Clarke
No one stood out to her as a potential suspect. Since everyone would have passed stringent background checks, that wasn’t shocking. Hopefully, meeting them in person would provide more insight.
When she wasn’t busy, the time crawled by. The house was lonely and creepy without her dad. It didn’t feel right. The police still had no updates on the case, and not a single lead to Charlie’s whereabouts.
Harry had cast reveal spells that were just as fruitless as her efforts. That had been a long shot anyway. Most police departments had casters who were well-versed in investigative spells.
The orientation pamphlet, campus map, and documentation for security were in the glovebox. Her charmed bracelets, the DSV potion, sent-neutralizer, and feminine products were in a storage tote under bed linens. The tampons were in a plain box labeled as kitchen accessories.
Those were the essential items that couldn’t be easily replaced, and needed to be hidden. Harry had assured her that the guards would just scan for illegal items without getting invasive. Clarke told herself to stop obsessing over it.
Stocking up on tampons made Clarke realize that shifters would be able to smell her menstruation cycle within a certain range.
That wouldn’t be a problem in the powered dorm, but she had shifts in the library and cafeteria, and might have a shifter student in one of her classes.
She refused to be outed by a biological function and acute senses of smell.
Accordingly, Clarke bought a case of scent-blocking spray designed to mask the scent of blood. It was commonly used at hospitals to reduce panic in injured shifters. Anything that worked to diminish the smell of bleeding wounds should hide the scent of her period.
“You have the housekeys and passwords for the account to pay the bills?” Clarke asked Hannah.
“Yeah, we went over all that. I’ll be fine. Slob has a month’s supply of food, and I know where to buy more. I’ll walk him every day, and let him sleep in bed with me,” Hannah said patiently. “Text when you get there.”
They each hugged her one more time before Clarke climbed into the car. “Drive safe, watch your back, and bring Charlie home,” Harry said.
“That’s the plan,” Clarke said with tears stinging her eyes.
“I love you, kid,” Harry said.
“I love you, too, Uncle Harry,” Clarke replied as she closed the car door and put on her seatbelt. She shifted into reverse before she could be tempted to procrastinate further, and backed out of the driveway.
Once she was on the road, Clarke was calmer. For better or worse, she was committed to this plan.
It was a dry, sunny day, excellent for traveling. Clarke went over her immediate agenda as the miles sped by. She also thought of ways to engage her students. Teenagers who had recently come into their powers and been pulled out of their schools because of it, might have a hard time focusing.
The town of Clementine was nestled to the west of the Smoky Mountains with Venus College to the east, and Mars College to the west. The shared stadium and auditorium sat south of town. Clarke decided to stop for groceries before entering campus rather than putting it off.
Not having traveled extensively, Clarke paid close attention to the scenery as she drove. Long ago, this had been the United States of America. Now, it was the Republic of North America, including what had been known as Canada.
Millions had died when Earth was pummeled by meteors for four days straight. Some were moderate in size, with others being larger than an average house. The damage was catastrophic. But that was just the beginning.
The force of the impact caused earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. Hundreds of thousands perished in the aftermath, some being victims of fires and flash floods.
Several of the meteors emitted harmful radiation, killing yet more people, and affecting all life in the area. In the years that followed, societies crumbled, and governments collapsed. Clarke couldn’t imagine what it must have been like to live through that.
Thirty-two years after the bombardment, the first evolved citizen was born. Five hundred years later, it was old history, but still fascinating to her.
Technology survived, but it took the better part of a century to rebuild what had been destroyed. Reluctant to repeat mistakes that had taken a toll on the planet, green energy and grain-based fuels were emphasized, and now the norm.
Clarke was probably thinking about it since one of the classes she would be teaching focused on the evolution of humanity, and what had caused it. That was better than worrying about deceiving her colleagues, and hoping that her bags wouldn’t be searched.
A huge, luxury hover bus in neon green zoomed overhead, like speed limits didn’t exist. It barely cleared the roof of her car, but was quickly out of sight.
Whoever it was could obviously afford to be fined for a traffic violation, or thought they could bribe their way out of a speeding ticket.
Hover technology had been around for a couple of decades, now.
The majority of the population, however, couldn’t afford personal hover vehicles.
Only the very wealthy had that kind of money.
Clarke drove into Clementine, finding a charming, thriving town with mostly older buildings. That wasn’t surprising. It was founded when the colleges were, nearly three hundred years ago. Mars and Venus were one of the first institutions devoted exclusively to educating evolved humans.
After getting enough groceries to last the week, Clarke headed for campus. In a few hours, she was meeting a J. Smith who would be explaining the duties of her position, and giving her a tour. Clarke wanted time to unpack at least some of her things, and get a lay of the land without being rushed.
Parking at the guardhouse, she steadied her nerves as she lowered the driver’s side window. Two guards in tan uniforms approached the car as Clarke extracted her documentation from the glovebox.
From the wand holster on his right forearm, one was obviously a caster.
His uniform badge read Barnes. She wasn’t sure about the other guard, whose name was Fowler, and hoped he wasn’t a shifter.
Most shifters would be able to hear her heart pounding standing next to the car with her window down, and might wonder why she was nervous.
Fowler checked her ID and paperwork. “Ah, you’re the new dorm monitor,” he said in a friendly tone. “Welcome to Mars College, Mr. Voudrie.”
“Thank you. I’m looking forward to working here.”
“I do have to scan your bags. It’s standard procedure,” the caster said.
“I expected that,” Clarke replied, grateful that she sounded calmer than she was.
Fowler handed her paperwork back after inspecting it, and retreated to the guard shack while Barnes scanned her luggage.
He returned with a thick envelope that he handed to her.
“This has your faculty badge, keys for the dorm, your office, apartment, parking pass, and a map of the campus,” he said.
“There’s parking behind the dorm, and luggage carts in the storage closet off the common room. ”
“Thank you,” Clarke said as Barnes closed the trunk of her car.
“No illegal or harmful items. You’re good to go,” Barnes said cheerfully.
“Yeah, well, that would have been stupid,” Clarke said, trying not to sound as relieved as she was.
The caster guard had waved his wand over each tote and suitcase without opening any of them. It wasn’t invasive at all.
Barnes chuckled as Fowler went back to the guardhouse to open the gate. “You’d be amazed at what some of the students and even the occasional professor have tried to sneak on campus,” he said.
Clarke shook her head and grinned as he stepped back to let her proceed. That was more pleasant than she had expected. If either of them had noticed she was wearing undergarments, they hadn’t shown it. Hopefully, Mr. Smith wouldn’t notice either, or just think she was old-fashioned.
It was a miserably hot day, and school wasn’t in session. In deference to the weather, Clarke wore pleated, knee-length shorts, and a polo shirt.
She drove slowly, careful to observe the speed limit. Clarke had seen pictures, but was still impressed with the beauty and layout of the campus. Most of the structures were comprised of stone with tall, narrow windows. Shrubs, late summer flowers, and trees bordered the curving road.
Straight ahead was the administration building, which had a very gothic look, reminding her of an old church. Statues of rampant lions framed the stone steps. It was flanked by Fine Arts on the right, and the Science building on the left.
Clarke drove past a large, grassy quad with mature trees and stone benches. Behind the quad was the library and a coffee shop. The library was red brick with white pillars in front, dormered windows, and a massive rotunda.
Just beyond that was the Student Center with the cafeteria, campus store, and a small infirmary. She found the Humanities building where she would be teaching her classes.
The dorms were at the back of the campus. They were each five stories tall with brick exteriors and windows with white trim. Although more functional than architecturally riveting, they were still stately.
Ornamental trees, shrubs, and cobbled walkways accented the front of the buildings. The drive curved around behind the dorms, each having a modest parking lot.
A heavily wooded area lay behind the shifter dormitory, which was on the far right, giving students access to nature in their animal forms. To the left of shifter housing was the elemental dormitory with a large pond in the meadow next to the woods.
The powered dorm was on the far left, with casters being housed between the elementals and powered students.
The greenspace beyond the powered and caster dorms reminded Clarke of a city park. There were walking paths, benches, trees, and a few fountains. It was peaceful.