<Tobias?> Jake asks.
<I’m here. Up high, in the rafters.>
You roll your eyes up. You can just barely make out Tobias.
<You’re all changing color,> Tobias observes. <You’re getting darker.>
<May I make a suggestion, Prince Jake?> Ax says. <Perhaps we should scatter. One chameleon might have wandered aboard, but not six.>
<Good point,> Jake agrees. <Let’s find separate positions. We have to wait until the ship goes back to the same space position and fires its rockets. Then we should land back in our own time.>
<What about Visser Three?> Ax asks.
<When do we destroy him?> Rachel asks.
<Shouldn’t we pick a place to hide where we can morph into something really dangerous? We can take him by surprise.>
Jake hesitates.
<Wasn’t that the plan?> Rachel asks urgently.
<I’m not sure now,> Jake says. <It might be too dangerous. Maybe we should just let Visser Three blast us back into our own time.>
<But we’ll lose our chance!> Rachel argues.
<I’m with Jake,> Marco says. <If we live, we can come back and fight another day.>
<I’ll go with whatever you all decide,> Cassie says.
<If I can get a word in,> Tobias says. <This ship is constantly patrolled. And the bridge is full of Taxxons. We might be able to take down Visser Three if we’re incredibly lucky. But that doesn’t mean we’ll survive.>
<Ax?> Jake asks.
<Visser Three killed my brother. He is my sworn enemy,> Ax says. <I will meet with him someday. It may not be today. I will follow your decision, Prince Jake.>
<I wish you didn’t say that,> Jake groans.
<It’s this Sario Rip that’s complicating things,> you say. <We don’t know if we’ll make it back. We don’t know if we’re part of someone’s memory. If we kill Visser Three now, in this time, what happens to us in real time?>
<This is way too confusing,> Cassie sighs.
<I need a nap,> Marco says. <And I haven’t said that since I was three years old.>
<Let’s hide,> Jake says finally. <We still have time to decide. Time is running out for Visser Three. He can’t afford to chase that tribe around the forest any longer.>
The six of you melt behind a console. You space yourselves apart, but within thought-speaking distance.
<Leave them!> 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.
<Leave them behind,> Visser Three continues. He is back in Andalite morph. <It is not the punishment those Andalites deserve, but it will have to be enough.>
Visser Three places himself in one of the chairs on the bridge. <Now take off, you worthless slime,> he says to the Taxxon captain.
A message crackles over the communication system. “Bug fighter ready for takeoff.”
<So take off, fool!> 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.
<Ax, keep track of the time for us,> Jake advises in private thought-speak.
<I will, Prince Jake,> Ax says. <But there is no telling when Visser Three will order the double blast. The Bug fighter and the Blade ship have to intersect those Dracon beams. Perhaps they have already agreed on a coordinate. There is no way of knowing.>
<Which means,> Rachel says, <that if we do want to attack Visser Three, we’d better do it soon.>
<All right,> Jake says. <Maybe we should —> He is cut off by the bleating of Visser Three shouting <Now!>
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. <I will end it here!>
“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
