(My sincer appologies everyone. I uploaded the chapter last night before I went to bed and everything looked just fine. I haven't been able to view it until just now. I deleted the old upload and this new one should come out just fine. Again, sorry for having to put you all through that.)
Panic was pulsating throughout her ensnared tiny body as the massive spider skittered closer and closer to Tellion. Each of its hairy legs danced across the multitude of strands with bewildering ease that didn't fit it's seemingly abnormal body. Tellion tried in vain to reign in the crushing instincts of the fly mind as it fought desperately to escape this deadly trap. But no matter how hard she tried, her feeble attempts only made her become more entrapped. Her wings were so wrapped up in the sticky strands that neither of them would so much as vibrate a tiny after several bewildered flaps, and her own legs were equally adhered to her torso. There was simply nothing that she could do to break away from these both equally strong and sticky threads. In moments, those two colossal fangs of the spider would pierce through her exposed exoskeleton and pump the creature's deadly venom into her system. She was certain that it would only take a few moments before the venom liquidated her insides. And she would die.
Oh, if only she wasn't so small and helpless…
Wait. Tellion thought. That's it!
Without the slightest hesitation, Tellion stopped trying to fight the fly mind for control, and instead shifted all of her willpower towards morphing back into her human self. But doing so took concentration. And concentration was incredibly difficult with the fear of imminent death scuttling towards her. Still, it was Tellion's one and only chance to survive. Almost instantly, Tellion began to feel her body rapidly gain in mass. As the spider drew closer across the multitude of strands that was the web, those same strands began to bend and buckle under Tellion's increasing weight. As if sensing something was wrong, the spider instantly shot off towards her, its fangs clicking madly. Tellion desperately tried to maintain her focus as her growing body dipped lower and lower in the web. As she increased in size, she focused all of her mental strength towards her forward legs. From the ends of those hairy ends, miniature nubs sprouted out from the tips of each leg. The tiny fingers had formed just as the spider leaped upon Tellion. Then, with a series of surprising snaps, the web ensnaring her and supporting the spider gave way, and the two went into a freefall down the shaft. The spider, its mind too simple to grasp what had just happened, pounced upon Tellion and drove its fangs directly towards her thorax. Her forward legs shot up, and weakly grasped each of the slick fangs with her puny little hands that had become their ends. The spider in turn wrapped all eight of its hairy legs around her in an embrace of death.
Down the two went plummitting through the darkness. No time to think. Only time to react!
As she felt the air rushing up past the two of them, the sticky strands that encased Tellion strained and broke against her growing body. Then, the last piece of webbing that had shackled her wings snapped in two, and her wings, now much tinier against her enlarged form, were free once again. Knowing that she only had mere moments left, Tellion instantly flapped her right wing with all the power her mind could summon. The feeble appendage strained against the combined weight of Tellion and the spider, and the sheer kenetic force of their gravitational fall. Its rapid flapping gave Tellion just enough force to suddenly shift her place with the spider, but the wing snapped in half under the sheer strain that it had been placed under. Tellion didn't have time to register the pain of the broken wing as she suddenly found herself on top of the spider, and now almost three times its size. The primitive predator took no notice of what had just happened, squeezing its legs tighter around Tellion's body, causing her weakening exoskeleton shell to crack under the pressure. Its fangs pressed harder against her equally weakening forearms that were increasingly becoming miniature human arms instead of ones of a fly. Then, with a grotesque crunch, both of her trembling elbows snapped in the opposite directions and the spider's fangs stabbed towards her exposed and helpless body.
SPLAT!
Tellion never saw it coming. There was only the terror of the fall and the imminent kiss of death from the spider's fangs. Then the sudden impact, and the arachnid's body splattering in every direction from the crushing weight of her larger body. Blood and internal guts covered her now assuredly grotesque form that was somewhere between a fly and her human body. She did nothing for the longest time. Not thinking. Not morphing back into one form or another. Just breathing. That all she was aware of for a time. Just breathing and staring at the twisted and gory remains of the creature that had almost killed her. A creature that had just been doing what its instincts compelled it to do. Yet that didn't make her razor thin brush with death any less terrifying.
After some time the intial shock wore off, and Tellion regained her sense of the situation, and forced herself to push away from the splattered remains of the spider and morph back into human. Once she was back in her human body, Tellion sat in the darkness, her body trembling with the shock of having just barely cheated death once again in less than two days. Unable to hold herself together anymore, she buried her hands into her face and began to weep. Tears seeped between her trembling fingers. Tellion cried for a long period of time, which felt almost as long as she had on that cliff base the other night.
"I…I can't do this anymore!" she screamed into the dark shaft, her agonizing voice echoing upwards. "I just can't…"
Before she was able to mutter another word, Tellion looked through her shaking fingers, at Saddler's body. Staring at his still form, Tellion felt the purpose of her even being at the bottom of that desolate shaft come back to her. Saddler…she was here for him. Because if she didn't let someone know where his body was, then who would?
Tellion took several deep, terrified breaths, Tellion collected herself mentally and willed herself to morph back into the fly. Once she had shrunk back into her pitiful insect form, Tellion flew back up the shaft, taking much greater care to keep her attention aware of her surroundings, lest she fall into another carefully laid trap of yet another spider.
Mercifully, she made it through the shaft without incident. Tellion retraced her flight pattern, back out of the shaft, and out onto the roof of the building. From there, Tellion morphed her crow form and flew a short distance from the hospital. In a desolate back corner of a little used gas station there was a phone station that Tellion had prechosen to use should she find Saddler's body. She landed in the dark bushes nearby and returned to her human form. Tellion glanced around once very nervously. But once she saw that there wasn't a single person in the area, Tellion nervously stepped out into the open. Even though she wasn't completely without clothing, Tellion suspected that traversing around at such a late time in nothing more than a swimsuit would attract her very much unwanted attention. Tellion reached under nearby rock that bordered on the edge of the divide between the dirt ground and the concrete. From underneath it she pulled a pair of human coins that were required to operate the extremely primitive phone that was installed on the side of the building. Tellion didn't know what kind of ability human authorities, even the non-controller ones, had to trace back the signal of a call to their emergency lines, but she certainly wasn't willing to risk making this very important call from her own home.
Taking great care to remain hidden in the shadows, Tellion creapt over to the phone on the wall, inserted the two coins, and then dialed the local emergency number. The phone rang twice before the line connected.
"911, what is your emergency?"
"That missing boy…" Tellion whispered into the receiver. "I know where he is."
"Missing boy? Ma'am…"
"Saddler," Tellion said. "Saddler Langley. Look at the bottom of the second shaft at the local children's hospital."
"Ma'am," the lady on the other line said, "I need you to tell me who you are and how you know what happened to that boy."
"The bottom of the second shaft." Tellion whispered again before hanging up the phone.
There. It was done.
Tellion hoped that the authorities would find Saddler's body soon. It was bittersweet sensation for Tellion. On one hand, she had permanently denied David his ability to hide under the facade of Saddler, and his family would finally be able to grieve for the loss of their precious little boy. But on the other hand, Tellion thought sadly, she had just forever destroyed an innocent family's hopes of his miraculous recovery extinguished. They would discover, very painfully, that there were no such things as miracles.
Full of mixed emotions, Tellion returned to her crow morph and went back home. She then utilized the fly morph to sneak back inside and into the basement. Once safely back in her sanctuary, Tellion returned to her human self, got out of her swimsuit and back into her night pajamas. Taking great care to keep her steps quiet and steady, Tellion crept back upstairs to the bedroom. Thankfully, Mark was still sound asleep, laying in exactly the same position he was when she had left him. The poor man, he must have been so exhausted from everything that he had gone through in the last few days. Tellion silently slipped into bed beside him. When she did, Mark stirred slightly. Tellion froze, and was shocked when his arm lashed out and snatched her in his grasp. She was taken off guard by the unexpected move, but quickly succumbed to the warmth of Mark's strong arm wrapped around her trembling frame. Without questioning any of her own feelings, Tellion gently slide her own arms around him and hugged him back. Tellion didn't know what trials or horrors the next day would bring her, but here in this moment, she had something good in her life to hold on to.
She wasn't even aware that she had fallen asleep until her eyes weakly fluttered as the light of a new day shined through the window. When she fully opened them, she was greeted with Mark's gentle smiling face.
"How…" she started to ask.
"Long enough."
Tellion couldn't help but to kiss him in that moment, relieved to find something good to hold on to in all the misery that she had endured in the last few days.
"Breakfast?" Mark asked, breaking Tellion from her trance.
She thought about it for a moment. "Yes, that would be wonderful."
Mark smiled warmly at her. "Alright, you can stay here if you want. I'll call you when the food's ready."
Tellion felt such great sadness when Mark had to pull away and get out of bed. She lay on the bed and watched him exit the bedroom. Part of her wanted to get out of bed and go after him. But after having only briefly escaped the clutches of death twice in barely two days, Tellion just wanted to lay in the bed for a while.
Her period of silent peace only lasted for a short time. It didn't take Tellion long to realize that Mark hadn't come up to get her when breakfast was ready. Only with a great reluctance did Tellion get out of bed and go downstairs. The moment she entered into the main living room, she knew everything was wrong.
Mark wasn't in the kitchen. Instead, he was in the living room, his back to her. And he was speaking in hushed tones over the house phone. Tellion felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach as she watched his body language. She already knew who he was talking to, and what they were conversing about. Tellion slowly descended the stairs, not bothering to try and listen in on what was being spoken.
When she reached the bottom of the steps, Mark hung up the phone and turned to her. Tellion feigned ignorance of the situation.
"What's the matter Mark?"
Mark looked at her with weary eyes. "It was the hospital…"
She could already hear the breaking in his voice.
"They…they found Saddler's body early this morning, at the bottom of one of the elevator shafts…"
Tellion gasped, throwing her hands over her mouth in a desperate attempt to appear shocked by this revelation.
"Oh no…" she muttered, concentrating very hard to make her voice sound shaken.
Mark didn't say anything immediately. He just lowered his head and stared at the floor. Tellion went to him and offered Mark a gentle hug. "I'm so sorry honey."
She may have been deceiving Mark about many things in this moment, but her words were not one of them.
"I…I know you tried to do everything that you could for him."
Mark weakly hugged her back.
"I just…don't understand any of this…"
"What do you mean?"
"That…I was just talking to one of the doctors that had been involved with the case. The corner just told him that all indicators on Saddler's body point to him having been dead for almost twenty-four hours. And just worked the time line out in my head. That puts his time of death right around when he was being rushed downstairs, right around the time of his miraculous recovery. But that's not possible. I mean, he was alive and talking to all of us for most of the day."
Tellion knew the answer to that question, but didn't dare hint at any of it to Mark. "Well," she said, "the corner must have made a mistake…"
"No, he didn't. I already asked that question, and he said that he has already checked everything at least three times. He just doesn't have any explanation for it all."
But I know the truth. Tellion thought bitterly. Even if I were to tell you Mark, I think the reality of it all would be too fantastical for your mind to comprehend.
"I just don't know how the Langleys are going to take this…"
The thought of Ellen and George having to see their dead child, one who they had believed just the day before had, as Mark had said, miraculously recovered, it sent waves of dread through Tellion. As if Mark sensed the fear rising in her, he answered before she could ask the question.
"George is at the hospital now. I was told he already confirmed the body."
"Oh no…" Tellion gasped, her worry completely genuine for that poor family. "Did Ellen…"
"No." Mark said. "I was told that George refused to let her come. If she had seen Saddler's body, all mangled and broken the way it was, then I don't know what she would do."
Tellion immediately thought of Ellen, of how that woman had so desperately clung to hope that her child would somehow survive the fatal injuries to him. Of how she had had her faith restored by his unexplained recovery. And now, because of her need to give Saddler's body back to his family, that hope was shattered, possibly forever.
"What…" Tellion began but the words died in her throat.
Mark answered the question that she didn't have the strength to ask.
"I don't know honey. I don't know how the Langleys are going to get through this…" Mark told her sadly. "Almost losing their kid once was rough enough, but losing him a second time, after being given back to them the way he was, it's going to destroy them."
Mark pulled away from her and wearily rubbed his eyes. "I know I was supposed to have the day off, Susan. But with this…I'm going to have to go back to the hospital to help with the medical report. Hopefully we can make some sense of what's going on."
Tellion just nodded her head softly. "It's alright honey, you go take care of this. Let me know if there's anything that I can do to help."
"Right now. I don't think there's really anything that you can do, but I appreciate the offer"
He started to leave the room, but glanced back at her at the bottom of the stairs.
"I'll speak to George when I see him at the hospital. I'm sure they'll probably want us to attend Saddler's funeral."
Tellion looked at Mark. "Do you think Ellen would want us…"
"After everything you did for her, I'm sure she would want you there with them. Are you going to be ok with that?"
Images of Saddler's broken and twisted body flashed through Tellion's mind, and she shuddered at the prospect of seeing him in that state again. Still…
Tellion drew in a deep breath before nodding.
"It'll be hard, but if I can help Ellen and the others, then I'll be there for them."
Mark smiled at her words. "I wish I could be half as selfless as you."
"You're doing just fine being the way you are." Tellion told him.
With that, Mark exited the room. Tellion went to the kitchen and made a quick breakfast. As she ate, so many different thoughts went through her head. Of Mark, of the Langleys, of Saddler, and, Tellion shuddered, David…
She still didn't know where he was or what he was doing. But she hoped that he would give up whatever insane plans he had once David realized that he no longer had the cover of Saddler's life. However, that was not Tellion's immediate concern. She needed to focus on being there for Ellen and her family. Tellion couldn't begin to imagine how terrible this coming storm was going to be for them. As she thought of all of this, Mark finally came back down, dressed to leave. Tellion walked him to the door and saw him out. They parted with a deep kiss, and a reluctant hug from Tellion, before Mark finally left to go back to the hospital. Like so many times before, Tellion's smile faded once she was sure Mark was out of eyesight.
She went back in her home, and began to brainstorm what she was going to do if David was still going to make himself a problem. No sooner than Tellion began to formulate several plans for him than she heard a light wrapping of knuckles on her front door. Curious as to who that could be, Tellion answered it. She knew that she shouldn't have been surprised to see that it was Erik.
"What are you doing here?" she asked the Chee agent.
"I came to talk to you." he replied.
"And that had to be done in person?" Tellion asked. "Couldn't you have just communicated to me through that device you gave me?"
"This is a very sensitive matter." Erik said. "I thought it was best that this be done in person."
"And what does that entail?"
"It's about David…"
Just hearing his name sent waves of fear coursing through Tellion. She let Erik inside. The Chee went over to her couch and took a seat.
"Do you mind if I get comfortable?"
"I don't see why not." Tellion told him, feeling that it was a pointless question with an equally pointless answer seeing as how he had already situated himself upon her couch.
It shouldn't have come as much of a surprise to Tellion that Erik's boyish form flickered out of existence, revealing the android that lay just underneath that façade. Despite revealing what lay underneath, he still leaned back into the couch and crossed his legs in a very human like manner.
"I can't tell you how much of a relief it is on my faculties to not be constantly running my active camouflage projections."
"Erik," Tellion said bluntly, "why are you here? If there was something to say to me, then say it."
The metallic dog like head nodded. The android paused before fixating his gleaming eyes on her.
"David…has been taken care of."
Tellion felt a sharp spike of fear rush through her body.
"Is he…did they…"
Erik shook his head. "No, they didn't kill him. But…"
"But what?"
Erik glared at her, somehow managing to convey a serious look without any human like expression on his metallic face.
"The resistance, they tricked David into a trap, and he fell into it. He was…he exceeded the morphing time limit. He's now trapped in a small, none threatening form. And they relocated him to one of the desolate islands off the main land. He won't be an issue from now on."
Tellion took in a deep breath, and exhaled wearily. She knew that she should have been relieved, even grateful that she no longer had to consider David a threat. But, somewhere in the back of her thoughts, Tellion could only think of all the horrible things that had happened to her in the last few days, and among it all, she only felt sadness at what had happened to the boy. Though Tellion tried to rationalize the justification of what had befallen David was the result of his own actions, that did little to alleviate the understanding that he was still a young boy whose life had been snatched away from him, forever.
Erik seemed to sense her distress over this revelation.
"Tellion, what befell David was his own fault. He didn't have to choose the path he went down…"
"I know." Tellion replied. "That doesn't make me feel any better about what happened to him."
"And that is why you are such a unique Yeerk." he told her. "Your empathy towards others, even those that would do you mortal harm, is nearly otherworldly. You truly are a magnificent example of everything that your people can aspire to be."
"I'm not so magnificent…" Tellion said in a low, sad voice.
Erik shifted his position, clearly caught off guard by her words.
"Tellion, what are you talking about?"
A very harsh, terrifying image of Raddock's lifeless eyes flashed through Tellion's memory.
"Erik," Tellion whispered, "I didn't listen to you. The other night…I…"
"Tellion?"
"I went to the Marriott…I went to help the Andalites…"
"Tellion, what did you do?" Erik asked, rising from the couch.
"They were down on the beach, destroying everything and ruining Visser Three's plans, but up on the roof, there was a Hork-Bajir soldier that had been placed there in case they did such an action. I had to stop him, so I went down and faced him. And…"
"Tellion, what happened?"
That last question was too much for her. Tellion couldn't hold her emotions back anymore as the memories flooded her mind of what she had done.
"I fought with him…and I…I…killed him…"
"Tellion…"
"I watched…the fear in his face…I watched…as the light of life faded from his eyes…"
Erik moved across the room until he was standing in front of her. Tellion looked at the Android, and saw both the understanding and sympathy in his artificial eyes. In that moment, everything just collapsed. Tellion broke down in that instant.
Tears began to flow freely down her face, and then Tellion threw herself at the Android. Even though his body was cold and metallic to the touch, Tellion still wrapped her arms around him and cried her heart out to the creature. The Chee remained motionless.
"You were right Erik!" Tellion cried into the Android's metal chest. "I…I should have listened to you!"
"Tellion…"
"You tried to warn me about killing, of what it would do to me. But I didn't listen. I killed!"
There was a long time of silence between them before Erik finally acted. He brought his metal pawed hand up and gently rested it on the back of Tellion's head. Though it was cold and lifeless to the touch, Tellion somehow felt the sympathy the Chee was attempting to convey to her.
"I'm…I'm sorry Tellion. I wish…that you hadn't had to do what you did…"
His words echoed out in his natural robotic voice, but still somehow managed to project sorrow.
"I see his face everywhere I look…" Tellion whispered. "The fear…watching his very last breath leave his body, how…how can you ever…"
"You never forget it…" Erik replied. "It's a burden that you have to carry…forever…"
"I don't want to carry it…" Tellion wept. "I just…want to take it all back…"
"You can't…" Erik answered coldly. "There's no going back from what was done."
Tellion thought of what she had endured, what she would continue to suffer through for the rest of her life. It had only been two days since, and she already felt as if all of her mental and emotional capacities were crumbling under the strain.
"How do you do it, Erik?" she asked the Chee. "How do you…carry on…after ending another's life?"
Nothing was said for a while, as the ancient artificial intelligent being seemed to ponder her deep philosophical question. Then he finally spoke.
"You just do." Erik answered bluntly. "You find ways to help counteract what you've done. Nothing will ever take away the pain, or guilt, of the lives you've ended. But, perhaps you can overshadow it with good actions."
"Like what?"
"I don't know Tellion." Erik said. "That's just something that you'll have to discover for yourself."
Erik's metallic pawed hand slipped from the back of her head, coming to a rest on her shoulder. His other hand went up to her opposing shoulder, and with the gentlest of force, he pushed her away from him. It seemed so pointless, but to have the Chee touching her, Tellion felt that it was an act of sympathy.
"But I will tell you this Tellion." Erik spoke bluntly. "In all my interactions with you, all you have ever shown me is that you are a kind, selfless being. And even though you were forced to end another's life, I don't see a single trace of enjoyment or malice within you for doing that, unlike many of your Yeerk brethren. You're still the same kind, gentle, and life loving being that I met upon our first encounter. Nothing you have done will change that."
"I don't feel like I can believe that…" Tellion whispered sadly.
"In time, you will." Erik assured her.
His words did little reassure Tellion, but Erik's attempt to encourage her was enough pull Tellion out of that agonizing pit she had sunken into, if even only for a little bit. Still full of remorse and sorrow, but now with her tears no longer spilling from her eyes, Tellion sniffled a little and wiped the tears from her face.
"Thank you Erik," Tellion told him. "for trying to help me. And for…believing in me."
"You've never once caused me to doubt my trust in who you are." he said bluntly.
Taking a deep breath, Tellion tried to collect herself.
"You didn't just come here to tell me about David, did you?" Tellion asked. "You could have easily communicated this with the transmitter you gave me. Why are you here?"
The Chee folded his arms across his chest. "I did want to tell you about the situation with David, but I also wanted to tell you, myself and the other Chee have reached a consensus to introduce you to the resistance. We feel that, with the right approach and with a bit of time, we calculate that you could be a useful addition to them and…"
"No." Tellion said bluntly, looking down at her feet. "No more."
Erik didn't say anything for a few moments of tense silence between them.
"Tellion, I don't understand." he said. "I thought you wanted to help…"
"No more!" Tellion shouted. "I've done enough for this fight! I saved the resistance once, I spilt blood for them, both mine and another's. I done with the fighting. One death was more than enough for me to bear!"
"Tellion, it's not that simple."
"I can make it that simple Erik!" she shouted at the metallic being. "You understand! I don't want to be a part of this war anymore!"
"You don't have a choice in this matter Tellion." Erik told her with an equal bluntness. "You can deny it all you want, but even you can see the steady progression of the conquest of this world."
And Erik was right. Already, the Yeerk forces had encroached too close to her life. Even her younger sister Ellane was in danger of infestation, hopefully her own Yeerk sister Ishtareal would remain true to her promise to no longer attempt infestation of the children that surrounded her host Bianca. But still, even Tellion couldn't deny how the Empire was closing all around her very existence. And yet, she still refused to accept the reality.
"I deny nothing!" Tellion screeched. "But I am finished with the killing!"
"Tellion. I don't think you fully understand what's at stake. And what you could mean to everything."
Erik took a step closer to her.
"The Andalites have been doing just fine without my help." Tellion assured Erik. "And they'll keep resisting the invasion."
Erik's metallic head shook slightly.
"Tellion, there have been so many close calls, so many times when I was sure that none of the resistance members would survive their battles against the Imperial forces. Even with your story, your battle against that that Hork-Bajir soldier. If you hadn't intervened, it's likely that he could have killed at least one of the resistance, if not all of them. It has only been through sheer luck that they all still survive to this day. But that luck can't last forever…"
He took another step towards her.
"Should the worst happen. If they should fall in battle, then…Tellion, you'll be this world's very last line of defense. We Chee can only spy on the Yeerk forces, we can't fight them. Only you can. Your morphing powers…"
"I never wanted these abilities!" Tellion shouted at him. "It was an accident! I never asked to have the power to change like the Andalites! And I wish now more than ever that I had never acquired them! It's brought me nothing but misery!"
Erik said nothing for a short while.
"Tellion, what did you do with this power when you first discovered you had it?"
She only had to think on it for a moment. "I…"
"You immediately sought to find the morphing cube, to prevent your people from obtaining such a powerful artifact. Your very first thought, and very first action, was to use your powers to protect. Every action that you have taken since then, as you have told me, has been as an act in defense of others, from this world, to those that you care for, and even the resistance. All you have ever done is proven that you, probably the most of your kind, deserve these abilities."
Tellion said nothing. She tried her very best to hide the fact that Erik's words were stirring a great many thoughts within her already sore spirit.
"Forget about where your powers came from Tellion. That doesn't matter. All truly matters is how you choose to use them. And all you have ever done is use yours selflessly. If you don't want us contacting the resistance to incorporate you into their fold, myself and the other Chee will honor that request. But Tellion, you can't stay out of this war indefinitely. Eventually, it will find you, no matter how hard you try to hide from it. One day, sooner or later, you're going to have to find your place within this conflict. Either with the resistance, on your own, or through other means."
Tellion sighed, the weariness all too evident in her voice. She said nothing to Erik as she walked silently over to the front door. She only looked at Erik when she finally opened it.
"Go Erik." Tellion said, motioning towards the door. "And don't contact me again unless it involves either of my sisters, or anyone else close to me. I said it, and I mean it, I'm done with this war…"
Erik's stance shifted slightly, and he instantly became his usual camouflaged image of an adolescent boy.
"If that's your final decision Tellion, then we the Chee won't involve you anymore in this conflict. We'll only contact you if it concerns those that you care about."
Erik stepped through the doorway and turned back to Tellion. "But I hope one day you'll change your mind. This world needs you just as much as the resistance."
He was right. Tellion knew that he was right. But she still couldn't bring herself to admit it to him.
"Goodbye Erik." Tellion said, slowly closing the door on the Chee, and hopefully, her involvement with the war forever.
Tellion stood by the door, listening carefully for the sounds of his feet to walk off. After she was sure he was gone, Tellion went up to her room and retrieve the Chee communication device from its hiding place. She disassembled it and brought it to her sanctuary in the basement and put it among the various parts of her Kandrona ray generator.
She spent the rest of the morning doing her best to keep her thoughts distracted from the things Erik had said to her, but no matter how much she cleaned around the house, or tended the garden outside, Tellion just couldn't shake the feeling that she was a traitor once again. Only this time, she had betrayed the core values of what she had proclaimed made her better than most of her Yeerk brethren. Yet, more than those feelings, she couldn't shake the memories of Raddoch's lifeless eyes, and the sinister ones of the spider that had nearly devoured her last night.
Feeling more lost and alone than she had in a very long time, Tellion wearily rested upon the small wooden couch on the front porch and simply watched the world pass by. She lost all sense of time as she sat there, thinking of everything and nothing at the same time. Tellion was only snapped out of her stupor when she saw Mark's car pull into the driveway.
She did nothing as he got out of the car and approached her. Not so much as a wave, or even a smile. Mark could instantly sense her upset demeanor.
"Susan…" he asked cautiously. "are you ok?"
"No…" she told him honestly.
"Is it…" Mark started.
"Yes." Tellion answered in only a half truth as she looked at the wooden planks in front of her. "I'm…so upset for Ellen and the rest of the family. They were so…happy to have their son back…and now…"
Mark breathed in deeply at her words.
"That's…actually something that I wanted to talk to you about…"
Tellion lifted her head to meet his gaze.
"Huh?"
"I talked with George at the hospital. Ellen is…not well. He said it's even worse than when they were sure Saddler was dying in the hospital. She hasn't said a word to anyone since he called to confirm the body to her."
"That's…" Tellion's words died in her throat. She didn't have anything to say that would convey what she was feeling about the whole situation. Because she alone, among all that were involved, knew the dark truth of the whole situation. And now, with Erik's revelation that David was forever trapped in a morph, there was no hope that that poor woman would ever see her son again…
Mark took a seat beside her and gently wrapped his arm around her.
"I…wanted to see if you would come with me to check on Ellen." Mark said. "I don't know how much good you could do by trying to talk to her, but no one else seems to be able to get through to her."
"She had so much hope." Tellion said in a hushed voice. "She thought I gave it to her son. What would she think of me now, with her losing him a second time?"
Mark squeezed her shoulder. "Honey, I'm not going to try to force you to go, or even try to convince you that it would do any good. That's something that you're going to have to decide for yourself."
A large portion of her wanted to just say no right then and there, go back into the house, and try to pretend that the last few insane days of her life hadn't really happened. But no matter how much she wanted to, Tellion just couldn't bring herself to do that. She had already felt like she had betrayed enough of the core of what she believed made her what she was this day.
"I don't know if me being there will do any good," Tellion told Mark, "but I've already tried so much to help this family, I can't turn my back on them now."
Mark gave her a gentle hug.
"Thank you for being so selfless."
"I'm just being my true self." Tellion told Mark with the utmost honesty.
"I'll give you whatever time you need to get ready." he said.
"I won't need much." Tellion told him.
And she didn't. Tellion only required a few minutes to properly dress herself before returning to Mark and simply gesturing to him that she was ready. They said nothing more and left to go see the Langleys. Tellion felt all of her nerves on edge as she was brought to a destiny that she never sought. But it was one she had to face regardless.
She sat in silence as Mark drove her over to the Langley's residence. Despite all of her mental faculties on edge, she still was unable to keep her Yeerk mindset from mapping out every path that Mark took to bring her to this quaint little place. When they finally pulled up in front of the small and inviting home, a residence just like the one she had settled herself into, Tellion felt a sharp tingle of dread flow through her weak human body.
What she was about to face, she neither knew anything about how to properly deal with the situation nor to find a way to bring closure to both involved parties. But try she had to. She owed Ellen that at least. Tellion followed Mark up to the house and stood quietly behind him as he rang the bell. It didn't take long before George answered.
He looked first at Mark, then at her. Tellion saw a weariness in his eyes that she had never seen before. She couldn't begin to imagine the pain that he was enduring, having just lost his child.
"Thanks for coming." he spoke in a voice devoid of any emotion. He gestured for them to come inside. "She's…in his room right now…"
Neither Mark nor Tellion said anything as they walked in. As she entered a living room that was in subtle ways different from her own home yet uncomfortably the same, Tellion couldn't help but notice the three other Langley children that were huddled together on the couch. The TV was on, and while they were watching it, she could clearly see that they weren't really watching the program. Their eyes were vacant and staring off into almost nothing. Tellion recognized that stare. She hated it.
It was the one she knew that she had had the night she had killed Raddoch, when her tears of sorrow had finally been shed beyond the point of being able to fall. The pain that those children were enduring underneath their youthful faces was something Tellion regretfully knew about.
But she was not here for them. She was here to help Ellen, if she could.
Mark waited by the stairs as George led Tellion up to the second floor of the house. He brought her to one of the doors at the end of a hallway. He grabbed the door knob, but stopped from opening it, then turned to her.
"She's been a wreck ever since I confirmed the body they found was Saddler. If…if you can't do anything for her, I won't be upset. I just…appreciate that you tried…"
"Let me talk to her." Tellion said calmly, although her heart was pounding against her ribs.
George nodded, then opened the door. After that, he left. And Tellion slowly, cautiously, opened the door to what was supposed to be Saddler's room.
At first glance, Tellion didn't know what to make of the small space. She had never really been in a child's room beyond the one occupied by Bianca/Istariel. But that had been a girl's room, not one of a young boy. She saw all sorts of things that didn't make sense to her. But little of it truly mattered, as she saw Ellen sitting on Saddler's bed in the center of the room. Her back was braced up against the wall, a single pillow tucked tightely in between her legs. She looked horrible. Like someone who was half dead, Tellion doubted that she had eaten anything in over a day. But worst of all was that her eyes were staring ahead in a vacant gaze. She was in the room, yet not really there. Tellion instantly feared for her personal safety. The door creaked open ominously as Tellion cautiously entered.
"Ellen?" she whispered.
No response.
Not even a slight glance of her eyes that Tellion had entered the room. Every step she took felt like she was drawing herself closer into a trap similar to that of the spider that had nearly killed her the previous night. But despite her fear, Tellion felt compelled to push herself forward. She never truly knew why, but in that moment, she just wanted to take this helpless woman's pain away from her and make it her own. If anyone of them truly deserved to suffer, it was Tellion, and not Ellen.
"Ellen?" Tellion asked again, sitting nervously on the edge of the bed.
She said nothing for what felt like forever. Just as Tellion was about to give up, Ellen's lips moved slightly.
"How…" she muttered faintly under her breath.
Tellion twisted to look at her empty face.
"How…could this happen to me…again…"
"Ellen…" Tellion reached out to touch her shoulder.
The woman instinctively pulled away from Tellion's attempt to comfort her. Tellion froze at the action.
"He was right here." Ellen said, speaking more to herself than anyone else. "He was talking to me, telling me how happy he was to be home. He was healthy…he was alive…"
She said nothing after that. Tellion nervously grasped her hand.
That hand instantly tightened around her fingers into a vice like grip. Tellion could feel the tremors pulsing through Ellen's gasps.
"How could this happen!" she wailed for the second time, the tears suddenly pouring forth from her eyes. "How could my baby be taken from me again?!"
Her face fell forward into the pillow she was cradling, and through muffled tears, Tellion heard her just repeat herself, "I want to be with him."
Tellion sat there, helpless to do anything as she watched a tortured woman's very spirit vanish from her body. What could she say to her? What words could possibly come from her mouth that would bring even the slightest of comfort to what this battered soul was enduring? Sadly, Tellion felt that there was very little that she could do for this woman. She shifted her body to get up, but Ellen suddenly threw herself at Tellion and grasped tightly to her as if her very life depended on it.
"It was a miracle! It was supposed to be my miracle! Just like you!"
She forced Tellion to look her face to face.
"Tell me why?" she begged. "Why was it you and not my son? Why?"
"I…I don't know…" Tellion muttered.
"How…how is any of this supposed to be fair!? He was just a boy! He had his whole life ahead of him! He…oh god…" she fell into a stuttering message.
Tellion shuddered as she practically felt the pain radiating through her hands and into Tellion herself, just as it had in the past with her connection with Tallaxia. She pressed her forehead against the top of Ellen's head.
"If…if I could have, I would have traded my life for your son's…"
She said nothing for a few more sobs.
"Just go…" she hiccupped, pulling herself away from Tellion. "Just leave me…
Tellion didn't want to, but deep down she knew that there was nothing more that she could for Ellen. Not yet anyway. It was only with the greatest reluctance that Tellion pulled her grip away from the sobbing woman. As she was stepping out of the room, Ellen called out to her.
"Tell George to stop trying to help…and not to worry about me anymore…"
Tellion didn't know what she meant by those words, but nothing of what she heard sounded good. She quietly closed the door and went back downstairs. George was doing his best to comfort the three remaining children, but it didn't seem to be doing much good. Mark was sitting at the dining table, sipping from a mug of some kind of steaming liquid, possibly either coffee or tea.
He got up when he saw her come down and approached.
"How did it go?"
Tellion didn't have any words for him. She just gave him a look that spoke more than a thousand words. He sighed and weakly rubbed his eyes.
"I need to have a serious talk with George for a moment, do you think…"
"I'll stay here." Tellion glanced over at the children. "But I don't want to talk to them if I don't have to. This has all been…too much…"
Mark hugged her. "I understand. Let me go speak to him."
Tellion gave Mark a brief hug back. "Ok."
She sat down at the table in silence, watching the three other siblings of Saddler occasionally glance over at her. But none of them made any attempts to come over and speak to her, and Tellion was fine with that. She didn't know what she could possibly say to any of them that would bring any comfort over the loss of their brother. So they all sat in silence for several minutes while Mark and George conversed in the next room. Thankfully, Mark returned soon and suggested that they go home. Tellion told the family her weak goodbye before they left.
There was a similar silence in the car on the drive home. It was only when they stopped at a red light that Tellion finally worked up the courage to ask Mark.
"What did you and George speak about?"
"Ellen mostly," Mark replied, his eyes staring ahead. "and what I recommend be done for her, and least in the immediate future."
"Will…will she be alright?" Tellion asked.
"I don't know…" Mark replied sadly. "If what I was feeling when I lost you is even half as close to how she's feeling right now…I'm worried…"
He didn't say anything more after that. Tellion didn't need him to. She already knew how badly Ellen's state of mind was. In her current state, she was a danger to herself and likely her family. But Tellion felt so useless in the situation. Doing nothing went against her very nature.
Getting home did little to ease Tellion's concern. Nor did the rest of the day performing her normal routine with Mark. Nothing helped to take away the nagging feeling of dread in the back of her mind. And that was how she found herself lying in bed in the middle of the night, her eyes wide open and staring up at the ceiling in the blackness.
Next to her, she heard Mark slumber softly. She wished that she could simply sleep like him, but his slumber was mainly due to both his emotional and mental exhaustion. Tellion had it as well, but she couldn't shake away a feeling that she hadn't done enough to help.
But really, what else could she do? It wasn't like she had the power to…
Tellion suddenly sat up. Her eyes danced wildly about the room as a sudden realization dawn upon her. An idea formed inside her weary mind, an idea so crazy that if she were to actually take the time to dwell on it, Tellion was almost certain that the rational part of her brain would have talked her emotional part out of it. But she was beyond rational thinking.
As she quietly slipped out of bed, Erik's words from earlier in the day echoed in her mind.
Forget about where your powers came from. It doesn't matter. All that matters is how you choose to use them.
And he was right. Thinking of everything that had happened over the last few days, she knew the Chee was right about her. All she had ever done was use her morphing powers to protect and defend others. Not once had she used it for her own personal gain. Now, that selflessness was needed again.
To not only save the life of a broken woman on the edge of a cataclysmic abyss, but her family as well. Only she had the power now to do that.
Tellion watched Mark with laser like focus as she quietly slipped out of bed and pulled out the bottle of sleeping pills that had been given to her by Samir from its hiding spot. It was still almost half full, but she only took two out and clutched them tightly in her free hand. She kept her gaze focused on him as she also silently grabbed her swimsuit. Knowing how sensitive Mark's hearing could be, Tellion sat in silence in her dark bed room, the only sound filling it was Mark's gentle breathing.
Please stay asleep Mark. Tellion hoped. Just one night more. And I promise I'll never sneak out on you again. I…I have to do this. Both for Ellen…and myself…
After her quick prayer, the sound of the home's air conditioning unit came on. The soothing sound of cool air filtering into the room finally gave Tellion the noise cover she needed. Tip toeing across the room, Tellion slipped out and went down stairs. In the kitchen, she placed the two pills in a small bag and left it outside right by the back door. With that done, she went downstairs to her private lair, locking the door after her. Once safely hidden away, she slipped into her swimsuit and took a deep breath to mentally prepare herself.
This was a colossal risk on her part. She needed everything with her plan to work perfectly. If any one thing went wrong, not only her life, but the lives of everyone that surrounded her would be in jeopardy as well. But if she let the fear of what might happen hold her back, then Tellion knew that the part of her being that had died on that roof with Raddoch's final breath would only grow, and she would become a mere shadow of her true self.
If Yeerks were ever to find redemption, then she herself needed to find redemption. Tonight.
Knowing what was at stake, Tellion accepted her fate and willed herself to morph into her fly form once again. After successfully transforming into the insect, she slipped out of the basement and out of the home. Flying cautiously across the lawn, she took refuge behind the large tree and returned to her human form. After becoming human again, she snuck across the lawn and retrieved the bag with the sleeping pills. She then slipped back behind the tree and shifted into her crow morph. When it was done, she firmly grasped the bag with her small talons and took flight.
It took some time and great concentration, but Tellion slowly retraced her path from her home…back to the Langley's house. As she circled above, Tellion spotted that the window to Saddler's room was still open. Not wanting to risk rushing in blindly, Tellion did a passing swoop by the window and glanced in. Inside was Ellen, curled up on Saddler's bed, her back to the window. No lights were on, and she didn't seem to stir. It was very likely that she was asleep. At least, Tellion hoped that she was. With one final mental preparation for what she was about to do, Tellion steeled both her mind and spirit before she circled back around, folded her wings slightly, and swooped through the open window into Saddler's room.
Tellion landed on the nearby desk, her small talons clicking against the wood in the stillness of the night. Ellen didn't stir even a micrometer. She appeared to be in a deep slumber. Tellion looked around the room, and noticed that the door to a small closet was cracked open slightly. She hoped off the desk and quietly skipped across the floor in her tiny avian body. She ducked into the closet and nestled herself safely in the darkness. Placing the small bag with the pills aside, Tellion mentally prepared herself for what was about to happen next. She needed to steel her mind to endure this colossal endeavor. She had to be ready for what she was about to face.
Once satisfied that she was ready, Tellion shifted back into her natural form. Becoming human again, she cautiously peeked out from the closet at Ellen. She was still laying as she was when Tellion had flown into the room. For the briefest of moments, Tellion observed her, and felt immense pity for the woman. She hadn't done anything wrong, as far as Tellion was aware, to warrant losing one of her children. Yet she was suffering an unimaginable torture of both the mind and spirit. A torment that was likely to soon consume her, unless she did something.
Tellion retreated back into the closet and shut her eyes.
This would be the very first, and very last time, that she would ever use this morph. But it had to be done. For Ellen. For her family. It had to be done.
With a deep breath, Tellion pulled into her mind, and found her morph for Saddler. Then…she willed herself to morph into a boy that the entire world knew was already dead. It took a while for Tellion to realize that she had transformed. It was only due to the fact that she became aware that she was suddenly shorter than her normal Susan body that anything about her had really changed. She gently patted her body down, and confirmed that she was indeed in the body of a young boy.
Realizing that, and knowing that she simply couldn't confront Saddler's mom naked, Tellion searched the closet for appropriate clothing. She found a suitable shirt and pants in the closet, and dressed herself before daring to exit the small enclosure. Tellion held her breath as she silently walked across the room and towards Ellen. The woman was completely oblivious to her presence as she came to stand beside the bed and look down upon Ellen.
Her breaths were slow and shallow, the signs of a reasonable slumber. Despite knowing this, Tellion dared to sit herself upon the edge of the bed. Once settled, she cautiously reached out with a hesitant hand and rested it upon Ellen's shoulder. The woman stirred slightly upon her touch, but still did not awake. Tellion gently shook her.
"Mom." Tellion whispered. "Wake up."
Ellen muttered something under her breath and shifted slightly. Tellion was not deterred. She shook her again.
"Mom," Tellion said in a louder voice. "You need to wake up."
Only then did Ellen finally rise from her slumber. She shifted from where she was sleeping over to face Tellion. There was a moment of absolute stillness as her wild, dreary, and bewildered eyes stared up at Tellion's morphed face in absolute confusion. Ellen reached out a hand hesitantly, almost as if she were to touch him her entire hand would be shattered into oblivion. Yet, touch her Ellen did. Upon contact of her fingers with Tellion's face, Ellen became a stammering and incoherent mess.
"Sad…Saddler?" she murmured, almost unable to believe what she was seeing before her.
Tellion braced herself for what was about to happen.
"Yes," Tellion shuddered slightly from her own words, "it's me mom."
A stillness passed over the room. Everything was so quiet that Tellion could have heard a piece of clothing fall to the floor. It lasted for what seemed to her only a microsecond. Tears welled in Ellen's eyes, and her lips quivered.
"Oh my baby!" she shrieked, hurling herself at Tellion. Her arms wrapped tightly around the small and lanky frame of the Saddler morph she had taken. Ellen's embrace was so powerful that Tellion could barely breathe. Ellen continued to blurt Saddler's name out over and over as she rocked what she believed was her child in her shanking arms.
Tellion didn't want to do anything. This whole situation was already hard enough for her, but feeling the raw emotions pouring forth from Ellen, Tellion couldn't help but have her own feelings get caught up in the moment. She weakly lifted her arms and embraced Ellen as she continued to cry into her shoulder.
"I thought I lost you again!" she wailed. "I thought…you were gone forever…"
Tellion shut her eyes tightly upon hearing those words, the desperate need in their tone for what this moment meant to Ellen. And it made her stomach twist from knowing what she had to do next. But it had to be done.
"Mom…" Tellion whispered into Ellen's ear. "It's not…"
She finally pulled her head from Tellion's shoulder and stared with at what she believed was her son with both bewildered eyes and a hopeful face. She kissed Tellion several times, both on the forehead and on her cheeks, not giving her a chance to say anything.
"I don't care how you're here!" she exclaimed. "None of that matters to me! You're here, Saddler! I have you back!"
Tellion looked down from her gaze and at the bedsheets. "Mom, I'm…I'm not back…"
Ellen forced Tellion's chin up to look at her again. "What are you talking about?" Ellen asked. "Of course you are. You're here with me right now!"
It took so much strength for Tellion to grasp Ellen's hands and hold them in her lap.
"No mom." Tellion said sadly. "I just came here to see you, one last time…"
Ellen looked at Tellion with confusion. She wasn't understanding what the words that had been spoken to her meant. Then, as if she had been slapped, the full weight of the realization filled her eyes with terror.
"No…" she whispered. "No…no, no, no, NO!"
Ellen pulled Tellion against her, holding her tightly while rocking back and forth.
"No Saddler!" she cried. "You're staying here! With me, your dad, and your brothers and sister! You're not leaving us…you're not leaving me!"
The desperation in her voice, it cut Tellion almost as deeply as the moment when she realized that she had killed for the first time. It made the next words that she needed to speak almost impossible to pass from her trembling lips. Almost.
"Mom, this…me being here…it's just to say goodbye."
"No!" she shrieked. "You're not saying goodbye! I got you back! I'm not letting you go. Not again!"
"Mom…" Tellion said as she looked Ellen right in the eyes. "This, me being here with you right now…it isn't real. This is all just…a dream…"
"A…dream…" Ellen whispered. Her head shook in response. "No, that's not true! I can feel you here, with me right now!"
"It only feels that way…" Tellion told her sadly. "I just…I needed to see you one last time."
Ellen refused to accept her words. She just shook her head again. "No Saddler, you're here…"
"Mom…" Tellion begged. "please just listen to me."
She grasped Ellen's hands again and squeezed them gently. Tellion couldn't explain why, but the softness of her touch, it sent a calming wave over the emotionally shattered woman. For the first time since seeing her as Saddler, Ellen became quiet.
"What happened to me. With the accident…" Tellion struggled to find the right words to tell her. "it wasn't fair. Things like that never are."
"I don't understand any of this," Ellen whimpered, the tears now freely flowing down her cheeks. "How…how were you, so healthy and alive, after what happened? Why did I get that miracle…just to have it taken away from me?"
"There are many mysteries in the universe." Tellion told her. "Many questions that simply don't have answers. I don't know why I was allowed to come back to you the way I was. All I can do is tell you what is happening now."
"Saddler, honey, please don't do this…" Ellen begged. "I can't…I can't go on…if you're gone…"
"I'll never be truly gone." Tellion told her. She weakly patted Ellen's chest right over her heart. "I'll always be with you, in here. But mom, I need you…to keep living your life…without me…"
"I can't do that baby…" Ellen sobbed, brushing her hands against Tellion's face. "I can't without you…"
"Yes, yes you can." Tellion said to Ellen. "I need you to keep living not just for me. You need to for Dad, for Justin, for Brooke, and for Forrest. Mom, they need you, now more than ever."
"No…" Ellen sobbed, her head falling in what felt like defeat. Now it was Tellion's turn to lift her face to look at what she believed was her son.
"This…goodbye, but it won't be forever." she assured Ellen with a warm smile. "We'll see each other again, one day. But…you have to promise me that you'll stay here and be strong for them."
"Saddler, I can't…"
"Promise me mom." Tellion begged.
Ellen seemed very hesitant to say the words, but at last, she weakly nodded her head.
"I…I promise honey."
Finally satisfied that she had averted tragedy with Ellen and her family, Tellion reluctantly pulled away from Ellen and got off the bed.
"I have to go now."
Ellen scooched forward as if to get off the bed.
"Go? Where are you going to go?"
"To…" Tellion tried to find the right words to express what she wanted to tell Ellen, all she could come up with was, "a better place."
Tellion retrieved the two sleeping pills and walked back over to Ellen. She held them out to her and snatched the small glass of water that was on the small table by the bed. Ellen looked at the two pills, then up at her.
"What…"
"They're not real." Tellion lied. "They're, a symbol of your willingness to let me go. So that you can keep living for the rest of our family."
"And if I don't take them?" Ellen questioned.
"Then I don't know what will happen." Tellion answered truthfully. "I don't feel like it'll be good at all."
Ellen looked back at the pills, staring long and hard at them. Tellion could see the thoughts racing through her mind in her eyes. For that entire time, Tellion was terrified that she wouldn't take them, and then she would have no idea what to do. Mercifully, Ellen weakly reached out and took them.
"You're not going to leave me forever, right?" Ellen asked.
"Mom, I'll stay with you until just before the sleep takes you." She then pointed at the closet. "Then, I'll go into that closet, and emerge as a crow to fly away to that better place."
Tellion then smiled at her.
"And…whenever I'm allowed, I'll be watching over you and Dad and the others as that crow. But I need you to let me go mom. You have to let me go so you can live for the others."
She was crying too hard to speak. Her head only bobbled up and down slightly before she took the cup of water and swallowed the pills. True to her word, Tellion instructed Ellen to lay down on the bed while she sat beside her, holding her hand tightly. Nothing was said for a while as the sleep slowly began to take over her. Once it was fully bringing the weariness upon her, Ellen spoke.
"The day you were born, when I first heard you cry, that was happiest day of my life." she then began to sob softly. "And that day I got the phone call about your accident, it was the worst of my life…"
"I know mom," Tellion told her, squeezing her hand tightly. "I can see all of that clearly now."
She leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. "I have to go now."
Ellen whimpered upon hearing that, but she was too weak from the pills to move. Tellion went back in the closet, changed out of the clothes she had worn, and quickly morphed back to her normal body, then into the crow. Before she exited the closet, Tellion stretched her wing out and painfully plucked a single feather. With the shiny black feather clapped firmly in her beak, Tellion took flight. She flew out of the closet, over to the bed, and dropped the feather into Ellen's hand. Once done, she landed on the window sill and looked back at Ellen. She was struggling to remain awake, but somehow found the strength to keep her eyelids halfway open as she starred at Tellion.
Goodbye mom. Tellion said to her in thought speak I love you.
"I…love…you…" Ellen managed to wheeze out before her head collapsed in what Tellion hoped was blissful slumber.
With nothing left to keep her there, Tellion flew out the open window, and away from Saddler's home and family forever.
As she rose into the dark sky, Tellion didn't truly know what she was feeling. All those things she had said to Ellen…Tellion didn't know if she believed a single word of it was true. She didn't know if there was something after death, a 'better place'. But…she guessed, none of that truly mattered.
What mattered was that Ellen now believed that it was true. And if that belief kept her from doing something terrible to herself and gave her the will to keep living for the rest of her family, then that was a lie Tellion was willing to accept. And when she woke in the morning, that single crow feather in her hand would be enough to convince her that what she had experienced last night was real enough to keep believing.
Tellion became so encased in her thoughts that she had completely lost all track of both time and her direction. She had been so sure that she knew the way back to her house from the Langley's that it was only after a considerable amount of time in the air that Tellion finally realized that something was amiss. She looked down, and immediately knew that she wasn't anywhere near her neighborhood. Tellion was gliding over a densely packed forest. Even at night, she couldn't recognize any of the topography, and she had flown over most of the wooded area near where she lived several times. Nothing below her had any familiarity to it. In fact, she was floating over what appeared to be a valley. Strange, she couldn't remember any valleys anywhere near where she was flying.
Just as she realized this, Tellion felt the familiar faint jolt of her time limit approaching her. More afraid of becoming stuck in her morph than landing in a place she didn't know, Tellion folded her wings and took a controlled dive into the closest field that her avian eyes could spot. Still taking great care to maintain a degree of secrecy, Tellion landed along the edge of the wood line. If anything were to happen, she could disappear into the woods long enough to shift into another morph and escape.
She instantly began shifting back into human form moments before she even touched down upon the grass. When she had returned to her natural Susan body, Tellion dragged herself over to the closest tree, leaned her back against it, and slowly slid to the damp ground. Sitting with her back against the tree, Tellion looked up at the star saturated sky, and let herself become lost in the mixture of thoughts. She pondered everything that had happened in just the last few days, days that felt like they had happened in another life.
Even though she couldn't shake the feelings of pain and remorse for having taken a life, she did feel a sense of balance return to her tortured spirit from not only saving Ellen's life, but also her entire family as well. And in a strange way, Tellion supposed, that made Erik's words about counterbalancing out her dark deeds with good ones ring true in both her mind and spirit. A weary sigh escaped her lips and she finally, after all these days of nearly endless plotting, running, fighting, and suffering, she could at long last allow herself a moment of peace.
A rustling of the tree branches high above her made Tellion's eyes snap open. No sooner had she instinctively looked up she heard the clatter of something descending towards her. Tellion leapt to her feet and jumped away from the tree. She scrambled over herself until she was a little distance away from the tree as whatever it was that was dropping through the foliage drew closer to the bottom. As Tellion instinctively took a defensive stance and prepared herself to immediately shift into her Black Panther morph, the thing abruptly halted just at the last batch of tree limbs overlooking her. For a time, neither she nor the unseeable thing moved. There was nothing except the faint breeze surrounding Tellion that made the tens of thousands of leaves all around rustle.
"He said that you would come." echoed a small voice that carried across the wind to tickle against Tellion's ears.
She said nothing in response. She just held her ground and prepared to morph. Then it emerged from among the tree branches to stare at Tellion. When she saw it, both Tellion's guard and jaw dropped. It was unfazed from her reaction, dropping to the ground in front of Tellion.
"I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. All of my life, no matter how short it currently is."
All Tellion could do was stammer a weak response as the Hork-Bajir rose to its full height, even though that only made the very top of the two horn blades on its head level at the top of Tellion's chest. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. A Hork-Bajir, speaking to her as if they were equal in intelligence. But that…wasn't possible…a Hork-Bajir couldn't be smart like this. It just couldn't…
The small Hork-Bajir seemed to sense Tellion's disbelief in its ability to speak to her the way it was.
"Yes, Tellion 7854, I, like my great-grandfather Dak Hamee before me, am different than other Hork-Bajir. Just like your great-grandparent before you, Tellion, are different from other Yeerks."
"How…" Tellion muttered, still struggling to understand how any of this was happening. "How do you know my name? How can you speak…"
"The voice told me." the Hork-Bajir said.
"What voice?"
"The one that speaks from everywhere, and nowhere at the same time. It told me all about you, what you are, and what you have done. And how I owe both my freedom and my life to you Tellion."
"What are you talking about?" Tellion questioned. "I never…"
The realization hit Tellion instantly.
Go! Get out of here before they realize what's happened! Find some place safe to have your baby! The memory of Tellion's words echoed all through her mind, especially the words she had with the Ellimist as she had been leaving the Yeerk Pool after saving Jara-Hamee and Ket-Helpak. Will I ever know if what I did mattered? Will I ever know if they escaped? If the right choices are made, the right paths taken, then there is a possibility for it in the future.
The Hork-Bajir waited from Tellion to connect the dots of what she was being told before speaking again.
"I Toby-Hamee, daughter of Jar-Hamee and Ket-Halpak, am a Hork-Bajir that my kind has not seen for generations. I am a Seer. And you, Tellion 7854, are a Prime Yeerk like your great-grandparent Akdor."
"How, what?" Was all Tellion could manage to say.
Toby-Hamee continued.
"Our fates have finally touched. Long ago, our ancestors faced each other as mortal adversaries. But perhaps, you and I can become something better."
"What do you want from me?" Tellion mumbled.
"Redemption." Toby said bluntly.
Tellion looked at the young Hork-Bajir with both confusion and shock. "Redemption." Tellion whispered. "I don't understand…"
Toby stepped cautiously closer towards Tellion.
"Like I said before, the great voice told me many things. But most of them of how you feel regret for what your ancestor Akdor did to my people. So now I, the new Seer of the Hork-Bajir, offer you Tellion, the next Prime Yeerk, a chance to achieve redemption for your ancestor's actions."
"How exactly do you expect me to do that?" Tellion asked.
Toby shifted her head to the side slightly.
"I know much about you Tellion, but most of all, I know now that you have the power to change just like the Andalites do. That ability will be vital to help me free my people."
"But…" Tellion attempted to counter. "I am just one individual. Don't you have a way to contact the resistance? They would be far more help to you than I ever could…"
"They helped free my parents from Yeerk slavery, but they have little to do with us now. Only one comes from time to time to check on us, but that is it. They are not our allies, they are barely even friends." Toby countered.
"But you, Tellion, you have a desire to help. You have a spirit yearning to aid us."
"But, how do you expect me to help?"
"Your morphing powers. You will use them to help me and my parents free as many of my people from Yeerk enslavement."
Toby stretched out her slightly smaller hand towards Tellion in the human gesture of friendship.
"What do you say, Tellion, great-granddaughter of Akdor? Will you help us? Will you show that Yeerks are worthy of redepmtion?"
She wanted to say no. Oh how desperately did she want to refuse that outstretched hand, morph into one of her bird forms, fly home, and just forget the war was happening all around her. Yet as she looked into the small red eyes that were a mixture of hope and suspicion, Tellion already knew what her answer was going to be before she spoke. Her knees began to buckle and her heart pounded against her ribs.
Tellion reached out her hand and firmly grasped Toby's. "Ok, Toby," Tellion said, "I don't know what help I can be to you or your people, but I'm ready to try my best."
Toby gave no expression. She just continued to keep looking up at Tellion.
"Tellion," she said in a low, serious voice. "you are the first of your kind that the Hork-Bajir will dare to trust. I trust it will not be in vain."
"I'll do whatever I can to earn that trust from you, Toby." Tellion replied with absolute convinction in her voice.
Maybe, Tellion thought to herself as she stared down at the special Hork-Bajir still holding her hand, I have found my place in this war…