I glanced at Phred's dead body, and the knife - the knife that I had wielded - that had ended his life. Sure, I may have had to do it, to protect the shifters, but he was innocent. Wasn't he?

"Sometimes, Madelyn, pressure and threats can bring out the worst in a person, and cause them to do horrible things that they would have never done in other situations."

"I know." I thought back to fifth grade, when the passcodes to the computer accounts were a simple birthdate, and Trinity had been pressured into going into her crush's account. It was true. Pressure made people do horrible things. "Do you truly think that Phred was evil?"

"It is hard to say. But chances are it was pressure that made him do all of those things. Pressure and the feeling of being under constant fear."

I felt Tyler place his hand on my shoulder. "Madelyn, it's alright. He was going to hurt us all if you didn't."

I sighed. "And I know that. But if he had been given the chance to talk and let us know the truth, then this could've been avoided."

I looked back at the shifters. Hushed murmurs ran through the crowd, but I didn't care.

"He could have lived if we had talked it out," I said "It wasn't his fault."

Tyler looked me straight in the eyes. "We'll get through this. But remember; this proves that not all of the hunters accepted their job willingly. There are good hunters, ones who are on our side but are too afraid to speak up."

"Do you think they'll help us when the battle happens?"

Ashlea and Tyler spoke at the same time, both saying 'yes'.

We got to work, with the rabbit shifter making a large hole, which we buried Phred in. I looked up at the willow tree that marked where Phred had been buried. He hadn't been saved; I had killed him. But maybe the other hunters wouldn't have to suffer the same fate.

Over the course of several weeks, many, many people came to Haines City, willing to help. The majority of them were adults, and most knew how to use a gun. I hoped it wouldn't come to all out shooting; that would be horrible.

We continued with raids, stealing their supplies in the night. If they were weaponless, they'd be less likely to attack, and more likely to surrender, and sign the peace treaty.

Speaking of the peace treaty, it was being safely held at Jeff's house, out of the way and hidden. When the time came, it'd get signed. Whether it was in my lifetime, or another person's lifetime. Like Ashlea said; feuds can't last forever.

Practice for battle was going on at camp, every shifter and every person working hard to become as skilled as the hunters. The hunters had powers now, thanks to the scientists. It wasn't going to be easy. But I didn't need easy. I just needed possible. And this was possible. We were going to persevere, and we were going to win.

I looked down at the camp from above. I heard the sound of my wings flapping as I kept myself in the air. It was almost time. The hunters weren't going to get more weapons for a few more days. They still had some, just not enough. It was the perfect time to attack.

Well, there never would be a perfect time to attack, as I was dreading it, but we had a good chance of winning if we went now. I sighed, knowing that I'd have to get everyone and go to the hunter's base. And after that, go to Mexico to propose the treaty... again.

I landed, calling the camp to order.

"The hunters are short on weapons," I began "because of our raids. This is the best time to attack. Grab your supplies; we're going to the hunters' base."

Alright, maybe it wasn't the greatest idea to spring it on them that quickly and that fast, but I did what I did. After around half an hour, we were ready. I took to the sky, Tyler on my left, and Trinity on my right. I looked out in the general direction of the hunters' buildings. We stood an actual chance this time.

We arrived, and opened the force field. How? Well, a month ago, someone hijacked a hunter's car. Enough said. I flew in, armed with a spear. That, and a knife. Why not anything else? You can blame that on an incident in which I tried to be like Katniss and somehow ended up with an arrow hitting Trinity's butt.

Someone fired an arrow at me, and I dodged it. I had gotten fairly good at dodging bullets, arrows, and anything else someone might hurl up at me. Tyler was below me, fighting off some sort of supersized falcon. But he looked like he was doing fine, and sure enough, seconds later the huge falcon flew off.

Wow. A supersized falcon. What next? 'Fluffy'? Yes, yes I did make a book reference. I made sure I had both weapons, then headed towards Mr. Jones's building. The door was open. Maybe he had been expecting me?

He was. "Hello, Madelyn Ruth. I see you've come."

He stepped forward, a flame burning bright in his hand. He glared at me, so, I did what any teen would do.

I used insults I had found on the internet. Some of them were quite hilarious.

"One wishes to acquaint your facial features with a fundamental item used in building." Translation; I want to hit you with a brick.

Apparently, he had seen that too, and sent a stream of fire my way.

"Wow. Looks like you missed again."

He sent another stream of flames my way, and they were so close, I could feel the heat radiating off of them.

Another stream of flames were sent my way, and it was about to hit my face. They were too close to fly away. Then, a spray of water made the flames die.

"Stop!"

A/N- How did you like that? Now, let me take you into rant-landia.

Now, many of you have heard me mention the Animorphs series before. And I do it because of the utmost joy I have found while reading these books. I've been reading the Animorphs series for almost 2 years now, because of how long the series is. While you might find 54 books to be a large amount for a series, I believe that they help guide the books along.

But I have a question for you. How many of you have read Allegiant. A lot of you, right? And the sadness in the books portrays how war and battle causes loss and pain. Well, the Animorphs does that, and it does it good.

The Animorphs series is (And I'm quoting this from Wikipedia) an English language science fiction series of young adult books written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic. It is told in first person, with all six main characters taking turns narrating the books through their own perspectives. Horror, war, dehumanization, sanity, morality, innocence, leadership, freedom, and growing up are the core motifs of the series.

Look at that right up there. Look at the bolded print. HORROR. Lots of it. WAR. Lots of it. DEHUMANIZATION. You can take that in more ways than one. SANITY. And deciding if the choice you made is the right one. MORALITY. There is lots of inner conflict. INNOCENCE. And losing it. LEADERSHIP. FREEDOM. AND GROWING UP.

NOW SOMEBODY EXPLAIN TO ME WHY THIS SERIES ISN'T MORE POPULAR.

K.A. Applegate, the author of the Animorphs books, doesn't speak down to her readers. She doesn't sugarcoat the harsh brutalities of war, and its affects on people. I've accidentally gotten spoilers for the last book, and... well, you'll just have to see.

But what's this series about? You ask. Well, I'll tell you.

(Quoted from Wikipedia)

The story revolves around five humans, Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias, and one alien, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill (nicknamed Ax), who obtain the ability to transform into any animal they touch. Naming themselves "Animorphs, they use their ability to battle a secret alien infiltration of Earth by a parasitic race of aliens resembling large slugs, called Yeerks, that take humans as a host by entering and merging with their brain through the ear canal. The Animorphs fight as a guerilla force against the Yeerks, led by Visser Three.

Interesting, huh? Do you want to check it out? Because if you do, I swear it will not be a waste of your time. If you read it, chances are you will remember it as one of the best book series you've read in your entire life.

THIS IS A BOOK ABOUT WAR, BATTLE, AND FREEDOM. AND IN THE MIDST OF WAR, PEOPLE CAN CHANGE. (Animorphs pun right there) PEOPLE CAN DOUBT THEIR SANITY, OR EVEN LOSE IT. THIS ISN'T YOUR HAPPY GO LUCKY BOOK ABOUT ROMANCE. IT TELLS YOU THE HARSHNESS OF WAR, BUT IF YOU READ IT, YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT. THIS BOOK HAS HELPED ME IN SO MANY WAYS, WHETHER IT IS MY WRITING, OR MY FEELINGS.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS SERIES, AND I KNOW THAT YOU WILL LOVE IT TOO. THE BOOKS MAY BE A BIT HARD TO FIND, BUT I SWEAR, YOU WILL LOVE THEM.

There. That is a rant I've had for a LONG time.

Please comment, vote, share, and I'll see you in the comments! Bye for now.