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17-03-2010 PM 2:19:12
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17-03-2010 PM 2:19:18
Okay, so not exactly how I was expecting to be spending my school field trip.
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17-03-2010 PM 2:18:11
But lately, not much goes how I expect it to.
By the way, my name is Max Duncan. I’m 12.
And no…
…I don’t look like a “tiger boy” all the time.
EEEEEK!
Don’t worry, I gotcha.
Are you okay? I mean, I’m still getting used to this, and I know the landing was a little hard… …but better than getting squashed by a herd of elephants, right?
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Who… …what… …are you?
17-03-2010 PM 2:18:14
Well, thanks for saving me, but…but don’t come any closer.
Uh…I’m… Ani-Max. It’s…a long story.
Huh?
But I’m not going to hurt you.
Are you the one who set all the animals loose?
NO! No, it wasn’t me, I didn’t have anything to do with that. I’m just trying to help.
Hey, wait! I said I wasn’t going to… …hurt you, Callie.
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17-03-2010 PM 2:18:17
I bet the Locusts are behind all the animals being loose. This isn’t an accident, it’s sabotage.
I guess they’re my sworn enemies…
…but I’m not sure they’d set all the animals free. I mean, what’s it gain them?
Well, doesn’t matter why right. What matters is that I get them back in their enclosures before...
EEEEW!
Oh, that’s gross.
EEEYAH!
Oh man, that sounds just like…
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17-03-2010 PM 2:18:20
HELP US!
…Chris.
And that’s know-it-all Jenny Larson. I swear, she’s always got her hand up in any class I’m in with her.
Yup, that’s Chris all right. Sometimes I wonder why he’s my best friend. Well, somebody’s got to look out for him, right?
I think her dad’s a zoologist or something like that…
…so as much as I might like to see her get eaten by a tiger, I think she’d just be an appetizer while Chris would be the main course.
Maybe I can do this fast and not give away my secret.
Oh my God!
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What’s THAT?
17-03-2010 PM 2:18:22
Hey, it worked!
Good boy.
I know you’re not looking to hurt anybody, you’re just a little freaked out by all this. And I don’t want to see you get hurt either.
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17-03-2010 PM 2:18:25
So let’s get you back in your enclosure, where you’ll be safe, and so will everybody else. Sound like a plan?
Cool.
Uh-oh…
Looks like my time’s almost up.
Gotta go!
Max, WAiT!
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17-03-2010 PM 2:18:28
Okay… but how did you know it was me?
I’m not blind Max. Plus, I recognized your eyes. You have…nice eyes.
I didn’t know it was you.
The real question isn’t who you are, but how you did that.
Yeah, Max, you’re supposed to be my best friend! How come you never told me you were half-tiger?
Your dad’s a scientist guy, right? That’s impossible, isn’t it?
I’m NOT half-tiger, Chris. But I can take on the characteristics of any animal I touch. Any animal or bird or insect…fish too, I guess.
He’s a zoologist, and yes, that’s impossible.
You want proof? Look at this.
If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anybody, okay? All this started over summer vacation…
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Dude, what’d you do? Glue that on?
17-03-2010 PM 2:18:30
“…on that trip to the rainforest my parents took me on. It was an awesome vacation, except for the night I got lost in the jungle. That wasn’t cool at all.
“You ever have that feeling you’re being watched? I totally had that feeling in the jungle…
“…and then this huge black panther jumped out of the trees and almost landed right on top of me!
“I was all ready to run, but something… I dunno…something just told me the panther wasn’t going to attack.
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17-03-2010 PM 2:18:33
“And that’s when he stood up on his hind legs and started talking to me.
“I could see he was more like half panther, half human, and that he was wounded.
“But he still scared the daylights out of me when he grabbed me.
“I could see he had this gem embedded in his chest, and it was glowing red, just like his eyes. “But then he let me go, and he said…”
The Animus Stone deems you a worthy successor. The stone must be protected, and I have little time left.
“I had, like, no idea what he was talking about.
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17-03-2010 PM 2:18:35
“Then all of a sudden he yanked the Animus Stone… that’s what the red gem is called...out of his chest...
“...and slammed it into mine!
“It didn’t really hurt, it just felt kind of warm…
“…until it felt like nothing I’d ever felt before. It was like this wave washed over me, I could sense every animal in the jungle.
“I had this connection to them, I was in tune with them. I understood every growl and chirp and grunt. I understood everything.
“Which of course freaked me out. I tried to yank the stone out of my chest, but no way, it wouldn’t budge.
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17-03-2010 PM 2:18:38
“So the guy, the panther, he tells me…”
The Animus has successfully bonded with you. Already I can feel its powers leaving me.
“And by that point, the dude had completely turned into a man. I mean, an old man, and he seriously looked like about ten miles of bad road. He would’ve keeled over if I hadn’t caught him.
“He told me that I was the new protector of the Earth Spirits, and that the stone was part of me now. I was stuck with it.
“I was thinking that was gonna be awkward in gym class…
ANIMAX_NEW.indd 12
“…but then he told me the stone would disappear under my skin when I wasn’t using it. Which is kinda gross, but better than having it there all the time.
17-03-2010 PM 2:18:40
“But I didn’t have any more time to think about it, because just then we heard this howl echo through the whole jungle.
“I knew it wasn’t some animal, because I had that connection now. It was…something else.
Boy, you must listen to me carefully. The Locusts have found me and are quickly approaching.
“But before I could even ask about it, the old man said…”
You are not ready to face them, and there is no time for me to teach you how to channel the Animus Stone. Even if I could, the stone has been reset with no power and there is nothing here for you to absorb.
You need to run and keep the stone safely hidden within you. I don’t have much longer, but I will hold them off as long as I can. Now go, quickly!
“I must’ve looked around to see exactly who he was talking about, because when he said ‘The Locusts’ I could tell he wasn’t talking about a bunch of bugs.
“I didn’t see anything, but when I turned around again…”
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17-03-2010 PM 2:18:43
“…the old man was gone.
“I could hear his voice off in the jungle, taunting someone, like he wanted to be found. The howling sounds got further and further away chasing after him…
“…and then I was alone again. Or at least that’s what I thought.
“Just a few minutes later, my parents found me. It’s weird, I hadn’t wandered that far from our camp…
“…but it was far enough that I got all turned around in the jungle. Almost like it was supposed to happen that way. “I didn’t tell my parents about what happened since I knew they would never believe me.
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“We flew back home a couple of days later...”
17-03-2010 PM 2:18:45
…but by then I’d realized what the Stone could do. When I touch any new animal, the stone absorbs and stores it’s characteristics.
It’s absorbed dozens of animals whose powers I can access whenever I need to. That’s what you saw when I rescued you.
Max, that’s amazing! I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes!
My father is going to want to do a complete scientific study of you and the Stone!
Come on, do one now! Be an animal now!
Take it easy, you two. We have to keep this a secret. And that definitely means no telling your father, Jenny.
Anyway, we don’t need a scientific study, because I’ve already figured out the rules that go with the Animus Stone. When I absorb an animal’s characteristics, it only lasts for seven minutes at a time.
And, I can only transform three times a day.
Okay…so why did you set all these animals in the zoo free?
I didn’t! But I’ve got a suspicion that maybe the Locusts are the behind it…
…although to be honest I haven’t really figured out who or what the Locusts are.
EEEEEE!
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17-03-2010 PM 2:18:48
Look! That’s Mrs. Widdershins!
Maybe she tried to give those birds Detention.
You have to save her!
Maybe you could talk her into giving me a B+ in Math while you’re at it.
How ’bout it, buddy? Wanna lend me a hand?
Dude…
ANIMAX_NEW.indd 16
17-03-2010 PM 2:18:50
…that is SO cool!
Only got seven minutes!
Gotta make ’em count!
Oh, go away birds! Please go away!
Okay, you guys head back to your habitat so I don’t have to grab you too.
Ohhhh, NO!
You know, you could be a little nicer to your students.
It… talks?
Of course I talk. But I don’t really have time to chat…
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17-03-2010 PM 2:18:53
“…I’ve got a job to do.”
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17-03-2010 PM 2:18:59
I think that’s everybody…
…and just in time.
You did it!
That was Awesome! You were all like, swooping here and jumping there and springing over there!
And, dude, you were so strong! How strong do you think you are? Could you lift a car?
What does it feel like? I mean, after you transform, do you “think” in gorilla or in English? Okay, calm down a little, you two. Remember… secret.
I know you were kind of busy and all, but did you remember to ask about my math grade?
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Of course we’ll keep your secret, Max. What kind of friends do you think we are?
Well, truthfully, I didn’t know you and I were even—
17-03-2010 PM 2:19:02
But, I mean really, how can you stay calm about this? The possibilities are endless.
Yeah! You can be, like, anything.
Elephant-Max! Chihuahua-Max! Rhino-Max!
Bird-Max
Squid-Max
Spider-Max
Lizard-Max
Scorpio-Max Monkey-Max
ANIMAX_NEW.indd 20
17-03-2010 PM 2:19:04
Max Duncan! Jenny Larson! Chris Davis!
Where have you three been? I’ve been looking all over for you.
The whole class is accounted for except you.
We… uh…we were… hiding.
You know, just hangin’ around.
Well, let’s go. The situation seems to be under control, but I want us back on the bus and headed for school before anything else goes wrong. You never know what to expect with animals.
ANIMAX_NEW.indd 21
You can say that again.
17-03-2010 PM 2:19:06
I told you our plan would work to perfection.
Now our enemy has exposed himself. Now we know his identity.
Tracking the Stone to this American town was easy. But we could not pinpoint the bearer.
And when the time is right…
…we will destroy him and the Animus Stone forever!
The End...for now!
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17-03-2010 PM 2:19:09
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17-03-2010 PM 2:19:18
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17-03-2010 PM 2:19:20