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

an illegal substance. He’d never actually smelled it, let alone smoked it, but he remembered learning about it once, in class. They said it was dangerous and would kill you. When they noticed him staring, they grinned at him and laughed, and he quickly averted his eyes.
    “Hey! Watch where you’re going,” one of the other initiates, a girl, said. She smiled as he fumbled and almost lost his footing. She was lean and looked fit, with full lips and auburn, close-cropped hair. He’d noticed her boarding the train at one of the last stops, and she was one of those initiates who already seemed to know her way around. She offered her hand.
    “Liz.” He took her hand and shook it.
    “Dave.”
    “I guess you haven’t tried kissweed before, have you?” she said. He shook his head. She chuckled, but didn’t say anything. A grey-bearded fellow who stood out, not just because of his multi-colored shirt, but also because he was obviously an authority here, walked across the platform and stood in front of them.
    “All right, Initiates, listen up,” he said loud enough for everyone to hear.
    “I’ll make no speeches, I promise. I just want you to know that you are welcome, and that I hope you will settle in here. In the next few weeks, you will learn more of the Wardens, and our role in the Covenant.” He paused, a knowing smile breaking through the thick beard.
    “Trust me; you don’t know half of it.” And with that, he turned and left, leaving the initiates standing idly.
    “Well, that was brief,” Liz said. Dave wondered what would happen next, and he didn’t have to wait for long. A lanky fellow, around twenty-five, with sand-colored hair and sunburned skin, with those strange-looking tattoos snaking up his neck, came up to them, carrying an infopad. He wore a nametag that said “Searles.”
    “Names,” he said, sounding almost bored. They gave him their names, and he found them on his list.
    “Wagner, you’re in B-house. It’s the first one on the left. Sidnell, follow that chubby fellow, and he’ll take you to your house. You’re in A,” he said. They both nodded, and Searles walked over to another group of initiates.
    “I guess we’ll see each other around then,” Liz said.
    “Sure. Nice to meet you.”
    Dave watched her walk away, and turned to see who else was there. One of the initiates from Charlestown, Brian something, was lingering, and Dave walked over to him. They nodded at each other, and Dave thought he remembered where he’d seen him before.
    “Did you compete in the math fair last year?” he asked. Brian nodded and grinned.
    “Yeah. No idea why I even made it to the finals; never been any good at it before or since, but my teacher thought I had a head for it. No match for you though.” Dave remembered. He’d ended up second, beaten only by Chas. Brian, from a different school, had been pretty good, but nothing like Chas or himself. Smart, but poorly educated.
    “So, what do you think all this is? I mean, no one ever told us what the Wardens actually do,” Brian said. Dave just shrugged.
    “No idea. But it must have something to do with our location. We are pretty far west, probably deep into forbidden territory. And from what I can tell, most initiates seem smart. Not Student smart, perhaps, but intelligence seems to be a criteria. And independence perhaps? They don’t look very disciplined,” he said, gesturing at the kissweed smokers. Brian nodded.
    “I guess we’ll know soon enough. It’s just that I hate being kept in the dark.” Dave smiled.
    “Maybe that’s another criterion? Curiosity?”
    It turned out Brian was also to be living in B-house, so they walked together. It was nice to have a familiar face around, with everything else new and unknown. Dave realized he’d made two new friends in just a short while. Usually, he wasn’t the type to make friends easily, so this was something new for him. He figured he might fit in just fine here.

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