Safeguarders

Chapter 5

"Safeguards? What's that?" Eli had heard of safeguard as a verb, before, but he didn't think Safeguards was a word.

Madelyn laughed at Eli's curiosity. "You'll see. Let's go inside."

She swung open one of the heavy metal doors and stepped inside, giving Eli a view of the place. And wow, Eli was shocked. The building looked so unapproachable and dark from the outside, but the inside was as bright as a hospital. It was a wide, open spaced hallway that went to an intersection that led hallways to the left, to the right, and then straight forward. There were doors on both sides of Eli, and both wooden doors read:

STAFF LOUNGE

The walls of the building were blue and white, making the place look even brighter. Don't judge a building by its... outside? The floors were also tiled white and blue, and the place really did look nice... but what was Eli doing there?

"Alright, I'll give you a tour while I explain, so it takes less time." Madelyn said, Heading down the hallway going to the right. She walked really slow now, so Eli had to make his pace slower to match hers.

Eli noticed that this hallway had a sign that read:

Hackers & Researchers

Hackers and Researchers? Was that code for something?

"Okay, so this hall is called 'Hackers and Researchers' for a reason. This hallway is where the hackers and researchers contribute to the Safeguards. The hackers are the smartest of us all, in their own way. They know how to get into any other computer or system, and they can give us vital information about whoever we're trying to track down. Our researchers are really smart, too. They're really close to the hackers, but they have a different job. They look into whatever we're trying to know more about, using a computer, book, talking to a person, whatever. They usually spend their time in the library."

Eli was dazed, completely confused. "Huh? Wait what's a Safeguard? Why are there hackers and researchers?" They were passing by a door that read:

COMPUTER LAB

Across the hall from this door was another door that read:

LIBRARY+COMPUTER LAB

Madelyn stopped in her tracks, making Eli quickly step to the right so he wouldn't knock into her. "Oh! Right, I'm sorry. I've never explained this before..." She trailed off, thinking. "So Safeguards is the name we call ourselves. Like warriors that guard the city. A Safeguard is actually exactly what it seems to be. The definition of safeguard is someone or something that protects and guards. We basically keep away all the bad guys, and I don't know if you've noticed, but the murder rate has gone down, as have the amount of robberies lately. We don't kill or anything, we aren't serious vigilantes.

"Anyways, as Safeguards, we can't just invite anyone to be part of our group. Whoever is invited must have special traits that separate them from ordinary people. For one, they have to be trustworthy. If your traits carry you out as a hacker, and you're good at hacking, you're categorized as a hacker. Same with the Researchers, and the other categories, but we'll get to that."

"So you... guard the city? And you put aside people for what they're strong in? Hackers hack into systems and what-not and Researchers research what you need to know?" Eli asked, unsure.

"Yep! You're an easy one, I've heard some people have a hard time understanding it all." Madelyn said, smiling. She went on, speaking slowly. "I know this is a lot to take in. Trust me, I know. I had to hear this whole thing I'm telling you myself. It was a little scary, even for a tough girl like me."

Eli just realized that she must have joined this group or club or whatever at some point. "When did you join?"

Madelyn looked at his shoulder, like she couldn't look into his eyes. "Actually, it was the last day I saw you."