Wow, I've been away for a long time... But I finally found the inspiration I was searching for.
The Guardian is a new title I'm working on and hopefully I can finish it.
~Pink
P.s. If you've read Keepers, then you'll probably see some similarities...
The Guardian_____________________________________________________
::Chapter One::
Angeli’s feet stomped on the ground with every beat of her heart. Something was following her and she had a pretty good hunch at what it might be. She dashed around the corner of an alley and kept silent. Her back pressed against the bricks and sweat formed in her palms. She knew in the dark of the night, it was the demon’s game. She looked above at the radiating crescent moon as the shadows played with her mind but she kept herself still and unmoving. Even in the mist of darkness, there was a light. Hearing her breathing and pulse made her head spin. Did she escape? Was it gone?
Clack, clack, hushed footsteps came towards the entrance of the alley, a thick long shadow arose from the corner and she gasped. She slowly began raising her wrist which were now glowing a light blue hue. Black carvings of an arrow were drawn on her wrists, each Guardian was branded with a special weapon and she was branded with arrows. The deathly shadow seemed as if it was about to come alive and lift itself from the ground’s prison as it edged closer to her.
It stopped moving and then bolted into a run as fast as a ball off a slingshot. A scream ripped through her throat as she aimed her wrist at the demon.
“Angeli, wait!”
Shocked and confused, she lowered her hands. “Vaan?”
Vaan was her comrade, another Guardian, a member of the Academy whose mission was to vanquish evil and protect the innocent. “Chill, it’s just…me,” he heaved. He put his hands on his knees as he gasped for air. “Jesus, you run like a maniac. I couldn’t catch up.” He coughed once and then stood straight, his breathing still heavy.
“Jeez, it was just you?” Angeli laughed, her heart suddenly slowing down ten paces. “What happened?”
“I followed the demons halfway up to Queens but lost track of them. They still have the kids Angeli. It’s weird but,” he ruffled his blond hair, thinking hard, “They haven’t hurt any of them; they’re just…kidnapping them.”
With her knees weak from all the running, she sat on the floor. She annoyingly brushed her tangled hair back out of her eyes. “You don’t know that for sure,” she answered strictly. “Their parents are beyond frantic right now, how can we face them if we can’t find their babies?” She let out a curse.
Vaan crouched down next to her and patted her head. “We won’t let them get away.”
She nodded slowly. “Sorry for almost killing you, I thought I was being chased by a demon,” she muttered.
“Apology accepted,” he grinned. His voice suddenly became serious. “You know something, Angie, while I was tailing the demons I saw a man.”
“Who?” she asked surprised.
“I don’t know. He was dressed in a hooded black robe and he wasn’t following the demons, he was more like…directing them. I think he’s behind all these missing children cases lately. I bet if we find out who he is we can solve this.”
Her eyes wandered Vaan’s crisp blue eyes with reenergized hope. “That’s a start.”
He smiled. “But I wonder why he wants kids…”
“It doesn’t matter, he just needs to be stopped,” she said, standing up. “Alright, call T.T,” she ordered, finally devising a plan, “and find out where these demons are possibly headed. Then call the Academy and inform them about the hooded man. Once we get some leads, we’ll start over.”
“Aye, aye, Captain,” Vaan saluted. “I’ll call T.T first.” The T.T. was short for tracking team. They were a specialized branch in the Guardian Academy that was primarily used for tracking demons. Vaan reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny oblong device better known as the Gphone.
It rang in his hands. “Huh,” he laughed, looking at the screen. “It’s the Headmaster.”
“Pick it up,” she said.
He clicked it on and held it up to his ear. “Headmaster Cory, is there something wrong?” He was silent for a moment and then covered the bottom of the Gphone and asked, “What happened to your phone?”
Angeli frowned. “I dropped it in the sewer…”
He made a grossed out face and then answered the Headmaster accordingly. “Yes, I understand, okay, Um, bye,” he said awkwardly. “I hate saying goodbyes over the phone,” he mumbled, clicking off the device.
“What did he say?”
“He wants to see you right now. Apparently he said it’s urgent and to get your butt down there as soon as possible.”
“Really?”
“Well, not the butt part but yeah…” Vaan shrugged.
“I wonder why he needs me…”
“I don’t know but you should go, I’ll take care of the rest right now.”
She nodded, knowing there wasn’t any other option. “Alright, make sure you meet up with Vera later.” Vera was another one of their comrades. Together they were squad number 628 and one of the most accomplished teams with still a clean streak of zero failed missions.
“Alright, I know what to do, you don’t have to tell me everything,” he argued, shooing her. “Just go to the Academy and see what the Headmaster wants.”
She huffed, “Alright.”
She quickly made her way back to the Academy. The large stone building was old and looked like a prestigious English school. She pushed her way through the heavy metal doors and entered the main hallway. Her footsteps echoed through the dimly lit corridors. Guardians had many Academies located all around the world, preparing future warriors was their goal.
She cautiously made her way towards the Headmaster’s office. Recently she had been placed on a mission to find the whereabouts of three children who had been kidnapped by civilians called ‘monsters’. Although she knew they were demons, souls which aroused from the underworld to wreck havoc and satisfy their bloodlust.
She wondered why she was needed suddenly; it wasn’t like the Headmaster to pull her out of a mission just to say a few words. It might be something important...
She opened the crimson doors of his Office and entered the fire lit room. His oval office had only one large window and a crescent shaped desk with a stack of papers a mile high. She looked at the old man who sat in the velvet leather chair behind the desk with large spectacles.
“Angeli Willows, welcome,” he greeted with a smile. His slender body was dressed in a brown vest and white button down shirt. “I’m sorry to have called you out so late,” he said in his husky voice.
“It’s alright, Headmaster, my team is still on the case regarding the missing children. I’m sure they can handle the rest by themselves.”
“I actually have some disappointing news for you,” he frowned, showing the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth.
“What is it?” she asked in a soldier-like stance.
“I know it’s wrong of me to pull you out of a mission but there’s something I want you to do for me.” He lifted himself off the chair and rounded his desk, facing her one on one. “I need you to go to the Temple of Light and pay a visit to the Sisters.”
“Huh?” she asked shocked. For all she knew, the Temple of Light was a sacred place where the Sisters worshiped the Light. The Sisters of Light were like nuns, devoted themselves to the Light and everything it touches.
“There is a boy there, his name is Aiden Ryder,” Headmaster Cory picked at his glasses. “You are to go to the Temple and bring me back this boy, safe and sound, understand?”
“Of course, sir. I didn’t know we had other contacts at the temple of the light.” For all she knew, only the Sisters were allowed to stay there permanently.
“We aren’t supposed to,” he frowned. He said something else but she couldn’t comprehend what it was.
“Sir, if I may ask. Who is he?”
“He’s the child of my departed daughter.” He slid his hands behind his back and looked out the window. “Angeli, I’m leaving my grandson’s life to you. He is… a target of some very bad people, I can’t explain every detail to you now but I believe you don’t need details in order to protect him.”
She simply nodded, knowing that was true. As long as the Headmaster said it, she would do it because that was her job.
“Why me, though?” She bit her lip, why did I even ask that?
He turned his eyes on her and smiled. “Do you remember your very first mission, Angeli? There was a village in the Southern part of South America which was being threatened by some demons. You were sent there to investigate and the demons were extremely smart hiding themselves and attacking at random times at night that it was nearly impossible to find their location? Even the T.T was having a hard time then. But you didn’t exactly give up, now did you?”
She remembered her first mission which was filled with sweat and tears. The countless numbers of civilians that lost their lives and the casualties that took place. It had changed her perspective on a lot of things.
“You worked tirelessly for five months, searching every corner for any clues until you finally found them. Even when the Covenant wanted to shut the mission down, you forced your team to stay behind and finish it.” The corners of his mouth lifted. “That’s why I picked you.”
She smiled. “I won’t disappoint you.”
He reached over his desk and pulled open a drawer, taking out a scroll. “This is the map to the Temple and I trust that only your eyes will read this.” He handed her the ancient scroll. “The temple’s location is absolute secret, watch your back carefully and be careful,” he warned.
“Yes, sir,” she stated.
He placed his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Be careful, Angeli and good luck.”
She left his office feeling some sort of heavy burden. The Office had another Gphone ready for her and she stopped by to pick it up. Gphones were able to track team mates, act as a GPS, be used as a cellphone and walky talky.
She went to her dorm, pulled out her duffle bag and began packing. Once she was done she called Vaan.
“Hello?” he answered.
“Vaan, it’s me.” She had a few questions she wanted to ask him and set out the last few details of the mission before she left.
“Angeli,” he laughed. “What did the Headmaster say?”
“Unfortunately, I have to take off, I have a new mission.”
“What?” he spat. “What other mission?”
“Top secret,” I smiled.
“Ugh,” he groaned.
“Listen, I just wanted to say that you…are not allowed to fail this mission just because I’m not there, understood?”
“For the last time, don’t worry about it. Some of your hard headedness has rubbed off on me, you know?”
She rolled her eyes and opened the scroll. “I’ll tell you which continent I’ll be in though.”
“Okay…”
“China.”
“That’s kinda far, don’t you think?”
“Just a little. Anyway, have you met up Vera yet?”
“Yeah, she’s here, want to talk to her?”
“No thanks,” she answered. “She talks too much.” She knew Vera to be a very bubbly, loud and talkative person.
“When are you leaving?”
“Tomorrow morning. I’ll call you later since I still have some things left to do.”
“Alright then…Good luck Angie,” Vaan said.
“Thanks, same to you.” She turned off the phone and set it down. She opened her laptop and booked the next flight to Beijing. She wondered who Aiden was that he had so many enemies. She never even knew of his existence so who could possibly even know of him? Why was he at the Temple? Questions dug into her mind one by one until she had a headache. She rested on her bed and turned off her lights, hoping to catch some sleep.
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