Rift Chronicles

Rift Chronicles Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Let The Exam Begin

It only took a few minutes for the little boat to pull alongside the ship. A ladder was tossed over the side of the ship, and one by one, the applicants and the Hunter leading that boat full of hopefuls climbed onboard. Once the little boat was emptied of applicants, it took off for the shore. The Hunter, whose name was Tom, turned to the group and said, "If you follow me, I'll show you where your phones and any other item you wish to be stored is."

Larch thought about the irony of the man's name, but then of course there would be a man named Tom here. Though this Tom could hardly measure up to his "Uncle" Tom.

Everyone followed Tom. He led them past three doors before stopping at the last door on the stern of the ship. The room he led them into was relatively small, and the back wall was basically made of small locked boxes, almost like bank safety deposit boxes. Surveying each corner of the room were cameras, along with two intimidating men that had been posted on opposite sides of the door.

Once everyone had entered, Tom addressed the group, "These are your safety boxes. Each one of you will receive a key that corresponds to a particular box. Please deposit any device that is forbidden by the rules inside your box, along with any other things you may not want to carry around on the island. Please rest assured, your items will be kept under the tightest of security."

With that, Tom removed a key ring from his belt and handed each person a single key with a number that corresponded to a certain numbered box. Then, after finishing his duty, Tom left without another word. Raff's was number thirty-five, Grant's twenty-seven, and Larch was thirteen, which made him laugh. Raff decided to store her money in her box, whereas Larch just put his phones inside. Grant put his phone and a picture of his family inside his box.

Once everyone had finished, they exited the room. As the trio stepped outside, they heard familiar voices call to them. "Hey! Raff, Grant, Larch, over here."

It was Lucas standing by the stern along with Koola. The three walked over to them.

Lucas gave each of them a hearty handshake and said, "I'm glad all three of you signed up. We had been waiting here to hopefully catch you guys."

Koola said, "We were assigned to the second boat that left, though I was certain all of you would sign up. After all, you did come that far already. Lucas, though, was getting worried."

"Well, we were on the last boat to leave because of a certain someone," said Larch as he playfully slapped Grant's back.

"Yeah, sorry about that, guys. I just lost track of time," said Grant.

"So what do we do now? What are you two going to do during the exam?" asked Raff. She was still trying to find a way to stay balanced while the ship rocked on the waves.

"Well, as far as what to do right now, just relax. The exam doesn't start until dawn tomorrow. You can hang out, eat in the galley, or rest in the sleeping quarters," said Koola. Then, with a somewhat proud smile, she continued, "We have been assigned as part of the extraction group to save anyone's butt who gets into trouble out there. So we'll be keeping a close watch on all of you."

"Really? Well, that makes me feel safer already," said Raff.

"I guess, though we won't be needing any rescuing. Well, except maybe if Grant loses track when it comes time to leave," joked Larch.

"Hey, I'll make sure I'm on time," said Grant as he nudged Larch.

"Ah, so you must be the Mandrake. She'll be happy to hear you signed up," a man said, interrupting their conversation.