By: Jarda
Well, I might as well tell you about "that night." I had just joined this really neat group, called the Sharing. It was the fifth meeting I'd been to, and I was being considered for full membership. I was really excited, so I decided to follow some of the kids to the leadership meeting, which was after the regular meeting. I didn't want to get in trouble, so I stayed back. You see, we lowly "associate members" aren't allowed to come. So I followed a group of my friends to the meeting, which was held in the back of the school stadium, kind of underneath the concrete bleachers.
"So this is that secret meeting spot no one will tell me about," I muttered under my breath, "This is going to be a piece of cake! No one will spot me behind this little stand of trees. Nothing to worry about."
I had managed to find a spot where I could see everyone, but no one could spot me. It was behind some of the trees that surround our school stadium. As I squirmed to find a comfortable spot, I noticed the full members looking over towards the porta-potties. They weren't talking or moving around, but just standing there in straight, military style lines. Very strange.
Anyway, I was just getting comfortable when one of the porta-potty doors opened. Out stepped four people and two really scary creatures. I just about wet my pants. What had I gotten myself into? No way that many people and those, those things could fit inside that small of a space. My imagination began to run wild: were they aliens? what about the people from the Sharing? what are those creatures going to do to them? I was really starting to worry, when I noticed the full-members were not running in terror. Instead they just stood there, like they were expecting two freaks of nature to just come out of a porta-potty.
While I was busy staring at the creature, which looked like huge, walking razorblades, someone had noticed me. I was still scraping my jaw off the ground when they came up behind me. My best friend, Julie, a full member, and my other good friend, Tara, also a full member, had sneaked up behind me. They were pointing these really strange guns at me. The guns didn't look like rifles or handguns, but like a phasers from Star Trek. Julie and Tara told me in cold voices to get up and go into the stadium.
As soon as I made my way into the stadium, I was grabbed by two older guys, members of the high school football team. Now I was really getting worried. Then this other, creature stepped out of the shadows underneath the bleachers. It looked like a strange cross between a blue deer, human, and a scorpion. With its human torso, deer body, scorpion tail, and four eyes, it carried a feeling of evil around it. I knew I was in big trouble.
The creature turned to the guys who were holding my arms, <Take her to the pool, we must infest this human. It has seen too much.> I heard this voice in my head, in a way I'd never heard language before. It was really strange to say the least. The guys dragged me over to the porta-potty that all those people and things had came out of. That's when the nightmare began.
The pressure those stupid meat-heads were putting on my arms suddenly seemed to disappear as I stared in horror at the terrible waste of the cavern. I now knew where the tortured screams were coming from. I could see in the distance two docks over a enormous pool of sludgy yellow liquid. On one dock, people were calmly lining up and sticking their heads over the water. Usually the person would rear up in terror or look extremely upset with tears running down their faces. Sometimes, however, the person, or as I could now see other creatures would stand up and calmly walk away. It was then that I looked again around the pool. All around it there were various types of strong cages, usually containing the upset people and things. Ever so often, a bladed creature would come up to one of these cages and drag a kicking and screaming being to the other dock.
This dock was even worse than the first one. At this pier, people and creatures would be crying and screaming one minute and the next second after being dunked underwater they would be perfectly calm. Serene, even. As I dropped down into the cavern, I realized I was in deep trouble.
Within minutes of trembling and a strange curiosity, I was seized again and taken to the second dock. I knew what was instore for me, sort of, anyway. The closer I got to the end of the pier, the more clearly the strange water seemed to be churning. It looked as though strange, almost worm-like creatures were writhing just beneath the surface.
Soon I was second in line. Only now did I realize the tears streaming down my cheeks. I was so confused. It was only at the last second did I see what was happening to the old woman in front of me. Only then did I see one of the worm creatures enter into the old soul's cranium and see the blankness come over her face. Only then did I understand the true horror of my situation.
I was dunked unmercifully under the water. I felt a sharp pain, then a strange numbness all over my body. I then heard a voice, speaking to me in the same way the blue deer had spoken to me above ground.
<Oh, my. You're a new Controller! You don't have a clue what's going on, do you?> the voice said.
<No. Wait one minute. How can I hear you? What's going on? Why am I numb all over? And lastly, who, or what are you?> I replied in response to the strange new voice.
<I am your new keeper, human. I am going to control your body till I can get a new host. At that time, you'll have to make room in your primitive skull for another of my kind. I am a Yeerk, and I am your master,> the voice told me.
Little did I know how true the voice's prediction was. Within two days time, I understood fully what I had gotten myself into. The Yeerk, who identified herself as Reniea 2-9-8 of some pool, made my body go back to the place the porta potty elevator had put me down. Together, we stepped onto the dropshaft, as Reniea called it, and went back up to the surface.
When we came home from the meeting, Mom asked how things had went.
In response, Reniea said, "Better than you'll ever know." And with that we calmly walked upstairs.
I learned a lot in the next couple of weeks. I saw how easily some of my friends were coerced into joining the Sharing, simply because I was a member. It made me really think, since that was all I could do anyway. I was a prisoner in my own body. Soon the Yeerk made my parents into Controllers. It made life a whole lot easier for Reniea, since she only now had to keep up the charade of being me outside of the home.
Only one thing kept me going. I learned through my distant eyes and ears about the existence of "Andalite bandits" that were based on Earth. Oh, how Reniea hated them. She would confide in me, since I couldn't do anything about it, how much she hated Andalites and couldn't wait for a chance to Dracon one of them. I merely sat in a corner of my mind an thought at night, when Reniea was less alert, about how I could escape her viscous hold.
One day, Reniea and I had to go to the dentist for my twice a year checkup. I was giving up by now, having been under her control for almost half a year. But there was something neither of us had thought of: my body was going to have to be put under during this visit. It wasn't until we were laying in the dentist's chair, dozing in a dreamlike state, when I realized I could feel my feet. They were asleep. Reniea must be losing her control! I thought.
As soon as the hygienist who had administered the drug left the room, I was out of there. I managed to get up and walk out the door. I was rather shaky, considering I had been given a heavy sedative and hadn't moved myself in months, but I did manage to get out the door.
I knew my window of opportunity was small, so I thought over my plans as quickly as I could, and I came to two possible solutions. I could either run away somewhere remote and lock myself up. That would be hard, but I would only have to wait one day, since she had fed herself two days ago on Kandrona rays. Or I could steal some of the drug and give myself (gulp) injections every hour or so. Maybe I could do both and wait Reniea out. That was it! I would starve her.
By this time, I had already made it outside and onto my motorcycle, which was my main mode of transportation (other than Mom and Dad) in town. Since they were both working their Controller butts off, I had taken myself to the dentist. Anyway, I was on my bike, heading to the dentist office (which I had only went about a mile on) when my brainstorm to sedate myself hit. I swerved around and started back to the office.
<NO!> she said in my head, <You will not win! You're foolish! I will make you pay!>
And with that, she tried to regain control of my body as we were crossing a bridge. In our struggle, which I was losing, I managed to keep a little control of my fingers. We swerved like mad across the street, and crossed the median of double yellow lines. All of a sudden…..
BAM! We hit a truck head-on! We went flying through the air and continued to feel weightless untill we hit the cold water a hundred feet below. Almost instantaneously I, and only I, not Reniea, saw a blinding light. I felt myself begin to rise up and away from myself. It was almost as though the light was pulling me up into it. I felt peace beyond anything imaginable. But after only a moment of this peace, I was pulled back to the Earth.
Suddenly I felt my body again; I was shivering, being swept down the river. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that something important was about to happen. I heard Reniea, in my head, start to wake up again. I had to make my move now. If I didn't, I would be trapped forever.
Deep within my brain, a new sense arose. I felt a strange sensation waft throughout my very being, and suddenly a great strength emanated from the base of my neck.
<What are you doing? Stop this immediately! No slave has ever beaten a Yeerk!> Reniea shrieked from within.
<There's a first time for everything, dear,> I responded. And with that final gesture of defiance, the power flowed full force from my neck to my head. I felt the sudden pain in my ear as Reniea's dead shell was expelled from my head. A moment later, the water churned, and the husk that was my tormentor disintegrated into nothing.
Miss Ruth told me that the power would consume me as it had her, and would make me insane, too. So she began to train me in the only ways she knew how. I was able to control my new found powers, and was eventually able to do the strangest things. We figured that the blinding light we had both seen was either a near death experience, or the wakening of the rest of our brains. I had heard that regular people only use about 20% of the brains. Miss Ruth and I use much more. I have found that I use 70%. My powers are strange, some of them lasting a long time, others only happening once and then never resurfacing.
My main powers are heightened senses, especially the sense of hearing. I can also move things with my mind sometimes. One thing I can always, do, my main ability, is mental domination. I can hand someone a one-dollar bill and tell them it's a twenty, and they'll believe me. Of course, I don't use it very often, because it does seem wrong. I can draw truth and make people forget things using this ability, however, so it is very useful.
One thing Miss Ruth and I decided long ago was this: when I was ready I would try to seek out the Andalite bandits and help them in any way I could. I could be useful in detecting Controllers, since I could just ask a person and they would tell me the truth. I could do many other things, but one thing was certain: I was going to have my revenge for Reniea taking my life.
After all, she did steal my identity, my parents, my friends, and in my plunge off of the bridge, I was presumed dead, which is good now, but it also means I can never go back. I'm going to make sure that I succeed. Yeerks everywhere and in everyone better watch out. I am now ready.
To the Author's Webpage- AniRealm
