Cries of Death

By Sam!

Chapter 1: Rachel

“Honey, I’m going to the barbecue place to pick up some dinner for us. Sara and Jordan are going with me,” My mom yelled as she shoed my two little sisters out the door.
“OK mom!” I yelled back. I had some finals to study for.
I sat there in my room for about 20 minutes. Then I heard an ambulance drive by. A cold chill ran up my spine.

Chapter 2: Jake

“Ring, Ring,” The telephone rang. I looked up from studying for my finals, and I picked up the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hello, my name is Doctor Mimeo at the Stein Northwest hospital. May I ask if you are related to a Naomi?”
“Yeah, she’s my aunt,” I said wondering why someone was asking me this.
“May I speak to your parents?” Dr. Mimeo asked.
“Yeah, sure,” I replied, “Mom!!!!”
My mom came rushing into the room. “What is it Jake?” My mom asked.
“Phone.”
She took the phone from me and asked, “Hello, may I help you?”
Then my moms face turned bone-white. “Oh my god,” She muttered. “Thank you, I’m  on my way!”
“What is it mom?” I asked.
She grabbed my arm while putting on her coat and dragged me out to the car. Her hands were clutching the steering wheel. “It’s your Aunt Naomi and your cousins, they were in a fatal car wreck, and thedoctors want us to make sure  it’s them.”
“A fatal car wreck?!? As in a deadly one?” I half yelled, half asked.
“Yes.”
By then my mom was crying. I sniffled, and realized I had just started to cry too. My cousin Rachel dead? In something as innocent as a car wreck? I had expected Rachel, if she were to die at all, to die being killed by the yeerks. But a car wreck? We needed Rachel. We couldn’t defeat the yeerks
without her.
Just then my mom pulled into the hospital parking lot, and we rushed inside.

Chapter 3: Rachel

“Ring, Ring!” The telephone blared impatiently.
I picked it up. “Hello?” I asked, upset about being interrupted.
“Hello, May I ask if you are related to a Naomi, Sara or Jordan?” The voice asked.
“Sure. That’s my mom and my sisters.”
“My name is Doctor Mimeo, an emergency room doctor, I regret having to inform you of this, but you need to get a ride to the Stein Northwest Hospital right away, there was a car wreck in which they were involved in.”
“WHAT?!?” I screeched.
But the Doctor stayed calm. “Please get a ride as soon as possible.”
With trembling hands, I called Cassie. Cassie’s dad came to pick me up, and we rode to the emergency room.

Chapter 4: Cassie

It was a quiet ride to the hospital, with the only noises being the truck itself, and Rachel’s sniffling.
When we got there, we saw Jake and his mom sitting there sobbing.
“Jake!” I called out.
Jake looked up and ran over to me. I guess my dad was blocking Jake’s view of Rachel, because Jake said, “Did you hear what happened?”
“Yeah, Rachel told me,” I replied.
“Rachel told you?!?” He questioned. “But I thought she was in the crash!”
Then I guess he saw Rachel, because he cried out,“Rachel!”
Jake’s mom scuttled over and began to hug Rachel.
Jake then cried, “But I thought you were dead!”
“I was at my house studying! The doctor called my house a few minutes ago!” Rachel sobbed.
Jake’s mom spoke up, “When the doctor said, ‘Your sister and her daughters were in a car crash’ I thought he meant all three of you! I’m so glad one of you survived!”
Suddenly a man walked into the room. “Would any of you happen to be Rachel?” He asked.
My dad was probably the most calm  one of us. He pointed out Rachel for the doctor.
‘Rachel, I regret having to inform you of this, but your mom and sisters all died instantly. That means they felt no pain, and most likely, died peacefully. But I need you to come with me, just in case, to make sure it’s them,” He said. So Rachel followed him down the hall and out of sight.

 Chapter 5: Rachel

Tears were pouring down my face.
You may be thinking, ‘The mighty Xena cries’? Trust me, I do.
I followed the Doctor into a room. My mom was lying on the bed. I looked at her. She looked so peaceful. She
didn’t look dead, just asleep. I wanted to run to her and demand for her to wake up.
“When the other car ran into her, her head went forward, her body held back by the seat belt. Her neck snapped, and she died instantly,” The doctor said.
“It’s her,” I managed to say through my tears. I ran to her bed, embracing her lifeless body, sobbing.

Chapter 6: Tobias

The remaining three Animorphs, Marco, Ax, and I, had been told by Cassie about Rachel’s mom.
Rachel was staying at Jake’s house, until her dad could be contacted. According to Jake, her dad was on vacation.
2 days after Jake had told me about the accident, Ax came running into the meadow.
< Prince Jake has said Rachel wants to tell us something. In other words, we are to head to Prince Jake’s house as soon as possible. > Ax proclaimed.
< OK, > I replied. < Let’s get going. >

Chapter 7: Ax

This was really a human issue, but I felt I should be there anyway. Rachel said it was really important.
Tobias and I flew in a open window of Prince Jake’s house. < Is it safe to demorph Prince Jake? > I asked.
“Just Jake,” He said. “And yeah, it’s OK. Tom’s at a Sharing meeting, but even so, you should morph human.”
< Yes Prince Jake, > I said and began to demorph. As soon as I was finished, I morphed human.
“So what’s this meeting about?” Marco asked.
“We got in contact with my dad,” Rachel said slowly. “He said I...he said I had to move in with him.”
“Move in with him?” Cassie asked. “He lives cross-country, right? He can’t move you cross-country!”
“He can,” Rachel said. “He now has full custody of me. And he will.”
< We have to figure out a way to convince him to let you move here! > Tobias said.
Rachel shook her head sadly. “I’ve gone over every solution. Him moving here, me staying here, everything. I-I have to go,” Rachel said quietly.

Chapter 8: Rachel

It was my last day in my city. The last time when I would live there. Cassie, Marco, Jake, Tom, my uncle, aunt, and I were in a car heading towards the airport. I tried to be the same old Rachel as I always was, last impressions  are everything, but it wasn’t working.
As a going away present from my animorph friends, I got a binder full of pictures of them. In the front, was any picture they could find that had one of them in it, some even before we were animorphs. There was lots from
Cassie, Jake, and Marco, but none from Tobias and Ax. In the back half, they had a whole bunch of picture from all of them. I suspected that they had gotten together when they heard I was leaving, and had a big ‘photo shoot’. Every one of them was in those pictures, even Tobias and Ax in human morph.
I looked out the window, and smiled as I saw a bird circling above. A hawk maybe? That brought my thoughts to Tobias. He and Ax weren’t coming to the airport. I didn’t really care that Ax wasn’t coming. Sure, he was a friend,  but he and I were never really that close. It was Tobias that I would really  miss.
“We’re here!” Tom called. I know he didn’t really care weather or not I went, yeerks don’t care about those things. And even so, he and I weren’t all that close in age, and we never really hung out like Jake and I did. I guess you  could say we didn’t even like each other, even before he became a yeerk.

Chapter 9: Marco

Rachel was really quiet all the way to the airport. I had to look like I didn’t really care about Rachel leaving, A.
Because people didn’t expect me to care about those things, and B. Rachel and I knew who the other was before this whole animorph thing, but we weren’t close friends. I had to look like Jake was just dragging me along for the ride.
Rachel was staring out the window. I knew she was wishing that Tobias could be there, sometimes girls are really transparent.
Jake and Cassie looked sad, yet smug at the same time, as if they knew something was going to happen. I
didn’t know what was going on.
“We’re here”, Tom yelled. Tom and I were playing totally different parts. I cared that Rachel was leaving, but I had to act like I didn’t. The filthy yeerk didn’t care what-so-ever, but had to act like he did.
We climbed out of the van, and Rachel was totally upset. I think this was the closest I’ve ever seen her to sobbing.
After much walking and bag checking, we finally arrived at the gate. I looked around, and saw crying kids and crying parents.Upon further inspection, I noticed a guy standing all by himself, back turned to us. I looked closer,
and noticed that this back of a head was very familiar. I heard Jake whisper something to Cassie just as the guy turned around. Suddenly I realized why the head looked so familiar.
“Tobias!” Rachel cried, and ran towards the guy, who was actually Tobias. They reached each other in a tight hug, to my disappointment. I was hoping maybe they would kiss so I would have material.‘Cause you know, I was standing there looking all solemn, no jokes, and I was suprised no one noticed that I really was sad about Rachel leaving.
But soon, all my thoughts were gone as the announcement that it was time for Rachel to board her plane was announced. Rachel looked really sad. I thought I even saw tears in her eyes. No way. Rachel about to lose it?
Rachel gave Jake’s parents and Jake a family-type hug. Then she shook Tom’s hand. She hugged Cassie in a best friend way next, and then Tobias in a want-to-be-more-than-friends way. I that was left was me. She look as if she was about to shake my hand, but I threw my hands out and said, “What? No hug for me?”
Rachel laughed, and then hugged me in a friend kinda way. Just then I slipped a letter into her jeans pocket.
It was time for Rachel to board. To get on that plane and fly away from the animorphs, away from the yeerks. I just hoped she would be happy.

Chapter 10: Rachel

The plane wasn’t very crowded, and I didn’t say anything on the way there to anyone. I just sat and thought. About my mom and sisters. My friends, the animorphs. And the fact I was going away from the war. Any of the others would be happy to go. But I wasn’t. Or was I? I was just so confused.
I don’t remember falling asleep, but I guess I did because I dreamt.
As the dream began, I was kissing Tobias. But as we pulled apart, and I looked into his eyes all I could see was me, spiraling down, and soon I fell into that spiral. Questions began to form in my head. What if? What if? What
if I had gone with my mom and sisters to get food? What if I had said I wanted to have Japanese instead? Was it wall my fault? Was it? Was it?
I awoke, twisting in my seat. I heard the flight attendant saying that we were about to land. I had just relaxed back into my seat, even though the questions were still in my mind, when I felt something in my back pocket.
I pulled what ever it was out, and it was a letter.
“Rachel,” It said in a scribbly handwriting I recognized as Marco’s.
I opened it up.
“Rachel--” It began.
“I know I’m not the kinda sedimental guy that usually does these kind of things, but seeing the pain in your eyes that mirrored my own when my mom died made me write this.
“It’s gonna be hard getting through this. Even two years after my moms  ‘death’ I still feel pain thinking about her.
“A lot of things are probably going through your head right now. My first reaction was shock, then a feeling like it didn’t really happen to me, then grief, followed by the dreaded ‘what ifs’.
“The what ifs is the worst part. Things go through your head like ‘What if I had gone with her’? ‘What if I told her she shouldn’t go out on a boat at night?’ Things like that. Then the one that sums it all up: ‘Was it all my fault’? Rachel, it’s not your fault. If you had gone with them too, you would probably be dead as well. IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT.Just remember that. It isn’t  your fault.
“If you want to talk, give me a ring,” Followed by his phone number and his barely-readable signature.
I finished the letter just as soon as the plane stopped.

Chapter 11: Rachel

It was around lunchtime on my first day at my dads house, when the doorbell rang.
“Why don’t you get it Rachel?” My dad asked. I sighed and walked over to the door.
“Hello!” Two voices said. The voices belonged to this really hot blonde haired guy holding a teddy bear and flowers, and a blonde haired girl holding a golden retriever puppy with a ribbon around it’s neck.
“You must be Rachel,” The guy said. “I’m Nathan, and this is my twin sister Natalie. But people normally call us Nate and Nat.
“Or Nat and Nate!” Nat said.
“We live right across the street,” Nate said pointing to a two-story.
“These are for you,” Nat said, handing me the puppy, while Nathan attempted to give me the flowers and bear at the same time. Luckily, my dad came in about that time.
“Nat! Nate! What are you two doing here?” He asked.
“Giving your daughter stuff,” Nathan said. Dad took the flowers and bear and set them on the couch.
“Fizz just had puppies,” Nat said. “And when we heard your daughter was coming to live with you, we thought she might enjoy a dog. You’re not allergic or anything, right?” She asked me.
“Nope,” I answered. I had two new friends. But no matter how many I made here, none would be as true as my old ones.
 

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