could barely

make progress. If those choppers flew over my friends, they'd spot them in an instant. They'd see four humans, two big Hork-Bajir and an An-dalite. And then everything would be over.

FWOMP-FWOMP-FWOMP-FWOMP-FWOMP-FWOMP-FWOMP -

The helicopters were getting near.

I used every flying trick I knew to get speed. I raced forward every time the breeze slackened. I dropped down below the trees to avoid the stronger gusts. And slowly I advanced.

"Jake! Rachel! If you can hear me, get off the trail and morph!"

They couldn't answer, of course, because they weren't in morph. I had no way of knowing if they'd heard me.

"Jake! Rachel! Cassie! Marco! Helicopters coming!"

And just then, the first helicopter swept over me, roaring and ripping up the air. It was like being caught in a tornado. The rotor wash grabbed me and threw me sideways through the air.

F WO M P- F WO M P- F WO M P- F WO M P- F WO M P-FWOMP- FWOMP -

I hit a branch.

SNAP!

I felt a jolt of pain.

I flapped my wings, but only my right wing worked.

Then it hit me. The snap I'd heard had been my own bone.

I fell through the branches. WHAP! WHAP! WHAP!

I hit the ground and lay there, fluttering weakly, helpless. Helpless, as only a flightless bird can be helpless.

Panic caught me up and carried me along. No! No! My friends needed me.

No! I couldn't just lie there on the leaves. No!

And then I saw the end coming for me. Not a bobcat. Not a Taxxon or a Hork-Bajir or a Yeerk of any kind.

Just a humble, ordinary, everyday raccoon.

I he raccoon watched me from masked black eyes. I flared my one good wing and snapped with my beak. But the raccoon was too smart and too experienced to fall for my tricks.

It knew I was helpless.

FWOMP-FWOMP-FWOMP-FWOMP-FWOMP -

A second helicopter passed overhead, indifferent to the plight of a crippled hawk.

The raccoon grabbed me by my broken wing and began to drag me. I was on my back, being dragged by an animal not much bigger than a large tabby cat. I snapped again and again, but I couldn't reach the raccoon with my beak. I couldn't turn well enough to bring my talons to bear. And the raccoon knew it.

I heard the gurgling sound of water rushing over stones. Horror filled me. The fear was so terrible I almost fainted. You see, I knew what was coming next.

People say raccoons wash their food. Actually, that's not true. Raccoons do sometimes run water over their food, but it is not about cleanliness.

Raccoons are careful eaters. With their sensitive paws they dig through the meat, feeling for anything they don't want. The water rushing over their paws helps them feel.

The raccoon was going to eat me. And it didn't really care if I was still alive.

"No! No! No!" I screamed to a deaf forest.

I felt ice-cold water flow through my feathers. And ! felt the busy fingers of the raccoon.

"No! N00000!"

YOU ASKED ME FOR PAYMENT IN EXCHANGE FOR USING YOU.

WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR REWARD NOW?

The Ellimist!

"Now! Now! Yes, now would be a really good time!" I screamed.

IT IS DONE.

"What's done? Nothing is done, you lunatic! I'm still a bird!"

OF COURSE.

"Help me!"

The raccoon was literally looking down at me

like you might look at a steak. He was deciding where to bite first.

THE ANDALITE GAVE YOU POWER. USE IT.

I was too insane with terror to figure out what he was saying at first.

Then it dawned on me. "What? What? That's my reward? That's all? You're giving me back my morphing power?"

IT'S WHAT YOU WANTED.

"l wanted to be human again!" I screamed. "You liar! You cheat! I want to be human!"

But the Ellimist said nothing more. And my problem right then was the raccoon. His tiny, razor-sharp teeth were descending toward me. So with my last ounce of self-control, ignoring the searing pain in my wing, I turned just enough to grab one of his hind legs in my weakened talon.

Focus, Tobias, I told myself. Focus or get eaten.

I focused. I concentrated with all my will. And to my utter amazement, I saw the raccoon's eyes cloud over. I felt his grip weaken.

And like a miracle, I felt myself begin to "acquire" the raccoon. I felt it become a part of me.

I had morphed only two animals. A cat. And a red-tailed hawk. I had never escaped the red-tailed morph. I didn't have much experience morphing. Not like the others.

And as I concentrated on the raccoon DNA inside me, I felt my beak begin to soften ... my

talons begin to fatten . . . and my wings ... my glorious wings began to shrink.

The raccoon - I mean the real raccoon - recoiled in surprise. He stepped back and stared as I morphed into him.

It wasn't much of a change of size. Raccoons aren't much larger than hawks. But everything else was different. My eyes were growing dim. And suddenly I could smell as well as I could hear.

Feathers were melting into gray and black fur. I was morphing.

I was morphing!

The real raccoon had had enough. He was a smart, wily old scrapper, and he knew better than to hang around in a place where birds turn into raccoons. He waddled away.

I was safe. For now. Safe and becoming something I had never been before. The sharp edge of terror started to recede and I could almost enjoy what was happening.

I was morphing! I had the power again. I wouldn't have to sit on the bench when the others went into danger.

I was back!

But not human.

It's what you wanted. That's what the Ellimist said. But he was a liar.

He was a cheat. He had tricked me. I wanted to be human. I wanted to be