My name is Rachel. I'm not going to tell you my last name or where I live. This isn't because I don't want to. It's because I can't. The Yeerks are among us. If they knew those things about me, they could find me, and kill me... or worse.
The Yeerks are parasitic slugs that crawl in through your ear into your brain. They control you then. Your mind and actions are no longer your own. And the Yeerks could be anywhere, in anyone. Even you.
I, and four other kids like me, have been given the power to morph into any animal for up to two hours at a time. After two hours, you're trapped forever. How did we get these powers? From an alien called an Andalite. Now, I fight the Yeerks, along with that Andalite's younger brother, Ax; Jake, my cousin, the leader; Marco, his best friend, the joker; Cassie, my best friend, the tree-hugger; and Tobias, the guy I li- uh, I mean, my other friend, who is permanently trapped in the morph of a hawk.
I was enjoying a normal, Yeerk-free, worry-free afternoon, when I flipped on the television. I turned the station to one of those big news channels. My dad had a special opportunity to give the special reports there for a week, and I figured I would watch it.
My dad looked at the camera with a serious ombishure. "Thismorning, a small girl of 6 years showed up at a local government building looking for a man named 'Andy Light'. No has claimed her. Please, if you are responsible for this child, come and pick her up."
I froze. Then, I quickly grabbed the phone and dialed Jake's number. "We have a problem."
Chapter 2
We gathered in Cassie's barn. {So what are we going to do?} Tobias asked.
"How should I know?" I said, frustrated.
"I think we should go get her," Cassie said earnestly as she cleaned out some animal poop from a cage.
"I don't know how we can," Jake said dubiously, "and she might be some sort of a trap."
"Yes, the Yeerks know how Andalites are susceptible to children," Ax commented. "Druhn. CHIHL-druhn."
"So we do nothing," I grumbled.
"Poor little girl," Cassie sighed, slightly disappointed.
"Are you INSANE?" Marco exclaimed. "That little girl could get us killed!"
Cassie gave Marco a withering look. "Even if the Yeerks didn't have her when she went to that government building, they'll be after her now."
{Someone's coming,} Tobias warned.
"Thanks, Indian Companion," Marco said dryly.
"Who is it?" Jake asked.
{I don't know,} he admitted.
Marco threw his hands up in the air. "This is INSANE!"
{Hold on,} Tobias said slowly, {she's gone.}
~actually, i'm right here,~ a voice said.
We turned and looked around for the owner of that voice. I was shocked.
It was the little girl from the news! She was glowing a teal color.
~hi,~ she smiled. ~i'm rhi.~
"Holy cow," I exclaimed, "she's a little Ellimist!"
Chapter 3
~my papa told me to seek out andy lights,~ Rhi said seriously.
"Well, Rhi," I grinned, "you're at the right place. When is your papa coming back?"
~i don't know,~ Rhi said sadly. ~papa says that you andy lights will take care of me.~
"Of course we will," Cassie said softly, giving the child Ellimist a hug.
"Wait, wait, WAIT, wait, wait," Marco interrupted. "Are you INSANE? How can we take care of a six-year-old girl?"
"A six-year-old Ellimist, at that," Jake added grimly. "Man, I killed those goldfish Jake had me watch one summer," he went on. "No way I can take her in."
"Me neither," Jake said after a moment. "With Tom around, it's too dangerous."
"I have to help the animals around here," Cassie said helplessly, spreading her hands. "It's spring break, and my dad gets really swamped."
"Well," I squirmed, "my mom's away on a business trip, and my sisters are visiting my dad for spring break."
"Great," Jake approved. "It's settled then."
They all started to get up.
{Uh, guys?} Tobias spoke up. {Not to be the party-pooper or anything, but I still think Rachel might need some of us to help her out.)
"I'm still booked," Cassie said, "but otherwise I'd do it in a heartbeat."
"Don't look at me," Marco protested. "Unlike some people, I have a life."
"No, you don't," I said sweetly.
"No, seriously, dude, I do," Marco said, waving his hands extravagantly. "I'm going to some music appreciation thing tonight with Marian."
"I thought Marian believed you to be pond scum after you fell asleep during that concert you went to with her."
"She reconsidered," Marco said brightly, "after I beguiled her with my charms."
"Uh huh. Right," I said sarcastically.
"Marco, you'll be at Rachel's on Tuesday and Thursday," Jake ordered. "I'll be there Wednesday and Friday. Ax, you can go there today and Saturday, and Tobias, you'll stay there the whole week. That way there's three of us there the whole time." "Sounds like a plan, Stan," Marco agreed.
Jake just gave Marco a look.
Chapter 4
Tobias, Ax, (both in human morph) and I brought Rhi back to my house directly after the meeting. We somehow managed to stop her from glowing (don't ask how I'm still not sure). "Ax, take Rhi upstairs to my sister Sara's room. Rhi can play with her barbies," I directed.
"Barbies?" Ax repeated.
"They're dolls, Ax," Tobias explained.
He shrugged and they pounded up the stairs.
"Now, let's see," I pondered. "What should we make for dinner?"
I pulled out a can of Chef Boyardee Ravioli.
"Rachel," Tobias said disgustedly, "what is that?"
"Ravioli, duh," I replied.
"Canned ravioli?"
"Mmm beefy?" I suggested.
"Uh, no," he said. "I don't think so."
"So what do you suggest?" I asked pointedly.
"Chef Tobias, at your service," he said grandly.
"You can't cook."
"Who said anything about cooking?" Without warning, he grabbed the phone and dialed something very quickly. "Yeah. Can we have two medium pizzas?"
"Pepperoni and green peppers," I mouthed. "And a supreme for Ax."
"One with pepperoni and green peppers, and one with everything. Uh-huh. Okay. Sure. Thanks. Bye." He hung up the phone.
"How long?"
"22 minutes," he answered.
"Let's not be precise or anything," I laughed.
I grabbed a two liter of coke out of the fridge.
The pizza guy arrived not to much later. Rhi had come downstairs to inspect this "human phenomenon," as she called it.
"Here's your pizza," the pizza guy said. "Thank you for the tip."
~he was a controller,~ Rhi informed us after the door slammed.
"How do you know?" Ax demanded. "NO-uh."
~i'm an ellimist, silly. or at least, i will be.~
"Have some pizza, Rhi," I said, opening the box and inhaling those wonderful fumes.
She tentatively picked up a piece and savagely took a bite out of it.
~i like earth food,~ she decided.
"As do I," Ax said solemnly.
Tobias and I looked at each other and laughed.
Chapter 5
Marco's irritated and irritating voice pierced through the air up the stairs. "Since WHEN have the Animorphs become a daycare service for Ellimists?"
I yawned and rubbed my eyes as i came down the stairs. "Marco, one Ellimist child hardly constitutes a daycare service."
"Uh, Rachel?" Tobias said uneasily. "That's just the thing."
I looked at him, puzzled.
~hi, rachel.~
~hi, rachel.~
~hi, rachel.~
Rhi and two other glowing children stood in my kitchen.
"Would someone care to tell me what's going on?" I demanded.
~i'm mette,~ a girl, who looked very much like rhi, introduced.
~i'm ajay,~ a boy calmly stated.
~my papa sent them here, too,~ Rhi grinned. ~they're my best friends.~
"There's not much we can do," Tobias shrugged.
"Well, I certainly was not looking forward to watching one
Ellimist child, let alone three," Marco complained.
"Deal with it," I snapped.
"So," Marco said suspiciously, looking at the Ellimists, "what is with that glowing stuff?"
~it's a by-product of the powers we have,~ Ajay glared. ~not our fault.~
"Can you control it?" Tobias wondered.
~yeah,~ Mette said thoughtfully. ~takes a little effort, though.~
~we don't really have any reason to among ourselves,~ Rhi amended.
"Do you know how?" I asked.
~yea,~ Ajay acknowledged.
~yeah,~ Mette replied.
~yep,~ Rhi answered.
"Good."
"Why good?" Marco questioned.
"Because," I said dramatically, "there's a sale at J.C. Penney's."
"Oh, no," Tobias groaned.
~~what's going on?~ Rhi said, alarmed.
"We're going to the mall," I grinned.
Chapter 6
I stepped out of the dressing room, and spun around. "What do you think?" I asked.
~pretty,~ Mette commented.
~pretty,~ Rhi echoed.
Tobias was speechless.
"I think I'll get it," I grinned.
I paid for the outfit after I had changed into my regular clothes. No sooner than I had taken the receipt did Marco appear, throwing his hands up in the air.
"Where's Ajay?" Tobias asked.
"Yeah, I thought you took him to the arcade," I said, puzzled.
"Well, uh, I lost him," Marco said lamely.
~how can you "lose" an ellimist?!~ Mette demanded in that Ellimistish thought-speak which filled our heads so vibrantly.
~she and ajay are to be married when they are full ellimists,~ Rhi confided in my head privately.
"Girls," Tobias asked gently, bending down to equal height with the two, "do you have some way to find him?"
~yes.~
A shriek came from the nutrition store next door.
"Somehow I don't think we'll need it," Marco guessed.
Chapter 7
~hi, ajay,~ a child said coldly.
~hi, aryn,~ Ajay replied icily.
"Ajay!" I exclaimed. (Tobias and I were either playing the role of REALLY REALLY young parents or miscellaneous teenagers who were supposed to be watching Ajay. Take your pick.)
Tobias scooped him up. "Where have you been?"
"Don't you EVER walk away like that again," I said sternly.
"We were worried sick," Tobias added.
We hauled all 3 kids out of the store and clear across the mall into the food court.
"Who was that?" Tobias asked.
~aryn,~ Mette said with unhidden contempt.
No way," Marco said sarcastically.
~she's an ellimist,~ Rhi said gravely, ~but an evil one.!
~half-ellimist,~ Ajay corrected sharply.
"The other half?"
~aryn is crayak's daughter.~
"Uh, that's bad," Tobias said quietly.
~very much so.~
~i hate her,~ Rhi said savagely.
"Oh, one more question," I said, pausing. "Why did that woman scream?"
~aryn lost control a moment when she saw me,~ Ajay replied, squirming. ~she glowed for a second.~
~and aryn doesn't have a pretty glow like us,~ Mette added.
~it's red,~ Rhi said, wrinkling her nose.
~and icky wicky poo red,~ Mette agreed.
~oh, by the way,~ Ajay said nonchalantly, ~we've got trouble.~
"Right here in River City?" Marco said with mock shock.
I ignored that. "How?"
~aryn is collaborating with controllers,~ Ajay announced.
~she's afraid ajay will beat the living snot out of her,~ Mette commented. ~she's such a chicken.~
"Did you ever stop to think that fricken rhymes with chicken?" Marco said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, I'll be sure to remember that next time we have to write a poem in English class," I said, grinding my teeth. "Does Aryn know about the Animorphs?"
~she might. i don't know how much crayak has told her,~ Rhi responded. ~it's likely she does.~
"Oh, crap," I groaned.
Chapter 8
Rhi and Mette escaped upstairs to play with Sara's barbies. Marco and Ajay took over my room to play games on my computer. (Ajay was significantly kicking Marco's butt.) This left Tobias and I once more to prepare dinner.
"McDonald's?" I suggested. "It's 99 cent hamburger day."
"We'd either have to go pick it up or we'd have to take everyone there," Tobias replied, frowning, "and I HATE cold fries."
"True," I agreed.
"We could have TV dinners," he said after a moment.
"No way," I said firmly.
"How about we run and get some Chinese takeout from that Oriental place around the corner?"
"Oh my gosh," I breathed. "You're a genius. I've been dying for some mu shu pork."
"I try," he said modestly.
We sent Marco (whose pride was severely wounded) out with $20 and change with instructions and all orders written down.
We checked the clock after a half hour. "Marco is late," I growled with the same intensity as my stomach.
The doorbell rang. "Good," Tobias said, satisfied.
However, it wasn't Marco.
It was Aryn.
~where are the ellimists?~ she demanded.
Like I was EVEN going to tell her. "What are you talking about?" I asked with this confused look on my face.
~ajay, mette, and rhi!~ she said impatiently. ~bring them to me.~
"I'm sorry, little girl," Tobias said with such sincerity that it was completely believable, "but we don't have any children."
"We're too young," I added. "We think we're going to wait a few years before taking that plunge."
"I want to develop my career first," Tobias said seriously. "And we're still debating which one of us should stay home with them."
We had a REALLY good act going on, and it would have worked. Except for the fact that Mette, Rhi, and Ajay suddenly appeared behind me, looking for Marco.
~where's the food?~ Rhi asked.
~hi, rhi,~ Aryn said.
In an instant, all three Ellimist children's eyes turned to a stony glare.
~and you say you do not interfere,~ Aryn sneered. ~here, you take advantage of a perfectly normal human couple.~
"Now, I don't know what your problem is," Tobias said in that parental tone he just magically picked up, "but these here, are our nieces and nephew. I would rather that you would not make fun of them. That's not nice."
Marco popped up behind Aryn with several bags of take-out. "Chow time," he announced.
"Oh, it's time for dinner," I said with fake regret. "I'm afraid you can't play now. Why don't you come back tomorrow?"
Aryn looked VERY confused. ~.....okay.....~
Marco practically shoved her out of his way and slammed the door in her face. "I am the savior of saviors," he proclaimed. "I am the ridder of rubbish. I am.... Super Marco."
"Uh huh," I said uninterestedly. "Great."
~she'll be back since she knows where we are,~ Mette intoned.
"Let's just chow down," Tobias suggested.
We did just that.
Chapter 9
Jake showed up in the morning with some Egg McMuffins and hashbrowns. Personally, I would rather eat raw sewage than a McDonald's breakfast, but I'd say my options were somewhat limited. I shut off the radio, since they were playing Britney Spears' "Sometimes" for like the billionth and a half time, and tried to swallow one of those nasty McMuffins. Tobias was off, making sure no hawk had moved in on his territory, and catching a little breakfast for himself there. I couldn't say I blamed him. Rat would taste a WHOLE lot better than McGreasy crap. The Ellimist children were playing inside the cupboards (PLEASE don't ask), and somehow Jake was happily eating that artificial sausage meat.
"Aryn came by last night," I told him quietly.
"Marco told me," Jake replied seriously, although how he could be serious with his mouth full of THAT STUFF is beyond me.
"What are we going to do?"
"Finish breakfast?"
I glared at him.
He sighed, and put the Egg McMuffin down. "Yes, something has to be done with Aryn. We can't have her running about telling Controllers about the Animorphs."
"That would most decidedly be bad."
"Yeah," he nodded sagely. "So, I figure, we provoke her."
"What?"
"Make her mad, blow her cover."
"And what will that do?"
"I'm working on that part," he admitted.
Growling, I opened the top cupboard for a glass.
Rhi fell out.
~sorry,~ she said sheepishly.
"Rhi," I ordered, "get your pals out of my cupboards."
~okay.~
One by one, with little guilty looks on their faces, they exited.
"Now," Jake said gravely, "do you know what we should do?"
~oooh!~ Mette exclaimed. ~i do! i do!~
"What?" I asked.
~we could challenge her,~ she said thoughtfully. ~she can't win.~
~three ellimists against 1 half-ellimist,~ Ajay said quietly. ~that's pretty good odds, if you ask me.~
"Let's do it!"
"No, we are NOT risking the lives of children. Sorry, out of the question," Jake said firmly.
"So, what can we do?" I retorted. "Aryn knows where they're staying. She can destroy them in an instant!"
"Well, we've already established this. They can't go to any other Animorphs' house, and we can't trust them with ordinary people...." he trailed off.
"Wait," I said suddenly.
"What?"
"Maybe that's the key."
"Ordinary?" he asked with his brow furrowed.
"No, people," I said.
At the same time, we said, "The Chee."
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