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1.
«He’s free,» I told Marco as we flew out of the Yeerk pool.
«No, he’s not. We need to hide him, right now.»
Where? I wanted to ask him. But I was the leader, and he was my brother. Marco couldn’t answer that for me.
«The woods behind my house,» Cassie said. «I’ll bring him food.»
«Don’t tell him who you are until he’s safe,» said Marco. «The Yeerks can’t know about us.»
«Follow me,» I told Tom, coolly, like a stranger.
I was so busy guiding him through the dark city that I didn’t notice we’d left Tobias behind.
2.
“How can I help?” Tom asked. He smelled earthy, and his eyes had bags. How long could he live in the woods? Cassie’s parents would notice the missing food, someday. Or he would get sick, without access to a doctor.
“Keep Tobias sane,” I said. “He needs you.”
“I know. I’m doing what I can.”
“Tell me how we can hurt the Yeerks.”
“I can do that.” Tom considered. “Find the Kandrona generator. If you destroy it, the Yeerks will starve.”
“Okay.”
“And there’s something Temrash was furious about. You should find out more. It’s called the Yeerk Peace Movement.”
3.
“I’m sorry, Jake.” It was Tom. He was finally here. He held me in a tight hug. I could barely sit up. “It was too dangerous. If the Yeerk had morphed and attacked me…”
“You’re here now.” I had to tell him. My throat closed. I forced it open. “It was your Yeerk, Tom. It was Temrash.”
He stopped breathing.
“You told me how bad it was. I thought I knew.” My voice came out a sob.
“He’s dead now, midget.” Tom pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “That goes a long way to make it better.”
4.
I thought he would never come. This Yeerk Peace Movement had to be a joke, like moderate Klansmen. But Mr. Tidwell was here, at the trailhead, with a box of canned food and a propane cylinder, just as we asked.
“I know you’re watching,” he said. “Can you shelter more escaped hosts?”
Oh. He’d figured it out.
“I know people who need a place. Watch them for three days if you like. Just help them. Please.”
«Perhaps,» I said. «We will confer.»
But I knew how we would vote. Especially Tom. We wouldn’t just have a free Hork-Bajir colony anymore.
5.
«He helped you.» The sound of my own voice terrified me: low, moaning, like Cassie’s injured animals. «He looked after you.»
«Self-righteous prick,» David spat. «Easy for him to live like a savage in the woods. He had a family.»
Tom’s merlin body looked so tiny on the ground. Broken, like a toy. Tobias had outflown David. Tom, new to morphing, couldn’t.
«I’m going to kill you.» I understood Rachel more than ever before. It was better to feel this rage than grief or terror. «Your parents will never see you again. I’m going to hurt you until you die.»
(+1)
“I wonder sometimes,” I told Marco one drunken night, “what would’ve happened if I’d just said ‘fuck it’ and kidnapped him and starved his Yeerk. I thought about it.”
“He would’ve had to live in the woods. How long could that have lasted?” We were on our backs, staring up, so we couldn’t see each other’s faces.
“I dunno. He did Boy Scouts. Maybe he could’ve made it. If he had a chance.”
“Jake. He would’ve died. He was your hope. You couldn’t have fought without that.”
“Yeah,” I said. “So he died just when I didn’t need hope anymore.”