The First Journey Read online

  Marco swings back and forth on a vine.

  Ax asks.

  Jake tells him.

  Marco says.

  Cassie says.

  Then you hear it, too. Some creatures are crashing through the underbrush.

  Jake says.

  Tobias says from his high branch. With a flap of wings, Tobias takes off.

  Jake says.

  Tobias shouts.

  Rachel says frantically.

  You all exchange worried glances. You take off, grabbing vines and branches and swinging through the trees. Before, it was a game. Now, it is life or death.

  You see Tobias ahead. He has been caught in a net. He’s been hit by a Dracon beam.

  Rachel cries.

  he answers.

  Rachel goes into action. She launches herself out into midair and grabs a vine. She swings over and lands on Tobias’s branch. Using her sharp teeth, she begins to shred the net while she pulls it apart with her hands.

  “That’s no monkey!” the human-Controller shouts.

  A Dracon beam explodes near Rachel. You need to cover her. You swing over and begin to chatter, trying to draw the Hork-Bajir’s fire. You grab a vine and swing right by a Hork-Bajir. He slashes in the air after you, but you’re gone.

  “That one. The little one. Get him!”

  A Dracon beam explodes near you, felling a tree in half. Before you can scamper up the next tree or grab a vine, another one explodes. This one gets you, and you fall.

  Straight onto the lethal blade of a Hork-Bajir.

  Oops — bad morph. Go back to the end of chapter 17 and try again.

  You don’t have the same wing strength as a bird of prey, but at least you can fly. The parrot morph allows you to soar just underneath the upper canopy. Your green feathers offer camouflage.

  Cassie says.

  Marco says, dipping under a tree branch and then soaring upward.

  Jake says.

  Marco teases.

  Jake asks.

  Marco answers.

  Everyone laughs, and it comes out in parrot-speak. C-c-c-err-EPP-err-EPP! It feels good to laugh, even if you’re doing it with a thick, curved beak.

  Tobias warns.

  Tobias has been flying ahead of the group. With his superior eyesight and wing power, he is able to see the Hork-Bajir from far away.

  Tobias suddenly shouts.

  Jake warns.

  Tobias continues.

  Jake shouts.

  In another moment, you see a blur of brown feathers. Tobias drops onto a branch. he says in disbelief.

  Ax says quietly.

  You leave Tobias behind and fly ahead. You hear the Hork-Bajir before you see them. Dracon beams sizzle. The smell of burnt things fills the air. You hear the cries of what sounds like thousands of birds, fellow creatures trying to flee.

  It’s Rachel, who has spurted ahead, her wings just a blur of motion.

  Marco says.

  Rachel says impatiently.

  You look down. You see nothing. Just branches and leaves. But then the leaves move, and you see a person concealed behind them. He is holding a spear. And then you see another, and another.

  You’ve found the tribe.

  Cassie whispers. It’s funny how you sometimes feel a need to whisper, even though you’re talking in thought-speak.

  Jake says.

  He swoops down and lands on the shoulder of one of the tribe. They are men and boys, all with dark hair and alert dark eyes. They are wearing something that looks like a diaper made out of leaves.

  You swoop down on another shoulder. Rachel follows. Then Cassie. Marco. Ax. Tobias flutters down and lands on a low branch.

  The tribe does nothing. They don’t even move a muscle. But you see every pair of eyes turn to one man. He is either your age or your grand father’s. It’s hard to tell.

  Jake says.

  Cassie doesn’t even ask why. She flies to the center of the clearing.

  You wonder why he’s chosen Cassie. But as Cassie begins to morph, you understand. Cassie can control her morph so that she changes gracefully. She isn’t scary. She’s beautiful.

  She retains her bright feathers as she grows. She changes her face first, so at first she’s bird-girl. Her tail retracts, but her feathered wings still flutter. Slowly, her feathers turn into smooth skin, starting with her feet and slowly moving up her body.

  Again, the tribe doesn’t move. They don’t raise their spears.

  “Espirito,” the leader says.

  Marco translates.

  Jake directs.

  Cassie nods. She holds out her arms as though she is gathering the tribe to her. It is a welcoming gesture. You realize she is telling them not to be afraid.

  Jake tells her.

  Cassie bends over and draws the Hork-Bajir in the dust. It’s not a great drawing, but the Hork-Bajir are pretty distinctive.

  “Diablo,” the leader says.

  Marco says.

  Cassie nods.

  Jake directs.

  Cassie draws the Blade ship. She points to herself and the ship. Then she points to the leader and stabs the Hork-Bajir with her stick.

  The leader grins. He throws his spear.

  Rachel cries.

  But the spear just misses Cassie and lands at her feet. Straight into the center of the Hork-Bajir drawing.

  Cassie smiles. The leader smiles.

  You all say CA-CA-CA-Err-EPP-Err-EPP!

  * * *

  Cassie needs time to recover from her morph, so you all rest in human form. With a combination of signs and pointing, Cassie has arranged to meet up with the tribe again just as dusk falls.

  Your parrot morph was successful. You met up with the tribe and escaped the notice of the Hork-Bajir. But you need another morph to sneak aboard the Blade ship.

  You choose:

  Chameleon. Go to chapter 21.

  Poison-arrow frog. Go to chapter 26.

  Jaguar. Go to chapter 27.

  The parasol ant morph makes sense. Who notices an ant? You congratulate yourself on your bright idea.

  Until you’re an ant. The others had really warned you about this morph. They told you how hard it was to hang onto their own selves during it. The ant has no self. It is focused on solely food and enemies and getting back to the colony.

  So you thought you were prepared. But the loss of self frightens you intensely. Your antennae wave in front of you, smelling for food and enemies.

  Jake orders
.

  You start up a tree. That’s what you’re supposed to do. Got to find food.

  Marco says.

  Ax says.

  Tobias warns.

  The others tick off a roll call. You don’t answer. You’re halfway up the tree now. You’ve got to keep going.

  Food is up here. You can bring food back to the colony. You smell something dead. A beetle. You will dismember it, carry pieces back.

  Tobias says.

  Jake yells at you.

  And your human mind screams to life. You don’t want to dismember a beetle. A beetle leg is not your idea of good eating.

  you say shakily.

  Closer than you think. Because hanging on a tree branch over you is a sloth. And she’s hungry.

  She hangs onto the branch with her tail while her head swings past you. Her long tongue swoops out, and —

  SLURP! You’re lunch.

  Not your best morph. Go back to the end of chapter 17 and try again.

  First, your skin turns green.

  “Are we Martians or reptiles?” Marco is just able to get out before he is unable to speak. The rest of his complaint sounds like ack ack.

  Cassie thought-speaks.

  You know what she means. A chameleon’s tail is almost like a monkey’s — curled and strong. You roll your eyes. One goes left, the other right. You can get a 180-degree view without turning your head.

  You follow behind the others as you make your way to the perimeter of the landing site.

  Jake says.

  you say.

  Marco adds.

  Tobias tells you.

  Jake has told you about Visser Three’s morph. The Lerdethak is as tall as a tree. It has hundreds of vinelike tentacles. They can strike like whips and squeeze all the breath out of you. Then the Lerdethak can just pop you in its cavernous mouth like Good and Plenty.

  It’s an experience you’re happy to skip.

  Cassie observes.

  Your coloring protects you as you scurry along the floor. You belong to the forest, are part of the forest. You can hear the sound of Hork-Bajir in the distance, but you are quick and agile and unafraid. You let the chameleon’s instincts take over.

  Because if you let your human mind start to think, it will fill up with fear. You are running toward Visser Three. Not away from him.

  Tobias, the lookout, tells you.

  Jake urges while he runs.

  You are running flat out now. A chameleon can’t run very fast, not as fast as a jaguar, but you reach the burned-out clearing. The Blade ship looms ahead.

  Jake goes first. Then Rachel. One by one, moving as fast as you dare, but keeping to the dark green shadows, you approach the huge, black ship. The gangway is down. You all scamper up it, then keep to the side walls of the ship.

  Jake asks.

 

  You roll your eyes up. You can just barely make out Tobias.

  Tobias observes.

  Ax says.

  Jake agrees.

  Ax asks.

  Rachel asks.

 

  Jake hesitates.

  Rachel asks urgently.

  Jake says.

  Rachel argues.

  Marco says.

  Cassie says.

  Tobias says.

  Jake asks.

  Ax says.

  Jake groans.

  you say.

  Cassie sighs.

  Marco says.

  Jake says finally.

  The six of you melt behind a console. You space yourselves apart, but within thought-speaking distance.

  A terrible voice invades your head. If you had hands, you’d put them over your ears. When Visser Three talks in thought-speak, it feels as though your whole brain shudders.

  Visser Three continues. He is back in Andalite morph.

  Visser Three places himself in one of the chairs on the bridge. he says to the Taxxon captain.

  A message crackles over the communication system. “Bug fighter ready for takeoff.”

  Visser Three roars in thought-speak.

  You can feel the great ship rise, but you can’t see anything. You feel a burst of optimism. It feels like the first step toward home.

  Jake advises in private thought-speak.

  Ax says.

  Rachel says,

  Jake says. He is cut off by the bleating of Visser Three shouting

  The blast rocks you.

  FLASH!

  You’re in the front quad outside school. You’re wearing a sweater you haven’t worn since last year. Ahead of you is the bus stop. You see Patrolman Teeter directing traffic. He retired last summer.

  You turn. Rachel is back on the steps of school. Her hair is a good four inches shorter. She touches it, frowning.

  She wore it that way last year. You’ve gone back in time like you should have. But you’ve overshot your time.

  You’re a year too early.

  “What’s going on?” you say. This isn’t a flashback. It’s going on too long. But it doesn’t feel real, either.

  “Oh, man,” Marco says. “Does this mean I have to
go through homeroom with Ms. Pedalowski again?”

  “Something’s wrong,” you say.

  Just then, a car pulls up to the curb. A window slides down. Marco’s mother waves at him.

  “Hi, honey! Thought I’d give you a ride.”

  Next to you, Marco has gone completely still. His mother is dead. That’s what everyone thinks, anyway. Only you, Jake, and Ax know that Marco’s mother was taken over by the Yeerks. She is Visser Three’s rival, Visser One.

  Marco takes a step forward. He moves stiffly, like he’s frozen. You can see tears in his eyes. His mom is so alive! A breeze lifts her heavy dark hair. Her hand rests on the open window. Her wedding ring glints in the sun.

  “Come on, slowpoke!” she teases. “Have you got lead in your shoes?”

  “Mom,” Marco whispers.

  Marco’s mom swings the door open and steps out onto the curb. It is as though everything is in slow motion. You are shocked to see her alive and warm and happy.

  So it takes you longer than it should to see the pit bull. It runs across the grass toward her.

  Then you hear the voice that haunts your nightmares.

  “Marco!” you cry. “It’s Visser Three!”

  Marco starts to run. But you know in a split second that you can’t fight this dog. Not as a human, anyway. He is too far away. You have only seconds. You have to try a morph.

  You choose:

  Hyena. Go to chapter 23.

  K-9 dog. Go to chapter 24.

  Giraffe. Go to chapter 25.

  It’s the fastest you’ve ever morphed. Maybe panic helps you. Your powerful hind legs develop first. Then, your face flattens, your teeth grow. You feel the power in your muscles. You feel the urge to make your kill.

  The dog is on Marco’s mother. It tears at the arm she flings up to protect her throat.

  A pit bull is no match for you, a killing machine. You leap forward with the high-pitched, almost-human cry of the animal.

  ERRRR-UP! EURRR-UP! RRR-UP!

  Your teeth find the pit bull’s leg. You chomp down and hit bone. Snarling, the pit bull turns. That exposes its neck, and you pounce. You have Visser Three in your jaws. You savor the moment.

  What you didn’t count on was Patrolman Teeter.