Author's Note: Yay, it's finished. I'm not really sure how I feel about this chapter, but I think it's all right. The good news is that I can promise there's going to be a lot more of this fic soon, and I hope you guys like this!
Chronicle Two
Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. - Jane Howard, "Families"
Chapter Four
-Tobias-
I climbed out of bed and walked out of Ax's room and mine.
My name, just so you know, is Tobias; and I was starving.
Okay, I also couldn't sleep, but I'd spent a good chunk of the night beating up Controllers, so I was going to give into my craving for some sugary cavity-inducing cereal goodness, the fact that that it was three in the morning be damned.
But I wasn't stupid or rude. I didn't want to wake anyone up. Ax was a real grouch if you interrupted his sleep, and Loren -- well, she was terrifying.
Which was why I was surprised to find the kitchen lights on and even more surprised to see Loren sitting at the counter immersed in a bowl of Frosted Flakes and a warm cup of coffee.
She looked up at me and yawned. "What are you doing up?"
I shrugged. "Couldn't sleep."
Loren laughed and pushed her long blonde hair out of her eyes. "I know the feeling," she smiled, "Hungry? I could make you something."
I shook my head, still kind of taken aback, even after all this time, at the way she tried to make me feel at home here.
"No, that's fine. I might grab a snack, though." I mumbled. Loren nodded and turned her attention back to her paper. "Well, you know where the snack cabinet is," then she added, "Ax ate all the Fruit-Rollups, so..."
"The Fruit-Rollups are no more." I said. "We are Ax's stomach. You will be assimilated."
Loren snorted into her paper. Then we both turned around at the sound of footsteps.
"What about Fruit-Rollups?" Ax wondered, yawning, standing there half-awake in his dorky blue-and-white striped pajamas.
"You ate them all, kiddo." Loren informed him. "I have to go buy some tomorrow."
Ax frowned and ran a hand through his hair and looked up at me, reminding me of Jake. "What do we have?"
"Um," I reached into the snack cabinet. "A box of Fruity Pebbles. What do you think?"
Ax grinned. "It's my stomach, they'll be assimilated." I threw the box at him and it hit the floor. "Pick that up." Loren ordered.
"Yes, Ms. Smith." I said, grabbing the box.
Loren sighed and put down her paper, turning back to give me a reprimanding glare. "Now Ax has got you doing it, too. Don't call me Ms. Smith."
Ax and I looked at each other. "Yes, Ms. Smith." We chorused.
"You two are going to be the death of me." She announced.
I poured a bowl of Fruity Pebbles for Ax, and myself then we each took one and sat down with Loren.
"You boys will go back to sleep after eating that junk, won't you?" Loren asked us.
"Of course." Ax said before he started more or less inhaling the sugared pebbles.
"Good," Loren said, "Because I don't want to haul two sleep-deprived teenage boys to school tomorrow."
Ax and I exchanged a guilty glance. What Loren didn't know was that neither of us would be at school the next day. After she dropped us off, we'd be out there, busy spying on the Yeerks with two Chee taking our places.
Then I noticed Ax starting at the back of Loren's paper. "What's that?" He asked, pointing at an article.
Loren turned the paper around. "That," she said, "is just this reporter guy going on about how great The Sharing is."
She frowned. "They're a nice organization but a lot of those people give me the creeps. Like that William Tennet guy, from Contact Point? It's almost like a religion for him."
All this talk about The Sharing, and coming from Loren, was starting to bother me. I could feel stomach clench and my appetite die a quick death.
I coughed and stood up. "I think I'm full," I mumbled, "I'm going to go back to bed. Ax, you want the rest of this?" I asked, handing him my bowl.
"Sure." Ax said, taking the bowl, worry all over his face.
Loren got up, too, hugged me and told me good night.
I spent the rest of the night lying in my bed, not sleeping, my mind filled with horrible imagings, twisted shadow images of Loren and Ax and Rachel and the others in the Yeerk Pool and me helpless to save them.
Did you talk to her about it? Ax asked me.
No, I don't know what to say, I sighed, But I did ask her out.
So you'll be coming then?
Yeah.
Cool.
We stopped talking for a while as I spent my time peeking in from the new mall's sunroof, double-checking to see was coming and going through what we suspected was the pool entrance.
Rachel and I had discovered it about a week ago on our last date. One of the Gap dressing rooms.
Yes, Rachel took me shopping for clothes. I don't want to talk about it ever again.
Hey, Ax, I said, What do you think I should say?
How about "I'm sorry for being a jerk but I don't want to talk about this right now"? Ax suggested. You're asking the wrong guy, you know that, right? I don't exactly have a lot of experience apologizing to girls. Besides, Rachel's different from most girls.
You're right. I said. Thanks anyway, Ax-man.
Then I thought for a moment. Wait. Are you telling me you've never had a girlfriend?
Nope. I haven't. Ax said.
Why not? I wondered, I mean, it's not like you're an unattractive guy.
No interest, I guess, Ax sighed.
I laughed as I flew over to him. We had to switch. My wings were starting to ache.
So what, you're telling me you've never liked a girl? Never?
I didn't say that, Ax grumbled. I just meant that there's no interest. I never cared about the whole dating thing, even before all this.
Really? I asked him. Ax, that's -- that's kind of sad.
He chuckled. Easy for you to say, Romeo. Guess an alien like me just doesn't understand you humans.
Ax took off then and I sat there, waiting, keeping my advanced hawk eyes on the alert for any suspicious activity. There wasn't a lot except for this one guy buying way too many Hawaiian shirts. But that wasn't the kind of activity I was supposed to keep an eye on anyway.
But this was the third time the guy had gone to his car with a cartful of Hawaiian shirts. Which, with all of the things I'd experienced in the last few months, didn't unnerve me as much as they used to.
My uncle had a thing for them, though. They went along nicely with the stains on his jeans.
Wait.
No way,
I told myself. You're imaging it, Tobias. Freaking out because of what happened.Yes, that was it. I was imaging things. Like the fact that Hawaiian Shirt Guy's bald spot looked just like Uncle Rodney's.
Who I hadn't seen or heard from since the night he went after me with a belt. Who just happened to be purchasing way too many Hawaiian shirts. Who just happened to be in the parking lot of a Yeerk mall.
It's coincidence
, the rational part of my mind chimed in, He's not here. It's not him.Right. Coincidence.
It was three months and a war later and I still hadn't gotten over it. When I wasn't having nightmares about the Yeerks and the horrible things I had to do, I dreamed about him. About his belt cutting me up.
My imagination was just being overactive, that's all. Because I was still scared.
What if it is him?
I asked myself. You're supposed to be investigating Yeerks, aren't you? Maybe he knows something. Maybe he'd even tell you -- if it is him. It couldn't be him. The Yeerks wouldn't want a waste like him, he was useless.Except for the fact that he might have a clue about the weird boy who'd had the fainting spells. The boy they'd wanted an underage hacker to investigate. The one the police had been looking for.
Oh, shit.
Well, there was only one way to be sure.
I flew off my post and went to the back alley where Ax and I had morphed, still fighting with myself.
Ax could get hurt while you're off chasing a delusion.
The little voice in my head lectured. What then?Ax can take of himself, I told myself. He'd be fine.
What if he isn't? What if some yeerk notices him?
They won't, I argued. Even though I was supposed to be his backup and I was hightailing it away.
But I should at least tell him what I was up to.
Ax! I shouted. I think...well, there's a guy I want to keep an eye on. I don't think I saw him near the entrances but he's acting strange. I'm going to demorph and look in on him. Can you hold tight for a few minutes?
Sure, Ax said, But what's up?
I can't explain right now, I told him. More like you don't want to, My inner voice said, It's a hunch.
Okay, Ax relented. You sure you don't want me to watch this guy?
Certain, I told my foster-brother. But thanks.
Be careful.
I will be.
Then I started to demorph. My talons started to explode as they became big fleshy fingers and toes. My feathers began to smooth out and strands of tow-colored blonde hair erupted from my head.
I looked a little like a Furby, or maybe a muppet. You know, a Furby-Muppet Steven King style. I wonder what it'd be like if Steven King wrote a book about a Muppet-Furby.
Anyway, it wasn't long before I was back to my scrawny human self. Then it dawned on me that I was going to look a little out of place wearing a tight shirt and athletic shorts, shoeless, at the mall in the middle of December. Shame Ax had left our clothes on the roof. Oh well.
I ran walked out of the alley and started to walk to the parking lot.
Only to discover the Hawaiian Shirt Guy was no longer there.
Crap.
Running across the parking lot now and into the mall. Pushed the doors open and knocked down some big eyed ditzy looking blonde girl and her redheaded boyfriend. Ran past them and scanned the crowd. Where had he gone?
What will you do when you see him, anyway?
I asked myself. Walk up and say, "Hey, it's me, your nephew. The one who ran away from home? I was wondering, do you have an alien slug in your head?""I don't know," I muttered, too frustrated to care that I was talking to myself, "I don't know what I'll do!"
It was stupid rushing into the mall like this, leaving Ax without someone to watch him, just because I thought that maybe...
It came back to me without warning. The feeling as his belt ripped my skin. Screaming out that I was sorry for all those things he'd accused me of, things I'd never done. Those moments afterwards when I'd sat in my room swinging between rage and sadness. When I didn't know what I was going to do...
I took a deep breath and tried to clear my mind. No, this wasn't stupid. If my uncle was infested, I needed to know. We all needed to know. Jake's brother, Rachel's cousin, was already a controller. The more of our family who'd been taken equaled the more people who could figure out our secret.
I needed to know. Even if part of me was scared senseless.
Some blonde kid with a skateboard shoved me out of his way. That was when I saw them.
Rachel and my uncle.
Entering the Gap.
"Rachel!" I cried. "Rachel!"
That was stupid, I realized. She couldn't hear me over the crowd. Besides, what the hell was she doing here, anyway? I swear, if she told me she ditched school because of a sale, I was going to kill her.
I made my way through the crowd again and reached the Gap.
Rachel and my uncle had already gone inside. I walked in, ignoring the salesperson asking me if I wanted to buy something. I had to find Rachel. If my suspicion was right -- which I was now pretty sure it was -- I had to find her. Now.
I wasn't letting them take Rachel.
I know I sound dramatic and corny. I probably am. But you have to understand. Rachel is a lot more than just my girlfriend, she's my best friend. My only friend, really, that I had before all of this craziness started.
So, I had a reason to get worked up about her having a Yeerk slug in her brain.
I raced through aisles of clothes and accessories, trying to find the entrance Rachel and I had seen the last time we were here. Where was it? Where was it?!
I ran through a collection of sweaters and then I saw them. My uncle, gripping Rachel's arm. Almost puncturing the skin.
She was swearing and kicking at him but then he slapped her across the face. Rachel lifted her free arm to do the same but he grabbed that one as well.
That was it.
I burst through the sweaters. "Rachel!" I shouted, raising my voice to an unnatural level. "Hey, guy, get off my girlfriend!"
The Yeerk in my uncle's body leapt away from Rachel. I could hear the salespeople coming in to check on the ruckus.
The Yeerk looked me in the eyes. "You," he whispered.
"Yeah." I said, my voice sounding a lot more even than I expected it to, "Me. Long time no see."
The Yeerk glared and ran out of there. I didn't bother to chase after him this time.
Rachel and I left the Gap before there was a real scene. We ended up sitting on a bench by some record store. Well, Rachel was sitting. And apologizing. I was a little too busy pacing to do either of those things.
"I'm sorry," Rachel whispered. "I don't know what I was thinking, breaking out of school like that. It was stupid. I could have been..."
"You weren't." I said.
"That doesn't make me any less stupid, does it?" Rachel asked. I didn't have an answer for that. Instead, I just asked, "How did that guy find you?"
I noticed Rachel blush as I walked past her. "I was worked up, you know, about Mel and what I saw with my dad. That guy came by and he was trying to comfort me, then he'd grabbed me and..."
Rachel shuddered and looked at me. "Tobias."
"Yeah?" I asked her, not bothering to look at her this time.
"You're shaking."
She got up and wrapped her arms around me. I leaned into her embrace, fighting the tears in my eyes. "It was him," I whispered. "My uncle. He's one of them now."
"Oh god, Tobias." Rachel whispered. She took my hand.
"I know." I said. Then I didn't know what to say so I just kissed her.
We left not long after that and hooked up with Ax to finish our patrol.
I didn't tell him everything but I clued him into the important thing: My suspicions were right. My uncle was a Controller.
That was it. I guess I should've been more bothered by it, but I'd never much liked my uncle. I cared for him, sure, because he was family. But we weren't close and after all, he beat me up.
It wasn't like I'd lost Rachel, or Ax, or any of the others.
But then I had no idea how much one slug could change things.
Oooh, foreshadowing! (Reader's Response)
Baranth
- It's okay, I forgive you for being jerky. I just don't understand why you're so worked up about badfic...I mean, I know it's horrible, but that's why you and ignore it and write good stuff. Or give some stories a chance. I'd thrown in soem World Poker Tour references, but unfortunately, I don't watch it! And Marco/Toby...that's an interesting idea, but the story's kind of heading in another direction...maybe another fic, though. I'd like to read something like that, it'd be cool.Patrick Blah - Sorry your Author Alert keeps messing up. =( And I'm gad you're interested in the Madra thing...it'll turn out to be part of quite a complicated web later on. And I hope that you enjoyed the Tobias/Ax/Loren stuff in this chapter. And no spoilers on when/if Tobias will find out about Loren. wink And Rachel's dad...well, I'm not telling. You have to read to see.
goddess of darkness3 - Glad you liked the story and there will be more soon!
Kuwa-chan - Yes, that Madra. And, okay, if you really want me to, I'll smack you for not reading...but that wouldn't be fair with me not reading Cheechron. Glad you liked the twistiness and the slashiness, David and Madra, Rachel, and the Tobias/Ax interaction. And I habe you anticipating the pairings? Woohoo! My work is done! =)
Mortathar - I get writer's block because my plans kind of fall apart when I write. Ack. Good luck with your writer's block, though. I find the best thing to do for that is to wade your way through it and just try and write anyway. Again, good luck!
A.S.Amalon - Hey, long time no see! Thanks for the compliments and I promise another update soon.
Jamieson Z - Glad you liked Tom and the R/T. And, yeah, I had the same thoughts about the language. I know I swear like a sailor and so do lots of kids my age, so...yeah. That explains the cursing and all. =P And, hey, if you keep reviewing, I'll keep writing!
freak show - Okay, okay, it doesn't suck. And who knows, maybe you'll get your Marco/Tobias fight. Or at least Maroc and Tobias fighting with somebody. That I can promise. And one of your guesses on Rachel's Dad's girlfriend (whether she's a controller or not) is right, but I can't tell you which one. It's not Tobias's aunt, though that is a really cool idea...maybe if you wrote that your writer's block would go away? Shoo, block, shoo!
cherrygashes - Yay, somebody's addicted to my stuff. =) Thanks for reviewing, and yeah, I'll keep writing!
kaz456 - This story won't be finished 'til it's finished, don't worry! Well, unless I die or something. Then I'll stop, but I hope that won't happen. And you'll see about David...and there will be a Tobias-Marco scene later on, so just wait for it. And I just forgot about the captializing dad. I'll go fix that, thanks.
DH L'Orange - Summer is awesome as far as updating goes. All my fave authors are getting back to their fics, and it's great. I know exactly what you mean. And I'm glad you like the Loren/Ax/Tobias stuff, they'll be even more of it later on. And I'm glad you like the mention of weather. It was sort of irritating the KAA never brought that up...
Korean Pearl - Glad you like the Rachel and Tobias stuff. Everybody seems to love those two. grin And I'm glad you liked this!