The Keeper Exams

Thomas - Resurrection

So, it's basically all important. So it's all in bold.

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There was nothing; no pain, no noise, no light, no feeling. There was simply nothing. It were as if I was floatiing through a dark hole in the middle of the universe, as if I tumbled down the rabbit hole and just continued to free fall. It was peaceful and quiet and I welcomed it, I couldn't remember how I'd gotten here or why I was here. But I knew I wasn't alive, except the problem was I wasn't death either. I was caught somewhere in between, one foot in life and one in death and I had no idea which way to go.

And then the floor comes rushing up to meet me and a whirlwind of agony assaults my body, ripping me apart from the inside out. An electrical buzz travels over my skin, igniting fire in my blood and causing every muscle to clench unbearably tight. It were as if I was being ripped from death and dragged back into life, like some invisible force was hauling me - kicking and screaming - out of the land of the dead. And it hurt.

Tendrils of red begin to wrap their long fingers around me, slithering like silk over my skin and twining around my waist, arms, and legs. The electrical pulse gets stronger and a heartbeat - where none had been before - erupts through my chest, threatening to beat through my ribs and run off.

A blood curling scream finally rips free of my lips and I gasp, surging upright as my eyes fly open and my muscles stiffen, tighter and tighter, as the red fingers retract. When the last red streak has left me, a gust of air threatens to drown my starving lungs and I tumble back against a soft mattress, my heart thundering in my chest.

I lay there for a moment, trying to recount the last few seconds of my life and what the hell just happened. Then it hits me, like a truck on the freeway, I realize I died...except I'm not dead anymore. I press my palm against my heart, sighing heavily with the knowledge that I failed, I died in the Exams. I didn't win.

"Thomas? How do you feel?" I jerk, glancing to my left to find Garrett seated at my side, his hands folded calmly in his lap as he appraises me. I was in room with cabinets and a sink to one side and a white board with the words "Infirmary ward, don't freak out idiot. You died and came back." on it on the other side of the room. I suddenly had the urge to laugh at the ridiculousness of that sentense: you died and came back, as if it happened every day.

"A cross between having been hit with a truck and being thrown through a glass wall. In other words, like shit." I moan, pushing myself into a lopsided sitting position. Garrett's lips tug up into a half smile that he instantly squashes with a stern look.

"You got yourself killed Thomas." I scowl and roll my eyes.

"I was protecting Kate, how is she by the way?" Garrett clenches his jaw and stands, beginning a fervent pacing back and forth in the little room.

"We're not talking about Kate right now, we're talking about and you're idiotic move. You threw yourself in front of an electric bolt to protect her, you failed Thomas. You were so close." I straighten, attempting to salvage just a third of my pride and narrow my eyes at Garrett.

"Thanks for the lecture old man, but I don't think I did anything wrong. I protected her, and if I died because of it then I was doing my job." Garrett pauses in his pacing and turns to stare at me, a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"You saved Kate because you're in love with her, you let your emotions cloud your judgement. You are a Protectionist with the power to produce force fields in an instant. You could've protected Kate and yourself, but in the face of danger you lost your sense of reason when the girl you love was threatened. You threw your chance away to save her. That is your weakness Thomas, you feel too much." I clench my jaw, tightening my hold on the flimsy mattress in order to keep myself from pinning him to the wall in fury.

"So what's your point Garrett?" The Keeper titls his head and sighs.

"My point Thomas, is you lost for no good reason. If it hadn't been Kate but someone else who was about to die from an electric bolt, would you still have thrown yourself in front of them? Or would you have been able to keep your head and think clearly?" I shrug, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of seeing me squirm. When in reality, I was starting to wonder if he was right. I wouldn't have protected just anyone.

"As Keeper my job, when an apprentice is revived, is to tell them what they did wrong and why they failed to become Keeper." Garrett explains with a sigh, plopping back down in the seat beside my bed. "You let your emotions get the better of you Thomas, you can't do that. Not on the Guarde, you're not a human and you can't do whatever you want. You live to serve the Hybrids, you are their protection, and you - because you were the last to die in the Exams - are second-in-command under the Keeper herself." I glance up sharply, the word "herself" not lost on me.

"Her? Kate? She won?" Garrett nods, and leans back against the chair.

"Yes, she'd been about to attack Zeke when you threw yourself in front of the electric bolt. When you fell to the ground, writhing in agony, she lost her temper too. She killed Zeke for you."

"But she's alive? She never died?" Garrett sighs.

"Yes Thomas, she's alive. She didn't die and no, you can't see her. She's getting ready for the banquet where my power is transferred to her. And every Guarde member gets upgraded." He whispers solemnly, climbing to his feet and walking toward the door. "Drink water, it'll help with the disorientation and dizziness. It's just from being in limbo, then get dressed. Tonight you take your place at Kate's side."