She was drifting again. In that vast empty space that no Yeerk before her had managed to enter, at least alive, according to that dastardly voice of which she so desperately wanted to forget. There was nothing in that seemingly endless expanse of blackness. Nothing visible for her anyway. Yet, there was something. A noise, or collection of noises, echoed out. They rippled across the distance, if there truly was such a thing in this place. Tellion, once again in Susan's body, strained her ears as the noises washed over her. Then she understood. They were not random noises, they were voices. Voices that she had never heard before, but could understand the strain, the desperation in their words.
…don't stop fighting it, if this doesn't work, I don't know how I'll be able to….
…he's part of my own flesh and blood, but I'll still kill him if that's the only way to free him…
…I've already lost enough in this life, I'm not going to lose you to that thing, no mater what…
…he's always been there for me in the worst parts of my life, and now I'm going to be there for him, no matter how much he's suffering now…
…my prince, I can only hope that one day you can grant me forgiveness, it's my fault that this horrific fate has befallen you…
"What…what is this?" Tellion asked, not knowing who would answer her. And no one did. Not in the way she expected.
Instead of a direct answer, she heard two more voice swell up among the others, one faint, and the other…
…you see, nothing you've said or do will get you out of this, sooner or later you're going to die, and I'll be free again…
…you think you have all figured out then? That your friends are going to somehow save you and stop me from revealing you to the Visser? I can't wait to prove you wrong, and I'm especially going to enjoy hearing your cries when we both watch the infestation of them all. I've seen into every little corner of your mind, I know your deepest feelings, and desires. Oh yes, it will be especially enjoyable for me to have you watch a Yeerk crawl into the ear of the one that you…
Tellion's eyes widened at the familiarity of that sinister tone.
"I know that voice." she whispered with true fear.
And just like that, the voices were gone, and she awoke to strange noises.
It was the sounds of small flying mammals chirping their high pitched that unltimately convinced Tellion that she was indeed still alive and not in that other place.
Nervously sitting up, she whipped her forehead and winced at how saturated her hand was from the body's internal perspiration. She then felt that the rest of the body was equally soaked, as well as the area of the bed she had been sleeping on. Weakly climbing from the bed, Tellion nervously rubbed her arms as she stared at the large wet area she had just been resting on.
Another dream. She thought. But was it really just a dream? How could she really know? She had never dreamed until these last two nights.
Either way, Tellion knew better than to just dismiss this one either.
Tellion moved slightly, and felt her wet clothing cling tightly to her. Not enjoying the feeling, Tellion quickly removed all of the saturated garments. Once free of the last items of clothing, Tellion took a moment to let the cool air of the room dry out her skin. She thought about going to window to observe the small flying mammals, they made her feel a sense of joy for reasons that she had yet to be able to understand. But Tellion decided against it. She was still learning so much about natives, but a part of her felt that if she were to stand in front of the glass panel without any garments, it might cause a disturbance for any natives passing by.
So Tellion waited quietly in the corner of the room, letting her mind drift as she tried to make sense of everything that she had just gone through.
Those voices…they didn't sound like any she had heard before, they vaguely reminded her of Visser Three's thought speech. It was not like any voices she was used to, except that last one. Its tone was so sinister, so sadistic, and so familiar. Tellion was sure that she had heard that voice before, it's mocking tone that seemed to reveal in any form of torture of its victim. It was very much like…
Tellion's eyes widened and her lips parted slightly as the realization struck her.
"Temrash…" she whispered with a shudder.
No doubt about it, the last voice before she had awoken had been Temrash. Then…he had survived too. But how? The voice had told her that the Andalites had attacked the Yeerk pool immediately after she had been taken out of it. Then how could he have survived where none of the others had.
Unless…Tellion thought with a shocking revelation. He somehow infested one of the Andalites in the battle.
How that was possible? Tellion just couldn't begin to understand such a thing. But if the tone of the other voices she had heard were any indication, then the rest of them had discovered Temrash infestation of their commrade. No doubt they…
The door swung open, breaking Tellion's concentration and causing her to bring her arms up to cover her body's personal areas. For a second, Tellion was terrified that it would be Mark, for reasons that she couldn't explain. That was probably the reason why she released a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Linda.
Her eyes widened and she instantly shut the door behind her. "Susan!" she exclaimed. "Sweetie, you can't just walk around without any clothes on!"
"Ss…oo...rrryyy?" she said, hoping that was the right answer to give in the current situation.
Linda blinked, looking just as confused about Tellion's answer. She shook her head and smiled at her. "It's alright, sweetie. I can't expect you to know everything right away."
She went over to the wooden box that held personal garments and pulled out several garments that she had explained to Tellion yesterday were 'shirts' and 'pants' and 'underwear'. Tellion let her pick out an outfit that Linda felt would be acceptable to fit on her body. Pretending to need her guidance, Tellion let Linda guide her on how to properly dress herself, even though she already knew how to do such a thing. Still, it seemed to make Linda happy, and that was something that made Tellion happy herself.
Once she was acceptably dressed, Linda led Tellion out of the bedroom and down into the kitchen. Everyone was there, including Mark. And they all had full plates of steaming food in front of them. Except there was a single space that was empty. Mark motioned for her to take the empty space beside him. Not needing any further encouragement, Tellion took a seat beside him and took the fork in her hand.
She looked down at the food before her. Some kind of circular food that Linda called 'pancakes'. Tellion tasted it with a bit of hesitancy. Its texture was a bit softer than she remembered the eggs being, but the sticky liquid substance called 'syrup' that covered them more than made her forget about the texture with the pleasurable explosion it created across her tongue. Everyone seemed to laugh at her as she tore into the pancakes with a ravenous fury. Tellion forced a smile back at them, not sure what they were finding so amusing.
They continued to speak to her, and Tellion was able to figure out the meaning to a few more words among their conversations with her. But she was still only able to give them single word responses at best. Yet it didn't seem to matter to them, they just appeared to be glad that she was interacting with them.
Once the breakfast was finished, they all took Tellion into the living room. Just like they had done most of the prior day, they made her sit down in front of the primitive viewing screen and watch programing that had many strange little creatures that didn't in anyway appear natural to her, yet they spoke of 'letters' and 'numbers'. It had taken Tellion several hours to understand that these type of scenarios had been designed for young natives to be educated. Although she was far from a youngling, Tellion still didn't know much about native culture, or even their language. So she reserved herself to pay close attention and understand native tongues and customs. And it helped her learn. She was already able to count one to ten on all of her body's fingers, and now knew the words and native symbols associated with those numbers. And she also had a very good understanding of the native language primer for the dialect known as 'English' that was called 'the alphabet' and the twenty-six letters that it encompassed, to the point where she was able to follow the rhyme that went through the whole alphabet.
After several hours of the educational programs, Mark and the rest turned the primitive screen off and took Tellion outside. She had to admit, despite her desire to learn as much as she could, Tellion was incredibly grateful to be outside of the dwelling and into the outside world. It was so refreshing and everything was so bright. It was an existence full of more life than she had ever known of throughout much of her pitiful comprehension of life.
She basked in the warmth of the light of the system's star, letting the rays touch every part of her exposed skin. The gust of air that caused her hair to waive about and sent tingles all across her skin. It was so comforting, and strange in so many good ways. And her appearing to be happy only seemed to make everyone else equally pleasant.
Linda brought out a large plate of square shaped food called 'sandwiches' along with other things called 'chips' and a big glass container of a liquid called 'lemonade'. Although the sandwiches weren't as tasty as the pancakes had been, Tellion did enjoy the explosion of sensations in her mouth from any type of native food. In fact, Tellion was finding that there was very little about this existance that she wasn't enjoying. As much as she hated to feel it, Tellion experienced a bit of jealousy at Susan and the peaceful life that she had enjoyed.
Again, Tellion did worry about Susan, and did indeed want so desperately to find her, but she just couldn't help but feel that resentment for how radically different both of their lives had been, because Tellion believed that the real Susan would have been very much like her. Kind, caring, and longing for the betterment of all she knew. At least that's what Tellion hoped Susan had been like. It felt like that was the case with her interactions with Mark and the rest, but Tellion couldn't truly tell since she had only just known them.
Her thoughts about Susan faded when she felt a familiar discomfort building up in her body's lower midsection. She was building up excess liquid waste, and needed to purge it from her body. But she wasn't familiar with the location of the dwelling's lower level waste facilities. And she didn't know the words to ask any of them where to find it. Not knowing what to do, Tellion began to nervously fidget in her seat. Thankfully, Linda seemed to be able to read Tellion's actions.
"Bathroom Susan?" she asked.
Thankfully, Tellion was able to understand what Linda was asking her. "Bathroom." she said with a bit of hesitation, and what she could only assume was, embarrassment.
Despite her reluctance to admit that 'her' body needed to relieve excess waste, Linda just smiled and took her hand. As everyone else watched on, Linda led Tellion back to the dwelling. Once inside, she took Tellion over to a small room with a waste relieving seat. She spoke to her, and it took Tellion several times of Linda speaking to her to understand that she was asking if she needed help in how to use the facilities. Tellion promptly shook her head. Even among Yeerks, one didn't make it a habit of letting others view them doing their personal relief. Much to Tellion's mental relief, Linda accepted her desire, and let her relieve her body in private.
Once done, Tellion exited the room and noticed that Linda was nowhere to be seen. Curious, since she had practically hovered over Tellion since she had first met her the other day. Tellion began to look around the interior. She had only searched through two separate rooms before the sound of running water caught her attention. Still not entirely used to the native range of hearing, it took Tellion a few moments to pinpoint where the sound was coming from. The 'kitchen'.
Driven on by her inquisitive nature, Tellion quietly approached the entrance to the room. Inside, she saw Linda standing over the sink with the 'faucet' pouring out a high powered stream of water. In Linda's hands she held some kind of glass container with a dark appearing liquid that was turned upside down and was being poured into the sink. And Tellion heard her make a strangled sound through short, quick breaths.
"Mark, you told me you had gotten rid of all this, how could you keep any of it around…" she spoke softly, clearly talking to herself.
Tellion didn't truly know why, but hearing the sadness in Linda's voice drew Tellion to her. She took a step inside the kitchen, and the floor made a sound from the weight of her footfall. It clearly alerted Linda. She spun around, making a clear attempt to hide the glass container behind her. Her eyes were glistening with tears. It made Tellion sad to see that, even if she didn't know why they were there.
"Susan!" Linda exclaimed. "I didn't know you were finished!"
Tellion tilted her head to the side, mimicking her memories of human gestures to imply unspoken curiosity. The action proved to be the appropriate response. Linda used a free hand to wipe away the wetness from her eyes.
"Sorry baby, I don't like you seeing me like this. I was just…" Linda didn't finish saying what she must have been thinking. Tellion may have been still very dim when it came to understanding native actions and customs, but even she could tell that Linda was trying to think of some kind of acceptable response to the actions that she clearly didn't want anyone seeing. And it made her sad to see Susan's mother in such a state, it caused her insides to feel strange, and not in a good way.
"No cry mother." Tellion spoke to her, formulating the few words she had learned into a statement that she hoped would help to ease Linda's sorrow.
It worked, because her eyes widened and her jaw dropped at the three word statement. Whatever it was that she was holding behind her dropped into the sink with a loud clanking noise.
"Susan…" Linda said in a barely audible voice. "Did you just…"
Tellion pointed towards the window, and the bright world that lay just beyond the thin layer of glass.
"Sunny day." she said, repeating the words of the rhyme that she had learned earlier from the educational program on the flat viewing screen. "Happy day."
That didn't stop Linda's tears. All it did was make them flow freely down both of her cheeks and cause her to place her hand over her mouth. For a moment, Tellion thought that she had done or said something wrong. Until Linda quickly walked over and threw her arms around her.
"Oh Susan." she cried into her shoulder. "How…how are you learning so quickly?"
Tellion didn't really have an answer for Linda's question. She didn't understand almost any of the words, except being addressed as Susan. Knowing that only made Tellion herself sad, because Susan's mother was completely oblivious to the fact that she wasn't interacting with her daughter, but instead was speaking to an exterterrestrial parasitic slug that had enveloped her daughter's brain. Still, Tellion did feel a warmth from Linda's actions, and despite a faint warning in the back of her own thought process, she lifted her arms and encased them around Linda. That one single act only served to solidify Linda's emotional state, and though it should have been impossible, she managed to tighten her grip around Tellion.
Neither said anything for a time, and Tellion was perfectly fine with that state of being as she basked in the unfamiliar affection that natives experienced. After what felt like an entire day, but was probably only just the span of a few heartbeats, Linda pulled away from Tellion and looked at her with a bright face full of joy, and maybe even hope.
"Thank you sweetie. I feel much better. Do you?" she asked.
"Better." Tellion responded, not sure herself why she said that, or even really sure what she said.
Still, it seemed to satisfy Linda, and she didn't press anymore questions to Tellion. After they left the room, Linda told her something about going outside while she made 'desert'. Tellion didn't understand those words, but she was able to figure out that Linda wanted her to go back outside while she did something in the 'kitchen'. Not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to herself, Tellion exited the dwelling and walked back to the wooden structure that they had all eaten at. Ellaine wasn't sitting anymore, she was off in the far corner of the wooden perimeter that encompassed the dwelling, near a small structure that looked vaguely familiar to the dwelling that Susan and Mark lived in. Only this one seemed to be a dwelling for the small flying mammals that existed in the surrounding terrain around the 'home'.
Tellion didn't think that it would be wise to interrupt Ellaine in her seemingly happy state, so she opted instead to walk over to Mark and Arthur. As she approached, Tellion noticed that neither of them seemed to notice that she was drawing closer, because they were speaking as if she wasn't there. Tellion didn't know why, but she didn't make a sound to draw attention to herself as she drew closer.
"I just don't know how to explain any of this Art." Mark said to Susan's father.
Clearly neither of them heard her footsteps on the vegetation that layered the soil. And even though she couldn't understand their words, Tellion didn't want to interrupt their conversation. It seemed important to them.
"What do you mean Mark? We have Susan back, and we should be grateful for that."
"I am Art." Mark said. "I really am. But there is just something…I don't really know how to explain it really."
"Well, talk to me son, what's on your mind?"
"It's just that…" Mark said, shaking his head. "I don't know how to really understand all of it Art. Susan, she's just…"
"Yes?"
"I mean." The look on his face worried Tellion. There was a sort of concern that she hadn't seen in Mark before. "It's only been two days Art."
Mark lifted two fingers on his dominant hand, as if to emphasize the point he was trying to make. "Two days. When I saw Susan in the hospital, she could barely speak even one word. And now…"
Mark leaned a little closer to express his next words to Arthur.
"She's clearly able to understand some of the things that we're saying, and she's even starting to form sentences in response to the things we're saying to her. I mean, I haven't dealt with any kind of situations like this since medical school…but I've never encountered a case where someone is able to recover from head trama at THIS kind of pace. When I talk to her, it's not like I'm dealing with someone who's suffered total memory loss. It's more like…dealing with someone who just speaks another language."
Arthur, despite a clear example of concern on his own face, rubbed his chin and spoke to Mark.
"Look, son. I know that you are probably worried about Susan. And so am I."
Arthur reached across the wooden table and placed a hand on Mark's shoulder, Tellion could only guess that was a sign of affection between males of the native species, but she couldn't know for sure.
"I know how you're feeling right now. Like none of this is real, and you're going to wake up suddenly and realize that she isn't really back with us."
Mark didn't say anything. Arthur clearly took that as a sign that his words were speaking a sort of truth to him.
"But she is really here. And we shouldn't be questioning that stroke of fortune. Sometimes, it's better to not question a miracle when it happens to you."
"I guess you're right dad." Mark said to him with a slight nod of his head. "I suppose it's just me worrying about nothing."
It was at that moment that the two of them seemed to realize that Tellion was standing at the end of the wooden structure they were sitting at. Both of their faces appeared to brighten at the sight of her.
"Susan!" Mark said with a slightly higher pitch in his voice. "I didn't hear you coming."
He rose from where he was sitting and came to her. "Are you feeling better?"
Tellion doubted that Mark would ever truly understand the relief that she was feeling in that moment when she realized that she had come to understand almost all the words he had spoken to her.
"Better Mark." Tellion answered in that tone of voice she had come to understand was joyful. She pointed back at the dwelling. "Mother in home. Make dessert. Said is yummy."
Arthur laughed softly from behind Mark. "Yes sweetie, you're mom does love making dessert. You used to too."
Tellion patted her chest as she looked at Arthur. "Me make dessert?"
He just nodded his head with a very wide smile. But Tellion didn't pay any more attention to him as Mark stepped closer to her. Tellion felt her whole body tighten as Mark gently placed a hand on her cheek. She wasn't aware that she was smiling at him until he rubbed his thumb across the smooth skin of her cheek, dragging it across the corner of her mouth. Tellion was both thrilled and concerned by that. She was estatic at Mark's touch, but when was it that she started smiling? She didn't remember consciously doing that.
Before Tellion had any more time to dwell on that thought, Linda apparently had finished whatever it was she needed to make the 'dessert. Mark reluctantly pulled himself away from her and took a seat. That didn't stop Tellion from sitting next to him. But she wasn't able to enjoy anymore personal time with him, because Elliane had chosen to sit right next to her as well.
"Still haven't had enough?" she asked to Tellion, pointing at her stomach. "You're going to blow up like a balloon you keep stuffing your face like that."
"Stuff face? Balloon?" Tellion asked, totally clueless on what those words were or what they meant.
Clearly, Linda and the others didn't approve of Ellaine's words.
"Ellaine! Don't talk like that to your sister!" she said in a harsh voice.
Ellaine just smiled at Linda and put her arm around Tellion. "Oh come on mom! I'm just messing around. Suzie knows I didn't mean any of it."
When they all looked at her, Tellion just smiled at all of them. "It ok. Sisters."
To put them all at ease by her words, Tellion mimicked Ellaine's actions and put her own arm around Susan's sibling. That made everyone, especially Ellaine, laugh very loudly. With that said and done, Linda placed a bowl of the dessert in front of all of them. It looked strange to her, but all native food still seemed strange to her. Linda explained that it was something that was a combination of things called 'strawberries' and 'ice cream'. Tellion was a little hesitant to consume it because, just like the ginger maple oatmeal she had been warned about the prior day, this substance needed a spoon to consume it as well.
Tellion did her best to not show her hesitancy, but she couldn't help to look all around her at the sky, waiting for that voice to speak out either a warning or an assurance to her. But there was nothing but silence. And she just had to accept the words that it had spoken about not being able to speak to her again until after something else had happened. What that would be, she just couldn't begin to guess.
With nothing left to guide her except her own instincts, Tellion took a spoonful of the dessert and placed it into her mouth. The very first thing that she was aware of was the cold that slightly stung the inside of her mouth. But that faded within moments, replaced by that same senation that she had enjoyed earlier in the day, only this was much stronger. A faint, joyful rumble came from the back of Tellion's throat as she enjoyed the contents of the substance known as ice cream.
"Delicious, huh?" Ellaine said, lightly jamming the middle joint of her arm into Tellion's side.
Tellion looked at Susan's little sister and smile genuinely. "Delicious." she answered, licking up a little bit that had seeped out past her lips.
That seemed the right answer, because everyone also smiled. With nothing left to hold her back, Tellion sat there with Mark and the rest of Susan's family and enjoyed the ice cream. The only sad part for Tellion about the whole experience was when she finally scooped up the very last bits of the delicious liquid treat and swallowed it.
Tellion must have made some kind of face that showed her displeasure of finishing off the ice cream, because Linda reached across the table and placed her hand over hers.
"It's ok baby, there'll be more for you later."
"More? Later?" Tellion asked, looking at her, not entirely sure of the words.
Linda just smiled at her and held up her bowl and the one that Arthur had eaten from. "Yes, sweetie. More. But later."
Oh, Tellion thought. There'll be more of this 'ice cream' in the future. I hope it's the near future.
Tellion smiled back at her. "I like ice cream. Want more later."
"And you will honey. Just not right now." Linda said. "Now let's all go back inside."
And so they did. Arthur and Ellaine remained outside to clean up the dirty bowls and other things they had eaten with. Mark and Linda brought her back inside.
And together, they spent the next several hours showing Tellion small paper bound texts and photos that again appeared to have been made for younger natives. Still Tellion paid close attention without complaint. There was still so very much to learn about being both a native, and being Susan.
She learned about creatures called 'caterpillars' that vaguely reminded Tellion of her natural state, but yet had the ability to self-morph into an entirely different creature called a 'butterfly', and the many silly adventures that they could go on after being able to take flightg. She also learned about the lives of creatures that were called 'bears' that dressed like natives and lived in a tree like dwelling, very reminiscent to Hork-Bajir in the true state. Despite how captivating it was, Tellion had to keep reminding herself that it was very unlikely that the things that Mark and Linda were showing her were how these planet based creatures actually lived. If they had, Tellion was sure that there would have been some briefing in the empire's records about them for this planet.
Although Tellion really didn't like telling lies, she could see some form of merit in the way that natives lied to themselves about certain things that were not true to reality. It was vaguely how she felt about pretending to be Susan. Although she knew that she wasn't the person that Mark and the others thought she was, Tellion still felt a great warmth within her at the joy that they were all revaling at Susan's apparent return.
As the light from the star that the planet orbited began to fade slightly, Mark and Linda finally decided to stop with Tellion's teachings. They began talking to Arthur and Ellaine, apparently trying to decide among themselves what they would make for food next. Tellion hadn't paid much attention to it, but apparently natives needed to consume resources on a basis of about three times a day. As they continued to talk, Tellion felt proud for herself when she recognized several of the words that were being spoken among them. Although she couldn't quite understand why Arthur and Mark appeared excited at the prospect of 'grilling burgers'.
With that decision apparently made, Linda and Ellaine took Tellion by her arms and lifted her from the seat she had been resting in.
"Come on Suzie." Ellaine said, pulling her towards the front door to the dwelling. "Let's get out of here."
Linda wrapped her arm under Tellion's and smiled at her. "Yes honey, let's let the boys have their fun and go for a walk. I thinking getting out of the house will do you some good."
"Walk?" Tellion asked, completely clueless on what that word meant.
Ellaine and Linda both laughed to themselves at the idea that Tellion didn't know that that simple word was supposed to mean. Ellaine began to pace around the room in front of Tellion.
"Walk." she said, pointing at her legs as she moved them about.
"Walk." Tellion said, moving her own legs forward. She had been doing it without a problem for the last two days, she just hadn't known the word that was associated with moving one's legs in the native's tounge. Well, that was one more word that she had learned.
"Come on baby," Linda said, also pulling her towards the door. "Let's go."
"Ok." Tellion answered her. "Go."
Together, the three of them left the dwelling and headed out for the 'walk'. It was a very strange experience for Tellion. But then again, so was everything about native life. To think that one could just simply walk around an area for no other reason than to just enjoy their surroundings and revel in the joy of the very life essence of the planet itself. Ellaine and Linda truly couldn't understand, nor appreciate, Tellion's jealousy of their relatively peaceful lives. Everything that they seemed to do had such ease, such happiness, with no real or true threat to their very existence. It was not something that a low class Yeerk like herself, who had known almost every moment of her short life as one of living in fear or failure and execution, could truly understand. But she was trying to, because she found this kind of life so very enjoyable.
As they walked down an artificial path that ran parallel to the native made pathways for their primitive vehicles, both Ellaine and Linda would point out the small mammals that they encountered. The smaller ones running up and through the surrounding trees they called squirrels, but Tellion paid more attention to the ones with wings. They were mostly small creatures generally referred to as 'birds', but Linda did point out several sub-species of these creatures. Almost completely black colored ones known as crows, bright blue ones called swallows, dull grey birds referred to as pigeons. And so on and so on. Tellion found this abundance of life to be totally captivating. To think, there were so many creatures living in just the areas that the natives had developed to live in, far more than she suspected existed on the entire Yeerk homeworld.
When she had been younger, a part of Tellion had always yearned to one day see the ancestral birth place of her people with her own eyes (or rather the eyes of the host she would have been inhabiting at the time). But now, for reasons that she doubted that she would ever truly understand, Tellion didn't feel that longing anymore. The place where her people had come from had had been so barren, so lacking in life, that she was almost certain that was one of the reasons Yeerks had evolved to be so harsh and cruel. It had been their only true survival mechanism that had enabled them to become the dominate species on the planet. That and the point in ancient time when they had somehow discovered that they could enter the bodies of the Gedd and control them like they were their own.
Although she had only been exposed to their world for two very short days, Tellion felt a greater connection between her and this planet than she had ever felt for the home world of the Yeerks. Maybe that should have scared her, but it didn't. It only brought to Tellion a sense of joy that she hadn't truly been aware of until coming into this life.
Tellion didn't say much other than to occasionally repeat words that both Ellaine and Linda said to her, trying her very best to make sure that she fully understood what they all meant. After some distance traveled, though Tellion couldn't truly be sure how far it was that they traveled, the three of them arrived in a native recreational place known as a 'park'.
Linda had the three of them sit down on a long wooden seat, for which Tellion was grateful. Her legs hurt so much from just the short distance they had traveled, and she was having trouble keeping herself up. With both Susan's mother and little sister sitting on either side of her, Tellion just sat there and listened to the two of them talk to her. Most of the things they spoke of were about the things that Susan used to enjoy doing. Coming to the park seemed to be one of them. Tellion felt a sort of connection between herself and Susan when she was told by Linda that Susan had always had an enjoyment for the abundance of life that encompassed this world. In some ways, it almost made Tellion wonder if their meeting was fated, besides being orchestrated by some seemingly cosmic voice that had enabled the events of their coming together to happen.
As they spoke to her, and Tellion began to wonder about her own fate, a small furry mammal came running past them and grabbed the small satchel that Linda had brought with her called a 'purse'. Tellion was caught off guard by this action, but she didn't really know how to react. Clearly, the purse was very important to Linda. Both she and Ellaine leapt to their feet and raced after the small mammal, shouting at the creature as if it would understand their words. Tellion didn't do anything except remain where she was as she watched the two of them chase after the creature. Then, like the explosion of a light coming on, Tellion remembered the native programing on the viewing screen that explained what the creature was.
"D is for dog." Tellion said to herself as she continued to watch them chase down the small mammal known as a dog. "The dog says, 'woof woof'."
She didn't know why, but seeing them run after the creature made Tellion laugh slightly to herself. She was just beginning to wonder if she should go after Linda and Ellaine when she spotted another dog, slightly larger and different colored than the first one. This one was chasing a small, greenish sphere shaped object as it rushed across the grass and into a paved pathway for native vehicles. As Tellion watched, a feeling of dread rushed through her when she spotted a native vehicle rolling down the pathway, heading directly for the dog. The creature finally captured the sphere, and stopped directly in the path of the moving vehicle. It was completely oblivious to the impending injury, or even death, that was about to befall it.
You can save him. A voice whispered in the back of Tellion's mind. One that wasn't her own, and its call grew fainter the more she heard it.
You can save him.
You can save him.
You can save him.
Tellion would never understand why, but those words spurred her to action. Without even thinking of her own safety, she leapt to her feet and rushed as fast as her legs would carry her towards the dog. The small creature seemed to notice her running towards it, but did nothing except sit down on its back legs and wage its tail in a sign of happiness, completely oblivious to the danger it had placed itself in.
Please, Tellion thought to herself. Don't let me fail…
She reached the dog just a few moments before the rolling vehicle would have impacted the creature, as if the creature anticipated her approach he rose on his back legs, allowing her to have greater ease to catch him. Tellion didn't even think of what she was doing, she just scooped the dog up in her arms at the fastest pace her legs would carry her and leapt with all her might. She cleared the entire length of the paved pathway and landed in the grass with the native vehicle stopped an instant later with a horrendous sound of grinding metal and other unpleasant noises. A male's head poked out from the open view port on the vehicle's side and looked at her.
"Holy crap lady, are you ok?!" he asked.
Tellion took several deep breaths as she looked at the native male. As if the dog was able to read her feelings of relief, the furry creature began to furiously lick Tellion's face. She didn't know why, but that sole act brought so much happiness to Tellion in that moment that she nearly forgot the physical pearl that she had just placed herself in. Not really knowing the correct response to the native's question, she just nodded at him.
"Yes. I ok." she said as the dog continued to lick her face.
"Alright." he said, looking around with a strange face before leaning back into his vehicle and driving away at a quick speed.
Tellion took no real notice of his hasty departure as the dog continued to rapidly lick her face. "Dog says woof woof." Tellion told the creature in a silly voice as it continued to lick her.
Almost immediately after he had left, a pair of younger native females came running up.
"Homer, you bad dog, you can't run away like that!" one of them shouted.
Tellion examined the two of them as they quickly approached. They were both of the same height and physical body shape as Susan's little sister Ellaine. That must have meant that they were roughly the same age range as she was. But that's where their similarities ended.
One appeared to have a skin tone similar to Susan's. But her hair was much longer, and it was a bright and shiny color as opposed to the host body that Tellion was inhabiting. The other…
She was almost the same height as the other, but slightly shorter. Her skin tone was much darker than the other, with hair that was strangely almost identical to her skin tone. Tellion didn't know why, but she seemed so familiar to her. Almost as if she had seen this native female before. But, for the life of her, Tellion just couldn't remember where that had been.
"Homer!" the darker colored native female shouted, running across the paved pathway and grasping a small tether that was around the dog's neck that Tellion had failed to notice. "You bad dog! You're not supposed to run away like that!"
She pulled the dog called Homer off of Tellion and knelt beside the animal. The way she looked at the creature, there seemed to be more in her eyes than Tellion could truly understand. Almost as if recapturing Homer meant more to her than just getting the mammal. She looked at Tellion and gave a genuine smile of satisfaction.
"Thank you Ms., he may not be the brightest dog, but he really means a lot to me."
The dark skinned female turned to the other one. "Rachael, you were supposed to help me keep an eye on him!"
"It's not my fault Cassie!" the one known as Rachel exclaimed. "You were the one that was holding his leash!"
The dog called Homer appeared oblivious to their minor argument as he leapt on the darker skinned native female called Cassie and began licking her face. As he did, the one called Rachel turned to Tellion.
"Thank you Ms. for catching him for us. I don't know what would have happened to him if he had kept on running away."
"All ok." Tellion said, trying her best to formulate an answer with the limited vocabulary she had gained in the last two days. "I happy to help Homer."
Cassie turned from the ravenously joyful licks of Homer to face Tellion. "I can't thank you enough for this Ms…"
It only took Tellion a moment to realize that the young native was addressing her directly. "S…Susan." Tellion answered, feeling a bit of discomfort at calling herself a name that wasn't truly hers.
Cassie smiled warmly at her. "Well, thank you again Ms. Susan."
She patted the top of Homer's head.
"He's goofy, but he belongs to my…friend Jake."
Tellion detected a wavering in her voice at the mention of this 'Jake'. Before she could try to formulate an opinion on what Cassie's words meant, she covered face and turned away, dragging Homer along with her. Rachel watched Cassie go for a moment before turning back to Tellion. "Sorry again about this. Homer belongs to my cousin Jake, and he's doing some stuff after school and we were looking after him for a while."
"No sorry." Tellion told her. "I happy Homer ok."
Rachel gave Tellion a strange look before running after Cassie and Homer. She caught up with them after only a few quick strides of her long legs. Once they were together again, the two began conversing between themselves. Even at the distance they were from her, Tellion noticed that Cassie was clearly upset about something. Tellion knew that she really should have gone back to Linda and Ellaine, but something within her made Tellion move closer to them. She hated to see a being in such a sad state, even if it was a native that she didn't know. Not wanting to be seen by them, she got as close as she could and took cover behind a tree.
From there, Tellion watched and listened.
"Cassie, you've got to pull yourself together, you almost lost it in front of that lady." Rachel said.
"I can't help it!" Cassie cried back, a clear trickle of tears flowing from each of her eyes. "Homer almost got…if it hadn't been for that lady, he could have been really hurt, or…"
Cassie's free hand began frantically whipping her eyes.
"He's one of the only things in Jake's life that still brings him joy right now. If we, if I, lost Homer then what would he think of me?"
"But he's fine." Rachel said, cautiously placing a hand on Cassie's shoulder. "And Jake will be too."
"But what if he won't!" Cassie said in a loud voice that sounded on the verge of breaking. "That…thing keeps talking to me every time I'm watching him, and it sounds just like him. It keeps trying to convince me that it's really Jake and he has control over it. But I can't even tell the difference Rachel! How can I tell myself that I really know Jake when I can't tell the difference between them?"
"That's why they're so dangerous." Rachel said, placing her arm around Cassie. "They talk and act just like the people they control. But you know Jake, and so do I. And I promise you Cassie, he's fighting it, every second that he's in there. And he'll make it through this."
"It's so easy for you to say that, Rachel. You don't know…what I had to do last night to keep him from getting away."
Rachel grasped both of Cassie's shoulders and shook her slightly. "Cassie, don't think for even one second that this is easy for me. I know how you feel about Jake. But he's my cousin, he's my family. My blood. And there's nothing that you did that I wouldn't have done too, if it meant saving Jake. He's going to be fine Cassie. We're already almost two days into this, we're more than halfway there. Just one more day, then we get Jake back. And then you can tell him how sorry you are all you want, but I'll bet you anything that he'll be glad that you had the strength to see this through."
Cassie didn't say anything in response to Rachel's words, she just nodded her head slightly and looked down at Homer and rubbed his head. Rachel seemed to accept that as an answer. She pulled her arm around Cassie.
"Now come on, Ax should have morphed back by now, and we need to get him and Homer home before Tom becomes suspicious. And keep your voice down about this stuff. We have no idea who could be listening."
As they walked away, Tellion felt strange in watching their departure. She didn't really know why she had followed the two and listened in on their conversation. She had only been able to form together some of the words that were spoken, not enough for her to truly understand what they were talking about. But some part of Tellion really wished that she had been able to know those words, because they seemed like they would have been really important to her current state. Still, she also felt sadness from seeing the young native known as Cassie spilling tears due to something that had happened to someone known as 'Jake'. She wondered if Jake meant to Cassie the same way Susan meant to Mark, but she couldn't know for sure. Tellion hoped that he would be alright, whatever it was that had ailed him.
"Susan!"
Tellion turned her attention away from the two, and saw both Linda and Ellaine running up to her. Both appeared to be breathing heavy, and Linda had managed to retrieve her 'purse'. Tellion didn't say anything as they both came over to her and hugged her.
"Susan," Linda said in a shakey voice. "What were you doing running off like that? You had me worried to death."
"Yeah, dummy." Ellaine said in a voice that tried to sound happy, but had a hint of concern in it. "I thought you had left us again."
"No leave." Tellion stated calmly, pointing after the two younger natives and the dog heading away. "Dog, woof woof, try to leave. I bring back."
Linda followed her finger, and spotted the two younger native females. "Oh, you helped them get their dog back?"
Tellion nodded. "Yes. I helped dog. Dog named Homer."
Linda grasped both of Tellion's hands and held them tightly. "Oh Susan…"
Her smile made Tellion's insides fell very warm for reasons she still wasn't able to grasp.
"You're still the same as ever, always caring about others before yourself. I know that you're still in there somewhere, you aren't really gone."
Tellion forced a smile at Linda's words. She didn't know many of them, but Tellion just somehow understood that Linda thought she was talking to her daughter. Tellion wished that she could explain to Linda the truth of the situation, but she doubted Linda could ever really understand the truth in the moment. Instead, she opted to just continue to pretend that she was Susan.
For whatever guilt that Tellion felt, Linda and Ellaine seemed to be ok with the current state of her condition. With nothing left to keep them, Tellion let the two of them guide her back to the dwelling that was called the 'home'.
When they got back, both Mark and Arthur had almost finished making the third meal of the day. The dinner.
The meat placed in between compressed bits of substance called 'bread' was very enjoyable for Tellion. She and the rest remained outside as the planet's rotation began to pull their small patch of the world away from its light and night began to fall. At Linda's command, they all returned to the inside of the home.
When they had returned inside, they all sat on the various recreational structures they called 'sofas' and watched the primitive viewing screen called the television. Tellion didn't really understand anything that she was watching, but everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves, so she sat beside Mark and quietly viewed what was on the screen.
As time passed, Tellion slowly felt a warmth grown on her side that was facing Mark. When she fully realized this, she turned her attention to him, and saw that she had almost subconsciously shifted herself over to him until she was leaning her body against his. Tellion could never understand what truly happened in the next moment, only that she looked at Mark, and he in turn looked at her in the same instant.
She had looked at him so many times before since he had taken her home with him, but this time was different. It was as if…she were truly looking at him for the first time. She was sure that her gaze must have mirrored the way Susan had looked upon Mark in that frozen image lying next to their bed. Tellion had no way to truly explain what it was that happened in that next instant, only that all concepts of time lost meaning to her as she felt herself becoming lost in Mark's captivating gaze. And if she dared to believe it, he gave her an equally compelling look. In that moment, she forgot about everything.
That she was not truly Susan. She wasn't Mark's long lost wife, or Arthur and Linda's child, or Ellaine's big sister. That she was, in fact, a parasitic slug that had made herself a fugitive from her people because she couldn't stand to live the life she had been born into. None of that mattered to Tellion anymore. All that mattered was how Mark was looking at her. And how she was looking at him.
A strange, inexplainable jolt surged throughout Tellion's entire host body, and it flowed up into her natural body itself. The closest experience that Tellion could compare this feeling to was when she had first met him, and he had pressed his lips against hers. But this was not that feeling, this was…something else. Something warmer, and more pleasant that coursed through her. Tellion didn't know what it was, or how to truly explain to herself what it was that she was feeling. All she knew for certain was that she was uncontrollably being drawn to Mark, and she didn't want to fight it. She wanted to be closer to him, more than she ever had ever desired for any other being she had ever known in her entire life.
He appeared hesitant at first from her actions, then began to lean in towards her. Tellion didn't truly know what would happen next. She only knew that she would welcome it with every last molecule of her body, and her very soul, if she truly had one. As the distance between them closed to only a few bare millimeters, Tellion couldn't help but wonder if she was truly awake or dreaming. Yes, this had to be a living dream. What else could this moment be?
Something hit the side of Tellion's cheek, shattering the moment between them.
"Ellaine!" both Linda and Arthur shouted, thoroughly ending the experience that Tellion was about to enjoy with Mark.
Tellion heard a muffled sound coming from Ellaine as she held one of her hands over her mouth. She was clearly trying to suppress a laugh. Tellion didn't understand the meaning for it. Disrupting her moment with Mark didn't seem to be something humorous. In fact, it caused a simmering heat to form in Tellion's gut.
It took every bit of self-control that Tellion had to keep from yelling at Ellaine in Gedd/Yeerk in her moment of frustration. When Elliane tossed another one of the small particles of food resting in the bowl that she had in her lap, Tellion pinched the side of her leg to keep her anger under control.
The moment passed, and her anger faded when she saw the way that Elliane looked at her, and realized that it was just a thing that native siblings must do to each other. Mimicking her actions, Tellion collected up the two bits of the food that had been tossed at her and hurled them back at Ellaine.
Susan's younger sister shielded herself from the hurtling bits and quickly the two of them began throwing the small morsels back and forth at each other.
"Girls!" Linda exclaimed. "Stop throwing popcorn at each other!"
"Oh mom!" Ellaine said, tossing more of the 'popcorn' at Tellion. "We're just messing around."
"Just messing around!" Tellion repeated, unable to hide the joy in her voice while throwing another popcorn at Ellaine.
After that, Arthur, Linda, and Mark all seemed to accept the silly game that Ellaine had started with Tellion, and the two of them continued at each other for a time that Tellion lost track of. After a bit, Ellaine held up her hands and shouted 'I give up!'. Tellion was about to keep throwing more of the popcorn at her when Mark stopped her. She looked at him with confusion.
"She surrendered." he said.
The curious look that Tellion gave Mark clearly showed him that she didn't understand what 'give up' or 'surrendered' meant.
It took a few strange and silly moments before Tellion was able to understand what the meaning was to those words. Tellion lifted up her hands to imitate Ellaine and smiled. That caused all of them to laugh with her. Though she laughed with them, Tellion couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness from her moment of closeness with Mark. And as much as she hated to admit it, there was guilt too, because that moment should have been shared between Mark and Susan. Not her.
All of her thoughts were gone in the next moment when Mark pulled his arm around Tellion and pulled her close to him. She did her best to hide her face as the heat grew on her cheeks, but she was sure that her attempts were not enough. As it had been so many times before in the last two days, Tellion's actions only seemed to bring a sense of joy to everyone.
And they spent the rest of the early evening around the television. Tellion didn't say anything as she lay next to Mark, but she enjoyed every moment of feeling her body resting against his. So much that when Linda announced that they should all get to bed and Mark stood up, Tellion had to fight to not make a noise to announce her displeasure of their separation. Still, she hated to admit it, but there was a sense of weariness growing in her, the same as there had been the past two nights.
But there was also something else. A sort of mental itch that kept bothering Tellion. As if there was something that she really, really should have been aware of. But she just couldn't understand what it was. Nor did she really want to in the present state of sheer joy that she was immersed in. Pushing aside that small, yet constant feeling of worry, Tellion let Mark take her hand and said 'goodnight' to everyone. They all gave her hugs and kisses to her forehead before they allowed her and Mark to exit the room.
Mark took her up to the bedroom, and stopped at the door.
"I really shouldn't come in while you're changing." he said with an odd look on his face. "It…just doesn't feel right to do so. Not yet."
Tellion was able to understand enough words to know that Mark didn't want to be in the same room with her while she changed into the appropriate night garments. What Tellion didn't truly understand was why knowing that made her feel both relieved and upset at the same time. Being native was so damn confusing sometimes, but she wouldn't trade these experiences for anything else she had gone through in her entire life prior to this one.
Not wanting to upset Mark anymore, Tellion went into the bedroom and shut the door behind her. Clicking on the light, she went over to the 'dresser' and began changing into her night garments. As she slipped the long and comfy dress that she was supposed to wear to bed over her head, Tellion noticed the image of Susan and Mark propped up on small stand. She hadn't remembered putting it back up. Maybe Linda had done that, but Tellion couldn't be sure. Tellion hated to look at that image, it stirred up the unsettling feeling of her having done great wrong to Susan's family, and Mark.
Unable to take the emotions those smiling faces were causing her, Tellion quickly turned it over once more. The instant she had, the door opened a tiny bit.
"Are you done?" Mark's voice came from the other side.
"Done." Tellion responded, sitting down on the bed.
The door slowly opened and Mark cautiously stepped in with his back turned to her. Tellion didn't truly understand why he would do such a thing.
"I good." she said to him.
Mark turned to face her, and the relief expression that he made forced Tellion to suppress a small smile she felt forming on her face. Mark clicked the light off and slowly approached her. Tellion didn't need to be shown what to do this time. Like she had done the previous night, she lifted the thin layers of sheets and got under them. She then laid her head on the pillow. Mark sat on the edge of the bed and ran his hand over her face. Tellion shuddered for perhaps the millionth time from his touch, but she would gladly welcome that feeling a hundred million times more.
She looked at Mark's face, and soon realized that he was staring at her…the same way he had looked at Susan in that image.
"I know I said some things today about you. But it's only because I'm worried about you. I'm still trying to make sense of all this, and having you back here with me. It still doesn't feel like it's real."
He ran the tips of his fingers across the skin of her cheeks, tracing them over to her exposed ear and gently pushing back the hair that covered it.
"Ever since you came back to me, it's like you're a different person. And I should expect that, hell you don't really even remember me. And I guess it's silly to think that you would be exactly the same as before. But then…" he leaned closer to her so she could clearly make out the details of his eyes. "I see the way that you look at me, and how you want to be near me all the time. I…I just know that you're still here with me Susan."
But…Tellion thought with the deepest sadness she had ever felt in her short life as she looked into Mark's eyes. I'm not Susan…
Unable to keep looking at him, Tellion hid her face in the surface of the pillow, least she lose control of the emotions that were raging all through her. Whatever her intentions, Mark clearly mistook them for something else. Rejection of his affections.
"I…" he said that sad voice that made Tellion's insides hurt. "I'll go now. Get some sleep honey."
As he rose from the bed, Tellion's hand shot out and grasped his. That action alone made Mark freeze.
"No." she whispered, still keeping her face hidden under the pillow. "No leave."
"Susan."
"Stay…" Tellion spoke in the faintest voice she had ever given. "Stay…with…me."
He honored her plea, laying back down on the bed. As he did, Tellion rolled over and faced her back to him, still not able to bring herself to look at him for fear of how it would make her feel. For both the good, and bad, reasons. Mark lay beside her, his body pressing against hers, which sent so many confusing sensations running all through her. Not knowing what to do, Tellion just squeezed Mark's hand tightly as he placed his arm around her.
Here, with him, in this moment, it was complete joy. A moment that Tellion truly wished that she could remain frozen in forever. As if he were able to sense her feelings, Mark squeezed her hand back, which caused her heart to hammer inside her chest.
"I'll stay here with you." Mark whispered into her ear. "All night…if you want me to."
"All night." Tellion whispered, shutting her eyes as Mark pulled her even closer to him.
And she just laid there with him. Doing nothing but breathing as the wierieness overtook her, and she felt herself drifting away from reality for the third time.
Then Tellion's feet touched upon a solid surface, only her feet weren't really resting upon any visible surface. She looked all around her, turning around several times only to have her eyes peer into endless blackness. As the void began to weigh in all around her, Tellion turned around once more, and found a perfect image of herself staring back at her. Tellion forgot all about the voices she had heard, and focused entirely on the reflection. She instinctively backed away, and was further stunned when the image of herself, or rather 'Susan', didn't move in conjunction with her movements. It remained completely still as it stared at her. Tellion stared at it for several heart gripping moment before she dared to move.
Cautiously, she lifted her hand up and moved it back and forth in front of the image, only to have it not do any in response to her movement. She made several other movements, each met with equally no response from the image standing before her.
"Oh, Susan…" Tellion whispered. "What's happened to you? Where did you go?"
Again, the image was frozen, just like the one that she had seen the day before with Susan and Mark together. Slowly, she lifted her shaking hand and held it out to the motionless image that was quickly becoming as much herself as it was Susan.
"Your parents, Arthur and Linda, your sister Ellaine, and…Mark…they all missed you so much." Tellion said, the sadness of her words revealing just how much it was burdening her to continue on in her present state. "I'm trying Susan, I'm trying so hard to keep them happy, so that they don't worry about you, but I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this. I'm a Yeerk, and lying is supposed to be embedded in our nature, but it's not in mine. I…I'm not like the others of my kind, I never was, and I don't know why…I'm like this. I need you Susan. I need you to tell me where you are. I have to give you your life back. I can't keep being alone in this body, it's not right, it's not natural for a Yeerk. I don't know how to exist like this. I, don't know how to live on my own. And…these moment that I'm sharing with Mark, they belong to you, not me! Please Susan, just give me a sign. Tell me something. Tell me anything! Just give me a hint on where you are and how I can find you, and I will save you. And I'll bring you back to Mark. I promise to you upon everything good that I've ever done in my life."
The image continued to stare back at her without response, not even a microscopic twitch of the eye. Tellion's frustration and desperation only grew at the complete lack of any kind of acknowledgement of her desperate confession and plea to the one with whom she so very much wanted to respond.
"Damn you Susan! Speak to me!" Tellion screamed, lunging for her mirror counterpart.
The image shattered instantly upon her touch, sending Tellion tumbling head first into another free fall. She screamed involuntarily from the fear of the plunge. Her fear spiked a moment later as she saw something below her. For one fleeting moment, Tellion feared it was ground that she was plummeting to.
You can't die in a dream, she thought, right?
As she fell closer to the image, Tellion realized it wasn't ground. It was something else. A bluish sphere with many different colors embedded into its surface. She had never truly seen it before with these eyes, and yet Tellion knew immediately what she was looking at. She also realized that her decent was slowing, until she was floating before it.
It's this world. She thought, her fears having all but vanished in the grand sight of this magnificent planet.
This…seeing the planet in its entirety, was one of her few wishes, and somehow it had been granted. Or maybe it was just her frail mind concocting wild fantasies that she so desperately desired. Either way, Tellion was grateful for the experience.
As she floated high about it all, images flashed through her mind. Mark, holding his arms out to her with that smile that always seemed to mesmerize Tellion. Arthur and Linda, standing side by side as they casted affectionate gazes that Tellion still knew so very little of yet had come to appreciate greatly. Then Ellaine, staring up at her with that gaze of innocence that Tellion felt a deep connection to despite having only just met her.
When the images faded, something else flashed through Tellion's mind. Another image. Distant, shadowy, almost indistinguishable. Yet she could make out something. Outlines of dark shapes, maybe five or six, one almost appeared to be…an Andalite. Then they were gone. And what she saw next made Tellion's spirit sink into a depth that she had previously never imagined was possible of being reached.
The planet…was changing. The skies darkened, the blue seas began to blacken, then receded and dry out. The lush green shriveled and browned until it was almost all gone. Tellion realized with the greatest horror in herself that she was watching this beautiful world dying.
No, not dying. Being terraformed.
Transformed into a replica of the barren and almost dead world of her ancestors. The ultimate end of any world that the Yeerk Empire claimed dominion over.
No! she screamed as she watched it all continue to unfold. You can't do this! You can't destroy this…this precious thing!
No one seemed to hear her plea, or much less care. But only for a moment.
There's still time to stop this future from becoming a reality. A very faint voice whispered out to her from seemingly very far away.
Tellion instantly recognized it as the one that had spoken to her just before she had saved Homer.
Its call was similar to the first voice, in that it echoed all around and even through her in ways she couldn't comprehend. Yet it was also not like the first one Tellion had been speaking to, or the sadistic voice that she conversed with in her first dream. It was so subtle, almost to the point where Tellion felt that the softness was being forced.
Then Tellion was shown the image of the joyful dog known as Homer. His happy, elongated face making something that appeared to be a smile to Tellion as he brushed his tail back and forth.
You saved him. The voice whispered to Tellion. At the risk of your own life, and Susan's, for a lesser being. You are an interesting one, more than I first thought.
Who are you? Tellion asked. You're not like the other voices.
Her question was ignored. Instead, the new voice continued to speak to her from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
You are right Tellion. You are different from other Yeerks, in ways than you cannot even begin to comprehend. And…you have the power to save Mark, to save them all from the future you just witnessed. And maybe, even save your own people from themselves. If…you only have the will to do what needs to be done.
Before Tellion could even question who this new voice was or what their words meant, Tellion instantly plunged towards the now barren world. Faster than her mind could process. She only had time to throw her hand defensively over her face before she impacted into the dead planet.
Tellion's eyes shot open with and her body shuddered. She threw her hands over her mouth to muffle the scream the bubbled from the depths of her body. For the faintest of moments, Tellion was terrified that she had died.
It was the light of the planet's star that caused her to finally awake from her terrifying dream. As she sat up, Tellion realized that she was alone. At some point in her dreaming, Mark must have left her. She was sad to see that he wasn't there with her, but she was also glad that he wasn't there to witness her obvious terror from what had occurred in her dreams. Tellion sat up and held her arms as the tremors ran all through her.
She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself as the shakes slowly faded from her body. When they had finally stopped, Tellion cautiously rose from the bed and walked over to the window.
Looking out it brought a very, very warm smile to Tellion's face. This world, this life she had found herself in, it was like being in a living dream itself to her. It was almost impossible for Tellion to believe that it had only been a mere two days of this existance, now going on three.
Almost three days.
For some, unexplained reason, Visser Three's final words echoed through Tellion's head. You'll only have three days to complete this mission.
Three…days…
Then the words of those two natives she encountered the other day also rang inside her mind.
It's been two days, just one more to go.
The smile instantly faded from Tellion's face at that realization. A sharp, terrifying spike of fear pierced right through Tellion's body. Three days. She could only live outside the nurturing light of the Kandrona rays soaked in the Yeerk pool for three of this planet's days. And she had squandered two of them in her immersion of this new life. Even more than two. That meant, she had less than twenty-four hours before…
…the Fugue.
One of the most painful, and longest lasting deaths for any Yeerk to experience. And she had no way to get back to the Yeerk pool, not without revealing her treasonous actions to the Empire. She…Tellion, was going to die in less than a day. And she was completely helpless to do anything about it.
As if some cosmic force was aware of her plight, the door to the bedroom opened. Tellion turned to see Mark walking into the bed room. In his hands he held one of the primitive native communication devices. He made a troubled face as he looked at her.
"That was the hospital." Mark said to her. "I tried to tell them that you were fine, but your Doctor, Dr. Samier, want's to personally inspect your condition. We…I have to take you back for some more tests. You should get dressed. We have to go now. I'm sorry honey."