Push and Shove: The Ghost Bird Series: #6 (The Academy) Read Online Free

whimpers. Soon, he was still.
    "What the hell was he trying to do?" Gabriel asked, finally releasing the boy when it was clear he was passed out. "It was like he was trying to kill himself."
    "He was doing a horrific job," Dr. Green said. He wiped at his brow. "He's watched too many medical dramas. He didn't even bother with a big enough bubble to cause an air embolism." He looked at Gabriel. "How's your hand?"
    "Tingly." Gabriel rubbed his thumb over the spot on his palm. “At least he used a clean one.”
    “Is he sick?” I asked, gazing at the boy. Even in his drugged-induced sleep, he moaned and looked strained.
    “Something’s wrong with him,” Mr. Blackbourne said. “Several other students have picked it up. A strong fever that lasts for about ten hours, heavy vomiting, with delusions and paranoia.”
    “Is it a flu?” Nathan asked. “Is it going around? Are we going to catch this? Should we be wearing masks?”
    “I don’t think so,” Mr. Blackbourne said. “I think there’s something the students are taking. Some new drug, although the students who are sick aren’t talking about it. The students who have come in don’t seem to know each other, and some of the symptoms are different depending on the person. This is the first one I’ve seen that has been suicidal.”
    “Have you put any of them through drug screening?” Nathan asked.
    Mr. Blackbourne nodded. “The results show nothing unusual. I don’t think our tests are picking up whatever drug they’re taking.”
    I straightened, pulling back. “He was in a fight upstairs. Victor was watching it. I've seen him before in the courtyard, too. The fight he had was with his friend. Where is he? Maybe we should talk to him."
    Mr. Blackbourne turned to me, his lips parted as if he wanted to ask but he caught himself. “Miss Sorenson, I told you no Academy activities this week.”
    “I was just mentioning it,” I said, unsure how to take a break from Academy work when they were around me all the time and they were Academy. For someone who wasn’t in, I still somehow felt like part of their private school for... investigators? Security force? I wasn’t sure what, but the more time I spent with them, the more I was diving deeper into their circle. “If I’m still going to school, whatever they are taking, what should I be looking out for? How am I supposed to not get involved if I don’t know what it is?”
    “Just stick with the boys, for now,” Mr. Blackbourne said. “Family first.”
    My lips clamped shut at his reply, not wanting to question Academy rules. Although I would keep my eyes open, for no other reason than I didn’t want to end up like the boy across the room.

ALONE TOGETHER
    ––––––––
    T he guys ran back to the gym and collected their bags. When the last bell rang, Nathan and Gabriel returned with my things from my locker. I wondered how they got access, but they must have waited for everyone to leave. I didn’t know they knew my gym locker combination, but then, things like that didn’t surprise me about Academy guys any more.
    We headed out to the parking lot together, still in our gym uniforms. The rain had stopped for the moment, but the sky was still deeply overcast. There was a slight chill as October was settling in. I fished out a zip-up hoodie to wear to ward off the cold.
    Gabriel reached out and fiddled with the zipper pull. His crystal eyes focused. “This thing has angel wings for a zipper,” he said. “Did I buy you this?”
    “Didn’t you?” I asked, confused. He and Victor bought all my other clothes.
    Gabriel nudged my shoulder, until I turned. He poked at my back where a collection of pink stones were designed into angel wings all along the back. “God damn,” he said. “I didn’t buy you this. Where’d you get it?”
    “From Nathan’s closet,” I said. “I grabbed the first one I saw. I thought you got it.”
    “Did we pick it up and forget about it?” Nathan asked. He