Marco hadn't yet finished his wolf morph when Tobias comes and says that the dust beast is coming. Well isn't this the greatest news of the century!
Marco replies to Tobias that they can see the dust beast and Jake says that they should finish their morphs. I would ask Jake how he thinks wolves stand a good chance against a dust beast, but I see the point of humans being much weaker than wolves. So it could just be a 'feel good' thing.
Marco doesn't want to face the dust beast a second time in less than a day, but he feels a little better with Jake by his side. I like their friendship showing up like this. In the face of death he is just glad he's with his best friend.
Jake pretends to be brave, but Marco has known him for too long for that trick to work.
That does not seem like a pleasant thing to face any time of the day. As Marco races away from the dust beast he recalls that a wolf can run for hours but he doesn't think that he will have that long to live.
Marco races and has to deal with thorn bushes and such while the dust beast just shreds them like they're nothing. The duo comes up with the idea that they need to go someplace with thicker trees as those seem to slow the dust beast down.
Marco didn't know which way thicker trees were but the wolf's instincts knew. So Marco and Jake turned as one to the north. The dust beast wasn't slowing down or speeding up, which wasn't exactly good news.
Father Tobias asks what the hell his two idiot friends are doing. Jake explains briefly about their thicker tree plan. Birdboy then informs the two that they'll reach an open meadow soon. You know, a place with no trees.
Yep, dust beast is going to visit Rachel.
Chapter 14
Rachel starts the chapter screaming. In the confusion of the fire, she can still feel that she is morphing. She doesn't know if morphing will be enough to save her, though. Poor Rachel!
She waits for the morph to finish but the heat from the fire is too great. The Grizzly bear mind takes over and starts to try to get out. The Grizzly doesn't like the fire. It easily breaks down the walls that had held Rachel captive. Once she gets out, the cabin collapses onto itself.
Rachel looks down and she looks at how far her morph has gone. She then gets a flash of memory where she remembers that this morph is called a Grizzly bear. A morph she is still morphing as it isn't complete. She wonders if she's insane as the crazy old woman. She also wonders if she's a Yeerk.
When the dust beast comes, Rachel is fully in morph and the Grizzly mind is angry instead of scared.
No one attacked a grizzly. Not if they wanted to live.
So she doesn't realize that this creature is Ax. The Andalite brother of Prince Elfangor and the Andalite she had helped rescue.
Ax doesn't know that Rachel has amnesia and so repeats his question. Rachel finally asks if that's her name. Before a proper reunion could happen, the dust beast attacks.
Chapter 15
Ax goes over his own backstory. He says he isn't one of the Animorphs, though I disagree there, and that he has taken Jake as his Prince while on Earth. Prince, if you can't remember, is basically a very high rank in the Andalite military.
Ax says the reason he went with Marco was to protect the boy. He says that Marco is inflicted by humor which makes him do strange things. I love Ax trying to play doctor.
As Ax is going towards where he's supposed to meet up with Jake, Marco, and Tobias he sees a fire. He then sees the dust beast. He decides to run to the burning shack as the beast must be after him so he has to hide.
That'd be a good idea if that were true...
Ax sees the shack and then sees a Grizzly bear while still looking at the dust beast. He recalls that Rachel has a Grizzly bear morph, this is the book after The Stranger so it hasn't become her iconic battle morph yet, and so asks the bear if she's Rachel.
When she doesn't reply, Ax asks again. Rachel just responds with if Rachel is her name. Before another reply could happen the dust beast attacks Rachel. He tells her that she can't fight it.
Rachel goes to hit it and this happens:
Its paw was gone! Simply gone. In its place was a shattered, bloody stump.
I must remind you that this is a kid's book. This is for Young Adults. Excuse me as I go barf.
He watches as yet another of Rachel's limbs gets ripped off by the dust beast. Ax cries out her name and quickly figures out he doesn't have a morph that can battle this creature. He decides the best option is to morph a Northern Harrier so he can find out where the dust beast comes from. Well, first he thinks of just escaping but then changes his plans.
As Ax starts to morph he's surprised when the dust beast immediately turns to attack him.
And in the few seconds left to me, I realized...the morphing! It was the morphing! That's what it was after. It was reacting to the morphing. It was the morphing energy itself that drew the beast.
Ax has figured it out! At least, part of it.
He starts to demorph as he knows he can't fight it. As he is taken away he realizes he knows who controls the dust beast and he becomes even more frightened.
A reminder that this book is for kids!
Chapter 16
Jake sniffs the ground in wolf morph. He picks up the scent of two humans, a Grizzly bear, and Ax. He asks Marco what he makes of the scents. He points out that one of the human smells and the Grizzly bear is Rachel and that she was hurt bad while in Grizzly bear morph.
Jake asks Marco what could harm a Grizzly bear even though he knows the answer. They quickly come to the conclusion that the dust beast had attacked Rachel.
Tobias gives them info that Rachel's front paws were most likely missing when she escaped the dust beast. Poor Tobias. His love life is hard enough as is and then this happens to his girlfriend who isn't technically his girlfriend yet.
Tobias came to rest on a branch. [I don't know. I looked. I didn't see her. I should have gotten here sooner. I should have known when it let you two go that it was going off after her.]
Jake then turns from his own dark thoughts to think about how Ax is involved in all this. Maybe there was a cinnamon bun sale?
As the conversation goes on, Jake wonders if Ax is dead and the dust beast just doesn't leave remains. Tobias reassures Jake that Ax is tougher than he looks and that he's alive. Wherever our favorite Andalite is.
Jake points out they've been in morph awhile and that they need to get back to civilization. Marco points out that Tobias only has an hour left to look. Tobias says that he'll use that one hour wisely and then he flies off.
After Tobias leaves, Jake tells Marco they'll meet up at Cassie's barn after dinner.
Marco and Jake then discuss who the dust beast works for. Jake guesses it's the Yeerks. Marco points out that the dust beast now knows who the Andalite bandits really are so why don't the Yeerks capture the Animorphs?
Who controls the dust beast?
What is going on with Rachel?
AND
How do they stay alive?
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Animorphs Re-Read
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