Static Reflections: Book 1 of The Mortal Guard Series

Chapter 5 - Nick: Tour Day Part 1

Chapter 5 - Nick: "Tour Day Part 1"

Nick was awoken the following day by the Resting Room's door sliding open and a stubby gray cat stepping in dressed rather casually in jean shorts and a yellow tee-shirt. The hyena rubbed his eyes. "Mm . . . ?"

The cat stopped in the middle of the room, holding a clipboard up. "Nicholas Flynn?"

"Mhm . . ." Boy, Nick was tired. The bed hadn't been comfortable, despite being soft. Maybe because he was so used to his own.

"I'm Regis. I'm going to be your Guide around the Mortal Guard facility." Regis grinned, not taking his eyes off of Nick.

"Already . . . ?" Nick yawned. "What about breakfast?"

"That's part of the tour, don't worry."

"I don't even get any time to wake up before you bombard me with even more info?" Nick pouted.

"They told me to wake you up at 9:00 sharp. The tour is going to take a long time, Mr. Flynn."

"Fine . . ."

Regis tapped his fingers on the clipboard. "Alright, then. I'll explain how it works. We'll go Sect by Sect, and I'll explain how each one functions, and you'll ask questions. It's simple, really."

Nick scratched his back, tiredly. "Am I the only one taking the tour?"

Regis wiggled his head back and forth. "No, sir, of course not. You're just the only one on my tour. So, after we're done seeing all the Sects, you'll have to choose which one you're going to work for, basically. Once you do that, you can start going to your courses in the Institute."

Nick sighed. "Courses, right." He sighed and stood up. "Just how big is this dimension?"

"It's an entire city," Regis said. "Speaking of, you'll get your Transmission Set the day you graduate and get your residence."

"What's that?" Nick asked.

Regis reached into his pocket and pulled out a small clear lock and a matching key with an 'R' as the crown. "You stick this key into the lock and turn it, and it will shoot out a portal to Prostasia, as long as it's on a flat surface, of course."

Nick blinked. "Where does the portal appear here?"

"That's actually the first place on our long tour! Come along," the dark-furred feline waved his hand, keeping the clipboard close.

Nick yawned again, sitting up. He had been lying down that entire conversation, the gravity of sleep threatening to pull him back under. As the hyena arose, he felt the tiredness drain from him. He stepped off the bed and looked at Regis, who was about a foot shorter than him.

Regis smiled and turned around. "You'd think giving this tour all the time would be tiring, but I find the history and structure of this place magnificent. Not to mention the wonderful architecture by our very own Hephaestus."

"The Greek god?" Nick furrowed his brows.

"He's like a god! Hephaestus is the Mortal Guard's architect. He designed, well, basically everything! You'll learn all about him in your courses. The amount of accomplishments he did is astounding."

Nick looked around as they walked down the loud hallway of the Medical Sect. "Jeez . . . one guy doing all of this . . . ."

"Pretty remarkable, huh? I mean, of course, he had help," the cat said in a tone that almost sounded like he was proud of the work he didn't do. "Anyway, each major city in the world has a Prostasia and a station of Mortal Guard members there.