ALEXiThymiA: Chapter 81: A Darker Breed

Chapter 81

A Darker Breed

Monday

Time Until Integration: 1 Month, 26 Days, 17 Hours…

Sometimes monsters are easy to identify, they proudly wear their fangs and claws for all to see. They walk in aggressive manners that speak to having ruled areas for so long that they could not even understand the fact that someone would dare doubt their superiority. For predators like that, it is easy to identify them and get out of their way, unless of course your name happens to be Alexa, Luke thought to himself. Then if that was the case, you would see said predator run up and likely punch it in the nose.

Honestly Luke had no idea how his twin sister turned out so differently than him. Well okay, there was the obvious part of being kidnapped at age five, but there was so much more. Also, this meant that he was likely the one true let down in the family. His mother and father were both supers, and Alexa was clearly a super already, one who would be on a whole other stratosphere of power, then there was him.

While he had never been the most ambitious, he felt that he was more ambitious than most people his age. This much was clear in the way he was now considered to be a guaranteed awaken, one of the top ten percent of the nation for his age group. So why did he feel that even being guaranteed a Legendary Class like Prophetic Herald, made him feel more like a Pathetic Herald.

He was bad at his class, and while he was fairly certain Mr. Mackie had been full of it, when he said not to tell his prophecies to anyone. He couldn’t help but think that was now for his own good. If he went around saying every strange tea leaf thing he had seen thus far, then he would have likely been ridiculed to hell and back. He was terrible at prophecies, which he guessed was kind of the point, even those people who constantly had prophecies were often seen as being wrong, or only later on where their visions found out to be true by some technicality. The prophecy wasn’t wrong, just the interpretation of said prophecy was wrong.

That was why he didn’t tell anyone about his most recent prophecies, the one involving the Necromancer. So far, the only part that had been accurate was the fact that his sister would still be in a dungeon, despite her claims to the contrary. He wondered if she was okay, but then thought better of that silly thought, while she had been “trapped” inside the dungeon since Thursday, he didn’t get any sense of worry from his visions about her. In fact, his visions only seemed to note her being gone as an afterthought to the real threat. The real threat of course being the Necromancer allegedly roaming their campus.

Still, Luke felt fairly confident that there was no way the campus security, let alone Mr. Mackie would let a Necromancer, known or otherwise, onto the campus. There was just no way.

That was his thought Monday morning as he began making his way from his dorm to the chow hall.

As he made his way, he felt a sort of intense pressure on the surrounding area. As he made his way forward, he almost thought he heard tinnitus starting in his ears, as there was a faint ringing sound of something being wrong. Still, he forced himself to move forward, a little ringing wasn’t going to stop him from eating. Also, this wasn’t the first time his ears kind of rang, he had always felt such times before, somehow, they almost always involved Alexa. There was the time that Alexa won her first Science Fair project, earning an augmentation crystal as a reward. Then there was the time when her team placed first in district, and she won rewards for that. Then there was the time she entered her first Tier I dungeon at the age of nine. Rather than asking her parents for permission, she just had her parents sign a consent form letting her go. A form she snuck into a list of forms for school. Dad got in so much trouble for that one. Luke mused to himself as he shook his head at the memory. Still in all of those times, everything turned out fine, in the end.  So why did this one feel so different? Was it because Alexa was gone? Or was there something else at play.

Going towards the main courtyard he saw a number of secret agents walking. These were the kinds of people that were obviously secret agents trying to be nondescript by dressing just like the other balding white guy next to them. Seeing the people caused Luke to pause for a second, then he followed the guards’ eyes to their target, presumably the person they were assigned to protect. There was a man and a woman with dark hair and Gina.

Seeing Gina, Luke decided to go forward to at least say hi. He knew she was one of Alexa’s friends and they really hadn’t had a chance to talk since their improvised duel on Halloween night, last week, which felt like a lifetime ago.

He wanted to thank her, for if it hadn’t been for that, he likely wouldn’t have had a chance with Julie, a fact he was extremely grateful for.

He made about five steps forward when the taller female flanking Gina’s right side became visible.

Badump, badump.

As soon as he saw the beautiful and exotic features prominently on display, he remembered his vision perfectly. As if the vision suddenly came to life and all filters were removed to show the true image underneath. In this case the true image was that of a beautiful monster made flesh.

Seeing the woman, there was no doubt in Luke’s mind that this was the Necromancer from his visions. The one that had tormented him so many times.

Seeing her, Luke made an abrupt about face and turned around, not before letting out a manly Eeep. Or at least what he told himself was a manly eeep.

As he made his way, he could almost feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise up, as he felt like he was suddenly being watched. It was that strange sensation when you think you have drawn the attention of an apex predator and are trying to see which angle they will come at you.

“There you are. Hey, wait up…” Julie said.

Hearing her voice Luke let out a breath of relief, knowing it would only get better from here. Then he saw what she was wearing, the red sweater. Luke tried to think back to his vision, and remembered that he was abducted by the Necromancer when Julie wore the red sweater.

“You need to take that sweater off.”

“What?”

“Please just do it, I had a vision and in it you were wearing that exact sweater.”

“I thought you liked red?”

“The color doesn’t matter, what matters is that so long as you wore the blue sweater I was safe.”

At that Julie just raised an eyebrow.

“Come on, please do it for me?”

“Fine.” Julie said, huffing to herself. “Can I eat first?”

Luke thought about it, then made a quick scan of his surroundings and realized the security detail and the woman with Gina both were not there.

“Sure.” Luke said, after a moment’s thought.

There was an awkward tension as the two made their way to the dining facility. Finally, Julie decided to ask a question to break up the monotony.

“So, you ready for elective day?”

“Elective day?”

“Yeah, this is the day when everyone gets let out early from their classes and is allowed to choose their winter electives. This way people that went for outdoor sports can choose indoor sports if they don’t like the cold, etcetera.”

“Did you just say etcetera?”

Julie just glared at Luke.

“What? It was an honest question.”

Julie just shook her head. “I guess I can say you were listening at least.”

“So, what elective are you taking?”

At that Julie preened slightly, “why glad you asked. I intend to be a Thespian.”

“Is that why you and my sister…”

“Don’t, no.” Julie said, holding up one finger to stop him.

“Too much?”

Julie nodded, “too much.” Julie paused as a malicious grin crossed her features. “Besides if I was to choose any woman it would have to be Judge.”

Blehk!

Luke looked visibly ill after that comment. “Okay, I deserved that one. We’re even, right?”

Julie paused then tapped her finger against her lip, “I don’t know.”

Seeing that as the cue Luke moved forward and tried to kiss her on the lips.

“What? No.” Julie said, as she pushed Luke away.

“What? I thought that was a sign?”

“It was, until I saw the syrup on your face.” Julie said.

At that, Luke grabbed a napkin and dabbed it against his chin to see that Julie was right, there had been syrup there.

After that, the two finished eating. Then made their way to Ms. Tutlidge’s class.

“Am I the only one that hates this class?” Luke asked.

“We all do. Well, everyone except for Alexa.” Julie admitted.

At that Luke nodded, that was the nice thing about his sister, the fact that she literally couldn’t care was a big benefit in some cases. Particularly when it came to dealing with people you would otherwise prefer to avoid.

They sat down in their typical section off to the right of the wolf pack. Once again Alexa’s seat of honor was vacant.

Seeing the empty seat, Luke couldn’t help but feel off. Only once they sat down, did Luke realize one very important thing.

“Wait.”

“What is it?” Julie asked a not of concern in her voice based on Luke’s sudden change in demeanor.

“Your sweater, you never changed it.” Luke said, looking at the red sweater.

“Oh yeah, we got distracted.” Julie said, “no biggie. I will go and change before we go choose electives.”

“Okay.” Luke said, suddenly wondering if changing the sweater would cause the situation, or not. “You know what, don’t worry about it,” Luke said dismissively.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I think it will be okay.” Luke replied.

Thud.

“Good morning class. Sorry I’m late.” Ms. Tutlidge said, as she carried arm loads of materials in with her. “We have a lot of information to cover before we get let out early for winter electives. So, lets hop to it.” Ms. Tutlidge said, as she dropped her armload of papers onto her desk t the front of the room and began her lesson.

“To make sure we are all ready for our science finals. Who can tell me the periodic number for iron?” There was a sight pause, before she continued with, “anyone?”

***

“That was brutal.” Luke said, to Julie as they finally made their way out of the classroom. A two-hour cram session on the periodic table and its contents.

“I hope Alexa will be okay with the material.” Julie said.

“Me too, though knowing her, she will be fine.” Luke said.

“Okay, if you say so.” Julie said, as she wrapped her arm through Luke’s.

This is nice, Luke thought to himself, as he made his way with Julie through the grounds. In fact, Luke was largely willing to dismiss most of his previous actions of the day as standard paranoia. While that feeling of being watched never truly subsided, he was certain that he had just been hallucinating the whole set of events. Besides the person he saw was clearly with Gina, and Gina was a good girl, there was no way she could be tied up with a Necromancer.

No, this was just another false prophecy. Luke made a mental note to get any other class when the options became available in a little under two years.  While he was happy to have a guaranteed Legendary class, a class that was a tier lower would likely be just as good.

“You doing okay?” Julie asked.

“Yeah.” Luke said, trying to fake a bit more confidence than he truly felt at the moment.

“You know if this sweater is a problem for you, I could always just take it off.” Julie said, with a smile.

At that comment Luke’s heart started to beat erratically.

“You mean?” Luke began.

“Well after I make you a Thespian too.” Julie said, biting her lower lip.

“Oh, I will gladly pretend to be a Thespian for you.”

Julie just shook her head, “you don’t pretend to be a Thespian, you either pretend and are a Thespian, or… you know what, never mind.”

With that the two made their way through the different booths.

“Oh look, there are your parents.” Julie said, pointing to a booth that was at the back.

“The dungeoneering club?” Luke said reading the sign and realizing who they were clearly targeting with that club.

“Wow, you really are the second favorite.” Julie said mockingly.

“Hey.” Luke said, but then couldn’t refute the claim. “Come on, let’s go…” Luke began but was cut off.

“LUKE! My boy, come on down. Do we have the club for you!” Luke’s father, Jim Thyme said in his deeply booming voice that even a deaf person could feel the tremors from.

“Come on, let’s at least go and say hi.” Julie said, pulling Luke towards his parents’ booth.

As they got closer, Luke could make out the other clubs that were available. Someone was letting chunks of magnesium into heated water causing them to fizzle and erupt.

“Now you have to be careful, but part of our club will be finding out the actual chemical properties of different elements and how they can relate to…” The voice of the instructor faded away as Luke made his way further down the rows of booths. Then finally he was next to his parents’ booth.

They were dressed as excavators, but this was clearly just a joke as they both wielded fake pickaxes, at least Luke hoped they were fake. After a closer inspection he almost couldn’t tell if they were in fact fakes or not.

“Wow, look at you two.” Judy Thyme said, all but gushing with joy as a bright smile filled her face. The smile was a little more wrinkled than he was used to seeing but looking at the smile a shred of horror pulsed down his spine.

“This is how you want to spend your retirement?” Luke asked.

“Of course, nothing better than going into a dungeon and coming out all the stronger for it.” Jim said, twisting his metal pickaxe in his hand and letting it twirl around quickly.

During this time Luke couldn’t help but feel an icy cold chill run down his back as he felt like he was a cornered animal.

“Oh my, look at you two.” An enchantingly accented voice spoke up from behind Luke.

Hearing the voice Luke almost jumped out of his shoes.

Ahhp.

At that Julie just gave look a look that said, really?

Luke for his part landed and turned to face the voice only to see Gina flanked by two larger and more imposing figures.

On the left was a man that Luke had seen appear in a number of documentaries of the world’s worst villains. He was seen as one of the true leaders of Columbia, the Red Demonio. Yet, despite his imposing size and stature, it was the classically enchanting woman to Gina’s right that caught Luke’s full attention.

Before Luke could even stop himself, he took a few steps back for safety.

“Luke, what is it?” His father asked, seeing the way Luke was clearly flustered.

“Nn, necromancer.” Luke said, low trying to keep his voice from being heard. Which of course meant that everyone not named Luke heard the comment in the local area.

Jim hearing the concern in Luke’s voice, just Patted his son on the shoulder. “Relax, he is not a necromancer. Trust me, enough tests have been done on him.”

Luke shook his head, “no her. She is the Necromancer.”

Again, Luke tried to be speak softly, but that meant nothing when everyone had supernaturally enhanced senses.

“I guess we have been found out.” The woman said loudly.

BOOM!

The science lab teacher who had been delicately measuring the magnesium to produce scientific effects accidentally let an entire bar of the substance fall into his set up, causing a giant and uncontrolled ball of fire to erupt for a moment. Fortunately, the scient teacher in question, was a Pyrotechnic and easily gained control over the burst of flame.

“Sorry. Sorry. A little too much science.” The professor said, as he quickly dissipated the bursts of flames before they could set off the fire suppression systems.

Looking at the professor, Luke couldn’t tell if the dropping of the magnesium bar was truly an accident, or something done on purpose, but suddenly every instructor began to circle the self-proclaimed necromancer, even if she only did so in jest.

“Come now, Luke is it? I feel I must talk to you. In private.” She said, as she spoke, Luke felt his mind go foggy for a moment. Then before he knew it, his body felt limp and light. Then he found himself nodding to the suggestion.

“Yeah, alright.” Luke said, as he walked forward.

“Stop!” Judy said, and with that an eruption of force shot out from the retired super so quickly that many felt a burning in their souls at the command.

Luke being a bystander in the process felt his own guilt rising up. Guilt for everything he had done in his life. Guilt for taking his sister’s spots on teams. Guilt for constantly feeling jealous of his sister. He felt all of these emotions boil up to the surface and almost felt his body tremble. He was collapsing to the ground, that was when strong hands grabbed him and held him up.

“It’s okay boy.” Jim Thyme said, as he grabbed Luke and brought him back to his feet.

“Dad?” Luke asked, suddenly confused about where he was.

“Well then, it seems I will need to introduce myself. I am Countess Rojas.”

“We know who you are, Red Countess. Now why are you here?” Jim said, walking forward to put himself between the teenagers and the alleged Necromancer.

“Why I am just here attending my daughter’s school, when I thought it would be nice to meet her little friend.” The Necromancer said, as she draped her arms over Gina’s shoulders.

Gina for her part could only look down at the ground in shame.

“Don’t worry Gina. You are still welcome at our house.” Judy said, standing next to Jim and defiantly looking forward.

“My my, so much hostility for just saying hello.” The woman said, as a malicious smile filled her lips. “Perhaps it is time we show them what it means to have diplomatic immunity.”

“Diplomatic immunity only works if you are not seen as having Necromantic powers.” A security guard said from behind the trio of the Red Demonio, the Red Countess, and Gina.

“Well then, good thing for me, I don’t have Necromantic powers. Though I do have a right to challenge anyone who would lay such accusations against me in a duel to the death.” The woman said, as she began strutting forward.

At that, Luke knew the sad truth about prophecies and prophets, they all die young. Suddenly Luke wondered if this whole random string of events could have actually been avoided if he actually made Julie change her sweater.