RIFT (The Rift Saga Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

busy studying the information sheet, or if it was because of what the Janissary had said. She knew Laurie would always be her friend, and wanted to dismiss what the man had said, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if there wasn’t a lot of truth to it, as well. After all, many of the Initiates right here in this train car would die, and soon. And there was no doubt that the euthanasia laws were merciless. On your fiftieth birthday, you were given the choice of how to go. Most took the pill, and that was that. In a few years, her neighbor, who had shown up for Initiation Day in the town square, would be gone. The baker across the street had taken the pill last year, and next year, it was his wife’s turn.
    Sue felt the train decelerate, and as it slowed to a crawl, they entered a tunnel. Seconds turned to minutes, and after what felt like an eternity, the train exited the tunnel and stopped on a platform bathed in light. It was late evening outside, and darkness had descended. Behind the platform stood two black towers with moving flood lights, and as the lights moved around, she saw parts of Camp Sharpe, where she would spend the next several weeks in training. On the platform stood Janissaries, a row of them a few paces apart. From what she had read on the info sheet, these were senior Janissaries, who would each take a small group to their quarters and get them all settled in, let them know how things worked and how to behave, so when basic training began, they would be as ready as they could be. After sticking her head out for Dave, she thought it would be best to be as anonymous as possible and not draw attention to her. She looked up at the Covenant flag flapping in the wind on top of the main house in front of the platform. The white circle with another white round dot just above and to the right, on a black background speckled with small, paler dots. The Earth, the Moon, and the stars. The Moon people had saved them all, and the flag signified how Earth had been reborn in the image of their saviors. Now, it was her turn to serve, to carry on the responsibilities of protecting the Covenant.
     
    DAVE
    The train moved quietly through the rolling hills, and the only sound was the low chatter among initiates. The further west they went, the more sparse the habitation. Finally, there was nothing but untouched nature as far as the eye could see. Dave knew he should get some sleep, but he was far too nervous to even try. There weren’t many Warden initiates, and most were from places he’d barely heard of. He didn’t know the others from Charlestown well, and even they mostly kept to themselves. He had no idea what to expect.
    One thing he knew was that the Wardens were a mystery in themselves. Another was that no one told him anything, even though he noticed some of the initiates talked to each other as if they knew more than he did. He just sat there by himself, staring out the window as the train sped west through the rolling hills and the valley beyond, which he’d only read about in school textbooks. Soon, he was farther west than he’d ever been, further than anyone was allowed. Obviously, the Wardens were allowed out here, though.
    So when the train slowed down and finally came to a stop, he was dead tired and excited all at once. A man in olive fatigues and a shaggy beard ushered them out of the train car and onto a platform where several others were waiting. Most wore the same fatigues, but he noticed that, although they had some resemblance to the militaristic Janissaries, with uniforms and certainly a chain of command of sorts, these looked like they all had adapted their individual styles. There were those with bandanas and hats, but also uncovered heads, shades, electronic tattoos—but very different from the Corpus tattoos, and even a few short sleeves. Off in a corner of the platform, a couple of young men and a woman were smoking, a sickly sweet scent that told him this was definitely