"All I'm saying is that, THIS IS COMPLETELY INSANE!" Marco said. "I can't believe we are even considering this."
"Well we can't expect that our area is the only place being attacked by the Yeerks, what about all those other people, who's helping them?" Rachel said angrily. Rachel is tall, blond and beautiful, although i don't think of her that way because she's my cousin, but she can be extremely forceful when she gets angry or feels very strongly about something and right now all that anger was directed at a short boy with dark brown hair, dark eyes and a big sense of humor who just happend to be my best friend Marco.
"Come on," I cut in."We really need to think about this, it would only be for the summer, three itsy bitsy little months."
"Prince Jake is right, as is Rachel we cannot only attack the Yeerk in this location, and we will possibly be able to do more damage there than here, they will not be expecting us," Ax said. I didn't bother to correct him on the Prince thing, it doesn't do anything.
"I think it's a good idea," Cassie said.
"What about me?" Tobias asked. "If i leave for that long some other bird is going to take my territory."
"Don't worry Tobias if they do we'll help you get it back," Rachel said smiling up at him. You see Tobias isn't exactly Human anymore at least not his body, you see one of the cardinal rules of morphing is absolutely, DO NOT, stay in morph for more than two hours, if you do you'll be trapped. Tobias broke that rule, now he is a Red-Tailed Hawk. Though thanks to a being known as the ellimist he was able to regain his morphing power and can return to his human shape for two hours at a time.
"OK, I'm in," Tobias said not sounding too certain.
"Well Marco what do you say you're the only one who's voted no ," Rachel said.
"OK, Fine I'll go, but I'm telling you this is a bad idea!" he said.
"Ok," I said. "Then it's settled we're all going to my Grand- parent's Farm for the summer."
"Our, Granparents," Rachel said.
"Farm! What Farm? You never said it was a farm," Marco said with a wail. "I am definately going to regret this."
"Jake honey, i don't know, that seems like a lot of guests to pile on yoor granparents, you know Rachel's coming to, and she's bringing a guest so that would be, six extra people that they'd have to get used to, they're only expecting four," My mom tols me after I asked her if I could take two extra people than before.
"But Mom, Tobias lives with his Uncle, and he really doesn't like it there very much, and he doesn't have many friends besides me and Marco, and I can't take him and leave Marco behind, he'd get his feelings hurt or something, and if I take Marco and Tobias I can't leave Philip, he'd get so bored all his friends would be gone, can you just call and ask? Please?" I practcally begged.
"Ok, I'll call and ask, but whatever Grandma says is the last word, understand?" She said looking at me, one eyebrow raised.
"Yes," I answered. She went over to the phone and called, she talked for a couple minuted then came back to tell me the answer. "You're lucky Grandma's motto is the more the merrier, she said you can bring all your friends, you better grovel when you get there, and help, A LOT, understand?" she told me.
"Sure Mom, whatever, I promise," I said. I went into the kitchen to call Marco. "Marco, she said yes," i told him over the phone. "Okay great," he said. "How about you come over, and we'll go get Tobias and A-Philip, and we'll figure out what everything to do,okay?" he said. You see we couldn't talk about any details over the phone,or sound like anything besides regular teenagers getting ready for summer vacation on the phone, because of my brother, Tom. He's one of them, a controller, a slave to the Yeerks, and if he found out what I was, he, or rather the Yeerk in his head, would turn us in, and we'd become controllers, then all would be lost.
"Okay sure, I'll be right over," I said into the receiver and hung up.
"Okay is everyone ready?" I asked, when everyone gathered together in Cassie's barn.
<Yes I am ready Prince Jake, I still do not understand why I must have so many different types of clothing are they not all the same?>
"Ax, we went over this, remember, you need different kinds of clothes for different situations." I said a little exasperated, though I tried not to show it. We as in Marco, Tobias, and I had taken Ax, and Tobias to get some cheap clothes at Target (Tobias had no clothes either not needing any being a hawk and all). We had been saving up our allowances for things just like this, and we had each even had to get some extra than that. I'm not proud to say that for the first time I had raided my mom's purse. She thinks that she dropped it at the grocery store or something while looking for her checkbook. But it was for a good cause so I tried not to feel very guilty about it but I still do.
<Ax, quick morph! Cassie's parent are coming they'll be here in about 3 minutes!> Tobias Yelled in thought-speak, the language you use while in morph, from up in the rafters. Ax immediately began to morph into his human morph. In the meantime Marco was grabbing some clothes for him that we had hide in here for occasions just like this. Cassie's parent's walked in just as Rachel was tying Ax's shoe. They looked at her strangely but ignored it.
"Cassie, are you all packed up hon?" her Mom asked her.
"Yep, everything's ready," Cassie answered smiling at her Mom.
"Oh and sweetie, here's some spending money, use it for whatever you want," her Dad said handing her some money and kissed her on the cheek. After they left Cassie looked at the rest of us.
"Oh man, now I feel even worse, how could I take money from them?" she said.
"Don't worry," I said, going over to sit next to her. "Some day you'll be able to tell them everything and i'm sure they won't mind, right?"
"I guess your right," she said."But I can't help feeling guilty about it."
"I know," I said.
"Okay if everyone is ready we'd better all get home, and get some sleep we have a long trip ahead of us." Rachel said. We all got up and began walking to our houses, as I walked out of the barn Cassie cought up to me.
"Are you worried? About leaving here I mean." She asked.
"Yeah, it will feel really weird. Being someplace else after all this," I said.
"I know how you feel," She said. Changing the subject she then said. " My parents are all worried, I've never been anywhere without them for this long, and this far away."
"I think my parents are a little relieved, They'll have a whole summer of virtual quiet. I'l be gone, and Tom will be spending most of his time at the sharing." I said. At that both of us fell silent.
"Your worried about leaving him aren't you?" she asked. She knew me so well, she always seemed to know what I was thinking. I kind of, like, Cassie, and I think she likes me too, but we don't really talk about it.
"Yeah I guess I am, I don't know why, I guess it's silly." I replied.
"No I don't think it's silly at all," she whispered. I turned and looked at her. She's so pretty I thought,"Well I better get home," I said snapping back into reality.
"Yeah," she said. "I'll see you tommorrow." At that I turned around, hopped on my bike and peddled home. As I rode home I couldn't help feeling a little worried, I thought about what Cassie said. I was worried about leaving Tom here, leaving here all together, I searched and searched my mind, but I couldn't think of anything. I thought about my Grandparents, what were the Yeerks doing around there? Were the Yeerks even there? I hoped not, but I had the strangest feeling that this was not going to be a summer for relaxing. My thoughts continued to haunt me as I rode home through the growing darkness.
"Where have you been?" My mom asked the minute I walked in the house.
"I was with Marco," I said instantly. "We were checking out this new video game he got." I had gotten pretty good at lying in the past several months. "You know what, I'm wiped, I think I'm just going to head up to bed all right?"
"Are you feeling all right," She asked me, walking over to feel my forehead.
"I'm fine Mom," I said pulling away from her hand. "I'm just tired."
"Yeah he's tired from using all his energy on that extremely draining thing called vegging and playing video games all day," Tom yelled from the kitchen. I smiled at the staement that was so Tom. Knowing that my brother wasn't the one making it, that it was the Yeerk inside his head, opening up his mind like a book finding out exactly what my brother would say, using Tom's mouth to say it. Though my expression turned sad as I walked up the stairs to my room. I'll get you Yeerk,someday, I thought, someday I'll free my brother and kill you for what you've done. I kept that thought in my mind as I got ready for bed, and it stayed with me through the night. The saddest thing was, was that it somehow comforted me, as memories of battles, murder and evil cut through my dreams, and echoes of screams drifted through my ears.
The acrid smell of the Yeerk pool wafted through my heightend Tiger's nostrils. The screams of despair, horror, and cries for mercy slithered through the excellent ears this cat that was me possesed. The sight of hundreds of cages full of people that were the makers of these sounds, some banging on the walls, some shaking the doors, and even worse some just sitting there, broken. Hammered against my watchful pedators eyes. Quietly I moved down the steps, unssen towards one of the cages. I looked back to see if my friends were in position, but they were no longer there, I looked back at the cage I was headed for. The original occupants were gone. In there place, the others. Rachel was banging on the door, Marco was yelling, Cassie was crying, Ax was using his tail against some of the wires, and Tobias was in a cage on the floor. There was another person though as I got closer he looked up. It was me, but I wasn't fighting, I was broken, I had no hope left. I yelled in my head. NONONONONONONONO I WONT BE TAKEN NONONONO HELP ME HELP ME!!!!!! I woke up screaming that.* I looked around my room frantically making sure I was back in my house. I took deep breathes laid back down and tried to go back to sleep.
To Be Continued.........