The Alien Read Online Free
Author: K. A. Applegate
was Tobias, on patrol far overhead. Of course, none of the humans could answer him. They can use thought-speech only when theyâre in a morph. Since my human body is itself a morph, I could have responded, but Tobias went on.
he said.
Just then, I began to hear it, too. It was a human shouting in a loud, hoarse voice.
âOver there,â Marco said tersely.
A man appeared. He seemed to be having difficulty standing up. He leaned against the outer wall of the store and staggered forward. Humans stared at him and moved away.
âListen to me! Listen to me!â he cried, looking around wildly. âTheyâre here! Theyâre here! Theyâre everywhere! The Yeerks are here!â
My human body felt as if it had been jolted with electricity. Human bodies become very tense when surprised. I could see that Prince Jake and Marco were having the same reaction.
I heard sirens wailing and drawing closer.
âWhat do we do?â Marco asked.
Prince Jake turned quickly back to Rachel and Cassie. He made a gesture with his hand. âSplit up!â he said.
âTheyâre heeeeere!â the man cried. âAaaaahhhh!â He suddenly clapped both his hands over his left ear. âGot you! Got you! Die! Die!â
âHeâs a Controller,â I said. âThe Yeerk in his head is dying.â
Jake met my gaze. âI know,â he said. âBeen there.â
I nodded. Jake had been made into a Controller, though only for a brief time. We had been able to imprison him and starve the Yeerk. Yeerks live in the brains of other species, but every three Earth days they must bathe in the Yeerk pool and soak up Kandrona rays. Without Kandrona rays, they starve and die.
Kandrona rays are beamed from a device called a Kandrona. (Actually, itâs a Kandrona Wave/Particle Generator.) The rays are beamed and then concentrated in the Yeerk pool, where the Yeerks feed.
We had found and destroyed the Earth-based Kandrona.
âWhy is this happening
now
?â Rachel asked. âItâs been weeks since we destroyed the Kandrona. Nothing ever seemed to happen. So why
now
?â
I shrugged my shoulders, the way humans do to indicate ignorance. âI donât know, Rachel. Maybe the Yeerks have reached their limit. It would have been a strain on their resources to shuttle Controllers back and forth to the mother ship. Ship-puh. Maybe something was broken.â
âI didnât think things just broke for you space people,â Marco said.
âThings break,â I said truthfully. âBreak. Ake. Ake-kuh.â
âWell, whatever. Scratch one Yeerk,â Marco said harshly.
The man was screaming now and yanking at his ear. I could just see the slimy tip of the dying Yeerk as it slithered out of the manâs head.
âCanât we help him?â
It was Cassie. She and Rachel had defied Prince Jakeâs order to split up. They were with us now as we watched, horrified and transfixed.
âWe have to stay clear of this,â Prince Jake said. âBut maybe itâs finally starting. It may just be this one guy, but there may be more. Finally! I expected this to start happening weeks ago. Yeerks dying! Controllers suddenly free and human again.â He grinned. It was a savage look. âTheyâll die, and their hosts will be free! At first, people will think theyâre nuts. But when they have ten, twenty, fifty people all yelling about the Yeerks? They wonât be able to cover that up. Not for long!â
His voice had risen, becoming higher, and the words came out faster. He was obviously excited.
Suddenly an ambulance raced up, followed by two police cars, all with flashing lights and screaming
Just then, I began to hear it, too. It was a human shouting in a loud, hoarse voice.
âOver there,â Marco said tersely.
A man appeared. He seemed to be having difficulty standing up. He leaned against the outer wall of the store and staggered forward. Humans stared at him and moved away.
âListen to me! Listen to me!â he cried, looking around wildly. âTheyâre here! Theyâre here! Theyâre everywhere! The Yeerks are here!â
My human body felt as if it had been jolted with electricity. Human bodies become very tense when surprised. I could see that Prince Jake and Marco were having the same reaction.
I heard sirens wailing and drawing closer.
âWhat do we do?â Marco asked.
Prince Jake turned quickly back to Rachel and Cassie. He made a gesture with his hand. âSplit up!â he said.
âTheyâre heeeeere!â the man cried. âAaaaahhhh!â He suddenly clapped both his hands over his left ear. âGot you! Got you! Die! Die!â
âHeâs a Controller,â I said. âThe Yeerk in his head is dying.â
Jake met my gaze. âI know,â he said. âBeen there.â
I nodded. Jake had been made into a Controller, though only for a brief time. We had been able to imprison him and starve the Yeerk. Yeerks live in the brains of other species, but every three Earth days they must bathe in the Yeerk pool and soak up Kandrona rays. Without Kandrona rays, they starve and die.
Kandrona rays are beamed from a device called a Kandrona. (Actually, itâs a Kandrona Wave/Particle Generator.) The rays are beamed and then concentrated in the Yeerk pool, where the Yeerks feed.
We had found and destroyed the Earth-based Kandrona.
âWhy is this happening
now
?â Rachel asked. âItâs been weeks since we destroyed the Kandrona. Nothing ever seemed to happen. So why
now
?â
I shrugged my shoulders, the way humans do to indicate ignorance. âI donât know, Rachel. Maybe the Yeerks have reached their limit. It would have been a strain on their resources to shuttle Controllers back and forth to the mother ship. Ship-puh. Maybe something was broken.â
âI didnât think things just broke for you space people,â Marco said.
âThings break,â I said truthfully. âBreak. Ake. Ake-kuh.â
âWell, whatever. Scratch one Yeerk,â Marco said harshly.
The man was screaming now and yanking at his ear. I could just see the slimy tip of the dying Yeerk as it slithered out of the manâs head.
âCanât we help him?â
It was Cassie. She and Rachel had defied Prince Jakeâs order to split up. They were with us now as we watched, horrified and transfixed.
âWe have to stay clear of this,â Prince Jake said. âBut maybe itâs finally starting. It may just be this one guy, but there may be more. Finally! I expected this to start happening weeks ago. Yeerks dying! Controllers suddenly free and human again.â He grinned. It was a savage look. âTheyâll die, and their hosts will be free! At first, people will think theyâre nuts. But when they have ten, twenty, fifty people all yelling about the Yeerks? They wonât be able to cover that up. Not for long!â
His voice had risen, becoming higher, and the words came out faster. He was obviously excited.
Suddenly an ambulance raced up, followed by two police cars, all with flashing lights and screaming
Readers choose
Karen Abbott
Kim Falconer
Betsy Byars
Stephanie Laurens
James Jones
Ian Doescher
Paul Ableman
L. E. Modesitt Jr.
Karen Kincy