The Unknown Read online

164 he official story in the newspaper and on the local TV news was that a group of pranksters had dressed up as monsters and vandalized the House of Horrors.

  They had also carried out a mock abduction of an Air Force captain named Torrelli. The captain was only slightly injured.

  Captain Torrelli was quoted in the newspaper as saying, "It was those kids! I am looking for three kids named Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, and Cindy Crawford."

  The reporter wondered if perhaps Captain Torrelli had been drinking. And when Captain Torrelli was asked what an Air Force officer was doing at a company outing for Condor Industries,

  165 he said, "No comment. Forget I said anything at all. I was obviously mistaken. Nothing happened."

  We met up at the barn the next day. Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Ax, Marco, and me. The Ani-morphs. The six kids who are trying to save the world.

  "Just one question," Rachel asked. "Don't you think, in all fairness, in all decency, in all kindness, we should tell Captain Torrelli he's guarding an alien toilet?"

  I shook my head. "No, Rachel. That wouldn't be kind at all. He and the others have a meaning to their lives now. Why should we destroy all that and make them feel trivial and foolish?"

  "Ooooh, wisdom," Marco mocked gently. "Deep."

  "So the Most Secret Place On Earth remains secret," Jake said thoughtfully. "Maybe that is wise."

  «The Yeerks will continue to try and penetrate the secret of Zone Ninety-one,» Tobias pointed out.

  "Yeah, but the captain will really be on guard now," Jake said.

  "Besides, maybe it's all for the good. It will keep them busy, keep the Yeerks from doing anything more dangerous," Rachel said with a laugh. "Everyone needs a project, right? Every-

  166 one needs some hopeless cause to pursue. A quest. A mission."

  As she said that last part, she was eyeing the hem of my jeans. Then she started shaking her head. "When did you buy those, Cassie, when you were four?" she asked.

  "These jeans are fine."

  "Yeah, if you're expecting a flood."

  "Wait a minute!" I held up my hand. "Isn't this how this whole thing started?"

  "Leave Cassie alone," Jake said, laughing. "We're not going to start this all over. No way."

  "Except maybe for the horse-racing thing," Marco said. "See, all I'm saying is, we morph racehorses, right? And then we bet -"

  And that's when I dumped a bucket of water on Marco's head and we all went home.

  167 Don't: miss

  TM

  t IS.

  trek the Chee used to be Erek this guy I knew from school. But Erek is a lot more than just some guy.

  The Chee are a race of androids. They pass as humans by projecting a sort of holographic energy field around themselves that looks human. Erek may look like a kid. But he is older than human history . . .

  "Hi, Marco," Erek said. "Hello, Jake."

  We didn't exactly rush over to throw our arms around him. We'd seen what happened the one time Erek did go postal. It was hard to forget. Hard to treat someone that powerful like just another kid.

  "Hi, Erek, how's it going?" Jake asked.

  "Fine. And we know, through our sources, that you have been doing good work against . . . against our mutual acquaintances." He lowered his voice. "I think we'd better have some privacy."

  168 Suddenly, the air around us shimmered. All the noises of the mall were blanked out. And Erek was no longer human. He was a chrome-and-ivory robot, shaped a little like a lean dog, walking erect.

  "What did you do?" I asked.

  "I extended my hologram out around us all. People walking by are seeing a group of security guards talking. No one will bother or overhear us. ...

  "Rescuing the two free Hork-Bajir was a good thing. They may prove to be the seeds of something very powerful and good. You may have begun the salvation of an entire race."

  I shrugged. "We like to keep busy. It's either rescue entire races or play Nintendo."

  Erek laughed with his chrome dog's muzzle. Then he was instantly serious again. "I need to talk to you privately, Marco."

  "Well, I don't have any secrets from Jake," I said. "I think that's the basis of a good marriage: openness, honesty."

  "It's about someone who was once very close to you, Marco."

  My heart stopped beating. I knew instantly who he meant. I started to say something, but my first words died on my tongue. I tried again. "My mom?"

  Erek glanced at Jake.

  169 "It's okay," Jake said. "I know. I'm the only one who does."

  Erek nodded. "Marco, your mother has returned to Earth. She is overseeing some very secret new project. It's being run from Royan Island. Or, to be precise, it's being run from the waters around Royan Island."

  I wasn't really hearing what Erek was saying. I was still back on the part about my mom returning to Earth. Jake understood. He took over dealing with Erek.

  "What are they doing out there in the ocean?"

  "We don't know," Erek said. "But whatever it is, it would have to be huge for Visser One to be overseeing it ...

  "Look, I ... we weren't sure whether to tell you about this. But we've learned all we can. And I felt Marco had a right to know she was back on Earth. But you guys have to be clear about something. Visser One didn't get to the top of the Yeerk hierarchy by being nice. She is brilliant and dangerous."

  Jake looked at me to see how I was reacting.

  "You guys think I don't know what Visser One is like?!" I said hotly.

  "I know you do," Erek said. "But humans are easily tricked by outer appearances. You judge people by their faces and eyes. The face of Visser One is the face of someone you trust, Marco. But

  170 if you Animorphs decide to investigate this thing on Royan Island, you may come up against Visser One directly . . .

  "There's one other clue," Erek said. "We have reason to believe that some new species of Controller is at Royan Island. We believe they are called Leerans."

  "Thanks, Erek," Jake said.

  "Will he be all right?" Erek asked Jake.

  I didn't wait to hear Jake's answer. I turned and stepped out of the hologram. I saw a woman's eyes widen in shock. What she had seen was a kid stepping directly out of a casually chatting security guard.

  Jake caught up with me a few seconds later.

  "Erek didn't mean anything bad. You know that," Jake said. "He just meant -"

  "I know what he meant," I snapped. "He meant if it came to crunch time, would I destroy my own mother to protect the mission? That's what he meant."

  Jake grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. "And?"

  I was still mad. But I knew why I was mad. It wasn't that Erek had insulted me somehow. It was that Erek was right.

  "I don't know, Jake," I said. "I don't know."