The Secret

  IB Iver the next two days we protected and nurtured a foursome of baby skunks. And as impossible as it seems, it worked. More or less. Maybe I'm kidding myself, but I think the others started enjoying it, too. Typically, it was Marco who decided, after his first shift guarding the skunks, that the kits needed names. "Joey, Johnny, Marky, and C.j.," he announced, like it was obvious. "The Ramones. The godfathers of punk rock. They would be honored. The one with the white stripe that kind of goes really wide? That's Joey. Now, Johnny ..." At first, I was the only one to morph the skunk mother. Then Ax did it. Then the others, one by one. I almost felt jealous. Right after school three days later, I went to the skunk burrow and found Tobias flying cover above the burrow. less-than Hi, Cassie. greater-than "How's it going, Tobias?" less-than Well, we had a little excitement. A hungry badger stopped by to check things out. But I chased him off. greater-than "So the kits are all right?" less-than There are still four of them, if that's what you meaneagreater-than Tobias answered. less-than But they won't stay inside. They keep coming out and looking around. Especially Marky. This isn't good. Especially if they do it at night. greater-than I morphed into the skunk mother and crawled inside the den. Tobias was right -- the kits were restless. They were growing fast, and they instinctively wanted to go out into the great big world beyond the burrow. less-than like think I'm going to take them for a walkeagreater-than I told Tobias. less-than ls that a good idea8greater-than less-than Sure. Why not? You should take a break. Stretch your wings. greater-than Tobias was relieved to have an excuse to take off. But as soon as he was gone I started to have doubts about my brilliant idea of taking the kits out for a stroll. How could I keep track of them? What if they wandered off? But then, while I was debating, Marky made a wild dash outside and I had to scamper to catch up to him. As soon as I appeared, though, the kit went meekly to stand behind me. One by one, the other three babies came out. And to my amaze ment, they lined up like obedient first-graders. less-than Okayeagreater-than I said, although of course the kits couldn't understand me. less-than Let's take a walk. greater-than I waddled slowly away, took about ten steps, then turned to look back over my shoulder. The four of them were all lined up beh ind me. I was their mother, as far as they knew. And they were programmed to follow their mother. I waddled off, feeling a little strange but happy. We walked that way for half an hour. We paused to sniff things from time to time. Various animal scents, mostly. And then, I realized something. We weren't supposed to just be going for a stroll. The kits were hungry. I was their mother. And it was my job to provide for them. If I didn't teach them to catch bugs, they wouldn't survive. Skunks eat some plants, but they also eat crickets and mantises and grass hoppers and even shrews and mice. I stopped walking and looked back at "my" kits. Four almost identical little balls of black- and-white fuzz. Four curious little faces watching me. Waiting to see what I was doing. Eager to learn. I'd been feeding them thawed frozen grasshoppers and thawed mice I'd brought from the clinic. Just as I'd been giving Tobias food since he was too busy to hunt properly. But these skunk kits couldn't be fed by humans all their lives. Suddenly ... a crashing sound! Something rushing through the woods, careless, wild, noisy. And coming right toward us! I started to lead the kits back to the burrow, but the noise was getting closer. It was coming too quick! I tried to smell what it was, but the breeze was blowing the wrong way. Then . . . ROWR! ROWR! ROWROWROWR! A dog! A wolf would have known better. A wolf would have seen the black-and-white fur and decided he had an appointment somewhere else. A bear would have known. Just about any wild animal knew better than to annoy an adult skunk. But this big happy dog was not wild. He lived with humans. He knew absolutely nothing about skunks. Without even thinking, I turned my back to the dog. I raised my tail in warning. The dog kept coming. Drool was dribbling from one side of his mouth, and his tongue was hanging out the other side, and he was having about as good a time as a dog could have. He was in the woods, and he had a bunch of little black animals to play with. The kits were still lined up. They were watching me intently. It almost made me want to laugh -- if I could have. It was a big moment for them -- they were about to learn why no sensible animal picked on adult skunks. I had no experience in spraying. But the skunk mind within my own knew exactly what it was it had to do. I aimed. I looked over my shoulder to judge the distance. I targeted that dog's face, and I fired. Just at the instant when I fired, I had the strange sensation that I knew this dog from somewhere. But it was too late by then. Way too late. At a distance of ten feet, the spray hit with the accuracy of a laser-guided smart missile. ROWR? ROWR? The dog stopped dead in his tracks. The look in his eyes was sheer horror. How could it be? How could the little black-and-white creature have done this to him? And then, I heard something that made me feel really bad. "Homer? What's the matter, boy?" Jake asked. "Oh. Ohhhhh, Homer backslash I told you not to follow me into the woods." "Rrrreww rrrreeewww rrreeewww," Homer whined pitifully. Jake, Marco, Rachel, and Ax all came up at a run. Marco was already laughing. "You hosed Homer!" Marco giggled. "Cassie sprayed Homer! Wait, that

  is Cassie, right?" I seriously considered pretending to be some other skunk. less-than Sorry, Jakeeagreater-than I said. "Man, that is nasty," Rachel commented. "No offense, Cassie. But I mean . . . gag! Oh. Ugh." less-than Fascinatingeagreater-than Ax said. less-than That is possibly the worst thing I have ever smelled. greater-than Homer tried to nuzzle up to Jake, but as much as Jake loves his dog, he was not going for it. "I don't think so, big guy. I told you to stay home. But oh no, Homer, you had to come with me. Now, go home. HOME, boy!" Homer decided home might be a better place than the forest, after all. He trotted off, tail between his legs. less-than like believe the smell is causing me to become derangedeagreater-than Ax said calmly. less-than like may have to run away in panic. greater-than "Take me with you," Marco muttered. "Well, this is perfect," Jake said. "Wonderful. My parents are going to so appreciate it when Homer gets back to the house reeking of skunk. Man, let's move away from this spot, okay? I mean, jeez, that's just awful." We moved away from the scene of the stink, back toward the den. I led the kits inside, where they seemed happy to curl up and sleep. It had been an exciting outing for them. I went back outside and demorphed. "Homer will be okay if you bathe him in tomato juice and leave him outside for a few days," I said to Jake. "Sorry." "Not as sorry as Homer is," Jake said. "But we have bigger problems. Look, Cassie, we came to find you and Tobias. That guy Farrand? Ax and Marco tapped into the Yeerk computer at the logging camp." "Yeah," Marco grinned. "The Ax-man knows his way around computers." "Yeah, well, we found something out. Farrand isn't arriving this weekend. He's coming early. He's coming to cast the final vote on the logging in this forest. In fact, he'll be here in about an hour." LjJe have an hour to make plans and get ready," Jake said. "One hour. Less, since we have to get into position." "Okay, what do we know?" Marco asked. "We know this Farrand guy is the one who makes the final decision on the Yeerks going forward. We know he's not a Controller or he would have already voted to let the logging begin." "We know the Yeerks won't leave it to chance," Rachel said. "He's coming here to the site. They'll be ready to do an involuntary infestation. They have some slug sitting in a vat right now, waiting to crawl in the man's ear." less-than They may just try to persuade this humaneagreater-than Ax suggested. less-than They prefer voluntary infesta- tions. And if they can get this human to give them his vote, they may simply let him go. greater-than "So what do we do, attack?" Rachel asked. "Just storm in and mess everything up?" less-than Hey. Shhheagreater-than Tobias said. "What?" Rachel asked him. less-than Don't you guys hear that? Even human ears should hear that. greater-than We all listened very intently. Then it came, carried on the breeze -- the sound of diesel engines. "Probably just our friends the Yeerks, moving their heavy equipment around. Putting it in nice, neat rows for the commissioner," Jake said. But then he thought it over and added, "Tobias? You mind going up to take a look?" Tobias flapped his wings and soared above the treetops and out of sight. "Okay, ba
ck to business," Jake said. "One way or the other, this Farrand guy is the key. If he votes yes, the Yeerks can log in this forest. If he votes no, they can't. Not without attracting way too much attention." "Assuming they let Farrand live long enough to vote no," Rachel said. "That's our job, then," I suggested. "We have to keep Farrand alive, and keep them from making him a Controller." Everyone nodded. "Too bad I have no idea how to do that," I admitted. Just then, Tobias came rocketing down out of the sky. less-than They've already startedffgreater-than he yelled as he shot past to land on a branch. "Started what?" I asked. less-than The Yeerks. They've started cutting trees. And they are coming this wayffgreater-than "Well," Jake said. "I guess that settles the question of whether the Yeerks are going to infest this guy." "They don't care what this guy sees when he gets here," Rachel said. "They don't care about convincing him. This poor man already has a Yeerk slug with his name on it." less-than You wouldn't believe how fast those machines can rip through treesffgreater-than Tobias said, obviously shaken up. less-than They're cutting trees like a farmer cuts wheat. greater-than less-than And we have one of your hours to help this commissioner caret Ax said. Then, he focused his two stalk eyes on the skunk burrow. less-than The small ones are right in the path of the loggers, if Tobias is corrects I expected Marco to make some snide remark about how no one cared about the skunks at a time like this. But to my amazement he said, "Hey, no one messes with the skunks. Those skunks are under official Animorph protection." He winked at me and gave me a mocking clenched fist salute. "Save the skunks, Earth Sister!" Marco is such a pain in the butt. But then, just when you think he's going to drive you crazy, he'll come through big time for you. "Yeah, these are our skunks," Rachel said. "No one messes with our skunks." "Excuse me? Hello?" Jake interrupted. "A plan? A plan, please?" "Well ..." I began. "What?" Jake asked me. I shrugged. "If Farrand is the key, we need to grab the key. Right? Chances are they'll have to turn the force field off in order to get him into the camp. That's when we get him away from the Yeerks. No matter what it takes." "Grab Farrand," Marco said. "Simple. Elegant. And yet, given the Yeerk power in that compound of theirs, completely suicidal. I'm surprised at you, Cassie. Usually Rachel's the one to come up with a totally suicidal plan." "You have a better idea?" Jake asked Marco. "We could go home and watch TV." "I'll take that as a no." Jake rubbed his hands together. "Okay, then. We snatch this Farrand guy as soon as he shows up. In the meantime, we have to slow down those tree-cutting machines." Rachel grinned. "Cool." I felt sick.

  ED here was only one way for a person to reach the Yeerk logging camp by car. They had to drive down the long, dirt road that the Yeerks had cut through the forest. Jake wanted me to go with Tobias and see if we could spot Farrand coming in. Jake made some quick decisions. He, Mar co, Rachel, and Ax took off, leaving me with Tobias. I looked up ruefully at Tobias. "You and me, I guess." less-than l'm always glad to have you alongeagreater-than Tobias said. I began to morph into an osprey. It was my bird of prey morph, and the only thing I had that could keep up with Tobias in the air. "Look, Tobias? This has been bothering me. And since . . . you know ... I want to get this off my chest. I'm sorry I got mad at you over the skunk kit. You were just doing what you had to do," I said. I could feel my bones thinning and hollowing out. Gray feathers began to paint their patterns on my arms. less-than like could live off food you guys brought meeagreater-than Tobias said. less-than like don't haveto hunt. greater-than "Okay, then why do you?" I asked, just before my mouth mutated into a beak. less-than Because I'm not just a human. I'm also a hawk. Hawks hunt live prey. Would it be better if I let you do my killing for me? Is it more moral if I eat a frozen mouse you get from some supplier8greater-than less-than Look, Tobias, I know all about how nature works. I know about predators and prey. It's just. . . it's just confusing. I mean, where does right and wrong come into x8greater-than Snowy-white feathers were growing all down my front, replacing the fabric of my morphing suit. My feet were becoming pale gray talons. less-than like don't know. I guess if I were running around killing animals I didn't intend to eat, that would be wrong. But hawks have a right to live, just as much as a mouse or a skunk. greater-than My human eyes were giving way to the incredibly amazing hawk vision. There was some color distortion because these eyes were adapted for seeing through water. The osprey eats fish. Nature designed them to see fish, even below the shimmering surface of a lake or river. less-than Ready to fly8greater-than Tobias asked. I flapped my wings a couple of times. less-than Let's geagreater-than I said, trying to sound like Rachel. Tobias flapped his wings, caught a headwind, and suddenly shot almost straight up. I opened my wings and contracted the tireless flying muscles. Flap, flap, flap, and I also caught the breeze. I flapped to get above the trees, then a stronger breeze came up and I soared high. It's like stepping on a very fast escalator. Zoom! I flapped hard, wanting the sensation of speed. Tobias was ahead of me, and as I flew, I watched him. I watched the incredibly subtle movements of his wings. He almost seemed to be able to move individual feathers. For him, the wind was not invisible. It was a road, as clear as if it was blacktop. As I followed him, I sensed the osprey brain beneath my own, adjusting and reacting to the wind. My eyes saw every small detail. They marked each animal, each hole where an animal might be hiding. I saw a bright stream, and saw the shadows of fish flitting through the rocks. My osprey had been designed by nature for this-, flying high and finding prey. Just like To bias. We flew up and up. The tops of trees were like some bumpy lawn beneath us. I could see all of the Yeerk logging camp. And I could see the mas sive yellow machines that were slicing through the trees like hot knives through butter. Already there was an ugly scar of stumps. A scar that spread like some terrible disease, eating the for est away. Tobias veered right, toward the long, winding road through the trees. I banked my wings and went after him. The stream joined a small river, rushing and bubbling alongside the road. Through the water, through the foam and bubbles, I saw the schools of fish darting. And I could feel the osprey's brain considering the situation. Measuring the dis tances. Calculating the angles. Planning the way it would skim low over the surface of the water, then lower its ripping talons at just the perfect moment to strike. To snatch a fish right out of the water. I knew that Tobias was making the same cal culations as he flew over mice and rats and rab bits . . . and skunks. Tobias and I were two superb, beautiful killers, riding the wind, while our prey cowered beneath us. But he was right. We had as much of a right to live as any of our prey. And we had been designed by millions of years of evolution to be predators. less-than Thereeagreater-than Tobias said. less-than A Jeep. greater-than I looked and saw the vehicle coming down the road. Then, with my amazingly acute hawk vision, I saw right through the windows, as though the glass were the surface of a stream. less-than Three guys. One driving, and one beside him. There's one guy in the backseat, and he looks older. greater-than less-than Yep. And on the side of the Jeep it says Dapsen Lumber. My guess is the driver and the other guy are Controllers. The guy in the backseat is looking all around like he's very interested in what's going on. greater-than less-than They'll reach the camp in a few minutes. As soon as we see how this Farrand guy reacts, we'll know if he's already been made into a Controller caret I said. less-than How's t8greater-than less-than The Yeerks have gone ahead with loggingeagreater-than I explained. less-than lf Farrand is still a true human, he'll be massively upset. If he's calm, he's already one of them. greater-than less-than Good pointeagreater-than Tobias said. less-than What do we do? I mean, if he's a Controller alr8greater-than I asked. less-than like don't know. I guess we focus on attacking the logging operation itself. greater-than less-than Really? You know what we'd do if he were a nonhuman Controller8greater-than I asked. less-than We'd go after him and whatever happened, happened. Right8greater-than less-than You mean, like a termite8greater-than Tobias asked dryly. less-than Yeah. That's exactly what I meaneagreater-than I said. less-than Look, Cassie, you're human. Homo sapien. Your job is to keep yourself and your species aliv
e. That's all nature wants from you. That's the whole point of evolution -- to survive. greater-than He sounded angry. We were following the Jeep now, heading back toward the logging camp. It would happen in just a few minutes. In just a few minutes Far-rand would see what was going on, and we would know what he truly was. One of us, or one of them. less-than Surviveeagreater-than I said flatly. less-than That's the law of nature. The number one law. And humans are part of nature. greater-than less-than Then so are the Yeerks, and we're no better than them. greater-than less-than like guess we'll have to worry about that one latereagreater-than Tobias said. less-than Look. greater-than The Jeep pulled to a stop in front of the Yeerk fortress. Farrand flung open his door and jumped out. I could easily see him waving his arms. Even from where I was I could see the anger on his face. Then from the building there came a man. And yet... this man felt wrong. Even from up in the air, I felt a chill that seemed to emanate from him. less-than Himeagreater-than Tobias said. I knew instantly what Tobias meant. less-than like only saw him once in a human morph, but it's hmeagreater-than Tobias said. Visser Three. "isser Three. The leader of the Yeerk invasion of Earth. The only Yeerk in all the universe to have taken control of an Andalite body. The only Yeerk in all the universe with the power to morph. It shouldn't have surprised me that he would use his human morph. It made sense. And yet I felt a cold rage deep inside me at the sight. It wasn't logical, but I felt it just the same. He was a fake human. He was using human DNA and human form as part of his plan to enslave all of humanity. less-than Visser Threeeagreater-than I said to Tobias. less-than Yeaheagreater-than he agreed. less-than He looks so normal. Except for the fact that he gives you the creeps. greater-than less-than like have a bad feeling about theagreater-than I said. less-than like don't think they're going to wait long. I think they're going to take Farrand right away. greater-than Farrand was walking toward Visser Three, still waving his hands wildly toward the heavy machinery that was chewing through the trees. Visser Three was smiling. It was not a nice smile. less-than Where are Jake and the others8greater-than Tobias wondered. less-than Oh, maneagreater-than I said. less-than This is going to happen real -- greater-than All of a sudden, Visser Three lashed out and slapped Farrand across the face. The commissioner staggered back. He held a hand to his cheek. The two men from the Jeep rushed to grab Farrand's arms. Farrand was an older man. He was helpless. less-than Cassie. Look. That's either Jake, or there is some other tiger loose in these woodsffgreater-than I looked toward the clearing. Now I could see it -- a huge, orange-striped tiger was racing toward Farrand. But he was too far away. It had all happened too suddenly. Jake wasn't in position. I didn't even know where the others were. Probably still morphing. less-than lt's up to ueagreater-than I said. I adjusted my wings, aimed for Visser Three, and dove. Down, down, down. Faster and faster, till my wings were vibrating and my bones were rattling from the speed. The target, Visser Three's human head, grew larger. Larger. Larger! I raked my talons forward, I flared my wings just enough to keep from overshooting, and I struck. I could feel my talons bite into his scalp. And then I was out of there, carried away by my own momentum. "Aaarrrgghh!" the Visser yelled. At the same instant, Tobias hit one of the guys from the Jeep. Tobias has more experience than I do. His aim is better. The guy he hit would be wearing an eyepatch for the rest of his life. less-th an Yeee hahffgreater-than Tobias cried. Farrand broke free of his remaining captor and ran. "Get him!" Visser Three yelled. "Full alert!" The uninjured guard went after Farrand. He caught him easily and knocked him facedown in the dirt. I saw Jake closing in fast, a black-and-orange streak. Looking past him, I saw that there was a second battle out by the edge of the forest. Two wolves -- Rachel and Marco -- were on the Controllers operating the machines. The perimeter guards had come running, automatic weapons ready. Suddenly, fast as a gazelle, Ax ran to help Rachel. The nearest guard turned to take a shot. Ax's tail flashed, and the Controller no longer had a way to pull a trigger. Just beneath me, the other Controller from the Jeep kicked Farrand, who was struggling to get up. That was too much for me. I wheeled in the air and went back for a second run. less-than Cassieffgreater-than Tobias cried a warning. The front door of the building flew open and they began spilling out -- a half dozen human-Controllers, each armed. And worse ... far worse, four big Hork-Bajir. But it was too late to back off. I was already diving. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! I heard the first two bullets go whizzing past me. I felt the third bullet hit my wing. It went straight through my right wing, and I tumbled from the air, suddenly as ungainly as a chicken. I fell. Helpless, I fell. WHUMP! I slammed hard into the ground. Dizzy and confused, I thought I saw Jake leap toward a Hork-Bajir warrior. But I couldn't be sure. I was fading. Fading . . . My world grew small and dark. I could no longer see anything far away. I could focus only on the ground right before me. An ant was marching by, carrying a dead bug. Maybe I was just imagining things, as I sank into unconsciousness. Maybe my brain was making up things that weren't there. But I could almost have sworn that the ant was carrying the dead, dried-out husk of the termite queen. And then everything went black. L woke up in a sort of large box. It was dark, but not totally without light. There were small round holes drilled in the sides of the box. Airholes. I could see the commissioner, Farrand, unconscious on the floor beside me. He looked old. He was mostly bald and had hair growing out of his ears. There was blood trickling from a shallow cut on his forehead. "Turn on the perimeter defenses!" Visser Three yelled. I could hear him clearly. I was still an osprey, but ospreys have good hearing. It was strange, being able to hear the Yeerk Visser's voice. We always encountered him when he was in his own stolen Andalite body. Then he communicated only in thought-speak. "You! And you! Keep your eyes on that box," Visser Three snapped. "If anything . . . anything, no matter how small tries to get out of there, destroy it! There's an Andalite bandit in that box, and there had better be an Andalite bandit in that box when this is over. Or I'll destroy you both!" Andalite bandit. That was me. Of course, if I didn't get out of the box, I would have to de-morph eventually and Visser Three would see the truth -- that I was a human. And I would have to demorph soon. My wing felt like it was on fire. The pain was terrible. "Visser! The Andalite bandits have turned the heavy equipment toward us!" someone yelled. "Then turn on the force field!" "But ... but Visser... our own people will be trapped outside of the force field." The Visser's voice suddenly became very quiet. A very dangerous kind of quiet. "Did I just hear you question my order?" "No! No Visser! I'm turning on the force field!" Farrand moaned. He moved his head a little, but then became quiet again. Okay, Cassie, think. Think