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LJ-KAY, I think we've answered the question about whether that's just an ordinary logging camp," Marco said. We had reached the far edge of the forest, back close to my farm. Marco and I had de-morphed. Rachel and Jake flew down and joined us. Tobias took up a perch on a low branch. Ax stood nearby. His two stalk eyes moved continuously, side to side, peering into the dark woods around us. His two main eyes met my gaze. "By the way, thanks, Ax," I said. "Yeah, no kidding," Marco added. "I was Spam back there. That tail blade of yours is something." less-than like should have spotted the nets up in the treetopseagreater-than Ax berated himself. less-than like had detected the force field and I suspected there were Dracon beams in the upper windows. But the nets were so primitive I overlooked them. greater-than Ax, like all Andalites, has no spoken speech. Probably because they have no mouths. Thought-speak is his natural language. Up close he looks like a cross between a deer or a horse, and a human and a scorpion. Sort of like a mythical centaur. His upper body is like a boy's. He has weak-looking arms and a head with two movable stalks on top, kind of like antlers. Each stalk has an eye. The eyes are constantly looking left and right and back. Andalites are very hard to sneak up on. His body is covered in blue and tan fur, very short on his humanoid torso, a bit longer on his deerlike body. His four hooves are sharp and black. But it's the tail that grabs your attention. It's long enough that he can whip it up over his head and hit someone standing in front of him. It ends in a curved blade. "None of us saw the nets," Jake pointed out. "They must have been well-concealed." "The point is, they were waiting for us," Marco said. "This is definitely a Yeerk operation. I don't think they really want to go into the lum- berjack business, which means this whole thing is about getting us." "Agreed," Rachel said tersely. "They think we're Andalites. They know we've been hurting them all around this area. They've decided we must be hiding in these woods." "They're almost right," Jake pointed out. "Ax and Tobias both do live in the forest. And we do use the forest." "You know, we're not the only thing going on here," I said. They all looked puzzled. I took a deep breath. "I mean, you know, this forest is important even if Tobias and Ax weren't here. It makes me sick to think of people chopping down all these trees." "Oh, puh-leeze, not the Earth-Mother thing, okay?" Marco said. "I almost got myself fried by a Dracon beam. That wasn't to save Bambi, all right?" "Look, Marco, we are not the only animals around. We, of all people, ought to understand that." "Cassie, who cares? We're fighting to save the world from the Yeerks. Who cares about some ecology, tree-hugging, recycle-your-cans stuff?" "I do," I said. "Well, that's you," Marco said. "Personally, what I care about is the fact that a bunch of Yeerks have that, that fortress back there, and they're going to use it to tear up these woods looking for us." I started to say something back, when Jake held up his hand. "It seems to me it doesn't matter whether we have slightly different idea s about why we care. I mean, either way, we want to stop this from going on. Right?" He looked at Marco, then at me. I was annoyed with Jake right then. I mean, I understand that he has to consider everyone's ideas equally. But still, it was like he was agreeing with Marco that it didn't matter if the forest was wiped out, as long as we survived. I turned to Rachel for support, but she found something to look at down on the ground. Oh, great, I thought. Even Rachel thinks I'm wrong. less-than The important thing is we have to stop themeagreater-than Tobias said. "And how exactly do we do that?" Marco asked. "That place is the Fortress of Doom." "Knock it down? Blow it up?" Rachel mused. "Grab some of that heavy equipment they have and run it into the place?" Marco suggested. "We don't have the benefit of surprise. They know we're coming. They know sooner or later we're gonna go after them." less-than The heavy equipment would be uselesseagreater-than Ax said. less-than That building is surrounded by a force field. The equipment would not penetrate it. Neither would we. We would be stopped by the force field and then cut to pieces by the Dracon beams. greater-than Rachel's lips pressed into a thin line. "So we just give up? That's the plan? We let them go chopping through the woods till they find you, Ax, or Tobias?" Ax didn't have an answer. "You know, I wouldn't want to sound like some stupid ecology nut or anything," I said sarcastically. "But the question is: How did the Yeerks ever get permission to start logging in a national forest?" "Why is that helpful?" Marco asked, even more sarcastically. "Because sometimes, Marco, there are more subtle ways of doing things. The Yeerks don't control the entire government. Not yet, anyway. So they had to get legal permission. If they didn't have permission they'd have cops and fedeKal agents and TV newspeople all over them. They don't want that." Marco looked like he had some smart reply to make. Then he said, "Oh." Jake cocked an eyebrow at his best friend. "See, Marco, this is why Cassie is a nicer person than you. She could have said, "They don't want that, duh."" Marco grinned, despite himself. Jake winked at me, and I forgave him for acting like Marco was right before. "What do you think we should do?" I shrugged. I hate having to think of things that might end up getting people hurt or killed. "I guess ... I mean, okay, urn ... Okay, look, the Yeerks must have gotten to someone. They must have one of their Controllers in some kind of high position. We need to find out who." less-than And how do we do t8greater-than Tobias asked. "I guess ..." I looked at Jake for help. I knew the answer. I just didn't want to say it. See, when we make plans, we tend to end up in terrible danger later on. "We have to get inside that building," Jake said for me. I nodded. The least I could do was agree. Rachel shook her head. "I don't know any animal big enough to force a way inside that place." "Not big," I said. "Small. Vesty small."
W here have you been?" my dad asked me when I finally got back home later that evening. He was in the kitchen, searching the refrigerator. It kind of took me by surprise. My parents don't usually ask me a lot of questions. Mostly they trust me. And it used to be they could trust me. I don't think I'd lied to my parents before becoming an Animorph. Now it's like I'm lying all the time. It's a rotten feeling. "Oh . . . urn, I was just out walking," I said. "Why? Did you need me for something?" "Oh, yes," my dad said. He was sounding way too solemn, so I knew he wasn't actually serious. That's the way he is. I guess he has a dry sense of humor. That's what Jake says, anyway. He thinks my dad is the funniest man on the planet. "What is it?" "Just got a call from the highway patrol. They said this . . . this certain animal ... is out by the side of the highway, where it cuts through the forest. They say this certain animal seems to have a bad burn." I didn't like the way he kept saying "certain animal." "We have to drive out and get it," my dad said. Then he grinned. "Actually, I'll drive. You have to get it." I groaned. There was only one animal in all the world my dad was afraid of. He handled foxes and wolves and even bears. But he would not handle this "certain animal." "Are you telling me it's a skunk?" I asked. He nodded. "You have such a way with skunks," he said. "They like you. Besides, I have to go meet with the board of the Dudette Cat Food Corporation tomorrow. I can't show up smelling like skunk." My mom appeared, climbing up from the basement. She was carrying a six-pack of V-8 juice. "This is all I could find in the pantry," she said. You see, tomato juice is one of the few things that helps get rid of skunk smell. "Mom, shouldn't you be the one to help dad with this? I ... I have very important homework to do." "Yeah, right," my mom said. "This is pathetic. You guys are both highly trained veterinarians," I pointed out. "How can you be scared of skunks?" "I didn't used to be," my father said darkly. "Back before . . . before the incident." "Just because one skunk sprayed you -" "In the face," he said. "Just because you had one bad experience -" "He sprayed me six times in about three seconds," he said. "I smelled for a week. Your mother made me sleep in the barn. Except the other animals there all became agitated, so I had to set up a tent in the yard." "Then we had to burn the tent," my mother added. She giggled. "You do have a way with skunks," my father said. "Actually, you have a way with all animals. Come on, you know skunks love you." "A burned skunk by the side of a highway loves no one," I said. Ten minutes later, we were on the highway.
We were driving in our new pickup truck. My father's old, beloved pickup truck had been stolen and totally destroyed. At least that's what my dad believed. Actu- ally, we'd sort of had to borrow it in this terrible battle. Marco had been driving, and Marco cannot drive. The truck had ended up a total wreck in a ditch. On the way, we listened to the CD player. That was the only thing my dad liked about the new truck. He was playing some old jazz or something. We reached the spot the highway patrol had told my dad about. We pulled over and put on the hazard lights. "Careful. People drive like maniacs through here," he warned me as we climbed out. Cars were blowing past at seventy miles an hour with their high beams on. The black forest pressed in around the road on both sides. I shone a flashlight around the edge of the trees. Normally, the forest doesn't bother me. But I knew that we were actually within a quarter mile of the Yeerk logging camp. It was beyond strange to be practically going back to the place where, just an hour before, I'd nearly been killed. It took us at least twenty minutes, walking up and down the grassy shoulder of the road, before my flashlight beam landed on a shock of black and white. "Dad! Here!" He came trotting over and added his light to mine. "Yep," he commented. "I'll get the cage. Don't forget your gloves. You know skunks are a major vector for rabies." "Dad, I have had the shot." "No vaccine is a hundred percent," he said. I walked toward the skunk. It saw me and turned tiny, glittering black eyes on me. "Don't be afraid," I said, pitching my voice high. "It's okay. We're here to help you. It's going to be just fine." Here's the thing about skunks: They are the sweetest animals alive. They don't have a mean bone in their bodies. But that's because they don't have to be mean. They possess the ultimate weapon. Even so, they will always warn you. If they turn their backs on you, that's a warning. If they raise their tails with the tips down, that's a very serious warning. If they raise the tips of their tails ... you are in a very bad situation. If you're dealing with a skunk who has turned buttward and raised its tail all the way, you would want to freeze. Trust me. Every wild animal knows this. Dogs, unfortunately, don't understand about skunks, but bears, raccoons, wolves, and most birds of prey know that you just don't mess with that skunk tail. Maybe you think you know how bad skunk musk is because you've driven by skunk roadkill. That's nothing. Up close and personal, it's a whole different level of stench. If you imagine the most horrible smell possible, then multiply it by a thousand, you still won't be close. "It's okay, sweetie," I cooed. "Don't spray me. I'm your friend, so please don't spray me." I moved closer and crouched lower, making myself small. I wanted to look nonthreatening. I moved very slowly, a step at a time, always cooing and baby-talking like I was going to grab a little kid armed with a shotgun. The skunk moved! I froze. The skunk settled back down. I breathed again. "Please don't spray me," I said. I reached into my pocket and took out a bit of mouse meat. We keep frozen mice for the raptors we handle. Skunks also enjoy a nice mouse or grasshopper as part of their diets. "Here you go. Dinner." I held the meat out for the skunk. The skunk didn't seem to be hungry, but it did accept the fact that I must be okay if I was offering dinner. I crouched beside the skunk and set my flashlight on the ground. Carefully, with my gloved hand, I reached out to touch the animal. It was shaking. Shivering. And, at that very moment, I could see why. There was a burn right across the skunk's back. A perfectly semicircular burn, as if someone had simply sliced a scoop out of it. "Dracon beam," I whispered. "You were there, weren't you? Poor baby." Aiming at me and Marco, t he Yeerks had hit this skunk instead. A completely innocent animal caught in the cross fire of the war between Yeerks and humans. The Yeerks would destroy all the forest and all its animals to get at us. "Sorry," I whispered to the skunk. I lifted it slowly, carefully, up into my arms. CHAPTE
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LjJe met at the mall. It was a Saturday, so it was a normal place we might be. When you live in a world where you're surrounded by possible enemies, it's important not to do anything too unusual. You don't want to draw attention. Not even from your own family and school friends. You just never know who can be trusted and who can't. The Yeerks believed we were Andalites. We wanted them to go on believing that. If they ever figured out we were humans, let alone kids, we were toast. So we left no clues. We tried not to act like we were a group. We didn't want some Controller teacher or whatever thinking, "Hey, you know what? Those same kids are always hanging out together, acting like they're planning something." We had to look and act and seem normal. Rachel still went to gymnastics classes and shopped. Jake and Marco still shot hoops in Jake's driveway or played video games. I took care of animals at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic. There was nothing we could do to make Tobias seem normal. He was way past being normal. But Tobias came from a terrible, messed-up background, shuttling from one indifferent aunt or uncle to another. He'd never really been part of a family or a structure, and sadly, no one seemed to notice when he simply disappeared. I spent an hour wandering along behind Rachel as she moved like a professional through the racks at The Limited and Banana Republic and The Gap and the various department stores. Rachel has some bizarre, supernatural instinct for when and where sales will happen. She doesn't need the advertising. She just "knows." We were cruising through a series of tables piled with sweaters at Express. Rachel was looking for a particular shade of green that probably didn't exist. "What do you think we're going to do?" I asked her. She looked up from fondling a sweater. "What? Oh. I guess we'll probably go in. If we can find a way." "That's what I was wondering. What way? How do we get inside that place? I mean, I know we're thinking insect morph. But if anyone is planning on doing ants again, I'll tell you right now, I'm not doing it." Rachel gave a little shudder. "I'm sure no one wants to do ants again." We'd had some really bad experiences morph-+. But morphing ants was the worst. We ended up being the wrong species and tribe of ants in the middle of enemy ant territory. You would not believe the nightmares that came out of that one. The tunnels pressing in all around, and then hundreds of vicious ant soldiers exploded all around us, attacking, attacking ... "No ants," I said. I looked at Rachel, trying to catch her eye. "Right?" Rachel shrugged. Then she glanced at her watch. "It's time. Ax is coming with them, so let's not keep them waiting." "Ax? Uh-oh." Jake, Marco, and a strikingly handsome boy were all sitting in the food court. They seemed to be arguing loudly about who had won some video game in the arcade. "Hey! Rachel!" Marco called out as we passed by. "What are you guys doing here?" I really didn't like this kind of acting. It seemed silly to me. But it had to look like an accident that we all ended up together in the same place at the same time. "We're shopping," I muttered. "You know how I love shopping." "Why don't you guys hang out with us. Have some of our nachos," Jake said, smiling brightly. I looked at the paper plate of nachos. They were completely gone. There was nothing left but a paper plate with a slight orange stain from the cheese. There was a matching orange stain on the chin of the very handsome boy between Marco and Jake. Jake saw what I was looking at and rolled his eyes. "At least he didn't eat the plate this time." "Hello," Ax said to me. "I am Jake's cousin, Phillip. Jake's cousin. Scousin. Scuzzin. I am from out of town." I couldn't help but laugh. Ax had long ago created a human morph out of DNA he'd acquired from the four of us. He was a weird blending of each of us. He was male, but sort of pretty in a weird way. He looked like a human. He basically was a human. But he still had a lot of problems adjust- ing to the human morph. For one thing, since An-dalites have no mouth, he found his human mouth utterly fascinating. He couldn't help but play with the sounds of words. And the boy was dangerous around food. "Were the nachos good?" I asked him. "They tasted of grease and salt. Plus, there was another flavor that reminds me of some delicious engine oil I tried once. Oil. Oil-luh." "Engine oil?" Jake asked. "Ax ... I mean, Phillip . . . You know how I mentioned you can't eat cigarette butts or dryer lint? Add engine oil to the list." Ax nodded. "Yes. There are many rules for eating." Marco pushed out a chair for me to sit in. "Okay, if we're done with the little side trip into the bizarre-o zone, let's deal with business." "To
bias came by this morning," Jake said, keeping his voice low. "He watched the place from high up. He thinks the Controllers at the site have little transponders on their belts that let them pass through the force field." "So we just have to grab a transponder," Rachel said. "No," Ax said. "The transponder would be keyed to the biochemical signature of the wearer. The Yeerks are not as -" "Don't say that word," Jake hissed.