Frostbite (Mindgames #1)

Chapter Four - Disfigured

I woke up the next morning, getting dressed in a blue button-up and some black pants with a black belt. I put on my shoes quickly and got my stuff together to head to classes. I knew that the seating would be changed due to the project so we could all talk to each other easier.

I say goodbye to my father and sister as I quickly bolt out the door, making a steady pace towards the university. They would be serving breakfast soon, I quickly walk down the cobblestone sidewalk, my shoes clicking gently on the stones as they hit them. Luckily the vicious rain from the night before had subsided, evident by the fact that the local rainwater collection systems were running rampant down the hill in tubes and funnels on roof tiles and under sheltered sidewalks. While the sky contrasted with a damp mist, blanketing the buildings I walked past.

It rains here quite a lot, and our architecture is prepared for it. Roofs have longer edges that cover the sidewalks, and alleys have their roofs and covers to prevent gunk buildup in places that are much preferred to be dry.I hear some kids off to my right far up ahead dancing in the mist. It was cute, them spinning around and being sweet. It was just a glimpse of joy, the kind this city needed. However, the parents seemed antsy, watching their children along with a nearby TV. It seemed like the royal family was out and about.

I made a left turn down the street which had the gate to campus a little way forward. Students would make their way in and out of the gate all the time, but for some odd reason, it was closed today.

Am I late? I wondered. Continuing my trek towards the gate.

No, it's early actually, the gate should be open... I kept a grip on my green bookbag and kept walking forward, making my way over to the security guard on my right."Good morning," I say politely. The guard doesn't move, there was a brief moment of silence before I repeat myself. "Good morning sir, can you let me in?"

The guard seemed to visibly snap out of a daze, which made me a tiny bit concerned. Before I watched him click a lever the gate slowly began to open.

I gave him a concerned look, not breaking eye contact with the man as I passed him and made my way into the campus. I heard the click of the lever once more and the gate began to close once more. Something felt off today, I have no idea why but I am determined to figure out what it is.

I walked down the sidewalk, under the branches of the giant Kianut trees shedding their older leaves and seeds. I see the dorm-based advanced herbology students running around to grab the ones that were falling. I recognized them from the solid white with green trimmed bandanas drawn across their foreheads. My sister wants to be an herbalist when she's older, if I remember correctly, Kianuts are good to combat hypothermia.

Wait, are we on lockdown? I whip around trying to read the behaviors of fellow students. There must have been at least forty advanced herbology students zipping around the fields of our campus. Their running footsteps seemed frantic and antsy.

Curiosity ate away at me, and with the extra time I had, I made my way to the herbology building to speak to the professor. The combination of the parents on my way here watching the television with the royal family on it, the guard being in a drowned daze, the herbology students grabbing remedies for hypothermia, the professor must know something.

I saw the professor in question standing outside the large greenhouse adorned with vines and supported with brick structures. I walked up to the professor, she looked the part at least. Long blonde hair was done in two braids split down the middle, slightly curled curtain bangs with a headband over the top of her head. She had a dark green apron done over her orange shirt and blue jeans, with brown boots on her feet.