Visionary

Chapter 3: The President Spire

The exact moment that the infamous words appeared on the screen, Thomas spotted Valerie dart away as fast as she could, with two Guards following in pursuit. Mass confusion broke out, despite President Weatherford's attempt to silence it. Eventually, about forty-five minutes after Valerie's quick escape, the confusion calmed down,and the rest of the Ability Ceremony was held. There were no other Visionaries, and the rest of the ceremony continued as if nothing had happened, although President Weatherford did nothing to disguise his worry.

After the ceremony's end, Thomas traveled with the rest of the Guard apprentices to the President Spire, the tallest building in Washington City. The President lived on the top three floors of the massive, tall building. The cleaning and cooking staff (made from retired Detectives, Guards, and Pilots) lived in the next floor. All Officers lived in the next few floors, with the Officer apprentices below them. Next came the floor containing the dining room and kitchen, and below there were the Guards' floors, and two floors below that were occupied by the Guard apprentices, leaving the ground floor as a lobby.

Thomas and the rest of the Guard apprentices were brought inside and into the second Guard Apprentice floor, where each apprentice had his or her own bedroom. There had been assigned a total of nine guard apprentices, and, luckily, there were twenty rooms in the floor, making more than enough for this year's group.

Thomas' room was fairly basic, containing a twin bed, complete with a small wooden end table and lamp, a regular table with some chairs placed all around it, a small closet, a TV (the only channel on this one was the News Channel, though), and a window. Thomas stayed up for hours thinking about what Valerie might be doing. Had she been caught? Did she somehow escape? If so, would she be caught anyway in the morning? By now almost everyone must be looking for her.... Eventually he couldn't resist his weariness and fell asleep, hoping that Valerie could somehow escape the searching residents of Washington City.

***

The next morning Thomas woke up, dazed, and turned on the TV.

"The escaped Visionary, Valerie Frostwell, has still not been found," announced the reporter. "We urge locals to keep an eye out for her, and to contact a Guard the moment you see her."Relief flooded through Thomas. At least she survived the first night, he thought. Suddenly, the speaker on the wall turned on. Thomas lunged backwards slightly, startled.

"All Guard apprentices are required to go to the front yard, outside of the President Spire for their first training lesson in exactly fifteen minutes. Repeat, all Guard apprentices must make their way to the outside of the President Spire in fifteen minutes." The speaker shut off, and Thomas quickly put on his Silvers and walked outside into the hallway as soon as another newly assigned Guard Apprentice, Luke Sterling, did the same.

"Oh, hey, Thomas," greeted Luke. "You excited about the first lesson?" They walked through the exquisitely decorated hallway, with its nice, soft carpet and classic, famous paintings hung on the walls. There was a small lamp placed beside each of the bedroom doors.

"Yeah!" answered Thomas enthusiastically. "I've always wanted to be a Guard. Their job, their guns, armor-- it all seems so cool." Thomas and Luke strolled down the hall and into the elevator, pressed the bottom floor button, and waited while it descended down to the lobby.

"I actually hoped I could be a Pilot," said Luke. "But Guards do get a high salary, and also have the honor to guard the President Spire, so it's still nice."

"Plus, we've got extra strength," Thomas reminded him.

The elevator dinged and the two apprentices walked outside into the President Spire's courtyard, where the rest of the guard apprentices and their instructor were waiting.

"Is everybody here, then?" questioned the instructor gruffly.

"Yes, sir," answered a random apprentice. The Guard instructor was a tall, muscular tan man, and he was one of the most respected Guards in the history of Washington City, known as Sir Connor Rent. "Okay, today won't even really be a true lesson, although you will be visiting the library to do research on what Guard Apprentices are supposed to learn to pass their exams. For today I need you to tell me your Silvers sizes so that I can acquire some Guard Armor for each of you."

"Guard Armor?" asked Jadie, one of the only two female Guard apprentices.

"It's like the Silvers," replied Sir Rent. "But they're stronger and can resist the blasts of Tech Guns, and they come with shoulder pads. You've seen Guards before, haven't you?"

After Sir Rent had gotten each of the apprentices' Silvers sizes, he had sent them to the library for research. Thomas and the rest of the apprentices had taken a trip to the library. There was surprisingly more to learn than Thomas had figured. During his studying, he had learned that the Guard Armor consisted of a silver boots, pants, chest-plate, shoulder pads, and a helmet complete with a visor. The armor was reinforced with diamonds, making them unscathed by the powerful blasts of Tech Guns, and that there would likely be at least a year's training before he became a guard. Usually it was about two years.

After his trip to the library, he had returned to the President Spire at Dinnertime. The President Spire chefs had cooked spaghetti, and Thomas sat down in between Luke and Jadie to eat. In the background, he could hear a guard reporting something to Sir Rent. He knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, but he was too curious.

"Sir Rent," began the Guard. "I heard someone asking around about Paul earlier."

"What?!" exclaimed Sir Rent. "Go on, Sir Bodis."

"I was eating lunch in the cafe when this Detective apprentice boy walked in and started asking random people if they knew anything about someone named Paul. I never saw his face because he kept wearing his hood, but the whole thing seems suspicious."

"Hmm," grunted Sir Rent. "Maybe-" but he was interrupted by President Weatherford, who came storming towards them.

"Don't mention anything about Paul Nightman so close to the apprentices," hissed President Weatherford. "We'll continue this conversation in my office." He left the room and headed toward the elevator with Sir Rent and Sir Bodis close behind. Luke and Jadie had overheard the conversation as well.

"Paul Nightman?" whispered Jadie. "That's weird. I wonder who he is..."

"Yeah, maybe he escaped from the Washington Prison," commented Thomas.

"We weren't even supposed to hear that conversation," argued Luke. "I say we shouldn't worry about it. Sir Rent and the rest of the Guards can take care of Paul Nightman, whoever he is."

"Probably," agreed Thomas half-heartedly. He was still very curious about who this Paul Nightman could be. He hoped that Paul was some kind of escaped prisoner, because then he could divert the Guards and Pilots' attention away from Valerie.

After dinner, he returned to his room, hoping that wherever Valerie was, she was alright.