The Predator

by K. A. Applegate

  Here's what Rachel'11 say whenever we decide to do something so dangerous it makes you want to wet yourself: "I'm in! Let's go! Let's do it!"

  I swear that, if she could, Rachel would be wearing a suit of armor and swinging a sword. And it would be a fashionable suit of armor, and she would look great in it.

  Then there is Tobias. That night in the construction site, he was just this kind of dweeby kid I barely knew. He liked Jake because Jake once kept some guys from beating him up.

  To be honest with you, I don't even remember what Tobias looked like back then. Now, of course, he looks like a fierce, angry bird of prey.

  There's a downside to the morphing power we have. A time limit of two hours. Stay more than two hours in a morph, and you stay forever.

  That's why Tobias was flying overhead, with his wide wings catching the warm updrafts. Tobias is a hawk. A red-tail hawk, to be exact. I guess he always will be.

  I tease Tobias sometimes.

  What happened to him scares me.

  Anyway, on that night we were cutting through

  13 this big, abandoned construction site. It was supposed to be a shopping center, but they got it half built and then stopped.

  Then, to make a long story short, there was this spaceship. It was carrying an Andalite who was dying of wounds he'd gotten fighting the Yeerks up in Earth orbit. Or thereabouts.

  He's the one who told us about the Yeerks. The Yeerks are parasites. They use the bodies of other species. They take them over. They control them. That's what you call a human who's been taken over - a Controller. A human Controller.

  Jake's brother, Tom, is one. A Controller.

  And Melissa, Rachel's friend, her father is one, too.

  The Andalites fight the Yeerks. They had been trying to stop the secret Yeerk invasion of Earth, but basically they got their butts kicked. Before he died, the Andalite promised us that reinforcements would come. Eventually. In the meantime, all he could do for us was give us a weapon.

  That weapon was the power to morph. To ac quire the DNA of any animal we could touch, and then to become that animal.

  So that was the deal. The five of us, five regular everyday kids, were supposed to fight the Yeerks until the Andalites came along and res cued us.

  Five kids versus the Yeerks. The Yeerks, who

  14 had already conquered the terrifying Hork-Bajir and made them into Controllers. The Yeerks, with their creepy allies, the Taxxon-Controllers. The Yeerks who had already infiltrated human society, making Controllers out of cops and teachers and soldiers and mayors and TV newspeople. They were everywhere. They could be anyone.

  And all we had was five kids who could turn into birds.

  Or gorillas.

  "I just don't think we should be morphing out on the street in order to get involved in everyday crimes," Jake lectured me. "Remember what happened at the used car lot with Rachel and Tobias - and you asked them if they were insane!"

  I was about to argue when Rachel spoke up again.

  "I think Marco did the right thing," she said. "What was he supposed to do? Just walk away? I don't think so."

  "Okay, now I know I was wrong," I said. "Any time Rachel thinks I did the right thing, it has to be wrong. Besides, that was my whole point. I risked my life for that old man, and I don't even get a thank you."

  "I don't know if it was a good idea," Cassie said, "but the feeling behind it was good. I think it was heroic."

  Well, what could I say to that? It's very hard to

  15 disagree with someone who has just called you a hero.

  Jake decided to let it go. Unfortunately, the reason he decided to drop it was that he had something bigger to talk about.

  He got his serious look.

  I groaned. I hate that serious look. It always means trouble.

  "Jake? Are you going to tell me why we're all out walking in the fields together? Aside from the fact that it's a nice day and all?"

  "We're going to see Ax," Jake explained. "Cassie and I have been talking to him the last couple days. You know, about what he wants to do."

  "Uh-oh," I muttered. "I just know I'm not going to like this."

  "Well . . . probably not. Ax wants to go home," Jake said.

  "Home?" Rachel repeated.

  "To the Andalite home world," Cassie said.

  Ax, whose real name is Aximili-Esgarrouth- Isthil, is an Andalite.

  I stopped walking. The others stopped, too. "Urn, excuse me, but isn't the Andalite home world kind of far away?"

  "Ax says it's about eighty-two light years," Jake confirmed.

  "Light travels about one hundred and eighty-

  16 six thousand miles per second," I pointed out. "Times sixty seconds per minute. Times sixty minutes per hour. Times twenty-four hours per day. Times three hundred and sixty-five days per year. That's one light year. Times eighty-two years."

  Rachel laughed. "So you have been staying awake in science class, Marco."

  "We tried to figure it out in miles. But none of our calculators go that high," Jake said.

  "You know, Jake, I could be wrong, but I don't think any of the major airlines fly to the Andalite home world," I said.

  "Uh-huh," he said with a nod. "I know. That's why we'll have to steal a Yeerk spaceship."

  17 here he is," Cassie said.

  I followed the direction of her gaze. Over toward the line of trees at the edge of the field, I saw him.

  Ax.

  The Andalite.

  From a distance you'd think he was a small horse or a deer. He has four hooved feet that flash with amazing speed. His upper body looks like a horse's neck and head, except that when he gets close enough, you see that he has two smaller, human-sized arms sticking out.

  His head is kind of a triangle, with two huge, almond-shaped eyes. Those are his main eyes. There are two extra eyes, each stuck atop a sort

  18 of stalk. The stalks stick out of the top of his head and move, pointing the extra eyes in any di rection.

  But the thing that really makes you stare is the tail.

  According to Cassie and Rachel, Ax is cute. I wouldn't know, being a guy. All I know is, when you see that tail, you know right away that An-dalites aren't exactly cuddly koala bears or pup pies.

  The Andalite tail resembles a scorpion's tail. It curls up and over, and is armed with a wicked scythe blade. They can strike with those tails faster than your eye can see.

  I'd seen the first Andalite do it. In the sec onds before the evil creature known as Visser Three murdered the Andalite prince, he had struck with that tail again and again.

  That memory came back to me as I watched Ax galloping toward us, tail arched and ready.

  "I hope there's no one around," Jake said anxiously. He scanned the area. It was pretty re mote. Cassie's house and barn were way out of sight. And there was no reason why anyone would be in this distant field.

  I looked up and saw Tobias's reddish tail feathers. I gave him a wave.

  «AII clear,» Tobias called down to us in

  19 thought-speak. «There's some people having a picnic, but that's a couple miles from here.»

  Ax came galloping up. «Prince Jake!» he said, also in thought-speak.

  Jake groaned. Ax had gotten it into his head that Jake was our leader, which was partly true. And I guess for an Andalite, any leader is some kind of prince.

  Ax has no mouth. No one had asked him yet how he ate with no mouth.

  He communicates by thought-speech. It's the same way we communicate when we're morphed. For us humans it only works when we're morphed. For Andalites, it's the normal way to communi cate.

  "Hi, Ax," Jake said, as the Andalite came to a skidding stop just a few feet from us. "How are you doing?"

  «l am well. And each of you?»

  "I'm fine," Cassie said.

  Tobias swooped down out of the sky. He braked and landed neatly on the grass.

  "I'm fine, too, Ax," I said. "Or at least I was until I heard someone say som
ething really stu pid."

  Ax looked uncertain. He swiveled one of his stalk eyes forward to get a better look at me. «What stupid thing was said?»

  20 "Someone said we were going to try and steal a Yeerk spaceship," I said.

  He smiled an Andalite smile, which is hard to describe, except that it involves his main eyes. «You think it will be dangerous?»

  "Dangerous? No, jumping off a ten-story build ing is dangerous. Sticking your tongue in an elec trical socket is dangerous - not to mention painful. But stealing a Yeerk ship is beyond dangerous."

  «The higher the danger, the higher the honor,» Ax said. «ls this not true?»

  I gave Rachel a sidelong look. "I think we've found your future husband."

  "It may be honorable to try and get a Yeerk ship, Ax," Jake said, "but honor isn't our most important goal."

  The Andalite looked surprised - I think. His main eyes widened, and his stalk eyes stretched up to their maximum height. It looked like sur prise to me.

  «What else do you fight for, if not honor?»

  Jake shrugged. "Look, we're trying to do whatever we can to hurt the Yeerks. But we're also try ing to stay alive. We're all there is. I mean, no one else even knows there is a Yeerk invasion. So if something happens to us . . ." He let it hang.

  «l did not mean to offend,» Ax said. «You are

  21 right, of course. You are alone. If you fail, all is lost.»

  "So the question is whether this is something we can do without getting killed," Jake pointed out.

  "Yeah, we're mostly against the idea of getting killed," I added. "So how are we supposed to grab a Yeerk ship? They're up in orbit. We're down here. It's not like we can call them up and ask them to come down."

  «Yes, we can do that,» Ax said.

  "What?"

  «We can call them.»

  "Right."

  «l can create a Yeerk distress beacon. They will send a ship to investigates

  "You mean like, 'Hello? Hello? Is this Visser Three? Could you send a ship down to pick me up?'" I said.

  I expected everyone to laugh because the idea was so totally ridiculous. No one laughed.

  "Dm, excuse me?" I said, trying again. "Per sonally, I have had plenty of Visser Three in my life. I don't need to call him on the phone."

  «lt will not involve that . . . that foul beast,» Ax said.

  That was one thing I liked about Ax. He hated Visser Three. He reminded me of the Andalite

  22 prince, who was Ax's older brother. When either of them said the word "Yeerk," let alone "Visser Three," you could just feel the air vibrating from their anger.

  «lt will be a minor matter,» Ax said. «They will hear a distress beacon and send a Bug fighter to investigates

  "There is always at least one Hork-Bajir and one Taxxon aboard each Bug fighter," I pointed out. "Anytime you start playing with Hork-Bajirs, it's not a minor thing."

  «Do you fear them?» Ax demanded. He stared at me with all four eyes.

  "You better believe I fear them."

  «Fear is unworthy of a warrior.»

  He seemed a little too determined for me. I don't know much about Andalites, but I had a feeling I understood this one, at least a little. See, he was alive. But every other Andalite who had come to Earth, including Ax's brother, the prince, was dead.

  So I took a shot. It wasn't fair, maybe, but he'd made me mad, acting like I was some kind of coward. "How many times have you fought Hork-Bajir? Or any other Controller?" I asked him.

  His stalk eyes drooped. He pawed the ground with one hoof. «Never,» he said.

  I nodded. "I thought so. So let me tell you

  23 something, Ax. It's scary. It's so scary that some times you wish you could just go ahead and die because it's easier than dealing with the terror."

  Well, I thought as I looked around at my friends, that pretty well killed everyone's happy mood.

  It was Tobias who broke the silence. «lf you get a Yeerk ship, can you get back to the Andalite home world?»

  Ax seemed abashed, but he answered, «Yes. I hope so.»

  «And if you make it, can you do anything to hurry your people up? To get them back here quicker?»

  «l am young. Like you. But I am the brother of Prince Elfangor. My people will listen to me. I ... I know that they will come, either way. But yes, perhaps if I can return and tell them how desperate your situation is . . .»

  Jake took a deep breath. "Okay. Time for a vote."

  I groaned. I already knew what it would be.

  24 Okay , ready?" I asked.

  «Yes. I am prepared to begin the morph,» Ax said.

  It was Saturday. A couple of days after we had all agreed to go ahead with the plan to capture a Yeerk ship. We were in Cassie's barn, surrounded by cages full of injured animals and birds. Cassie's father and mother were both away for the day.

  Jake checked his watch. "Ten after ten," he reported.

  "Ax starts morphing at ten-twelve and is done by ten-fifteen. The bus will be at the stop at ten twenty-five," I said. "It will arrive at the mall at eleven. By that point Ax will have been in morph

  25 for forty-five minutes. That leaves an hour and fifteen minutes on the two-hour morph time."

  "Is it enough time?" Cassie wondered. She was biting her lip nervously.

  I shrugged. "Thirty minutes to reach Radio Shack, find what Ax needs to make his transmitter, buy it and get back to catch the eleven-thirty bus home. That gets back here at five after twelve. Ten minutes to spare."

  Jake was looking pretty stony-faced, which is how he looks when he's not sure if something will work.

  "It's the best we can do," I said.

  "I know. Everyone ready?" Jake asked.

  "I should go with you guys," Rachel said for like the tenth time that morning. "I should be there."

  "No. We can't all go. If something goes wrong, we don't want everyone caught at once," I said. "And something is sure to go wrong."

  «Why do you say that?!» Ax demanded sharply.

  Jake smiled. "Marco doesn't believe in opti mism."

  Tobias flew almost silently into the barn through the open hayloft. «lt's still all clear. And the bus is right on schedule, over on Margolis Av enues

  "Okay, Ax. Time to morph," Jake said.

  26 "And, um, don't forget the morphing outfit, okay?" I reminded him. The concept of clothing kind of puzzled the Andalite. We'd gotten him skintight bike shorts and a T-shirt that he could use for morphing, but he still didn't know why.

  It's one of the most annoying things about morphing - dealing with clothing. We'd learned how to morph clothing, but only things that were real tight-fitting. Any time you tried to morph a jacket or sweater they just ended up shredded. And shoes? Forget about shoes.

  «Clothing, yes,» he said. «l have integrated it into my human morph.»

  "Time," Jake said, pointing at his watch.

  Ax began to change.

  I'd only seen him do it once before - soon after we rescued him from the sunken Andalite dome ship.

  I've seen a lot of morphing. I've done a lot of it, too. It's always creepy watching a human being become some strange animal. But watching Ax morph was different. He wasn't becoming an animal. He was becoming a human being.

  The stalk eyes shrank and disappeared in his head. The deadly scorpion tail shriveled and withered and slithered up inside him like someone sucking up a piece of spaghetti.

  His front hooves disappeared completely.

  27 "Whoa, look out," Jake said. He caught the Andalite as he fell forward, with no front legs to support him.

  «Thank you. I must practice standing with only two legs.»

  A gash opened in his face and grew lips and teeth. A nose grew where there had just been small vertical slits. His eyes became smaller, more human.

  But the weirdest thing about Ax morphing was not just that he looked like a human. It was that he looked like a particular human.

  Actually, four particular hu
mans. See, he had absorbed DNA from Jake and Cassie and Rachel and me. Somehow, by some process we did not understand, he was able to combine all four genetic patterns to come up with one person.

  The end result was definitely strange and dis turbing.

  I looked at him and saw some of myself, and Jake, and Rachel and Cassie, too, although Ax was male. That was the most bizarre part. Look ing at him and thinking, Hey, he looks familiar. Really familiar. In fact, hey, that's my hair!

  "Ax, you could be either a really pretty guy, or a kind of unattractive girl," I said.

  "I am an Andalite," he said. "Andalite. Lite. Ite."

  28 "Okay, put on those additional clothes," Jake said. "Let's get going. Tobias?" He looked up to the rafters.

  «0n my way. I'll check on the bus,» Tobias said, and flew away.

  "More clothing? Clo. Clo-theeeeng. Clo- theeng?" Ax said.

  "Ax? Don't do that," I said.

  "What? Wha wha wha. Tuh."

  "That. Where you play with the sounds. Just say what you need to say, and stop."

  Like I said, the Andalites have no mouths and no spoken speech. Ax seemed to think mouths were some kind of toy.

  "Yes," Ax agreed. "Yah. Ess."

  "And one other thing? The shoes go on your feet. Not in your pockets."

  "Yes. I remember. Mem. Ber." He pulled his sneakers out of his pockets and looked at them helplessly. Rachel and Cassie each took a foot and got him laced up.

  "People are going to think he's weird," Rachel said, sounding exasperated.

  "Fortunately, it's the mall on a Saturday morning," I pointed out. "It'll be full of weird people."

  "Not this weird," Rachel said. "This could be trouble."

  "Isn't it a little late for you to admit that I was

  29 right and this idea is insane?" I asked her. "Be sides, no need to worry. I'll be there."

  "Great. Then it's sure to be a disaster."

  We caught the bus without any problem. Ax made strange mouth noises the entire trip, but the bus was mostly empty.

  We got to the mall right on time.

  "So far, so good," Jake said as we headed into the mall.

  I rolled my eyes. "Jake? Do me a favor. Don't ever say 'so far, so good.' The only time anyone ever says 'so far, so good' is right before every thing blows up in his face."