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TWO

Erek showed me to the kitchen and offered me a sandwich. Aftran accepted, frowning at the expiration date on the package he handed me.

"It's still good." He said easily, following my eyes. "This isn't a full stasis generator, but it's close enough that the food we do keep takes decades to expire."

Aftran nodded, unwrapping the cellophane. Erek leaned on the counter— he projected the image of a boy leaning on the counter— and looked at me with a friendly smile.

He waited until the Yeerk had taken a giant bite of her egg salad to ask "...and who is it I have the pleasure of currently speaking with?"

Aftran almost froze. She went back to chewing so easily it made me feel ill. "What do you mean?"

"You aren't Cassie," he said simply. "That's Cassie's body, but it's not Cassie I'm speaking with." He gave Aftran a polite look. "You're alone, you're in the body of an ally, and you're here because you know I can't harm you."

Aftran chewed for a long moment. Swallowed noisily. She looked at the other half of the sandwich, then took another giant bite. The kitchen was silent aside from noisy smacking until she finally asked, mouth still full, "Do you have milk?"

Erek wordlessly poured a glass and handed it to me. The Yeerk chugged it like she was in a contest.

"That's better." She said when she was done, setting the glass down. "Your ally hasn't eaten since yesterday. Thanks."

Erek stared at me, face and body completely neutral. "Sure." he said tonelessly. Then, still staring, "Let's move past the inevitable part where you threaten me. What do you want?"

"A portable Kandrona," Aftran replied immediately. "One of the self-contained units with a pool and its own generator." She pointed my finger at him. "You." She punctuated with a jab at his hologram. "Are going to make sure it's shielded so that even specialized scans won't pick it up."

I felt numb. The implications of what she'd just said were too awful to contemplate, and I shied away.

"Am I?" Erek asked. He turned and started out of the kitchen, through the living room and down the hall. My feet moved as my body followed him through the door and down into the basement. Everything from Aftran still felt distant. Cushioned. Walled off. Now and then I could feel the strain on her, how shoving me down was taking a toll on her concentration.

No wonder they look for willing hosts, a part of me observed from my crammed section of brain. I disliked the thought immediately; preferring a willing host didn't make it okay to do any of this.

Erek spoke again as we stood together, as the floor began to drop. His voice was even, unruffled. "Let's say I can get you what you asked for. Why should I aid you in enslaving my friend? It's a much better move for me to imprison you and call the rest of the Animorphs."

"That's against your programming. You can't let them take me if you know they'll kill me."

I listened with growing sick fury as Erek and Aftran discussed my future like I was a thing, a card played in a game. In that moment I think I hated them both.

"Not if I don't know they'll kill you. As long as I'm reasonably sure that Jake will let you live, I can hand you over."

Aftran turned and looked at him as we hit the bottom of the Chee dog park. Buttery sunlight washed my arms and face from overhead. "But you won't." She said, suddenly sounding confident and assured. "Because you can't know if I have information on the others on a trigger. Prevent me from moving freely, imprison me, and you may doom the entire earth resistance."

Erek hesitated. «No.» I said. «No, Erek, she hasn't had time to set up anything, don't fall for this…» He stared at Aftran, straight into my eyes, for a long time. Then he nodded slightly. I felt like I was going to explode.

"A full, shielded, self-contained Kandrona-Pool support system." Erek said, his tone turning formal, setting terms. "On your word that none of the other Animorphs or their families are infested or harmed from your information."

What.

«What.» I said. I didn't even know if she heard me.

Aftran nodded my head once. "Agreed. I will need help with transport. You will not disclose the location to anyone but the Chee."

"Agreed." Erek nodded back, tight. Mirroring Aftran's movement exactly.

I wanted to start screaming. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening.

Aftran made a show of looking around. "Not that this isn't a lovely place, but I'd like to be on my way." She stopped and gave Erek a look. "Unless you happen to have that Kandrona on-hand?"

Erek's face hardened. His tone went clipped. "You have your deal, Yeerk." He said. For the first time his voice was angry. "I'll have it ready to move to your location by Friday." Aftran glanced my eyes around. Several Chee had approached. They were standing in a loose semicircle near us. "It's time for you to leave."

I felt Aftran's focus. The feeling of being crammed into a corner was slowly starting to let up, minute by minute. I wasn't sure if it was intentional or just something that happened after enough time. "Friday morning," she agreed, and turned to face the assembled Chee. "Would one of you give me a ride back up closer to the City Center?"

Erek smiled tightly. "Of course." He took my arm and steered me to the side. "Right this way."

She followed at his side to another Chee. Aftran walked my body across part of the park, then we stood at a wall as another elevator shaft rose us up. When we got out of the laundry room, Aftran turned and gave the robot projecting an old lady hologram a hard look.

"Friday Morning," the Yeerk said, and walked me over to a sliding door. She stepped my body outside again and morphed. An owl flew off into the darkening night.