Read Torrent (Cosmic Forces Book 1) for Free Online

of the entrance and followed the same path throughout the buildings and blocks, returning teens to anxiously awaiting parents.
    Torrent heard the clink of tokens exchanging hands as the students were returned, accompanied by murmurs of appreciation.
    His mind wandered as he followed them, wondering why they’d risk so much to have an education in a place where it wouldn’t matter. There were no jobs which required an education here. The only jobs were the ones provided by the League of States. Menial jobs in factories, performing tasks to produce goods that would end up in the more developed states and purchased by those who had positions that could afford these goods.
    Alyssa. He’d heard her name when the students addressed her. He sounded her name silently, in the recesses of his mind, enjoying the way it sounded in his mind’s ear.
    Six children remaining. Torrent looked at the clock in his internal interface, noting that she was cutting it close. The buses would be rolling in soon to collect the citizens who would be swarming in the streets, ready to begin another day of work, another day of earning meager tokens to pay for necessities.
    Torrent tapped his fingers on his thighs. Hurry up. Move it. Move it. He hoped they’d make it on time.
    Until he heard a shuffle of movement to the right, not far from Alyssa and the teens, his mind hadn’t dwelled on the fact that this had been a relatively privateer-less night. And that seemed unusual.
    The shuffling sound reminded him that the privateers existed and sent an alarm sounding through his body. He couldn’t very well warn Alyssa and the students. He hoped they’d make it safely.
    Glancing around, he noted where the sound had come from and identified three privateers. In the darkness, he saw their weapons clearly. Machetes, a pistol with a silencer on it, and a LokShok, a weapon designed to deliver high doses of electricity that would render the recipient unable to move.
    These boys were heavily armed for a simple stroll through the neighborhoods. Too much weaponry for mere harassment of citizens who had broken curfew. The alarm grew louder in his head. He didn’t like this at all.
    Alyssa delivered two more students and received her tokens. The privateers were following, that was clear. They stopped when she stopped. They paused just far enough away to stay out of her sight and hearing.
    Alyssa was down to three teen girls and one boy. Torrent guessed that they were all around sixteen or seventeen years old. He doubted they’d be much good in a fight, even if they had weapons. But throw in the privateers’ arms, and now Torrent was very concerned.
    The last four’s building was a good distance away. The privateers had fallen back. Torrent wasn’t the kind of optimist who would believe that they’d decided to move on. No, not their type. They were scavengers and preyed on the weak. Torrent didn’t believe for a second that they would have left easy prey behind.
    He dropped back a few paces more and monitored Alyssa’s progress along the torn-up sidewalks and crumbled concrete. He didn’t have long to wait.
    Moments later, on a street that had uninhabited buildings, evident from the boarded-up doors, the final block before the building the teenagers all lived in, the privateers made their appearance again. This time they weren’t interested in hiding. Their motive was clear.
    Terror.
    Jumping in front of the five, one of the privateers aimed the LokShok at the teen boy. Two bursts, the sound of air sizzling, and the boy crumpled to the ground, rendered unconscious.
    One of the girls opened her mouth to scream.
    “Don’t.” Another privateer raised the pistol. “Or she dies.” He aimed the weapon at Alyssa.
    The girl shook her head frantically. The other teen girl trembled and quivered.
    Alyssa was poised, looking like a rattlesnake ready to strike. She was powerless, and Torrent hoped she realized that and didn’t try anything foolish.
    The third