“HUH!” Archie exclaimed, taken aback by the girl's comment, “Dad, he is a virgin.”

Archie retorted, his voice laced with irritation, thinking she was making fun of him,“Of course, I’m a virgin. I’m just fifteen years old. What does that have to do with the Rift Runner you mentioned?”

“HA…HA…” Both of them erupted into laughter at Archie's expense, which only served to fuel his anger. Frustrated, he demanded,“Why are you laughing? Are you making fun of me?”

The girl lifted off her mechanic visor helmet, revealing a blue-haired double bun hairstyle and black eyes. Her slender body complemented her fair skin, and her beautiful oval face was adorned with small lips that were curved into a grin at Archie.

She sauntered towards Archie, kneeled before him, cupped his face in her hands, and whispered in his ears,“How about I help you lose your virginity?”

“What!” Archie's cheeks flushed at her words and, in his shock, he attempted to push the girl away, but she nimbly dodged by leaping back.

“Mechanic, I don’t know what you said, but it must have been something inappropriate. So, stop behaving like that.”

The man interjected, as he removed his mask, revealing a stoic expression. His facial hair was styled into a small goatee and moustache, lending a formidable look to his face.

The man offered his hand to help Archie stand up, but Archie dismissed the gesture and stood up on his own. He hadn't forgotten their laughter.

The man smirked and teased, “You must still be thinking about us calling you a virgin. Huh!”

“HA…” The girl snickered. The man shot her a glance, and she hastily covered her mouth, yet her giggles escaped, stoking Archie’s anger. But Archie was quickly taken aback when he saw the man bowing deeply to him in apology,“Sorry for my daughter.”

“No need! No need!”Archie stuttered, urging him to stand upright again. Archie was taken by surprise to see the man bow before him. He had assumed the man was a proud character who doesn’t admit his mistakes, just from his imposing figure.

The girl abruptly donned her helmet again, which Archie kind of figured out why she did and thought,‘She must have been embarrassed by her father bowing before a child for her mistake.’

“Let me clarify why we called you a virgin but before that, my name is Deadbeat and this is my daughter, Mechanic.”The man extended his muscular arm for a handshake.

Archie reciprocated the handshake, introducing himself, “My name is Archie Troy.”

Archie wanted to inquire about their peculiar names but he was too apprehensive to question anything.

“You can’t use your real name here. If some other Rift Riders identify your real name, your family might be in danger.”Deadbeat explained, while he gently stomped his legs for an ice chair to materialize behind each one.

Deadbeat gestured Archie to sit. Archie hesitated at first, but after seeing the others sit down, he also took a seat. To his surprise, he didn’t feel any cold when he sat down. Deadbeat began to elucidate why he called Archie a virgin and who the Rift Runners are.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Those who first enter the Rift’s heart, we call them Virgins.”

‘Rift’s heart! Do we have a place on our planet named like that?’Archie was perplexed by this sudden revelation, while Deadbeat's new information left Archie reeling.

“You are not on your planet anymore. You got rifted to a new planet called Rift’s heart where we, the Rift Runners - me, my daughter, and including you - reside.”

“Don’t lie!”Archie shouted at them, convinced they were lying. Archie was still under the impression he was somewhere on his planet. The news of him being rifted to another planet was hard for Archie to believe, but to make him believe, Mechanic...

She suddenly produced a small toy car from a pouch hanging on her waist. The toy car was made of steel and was grey in color. It was clearly a decorative item.

She adjusted her headgear to the right side of her head, then she held the car in her right hand before Archie and instructed,“Look closely, idiot. There must be no nature encounter like this on your planet.”

The tiny car in her hands began to levitate. Gradually it rose and abruptly the car disassembled into pieces, from the tiny steel tires to the car top and even the four steel seats inside the car.

The car’s pieces were suspended in mid-air, swirling in a circle. A small smirk played on Mechanic’s face after seeing Archie’s staggered state after witnessing the spectacle before him.

‘How can she control metal? There has never been a nature encounter like this before.’ Archie was bewildered.

His thoughts were justified because, on his planet, he had learned that there are only eight nature encounters: water, fire, land, air, trees, ice, and finally light and darkness.

He had never heard about a metal nature encounter. Suddenly, a thought struck him, prompting him to ask,“If I’m on a different planet, how do you know the term ‘Nature encounter?’”

‘You are sharp, aren’t you?’Mechanic applauded Archie, while the car pieces began to reassemble themselves back to their original state. The sturdy metal tires began to spin like in a real car and retreated into her pouch as if the toy car had a mind of its own.

She zipped her pouch and responded to Archie’s query,“Listen, Arch, it doesn’t matter which planet or universe you are from. Every name we call them would be the same, rifts, Ethereal, or nature encounter, or the name of the thing you eat. What is it…” Archie tapped her headgear to think for a moment and added, “Yes, Egg stones.”

Archie was flabbergasted. He couldn’t comprehend what exactly was happening. He was planning to debunk their lies about being on a different planet, but these revelations only served to confuse him more.

Deadbeat noticed Archie’s stunned expression and comforted him,“I had the same look when I first came here and learned all this. Don’t worry, you will learn everything soon.”Deadbeat glanced at his daughter and said, “I think it is too early for him to learn everything. He is still a kid. We will teach him one by one.”

Mechanic clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction and muttered,“Dad, give it a rest, stop taking in strays already.”

But Archie didn’t hear what Mechanic said. He still hadn’t recovered from his shock. The thought of not being able to return to his planet slowly began to consume him.

“You are your mother’s daughter, alright,” Deadbeat sighed and looked at Archie and said,“Kid, how long do you have to complete the mission?”

“Mission!”Archie was disoriented at first but he recalled the golden prompt that appeared before him before the volcano erupted and responded,“I don’t know how much time I have. It showed me to survive eight hours when I rifted here.”

“Pretty easy mission,”Mechanic commented nonchalantly while Deadbeat nodded in agreement, leaving Archie feeling more confused and alienated.

“Check your wrist for how much longer you have.”Deadbeat directed towards Archie’s left wrist.

Archie glanced at his left wrist and saw the time decreasing in golden color:[7:40:11]

“How much time does it show?” Mechanic asked, to which Archie lifted his hands to show them, rendered speechless. Mechanic responded to Archie’s action, “Only you can see your mission time. So, tell us.”

"It shows I have 7 hours and 40 minutes to go," Archie answered, while contemplating, 'Only twenty minutes have passed. What is this hell? Who are these people?'