is a town," Rachel said. "If there even are phones. If our parents have been born yet, or are still alive. You're kind of missing something -- we may be in the year two thou- sand b.c. Or ... we might be in the year ten thousand a.d." "Ax, what's the deal with this Sario Rip?"
I asked the Andalite. "I mean, is there some way to undo it?" Ax didn't answer. Instead, I noticed his stalk eyes turning slowly to his right. less-than We are not aloneeagreater-than Ax said. I shot a glance in the direction Ax was looking. Something moved! I had a fleeting impression of a shoulder, arm, and head. less-than Humanoideagreater-than Ax said. less-than like didn't see it very well. But it was watching us. greater-than "Swell," I said. "Tobias?" less-than l'm on xeagreater-than he said, opening his wings and flapping away through the trees. less-than As for the Sario Rip,
I ... all I know is what it is. It's a rip in space-time. greater-than "Yeah, you told us that," Marco said. less-than like think . . disgreater-than Ax hung his head. less-than Prince Jake, we studied the Sario Rip effect in school. But there was a game later that day. And I was thinking more about the game than class. Also, there was this female who distracted me. greater-than Marco laughed. "Ax, are you telling us you were too busy flirting with some girl to pay attention to the lesson?" Ax didn't answer. He just said, less-than like don't ex- actly know whether you can reverse a Sario Rip.
I remember some things, but not everything. greater-than "I'm thirsty," Rachel said. "Whatever else we're going to do, we have to find water. And food. Ax, can we fix the Bug fighter?" less-than We can fly with just one engineeagreater-than Ax said. less-than The ripped skin of the craft is irrelevant as long as we stay in the atmosphere and fly slow. But the effects of the Sario Rip have wiped out the ship's software. It's been erased. greater-than . "Can you rewrite the software?" Rachel asked. less-than Yes. But it would take me twenty years, at I east. greater-than "Better and better," I said. "Hey. Wait. What happened to the Blade ship?" Ax looked blank. "I saw it going down along with us," Cassie said. "But I didn't see it crash." "So maybe, in addition to everything else, we have Visser Three and a shipload of Hork-Bajir warriors to worry about," I said. "Someone please give me some good news." "Well, it's still daylight," Marco said, putting on a big phony grin. "When night falls, then we'll
be
- his less-than Jake! Duckffgreater-than Tobias yelled. For once in my life, I didn't stop to think about it. I ducked. And even as I ducked, I saw the face. I saw the arm. I saw the spear. It was coming straight at me. Right for my face. The vision! It was the hallucination! I ducked. The spear went over my head and flew on harmlessly into the bush. Tobias flapped wildly into the air. less-than like shouldn't have been restingeagreater-than he berated himself. less-than like should have been in the air. greater-than I was too weirded out to worry about Tobias. "I knew that was going to happen," I said. "That spear. The kid who threw it. I knew!" Cassie looked strangely at me. "Jake, what are you -" less-than Three peagreater-than Tobias interrupted. less-than They almost look like they might be kids. They're hauling butt out of here. Which is what we better think about doing, too. greater-than "Why?" Rachel demanded indignantly. "We can handle some kids with spears." less-than Forget the kids. I see a group of twenty . . . maybe thirty Hork-Bajir. They're tearing up the forest and coming this wayffgreater-than "We can't leave the Bug fighter!" Rachel protested. "How else are we going to get out of here?" "We can't stand and fight twenty Hork-Bajir warriors, either," I said. "We have to pull back." I glanced over and saw Cassie. She had re- trieved the spear from the bushes. It was a long, thin stick. There was no spearhead on it. It was just a sharp stick with the sharp end blackened. "That doesn't look too deadly," I said. Cassie shook her head. "No. You probably couldn't kill much with this stick. Unless the tip was dipped in poison. And we are in the home office of natural poisons." "The local people ... I guess they wouldn't waste their time using a weapon that didn't work, would they?" I said. "No," Cassie said flatly. "The chances are pretty good that this spear is poison-tipped. There are poisonous frogs and plants down here that are used for arrow and spear poison. Very deadly. Very, very deadly. The Hork-Bajir are definitely not our only problem." less-than Jake, you guys need to move oueagreater-than Tobias warned. He was overhead again. I couldn't see him, but I knew he was up above the jungle canopy. less-than like can't see well enough through all this foliage. But I think a group of Hork-Bajir is getting close to you. greater-than Decision time. Stay and fight? We'd lose. Run away? We'd be giving up the Bug fighter, our only way home. "Ax? Is there something . . . anything. . . you can take out of the Bug fighter that would make it impossible for the Yeerks to fly it?" Ax stared at me with his main eyes, even as his stalk eyes swept the forest around us. less-than Yes. Yes, I can think of something. greater-than "Then get it," I said. less-than Jake! There's no timeeagreater-than Tobias called down. He must have been close enough to hear me. But the foliage was so dense I had no clear idea where he was. Ax hesitated, not sure what to do. The others all looked at me. "Do it, Ax," I said. He raced for the Bug fighter. "Everyone else, get out of here." "I'm staying with you," Rachel protested. "I'm not staying. Minimum risk," I snapped. "We only need Ax to handle this. No point risking anyone else." I plunged into the green. I grabbed Rachel's arm and pulled her along. Cassie and Marco followed me. less-than Jakeeagreater-than Tobias called down. less-than lf Ax isn't out of there in under two minutes, he's not going to get out of there. greater-than I didn't answer. It's the worst thing about being a so-called leader -- the times when you take a risk with someone else's life. If Ax ended up dead, it was going to be very hard to explain to my friends. And to myself.
1:48 P.m. I can't begin to explain what the rain forest is like. To explain it, you'd have to be a poet and a scientist and a horror writer. All I can say is how it makes you feel. You feel small. Tiny. Alone. Hopelessly weak. Afraid. You feel heat and suffocating humidity. It's like there's not enough air. Every breath is like sucking air through a straw. You're breathing steam and perfume and the stink of dying, rotting things. The jungle is all around you. It presses against you on all sides. Wet leaves in your face; creepers that seem to reach up to trip you; sharp-edged stalks that cut you. And then there are the twin horrors: bugs and thirst. Mosquitoes, gnats, big flies, and other flying insects I didn't even have names for followed us in swirling clouds. They'd descend and attack, then disappear for no reason, only to attack again later. If you stopped, even for a few seconds, you could find your foot covered with ants or centipedes or beetles or bugs that defied description. And it didn't help that we were shoeless. The heat sucked every ounce of moisture out of us. It was as bad as any desert. You'd think with all the greenery there would be water everywhere. But no. The actual ground under our feet was dry. All the water is captured in the plants. All the while, as we fought our way through the thickets of vines and ferns and bushes and gnats and flies and mosquitoes, we were followed by a serenade of cackles, groans, screams, yelps, insane animal giggles, clicking, scratching, and the occasional coughing roar as each new species comments on the idiocy of a bunch of suburban kids wandering around the rain forest. For all we knew, they were taking bets on how long the dumb humans would survive. We had pushed two hundred yards deeper into the rain forest from the Bug fighter when we heard an uproar behind us. "Andalite!" a Hork-Bajir voice bellowed. "An- dalite!" less-than They're after hmffgreater-than Tobias called down from above. less-than Ax has six Hork-Bajir on his tail! You happy now, Jake? Ax-man! Look out! Behind yffgreater-than I bit my lip till I tasted my own blood. "We have to morph and go back for him," Rachel said. Her eyes were blazing. I could have said no. I had reasons to say no. We were in an unknown place, facing lousy odds. Besides, of us all, Ax was the fastest and best able to escape. But Rachel would have just gone anyway. "Just two of us go," I snapped. "Me and you, Rachel. Marco and Cassie, stay back." "Why are we staying back?" Marco asked, outraged. "Because we need backup, Marco," I said tersely. I don't know if he understood this or not. Rache
l did. She started to morph. I was morph ing into my tiger morph as fast as I could. Rachel was already well into her grizzly bear morph
- massive shoulders and shaggy brown fur and long, curved claws. TSEEEWWW! TSEEEWWW! The sound of Dracon beams reached us. The jungle animals up in the trees exploded in a fury of commentary. Ke-Rrrraaaaawwww! HOO! HOOHOOHOOHOO! I could hear something large crashing around the brush, but I couldn't see anything. In the rain forest you're lucky if you can see five feet in any direction. less-than l'm readyeagreater-than Rachel said. less-than Wait for meeagreater-than I told her. less-than Catch up when you ceagreater-than Rachel snapped. She lumbered away, back toward the Bug fighter, a huge, rolling mass of heavy fur and muscle. I cursed her silently. My body was already covered with orange-and-black-striped fur. I was on all fours. Long, yellow fangs grew in my mouth. Long, wicked claws grew where my fingernails had been. I felt the tiger's mind. I saw through the tiger's eyes. I felt the surge of power, the rush of the tiger's might. He was at home in a tropical forest. This was the kind of place he belonged. The tiger was lord of his own native turf. But of course in the tiger's native jungles, there aren't Hork-Bajir. And there's no Visser Three. I leaped forward, following the path Rachel had plowed through the bushes. I caught up to her easily. I belonged in the jungle. The grizzly did not. Rachel was breathing hard. less-than like can't see ... can't find them . . . keep hearing noises, but they keep moving. greater-than I listened with my tiger's ears. I receded just a bit within the tiger mind and let the animal in stincts guide me. The tiger knew how to follow sounds in the rain forest. less-than Come on, Racheleagreater-than I said. I plunged for ward, toward where I heard the loudest sounds crashing through the forest. But I soon realized Rachel couldn't keep up. I was really ticked off right then. At Rachel, for being so impulsive. At Tobias for acting like
I wanted to put Ax in danger. At the Yeerks for causing all this. At the jungle itself. And worst of all, at me. I'd made mistakes. Too many mistakes. Now I had to choose. Stay with Rachel, or rush ahead and try to find Ax. Help came from the sky. less-than Left about fifty feet, Jakeeagreater-than Tobias called down to me. I was mad at Tobias. But not so mad I would ignore him. I charged left, slinking swiftly through the brush. less-than Jake! Look out! There's one right
- greater-than "Haarrgghh!" the Hork-Bajir yelled trium phantly. He swung a bladed arm at me and sliced through the ferns and bushes like a lawn mower going through grass. His elbow disblade missed me by inches. I felt the breeze from it. to knew what to do next. I fired the coiled muscles in my hind legs and I flew. In midair I extended my paws, each as wide as a frying pan. Out came my claws. And I roared. HRRROOOOOWWWWRRRR! I swear, that sound actually silenced the monkeys and birds. I hit the Hork-Bajir. He went down, swinging fast, but too slow. Hork-Bajir are fast. But when it comes to close-in work, slashing and parrying and applying the teeth, the tiger is faster and nastier. He slashed. I felt pain sear my right shoulder. I slashed and heard the Hork-Bajir cry out. His snake-head jerked fast, aiming his forehead blades for my face. I ducked and dove in, sinking my teeth into his neck. From somewhere I heard the sound of a bear's pained roar. I heard crashing, thudding sounds. I pulled back, leaving the deadly, bladed, seven-foot-tall Hork-Bajir lying on the jungle floor, moaning in pain. I actually felt a moment of pity. The Hork-Bajir race has been enslaved by the Yeerks. This Hork-Bajir warrior didn't ask to be here, bleeding from a dozen wounds in an alien jungle a billion miles from his home. But then, I didn't ask to be here, either. I listened for sounds of Ax. Nothing. I listened for Hork-Bajir. Nothing. I listened for Rachel. Nothing. It was like they'd all just disappeared in the green. Green, everywhere I looked. Then . . . A sharp pain in my left paw. I looked at the Hork-Bajir, but no, he hadn't moved. I realized I was fall ing over. Simply falling over. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the snake slithering off. It was bright yellow. less-than Demorphffgreater-than I told myself. less-than Demorphffgreater-than But my head was swimming. And the green was closing in around me. Burying me in green. A bird landed beside me. I could see that. less-than Jake! Morph back, man! Morph backffgreater-than I was trying. I was trying to remember what it was I was supposed to become. Then . . . FLASH! I was walking home from school. Me and Marco. We were talking, wondering what Tobias wanted. Tobias's thought-speak voice was in our heads saying - FLASH! Tobias's voice saying, less-than That's it, Jake. Come on, man. Keep at it. greater-than I could see again! I could see my hands stretched out in front of me on the ground. They were half-human, half-tiger. Could I morph away from poison? Would morphing get it out of my system? Should have asked Ax, I berated myself. But I was already learning the answer. As I became more human, I felt the poison weaken. less-than Come on, Jake, come oneagreater-than Tobias said. less-than There's no timeffgreater-than "What. . . what is it? More Hork-Bajir?" I asked him when I had a mouth a gain. less-than No. It's Rachel. greater-than I felt my heart miss several beats. I climbed up, rickety from the quick change. I felt like throwing up. Maybe it was the poison. Maybe it was just too much happening at once. "Where is she?" I asked. less-than Straight behind you. Maybe a hundred feet. Hurry! I'll go up and see what's happening. greater-than He flapped away, leaving me alone and barefoot and vulnerable in the rain forest. I found Rachel by following the damage she had done: three Hork-Bajir lying unconscious or worse. I didn't have time to worry about them. Because that's when I saw Rachel. She was out cold, still in grizzly morph. She'd been cut up badly by Hork-Bajir blades. She was lying there on her side, bleeding. But that's not what made me want to scream. Her fur was alive. Alive with a million ants that were already ripping away a million tiny bites from her wounded flesh.
95 2:30 P.m. Rachel!" I yelled. "Wake up!" less-than Jake! Stop shoutingeagreater-than Tobias warned from up above me. less-than Hork-Bajir could still be all around here! I can't see through all this undergrowth caret I threw myself down next to Rachel and started swatting at the ants. But instead of getting rid of them, the ants just swarmed across my hands. There had to be ten thousand ants. Rachel had fallen almost on top of their mound. I could see ants carrying away tiny pieces of bloody bear flesh. "Do you know if there is any water near here?" I asked Tobias. less-than There's a stream. But it's too far, Jake, she weighs hundreds of pounds. What are you going to do, carry her to the water8greater-than I could see Rachel's bear chest rising and falling. She was breathing. Still alive. I kicked her. I kicked her hard. "Wake up!" I hissed. "'Come on, Rachel, wake up!" The ants were getting at her ears now. They swarmed across her closed eyes. I wanted to scream. 1 wanted to cry. I don't think I've ever felt so totally helpless. Rachel was out cold. The thousands of swarming ants would make sure she never woke up. They would kill the bear before Rachel could morph out. They would eat out her eyes and crawl into her head, and there was nothing I could do. "Tobias! More ants! Find more ants!" less-than Are you nuts8greater-than "Do it!" I yelled, not even caring if someone heard me. "I need another colony of ants!" Tobias clicked. I could see his fierce eyes grow wider. He flapped away, staying as low to the ground as he could. He circled tightly, and then flared to kill his speed. less-than Here! Hereffgreater-than he yelled. At that moment I heard movement in the bushes. I looked and saw two wolves. Two very out-of-place wolves. Their intelligent faces were sticking out of the brush. "Cassie! Marco! That is you two, right?" Looking closer, I could see that they had been in a fight. There were cuts. There was blood. They began to demorph. less-than 0h, my Godeagreater-than Cassie moaned as she saw Rachel and realized what was happening. I didn't have time to explain. I bent down and began yanking out tufts of bloody grizzly bear fur. less-than What are you doing? Leave her aloneffgreater-than Marco yelled. I yanked several handfuls of bloody fur. Then I raced toward the spot where Tobias waited. He was resting on a strong fern, looking down at a swarming mound of ants. I took a small sample of the grizzly fur and laid it right beside the mouth of the ant mound. The reaction was instantaneous. Hundreds of ants swarmed across the bloody fur. I used another tuft of
fur to lift a handful of ants, then I walked a few feet toward Rachel and dropped the tuft. I repeated the process, getting closer and closer to Rachel. I was worried the ants might lose the scent. But they were keeping up with me, and even racing ahead. Slowly, surely, I led the ants to Rachel. Cassie and Marco were human once more. They looked like I probably looked: scared, horri fied, vulnerable. "We have to get them off her!" Cassie cried when she saw me. "They're inside her ears! They're in her mouth! They'll kill her!" "I know." I dropped my last blood-soaked tuft of fur. If this didn't work, Rachel was finished. I stepped aside and put my arm around Cassie. The new colony of ants followed the trail I'd left them. There was a moment's hesitation, al most as if the whole rampaging colony paused upon seeing the bear. But then, like the well-trained army they were, they attacked. Ten thousand new ants swarmed onto Rachel's unconscious body. They slammed into a wall of ants from the first colony. I've been an ant. I've seen how different colonies of ants get along. I hoped they would act the same way here. They did. It was like some old Civil War bat tle. The two armies charged at each other. Per fect, obedient automatons responding only to smell and instinct. They attacked each other. The ants swarmed back out of Rachel's ears and mouth, ready for the battle. "That was good thinking, Jake," Cassie said. "But sooner or later, one colony will win." "We have to hope Rachel regains consciousness before then," I said. The enemy armies of ants battled ferociously. It wouldn't look like much to most people. But having been an ant, I had some idea of the awesome slaughter that was going on in the fur of the grizzly. Down there, ants were being torn apart by other ants. Literally torn apart. Legs ripped out. Heads bitten off. Stinging poisons being sprayed. The battle was turning. The challengers" mound was too far away. They weren't able to call up enough reinforcements. In a few minutes the desperate ant war would be over. But while they fought, they did not tear into Rachel's flesh. And then . . . less-than Unh . . . wha ... oh! Oh! Oh! I'm covered in antsffgreater-than "Rachel! Rachel! It's me, Jake. Morph out. Morph out and be ready to run!" Rachel didn't have to be told twice. She started demorphing. She shrank. Pink flesh re-placed fur. Massive shoulders and huge paws became smaller, human features. "Oh!" Rachel cried as soon as she had a human mouth. "Arrrrggghhi" "Rachel, get up! Follow me!" I said to her. "Tobias? Where's that stream?" Tobias rose up and flew swiftly through the trees. I followed, crashing through the bushes, my bare feet torn, tripping. It was no more than a hundred feet. It felt like a mile. Rachel was screaming now. Rachel is the bravest person I know. But the thousands of vicious ants were beginning to attack her, now that they were done attacking each other. No one can stand that. No one can stand that. "Get off me! Oh, no! Oh! They're in my