The Academy: Book 2 Read Online Free PDF Page A

campfire had been. This female appeared to have had her hair groomed recently; she had neat, shoulder-length dirty-blond hair (that was hanging towards the ground at the moment), and although her clothes were dirty, they weren’t tattered or ripped.
                  Asa felt the old anxiety begin to build inside of him: there was that awful feeling that everywhere he went, something bad was about to happen. He was miserably alert as he observed the girl.
                  She was twisting and jerking, trying to get herself loose from the rope trap. Unlike the monkeys Asa had seen, this girl was only held up by her right ankle. A soft trickle of blood was beginning to run up her calf muscle from the point of restriction on the rope. The girl swung her body upward, clutched onto her ankle, and began trying to pull. Even with her best efforts, she was not able to get herself free.
                  She’s athletic, but not super-human.
                  Upset and frustrated, the girl relaxed and let her body fall to a hanging position. The rope constricted harder with the added weight, and the girl screamed. Quickly, regretting her decision, the girl covered her mouth with her hands and fell silent. She looked around the forest, as to make sure that she hadn’t been heard.
                  Asa froze. Having lived in the Academy for a little over half a year now, he knew the dangers of attracting attention in the woods. He had a strong urge to run out into the clearing and tell the stranger to “hush,” but wasn’t yet sure that he intended to help.
                  I don’t know what she is: I thought that the person who killed the monkeys was harmless, too.
                  Asa stayed in his position, wondering if he should get up and start running. His heart was pounding fast. The girl’s cries could have carried all the way to the Multipliers: if this was the case, they were probably already rushing through the forest after the source.
                  The girl spun around in a circle once more, and this time she was facing Asa. Her teeth were chattering, and her arms were crossed tightly against herself. On the ground, directly below her was a black parka. Stitched on the back was a large, yellow goldfish.
                  Oh, she’s a Fishie! How could I have forgotten? They were supposed to be arriving today, so that they could participate in classes tomorrow.
                  “Don’t scream,” Asa said. He stepped out from hiding and revealed himself. “Be still so that I can get you down.”
                  Asa stepped toward her, and she pointed her finger at him; her eyes were red and angry. “Get back!”
                  Asa was relieved to see that her tongue and gums were pink. He put up his hands to show that he had no ill intentions: “I’m here to help.”
                  She ran a hand over her forehead, streaking dirt on her skin and said: “I don’t need help. I just need a knife or something.” Again, she pulled her body up so that her torso was upright, and she was able to hold onto the rope. She turned to Asa: “Well?”
                  “Well what?”
                  “Do you have a knife?” she asked.
                  “Uhh, no.”
                  She turned, looking at Asa as she was suspended in the air, holding onto the rope. Asa thought of how scared he would be if he were a normal human and encountered a mutated person in a stark white suit on a mountainside.
                  “I can get you down, just be still.” Asa’s wings shot out onto either side of him, and he leapt above the girl and grasped the rope with his right hand. He brought his left wrist up to his mouth and using his teeth to pull the fabric over his thumb, he was able to activate the drill function of his