Tobias starts the chapter telling the others, minus Rachel and Ax, that he hadn't seen any signs of Rachel. He also repeats that he hadn't seen signs of Ax either. I can't imagine the guilt he's going through right now.
Rachel is someone he loves and Ax is a dear friend. The latter Tobias can hang out with while the others are out pretending to be normal.
Everyone is gathered in the barn, the normal meeting spot.
"All right, calm down, Tobias," Jake said. "No one is blaming you. No one is blaming anyone. We just need to get a grip on this."
Jake, Tobias can't not blame himself. Not with two of his friends dead or worse.
As they continue to discuss what's going on, Cassie points out that there's something they haven't considered.
Why didn't the Veleek continue to chase them?
Marco gets angry and sarcastically remarks that they should be asking Tobias that question as he's the predator. Wow, way to throw your boyfriend under the bus!
Tobias takes the question seriously and replies that he looks for movement when he hunts. Now I'm just imagining the T-Rex from Jurassic Park. Tobias is a dino fan so that works.
"Yes!" Cassie said. "Coincidence? The beast just happens to attack while you are morphing?”
So everyone, but Rachel, is finally caught up with how the Veleek hunts.
Jake, the thinker of the group, finally figures out that the creature stopped chasing them in the forest because they were done morphing. They weren't as interesting. Tobias points out that when he's hunting, if one mouse runs and then stands still and another mouse starts running, the hawk part of his mind thinks that they're the same mouse.
While I could go over about how sad it is that he's stuck: if he wasn't a nothlit then the group wouldn't have figured this out as quickly.
"We're safe, as long as we never morph again," I pointed out.
"You mean as long as we don't fight the Yeerks, we're safe," Jake said.
I just imagine Marco's look of MAYBE...
Chapter 22
Rachel finally gets to some form of civilization. As she goes through a suburban development, she tries to remember if she knows the place. Like the majority of her memory, she can't recall. All she really knows is that she's tired and scared. She also knows that she needs water, food, and a place to sleep.
For a while I considered just walking right up to the front door of any house and saying, "Look, I don't know who I am. Can I sleep on your couch?"
Rachel doesn't because she doesn't know who is after her. She also knows she doesn't look like the type of person someone would take in randomly.
Rachel finally strikes gold as one house isn't occupied. She drinks water and then continues to make sure that no one else is in the house. She finally finds food which she eats while walking around the house.
After a little bit she starts to think about who could be after her and why. Who was she?
It is sad, scary, and yet intriguing to see Rachel in such a state. To see how she would be without her memories. It seems that is something that happens a lot with books narrated by Rachel, or with some Rachel narration: the breakdown of who Rachel is outside of her bravado facade.
When Rachel gets to sleep she has nightmares.
Aw! She remember Tobias! At least she dreams of him. Not that she knows it's him. But...but...my little shipping heart. She remembers him in some way!
OMFG! She remembers the ant morph! Abort! Abort!
Rachel starts to think she isn't human as she believes humans don't aren't able to shape shift.
Before she can contemplate what Animorphs means, the police come. Rachel gets spooked as she knows she has enemies and thinks that the police are enemies too. She's right to be paranoid as she has half-remembered memories of the Yeerks. Yeerks can be anyone.
She thinks about morphing the bear and then decides not to as she doesn't know if the bear is still injured.
So she decides on elephant.
Don't worry, officer, I thought. I'll be out soon.
Chapter 23
The chapter starts off with everyone going away from the meeting. Jake says that he is worried about Ax but not as much as he is Rachel. That might sound mean on one hand, but on the other it's logical. They don't really know Ax. Ax is, quite literally, alien to them.
And, as Jake points out, Rachel is someone he knows a lot more and is more connected to everyone in the group.
She made the rest of us braver than we might have been without her.
You mattered, Rachel, you mattered.
Cassie's mom says hi to Jake and Marco. She then reminds Cassie not to stay out much later.
As Cassie walks Jake and Marco to the road, she comments that it's a warm night so at least Rachel will be fine. Looking up to the moon they notice something. Something like the dust beast from earlier.
Jake and Cassie start to discuss if it's a cloud or the Veleek. Marco, the sole source of wisdom at the moment, reminds them that they know what it is. Marco isn't taking any bullshit right now. He's probably mad about missing Baywatch and yet still wants to help them.
You should cherish Marco. Give him some love even when he's rude as hell!
They quickly decide on a plan.
"Like playing keepaway," I said. "It chases morphs, right? So we give it something to chase."
They then decide they can't morph where they are now as the Veleek would endanger people. Marco has the brilliant idea to drive the truck until they can properly put the plan into action. I wouldn't be sarcastic, but this is Marco we're talking about. He's drives about as well as I do.
But never mind my driving skills, those stories are for another day.
Chapter 24
Goddammit, was really hoping to see some of Marco's crazy driving skills. Wanted to run into the trashcan quote, oh well.
As she is completing her elephant morph, the Veleek comes back. So Rachel rams the front door to try and escape.
This is the sight that greets the police:
The unpredictability of the incomplete morph had resulted in a huge creature with a long trunk, tiny, human ears, big elephant legs, and blond hair.
So...those people had a very interesting work story to tell.
While running, Rachel didn't know who the police were shooting at. She didn't know if they were aiming for her or the Veleek. Frankly, she also didn't give a damn. Neither did the dust beast. Rachel realizes that her current course will endanger people. Innocent people.
So, in her brave heart, she realizes there is only one thing that she can do.
She completes her morph and the dust beast lifts her up as it did Ax. Or, at least, it tries to. Damn, girl, you're fat!
Rachel, now empowered, taunts the dust beast. The chapter ends with her hearing a very bad driver...Marco!
Animorphs Re-Read
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