CHAMPIONS (The Lost Chronicles of Eden, #1) [Published]

10: WHEN THE APOCALYPSE LOOMS ON THE HORIZON, CHOOSE LOVE

They had arrived.

About time they did. Joana leaned back on her seat and studied the three Guardians and the last Candidate on the huge screen of her terminal. They were greeted enthusiastically by the other Guardians stationed on the Fort at the edge of the city, but they were quick to get on their skysurfers to get to the Citadel with as little ceremony as possible.

Still the superstars, I see. Joana punched a few buttons on her panel, making the camera zero in on the Human. So that's what Humans look like, she thought. He looks... ordinary. She thought they would look a bit different.

It turns out he looks the same. After all, the Menfolk of Cielterra and Earth came from the same ancestors - the children of Adam and Eve, the first man and first woman. It just so happened that the Cielterrans were moved to another plane many centuries ago, in order to hide the Garden of Eden from the rest of creation.

Lot of help it did, Joana thought sarcastically. Even if the archangels had hidden the Garden in another realm, the Wicked - people who came from the line of Cain - still coveted the Trees in the Garden, causing the archangels to hide it in yet another realm. The only visible reminder of Eden left in their world was the flaming sword.

Joana's eyes shifted to another screen, the one that showed the Flaming Sword of Eden. It burned brightly, like the sun, at the heart of the Citadel. Her breath got caught in her throat as she watched the Sword spin. The flames danced in all directions, keeping any and all creatures away from the Gate it protected. It was a terrifying yet familiar presence.

Like any other Guardian, Joana felt a sense of pride and purpose as she stared at the Sword. She was a Beta Guardian, so she didn't get sent out on missions like the Zetas or fight demons like the Alphas. She didn't get to look at it often because she preferred working within the confines of her station. She worked better with computers than with other people.

What she took pride in doing, however, was monitoring the Net, the information gateway of the Guardians. She was also assigned to help monitor the security of the city. Her station's walls were filled with screens that showed the different districts and divisions of the city. Having been working with data and information management throughout her years in the Initiative, Gideon had given her her own station right after she graduated earlier this year, which allowed her to work freely and without distractions, much to the dismay of the other Betas.

The door to her station suddenly flung open, pulling her away from her musings. She frowned a bit as the unwanted visitor walked in without so much as a how-do-you-do.

"Joana, Gideon's been trying to call - oh. They're here." A tall young man with dark hair and thin wire-rimmed glasses walked near the screen and studied the Human. "I thought he'd be a bit... different. He's..."

"Ordinary." Joana supplied with a shrug. She turned on her chair and regaled the newcomer with a bored look. "What are you doing here, Mateo? I thought we decided not to enter each other's stations to keep the casualties at a minimum?"

"Still going on about that feud in your head, Joana? I thought we're past that already."

"Not after you've installed that virus on my Gaia II, we're not," Joana shot back.

Mateo grinned and ran a hand on his tousled hair. "Aw, come on! Can't you take a joke?"

"Let's see if you'll still be smiling when I'm done with your Taurus." Joana took pleasure in the small frown that wiped out that irritating grin off her rival's face. They had been at each other's throats since they met four years back at the Beta Division of the Initiative.