to laugh than to cry, don’t you think?
I do.
Even when the world is scary and sad. Especially when the world is scary and sad. That’s when you need to laugh.
“Two years,” my dad said. It surprised me.
“Yeah,” I said. “Two years.”
He took a deep breath. Like it was hard for him to breathe. “I … I … look, Marco, I’ve been thinking.”
“Yes?”
“I haven’t been a very good father to you.” It wasn’t a question, so I didn’t say anything.
“Your mom …” He had to stop for a moment to get his voice under control. “Your mom would not be happy about the way I’ve been these last two years.”
What could I say? I decided to say nothing. “Anyway. I talked to Jerry the other day.” Jerry was his old boss. Back when he had a regular job.
My dad shrugged. “I guess we have to live, huh? I mean, we can’t … you know.” Another heavy breath. “Your mom wouldn’t want us to give up, would she? Anyway, I’m going in Monday to talk toJerry about getting back to work. You know … see if I still remember how to even turn on a computer.”
It was a big thing. A big decision. I guess what I should have done was run over to give him a hug and tell him I was proud of him. I
was
proud of him. But that’s not me.
“Oh, Dad, you never could figure computers out. Especially games.”
He stared at me with the blank eyes I had seen for the last two years. Then, suddenly, he laughed.
“You punk kid, I’ve forgotten more about computers than you ever knew.”
“Oh, right! So why did I always kick your butt whenever we played just about anything that required two hands and a screen?”
“I
let
you win.”
I made an extremely rude noise. “Yeah? How about if we just go home and play a game so I can show you how totally wrong you are?”
I couldn’t stop him from giving me a hug. I guess I didn’t mind all that much.
We walked away from my mother’s gravestone. The stone that marked the death of a woman who was not dead.
I raised my eyes up to the sky. The blue sky of Earth. My home.
She was probably gone from the mother ship now. Off to some other corner of the galaxy.
But wherever she was, no matter how far, I would find her.
Someday …
Preview
Don’t miss
ANIMORPHS ™ #06
THE
CAPTURE
T hen, my antennae picked up a strange new scent. Sweet. Oily.
Dangerous. Somehow, I sensed that….
It hit me in a flash!
I blew out from under the paper.
“There! There’s one!”
Vibrations of a dozen feet running after me. And in the air behind me, a vast fountain that seemed to explode from thin air.
An upside-down fountain. Like a rainfall that came from a single point and spread out to fill the air.
A droplet landed on me.
Then another.
I felt my legs stumble.
The door. I could sense it, just ahead.
WWHHAAMMPP!
A foot! A near miss. I was slowing down! I could feel my roach instincts becoming scrambled.
I was poisoned. The nerve gas was beginning to work. My legs were tangling up. My antennae were waving frantically, unable to smell anything but the deadly rain of poison.
“That got him!” a voice said.
“Don’t crush him,” Visser Three yelled. “He may demorph to save himself and we’ll have ourselves an Andalite!”
I was starting to twitch. I couldn’t breathe. And then, faster by far than the feet that had chased me, some new shape swooped down.
I tried to run, but I no longer could.
Three monstrous cables closed around me, and I was up, up, off the floor.
ANIMORPHS ™
THE INVASION
THE VISITOR
THE ENCOUNTER
THE MESSAGE
THE PREDATOR
About The Author
K. A. Applegate’s ANIMORPHS series has sold millions of copies worldwide, and alerted the world to the presence of the Yeerks. She is also the author of the bestselling Remnants and Everworld series,
Home of the Brave,
and the Roscoe Riley Rules series.
Copyright
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
I do.
Even when the world is scary and sad. Especially when the world is scary and sad. That’s when you need to laugh.
“Two years,” my dad said. It surprised me.
“Yeah,” I said. “Two years.”
He took a deep breath. Like it was hard for him to breathe. “I … I … look, Marco, I’ve been thinking.”
“Yes?”
“I haven’t been a very good father to you.” It wasn’t a question, so I didn’t say anything.
“Your mom …” He had to stop for a moment to get his voice under control. “Your mom would not be happy about the way I’ve been these last two years.”
What could I say? I decided to say nothing. “Anyway. I talked to Jerry the other day.” Jerry was his old boss. Back when he had a regular job.
My dad shrugged. “I guess we have to live, huh? I mean, we can’t … you know.” Another heavy breath. “Your mom wouldn’t want us to give up, would she? Anyway, I’m going in Monday to talk toJerry about getting back to work. You know … see if I still remember how to even turn on a computer.”
It was a big thing. A big decision. I guess what I should have done was run over to give him a hug and tell him I was proud of him. I
was
proud of him. But that’s not me.
“Oh, Dad, you never could figure computers out. Especially games.”
He stared at me with the blank eyes I had seen for the last two years. Then, suddenly, he laughed.
“You punk kid, I’ve forgotten more about computers than you ever knew.”
“Oh, right! So why did I always kick your butt whenever we played just about anything that required two hands and a screen?”
“I
let
you win.”
I made an extremely rude noise. “Yeah? How about if we just go home and play a game so I can show you how totally wrong you are?”
I couldn’t stop him from giving me a hug. I guess I didn’t mind all that much.
We walked away from my mother’s gravestone. The stone that marked the death of a woman who was not dead.
I raised my eyes up to the sky. The blue sky of Earth. My home.
She was probably gone from the mother ship now. Off to some other corner of the galaxy.
But wherever she was, no matter how far, I would find her.
Someday …
Preview
Don’t miss
ANIMORPHS ™ #06
THE
CAPTURE
T hen, my antennae picked up a strange new scent. Sweet. Oily.
Dangerous. Somehow, I sensed that….
It hit me in a flash!
I blew out from under the paper.
“There! There’s one!”
Vibrations of a dozen feet running after me. And in the air behind me, a vast fountain that seemed to explode from thin air.
An upside-down fountain. Like a rainfall that came from a single point and spread out to fill the air.
A droplet landed on me.
Then another.
I felt my legs stumble.
The door. I could sense it, just ahead.
WWHHAAMMPP!
A foot! A near miss. I was slowing down! I could feel my roach instincts becoming scrambled.
I was poisoned. The nerve gas was beginning to work. My legs were tangling up. My antennae were waving frantically, unable to smell anything but the deadly rain of poison.
“That got him!” a voice said.
“Don’t crush him,” Visser Three yelled. “He may demorph to save himself and we’ll have ourselves an Andalite!”
I was starting to twitch. I couldn’t breathe. And then, faster by far than the feet that had chased me, some new shape swooped down.
I tried to run, but I no longer could.
Three monstrous cables closed around me, and I was up, up, off the floor.
ANIMORPHS ™
THE INVASION
THE VISITOR
THE ENCOUNTER
THE MESSAGE
THE PREDATOR
About The Author
K. A. Applegate’s ANIMORPHS series has sold millions of copies worldwide, and alerted the world to the presence of the Yeerks. She is also the author of the bestselling Remnants and Everworld series,
Home of the Brave,
and the Roscoe Riley Rules series.
Copyright
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
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