The Visitor

by K. A. Applegate

  ." "Host rebellion," Ms. Chapman muttered un der her breath. She seemed horrified and fasci nated all at once. Then, suddenly, her left hand slapped her own face. "Ahhhhh! Mine . . . mine . . . too." "Stop it, Chapman," Chapman said. "Stop it or I'll break you! I'll leave you nothing but a shell! You cannot win. No host has ever suc ceeded in rebelling!" But the Chapman host wasn't giving up. It was terrible. Terrible in a way that made you want to watch. To anyone else it would have just looked as if our assistant principal and his wife were nuts. Chapman was talking to himself and twitching and contorting, still unable to get to his feet. less-than The hosts are fighting the Yeerksffgreater-than I told Jake. less-than The human brains are resisting. Chapman is out of control. Ms. Chapman is trying to choke herself with her own hand. The Yeerk is trying to regain control. It's incredibleffgreater-than less-than like can't believe it! I can't believe the hosts can fight back this ha rd. greater-than less-than lt's because of Melissa. They're fighting for their daughters "Aaaarrrr)h!" Chapman cried. Suddenly he lurched to his feet. "I will win, Chapman. You cannot resist!" And it was true. The Chapman host was los ing. Iniss two two six was regaining control. The same was happening with Ms. Chapman. The Yeerk in her head was forcing the rebellious hand away from her throat. But neither of the Chapmans looked good. less-than They're exhaustedeagreater-than I reported to Jake. less-than They're regaining control, but they're both a mess. Sweating. Pale. Still trembling and jerk ing caret Chapman looked at his wife. Or at least the Yeerk slug in Chapman's brain ordered his eyes to look toward the body that was controlled by a different Yeerk. It was harder now to think of Chapman as just being Chapman. I had seen proof that there were two creatures inside him. I even knew what that was like. There were two people in my head as well. I had fought to control the shrew, just as the Chapman Yeerk now fought to control Chapman's brain. Chapman said, "I have control again." Ms. Chapman nodded. "Yes. But just barely. They fight fiercely for their children, these hu mans." "And they will not stop fighting. I can't main tain my cover with this host waiting to attack at every opportunity. I have to be at the school every day. The host is beaten and exhausted for now, but in a few days he will strike again." Chapman sounded angry and frustrated. "He's not a fool. He knows he can't win ... he knows each battle will leave him weaker and that eventually I will triumph." Ms. Chapman kicked my cage, like it was all my fault. "He doesn't have to win. All he has to do is wait until you are in a meeting with parents or members of the school board, then strike. They'll think you've lost your mind." Chapman looked haunted. He checked his watch. "I'll take the Andalite to Visser Three. Maybe . . . maybe I can make him understand." "Go, quickly," Ms. Chapman told her hus band. Chapman snatched up the cage I was in. He barreled through the door. He slammed me into the doorjamb on the way. "Daddy? Daddy? What are you doing?" It was Melissa. She was across the living room. I hadn't seen her arrive. Where had she been? I could only pray that she had not heard everything. If she'd heard it all, there was no hope for her. Chapman kept walking. Out into the wet night. "Daddy? Do you have Fluffer in there?" less-than lt's Melissaeagreater-than I told Jake. less-than lf she doesn't back off, she's going to force them to take herffgreater-than "Daddy?" Melissa sounded frightened now. She came running. Chapman moved quicker. The real Chapman was helping. He knew his daughter would only make things worse if she tried to intervene. "Fluffer!" Melissa cried. There was only one hope. less-than Tobias8greater-than I cried out, making my thought-speech as loud as I could. less-than Tobias, can you hear me8greater-than His answer was faint, but it was Tobias. less-than Yes, Rachel. greater-than less-than The real Fluffer! We need him. We need him right nowffgreater-than less-than Rachel, what is going on out there8greater-than Jake demanded. "Fluffer! Why are you taking Fluffer? Daddy, stop!" Out the front door we went. Out into the night. Melissa, sobbing pitifully. Jake, demand ing to know what was happening. Chapman, walking as fast as he could. Melissa grabbed her father's arm. The cage wobbled wildly. "Daddy, you can't take Fluffer. Don't take him away! What are you doing?" The car. I could see it in the driveway. We were almost there. Suddenly, I heard a yowling, yammering, high-pitched sound that started as a hiss and ended as a shriek. Like a bullet he came, racing across the lawn. The real Flutter. He was running like every monster in the world was right behind him. In the darkness the humans couldn't see what was scaring Flutter so badly. But with my cat eyes I could see perfectly. Just a few feet off the ground, like some dark shadow of death, came Tobias. Flutter must have recognized his cage. He must have figured that if he just got inside he'd be safe from the talons of the raptor that pursued him. Flutter leaped toward the cage. He glommed onto it and tried to dig his claws into the plastic. For one frozen instant Flutter McKitty saw something he never expected to see. Flutter saw himself. It was almost as weird for me. The cat in my head was totally baffled. This new cat smelled exactly like himself. This did not make any sense at all. It meant nothing. It wasn't even a part of any cat reality. The human part of me noticed a small cut on Flutter's head. Tobias had taken a good swipe at him to get him moving in the right direction. "Flutter?" Melissa said. "But . . ." She tried to peer inside the cage. Chapman was quick. "No, sweetheart," he said. "This isn't Flutter at all. It's some other cat that sneaked into the basement. He's different. I'm taking him to the shelter so his owners can pick him up." "But why didn't you just tell me that?" Chapman looked confused. "I ... I didn't no tice you." Melissa stepped back like she'd been slapped. "But Daddy, I was crying." "Sorry." Chapman shrugged. He shoved the cage into the backseat. We drove off. I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew Melissa wasn't safe yet, but she was safe for now, at least. less-than Good work, Tobiaseagreater-than I said. But I don't think he could hear me. And I couldn't see out of the windows, so I didn't know if he or Marco or Cassie were anywhere close. less-than Jake? You still with me8greater-than less-than Yes. Do you have a minute to fill me in? This flea existence is fine for hiding, but I can't tell anything about what's going on. greater-than less-than I'm in a cat carrier. Chapman's in the front seat. He watches me through the rearview mirror. He still has the Dracon beam. I think maybe I'm in pretty big trouble here.greater-than less-than We're not beaten yeteagreater-than Jake said. less-than Jake, time must be getting short. It's been at least an hour. You must have morphed before me. You need to get away and morph back. greater-than less-than We still have timeeagreater-than Jake said. less-than You have a watch, Jake8greater-than I asked. less-than like don't think so. You're what, about twice the size of a period on the page of a book? You can't risk be ing trapped in a flea morph. Besides, there's nothing you can do. greater-than We hadn't traveled far before the car started bouncing and rattling over rough road. less-than As soon as we get outside you need to jump off, Jakeeagreater-than I said. less-than Just make yourself jump away from warmth and away from the smell of blood. You can do that greater-than The car came to a stop. less-than Rachel, there is no way I'm going to leave you alone. greater-than I knew he was trying to be brave, but he was making me mad. less-than Jake, we're trapped. He's got a Dracon beam and I'm in a cage. Visser Three is coming to get me. I can't morph back or they'll see I'm human. Chapman will recognize me. How long do you think it will take them to figure out who the rest of us are? It would be the end of us all. The end of the Animorphs. The end of the only hope for stopping these guys. Come on, Jake, you know it's true. greater-than less-than We're not beaten yeteagreater-than Jake repeated stub bornly. less-than The only hope is for me to stay in cat morpheagreater-than I said. less-than They'll probably. . . you know . . . but at least they'll never find out about the rest of you. Now jump off me. greater-than Chapman got out of the car. He came around and opened the back door. "Time to meet the Visser, Andalite. He'll have a wonderful time with you." Chapman lifted me out of the backseat. I looked out through the bars. less-than We're at the construction siteeagreater-than I told Jake. less-than Now get off me. greater-than less-than I'm not comgreater-than I couldn't argue with Jake anymore. I was afraid now. Af
raid. I could picture what Visser Three might do to me. less-than Sorry, Jake, but this time I'm the bosseagreater-than I said. I cocked my rear leg and started scratching in that rapid catlike way. less-than What the ... what are you doing8greater-than less-than I'm scratching. I want you off me. greater-than less-than 0kay, okayeagreater-than Jake said. less-than Just stop it. It's like an earthquake here. Okay, Rachel. You're right. We've lost this battle. greater-than Chapman carried the cage into the construction site. I could see the ground go by beneath me. I could see through the bars all the half-built cinderblock buildings. I could see the very spot where the five of us had cowered in terror while Visser Three had morphed into a monster and swallowed the Andalite prince. The Andalite's last despairing cry came back to me. He had lost his fight. Now I was losing mine. Maybe there was no hope. Maybe we were fools to even try and resist the Yeerks. less-than Get out of here, Jakeeagreater-than I said. less-than 0kay, Rachel. Here I go. Look ... be strong, Rachel. greater-than less-than Yeah, Jake. You too. greater-than less-than Jumping . . disgreater-than A few seconds later, Chapman put me down on the ground. He waited beside the cage. The two of us stared off into the darkness. I decided to make sure Jake was gone. less-than Jake? Jake8greater-than No answer. less-than Jake, answer me. I've changed my mind. I want you to stay with me. greater-than If he had lied to me, he would answer now. less-than Come on, Jake, I've changed my mind. I need you. greater-than No answer. He was t ruly gone. That fact filled me with grim satisfaction. If Jake and the others survived, there would still be some hope. But the feeling of loneliness was awful. Then I heard the sound of something large, moving swiftly in the air. I pressed my head against the door and looked up. Three craft were descending toward the construction site. Two of them were smaller, about the size of one of those recreational vehicles, maybe a little larger. They had a cowled, insectlike look. They looked like beetles with twin long, serrated spears pointed forward on each side. The An dalite had called them Bug fighters. The third craft was much larger, shaped like an angular battle-ax. It was black on black, sharp, and deadly looking. As it sank slowly to ward us I felt my fear grow. It was not the cat that was afraid. It was me, the human. The cat didn't know what this ship was. I did. I had seen it before. The Andalite had called it a Blade ship. It was the personal ship of Visser Three. And terror seemed to flow from it. I could smell the fear sweat on Chapman. I guess I was glad he was scared, too. Maybe Visser Three would become the Vanarx and suck the Chapman Yeerk out of Chapman's head. Maybe the true Chapman would experience a few seconds of freedom before he was killed. Maybe the Chapman Yeerk would suffer before Visser Three finished him off. Maybe. Fear is like a worm inside you. It eats you. It chews your guts. It bores holes in your heart. It makes you feel hollow. Empty. Alone. Fear. The Blade ship landed between two half- finished buildings. The Bug fighters came to rest on either side. They looked so strange, parked between the yellow-painted earthmovers and graders in the construction site. The earthmovers looked like toys. The alien craft looked like deadly weapons. I was afraid. I tried to borrow the cat's courage, his indifference. But then the door of the Blade ship opened. I had no courage. Only fear.

  Vi sser Three in person is worse than Visser Three as a hologram. There's nothing horrible about him. Not when he's in his normal Andalite body, at least. Andalites are strange-looking, that's for sure. But they aren't frightening. But I had met a real Andalite. You could feel the difference between a real Andalite and the evil beast that was Visser Three. It was like he glowed with some dark light. A light that cast a shadow over your mind. Visser Three. Even Chapman feared him. Around the Visser, two Hork-Bajir guards de ployed. Each was holding a Dracon beam, not that Hork-Bajir ever looked like they needed weapons. They were weapons. Marco had called

  them walking Salad Shooters. They were living razor blades. Wickedly curved blades raked for ward from their foreheads. More blades were at their elbows and wrists. Their feet were like Tobias's talons, only much bigger, like Tyrannosaur feet. They were seven feet tall, maybe a little more, with a spiked tail. The Andalite had told us that the Hork-Bajir were a good people, enslaved by the Yeerks, just the same way the Yeerks wanted to enslave humans. But it was hard to look at a Hork-Bajir and think they had ever been anything but killing machines. Behind the Hork-Bajir came four Taxxons. Imagine a centipede. Now imagine a centipede twice the length of a man and just as big around. Imagine that the centipede holds the upper third of its body erect. Imagine pointed legs like steel pins below, and smaller legs with little claws as you get closer to the head. Not that it has a real head. There are four separate globs that look like chopped-up red Jell-O that are the Taxxon's eyes. And at the very top , a mouth. The mouth is perfectly round an lined with row after row of small, needle teeth. The Andalite told us that the Taxxons are all voluntary hosts. They are allies of the Yeerks. And yet, as horrible as the Hork-Bajir and the

  Taxxons were, it was Visser Three who made your skin crawl. Without the hologram communicator, the Visser communicated in the usual Andalite fashion. He thought-spoke, much like we all did when we were in morph. less-than That is the Andalite bandit8greater-than he asked Chapman. "Yes, Visser.? Visser Three advanced toward me, almost mincing on his delicate Andalite legs, looking like a cross between a deer, a human, and a scorpion. He aimed his main eyes at me. His stalk eyes canned the area, always watchful. He brought his face close to the cage. I was staring right into his face. I could see the nose slits open and close as he breathed. I could see the large, almond-shaped eyes narrow as he peered inside to get a better look at me. He was only inches away. I should have tried to reach through the bars and at least bloody him a little. But the fear was all over me. I was sick with terror. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I couldn't stand his eyes watching me. I turned away, afraid to look. less-than Not so brave now, my Andalite fr8greater-than Visser Three asked. It was the first time any of us had ever been spoken to directly by the Visser. His voice was in my head, threatening and cruel and foul beyond description. It was a voice full of power -- and hate. When he called me an Andalite, I almost burst out, "No, no, Visser, not an Andalite. A hu man. A human!" It was like I could feel the terrible force of his will battering me. In an instant I knew: I would never survive his questioning. I would tell him everything. His power was a million times greater than mine. His will was a vast, huge, irresistible thing. And what was I? Just some foolish little girl. A foolish, lost girl. Lost. And yet, even as I felt my own mind wither before the black terror of Visser Three, another mind came forward. I was not alone. There was another in my head with me. Someone whose species memory had no images of Visser Three. Fluffer. Fluffer's mind contained fears, but they were different from my fears. Fluffer feared big predator birds. Fluffer feared loud aggressive dogs. Fluffer feared dominant male cats. But Fluffer was not at all impressed by Visser Three. On the edge of absolute panic, I let the cat in my mind take over. I sank back, hiding behind the calm cat brain. Visser Three took the cage from Chapman. He lifted it up so he could see inside better. And what did I do? What did Fluffer do? He stuck his little pink nose up against the bars and sniffed the air. Fluffer wanted to find out what this creature was, and that meant getting a good smell of him. less-than This is similar to the orange-and-black crea ture that invaded the pooleagreater-than Visser Three said. It took me a second to track on this. Then I realized: He meant Jake. Jake had been in his tiger morph when we battled in the Yeerk pool. "Yes, Visser," Chapman said. "They are a family of animals. Felines. These are the small est." less-than like see you damaged my servant Iniss two two six, Andaliteeagreater-than Visser Three said to me. less-than No one ever accused you Andalites of lacking courage. You are a race of fools, but brave. greater-than What was I supposed to say? Thank you? less-than Why not answer me, Andalite? I know you hear my words. This charade is pointless. I know what you are. greater-than I said nothing. I tried to think nothing. I was afraid that if I said anything he would instantly know I was not an Andalite. And if he re alized I was hu
man . . . the others would never be safe. I had to stay in this body. I had to die in this body, and take my secret with me. Visser Three put my cage back down. less-than Now. Where is the girl? I have promised her to Iniss four five five. Iniss four five five is a spawn mate of yours, I believe. We will do the infestation aboard the mother ship, and I will have the girl returned tomorrow. Where is she8greater-than "Visser ... I ..." Chapman said. The mask of politeness dropped from Visser Three in a microsecond. Even my cat eyes could barely follow his movements, they were so swift. Visser Three grabbed Chapman around the neck. His Andalite tail arched forward. The dagger point of the tail was in Chapman's face. less-than Do you defy me8greater-than It was like a hiss. The hiss of a snake. "n-n-n-o, no, Visser." Chapman was shaking like a leaf. "I would never defy you. It's only . . . the host. Chapman. He and the woman rebelled." less-than Aren't you able to control your host8greater-than Visser Three sneered. less-than Do you think the Andalite mind that still lives in this body never resists? Do you imagine that your human host is more powerful than my own Andalite host?" This wasn't going very well for Chapman. Either the real, human Chapman, or the human- Controller that called itself Chapman. "Visser, I ... I only report the facts to you. M-m-my host is under control. But I am constantly in contact with humans. I occupy a responsible position in their society. I cannot have my host body causing me to twitch and shake. Humans see such things as signs of mental illness. I could lose my position. And I would no longer be of any use to you." less-than You are barely of use to me noweagreater-than Visser Three sneered. "Visser, my host begs leave to address you di rectly," Chapman said. Visser Three hesitated. I saw his stalk eyes scan around, checking for any signs of threat. In stinctively I looked around, too. I had no way of knowing how well Visser Three's borrowed An dalite eyes could see in the dark. But for me the darkness was no barrier. I looked. I didn't even know what I was looking for. But all I saw were the Hork-Bajir and the Taxxons, the Yeerk ships, silent and dark, and the buildings and forlorn construction equipment of the site. Then I caught a glimpse of movement. It was in the woods that bordered the construction site. A swift side-to-side movement, just the sort of thing my cat eyes noticed best. But when I stared closer, I saw no further movement. Probably just another Hork-Bajir patroling. less-than like will allow the host to address meeagreater-than Visser Three said. I craned my head up as well as I could to watch. For a moment, nothing changed. Then, suddenly, Chapman sagged. It was like he was a marionette and someone had cut his strings. He collapsed, straight down. His legs just twisted up under him. He tried to stand up. But it was as if he didn't know how to make his legs work. They would jerk and suddenly kick out, but he could not stand. Finally, he gave up. "Fisher," he mumbled. "Fisher Hree. Sor . . . I ... sorry. Visher. Visser. Visser Three." The real, human Chapman had been out of control of his own body for so long he no longer remembered how to move or speak. "Visser Three," he said again. His voice was slurry and strange. less-than Speak, you fooleagreater-than Visser Three snapped. less-than Do you think I can stay here forever8greater-than "Visser Three. You ... We had a deal. You know I never wanted to join you. My wife did. But I said no. But . . . but then my wife ... no longer my wife by then, of course." Suddenly he began to cry. I could see his tears very clearly. "My wife who was no longer my wife ... my wife who was one of your creatures . . . threatened . . . threatened to give you my daughter." Chapman managed to raise one clumsy hand to his eyes. "I forgive her. She was weak. And you feed on weakness." less-than Yes, yes, get to the pointeagreater-than Visser Three said. A Hork-Bajir moved closer. He muttered something to the Visser, then moved away. I couldn't hear or understand what the Hork-Bajir had said, but it looked as if he was reminding Visser Three that they shouldn't hang around too long. "The point is," Chapman said, "that I agreed to be made into a host. I agreed to ... to ..." He looked like he was about to throw up. "I agreed to surrender my freedom. To become a Controller. To accept this filthy thing in my head. To accept your control. I agreed . . . but only if you would spare my daughter." It felt like my heart had stopped beating. Chapman had become a Controller to save Melissa? He had given more than his life to save his daughter? less-than The situation has changedeagreater-than Visser Three said. less-than The Chapman person is an important part of our work. We cannot have him endangered by some uncontrollable human. greater-than "The girl -- Melissa -- is no threat. But . . ." Chapman struggled to lift himself up once again with clumsy legs and awkward arms. He rose to his knees. Then slowly, slowly, he stood up. He was wobbling and swaying, but he was standing. "The girl is no threat," he repeated in a stronger, more confident voice. "But I am."