Chapter Twenty-Four
He’s big, he’s black, his eyes are red, his teeth are sharp, his tail is long and his claws are pointed, his feet are quick and his blows are fast.
He is called Black.
And he is a rat.
Like me.
Yes I, a human with intelligence a rodent like the rat could never glimpse at, and I am trapped in the body of one.
One filthy, dirty rat.
All rats on this little rock are filthy, all are indifferent, all are prey, and at the very bottom of the food chain.
I didn’t deserve this.
What did I ever do to them? I was only trying to survive.
Were they even human? I said I couldn’t take a life of a human.
That makes me human, any human that couldn’t write off his fellow’s life is considered human, right?
I have lived over two years of terror, two years of hatred and self-pity. Two years since those lousy ****** ******* trapped me in a morph, oh I hated them, I hated the thought of them, I hated the sick twisted feeling that I got from thinking about their unreasonable judgment.
They shattered me, they broke me, in those two hours I lost my dignity, I begged, I pleaded, I promised, I reasoned, I accused, I raged, I yelled, I screamed, I was in disappear.
And to whose mercy was I? Who had led me to this fate? Who had been so callous in watching my fate as a rat forever?
Two creatures I wish to kill, I would savor the moment I killed them, and I am blood thirsty for revenge.
At the mercy of a girl! For god’s sake a girl! A typical blonde airhead who’s brain has nothing more than the information you could cram onto a pin’s head!
And an Andalite, yes, I’ll kill him. Shocked? An Andalite happily trapped me in a morph that would have been an insult to the stupidest Hork-Bajir alive!
I’ll kill him first, Rachel second, he’s the one who so casual announced the count downs of my morph!
Ahhhhhh! I’ll show him! I’ll count down the seconds left for his life! I’ll show him! Yes I will! I will!
Or maybe I’ll kill Rachel first, that evil witch! Or maybe that tiresome cousin of hers. Jake.
I’ll never forget his name. Never!
And I’ll show whoever planned this fate; I’ll shown them death, slow death.
I ran out of my home and watched as Black ate away at my stored food.
I hated that rat, I couldn’t d much about him, nothing much at all.
I ran off at the edge of my little prison.
< I’ll kill them! I’ll kill them all! > I screamed at the sky.
“Kill who?” Said a voice, mockingly.
I spun my pathetic rat body to the speaker. Expecting to see a human.
But I saw no human.
I saw a creature that was as tall as the human, darker than the green of a Hork-Bajir, greater wrinkled than your average elephant, it’s body was in the shape of a dinosaur.
I will not bother to describe this creature any further.
“Hell-ooo, Daaaaavid!!!” It sang, “Having any fu-u-u-un?”
< Who are you?! > I screamed.
“I am Drode,” It did this kind of bow, “Under your command.”
< Who-What do you want? > I snapped.
It snapped back at the harshness in my tone, then it puckered it’s lips and made crying noises, “David doesn’t want to play with me.”
It stopped the nonsense and said. “Very well then, Good-bye!”
< No! > I screamed, it stopped, turned around and watched me, I stepped forward and stood on two paws, my front paws in the air, < Don’t leave. >
It blinked it’s huge eyes, “So you, you want to play?”
I hesitated, who was this creature? Where did it come from? What brought it here?
< Yes. > I said guardedly, < What game? >
“Oh! Boy! Oh! Boy! OhBoy! OhBoy! OhBoy!” It danced on its legs, hopping from one foot to another, “This game I have is real.”
Real?
“You can win, but you can also lose.”
I can win?
“You can have fun, but you could experience pain.”
Have fun?
“You would have to become like me to play my game, my master’s game.”
To become like him?
“Oh no, not physically, no, no, no, no!” It said in surprise, “You are almost like me, like my master, yes, weaker, but you would do, you can play the wildcard.”
Wildcard?
“You see, my game is a hunt game.” Drode said, “You like hunting?”
I wasn’t too sure on what to say.
< Hunting what? > I said. Cautiously.
“Hunting pests,” He laughed.
< What kind of pests? > I said, puzzled.
“They have a name.” He said, jumping up and down, “And they are six.”
Excuse me, I didn’t understand,
< What’s their name? > I said politely. Thinking that this alien was crackers.
“Animorphs,” He laughed, “My dear friend, Animorphs!”
Chapter Twenty-Five
~David~
“Animorphs,” He laughed, “My dear friend, Animorphs!”
Then he disappeared, leaving me stunned stupid.
< Wha? > I said,
< NO! > I screamed, my voice shrill, < COME BACK! >
It came back, my rat heart was pounding.
“Yes?” It asked, “Interested?”
< Yes, yes, I! Ah-mean, I mean! Yes! Yes! > I started to babble.
“Calm down, David,” Drode laughed, “I shall explain.”
I tried to. It was not easy, Drode had picked me up and started to stroke my fur.
“I work for Crayak, you don’t need to know much about him,” Drode said, “And his weakling enemy, the Ellimist, both love to play games. The Ellimist had went over the line when he gave Tobias’s power back, the power to morph, and it was even worse when he gave him the ability to morph ‘himself’”
I waited for him to go on.
“Now, you have that choice David. I will ask you the question the Ellimist asked Tobias, you would have to choose, it has to be something that concerns you only, I cannot change timelines, cannot kill anyone. This is in the ‘rules of engagements’.”
He pulled a face when he said ‘rules of engagements’.
< What is the question? > I whispered.
He set his expression as noble as he could, two wings popped out of his back and a dented crown rose on top of his head, floated in mid-air, a fairy’s wand appeared in his hand and he set me to the ground.
He swung one leg back, placed an arm out in the air, sprinkled mud –yes, sprinkled mud- out of his wand and said in a voice that sounded like an angle’s “What do you want?”
I blinked.
What did I want?
My mind raced.
What did I want?
“To be who I was! Human! With the power to-” I trailed off, I was human.
T ran to the edge of my prison, looked at the reflection on the sea, it was hard, but…
I…I was me!
“Can…Can I morph?” I asked, shakily.
It nodded. The crown disappeared and a wizard’s hat replaced it. It became a tall, thin, skinny, bony human, wearing a sort of…. It looked like a wizard! With…green hair and beard?
Then it said in a voice that sounded like a human’s, only with the nose pinched and the pitch high.
“You will also need…an assistant.” It announced, “Let’s see.”
An enormous book exploded in view, knocking me off my feet.
It giggled, “Sorry!”
Only it sounded, “Sooweey!”
It began to flip through the pages. “Hmmm, hmmm, yes! No, no too loud, hmmm, hmmm…Yes! No, too brutal, hmmm, no, disobedient…”
It went on for about two to three minutes, “YES!”
Only, it sounded, “NWYYIIS!”
I cringed back, “What?”
It looked at me then put a finger to his lips, “Shhh!” It looked around suspiciously.
“I have the ultimate weapon!”
Only it sounded like; “I’af z’ultiiimit weeeeep-on!”
“What? My assistant?” I asked, it nodded its suddenly huge head. It’s now saucer size eyes blinked. “Hush or it will attack!”
I blinked, a witch’s pot came into view; the pot began to tip slowly to the ground.
Drode screwed it’s eye’s shut cringed back, held up it’s hands against it’s body as a shield and stood sideways, one leg bent up.
Drode stopped breathing, it started to tremble.
I started to shake.
The creature that was terrifying the Drode tumbled out of the enormous pot. It looked at us, seemingly puzzled by all the things around it.
It stood on it’s hind legs, two paws in the air.
“Arff! Arff! Arff!”
Chapter Twenty-Six
~David~
Is this some kind of joke?
A dog?
A puppy dog!
A German-shepherd puppy.
“Huh?” I said.
The Drode opened his eyes, looking at me, the puppy wagged its tail and looked at me, “Fierce isn’t it?”
“Are you joking!” I yelled, “Fierce? You think that thing is going to stop the Animorphs? How will it kill them? Pledge to cuteness?!”
It blinked again, “What? What’s wrong?”
I grabbed the puppy by the scruff of his neck, “This!”
“Ohhh!” He cried. “Oops?”
He snapped his fingers.
BONK!
I fell on top of a seemingly huge German-shepherd, he growled at me. Showing his teeth, “Gooood, boy! Goood boy.”
I tried not to scream, that kind of dog is the kind of dog you don’t want to bump into.
“A dog?” I said, “Why would he be my assistant?”
“David,” The Drode said coyly, “This dog isn’t stupid, it is well trained and, will win you a fight with an Andalite.”
He looked around, “If you bump into one.”
“But…What if I was in a ship or something? He can’t morph!”
The Drode nodded, “Yes I know, that’s your problem. I suggest you don’t push yourself in rotten situations, but he will, escape, after all, I don’t think the Animorphs would kill a mere animal, especial not a dog. And, this dog will prove to be more useful than you think.”
I shrugged, “How can I get out of here?”
It pointed far away at sea “Wait. And you will see.”
“I need a place to hide! A home!” I said, at the disappearing Drode.
“It is all done.”
“How!”
“It is all done.”
Then he disappeared.
I looked at the dog, “Just you and me now.”
He said nothing, just sat by my side.
“What shall I call you?” I asked, stroking his head.
My hand found a collar.
I frowned; I looked at the nametag.
Urchin.
“Urchin?” I asked.
The dog stood in front of me and reared up, placing his paws on my chest, its brown eyes locked into mine. He licked my face sat down and barked.
Master!
It was not a word, nor a thought; it’s hard to describe this…just like a feeling.
I was sure that I was the only thing that could hear…no I didn’t hear it was like understanding him. It’s more like trying to figure out what a six-month-old baby wants.
Then he ran at the side of the rock, and started barking. I looked up at his commotion, a boat.
“Good boy!” I yelled,
ROWROWROW! ROWROWROW!
The boat veered towards us.
“Help!” I screamed, “Help me.”
If Urchin hadn’t barked the boat would have just passed out of range.
His barks were strong and loud, the boat stopped a few feet away from my prison.
“Help!” I Repeated.
The crew consisted of one man, he was old.
“Hey shunny!” He said in a voice that coughed and wheezed, his voice whistle through the missing teeth in his upper jaw.
“Uh,” I said, “My boat sank, I’ve been stranded for days!”
More like years.
“Hop on in!” He said. He helped me over and Urchin sprang in, The old man watched Urchin.
“A handshome dog, what’sh ‘ish name?” He asked.
“Urchin.” I said.
“Urchin?” He repeated, like he couldn’t believe his name, and then he shrugged and muttered. “Okay, he’s your dog.”
“Where’d ya live?” He asked, as he motored the beat-up boat.
I didn’t lie about my address, I told him my real address.
He nodded and started to sail to shore.
After three hours we reached an outcrop of rocks.
“I’ll get off here.” I said. I hopped out, waiting for Urchin, he hadn’t bulged.
Stupid dog.
“Urchin,” I said, “Come’n boy! Let’s go!”
The dog barked, then looked at the old man. Barked again, the old man took a step back.
No witnesses.
“Urchin.” I said in a strangled voice, “Let’s go.”
No witnesses, he had inferred. It’s the thought that it gave me, the impression.
Urchin was going to have his first command. “Urchin?”
I paused and almost hesitated, “Kill.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
~Rachel~
I was in a red area, sky red, no clouds, land red no grass, an ocean red, no ripples.
Red like blood, the sent of death everywhere.
Out in the distance and far bellow me was darkness, seemingly dark black. Behind me, in front of me below me were all darkness, my eyes could not pierce the deadly gloom. A gloom of black blanket.
Human! I want you human!
I was looking at a human, his eye’s were a sad violet blue, his hair was a dirty blonde. Red light shone on us, making his hair a strange red and his eyes purple.
Human! For me!
“Rachel! The fight! The war! I can’t!”
Very slowly the human morphed gradually into bird.
Human for me!
Tobias, do it for me!
I was looking at a bird, a red-tailed hawk, it had the choice of being human, or, staying hawk forever.
The fierce raptor eyes pierced a hole through me. < No Rachel, I can’t. >
I started to sob in despair.
The hawk landed in my cupped hands, it was suddenly small enough to fit.
< I want to be human! > He screamed, < Human like you! Don’t do this to me! I…I…>
As the bird talked the thought speak voice changed, it was still boy and it was still human. And it was in utter despair, in my mercy.
< Rachel, don’t do this to me! Don’t! I want to be free! > He screamed, < I beg of you! >
He was no longer Tobias, he was no longer a bird, no longer a fierce raptor, no longer predator.
He was prey, he was a rat and he was David.
< Please! > He sobbed, < I don’t want to live my life as a rat! >
< Anything, anything but a rat! >
The ugly rat’s naked tail swept across my palms, I screamed disgusted.
I dropped him in the empty darkness below me, his screams shattering the bones of my skull.
< Arrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhhh! > it went on and on and on.
And at the same time, I heard him scream another word, this too, went on and on, both of the thought speaks bouncing around the strange landscape.
< Nnnoooooooooooooooooo! >
A rush of feathers blinded my view.
Tsssssssseer!
* * * * * *
“Ah!” I yelped.
I stared at the hawk that had landed on the foot of my bed.
“Tobias?”
< No, > It replied, < It is I, warrior Rlilim-Assgarit-Pathroil. >
“Rlilim?” I repeated, puzzled, “What are you doing here?”
He cocked his head at me, < Your Prince told me to call you, he said that Marco had discovered something. He told me to tell you to meet at the Barn; the others are going to be there. >
I nodded, got out of bed and while I morphed, Rlilim looked around at my room, He hoped over to my bed stand. And looked at the framed photo I had placed there.
< This is your family? > He asked.
I stopped morphing, I demorphed and stood over him.
“Yes.” I said, I looked at the photo, it was from a pretty while back, before my parents got divorced.
It was when we went to The Gardens, we paused for a family picture and Cassie snapped it for us.
All of us, My father, Mother, two sisters and me.
Only, my father wasn’t at that picture, I knew why.
< Your father isn’t at the picture? >
“Oh, he is, only… This is from a while back, before my parents got divorced, and back then I was mad at him for leaving us.”
I picked up the frame and took out the picture, I placed it down and unfolded the part where my father was, I pressed down on that crumbled part and closed my eyes.
He’s not here anymore.
I put it back, I remembered when I did this to the picture, it was when he asked me to leave mom and go live with him, because he got transferred, better job.
I had been mad at him, so mad that I decided I couldn’t stand looking at his face from the picture, so I took it out, folded the part where my father stood, and then placed it.
I had been so mad.
Now I was not, and all of that is the past.
I morphed.
< Come on, > I said, as I flapped my wings, < We got a war in waiting. >
We flapped through the dead air and went in through the rafters, landed, demorphed.
Marco watched me with growing interest. I was two seconds away from bashing his eyes into his skull. My eyes locked into his, he leered. Then snickered.
“So, what are we here for,” He said with a barely contained grin, “Oh, fearless leader.”
“Nothing much,” He said with a shrug, and I realized that Tobias wasn’t there.
“Where’s Tobias?” I asked.
“We found Loren, the Yeerks had gotten her, they didn’t find out anything, turns out she had been out in a walk and the bug-fighter snatched her. We got word from the Chee, rushed to take her, only Visser Three was-”
“You got in to a fight and I wasn’t there!” I raged.
“Not that you would have liked it,” Marco said darkly, then he gave me another secret leer.
“Anyway, the Chee had some news for us, they say that the Yeerk are trying to get hold of this woman.” He frowned, “What’s her name?”
“Jennifer Hildow.” Cassie said, she was in the stall, I realized that Loren and Tobias were there too.
“Yeah, that’s her name,” Jake nodded, “Anyway she works in the white house, and three guesses tells you who they’re trying to get to.”
We looked at each other, gulped.
Tobias flapped up to the rafters. Cassie followed out.
If the president was a Yeerk…I shuddered.
“Kiss Earth good bye.” Marco mused.
“Very funny Marco.” Jake rolled his eyes, “Tell us something useful, like exactly how are we suppose to stop this from happening.”
He looked at us in a mockery of innocence, “Mess us her meeting?”
“Does she have one?” Jake asked.
< I think she does, > Tobias said, from his place up in the rafters.
Marco winced slightly.
“So we mess up her-”
“You guys are taking me serious?” Marco cried out, “Well, I know that the Psycho Witch would-”
Psycho witch!
Me?
< Marco that was way out of the line! > Tobias yelled.
“Witch? Me!” I shrieked, “I’ll show you witch!”
“Hey!” Jake objected. Alarmed.
I wrestled with Marco and was kind of winning, kind of.
I bashed his nose and he punched my eye, “Ah!”
“Ax!” I heard Jake yell from far away. “Stop them!”
I saw Andalite hooves approach, stop and hesitate, unsure of what to do.
All the time we were fighting.
Insane rage shown through Marco’s eyes, he punched me, shoved me rudely onto Ax.
Ax stumbled, I stumbled.
“Why you!” I snarled.
I jumped on him, as we rolled on top of each other, Marco changed, he morphed.
Sandy hair replaced black hair, light brown eyes replaced Marco’s dark taunting eyes.
I was looking at a boy’s eye, they were screaming bloody murder, they vibrated with hate.
David!
The others didn’t know!
He whipped out a nine-millimeter and pointed it at me; he loaded the gun and pointed it at my face.
“One move and Psycho Witch dies.”
They all froze, as the devastating true dawned on them.
David was back.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
~David~
“David!” Three voices and two thought speak voices said in unison.
Hah, hah and another hah.
You should have seen their faces.
Idiots.
I noticed that there was another Andalite, who was he?
“Hah,” I laughed, “We meet again Big Jake.”
“David!” He hissed.
He was ready for battle, Rachel just looked plain terrified. And she should know, I was the one who promised her death, as my hours were ticking off.
< David! > The nitwit Andalite said, < How did you get here? >
“Not that I’d tell you.” I said with a laugh, “Should have killed me Jake, should have. Should have.”
“Where’s Marco!” He snapped.
I shook my head.
“David.” He said, his voice low and silky, he was very mad, “Where. Is. Marco?”
“It’s too late for him Jake, Marcoroni is dead.”
His head snapped back, you could tell he was struggling to control himself.
It was a pleasurable sight.
“Who are the Chee?” I asked.
They were dead quite, “I SAID WHO ARE THE FREAKING CHEE!”
“They are..uh…Yeerks -”
“LIAR!” I snarled, “Who are they? Who are they or she’s dead!”
“They’re our allies, they help us out.” That was coming from Cassie.
“And?” I hissed, “And what?”
“They, they are...” She was looking hesitantly at Jake who was staring at me.
“These Chee what do they look like?”
“Humans”
“Liar.”
“They are humans. Traitor Yeerks, that’s what they call themselves.” She snapped.
“There is no such thing!” I snapped, “Explain or she dies.”
< The Chee are a race of aliens, > Ax said arrogantly, < They are a nomadic race which are plainly described as being’s who’s ego’s are a lot bigger than there actual size. Sadly, there technology is somewhat more advanced than Andalites- >
“Yeah, ‘somewhat’ and no more.”
I planed to grab Rachel. I wanted her.
Alive
They could do nothing, I was the one who held a gun.
FWAP!
Something hit my arm, my arm went numb, instantly, the gun dropped.
WOOF! WOOF!
Urchin jumped out of his hidding place and attacked Ax.
It was not a pleasant thing to watch.
Urchin was about as high as Rachel’s waist, which means he was big, very big.
Urchin snarled at Ax while I grabbed the gun. The other Andalite moved to get into the fight, Jake was morphing and so was Rachel, Tobias was ready for an attack.
Ahh!
I climbed up to the rafters and morphed my golden eagle. Tobias re-considered.
I flapped away.
Urchin was still inside.
Let the dog go out alone. The Drode told me that the Animorphs couldn’t morph him. Wouldn’t be able to replace him.
He’ll be fine.
I was not, I was mad, I had lost. I didn’t get Rachel,
After a few minutes Urchin ran out of the Barn. And bolted home.
I didn’t have Rachel, but I had Marco, and that was enough.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
~Jake~
We were in a serious situation, David had left and that stupid dog was biting on Ax’s leg. Like it was some treat I’d have given Homer.
Ax screamed in pain. Tried to knock him off but couldn’t, stumbled and hit the ground. The dog released, growled at us.
“Jake?” Cassie said, freezing, the dog looked like it was going to jump on her.
“This is the real thing, a real dog.” She said, “Not anyone in morph.”
“How can you tell?” I asked, edging behind him.
“I know.” She replied, then she said in a happy tone. “Hi there boy! What do you want?”
With calm nerve she turned around and took something out of the freezer behind her…meat…crouched down and reached out with an arm.
“You want this?” She asked.
The dog came over to her and ate the meat. While he ate she grabbed the collar and looked at the nametag.
She frowned, “No address.”
She let him go and he ran off. “Ax you okay?”
He was trying to stand up Rlilim was at his side.
< Yes, I think that I am. > He grumbled,
“He could have had rabies.” Cassie said, disapprovingly, then she frowned, “What effect does rabies have on an Andalite?”
< I am fine. > He insisted.
Cassie shrugged.
Rachel and I had stopped morphing, the danger was gone.
“Tobias?” I asked, “Can you check if he’s out there?”
He flapped away.
Rachel looked at me, “How did he get here, David is a rat, period.”
I wasn’t really listening to her, I sat down on a bale of hay. My thoughts centered on one thing.
Marco.
He’s dead, my best friend.
I felt hot tears sting my eyes, I blinked them away, no time for that, no time.
“He killed him,” I whispered, “He killed Marco.”
Then I realized what that meant, Marco’s father would never see his son again.
I felt sick in the stomach.
Cassie sat down beside, “Jake?” She said quietly, “Payback is going to be hard for that sick creature.”
Revenge? From Cassie?
“That’s coming out of you?” I asked.
“He wrote off a human’s life and was happy about it,” Her eyes hardened, “Marco is my friend as well as yours, what David did was terrible, he doesn’t deserve to be treated like a human.”
What I said next surprised her, “Cassie, be Cassie, don’t change.”
She looked at me, astonished, “What?”
“We, we need you the way you are, if you started to talk about revenge then god knows what would happen to us.”
She put her hand on my arm, “Don’t worry Jake,” She smiled, “I’ll take care of you all.”
“I know you will.”
Then I snapped up and faced my group, Tobias flapped in, < He’s gone. >
“How did that creep escape his fait!” Rachel spat, “We trapped him in a rat, he deserved to stay that way.”
< The Ellimist? > Tobias suggested.
< That’s the second time I heard you use his name. > Rlilim muttered, < What do you beings do in your spare time? >
“Nothing you’d like.” Rachel said darkly.
“No, not the Ellimist,” Cassie said, “More like Crayak.”
“How can you be so sure?” Rachel said, she shot Tobias an innocent look, “The Ellimist is never straight with what he says, isn’t that right?”
Tobias didn’t answer her. She looked away.
He was talking to her in private thought speak, that much was clear.
She barked out a harsh laugh, “No Tobias. You can’t.”
Whatever that meant.
“It is Crayak,” I was suddenly very sure, “Look, Crayak is in favor of the Yeerks winning, right? We heard that way too many times from the Drode. By helping David and giving him his morphing powers, Crayak would be helping the Yeerk Empire.”
< Meaning that David would ‘rat’ us out to the Yeerk Empire. > Ax commented coldly.
My friends looked downcast, if David told the Yeerk Empire we were human kids…kiss our cover goodbye, kiss us goodbye.
No.Wait!
“That’s not what he wants to do, not right now.” I said. I realized part of is plan, “If he wanted to sell us to the Visser he wants something out of it, right?”
“His parents?” Cassie said, doubtfully.
I nodded. “And, the morphing cube.”
“If the Visser gets the morphing cube…David is basically worth nothing more than the rat he is.”
“Don’t say that.” Cassie said quietly.
Rachel spun at her, “Why? Because that rat bag murdered Marco?”
Cassie looked troubled, “Well, we trapped him.”
“He tried to kill us! It was in our defense to trap him!”
“We dragged him in this mess.”
“He dragged himself into the mess. Why did he try to announce, ‘I have a morphing cube so come and get me Visser Three’ all over the Internet? We tried to help him! He should have just given it to Marco!”
“But he didn’t know what it was, he didn’t know it was trouble.”
“We tried to grab the stupid cube out of his house, and what did we end up with!” She raged, “We ended us with Marco being chased by this large kitty and me shot at with a B-B gun while Tobias playing a game of Clue with the clouds!”
There was a silent moment as Rachel’s voice echoed in our minds.
< Uhuh, not to mention a sore beak. > Tobias complained.
“The point is, he asked for it, not us! Him!” Rachel raged.
< You were the one who pulled the vote for his side, > Ax pointed out, < You seem to regret your choice. >
Rachel flung her hands in the air as a sigh of frustration, “Argh!”
< Gee, Ax, > Tobias said, < Was that you first clue? >
Ax stared at him, then he smiled, < A rhetoric question? >
We all stared at him, < Did I say something wrong? > He wondered.
Rachel grabbed at her hair and screamed again, “Get him out of here or I’ll explode!”
< What? > He asked, looking confused, < What did I say? >
“My point! Mister Philosopher, ” Rachel said, “Is that David killed Marco and now we have to kill him, end of story. Any questions?”
“Yeah,” I said sarcastically, “Brilliant strategy, ever thought about how do we do it?”
I bit my lip immediately, I sounded like Marco.
Already I missed him.
< We wait for him to come again? > Tobias asked.
I shook my head, I didn’t know.
Chapter Thirty
~David~
“Arghhhhh!” He screamed.
I laughed.
I had thrown him in a randomite box, it was pretty big. I was in the place Crayak set for me, nothing could find it, absolutely nothing. And better still, no one could Morph when they were inside. Crayak did that as well.
And who is that screaming?
Marco.
He was alive of course, I didn’t kill him.
But he looked very dead to me.
I had a whip in my hand. His hands where cuffed above him on a beam. He was totally helpless. In my mercy. I had a whole collection of torture devises. Right now I settled for the ordinary whip and hands. Not to mention feet. He was bruised badly. He was bleeding.
Better still. He had started to cry.
“What? Marco is crying?” I mocked.
“Shut up!” He screamed at me.
He was crying at the pain. The whip I had was pretty thick, and it made this particularly loud sound when it cracked, when it hit his body is sent him spinning.
“Tell me,” I said, “Where is that box, it’s mine, I found it, I want it.”
“I’m not telling you!”
I slapped him “Tell me.”
“I told you already! I am not telling you!” He screamed at me.
“You will tell me Marco, or you will die here, you want that?”
“I. Am. Not. Telling. You.” Then he said a word I would not repeat.
I hit him again, harder. He screamed, but he didn’t crack open.
“You will not like your life here, you would like it even less when you realize what I have in store of you.”
I went out of the randomite box and left it open. “Crayak told me something, he told me what I could do to stop getting infested.”
I smiled. “The Yeerks can’t get me.”
“Better still,” Marco said, “What they can’t get, they destroy.”
I laughed, “It’s reversible, but the technology here is far more advanced than what a Yeerk would have, even better than the Andalites.”
“And?”
I said, “After I finish having fun with you, I hand you over…”
He gasped, “You can’t do this!”
I was going to make pay for his group's error, then I would throw him to the Yeerks, and alone with it, the Animorph’s cover.
“I decided that I don’t need you anymore.” I announced. Change of plans.
He stared at me, “I need you for one final thing though.”
“Yeah,” He laughed, “I wouldn’t cooperate.”
“We’ll see.”
I shut the randomite box. Picked up my untraceable phone and dialed Jake’s number.
I put the speaker on so that Marco could hear, The randomite box was sound proof, if I wanted to hear him talk I could, I could shut off the setting or look at the monitor which translated his vibrations into speak.
I didn’t want Jake to know that Marco was alive, not yet.
“Hello,” It was his brother, Tom.
“Hi!” I said brightly, “Is Jake there?”
“I don’t know.” Tom said “Jake! ARE YOU ALIVE?”
“Oh, he’s here.” He was quite for a minute, “Who are you?”
“David.”
“Jake it’s someone called David.”
I whished I could see his face, I wanted to see his face.
“Hi!”
“Greetings, my dear fetid friend.” I said.
I knew that Tom was near because Jake said, “Yeah! You too!”
I was going to make him sweat.
No Yeerk could intercept this line and Tom wouldn’t be able to hear what I was saying.
“So, big Jake.” I said at ease, “How’s that Andalite doing? Did Urchin give him a bad time?”
“Haha,” He said, “Nice Joke, Who’s Andy Light, I think I like that kid.”
He sounded so uncomfortable, “Send Rachel my regards, tell her I love her.”
“Haha, man she would never go out with you,”
“Cassie is a better choice, what do you think?”
“You’re a dead man.” He said in this joking tone.
“So are the Animorphs, this little resistance on Earth.” I laughed.
He started saying something when I interrupted him, “Jake? Tell me some place we could meet.”
He paused. “At…at-” His voice was strangled, “Marco’s, no one is there except him.”
“Good, ” I said, “Bring everybody there, you would be expecting a call, from me. I have some news for you.”
I went back into the Randomite box. Took in with me another phone, it had a long cord, a very long cord. I called Urchin in.
I went out and dialed using the other phone, both had the same line.
“What’s your phone number?” I asked him.
“Nine-one-one.”
I stared at him. Opened the computer, and hacked in to get his name and address any other information I needed.
I dialed.
“Hello?” It was Jake.
“Jake my man, you really should put it on speaker. I want all of you to hear this.”
“It’s all ready on speaker.” He growled.
“I want the blue box.” I said.
“Impressive,” It was Rachel, “Why should we hand it over?”
“Jake,” I snarled, “Tell that bratty cousin of yours to back off, or you will never hear what I would do if you don’t.”
“Go on.”
“I’ll sell your cover.” I said.
“We know that,” He said, pained, “And we’ll know when you do it, we have sources in the Yeerk Empire.”
I bit my lip, fear cringed through me, that was the second time Jake had mentioned the fact that he had sources in the Yeerk Empire.
I brushed the feeling away.
“I want it, and do you know how am I going to sell your cover?” I said.
“No.”
“Visser Three, he’ll know.”
“He’ll kill you!”
“Yes, this is why I have a back up plan.” I looked at Marco who had groaned, he was looking at the phone that I had left in the open Randomite box, the phone with the long cord.
“A back up plan.”
“See, I would give him one of you.” I said.
“You wouldn’t get near us!”
“I don’t have to.”
My phone was on speaker. I walked towards Marco and entered the Randomite Box. Marco bit his lip and shook his head.
“David?” Jake said.
“Wait a minute Jake, I want you to hear this.”
I grabbed the other phone, the one with the long cord and opened it, held the receiver, and flung it over the beam, so that the receiver was inches away from Marco’s mouth.
“Urchin,” I said in a clear voice, “Attack.”
“Attack who?” Jake yelled, “David if you have one of our family members there-”
“I don’t.”
“Then-”
WOOF! GRRRRR!
He bit into Marco and chewed on him.
Marco screamed bloody murder.
“Marco!” Jake screamed.
“Arghhhhhhhhh!” He replied.
“Stop it!” Jake yelled.
GRRRRR!
“Arrrrggghhhhhh!”
“David! STOP IT!”
“Urchin, stop.” He did.
Marco was sobbing.
“So Jake?” I laughed, “Do we have a deal?”
“I’m going to get you for this David!” He yelled, “You’re a dead man!”
I laughed as Marco sobbed helpless, I knew that Jake heard him, because he said, “Marco buddy, hang in there, we’re going to get you.”
“No!” Marco screamed, “He’s lying! He-”
I raised a hand telling Urchin to attack gain, Marco screamed, cut off.
“You’re a dead man David, you hear me?” Jake hissed, “You’re dead and you’re mine!”
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