Talking to Cat was nice. I didn't yet know how or if I would get back home to Earth. I could only hope and talking to the woman was reassuring. When she couldn't hear me that well I would resort to thought speak to get a point across.
She showed interest in the topic of Yeerks. Or maybe it was the fact that we didn't have to discuss our feelings for the other that made the topic so interesting to her. We could each pretend that when we got to Earth we wouldn't speak again. But we might meet up once or twice after that and then go our separate ways. Who knew? We had to get to Earth first.
I had told her I planned to take her home though I didn't know how. That didn't seem to surprise her.
Hork-Bajirs can hear very well. So it was with Hork-Bajir hearing that I heard the Skrit Na converse between themselves. I stood up and Cat tensed as if to prepare herself to fight. It wasn't the movements of a seasoned warrior, but it was the movements of someone scared that was getting prepared to react to something they had no clue how to.
"Hang on." I told her and went over to the Skrit Na.
What's going on? I asked them as the last Skrit Na went into their ship.
We had a deal!
I knew they wouldn't keep the deal if they thought they'd die by helping me. Useless cowards! They were so scared that they had left some of their cargo. That must mean...
"What is it?" Cat asked and I would've jumped if I hadn't heard her approach me.
"Yeerks." I replied with loathing in my voice.
I didn't know if I was more angry at the Skrit Na abandoning me or the Yeerks as a whole. I knew that all Yeerks weren't evil, Aftran being one of the good ones, and so I hoped I wasn't hating Yeerks as a whole.
"Let's go to my ship." I said and I didn't have to grab Cat's arm for her to start moving.
"Are you sure?" She asked, fear permeating her question.
"The Skrit Na wouldn't abandon you if it wasn't a big danger. Yeerks are the baddest thing in the galaxy."
I didn't bring up the Ellimist or Crayak. Those two beings were more powerful than the Yeerks by a long shot, but I didn't know how much the Skrit Na knew about those two. Besides, if those two wanted to attack anyone there wouldn't be much of a fight. There wouldn't be enough time to even begin to explain them to Cat.
As those thoughts went through my head I could see some Bug fighters coming in the distance as the Skrit Na went away.
"Bug fighters!" I shouted to Cat and we started to run towards my Bug fighter.
I made sure to stay equal to her speed and not go too far away from her. If there was one thing I didn't want to happen, it was to let her die on an alien planet.
As we got close to my Bug fighter the enemy Bug fighters started firing around the area. They must have tracked it somehow. Who knew how, maybe a tracker they put on all their ships. I'd ask Ax when I got back. If I got back.
By pure instict I covered Cat with my body, though that wouldn't do anything if they started firing at us. It's not like Hork-Bajir skin is strong enough to stand laser based weapons. But it was the only thing I could think to do at the moment.
I looked at my fighter and watched as it exploded. The movies prepare you only for a little bit of how big explosions are when you're close to one. The heat of the explosion seemed beyond huge and little bits flew towards Cat and myself. I managed to only get a few minor cuts and Cat only had a cut on her arm.
Cat screamed in pain and I turned to our only way home now destroyed. The Yeerks must have wanted to make me feel helpless as they could've just erased it from existence. At least that's how it would appear as.
"Run." I hissed and shook my head before Cat could ask. "No time to think, just run."
As we raced across the alien landscape, the enemy Bug fighters shooting at random around us, I was scared. Especially for Cat. At least I had the ability to morph but she was just human. Being human wasn't bad in normal circumstances, but this wasn't a normal circumstance. This was way beyond normal.
I'd have to give her the morphing ability. And if she was captured? No, she wouldn't be captured. I'd make sure of it.
We ran for a long time, or at least it appeared like a long time to me, before hearing a sound. I turned my head slightly and saw some of the natives. They looked like cats in the sense of Ewoks looking like little bears. Each looked deadly but adorable in the same instant.
I was about to ask them what they were and if they were friendly. But, before I could, it appeared very clear that they were trying to direct us.
"Friends?" Cat managed to ask.
"Hopefully." I replied and we began to follow the creatures.
We eventually ended up going into an entrance located at the bottom of a tree. My Hork-Bajir stomach growled as it looked at the bark. I had to resist and followed the small entrance, with Cat behind me, into what eventually ended up being a small little neighborhood of these creatures.
As Cat and I looked around I realized that now I didn't have a way to check how much time I had been in morph. Nor did I have an internal clock like Andalites did.
I didn't know if any of these creatures were Controllers or if they would ultimately sell me out to the Yeerks. But I had no choice. I didn't want to become a nothlit.
So, pushing back any fear I had to the deepest part of my mind, I demorphed. My blades turned into feathers first and I shrank before any other features of my red-tailed hawk morph took form.
When I finished morphing I looked at Cat.
Hi. I said to her look of astonishment.
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All of Tobias and Me
