Amy asked softly, "Sir, what time is it?" Puppy was asleep, her head nestled in Runner's lap. In the front seat, Detective Reed appeared to be sleeping as well.

Runner, of course, was still wide-eyed, the more so since the car had reached the city. Her neck seemed spring-loaded, whipping her head from one side to the other as each new wonder came into view. There were few cars on the streets, and almost no pedestrians. But to Runner, it was a hive of activity such as she had never imagined. Mostly it was a blaze of lights that banished the night entirely.

"About 1 a.m. I'd like the three of you to spend the night in the infirmary, so the nurse can check you out in the morning. Before that, we'll all go to my office."

"Yes, Sir." Amy had to shake her head to clear it as an odd feeling washed over it. The world of the mundane seemed to be opening up and surrounding her, caressing her, beginning to banish the adventure she had never wanted and which she had feared would never end. Somehow even the infirmary seemed exciting.

"Am I correct in understanding that neither Runner nor Puppy can read?"

Amy choked back a laugh. Runner's illiteracy could easily have been inferred from her conversations with Amy, but Puppy, of course, hadn't said a word. The dean didn't yet understand that Puppy's lack of speech wasn't simply a lifestyle choice, in the manner of puppygirls here. "Umm, that's right, Sir. Runner's going to start learning right away, though." Beside her, Runner smiled and nodded at Amy eagerly.

"I'm concerned with the present rather than the future. We have some paperwork to do. I'd like to get that done before they take up residence as slaves."

Amy bit her lip. She hadn't actually told Runner she was going to be a slave, unsure of the effect of the word on her. Runner knew what it meant on the island. It was unavoidable, though. No one but slaves lived in the Academy's secure area.

Runner looked quickly at Amy. "Am I going to be a slave?"

Amy held Runner's hand more tightly. "Runner, it's a different thing here. It's not all about serving men because you have to, the way you've seen girls doing. You'll understand it better later, but it's okay. I'm a slave. All of the Hanging Girls are slaves. It's a good thing. It's what I wanted to be, so I could be a Hanging Girl." Amy wanted to explain to her that it simply meant the Academy would own her, but realized Runner wouldn't have a clear idea what "ownership" meant -- Amy hadn't exactly wanted to introduce the subject while Runner had been out stealing things for both of them.

Runner relaxed, her smile coming back. "Okay."

Amy suddenly felt her lips curl themselves upward in a grin as if by outside agency. She pointed. "Runner, see that big building right there?"

Runner looked at the approaching structure. "What..." She gasped suddenly. "Is that it??" She seemed almost ready to hyperventilate.

Tears streamed from Amy's eyes. She could only nod her head.

The hallways were deserted at this time of night -- probably just as well, thought Amy. She wanted desperately to see all her friends, but suspected the reception they would give her would be overwhelming not only to Runner but to Amy herself, exhausted as she was. Runner, she suspected, was equally tired, though it was hard to tell. Runner was breathlessly looking at every passing feature, her mouth open in wonder. She said to Amy, automatically whispering in the quiet of the empty halls, "I thought it would just be like a bigger cabin."

The dean ushered the three girls into his outer office -- Detective Reed was being driven home by Bill, and Steffi was making her way home on her own. Amy, looking into the office, blinked at the sight of Tina, raising her head from her desk where she had apparently been napping. Tina came around the desk and gave Amy a warm hug. "So glad you're back."

Amy laughed. "Me too." She let go of Tina. "Tina, what are you doing here?"

"I work here."

"At one o'clock in the morning?"

"I wanted to be here in case you needed anything."

The dean said, "Tina, could you print out two slave service contracts, one in the name of 'Runner,' and the other..." He looked at Amy. "What is the puppy's name?"

Amy laughed. " 'Puppy,' actually."

The dean smiled. "Simple enough."

Tina looked puzzled. " 'Runner'? Spelled like it sounds?" When Amy nodded, Tina went on, "What's the full name?"

Amy shook her head. "Just 'Runner,' nothing else. And just 'Puppy.' "

A thought occurred to Amy as Tina sat in front of her computer. "Oh, Tina, could I have a pen? And a blank sheet of paper?"

Tina handed Amy the necessities, and Amy set the paper down on a low file cabinet. "Runner, do you want to learn a letter?"

Runner's eyes lit up. She nodded vigorously.

"Okay. Watch me, and then do what I do." Amy took the pen, and slowly made a large capital R on the page. "This letter is 'arr.' 'Rrrunner' starts with arr." She emphasized the R sounds.

Runner stared at the letter, frowning in concentration. Amy could see the tiny movements of Runner eyes as she visually traced the shape of the letter.

Suddenly she gasped, and pointed at the letter. "Say that again! What you just said."

Amy repeated it, again stretching out the R sounds.

Comprehension flooded Runner's features. "Arrr. Runner. Rrrrunner."

She gets it! thought Amy. Already! Each letter makes a sound like its name.

Runner whirled towards Amy, pointing insistently at the paper. "Make the whole word, Amy! Runner!" Runner already knew, from Amy's earlier explanation, that it took several letters to make a word.

Amy started to comply, then said, "Wait. You do this one first. Make an R, just like that one." She gave the pen to Runner and spent a moment coaching her how to hold it, then watched as Runner, with total concentration on the job, slowly made the strokes on the page forming a shaky R, identical to Amy's. Beside it she made another, and scattered several more R's on the page before demanding, "Now the whole word!"

In block capitals, Amy printed "RUNNER" on the page, then pointed to each letter in turn. "R. U. N. N. E. R." She repeated it, and said slowly, "Rrruhnnnnerrr," sweeping her finger slowly across the letters as she said them.

Runner hopped up and down in place, her hands clasped together as if in applause, her whole face glowing. "Now let me do it! Let me do it!"

Amy gave her back the pen, and watched, suddenly understanding how a proud parent must feel, as Runner wrote her name for the first time.

Runner made five copies of Amy's example, then turned to hug Amy ecstatically.

The dean cleared his throat. "Likes learning things, does she?"

After Amy had explained the slavery form as well as she could, and Runner had signed it triumphantly, with Tina signing as witness, the dean turned and spoke to Puppy. "I'll need you to sign one, somehow. Could you write with the pen in your mouth?"

Amy choked. Shit, she thought, I hope this doesn't screw up anything. "Uhhh, Sir..." As he turned to look at her, she went on, "She doesn't understand you."

The dean frowned. "Excuse me? I wasn't aware there were other languages on Purity Island."

"She... doesn't understand any language, Sir. Except a few words she gets used to and responds to. She was trained from infancy to behave like a dog. That's how they do it there."

The dean retained his frown, and stood stroking his chin. "I'm not sure what I can do about taking her in as a slave. Personally I don't care to have unwilling slaves in my establishment, and obviously she can't give anything like informed consent to the arrangement. I'm convinced that Runner understands what she just agreed to, but..." He gestured towards Puppy uncertainly. "You're telling me she can't."

Amy's heart sank. She had anticipated the awkwardness, but had hoped the hurdle had been crossed when the dean agreed to take Puppy in.

"Sir..." she began. "Puppy is willing to stay with us, if that means anything. She doesn't want to be anywhere else. Yes, I know she can't understand the concept of being a slave, but..." She suddenly redirected her pleading as a thought struck her, "She could stay here as a free woman, couldn't she? If she can be anywhere she wants to be, couldn't she just want to be here?" It was lucky, she decided, she'd removed Puppy's collar.

He continued stroking his chin. "There are no free women living full-time on the premises."

"I know, Sir. But... well, slavery is subject to all the laws that cover it, and you can't do anything about them, but now we're getting into your own rules. You can decide to let a free woman live here if you want to."

"You know the reasons..."

Amy's concentration on the battle to keep Puppy was too intense for her to worry about the etiquette involved in interrupting the dean. "Yes, Sir, but the reasons don't apply to her. It's not like she could learn some secret you don't want her to learn, then decide to leave and pass it on to someone outside. She's not going to want to leave, and can't communicate any complex thoughts to anybody if she did leave."

"The point is, how can I know she doesn't want to leave? She can't tell me. I can't keep a free woman here if she doesn't want to be here. That's another law beyond my control."

Amy stood helplessly, her mind racing. If Puppy can't tell us...

She laughed suddenly. Amy, you idiot, she told herself, start thinking like a Hanging Girl! Since when did you need people to speak to you to know what they were thinking? You can come closer to reading minds than anybody outside these walls. And the dean can do it too.

Amy turned to Runner and took her hand. "Runner, I need you to come with me for a minute."

Runner nodded, and Amy led her to the door of the room, opened it, and stepped out into the hallway.

From inside the office, Amy could hear Puppy's bark of distress, full of the fear of abandonment, followed by a thumping sound as Puppy scrambled to the door.

As Puppy came out the door, Amy knelt and held her arms out, and was almost knocked over as Puppy ran into her, whining and licking Amy's face, then turning to lick Runner as well, as she knelt beside Amy. Every quiver of her muscles, every whimper of her voice said how much she needed to be with Runner and Amy. Amy knew the dean would have no trouble reading her.

Amy looked up to see the dean watching from the doorway. "Sir, as long as Runner and I are here, this is where Puppy's going to want to be."

The dean, his arms crossed, sighed. Amy could hear him mutter, "I don't know why I thought I'd win an argument with you." He turned his head and said into the room, "Tina, could you get a slave collar... just the one, for Runner. And a uniform suitable for a staff slave. Also a graduate uniform and collar for Amy. I'm not sure what sizes to tell you. Bring them to the infirmary, please."

Tina came out past him into the hallway. "I can tell the sizes."

Amy looked up from hugging Puppy, grinning. "Oh, and could you see if they have a pack of alphabet flash cards in the student store? Oh!! Also a box of tampons." She indicated Runner.

Tina flashed her a smile. "Tampons I can probably come up with. Flash cards I'm a little doubtful about, but I can order some in the morning."

As Tina walked down the hall, the dean said to Amy, "I think we've already established Puppy's job here. In the morning we can talk about what Runner can do for us."

Amy gave Puppy one last stroke and stood. "Sir, if you're not too tired yet, while everything's quiet could we go down to the Demo Room? As long as we're thinking about what Runner's job might be, I want to show you what she can do."

The dean responded with a puzzled frown. "In the Demo Room?"

"Yes, Sir."

As Amy followed the dean through the door to the Demo Room, holding Runner's hand, with Puppy trotting happily behind, Amy asked herself why she felt so insistent on showing the dean now. They were all tired, though Runner was so amped on the wonder of her new world that no fatigue showed through.

The dean started to speak, but stopped at the sound of Runner's loud gasp.

Runner almost crushed Amy's hand. "Amy, it's a noose! Can I hang? Can I hang? Please?"

Amy saw the dean's stunned look. Before he could speak, she held up her free hand, the one not caught in the vise of Runner's grip. "I know what you're thinking..." She laughed. "Of course, you know I know what you're thinking. But I did not give her any instruction in hanging. I told her some basics about breathing and blood flow that everybody knows, but she'd never learned them. That's all. Everything you're about to see her do is from her just watching me practice."

The dean frowned and waited as Amy led Runner to the hanging platform. Amy debated about whether to show Runner how the platform worked, and decided to postpone that, instead using the platform as simply a flat-surfaced log. She pushed the platform back slightly so that it was no longer quite directly under the rope. She wanted, for now, to stay with what Runner was familiar with. As she lowered the noose over Runner's head and tightened it around her neck, she said, "I haven't even talked to her about the proper placement of the rope. I've just been doing it for her."

Runner's jaw dropped, and she rubbed her neck against the rope. "It's so soft! Smooth. Is this what you always use here?"

As Amy nodded, the dean asked, "What have you been using?"

Amy answered, "Local vines. They're a little rough, but I've kind of got used to them."

Amy now fought against a smile, anticipating the dean's reaction to what she was about to do and not wanting to give away any of the surprise. She said casually to Runner, "Here, let's get you out of these clothes. You never wear them when you hang." She unbuttoned the vest, and as Runner shrugged out of it, Amy unwound the breast wrap.

She almost laughed aloud at the dean's gasp. He had indeed, as Amy knew, not been expecting the size of Runner's breasts. Nor their perfect shape. Amy pulled Runner's shorts down, revealing the rest of her. The slightly baggy leather outfit had not given much idea of the body underneath. Amy stayed out of the dean's line of sight to Runner, wanting him to get the full first impression of what he'd just acquired.

As Amy went to the cabinet at the side of the room and picked out a short rope for wrist-tying, she saw the dean staring at Runner, his wide eyes running up and down her body.

After tying Runner's hands, Amy edged back on the platform, away from Runner, and let her choose her own moment. Runner took a last, slow breath and stepped off.

As Runner kicked and twisted, turning and thrusting her hips, Amy alternated watching her and watching the dean. He was rubbing his chin on his hand, his eyes not focused on any one part of Runner's body but taking in her performance as a whole. He was, probably unconsciously, slowly nodding.

Amy let Runner kick for three minutes, during the last of which the dean appeared steadily more surprised, no doubt at the sheer duration of the session. At last she gently gripped Runner's waist and guided her back to the platform.

Runner, as always at the end of her practice, had a blissful glow to her face. She kissed Amy as Amy loosened the rope.

The dean opened his mouth to say something, and closed it without finding the words he wanted.

Amy hugged Runner, then kept her arm around Runner's waist as she looked out at the dean. "As I said, I never told her..."

The dean nodded, interrupting. "I know, I believe you. I could see a few counterproductive moves you would have corrected by now if you'd been giving her any coaching." He slowly shook his head in amazement. "How long has she been doing this?"

"I guess it'd be... a little less than three weeks."

"She'd never done it before that?"

"She'd never even seen it before. They don't do it on the island."

The dean rarely took very long to make a decision. He looked at Amy. "You know what I want you to do, I assume? You and the rest of the girls. I'm not assigning you to do it by yourself. You don't have to worry about delaying your own hanging any further."

Amy gave him a happy, wide-mouthed grin. "Yes, Sir! I'm already on it. You heard me ask Tina for the alphabet cards."

The dean gave her a small smile. "Now will you go to the infirmary?"

Amy giggled. "Yes, Sir."

Amy was having a hard time keeping her eyes open as she led Runner and Puppy into the infirmary. There it was, Amy saw, smiling despite her exhaustion. A bed. A real bed. What I need more than anything in the world, she thought.

She could see, on the small dresser adjacent to the bed, two small piles of clothing, one for herself, and one for Runner. The latter pile included panties, to which she hoped Runner would react favorably. There were also shorts and a bra, in khaki, the shorts a little longer than the brief ones the students wore, the bra a bit more modest than the lower-cut, cleavage-revealing student model. In the morning, Amy decided, she would ask the Student Store to make or order an outfit in the same color, cut identically to those of the students. She wanted Runner to have a sense of belonging, to the greatest extent possible. There were also two sets of socks and sneakers, and, as requested, a box of tampons, as well as a box of sanitary napkins.

Tina had apparently, unsurprisingly, been unable to find a set of alphabet flash cards on the premises. It's probably just as well, thought Amy. Plenty of time for that later. She suppressed a giggle at her knowledge that, if Runner had seen such cards here, she would likely have recognized the similarity of the letters to those she had just learned, and she would have insisted on a lesson right this minute. Amy just wanted to sleep.

The one remaining item was a collar.

It was a metal one, of the type worn by all staff slaves, and students in their first two years. Like those of the First Year students, it was simply engraved, "Slave Girl -- Property of the Hanging Academy."

Amy picked it up, and turned to Runner. "Runner, this is yours."

Runner blinked in surprise. "It is?"

Amy nodded, smiling. "When you wear it, it means you're a slave. The good kind. Like me."

Runner looked puzzled. "You don't have one."

"I've been here a long time, so I wear a different kind, but it means the same thing." Amy picked the bright red choker from the pile of her own clothes, and closed her eyes, savoring the feeling as she fastened it around her neck. More than anything else in her surroundings, it made her feel fully returned.

She opened her eyes. "Now let me put yours on." Runner stood patiently as Amy closed the hinged collar around Runner's neck and secured the catch.

Amy stood back and looked at her, and that proud parent feeling swept through her again. She kissed Runner's cheek. "Now you're part of the Academy. The Academy is my home, and now it's your home too."

Runner's face glowed. "My home."

Yes, thought Amy, Runner had picked up very accurately what the word meant.

Amy shrugged out of her leather Island outfit for the last time, and Runner, who had redressed after her hanging, though without the breast wrap, did the same. Amy sighed. "Now let's get some sleep."

She lay on the bed, and held out her arms to Runner. As Runner sat on the surface of the bed, she exclaimed, "It's so soft!"

Together they curled into the position they had evolved in the last week or so of their Island sojourn. As on their first night, they lay facing each other, in opposite directions, each sucking one of the other's breasts, to which they had added the refinement of each bringing up her knees behind the other's head, gently nudging the back of it to help keep it in place, while Puppy climbed up to lay atop both of them, sucking the free breast of one or the other of them -- tonight, Amy's.

Amy, feeling the intimate contact with both of her dearest new friends, reflected on how well she and the dean could read each other. Neither needed to spell out his or her thoughts to the other. Amy knew that the dean saw the natural instinct for hanging in Runner, and, without Amy needing to tell him, how much of an asset to the Academy Runner could become. Amy also knew that the dean, without needing to say so to Amy, had no intention of relaxing the Academy's admissions standards. Runner could not be a student if she couldn't keep up with the courses in history, in the sciences, in the theories of hanging.

And Amy knew, without the dean needing to say it, what Runner's job would be at the Academy. She wouldn't be joining the kitchen staff, or the cleaning staff.

All of the students had had twelve years of public schooling before arriving at the Academy. Runner had a lot of catching up to do. Her job now was to learn.

THE NEXT MORNING

Amy was startled as the light came on in the room. Puppy was up off her and growling, facing the door.

Amy let Runner's breast slip out of her mouth and looked in that direction. The nurse, Carol, was standing there, looking startled, warily regarding Puppy.

Amy sat up, and felt Runner come quickly alert as well, twisting around to see what Puppy was growling at.

Carol stammered, "Uhhh, I'm sorry. I think I snuck up on you a little."

Amy reached out to stroke Puppy and calm her. "It's okay. She doesn't like strangers much." Amy gave Puppy a soft kiss on the neck. Puppy stopped growling, but continued to watch the nurse's every move. The latter made no move to come closer.

Amy rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?"

"Eight o'clock. Do you want breakfast?"

Amy suddenly noticed how grimy she was, something to which she had paid no attention on the island. "I think we'll take a shower first. Oh..." She bent down and picked up the leather outfits she and Runner had been wearing. "Could you have all this cleaned? It's real girlskin, so do whatever you need to do with it. We probably won't wear it, but I want to keep it." Several slavegirls had given their lives to be these clothes.

Carol nodded, cautiously stepped forward and took the outfits. "After you clean up and eat, I want to check you over."

"Sure." As the nurse left, Amy stood and stretched.

She watched as Puppy hopped down to the floor. Amy barely reacted in time as Puppy lifted one leg. "Whoa!"

Puppy's startlement cut off the flow that was just starting. Amy looked around, and spotted the bedpan she needed. She set it on the floor and pushed it towards Puppy, and watched in frustration as Puppy sniffed it as if she thought it might contain food, then backed away, dismissing it.

Amy sighed. She hadn't really given much thought to this.

Sighing still more heavily, Amy dropped down onto all fours, straddled the bedpan and peed into it. Runner, in a surprised voice, asked, "So am I supposed to do it that way now?"

Amy worked desperately to hold back her laughter. This is like herding cats sometimes, she told herself. She shook her head, and pointed to an adjacent room, its door ajar. "There's a toilet in there. Go ahead and use that if you need to. But Puppy can't use that. This is just for her."

As her bladder finished emptying, Amy looked at Puppy encouragingly. She backed away from the bedpan and beckoned towards Puppy.

Puppy at last got the idea, padded forward to straddle the bedpan and directed her own stream down into it.

Amy led Puppy into the bathroom, where Runner was just finishing with the toilet, and led both of them into the shower. Runner's face lit up after Amy turned on the tap. "You can make it rain in here!"

Amy bent to begin soaping Puppy, who seemed to tolerate the novel experience well enough as long as Amy seemed to be sanctioning it. Runner pulled the soap out of Amy's hand and held it to her nose. She gave Amy an astonished look. "I like that!"

Amy grinned. "Let me rub it all over you then."

Runner loved the shampoo as well.

They made love standing up in the shower, Amy loving the feel of Runner's slick, soapy skin sliding against her own. Afterwards they knelt, the water still streaming over them, and gave Puppy similar attention.

Amy had just finished helping Runner dress, explaining the bra at great length, ("No, that's okay, it's not meant to squash them down. It just holds them so they don't bounce around quite as much.") and had given her some protection against her menstrual flow, when Carol looked in again. "Do you want breakfast now?"

Amy stood with her hands on her hips. "Can we just go eat in the caf? I want to see my friends."

Carol shook her head. "The dean wants us to do some tests."

Amy rolled her eyes. "I feel fine. We all do. And if we've got any diseases, the dean is already exposed. So is Tina."

"I know, but he said his priority is to protect the students. Even if something starts going around now, it helps to have some advance warning about what it is."

Amy sighed. "How long will it take? When can we leave?"

"We should have results around dinnertime."

"Can some students come over?"

"I'm sorry. That would kind of defeat the purpose, you know?"

Amy ground her teeth. Standing in familiar surroundings -- she had spent a lot of time with Linda in this same room after her operation -- and wearing familiar clothes, she just wanted to get back to the normal routine of her life, and see the friends she had missed so much. With an almost Puppy-like growl, she sat on the bed. "Okay. What do you need to do? Blood test? Can we do it now?"

Amy had Puppy and Runner both watch closely as Carol jabbed the needle into Amy's arm near the elbow. Runner followed Amy in giving blood, her free hand gripping Amy's, her eyes squeezed shut, making a small squeak as she felt the prick of the needle, then helped Amy keep Puppy calm as Puppy's sample was taken. Afterward, following their delayed breakfast, Amy looked around for something to occupy their time. Her eyes stopped at the obvious solution. Of course, she thought. They'll both be amazed.

After tuning the television to a children's channel, currently showing cartoons, Amy summoned Carol once more. "There was a Detective Reed I was talking to last night. Could you contact her and tell her I can answer her questions now? Tina should have a number for her. If I'm sick, she's exposed already." Carol nodded and left.

Amy wasn't sure why Detective Reed was so fascinated with the satellite phone Amy had found on the beach. "So you didn't bring it back with you?"

Amy smiled at the sight of Runner sitting cross-legged on the bed, Puppy stretched out beside her, their faces full of childlike wonder, both of them with their whole being focused on the colorful moving images. It had taken ten minutes for Runner to stop looking behind the flat-screen set to see where the pictures were coming from. Now she sat still, her eyes wide and barely blinking, her mouth slightly open. Amy turned back to Reed. "No, I told you I threw it away. I couldn't think of any reason I needed to keep it. Well, I mean no, that wasn't really it. I was just pissed off. But I still don't know why you'd want it. I'm sure Andrew would make sure it couldn't be traced to him."

"Do you think you'd recognize the brand and model? Be able to pick it out from a selection of various phones?"

Amy shrugged, puzzled. "I guess so. What for?"

Reed gave her a small smile. "I've got some ideas I'm working on."

Detective Reed left around lunchtime, and Carol, along with lunch, brought a small box. "Tina said you wanted these."

Amy practically leapt off the bed. "Yes! Thank you."

Waiting until after lunch, during which Runner spared just enough attention to the food without withdrawing her gaze from the television, Amy finally waved the box at Runner. When Runner at last looked over, Amy asked, "Do you want to start learning some letters?"

Runner shot off the bed in the same way Amy had earlier, the television instantly forgotten. "Yes!! Teach me letters, Amy! Do you have a... what was that called?" She pantomimed writing her name, as she had last night.

"Oh, right, we do need that. Let me get one from Carol."

At about five o'clock, Amy's heart leapt at the sound of footsteps just beyond the door. The test results must be back.

Her jaw dropped as a face looked in past the door. "Carol told me to tell you you're all okay..."

Amy sprang off the bed and threw her arms around Melissa in a single move, holding her tight, tight, tight, tears streaming down her face, murmuring "I missed you so much I missed you so much..."

Holly and Jana came up behind Melissa, grinning, Holly explaining, "We drew straws to see who got to tell you."

Amy tried to shift her grip to encompass Holly and Jana, without losing hold of Melissa, as all of them laughed and cried at the same time. Amy wondered who would be the first... Jana, it turned out, was the one who rubbed Amy's head and demanded, "Amy, what'd you do to your hair??"

Amy started responding, "It's a long story," but stopped as she discovered Runner had come up behind her, leaving behind her writing pad on which she had just left a page covered with lower-case a's. For hours she had been testing Amy's powers of explanation ("Why do they make every letter two ways?"), but now a new source of excitement had caught her attention. "Amy... Are these the Hanging Girls?" She appeared to want to touch them but hesitated, pending the answer.

All three visitors seemed really to notice Runner for the first time, and Amy saw the reaction she knew was going to be repeated often as Runner met more Academy students -- she could hear Jana say under her breath, "Wow," while Holly whispered, "She's so beautiful, Amy."

Amy let go of her friends with one hand to wipe her eyes, and said to Runner, "There are a lot more Hanging Girls, but these are also my really good, good friends."

Confirmation left Runner frozen in awe. Finally she managed to say, in a soft voice, "Can I watch you hang?" Having seen Amy, she clearly had set a high priority on obtaining more data on the techniques.

Amy laughed. "We'll get to that soon. First I want you to get to know them, because we'll all be spending a lot of time together." She put her hand on Melissa's shoulder. "This is Melissa." She continued with the introductions of Jana and Holly, then said, "Guys, I want you to meet Runner."

Melissa blinked. " 'Runner,' did you say?"

Amy nodded, grinning. "One who runs. Runner."

Melissa held out her hand. "Very nice to meet you, Runner."

Runner stared at Melissa's hand, with no idea what to do with it. Amy gave her a demonstration, and Runner shook hands all around, still seeming to puzzle over the significance, looking at her hand as if she expected to see some change in it.

Jana looked past her to the bed, where Puppy was still entranced by the television. "That's the puppygirl Tina was talking about."

Amy nodded. "She told you where I've been?"

Holly said, in a voice of amazement. "Purity Island. She didn't exactly say how you ended up there."

Amy waved the point off. "Later. Part of the long story. But anyway, Runner and Puppy are both from the island."

Melissa looked at Runner, puzzled. "I thought people on Purity Island were originally from here."

Amy laughed, knowing this would be another of the many things she was going to need to explain again and again. "There were natives before they got there."

Jana looked back and forth between Runner and Puppy. "It sounds like you're saying they're going to live with us. How did you manage that, with the dean?"

"Another long story, but later I'll have Runner show you what she can do. You'll understand."

Melissa said, "We can all talk later tonight, but by now Tina should have got all the students together in the caf." She grinned. "They don't know why."

Amy laughed. "Now that should be fun. Pizza?"

"Of course."

Amy reached for the remote and turned off the television. Puppy made an uncertain sound and pawed at the screen, trying to urge the pictures back into existence. Amy called to her. "Puppy! Come." She clapped her hands together.

As Amy heard the buzz of conversation on her approach to the caf, she said quietly to Runner, "There are going to be a lot of girls here. Probably more than you've seen in one place before. They're going to be really loud, but they're all Hanging Girls, so they're very nice. Stay close to me. Puppy is going to be really scared, so give her some hugs if she needs it."

Nervously, Runner nodded.

Melissa entered first, and knocked on one of the propped-open double doors to get everyone's attention. As the room quieted, Amy, her heart fluttering, trying to maintain a smile despite the quivering of her lips, walked into the entrance and stopped.

In the first few seconds, Amy could hear a few puzzled comments, from among the hundred or so girls present -- "What's..." "Who...?" "I thought all the graduates were gone..." until Christy, one of the Third Years, her hands flying to her mouth, shouted, "It's Amy!!!"

After that it was a long while before Amy heard any more individual voices over the general shouting.

The nearest girls began to close in, forming a tightening semicircle around her. Amy held up her hands and shouted, "Wait, wait! I'll try to talk to everybody when I get a chance..." It had the effect of slowing the onslaught, though the girls from farther away continued closing up against the back of the crowd. Amy looked down and saw Runner kneeling with her arms around Puppy, who had tried to bolt in the first seconds and now stood on all fours shivering, pressing up against Runner as if trying to shrink away to invisibility. Beside Amy, Melissa and Jana were both making quiet-down gestures with upraised arms, and making shushing sounds. Holly was helping Runner settle Puppy down.

As the room grew more-or-less still, Amy spoke up again. "I know this would be my one chance to tell everybody what's been happening with me so I don't have to repeat it all a hundred times, but I'm not up for that right now. I just want to have a party..."

Another exuberant shout went up from all the girls, and Amy, with Melissa and Jana, had to work for some degree of quiet again.

Amy went on, "I just want to tell you a couple of things first, and then I'll come in and start saying hi to everybody. I want everybody to be patient, because I can't see all of you all at once, and I'll try to stay until I see everybody. The main thing is, I've been on Purity Island..."

The sound level rose again, and Amy resumed when it fell once more. "I'll tell my roommates a lot more details, and they can pass it along to all of you when they get the chance. One last thing, and then we can all start mingling. I want you to meet two very special new friends. Without them I could never have got back here, and they'll be an important part of my life for the rest of my life." Amy looked down and saw that Puppy was under control, though still looking scared. She reached out to urge Runner back to a standing position. Putting her arm around Runner's waist, she announced, "This is Runner. She's from the island, and..." Amy grinned and rolled her eyes, and went on, "To keep everybody who knows anything about Purity Island from asking, yes, Purity Island was settled by our own people, but there were natives there before that, and she is one of them."

Amy half-crouched now and stroked Puppy's side. "And this is Puppy, also from the island. I want all of you to welcome Runner and Puppy here, because the Academy is their home now. And all of you are their sisters."

Rather than shouts, this time there was sustained applause. Runner shot Amy a puzzled look, and Amy assured her, "That's a good sound. They're all happy you're here." Runner responded with a grin.

As the applause subsided, Amy shouted, "Okay, I'll talk to the girls standing closest to me first. Everybody else -- please, patience, I'll get to you. Now let's do some partying!"

For the next three hours, Amy held forth, returning hugs, answering a few questions and begging off answering others in the interests of time. She wished she had remembered to preempt the inevitable "What did you do to your hair?" question by explaining it the whole room beforehand. Runner was asked a number of questions, a few of which she could answer, looking to Amy for help with the others, and she received her own share of hugs. Puppy had decided by now that the crowd was well-intentioned, and several girls knelt to pet her and giggled when they got face licks in return.

Runner enjoyed the pizza very much.