Animorphs: The Hidden Trilogy- The Eighth

Chapter 15

Visser Two is talking to someone.

I crept behind a bush apprehensively and checked out who he's talking to.

Jake. . . Again?!

"The deal, Jake." Visser Two said. "But you sabotaged Visser Three's reputation again, as always." He laughed a shrill, cold laugh. "So I'll give you another week, okay?"

"BUT, you better find me one as soon as possible or else," Visser Two grinned wide and retrieved an elaborate chess piece. He looked at it and smiled, "I really liked your game called. . . Chess." He hissed. "Such an ironic game. The king, the leader, is, surprisingly, weak as his pawns, and his subordinates are the ones who took on the battlefield. Very, very meaningful." He grinned wider. "SO, get what I want or I'll press this little button like, oops, an accident." He shrieked in laughter, while Jake left silently.

That's when I went out of my hiding.

"Oh, Caleb!" He grinned as he hid the chess piece in his cloak. "How's your day?" Then he grimly whispered in a hoarse voice, "how's the deal?"

<How about you and your deal with Jake?> I hissed. <Traitor.>

"Traitor? Me?" He said with mock surprise. Then laughed. "Of course not, Caleb. Our agreement is a morph-capable host in exchange of you parents! Nothing about hiring a backup plan is included in our agreement, fool!"

But I ignored him. <How did you know him? What's your deal with him? What about giving him a week because he sabotaged Visser Three again?> I hissed.

"What if you just shut up and stop meddling in others' businesses!?" Visser Two screamed in anger. "What if I just kill your parents now?!"

I glared at him, body all tense, and anger building up. <DON'T YOU KNOW THAT MY ONLY FRIEND IS IN DANGER OF DYING BECAUSE OF THIS STUPID DEAL? HUH?! > I screamed at him as I took a step towards him.

<Why don't I just kill you to get this over with. I'll kill you, free my parents, and run somewhere safe. That's easier than to be stuck up with your deals!> I was about to attack but. . .

I saw sudden movements behind the tree where Visser Two is leaning on, but I can't see it clearly with my wolf eyes. So I speed-morphed it into an eagle's.

I saw the silhouette of a familiar Hork-Bajir.

Vantriss Two.

But how . . . ? I know it's dangerous to be so near at Visser Two, so how can he survive Visser Two's radiation? Does he have a deflecting device or something? Or can Visser Two stop his horn to spread radiation? How. . .

"Look, Caleb," he sighed. "One more week for the deal. Fail again and you might need to kill Visser Three now. Fail again and I'll. . ."

He removed his hood and made the horn glow purplish-red with radiation. Hork-Bajirs-Controllers step backwards suddenly. I followed their suit. Yet the shadow behind him are still there, eyes glowing in the dusk.

I hissed at him and ran away as I recalled all of my thoughts.

"SO, get what I want or I'll press this little button like, oops, an accident."

What will happen to Jake if he did that? What will Jake lose? And, before all of that, what was really their 'deal?' Are there any connections between Jake's hatred towards me and his deal with Visser Two?

I always planned from the start to take Jake or Marco to Visser Two as his wanted 'morph-capable host.' But things got pretty personal from the start that I decided I'll get Jake to be his wanted host. Huh, sucks for him.

By the way, is the shadow behind Visser Two really Vantriss Two? How can he survive the radiation? Does he have some device? But if that is the case, more should have it, not just him. I need to figure it out.

And oh, my parents. I've been the most rebellious and perhaps the worst kid Earth has seen, but I'm still a kid. I miss them too, sometimes. I miss how they treat me to any place when we're on a certain country, and their certain strictness when it comes to my education. Until they became Controllers. I didn't knew it at first, and I always wonder what I did before that made them so cold to me. Until I met the Andalite that made my life a different kind of hell.

Memories flooded me again but went down the sink instantly as I noticed Cassie's barn approaching from the distance.

Oh, yeah.

What had happened to Cassie?!