"Ok, that's the last of it." Mark said, securing a firm knot on the primitive restraints that held the extra gear on top the vehicle. "Ready for your big adventure in the great outdoors?"
Tellion looked at his bright and happy face, the expectations that he was clearly hoping to obtain from this trip, it caused her to fake an equally happy smile. It was a complete façade of her true feelings. She didn't want to be so far away from her personal Yeerk Pool, hoping that the prearranged time schedule would be adhered and she wouldn't have to risk slow and painful death in front of all those whom she had grown to care so much for. But she was committed to this expedition now. She had no choice but to proceed on as if nothing was wrong.
"Ready." she said, trying very hard to sound as happy as Mark was.
Mark chuckled and gave her a quick hug, which sent those oh so comforting waves of warmth throughout her whole body. "Ready to go and make some new memories?"
"New memories. Yes." Tellion told him.
After that was said, they both got into the vehicle and left 'their' home. And now her internal countdown clock began. Fortunately for Tellion, the rest of the family had opted to just meet them at a predesignated location before heading towards their final objective. And Mark had to take a last minute trip to the hospital to make sure his schedule was clear except for an extreme emergency case. With that window of time granted to be alone, Tellion had made sure that she gave herself maximum Kandrona absorption before exiting the pool and cleaning up any traces of its existence. As they left, Tellion estimated that she would have a full fifty-nine hours before she would start to feel the full effects of the Fugue, and sixty-eight before she would perish. With any luck, she would be back home and given another opportunity to feed long before she would start to suffer from even minor Kandrona Ray malnourishment.
As they drove away from the city, Tellion did her best to distract herself from her concerns by staring at the rapidly changing scenery. The human buildings became more sparse and the natural growth became more abundant. Tellion found this transformation very much to her liking. After a lifetime in cold, emotionless metallic corridors accompanied by a dank, dreary subterranean existence, just seeing the bright and magnificent blue sky of this world and its accompanying lush greenish foliage was so very much like a dream to Tellion. One that she wished that she would never wake from.
Onward they traveled, until there was almost nothing of human design to be seen except the occasional tiny building or a refueling station for the vehicle they were traveling in. In the back of her mind, Tellion wondered if it would be possible to convert the vehicle from a fossil based fuel system to a more efficient hydrogen or atomic particle based fusion one. But doing so would create far more problems for her than they would solve, and discretion was her only real protection at the moment. When they came upon some metallic sign that Tellion barely had time to decipher, Mark took them off of the main avenue of travel for human vehicles and onto a smaller road. They traveled down that path for a while before he took yet another turn off and onto an unpaved travel way. Tellion wasn't prepared for the unexpected bouncing and rumbling of the vehicle over such an uneven road, but she did her best to hide her discomfort from Mark.
On and on they went, until Tellion felt as if she couldn't keep her internal screams suppressed anymore. Just as she was about to release all of her swelling frustrations out in a primal roar of frustration, Mark pulled them into a small clearing where several other vehicles were parked.
"We're here!" he exclaimed, looking over at her.
Tellion forced a smile at him again and squeezed his hand. Mark just squeezed her hand back and exited the vehicle. Tellion followed his example, and was surprised to see Linda, Ellaine, and Arthur nearby their own vehicle. She could see that they were already carrying the kinds of equipment packs that had been shown to her earlier on their backs, and came over to them.
"Ready to get twigs in your perfect hair and ticks on your butt?" Ellaine asked as they neared.
"Twigs, ticks?" Tellion asked nervously.
"Don't you pay her any mind honey." Linda said, gently hitting Ellaine across the back of her head. "You're going to have a good time, I promise."
Walking out into the forest for purely recreational purposes felt rather silly to Tellion. But it was what Mark and the family wanted, so she had to play along. Mark quickly released the secured items on the roof of their vehicle and began to help Tellion strap the gear to her body. She didn't offer any resistance to his efforts. She really liked it when he touched her body. It made her feel so strange…but in a very good way.
Once he had the gear secured to her body, Mark put his own on and made sure their vehicle was locked.
"Alright everyone, ready for a night out in nature?" Arthur boasted.
Linda pointed at something secured to his hip. "Dear, is that really necessary?"
Tellion looked to what Linda was pointing at, and was surprised to see something strapped to Arthur's hip. It looked somewhat like the weapon that Tellion had seen Samier carrying before he left her. A human ballistic weapon. Primative, but no doubt still very deadly.
Arthur patted the weapon. "Honey, we may come across a bear or something."
"But it's a national park, is that even allowed?" she asked him.
"I think they can make an exception for a retired police officer." he said in what Tellion guessed was an assuring voice. "Besides, it's better that we have it and not need it, than need it and not have it."
"Ok dad, Mr. big game hunter." Ellaine joked.
Linda clearly didn't approve of Arthur carrying any kind of weapon for what should have been a relaxing situation. But in truth, despite her overwhelming gentle nature, Tellion was grateful that they at least weren't completely helpless. She guessed nothing would ever truly change her aggressive Yeerk nature, no matter how much she wished it wouldn't be a part of her.
Nothing else was said, and nothing else needed to be spoken. At least as far as Tellion understood things. They followed a small trail through the dense foliage. Tellion found that the immense immersion of the natural foliage that surrounded her to be both overwhelming and comforting at the same time. She had never experienced such an abundance of natural life in all of her existence. Sounds from the birds resting in the trees above, as well as the noises made by small unseen creatures in the dense vegetation proved to be a great deal of sensory process for Tellion. But strangely, she found it to be very soothing to her psychological well-being.
To be here, in this place, encompassed by so much natural life, it was an experience that Tellion would never forget. Very soon, her fears of Kandrona starvation and haunting voices echoing in her dreams faded away, and she was just living in the moment. It was exhilarating. When Mark looked back to check on her, Tellion gave him a genuine smile of approval. That seemed to invigorate him as well, and he picked up his pace.
They continued on the winding trail through the forest, stopping every now and then to rest at designated rest areas with wooden planks that had various information etched into them. Despite her continuous marveling at the simplicity of human tech, she still was equally surprised at how they managed to accomplish so much with their ingenuity. Tellion certainly didn't remember her people ever making so much use out of whatever resources they had available. Humans were so strange and amazing at the same time. A growing part of Tellion, one that she was finding harder to ignore as each day passed, felt immense envy for having been born a Yeerk instead of a human.
But there was little time for her to dwell on those thoughts as they kept marching deeper into the woods. By the time the sun had reached its highest peak in the planet's daily rotation, the dense trees parted into a small opening that was nestled amid some very large rocks.
"We're here!" Arthur yelled, a little louder than what should have been necessary.
Tellion didn't bother to ask why he did that, it seemed to make Linda smile. And that was reason enough for her.
The whole group went to the flattest spot in the area and began to unpack. Tellion felt relief all across her back when Mark helped take her pack off. After she had taken a few moments to stretch the stiffness away in her muscles, she went about helping him set up the small traveling shelter that they would be sleeping in called a 'tent'. Mark had shown her the other day in the back yard how to assemble the various metal spikes, cordage, and make the fabricated material stand up. He was genuinely surprised by her ability to help him quickly assemble the tent. Compared to working on the complex intricacies of the Kandrona Ray generators, putting the small structure together was almost as infantile work to her as placing designated shapes into holes in those children shows the family had subjected her to. Their tent was standing firm with its ground anchors before the others had even put half of theirs together. Mark went over to help Arthur and Linda, while Tellion went to where Ellaine was struggling to just get her material in order.
Ellaine looked up at her in frustration as a part she was trying to assemble collapsed on her.
"Dammit!" she cursed. "So much for those girl scout trips!"
"Why would scouting skills be assigned uniquely to your gender?" Tellion asked, not sure why observation and subversion techniques that came with being a scout would be necessary for young human females.
"It's…" Ellain made it clear her thoughts were on how she would answer Tellion's question. "No. Just forget it."
"Alright." Tellion said, knowing full well that she couldn't just forget something that had been said to her moments before. She knelt down to help Elliane, and her little sister made a disapproving grown. Tellion ignored it and continued on.
Ellaine kept her silence as Tellion quickly and skillfully set about helping her set up the tent. Tellion held the last bit of cordage tightly as Ellaine drove the final spike into the soft ground, firmly securing her tent down. When it was finished, she reluctantly looked up at Tellion.
"Thanks for helping Suzie."
Tellion smiled and lightly patted her shoulder. "No problem. Sisters forever, right?"
"Right." Ellaine said.
The rest of the family came over with an odd assortment of equipment that Tellion had never seen before. "Nice work sweetie." Arthur exclaimed, pointing to the two tents she had helped set up. "No one's going to ever say that my girls can't fend for themselves."
"I just did it how Mark showed me." Tellion answered humbly.
"Well," Linda said. "we got done quicker than I thought, so we can go to the river a little earlier. We can take care of getting the rest of the set up later."
"Ok." was the only response Tellion knew to give to her.
With a few warm smiles and a lot of enthusiasm, the whole group grabbed items from their packs and began following one of the trails that had a very sharp descending incline. Tellion didn't really know what to bring, so she just took her portable water container. They went down the winding path, which felt vaguely like a tunnel with the way the branches were stretched out over the path. Tellion made sure that she stayed at the very rear. They only traveled a small distance before the foliage began to become less dense and a completely new sound filled Tellion's ears. Just as she was trying to process what this unknown noise was, the foliage gave way to a small moving body of water. It was similar to the one that she had drove the van into, only smaller. And a lot more natural. There wasn't a single trace of human existence in this place.
Nothing appeared particular distinguishable about this natural flowing watery vein of this geographic region. The water flowed gently, the edges of the ground were filled with the granular material of microscopic rocks and mineral particles that was normally used by her people to make focusing lenses for beams and other energy based engines. There was nothing of any major notice, other than a few occasional rocks that poked above the surface…and a large rocky formation that jutted out along the edge of the waterway a little further down flow from where they had emerged.
"Very pretty spot." Arthur stated, glancing about.
"Yes." Tellion agreed. "Pretty."
Linda put her arm around her, waving about at the surrounding area with her other one. "Now aren't you glad that we talked you into coming her honey?"
"Yes." Tellion answered, doing her best to hide her concern in the back of her voice.
She did enjoy this experience. This place was far more soothing to her spirit than she ever could have dared to dream it would be. Tellion just wished that she could have enjoyed it without the fear of possible Kandrona starvation lingering over her.
Mark and Arthur grinned at the two of them. "Well, you girls go ahead and enjoy yourselves." Mark said, pointing to the two strangely designed poles they were carrying. "Art and I are going to see if we can catch a few bass or trout. Fresh fish for dinner is a lot more appealing than canned tuna and crackers.
"Good luck." Tellion told them, still not really sure what they were going to do.
Linda sat down on a nearby large rock and pulled small partchement filled binder and few archaic human writing tools called 'pencils'. Ellaine just folded her arms and shook her head. She pulled an unknown human device from her own pack and displayed it to Linda. Tellion remember Ellaine showing it to her before. It was a device called a 'camera' that took images of whatever the user desired. The Empire had similar devices, but they were meant primarily for espionage and counter surveillance.
"Mom, you know you could just take a picture. It's a lot quicker."
Linda gave her a disapproving look. "A picture doesn't have the soul that a hand drawn sketch does. You girls don't have to stand around waiting for me. I'll be here a while."
Ellaine made a grumbling noise as she looked around, she finally pointed to the large stone structure nearby. "Want to go waste time over there?"
"Sure." Tellion answered.
As they headed off, Linda called out to them. "Watch out for rattle snakes, this is the season for them."
"What is a rattlesnake?" Tellion asked, her curiosity triggered.
Ellaine gave her a nervous look. "It's a…reptile with no arms or legs. They're dangerous."
"Why?"
"They have a venom they put in you if they bite you. It can kill you."
"Being killed doesn't sound pleasant at all." Tellion said. "What do they look like?"
"You'll hear them long before you see them, they blend in really well with the forest." Ellaine answered, a faint shudder running through her body. "Trust me, I know. But they'll make a sound if you get too close to them."
"What kind of noise do they make?"
"Trust me Suzie, you'll know it when you hear it. Just remember if you do, turn around and walk the other way. They don't want to bother you anymore than you want to bother them."
"Ok."
They got to the top of the rocky formation before Tellion realized it. As they got close to the edge of the formation, Tellion saw that it hovered over the flowing body of water. She cautiously peered over the side. Maybe a ten to fifteen meter drop. Not significant, but certainly still quite a fall.
"Nice sight, huh?" Ellaine asked as she scanned the surrounding landscape with her camera and snapped several pictures.
"Yes," Tellion answered as she scanned at what appeared to be a sea of trees that stretched as far as her eyesight allowed, "a very nice sight."
"Hey look at that." Ellaine said, pointing her camera skyward.
Tellion lifted her vision, and saw a single large bird gliding across the sky. It was a fair distance from them, but by her calculations of its size and optical space that was between them, Tellion guessed it was far larger than any other bird species she had yet to encounter.
"They usually don't fly this low." Ellaine said, adjusting her camera lens. "He must be looking for some fish himself. Let's see, I think I remember from my bird spotting classes in scouts…that's a Northern Harrier. Yeah, I'm sure of it. You can tell by its grey and white coloration, plus the black tips on the wings."
Tellion eyed it closer, noticing its coloration. It did indeed have the markings that Ellaine said it did. But it was harder for her to see without the aid of the camera. And something else. Something that seemed strange for a native creature. It was following the river yes, but its head was constantly scanning the surrounding area. She thought that odd. If it was searching for fish the way Ellaine said it should, then its attention should have been focused on the water directly below it. Then something even stranger happened. It looked down at them, especially Ellaine observing the bird with her camera and taking a few pictures of it.
Then the bird, the Harrier as it was called by Ellaine, tilted its body sharply and turned, flapping its wings to gain altitude and flying away from them. It felt odd to Tellion seeing such an action, it was almost as if, that the bird had recognized that Ellaine had spotted the creature and didn't want them watching it. She looked at Ellaine, who gave her an equally confused look.
"Ok. That was weird. Never seen a bird do that before."
"Yes." Tellion agreed as she watched the Harrier disappear into the sky. "Very weird."
The strange bird was soon forgotten as they continued to spend time together and observe the absolutely wonderful spectacle of the natural state of this magnificent planet. Even as she revealed in its beauty, Tellion couldn't shake the uneasy feeling of knowing what horrific designs her people had for this unsuspecting world. Should they win, then places like this would vanish. Forever. That made her feel very, very sad.
"Glad you came?" Ellaine asked.
"I am glad." Tellion told her. "I just have a lot I have to think about. Mostly my life and where I belong now."
"You belong with us, your family. And Mark, you doop." Ellaine joked to her.
Tellion smiled. "I am glad to have all of you. It has made all of this easier."
"You know," Ellaine said. "I really wished that you could remember this place."
"Why would I remember this place?" Tellion asked. "We've been here before?"
Ellaine picked up a small rock and tossed it over the edge, watching in silence as it fell into the water below. "Yeah. You and me were here before. When were younger."
"What…happened?" Tellion asked.
Ellaine didn't look at her as she thought of what to say. There was a lot of conflict on her young face. "You taught me to be brave Suzie."
"How?"
Ellaine looked over the edge of the rocky formation. "You and me, we were up here years ago. I was a lot younger, you were only a few years older than I was now. I think."
Ellaine shook her head.
"I was so scared. We were so high up. I was afraid I was going to fall. But you…"
Ellaine just laughed a little and looked at her. "You just jumped over the edge. You didn't even hesitate. I thought you were crazy. I guess I still do."
She looked over the edge again. "I just remember you coming up from the water after that fall, and telling me that everything was fine. You told me to jump too. You said that no matter what happened, you'd be there for me. You wouldn't let anything happen to me. It…gave me the courage to jump too. I don't even remember the fall, I hardly remember being in the water. I just remember that you were there for me when I came up. You kept your promise…"
"I'm sorry Ellaine." Tellion said, unable to hide the sadness in her voice.
She looked at Tellion with surprise. "What do you have to be sorry for?"
"I'm sorry I don't remember that." Tellion said. "I'll bet it was a good memory. And I think…no, I believe…I would do it again. You're my sister. And I don't know what I can really be to you now, but I promise I'll always be here for you. Whenever you need me."
"Thanks." Ellaine said with a faint smile. "That really means a lot to me Suzie."
"Of course." Tellion said. "Sister forever, right?"
She didn't say anything. That answer appeared satisfactory enough for her, and they finally descended the rocky formation and returned to the others. Linda was finishing up her hand crafted drawing of the water and its surrounding scenery. Tellion found the similarity very good, and surprisingly touching to her spirit in a way she couldn't explain. Linda had been right, the image she created had more meaning to it than a simple captured image from the camera. Mark and Arthur also appeared very happy with themselves, have clearly caught several fish for dinner.
Tellion felt a little sad knowing that they had ended the creatures' lives. But she understood that every living thing existed to prey and be preyed upon by one another. Sacrificing their lives so that they could sustain themselves was an acceptable sadness Tellion was willing to accept. With the sun slowly beginning to dip down towards the far away mountains, they all headed back to their camp.
When they got back, Mark and Arthur set about preparing the fish for dinner. Meanwhile, Tellion helped Linda and Ellaine set up a 'fire pit' and gathering fallen bits of trees to fuel the fire. As the light from the solar system's star finally waned, the family had a healthy fire going and the prepared slices of fish cooking over it. Tellion liked the smell of the slowly roasting creatures, but she also found herself constantly being drawn back to the dancing flames. As she continued to stare at the licking tongues of fire, she felt the memories return to her.
The fire that had swelled up around her and Temrash as they had both fallen into…she feared oblivion. Those whips of fire had lashed out and stung her deeper than any physical pain ever could be inflicted. Then she remembered Temrash's terrified pleas for her to save him, the horror of inevitable death that had snatched him away from her forever etched into her mind, and how those flames had incinerated his very spirit before her bewildered gaze. And the eye that had peered at her through that blaze with a gaze that radiated a darkness she didn't dare to try and understand. It was so terrifying for her.
"Hey." Mark jabbed her shoulder, snapping Tellion out of her daze. "You ok honey?"
"Bad dreams…" she whispered, pointing at the flames.
Mark put his arm around her, squeezing her tightly to his body. "You don't have anything to worry about. I'm here to protect you."
And who's going to protect you when some controller finally decides you are an essential host to infest? What could I…ever do to keep that from happening? I stopped Callisium, but that had been dumb luck and…something else. How could I ever hope to do that again? Tellion thought to herself with immense concern.
"It's ok to be afraid sweetie."
Tellion looked up from the fire to see Arthur staring straight at her. She was surprised by his words, not just because he had said them. But because he had spoken directly to her. He almost never did that.
"Dad?" she asked, truly curious about his speaking directly to her.
Arthur's eyes lowered, and he stared at the fire. His older face was grimly set and full of a lifetime of memories that he clearly didn't want to remember. He seemed to be clearly struggling internally about bringing those harsh memories into the present.
"Fear isn't something that you should run away from. Sometimes…fear is thing that can help you, if you know how to harness it the right way when the time comes."
"I don't understand." Tellion said to him with genuine cluelessness.
"Arthur," Linda whispered. "you…"
"It's ok." he cut her off, "Susan needs to hear this."
Arthur took a deep breath and stared hard at the dancing flames before him. "I've been afraid more times than I ever care to remember in my life. A lot of them are just silly little things that you run across every day, others…the things I've faced doing my old job…"
Tellion remember something that Linda had said about Arthur's profession before they had embarked on this trip. It was the first time she had ever heard of what he had done with his life since entering Susan's body.
"You were…an enforcement soldier, right father?" Tellion asked.
"Enforcement soldier?" Arthur stared at her curiously.
Tellion remembered what Arthur had called his job back at the assembly area for their vehicles. She quickly corrected herself. "A police officer."
Arthur nodded. "I was…and I faced a lot of fear doing my job every day…"
Tellion watched him closely. The way he stared at the fire, his eyes gazing off into a place that wasn't physically there. It was a look that…sadly to Tellion's understanding…she was very well aware of. It was the look of a killer.
"You…" Tellion said in a question that was barely a whisper. "…have taken the life of another. Haven't you?"
The shudder that ran through Arthur's body was all Tellion needed to see to know the answer, even before he spoke to her.
"Yeah…I've killed someone before…"
His voice trailed off. Tellion saw that way that Ellaine looked concerned over at her father, and the way that Linda rubbed his back in an affectionate way. Mark just stared strangely at him. Tellion felt her…well, she didn't really know what it was…reach out to him and the pain of a past that he was willing to relive. Just for her sake.
"Dad…" Tellion asked, knowing within her that she shouldn't ask the question, but was powerless to stop herself from saying the words. "what was it like? To kill someone?"
"Susan!" Linda shouted at her. "That's not something that you ever ask of your father!"
"It's ok." he said to Linda, gently grasping her hand. His old eyes bore into Tellion, deeper than she ever could have thought was possible of any living being. "Honey, it's a burden that I pray every day Linda, and you, and your sister never have to know of. When…you take someone else's life, no matter the reason…a piece of you dies, and it never comes back. It's gone forever."
"Even if you're justified in doing so?" Tellion asked. "To save your own life?"
"Killing someone is not something that you can just justify. No matter how or why you do it."
Tellion watched Arthur, the clear deep pain that she had unknowingly brought upon him making her feel immensely guilty. Yet, she couldn't help the curiosity that burned within her. The need to know why…why he chose to carry on doing his duty despite the pain that he was forced to endure.
"Then why dad?" Tellion asked, barely able to hold back her tears of sorrow for a human man that wasn't her father, yet she felt so very much like he was now. "Why did you keep on enduring such a burden, even after…such horrible pain?"
Arthur took a deep breath, looking first at the star filled sky before turning his attention back to her. "Because honey, evil exists. And no matter how much we wish or pretend it wasn't there, it is."
"I don't understand." Tellion said.
"A lot of times…" Arthur said in a low voice, his eyes staring with a deep intensity at the fire in front of him. "All that's required for evil to triumph, is for good to do nothing."
He looked first at her, then Ellaine.
"That's why I've tried so hard to teach you girls to know how to not let fear control you if something bad ever does happen. I wanted you both to know how to take that fear and use it to help you."
She really didn't understand the words, the relation that they had to Arthur, herself and Ellaine, or to humanity in general, but something about what Arthur said, the way he spoke those words with such a fanatical conviction, they suck with Tellion. She didn't know how, or why, but some part of her truly felt that those words would have such a deep meaning to her. If not now, then sometime in the future. But also caused something deep within Tellion feel enriched by what Arthur had told her. It caused a filling of a void within her that she didn't know was there. For the first time in her life, Tellion felt truly inspired.
Before Tellion had any more time to dwell on what Arthur had said, Linda jumped to her feet and used a metal utensil to grab the also metal pot that was hovering over the fire.
"Ok, enough of that gloomy lecturing everyone. We're out here to have a good time, not be all down in the dumps. Dinner's ready!" she exclaimed.
When she lifted the lid of the pot, the smell of the cooking fish made Tellion forget about Arthur's words and meaning they had to her for the moment. As she and the rest of the family ate their meal, Tellion dared to let her guard down, and allow herself to just be happy in the present. She liked the fish, she liked the strange stories that they all told each other as the night rolled on, such fanciful tales that they couldn't possibly be true, just like the ones told on the television. Several times, Tellion genuinely laughed with the rest of them. Mark had been right. The joy that she found from this experience was worth the risk that she was taking in coming along. It was just another wonderful set of memories that she was creating to overcome the horrific life she had only just recently escaped from.
And against the lurking worry that festered in the back of her thoughts, Tellion dared to look up at the star filled sky, and chose not to think about the Pool Ship orbiting above in the darkness of space. She dared to believe in a dream. A dream of a life that knew no pain or suffering or fear, a life of peace.
As the fire burned out into glowing red embers, Arthur declared that it was time for bed. He and Linda retired to one tent, Elliane to a second one, and the final one was for her and Mark. Tellion felt a nervous tingle run through her as Mark pulled the flap back and waved for her to enter. This was the closest she would be to him since that night that she had…
The heart of Susan's body began to beat harder and faster again, against her direct control. Her body was shaking, from a fright that didn't make sense to her. Mark wouldn't hurt her in any way, and yet she was afraid to be alone in that tent with him. When he waved for her to enter again, it took such a great amount of courage from Tellion that she almost didn't think she could bring herself to enter. Yet, she somehow found the will to bring herself to go into that small, feeble shelter with Mark. Tellion laid on top of one of the specially designed blankets and pulled it protectively around her as Mark closed the flap to the structure.
There was a small device that illuminated the interior, but it was only enough for her to see shadows of everything. She was sure Mark's visibility was equally bad in the situation, and she was thankful for that. As he turned to her, Tellion rolled onto her back away from him.
"Are you ok honey?" he asked, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "If you're cold or…"
"I am fine." Tellion whispered to him.
"Did you have fun today?"
"I did. I am glad I came."
Normally Mark would take his hand off of her after she said something like that. This time he didn't. This time his hand remained resting on her shoulder.
"Honey…what's wrong?" Mark asked, unable to hide the worry in his voice tone. "Something's bothering you. Is it…being in here with me alone?"
"No." Tellion murmured in the softest voice she could manage. "I…like being alone with you."
"Then what is it?"
It's because I'm not your wife! Tellion screamed internally. I'm not the woman that you built a life of peace and joy with. I'm a filthy, disgusting extraterrestrial parasitic slug that is wrapped around the brain of the woman you care so much about. I'm just pretending to be her. But the way you make me feel, the way I feel about you…it disturbs me so much because I enjoy it. And that's what upsets me the most, because Susan should be here to feel this way towards you. I'm stealing all of these moments, these feelings, from her. How could you ever understand that? Or care for me if you saw what I really was?
"I just have a lot on my mind." Tellion told him. "A lot of things that confuse me, but also make me happy."
"Do I…make you happy?" he asked, the fear all too apparent in his voice.
"Yes." Tellion whispered before she had the chance to even reign in her thoughts.
For the briefest moment, Tellion was afraid that something would happen in that tent, hidden away from any other prying eyes in the dark. She wasn't sure if it was something that she should be afraid of, or welcome. Or even what that 'something' would be. But her moment of fear passed when Mark leaned over and gently kissed the side of her head.
"That's all I needed to hear." he said, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Don't be afraid honey. There's no rush for anything. We have the rest of our lives to take each step forward when you're ready. I'm just glad to know that I make you happy."
As Mark turned off the light and laid down next to her in the darkness, he would never know that in that almost endless blackness, Tellion was crying. But were they tears of sadness, or joy, or both? She would never truly know, because as the darkness encased her, the familiar fatigue overcame her and Tellion's thoughts drifted away into that place that no other Yeerk had ever managed to go.
Alive anyway.
She drifted away. Into that plane of emptiness that wasn't emptiness. As she did, Tellion was assaulted by flashes of images she had never experienced in her life, yet each felt as real as if she had lived those moments herself.
She was lying on the ground, closer to it than she had ever imaged her body would allow it. But was not in her human body now. Nor in one that was similar to Tallaxia, or her first Gedd. This body was long, thin, pressed firmly against the dirt. Her vision of the world was not as she had always known it. The images were distorted, in a different spectrum than was capable of the human eyes. She heard the sounds of something approaching. The gentle tromp, tromp, tromp of…whatever they were, against the dead leaf coated ground of the forest floor.
She searched her memories of that sound, she had heard it before. Somewhere in a memory that she didn't dare to remember. As the thumping sounds drew closer, Tellion suddenly realized what they were. It was the sound…of an Andalite's hooves prancing across the ground. Just as she realized what they were, a set of an Andlite's blue furred legs came into view.
Now.
There came a loud, sharp sound that Tellion had never heard before. A quick rattling sound that felt impossible to be natural. It was a horrifying noise.
What is…she heard the shocked, but also dreaded, mental voice cry out.
She sprung. Her entire body propelling through the air with speed equal to that of an Andalite's tail strike. Mouth wide open. A quick, powerful bite into that blue furred leg. An agonizing telepathic scream of pain.
Tellion sat upright abruptly with a loud scream.
She sat for a moment in that bewildered state, her feeble host body shaking from the fright of something that should have been a dream, yet she had experienced it with such clarity that it was as if she had lived it herself. Sweat rolled down her face as she struggled to reign in her frantic breathing. Not knowing what to do with herself, she reached over to make sure she hadn't startled Mark. Her entire body seized up when she saw nothing but an empty sleeping blanket next to her. Confused, Tellion quickly scanned the small confines of the tent.
Mark wasn't there. But all of the gear he had brought inside was. And the opening to the tent was still firmly closed.
"Mark?" Tellion said with a great hesitation.
No answer.
She instinctively swallowed a tightening of her throat as she grasped the zipper at the bottom of the tent opening and pulled it up. The faint light of the coming day filtered through the opening. It was early morning. Gulping faintly, Tellion exited the tent. There was nothing but the empty camp site before her. The fire from the previous night had died away. But also, Mark was nowhere to be seen.
"Mark?" Tellion said louder as she rose to her feet.
Still no answer. He must not have been within hearing distance. Maybe, Tellion dared to hope, just maybe he had gotten up earlier and left her to sleep. Not knowing what to do, Tellion quickly walked over to Arthur and Linda's tent. She didn't want to disturb them, but she needed to see if they knew where Mark would have gone.
"Mom, dad," Tellion said as she pulled the zipper to their tent open. "do you know where Mark…"
The tent was empty as well. All of the things they had taken with them was inside, but there were no traces of either of them. They were gone as well. Now concern was beginning to build inside Tellion.
"Mom! Dad!" she cried out to the surrounding wilderness, with no answer to her growing pleas.
She immediately rushed over to Ellaine's tent, hoping against dwindling hope that at least Susan's little sister was still there. She wasn't inside her tent when Tellion almost ripped it open. But her camera was. The camera that she held in such great possession that she would never leave without it. Now Tellion was bewildered.
"Ellaine!" Tellion screamed at the loudest possible decibel that her lungs would allow. "Where are you?!"
Silence was all that greeted Tellion's desperate cries for her adoptive family. There was no one to hear her. There was nothing around. It was as if the family, her family, had just simply vanished. Feeling the heavy weight of loneness and despair pressing down on her, Tellion dropped to her knees.
"What, what is happening?" she stammered to herself as she fought to keep her fear from overwhelming her. "Where did everyone go?"
No sooner had she asked that of herself than something happened.
It came from across the very tops of the surrounding trees, a great rustling of their thin structures that it bewildered Tellion at what could possibly be causing them to move like that. Just as the overwhelming sounds broke through the line of forest, Tellion jumped to her feet and feebly clenched her hands into fists in an attempt to prepare to defend herself.
But what pushed its way through the foliage was not some kind of terrifying creature. It was nothing more than a powerful gust of air current. Before Tellion had time to even contemplate her fear for such an absurd reason, the wind washed over her, its chilling sting biting at all of her exposed skin. It was such a force that it made her instinctively turn her back to its impact. And as she did, she saw the current carry up a clump of dead leaves and dance them about through the air in a way that just didn't feel natural. As Tellion watched in silence, the leaves were carried across the camp grounds, and rolled down the path that led to the small body of water she and the family had visited the prior day. Then, just before the wind died, the leaves were sent tumbling through the air in such a way…that they appeared to form for the briefest moment a human like hand that motioned for her to come hither.
The wind faded, the leaves fell to the earth, and Tellion felt a cold tremor go all through her. What, what had just happened? Had something just beckoned her to go down to the creek? No, Tellion thought, that was crazy. The natural forces of physics can't create such a thing.
Maybe she really was starting to have her mental capacities crumble under the strain of everything that was happening.
No sooner had that thought crossed her mind than another gust of wind rolled up behind Tellion, and hit her with such unexpected force that it felt as if it were a powerful hand pushing her ever so slightly forward. She stumbled towards the path, caught her balance, then without another thought, began walking towards it. Tellion didn't really know what was going on, why she was letting herself be 'led' by something as so seemingly natural as an air current. But something within her, an unexplained curiosity, propelled her on. She felt as if for some reason, she was supposed to travel the path. With hardly another conscious thought, Tellion went down the path towards the creek.
As she walked further and further into the depths of the forest, she felt something happening. At first it was a steady unease of the feeling of being watched. But that quickly transformed into something else. She began to notice that the foliage around her was somehow denser than it had been the previous day, the overhead branches stretched over path in such a thick mass that they created the image to her of a tunnel. A tunnel that hadn't been there the previous day.
This isn't right. She thought to herself.
None of this is right. It wasn't like this the other day. No sooner than that thought had crossed her mind than Tellion heard the sound of the running water of the creek. Only it was different now. Louder, harsher. Not at all like the gentle tranquil sounds from before. She should have stopped then, turned around and went back to the camp to wait for Mark and the others. But she couldn't stop herself now. Tellion had to press on. She didn't know why, only that she felt something compelling her to keep going. So she did. She kept going until the forest path gave way to the opening of the creek.
As she stepped out into the open area, Tellion instantly knew something was wrong with everything. This place where she was standing…was not the same one that she had been at the day before. The terrain was much more elevated, the body of water was much larger with multiple ends of large rocks protruding from its surface everywhere that the current briskly rushed around. Even the ground she was standing on was a massive layer of various rocks as far up and down the banks of the creek that Tellion could see.
She was definitely not in the same place she had been at the prior day.
"What," Tellion said as she looked around at this unfamiliar landscape. "what is this?"
Hello…Tellion…
Tellion jumped at the sound of the voice. The one that had spoken to her multiple times ever since she had escaped the Yeerk Empire. Not the first voice, but the second. The one that spoke to her in her dreams and vaguely at times of great distress to her. Despite its gentle and caring tone, the unexpected voice that came from the space all around her still caused Tellion to jump with fright.
Her startle yelp only elicited a seemingly amused chuckle from the bodiless voice.
Oh my precious Tellion, you don't have to be afraid of me. I did not bring you here to bring harm upon you. The voice cooed to her in its kind reassurance.
"Where am I? How did I get to this place?" she asked, her mind a jumbled mess of complete confusion.
It is of no real importance of really where this is or how you got here Tellion. The voice said to her. No, the only thing of any real matter is that I summoned you here.
"You?" Tellion asked. Her thought immediately shifted from herself. "Where is Mark? Where are the others?"
Always thinking of others before yourself, which is one of the reasons that I admire you so much Tellion. They are back at the camp. The voice told her.
"They are not!" Tellion exclaimed. "I just came from there. They were not there!"
I assure you that they are there at this very moment, and that they perfectly safe and have no knowledge that you have even left them yet.
Tellion still couldn't understand why, but her entire body was shaking slightly with faint tremors of concern.
"Why am I here?" Tellion demanded in the bravest voice she could muster, which ironically came out as a feeble squeak.
Again she heard a faint chuckle that reverberated through the surrounding air as naturally as if it were the wind.
I only brought you here to finally speak to you Tellion. It has taken me a long time to get myself to a point where we could speak directly. And it took an effort greater than you could probably try to fathom.
"What do you want from me then, if you're not here to just talk to me?" Tellion demanded, her voice still unable to hide its fear.
Why, the voice said with a slightly amusing laugh, I don't really want anything from you Tellion. I just want to be your friend.
"My…friend?"
Of course Tellion. And what do friends do for each other?
"I don't…" Tellion began before being cut off by the voice.
Friends give each other gifts. And I…am about to give you a very mighty gift indeed Tellion.
Despite its assuring tone, Tellion couldn't help but be suspicious of this omnipresent voice that was talking to her. Something deep within the core of her being was warning her. "What kind of gift?"
You'll see soon enough. There was a pause, one which felt as if it were the span of a lifetime to Tellion. Ah, there it is now.
"What? Where?"
Look to the river Tellion, you'll see the gift I'm offering you.
She did as the voice had instructed her to. She stared at the rolling water, still unsure of what it was that she was supposed to be looking for. Some part of her should have felt absurd, taking commands from a voice that was speaking from everywhere and nowhere at the same time to her, but Tellion had long since abandoned all rational thoughts since she had found the courage to abandon the Empire at the behest of an equally bodiless voice.
Then she saw it.
It was so small, almost impossible to notice unless one had been directed to specifically look for it. But she had. And Tellion watched in silence as the tiny object was thrashed about across the various small rocks as it was at the mercy of the vicious current. It vanished for a fleeting moment under the rough water, Tellion thought that it had disappeared for good. Then, like a twisted bit of ironic fate, the object popped above the surface of the creek just before her. It rolled across the violent surface, crashing into a small rock at the edge of the creek just before her, just high enough to not be swept away again. Once free of the thrashing water, the small thing weakly pulled itself to the top of the rock and came to a rest. Tellion stared long, and with great bewilderment at what was laying in front of her. She instantly recognized its disgusting greenish-grey skin, its feeble quadruple fins accompanied by a pair of palp antennae, and its squishy frame that had clearly been battered almost to a mushy pulp by the natural current. Tellion knew what it was that she was staring at even before she dared to speak.
"Is…is this…a Yeerk?"
It is indeed. The voice told her. But not just any Yeerk, Tellion. It is a Yeerk that you know very well. In fact, he is the one Yeerk in all of the galaxy that you would never, ever dare to cross paths with were he not in his present state. I think you are very familiar with him. Come now, you know the name that he is address by. The name that sends the true essence of fear rolling through even your own natural Yeerk body.
Tellion didn't need to ask who it was that was before her. She already knew from what the voice had said who it was that she was looking at. It was the only Yeerk that she knew of besides Aftran, and the only one that she wished to never meet again, just as the voice had said to her.
"Visser Three…" Tellion whispered.
Yyyeeesss. The voice cooed.
Tellion couldn't understand any of this. How any of this was happening.
"I don't understand." Tellion said. "How is this…possible? How did he, end up like this?"
The Andalite survivors. The voice told her. One of them is the younger brother of the great War Prince Elfangor. Through a series of ironic circumstances, Elfangor's younger brother was given the secret location of Visser Three's next feeding ground, for just like your human host, Visser Three's Andalite host must consume nutrients as well to survive. This younger brother of Elfangor morphed a local creature that has the ability to poison its target, and using that morph, he attacked Visser Three's host while he was momentarily alone feeding. And like the coward that he truly is, Visser Three chose to abandon his most precious host when he believed that the poison would kill his Andalite slave to save himself. He dropped into this body of water to escape death at the hooves of Elfangor's kin, and now his escape has brought him here to this place. To us.
Tellion shook her head weakly, still trying to make sense of what she was being told.
The Visser has a microscopic transmitter implanted into his body, should he ever have to leave his host while not in a specifically shielded area, it sends a distress signal to his most loyal and trusted officers. Even now, crack response teams are being scrambled at both the Yeerk Pool and the Pool ship to come and rescue him.
Nothing was said for a moment in the silence that persisted as Tellion stared at the truly meek form of the Yeerk that had inspired such immense fear in her.
But of course, this will all be over long before any of them have a chance to get here to rescue him.
"I don't understand. What do you mean it will be over before then?"
Just look at your feet Tellion.
She did as she was commanded, and felt her entire body freeze. Lying in front of her, just before her feet, was a single, seemingly insignifigant rock about the size of her hand. It was just a creation of the natural forces of the universe. An object shaped and molded by the countless eons of the natural flow of the energy of this planet, and its surrounding universe in general. It was really nothing or any real significance to anyone or anything. Except her, and in this very moment that itself was nothing more than an insignificant drop in the vast ocean of existence of everything. Her body moved as if it were not truly under her control, and Tellion picked up the small rock and held its weight in her hands. It had more weight to it than she expected it to.
"I don't understand." Tellion said as she inspected the simple rock. "What am I supposed to do?"
It is your choice Tellion. The voice told her. It has always been your choice. Think hard about this moment, why I brought you here to this moment to be before your former commander in his most vulnerable state. To what end could this event possibly lead?
Tellion only had to think on it for a second before she truly understood everything. She felt her internal body twist tighter than it had ever done since entering Susan. All the muscles in across her small frame tighten to the point where she almost couldn't bring herself to move. Above all else, she felt herself grow short of breath.
"You…you want me…to kill him?" whispered out the question, fearful of the answer she would be given.
Why else would I have orchestrated these events, and brought you here Tellion?
"But…to what end would I accomplish by killing Visser Three?"
You would save this world. The voice whispered to her with such affection, such conviction. She could almost feel as if the presence that the voice belonged to was lurking just behind her. I showed you the most likely future for this planet. You know what your people's ultimate designs are for this precious sphere, what they will do to it if they prevail. Which you know they ultimately will if the natural course of events are allowed to continue as they are.
"How…"
The Andalite survivors are indeed very brave, and resourceful, and cleaver. They have caused immense damage to the Empire's invasion plans. But even you must know that they are too few in number to stop the invasion. Inevitably, the overwhelming resources your forces possess on this world will prevail against this pitiful rabble. And the Andalite's main forces are battling the Empire all across the galaxy on too many fronts, their forces are spread too thin to even have a hope of coming to save this world any time soon. It will take them years, if they ever can, to attempt to combat the Empire for this planet again. If the course of event in this timeline are allowed to continue as they are, this world will fall.
"But why me? What can I do?"
I choose you Tellion, because you care for this world. You care for the abundance of life it offers to your battered and weary spirit. You care for the people that exist in it. You care deeply for Ellaine, Linda, Arthur, and yes…for Mark. Yes, you feel for him so much deeper than any other being you have ever known in your life. He stirs something in the core of your existence that you neither understand nor can explain, only that you wish to be with him for as long as the universe will still allow you.
Yes. Tellion thought with great sadness, unable even in this moment to forget Susan. She did feel for Mark in a way that she had never felt for any other living being. She wanted nothing more in all the cosmos that to be by his side, even if it was only as a passenger to Susan and her life.
I know very much of those feelings you possess for him Tellion, and they are a very precious thing worth saving. It was as I told you once before Tellion. You have the power to save this world. You have the power to save your adoptive family. You have the power to save your precious Mark. And yes, even save the Andalite survivors.
She didn't say anything. She didn't know if there was anything that she really could say in that moment. All she could do was stare down at Visser Three. He was resting upon a large rock at the edge of the river, no doubt his frail body battered and ravaged by what the current and thrashing rocks had done to him. In this moment, looking at him, she just couldn't bring herself to see the monstrous and twisted being that had caused so much torment and torture in her life. All she could see was a vulnerable and helpless creature that was at the mercy of anything that would dare to even bring harm upon him. Including her.
I sense hesitation in you Tellion.
"He's…he's helpless…" Tellion murmured, staring at the helpless Yeerk before her.
Has that ever stopped him from extinguishing the lives of any of his victims? He has killed throughout the course of his entire life, time and time again he has crushed the existance out of countless victims, Yeerk and non-Yeerk alike, without the slightest trace of hesitation or remorse for his murderous actions. Do you know that, because of his direct command, more than half of your brood brothers and sisters have slowly suffered and died from Kandrona starvation? All because he deemed him expendable. Your kin, parts of the very essence you came from, gone. For no other reason than they were of no use to him.
Tellion didn't realize she was crying until the tears began to fall from the edges of her cheeks. What she was hearing, it was so painful. Her kin, she had never felt close to any of them. Maybe it was because they had followed the natural order of newborn Yeerks and desired to rise in rank and achieve status, no matter the cost, unlike her. They had never truly spoken or interacted with her, because Tellion had been so very diferrent from them. But now, despite no words having ever been exchanged between her and them, she felt something.
Anger. Rage. A deep sense of personal loss.
Her brothers, her sisters, were killed in the most horrific way that any Yeerk could die. And their murder was right in front of her.
You…Tellion thought with deep heated venom as she stared at Visser Three. You never felt anything from their deaths, did you? They meant nothing to you, did they? They were all just expendable trash in your mind.
I'm not just giving you the chance to save this world and the people in it that you care about Tellion, I'm giving you the opportunity to avenge both your kin and all of the other lives that Visser Three has crushed with no regard for his dark actions.
Her arm holding the rock lifted, stretching outward until the shape hoovered over the feeble form of the dreaded Visser Three.
Think deeper than your personal loss Tellion. You can end the war Tellion. The voice again tickled the edge of her ear. All the pain, the suffering, the misery, the unnecessary death. It can all end here, in this very moment. The planet based Kandrona Ray is gone, thousands of your forces have already perished. With Visser Three gone in this critical moment, your people's forces will be plunged into an unfixable disarray. With no true command to lead them, the Andalite survivors will be given a prime opportunity to attack the Yeerk pool and expel the Empire's forces from this world once and for all. This world will truly be saved, and it will all be because of you Tellion. Who knows, they may even have to abandon their current supply of host slaves planet side. That would include Tallaxia. You do remember Tallaxia, don't you?
"I never forgot her." Tellion said, thinking of the first host to truly open her understanding of a better way of existence despite the agony they had both brought to each other. She did desire for nothing more than for Tallaxia's freedom. And in this moment, Tellion could very well make that most desired dream of her former host a very real reality.
You have the power to do all this, if you just have the will to do what must be done. All you have to do now Tellion is just let it go. Just let it go.
And she wanted to. No one, not this voice, maybe not even she herself, would ever know how badly she wanted to simply drop that rock and let it smash out the life of the most horrific being that Tellion had ever had the displeasure to know. Surely, if any being, anywhere or at any time in the entire galaxy ever deserved to die, it was Visser Three.
Then why wasn't she doing it? Why did she hesitate?
She thought back to that day a lifetime ago. The terrified tech he had brutally sliced apart and then fed to ravenous Taxxons. The fear in his face, forever imprinted in Tellion's memory. The knowledge that Visser Three had not only killed him, but also his helpless human slave with no regard for either of their lives than one would put into smashing an insect. And now here she was, with the opportunity to return the favor to this diabolical fiend.
All that's required for evil to triumph, is for good to do nothing.
Tellion remembered those words that Arthur had said. And she wanted to believe that they were relevant to her in this moment. She did believe herself to be good, about as good as any Yeerk ever possibly could be. And surely Visser Three was the physical embodiment of pure evil. His darkness reminded her so very much of that…awful, terrifying eye…
I sense there is still some hesitation within you Tellion. The voice said, sounding almost weary at her inaction. Very well, as token of our newly sealed friendship once you have accomplished this deed, I will help you rescue Susan.
Hearing that caused Tellion to jump. "You…you can save Susan?"
Of course. I have powers and abilities that you could only dare to dream of. She's lost in a deep void of the consciousness, in a place that no real physical being can travel to. But I can. It's not too late to save her. And you can make that possible. All you have to do Tellion, is finish the task that I've presented to you.
So…kill Visser Three, to save Susan's life? One life for another. It seemed like a reasonable, even generous trade. And didn't she so desperately want to bring Susan back to her life? Back to her precious Mark? She did.
And she would also be avenging all of the lives that Visser Three had taken without any regard for what he had done. And she would end the war.
Then why did she still hesitate?
She had to save this world, the people she cared about, and Susan. But in order to do that…
Tellion didn't know why, but she just couldn't stop herself from staring at the completely helpless Visser Three, who's life she latterly held in her hands. And whose life she would ultimately be responsible for extinguishing.
When you take a life. Arthur's words echoed through Tellion's mind. No matter how much you may justify it, a part of you dies, and never, ever comes back. It's gone forever.
You're almost out of time Tellion. The voice's whisper tickled at the edge of her ear. You can't wait anymore. This is your time. This is your moment to save everything that you care about in your life. Just let it go Tellion.
Her tears were freely falling from her face as she stared first at the rock, then down at Visser Three. Her hand, her arm, her whole body was trembling as she struggled with the most monumental decision she had ever been given in her young life.
Just let it go.
Her hand released its grip over the heavy rock before Tellion even had the time to make a conscious decision. Gravity took instant effect. It plunged the rock down at its target below.
And the rock struck it with a wet, disgusting splat that sent a splatter of mushy mass everywhere.