Ax has a secret....

Clouds covered t h e m o o n . I t o o k advantage of t h e a l m o s t t o t a l darkness and quickly m o r p h e d a r a c c o o n . I was able to leave t h e camp w i t h o u t any Hork-Bajir or human s p o t t i n g me. An adult female raccoon w i t h a piece of alien technology wedged in her m o u t h . . . .

As soon as I reached w h a t I considered to be a safe distance, I removed t h e Z-space t r a n s p o n d e r f r o m my m o u t h and activated it. . . . A f t e r a s h o r t delay, t h e r e was a response. . . .

<Aximilli-Esgarrouth-lsthill?>

<Yes.> I gave t h e p a s s w o r d to clear t h e channel f o r communication.

<Report,> came t h e c u r t c o m m a n d .

<lt is just as you predicted,> I t o l d Jaham-Estalan-Forlan, a w a r prince and chief of t h e Andalite military. <The human resistance is rapidly-losing its effectiveness. There is infighting. Tensions. Discipline is breaking down.>

<They know nothing,> I c o n f i r m e d . . . .

<Heads up. Something's definitely going down.> Rachel, in bald eagle morph, braked and swooped and circled.

James, in peregrine falcon morph, followed, circling almost in tandem with Rachel.

That kind of close formation flying was a misOCR by Nihtelek

take.

Different species of birds of prey do not typically fly together, especially in synchronized motion. I was in northern harrier morph, several feet above my companions and hanging back. Trying to keep a reasonable distance between us in case we were being observed from the ground.

I wondered if Rachel would rebuke James. He on a reconnaissance mission. We were to make was new and sometimes made minor mistakes. note of what was happening in the city and report But Rachel was too eager to pursue her invesback to our base of operations. The secret Horktigation into what was taking place on the ground Bajir camp.

below to correct James.

I doubt that Jake had anticipated anything as I, too, said nothing to James. Of all the Anidramatic as what I saw below me. It appeared morphs, I had been most opposed to our recruitthat the city was under military occupation. ing handicapped young humans to be warriors Police, uniformed military men and women, alongside us in our fight against the Yeerks. So and official trucks and cars blocked off many far, the overall performance of James and the streets.

others had set my mind somewhat at ease. Drivers were being stopped and asked to exit Still, I was uncomfortable treating James and their cars. Then they were taken to join the his team as a true part of the resistance. crowds of people being diverted into train staAnd even after all this time on my adopted tions at gunpoint.

planet, Earth, I was acutely aware of being an

<What's going on?> James asked. <Are those outsider. The only Andalite, the only alien in our people being protected, or persecuted? Evacuband of guerrillas. Though on several occasions I ated for their own protection? Or being taken had spoken my mind, on many others I had hesiprisoner?> tated to do so.

<l can't tell,> Rachel answered. <That's the I had no real authority over James or Rachel. problem when the good guys and the bad guys all They were likely to reject any instructions or dilook alike. It's hard to know who's an uninfested rectives from me.

human and who's a Controller. This war gets Rachel, because she listened to no one but more complicated every day.>

Jake, and then, often with barely concealed reI agreed with Rachel's statement. sentment. And James, because he acted as My name is Aximili-Esgarrouth-lsthill. It is my leader and to some degree protector, of the sevenreal name. The others do not use their real names, teen new recruits. James was Jake's lieutenant. though at this point, they could do so without inJake is our leader. He had sent the three of us creasing the danger of discovery.

Our identities are known now to our enemies. The Yeerks have already enslaved other

We have been exposed. The danger could not get species to use as hosts. For example, the Horkany nearer, clearer, or greater. Bajirand the Taxxons.

Furthermore, our best weapon, the blue box, Hork-Bajir have excellent bodies for purhas fallen into the hands of the enemy. They now poses of combat. They are seven feet tall with have the same Andalite morphing technology as blades on their elbows and knees, foreheads we do.

and wrists. They somewhat resemble the long It has always been difficult to distinguish huextinct reptilian creatures humans call dimans from human-Controllers. At least at a nosaurs.

glance. Now it is also difficult to distinguish real Taxxon bodies are large and unwieldy, like a massive sack of guts. They possess hundreds of animals from morphed human-Controllers.

centipedelike arms and legs. Their mouths are I don't think I'm doing a very good job of exrimmed with razor-sharp teeth. Their eyes are red plaining our situation.

and gelatinous.

Jake is very good at explaining.

Because of their voracious hunger, Taxxons I will try again.

are excellent at instilling terror. Once they sense A race of aliens that resemble large slugs has blood, they cannot be turned back, even if it invaded Earth. The aliens are called Yeerks. means their own deaths. They are driven by a ravSince the Yeerks have no useful bodies of enous hunger that never, ever abates.

their own — no means of movement, virtually no It is difficult sometimes not to pity them. sensory abilities —they search out host bodies. Of course, the bodies the Yeerks covet the They are parasites.

most are bodies like mine. Andalite bodies. The human and the Yeerk coexist. But the reAndalites have four legs. This gives us the lationship is far from symbiotic. The Yeerk is in speed of horses. We have two pairs of eyes, one total control.

pair on stalks. This enables us to see in all direcThe Yeerks' plan is to use Earth as a hub tions at once.

planet. Here they can potentially acquire milWe have the ability to speak without using our lions of host bodies. A massive force of humanmouths. This is very fortunate considering AnControllers will enable them to effectively push dalites have no mouths.

out into other galaxies.

For purposes of combat, our tails are

equipped with a deadly sharp blade.

But it is our ability to morph, to transform into other creatures, that makes our species the envy of the galaxy.

Only one Yeerk has ever succeeded in acquiring an Andalite body. Visser One. The leader of the Yeerk invasion.

For that desecration of my species, I hate him.

And for killing my brother, Elfangor.

<Okay. No doubt about what's going on,> Rachel said angrily. <l see a pair of Hork-Bajir directing people into a subway station. And the people don't want to go. This is a Yeerk operation.>

<Oh, yeah. That roundup is definitely not for the citizens' protection.> James said. James was new. He was still learning. But he was smart and learning fast.

<Human-Controllers, too,> Rachel noted.

James circled, maintaining his altitude.

<Trains are a good way of transporting a lot of pool has always been the one sure place we have people at the same time. And fast,> Rachel been able to cause serious disruption.> replied grimly.

We, the resistance, the Animorphs, have lo<The Yeerk pool,> I said. <l would assume cated, damaged, or destroyed more than one that is their destination.>

Yeerk pool and Kandrona source.

<Where Yeerks live when they don't have a Animorphs. Marco coined the term back behost body.> James. <Where they feed, too, right?

fore I was rescued and joined the team. The origIf the Yeerks are taking humans to the pool in big inal members of the Animorphs are Jake, Rachel, groups, it means they're mass-producing new Cassie, Tobias, Marco. And me. The only Anhuman-Controllers.> dalite.

the age to be attending what humans call "high Rachel and James were discussing the Yeerk school."

pools. It's a pretty basic concept. Yeerks must We have no "high school" on the Andalite feed every three days. The majority of Conhome planet. But we do have the Academy. I was trollers, not important enough to be in possesan aristh in the Academy. What humans would sion of private, portable pools, must journey to a call a "cadet."

central place to absorb the life-sustaining KanMy brother, Elfangor, was a great Andalite drona rays.

military hero. He was killed here on Earth by If the Yeerk is deprived of Kandrona rays, a Visser One, then known as Visser Three, leader of painful process of starvation ensues.

the Yeerk invasion.

<The Yeerk pool is only a train ride away,> Before he died, Elfangor gave the morphing James said wryly. <Very convenient. The Yeerks cube to this group of human young people. The have solved the problem of commuting. Provide ones who call themselves the Animorphs.

your employees with free transportation.> For a long time, we were the only ones with

<Feeding a large number of Controllers is the the ability to morph. Us and, of course, Visser one difficulty the Yeerks have not yet successOne, who only had the ability because his host fully mastered,> I said thoughtfully. <The Yeerk body was an Andalite.

In our last major battle, the Yeerks were able three, James and Craig and Erica. Their healthy to steal the blue morphing cube that transfers DNA was restored although they have sworn to the morphing technology. Thus, we have lost our continue life as handicapped people. For secuone true advantage. rity reasons. At least until the war is over. But while we still had the cube, Jake realized James is a good soldier. They all are. But inthat in order to continue the fight against the experienced.

Yeerks we needed to increase our ranks. As I I felt we should proceed no further on our mentioned, I was wary of the decision to enlist own. <We should report this to Jake immedihandicapped children, mostly due to their lack of ately,> I said.

combat experience.

<No time,> Rachel replied tersely. <Ax, look However, I could not deny that because the at all those people being forced into the subway!

Yeerks would never consider handicapped huIn just a few hours, the Yeerks could produce anman bodies suitable hosts, these children were other thousand human-Controllers.>

likely to be uninfested.

<So, what do we do?> James asked.

There are seventeen new recruits, including I could hear the eagerness in his voice. The James, the boy called Tuan, and the girls called eagerness of a new soldier. One not yet exKelly and Collette. hausted and sickened by war.

On my planet we call such individuals vecols.

<Let's see if we can either close that tunnel Andalite custom ordains these disabled live in down or slow up production.> Rachel answered. isolation. It is largely for their own sake, as they It was a foolish course of action. There were would feel great shame as part of society. So it is only three of us. Yes, we had been clever and proout of respect for vecols that they are kept from ductive in the past. But that was before the full participation in the world.

Yeerks had forced us to become refugees. My experiences on Earth, however, have led

<Ax?> Rachel prompted. <Are you in or are me to question the wisdom of the Andalite cusyou out?> tom. Not that human custom regarding the dis<l think we should talk to Jake,> I repeated. abled or handicapped is not also flawed.

<Look, those are innocent people down As we suspected, a few of the new recruits there.> James's voice was getting angry. <Don't were healed by the morphing process. Only you care?>

Innocent people.

The other group headed for Rachel.

Humans.

It was interesting that none of them pursued Did James mean that he did not consider me James. They must have thought he was a real falpart of their team because I am not human?

con. Or maybe they thought he was already dead. I am not an adult, but I am not a child, either.

<Still want to report back?> Rachel asked. My feelings are not easily hurt.

<l do not think it is an option now,> I replied. But still, I could not help but think it odd that James would seem to feel the need to instruct me as to what emotions were appropriate in this situation. And to question my loyalty.

I was still trying to decide what to say, when we heard the bloodcurdling cry.

Something swooped past me, clipped my

wings, and sent me spinning.

I heard cries of surprise from James and Rachel, too.

I righted myself in the air. Felt talons rake my back! I shot forward, out of my attacker's clutches. I poured on a burst of speed and wheeled to see what had attacked.

A group of peregrine falcons, reforming to strike again. Yeerks in morph.

I saw James bleeding and circling downward with a broken wing.

Rachel flew, talons extended, beak open, rushing the falcons.

The Yeerk-falcons scattered with cries of alarm and then divided into two groups of three. One group headed for me.

surged back, away from the subway station entrance. Several people were being trampled. But the Hork-Bajir guards ignored the injured humans. They quickly formed a barricade behind the crowd and continued to herd their prisoners down the station's stairs.

Whoosh!

Rachel tucked her massive wings back

against her body and zoomed down into the subway station. I followed into the relative dark. My feathers skimmed the heads of the taller humans. And every instinct of the bird and the Andalite recoiled at entering a confined and Rachel and I streaked down toward the

relatively airless space headfirst.

crowd of people being hustled into the subway Near the bottom of the stairs, first Rachel, station.

then I thrust our feet and swept our wings forSeveral of the uninfested humans saw us and ward to help slow us down. When we reached the screamed. Others ducked and covered their heads platform we righted ourselves, flapped hard to with their arms.

maintain stable, even flight.

We must have been an odd and frightening Rachel and I were inside the tunnel now. sight. A screeching eagle. A northern harrier. And And we could hear the cries of the pursuing six peregrine falcons giving chase.

falcons.

Tseew! Tseew!

<Ax, Rachel? Can you guys hear me? If you Dracon fire! But the beams went wide and hit can, I demorphed, remorphed, and followed you the concrete overhang of the subway station. in. I'm on your tails, behind these Yeerk jerks. Shattered the tile sign that announced the staAnd they're even worse at flying in this place tion's name.

than I am.>

The Dracon fire created a panic. The crowd The fact is that peregrine falcons are incredi14

bly fast flyers. But the Yeerks' inexperience with pulling ahead. At my estimation it was traveling their morphs and their own arrogant characters at approximately forty to forty-five miles per hour, would work to our advantage now. At least I creating the interesting optical illusion that there hoped so.

was no separation between cars. And that we Beneath us, humans continued to stream

were no longer moving at all.

down onto the subway platform.

In short, the train was traveling far, far faster A train sped by. The noise was disconcerting than any of us could fly.

to both my Andalite brain and the harrier brain. To land would be incredibly dangerous. But it Through the dirty windows of the train cars I saw was the only way we could possibly outfly the far too many scared human faces.

Yeerks.

This train was obviously Yeerk-controlled. I kept my eyes focused for something, anyAnd there was no choice but to follow it into the thing, to grip and hold on to. After a moment or ever-darkening tunnel. The falcons would be on two my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I could us in moments.

make out individual components of what had Through the tunnel we flew. We tried to fly been just a long, blurred strip of metal. Now I above the rushing train, not directly behind it. saw that along the right and left side of each

<What a ride!> Rachel screamed.

car's roof was a raised'lip. <Rachel. There. On I agreed. Even flying above the train we were the left and right edge. A ridge.>

pulled along by its draft. Exciting, in one way.

<l see it,> Rachel responded. <James? You Terrifying in another.

still with the Yeerks?>

But it was no use. Even with this advantage,

the six Yeerk-infested falcons were closing in.

<Okay, Ax. Go!>

Their desire to reach us was clearly overriding their inexperience and the difficulties of underground flight.

<Land on the roof of the train!> I called.

<We'll let the train lose them for us!> Imagine it.

The train whizzed beneath us but always

A moment later, Rachel landed on the car behind me. <l SO love doing that,> she laughed.

<I'm on,> James called a moment after that.

Further along the dark tunnel we raced. Carefully, without letting go and using my wings for balance, I glanced behind me.

We seemed to have lost our pursuers. It was time to abandon the train before it brought us into the Yeerk pool complex unprepared.

It was definitely time to morph.

One by one we opened our wings to catch the current and . . .