Chapter 43

'Groups of six! Every single one of these runes are missing one piece from being complete.' He put the rune book down with a thud.

Alex had never been so on edge, he knew that these people were after him, but they had yet to make their move.

He looked down to the gym floor where the three men were for the third time. Each time they looked the opposite way every time he looked up.

Alex felt a rage building, these men were toying around with him.

Alex was watching his surroundings closely, unfortunately, he wasn't able to filter out all of the noise. The kid several seats over popping his chewing gum. The one a few seats in front of him clicking his pen. The group of girls and their high-pitched giggles.

Alex was irritated, and while he was hiding the irritation his body wasn't. His eyelid was twitching, his body temperature had risen and he was sweating in a big room with air conditioning. He was going through sensory overload.

Alex sighed as he pulled out a pair of earbuds. He sat back with his eyes closed and watched the room with his spacial energy.

Taylor watched as Alex sat back his eyelids twitching a few times before stopping.

After Alex had calmed himself down he looked for something to keep himself busy.

Alex reached into his bag, opening a portal to the book he had been given about space. He had occupied himself with everything else and had not had the chance to open it up.

He was surprised as he opened it. 'This is all gibberish. What is this math? A theory! Does this mean that this still hasn't been proven?'

Alex flipped through the pages, each page leaving him more shocked than the last.

Alex paused as he saw something that sparked a memory.

[Space, the fourth dimension?]

He remembered what Drak had told him, he had said that he was reaching into the fifth dimension.

It showed a line, a circle, a sphere, and a new shape he had never seen from multiple angles. The notes below said that if a sphere was to follow the pattern that this shape is what we would see, but a fourth-dimensional being would see it completely differently.

The notes began listing off what the fourth dimension was comprised of. One was circled, the one that Alex had seen as he flipped through the pages.

Alex recreated the shape with his spacial energy. 'It doesn't seem any different.'

He sighed internally as he realized he was not seeing it. He was just picturing the same shape within his mind as his spacial energy proved it.

'We see by feeling the light reflecting off of objects and entering our eyes. Different objects absorb different frequencies of light leaving us with colors. Can I do the same with my spacial energy?'

Alex stopped himself as he noticed everyone else was grabbing their stuff. He stood up and followed Raven to their first class while removing his earbuds. He could feel the three watching him closely as he walked out.

'She is really attentive, somehow she knows that this is bothering me. Maybe they all know that I'm faking it and putting on an act. It's gotta be really obvious most other students have had their outbursts I feel like everyone is just watching and waiting for me to crack. That or silently cheering me on as I hold my ground.' Alex thought as he remembered how his friends were constantly checking on him.

Many students were watching him as he sat. A few pointed at him and then laughed with their friends nearby as if they had said something funny.

Alex didn't know what to think, he had grown up with many of these students.

'If only students didn't have assigned seats. I always sit in the back for a reason.' He said as he took his seat in front of Mr. Tatum.

As class started Steven took his seat and began lightly kicking Alex's seat. At first, Alex found it annoying but he just used his spacial energy to stop the vibrations from reaching him.

Unfortunately, Steven decided today he was going to start poking Alex in his back with his pencil. Alex turned around to see him pretending he hadn't done anything.

'If he doesn't get caught he will just keep working his way up to more annoying methods.' Alex thought as he watched him with his energy.

Alex leaned forwards slowly as he was getting poked, before leaning back abruptly as the pencil was approaching for another poke. A loud "snap" was heard as the writing utensil was snapped in half.

"What was that." Mr. Tatum said as he turned around and stopped reading what was on the screen.

"Uh, I accidentally broke my pencil. I'm sorry sir." Steven said as the teacher looked in his direction.

"More like, you broke it on Alex's back. We were all watching." A student spoke up.

"So that's what you have been doing with all the pencils you've been borrowing from me. Steven stay behind after class." The teacher said before turning back to the board and reading the article aloud.

"But, it really was an accident." Steven said trying to prove he was innocent.

Mr. Tatum didn't pay him any mind. He had long since noticed him picking on Alex. He just needed to catch him in the act in order to reprimand him. Alex removed the lead from his shirt and laid it on Steven's desk with a light gust.

Steven wiped his desk clean and looked at Alex angrily. He had realized he had been played.

Alex noticed his anger and turned around and whispered with a calm expression. "That look somehow makes your face look better." Before turning around.

Muffled laughter was heard as those who had heard what he said struggled to hold in their laughter.

——————

The tone rung and all students left, all except for one that is.

Alex entered his math class and sat in his seat in the back corner.

"Hey Alex, you do the homework?" William asked.

"Yeah, I did."

"Nice, can you help me with the tenth one? I have no clue how to even start."

Alex smiled and began his day tutoring the students next to him.

Ms. Taylor watched and listened to the student teach his peers. 'He is very fluent in explaining what many consider complex.'

Usually giving others the answers to homework would get most students in trouble, but Alex always looked at their work and showed them how to get the answer. Teaching them like elementary teachers teach students how to count.

Alex left the class, refreshed as he didn't have to worry about anything.

'So, who is that?' Alex thought as he noticed someone of small stature following him at a distance. 'They've been following me ever since I went to my first class. They can't be a student. No one else has noticed them and whenever I look they disappear around the corner.'

He would have confronted them if he hadn't noticed that the three men were also following him from a distance. 'They aren't together. That's some good news.'

He decided to leave them be for now.

'Science.' He thought as he walked up to the next building. 'It's a good thing that my only bad class is history at the moment.'

"Good morning Alex. Grab some safety equipment and go to your station." Mr. Elmer said as Alex entered.

"Good morning." Alex said before grabbing some goggles and a lab coat. 'We're not even working with dangerous substances, and yet we're taking it seriously. I'd bet a true scientist would laugh at our attempts. At least it is good for practice.'

"Alright everyone, you can see boxes laid out on your stations. Today we will be checking the pH level of different waters, bottled, tap, and a secret one. Here is the set of instructions you need to follow, pay close attention to them if you follow them incorrectly you will end up with either nothing or incorrect results."

Alex, Raven, and Clay read the sheet and began organizing everything from the box.

"So you went to school with him when he was younger what was he like?" A girl asked another student.

"Oh him? He is nothing special, nobody even paid him any mind until eighth grade. My day works with his dad he says that the dirty old man works himself to the bone, that he is too nice, and that they take advantage of him. Don't even get me started on his mother. My parents say that she hooks up with anyone from Tragnantia, probably the biggest whore in the nearest few towns. Just imagine how bad he is. He…" The boy stopped speaking as he noticed the hair of his arms standing up and the room had gone quiet.

'Shit I said that too loud! Did he hear me?' He thought as he turned around.

Alex was standing there just looking at him with a calm expression. If it weren't for the sparks of lightning arcing around Alex and the light rattles from the glass test tubes as they shook, he would have sighed in relief. Instead, he felt an intense fear as he stared a multi-elemental mage in the eye.

Alex fought the want to beat the kid up. He wouldn't have been so angry if he hadn't said everything in such a condescending way and hadn't targeted Alex belittling him. Everything he had said was true, except what he was about to say about Alex which is why Alex couldn't stand him crossing the line.

Elmer looked over at the boy who had provoked a bee's nest, no a hornet's nest. 'Had I known he was talking about Alex I would have shut him up.' He sighed internally.

"Alright keep all of your gossip to yourselves, this is not the place to belittle others just so you can get a girlfriend." He said before walking up to Alex who was calming himself down. 'He already has a new affinity. I have to make sure word doesn't get out.'

"You okay Alex?"

Alex nodded as he got back to reading the instructions.

The teacher put his hand on his shoulder. "If you need anything just ask."

"Okay." Alex said in a small voice as he tried to hold in his emotions.

'These children are getting too rowdy. How do such people get into a position of power?'

"Don't listen to him, he an idiot." Clay said to Alex.

"I know, it's all fine, we should get back to work."

——————

'These three really want an opportunity to come.' Alex thought as he ate lunch.

The three men from the temple were still following him and watching him whenever he wasn't looking.

"It's good that they're leaving today. I hope that everything goes to normal when they do leave." Paul said as he saw Alex look at the men.

"Yeah but for how long? Once voting starts, they will more than likely be all over the place." Clay said with a mouthful of food, coughing slightly as he swallowed too much.

"My parents say they have too many brainwashed people in this town. Our representative will definitely be handing in a vote to bring them back to power." Raven said as she just looked at her food.

'There will be justice one day.' Alex thought.

"You not gonna eat?" He asked.

"School food is nasty so I don't really eat much of it." Raven said while looking at the tray.

"I'll take what you don't eat." Clay said after chugging some apple juice.

Alex looked at the nearly untouched tray that was being passed to clay.

'She is eating a lot less than normal though. I hope you're not worrying about me, I'm not worth the trouble.' Alex thought as he looked down.

'I'll bring some extra for you if I survive to see tomorrow come.'

Alex tossed his trash away and said goodbye to his friends as he and Paul left for mage classes.

His energy was growing more and more erratic as time flew by. He had already been told that these men were all in the Emperor class. One class above his Michael and Daniel and one class below the limit for most mages.

All of the members of the secret society had asked for assistance, but the nearest were supposed to arrive today, for some reason all traffic at teleporters was higher than usual and many had been delayed. The only hope he had was the other person spying on him.

'Let's hope that the saying that looks can be deceiving is true. Let's also hope that that other person isn't also out for me.' Alex thought as he used a computer that was connected to a rune-chip.

'Why six? They could have left just pairs of two or three, making it even harder to finish the runes. It's like selling a puzzle and removing one piece from the box, not two or three, only one. Alex sighed internally as he cursed the evil person behind this.'

'Seven, seven, why does that number repeat so much? Seven kingdoms, seven elements, seven runes, and seven people trapped long ago.'

"Woah, watch what you are doing Alex. If you play the programs too fast the runes won't be able to handle the stress." Paul said as he watched the practice rune-chip lighting up while Alex typed on the computer.

"Sorry, I kind of got a little too into it." Alex said while scratching the back of his head.

"It's all fine, I'm just glad that I slowed you down before the runes exploded."

"Here, I think you are ready to start on the next part." Paul said while opening a drawer.