The First Journey Read online

  For Tonya Alicia Martin, who morphed this idea into reality

  CONTENTS

  TITLE PAGE

  DEDICATION

  INTRODUCTION

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  CHAPTER 27

  SNEAK PEEK

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  COPYRIGHT

  Okay, listen up. It’s Jake. You probably already know what’s going on around here. But just in case you don’t, here’s the deal: Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, Marco, Ax, and I are five kids and one alien out to save the world.

  No, this isn’t a joke. It’s real. About as real as you can get. Real enough for screaming nightmares about the things you’ve seen and done.

  Because sometimes the stuff you see in the movies, the stuff you thought could never, ever happen to you … well, it can happen. It does happen. I’ve seen it.

  I can’t tell you my last name. Or where I live. There’s an alien invasion going on. Right here on Earth. But I’m not talking little green guys with ray guns. I’m talking a much smarter way to conquer a world. Just invade people’s brains.

  I’m not nuts. I’ve seen it. And because of that, my friends and I were given a special power — the power to morph into any animal we touch. To acquire its DNA. It’s the only way we can fight the Yeerks — that’s what they call themselves. We have to find a way to stop these slugs that get into people’s heads and make them slaves.

  But things have gotten worse. We need backup. A new Animorph. We’ve tried this once before and it didn’t work out. At all. We’re going to try again. So, if you’re interested in joining us, let’s go. Just remember not to read these missions like a normal book. Check out the instructions and follow them.

  You get to choose your morphs, but I’m warning you now — choose them very carefully. You have to deal with the consequences. They can either help you, or get you totally annihilated.

  This isn’t a game. It’s serious stuff. So if you can handle it, turn to chapter 1.

  Oh. One more thing? Good luck.

  You’ll need it.

  You know you shouldn’t be doing it. You were supposed to be home at least twenty minutes ago. It’s getting dark. The smart thing to do, the only thing, really, is to ride your bike along the bike path like a law-abiding citizen. All the way home.

  But you don’t. You’re an off-road cycling freak, so you head for the construction site across from the mall. How many times have you been told not to do that? Like a million. “It’s dangerous,” your mom says. Deep pits filled with water, cinder block obstacles, dips, and downhill runs.

  In other words, highly cool.

  Last Saturday you chose a spot and yanked away the worst debris. You made this sort of single-track loop. It has a killer rolling dip and a log made out of cinder blocks that you can jump. When you’re on it, you pretend that you’re racing in one of the mountain biking clubs your mom won’t let you join because they’re too dangerous.

  Too dangerous? Just wait, Mom. Have I got a story for you. Only I can never, ever tell you. Or anyone else.

  Anyway, that night, there you are. Going around and around the track, faster and faster. There’s just barely enough light to see.

  Out of the corner of your eye, you see some dark forms moving. You stop your bike, a little nervous. You think it could be a band of homeless men who live here. But then you recognize kids from school, kids you know. Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias. You don’t know them that well, except maybe Marco. He sits next to you in science and makes jokes under his breath all during class. Thanks to him, you’re barely breaking a C.

  You think about yelling “hey!” but you don’t want to scare them. And they look like such a group, somehow. You didn’t know they were all friends. You feel a little bit left out, even though they didn’t see you. You aren’t terribly swell at making friends.

  Maybe because you spend most of your time riding around and around a makeshift track.

  The group moves away, and you keep circling the track, trying to get in some killer laps before dinner.

  You’re rounding the track for the last time, flying over the cinder block log, when you see it. A light. It’s moving fast, way faster than an airplane or helicopter. And you’d have to call the light blue, even though you don’t think you’ve ever seen that shade of blue, somehow. It’s a blue that is almost white, and yet it registers as more blue than any blue you’ve ever seen.

  That doesn’t make much sense, but neither does the light.

  You stand there, your mouth open like a fish, and watch it come closer. You see that the light has a shape. It’s like an egg with two stubby wings. The blue light is coming from a shaft at the end. And suddenly, you get what it is.

  It’s a UFO. You know it. And it isn’t because you watch the X-Files. It’s because every hair on your head is standing on end.

  Instead of running away, like a normal person, you run toward it. You keep out of sight behind a tumble of masonry and cinder blocks. That’s when you see Jake, Tobias, Marco, Cassie, and Rachel. Rachel’s hair is standing straight out from her head, so at least you’re not alone.

  Your heart pounds as the UFO lands. The kids huddle together. You can’t hear them, but you know they’re wondering what to do, like you are.

  Then you hear Tobias’s voice.

  “Please, come out. We won’t hurt you.”

 

  The voice was in your head! You didn’t hear it with your ears.

  Marco and Jake exchange glances. Tobias looks at Rachel. They all stare at each other, wide-eyed. They’ve heard it, too!

  Tobias asks if the voice will come out, and he replies yes. He warns you not to be frightened.

  You peer through a crack in the half-wall. A creature steps out of the ship. For a minute, you think of a ballet dancer. Which is crazy, because this creature has hooves. Four of them. And blue fur, and four eyes, two of them on two little horns that come out of his head. A head with no mouth. No wonder the guy talks to your brain.

  Oh, and the tail. You can’t keep your eyes off it. Or rather, the long stinger on the end of it that looks as though it could do some serious damage.

  Here’s the funny thing: You’re not that scared. Not really. First of all, there’s a nice solid wall between you and the alien. And somehow, you suspect he won’t harm you.

  you hear in your head.

  You gaze around wildly.

  he says.

  And that part about not being scared? Forget about it. Now, you’re terrified.

  You step out from behind the wall.

  “Whoa,” Marco says. “Another alien. Let the games begin.”

  But his voice shakes a little, and you know he’s scared, too.

  You stand next to the others. The alien stumbles a bit and then falls, and you realize that he’s hurt.

  he says.

  Then he tells you about the Yeerks. How they’ve invaded Earth by taking over humans. How their sluglike bodies invade people’s brains.

&nbs
p; It all sounds crazy. And terrifying. You’re relieved to hear that the Andalites — which is what the creature calls himself — are fighting the Yeerks.

  That means somebody else is taking care of it. You don’t have to worry.

 

  He is the last Andalite, he tells you. It may take a year before the rest of them return. By that time, the Yeerks will have taken over the Earth and all its people.

  “What?” you blurt out. “That’s impossible!”

  the Andalite replies, and you turn stone-cold at the way he says it.

  There is one thing he can do to help before he dies. The Andalite directs Jake to fetch a small blue box from his ship. Jake looks a little nervous, but he disappears inside, then reappears holding the box.

  The Andalite tells you that he can give you the power to morph into any animal you choose. You just have to touch the animal to require its DNA.

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” Marco says.

  You can’t believe it, either. It’s way past wacky. Way past unreal.

  Suddenly, you see red lights in the sky. Rachel sees them, too.

  the Andalite says. The hatred in his voice is like a living force. He calls the ships Bug fighters.

  You place your hand on the box next to the others. Six hands, and then the Andalite’s. You feel a shock wave run from your fingers up your arm, into your body. It doesn’t hurt. It feels … nice. Like a warm buzz of comfort.

  But then a third ship appears alongside the red lights. It is larger. Blacker than black, it is like a piece of a starless night sky. It is a strange shape.

  Jake says it’s like a medieval battle-ax. Rolling out from its surface is a feeling that you can only describe as evil. You’ve never felt this before. But you know what it is.

  the Andalite warns.

  Tobias stays behind for a moment, but the rest of you take off. You feel the urgency and the power of the Andalite’s order.

  Suddenly, you see your hand glow. You realize that your hand is in the circle of white-hot light coming from the ship. A searchlight!

  You snatch your hand back, out of the light, and run. With a burst of strength, the six of you leap over the half-wall. Your knees hit the ground hard, but you hardly feel the pain.

  Now, the searchlight from the ship illuminates the dying Andalite. The Bug fighters slowly descend.

  There is nothing you can do. Nothing.

  You watch as Visser Three exits the black Blade ship. You see the creatures called Hork-Bajir, walking weapons with blades growing out of their wrists and elbows. They serve as hosts for the Yeerks. And then the enormous, spidery Taxxons, evil creatures who willingly allowed the Yeerks to take over their brains and horrible bodies.

  Fear grips you. You’ve never known fear like this. A Hork-Bajir comes close, so close you could toss a stone and hit it. You hold your breath. You want to scream, you want to run. You have to get away….

  But you feel something warm seep in, like a curl of warm water swirling around you. The Andalite has sent you courage.

  You need the courage. Because you have to watch him die.

  In a sneering voice, Visser Three calls him Prince Elfangor. He morphs into a creature more horrible than the Taxxons, taller, bigger, with teeth three feet long. Their points are sharp as daggers.

  The fight is horrible. Already dying, the prince fights bravely. You can see there is no hope for him. And there is no mercy in Visser Three. Cassie covers her eyes. Rachel stares straight ahead, her eyes blazing hatred.

  Visser Three opens that deadly mouth with the teeth like steel spikes. Jake almost springs to help, but you help Rachel pull him back. No one can help.

  At the last very moment, you turn away. You can’t bear to see Prince Elfangor die. Not like that.

  But you hear it. You hear the scream in your head. It is more awful than anything you’ve ever heard. Tobias leans over and gags.

  The nearest Hork-Bajir turns at the sound. You see his eyes rake the darkness. You know he is listening.

  You don’t know who springs up first. But suddenly, you can’t contain the terror any longer, and you all take off. Running as fast as you ever knew you could run.

  “Split up!” Jake yells, and you veer away from the others.

  You know the construction site pretty well. The prince had said that Hork-Bajir don’t see very well in the dark, so you hug the shadows. You can hear one of them behind you, his blades whistling through the air. He is very fast.

  You stumble over a piece of rusted equipment. The Hork-Bajir is close, closer. He can’t see you, but he can hear you. You stop. You press yourself flat against the wall behind you. A chunk of the wall falls off, and you catch it in your cupped palm.

  You break out into a sweat, imagining the sound it would have made had it hit the ground. How the Hork-Bajir would turn, how his blades would flash in the air before tearing you apart….

  Wait. It’s a trick you’ve seen a million times in movies and on TV. Would he fall for it?

  Then again, do Hork-Bajir watch TV?

  You grasp the stone in your fist. With your best effort, you draw back and fire the thing like a fastball, way off to the right. You hear the soft clunk as it falls.

  The Hork-Bajir whips his horned head around and takes off after the sound, bounding like a kangaroo.

  You run in the opposite direction. Your lungs are on fire, but you keep going. You vault over cinder blocks and debris, you swing over half-built walls. You get to your mountain bike and swing one leg over.

  And then you really fly.

  You wake up the next morning feeling groggy. It was a dream, of course. A totally freaky dream that felt totally real. The worst nightmare you ever had. If you told your mom about it, she’d probably suggest counseling.

  You can hear the vacuum going outside your door, and you feel better. Vacuuming is so … normal. How can people go on vacuuming when horrible alien slugs are invading their brains?

  You peek outside the door. Your mom is vacuuming and your little sister runs out in a pink dress.

  “How’s this?” Lexie asks.

  “Fine,” Mom says, without even looking.

  You remember that Lexie’s birthday party is that day. That reassures you, too. Yesterday, a six-year-old’s birthday party would have been lame. Today, you think it’s just about the coolest thing in the world. Because it’s normal.

  Your mom sees you. “Can you keep an eye on things here?” she asks. “I have to go to the store and pick up the cake.”

  “You’re picking up the cake?” you ask. Your mom never buys a store-bought cake for birthdays. She’s a city planner and works constantly, but she also has this thing about home-baked cakes.

  “Emily is coming over to help, and after the party we’re going to a meeting tonight,” Mom tells you. “Can you baby-sit?”

  “Sure,” you say on the way to the kitchen. Baby-sitting beats dodging aliens, you think.

  Not that you dodged an alien with killer blades coming out of their wrists and elbows last night. No way. It was a dream.

  You chomp away on cereal, but it tastes like sawdust. You keep hearing Prince Elfangor’s dying scream. You remember those dagger teeth and what they did to him….

  The spoon clatters in the bowl as your stomach heaves. You bend over, your face buried in your knees, and take a deep breath. That’s when Marco walks into your kitchen.

  “Really, you don’t have to bow,” he says. “A simple ‘Lord Marco’ will do.”

  “Very funny,” you say. “I felt kind of dizzy for a minute.”

  Marco slings one leg over a kitchen chair. “It isn’t every day you see an alien prince turned into McFood,” he says.

  “So it wasn’t a bad dream,” you mutter.
/>
  “Not only that, it gets worse,” Marco tells you. “While you’ve been snoring, we’ve been morphing.”

  You stare at him. “No way.”

  “Way,” he says, tossing his longish hair behind his shoulder. “I have been designated by our fearless leader, Jake, to recruit you. So far today, Tobias has turned into a cat, Jake into the family dog, and Cassie into a truly awesome horse.”

  “I don’t believe you,” you say.

  “Yeah, I didn’t want to believe it, either,” Marco says, shrugging. “Considering that I’d like to remain alive long enough to get into an R-rated movie. But apparently, everything that Prince Elfa-diddle told us is true. Which means we’re all in big trouble.”

  “You mean there might be Controllers around?” you whisper.

  “Closer than you think,” Marco says, reaching for a banana. “Like Jake’s brother. When I told Jake I thought Tom was a Controller, he went postal. I have the jaw to prove it.” Marco rubbed his chin. “But it’s the little things you notice. Tom just hasn’t been acting like Tom. And he goes to this meeting called The Sharing. It sounds totally bogus, but we’re all going tonight. Jake says you should come, too.”

  “At least it will get me out of baby-sitting,” you say.

  Marco peels the banana and begins to eat. Suddenly, he bends his knees and lopes around the kitchen, making monkey noises. You stare at him.

  “Just kidding,” he says, grinning. “I don’t have a monkey morph yet. Just want you to stay on your toes.”

  Marco leaves, and you start thinking about what he said about Controllers. If Jake’s brother Tom could be one, so could someone in your family.

  What about Mom?

  She bought a cake for your sister’s birthday. Sure, it wouldn’t sound like a big deal to most people. But you know how weird it is. She hardly noticed Lexie’s party dress. Plus, didn’t she say something about going to a meeting?

  What if Mom is a Controller?

  And if she is, how can you find out?

  You decide to try your first morph and attend your sister’s birthday party under cover.

  You have three choices. You choose:

  A fly. Go to chapter 4.