder.
Maybe he was doing it to keep the peace. Maybe he didn't want to know which way each of us would vote, and he didn't want us to be divided over such a big issue.
Either way, we were saved from having to make that terrible decision. Erek showed up with a solution, right on time. How he knew where we were, I have no idea. The Chee are spooky when it comes to knowing things they shouldn't.
"I assume that's the killer everybody's looking for that you have in there," came his voice from behind a hundred-year-old oak tree. He stepped out where we could see him. "It is, isn't it?"
(Yeah, Erek,) Jake said wearily. (We drew him out with Rachel and kidnapped him. But the Yeerk is saying he's not the real killer – that it's the host.) He went on to explain the whole thing, Erek just nodding along peacefully.
Erek sat on a log heavily. He was just doing it because it was the human thing to do, I guess. Erek the Android didn't need to sit or rest, ever. He looked at each of us. "I can handle it. If the Yeerk is telling the truth, I can handle both of them." His facial hologram showed a weary expression. "But in order for me to take that step, I have to be sure he's telling the truth. That means that one of you will have to take him up on his offer. One of you will need to morph a Yeerk and enter that human. It's imperative. Until we know for sure, we can't do anything."
(Morph a Yeerk,) Marco mused. He sounded disgusted, but then he cheered up. I guess it's just Marco's way of making things easier; usually, when we were faced with a bad situation, he was almost jolly. He sounded like he was, anyway. (So, we gonna draw straws, or does somebody want this great honor all for themselves?) he asked brightly.