The Visitor Read Online Free PDF Page B

there was part of a huge alien conspiracy to take over the world.
    “Let me just ask you this,” Marco whispered. “Why did it have to be Chapman? I was afraid of Chapman even before we found out he was a Controller.”
    “You’re not still upset over that detention he gave you?” I asked. “Look, if you’re going to listen to music in math class with an earphone hidden under your hair, you have to remember not to start singing along.”
    “Yeah, that was only slightly stupid, Marco,” Jake agreed.
    “I still say Chapman never would have given me a whole week’s detention if he were totally human.”
    “I have a question,” Cassie said. “How do we get Melissa’s cat to come outside?”
    We all looked at her.
    “Good question,” I admitted.
    “I mean, we could hide here in the bushes for a long time. But sooner or later the neighbors are going to notice.”
    
    Tobias was sitting perched on a nearby tree branch. He was close enough to hear us.
    I tried to remember. “It’s name is Fluffer, I remember that much. Fluffer McKitty.”
    “You’ve got to be kidding.” Marco, of course.
    I tried to remember back to when I used to hangout with Melissa. “It’s black-and-white. You know, in patches.”
    
    Tobias spread his wings, swooped silently down over our heads, and flapped away into the night.
    “You know what we need?” I said. “We need another kitty. We should have thought of that. Then we could have the second cat call out to Fluffer.”
    Marco turned to stare at me. “Meowfluffer, comeoutmeow, meow come and play meow?”
    “Tobias morphed a cat very early on, didn’t he?” I asked.
    “Yeah,” Jake said. “His first morph. The first morph any of us did.”
    “Rachel, you need to remember if you go in there tonight that you have to stay in cat character,” Cassie said. “Most people would just think it was weird if a cat acted strangely. But Chapman may be able to guess what’s going on if Fluffer suddenly starts acting un-catlike.”
    “So, you’re saying I shouldn’t try eating with a fork or changing the channels on the TV?”
    Everyone laughed—quietly and nervously, but it was laughter just the same.
    Suddenly Tobias dropped out of the sky, then drifted over us in a lazy circle and called down,
    He settled back on the branch. He was really an amazing animal, when you just looked at him as a bird and didn’t think about him being a boy trapped in there. I mean, the gaze of a hawk when it is looking right at you is incredibly intimidating. Gentle Tobias now had an expression that looked totally ferocious.
    “You’re kidding. You found Fluffer?” I asked.
    
    “Rats?” That got Marco’s attention. “Rats? Here? This is suburbia. I mean, it’s a lot better than where I live. They have rats?”
     Tobias said. He fell silent, embarrassed.
    “Get a grip, Tobias,” Marco said. “Don’t start eating rats, all right? I don’t know if I can have someone who eats rats for a friend.”
    Sometimes Marco is funny. Sometimes he goes too far. This was one of those times. “Shut up, Marco,” I growled.
    “I ate a live spider,” Jake pointed out. “Does that mean you and I can’t be friends?” From his tone of voice I could tell he was angry, too.
    None of us knew what Tobias was going through. None of us had ever been in morph for more than two hours. Tobias had been a hawk for more than a week.
    Marco realized he’d been a jerk. “Well, yeah, I guess you’re right,” he muttered. “Besides, I’ve been known to eat eggplant. So I guess I can’t criticize.”
    That was an apology, or as close as