Rise Against the Faultless by Melissa Hardaway Read Free Book Online

that an occasion would arise when I would need it.
    I had gotten up early enough to
say goodbye to Dale. He was extremely jealous.  He still thought that the
Training Compound was mysterious and exciting, when I knew that it was nothing
but work, and possible danger. “I’ll miss you, squirt.”  I trapped him in a big
bear hug, and for once he didn’t fight his way out, only hugged me back.
    “Yeah, I’ll miss you too.” He
smiled a mischievous smile at me. “Send me a message and tell me everything!” 
We were allowed monitored messages to be sent using the Training Compounds computers
once per week.
    I laughed at him, “You know I
can’t, it’s not allowed to talk about Training.”
    “Ok,” he looked disappointed,
“you can at least tell me if the food is better.”
    “You got it.” I seriously doubt
that the food would be any improvement over what we have now, but I can let
Dale hope that.  I waited with him outside for his bus and watched as the bus
sped out of sight. It would be three months before I would see any of my family
again. We were allowed a home visitation every three and a half months for two
days. Maybe being physically removed from this place would help my mental state
of being.
       Mom and Dad would have to
leave for work before I was picked up to leave for the Training Compound and
our goodbyes were fast. I could tell that Mom had been crying this morning, but
no trace of moisture was left in her eyes. She and Dad both told me how proud
they were of me and how much they looked forward to seeing me in three months. 
I saw them off and stood waiting alone for the bus.
    The ride to the training
compound would only take about an hour.  It was centrally located in our
district and would house the initiates from all ten surrounding schools. Every
one of us felt like sheep being herded off to be gleaned of our wool. We had no
idea what to expect. Even those of us with older siblings only had heard only
the most mundane details about the Training Compound.  Secrecy was of the
utmost importance and any betrayal was considered a criminal act. The one
tidbit of information that Ari had ever really let go of about the Training
Compound was that it was big, and if Ari was good at anything, it was following
the rules. Lo and I had small conversation, but both of us were mostly just
silent, awaiting our fate.
    Upon our arrival, I realized
that Ari’s characterization of the Training Compound was almost laughable. The
Training Compound was not big, it was the most massive structure I had ever
seen.  It was like a self-contained city. To the east of the main buildings was
a field with wind turbines for as far as I could see, no doubt providing
electricity for the miniature city. I could see the buildings with flat roofs
were topped with gigantic solar panels. There were three towering skyscrapers
toward the back of the compound that looked like the jewelry of the property. 
The first building we came to was bright white and lined with large curved
windows that I could not see inside of. Although the outside was plain except
for some shrubbery, the inside was anything but boring.
    The entryway contained one
hundred and forty stations to scan our PIDs. At each station, there was a
hologram of an attractive woman with short blond hair giving us individualized
instructions for us to make our way to our assigned living quarters. After
scanning in, my PID continued to spew the same instructions that the blond had
given, “Take forty steps to the north, then take a right.”  I paid attention to
where I was going just in case I wasn’t granted the instructions next time. 
The halls were decorated with artwork depicting scenes of war or great leaders
from our past. One particularly interesting motion piece was of ants building
an intricate and glorious castle together, each lined up behind the other. The
ants moved together, of one mind to serve someone else, someone higher up and
then retreated