The Alien Read Online Free PDF Page A

snake. I saw it coiled in the leaves. What I did not see was when it struck! It was too fast! Too fast to see, let alone avoid.
    Luckily, the fangs hit my hoof! I whipped my tail forward and pressed the snake against the ground, holding it immobile. It squirmed and made the rattling sound with its tail.
     Tobias advised.
    But I had a different idea. I focused on the snake. I began to “acquire” it, absorbing the snake’s DNA into my system.
     Tobias asked, sounding dubious.
     I said. The snake had gone limp, the way animals always do when you acquire them. When I was done and the snake’s DNA was within me, I used my tail to flip it away into some bushes.
     Tobias asked,
    
    Tobias laughed. He laughed for quite a while.
    
     Tobias said.
    
    
     I repeated, puzzled.
     Tobias said.
    We started moving through the woods. I ran at a good speed. I enjoyed leaping fallen logs and dodging through dense patches of thorny bushes. I was getting to know this forest well.
    As I ran and leaped, Tobias flew overhead. At times he would rise through the canopy of trees and disappear from my sight. At other times he would flit from tree to tree, silent, swift.
     I told Tobias.
    
    
     Tobias said.
    
    
    We had reached a narrow spur of woods. Normally, I would not have dared go this far because it was surrounded on three sides by human habitations. But Tobias was overhead, keeping his incredibly keen eyes open for any danger.
    
    
    
    
    I don’t know why, but it made me feel better to think that Tobias would be in the sky above me all day.
    Sometimes I think Tobias and I could be true
shorm
. A
shorm
is a deep friend, someone you never lie to, someone who knows all your secrets. The word
shorm
means “tail blade.” See, it’s supposed to mean a person you would trust so much they could put their tail blade right up against your throat and