Mark started laughing before Alex had even finished reading.

  “You better go ahead and put us on the list for some Common Rifts, now!”

  Alex ignored him and clicked on the notification, which took him to a more detailed article containing more information on the event.

  “I want to see these rewards,” Mark said, scrolling through the announcement. “Hopefully, we can get some serious gear with contribution points. Can you get us signed up and ready to go by next week?”

  “Maybe you could get a skill manual like you were talking about,” Sam said.

  “Oh, yeah! It would feel like I earned it there, too. Now I’m getting pumped. If I’m going to be the tank, I’m going to really depend on you, buddy. Oh man, I instantly feel nervous!” Despite the proclamation, he had a wide grin on his face. “I see why you wanted us to prepare and train, I feel like going in even how we are could still be dangerous.”

  Sam shifted in his seat. “Do you think we’re ready? I mean I know I can heal, but…”

  “You’ll do great,” Alex reassured him, though internally, he felt his own pressure mounting. He’d been briefly in charge of the small team of guards from Tianluo, but other than that, he hadn’t been a leader or manager in anything.

  How do I even get better at being a leader? Do I need to start buying some self-help books or something?

  “I think you’re right,” he said, turning to Mark. “We do need to train some more, but we also need to get you and Sarah into a Rift. At least one before the event starts. We can’t afford to wait any longer for the higher rarity ones.” He said the words with confidence, but he wasn’t sure if it was the right move or not. While he’d be stronger than almost anything in the Rift, he hesitated to endanger his friends.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  With Sam, things should be a lot safer. He’s a huge advantage that most other teams won’t have.

  “We’ll need to really buckle down and train this week, too. I know you can’t train much more than you already are, but you should keep reading as much as you can on the AG app and maybe link up with Edwin to go back and forth on some basic things.”

  Mark pumped his fist in the air. “Yes! I’m going to call Sarah and see if she can jump in on this.” He practically bounced out of the room while holding his phone to his ear.

  In the quiet that followed, Sam spoke softly. “Actually, I’ve been thinking… maybe I could help out at the Safe Zones? I heard that there are a lot of refugees coming in who need healing, and it could be good practice…”

  Alex scratched his chest. “That’s not a bad idea. It could get you more practice for sure, but we’ll also want to keep you in training with us here and definitely when we get into a Common Rift before the event. You’re a higher level than all of us, but you have really little combat experience. You and Sarah are in a similar boat. You’ll both be at the back of the group, supporting us. So it’s more like we need you to see how Mark, Olivia, and I move so that you know what to expect.”

  “It’s okay. I think I’m ready,” Sam said confidently.

  There was another long pause as the two of them sat together and considered how the next week would play out.

  Alex sighed and knew that there was still one more Band-Aid that he needed to rip off. Every time he’d thought to bring it up, he’d had some sort of justification for it.

  “Sam, we should really talk about meeting your parents soon.”

  Sam’s shoulders tensed. “I- I know we should. It’s just…” he fidgeted with the corner of his book. “Can we wait a little longer?”

  Alex let out a long breath and looked over Sam’s head. “Yeah, I’m not going to pressure you into anything. But do you mind me at least asking why you won’t meet up with them? I don’t know how bad things were, but I’m sure they miss you, Sam.” He ran his hand through his hair and looked back down at the sandy-haired teenager. “I was gone for only a fraction of the time you were, and Mark and Sarah thought I’d passed away. Sarah is worried that something happened before you even entered. Were they mean to you? If it’s a bad situation, you need to know that we won’t force you to leave, Sam. You’re apart of us, we want you to be here, but we also want to understand.”

  Sam stared at his hands for a few long heartbeats before speaking up. “It wasn’t anything bad, not really. We just… had an argument. A stupid one.” He glanced up at Alex before looking away again. “I got upset and ran off into the woods behind our house after dark. We have a huge property, and my parent’s own a farm at the base of the mountain. I used to explore it all the time when I needed to think or pretend I was running away.”

  Alex waited patiently for Sam to continue, as it was clear he was gathering his thoughts.

  “I found the Rift there, hidden between some trees. I was still angry, and curious, and…” Sam’s voice trailed off. He shrugged. “I just wanted to explore what it was; I’d almost completely forgotten how mad I was at my parents. But then I got trapped inside. I never meant to stay away so long or make them think…” his voice cracked slightly.

  Alex watched as Sam clenched his jaw several times and used his sleeve to wipe at his eyes.

  “They probably thought I died,” Sam whispered. “How can I face them after I ran away. They’re going to be mad that I put them through that. Just because I was being stupid and childish and ran away?” His fingers gripped the outer edges of the journal in his lap before he idly messed with the pages.

  Alex leaned forward. “Sam, they’re your parents. They’ll just be happy you’re alive. You’ve got to realize that, right? I know you went through a lot in the Rift, but I see very few scenarios where they don’t weep with joy at realizing you’re still alive. It might be a bit awkward for a bit after that, but I don’t think they’d be mad at you.”

  “But, what if-” Sam cut himself off, then took a deep breath. “What if they don’t let me stay here? Mom’s always been really protective, and after everything that happened…” He looked up at Alex, genuine fear in his eyes. “I should be almost 18 now, with how long I was in the Rift, but they’ll still see me as their little kid who needs to be protected. I’ll still just be the same shy 16 year old to them, and I feel like a completely different person… They won’t understand about being an Awakened, or healing, or that I need to be a different person than that, or any of it.”

  Alex felt his heart twist at the mixture of determination and vulnerability in Sam’s face.

  “I don’t want to leave,” Sam continued, and his voice grew a bit stronger. “I know it probably sounds stupid, but what we’re doing here is important. I’m learning so much, and I can help people- really help them.” His shoulders sagged, and he ducked his head. “I just… don’t want to lose any of this.”

  Letting out a deep breath once again, Alex put his hand on Sam’s shoulder. “I can’t make any kind of promises here, buddy. I don’t know your parents or how they’ll react. But I can tell you that you’re welcome here, and I’m happy to do whatever I can to keep you here with us.”

  “But…” Sam asked, waiting for the hammer to drop.

  “But, I think you know that it’s not right to keep them in the dark. Especially if they love you and think that you’re missing or worse.”

  When Sam nodded in acceptance, Alex felt a weight lift from his shoulders. “Alright, well, we can talk about reaching out to them in the next week. We don’t need to rush things, but we should do it pretty soon.”

  “Okay, sounds good.” It was Sam’s turn to take a deep breath, but after nodding, he gave Alex a small smile and stood to walk to his room. He stopped before moving into the foyer to go up the stairs. “Thanks.”

  Mark burst back into the room, grinning and completely oblivious to the gravity of the previous conversation. "Sarah's in! She can join us after her shift tomorrow to talk strategy.”

  Alex nodded and pulled up the AG app to look at Common Rarity Rifts that might let them in on short notice. He found two with ample space for their small team and entered their information. As he sent each one, he couldn’t help but wonder if he was making the right choice.

  Is this still rushing things? Should we wait longer and keep training?

  When he was done, he checked the time and saw that it was a few hours past noon.

  Guess I’ve got some training and research that I can start right away. Might as well get to it.

  He rubbed his hands on his legs, stood up, and walked to his office on the second floor.

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