Read Online The Message by K.A. Applegate - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: K.A. Applegate
Ads: Link
close I was exhausted.
The ship was gigantic, painted a rusty blue, with a deck longer than a football field. The superstructure was all crammed toward the back. That’s where the crew would be, so we flew forward, hoping to find someplace private.
The deck was stacked with containers, big steel boxes like trailers. Row after row of them lined the deck, and we could see hundreds more down in the hold.
We settled in the narrow space between two rows of containers, far forward. It was like having walls all around us. Corrugated metal walls that went high over our heads.
Jake asked.
Tobias twisted his head down to see the tiny watch strapped to his talon.
We decided to resume our human shapes. The space between the rows of containers was even narrower when we were fully human again.
“Brrr. It’s chilly out here,” I said. The steel deck was cold beneath my bare feet. And even thoughthe sun was high in the sky, we were in shadow.
“Man, I swear, this is the worst thing about morphing,” Marco said. “Can someone please figure out how to morph shoes, and maybe a sweater? Come on, Cassie. You’re the morphing genius. I’m sick of these morphing outfits.”
“But you look so cute in spandex,” Rachel teased him.
“Plus, they aren’t exactly fashionable. All I’m saying is—uniforms. Something cool-looking. And warm. Warm would be nice. When winter comes, we are going to be some sad little Animorphs.”
“I have a more important question,” Rachel said. “How do we know when we’re there? You know, our destination.”
Jake made a “who knows?” face. “I figure this ship is going, like, what, twenty miles per hour? Figure an hour, and that puts us twenty miles out, right?”
Rachel pointed a finger at her forehead and said, “Jake’s a total mathematical genius. One hour at twenty miles per hour. Right away he figures out that’s twenty miles.”
Jake laughed. “That’s about all the math I can do.”
Tobias said.
We all just stared at him.
“Okay, eighteen miles an hour, more or less, straight south,” Marco considered. “That would put us within a couple of miles of where Cassie thinks we should go.”
I winced. Every time anyone said something about me deciding where to go or what to do, it made me nervous.
Tobias said regretfully.
“Singapore?” Rachel asked.
Tobias flew off, leaving us the little watch.
It was extremely dull waiting for an hour, with nothing to do but try and guess what was in the big containers all around us. On the other hand, we knew what we had to do next would definitely not be boring.
So basically, we were happy to just be bored for a while, huddling together to stay warm in the whipping ocean breeze.
After a long time, Jake checked the watch. “It’s been about an hour. Cassie? What do you think?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I … I guess I was hoping that when I was back in dolphin morph I would be able to make sense of more of the details the whale communicated to me. It was mostly images. And some of the images were about sounds and currents and water temperatures, and stuff you can’t see from the surface.”
Jake thought for a moment. “Oh, well, now is as good as any time, I guess. Let’s head for the side.”
We stood up, uncramping our cold, stiff legs and arms. We moved along the row of containers toward the left side of the ship. The port side, as they say.
We reached the side. There was
The ship was gigantic, painted a rusty blue, with a deck longer than a football field. The superstructure was all crammed toward the back. That’s where the crew would be, so we flew forward, hoping to find someplace private.
The deck was stacked with containers, big steel boxes like trailers. Row after row of them lined the deck, and we could see hundreds more down in the hold.
We settled in the narrow space between two rows of containers, far forward. It was like having walls all around us. Corrugated metal walls that went high over our heads.
Tobias twisted his head down to see the tiny watch strapped to his talon.
We decided to resume our human shapes. The space between the rows of containers was even narrower when we were fully human again.
“Brrr. It’s chilly out here,” I said. The steel deck was cold beneath my bare feet. And even thoughthe sun was high in the sky, we were in shadow.
“Man, I swear, this is the worst thing about morphing,” Marco said. “Can someone please figure out how to morph shoes, and maybe a sweater? Come on, Cassie. You’re the morphing genius. I’m sick of these morphing outfits.”
“But you look so cute in spandex,” Rachel teased him.
“Plus, they aren’t exactly fashionable. All I’m saying is—uniforms. Something cool-looking. And warm. Warm would be nice. When winter comes, we are going to be some sad little Animorphs.”
“I have a more important question,” Rachel said. “How do we know when we’re there? You know, our destination.”
Jake made a “who knows?” face. “I figure this ship is going, like, what, twenty miles per hour? Figure an hour, and that puts us twenty miles out, right?”
Rachel pointed a finger at her forehead and said, “Jake’s a total mathematical genius. One hour at twenty miles per hour. Right away he figures out that’s twenty miles.”
Jake laughed. “That’s about all the math I can do.”
We all just stared at him.
“Okay, eighteen miles an hour, more or less, straight south,” Marco considered. “That would put us within a couple of miles of where Cassie thinks we should go.”
I winced. Every time anyone said something about me deciding where to go or what to do, it made me nervous.
“Singapore?” Rachel asked.
Tobias flew off, leaving us the little watch.
It was extremely dull waiting for an hour, with nothing to do but try and guess what was in the big containers all around us. On the other hand, we knew what we had to do next would definitely not be boring.
So basically, we were happy to just be bored for a while, huddling together to stay warm in the whipping ocean breeze.
After a long time, Jake checked the watch. “It’s been about an hour. Cassie? What do you think?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I … I guess I was hoping that when I was back in dolphin morph I would be able to make sense of more of the details the whale communicated to me. It was mostly images. And some of the images were about sounds and currents and water temperatures, and stuff you can’t see from the surface.”
Jake thought for a moment. “Oh, well, now is as good as any time, I guess. Let’s head for the side.”
We stood up, uncramping our cold, stiff legs and arms. We moved along the row of containers toward the left side of the ship. The port side, as they say.
We reached the side. There was
Similar Books
