The Ninth Read Online Free PDF Page B

Brent completely understood the device in his hands.  It must have been something he learned in that period he couldn’t remember.  Yet another thing Brent had gotten used to.  Occasionally, random spurts of information would come to him, knowledge he didn’t know he had.
    “You okay?” Hiroko asked gently.  “You look a little pale.  I wouldn’t worry if I was you.  They wouldn’t turn you down now.  Once you get to the academy you are pretty much guaranteed to get accepted.”  Hiroko swelled with confidence.
    Academy.  That word didn’t mean anything to Brent.  So he didn’t know everything.  Somehow Brent took that as a good sign.
    “Thanks, I’m fine.  Maybe I’m just a little woozy from riding in that.”  Brent gestured to the giant olive.
    “ You were the one in the drop pod?”  Hiroko’s voice was filled with surprise.  “The rest of us had to pile into those old transports.  Made the whole lot of us wait an entire hour before they let us dock.”
    “Next!”  The uniformed man shouted.
    Turning, Brent found a huge gap between him and the line.  He hadn’t even noticed its movement.  Brent sprinted to the waiting man.
    “Pad,” the man said curtly.
    Handing it over, Brent could hear Hiroko giggle behind him.  The uniformed man pressed a few icons on the pad and read through the information.  One of his eyebrows shot up; his eyes widened a bit.
    “It seems everything is in order.  Sorry for my rudeness.  You’ll be part of group C.  Good luck.”  The man’s demeanor had completely changed.
    Brent took back his pad and slowly walked away, looking over the information for himself.  It displayed his name, age, height, and weight.  None of it was too shocking.  However, there was an extra line Brent didn’t understand.  It was one word, “Weaver.”
    “You sure you didn’t bump your head or something?” Hiroko asked as she grabbed his arm and pulled him down a corridor.  “You are always in a daze!”
    “Where are we going in such a hurry?” Brent asked, trying to keep pace before she pulled his arm off.
    “To placement of course.  Don’t want to miss that.  You’d doom your career from the start!”
    As they rushed down the corridor, Brent could hear the man in uniform shouting for the next in line in the distance.  All pleasantness had drained from his voice; didn’t take him long to get back to his old self.  Rushing down the seemingly endless corridor, Brent noticed other corridors splitting away every now and then.  Each one identical, it wouldn’t be hard to get lost here.
    “Do you know where you are going?”  Brent asked.
    “You might be clueless, but I for one studied.  I know the layout of this place like the back of my hand.”  Hiroko’s voice oozed with pride.
    “Speaking of which, can I have my arm back please?  I promise not to lag behind.”
    “Not on your life; I’m not losing you.  We are both in group C, and I won’t have you showing up late and making me look bad.”
    Giving up, Brent let himself be pulled along, noting as they passed several others who were all walking calmly.  Eventually they reached the end of the corridor, which opened into a two-story chamber.  Brent noticed there were dozens already waiting in the hall; none of them had had to run.  There was a podium elevated to one side of the room, high enough so it could be clearly seen above the waiting crowd.  The tops of the walls were transparent, with an even larger number of people watching from above in some sort of gallery.
    “Where is the rest of group C?” Hiroko yelled.
    About fifteen people raised their hands.  Brent rubbed his ears.  He noted a few in the gallery overhead pointing at them.
    “Well, get over here, recruits!” Hiroko shouted even louder.
    Slowly but surely the recruits made their way over.  Hiroko and Brent were on the older end of the group with the majority obviously younger.
    “We’re not a real squad you know; we