- still partly wild animals, doing whatever it takes to survive, and partly . . . partly I don't know what. Maybe something more than the other animals." "Well, I know one thing. All the animals take care of themselves. But only one animal has the intelligence and the power to help save all the other species." I nodded. "You're pretty smart sometimes, Jake," I said. "Just sometimes?" "You're right. Only one animal can help to save all the other animals. Only humans can do that. Of course, we have to save ourselves first." I sighed. "It's still too complicated." I saw a shadow flash overhead. I looked up and saw Tobias. He dropped down into the trees and reappeared on a branch just up the trail. "Hi, Tobias," I called up to him. less-than Hi, Cassie. Hello everyone. Hello, hello, hello He was definitely feeling pretty smug about something. "What's up, Bird-boy?" Marco asked him. less-than l've just been checking on our friends at the logging camp. They now have two entire truck-loads of juice. They've made trip after trip for juice. They dug out a big pit in the ground and made a kind of swimming pool filled with the stuff. Visser Three's been in it most of the night and all this morning. Judging by the way everyone is staying back, I'm guessing he still stinks. Pluseagreater-than Tobias added with a slightly evil laugh, less-than the Visser is now a very lovely, attractive shade of purple. greater-than "Gee, that's too bad," Rachel said. "I feel so sorry for him." less-than Soon he may begin to suspect the trutheagreater-than Ax said. "Think maybe we should have told him the truth? That it's tomato juice, not grape juice that washes away skunk smell?" I asked. We all looked at each other, and broke up laughing at the same moment. "Nah, I didn't think so," I said. Don't miss
The AndrQid confHave his larco. What are you doing8greater-than It was Ax. I scampered down off the beetle, feeling like I'd been caught doing something wrong. The beetle ran on, relieved to have escaped. If beetles can feel relief. less-than Nothing. I was just letting the spider be a spider. greater-than It was a pretty good answer, I thought. less-than like guess its instincts kind of carried me away. greater-than less-than Marco, I morphed the identical spidereagreater-than Ax said. I felt a wave of guilt and shame suddenly swell up inside me. less-than Ax, it was just a cockroach. Who cares? Come on, we have a job to do. greater-than less-than Sometimes humans worry meeagreater-than Ax said. . . . less-than like think it's this way. greater-than He took the lead and I saw him moving in front of me, a big spider scurrying effortlessly on his eight legs. I fell in behind him. I was calm now. The incredible, insane rush of the chase was over. Now the spider was just a tool I was using. Suddenly, from the sky ... something fell toward me! It landed right between Ax and me. A grasshopper, three, four times our size. It looked like an elephant. Then . . . THWAP! It fired its huge hind legs and shot into the air. It disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. We raced on through the forest, covering the two hundred feet between us and the edge of the party. I sensed the nearness of humans. I "heard" vibrations that might ha ve been speech, but the voices were too garbled to make any sense out of. less-than Hey, Marco, Ax, you guys around8greater-than It was Jake's thought-speak voice. less-than Yes, Prince Jakeeagreater-than Ax answered. less-than We are here.greater-than less-than We're not pretty, but we're hereeagreater-than I added. less-than Cool. I'm not exactly handsome myself. I'm a fly morph. Haven't found our boy Erek yet, though. greater-than Something massive and slow appeared in the air above me. I scampered sideways. It landed slowly with a loud WHOOOMPHHH! A human foot. A shoe. Nike. less-than You know, I'd been worrying someone might step on meeagreater-than I said. less-than But humans are so slow. greater-than less-than Be careful anywayeagreater-than Jake said. less-than Let me know if you find Erek. greater-than less-than like don't know how I'm supposed to recognize hmeagreater-than I complained. less-than These spider eyes aren't good at seeing distances. And human heads seem to be way up in the clouds, from where I'm crawling down here.greater-than But Ax and I went on, skittering swiftly through a forest of huge, slow-moving legs and feet. Then, right in front of me, I saw it. It looked like a bare human foot. Except that I could see through the skin. Through the toenails. With my eight strange, distorted spider eyes I could see right through the electronic haze of the hologram. I could see what was beneath the hologram. I saw what looked like interlocking plates of steel and ivory. The "foot" had no toes. In fact, it wasn't shaped like a human foot. More like a paw. It was not human. And everything in my tingling, buzzing, hyper spider's senses told me it was not alive. less-than Ax8greater-than less-than Yes, I see it. greater-than less-than What is x8greater-than less-than like do not know. greater-than less-than lt looks like a machine, almost. Like it's made out of metal. greater-than less-than Yeseagreater-than Ax said. less-than like think your old friend Erek may be an android. greater-than
The Secret Page 8