[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
time trash TV. I flipped channels back and forth, between one bunch of messed-up people
and another bunch of even more messed-up people.
It was nice, watching other people with problems. Their problems all seemed easy compared
to mine.
But over the electronic pictures of angry people and placating hosts, other images appeared.
A Taxxon, split open like a torn bag of garbage. The frozen, silent screams of involuntary
hosts in their cages.
And through all the television noise, I could still hear other voices. The Ellimist's voice in my
head.
We can save a small sample of the human race.
And Jake's voice.
You are out of control!
And my father.
To another city. Another state.
I tried not to even think about everything that had happened the day before. I mean, it was so
ridiculous. I lived in two completely different worlds.
One world was filled by my family, school, gymnastics classes, shopping, listening to music,
watching TV . . . normal stuff.
But then I had this whole other life. A life where I wasn't just Jordan and Sara's big sister, and
my mom's first child, and a teacher's pet, and a gymnastics student who was weak on the
balance beam.
In my other life I was ...a warrior. I risked my life. I fought in deadly nightmare battles
against terrible odds. I became so much more than just a kid.
Noon rolled around and I made myself a grilled cheese sandwich. I turned on the TV in the
kitchen while I cooked. And there was my dad on the noon news. He was doing a remote - a
story from outside the studio. Some stupid event at the convention center.
I muted the sound and just watched the picture. I threw my sandwich in the trash.
"What am I supposed to do?!" I yelled suddenly, shocking myself. "What am I supposed to
do!"
My voice sounded flat and dead in the silence of the kitchen. I felt foolish. It wasn't like me
to get all emotional.
51
I stood there, just staring at the cupboards.
The Ellimist. . . the bear...my father. . . . What was I supposed to do? Leave my mom and
sisters?
Leave my dad? Leave my friends? Leave the whole messed-up planet?
I imagined going to see my father down at the convention center. "Dad? I have this problem."
And he would put his arm around me and fluff my hair the way he always did and say,
"Come on, kid. Don't be so serious."
I turned the TV sound back on. My dad was grinning at something. He was doing some
chatter with the anchorpeople back at the station.
"...be leaving us soon, and we're all sorry to hear that. But I know it will be a great
opportunity for you."
"Yes, it will," my father said. "Although I will really miss all the - "
I snapped off the TV set. I felt sick inside. Like I had swallowed broken glass.
I needed to get out of the house. I needed to stop thinking.
I went upstairs and opened my bedroom window.
Several minutes later, a large bald eagle flew from my window and soared high into the sky.
We all hooked up later that afternoon at Cassie's barn.
Inside her barn there are rows of cages in all shapes and sizes, mostly full. Birds are in one
area, with mammals separated from them by a partition wall. I guess it makes the birds
nervous to be in the same room with foxes and raccoons.
Nervous birds hurt themselves, banging around the cages.
When I showed up at the meeting bare foot and in my morphing outfit, everyone immediately
knew I hadn't exactly taken the bus to get there.
Jake and Marco were lolling on bales of hay.
Tobias was perched on a cross beam a few feet over our heads. I felt a stab of pain, seeing
him that way again.
Ax did not come to these meetings, usually. He would have had to assume his human morph,
and he preferred to remain in Andalite form as much as possible.
"Hi, Rachel," Marco said, looking amused, but also a little wary. "What have you been up to?
Or maybe I should ask, what have you been!"
Cassie was busy changing the bandage on the wing of a sad-looking kestrel.
52
"Hey, Rachel," Cassie said. "Give me a hand here, will you? I didn't see you at school today."
I went and held the struggling bird as well as I could. Kestrels are small falcons. This kestrel
tried to take a bite out of me, but he was too weak to do any damage.
"I felt kind of sick this morning," I told Cassie. "So I stayed home."
"But you felt better this afternoon, huh?" Jake said. "So much better that you decided to
morph? How did you get here, just out of curiosity?"
Cassie was done and took the kestrel from me. I turned to look Jake in the eye. "I flew. Is that
okay with you?"
He glanced at Cassie. Then at Marco. "That bear you morphed yesterday . . . you went to The
Gardens and acquired that all on your own, didn't you?"
"No," I said, "I met that bear at the mall."
"Okay," Jake said. "And today you ditch school and end up morphing . . . whatever you
morphed."
Tobias said.
too long, acting like a buzzard. A real eagle would have perched after a while. >
"It's so nice knowing I have privacy," I said sarcastically.
Tobias said.
than two hours. You must have demorphed, then morphed again. >
Jake looked at me sharply. "You spent the whole afternoon in morph?"
"Yes, Mother," I said.
Jake jumped up and stood right in front of me, his face just inches from mine. "Don't give me [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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time trash TV. I flipped channels back and forth, between one bunch of messed-up people
and another bunch of even more messed-up people.
It was nice, watching other people with problems. Their problems all seemed easy compared
to mine.
But over the electronic pictures of angry people and placating hosts, other images appeared.
A Taxxon, split open like a torn bag of garbage. The frozen, silent screams of involuntary
hosts in their cages.
And through all the television noise, I could still hear other voices. The Ellimist's voice in my
head.
We can save a small sample of the human race.
And Jake's voice.
You are out of control!
And my father.
To another city. Another state.
I tried not to even think about everything that had happened the day before. I mean, it was so
ridiculous. I lived in two completely different worlds.
One world was filled by my family, school, gymnastics classes, shopping, listening to music,
watching TV . . . normal stuff.
But then I had this whole other life. A life where I wasn't just Jordan and Sara's big sister, and
my mom's first child, and a teacher's pet, and a gymnastics student who was weak on the
balance beam.
In my other life I was ...a warrior. I risked my life. I fought in deadly nightmare battles
against terrible odds. I became so much more than just a kid.
Noon rolled around and I made myself a grilled cheese sandwich. I turned on the TV in the
kitchen while I cooked. And there was my dad on the noon news. He was doing a remote - a
story from outside the studio. Some stupid event at the convention center.
I muted the sound and just watched the picture. I threw my sandwich in the trash.
"What am I supposed to do?!" I yelled suddenly, shocking myself. "What am I supposed to
do!"
My voice sounded flat and dead in the silence of the kitchen. I felt foolish. It wasn't like me
to get all emotional.
51
I stood there, just staring at the cupboards.
The Ellimist. . . the bear...my father. . . . What was I supposed to do? Leave my mom and
sisters?
Leave my dad? Leave my friends? Leave the whole messed-up planet?
I imagined going to see my father down at the convention center. "Dad? I have this problem."
And he would put his arm around me and fluff my hair the way he always did and say,
"Come on, kid. Don't be so serious."
I turned the TV sound back on. My dad was grinning at something. He was doing some
chatter with the anchorpeople back at the station.
"...be leaving us soon, and we're all sorry to hear that. But I know it will be a great
opportunity for you."
"Yes, it will," my father said. "Although I will really miss all the - "
I snapped off the TV set. I felt sick inside. Like I had swallowed broken glass.
I needed to get out of the house. I needed to stop thinking.
I went upstairs and opened my bedroom window.
Several minutes later, a large bald eagle flew from my window and soared high into the sky.
We all hooked up later that afternoon at Cassie's barn.
Inside her barn there are rows of cages in all shapes and sizes, mostly full. Birds are in one
area, with mammals separated from them by a partition wall. I guess it makes the birds
nervous to be in the same room with foxes and raccoons.
Nervous birds hurt themselves, banging around the cages.
When I showed up at the meeting bare foot and in my morphing outfit, everyone immediately
knew I hadn't exactly taken the bus to get there.
Jake and Marco were lolling on bales of hay.
Tobias was perched on a cross beam a few feet over our heads. I felt a stab of pain, seeing
him that way again.
Ax did not come to these meetings, usually. He would have had to assume his human morph,
and he preferred to remain in Andalite form as much as possible.
"Hi, Rachel," Marco said, looking amused, but also a little wary. "What have you been up to?
Or maybe I should ask, what have you been!"
Cassie was busy changing the bandage on the wing of a sad-looking kestrel.
52
"Hey, Rachel," Cassie said. "Give me a hand here, will you? I didn't see you at school today."
I went and held the struggling bird as well as I could. Kestrels are small falcons. This kestrel
tried to take a bite out of me, but he was too weak to do any damage.
"I felt kind of sick this morning," I told Cassie. "So I stayed home."
"But you felt better this afternoon, huh?" Jake said. "So much better that you decided to
morph? How did you get here, just out of curiosity?"
Cassie was done and took the kestrel from me. I turned to look Jake in the eye. "I flew. Is that
okay with you?"
He glanced at Cassie. Then at Marco. "That bear you morphed yesterday . . . you went to The
Gardens and acquired that all on your own, didn't you?"
"No," I said, "I met that bear at the mall."
"Okay," Jake said. "And today you ditch school and end up morphing . . . whatever you
morphed."
Tobias said.
too long, acting like a buzzard. A real eagle would have perched after a while. >
"It's so nice knowing I have privacy," I said sarcastically.
Tobias said.
than two hours. You must have demorphed, then morphed again. >
Jake looked at me sharply. "You spent the whole afternoon in morph?"
"Yes, Mother," I said.
Jake jumped up and stood right in front of me, his face just inches from mine. "Don't give me [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]