"What do we do? I mean, if he's a Controller already?" I asked.
"I don't know. I guess we focus on attacking the logging operation itself. "
"Really? You know what we'd do if he were a nonhuman Controller?" I asked. "We'd go after him and whatever happened, happened. Right?"
"You mean, like a termite?" Tobias asked dryly.
"Yeah. That's exactly what I mean," I said.
"Look, Cassie, you're human. Homo sapien. Your job is to keep yourself and your species alive. That's all nature wants from you. That's the whole point of evolution -- to survive. " He sounded angry.
We were following the Jeep now, heading back toward the logging camp. It would happen in just a few minutes. In just a few minutes Farrand would see what was going on, and we would know what he truly was.
One of us, or one of them.
"Survive," I said flatly.
"That's the law of nature. The number one law. And humans are part of nature."
"Then so are the Yeerks, and we're no better than them. "
"I guess we'll have to worry about that one later," Tobias said. "Look. " The Jeep pulled to a stop in front of the Yeerk fortress.
Farrand flung open his door and jumped out. I could easily see him waving his arms. Even from where I was I could see the anger on his face.
Then from the building there came a man.
And yet... this man felt wrong. Even from up in the air, I felt a chill that seemed to emanate from him.
"Him," Tobias said.
I knew instantly what Tobias meant.
"I only saw him once in a human morph, but it's him," Tobias said.
74 Visser Three.
Visser Three.
The leader of the Yeerk invasion of Earth. The only Yeerk in all the universe to have taken control of an Andalite body. The only Yeerk in all the universe with the power to morph.
It shouldn't have surprised me that he would use his human morph. It made sense.
And yet I felt a cold rage deep inside me at the sight. It wasn't logical, but I felt it just the same. He was a fake human. He was using human DNA and human form as part of his plan to enslave all of humanity.
"Visser Three," I said to Tobias.
"Yeah," he agreed. "He looks so normal. Except for the fact that he gives you the creeps. "
"I have a bad feeling about this," I said. "I don't think they're going to wait long. I think they're going to take Farrand right away. "
Farrand was walking toward Visser Three, still waving his hands wildly toward the heavy machinery that was chewing through the trees. Visser Three was smiling. It was not a nice smile.
"Where are Jake and the others?" Tobias wondered.
"Oh, man," I said. "This is going to happen real -"
All of a sudden, Visser Three lashed out and slapped Farrand across the face. The commissioner staggered back. He held a hand to his cheek.
The two men from the Jeep rushed to grab Farrand's arms. Farrand was an older man. He was helpless.
"Cassie. Look. That's either Jake, or there is some other tiger loose in these woods!" I looked toward the clearing. Now I could see it -- a huge, orange-striped tiger was racing toward Farrand. But he was too far away. It had all happened too suddenly. Jake wasn't in position. I didn't even know where the others were. Probably still morphing.
"It's up to you," I said.
I adjusted my wings, aimed for Visser Three, and dove. Down, down, down. Faster and faster, till my wings were vibrating and my bones were rattling from the speed.
The target, Visser Three's human head, grew larger. Larger. Larger!
I raked my talons forward, I flared my wings just enough to keep from overshooting, and I struck. I could feel my talons bite into his scalp. And then I was out of there, carried away by my own momentum.
75 "Aaarrrgghh!" the Visser yelled.
At the same instant, Tobias hit one of the guys from the Jeep. Tobias has more experience than I do. His aim is better. The guy he hit would be wearing an eyepatch for the rest of his life.
"Yeee hah!" Tobias cried.
Farrand broke free of his remaining captor and ran.
"Get him!" Visser Three yelled. "Full alert!"
The uninjured guard went after Farrand. He caught him easily and knocked him facedown in the dirt. I saw Jake closing in fast, a black-and-orange streak.
Looking past him, I saw that there was a second battle out by the edge of the forest. Two wolves -- Rachel and Marco -- were on the Controllers operating the machines. The perimeter guards had come running, automatic weapons ready.
Suddenly, fast as a gazelle, Ax ran to help Rachel. The nearest guard turned to take a shot.
Ax's tail flashed, and the Controller no longer had a way to pull a trigger.
Just beneath me, the other Controller from the Jeep kicked Farrand, who was struggling to get up. That was too much for me. I wheeled in the air and went back for a second run.
"Cassie!" Tobias cried a warning.
The front door of the building flew open and they began spilling out -- a half dozen human-Controllers, each armed. And worse ... far worse, four big Hork-Bajir.
But it was too late to back off. I was already diving.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
I heard the first two bullets go whizzing past me.
I felt the third bullet hit my wing. It went straight through my right wing, and I tumbled from the air, suddenly as ungainly as a chicken.
I fell. Helpless, I fell.
WHUMP!
I slammed hard into the ground.
Dizzy and confused, I thought I saw Jake leap toward a Hork-Bajir warrior. But I couldn't be sure. I was fading. Fading . . .
My world grew small and dark. I could no longer see anything far away. I could focus only on the ground right before me. An ant was marching by, carrying a dead bug. Maybe I was 76 just imagining things, as I sank into unconsciousness. Maybe my brain was making up things that weren't there. But I could almost have sworn that the ant was carrying the dead, dried-out husk of the termite queen.
And then everything went black.
77 Chapter NINETEEN
I woke up in a sort of large box. It was dark, but not totally without light. There were small round holes drilled in the sides of the box. Airholes. I could see the commissioner, Farrand, unconscious on the floor beside me.
He looked old. He was mostly bald and had hair growing out of his ears. There was blood trickling from a shallow cut on his forehead.
"Turn on the perimeter defenses!" Visser Three yelled.
I could hear him clearly. I was still an osprey, but ospreys have good hearing. It was strange, being able to hear the Yeerk Visser's voice. We always encountered him when he was in his own stolen Andalite body. Then he communicated only in thought-speak.
"You! And you! Keep your eyes on that box," Visser Three snapped. "If anything . . .
anything, no matter how small tries to get out of there, destroy it! There's an Andalite bandit in that box, and there had better be an Andalite bandit in that box when this is over. Or I'll destroy you both!"
Andalite bandit. That was me. Of course, if I didn't get out of the box, I would have to demorph eventually and Visser Three would see the truth -- that I was a human.
And I would have to demorph soon. My wing felt like it was on fire. The pain was terrible.