The Secret by K. A. Applegate
IB Iver the next two days we protected and nurtured a foursome of baby skunks. And as impossible as it seems, it worked. More or less. Maybe I'm kidding myself, but I think the others started enjoying it, too. Typically, it was Marco who decided, after his first shift guarding the skunks, that the kits needed names. "Joey, Johnny, Marky, and C.j.," he announced, like it was obvious. "The Ramones. The godfathers of punk rock. They would be honored. The one with the white stripe that kind of goes really wide? That's Joey. Now, Johnny ..." At first, I was the only one to morph the skunk mother. Then Ax did it. Then the others, one by one. I almost felt jealous. Right after school three days later, I went to the skunk burrow and found Tobias flying cover above the burrow. less-than Hi, Cassie. greater-than "How's it going, Tobias?" less-than Well, we had a little excitement. A hungry badger stopped by to check things out. But I chased him off. greater-than "So the kits are all right?" less-than There are still four of them, if that's what you meaneagreater-than Tobias answered. less-than But they won't stay inside. They keep coming out and looking around. Especially Marky. This isn't good. Especially if they do it at night. greater-than I morphed into the skunk mother and crawled inside the den. Tobias was right -- the kits were restless. They were growing fast, and they instinctively wanted to go out into the great big world beyond the burrow. less-than like think I'm going to take them for a walkeagreater-than I told Tobias. less-than ls that a good idea8greater-than less-than Sure. Why not? You should take a break. Stretch your wings. greater-than Tobias was relieved to have an excuse to take off. But as soon as he was gone I started to have doubts about my brilliant idea of taking the kits out for a stroll. How could I keep track of them? What if they wandered off? But then, while I was debating, Marky made a wild dash outside and I had to scamper to catch up to him. As soon as I appeared, though, the kit went meekly to stand behind me. One by one, the other three babies came out. And to my amaze ment, they lined up like obedient first-graders. less-than Okayeagreater-than I said, although of course the kits couldn't understand me. less-than Let's take a walk. greater-than I waddled slowly away, took about ten steps, then turned to look back over my shoulder. The four of them were all lined up beh ind me. I was their mother, as far as they knew. And they were programmed to follow their mother. I waddled off, feeling a little strange but happy. We walked that way for half an hour. We paused to sniff things from time to time. Various animal scents, mostly. And then, I realized something. We weren't supposed to just be going for a stroll. The kits were hungry. I was their mother. And it was my job to provide for them. If I didn't teach them to catch bugs, they wouldn't survive. Skunks eat some plants, but they also eat crickets and mantises and grass hoppers and even shrews and mice. I stopped walking and looked back at "my" kits. Four almost identical little balls of black- and-white fuzz. Four curious little faces watching me. Waiting to see what I was doing. Eager to learn. I'd been feeding them thawed frozen grasshoppers and thawed mice I'd brought from the clinic. Just as I'd been giving Tobias food since he was too busy to hunt properly. But these skunk kits couldn't be fed by humans all their lives. Suddenly ... a crashing sound! Something rushing through the woods, careless, wild, noisy. And coming right toward us! I started to lead the kits back to the burrow, but the noise was getting closer. It was coming too quick! I tried to smell what it was, but the breeze was blowing the wrong way. Then . . . ROWR! ROWR! ROWROWROWR! A dog! A wolf would have known better. A wolf would have seen the black-and-white fur and decided he had an appointment somewhere else. A bear would have known. Just about any wild animal knew better than to annoy an adult skunk. But this big happy dog was not wild. He lived with humans. He knew absolutely nothing about skunks. Without even thinking, I turned my back to the dog. I raised my tail in warning. The dog kept coming. Drool was dribbling from one side of his mouth, and his tongue was hanging out the other side, and he was having about as good a time as a dog could have. He was in the woods, and he had a bunch of little black animals to play with. The kits were still lined up. They were watching me intently. It almost made me want to laugh -- if I could have. It was a big moment for them -- they were about to learn why no sensible animal picked on adult skunks. I had no experience in spraying. But the skunk mind within my own knew exactly what it was it had to do. I aimed. I looked over my shoulder to judge the distance. I targeted that dog's face, and I fired. Just at the instant when I fired, I had the strange sensation that I knew this dog from somewhere. But it was too late by then. Way too late. At a distance of ten feet, the spray hit with the accuracy of a laser-guided smart missile. ROWR? ROWR? The dog stopped dead in his tracks. The look in his eyes was sheer horror. How could it be? How could the little black-and-white creature have done this to him? And then, I heard something that made me feel really bad. "Homer? What's the matter, boy?" Jake asked. "Oh. Ohhhhh, Homer backslash I told you not to follow me into the woods." "Rrrreww rrrreeewww rrreeewww," Homer whined pitifully. Jake, Marco, Rachel, and Ax all came up at a run. Marco was already laughing. "You hosed Homer!" Marco giggled. "Cassie sprayed Homer! Wait, that
is Cassie, right?" I seriously considered pretending to be some other skunk. less-than Sorry, Jakeeagreater-than I said. "Man, that is nasty," Rachel commented. "No offense, Cassie. But I mean . . . gag! Oh. Ugh." less-than Fascinatingeagreater-than Ax said. less-than That is possibly the worst thing I have ever smelled. greater-than Homer tried to nuzzle up to Jake, but as much as Jake loves his dog, he was not going for it. "I don't think so, big guy. I told you to stay home. But oh no, Homer, you had to come with me. Now, go home. HOME, boy!" Homer decided home might be a better place than the forest, after all. He trotted off, tail between his legs. less-than like believe the smell is causing me to become derangedeagreater-than Ax said calmly. less-than like may have to run away in panic. greater-than "Take me with you," Marco muttered. "Well, this is perfect," Jake said. "Wonderful. My parents are going to so appreciate it when Homer gets back to the house reeking of skunk. Man, let's move away from this spot, okay? I mean, jeez, that's just awful." We moved away from the scene of the stink, back toward the den. I led the kits inside, where they seemed happy to curl up and sleep. It had been an exciting outing for them. I went back outside and demorphed. "Homer will be okay if you bathe him in tomato juice and leave him outside for a few days," I said to Jake. "Sorry." "Not as sorry as Homer is," Jake said. "But we have bigger problems. Look, Cassie, we came to find you and Tobias. That guy Farrand? Ax and Marco tapped into the Yeerk computer at the logging camp." "Yeah," Marco grinned. "The Ax-man knows his way around computers." "Yeah, well, we found something out. Farrand isn't arriving this weekend. He's coming early. He's coming to cast the final vote on the logging in this forest. In fact, he'll be here in about an hour." LjJe have an hour to make plans and get ready," Jake said. "One hour. Less, since we have to get into position." "Okay, what do we know?" Marco asked. "We know this Farrand guy is the one who makes the final decision on the Yeerks going forward. We know he's not a Controller or he would have already voted to let the logging begin." "We know the Yeerks won't leave it to chance," Rachel said. "He's coming here to the site. They'll be ready to do an involuntary infestation. They have some slug sitting in a vat right now, waiting to crawl in the man's ear." less-than They may just try to persuade this humaneagreater-than Ax suggested. less-than They prefer voluntary infesta- tions. And if they can get this human to give them his vote, they may simply let him go. greater-than "So what do we do, attack?" Rachel asked. "Just storm in and mess everything up?" less-than Hey. Shhheagreater-than Tobias said. "What?" Rachel asked him. less-than Don't you guys hear that? Even human ears should hear that. greater-than We all listened very intently. Then it came, carried on the breeze -- the sound of diesel engines. "Probably just our friends the Yeerks, moving their heavy equipment around. Putting it in nice, neat rows for the commissioner," Jake said. But then he thought it over and added, "Tobias? You mind going up to take a look?" Tobias flapped his wings and soared above the treetops and out of sight. "Okay, ba
ED here was only one way for a person to reach the Yeerk logging camp by car. They had to drive down the long, dirt road that the Yeerks had cut through the forest. Jake wanted me to go with Tobias and see if we could spot Farrand coming in. Jake made some quick decisions. He, Mar co, Rachel, and Ax took off, leaving me with Tobias. I looked up ruefully at Tobias. "You and me, I guess." less-than l'm always glad to have you alongeagreater-than Tobias said. I began to morph into an osprey. It was my bird of prey morph, and the only thing I had that could keep up with Tobias in the air. "Look, Tobias? This has been bothering me. And since . . . you know ... I want to get this off my chest. I'm sorry I got mad at you over the skunk kit. You were just doing what you had to do," I said. I could feel my bones thinning and hollowing out. Gray feathers began to paint their patterns on my arms. less-than like could live off food you guys brought meeagreater-than Tobias said. less-than like don't haveto hunt. greater-than "Okay, then why do you?" I asked, just before my mouth mutated into a beak. less-than Because I'm not just a human. I'm also a hawk. Hawks hunt live prey. Would it be better if I let you do my killing for me? Is it more moral if I eat a frozen mouse you get from some supplier8greater-than less-than Look, Tobias, I know all about how nature works. I know about predators and prey. It's just. . . it's just confusing. I mean, where does right and wrong come into x8greater-than Snowy-white feathers were growing all down my front, replacing the fabric of my morphing suit. My feet were becoming pale gray talons. less-than like don't know. I guess if I were running around killing animals I didn't intend to eat, that would be wrong. But hawks have a right to live, just as much as a mouse or a skunk. greater-than My human eyes were giving way to the incredibly amazing hawk vision. There was some color distortion because these eyes were adapted for seeing through water. The osprey eats fish. Nature designed them to see fish, even below the shimmering surface of a lake or river. less-than Ready to fly8greater-than Tobias asked. I flapped my wings a couple of times. less-than Let's geagreater-than I said, trying to sound like Rachel. Tobias flapped his wings, caught a headwind, and suddenly shot almost straight up. I opened my wings and contracted the tireless flying muscles. Flap, flap, flap, and I also caught the breeze. I flapped to get above the trees, then a stronger breeze came up and I soared high. It's like stepping on a very fast escalator. Zoom! I flapped hard, wanting the sensation of speed. Tobias was ahead of me, and as I flew, I watched him. I watched the incredibly subtle movements of his wings. He almost seemed to be able to move individual feathers. For him, the wind was not invisible. It was a road, as clear as if it was blacktop. As I followed him, I sensed the osprey brain beneath my own, adjusting and reacting to the wind. My eyes saw every small detail. They marked each animal, each hole where an animal might be hiding. I saw a bright stream, and saw the shadows of fish flitting through the rocks. My osprey had been designed by nature for this-, flying high and finding prey. Just like To bias. We flew up and up. The tops of trees were like some bumpy lawn beneath us. I could see all of the Yeerk logging camp. And I could see the mas sive yellow machines that were slicing through the trees like hot knives through butter. Already there was an ugly scar of stumps. A scar that spread like some terrible disease, eating the for est away. Tobias veered right, toward the long, winding road through the trees. I banked my wings and went after him. The stream joined a small river, rushing and bubbling alongside the road. Through the water, through the foam and bubbles, I saw the schools of fish darting. And I could feel the osprey's brain considering the situation. Measuring the dis tances. Calculating the angles. Planning the way it would skim low over the surface of the water, then lower its ripping talons at just the perfect moment to strike. To snatch a fish right out of the water. I knew that Tobias was making the same cal culations as he flew over mice and rats and rab bits . . . and skunks. Tobias and I were two superb, beautiful killers, riding the wind, while our prey cowered beneath us. But he was right. We had as much of a right to live as any of our prey. And we had been designed by millions of years of evolution to be predators. less-than Thereeagreater-than Tobias said. less-than A Jeep. greater-than I looked and saw the vehicle coming down the road. Then, with my amazingly acute hawk vision, I saw right through the windows, as though the glass were the surface of a stream. less-than Three guys. One driving, and one beside him. There's one guy in the backseat, and he looks older. greater-than less-than Yep. And on the side of the Jeep it says Dapsen Lumber. My guess is the driver and the other guy are Controllers. The guy in the backseat is looking all around like he's very interested in what's going on. greater-than less-than They'll reach the camp in a few minutes. As soon as we see how this Farrand guy reacts, we'll know if he's already been made into a Controller caret I said. less-than How's t8greater-than less-than The Yeerks have gone ahead with loggingeagreater-than I explained. less-than lf Farrand is still a true human, he'll be massively upset. If he's calm, he's already one of them. greater-than less-than Good pointeagreater-than Tobias said. less-than What do we do? I mean, if he's a Controller alr8greater-than I asked. less-than like don't know. I guess we focus on attacking the logging operation itself. greater-than less-than Really? You know what we'd do if he were a nonhuman Controller8greater-than I asked. less-than We'd go after him and whatever happened, happened. Right8greater-than less-than You mean, like a termite8greater-than Tobias asked dryly. less-than Yeah. That's exactly what I meaneagreater-than I said. less-than Look, Cassie, you're human. Homo sapien. Your job is to keep yourself and your species aliv