Free The Predator by K. A. Applegate Page A
Authors: K. A. Applegate
thing?”
Jake looked around at everyone. “You all ready to go into your various morphs?”
We nodded. All except Ax. See, we were all going to go into morph — our strongest, deadliest morphs—in order to take care of the Yeerk crew when they came. But Ax didn’t have anything but a shark, a lobster, an ant, and a harrier. We figured he was better off in his own Andalite body, which was plenty dangerous.
“Okay, Ax? Do it. Everyone? Morph!”
“And let’s keep our fingers crossed,” I added. “Or talons, claws, or hooves, as the case may be.”
Ax pressed a button on the distress beacon. As far as we could tell, nothing happened.
he reassured us.
So, Rachel, Cassie, Jake, and I began to morph. These were all morphs we had done before. There would be no battle to maintain control over the animal mind.
Rachel went into her elephant morph. We figured we might need that brute strength and size.
Jake slowly became a tiger. Cassie used her wolf morph. And I focused on my gorilla.
“What a freak scene this is.” I laughed as the changes began. “Anyone who stumbled onto this would think he’d lost his mind.”
It was definitely odd. You haven’t seen weird till you’ve seen pretty, blond, supermodel Rachel grow a trunk as thick as a small tree and ears the size of umbrellas.
Or Cassie, growing gray fur over every inch of her body, falling to all fours and baring long yellow teeth.
And then there was Jake. Huge, curved claws grew from his fingers. A snakelike tail whipped out behind him. Orange and black fur covered him. And when he was done he was a full grown tiger. Almost ten feet from his nose to his tail. Easily four hundred pounds.
If something deadly can ever be beautiful, it’s a tiger.
I said to Jake.
so.>
Rachel said. She walked closer, swinging her trunk and flaring her ears out. A moving mountain.
mature,> Cassie said.
I pointed out.
Cassie protested.
Ax said.
I said, mimicking the Disney World commercials.
Ax said.
I started to explain, but just then a red light began to flash on Ax’s homemade distress beacon.
Jake said.
He slunk away, liquid power, to hide in the shadow of a boulder. Rachel pressed back under the shallow overhang. Cassie trotted to a spot to the right of Jake, and I tried not to look like a four-hundred-pound gorilla behind a pile of gravel. Tobias flapped hard, struggling to gain altitude.
SWOOSH!
It came in low, just above tree level, then disappeared before turning to come back.
A Bug fighter. Just as we’d planned.
I said.
CHAPTER 18
S WOOSH!
The Bug fighter flew over once again, seemed to pause, then settled down toward the floor of the quarry.
Bug fighters are the smallest of the Yeerk ships. They aren’t much bigger than a school bus. They have a cowled, insectlike look, except that on either side there are very long, serrated spears pointing forward. So they look a little like a cockroach holding two spears.
The Bug fighter landed as gently as a feather. I held my breath.
Jake said.
The hatch opened. Out stepped a Hork-Bajir-Controller.
The Andalite prince, Ax’s brother,
Jake looked around at everyone. “You all ready to go into your various morphs?”
We nodded. All except Ax. See, we were all going to go into morph — our strongest, deadliest morphs—in order to take care of the Yeerk crew when they came. But Ax didn’t have anything but a shark, a lobster, an ant, and a harrier. We figured he was better off in his own Andalite body, which was plenty dangerous.
“Okay, Ax? Do it. Everyone? Morph!”
“And let’s keep our fingers crossed,” I added. “Or talons, claws, or hooves, as the case may be.”
Ax pressed a button on the distress beacon. As far as we could tell, nothing happened.
So, Rachel, Cassie, Jake, and I began to morph. These were all morphs we had done before. There would be no battle to maintain control over the animal mind.
Rachel went into her elephant morph. We figured we might need that brute strength and size.
Jake slowly became a tiger. Cassie used her wolf morph. And I focused on my gorilla.
“What a freak scene this is.” I laughed as the changes began. “Anyone who stumbled onto this would think he’d lost his mind.”
It was definitely odd. You haven’t seen weird till you’ve seen pretty, blond, supermodel Rachel grow a trunk as thick as a small tree and ears the size of umbrellas.
Or Cassie, growing gray fur over every inch of her body, falling to all fours and baring long yellow teeth.
And then there was Jake. Huge, curved claws grew from his fingers. A snakelike tail whipped out behind him. Orange and black fur covered him. And when he was done he was a full grown tiger. Almost ten feet from his nose to his tail. Easily four hundred pounds.
If something deadly can ever be beautiful, it’s a tiger.
so.>
mature,> Cassie said.
Ax said.
I started to explain, but just then a red light began to flash on Ax’s homemade distress beacon.
He slunk away, liquid power, to hide in the shadow of a boulder. Rachel pressed back under the shallow overhang. Cassie trotted to a spot to the right of Jake, and I tried not to look like a four-hundred-pound gorilla behind a pile of gravel. Tobias flapped hard, struggling to gain altitude.
SWOOSH!
It came in low, just above tree level, then disappeared before turning to come back.
A Bug fighter. Just as we’d planned.
CHAPTER 18
S WOOSH!
The Bug fighter flew over once again, seemed to pause, then settled down toward the floor of the quarry.
Bug fighters are the smallest of the Yeerk ships. They aren’t much bigger than a school bus. They have a cowled, insectlike look, except that on either side there are very long, serrated spears pointing forward. So they look a little like a cockroach holding two spears.
The Bug fighter landed as gently as a feather. I held my breath.
The hatch opened. Out stepped a Hork-Bajir-Controller.
The Andalite prince, Ax’s brother,
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