Free The Rift by J.T. Stoll Page A

said.
    “ That joke is now officially
banned,” Pieter replied. He smeared the marshmallow onto her
cheek.
    Vero pulled it away; a string of melted sugar
trailed behind. She sat in the cool sand by herself.
    “ So, uh, looks like we’ve started
the team meeting,” Pieter said.
    The fire crackled.
    “ Team meeting” sounded like a
school project. Vero pictured James again. She heard the glass
shattering at Carlos’s shop. Whatever comfort she’d gained from the
fire faded.
    Neil removed a laptop from the backseat of
Pieter’s car and opened it. Under the twilight, the screen made his
face a ghostly white. “Yes, I was wondering when we’d begin. Thanks
for coming out. I thought that a bonfire would afford us the most
privacy.” Other than passing cars, the only other people on the
beach were marked by a few scattered fires. “I have a list of
things to discuss. Item one, team name. I’m now accepting
nominations.”
    “ Team name?” Vero said. “That’s
item one? And who put you in charge?”
    “ Well, I’m the best strategist,”
Neil replied. “I’m raid leader for the Army of Pwn, after all.
Anyways, I have seven suggestions. One, The Rebel Alliance. Two,
The Avengers. Three, The Fellowship. Four…”
    “ Rebel Alliance? What are we
rebelling against?” Gloria asked.
    “ It’s a…” Neil began.
    Pieter interrupted him. “Stop, just stop, Neil.
Are all those movie and comic book references?”
    “ One’s from a video
game…”
    “ All right, let’s skip the team
name and get to something more important,” Pieter said.
    “ A name’s important.”
    “ How about, ‘What in the world are
we doing?’” Vero shouted.
    “ Keep your voice down,” Neil
said.
    “ Say something useful.” Vero glared
at him over the flames.
    “ Oookay, how about we start this
over,” Pieter said. “Neil, close the laptop. We’ll get to your
to-do list later. Gloria, you’ve been quiet. What do you want to
talk about?”
    “ That’s okay. I don’t have
much…”
    “ No,” Pieter said. “We’ve been
talking to each other all week about this. I haven’t heard from
you… outside algebra, that is.”
    “ Well, I want to know… how are all
of you doing?” Gloria asked.
    “ I’m good,” Neil said. “Though we
should totally figure out the scope of what exactly—”
    “ I’ve had worse weeks,” Pieter
said. “Homework load not too bad. Family drama manageable. I’ve got
a pretty girl in my life. And, you know, superpowers cancel out the
threat of murder in my book. You, Vero?”
    Oh, Pieter. He made life light, bearable. Even
the hard parts. Though sometimes, Vero wondered how he really felt
under all the humor. She scooted over and laid her head in the
comfort of his lap.
    “ I…” The words caught.
    “ It’s okay,” he said.
    Where to start? Frustration at their ignorance,
anger at the guys who were ruining the life she was building here
in SLO, including James for starting this whole thing. And,
constantly in the background, fear and stress. “A lot’s happened. I
just want to know what we do.”
    Pieter turned toward Neil and nodded. “Neil,
why don’t you tell them your scenarios?”
    Vero rested against Pieter and looked up as the
first stars emerged from the darkness.
    “ All right, scenario
one—”
    “ And keep it brief,” Pieter
said.
    “ Right,” Neil said. “Well, we don’t
know much. We don’t know if Rolland is an evil overlord or a
benevolent monarch. We don’t know if Terian is coming to conquer
Earth or protect us from his father. Plus, despite James seeming so
convinced, who says they even have a big enough population or
advanced enough weapons to do any damage? He was dying when he came
to us, and it sounds like nobody from his world has ever been here.
How they know anything about our society is just another one of
those big questions.”
    Neil tossed another log on the fire, sending up
sparks, and continued. “Knowing that little, I, for one,