The Stranger by K. A. Applegate Read Free Book Online Page B

know what you are,> Ax managed to say.
    The Ellimist smiled. “Neither do you. All you know are the fairy stories your people tell to children.”
    â€œWell, how about if someone tells us who and what you are?” I said. I was not in the best mood ever. It was extremely bizarre and unnerving to be surrounded by Human-Controllers, Hork-Bajir, and Taxxons, in the very heart of the enemy’s stronghold. They were all frozen, but that could change.
    To be honest, I was scared. And when I’m scared, I get mad.
    The Ellimist looked at me. “You cannot begin to understand what I am.”
     Ax said simply.
    â€œThis one doesn’t look all that powerful,” Marco said skeptically.
     Ax snapped.
    â€œSo why are you here?” Jake asked the Ellimist. “Why all of this? Why did you bring Tobias here?”
    â€œObviously, you saw right through our morphs,” Marco said. “You knew who we were. You even know our names. You brought us all here together. Why?”
    â€œBecause you must decide,” the Ellimist said.
    â€œDecide what?” I demanded.
    â€œThe fate of your race,” the Ellimist said. “The fate of the human race.”

T hat’s all?” Marco asked. “Just the fate of the human race? Don’t you have something more challenging for us?”
    But the Ellimist wasn’t paying attention to Marco. “We do not interfere in the private affairs of other beings,” he said. “But when they are in danger of becoming extinct, we step in to save a few members. We love life. All life, but especially sentient life forms, like Homo sapiens . Your species. This is a very beautiful planet. A priceless work of art.”
    â€œYou’ve obviously never seen our school,” Marco said, still giddily trying to joke.
    Suddenly, without warning, the Ellimist did it again. He opened space.
    We were no longer standing in the Yeerk pool. We were no longer underground at all.
    We were underwater.
    Deep underwater. But the water did not seem to touch my skin. And when I breathed, there was air. Still, I felt fear tingle the back of my neck.
    We stood — me, Cassie, Jake, Marco, Ax, and Tobias … Tobias, in his own human body — in the middle of an ocean. Suspended in the water, but dry. The Ellimist could no longer be seen.
    We were floating above a coral reef. And everything was moving again.
    All around us, fish swam by in swift-darting schools. Fish in every color and shape, reflecting the dappled sunlight from above. Sharks prowled. Stingrays seemed to fly. Squid pulsated. Crabs scuttled across fabulous extrusions of coral. Tuna as big as sheep drifted past. Swift, grinning dolphins raced by in pursuit of their next meal.
    LOVELY .
    The Ellimist’s voice once more seemed to grow from deep within my own heart.
    LOVELY .
    And then, as quickly as we had been plunged into the ocean, we were drifting above the waving golden grass of the African savannah. A pride of lions lazed in the sun below us, looking sleepily content. Wildebeest and gazelles and impalas grazed, then broke into wild, springing, bouncing races that forced you to smile at the sheer energy of it all.
    There were hyenas, rhinos, elephants, giraffes, cheetahs, baboons, zebras. Hawks and eagles and buzzards wheeled overhead.
    LOOK AT IT .
    Then, in an instant, deep jungle. A lithe jaguar prowled while monkeys chattered in the tree canopy above. Snakes as long as a person slithered across tree branches. The air reeked of the heavy perfume of a million flowers. We heard the sounds of frogs, insects, monkeys, and wild, screaming birds.
    IN ALL THE UNIVERSE ,