53 - 6/7 - Spine Morph

<Rachel! Tobias! Back off, get outta here and morph something else. You'll get shot>

A Hork-Bajir nailed me with a sudden, unexpected blow. No pain, just a shocking numbness. My hind legs collapsed. He had severed my spine. The bottom half of the tiger's body might as well be gone.

I would be dead in seconds. Had to demorph. No other choice.

BamBamBamBamBamBam!

Demorph, Jake, I told myself, already loopy, drifting. Demorph.

A huge Hork-Bajir stood tall above me. The tiger's blood dripped from his wrist blade. He raised his T. Rex foot. He was going to gut me, make sure I was dead. Couldn't move my body. My front paws batted feebly at the air. Helpless.

Half a dozen rounds caught him in the chest. He fell straight back.

I lay there, twisted halfway around, a tiger pretzel. Ax was now astride me, whipping like a mad thing, a Cuisinart making Hork-Bajir puree.

I heard a thud. Bullet in my hindquarters. I looked up, confused, unable to focus clearly. Then my vision cleared enough to see a soldier drawing careful, deliberate aim at me. A Controller. He looked just like his fellow soldiers, but he wasn't shooting at the Hork-Bajir, he was going for a head shot on me, that's what he was going for.

(...)

Marco was over me, shaking me with big gorilla hands and yelling, <Demorph! Demorph!>

Demorph?

Oh . . . okay.

(...)

Doubleday listened after that. He evacuated his headquarters at top speed. The Yeerks would be back, especially now that they knew we were there. Fortunately, like a good general, he had a fallback position.

I explained about the three days, how no Yeerk can survive for more than three days without consuming Kandrona rays in a Yeerk pool.