The Change by K. A. Applegate
«We will? You lost me there, dude,» Jake said. «But, okay. If you say so, Tobias. Marco in gorilla morph. What else?»
«And we need someone to acquire and morph Ket,» I said.
«l'll do it,» Jake said without hesitation.
«No, Jake. Not this time,» I said. «l'll do it.»
No one said anything for a good thirty seconds. They just stared. They stared with wolf eyes and bear eyes and tiger eyes and all four An-dalite eyes. They were trying to decide if I was crazy.
«You will?» Rachel asked. «you will?»
«Yeah. I will. I'll morph Ket. I'll morph a Hork-Bajir.»
Then Rachel clicked. «The Ellimist? That's what he did for you? I thought he was going to make you human again.» There was an edge of anger in her tone. Of outrage.
«Ellimists,» Ax practically spit the word. «Never trust them.»
«0h, no,» Cassie whispered. «That's it? He gave you back the power to morph? But not. . .»
«No,» I said as evenly as I could. «Looks like I'm a full member of the team again. I can morph. But I guess ... I mean, it looks like I'll still be a hawk. I'll be keeping my wings.»
128
J. quickly told them the details of my plan. I had to stick to business. There was no time for feeling sorry for myself. And I sure didn't want them feeling sorry for me.
No time for pity. No time for anger, either. There was nothing I could do to the Ellimist. Nothing I could do.
«0kay, Cassie? We need you to stay in wolf morph. Ax, watch Cassie's back and try to stay out of view. Marco? You know your part, right?»
"Yeah, I got it," he said nervously. He was temporarily human. In between morphs.
Marco's part of the plan was one of the most difficult. And if he failed, Rachel and I were dead. «No problem, right?» I said to Marco.
130 "Yeah. No problem. Just make sure one of you is a few seconds behind the other. I'll need sometime."
«l know my role,» Jake said. He was just coming out of his tiger morph. «Up in the air.»
«My old job,» I said.
"Yeah. Let's hope I do it as well as you always did," Jake said. "Cassie, Ax. Let's move it. Marco, quit worrying. It's just like catching a pass with your eyes closed. No big deal for Mighty Marco."
Marco laughed. "That's it, flatter me. Now I know we're dead. But don't worry, I'll be there."
I fluttered over to stand on Ket Halpak's shoulder. (It isn't easy to find a place to sit on a Hork-Bajir.) I dug my talons in just a bit to the dark, leathery skin. And I began to acquire the Hork-Bajir's DNA.
All around I could hear the sounds of enemies closing in. I heard the FWOMP-FWOMP-FWOMP of the helicopters. And now that they were getting closer, my hawk hearing could even detect the faint TSEEEW! TSEEEW! of the Dracon beams.
Sometimes there would come a loud crack, almost like sudden thunder. It was the sound of a tree exploding as the Dracon beam turned the tree sap to steam in a split second.
And there was the roar of the fire itself.
131 But I shut all of that out of my mind. All I had to focus on was acquiring the Hork-Bajir. Ket Halpak went slightly limp. I could feel the muscles relaxing.
At last, I flew away to a bare spot on the forest floor. The others were all watching me, even while they did their own morphs. I think they halfway suspected I was nuts. They halfway wondered if I'd just made it up about being able to morph.
I closed my eyes and held the image of the Hork-Bajir in my mind. And then, very quickly, I began to feel the changes.
I sprouted up from the pine needles and dead leaves. I rocketed up and up so fast I couldn't help but yell.
«Yah! Whoa! Whoa!»
«Hey! He is morphing,» Marco said.
«l guess that's something, at least,» Rachel said bitterly.
I ignored her angry tone. I couldn't listen to her anger because it would just make me mad, too. A predator is never angry, just hungry. Anger only gets in the way.
Up and up I grew. And as I grew, my wings grew with me. It's funny the way morphing works. It's never totally logical. It's never exactly the same twice, either.
And it is always, always gross. Even as I was
132 morphing, I was watching the others undergo changes. It was a scene out of some lunatic's darkest nightmare. Bodies melted. Weird appendages grew suddenly, here and there. Teeth appeared before there was a mouth to hold them. Fur grew like one of those time-lapse videos of mold, just shooting out of the skin. Big humans tottered unsteadily on tiny doglike legs.
If you just happened to wander in and saw the spectacle of four kids and a bird all melting and mutating and squirming as two giant aliens watched, you'd definitely think you were insane. You'd want to see a psychiatrist. After you stopped screaming.
I could feel the changes happening in my own body. Not that they were painful. They weren't. But I could still feel things going on. And I could hear them.
My insides were reorganizing totally. Hork-Bajir have at least two hearts, maybe more. So entire new hearts were forming inside of me. And from the hearts, new arteries and veins had to sprout and spread throughout my body.
I had to go from having a digestive system designed to handle big chunks of raw mouse to a digestive system built for tree bark.
I could hear a gurgling sound as internal organs shifted and stretched and were pushed aside to make room for totally new organs. I could
133 hear a stretching, grinding sound as big, thick, solid bones replaced my hollow bird bones.
And on the outside I saw my wings grow till they were huge. Then, with amazing speed, the feathers melted into hard, leathery skin. There was a snap as the joints in my wings changed direction to bend the way a Hork-Bajir arm bends.
Then out came the blades.
SHWOOP! Blades at my wrists.
SHWOOP! Blades at my elbows.
SHWOOP! The forward-swept horn blades on my snake head.
«Hey, Tobias,» Marco said. «You kept the same feet.»
It was a joke. But it was true, too. There wasn't much difference between my hawk talons and the feet of the Hork-Bajir. Except that they were maybe a hundred times bigger.
Somehow that made me feel good. I liked the look of those big, ripping talons. I liked thinking about what they would do to a Taxxon.
Cassie and Ax took off at a run. They had a lot of distance to cover very fast. Fortunately, a wolf can run almost flat-out all day long. And there's no doubt about how fast an Andalite can move. No doubt. Jara Hamee and Ket Halpak left with them.
Marco was in his huge, powerful gorilla morph
134 and getting ready to leave, too. «See you guys later. I hope,» he said.
«Be there!» Rachel growled. She pointed a dangerous Hork-Bajir hand at him.
«0kay, I'll be there. But don't be too long or I may decide to take a nap,» Marco joked as he lumbered off through the trees.
Jake was perched on a branch just over my head. A peregrine falcon, the fastest thing in the air. He spread his wings and took off, leaving me and Rachel alone.
Rachel had morphed into a mirror image of me. We were a fine pair of Hork-Bajir.
«Ready?» I asked her.
She peered at me from behind alien eyes. «You okay, Tobias?»
«Sure. Why wouldn't I be?»
«Well, you haven't exactly had a great day,» she said.
I laughed grimly. «l'm a freak of nature, Rachel. Any day I stay alive is a good day for me.»
135 high above the treetops Jake flew in his swift peregrine falcon morph, calling down directions to Rachel and me.
It was weird. It almost felt like Jake had taken over my role or something. Like he was pretending to be me. Normally, I'd be the one up there riding the wind.
«0kay, not far now,» Jake said. «You're almost there. You guys know which direction to go after the Yeerks catch your trail, right?»
«Yeah, we know, we know, Mother,» Rachel said. «What are we? ldiots?» Then to me she sa
«l'm pretty sure. I mean, it's harder to keep track of where things are when you're down on
136 the ground. Just trees and bushes everywhere. You can't see the horizon, you can't see the sun.»
The forest was impossible for a Hork-Bajir trying to be quiet. I mean, we could have slashed our way through the brambles and thorn thickets, but that would have attracted too much attention too soon.
So we tried to hurry, but without making too much noise. And let me tell you - Hork-Bajir bodies are not built for quiet.
«That's why you have me up here,» Jake said cheerfully. «To guide you. Don't sweat it. I can see the ravine. I can see that Cassie and Ax and the two Hork-Bajir are getting into position. And I see Marco. Heck, with these falcon eyes I can practically see Marco's fleas.»
«Easy for you to be cocky,» I muttered. «You're up there safe.»
«Do you see the line of fire?» Rachel asked Jake. «Because I sure do smell it.»
«Yeah,» Jake admitted. «ln fact, the fire forms a semicircle around you. The Taxxons and friends are the other half of the circle. The only way open is the ravine. So we're just going to get one chance.»
«Wonderful,» I said.
«0kay, you guys. A big, fat pair of Taxxons are just on the other side of that pile of rocks.»
«What pile of rocks?» Rachel asked.
137 «0h . . . well, I can see that it's a pile of rocks from up here. From where you are it probably just looks like a thick tangle of weeds and thorns.»
«Cool,» Rachel said calmly. «l guess it's time.»
«Yep. Ladies first.»
«No, no. After you. I insist.»
We pushed our way through the bushes and climbed to the top of what did turn out to be a pile of rock boulders. At the top we stopped and stared.
Just twenty feet away were two Taxxons. Two vile, disgusting Taxxons. Allies, not just slaves, of the Yeerks. A species that ate its own when given half a chance.
I don't know if it was the hawk in me that was angered by the sight of the two humongous worms marching through a decent forest, or the human side of me that just didn't like gigantic worms, period, or some deep instinct of the Hork-Bajir mind. But I was suddenly filled with hatred and rage.
The anger hit me like a baseball bat alongside the head. It was sudden and ferocious. The plan was to run from the Taxxons. But all of a sudden, I didn't want to run.
I wanted to see what my Hork-Bajir blades would do. I wanted to hurt the Taxxons.
138 «Let'stake 'em,» I said.
Rachel turned her snake head toward me. «What? That's not the plan, Tobias!»
«They shouldn't be here. Look at them! Look at them, slithering through the forest like they own it! They shouldn't be here. This isn't their place, it's ours. It's mine!»
«Tobias, calm down. It makes me mad, too. But we have to stick with the plan.»
«No. We don't,» I said. «l'm tired of plans.»
Rachel grabbed my shoulder. I almost spun around and slashed at her. That's how mad I was. My arm actually came up as if I were going to strike.
But Rachel didn't back away. «Look, Tobias. You're mad. But it's not the time or place. The person you're mad at is beyond your reach. You can't get back at the Ellimist for betraying you.»
Somehow her words penetrated the black rage that had swallowed me up. No, I couldn't get back at the Ellimist. And it was him I was furious with. Wasn't it? Rachel was right. She had to be right.
It was the Ellimist's fault.
«Stick to the plan, Tobias. Don't get us all killed because you're mad at the Ellimist.»
«Yeah. You're right. The plan.»
Rachel released my shoulder. I stared down at the Taxxons. They had frozen on seeing us. They
139 knew they were no match for a couple of desperate Hork-Bajir.
But then, through the woods, shadowy figures appeared. Hork-Bajir warriors. Hork-Bajir-Controllers.
"Ssssrrrreyyyaa ssseewwwitt!" the Taxxons shrilled in their own hissing language.
From the trees a dozen Hork-Bajir suddenly broke at full run.
«0utta here!» Rachel yelled.
«Right behind you!»
We bolted. And we no longer had to worry about being too obvious. The Hork-Bajir were after us, and we had to use maximum speed to escape.
«The plan seems to be working so far,» Jake called down.
«Yeah. They're on us,» Rachel said.
We ran through the bushes like only Hork-Bajir can run. Our arms slashed the air, again and again, quick as striking snakes. We destroyed bushes and saplings like a pair of out-of-control, nuclear-powered lawn mowers.
SLASH!SLASH!SLASH!SLASH!
But there was one big problem with doing what we were doing. See, we were slowed down a little by having to cut our way through. And the Hork-Bajir behind us could just follow our trail.
«They're gaining on you!» Jake said.
140 «Yeah, we noticed. How far to the ravine?»
«Too far! You won't make it this way.»
«Well, find a way!» I yelled. I could see the pursuing Hork-Bajir. Their horn blades were bobbing above the undergrowth. They were not far behind us. Not far, as in pretty soon I'd be smelling their bad breath.
«!...! can't tell what anything is from up here,» Jake cried. «lt's like reading a map or something. What should I be looking for?»
«We need to go at an angle,» I said. «Look for a gully or ditch that runs across our path. The deeper the better.»
«0h. Nothing! Wait. Maybe that's a gully. There's a little stream running down it.»
«Just tell us left or right!» I yelled.
«0kay. Left! No! No! I was thinking my left. Go right! Okay, ten more steps . . .»
The Hork-Bajir were on us. In seconds they'd have us in clear view.
«There!» Jake yelled.
«Yeah!» I said. We hit a tiny, shallow stream. It was almost hidden by overhanging vines and drooping branches. «This way, Rachel.»
I crouched as low as my massive, stiff Hork-Bajir body could go, and I ran bent over along the stream. Rachel was inches behind me.
«0w!» she yelped.
«What?»
142 «Your tail caught me in the neck. Never mind! Run! Run!»
Behind us I could hear the noise of the pursuing Hork-Bajir grow louder, then slowly more distant.
«AII right!» Jake said. «You lost them. Now you have to cut left to get back toward the ravine.»
Up and out of the gully we leaped. Back on dry ground we found some nice, open country beneath very tall trees.
«0h, man, this isn't good,» Jake said.
«What? Tell me.»
«The fire is sweeping right down the lip of the ravine from the north! And the Yeerks are closing the gap from the south!»
«What do we do?» I asked.
«Look, there's no way around this, Tobias. There's a line of Hork-Bajir now between you two and the ravine. You have to go through them.»
«Hope you haven't lost all that anger,» Rachel said to me. «Looks like we fight, after
141
On our left, fire!
On our right, the front ranks of Taxxons!
Straight ahead, a ravine a hundred feet deep. It was like it had been cut with a knife. Like someone had slashed the earth and made a cut so deep you could throw a skyscraper down it.
The ravine was narrow, no more than forty feet across. At the bottom, I knew, was a rushing stream. In spring it would swell with the melting ice from the mountains.
But now the stream was narrow, leaving wide sandy banks on either side.
«You're only about fifteen, twenty seconds away from the ravine!» Jake called down. «But there are more bad guys getting in the way. I'm
143 pretty sure I count six. Two Taxxons and four Hork-Bajir warriors.»
«0h, man,» I muttered.
Fifteen seconds, Jake had said. I counted in my head as I ran. One . . . two
"HeeeRRRROWWRRR!"
A Hork-Bajir warrior leaped at me, a blur of dark green-black leather skin and flashing blades. Then more of them. They were everywhere!
«Rachel! Behind you!»
SLASH! A wrist blade drew a line of blood across my chest.
SLASH! I fought back, hacking at my attacker with all my speed and strength.
«AHHHH!» The pain came out of nowhere! A Hork-Bajir had jumped up from the deep grass and hit me from behind. I could feel my entire left side starting to go numb.
SLASH!
SLASH!
SLASH! My wrist blades and elbow blades ripped into Hork-Bajir flesh. I went a little crazy, I think, because I didn't even know what I was doing anymore. I was on automatic. I was a slashing, ripping, tearing machine.
But I was getting hurt at the same time. I was outnumbered. There were three Hork-Bajir on
144 me. Two on Rachel. There had been three on her, too, but she'd taken one of them out of the fight.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! My entire world was nothing but blow and counterblow. A wrist blade cut toward my head, and I blocked it. I swiped upward with my knee, and then jerked my talons back to catch the thigh of the Hork-Bajir behind me.
Every move happened in a split second. In the time it would take a human to blink his eyes once, I would block two thrusts and throw three of my own.
Then . . . WHAM! I was on my back in the dirt. My left leg had stopped working! Two Hork-Bajir now stood over me. One raised his ripping talon, ready to bring it down on my chest!
I lay back helpless, staring up at the blue sky.
Suddenly, a flash of pale gray, coming down like a rock! Like an arrow fired from a cloud it came, wings tucked back, dropping at more than a hundred miles an hour.
A peregrine falcon. The fastest thing in the air.
Jake!
At the last second, his wings opened, he took the shock of the air and he swept his talons forward, all in one fluid movement.
Even in pain, lying there a second away from
145 death, I thought I had never seen anything so perfect in my life.
In a split second Jake was gone, and the larger Hork-Bajir was screaming and holding his eyes.
I was ready. I swept my leg left to right and knocked the Hork-Bajir off his feet. I was up and hobbling on my one good leg before he hit the ground.