Guardian (A Guardians Novella) SLOW UPDATE [Modified]

Chapter 3: Reprecussions

Ryan sat in the room that he shared with Ricki. Their earlier conversation replayed in his mind. It bothered him that Ricki could never let anything be. Ryan remembered clearly the day he first met Keaira. It was recess at the elementary school. He was ten  and had just completed  his final course of training. Now he was being sent on his first assignment.

He remembered so clearly. The first person he was assigned to protect was Jena McCallen. She was a small, dainty thing. That was the type of girl his grandfather had always idealized. He felt like the luckiest new Guardian in the world.

The day went as routinely as any school day in the fifth grade would. English, math, lunch, science history, art... Nothing out of the ordinary. He was told in training that there may be nothing to protect someone from for a long time. That was why patience was a virtue. The beasts he'd learned to fight against were patient as well.

Recess was different. That was when he'd truly seen how many students were plagued by things they didn't realize were there to affect them. Jena was vulnerable. However, he couldn't help but notice one girl was particularly plagued. The chubby little mahogany skinned girl with her hair decorated with colorful ribbons and barrets, she sat alone underneath a tree, watching the other kids play.

Ryan could see the monsters hovering around her, whispering hateful things in her ears. The girl swatted at them. She can see them, too...

Ryan wondered why she couldn't fight them. He knew how frightening it could be to see things that you didn't understand, but have to carry them with you everyday. The girl started to cry.

He couldn't take it. He figured it wouldn't hurt to help her. That was, after all, what he was trained to do. Many Guardians posed as teachers and administrators. When Ryan was sure that no one was watching, he muttered the strange words he learned, staring in the direction of the girl.

The familiar rush and the intensity of concentration hit him immediately. It would have worked if Jena hadn't bumped into him playing tag with her friends, breaking his concentration. The monsters around the lonely girl went mad. That when the contact happened. She looked Ryan directly in the eye.

No matter what, he was never able to forget the look of intense fear in her eyes. And it was his fault. It didn't help that when he had gotten back to his home, his first assignment, to watch over Jena, was considered a failure. His grandfather wasn't particularly fond of the type of girl he'd chosen to blow his assignment over.

The next day, the girl he eventually discovered was Keaira, had her memory wiped. The principal--a guardian in disguise--had called her into the office and the rest was history. He assumed that time had taken its course and she stopped seeing the monsters. It was known that after a while, many children age out of the sight.

From that day forward, he was strict on himself about never deviating from his task. He tried to force himself to forget the look in her eyes and how drawn he had been to her. She was a distraction and not the type of girl he could bring home to his grandfather.

He didn't expect to ever see her again. That was until he saw that she'd been put in the same high school he was. 

Ryan was breathless as she walked down the hall. He couldn't help but notice that she was still plagued by various unseen beings. They poked at her, whispered to her, yelled at her. He noticed the uneasy look she gave, but it could just as well have been first day jitters. He swallowed the small pang of something--perhaps guilt?--that hit him.

As far as he was concerned, her memory was wiped clean of him and that day in the fifth grade. And if it wasn't, who was going to believe her?

He made a vow to never again stray from his job. He wouldn't screw up this time.

That was until he made the biggest screw up of his entire life. He bonded with the wrong person. He was now committed to an eternity of protecting the wrong girl. He was now sworn to protect Keaira in this life and the next and the one after that.

His grandfather wouldn't be happy with him. 

He had the highest honor of being considered spiritually mature enough to bond with someone and he messed up. Stacy was observed for over a year before she was chosen. He was to approach with tact and grace. Instead the ritual was completed and the wrong person got the other end and completely by some freak event.

"Still thinkin' about how you're gonna break the news?"

Ryan was shaken out of his thoughts by the sound of Ricki's voice.

"Yeah", Ryan said sullenly.

"Well", Ricki drawled out, " you better think fast because you're being called in by Kendrick and the council. And they brought in your grandfather."

A/N:  Thank you all for being patient. Tell me what you think of this chapter in the comment section. Next chapter is in Keaira's Point of View, but I do hope that this provides some valuable background to the situation. It hit me on a whim but I'm pleased with the turnout!

Thank you all very much! :D