We met at her barn both of us were sweating and exhausted. Cassie and I worked in shifts, each of us holding back Iniss 762 every hour and resting every hour. There was so much tension in the room I felt I could explode and everyone treated me as if I was made of glass. At that moment, I felt as if I was.

“Whatever we do we need to do it quickly.” Cassie said.

“That’s right.” I agreed. “Like by tonight, I don’t think either of us can hold off the Yeerk more than that and the minute it gets control it will tell Visser 3 everything-it knows everything by now.”

“Which means all of us will be in trouble.” Jake said.

“Exactly.”

“Should we try the oatmeal thing?” Marco inquired.

“No,” I said “The yeerk would gain power from a craving and could use it to send out distress signals to have me re-infested. We think it’s best to do it the old fashioned way.” I tapped my left ear. “We need Plan B.”

“What’s Plan B?” Ax asked, a little confused. Cassie and I exchanged glances.

“I hate it when you guys do that.” Marco said. Smiling grimly, Cassie and I told them the plan we had come up with. Unfortunately Plan B meant going back to the yeerk pool yet again. Having seen this done several times before I blended in quickly with the long line of controllers. I had to be sure not to be seen by anyone I knew. Cassie, Rachel, Jake, Ax, and Marco were behind me, if things were going to work out they couldn’t get too close to the yeerk pool. Tobias had stayed behind, though he didn’t want to. However I didn’t want Visser 3 to see him again and neither did Rachel (who convinced him to stay.) My heart pounded in my chest as I neared the pool. Cassie and I nodded to each other without even looking at one another. I took a piece of clay from my pocket and placed it inside my left ear. Drawing in a deep breath I stepped towards the pool. I thought to everyone, (Here goes plan B.)