The First Journey (the First Book In The Animorphs, Alternamorphs Series)

.:Introduction:. Okay, listen up. It’s Jake. You probably already know what’s going on around here. But just in case you don’t, here’s the deal: Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, Marco, Ax, and I are five kids and one alien out to save the world. No, this isn’t a joke. It’s real. About as real as you can get. Real enough for screaming nightmares about the things you’ve seen and done. Because sometimes the stuff you see in the movies, the stuff you thought could never, ever happen to you…well, it can happen. It does happen. I’ve seen it. I can’t tell you my last name. Or where I live. There’s an alien invasion going on. Right here on Earth. But I’m not talking little green guys with ray guns. I’m talking a much smarter way to conquer a world. Just invade people’s brains. I’m not nuts. I’ve seen it. And because of that, my friends and I were given a special power—the power to morph into any animal we touch. To acquire its DNA. It’s the only way we can fight the Yeerks—that’s what they call themselves. We have to find a way to stop these slugs that get into people’s heads and make them slaves. But things have gotten worse. We need backup. A new Animorph. We’ve tried this once before and it didn’t work out. At all. We’re going to try again. So, if you’re interested in joining us, let’s go. Just remember not to read this missions like a normal book. Check out the instructions and follow them. You get to choose your morphs, but I’m warning you now—choose them very carefully. You have to deal with the consequences. They can either help you, or get you totally annihilated. This isn’t a game. It’s serious stuff. So if you can handle it, turn to the first page. Oh. One more thing? Good luck. You’ll need it. ——— 2|Page I || One You know you shouldn’t be doing it. You were supposed to be home at least twenty minutes ago. It’s getting dark. The smart thing to do, the only thing, really, is to ride your bike along the bike path like a law-abiding citizen. All the way home. But you don’t. You’re an off-road cycling freak, so you head for the construction site across from the mall. How many times have you been told not to do that? Like a million. “It’s dangerous,” your mom says. Deep pits filled with water, cinder block obstacles, dips, and downhill runs. In other words, highly cool. Last Saturday you chose a spot and yanked away the worst debris. You made this sort of single-track loop. It has a killer rolling dip and a log made out of cinder blocks that you can jump. When you’re on it, you pretend that you’re racing in one of the mountain biking clubs your mom won’t let you join because they’re too dangerous. Too dangerous? Just wait, Mom. Have I got a story for you. Only I can never, ever tell you. Or anyone else. Anyway, that night, there you are. Going around and around the track, faster and faster. There’s just barely enough light to see. Out of the corner of your eye, you see some dark forms moving. You stop your bike, a little nervous. You think it could be a band of homeless men who live there. But then you recognize kids from school, kids you know. Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias. You don’t know them that well, except maybe Marco. He sits next to you in science and makes jokes under his breath all during class. Thanks to him, you’re barely breaking a C. You think about yelling “hey!” but you don’t want to scare them. And they look like such a group, somehow. You didn’t know they were all friends. You feel a little bit left out, even though they didn’t see you. You aren’t terribly swell at making friends. Maybe because you spend most of your time riding around and around a makeshift track.