The Guard

Chapter One

*Unedited*

Looking at the pillars that stood to either sides of the barely perceptible barrier, Illys ignored the fact that she was interrupting the flow of traffic. Usually this entrance was still and peaceful but on this particular day, there was a rainbow of high school uniforms.

The Guard Hall, as it was named, was the heart of City One - the stronghold that offered peace of mind to the civilians that did not have the ability or opportunity to reside within the Hall Grounds.

Normally the main gate's barrier appeared solid and would not allow those without permission to pass through but since it was the testing day, all of the seventeen year olds within the city could easily cross over. 

It was a day that normally inspired excitement or fear - but for Illys it was all a dreaded annoyance because she already knew what the outcome was going to be.

Deftly avoiding the large group that had noisily approached from behind, she finally let out a quiet sigh and rejoined the flow, her nerves tingling slightly as she pushed through the pulsing energy wall with a small amount of difficulty.

At least I didn't trigger it, she thought wryly, shaking her fingers as they lost feeling. Since she possessed an unusual constitution, barriers such as the one that surrounded the entirety of the Guard Hall Grounds usually identified her a threat but it appeared that the Gate's defences had been greatly reduced for the testing event.

Eyes directly in front of her, Illys began to notice the Guardians that were directing students to a large cemented courtyard off to the left. The building that ringed the space was all white pillars and reinforced windows, reminding her sharply of the hospitals and museums that she had visited within the vast city that sat around the Hall Grounds.

Groups had formed as the teenagers spotted familiar classmates but no one called Illys' name even after she had located the other graduates of Area Four High School. Not something that bothered her but standing at the fringes did make her even more noticeable which scraped over her already taut system. If skipping the testing wasn't illegal, she would have stayed in bed.

Quietly observing those around her, she fell into a mild trance and lost track of time until the sound of many in-sync footsteps moved steadily closer to the square.

"Oh my god," a girl whispered from nearby. "That must be them. I can't believe that I'll actually get see the Primary Guardians in person."

"I have been waiting for this day all year," another replied, her voice sounding squeaky. "Wouldn't it be a dream to be able to be recruited as a trainee for one of the Prime teams?"

"I doubt it will happen. The Primes will only ever take on trainees that display talents as powerful as their own. No one was chosen by them last year." A third voice replied with disdain.

"True," she sounded disappointed, "but that doesn't mean that I can't hope."

Similar conversations floated into Illys' ears from every side even as she ducked further into the crowd.

In the ancient past, in the last recorded calendar year of 2020, the planet had been rocked by a series of natural and man made disasters - up to ninety percent of Earth's flora and fauna had been rendered extinct while the few surviving humans had been forced temporarily underground until the atmospheric fluctuations had stabilised. Entire continents had been lost under the raging tides while technologically, the survivors had found themselves without the resources that they had once enjoyed.

From what they had been taught at school, it had taken well over a thousand years for the human race to recover but in that long span of time genetic evolution had also taken a twisted turn. Luckily some historical records had been saved and later preserved into the archives as they were the only evidence that the beings that now inhabited the planet were vastly different from those that had existed before.

Homo sapiens had also undergone many changes over the centuries, their systems slowly affected by the environment. In fact, no one had been able to pinpoint what had triggered the evolution but the result was that there were now a significant amount of humans with abilities that would have once been considered supernatural.

Illys flicked her eyes as the Primary Guardians finally appeared within everyone's field of vision, standing upon a slightly raised dais. Illys admitted to herself that she could somewhat understand the obsession that her peers had with the Guardians - danger surrounded them like visible clinging auras.

"Welcome," an older man stepped forward to stand alone before the crowd of adolescents. "I thank you for your prompt arrival and patience. My name is Alfos McNiernan and I am director of City One's Guard Hall branch. As you know, since the Guard Hall was established nearly three hundred years ago, children at the age of seventeen undergo a series of tests in order to classify the strength of their abilities. Those with considerable ability will be offered placement within the Guardian teams while those that are deemed as unsuitable will be directed into the appropriate employment fields." He clapped sharply, "There are many of you who must be tested so to make use of the day, I have recruited all of the Primary Rank teams who are currently on site to assist. After being sorted into groups, you will be assigned to one of the teams who will then be responsible for conducting the tests and answering any questions that any of you may have. I wish you all luck."

Having finished his speech, the director moved to one side as a blonde-haired intellectual took his place, a chartam(1) held loosely between his hands. "Good morning. I am Callum and I am a techno ability user in the research and development of City One's Guard Hall division." Pressing his fingers onto the surface of the chartam, a series of blue characters started appearing, "I have been instructed to assign you to teams randomly for testing. Once your name is called, please relocate to where your testing supervisors are standing."  

The man didn't bother to introduce any of the team members present, assuming that everyone would already know who belonged to each of the Prime teams.

During the short time that the director and Callum had made their speeches, the atmosphere within the square had become somewhat subdued but with each name called, excitement, fear and anticipation appeared to take over once again. From the moment that they were born, children were force fed stories of the Guardians and their exploits as they explored the uncharted territories and provided protection against the non-human fauna or never-worlders that attempted to invade the large settlements scattered across the globe. 

They were taught that it was an honour to be gifted with abilities that would allow them to enter into the Guardian ranks and Illys was no exception to this - she had been raised in an orphanage after being abandoned as a child but the caretakers who she considered parents had always sung only praises for the Guard Hall.

It wasn't that she didn't respect the Guardians or that she wasn't thankful for their protection, she simply didn't have any ambition to don the heroic titles that they all wore. She considered herself to be a simple person with a love for books, music and raising the small pet-class never-worlders that occasionally wandered onto the orphanage grounds. She didn't hold any magnificent dreams of glory, nor did she wish to explore the abilities that she knew she currently possessed.

(1) Chartam - a device similar to an Ipad/tablet. Looks like an A4 sized piece of thick plastic