My name is Rachel.

Rachel nolast name.Rachel no address.JustRachel.

It's abig,bad worldout there,boysand girls. At leastmy worldis. Lions and tigers and bears. . . and thoseare my friends.

Joke. Sorry, I'm not verygood atjokes.

Here'swhatyouneed to know:Earth is underattack. Earth isbeing invaded. Yes,by aliens.

I know.It soundslike fiction. It soundslikesomething you'dhear from the crazy ladypushingthe shopping cart full ofcans down the street. I wishI had a morebelievablestory totell but all I candois tell the

truth.

2Thetruth is that Homo sapiens, humans,meand you,have been targeted by an alien species called Yeerks.

They'rea parasiticspecies. Not predatorslookingto kill, kill, kill, hoveringover our citiesand blowingupthe StatueofLiberty or

whatever.The Yeerksdon't wantus dead.They don't wantour land or our naturalresources. They don't wantto barbecueour livers.

What they wantis us.

They'renothingbut gray slugsin their naturalstate. Helpless. You

could put onyourTimber-lands and stomp a couplethousand of them on the sidewalk.

Exceptthat the Yeerksaren'tcontenttolive as slugs. They infest healthyhost bodies, they enter the brain, they wrapthemselvesaround the brain and sinkintothe little crevices. They control the brain.

Utterly.

Once they have you,once they'vemade youa Controller,youdon't focus your own eyes,or moveyour own fingers,or draw your own breath. You are powerless.Likebeing totallyparalyzed,onlyyour eyes are still

seeingand yourmouth is laughingand yourhandsare reachingout to choke the lifefrom someone youlove.. . .

They'rehere. They'renot E.T. They'renot cute. And we,my friends and